#sometimes sword is not enough. and you have to bite people. it happens

[anatomical-puppet]

i just think they’re sillyyyyy idk ^_^ also i like when lance does great violence

[characters belong to @abd-illustrates]

[tetsuskei]

belonging - portgas d. ace [nsfw]

synopsis: it’s never the best time when it’s his birthday, but luckily he has you to show him differently

notes: two days late, but this is the bday fic dedicated to my soul, my luvr boy. poured so much into this that it kinda doesn’t make sense but we will roll with it <3 kicking off the year with him and wouldn’t have it any other way !

warnings: unprotected sex, creampie, self doubt, depression (ace has some dark thoughts), anxiety, praise, nipple biting and sucking, body worship, barely edited so probably lots of typos, reader has fem body parts

ace always assumed that ‘falling in love’ was something that happened to other people, not to him.

his entire life had been a series of doubts and questions to himself. doubts about if he deserved the good things that came to him and the people who entered his life.

but gone were the days where ace let out all his anger towards anyone and everyone in the world. if you could ask anyone about him now, they would have only amazing things to say about him. many see him as a brilliant leader, one not to be meddled with. his brothers admire his never ending strength and courage. his spirit was always there to uplift others.

so who would be there to lift him up?

only you have seen who he is once broken down. once he’s out of the public eye, and behind closed doors, he’s a much more sombre person. he’s clingy, and soft. sad, and vulnerable.

it’s not a surprise to you that he struggles with his mind sometimes. that there are days where he may spend too much time in his head, fighting off demons.

“what am i doing here?” he asked one time. it wasn’t a question directed towards you, and from the empty look in his dark brown eyes, you could tell he was having trouble answering himself.

having the blood of a devil circulating in his veins is a double edged sword. he always told himself to not let where he came from hold him back. that mentality had gotten him this far, after all. it became a driving point for him.

but after quickly rising up in ranks and making a name for himself just like so, his mindset started to change. he began to not really know what he was after. yes, he wants to be more famous than his father, but so what? what would come next?

he focused on a much simpler task. he wanted to live each day without regrets.

many considered ace like the sun. he shined so brightly on his own (literally and figuratively), but in a way, it was a curse. he shined so brightly that if anyone came too close to him, he would burn them. they’d scorch up in flames within an instant.

but you were different. despite how brightly he shone, you didn’t let that stop you. it scared him, to say the least. the only people who he was comfortable being vulnerable with in his feelings were his brothers, and yamato being another person. now you were the fourth.

you had picked and pried at him in a way no one ever had before. getting scorched (literally and figuratively) in the process. you showed him kindness and affection that he only saw in the pages of fairytales.

he knew very little about gentleness. but it didn’t mean it was impossible. the feeling of your finger tips running over his bare skin is enough to soothe him. it makes him feel like he is at home and belongs. and in return, he wanted to give you that same feeling.

he wanted to live, and always come back to you.

ace always seemed more tense around this time of year. a little more gruff, and on edge. but not in a way that makes him dangerous. or, at least to you. he just seemed a lot quieter, and more consumed in his thoughts.

his birthday, as it turned out, had always been a sore subject amongst the whitebeard pirates. no one ever pried too much into his past. even after he told you and several others of his father, of his mother, no one wanted to push him to speak more about it.

you don’t make the most grand gesture out of his birthday, only requesting help from thatch to make a grand spread of all his favorite foods, and small decorated cake.

“i’m not going to ask anything of you, but only for you to have a good time. no sulking, kay?” you told him that morning.

when finally getting time alone with your boyfriend that evening, you sat with him, holding him in your arms as the two of you watched the stars.

ace loved when you talked about the stars to him. you told him once that the constellations that sit in the sky are the same ones projected onto his face in the form of freckles. he thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever, until you said one thing.

“the stories written up in the stars are no different from the ones that live in your eyes.”

his eyes always told you what he was thinking. after all, you read him so well. you long since noticed the troubled look on his face, but remained impassive as you know he’ll come to you when he’s ready to talk. for right now, having you as his support is the best thing you could give him.

eventually, he told you that he ‘just wanted to forget about things��� and while you understood what he meant without a full explanation, you wanted to make it known how thankful you are that he’s here. that he was born. that he’s a gifted presence in your life—and so many other people’s.

one thing led to another—shared kisses and words of declarations as you shedded each others clothes off.

right now ace lays under you, a complete mess as you ride his cock. his hat was on your head at first, but now it lays somewhere on the ground.

“ahh~ fuck!” a pretty gasp leaves his rose colored lips, his eyes glazed over with tears. his adrenaline has his blood pumping like crazy, and his cock is of course no expectation to that rule. he’s twitching erratically inside of you, more than likely leaking heavily as he holds back his orgasm. his chest feels tight from how much your cunt is gripping him. it’s like you’re sucking the life out of him.

funnily enough, he’s already cum once, but his stamina, is unlimited. he’d be able to go for hours on end. that doesn’t deter you from your goal of completely fucking him stupid.

ace thinks you look beautiful above him the way that you do. like an angel that descended from the heavens. he doesn’t think he believes in any gods, but he knows surely you were sent by some celestial being to be the best gift he’s ever had in his life.

“you’re doing so good for me, ace.” you hum, leaning over his muscular form to kiss the shell of his ear. he keens when your lips then meet the sensitive juncture of his jaw and neck. your tongue swipes up any access sweat and you hum, cheekily biting him. “taste so good, too.”

his whole body is boiling to the touch, to say the least. black, greasy hair matted to his forehead. his brown eyes are blown out in pleasure, and he thinks he’s dying.

it shouldn’t be possible that he feels this good.

“don’t say that.” he grumbles shyly, hiding his face behind his hand. you pin it down to the bed, eyes glaring down at him.

“it’s true, though.” you argue, “and you feel so good too. always fill me up so well.” you moan, letting your head fall back as you grind down on him, pleasure crawling up your spine as his cock rides up against your cervix, kissing your gummy walls lovely.

“if you keep talkin’ like that i’m gonna cum again…” he warns, whining slightly.

you grin, “that’s the plan.”

ace groans, letting his head fall back on the pillows, “jesus christ, woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”

you laugh, “i would say death do us part, but i’d like to think we’d follow each other into the afterlife. i feel like that’s the true meaning of a soulmate.”

ace can’t help the tears that permeate at his ducts when he feels overwhelmed with love by you and for you.

“well, i hope that if we’re reborn, we find each other in the next life.” he says breathlessly.

you hum, smiling, “of course we will.”

he’s silent before his hands guide your hips, helping you bounce on him. there’s a deafening squelching sound from the combined slick and it drives both of you crazy.

“you’re so pretty, ace.” you say, kissing the freckles on his face.

he frowns, glaring at you, “the correct term is handsome or sexy. men aren’t ‘posed to be ‘cute’.” there’s a pout on his face and it only adds on to your statement.

you laugh, “sure, baby. whatever you want.”

“‘whatever’ my ass,” he says crudely, “why don’t you make yourself useful and cum on me?” he isn’t asking though, and brings his thumb to your clit.

a sharp breath of air escapes you as you realize how much your impending orgasm is creeping up on you.

“wait…” you start, hand reaching out to stop his own.

he swats its away. “you said to make sure i’m having a good time, and this is helping.” he smirks, “no ‘sulking’, remember?”

you don’t have time to answer when your boyfriend leans over you, taking one of your breasts in his mouth to suck.

a loud moan escapes you once a euphoric pleasure washes over you. you quickly seize up before you realize your cumming hard on him.

ace grunts, closing his eyes once he feels you milking him. you’re a walking sin, and the grievance between your legs would be his downfall.

he hooks his hands under your legs before flipping you over to lay you on your back.

“a-ace…” you stutter, looking up in shock at how much his energy has suddenly changed.

“my pretty girl.” he smiles, kissing your nose, cheeks, and finally your lips. “just relax.”

his hips began to steadily rock into you as he takes over the pace, his hefty balls slapping loudly against your ass.

still sensitive, you twitch and jerk under his grasp, feeling helpless and near limp as he rails you.

“nothing ‘cute’ about the way i’m fuckin’ you, now is there?” he grins, hand titling your jaw to the side before proceeding to suck marks into your delicate skin.

a keen slips from your mouth and you try to catch your breath, “o-okay, you proved a point.”

“damn straight.” he moves both of his hands downwards, holding onto your thighs before moving your legs over his shoulders.

the new angle feels as if the wind is knocked out of you. with the way he’s looking at you adoringly, and damn near shattering your pelvis you might as well be conflicted on if he loves or loathes you.

“always feel so fucking good. wish i could stay in you forever.” he moans, biting his lip. “so perfect like this. i’m so lucky.”

you gasp, your toes curling at the way his tip drags itself seamless over your insides. your eyes threaten to roll back but you fight it, seeing how ethereal your boyfriend looks when he’s feral.

he’s never been the best with words, but with the way he takes care of you, especially in the moment you share right now, you can feel the essence of his love. the way his hand reaches grips yours to kiss your knuckles.

“thank you…for always loving me.” he pants, “and for showing me things in life i never thought i’d be able to see.”

“thought i told you to stop thanking me.” you hit him on the head. you pull on his hair but he only groans, cock twitching.

ace pulls back from your neck, “i’m serious, i…i’ve never been this happy before.”

you only smile at him before grabbing his face with both of your hands, kissing him long and passionately.

he ruts into you, chasing his release. his vision is nearly spotting with how sensitive his nerves are, but his body has a mind of its own as it craves endless pleasure.

“s-shit! i’m gonna cum!”

shamelessly, you lock your legs around him, pulling him in closer wordlessly.

he laughs, sweat trickling down his brow, “ah~ you want it again, yeah? can’t get enough of my cum, can you?”

“always need to be filled by you, ace.” you moan, nails clawing helplessly at his back.

you lean forward before your teeth gently sink into a pert nipple, making him shout and swear as his orgasm is triggered.

and as he spills into you again for the second time that evening, you find yourself following him in suspension of death.

ace lays his weight on you, not crushing you, but knowing him and his narcolepsy, he just damn near will in a second.

you use all your strength to turn both of you over, and he grunts. if it was wet before between the two of you, it’s soaking now as his cum trickles down your legs.

“you’re wastin’ it…” he grumbles, holding your hips tight.

“not my fault you’re a human cum geyser.” you retort. “now let me get up.”

he pouts, “just…stay like this for awhile?”

“fine, but you’re cleaning me up.” you warn. “happy birthday, you animal.”

a sleepy grin appears on his face as he kisses the top of your head. “yeah, i love you too.”

and so maybe after all, he could learn a lot more about what life has to offer, especially if that means you’d be by his side. there’s nothing he truly wouldn’t fear anymore. not in life or in death.

[silverynight]

The heart of the barbarian King

Chapter 1

It's been a week since Izuku was taken from his village; his mother died years ago so the only thing left for him there was his mentor, the alpha hero, All Might. But he had to leave in order to find something important; he didn't tell the omega what it was or how long that journey was going to take him.

Izuku knows All Might is a good person and he takes care of him, but sometimes he thinks that he'll do the same thing his father did (disappointed to have a weak omega as a son) and leave for good.

The omega wouldn't blame him if that was the case.

And then, a group of alphas and betas came and took the green haired omega while he was trying to gather some herbs in the woods.

Izuku tried to fight them (All Might was training him in hand to hand combat), but his training had just started so he is still not strong or skilled enough to defeat five people.

The omega knows why they want him; he's not naive, even in his village, alphas and betas tried to convince him to marry them and have pups with them. Some of them even tried to bite him once or twice; they just stopped for a while after he met All Might and the alpha made clear to everyone that Izuku was under his protection.

It's not been easy, not even in his own village, and the only reason Izuku wants to go back there it's because he wants to see All Might again; although he's not sure he'll come back.

Perhaps Toshinori got tired of him, like his own father did. Although Izuku doesn't think he's ready to face that kind of truth yet.

If that's what happened.

But this is not the moment to think about that; he needs to fix his problem as soon as possible.

The people who are keeping him as a prisoner give him food, water and clean clothes, but they also mix some sort of potion in his food in order to keep him weak and disoriented.

They also let him bathe whenever they find a river or a lake and give him some privacy because they know he can't run away.

At least they haven't touched him yet, but that's because they don't want to start a fight over the omega.

"I think we should keep him," says one, staring at Izuku's neck with hungry eyes that send horrible shivers through his spine.

"No. He's too pretty, we could trade him for a lot of things, maybe good swords and bows for all of us."

"I think we could ask for much more than that. This one is a good present for a King."

"The stupid beta is right. We should keep him. I'm willing to share."

"No."

Fortunately, that's the end of it. The town they arrive at is small but full of life. Izuku can tell by what he can see that most people in there are good and are against what those men and women do, but they don't have the strength to oppose them.

The little pups roaming around get close to him and look at him with curious eyes; Izuku has always been weak when it comes to little ones, so of course he melts almost immediately at the sight of them.

"Why do you have emerald eyes?"

"Where do you come from?"

"Why are you in a cage?"

"Do you want to be our friend and play with us?"

The omega wants to answer that last question with a yes, but one of the alphas that caught him growls at the little pups until they run away in fear.

Izuku still wants to have pups, although he'd like to meet a good alpha first.

That probably will never happen now.

Then, things get worse when the group in charge of the town starts a fight with a small number of barbarians; the problem is that they all are trained warriors.

In less than an hour, they defeat the leaders of the town and are ready to take a lot of things from them. The people are terrified; Izuku can't blame them and he certainly is worried about the pups, but he can't do anything from the inside of a cage.

