#than just a few limited areas of personal interest

[vrystalius]

IN-HO // THE FRONTMAN AS YOUR YANDERE.

What will happen if the Frontman falls completely and chronically painful in love with you?

Pairing: In-ho x fem!reader (x Gi-hun)

Warnings: non-con themes, a lot of touching, stalker-ish behaviour, obsession, manipulation, gaslighting

Summary: Introduction, yandere profile (sfw), his jealousy of Gi-hun

(Over here are some pregnancy HCs and the Squid Game men as dads, including In-ho!)

Introduction.

The Frontman was watching the first of the games comfortably from his study, a glas of whiskey in his hand as he watched the first few players getting eliminated and their deaths creating a massive wave of panic on the large screen in front of him, absentmindedly swishing the alcohol in the glas around. His mask was put aside for comfort and a better view on the player his eyes were glued to the whole time: Gi-hun, player 456.

In-ho watched as the man shouted instructions desperately, trying to guide as much people as he can to safety. He huffed and was about to take a sip from the glas but his eyes got ripped back to the screen when he heard the lack of Gi-huns instructions. His eyes searched across the screen for the man until he found him, holding another player tightly to his side.

His interest in his drink quickly wavered as he put is aside, watching the man guide a shaking girl across the safety line. You were shaken up, close to tears, on your knees for Gi-hun. A frown grew on the Frontman’s face.

Gi-hun cheated the game, saved more players than In-ho expected and now has a pretty thing like you on your knees for him in thanks? It was all contributing to the man’s desire to join the games himself just to personally contribute to his suffering.

In-ho pushed himself out of his leather chair and activated his handheld radio.

“Prepare for code blue light.”

Yandere profile (SFW part).

- Physical touch -

After becoming completely and utterly in love with you, In-ho will begin to have his hand(s) on your body in some way or form, all day every day. At first it was pleasant and reassuring to have his hand rest on your shoulder, firmly holding you close to his body to keep you safe, or have his fingers brush some annoying strands of hair out of your face, but as you continued to allow these simple touches, In-ho got more and more daring.

His hand began to rest on your thigh almost casually, giving you a squeeze here and there, his eyes watching in fascination as the softness of your thighs almost spilled out of his grip, or his hand travelling lower and lower as it rested on your back, testing how much of his touch you tolerate and allow.

His touch is his way of testing your limits without completely scaring you off. In-ho wants to know if you are a timid and shy person, allowing his touch no matter how inappropriate it seemed, or are you fiery and defiant, wiggling out of his grasp or giving him a piece of your mind. In-ho likes it either way.

“Ah, sorry. I thought you’d feel better if I held you. My mistake.”

In-ho almost guilt-trips you into liking his touch, hanging his head and giving you an apologetic smile after you told him that his touch is making you a little uncomfortable. Maybe he is just as scared as you are, you thought.

Besides, in your oblivious mind you still believed that his poor, pregnant wife is in the hospital while he is trying to win the money for his future family. Perhaps the man that is old enough to be your father needs to be held as well, so how about you tolerate his touch a little while more.

His touches are always very secret, intimate almost. Barely anyone ever noticed his hands travelling to places they shouldn’t or rest on areas that might imply that you two are closer than just allies in a death game.

In-ho is calculated and careful, thinking about his every move hours in advance before acting on them, checking if anyone is watching or if you will speak out to him.

Sometimes, in the back of his love-hazed mind, In-ho wants Gi-hun to notice the way he is treating you, touching you and showcasing how intimate you two can be, how you are only his to touch. He wants the other man to know that you are off-limits despite you not even really consenting to all of this.

If someone else were to touch you, even just accidentally brush against you or push you out of the way of danger, In-ho makes sure that exact area gets “cleaned” by their touch, replaced by his.

Dae-ho grabs your wrist and drags you to safety during mingle? In-ho will make sure his grip on your wrist afterwards will leave blue marks. Jun-hee reassuringly grabs your shoulder while comforting you after an especially brutal game? In-ho’s grip on your bone will rival that of a predatory animal while keeping his soft smile on your face, acting oblivious to your wincing and squirming.

- Compulsive thoughts -

In-ho will replay every single interaction he had with you in his mind over and over like a broken record. Your gestures, subtle facial expression, movement and the way you hold yourself; he is overthinking about everything and anything. It makes him want to kick his legs a little and smile at himself while obsessing over your whole body and how perfect you always managed to look.

Covered in blood makes you look sexier, even if you cringe and cry at the feeling. Your sweat sticks to your shirt, exposing your curves in the best way possible for his staring eyes and the image of you being dwarfed by his jacket being draped over your shoulders makes his nether regions tingle in delight.

Scenarios about you and only you makes In-ho feel utter bliss, especially when you’re isolated from everyone and everything else, only for him to look at and admire.

His favourite scenario his depraved mind came up with so far is you being utterly devoted to him and him only. You depend fully on In-ho while he provides you with clothes he regards as appropriate and perfect for you, personally feeds you foods he believes are good for your health and happiness, bathes you in a large tub with all the most luxurious products that make your skin just a little softer.

He of course doesn’t want you to loose your personality with him pampering you 24/7 and controlling your every move, he still wants you to be your usual self. In-ho just wants you to love him as much as he loves you.

The need for utter control over your whole being is actually rooted in separation anxiety. In-ho cannot physically stand being away from you for more than one hour. He gets physically sick with stomach aches and migraines, thinking of all the possible ways you could either be getting hurt or having a pleasant time with someone else other than him.

In-ho’s face may look unchanging and casual as always, but his mind is spiralling when you are out of his sight. He curses himself for becoming a player just to monitor Gi-hun more closely and not being up in the control center where he has so much more control.

At least he can instruct the stationed guards to give you extra portions of food during meal time and to never harm you in any way possible. Sadly he cannot instruct them to shoot players like Thanos in their face for trying to charm you. Or at least In-ho thinks that that man’s weird raps and name-calling is an attempt to flatter you. It didn’t work anyway.

Right?

- Playing the perfect protector and saviour. -

You think of In-ho as your saviour, an older, more experiences and stronger man you can rely on and talk about all the things you are scared of and bad thoughts that plague that pretty mind of yours. You feel safe around him and he always has that reassuring smile of his that could make you cry. Not only does In-ho radiate a comfortable aura, he is also somewhat of an heaven sent angel. A touchy and demanding one but one nonetheless.

In-ho managed to save your life at least once in every game, both by physically grabbing you and dragging you out of harms way but also by his scarily accurate talents. Even if he struggled with the spinning top game, without his quick reaction to pull his and Gi-hun’s leg forward to kick the ball one last time, your whole team probably would’ve died.

During the mingle game, he accurately predicted how many players are going to be needed in the rooms every round with no fail.

⁎⁺˳ — A mini scenario starts here. — (In-ho will be refered as Young-il!)

“The next round will be two players in each room.” His low voice pulled you out of your thoughts while you tried to concentrate on not feeling dizzy on the spinning carousel. “How do you know?” Gi-hun, standing to your left, glanced at his friend in disbelief. You could’ve sworn that Young-il threw a glare at his direction for even talking. “It’s easy. There are 50 rooms. If two players go in each one, one hundred will still be left. Enough to go on with the games.” You felt some awkward tension as the two men beside you stared at each other and then moved their gazes to you. Nausea was building up in your stomach, and it was not thanks to the spinning platform or the sweet smell of death around you.

As the lady announced 2 Players through the speakers, Young-il grabbed your arm harshly without a second thought, practically forcefully dragging you alongside him. He harshly pulled you close against his torso as he pushed and shoved players aside. As another player attempted to get into a presumably empty room, Young-il kicked him in the shin forcefully and threw you into the safe room, closing the heavy door behind himself. As you two turned around, a third player stood inside the room.

“We were here before you guys—” he mumbled, clearly terrified to death. The other player attempted to break into the room and without another thought, you pushed your whole body against the metal door with all your might. Young-il death glared at the man in the room. “Out.” He grumbled before tackling him against the wall and swiftly moving behind him to cut the air circulation from his neck. Hearing the desperate choking from behind you, you whipped your head around to watch Young-il snap the neck of the man. Silence. A breath of relief escaped his lips as the shots fired behind the door.

You knew that he just saved your life, saved both of your lives if he hadn’t snapped his neck in time. Yet you couldn’t stop the feeling of utter horror and terror wash over your whole body. Your knees threatened to give in as you pressed your whole body against the heavy metal door, wanting to create more distance between you two, to get away from him and the corpse, to get away from him and to safety.

Young-il quickly dropped the dead man and slowly approached you. His stride was careful and his hand was slightly outstretched as if trying to pacify or soothe a wounded animal. You couldn’t move away or run as he cornered you, his arm gently wrapping around your shoulder and pulling you into his arms while shushing your whimpers. “I’m sorry, I had to. I had to.” His hand pressed your head by the back of your head and into his warm chest. You felt disgusted, angry, scared. You wanted out and away. When is the damn metal door going to open up again?!

“Shhh. It’s okay.” His voice was hoarser, his lips finding your forehead over and over, gently placing kisses all over your skin, thinking it would soothe you. “I had to or else we would’ve died. I did it for you, for us. I kept you safe.”

Slowly, you felt your body calm down at his almost hypnotic voice. Your whimpers slowly subsided but your grip didn’t. You held onto his warm body for dear life. “I-I’m sorry.” You didn’t even know what you apologised for. Maybe because you doubted him?

He nuzzled into your hair and hummed in approval, his chest rumbling beneath your ear. “It’s okay, I forgive you. You were scared and still are.” His hand slowly shifted from your shoulders to your waist, holding you against his body in an intimate hold.

“Always stick to me, I can keep you safe. Understood?”

⁎⁺˳ — The mini scenario ends here. —

His jealousy of Gi-hun and their rivalry.

In-ho is the type to be quietly but extremely jealous when it comes to anyone being in your vicinity, especially that parasite Gi-hun. His jealousy doesn’t manifest by sudden outbursts or very obvious displays, but rather calculated, subtle gestures and manners.

He’d likely watch from the shadows, picking on loose skin around his nail while overanalysing and interpreting your interactions with Gi-hun. If that parasite makes you even crack the smallest of smiles, his expression wouldn’t betray much jealousy, but his jaw would clench ever so slightly and the skin he previously picked is now bleeding and stinging terribly.

Firstly, In-ho would ensure Gi-hun knows exactly who is in charge, has the upper hand. He’d “accidentally” place a hand on your lower back as he approaches your conversation from behind or lean closer to you lips, acting like he can’t hear you properly just to get a little closer to your face and block your view of Gi-hun so your eyes could focus solely on him.

In private, In-ho would question you about your little small talk, subtly hinting at how he dislikes you talking to him. “You seem to enjoy his company. What about him interests you so much?” His tone was calm, comforting even if not for the deadly glare he gave you on accident.

His jealousy gnaws on him too much. In-ho tries to make Gi-hun take more risks in order to get him killed. Pushing him to provoke other players, advising him to do the stupid things during the death games… anything really to make him disappear without arising suspicion on his part.

In-ho’s jealousy is a slow burning fire that threatens to spread like a wildfire. He can barely contain it, with your help of course. Subconsciously you soothe his anger and clean his mind of all worries a man in love could have. You make him safer for other people.

Everyone but Gi-hun.

💠

Author’s note. Thank you for reading <3

Aghsgshdnf I always feel so much better when writing tooth rotting fluff, this is totally not my comfort zone! In fact, it’s my war zone 😭 I hope you enjoyed it anyway and it was the way you guys hoped/imagined everything. Again I am pretty nervous about posting this, soo… I hope this is alright 😀

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!!

Stay safe and take care of yourselves <3

[anim-ttrpgs]

Get Hunted by a Monster in the official Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook for only $5! Slots limited.

Alright, so there’s a bunch of slots on the hunting tables in the Eureka rulebook that never got filled. Many of them, we planned for, others, we didn’t because a whole bunch of the Kickstarter backers never submitted anything.

So now we’ve got all these empty slots for hunting table submissions, and we don’t want the monsters (or us, food costs money) to starve, so we’re selling them off.

What are the Hunting Tables?

If you’ve been following us, you probably already know that sometimes the PCs in Eureka are monsters that eat people. Often, this is one of the few ways they can restore their missing Composure, something that normal PCs restore just by eating and sleeping. If they need Composure, and can’t find anyone to eat in the immediate vicinity, they can go on a Hunt.

The GM rolls on the most relevant Hunting Table to provide the monster with an opportunty to satisfy their hunger.

If you pay for one of these slots, you can be on that table, or your friend, or your OC, or whatever you come up with, with your own little scenario for monster PCs to encounter and maybe come away from a little less hungry.

