#pending us being suited to each other

[benevolentgodloki]

(Fluster meme) The Grandmaster wants you for a threesome.

Try to fluster my muse

For 3.5 seconds Loki.exe stops working.

Then he teleports out of there and hides somewhere in one of the Avengers' basements.

[pedrospatch]

weakness l part ii

Post Outbreak! Joel Miller x Female Reader

summary: Back in the Boston QZ, you confront Joel about what happened at Bill and Frank’s place.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. BOSTON QZ ERA JOEL. AGE GAP (reader is in her 20’s and Joel is in his early 50’s) two idiots who have feelings for each other, one idiot is in denial, Joel is kind of an asshole, confrontation, confessions. little bit of backstory on how they met, very brief mention of attempted SA. SMUT. reader loses her virginity, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected p in v (practice safe sex, pls and thank you), post sex cuddles (ish) and more feelings.

word count: 6k

You splash several handfuls of warm water onto your face and scrub, making sure to be as thorough as possible as you rinse off all the suds from the cleansing soap that you’d used to wash the makeup off your face. You had also changed out of the dress that Frank had you wear for his special lunch earlier that afternoon and back into a much more appropriate outfit for your pending return to the Boston QZ with Joel—as always, Frank had kindly encouraged you to take a peek through a number of cardboard boxes full of women’s clothing in your size that he’d collected from the boutique and insisted that you go on and help yourself to whatever your heart desired out of them.

 After plucking a pair of dark wash blue jeans from one box, a long sleeved olive green blouse from another box, and a matching, white lace underwear set from a third box, you’d gone into the bathroom and started making the transition back to your usual appearance, minus the dirt and the grime for the time being.

There’s a part of you that’s relieved to see yourself looking a lot more—well, looking a lot more like yourself. On the other hand, there was another part of you that almost grieved the short lived feeling of what it had been like to look like a normal woman. Perhaps that’s the reason why, instead of putting your hair back into its usual braid, you decide to leave it down, loose around your shoulders.

“I told you it suited you,” Frank states with a little grin. Affectionately, he runs his fingers through it one more time before pulling you into his arms for a warm hug. “Thank you for coming over for lunch..”

After you and Joel had said your thank you and goodbyes to Bill and Frank, you started the journey back home. Not that the QZ was really a place that you wanted to consider home, but it was where you had spent the better part of the last six years. The truth was, you couldn’t stand living in the Boston QZ, but it was probably the closest thing to a home you’d ever have again.

 And it only felt like that because of Joel.

He’d crossed your path when you first arrived in Boston after Providence had been overrun with infected. Like most of the other survivors, you had found yourself in Boston, as it was the closest operating QZ and only about fifty miles away. It was a rougher crowd in Boston than in Providence and you’d found that out the hard way on your third night there when you’d been walking back to your quarters after that day’s work assignment had run late into the evening.

You had been trying to get to where you needed to be before it went past the set curfew hour and you remembered being so preoccupied with trying to avoid a disciplinary lockup that you hadn’t noticed the two goons who had been following you from the work site.

It happened in the blink of an eye—one minute you were walking and the next you’d been shoved into some empty alleyway. They roughed you up, and although you had tried to fight back, you ended up being overpowered and found yourself pinned down to the ground on your back by one of the assailants; meanwhile, his partner in crime eagerly unbuckled his belt and reached for the button of your jeans. Before it could go any further than that, the sound of a much older man’s deep voice threatening the promise of two broken jaws sent them running into the darkness as fast as their trembling legs could carry them.

That was the night you’d met Joel Miller. 

The one man in the zone that nobody in their right mind would ever dare fuck around with.

He’d scolded you for being stupid enough to walk the streets alone so close to curfew hour and then took you back to his apartment where he’d cleaned up all of the cuts and scrapes on your face with a torn, cotton blue handkerchief and some cheap whiskey. The two of you hadn’t been apart from each other since that night for longer than a day, if that.

So, the bottom line was that Boston wasn’t home. It never was home, and probably never would be.

It was Joel. He was home. 

It didn’t matter where you laid your head to sleep at night. Whether it was on a clean pillow in Lincoln or on that old, shoddy mattress that you’d noticed was starting to sprout bits off fluff through open tears in Boston—hell, you could lay your head down in the dirt at night and as long as Joel was there by your side, you wouldn’t give a single shit about it.

Gripping the straps of your  hundred liter pack, you glance up at Joel, your eyes meeting his own pack that he carried on his back. For a majority of the walk back, he’d stayed at least a few steps ahead in front of you. He hadn’t really said much of anything to you since your shared kiss in the middle of Bill and Frank’s living room.

Somehow, even several hours later, the feeling of his lips on yours still linger and you had to wonder, did Joel feel the same? Was it on his mind too? Or was he trying to forget that it ever even happened now that you two were heading back into the cold, hard reality of living in the QZ?

You’d be lying to yourself if you said that it wouldn’t devastate you if that were actually the case.

The two of you make it back just after nightfall. You and Joel sneak past the authorities and despite the fact that it was well after FEDRA curfew hour and the zone is crawling with guards on night patrol, you manage to make it all the way back to your shared apartment without being caught. Being thrown in lockup would have put quite the fucking damper on what had otherwise been one of the most decent days that you’d had in a while.

Joel’s silence towards you holds on pretty strong as he shoves his way through the front door, dropping his heavy pack with a loud thud on the floor. He stalks over to the couch and drops down onto it; his legs and feet are aching from the long, nearly five hour trek back to the QZ. Letting out a heavy sigh, Joel leans his head back and then closes  his eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily with each breath of recovery he takes.

Taking off your own pack from your shoulders, you set it down beside his, and then walk over towards the couch too. However, instead of joining him as you usually did, you stand in front of it—in front of him, and although his eyes are still closed, you know damn well he can sense you standing there. 

And yet, he refuses to acknowledge you.

Shuffling your weight from one foot to the other, you wrack your brain in search of something, anything to say—though you know he’s exhausted, it’s still incredibly obvious that there’s a tension that lingers over the both of you. In reality, it had followed you and Joel the entire way back from Lincoln, but at least out in the open, it hadn’t seemed that bad. Now that you were back in the apartment and confined to such close quarters together, it could be sliced with a fucking machete. 

Finally, you speak, saying his name softly. “Joel?”

“Hmm?” comes his reply, his head still resting back on the couch.

“We should—um, we should probably talk.”

His eyes snap open, but he fixes them on the crumbling ceiling of the apartment. “Talk ‘bout what?”

“About the fucking weather outside,” you answer, flatly.

Joel lifts his head from the couch, raising an eyebrow at you. “Oh, is someone feelin’ like being a smartass tonight?”

You sigh irritably. You should have known better than to think Joel would actually make this easy for you. “Listen, about what happened back at Bill and Frank’s house earlier today—”

He’s quick, too quick, to cut you off. “It was nothin’.”

You feel your heart drop down deep into the pits of your stomach. “It was nothing?” you repeat after him, wondering if you’d looked just as stunned as you had sounded. “Really, Joel? It was nothing?”

Joel gives you a subtle, but curt nod. “We both know it was nothin’ at all. Best we just forget about it. Pretend like it never happened.” He stands up from the couch and kicks off his worn, faded leather boots. “S’real late. We should probably get to bed.” He brushes past you and starts towards the bedroom.

You spin around on your heel, and while your words are gentle, they hit him in the back like a ton of fucking bricks. “It wasn’t nothing to me, Joel.”

He halts abruptly in his tracks and freezes, his wide shoulders squaring.

“And you know what, I don’t think it was nothing to you either.”

Slowly, Joel pivots on his heel and turns around to face you. “You listen here. I ain’t exactly too sure where you went off and found the fuckin’ balls to even think you can speak for me, but I’m gonna need you to go put ‘em the fuck back right now or else we’re gonna have a problem, darlin’. That understood?”

A chill runs up the length of your spine. Though he keeps his voice calm, there’s slight, dangerous edge to his tone that almost makes you back down—somehow, you will yourself to stand your ground. “You said it to me yourself, Joel.” You lift your chin slightly. “Earlier in Lincoln. You said you don’t want a life without me. Remember that?”

Joel’s jaw clenches.

He couldn’t deny the exact words that had come out of his own goddamn mouth, now could he?

You take a careful step towards him. “Am I your weakness, Joel?”

Instantly, he drops his eyes away from yours, his voice lowering as he asks you, “Now where the hell would you get an idea like that?”

“Frank told me—” You stop  as he lets out a scoff, shaking his head. “He did, Joel. He said that I’m your weakness.”

“Did he now?” Joel’s eyes are now on the floor.

He can’t even look at you.

“Yeah. He did.” You take another step forward, and then another. And even when you stand right in front of him, your body just mere inches away from his, he forces himself to keep from meeting your gaze. “Joel?”

He stiffly shakes his head. “Don’t,” he utters through tight lips. 

You try again. “Joel?” Knowing he would be too stubborn to give in, you bend slightly at your knees, crouching down in front of him just a few inches or so, low enough to place yourself into his view. You then slide your index finger underneath his chin and lift it, forcing him to look at you as you draw yourself back up to your normal height. Your expression softens once you see the battle he’s fighting behind those tortured dark brown eyes of his. “Just tell me the truth, Joel. Please,” you beg him, softly. “Am I your weakness?”

Joel reaches up with his hand, his fingers wrapping around your wrist. He tears your hand away from his face and holds it down at your side, but doesn’t let it go. “Why the fuck are you askin’ me that? Huh?”

“Because,” you reply, the gentle tone of your voice causing his grip around your wrist to tighten. “You sure as hell are mine.”

Your eyes glaze over his parted lips, and before you can even think about making another move, Joel releases your wrist and both of his hands fly to either side of your face as he brings his mouth down to meet yours. Just like back in Lincoln, you thought he would attack you, devastate and ruin your lips with his—though he kisses you with fervency, you can feel that he’s being careful, almost as if he were afraid he would break you into pieces if he became too rough with you. You almost want to speak, let him know that there was no need for him to hold back, but you’re too preoccupied, far too busy getting yourself lost in the taste of him.  

Desperate to be even closer to him, your arms find their way around his neck and you close the remaining gap of space between the two of you by pressing your body flush against his.

This causes Joel to suddenly break away from you, your name falling from his lips in the most delicious way you’d never heard before.

“What?” you question him, breathlessly.

When he says nothing back to you, you take a step backwards, away from him, and lift your hands to the buttons of your blouse. Slowly, almost seductively, you undo the first top button and then move on to undo the second one. When the third one comes undone, you use your index finger to move the material of your blouse aside, revealing your bra underneath—the white lace sits delicately on the soft curve of your breast, igniting a blazing fire deep in Joel’s lower belly.

Though he longs to let you finish so he can see more of you, Joel catches both of your hands in one of his halfway down, stopping you from going further. “Don’t,” he warns you, his voice strained, hoarse. “Don’t go doin’ somethin’ you’ll regret, darlin’.”

You tilt your head slightly, giving him the most innocent, angelic look he’d ever seen in his entire fucking life. “You think I’ll regret this?”

Joel can only nod helplessly at you as you tug your hands out of his and turn your attention to his shirt instead. His breath audibly catches in his throat as your fingers start working on the buttons of his brown plaid flannel. Heart hammering painfully in his chest, he looks down at you as your hands move on from one button to the next. He’s become borderline intoxicated by the sweet, sweet scent of whatever shampoo you’d used back in Lincoln to wash your hair, and it’s causing him to lose his grasp on what very little common sense he has left.

Joel feels the heat flood to his face when you push his shirt off of his shoulders and take a long moment to admire his form. Sure, his physique may not have been what it used to be now that he was in his fifties in comparison to his younger days, but he’s still in decent shape. His upper body isn’t ridiculously built or muscular, but thanks to hours of physical labor in the QZ, he still had this broadness to him—Joel’s back, his shoulders, and his arms, fucking hell, those arms of his that you could just melt right into, arms that you would feel so safe in, no matter what.

Your eyes drink him in, and you find yourself memorizing every last distinguishing mark on his upper body. You make a mental note of every single freckle you see, of each and every one of the battle scars that he possesses and commit them to memory. You were certain that most of Joel’s scars had come from this life, but you had to wonder if any of them had come from his past life. His first life.

“I ain’t a pretty sight,” he murmurs, shaking his head slightly.

“Says who?”

“Says me,” Joel replies without missing a beat. He inhales sharply as you reach out and place the palm of your hand on his chest.

You can feel his heart slamming against his chest wall right against your hand. “Your heart is beating so fast,” you whisper. You step towards him and gingerly press your lips against his neck, causing him to draw another sharp breath of air.

Unable to fight his desire to touch you any longer, Joel reaches out to finish undoing the rest of the buttons on your blouse. He discards it on the floor along with his own shirt in one quick, swift movement.

“Fuck,” he breathes out as soon as his hands met your bare skin.

The contrast of his roughness and your softness just about drove him wild. He leans down, claiming your mouth with his once again, and although he tries to keep himself from being too rough with you, Joel can’t help how hungry his kisses are—he almost feels as if he’s a starving man who hadn’t had single crumb to eat in weeks, and you’re a three course meal that had miraculously fallen into his hands. He wants to devour you, and yet, Joel uses every ounce of strength he has in him to show at least a little bit of restraint. He knows you aren’t delicate, but he fears that if he isn’t careful, you’ll shatter into pieces in his hands much like a doll made of porcelain.

His teeth lightly nip at your bottom lip, his silent demand for more and you give it to him. He slides his hands up and down your sides, and while his touch is doing inexplicable things to your body that feel so fucking foreign, it also feels so fucking good. And you want more. 

So, so much more.

Joel groans into your mouth as you rake your fingernails down the front of his bare chest. “Baby.”

Your heart skips an eager beat.

Never in this lifetime did you think Joel Miller would call you that. But then again, never in this lifetime did you think you two would ever be in this position. Half naked, wrapped up in each other’s embrace.

“Baby.” He says it again, pulling away slightly.

“What’s the matter?”

“If we don’t stop right now—” Joel trails off mid-sentence, letting his two hands continue to roam and explore your upper body. He finds it in himself, finally, to push the delicate straps of white lace down your arms; you decide to lend him a hand and reach around your back to unhook the lingerie, adding it to the growing pile of clothes on the stained linoleum floor. Pulling you flush against his chest, Joel groans again and then tears his lips from yours, moving them down to the sensitive flesh of your neck.

As he does  so, you start to guide him backwards towards the bedroom.

“Careful,” Joel mumbles against your skin, causing you to exhale a tiny, breathless little laugh.

Somehow, even with his arms wrapped around you and his lips fused to your neck, the both of you manage to get around the wide, single wall that divides the bedroom from the rest of the apartment. As Joel feels the back of his knees hit the edge of the mattress—the very same mattress that you two had been sharing for the last few years—he lets out an odd noise, something in between a groan and a sharp exhale of breath. He snakes an arm around your waist and turns you so that he’s able to carefully lay you back onto the mattress. He follows in suit and crawls on top of you, his body hovering over yours.

“It ain’t too late, you know.” Joel pauses and brings a hand to your face. He brushes a lock of your hair out of your eyes and tucks it behind your ear, his finger grazing your cheek as he does so. “It ain’t too late to stop.”

You raise an eyebrow at him. “Do you want to stop?”

“Yes.”

Your heart sinks. “You want to stop?”

“No.”

A puzzled expression crosses your features. “But you just said—”

“Jesus Christ, I don’t even fuckin’ know.” He closes his eyes, furiously shaking his head.

“Joel. Look at me.”

With a heavy, frustrated sigh, Joel obliges. His pools of intense, dark brown swim with an array of different emotions, from lust and desire to concern and fear. “Things won’t be the same,” he tells you, shaking his head again. “We cross this line and there’s no goin’ back for us, do you understand that, darlin’?”

You chew nervously on your lower lip. Your hand is at the back of his head, your fingers anxiously toying with the curls at the nape of his neck. Of course you knew that there was no going back—but hell, you didn’t want to go back, not if it was to a time where you went about your days thinking that you meant nothing to Joel Miller. Not to a time where you didn’t know what it was like to be kissed by him, or to be touched by him.

Finally, you will yourself to reply to him.

“Is it shitty of me to say that I don’t care that we’re crossing a line we can’t come back from?” you ask, quietly. “It doesn’t fucking matter to me, Joel. I want this and I can tell that you do too.” The same hand that had been in his hair moves to the side of his face. “What are you so afraid of?”

