#the kids however do not know that so Carla can still threaten them

[teaandduckss]

Miya just wants his family back :(

(It’s not gonna happen anytime soon sorry :D)

[misslavenderlady]

Love at First Bite 💞

David/Female!OC & Male!OC/Female!OC

Summary: David and the Lost Boys always have their eyes out for new brides to claim. However, when the vampire queen becomes smitten with a sweet redheaded boy, it may lead to the first time a groom is added to the coven.

This was inspired by @ghoulgeousimmaculate and her characters from the series Party the Pain Away and the various fics that take place afterwards. Ghoulie and I discussed the possibility of having another boy join the coven after so many girls were brought in. So everyone meet the new kid on the block! We hope you like him as much as Sis does~

WARNINGS: Fic contains mentions of fear, emotional manipulation, power dynamics, toxic relationship dynamics, PDA, mentions of blood/murder and alcohol. This has references to Ghoulie's stuff, and takes place in the modern world, not 1987. Part 2 HERE credit to hellobeautiful.com and artmoda.by for the pics of Daniil Kalinin and Chloe Bailey for face claims of Oliver and Sis.

Oliver was no stranger to working hard. From a very early age, his father taught him the values of an honest day's work and the appreciation of those who took on the most challenging jobs. Things like sanitation, customer service and food preparation were to be respected, as they were thankless jobs with poor compensation.  

He kept this in mind as he got settled into his new job after moving to Santa Carla. Not too many places were hiring as much due to the tourist season dying down for the year, but he was able to get hired at a local Italian restaurant. According to the manager, they had recently lost a waitress and needed to fill the position as soon as possible. 

After seeing the ins and outs of the restaurant himself, Oliver could see why it had a lot of business, even after the summer rush. It was a gorgeous place, and he was quite impressed with the quality of the food. Putting on the server uniform made him feel quite proud of the work he was going to do. 

His first few shifts went well. Oliver got settled in with lunch services and was sure to always work with a smile and a positive attitude. The customers enjoyed his friendliness and dedication to making sure their meal was perfect. Even if he was still very green, he had plenty of potential. 

That's why his boss made him a very particular offer. 

"Hey, Oliver," the middle-aged owner said to him. "Now that you're getting more comfortable, I'd like to get you set up for a dinner shift. We could really use the help during that time."

"Oh yeah! No problem!" the redheaded boy agreed. Little did he know that around the corner, his fellow servers were looking at one another with a shared sense of nervousness. Oliver had no idea he was getting into. 

The night shift brought quite a lot more customers to the restaurant. Oliver was working twice as hard as before to make sure everyone had full drinks and hot plates of food in a timely manner. He wasn't perfect by any means, but his hard work and dedication was clear to everyone. 

He was so focused on putting orders into the POS system that he didn't notice a new couple being welcomed in by his boss. 

"Saluti signore e signora! Your usual table is all set up. Right this way!"

By the time Oliver turned back around to see who had walked in, they were already out of sight. 

"I'm not taking their table. You go take it."

"Fuck you! I took them last time! You do it!"

Oliver couldn't help but overhear two waitresses bickering quietly off to the side. They had been more casual around other tables during all the other shifts they worked together. It was a surprise to see them so adamant about not serving the couple that had walked in. 

He'd dealt with his fair share of nasty customers in past jobs. There was one elderly woman at a cashiering job that had threatened to beat him senseless with her cane over an expired coupon. If he could handle that, he could handle anything.

"I can take their table!" 

The two girls turned toward him, looks of shock plastered on their faces. 

"Really? You WANT to take them?"

"Yeah! It's no big deal, really."

They didn't look entirely convinced, but they were still appreciative of Oliver's offer to take the burden off of them. They handed him a pair of menus and silverware before each giving him a soft smile.

"Your funeral, bud."

Oliver played it off as a harmless joke, snickering playfully as he headed off to the new table. Little did he know how serious his coworkers were with such a warning. 

He'd never served anyone in the space behind the curtain before. He didn't know what to expect when he pushed the black velvet fabric to the side in order to step forward. When he got a good look at one of the diners, he nearly dropped all the items he had in hand. 

Sitting pretty in the booth across from the entrance was the most stunning woman that Oliver had ever laid eyes on. Her beauty was enhanced by her long locs, brown eyes, flawless makeup, plush lips, and glowing skin illuminated by the candles. 

Oliver could practically feel his jaw hanging open at the sight of the mystery woman. If her looks hadn't caught his eye, then the bold dress she wore certainly did. There was barely any fabric on the top half, just mere straps crossing over her curvy figure. 

If he wasn't careful, he'd start chubbing up before he could even take her order. That would be embarrassing enough if it were just her. But there was also a tall, blond, and handsome gentleman cozied up next to her. Clearly her date. 

Oliver was just grateful for the thick fabric of the apron and his notebook covering up the area. 

He finally mustered up enough courage to step to the front of their table. When the lady looked up at him, her eyes shimmered. It was as if she were admiring some kind of precious gem or a beautiful flower. Still, Oliver wasn't confident enough to believe she was as amazed by him as he was to her. 

"Good evening!" he greeted the two. "My name is restaurant, welcome to the Oliver." 

Immediately, the boy's skin flushed to a deep shade of red when he realized he got his line backwards. He slapped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, wishing he hadn't screwed up like that. 

"I-I mean…my name is OLIVER. Welcome to the RESTAURANT. I cannot believe I did that…"

"Aww, you nervous, sweetheart?" the woman cooed, clearly amused. "This your first night? I haven't seen you around here~"

Her voice was as warm and sweet as fresh honey. The sound alone made it feel like his heart was pumping faster and faster and his blood growing hotter with every moment. 

"Well…kinda," he admitted, smiling sheepishly. "It's my first dinner shift. I've been working lunches for a couple of weeks now."

The lady nodded, seemingly understanding of his situation. While she was warm and welcoming, her date seemed to be cold as ice. His frosty blue eyes were staring directly at Oliver, scanning over him carefully. It was like he was trying to figure out his entire personality with just a look. 

It really put him on edge. Oliver wouldn't lie to himself about that. 

"Well congratulations! You picked the best place in town to work!" she smiled. "We're regulars here! You'll be seeing us quite a bit. My name's Sis!"

She held out her perfectly manicured hand to the boy, happy to introduce herself. Oliver smiled right back as he slipped his hand against hers. He was a bit surprised to find it chilled to the touch, but not to a point of discomfort. After all, with hands as soft as hers, nothing about the experience was unpleasant. 

After a good shake, the two let go. Not even a second after she released his hand did her date push his own hand in, grabbing hold of Oliver. The man had a much stronger grip, squeezing the fresh rather tightly as he shook. 

"I'm David. Her husband."

Oliver felt his stomach drop as if he were riding on the world's steepest roller coaster. This wasn't some random date. This was a man she was in a committed relationship with. 

"Oh my God, stop drooling over a married woman, you idiot. Dad raised you better than this!" Oliver scolded himself inside his head. 

"Well, it's really nice to meet you! B-Both of you!" 

David seemed to tone down his icy demeanor, giving Oliver a slick smile as he leaned back against the fabric of the booth. He tugged his wife to his chest, letting her cuddle up to him. Even with their intimate embrace, she still watched Oliver with big doe eyes. 

"So! What can I get you started off with for drinks?" 

Sis opened her mouth to speak, but wasn't able to get a word out. David deprived her of that.

"Bottle of Pinot Noir for the two of us to share. Red is the best. Right, doll?" 

To Oliver's surprise, Sis didn't look happy with that choice. Her lips were stuck in a pout and she was looking down at her lap in disappointment. 

"David, I've told you a thousand times, I don't like red wine. I want Chardonnay!" she whined. 

"Hush, darling. Daddy knows best for you~"

That didn't sit right with Oliver. Seeing her uncomfortable made him uncomfortable too. Did her husband have a habit of forcing choices she didn't want? He seemed pretty pushy. Not to mention condescending as hell. 

He nodded as he made his way past the curtain and down the hall to where the wine cellar was. While he was able to find the Pinot without issue, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander to the wall of white wines. 

It wouldn't be very fair to not at least offer the lady a choice. 

When he made his way back into the private area, Oliver held out the two bottles he had grabbed on his way out. David raised his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed the Chardonnay label. 

"I hope you don't mind! I wanted to provide some options so everyone could get what they wanted."

The blond didn't like the decision to bring out the white wine, but it thrilled his wife to have her favorite drink as an option. Oliver couldn't deny she looked extra beautiful with the look of happiness on her face. 

He popped open both bottles, carefully pouring each drink into their glasses. While David stared him down with deep focus, Sis was more relaxed with her expression. She mouthed a 'thank you' when she had her wine prepared. Oliver gave her a polite nod, but little did she know that on the inside, his heart was getting quite fluttery from the way she looked at him.

"Now then! What can I get the two of you for tonight?"

"Oh? Did they not tell you our regular orders?" David asked, raising an eyebrow. His lips were curled back into a smirk, taunting Oliver with a deep smugness. "You seem to have a long way to go in this business, kid."

He wanted to tell the guy off for mocking his newness to the restaurant, but Sis beat him to the punch. 

"Oh David, be nice! You're gonna scare the poor boy off!" 

David turned his gaze from Oliver back to his wife. There was a deep, intense focus in his icy blues. It was as if he was trying to speak to her without speaking out loud. The way Sis slunk back into the cushion of the booth made it seem like whatever message he was attempting to give got to her. It was like watching a small bunny cower under the intimidating stare of a wolf. 

Oliver gripped his pen and notepad tightly, fighting back the anger boiling within him. He still remembered how, when he was a little kid, his father taught him that men who tried to control and hurt women were cowards. Pure Scum of the Earth. This guy was no different if he thought it was okay to act that way with his own wife. 

"She'll have the chicken parmesan and a Caesar salad."

"Actually, Sir," Oliver spoke, not bothering to write down the order. "I would rather let the lady speak for herself, so I know for certain she's getting what she wants."

David didn't like that one bit. It positively baffled him that someone would talk back to him in such a way. Oliver stood his ground, not breaking eye contact with him for even a second. 

Though David was furious at such treatment, Sis was elated by it. She appreciated the respect the redheaded server was granting her. The smile on her pretty face was all Oliver needed to know he did the right thing. 

"Well! As a matter of fact, I was interested in trying some New York strip. I've been hearing really great things about it from my girlfriends!"

Oliver was more than happy to write that down for her. He eagerly scribbled away as she told him how she wanted the steak cooked and what kind of veggies she wanted for a side. Oliver even made a note to bring her extra potatoes as a way to show her extra care. 

"I'd be happy to get that for you, Miss."

"Oooh! I haven't been called 'Miss' in quite some time. Aren't you a charmer~"

His cheeks were positively flushed with redness from her sweet coos of praise. It was worth it, even with her husband staring him down with a burning hatred. 

"And for you, Sir?"

"The same. But make my steak rare. I have quite an appetite for something bloody."

Now Oliver wasn't feeling as confident in himself. Normally he would dismiss these comments as coming from someone trying too hard to be tough after listening to too many podcasts on being an "alpha male". 

This was not one of those times. Something about the way David looked at him made it seem as if that was to be taken as a genuine threat. That he better mind his business or else he would be the one to become a bloody piece of dead meat. 

Any confidence Oliver had before was promptly shut down. With a quick flick of his pen, he finished writing out the order and gave a nod before scampering off back to the kitchen. The sooner he got out of David’s sight, the better. 

“How’s it going back there?” one server asked Oliver while clumsily put in the order. She must have sensed his nervousness from all the way back in the kitchen.

“It’s interesting…” he admitted. “That woman is really nice, but her husband looks like he wants to bite my head off.”

Oliver had been exaggerating when he said that, but when he glanced over at his coworker, she had a look of genuine concern on her face.

“Listen to me, Ollie. Just play it safe. David is not someone you want to mess with. Just be quick, respectful, and get out of his way so he can spend time with his wife. It’s your best chance at surviving the night.”

The redheaded boy let out a deep sigh as he passed the order along to the chefs. She was right. He couldn’t let his budding crush on a random customer cloud his judgment. All he had to do was work hard, and not let his emotions get the better of him. If everyone was happy, then he would be happy too.

“Okay. I can do that,” he said. “I appreciate everyone looking out for me.”

“No problem,” she replied, giving him a pat on the back before turning to leave. However, she didn’t get far before thinking of one last piece of advice to give. 

“Oh! By the way! Don’t be shocked if those two are…heavy on the PDA. David’s quite wealthy, so Giuseppe lets him get away with more lewd stuff. If you see something, don’t say anything.”

That certainly wasn’t something Oliver was expecting to hear in terms of advice. He wasn’t even sure to what extent she meant by that. It wasn’t until he grabbed a basket of fresh bread for their table and made his way back to the area behind the curtain that he finally understood.

And boy, did he get an eyeful.

David had Sis firmly perched on his lap, letting her straddle him as he feverishly kissed her. Her hands were holding onto both sides of his face, stroking his beard lovingly. They both moaned into their kiss, pawing at one another as if they hadn’t experienced a sensual touch in ages. Tongues dancing together and bodies moving.

David had pulled down the fabric of her dress, letting the girls out for anyone coming by to see. It wasn’t a surprise that she didn’t have a bra on under such a skimpy piece, but it was still quite a shock to see a half-naked customer going at it with their lover without a care of who came their way. 

Oliver kept his mouth shut, still very much shocked by the lustful display, but now knowing better than to say anything. Even if this wasn’t normal for the restaurant, he would still be a bit too shy to ask them to stop. All he did was silently move to place the basket on the corner of their table. They could take the basket whenever they finished..

His green eyes glance up just for a mere moment, moving without his control. He didn’t mean to, but even in that split second, his gaze locked onto the lady. Sis’ eyes opened, catching Oliver in her peripheral vision. The poor boy froze in place, hand still on the bread basket and eyes widening as the beauty watched him. Meanwhile, David’s eyes were still closed, his mouth now on her neck to nibble and kiss at her soft-looking flesh. Only Oliver and Sis were watching one another.

Oliver was certain she was going to scowl at him. Tell him to beat it so she could continue getting frisky with her hubby. But she didn’t. In fact, she did the opposite. 

She smiled at him. 

A smile that was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy. Something that showed she liked having him nearby for company, but also a hint of desire from him watching them. Her beautiful brown eyes were shimmering in the light, while her long lashes fluttered in a playful manner. She puckered her lips to make a kissing motion at him. 

Was she….flirting with him? All while riding her husband?

Oliver was far too overwhelmed to even consider the idea. He scampered off out of the room, leaving the couple be in order to rush back to the kitchen. Better to let them be before his face went full-tomato in color. Even still, while he tried to keep busy with his tasks, his heart was beating a mile a minute. 

By the time the dishes were ready to be served, he had managed to pull himself together enough to bring out their food with complete professionalism. 

Sis and David looked more than satisfied. All snuggled up with one another. They had dressed up again, and their hair was a bit messier and faces flushed compared to the last time Oliver had popped in.. All he had to do was act like he HADN’T just seen them in a romantic embrace.

“Here you are! I really hope you enjoy the meal!" 

The excited grin on Sis' face as she watched him set her plate of food down was all too sweet. She really was a beautiful lady, and every moment he made her happy ended up making Oliver happy, too. 

Still, he wanted to make sure both of them were satisfied with their service. With the same friendly smile on his face, Oliver turned to David to set his own dish down, too. Unfortunately, he didn't get the same expression of delight that Sis had shared. David kept his lips pressed tight in a grimace. His entire body was in a tense form. Eyes of crystal blue were watching him with unblinking focus, like a hawk stalking its prey. 

Everything about David was making Oliver nervous, but it wasn’t the intensity that finally made him stumble. It was how, for a split second, the color of his irises seemed to flash to a bright yellow right before Oliver’s very eyes.

Oliver jumped as he was setting the plate down, knocking into David’s glass of wine in the process. A sea of dark red wine sloshed outward, cascading onto the table, the cloth on top of it and down onto the lower half of Sis’ dress.

“Ah!!” she gasped. “SHIT! No! I just got this from Italy!”

The boy’s eyes widened in shock, tearing away from David and focusing just on the lady whose dress he had just ruined. She looked so upset, and it made him feel deep shame and fear, overwhelming his senses with panic. The blood in his face drained, leaving him completely pale. 

“O-Oh! I am SO sorry, Miss!” Oliver stammered.

“Now look at this mess,” David tsked, crossing his arms and shaking his head. Unlike Sis, who was showing worry over her beautiful gown, he had an aura of disappointment. He was acting like a parent getting ready to give their child a firm scolding. 

Unbeknownst to Oliver, David was already planning how he would teach him a lesson for ruining his wife's belongings. He would make the poor server boy realize just who he had messed with. Really make him sorry for his actions. 

But he didn't get the chance. 

"Please let me fix this!" 

The redhead was quick to jump into action, first grabbing an unused cloth napkin and dunking it into an untouched glass of ice water to soak it. He kneeled down in front of Sis' seat and began gently blotting at the stain on her dress. Even with the dark fabric hiding the redness, he wanted to prevent any discoloration on the garment. All the while Sis watched with a worried expression. 

"Don't worry! I know some tricks to help with this."

In between dabbing with the wet, cold rag, Oliver grabbed a nearby salt shaker and sprinkled some salt into his palm before rubbing it evenly over the red stain. 

