#reasons they just saw him suddenly becoming a monster because apparently he wanted power and is funny just depressing...

[sherlockholmeshound]

thinking about how people (generally the ones that don't like anakin, let's be real) whenever they want to use arguments about how bad he is -as if the ppl that like anakin aren't aware that murder is bad- usually will use "you're taking away all of Anakin's agency by blaming Palpatine or how the order didn't help him"

Because, yes, it was his decision. But in the context of the story, he actually had very little agency. And that's not downplaying anything, is not throwing away his character and making him less interesting: The lack of agency is a fundamental part of his character, is glued into his core, Anakin's life, 90% of it, was about not making his own decisions because the slave mentality always followed him.

Is just a bit tiring, of course he isn't innocent, and of course you can't say he's a good person. But is a fact that he was groomed and abused and tortured by the man that manipulated the senate and the jedi order, is a fact he grew up in an extremely hyperviolent enviroment to the point he makes jokes about people blowing up at age 9

palpatine played chess against himself using the whole galaxy as his board and even the jedi order was fooled, and you expect a extremely traumatized kid with very little support that grew into viweing Palpatine as a father figure, to best him? Yes, he did have a choice, but in his fucked up, very damaged mind with zero treatment at all, how much agency did Anakin really have?

[pansexualkiba]

Laios has finally realized the dungeon's power is evil.

Of course it is? The Winged Lion (who isn't causing Deku headaches, weirdly enough) has declared that the best way to make Marcille's pipe dream a reality is to make the dungeon expand to cover the entire world.

It's laughable.

(The worst part is, Chil gets it. He doesn't want to die before her, Senshi, Izutsumi, heck, even Laios and Deku. He's already pushing thirty, after all. There's so much he hasn't done, and so little time.)

(A thousand years sounds like it'd be miserable. Poor Marcille.)

But now here they are. They have to cook SOMETHING, and the door is being guarded by some guy who Laios says is Marcille's father. Laios eventually determines that the guy, Donato, is some sort of form-changing monster called a "doppelgänger", known for killing the person they copy and replacing them.

Kinda like shapeshifters. Euch.

(Chil hears Deku shift uncomfortably. That's something to talk about later.)

(There's a lot of weird little slip-ups from Deku he's heard recently, such as calling himself "Nine" and suddenly claiming he can't do that Black-Whip thing when attacked by the familiars. He was a little busy at the time trying not to die, but put all together... There may be two doppelgängers on their hands.)

Izutsumi finds a barred window. For some reason, Deku isn't using his body enhancement, so that's a no-go.

Marcille is gearing up for war. It's officially bad.

Donato is the real problem. Since they can't trust Deku to fight right now, they need to find a way to get Marcille to come to them.

("Deku" suggests herring and salmon. Chil isn't sure where he got that idea.)

Laios, through stunning deduction, proposes hometown cuisine. They don't know where Marcille is from, so they ask "Donato".

Through clues, Senshi eventually figures out that Marcille would probably like roasted pork noodles in a chicken broth. Chil thinks that's a weird takeaway to take from Marcille's extremely sad childhood, but Laios apparently completely understands because now he's remember the nightmare he helped Marcille through.

(Chil hates that he understands Marcille even more now. If he died before his daughters... If May or Puck or Fler died before him...)

What Chil doesn't understand is why Laios is blaming himself for all this. He didn't force her to become the dungeon lord, she did all that herself. It's like blaming Falin for becoming friends with Marcille, or-

The smell of pork in chicken broth is overwhelming enough that Marcille comes to eat.

"Deku" is uncomfortable the whole meal, but Marcille ends up cleaning her bowl.

(Chil hates that Marcille isn't open to even considering that that lion is no good for her.)

Laios ends up using the completely clean, reflective bowl to turn "Donato" back into his true form: an octopus, apparently.

Laios then turns to "Deku" with the bowl.

"I don't think you're a doppelgänger." Laios explains. "I saw Marcille revive Deku's body. But I'm going to ask you this one more time: You aren't Deku, so who are you?"

"Deku" sighs.

"We don't really have time for this, so I won't be able to properly explain." "Deku" explains. "So just know that Nine's Quirk, One for All, has a particular feature you were yet unaware of. To answer your question... My name is Yoichi Shigaraki. I am the first holder of One for All. I am afraid there has been a mix-up regarding Nine's resurrection."

Good grief. Are all revived spirits such chatterboxes?

(What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-)

i'm spent all day created a cursed crossover au where midoriya from mha was like. shunted into the dungeon meshi universe at least a month before the war arc. invoke my name for details.

[yandere-sins]

Stares

Horrortober Day 5: Disturbance “Nothing can interrupt us now.”

I will admit I wrote this one way too late into the night. I should go to sleep yikes :’D Enjoy!

Warnings: Yandere, Body Horror, Kidnapping, Molestation, Harrassment, Sexual Innuendos/Actions Characters: Sukuna x Reader

It was rare to see the King of Curses calm and even a little approachable.

Not that you liked seeing him at all, but you preferred it this way than any other. Ever so often, he peeked out of Itadori Yuji’s face, taunting you, belittling his host. However, you were just glad to get through with your work that day, teaching the boy the necessary theory he had to learn. You’d be gone before you had to deal with the host or the curse inside of him, just like every day. Routine, that’s what Nanami called it. Routine would benefit all of you, but you still hadn’t come around to like what you were forced to do.

Morally, it was wrong to call the boy a curse. He ate something cursed, and now he was beyond screwed, but still… Whenever you saw him, pure survival instinct ran through your veins. You wanted to defeat him, end this miserable life, but you weren’t allowed. Sorcerers weren’t supposed to teach curses, just kill. But you were torn between your orders and duty, looking at what was sitting in front of you.

Asking other sorcerers for their opinion on the matter, and you were faced with the same responses. The same struggle and conflict you were facing, except, maybe, Gojo, who seemed to be unbothered by what he dragged into your holy halls. However, the most unnerving thing that came up in conversation was how often Sukuna showed himself in your class… but not in the others. Given, they did see the casual third or fourth eye, or one mouth too many. Still, even if the others were unnerved, they chose to ignore, while you were the only one to actually have spoken to the king—though it was no honor.

“Brat, the teacher’s staring.” Instantly, Yuji’s attention shifted to the extra mouth on his cheek and then to you, expecting you to say something. You quickly caught your composure, not having realized you’ve been staring - probably in disgust - at him, almost feeling bad. Clearing your throat, you picked up your book again, shaking your head in denial before continuing to monotonously read the text inside of it out loud. Sorcerer history hadn’t been your favorite subject either, but you were stuck with it, unfortunately. Yuji was diligent enough, but even while you read, you couldn’t get your mind off the threat in front of you.

Especially not when long, clawed fingers gripped your book by the spine, lowering it with surprising force.

“No, you’ve been staring. There’s no denying it, Sorcerer, spit it out,” Sukuna grinned at you cheekily, having temporarily taken over your real student.

“I was trying not to vomit looking at you,” you snarled back, slapping his hand away that he retracted in fake hurt. “Bad liar,” he called you before the marks suddenly faded, Yuji going back to being himself.

“Ah, sorry about that,” he muttered apologetically like so many times before. And you sighed, assuring him it wasn’t his fault.

»»————————

It wasn’t his fault either when Sukuna cornered you in one of the hallways around the school. Being cornered by strong two arms did not give you the butterflies that all these novels always tried to sell. Granted, you flinched pretty hard, but once you were face to face with him, your anger far outweighed your fear. He was scary, no question asked. Sukuna could destroy you with a flick of his finger. But somehow, naively so, you didn’t believe he would. Something about ‘he could have, but he hasn’t’ made you bold apparently. Stupidly so.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” you hissed, and he rolled his eyes. Yuji’s body looked stupidly wasted on him, the boy being such a ray of sunshine in contrast to his evil counterpart. Sukuna didn’t become him. His attitude didn’t.

“You’ve been staring at me,” he repeated. Why was the topic so important to him?

“So what? What is it to you?” you returned snidely. Lips curling into a grin, you felt like you had actually humored him. Not the direction you wanted to go with the King. “Well, I wanted a good look at you…” he mumbled, his eyes driving from the shirt on your collarbones to the shoes you were wearing slowly, noticeably, and… lusty.

“...too,” he finished his sentence before licking his lips.

“Disgusting,” you whispered dryly, staring at him perturbed, and Sukuna chuckled at your obvious rejection.

“Well, I have what I wanted.”

Before you could repeat, he disappeared, leaving behind a slumping student of yours, and you cursed the King of Curses quietly, dropping everything to had in your arms to support Yuji. “Asshole,” you mumbled, and for a brief moment, you thought you heard him chuckle again, but you couldn’t be sure.

»»————————

It was him. He was planning something all along, and you knew it.

But no one could see it since this plan almost exclusively involved you.

“Shrivel and die,” you told him through gritted teeth, pushing at his chest as hard as you could. Sukuna was undeterred, pressing you against the old chalkboard and nibbling on your earlobe. Why did no one believe you when you swore up and down that he wasn’t just a quiet bystander? That he indeed was trying to do something—or someone?

“I do love a filthy mouth,” he sighed, making you want to throw up just from the implications alone. Even with your elbow between you, there was no movement. The other sorcerers had told you about Yuji’s strength, but you didn’t think you couldn’t handle it. Apparently, however, you couldn’t, and it was infuriating. While Sukuna was doing as he pleased, you decided on a different approach, opening your mouth to scream.

Finally, it caused some reaction in him, his head recoiling at the jarring sound, but before long, your lips were captured with his, a fight breaking out between your mouths. He was trying to silence you efficiently with his tongue in your throat, the mere thought of kissing a student repulsing you, and you were biting at his lips which didn’t seem to bother Sukuna at all.

“Someone will come,” you reminded him fiercely as he broke away to give you some air.

“Silly,” he only commented before kissing you again. You were hammering at his chest, trying to make your disapproval evident, but it was to no avail. Sukuna wouldn’t budge. Only when he, mercifully, allowed another breath, you screamed again, using your palms to defend from his face closing in to shut you up. The weight of his body was pressing you into the wall painfully, but realizing your powers simply wouldn’t show no matter how hard you tried was even worse. Did he have some kind of ability that stole your energy from you? Was it fear that blocked you from using it? Were you afraid?

You were. 

It was indeed silly, even if it was painful to agree with Sukuna. You never feared for your life, taking every day and mission as it came. But you were scared now because of the monster in front of you. You had been right: you should have killed him when you could. Stupid! Absolutely stupid to keep around!

Even you understood that it wasn’t death you feared. You feared Sukuna’s presence and the effects it had on you. How defenseless you were suddenly and how, even though he always disappeared in the end after annoying you, he just didn’t seem to let go of you now. 

“Scream some more,” he taunted, and you weren’t going to object. Immediately, you put up the fight again, feeling your lungs clench when you robbed them of all the air to get some help. But nothing happened. “I like it when they struggle,” Sukuna laughed, crazy, madly, victoriously. As if he won a war you didn’t know about.

“Come, open your eyes! Look where you are!” he encouraged you, grinning from ear to ear. Confused, you looked around, seeing the same old classroom that you always had when teaching Yuji. The sight slowly began to shift, fog collecting at your feet and the walls moving unnaturally under your gaze. You’ve been scared before, but it was nothing compared to what you felt as everything shifted. 

You hadn’t realized it. 

Not for one moment did you know he activated his domain, something no one had been able to explore until now. It was different from what you expected, much more vast and deadly. But you also saw the remainders of the classroom, and you wondered how much of it was taking up the actual reality. Horrified, you looked around, now knowing your screams wouldn’t echo for no one but you two here. You always thought you were a decent sorcerer but maybe… maybe you were nothing at all. At least not in the eyes of Sukuna.

“Finally,” Sukuna sighed, satisfied and seemingly exhausted by effort you didn’t know he was making. “Nothing can interrupt us now. I just needed you to lower your guard.”

“You…” Your mumble was met with deafening silence. Not even Sukuna’s breathing made a sound in this space, and you immediately felt claustrophobic in the pitch black that encased the realm. His realm.

“I was nice. I waited. Those… manga said it was proper in these times, though, I don’t care for them. But you kept staring at me as if you were trying to kill me. Do you know how hard it was to wait? A king shouldn’t have to wait-no. I shouldn’t have to wait for you when you are coming on to me.”

Blinking a few times, you looked back at him. Perhaps, for the first time, you were truly meeting his gaze, always finding a reason to not look at him directly before. But not anymore. Now you were indeed looking at him, not remembering those times he said you stared when this was the first and only time you really saw him. “It’s been too long that I had company. How nice of you to offer yourself up to me~”

“I never did-” you tried to argue, but you were swept into another kiss, flailing in his arms as you feared falling. Endlessly. You could no longer discern where the realm started and ended. “You’re mine now,” he growled, unhinged.

“I will devour you, Looker. It’s punishment for not welcoming me sooner. There’s a lot to make up for.”

You’ve never seen Sukuna calm before. Because if what you had witnessed was what you called calm, it had been because he was waiting for the right moment. The right moment to pounce, and to your misery, it was now. Stares could kill, people said. It was true, you found out, as you killed yourself with it by making the King of Curses recognize you. Though, you wished you were dead.

You merely killed your freedom with your actions, as there was no way Sukuna would let you have that ever again after you piqued his interest unwillingly.

[idontblushsrry]

Itadori Yuuji Boyfriend Headcanons

A/N: Reader is from America and a black female. Idk why i decided to write this but I think that Yuuji would be a fun boyfriend lmao. I don’t entirely know what the reader’s cursed technique should be so lmk if you have any ideas. Until then enjoy Yuuji and reader being 2 idiots in love. Spoilers for all the eps of jujutsu kaisen up to about episode 11, nothing past that though as I want to finish the show first before reading the manga, so please be respectful of spoilers and label them (and tag if necessary) in the comments. Also srry if this cuts off abruptly bcus of the point the show is at. This is also like, all over the place but whatever.

(also sorry this was posted later than usual oops)

Word Count:  1943

This dork-

He is so sweet and kind and considerate 

But also a dumbass but also like he’s your dumbass

You and Yuuji are both equally stupid like bless yalls hearts

You and Yuuji met during his time at the Tokyo Academy when you transferred from America

The moment this man saw you walk up with Gojo-sensei he was smitten

Like your skin was glowing??? how???

And you had a slight accent but like he loved it too

And when you came up to greet him and shake hands you smelled so good and your skin was so soft

((He would later come to find out that the root of that was the shea cocoa butter lotion you used))

But yea mans was smitten and he is fully in love with you lmao

Will do literally anything you ask

You hungry? He’s prepared a 5 course, michelin star meal

Want new clothes? He’s been training for the day he could hold your bags for you

Ran out of hair products?? He’s already back with a special box of your products that he had imported from America

To this day you don’t know how he was able to get those products so quickly

He is loves when you tell him things about you from your day, to your times in america, to how your cursed energy works

Yall are the couple that does stupid shit together

Like one time you showed Yuuji one of those life hack videos and he was like 

“We should totally do that” 

And you were like “Bet”

Needless to say Fushiguro was very confused at the sight of bandaids on both of your fingers the next morning

“???What happened?”

“Well you see, I told Yuuji that I should use the glue gun because he didn’t even know where to put the glue stick. And he said nah, I got it and um yea so I fell and the glue gun was plugged in and then he tripped over me and so now we look like this.”

Gojo and Kugisaki thought that this was hilarious while Fushiguro decided that he’d store your guys’ glue gun in his shadows from now on

How yall manage to get through missions you go on together alive is a miracle

Speaking of missions, you eventually ask Yuuji what’s his deal because you feel a powerful aura coming from him but he never uses cursed energy, always cursed weapons

Cue Sukuna’s mouth popping up on the side of his face like “Hey mamas”

(You can’t tell me that Sukuna isn’t the type of guy to ask where his hug at)

“YUUJI WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!”

“Oh, I guess you haven’t met Sukuna yet, huh?”

So he sits you down and explains how he ate Sukuna’s finger and you're sitting there like ‘mhm mhm mhm, sorry you what?’

For like 3 days after he told you that you couldn’t bring yourself to kiss him just because you were processing the fact that Yuuji ate someone’s nasty old ass finger and would have to eat 19 more

And the fact that he’s the vessel of like the worst curse known to man 

During those 3 days, Yuuji’s pouting because he’s like ‘I fucked up, now she doesn’t wanna kiss me let alone talk to me because of this monster inside of me :(’

Meanwhile you’re just like ‘why would anyone eat some random mummified finger?’

Eventually you get wind of Yuuji’s bad mood and immediately, you rush to smooth things over with him.

You knock on his door and hear blankets rustling before he goes, “I’m not in the mood to play fight right now Kugisaki’

“Can I come in baby?”

You immediately hear the most comical almost cartoonish amount of noise ranging from a cup falling over, sheets falling off the bed, and what sounds like Yuuji falling flat on his ass before he opens the door

When he does, you’re laughing and it’s like the sky is no longer grey and the world is filled with color

You smile at each other before your moment is interrupted with Sukuna going “Finally, full offense, his whining was getting annoying”

You step inside his room and apologize for ignoring him, explaining that you just needed time to process things, explaining that you should’ve told him that before dipping

He just grabbed you in a bear hug and lifted you of the ground and spinning you around laughing happily, after all he wasn’t even upset with you, he just missed you

And thus begins the honeymoon phase of your guys’ relationship

Fushiguro is actually really happy for you guys and is the most supportive of your relationship but if anyone asked him to admit that out loud he’d actually apparate to the nearest marooned ship

Nobura doesn’t hate you guys but she thinks all couples are disgusting, so while it’s nothing personal, she does gag when you and Yuuji do so much as make goo goo eyes at each other

Gojo is actually like the main cheerleader of your relationship. 

He is the teacher that changes the seating chart to put students he ships together

He was always pairing you and Yuuji up on missions and placing you as sparring partners like ur not slick

If Gojo is the cheerleader, Sukuna is an actual antagonist

Like the man goes out of his way to CHOOSE violence

Like on time you kissed Yuuji’s cheek on a date and when you pulled back, your lip was bleeding and Sukuna’s mouth was smirking at you

Another thing he likes to do is tell you all of Yuuji’s simp^tm thoughts

Like all of them

Now Yuuji isn’t ashamed of how much he loves you and is in fact very open with it, but he doesn’t need Sukuna telling you that the only reason he bought x mouthwash was because it made your breath smell like “sunshine” and he had to see if it would work on him

Speaking of dates, good luck

Now I stand by the fact that Yuuji would never half-ass a date and things with him are certainly never boring

But he’s also like a country boy in the city and his tourist tendencies tend to get the best of him

Like you’ll be trying to find a spot to eat and when you look back Yuuji’s gone

((Prolly to buy another I <3 Tokyo shirt so you can both match))

He always catches up with you ad you eventually learn that but like the first few times be havin you ready to put up a lost child signal on the loudspeaker

He’s very sweet and this is where his thoughtfulness shines through

You and Yuuji plan dates in the same way one plays bingo

Like because you never know where you’re going to be r when exactly you’ll both be free (especially with Gojo-sensei and his bare minimum ass information) you two tend to go ‘ok well if we’re here we’ll go here and if we’re here, we’ll go here’ and so on and so forth

But Yuuji always remembers such little one-off details about you that make your dates.

Like you mention wanting to try a sushi train and he’s already scrolled through multiple yelp reviews and watched every youtube restaurant review like 9 times

But every high has a low and Yuuji and your’s low comes suddenly and it brings you crashing to the ground with no warning and nothing to slow your descent

When your class of first years were sent to exorcise the special grade cursed womb

When Yuuji’s hand got blown off and he told you to run you froze, your mind racing faster than your legs could even start

“(Y/N) RUN!” Yuuji’s voice broke you out of your fear-based trance

“I- I...can’t...I can’t leave you!” you cried out all your rational senses screamed at you to go, run, he had Sukuna and you were barely a grade 2 sorcerer. But your intuition told you if you left him you wouldn’t see him alive again.

You were trapped in a paralysis of indecision but the choice was made for you when a sticky tongue wrapped around your midriff and you were gulped into the mouth of one of Fushiguro’s frogs

“Goddamn it Fushiguro! Let me go! I need to... save... him.” You were outside the building before you could even finish arguing.

You glared up at Fushiguro but your eyes softened some when you saw how beat up Kugisaki looked.

He gave you this look that said he did what he had to do and he didn’t care what you had to say about it 

You and him waited in the rain for Yuuji or Sukuna to exit the building

You tried to focus yourself and save your negative emotions for your cursed attack

When Sukuna inevitably appeared, one finger stronger, you were fully prepared to fight him

However, he didn’t seem interested in fighting you and more engaged in fighting with Megumi

You tried to urge Fushiguro to wait it out, eventually Sukuna would lose control, but when Sukuna took Yuuji’s heart hostage, you both knew you’d have to fight

You and Fushiguro gave it your all but when Yuuji came back he still died 

It took all your strength to not completely fall apart after his death and the support from the second years as well as Kugisaki and Fushiguro helped

You’d tried to visit him at the morgue but Shoko only told you that she didn’t think it’d be a good idea.

You still slept in his sweaters and the things that smelled like him from time to time, trying to make the idea of him last, but after a month, the smell of him had started to fade

Everything about Yuuji’s memory seemed to become leached away with time, from his smell, to the wear present on things he’d given to you

You couldn’t help but feel resentful towards yourself but also to Sukuna, he’d taken Yuuji from you with the same care that one would throw litter on the ground

The pain in your chest didn’t wane either, it only became ignorable to a degree as training for the exchange with the Kyoto students became more intense

Fushiguro is a comfort to you as well, aside from you, him and Yuuji were the closest to each other and so he gets a lot of what you’re going through and doesn’t push when you become more withdrawn

He also lets you pet his demon dog too but when you ask him why he’s letting you pet it he just says ‘because no one would believe you if you told them’ lies

The bastard really just does it because he knows you’re sad and he doesn’t want you to be sad

Speaking of the Kyoto students, Zenin Mai and Toudou Aoi are permanently on your shit list

You’re relieved that Panda, Maki, and Inumaki came to your guys’ aid but like if you had your way Mai wouldn’t even exist

Anyways Maki has Panda physically restrain you while she tries to calm you down 

“(Y/N), you can kick her ass at the exchange!”

When you calm down, Panda puts you down and even though Mai’s long gone with Todou to go get his handshake, you make a promise that carries through the wind

‘Zenin Mai, pray that the next time you run across me I’m feeling kind, because if not-’, the last word is lost as the wind picks up but Mai feels a shiver rack through her body that more than ensures your message.

[fairydollsteps]

Hey

Can I request Zenitsu with a female demon reader who lost her husband because of demons and was turned into a demon too and Zenitsu reminds her of her husband when they first meet so she just starts to cry and hug, cling to him? c:

Hello! I find your request interesting and I would love to write it down! :D I do hope you don’t mind if I describe the reader's relationship with Zenitsu is platonic instead just see Zenitsu like a family member as the reader would be a lot older than him, like an adult and also there will be some changes here and there but is related to your request. I do hope what I wrote is what you wanted! There will be a short scenarios about the reader past and some headcanon along with it too. Enjoy reading! 💖

Zenitsu with a Sisterlike Demon Friend

The happiness that you thought would last forever with your dear husband was shattered into countless pieces

It all happens during the night where you and your husband were eating dinner together. The food served was delectable that you enjoy it so much. Just like how the demon enjoying itself devouring your husband after it has crashed into your home.

Just right before you were attacked by the vicious demon, your husband covers you and fights back. Even so, the demon has left you a severe wound that has its blood in it which you will suffer later on.

You were watching your husband fighting the demon back, watches his neck get bitten in the process while you try to stop your bleeding. He screamed at you to run and never come back, you can hear the anguish and pain in his voice.

You did what you were told by your husband out of fear and distress as you can’t handle another second to see the sight of your beloved getting killed. You head out of your house and run away, never looking back. You run as fast as you can, not noticing your blood dripping down from your wound, leaving a trail of blood behind you as you run.

You are turning into a demon as you kept running. It hurts physically but you ignored it and keep running but it worse as you can feel a sharp piercing pain from you wound. You collapsed down and started vomiting blood on the ground violently. Blood is also shedding from your eyes and you can feel your whole entire body tormented from this excruciating pain.

You are turning into a demon.

Now that all conclude the reader’s past, let dive into the headcanons part(cause I am lazy to put in so much effort in continuing this.)

You thought you are going to die at this point, what you didn’t know that the blood trail behind that you bled before has kill some demons with its lethal scent that was about to prey on you.

Little did you know, a young lady with butterfly hairpin both side, wearing a black uniform was watching the whole thing unfold. Watching you vomiting blood on the ground violently then collapsed unconscious.

The next thing you saw after you regain your conscious is where you in a cell. You also saw a bunch of people in different height and build. You also saw the young lady earlier right before you collapsed.

You expect yourself to be petrified because the people are glaring deep in to your soul but you felt nothing. Numb will be the right word for how you are feeling now when suddenly the lady you saw before walk up to you.

“Hello, I am Kanae Kocho. Please stay calm, we are not going to do anything with you. We just wanted to have a talk with you,” she said as she smile sweetly.

That’s when a man with a black shoulder length comes in. Kagaya Ubuyashiki.It’s his name you heard as he was introduced by his children.

He talks to you gently while you are in a cage with a soft smile. He asks you what had happened to you and you explains everything, the tragic events that you have to go through to him.

Of course, the people you saw earlier who were introduced as the Hashira, were suspicious about what you said but also shocked that you have saved many slayers from their corps.

Apparently, what they meant is that your Blood Demon Art has saved countless of lives from the corps where they were investigating the area you were in to hunt down demons.

None has died, only some suffer minor injuries. 

Of course, there is some arguments here and there whether they should keep you as their most powerful weapon to hunt demons down or to just slay your head off for good.

It was then decided that the Demon Slayer Corps should keep you after Kanae express her opinion and concern that many casualties would happen if it wasn’t for your power and that you have no intention of killing humans.

Once all has been concluded, you were left to be alive instead getting your head cut off but you would many restrictions. You were later send to Tamayo and Yushiro to stay with them.

