#they don't cooperate they may get sent back

[beardedmrbean]

The ongoing migrant standoff at a Manhattan hotel turned ugly Wednesday after a group of about 10 outside activists used open umbrellas to prevent the news media from documenting the scene.

The intervention prompted several migrants to angrily confront a journalist who was shooting a video for Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, with one migrant hitting the camera and dislodging its small monitor unit.

Some of the 35 migrants gathered in front of the Watson Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen also shouted at other camera operators to try to intimidate them.

NYPD cops issued warnings but made no arrests.

The newshound whose camera was struck, Ghassan Masoud, said he’d never been treated so badly during a career that’s included coverage of the Iraq War.

The ongoing migrant standoff turned ugly Wednesday after a group of outside activists used umbrellas to prevent the news media from documenting the scene. Matthew McDermott

“In 30 years, even in war zones, I’ve never experienced aggression like that,” Masoud said.

“In 30 years, even in war zones, I’ve never experienced aggression like that,” Masoud said.

“I know their situation is bad. I just want to tell their story and they attacked me.”

Masoud, who usually covers the United Nations, described the migrants as “aggressive.”

“One migrant threatened to hit me with a broom, which is when the cops stepped in and told them I had every right to film,” he said.

The migrants have been camped out on the sidewalk since the weekend when they were told to relocate to a new migrant processing center at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook.

City Hall has blamed activists from groups including “South Bronx Mutual Aid” for fueling the standoff, with mayoral press secretary Fabien Levy saying, “I don’t even understand the logic here.”

“Instead of encouraging asylum seekers to sleep in warm, indoor, temperature-controlled quarters at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, these groups are telling migrants to sleep in tents on the streets,” he tweeted Monday. “The lack of reasoning here is astounding.”

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Mayor Eric Adams referred to the activists as “some agitators that just really I think are doing a disservice to migrants and doing a disservice to the children and families we’re moving to hotels.”

Adams also said that “single adult males all over the city are living in congregate settings” like the cruise terminal.

“Children and families, we don’t want to put them in congregate settings,” he said.

On Tuesday, four migrants agreed to tour the processing center with city Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro — but decided they’d rather sleep outdoors and returned to the hotel sidewalk.

Adams blamed that choice “on what they were hearing from some of the agitators, that they were going to be shipped out and that’s why we’re taking them there.”

Late Wednesday afternoon, about half of the migrants outside the hotel grabbed their belongings and piled into a yellow school bus after cops shut the street to eastbound traffic.

They later arrived at the cruise terminal, with one telling The Post in Spanish from a bus window, “We reached an agreement to improve the new facilities while they relocate us to a better place.”

The remaining diehards told The Post they had no intention of leaving, despite weather forecasts that predict sub-freezing temperatures, including a low of 6 degrees Friday night.

“I would 100% rather stay here on the street than go to Brooklyn,” said Jesus Colmenares, 27. “We want to be in Manhattan, where everything is happening.”

The Venezuelan native said he visited the cruise terminal Wednesday morning, adding, “I’m not going to go there and sleep to rest my head next to somebody’s feet. That’s how close the beds were. And there’s people from all over being sent there, not just from the Watson.”

But Colmenares also said, “I’ll go if they give me a work permit. We need to work, we just want to work.”

[wileycap]

Crackfic Idea:

30-year-old Zuko gets randomly flung back in time to his 16-year-old self. For a couple of hours at a time. At the most random times imaginable. Imagine the potential.

Zuko assumes that it's a dream or a vision, but definitely not real. He tries not to freak everybody out too badly, but he's also fully enjoying himself and seeing all of his friends as their young selves.

ZUKO, as he and Aang circle each other at the South Pole: I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just a [Spirit Shwoop Sound] ... baby Aang!

AANG, confused: Well, more like preteen Aang. How do you know my name?

ZUKO, looking around: Wait, where are we?

AANG: Um... this is the-

SOKKA: Don't answer him! He's trying to get information out of you. You can't give away our location!

KATARA: Sokka, he's standing in the middle of our village. I think he knows.

ZUKO: We're here? This is so weird. I was just here for the Annual Penguin Race.

AANG: THERE'S AN ANNUAL PENGUIN RACE?!

ZUKO: Well, yeah, it was your idea... you gave a whole speech about cross-cultural cooperation and friendship, but I know you just wanted to go penguin sledding with a bunch of people...

AANG: Well, I-

SOKKA: Stop giving him more information! He already knows about the penguins!

Everybody else is confused, bewildered and even befuddled except for Iroh, who assumes that it's Spirit Shenanigans™️ and just fully accepts that his nephew likes tea and hugs and Pai Sho sometimes while being his usual shouty surly traumaball self at others.

ZUKO, stepping into the cabin: Hi, Uncle. I brought you some ginseng. How about a game of Pai Sho?

IROH, tearing up a little: I would love that, my nephew.

ZUKO: I wish we could do this more often, but you live so far away...

IROH, mentally calculating that he lives exactly three doors away from Zuko, and nodding sagely: The rat-viper may never climb the mountain that a hog-monkey can, but the monkey does not know what lies underneath it.

ZUKO, sighing sadly: I know, Uncle. I do appreciate my position in life, even if it has disadvantages.

IROH: Hmm. Your move, nephew.

The crew of Zuko's ship is terrified by the fact that whenever it happens, Zuko is somehow even more hyper-competent, seems to be weirdly calm about everything, and most unnervingly of all, he's polite.

SOLDIER: Here is a report on the best teahouses within three days travel of our current location, Sir. And, uh, Commander Zhao sent a messenger hawk.

ZUKO: Excellent. Thank you very much, Sergeant. I think we can ignore whatever Zhao has to say. In reply, I want you to send him a list of the most famous officers in Fire Nation history, and point out that none of them had sideburns. I want to see if he shaves them.

SOLDIER, sweating nervously: O-of course, Sir.

As a matter of fact, the whole fic could just be Zuko trolling Zhao. It would be glorious.

[brucewaynehater101]

I do have a few more examples! Tim offers Mister Freeze unlimited funding to help his wife on the condition that he sometimes helps with other projects. He hires Harvey Dent to be his personal lawyer (not that he needs one). Blood Sport, Death Stroke, Dead Shot, and many other mercenaries are hired to "break into" Drake Industries to hunt down and "kill" Tim or "steal" important information in order to test his companies defenses and tell him exactly how they got in so that he can patch any holes. He hires one to break in every 2 to 3 months but never the same person in a year. Like if he uses Deathstroke in August he can't use him again until January.

Tim also doesn't want to force these rouges to move far away from their homes so he opens up branches in Metropolis, Central City, Star City, and others too. Anywhere he opens an office for Drake Industries, crime rate always plummets thanks to him hiring all the Henchmen and giving them stable jobs that pay at minimum double the minimum wage of the area plus really good health insurance and other benefits. They even have dental and 4 months paid maternity *and* paternity leave! The desk work may not be as exciting as their previous jobs but boy is it safer.