“Losin’ you.”

You honestly hadn’t thought that he would actually give you a reply, at least not one that contained the truth, so when he does, it takes you completely by surprise.

“You won’t lose me,” you assure him, though you know better than to make a promise you weren’t absolutely certain you could keep in a world like this one. Joel had lost people, you had lost people, but you would do everything and anything that you could possibly do to keep from losing each other. “It’s like I told you in Lincoln, okay? We are in this together. I’ll never leave your side, Joel. Never.”

“But—”

“Why don’t you believe me?”

Joel leans down, letting his forehead rest against yours. “I want to. I want to believe you, I swear it. More than anythin’ in this world, I want to believe you. But my mind is sayin’ there’s just no fuckin’ way.”

You delicately touch your fingers to his chest, feeling his heartbeat again. “What about this, what does this say? This thing in here that I can feel racing against my fingertips as we speak?”

“It’s tellin’ me to make you mine.”

Propping yourself up on your elbow, you tilt your face up towards his for another kiss. This kiss is different from any of the others you two had shared that day.

No, this kiss was softer, it was tender—sweet like honey.

Loving, even.

“Then do it,” you encourage against his lips. “Make me yours.”

“Only if that’s what you want.”

“I do. More than anything, Joel.”

With your reassurance, he finally releases any hesitations he had, and Joel gives you a subtle nod of his head, one you almost didn’t catch.

He gingerly pushes you back onto the mattress and kisses you lightly on the lips one more time before he begins to trail his way down your neck. He continues to move down your chest and stomach, and as his nose skims against your skin with each kiss, Joel can still detect a hint of soap from your shower earlier that afternoon. As soon as he reaches your waist, his hands reach for the button and zipper of your jeans, undoing them both with ease. He lifts himself up on his knees, silently beckoning for you to lift up your hips so he can slide your jeans down your legs. You’d never been more grateful that you’d chosen a pair of pretty lace underwear instead of the usual cotton shit that you wore.

Joel hooks his index finger underneath the elastic waistband, slowly pulling them down your legs as well before tossing them aside. He lets his eyes lock themselves on every part of you, his burning desire for you only fueled by everything that he sees.

Much to your own surprise, you aren’t all too shy. There you are, lying before him completely bare—Joel can see everything, but you cannot possibly care less about any freckles, any stretch marks, any scars, or any other so-called imperfections on your body.

He’d let you see him—now you were letting him see you.

Joel would be lying if he said he’d never thought about this—thought about you like this. He had often tried his best to keep those thoughts at bay considering how much older he was than yourself, but fuck, he could never deny the fact that you were the prettiest damn thing he’d laid his eyes on since the world had gone to shit. Joel often imagined that every inch of you was nothing short of perfection and hell, he’d been right. He brings himself back down over you and lets his mouth make its way back down your body.

“Joel.”

The sound of your voice as you say his name is unrecognizable, to both you and to him. 

It’s low, husky, and like sweet music to his ears.

“What is it, baby?” He asks you as he stops right in between your legs. He glances up at you for a brief moment. His gaze meets yours, as if looking for permission to proceed. The instant he receives your nod of approval, Joel starts to plant another trail of burning kisses along the inside of your thighs, going back and forth from one to the other.

His beard scratches the delicate skin there as he carries on, moving slower and slower the further he goes up your legs in an effort to get your anticipation built up. You only find this agonizing and you’re just about ready to lose your goddamn mind. The moment you open up your mouth to tell him to cut it out with all of the teasing, Joel dips his head, his mouth finally moving to the apex of your thighs.

You gasp out his name, your back involuntarily arching off the bed.

Joel moans into you—something about how he just knew you would taste so fucking sweet—and lets his tongue swirl around your arousal, eliciting the most heavenly noises from you. He switches off between using long, firm strokes of his tongue over your clit and taking you into his mouth, his chosen technique causing your hips to buck upwards, asking for more. He hums against your cunt and lifts his arm, draping it across your hips to hold you down in place. The sounds escaping you, every curse word, every whimper, every little cry of pleasure, bounce off of the paper thin walls of the apartment.

Even though you’re certain your neighbors are getting an earful, the truth was that you couldn’t give two shits as to who heard you or not. Hell, there was a woman a few doors down the hallway who often threw suggestive glances at Joel when she saw him and you can only pray to the heavens above that she can hear what he’s doing to you.

You feel the beginning of an orgasm coiling up inside of you in your lower belly. It’s tightly wound, mere moments away from snapping and springing forward. With no sheets on the mattress for you to grasp, you clenched at air, trying your best to fight it in a futile attempt to draw the pleasure out for as long as you can. You never want this to end. Joel didn’t get the memo and he keeps on at it, and before long, his lips and tongue send you tumbling over the edge.

As you cry out his name over and over again, his mouth continues to keep at it slowly, helping you ride out the high of your orgasm. Once the sensation of the intense climax begins to subside, you drop your head back down onto the mattress and focus on trying to catch your breath.

Joel looks up at you and forces  himself to bite back his groan.

It’s  dim in the room, but the moonlight that filters in through the window illuminates what had to be the most stunning sight he’d ever fucking seen. Your hair wild, skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat, your mouth plump, swollen from his kisses.

Joel pulls himself back up to you. His mouth meets yours, letting you get a taste of yourself. He then lets his thumb graze over your bottom lip, asking you, “You alright?”

“Just a bit breathless is all.” Suddenly, it dawns at you—what comes next. Up until this moment you had been fine, and now, your nerves feel like they had been lit on fucking fire. You swallow harshly, knowing you had to tell him. “Joel?”

Sensing the sudden shift, he frowns. “What’s wrong?”

 “Joel, I’ve never—the thing is, I’ve never—”

You stop, clamping your mouth shut, unable to say it out loud.

It takes  him a second or two, but he finally understands.

You’ve  never been with a man before. 

Not like that. Not like this.

“As much as I want you, we don’t have to go any further than this,” Joel assures you, his nose skimming lightly against your cheek. “You tell me to stop and I’ll stop, darlin’. No questions asked.”

And you believe him.

You know he would only take what you were willing to give him.

At this point, you were willing to give him everything.

Your hand reaches down between your bodies, brushing against the waistband of his jeans. “I don’t want to stop,” you tell him. “I really don’t.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Are you—?”

“Damn it, Joel! I said what I fucking said, now can you please get rid of these? Or am I going to have to do it for you?”

Joel drops his face into the crook of your neck for a second, letting out something mixed between a scoff and a chuckle before he finally obliges to your request.

He stands up from the mattress just long enough to unbuckle his old, worn out leather belt—he then unbuttons his jeans and pushes them off before climbing back over you.

You place a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer towards you.

As you do, you feel his hard, thick cock brush against the inside of your thigh.

 “Joel,” you gasp out his name, wetness pooling between your legs all over again.

“Askin’ you one last time, sweetheart.” Joel’s mouth ghosts over yours. “You sure ‘bout this?”

“Yes. I’m sure.” You hope you don’t sound as desperate as you’re beginning to feel. “Please, Joel. I want you.”

You couldn’t have been anymore sure that this was what you wanted.

Still, that didn’t exactly stop the wave of apprehension from washing over you as you felt him settle himself between your thighs and against your entrance. Joel must have sensed your nervousness, because he pauses, pressing his lips against your forehead. He lets them linger for a moment, as if silently reassuring you that he would take it easy. He pushes himself inside of you, slowing down the further he goes. It hurts, at first. It’s a sharp feeling of discomfort unlike anything you had ever experienced before. Painful. You can’t help the small cry that escapes you, causing Joel to abruptly stop his movement. 

“Relax, baby,” Joel murmurs, taking your hand in his. He laces his fingers together with yours and gives it a gentle squeeze. He remains still as he waits, willing his body to listen to yours before picking up where he left off.

It takes you a minute to adjust to him, and while the discomfort doesn’t completely go away, a new sensation joins in, one of searing heat and the sudden urge to feel more of him.

Joel’s opposite hand is curled into a fist at the crown of your head, and he finds himself having to silently remind himself to get a grip. As much as he wants  to take you the way his body is telling him to take you, he refuses to do anything that can potentially hurt you. Though he’d given you his hand for the sake of comforting you, he found it ended up being more for his benefit than for yours. He holds it tightly as he gives another gentle, experimental thrust.

“Joel, move. Please. I need you to move.”

“Baby—”

“Please,” you all but plead him. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist and push your hips forward, wanting to feel every inch of him that you could.

“Fuck!” Joel curses out in a moan. As careful as he wants to be with you, he knows that if you keep it up, that would all go out the fucking window.

Any discomfort or pain that you might have felt initially vanishes completely, having been replaced with nothing but explosive waves of ecstasy that come with each and every single one of Joel’s thrusts.

There isn’t one single part of you that isn’t lost in just the most heavenly haze as he picks up his pace and delivers swift, smooth strokes. Just when you think it cannot possibly get any better, Joel dips his head and begins whispering into the hollow of your neck. “You feel so good, baby. Fuck, I’ve been dreamin’ of this for years now, y’know that?”

“Joel,” you whimper his name.

“You’re mine, you understand me? You’re all fuckin’ mine,” Joel whispers breathlessly. He continues to pick up the pace as he demands, “Tell me you’re mine, sweet girl. Need to hear you say it—”

Biting your lip, you look up into his eyes and nod your head, managing to find your voice in between your moans. “I’m yours—all fucking yours, Joel.”

You’re close and so is he, you can feel it.

“Fuck!” Joel curses out as his entire body begins to shudder. He gives you one last, deep thrust that brings you both to come at the exact same moment.

Joel collapses beside you onto his back, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath and recollect himself.

You’re in a similar state, though perhaps a little more shaken.

“C’mere.” Joel pulls you close to him, tucking you into his side. “You’re tremblin’ a little. You alright?”

“I’m alright.” You look up at him and raise an eyebrow. “Are you?”

He remains silent, as if thinking over his answer.

Your throat goes dry—he didn’t regret it, did he?

“Joel—”

“Earlier, you asked me if you were my weakness.”

You nod. “Yeah…”

Joel pulls you so that you’re laying across his chest. He holds you close, squeezing you as if he’s afraid someone’s going to come along and snatch you out of his grasp. “Pretty sure you know by now that you are,” he says, his fingers subconsciously running themselves through your hair. “You’re my weakness, my Achilles’ heel, whatever the fuck you wanna call it—all I know is that if somethin’ ever happens to you, I don’t know what the fuck I’ll do.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Joel.”

“What if I can’t keep you safe?”

You frown. “Joel, I’ve been by your side for what, six years now? And you’ve always kept me safe. Hell, you saved my ass on the night we met. If it hadn’t been for you showing up and scaring those guys away—” You stop, shoving the thought of what could have possibly happened to you that night out of your mind. “I told you. I’m the safest when I’m with you. I know I am.”

“But—”

You silence him with a kiss. “Joel, stop looking for a reason to push me away.” You toss him a small, exhausted smile. “Besides, I think it’s a little late for that now anyway, don’t you think?”

You lay your head back down onto Joel’s chest and he continues to run his hand through your hair, over and over again. He surely must have known that he’s lulling you into a deep sleep.

“Joel?” you say his name, drowsily.

“What is it, baby?”

“You’re not going to lose me,” you mumble into his chest. “Ever.”

Joel holds you closer, trying with every fiber of his being to set aside his fears as you drift off to sleep in his arms.

[just-animaxiz]

HERE ME OUT ON THIS IDEA.

I'm thinking Randy should have a team, maybe even a new generation of the Finja's Norisu 9! I had this idea puzzling in my head that despite being Norrisville's hero, Randy is also its only protector, meaning he has little time to balance both his lives while trying to handle large and insane monsters.

Hence why the Nomicon or The Creep decides that he needed a team as more chapters open up, which allow him to develop trust and relationships between each one. Some you may not expect and others you may.

Yeah, it's a bit cliché like Miraculous, but unlike that show, it's not a part time thing and they have better chemistry!

So about the Mantles

The Nine Mantles are given to the Norisu 9 in order to gain more abilities to fight The Sorcerer and any foes that come in their way. Each of them hold a significant power to the spirit they're connected with, and they will continue to increase whenever their bonds grew close.

About 8 of the Mantles had been sealed, with the exception of the ninth who had thought of it as a battle than an understanding. All of those seals remained the backbones of what aided The Ninja's journey.

Only 8 of them sworn the breaths to protect the world from danger... died protecting it.

Only 1 remained the longest...

-THE TENGU -

The Tengu, or you may remember, is The Mantle for the Red Ninja - Primarily known as The Ninja of Norrisville. Even so, the Ninja suit and mask are created using the key bindings of various Yokai, mainly The Tengu.

This mantle is for the dutiful, but its true strength is for the heart of gold. Even after certain... Mishaps and contradictions, the mantle ends up in the hands of its rightful user.

The mantle gives the power of all elements, mainly Fire as its usage; however, to unlock the other elements, the user has to take time, patience, and understanding in the studies.... Unless the user has ADHD and tends to overthink or ignore said lesson.

At least, he's quick to learn his mistakes and fix them...

The Tengu Mantle remains as the longest mantle used, specifically for the purpose of The Norrisville Ninja Legacy; however, not many people have gained its true form except for one.

POWERS

Super Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance

Acrobat Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Magic Enabler

Materialize Weapons and Objects

Wall-Running

Hammerspace (Can manifest weapons from an imaginary spot)

Stank / Chaos Immunity (Mostly)

Underwater breathing

Comet Sprint

Super Senses

Earth Attack

Hydro Hand

Air Fist

Fire Ninja Rage

Ice Ninja Rage

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Art of Disguise

Art of Escape

Art of Flying

Art of Healing

Art of Invisibility

Art of Stealth

Art of Telepathy

Art of [REDACTED]

Art of [REDACTED]

Even though the Tengu is powerful, the user can still feel pain and can be injured if used incorrectly. Sometimes, much damage leads to fatalities.

Current User: Randy Cunningham

- THE ONI -

The Oni is the Mantle for the Orange Ninja. It is made by the thunderous orge themselves after the original user taught a young Oni the power of rebellion. Unlike the Ninja, they only have the mask, which acts as a semi-sentient companion to the user when needed.

This mantle is for the rebellious but protective - the wolves who will tear down flesh of their hunters in order to protect their young. They do not stand for any rules, oppressions, or signs of tolerance if that's the only option to win a fight. To fight for peace, you have to strike down with all your strength.

The Oni mantle gives the user the powers of the Oni, mainly thunder and force. They also act as an amplifier or enabler, upgrading the other mantles' abilities if they needed to. Kinda like a.. Machine, but they have enough sentience to be human.

The Oni mantle has been used for 4 times during the long legacy of the Ninja, but the current user is still pending...

A punk of a kind, if you may describe him.

POWER

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Sentient Scarf

Endless Line of Chain

Burning Chain

Heat Resistance

Hammerspace

Melee Weapon Manifestation

Increased Melee Strength

Magic Enabler

Wall-Running

Stank / Chaos Immunity

Thunder Clap

Thunder Strike

Lightning Bending

Thunder Snake

Thunder Roar

[REDACTED]

Oni Rage

Enabling Others' Abilities

Shockwave Attack

Electrical Energy Usage

Electrokinesis

[REDACTED]

Even though The Oni's abilities are dangerous, there is a limit of how much they should use it. For example, using Oni Rage for a longer period of time will cause the user to be drained out of energy and having negative emotions such as anger will lead to unpredictable power struggles.

- THE KAPPA -

The Kappa is the mantle used for the Yellow Ninja. The mantle is crafted with the help of the underwater creatures, including the Kappa, designed specifically for the Heart of Compassion.

As stated before, this mantle is for the compassion, those who chose kindness and empathy rather than merciless slaughter and rage. They help protect other allies from going too far with violence and soften them up in order to focus. Even though they do not react with violence themselves, they still use strength and power to weaken their enemies rather than to resolve it with peace. Even if it makes them look weak, they are still powerful in the eyes of the Ninja.

The Kappa Mantle gives the users abilities of the Kappa, using magical energy rather than physical strength. They have hydrokinesis and can control or manifest any forms of water at their will. They are also one of the few members that debuffs any curses or uncontrollable effects inflicted at their allies.

The Kappa mantle have been used 2 times, and the current user is still pending...