"Let that sit for a few minutes," he explained, getting back up to his feet and moving the items on top of the table around so that the soaked tablecloth could be removed from their sight. "After I toss this into the laundry pile, I'll grab some more stuff to finish cleaning!"

Oliver was off like a shot, racing against the clock so that the stain wouldn't set. He wouldn't possibly forgive himself if he ruined their night by his clumsiness. He wasn't even thinking about the odd moment with David's eyes. All he remained focused on was getting all the necessary supplies from the cleaning closet. 

With his tools in hand, Oliver returned to the dining area, kneeling once again by Sis' side. The salt had come in handy for pulling a good amount of the red color out, but the next part would add an extra kick for help. Oliver's hands moved in a blur as he poured dish soap and hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle. With the liquids measured to his liking, Oliver sealed and shook up the bottle to a sudsy consistency. 

"Wow! Aren't you an efficient thing?" Sis smiled, holding out the fabric so that he could evenly spray the stain. "Where'd you learn this trick, honey?"

"Oh, my dad knew a lot about preserving clothes whenever they got stained, ripped, or worn out," Oliver explained. "Growing up, we had to make our stuff last as long as possible. Didn't have money to burn on new clothes all the time."

That's the understatement of the year, he thought to himself. Piles of bills and his father's restless nights worrying about being able to feed his child weren't something to take lightly. Still, he didn't want to burden the couple he just met with his life story. All he wanted to do was to fix his mistake so their date wasn't spoiled. 

"Listen, I do feel bad about the mess. If the stain is still there by the time you're finished with your meal, I'd be more than happy to pay for any other cleaning you get done for it."

As much as Oliver wanted to offer to pay for the dress itself, he could not possibly afford the cost of a luxury brand dress straight from Europe. Not unless he saved his money for the next 50 years. Still, Sis' kind smile told him the offer he had given flattered her. 

"Don't you worry your sweet head, hun," she cooed, tucking a finger under his chin and tilting his head up a bit more. Oliver softly gasped at the gesture, cheeks flushing red once again. 

"Yes. She's right," David spoke up. Oliver nearly jumped out of his skin when he remembered her husband was right next to them. "Thank you for cleaning her up. It's good to know Giuseppe knows how to pick the best and most competent people to work here."

After a dinner of going back and forth between smugness and fear-inducing intensity, it was a relief to see David actually pleased with his work. Oliver quickly scampered back to his feet so he wouldn't push his luck with being so close to the guy's wife. Even if it was nice being around her, he wasn't a home-wrecker. 

The rest of their night went off without a hitch. Both of them got to enjoy their delicious steak dinners in peace, and Oliver managed to keep their glasses topped off without spilling another drop. By the time he delivered the check to their table, it was safe to say he had redeemed himself. 

"It was a pleasure serving you both tonight! How's your dress looking now?"

"Good as new all thanks to your quick thinking, hun!" Sis beamed, showing off the bottom half of her dress. Sure enough, Oliver's work had left it spotless once again. "I want to properly thank you for doing that for me."

Oliver wasn't one to take on acts of service for any rewards. He simply liked to make himself useful and ease the burden of others. But with the excited glint in Sis' eyes as she nudged her husband, he couldn't bring himself to decline such an offer. 

That was until David dug into his pocket and pulled out the most massive wad of cash Oliver had seen in his entire life. He was practically bug-eyed at the sight. David reached out to place the stack of bills in his hand, but he shook his head 'no'.

"Wh-Whoa! That's very generous of you, but I can't possibly accept that much money from you!"

David was already intimidating enough. Having the ability to throw money around like it was nothing didn't help that feeling. Besides, he was just doing as his father would have done. Not accepting charity for basic decency. 

"It's nothing! I haven't had such amazing service in a long time!" Sis insisted. "You worked hard and I can already tell you're gonna be our favorite server here. Let me show my thanks, Oliver."

Sis plucked the cash wad out of David's hand and reached her hand out to tug at Oliver's apron. He softly gasped as she tucked the money into his pocket, giving his chest a light pat afterwards. He felt like his head was going fuzzy.

"Besides…I have a soft spot for cuties with freckles~" 

Oliver's heart was practically doing backflips in his chest. The couple smiled playfully as they put their arms around one another, ready to leave together. By the time they had moved past the curtain and exited the restaurant, he was still standing in place with a bright red set of cheeks and a pocket full of hundreds. 

He would definitely be asking his boss for more dinner shifts going forward. 

"It's amusing he put in all that work fixing the stain, considering you're gonna get it covered in blood for our hunt later."

David and Sis were enjoying the remaining moments of their date night together. With the light of the full moon illuminating the path of the Santa Carla streets, they could enjoy each other's company and keep their eyes out for a victim or two.

"He was a sweet guy," Sis sighed, nuzzling against her husband's shoulder. "Very polite, dedicated, hardworking. I overheard his thoughts, too. Poor thing struggled when he was growing up. He comes from humble beginnings."

"Yeah, and he thought I was being an asshole."

"You're just soooo intimidating, Daddy," Sis cooed, stroking his ego. "And he backed off when he found out we were married. He's a respectful boy."

Little did Oliver know that David was one of several partners that Sis was romantically involved with. Humans and their ideas of monogamy were all too amusing to vampires. 

David smiled kindly down at his wife, noticing the substantial amount of bliss she was experiencing. 

"You really liked him, huh?"

"Yeah. I did," she sighed dreamily. "He was like…a loyal puppy"

Little did she know that the gears in David's head were turning. He adored seeing his queen so happy, especially after the recent traumatic events she had gone through. She was a fighter to the end, and she deserved to feel safe again. 

Perhaps the pup would come in handy to his queen. 

end of part 1

Tag List: @britany1997 @michael-after-hours @6lostgirl6 @kurt-nightcrawler @bezinful @american-idiot-jpg @vampirefilmlover @legal-lost-boy @crustyraccoon @ghoulgeousimmaculate @crustyboypix @oceansrose2002 @desoolate @palomam18 @themarginalthinker @bloodywickedvamp @vigdys @charlizekkelly

[nikakistos]

Mikasa will kill Eren

With the series ending in only three chapters at the time of writing this meta/prediction post, i want to share my thoughts about how the battle between the Alliance and Eren will conclude. More specifically, i will analyze all the reasons that make me believe that Mikasa will kill Eren and put an end to this battle.

Mikasa’s character arc

The first important reason that made me reach to that conclusion is non other than Mikasa’s phenomenal and, in my opinion, underrated character arc. So, let’s get to know Mikasa.

Mikasa starts the story as a sheltered kid. She lives in the mountains, far away from any other kids, with her mom and dad being her only company. Her mom and dad were her entire world. She was a naive, innocent little girl who used to overlook the cruel nature of the world, focusing entirely on it’s beauty. She was content living like that with the people she loved the most, without having any grandiose dreams of her own.

And then, reality ensues. Three human traffickers kill her family and try to sell her as a sex slave. Mikasa, being only a child and alone was about to surrender. Without her family she didn’t have a place in the world. She didn’t know how to live without them.

Until Eren comes to save her. Out of the blue he kills the first two of the traffickers and unties her. However, the third one appears and disarms Eren. Before blacking out, the young boy tells Mikasa the words that later became her mantra “Fight! If you don’t win, you die. If you win, you live. If you can’t fight, you can’t win!”

That is the moment that Mikasa’s survival instincts awaken her Ackerman powers. The moment that she accepts that this world is kill or be killed and realizes it’s true nature. And the moment she learns the truth of the world she finds the strngth to kill her assailant. Mikasa kills so that she won’t be killed. And the moment her enemy falls, the old Mikasa dies. 

Broken and homeless, Mikasa asks Dr.Yeager what she should do now that she had no one. How could she live on her own? She never learned how to do that. Mikasa, from the very beginning of her life, is a codependent person. She thinks that she can’t go on alone. And at this moment of sadness comes Eren and wraps a muffler around her neck to protect her from the cold. Both from the physical cold, but also from the cold, hard world that took her happiness away. He offers her a home. Their home.

From that moment onwards Eren became Mikasa’s world. He replaced her parents as her new family, alongside with his mom and dad. Mikasa, realizing that Eren was no more than a troublesome kid with a knack for getting into troubles, decides to be by his side forever and protect him. Partly out of gratitude for saving her and giving her a home, parly because it was his mom’s wish, partly because she is in love with him, but also in order to protect herself and her own peace of mind Mikasa latches onto Eren. And she makes the same mistake as before. She starts viewing Eren as a wholly good person. She keeps the image of the scarf and forgets the violence that came before. She projects onto Eren all of the beauty in the world. 

After Carla’s death, Mikasa’s overprotective attitude only worsens. She resolves to follow Eren at all times and be there for him, without considering his feelings. She actually had a habit of misinterpreting his sentiments about her clingy nature quite often. Whoever threatens her life with Eren becomes an enemy. So, Mikasa, who never got over her trauma, thinks that Eren is the most important part of the world and that without him she can’t go own. To that end she joins the military, when in reality she never cared about humanity’s struggle against the titans. Mikasa was fine living an uneventful life with Eren and Armin. 

However, those sentiments are not fit for a soldier. As a person who dedicated her heart for humanity’s survival, her first priority being Eren becomes a hindrance. A soldier should always put his feelings second. Fulfilling the mission should always be first. While Mikasa proves herself to be extremely effective in the Battle of Trost initially, with her stoic and direct nature saving hundreds of lives, when news of Eren’s death reach her she breaks down completely. She convinces the rest of the cadets to fight, while not being prepared to do her duty. She gives up and she is ready to die, until Eren’s memory and her desire to not forget him help her pull through and fight for her life. This marks the first instance of Mikasa’s growing maturity. She finds a reason to keep moving forward even without her family. 

Mikasa is a survivor. Keep carrying on and living even after the deaths of her beloved people has always been a part of her. And this is not something that comes directly from Eren, but from her own self and love of life. Her Ackerman powers only activated due to her own survival instincts. Not from Eren’s orders. While she hasn’t realized it yet, Mikasa takes pride in being alive. In a world where only the strong survive, she feels proud of counting herself amongst them.

Of course, the revelation of Eren being alive makes Mikasa regress. She continues with her overprotective behavior and with her reckless, emotional behavior. Her desire to exact vengeance on Annie causes her to jeopardize the mission to retrieve Eren and sideline Levi. Mikasa was hurt by Annie, becaue Annie exposed her again. She showed her that she is not entirely capable of protecting Eren. She also showed her once more that fighting impulsively and allowing feelings to interfere when in a mission puts her life at risk. The first time, she was saved by Eren. The second, by Levi. So, Mikasa resolves to do better next time. She resolves to become a better soldier. Her sense of responsibility over Levi’s injury pains her and she tries to make up for it. She scolds Eren for not fighting her, despite her having killed numerous Survey Corps members. Her effots pay off and this eventually leads to Annie getting captured.

Unfortunately, Mikasa’s feelings have continued to resurface in critical moments. And those feelings did not concern Eren entirely. Despite Mikasa claiming that she only cares about a small amount of lives, specifically Armin and Eren, perhaps she hadn’t realize that she cares for far more people than she initially believed. Even after promising Levi to not make any more blunders, the only reason that Reiner and Bertholt escaped from her was the bonds she had created with them. She saw them as her comradres.  She later tries to make up for her failure by trying to make the rest of her comrades see Reiner and Bertholt as enemies of humanity and prevent them from hesitating like she did and putting a tough front against Ymir, but again, the damage had already been done. 

Mikasa had grown to care for more people than Eren and Armin. Mikasa during the Battle of Trost threatened Dimo Reeves who was delaying the evacuation process, because he was getting more of her comrades killed. She saved innocents and civilians. She was angry at the Female Titan for killing so many of her comrades. She created strong bonds within the 104th unit. She even showed consideration for Levi, even though she disliked him for beating up Eren. More importantly, as the series progress, Mikasa starts caring more about the world in general. The little girl who only cared about herself and her family members has now become a soldier who fights for the entire world. She even develops a sense of belonging to Paradis, viewing it as her homeland, when she wasn’t even willing to fight for the island 4 years ago. Her cold exterior starts to crumble and she opens up. She protects a child who killed one of her best friends, a stark contrast to the earlier version of Mikasa who nearly ruined a mission by trying to have her vengeance against Annie. The Mikasa who simply cared for her small world and had no ambitions of exploring the outside world easily embraces the volunteers from Marley and becomes optimistic about their intergration to Paradis. The exact opposite of Eren.

This gradual “defrosting” of Mikasa and her repeated failures, along with the realization of the inferiority feelings she was causing him to have, force Mikasa to alter her treatment of Eren. While she was constantly nagging and smothering him, she starts to become more supportive of him, encouraging him and helping him believe in himself, just like she did with Armin. Not only that, this enables her to become a better soldier as well. While the Mikasa of the first few chapters was willing to disobey orders if that meant being close to Eren, she starts trusting the leadership of Levi, whom she resented, and entrusts Eren to Armin in the Battle of Shiganshina. She understands that she has a role to play as a soldier and that Eren can take care of himself either alone or with the help of other people, without her being near. This results in a huge victory in Shiganshina.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that she has changed completely. Mikasa still refused to obey Levi’s orders and attacked him when he tried to revive Erwin instead of Armin, Despite all, her feelings for the people who are closer to her, Eren and Armin are still too strong sometimes and overpower her better judgement. However, it was at this point exactly, that Mikasa received her second warning. She has to keep moving forward with the knowledge that all the people she knows will eventually die. And she did. Mikasa did give up in the end during the Serumbowl. She has matured.

Unfortunately, Mikasa’s love for Eren is still hindering her. Even now, after all that, Mikasa’s sole dream is living with him forever. She is in love with him, even though he has commited horrible crimes that go against her values. Her introverted, shy nature plus her fear of losing him do not allow her to express her true feelings, but she does have them.

And here comes Mikasa’s greatest flaw. Despite all of her development, she still thinks that without Eren she is lost. She has no goal left. She never learned how to live as an individual and as an independent person. That’s why she believes his lies so easily. She doesn’t recognize her sense of self without him. She still ties her identity to Eren. She has all of the foundations for living as a complete and healthy human being, but her inability to separate herself from Eren is destroying her and clouding her judgement. That’s why she asks Armin what to do in chapter 125, that’s why she tries to stop Pieck from killing Eren in chapter 135, that’s why she says she won’t kill him. And most importantly for her, that’s why she couldn’t admit that she is in love with him in chapter 123. Mikasa simply cannot handle rejection from Eren. She can’t think of a future for her without him by her side. She almost reconsiles herself to loving him from afar.

It is very evident and telling from her reaction to Louise and her first talk to Annie that Mikasa is actually ashamed for prioritizing Eren over anything else and simply following his footsteps. In reality, Mikasa doesn’t want that. She wants to be her own person. She wants to be Eren’s equal, not his follower. That’s why she doesn’t wear the scarf anymore.

Well all these need to and will change. Mikasa has to put her feelings aside one more time and act as a soldier and finish off the threat to humanity. She needs to stop tying so much of herself to Eren and realize for good that she can live without him, despite wanting to be by his side forever. And in order to do all that, she has to stop lying to herself for good. She has to admit her feelings, her true feelings not solely to her, but to him as well. And judging by her own regrets, she will.

Mikasa’s character arc has her going from a happy, naive little girl, to a broken,  gloomy, stoic person who only cares about a couple of people to a proper soldier who cares and fights for the entire world, friends and foes included. She opens up, makes friendships, develops a more pacifistic worldview compared to her survival mindset of old. But most importantly, she will become a normal, functioning human being.

Nature of the conflict

Moving on from Mikasa’s characters arc, i believe that the nature of the conflict of the series in and of itself points out towars Mikasa killing Eren. The first and primary conflict in the series is the fight between Humans and Titans. The world has expanded since the first chapter. The series has become more complex. And yet, in the final battle we see some people fighting to protect humanity from the hordes of titans that want to trample the remaining human race outside the walls of Paradis.

In this exact setting we have the Survey Corps, the group of people that from day one fights for humanity’s survival and liberation from the terror of the titans fughting against the biggest symbol of oppression and enslavement in the entire series. The Wall Titans.

The Scouts dreamt of an idealized world when fighting against the titans. And still, even after this world was revealed to be quiet different than they imagined, more disappointing, they still don’t give up. Because they understand that the world is a cruel place, but it also very beautiful. The person who best represents this theme in the series is none other than Mikasa Ackerman. And she is fighting for the Scouting Legion against the person who showed her both sides of the world in the same day. That person has renounced all the beauty in this world and focused only on the ugly side. And he fights for the Titans.

In a series about humans fighting against titans, Mikasa is a character associated with human strength. 

While Mikasa (and the Survey Corps in general) is associated with human strength, Eren on the other hand has been constantly referred to as a monster. A devil. Something inhuman. Now of course, technically speaking Mikasa is also part titan and Eren is also part human, however this symbolism still exists.

Judging by the narrative and the themes of the series, an Eren victory is downright impossible. It just doesn’t fit for the titans to defeat humanity. The story has put so much emphasis on the creation of a better world, free of curses and hate. Eren, being the physical manifestation of both can’t win. He has to die. And in such a story, is there a better way to topple the biggest titan of all time, using the trademark weapon of humanity? That it the ODMG.

Foreshadowing

In this part, i will let the pictures do the talking. It is evident from all of them and from my previous analysis of Mikasa’s arc that a full blown conflict between her and Eren is bound to happen. And Mikasa killing Eren has been referenced way too many times for that to be a coincidence.