Also I would like to make one note. DI is one of the few major cooperations in America that openly does *not* donate to the Jusitce Leauge. Tim is still salty about Bruce Quest and during an interview where someone asked how much he donates to them, Tim said, "oh I don't. At all. It's not that I don't believe in them, I do, uts just. There's already so many places funding them they don't need me. But you know who does? The younger generation of heroes. Did you know that The Teen Titans only get funding through the Justice Leauge? I don't think that's very fair so I donate to them. I donate to Young Justice. I track down and do research on dozens of younger heroes who aren't part of any organization and check to make sure they're doing good in their community and then I directly donate to them. Superheroing is expensive, just look how much the JL spends on it! Could you imagine? Being fresh out of high-school, working a minimum wage job, and having to make your own suit and gadgets while also paying for *college*? The stories I have heard from some of them! This one poor kid, he told me that he had to use this roll of regular fabric he found in a dumpster because buying a roll was to expensive! Of course I sent him to a super hero tailor on my own dime, after all he just wanted to help his community saving kittens from trees and stopping local mugging. But still, small heroes like him are important. After all, didn't Superman start by saving cats from trees? Didn't Green Arrow start by stopping a mugging? Didn't Batman himself start by stopping a purse snatching? You never know who the next big hero will be in 5 or ten years."

I might have gotten a bit to into that rant. Listen. Listen this is a subject close to my heart. Small Time Heroes Are Important!

My gods, I love this so so much. You combined two tropes I love: Tim using Business to fund social programs/decrease crime/hire ex felons and criminals, and Tim turning his back on the JL after the BruceQuest.

Added with Tim funding small time heroes???? This is phenomenal

[reality-exodus]

Detective's rescue

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x Reader

Summary: Eddie's relationship, the reader is a detective, they both on 24hour shift. Reader responds a 9-1-1 call and ends up needing first aids

Warning: blood, angst, OD symptoms described, mention of drugs

Being a detective on patrol wasn't the best thing ever to be frank, but it was something when you knew your boyfriend would accompany you all night long with his own 24 hour shift, it was rare thing for our double shifts to be on the same time, but when it happened I both liked it and didn't like it, we were both out. I usually work on cases in the office and do my research and help the firefighters with cases and they help me occasionally.

"So where are you strolling now?" Eddie asked, I was driving while I had a Bluetooth headphone.

"In the area of the homicide, the father killed his daughter while the mother was away… there is still no handy information for a warrant so I am looking for something I've missed" I explained briefly as I was driving past the house.

"Baby…" Eddie started to say, I knew how he felt when I was getting so passionate about a case. He disliked it, I overworked myself and forgot many things such as sleeping, eating or going to my shift.

"How about you? Didn't hear anything from dispatch, quiet night?" I wondered, cutting him off elegantly, setting my line of defense. I wasn't like Athena, I do not leave my job behind once my shift is over, I admire her for that though. I actually have to spend more of my personal time researching and studying. I have to go undercover to gather information, but I am not complaining. Sometimes though I need my people to understand me.

"Yea we are just hanging around." He replied with a heavy sigh he didn't respond to the q-word, I knew he wouldn't be bothered. I knew the response was unwilling. He knew my drill "Buck fell asleep at the Gym, Bobby and Hen are playing chess and Chimney is cooking" he analysed their situation and I smiled.

"Tell him to make an extra plate for me, I'll be dropping by" I spoke hoping that would make up for my big-headed behaviour.

"Oh You i decided to have a proper meal other than burgers and donuts" he joked with small giggle.

"Happens sometimes" I chuckled when I heard the wireless "babe hang on"

"This is 221-L99 available tell me the issue dispatch" I asked, I could tell it was May.

"Alright, there's drug dealing on the "overroof" club, there's a rave going on, some ODs based on caller's information, 118 of LAFD shall be there to take care of those." She informed me as I heard the bell on Eddie's side.

"I'll be in touch Dispatch" I spoke as I was connected to the team I would cooperate.

"Diaz no phones on patrol" I spoke as I was driving and couldn't finish the call. "221-L99 moving on scene. I am nearby I see three overdosed in their twenties one male two female they are simply left on the ground I am engaging the victims now." I spoke and got out of the car.

"Copy detective" Captain Nash affirmed me.

I approached the victims and checked the pulses. "All alive you need to come in quick…" I couldn't leave the uncouncisous civilians alone.

"Already ahead of you detective you are clear to proceed" my boyfriend replied sweetly, or at least that's what I thought.

"Dispatch moving in the club incognito, there's no bouncer or doorman" I informed them and opened the door. This wasn't a good sign, the dance floor was empty and so was the kitchen, I would have to go down stairs. "Ground floor empty moving to basement staircase" I announced and moved i could hear voices. "Dispatch sent some back up, I hear people" I spoke and dispatch obeyed my request.

I was right behind the stairs and I heard enough keywords that included heroin, drugs, and that the police can't find. That was my queue. "LAPD hands in the air" I yelled, Eddie always said that my voice in that phrase was so cold, smooth and dictated he found it sexy. "Don't move" I ordered. My voice was strong. They were three but I had a gun.

"Nope ass" one said and charged to get my phone I kicked him to the ground he slid to the floor with no Injury but before i could get in control of the other two, they had two bags of drugs five kilos each if I calculated correct the moment one of them came and punched in my face causing the white dust to be spread all around me in the air I stumbled backwards fell hitting my head on staircase, I took a deep breath trying to orientate, my vision got blurry.

"Detective Y/L/N, report" I heard dispatch between the ringing of my ears but the only response I could find was groan, I felt my heart going erratically with the beats. I was shaking.

"Detective" It was Captain Nash this time, his voice tense. But there was a pause. "Dispatch three offenders running away with two white bags one leaking" he reported and that's when my sudden dysphoria was making sense.

"Help" I managed to pronounce "OD" as I started to shake. I couldn't make out what I was hearing or what was going on, suddenly I saw Eddie in a mask with Chimney. They moved me outside my eyes were wide open but I couldn't react I was shaking, my body started twitching, I was held down, I could recognize Eddie's arms pressing me down, and smaller but still powered hands in my legs, chimney my guess. I coughed I could feel the salty, warm liquid laking inside my mouth, I coughed again.

"Baby… I am here" Eddie's voice was fading as black spots invaded my vision as I started having trouble breathing.

"I get no pulse" Chimney announced, "Hen start compressions" he instructed as he pushed on the oxygen in my face

"Oh no no honey, please-" before Eddie could finish his sentence I heard Buck taking him away as another person took his position next to me.

"Captain bring the AED" Hen requested she kept the pounds on my chest.

"Still unresponsive" Chimney said, causing Eddie to make a movement closer to me, Captain and Buck held him back

"I'm unbuckling the shirt, we are shocking" Hen spoke I heard footsteps

"Eddie please leave" Captain requested with a heavy sigh, I am sure he thought of the time Athena was in my position.

"Just let me be by Y/N Captain" Eddie requested , next thing I feel his warm loving hands on my face removing my hair stroking my cheek his fingers on my neck in desperate hope he would get the slight pulsation in my veins.