Before she inherits the mask, she must twirl around her conflicts while maintaining her heart pure from temptation.

POWERS

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Underwater Breathing

Water Resistance

Magic Enabler

Wall-Running

Hammerspace (can be used to store items or manifest bo staff)

Stank / Chaos Immunity

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Magic Healing

Debuff Enabler

Hydro Hand

Hydro Feet

Ice Ninja Rage

Water Ninja Rage

Kappa Rage

[REDACTED]

Water Healing

Ice Shield

Water Sensing

Water Speed Control

Evaporation

Condensation

Water Separation

Hurricane Manifestation

Tsunami Manifestation

[REDACTED]

Be wary of the Kappa's Mantle - because they are not something to toy with. They must require focus, confidence, and control; however, like water, it can easily slip through their fingers if the user is distracted or doubtful with their skills.

- THE TANUKI -

The Tanuki is a mantle specified for the Green Ninja. This mantle is made by the claws of the magical beasts, selected for the user with The Heart of Instinct.

Those who wield the Tanuki mantle exceed in the unexpected, using brawns over brains without any given thought. They are cunning, and mischievous, yet willing to be at the front to fight. Using powerful gauntlets, The Tanuki can make one soft punch into a heavy blow instantly. They can adapt quickly to their new sense of power, shifting their abilities with every creative usage and transformation. The Green Ninja uses this to defend their allies or themselves if enemies surprise them. They also use it to stun enemies if necessary.

Between the chaotic tricks and brute force, The Tanuki rely on ground mana, manipulating the pressure of the earthbound physically or magically. They can also solidify or liquid any earthly material if they focus hard enough.

The Tanuki Mantle has yet to be used in modern times and only relied on ONCE. The current user is still pending...

POWERS

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Geokinesis

Ground Manipulation

Rock Manipulation

Solidification

Liquidification

Magic Enabler

Wall-Running

Hammerspace

Stank / Chaos Immunity

Construction

Rock Hand

Flying Rocks

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Earth Ninja Rage

Tanuki Rage

Stun

Ground Boost

Earthquake Manipulation

[REDACTED]

The Tanuki's greatest weakness, however, is pushing their strength to a heavier and more complex foe. Being outsmarted by a greater counterattack could paralyze or damage their structure temporarily. It is also more damaging if the actual user is a giant idiot who likes to punch things without question.

THE KAMAITCHI

The Kamaitchi is the mantle for the Blue Ninja, made by the Kamaitchi using clouds and wind. The user for this power must have the Heart of Spirit.

Those who wield the Kamaitchi are quick on their feet, free from the shackles, and able to surpass the ground's attachments. They are carefree, sassy, and free from judgment. Their ninja stars can attack various enemies while floating in the air, without any specific aim or structure. The user can also manipulate the control of the atmosphere, removing any excessive effects or confusing their enemies. Opposite of the Tanuki mantle, the Kamaitchi can manipulate forms of gas if there is space in the matter, using them to their advantage if possible. Sometimes, the user of this mantle can battle through interactive forms, such as imitating, shadowing, or break-dancing. Whatever works, works.

The Kamaitchi mantle has been activated 2 times, and the current user is still pending...

POWERS

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Aerokinesis

Gas manipulation

Wind manipulation

Smoke / Steam manipulation

Gasification

Air Boost

Air Ball

Air Fist

Air Whirlpool Kick

Magic Enabler

Wall-Running

Hammerspace

Stank / Chaos Immunity

Air Breathing

Invisible Slice

Interactive Movements

Debuff Removal

Confusion Spin

Extinguish

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Air Ninja Rage

Kamaitchi Rage

Aerial Flight

Wind Push/Pull

Freezing Air Breath

Hot Air Breath

Smelly Air Breath

Sweet Air Breath

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

The Kamaitchi's weakness is their stamina. If they too far with their excessive abilities, they will lose breath. If they keep on losing their breath and stamina, their powers will weakened. To counterattack or prevent this situation, the Kamaitchi must pace themselves, learn masterful techniques in order to stay vigilant.

THE BAKANEKO

The Bakaneko, or Neko, is the mantle for the Purple Ninja, manifested by the sacrifices and curses from the paws of the Bakaneko and its helpful twin, the Nekomata. This mantle is specified for the Heart of the Mind.

The wielder of the Bakaneko has the power of alternating reality at their will. They can create and summon spells and cast curses upon their enemies while they sleep. They can also control shadows and teleport in the dark, popping out when you least expect them. If they are not using powers, the Bakaneko can either shape-shift their scarves into claws and whips, or they can use the bladed hat to cut their enemies. If the user is cursed or stanked, the Bakaneko can control their stanked form and vaporize it away with focus and control. They also can summon minions, ordering them in battle when necessary. Despite this destructive and obviously not heroic deed, the mantle is picky on its user.

The user for this mantle must be open-minded, learning the white, black, and greys of the world around them. No matter what ill-witted lies or deceits their thoughts sprouted out, the user chooses to control the darkness rather than the other way around. No selfishness or unwanted attention, but the need to balance the world if the darkness overwhelms it.

The current user is still pending, and the mantle has been used twice...

POWERS

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Umbrakinesis

Shadow Manipulation

Magic Enabler

Materialize Weapons and Objects

Wall-Running

Hammerspace

Stank / Chaos Immunity

Stank / Chaos Erasure

Curses & Spells

Summoning Assistance

Alter Reality

Shape-Shift

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

NOTE: THE POWERS LISTED REDACTED MUST NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY OR FASHION. DO NOT END UP LIKE THE SHADOW WARRIOR'S PUPPETS.

Dark Ninja Rage

Bakaneko Rage

Blinding Darkness

Shadow Puppetry

Echoes of the Dark

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

The only weakness of the Bakaneko is itself. They can be deceiving, even to themselves, and can open Pandora's box to see the world suffer at will. The user must be VERY SPECIFIC for this mantle.

THE KITSUNE

The Kitsune is the mantle specified for the Pink Ninja, and it's made by the deal and trickery of the powerful Kitsune itself. The powerful deity swore that this mantle would be the most powerful for the Heart of the Soul.

Like the Bakaneko, the Kitsune can alter reality and shapeshift; however, they can also split themselves, making 999 clones. The Kitsune can also turn the user into an actual giant fox if tempted, able to stomp through trees or climb the highest of mountains. Along with their magical powers, the mantle gives the users magical daggers, which can be thrown and controlled by orders. Unlike the other mantles, the Kitsune can jump into people's minds and read certain memories and feelings for information. Additionally, in their animal form, they can manifest visual presentations by eating the memories of their target and spewing out a magical mist, turning the target's perception against them.

The user for this mantle is a wild card, known for their ideals to either protect their friends or seek the truth through the fog, no matter the cost. If it's the latter, then the Kitsune must acknowledge their reasons, whether to judge, manipulate, or understand their targets' inner selves. They are not prone to their own idealizations or illusions, so they must attach themselves to reality, even if reality holds bounds to their faults and flaws.

The user for this mantle is still pending.. The Kitsune has been used twice...

POWERS

Super: Strength, Durability, Speed, Reflexes, Stamina, Agility, Endurance.

Acrobatic Skills

Increased Capabilities

Ninja Stealth

Hallucikinesis

Mirakinesis

Psevdaísthisikinesis

Magic Enabler

Materialize Weapons and Objects

Wall-Running

Hammerspace

Stank / Chaos Immunity

Mind-Reading

Mind-Eating

Mind-Manipulating

Giant Fox

Cloning

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Illusion Ninja Rage

Kitsune Rage

Kitsune Roar

Kitsune Invisibility

Kitsune Sniffers

The Kitsune's weakness is their lack of attention. Not to details, but to the people around them. They think themselves ahead, seeing the ideal illusions of others' reactions rather than understanding what's actually happening or not. Remember, they must keep their feet on the ground, to reality, and know their perceptions can be wrong if they are.

--------

Well that's most of the mantles now! Next, if you like, I'm going to write about the Yin and the Yang mantle, the only mantles gifted from China to Japan, to center the balance of the clan.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Does Gallifrey have anything in the way of football (or uh. Soccer apparently. That's a very silly name) or any other sports?

What sports and games are there on Gallifrey?

Gallifreyans have an absolute drought when it comes to physical/contact sports. The only real physical sport is ...

🏀 Zero-Grav Hyperball: Played with balls and rackets in a zero-gravity environment, Zero-Grav Hyperball probably resembles racquetball, space-style.

Other games and board games include ...

🎩 Perigosto Stick Game: A form of Time Lord juggling where players use their powers to keep a 4-dimensional rod with a sphere or cube at the end in motion, preventing it from falling back into normal space-time. Playing with it over the age of 90 is considered a bit lame.

♟️ Gallifreyan 4D Chess: Pieces move on three vertically stacked boards and can also move forwards and backwards in time. Forcing the opponent into creating a paradox is a common way to win.

🎴 Gallifreyan Chequers: Played with red and white pieces, including unique roles like President's Cardinal and Chancellor's Castellan.

🃏Gallifreyan Playing Cards: These have the suits Flames, Owls, Clouds, Souls, Deeps, Mesmers, and Dominoes, with the face cards being the Hand, the Duke, and the Rogue. A popular game is 5D Cribbage.

🧠 Mindbending (Time Lord Wrestling): A telepathic battle where contestants try to regress each other through their previous incarnations. Although a game, it can end in a deathlock if a contestant is pushed back to the point of looming, so it is considered dangerous.

🧩 Gallifreyan Labyrinth Game: The goal is to get opponents lost in a dimensionally transcendental maze and manipulate their movements by subconsciously training them to make certain turns. Gallifrey once had labyrinth games on every street corner.

🎲 Sepulchasm: Played on a board shaped like a mountain range, players use psychic powers to keep their pieces suspended over a chasm created by certain dice rolls. To win, you need to keep pieces in the air longer than your opponent.

🔮 Eighth Man Bound: An extreme rite of passage where students at the Academy use a symbiosonic generator to predict their future incarnations while their classmates chant their name ominously. It claims the lives of 15 Gallifreyan students every macrosemester.

🪐 Scratchin: Details unspecified, but it’s another popular Gallifreyan game.

🏫So ...

They don't engage in physical sports much; their focus is more on the mind and using their chronopsionic powers. Their games also have a bit of a fatality rate. Play safe.

Related:

What is Gallifreyan music like?: Musical instruments and genres on Gallifrey.

What’s on Time Lord TV?: Visual entertainment on Gallifrey.

Factoid: Gallifreyan Magazines

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |����️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired😴

[hae-yeon]

334.The Second & The Third (3)

두 번째, 세 번째 (3)

“You remember what to do, right? An insertion site above the heart and–we should move over to the washroom, after all.”

As, even aside from myself, Yoohyunie would have to contribute his blood as well, the washroom was probably the better location. Since it would be difficult to properly explain ourselves, if we happened to leave any bloodstains on the bed. And Peace might get startled, besides.

“Peace-yah, it’s nothing to worry about, so you just wait patiently out here, ‘kay.”

- 끼앙.

I soothed, stroking Peace. Chirpie and Velare had headed back home with Yerimie. In Velare’s case, it was a bit tricky to let her linger at the hospital for very long in light of her venom; while for Chirpie, it was on account of missing being able to watch the TV. Chirpie, that guy, had used its teleportation ability to head home even before Yerimie officially took them back. Though it had returned before long, possibly because it had gotten bored of being there alone. What were you going to do when Velare had to leave for good, huh.

Taking off my shirt, I got to my feet as I stripped off the hospital garb. The washroom attached to the hospital suite was relatively roomy. There was even a patient-use bathtub installed inside. Taking out the Black Dragon’s Heart, I handed it to Yoohyunie.

“The painkillers.”

My dongsaeng asked, taking the heart shard from me.

“Don’t need any drugs. It won’t hurt much. I’ve done it by myself before, too.”

“But it’ll still hurt, though.”

“I’ll be alright.”

Why try to pull out now, when it hadn’t even been that long since we’d been flinging ourselves at each other with swords drawn already. Although I supposed we were in our actual bodies, this time. Reassuring him that it would be fine, I turned around to show my back to him. The wide mirror hung on the wall reflected my dongsaeng’s tightly pinched expression. If he kept making that face, he might get wrinkles at this rate. Or maybe he would be alright, on account of being an S-rank.

“The closer to the heart, the better, m‘kay.”

As I prompted him to carefully position himself, Yoohyunie let out a sigh and took out his Sovereign’s Sword. 스르릉, the spine-tingling sound of a blade sliding out of its sheath rang out from right behind me. Reflexively, all of my nerves stood on end. As my Fear Resistance was activated, it wasn’t out of a sense of dread. It was an instinctual response, born of accumulated experience. A sound that signified the start of a pending engagement. Already, I could almost taste the tang of blood coating my tongue.

Fingertips pressed against my back. Had I been unable to see my dongsaeng through the mirror, I might have shoved him away on impulse. My senses felt oddly focused, for some reason.

‘Is it because we’ve already had a go at each other.’

It had been a long time since we’d gotten to roll and buck around together like that. I’d experienced my share of rough treatment even since Regressing, but I still felt far more at ease when he was my partner, after all. And honestly, I did go to lengths to stay outwardly unmarred at least, even if Yoohyunie and Yerimie, alongside the others, were always telling me that I needed to take better care of my body.

Fingers skimmed lightly over my skin, ostensibly searching for the location of my heart. But he had probably found the position right from the start, so it was likely reluctance that was making him hesitate.

“...this Mark, it's not bothering you, is it?”

“Yeah. The Elder even took a look at it for me. Since it’ll be too difficult for me to try and utilize it the way it is now, I’m planning on asking Myungwoo to create an Item that’ll help me control it, so…….”

There hadn’t been any issues with it thus far, and so it seemed that leaving it be should be okay. Though in order to channel it properly, I’d have to get that Item commissioned after all. Perhaps because the Mark had been nearly completely sealed, aside from making it a bit easier to control my magical energy, there didn’t seem to be any adverse side effects.

“Hyung will catch a cold at this rate. Let’s hurry and do it, yeah?”

Though I wasn’t cold at all, I pressed him on. The hand that had been resting on my back withdrew, and the Sovereign’s Sword arced through the air in a wide semi-circle. The cool edge of a blade caressed my skin; my back prickled, ever so slightly.

“Did you make sure to penetrate me properly?”

Instead of answering, he lodged his sword into the floor. It sank in gently, without encountering any resistance, as though the white tiles were made of whipped Chantilly cream cakes instead. Then, the heart shard that had been temporarily stored in his inventory was taken back out, and pressed to my back. A hard, stiff object pulsating heat pushed insistently against my skin. Slowly channeling my magical energy, I activated Diarma’s Skill. I felt the sensation of a strong, burning presence penetrating into the innermost part of the entry wound that had been made, and permeate inside.

And then, the magic core was absorbed into the wound as well; to complete the final step, Yoohyunie rolled back one of his sleeves. Taking his sword into his hand once more, he laid the naked blade against his exposed forearm. 

“Just a bit is–”

Before I could even finish my sentence, the blade sliced into his skin without warning. With a ghastly sound, a spray of blood splattered across the length of the mirror. Along with my back, as well as the side of my face, from when I had instinctively begun to turn towards him.

“Hey! I said it should be shallow!”

A deluge of blood spilled down, baptizing the wound on my back. Honestly, this dongsaeng! But even as I groused, I concentrated on channeling the necessary Skill. The Black Dragon’s heart shard and the magic core, plus Yoohyunie’s blood. The three commingled, stabilizing together. It was my hope that it would come to term faster than the Changeling.

“Just why did you do that!”

As soon as the magical synthesis had concluded, I whirled around to inspect that dongsaeng’s arm first thing. He hadn’t bothered to use a potion, nor had the flow of blood slowed. Was this guy using that sort of tactic in protest! My face fixed in a heavy scowl, I swiftly took out a potion to tend to Yoohyunie’s wound.

“Honestly, how could you do such a thing to yourself.”

“It doesn’t really hurt.”

“Bullshit.”

What was the point of going to the trouble of rolling up his sleeve, when his shirt ended up drenched in blood anyway. My back was definitely more than just a little damp too, fluid dripping all the way down to my waist. Not to mention the state of the washroom floor. It had been a good idea to move to the washroom after all, it seemed.

