#she just changed the plan without notifying him at all

[seven-oomen]

Listen I get that you have BPD. I get that you have a mental illness. But that doesn't excuse rude or shitty behavior.

I kinda get why people are fed up with you.

[respectthepetty]

The irony of Wine and Faifa's pink and red text matching shirts saying "Friends" on them is not lost on me since they are clearly in love with each other as we enter episode twenty-two of Perfect 10 Liners.

And Faifa getting additional matching shirts for them to wear only added to my joy since the shirts had lightning bolts in the shape of hearts on them because Electric Boy is in love with his Vino Baby.

And Vino Baby is in love with Electric Boy!

Just in case the engagement photos with the red roses didn't make that clear for everyone.

Or the fact that Wine is probably wearing Faifa clothes as he spends the night again, but also that it is Faifa's light blue that he is wearing.

They are just two Lapis Lads living their best Blue Boys domestic dream with sponsored milk product placements that could kill Faifa, but neither care because they are in love, and if they die, they are dying smiling.

But Faifa's mom shows up to cut the sponsored milk product placement short so Faifa won't die due to his allergy but rather from neglect and heartbreak because instead of her owning up to her faults, she blames the dad for not informing Faifa of anything since the dad only has three kids while she has a whole new family who she used to replace her old one. Good job, Mom!

Thankfully, the episode is out to prove that the boys are the best part of each other's lives because even though Faifa's mom is going to catch these hands, the boys decide to use their hands to comfort each other instead of violence.

BECAUSE THEY ARE IN LOVE!

And as to prove how much Faifa needs Wine after dealing with his ridiculous family, the mom calls Newton to notify him that Wine was in the apartment when she went to visit Faifa late at night, who then informs Yotha. Nobody tells Faifa anything but they are quick to tell each other everything. How funny! *murder*

I know Warit says Klao is a new man, but how much would one good punch in the stomach to two bothersome brothers cost? Asking for a friend.

Not even Green Guy Gun looking cute on the couch can save his Black Brooder boyfriend from the beatdown I want to give this family.

I thought about changing my mind the next day since both of them are wearing their colors.

BUT ARC AND ARM AREN'T IN THEIR COLORS AGAIN SO EVERYONE IS GETTING BEAT UP! Klao can give me a discount like those adorable coffee punch cards Faifa and Wine are swooning over! Pay for five punches get the sixth free.

Basically, the only boys I love right now are the Blue Boys who are honest, strong, and loyal, just like the flowers they are about to exchange in order to make their relationship official.

UNTIL OHM TOR SHOWS UP WHICH MEANS I GUESSED RIGHT! Look at Toey's face. Girl thinks she did good.

Now look at my boy's face. She did NOT do good!

But I'm going to skip over the angst because this episode was out to prove that Blue Boys are the best boys and they are HONEST, STRONG, AND LOYAL because Wine doesn't let the misunderstanding slide, but chases after our boy and tells him that the only reason he agreed to this arrangement is because he wants to be near Faifa since he likes him so much and he doesn't understand how Faifa doesn't realize that when he is giving his all and trying everything to extend this beyond that notebook of love deadlines.

AND THIS WAS AFTER HE KISSES HIM!

So in the end, the Blue Boys really did figure it out all on their own without any help from any of these messy gays, and Yotha can be proud of his brother who he did not help at all.

I'm sorry I ever doubted you, kings.

Now, let's plan the wedding!

IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!!!!

Wait? Green Guy Po?! WHAT?!

[delulu4anime]

Maniac

Ch 7 ➧Never Changed

Parings ➧ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ!ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ ɢᴏᴊᴏ x ᴄʜᴜʙʙʏ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Summary ➧ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅ ʜɪᴍ ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱ ɪᴛ ᴜɴᴀᴠᴏɪᴅᴀʙʟᴇ. ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴɪᴀᴄ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɴᴋꜱ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜰᴀʟʟ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.

Trigger Warnings ➧ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪꜰ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ.

Word Count ���2.9ᴋ+

Taglist ➧@lady-of-blossoms @dekusdante @fortunatelyfurrygiver @birbwithhat @whippedbyikemen @sleepykittyenergy @i-love-ateez @choppersworlds-blog @emochosoluvr @linaaeatsfamilies (ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀɢɢᴇᴅ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ʟᴍᴋ❣︎)

Before your shift you made your way over to the post office and dropped all the invitations office. You couldn't wait to help Emi sort out who would be coming and who wouldn't but you knew almost everyone would attend the wedding everyone has been waiting for. The weather was on the warmer side and although you and Emi didn't have a dress code you felt a tad bit over dressed for work. You wore a white off the shoulder sundress that had a blue flower print all over the dress and your vans. You made the short five minute walk from the post office to the cafe after you took a cab into town since Satoru texted you this morning saying he'd pick you up after your shift.

Once you get to work you already felt yourself looking at the clock every five seconds. It was strange going from not wanting to show your face around Satoru to wanting to see him immediately to see if things were still okay between the two of you. Although the shift passed by quickly with the amount of customers coming in towards the end Emi took notice of you nervously checking the time. Once things calmed down in the cafe she nudged you with her hip. When you looked over at her she gave you a questioning look and you offered her a smile in return; she shook her head as she looked at the clock herself trying to figure out what has gotten you so antsy.

"So are you gonna tell me why you're dressed up more than usual and what has you looking at the clock like times magically going to go faster or am I going to have to pry it out of you." She said and you knew no one was as persistent as Emi was not even Satoru. If he was the king of persistence she was the deity of it.

"I'm sorry. I reached out to Satoru last night and told him maybe it was better if we didn't go to the wedding together,"

"Wait you guys were planning on going to the wedding together? Like as a date?" Emi asked shocked that you hadn't told her sooner and you shrugged.

"I guess. If you want to call it that. I figured he wouldn't respond or he'd agree with me and we just would only speak if we had to. We'd go our separate ways and live life like we use to without speaking to one another again. But..."

"But what?" Emi asked and you tried not to get your hopes up.

"He ended up texting back asking if I was free today after work and that he wanted me to come along while he ran a few errands which I think I'm dressed appropriately for by the way." As you motion to your outfit. Emi looked you up and down with a raised brow.

"You sure it's not a date? I don't buy the 'running errands' bit." She said as she air quoted running errands as if there was a hidden meaning to it. You rolled your eyes and laughed.

"You're reading to much into it. I just didn't want to-"

"Look like you just got off work for your date. I understand." Emi said with a smile.

Although Emi teased you about what your afternoon would intel you could see the way she visibly relaxed at the fact Satoru had reached out to you. You knew it would be hard if you changed your mind to tell Satoru that not only was he uninvited to the wedding but he was loosing a friendship between him and Kento. You were happy to report that things could possibly go back to normal; whatever normal meant before Satoru and you agreed on a truce. There was a beep that went off in the back room notifying something was done baking. Emi turned and cussed before making her way to the back.

"I forgot about the milk bread. I'll be right back to hear the rest." She says as she rounds the corner and she's out of sight.

Right as she leaves the door opens and the bell rings throughout the shop as another customer comes in. You look at the register and start setting it up to help the customer order.

"Thank you for stopping by The Hiding Place. What can I get you?" You say and look up to see someone you hadn't expected to see and by the looks of it she felt the same way.

"Hina?" You softly say as she stares at you.

It's like you were right back in high school again. She looked exactly the same except for the fact you could tell she had lip fillers which only seemed to enhance her beauty. Most of her long black hair was covered by a baseball cap that she had pulled her pony tail through the back. By the looks of it she had just come from a work out with her neon sports bra and leggings to match. She smiled at you but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry my memory is a little fuzzy. Do I know you?" She asked and you could feel your lips turn down into a frown.

"We went to high school together." You say as you peeked up at the clock then back down at her face.

You still had an hour to go and you hoped Satoru wouldn't show up early. Although the divorce seemed pretty clean you never knew with their history if they'd get back together. Everyone especially Satoru was always under her spell. After what she did to you in high school by sending out those pictures and videos of you to anyone and everyone around the school. You became the laughing stock of the whole school.

Even after what she did to you she still managed to get Satoru back into her claws and they were back to being the it couple at school. They finished out their high school years being high school sweet hearts while you kept your head down and hoped no one would ever bring it up again. It was no shock to anyone, not even you, when they got married. What was shocking is that he knew how evil she could be and he still married her. They were married for seven years before one day you heard the news from Emi that Satoru was getting a divorce and you were almost excited to hear that he might have finally seen who she truly was.

"Oh that's right! You're the girl that had a fat crush on Satoru back in school." She said after she snapped her finger as if she had solved a complex equation. "How are you?" She said and then looked down at her phone after it pinged indicating she had a message.

You plastered the best fake smile you could muster up knowing if you had it your way you'd figure out how to rip those lip filters out of her face.

"I'm doing well. How about yourself." You say knowing she didn't give two shits about how you were doing back then and especially how you're doing now.

"Mhm I can see you're doing well. I see you've got a little part time job in this cafe. My friend owns the shop. I helped her find this cute little place. I'm a realtor now and I was sad I couldn't help sell her this place cause I was out of the county on business but I sent her the listing." She said without looking at you as she continued to text.

You saw red at her response; Emi had stumbled upon this place for rent in town and practically shoved her phone in your face to show you. As soon as you looked at the empty space you knew this would be the place you and Emi would turn into something beautiful. You and Emi had built this from the ground up with not much help from anyone else. So to hear Hina lie through her teeth made you realize she was still the same as she was in high school. She never changed.

"Actually we own the shop together. Emi and I are best friends." You shoot back which causes Hina to stop texting and look up at you.

You pause for a moment and think back to what she has said before. Did she say friend?

"Hina is that you?" Emi said which caused both of you to look at her.

She had oven mits on each hand and had two small pans with fresh milk bread lined up on each tray.

"Emi!" Hina squeals and you have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes. "Baby doll it's been way too long! How are you? Are you excited for the wedding?" She ask as she moves away from you and the register to where Emi was standing at the counter as she put the pans down.

"You have no idea. I feel like I'm living in a dream and I have to pinch myself. We're still seven months away from the big day but I'm sure it will be here before I know it." Emi says and at the sight of her glowing with the love she has for Kento you almost forget Hina's existence. That is until she opens her mouth.

"Nanami is such a great guy. We use to hang out all the time in high school." She said which caused you to look at her.

Bullshit. Kento couldn't stand you. Especially after what you did. The voice that usually nagged at you finally speaking the truth.

"You've got a keeper. Unlike I had." She says and she rolls her eyes and before you could think about jumping across the counter to strangle her you felt the need to chime in.

"How do you two know each other?" You say and they both look at you.

"Do you know Hina too? What a small world this is! Hina and I use to be neighbors. Her family would house sit for us when we went out of town. Hina also use to walk our dog around the neighborhood a couple times when she was a dog walker." Emi said with a smile.

"I adored her little shiba." Hina said as if you don't know all about Pebble and how Emi said she always bit anyone but Emi's dad.

"And this is my business partner slash best friend. She's going to be my maid of honor in my wedding." Emi said as she grabbed your hand and leaned against your shoulder and you could feel your anger melt away.

"We know each other because back in high school she had the biggest crush on Satoru and it was so cute," Hina said as if honey was dripping from her words but you knew better. "Satoru thought it was a little weird but I had to remind him to be nice. You were an underclassmen so you didn't know any better." She said with a smile and you squeezed Emi's hand that was still interlocked with yours.

"Are you going with anyone to the wedding?" Emi said changing the subject and at first you were happy she understood your message but angry that you knew there was a possibility you'd have to see her at the wedding.

"There's a fling of mine that's been asking me every chance he gets if he can go as my plus one but I'm not sure yet. There's someone else I had in mind to take. I have to keep my options open." She says as she turns to the milk bread in the counter. "I won't keep you too long. I'll take one of those if you don't mind ringing me up Emi." Hina said.

You stared at the clock as the seconds ticked by for the rest of the transaction and it took Hina at least five minutes to leave after she said she wouldn't keep Emi any longer. Five minutes longer than you wanted to be breathing the same air she was. Once Hina is out of the cafe and out of sight you finally feel like you can exhale.

"I always hated that bitch growing up." Emi says as she looks at the door where Hina had just walked out of.

"Really? Well why did you invite her to the wedding?" You asked relief washing over you knowing Emi wasn't roped in by her fake personality. Emi groans and looks at you.

"My parents are forcing me to invite her since we use to play together when we were kids. And I say play together loosely because she use to pick on me when no one was around. When I cried to my parents about it and when they talked to Hina's parents she always managed to fool everyone and point the blame to me. They still see her as an angel." Emi says as you turns to fix what she start with the pans.

"Yeah she's a big reason why Satoru and I hated each other for so long." You say and Emi looks confused by your statement.

For the last hour of the shop being open you told Emi the short version of Hina did to you back in high school. You also told her what she said to you out here while Emi was in the back.

"It's on sight at my wedding then." Emi said as she punch her oven mitt. "She also always tries to make it sound like her and Kento were close. Ken told me he tried to avoid her at all cost because every time her and Satoru fought she always tried to rebound with one of his friends."

"I can't believe he married her." You say as you start the process of cleaning the cafe up as one of the many things to do on your checklist before you close up for the night.

"You're telling me." Emi says as she start taking out the trash.

Despite Hina ruining the last bit of your day you were excited to close shop up and try and patch things up with Satoru. Soon five o'clock rolled around and as you and Emi left you noticed a tall figure leaning against the building. He wore a white short sleeved t-shirt with a little green frog on the breast pocket. His teal corduroy pants rolled up to the ankle and his white sneakers seemed like they had never been worn before. He wore a different pair of sunglasses and you realized you still had his other glasses.

His white hair he usually wore down now pushed back with a black hair band with a few stray baby hairs poking out. His eyes were glued to his phone with a scowl on his face. As you walked over to him he looked up and his expression changed completely.

"Hey peach." Satoru said with a smile as his eyes traveled to your dress then up to meet your eyes.

Although he knew your secret, even if it was admitted during a drunken rant, he still was calling you the nickname you had gotten use to hearing again.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Call me later when you get home okay?" Emi called out and you turned to tell her you promise you would.

"You look really nice." He said as he slide his phone in his pocket and you felt your face heat up.

"Thank you. So do you." You said. "Where to?" You asked after a brief pause as you both started walking.

"I need to go pick up my suit for the wedding. What color is your dress?" He asked as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.