Every single time in this latest arc that Eren being killed is mentioned, Mikasa is at the forefront. Isayama focuses on her too much in these scenes. Considering the fact that now that Gabi has realized what the true nature of the titans is, the fact that they have wrapped the explosives around Eren’s neck, Armin going Colossal being foreshadowed over a billion times, Eren seems to be in huge danger. Killing the Source of the Titans would likely kill Eren, seeing as how he is nothing but a head without a body. And it doesn’t look like he can regenerate. Stopping the Colossals might only be possible by killing the centipede that is tied to Eren’s survival. And for all the reasons i have mentioned, i believe that Mikasa will be the one to kill it.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE ー Shuu Ecstasy [Prologue]

ー The scene starts in the guest room

Yui: How was it, Shuu-san?

Shuu: No luck. They’ve got Familiars keeping an eye on us everywhere.

On top of that, there’s Wolves wandering around outside. If we recklessly try and make a run for it, we’ll end up as their prey in no time.

Yui: ...I see.

( ーー Some time has passed since we were brought here to Banmaden. )

( Although we haven’t been restrained and were granted permission to walk around within the manor as we wish...As long as we’re put under strict supervision, this feels no different from house arrest. )

( On top of that... )

Shuu: I’d rather not spend too long at this place though...

Yui: ...

( I’m worried about Shuu-san’s behavior. He seems restless...That’s what it looks like to me. )

Shuu: ...

Yui: ( He’s often lost in thought like that as well... )

Shuu: ...Either way, we have to seize the opportunity. We’re getting out of here as soon as there’s an opening, so you should be prepared at all times as well.

Yui: Yes...

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the balcony

Shuu: ...

...Haah.

ー Yui walks up to him

Yui: Uhm...Shuu-san?

Shuu: ...You were awake? I thought you had long gone to bed.

Yui: Can I join you?

Shuu: Be my guest.

What? Can you not sleep without me?

Yui: ...Don’t try and change the subject.

Something happened between you and Carla-san on the day we arrived here, am I right?

Shuu: ...And what would this something be?

Yui: I don’t know that much but...Something which is weighing on your mind.

Up till now, I haven’t imposed myself on you because I figured it would be a bother. However, from here on out, I will ask.

I want us...to move past the stage of being just a play-pretend family.

Therefore, I will trouble you, and be as persistent as I want.

Even if you call me a bother...I want to be close to you. I want to be involved.

Shuu: Hah...You really have no trouble speaking such strong words like it’s nothing, huh?

...

...He told me he wants to bring ruin to the race of Vampires.

Yui: Eh...?

Shuu: That’s what those Founders said. That’s why they want to kill the Old Man, apparently. They also asked me to join forces with them.

Yui: Kill Karlheinz-san...!? Why would they...?

Shuu: Well...It’s a good opportunity. Might not be bad for you to know about this.

As the King, Karlheinz stands at the very top of our clan, with everyone else being on equal footing.

Of course, there’s minor differences. However, this does not change the fact that the King is the absolute ruler.

His figure is indispensable at all times. The Old Man has always been there to solve conflict and preserve the prosperity and peace within the clan.

Do you understand what that means? If the one in charge of keeping everyone together were to one day suddenly vanishーー 

Yui: ...The clan would fall apart?

Shuu: Exactly.

Yui: So that’s what Carla-san hopes to achieve by killing Karlheinz-san...

Shuu: Yeah. In other words, those brothers want to get rid of all Vampires at once, forever. 

Yui: A-Are things okay?

Shuu: They’re far from okay, but I doubt that will happen overnight.

If we consider they were willing to make that sorta deal with me, we can probably assume they haven’t found a definite way to kill the Old Man.

I doubt he’ll perish that easily either.

Yui: What did you tell them...When they asked you to work together with them?

You couldn’t have possibly agreed to...killing your own Father, right?

( They might not be on the best of terms, but they’re still family... )

( Besides, despite what he might say at times, I feel as if Shuu-san respects his Father in one way or another. )

( Therefore, he shouldn’t be able to kill him. )

Shuu: ...

Yui: Don’t tell me...You gave them an okay?

Shuu: No, I didn’t agree.

However, I’m not quite sure myself.

The Old Man doesn’t look at the world in small terms such as ‘family’ or ‘clan’.

The wellbeing of one’s clan, the happiness of one’s family...He has long distanced himself from such thoughts.

I’m pretty sure that the human concept of ‘happiness’ which you guys wish for so strongly, is something he deems unnecessary.

That’s exactly why he is the Vampire King...and being called a God.

I’m sure you can understand too? A God doesn’t bother with the masses.

I can only assume that the Old Man has his eyes set on something which lies way ahead.

Yui: Which lies way ahead...?

Shuu: I’m pretty sure he has a larger objective which we just can’t see.

To achieve his goal, he thinks of all living beings as pawns, using them to play his little games. As if he’s simply trying to kill some time.

Yui: ( Pawns... )

Shuu: I’m sure you’re one of his pawns too. Not even his own family is safe.

Yui: This larger objective...What is it?

Shuu: Who knows.

The things that go on inside the Old Man’s head far exceed our imagination. We can’t comprehend, even if we tried to.

In all my years of living, there hasn’t been a single instance where I felt like I could understand what he was thinking.

Yui: Do you...resent your Father? Is that why you’re hesitating...?

Shuu: No. I don’t particularly have those kinds of sentiments. Not right now, at the very least. However...

If you look at it from a limited perspective as a family or a clan, I do believe that his methods are wrong.

I came to understand this very well through our make-believe family.

I used to not care about that at all but...Right now, I do have an opinion on it.

The Old Man was a failure as a father, and unqualified as the King of our clan.

Yui: ...

Shuu: ...Just kidding. I doubt he would want to hear that from me.

Yui: Shuu-san.

Shuu: Don’t look so anxious.

I’m going for a stroll. I’ll be right back, so you stay here, okay?

ー Shuu leaves

Yui: ( ...Shuu-san... )

ー The scene shifts to the reception hall

Shin: ーー Hm. So he refused?

Even though we all know he loathes his Father deep down. I guess Vampires really are wimps after all.

Mertz: What will you do now, Carla-sama? I thought Sakamaki Shuu’s cooperation was absolutely vital to our plan?

Carla: Exactly. We must get him to act, to ensure we can drive Karlheinz to the wall.

Shin: That’s such a pain, so why don’t we just use that woman as our hostage?

Don’t you think he’ll obey if we threaten to kill her otherwise?

Carla: Naturally. However, that man is intelligent.

I am sure he understands that we can not hastily kill that woman.

Furthermore, if he is a true Vampire at heart, I cannot see him act over just a mere woman.

Mertz: ...Then, how about we take a bigger hostage?

Shin: What do you mean?

Mertz: A single woman is not enough. Therefore, we will keep the entire clan of Vampires hostage.

If his whole race is at stake...That man is sure to take action, no?

Shin: I see. However, Nii-san. To be honest, don’t you think it’d be a little difficult for our troops to target their base?

Carla: Then we can leave it to someone else. There is no need for us to do this ourselves.

Shin: Someone else?

Carla: Mertz. You know what to do, no?

Mertz: Yes, please leave it to me. I shall go attack Vibora’s territory.

A Vampire such as myself ーー Leading a large army of fellow Purebloods.

Carla: I am glad to hear you understand.

Shin: I see. So we’ll be using the Vibora as our pawns.

Are you sure though? They might not retaliate out of fear of Karlheinz?

Carla: That is where we shall use that man.

He is the son of the King after all. We should use him to our full advantage before we get rid of him.

ー The scene shifts to the guest room

Yui: Ah...

*Cling*

Yui: ( The chain of my Rosary snapped... )

( I snuck it with me, but I can’t hang it around my neck like this. )

( ...I don’t like how it broke at this exact time. )

( I hope nothing bad happens... )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

<- [ Maniac Epilogue ] [ Ecstasy 01 ] ->

[lessonsfrommadamexmas]

EREN JAEGER AND THE ENNEAGRAM TYPE 6

First of all, to my followers, please excuse me. This account isn’t for SNK but it’s the one I have and I wanted to write this. 

Secondly, I hope this post finds the fandom lol. But if you’re expecting this to be another meta to judge Eren’s actions, don’t waste your time. The enneagram is a tool of understanding, not judgement, and I just wanted to share one thing I appreciate immensely about Eren’s characterization.

Well, why don’t we start with chapter 137? There, Zeke states that life’s purpose is to propagate and it’s core fear is to be extinguished. In other words, from the moment we are born, our organisms need to survive. As humans, we are on our own: suddenly, you gotta breathe on your own; the food is no longer provided. Everything is scary. A baby cries because everything is hard and far away and something in their biology tells them to keep fighting to survive. 

Now, onto a more spiritual approach. In El Eneagrama de la Sociedad, Claudio Naranjo says that several cultures have their own ideas and tales regarding a disconnection from a primordial state of wholeness. Once born, we become individuals and are separated from the Universe, as if we’re no longer in sync, and something is lost in the process. How can we survive? Our defense mechanisms start with that question. We need love, we need resources and we need to stand our ground in this cruel, but beautiful world. This, on the enneagram, is called “childhood trauma”. 

What I want to do in this post is to break down Eren’s character development through the lens of the enneagram, but for that, I need to give you an overview of the system. It is cruel and beautiful, just like the SNK world. It sees us with care and understanding but it also exposes the harsh truths we don’t want to see. 

The enneagram, first and foremost, is an ancient symbol, a figure of nine points connected within a circle. There’s a lot of fascinating history to it, but I’m gonna focus on what matters to this post. The enneagram is a personality system that encompasses nine essences of the Universe, and once our childhood trauma sinks in, we attach to one type which defines our worldview. Here’s how each enneatype manifests itself:

Type 1, the reformer: this person seeks to not make mistakes. They are principled and meticulous in everything they do but highly critical of themselves and others. 

Type 2, the helper: this person seeks to be needed. They are proud of their independence and helpfulness but believe they can only receive love if they give first. 

Type 3, the achiever: this person seeks to be worthy. They are motivated and ambitious but shape themselves around what is expected of them. 

Type 4, the individualist: this person seeks to build their identity. They are sensitive and creative but reject the ordinary and focus on what is harder to reach. 

Type 5, the investigator: this person seeks to be a specialist. They are perceptive and curious but withhold themselves and their resources and worry they’re never prepared. 

Type 6, the loyalist: we’ll talk about it in a moment.  

Type 7, the enthusiast: this person seeks to avoid pain. They are joyful and spontaneous but afraid of facing hardships and being swallowed by negativity and sadness. 

Type 8, the leader: this person seeks to be strong. They are fierce and protective but don’t allow themselves any vulnerability and need to be on top. 

Type 9, the peacemaker: this person seeks to be in peace. They’re kind and their inner stability is unshakable, but have a hard time asserting themselves.

So what does it mean to be a type 6?

Some of you might not believe if I told you that Eren is moved by fear. But that’s what it is. The type 6 represents fear itself. It’s our search for safety and support. The person who is a type 6 has disconnected from their inner guide and they don’t believe they have the same capability to make decisions as everyone else. That is more of an unconscious state, which manifests through an overly alert stance. Sixes are always on the lookout for threats and danger, their minds work predicting things that can go wrong, so they can be prepared. In other words, the type 6 fears how imprevisible life is, because they truly don’t find in themselves the compass to the answers they need “in this very moment”. They have to be one step ahead and they have to find outside structures for support, people in whom to trust and who’ll give them the guidelines and sense of balance. Fellowship and loyalty are essential to the type 6 as they look for reassurance in their concerns. 

In Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery (1996), Don Richard Riso has described nine levels of development for the enneatypes. They are the path from our healthy, healed state where we’re closer to wholeness again (Level 1) down to our most broken state where we’ve abandoned ourselves (Level 9). 

When we start Attack on Titan, Eren is on Level 6. Here’s what Riso says:

“In its innocent forms, counterphobia is well employed by people to master their fears — for example, children who are afraid of the dark might purposefully go to a dark room to overcome their fear.”

Eren, too, wanted to overcome his fear since he was a kid. He wanted to go outside and face those faceless titans. He wanted people around him to be prepared, but since the Garrison was incompetent and lazy, he needed to be prepared. Grisha seems to be Eren’s first authority figure. From what we know, Grisha allowed Eren to have his own thoughts and didn’t impose anything on him, which is a kind of reassurance. Thus, with his father, Eren felt more understood. 

Carla, on the other hand, wished for Eren’s immediate safety and cared about him living a quiet life. But that also means she couldn’t understand his concerns, and the type 6 interprets that demeanor as vulnerability — his mother is more exposed to the threat. If the type 6 is a room where nobody is vigilant, the only option they see is to step up and become hypervigilant.

This relation to an authority is very specific for the type 6 as they search for people and systems in whom to rely on. Since the Garrison aren’t the most reliable soldiers around, Eren turns to the Survey Corps. That section of the military consists of the rebels, those who want to explore the unknown, understand the titans and figure out the best way to fight the enemy. The SC wants to be free, so they become Eren’s next “authority figure”. 

Riso also says that the type 6 in Level 6 has a more aggressive stance and wants to prove to others that he isn’t indecisive and can’t be pushed around. 

“They blame and berate whatever threatens them. They become rebellious… and are desperate to latch onto a position or stance that will make them feel stronger and dispel their feelings of inferiority.”

The type 6 feels inferior because they feel lost inside. Eren, too, knows that the threat lurking behind those walls is much bigger than him and a single human doesn’t stand a chance. And he berates people around him for not seeing what he sees, or for disrespecting his “heroes”.

Eren will be back to Level 6 later, embodying other aspects of it, but let’s talk about the moment he joins the army. 

At this point, Eren reaches the stable position he has been eager for. He is part of a group and working towards his goals, he feels more confident because he’s preparing for the next attack. He has climbed to Level 4:

“The security which groups and institutions provide far exceeds the strength of any individual members...”

As we know, Eren sees his mission to eradicate all titans also as a social responsibility. The type 6 can easily fall into “us versus them” mentality where they are putting effort into something and will trust only the people who understand the importance of it. Eren’s bickering with Jean, as well as his admiration for Reiner starts from there. 

“And even within their own group, average Sixes make it their business to find out who is pulling the weight and who is not... If others are not loyal or committed, it not only makes them angry, it threatens them.”

Eren talks over and over about how he’s going to join the suicide squad, to the point people start making fun of him. But he is testing everyone’s commitment to the cause of “fighting titans” and he finds people like Jean, who only really want their safe life, as well as Reiner, who is dedicated and understands him immediately. Reiner becomes his new “authority figure”: whenever Eren’s failing, Reiner is there to understand him, to offer help and to remind him of why he’s there.

“The loyalty of average Sixes for the people with whom they have identified is almost without bounds. They find it extremely difficult to break their emotional bonds, even should they desire to do so… Their love may, in time, turn to hatred but never to indifference.”

That one speaks for itself. It’s exactly how Eren felt upon RBA’s betrayal. He’s in total denial about Annie, while for Reiner/Berthold all he has left is rage. 

Choosing who to trust is part of the type 6 identity. All of their beliefs, all their inner world is shaken if they are betrayed, because the network they build is how they find a safe space for themselves in the world and how they orient themselves. Annie was Eren’s parameter of fighter, Reiner was Eren’s parameter of leadership. The first backstab is too hard for him to process, we see it all unfold. He can’t admit she’s a traitor, and he doesn’t even have the will to transform and fight her. 

The second one, however, is embraced somewhat faster and he’s even able to contain himself and play along. But it doesn’t change how deeply it affected him and how vengeful he gets. Years later, that hatred would dissipate, but never to indifference — Eren still feels a need for some closure between them. 

I got ahead of myself on the timeline, so I’m going to rewind to the moment Eren joins the Survey Corps, which is his childhood dream. Erwin is his main authority figure now and you see that, even though Erwin locked him up, he trusts the guy. As Don Riso explains, the type 6 on Level 4 plays by the rules of his group because he strongly believes in those rules and they bring comfort to their minds. In reality, the SC doesn’t really know what they’re doing. Erwin himself doesn’t know how he’s gonna cross the walls and find out the truth. But Eren is devoted to them. Their cause is his cause and he knows how hard it is but what matters is they’re trying. Besides, they embrace him. They want to reach the basement and want to defend him on the court and want to investigate/use his titan power. Thus, for Eren, the SC is the most solid and welcoming place to be. He’ll do whatever they want from him. 

However, Eren was about to find out that things were far from glorious out there. Although the Survey Corps work under strict “plans” that soldiers are supposed to follow blindly, Eren can’t just watch people being sacrificed to protect him. Especially when he has enough power to act in a more significant way than those individual humans. But how much control does he have over his own power? Eren can’t answer that, and he feels immensely conflicted as soldiers continue to drop dead. 

In that moment, Levi could’ve forced him to follow his orders, and perhaps that would’ve eased his mind when he chose not to transform. But the captain is a different kind of leader than Erwin, and he challenges Eren instead:

And I really appreciate how fitting that is to the type 6 conflit. It’s very difficult for them to accept it, sometimes there simply isn’t a clear path, sometimes it is okay to trust yourself and act on your own. But this is what Eren’s thinking:

That didn’t turn out very well, did it? At the end of the expedition, Eren is forced to admit that the SC don’t have all the answers and that all his power and training can’t always keep everyone safe. He’s once again reminded of that after activating the Coordinate — not even the power to control titans can avoid sacrifices.