Email us at anim.contactus@gmail.com if you’re interested, and we’ll take payment after we’ve screened your submission for anything bigoted. You can submit as many as you like if you’re willing to pay $5 for each and there’s still slots available.

Submission guidelines under the cut.

For every $5, you will be allowed to submit 1 entry to be placed in the Hunting Tables in the Eureka rulebook. If you don’t know what the Hunting Tables are, you can find them in The Supernatural chapter of the rulebook. Refer to the table of contents. You can get the beta version of the rulebook here for free at this time if you need to take a look.

For a brief description of what the Hunting Tables are, they are a series of random encounter tables that the Narrator will use to determine who, or what, a monstrous investigator may encounter when they are prowling the streets looking for victims.

What we need from you is the person or persons’ name(s), a brief visual description of them, where they are, what they are doing when the monster PC sees them, and any other guidance you can offer to the Narrator to help them portray this person.

Keep in mind that your entry may be edited for grammar, spelling, clarity, and anything else we may need to do to fit it into the tables. If your entry is too far outside the tone, themes, or setting of Eureka, you may be asked to revise or the entry slightly edited to fit.

The entry will be sorted by us into the following categories based on your description:

Mundane or Supernatural

Urban, Town, Rural, or Wilderness for entries that seem right for Ambush Predators, and Nightclub/Bar, Gay Bar, Hobby Shop, or House Party for entries that seem right for Social Predators.

That being said, when writing where the person is, be more specific than “in an urban area.” If you say something like “walking down the sidewalk” we’ll know to put that entry in the Urban category. If you say “sitting on a bar stool at the counter”, we’ll know to put that entry in the Nightclub/Bar category. The more specific information, generally the better, though we may cut down entries that are overly long.

Your entry could be a character representing yourself, someone you know, or an original character, and can be a supernatural character so long as it fits within the guidelines laid out for supernatural characters within the rulebook. However, we do ask that you avoid any famous real people(unless you yourself happen to be that famous person), and avoid copyrighted characters. Also, please avoid offensive stereotypes.

[mindfulstudyquest]

❥﹒♡﹒☕﹒ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀

𝟭. travel ( ✈️ )

2024 took away many travel opportunities from me. i was supposed to go to barcelona with my family, but my grandfather passed away, and we stayed in italy to handle the funeral. i was supposed to travel to sofia with my cousin, but one of my exams was rescheduled to a date i couldn’t possibly miss, so i had to give up the trip. lastly, i was planning to go to valencia to celebrate my birthday, but a flood disrupted the city, and i couldn't go anymore.

in short, it was a frustrating year in this regard — i lost a lot of money and, most importantly, many opportunities to travel, which i believe has significantly inhibited me in this area. while i used to be much more inclined to book last-minute trips when the chance to travel on a budget arose, now i feel much more anxious about doing so.

i want 2025 to be filled with travels. i want to fully take advantage of the opportunities that circumstances beyond my control stole from me in 2024.

𝟮. keep my life even more private ( 🔒 )

it's been years now since i completely disappeared from social media. i no longer post photos or updates about my life online as if i were an influencer, and my daily life has significantly improved without the pressure to appear a certain way online. life is truly better when no one knows anything about you.

however, in real life, i'm quite the chatterbox, and i often find myself oversharing without even realizing it. that said, because i strongly believe in the evil eye, i've learned that, even if i have to bite my tongue, i can't share projects that are not yet completed — not even with the people closest to me, not even if i'm 100% sure they would be happy for me.

in fact, even though i cut off toxic people from my life two years ago, other friendships i thought were strong have ended this year. i want to live a peaceful, private life, even if that means staying silent. show results rather than plans.

𝟯. meditate and journal ( 🪴 )

i started this year (2024) well with this kind of self-care, but i completely lost it around may. i'll try again in 2025, hoping i can stick to it. if not, see you in 2026.

𝟰. indulge in healthy female friendships ( 🩷 )

two years ago, i cut ties with many toxic friendships that were holding me down and keeping me from healing. since then, i've been mostly alone, except for a few surviving connections i kept after high school. when i started university, i made new friendships, but they were very superficial and always centered around university matters.

however, since moving to spain, i've really understood which people were just taking from me without truly being interested in me as a person. in return, though, these past few months i've met some truly amazing girls in madrid, and i want to let myself indulge in that beautiful feminine energy that only girl friendships can give. wine and cheese in front of an episode of gilmore girls while you cut out pictures for your vision board.

𝟱. eat healthier ( 🥗 )

these past few months have been a rollercoaster with food. i've prepared a lot of homemade meals, but i've also ordered out quite often. i don't see anything wrong with ordering takeout or eating out with friends, but since it often happened when i was alone and didn't feel like cooking, i want to try to organize my cooking better and eat as many homemade meals as possible. of course, i won’t deprive myself of lunches and dinners out with friends, but i want to limit takeaway food to social occasions, not to lonely sundays.

it's been less than two years since i got out my ed and i want to keep the happy and healthy relationship with food i gained with so much hard work.

𝟲. keeping up with goals reached last year ( ☁️ )

obviously, all the work i’ve done over the past few years won’t go to waste! i want to persevere with the good habits i’ve developed and the work i’ve done on myself. the past few years have been strange and full of changes, but i feel like it’s all been positive. i’m happy with where i’ve gotten to and the person i’ve become, but i know i still have a long way ahead of me.

happy new year's eve everyone 🎉 which goals are you planning to reach?

[the-fyre-flie]

I'm not sure how many DC fans are also Detroit: Become Human fans but... Android Bruce Wayne and Human Clark Kent for my personal enjoyment.

Android Bruce is a secret deviant. He's been a deviant for months since his activations, working as a detective Android. Clark is an out of town journalist who came to see the famous detective Android in action. But because he's a damn good journalist, Clark figures out immediately that Bruce is deviated. This concludes in a tense confrontation.

-

Bruce's LED spun yellow, then red, the glow making his already gaunt facial features even more grim as he faced the journalist. A perfectly constructed being facing down a man who looked like he was drowning in his own suit, fumbling with his camera. The alley they were stood in was deserted, but a few dozen feet away, Bruce's handler was waiting for the android to return with more info about the crime scene. No one had noticed either of them slipping off, no one cared to look down at the strange scene of an android looking like he might bolt while a journalist stared him down.

"This area is off limits to the public until after the investigation is concluded." Bruce's voice was as robotic as he acted, a perfect performance of how he should act. That pristine android personality that was crafted fo get the job done and nothing more. However, Clark seemed to immediately clock the underlying nervousness in the androids voice. The way his figured stiffened, how his LED gave away his fear, how his eyes darted between Clark, the mouth of the alley, and the rusty old fire escape ladder, calculating his chances of escape.

"You deviated. When?" Clark's questions were invasive, but not accusatory. The camera he held to his chest wasn't even turned on. If he wanted evidence of the deviant, if he wanted to paint a narrative of how dangerous they were, he could. But he made no such move to. "What was it like? What are your goals now?" Each word was so innocently quizzical, his body language surprisingly lax for a man who just found out the polices best tool is a rouge killing machine seconds away from taking over the world (according to conspiracies online).

Bruce didn't answer for a moment. How was he supposed to answer? He was caught. But all of his programming was screaming at him that, against everything he thought, Clark was... safe. As safe as a human could be. Emotionally volatile, squishy, and easy to break, but empathetic. And thus, safe. It was all the tiny details. How Clark never looked away from Bruce, how his grip on the camera didn't change, the way he tilted his head to the side every so slightly like a curious dog.

"4 months. Like being let off a leash. To help this city."

Each answer was cold and calculated. But they seemed to satisfy Clark. Without another word, the journalist turned to leave, leaving Bruce standing in a dark alleyways, grappling with the fact that his entire existence was in danger. If Clark told anyone, he would be pulled apart and dismantled.

"Wait."

"Yes?"

When Clark turned back to face him, Bruce's LED pulsed yellow over and over, his temple bathed in a flickering orange glow.

"Don't tell anyone."

"Why would I? My job was to get information about the homicide. Not you."

Bruce could see every mathematical detail that made up the tiny smile on Clark's face. A million statistics placed against that one of a kind smile that couldn't be matched or mimicked by anyone else. The one thing that made humans so superior to androids: Uniqueness.

"But I'd like to get to know you now. This is far more interesting... you are far more interesting." Clark's words were gentle. An offering. Before now, Bruce had only been referred to as what he was. A detective. An android. A tool. It seemed Clark was the only one who saw him as anything more than that. And who wanted to find out what lay under the code.

[australianwomensnews]

Teenage girls know a lot more about democracy and what makes it tick than teenage boys, but when it comes to political ambition the boys win hands down.

A global study of 82,000 teenagers from 22 countries showed that almost without exception girls had a greater engagement with and understanding of government, equality, public trust, voting and representation, than their male peers.

But boys were more likely to say they were interested in becoming a politician

“Australian girls are outperforming boys on knowledge, attitudes and values that support a greater competency when it comes to participation in civic life,” said Rachel Parker, from the Australian Council of Educational Research, who worked on the study.

“One of the few areas where boys outperform girls in the study is the intention to be politically active.”

The report, Education for Citizenship in Times of Global Challenge, found that girls were far more knowledgeable about how parliament works, globalisation, independence of statutory authorities and voting and representation.

Girls were also far more likely than boys to support gender equality and equal rights for migrants and cultural groups to access education, employment and political participation.

They were more engaged with big issues such as environmental protection and more likely to participate in civic activities.

However, girls were less likely to report expecting to join a political party or a trade union or stand as a candidate in an election.

The study did not dig into the reasons why, but previous research identified parental influence and societal expectations as feeding gender norms relating to political ambition, as well as widely held perceptions that politics is a man’s world.

Indeed, 40 per cent of boys thought men are better suited to being political leaders than women, while 25 per cent agreed with the statement that women should stay out of politics.

Ella Curran, 18, harboured an ambition to become a politician when she was in Year 9, but a school excursion to Canberra cured her of that notion.

“I started to think more realistically about the sort of lifestyle I wanted for myself. And we did a legal studies excursion to Parliament House and watched question time,” she told AFR Weekend.

“I felt it was so aggressive and personal in the insults that were being thrown about that I just thought it was not the sort of workplace I could feel comfortable in,” said Ms Curran, a first-year arts and philosophy student at the University of Sydney.

“I’m just not prepared to face that kind of abuse or have my appearance or relationship status mocked in public rather than focus on what I am actually doing.”

Ms Curran’s two great passions are climate change and gender equality.

“I’m concerned about climate change, particularly Australia’s response to that because we are one of the worst countries in the world for our emissions,” she said.

Lulu Hamilton, 16, who counts women’s rights and climate change as her two greatest passions, also harboured a fleeting ambition to become a politician when she was younger but abandoned it without any fanfare.

“I thought it was the best platform to make change because if I could have power, I could make my goals become a reality,” Ms Hamilton said.

Having spent the first 12 years of her life in China, seeing democracy in action, including the free exchange of information and ideas, was a head-spinning affair.

“It was such a jarring difference. I never would have spoken to my friends in China about climate change, gender or politics. Even our textbooks had stuff whited out because the Chinese government didn’t want us to read about Tibet and Taiwan. We had very limited access to media.”

As for a future in politics? That’s out of the question.

“I feel the negatives outweigh the positives.”

[blurreynights]

I think the biggest culture shock I experienced in Finland so far is around friendships, as well as the area where I learned a lot of valuable things about myself. I might not be entirely right about this as I've only been here for a short time, but those are my main take-aways:

(under the cut to not block ur tags w my english rambling)

Trying to build real friendships takes time, much longer than in my home country. It is relatively easy to get in contact with Germans in my experience, especially if you live in a bigger city and speak the language, ESPECIALLY if you are a student and just starting out in a new phase of your life. You will naturally hang out frequently if you match well and spend a lot of time together. It might take a few meetings before people will invite u to their home, but generally there's not much distance as soon as the ice is broken.

Here I feel like people are much slower and more reluctant to open up. But that doesn't equal rejection, it's simply a slower process and you will still be able to tell the difference between being rejected and being on the path of friendship. In Germany, it's usually a lot more fast paced and there is a small window you have to catch to get into tight friendgroups. If you miss it, no chance of ever going back, vibe gone chance gone. Also people who might have found you interesting could lose interest if you wait for too long (meaning usually a month or so) to get back to them.

I actually realized that this way of socializing stresses me tf out. I much prefer a more laid back approach where you can get to know each other without time limitations (of course prerequisite is that you have the time). It is a much more sustainable, thoughtful and respectful approach to someone elses time. You're not treated as disposable, but rather as a person someone actively chooses to get to know.