"Eddie hands" Hen spoke and he removed them as I felt electricity, I couldn't define what kind of pain it was or if it was, more like a sting to my whole body that would either wake me up or be the last thing I feel…

"Give me more Chim" Hen encouraged him the third clear was heard, the screen kept beeping. There was silence other than that.

"No no no baby no" Eddie panicked he started compressions but Buck pulled him off of my body. He yelled at him Buck yelled back I wasn't sure, my ears started ringing, was I dying…? The first ponder that dominated my mind, made my stomach twitch. I coughed vomit out…

I was alive

"Hey girl, hey easy now" Hens' voice sounded and turned me to the side to let it all out. Chimney secure my position so it wouldn't cause any damage.

Eddie raced next to me, he leaned in and kissed my forehead "oh god love, you scared me so much." I smiled as I turned on my back looking at him upside down as he leaned above my head.

"I'm sorry" I smiled and reached his face, I was shaking rapidly, he simply took my hand and kissed the palm before bringing it to his cheek, his cheek so hot against my freezing skin.

"Hey no no, it's not your fault, we must get you to the hospital now alright?" He smiled down at me and my smile faded at the hearing of the location I had to be.

"I won't be admitted in, I'll sign out" I announced, the sweet moment long gone as I made a move to get of the stretcher.

"Wow,now detective, you have to be cleared out in order to return to your cases, we are transferring you to the ER. I have to do it by the book, you know the drill" Captain Nash intervened immediately, and I could see the relief on my fiancee's face.

"Ah now we are by the book, that's nice to hear" I barked, I knew I was wrong, but hospitals, hospitals gave me anxiety, Eddie would have to go to Christopher eventually and I don't like being alone in those white cold rooms. "Guys please" I pleaded

"you are facing an extended pcp od, and a small hit on the back of your head, your blood pressure is perilly high and you have extremely unstable arrhythmias" Hen essayed the reasons I should listen to them as my eyes turned teary I was panicking.

"Hey hey sweetie" Eddie sighed "I'll be with you the whole time" he promised and kissed my cheek gently as they all stood up carrying me to the ambulance. He stepped in sat next to me while Hen joined, just in case. He was holding my hand, just looking at me, his ember eyes, he was worried even if he wouldn't admit.

"What about Christopher?" I asked concerned.

"Buck is already on his way, but how are you feeling Y/N?" He asked me softly stroking my head.

"I have dysphoria" I explained and soon Hen gave me a mask my eyelids turned heavy as I slipped from counsiousness.

I don't know what time it was, or how long I've been out. I blinked my vision clear, the lighting was dim in the room Eddie fell asleep on the chair next to me, I couldn't help but smile. He did stay. I stood up holding on my IV, feeling lightheaded, I moved to the bathroom, I looked terrible red eyes pale skin, weakness though was the worse.

"Y/N;" I heard his voice call my name in alert.

"What is it?" I asked making abrupt movement to get to the door I leaned there feeling another hit of vertigo getting the best of me.

"I thought you left, hey let me help you baby" he sighed in relief and approached, he was still on patrol clothes. He scooped a hand over my waist and held my weight as he walked me to the bed, softly placing me to lay down.

"Can I kiss you now? Or I am still high?" I asked him placing my hands around his neck, the IV tube got tangled between us, he smiled getting it out of the way. He leaned in and kissed my nose. His lips formed a smile.

"You have been good tonight, not running away, so it is well deserved" he smiled and located his lips on mine, the sweet kiss forming, he was gentle and cautious as he was touching me.

"Mhm mostly because I have been unconscious all night long and I get dizzy after three steps, that played it's part too" I spoke and kissed his cheek softly

"Let a man be happy" he spoke faking frustration before he kissed me again. And again.

[cappulcino]

Seven Days Til Fall (Part 4)

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5

Read on AO3 (you do need to be logged in, though)

Words: 4,646

Pairing: Lucifer Morningstar x Angel!Reader

Summary: You're an angel sent on a divine mission to retrieve a powerful relic that has been stolen from Heaven. The orders are clear: gain an audience with the Devil, make deals with them if necessary, anything to return that object to the Silver City. But Hell is not quite what you expected, and neither is Lucifer.

Trigger warnings: Minor character death (new souls in Heaven).

The fourth morning in the Silver City began with the usual routine –prayers, the harmonious hum of celestial voices, and the ever-present glow of the Divine Light.

As you made your way from the Cathedral to the Pearly Gates, the Archangel Michael called out your name and landed a respectful distance away from you.

"Your Grace," you said with a mixture of respect and unease. "Peace be upon you."

"Yes, yes…" Angels of the Highest Orders were not obligated to greet those they considered beneath them, so he didn't. "I shall find peace when the Cup of Eternal Grace is back where it belongs. How are you finding Hell? Are you faring well in your mission?"

What were you even supposed to say to that? That nothing down there was like you had been taught? That the Lightbringer was actually a fair ruler, and sometimes even a decent person? Of course not.

"Hell is, uh… Well, Hell. Very, very oppressive. Still, the mission is progressing nicely and is quite… enlightening. It sure is more complex than I had expected, but–"

"Complexity is to be expected when dealing with Lucifer and their infernal legions," Michael cut off, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly at your hesitation.

You paused, realising just how much you disliked the way Archangels constantly talked down to you as if you knew nothing of the world. Composing yourself so he wouldn't suspect anything of the doubt that was taking seed in you, you flashed him a brief smile.

"Naturally. But we are fairly confident that the lead we're currently following is–"

"'We'?"

You gulped and mentally scolded yourself. You couldn't let Michael know you saw Lucifer as an ally or partner of some sort in your quest.

"I… merely meant that the Morningstar has been very cooperative. With their help, I'm getting closer to finding the chalice. I think it is being or has been traded at the Obsidian Bazaar. But it moves with the Shadows and–"

Michael interrupted you once more. "You may want to speak to Arakiel, I believe they are back from earthly duty. They might know what demon the humans traded with. And if that fails, you have my blessing to consult the Library."

For goodness' sake, how long had Arakiel been back? You would think somebody out here could have given you that vital information…

"A-Alright. Thank you, Your Grace."

"Needless to say, I ask of you to be extremely careful. Despite my sibling's many names, they only bring darkness. Do not lose yourself to it… or to them. Failure is not an option."

"Yes. I mean, no. No, it isn't. But I won't fail." You were trying to sound confident despite the knot in your chest.

"See that you don't, indeed," the Archangel replied calmly though you noticed his voice carried an underlying warning.

His large wings flapped, lifting him off the floor, and you bowed your head in reverence, thinking the interaction and the awkwardness that came with it were finally over.

But, maintaining himself above you, Michael spoke again. "If you succeed, I will personally ensure that your efforts are recognised. Perhaps a promotion is in order. But if you falter…"

The implication sent a chill down your spine and you felt your feathers stick up. But before you could say anything –and what was there more to add anyway?–, Michael was already gone.

You let out a shaky breath and set off again. However, as you did, another voice hailed your name. Raphael.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" You gestured vaguely as you tried to answer, but the Archangel gave you no time to explain. "Your mission will have to wait. We have over a thousand souls incoming."

And so you hurried to the usual meeting place, quickly joined by Camael and Muriel.