Ideally, the type 6 can only reach the safety they seek once they allow themselves to move in the chaos with the courage to face it step by step, instead of predicting it. This may sound easy for others but not for them, especially if they are inserted in a reality where the cost of a mistake is lives.  

So we get to the Uprising arc. It starts with the Survey Corps planning the retake of Wall Maria while they put Eren through hardening experiments. Time is not on their side and Eren’s determined to go beyond his limits during the tests. 

“They consequently try to further strengthen their ‘social security’ systems by working harder to be accepted and approved by their allies and authorities… Others wonder if they resent the workloads and pressures they seem to be under, yet Sixes seem eager to fulfill their obligations and duties...”

Eren’s entire world would fall apart again once he’s kidnapped by Rod Reiss and discovers the truth of his father’s sin. Like I said earlier, Grisha was one of Eren’s authority figures, and even though he was absent, the basement key and the promised truth kept son and father connected. Wherever Grisha was, Eren could still count on the answers he’d left behind. 

That is, until he is hit by a trainwreck of a revelation that his father killed an entire family and sacrificed himself to pass on the titans to him. Eren’s left completely lost, he no longer knows what to think of himself, of the world, of his father.

He falls from Level 4 to Level 7:

“Sixes become trapped in an unhealthy pattern of self-disparagement and massive insecurity which reinforces feelings of inferiority and worthlessness, a marked deterioration from the indecision and evasiveness we saw [before].”

This shift to a much more confused and self-loathing state doesn’t last long because Eren has his friend’s support for now. Historia chooses to see his worth and let him live. Levi once again challenges him to make his own decision, and Eren manages to save the day.

As Eren becomes aware of those destructive feelings, he tries to get rid of them by “fighting” himself, in an attempt to put himself back up.

He realizes he isn’t alone and he doesn’t have to do everything on his own, people around him are also strong enough to stand up for themselves. That helps him return to a more average stage and it could have been the beginning of his growth... 

Well, if only life wouldn’t have a surprise waiting for him at every corner. 

I hope you’re being able to follow and understand that we all have ups and downs in life. The levels of development represent exactly that, so it is common to find yourself in the same stage in different periods of your life. Nevertheless, after Eren learns the truth about the world and sees his future memories, it all goes downhill for him, no turning back anymore.  

Here is what Riso comments on the ambivalence of the type 6 on Level 5:

“Sixes begin to follow the narrow path between the expectations of their allies and authorities and their need to resist having any further demands placed on them.”

Eren is overwhelmed by the view of the outside world. He has experienced his father’s memories first hand and it’s nothing like what he expected. No one around him has the same perspective. A lot of self-awareness and self-doubt emerge from the future memories he saw through Historia. Riso explains that on Level 5 the person starts to become more worried about how their allies feel about them. 

“They become skeptical of new views and ideas, feeling that they have already put a lot of effort into understanding the perspectives and approaches they already know.”

Eren went from “I HATE TITANS ALL TITANS ARE MY ENEMIES DESTROY ‘EM ALL” to “titans are my people and they haven’t chosen this horrible outcome”. And that’s A LOT to process when you wrapped your life around that initial idea. But things are changing even faster, and his friends are talking about how the enemy could be reached out too. This thought needs to coexist in Eren with the clear image he has of the enemy, one that only he has accessed. Add to that how Eren was kept away from the Marleyan prisoners as Paradis also feared some kind of betrayal. As long as there’s people out there against them, he can’t so easily rest. 

Who knows at what point Eren returns to Level 6. The time skip is covered very loosely. But probably when he is feeling so lost that he actually comes to Historia to vent. 

“As in other types, to be functioning in this Level or lower usually indicates that there were extremely dysfunctional elements in the child’s environment.”

Self-explanatory. It’s even hard to talk about Level 6 because it is a point where Sixes start to overthink threats that aren’t that big, but in Eren’s case, the threat is 100% REAL and there’s a world isolating them and wishing for his people to die and throwing gigantic creatures at them. No big deal at all.

Eren turns to the people who actually understand the urgency he feels. Floch is eager to follow him, while Zeke and Yelena have an actual plan. Eren says he’s acting out of his own decisions, and he sure is, but he has also left it in Zeke’s hands to set the course. At this point, it no longer is a positive thing for the type 6 to have reassurance instead of a grounding support, it’ll only leave them trapped in the current mentality. 

What would be more appropriate would be a balance between rejection…

…and full acceptance.  

(By the way, I can’t even know where Historia stands, since she let him do his thing, but I’m still using her here because of how immediate her reaction was, which could lead Eren to think he can’t risk telling anyone else. Unhealthy Sixes are just that paranoid.)

Zeke could have been Eren’s new “authority figure“ if their goals were the same. But more and more the only thing Eren is starting to rely on are the future memories.

Riso talks about how a violent environment would lead to violent actions and “they end up using the same aggressive tactics on others”. And I can draw a parallel with how Eren has been facing titans for so long and watched them take people from him, that he just feels aggression arise whenever he thinks of all the injustice he has witnessed. Same would happen later on, when he sees Ymir’s memories and finally decides to unleash this pain on the world.

“It’s hard for Sixes to work for something. Instead, their energies are galvanized by being against people and things.”

Despite being highly conflicted and problematic, Eren so far has waited. It’s too hard at this point to fully engage with those dreams, but he has watched things unfold and allowed the Survey Corps to do their stuff and try to contact the outside world. On Level 7, the type 6 is just going through the day with little hope. When the SC reaches Marley and Eren meets the boy of his memories, he can no longer escape from facing himself.

“Tearful and obsequious, they are disgusted with themselves for not having been tough enough to stand on their own two feet, to defend themselves, to be independent.”

Not only Eren, but Paradis as a whole, have been unable to be independent in a much bigger world, or this is how he sees it after Kyiomi monopolizes the resources and the pro-Eldians group rejects the island. Finally, Eren recognizes in himself the person who would be capable of trampling the kid he currently wants to save, and that leaves him disgusted.   

“They do not necessarily deceive others maliciously, but to escape punishment or abandonment. They believe they may be able to repair the damage they have caused...”

What Riso is saying here is that the type 6 feel the need to hide (themselves) so their loved ones won’t abandon them. And again, in Eren’s case, he has a damn good reason to think his loved ones might not be super happy if he said he was going to destroy the whole world. Let’s not forget they are the people who counted on him to save the world this whole time, and he is the person several people have been sacrificed for. 

All this pressure has brought him this low, but Eren reaches rock bottom when he allows himself to admit he wished for it all to be destroyed. Now, he can no longer face his family (as he would tell Falco) and he has little faith in himself. 

Again, Eren’s paranoias aren’t so far from reality because there is, indeed, a world against them, and that keeps feeding into his anxiety. Paradis’s progress is little and the future is uncertain. When the type 6 reaches Level 9, they can no longer get out of this spiral. They know it’s only a matter of time until the threat comes to them. So they call the threat upon themselves.

Eren allowed himself to go as far as understanding his enemies and accepting that they’re the same, but with the declaration of war, he can’t wait anymore.

I already told you the reason: the type 6 needs to be able to predict. That’s the very core of their beings, their minds seek to control events. Striking first is their final attempt to make sure they won’t be taken by surprise. Ultimately, they are lost and desperate to find support again. Here’s what Riso says about the type 6 on Level 9:

“They may drop out, abasing themselves as vagrants and living in skid row conditions, thus allowing their health and minds to deteriorate to the point of no return.”

It almost feels like Isayama has read this book, I swear to God. Yeah, that’s word by word what Eren does. He goes to enemy territory, injures himself and throws himself in war. Despite resisting for so long to a new perspective of his enemies, Eren allows himself to see them with his own eyes. All because he’s desperate to understand his enemy, desperate to understand himself (and what would lead to his decision) and desperate to run away from his friends. He is ashamed of choosing those future memories as his new authority figure, get it? They are the most certain thing in his life now. As much as he waited and as much as the SC tried, they don’t have any guaranteed future and it’s just too hard for the type 6, especially unhealthy Sixes, to wait. It’s impossible. 

Remember I said that Sixes want to feel understood? Well, I think Eren feels understood, to some degree, when he’s among those broken soldiers. They are relatable, more than anyone else. 

“Neurotic Sixes bring disaster of some sort upon themselves not to end their relationship with authority figures, but to reestablish a protective one. [...] It is also important to notice that neurotic Sixes are masochist not because they take pleasure in suffering as such, but because they hope their suffering will bring someone to their side who’ll save them… as if to say, ‘Punish me, because I’ve been bad. Then you can love me again.’”

In the mind of the unhealthy type 6, if he can’t find the answers, he can’t be there for his allies. If he fails his allies, he doesn’t deserve their support. But even when he feels he doesn’t deserve it and feels they won’t forgive him, he desperately needs it — the type 6 doesn’t know how to live without support. He is completely aware of his cowardice, he may unleash his despair in innocent people, he seeks punishment for his behavior and hopes for someone to end his pain.

“Unhealthy Sixes are self-defeating persons who are their worst enemies. If they persist in their masochist behavior, neurotic Sixes will drive away everyone on whom they depend. They will be abandoned and alone, the very things they most fear.”

Eren pushed everyone away, but deep down he waited for them to come to his rescue. He knew he was a lost cause, but still couldn’t let go of what he saw as a compromise, a duty to them. His completely cruel and extreme actions are, in enneagram terms, his way to not leave his allies adrift. But aren’t all his actions for his own freedom? I don’t think so, not entirely. There’s a reason the type 6 has been named “the loyalist” — they always, always see themselves as part of a group. And in the end, he saw himself in Ymir, someone who was trapped and waiting to be rescued, understood. Don Riso says the worst part of coming this low is how much Sixes hurt others while they hurt themselves, both because they want to harm everyone who doesn’t understand and to show people the worst in themselves; they want to punish and be punished at same the time.

That is what I wanted to break down — Eren’s inner process. Yes, the type 6 is an ambivalent, contradicting personality type, precisely because that’s how they feel inside. Other enneagram types don’t escape from their own personal conflicts, that’s also important to point out. The enneagram does not define integrity, people capable of causing great harm exist in all types and no one from type 6 is fated to destroying the world — just in case that isn’t obvious. 

This post is heavy, I know. One of the things I love about SNK are the emotions it evokes and how human characters are. I’m so thankful to have followed Eren’s fascinating journey. He has never hit me as a one-dimensional character as some people claim. To me, Eren is not a chad, he’s not a monster, either. He’s just human. 

I’m thankful for this fandom as well. We’re a total mess but the monthly wait would’ve killed me without the crazy theories and the heated discussions.  

[jubesy]

I get so excited every time I see a new story of yours up on ao3! I was hoping you’d consider 3. Make me for matcha blossom next. Honestly feel like they would say that to each other a lot lol.

Ah, it makes me so happy to hear that, anon! And yes, they would most definitely say this to each other in various situations, hehe~ Thank you for your kind words and your request!

This one is a wee bit spicy. Still rated T, for sure. But it implies~

Matcha Blossom #3 “Make me.”

Also available on Ao3.

Link to my master list of Matcha Blossom drabbles

“Kojiro!” Cherry’s voice was shrill as he burst into the restaurant after hours. “Delete it. Right now.” He stopped just short of where Joe was leaning against the counter, waiting for him. 

Joe smiled and offered a wave. “Good evening, Kaoru.”

“Delete. It.” Cherry ordered, teeth clenched tight. 

Now, let it be known that Joe was completely aware of the ‘it’ to which Cherry was referring. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy this a little bit longer. After all, pushing his childhood friend’s buttons was one of his most favorite things to do. “Delete what?” 

Cherry balked, then quickly recovered. “Don’t play dumb, you great ape!” he growled. “Reki and the others told me you showed it to them.” There was a light dusting of pink high on his cheeks that Joe desperately wanted to darken, but he played it cool.

“Honestly, Kaoru,” he began, pulling his phone out of his pocket and swiping to unlock it. “I just thought our kids deserved to know what you looked like at their age.” He flashed the screen so Cherry could see. “This is a really good one, too.”

The photo was a bit grainy, but it wasn’t so low quality that one couldn’t make out every single piercing. Well, those that were visible, at least. But the best part was the stance. Cherry looked like a wannabe delinquent, with his head held high and his lips forming quite an imposing sneer.

What the viewers couldn’t see was the bit of the photo that had been cropped out, where Joe was making the same expression. But their kiddos didn’t need to see that.

“Where did you even…” Cherry trailed off. “Never mind. Delete it.” 

“Why?” Joe asked, turning the screen and giving the photo an appreciative glance. “It’s cute.”

“It is not cute,” Cherry argued, baring his teeth. “Give me your damn phone so I can erase it.” He made to grab for it, but Joe held it up, just out of reach.

“Now, why would I do that?” Joe questioned, pulling back and tapping his phone to his chin.

“Kojiro…”     

“This is a memory frozen in time, Kaoru,” he reasoned, barely containing the laughter bubbling up in his chest. He was having too much fun. 

“You,” Cherry began, stepping closer and thrusting a finger right in Joe’s face. “You are going to delete that photo.” 

Joe reached up and grabbed a hold of Cherry’s hand, keeping it in place as he closed the remaining distance between them, their noses nearly brushing as he spoke. “Make me.”

For a millisecond, blink and you would have missed it, Cherry’s eyes widened a fraction before immediately narrowing into murderous slits. “You want to run that by me again?”

With a low chuckle, Joe slipped his phone back into his pocket and lowered the hand holding Cherry’s so they were chest to chest. “I said,” he whispered. “Make me.”

And Cherry, never one to back down from a challenge, simply grinned. The fake one he used when what he really wanted to do was chew the other person out. Joe had seen him make that face in front of boorish clients dozens if not hundreds of times. “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Cherry threatened sweetly, all fake, almost cloying.

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” Joe returned, bringing Cherry’s trapped hand back up to his chest. “I know exactly what I’m asking for.” 

Cherry broke first. Joe knew he would. After all, that had been his goal. There was always a point where, if Joe played his cards right, Cherry would attack him in a different way. Of course, there was also always a chance that he’d push the wrong buttons and get a swift kick to the shins.

“You’re the worst,” Cherry hissed as he practically smashed their lips together. Joe smiled against his mouth. “I can’t believe--” Cherry pulled back to breathe. “--you showed them--” He drew back farther this time. “Upstairs.”

It wasn’t a question. 

And Joe apparently wasn’t following fast enough, because Cherry stomped back over and grabbed his arm, dragging him across the restaurant.

“Okay, okay,” Joe laughed. “Let me lock the front door.”

Later. Much, much later. Joe hummed softly as he combed his fingers through Cherry’s hair. The other was asleep, or nearly there, and he just looked so...gorgeous. And, because Joe was an absolute genius when the mood stuck, he quickly grabbed for his phone. However, the shutter sound caused Cherry to stir. 

“You’d better have deleted that,” he said, voice a little rough. He was squinting up at him.

“I did. I promise.” Joe held his phone up with one hand and placed the other over his heart. “You know, I was wondering…” 

Cherry was awake now. He turned onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow. “What?” 

“Why didn’t you just have Carla sneak into my phone and erase the data?” he asked.

“She doesn’t work that way.” Cherry rolled his eyes. “Besides...I wouldn’t have gotten to--” He paused, his face turning red. Well, maybe he was only just now fully waking up. “She doesn’t work that way,” he repeated.

“I see…” Joe hummed and set his phone on the nightstand. “Well, you convinced me to delete it, so I guess it all turned out all right.” 

Cherry scoffed. “For you.” 

“And you,” Joe offered. “Three times.” 

“Kojiro!”   

Joe snorted. “I’ll miss that picture, though.” 

Cherry flicked him on the forehead. “And what about the one you just took?” 

Ah, so he’d been caught. “Hey,” Joe said, lifting his hand toward Cherry’s forehead to return the favor, but stopping just as the other flinched. He leaned down and pressed a kiss there instead. “That one’s definitely for my eyes only.” 

“Oh?” Cherry raised an eyebrow. “So, you won’t delete it?” 

Joe wrapped an arm around Cherry’s waist and pulled him closer. “Not unless you make me.”

Request a drabble here!

[one-boring-person]

Behave Yourself.

Paul (The Lost Boys) x reader

Warnings: some bad language, mild injury, implied/very mild sexual content

Context: The reader works as a security guard on the Boardwalk, and is in a relationship with our favourite Count Fidget, Paul.😁

A/N: I hope to hell my inspiration comes back quickly, as this is already not quite to the standard I wish it was at, but anyhow, I hope it is enjoyable 😅💛💛

Masterlist

Every job has it's perks. Some of them totally out do the cons of a particular job, but some, like mine, have very little influence on how enjoyable the experience is, especially since the job itself can be incredibly energy-draining at times. Any job as a security guard takes a certain knack for not taking anyone's crap, a courage which any good one needs in order to be able to ignore the remarks and jibes from disgruntled people around them, but as a security guard working on the Boardwalk of Santa Carla, it can be very difficult to uphold these standards.

A dull ache has started in my chest from where some Surf Nazi has jabbed me, trying to threaten me into submission after I wouldn't allow him to use the carousel, having recognised him from a few nights before, where he started a brawl amongst a group of young kids, severely injuring one or two. Naturally, I'd taken this in my stride, not rising to the bait despite the rising frustration within me, my hand itching to crack him across the face, a neutral expression remaining in place on my face as I calmly told him to leave. Of course, he couldn't just do as he was told, instead deciding that squaring up with me was the better idea, though I quickly showed him the error of his ways, disabling him in seconds with only a hard prod against my chest being landed by him, sending him on his way with an angry grumble. Internally, I'm glad he hasn't tried to get back at me yet, though I'm well aware my shift has half an hour still to go, which is plenty of time for him still to try.