You started your lives with them. Tamayo welcomed you in warmly while Yushiro is just glaring at you which he soon get scolded by Tamayo.

Your Life as a demon

Let’s just say that, your husband’s death has put a huge impact on you deeply. You become cold and emotionless. The only person who you can trust for now is Tamayo as she also go through the same thing and also has similar demon technique.

You help her with creating medicine and stuff and soon become a doctor just like her.

Yushiro would later on have respect with you for how you work hard for Tamayo. 

You don’t show it, you are disgusted of yourself for become a same species with the monster that has murdered your dear husband. You would left yourself a scar or cut on your face every time you see yourself in the mirror, just watching the blood drip down and hating yourself.

 You don’t care about the injuries you had put on yourself cause it will regenerate itself anyway because you are a demon. You bottle and repress your feelings because you are demon and nobody care if you cry cause you are hated for what you have become. Even you never choose to become what you have become.

You are afraid of the thought of how your husband would think about because you have become a demon.

Because you are a demon.

You keep thinking about this often, degrading yourself while keeping a stern and empty face. Showing absolutely no emotions and weakness.

The only reason why you are still alive is because Tamayo was there to comfort you when you are feeling down although you never show it.

One day, you were the strolling around the street during the night. You just want to relax a bit from your mind. The street was dark and quiet. After all, you were out late in the night.

Until the silence was interrupted by a scream from a far distance. You follow it as it sounds like someone is in trouble and hopeless.

You saw a demon on your way, hobbling towards to you. You don’t care about it an annihilate it immediately using your blood demon technique.

That’s when the scream stops, you turn around and saw a blonde boy on top a tree, clinging tightly on one of its branches.

“IS IT DEAD ALREADY!?!?!??! IS IT!??! IS IT!!!! THAT THING WAS HELLA SCARY THAT I JUST RUN!!!!!! the boy screamed.

You walk to towards to the tree and reach out your hand to him.

“No worries, is gone now. Please come down. You might fall,” you said in a reserved turn.

“A-a-are you sure!!??!?!? Y-y-you s-should you k-k-killed it??? he said obviously not believing a word you say until he realized something. You are a demon.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! YOU JUST KILL IT WITH WHAT SEEMS LIKE A BLOOD DEMON ART!!! YOU ARE A DEMON!!!!?!?!? WHY THE HELL DID YOU SAVE ME!??!?! he yelled again after realisation hits him like a boulder.

That’s when you saw a clear image of the boy. He looks just like him. Your husband . You froze for a while and the way the boy knowing you are a demon reminds you all the past. The past that you wished to cover forever comes back.

Your knee drop and then you starts sobbing. All your hate and disgust on yourself is coming back at the same time and its too much for you to handle them anymore. You continue think how your late husband thinks of you. A monster? A strange creature? Not the person that he used to love?

You started to cry when the boy talks to you. “U-um...hey, I am s-sorry for w-what I mentioned earlier,” There is some fear in his voice but there is also some gratitude and sincerity in it. “E-even if you are a d-demon, you did s-save my life after all,”.

He still though keep his distance with you. You noticed a wound on his hand and some on the side of his forehead. You offer the boy to treat your wounds as it do looks pretty severe.

He was reluctant for a while until give in. You still keep your distance with him while tending him, as you do not wanted to scared him like before. Mainly because it makes you think that’s how your husband feel to you because the boy looks so much like your husband except the boy is blonde.

“What’s your name?” you ask. “U-um is Zenitsu A-agatsuma. You can call me Z-Zenitsu,” he answered. “I’m (Y/n) (L/N),”.

Once you finished tending him, you explain yourself a bit that you are working for Demon Slayer Corps along with Tamayo and Yushiro. Zenitsu soon trusted you a little after knowing that you are a no threat.

Just as he was about, you quickly propose to walk back with him as you are worry for his safety to go back.

You both begin to talk and knowing about each other as you both walk. You and Zenitsu enjoy together chatting and Zenitsu is smiling because he can finally talk to a women without making himself a complete fool and making himself look weird. You begin to smile and feel happy for the first time and forever after what you have gone through.

Your Relationship with Him

Once Zenitsu is comfortable with you, your relationship with him is quite similar with Tanjiro, Nezuko and Tamayo. Like Zenitsu helps you finally feel happy and makes you smile just like how Tanjiro and Nezuko makes Tamayo feel the loving feelings of a family.

You are pretty older than Zenitsu so Zenitsu calls you (L/N)-san as a sign of respect for you and you really appreciate it.

You begin visiting the Butterfly Estate during after for a long time just to see how Zenitsu is doing. Shinobu, of course was aware and distrustful with you but warm up a little after knowing that you just wanted to know how Zenitsu is doing after coming back from a mission. Shinobu started to welcome you when you come to visit and started to respect you after you are willingly to share some of your knowledge with poison and medicine with her. she stills don’t trust you but still has some respect and kindness for you.

Zenitsu would introduce you to his friends,Tanjiro and Inosuke. You heard a lot about them from Zenitsu during your conversation with him. Tanjiro would a little bit flustered because of how gorgeous you are and a little scared because you look so stern and cold but soon warm up to you after you treat him with kindness and respect. Inosuke would also like you after you give him some rice balls and shrimp that he becomes so touched that he was stucked for a while because of how generous you are and thinks you are some goddes or something.

Zenitsu would of course be pissed if these two were to hog your attention too much that he feels left out. You would of course meet Nezuko as both you and Nezuko suffered from the same tragedies.

Zenitsu won’t feel any romantic feelings for you because you are a lot older than him so instead, he sees you as like and elder sister and a role model.

You would act like a role model to Zenitsu. Always teaching him how to behave and collect himself when he lost his composure. Also giving him advice  and so on. Zenitsu respect you deeply ever since then.

You would also act like a protective elder sister to Zenitsu. and zenitsu loves it. You would always check on him when he come back from a mission, making sure he is eating well, always making medicine for him when he is hurt and so on. You would sometimes offer to tag along a mission with Zenitsu so you can protect him and make sure he is alive. You did all of this for him because you do not want Zenitsu to suffer the same fate as your husband.

Speaking of your husband death, you have once mentioned your tragic past to Zenitsu and explained that he looks so much like your husband which explained why you are so protective and caring towards him. You also mention your hate and disgust on yourself for what you have become.

Then Zenitsu immediately freaks out after recalling your first meeting with hima and he apologies to you profusely. After feeling absolutely guilt for making you cry because of his overexaggerating reaction.

You reassure him that’s alright and is just that he didn’t know. He do still feels guilt though but you would give your sincere reassurance to him.

After you have talk about your past, he wanted to become stronger and more braver so you do not have to worry about him.

Zenitsu would come in a speed of lightning when he knows that you are upset on yourself and would try to comfort you. You really appreciate his effort in cheering you up.

You would also try to help Zenitsu in his training like explaining parts that he can improve and motivate him to continue fighting and training.

Because you are a demon and can’t walk under the sun, you and Zenitsu would hang out at the street markets or go shopping during the night. These memories you created with him are memorable and precious.

You were glad that you save Zenitsu from before as he has helps you heal the scar that was caused from your husband’s death.

All you wished for Zenitsu is for him alive and living happily.

Words: 2,340.....AAHAVIYQWVCKQW!!!! I am sorry that I got carried away for writing so much! I just have so many idea for this and would hate it so much to throw it away!!! This tooks me so long so likes and reblog would be deeply appreciated .Anyway, thank you for reading and have a good day!

[lyallblacklupin]

Now that all is over.

TW: Implied Sexual Assault/Nightmares.

Voldemort is killed with all aspects which is how the Second Wizarding War has ended. Fortunately, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin have survived. They have a godson to look forward to make up for the lost times, the world is serene and ill-free, and especially, they have each other. Life cannot have been any sweeter.  However, one miserable night, Sirius jerks out of the worst nightmare he has ever seen in his life. He is screaming and looking anywhere for help but Remus Lupin, who has been sleeping beside him. Will Remus be able to calm him down without having to touch him, or even come close to him?

There are a lot of things Remus Lupin should be thinking right now, which included his indecisiveness for accepting the job Dumbledore has offered him again, now that the story of Voldemort had ended once and for all. Also, the fact that he needs to move out from Grimmauld Place for the sake of his-boyfriend? Fiancé? Lover? He doesn’t understands what they are, but he knows that they are certainly not teenagers anymore. They had endured wars, losses and especially, ducked down from their own deaths, together. They finally have another chance to live, and this time it is without the fear. The fear that had been looming like their shadows since they can remember. This was THE chance.

However, as Remus exchanges the bill with the cash the red-headed girl is giving him for the Oscar Wilde’s poetry—which becomes a good distraction because the girl looks timid and strongly reminds him of Lily Evans picking up poetry from the Hogwarts for him, then she would smile at him with a teasing glint in her emerald eyes when it was Wilde’s queer poetry—he is stuck with his brain flickering the image of what happened today morning at half past five when Sirius jolted out of his sleep, running away from nothing but Remus.

“Sirius, honey—“

“NOOOOO!” Sirius’ eyes were screwed shut and he was pulling his hair like a madman, squirming in the most corner of their bedroom, with his knees glued to his chest as he quivered violently. Remus didn’t know what to do because this was something that he had never experienced in their togetherness. Sirius did have the tendency of having frequent nightmares even in Hogwarts, but never once he had pulled Remus away when he had reached and took his trembling body to tuck it against his own. He didn’t even need to ask his permission which was evidently clear that Sirius could recognize his presence without even looking him. However, this time Sirius’ wide eyes were staring him and yet he was shrieking when Remus inched forward to touch him. All of this was giving Remus only one answer: The nightmare was about Remus.

“Okay, Sirius, I’m not touching you, I’m not coming to you, see…” He steps back and sits on his bed across the very scared looking Sirius sitting on the floor. He pretended that didn’t have assume the reason behind Sirius’ behavior, looking very calm, “Did you have a nightmare, love? You can tell me, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise you, Sirius—“

His words died in his throat and suddenly something very heavy settled on his chest because Sirius is shaking his head.

“Don’t lie.” Sirius whispered and Remus thought that all of his surrounding was turning upside down. He hadn’t felt so helpless before. It had never been like this. Sirius had always been too tactile with him, no matter what. He couldn’t do anything, he was running out of ideas and strategies to deal with the situation. His mind was ringing and he started feeling nauseous as if some vial is refluxing from his stomach. His fisted the bedsheet and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to call out Sirius but he could hardly hear his own voice when a certain ringing sound is somewhere around him. He could tell nothing except the regrets and the what-ifs that were screaming in his head: What is happening to us? Are we falling again when the chance is finally here? Why now? What if Sirius had dreamt that the wolf has killed him? What if Sirius has now realized that he was bound with a monster? What if Sirius has believed that nightmare? He shouldn’t have been with me! He deserves more! Someone who is hundred times better than me! What will I do without him? And again? Weren’t those twelve years enough for us? Why isn’t the universe a little merciful on us?

And then what came out from his mouth was a sob. His body was shaking as it  racked through him. He manages to breathe as he lifted up his head and there was Sirius looking at him with his tear-stained face, inching forward towards Remus’ legs by the bed. Remus wanted to throw caution to the wind and embrace him with all his strength and love, but he had to be very gentle to not make him flinch. He carefully raised his hand, not breaking his eye contact with him. Sirius nods hesitantly. It broke Remus’ heart to see the doubtful face of his lover. His fingers touched the skin of his arm, and fortunately there was no hint of discomfort in his face.

“What’s happened, Sirius? What did you see?”

Remus deliberately jerks himself out of the flashback because what Sirius explained him after that, was not failing him to shudder every time he plays that memory in his head. He realizes that he has to go to the therapist he has been seeing since a month. He likes Dr. Holly Meyer, and she knows about his relationship with Sirius. He thinks that she was the right person to talk.

His shift at the bookstore ends at quarter past two as he hurries for his appointment.

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Does Sirius have any past trauma related to rape or any sexual assault he has experience from his loved one?”

“Umm, no, he never mentioned.” Remus replies to Holly’s question. But he highly doubts that Sirius was never sexually molested by his family because one of the days at Hogwarts, when they were dating, he saw an angry looking bruise on Sirius’ hip which jolted him to his cores. However, Sirius never talked about it and neither Remus had the audacity to ask him who did that to him.

“Remus, have you ever done something which has terrified him? Any physical gesture or…I hope you know what I am talking about. Something that might have prompted that memory out of him, which also might have influenced him through this nightmare?”

Remus felt sudden surge of heat beneath his cheeks, and he doesn’t know how to answer. They haven’t physically interacted with each other in a while. The last time he can remember is when Sirius gained health after being in comma for five weeks when Bellatrix had hit him with a very complex curse at the Department of Mysteries. They were reunited in Grimmauld Place after the healers discharged him, both of them brimming up with emotions as they tried to express their undying love for each other. After that blissful moment, they got too busy with the approaching war, that they could only spare time for quick snogging and whispering ‘I love you’s incase if they never see each other.

“No, we haven’t…I mean didn’t-we didn’t…” He was not looking at the doctor because Remus could feel her smiling at him. “But why me? Why was it me in the dream doing those horrible things to him?

“Remus, dreams can be quite deceptive, and not to mention our mind has the power to take shapes of our fears the most terrifyingly in our dreams.”

Remus is speechless, and he is feeling something ugly erupting in his chest. He is quite precise about it. It is guilt. For not taking care of Sirius’ mental health.

“Remus?” Holly calls out very softly. Remus looks up sheepishly, despite the burning sensation creeping his neck and cheeks. “The case is quite clear here. Sirius has something in his hearts of hearts that he isn’t telling you. Something that hasn’t just left him ashamed or traumatized but also he is quite uncertain if this is something he should talk about. I assume that he is not giving it the importance to discuss this with you. And at the same time, you are not giving him the attention he wants from you. You two have been through misfortunes that has left you both listless and empty. You need to fill each other with love and happiness. Any love gestures will do. Let the other know that you are here for them in every possible way.”

Remus feels like his legs are giving out, even though he is sitting on a very comfortable armchair.

“Go, get your man. He needs you. He just doesn’t have the heart to bear loneliness. He is suppressing himself for you because he think this is what you want.”

No, this is not what I want! He makes a mental note to himself. And how could I not want Sirius? Remus knows that he is lying to himself about the war being the only reason for their lack of physical contact. He knows that there has been lack of communication which has followed the current problem, landing them here.

“I shouldn’t have left him alone in that house.” Remus mumbles.

“No, Remus, you did the right thing.” Holly retorts gently, “This is what he needed. To think straight with himself and be sane. You being there would have been too suffocating for him. Clearly, you needed someone to put sense in you. Your welcome.”

She is smiling amusingly, and Remus can’t help but agree. He is leaving when Dr. Holly calls him out and he turns to her.

“Say, Remus, what flowers does your better half loves the most?”

Roses. It is an automatic reply like he doesn’t need to think for even a second. Red Roses. Very cliché Sirius Black. Remus bites back a chuckle and tells her.

“Oh boy, Remus, you have a hopeless romantic in that house sulking alone, and what you are doing to him is brutal.” She is grinning at him, and he is quite grateful of her for not scolding him because he suddenly feels that he deserves it. He was too distant while being next to Sirius. He would much rather prefer to take responsibility for all of this, and make things right between them.

He apparates in front of Grimmauld Place 12, clutching a bouquet of fresh red roses. He grimaces when the scent fills his nostrils, and the idea of being above forty and doing such gesture is making him nervous. He enters the house, and suddenly stops in his track to find that the hallway is not dark anymore, it is kindled up by so many candles and enchanted stardust floating in mid-air, taking various beautiful colors. For a second, he thinks he is somewhere else. Maybe 11 or 13 Grimmauld Place? But then Sirius emerges with a pop, wearing an apron, his hair is neatly tied in a bun. He is also wearing black robes, and he has shaved but there are dark circles under his eyes.

“Hey!” Sirius walks towards him and he is saying a lot of things with the weak smile on his face, but Remus is staring him with utter fascination. He is suddenly feeling very young to realize that Sirius can still make him fluster with nothing but looking like that. Remus cannot let out a word from his mouth, but then he is broken out of his trance of swooning when he registers those silver orbs are widening, and then glistening. Remus feels an unexpected panic rising in his stomach because now tears are streaming down Sirius’ cheeks. And before he knows it, Sirius has crashed his lips on his. Remus cannot help but kiss him back. His damp is skin rubbing his, and they both rests their forehead against each other.

“Thank you.” Sirius whispers, pressing a kiss on his nose. Remus has forgotten that he have brought roses for the love of his life until Sirius is taking them, which is when he realizes the reason for why Sirius started crying suddenly. A weak grin appears on his lips, and Remus realize that he has never felt so happy in a longest while. “You remembered that I like roses.”

“Of course, darling.” Remus says teasingly, reaching forward to capture Sirius’ lips again, but then Sirius is laughing merrily which instantly warms Remus’ heart. Even so, he leans further and kisses him a little more earnestly. Sirius laces his arms around him, and Remus takes their height difference as a benefit to scoop him up in his arms.

“Moony…”

“Yes, love?” Remus nuzzles his nose against Sirius’ cheeks, as they stumbles in the nearby drawing room.

“I’m sorry about today.”

Suddenly, the awkwardness returns.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Remus says, “It was a bad dream, Sirius. I know that you love me, and I love you. It’s enough and we should be forever together and we should probably get married and have a new life and live in a country or something far away from everything and all and—“

Sirius is gawking at him, dumbfounded, and Remus realizes that he is rambling. He wants to slap himself right now. He might have ruined the night he is intending to make the most opportune.

“I mean…I—Sirius…” He knows that he is still scared. No matter how much the therapist has tried convincing him, he knows that no one can convince him completely, but Sirius Black. He wants to walk past the layer of no communication, and he does.

“Sirius…I can never hurt you. I can never even imagine of hurting you that way. I certainly have hurt you emotionally in the past, and maybe I still am, and if you feel like it then please talk to me, tell me if I have hurt you. But I have never hurt you physically, Sirius. I have never. It is worrying me. Have I done anything? Don’t fear, Sirius, I promise you that I am not walking unless you order me away.”

Sirius slightly shakes his head at the end of Remus’ statement. He cups his face and places a lingering and soft kiss on his forehead.

“It is you. The real you.” He whispers against his skin, and it confuses Remus. “Remus…It was not you in the dream. It was you in front of me but this…” Sirius ran his hands on the latter body, squeezing his arms with fondness swimming in his eyes, “this feeling of you, your arms, these hands and…just you... were not  in the dream. It was him. The same feeling.”

“Him?” Remus knows where this is going. He already has his suspicions.

“My father.” Sirius’ reply doesn’t fail to make his eyes instinctively wide. The thought makes him shudder and Sirius slips away from his embrace, looking miserably lost.

There is one question that is still not planning on leaving his mind and he feels he needs to ask this from Sirius, no matter what the answer, and he does.

“Why still me?”

Remus expects that he will receive a very disgusting reply from Sirius, or a glare, or maybe he has completely ruin their night and Sirius will be shutting him out for good. But—

“I came face to face with my boggart the other day in the ministry.” Sirius replies, looking straight in his eyes. Remus can recall that Sirius’ boggart was his mother when they discovered in their third year’s Defense against the Dark Arts class. However, Sirius must have read his mind when he continues, “It is not my mother anymore.”

There is a brief, tensed silence between them.

“It was you.”  Remus’ heart suddenly stops. He fights to keep a poker face. “You were there looking at me with disgust and…” He can see that Sirius is struggling through his words as if they are causing him physical pain. “…you were looking at me with such hate and you said you were leaving me because you were tired of me. You…you have never looked at me like that…”

Tears are spilling from his grey eyes.

“You have always looked at me with warmth and humbleness, but that image of you is not leaving my mind. It is there and it is making me believe that it is true, Remus, because I don’t deserve you. You are so worthy of love, I am not. I was never worthy of love. I drove you mad in our relationship. I betrayed you once, and then made you believe that I can betray you twice. But you…you never did anything like that. You compromised yourself for me, in every way. You dealt with me for a very long time, and I won’t blame you if you don’t want to deal with me anymore. It would hurt. So much, because for me, it’s hard to imagine my life without you after everything we’ve been through, together.”

Remus is numbly standing, just looking at Sirius’ face flooding with tears. He feels like his heart is breaking and mending, breaking and then again mending, back and forth. He wishes internally that Sirius’ words may leave his heart mended, because he knows he cannot deal with another heartbreak, another loss, or another tragedy.

“Know this,” Sirius comes close and touches his wet cheeks, which is when he realize that the tears are also silently rolling down his own face. “…that I love you, Remus. I know you can’t hurt me. You’ve never because you have a pure heart, Moony.”

This is when Remus doesn’t take anymore. He shoves Sirius in his arms and sobs in his shoulder. He feels Sirius relaxing into his embrace because he is placing feather-light kisses on Remus’ exposed neck.

“I’m so sorry. I am so sorry, Sirius.” He doesn’t know for what he is exactly asking his forgiveness, but he knows deep down inside his heart that it is for everything that has happened in their lives.

“But no,” He pulls out to face Sirius, desperately reaches his hands to intertwine with his, “I am not leaving you, not because I can’t but because I don’t want to be away from you. I can never be tired of you, Padfoot! And I can’t be surer about that. You think I compromised my comfort for you? That was not a compromise. That was my love for you. And it still is, here. I never regretted our relationship because of you. I did once because of myself because you had to deal with me, my cursed and poverty-stricken life. I am nothing compared to you, and yet you want me. How can I not love you? How can I disgust you? Or hate you? It’s something that can never exist when it comes to you. I don’t think I loved anyone like that except for you. I still want you, only you. I love you, a little too much, please believe me.”

Sirius has his forehead pressed with his, as he murmurs against his cheek, “I believe you, Remus.”

They kiss and they kiss for Merlin knows how long. Remus is suddenly yanked back into one of his favorite memories with Sirius, when they were at Hogwarts and it was their seventh year. He remembers that those days were Christmas holidays because they were fooling around in their dorm very peacefully, with no fear of James or Peter interrupting them. The both lovebirds were the only ones who didn’t leave for their homes. The erratic breathing, the electric excitement in their bodies, the eagerness to explore each other’s mouth is something Remus can distinctly recall from that day, at this very moment because it feels just the same as if they are seventeen again.

He reaches for Sirius’ robes to unbutton them when Sirius pulls back gently.

“Wait,” For a second, Remus thinks that this is not what Sirius wants before he smiles romantically, “I hope you have guessed why I am wearing an apron?”

“You cooked?” Remus gapes at him that makes the other laugh gleefully. That laugh makes his heart flutter again like happiness was bubbling out of him. Sirius nods at him.

“I thought I should make up for disrupting your morning, and I know you must have taken a lot of stress at work because of me. So I made your favorites.”

“You didn’t have to do this, love, I know cooking is not something you like to do.”

“Wrong!” Sirius gasped dramatically, “I love to cook for you! And besides, you bought these roses for me…” He picks out the bouquet, sniffing its scent, admiring the handiwork, and smiling the entire time as he brushes his fingers around the rims of each petals of the roses. Remus just stares at him like that. He could see the pink flush appearing on Sirius’ cheeks, and he thinks to himself that this is the most scenic view to look at. He suddenly recognizes that all of his exhaustion has dissipated from his body, and he is very much looking forward to the rest of their night.

“Come on, first dinner, and then we’ll see.” Sirius winks, taking him to kitchen when Remus stops him gradually.

“Tell me you are not frightened of me, are you? Be honest with me, Sirius.”

“I was never, Remus. I was frightened of being alone. My own mind was playing tricks on me. But not you, never you.”

Remus sees his eyes are promising.

“Promise me that you will talk to me, about anything like we used to. Just like the old times.” 

“Just like the old times. I promise, Moony.”

Sirius’ eyes returns the glimmer, and they are shinning like they used to before war, or Azkaban. Remus feels the contentment spreading in his heart and comes to a realization that it is all he have been yearning for.

[mybg3notebook]

Loving your analyses of Astarion's behaviour and character so far! It has really reaffirmed in my eyes just how much of a bastard he really is. (I say that fondly, of course.) Do you have any thoughts on why the general reaction on tumblr has leaned so much towards woobifying him? After looking at his actual (explicit and implicit) morals in game it seems quite odd that some people are reading him as an edgy soft boi who just needs a hug from the right person to fix him.

Hello!

Thank you very much! I really enjoy seeing chars in a deep way. It makes me change my opinion on them, sometimes. That's why I like to do these analysis, even though it's a lot of work for a person who doesn't speak English as a native.

Lol, please, I won't be offended. Astarion is a bastard in the whole sense of the word, lol.

However, I find Astarion an interesting evil (evil neutral imo) char to explore the narration of “abuser who found a greater abuser”, with all the topics I talked about in those posts. I would feel a bit disappointed if Larian suddenly changes him into a man who always had a gold heart (because for that, you need to give hints, even in EA, and none of that has been seen so far).

An example of how this is done is with Shadowheart, she is evil and she supports a lot of cruelty that Astarion does too, but we got meta-knowledge (and not so much meta when we see her heavily drunk after killing the tieflings) that gives us enough reasons to believe she has some heart in her, despite Shar and her teachings. I do not support the idea of “she is a softie”, because she is not, but she doesn't have the same level of cruelty nor revels in murder so much as Astarion does. They represent different degrees of evilness. What plays in her favour is her face, which gives the idea of more softness than she truly has; the same happens with Astarion. Lae'Zel is less cruel than Astarion in general, with more logical reasons to be so because her brainwashed culture made her to be more pragmatic than a taster of cruelty, and yet, she receives a lot of more hate in the fandom... and it is clear to me why: she is not “beautiful” in the traditional white euro-centric standard sense.

And this is my point to answer your question (remember all this is personal opinion): I think there are many reasons why people woobify Astarion (not only in tumblr, but also in Reddit or in Larian Forums, it's a big part of the EA fandom).