The leader of the barbarians, an alpha with very short, dark hair and green, almost yellowish eyes, looks particularly cruel.

Even though he's just a prisoner there, Izuku fears for the innocent people in that place.

One of the alpha's in charge, looking bloodied and almost disfigured from all the hits he took, still tries to negotiate.

"Maybe we can give you something in exchange... so you leave us alone."

The leader of the barbarians laughs, throwing his head back.

"I can take anything I want already. It's not like you can stop me."

Another alpha in the group of barbarians gets closer to him; she's clearly worried.

"No, we can't. The barbarian King doesn't like these kind of things. Invading towns or hurting innocents for no reason. If we take something big with us, he'll know."

The leader rolls his eyes.

"That useless coward!"

"You know he's neither of those. He's the son of the Bakugos. He has won a couple of battles by himself, and dragons seem to listen to him."

Even understand the circumstances he's in, Izuku perks up at the mention of dragons. He has always wanted to see one of them up close.

The dark-haired alpha snaps at the other, who immediately recoils in fear.

"He's a coward because he could expand our territory with all that power, but he does nothing with it! Now shut the fuck up!"

"But–"

The leader hits one of his own people in the face.

"We'll only take small things; nothing he can find out about."

That's when the barbarian finally spots Izuku; his eyes roam all over his body once or twice before the omega can try to cover himself a bit, even though he knows it's useless because the clothes the people gave him are a bit revealing.

"I'll take the omega."

"We can't, Chisaki-san!" A brave beta cuts in. "The King doesn't like it when we take prisoners."

"It's alright," Chisaki grins in a mischievous way as he gets closer to Izuku's cage. "He won't be a prisoner, he'll be my mate."

The omega moves away from him almost immediately; staring at him with mistrust. No, he doesn't want him as his alpha.

"That won't work either," another barbarian says, taking a few steps away from his leader. Chisaki is quickly losing his patience and the last time he did, he hit someone.

"WHY NOT?"

"The King will probably ask the omega what happened!"

"Why would the fucking King believe a slut omega instead of me, his number one general?"

Judging by the amount of lies that come out of the alpha, Izuku doubts he's the best of the King's generals.

"Sir, we all know he doesn't like you."

"Well," Chisaki's calm demeanor is even more terrifying than his rage; he clearly has, or thinks he has, a solution for his problem. "I'll just have to make a pact with the person in charge of this stupid town."

Someone finally rises from the ground.

"I think no one here will be willing to do that, especially if you brought dark magic with you." The man says before getting punched in the face by the leader of the barbarians.

"It's either that or death. Your choice."

Izuku would be more interested in what's about to happen if it wasn't because his own destiny depended on it. For a second, he wishes the barbarians hadn't covered his mouth, but then he tells himself that it wouldn't make any difference. No one would have listened to him.

Chisaki takes out a small container; all men and women in charge of the town (the people who kidnapped Izuku) have to drink from it as well as the barbarian general.

Then, he tells them his terms; the omega has to stay with the barbarians as a peace offering, but if they try to take Izuku away from them there will be another fight, a war, until Chisaki is sure there's nothing left of them.

Izuku knows a couple of things about dark magic; the curse will force them to fight, even if they don't want to.

The pups and the innocent people will die too if Izuku tries to escape.

The omega doesn't cry because he has to stay with the barbarians, but he tears up a bit thinking that Toshinori might not find him, if he ever decides to come back.

Maybe it's for the best, because he's not sure All Might had planned to come back for him in the first place.

***

The cage is open; Izuku doesn't try to run, even when Chisaki takes him roughly by the chin and pulls him closer to smell his neck.

"You have a very pleasant scent."

The omega closes his eyes, praying to all the gods the barbarian doesn't bite him, even though his wish would only be delaying the inevitable.

"Here. Put this on." The alpha throws a couple of clothes at him; they are still very revealing. It's a top that can be fastened around the neck to cover his chest area, then a very short fabric, almost like a panty and red veils covering the back and the front of it. That along with golden sandals. "It's okay, omega. You can hide in those bushes; I don't want my men to see you. Only I'll be able to do that from now on."

"He'll probably won't run; he's got a good heart and won't want to be responsible for our deaths," Izuku hears one of the town's men talking as he changes. "But you should give him something to keep him obedient because he's a feisty one."

"That's fine," Chisaki purrs. "I like feisty omegas. It's always a pleasure to break them."

By the time he gets out of the bushes, there's a commotion there; two horses carrying another two barbarians arrive; they riders don't seem to need any time of leashes to control the horses, which is kinda impressive.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?" The tallest barbarian growls, jumping from his horse. He's the strongest of them all and has a tattoo on his left shoulder with a very pretty design and a distinct "I" in the middle.

Suddenly, Izuku is sure he's seen it somewhere... but without the letter... There's a memory attached to it, one of a little blond boy that used to play with him by the river, until his parents left with their people and Izuku was left alone, without any other friends.

It's a very distant memory, so perhaps it's not entirely real.

"King Bakugo," Chisaki says through gritted teeth. "What a surprise."

"What Bakugo here is trying to say," another barbarian, with spiky, red hair says, trying to calm everyone down. "Is that you weren't on duty this morning, general. You didn't have any missions. We were looking for you."

Bakugo... that name is familiar too, now that the omega thinks about it.

"My men and I were just patrolling the area."

It looks like the King is about to yell again when he finally turns completely around and spots Izuku.

Izuku stills remembers Katsuki's red eyes. He tries to say the name, but his mouth is covered.

"Deku?"

It seems Katsuki remembers him too.

The King rushes towards him immediately, like he has just forgotten the other people around. With trembling hands, he takes off the rope around his face.

"Kacchan!" the omega tears up, so happy to see a familiar face finally, even though it's been years since he saw his childhood friend last and the alpha looks very different now (in a good way).

"Are you hurt?"

"Oi, King Bakugo, that's my omega..."

"FUCK OFF!" The growl that comes out of the blond alpha's mouth is absolutely terrifying and shuts Chisaki up for a while, even though Izuku can see him trembling with rage. Then Katsuki turns to face the omega again and his demeanor changes drastically. "What happened, De-Izuku?"

The omega takes a deep breath and tells him everything because he still trusts him, even after all those years without seeing each other. When he's done, Katsuki looks murderous again.

"You can't," his friend, the barbarian with red hair says, like he's reading his mind. "He has the support of a lot of clans."

"I know," The King sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I can still fix this."

"You can't free my omega," Chisaki argues, trying to look calm. "I made a deal for him. We wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt, would we?"

"Izuku, do you want him as your mate?"

"I'd rather die," he replies, making Katsuki smile at him with something close to fondness.

"You know the rules, my King. You can't take him anywhere else or..."

"No, but I can fight you for him," Katsuki smirks, showing his sharp, alpha teeth. "It's alright. No weapons as the rules dictate, first one on the ground loses."

"The leaders of the nine clans would never find you a good spouse if you do this," Chisaki argues.

"I don't want their stupid daughters or sons. I made my choice ages ago!" The King growls, showing him his tattooed shoulder.

"There's no fucking way this slut omega is-"

Katsuki growls before grabbing Chisaki by the throat, although his friend manages to pull them both apart.

"What are you doing, Kirishima?"

"There are rules... you won't get Midoriya if you don't follow them."

Izuku is completely lost, he doesn't understand what's happening and the fact that Katsuki's friend seems to know him is ever more confusing to him.

"I don't want to do this. It's ridiculous," Chisaki protests. "The omega is already mine."

"You cannot back away from this," Kirishima argues, with a hand on Katuki's arm. "Our rules are clear. If you haven't marked your omega, anyone can fight you for him."

"Fine then," Chisaki spits, looking a lot less smug now. "Let's fight for the slut!"

This time, when Katsuki charges at the other alpha, Kirishima lets him.

***

Next--->

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[just-thoughts-no-vibes]

Hello everyone and welcome back to random Stardew Valley headcanons! In todays episode we have: "Can bachelors and bachelorettes fight." It was funny to me that some weapons in the game belong to them and made me think about characters' fighting skills, so here we are. They are ranked from best to worst. Enjoy!

Bachelors:

Alex: Canonically shredded. Works out every day. Doesn't have much experience but has beaten a few guys in high school. If something happens to Evelyn and George he will never forgive himself so he needs to be ready to throw hands in case someone attacks them.

Sam: Not as strong as Alex but definitely fast. Has to be strong so he can beat anyone who picks on Vincent. He wants his brother to see him as cool so he has to show off sometimes. Took "the man of the house" very seriously after Kent left.

Shane: Was strong as hell in his youth and picked fights left and right, but over the years it changed. He can still throw a good punch and has experience with bar fights. After he gets sober, he tries to get back in shape so he can take care of Jass and his chicken.

Sebastian: Weak and skinny. Spends his days in his room, moving only when necessary. Smokes, probably doesn't eat healthily. Haven't worked out once in his life. He was never interested in fighting but can throw a surprisingly decent punch and run really fast after that.

Harvey: Can not fight to save his life. Will try to de-escalate the situation, will fail, and then try to run. But in my head, he is so clumsy and would trip over nothing. At least he can treat himself after.

Elliot: Absolutely useless in any kind of physical activity. He doesn't like to sweat so he doesn't work out. He sees fighting as barbaric and won't participate. But even if he tried he would fail miserably. He just has to be over the top in everything and would make a show with exaggerated moves, which will lead to him getting hurt by others or even himself.

Bachelorettes:

Leah: Shredded. Works with wood on a daily basis, cutting trees down, modeling them, or carrying her materials around. She is also smart enough not to move into the cottage in the woods with no knowledge of self-defense. Probably protected weaker kids in middle and high school from bullies.

Abigail: Much worse than she thinks but still okay. Doesn't have the discipline to put in the real work but likes training with the sword. Would learn to fight just to piss Pierre. Was always naturally strong. Zero experience tho.

Emily: Older sibling with neglectful/absent parents who has to take care of their younger sibling = knows how to fight, I don't make the rules. Although I don't think Emily is happy about that. She is a pacifist and tries to resolve everything with good talk and positive energy. She curses people when they make her mad and would restore to violence only in exceptional situations.

Haley: She. Fights. Dirty. She doesn't like sweating so she doesn't work out and she also doesn't want to break her nails or ruin her hair, but she has the rage and would hurt someone who insults her or her sister. The moment you attack her she is pulling your hair, biting you, scratching, and going for the eyes. She is also a pro at using her bag to beat someone up.

Maru: Not really into fighting and prefers to destroy her enemies with her gadgets. I also picture her as fairly short. She also never gets in situations where she needs to fight so she has zero experience. The closest she got into a fight was when someone made fun of Penny. But she does have an older brother with whom she doesn't get along so she is familiar with younger sibling fighting techniques.

Penny: Can not fight. Zero skill and zero will to do so. She condemns every form of violence and avoids it at any cost. She is the type of person who would feel bad because she pushed a person who was beating her up. But she is likable and quiet so she doesn't end up in situations where she needs to fight.

[kaeso4ka]

A titan falls from the sky, but not the one you expect to see

Pairing: yandere Optimus Prime x reader

You saluted silently as you passed the captain. He looked gaunt: the last sortie had brought the Survey Corps a lot of corpses. Mutilated, chewed up. Dead. With a look of pain in their eyes that was forever frozen.

Here, for a long time, the dead were not counted: everyone knew they were expendable. To do anything, for the victory of humanity; to give their heart - sometimes literally.

You didn't know how you got into the Survey Corps. Or rather, no, she didn't. You knew why you were brought here in the first place. You were too weak for police or wall guards. Not the best of the best: they didn't allow them to keep the bigwigs and civilians safe. But how did you get into the army, with your temper...?

The answer was simple: you had nothing to lose. In a world surrounded by high walls, it was hard to find happiness. While the struggle - the eternal struggle against a huge, terrifying enemy - led you forward.

Toward freedom.

***

The fifty-eighth Survey Corps foray beyond the walls turned out to be another bloody feast for the Titans. Your wing was completely shattered: you were the only survivor. The horse beneath you was bucking, galloping fast. The horse was wounded: one of the five-meter titans, obviously a deviant, had swung at you minutes earlier, but only caught the animal.

Your heart was beating somewhere in your throat, and your sweat-wet hair blocked your view. You had to find survivors from the other squads and then make your way to the walls: it was too long before nightfall to wait for it.

A bright flash in the sky to your right caught your attention: something was falling from the sky. A bright ball of fire cut through the blue, and afterward flashed even brighter, blinding you for a moment. The horse beneath you spooked, reared up; and you flew down. There was a terrible crashing sound.

“Stop, you vile brute!”

You fell face right into the mud, miraculously not breaking your neck; you froze. There was no one around you. The Titans seemed to have gone to where the people were most numerous; and the rest of you was forgotten.

But not for long. Oh, and then there's that... Flash!

You looked up at three o'clock and marveled. Something huge was towering where the bright fireball had fallen. Was it... Titan? You weren't sure: it wasn't the tallest individual, but he was different. Very different! There were so many differences in him, from his appearance to his behavior. And how did he end up in that ball falling from the sky...?

You spit on the ground, the taste of grass in your mouth. Wiped her face with the sleeve of her torn uniform. Well, I wonder, if you finish off this titan and bring the remains back to the base, will you be promoted then?

Pulling your swords out of their sheaths, you jerked forward and then took off. The 3DMG, fortunately, was not damaged in the fall and was working properly. The trees were sparse and small, but it was enough to fly above the titan and aim for his scruff.

The wind whipped at her face, but it didn't make her feel any better. You always lost control of yourself when you were flying at full speed on the UPM. Flying is a beautiful thing. And yet, even with your UPM skills, you've never killed a single titan in your entire service.