A pair of arms wrap around my waist, snapping me from my thoughts as a familiar scent envelopes me, alerting me to who my assailant is immediately. Chuckling, I remain standing upright, knowing that if I'm caught being "intimate" with a member of the public whilst on duty, I'll be fired, choosing instead to keep my eyes focused on the busy crowd ahead of me.

"Hey there, hot stuff." Paul greets, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he presses his chest to my back, trying to get a response out of me.

"Hey Mophead." I return, briefly turning my head to give him a swift kiss on the lips, pulling away seconds later so as not to draw attention to us, laughing at his whine of complaint.

"Busy night?" He asks, tightening his grip when I try to unlatch his arms from around me, holding me against his lean yet muscular body with ease.

"So-so. Sleep well?" I confirm, finally managing to pry his arms apart slightly, only to groan when they instantly move to pin mine to my sides.

"So-so." He mimics, the grin on his face almost audible as I wriggle in his grip, trying to escape, "Where're you trying to go?"

"Paul, you know damn well that I'll get in trouble if anyone reports seeing me like this. Let me go!" I playfully scold him, eyeing the crowd dubiously.

"Nah, I like having you in my arms. You're comfortable." He declines, pressing his face into my hair, or rather, trying to, the stupid cap my superiors make me wear getting in the way. He whines a little at this but is quick to remedy it, using his teeth to pull it off and drop it to the floor.

"Hey! Behave yourself! As much as I hate this job sometimes, I'd still like to keep it! Let me go, I promise I'll give you lots of attention later!" I protest, trying to bargain with him, especially when I feel his hands start to wander, "Paul, I swear to god if you even try something innapropriate here, I'll personally bathe you in holy water."

He only chuckles, kissing at my neck in response, his hand moving to untuck my uniform shirt from my belt, icy fingers tracing the skin that he manages to reveal before my own hands have clasped his wrists, having finally gotten free.

"Paul!" I warn him, spotting another guard a little way off, the muscular guy heading in my direction even if he isn't really paying much attention.

"Aww, such a killjoy." The vampire teases, licking a stripe up my neck as he pulls away from me, moving to stand beside me, a smirk on his face as I tidy my uniform up again.

"At least wait until we're somewhere private. You can come over to mine after I finish, if you want?" I offer, adjusting my composure accordingly.

"I'd never say no." Paul grins, winking at me suggestively.

"You are unbelievable, is everything about sex with you?" I say in exasperation, shooing him off as the other guard gets closer.

"You love it." He responds, leaning over to catch my lips in a rough kiss before he saunters away, leaving me frustrated and eager to get my shift over with.

Unfortunately, this takes longer than anticipated, due to a fight breaking out near the entrance, where a Surf Nazi has managed to offend a Metalhead, the two of them already beating each other into the ground by the time the guards in the area get there. In the process of separating them, a few of us (including me) got a little knocked about, resulting in some bruises, and even a nosebleed in someone else's case, meaning we needed to be checked over before we could leave. By the time it's all over, it's nearly twelve, at which point my shift should've finished an hour ago.

The walk home is no better, the stretch of road lonely and long as I go over it, knowing that Paul is most likely waiting for me at the house, which is why I can't get a ride off him. The air around me is cold, which is surprising given the time of year, making me shiver a little as I go, my hands instinctively moving to pull my jacket tighter over my uniform, concealing it from the view of the few other pedestrians I pass, though none of them pay any attention to me anyway. About half way through, my ribs start hurting on one side, where I took a blow from the Metalhead involved in the fight, the bruise starting to play up, making me slow in my stride so as not to hurt myself too badly, though I know it isn't a bad injury at all, just an awkward one. Annoyingly, this means I only arrive at my house twenty or so minutes later than I should've done, but I don't think much of it until I open the front door.

Instantly, I'm pressed up against it, a lanky body pinning me to the hard surface, hands pushing mine above my head. In the dark, his eyes appear black, though I don't get much time to see them before he's buried his face into my neck, lips busying themselves there as he kisses and licks at the soft skin, biting down here and there as harshly as he can without breaking skin, his actions drawing a surprised groan from me, my chest arching into his. Paul chuckles lowly into my pulsepoint, nosing his way back up to my jaw, where he nibbles a path to my lips. To my dismay, however, he stops there, pulling back a little.

"You're late." His breath fans hotly over my face, his hips pressing into mine.

"I got held up. There was a fight." I respond, eager to get back to it as I lean forwards, kissing him carefully, fully expecting him to back away and tease me for it, brief yet pleased surprise flaring up in me when he reciprocates with equal roughness, trailing his hands down my arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. As soon as they are released, I move my own hands to his hair, where I intertwine my fingers with the soft strands, pulling him closer as his move further down my body.

Once more, Paul's lips travel down the length of my neck, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses along the prominent vein pulsing under my skin, reminding me of my vulnerability, a moan leaving me as he brushes past my sweet spot, my grip in his hair tightening. Smirking against me, the vampire bites down on the area, being sure to leave it unbroken, his hands smoothing up and down my sides, having pushed up under my shirt, until a gasp of pain manages to escape me from where he passes over the bruise on my ribs, at which point he pulls away, confused and concerned.

"Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" He questions, moving back a bit so he can look me over, trying to find the source of my discomfort.

"I'm fine, you didn't do anything. I just took a blow from one of the kids in the fight." I reassure him, caressing his hair with a small smile on my face.

"You took a blow? Where?" His worry is sweet, hands pushing up my shirt to look for the offending injury.

"My ribs, but it's honestly fine, it's really not that ba-" I go to say, only to be cut off by a hiss of pain when he drags a thumb over the area (accidentally of course), eliciting a little noise of apology from him.

"I don't believe you." Is all he says before he's lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he carries me further into the house, going to my bedroom. Once inside, he somehow manages to pull off my boots and jacket without putting me down, climbing onto the bed with me on top of him, arms cradling me against his chest. For little while, we remain there, his fingers massaging soothing circles into my tight muscles, encouraging out the knots as I let little gasps of air leave me every now and then, thoroughly enjoying being in his arms.

"I was wrong." I suddenly speak up, resting my chin on his chest as I look into his eyes.

"About what?" He inquires, looking puzzled.

"About everything being about sex with you. You can be really sweet, too." I smile at him, chuckling when he rolls his eyes.

"Only for you." He promises, now laughing at my own eyeroll.

"Bullshit, you can be really sweet with the boys, too." I remind him, tracing a pattern into his chest with a fingertip.

"Now, that is bullshit." He says in response, smirking at me.

"It isn't."

"It is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Is-"

"I won't tell anyone." I reassure him, grinning at the protesting vampire.

"Fine. Swear to it." He grits out after a few moments, having apparently considered the offer.

"I swear."

"Good." He smiles down at me, chuckling when I yawn, the hours having caught up to me, "You should get some sleep."

"Are you sure? Won't it be annoying for you?" I question, too tired now to argue.

"Nah, I like sleeping with you." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at this, obviously having an alternative meaning behind the words, giggling when I slap at his chest in mock disgust.

"Weirdo."

"Your weirdo." He points out, blue eyes sparkling in the dim light.

"Of course."

[sapphire-strikes]

I Looove the dynamic of Habit Kamal and FK. Thank you for writing so much for them! I was wondering... What do you think Kamal's first impression of FK was? At the habitat he was so anxious and he seemed to helpless - I can't help but think FK helped him become a better and more confident person after the big event happened... But what about before that

• He'd been fighting with himself about the whole situation ever since it went down. Maybe he was too harsh with Habit, he was a pretty sensitive guy after all. He'd been far to nice with him for far to long and that hadn't gotten him anywhere. The things he was doing weren't right, none of it even made sense for a mental health retreat!

• Why even put an ad out looking for a dental assistant if you weren't going to be doing any dentistry. Kamal swallowed hard at that thought, pushing away the fact that he might already know the answer.

• Bor-Habit was unhinged sure, but he wasn't a bad person, that was something Kamal at least thought he was sure of. In fact, that was the only reason he'd stuck around for as long as he did.

• It was too late to change things now though, right? He could just put all of this behind him and move on with his life. All he had to do was walk out the gate and never come back. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to complete that simple last step. Because if something really was wrong, then he'd have moved on being one of the only people that could have stopped it.

• Kamal's conscience wouldn't let him leave but his anxiety made him too damn scared to actually do anything. So he settled on a substandard inbetween; waiting it out to see what would happen.

• It had been what, a few weeks now since his fight with Habit and things in the Habitat had remained monotonously unchanged.

• The Doc himself had gone eerily silent on top of that. Maybe that was for the best. Knowing Habit; the big guy was probably sulking in his office, too frustrated and uncomposed to actually do anything. Those weird little PSAs even stopped airing and Kamal started to feel hopeful that maybe Habit was actually giving up on this whole silly idea.

• Then you showed up. He didn't even know the Habitat was excepting any new members. Habit had even mentioned cutting off applications to see how this first batch of "patients" worked out. He could only assume this was the doctor’s way of trying to kickstart things again. Smashing all hope that maybe this place was actually going to shut down. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little annoyed by a new arrival considering his current situation.

• After a few days the rumors started to make their way up to his spot on the balcony. Looks like this new member has been making a name for themselves.

• Along with this rise in activity came the return of the PSAs. This time around though, something wasn't right. Boris was getting annoyed, Kamal could tell. Hell, you'd have to be a moron not to be able to.

• Kamal actually figured that would be it for you. You'd see the not so subtle threatening messages and go into hiding just like him and Wallus. However the very next morning Borbra was excitedly showing off her brand new Y'owl to everyone on the terrace. Unfortunately the purveyor themself stayed up all last night trying to catch it and wasn't around to join in on the fun.

• It didn't really seem like much at first but day after day things in the Habitat started to change. He never went down much further than the apartments but Lulia kept him pretty well informed and the PSAs alone gave him enough information to figure out what was going on.

• Soon the Carnival and the Lounge reopened as well and it almost seemed like every day more and more color was returning to the dreary Habitat. People eyes gave way to a kind of spark when they'd talk about you and anyone that crossed you path seemed to have a sort of glow around them.

• You and Habit had this weird little rivalry going on. It was terrifying but hilarious. You'd improve something around the Habitat and Habit would follow your action up by trying to show you up or by denouncing your behavior.

• Apparently you'd been refusing to eat anything from the lounge and your snarky comments about the poor supply management must have been overheard because by the next day the lounge received what, according to Jimothan, was more stock than the lounge had room for.

• That's what was so funny about it! Habit didn't care about making people happy, at least that's what Kamal figured at this point. He was just childish and jealous that you were doing his job better than him!

• It wasn't long after that that he'd finally get the chance to meet you himself. Not to sound rude but you didn't look like much at first. You were surprisingly normal looking compared to the other people around here. You didn't seem to pay him much mind either when you stepped up to the highest part of the balcony, gazing out over the edge through the missing bars.

• He could only assume it was you, the person everyone had been referring to as the flower kid. You didn't look like much of a kid per say but he guessed the term of endearment matched your actions. Maybe you were some kind of beatnik?

• If it wasn't for the way he unconsciously gasped when you leaned precariously over the edge you might not have even noticed him.

• You looked nervous at first but his own anxious prattling seemed to help you loosen up a bit and soon you got to talking. Gosh, you were a weird kid. Definitely not the type of person to find in a self help resort of all places.

• To think...you'd actually find him a tooth brush. To be honest, up until that moment he didn't think he cared what you were getting yourself into. But after helping him fix his teeth you just collected yourself calmly and went to move on like it was no big deal. In that moment he couldn't think of the last time someone had just done something for him. So he spoke quite unceremoniously in what he assumed was his own half assed attempt to talk you down from the mountain you didn't know you were climbing.

"Habit?" You questioned him as if not understanding what he was getting at. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that guy wants to kick in my teeth", you continued half joking."

"You'd be surprised how not far that is from the actual truth." Kamal mumbled quietly. So you weren't oblivious to Habit's annoyance.

"I'll be honest, I don't know what I did to piss him off but if he wants me to leave he can ask me himself." Your tone wasn't challenging, it sounded more confused than anything. "I've been here almost two weeks, I just really want to talk to him at this point."

"Careful what you wish for, kiddo, but.... Kamal paused, "he's really not that bad a guy when you get to know him."

"Hm?"

"Heh, never mind. I do got a question for you though. What's someone like you doing in a place like this in the first place? You've obviously got enough positivity to share." His question seemed to catch you off guard and you looked to be searching for an answer. After a moment however you just shrugged wordlessly. "Fair enough fair enough."

• A while after that you made it a habit to stop by and say hi to him when you were making your rounds around the Habitat. It hadn't occurred to him how much he'd actually began to worry about you until you pulled a particular stunt.

• You came up to say hi like you usually did but instead of heading down to the apartments you stared wistfully over the edge of the balcony. He was about to tell you to be careful but didn't get the chance when you jumped through the missing bars and down into the courtyard.

• Kamal rushed down the ever daunting stairwell at a speed he didn't think was possible only to find you standing unharmed at the bottom. How did you - did he just - why??? 

• After that he regained the courage to start walking around the Habitat again. He didn't have to worry about Boris coming down. The big guy talked a big talk when he was behind that puppet but Kamal new him well enough to guess he wouldn't be coming down from his tower any time soon, at least not while you were still here.

• Apparently at some point amongst your little back and forths with Habit you even staged a little mock election for president of the Habitat. While it started out as a one sided joke on your part, Habit actually went through the trouble of having the fake campaign posters Putunia and Tim Tam had made around the Habitat torn down and replaced them with ones of his own. (All of which were quickly vandalized with marker mustaches and devil horns)

• While the whole thing started as a joke, it was just a testament to the fact that you had the whole freakin’ Habitat on your side, even those stupid Carlas. All you had to do was ask them and they'd let you into restricted areas or even forgo escorting you to your room at "beddy time" when you'd try to stay up. 

• The whole beddy time situation was something even he was too scared to mess with. You on the other hand didn't seem to mind ending every night passed out in the courtyard.

Kamal settled down pretty early one night and was just dosing off when he was startled awake by a distant scream. Had he been more awake, he'd have surprised himself with the guts he showed as he rushed out into the dark without a second thought to find the owner of the voice. He hadn't even made it to the stairs when a body crashed into his own. After stumbling for a moment he finally focusing on the panicked figure in front of him.

"Kid, what's the-"

Before he could finish you lurched away from him. "Kid, kid! It's okay it's me!" He spoke quickly, reaching out to steady your shoulders before you tripped over yourself

"K-kamal?"

"Yeah, it's just me, little buddy..." He gave you a reassuring smile as you finally seemed to be taking in your surroundings "Was that you who screamed? What happened?" Unfortunately this question struck the wrong cords as you quickly seemed to remember why you were running in the first place.

"Th-there was this-this...thing...down in the courtyard!" You backed away from him a few steps, pointing down the stairwell.

"Calm down. What kind of thing?"

"Some kind of, I don't know...some kind of shadow thing!" If you weren't still freaking out you might have noticed the way Kamal's face straightened in realization as soon as those words left you mouth. His attention was soon turned back to you though as he shifted into damage control mode.

"Okay, you're okay though right y-" Just then Kamal noticed the way you had been holding your left shoulder, his eyes trailing up to the small abrasion on your head above your temple. "Wait wait wait, did Ha- did this "shadow thing" do that to you?!"

"N-no, but I-", you were interrupted by a rush of lightheadedness but was steadied by Kamal before you could fall over.

"Lets...get out of the open and get you patched up, this "fresh mountain air" is giving me a headache. You can tell me the whole story once your nerves have settled a bit. " You could only offer a shaky nod, stumbling a few times as he seemed to be leading you in the direction of his room.

After instructing you to sit on his bed, Kamal got to work cleaning up the small wound on your head. It wasn't actually too bad, just a shallow scrape with a lot of bruising.

"You see a few hours ago Tim Tam snatched Millie's golf club and stashed it somewhere in the courtyard. We searched for it all day but we couldn't find it anywhere and Mil was getting really upset so I promised her I'd find it for her by morning..." Kamal listened quietly, putting a bit of pressure on your sore shoulder to see how you'd react. "It was getting dark and I was about to give up, but then I saw it up in that big tree by the corner."

"Don't tell me; you climbed up to get it, didn't you?"

"I...yeah. I'd almost made it the whole way up when I started feeling groggy and after a minute I must have blacked out, cause the next thing I know I'm on the ground looking up at the stars.

"You fell out?! Is that why you screamed?"

"No-no, I couldn't do anything at first, I was so out of it." The color drained from your face as you continued. "My vision was fading in and out but I think the pain in my arm was keeping me awake. It hurt so bad but I still couldn't move....it was terrifying."

"Sounds like it..." Kamal finished his inspection and sat beside you when he noticed your growing discomfort.

"That's when I saw it. It was out of the corner of my eye at first but it kept getting closer. I thought for sure I was hallucinating, because I couldn't hear any footsteps and the next thing I know it's standing over me... It was...some kind of...shadow. Then...it reached down and-and started trying to pick me up! That...that must have been enough to get my adrenaline pumping cause I screamed and kicked it right in the stomach! Then...I pulled myself to my feet and ran..."

"And that's when you ran into me huh?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just..."