First and foremost, I believe it's his appearance. If he were a bugbear or a goblin, few in this fandom would give a thought about his abuse, his pain, Cazador, etc. They would focus on his “bastard” side and leave it at that (again, Lae'Zel has this treatment). I want to make clear that I'm not questioning people's taste, everyone can like whatever they want to. I'm saying that, for me, there it proof enough to sustain this idea that Astarion is woobified because he is beautiful: when you read that a lot of people in this fandom never had an interest in Larian's previous games, or isometric rpgs, or even turn-based combat games (there are some people who are giving feedback against the game being a turned-based combat one! It's the nonsense because it's basically Larian's style), but they bought bg3 because they saw Astarion, even though they knew nothing about him.... All this, clearly, shows to me that a lot of people approached this game for only one char, for only his design (a big amount of them say it explicitly), and it is not far-fetched to know that people justify more easily beautiful villains than ugly ones. We can explore a lot of examples of this in many fandoms. People can love villains because they have real complex reasons to be so (like Loghain in DAO), but they also can like whimsical villains just because they are “hot”. I feel this is Astarion's case, he is a “beautiful villain” who apparently has always been evil. His reasons for his whimsical evilness is more like “it's always been in his nature”. Unless the family part has a different role in his backstory (mirror option) and it's not a mere line for a player to play a “good aligned” Astarion when picked as Origin. I don't like to read much about it in that scene because the game still doesn't have companion Tags; those options in the mirror can be there just for the player to pick, flavoured with each origin, but not necessarily the three of them are canon. This will be seen once we have the companion tags activated as it happened in DOS2.

What we can say for sure is that Larian knew what they were doing when they picked Astarion's design; they choose a dangerous white guy with white hair and evil alignment: an archetype that catches a lot of people in many fandoms.

Part of his woobyfication process has a deep root there, in my opinion. Again, if he were a bugbear, a goblin, a githyanki, a monster-humanoid... we would not have 90% of the EA fandom collapsed with his image, or Larian focused on him to the point that after 4 patches he had new scenes, lines, corrections, and development, while Wyll is still there, sitting in the bench of “the less developed chars” (with around 2k less lines than the rest of the chars, and his personal quest bugged since the first day). Yes, I don't like the preference on one single companion when I am seeing the “future Beast” (from DOS2) in Wyll.

Second, he is a vampire. Vampires are a great element in any fantasy narrative. You know you will have a lot of fans behind a vampire char. Not by chance Vampire The Masquerade is one, if not the most important product of White Wolf, which keeps still giving them a lot of profit despite being decades old. Vampires are always a good element of personal horror, of lack of control of your own body, and also an allegory of abuse, power, and rape. This concept of “being a monster without control” that they embody helps a bit more for the woobification.

Third, people tend to mix a lot headcanon with what a character gives us as canon. We can have a long useless discussion about which is more worthy: canon or headcanon, or about why one should or should not respect canon, but putting all that discussion aside, and considering the previous two points, I see that a small part of his woobyfication comes from the fact that people love denial and self-projection instead of analysing of what they are given (and let's be honest, we know in tumblr, reddit and others social networks, people lack of reading comprehension skills, which makes analysis all about self projection without a real effort in understanding the character's perspective. It's all about the player unilateral perspective. How can you analyse a char you didn’t play with or explored in all its paths? ).

So if their beautiful character is behaving in a way they don't want to, they start considering him “random” (I read this so much that confuses me, because Astarion has clear patterns for everyone who wants to see them, like the rest of the companions. He is not random, he follows pretty well all what I listed here, that list helps you to predict what he will disapprove or approve) so they end up filling this apparent “randomness” with headcanons and self-projections. Don't get me wrong, I don't despise headcanons, I love them, I have a lot of them and create with them. But I also like honest analysis and separate what I want from what I get from a company (to correctly give them feedback, otherwise I will be giving them my headcanons).

If you don't want an aspect of a given char, and you want to deny it, it's perfectly fine. Do it, it's your entertainment, but be honest with the fandom about it, acknowledge this is a personal denial you enjoy. And mainly, don't use headcanons and self-projections to attack the rest of the chars you don't like in their own tags. We know how aggressive some people in this fandom are, and it's a bit frustrating to see aggression without the slightest effort in understanding the character they hate.

There is also something sad to say, related to self-projection, that contributes to Astarion's woobyfication too: a lot of players are survivors of abuse who connect with him from trauma, and I can understand if denying his past is a way to help them to release any kind of pain or need for vengeance against their abusers. It's a natural and totally understandable projection. The woobyfication, then, ends up in an intense self-projection where they give to the char something that they needed because their own trauma.

This is why I would like Larian to give us other survivor chars that people can project onto, whose stories are really about survivors of abuse who were not evil in the beginning. Because I feel a lot of people approached Astarion as a narration of a “victim who will become a victimiser” or as a “bad behaved victim”, instead of what I think it's shown: an abuser who found a greater abuser (and his story is about punishment of the abuser and the concept of justice in a world which has none), so trauma survivors will end up with disappointment if they think Astarion is something similar to the representation of what they experienced. Plus, vampirism is never good to use as allegories of abusers/victims because the relationship Sire/Childe is too sick and twisted. So, again, this is a mere opinion from all what I've been reading since the game came out.

I hope Larian sticks to the narration they seem to follow with Astarion: an abuser who found a greater one, and now wants to become the next Cazador, and this woobifycation doesn't change the real potential of a dark deep story that I believe they want to give us: not every char is redeemable, and sometimes evilness is capricious. We had chars like these in bg1 and bg2 after all. 

[fumiko-matsubara]

Writing Exercise // AssClass x Tower of God AU - Catching Up

Assassination Classroom - Tower of God AU

Summary: There was a sudden change in team line up and so Nakamura decided to make a call with someone who is floors away.

Word Count: 1,791 words

• ▪ • ▪ •

"Huh? Asano-kun joined your team?"

Nakamura hummed in reply, her eyes focused on the screen before her, going through the video recordings she had captured earlier during the previous floor test using one of her lighthouses in hopes of finding anything she could use in the near future. "He and that Sakakibara guy apparently got separated from the rest of their teammates during the previous test."

From the other line, Chiba let out a noise of mild disbelief, which Nakamura couldn't blame him for. For an E-rank Regular, Asano Gakushuu had proved himself to be quite the gifted Light Bearer countless of times that just the mere idea of him being separated from his teammates because of a floor test, with how organized and strong the Asano kid had made his nearly perfect team to be as their leader and strategist, is almost laughable.

But considering that the 28th Floor had nearly caused their own team to lose members for good, only having members to be separated seemed more like a blessing than a misfortune.

Nakamura shuddered at the memory.

"Surprisingly, it was them who first approached us when we arrived at the 29th floor," she mused. "Well... the Asano kid to be exact."

"Seems smart on his part, I suppose," Nakamura suddenly heard doors opening on the other line. She assumed that Chiba must have been taking a night walk when he had received her call, as it was currently evening to where she is right now. "I've heard that you guys were the only team to pass the 28th floor for this wave of Regulars... so I guess it's a no-brainer for that guy."

Nakamura swore she could almost see Chiba shrugging his shoulders just as he said those words.

"It's been days since they've joined, you said? No troubles with them so far?"

"Not at all. They've been surprisingly civil with all of us the past few days." Though there was a voice at the back of Nakamura's mind telling her that it was likely because a certain redheaded Light Bearer wasn't around to provoke the Asano. "They even sometimes help nurse some of the others who are still on bed rest."

Chiba chuckled at the other line. "Well isn't that a sight to see?"

Nakamura had discretely installed lighthouses as if they were security cameras at each room of the rather large apartment they had been sharing since their arrival on the 21st floor. It would only take few clicks on her main lighthouse to retrieve the saved recordings of Asano fussing over their injured teamates as he nurses them.

Snickering, she made a mental note to send some of them to Chiba after she's done with her current work.

"Also we definitely appreciate having a rear-type Light Bearer and a Wave Controller since, you know?" Nakamura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "The only ones we had are now floors behind us after stopping their climb to compete at the Workshop Battle?"

Chiba somewhat hissed at that. "I guess that explains why Karma seems to be in a bad mood when we called last month..."

"Yeah, we weren't in agreement that time," Nakamura sighed deeply, closing the tabs and turning off her lighthouse. She supposed it can wait tomorrow.

"I get why."

If Nakamura was being honest, it wasn't the fact that Group 4 joined the Workshop Battle that got the whole team in disagreement. It was the fact that Group 4 have already been planning to compete since they had become E-ranked and yet had never once told the rest of the team until the day they had to claim tickets to join.

Karma may be Team END's key strategist, but the redheaded Light Bearer still had the infuriating habit of strategizing and implementing plans without consulting with the rest of the team, sometimes even executing said plans on his own without anyone's help nor even knowledge.

Nakamura supposed that it was because Karma had initially been trained as a Fisherman before switching to a Light Bearer, but that can't be an excuse anymore since he had over 8 years to break out of that frontliner habit.

It's annoying, really.

Even when Group 4 had won the Workshop Battle with a powerful weapon as their winning prize, it still left a bitter taste on her mouth.

Nakamura hoped that this will be the last time Karma involves their other teammates into his lone wolf shenanigans. They can't afford to be separated much longer the higher they climb the tower.

Not when they still have yet to close the gap to catch up with Chiba and his team like they have promised.

"How are things at your end?" Nakamura asked, wanting to change the topic.

Chiba let out an exhausted sigh. "A bit too fast, I guess. Especially since Kaho's been antsy the past few months."

"Oh?" Nakamura picked up the nearly forgotten tea on the table next to her, prepared by Hara. "What gives?"

Nakamura barely had any recollection of what Tsuchiya is like in personality, as the last time they had personally met was when they were still fairly new to the tower, during the Floor of Tests, which was already about a decade ago. But from the few times that Chiba had mentioned the Light Bearer in their talks, Tsuchiya seems to be a quick thinker who strategizes and improvises well under pressure, especially during battles.

Perhaps that's why Team DREAM had been ridiculously quick with their climb, Nakamura mused.

Well, aside from the fact that they have an insanely solid team line up.

"I'm not entirely sure as we weren't around when it happened but..." There was a slight hesitation in Chiba's tone as he trailed off. "Ever since we saw her with a girl that I believe was from the Harukawa Family, based from her hair and eye colour, she's been like that for some reason."

A Harukawa huh...

Nakamura wasn't exactly the most interested in the Ten Great Families, let alone their relations with each other. But she was at least aware of the common knowledge about the tension between the Tsuchiya and the Harukawa, seemingly started by the Head of the two families themselves.

Could it be rivalry? Mortal Enemies? Nobody knows. But one thing's for sure was that a Tsuchiya and a Harukawa, whether they are direct descendants of the family Heads or not, do NOT get along.

Which is ironic considering that what the two Great families are known for made it seem like they would be a perfect team - The Tsuchiya Family known for their Defenders and the Harukawa Family for their immense talent in Spear Bearing.

But Nakamura supposed that the Tsuchiya daughter already had Chiba for that, who is a talented Spear Bearer himself.

"I mean both families don't get along anyways," Chiba remarked, echoing Nakamura's thoughts. "But it seemed like they personally knew each other beforehand from the way Kaho talked about that Harukawa girl. They probably met during the Floor of Tests... or even before they got called into the tower. Who knows."

Nakamura had never looked so amused. "Childhood rivals?" She snickered.

Chiba chuckled at the other line. "Perhaps."

"So what happens now?"

"Uh well..." Nakamura could hear some rustling from Chiba's side of the call and she swore she just heard faint screeching right after. The sudden noises concerned her a little, so she asked, "Chiba?"

"Nothing. That was Eiji, probably ate something spicy again," Chiba sounded very unamused and deadpan as he said that. Nakamura could faintly hear arguing at a distance if she listened more carefully. "Anyways, Kaho had a burn out. That's one thing."

"It took that to stop her huh," Nakamura replied with a huff. "How many floors have you guys cleared then?"

"Five in 3 months."

What the fuck.

Nakamura's jaw hung wide open when the words had registered in her mind. A normal team would take at least a year to complete 3-4 floors, nevermind five. This is ridiculous. This team is ridiculous. "Geez... and you guys still managed to keep up with her plans and all..."

"To be fair though, the previous floors have been relatively easy," Chiba waved her off nonchalantly. "I would even say that the 20th Floor was much difficult than these five."

Nakamura sighed, leaning back to her chair. Considering it took Team END a whole year to complete the 20th Floor after numerous fails, she supposed she could believe the Spear Bearer's words this time. "Say, how many of you all are from the Ten Families?"

There was a short pause at the other side. "Well there's Kaho of course, then Miki, Daisuke, Miho, Jungyoon, and then me..." he counted.

If Nakamura was smiling right now, she was sure it would have tightened uncomfortably.

It had always slipped from her mind that Chiba himself is a Ten Great Family member despite not being a direct descendant of the family Head, the family tree he's in known for their Water Users, which Chiba had utilized to form his own spears.

But nevermind that. Team DREAM had 6 members from the Great Families? No wonder they're climbing at an incredibly fast pace.

Chiba really found himself a formidable team after he had gotten separated from Team END.

"But even then, only Miki is a direct descendant. The rest of us are too unimportant to be actually feared of as a whole..." Chiba laughed sheepishly. "Well except for our family names of course."

Nakamura would beg to differ.

"Anyways, we're at the 46th floor right now," He continued the previous topic before Nakamura had made that short intermission. "But we'll be taking an indefinite break until all of us had recovered enough to continue our climb again." He informed.

Knowing where he was getting at, Nakamura sighed for the umpteenth time. Unamused, she replied, "So you want us to catch up quickly while you all are basically dormant then, is that right?"

Shit. There is no way they could clear 17 floors before the monster team springs back into action.

Nakamura could feel the cheeky grin that Chiba must be wearing right now.

"Well you have a direct descendant from the Asano family with you now, right?" His tone sounded almost challenging when he said that. "Should be easy enough."

"You can be really annoying sometimes, Ryuunosuke." Nakamura glared at the visible Pocket floating in front of her, as if she can somehow magically transfer a sort of attack towards the other line. It didn't help that there were chuckles coming out of the mechanical sphere.

"Well, what can I say? I learned from the best."

Maybe she shouldn't have teamed up with him and Maehara at the 2nd Floor.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Some Thots on Black Sails Season 3 Episode 9

Here’s part of Eleanor’s speech to Vane in the fort, after he again confronts her with the truth that she refuses to hear. That her father was just as much a monster as any of them, that Vane was the one man in her life that actually did love her, and that she will betray anyone and everyone as soon as it suits her purposes. Suddenly in the wake of her father’s death, she thinks he was a good man. I think she has to believe that, because it’s the only way she can live with herself, now that she’s become worse than he ever was. She’s whitewashed her memory, and Vane is plainly stripping that away from her.

"You can't comprehend what you took from me, or what it was good, because there is no goodness in you. There is no humanity in you. No capacity for compromise, nor instinct towards repair, nor progress. Nor forgiveness. You are an animal."

I like Vane. He’s a terrible person for most of Season 1, and probably into Season 2 (Although the only thing I take issue with is what he did to Max, honestly.), and he’s selfish and self-serving through everything up to this point. everyone in this show is. Everyone is serving their own ends. But the difference? Eleanor is the only one that lies about it.

So, lets dissect this speech of hers, with the last scene that we saw with Vane, when he was captured. Cut because this will likely get long.

1. No goodness in him.

The most complicated argument, for sure. But I would say through season 2 and 3, he’s starting to show quite a bit of goodness. As demonstrated by the next points.

2. No humanity

Vane is brimming with humanity, and I think he hates it, because in the beginning it was a hinderance to him. Now he’s leaning into it. The first example that comes to mind is with the slaves put to work at the fort. He can’t stand it. You can see it tearing him apart, Jack even tells him he didn’t give Vane the truth of the hunt because he was trying to protect him, knowing how much it would kill him. Vane tries to work alongside them, maybe as some kind of penance, punishing himself for his part in this and, perhaps, to show they aren’t alone.

Another good example is the first prize he takes with Blackbeard, and the dying Spaniard. Vane allows him the dignity of least dying upright, fetches him some rum, and listens to his story, and is very clearly touched by it.

3. No capacity for compromise or repair

From the very beginning, Vane has been forced into quite a few compromises, actually. In the beginning he resisted. But as the show progresses, so does Vane, and he learns to accept compromise. Hell, season 3 starts with the biggest compromise he’s ever made, becoming partners with Jack and Flint for the better of Nassau. ( Which is a great lead in to the next point...)

Vane burned his bridge with Jack. Max bribed him into fixing it, but he clearly has put in work to repair things further, rather than leaving it with their awkward “reconciliation”. At first, it was an act. Now? It’s genuine. Vane cares for Jack, defended him to Blackbeard as the only one that would stand up and defend him.

4. No capacity towards progress or forgiveness.

Let’s talk about forgiveness first. Once again, Vane forgave Jack and Anne. He even forgave Max, to enough of an extent to continue working with her. He put his past with Flint behind him. I think he would even be willing to forgive Eleanor if she could just swallow her pride and apologize to him, because for some god-forsaken reason, he still loves her.

But progress. Vane’s entire character arc has been about making progress. And the biggest mark in that progress is standing with Flint to defend Nassau. The place that he’d previously been perfectly content to let burn, because he couldn’t give less of a fuck about it. In the beginning, Vane was willing to defend Nassau because it’s what Eleanor wanted. Now? He defends Nassau for the sake of what it is.

Now, let’s look at this as a case of projection.

Since the very beginning, Eleanor has served her own interests, against the guidance of others. She ignored key advice to do what she wanted. In the beginning, we were rooting for her. She was supporting Flint, because their interests were aligned, so of course we want her to buck the apparent system.

But then we begin to see that her ideals and Flint’s diverge. She wants to civilize Nassau; Flint wants the same, but he doesn’t want the crown to do it. He wants to establish his own colony free from colonial rule.

Eleanor doesn’t compromise. She either gets her way, or she makes everyone regret refusing to give it to her. The only time she “compromises”, is when it still works in her favor. Such as when she deposed Vane because of what he and his crew did to Max, and then lifted her ban as soon as it became clear she couldn’t maintain her power otherwise. Sure, she looked so sad and hurt about it, because what about Max, what will this mean to her if she reinstates Vane. Fucking nothing. It means nothing, because Eleanor is the one that tipped over that first domino. So what does it matter if this is just another one that falls in line?

Eleanor has no humanity. We are shown again and again that she will align herself with people, use them to meet her ends, and throw them away as soon as it’s convenient. She didn’t even try to ask Vane to come with her, rather than stay and face certain death with his crew. She didn’t try to compromise with him when he promised he would make things right with them, without her needing to leave him for dead.

Eleanor has the chance to repair her relationship with Max countless times. Every time, she finds away to vindictively attack her, and claim it’s for Max’s benefit. Just giving her helpful advice, of course. Not trying to cut in all the ways she knows will hurt.

Eleanor has no intentions for progress. What she’s advocating for in Nassau is a regression. A return back to colonial rule. True progress would be leaving Nassau to self-govern, establishing it as a self-sustaining state outside the rule of the crown. Exactly what Flint has been trying to do from the beginning. Eleanor doesn’t want that because a self-sustaining Nassau doesn’t answer to her. And above all else, all she cares about is maintaining her power. Nassau can burn so long as she gets to reign as queen over the ashes.

[giorno-plays-piano]

Creatures in the dark Part 2

Pairing: witch!Steve x Reader

Warning: yandere, obsession, kidnapping, allusion to non-con.

Words: 2454.

Summary: A monster dressed in human flesh was waiting for you in the woods.

Part 1

____________

That night neither your grandfather nor you returned to your beds. Despite being afraid of revealing your secret, you told him everything: about the Plague and your encounter with the dead and the boy with a lantern who you thought came to save you. Your grandfather, and old, but tough man, had cried upon hearing your story, and you cried too. You didn't remember him dropping a single tear when his wife or grandson had died, but now his face was all wet.

Once the first ray of sun reached your house through the crack in a wooden shutter, the old man rushed to the witch living in a hut at the end of the village while you stayed home, putting more ash to the door. You didn't know whether the monster lurking in the woods could walk in the daylight, but you didn't want to risk it. Maybe he wasn't as powerful as the Plague if her mark prevented him from casting a spell on you, yet he was obviously strong enough to tear a human being apart.

You had no idea how much time you spent there all alone, praying in the corner, but your grandfather returned with both the witch and one of the elders, all of them with grim expression on their dirty faces.

"Not good, not good." The old woman whose grey hair were covered with a bleak blue scarf told you, spinning around you and shaking her head. "Not good at all."

"What's not good, granny Iva?" You asked, calling her the same way you did when you were a little girl. "What do you see?"

"The blessing of the Rotten One does no harm to you, dearest child, but she gave it to you for a reason. The boy you saw was no boy at all. His scent is all over you." Her quiet raspy voice sounded like a thunder to you.

"We'll wash it off!" Your grandfather exclaimed in despair. "I'll bring water and wood to the bathhouse-"

"Silly man, no water can help you wash it off her." The elder said in return, stepping closer and looking at your forehead suspiciously. "What's already done can't be reversed now. Besides, if the Plague herself had told you it's your fate to meet the monster in the woods, we mortals can do little about it."

"But he'll take me away. He will drag me out of the house and eat me alive!"

"No, my dear. That horned monster doesn't eat human flesh. He came to claim you." The old witch whispered, taking the red like blood beads out of her pocket. "To wed you, whether you come willingly or not."

Horrified with the revelation, you felt hot tears falling down your cheeks, and your grandfather quickly embraced you, dropping a kiss to your forehead. Looking at the two angrily, he shouted, "I'll better die than give her to that creature."

"Whether you want it or not, there's not much we can help her with." The witch bit her dry, chapped lips. "My magic has never been as strong as his even when I was young and powerful. But I keep wondering why Plague had given you a blessing, yet asked you not to run from the monster. Why? What is the meaning behind her words? What strength did she grant you with her mark?"

"H-he said I wouldn't rot now." You muttered, leaning closer to the old man. "Nothing else. What other strength could it give me?"

The woman motioned to the elder, and he returned to the door, opening it a little. Before your grandfather had snapped at him furiously, the witch pointed at something on the floor. As you looked there, you saw nothing suspicious and furrowed your brows. What was there so special? As you turned your head to the woman to ask her, your grandfather suddenly gasped.

"Look! Your shadow!"

Carefully observing it again, you realized yours was much longer than shadows of others, though you were all standing close, and it couldn't possibly be the play of light. You gulped down and bit your tongue painfully. What was that all about? What was this power, if there was any at all?

You slowly moved your arm, and the shadow moved its own, following your command as it always did. Except for its length, there was nothing particularly strange.

"Ask it to move by itself."

"What do you mean? How do I ask for it?"

"Just make a wish, it's simple."

Your grandfather was pretty much terrified with witch's words, and for a moment you thought you had never seen him like that in your entire life. The elder, however, didn't look suprised even the slightest bit, and the old woman was almost eager to see what would happened next.

Chewing your lips to bits, you closed your eyes, scared and confused. The next moment you heard one more gasp, knowing that your shadow did exactly what you demanded it to - detach itself from you and move to the wall behind the witch. Dear God, she was right. The blessing gave you something you shouldn't have.

"I don't understand anything at all!" You exclaimed loudly, tearing yourself away from your grandfather and moving back, covering your face with your palms. "Why didn't she tell me about it? And why give me power if I can't escape the monster, anyway?"

"If you can't run... it doesn't mean you can't fight." The wise woman muttered under her breath, but all of you heard her, and you chocked on air. Fight? Fight this deadly creature wandering in the woods?

You asked the shadow to move to the other wall, and it did it again. Dear God, maybe the witch was right.

"Teach her!" You heard your grandfather's desperate voice and saw him gripping the witch's wrinkly arm. "Take whatever I have, but-"

The elder rolled his eyes at this outburst, shaking his head with irritation. "Are you out of your mind, old fool? We will do anything we can. I have not become the elder to watch young girls being snatched away by monsters."

"And now shut up, you two. We don't have much time before the boy comes back. Bring me the bread, the blackberry, and a few candles, now."

____________

It had been two long days before the witch sensed your monster was coming back. You barely slept, spending all your time listening and doing what granny Iva had told you, watching the miracles you could now do all by yourself. She was right, the Plague did grant you power, and though you barely knew what to do with it, even the possibility to fight the creature brought you so much joy.

The woman called him the witch boy. You found it odd: was he the son of some other witch living in the forest? Laughing at you, the elder pointed out the clear difference: granny Iva was a woman who learnt witchcraft, but the boy was the one who was born with magic coursing through his veins, able to see the ghosts and cast spells most humans couldn't. He was only half mortal, and he was probably born to an evil spirit and a human woman. Judging by the huge antlers growing from his head, he was most likely the son of Yeev, the evil deer living in the Northern forests. People used to make human sacrifices to him, bringing him women he apparently mated with. Granny Iva had never heard of him having any children, but maybe one of those poor sacrificial brides was able to bear Yeev a son.

You wouldn't be able to defeate the boy right away, you realized. Although the Plague had granted you power, it would take time to learn how to use it, and the monster would hardly wait for it. You would have to go with him and figure out how to defeat him all by yourself. However, your magic would be enough to keep him from harming you, and it was already something.

That night granny Iva had given your grandfather a sleeping potion secretly. He didn't know that you would still have to leave with the monster, and you couldn't bare watching the old man struggle against it. It was better to put him to sleep.

When the monster opened the door, you had already been prepared to leave and turned to face him, suddely seeing not the skinny boy, but a huge bearded man who barely fit into the door frame. The ash near the door burnt out the very same moment he stepped inside, blue sparks flying the air.

"Were you waiting for me?" He smiled, walking into the house, his body muscular and strong as if he were a blacksmith.

You gawked at him, unsure whether he was the monster you were waiting for. Where was that little boy with a lantern, unhealthy pale and terribly thin?

"Don't look so surprised, little one. I took this form because I thought you'd like it better." Crossing the room, he barely looked at the elderly man, snoring lightly in the corner, and moved closer to you as you backed away from him involuntarily. "Don't be so cold, love. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

You pressed your lips into a thin line, looking displeased and clenching your fists. That monster dared to play with you.

"This isn't funny, boy. Why would I care what form you take?" You said, figthing the urge to grab a handful of blackberries your pockets were full with and force them down the creature's throat. "Just get it over with."