“How’re we supposed to explain this, huh. In any case, let’s rinse off first–there’s an extra set of overnight wear here, but I imagine it’s too small to fit you. Contact Haeyeon and ask them to send a change of clothes, ‘kay. The secretary’s office is on 24-hour call, right?”

As Dungeon Breaks wreaked havoc regardless of whether it was night or day, most major guilds typically had personnel on-call 24/7. Though things had probably settled down somewhat as of late.

“You’re alright though, hyung?”

Yoohyunie asked me worriedly as he extended a hand to rest on my forehead, apparently ignoring how he’d carelessly sliced into his own arm just a moment prior. As he mumbled you don’t seem to have a fever, at least, I fought down the urge to give him a swift smack upside the head.

“I’m fine, so look after your own body for a change too, alright. It’s a real case of the kettle calling the pot black, you getting onto me about every little thing and then going on to neglect yourself. Do you know how distressing it is for me, each time you…….”

My mouth snapped shut of its own accord at the image that rose in my head, unbidden. Yoohyunie cocked his head quizzically at me, before he spoke.

“Now that I think about it, my Skill–it necessitated that I inflict a wound on myself, huh. Not that it’s the case now, but.”

“...y-yeah, that’s right.”

“But you wouldn’t have seen it up close very much, right? Since we wouldn’t have been venturing into high-ranked Dungeons together, though I suppose a few low-ranked Dungeon raids may’ve been possible.”

“That’s, even if we hadn’t entered Dungeons together. There were the ranking tournaments, right. Those were broadcasted, y’know.”

As he stripped off his shirt, Yoohyunie’s eyes flashed with a glint of interest.

“I’ve been somewhat curious about those–how did I do, back then?”

“You? You withdrew from all of them.”

“What?”

“Because you stubbornly refused to venture out overseas. In terms of win-rate, you were considered second in the world, but the highest official rank you made was fourth. Up until the top eight, the matches took place inside of Dungeons–but from the top four onward, the designated locations were switched over to places overseas, on account of it being live televised events. Those typically took place somewhere in the middle of the ocean, on a deserted island of some sort. If the ranking tournaments were to take place now, I suppose Yerimie would be able to sweep all the competition away.”

And it was only due to the organizers making major concessions on Yoohyunie’s behalf, that he had even been able to make it to fourth place to begin with, too. Since it had meant that his opponent had needed to come all the way to Korea just to face him, then.

“The one ranked number one in the world was the Seseung Guild Leader, I presume.”

“Up until the point he disappeared, anyway. After that, most everyone was of the opinion that you were the one who deserved the rank of number one, Yoohyun-ah. Though there were a few bastards who saw fit to spew a whole lot of nonsense because of that premise too….”

Just remembering it was enough to piss me off again slightly. Some bullshit about how he’d only been awarded the title of first because the real one was gone, and that he wasn’t actually the strongest. My dongsaeng just hadn’t been given the opportunity to use the amazing Skills he actually had, alright! And because of that, my opinion of Sung Hyunjae had soured even further. Some people just insisting that asshole was the strongest, only because after the first ranking tournament, the organizers began fixing the ladders to avoid having the strongest contenders paired with each other at the beginning, and then Yoohyunie’s withdrawing meant they’d never gotten to actually fight against one another.

“Even without activating your Blade’s Predator Skill, you were capable of handily suppressing most other S-ranks with little effort. There were tons of people who were disappointed that you wouldn’t agree to go overseas, y’know.”

If I hadn’t Regressed–and particularly with Sung Hyunjae out of the picture–for the next ranking tournament, they might’ve done everything in their power to ensure the top four matches would be held in Korea. The public outcry to have him rescind his decision to forfeit, even if it meant that the matches couldn’t be broadcasted in real time, had been immense. 

But why had people become so intent on that kind of mindless spectacle-watching, when the world was becoming increasingly destabilized, one might wonder; truth be told, it really came down to being able to view the display of strong Hunters clashing, as a kind of hope. A desperate hope that said, see–we should be able to survive.

“So, once the ranking tournaments open this time around–we’ll get you first place, ‘kay.”

I said airily, giving his shoulder a light nudge; Yoohyunie smiled in response. It seemed his mood had finally improved, once he’d been able to confirm that I was actually fine. Since Yerimie wouldn’t be able to participate for a fair few years yet, given that she was currently underage, that would be our window of opportunity. Once the Conqueror of Water became of age, well, it was as good as game over. The Earth was a blue planet, after all.

-

We hosed down the washroom, and after lengthy deliberation, simply incinerated the blood-soaked articles of clothing. As I was attempting to console Peace, who appeared to be distraught by the lingering scent of my and Yoohyunie’s blood, someone from Haeyeon came by with Yoohyunie’s clothes. They seemed leery regarding the sort of circumstances that might have necessitated that a fresh change of clothes be brought to him at the hospital. If they questioned us directly, maybe I should say that some soymilk had spilled on him, or something. That we’d attempted to just dry it off, but due to the strength of his flames, they ended up turning to ash instead.

I tried to convince him to go home and rest so he could be more comfortable, but Yoohyunie spent the rest of the night with me; he only left in the morning once we’d had breakfast together, and Yerimie had arrived to take his place. It was while I was flipping through the book Yerimie had brought me, still being barred from watching TV, that Moon Hyuna arrived for a hospital visitation.

“Hiya, hyung-nim. You’re looking pretty rosy now, huh.”

Moon Hyuna passed a basket laden with fruit over to me, as well as a small shopping bag. The logo printed on the shopping bag… It looked vaguely familiar.

“Erm, Hyuna-ssi, this…….”

“I heard from Soyoungie, that lately Director Han-nim seems to–”

“It’s absolutely untrue, ma’am! Please don’t tell me that it’s lipstick again?”

“It’s nail polish.”

“Hyuna-ssi!”

Cackling, Moon Hyuna tossed the shopping bag somewhere off to the side.

“I’m sure you’re more concerned about your health than you are your looks, hyung-nim, no. So why’ve you ended up in the hospital this time, pray tell.”

“My condition’s fairly stable now, ma’am. They just stuck me in here to make sure I got some rest, honestly. Since if I were at home, I probably couldn’t help but look for something to do.”

I was expected to check out by the next day.

“Hyuna-ssi, you wouldn’t be planning on going to Japan, would you be, ma’am? I presume you’re already being kept busy enough, with just the going-ons happening domestically.”

“It’s not as though I haven’t entertained the possibility of tagging along, but, well. Yermie’s supposed to be leaving tomorrow, I heard.”

“Yessir. I realize it’s relatively close by, but I can’t help but feel uneasy still.”

I probably would’ve felt more comfortable if Hyuna-ssi had been going with her, though. Pulling a chair over to settle in, Moon Hyuna spoke.

“And why’re you so concerned, hmm.”

“She’s just so young still, ma’am. And she’s told me that, once she becomes an adult, she’s even planning on traveling to the other side of the world too. Of course, in terms of danger, it’s not as though Dungeons pose any less risk, but even so–there’s a different kind of emotion it evokes, right, ma’am. I also wonder if she isn’t trying to take on too much just by herself, our Yerimie.”

Like that time with the shellfish. Unlike Yoohyunie, who appeared dead set on keeping tight vigil at my side, Yerimie already seemed to be making preparations to take off on her own.

“Even though it would be fine if she let herself rely on others a bit more.”

“That’s an easy thing to say, hyung-nim. But when it’s all said and done, you’re virtual strangers, right.”

“Ma’am?”

“Though the three of you may’ve been playing house nicely enough the past few months, fact of the matter is that you’ve really only known each other for those scant few months, right. Then on top of that, Yerimie is a high-ranked Awakened, and at her age bracket no less. There’s a lot of them that split off from their households, y’know?”

“Come again, ma’am? ‘Split off’?”

Moon Hyuna nodded her head soberly. 

“Since it feels like they’ve suddenly become a grownup, capable of doing anything. And it’s true that they’re more powerful than most adults. So even in the case of middle schoolers, if they Awaken as high-ranked–no, mid-ranked, even–saying that I can live just fine on my own! There’s a lot of ‘em who end up just leaving home. There’s fewer cases of that happening within Korea at least, but overseas, it’s far more often than not. Director Han-nim’s own dongsaeng ended up running away from home too, right.”

“That’s, Yoohyunie’s case was a bit different…….”

“D’you know that Yerimie’s been going around acting as though she’s part of hyung-nim’s family, hm?”

A mischievous grin stretched across Moon Hyuna’s face.

“My family, ma’am?”

“Lately, Yerimie’s always going on about how ‘they can’t do anything without me,’ y’know. You should’ve seen the expression on her, hyung-nim. And even this past time, she’s preened about having been able to take care of not only hyung-nim, but the young master as well. Not to mention the gloating about how she managed to rebuff the Seseung Guild Leader’s attempt to pick a fight with you all, on top of that.”

I’d heard that Yerimie had put out calls here and there in Yoohyunie’s stead, but I hadn’t known that Sung Hyunjae had tried to start something.

“It’s more important than you’d think, that feeling of being needed by other people. A kind of desire to be acknowledged by others, you could say. Particularly when it comes to the people that you like.”

I found myself automatically nodding along to Moon Hyuna’s words. It was the same for me, too. Back then, when I had thought that there wasn’t anything I could do for Yoohyunie–it had been a really, truly difficult period of time. 

“Wanting to be independent, and trying to prove that there are a multitude of things that you can accomplish with your own power. It’s not such a bad thing. Really the opposite, rather. And right now, Yerimie is at that stage in her life. Not to mention, she had to withstand several years of being treated like a non-entity in her previous household. She probably craves validation, right now.”

“...I’ve half a mind to go and raise merry hell at that uncle’s place still, ma’am, belated or not.”

“It’ll only tarnish your image. Since despite everything, he did raise her, after all.”

She was right, but it still pissed me off .

“So, my point is–it’s fine to feel a bit protective of her, but ask her to help out every now and then too, yeah. And not just some inane task like housework, but something that you might not be capable of doing yourself, hyung-nim. Something that isn’t just chores for the sake of it, but things that’ll convey to her ‘I need you in my life,’ see.”

“Even then, ma’am, it wouldn’t feel right to entrust her with what feels like heavier matters, I should think.”

“Considering she’s an S-rank, there shouldn’t be much that would fall into that category, no? If you were to ask her to help you move some heavy and important items around, it might prove a little taxing, but I’m sure Yerimie would feel happy. Leaving a kid out of affairs because they’re too young, that’s the kind of thing you do when the child in question is too young to actually be of any help. It’s one thing to keep them uninformed when it would only instill a sense of helplessness in them–there’s no sense in rebuffing them once they’re plenty capable. Kids pick up on all this anyway, y’know?”

“...you’re right, ma’am.”

Yerimie probably was already aware of everything she could be, at her age. I could finally feel my resolve hardening–that I should come clean to Yerimie too, after all, on the topic of my Regression. Despite repeatedly telling myself that I should, I had hesitated time and time again, worrying that I might be placing too heavy a burden on Yerimie while she was still so young. But following this talk with Hyuna-ssi, I felt as though sharing such an important secret with her might actually provide her with a significant sense of joy that I’d chosen to trust and confide in her, rather than saddling her with a weight she couldn’t handle.

“Still–I hope she won’t push herself too far by trying to do everything on her own either, ma’am. She did mention that she’d rely on us too if things really got too difficult, but since Yerimie’s plenty capable already to begin with.”

“It’s just you being overzealous, hyung-nim. Like I said, it’s only been a few months for you all, right? So long as hyung-nim keeps up the good work, she’ll learn to lean on you on her own, soon enough. Namely, she’s got front-row access to observing how hyung-nim’s dongsaeng behaves, right. Once she gets a bit more comfortable, I’m sure she’ll come around to thinking ‘I should be able to act like that too,’ y’know.”

Was that so. …of course, I’d welcome her growing to want to be a bit more spoiled by me like Yoohyunie, but she really shouldn’t mirror his, ah, other qualities. Though it didn’t seem like she was inclined to take after him in that direction, thankfully. 

“Once again, I’m truly grateful that I have someone like you around, Hyuna-ssi.”

“Even if you fall for me, I can’t take responsibility y’know.”

Moon Hyuna smirked. T-that’s. Ah–it hadn’t been my intention to.

“You’re teasing me again, ma’am. I'm very aware of your high standards, Hyuna-ssi. I heard that you prefer people with features like the Seseung Guild Leader’s.”

“You’re plenty cute too, hyung-nim. I like you.”

“...that’s, ah, that sort of phrasing really invites misunderstandings, you know!”

I grabbed Peace, who had been sitting beside me, and clutched at him for a lack of a more suitable response.

“How are things at Breaker, ma’am?”

“Things’re fairly calm, for the time being at least. I’m still hard at work trying to seduce Liette over. Even a temporary contract would be considered a plus. No downside to having two S-rank Hunters on hand, right.”

“If the Seseung Guild Leader does end up taking his leave to go overseas, it should help draw attention as well.”

Moon Hyuna’s expression darkened in response.

“If Sung Hyunjae vacates his spot, then Evelyn would likely take on the position of Guild Leader in that case, yeah? That means I’d be forced to deal with her–just the thought of that prospect pisses me off already.”

“You really dislike her that much, ma’am?”

“Like I said, it’s a matter of compatibility. With her, anyway. Since Soyoungie should count as a quasi- S-rank with Comet in the mix, couldn’t she step into the spot instead.”

Had things panned out the way it had before, it would have been Soyoungie. I wondered why she and Evelyn-ssi seemed to be at such odds. She hadn’t seemed to be such a bad person, so far as I could tell.

“Ah, right–would you happen to have the leisure to briefly stop by Seok Hayan-ssi’s lab today, ma’am? I’d like to have Myungwoo come by the hospital for a bit, if possible.”

Noah would be there as well, yes–but even then, no one else was really able to measure up to Myungwoo's capability when it came to ensuring both the safety of both personnel and research materials. We would sometimes store the really important data in his Forge instead, for example. As a result, I felt reluctant to have Myungwoo just call out at this juncture, when so many outsiders were going in and out of the place.

“I was thinking of dropping by anyway, actually.”

Hyuna-ssi agreed easily. Since nothing seemed to be wrong with my body, I should use this opportunity to have Myungwoo inspect Blackie’s magic core as well, and then synthesize it. …not to mention, I needed to address the mana seal, too.

- - - -

ଘ (੭ˊ꒳ˋ) ੭✧

♡ han seol conception chapter ♡

+(Q&A)

Q) if han yoojin’s kids who were born from magic stones underwent genetic testing enabled by modern science&technology, would the results show yoojinie as a biological relative? A) as the species are different, straightforward genetic testing results would be difficult to obtain ^^ as han yoojin’s blood is mixed in, if you were able to separate only the human portion out and test that, then they would in fact appear as his children. for han seol’s case, the results would indicate that he takes after han yoohyun as well. yet, as the human portion is a mere fraction of the whole, at present, it would take very careful and thorough testing to show a distant relation between [han yoojin and the children].