"I haven't gotten my dress yet." You say which caused Satoru to stop abruptly.

"You haven't gotten your dress yet?"

"Well no? We still have quite a while before the wedding." You say as he shakes his head.

"How am I suppose to match you if you haven't picked anything out yet? We have to be the best looking couple there. We're going to get your dress today." Satoru says as he starts making his way over to his car that he had parked on the street parking.

You don't think you had ever seen Satoru drive; to be honest you were shocked he even had car. Yet here was a blacked out Mercedes-Benz with the lights flashing as he unlocked his car and opened his driver side door. You wondered if you were in the wrong profession because compared to your car, that you adored, this was like driving around with a celebrity. It dawned on you that not only did he still want to go to the wedding with you but he also wanted to match you. And he wanted to be the best looking couple there? You had to calm your mind down before it spiraled.

"You still wanted to go...together?" You say as you walked over and stood next to his car.

He paused and then leaned against his car as he tilted his head to the side.

"Well of course. Wouldn't want my peach going with anyone else now would I?" He said, flashing you that smile you loved so much, and then slide inside.

©ᴅᴇʟᴜʟᴜ4ᴀɴɪᴍᴇ 2025 ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀɴɪᴀᴄ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ

ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱʜʀᴏᴏᴍ ᴊᴇʟʟʏꜰɪꜱʜ ᴇxʜɪʙɪᴛ

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Counting Stars

Summary: Learning about each other's past leaves Joel and Mel to finally talk about their future.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Melanie Summer

Wordcount: 2.9k

Rating: T

Warnings: Soulmate AU, Angst, Pregnancy, talk about forced pregnancies, talk about childbirth, mention of child death, mentions of human experiments, character death, slowish burn, changing POV’s, TW: rape and abuse

Mel talks about her experience with the Fireflies and about the abuse she encountered so the Fireflies could keep her pregnant and experiment. I am not going into detail but please keep that in mind when you choose to read this chapter.

A/N: We are not going to talk about how long it has been since I updated this series. I hope the wait was worth it. I am planing on wrapping up this little series with the next chapter. And I vow to never start posting a fic series, without having a big bunch finished

follow @toomanystoriessolittletime-fics to get notified for updates

Counting Stars Masterlist

✨ four ✨

Unfortunately their plans of talking the next days had to be canceled by a big group of infected getting a little to close for comfort towards Jackson. 

Joel had left just after breakfast, telling both Ellie and Mel that he did not know how long he’ll be gone. 

And so they carried on with their routine. Mel walking Ellie to school. Mel walking back home, taking a nap because holy shit a half hour walk while growing a human is fucking exhausting. 

At lunch time there was a knock on her door and she was surprised to see Tommy carrying a rocking chair inside of the house. 

„Joel told me to bring it to you. He’d been working on it for a couple weeks. Wanted you to have it as soon as it was dry,“ he said and Mel let her fingers brush over the wood.

„He made this? For me?“ She asked and Tommy grinned at her. 

„He’s kind of into you. But don’t tell him I told you that,“ he winked and Mel chuckled, before she frowned.

„Why are you not out on patrol? Shouldn’t you be there with the group?“

„I’ll ride out with the second group in an hour. We should be back tomorrow evening if everything goes according to plan. Now, where do you want that chair?“ He asked.

There was a little room between her bedroom and Joel’s bedroom that had been used as a laundry room before the outbreak. She was more than surprised to find out that Joel had been clearing it out one evening. And when she asked him what he was doing, he told her that her baby will need a room and he thought this would make a perfect nursery. 

Mel might have cried a little, but she was sure she had hidden it quite well (she did not)

So now she was sitting in the rocking chair Joel had made for her, in the empty nursery that needed to be painted. She looked out of the window she had cleaned earlier that week, seeing down the whole street. 

With a hand on her belly she let her thoughts wander towards how her future could look here. 

Safe. 

In a warm home. 

With a family and people that she loved and that loved her in return. 

She knew she loved Ellie like family.

And she knew that even though the universe might have had a say in putting Joel Miller in her path as her soulmate, she knew even without all the marks and everything that was tying them together, that she would have fallen in love with him. 

Because she did love him. 

Which was silly to admit to herself, since she didn’t even know if he had a second name or how old exactly he was. Or if he had any allergies.

She wanted to know everything about Joel. 

With a smile she allowed herself another moment to rock in her new rocking chair, her hand rubbing over her belly before she got up with a groan and walked back downstairs.

Because it was time to pick up Ellie from school.

The next evening, she was back in her rocking chair in the future nursery, a whole bunch of books on the window still next to her, the pink lamp from Ellie’s room that she had personally carried into the nursery, eager to finally get rid of the girly shit in her room (her words), she read through a book with baby names. 

She had written down a couple, finally having the opportunity to name one of the children she had been carrying. It’s why she put a lot of pressure on herself to find the perfect name for her little girl. 

She was so invested in reading through the names she jumped when there was a knock on the opened door of the nursery, the book flying out of her hands and onto the floor as she clutched her chest. 

Joel was standing in the door, looking at her with wide eyes, though apparently fighting against laughing out loud. 

„I’m sorry, I’ve been standing here for a couple of minutes and you didn’t see me…“ he said and Mel closed her eyes, trying to calm down her beating heart. 

„It’s… It’s okay,“ she said after a moment, her eyes opening again. Joel chose that moment to walk over, getting on his knees in front of her to pick up the book. He smiled at her as he gave it back to her, catching the title of the book. 

„You’re looking for a name?“ He asked and she nodded. 

„Got another month to go. So I should at least have some ideas narrowed down I think,“ she said and he nodded. 

„Did everything go well?“ She asked, reaching out to touch his cheek. It was like she could see his shoulders drop in relaxation as she touched him. 

„Everything went fine. Actually been back for two hours already, but I had to pick up all the supplies we need for the garage and the nursery,“ he said with a tired voice.

„What supplies do we need for the nursery? I thought I’d do it all by myself,“ she mumbled and Joel shook his head before he took her hand. 

„I know we did not have a chance to talk yet, but if I had it my way, there would never be a time where you have to do anything by yourself ever again, because it’ll be you and me until the day I die,“ he said and Mel smiled at him.

„Really?“ She asked and he nodded. 

„How about I cook some dinner and we talk?“ He said and Mel found herself nodding.

„Gonna take a shower first though,“ he said and she giggled a small „Thank god“ under her breath that he looked absolutely affronted about before he winked at her, lips twitched into a half smile. 

„Keep reading through those name. I wanna hear the ones you like most,“ he said before he got up and walked out of the nursery.

She didn’t know how scrambled eggs, bread and some cucumber Salad could taste so good, but Mel found herself wishing she could have this everyday. 

Ellie was at a sleepover with Dina (no I do not have a crush on her, what are you talking about Mel?) and Mel was sitting in the kitchen with a freshly showered Joel who had cooked for her. He also told her that he had the next three days off from patrol and that he would start painting the nursery the next morning while she was out with Maria in the community garden so she would not breath any maybe toxic stuff in from twenty year old paint. 

She only had to chose a color. 

„You can never be too careful with things like this,“ he said and then told her he would look out for an air filter when out patrol the next time. She had no idea what that meant or what she would need that for, but she found herself nodding at him anyway. 

They were sitting next to each other, enjoying their little dinner, a candle lit on the table. 

„So… what names did you write down for your little girl?“ He asked after clearing his plate. 

„I like Ella. Imagine…. Ella and Ellie under one roof. Hilarious,“ Mel grinned and Joel chuckled. 

„Not sure if Ellie would hate or love it,“ he said.

„She would definitely love it,“ she said with full confidence. 

„Other than that I have Charlotte, cause I like Charlie for short, Aurora, Leah and Sarah…“ she read her list down before she looked up at Joel again. 

It was like he had seen a ghost. 

„Is everything okay?“ She asked concerned. She took his hand that was laying on the table, his hand clenched into a fist. 

„Joel?“ She asked and he blinked out of whatever spell he was under, looking at her. He cleared his throat before he took a deep breath. 

„I….I had a daughter named Sarah….“ He began. 

And then he told Mel. Everything. Starting from the moment he found out the girl he had a drunk one night stand on his 17th birthday was pregnant. How everything changed the moment he held his baby girl in his arms for the first time, already knowing he would be a single parent to her.

The mother, Susie, had been five months along when she found out that she was pregnant. And while her first though was to give the baby up for adoption, she couldn’t do it without talking to Joel first. 

And Joel?

Joel found himself agreeing to take the girl, his daughter, in and raise her by himself before he could question his decision. 

And it had been the best decision he ever made. Sarah changed everything for him. She changed who he was. Made him the best version of himself.

And when she died in his arms on outbreak day, she changed him again. 

Into a much darker and angrier version of himself. A version of himself he was even scared of sometimes. 

He told Mel about how he tried to end it all just days after Sarah’s death, the pain of losing his daughter and purpose in life making him hurt so badly, he could not take it anymore. 

And how after he flinched on that day, he just shut parts of him off to be able to continue to… exist. 

Because the moment his baby girl died, life was not worth living for him anymore. He had only existed to take care of his brother since Sarah was gone. 

He told Mel about the brutality of the life he lived. How he told himself the things he did were the only way to live in this world. 

He told her about Tess and how sometimes at night when he was alone he wondered if she knew how much she had helped him just by being there. 

He told her about Marlene approaching him to take a girl, Ellie, to the Fireflies, not knowing why. Joel never thought it would be Ellie who would be the key to finding parts of himself again, he thought died over twenty years ago. 

And he told Mel that thinking back he knew he was in love with her the moment he first looked into her green eyes. 

They had settled on the couch halfway through their talk. Joel with a beer, Mel with a tea.  She listened to his story, his life and she knew that now that she knew everything about him, she had to tell her about herself too. 

„I don’t remember much from outbreak day. I was 19 and visiting my dad. I had to… I was the one who had to kill him,“ she said and felt Joel’s arm wrap around her shoulders. 

„You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,“ he mumbled against her temple. She looked at him. 

„You told me your story. You should know mine,“ she said with a sad smile. 

„I jumped around QZ’s for almost ten years before I met Caleb. Things…. I thought things were good with Caleb. And when I was sure I could trust him, I told him about being immune to cordyceps. He would see it sooner or later because I thought I was in love with him and I was a twenty six year old virgin during the outbreak so….“

„Is it… this scar?“ Joel asked, rubbing over his left thigh where Mel knew the bite was. He remembered the day he noticed the new scar almost two weeks after the outbreak.  

„Yeah. Can you imagine it was my Dad who bit me? Well the… infected version of my Dad. It took me a month to get to a QZ after it happened and it just healed without much of a scar. I don’t know why. Maybe because it was so early on but… yeah. Anyway…. I told Caleb about it and then we had sex,“ Mel shrugged, a tear slipping down her cheek. 

„It was the only time I ever had sex because I wanted to. Everything that happened after was… it was hell,“ she whispered. 

She didn’t look at Joel for the next part. 

When she told him about being taken to the Fireflies. About how they „tested“ if she really was immune by getting her bit repeatedly. She told him about only remembering little of the first months. She was on drugs almost all the time, only waking up when they used flaming hot metal to cauterise her bites. Her, and in return Joels body was littered with scars and she told him how sorry she was for that. 

She told him about Marlene and how she tried to make Mel see the bigger picture. How she and her sacrifice could be the key to getting rid of the Cordycep infection. 

Marlene was also there when she was raped. Over and over again until she was pregnant. 

„I never got to see any of them,“ Mel whispered when she told him about the babies. 

„As soon as I got into labour I was knocked out, waking up hours or days later with my baby gone and Marlene telling me that it didn’t work out. I…“ she sobbed and Joel pulled her into his lap. She didn’t see that he was crying too. 

He just held her as she cried, his hand rubbing over her back, his other hand on her belly. A place he found his hand resting on often lately. He felt a tiny kick and Mel whimpered before she looked up at Joel. 

„I can not go through that again. If I lose her, if I don’t get to meet her, it will kill me,“ she said. 

„You will not lose her. I will keep you and her safe. I promise,“ he said before he kissed Mel’s forehead. 

„We both sure are some fucked up soulmates, huh?“ She said after a while and Joel sighed with a sad smile as he reached up to brush her tears away. 

„Yeah we are,“  he shook his head. 

„Joel?“ She asked. 

„Hm?“

„Do you want to take a bath with me? My back is killing me?“

„You want me in the bath with you?“ He frowned, hands already getting sweaty just thinking about it. 

„Yeah. I want you to hold me like this. Is that okay?“ She asked. 

„But will you be… okay?“ His eyes pointed to his crotch and he swore he could feel her cheeks heat up with how close they were. 

„I trust you Joel,“ she whispered. 

„Because…. Because I think I’m in love with you,“ she added and Joel was sure his heart stopped for a moment, before a small smile sneaked to his lips. 

„That… Okay. That’s.. yeah,“ he blushed and Mel actually giggled.

How had he not taken a bath before?

This was heaven. He felt like he was floating. Everything smelled so good and Mel’s skin was so fucking soft as he held her in his arms.

Maybe it was weird to see each other naked before they even kissed, but he didn’t care. 

He could tell that she was nervous as she undressed herself, her body littered with not only her scars but his. Both of their bodies mirrored their journey to each other and even though he hated what she had to go through to get to him and vice versa, he wouldn’t change it if the outcome was the same. 

Because she was in his arms, safe and healthy and about to become a mother in an environment that was as safe as it could be nowadays. 

„Joel?“ She asked, head resting against his chest, her fingers playing with his hand on her stomach. 

„Hmm?“

„What do you think about Charlotte Sarah Miller as a name?“ She continued to play with his fingers. He was sure his heart stopped.

„Miller?“ He gasped out and she nodded. 

„You might not be her biological Father but… You have kept her safe by keeping me safe. You build a rocking chair. You’re building a nursery. I…“ she slowly turned around until she was kneeling between his legs so she could look at him. 

„I want us to be a real family. Now I know we’ve only known each other for like… a short time but with us being soulmates and all I like to think we’re in for the long haul.“

„We are,“ he agreed, loving how Mel’s face lit up. 

„Yeah?“ She asked.

„Yeah. And for the record. I would love it to be her dad,“ he said and she smiled.

„You would?“

„I already love her mom so much, how could I not love the daughter she’s gonna give me?“ He asked and before he had the chance to say something else Mel had leaned in to kiss his lips. Softly at first, before she moaned softly and climbed into his lap, Joel’s arms wrapping around her and getting her as close as her belly let him. 