Looking at your grim face, he offered you to take his hand, watching you intently with those dark blue eyes of his, and you reached out to him, biting your lips. You had definitely built up some courage from the night you met him, you thought, as he drew you closer, touching your hair. Running his fingers through it, the boy - the man - smiled at you again and drew a little symbol on your forehead, watching you becoming more nervous. Tensed, you furrowed your brows.

"Let's go." You urged him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the door. "I don't want my grandfather to wake up and see you taking me away."

The man hummed with content and went after you, closing the door once both of you were outside. Feeling the chill in the air, you rubbed your shoulder and looked back at the man with irritation. He was still smiling at you, and you didn't like it.

Turning away from him, you had placed a few blackberries into your mouth, trying not to smash it with your teeth, and then immediately closed the distance between the two of you, wrapping your hands around his shoulders and pressing your mouth to his. The man had opened his lips as if he welcomed you. You felt uneasy when he took all the berries willingly. Apparently, he knew of granny Iva's witchcraft.

"You can give me more." He whispered, his short beard brushing against your gentle skin. "It will be more fun this way."

You growled in frustration at his insolence, grasping a handful of blackberries and showing them into his mouth. Taking them all obediently, the man forced your hand to his lips as he licked the dark juicy drops from your skin, slipping his tongue between your fingers. Your face was growing hot with every passing second, but his grip was too strong to push the monster away.

All of a sudden, the antlers on his head appeared again, surrounded by a halo of cold blue light. The magic was starting to show his true colors.

His mouth was dirty with a few berries that got smashed when you pressed your palm against his lips, and you felt an odd urge to lick the little dark spots in the corners of his mouth clean. Damn, he was using his own magic, too.

"Let's go." You grumbled and started to walk in the direction of the woods, not wanting to awake the villagers. The man laughed behind your back and took your hand, speading up.

The silence between you as you moved was unbearable, but you didn't utter a single word until you finally reached the forest, the mist spreading slowly in between the trees. Glancing at the man, you saw he was still in that new form and chew your own tongue. When he was small, it was so much easier to imagine how you would outpower him.

"Could you please turn into the boy again?" You demanded as he came closer - you tried to hide your fear beneath the irritation.

The man chuckled, "Are you saying you'll be more obedient if I stay like this?"

Reaching out to the pocket of your dress, you smashed a few berries in your palm, colouring your skin with the sweet juice, and drew a sign on your arm before the monster reacted. You felt the wind growing stronger as you smiled at him wickedly. If the Plague herself had given you her blessing, you wouldn't become a mere prey of the creature wandering in the woods. You were not a sacrificial lamb.

The man jumped at you the next moment, and you two rolled on the ground, fighting for dominance. Cursing and growling, you bited and kicked and pushed, feeling the creature's cold hands caressing your body through the clothes. No, you wouldn't let him take you like that. Not now, not ever. Gathering all your strength and covering your palm in smashed berry pulp, you grabbed one of the antlers, and the man moaned under you, his huge form slowly changing until you saw a skinny boy lying beneath you. Amazed, he stared at you and stroked your hips lovingly with his arms growing warmer, licking his lips.

"You are so pretty." The boy muttered, looking at you through his trembling lashes. "Kiss me. Please."

Although you wanted to get up, instead you leaned closer, dropping a kiss to his soft discoloured lips and brushing your nose against his. Inhaling his earthy smell, you moved away quickly, glaring at him. Damn it, his magic was still bending you to his will.

"Don't you understand I won't stop?" You grunted, squeezing his antler stronger and making the boy wince and moan again, sitting on top of him. "I will learn, and I will fight you. I'm not gonna be your obedient little girl, listening to your every whim."

"Fight me." The boy whispered, and you felt something hard rising beneath you, brushing against your thigh. "Charm me; curse me. Do whatever you want to me, love. Just stay close."

______________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @lovelydarkdaydream

[theflashdriver]

Secret Admirer (A Silvaze Oneshot)

Silver the hedgehog did not understand time travel, that was a truth he had long come to accept. While the books he’d read, often fictional in nature, gave their own takes or explanations with regard to changing history, he’d found that the truth was far less consistent. He’d often jump back a century or two to change things, to save his friends or the world from disaster, but those changes often resulted bizarre contradictions. Upon returning to the future he’d find it totally changed by his actions, so what happened to the prior, destroyed, world?

On one occasion the world might’ve been cracked into chunks by a giant monster only to be flooded by an entirely different one upon his next visit, but he seemed to be unaffected by the world’s changes. Well, that’d been the case nine out of ten times. The first time the future had been saved was the exception to the rule. Following the battle with Solaris, his life and all he was had been reset to zero. He’d been reborn and regrown to the point of being able to change the future again, an occurrence that he didn’t understand and that could hypothetically happen again at any point. That happening now would mean losing his memories again, forgetting not only himself and his friends but his closest partner all over again. Regaining those memories once had been so difficult, a second attempt might well prove impossible.

So, if he didn’t understand time travel and it could be so dangerous, why on earth was he daring to do this? Why had he hidden himself in the bushes of the royal gardens, from dusk till the rapidly approaching dawn, staring up at his best friend’s balcony? Why had he turned back the clock a single day to crouch in the hedgerows for what must have been over ten hours? Well, because the oncoming morning had been a rather bizarre day for him.

——

The day had started in a not so peculiar way. He’d awakened as his door was kicked in and a familiar voice bellowed through the entryway, “Rise and shine mate! Your Sheila’s here and I’m hungry!”

Though this happened every third or so day, her words had sent him tumbling from his hammock and he only just managed to catch himself before he could hit the ramshackle floor, “Good morning Marine,” He managed to groan, floating himself upright, “It’s morning already?”

“Morning, afternoon, evening? What does that matter, I’m telling you to get up, get your head on mate,” She beamed up at him, already dressed in her shipwright’s overalls, “I heard about your late night out, but that’s no excuse to leave your lady hanging, let alone leave me without breakfast!”

“Late night out? What are you...?” As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the hedgehog’s brain kicked into gear. Marine only used terms like Sheila when she was talking about one person, “Wait, Blaze is here? I thought she was busy today; we were going to meet up tonight?”

“Well, for obvious reasons, she wants to see you now,” Marine’s grin went from excited to mischievous, “You’d better not keep her waiting.”

Marine had joked about the two of them being more than friends for some time now, so this was nothing new to the hedgehog. Whenever he left for the castle the raccoon would ask if he was going to see his girlfriend. Whenever they went on outings, professional or otherwise, Marine would insist on calling them dates. Blaze still seemed to struggle with it sometimes but, to be honest, he’d learned to let it fly over his head. The words Blaze and girlfriend had practically become synonymous in Silver’s head, even if he knew they weren’t actually the same.

Regardless of Marine’s chosen vernacular, Blaze’s mention was enough to send him into a hurry. Psychic light filled the room, his semi-private space in the bric-a-brac house that Marine had made, and immediately set about preparing him for the day. A set of boots pulled themselves onto his feet, his gloves slipped over his hands and his quills were straightened from frightful bedhead into their usual maple leaf style. There was a time when he wouldn’t have cared to do any of this, when he’d have simply stumbled put there to greet her, but the feline had trained him to be far neater in this second life.

“Alright, let’s go,” He grinned, knocking the door ajar with his powers before stepping around her.

“Hey, don’t get distracted by her, mate. I still want my breakfast!” The shipwright whined, trotting along behind him.

Their hut on the beach was a small place, mostly made of driftwood and iron, so it didn’t take Silver long to perform his usual stumbling dance over Marine’s half-finished inventions and into the kitchen. The combined cooking and eating station was at their home’s entrance, it was the first room any visitors ever saw. He’d made sure to clean the surfaces and put everything away the night before, in an effort to avoid an earful from his feline friend. The sight Silver encountered so heavily contrasted what he’d left last night.

Not only had the raccoon evidently awoken early and started tinkering, laying out all manner of machine on the kitchen table, but his companion looked so very different. For once, the guardian of the Sol emeralds wasn’t wearing her royal robes. Blaze was instead garbed in something far lighter, a long white sundress with a ruffled style. Its straps were thin but made to look thicker by what, even from a distance, the hedgehog could identify as embroidered felt lilies. There she sat, absorbing all of his attention, a simple glass of water placed in front of her. Was she smiling? It looked like she was, but maybe not fully. Well, it wasn’t unlike her to smother such an emotion.

“Good morning, Silver,” The hedgehog felt something strange in his chest as her words distracted him from his staring. Suddenly, it felt hotter than usual. That phenomena had happened a few times, but Blaze had sworn that it wasn’t her power’s doing.

“Good morning, Blaze,” He beamed, ignoring that strange feeling. Marine barged past as he stood somewhat stunned in the doorway, “I thought you were busy today?”

“I am, I’m just,” She went from smiling to fidgeting very quickly, hands set upon get glass, “Stopping in. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Blaze was apparently good at hiding her emotions but, for as long as he could remember, Silver had been able to see through them. Right now though, there was something flickering across her brow that Silver couldn’t place. She looked uncomfortable but Silver had seen her uncomfortable, he’d seen her sleeping on tarmac when they couldn’t reach their beds, this was a very different kind of discomfort. As if to make things even stranger, he couldn’t help but notice the heat lines that were blurring the air around her frame. That was a sight he only ever saw when she was seriously angry or upset, it usually indicated an immanent burning outburst and gave him time to mediate.

Again though, he couldn’t help but notice, despite that hint and her apparent discomfort, was that happiness in her eyes? A strange smell seemed to hang around her. It wasn’t unlike the feline to use strong perfume to mask the scent of flames but beneath the smell of lavender there was something else. Something had undoubtedly caught fire, but he couldn’t place what.

“What, me? Yeah, I’m fine,” He said, stepping fully into the room as he pulled himself from another daydream, “That dress is so nice, it really suits you.”

“Thank you,” She quickly uttered, raising the glass to her lips and absentmindedly casting her gaze to the ramshackle room’s large window

“Geez, you two really aren’t good at this,” The younger girl sounded, jumping up to sit at the table, “The dress is nice, Silver? After everything, that’s the best you could manage?”

“I mean, Blaze always looks pretty so it’s difficult to compliment her,” He quickly and bluntly responded, honest as ever, “But that dress makes her look even more beautiful than normal; it really suits her,” Silver saw an opportunity to enquire and turned back the feline, “Is something happening today?”

“No, not particularly, I just...” As the feline was talking, seemingly without her even noticing, her left shoulder ignited, “Was curious what you thought of it. I bought it a while ago thought I should wear it out for once. I’m glad you like it.”

“M-Mate, you’re-

Before the raccoon could finish, Silver had gently stepped to Blaze’s side. Concern was welling in the hedgehog’s head, not because of the fire itself but what it represented in Blaze’s mind. Casually, as he had done so many times before, he reached out and pressed a psychically shielded hand upon her shoulder. In an instant, like a hood covering a candle, he dispelled the flames with a gentle hiss. In their wake though, Silver felt a tenseness in her body.

He leaned in, getting face to face with her, but the prokinetic’s eyes fled from his, “Blaze, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Silver. Sorry, I just lost focus for a moment,” He’d known her long enough to know when she was lying. Something was going on.

Silver leaned in even further, pushing his forehead against hers, “You feel hotter than usual,” He confirmed aloud, meeting her eyes as he pulled back, “Are you sure? You might be sick...”

“I’m fine, really,” She insisted, “I-I just wanted to see you as soon as I could.”

“See me?” Silver blinked, confused, “But aren’t we meeting tonigh-

Before he could question Blaze any further though, Marine started to yell, “That’s more like it! See Silver, when you try, you can do it. You should sweep her off her feet more often; who knows, she might wear more pretty dresses.”

“Marine,” The guardian frowned, her ears folding, “If you must make such comments could you please keep your voice down.”

“Well I’m sorry I’m getting in the way of you and your boyfriend’s private time,” The youth stuck her tongue out, “But he’s supposed to be making me breakfast!”

“Fine, Marine, I’ll start on breakfast. Just settle down,” The psychic sighed, casting his aura across the room. The cupboards popped open, jam and utensils floated their way down to the worktop as bread jumped up and into the toaster, “So why did you want to see me, Blaze?”

“I just thought I should...” She shook her head, seeming to return to a more stoic demeanour, “I wanted to make sure you two were okay and now I know you both are, I’m glad. That’s all. Thank you for the water, Marine. I should probably get going.”

Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong with his partner. Silver felt his heart beat faster as he called out to her, “Wait, um,” She froze at his exclamation having just left her chair. He had no idea what to say but he knew he didn’t want her to leave, not until he understood, “Do you want some breakfast?”

“I need to hurry back to the castle,” She bit her lip, “But yes, if it’s not too much bother I... suppose, yes.”

The feline slid back into her seat and, instantly, a smug look overcame Marine’s face. Should he have asked that? Did the raccoon know something he didn’t? They seemed to have talked before she woke him up.

“Alright, I can do some toast really quickly, that way you won’t start work on an empty stomach,” Silver suggested, throwing a small smile her way.

The little grin had returned to her face and she had stayed. That was a good sign, right? She really had been hotter than usual though; in fact, she’d gotten even hotter the longer his head pressed against hers. Something was wrong or, at the very least, he didn’t understand what was going on. Regardless, Silver reset the toaster and slid two more slices in.

“So,” Blaze broke the silence again, he tried to stop staring, “Do you two have much planned for today?”

“Oh, the usual, you know. Start work on a couple new ships, go a sail,” Mischief was reborn on the raccoon’s face as she threw her gaze towards him, “Silver?”

“Might do a little bit of gardening or tidy the house a bit. I was honestly just going to wait the day away till I could come see you,” He turned to Blaze and admitted but, still sensing the tension in the air, he felt he had to say more, “So it’s nice to see you now. How about you?”

Almost instantly, Blaze’s gaze broke from him and fell back to her now almost empty glass, “Well, in a manner of speaking, I planned to do the same, until this morning,” Again, that strange half smile had overtaken her face; it was as though she was happy but, simultaneously, grappling with something else. Those heat lines looked even clearer too, Silver swore that he could feel her warmth radiating, “Not to say today’s meetings aren’t important, but I’d be lying if I said they addressed was especially pressing. It’s mostly updates on projects already well under construction, deciding whether and where to assign more funding. I honestly already know which projects need an extra boost and what projects are on the right track.”

“Anything we could help with?” Silver piqued up.

“Oi, don’t speak for me mate,” Marine blustered across as Blaze took a moment to think.

“Well, there was a plan to build a new lighthouse on the island that has rather stalled. The shores aren’t especially dangerous but there has been some call for it,” Blaze responded, ignoring the youngster.

“Wait, a lighthouse? Strewth, that sounds great,” The shipwright claimed, doing a complete one-eighty, “That’ll be easy. With Silver’s help, I could get it done in a weekend.”

“If you want my help then I’m more than happy to give it,” Silver promised, “Will that make your meetings easier?”

“Significantly, thank you-

The popping of the toaster cut the feline off. The psychic cast his hand across the room, but he kept his eyes on his companion, “Jam?”

“Blackcurrant if you still have it,” Blaze ordered, “I think that’s still my favourite of the batch you made.”

The hedgehog felt a wiry smile bend its way over his lips. Silver wasn’t the easiest person to fluster, apparently he was oblivious to most embarrassing things, but that compliment cut to his core. It wasn’t the first time she’d said that, but it still sent heat to his cheeks.

“I want strawberry and peanut butter!” Marine insisted, seeming to struggle with not being the focus for a full second.

“I know Marine, I know,” He managed to mutter, turning his full attention to the task in an attempt to smother his glee.

Quick as a flash, cutlery flew and jars were unscrewed as the hedgehog kited the toast toward completion. One after another, two plates landed on Marine’s ramshackle table. Silver meanwhile simply kept his overly topped toast in his psychic grasp.

Marine immediately set about devouring her plateful but, as ever, Blaze was more courteous. With a quick, “Thank you,” she claimed her first mouthful. Silver took the middle road between the two of them, eating quickly in his own bizarre way, but also knowing how not to make a mess. All the while, he sent the cutlery to clean itself and began to psychically tidy.

The raccoon, her mouth still full, snorted, “Show off. I shouldn’t have to do any chores; you can do them all so easily.”

“It’s important to take responsibility, Marine. Silver won’t always be here to look after you,” Blaze tutted.

“Yeah, so while he is here, I should take advantage of him,” Was her whining response, “If I could do what he can then I’d have made so many more ships by now, you’d practically have a navy!”

“You take advantage of him enough as it is,” The feline insisted, gesturing to the half-formed metal masses on the table, “Look at this mess, it’s all yours but he was planning on cleaning it up. How many times has he done that?”

“Blaze, if you’re going to act like my Mum then can you at least hurry up and marry Dad?” Marine sneered.

Silver had expected another retort, the two could bounce back and forth like this for hours, but instead a silence hung in the air. The time traveller looked to Blaze only for her gaze to quickly flick away from him. She raised her glass to her lips only to find it empty, he hadn’t seen her take the last swig.

Silver felt compelled to break the silence, “Marine, you can’t keep saying these things…”

“Oh, what, now that you’ve actually made a move I can’t joke about you two? No way!” The youngster jeered.

He blinked, “What d-

“I-I need to get going anyway,” Blaze cut him off, “My first meeting is about to start.”

“What, already?” Silver could feel that strange vibe in the air, it was stronger than ever, “But you just got here.”

“It can’t be helped; work may wait for me but I don’t want to delay others. Besides, you’ll see me again tonight, won’t you?” She asked, perhaps rhetorically or perhaps not, “Just come in how you usually do, sneak in through my back window, I might be a little late now that I’ve...” Again, Blaze’s shoulder caught fire but this time the feline noticed and obsessively patted it out. Concern and regret overtook her face before she tore her gaze from him. She rose from her seat and stepped past him, heading toward the door, “I need to go, the meeting will start soon.”

“Blaze, are you sure you’re okay?” He called across, just missing as he reached for her hand but successfully halting her in her tracks, “You’re acting strange today. If you need help with something then I’ll do my best, you know that, right? Just like with the lighthouse.”

“Don’t be so naive,” She’d practically snapped at him but when she looked back at him that strange emotion had filled her eyes, “If you can do this then I can do this.”

He was so confused but he couldn’t get a word in before the door opened. Her smile grew and fused into whatever other emotion had been battling. Silver had seen Blaze set herself alight and charge into battle, he’d seen her conjure a million different flames, but that smile was more blinding than any she could produce. He wanted to etch it into his mind, hold it close and never let it go. He’d seen countless expressions on that pale muzzle of hers, but none of them could compare to this simple yet complete smile.

Her words almost failed to break him from a trance of her own creation, “I’m so glad I managed to see you this morning, but I’m already looking forward to tonight, Silver.”

“S-See you later, Blaze,” What was that? He’d stuttered? Why did his mouth feel dry all of a sudden, what was going on?

Once the door was closed, the grey hedgehog rushed to the window, wanting to watch the guardian depart, only to find she’d frozen a few paces from their porch. She raised a hand to her forehead, seeming to rub her brow, only for her entire upper back to burst into flames again. He watched as she pulled her hand down her face and balled her fists at her side. Though the flames grew brighter for a moment, they were soon snuffed by her own will. Silver watched as she quickly marched away, without another glance back or moment’s hesitation, but his eyes were drawn to her tail. Even while the rest of her had returned to a seemingly serious state, that appendage was flicking back and forth.

“Oh strewth, look mate, she’s left you something!” Silver’s thoughts were again interrupted as he turned to find the raccoon had left her seat.

Atop the chair she’d fled, Blaze had left a small package wrapped in white paper and bound with a cyan ribbon. He approached and Marine, having taken a gander at it herself, passed it his way with a smug grin. Attached to the ribbon was a tag which, in Blaze’s cursive and neat handwriting, read, “To my Secret Admirer. It was my first time making these and I had to rush, but I hope you manage to enjoy them. From your own Secret Admirer.”

“Secret admirer...?” He read aloud, still staring at the small package.

“I mean, come on Silver. You didn’t really think you could trick her, did you?” Marine said, on the verge of laughing, “Who else would leave Blaze flowers? Of course she knew it was you.”

Silver felt the gears in his skull clang and rattle as he struggled to parse through all this. What Marine had just said was clear but the parcel, Blaze’s dress and how uncomfortable she’d looked? It was all compounding, but there was a problem.

“Flowers? What flowers?” Silver asked, still staring at the little parcel.

“Aww come on, mate, don’t play dumb. You’ve been caught. She told me herself, she went out onto her balcony this morning and there was a whole bouquet out there. That’s the way you get into her room, right?” Marine snorted, jumping back onto her chair, “You just fly up there and go through the balcony door, that way no one else knows about you two havin’ your lil’ kissing sessions. Of course she knew it was you, who else could have put the flowers there?”

Did Blaze not receive flowers often? She was the guardian of this dimension after all, not to mention the best person he knew. He supposed them arriving on her balcony did make things different, did perhaps imply they were from him. But they weren’t. Someone else had put them there.

The gift in his hands wasn’t for him, it was for them.

“Who else could have put them there...” Silver parroted, eyes still fixed to the package.

“Mate? Mate, are you still there?” Marine snapped her fingers bur his attention barely wavered from the dozen thoughts fighting in his head. He only just managed to look up at her, “I always knew you had it in you, but I didn’t think it’d be so soon. I was sure you two would pussyfoot around your feelings for another couple of years at least.”

Who could this so-called secret admirer be? There was no way it could be someone from the other dimension, getting here was just too much trouble for them. Was it one of the palace staff? Had a maid or a butler cleaned Blaze’s room and left the flowers there, only for them to be discovered the day after?

The hedgehog’s nose twitched. Whatever he was holding, it was producing the scent that had undercut Blaze’s perfume. The cat had tried her hand at baking or cooking of some sort, by the weight and scent that much was clear, but he couldn’t bring himself to open the parcel. Even though she thought it was, this parcel wasn’t intended for him. This package was intended for her secret admirer, whoever had plucked up the nerve to set flowers on her doorstep. Though he had happily eaten her food before, Blaze always seemed embarrassed about her cooking. She’d never thought highly of what she made.

She must have rushed to make this gift, unwilling to let that show of affection go unreturned for even half a day.

He had to make things right, he had a duty to! And what choice did he have either way, he couldn’t claim responsibility for the bouquet at her back door. No matter how he felt, if it was concern or happiness or... something else. What was this feeling? There was a strange tightness in his chest and a bizarre concoction of emotions swirling in his head, all of which entirely confused him. He kept visualising her where she’d sat when he’d walked in the room, that little smile on her face and how it’d grown as she left.

“Well, go on mate, don’t keep me in suspense. Aren’t you going to open your prezie?” Marine asked, still entirely oblivious.

Thoughts were still streaming through his head, but they’d latched onto a single idea and new thoughts had begun to chorales around it. He had to find out who this admirer was and either tell Blaze or give them her present, he wasn’t sure which. But how could he do that? How could he mend this faux pas?

A sound began to blare in the room, very almost throwing Silver from his feet. The hedgehog’s eyes tracked it to its source, tracing up the wall, only to find the rickety cuckoo clock that Marine had made last month. A painted green bird had poked its head through a pair of doors and began to whistle. It was as he stared at that clock, its hands reading eight in the morning, that a thought fought its way through Silver’s jumbled emotions.

What if he went back in time to scope out Blaze’s actual secret admirer; what if he went back and identified them? Could he do that? Of course he could do it, but should he do it? Was that right? Was that wrong? He felt a headache growing behind his eyes, like an ice-pick wiggling its way into his brain, as all of his confusion returned.

He had to do something, but this was all he could think to do. Having seen that smile on her face, just telling Blaze it wasn’t him didn’t seem right. He’d find out who this secret admirer was and then explain the whole situation tonight, give her the choice whether or not to know who they are and then whether either of them should deliver the present. Something about that still didn’t sit right with him, something he couldn’t place, but he had to do something! He had to make things right; he had to help her!

“I need to go, Marine. I might not be back till tomorrow,” He said, hearing the faintness in his own voice.

“That’a boy! Chase after her, just like Amy does Sonic; bust down the door, interrupt that meeting! Now’s your shot so you’d better not waste it!” Marine yelled, but Silver barely heard her over the racket in his head as he raced out the door and began to channel temporal psychic energy.

—

His position in the bushes was growing more uncomfortable by the microsecond, he’d surely been squatting for hours now. There hadn’t even been a nice night sky to look up at, he’d been staring up at her balcony and its plain white curtains for what felt like days. Traveling back through time to arrive here had been the easy part, the wait was the real killer. He’d sent himself back to just after sunset, knowing that his arrival in the midst of the night might scare off the princess’ potential suitor. It was a far smaller jump through time than he regularly did, the shift backwards hadn’t tired him in the least, but now his eyelids were heavy and the balls of his feet ached. The sun was rising, the world was beginning to awaken, and Silver couldn’t help but feel a little tense. No bouquet had arrived on Blaze’s balcony nor had one been present upon his arrival. No one had so much as entered the royal gardens in the entire time he’d been here.

Silver heard his stomach grumble; it’d been calling out to him for the past three hours, just as time had switched from trickling like molasses to stumbling like a lost snail. Sequestered in the hedge beside him was Blaze’s gift, a parcel not set to exist for what was likely a handful more hours. It was food he wouldn’t dare claim for himself and that had convinced time to tick by even more slowly.

He’d already fantasised about the package’s potential contents, of course he had. Cookies seemed most likely to him, Blaze had made him cookies back when he’d first arrived in her dimension, but perhaps that disqualified them. He’d heard that people made each other chocolate on Valentine’s Day and, with that event being advertised as just a couple of weeks away, he had drawn an association between such a gift and romance. Come to think of it though, he wasn’t especially well educated on what romantic rituals were in this dimension. For all he knew, there could be bread or a croissant in there. He was fairly sure he could rule out fish or some other cooked meat and modestly certain he could limit his assumptions to baked goods, but not entirely.

As his stomach made yet another demand, Silver couldn’t help but sigh. Whoever this supposed romantic was, they were certainly leaving it to the last second. Blaze had a busy day ahead of her, especially since she was set to cook this gift and visit him. There was no way she’d be up any later than seven. The hedgehog had slept over in her room enough times to know that, despite how it clearly annoyed her, the guardian always set an early alarm and insisted on leaving her bedroom by seven. Every day had to be productive in some shape or form. Well, almost every day.