"What is it this time?" You asked your friend.

"I don't know, ask the Virtues. Earthquake, I think."

"I don't understand why they ask us to help, though", Muriel added. "Why don't they ask another rank to supervise the operations?"

She was right. Lower Angels and Principalities were more than capable of handling themselves. But if they absolutely needed to be watched by members of the Middle Orders, why did the Archangels not ask the Powers? Better yet, the Virtues. It was their fault if there had indeed been an earthquake after all.

So here you were, working relentlessly to welcome and comfort the newly arrived souls when you suddenly felt something tug your garments. You looked down. A tiny human.

"Are you an– an angel?" he asked in a reedy voice.

"I am."

"A real one?"

You nodded and crouched down to his level. "A real one. You're in Heaven, sweetheart."

He stuck his thumb in his mouth, looking all around him, evidently lost and scared.

"What's your name?"

"Jeremiah."

"Jeremiah. That's a very pretty name."

"Where's my mummy?"

"Uh…" You took a look around to see if there was any mortal woman who looked like this child. "I don't know, little one. What's your mother's name?"

"Mummy."

"Right."

You sighed heavily. You felt sorry for this young boy, deeply. But you just didn't have time for this and, frankly, God's whims were starting to test your patience.

Muriel passed by then, and you grabbed her arm.

"Hey. This is Jeremiah. Do you know if his mother is here somewhere?"

Muriel, in charge of the Silver City's administration, checked a list that had been handed to her. "Uh… Jeremiah… Here he is. Jeremiah Dupree. No, I'm sorry, we don't have any other members of his family for now. But it says here his mother prayed to God and His son to save him, so that's why we took him in."

You blinked and shook your head in disbelief. "That's… That's not… what she meant…"

"No?"

"No."

At that moment, Jeremiah started crying, and you picked him up, trying to soothe him.

"Why is he crying?"

"He's scared, he wants his mother."

Muriel truly didn't seem to understand. "But he's in Heaven, he should be happy. In fact, you should be happy, too. Why aren't you happy?"

"Muriel. Here we have a deceased toddler, alone and terrified, and there is a mortal woman down on Earth who has just lost her child. How is that a good thing?"

Muriel frowned. "I don't know, maybe God wanted to test that woman. You know how much humans love their offspring, it's the best way to test them."

"Oh, for Heaven's–" You shoved the crying child in her arms. "Take him. I have to go, I'm terribly sorry. Peace be upon you."

"Angels are fickle creatures, are they not?"

"Your opinion has not been requested, Mazikeen. We are certain Our guest will return."

In Hell, Lucifer was pacing in their throne room, unease etched on their face, much unlike their usually composed demeanour. You were late. Angels were never late.

What was going on? Had something happened to you? Or worse, had they said something yesterday that had driven you away?

They sat down on their throne and replayed the events of the previous day and your last supper together over and over in their mind, trying to pinpoint any moment where they might have gone too far. But no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find a reason. You had seemed to enjoy your time together –there had been laughter, even a few real smiles. So where were you?

Lucifer was well aware you wouldn't return to their domain once you had completed your mission, and that thought alone left a surprising and unwanted hollowness in their chest. But the breadcrumbs you would need to follow to get to them were still numerous and scattered all around Hell; your mission was far from over. So, again, where the h–

"Apologies, Your Majesty," you called out panting as you stepped into the throne room, your wings ruffled from your rapid descent.

"We suppose there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for your delay," Lucifer said with a half-questioning tone, hands tightly clasped on their lap.

"There is. I was–"

"Then there is no need to apologise, dear. We were just curious about your absence."

You blinked, trying to make sense of those words. You weren't sure what Lucifer was feeling right now –you never were–, but it certainly didn't look like mere curiosity.

"'Curious'? Is that Your way of saying 'worried'?"

Lucifer's eyes snapped at you with an expression you couldn't quite decipher, but they kept their tone calm and polite. "We will simply say that your presence has become… expected."

"Well, I am very sorry."

Your voice was soft and your words genuine, but Lucifer brushed them away with a dismissive hand gesture which, thankfully, seemed to bear no hard feelings.

"Now. Follow Us. We have an idea where the Obsidian Bazaar might be this morning."

They stood up, and that was only then that you realised how different their robes were from those they usually wore –much more refined, much more revealing, too. Your breath hitched and, for some reason, your heart missed a beat.

"Well?"

Only when Lucifer spoke did you realise you were no longer looking at them in the eye like you were supposed to.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty."

Lucifer merely hummed in response and started heading to the terrace from which you guessed they wanted to take flight.

"Actually–"

You extended an arm that you thought would only catch the Lightbringer's attention but ended up brushing their wrist with your fingertips. Your eyes widened and so did Lucifer's for an instant, so you backed off, waiting to be scolded.

When the scolding never came and you were met with Lucifer's full focus instead, you spoke again, relieved. "Actually… I think the Cup can wait."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Can it now?"

It could. Your mind was elsewhere because of what had happened in Heaven this morning and in this Godforsaken land yesterday and the days before that.

"I fear I'm not in the best disposition to pursue my mission at the moment."

"And why would that be?"

You sighed, looking up at the Morningstar with a defeated expression. You weren't sure how to say this, but you suspected they already knew what was ailing you anyway –they had been hinting at it for three days. So maybe there was no need.

And indeed, with the slightest smirk on their lips, Lucifer said, "You have questions." You simply nodded. "Mmh. We thought as much. After all, doubt has been making its way into your heart since you first came down here, has it not? It was only a matter of time before you felt the need to have all your questions answered once and for all."

Noticing that Lucifer had said that doubt was not entering your mind, but your heart, you gulped. "I… suppose so."

"Very well, then. Come with Us."

"Where?" you asked as they started walking towards a hallway you had not yet taken.

Lucifer stopped and briefly glanced at Mazikeen, who was standing in a dark corner of the room, ready to protect her ruler, as usual.

When they spoke, their voice was as bitter as their facial expression, and you wondered why. "Away from… prying eyes."

After a series of shadowed corridors and labyrinthine turns, you were now approaching a small metallic door forged with Hellfire. You had yet to see what was hidden behind it, but the surrounding air already seemed warmer –not because it was hot, but because it was safe–, and your nose picked up a faint, familiar fragrance, definitely celestial.

"After you," Lucifer offered surprisingly after opening the door.

You hesitated a brief instant, debating whether you should keep following etiquette and decline entering first, but quickly gave in and marched through the door.

The place Lucifer had taken you to seemed to be a small, secluded courtyard –the very heart of their palace, in fact. You first noticed how bright the red sky above your head was. But then it was another vision altogether that caught your eye.

The whole space was littered with ancient fragments of the Silver City. Marble statues, once regal and proud, lay cracked and forgotten, wings chipped and faces eroded with time, some even standing half-buried in the black ash.

You looked around and also found portions of walls that you knew had once reflected the Divine Light, still carved with barely discernible scenes of celestial harmony: angels in flight, the hosts of Heaven gathered in worship, and at the centre of it all, the brightest among them, Samael –though their figure seemed to have suffered most.