„You love me?“ She asked against his lips. 

„Of course I love you. I think I loved you before I knew you,“ he said and she kissed him again. 

„Can I sleep in your bed tonight?“ She asked. 

„Always,“ he promised before he kissed her again. 

[pigeonpeach]

Too little too late <3

Summary: Diluc vs Jean x fem reader!

Did he really except you to wait? You had spent your life with the knowledge you would marry Dluc Ragvindr when you were of age. You grew alongside him and grew to like him. You two were close and you didn’t mind the arrangement and neither did he. But on his 18th birthday much happened to destroy those plans. His father died, he left the knights, he ran away with no explanation or even a note left for you his now worried fiancée. No answer when he’d come back or if he wouldn’t. To say you were stressed was a understatement.

That’s the thing about relationships, you’re not supposed to ditch your partner because you’re overwhelmed. You take a breather and talk to them about it. You had told him he could always talk to you about anything no matter what. And you advocated for him to do so, but he didn’t. He didn’t send you a letter in those 4 years he was gone. But who did was Jean Gunnhildr. Your parents rescinded the arrangement, they worried Diluc was too unstable to be wed currently. All without notifying him as they had no way to do so. Who was there to comfort you? Not Diluc but Jean. Jean who was already dealing with the fallout and such herself. Jean let you vent and cry in her lap as she visited you regularly. You two had always been close friends. You even joked you wished you could marry her instead. As a year passed with no word from Diluc you gave up your dream or expectation of his return. It was heartbreaking but necessary, you took the promise ring and gave it to Adelinde as you wished to focus on yourself rather than burden the worries of a man who wouldn’t even let you know if he was okay or not. Maybe it was wrong to hate him but the man left you high and dry with no explanation or anything to go off of! You had no choice but to assume you just weren’t important enough for him to even consider he was leaving you behind. Your heart was in pieces and you had to fix it yourself.

Come 4 years and Diluc returned to Mondstadt no longer recognizable as the man he used to be. A stoic and emotionless expression with eyes that made him seem bored more often than not. He didn’t blame you for not waiting for him. But he did notice how Jean seemed to accompany you alot now. Far more than ever. Even as she got busier would you accompany her to go out in town, your arm wrapped around hers. Maybe its wrong for him to be jealous but… he can’t help it. There’s even talks that you might end up her wife instead. Your parents don’t seem against that idea either. To them Diluc is a good businessman but Jean is slated to be the next in charge, which is a big upgrade. She’s proven to be devoted and steady even in the face of change and battle. Perhaps they consider him a coward, that is definitely cruel but they also saw how you desperately tried to reach out to him to no avail.

As for Jean however she’s always loved you. She always envied Diluc for the fact he’d get you someday. She grew up gritting her teeth in a smile each time she heard him mention your future wedding with him. She bared it for you, to stay close to you and stay your friend. When he left she swooped in to console you. She didn’t expect to earn your heart but she wasn’t complaining. She also worried about diluc even though he was her competition all these years. She couldn’t help but be upset at how he left you though. Sure the first months were understandable but he should’ve tried to at least clarify he was okay or something at some point. She can’t help but pull her darling closer when he tries to talk. She’s finally proven herself as a option to them and she isn’t going to back down now.

Its quite a predicament to be in.

[phr3ia]

Before It Ends (Jiyan x Fem!Reader) [Chapter 3 - Persimmon Tree]

[Morning...]

"I see you're quite comfortable in my bed." Jiyan teasingly whispered in your ear, gently nudging you awake.

*Snores loudly...*

"Always the heavy sleeper." he sighed, shaking his head in defeat. He playfully poked your cheeks a few times, but even that wasn't enough to rouse you from your slumber. "Oy! Wake up! It's already morning!" Jiyan exclaimed, kicking the bed so hard that it shook the entire frame, jolting you out of sleep. "Huh? W-What?" you slowly propped yourself into a seated position. Your eyes were still half-open as you stared at him. "Are you still planning to go to work or not?" He asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at you.

You glanced at the time on your Pangu terminal on the bedside table and immediately started to panic. "SHIT!!!" you hissed, hopping off from his bed as if you had been electrocuted. "I'm late!" you exclaimed, hastily grabbing your things from the table and slipping on your boots without even changing your clothes. You wwere in such a rush that you kept running back and forth inside Jiyan's quarter.

"Here, wear this." he said, tossing a pair of shorts to you. Jiyan knew they were a bit big for your frame, but he wanted you had to wear something for the bottom.

You're a doctor, and Jiyan is aware that you're accustomed to seeing exposed bodies all the time, but he doesn't appreciate it when you apply the same standards to yourself. You often forget that people outside of your work environment may have different perspectives.

Jiyan couldn't shake off the thoughts from last night, remembering how bold you had been. This only made him facepalm in utter hopelessness.

"Jiyan! Thank you! I'll see you around!" you said as you headed for the door. "I'll have some of the Rangers escort you back to the Capital." The General offered, feeling concerned for your safety. He just received a report this morning that some exiles are roaming around Central Plains And he doesn't want to jeopardize your safety. "No need! I can take care of myself," you grinned, winking at him. His chuckle indicated his awareness of your capability to defend yourself. This reminded him of the time when both of you were still trainees, you were always displaying viciousness during practical exams and showing no fear in taking down Tacet Discords.

But this didn't stop the General from insisting on having someone escort you back. "Liste-"

"Bye, General!" you hurriedly interrupted, rushing outside to take one of the horses from the stable before dashing away. Jiyan shook his head and sighed. Nevertheless, he decided to give you a call every ten minutes to ensure you were fine.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

[Jinzhou]

"Xin Ye! I'm sorry I'm late," you apologized to your most trusted staff as soon as you arrived at the emergency room. "Where have you been?" she asked, scrutinizing you from head to foot. "Oh, I see," she raised an eyebrow at you with a smirk. Xin Ye immediately deduced that you had spent the night at the General's quarters. "Oy, it's not what you think." you said, rolling your eyes at her. "Hmmm. Really? Then why are you wearing the General's clothes?" she asked, grinning at you. Ignoring her question, you proceeded to take a seat in a chair. "So, have you two... um, done it yet?" Xin Ye leaned in close to your face, eagerly awaiting an answer. "Urgh. Stop asking me those weird questions. Jiyan and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less." you said, pushing her face away from yours.

"By the way, why didn't you even bother sending me a message last night? I was so worried about you, and no one from the hospital knew where you went, except for that one staff who saw you rushing off with a horse." Xin Ye sat on the couch, pouting. "I'm sorry. I thought something bad had happened to the General, so I rushed to the Rearguard's base without having the time to notify anyone." you always appreciated how she worries about you.

"Geez. You two should get married already. Both of you may not admit it, but the eyes can't lie, you know." Xin Ye remarked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I sighed, grabbing the documents in front of me to begin checking the status of my patients. "Anyway, we need to head to the Central Plains later to provide the villagers with their free monthly check-up. I'll be back in 30 minutes. Just allow me some time to prepare our materials." she said before heading back to your office. she said before heading back to your office.

You already anticipated that it was going to be a long day ahead.

"Thank you, Doctor! We always appreciate your kindness," said the old woman, who suddenly gave you a hug. It was your advocacy to provide them with free access to medical services such as antenatal care, assisted deliveries, caesarean sections, health services for children below a defined age (often 5 years), and health services for elderly people above a certain age (often 65 years). You chose these services to protect population groups deemed to be especially vulnerable, particularly low-income groups. You hugged her back and replied, "As long as I have the energy to do it, I'll keep coming back to ensure everyone's well-being." You spent the entire day making sure that everyone who needed your services was well taken care of. You even managed assisting a woman in delivering her baby.

As the sun was about to set, you decided to visit a nearby hill where you and Jiyan used to unwind when both of you were still Rangers in training. You couldn't help but take a deep breath the moment you saw the mesmerizing horizon in front of you. Seeing the beautiful scenery lifted the heavy weight from your shoulders.

"Haaaaaa!" you sighed in relief, extending your arms in the air as you took a seat under the persimmon tree while savoring the symphony of birdsong emanating from above. Exhausted, you drifted off to sleep without realizing it, your body gently resting against the trunk of the tree as the gentle breeze embraced you in its comfort.

The General went to Jinzhou after quelling the rampaging TDs around Wuming Bay. He planned to give you a surprise visit as he headed to the hospital, assuming that you were there, but to his dismay the medics informed him that you were out on a mission.

Upon finding out that you were in the Central Plains, he promptly headed there with a basket full of fruits and snacks which he personally purchased from Panhua's Restaurant. Jiyan knew that once you started working, you never took breaks. While he commends you for being a great doctor, he feels annoyed by your attitude of always neglecting yourself in the process of helping others.

Upon his arrival at the village, the people welcomed him with joyous smiles and warm hospitality. "Is Doctor Y/N here?" he asked one of the elderly individuals standing in front of him. "Oh, Doctor Y/N? She's up the hill." The old man pointed behind the General. "As I thought," Jiyan mumbled with a smile. "Thank you." he expressed his gratitude to the old man. But before he could even turn around, an elderly woman spoke up, "When are you planning to have kids? Both you and Doctor Y/N are such a lovely couple."

"I-...Doctor Y/N and I are just friends.." he stuttered, baffled by the statement. Jiyan's face burned with embarrassment as the whispers of the villagers invaded his ears. It didn't take long for the General to realize that the villagers knows a lot about you and him- as they had always seen both of you together during your training days. Jiyan mumbled an apology as he briskly walked away, feeling embarrassed by the sudden attention. He could feel the heat in his face spike at the suggestion.

Reaching the hill, he saw you, who was peacefully sleeping under a persimmon tree. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. Jiyan aimed to be cautious not to wake you up, softly placing the basket on the ground before sitting down next to you.

For a brief moment, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to reflect. "I don't know what to feel, Y/N..." he whispered under his breath. He knew that he wanted to protect you and care for you the same way you did for others. "But I won't force anything, as long as you're happy, I am too."

"Jiyan?" you softly whispered as you opened your eyes, grabbing the General's attention. "Y/N! You're awake!" he exclaimed, sounding surprised.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" you asked, rubbing your eyes in confusion. Jiyan's presence was the last thing you expected. "I came to surprise you." he replied. "I also came to return the favor as you've been doing this for me for years now."

The corner of your lips curled into a smile as you listened to Jiyan. "Awww, thank you, General." You gave him a tight hug, having your head rest on his chest. Jiyan let out a soft chuckle as he patted your head.

"I brought food for you." he said as he pointed to the basket. You retrieved it and glanced at its contents, your eyes widening. "You didn't have to do this."

"Why not? I just wanted to treat you." he said, shrugging his shoulders. Jiyan's kind gesture melted your heart as it's rare for him to show you such affection. "Would you like to eat something?" he offered. You nodded "So, how was your day?" Jiyan inquired as he grabbed a banana from the basket to offer it to you. "It was tiring, but fulfilling." you smiled to yourself, taking a bite from the fruit.

"But I couldn't be happier to help these folks." Jiyan had always admired your unwavering dedication. He took a bite of his apple, a silent testament as he listened. There was an unspoken connection between the two of you that left plenty unsaid, yet it was more than enough.

"It's a shame that I couldn't appreciate your hard work more often." Jiyan said after swallowing his bite. "I'll try my best to do that in the future." The General's expression seemed solemn, as if he had a weight pressing against his chest. "General, are you worried about anything?" You asked, staring at him with a furrowed brow.

"There's this one exile that has been causing trouble in Desorock Highland, and I can't shake off the feeling that something big is brewing." Jiyan murmured, seeming uneasy. "I can't let some scum endanger your life while you're on missions outside the Capital, do you understand?" He emphasized his last words as he gazed deeply into your eyes.

"Don't worry, General. I'll be fine, and I have faith in your Rangers." you consoled him, patting his shoulder. "And if anything does happen, I'll just call for you, so you can come and save me." you teased, playfully nudging his side.

The connection between you two was like a delicate dance, where one leads, the other follows, and both are in control. The warmth, comfort, and loyalty Jiyan displayed made it hard for anyone to deny. He had always been your shield, your best friend, and now, he could be something more if only both of you allowed yourself to accept it.

════•⭐•════

End of Chapter 3 🥀...

[pleasantspark]

Since Hazbin sucks heres a series (currently hosted on A03) of mine I am working on.

These are planned anything beyond enter, spiral has not been done yet.

Season Two 7 Sins and A Conundrum Lucifer and the Seven Deadly Sins gather to talk about the upcoming changes that Michael had done.

You can think that you're in love when you're really just in Pain Agatha has been getting on Leviathan's nerves and he's finding it difficult to spend time with Mammon without Agatha getting suspicious.

Spotlight: Cipher Cipher goes into detail of his past to Fran after an incident that Fran has.

Iblis Lucifer is worried about Jezebel getting hurt from the outrage at the new deadline and new policy from Michael so Lucifer hires a bodyguard, this goes about as well as you think.

Cherry Blossoms It's Mothers Day, and Lucifer has been thinking about his mother. Meanwhile in Heaven God tries to cope with the loss of his wife, Clara.

Enter, Spiral It's been nearly 20 years since Spiral has left Hell, and she's back, to HAVE FUN!

Water is Thicker Than Blood Leek, the Water Nymph stirs up trouble at the Resort.

Driving Me Hazy Hecate shows up to the Resort interested in redemption.

Getting To Know You There has been tensions arising in the Resort with the arrivial of Iblis and Hecate, so Jezebel thinks of some ideas to try and get everyone to be friendly to one another.

Spotlight: Lucifer Lucifer has a bad nightmare that leads to Vivian trying to comfort him.

Here Comes A Thought Lucifer and Vivian goes to Asmodeus/Viv for couples counsling and advice on fixing the bedroom activites.

Greed and Envy Mammon and Leviathan spends some time together when Agatha isn't around.

Requiem of a Broken Envy Leviathan struggles with his wifes abuse and is having a hard time opening up to Mammon about it. Losing You Jezebel thinks about Tayliea and remembers all the good times they shared, which leads to a heart to heart between her and Iblis.

Time Lucifer fears that time with his family isn't all there and wishes he could spend more time.

A Bad Omen Omen comes back for Summer Break and decided to spend some time with his family in Hell, which leads to Lucifer finding out about Nyx being in Hell.

Father of The Year God finds out about Michael's plans to kill Sinners and this time wants to put an end to it.