"Don't apologize, I'm glad ya did actually. Your shoulder should be okay, just a little sore for a while, try not to sleep on it, kay?" You once again responded by nodding quietly.

Shoot, you were really shaken up...not that he could blame you. It was a bit jarring actually; to see the infamous flower kid so scared. Stupid Habit and his stupid laughing gas. Stupid him for helping that maniac load the stuff into that stupid machine!

While he had all night to sit there and curse himself out, he was brought back to reality when you stood up beside him.

"I should probably head back to my room... Whatever it was was probably just another one of Habit's tricks to get me to follow curfew anyways." One thing Kamal was sure of; he was not a fan of the despondence in your voice.

"Actually!" He jumped from his spot to stop you, "Why don't you crash with me for the night? No reason to got trudging around in the dark."

"That's sweet but I'll be fine really."

"Ayy, c'mon it's no trouble. I'll sleep on the futon. 'Sides, won't it be kinda fun throwing the green guy for a loop? You ain't out and about, you ain't in your room; he'll be up all night tryin' ta figure out where ya went!" While Kamal never considered himself good a cheering folks up, the small smile you cracked had to count for something.

"Only if I get to sleep in the futon, I don’t want to impose..."

"You're twistin' my arm here, kid, buuut...I guess I can compromise, for the sake of irking a common enemy." The small laugh he got out of you mad him feel happier than he would have been able to admit with a straight face. You really had a way of making folks care about you, kid, and he was no exception.

• That night shared something in common with the night of the Big Event

Kamal was scared, he was always so scared; until he saw someone that was just as scared if not more than him. It's easy to be scared when the only person you're worried about protecting is yourself. But even after finding out Habit was involved that night, seeing someone like you beat up and frightened because of him made him angry. The same went for seeing you walk out of those gates, mouth bloody with Habit in tow.

• He's always going to be a little angry at himself for it taking seeing your courage the night of the Big Event for him to fully realize it. He never would have thought himself brave enough to almost uppercut Habit, let alone have the patience to invite him to come along back to his place with the two of you afterwards at your request.

[satelitesdejupiter]

Interlude

Summary: There are things that can only be said when turning off the lights.   Eremika Week day 01 – Jealousy.

 He knew she would come.

Even if she hadn't been looking for him in sleepless nights for a long time, he knew she would come to him that night.

He shifted restlessly as if waiting for the sound of her footsteps when he looked at the shadow that crept toward the bedside lamp. He shuffled aside, giving her space to sit quietly.

As children it was common for her to go to his bed after nightmares. The custom was practically abolished upon entering the survey corps, but there were days too difficult to bear, and not infrequently he drifted away for her to lie in his bed. And so he did again. Eren looked at her, staring at her straight profile and saw Mikasa close her eyes, gave a tired sigh and rested her head against the headboard.

"Will you go?"

She nodded placidly.

"If necessary."

"You don't have to do this."

“You, Armin, Historia… Everyone is willing to make sacrifices. I cannot act thinking only of my own desires. No longer…"

“Can't you allow them to use you, that…”

"Nothing's decided yet," she interrupted. "Hange sees my going as a diplomatic gesture and opportunity to get to know the outside world with our own vision, but Zackly hasn't manifested," she mused and Eren stopped. Mikasa was not a soldier who could easily be dismissed, even temporarily.

"It wouldn't be bad at all either."

That information overwhelmed him. He was not prepared for such a betrayal.

"Do you want to go?"

Mikasa nipped her lip as if pondering, but nodded hesitantly.

"I can't believe."

"It could be interesting…"

"Of course, you can't wait to be treated like a princess or something with your parties, jewels and that nonsense. Or was it Kiyomi's promises to get boyfriends with stupid titles?"

"Eren, what are you talking about?"

 "The damn purpose of this trip. But apparently you're happy with that, aren't you? " Eren snorted with derision and Mikasa sighed in frustration.

"It has nothing to do with it. Just…" She sat leaning, looking serious. "There's a dish with fish that only mommy made. Cylindrical cut with rice… I had never seen anywhere else. But Hiruzu's embassy does not seem to eat anything else. Same about the raiment. I remember the clothes she sewed, some had the same cut on the collar that the women there wear. How many more things I don't know? I would like to know the country of my ancestors. ”

"You talk like Kiyomi cares about what you want."

She lay down staring at the ceiling.

"I have no illusions about this, nor am I willing to submit to the interests of others, if that's what you want to know. However, there is no harm in not abhorring the idea."

"But…"

She silenced his objection, lifting her head to her level as she propped her back on the pillow.

"I don't want to think about that anymore," she closed her eyes and he watched the circles around them, "Tomorrow we can, but not today, please."

It shouldn't be easy for her.

Mikasa hated change. She was methodical and a lover of routines. When they lived in Shiganshina and her mother asked to arrange the dispensation, she used to always order everything in the same place. The salt after the sugar next to the flour, which in turn was followed by the jar of cookies and nuts. She didn't even seem to rationalize these operations, not bothering if he or Carla moved, yet eventually she would put them back in the same sacred order even if unconscious. It was natural to her.

She shifted lazily, putting one of her arms over him and he slid his hands over the dark strands away from her forehead.

"You're so beautiful." He heard Kiyomi's voice haunt his thoughts and his mind returned to the events of that afternoon.

…

"You should come with us to Hiruzu, to know our customs, our country." Kiyomi proposed casually, setting the cup on the table.

"I don't think this is the right time," Mikasa replied, sipping the tea she had invited to have in the apartment reserved for the ambassador.

 "I don't say that for nothing.” She smiled kindly. "It would be interesting for Paradis to expand their zone of influence, I know many families who would be happy to meet you. Besides," She took Mikasa's hand, leaning into her."You're so pretty. Maybe you can't find a fiancé?"  And She laughed as if telling an unreasonable joke.

 Mikasa folded the hands in her lap.

"It's not something that I think."

"I'm afraid not," she agreed, "but it would be interesting if you thought. Nothing more solid than alliances formed under marriage, don't you think? I talked to your commander and have some great Hiruzu clans in mind. Everything would be done by your choice if you agreed to come with me, of course."

Eren clenched his fists, and before Mikasa thought of rehearsing an answer, he knocked on the ajar door no matter if he interrupted an important meeting.

"Mikasa, the horses are ready. Hurry up," he announced without ceremony, giving Kiyomi a rude look.

Mikasa looked grateful, rising hastily

"I have to go"

"I see," Kiyomi stood up, gesturing something that he learned to be courteous with her hands, "But please, think about my proposal. I would be genuinely happy if you visit our country for a few months. "

 …

 It was not the first time he had heard speculation about Mikasa's future.

 Those bastards.

 Kiyomi looked at her like she was an opulent acquisition, while Zackly seemed to ponder which fate would be most advantageous. They wanted to use her in their political game. Take away her right to act for her own life, direct her decisions, and ultimately use her as she was a breeder of soldiers. Eren was seeing something like this happen to a dear person, but he could never bear to see it happen to her.

He traced the delicate face tracing the outline of her lips.

Yes, she was really beautiful. Yet once again that beauty threatened to be a curse.

He didn't like to imagine where she would be if she hadn't arrived on time. Probably having a miserable life running into rich men's hands like a toy. It would not be so different if Kiyomi carried out her plan, uniting her with some clan noblewoman against her will, or if she stayed on the island to give birth to Ackermans soldiers.

She snuggled closer to him and his muscles tensed. Her breath skidded under his neck and the warmth of her hand held tight to his chest made him lose his mind, dragging his thoughts to shameful places.

"Mikasa, it's late," he called her with a pat on the shoulder. She looked at him confused and he quickly sat with his back to her.

"I'm sorry… I was sleepy," she said blandly, rubbing her eye, then glared at him softly. "Don't you find that nostalgic? It always happened in Shiganshina."

Eren shook his head, "We're not kids anymore."

She backed away.

"That's not it ..." he came up noticing that she had misunderstood.

She waited, but he didn't know how to correct himself.

Then he found frustrated that she had no idea at all. Maybe it was the habit of seeing him as a child or a younger brother. Someone she could sleep with without incurring vexatious situations.

Fortunately, no one else would see innocently that long-abandoned habit, and that's what he remembered when he said, "Hange will be here early tomorrow."

"And?" She leaned back against the pillows.

Eren bend toward her ignoring the inconvenience of his condition in order to find a humor line on her face.

Her lips parted in expectation caught his eye, and he looked away at the tattoo on his rib hand and involuntarily glued his fingers over the circles, skirting them.

"She could interpret it strangely."

Mikasa seemed to consider "There is nothing to interpret, and even if it had it would be no violation."

It was true that dating members of the corporation was not illegal, especially during their layoffs, and it was also true that there was nothing between them, but the way she dismissed the idea bothered him.

He leaned a little closer to her.

"Mikasa, what do you think people would think if they saw us now?"

Her breath hitched, and she instinctively tugged at the hand he caressed, but he didn't back away keeping his hand on her rib, massaging it with gentle strokes.

 She tried to keep her face placid, but throbbing in her chest betrayed her. All there was were stubborn green eyes, and those dark hair that she didn't remember how it almost stopped at the shoulder.

"They would assume things that do not exist," she replied, as if to defy him.

"But they would not be wrong to do it."

"Of course, you would never see me like that, nor ..."

"Contrary to what you seem to think, Mikasa. I am a man. And with eyes." He smoothed the curve of her waist tightly,"Not a child or a priest."

It was her turn to lean.

“Maybe I know that. And maybe I don't care what Hange will think tomorrow. ”

Before he drew any reaction, she closed the distance between his lips.

They had a taste of night. Cold and soft as the twilight breeze, but there was a moment when all the lights seemed to turn on. Eren moved his lips down her neck and he stopped inhaling her scent, his hand held firmly over her torso, "Don't go."

He didn't want to see her leave.

Not with Kiyomi, not to stop in some idiot's arms.

The thought of her choosing anyone, someone who would have everything he always wanted, at times seemed the worst case scenario.

"I can not promise".

"I know, I know," he repeated, kissing the curve of her shoulders and going to her lips as if to ensure the merit of being the only one who could.

Mikasa tugged a strand of her hair back, wondering how to say that even if Hiruzu was an ocean od distace she would still come back.

She rose over him making him lie down.

And so he fell silent about any complaint to Hiruzu that night.

[lostinsantacarla]

Part two (I can’t take complete credit for this. I threw an idea at my writing partner and she ran with it, creating this part of the chapter that’s simply amazing and completely Paul)

1981

He woke up later than usual. His lady friend, one of his many friends with benefits, or in last night's case, "Make me your bitch, Paul!" had long since left for work, but not before providing him with money on the end table so he could buy some beer and cigarettes. However, he decided that using the money to score some high-quality weed from his favorite dealer sounded better.

Sure, the guy was a hunchback, walked with a lead foot, had one bug-eye, and smelled like garbage, but out of all the shady people Paul had bought pot from over the years, this guy had never steered him wrong. It was too bad the old fart was hardly around. For someone who hobbled about as he did, he was fast with his transactions and as soon as the exchange was finished, he was off like a thief in the night. Lucky for Paul, word on the street was that the weirdo was out and about tonight.

Sweet Mary Jane, here I come! His inner monologue announced as he threw on a pair of denim pants, that is, after he found them behind the bushes outside the apartment complex. He had had to run out buck naked, marathon sprinting, to retrieve them without being spotted. Talk about a wild romp of sex for his pants to get thrown out the window like that.

His look was further completed with a band shirt, seeing as one could never go wrong with Led Zeppelin, and black high tops. Then in the bathroom, in front of the mirror, he spent a good amount of time teasing his hair until it resembled a lion's mane; big, wild, and unkempt.

The girls loved his style and always gave compliments about how he looked like a rock star. His hair and his bigger than life personality had opened many doors of opportunity, which in turn led to free food, booze, and sex. He was exuberant and free spirited. Nothing and nobody could hold him back.

Once he was fixed up, the rock star was out the door with the money and made his way down the block. It was a quiet night and the sun had long since set in the horizon. The streets were lined with rundown apartment buildings and small houses, but visibility was somewhat poor since many of the streetlights had long since burned out, or were flickering their last light as he strolled beneath them. He could hear some of the bulbs buzzing and glanced up to see a couple of moths high above, fluttering around one of the dying lights. Needless to say, this part of the neighborhood wasn't the greatest, but it was an even thirty miles from Santa Carla, where the beaches and amusement park roared with life at all hours of the day and night. That was his destination, though he never complained about where he stayed in the moment, because it was a free roof over his head. It wasn't like his childhood home had been anything remotely close to resembling paradise either, but those were painful memories, pushed deep into the back of his mind. Occasionally they would pop up here and there, rearing their ugly heads, considering he was human after all.

He ventured off the main road and resorted to crossing through some dilapidated backyards, as it was a lot quicker to travel. These homes, while much smaller and closer in connection than the ones he'd passed earlier, were also abandoned with windows boarded up and walls marred with graffiti. He kept both hands in his pockets, one of which had a hold over a switchblade. It served as good protection, considering he was aware of the few guys he'd pissed off by sleeping with their girlfriends and then bragged about it later while high, and or drunk. They'd all wanted to beat the shit out of him, and they weren't shy about threatening out in the open. Fortunately, he was always one step ahead of them and like his favorite dealer, made sure never to stay in the same place for very long. Keeping off the main roads would ensure prying eyes weren't watching him.

Eventually he found himself headed towards the more industrial part of the town in search of the weirdo, where the lighting became scarce and dark alleys closed in on him. It was like he was wandering through a maze of brick walls and wooden fences, with garbage cans and discarded cargo boxes choking the walkways. Not a great place to get jumped, so he kept a steady pace and made sure to keep his eyes open.

As he prepared to go around a corner that led down a narrow channel of a one-way street, a high pitched, fearful sounding, "NO!" made him stop dead in his tracks. Instantly, he flattened against a set of steel bars over a foreign doorway, and peered around the corner with his mouth slightly parted in concern.

Just a few feet away, under the light of an abandoned two story building, he spotted a little blonde girl, probably no older than four years old, bawling her eyes out. Her cheeks were red and stained with tears. A middle-aged man with disheveled gray hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail and wearing a white lab coat towered over the girl. He looked about ready to devour her like a hungry beast. His face was twisted and strained and he reached out to grab her with gnarled, crooked fingers. He barked at her, telling her that if she didn't stop crying any second, he was going to belt her.

"What the...?" Paul muttered under his breath. "hell is this?"

Suddenly the man had a firm grip over the back of the pink overalls the child wore, and was ready to hoist her off the ground. The kid was jerked back, and she let out a painful scream.

Normally, Paul wouldn't have given two shits about other people's problems. Aside from his drug buddies and faceless gal pals, he wasn't close enough with anyone to where he'd stick his neck out for them in a matter of life or death. The only person he looked out for at that point in time was numero uno. Yet the sight of a small, defenseless child about to be harmed by another adult brought one of those painful memories to the surface, no longer buried deep in his sub-consciousness. It reminded him all too much of his past, and of the many nights he'd been beaten black and blue by his step-dad with no one around to help him. Not even his mother, who knew what was happening, would dare lift a finger. Every time it happened, she looked the other way, afraid to interfere—not because she would get hit, but because she would lose the man's attention and he'd end up leaving her. The only way Paul was able to escape the nightmare was by staying out night after night, and only going home when he absolutely needed to. Before he turned sixteen, they kicked him out permanently after learning he had sold all his mother's precious jewelry, including her wedding ring, for quick cash. He was given the boot and ultimately his freedom.

"Fuck that," Paul hissed through clenched teeth as he sprang into action. No one had been there for him, but that didn't mean he couldn't help another little tike out. He bolted away from his hiding spot, and approached the stranger, using his arm to shove the older guy up against the wall. That in turn allowed him to yank the girl away from the weirdo's grasp, and set her down on her feet. She stumbled backwards and continued crying, but Paul ignored her as he became transfixed with the creep in front of him.

"What were you planning on doing with such a small fry, huh?" he asked, his blue eyes full of rage, yet at the same time he was somewhat... grinning? Yes, he was smiling. He liked frightening this asshole. "You don't look like nobody who would care about her. She sure as hell doesn't seem to like you."

"That is NONE of your business," the man hissed as he pushed Paul's arm away from him. "She will be property of—"

"Wrong answer!" Paul exclaimed as he stepped back, drew his switch blade, and stepped forward once more, shoving the tip dangerously close to the man's throat. "The kid wouldn't be screaming like that if she belonged to you or anybody associated with you. And 'property' you say? That ain't gonna be sitting right with the police now, is it?"

The last thing Paul wanted to do was go to the police. He'd already had more than a few run-ins with them for public intoxication, lewd behavior, and disturbing the peace. Assault and possession of a deadly weapon was not something he wanted to add to his record. Still, he wasn't about to let some asshole get away with hurting a defenseless kid. He wasn't that jaded.

The man's eyes bugged out at the sight of the weapon and he swallowed nervously, buying the bluff. He held up his hands, already breaking out into a cold sweat, and started stammering.

"A-A-All right. All right. Just… let me go. Let me go, please. I don't see why they need… need her so much anyhow. S-She doesn't look like anything special to me. I-I could always find another job at my age! I shouldn't be... be treated like this! No job is worth risking my life for!"