You caught sight of an inscription in an extremely ancient angelic language. You couldn't read all of it –partly because it was hardly visible beneath layers of grime and dust, but also because the celestial dialect had changed much since the War, and, just like the demons of Hell, you had been made to forget your mother tongue.

Still, you managed to read, "I am Samael, firstborn of the Most High. In my Father's glory I did rise, to bring Light where there was none."

"This is where We fell."

Lucifer's voice pulled you out of your thoughts. You turned around to watch them walk over to a stone bench, intricately decorated with scenes of stars and Creation.

"Oh."

Lucifer delicately patted the space beside them. "Sit." When you hesitated –you couldn't possibly forget every protocol–, they rolled their eyes and insisted. "Please."

That one word was enough, and you promptly sat next to them.

The silence that followed was heavy and seemed to stretch infinitely. You kept looking around, and you found this place felt more like a tomb rather than a royal courtyard, a place of pain and pure solitude, visited only by the one who remembered its true significance.

"Do You, uh…" You cleared your throat, unsure about how to proceed. "Do You come here often?"

"At least once a century." So, often, by your immortal standards. "To remember."

"Is it not painful?"

"Of course it is. But We have learnt to live with the pain. It is part of this place, part of Us."

You remained silent for a moment, lost in thought, not noticing the way Lucifer was looking at you, patiently waiting for you to express whatever it was you were feeling, ready to welcome it all.

"There has been an earthquake this morning –hence my delay. And there was this little boy, crying for his mother. Every other angel around me was unfazed. And I suppose… I realised just how deeply mistaken I was. I mean, I used to think Heaven was so… perfect, that there was no place for suffering, for…"

Hearing your voice trail off, Lucifer proposed, "For doubt? Questions, uncertainties? How do you wish to call it?"

"Torment," you replied resolutely. "That's how it feels."

There was yet another moment of silence before Lucifer's soft voice broke it. "You remind Us of who We once were, you know."

"Do You realise how backhanded Your compliment is?" You mumbled.

"But you still see it as a compliment."

You lifted your head then and finally noticed the look on Lucifer's face –understanding and… fond. That look made your heart flutter and when it became too hard to sustain, you turned back to the celestial ruins before you.

"Is that why You left Heaven then?" You asked eventually.

"We most certainly did not 'leave' and you know that. We were vanquished in the Great War, and God found Us to be evil so He cast Us out. Took Us by our winged back, raised Us over His head and flung Us down to Hell."

For a second, you considered saying something along the lines of "You brought this on Yourself," but you knew you would only be regurgitating what Heaven had forced you to believe and you didn't want to do that any more, especially not when Lucifer was opening up to you. You didn't want to be mean.

Goodness… You didn't want to be mean to the Devil.

"They sang as We fell, you know." Lucifer let their words linger a moment and then repeated in a whisper, "They sang…" You looked down and noticed how tight their fists were, proof of a wound still fresh despite the billions of years that had passed since the Great War. "When We woke up here, Our wings like leather and Our body burnt, We swore to destroy anybody who would humiliate Us again."

"Is that why You said You would destroy the King of the Dreaming?" You inquired, remembering what Azazel had said yesterday. "Did he humiliate You?"

"In a way."

"How so?"

Lucifer took a moment to compose themself and try not to let their anger speak. "Morpheus came to Us in search of his helm that had been stolen from him. One of Our demons had it –very much like that chalice you are looking for, in fact. But while Heaven made a deal with Us for the artefact, Dream decided to challenge Us to the Oldest Game."

"And won, I presume?"

Lucifer nodded. "Our last move was anti-life. Do you know what can survive anti-life?"

You furrowed your eyebrow in deep thinking, trying to come up with the right answer. What could possibly defeat that? Less than a week ago you would have probably tried "faith". But now you knew faith could be lost, especially in the face of death. So you gave up.

"Hope," Lucifer simply stated.

"Hope…" That answer made sense. And yet… "But is there truly hope in Hell?"

"Of course there is. You have seen many Damned in the past few days. Surely by now, you must have realised that hope is what keeps them dreaming of escape, of salvation. That is how Morpheus humiliated Us, by reminding Us that part of the power Hell holds resides in the idea that those imprisoned here still dream of Heaven."

"I know that," you replied in a soft tone. "But I meant… for the Fallen Ones. For You."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Lucifer's mouth. They liked that you seemed to care so much about them and their feelings, and when they spoke again, you could swear their voice had never sounded so sweet.

"We, too, are prisoners of Hell. We are not that different from the Damned."

"So You still have hope."

"Sometimes."

"When?"

"Hope… can be found in the most trivial things. A melody, sung one last time by a damned soul before it loses its sanity. A fleeting memory, a whisper of what it felt like to be free. Unexpected turns of events. Something or… someone daring to defy Our expectations."

Right now you weren't sure whether Lucifer was speaking for all the denizens of Hell or solely for themself, but you saw a flicker in their eyes, a vulnerability that wasn't there before that made you opt for the latter.

Their eyes were raking your body with surprising tenderness as they went on. "Someone… who can make Us believe, if only for a short instant, that there could be more to Our existence than this throne and crown of flame."

With that, you were now certain they were talking about themself, and you weren't sure what to make of it. Your thoughts were a mess, especially considering your proximity to the Lightbringer and how they were looking at you.

Worse, they were now dismissing protocol and boundaries altogether, letting their hand slowly come up to your wings, and you let them, convinced their touch wouldn't affect you.

But the wings were the most sensitive body part of any winged being –touching them was deemed far more intimate than touching a cheek like Lucifer had done to you yesterday. As such, it was extremely difficult to control them, particularly when not focused on that task. You definitely weren't.

Lucifer’s fingers hovered over the feathers of your wings, as though testing the limits between boldness and restraint. But then, with deliberate care, their hand settled into your soft plumage, trailing slowly down the length of one of your feathers as if memorising every delicate ridge and curve.

The effect was immediate. A shiver raced down your spine and rippled violently through your wings. It wasn't just the physical sensation, though that was overwhelming enough. It was the way their touch seemed to stir something inside you, an ache, a longing you couldn't quite understand.

You blushed awkwardly while your reaction made Lucifer smile and they continued. "Someone… who stands before Us and looks at Us without fear or hatred." Their eyes went up and met yours then. "Do you fear Us, little dove?"

"N-No," you said in an unstable but honest tone. "Nor do I hate You. In fact… sometimes when I look at You, I still see an angel."

That made Lucifer chuckle softly. "Do you realise how backhanded your compliment is?"

You smiled, seeing how easy it had been for the Morningstar to throw your own words back at you. But then, the smiles and laughter faded, and you noticed that so had the respectful distance between you two.

Lucifer's eyes, usually so sharp, were now half-lidded and fixated on your lips. The realisation made your pulse quicken, everything was so overwhelming.

But one glance at your eyes, one second during which Lucifer paused to silently ask for your consent, was all it took to break the charm. Had the ruler of Hell simply taken what they wanted as was their wont, perhaps you would have given it to them. But now the sudden awareness of what you were about to do made you remember how wrong and blasphemous it would be, and you pulled back.

"I… I can't."