It was time for the first one.

As you spun in the air, you swung downward, straight for the neck...

... and was immediately grabbed by a metallic grip. Literally metal.

The palm that gripped you was like stone. It wasn't the usual rough titanium skin, no. And the titan itself... Bright, red-blue, with luminous blue eyes....

You braced yourself for death. Right now, this thing's gonna squeeze your hand and crush you. Or bite your head off, like its kin like to do?

Neither of those things happened. The fingers that were clutching you relaxed. The titan opened his palm, and you were surprised to note that you were still... Alive. And healthy. And sitting in the palm of this strange creature's hand... Not a titan! In stature and size, yes, but now you could clearly see that it was not their kin. Not an insane killing machine that wanted to devour all humans in its path.

You looked at the 3DMG. It was definitely broken now: this titan hadn't calculated its power to keep the device normal. It was too high to jump, and you wouldn't reach the walls on your own feet.

You swallowed, and then looked at the blue lights that replaced the creature's eyes. Oh, now you could get a good look at it. And you could have sworn he was looking at you... Mockingly? No, condescending! And interested.

And... Reasonable?

The Titan opened his mouth - so unusual! - and a strange mixture of crackles and clicks filled the space. You bowed your head. Were you being spoken to? You're the first person to be spoken to by... This?

“I don't understand,” you smiled confusedly, and the huge titan fell silent.

Loud pops caught your attention: the red lights of smoke flares were rising to the sky. The recon corps' sortie was a failure.

But that was for the others. You had a new mission to accomplish.

***

You didn't know what it was, but it was… Cool.

That day the titan took you to the forest of the Big Trees. The unexpected guest from the sky was not afraid of titans: no deviants, big or small. The red-blue one could shoot fire - or what was that blue stuff? - could change his body with a strange mixture of sounds, and was also extremely comprehensible.

When the titans saw you in the palm of a giant's hand, they tried to attack. They didn't react to the red-blue man himself, even when he turned his hand into a blade and began to slash at them. Then you attracted his attention with a shout and hit yourself on the neck, saying, Watch where you hit.

And you were understood!

The red-blue was easily destroying titan after titan - destroying technically - while managing not to drop you to the ground from a decent height.

You, meanwhile, were delighted. You still didn't fully understand what was happening, but... Who cares what! What matters is that you're with you.

***

You were sitting on the giant's shoulder. He was making strange noises, unlike anything you were familiar with.

You were... Afraid. The creature was strange, but not aggressive to you; it was deep night now, and all the titans were asleep.

You wondered what to do. Take it outside the walls? Would he go? And how would people react? No, there had to be another way out of here.

You should have gone home alone first, thought it over, reported back to your command. Then decide what to do about the red and blue guy.

You fixed the 3DMG. A broken 3DMG. You sighed. It seemed it wasn't fated to come back. At least, not like this.

You sat on the strange titan's shoulder again and fell into a restless sleep.

Only then Optimus Prime allowed himself a smile full of adoration that you could recognize without any words.

He had found you, and he wouldn't let you go.

[sleepytwilight]

I have a fun idea lmao

Imagine arcana twilight cast react to mc who's is an aggressive fighter lmao.

This remind me of that request about Bakugou Katsuki as Summoner.

𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕦𝕤

He did not expect for you to actual manage to kill the lizard monster with your bare hand.

Summoning him was a pure mistake because you already killed the monster-

You mistook Arcturus for a kidnapper and almost hit him but Arcturus knocked you out of self defense

Self defense is important kids-

Good thing he managed to calm you down when you arrived at academy

Trust me Arcturus supervised you almost everyday, please don't get into any fights-

And you got into fights.

At least you get rid of monsters-

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕒

My guy was disappointed in 69 languages-

Well at least he put a good use on your strength by letting you go to missions.

Please stop getting into fights though, Spica is considering his life decisions.

At least you get along with Queen Tet- Okay you need to stop kidnap Pollux just because he's look like he needed to he protected.

He get concern why you fight so aggressively so he put you into fighting lessons by Vega.

It works but it doesn't stop that habit of yours on biting people's ears.

Seriously why?

ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕦𝕩

He wonders why the hell you keep on kidnapping him everytime you lay your eyes on him then snuggled with him.

He's not complaining- he actually like being like this.

Okay he should complain when you bit off some students ears that made fun of him.

Jk he didn't complain and cheering you on until Arcturus came then he pretended he was about to stop you

Pollux wonder if he put you and Alpheratz in the same room, what will happen.

He did put you and Alpheratz in the same room to see what happens 💀

𝔸𝕝𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕫

Alpheratz didn't get pay enough for this, he was planning to live like a slacker because Spica seems don't assign him to babysit you.

Of course Pollux was the one who did it-

You keep on challenging Alpheratz into a fight, he doesn't want to and keep on ignoring you.

Well you get tired from yelling at him for a fight, he pulled you closed to him and you both take a nap

Pollux got detention from Spica for locking Alpheratz in a room

Alpheratz could easily escape though, he chose not too-

𝕊𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕦𝕤

He said something that instantly stop you from fighting.

The committee guide members are grateful but curious what the hell Sirius said to you.

We will never know-

Jk he promised to turn into your favorite animal, you really could use an animal support-

Anyway Sirius enjoy your unpredictable decision, seriously why did you punch a student nose then throw them out of window.

how???

He doesn't really care if the student die, less student, less problem they say

𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒

He got Vietnam flashbacks

You guys were childhood friends, of course he know how to tame you.

Okay but he used to tried to copy you when he was little because he thought you're cool. You still cool but you need to stop fight people like boar.

He asked you what does it taste when you bit off someone ear, you never answer him-

Well he didn't like the way you fight, you need to learn more. You can't always depend on your fist and teeth.

He sometimes asked himself whether it's a good decision to let you use a sword.

At least you make missions easier and both of you can enjoy your little date.

[shinobusupremecy]

Hello, could you do some hc about shinobu x gn reader who's love language is biting?

Like someone's just having a conversation with shinobu and you has appear behind her and *chomp*??

(This part is up to you: )

Would be funny to see what would happen if reader was a demon 💀💀

Like the first time it happens shinobu almost kills reader but she doesnt feel their teeth and there wasn't even a bite mark left behind? It's like their version of a kiss?

Shinobu x gn!demon reader whos love language is biting

a/n: Dropping this off before i resume back to my cave. I am trying to find motivation to fix my post so I can make it clear I am writing genshin women too. The ones I will write for is beidou, ei, yae miko, ninguangg, shenhe, ganyu and mostly the others. Some characters I might not be good at writing like Ninguang or Kequing but I will try my best!!!

I am also trying to work on some of the more older reauest that has just been picking up dust in my inbox, sinceriest apologize!

🦋- Shinobu first thought it was a odd thing, biting their loved ones? Never heard of it.

🦋- First time you did it Shinobu nearly killed you.

🦋- Sitting on a tree doing whatever you saw a short girl stand a few feet with her back turned to you.

🦋- You looked at her and decided she was chompble so being sneaky as you are you just went behind her and chomped. She didn’t notice anything at first before realizing a demonic precens leading to her turning around and trying to stab you with her sword.

🦋- She didn’t really have anything to be pissed about since she didn’t even know you bit her.

🦋- After alot of you trying to convince her that you are a good demon and not getting killed, she stopped trying to kill you and reluctantly you were offered shelter since you looked a bit skinny near starving.

🦋- Strangely enough or not you could consume human food but mostly meat and that did satisfy your hunger but Shinobu still kept a close eye on you.

🦋- Months of you helping out in the mansion, maybe killing other demons and helping the demon slayer corps she trusted you well enough and counted you as a friend.

🦋- When you guys were friends never did you bite her except the first one but she didn’t know. So the first time you did and she actully noticed she thought you had succumbed to your demonic insticts and desire for humans leading to her nearly killing you. After again insisting it is just your way of showing love she just stood there like: ”what-”🧍‍♀️

🦋- After a few times she would probably move away or halfheartedly shove your face away so your teeth doesn’t reach her.

🦋- After you guys got a little more comfortable with your relationship she just let you do it. It was your way to express your love to her, who is she to stop you? She even found it cute sometimes.

🦋- She gave you a warning though not to do it infront of slayers since you are a demon.

🦋- You didn’t listen to her warnings and still bit her even when slayers were around leading to near disastrous misunderstandings.

🦋- Words spread that you are a innocent demon or didn’t eat and kill people so your name was at least cleared. Although that didn’t stop people from being surprised everytime they had a conversation with Shinobu and you just walked behind her and *chomp*

🦋- Shinobu tried to ignore it but she couldn’t for long and just excused herself before trying to chide you. She could never be angry at you for long but she did say that she do not want you to bite her when there are many people around or like in town at evenings and nights.

🦋- Now though Shinobu likes your little love language and think it is a creative strange way of kissing.

🦋- You usally bite her hand, arm or neck like a vampire.

🦋- Sometimes you two could be holding hands and you just take her hand up and chomp. Other times when you two are in the garden and she reaches up to pick an apple you take that oppurtunity to grab her arm and chomp.

🦋- It is at least one chomp a day but Shinobu isn’t complaining. If anyone think you are weird then Shinobu will proudly defend you!

[magicxc]

Toxic Traits

Pairings: Survey Corps x Black!Reader

Word Count: 1280

Warnings: none

A/N: I love a lil toxicity lol. This is the variety I was talking about earlier. From the mundane to the sexy and even the toxic. Everyone has their flaws, now let's explore what I think theirs is in a relationship. Tell me which trait you think matches their character the best. 

Its as the name suggests - toxic. No physical abuse or sexual deviance of the sort, but do proceed with caution or not at all if toxic-type themes aren’t your cup of tea.

Lastly, do note that I have a habit of modernizing these characters while keeping their stories true at its core lol. So if you see me mention trauma from titans and a range rover in the same sentence, just mind ya business.

Headcannons Masterlist

Eren - Jealous

You never knew what kind of day you were gonna get with Eren. Sometimes it’d be the best day ever and other times it’d be the worst. You make eye contact with some random man for a second too long? Clearly you want him. You’re paying for something and the hand of the cashier slides against yours during the transaction? Thats basically cheating because now you’ve hand fucked a stranger. You give a full frontal hug and not the, more appropriate, side hug to one of your male friends? You two must be fucking each other. As intense as Eren can be, you found that the pendulum swung both ways. He’d get down on his knees and worship the rain for nourishing the grass that you walked on should you ask for it, so it was hard to walk away when he got into his little fits. It was like a see-saw of emotions being in this relationship, the highs feeling ethereal and the lows leaving you distraught. You often wondered why you allowed Eren to get away with such behavior.

Levi - Possessive

It was like a double edged sword with this man. He was all for showing you off until someone's eyes wandered just a little too long, now he’s shoving his tongue to the deepest parts of your throat until they get the message. One time Connie complimented the shirt you were wearing which happened to be a low cut and exposed your chest; and Levi’s immediate response was to litter your skin in love bites. Anything to get the message across and let others know that you were a claimed woman. Cause Levi isn’t too much for the long talking and he would hate to see push come to shove for whichever poor bastard couldn't get the message. While you adored how much he loved you, being with him definitely got a little exhausting from time to time.

Erwin - Controlling

He’s a commander so he’s used to people following his orders without question. And while he isn’t always unreasonable, Erwin does expect you to take into consideration his every suggestion, and by consideration, he means do it. It can be as simple as styling your hair, cooking a certain meal, or saving your more risqué outfits for when he accompanies you. Though he phrases his demands politely you can't help but feel a little confused after every encounter; wondering how he’d talk you down on something you were so headstrong about. Thankfully he didn't ask for such outrageous requests, and you’ve since learned not to question it; for the last time you found yourself with a sore ass.

Connie - Petty/Blackmail 

Slippery slope this one. Pissed him off? Well now he’s taking the things you didnt realise were gone until you needed them. Shoelaces out of all the shoes, backs to your earrings, lightbulbs from each room. Not in the mood for sex? He may as well go get it elsewhere. You finally build up the courage to walk away from him. Well now your boss is about to find out exactly what that mouth do. Connie himself is unsure if he’d ever follow through with his more extreme threats since it always works out in the end. I guess it’s really only one way to find out and thankfully you’ve never been stupid enough to try it.

Jean - Obsessive

Jean doesn’t have a whole lotta chances at true love lowkey. First real crush paid him dust. His bestie died during training. And his other bestie died during a mission. Considering he’s one of the few people with the least traumatic childhood, I think he loses his shit at the idea of letting love slip away, because everyone somehow always ends up leaving him. Therefore he needs to know your every move, your daily routines, hours spent on a typical girls night out, mileage it takes to make sure that you’re going exactly where you said you were. You couldn’t sneeze without running it past Jean first. But life sure is easier now that he’s got a tracker on both your phone and car. It would raise the tension if you were to find out, he thinks, but what could you do about it really? 

Onyankopon - Arrogance. 

Mans can literally never be wrong and it’s super frustrating. It's like talking to a brick wall. He’s entertaining some girl who’s clearly flirting with him and suddenly you don’t know the meaning of friendship. You wanted pasta for dinner? Well he’s cooking soup because it’s heartier. You’re in the middle of an argument yet he’s only focusing on the minor details that are wrong in the story as opposed to the bigger picture overall. But it’s okay, cause he doesn’t mind working through these little hiccups with you. After all, where else would you go? Who else would love on you the way he does? Put up with your constant nagging? Only he would.