Chained To The Rhythm Nyx is confronted by Lucifer about her faking her own death and she opens up to Lucifer about her abuse at the hands of Michael.

Welcome Back, Jesus! Jesus makes an appearance after years of being gone, this is met with confusion and mostly anger. Hecate is finally redeemed.

The Last of Us Michael finally arrives to Hell with his new team of bandits dedicated to killing the Sinners, and a surprise revelation he faces appears. [22:20] Season Three The Golden Child Lucifer reminds himself about how unfair his other siblings were treated in comparison.

You're Not Okay Lucius is concerned about Lawrence to the point of wanting to dig around his personal life. Which leads to a confrontation and becoming close.

Welcome to Heaven, Sinners! Lucifer notifies Jezebel that God extended a invite to him to go to Heaven but he said he wanted to give the invitation to his daughter instead, this causes Jezebel to take the Hotel to Heaven.

Clara God is reminded about his dead wife, and reflects.

Spotlight: Mammon Mammon invites Leviathan over for some Biscuits and Tea where Mammon talks about his past.

The Archangels Gabriel and the other Angels hold a meeting.

Holding Onto A Little Bit Of Redemption Vixxen asks himself if he's worthy of Redemption and upon talking to himself, Nyx gives him a heart to heart.

Micheal's Last Stand Michael wants to take Nyx back, but something is preventing him from doing so.

Flashing Lights Vixxen summons up the courage to take Nyx out on a date, and she accepts, they go to a club, meanwhile Lucifer and Vivian finds out something exciting.

You're (Still) Not Okay Lucius catches Lawrence relapsing and notices that his issue is as bad as he thinks. He tries to get him to change but realized it's not easy for an addict to quit cold turkey. It Would've Been Better If You Left Me Alone Leviathan is tired of Agatha and is ready to divorce her. But she's not ready to leave him.

Lizzie Lizzie pleads with her father to understand her for feeling this way towards a Sinner, Adam isn't pleased and tried to shut her down.

Only (Boy) In The World Leviathan finalizes the divorce from Agatha but he is having conflicting thoughts for Mammon which leads him to yearning for him. These feelings causes him to feel confused.

Confident Nyx reveals her eye to the crew, and they were shocked. She is told by Vixxen to stand up to Michael. And Nyx refuses.

I (Still) Love You Nyx laments about her failed relationship with her brother even though he hurt her, she wishes that she could at least have a close friendship but it ended up with him hurting him.

Mammon's Game Show! We are introduced to Mammon's Game Show, a place where he records a Game Show with his Adoptive Son who contends with other people.

Rock and Bop Two Brothers are interested in Redemption.

The Overlords Cipher has to go to a meeting with the Overlords and he brings Fran. This leads to a confrontation with his rival.

Bryce Hankhust's Visit Bryce Hankhust visits the Resort to see if the place is operating fine.

Redemption Rock and Bop finally get redeemed which causes Jezebel to revel in the success of her operation. Season Four The Triple T's Tex, Tilly and Tesco make an appearance at the Resort, Tesco is here to start drama with Cipher.

Madam Katie Madam Katie comes to visit Cipher about buisness.

Daddy Issues Mammon notices that Leviathan is sad, he pokes a bit and reveals that Leviathan has remembered about his Daddy Issues.

What's In A Name? Lawrence convinces Lucius that he is okay, but Lucius does not believe him and is willing to try and help him. Which Lawrence actively pushes away.

I Didn't Know I Love You So Much, But I Do… Mammon confesses to Leviathan and feels like a weight has been lifted, but Agatha won't stop at NOTHING to ensure he's not happy.

I'm Supposed To Be With You… An incident happened between Iblis and Jezebel and Jezebel wants to dismiss Iblis, but Iblis doesn't want to go.

You Are Special, To Me! Lucius has enough of Lawrence self destructive tendencies and is worried for him. He finally confronts him and Lawrence confesses a lot of issues he's faced and finally confesses to him.

Spotlight: Vixxen We get a glimpse on Vixxen's past.

I Love You Vixxen admits his feelings to Nyx and the two go out with one another.

Holding Out For You Lucius is determined to stay by Lawrence's side. Weither if he means it or not. The Tides Must Turn Leek decides to try Redemption, and the gang accepts him.

From S, With Love A bunch of mysterious letters are being found by Lucifer all around Heaven with threatening messages.

Welcome Back, Charles Morningstar! Charles returns to Hell to visit his family after being gone for nearly 3 Years.

Let Me Love You Lizzie manages to contact Cipher and the two talk.

A Piece of The Puzzle Cipher is slowly changing as a person and everyone noticies it.

Mama Young Lydia Young reflects on her time in Heaven where she is only because her Husband went to Hell.

Why Do You Hate Me? Gabriel wonders why their brother Michael refuses to listen to them. They find out why.

It's Okay To Cry Leo comforts a upset Azrael who wonders if his powers is a detriment but Leo tries to help him.

Are You Happy Now? Nyx is hitting a roadblock mentally, and wonders if Vixxen is truly happy with her or just putting up a front.

The Fall of Lucifer Lucifer tells the true story of why he Fell to Jezebel because he feels guilty for what he's done. Leek gets redeemed. Season Five Heart Attack Lucifer is being dragged to Heaven by God for a meeting between the two but, Lucifer doesn't want to come up there.

Omen Morningstar, Master of Purgatory Omen lies to Mandy about his past and refuses to go to Church with her, this fight leads to Mandy storming off and Omen tripping and ending up in Purgatory, where he's unable to Leave.

If You're Really Mine? Michael argues with Neo about his true feelings on Nyx and comes to a disturbing discovery: He truly feels something for her. But in order to fix that he decided to repent.

It's You! Despite Everything… You're still… You… Nyx has a mental breakdown from the stress about how Michael has treated her.

Treat You Better (Better Than He Can!) Nyx is told by Vixxen that she deserves better.

You're as Faithful As a Nun The Letters from this S. Is getting increasingly more and more concerning as time goes on, and Lucifer is worried about something out of his control.

Save Us From a Sin Jezebel calls for help from her Grandfather as she believes that her Resort is getting somewhere but she wants to see where it goes.

Hell Is Not Forever Galim finally decided to let bygones be bygones and go down to Hell to make up with Lucifer.

What Is Love? (Baby Don't Hurt Me, Don't Hurt Me) Omen is prepared to leave Purgatory with Dex.

You're Just As Beautiful As The Day I Met You Vivian wonders if she's beautiful in the eyes of Lucifer and Lucifer reassures her. Welcome Back, Omen! Omen arrives back to Mandy and confesses to her about his true origins. She's at first skeptical and angered that he kept it from her for so long. But accepts his apology and gives him her number and leaves. On it is a confession.

S Knows Best The Letters and notes from S. is getting worse as they are now planning a war and at first Lucifer isn't that worried that is before they realized that this S. bombed a nearby place near the castle. This led to Lucifer calling for the help of The Resort.

Mia The Thrall Jezebel warns everyone about the upcoming war, and Cipher offers a friend- a Thrall who can help them. A Thrall by the name of Mia. He warns them that Mia is weird and might say weird things.

Threatening Letters From Your Past God received the same letters from this S. person and decided to warn Galim and Leroy. This gets Michael interested as he believes the only one responsible might be Seraphiel and wants to expose him.

Truth Hurts Omen gets summons from Hell and tells Mandy he has to leave but promises to come back. He learns that their home is in Danger and they need his help to protect it.

Lilith's Feelings Lilith asks Azrael out, to which, Azrael agrees but feels nervous.

Retribution S plans to reveal himself on the day of the war, and Lucifer arranges a meeting with Heaven and The Sins. Everyone noticies that Satan is nowhere to be seen.

House of Satan Brief intermission from Satan as he is busy preparing for the war with a smirk on his face, feeling like he's done something amazing.

The Rise of Roo Satan enlists the help of Roo, meanwhile everyone prepares for the war the next day. One Shall Rise, And One SHALL FALL (Series Finale) Lucifer appears ready for the fight with Heaven and Hell by his side. But it's revealed who he's fighting with is actually Satan, Satan isn't too surprised that Lucifer decided to enlist the help of people he claimed to hate but doesn't care, everyone battles and a loss from a close friend ends up happening (SERIES FINALE)

[mediocre-shark-tales]

Qsmp x Streamer reader (5)

Summary - Prison Event Day 2

Warnings - In Game/lore- Mentions of abuse/torture, Violence, and swearing.

There is a chance for this to turn into a love trope of some kind but for now there is focus on fluffy platonic-ness

This series will not be 100% lore accurate, but it will be pretty close to it.

Masterlist

I had just turned on my live video, watching as everyone slowly began to join. I smiled seeing them chat amongst themselves about if I will drop more lore. Others putting dancing emotes in chat, dancing to a few of my current favorite songs. I was currently messaging Tubbo, reminding of him to get on at the right time. NO way would I let sunny get left out today. Finally I the timer on my starting screen ended and I clicked start on my face cam. "Hey guys! we are getting back at it today! Let's go ahead and get started right away since it should have just opened."

I quickly logged in and found myself in my lonely fish cell. I was in Shark mode in the fish tank. So I turned it off and headed out into the rest of my room. Outside the cell, I saw others were already on and getting to work on fighting the mobs outside. I saw Bagi's cell, so I called out to her. "BAGI! HELLO!" She turned around and looked around for me. Once she saw me, she quickly began got yell back. "HI Y/N!" Seconds later they began to let us out of the cells. I saw tubbo join and bolted to go say hi to him.

He was yelling and screaming at the guards by the time I got over there. Fit joined us as well telling tubbo how they were roommates now. Once their conversation was over, that when I basically shattered Tubbos ears. I had turned on my voice changer so I sounded like a god. You know the overly echo-ed voice with slight increased pitch change. I had already pre-warned my chat.

"TUBBO! You bitch! left your fucking daughter alone without notifying your free babysitter!?" Tubbo yelled back. "Holy shit you are loud! what the fuck!" I laughed and turned off my voice changer. Without another word, I left him and pulled out my little diamond knife. Finding the first round of mobs to fight, while I waited for others to join.

Now that everyone was on, I knew any second now they would pull me away for my 'torture lore'. Currently we had been moved to a hallways with a lot more mobs to fight, or clean I guess. Tubbo showed up with sunny, this made me smile knowing she had someone to watch her now. I was chatting with Phil while we fought mobs. "So we getting another escape plan set up today?" I asked. "Yeah we have a few ideas, fit and I." He told me. "Cool what ide-" I was cut off as I got teleported away. When it loaded, I realized I was in the torture cell. Great.

In chat I saw Phil typing, trying to understand where I went. However I could reply as I was now stood in front of Guard 1, they were quick to hand me a book. I read it aloud again.

So, Do you want to give up the information we asked for yesterday?

Do you want to confess your crimes? Tell us where and what your master is? Give us the information we want.

Only then will all his stop, no more pain, no more questions. Give us the information and we let you go.

I returned the book to them and stared them down. I sighed and then spoke with as much determination as I could. "Once again, I will tell you that I have NO clue what you are talking about. Trust me if I knew what you were talking about, then I would most likely tell you to keep my friends safe. However, you only continue to prove to me how useless and stupid you are by not listening to me. So I know you have already stopped listening to me now. So go ahead, rip open my skin, beat me into your idea of a submissive civilian. I don't care, my only master is Poseidon, he will one day grant me the power I need to enact my revenge on you and your mindless drones. So go ahead, spill my blood however you see fit. Just remember that karma is a motherfucking bitch, you coward."

They stared at me for a few more seconds, then they pulled out a sword. This one was shaped like a katana, the blade was a shining silver with reds outlining. The base a black with red detail. This is what he used to mercilessly kill me over and over again. As the voices returned along with it. This time not only did I hear that dreaded male voice, but they could also hear mine responding to it. Almost as if I was hearing a memory.

"You will fight with us little shark, this is our home!" ~Him

"If any of your words were true, then yes! You know I would fight to the last man standing. But this is all a huge lie! YOU CHOSE A DEMON and you refuse to see the mess you created!" ~Me

"I am saving our home! all you and the others are expected to do is follow my lead, that's how this works! I saved you from those sinners!" ~Him

"You were the one I depended on the most, Yet you've let me down in ways that I can't even- (sigh) I can't keep forgiving and forgetting what you have done!" ~Me

"I never did anything to you, you don't get to say that." ~Him

"You have caused so many different problems for me, you have ruined things I loved, and hurt those I cared for. Yet I was convinced that maybe you were right. But a long time ago I realized the truth, that you were just a coward hard riven on your ways. You won't relent to allow new prosperously hopeful ideas to exist, so you tear them down inch by inch. I won't live by that anymore." ~Me

"Wait Little shark! Don't go out there!" ~Him

The voices ended with the sound of a huge explosion, at the same time that I was killed for the last time. When I respawned, this time I looked a little worse overall. More rips to the clothing had been added, and more bruised looking skin placed around my character. They then teleported me back to the group, who were now outside getting ready to build as a game.

I sighed and tried to put back on a smile as I walked over to the group. "Hi guys I'm back." They all looked at me then at Phil. Who walked up to me with Fit and the eggs. "You come over here right now." He spoke really close to his mic to sound more intimidating. "Okay." I said with a smaller voice, following right after him. Once we got to a more hidden area where only Phil, Fit and the Eggs could hear me.

"You need to explain what is going on right now. Why does guard 1 keep stealing you away to kill you million times and you come back looking worse than when you left!" Phil asked. "You have to tell us y/n, we know something is going on and we want to help you." Fit said. I sighed. "But it really doesn't concern you guys, it's just bette you don't know, so I can keep you and the eggs safe. You don't need to become potential confidants in my problem." I told them trying to get across that it's better this way.

The two looked at each other before trying again. Fit speaking first this time, "You don't have to protect us y/n, we can do that ourselves just like we have before you came to the island. Trust us we have seen the worst of the worst." I looked to him. "But this is starting to look like a lot bigger than you may have ever fought. You know about my past as much as I do, You know I can't remember anything from before the day the pirates capture me. Now things are changing, Now I can't recognize fat from fiction. I can't allow my burdens to become yours." Phil spoke next sounding a lot more sympathetic this time.