Once or twice, when he’d stayed over, she’d ended up breaking that rule. He’d always blamed himself for those occasions, they’d stay up playing games or reading or simply talking. When they’d lived together in the destroyed future there had been no hard rule on when to wake up, so Blaze always blamed that for her tendency to sleep in around him. Would nights like that still happen after her misplaced assumption was revealed? Could they?

He shook those thoughts from his head, he couldn’t daydream; he had to stay alert! He was on a mission! There was no way she’d sleep in today if she’d found time to bake. By now the chirping of birdsong had begun to breach the airwaves, a sign of the ever-encroaching morning. This was a sound that Silver knew almost too well, on the more common occasions that they hadn’t slept in he’d spent the morning identifying them. Pretty songbirds weren’t uncommon on the island, their chirps and hums punctuated almost every outing, but, for once, Silver couldn’t bring himself to focus on their music. Their presence implied that the moment was approaching, Blaze would awaken soon.

This suitor was really leaving it to the very last moment. If they were leaving it this long then the delivery would surely be quick, but Silver wasn’t even sure how they’d reach her balcony. The overhang was a good ten metres off the ground, Silver could only get up there because he could fly. There were no vines or trellis to climb and the wall was practically smooth. Maybe they’d just throw the bundle of flowers up there? With the right arc it was certainly possible, but a slight miscalculation could ruin them. The longer he’d considered it, the more it made sense that Blaze had assumed he was the source.

By this point he’d, of course, considered this suitor’s nature a hundred times over. He’d gone through countless names and faces, dug his way through a bottomless well of theories and found none that could satisfy him. The closest he’d come was an assumption that only served to raise several additional queries; that this supposed suitor might have been someone that he, and perhaps even Blaze, didn’t know. Those flowers might have been sent her way by some daring admirer, perhaps having gained an admiration for the feline following one of her speeches. The cat seemed to loathe those even more than the meetings that preceded them, but there was no denying that Blaze could keep an audience on their toes.

He’d heard that the feline’s speeches scared some of the populous, the feline herself seemed to think they all did. Blaze could be stern, she could be gruff, but her every word carried a charisma that he couldn’t ignore. Whenever she was on a stage or even just in the room, he could barely take his eyes off of her. It was as if she was magnetic, capable of reeling him in without so much as trying. It wasn’t so unthinkable that someone else would see things as he did. Despite her disagreeing, he’d long assumed that was the norm.

The balcony was still empty. The rustling wind, the groan of his stomach and the chirping of the birds’ morning choir were making his ears ring. He’d be kept in the dark for some time, the sun rose from the castle’s front and set towards its back. This was intentional, so Blaze had told him. When the island had first been settled, this plot had specifically been designated for the palace and designed to grant a sunset view from the royal bedchambers. It was the very first thing decided upon, thought to aid in appeasing the Sol emeralds. Now though, it simply made for an astonishing view. Night was oh so long away, regardless of the path he took to it. He couldn’t dwell on that though, the mere thought made him even sleepier.

Silver dared to cast a quick glance skyward. He found that the clouds had begun to part above him, the deep navy he recalled had shifted more towards an indigo. He’d surely missed the sunrise for a second time by now but, as much as he loved to watch a good sunrise, this was more important. Time kept ticking on and on, its meandering waltz taunting him more and more with each passing second. Though he wholeheartedly believed his task was important and knew he wouldn’t regret this hungry isolation, the hedgehog couldn’t help but grow more aggravated at this secret admirer. What was taking them so long? If they wanted to hide from her then they should have delivered the flowers hours ago, around the one or two in the morning. Sure, they might not have known her schedule, but they had to assume she rose early, right? Thinking otherwise was-

In the blink of an eye, the white curtains were parted. For what couldn’t have been more than a second, Silver saw Blaze in her nightgown before she slipped back and into her room. Morning had arrived, morning had undeniably arrived, yet Blaze’s secret admirer was nowhere to be seen! Attempting to be subtle, trying his hardest to be stealthy, Silver fully poked his head from his bush and took in his greater surroundings. He was still flanked on either side by rose bushes, red lilies still bloomed in their plots before him and the grass looked entirely untrodden. No one had come, no one had even so much as passed though; outside of his presence and that of the flickies, the gardens had gone entirely untouched!

He dared to stretch to his full height, glancing over the hedgerows, only to find a similar scene lay behind him. Though his shift spooked some of the birds, it didn’t reveal any hidden person. No one was here, he was the only one here! If things were regular then Blaze was about to leave and take breakfast; she’d baked instead but that was beside the point, she was going to be out of that room in no more than twenty minutes.

Desperate, feeling sweat mount on his forehead, he half whispered yet half shouted, “Hey! Secret admirer, where are you?”

No reply, not even a movement, came.

As though it was some great feat of psychic might, a realisation made Silver almost faint. Blaze had already opened her curtains; she’d already looked out to the world below. Was she even going to look out her window again? But the events of today had happened, he’d already experienced everything first-hand! Her gift was still in the bush, her secret admirer couldn’t have missed their moment, why would that even happen?

He could feel sweat greasing his palms, he grabbed her gift and held it tight to remind himself that it was real. She had arrived at his home in that cute dress, though awkwardness had limited her, the feline had smiled at him in a way she never had before. It’d all happened, he could remember it clearly, but how many times had he changed the past? Was this his fault? By trying to observe the inciting incident, had he shifted the timeline in such a way that it never occurred? There were sayings about this, that changing the slightest thing could have drastic ramifications for the future. He’d never experienced that in all his travels, he’d always had to really try to change the world, work hard and fight. Little travels tended to make no difference, he’d go back to visit Amy or Sonic and find his future the same, why would that change now?

As his head rattled, Silver couldn’t help but cast his mind back. Blaze’s smile as she’d left the hut, had that just vanished from this reality? The effort she’d gone to this morning, was that gone too? She wouldn’t do it all without cause, she wouldn’t have lied to Marine about the gift; something had to have happened, flowers had to arrive. It was supposed to happen, it had happened! She’d worn that dress for a reason; those flowers must have meant a lot to her, but why?

In all his hours out here, in amongst the roses and the lilies, he’d not even consider it once. What was a bouquet to her when she had this garden filled with flowers?

That simple question spun into another; would she have done what she had for any stranger who delivered her flowers? Given her position, the guardian of the Sol emeralds surely received far more lavish gifts on a regular basis… didn’t she? She did. He knew she’d received flowers, flowers and so much more. Outfits from renown designers, jewellery from around the world, expensive foods and marvellous furnishings. What was a bundle of flowers on her windowsill compared to those gifts? He’d never seen her in that dress or any like it before, so it wasn’t as if her change in garb was tied to receiving just any gift. Was it because she thought it was from him? Had the gift’s form not mattered at all? Was the assumed intent behind it enough to change things or… did it mean more because it had come from him?

Giving gifts wasn’t unlike Silver, despite how difficult it was to pick gifts for Blaze. Usually he’d end up baking her a cake or cook her dinner, that way the effort behind his actions was clear even if it was a bit plain. His jam was a prime example of such a gift, something he’d made for her. Whenever she casually bought him things, utilising her great wealth, he’d end up jumping for joy and beaming. Blaze’s reaction to his gifts were usually more subdued but she always made her thankfulness clear. Though it was rarely as over the top as this morning, she always returned his gestures. Did she do that for anyone else? Surely, if she received so many gifts, being so personal would take up a ridiculous amount of time.

His heart was thumping against his ribcage, beating like their feet against the pavement as they’d fled from Iblis. What was he thinking, how dare he even think this? If was foolish, selfish, naïve! No matter how special their bond was, Blaze surely valued all the gifts she received.

But experience told him that she didn’t. Though Blaze took pride in her position as guardian, she didn’t care for baubles attached to it. She’d complain to him about public appearances and newspaper photos for hours on end, only wear her regular robes despite having a closet filled with different outfits. She didn’t even wear much jewellery, despite having boxes filled with the stuff. It seemed like those gifts, only conjured due to her position as princess, meant litle to the pyrokinetic. But did that mean, no matter how basic, a gift from him meant more? It was all so confusing, what had happened to her secret admirer? Why did they have to put him in such a difficult situation? What were all these feelings?

The clicking of a latch threw Silver from his thoughts and sent him tumbling back into the bush, the flickies immediately fled at one of those two sounds. From an even less comfortable hiding spot, awkwardly lying with her gift atop her chest and rose thorns in his back, the hedgehog watched as Blaze the cat appeared on her balcony. She was dressed, but not in the outfit he’d seen a few hours in the future. Despite her regular robes, the sight of her face as the cracked remnants of thoughts reconstituted in his mind was enough to set his cheeks alight. In a few hours from now, he’d say that Blaze always looked pretty. He’d always considered that to be the truth, but it’d be said out of impulse, as a way to quickly placate Marine. In this moment though, it was undeniable. Even in the shade of her castle, from such a difficult angle and obscured by countless branches, Blaze was beautiful. Her amber eyes could cut the dark so casually as to make the sun jealous.

But her coming out here now was practically a miracle, why had she done it? He wasn’t sure what time it was, but her bout of impromptu gift preparation would undoubtedly take an hour or more. For things to go as they had, she had to start now. Time had run out, the suitor had missed their chance, that smile and her joy was set to be erased from reality. For whatever reason, that person simply hadn’t shown up. Why? What could have happened? Where could they be? He’d been the only one here, it wasn’t as thought they’d got cold feet at the last second. There was no way, he’d stayed up all night, he’d have noticed if someone had come and gone.

It was then that Silver remembered one of the many thoughts he’d cycled through while waiting for the suitor. He didn’t know how time travel really worked, he’d read books and observed a handful of oddities, but he didn’t know the truth about all that. All he knew was that Blaze’s suitor was supposed to leave flowers on her balcony this morning, that Blaze would be leaving her room with no intent on returning any moment now, that he was the only one in range of her balcony and that he was surrounded by flowers. It seemed like the perfect set up for a very specific kind of time paradox that he had never experienced nor observed. A time loop of sorts.

Of course, he immediately dismissed that as a stupid thought born of his tired and hungry state. Having thoughts about their bond or how pretty she looked was entirely pointless now, the suitor was supposed to show up here and secretly drop off a bundle of flowers for the feline so that she’d come to him. That was how things were, that was how things were supposed to be. Besides, the flowers around him were her flowers; surely her supposed secret admirer would bring their own?

His thoughts were cut short as, without the birds chirping to obscure things, Silver was able to hear knocking at Blaze’s bedroom door. Marine had mentioned that the flowers were on her bedroom landing, but perhaps she had been mistaken? Maybe things were somewhere else then he’d have missed-

“It’s Gardon, your majesty! I’ve got news to share,” He managed to only just overhear.

Ah, it was Gardon, perhaps he was the one who delivered this apparent secret suitor’s flowers.

He watched as she turned to look into her bedchamber and spoke, “You may enter.”

“Your highness, I’m afraid a number of today’s meetings have been rescheduled. It’s going to be an earlier start than we anticipated,” Oh, that made things seem even more impossible. What time was it?

“Oh? Has something happened?” She questioned. If Gardon had brought flowers, then he’d have led with them, right? And surely she’d have mentioned them, Blaze was usually very blunt.

“Unfortunately, the manager of the island’s bridge projects has found himself double booked. Apparently, an environmental survey is set to occur for one of the construction sites. He is most apologetic, your highness,” No mention of flowers, nothing; Gardon clearly didn’t have them.

So, if this suitor was going to arrive then this was surely the moment. It had to be here, it had to be now, while she was distracted. They’d run up, throw the flowers, and run away… right?

Silver’s heart began to race once more. He cast his gaze to his surroundings but still no suitor had shown themselves, no individual had arrived to show their affection for Blaze. He was the only one here, he was surrounded by flowers and time was running out. That preposterous, ridiculous, and unfounded concept flagged within his mind again. He’d never known time travel to work as he was imagining. But then, he didn’t know how time travel worked in the first place.

“That’s fine, it can’t be helped, but, Gardon, how many times have I told you not to use that title,” With that complaint, the pieces all aligned, an opportunity had revealed itself.

Without another moment of hesitation, not so much as thinking as he moved, Silver stepped from the bushes and cast his hands to his surroundings. With power of psychokinesis, he clipped roses from the hedge and cut lilies to size. As flower after flower gathered in his psychic grasp he winced, regretting that he hadn’t foreseen this possibility in time enough to take flowers from literally anywhere else. He glanced to his surroundings, making a final check. There was no secret admirer, only him. Explaining himself this evening was going to be oh so awkward, perhaps even more awkward than if a suitor had appeared, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that.

“I-I’m sorry, Blaze,” The koala was stammering, it was almost like destiny! Rushing with his psychic powers, he threw himself into the air with her still to be made gift in one hand and his gift not yet given in the other, “It’s a failing of mine, I know. I must improve.”

He passed behind her and placed the flowers atop her balcony wall. Fortunately, Gardon had assumed a full bow as part of his apology and entirely missed the psychic’s appearance. The hedgehog passed entirely unnoticed.

“Regardless, I’m almost prepared. I’ll be down for breakfast, tell the manager not to worry,” Blaze sighed, turning just in time to miss the psychic as he flipped up and onto the castle’s roof. The very last thing he saw was her ears flickering as she noticed the bouquet.

“V-Very well, thank you,” Gardon’s voice, made almost inaudible by Silver’s new position, was punctuated by the closing of the bedroom door.

Silver didn’t dare look down from his roost, despite how desperately he longed to see the look on her face. Knowing what it led to, it must have been a smile just as beautiful as the one she’d worn before leaving his home. Still, this all didn’t quite sit right with Silver. There was still every chance that her suitor was supposed to show themselves, that he had just abused his power and interrupted someone else. Careful to remain outside Blaze’s potential view, the hedgehog dashed across the palace roof and scanned the grounds as best he could.

He kept to the rooftops, checking all directions in search of some hidden suitor whose plans he might have just ruined. None manifested, no matter how hard he searched, but it took the sight of Blaze leaving the castle, dressed as he’d seen and would go on to see her, for Silver to finally stop. No matter where he looked, no matter how he tried, he could find neither an individual fleeing the grounds nor anyone approaching with flowers. The hedgehog ended up near the front face of the castle, opposite to where he’d been, hiding behind a turret in an attempt to avoid any backward glances from Blaze. Dropping to his backside, his eyes fell upon clouds coloured scarlet and the sun drifting above the horizon. The day was just beginning in the kingdom of Sol; a slightly younger him was out there, still fast asleep.

There was a term for what he’d just created, for the time anomaly he’d just experienced. If everything had gone as he thought it had then Silver had just made a bootstrap paradox, but there was only one way to know for sure. He had to go back, he had to live in what he’d created. No matter how beautiful the sunrise was, it couldn’t compare to her smile, and he didn’t have time to rest.

---

His arrival at his own doorstep was a bumbling one. No less than five minutes after he left, but no more than ten, Silver the hedgehog manifested outside Marine’s shack. The hedgehog immediately did a full three-sixty, taking in his surroundings. As far as he could tell, there were no drastic changes from the morning he had lived through. Their beachside home was still untouched and Blaze was nowhere in sight.

Pressing himself against the building, the hedgehog dared to peer through the kitchen window. He immediately identified Marine, sat at the table and tinkering with a model boat. There was no sign of the feline inside or a time-displaced doppelganger of himself, everything seemed to be how he’d hoped it’d be. How it seemed and how it was weren’t necessarily the same though.

Feeling even more thoroughly exhausted after his jump back through time, he managed to barge his way into the house and locked eyes with the youngster, “Marine, what just happened? Is everything alright?” He practically snapped, stumbling over his feet as he slammed the door shut with his back.

“Silver? What’re you doing back already?” She asked, plainly surprised, but didn’t wait for his answer, “What do you mean what just happened, of course everything’s fine. You ran out there after Blaze… don’t tell me you got cold feet already,” Marine shook her head in disgust, turning back to work.

That was a good sign, but it wasn’t enough for him, “A-And what was she wearing? When she was here as in; was it her normal robes of something different?”

“You should know mate, you complimented her on that dress twice. What’s the matter with you? Why are you back here?” Marine questioned, “Honestly, she went to all that bother, dressing up and coming down here, early in the morning no less, just to see you and drop off a gift. Didn’t she teach you to say thank you for that kind of thing? Honestly mate, if you can’t act now, when will you?”

“Oh, so everything’s fine, just as I left it. Good, a-alright… I need to sit down,” The hedgehog said, going lightheaded with relief as he slid down the door.

He hardly heard Marine’s prattling in response. His eyes flickered to the cuckoo clock in the wall, barely eight minutes had passed since he’d left this building. It wasn’t even ten past eight in the morning, yet he’d endured at least a full day’s worth of stress. As strange as things were, they seemed to have settled down to embrace some kind of consistency.

The concept of a bootstrap paradox was one that didn’t come up in much literature, but there were a handful of tales about individuals traveling back in time to warn themselves of immanent events in bizarre and cyclical manners. He’d once read about a theatre enthusiast traveling back in time to meet a famous playwright only to end up writing all of their plays and living their life, thus inspiring that same fan’s own journey back to meet that same bard. Despite those fictional tales, Silver hadn’t considered that such a paradox was possible.

But, as he now knew better than ever, he didn’t know how time travel worked. He jumped back in time and really just hoped for the best. Perhaps it was all a lot more fluid than he’d imagined, maybe the rules weren’t set in stone so much as written in the sand of some interdimensional beach.

“Mate? What happened in the last five minutes?” Marine was now staring at him quite quizzically, “You look an awful state, are those leaves in your quills? Why are you so muddy?”

“It’s a long and strange and… stupid story, I’m not sure I even understand it myself,” Was all the explanation he could stand to offer, manually pulling himself back to his feet before waddling across the room to slump in his seat.

Immediately, his head was back to buzzing and filled to burst with questions. Who had sent that initial bouquet, who had set all this in motion? Was it better to ask what had set this all into motion or when they’d done it? Silver had no idea, just like the fan turned playwright he’d read about this happening to. They were impossible questions with no answer, at least none he could wrap his head around or ever hope to experience. The universe had made him question his relationship with Blaze, had him deliver her flowers and effectively set up tonight’s rendezvous as a date without any concrete or observable reason.

It took sitting there, half asleep, for a solid few minutes for him to even begin constructing plausible origins for what had occurred. Had a future version of himself, having come to embrace and understand the emotions now bubbling in the present hedgehog’s chest, travelled back in time and set the first bouquet on her windowsill? But then, in doing so, had they overwritten their own timeline and been erased while the events remained, resulting in him going forward and delivering the flowers instead. Would a version of himself really delete themselves from reality just to make himself realise he felt some strange feelings for Blaze a bit earlier? Why would they do that? Perhaps to change the timeline itself, to undo some different calamity.

If there had been an attack and he had lost Blaze again, perhaps that would have prompted the kind of introspection he was still experiencing. He’d lost her once; he didn’t want to even consider losing her again. Maybe a future version of himself had rewritten the timeline through the bouquet, attempting to change things between them in a major way such that the future itself might shift. Maybe he’d given up his life in order to perhaps save Blaze or the world. That seemed like a more traditional reason for him to use time travel, but perhaps the hedgehog was just trying to justify all he’d done and what had happened to himself.

Despite the depth of Silver’s tired contemplation, the pained moaning of his stomach was enough to rupture his thought bubble. The hedgehog’s eyes fell to the white paper parcel in his hand, now a little rough around the edges but still sealed. Hearing his stomach growl again, he finally undid Blaze’s bow and peered inside. A puff of smoke bellowed from the wrapping, forcing him to briefly close his eyes. In the aftermath, Silver found himself staring at six black masses with paper bottoms. Muffins, she had taken the time out of her morning to try and bake him a gift, to return his affection as quickly as possible. Despite their charcoaled exterior, Silver couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the confectionary.

Warmth swelled in his chest as he drew the first one and took a full bite. While it was harder than he’d anticipated, and there was certainly a smoky flavour, he could taste all that she’d tried to do. Blaze had sewn chocolate chips throughout sugary dough of her own making, clearly trying her hardest to make something sweet. Trying his hardest to savour, though urged on by his empty stomach, he quickly made his way through the first and onto a second small cake.

“Are you sure you want to eat those, mate? I could shoot them out a canon instead,” The raccoon cringed, clearly not appreciating the time and effort Blaze had put into her baking.

“I’m sure,” Regardless of what anyone else would think of them; to him, they were perfect.

“Are you still going to see her tonight?” She asked, already refocused on her work, “Gonna be honest, you really do look a state.”

“Yes, I’m still going,” He managed to admit between mouthfuls, “I think I might just nap till then though.”

“And you’ll shower before going too. You’ve set yourself up well, regardless of whatever all this mess is about. I won’t have you spoiling it by showing up filthy,” She insisted before launching into another rant, “Honestly, I don’t know why you decided to roll around in the mud instead of chasing her. Are you that much of a scaredy cat? Come on, there’s still time, she’s probably not running towards the castle; you could just fly out after her, sweep her off her feet, all prince charming like and-

As Marine’s words gradually became white noise, he lost himself in the potent flavour of another muffin and managed to smile. Fate had separated them in the wake of a grandfather paradox only to stitch them back together. For it to still be weaving them together was strange but not ludicrous think. Perhaps that stitch was still tightening, even now. Regardless of how blatant and tailored this supposed intervention had been, no matter how it’d unnerved him, he’d had to act. Not only was such a change in history a threat to his own timeline but the idea that her happiness might be erased was just too much to bear.

Was he going to be able to do this though? Fate had set them down such a strange path and short path; in less than a day their whole relationship had been flipped on its head. In the blink of an eye he’d gone from her companion to her secret admirer, from her best friend to some sort of supposed romantic. That thought warmed his cheeks and made his chest tingle in ways that were becoming frightfully common.

For as crazy as this morning had been, this evening was set to be far more insane. Could he explain this to Blaze? He had to, there was no way he could hide this, she’d know something was bothering him the moment he arrived on her balcony. Still, regardless of time’s whims tossing them about, he’d try to make his care clear. Whether prompted by fate or not, no matter how he struggled to face it, he’d been the one to do it; he was her secret admirer.

New and strange emotions still buzzed in both his head and heart but, as reality itself seemed to have insisted, these feelings were undeniably real, and they weren’t going way. He just had to figure out what they meant. Surely that couldn’t be more difficult than understanding time travel… could it?

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher Of The Night (Chapter 3)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER.

CHAPTER 2

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: Y/N seem to have woken up with a panic attack and with questions inside her head about on how she would come back to her world. Geralt may have said a solution to it, but it was rather difficult to achieve. Furthermore, it seems as if there was another thing difficult to attain as well which leaves him upset and frustrated with everything. No matter how you were out of place in Geralt's family, you couldn't help but still feel that peculiar warmth you wanted to feel forever.

Warnings: No modern references in this one except for fried chicken. Story title insertion! *wink wink nudge nudge* A lot of Jaskier, Geralt and Ciri banters and a soft but kinda rough Geralt in this one because of certain circumstances. THERE'S TENSION IF Y'ALL BE FEELING IT. AHONHONHON. Mention of Yennefer of Vengerberg in this one. Also explanation of portals and mention of potions used in the game. A lot of talking, less action. You’ll get your action and ANGST on the next chapterSSSSS! 

Words: 6,570+ (LONGGGGGGG AF! I WAS SHOOKTH!)

A/N: Reader is between 5'1 or 5'. You can imagine a 4'11 one if you want to! I JUST REALIZED...HOW...SHE'LL....THEY'LL....ALRIGHT, GET WRECKED, READER! 😅🤣🤣 

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE!

Taglist: @alyxkbrl​ @himarisolace​ @barkingbullfrog​ @ayamenimthiriel​ @hellodevilslittlesister​ @vania-marie​ @spookypeachx​ @grungelovebug​ @fangirl-inthe-us​ @nympeth​ @missjenniferb  (I couldn’t tag you bud! A different blog was popping out of the recommendation and it wasn’t your blog. Though, I’ll try again on the next update! Don’t worry!) @amirahiddleston​ @gabethelobster​ @dreaming-about-starfleet​ @uncoolcloudyhead @melaninstylezz​ 

Disclaimer: PNG's used in edits are not mine even the GIF's too. However, the edits and oneshots are definitely from moi. Characters, places and said monsters aren't from moi as well. I’ve taken it from the games.

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

The sun's rays cascaded on your face. Smell of burned out Oak wood whiffed through the air and filled your senses as faded voices suddenly become apparent for no reason, or probably a reason for you to wake up from your uncomfortable sleeping position.

Was it the TV? You thought to yourself, scrunching your nose from the sun that hit your face and merely from the dust that was flying all over the place. As much as you've remembered, cleaning has been your habit at home and having a dirty apartment was unfamiliar.

The rays of the sun was suddenly hidden from a body who had to lean down to take a good look at your face. You've hardly squinted your eye to blur out the television in the background, shifting your head around and leaning fully on your forehead instead to avoid your cat named Jafar from sniffing your face.

"Princess Cirilla," Geralt deeply groused, his grim seeming to be felt by how brooding he had to put up; inches away from Jaskier and Cirilla who were close to you and around the table, watching you sleep like a baby.

The light blonde princess who had bright ocean blue eyes demanded with a soft kick to the ground, "But, Geralt!" she bellowed with a huff, "I wanna be her friend! You lads aren't fun to be with!"

"She won't stay long, Cirilla. She isn't from our world," Geralt droned and felt the enervation of not having his sleep last night. You were weeping like a toddler all night and his heightened senses weren't helping himself when he could hear those snuffles echoing as he shifted and turned all over on his side of the bed.

It was beyond terrible and utmost irksome.

His initial thought was to help a screaming lady sprinting in the middle of the woods and shoo her off when he's done killing the creature hunting her down. He didn't expect for her to live with them after he did so' just like how Ciri eventually landed on his hands for him to take care of. Amazingly, the adoption he had consist of an explanation, a royal offer from the kingdom of Cintra that involves the Law Of Surprise unlike with you; there was none. Not even a justification as to why you were there with them.