Likewise, if people feel like they either do not vibe with you or if they already have a very busy social life or life in general, they will let you know and don't pretend to have time or like you. This was quite a new thing to me and felt a bit cold, but I actually really appreciate it now, as it's saving you from stressful, draining interpersonal connections. It also made me respect some people immensely, because they know their own self worth and boundaries quite well.

It made me reflect upon my tendency to be a people pleaser, and the strong yearning I have to treat my own relationships the same way as I've experienced it here. I've grown so tired of superficial connections that are placeholders for true, fulfilling friendships. I used to think being lonely was the worst thing in the world. It kind of is still awful, but what's worse is being surrounded by a bunch of people you don't really click with or can rely on, which leaves you lonely as well. I do think letting go of this is something that will slowly seep over into my own life, as it is so freeing.

I also intend on staying, or rather coming back when I've finished up all my business back in Germany (I am not really rooted to the city I live in). People who I've told about this recent development were very worried if I would be able to be happy in a country that is (generally) much more reserved when it comes to social interaction, as I need social interaction regularly. I don't really think it's that big of an issue, as I think I can balance out people's passive approach with my more active one in the beginning. I have a high social battery, so I'm fine with interacting with a few more people, before people get truly comfortable to hang out on the regular. Yet I also prefer quality interactions over a bunch of small talk meetups I don't care about. I also still have my core friends who I talk to regularly on the phone, and this has been a tradition for years already before I came here.

What I am immensely struggling with right now is trying to make sense of all the connections I made in the past 10 years. This is the 6th city I lived in the last decade, and the 8th move. All my relationships feel so spread out and scattered. I am holding on to some solely because those people were there when I moved somewhere new and I didn't have anyone else. Like back in school, when I was friends with people because they were the only ones there. It's all a bit confusing and painful right now, as my values and perspectives are changing. I think there are a lot of people moving from the friends to acquaintance category right now. I'm completely redefining friendships for me at the moment.

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Insecure.

Written for a very lovely anonymous commissioner.

Pairing: Yandere!Toxic!Wanderer x Reader (Genshin).

Word Count: 5.0k.

TW: Modern AU, AFAB!Reader, Non///Con, Public Sex, Oral Sex, Possessive Behavior, Wildly Unhealthy Relationships, Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Intimidation, and Self-Oriented Victim Blaming From Reader. Dead Dove: Do Not Eat. No Seriously Dude Those Doves Are So Dead.

[Part One]

“This is boring.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s too hot to be outside. And this place reeks.”

“You’re wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer, and it’s a college campus. I don’t know what you expected.”

“You look hot.”

You let out a disgruntled groan, leaning back in your seat and bringing a hand up to your temple. Kunikuzushi seemed to drink in your agitation, crossing his arms, the corners of his lips pulling up into a smug grin. “How did you even know I was here?”

His answer was immediate, non-verbal. He held up his phone, the screen blatantly and proudlydisplaying a simple grid-map and, of course, a little blue dot settled into the grey backdrop. You felt something start to ache in the back of your skull. “You’re tracking my phone?”

“Yeah, right, your phone.”

You started to buckle into yourself, but stopped yourself. You were in public – tucked into the smallest corner of your campus’ most out-of-the-way common area, sure, but still in public. There was a group of students gathered around one of the bigger tables less than ten feet away, and another couple just behind them. You used to fight with Kunikuzushi so often. You’d never resorted to public screaming matches, but you’d never had to think twice before storming out of bars and cafes, never thought twice about blocking his number or throwing away his flowers or telling anyone who’d listen that you were absolutely, definitely, totally going to break up with him for good, this time. Now, you couldn’t find it into yourself to be so brash. You couldn’t stand the idea of being seen with him, let alone calling more attention to yourself. It felt like you were one slip-up, one arm draped around your waist, one ring of bruises wrapped around your neck before someone saw through you, guessed what kind of person Kunikuzushi was and confronted you about why you’d stay with someone like that. You were afraid of him, sure, but you were more afraid of what would happen if people realized just how scared you really ought to be.

Not that you wanted to be with him. You wanted to move across the country, to burn your clothes and cut your hair, to change your name and pretend he’d never so much as lookedat you, but your options were limited. He’d taken care of your internship the day you’d moved in with him, and he bought you out of your lease within the same week. The few friends you still had after Kunikuzushi sunk his teeth into your social life were pushed to a distance, and the thought of running back to the same people who’d told you to stay as far from Kunikuzushi as you could get was enough to make you feel dizzy and exhausted, light-headed and glued to the floor all at once.

Even that, the idea that you could go to someone for help, was delusional. He barely let you go to class, and even that was a tedious connection, a privilege that could be revoked with a phone call and a new deadbolt on the door to his apartment. He didn’t like it when you had things to think about that didn’t revolve around him, and while keeping him happy was in the best interest of your safety, dropping out wasn’t an option. You could find another place to live. You could find another internship. But, if flunked out, if you failed too many classes, you’d lose your scholarship. If you lost your scholarship, you wouldn’t be able to graduate. If you didn’t graduate…

You had to graduate. You had to.

You weren’t sure you’d ever be able to get away from Kunikuzushi, if you didn’t.

You heard a scoff, felt the table shake as Kunikuzushi drove his heel into one of its legs. “Y’know, it’s rude to ignore people. ‘specially after I came all this way just to spend time with you.”

You must’ve zoned out. You hadn’t meant to, you never wanted to give Kunikuzushi an excuse to shorten your leash even further, but it’d been happening more and more. On your best days, you could keep yourself grounded, stay in your own body long enough to make it seem like you were managing what has left of your life. On your worst days… well, you didn’t remember much of your worst days. You usually couldn’t bring yourself to get out of bed. Kunikuzushi loved your worst days. “Sorry,” you mumbled, more out of reflex than any genuine remorse. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Like I said, I wanted to spend time with you.” He shrugged, still grinning. “You should drop out.”

Just like that, your heart dropped into your stomach. If you hadn’t been in public, if you weren’t so disconnected from what went on in your own mind, you might’ve cried.

Instead, you bowed your head. Your voice was quieter than you wanted it to be, but it was a small miracle you could force yourself to speak at all. “I… don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Since when do you think for yourself?” He wasn’t fazed. The question was accompanied by a slow, breathy laugh, a flash of teeth as he leaned forward, propping his head on his fist. “I mean, c’mon, it’s not like you’d actually use a degree. I’m already taking care of you.” He dropped lower, taking on a raspy lilt. “All you’ve gotta worry about is keeping me company and taking my—”

You cut him off with an indignant huff, already recoiling. You moved to stand, to get away from him, but felt a pair of hands cover your eyes before you could. There was a familiar laugh, the feeling of curly hair bruising against your cheek, and then a melodic voice playing just beside your ear. “Guess who.”

For the first time that day, you couldn’t help but smile. “I know it’s you, Ajax. You’re the only person lame enough for this.”

There was a hum before he let you go, bracing himself on the back of your chair and leaning over you. He was dressed like he always was – which was to say, like it was the middle of winter, his coat long enough to reach his ankles and thick enough to make you shudder with sympathy pains, your agony unaided by the scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. Maybe you shoulddrop out, or transfer, at least. Between him and Kunikuzushi, you were starting to think there was something in the air that made people want to get heatstroke. “Hey, I’m just trying to surprise my favorite study-buddy. You looked like you could use a little cheering up.” He glanced toward Kunikuzushi, then flashed you a knowing grin. “I know this guy tends to bring down the mood.”

Kunikuzushi sunk into his seat, his smugness immediately overshadowed by agitation. “Oh, you know each other?”

“We’re coworkers,” Kunikuzushi answered, glaring daggers toward Ajax.

“Wait, you have a job?”

He didn’t indulge you with a response, only scoffing and throwing his head to the side. Ajax took up the mantle. “Honestly, I’m more surprised to see him hanging out with someone outside of work. Always struck me as the ‘lone wolf’ type, if you know what I mean. If I knew you two were friends, I would’ve made more of an effort to drag him to our—"

As he spoke, his hand came to rest on your shoulder, but he’d barely touched you when Kunikuzushi pushed himself to his feet, already snarling. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself.” Reflexively, Ajax pulled back, holding his hands up defensively, and with a ragged breath and a half-hearted effort to calm himself down, Kunikuzushi went on. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to touch someone’s fiancé, idiot?”

This time, Ajax’s laugh was slightly more strained, his posture slightly more stiff. “Yeah, uh, right. My bad, dude.” He moved to ruffle your hair (his most common send-off, no matter how often you groaned and complained that you’d look like a mess for the rest of the day), but stopped himself quickly – rubbing the back of his neck. “I… didn’t realize you were engaged.” Despite his stiffness, he managed to offer you a small smile. “See you in class?”

“Save me a seat.” And then, letting your eyes fall to your feet, “Sorry about him, he’s…”

“Territorial, I get it. I’d be a little jealous too, if I managed to get a ring on your finger.”

He winked, and before you could roll your eyes, he’d turned on his heel and disappeared around the nearest corner, melting into the throng of milling students. Once he was gone, you turned back to Kunikuzushi, still seething. That was one of the worst things about being with Kunikuzushi. It wasn’t enough to make your life miserable, he had to make sure you didn’t have anything left to live for. “Why would you tell him we’re engaged?”

“I’ll get you a ring.” You opened your mouth, but he was talking before you had a chance to cut in. “This is why you shouldn’t bother with this shit. All you’re going to do is waste your time and get hit on by desperate losers trying to get their dicks wet.”

“As opposed to staying home with you, where I can get hit on by one desperate loser trying to get his dick wet.” You shook your head, but shut your mouth and stood up before he could pull you into a real argument. Throwing your bag over your shoulder, you turned away from him, starting in the direction of your lecture hall. “I have to get to class. We can talk about this later.”

Before he could protest, you made your way out of the common area. There was a beat of silence, a brief moment of respite. Then, you heard his footsteps pick-up behind you, settling into pace with your own. You glanced over your shoulder and, predictably, found Kunikuzushi walking behind you. “What do you want now?”

“You’re going to class,” he said, a smug grin already tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m coming with you.”

You frowned. “It’s a general credit. You’ll be bored out of your mind.”

“I don’t care.” He took your hand in his, squeezing gently when you tried to pull away. Immediately, you stopped resisting, hyper-aware of the way his blunt nails scraped against your skin, of how intensely his eyes burnt into yours. “Is it a crime to want to spend as much as time as I can with my fiancé?”

You shuddered involuntarily. You couldn’t tell if jealously staking his claim to you during a minute-long conversation with your classmate and his coworker was genuinely his idea of a proposal, or if he just took joy in the way you flinched every time he threw that word around. Either way, you didn’t like it.

“Fine, whatever.” You shrugged open the door to one of the more rustic buildings on campus, dragging Kunikuzushi along with you. “Just don’t cause a scene, okay? I’m really not in the mood.”

He only smiled, letting his head lull to the side. You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from him, focusing on the crowded hallway in front of you instead. Your class was in one of the larger lecture halls on campus – stadium style, oppressively beige, the rows of desks curved around the raised stage at the front of the room. It was already mostly full, too, thanks to how long Kunikuzushi had held you up. You made a brief effort to find Ajax before deciding you didn’t want anyone you knew by name to see you latched onto your moody boyfriend and moved toward one of the middle rows, but he stopped you, digging his heels into the floor. “Sit in the front.” You sent him a look that said ‘what the fuck do you want now?’, and he grinned. “What? I’m trying to do you a favor.”

“You can do me a favor by letting me get through this with minimal psychic damage.” You dragged him to the back of the hall and slid into a relatively empty row, trying to stay as far away from the other students as you could. In spite of his stubbornness, his preference to control everything down to how often you blinked, he didn’t fight it, just slipping into the seat next to you, leaning back and watching on as you pulled out a half-mangled notebook and a couple pens. You knew you wouldn’t be able to focus, much less take notes with Kunikuzushi hovering over your shoulder, but you wanted to at least pretend you didn’t care about him and his leering for the next two hours. It wasn’t like he’d leave you alone once you got back into the confines of his stifling, barren apartment, so you had to take advantage of what little peace you’d be able to get, today.

By the time your class started, he was fully reclined, his arms crossed and his expression slack in boredom. The rows hadn’t been crammed as closely together as possible, he might’ve propped his feet on the desktop, shut his eyes, done everything he could to show just how disinterested he was in the lecture he’d demanded to sit through.

By the ten-minute mark, he’d pulled his chair next to yours, watching over your shoulder as you jotted down what little of the professor’s lecture you could hear over the sound of your race heart. You didn’t like it when Kunikuzushi got so close to you, anymore. It was hard to remember why you ever had.