"Awe mate, you can't let yourself fight this alone. Let us help you. Give us a chance to help you, to keep you safe." This broke something in me, of course what came next was all part of my lore. "I know you want to help me, but after what I have remembered? I can't let myself trust someone so much again. It's for the better that this is how it must be. I'm sorry guys, but I just can't risk it." With those words I walked away. Hearing their voice get quieter, however I did hear a few things before their voices were too quiet. "She remember something from her past?" fit asked. "I guess so, it must have hurt her a lot for her to be this way now, she would have told us if it wasn't that bad." Phil replied to him.

I glanced at Chat, seeing them yelling that I should have told them. Angry and exhausted from the way my lore was falling, they were hilarious to read. However, I held my self back from smiling to much.

When I returned to the building area, I found out my group to build with was Tubbo and Bagi. However they were already done, mainly giving up on trying to build whatever it was. "What is this y/n?" He handed me a book, reading it I smiled. "Have you guys seen Cars 2?"

They both said they had seen it. "Well this name belongs to the red, green, and white formula FB1 car. He was the car that lightning McQueen was genuine rivals with. The one who had angered McQueen enough at the beginning of the movie to convince McQueen to sign up for the big race?" After my explanation, both seemed to have finally dawned who I was talking about. Tubbo scoffed. "Of course the American gets it." I laughed. "Hey in 5 years I while be a citizen of the UK." This made Tubbo gasp. "Wait you're staying here after your schooling?" I smiled. "Well I'm just getting stuff ready to make that decision. If I do end up finding the right connections or main job here while in schooling, then yeah might as well stay and get citizenship. BUT if somewhere back in LA was to contact me with a better job option then I'll move back home. For now, I'm living here as an international student until I decide."

Tubbo made a sound of understanding. "Well I hope you stay, it will be so nice to have you around with the rest of us." We were now running around for a free time while others finished their builds. That was until we saw some one new join the server. Charlies name popping up. I looked at Sunny, who immediately saw me and placed down a sign. Once she finished I read her sign, "Oh my god! That's my other pa!" I smiled. "It is isn't it! Hopefully they will bring him to us soon! Just stick with papa tubbo and I. Once we seem him we can go meet him." She nodded to agree with my plan.

For now we followed tubbo around as he looked for things to steal. Of course I joined him in looking for things. But soon we got bored and went to find out if we could go back inside ourselves. However right when we got to the door we ran right into Charlie. "TUBBO!" He yelled as the man in question responded with an equally happy hello.

While they chatted, I ran and brought sunny over. "Come on sweetness, time to go meet your pa!" But she stopped crouched down before placing a sign. She told me she was nervous and scared. "You hold on over here, I'll get Tubbo's attention and he can hold your hand while you meet Charlie." She gave me a small slow nod. While Charlie was in a conversation with fit and Ramon for a second, I hit tubbo who turned around questioning me. I quietly looked right at sunny then back at tubbo, whispering for him to go to her. That's when Charlie saw me and yelled. "Holy Shit! Y/n?! What are you doing here!? Since when did you join?!" I laughed "I joined like a fucking week ago man!? Somehow they already wanted to arrest me. I don't even know what I did." He laughed and then looked right at fit, talking about the crimes we are in for and how long we are in for. Finally when he walked off towards the eggs again, Tubbo spoke up. "Hey Charlie do you want to say hi to sunny?" I watched as slowly tubbo was able to drop that sunny was also his new daughter.

That's when all hell broke loose, Charlie trying to understand how he had a new daughter and why. Once sunny asked me if Charlie didn't like her or something, that's when I went into my own parent mode. I hit both boys and whisper yelled to them. "First tubbo, get back over there and explain to sunny that Charlie just needs a second to take all this in cause he just woke up from a long ass coma and is in a prison. She's over there doubting herself because of how you both reacted." Tubbo quickly walked off to support sunny. Then I stared down Charlie, giving him another hit. "And you, get yourself together, she's your kid whether you like it or not. Though I'm sure she will grow on you just as much as she has for me. Anyways, you get over there and start acting like a dad, or so help me-" He cut me off. "Okay don't worry y/n! I wouldn't be a dead beat dad, let me meet this sunny." With that he walked over and began to chat with sunny again.

I smiled and left them to interact before returning back to the rest of the gang. We were now being taken to a new room, apparently it was language class time. Entering the "Classroom" It looked almost like a mini version of the movie theater, just with the addition of a big stage. I found myself a chair at the front of the room, with a little easel in front of it. Other began to pile in, the small space quickly becoming louder and louder with everyone talking. Suddenly there was a small duck in front of me. Taking in the accessory and voice of the duck, I knew this must be Baghera. I smiled as she quacked before speaking. "OH hello! You must be y/n!" Baghera and I had never really met before. "Yep, the one and only!" She giggled. "Do you want a gift!?" Her high pitched voice changer made everything she said just a little funnier. "sure!" she giggled like a little evil duck. "Well I am the duck of love cause I love love, so you have to kiss someone to get this gift!" This caught me off guard and I looked around the room. "But no one here is really single and those who are would never!" Thinking harder, the only one who would do it for the shits and giggles was Wilbur, but that bitch was in the middle of tours and other shit. Baghera, wait I mean Quacki's giggling brought me back from my thoughts. "Don't worry, I'll find someone and give both a gift." With that she ran off and I laughed lightly before paying attention to the front again.

However almost a full minute later, right as Charlie, tubbo and fit were just entering the room. I heard a hello to my left. Standing there was Foolish. "Hey Y/m, I was told by Quacki here that If I want a gift I had to kiss you." I scoffed. "She told me almost the same thing, but I told her no one here would do it. Guess she convinced you huh?" He laughed, "Wow glad to know that's the only reason I got a chance at a free gift." I laughed with him. But Quacki walked us both, yelling "Hey, Now you kiss! on the lips! Then I will give you a gift, I am the duck of love so kiss!" I giggled a little at her with Foolish. "Okay okay, alright come here foolish." I stood up and crouched my character, he did the same thing slowly coming closer. We both made a kiss sound before quickly turning to Quacki. She laughed loudly like a school girl, spinning around in circles. "Okay! here is your gifts!" She gave Foolish and I both diamond swords. We quickly hid that into our inventories, chatting for bit before Charlie overheard something he said. Thus Charlie took his attention away and I returned to my seat waiting for class to begin.

Masterlist

[jasontoddsgaythoughts]

Okay back to our regularly unscheduled programming of “The Batfamily as a Sitcom” part two. *end commercial break*

After Cass’ and Jason’s plan fails they enter a four person group chat where they plan a way for Jason and Cass to sneak into the guest rooms without seeing Bruce. Cass tries first but is stopped by Alfred when he knocks on her door to deliver the ballet shoes she left in another room, and to tell her how proud she is that she’s putting herself out there romantically. Jason tries second but Alfred shows up to request they cook breakfast together the next morning, so Jason can show off to Rose and so Alfred can spend quality time with his grandson. As Alfred leaves he notifies Jason that he will be checking in with the rest of the family before going to bed, so Jason texts the group chat that they’ll probably have to wait until Alfred’s done before they can sneak out.

Ten or so minutes later, like a true sitcom, the plan changes to Rose and Kyle sneaking out for a minimal reason like Cass and Jason are too comfortable to move now. Rose tries sneaking out first, but is interrupted when Alfred walks in to offer more blankets and/or a tea before going to bed. Rose appreciates the hospitality but tries her best to get rid of the older man. When Alfred does leave she texts the group chat that it might take a while because Alfred’s still not in bed, and she assumes he’ll check on Kyle next. Kyle doesn’t try to even leave the room, instead he tucks himself into bed believing playing along with Alfred’s nightly visit and looking less suspicious would get him to leave faster. When Alfred enters he raises a brow at Kyle’s relaxed attitude. Instead of being warm like he was with the Batkids and Rose, Alfred gives Kyle the most intense shovel talk of his life and takes the blankets Kyle is already using under the excuse of them being dirty so Kyle will probably need new ones. Needless to say after thirty minutes of waiting Alfred just never returns.

When Kyle complains about his lack of covers to the group chat, the girls ignore him and suggest now is the perfect time to sneak out. With none of them planning anything solid now, they all sneak out at the same time, only for all four to run into Alfred who was waiting patiently for this moment. Instead of trying to lie to him, they come clean about their plans, and this is the cheesy sitcom moment of “You gotta tell your father the truth yada yada, master Jason and miss Cassandra you’re college students now you should be able to talk to your dad yada yada, yes he can be stubborn but he cares about you yada.”

And next morning when they confess at breakfast Bruce is upset, but he understands where they’re coming from after Alfred intervenes by bringing up Bruce’s own sleep over experiences. Bruce agrees to give them more freedom and trust, but the moment comes to a halt when Tim, who is still in a half sleep state, says he thought B was cool with that considering Dick is dating a red head and they sleep over all the time. And as if on cue Dick comes down for breakfast followed by Barbara, Kori, Roy, and Wally who all slept over last night. Cass, Rose, Jason, and Kyle decide they should get breakfast somewhere else as soon as Bruce’s eye starts to twitch… and end of the episode! This episode was not filmed in front of a live studio audience.

follow up to this post here

[drinkintrashjuice]

woo ep. 2 time (MID rewrite)

first off, my bad for making the 3 people that actually liked this wait for like *Wheezes* A WEEK!? It’s mostly because of planning, loss of motivation almost immediately, realizing the first ep was kinda shit, wanting to rewrite that but was too lazy, splatoon having me in a chokehold, the usual. But now I’m BACK and I’m gonna do this cus I’ve got motivation. So please enjoy and tell me if it’s ass lol. (Also I changed Lady bish’s name cus like…obviously? U can’t make serious scenes when someone has a name like that😭 so her new name is Lady Ki but she has a secret name but if I say it it’ll spoil stuff lol)

Episode 2: The Honesty of a Queen

Yakedo sits at his throne discussing the future of the kingdom with his advisor, Lady Ki. She had long, white-ish blonde hair with light blue horns. She was dressed in light blue royal robes, and had a, as describe by some Chikara men, natural beauty.

“My king, the idea is simple,” Lady Ki paces around the area in front of Yakedo’s throne. “Your own sons could handle this topic! And we both know their intelligence.”

“Are you implying that I’m dumb?” Yakedo’s claws leave marks at the arms of his throne.

“I would never say such a thing! I’m saying the plan is easy.” Yakedo knew that wasn’t what she meant, but going against Lady Ki in any sort of argument was near impossible. Even so, he couldn’t deny the results she brought back

Lady Ki has been Yakedo’s advisor for years. Affectively keeping the kingdom of Chikara at the top for as long as he’s been king. Though of course as king, he takes the credit. If his people knew that she helps him with most attacks and economical issues, they’d beg for one of his sons to be king.

"My king, I'll say this once more, we win the race while we’re ahead. We destroy the other kingdoms, take their wealth, own everything, it’ll be glorious.” Lady Ki flips her hair for dramatic effect.

“It’s not that I’m hesitant, far from it. It’s the fact they’re all already on edge. It would be idiotic.” Lectures Yakedo. Lady Ki already had an argument at hand though.

“My king! Trust in my judgement! Just leave everything to me and I-“ The doors to Yakedo’s throne room burst open, cutting off Lady Ki in the process.

”What is the meaning of this!? State your business this instant!” Yakedo’s knights immediately saluted in fear.

“My king we are deeply sorry! But we were notified that the king of Mir would like to have a meeting with you!” They hand Lady Ki a scroll and she relays it to Yakedo

“Dearest Yakedo, I know this in years royal meeting we most certainly didn’t see eye to eye, but I’d loved if we could discuss about what happened. I know that having a kingdom as high in power as Chikara can be stressful, so I thought spending a few minutes or hours in Mir will help soothe your mind. Before you worry about any of the other rulers finding out, I assure you I have a plan to get you here without even the most talented spy knowing! I hope you consider accepting this offer. With love, Garmon Smirnov.”

Lady Ki and the two knights looked at Yakedo expectantly for any type of order. Yet Yakedo sat there confused, why would Garmon ask for something like this?

“My king excuse me for my impatience but…” Lady Ki flicked her hand at the scroll, “…your response?”

“Ah yes well…” Yakedo thought for a bit, “please write a letter to Garmon that I’ve accepted this invitation.”

Lady Ki raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain of this my king?”

“Very much Lady Ki, I’d like to entertain this idea. You never know what will come of it.”

Lady Ki furrowed her brows. “I’ll do as you wish…” her attention turned towards the two knights still awaiting orders. “You two. I ask that you stay by the doors of my quarters until the letter is finished. Then, quickly bring it to a messenger who will carry it to the gates of Mir. Understood?”

the two knights quickly nodded their heads and swiftly followed Lady Ki to her separate throne room.

This left Yakedo to think on what he just did. He could’ve just accepted himself to an early grave. Garmon and Mothando are good allies afterall. Still, he’s weirdly looking forward to this meeting. The mere idea of Garmon of all people trying to take him down makes him laugh.

“hehe…” Yakedo thinks out loud to himself, “You better have a good ass plan Garmon…”

“I keep telling you guys! I don’t know shit!” Ava yelled out while being held upside down by Pierce.

They were now in her apartment, with Ava regretting she ever got out of it. By now, she was convinced that the five daemons were weird cosplayers on crack.

“C’mon! You live here!” Shouted Asch, “there’s no way in hell you don’t know anything at all about it!”

Ava weighed her options. She could wriggle her way out of Pierce’s hands, skillfully do acrobatics around all the other guys, and sprint to the nearest police station. Then she thought she’d have a better chance of having the rapture happen right then and there instead of doing all that.

What’s another way to get outta this? Kill herself? Nah, she doesn’t know what these creeps would do. Kill one of them? That’s basically the first thought but with extra steps. As in, there’s no way in hell. Which left her with one more option. Lie.

“Y’know what? Fine, I’ll tell the truth! Since my..uhh…henchman don’t seem to be as of much help!” All the daemons faces immediately lit up.

“M-My name is queen Ava! Ruler of Earth! Whatever it is what you and your people will need, I’ll gladly help!” She looked up at Pierce, “Now please put me down! I’m getting very light headed!”

Asch signaled for Pierce to do so, and Pierce gently put Ava on the couch behind him.

“Thank you tall one!” She raised her hand to shake hands with Pierce, but he didn’t get the message, so he just stared at her.

“Aha…uhm” Ava quickly stood up and regretted it as she started seeing static. Once she composed herself she spun around to meet the five men that were in front of her.

“So if one of you five could please explain to me your issues?” Asch clears his throat and steps towards Ava.