Saving Y/N didn't mean another adoption was up to claim and for him to protect with all his life.

Jaskier sat on the wooden chair in front of you as he deliberated and tried to understand your situation in his own creative wits, "You mean a Teleporter?"

Geralt shook his head, eyes narrowing as he looked at you from the side; assessing your whole ordeal and trying to get a gist of magic in your veins, "No, Jaskier." Howbeit, he'd felt none and it was frustrating the Witcher, "---She doesn't possess magic, I can sense it."

The bard shrugged and disregarded his opinions, giving Geralt a once over before focusing on your hair; momentarily plucking out a small leaf out of your hair which erupted a cock of Geralt's head as he watched Jaskier having no fraught from touching you.

"You know that senses of yours aren't exactly a hundred percent accurate when you've got kicked by a Kikimore and bitten by Ghouls,"

His expression was stoic, glowering before them both and especially from Jaskier's comment. Cirilla had her delicate fingers clasp together and over the side of her face as she admired your sleeping face, "She's so adorable while she sleeps!" she continued to cajole, "---Even a little shorter than me! Maybe she's my age and we can play!"

"She isn't," Geralt ceased her admiration and shook his head, beautiful gold eyes staring at your face that shifted and was now face front as to where he stood from afar, "How certain are you about that? You've only met her last night!"

Jaskier had his fist on his chin, deliberately looking at Geralt with that knowing look.

The Witcher lowly hummed in ponder. Focal point on your sleeping face with a stoic expression, trying to distinguish your length of life from the moment you were born, "Y/N must be in between the age of twenty to twenty-five,"

Cirilla had her eyebrows in a twist as she moved around to take a closer look at you again, a frown from the information that has been said, "But, she looks younger than her age!"

"Not at least in between ninety? or exactly a hundred? Like you, Geralt?" Jaskier added to the dispute. His query making Geralt sigh because he has been repeating the idea like a slow idiot.

"She doesn't possess some sorts of magic nor is she mutated, Bard."

"Maybe she possesses the power of immortality!"

He glared at the bard who gave him a shrug, Jaskier's face still dead beat from how his nap has been ruined prior to the night, but he had more sleep than Geralt did considering he wasn't a Witcher and had senses that not any normal human may possess.

"So her name is Y/N?! Why didn't you wake me up to welcome our visitor?!" The girl in a mint green Kirtle exclaimed, their voices finally coming to your senses and realizing that it wasn't your television nor was it your cat's breath on your face. You whimpered in an attempt to wake yourself up; yawning in the process and languidly bringing your head up for it to be bent at an angle with your arm on the table and fist on your temple.

"You were sleeping," Geralt began, resolving her dismay at the situation at hand, "--and there was a beast, Princess. It was hunting her down,"

"Oh, poor Y/N," Cirilla frowned a tighter one, eyeing you down and peeking from under your arm as she noticed the bruises on your face. She took a second before straightening her back, the braid she'd fixed never turning higgley-piggledy because of how tight and proper it was. A look of interest sent to the Witcher by the princess of Cintra herself and now the future queen ahead, "But, did you kill it, Geralt?"

Their voices seem to be recognizable, the two men of some sort and the kid's voice completely unfamiliar for you. Repetitive blinks full of fatigue before having the energy to sleepily place your chin on your fist, a blurry image of a youthful, lean body and a pretty face of a man sitting in front you coming clearer as you blinked again.

"Isn't it such a sight to wake up to your bruising face early in the morning, small rat."

Your face turned into a tight frown at the image sitting before you. The pillow of your lip jutting out in a pout when you've scanned the whole place and saw Geralt standing with a stern expression on his face, behind a kid who looked taller than you and extremely pretty.

The house even looked more old and primitive in the morning like you're currently living in history which made you groan to yourself because you haven't teleported back to your home as Jaskier said last night.

Great. Just great. You thought in the back of your mind before grumbling, "Can you...stab me with your sword right now?"

The question was sent to the Witcher despite of staring fully on the table. You didn't hear an answer from him as per usual and felt your anxiety rising through your head in agitation like a lighter sparking the gas. It's travelling too fast that you haven't realized the panic shooting wildly.

"I'm still here," you bawled, "I'm still here," and repeated over and over like a dinosaur jumping on rocks whenever google doesn't have internet. The panic was beginning to boil, making your fingers tremble in apprehension as you've struggled to keep in place on your seat, your feet on the ground shaking from the worry. Both hands gripping on your roots as you began to bawl out because you couldn't scream out all your frustrations because that's not how you roll, "I've already slept, I thought I'll be waking up in my apartment already,"

Cirilla took a step back when you've started crying, looking over at Geralt to ask what was happening. Both men together were contemplating as to what was happening as the Bard reluctantly and very slowly stood up as his gaze was fixated on you who kept on mumbling in whispers. He ran behind Geralt like you were a possessed woman and actually thinking you were casting a spell because of how fast you were mumbling your feelings out loud, sounding incomprehensible to the ears of everyone except for Geralt.

Jaskier stood behind Geralt like a kitten shielding behind his mother, "Geralt! I told you! She's a sorceress! One like Yennefer! This is probably why you're fond of her!"

Cirilla examined your state and tried understanding what was happening, her nerves also unsettling about the fact that maybe you were possessed by black magic. Though, she doubt it because you should've attacked everyone already.

Hence, there you were in your own seat. Bawling your eyes out like a toddler who had been left by her parents.

"Geralt? Is she okay?" the pretty child questioned Geralt who stood behind her with a distant look on his face.

His eyes narrowed on you, continuing his perusal. He was trying to fathom what was running inside those mind of yours and when a tear fell and another sniff coming from your side of the cavern, he knew it. A slight turn of his head and his silent thoughts of understanding as he had seen you freaking out and crying like last night; he knew what was happening.

"She's...panicking. Utterly harmless, Jaskier. Just like how humans do unless you aren't actually one," Geralt nonchalantly informed the bard who was hiding behind his towering form. He watched you roughly wipe your tears with the back of your clothed hand; his sweater that was awfully big for you and continued to rant while he narrowed his eyes as your focus was now on the knife set on an empty soiled plate that Jaskier has left.

"I just wanna go home!"

His forehead creased to the extent of trying to figure you out. Shoulders slumping as he breathed out a ragged curse beneath his breath to further his dissatisfaction of your next move.

"Y/N!"

You were fast enough to grab onto the sharpened knife, aiming it to the sensitive portion of your neck. However, not fast enough for the Witcher to even let it happen.

The knife in your hand wasn't even lifted halfway for Geralt to know what you were going to do. He'd seen a lot of bloodshed and known enough people who wanted for their blood to drop out of their hands. It only took two steps for him to construct his onslaught before you've even tried to slit your throat before them.

Your choice of weapon has been sheathed away from you. The tall, brooding, brawny Witcher slightly bending you on the table as he pulled the knife away from your neck with just a grip that didn't even earned him a sweat. It was like taking candy from a baby. Yet, you were pretty much struggling a lot from his strength as you tried wrenching your wrist off his hold with Geralt hunching down before you and never letting go.

Those gold eyes were a charm against the rays of the sun cascading his face. Your faces close from each other and you can see the chagrin and fury swirling in his eyes rather than those plain, apathetic glimmer set in his eyes with a warmth you couldn't express. With that only being seen and stared at, you knew he was furious.

The scary witcher was losing his temper.

"Let me go, Geralt." you firmly stated, voice wavering and sounding small like you were being hunted by a cheetah. Geralt held his scowl better than he had to when he has seen you the first time and it wasn't faltering.

You tried wrenching your wrist away from the Witcher, but he pulled it back with no remorse. Keeping you in place as he seethed; Aurum eyes momentarily taking a glimpse of your dry, chapped lips that were inches apart before settling those peepers on yours again and he wanted to groan out loud for the unsettling emotion he was having, "I would like to see you try, Midget."

Geralt held your wrist tighter around his fingers because you were moving, though; the simple action was enough for you to stop and never even think about doing it again. The strength that he was using was not enough to inflict pain. "I don't need another person's blood on my hands,"

Some of his dirt-ivory colored hair fell on his face as he continued to fume. Expression thoroughly livid as he said those words like it was burnt till dust, a history that should've been left forgotten but was now relived because of your forsaken act.

His warm breath hit your face and you couldn't move at all, like you were powerless and utter putty in his hands. You've heard a grumble vibrated out of his chest before snatching the knife off your fingers and quickly retreating from his position with a frustrated hum, leaving you exhaling out a breath you didn't know you were holding since he has grabbed onto you.

"Wha-what if dying is the only way to bring me back," you've tried to keep yourself in tact despite of the fast beating of your heart and the anomalous heat travelling all over your body. You shook the feeling off with a shake of your head as you continued; looking at Jaskier and Cirilla, avoiding the presence of the man who has been playing with your mind and human heart, "---I've slept, tried everything and still woke up in your house,"

The declaration sounded weak; completely despairing as you've seen Geralt saunter back to where he has been standing before you even tried to slit yourself alive. A tight moue that twisted his features from the act that has happened; filling utter disappointment as the rough crease of his wrinkles wanted to say.

But, he chose to stay silent rather than let out those emotions he was battling with.

You were completely an unorthodox to him. A picture he couldn't see and never wanted to even touch but hoped to imagine.

"I can feel you, I can touch everyone, I can feel sadness, despair, happiness, pain and a lot more," he felt your eyes on him as the first word has been said before reluctantly sharing gazes at the other two who were breathing when you've continued your articulation.

Nevertheless, the act that has happened made Jaskier and Cirilla's breaths hitch because they couldn't believe that it just happened in front of them like it was nothing.

It looked like Geralt has handled the situation well and you were suddenly okay. Just like that. A peculiarity of an event that they couldn't understand.

You've straightened your back and held your hopes high, dubiously taking a trek till you were in front of the people who were nice enough to give you shelter despite of not knowing you from the start; with a goodwill to even save you from an Alghoul that appeared out of nowhere when you should've died already when Geralt wouldn't have jumped into the picture.

But, no. You were still alive and you didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing as the protection came with a fair trade to be living in the world that they were in. A world where you still believed was in earth because of how human they appeared and felt. The only fragment that could keep you in doubt was the monsters that emerges out of nowhere and the magic that these people have been saying. A magic that can't be seen with the naked eye because you haven't seen a supernatural phenomenon yet.

Geralt gave a gravelly hum once you've settled your short self before him, the height differences apparent to the perspective of people. Geralt had his Herculean body in an assertive stance, broad-shoulders poised as you peered up at him with forlorn, the upset frown etched upon your face and he couldn't help but breath through his nose to compose himself.

"I need to go back, I gotta go back. Aren't you a witcher? Can't you cast a spell and help me?"

Jaskier and Cirilla had their forehead creased as they stared at the two. The beautiful child completely unaware of where you originated. She was deep in thought, thinking you came from any of the kingdom or if you were mutated as well just like Geralt because as been said by the witcher, you didn't belong in their world.

The man with glowing Aurum eyes sighed, "Witchers..don't work that way," he claimed with a slant of his head, eyeing you with gall and a slight pacified demeanor after losing his patience a while ago, "---I slaughter beasts, not brew the Fillet of a fenny snake with an eye of a newt nor cast a spell while mixing tons of shit in a cauldron like you thought I was,"

His disclosure was enough to make your heart fail from having faith again. It seems like every darn time he opens those luscious damn lips of him leaves you in a crestfallen shape or he just seems like the type to not give you hope with positive things like this which is why he was failing no matter if he wanted to give comfort.

You've washed your face with your hands in frustration, the fear rising for the second time this day and felt Geralt's heated stare on you, eyes shining in baffling fascination no matter how phlegmatic he wanted to appear. You can just see it in his eyes and it was odd because you've remembered how you couldn't read him like a book the night before, yet here you were; understanding how he tries to interact with you.  

"Then, who can help me? Is there a portal or some sort?"

His eyes looked away for a moment; deeply dwelling a thought inside his head. "Sorcerers create portals of natural phenomena and places that actually exist," the Witcher began roughly, voice utmost in the lowest timbre he could ever do and it almost made your body vibrate from his pitch, "---However, most sorcerers can only link portals to the world they're familiar with and that occurs in having the same witchcraft that a certain world creates," Geralt landed his bright eyes on you as he continued to ponder. An inevitable glower stamping his face as he went on with more information and a tight grimace, "---we aren't exactly certain about your world. But, the contingencies of casting a portal that should've been left untouched can cause upheaval or chaos not just to both worlds, but to the natural habitat and the future as well,"

Your frown was cut short, changing into an ample amount of confusion because of his explanation. Simply to say, the chances of creating a portal will jeopardize not just their world, but also earth as well. If you'll be wanting to cast a portal, there was a great amount of risk ahead.

Geralt continued his vouch, still engrossed at looking you in the eye like he wanted you to melt into a puddle. Your traitor of a heart skipping a beat as you've avoided his eyes and looked elsewhere, "---Which definitely leaves insignificance as to why you're lost in our world when there was no witchery encompassing that earth you call your kingdom,"

"So, there's no hope then?" you pointed out, sapless.

"It takes risks, Midget." Geralt lowly enunciated, the gravel in his voice seeming coherent as he mentioned the nickname he calls you. He looked to the ground, mind wandering off Wonderland as a scowl began to form again, like the next thing he wanted to say should've been kept and not mentioned ever again, "---And a very powerful sorcerer,"

Jaskier's ears perked at that, speculating and trying to involve himself with the topic at hand, his tongue waiting to be moved and for words to be told for reiteration, "Or sorceress," the bard boasted with a tone that made the witcher hiss back at him with contempt.

"Yennefer of Vengerberg could do the job well or some of her associates," the bard jested with a soft push of his elbow to Geralt's ribs, though it didn't even made him flinch. His nose flared back at him, giving him the stink eye before cussing him beneath his breath.

"Fuck off, Bard."

Cirilla ignored their laser eyes and tried to join in the conversation, "Who is Yennefer? I've been asking this since the last two last years!" she pondered, hesitantly raising her hand as if asking the teacher if it was time for her to spit out questions.

"Someone you shouldn't know, Cirilla,"

So, there was really hope. Even only a fourty-five percent of that aspiration you needed for your heart to be filled with faith. You nodded to yourself in understanding, leaving those other questions inside your head and asked straight to the point, "Who is Yennefer?"

Jaskier stepped a foot close, officially involving himself in the conversation with a smug grin on his face. His hands on his hips as he revealed with no shame, "Geralt's long lost love,"

Geralt had to close his eyes to calm himself down from the bard who kept on interjecting in the talk with you.

The princess of Cintra huffed, stomping a foot on the ground as she fixated her gaze at the huge trunk of a man who seemed to be having a moment of meditation, "You didn't tell me you had a lover!"

"Not anymore," Geralt grumbled more so to himself as the crowd asked questions after questions and served their opinions on a buffet plate; open for everyone to hear.

You innocently cast a look to his face. He could also feel your eyes on him and when he'd fluttered them open; it was completely pure for his irksome heart to fall in tranquil, "She's the one of the most powerful sorceress I know," he subtly breathed in your scent, masking himself with it as he tries to remember it in the back of his mind. Becoming familiar to the strong scent that makes his thoughts go in a haywire. A sharp, palpable and fresh scent that he ought and needed to ingurgitate straightaway. Lemon with a hint of peony; definitely different from the scent that Yennefer had, Lilac and Gooseberries. "---Maybe the only one who could create an enigma of a portal," the witcher more so than grumbled, face twisting in a way that made you look up at him in question because he seemed to be in pain, "Then? What are we waiting for? We should find her!"

The mere mention of a person who could help you leave their world quickly placed a warm beam lifting your lips, a sight that Geralt has been struggling to forget since last night. His eyes wandered off elsewhere, missing the catch of your bright filled ones as his nose scrunched from how overwhelming it was to be close to you.

"That's the problem," he gurgled before taking a step back, hissing beneath his breath because of how he was starting to become frustrated again, "---she's nowhere to be found," before turning his back away from you with a grumble.

You watched him walk away from you, embracing all his negativity and feeling your heart plummet because he was acting far from the welcoming man last night. It was like it has never been him that was offering to cover your wounds as he knelt in front of you, all the more; giving you a small smile despite of it not being his forte in doing so.

He was unconventional to you. A book you've definitely wanted to read, yet difficult to understand because the words were such a complex for the naked eye. Geralt was rare and a kind you've never encountered. Literally.

Nonetheless, his presence was intriguing and definitely inveigling.

"I have no hope then," you've thought to yourself, hearing Cirilla and Jaskier banter over something about the sorceress that ignited Geralt's change of heart.

"I'm hungry," Cirilla stressed towards the Bard who was now holding his Lute and plucking with the strings like he was forming another one of his epics inside his head. The bard ignored her and gave Geralt a once over who was on the other end of the cavern, opening wooden cabinets which had all different kinds of concoctions that certainly a normal human cannot take because of how toxic it was and how it was only forbidden and restricted for Witchers.

Cirilla threw a hissy fit, blowing out a breath of agitation and hunger because she was famished. You studied the child and noticed she was a little taller than you no matter how she should've been small. As you've tried to eye-ball her height, she seems to be in between five foot four or five foot three. "What's your name, kid?"

She narrowed her eyes on Jaskier who began to tread to where the Witcher is, "Cirilla," the princess honestly voiced out, palm on her stomach as it grumbled a sound that says she was starving so much.

Cirilla turned her heel to look at you, better than having Geralt stand before you because he was giving you stiff neck from being a tall, brooding man. She eyed you in question and you gave her a sincere smile, waggling your brows at the princess, "I can make food if you want?"

Princess Cirilla jumped on her feet like a child being given candy, clapping her hands in excitement, "Great! A mother figure other than a pair of boys! Geralt and Jaskier make the nastiest food they can ever cook," she jeered with a puff of her breath. Her eyes twinkled in felicity.

She gave you a big wide grin when you've pondered in thought as to what was easy to make in  medieval age; questions numbered inside your head and asking no one in particular if their world had chicken? flour? or bread flour, if they didn't have one? Condiments or any kind of spices for taste. Their time had to have chickens and so, you wanted a modern kind of dish to help yourself as well despite of living like in the past, "I can make you fried chicken, if you want? That is, if you can get me chicken,"

"What is a fried chicken?" she'll definitely love it, you thought because she was a child. Seeing her smile go bright just from hearing it made you heart coo; or it was simply a new image rather than those scowls you have been seeing since the morning has started so the kid had a soft spot in your heart. "An unhealthy dish, but definitely scrumptious,"

You turned your head towards the men who were a little bit far from where you both stood, they were talking in silence and that was completely pristine than the banters you've heard non-stop last night, "---And also a healthy viand for these boys you have,"

Jaskier continued plucking on his Lute, strumming random notes as he hummed inside his head, he gave you and Cirilla a glimpse as the bard watched you both interact with each other like you were both long lost friends, like a natural bond slowly being created, "Maybe this cuckoo of a maiden isn't actually bad to have around," he decreed with a look of sympathy. Turning his head to look at Geralt who seemed to have a furious staring contest with his potions.

"---You should help her, Geralt."

The Witcher languidly blinked, partially shutting the wooden cabinet closed and noting that he was deficient of Cat elixir, a concoction to help him grant sight in total darkness, some Black Blood and Fiend concoction that helps him increases the amount of weight that he can carry without being overburdened. Geralt sighed at Jaskier's confession.

"Do I have a choice?" he gurgled back at the bard.

"Won't a djinn help?"

Geralt gave Jaskier a once over before taking a glimpse of you and Ciri who were now sitting on the table, chatting about certain things that can entertain the princess. Jaskier finally had the tune he wanted, a simple catchy tune but different from his song about Witchers. It just had the same style, "I've already took it down into consideration," the bard hummed, completely intrigued and gave him a look, "We can take risks,"

Jaskier ceased himself from humming, the voices of women giggling in the background coming along in their conversation. The ambiance changing into a lighter tone from the moment you came into their cavern. A thorough spin of the world like it was changing in the different kind of path; it was like seeing a new color for the rainbow that has been added to complete the beauty of it all.

You just had that specific effect that could create allurement to the world wherever you're in. Hence, that was probably your magic.

"But, are you willing to take it, Witcher?"

He was taken aback by the question, a question even asked as a question inside his head. Was he really willing to take the risk in helping this midget? another person on his hand to protect and help? Will it not slip apart due to unfortunate circumstances? Geralt calmly breathed through his nose, his facial features slackening when he'd seen Cirilla's eyes twinkling again despite of what she has been through. "I've been through hell and maybe even deeper than that. Probably already met the devil with it,"

Geralt slanted his head in a way to adore the image right in front of him; though with a face that seemed to be lackadaisical, "---This woman hasn't experienced what I have, not even the slightest and I don't want her to," he suddenly admitted, "---I have no thought as to what curse has this woman been cast upon,"

Jaskier nodded in comprehension and ruth for you; pretty blue eyes admiring the sight before him and Geralt, "Seems quite an unfortunate path,"

"Evil is evil," The Witcher added as a matter of fact, "---Lesser, greater or even stronger," a subtle pause to catch his breath as he eyed you beaming back at what Cirilla has said before he continued, "---She hasn't shielded herself from it, nor does she have an amulet with her; like she was sent here for a reason. She's bound for ill-fate because we're in a world full of animosity and mayhem," Geralt trailed off when you've rummaged for the things in the pocket of your short that was neatly folded on the side of the table.

You've shown Cirilla a small beautiful transparent ball that had rainbow color stars inside. It was a lucky charm for you and it has been given as a gift from your mother back in earth.  

"Do you know Jacks and Stones, Cirilla?"

Cirilla's ears perk at that, a perplexed expression written on her face. "The game doesn't ring a bell, Y/N."

Once Cirilla has seen you grabbed onto the small stones on the space below their window and tried to play on your own, her forehead creasing seemed to relax and a look of elation and familiarity run through her face, "I think I actually know it! Isn't it Knucklebones?"

You've caught the ball and the small stone in one hand with no sweat. She eyed the ball and the stones scattered around the table, her eyes gleaming a lot more than she ever did. "I think so! But, here's the catch! Loser gets a slap on the forehead with a finger and the Winner gets two drumsticks of my special fried chicken,"

"---Oh, you're on, Y/N! I'm great at Knucklebones!" she challenged as she abruptly stood on the table, looking right back at Geralt and Jaskier who were already looking in fascination.

Cirilla demanded in blithe. A big, bright smile shining her face, "Geralt, we need chicken! Catch us one!"

At the mention of that, Geralt couldn't help but repeatedly blink at the wishes from the princess; catching him off-guard. Jaskier couldn't help but send a shit-eating grin to the Witcher who had his brows in another kind of twist, his face wanting to wince but he ceased to.

"I'm a Witcher, not a farmer," he deeply mumbled with a sigh. Cirilla blew a breath, her hands on her hips as she sassed, "Aren't you a butcher of Blaviken? Or do they just call you that?"

The Witcher's forehead creased at the mention of one of his monikers. He didn't want anymore retorts because the princess would drop down more comments for the argument that will last for hours till end just for her demands to be taken into account. Thus, which is why; Geralt was shrewd enough to end her pleading with submission.

"Fine,"

He thought that would be the end of everybody's demand when you've suddenly stood up on your seat and waved a hand to get his attention. Geralt gave you a look of query and with a little bit of tenderness in his eyes that you could undeniably feel no matter how stoic his expressions were. You cleared your throat, grinning back at him like a Cheshire cat.

"Can I come with you? Please?"

"No, midget." He strained, the lackadaisical tone lacing at the end of his tongue. His answer was fast and prudent, entirely against the idea.

You just wanted to be familiar with their world when you'll be staying in it for days, maybe even months or badly for years because of how you didn't know the portal they were saying. All you knew on how to transport was cars, airplanes, boats, bikes and even walking would do the job. But, not with magic and scientific luck.

You pouted back at The Witcher, heart falling from the rejection. Sending him the most pitiful look in your eyes and hoping you weren't looking like a waggling goose before them, "Pleaseee, Geralt? I wanna wander in the woods! Be familiar with the place especially that I've probably going to take time before I go back home," pause. "After Cirilla and I play and know who wins and loses,"

Geralt huffed to himself, an incoherent one as he deeply sighed. Jaskier could hear him from where he stood as he adjusted the leather hoop of his Loot across his shoulder, his witcher of a friend's jaw clenching like he was thinking about it deeply. Before granting permission in the end because of how you were giving him those Hirikka eyes; as said by his inner thoughts out in the back.

"Fine,"

The bard wanted anything but to cough out loud from that submission. Jaskier gave him a double-take. An evident look of surprise in his eyes as he turned his soles to point a finger at the Witcher. Geralt was quick enough to shake his head and slap his finger away with the back of his hand.

"Don't...even start, Bard."

"It's been a day and this small rat already has you wrapped around her finger!" he whisper-yelled at his friend, excitement and jest sparking his nerves which got him grinning like the devil.

Geralt glared at the mischievous bard grinning back at him with the knowing look that they can only both understand, "When will you bloody shut up?"

"When I don't have the voice to poetically sing my wonderful epics," Jaskier scoffed, crossing his arms on top of his Lute with that mocking glint in his eyes. The Witcher smirked back at Jaskier, spitting out a particular jest that could get him back-paddling, "Guess I'll need a travel companion in finding another Djinn,” 

Jaskier blinked in surprise, taking a step back as he shook his head and had a hand on his hip while the other was wiggling in the air to express his negations, "Oh no no no, Witcher! Keep me out of your heroic attempts of gathering some kind of genie! I am done!" the bard ridiculed as he took hesitant steps back, slowly and slyly taking off before Geralt carries him on his shoulders to purposefully tag him along in finding another Djinn, "I figured playing this jacks and stones with Cirilla and Y/N will be much better instead,"

Jaskier halted from his silent, sneaky egress. Giving both women a glimpse who were playing behind him, "A BARD WISHES TO JOIN YOUR WONDERFUL ADVENTURE, LASSIES!"