Reiner - Yandere

Not only was he never supposed to find love, but the idea of him finally finding it and almost losing it? Let's just say it doesn’t end too well for your dating prospects; and after a while Reiner makes it clear that it can end just as bad for you. Reiner is a sweetie pie and a devout lover when things are going great. But sometimes he gets to be a bit overbearing, and what was supposed to be a break between the both of you turned into him breaking some bones. The same ones that your friend dared try to comfort you with. Since then, the relationship has been as steady as it can be and you’ve been getting nothing but queen treatment, but at what cost?!

Armin - Dishonesty/Isolation Not a trait that raises too many red flags, until it does. Armin loves being around you. He considers you his best friend and has no qualms about you both spending literally 24/7 wrapped in each other’s arms. Though your friends were happy for you guys at first, it did raise a few eyebrows down the line. You both had gone from sharing similar interests to sharing an identical lifestyle. The same job, the same apartment, and the same friends all seemed to merge into one. But how could Armin help it when you were…well you. So what if a few phone calls from your homegirls to hang out went ignored or a few check in text messages from your family got deleted? Armin would claim to never know, see, or hear such a thing; and it’s usually the story he stuck to. But should you ever question him further, he’d find a way to put your mouth to better use, dick stuffed so far back until you forgot what had you so upset with him in the first place.

Floch - Manipulation 

Any time you get mad at him, he becomes the king of gaslightery. Floch went all day without sending so much as a text message? Well he worked a double to put food on the table. Valentine's day passed and he didn't get you any flowers? He doesn’t need a holiday to show you how much he loves you. You want to wait a while before tying the knot? Now you're using him for all he's got and wasting his time. Very rarely did Floch get nasty in his insults or the manner in which he manipulated you. In fact, they were always followed by a soft voice, gentle touches, and a redeeming act. So how could you stay mad at him when he was truly trying his best to build a great lifestyle for you both. 

[jaegonsmoon]

Soooooo instead of taking his eye luke bit aemonds mating gland 😂 which makes the family fight at driftmark 100 times more awkward and everyone just trying to make it about politics but it’s really about a school yard crush that got out of hand

oh oh!!! but imagine.

Imagine if they hadn’t presented yet, and they’re already bonded by accident. So it’s a waiting game.

It goes like this; people who are meant to be alpha/omega are born with scent glands, they, however don’t activate until they present in their teens. People who are born without them are more likely to be betas, but they could also be late bloomers and develop them later. That being said:

The boys are bonded, but they’re children still so they don’t know who will be the alpha and who will be the omega. (there’s a small possibility of both being alphas or omegas, but it’s unusual for the bites to take if they’re, esp since they haven’t presented).

Aemond grows obsessed with the idea that he will be an alpha, and he will make Lucerys pay when they’re grown and Luke gets to be his omega. Alicent encourages this behavior, naturally, she’s the one that starts it in the first place. Aemond grows to be as he is, skilled and vicious. And then one day the news arrive:

Lucerys Velaryon has presented as an alpha.

And Aemond’s world shatters. He hasn’t presented yet and he’s older than the boy, but it is obvious what’s left for him. Sooner or later he will present as a fucking omega. That only serves to make him throw himself into training because he will match an alpha’s strength wether anyone likes it or not. Especially Lucerys. He refuses to bend into the will of an omega’s biology and an alpha’s will. Plus, however small, there’s still a chance he will present as alpha as well. It’s uncommon, but not unheard of. Especially among Targaryens.

By the time Lucerys celebrates his seventeenth name day, Aemond is nineteen and he still haven’t presented as anything, to the frustration of everyone involved. He hasn’t seen Lucerys since the incident, he doesn’t know anything about him. They don’t care. Lucerys was sent to Driftmark the moment be presented to start his diplomatic training as future Lord of the Tides. He stated in one of his letters to the crown that he is in no rush for an omega and that his mate’s late blooming does not affect him so. Easy for him to say. Aemond is suffering his mother and grandfather’s incessant complaints, as if he has a fucking say in the actions of his biological nature. Sometimes he secretly wishes it happens already so he can leave this wretched place behind. It is short-lived, he knows not of what his mind idles him with. Nothing can be worse than being Lucerys Velaryon’s omega.

It is on a random day when all goes to shit. He gets up that morning, break his fast with something light and makes his way to the training yard like any other day. What he doesn’t, for the love of him, expect is to see what’s going down in there. He sees Ser Cole training with someone, he has his back to Aemond, but the first thing Aemond notices is how he wields his sword. He’s good and fast in his movements. His sword doesn’t look too heavy which works for his advantage. The second thing he notices is the mop of dark brown curls that swing on the man’s head every time he evades Cole’s blows; and that makes him pause. Ser Criston soon enough is on his back on the muddy floor, the sharp edge of a sword pointing at his chest. Tension filled seconds pass and he yields. There’s cheers around them but Aemond hears them farther than they are, everything is a blur around him because he only has eyes for the boy who just turned and is now looking at him with a lopsided smile.

“Uncle. Have you come to train?” Oh.

Oh. Lucerys Velaryon has grown nicely, indeed. His features haven’t changed much, he still sports that boyish look on his face that makes him look quite soft for an alpha. But he’s gotten a bit broader and taller. He’s almost as tall as Aemond now—if not the same height. Aemond just stands there, wondering why he’s not able to make a move, why he’s not lashing out like he dreamed of awake many nights since his nephew bit him and accidentally bonded them together.

He can suddenly feel him and it’s too much. He’s got to go. He needs to get out of there, fast. But it’s too late, because that’s when it happens. Lucerys’ smile drops and is replaced by a worried frown—then all of a sudden he’s taking Aemond’s arm and dragging him away from the yard.

“What—” He tries to protest, but can’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t understand what the fuck is wrong with him right now, he feels dizzy and warm.

“You’re going into heat,” Lucerys mumbles discreetly close to his ear and Aemond’s entire body shudders.

No.

No. This can’t be fucking happening to him.

[evans23]

RICKMAS 2024 - DAY 8 - NEVER-ENDING CONSEQUENCES

Pairing : Sheriff of Nottingham x OC (Catherine)

Summary : The Sheriff of Nottingham survived the wound inflicted by Robin Hood's sword. Now, he must go into exile and try to start over. Will he choose the path of vengeance or the path of redemption ?

Tag(s)/Warning(s) : Blood. Curse. God's cursing. Violence towards a woman. If I forgot something, let me know.

A/N : Hello dear 😁 I chose to make the Sheriff more human here, a bit like my dear soft Turpin. I hope you’ll like it.

Also read on AO3 - Wattpad

He had survived the sword blow of that cursed Robin of Locksley. That stupid Robin Hood. Thanks to one of his faithful who had taken him to a clandestine healer, not without having taken care to replace his body with a corpse resembling him, him, William of Wendenal, the Sheriff of Nottingham once so feared was no more than a shadow. But a living shadow

"You will have to flee," the healer had told him, "if anyone knows that you are alive, Robin will come to finish what he started," she had added with a hint of admiration in her voice.

"Going into exile... what an excellent idea now that I no longer have a castle to maintain," William had whispered ironically.

However, he had not waited to know if the old woman would betray him or not to flee in the middle of the night. His whole body ached and he could feel the fever gnawing at him. He had collapsed on the edge of a village where the local leader had welcomed him without knowing who he was.

There, he had been fed, cared for, even tolerated, but only for a while. His arrogance, his irony and his sardonic phrases had made him hated very quickly. He had quickly sensed that his uneducated people were going to find out about him, he who had passed himself off as a simple lost traveler who had been beaten up for his purse. Without waiting, he had taken to his heels one evening when the whole village was celebrating the wedding of one of their own.

He had galloped for a long time and had had to swallow his pride to beg like those little scoundrels they despised. But he had had no other choice. He had often been beaten by wealthy men and if the threat of tearing their eyes out with a teaspoon had burned his lips, he had held back each time, well aware that it was he who the people would torture if they knew who he really was.

With the advent of Robin of Locksley and the return of King Richard, he was nothing and if he wanted to stay alive, he had to remain unknown.

He had finally ended up in a quiet little coastal village, had kept a low profile and had often made his tongue bleed by biting it to prevent any nastiness from escaping his mouth. He had taken a manual job with a blacksmith who patiently taught him the trade. 

The old man had not believed William's story that he had claimed to belong to a long line of blacksmiths himself. He was incapable of doing anything with his ten fingers, with his two hands too soft to have known a single day's work. But the blacksmith wasn't the type to meddle in what didn't concern him. He had seen enough in his life to know that sometimes, people just needed a second chance, far from everything.

But to his great surprise, he also found a form of peace in the work. It was hard, tiring, his hands were often covered in blisters or burns, but his mind was occupied. He mourned less his past life in luxury and comfort, he ruminated less on a revenge that, deep down, he knew would never happen.

He had even surprised himself by imagining a new life here, far from everything, a half-bitter, half-ironic smile when he thought about it. He, the Sheriff of Nottingham found himself living the life of an honest peasant... and he managed to be satisfied with it some evenings.

But that was without counting on fate, determined to make him pay for his past crimes. The never-ending consequences of his evil deeds seemed to want to prevent him from finding his redemption.

One afternoon, a traveler thought he recognized him and quickly, the rumour had spread: he was the ghost of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

"I'm not stupid, my boy. I was lucky enough to learn to read, write and to be taught by a priest when I was a child. I don't believe in ghosts," the old blacksmith had told him one evening when William's situation was critical.

"I..."

The old man had raised his hand to stop him from speaking. 

"Don't say anything. If I don't know anything, I won't be able to tell anything. What I do know is that ghosts don't have scars," he had said, pointing to the scar that still crossed William's cheek, "and you have more than you think. That one on your cheek is probably not the most painful, it's the ones here that torture you and make you scream in terror every night," he had continued, placing a hand on his chest.

William had said nothing. For the first time in his life, he was out of control and a single word from this man could get him killed. But to his surprise, he didn't.

"You must run. If word reaches Nottingham that the terrible Sheriff is alive, the king will send a motion to have you hanged."

He had handed him a purse full of money. "It's more than I owe you for your work, but it will help you go far, far away."

"Why do you do that?" William asked curtly, taking the purse.

"Because I too, one day I sought redemption and I wished someone believed in me enough to help me find salvation. But I had to fight alone. I hope you find someone on your way to lighten your load, my boy."

William had answered a weak thank you before pulling his hood over his head and disappearing into the night, like the shadow he had become.

He had walked for days before arriving in this small isolated village. His feet bleeding, his throat dry from thirst and his stomach twisting with hunger, he had prayed, something he had not done for a long time, so that he could finally find the peace he probably did not deserve.

He had been greeted by the village priest, his skeptical eye had not prevented him from giving William something to eat.

"Where do you come from, traveler ?" he had asked him with a strong northern accent.

"I... I was..."

It had not taken long for his manipulative mind to fabricate a credible story. A story where, he, a public writer for the population of a city where he had never set foot there, had lost his entire family in a fire. He had then wandered, looking for death, but life had clung to him and he had ended up here.

The priest as well as the village chief had swallowed his story without batting an eyelid. It must be said that the inhabitants were almost all illiterate and very poorly educated. They believed in all sorts of idiotic superstition and still abandoned their children to the fairies when they thought that the said child had been bewitched. Which inevitably led to the death of the infant in the cold woods that surrounded the village. Everything William needed to find his place. The fact that he was educated, could read, write and count had quickly given him a place of choice among the villagers and a certain power, certainly not very significant compared to that which he had in Nottingham, but a small power all the same. And this small stability in his life so far from the one he had known almost did him good.

He wrote letters, collected taxes, managed disputes with his legendary skill and cunning, and negotiated with traveling merchants the most attractive rates the village had ever seen. This influence, certainly far from the power and authority he had once had, was enough to satisfy him, and the villagers, naive and uneducated, did not distrust him at all.

That day, he had just settled a neighbourhood dispute over the boundaries of the fields to be cultivated when his old wound on his chest came to remind him of itself. Robin Hood's sword blow. It had already been a little over two years, but this old wound still made him suffer from time to time. That day, to his great dismay, the scar seemed to ooze a little.

He knew who he had to go see. Her name was Catherine and she lived on the edge of the forest, alone. An old maid who had lost first her mother, then her father in the last eight years and who was fending for herself, which was quite impressive in itself. She was one of the few inhabitants who could read and write, skills taught to her by her grandfather who had been an altar boy and had almost entered the priesthood before meeting her grandmother, a very beautiful but not very intelligent woman who could neither read nor write. He had taught these two skills that he considered essential to his own children, then to his only granddaughter, his only descendant still alive today.

For the first time, William came to knock on the door of his small cabin. Receiving no answer, he pushed the door open, which creaked on its hinges. The interior was dimly lit, a heady scent of dried plants and damp earth catching him in the throat. The roof leaked and the wind seeped in through every crack, but the place was clean. A fire was dying in the fireplace while next to it, several shelves were collapsing under pots, cauldrons and small wooden boxes while a bookcase seemed to have long ago abandoned the heavy task of supporting all the books that were now stacked on top of each other on the only wooden board that still seemed to hold.

"No one ever told you that you don't enter strangers' houses," said a cold voice behind him.

He turned around, ready to retort, but his breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful. Not flamboyantly beautiful, but beautiful in her own way. Her small, mischievous nose and clear eyes softened her tired features.

"I need your services," William said simply, leaning against the doorframe.

"If it's for an amulet, come back tomorrow."

"It's for aa wound," he said, raising an eyebrow, impressed by the young woman's poise.

"Go see the priest, he cures everyone with a little holy water," she sneered.

"I'm afraid I'm not in God's good graces."