“Queen Ava, we humbly ask that you select five of your people to come back with us to daemos.” He then bows “it is of great importance that you do this or everyone’s lives will be in jeopardy.”

Ava cursed under her breath. This actually sounds kinda serious. She thought it would be just like some roleplaying shit, but the way he said that sounded way too real.

“Uhm…if you don’t mind me asking…what will you do with these five people?”

Asch’s eyes widened with slight embarrassment “Oh yes! I apologize for forgetting.” He straightened himself up

“these five people will be sacrificed to replenish the magic in our world as it’s very important for our way of life.” Ava’s eyes were practically filled with shock.

”It can’t be any five of your people though, it has to be someone who can affectively embody the five kingdoms ideologies. More specifically, pure generosity, peace, endurance, intelligence, and power.” Asch bowed again, not knowing what to do with the newfound silence.

“W-Wow…yeah I can totally do this…as long as…” she looked up at the five daemons. They all looked at her with the utmost respect. She could just point at five random people in the street and send them on their merry way, but she’s not that much of an asshole. She could just skip to her last option though, it’s not like it isn’t working so far.

“Forget that! I can do ya one better!” She thought on the spot and then blurted out the most idiotic thing she’s ever said.

“Earth has tons of unlimited magic! And whoever can win my trust and love shall rule it with me!” She was convinced that the anime harem loving side of her was talking.

All of the daemons ears perked up at the same time and they all looked at each other in awe.

“Is this correct!?” They all said in unison.

“uh…yeah?” Ava wanted to sucker punch herself.

All five of the daemons made a step towards but Ava stopped them with a raise of her hand.

“B-But for humans it’s a bit late…s-so I’ll get you guys some blankets to sleep here for the night and I’ll teach you everything on earth and about me!” Before any of the daemons could respond, she ran to her closet, got a few blankets, threw them at the five men and ran into her room.

”And no going in any other room! Or you’ll be…uhh…disqualified!” She then slammed her door leaving the daemons standing by themselves in the fresh moonlight and a mountain of blankets on the ground.

“Unlimited magic…maybe that’s what all those box things were run by! Oh all the possibilities! Once I find the materials I’ll immediately tell Lady Grandma this great news!” Rhys excitedly gushed out.

“Yeah but being a ruler of it?” Leif looked towards the window “shit…even if it’s 50 50 that’s still a lot of power…”

“Especially ruling both this place and daemos” said Asch. Leif started to snicker.

“The fuck is so funny?” Asch looked at Leif and furrowed his brows.

“Nothin’! It’s just how you think your tiny ass is gonna rule anything is all.” Leif started to laugh even more.

“What!? How dare you say such a thing to your prince!? I could kick your ass anytime!” Said Asch. Getting quite hotheaded.

“Both of you stop this foolishness! You two are being highly childish!” Rhys got between them to stop the tension.

“I agree with rice.” said Pierce. Rhys slightly winced at the mispronunciation of his name.

“With the queen of earth being this hospital to us we should all get some rest while we can.”

“Thank you Pierce.” Rhys said blankly still annoyed “It’s Rhys by the way…” he said quickly

“Okay rice.” Said Pierce. Rhys winced again, but decided to just ignore it for now.

All five of the daemons slept in different parts of the room with their respective blankets. Noi slept on the couch, Leif slept by Ava’s door, Pierce slept on the table, and Rhys and Asch in the kitchen area. Rhys was more closer to the fridge while Asch was closer to the oven as that’s where they were most comfortable.

Asch still couldn’t sleep, as he was still thinking on what Leif said.

“Hey Rhys…you awake?” He poked at Rhys’s shoulder.

“Hmm..? Yes…anything for you my prince..” said Rhys, who clearly wasn’t awake a second ago.

“What you said before we came here in my room…you meant that right?” Asch didn’t think he could take another one of Rhys’s ‘nah actually I said that because I don’t know normal social interaction I just saw two people say it!!!’ It annoyed the fuck outta him. No matter how cute it was to see him admit it. Wait what?

“If you’re talking about me thinking you’d make a great king then yes, I did mean it.” Rhys stated, feeling a bit more awake by now.

“haha…what about the me being good looking bit?” Asch said jokingly. He fully expected Rhys to pull that copying what two other people said thing now.

“Yes actually, but to be fair, it’s an objective truth.” Rhys said sounding like he was about to drift off back to sleep.

“I fucking knew it…Rhys you’re fine the way you-“ Asch then processed what Rhys just said.

“Y-You…huh?” But by that time Rhys was already fast asleep. Leaving Asch to deal with how much harder his heart was pounding in his chest.

WAHHHH once again sorry for making yall wait for this short ass chapter. Turns out story making is hard😃*dying inside* next chapter might be long it might not it genuinely depends on how I feel. also I wanna post this on ao3 one day but that requires me to not be lazy and get an invitation and wait and like…🧍🏾‍♀️I ain’t doing that like Ik it’s prob not that big of a deal but STILL. So I’m thinking wattpad but that place has a lot of MID fanfics unlike ao3 so I’ll legit just be like a drop of water in the ocean. Idk 3 people that liked this tell me what I should do. Also I didn’t do that dumb text divided thing!! Pls don’t ask me why I did that I think I was possessed by an obnoxious person. And im gonna add more tags that was lowkey a dumbass decision on my part not to lol. Kk bye now imma go jump off a cliff until next episode ✌🏾

[teecupangel]

Prompt! Desmond mistakenly time travels to Ratonhnhaké:ton's time, and Juno, who realizes what he did, tries to turn Ratonhnhaké:ton against him. I believe I heard somewhere that Juno told Ratonhnhaké:ton to hide the key to the Temple? Well what if she told him of Desmond, maybe showed him a 'projection' of Desmond killing Lucy, and says Desmond will try to befriend him only to turn on him to get the apple of that time? (Ignorant of AC3 so I don't know the timeline of events.)

Juno only talks to Ratonhnhaké:ton twice though since Juno can only talk to Ratonhnhaké:ton using the crystal ball thingie that the clan mother had. One is when he was a teenager and told to leave the village to seek out the Assassins. The next time they talked is when the villagers had left without telling Ratonhnhaké:ton and Ratonhnhaké:ton called Juno out for her lies.

And since you want Juno to talk to Ratonhnhaké:ton about Desmond during the time she tells him to hide the key, we’ll set it at their second talk, during the ending parts of AC3.

So, in this setup, this would be a Ratonhnhaké:ton that’s still reeling from having to kill Haytham, bury Achilles, and find out his village had gone and left him alone even though everything he had done had been to protect them.

Also, by setting this up during that time, we can push the timeline of George Washington showing Ratonhnhaké:ton the Apple and make it so that Juno would show him a vision of the Apple in Washington’s hands, telling him, “He plans to take the Apple from this man…” (which is true, Desmond knows an Apple would be a big help right now) “… to use for his own selfish desires…” (which is also sorta true if you consider trying to change the past a selfish desire since Desmond isn’t thinking of what kind of butterfly effect it would have in the end) “… and none shall be able to defeat him…” (and here Juno will show him Desmond willingly using the Apple to kill Vidic who, as far as Ratonhnhaké:ton knows, is an unarmed old man telling Desmond to stop then flash forward it to Desmond using the Apple to order all Abstergo goons to take their own lives). Without knowing that Abstergo are Templars in disguise (and that Desmond was saving his father and trying not to die or get captured), Juno is able to paint Desmond as a ‘bad man’ that Ratonhnhaké:ton must be wary of.

Hell, Juno goes “You must kill him.” because Desmond only needs to live in the 21st century, this Desmond is an obstacle and a wildcard that Juno can't even use.

“If you do… I will show you where your village has gone.”

And Ratonhnhaké:ton knows he’s being used but, still…

Desmond looked dangerous and if the Apple in Washington’s hands is truly powerful then no one should hold it.

In this situation, both Ratonhnhaké:ton and Desmond go to Washington first just as Washington received the Apple from an unknown person.

Washington is surprised by their appearance (Ratonhnhaké:ton because they didn’t necessarily end in good terms and Desmond because he’s a complete stranger who just barged in without anyone notifying Washington at all) so… the Apple sorta activated while the three of them are in the vicinity.

And thus we have a story idea of Desmond accidentally getting transported into Tyranny of King Washington DLC.

Unorganized Notes:

To make things interesting, Desmond didn’t relive Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories of the DLC. He went to Washington because he felt the Apple and thought “yeah, Washington shouldn’t have an Apple. Also… I need an Apple and this is closer than the vault in Rome.”

So when he gets transported into the DLC ‘timeline’, Desmond’s just “yeah, definitely the Apple’s illusion powers. But… why is everything so… real? Oh shit. Did I get transported in a different timeline???”

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s part of the story remains the same but Desmond intervenes enough times that his mother doesn’t die. She does, however, go into a coma so we have an excuse for Ratonhnhaké:ton to feel pressured to drink from the Red Willow tree.

Ratonhnhaké:ton sees Desmond has a hidden blade and they fight a few times (with Desmond trying to insist that he doesn’t want to fight Ratonhnhaké:ton and staying more on the defensive). He also notices that Desmond’s fighting style is too close to his own but there are moments where he feels like he is fighting a different person.

Desmond sees Ratonhnhaké:ton summon ghost wolves and he’s like “Okay, we’re doing this now? Fine.” with a tone of a tired man who had seen so much shit in a short amount of time that he’s just rolling with the punches.

Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton team up to defeat King Washington and Ratonhnhaké:ton does start to think there is more to it than Desmond being an evil man. Also he was already sus of Juno anyway,

So when they return to the real world, Washington gives the Apple to Ratonhnhaké:ton and Desmond doesn’t do anything. He just… leaves.

Later on, Desmond is surprised when Ratonhnhaké:ton appears before him.

While he’s about to board a ship set for France (it was the ship that would dock closest to Italy).

And Ratonhnhaké:ton admits that he still has the Apple and…

He’d like it if Desmond stayed for a while.

Desmond stares at him before smiling as he says, “I’d like that.”

(You know, for someone who hated the final boss of this DLC, I mention this DLC a lot…)

[daybreakrising]

@ccaptain:   after the splendid Valentine surprise Wriothesley graced him with, Kaeya has only one request for him.

   ' i promised Lisa to help her reorganize a few books today...' he starts, a finger tracing little spiral on a bare pectoral.' and i'm still sleepy, but you seem to be energetic today, ' pale diamond watches him, a little too innocent.

   ' while i get a few more minutes of sleep and steal your pillow, would you be a darling and go warn Jean and Lisa that you seized me away from them for the day? ' just a little too innocent... ' you could say hi to them too, ' he adds, smiling and kissing up that nice jawline of his. ' they haven't seen you in a while. '

   and so, his man is ceremoniously and pratically kicked out of bed, with a very pleased cat-like Kaeya rolling to sit and give Wriothesley a few more apologetic kisses before he sends him off. it's very just that the one who disrupted his schedule goes to warn poor Lisa, who is surely waiting for him with warm tea and buttery biscuits on a pretty tray... 

   it's only when the front door closes that Kaeya reveals himself to be wide awake, on the prow like a cat. the window of his bedroom, thankfully facing the opposite direction his poor fool of a boyfriend walked in, is cracked open- and, in his palm, a small bird made of Cryo takes off, flying directly to the KoF headquarters. specifically, to the window of the library.

   without another hesitation, he gathers his shirt and pants, and he's in the kitchen, fresh ingredients pulled out of the fridge, a pot already placed in a strategic place under the sink- and an apron tied around his hips and chest. 

   poor Wriothesley... falling for the rouse of a sleepy, sore Kaeya, believing that he'd simply go and notify Jean of his absence and be back home to cuddle, the ordeal taking only a few minutes at best...  he'd laugh like a villain, if he had a decent evil laugh in store.

   he really fell for it hook, line and sinker. ...or at least, if he didn't, he had the decency to still play along.

   truth is, that the Duke isn't the only one who had a surprise for him, this day. Kaeya's plan was to start preparing a certaint dish for him, then wait until evening for Wriothesley to show up- and presenting it to him as a romantic dinner, some candles on the table. and him showing up changed absolutely nothing- for Kaeya Alberich plans many scenarios ahead.

   this particular one started almost a month ago, with him tracking down a certaint melusine- which was more than happy to provide him with a certaint recipe- and give him some cooking tips after he had sheepishly admitted that he had no culinary talent. her enthusiastic encouragement filled him with determination- and filled his pocket with a sheet of paper noting down the ingredients and passages necessary. she also swore secrecy- that meeting between them shall never be of knowledge.

   and Jean and Lisa... ah, his accomplices! his partners in crime! the honest grandmaster had all the support of a much more cunning witch behind her, the latter awaiting for the little Cryo bird to signal her that Wriothesley was on his way. she would have kept him otherwise occupied with organizing books on his behalf- or something else sprung on him at the last moment, per their plan. and, just like that, the poor Duke was trapped for a while- and Kaeya had all the time in the world to cook.

   a deep breath later, the pot's contents was quietly simmering, the only accident being a small cut on Kaeya's finger and a bit too much oil on the surface of the soup- swiftly frozen over with a spoon infused with Cryo, per Fayetta's tip in how to deal with it.

   and the smell... oh, he sniffs the air with cautious wonder, wide-eyed. it's divine- it's so surprising that there were only two small accidents... and that he could make this at all. just soup for some, but this is such a special food that he cannot ruin it...

   and he didn't. he's just as stupefied with himself as the pot of perfectly cooked soup, who stares back at him in what he thinks it's disbelief, and a few carrot pieces coming to the surface. now he can tackle the had a stare down with a surprised soup off his bucket list.

   when the front door opens again, the stove has been turned off, and Kaeya is blowing softly on a ladle, an hand cupped under to prevent anything from spilling out. he meets Wriothesley with sparkling, mismatched eyes, his apron spotless, the smile on his face one of soft triumph.

   ' welcome back! taste this- and tell me what you think of it, please? '

Oh, he knows something is up. Kaeya has never, ever, kicked him out of bed for any reason. But, if his man wants to have his secrets, who is he to deny them? After all, he did surprise him by turning up early - it's entirely possible Kaeya had plans of his own that have since been disrupted. So, whilst he doesn't fully believe Kaeya's innocent explanation for getting him out of the house, he goes along anyway. And, he reasons, it's probably only going to be for an hour, maximum. And it would be nice to see Jean and Lisa again - it has been a while.

It wasn't an hour.