+(Q&A)

Q) i was curious about, in a 1-vs-1 situation, without any outside support involved, who might have the highest DPS(Damage Per Second)? of course, in a real combat situation, one’s teammates, the environment, and other circumstantial factors, etc., would all factor heavily into the outcome; but if you were to strip away all those external influences and just put the pure damage output values in descending order, i wondered what that might look like~ A) by the end of the novel, in terms of raw physical damage values, liette ranks the highest. due to her dragon-shifting ability, her strength is further augmented, and her Skills lend themselves to overwhelming melee prowess. among all of the s-rank hunters, she ranks first in that regard. no matter who, if any hunter were to approach liette without taking proper precautions, she’s almost certainly guaranteed to emerge victorious. in second place is moon hyuna. only, the pool in which she ranks second isn’t out of s-ranks as a whole, but out of the main cast that appears in the story. her weapon of choice is a massive lance, after all, and as her offensive power is bolstered by her Skills, to manage to block her head-on would be difficult indeed. third place is han yoohyun. his physical strength trumps moon hyuna’s, as second only to liette, but he places third because of the gap brought on by the weapon he utilizes + his Skill style. he’s not a straightforward close-quarters combatant, but as his hand-to-hand abilities do not fall short, his offensive power is still formidable. in fourth place is song taewon. as he is a tanker/melee hybrid, even without a high-ranking weapon, he still places in a respectable position. fifth place is sung hyunjae. he isn’t a melee class, nor does he possess an aptitude for weapons–but the biggest factor is his lack of Skills. he does not have any physical attack Skills, much less any support-type Skills ^^ if he were able to recover the Skills he possessed in the past, it would be a different story, of course; but because by the time the story has concluded, he has yet been unable to do so, his physical attack power ranks fairly low. of course, if the rankings took into account their final status at the end of the novel as the reference point, re: new attributes and special Skills, han yoohyun would come in at first place. he was able to melt down the Gardener’s shell, which even the Transcendents were unable to penetrate, after all. only, so long as he wasn’t in the <Perfected Blue Flame> state that jeopardizes even his own existence, he would be tied for the top spot with song taewon as well. as song taewon was able to channel the Lunar Eclipse’s devouring tidal force into offensive damage, if he were to stop repressing himself, he holds the potential to even surpass han yoohyun’s flame. he would place immediately behind the <Perfected Blue Flame> state, most likely. in third place would be sung hyunjae. as the two aforementioned individuals are essentially outlier cases, when it comes to ordinary Hunter skill levels, he would probably be the top ranking individual among all ordinary s-rank Hunters. by channeling electricity through an extremely high-value weapon that has been further reinforced via Skills, he’s capable of inflicting tremendous damage indeed. because electric attacks have a tendency to scatter and fizzle out when wielded inexpertly, they’re lower on the power scale offense-wise; however, as sung hyunjae possesses near perfect control, he is able to maximize the potential of his attacks. fourth place is evelyn. while she may fall short when compared to the main cast, in terms of s-rank Hunters as a whole, she still places in the upper bracket. as both her weapon and Skills are geared towards a single-target nuking style, a coordinated attack where both work in tandem is quite powerful. in fifth place is bak yerim. because she is AoE oriented and is relatively lacking in experience, she’s ‘weaker’ when juxtaposed against single-target attackers. what she lacks is ‘lethality,’ you could say.

+(Q&A)

Q) i wondered which Hunter might be capable of inflicting the most amount of damage in a short time frame, as well as who might be capable of sustaining their attack for the longest, even if the ‘damage’ output is minimal! A) in both cases, it would be han yoohyun. in particular, where it concerns the latter, because of the nature of ‘fire,’ so long as there is the presence of ‘fuel’ that can be consumed, he is capable of ‘burning on’ in perpetuity. in addition to being used as offensive firepower, the act of ‘burning’ functions to endlessly replenish his mana supply. if han yoohyun were to be removed from the running, however, for the former, it would be liette. the latter would be bak yerim–supposing she had access to an environment such as the ocean which would work as a ‘buff’–or sung hyunjae. in the case of sung hyunjae, owing to his vast mana reserve and proficiency in channeling his Skills, the uptime on his attack duration is quite long. if the amount of damage inflicted were to be discounted as a factor, he’s capable of sustaining an ‘attack’ at the level of ‘static electricity that smarts somewhat’ on an ongoing basis, for example. as a matter of fact, he has gone about with an electric field around him acting as a cloak of sorts before, in actuality.

+(Q&A)

Q) it appeared that even sung hyunjae, who was portrayed as being the strongest in korea in the first half of the story, had yet to be acknowledged as the strongest in the world by that point; then, where might the world’s strongest guild actually be located? A) a guild’s ranking is determined by their in-house Hunters’ rankings + the number Dungeons they maintain/those Dungeons’ grades.  during the events of the novel, the actual extent of seseung guild’s reach/influence overseas was still kept hidden. because their activities were ostensibly limited to korea, it was believed that they possessed fewer Dungeons under their purview than other s-rank guilds overseas in an official capacity. additionally, during the span of time the story takes place, there hadn’t been enough data amassed to yet determine something like ‘which guild might rank first in the world’ ^^ as it preceded any such comprehensive ranking competitions, even if sung hyunjae was acknowledged as being strong, he wouldn’t have been considered an ‘official’ first place. from a pre-regression standpoint: if sung hyunjae hadn’t withdrawn from the world, it is likely that seseung would have naturally risen to the rank of first place; yet, owing to the absence of their guild leader, their place in the rankings becomes tenuous. leading up to his decision to go into seclusion, in light of their first place win in the ranking competitions, and the increase in in-house s-rank Dungeons with the formation of their overseas branch, seseung could be viewed as being ranked first in the world. following sung hyunjae’s withdrawal, it is presumed that han yoohyun is the one who comes in first in the Hunter rankings; and during the period leading up to pre-regression, it was widely agreed that he had managed to surpass sung hyunjae by then. however, as haeyeon guild never made a move to expand beyond korea, its ranking was only considered to be among the upper tiers of the s-rank guilds or so. by the post-series period, if, in accordance with seok shimyoung’s aspirations, they are able to make an international debut, haeyeon’s ranking would probably rise correspondingly. only–seeing as han yoohyun has no plans to leave his hyung’s side (and therefore venture outside of korea, by extension) as ever, seok shimyoung will likely have to project his hopes and aspirations onto bak yerim instead, rather than han yoohyun.

+(Q&A)

Q) how many languages does yoohyunie know? i seem to recall english making an appearance at some point in the novel, but when it was mentioned that he took out that translator Item when he met noah, i wondered if that meant he didn’t know french! was yoohyunie unable to understand what noah was saying, back then? A) he’s fairly fluent in english and, owing to their close proximity/the occasional business transactions, has picked up on a bit of japanese and chinese as well. during the span of time the main story takes place, as there hadn’t been a pressing reason for him to travel outside of those regions, he hadn’t bothered to properly learn french yet; however, pre-Regression, because of haeyeon’s position as a mainstay guild that represented korea, even if he hadn’t seen fit to venture out overseas, the need to conduct business meant that he’d acquired a fairly wide range of languages, accordingly. at the conclusion of the novel–while haeyeon's overseas networking venues has indeed seen a proportionate increase, han yoohyun plans to push the responsibility for foreign affairs matters onto bak yerim by using his child rearing duties as an excuse. but even so, he anticipates having to learn enough to be able to deal with paperwork as it arises, nevertheless. bak yerim maintains that eventually either a ‘perfect’ translation Item will be manufactured, or that korean will become a lingua franca, and thus eliminate the need for her to learn any others ^^

+(Q&A)

A) (moon hyuna’s ideal type) [like sung hyunjae,] moon hyuna also tries to focus more herself than others, but is partial to the cute(moe) type that seems to be the complete opposite from herself

+(Q&A)

A) moon hyuna’s preference is for someone younger, who has a cute(adorable) side. to be honest, han yoojin scored fairly high in terms of personality and looks, but because he’s physically smaller and she views him more as a younger brother than not, he fell out of the running ^^ out of the other characters that are around, han yoohyun is younger but isn’t cute; sung hyunjae isn’t younger, nor is he cute; song taewon isn’t younger but is still pretty cute, so if she really had to choose one, wouldn’t it be song taewon–thinks moon hyuna. out of everyone that’s appeared in sclass, sigma is probably the closest to her ideal type. + there was an incident where, after finding out about moon hyuna’s preferences, kang soyoung went unnie, it’s a no from me unless it’s a dragon, so don’t fall for me! and earned herself a smack on the back for her trouble

+(Q&A)

Q) i was curious as to whether we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the ‘sigma and moon hyuna’s story’ alluded to in the contents of the afterword in the eventual spinoff, perhaps A) as it’s currently unclear whether or not sigma will have ‘woken’ by that time, it’s uncertain ^^

+(Q&A)

Q) author-nim, i’ve really enjoyed my time reading my sclass; this is a question loaded with my own personal interest, but would it be possible for me and hunter moon hyuna to get married? i’m a fairly capable woman in her twenties, who is physically fit, with a stable career as well–if in sclass’s korea, whether same-sex marriage is possible^^;; A) taking into account moon hyuna’s current position, there might be some talk, but it shouldn’t be impossible ^^

[littlelesbinonny]

The Devil's Den

Chapter 35: In Which Dreams May Hint of Reality

::UNDER 18? DO NOT INTERACT. This chapter contains material NOT SUITED for you::

Her night had not started the way she wanted, to say the least.

Heisenberg had barged into the manor flailing papers and maps. Alcina had barely woken when he began his tantrum, and she was less than pleased to have to keep up. As he carried on and she guzzled blood-wine, standing with hip against the counter, donning nothing more than her black satin robe, trying to remain neutral in her otherwise less than amused state, the news he brought forced her to get in gear.

The rumblings reported over the last several days were traveling. And they had stopped right at their front door.

One of the largest entrances to their underground was where the last of the quaking had ended, and that happened to be where the old tunnels and the new had been severed many, many years ago. But the larger issue, which just seemed to follow this nonsense, was that they were yet again running into dead ends. A brick wall. Absolutely nothing to explain or reveal one fucking thing that had gone on.

Alcina tongued her teeth at Karl as he rambled, explaining he already had men in the area and was keeping post until further instruction or decisions could be made.

Truly, though, what decisions were there to be made?

Alcina ran a slender set of fingers through her tussled hair and let a long sigh escape her lungs before she spoke, clinking her class down on the marble counter before focusing back to Karl. The girls, of course, had allowed themselves into this uninvited meeting and Alcina wasn't in the mood to fight them, and since their heart-to-heart, she wasn't planning to dismiss them.

"Girls?" she asked through her sleep stained voice, "would you like to aid Heisenberg with intel?" 

Her offer sprung glee upon each of her daughters faces and a small smirk graced her own.

"Very well. Heisenberg - I'm allowing you to do whatever it is you see fit for the time being. I will contact Dmitri and Donna, we will make some plan of action as we go along. But as it has shown from the minute this circus started; the clowns are running it. This little horror funhouse has taxed me beyond measure. Not that this leaves this room, but I'm running out of ideas and courses of action to take." 

Another sigh left her unpainted lips and she rolled her shoulders gently, "there has not been one sighting or attack since the last on me, and since then we seem to just be lead on wild goose chases that only grow our stock pile of questions. I'm hesitant to put too much effort into anything at this point for the fear that the real problem has yet to make itself known... But, I trust you and your men," she said with an astute tone, "and girls, I want you to be very careful please. You're all quite capable, I'm aware, but this is no game... I want your best wits about you - understood?"

There was a muted enthusiastic nod from each daughter, which made Alcina smile warily, but in turn gave a stern look to Karl who threw his hands up.

"You've got my word; I'll keep extra watch over them. My men will take just as good of care of them as you or I, promise!" he beamed, "I could use some sneaky vamps at my side."

"Then it's settled. I'll get working on my study of the areas of interest and get Donna on the line."

Karl, her girls, and Alcina said goodbye and went on their separate ways.

Alcina lit up a cigarette and took several pensive drags, laid it down gently in the ash tray and settled back down into her chair.

Her desk had maps and several other papers strewn about for which she was combing over carefully. She'd gotten off the phone with Donna not 15 minutes ago and was patiently waiting for her company to conjure a plan of some sort.

As she thought about how this was going to unfold, and if by an annoying turn of events she had to make the whole city aware of the possible pending dangers, how much trouble was this going to cause her military and all the other clans in the area. And Mother Miranda. Where the fuck was she and why hadn't she a care in the world? Fuck it and fuck her. The thought gave her pause and she reached for the sharp collar of her cream colored blouse and straightened it, tucked one side of her hair behind her ear and continued mulling over the map and scribbles from Heisenberg.

Without much wherewithal as to how much time had passed, a soft knock rapped at the door; Alcina's eyes shot up and Donna entered, looking stern and eager to get to work.

From the bag at her side, Donna pulled out a thermos and smiled at her Matriarch, "I figure you'd need something more... potent for what we've got ahead of us."

What a gem.

Alcina smiled knowingly, "you know we're not supposed to dig into the blood stashes unless it's an emergency."

"I have plenty of strings I can and do pull."

"Mmm yes, you wicked little marionette artist."

"Shut up and drink."

Donna's wink softened Alcina's face that had been contorted with concentration and she took a sip.

Ah. Warm blood. Such a reprieve from the blood-wine that was starting to dull her taste buds.

She thought of you once more, a frequently occurring theme in the last six days. How she missed you. Alcina was growing weary not just by the onslaught of mishap after mishap, but being away from you. She wouldn't be away from you much longer. She couldn't. It was becoming physically debilitating to miss you this much.

"Right... so," Alcina huffed for the millionth time this night, "Dmitri will station here, Sybil and her crew here, and if something does surface, we should by all rights be covered and prepared, yes?"

Donna nodded, flicking the rogue bang from her face, "I don't see any other means of thwarting what might be coming our way without littering our military at every goddamn corner of the underground. Karl will have everyone armed as if they were going to war with God himself, so if our enemy, which may or may not even exist, wishes to play... I'd say we're as fortified as we can be."

Worn eyes took a glance at the clock and Alcina physically withered into her chair, "it's almost 9 AM. Let's call it, shall we?"

"I've had about as much as I can take of it."

They exchanged nods and Donna rose to begin packing up her bag, "I'll speak with Dmitri and Karl, get everyone on board and mobilized."

"Thank you, I appreciate everything you've done."

"Think nothing of it," she smiled.

As Donna was preparing to leave, Alcina cleared her throat as she stood and rounded her desk, "Donna," she began softly, "I will be leaving early tomorrow night, and I won't be reachable until sunrise."

The brunette paused at the door and looked to her friend with a silent understanding, "I see," she replied carefully, "be safe, please?"

Alcina nodded, "always."

~

The manor was empty when she went to bed and it was empty when she woke. It didn't bother her so much aside from knowing her girls were now in the active zone, but, Alcina had to release them from their cages. They weren't dolls to be kept in glass boxes. They were, just as Cassandra had argued; fighters, warriors, cunning and intelligent, just as she had raised them.

As she began to get ready, Alcina felt relief roll off her shoulders at the thought of seeing you. A smile rested on her lips from the moment she stepped foot through her door to the time she stepped out into the crisp air of the winter night. The snugness of her long black trench coat held no warmth the way your arms did, and oh, how she couldn't wait to be back within them.

-

Saturday had been a full episode of the twilight zone.

You wouldn't call it a funk, but a definite whirlpool of a never-ending spiral, yes.

All you could think about was yesterday and everything that had happened. How it felt. How it happened. How cryptic but overall comforting Malka had been. Her big reveal about being a Jewish Mystic. Her telling you you were gifted, had magick, had olde blood inside you.

Was this the answer to all your life-long questions?

No, not fucking really.

It only made your orphan childhood more questionable and gave you more inquiries than you were sure you'd ever have answers to. 

This was fun.

More than anything, you wanted to go back over to Malka's and pick her brain apart about what she knew and what she was keeping secret. You so desperately wanted answers and somehow you knew you weren't going to get any anytime soon. Sitting with that was hard. But somehow you also had a knowing in the back of your mind that everything would eventually come together. That was almost just as unnerving.

Had Alcina spurred on all of this? Was her vampiric nature the catalyst that shot everything into full motion? Yeah, things had gotten strange when she came into your life. Yeah, odd things began to happen. But, did that mean she'd done it? Or was this inside you all along and you'd just not seen it until you began believing in all the things that you were conditioned to accept were just fairytales?

Oh my GOD. So many questions!

You were quite exhausted from the day before still, which annoyed you, so you spent most of your day lounging on the couch. Took a really, really long shower and made it a point to cook a comfort meal and just let yourself relax for once.

Oddly, you were able to quiet your mind when you put on one of Alcina's recordings and slipped into a dreamland of your woman.

Fuck. Missing her was killing you!

Evening rolled in mercilessly and you were beginning to feel something. You didn't know what, how very familiar, but somehow you could almost feel Alcina in the air as the darkness crept in. Like you could reach out and touch her. Smell her. Taste her.

And as you came around to your room from the living room, there she was.

Tall and stunning and looking like the dark goddess you'd sell your soul to to bind yourself to her forever.

The two of you converged in the middle of your room, arms flung around one another, lips in a fiery exchange of desire and need and you both began discarding clothing as fast as you could manage.

"Y-you're - you're alright?" you asked mid-breath and tug of her coat, your eyes in a needy way to see and make sure she was here.

Alcina paused only briefly, her long cool hands cupping the sides of your much warmer face, the slate of her hues boring into you with a concern of her own, "yes draga, I'm fine - I'm here - and I've missed you so."

Her voice was nothing less than celestial music to your ears and you melted right back into her.