They? Paul raised a brow over his ramblings, but a couple things stood out to him. What kind of job was this creep into where the requirements involved wanting their employees to kidnap children? Was it some kind of secret sweat shop in China? Whatever. He moved back and closed the switch blade before sliding it back in his pocket, his eyes never wavering from the man in front of him. The girl had calmed down and was no longer crying, but squatting on the ground, her body pressed up against the building. She was whimpering and hiccupping with her back facing them. Other than looking terrified, she didn't appear hurt, much to Paul's relief.

"Now," Paul said with an upbeat expression, even though his tone betrayed the look, as it was dark and menacing. He slapped the man roughly across the chest with the back of his hand. "You aren't gonna rat on me to the police, are you? Let's face it, I know I'm a punk, but you don't look all too 'normal' yourself, bud. What's a mad scientist doing going after little girls? You some kinda pervert?"

"I am not!" the man blurted out, completely unnerved at this point. His hands trembled, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't like that sort of thing at all! And no! Can't get the police involved! I was just doing my job… I..."

In a blind panic, he was finally pushed away from Paul and broke free. Fearful for his life, his footsteps echoed across the alley until he disappeared, and silence once again took over.

Now Paul turned to the kid. He wasn't used to dealing with little ones, but he was still determined to make sure this one wasn't getting hurt by the likes of that jerk, or anyone else who could easily break her jaw. He was by no means a saint, but even he had his own code of ethics and morals.

Scratching at the faint stubble on his cheeks, he slowly approached her and carefully picked her up. She was small and weighed very little, and he couldn't help but think about his baby half-brother, as she was probably around the same age as him.

Ah, hell, stop thinking about any of that, he chided inward. You're on your own, Paulie boy. You've been on your own for a long ass time.

By the time he and the girl emerged out into the open, he saw how dark the skies had grown. He didn't wear a watch, but he noticed a small clock tower located on an island in the middle of an intersection that read the time. Not even two hours had passed since he left his friend's pad. There, in that part of town, the street lights were better maintained (as in, they worked), and not only that, but there were people walking around. Businesses were also open and operating, which meant it was a hell of a lot safer than the alleys.

He was surprised at how well behaved and quiet the girl was after saving her. She didn't even know him, but already showed trust in him as if she could read him. Either that or she was just scared out of her wits. The trust factor became more apparent, however, when she leaned against his chest. She was content, sucking her thumb while her eyelids drooped. The problem for Paul was that he wasn't sure where to go from there, so he sat down on the curb and gently placed her down beside him.

He tipped his chin and stared at his shoes, noticing a hole was starting to form near the toe, but the small girl didn't want to detach herself from his side, and ended up resting her small frame against his arm.

Crap, he'd suddenly become an unofficial babysitter for her.

Long as she isn't wailing like she was, I can deal with this, I think.

He rested his arms across his knees and cracked his knuckles as he stared across the street at nothing while his thoughts rolled around. What did that perv say about her being property? Total sicko. People got their rocks off in the nastiest ways. Just hope I didn't miss my dealer by playing hero...

"Serenity? Oh my god, there she is! Serenity!"

Glancing in the direction of the frantic voice, Paul spotted a desperate looking elderly couple hurrying over to where the two of them sat. Their eyes were not focused on him but what was next to him: the kid. No, not kid, Serenity.

Serenity was her name.

Pffft. As if he would retain that information for much longer after he killed his brain cells with some prime weed. Question was, were they just more weirdos coming after her? Just decked out in clever disguises rather than the mad scientist get up? What was so special about her anyway?

Fortunately, unlike with the first guy, Serenity did respond positively to the sound of the elderly female's voice by calling out, "Grandma...!"

She rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists and yawned.

Paul figured he would be tired too after getting kidnapped and harassed by some douchebag, if he were her age.

Not wanting to startle her any more, he collected her into his arms and got to his feet. By that point, the couple was upon them and the woman's arms were outstretched. With a shrug, he automatically surrendered Serenity over to her.

About damn time, he thought as the grandmother cradled Serenity close to her chest and kissed her face affectionately. Serenity responded by cuddling closer to her relative, but she did offer Paul one last look, as if silently wondering if he'd still be around later.

"Thank you so much," the elderly man said as he stood alongside his wife, looking very tired but relieved. The dude was sweating. He had to have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for his granddaughter. He held out a thin hand for Paul to shake. "We don't know how we can ever repay you! We were about to call the police!"

Paul snorted and shoved both of his hands inside his pockets. "Keep a better eye on short stuff there," he admonished rather rudely. "Lil' missy may not be so lucky next time."

Without waiting for a response, he took off in the opposite direction, determined to get back to his own personal affairs. If he ended up meeting with his dealer, soon enough he'd be so damn high that he wouldn't have any memories of playing the hero in the first place.

Little Serenity was young enough to where she wouldn't remember almost being kidnapped. She'd be back to watching Sesame Street and Mister Rogers.

Sides, it's not like I'll ever see her again…

(If you’d like to check out her back story for Paul, you can find it here.)

[angel-gidget]

Iron Dad Obscure Movie AUs

Well, with Nano finally done, I've been thinking about trying to toe-dip into writing fannish things again. I've got a WIP or two on my hard drive for when I'm in a bat-fandom sort of mood, but I've been wanting to jot down some Iron Dad ideas for a while now. Of course, this desire was an especially frustrating one bc I didn't have any fresh ideas for a long while.

I've been really blessed bc every time I think of a premise I want to see executed using Tony and Peter's dynamic, I just have to wait about a week before somebody else thinks the same thing and writes it better than I ever could. Ah, the joys of a large and creative fandom!

But coming up with ideas can still be fun in itself, so I used a tried and true cornerstone of fannish brainstorming: just list off some of your favorite movies and then consider how it could act as an AU for your chosen fandom. Suffice to say it worked, and I ended up with some fairly unique plot bunnies.

Lost Boys AU

Tony and Peter are doing a commercial retreat in Santa Carla. Vampires have infested the circle of Tony's business associates and they try to prey on the former playboy's old addictions to lure him into the coven.

Meanwhile, Peter befriends the local vampire hunters and begins to see the signs of Tony's descent. It becomes a desperate scramble for them both when they realize that Tony has been tricked into drinking vampire blood and has already begun to turn. (Featuring Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn as our local vampire-hunting Frog Brother stand-ins. Maybe with Eddie Brock as their hapless mentor?)

Hudsucker Proxy AU

Take #1: When Tony is presumed dead in Afghanistan, Obadiah Stane decides to make a show of finding a child genius of Tony's caliber to become the new poster boy for Stark Industries R&D. He chooses Peter Parker with plans to turn the kid into his puppet, but Peter is smarter than he appears, and when the ten year old finds a way to contact the not-so-dead Tony Stark, Obadiah's every plan goes haywire.

Take #2: When Justin Hammer commits suicide, one of his board members sees an opportunity. That is, Norman Osborn sees an opportunity. Norman decides to select his son's friend, scandalously underage mailroom employee Peter Parker, as the new head of Hammer industries. Hoping to devalue the stock to the point that he can buy it despite its distribution to the pubic, Norman plans for a hostile takeover.

However, his plans are threatened when young Parker turns out to be a little too brilliant. The plucky teen actually designs a working product that could move Hammer Industries out of the weapons business and into the medical field. To make matters worse, the youth somehow knows about Norman’s under-the-table genetic experiments, and keeps digging further into it.

As stock value rises, and the boy gets even nosier, the solution to Norman's problem seems simple: murder Peter Parker. Unfortunately, Peter is harder to kill than originally calculated, and superhero billionaire Tony Stark has chosen the worst time to start caring about the well-being of his "itsy bitsy business rival."

The Court Jester AU

When Lord Tony Stark sided with prince Thor against the usurper-king Loki, he didn't realize it would get him exiled. He's been stuck in a wasteland taking orders from famed outlaw and freedom-fighter Steve Rogers for years now. A lack of trust on the Captain's part has left Tony's skills woefully under-used, but his next assignment gives him a little bit of hope: infiltrate Loki's castle and lower the defenses from the inside. It sounds like a job worthy of Tony's skills, but there's a catch.

There's only one way in: impersonate the renowned father-son jester duo due to arrive at King Loki's castle within the month. To seal the ruse, Tony has been paired with young Peter Parker, a fellow genius with a dangerously endearing demeanor. The kid seems capable enough, so nothing should go wrong whatsoever. Theoretically. They didn’t exactly account for all the other secret conspiracies going down in Loki’s court. Peter’s kind heart and rotten luck proceed to get them sucked into every. last. one.

[fo4companionsreact]

*pokes* is this blog still active? if so, can i request the companions reacting to sole overworking themselves (not eating, sleeping properly, etc) and finally collapsing from it?

Pffff!! If it’s still active?! OF COURSE IT IS…. irregularly and with great pauses, but it is active :D

Cait - Come to think of it, she did notice Sole barely eating, almost always taking the watch for the night and some serious daily workout. They were out in the sun, making beds for some settlement and Cait was bored out of her mind, bitching about it. Suddenly, their whole body just gave out and Sole fell down like a ragdoll. Cait began cursing under her breath as she picked them up. They were seriously overheating and only now, up close, did the ex-slave noticed the dark circles under their eyes. 

With a help of some settler, she carried Sole into one of those newly build shacks, laying them on the bed they’ve finished mere minutes ago. Sole was cooling up slowly, but were near unwakeable, she only managed to give them some water, before they zoomed out again. “Dumbass… That’s what you get for treating yourself like shit,” said Cait under her breath, but stayed with them until they were feeling better.

Codsworth - The mister handy immediatelly set off to find some help, knowing that trying to drag them away from the attacking sunlight would end up with them most likely wounded from his arms. Of course, not even 30 seconds later were there settlers that were saved by Sole themselves few hours prior. Two settlers carried Sole to a shack, while a timid looking woman poured some cool water on their head, waking up fairly dazed Sole.

Codsworth handed them some more water, which Sole drank extremely quickly. As soon as they did, Sole fell asleep on the mattress, the sleeping deficit taking a toll on them, among other things. As soon as the robot was sure they’d be fine, he began making a meal for them when they’d rested enough. It saddened Codsworth, really. They were taking care of everyone, but themselves.

Curie - “Oh, no!” said Curie very quietly, when she caught a glimpse of Sole’s bared torso. Both of them were dreched and found themselves in the process of changing clothes, so they wouldn’t catch a cold. And Curie saw just how malnourished Sole was. Come to think of it, she now noticed how little were they eating. Considering what sort of exercise they do every day, Sole should be eating 4 times more than they do.

Sole made a move to leave the building they were in, as they were already sporting dry clothing, but Curie blocked their path: “What are you doing, Curie?” they said. Sole’s voice was filled with fatigue. Saying nothing, Curie grabbed them by their shoulders and almost drag them to sit in one of the chairs around. After thorough scolding about how they should care better about themselves, Curie proceeded to cook a nutritious meal for them, after which she sent them straight to bed.

Danse - This was not good. At all. Sole was a Brotherhood of Steel soldier, which is a very physically demanding job, yet Sole didn’t get nearly enough rest and food they needed. Danse always knew this and knew that it could destroy them and now he was cursing himself to hell and back, because he let it happen. Sole was unconscious, lying on the hard ground. The paladin let out a sigh as he got out of his power armour and picked them up, laying them down on a nearby bed.

When he chekced that they were safe, he ran off to fetch a doctor. They’re probably just sleeping (god knew they needed it), but better be safe, than sorry. As the doctor looked them up and down, Danse began rummaging through their things, finding them some food and plenty of water, for when they regain their consciousness. He then made a promise to himself; he will now always keep in mind that they care for themselves, since they probably won’t…

Deacon - He’s been through this himself. When something fucks up, one has to deal with it, and Deacon’s always dealt with it by trying to do more work than he could handle while neglecting his basic needs. He had to admit, it wasn’t nice. At all. Of course, the agent immediatelly made sure they were breathing and had a stable heartbeat, before picking them up and putting them on the nearest bed.

He picked an (almost) clean rag and poured some water on it, laying it on their forehead. He was no nurse, or a babysitter, but Sole was his friend and as mentioned above, seeing one of your only, if not the only friend in such a state made him feel sick. He was there when they woke up later, offering them some InstaMash and a Nuka Cola, both of which they gratefully accepted. When they were done eating, Sole let sleep take them once more. They’re gonna stay in this cabin for a while, as it seems.

Dogmeat - The pup saw them falling down, but not getting up, therefore he immediatelly rushed by their side and began licking their face. Sole woke up after a while and Dogmeat almost dragged them into a shadow. THere Sole sat, slumped against the wall, while Dogmeat went off to bark at Trashcan Carla until she came around. 

Of course, she was cursing and fussing, but gave Sole something ‘on the house’, a single canteen of purified water and a can of Pork n’ Beans. It wasn’t a lot, but Sole was grateful anyway, being thirsty and starving. They later left to go to bed, while Dogmeat kept them company, dozing off softly over their legs, watching over them.

Hancock - “Oh, shit,” he said, getting Sole’s attention. Now, he looked at them maybe a little more than was necessary, so he was surprised he didn’t notice how… skinnier Sole became. And definetely not in a good way, they looked completely starved out. He definetely shouldn’t be telling anyone how to live, shouldn’t even combine the words ‘healthy’ and ‘lifestyle’, but this wasn’t good. So he told them, as nicely, but firmly as possible.

It took him a while to finally get them to eat and drink something. He even threatened them a bit, saying that he’d be making sure they care for themselves, that he’d be like their own fucking babysitter. After Sole’s been fed and promised him they’d try to live more healthily, he sent them to bed. He might have been a bit of an asshole, too strict on them, but Hancock already saw many of his friends lost. He didn’t want to go through this with Sole.

MacCready - The sniper wasn’t overly picky about his food - after living off mushrooms for 16 years of his life, a well made mole rat steak was a fine dish. On the other hand, he could see why Sole wouldn’t like eating too much, they were certainly used to better food. So it didn’t worry him too much at first. At first. It worried him way more when he saw Sole collapse on the ground, literally starved.

He wasn’t the best cook out there, but when Sole finally woke up and smelled the mirelurk omelettes he made, they almost choked themselves on them. MacCready then proceeded to tell Sole how dumb they were for not eating and drinking enough and what a scare they gave him. Sole felt awful, apologized about a hundred times and promised they would eat more. “I sure hope so,” the sniper said, “neither of us wants me force feeding you now, right?” 

Nick Valentine - Being a synth and not having basic needs like sleeping or eating, he noticed how badyl Sole neglected themselves pretty early on. He even told them about it, on several ocassions. Things like ‘This place looks safe. YOu sure you don’t want to catch some Z’s?’ or ‘You know I don’t need to sleep, right? You can sleep while I watch out…’. Now that the synth detective reflected back on it, he should’ve been firmer.

Sole was nervous, literally jumping at shadows. The circles under their eyes were very, very dark and they looked like they would fall asleep right on their feet. That was quite enough for Nick. He grabbed their shoulder, maybe too forcefully, and dragged them towards the ranger cabin. He sat them on the bed, while they argued. “Listen, kid/doll. I know you’re tough. But if you want to keep helping people and find your son, you’ve got to take some time to rest.” Sole agreed in the end and were out by the time their head hit the mattress.

Piper - Sole liked to help people. Everyone knew it, Piper held them in really high regards because of it and they were really making a difference. But after a while, the reporter noticed it was taking a real toll on them. The shack they built was perfect, it was nicely decorated and looked like an amazing place to live in. However, Sole’s muscles were most likely crying out in pain right now. They truly worked from 6 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock at night, taking only very small breaks.

She saw it on Sole, the fatigue. Their usual, rather confident strode looked almost zombie-like now and the typical spark they just had was gone. Piper too was tired, she was helping the whole day as well, but Sole was taking it to the extremes. She offered them a massage, which was very awkward, but it seemed to relieve some stress from Sole’s muscles, all the while Piper asked them not to overwork themselves like this again.

Preston - The minuteman had no idea how Sole managed to do everything they do. One moment they’re killing hostiles, the other they’re trying to find their lost son and then they’re doing some manual work at the settlements. He always worked with them, but it felt as if Sole worked as two people at once. It dind’t occur to Preston at first that they could put themselves into danger, overworking like this.

So when Sole fell down on the ardent ground, drenched with sweat and burning up, Preston cursed at himself and began fussing over his general. He carried them to the most cool part of the settlement, brought a doctor, bought plenty of water, food and meds just to know they’d be alright. When Sole finally came to, he apologized a hundred times and promised that he would never let them overstrain themselves this much.

Strong - The super mutant knew human doesn’t eat humans, but it seemed to him that they weren’t even eating human food. He could understand, human food was disgusting, but when humans, or super mutants don’t eat, they’re not good fighters. He, of course, told Sole this. They promised that they’ll try to eat more and since that moemnt, Strong always reminded them when he thought they should do so.

X6-88 - It was his job to make sure they survive, so the courser was a bit annoyed, for they were making it harder for him. Without enough rest and food, Sole is sure to become an easy target and X6 wouldn’t fail the Father and the Institute by allowing this. He tried being nice, at first, ‘You should eat something, sir/ma’am’ and ‘You should get some rest, sir/ma’am’ was however answered with something like ‘Hmm’ and ‘later’.

X6 wasn’t exactly thrilled at how he ended up dealing with the situation, but it worked. He lcoked Sole in their own bedroom in Sanctuary with several Institute food packs and purified water and until they had a meal and a long sleep, X6 wouldn’t budge and let them out. It worked at the end and Sole began to actually treat themselves better, so it’s for the better, X6 thought.