By the time he drags himself back to Kaeya's door, he's feeling the effects of moving bookcases around the library for what felt like an eternity. What began as simply helping Lisa reorganise some shelves turned into a full makeover of the library itself - only for her to change her mind and ask him to put everything back again once they were done.

And it was, very obviously, entirely intended to keep him busy and away from home. He's not stupid, after all.

So, he's expecting some kind of surprise awaiting him when he steps through the door, but nothing in the world could prepare him for the aroma that greets him upon entering. He stops dead, eyes wide as he is suddenly thrust back to his youth - he's on the streets, surviving on wits alone, when a smiling, friendly face leans under the pathetic canopy of his makeshift shelter, and offers him a flask of something that smells delicious-

"Kaeya?" He stares at the man before him, ladle in hand, apron on - and blinks in confusion as the image swims, blurs. It takes a moment to register that his eyes are tearing up just from that first hit of such a warm, fond aroma.

"What..." He joins him beside the stove, graciously accepts the offered ladle. The moment the soup touches his tongue the tears are shed - just a few, born of happiness, and of sentiment. He doesn't know how Kaeya has this recipe (though he can make assumptions), or what prompted him to even ask for it, but he is choked with emotion that he can't process fully.

So, instead, he plucks the ladle from Kaeya's grasp and sets it aside, then frames that pretty face with both hands. "It's perfect," he utters, voice thick with feeling, "it's... perfect." A kiss is planted, firmly, upon the other's lips. "You are perfect."

He hooks an arm around Kaeya's waist to tuck him in snugly beside him, then turns his attention to the large pot on the stove. He lifts the lid, basks in the familiar aroma, and sighs with absolute bliss. "I think... I think this is one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me."

Another kiss is pressed, tenderly, to Kaeya's temple. "I love you, so much. So, so much."

[danstupidaushit]

Negativefell Danmaged

Alright so, this one i'm not entirely sure if i actually own the au or not, but i'll go off with it being a take to avoid possible confusion.

So, this take is basically surrounded on the idea of the underground being through a war during the fall of Frisk. The war started after Papyrus was expelled from the royal guard from being too much of an asshole, but also a threat for Undyne's own position as the leader, judging he was almost as strong as her, and he knew that, making him to into such a fit of utter rage and hate that he began to form a plan on how could he take the position as the leader of a guard without having to rely on forcing himself into the royal guard, believing them to be a much of cowards for not seeing his true potential as Papyrus would soon begin to take up forces from the citizens of the snowdin to form up his own kind of Royal Guard, called The Hive, commanded of course by him, as from that point on he would declare war against the powers of Asgore and the entirety of the Royal Guard, believing himself to be much stronger than not only the royal guard, Undyne, but also Asgore himself (Yes, a completely narcissistic megalomaniac).

So yeah, the concept is pretty basic, because i never fully expanded on it. I don't have many concepts on the characters as a whole, but i do have a general idea for how Papyrus, Sans and Alphys are.

Papyrus: The leader of The Hive, being drievn by his own megalomaniac tendencies as he strives to be the strongest monster of the underground, not only in strength, but status power, wanting to take down the royal guard for good and leading the monsters to fight against the human kind himself. Extremely cruel, reckless and rage driven, treats every single one of his henchmen as uttershit, having his brother included (who he not even sees as his brother anymore, but just as another one of his goons). Took Sans eye out saying that Sans did not deserve to have such strong magic powers in his possession, and only him should have it, so, shoving Sans judgement eye in his own eye-socket, taking full control on it.

Sans: Mindless goon of Papyrus, ended up becoming so oppressed by him that he doesn't have much of a will of his own, and simply follow Papyrus orders. Tho he is shown to have mild depression, as he relies on actual drugs to keep himself "working properly", having become addicted to a drug called "The Crystals", which is the monster equivalent of Meth, and also the explanation for why sans has bluish teeth. Sans main job under Papyrus wing is to spy and steal stuff from the enemy, as he would be commonly seen carrying bags of stolen stuff.

Alphys: The second head of the Royal Guard, immediately joined in after being notified of the War breaking out. She ended up almost getting killed in one of Papyrus' attack, having to change several parts of her body for robotic appendages, turning herself into basically a cyborg in the process (Not that she minds it, she seems to greatly enjoy her so called "upgrades")

So uh, that's it, also pretty small.

Fun fact about the au: There's a concept i scrapped for Toriel where she would be a perpetrator kind of character. Basically she pretends to be nice and be a good mom, but she's in fact completely insane, slowly losing the image she made of herself for you as she goes on to threaten all the monsters in the ruins and even chase you down if you don't answer her constant annoying calls.

[voraciousvore]

In the Belly of the Giant (25/39)

***Contains vore!***

Chapter 25

Mr. Henderson felt much better after eating his cereal. His new human friend, Millie, was still hungry, so he portioned her out some more milk so she could have another bowl of cereal. While she ate, he politely excused himself so he could take care of some business. He hadn’t checked in with the school at all, and since he was feeling better he figured he’d call the vice principal just to make sure he was getting along without his help and all the affairs of the school were in order. He had taken an extended leave of absence, ostensibly due to the stress of losing his daughter, but also because privately he had been terrified he would lose control of himself and eat one of the human students. Now, he felt more confident that this latter concern was an irrational fear. 

When he checked his phone, he was surprised to see a long string of text messages he had missed from the prior evening. In his fractured state of mind, he had completely forgotten about the date he had scheduled for Saturday. He didn’t even know what day it was today. Friday? Apparently, the giantess had become frustrated with his total lack of contact. She had texted him to confirm their date was still on, and when he unintentionally ghosted her she became irate, and sent him a barrage of messages scolding him and cursing him out. Mr. Henderson sighed. He felt guilty, but at the same time he was too old for this sort of drama. He sent the giantess back a simple, respectful message, notifying her some difficult personal issues had come up in his life, and that he had to cancel the date and wasn’t interested in dating anymore. He wished her luck in love and apologized. She blocked him. 

Once he checked in with the school, and was assured that things were running smoothly without him, he dressed for the day and returned to Millie in the kitchen. She had finished her breakfast and remained on the counter, not sure how to get down. When she spotted Mr. Henderson, she gave him a warm, genuine smile, blossoming like a flower in response to the sun. The giant felt his heart flutter. She was such a sweet, kind person, and lovely too, inside and out. When he saw she was happy, it made him happy too. He offered her his hand and she gladly climbed into his palm. He gently lifted her up and conveyed her to the living room. He sat on the gigantic couch and held the miniature woman in his lap. 

“Millie, is there anything you need me to get for you to make your life here more comfortable?” he asked. 

Millie gazed up at the giant, into his brown coffee eyes that reminded her so much of her late husband’s. She couldn’t lie: She was smitten with him, deeply attracted to his magnanimous nature and his gentleness. She had never met a giant like him before and he fascinated her. All the other giants she knew had been horrendously evil and cruel. “I have everything I need here,” she replied. 

Mr. Henderson opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He saw it was Joey and hastily answered. “Any news?” he questioned tensely. Millie noticed the immediate change in his demeanor and wondered what was so important. 

“I don’t want to get your hopes up, but Ray and I came up with a plan that might help us find Eren. You know that human doctor at the hospital? We’re going to use him as bait to see if we can lure out the kidnappers and track them back to their base. Hopefully, we can find Eren, and maybe even the missing students from the boarding school,” Joey expounded. “I’ll let you know what happens.” 

“That’s good, Joey. Keep me posted.” He hung up and sighed. 

“What was that about?” Millie inquired, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

“Oh...” Mr. Henderson didn’t want to burden Millie with his troubles, but he saw no reason not to tell her. “My daughter Eren... she’s gone missing. We’re worried that she’s been kidnapped. Her boyfriend Joey works at the police department, so he’s keeping me up to date on the latest news regarding the investigation.” He frowned sadly. 

Millie shuddered. Eren’s fate struck a nerve with her. “How horrible!” 

Mr. Henderson gave her a weak smile. “I believe in Joey. He’ll find her. You met Joey at the hospital. He’s the police officer that made you pass out. I think he felt bad for scaring you; he wasn’t trying to.” 

Millie was surprised. “Her boyfriend... is a giant? Do... giants date humans?” 

Mr. Henderson laughed gently. “It’s certainly not very common, but it happens. I don’t know if you’re aware, but the human doctor you met was married to that giantess nurse too. Those kinds of interspecies relationships can be just as fulfilling as regular, same-size relationships.” 

“I see,” Millie said quietly. She stared at Mr. Henderson inquisitively, as if wanting to ask him something, with her striking blue eyes. He was mesmerized by those eyes. He wondered what she was thinking, but so much about her was a mystery. “Have you ever dated a human?” she asked suddenly.  

Mr. Henderson raised his eyebrows with surprise. “No. But I have nothing against the idea. There’s just not very many adult human females around, on the giant side of town.” He sighed. “I was married once, to a giantess. She divorced me because I’m infertile, and I couldn’t give her a child. I’ve been single since, but I ended up adopting Eren. She’s been a light in my life. Now... that light is gone...” His expression convulsed with strong emotion. Millie hugged his thumb, stroking the digit tenderly. After a long period of silence, Mr. Henderson composed himself again. 

Millie looked down at her hands. “My husband... was murdered in front of me.” She sniffled. Now it was Mr. Henderson’s turn to comfort her. He grasped her protectively in his massive hands, caressing her back with his thumb. Millie wanted to talk about all that she had gone through, since she had been alone for so long with her own thoughts, with nobody to share her feelings with, but she found it difficult to speak. Nevertheless, she overcame her mental block and pressed on. “We lived in poverty on the human side together. We had a lot of debt, and my husband borrowed money from the wrong people. When we weren’t able to pay it back... they invaded our home and shot him. They captured me, threatened to kill me if I ever came back, and sold me to giants.” 

She curled up in the giant’s hand, holding her knees and quaking at the memory. “I had never seen giants before. I was terrified, and I had good reason to be. They did... horrible, unspeakable things to me. At the time, I was pregnant with my husband’s child, and I miscarried due to the abuse and the stress. It... felt like losing the last part of him that I had left.” She wiped away tears with her arm. Mr. Henderson held her closer to his torso in a hug. She cuddled up against his shirt, soaking in his caring warmth. “I don’t know how long I was held prisoner, but it felt like a lifetime. One day, I got extremely lucky and managed to escape. I survived alone on the streets for a long time. I stayed hidden, since I feared giants and didn’t trust them. I had nowhere to go, nobody to help me, and no goals except to stay alive.” 

She went quiet, before continuing, “To be honest, I don’t think I would have lasted much longer, if you hadn’t showed up. I was starting to give up any hope of living a normal, fulfilling life. I... considered letting go, and ending it all…” 

Mr. Henderson wrapped his fingers around her tighter. “I’m glad I found you,” he said tenderly. “In some ways, you saved me as much as I saved you.” The sweet moment was interrupted by the audible growling of the giant’s stomach. Even though Millie trusted Mr. Henderson not to devour her, she still quivered with instinctive fright, almost like a Pavlovian response. She certainly didn’t associate the noises of a giant’s stomach with anything good after being forced inside one multiple times in the past. 

Her reaction made Mr. Henderson exceedingly uncomfortable. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. “I should probably make us lunch,” he remarked, standing up in a smooth motion so as not to upset his human passenger. “It’s about that time, after all.” Millie bobbed her head with approval, making a concerted effort to calm herself. She reminded herself that she was safe. Mr. Henderson was a gentle giant; he couldn’t possibly eat her. She trusted him. 

She knew it would take some effort to get used to not being scared all the time. When she lived on the streets, she had to constantly be aware of potential threats. As a result, her nature had been warped, to make her quiet and skittish. Despite her experiences, she had made remarkable progress. She could talk now, despite not having spoken a word to anyone for a long time. And here she was, riding around in the hand of a hungry giant, in his giant dwelling, without fainting from terror. She could do this. 

Mr. Henderson didn’t feel like he could stomach any meat yet, so he decided to make some grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. Such an entrée would be easy to portion out to human size too; he had often made the same meal for Eren, as her father. He set Millie on the countertop, as he had done that morning, and took a can of soup out of the pantry. He heated the soup in a pot on the stove, trying not to imagine the red liquid as a big vat of blood. Turning away from the pot, he grabbed slices of bread and cheese and toasted the sandwiches. While he cooked, he glanced over at Millie and his mouth started to water. She looked appetizing, like the perfect little snack to dip in his soup. He licked the moisture off his lips and distracted himself by stirring the pot. 

Millie, unaware of the depth of Mr. Henderson’s struggle with temptation, admired him as he cooked. She couldn’t deny she fancied him. He was very handsome too. She wondered what he would say if she admitted her feelings to him. They hadn’t known each other for long, but his uncanny resemblance to her husband, just blown up on a much larger scale, tipped her heart in his favor. She missed being loved, and the giant was so caring to her. All his attention alleviated the terrible emptiness and loneliness in her heart. 

Mr. Henderson finished cooking the meal and served up a microscopic human portion for his guest, by tearing off a teeny chunk of one of the sandwiches and using his smallest measuring spoon to dump some soup in her tiny bowl. Just as he served himself up with his own giant bowl of soup, his phone rang again. He excused himself and answered the phone in the other room, so he wouldn’t bother Millie while she was eating. Since her body was still starving, she polished off her meal in record time, and was left hungry for more.  

She wanted to get herself another serving of tomato soup, but she couldn’t reach the top of the pot. She looked at the giant’s soup bowl. His spoon was propped up on the side, like a bridge. She walked up the spoon to the edge of the bowl and leaned forward to dip her own human bowl in the lake of soup before her. As she strained her arm to reach, she slipped and lost her balance, tumbling forward into the liquid with a splash. On her way down, she grabbed at the giant’s spoon, but instead of arresting her fall the spoon flipped forward and smacked her in the head, knocking her out cold. She floated unconscious in the soup. 

“Sorry about that interruption, Millie,” Mr. Henderson apologized, stepping into the room. His stomach was rumbling fiercely. The cereal he ate earlier hadn’t been enough to sate his gargantuan frame. He was feeling confident he wouldn’t throw up this time, and he had a voracious appetite, so he decided to eat what he could before his mind rebelled against him. He set aside his spoon and picked up the entire bowl, bringing it up to his lips. He started chugging the soup, enjoying the feeling of the warm, nourishing liquid running down his throat to his eager belly. 