Lucifer slowly closed their mouth –pinched their lips until they turned white would be more accurate– and looked away.

"But like We always say, hope is the cruellest of emotions." They stood up then and started heading towards the door. "Well then. Your time for questions is up. We should go back to–"

But Lucifer didn't have time to finish because, behind them, too caught up in the panic that this whole interaction had sparked in you, you had just flown away.

Crying. That's what you had been doing all afternoon, huddled up in the most solitary chapel in the whole heavenly kingdom. Crying, crying, and crying some more.

Eventually, the tears dried up, leaving an aching emptiness behind them. You dabbed at your eyes with the sleeve of your robe, taking slow breaths in a pathetic attempt to regain a semblance of composure.

Your feelings were too strong, too hard to understand, and you felt the urge to flee from them and to immerse yourself in something else to drown out what hurt inside. Prayer hadn't worked, obviously, so now you resorted to work, deciding to follow Michael's advice –browse the celestial Library, seek answers, and stay out of the darkness.

"Peace be upon you. Which works will you need to consult today?" Raziel, Keeper of Secrets and All Magic inquired as you entered the building.

"Peace be upon you. The forbidden section, please." You tried to sound confident despite the hours spent weeping.

"Ha. Funny," the Archangel retorted without looking up from his register.

"I'm afraid this is most serious. I have been tasked with retrieving the Cup of Eternal Grace from Hell. I need to learn about that place, the demons, the Shadows… Everything."

"Do you have clearance?"

"From Michael, yes." Raziel's eyes narrowed so you gave him a little push. "You can ask him. Ask Uriel, too. The whole Council knows about my mission."

Mentioning the name of the Archangel of Wisdom and Truth as well as Michael's was enough for Raziel.

"If the Divine Council can vouch for you…" he mumbled as he sat up to go unlock the forbidden section. "I don't know why they would ask you of all angels but… Must be part of His Plan."

"Yes. His Great, blasted Plan," you retorted in an inaudible whisper.

No Divine Light reached that section of the Library and you were forced to navigate the narrow corridors guided only by a weak candlelight and your halo. The scent of old parchment reached your nostrils as you scanned the scrolls and leather-bound volumes for anything related to the demons or the Shadows.

Suddenly, your fingers traced over a particularly worn volume tucked away in a corner. It was bound in dark, weathered leather, and had no visible title.

Being fully aware that you shouldn't probably do this, that your inquisitive nature had already played tricks on you, you briefly checked your surroundings and picked the book.

It was in the same archaic celestial language you had read this morning on the ruins in Lucifer's private courtyard, but it didn't take much to understand that this was a diary that dated back to years mortal beings didn't even have numbers for, before the War.

Quickly, led solely by your thirst for knowledge –true knowledge–, you flipped the dusty pages in search of mentions of the only thing that seemed to truly matter right now.

And then you found it, that cursed name. Samael.

You read fast, focusing only on the words you remembered or that hadn't truly changed in the evolution of the angelic speech. And what you saw on those pages made your eyes widen in horror.

"Samael's absolute terror… prayers… forgiveness… Father spat out the Poison from His mouth… feathers ripped… In the wake of their Fall, we sang… exultation, celebrating the expulsion of the Rebellious Child. The heavens rejoiced… I won…"

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind you. "Curiosity. A dangerous thing, isn't it?"

Startled, you almost dropped the diary. "Gabriel. Your Grace. I, uh…"

"You know, this is exactly how it started for them. Lucifer, I mean."

"I simply… I just…" Tired of trying to find excuses and explanations, you gave up and instead, asked, "Your Grace, why did God let this happen?"

Gabriel snorted inelegantly. "Why does God do anything?"

"Precisely."

"It's not for us to know, you're thinking too much."

"But… I mean, Lucifer… They were His favourite child."

"And now they're not," the Archangel said as if it meant nothing. "Lucifer defied the Almighty. Children who misbehave get punished."

"B-But this was… brutal, sheer savagery. You sang! They were terrified, and you sang!"

"Of course we sang. We had won. Duh." And there was Gabriel's belittling tone again. "You were there. You sang, too."

"No!"

The two of you froze in that instant, both realising you had just admitted something you definitely shouldn't.

"Oh, dear," Gabriel said after a few seconds. "It seems you've let something slip there."

"I, uh… I didn't mean–"

The Archangel raised his hand to stop you. "No need to explain. I think I understood perfectly." You swallowed dryly. "To seek a bit of knowledge is fine. But remember curiosity could be your undoing."

"Are you threatening me, Your Grace?"

"No. Merely… advising. Now, I'm sure you're very sorry about everything you did, so I'm just going to…" Gabriel closed the distance between you two and grabbed the diary from your trembling hands. "And, well, may God give you pardon and all that, and I absolve you blah blah blah, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. There we go. Good Dominion."

With that pseudo-absolution done, he gave you two small, very condescending pats on the cheek –the same Lucifer had caressed yesterday– and a fake smile, and then left you there, in the cold dimly lit, and unbearably silent Library.

For the first time in your entire eternal life, you wanted to scream.

And there was evening, and there was morning –the fourth day.

[deesseshesca]

Message from your spirit guide

Message from your spirit team

 Just a head up …. We love you 

Good afternoon, pretty souls, today I’m channeling your spirit guides. 

Choose the image that’s speak to you and allow yourself to soak ONLY what’s reasoning with YOUR SITUATION 

Rules and Disclaimer 

I am the type of tarot reader to say as it is. Nothing is sugar coated but everything is sent with good intention. If you are not ready to face some truth, you should vagabond somewhere else. 

TW: DV, MENTION OF ABUSE 

PILE 1

You go ahead and purchase that Cartier bracelet that is not going to destroy your hard work. Make sure you wear it at the baby shower. We know how much you pray for your sister  regarding her fertility issue, your niece\nephew is on his/her way. And we are as excited as you. Don’t you dare overthink your body right now. You look amazing. Everyone is telling you so you better believe them. Ok you may not be at your dream weight but babe you must agree that you never looked so good. You better show off ! You told the whole truth and will be rewarded. I know you were scared to say it all because you felt like you messed up somewhere which is ok but that does not mean you deserve it. Yes, you agree to be in a relationship with him. But you did not agree to the mental abuse. You did not agree to the constant yelling, the name calling and disrespect. You did not sign for physical abuse. Whether or not you orgasm or not doesn't matter, if you did not want to do it, then nah. He did IN FACT abuse you. Let’s forget the couple slap here and there and the punches on the wall. People from his family want to drag you but everyone knows you are a good woman and did not deserve anything you were thru. We know it was an extremely stressful moment for you, but now you can sit back and relax. Everyone is congratulating you right now. Even the people on the street can’t wait but to compliment you on your glowing skin and amazing sense of style. But we know that it has been months, even years in the making. You decide to stand up when you had nothing but faith in YOU. The days that you had to stick to your diet. Stop eating your feelings. All the time you had to stick to a budget, so you can have this financial security. The hard work you did in uni so you can get the degree that got you this amazing job. Nothing grew overnight. Success looks so good on you ! The odd thing is you want more . You can see it because of the upgrade in your wallet. You went from fast food, to a five star restaurant.  You went from exam week to working in big cooperatives. But yet you want more. There are days where you feel so happy and extremely grateful for what you have but other times you fall into deep depression because you want more from life. People around you don’t get it. ‘’You went from HELL to HEAVEN’’. Not quite. There’s more for you out here. And your soul knows it and calls for it. So let’s do it. Don't let the doubtful people stop you. The success that you have at the moment, you did on your own. With very little support. So, what if you want more ? Go get it ! Stop waiting for validation when you are the standard. 