She examined him from head to toe and he saw right away that she was not impressed by his imposing build, his dark eyes and this scar which, he was convinced, added a crazy charm to him.

"Wolf bite, scythe blow ? Or maybe you simply tripped over your pride."

He smiled in spite of himself at her quick wit. It had been a long time since someone had shown this much quickness or had disarmed him. It must be said that in another era, he would have had her tongue cut out for being so impertinent.

"More like... an old memory. From my previous life. An outlaw and his cursed sword. A wound near the heart. But don't worry, it didn't make me any more sentimental."

She shook her head, a small smile playing on her pink lips.

"A wound to the heart ? I don't heal the troubled. Too bad."

She stepped around him, ready to place the fresh herbs she held in her hands in a mortar, but he held her arm with more delicacy than he thought he could muster.

"Please," he said, his deep voice softer than he would have expected, "I think the scar is infected."

"Show me that, then."

He approached the fireplace, set his jacket on the wooden chair, and slowly, theatrically untied the top of his shirt.

"I warn you, the show may be heartbreaking. It's not for the faint of heart."

"I've probably seen worse. Don't worry, I'm used to men who act like babies," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

She approached him and let him part the fabric. She carefully examined the reddish scar, bordered by inflammation.

"It's true that it's not very pretty. How long did you wait before you decided to come see me ?"

"I... wanted to give my body time to prove that it was up to the task of healing itself."

"I'm afraid it failed."

She turned to a large wooden chest in which she began to rummage frantically, looking for an ointment. She finally pulled out a small, purplish-colored jar that didn't inspire anything good in William, who still had the good sense to say nothing.

"Stay calm. It's going to sting a little, but it'll do you good. I promise you that in two days, it'll be better," she said, dipping her finger into the thick paste.

She applied the ointment delicately, her thin, cold fingers making him flinch slightly, but despite the slight tingling, he refrained from making a sound, refusing to give the young woman that satisfaction.

"There you go. You should survive. But just to be sure, come back tomorrow, I'll check the state of the scar."

"There's no danger, is there ?"

She raised her head to meet his dark eyes and what she saw unsettled her, even if that glint of uncertainty in the eyes of this man who seemed to exude boundless confidence had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"None. If you come back."

Without another word, she turned away, crushing the herbs she had placed earlier in her mortar.

William left without a word, but not without telling himself that this woman, this famous healer who lived in seclusion and whose company the villagers only seemed to appreciate when they needed one of her remedies, was not lacking in spice.

And for the first time in years, he found himself looking forward to tomorrow.

After that, William looked for every excuse he could to see her again. He liked her wit, her defiance. She was not afraid of him and she was able to answer his barbs in a heartbeat.

That night, he didn't really intend to bother her, but the flickering light of a candle shining through the cabin's only window drew him inexorably. As usual, he entered without knocking. Catherine was there, sitting at a wooden table covered with dried leaves, a small knife in her hands.

"If I hadn't recognized your ugly gait, I could have slit your throat," she said without looking up from her work.

"With this toothpick ?" William sneered.

"Haven't you ever been taught manners? Or are you always breaking into people's homes without permission ?"

"Come on, it's dark, I wanted to make sure you were safe," he said with a predatory smile.

She rolled her eyes without hiding her amusement.

"What are you cooking ? A poison ? If it's quick-acting, I might be interested." he asked as he examined the organised chaos laying on the table.

"Some soothing herbal teas for old Thomas's stomach aches. But if you insist, I can find a remedy for your sharp tongue."

He laughed softly, his black curls dancing on his shoulders as his eyes wandered over the shelves.

"Who taught you to heal with herbs ?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"My grandfather."

"Was he a healer ?"

"No, but he learned everything from a shepherd who was also the healer of his village. My grandfather never dared... to use his talents."

"Why ?"

She pursed her lips, hesitating to answer him.

"He said that... it was as much a blessing as a curse. People... if you can take advantage of them so well, it's because they're not very thoughtful. It's not their fault. We're in a small village, far from the big cities and here, no one has access to education. All they know is hard work. I'm lucky to have been able to learn to read and write, even more so since I'm a woman. My grandfather was afraid that he would be accused of being a magician."

"But not you ?"

"They all already say that I'm a witch. But I guess as long as I cure them, they go with it," she replied with a smirk.

"And this ? Is it a love potion ?" he asked sarcastically, lifting a vial with an unappetizing greenish colour.

"Why ? You think you need it ? I'm afraid that if someone fell in love with you, your oversized ego would crush them."

He put the vial down with a slight smile, as much stung as amused.

"You are cruelly honest, Catherine. You have the art of seeing people, don't you ?"

She raised her head to plunge her green eyes into his.

"Let's say that... when you live among liars, you learn to read between the lines to guess the truth."

William swallowed, tense, perplexed. What did she know about him? 

Two days later, the wind howled above the village and the rain had just started to fall fiercely. William, soaked to the bone, his coat stuck to his skin, knocked on Catherine's door.

"You have learned to knock," she noted when she recognized him after opening the door.

Without waiting for her permission, he pushed her roughly inside, shaking himself like a wet dog in front of the fireplace, making the water fall from his black curls.

"I was hoping you would be kind enough to welcome me into your... home."

"I am always kind enough to stray dogs," she replied, taking a cloth to wipe the floor he had just soiled with his muddy boots.

"I was surprised by the rain," he explained, rubbing his hands in front of the fire.

She did not answer, placing a bowl on the table where a leak in the roof let water trickle through. She then returned to her concoctions, weighing and mixing herbs diligently. A soft silence settled between them, almost comfortable, but William could not help but break the surrounding tranquility:

"Why aren't you married ?"

"Because no one has ever proposed to me."

"According to old Thomas, two men asked your father for your hand in marriage in the past, but you refused them and your father accepted your decision."

"Old Thomas talks too much," she mumbled.

"Why do you stay alone ? Doesn't it weigh on you ?"

She thought for a moment before answering, her expression serious.

"Yes, sometimes, but... I want... I want an equal, someone who would understand me, with whom I could talk. Not to be the maid of a man who will order me around and beat me when I rebel."

William nodded gravely.

"And you, why do you stay in a place you despise ?"

"I'm looking for answers and also... Because I have nowhere else to go," he said in a breath.

She stopped her gestures for a moment to look at him, a glint of understanding in her eyes.

"I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. This village has nothing to offer."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, the storm outside seemed far away compared to the storm in their hearts.

It was Saturday, market day. She was there, selling some remedies. William stopped in front of her stall, grabbing a jar to examine it.

"It's amazing how these gullible little beings who believe in the coming Armageddon aren't afraid of your magic potions," he said, opening the bottle to smell what it contained.

"They'd rather not suffer than believe in their superstitions," she said, snatching the bottle from his hands.

He opened another bottle and she sighed, exasperated.

"You have nothing better to do," she said, retrieving her small jar of salve she used for skin irritations.

"I'm very busy, quite the contrary. I observe the world, I think..."

"You think, you ?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm thinking about how to charm the little healer around here."

She stood there for a minute, her eyes widening slightly, but she quickly recovered.

"Well, that's a failure," she replied curtly.

He leaned in slightly toward her, his hooked nose almost touching her little mischievous nose. Catherine, as if hypnotized by his big black eyes, was unable to back away.

"I'm not so sure," he said, his tone more serious than ever, "I think you like it a lot more than you care to admit."

He leaned a little closer, his eyes shining with mischief, while she was completely frozen.

"And you're very beautiful when you smile," he added before straightening up and casually walking away.

Catherine looked away, her cheeks red.

The peace William thought he would find was suddenly shattered when a storm, in late spring, came to blow heavily over the fields, devastating the crops, raising the dry dust of the recent drought, breaking the ears of corn which collapsed on the cracked ground.

The villagers were gathered in front of the village church, praying for a solution. A solution that the priest, a plump old man with a red nose and a stern face, brought to them on a platter.

"My sons, my daughters ! Our lands are suffering. Our families are suffering. God is punishing us. He promised us plenty, but he is punishing us. He is punishing us because we have allowed the devil to settle among us," he shouted to the frightened crowd.

William swallowed. How could he know, here, so far from Nottingham ?

"CATHERINE MORTON ! THE HEALER !" he yelled.

William turned livid. Catherine ? This young woman who was born and raised here ? Who had cured the inhabitants, saved their children from deadly fever ?

"Her herbs, her potions... she claims to cure, but at what price ? Her knowledge was given to her by the devil! And God punishes us ! He destroys our crops because we let him settle among us !"

The agitated crowd seemed to quickly forget the good they had done all these years, murmuring among themselves, letting the roar of anger rise, ready to blindly follow this imbecile priest.

"Capture her !" shouted one of them.

William straightened up quickly. Catherine was at home, certainly occupying one or the other of her concoctions. Even if he ran, he would never manage to make her flee. He was thinking at top speed, looking for a solution that did not come.

Meanwhile, two men, encouraged by the priest, approached the small cabin. She was unsuspecting, absentmindedly munching on a piece of bread while reading an old book. She jumped when the door was roughly kicked in, but she didn’t show her fear. She had already figured it out.

“I guess this isn’t a friendly visit,” she said, gently setting her book down.

One of them came up and slapped her so hard she fell off her chair.

“Witch,” he said, spitting in her face.

The two men grabbed her by the arms, dragging her to the village square where the market was usually held. Some of the villagers in the crowd turned their heads away, uncomfortable, while others screamed and spat as she passed.

William didn’t miss his bloody nose and the bruise that was already forming on his cheek. He clenched his fists but refrained from intervening. It wasn’t the right time yet.

Pushed into the centre of the square, Catherine fell to her knees, but the priest pulled her up by grabbing her hair. She said nothing, gritting her teeth to keep them from screaming.

"Admit what you did, witch !"

"I didn't do anything," she said coldly.

He slapped her, so hard that if he hadn't held her back with his other hand, she would have collapsed to the ground. In another time, William, with his power as Sheriff of Nottingham, could have intervened, had the hands of the men who beat her cut off, cut out the priest's tongue. But here, his power was minimal. He was nothing. He had to wait. Acting too soon would make him make a mistake that could well get her killed on the spot. And him with her.

"I'm not a witch," she repeated more weakly, blood flowing from her split lip.

"That's what we'll see ! Bring boiling water ! If you're innocent, as you claim, then God will protect you. If not, your flesh will burn as proof of your sins."

The basin of boiling water was already suspended over the fire, the liquid simmering. Catherine stared at the fire with a mixture of fear and defiance.

"Ah, nothing like boiled hands to brighten a dull day," William said as he approached.

"That's none of your business," the priest said, his annoyance not concealed.

"This is all stupid. If her hands don't burn, what do we do next ? Drown her ?"

Catherine turned her head to him, incredulous. She couldn’t tell if he was mocking her or if he was truly trying to defend her.

“Let’s get straight to business,” William continued, his gaze dark, “let’s make a pyre tonight, and tomorrow, burn her. If she’s innocent, God will save her.”

Catherine’s blood ran cold. She felt betrayed by this man she had begun to have feelings for.

The priest thought for a moment before nodding.

“We have allowed evil to take root in our community for too long. But it is not too late to cleanse our land !”

“I am not a witch,” she repeated, feeling fear seep into every part of her being.

“A witch would never admit she was one,” a villager shouted.

"She is unrepentant," the priest cried, "she has made a pact with the devil ! There is only one cure: FIRE."

The spell was sealed in an instant and Catherine was locked in the cellar of the church. She would be burned at nightfall.

William, frustrated, grumbled. He had hoped to have all night to carry out his plan. That gave him less time, but he could do it. He had to. All afternoon, he watched them, these idiots who, after a few honeyed words coming from a priest as idiot as they were, would kill an innocent woman who had treated them.

Catherine, locked in the cellar of the small church, was shivering with cold. The rays of the sun barely filtered through the gaps in the stone walls that oozed with damp. The air stank of mold and, exhausted and frightened, Catherine gave way to despair, bursting into tears. She had wanted to help, she had wanted to be useful, to earn a little money to be independent, but her grandfather was right, her knowledge was a curse and now she was going to die.

William, for his part, waited, patiently. He had grown up and lived surrounded by plots, conspiracies and he had been the terrible Sheriff of Nottingham. He knew he had to act discreetly. He waited until the day began to slowly give way to night to sneak inside the church. He had no trouble knocking out the man in charge of guarding the cellar door with a well-placed blow from his stick.

"William ?" Catherine asked as the door to his prison opened on him.

"You'll thank me later, come on !"

He pulled her by the arm roughly. He didn't have much time.

"Wait," she said, trying to stop him.

But William held her a little tighter, preventing her from stopping walking.

"We don't have time, my dear. Try not to slow me down, this is the first time I've done something good and it would be a shame if your heroic rescue failed because you refused to obey."

Confused, Catherine fell silent and followed him, agreeing to abandon herself to him. They had almost rounded the village when an old man with a toothless smile saw them and raised the alarm.

"THEY'RE ESCAPING !"

"Don't let them escape," the priest ordered, "it's the work of the devil ! Catch them and burn them !"

They ran through the dark fields, but they could see the torches getting closer to them. William pushed her towards a thicket.

"What are you doing ?" she asked frightened.

"They're going to catch up with us. Run. I'll distract them."

"They'll kill you !"

"Don't worry, I've survived worse." 

He turned away but she caught his rough hand in her tiny, fragile, soft one.

"William..."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, his gaze softer than she'd ever seen him before.

"I was the Sheriff of Nottingham," he said, waiting for her reaction.

Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't pull away.

"And I survived the sword of Robin of Locksley. Better known as Robin Hood. I'll be fine. Come on, run," he said with a bitter smile.