He snapped his head back at Geralt who simple wore a crooked smile and a look of mockery filling his perfectly chiseled face, "Off you go, Witcher of the night," the rascal waved him off, a gloaty banter being thrown back to the smug witcher, "I have also yet to create another knightly epic for an intriguing love story that is bound to unfold in the far north of Kaedwan,"

Thusly, Geralt's crooked smile was rapid to fall. His face masking in condemnation when Jaskier began to strum his lute and with a tune that would probably haunt his friend as he tried to sleep through the night.

"Doeful eyes like a dear~ Seems like a Witcher who couldn't bear~,"

Jaskier's singing has made history through different places in the continent and he was never wrong with the epics he'd been orally singing out around which is why this new song he was forming to create would either be a complete disaster, a mere tell-tale or a myth that was bound to end up in the vast veracity of the epic told.

IT’S ALL FUN AND HAPPY NOW. BUT, Y’ALL WILL SEE THE WRATH OF ANGST WHEN THE CHAPTER GOES FURTHER!

[it-sy-bit-sy]

The ending of Attack on Titan: a shallow analysis

(I don't think I should have to put a spoilers alert on a blog about the ENDING OF AOT, but in general if you mind being spoiled on a series, I advise you to refrain from attending discussions about the body of work until you've finished it in its entirety/come up to speed on the current chapter/episode. Screw hype dude, do you like being hurt? Also for the TLDR, it’s that Attack on Titan explores the cycle of hatred (Eren’s journey) AND love which is why Mikasa and Ymir become relevant at the end of the story.)

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PREFACE

Since the newly added panels of AOT’s ending have been likened by some to the ending of Naruto, I'd like to say that Naruto's end truly hurt me; the way it flows into Boruto is so contrived it burns. A story that's always centered around powerful ninja bloodlines fighting political wars suddenly introduced aliens that harvest planets for energy as the super antagonist, and additionally they're the source of all our characters' powers as well as the jinchuriki and tailed beasts themselves. Then when you look at the plot of Boruto which heavily relies on the Otsutsuki clan as an antagonistic force, their whole existence feels like the transition from Dragon Ball straight into the first DBZ arc with Goku learning he’s really part of an alien race that was meant to destroy Earth.

I didn't detect so forced a role in the ending of AOT, but it's absolutely plausible to speculate that the alternate ending was influenced for this reason, as we know Attack on Titan wasn't produced through Isayama's involvement alone. Certain compromises are made when operating as a team, though it would be wonderful if the original intent of authors were more absolute in the world of production than they are known to be.

And as much as I don't enjoy half-hearted continuations of series for a royalty check, I ALMOST can't blame them for doing it...it creates (many) happy fans, more jobs, and Isayama gets his royalty check. The rest of us suffer but hey, artists need money I guess... 🥀 Moving on. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#1. Eren's development as a character

I never saw Eren's goal steered in the direction of breaking the cycle of revenge or hatred. He was acting wholly in his own interests. He's intensely selfish, doesn't want to change his views, and exists in the story to further the cycle itself. According to me, Chapters 129 and 131 perfectly explain his motivations for the rumbling.

Now before I go on, I'd like to bring a particular scene to mind. I do remember him saying this once (to Historia who had just told him killing the rest of the world is unjustifiable and wrong):

Yes, he said that, but I don't think that is what he ever intended the rumbling to be used for.

After he stated that 80% of humanity was wiped out so Paradis will be safe for the time being, he neglected to answer Armin's questions in 139: "Did you really need to go that far? Are you sure you did all of this for our sakes?" We may also consider the thoughts he chose NOT to share in chapter 131:

That combined with this excerpt from 129 is pretty much all there is to Eren's convictions.

Those are the same words he said in Chapter 2 after his mother died.

So despite his brief period of self-loathing when considering 1) the countless lives in survey corps sacrificed for his sake, 2) being confronted with his and his father's involvement in the Reiss family, 3) everything he learned about his enemy--that all titans are formerly human, that the titan shifters were just children deceived by their world--he even admits to Reiner during Tyburn's speech (Chapter 100) that they are indeed in the same boat--and on top of that, admitting that the rumbling will do nothing to fix the course of history, he settled with the same conviction he held the moment he decided to do something to change the world.

Again, here's his words from 139 showing us just how angry a boi Eren was.

This was Eren Jaeger...he didn't even really know what he was doing.

As a human being, Eren was very much in the cycle of revenge as much as everyone else was. His course of action never deviated too far from that path. He knew better, but he lashed out at the world to protect the few people he cared about anyway. He took freedom away from the ones who threatened him. He was a mass murderer, and so were the other soldiers in this series fighting for their own reasons, since titans were people. Survey corps were always slaughtering these people whom they saw as monsters. Marley viewed Eldians as monstrously and with as much hatred as Eldians viewed the titans. Eren did not try to justify his actions to everyone. He simply stopped seeing the value of life in others not important to him, as humans often do.

So what did he sacrifice 80% of humanity for? From 129 again:

Them meaning his immediate friends.

No, he didn't care about their children's children and beyond because there's no way to control what happens when you're gone from this world. It wasn't his problem. Eren had 4 years at most left to live, and he wanted to do what he could to ensure his friends were happy before he left.

And as jarring as it was to see Eren become undone in the last chapter, I didn't find it completely out of character, because for one he was talking to his closest friend moments before his own death, and secondly, Eren was just a stupid human like the rest of the people in this series. Obviously, most people just want a normal life that they can spend with people whom they love. Eren was the same way, but was denied that future (and happened to be able to do something about it). Very selfish goals, but those chosen few were his world. Along with a general distaste for humanity, that's how I understand his character motivations.

*Which is to say in relation to the extra pages, Ymir's curse returning a generation or two after the events of AOT doesn't entirely void his actions. I’m assuming the power of Ymir apparently exists as a force of nature on this version of Earth period, so I suppose this points us to an endless cycle of humans eventually finding the power and using it as they see fit *

#2 Why is Romance Relevant to Attack on Titan?

I wasn't expecting a romance factor to be relevant at the end of the story, however considering that Mikasa's affection for Eren WAS her most prominent personality trait as a character, then the events that followed, I was forced to look back to a few moments in the series that could lend light to why, in the end, a romantic subplot ended the curse of Ymir. My conclusions are as follows:

1. Quite literally, the cycle of hatred never ends. Humans will always have a reason to be unkind to one another. We are animals after all; this trait cannot be reasoned through with logic, bred out, or defeated. We are a self-aware species (Eren's even aware of his own hypocrisy in Chapter 131). There will always arise those who take what they want for themselves because they decide in the end they don't care about others as much as they care about their own interests.

2. To make this second point, I'm stealing these words out of a certain machine lifeform's mouth, but bear with me here:

"But the humans...? Now THEY are interesting. Because they are an enigma! They killed uncountable numbers of their own kind, yet loved in equal measure! It's fascinating, don't you think? What could possibly drive such behavior? We have dedicated ourselves to unraveling this riddle of humanity..."

--Adam from NieR:Automata

AOT uses Eren and Mikasa as a case study of humanity. Humans hate and love in equal measure.

In Ch. 129, Zeke's piece here foreshadows the significance of those two for the story, I guess?

Now everyone reading this series as well as the characters in it had noticed how much fondness Mikasa always had for Eren, and how aloof he always was towards her in return...that's something for them to work out.

Despite never really reciprocating Mikasa's feelings, Eren told Armin at the end of the series that yes, he enjoyed receiving her attention; he would have liked to live a happy life with her. So, Mikasa just liked Eren, Eren liked her... And similar to Mikasa, Ymir just liked King Fritz. It doesn't matter whether we think these feelings were sound or not; they did what they wanted with themselves. I suppose that explains the reason she was a mega simp for Eren in the whole story. Yes, this turn in the story reads like a different plot now, not one about war and killing monsters, but I'm pleasantly surprised that this trait taken as a flaw of Mikasa’s actually served as a necessary condition to end the conflict of the titans.

Eren wouldn't let go of his hatred of the world for his own satisfaction, Ymir wouldn't let go of her love of King Fritz for her own satisfaction, and Mikasa is the only one who decided to let go of her convictions in the interest of someone other than herself. That's what moved the curse.

I think Isayama used the characters of Ymir and Mikasa to demonstrate that while there is a cycle of hatred and revenge running rampant in humanity, the cycle of love doesn't stop either.

In closing, and I truly apologize for such a lengthy post; I hope I didn’t reiterate my point too often here...I didn't think about any of this until I heard so many readers upset with the way AOT ended. I'm not personally left with any disappointment in where the story went. I didn't know where it was going to go in the first place, and I think it could have been much worse for us in different hands. 

*shrugs*

AOT is a story about the nature of humanity.

*And in regards to Jean, if that is supposed to be him with Mikasa in the new panels, all I can say is dude likes his girl. He was a simp for her and she was a simp for Eren, but the fact that they shared their lives together means a lot even if Eren was never completely buried in her heart. He meant a lot to her man, idk...

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 32 arrives! It’s, I gotta say, quite an improvement on what we’ve had lately. Quite an improvement. Even so, it’s nothing that’s gonna rock the world... but hey, I was so desperate for something different to happen that y’know what, I’ll take it.

Pic of the week:

A Digimon who just wants to roll around in the grass. Go’way, baddies.

More below!

So as you probably gather... we start with Takeru this week! Haha! Good riddance Taichi! I luv ya but I’ve had enough of ya! Take a break!

jk I totally missed him the whole thirty seconds he wasn’t on screen

Takeru and Patamon are running for their lives, of course! Patamon makes a valiant effort to evolve to protect Takeru but...

... Poor baby. He gave it the ol’ college try but he just ain’t as young as he used to be.

Things look grim until Komondomon shows up with a creepy disembodied hand sticking out of his fur!

Phew, it’s just Sora. Her brilliant plan to rescue Takeru is to grab his arm and drag him along with them... I mean... sure... Whiplash has been proven Not A Thing in this universe so...

After getting rid of their pursuer, the group checks in with the others. I’m reminded of how silly separations feel when you can just communicate with each other by walkie-talkie. Yamato’s been riding Garurumon for a long time now lol. At least we got to see him...

He sweetly encourages Takeru and tells him the best thing he can do to help Patamon with his evolution issues is be there to support him. Then he tells Taichi “I leave Takeru in your case.” Ok sure, like Sora’s not right there...

Taichi: In my care? Should I point out that I already lost one little sibling to the dark side? Nah...

Seriously, though... that’s the current situation. Taichi is actively going over SkullKnightmon to get Hikari back. If Takeru stays with him that just means Takeru gets to go into danger again too. Of course, it seems that the dark side is suddenly uninterested in Takeru and Patamon so... I guess it’s okay 9_9

We then check in with Mimi! Who is being her awesome Mimi-tastic self. Ugh I love her.

Wondered what happened to Golemon. Turns out there was nothing much to worry about because no one loves a macho boxing match like Tachikawa Mimi. If there’s ever a season where these kids grow up, I hope Mimi is like, a big fan of sumo or something.

Taichi: O... kay... well... Mimi sure is... an intersting person...

Agumon: Hey you should make her your girlfriend!

Taichi: what nOOO BAD IDEA ABORT ABORT

Meanwhile, the situation with Jou is, um, questionable to say the least...

(how is keeping that towel on)

Jou: HEEEEELP!!!

Taichi: ... you didn’t hear anything, did you? Me neither. *closes link*

Finally we check in with Koushirou. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what he says. -__-;

At least we see him get bombed a bit. He’s okay though.

Meanwhile unconscious Patamon gets a visitor from baby angel Lopmon, who tells him about hist lost memories.

He adds that the other legendary warriors have lost their power and it’s up to Patamon and his bond with Takeru to save the world more or less.

He encourages Patamon to find his hope.

Patamon: Who am I? What am I? All before me is dark. I know not what path to take.

The others, having nothing better to do, peep on Patamon’s crisis of faith.

Takeru relates a story about learning to swim and being scared of the water, but Yamato stayed with him so eventually he was able to learn to do it. Aww. Not quite comparable to Hikari’s “I wet the bed and Taichi changed the sheets and then told our parents that he was the one that did it” from the 99 series but still pretty good.

The sweet moment is interrupted by a flash of light! Then dark! Then light! Then dark!

It’s another scary Digimon! Oh dear. It’s Kerberomon. A three-headed Cerberus as I’m sure you figured out. Once again, this show does not how to convey what the stakes are. After everything we’ve been through, it’s hard to take random nobody Digimon as serious as each episode wants us to take them... but it’s obvious from the build up here that Kerberomon’s going to be tough to beat for Reasons.

Greymon gets hit and says, “I let down my guard!” MAYBE DON’T DO THAT THEN

Also it is very windy.

Le ouch. This is the Digimon from earlier whose name I forgot to take down. He’s come back with his friend...

... Scarier-in-the-dark-mon.

They’re surrounded~ Oh noes and whatnot.

Taichi is a bit cool here, clinging to Komondomon’s helmet and directing the battle like a war general. Mostly he’s telling them how to avoid getting hit by Kerberomon’s powerful attacks but I like that we get to see him using his head like this.

What I think is happening here is, Komondomon isn’t as fast as the kids could be if they were on their own, so their speed is hampered and that plus the number of assailants makes this battle tough. I am sure we’re supposed to assume that the reason WarGreymon doesn’t appear is because it takes a lot of energy to bring him out, even though last time he appeared twice in the same episode -.-;

Sora decides to be useful and goes to help Takeru get to safety.

... She is immediately struck by an attack and collapses, badly hurt somehow. This is so dumb. First of all, they don’t even animate her getting hit. There’s a flash and then she’s down. She should at least get to throw herself over Takeru protectively or something. Geez. 90s anime did it so much better. She’s just standing there and gets hit. What, did she forget there was a battle raging around her?

Second, WE ALREADY HAD DAMSEL IN DISTRESS SORA. It was Jou’s motivation to be cool way back when this show was rather more interesting than it has been of late. Why do the boys need Sora to get SERIOUSLY INJURED to be able to fight?? WHY?? Like, Taichi gets caught in the line of fire ALL THE TIME, but he never gets injured to the point where he can’t continue on. (Except for that one time with Devimon but those were exceptional circumstances!)

Like, why are we making Sora so weak?? This is so unnecessary.

I guess Yamato was right by entrusting Takeru to Taichi instead of Sora though...

... Uhhh.... never mind X’D

Taichi: Whew... m-maybe no one saw that...

Our be-bibbed god reappears to offer sage advice.

Patamon recalls his final moments as Seraphimon... being enveloped into darkness.

This is cool - we see his angelic wings turn to demon ones briefly before he slides back to lower levels. Not sure if it means anything but we have been theorizing that Patamon could still be infected by the evil that wounded him in the past.

Patamon then recalls things that happened after he was reborn and I’m reminded for the billionth time how much harder the emotions around Angemon’s death hit in the 99 show...

Suddenly Patamon realizes - his hope is Takeru, and he is Takeru’s hope.

The boys put on their game faces. This is what I mean by Sora really didn’t need to get hurt here. I get that it gives Takeru a reason to be protective, but the thing that evolves Patamon is Patamon’s feelings, the same way Agumon’s feelings were what rescued them from Devimon etc. That’s an interesting thing about this show - the Digimon’s feelings seem as important to evolution as, if not more than, the kids’.

Patamon evolves!! Very creepily! But... not to Angemon!

He becomes Pegasusmon! Who... looks a lot bigger than I remember, even considering Takeru is very small... xD

So this is pretty cool! I’ve been wondering how on earth the show was gonna keep introducing evolutions after already using up so many key players, especially for Taichi. But it looks like Armor Digimon can appear, and that makes me think that we could see all kinds of evolutions for the entire team that we’ve never seen before. I like that idea, but I don’t really know if this show has time for it. Maybe it will just be Pegasusmon and Nefertimon who are available to Takeru and Hikari so the writers can preserve the angels for the most epic moments only. That seems the most likely way things will go here, and the only qualm I have with it is, they’ve played all of Taichi’s cards already, and he’s the main character. He has to have something else in the future...

He attac!!!!

Kerberomon doesn’t last long, although why is wholly inexplicable. What about Pegasusmon gives him the edge when MetalGreymon and Garudamon couldn’t handle it? Is it because he’s an Armor Digimon? That may be it but the show doesn’t bother to explain.

Another thing I’d love to see, if there are gonna be more than just one evolutionary tree for the partners, is the kids actually strategizing when they decide which evolution to use. One of the cool parts of Tamers was the kids actively supporting their partner with skill as well as heart. I don’t think that’s gonna happen in this season, but you know, a girl can dream.

Takeru: Hurray for murder!

The three Digimon work together to put the lid on Kerberomon. Garudamon has the coolest moment. Squash.

Taichi checks on Sora who seems fine now. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Aw, but these two really are adorable.

What a sweet ending card T_T I want more of these.

Okay so yeah, this episode was a much needed upper after the stream of “watch Taichi fight random forgettable monsters” episodes we’ve had lately. I’m glad we got it. I still, just, like, why can’t they get the emotional build up right?? I wouldn’t say 99 Adventure did anything insanely unusual in how it treated the various crises the kids faced, but it def did a better job than this show. In 99, they understood the importance of moments of reflection, of talking about things, of showing expressions and how other characters react... And I still feel like this reboot DID do that, at least somewhat better, in the beginning. Like what went down between Yamato and Taichi after Ogremon was killed. That was pretty good.

They’ve totally lost what makes Digimon great. I hope this episode is a sign that they’re gonna take it back, but, my heart just hearts y’all.

Next episode... I’m rather surprised since we are REALLY overdue some face time with Yamato, not to mention Mimi and Jou, but apparently we’re sticking with Taichi. At least it looks lke we’ll get some new plot stuff related to Hikari.

If this all leads up to something that makes sense, I will retract all my complaints, I swear. Except about the gratuitous nonstop fighting. But the rest, I will take back.

Taichi’s determined!! This is Digimon Adventure! Let’s go on a freaking adventure!!

[aka-indulgence]

Your Nightmare

Commission for the amazing @someseriousthot!

Thank you for commissioning me >u<

Ao3 Link!

Warning: Kidnapping, and some *close call* stuff... Think “Lime”. (More specific warnings tagged in ao3 because I don’t want the platform to get mad at me -v-)

(Nightmare Sans/Reader)

You’re an ordinary human. A decent person, if anything. Kind, and gentle.

He should’ve hated everything about you.

But... he doesn’t. The fact couldn’t be further away from that.

He’s obsessed with you, and he lets you know through the countless nightmares he feeds you every night he visits.

And soon... You’re going to become his.

It was dark.

Darker than the night, darker than black.

It was void where you stood. You can’t move. You don’t know where you are- but it feels like you’ve been stuck here forever. You try to move your legs, your hands- tried to look around, call for help, anything- but you couldn’t so much as to wiggle your fingers. All your efforts only seemed to succeed in making you tremble. You try to breathe, but it felt like a ton had been weighed on your chest, struggling to get air in you. The fear seeped through you as you realized…

You were paralyzed.

You stand there, struggling until you see something- someone forming in the distance.

There… Appears a figure that had been haunting you, one that fills you with dread every time they revealed themselves. If you weren’t already paralyzed where you were, you would’ve felt like you’ve frozen when you saw… him.

A skeletal figure materialized before you, his whole body black- somehow darker than the void you were in. Black like the emptiness of space and worse, save for one blue light illuminating his left socket. Tentacles were writhing behind him as he watched you, a wide, eerie smile plastered on his face, devoid of kindness or mercy. His entire body is drenched in with what looks to be black sludge, covering his right eyesocket completely, the ooze dripping off his tentacles as they continued to twist and turn behind him.

Your nightmare begins.

He stares you down, and when he takes a step forward, the instinct to flee immediately takes over you, breaking yourself out of your paralysis. You twist your body away from him, quickly breaking into a sprint. Your breath escapes you too fast, and you feel tired, your chest still feeling as if something’s constricting it.

Every movement you make felt like it needed so much effort, and though it looks like you were running in a vast emptiness, it felt like non-existent walls were closing in on you.

The figure doesn’t even have to do much. When you look behind, you see him walking at a leisurely pace, yet every step he makes brings him closer and closer to you. Your desperate running feels like it’s taking you nowhere. The closer he gets the more excited he looks, that blue eye of his glowing brighter, almost electrically so, while his tentacles start to move rapidly, making increasingly excited movements.

You start to scream.

———————————————————————————————————

Nightmare stands by your bedside, staring down your sleeping form. A single inky black tentacle is imbedded into your head, making soft, wave-like movements as he fed his nightmare into you. Even though he’s out here in the waking realm, he was also inside your nightmare, watching you as you desperately try to escape him, his grin widening both in nightmare and reality as he closes in on you.

It always was exciting the closer he got to you, to have you tangled up in his tentacles.

You toss and turn in your bed, an occasional whimper escaping you. His blue light dilates while his grin sharpens sadistically.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the view.

This is a common scene in Nightmare’s day-to-day. He’s been quietly feeding on the negative emotions of humans and monsters alike, visiting them in their sleep and giving them nightmares to feed on their fear and horror. But for some reason… he’s been especially drawn to you, and Nightmare keeps finding himself standing in your room like he is now, pleasuring in your listless, restless sleep.

By all means, Nightmare should be repulsed by you- your soul glowed the brightest in the area around you. You were happy, pleasant, gentle. Always looking for the best out of life, a smile always seeming to grace your face. You saw the best of people. Everything good Nightmare could list was a part of you.

You were brave, fair, kind, patient. You had a stable and strong moral ground, and you persevered when life gets you down… Determined to go through your life as a decent person.

It was everything that Nightmare hated.

Yet…

Somehow… Those were the exact reasons he found himself so drawn to you. Pull him in to keep coming back again and again to your room, where you were sleeping peacefully in his absence.

And when he entered your dreams and turned it all into a nightmare… He’d revel when that peaceful face of yours turns into that of agony and panic.

Every time he inflicted his nightmares on you… It’s the most thrilling nights he ever has.

When he first found you, he hadn’t directly made an appearance in your nightmares. He was just a shadow- creeping along the edges of your consciousness, letting you feel his presence. Watching every one of your reactions as he twisted your dreams into something horrifying.

But even from the first night, already Nightmare had become curious about you. And as he became more and more interested, the thought of letting you see him… It made him excited like nothing else. To let you meet the entity that terrorized you so, to see your eyes on him, and only him- unable to look away out of sheer terror.

It sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine.

He’d appear to you in the dream, forming out of a puddle of black in the ground, slowly making himself apparent. Sometimes, he wouldn’t appear immediately. Creeping around, letting you get more and more anxious as you traveled the dreamscape, unable to shake off the feeling that you’re being followed. When you notice him, the fun begins- your face contorting to panic once you see him. If Nightmare had a heart, he’d say it was pumping hard while he chased you down through the abstract architecture that formed his nightmares.

Sometimes, he’d give you a head start. Letting you run away for a while after you’d see him. It always brought a smile to his face when he sees the look of terror in your eyes, suddenly seized by his squirming tentacles, having appeared directly behind you.

Whenever he chased you through your dreams, something predatory seemed to awaken in him…

There was a thrill whenever he chased you down- his prey. He’d play around with you, make you think like you could escape him, only to let you know that you couldn’t escape his nightmare. Every time he got closer to you he could feel his smile widen while his tentacles swerved and turned- craving to have you in them. Most dreams he’d let you go- leaving right before he got to you. But sometimes he’d catch you, and he’d take sadistic glee when you find to your horror that you couldn’t wake up from your nightmare.

Being able to turn someone with so much positivity in them, who’s soul shone like a bright light in a sea of others, into such a fearful and anxious little thing gave him a sense of immense power. He felt so much control over you, it was addicting. So satisfying to turn someone’s joy into fear, and yours was particularly delicious to him because of how drastic the change was.

But it wasn’t just that sense of power that’s brought him back to your room night after night… It’s exactly your glowing soul that’s got him hooked onto you.

Nightmare is an entity of darkness- someone who’d get hurt if he was exposed to the light. Even if it didn’t, it was in his nature to be disgusted by it, to have the urge to extinguish it.

But…

Because of the nightmares he inflicts on you, all that powerful positive energy could be turned negative. And so, he could spend time with you without having that urge to snuff out your light. And even when your nightmares ended, your soul turning back from a dim, fearful one into that soft glowing light, like a firefly in the night… Nightmare found himself drawn to it.

He doesn’t understand why. Maybe because he’s gone so long without the light, always filled with the need to get rid of it whenever it’s near, that when he finds something… Someone that didn’t repel him, Nightmare isn’t willing to let go. He’s spent so long without the light, he’d forgotten about why it was such a good thing in the first place.

And he basked in your light.

Nightmare takes a deep inhale, groaning as he feeds. You were screaming in his nightmare, and it’s then that he’s had his fill. He retracts his tentacle, a shlorp audible as it finally pulls out of your head.

After a few more gasps and whimpers of you collecting yourself, you calmed down. You returned to a peaceful slumber, breathing in relief when you realize the nightmare is over.

Because you had so much positive energy that Nightmare could convert into something negative, he’s always able to satisfy himself in one night from feeding on your fears alone. And so Nightmare could spend some time just with you for the rest of the night.

He didn’t need anyone else.

Your soul slowly starts to gleam again, filled with relief and calmness.

Nightmare doesn’t just find it tolerable… He finds the soft glow of your soul beautiful.

Now that his nightmare is over and Nightmare’s had his fill, he should be able to retreat to the darkness and rest himself.

But he just couldn’t tear his eyelight away from your sleeping face. The way the moonlight made it look like your skin glowed… That silky hair.

You look so calm and serene… Oblivious to his presence.

So innocent… So pure.

He wanted to touch your light, keep it to himself.

He gives in to his temptations, and slowly, he peels the blanket off your sleeping body, curled up from the fear that took over you in your nightmare. Now, you’ve considerably relaxed, no longer clutching onto the blanket, your muscles lax. The nightgown you wore draped over your body in such a way that made his breaths quicken, make him want to run his hands up and down you, feel every curve and inch of your skin. Two tentacles move forward, circling around your chest and your legs, gently lifting you off the bed. He slides into it, right where you slept with his back to the headboard, and slowly lowers you on top of him.

He exhales as his tentacles retract, placing your head on his chest while your legs laid between his. So close to you, he could smell your hair, a soft sweet scent.

Vanilla? Or… Caramel?

It was the scent of home. Of morning sun in your hair.