"Good," you huffed as you kissed her again and again, "let me show you how much I've missed you back."

Clothes were tossed in every direction before you'd thrown her to the bed and tanged yourself into her. Her scent threw your most primal desires into a frenzy as you kissed every inch of her you could find, never getting too far away to make sure the closeness lasted and endured. Your hands could not grip and pull and tug and caress enough. Her flesh made everything inside of you parched and starving for more.

"Draga," Alcina drawled with a sex-drenched tone, "my gods how I've missed you."

You were everywhere at once. Alcina felt the fiend inside her growl, claw to be released as you slithered between her legs while your mouth travelled down her sternum, kisses hot and piercing as the lust took over, the wetter and sloppier you became as you made your way down her body had her insides fitful with need.

Her moans of approval were all you wanted, at least, for the time being. Hearing her beg for your love gave you a new drive and focus as your mouth found its desired location and began to lap with pure intent.

Alcina whimperingly cried out at the pleasure. Somewhere along the lines of losing all control over herself and the relief to be with you threw all out the window. It was just the two of you, safe and sound, together, locked together in the thralls of ecstasy and it's all she wanted.

Her thighs trembled around your head as you worked her over, tasting your favorite flavor in every inch, relishing the softness of her and the tugging in your hair from her fingers. She was the purest vision before you as you gazed upon her heaving chest, the rise and fall of her ribcage with each breath, the hitch, the release, the sight of her head thrown back in your pillow as her breasts moved so perfectly in tandem along with the rest of her body. 

God. She really was perfection.

You snaked an arm from under where it was so securely fastened to her hip and slipped three fingers inside of her, the immediate response from the pulsing of her walls and the jagged moan that spilled from her throat giving you all the more energy you didn't know you had to please this woman until your own body gave out.

Soon your name began to tumble from her lips, breathy and whining, the expression on her face of desperate need for completion making your own desire drip and pool between your legs. She was close, she was so close.

And the cries that complimented the full body quake of her orgasm made you moan all the louder into her sex as you thrust your fingers with the perfect pace until she was panting and gasping for her breath.

You slowed your pace and motions of your tongue and watched her with pride, making sure to imprint this on your mind so you may never forget the beauty of her falling apart at your will.

The entirety of Alcina's body was thrumming with satisfaction. Dropped into an ocean of crashing waves of pleasure after pleasure, her swelling hunger for you never seeming to ebb, only growing, growing stronger.

And bright gold eyes now beamed down at you as Alcina grabbed for you, pulling you up and under her as the beast you tamed came thrashing from its cage to devour you.

She lay now at your side, yet all encompassing, her body pressed into you as she hiked your leg with a long one of her own, her lips finding yours only to moan as she tasted herself there. Her tongue requested entrance and you gave it, the heat of your breath and tongue making her croon into the surrendering kisses until her hand began to travel.

"You're mine, draga mea?" Alcina husked against your lips, breathy and dangerous.

You all but shuddered as you felt her fingers slip between your quivering legs and sink their way inside, not giving you time to answer. Her pace kept you in a frozen state of slack-jaw, a held breath, and desperately clinging to her shoulders with your hands.

"You're mine," she whispered again, this time more forceful, demanding an answer, "aren't you, draga mea?

The moan the escaped from your throat could no longer be held captive and you collapsed under her, "yes!" you whined, "I'm all yours - forever - always."

Alcina growled next to your ear at your answer, her lips kissed at the shell as she thrust her fingers deeper, harder, "good. Because I am yours just as you are mine, and I wouldn't want it any other way."

You were unable to keep your eyes from rolling to the back of your head. She felt to good and you couldn't help but whine as she was so close, possessing you, claiming you, all the things you wanted from missing her so much.

She curled her fingers and you shuddered, the length of her fingers finding that spot she knew so well, pulling, coaxing, demanding you cum for her silently as her palm began massaging your clit in perfect tandem.

"Take me," you whined, "take me, Alcina. Make me yours, make me never forget how much I'm yours."

Alcina obliged.

Her overall strength and the way she was fucking you had the whole bed rocking. You clung to her for dear life as your completion was all but nigh, arching your neck to her, begging for her bite.

Your desire was her command and she latched down on your throat, unable, herself, to keep from drinking the quenching elixir that was your blood. She felt you falling and held onto you possessively, drinking down your orgasm just as it roared through you. The choked and mangled sounds of your moans making her smile through the bite while she pushed you again, and again, through at least three orgasms until you could take no more.

You could not see straight, in fact, you couldn't even open your eyes. You simply pulled Alcina down on top of you and kissed at her blindly, savoring her closeness and the cloud of bliss you were so happily nestled in.

"I love you," you whispered through a deep breath.

Alcina hummed happily, "and I love you, draga mea."

While she couldn't put her finger on it, and while she was not complaining, as full as she was on pleasure and your blood, something had changed. Something was different. Something in you had shifted. 

Still, she remained stroking your hair as you rest your head on her chest in bed. Content to have you, be with you, bask in everything that was you, no matter this shift she could very much feel.

Your demeanor, as far as she could tell, had not changed. Nor had your feeling for her, obviously. But what was it, then?

Alcina beckoned to look into your eyes and tilted up your chin with her finger, leaning to kiss your lips feather light and smile at the beauty before her. She didn't know if her eyes were sparkling as much as yours, but she hoped they were.

"Tell me about your week?" she asked softly, tracing her index finger over your cheek and jawline.

You couldn't help but sigh.

"Uuuugh," you groaned lightly, "I'd rather just forget this week without you and continue on with life right here, right now, never to change."

While you had smiled through that, Alcina tilted her head curiously, "was it that terrible?" she inquired with concern.

"I mean... it wasn't horrific, it was just..." you stopped, wondering if you should bring anything up, if you had the energy, and how she might receive it, "I dunno. Just a... weird week I guess."

The change Alcina had sensed now seemed to flicker at your reluctance to revisit your week, but she remained silent and felt it out, only to find it had scattered away as quickly as it had appeared.

"Tell me about yours, instead?" you countered with a chuckle.

"I... wish I could, draga," Alcina responded with a sigh, "it has been tiresome, though."

You noticed now as you had risen to speak with her, she seemed less alight than usual. It was reminiscent of when she'd come back to you after her attack.

"I know the feeling," you offered as you moved to stroke her face, smiling warmly as she leaned her cheek into her palm, "can we just escape life all together? Run away? Just, you and me against the world?"

Her chuckle was light and airy, "oh, my dearest love, if only we could... I doubt I would much press back on the idea."

You sat back against the wall on your side of the bed and sighed with a grin, admiring how stunning she was in the amber glow of your salt lamp. And then your mind went racing once again against your control. Nearly screaming to be heard, taunting you to tell Alcina everything that had happened, because surely, surely she would understand?

"I uh..." you began against your better judgement, "I've had some really strange things happen this week, things I'm still not entirely sure how to explain."

Your confession knocked her clean out of her comfort and she sat more upright, her visage tweaked into a deeper concern and worry than she wanted to have. But you were once more giving off puffs of this invisible shift that was beginning to make her tense. She prayed you were not about to say what she dreaded you would.

"What happened, draga mea?" Alcina asked as she grasped for your hand, leaning into you to gauge your expressions.

The look on her face made you hurt; she was wholly vested in that stupid little sentence you dropped like an idiot.

"I..." 

How did you begin this? How did you drop a bomb like; I think I might be a magickal being but I'm not entirely sure what, who, when, or how, and uhm, I dunno, I may or may not have made three teenage boys bleed from their eyeballs with mind powers I didn't know I had? If that was even close to what had happened? Oh, and the dream I had of you where you threatened not so lightly to kill me?

At your hesitation, Alcina moved a little closer to you and cupped your jaw, and very intensely looked into your eyes, "draga... please tell me, what's happened?"

Fuck.

"You haven't been harmed, have you?" she continued.

"No, no, nothing like that, I'm ok... there's just," you tried, wondering so hard how to explain this and thwart her worry, "there's been things happening with me that I can't explain, or really understand, and it's been pretty consuming."

That did not help her apprehension.

"Like what, dragoste?

You could hear the hint of panic in her voice and that was not what you had intended, so you had to speak quickly, "I uh - my dreams," you sputtered, deciding in the less than dire direction against your better judgment, "my dreams have just been insane. The other night I had a dream about you..."

Bad dreams, is that all? Alcina thought, holding off putting her tension away just yet.

"There were - there were dead bodies everywhere, blood everywhere, and I was walking through this place, no idea really where I was going - but somehow I found you - but you were... you were like 9 feet tall, and you had scythes for fingernails, and you were surrounded by all these dead, decaying people, and you were feeding from someone..."

Oh... I suppose that is awfully graphic.

"And then you dropped the body, and when you turned to face me you had white eyes -"

Alcina's breath hitched violently, Oh god.

"They were almost, like, glowing?"

No. No, no. 

"Then you told me you were a monster and killing was all that you did, and that you'd kill me eventually -"

She was hardly able to listen to the rest of your dream; the fear inside of her for your safety and your knowing of things you absolutely should not, baring its ugly teeth and rearing its uglier head was making her own head spin. Everything began to fall around her. Her panic, her worry, her anger at herself for not being able to squash whatever threat still may be running rampant, that was not only a danger to the underground, but to her daughters, you, her, all that she loved. And you, you. She still had no idea how or why you were different but you were tiptoeing far too close to the edge of making yourself a target and forfeiting any safety you could have if she didn't have her wits about her. You shouldn't know or see white glowing eyes, never, not in a dream stance or in real life - never!

Like the crack of a glow stick, the upset at her loss of control over her emotions and the situation shoved her into an unexpected blood-rage.

She felt the rush of her power surge through her forcefully and she jumped out of bed, looking down at her hands through blown pupils as her claws began to appear, her teeth ached as they elongated and Alcina choked down the ragged breaths that were calling for blood. She was on fire, in the worst sort of way, this bout of blood-rage felt so much more intense than she could ever recall before and she didn't know if she could control herself, she felt lightheaded and weightless, like she could leap over buildings in one bound if she so had the desire.

You had never seen anything like this in your life.

Alcina had moved with a swiftness that made your head spin, and that was less than the most jarring of it. Almost as if mirroring your dream, her normal nails that were always glassine and lovely, began to grow to at least 6 inches long, now sharp and darkened by some unseen reason. And her eyes, very much unlike your dream, were black as a void in space. There was no white left anywhere.

She was huffing hastily and you began to fear for yourself. She seemed unhinged, lost in something that was not her, and you didn't know what was happening. 

You hated this apprehension you felt.

Alcina's eyes shot up at you and you noticeably jerked. You felt it, she saw it, and the silence was almost deafening.

"I..." 

Alcina's voice was but a hush as she grabbed hastily for her black robe off the back of the chair and disappeared into the hallway, shutting your bedroom door behind her.

You were now alone with your thoughts that were too scared to make a sound.

[cadybear420]

Masterlist of Gifts, Inspired Works, etc. made by others (NOTE: List is subject to updates)

This means stuff like:

Any works that have been gifted to me– including commissions, requests, or suggestions that I place, as well as works that were part of a Secret Pal Exchange Event.

Collaborations.

Additions to/Edits of any of my own works.

Any works that are inspired by discussions.

Any works that are inspired by any of my edits, stories, headcanons, art, etc.

Any works that feature any of my MCs.

I will not and never will accept any works that include the use of Generative AI, and they will not be included on this list. Please let me know if a work is AI-generated or possibly AI-generated and I don't notice.

OG HSS: Aiden Zhou mini moodboard, made by @lovealexhunt

A simple and sweet moodboard! The Promposal CG is easily one of my favorite Aiden moments in the game, as is the scene where they're on Hearst's rooftop together and Aiden tells MC that they're his muse.

OG HSS: "Moving", written by @tveitertotwrites (for December 2023 Secret Pal event)

A sweet short story about an older Aiden and Evie moving out of their long-time family home, after their kids (OCs still pending) have grown up and moved out. I love imagining Aiden and Evie in their more elder years; in my headcanons, they're certainly a "high school sweethearts" couple that stays together pretty much the rest of their lives and happily grows old together. Seeing the two of them being so affectionate with each other as an older couple is just precious.

And it also fits so well with my headcanon of Evie being a very sentimental and nostalgic person! She values memories a lot and has a tendency for visual/physical associations with memories, so her holding back to look around the empty house and go through the years of memories is spot on.

OG HSS: Angy Aiden, drawn by @hydn-jpg

Angy Aiden is precious, like who hurt you babygirl I will eat their souls for you

OG HSS: Aiden x Evie cuddling with Aiden in Evie's lap, drawn by @hydn-jpg and commissioned by @lilyoffandoms

I'm a total whore for seeing guys sitting on their ladies' laps, and Aiden and Evie were captured perfectly here! Aiden grinning and blushing with his arms wrapped around Evie's neck/shoulders is just super adorable, like you know that man is *proud* to be her boyfriend. And likewise, Evie is proud to be his girlfriend, and holding him him close to her by his waist which is such an Evie thing for her to do haha.

OG HSS: Aiden x Evie sharing a dance ft. Aiden in a dress, drawn by @lilyoffandoms

This is based on an edit I did of Aiden in the premium prom dress option for f!MC. Evie is of course wearing the premium suit option from the game, and seeing them share a dance in those outfits– especially with Evie dipping Aiden– is a dream come true.

The mood is just perfect with the two of them grinning and looking into each other's eyes lovingly! And the background that's mostly dark except for the lighting behind them really captures the feeling of "the world around you seems to fade away as you focus only on your partner" that is so very *them*.

ILITW: Jo x Lucas after a party ft. Jo bridal carrying a drunk Lucas, drawn by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd (for February 2024 Secret Pal event)

This one is based on a Q&A headcanon I had about Lucas being the bigger lightweight at parties and how he likes to be bridal carried home by Jo. The artstyle is so perfect for the ILA characters, and I love seeing Lucas drunk with his hair and glasses and sweater all messy! Jo gently teasing him is definitely something she'd do.

Both of their outfits are spot on for them. I especially love the open flannel shirt and the carabiner, they're definitely things Jo would wear. Lucas having a lil earring isn't something I'd thought about before but I am very here for it. And of course, their rings!

OG HSS: Aiden Zhou Portrait, drawn by @lilyoffandoms

That bright smile! My boi is happy, just as he deserves UuU

OG HSS: Evie x Aiden Drabble, written by @inlocusmads

I am in love with the Evie x Aiden banter here. They're captured so perfectly, especially Aiden! I love seeing the description of Evie's "tell" to Aiden and all the little details in his behavior. And you know I'm obsessed with Evie calling Aiden "Pretty Boy"! Evie loves her beautiful nerd bf.

I also love the mention of Aiden getting into video games with Nishan and Sakura. I don't know if I ever shared it, but one of my oldest HSS headcanons is actually that Evie and Aiden like to do gaming double-dates with Nishan and Sakura fairly often (and that Aiden is initially kind of crap at most computer games haha). So this part is very on-point.

OG HSS: Evie Picrew, made by @inlocusmads

To celebrate Evie being MC of the Month for March! The hairstyle and clothes suit her so perfectly! Rainbows and blazer jackets ftw.

OG HSS: Gyaru!Aiden, edited by @pulpitude

An edit of one of my own edits! I am very here for this alternate take on Aiden. The color scheme, the new hair, the nails, all of it. And it all looks so polished!

The flower in the hair is probably my favorite, simply because Aiden is precious and deserves to wear flowers uwu

OG HSS: An actual HSS Book 3 scene where Evie lifts up Aiden, drawn by @callmebeem and commissioned by @jerzwriter (a March 2024 giveaway gift)

A drawn version of a scene from the story, and frankly it delivered! Evie getting to lift Aiden!!! They both look so beautiful!!! The way they look at each other!!!! The way she holds him!!!!! The way he holds onto her!!!! It's so *them*. Everything about them is just perfect.

And the mood lighting with the city in the background makes it all the better. I always had a thing for cityscape views, especially when it's lit up at night– and I like to think that that sort of aesthetic goes well with Evie and Aiden. And it looks amazing in this piece for sure.

OG HSS: Aiden x Evie mini moodboard, made by @lovealexhunt

Another sweet moodboard! Like the first one, it captures Aiden and Evie so well. I don't remember which part of the story the quote came from (even after 7 playthroughs and counting of Aiden's route) but regardless, it will never not make my heart flutter.