She reluctantly turned away before starting to run towards the forest. William, armed with an old rusty sword, prayed that his villagers were as bad at fighting as they were at everything else.

Catherine was hiding in the woods. She knew the villagers wouldn't dare venture there, they were convinced a vampire lived there, all because one day, an adventurous little boy had seen a man with dark, greasy hair and a hooked nose walking around there. She knew he was a man and not a vampire. He was also a healer and a nomad, but she had never said anything about it. It had been her secret since she was a little girl.

She jumped when she heard a noise behind her and turned around quickly, a small knife in her hands.

"It's me," William's weak voice said.

"You're hurt," she said as she rushed towards him.

She could see the blood escaping from his shoulder. His face was pale and he was clearly struggling to stay upright.

"Lie down, I'll heal you," she said as she approached.

The wound wasn't pretty and she didn't have much of a solution.

"Do you think you can start a fire ?" she asked him.

"And then you want me to go hunting, maybe ?" he asked with a sarcastic smile.

"I don't have anything on me to heal you, but I can close the wound with fire and a blade."

William knew immediately what she wanted to do and he winced, but he also knew he didn't have much of a solution.

"Won't the fire bring them to us ?" he asked, rubbing two sticks together.

"No, they're afraid of this forest. They'll think it's the vampire."

He raised an eyebrow but refrained from asking any questions.

"You're an idiot," she said, pressing the blade of her knife to the wound, which in the light of the fire seemed less serious than she had first thought.

William screamed so loudly that he made all the bats that haunted the woods fly away. The pain was so great that he thought his eyes would pop out of his head.

"You have no idea, no idea, what you mean to me ! What I would have felt if he had killed you."

"Oh, I think I have an idea, but go on, I like to hear you talk," he growled, sitting up with difficulty.

She stroked the wound with her fingertips, her cool fingers easing the pain. She was impressed that he hadn't fainted. He was strong, so strong.

"I've fallen in love with you," she whispered.

"Of course," he said with a big smile

His eyes filled with tears and when one of them escaped, rolling lonely down his cheek, he caught it with his fingertips.

"Catherine, don't cry. Everything will be fine. Make me survive and we'll see where this leads," he told her gently.

Two years later:

A rare sun lit up the Scottish moor, illuminating the white carpet that covered the floor like a thousand diamonds.

Inside the stone cottage, William sat by the fire, reading aloud while Catherine prepared a herbal tea to soothe the throbbing pain of her old scars.

She held out the cup to him but he grabbed her by the wrist, forcing her to sit on his lap.

"I like it," he whispered against her ear.

"Me sitting on your lap ?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just being a man. A man with a woman. Among these Scots who don't seem to care about my... slight quirks."

"They don't care because here, you're just a man. No one knows who you were. Here, you get a second chance," Catherine replied, smiling.

"You're my second chance. For a long time, I had to pay the consequences of my past actions, but you, you are the consequence of my redemption. And the consequences for saving you, for loving you, they never end. Except that for once, it's not a curse but a blessing."

She looked at him tenderly, placing a hand on his cheek.

"You've made my life sweeter, William. Even if you're just an insufferable jerk," she replied, kissing him on the nose.

They exchanged a knowing smile before going out together. Tonight would be Christmas Eve, and William was looking forward to celebrating it with Catherine. In the best possible way. In their bed. Naked. And he hoped that the consequences of this night would appear very quickly. Within nine months.

[blue-howlite]

Being Bram Stoker's significant other headcanons.

Where somehow you end up dating a head with a pair of shoulders on top of a sword.

So, somehow you ended up in a relationship with grandpa Bram. Wow.

The start of this relationship would actually be so fun. Because he is an old fashioned man, so before starting to date you he would ask for your parents and their permission to court you.

If your culture demands that your parents acknowledge your relationship or you just want them to meet then go on. He'll appreciate it, even if they might be weirded out by him.

But if that's not the case or you don't care about your parents' opinion (feel you dear), you'll have to explain that it's not necessary and it won't be a scandal if you two start dating even without your parents' permission. Yeah good luck with that, he will be confused. He'll get used to it though, he's good at adapting.

So you two start dating!

And that's where the real fun begins.

Because being impaled on a sword doesn't make it easy for him to show his manners and adhere to proper etiquette.

Going out to eat? He doesn't need to and doesn't have a stomach, don't think it will work out...

Walks together? You'd have to carry him, and even though he might get used to it I don't think he will actively like it (maybe if you hold him close though...)

Your best bet is movie night. You guys don't have to move around, get to stay close together and watch something interesting. And he can fall asleep if he wants to.

And about that.

Sleeping.

No we're not going nsfw you horny disgraces.

But imagine sleeping together.

Of course the exposed blade of the sword might be a bit dangerous for you to just hold in your sleep, but if you put something soft around it like a blanket it should be fine.

He likes to sleep in your arms. He spent so many years alone in that coffin, sometimes not even laying in it but being in a standing position, or being moved around in it. Being held by you is probably one of the things he enjoys the most, and if you combine that with sleeping you're basically taking him to heaven.

Also I bet he likes to lay on your chest, doesn't matter if you have the boobs or not (but it's probably appreciated if you do), your heartbeat is another reminder for him that he's not alone.

Waking up is a pain tho. He doesn't like that.

But he really likes affection, so you can use that to your advantage.

"Good morning Bram."

"..."

"Uhm, we have to get up."

"..."

"Mh, he's really sleeping. What a shame, I really have to go. Guess no morning kiss-"

"Good morning my love."

This man is touch starved and I won't be convinced otherwise.

Also he is possessive.

Because yes he isn't very comfortable with public displays of affection, but he has his own ways to show that you belong to him.

I don't think he's into biting though. He surely associates it to his ability, and he might worry that he could turn you if he's not careful enough. So don't ask him to bite you (unless it's for turning you, but let's talk about this later).

Buuuut, he will always stay close to you.

Also will accentuate the "my" of your pet names when you two are out together. For good measure, you know.

And talking about pet names.

Because he will use them a lot with you.

Classics like "my love", "my dear" and "my darling". Oh also "My bride"/"My groom"/"My spouse" are on when he feels like he has to emphasize your relationship. Like when he threatens someone that's bothering you he'll get the scary vampire face on and-

"How dare you bother my spouse?"

"Bram calm do- wait what did you just call me?"

And will add "my" before your name. Always.

Now, we mentioned the possibility of turning you.

We don't know for sure the exact effects this would have.

In case there's literally no gain in you being turned (like becoming immortal or healing more quickly) he won't turn you. He loves you the way you are and he promised not to turn anyone else after he was impaled on the sword. Also since his people were exterminated he might actually be afraid the same would happen to you and refuse to turn you no matter what.

The only exception would be in case you're on the verge of death.

I do believe turning makes you gain some healing power (I mean we saw Akutagawa). Wether you end up being controlled by him or not is uncertain but probably he can let you have your own mind.

But just in case, try not to put yourself in mortal danger, okay?

Or do, maybe you're the type to enjoy angst. You sick fuck (affectionately).

He might be just a head and shoulders, but he's yours and he loves you with all his being.

[pen-observing]

Genshin harem manhwa au!

CHAPTER FOUR OF SEVEN. characters: capitano & zhongli (seperate) x gn! reader word count: 4.8k (1.8k + 3k respectively) warnings: you can understand every character's story seperately, capitano calls you 'little one' but not in a weird way, zhongli's starts off funny, ajax is presumed dead in capitano's chapter.

[SERIES MASTERLIST]

CAPITANO - YOU ARE LOOKING FOR REVENGE BUT HE STANDS IN YOUR WAY. HE SWEARS TO TAKE UP THE SWORD FOR YOU AND PROVE YOUR FOOLISH NATURE.

Sometimes it amazes you – this life that is. How, while you are taking determined steps to a bar that deals in the underground circles, people around here are living carefree lives. They take hold of their lover’s hands or lead children so they don’t get lost while buying animal ears for fun.  

You bite the inside of your cheek.   Ajax was once like that. Your heavy steps inside of this light atmosphere to your destination remind you of him. How, whenever there was a festival, he would ask for a day off. He was such a wonderful knight that you always allowed him to do as he wished because you knew he had his reasons.  

After you gave your permission, he would say he wanted to speak as a friend; then, he would invite you to help him look after his younger brother. He would bring you simple peasant clothes to mask your identity and then the two of you would walk down the street hand in hand while leading the curious-eyed child along.  

Thanks to those moments, you were somewhat acquainted with the true situation inside this small kingdom you were supposed to rule later. Your parents ignored the complaints and problems inside, but every outing with Ajax helped solidify the true state of it inside your mind.  

You were supposed to ascend the throne later. Ajax was supposed to stand by your side as the trusty knight he has always been. Your kingdom was supposed to prosper. Ajax was not supposed to die.  

That thought comes back again! Your determined steps take a small detour. By now you are away from the shining lights and faces of the citizens that spelled the doom of your bloodline. But Ajax’s blood belonged to them; not to your family and certainly not on the carpet and the walls underneath your castle while he helped you escape.  

Ajax should not be dead right now!  

But he is. And you have been unable to cope all this time. That is why you are crouching beneath a tree; taking deep breaths and trying to calm yourself down.   Inside that bar hides your only hope of vengeance. You have spent three years searching for any trace of that infamous informant. You know nothing besides that he frequents this establishment and that for a good price, he is willing to give you the name of the one who struck down Ajax. 

With that renewal of hope inside your soul, you finally rise to your feet and pull the hood over your head before continuing down the dirty path. There are no lights that lead to that bar, only some footsteps in the middle of a grass field and you hope they are trustworthy enough.   The money you paid did not lie. After an hour of walking through that forest, you finally found a house which had a worn-out sign. ‘Rowdy Dog’, the name of the bar that stood between you and your purpose.  

Pulling your hood again, you opened the doors. You were sure that if you did knock, they would immediately throw you out. Luckily, they currently happened to consist of just three quests and a bartender. With that quick scan, you decided that immediately getting a drink would be the next best choice.  

The chairs were squeaky and uncomfortable, but you sat in one right across the bartender. Your contact told you that he was the worst kind of man to deal with. And looking at him; confirming his size and build and that long hair which people said he used to mask a particularly bad scar from his shoulder to his stomach; you know the contact was right.  

The other guests didn’t pay you much attention and you doubt they even noticed you from how drunk they were but he... his eyes were already telling you to leave. It seemed like he was doubtful of your purpose and hoped a warning by rejecting to speak first would be enough to get you to turn back.  

But your quest for revenge was greater than anything else and you could certainly deal with a bartender before your informant got here.  

“Whiskey.”  

You noticed everyone you dealt with to get this far ordered that drink so surely it would prove you knew how to dabble in this line of business.  

The man turned around and put down a glass and a bottle of whiskey on the counter in front of you. Him not talking was unnerving.  

“Are you so clever not to pretend you saw my cue telling you to leave or are you so dumb that you choose to stick around.”  

Him speaking was already starting to give you a headache.  

“Just pour me a glass and ignore my presence.”  “This is my bar; by extension, it is my house. If I put down a bottle and a glass in front of you, it means that you have to pour it yourself.”  

You never thought such a deep and smooth voice could cause you this much annoyance.  

“Is there a reason why your particular business model is so prejudiced towards me Sir?”  “Yes. You are too soft hearted to set foot in this place.”   “It is none of your business what I do here.”   “Would you like me to kick you out right now?” 

Your informant was right. For a man that ran the bar most frequented by assassins and criminals with bounties on their heads; he was too dignified and moral. So what if you are a young person that never killed anyone? You swore to only use your sword on the person who killed Ajax and nobody else.   Still, you had to get on this man’s good graces or your new informant would never trust you either.  

You poured yourself a glass while thinking that it was necessary to put up with this for just a while longer.  

“Are you happy now?”   You were about to bring the glass to your lips but before you could, the bartender took everything in front of you and placed it behind the counter.  

“At least you are willing to bluff where it doesn’t count.”  “What is that supposed to mean? And the way you are running this establishment is horrible!”  

The man pinched the bridge of his nose and then he glared at you.  

“Meet me in the back in five minutes.”  “Excuse me?”  

He didn’t even dignify you with a response. He simply walked away and slammed the door behind him. You suppose nobody would dare to steal from him. But, why should you wait five minutes? You decided to immediately follow him instead. 

Outside, he was standing leaning against the wall with a cigarette in between his fingers. You approached and he was kind enough to blow smoke in the opposite direction. 

“I see you do not even possess patience.”  “Why are you acting this way towards someone you never met so far?”  

The man took in another puff and leaned his head on the wall as well looking up at the bright moon.  

“An innocent soul was never supposed to step foot into that bar.”  “You made it what it is. I don’t think you get to choose who steps into it or why.”   “Little one, you are so wrong about everything you have done tonight. Tell me, does the atmosphere inside that place fill you with any joy?”  “No. I don’t see how it could fill anyone with joy.”   “Wrong again. And that proves my point.”  

This man was incorrigible. Your head was staring to hurt more and more but something about him wanting to protect innocent people reminded you of Ajax. You decided that for the sake of your dead friend, you would take off your mask for a few minutes.  

“Do you think I am innocent even if my family caused poverty and death in this city?”  “Yes. Did your own hands ever do anything? Those guests inside are filled with joy by knowing everyone else in there has killed and felt blood on their tongue. It makes no sense to you; that violence.”  

How horrible. How could you not lay down your mask when this man seems to have a natural ability to disarm people?  

“Tell me, is the reason you are here revenge?” He says it nonchalantly, but his eyes look at you with a plea and a hope that you will say no. 