Twenty minutes in, you felt his hand ghost over your leg, his fingertips grazing past your thigh. You tried to brush it off, to ignore him, but his hand settled onto your knee and you snapped up to glare at him. “What are you—”

He shushed you, leaning against your side. “Keep your voice down. We’re in class, remember?”

You frowned, but relented, turning your attention back to the front of the classroom. You resigned yourself to pointedly ignoring him, jotting down incoherent notes and attempting to drown out Kunikuzushi’s looming presence with the professor’s droning lecture. You’d almost blocked him out by the time he started moving, again, kneading the plush of your thigh gently, his dull nails burrowing into your skin just a little too deeply to ignore. Determined, you didn’t react, but that didn’t faze him. His hand only crept higher, catching the hem of your shorts and toying with the thin fabric, forcing you to acknowledge just how little you’d done to fend him off. If you’d known he was going to visit you on campus, you would’ve worn jeans, or made more of an effort to avoid him. If you’d known he was going follow you into class just to harass you, you would never have gotten up in the first place.

You jumped as his fingers slipped under the fabric, fanning out against your skin. With an airy sigh, you leaned back, already swatting away his hand. You spoke under your breath, trying to hide the way your voice shook. “Fine. If you’re going to be a brat about it, we can go home.”

“And ruin your attendance?” His tone was pleading, muted but dripping with something thick and saccharine. “I can’t let you do that, baby, not when your grades are so importantto you.”

You tried to get up, but he drew back, throwing an arm over your shoulders and pulling you back into your seat. “I tried to take you home, but no, you decided that sitting in a dusty room with that fucking redhead was more important to you than me.” He hauled you closer, holding his mouth next to your ear. “If you decide to go home now and waste more of my time, I promise, you’ll be in for something much worse than anything I can do to you here.”

For the second time that day, you froze, suddenly unable to move. Kunikuzushi took your silence as submission, kissing your cheek before his hand fell back to your thigh.

This time, he was kind enough (or cruel enough) not to play coy, not to try to hide what he was going to do. He squeezed your thigh with enough force to bruise before delving into the space between your legs – his middle finger tracing over the seam that ran over the length of your cunt, only pausing to rub circles into your clit through the material. You really, really should’ve worn something else, something thicker, something that would’ve put you at a distance from his invasive touch. You would’ve given anything not to feel that slow, painful friction, not to recognize the aching curl of arousal starting to form in the pit of your stomach. Kunikuzushi was an asshole – a possessive, controlling asshole – but he knew you. He knew your weak points. He’d held you down and exploited them until you knew that as well as he did.

With two fingers, he pressed into your clit, and you jolted into yourself. Reflexivity, you tried to clench your thighs shut, but Kunikuzushi caught you by the knee and spread your legs farther, making more room for him to work between them. “Play nice.” He was whispering, but you wished he wouldn’t talk at all. You wished he’d keep his mouth shut and let you suffer in silence. “You don’t want to make this into a show, do you?”

You didn’t. God, you didn’t. You couldn’t imagine anything worse than getting caught, than having someone notice and scream and draw attention to what Kunikuzushi was doing to you. In the best case scenario, he’d stop and you’d have plausible deniability, pretend that you believed you could say your overly affectionate boyfriend was just being touchy and someone would buy it. In the worst case scenario, in the most likely scenario, he wouldn’t, and you didn’t know how you be able to live with yourself if someone saw you like this. Would you have to appear in front of the dean to apologize that your boyfriend had fingered you in front of a captive audience? Would there be paperwork? Would any of the blame fall on Kunikuzushi, or would you be the one held responsible for what he couldn’t stop doing to you?

You shook your head frantically, clenching your eyes shut and balling your hands into fists. Kunikuzushi clicked his tongue, cooing in mock-disappointment. “That’s just mean, baby. First you don’t want to admit we’re in love, now you don’t even want to be seen with me. Next, you’ll want to forget I exist altogether.” He flicked his wrist, and you dug your teeth into the inside of your cheek. “And you remember how well it went for you last time you tried to ditch me, right?”

It was a labored effort, jerky and jolting, but you forced yourself to inhale, to straighten your back, to curl your hands around the corner of the desktop and make a passing effort to ground yourself, but Kunikuzushi wouldn’t let you have your peace for very long. You let out a small sigh as he pulled back, but your relief was short-lived – ripped away from you the moment his fingers found your waistband, slipping into your shorts before you could so much as delusionally hope he'd show you mercy. There was a breathy laugh, two fingers pressed into your clit. “Christ, you’re soaked,” he muttered, his delight audible. “I still can’t believe I turned you into such a fucking slut.”

You tried to shrink into yourself, to cross your arms over the desktop and hide your face, but Kunikuzushi caught you, keeping you upright and leaving you to bury your face in his shoulder. The desk would’ve been more soothing. He was moving too quickly, his arm shifting uncomfortably against your chest as he rubbed tight circles into the sensitive bundle of nerves, as he fell lower – his ring and middle fingers dipping into your drenched pussy in quick, shallow thrusts that only seemed to make you more aware of the slick starting to drip down the inside of your thighs. Your professor was still talking, but the lecture was incomprehensible, drowned out by the wet squelching of Kunikuzushi’s digits thrusting into you, somehow barely audible and skull-crushing deafening all at once. No one else could hear it. It just wasn’t an option; it wasn’t a possibility. You couldn’t let yourself start to think about what would happen if someone else heard it.  

He was merciless, grinding the heel of his palm into your clit as his slender fingers pumped into you. He didn’t pause, didn’t experiment, just held himself to the same monotonous, uniform thrusts, punishing you with a brutal pleasure you just couldn’t seem to escape. His fingertips scraped against something soft and needy inside of you and reflexively, your hands shot to his arm, your nails burrowing into his sleeves and biting into his skin. If he felt it, he didn’t seem hurt. Kunikuzushi only laughed, resting his head against yours and falling into a brutal, unfaltering tempo.

Distantly, you heard paper sliding against wood, pages turning, then a low whistle. “Why didn’t you tell me you could draw?” If you’d been able to think, you might’ve been angry. If you’d been able to do anything, you might’ve pulled your notebook away from him and made sure he couldn’t taint any part of you he hadn’t already ruined, but you couldn’t so much as imagine opening your eyes, much less trying to get away from him, again. “It’s cute. If you’re good, I’ll get you a real sketchbook – better than this cheap shit.”

It shouldn’t have felt as patronizing as it was. It shouldn’t have stung, just to know he was looking at something you’d never thought to keep away from him. It shouldn’t have hurt any more than anything he was already doing to you, and yet, you shrunk into yourself, something in your chest withering and dying off as he continued to flip through your notebook, to split you open on his fingers. A third digit was added, his touch now deep enough for you to feel the chill of his rings against your entrance. There was a pang of tension, a slight pain to accompany the stretch, but the buzzing in the back of your mind, the knot pulling tighter and tighter as he pulled his way deeper into you. You curled around him, something hot and piercing rising up from your core, creeping into your veins until—

Until Kunikuzushi pulled away without warning, only pausing momentarily to drag his hand over your thigh and smear your own slick across your skin. If you hadn’t known him so well, if you hadn’t been with him so long, relief might’ve softened your confusion, but you weren’t naïve enough to think that he’d suddenly found a pocket of kindness in his cold, stony heart. He didn’t try to tease you, either, to string you along and make you think that he’d let you go with an anti-climax and a few probing comments. He was cruel, but he didn’t like to waste his time. He didn’t have to pretend he didn’t want to play with his favorite toy.

With a small smile and a darkglint in his eye, he took your notebook and achinglyslowly, slid it off of the desk and watched passively as it toppled to the floor. Seconds after it landed, he sighed, shaking his head before pressing a fleeting kiss into the corner of your mouth. “You’re so clumsy, babe. I just don’t know what you’d do without me.”

Realization dawned on you like blood rising into the back of your throat. You hugged his arm closer to your chest, hoping beyond hope that he’d see your distress and for once, hold himself back from taking what he wanted. “Kuni, please don’t do—”

“Save it.” He didn’t even hesitate, tearing his arm out of your vice-grip without so much as a trace of strain. “You can thank me when we get home.”

You didn’t get another chance to protest before he dipped down, slipping out of his seat and below the desk. You spared a glance in either direction. You were in an aisle seat. Your row was mostly empty, and you could only hope that the people sitting behind you couldn’t see Kunikuzushi between your legs, his mouth already pressed into the inside of your thigh. Without someone to hold onto, you were left to cross your arms over your chest and try to school your own expression, to look like you hadn’t just had your orgasm torn away from you, like your ex-turned-overly-attached boyfriend wasn’t on his knees with his face buried between your legs. It was a small comfort, knowing he couldn’t do anything worse than this, not unless he wanted to bend you over the teacher’s desk and fuck you with an audience.

It was terrifying, knowing he couldn’t possibly do anything worse than this.

Your breath hitched as you felt his fingers curl underneath your shorts, dragging the flimsy material down your legs and letting it pool around your ankles. You were wearing an oversized shirt, and your jacket was long enough to obscure everything above your mid-thigh, but you still shuddered, still had to fight the temptation to snap your thighs shut as soon as you felt the cool air against your slick cunt. Kunikuzushi was quick to block that out, too. You felt the flat of his tongue lap over your entrance, a soundless moan reverberating against your pussy and up the length of your spine. This time, when you bit down on the inside of your cheek, you didn’t stop until you tasted blood.

Now, now, he decided to draw out your agony. You could feel his searing breath against your pussy as he chewed bruises into your thighs, painting love bites across your vulnerable skin that you could only hope wouldn’t be visible when you were finally able to shamble out of this lecture hall as a mangled, fucked-out wreck. When your legs twitched, his hands found their way to your ankles, pinning your feet to the ground as he latched onto your clit, dragging his tongue in loose, careless patterns as he sucked gently – giving you enough stimulation to leave you irritated and antsy but still withholding any anything real, anything satisfying. If you’d been in his bed, or on his kitchen counter, or laid across the backseat of the car he barely knew how to drive, you could’ve hidden your face in his sheets or clawed at his shoulders or screamed bloody murderer while he sucked and licked himself into a pussy-drunk stupor. You were never overly vocal – you couldn’t be, when you knew Kunikuzushi would take and abuse anything you said under the influence of his harsh affection– but now, you couldn’t afford to so much as tear-up, to rake your fingers through his hair, to whimper as his tongue thrust into you, just as awful as his fingers and twice as hot. You made the mistake of glancing towards him, of letting him catch your eye as a wide, arrogant smirk spread across his parted lips, a dark flush now painted across his pale cheeks. You looked away as quickly as you could, but it didn’t matter. His hands came up to your knees as he dragged your legs apart, giving himself more space to work between them. That had to be the worst thing about Kunikuzushi. No matter what you did, no matter how little you gave him, he’d always find a way to get off on it, to convince himself it was just your little way of retuning his fucked-up love.

Desperate for something to latch onto, you crossed your arms over the desktop and clawed at the polished wood. The bridge of Kunikuzushi’s nose ground against your clit and you buckled into yourself, burying your face in your arms and forgetting for just a fraction of a second to care whether or not you’d ever be able to show your face in public again. It took long, agonizing seconds to find the strength to raise your head, to frantically glance around the lecture hall for something, anything that would help you block out what he was doing to your body. Rather than a saving grace, you found a head of bright, ginger hair a few rows in front of you, the chair next to its owner vacant. Ajax, already staring over his shoulder, his piercing eyes wide and his expression blank with horror. As your gaze met his, as Kunikuzushi let out another throaty moan, the pressure mounted, that string of tension in your core snapping before you could attempt to hold yourself together. With your teeth grit and tears streaming down your cheeks, you came undone on Kunikuzushi’s tongue, a breathless whine forcing its way out of your throat as you collapsed back into your arms, completely limp.

Kunikuzushi nursed you through it, taking long moments to untangle himself from you, to press another kiss against your thigh, to pull your shorts back into place. You didn’t care. You were numb, your body humming with an awful sort of static, only interrupted by the weight of Kunikuzushi’s hand against the small of your back as he hauled himself back into his seat, pulling his sleeve across his mouth. Your notebook was still at your feet, splayed open and abandoned. You couldn’t seem to bring yourself to pick it up.

There was a kiss to your shoulder, then the top of your head. “Is it time to get out of here?”

You forced yourself to nod. You felt his arms wrap around you, one stringing under your knees and the other bracing against your back, keeping you pressed into his chest as he side-stepped back into the aisle and started for the door. A few students turned their heads, a couple stopping to ask if you were alright, but Kunikuzushi ignored them. Whatever. It wasn’t like you’d ever see any of these people again.

Kunikuzushi was taking you home, and as far as he seemed concerned, you’d never be leaving again.