You are all about you right now. Focus on the future that you want for yourself. But people around you are calling selfish. I’m hearing ‘’ Why are you acting brand new ? Why are you so Hollywood all of the sudden ?’’. But you know better than to give those comments your attention. 

You may be a lawyer. Or a future one. You may want to start grad school. 

Advice from me : You don’t need a tower moment to know when a season is finished. If you want, go get it. That’s it, that’s all. 

What it is- Doochii

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down, ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 2

We heard you… We heard you but are you telling them Always talking in front of the mirror what you are going to tell them. To tell them to fuck off. Tell them they got you fucked up. But nah. You know better. They know better. That’s why they are always coming back because you never switch up. They did. They switch is not just in your head. They are abusing you and anybody with critical thinking can see it from a continent way. I know it may not look like it in 3D but you are actually doing it. Ok you may not have the greatest grade. Ok you may not have the richest boyfriend. Ok your business is not making a milli a year . But let me remind you who the fuck you is. Nobody's surprised when you succeed because you always do. That’s why when you fail or struggle you get way more reaction since they wish upon you. But everyone knows that you are way better than them. They laugh because you don’t have the greatest grade. You are literally in one of the hardest programs. They are making fun of you while they did not even make it to uni. They are making fun of your man for not having extremely abundant funds. Not knowing the way he wakes you up with grateful text all the time, gives the best orgasm, even when he is mad, never raises his voice, always opens the doors for you, will not go to sleep without calling you, will literally throw  his whole life away just to see you smile. And he is ACTUALLY studying in a very rewarding and respectful major. Like c’mon. Those girls are out here messing with men for some cash while having a side of beating, cheating and sprinkles of hella disrespect. Literally   begging to be heard. While he's literally blowing your phone when he is with his friend because he can’t have enough of you. Your business went from being an idea to making weekly orders. They don’t even have a business. I don’t even think they have an IDEA to bring to life. Except they mean remarks and mean mug face. Since it kills them to see you win all their life, they prefer to wish for your downfall. Instead of asking for advice, lord know you would have given them some. Really girl, they wish they were you. They will accept to change life with you quicker than then their men can last, if God ask them. Why are killing yourself to impress them ? It hurts to see you go the extra mile for people that would rather see you die than to help you. Out here giving your last cent to that one annoying friend that humiliates you in front of everyone. Out here helping your mom knowing them well that she would never nurture you, even if Jesus ask her ? You don’t have nothing to prove to those people, because you are not on the same level as them. So let’s get it together and move on. They are mad at you because you are actually working towards your dream life. They thought you would stay miserable with them forever, but you know better. So YOU did better. If they mad about it let them. They were not there, when you overthink every move, when you were uncertain, when you could not sleep because of anxiety and  when you would crash on your bed completely exhausted without real result but your dreams to motivate you to keep going. Do us a favor and act like the queen that you are. 

You have a habit of loud outbursts of energy when something excites you. You give me the vibe that look like Jade (aesthetic) but act like Cat from Victorious. 

You have been putting yourself out here. The fact that you are surprise by your success get me. People been waiting for you. I feel like you think you don’t deserve it, but all your customers are more than happy. They never had such a good product. I’m hearing this is the best _$ , I spend in my life’’. In school you said you will have a academic comeback and babe YOU DID ! Plus you have a man that is sweeter than anything. Literally goes to the gym, work, study and lives to love you. (Man does he love you) 

Rules - Doja Cat

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 3 

We are behind you no matter what. But there's nothing we can do if you don’t act on it. You've been through a hard divorce with a very awful man. Intense narcissistic behavior. He made you believe in all his promises. You don’t have to explain yourself, we saw it coming. We also know that he was a fine con. He was all right at first. Everything a woman could wish for you got it emotionally and materially . People around you saw you guys as the ultimate couple goals. But he was hiding dark intentions. Disrespecting on a daily basis, humiliating a front of his colleague and requesting from you absolute submission and sexual intercourse when he felt like it. When you try to live you fear for your life with good reasons. You are a victim of military men. But you are not a victim of life. He mess you up so much, that your belief system is constant bad self talk. You don’t trust yourself with any decision even regarding that divorce. Knowing damn well he treated you like a piss of shit. How many times did he hold a gun at you ? How many time has he choke you ? How many times has he threatened to kill you, if you ever refuse to listen to him? Good looks and a good d were not good enough and will never be enough to deal with a deranged man.  Now, finally divorce, he is going around calling you cheater when you never did. Not that you never wanted too. Sometime you wanted im to feel as fuck as you did. But were too afraid of the repercussions. You literally have medical proof of STD’s he gave you. But God was he slick with it. Never laying hands on you but destroying everything around you. Never telling what to do or not do. Just warning you of how he would react if you did not act like he wanted. Never telling you he was cheating, just told you he needed space or asking for a threesome. Now here you are, years later. You rebuild your life on your own, brick by brick. Boundaries stronger than ever. You thought you over the self sabotage but damn is it biting you right back in front of that new man. The man of your dream. Is this one the real deal ? Or is it a trap ? You can’t take another heartbreak. But he is everything you need. There is a block coming from you. You know you are the problem. He knows you have a blockage that you are terrified to reveal and swear he will wait for you. Is that not something your ex-husband used to say before it all went south ? How can you actually trust your judgment with this one? Imagine if you are stopping him  from meeting the real one while he falls for the mess you are in. Please set yourself free. You got your divorce, you went to therapy, you develop strong boundaries but yet you are still bound to the past. You made a mistake, like all humans do. You deserve good things to happen to you. You have a way better judgment now than you did back then. Now, you actually know how to recognize a monster. You know damn well it ain’t him. Go for it, you deserve it. If it is too scary, set the pace, I swear he ain’t going anywhere. 