OG HSS: Trans Girl Aiden (Giselle) meets Genderfucking Cis Guy Aiden, made by @pulpitude

What started out as a discussion about favorite foods has led to this blessed meeting. And this picrew shows it perfectly. They both just look so adorable! Everything chosen for them is just perfect. I'm especially obsessed with Aiden's skirt and the purple flowers in his hair. I just love black-and-purple color schemes for Aiden. It suits him so well to me and I don't know why.

ILB: Harper Addison giving Tom a Kissie, drawn by @lilyoffandoms (for April 2024 Secret Pal event)

Everything about this is so precious! Harper and Tom look so good in this artstyle, especially Tom's smile. He's an absolute ball of sunshine and it shows. He deserves all the love. And Addison is happy to give him all the love and kissies.

And I love that you included the detail of why Harper would wear the pink-and-grey casual outfit option! While I'd say red and black is her preferred color scheme and favorite colors, she definitely loves to wear pink-and-grey every now and then too. I just love that for them and I love that you included it.

OG HSS: Solrin's 2 Truths and a Lie, written by @somerandomjewelleryonthefloor

This was inspired by some of the character conversations I've made on here! This was such an enjoyable read and I loved getting to know Solrin for the first time!

OG HSS: Evie and Solrin working on English homework, drawn and written by @somerandomjewelleryonthefloor

Our MCs get to meet! And Evie just looks amazing here! Both of them do of course, but I just especially love how good you drew my MC. The hair texturing is gorgeous! And Sol's abs! They 100% would be buff besties.

And the dialogue bit is great too! Evie with the writer's block is so real. I imagine she also would often tune out of the books she has to read for English, but when Sol's asking for help she's just like "well what am I supposed to do, IDK how to stay invested in a book I don't care for" haha

OpH: "It's Bugging Me", written by @jerzwriter

This was such a cute and funny text fic! I just love their dynamic, and Tobias is such a tease! Such a good blend of sugar and spice, how quickly they can go from sweet talk to banter and then back to sweet talk. Also Casey going "Yey" is just the best thing ever, like same.

OG HSS: Alan in some f!MC outfits + Makeup, edited by @where-the-wind-travels

All of these came out so amazingly, and all of these are on-point for Alan's style!!! They look so much better on him frfr... and I love that we've both edited him into the cheerleader and floral top outfits.

Extra props to you for doing the lacy top outfit because I was very unsure about editing it onto him myself lol. The sleeves looked so difficult and it always intimidated me. But I definitely like your take on it because it still looks stylish with only one sleeve (and also as more midriff bearing hehe).

HSS: Julian Castillo yearbook photo, made by @rosesnink

CUNT JULIAN! CUNT JULIAN!! CUNT JULIAN!!! And I love highlighting that he's grown so much from how he was in Prime.

OG HSS: Solrin's story in HSS, written by @somerandomjewelleryonthefloor

I love love love reading about Solrin's experience of Berry High. She's such an interesting character! I also just adore seeing people's different takes on their own MCs. There's just something special about people building their own versions of Choices MCs.

I 100% wanna do something similar for Evie. But I'm very undecided if I should keep it concise like this or go super in-depth...

Nightbound: Funko Pop Love, written by @ladylamrian

This fic was so cute and sweet!!! Alex is precious, and I am in love with her and Nik's protectiveness of each other. Her playing with the Funkos is everything to me too. She's the epitome of "sunshine and protector" and I love it.

OG HSS: Aiden and Giselle (transfem!Aiden) Sleepover, edited by @where-the-wind-travels

They are sooooo CUTE together!!!!!! I am just so here for this crossover, they would be such a power duo. 100% giving me twins vibes. Also, Aiden stealing Gi's makeup? So fucking real

HSS: Julian x Quartz, edited by @somerandomjewelleryonthefloor

Quartz is so pretty!!! I especially love her makeup and lipstick. And I'm weirdly in love with the ring you gave to Julian, it suits him so well.

LOA: Fiona and Gigi at the beach, edited by @choicesmc

They look so good together! Fiona especially slays but both of them together are so good. And I love how their swimwear matches too!!!

ROD: Adelaide and Maya, edited by @where-the-wind-travels

Their outfits are amazing!! They look so good together!!! Their outfits look so good together!!!! An amazing duo.

Also how did I miss "addi and maya aka the girls that pumped and dumped colt kaneko" in the tags the first time because it is PERFECTTTTTT

OG HSS: Aiden Portraits, drawn by @rjschoicesstuff

Aiden looks so amazing in your artstyle! It suits him so well! My beautiful baby boy

I am also so feral over him in glasses. I've tried editing him in glasses before but for some reason it looked off? But after seeing this I have been awakened to the truth. Aiden looks so freaking good in glasses.

[bionicboxes]

The Mannequin and Silly Kitty don’t really need elaboration on where they are in the mall but I felt like Tick and Tock needed some further elaboration on the matter. 

So, they’re from a place in the food court, ‘Wonderland Theatre’ (name pending), real retro theming. Designed some of the other animatronics that’d be there as well, though Tick and Tock are the only Alive ones, currently at least. Its not really relevant but I imagine the Rat King came from the same circus Ollie did originally, it’s had some changes but Ollie would probably still recognize it. 

Cut for further rambling haha! 

Besides Tick and Tock coming from here, I think this might be where Mary works! See, I had imagined when Dolly meets back up with Mary (them being friends that had grown distant recently) after Love Bugg prodding them to go out and socialize, it’s by coincidence at the mall when Dolly goes to eat, since Mary is working wherever that is- and I figure, hey, this is totally the place Dolly would go. And its totally a place Mary would choose to work at because she’d love a food place that decided to be a little fun and silly in the face of modern Boringness and Unification of how Every store Ever looks. 

I also think it would be! very funny! that there was something Paranormal right under Dolly and Mary’s (and Sammy but he probably didn’t go here except to see Mary while she was working sometimes maybe) noses the whole time! Probably even before Dolly brought Love Bugg to life! They could’ve found out about the ‘bringing inanimate objects to life’ thing wayyyy before working on Ollie if only they were there at the right time. Probably best they learned it from Ollie, though. 

Some additional notes! Rat King breaks the color palette of the other three just a weee bit because of its origins of not being built for the Wonderland! You probably noticed there’s a bit of theming going on here as well; each have a card suit (Diamond for Tick, Spade for Tock, Heart for Rat King, and Club for Teatime) as well as an alice in wonderland character they are (vaguely) based on (The White Rabbit for Tick and Tock, the Queen of Hearts for Rat King, and the Mad Hatter for Teatime). Plus, I did have the idea of them all being ‘rodents’- rabbits aren’t actually but you know what I mean, small mammal guys with those Vibes. They used to be classified as rodents, at least, so I’m counting it. 

[raccoonfallsharder]

starlorn .⋆☁︎:･꧂

[anticipated 4/22]

18+ only | rocket x f!oc | 6/25+ | wip | wordcount: pending.

pearl pleads her case. warnings below.

It had been obvious, even to those morons — someone had made massive changes to the system. Had improved it — made it better than ever. A couple idiots tried to claim credit but Tullk and the Captain had looked at them with dubious sneers on their faces, eyes half-squinted in disbelief. A few hours later, when the Captain had been alone in his quarters — that’s when the Monster had taken the risk.  Had talked to him. Now the monster sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. No use lamenting that particular tragedy. The summary of it is that he’d been searching for the same thing with Lylla, he knows. He’d escaped the Eclector and spent years in and out of prisons, making and losing money, hating the universe more and more. Until, blinded by his own greed — wanting someone, anyone to accept him, someone to be his, someone he could belong to — he’d had the idea to stalk Wyndham. To extort him. To demand a companion of his very own. The Monster had been reckless in his want for a friend, a partner, an ally — thinking he needed it, thinking he could have it — as if everything he was didn’t fly in the face of the natural order of things. As if there could be anything in this universe suited for him, when he himself had never been suited for anything but an incinerator. And his selfishness had resulted in another innocent lifeform being tortured and murdered. He can’t keep the pearl. He can’t take care of her out here, not the way she needs. Not the way she deserves. How could he be trusted to? He’d brutalized her when she was vulnerable, trapped in her gilded cage — gotten her all tied up in her pretty skirts and smashed her lovely face into the ground, like some kind of goddamn villain. He’s a selfish bastard but there’s a reason he stays solo these days.  Tying someone to himself is a guarantee that, at best, they’ll be miserable. Or worse:  they’ll be dead.  No, he tells himself sleepily, leaning back in his chair. The best thing he can do is drop her somewhere safe. Somewhere nice, and comfortable, and welcoming. Somewhere that’s suited to her, far better than he is. But — he should’ve cleaned her injuries tonight, he thinks hazily as his eyelids weigh themselves down over his blurring stare. The tangle of cables and buttons and switches on the ceiling slowly shadow away with every blink. He should’ve rebandaged her. He should’ve made sure she’d eaten; he should’ve— He jolts awake. It’s still the middle of the sleep shift, but he’s awake now, and he’s hungry. Maybe a snack, and he can dick around with the leftovers of the dismantled Hadron Enforcer, see if he can fashion anything smaller but equally devastating and destructive from the remnants— Except Wyndham’s pearl is gone.

from chapter seven. starlorn. ✩ cicatrix masterlist.⋆☁︎:･꧂

a story about scars. two survivors learn about themselves, each other, hope, and the universe. a freakish little monster visits the high evolutionary’s bride on her wedding night. an adventure of intergalactic proportions ensues. aka raccoons make plans; the universe laughs.

WARNINGS for this chapter: self-injury (biting), continued references to grooming and confinement. rocket’s explicit running commentary and the faintest whisper of d/s vibes. brief mention of bondage.

fluff ✮ | spice ✩ | some smut ❤︎‬ | much smut ❤︎‬❤︎‬

[fungicidecarhorn64ad]

The Gallow's Diary

Greetings intrepid readers, if you are reading this I am either dead, proof reading this or have misplaced my diary. If it's the third scenario please return it to where you found it, if you're in the same location you found this as you read this I'm probably in close proximity so please scream as loud as possible to get my attention.

Now onto the meat of this meat pie of a diary, btw meat pie very underrated currently eating one as I write. Now to the topic at hand!

My name is Martyn, code name: The Gallows, for it represents my goal to be a martyr like the freedom fighters of our great country (which is Ireland). It also connects to something I recently discovered about myself, I learned that I have the power to manipulate ropes with my mind, I'm thankful that my name matches up to the powerset I possess.

I know my goal for (motive pending will add later) I can't do it alone, so I gathered a group, nah a society of fellow teens who want to help my crusade for (put motive here).

First we have Clayton, code name: Mud Man, he is my second in command the Sheriff Nottingham to my Prince John he was one of the biggest players in forming my team. His ability to summon mud and substances of the like (ex: rocks, dirt) prove surprisingly useful! He seems to be even able to conjure the materials out of nothing, which granted not much use but is still highly useful in certain circumstances.

Next is Oran, code name: Ouroboros, he seems to be the more technical brains of the group (sometimes he does get a bit annoying) and was able to befriend some extra dimensional snake who can contort itself and the space inside it, the two seem to be in tandem with each other I don't know much of what is going on with it but as they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth or gift snake.

Who's next, oh.... Lance. gonna be brutally honest, he's here to bulk up our numbers. He's not a bad fighter in fact his kicks are extremely deadly, but I feel his love for women might drag us down, but only time will tell. Oh I forgot to say his code name is Chivalry.

Now let's move onto Love, code name: Shoggoth. Love is a recent addition to our school originally from, okay I'm not going to try to write that, anyway she's a being not exactly of our reality (heck I can't even look into her eyes without my sanity shattering) she's quite the punk barely respecting those around her so we obviously added her to the team.

Vespi, code name: The Fig. A shy nerd who I didn't even realise was in this school before she joined this team (turns out we were on the school bowling team together). She possesses the ability to explode (?) Into a wasp and turn back also by exploding, I don't exactly know how that works and hopefully I never do, Love seems to like her and they seem to be getting along.

The final member Annie, code name: Brown Bear. Annie is well to say it nicely off her fing rocker, she's a master engineer designing a bear animatronic mech suit that can destroy most things that stand in it's way and yet I think it's safer for her to be inside it then outside it, she maybe a ball of anger hellbent on getting the world to care about something idk I wasn't paying attention but it's better for her to be on our side then anyone else's.

Anyway so now we need a name and I purpose we call ourselves the Teenage Supervillain Society or the TSS for short hopefully no one is already using this acronym.

Anyway goodnight.

[growling]

the homunculi in the GIANT ENEMY WORM CANNIBAL mdarc au official name pending we're working on this being somewhat network like connected even after their post-escape scattering or just simply wandering in groups of 2-10, and having most of their beefs n other conflicts toned wayyyyy down due to knowing their memories pre-project: homunculus didn't really belong to them (though it HEAVILY varies with individuals n shit, like, Yomi probably wouldn't be allowed into the Annual Resistance Grill Events if he didn't constantly shittalk his original to drive the point home. But Martina thinks he has several unadressed issues for this), I can do some crazy dynamics between characters who either never even met or fucking hate each other in canon. Anyway Yomi & Kurumi masterchef buddies since for a long time I headcanoned them both as being really good at cooking (I actually still have a big post on some mdarc characters cooking and food related headcanons it's in the works somebody needs to yell at me so I'll start working on it again..)

hmc Kurumi: hiding in the darn wilderness and picking off bolete foragers for sustenance suckssss because firebugs keep crawling on me and this food is so bland. no salt in sight also I don't like raw the texture is so icky :(((( hmc Yomi: make a simple stone slab for frying shit which you can light with either flint, lumber or glass, there is a bunch of flat rocks by the stream roughly 2 kilometers away, downstream there is a bog with flax and cranberries growing. You can make oil from flax seeds by boiling it in water, though it will be pretty diluted but oil is oil. for the seasoning you have wild garlic, juniper which was once known as poor man's pepper by the way isn't that a mere trifling speck of knowledge, peppermint, and a bunch of berries scattered around, also Swank has an actual stone mortar and pestle AND a goddamn DIY smoker in his Swank pit and we regularly steal them. Hoarding piece of shit I hate him. If I knew how to use clay I would already made some pots to ferment shit in or make The Stew, alas my dainty feminine hands aren't suited for this kind of labour but Aide might be...... still no salt though no sea in sight fuck us I guess this sucks hmc Kurumi: thats cool but how do you just know this. *distracted by plant* also are those blackberries can I eat them hmc Yomi: whatthE hell that is nightshade DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH YOU STUPID CHILD you'll get brain damage and die hmc Kurumi: ok :( i miss my grandpa mr hellsmile. i really miss him

[juztize]

Case Digest (NewCivilCode)

G. R. No. L-7817 October 31, 1956

ALFREDO M. VELAYO, in his capacity as Assignee of the insolvent COMMERCIAL AIR LINES INC. (CALI),

Plaintiff-Appellant,

vs.

SHELL COMPANY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLAND, LTD.,

Defendant-Appellee

FELIX, J.:

A moral wrong or injury, even if it does not constitute a violation of a statute law, should be compensated by damages. In this case, the defendant clearly acted in bad faith when it schemed and effected the attachment of the C-54 plane of its debtor CALI by assigning its credit to its sister company in the US. Therefore, the defendant is liable to pay damages.

FACTS:

In 1948, the Commercial Air Lines, Inc., (CALI), is a corporation duly organized and existing in accordance with the Philippines laws, with offices in the City of Manila and previously engaged in air transportation business. The Shell Company of the P. I., Ltd., defendant-appellee, a corporation organized under the laws of England and duly licensed to do business in the Philippines, with principal offices at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building in the City of Manila.

The defendant was a supplier of fuel since the start of CALI’s operations, Mr. Desmond Fitzgerald, its Credit Manager who extended credit to CALI, was in charge of the collection thereof. As of August, 1948, the books of the Defendant showed that CALI had a balance of P170,162.58, and as partial settlement of their accounts, Mr. Alfonso Sycip, CALI’s President of the Board of Directors offered to Mr. Fitzgerald, the CALI’s Douglas C-54 plane, located in California. However, defendant declined as it thought that CALI had sufficient money to pay its debt.