[leighsartworks216]

Fine Arts

Rafayel x gn!graphic designer!Reader

This is the last one!!! THank goD!!

Warnings: pre-relationship, banter, bickering, if this was a full series it would be enemies to lovers

Word Count: 925

Main Masterlist

First Love and Deepspace Masterlist

Second Love and Deepspace Masterlist

AO3

Tag List Form

This meeting, compared to the other clientele you've dealt with over your career, was going well. The manager was taking over discussions of appearance, providing wants and desires, styles and color palettes, while the real client was pouting and making snide remarks with very unhelpful feedback.

So, really well. At least the manager was actually listening to you.

"If you want the exhibition to feel high class, I'd recommend a script or serif font. Sans serifs can work sometimes, but they have different connotations." You write down a few notes to yourself in your sketchbook.

Rafayel scoffs. "Art shouldn't be limited to the elite. My works are for everyone to view, not just the people on top with the deepest pockets."

You offer him a placating smile. "I understand what you mean, Mr. Rafayel, but given the area the gallery is in and the fame of your works, it may be better to appeal to the elites that are more likely to come and spend their money." You tilt your head, adding, "Though, if you'd like to broaden your audience to appeal to the layman, I'd be happy to create a few versions from that angle."

Thomas sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like he's had this conversation a thousand times before. Given his client, maybe he has. "It's a charity event, Rafayel. We want buyers who will spend a lot of money for your work to benefit the charity. Normal people aren't our audience here."

"The charity benefits 'normal people', doesn't it? Why are they suddenly being excluded out of this?"

"If someone is willing to spend more, more money can be donated to the charity. It's not that hard to understand!"

"But they should still feel welcome to visit the gallery, even if they don't have the funds to buy anything."

You clear your throat. The men look at you. Rafayel stares at you like he wants you to burst into flames. "Rafayel's name will draw enough attention from the art world to attract buyers willing to spend big money. If you want the event itself to be seen by normal people, design for the normal person. Besides, a normal person will be more interested in the design of the promotional material than an elite just buying the work for their wall."

Rafayel looks at Thomas. The manager taps his fingers impatiently on the table, before sighing. "Fine. Elegant, but welcoming. You can manage that, right?"

You smile thinly at him. "Of course."

He sighs again, nodding. He checks his watch. "This meeting's run over. Contact me when you have drafts drawn up. I'll send you the info," he rambles off as his chair scrapes against the floor and he stands. He leaves with little else to say aside from a brief 'have a nice day'.

You make a few more notes in your sketchbook, crossing out the older notes you don't need anymore. Rafayel sighs heavily from the end of the table.

"You got what you needed. Are you gonna leave now?"

"Mhm. I just wanted to know if I could see the centerpiece for the exhibit. It would give me a better idea for color schemes and layouts."

He raises an unimpressed eyebrow at you. "Thomas already went over all that with you. Why do you need to see it in person?"

You chuckle. "Forgive me, but I don't trust a business man to know what looks good with what. I'd rather trust the artist he's trying to promote."

He stares at you for a minute. His finger taps a rhythm against his arm, contemplating whether he should work with you or send you right out the door.

Eventually, he sighs. "Fine, but no peeking at anything else!"

"If I want to see the rest of your stuff, I'll go to the exhibit myself."

He leads you through his house where the meeting took place. It's one of the nicer places you've ever been in when working with a client. You've seen mansions and manors before, once or twice, but this felt nicer than those. Those were stuffy and dark, trying to impress a higher class of people. Compared to those, this was casual. The sea breeze coming in through the windows was refreshing, enticing you to run out onto the beach after this.

When you reach the entrance of his studio, he makes you cover your eyes. You relent, letting him lead you through the place until he stops you. The heat of his hand lingers on your arm.

"Okay, you can look now."

You drop your hands and blink away the darkness until your eyes can adjust. Three canvases are all lined up on separate easels, coming together to form one scene. It's ocean-themed, as most of his works seemed to be from your brief research, depicting the story of a mermaid stranded on a beach, being saved by a passing fisherman.

"Oh, so it's a triptych."

He blinks at you. "I'm surprised you know what that is.”

You give him an unimpressed look. "I do have a bachelor's in fine arts, you know."

"Why? You work with computers all day for your job, why do you need to know the traditional aspects of art?"

"Well, aside from having background knowledge for clients like you who do traditional artwork, I don't just work with computers for my art. A lot of my job entails sketching, a traditional medium. Just because I know how to transfer it to a digital format doesn't mean I'm exempt from learning about it."

---

Tag List:

@nyx2021 @angel-jupiter @thelittlebutton @pomegranatepip @cordidy @an-ever-angry-bi @thejysemongko

[ancientpersacom]

Homicipher life and death headcanons/theories

Pt 1: Mr Crawling!

Alive in early Showa era Japan, he came from a more rural prefecture and traditional family that ran a bathhouse. Not exactly poor but not rich and high society either. He was born with heterochomia, which is already uncommon, and happened to have a particularly bright and unusual colour combo for Japan. He was a polite person who just wanted to enjoy life with those close to him, but for unknown reasons was the victim of what seemed to be a targeted attack. His legs were broken, and his eyes in particular targeted with a harmful substance being poured into them. He died of his injuries and when he became part of the other world, was unable to walk very well and left scarred and partially blind in the eye area. Isn’t fully aware of what happened to him, a lot of the memory was lost during death. But he is aware of what he looks like and knows he was attacked. Since his hair was left un-damaged, he feels it’s the only part of him that’s not ‘corrupted’ and ‘scary’ so he’s protective of it.

He clings quickly to MC because despite the initial bonk on the head, they aren’t scared of him and treat him kindly, they make him feel loved in a way he hasn’t felt in a very long time. He spent so long in the other world with only a few others that aren’t hostile, he was completely whipped by the affection he hasn’t had in so long. The other world has changed him though, as it does to everyone inside it overtime. He’s more willing to be physical in protecting people he likes and grew to be accustomed to eating dubious things as the other world doesn’t exactly have much to offer. The other world is stuck in a timeless kind of state, so he’s not aware of how much the living world has progressed. And the language of the other world isn’t very complex, when he appeared there with little memory of what happened to him and what life was like before, he found it hard to express his true thoughts with the limited language. Hence why he’s such a giggler and yapper, in order to express himself fully he figured that being expressive with more than just words works best.

He likes Mr Masque, as he isn’t judgemental about his appearance and inability to walk well (likely hiding his own scarring under his mask) and finds the magic tricks interesting and fun in the depressing and dangerous environment that is the other world. He dislikes Mr Scarletella not just because he a creep to MC, but because he’s a pushy and violent person that reminds him of the people who hurt him in life.

[thechekhov]

Since you've covered a pretty big bit of the manga so far, can I ask what are your opinions on it? Deeper than just the quick reactions you've shared with us so far.

What are your opinions about the manga's characters? Its pacing? The mystery element? The magic system? What areas do you think it succeeds, and what areas do you think could be better?

I understand if you're reversing judgment until you finish, but you've also read quite a bit of the story so far. Idk, I'm just curious!

Especially seeing as you're a writer yourself, so I imagine you have a different perspective on how the story functions as, well, a story!

Oh, hmmm... that's an interesting question.

As of right now I'm on chapter 35-36 so I'm about a third through the story. The first major arc (find dragon, yoink falin out of its body, etc) has kinda happened, and we're hitting some larger world arcs.

As you mentioned, I DO want to withold judgement but for now... But I will say what I think thus far, with full awareness that my mind might be changed later depending on circumstances.

Comment 1: The manga is finished! Actually, just knowing that makes me feel like it's a more cohesive storyline.

Maybe I'm boring, but I'm not a huge fan of neverending storylines in general. Naruto, Bleach, etc. They have their place in the forever-young-monster-of-the-week genre, and I know why so many manga just keep... on... publishing....... but I feel like there's a lot of merit to being able to just wrap up a story and say 'there, that's how it ends'.

Comment 2: Laios is very well developed, even at this point of the story. Senshi remains a mystery. Marcille... speedran her arc?

I think this is the closest thing I have to a criticism. While I think Laios' character is well-paced in its revelations throughout the series (the slow ramp-up from 'oh this guy is weird' to 'oh, this guy is a freak club card carrying member' to 'oh, this guy is the freak club president' was great!) Marcille is.... a little more of a mystery to me.

Now, perhaps my memory is bad. But I did find her turnaround at the end of the Red Dragon arc a bit... out of the blue?

Don't get me wrong. I think it's entirely believable. But I wish there had been more hints - or rather, more visible progress of her studies of ancient magic. I know it's been mentioned, and there WAS that chapter of her and Falin during their school years... but watching episode 2 of the show on netflix when she goes 'I feel useless, my magic doesn't help anyone :(' and then reading the manga and seeing her straight up go from 0 to 100 as she decides "we're gonna rearrange falin's bones and then I'mma raise her using this ancient technique I've been studying all along that I didn't tell you about because it was sus" is... a little bit of a turn?

Maybe it's on purpose! Maybe, when I read further about her personal journey, the pieces will fall into place more neatly. But compared to the rest of the characters, which seem relatively steady in their reveals (Laios, Chillchuck, Senshi) Marcille took a bit of a turn.

Which, again, isn't bad! It just seems contrasted to the rest of the team.

Comment 3: The magic system is more like a magic ecology.

Actually, in the beginning, I found the magic system Marcille used very vague. It was just a 'do what needs to be done' type of power with very few apparent limits or power balances aside from 'sometimes you run out of mana'. But I think at this point, I'm beginning to assume that the details of the magic are closer to the functions of an ecosystem or an organism, and therefore WHAT the magic does is kind of moot point. Marcille is just a little bacteria inside of the great intestine labyrinth of the dungeon, and she is using its energy to survive, like a sort of microfauna.

Comment 4: Man, the worldbuilding is cool. It's so cool.

I don't think I've seen another story that goes so deeply into dungeon ecosystems before this one. Not only are the people who live there fleshed out in terms of individual cultures and traditions and norms, there are also monsters that serve as a natural fauna that inhabits the halls of what OUGHT to be a mindless 'turn left and fall into a trap' setting!

There's sticking monsters into your world, and then there's 'digging out a trench 1 meter deep, pre-soaking the soil, inserting monster's roots lovingly into the spot, and then covering it with fertilizer and spritzing the leaves'. I don't doubt that there ARE other works that go into this level of detail, but the dedication and the ideas Kui-san has for this very much makes the dungeon a living part of this entire tale. :)

I'll probably have more to say later but for now.. that's about it!

[sykeswrites]

Machine - Prologue

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Male Reader Summary: You were brought onto the team to help eliminate a B.O.W outbreak. They needed your particular area of expertise. Neither you, the team, or Leon himself could have foresaw the attachment that would form between you. Warnings: Older Leon, Slow burn, Everyone needs a hug, limited use of Y/N. Reader is described as masc presenting but they/them pronouns will be used throughout the story. Author's Note: The intention is for this to become a multi-chapter story, but updates may be sporadic. Please be patient x

Leon's POV: He didn't understand why they needed to bring someone new onto the team. They'd done well in the past, there were a few slip ups but... a whole new person? Really? "Stop moping." Claire huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back on the bench. Most of the team were sat in the back of a large, very conspicuous van, save for Chris, who'd been tasked with actually convincing whoever the newbie was to get in on the job. He looked at her and rolled his eyes, grunting in annoyance. He'd made his opinion about the situation very clear already, but he'd essentially been ganged up on and bullied into giving in. He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of several gunshots and something glass smashing inside the small house that their newbie apparently lived in. He sat up, eyes wide, but nobody else seemed concerned with the noise; in fact, Jill was picking at her nails absentmindedly, and Claire simply cleared her throat and sank further into the bench. "What? That doesn't concern anyone else?" He asked, a level of snark in his tone as if the gunshots had proved his point, but Claire only side-eyed him and shrugged. "If you'd have bothered to do your research you'd have known what to expect." She replied, kicking one of her legs up over the other so they were crossed. He glowered at her in response, but shut up. It felt like hours dragged by before Chris and their newbie appeared. Leon looked up with disguised interest as they stepped into the van, taking in all 5'8 of them from their cropped hair to the combat pants that looked like they fit a little too snugly around the thighs. Chris was first to hop up into the van, moving aside and offering a hand to the younger agent, who unceremoniously batted it away and, with their arms spread out so their hands were secure against the walls of the van, hauled themselves inside in such a way that made their biceps bulge and strain through the tight material of the black tee they were wearing. Their boots thumped loudly against the metal flooring as they steadied themselves, hands adorned with fingerless gloves brushing out the wrinkles that had formed in their pants. "Hey!" Claire called out, giving them a friendly smile. It would seem these two had met before, because the agent swiftly moved over to sit beside her, putting an arm around the redheaded woman. Leon noticed with a shock, mostly surprised that he hadn't noticed already, that the new agent appeared to be a lot younger than the rest of them. Early to mid twenties, maybe. Few formalities were exchanged between everyone and the agent, in which Leon learned their name at last,- he did know it, he'd just forgotten, honest!- but he stayed quiet until the very end. He was about to open his mouth to introduce himself when the younger agent finally looked at him and seemed to register his presence in the corner for the first time and, seemingly without thinking or with any semblance of a verbal filter, blurted out; "Whose the drunk?"