Millie woke up to loud slurping sounds. She was surrounded by heat. Confused, she felt herself sliding back. She opened her eyes to behold a sea of red sweeping her away. She flipped around and was horrified to see a giant pair of lips, suctioning down the soup. Before she could make a sound, the tide pulled her in and she was sucked through the lips into the giant’s mouth. She found herself inside a cage of enormous teeth and pink flesh. She was rapidly drawn toward the gullet, where she could see the throat muscles contracting, loudly gulping down gallons upon gallons of soup. In a panic, she paddled away and clung to the edge of the giant’s slippery tongue to save herself from being swallowed. 

“Mr. Henderson, stop eating! I’m inside your mouth!” she screeched in terror, hoping desperately that he could hear her. 

As he drank down his soup, Mr. Henderson felt an odd, solid lump enter his mouth. The lump stirred and stuck to his tongue, and he suddenly realized with horror that the thing was alive. Oh God, it was Millie. He could hear her scream. He stopped gulping his soup and lowered the bowl right away. As her little body pressed against his tongue, he could taste her. She was even more delicious than he had imagined. Swallowing her alive would be so satisfying. Despite himself, he began to salivate profusely. He was sorely tempted. She was already inside him, halfway there. One little gulp, and she’d be in his belly. 

Mr. Henderson recoiled at these thoughts, but he could barely stop himself. He vacillated, unable to swallow but unable to spit her out. She wriggled on his tongue, exciting his hungry urges. The predator within him was ready to strike, like a coiled snake. His digestive tract whined for food. He was losing the battle against the intense cravings of his flesh. It would be so easy, just to swallow. 

Yet, Millie was alive. She was a person, a tasty person small enough to fit down his throat, yes, but still a person. She had her own thoughts and hopes and dreams. She had come so far, suffered through terrible tribulations, only to find herself in the mouth of a giant—a giant she believed in and trusted not to harm her. She had said so herself, he wasn’t capable of eating a human. He was too kind. 

Mr. Henderson insisted to himself, firmly, that he wasn’t a monster. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ate her. Overcoming his powerful impulses, he opened his mouth and dropped her wet body into his hand. She shivered. He found himself breathing heavily, covering her with his warm breath, strings of drool running down his lips. 

“W-why were you in my soup bowl?” he asked with forceful agitation. His heart was racing. His fear at the immoral act he had very nearly committed made his tone sharper than he intended. 

Millie heard the edge in his voice and flinched. Nothing terrified her more than an angry giant. “I’m s-so sorry!” she stammered, and started to wail. “Please don’t be mad at me! It was an accident!” 

“Oh no, that’s not…” Mr. Henderson’s face fell. “I’m the one who should be apologizing! I nearly swallowed you! I’m so, so sorry Millie!” He rushed over to the sink and ran some warm water so he could wash the soup and saliva off her body. He rinsed her off, but recognized it would probably be easier for her to just use the human bathroom instead, and then she could change into fresh clothes. He carried her over to the human suite and set her down gently. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” he repeated again. 

“It’s okay, Mr. Henderson. I know it was an accident,” she replied shakily. “And I knew you wouldn’t eat me on purpose.” Her voice cracked, but she still smiled at him, then walked into the human rooms to clean herself up. 

Mr. Henderson looked after her with guilt. She was correct, in that ultimately he wasn’t able to carry through with the deed. However, she had no clue how close he had truly been to eating her. He hoped she would never find out either. He was just grateful he had been able to contain his ravenous compulsions in time. He went back to the kitchen and scarfed down his grilled cheese sandwiches. He never wanted to reach the point where he was that hungry again. 

Chapter 26

Chapter 1

[adleryoung]

"Yes," Ash confirmed. "I really think so. Elves do not lie. Burnside is the most experienced person currently in your employ - aside from Lana and myself, of course - and is therefore the most logical choice. Being an elf makes her inherently more valuable and more likely to succeed than any of your lowfolk underlings. And if things go sour, Burnside's combat experience will allow her to extract Oonagh and Didelphis and make good her escape. Either way, that will still be a successful mission."

"But if it comes to violence," I protested, "Oonagh's reputation will be forever tarnished. She'll be permanently labeled a witch. She'll never be able to show her face in town again."

"True," Ash agreed. "But what of it? You should have thought of that before putting her in this situation. Our intention is for you to rule Faerie some day. A monarch must THINK before he acts. He cannot always expect that others will be able to step in and clean up his messes."

"Every ruler has people serving and supporting him," I pointed out.

"Right, but one should not become over-reliant on them," Ash pointed out. "Perhaps I shouldn't remind you of this, but the one who cleans up the king's messes has power over the king. He could topple the throne simply by deciding not to do his job. Now then, to get back to the subject at hand, let me make sure I understand the plan. Burnside will show up at the trial at a dramatic moment, disguised as Didelphis. Without actually lying, she will imply that child Didelphis is her relative having an out of control tantrum. Then O'Hoppity - if he knows what's good for him - will step forward and declare that he was mistaken. The mob will be appeased and all charges against Oonagh will be dropped. Have I got all of that correct? After this call is finished, there will not be time to change course."

Ash seemed much too happy about my choice of Burnside for this mission. That alone was enough to give me second thoughts. Was he playing mind games again? Should I choose someone else just to spite him? No, I decided that would be petty, and doing the opposite of what he suggested would still be letting him control my actions. I needed to choose my own course and stick to it regardless of what he said.

"Well?" Ash impatiently interrupted my musings. "Time is running out. We both have preparations to make. You are in charge here. What do you want me to do?"

"Yes," I decided. "This is the plan we will to go with."

"Very well," Ash confirmed. "I will make sure the members of the jury are favorably disposed towards Oonagh and I will make sure O'Hoppity knows what is expected of him. The trial is in two days. Have an Ixie tail me so I can notify you of when the exact time will be once everything is finalized. In the meantime, train your personnel and make sure Burnside knows exactly what she is to do."

"I will take care of it," I declared.

"Excellent. Always a pleasure. Take care."

The Mumble-Mug went silent, and I lowered it from my ear. The worst part about speaking with Ash was that even when he said I was in charge, he somehow managed to make it sound condescending, like he was speaking to a child. I shook my head and glanced over at my entourage.

"Well?" Rebecca inquired. "What do you want us to do?"

[newstfionline]

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Trump’s sentencing (AP) Faced with the never-before-seen dilemma of how, when or even whether to sentence a former and future U.S. president, the judge in President-elect Donald Trump ‘s hush money case made a dramatic decision that could nevertheless bring the case to a muted end. In a ruling Friday, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan scheduled the sentencing for 10 days before Trump’s inauguration—but the judge indicated that he’s leaning toward a sentence that would amount to just closing the case without any real punishment. He said Trump could attend the Jan. 10 proceeding remotely because of his transition duties. Still, that would leave Trump headed back to the White House with a felony conviction. Will it come to that? Trump wants the conviction thrown out and the case dismissed, and communications director Steven Cheung said the president-elect will “keep fighting.” But it’s tough to predict just what will unfold in this unprecedented, unpredictable case.

US plans $8 billion arms sale to Israel, US official says (Reuters) The administration of President Joe Biden has notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel, a U.S. official said on Friday, with Washington maintaining support for its ally whose war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands. The deal would need approval from the House of Representatives and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, Axios reported earlier. The package also includes small-diameter bombs and warheads. Protesters have for months demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but U.S. policy has largely remained unchanged. In August, the United States approved the sale of $20 billion in fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel. Facing international criticism, Washington has stood by Israel during its assault on Gaza that has displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide accusations that Israel denies.

Honduras Threatens to Expel U.S. Military as Latin America Gears Up for Trump Deportations (NYT) Honduras’s president threatened to push the U.S. military out of a base it built decades ago in the Central American country should President-elect Donald J. Trump carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants from the United States. The response by President Xiomara Castro of Honduras, in an address broadcast on television and radio on Wednesday, was the first concrete pushback by a leader in the region to Mr. Trump’s plan to send back millions of Latin American citizens living in the United States. “Faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military arena,” Ms. Castro said of Honduras. “Without paying a cent for decades,” she added, “they maintain military bases in our territory, which in this case would lose all reason to exist in Honduras.”

Musk’s ‘undignified’ insults irritate German politicians (DW) As 2025 begins, the gloves are coming off in Germany’s election campaign for the vote on February 23. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is polling in second place at 20% and has seen prominent support by multibillionaire Elon Musk. The South African-born entrepreneur, 53, is seen as having intervened directly in the election campaign, as well as making provocative attacks on the leaders of Germany’s highest democratic institutions: first the chancellor and then the head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “Steinmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. “Shame on him.” Several other German politicians, however, reacted to Musk’s comments with indignation, describing them as “offensive,” “undignified” and as “crossing a line.” Rolf Mützenich, parliamentary group leader for the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said it should be asked after Donald Trump is sworn in as US president on January 20 whether “the repeated disrespect, defamation and interference in the election campaign were also made in the name of the new US government.” Musk’s latest remarks came after he published an opinion piece in a German daily supporting the far-right AfD.

Breakaway Moldovan region cuts heating and hot water as Russian gas flow ends (Reuters) The breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria cut heating and hot water supplies to households on Wednesday after Russia stopped supplying gas to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine. The severing of the gas flow was felt immediately in the mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed. "There is no heating or hot water," an employee of local energy company Tirasteploenergo told Reuters by phone. She said she did not know how long the situation would last. Russia had been pumping about 2 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Transdniestria, including a power plant that provided energy for the whole of Moldova, a country of 2.5 million people that wants to join the European Union. The ex-Soviet state has a long history of gas payment disputes and tense relations with Russia.

As another Trump presidency nears, Ukraine’s army is on the defensive (Washington Post) Russian forces in Ukraine are advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the invasion by using the biggest advantage Moscow has in this war: manpower. Ukrainian military personnel in the field said weapons shortages persist, but it’s the relentless human assaults that have been most effective for Russian forces exploiting vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s increasingly thin defenses. Russian losses are very high, the Ukrainian soldiers said, but the repeated attacks supported by heavy bombardment from artillery and drones just keep coming, pushing the Ukrainians back one small piece of territory at a time. “You kill one Russian and it’s like two pop up in his place,” said Valentyn, an infantryman in Ukraine’s 35th Marine Brigade. At the same time, the ranks of Ukrainian soldiers have grown more and more depleted and unequipped to fend off the Russian onslaught. Those in the field describe exhaustion and slumping morale. And soldiers who said they believed in fighting until the last of the Russian occupiers were pushed off all of Ukraine’s territory are increasingly supporting President-elect Donald Trump’s call to begin negotiations to end the war. The shift in attitude has come as Ukrainian soldiers said they have grown frustrated with their own government in Kyiv, criticizing what has been a slow and disjointed mobilization campaign. Many also said they had to invest their own money or were dependent on civilian volunteers for equipment such as drones and the vehicles they drive near front-line positions because they couldn’t rely on the government for essential equipment.

Climate change in India (Economist) The flood waters were rising and Sukanya Ashin realised she had to get out of her house. Her husband tried to open the back door, but it was blocked by shifting mud. So they wrapped their two-year-old in a blanket and waded through the front doorway, as their wardrobe floated off and the houses around them started to slip down the hill. They found safety. But 17 of their neighbours died in the flood. Adapting to climate change in India will be tough. The country is poorer and hotter than the global average, and crams 1.4bn people onto a land mass slightly larger than Argentina. In the first nine months of 2024 it suffered at least one “extreme weather event”, such as a flood or a cyclone, on more than 90% of days. July to October saw the highest recorded minimum temperatures since 1901. India is the most water-stressed country in Asia, says the World Resources Institute (WRI), an NGO. For Ms Ashin, adapting has meant moving. She lives in Wayanad, a mountainous district in Kerala. A landslide, caused by heavy rain, destroyed her village and her family’s eight-acre cardamom farm in 2019. Like all her surviving neighbours, she has upped sticks and started afresh. “People who used to own their own farms are now labouring on other people’s,” she says. The World Bank predicts that climate change will force 10m-40m people in South Asia to migrate within their countries by 2050.

Japanese Companies Are Pulling Out All the Stops to Recruit Young Workers (Bloomberg) Ryosuke Yamamoto is living the dream. For about 25,000 yen ($160) a month, the 25-year-old rents a single room complete with kitchenette and bathroom in a corporate dormitory 20 minutes by train from his office in downtown Tokyo. “It’s an amazing benefit and lets me spend money on other things,” said Yamamoto, who joined Nippon Life Insurance Co. in 2022 after graduating with a degree in law and political science. He now works as an assistant manager in the human resources development department. Amid chronic labor shortages in aging Japan, companies like Nippon Life are splurging on benefits to lure and retain young talent. With a falling birth rate, Japan’s working-age population is expected to rapidly decline from 2027, according to a study by independent think tank Recruit Works Institute. By 2040, the country may face a shortage of more than 11 million workers. With the labor market tight, companies are locking in university students months ahead of their graduation. Just over 40% of those graduating in March 2025 had at least one job offer a full year before they finished.

The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far (AP) A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline. The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers. So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed. Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline. Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.

Global Christian persecution up; religious restrictions at peak levels, studies show (Baptist Press) Religious nationalism, mass displacement, authoritarianism, surveillance technology and other trends combine to persecute 300 million Christians globally, International Christian Concern (ICC) said in its 2025 Global Persecution Index released Jan. 2. Targeting 20 countries, the latest annual report identifies 20 persecution zones, spotlights underlying factors that make each region increasingly unstable, and details the growing persecution Christians are suffering at the hands of government, terrorist organizations and society. Christian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in its report, citing increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India, and terrorism and displacement in Africa. In related research, Pew Research’s 2022 Report on Government Restrictions on Religion showed that restrictions in 198 countries and territories peaked in 2022, the most recent numbers available.

Mapping the Night Sky (MIT Technology Review) High atop Chile’s 2,700-meter Cerro Pachón, the air is clear and dry, leaving few clouds to block the beautiful view of the stars. It’s here that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will soon use a car-size 3,200-megapixel digital camera—the largest ever built—to produce a new map of the entire night sky every three days. Generating 20 terabytes of data per night, Rubin will capture fine details about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Rubin is the latest and most advanced entrant into the illustrious lineage of all-sky surveyors—instruments that capture, or survey, the entire sky, over and over again. Its first scientific images are expected later this year. In a single exposure, Rubin will capture 100,000 galaxies, the majority invisible to other instruments.