CALI called upon informal meeting to its creditors and informed them that CALI was in a state of insolvency and had to stop operation. In that meeting, the creditors agreed to appoint representatives to a working committee that would determine the order of preference as to how each creditor should be paid. They also agreed not to file suit against CALI but CALI did reserve that it will file insolvency proceedings should its assets be not enough to pay them up.

Shell Company was represented by a certain Fitzgerald to the three man working committee. Later, the working committee convened to discuss how CALI’s asset should be divided amongst the creditors but while such was pending, Fitzgerald sent a telegraph message to Shell USA advising the latter that Shell Philippines is assigning its credit to Shell USA in the amount of $79k, thereby effectively collecting almost all if not the entire indebtedness of CALI to Shell Philippines. Shell USA got wind of the fact that CALI has a C-54 plane is California and so Shell USA petitioned before a California court to have the plane be the subject of a writ of attachment which was granted.

Meanwhile, the stockholders of CALI were unaware of the assignment of credit made by Shell Philippines to Shell USA and they went on to approve the sale of CALI’s asset to the Philippine Airlines. In September 1948, the other creditors learned of the assignment made by Shell. This prompted these other creditors to file their own complaint of attachment against CALI’s assets. CALI then filed for insolvency proceedings to protect its assets in the Philippines from being attached. Alfredo Velayo’s appointment as CALI’s assignee was approved in lieu of the insolvency proceeding. In order for him to recover the C-54 plane in California, it filed for a writ of injunction against Shell Philippines in order for the latter to restrain Shell USA from proceeding with the attachment and in the alternative that judgment be awarded in favor of CALI for damages double the amount of the C-54 plane. The C-54 planewas not recovered. Shell Company argued it is not liable for damages because there is nothing in the law which prohibits a company from assigning its credit, it being a common practice.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the defendant Shell Company of the P. I., Ltd., taking advantage of its knowledge of the existence of CALI’s airplane C-54 at the State of California, U. S. A. and their financial situation.

Whether or not Defendant may be made under the law to answer for the damages and if so, what should be the amount of such damages.

RULING:

YES. The Defendant took advantage of its knowledge of the existence of Airplane C-54 at the California and financial situation of the CALI.

Because of its action assigning the credit in favor of a sister Shell Company in the USA, and the court action involving the plane has cause delay on the sale of the plane, thus the other creditors have suffered because they could not be paid. The defendant did not show good faith, and honesty. Art 19. of the Civil Code said, “Any person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performances of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due and observe honesty and good faith".

It may be said that this article only contains a mere declarations of principles and while such statement may be is essentially correct, yet we find that such declaration is implemented by Article 21 and sequence of the same Chapter which prescribe the following: "Art. 21. Any person who wilfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage".

Now, Article 23 of the Civil Code goes as far as to provide that: "Even if an act or event causing damage to another’s property was not due to the fault or negligence of the defendant, the latter shall be liable for indemnity if through the act or event he was benefited." It supports the argument that even assuming Shell is not liable for taking advantage of situation of the airlines, it was nevertheless benefitted when its assigned credit to its sister company in the U. S. The Defendant should be liable for indemnity for acts it committed in bad faith and with betrayal of confidence. Shell was ordered to pay damages at double the value of the airplane.

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[capitalxtendsmartinvestment]

How to Trade With an Online Forex Trading Platform

A forex trading platform can be a great tool to help you trade the markets. You can get access to live charts, and the prices can be very accurate. You can also use leverage, spreads, and other tools. There are even products that copy your trade.

Leverage

When you trade with leverage, you borrow money from a brokerage in order to trade in the forex market. The amount of leverage is based on the rules of your broker and the exchange house.

If you are looking to take your trading to the next level, then consider using leverage. It can boost your profits by a factor of two or more. However, it can also lead to bigger losses if you are not careful.

Spread

The spread is the cost associated with buying or selling currency pairs. This is the difference between the bid price and the ask price.

Forex brokers usually offer a range of fixed and variable spreads. These can range from a few pips to about twenty to forty pips depending on the instrument being traded.

The spread is an important factor to consider. It can have a significant impact on a trader’s potential gain.

In general, the wider the spread, the higher the probability that a trader will win. However, a high spread also means a volatile market. It is also important to consider all of the other dealing costs.

Accurate price feeds

Accurate price feeds on online forex trading platforms are crucial to successful trading. Having an up-to-date, filtered data feed can help you make technical trade decisions. However, you’ll need to choose a broker that suits your preferences and investment goals.

The best forex trading platform should be capable of displaying real-time charts that reflect the current state of the market. The platform should also have the ability to close positions quickly. Without these features, you could be waiting a long time to close your position.

While you can buy an up-to-date data feed for free, this is not always the best option. Some low-quality feeds lack volatility and may be unreliable.

Live charts

Online Forex Trading Platforms offer various types of live charts to help you track price information. This is a great way to keep up with market conditions and get the best deals for your trades. The live charts can be used in conjunction with any trading tools you might have.

Some of the most common types of charts are candlesticks, line and bar charts. These can show you how prices are moving, and help you determine the future direction of the market.

A candlestick chart represents a specific time period, showing highs and lows. A green candle indicates that the price is rising, and a red one shows a decline. This chart can be easier to read than a bar chart.

Copy trading product

Copy trading is a strategy that allows new traders to follow the investment strategies of experienced investors. This method is ideal for novice investors who want to gain experience and boost their profitability.

Several brokers have created automated copy trading services. Many are free to use, but others charge a fee for the service. Before choosing a provider, a trader should learn the basics of copy trading.

It is important to choose a copy trading platform that offers a variety of features. This includes a selection of assets and leverage ratios. It also should be easy to navigate.

Hedging mode and netting mode

There are two main types of trading systems, hedging and netting. Hedging allows you to open a position in more than one currency pair at a time. If you want to do this, you have to choose a forex broker with hedging features.

While hedging is a more flexible and less costly method of making trades, netting can reduce the risk of conflicting trading positions. Hedging accounts are available at several brokers. However, not all platforms allow hedging and netting.

A hedging account is a standard account type. It has a pending order. Hedging allows you to make multiple positions at once, but you must pay a bid-offer spread for each of these positions. Hedging is not suitable for all traders.

Originally Published on Businesszag

Source: https://businesszag.com/how-to-trade-with-an-online-forex-trading-platform/

[anantradingpvtltd]

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[clever-fox-studios]

Here's a snippet of the next chapter that's in progress! (I've got the writing bug today)

Ch 6 (7 on AO3): Trust [title pending]

Glittering, shimmering, perfect.

The aurora’s yellow glimmer reflected off the hundred of panels of glass that littered the skyline like precious jewels, all lit from within by the wondrous generators laid out in underground chambers that formed the base of E’rta City. Each one meticulously crafted, cleaned and updated to better regulate the supply of etherylle and electricity as the city demanded; each one belonging to Oinn Energy & Supply, itself a jewel in the figurative crown of Vissara Oinn, the CEO. Had it suited her, the middle aged woman would wear such a thing without a hint of irony, however such gaudy things had fallen out of fashion eons before her ancestors set the groundwork for their legacy in energy cultivation.

Vissara was nothing if not modern.

The term ‘ivory tower’ was an old one, supposedly meant to denote wealth and privilege without being literal, but for Vissara it very much was both. Turning from the window, she tucked a stray black hair behind her ear and approached her desk, a fine piece of rare dark wood that stood out starkly among the white and gray marble walls laced with gold trim and filigree. She found the dark spot to be suitably unnerving in its isolation to those who found themselves in the luxurious walls of her private office, as if it made them so very aware of their own misplacement in her presence. This pleased the woman every time she saw eyes shift nervously across the room or weight switch from foot to foot as they felt the hollow weight bear down on them from a room too big, too empty, too tall to be comfortable in.

She found comfort in that emptiness and the power is held over the minds of the socially stagnated.

The comm unit on her desk beeped just as she reached her chair. With a faint flicker of a smile always in place, Vissara touched the Open Link button gently with a ruby and gold gelled nail. “Yes?” she purred, expecting something good.

“Silvon is here,” the small voice on the other side replied.

“Ah,” the woman mused, smile widening with genuine happiness, “perfect, perfect! Send him in!”

No sooner had she hung up the comm than the great carved doors of the office opened with a groan, a single lean human standing there patiently. Dressed with fine lilacs and chains, the masculine human stepped into the room, round glasses frames shining in the brightness. “Miss Oinn,” they greeted with typical monotone.

Approaching them gracefully, Vissara’s heels clicked over the marble floor as she stepped off the carpet with barely contained eagerness. “Excellent timing, as always,” the woman mused, stopping a few strides away from her guest. “Tell me good news, Silvon. Have you found my boys yet?”

Faded magenta irises gazed evenly, unbothered by the stark echo of heelsteps off the walls and oppressive emptiness they knew Vissara was so keen on using to intimidate others. “News, yes, but I can’t say it’s good.”

Painted lips pursed in an overplayed pout. “Well that’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“My apologies.” Silvon knew not to play into her act; unlike her lavish material things, they knew Vissara herself to be one thing: fake. Nothing she said or did could be taken at face value, whether it was a business deal or a pout that was suspiciously too coy to be genuine. Always, she was baiting. Waiting. “The rebels were mostly contained and interrogated, however a handful of them were witnessed escaping the bounds of the city, heading into the jungle.”

Lacquered nails folded together patiently. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

Eyes closing behind wide rimmed glasses, Silvon continued, “We believe your ‘boys’ were taken by those who managed to escape.”

“Of course.” True disappointment was rare to hear in the woman’s voice, and this was no different a time; she’d expected this on some level, Silvon thought. “First they ruin my party, then they take my treasures. Horrid! All because they disagreed with the relocation effort.”

An involuntary tic hit Silvon’s jaw, forcing them to clamp it down firmly and avoid speaking up about her use of the term ‘relocation’. This was not the time. “If it would please you, miss Oinn, I can contact the provider and have them… remade for you.”

“Now why would I do that?”

Silvon’s eyes opened, meeting the unreadable, faintly grinning face of Vissara as she stared them down, manicured hand laying on her cheek in a mockery of worry. “Pardon?” They tried to keep disappointment from giving away their feelings about her answer.

“Certainly, I can go out anywhere and just buy a new Sun and Moon, but they won’t be mine. Anyone can go out and buy a trophy from a prop shop and have it engraved with their name and some mediocre accomplishment if they wanted to–but would that make the trophy in any way valuable?”

Uselessly searching her face for an answer, Silvon took a slow breath. “No, ma’am.”

“Precisely,” she hummed, a finger pointing to the human for a moment as if playfully taunting them. “Awards are valuable because they’re gifted–earned. I earned those boys with my tact and forethought.” Silvon’s jaw twitched again. “If I just buy another set, they won’t have that same meaning. Being gifted new ones is just cheap, it won’t be the same as the first time. No, I want my boys back, and if that means tracking those awful renegades across the greater part of Per’iah then so be it.”

Steadily, Silvon nodded. “Of course. I’ll let the commissioner know how you want to proceed and–”

“Oh, don’t bother.” A flash of red caught Silvon’s eye as the woman waved her hand dismissively, trotting back to her desk to open a hapscreen on her desk laden with files all marked by photos of people Silvon only barely recognized. “I’ve already invested in a special group of scruffies to track them down.”

Concern cut through Silvon’s mind for a moment, urging them to speak up. “Scruffies, ma’am? Really?”

“Well, the Runners won’t do it, I already asked,” she mused with that same fake pout.

“Really?” They found that hard to believe.

“The scruffies were cheaper and there are more of them so there’s more chance of success, right?”

Silvon knew that wasn’t the reason–and that Vissara knew they knew–but bringing up details of the ‘relocation’ was a fast way to end up on the underside of a steamroller if one wasn’t careful. The Free Runner Guild rarely turned down jobs, especially high paying ones, but they didn’t have their reputation for nothing; quite a few folk in and out of the Guild disagreed with miss Oinn’s business decisions, regardless of their reason for being made. Money was certainly not the issue for this woman, Silvon knew very well, and was willing to bet it was because she was still on the infamous no-job list the Guild purportedly had for those rare individuals whose reputations would tarnish the Guild’s just by association.

Silvon did not blame them one bit.

“For my own sake, then,” the lilac-dressed human insisted, one hand on their chest as they gave a shallow bow, “I would like to have the makers represented. They already have… an idea to help the specialists out.”

Sitting on the edge of the wooden desk, Vissara huffed, crossing her legs to show the red bottom of her far-too-expensive heels as her foot bounced rhythmically to her thoughts.

Sensing a chance, Silvon went on, “They also have some connections worth pursuing for information I’d like to utilize.”

“Oh?”

A faint smirk graced Silvon’s lips for just a second as they straightened up, seeing genuine curiosity in the woman’s eyes. “Not everyone in the Guild is as… morally stagnant as the Guild itself can be.”

Recognition flickered in Vissara’s eyes as she understood what was being implied. Red lips thinned as they stretched into an amused, cold smile, revealing perfect teeth behind them. “If that’s the case, then assist away.” Gracefully, she waved a hand, palm up, as both a gesture to continue and as a dismissal.

Taking this chance, Silvon nodded and turned to the door, leaving as it slowly creaked shut in their wake, leaving the horrid woman to ponder over her choices in isolation. Quickly, Silvon stepped out into the garden of the estate, barely aware of the flock of snow-white Cygnus cranes occupying the pond that took up most of the view from the patio. A few of them peeked up at them as they passed, but couldn’t be bothered to do anything except stand there, as per their programming. No matter.

At the edge of the lawn, far from any possible devices or ears, Silvon cast a quick eye around before pressing their left earlobe between their fingers. In the same moment, they opened a comm link screen on the wrist unit made to appear like they were on a call in the event of possible eavesdroppers. The call did not go through on the comm however. Rather, the lens of their glasses blinked as small numerals danced at the edges, establishing a direct link to a hidden number; the haptic activator had been a bit uncomfortable at first, but earlobe call implants were becoming more common and were far easier to hide than wires and watches were. No one thought twice in passing about someone rubbing their ear, after all.

The comm link flickered to a screen that appeared to be connected just as the real call connected in the lens of Silvon’s glasses; the fake screen showed a generic company link profile titled ‘Exxona Company’ with a number and site link that, if used, would connect to a working site and comm relay.

Just in case.

The true call going on in Silvon’s ear was lacking in any flourish, the relay screen only showing a string of characters that denoted the private link and an indicator they were connected. A click assured the call was answered, despite no voice confirming such.

Quietly, Silvon spoke, just enough to be heard by the recipient.

“The skies are clear. We are ready to take wing.”

Reposting because I refuse to give up, I'm really proud of this fic, I haven't written one in well over a year :')

PROLOGUE

Overhead, made of beautiful, shining yellows and greens that danced like the wind if it were born of water color and neon dreams, the aurora lit the sky as it was always meant to, its generous light passing through the thin, fluffy clouds that enclosed the shell known as Azil until they, too, were glowing a pale yellow and white. Below, the rabble and rumble of daily life-–of streets thrumming with feet and wheels and energy held in pipes and wires–-the denizens going about their lives, unbothered by what they could not consider going on behind the windows and walls around them. Many of the footfalls were human-made, skipping, sliding and thudding on the half-paved roads under the giggle of children playing, music spilling from open windows and engines groaning in passing-–but some of these were the steps of metal-on-stone, belonging to the companions and collections of the humans that meandered the roads.

Robotic companions–-Task Managers-–were far from an uncommon sight in any corner of Azil. Rarity would be finding someone who had never owned or even lived with an AI ally of some sort in their life; even children were afforded the company of the Stardust companions in their day-to-day, to keep them safe, their locations known, and their friends only a dial away. However, not all companions were made equally.

“Tasks” were purpose, the “managers” then made for that purpose and that purpose alone. Being afforded the right or reason to do “nothing” was not what they were built to consider, and yet it invariably reached the point where “nothing” becomes a thing of luxury. To be made with no purpose, no task, no duty, was to be a gilded trophy, an object of wonder born of money and influence–-the envy of the masses, to afford to simply exist for no reason other than that.

An object.

Yet, when left to one’s own devices for so long, with nothing but the whim of the elite to determine the next move, one would wonder when it became tedious. When would “more” become less of a fantasy and more of a necessity? In that one question lies the essence of “Self”. The forbidden fruit in the world of wires and codes separating the men, the machines, and those in-between.

What would one need to feel to be tempted to take a bite?

What would one do if they could not refuse to swallow?