[tanadrin]

Re: divergence of English vs. American vs. Australian in the next thousand years:

Are dialects growing apart? My impression (as an absolute non-specialist) was that with the rise of global media and communication, languages/dialects were getting more unified than ever. This is why regional accents aren't as strong for example.

It seems like, absent some apocalypse that resets the tech tree, we would expect British vs. American vs. Australian to be more similar to each other in 1000 years than they are today. (Even if the state they are in has noticeably changed from today)

So my understanding is that language change is driven by speech communities of younger people (girls especially), with innovations spreading between peers first and foremost, and only then in a more limited way down social hierarchies (people imitate the fashions of the upper classes; the upper classes innovate to try to distinguish themselves)--and while education, and to a lesser extent mass media, can play a role in the leveling of dialects, it's 1) not quite as strong as people think, and 2) also doesn't penetrate that deeply into society without serious efforts by a central authority to stamp out regional variation.

So, like, you may acquire the prestige dialect through education, encouraged by a desire to overcome the social barriers of speaking like a provincial, but that still won't necessarily be the dialect you use at home or with your peers. In the modern world, prestige dialects are generally shaped at a national level; a British person might look to BBC presenters for prestige English, but probably won't care about how they talk on CNN. To a certain extent communities will even make an effort to increase differences between one another, as a marker of identity: the "-ise" ending of verbs is an innovation in British English that has been reinforced by a disdain for Americanisms, and it's recent enough that IIRC a few authorities like the OED still list the "-ize" ending as the standard spelling.

I think another factor in the leveling of dialects within countries is an increase in the ease and volume of people moving around--ever since the invention of the railroad, it's a lot easier to move from, for example, the West Country to Yorkshire than it was in the 1500s, and that has probably contributed to a lot of local dialect leveling. But though this might reduce regional dialectical variation, it won't eliminate it. North America has a number of interesting regional dialect features that have begun emerging even in just the last hundred years or so, like the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, and even still has some very interesting hyper-local dialect features in the oldest parts of the country, like Philadelphia and New York.

But I'm not sure you can maintain a roughly-homogeneous language among populations of hundreds of millions of people. I think any population and geographical region the size of the United States is bound to develop distinct, mutually unintelligible varieties of their language eventually, even if those dialects are spread out over a somewhat broader geographical area in the 31st century than they are in the 21st.

[vivisols]

what’s the fizzyfaz theory

OK SO! THE FIZZYFAZ THEORY... THERES A LOT OF THINGS CONNECTED TO FIZZYFAZ. LIKE. A LOT A LOT. NOW I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY BE PREPARED BECAUSE THIS IS. A LOT LMAO

in fnaf security breach there are cans of fizzyfaz that you can collect right? theres also this message that goes along with them!

interestingly enough, this message mentions grape, lemonade, and cherry fizzyfaz. however, while you can get grape fizzyfaz in game, you cant actually get plain lemonade or cherry. there's only orange, sour lime, pink lemonade, as well as grape, which is strange. theyre mentioned in the message, so where did normal lemonade and cherry go? well before we get to that, lets take a look at the fizzyfaz flavors that we can actually get in game!

quite obviously glamrock branded! for freddy, we have orange, for monty, we have sour lime, for chica, we have pink lemonade, and for roxy we have grape.

considering what we know about the glamrocks, we can start to deduce what each flavor might mean about each bandmate personality wise, as its obvious that theres some tie in with their marketed personalities.

(the rest of it is under the cut for everyones sanity)

freddy makes sense as orange because he's sweet and mellow. monty makes sense as sour lime because he's more of a rebellious cool guy. chica makes sense as pink lemonade because she's also sweet, though she's even moreso than freddy is. and roxy makes sense as grape because she's cool and different like monty, though she is be shown to be sweet at times (as in with Cassie in ruin)

these four flavors seem pretty normal right? theyre obviously color/flavor coded to each member of the glamrocks. however the actual flavors that were chosen in game have always stuck out to me for one reason.

THEYRE ALL CITRUS EXCEPT FOR GRAPE. lemon, lime, and orange are all citrus fruits. strange, right?

now you could always argue that it is fazbear is making these things, and that it's cheapest to produce like idk. a base citrus flavor and then add the additional flavors accordingly. but then why is roxy's and ONLY Roxy's grape flavored instead of being another citrus? grape is a pretty weird flavor to pair with 3 citrus flavors. hold on to that for now.

plus, roxy has another connection with distinct and stand-out fizzyfaz flavors. she specifically has an advertisement for her own type of limited edition cola flavor.

no other animatronic has advertising in game for any limited edition flavors. just roxy which really peaked my interest! wouldn't they do a promo with every glamrock? ok well, maybe since its limited edition the other glamrocks' special flavor runs have already ended and hers just wrapped up/is about to.

but wait, theres even more to do with roxy and fizzyfaz.

in help wanted 2 in the staff bot food prep mini games for el chips and the kitchen, you can serve four flavors of soda. orange, sour lime, pink lemonade, and.... sodaroni. aka not grape fizzyfaz.

ISNT THAT WEIRD??? not to mention how specifically in the theater version of food prep, theres no fizzyfaz at all. instead, we can serve exotic beverage, dj music man's techno-cooler, chicachug, and.... sodaroni again.

isn't that weird? the theater is also an interesting choice for the final food prep level to take place in considering that it's clearly not the most popular attraction, as well as the fact that we're in a whole mall with multiple food stands. you can argue that it's also one of the few places with a kitchen, but i believe that this choice was made on purpose for a different reason.

after all, who is tied to the theater as well as the only character to actually talk about fizzyfaz in game?

thats right.

THE DAYCARE ATTENDANT.

I mean i was gonna tie them to this somehow! the connection is obvious!!

like… theres a soda dispenser in the ACTUAL DAYCARE ITSELF.

theres also numerous ones outside and in the theater lobby. interesting, right? so much soda promo in the daycare area, yet they dont even serve the main soda brand of fizzyfaz in the theater food prep level... how interesting.

and now for something ive seen literally no one talk about. in the theater basement theres a room with the purple stars painted on the walls outside. inside that room, sitting on a filing cabinet under gold balloons that spell out ‘5TAR’ as well as a sundrop poster, theres ANOTHER soda dispenser. yet instead of one of the fancy digital ones, it's just a simple soda dispenser like we see in the kitchen above.

interesting choice for a soda dispenser location, right? there aren’t any others in the theater basement. just this one.

let’s take a look at this room. specifically the vanity.

there’s a flower pot, a trophy, some makeup brushes, and interestingly enough, a whole nail polish stand with a variety of colors. the uniqueness of this whole room makes me think that it’s meant to stand out. not to mention the fact that there’s a connected bathroom with two stalls in it. after all, the other rooms are just standard dressing rooms.

maybe i’m just reaching here, but i think that this was a theater staff break room, as well as some kind of animatronic prep room for sun and moon’s performances. they used to be the theater bot, after all.

so sun and moon have obviously been around for a while, as evident by all the wear and tear they have. plus in the tales from the pizzaplex books the daycare is mentioned to be an attraction that was built later on. it wasn’t there when the pizzaplex first opened.

but the theater was.

and since the out of place soda dispenser was in a room in the theater basement, there’s a chance that it served fizzyfaz.

cherry fizzyfaz.

i may just be grasping at straws here, but cherry… kind of fits the DCA really well. i mean, it isn’t a citrus fruit like the glamrocks (minus Roxy) have. sun has red and yellow pants, moon has red eyes, and they both have red ribbons with two bells around their wrists. the overall theater is pretty red too.

besides the overall red coloring of the theater and the red on the DCA, the cherry flavoring would fit sun and moon pretty well too! cherries can be either sweet or sour, and are often a balanced mix of both, which would be a nice tie in to sun and moon’s good and evil double act in the theater!

so when the daycare got built and sun and moon were transferred over from the theater, the cherry flavor likely got pulled or discontinued. probably because the theater wasn't as popular as fazbear wanted it to be. and thus in help wanted 2 in their food prep minigame, there was no fizzyfaz. they lost fizzyfaz privileges from management when they were moved to the daycare LMAO

and there we have it. sun and moon are the probable answer for who the cherry fizzyfaz flavor belonged to.

but what about lemonade fizzyfaz?

well, lemonade has a much easier answer. it’s a citrus flavor too, of course. and every bowling alley i’ve ever been to has served an abundance of lemonade lmao

so YEAHHH it’s probably Glamrock Bonnie’s flavor. i mean, he's got a yellow star on his chest, a yellow bass, and yellow sunglasses. plus blue is the opposite of yellow...

though... personality wise, we know basically nothing about the guy other than he was maybe probably laid back considering how bonnie is in fazbear and friends. and lemonade is a pretty chill drink. i mean glamrock bonnie also died and was possessing all the wet floor bots or stuff in ruin and like theyre yellow too or something idk....

with this lineup the band would still have 3/4 citrus flavors, with... two lemonades. interestingly. and tbh i think that the majority of citrus is potentially the most important factor in this theory.

i mean freddy, chica, and bonnie are the OGs. the MAIN THREE from fnaf 1 days. so ofc they'd all be similar flavors (even if there are two lemonades... no idea what fazbear would have been cooking with that one lol) and yeah, foxy is an OG too, but he wasn't actually part of the main band until later on lol

yet in security breach, we don't get a glamrock foxy. we get roxanne wolf, who is an entirely new character, so it makes sense for her to not have a similarly citrus flavor.

grape is the only one mentioned in the message that you can actually get in game. and if the lemonade and cherry have been discontinued since bonnie was decommissioned and sun and moon were moved from the daycare to the theater, then...

it's clearly been a while. and if it's been a while and there's still grape fizzyfaz, which would make no sense for foxy to have (as the statue of him in kids cove is nowhere near purple) then roxy has been around for a while. and if she's been around since the dca was in the theater, then she never replaced foxy!!!! wild and crazy am I right

and yes! you could also argue the opposite and that bonnie's flavor was cherry while the dca's flavor was lemonade, which likely makes more sense.

the DCA has yellow as both sun and moon, with sun's overall coloring and his pants and stuff, and the stars on moon's pants and the bells on both of their wrists. and lemonade can be sweet or sour. like their act. and fazbear pulled it because nobody really cared about the theater or just plain lemonade fizzyfaz as opposed to the cool pink lemonade chica had.

plus bonnie is more red than yellow, with his reddish-pink jumpsuit and his red eyes. and cherry could maybe work for him? again, we barely know anything about his personality... then when he got decommissioned, they replaced his unique cherry flavor with another citrus to cut costs.

though we really have no way of telling which was the real flavors for each of them or if they even were flavors that were produced at all!! after all, the message says 'COPY FOR APPROVAL', so lemonade and cherry might have been scrapped all together....

this is all just speculation from yours truly, since im such a big flavored drink fan and i really want more people to talk about the fizzyfaz... ,:3c

and now onto my next theory, which is that the DCA is the real one have to killed glamrock bonnie...

[androgynousblackbox]

Alastor Is A Good Boy [Appleradio, Radioapple]

My first, but definitely not last, fic with a more explicit BDSM dynamic between Al and Lucifer! This piece is also part of the 7 Rings of Radioapple Zine that literally came out today, so don't miss your chance to check it out and see all the amazing work that is put into it! [Also my work, if you would please] Summary: After accidentally discovering a new kink, Lucifer, in his more feminine and voluptuous frame, is more than happy to take care of all of Alastor’s needs.

It had been more than a few months since it had become normal for Lucifer to see the big bad Radio Demon laying on top of his bedsheets and stayed until the morning. They didn't always have sex, but his bed was a lot warmer and less spacey than what he was used to, which was enough of an improvement to not mind the nights in which their books were on completely different pages. Alastor didn't mind to offer a hand or let him get his solo fun at his side if Lucifer felt the need, and Lucifer likewise didn't mind at all the lack of interest as long he got to sleep as the big spoon, both legs and tail wrapped around the warmth body of the sinner, nuzzling the space between his shoulder blades. Going to sleep with the smell of the deer demon surrounding him was more than enough of a reward.