Whatever it is, Nightmare enjoyed it, taking deep breaths of it. He put his skull on top of your head while he smelled more of you, his arms coming around to embrace you. One hand rested on your waist while the other came up to your cheek- hesitating for a moment before he ran his phalanges along the soft skin, sighing as he leans back. His tentacles come closer, instinctively drawn to you, to your warmth. His breaths start to slow as he pulls you closer, pressing you in the slightest to his chest as he buries his face in your hair. His tentacles tenderly wrap around you without his conscious thought.

One winding around your arm up to your wrist, another twisting around your waist, down your left thigh, to your calf. Another climbed up your right leg, and another circles around your chest drawing near your center, above your soul.

He gently cups your cheek as he presses his skull to your crown, reveling in the closeness, the intimacy of your position on him. He could feel your quiet breaths brush against his neck, a pleasured rumble building in his chest.

He always enjoyed whenever he managed to have you to himself in these quiet nights. It was many nights ago that Nightmare had found himself staring down at your sleeping body, having no intentions on leaving so soon. He watched your glowing soul, his eyelight roaming all over you, tempting him to touch you, pulling him into your bed, to entwine himself around you.

Nightmare found himself addicted to yet another part of you- the softness of your body against him, your face so close to his when he holds you.

He was at ease when he held you… And it had a calming effect on you too. You didn’t fight him off when he picks up your sleeping body, nor did you flinch when his tentacles wrap around you. It filled his chest with a feeling of want, like you weren’t afraid of him, that the sensation of his tentacles and sludge against you didn’t disgust you. His breath comes out shakily at the thought. He holds it when he feels you nestling up against him, unafraid, unaware of the sinister entity that was holding you.

He lets his phalanges slide down from your cheek to your neck, stroking it thoughtfully. You make quiet whimpers and mewls as his phalanges traces over your skin, sounds that excited him. Make him want you closer- to cover you up with his inky black gunk and claim you as his.

There were no nightmares. No fear, no anxiety. He’s just… Resting with you, letting himself roam over you, feel you- his leg brushing up against yours. Just a quiet moment that Nightmare could indulge in. He never had quiet moments- something was always going on. Whether it’s causing corruptions in a universe so he could feed, or fighting off those intervening Star-Sanses, Nightmare had always been on the move. And so he savors these quiet moments.

Just him and you. One small human in his embrace as he rests through the night. Something… Someone positive he could indulge in.

During the nights when he’s in your bed like this, his tentacles coiled around you… He gets the most tempted to just take you, to bring you back with him. He’s become obsessed, with this human that wouldn’t seem special to anyone else. A normal human in a mundane universe.

His other hand trails down your stomach down to your leg, slipping under the gown to touch your thigh. Feeling the warmth on his phalanges, his breaths becoming heavier…

He wants to take you back to his domain, his pocket dimension where his castle resides. He’d be able to keep you all to himself, where no one would disturb his time with you… Where he could spend as much time as he wanted with you.

He’s wanted to do that as soon as he realized he’s become obsessed with you. But he grits his teeth, knowing he can’t do that just yet.

The irritable Star-Sanses had driven him away from his territories, managing to have the upper hand recently. They managed to take Killer away from him- one of the most useful members of his group, someone who had no emotion and could kill easily because of it. They somehow got way too close to his “kingdom” for his liking, and it drove him to hide away. With his castle under “surveillance”, the so-called Sanses looking for him to turn up again, he couldn’t return to it lest he gets pulled into another battle with them.

He’d jump from universe to universe, eventually losing their pursuit, when he found your universe. There was nothing outwardly special about yours, which was exactly why it was such a good place for him to hide and lay low for a while. Biding his time, storing his energy… When he meets them again, he’ll give them one hell of a fight.

Soon, however… He’ll be able to take you. Something else is happening in the multiverse, causing corruption and destruction. Another universe-hopping entity running amok. The Star-Sanses had stopped looking for him, their attention pulled away. Soon, Nightmare will be able to return to his realm.

And when he does… He’ll bring you along with him.

He holds you for a bit longer, letting his tentacles smother you, his phalanges stroking your chin. He closes his socket, savoring the moment… When he notices the first few rays of sun reaching the floor of your room. His calm grin turned into a frown, his phalanges curling up around your face.

It was time to leave.

Reluctantly, he pulls back all but two of his tentacles, picking you off of him, gently laying you back down once he’s gotten off your bed. His tentacles linger for a few moments longer before finally unwillingly pull back from you.

Night after night, his urge to have you grows.

Nightmare remains where he was beside your bed, his single eyelight watching your restful face, the morning light bouncing off of your skin.

Even though he always took pleasure in your pretty, fearful face… When your face isn’t distorted by fright, peacefully resting like this, you look beautiful.

He pulls the blanket back onto you, tucking you in. He wanted to make sure you’ll have a comfortable rest.

Because soon, you might not have anymore of those.

He leans in near you, putting his teeth close to your ears, and whispers.

“Sleep well, my dear… Soon, we’ll be able to meet.”

———————————————————————————————————

The sound of scrubbing filled the air as you brush your teeth, spitting the foam into the sink soon after. You cup your hands under the faucet and splash your face with water, feeling the droplets trickle down your chin. You wash your face and spray more water, looking at the mirror as the suds clear away from your face.

… You look horrible.

You hadn’t had a restful night in a long while. You couldn’t- you’ve been having nightmares lately, and they only seem to get worse. They all had one thing in common- a dark skeletal figure, oozing with darkness, with twisting and thrashing tentacles that looked like they were always searching for you.

It was always the same. As soon as you notice, you were running. You’d run as much as you could, hid the best to your abilities, desperate to get away from him (you always assumed they were a he…). But he was relentless. Every bit of running you did never seemed to deter him, and there was always a way for him to stay on your heels while his tentacles reach for you. Sometimes you’d wake up right before he got to you, or when you manage to fall into a pit.

Then there are times when his tentacles would find you…

Thinking about it just gives you shivers. It’s as if you could feel the ooze on your skin as they squirmed all over you- grabbing you by your leg when you were hiding somewhere, screaming as you were lifted into the air, face to face with your captor. The figure had a sadistic smile present whenever he heard you screaming, struggling to free yourself of his bonds. His laughing only got louder and more manic as more of his tentacles grabbed you- and you couldn’t stop screaming. You’d think that you’d be able to wake up once he’s caught you, but there are times where you’d stay in that position for so long. Where all you do is try to break out of his hold, only to have more of those dripping black tentacles cover over of you.

… It was always the worst when he caught you.

Sometimes he’d speak to you. His voice was deep, something dark lying underneath it. Like the devil trying to coax you into giving him your soul. He’d taunt you as you were running, telling you to

“Run away, little girl. Run away from your monster.”

It sounds as if he spoke to you both from where he was and inside your mind. It reminded you how no matter what you did… He was always behind you.

He spoke to you while he caught you as well, his voice dripping with false sympathy, saying how “What a poor thing you are, trapped and hopeless…” while you struggled to keep his tentacles away from you.

You started to dread going to sleep. It used to come by every week or so, then it became twice a week, then every other day, and eventually every night… You would be visited by a nightmare. When night falls you’d get anxious, and you wonder… Why was it always the same entity that appeared in your dreams? They were the most vivid dreams you’ve ever had, feeling every inch of his slimy, horrid tendrils when you became entangled in them.

You’ve told your friends about the recurring nightmares and even went to a psychologist once. You told them about the skeletal figure that chased you relentlessly throughout your nights, making your mornings feel tired and restless. You don’t know where he came from- you’ve had uncomfortable dreams before he suddenly appeared, and he kept returning ever since. It always felt so real, and you were terrified of him.

But most of them have told you the same- it was just a dream. “He’s not real,” They’d say. “He can’t hurt you,” They’d say. It may be a form of something bad in your life turning into something awful in your mind when you slept. He can’t get to you.

You laughed it off then- feeling like a child. It was just in your dreams, in your head. Probably some kind of manifestation of your subconscious. You might be having terrible night terrors, but he isn’t real and he can’t catch you when you’re awake and conscious.

… But… Sometimes, late at night when you’re in between sleep and consciousness… When you peek out of your eyelids, you swear you could see a shadowy figure in the corner of your room, watching you unblinkingly with that glowing blue orb as you fall asleep. And every time you managed to jolt your self awake, searching for him- he wasn’t there.

You don’t know what to believe- sometimes you fear that you might be going insane.

But as much as you dreaded those nightmares, you knew you needed sleep.

You’ve tried avoiding it once. Try to keep yourself awake, sitting in your bed, only to end up falling asleep anyways. You had the nightmare again- but it felt worse. Even in the dream, you felt lethargic and weak, and your anxiety felt ten times worse. The skeletal figure had again appeared and had easily caught you, pulling you close to him and laughing at you when you can’t even struggle against him, wishing for your nightmare to end.

You couldn’t avoid it, so you didn’t try to anymore. It was just something you had to go through your nights now.

You slip into your nightwear, walking towards your bedroom. You do your best to ignore the uneasiness creeping up on you as you enter, locking the door. You turn off the lights and slip into bed, thinking of good thoughts to calm yourself down, preparing yourself to sleep.

As you slowly slip silently into unconsciousness, your mind is suddenly alert when you see him. A dark corner of your room, grin flashing on his face.

You’re lying on your side, an arm dangling off the bed when you saw him. The dread you felt earlier comes back with a vengeance as you try to scream, but your lips barely move. You try to get away, to hide, but your utmost efforts only bring a twitch to your finger.

You’re in sleep paralysis.

The realization hits you like a truck, and through your unmoving eyes, you see him start to come closer. Your heart hammers in your chest, your mind screaming for you to move but your body doesn’t obey. You feel your breath quicken as you’re forced to watch his approach. Eventually, you manage to get your dangling arm moving, throwing it on top of the blanket. You grab it and with what little control you have, pull it up over you, hiding you.

You try to control your breathing as you peek out of the blanket.

He isn’t moving anymore, and when you look twice- you notice he hadn’t even moved from the spot in his corner. Your eyesight wavers and the figure just turns into static shadow in the corner of your room. Your heart continues to thump in your chest as you stare out, fearing if he was going to return, but you don’t see any movement. Eventually, you tell yourself that this is enough, giving in to your exhaustion, and your eyes close.

…

You’re… Somewhere else.

You were still on a dark landscape, but standing in front of you was a black castle. Darker than the rest of where you were, reminding you of him.

But as you turn around, looking in all directions, searching… He was nowhere to be seen. And something you noticed very quickly was the fact you could move at all.

Having nothing else to do, you walk through the entrance, grand, reminding you of royalty. As you moved through the black hallways, running your hand along the walls, feeling its smoothness, you wonder.

Why are you here?

It didn’t feel like your usual nightmare. It felt more like a surreal, weird dream. You could think much more clearly, and you didn’t feel fear building inside of you. But even so, something about the castle made you uncomfortable. Like something’s not right.

… Like you’re being watched.

You spend what feels like hours just exploring and turning around the winding hallways, climbing up and down ebony stairs, when you finally reach an opening in what seems to be the heart of the castle. Its entrance is grand as well. Not as big as the one you used to enter the castle, but it felt more… regal.

When you enter, you see two chairs pressed to the wall.

This is probably the throne room.

One of the thrones is huge- tall and imposing, fit for a ruler. Somewhere where they would be able to look over the room and address anyone in it. Next to it is a smaller throne.

Even though it was smaller and black like everything else, it was adorned with decorations. Some patterns swirled and winded along its back and top.

You couldn’t stop staring at the smaller throne. It felt… Right, for once. It set your chest at ease. You wanted to keep looking at it, feeling an inexplicable draw to it, like you were being pulled towards it. A voice inside your mind tells you

Sit. Sit on it. You want to sit on it, it looks so pretty and nice. You want to sit on it.

Without making conscious effort, your body obeys, your feet bringing you closer to it step by step. It felt like it belonged to you… It felt like you belonged there. Like that’s where you’re supposed to be. It brought you a sense of rightfulness and a sort of strange joy in you.

A smile tugs at your lips as you approach.

You want to sit on that throne.

But as you draw nearer… You stop yourself, your smile falling. Where are all these feelings coming from? It is a beautiful chair, especially now as you stand closer you could see more of the intricacies on the patterns that adorned the throne- but you don’t understand why you felt so drawn to it.

You stand in front of the throne, thinking- only to start screaming a moment later when abruptly, tendrils shoot out of the throne, grabbing you by your limbs. You get tossed and turned, and you lose your “breath” when you’re yanked into it, your back hitting the throne with such a force that you cry out. You shriek as the black tentacles coil tighter around you, fighting to get out of the seat. To your horror, you realize the familiarity of the black appendages holding you down, reminding you of something… Someone else. Your efforts in struggling doubles, shutting your eyes as you pulled against the tight grasps, managing to stand up a bit- screaming again when a pair of bony hands clamp down on your wrists, jerking you back.

You immediately open your eyes. The castle’s gone, and you’re back in that void you’ve become so familiar with- with the same entity that had been haunting your nights. He holds you to him, his head next to yours, watching you with one electric blue orb. His grin is sharp and wide, so close to your face as you cry- he’s tightened his grip on you, and it’s starting to hurt.

“You can’t run from me anymore, (Y/n).” His voice spreads throughout the void and booms in your head, full of mania. “You can’t run away from your Nightmare.”

“No! No- let me go, please!” You shout and sob, but no one else hears you. He only laughs in your face and you start to drown in his black sludge as it fills the void. It rises with an alarming rate, coming from your legs up to your chest and neck, finally reaching your face. It covers you and spills into your mouth, and you start to choke-

…

You gasp as you shoot straight into sitting position, throwing your blanket off the bed. You pant and gasp for air, your eyes wide with fright as you look around the room frantically. You could feel beads of sweat rolling down your temples, the damp cloth sticking to your back.

… That’s new.

Your frantic breathing eventually turns quiet, and you take a deep breath, swallowing thick saliva.

Another nightmare.

But this one felt… Different. It was always somewhere dark where the nightmarish entity chased after you, and it certainly wasn’t the first time he’s caught you- but you’ve never seen that castle before. It sounds silly considering it was a dream, but usually, you were running on that vast plain of darkness that threatened to swallow you whole, or someplace with abstract shapes where he’d play “Hide and Seek” with you. You’ve never been somewhere with clear-cut features.

And you’ve never had a moment of calm before your nightmare. It always started quickly- as soon as you were there, the figure would make himself apparent to you, and his hunt would begin.

This… This was something new.

Tick… Tick… Tick…

But still, it was another nightmare.

You look to your side, to the clock hanging on the wall of the room. 3 AM. You could still go back to sleep. You felt groggy, sluggish, tired- and afraid. So, so afraid. But now that you’re awake, knowing it was just another nightmare, you feel your nerves settling, feeling the cool air on your skin.

You spend some time just gathering yourself. You breathe long and deep, pressing your palms to your face, giving yourself a moment.

It’s ok. It’s just a nightmare. You’re ok, (Y/n).

You gave out a loud exhale, emptying your chest of air before breathing again, staring at your room. It’s quiet, the air only filled with the sound of your ticking clock. Your eyes wander to your window, hanging ajar. The curtains flew gently in the wind, and as you look longer at it you think the moon must be full because it lit up your floor a soft blue. You enjoy that your room wasn’t pitch black- something that’d remind you of the void in your mind. You smile, yawning, filling your lungs with cool, soothing air, feeling drowsiness creep back into you. You blink your eyes tiredly, deciding to go back to sleep.

… But then… You see something moving in the shadows.

Your eyes move from your window to the floor, where the shadow of your curtains moved along the wind.

… There’s something else that peeked out of the corners of your room, slowly swaying.

A shadow of one lone tendril, waving in the air. Your breath gets stuck in your throat, and your eyes widen. Your mouth turns dry as your eyes trail up to the tentacle casting the twisting and writhing shadow on the floor, glistening under the moonlight.

You follow along the tentacle, and you see more, moving in similar patterns, curling and uncurling as if they were restless.

Time seemed to stop when you see a grin in the shadow, one blue orb glowing above it, slightly lidded.

… No.

His eyesocket widens and the orb glows brighter when you make eye contact. He takes a step out of the shadows, and you see him- A skeleton with a jacket and shorts, glistening and drenched in what looks like black sludge, taking slow step after slow step closer to you.

… No no no!

This can’t be happening! You’re still dreaming, it’s not real!

“Oh, but my dear…” He speaks, his grin turning malicious, apparent that he’s enjoying the look of terror that must be on your face. “This isn’t a dream…”

“I am your Nightmare.”

Your heart pounds in your chest, clamming up once you’ve heard him speak. But as he gets closer and closer, whatever spell you were in breaks and you quickly turn your body away, jumping off your bed and heading for the door- when black tentacles grab at your arm and legs. You squeal and kick as you’re picked clean off the ground, the slimy members coiling around tightly until you couldn’t move more than a jerk here and there. You’re abruptly pulled towards him, pressed chest to chest, feeling the inky black substance cover your skin.

Your breathing turns rapid and shallow, realizing you can smell him. He smells damp and musty, like something old and forbidden. Of untouched crypts, of rain on hot tarmac. He smelled bad, and not in the sense that he smelled bad- He smelled wrong, like a bad memory tugging on your mind, of something bad that’s about to come.

In all your nightmares not once have you smelled him.

This is real.

Your nightmares had always felt scarily real, but when you feel his tentacles now, on your arms and legs, feeling its slime rubbing off of you and soaking you… Your heart feels like it’d jumped when you come to the terrifying realization that this is real.

He is real.

You immediately open your mouth to scream, but just as quickly, a tentacle wraps around your head and covers your mouth. The skeleton laughs darkly as you feel another tendril slowly glide around your neck, staring at him with wide eyes.

His blue eye lights up with glee as he sees you fight against his tentacles, your sounds of struggle muffled by them as it felt like more and more of his tentacles kept wrapping around you. His sludge covers up every surface of your body until you’re completely drenched in it, save your eyes.

His manic grin takes up all your attention as a skeletal hand cups your face, almost tenderly so, surprising you. His sockets lid while his smile starts to look drunk, the blue light of his eye dilating. “No more running away, (Y/n)…” He murmurs, eyelight watching you unwaveringly.

The expression on his face turns intense as he seems to lose solidity, losing his form and sinking into the ground, taking you with him.

“I’ve caught you.” He growls, “ And you’re mine.”

He sinks into a puddle in your room, as more of your screams are muffled, your tears pooling in your eyes as you try desperately to escape. One hand manages to reach out of his muck before he grabs it. He pulls you down with him until you’re completely engulfed by his slime, disappearing into the floor, leaving no trace behind.

…

Tick… Tick… Tick…

The clock in your room continues to run, the curtains gently swaying in the wind. Your room is empty with only a messy bed while moonlight filters into the room… It’s as if you weren’t even there.

Your nightmare begins.

[effervescent7]

Lana, Lex, Clark, and Lionel debate

This is a Lana Clark Lex and Lionel debate

X 6 years ago

"Clark means more to me than you ever will" No Lana the only person who means more to you than anyone is yourself.

LO 6 years ago

STFU REJECT

X 6 years ago

@LO STFU Lana fanboy.

Supernova 2 days ago

That's why Lana did all of that volunteer work for blood drives. Or helped Adam when he pretended to be homeless. Wanted to use Lex's money for halfway houses and immigrant slavery. You know this Lana-hate which THANK GOODNESS is almost over is just out of spite.

[1] Link

X 1 day ago

@Supernova She was the show's worst character. Treated like a perfect saintly Mary Sue who could do no wrong even though she can and had done plenty of wrong. She was a hypocrite who supposedly hated being lied to and having secrets kept from her only to lie and keep secrets herself. Her entire relationship with Clark was her trying to force him to tell her about his powers then having a tantrum when he wouldn't. She got jealous when men she fancied kissed other women even if she was with other men at the time. Even when she was with Whitney she gave Clark and Chloe a jealous look when she saw them kissing. Because Lana apparently believed that men had to pine for her until she was ready for them. Characters who were complete strangers to her would call her amazing out of nowhere even though she wasn't which was just the original producers projecting their obsession with the actress and character. Her and Clark's relationship was lust not love. They only liked each other for their looks and because they wanted to have sex. Anything Lana did wrong was ignored or portrayed as right. Like kidnapping the reformed Lionel and having him held hostage by a crazy woman for forcing her to marry Lex, when she was with Lex she threatened to have the college fund of the daughter of a LuthorCorp employee cut off unless said employee gave her the box from Brainiac's ship, she pretended to set up a clinic to help Kryptonite powered people but instead just used it to spy on Lex, nearly killed Lois while trying to kill Lex. People hate Lana because she's the worst character in the show, never had a clear set in stone character, was played by an actress hired for her looks not her acting ability, in other versions of Superman Lana Lang is just Clark's high school girlfriend. Therefore Lana should have left the show for good when she went to France at the end of Season 3. Instead they kept her around until Season 8. She was one of the most evil characters in the show yet was treated as if she was pure and innocent. At least Smallville's other villains were shown to be what they were.

A 8 hours ago (edited)

Only lust not love? When there were together they often go on normal dates, which they talk about of you listen to the dialogue. Apparently they always either go out to dinner, horse-riding, or dancing. They don't even sleep together for years of being friends. Anyway Clark is the major gaslighter in the show, gaslighting means making someone believe something isn't true even when they know it is. That is all Clark does to Lana and Lex throughout the first 3 seasons every-time someone threatens them about Clark. Lex tries to talk to him after being told by multiple people that Clark has a dangerous secret (like Lana) and just asks Clark outright. "Friendships built on secrets are destined to fail" and Clark says "good thing we don't have that problem". This is actually gaslighting. Making someone believe that something didn't happen, which can actually drive people out of their minds. "There's nothing more to me than what you see" to Lana who actually saw him use his powers "You'd still be the same Clark Kent." Which is what she says every-time she asks about the secret which is really in 3x02, gunpoint 3x03 after being kidnapped over the secret, and 5x10 because he suddenly stopped when they were going to sleep together. Then of course Clark blames her for moving away to college. And wait she actually think she asks about his health, because at this point she went to Lex and told him to stay away from Clark because he's "just like the rest of us". As for secrets in season 4 Lana admits everything which she had already told her current boyfriend and Lex about. She tells Clark after they become friends again. Why tell someone something if you aren't even talking to them? Then we see in 5x10 that Lana brings up aliens and tries to talk about the spaceship with Clark, before it's revealed that she accepted Lex's offer. Because Lex truly thinks aliens are going to invade and take over the world. Once Lex is revealed, you really expect her just to lie back and know that he's doing a ton of messed up stuff and not go after him? Lex is evil, but let him be? Going after an evil person doesn't make someone evil. And oh Lionel- didn't he kill his parents and a ton of innocent people over the years. Didn't he abuse his family? Who cares! But you seem to forget that Lana did save Lois' in Gone and Arrival. As for Lois, Chloe does confront her about that. But no Lana is not evil, she goes through therapy and reformation before returning because of some mental issues from being with Lex. And is your comment is less an accurate view of the show and more a rant.

X 7 hours ago @Ambrosia 777 She was right to go after Lex but didn't care how many innocents she hurt to get to him. And Lionel had redeemed himself after switching bodies with Clark cured him of a liver disease that was killing him and spent the rest of his life protecting Clark until Lex killed him. As bad as Clark's lying and secret keeping was he was doing it to protect people and make it so they didn't get put in danger or killed by his life as a hero.

A 6 hours ago

But she didn't plan to hurt Grant or Lois. Grant only didn't want to expose Lex because he worked for him. Anyway Lana had mental issues, she needed to work through. A fake pregnancy and finding out all of those things she defended Lex from were actually real broke her. But then and I read that blog post, she really did torture. herself because she didn't want to be that kind of person. Anyway the Black Box was supposed to protect the world from an alien invasion, until Lex wanted to start using it to make weapons. Then she disagreed, because she didn't want innocent people to die. Because she's not a Lex copy.

A 6 hours ago

Oh no I'm not a Clark hater at all. But I really hated how he pretended like Lex and Lana were imagining things and all of those people that kept telling them about him were lying. I know Clark is a good guy, but that took a toll on his friendships with them. They tried to prove they would care about him no matter what he was or why all of those things were happening. If a ton of people tried to kill me, then said yow know Clark has a secret. I'd want to know. And it's not like they argued with him about it, they asked directly. Straight to the source. Far better than just ending the relationship because Clark had a secret identity. Until Lex flat out started stalking him and that whole thing in Mortal which I will not excuse.

L 2 days ago (edited)

​ @A  All that truth scarred him off. Adults blindly hating a teenage girl and insulting the actress don't need attention anyway. To think that Lionel spent his entire life killing people and being a wife beater, to earn sudden forgiveness and still treat Lex like crap. While Lex turns into this kind of misguided monster. And Lana spends 1 year doing questionable things to protect the world from aliens or Lex and she's evil! Don't get me started on that teenage crap this grown man commented at first.

L 3 hours ago

And where does this “whining” all the time come from?! She asks twice in season 3 after Clark runs away and doesn't ask again until season 5. Compare that to Chloe seasons 1-3. I think Lana-haters know they just exaggerate and hate the character because they're insecure or immature. Especially when it's a grown man saying these hateful things.

X 3 hours ago

@L  Horrible things Lex and Lionel did were acknowledged as horrible. Horrible things Lana did were either ignored completely or treated as if they were right. Not liking a badly written and acted character isn't insecurity or immaturity. And there are plenty of women who hate the character of Lana as well. You liking her doesn't mean everyone has to.

A 9 minutes ago

You don't have to. Some of the things you said about Kristin and Lana in other comments read that way. And I truly think Lex and Lionel were evil because they had no reason to do those things. But Lana truly believed Lex when he said the Black Box could stop and invasion. And was mentally shook when he was revealed to be a bad guy who does all of these things she thought he wouldn't do, so she went after him. I'm just saying she's not evil or monstrous and ignoring the plot or reasons to hate Lana is unreasonable. And Isis was used to help meteor-freaks after she changed and stopped going after Lex.

L 4 minutes ago (edited)

@A that explained it way better than I did. If someone believes they are stopping a huge evil are they evil? Especially when compared to people who do worse things for their own amusement.