“It is. I have someone who was more innocent than me and they died by people who said they were seeking justice.”  “I would say that you too wish to protect innocent souls, but the dead do not need protection. Why not turn around and start something new like I did?”  

His cigarette is finished by now and he dims out it’s last light by stepping on it. 

“Something new? Isn’t your bar the place where everything you regret doing, other people plan to do?”  “Ironic, isn’t it?”  

Silence. Something about him makes you feel peaceful, and you hate it.  

“How can you sound so sure when seeing those guests?”  “It is simple. Trying to save them would be futile, but saving you like this would be enough. Wouldn’t you say you’ve enjoyed out conversation so far?”   “You cannot save me. I made up my mind long ago. I will avenge him.”  “A lover perhaps?”  “My knight.”  

He looks at you and laughs. His laugh sounds regretful, so you don’t take it as an insult. 

“A knight you say? And you said he had a soul purer than yours?”  “Yes. You sound like you disagree.”  “Before this, I was a knight of the enemy kingdom. The title of a knight is never innocent. We gain it by swearing to kill so that we can protect flimsy ideals and even weaker families.”  

All this time, you never even imagined Ajax’s sword decorated by another human’s blood. That image shattered your world. Revenge for a pure soul? Maybe it was revenge for yourself but just masked as less selfish.  

“Tell you what;”, the man kneels down in front of your feet. You can tell that his body automatically remembers the grace and honor knights carry on their backs. Ajax so quickly fell into this stance too.  

“To save your soul, I will be your new knight. To prevent you tasting blood, I will be the one to spill it for you. I’ve done it so many times that I can do it again.”  

Incorrigible man. Paradoxical man. 

“I do not need a new knight.”  “You need someone that will show you just how pointless revenge truly is.”  

When he says that, he looks up at you with piercing eyes. It will be your resolve versus his own and, as much as you hate to admit, it looks like he will win. Maybe that is why you hear Ajax’s laughter. Maybe that is why you get transported into the white room again. This golden door, it echoes with his laugh. Honey-like, warm and it is calling your name. 

Not answering it would be a sin. 

ZHONGLI - EVERYONE THINKS THE KING IS DEAD. IN REALITY, HE IS HIDING IN YOUR HOUSE SAYING HE NEEDS YOUR HELP.

“You again? I already made it very clear to you that your presence is disturbing to my chickens!” 

He is here again. You have debts to pay, and he is disrupting your quiet and small farm. Again. This is the third day in a row. Soon enough you will be as restless as your chickens if this man with intricate tattoos on his arms keeps coming back.  

Wait..coming back? That isn’t the right word. He doesn’t leave! He just spends all of his time here! Why on earth has this man, too tall for you to look at without stretching your neck, decided that sleeping every night in your chicken coop is the most comfortable place one can get some rest? He must be insane. One of those special calibres a friend told you about a while ago; like that man who thought waiting inside hospitals was the biggest joy he had so he would go to one every single day and just sit there.  

“I apologize for disturbing your chickens and, by extent, you. I have no other place to do.” 

Liar. Even if he has been sleeping inside of here for three days his clothes are of such fine fabric you refuse to believe his excuse being homelessness. Bandits pretend they need help all the time; they pretend to be sick and when someone lets them into their house, they rob them and escape with possessions that person spent all their life obtaining. You will not be fooled by his sweet disposition. He should count himself lucky you didn’t chase him away with a broom yet. Truthfully, your heart does not tell you that he is a bad person or that he wishes to spread evil but..he is a suspicious figure! One day, you walked inside the coop with your basket, ready to greet the mostly-nameless-chickens when Miguel (your roster, and, quite frankly, favorite one) screamed as soon as you opened the door while he was about to pluck the top of a sleeping man’s head.  

“If you have enough sense to apologize, then you have enough sense to leave my household and my coop. So, please, walk away somewhere else.” 

The man looks at you with eyes that seem more authoritative than his current homeless position would imply but you refuse to give in and look away. A staring contest first thing in the morning works wonders for your spirits.  

“Like I already said-”, he begins, and you already know how the sentence would end if Miguel didn’t sneak up on him and pecked his ankle. The man bit the inside of his cheek in frustration and looked down at the creature below him. It didn’t seem like it hurt him at all, it seemed like he found it an annoyance more than anything.  

“Tell this chicken that people should get to finish their sentences.”  “He did what any living being would when their home is invaded.”  “I did not invade his home. Be careful of what you accuse me of. I will admit that my presence here seems invasive to your home, but I just needed a place to stay that was very far away and quiet.”  “Then just walk a few more steps into the forest itself and it will serve you nicely.” 

For some reason, when you say that, Miguel starts to scream like never before, you can feel that the air feels heavier and...are his eyes glowing? No, you imagined it. In a split second everything is back to normal. Must have been all the stress. 

“It looks like you haven’t been sleeping lately but I assure you my presence should make no difference to your daily life. I have not even taken one of your eggs to eat in the three days I have been here – can that not be called fair?” 

The arrogance of this man. Does he really think this is a fair trade?  

“Your presence in this coop has decreased my egg production by 47 percent already!”  “Are you sure...did you really calculate that or did you make that number on the spot?”  “What if I did? Accurate number or not, if you continue to stay here, eventually, I will not be able to pay off my debts either way. I am on a very strict payment plan you see.”  

He puts a hand to his chin and looks down at Miguel again. He probably thinks you cannot understand what he is mumbling about but you hear it quite well. He says it is not surprise that your business is failing when you make up numbers on the spot. But then he drops his hand and looks at you.  

“I will leave this chicken coop.”  “So you finally have some sense?”  “If you allow me to sleep on your front porch instead.” 

You raise your eyebrow. It would help your production more and in turn you would be able to pay off your debts but...a grown man sleeping like a dog in front of your porch is not the best solution. Still, if you don’t pay them back in regular instalments they said they would destroy your property so...it should be fine? 

“Fine. But under no circumstances am I letting you inside of my house. Are we clear?”  “Absolutely. I thank you for your kindness?” 

Kindness? You saw him walk around with a stiff back and bruises and all the dirt. Miguel is a big fan of making sure this man gets as dirty as possible..just because you let him stay without feeding him does not mean you are kind. Well, you did give him one slice of bread on the first day since you thought he seemed like a victim. 

“Suit yourself. I still do not see what the difference between this and the forest is!” 

As you walk away, he sighs. Twice. Then he looks at Miguel again who is preparing to attack his ankles again. 

“Your owner really does not feel their own potential... What a shame. Shouldn’t the fact I am so close by be an awakening for that power in them?” he hisses.  “Miguel, if you bring your beak to my ankle once more, I will make you fly.”  

You said that and he really did move to your porch. Right now, you are cooking dinner and he just spends his time sitting there. You waved to him through the window because he sometimes gets up to walk around on the humble porch of an even more humble house.  

But something tells you it was a mistake. To hold a cooking spoon in one hand and to wave at him through the other. Why? Because as soon as he waved back, rain started to pour. The sound on your stove immediately got dimmed from the strength of the downpour and you knew that even the plants would live to regret the strength of this rain. But...it was a bigger mistake because your roof above the porch was never patched up and the rain seemed to be falling at such an angle that the man would get hit with it no matter what.  

It tugged on your heart, and you opened the front door. In those few minutes, your entire porch was already filled with water and, no matter how close to the house he stood, the man was completely wet. His long hair clung to his forearms and neck, his clothes were clinging to his skin too.  

“I know what I said but--” 

As if to help the urgency of your kindness, hail started to fall from the sky and you just quickly tugged on the man’s sleeve to bring him inside your house.  

“I will let you stay inside just for tonight.”  

He remained quiet and stood completely still next to the door. 

“You have my thanks.”  “Well, walk further inside?”  “No. That would prove I lack manners. Since I am all wet it is better if I stay in one place while I dry.”  “You-- Did you really think I would not offer you a change of clothes and a towel to dry yourself with?!”  “Well..you did let your chickens peck me for three days so..I just inferred you would be hesitant.” 

You quickly walk to another room and bring him a change of clothes without missing the chance to throw a towel in his face. 

“Here. I barely have any warm water left but go take a bath to ensure you do not catch a cold.”   “You have my sincere thanks.”  

You walk around to your counter to stir the pot. You can hear him drying his hair; somehow it annoys you his has that much volume. As you look up, wishing to glare at him, you can see that he is already shirtless and about to tug down his pants. In a moment of panic you decide that throwing the cooking spoon at him is your quickest reaction.  

“What are you doing?!”  “Hmm? I should change in this one spot because my clothes are dripping water onto your floor as well.”  “I do not want to see you change!” 

He freezes up. He has spent so much of his life inside his castle; never has anyone reprimanded him for his habits and he had his own harem. Somehow, he never expected such a reaction to befall him, and this moment just reminds him of how low he has fallen, even if he tried to show consideration towards your home.  

“You are absolutely right, I deeply apologize. I shall finish up the rest in your bathroom.”  

He tries to make his steps as light as possible when he walks by and you curse yourself for looking at his defined back.  

By his physique, he seems stronger than most..just why is he here in such a miserable state? 

“Thank you for choosing to share some of your dinner with me.”  “I did let you go hungry for three days and the rain doesn’t look like it will stop soon. So, I figured, it was the least I could do for now.” 

He sits up straight in the chair. This oversized sweater of yours fits him perfectly and the pants you brought him only reach up to his knees, but they are better than nothing.  

“You must know I... I understand your hesitance in not trusting me.”  “Do you now?” 

He nods.  

“I do not think I have given you many reasons to not trust me, but I also do not think I have given you reasons to trust me either. It crossed my mind just now that I never even gave you my name.”  “Will you give it to me now?”  “My name is Zhongli. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

He doesn’t seem to know that he should stretch his hand for a shake when introducing himself so you just raise up another spoon of broth to your mouth.  

“I am glad to finally know the name of the man who has lessened my egg production by 63 percent.”  “Wasn’t it 47 percent just this morning?” 

You did admit to making up the numbers but your cheeks still feel hot from embarrassment. 

“Hush.” 

Zhongli simply looks at you and puts a hand to his chin. He should have made more public appearances in this form, but he doubts his image as a king would have ever reached this place of solace you live in. Not only is it the smallest village in his kingdom, well, his ex-kingdom he supposes but...even with all of that you chose a house so removed from everyone else that you probably only talk to other humans once a week when you have to visit the village square.  

He wonders how you would react to knowing that you just told the most powerful king of these lands to hush up. Nobody ever did this before; he wonders if he should hate it instead of finding it endearing.  

“Could I ask you how your life has been since the king died? You might not believe this, but I did see changes when travelling all the way here.”  “What are you trying to hide from?”  “Pardon?”  “Zhongli what are- ugh never mind I actually do not wish to know. My life since the king died? My life while he was alive before the Revolutionaries took over was hard enough. You see where I live, and I have no idea why you are acting like it is a good place. To simply tell you of my life; I do not remember having a childhood, but I do remember waking up here and being cornered by some bandits. They kept asking me about my debts and I only saw the chicken coop from the window and decided to lie and say a fox snuck in and killed most of my animals.” 

Zhongli patiently listens to you. His eyes seem to glow again because of how interested he is in what you are saying. Maybe you are talking so much because you have not had human company in so long?  

“Anyway, they believed me without checking but they reminded me that I owe them for life because, apparently, I made a shady deal with them in the past. I wanted to fight but there wasn’t much I could actually do. Would they kill me? Sell me? Living in this dump and taking care of chickens to earn enough money to pay them back monthly seemed better than..living in that forest I tried to send you too.” 

Zhongli does not say much but he feels that you want him to say or ask something.  “All this time I supposed that the king only failed his people by dying but it seems like he failed you long before that. Based on my travels so far, I suppose that it only got worse after that fact?”  “Worse? It is hell! I never thought that the king had any duty towards me but maybe he did. The Revolutionaries certainly did not help anything improve! They raised taxes, which means the bandits I pay want even larger amounts of money now. I never thought the tax increase would even influence the illegal jobs of this world.”  

You take another bite of your food, but it tastes bitter this time, probably because your feelings are the same.  

“You must allow me to apologize.”  “Apologize? For what?”  “I had no idea you were in business with these..bandits...they came last night and since I deemed them suspicious I..took care of them.” 

At first, you laugh. A big, hearty laugh.   Then, Zhongli laughs with you. He was not expecting that reaction but he knows how wrong he was to relax when your spoon hits his shoulder. Now, you are glaring at him.  

“I was right not to trust you! When they return with backup what will I do then?”  

He can feel that you are panicking. And he lets you be angry at him because he knows what lies behind that is fear. He knows the prophecy; he knows why he let the rebels have the upper hand for now; he needed time to reach you – the one who is destined to help him. But with all this fear and your lack of memories or awareness of the power you hold – he had to subject himself to sleeping in your chicken coop and waiting for your power to awaken.  

It becomes crystal clear that as you are now, you will never grow into your potential without his help. He decides to approach this like everything else he has as the king right now. When you finish yelling, he extends his hand and his tattoos go from black to gold – he uses his power to make calm wash over you and he forces you to sit down in the chair again.  

“Listen to me, they will not be returning. Even bandits have enough sense to know that they will lose against me. Your chickens posed more of an issue for me.” 

Was this his way of trying to bring light to this whole situation?  

You should be angry still. You should be making sure he leaves your house; but his powers calm you beyond all harmony you have known so far.  

“How can you be so sure of yourself?”  “If you were not so filled with fear; you would remember who you are. Child of the Sun, we are the same origin. You are meant to help my mission in this world by standing as my equal. Yet, it is clear I will have to guide you regardless.” 