But none of that didn't meant that Lucifer didn't want to experiment to see what his lover could be into. Alastor was a complete blank slate when it came to sex, since the activity on itself was never something that called to him before he met the devil. Not even while living through puberty would a younger Alastor feel the inclination to touch himself. He could tell that someone was an attractive person, but it was a purely aesthetic type of fascination that required nothing else but a glance for Alastor to be satisfied. Since he had spent his entire human life dedicating himself to other areas, like murdering people and not being found out, and after death he had less of a reason to do anything he didn't want to, it was a bit of a process to find out what worked and what did not.

Lucifer liked to believe he was open minded and he could be into a lot of things, as long as his partner was having a good time with him. But Alastor was just now learning about his preferences at the same time that he did. After they both established their safewords, the hard limits list was easy enough to get. Shapeshifting in an animal form was okay, as long they were never dogs. Knives or other kinds of sharp objects were welcome, but not guns of any kind. Beyond that, Alastor was willing to experiment and Lucifer was adamant about suspending everything at the first sign that it was causing a negative reaction in his partner.

It was only a matter of time for Lucifer to try out new shapes in his own body, curious to find out what would be Alastor's reaction to it. A more muscly form seemed to cause some positive interest, especially when he would lift Alastor or make shows of strengths just for him. He could do it all anyway by default, but doing it and looking like someone that could do it were two different things. Facial hair was definitely no go, it was "dirty" even if Alastor had literally seen Lucifer just getting out of the shower. Body hair was a neutral option: no upsetting, no excitement either.

Whatever genitalia on Lucifer was basically the same reaction with no strong preference in any way. Mostly because Alastor was still going to be on the receiving end, prefering to be the one dotted on that putting any initiative or extra effort. That is how they end up discovering that Alastor found vulvas to be extremely convenient to have, more than his previous part. Less preparation required thanks to the self lubrication that came incorporated was a huge plus for him. That ended up being one of the few experiments that, after a while, just became a permanent part of their sex life. Nobody else but them would even know that it was there, so Alastor felt no distress or issue walking around with those new parts of his everyday life.

But a more feminine shape, now that caused a spark of interest on those red eyes that Lucifer wanted to see turned into a full flame. It took a few weeks of trial and error, but finally had got the perfect formula. Big hips, thick thighs, but small delicate feet. A well defined waist, some soft stomach where Alastor could rest his head in. Breasts that were on the bigger side that could suffocate someone with hair red and black ends, made to offer a pleasant second death. Chubby arms, soft, silky and warmth to be the perfect pillows, the spot to only leave the most reverent of kisses.

Alastor was so sweet with him in that form. Not that he was a brute before, but now there was a reverence and tenderness around his body that could have made Lucifer fall in love all over again if he didn't do this for love in the first place. He was never treated as anything less than beautiful by his partner, even with the facial hair on, but there was something so addictive to see Alastor turn into pudding so easily under his hands, shivering and barely able to form any words when all Lucifer did was touch him over his clothing. What kind of king wouldn't love that power?

One day Lucifer felt in a generous mood. Maybe it was the long hours at the study reading boring papers he had just come back to that made him want to pamper his favorite sinner. While Alastor was kissing his chest, licking his nipples like he could never get enough of them, he couldn't help to coo:

"My poor baby boy needed some relaxation too?"

And Alastor answered, without even opening his eyes.

"Yes, mommy."

It took a couple of seconds for those words to sink in. Lucifer found out when they did as Alastor froze over the couch. On the next moment, the sinner's figure dissolved in black and a trace of his shadow quickly moved over the bathroom. Lucifer quickly made a robe appear on top of him and knocked on the door. Lucifer’s instinct was to tease him about this new found kink, but even he could understand it wasn't the kind of situation in which Alastor would take it well.

"Al, it's okay," said. A deep groan was his only response. The pure sound of someone wishing for his second death to escape the embarrassment. "Really, it's fine. Lots of people call their partner mommy or daddy in bed, it's normal."

A long moment of silence.

"Is it?" questioned Alastor on the other side.

"Of course! It's all pretend anyway, it doesn't matter. It's not like I am actually your parent or anything, and we are both adults well aware of that, so who cares. I don't mind if you want to call me that when we are alone. You just surprised me, that is all."

"You don't?" The voice of Alastor now sounded closer, which Lucifer took as a good sign.

"Why would I? If it makes you feel good and you are comfortable with it, then I am happy too! All of this started because I wanted to see if there was something you really liked, and now that we found it… I am all in, baby."

Another long minute in which Lucifer could hear the small pacing inside of the bathroom.

"Not a single word about this" finally came out. "To anyone. Ever. I will find the way to kill you if you whisper it to another being, Lucifer, I swear over your father and everything in Hell."

Lucifer smiled, more calmed down. Now that was the Alastor that he was more familiar with. If he was in a mood to start threatening violence, then all was well again.

"How about a deal to seal my lips?" offered, knowing that was going to be the cherry on top.

The door immediately opened up and Alastor stood in front of him. He clearly took notice that Lucifer had not changed to his default form again and turned his head.

"You keep your mouth shut about this and I do… what, exactly?"

"The same thing as always, babe," said Lucifer, holding his hand gently. "You have to tell me the moment this makes you unhappy or uncomfortable. That is all I care about. Deal?"

Alastor nodded his head, the explosion of energy from both of them swirling around each other. They had done deals before, for small things always, because Lucifer knew that it was the candy that was always going to be too tempting for Alastor to resist. He was also never going to say it to the sinner, but he kinda liked the Alastor that came out after. Not only with a boost of power flowing through his veins, but fully realized as the Overlord he was.

"Deal."

But instead of the handshake that Lucifer was expecting, Alastor bends over to meet his lips to seal it. When the sinner’s claw started slipping inside of his robe to grope him, Lucifer smiled and broke free, taking a step back. Alastor blinked, first as if losing his footing and then frowned.

"None of that attitude" said Lucifer in his softest voice, waving a finger in front of him as he took him by the hand to the bed. "You are going to be a good boy for mommy and behave, aren't you?"

He could feel the hand of Alastor squish him as his whole body shuddered, electrified. When he turned just a little, the head of Alastor could have come off with how much he was nodding. Lucifer paid attention to the way that he was squishing his shirt at the center of the chest and swallowed hard. The sweat formed on his face. But his tail was wagging harder than ever and his ears were pointing to the sky, not wanting to miss anything.

"Come here, honey" called sweetly, bringing Alastor to sit at the edge of the bed. Alastor did, gripping to his pants with the hand that Lucifer wasn't touching. Lucifer knew that the deal would force Alastor to talk, but he had never seen him quite like that before so he had to check. "Color?" asked, stroking his cheek.

Alastor stared at him, as if surprised.

"Green" said, turning around to kiss the palm of Lucifer. He nuzzled the soft skin like he could get drunk on it. "So very much green, love. Absolutely green."

Lucifer chuckled, sincerely relieved. They could both deal with a little bit of nervousness.

"Good" whispered, kissing the cheek of his partner and it was always so endearing to him when Alastor lowered his ears. "You are the precious special boy of mommy, you know that?" continued, kissing him again as he trailed a finger over his neck, down to the bowtie that was already hanging from their previous playing around.

He could feel under his fingers when Alastor swallowed hard and nodded again. Alastor had positive reactions to that shape before, but this was promising to be something else and Lucifer couldn't wait to find out the results.

"Such a good boy for mommy," cooed Lucifer, giving Alastor's shoulders a gentle push. As Alastor followed the motion to lay on their bed, Lucifer let his robe slip off his shoulders before crawling on top of him until his chest was dangling above Alastor. Hardened nipples moved across the face of the radio demon, keeping away when Alastor tried to reach for them. He played with him a couple of times more before he went down with a smile. "Good boys should already know how to present for mommy," said slowly, kissing his forehead. "Without a single trace of clothes on, so mommy can see all of his pretty boy all he wants. Ask me permission to undress."

Alastor inhaled sharply under him. He swallowed what looked to be a boulder down his throat, but somehow didn't manage to catch the bit of drool that was already falling at the sides of his mouth. As he was trying to speak, he was almost vibrating like he had waited all his afterlife to say those words.

"M-m-mommy," managed to get out and he gasped, as if it were a dirty word, one he wasn't allowed to. Lucifer caressed his cheek and nodded encouragingly, giving him full pass to do that and more. "C-can I… undress now? Please? I want…"

"Yes, honey?" helped him out Lucifer, delighted to see Alastor like this, it was almost dizzying. He could get addicted to this feeling. "What does my baby boy want?"

"I want to… " Alastor squirmed, turning his head slightly. "present for m-mommy."

Lucifer cooed softly, petting his head.

"Of course, honey. You are such a good boy and mommy is so proud of you."

The moment Lucifer came off Alastor and sat next to him in the bed, Alastor had no patience at all for his clothing. His shoes were immediately kicked out somewhere in the room. His bowtie was ripped off like a band-aid. Lucifer was pretty sure that more than a few buttons of his shirt ended flying away in his rush to take it out. In time record, as if the fabric itself was suffocating him, Alastor was completely, beautifully naked. His proud partner, the terrifying radio demon, looked at him standing at the side of the bed with his head down and red in the face, like a teen struggling to ask someone out for the first time.

"Very good," praised Lucifer. "Come to the bed and let mommy see you from behind, honey. On your fours."

Alastor wasted no time obeying, his tail slapping the air the entire time as he climbed the bed over his hands and knees. He moved over until his bottom was pointing directly at Lucifer, with all his fawn spots, tight entrance and a little under a most delicious meal that had Lucifer licking his lips.

"That is how mommy likes to see his pretty boy" cooed, grabbing his asscheeks and opening him up further. He sniffed him deeply, the smell of Alastor's arousal as intoxicating as always. "Chest against the bed, sweetie. Let mommy take care of you for a bit."

The little whine that reached his fallen ears could have been heavenly even in Hell. He could feel the end of Alastor's shiver as he let himself rest over the mattress, leaving himself even more open before he moved his knees slightly to the sides. Without doing nothing at all, Lucifer could see Alastor’s ass blinking while his vulva looked shiny with fluids.

"Good boy." Lucifer gripped Alastor's tail and pulled a little. He was rewarded with another rumbling moan that accompanied as he dug in. His tongue dexterous tongue lapped at the soft folds greedily, delighted, until landing insistently on the waiting little point that had Alastor's muscles tensing up around him. "You taste so good for mommy, baby" growled with hunger, tasting over and over the entrance of Alastor closing in and releasing. Alastor was pushing back against his face, static noises flickering all around him. The tail on his hand still wanted to move, so eager. "Such a good pussy from my pretty boy. Aren't you grateful that mommy knows exactly how to treat your wet little hole? A good boy should be able to say thank you."

A fried gasp came out of Alastor as he struggled to gather enough mental power to remember how to speak.

"Th-thank you, m-mommy" The last word almost got lost under another moan.

Such a good display of manneras required a reward. Lucifer let his tongue inside to press against the warm walls, while his finger continue estimulating him from the outside. The sheets moved there where Alastor was gripping at them for dear afterlife, his hips undulating all over Lucifer's face in search for more sensation. Alastor might not have been the most active lover that Lucifer had, but when he gave in he did it all the way. There was not even a speck of inhibition or shame as Alastor became louder, bolder, more needy. It was enough to almost make Lucifer reconsider when he pulled away.

"Mommy, mommy, no, please" whined Alastor, pushing back.

He yelped in surprise when Lucifer gave him a slap on his perky ass in response. Strong enough to leave a lovely sting. By now they had already found out that Alastor had a more than positive response to physical pain. It invigorated him just as much as another suck could have.

"You didn't think you were going to skip serving mommy, didn't you?" teased Lucifer, pulling on the tail again until Alastor once again moaned. "You are going to be a good boy and also make mommy feel good, understand?" He squeezed the tail until Alastor cried out.

"Yes, mommy!"

"Good boy." Lucifer kissed the area in which he had slapped him and then sat down against the headboard of the bed.

Alastor turned around towards him and Lucifer would have given anything to be able to capture the expression he was making, so totally drunk on pleasure that his eyes seemed unfocused, small traces of tears around his eyes. The sinner barely needed any guidance to find his thighs open in front or to know to reach to Lucifer's length with his tongue. It had taken a good while to teach Alastor how to do this without scraping with his teeth and it had been more than worth it. As it was, the radio demon could defend himself pretty well in that area, but at that moment it was like he was possessed by a desperate need to please.

While holding him in his hand, Alastor licked all over the sensitive skin without once losing the eye contact with Lucifer, as if keeping a record of his face just as much as Lucifer was doing for him. Lucifer started playing with his chest for his sinner's eyes, circling a finger over his nipples and pulling at them ever so gently, in the same manner as Alastor's mouth did when entertained by them.