Sorry for any typos xD

[diabolikdrabbles]

Reaction of the S, M, and T boys if they find out that Yui is actually Karl's daughter

Boy oh boy, if Yui was Karlheinz’s only daughter and had her vampire side repressed when she was a baby, I think the boys in general would be even more surprised by Karlheinz’s powers. In this situation, she’s a lot like Yuuki Kuran from Vampire Knight.

EDIT: I FORGOT ABOUT KINO. I’M SORRY BABY.

SAKAMAKI

Shu: That human he fed from was actually his long lost sister? You have got to be kidding him. Shu’s mind would be running with many questions, but he won’t ask Yui about it since she didn’t know she was directly related to the Sakamaki family too. He isn’t sure what to do in this situation besides creating a distance between himself and Yui now. He wants her blood, but not with this stipulation.

Reiji: Surprised by the revelation, Reiji wonders what Karlheinz is scheming by turning Yui into a human and hiding her identity from their family for years. He becomes suspicious and wishes to speak with Karlheinz soon about it. But for now, Reiji will continue to care for her like he does for the rest of the household. He is also tempted to awaken her vampire side soon.

Ayato: Chichinashi is his half-sister?! Ayato is shocked and starts yelling at everyone, accusing them of hiding this from him for years. When he grasps the truth of it all, Ayato becomes conflicted. Yui was once his prey, but now she’s at the same level as him? He even shared a kiss with her once! Ayato becomes disgusted with himself and decides to move on. No point in sticking around now.

Kanato: Kanato screams at Yui for being a deceitful creature, and he threatens to kill her so that he doesn’t have to deal with her. Kanato even remarks that he doesn’t remember growing up with her and says that since their father hid her away from all of them, her existence must have been a nuisance for Karlheinz. He can’t believe how much he liked her sweet blood too.

Laito: An incest relationship? No problem. Laito may be thrown back by Yui’s true identity, but he’s still interested in her while she was a human. After all, Karlheinz married Christa, his cousin, so can’t Laito consider Yui as a lover? Laito will tease Yui 10x more than usual, and he may even dote on her. But until she’s a vampire, he will still see her as his lovely prey and cute Bitch-chan.

Subaru: Subaru becomes a little paranoid that Yui is his half-sister, and he’s flustered over the fact that he always desired her blood over others. He can’t bring himself to look her in the eye anymore, and he may even start to avoid her on purpose. But separation brings the heart closer, and Subaru finds himself becoming protective of Yui. After all, she may be a human, but she’s his sister now.

Kino: Kino would use this new information to perhaps form a secret alliance and get back at Karlheinz for abandoning them and treating them horribly. Of course, he’s after Karlheinz’s powers, but Kino believes that Yui can be used as bait for the Sakamaki boy who currently possesses it. Perhaps his new sister is useful after all.

MUKAMI

Ruki: After all this time, Livestock was that man’s daughter? Ruki is disturbed by how he originally treated Yui because of all the gracious things Karlheinz has done for him. He would formally apologize to Yui for mistreating her, and he views her differently now too. He desire to become Adam increases as he finds himself further falling for her because of her new identity.

Kou: What? M-Neko-Chan is actually Karlheinz’s long lost daughter? Kou is disgruntled by this new fact, and through Ruki, he is also forced to apologize to Yui. But he still wants to be in the running to be Adam, so he becomes a little more nicer to Yui than usual. After all, Kou is indebted to Karlheinz, so it’s only natural that he pays back the price.

Yuma: Sow is related to those Sakamaki guys? Gross! Yuma is dumbfounded by the fact that Yui is directly related to the Sakamaki vampires, but he wonders why she is a human instead. He’ll ask Ruki if they should investigate the matter since the circumstances are strange. Despite being a Sakamaki, Yuma will still want to drink Yui’s delicious blood. Not much has changed for him.

Azusa: To think that Eve is actually a sister to the Sakamaki family confuses Azusa. He thought that Yui was a human being, not a bloodsucking vampire. Azusa can’t help but treat Yui as a higher being at school, and he speaks so formally to her too. To him, Yui is basically the Sakamaki princess. He won’t dare to defile her since she is Karlheinz’s daughter.

TSUKINAMI

Carla: Carla is surprised by the announcement that Yui is actually Karlheinz’s daughter, and he now sees his potential marriage to her as something politically powerful. The Bat clan will surely stand by the Founders’ side if he gets married to the Vampire King’s daughter. Persistent as always, Carla will attempt to capture Yui’s heart and court her properly now, but the Sakamaki family won’t have it.

Shin: Shin is speechless when he discovers the truth, but it doesn’t change the fact that Yui is still beneath him. However, much like Yuma, he wonders what the Vampire King is scheming this time, so Shin might do some reconnaissance work if Carla allows him to do so. He hopes Yui won’t be used as a secret weapon or pawn by Karlheinz.

-Admin Yuuzuki

[inloveandwords]

ContemporaryAThon starts tomorrow and if you’re still looking for books to read, I have a few recommendations for YA romance.

You can check out the video if you’d like to hear about why I love these books:

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love. The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

By Your Side by Kasie West

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

Trust by Kylie Scott

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Adrift after her sister Bailey’s sudden death, Lennie finds herself torn between quiet, seductive Toby—Bailey’s boyfriend who shares her grief—and Joe, the new boy in town who bursts with life and musical genius. Each offers Lennie something she desperately needs… though she knows if the two of them collide her whole world will explode.

Join Lennie on this heartbreaking and hilarious journey of profound sorrow and mad love, as she makes colossal mistakes and colossal discoveries, as she traipses through band rooms and forest bedrooms and ultimately right into your heart.

As much a celebration of love as a poignant portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often uproarious, and absolutely unforgettable.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything” — at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store.

This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.

Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen’s help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

I am not my illness. “Girl with Anxiety,” “Trauma of the Week” – no. I hate stuff like that. Everyone, everyone has their issue. But the one thing my illness did make me realise is how necessary it is to ignore the dangers of living in order to live. And how much trouble you can get into if you can’t.

Jade DeLuna is too young to die. She knows this, and yet she can’t quite believe it, especially when the terrifying thoughts, loss of breath, and dizzy feelings come. Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, she’s trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That’s why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and that’s where she first sees the boy in the red jacket. A boy who stops to watch the elephants. A boy carrying a baby.

His name is Sebastian, and he is raising his son alone. Jade is drawn into Sebastian’s cozy life with his son and his activist grandmother on their Seattle houseboat, and before she knows it, she’s in love. With this boy who has lived through harder times than anyone she knows. This boy with a past.

Jade knows the situation is beyond complicated, but she hasn’t felt this safe in a long time. She owes it all to Sebastian, her boy with the great heart. Her boy who is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right.

    What books have you purchased this month?

      Favorite YA Contemporary Romance Novels + New Video ContemporaryAThon starts tomorrow and if you're still looking for books to read, I have a few recommendations for YA romance.

[umbralmagus-blog]

(Okay, I need to get this down before I forget all the details of it, but it’s very spoilery in nature sort of for this mentor character and some backstory or can be considered so, so read with caution.)

(Tori’s mentor is known as Marie “Santa Maria” Costanza, the highest ranked and most powerful Magical Girl to ever live, and also the world’s very first. A symbol of power and the model ideal every good hearted Magical Girl wishes to be.

However, if Victoria is a Hero playing Villain, Marie is a Civilian playing Hero...

Marie was 17 when her first experience with a Blight outbreak happened, living in Santa Maria, California. Blight activity had been categorized as unknown activity in deep ocean trenches before now save the first Rift, and as such most of military was stationed out to monitor the trouble.

Marie had finished a date with her childhood crush and friend. Carla Martin, it...didn’t end well, and Carla didn’t return the feelings Marie had for her, as they went to leave, a Rank One Blight Beast broke in through a window, killing all the employees and Carla, Marie panicked and ran when it did, and looked back to see Carla’s murder before hiding in an alley.

That’s the day the second Rift opened, hidden within the Santa Maria River Fault, the ocean activity had been an intentional red herring. And soon beasts were roaming the city free to do as they pleased, as dusk approached, a Rank 6 Gigant-type beast climbed out of the Rift, and after causing a high magnitude earthquake outside of Santa Maria,  made it’s way to the City of Los Angeles.

Marie would run into the first Caster, named Angi, who relieved that someone could finally see her and perform a link, it pleaded with Marie to make a link, Marie refused...but once Angi stated that the city was overrun and she would likely die this way as just a human, and also that it was her responsibility to do this, Marie reluctantly accepted out of fear of death or retribution

It was then that the Magical Girl known as Santa Maria, named after her home, was born. She fought her way out of the city, ranking up to 20 on the volume of beasts, then using her ability to control light, made her way to LA to fight the Gigant wrecking the city, she’d fight it over two hours into the night using hit and run tactics, and would slay it by absorbing all the light the U.S Bank tower was giving off into her large sword and projecting a massive light blade to impale it though the head before turning it into a downward slash.

That the was day Santa Maria, the day Marie, became a hero. She became a celebrity almost overnight, and after she explained what happened, became the poster child and idol for Magical Girls everywhere, a role she never asked for nor wanted, a role she’d forever be pressured into.

6 months later, Santa Maria led a company of 6 Magical Girls ranging from ages 14-16 , she’d meet the 33rd overall Magical Girl, Victoria Rouge, the youngest ever at 13. Tori had the spirit of a hero, wanting to protect and serve no matter the cost, a girl living in the world of the cartoon heroes she grew up on. Marie saw her chance at getting out, and personally took Tori in to mentor and train her. They’d be Teacher and Student, with accolades like duoing a Rank 10 Gigant-type threatening New York City. Marie found herself tired of the hero life, tired of being what she knew she never was, wanting to settle down and find a normal life, love, to live the years she’d never been allowed to have as this hero of the people.

Teacher and Student wouldn’t last long, when Tori was 16 and Marie 20 , a what if conversation and laments about personal wants over duty led to Marie telling Victoria the truth, that she hated the Hero role, hated the pressure, hated all of it. That part of all of this was her raising Tori to be a successor to take over so she could step down, she’d even given Victoria a different version of her own power, shadow manipulation, possible through giving Tori the residual blight essence from her taking the pure magic for each defeat.

Victoria was furious...she had trusted Marie, believed her to be a selfless hero who knew the stakes, not a coward...

“I’m sorry Victoria...I just...I want to be free of this...I don’t want to just live and die as some heroic martyr, to die and be remembered as just “Santa Maria”...”

“I want to be someone’s Marie, I want a future, a family, I want the life I was never able to have...”

“...”

“How...”

“How dare you! You KNEW what you were signing up for just like I did! And you want out?!” 

“...”

“Every day people out there are dying and all you can think about is a family?! Is kids?! What happens when they die huh?! You’re gonna just turn your back on the world, and you were gonna use me to do it!” 

“N-no I...i thought you wanted to be a hero...”

“And I thought you wanted to be too, but here we are...”

Victoria would lose the resulting fight, but not the war, now aware of Marie’s plan to step down and fake her own death, she said one last thing.

“I-if you do this...I’ll tell them. I’ll t-tell them all what you did Mari. I’ll tell them where to find you, how you a-abandoned us. EVERYONE will know when they s-see you, and they’ll all know you don’t deserve that life you want...that you chose to be selfish...”

With no choice but either kill Victoria and get away or let her live and play the hero forever, a Teacher could never lay a hand on any student...so she left, and that was the last time they ever saw each other face to face again...

All these decades Marie has forced herself to still be the hero she’s expected to be, to never chase her wants of a family, to be the 100% ideal for the would to put their hopes on...it’s killed her inside and out, the fact she knows she’s only good as “Santa Maria” and that her fate is to die like this...even now, she’s at the scene of every Rank 8 or higher Beast attack, always available when the world needs her, even crossing paths with her former pupil every now and then.

Victoria knows the truth now, and part of the regrets she carries with her is that she never learned how grey the world was until later, about how being a hero is miserable sometimes and about how sometimes you have to be selfish, or else you’ll lose your mind trying to play hero...trying to be perfect, even if part of her disagrees about all of it too, and still side with her naive younger point of view even now...

She wishes she could apologize, but she can’t bring herself to say sorry to her former friend. 

To do it all over again and possibly have them both learn something from each other...)

[edens-havenrp-blog]

                   ... I’M TIRED OF LOOKING ‘ROUND ROOMS WONDERING                

                                    WHAT I’VE GOT TO DO OR WHO I’M SUPPOSED TO BE ...

✧ Olivia Rodriguez ✦ 18 ✧ Student ✦ Intangibility ✧

✧ The Campaigner ✦ FC: Naomi Scott ✧

Olivia Rodriguez was born in Los Angeles, California to Carla Vazquez and Gabriel Rodriguez. As a newborn, she showed no signs of genetic mutation. The only person to suspect otherwise was her father, who’d buried the side of him that, too, was gifted with a DNA unlike most people. Upon arriving to the states, Gabriel considered himself a new man, and saw no reason in telling his wife of ten years about his genetic past. Only time would tell if he were right about their daughter, and so Gabriel kept his doubts to himself, at least, for the first two years of their life as a family. Olivia was just a toddler when Carla announced her second pregnancy, and though children, a wife, and a happy future was all her father could ever want, his guilt got the best of him. When he came clean to his wife, Carla was wracked with anxiety. In her family, mutants were to be feared, and condemned. So, when that fear reared it’s head, and turned on her own daughter, it all became too much. 

Carla closed herself off, and for the remainder of her term, Olivia would rarely be held, fed, or looked at by her mom. No matter how much Gabriel tried to repair the marriage, to Carla, her husband and daughter were mighty strangers. She only found comfort in the child she carried, who she grew protective of immediately. Carla believed if she raised him right, their baby boy might have a chance at normalcy. And so, the moment she was discharged from the hospital, Carla ran off with their second child, Jonathan, and neither Olivia nor Gabriel would see or hear from them again. 

On their own, Olivia and Gabriel worked as a unit, and Olivia grew up to be collaborative, kind, and dedicated. Gabriel sought compromise where most parents would command, and Olivia aided where most children would ignore. Rumors in her school took a toll on her self-esteem, however. Once she reached middle school and the kids started to pick on the outcasts, she found they’d decided where she ranked before she ever had the chance to. Olivia, however, never let others make her feel inferior. She became the kind of person that stood up to those who attacked her, her friends, or anyone weaker than her. By high school the quiet rumors of what her father and her might be, grew radical. She struggled to make any friends at all, and when the time came to prove to them she wasn’t a mutant, no one would believe her. It was true then, that at fourteen, Olivia was still powerless. The only gift she saw within herself was that of her artistic promise.

                            {  I’m just a painter, and I’m drawing a blank  }

Olivia adored all things street art, murals, sculptures, and through that passion, was able to make her first real group of friends. Granted, they weren’t the cookie-cutter clique every parent would want for her child, but Olivia wouldn’t trade the late night graffiti crawls at Venice Beach for anything. Despite having a strong community around her, Olivia struggled when it came to letting others get to know her. She seldom talked about her family, and didn’t see the point in doing so, not when her lost brother, Jonathan, was still out there with no idea who she was. Olivia never got over the loved one her mother had taken from her, and so promised herself that when she was old enough to be on her own, she would seek him out again. The brunette’s future was right around the corner, but one fateful evening, she nearly got caught by police tagging the walls of a storage facility in Downtown. 

The moment those red and blue sirens blared, Olivia was certain she could kiss all her independence, her art, her wi-fi, goodbye. And so, panicked, she ran for the exit, only every turn seemed to be a dead end. When the cops nearly reached her, she rounded a corner and nearly rammed into a pull down garage door, but when she opened her eyes, she was inside of it. Bewildered, Olivia waited until the coast was clear before attempting to do whatever the hell it was she’d just done. That was the first time she walked through a solid surface, the first time her abilities popped in to say hello, and save her ass in the process. The next day, two strangers showed up at her door, but they weren’t cops. They were recruits, who’d been keeping an eye on her for quite some time. They spoke about a school where she could learn about her genetic makeup, and how to control it. 

Though Olivia wasn’t entirely on board with randomly moving to Canada as though she’d stepped into some sort of superhero origin story, her father, rather unexpectedly, insisted. The next thing she knew, she was headed to British Columbia. Olivia knows too little about what she is and what she’s capable of, and though adjusting to Eden’s Haven has been hard, she believes this new, temporary, home will at least give her what she needs to find her brother. 

                               ... I DON’T WANNA BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN ME ...

Connections: 

Jonathan Vazquez:  

     Olivia never got the chance to meet her little brother, but hasn’t ever given up on the plan to look for him. She knows she’s at Eden’s Haven to learn about herself, and finish up her education, but her focus is more on quickly learning all she can about this new ‘walk through walls’ gig, so she can walk right through her mother’s door and finally introduce herself to her brother. Everything after she meets Jonathan is crystal clear in Olivia’s mind. The only problem with her plan? She’s got no clue where to start.

Ariel Barrios:  

     From the moment they met, these two girls did not like each other. Olivia resents the way the other girl can appear sweet and wanted one moment and then threaten people with suffocation the next, like it’s not something to be offended by. Olivia will never forget the time they were forced to be in each other’s company during detention. When their supervisor left, Ariel actually deoxygenated the room. It lasted but a few seconds, but ever since, Olivia refuses to show any weakness around the other mutant, and judges anyone who actually gets along with her. 

                                                                  ~ OLIVIA RODRIGUEZ IS OPEN ! ~