His..who is that man? Is he the considerate man who refuses to take another step to not wet your carpet or is he an arrogant bastard? The answer does not matter. His innocence and consideration can be the truth or a lie; you do not care.   Something in you snaps and your body grows yellow too. It lets you stand up and glare at him. Something is tugging your body and it does not feel like Zhongli’s power. You think this surge of emotions and power welling inside is going to make you faint soon, so you settle on just one sentence before you are plucked from this world and another door swallows you. 

“All of you kings are the same. And you can all beg for my help and burn as I do not answer you.” 

a/n: whelp,, it has been a while,,truly. how have you been? i hope this chapter is to your liking. I am trying to make these shorter than before but,,it is hard ://

TAGLIST: send an ask if you wish to be added.

@is-asimp , @irisxiel , @sunsethw4 , @sketcheeee , @thelonelyarchon, @magicalink , @ladycoleigh , @luvr-exe , @yuus3n , @haru-lucidream

[alterhumansafespace]

A fenrir kin! Nice to meet you. How did you discover that?

Asking because you are primarily a dragon (?) and it's quite hard for me to understand individuals who have more than 1 kintype unless they're related somewhat. To be honest it used to be I didn't understand at all but now I discovered I was a kelpie so...

It's directly related to being an incarnation of Loki for me. If it's not related I definitely have a hard time understanding so if you want to share I'd love to hear.

It’s a pleasure to meet you as well! Glad to talk to someone who’s an incarnation of Loki.

Being Fenrirkin is specifically a Copingkin I never really asked to have. Yes, I do love Norse mythology, but being a copingkin of Fenrir can be… well- a bit self destructive for me.

I had been reading a lot into the binding of Fenrir and other information on him. Parts of the story correlate uncannily. When I experience Fenrir shifts, the room felt too small and the intense desire to bite at my right hand was always prominent. I get a constant feeling of being suspicious of authority, sometimes this includes questioning and thinking I know better. But the hardest thing is the intense feeling of betrayal that comes during Fenrir shifts, especially of the ones who were treating you right.

The betrayal part comes from traumas I dealt with. The multitude of gods equating to my family always saying that each other are liars, and others who constantly betrayed my trust. Tyr can be substituted for three different people. My mother, my father or my ex. I tend to associate Tyr more with my ex due to closer similarities.

I wasn’t the best after the breakup and I did lash out viciously. The sword that is stated to hold Fenrir’s jaws open correlate to my need to scream or a need to explain to my ex how his betrayal hurt me, for how sorry I am for hurting him. The bindings are a creation of anger/rage and extreme guilt.

I have always felt a very close tie and extremely empathize with Fenrir’s story. It’s almost like a deeply rooted spiritual connection that isn’t easy to describe. My mental/perception shifts do not feel like that of a normal human. No, they’re intensified by a different sort of emotion that felt very nonhuman in nature.

As for explaining being a polykin with pretty different kintypes, it’s a bit confusing, but not impossible. My dragonself is much less destructive and almost guide like in how I behave. The pride I get when talking about strength are different levels. For my dragonself strength is something I take pride in, but I don’t feel like it’ll crumble at any moment. For my Fenrir self, if I have it questioned, I want to prove myself. This does end up that if someone I consider close to tells me that I am weak, I will break and will either shut down or lash out. Thankfully the lashing out is only internally, but it is destructive by nature.

There are specific behaviors that happen that do not correlate between my dragonself and Fenrir self. As my Fenrir self is much less shifty and is an involuntary identity that allows me to cope with betrayals.

Being a dragon comes with its own difficulties, but I tend to mentally know the difference between my Fenrir tendencies and my dragon tendencies. It all depends on how high, and how self destructive, my emotions get.

I do apologize if it’s a little incoherent. I tried my best to explain the best I could how I separated shifts and behaviors of my two animalistic kintypes. As well as explaining how I came to the conclusion.

I don’t consider myself as Fenrir Otherkin. Involuntarily identifying as and with Fenrir is purely a way of coping that I never asked for as stated above.

Hopefully this explains it enough for a general understanding

>Saiph 🐉

Edit: if you’d like further explanation or clarification, feel free to DM me or send another ask. I’m a very open person and I get good vibes from you

[darrisgrove]

A Clockwork Orange Notes

PART ONE

-Already the book starts differently than the movie, don't hate me for watching the movie before reading the book. The boys hassle a smoke shop before the homeless man, which was not included in the movie. They sweeten up some old ladies at a diner (?) as an alibi.

-"It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law nor order no more."

-"--The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen" pg 27. Foreshadowing.

-Alex is the alpha of the pack, just as he was in the movie.

-Alex is a teenager, or college age student.

-Alex's dream of Georgie being a general is also foreshadowing.

-P. R. Deltoid's warning to Alex tells us that Alex has been caught and in trouble before, enough times for him to have a post corrective advisor stop to visit him in his home. Sent there by Alex's mother.

-I think it's important to note that Alex using the same "my friend has fainted" play has it's own glimpse onto Alex's intelligence. While he does make himself appear to be high and mighty, no one is smarter than me, type character, why would he use the same play to lure people into opening their doors for him? If it's worked a few times in the past to get him what he wants, eventually people will catch the repetition and become warned of that phrase. Maybe that is why the cat lady was suspicious of the phrase from the start. She'd been warned and did the right thing but denying him entry and calling the police right away. Our Humble Narrator isn't as smart as he thinks.

-Alex is 15 at the the story takes place.

-Alex's lingo has a chokehold on my every waking moment. It haunts me how fluid it feels when I'm reading it, even though I have no idea what he's saying most of the time. I do find it interesting how the author indicates that the adults in the story speak without Alex's lingo, they speak "proper".

PART TWO

-Alex is now 17.

-It seems like in the film they completely removed the second murder Alex was convicted of, which I feel would have been important towards telling his story. In the film, they show Alex having taken responsibility and showing interested in becoming a better man. In the book, Alex is still manipulative and a bad character. He hasn't learned from his crimes. He's just annoyed that he is forced to be around people he considers to be lesser than him. He's disgusted by them. He's looking in the mirror and refuses to see his own reflection.

-Aversion therapy is what is happening here, where the patient is given an undesirable stimuli while being shown images, or in Alex's case, films, in order to treat the unwanted behavior. This was also administered as treatment for "curing" homosexuality back in the day alongside castration to cure gayness. While the practice has been looked down upon and shamed for the mental harm it causes patients who underwent this treatment, unfortunately conversion therapy and aversion therapy is still practiced today. However, there are proper non-harmful ways to use aversion therapy and is sometimes recommended by therapists. Aversion therapy is a type of behavioral therapy. It is sometimes used to help treat nail biting, alcoholism (some medications used to treat alcohol abuse trigger a sick feeling response when alcohol is consumed), and smoking.

-The "vitamin" injection was the undesirable stimuli, making Alex feel weak and the showing of the criminal activities on film made Alex condition criminal activity with feeling sick. Which is why later on when Alex is kicked around and shown breasts, he becomes sick. This is similar to the alcoholism aversion therapy medication which makes the patient nauseous when they consume alcohol. The author writing about this therapy did a great job at expressing the thoughts and actions and makes me wonder if he did this on purpose or if it was accidental.

-Alex is quickly beginning to realize the horrors he had committed. While it was fun and games for him before, now having the undesirable stimuli to punish his behavior is teaching him that crime is not fun and games.

-I wonder why they didn't show a scene of Alex hitting his head against the wall and showing sickness from it in the film. I feel they grazed over this part of the book, showing Alex and the films, his shouting and anger at the doctors playing his favorite music, but the read pain is in Alex's physical reactions. A duality can be found between pre-cured Alex and the correctional doctors, the violence is different but still violence. Same with the police violence towards the end.

-"Am I just to be like a clockwork orange?" page 129.

PART THREE

-Alex still feels higher than everyone else, that he's more important than everyone else.

-In the end, Alex didn't learn anything. He went right back to worshipping violence.

[mystery-moose]

Tav questions 2, 9, 10, if you please?

2.) What relationship did your Tav have with their family/guardian(s) growing up? Has that changed with age?

Oh, he was extremely rebellious. His parents were relatively rich and well-off, mingling with higher society types. Pretty far from like, Wyll's circle, but far removed from the average person, right? And they were social climbers, concerned with things like "propriety" and "etiquette" and "politics" and by god he just hated it. Hated the dishonesty of it, the way it made him feel penned in and restricted, and so he took every opportunity to push back against it.

I think sending him away to seminary school was a last-ditch effort, I truly don't think they wanted him gone, but they sure didn't want him as he was. And... I really don't think he ever went back! I think he sends them letters, because it feels right to do that, but I don't think he stays in one place long enough to get many replies, and I don't think he misses them as much as they miss him.

That'll probably come back to bite him! If one of them gets sick or something happens, he's gonna go back and feel awful about it the whole way. And there'll probably be some kind of reconciliation, as much as that relationship even needs reconciling. But for now? That's where he's at.

9.) What was your Tav doing when they were taken by the mind flayers?

Okay, so that happened in or around Baldur's Gate proper, right? Canonically that's where we got taken. So... hm. I imagine he was probably finishing his first major sojourn out of the seminary, having gone up and down the mountains or the Chionthar or the Sword Coast or what have you, done some good, slayed some beasties. He was probably in the middle of considering going back home to see his folks, or just picking up some supplies and getting back on the road. One or the other. And before he could decide, bam, teleported by mind flayers!

...I'm basically realizing now that because the whole game is about getting to Baldur's Gate, that of course he has to reckon with this family stuff sometime during act three. Maybe he keeps putting it off because the world is about to end and only deals with it after the game is over? Or else Karlach convinces him otherwise, because she's like "live like you're dyin', rocky mountain climbin'" and so on.

I'll be real, I hadn't fully considered the answers to a lot of these before people asked? I'm discovering a lot about this character through these asks!

10.) What would your Tav consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate?

Oh, that's a good question... judgement of character, I think! He's a friendly guy, personable, approachable for a dragonborn, y'know? But he gets a read on people pretty quick and decides if he wants to invest a lot of himself into them. Hence why he collects the party of weirdos he does -- he could tell even when he met Astarion he wasn't ALL bad! And it's also why Minthara didn't survive -- he got nothing but bad vibes from her. If dealing with Astarion's horseshit and wrangling him into something approaching a good person took as long as it did, he could clock immediately that dealing with Minthara would be a Sispyhean task. (If Sisyphus existed.)

[saltwukong]

I'll bite, how?

Both RWBY stans and RWDE consistently miscast and misrepresent the style and aesthetics of the characters they obsess over in almost identical ways. Ask me how.

RWBY stans want everything as qu**r as possible to prop up RWBY as a progressive show, and can therefore commonly be found painting Yang as some kind of butch lesbian dream with abs and muscles galore, despite the fact that Yang is about as butch as I am (hint: not at all).

RWDE types, on the other hand, want to misremember older RWBY as more inherently qu**r (I'm using that word to satisfy y'all, not me) so that they can decry what Rooster Teeth ruined and took from them, despite the fact that there's more than enough reasons to hate Rooster Teeth without making shit up. Couldn't find it again (not that I care about anyone who catches strays, y'all know me, I'll vibe check my best friends), but I've seen people refer to Ruby as butch and Blake as gnc. Not new Blake--old Blake, with the cleaver sword.

What part of this is gender-nonconforming to you? Is it the bow? The high heels? The thigh-high stockings? The exposed midriff? There is not a single member of RWBY who is butch or gender nonconforming. And you know why?

Cause that wasn't in vogue. That hadn't taken off yet. What was in vogue at the time was feminist fantasy. Girl power. Girly girls glittering and high heel-ing their way through battle. And that's why the members of Team RWBY look the way they do--feminine. Ruby's goth feminine. Yang's aggressively feminine. Weiss is princess feminine. Yang dresses for the male gaze, skirts are everywhere, and even Blake, an anti-establishment rebel who sleeps in tents, looks suitably dark feminine.

Here's the thing: that's not a bad thing. For what it was at the time, RWBY as the girl power fantasy that was every bit as actionized and violent as the male version tends to be was incredibly attractive as a concept. Hell, it still is.

Yang doesn't have abs, she never has, she never will, and that's okay. It doesn't take away from her. Her lack of abs isn't a problem on its own, it's not a flaw. There's no reason she should or shouldn't, they're not a required feature for someone at her tier of 'anime'. It becomes a problem when you consider the idea she won't ever have them because Miles personally wouldn't find it attractive, but that's still another story than what Yang actually was concepted as and made it into Poser as.

I once saw someone refer to Adam Taurus' (who definitely suffered under RT) original design as 'the most bisexual-looking character in the show' and gurl, that was a man in a suit, slacks, and loafers--calm down. It was far and away less lgbt-looking than the Grimmjow model he was actually sculpted from. Same energy as when I see kpop fans referring to a man's look as "cunty" and it's just a dude in a tank top.

Sometimes this happens with race, too. I see people claiming RT whitewashed the fuck out of Sun Wukong when the switch to Maya came, and then in the two screenshots provided he looks exactly the same.

RWBY as characters lost a lot when Rooster Teeth started changing their appearances, but qu**rness wasn't one of them, because the truth is that RWBY has just never been a very qu**r show. It was barely feminist in 2013, and even in its glory days, it was still pretty straight and cis and within cultural trends. It doesn't make sense to turn classic RWBY into something it wasn't just to exhaustively mourn what you were robbed of, especially when in truth quite a lot of these people weren't around then to get robbed in the first place.