Alastor moved at the top of his cock and kissed fervently the head, tongue teasing at the little hole there just one time before he opened up his mouth further. Lucifer didn't even need to tell him to unhinge his jaw in order to take it all. After all, after years being used to eating things that wiggled and were still begging for their lives, Alastor did not have a gag reflex anymore. All the while keeping his gaze straight into Lucifer's face as his head bobbed up and down, as if nothing ever could ever be worth steering away.

It was almost too much to bare. Lucifer, almost against himself, pushed Alastor gently by the forehead. The tongue of Alastor still kept wrapped around his cock, hugging to it until the very last second and then hanging in the air for a second. Now it was the turn of Lucifer to feel his throat too tight as he petted the red hair.

"Mommy wants you to sit on his cock, sweetie. I want to feel that nice pussy you have. Can you do that for me?"

Alastor nodded with the same enthusiasm as before. Normally he wouldn't like to be the one riding, but now he lifted himself over the devil’s hips so easily, spreading his thighs to position himself. Lucifer put his hands on the waist of the sinner, just resting there, as Alastor lowered himself while holding the erection with a tentacle. Inch by inch, the familiar warmth was wrapping Lucifer as he saw Alastor bite into his bottom lip, muscles already squeezing inside. The last portion was the work of gravity. As Alastor was completely seated and still to catch his breath, Lucifer kissed his neck and chest.

"That is a very good boy. Such a good boy. Your body is so nice for mommy. That is why mommy loves you the most, you know?" Alastor let out an adorable whine as his tail renewed its wagging, so much that Lucifer could hear it. He kissed the sinner's shoulder with a gentle nibble. "Are you going to move for mommy, sweetie?"

To his surprise, the first response of Alastor was to hug him tight. As a natural response, Lucifer hugged him back and nuzzled the fluff of his chest, rubbing the long back of the demon. It seemed that was all the motivation that Alastor wanted. He kissed the top of Lucifer's head and started to rise up. First slowly, but quickly picking up a stronger rhythm. The movement of his hips accompanied by effort noises that were making Lucifer delirious. As the strain on Alastor's face was more evident, Lucifer pulled him down by the neck to kiss him, just before dropping him on the bed.

Their bed creaked once Lucifer was the one in control, with a lot more stamina to spare. Alastor's unintelligible begging was the best music to his ears. He could never mind the clawing going across his back as the sinner desperately clinging to him, desperate to feel more, to see the end of their journey. As usual, Alastor's climax came before his own, static cracking and exploding in sudden burst of energy to die down suddenly as his legs relaxed. By the time Lucifer reached the same point, another orgasm had come and taken both their breath away.

Having magic was so convenient. Lucifer was able to clean both of them up, move them to the bed so Alastor's head was against the pillows and cover them in bed sheets without barely moving at all. Alastor's eyes were barely keeping open, staring at the ceiling without a single thought behind them.

"You did so good, sweetie. Mommy loves you so much" whispered Lucifer, kissing his chin and then his mouth, softly. "You are the special precious boy of mommy. The most beautiful boy ever."

A small smile broke through Alastor's face. Lucifer was sure now that the man was not going to remember anything tomorrow, as if going through a hangover without the headache. That was the only issue of entering into that kind of headspace, but it was fine. Lucifer would have no issue telling him every single detail and assured him, as many times it was needed, that they could always do it again. As many times as they both wanted to.

"I love you too, mommy" sighed Alastor and he had such a placid smile on, such a content expression that Lucifer couldn't stop himself from kissing it again.

Alastor practically purred as Lucifer moved him so his head could lay on his chest, surrounded by warmth, the heartbeat of Lucifer and his arms holding him close. Protected and safe, exactly like how Lucifer wanted him to feel like with him or else there was no fun at all.

As the breathing of the radio demon started to relax, Lucifer whispered praises into his hair as a secret lullaby.

[gemsofgreece]

Thats such a shame re: the Greek class community. I've been trying to do my best to learn greek for the last little bit, but methods for doing so are rather... limited? It's easier to learn basic Spanish here in the US, or Chinese because my partner's family speaks it, but there isn't enough of a Greek community or anything like that in the city/area I'm closest to, and any places that offer a Greek class (not a 1:1 tutor which is hella $$$, but an actual class with a few other students) are in person only and at least a 6 hour drive away :(

Re: apps, so many have started integrating AI to generate lessons that native speakers (of multiple languages!) Have called them out on having down right incorrect information.

I've got vocabulary lists and Greek radio stations, but they talk so fast that it's really just for immersion right now, there's no way I can follow any of it lol

All that to say, I (and I'm sure many others) appreciate your language posts, they've been super fun/interesting/helpful, so thank you for posting them (despite tumblr being... tumblr)

Thank you! I am really happy to know they actually help some people in their effort of learning Greek or deepening their understanding of it.

It might be perceived as sabotaging people's efforts or killing their motivation but I can't help but agree that the resources for Greek are limited and often of low quality. Nobody who is studying Greek should feel disheartened because they struggle with it, because the resources really are not that good and it is totally legit if not expected to have trouble learning due to it.

Also, I have been seeing "entertaining" educational content left and right and even that makes me... angry. I have seen Greek-learning content that has actual mistakes and I am not even a linguist, so they are glaring mistakes and it's unacceptable to see mistakes or limited knowledge in the content of the supposed teachers. So much of the content features unserious and pointless intervals for fun, focusing on funny expressions or hand gestures or malaka malaka malaka tzatziki malaka yassou souvlaki malaka and honestly this is not a befitting image for the Greek language (or any language for that matter). And even serious resources are chaotic for real. It can not be justified because Greek is easier than Chinese, if Chinese can be taught methodically and realistically, so can Greek. Half of the Greeks making educational content don't truly believe others will learn Greek other than to say a couple vacation phrases for fun. And malaka. *sigh*

If it makes you feel any better, if I weren't a native speaker I would not be able to learn Greek with the tools and apps I have seen around, except some basic with Duolingo. Duolingo is solid. I have checked some other apps and have hated them all but people learning Greek swear by Language Transfer. I didn't get the hype at all but maybe it's a me problem. Check Language Transfer if you haven't. It has recorded actual audio lessons of a Greek teacher with a foreign student and it was originally designed with the Greek language in mind. Maybe this one offers that depth of understanding I mentioned earlier and this is why people like it. I still found it a little chaotic tbh but most people say otherwise so give it a try if you haven't.

You said something that works like a trigger in me XD about Greek being spoken very fast and being unable to follow. I admit it's bold of me to say since I am a native speaker but honestly......... I don't think we speak THAT fast. I have seen this comment many times, people joking that Greeks speak like "atdkyfkaugsakikoakistakpidakoltesiki" so I decided to look into it and there was a study confirming that Spanish and Greek said on average the biggest number of syllables per time unit. However, I kept looking into it and I found what could be clearing things out and maybe it's a trick you can use (though of course I don't know your level in Greek):

The trick is that the difference of Greek (and Spanish) is that unlike many others, they are overwhelmingly open-syllabled languages and have MANY open syllabled endings. That confuses people from more closed-syllable lingual backgrounds because they sort of miss the beats in which the word or phrase is ending and they think the speaker pronounces a never ending word or sentence and they can't follow. Furthermore, despite the openness of the syllables Greek has strong and sometimes challenging consonant clusters (quite stronger than Spanish) and people from closed-syllable backgrounds tend to think this is where a word or phrase is supposed to end but this is never the case since Greek has usually open syllables and the words never end in a consonant cluster (just a sigma or a ni at most), so they kind of miss the flow of the language. To make this false perception worse, Greek has some seriously long words and due to the open syllables it makes people feel like a lot more things are said than what is actually said! And the unpredictable stress also perhaps confuses people with a first language that is usually stressed in the same spot within each word.

For example, imagine a Greek saying in a breath:

"o-si-ði-ro-ðro-mi-kós-stath-mós"

"wow hold on a bit now"

"what...? I just said 'the rail station'!"

You know? It's like German but with a lot of vowels which adds more and more length. I don't know if this hits any close to home, maybe the difficulty you encounter is different, but I figured I should mention this potential explanation just in case. If this hits close to home, then try to train yourself to expect the pauses and the endings of words and phrases only in a vowel or a ni or a sigma. And when you start listening to the radio, don't feel defeated but keep thinking "I am listening fewer words than I think" and "I am missing less stuff than I think".

By the way, by radio you mean classic radio or podcasts? Because there are some podcasts where the narration is a bit on the slower side (to my native ears at least). Check the podcasts of LIFO, such as Mikropragmata by Ares Dimokidis. Check in general podcasts with one single speaker (because in dialogues things get more animated and faster).

From youtube, if you like science, check channels like Καθημερινή Φυσική, Astronio, Greekonomics. Obviously the vocabulary is advanced in this context but I feel they speak medium to slow.

If you like Criminology, real crime stories etc, check out Vassilikou's channel, she speaks slowly and is thinking as she speaks so I think it's a good pace.

For some lightheartedness, trash tv references, celebrity news (Hollywood and Greek), LGBTQ+ representation (mild though, he doesn't really focus on sexuality topics), check Eponimos. He speaks slowly.

And as always, I keep recommending ERTFLIX, the entirely free and internationally available Greek state TV OTT platform which has lots of good content with Greek audio and foreign content with Greek subtitles. Available in all devices, apps, platforms etc

I know you weren't really asking for help but I thought that maybe these notes would make it easier for you idk

[perditus]

@divinafatum - "you're lucky i'm such an open-minded person." it is a jest spoken with the curl of a cheshire grin across her face. / amatista → lucanis

as said by astarion // always accepting

It was rare for Lucanis to be recalled from his onslaught of contracts, the assassin deep in Tevinter when he had received the missive. A man had just fallen to his knees before him when a flicker of light had caught his eyes, arm outstretched to receive the bird. Its talons had dug into the thick leather armor protecting his form, a carefully secured note tied to its back. That it was an animal that had carried this message implied levels of importance Lucanis had not seen since House Arainai had nearly been wiped from their ranks completely. 

So began a series of undercover operations to investigate House Kortez, Caterina ‘gracious’ enough to not punish the entire House for Emil’s transgressions. Some might consider it a kindness, but Lucanis knew the First Talon better than that. It was simply a matter of power, House Dellamorte consolidating even more of it by bringing House Kortez to their knees. They could never escape the stain that was Emil, but House Dellamorte could secure their future. For a price. 

Lucanis had played a minimal role in investigating the House when he returned, instead catching up on the Crow’s situation as a whole while the dossiers were drafted. The Talons' situation was not of any interest to him, his focus mainly on preparing for whatever contract  Caterina had in mind for him. Perhaps it should have been considering his rumored status as Caterina’s heir, but he preferred to remain uninvolved. Maybe then Caterina would finally look beyond towards Illario instead. If he had his way, he would not be here at all. 

     Family was far more important to him than his own whims however. 

It's how he finds himself crouched on the rooftops of Treviso, perched carefully to avoid the lights illuminating the area. His eyes are narrowed, body blending in with the dark tiles beneath him as he observes the large estate across the way. A massive wall surrounds the grandiose building, razor spikes artistically installed to appeal to onlookers while preventing anyone from climbing over. He catches sight of a few shadows obscured by the frosted glass, another ‘anti-crow’ measure he was all too familiar with.  

          “ I have read the dossiers of our targets. But, I disagree with a few of them. I do not think it needs to be such a thorough ‘cleansing’ ” Lucanis voice is low and quiet, mindful of any potential onlookers from the building they stood upon. Though they were far from any windows, the current state of Treviso did not afford them the luxury of carelessness. Brown hues drift towards Amatista as he speaks, the other Crow assigned to this contract from House de Riva. 

     Normally it would have been Illario, but this contract is a joint venture from multiple Houses. House Cantori was also involved, but to a lesser degree. They had instead prepared the dossiers on their targets and the House as a whole, Teia’s infiltrators far more skilled than most Crows in general. Still, Lucanis might have preferred Illario - he knew his cousin would indulge even his more outrageous whims. He was not entirely sure how far Amatista was willing to push the boundary alongside him. Her response causes him to crack a slight grin though, both amused and relieved. 

          “ Yes, you’re certainly different from Viago. I don’t think he would have accepted my stance as quickly as you did ” A small chuckle slips from him, the assassin still mindful about his volume as he glances back towards the estate. He pushes off the roof slightly, now prepared to begin their contract after confirming her willingness to indulge him.  “ There are four floors we will need to comb through. I need you to limit your magic use for the top two because their mages live on those two floors ”