SELF SABOTAGE 

I was never there - Weeknd

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me, to have the whole run down. ONLY 3 SPOT (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 4

There’s a lot of things we don’t understand about you. Your love for rap music and obsession with Nicki Minaj. We don't understand that you love to learn everything and anything. We don’t understand half of the things you chat about regarding chemistry, physics or whatever other science took over your heart. But we LOVE YOU SO MUCH. We support you every step of the way ! We can’t not wait for you to have that damn degree in science that makes you cry on school night but brings a sparkle in your eyes the second a person asks you a question about it. Sometimes we push random people around you to ask about the likelihood of a cell in a decade body or something like that so we can hear you speak for hours. It gives you a glow. You aura shine so bright when you are in the lab. Even your teachers are in awe of your dedication. I know you keep reminiscing about the good old times. When having A’s in your fav subject was as easy as closing your eyes. Now you spend hours just to understand one slide in the professor PowerPoint. It is useless to beat yourself up. You are deepening your understanding about one subject at the moment. It is ok if some parts of it are harder to understand than others. I must warn you it will not be easy. You will spend more time in the library than with your friends. You will spend most of your time in the school year stuck in your room away from your loving family. But don’t hurt yourself with guilt. We are not taking your disappearance as any form of disrespect. We are so supportive of you. We never knew such a beautiful bundle of joy and knowledge would ever be born in our lineage. You know, we are a family of lawyers, business man, psychologist and philosoĥer. Your parents may not get half of that you're saying. Your brother may roll his eyes sometimes when you go on about one specific detail that sparks your interest but they are all amazing by the way your brain works. Let me tell you this, you will succeed. You will get it. We will be waiting at the finish line, with flowers and gifts to celebrate the day you will be walking on the podium. As proud as you, because we know how much work you put into every step of the way. The lonely nights, the hard exam and way too big project . Also stop procrastinating and start developing some discipline. You are not here to succeed in your exam but to prepare for your future career. Is time to build some stamina.Don’t worry, I PROMISE YOU: NOTHING BAD IS COMING YOUR WAY. It may get a little gray here and there but we are protecting you from any evil. You can calm your anxiety and enjoy the journey. I won't let ANYONE get in the way of my favorite prodigy. You may not be realizing it but are living in one of your prayers. 

I LOVE YOUR SPIRIT FAMILY. GOD ! They are amazed by you. Literally anything you do is an event that needs to be accelerated. Since you first breath they were going coco about you.  I had a clear image about your spirit team. I see 3 chair. A lot of wealth around them. One of the chairs is a throne where an older man sits in power. He was the one speaking but everyone else shared that feeling. 

So high - Doja Cat

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down. ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Sagau impostor au but after the reader is executed he dosnt comes back to earth or anything they are suited into two the evil and good halves the evil reader in revenge ravages teyvat into ruin and no one is safe in form thier tyrany but there is hope if the good halve of the reader debates and absorbs evil have then teyat is saved......one problem the good reader has weak body becose in moment of thier execution they had some much negative emotions that made the evil reader stronger after spliting into two

I don't fully understand this request, Anon, but I'll try my best! I'm just going to assume we got a yin-and-yang situation going on where "Yin" Reader is Good!Reader with weaker abilities while "Yang" Reader is Evil!Reader with stronger abilities.

Alright, here are some Headcanons for Good!Reader & Evil!Reader!

→ When Evil!Reader kills someone, they absorb their negativity.

This fact is very crucial because Evil!Reader doesn't just kill people for fun. They do it because they have the want to become stronger.

This is how they become the powerful tyrant they are now.

The small positivity of Evil!Reader doing this course of action is sent to Good!Reader. Think of Evil!Reader and Good!Reader as two storage boxes. When Evil!Reader kills someone, the negativity that the dead person feels is transferred to Evil!Reader, while Good!Reader gets the small amount of positive feelings of Evil!Reader's happiness.

Because Evil!Reader gets so much more than Good!Reader, their physical body is able to withstand more power/energy, thus meaning that Evil!Reader is physically stronger than Good!Reader.

Since they are two separate beings after Reader got executed, they have their own different goals now. It'll be hard for anyone to try to stop and convince Evil!Reader from purging all of Teyvat.

→ When Good!Reader absorbs evil, they change it into light.

That's right, ya boi's going a little cliché with this. Good!Reader basically purifies the evil energy that is spread all over Teyvat, causing the light that they produce to heal the cracked lands that Evil!Reader had left.

If they're lucky, the light produced may also revive someone. However, this is a very rare occurrence. The most common sight is that Good!Reader's light will purify their traumatized spirits and put them at peaceful rest.

Good!Reader doesn't decide who gets to live and who doesn't. It's a Free-For-All match.

→ When close/near one another, Good!Reader and Evil!Reader sometimes share a telepathic connection.

This is the result of Reader being split into two different people. Because they are technically the same person, Good!Reader and Evil!Reader will have a telepathic connection with one another and can have a full-blown argument in their heads.

This telepathic connection is still somewhat there even when they are miles apart. It becomes more of a twin bond connection, where one person would have a gut feeling that their twin is doing something (like killing, for example), and said-twin is, in fact, doing it.

The only difference between the Readers and most twins is that they don't get along. At all. They share different goals, and are too stubborn to back down from said goal or see the other's perspective.

→ Evil!Reader and Good!Reader can only merge when both being's have a similar amount of energy/power.

Yes, you can get Reader back, but it will be very difficult due to one problem: Evil!Reader is very much stronger in both strength and physical body. Good!Reader can't really keep up with Evil!Reader.

If they do, however, get a similar amount of energy, they will be transformed into spirit form and mix together to form Reader as a whole person.

The only problem is with this is that they won't cooperate with anyone if they want them both to merge. They pretty much despise each other for having a different goal than them.

And that's all I got for this idea! Sorry if this is very short, Anon, but I tried my best :') Hope you enjoyed it!

See you all around!

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: N/A

Check out The Ghost Rebel's Blog Description to See if Their Mailbox is Open!

[spacexseven]

What would fyodor think about sk darling?

hahahaha i was hoping someone would ask this...

fyodor is intrigued by you. he knows, of course, that there was a serial killer on the loose taking the lives of multiple ability users, including some that he recognized. it was interesting enough that your target appeared to be only ability users, but when he finds out that nikolai has a connection to you...well, now he just had to find out more.

your ability is also quite curious; needing you to kill someone to steal their ability, hence implying that abilities could be transferred. of course, since his ability was intertwined with himself, he was curious as to whether you were able to take his ability.

seeing nikolai follow you around like a lovesick puppy is what convinces him to start watching you.

he knows you're aware of nikolai (he expected that from you—was this warm feeling in his chest pride?) and his ability, as well as his extensive criminal record. it doesn't deter you from trying to run off with his ability, however, and neither does your initial defeat. he watches as you walk away without your gun and with a glove instead, watches as you get back to plotting. fyodor finds it all quite amusing.

as a reward for entertaining him, he drops a parcel on your doorstep with your gun in it. the only other thing there is a message written on a simple card attached to it—santouka taneda's ability may prove to be very useful. he knows that you already knew this, but he was just curious about whether his message would cause you to change your plans and target taneda instead.

it doesn't.

you're very meticulous in the way you go about your plans, and clearly an anonymous message won't get in the way of that. you don't even ask nikolai about the note, which could only mean you knew it wasn't him who had sent it to you. instead, you approach fyodor himself one day when he was walking into a cafe.

"dostoevsky," you say, your smile so unassuming that he'd have never thought you were capable of the evil acts you had committed, "i'll kindly ask you to please stay out of my business."

for a moment, he's caught off guard. and then it comes crashing down on him—you had ango's ability. that's how you knew it was him.

he smiles back, just as fabricated as yours, "please," he takes a seat across you, "i only meant to offer some friendly advice."

you raise an eyebrow, "friendly? do you always use your friends as pawns to eliminate your enemies? or am i just special?"

"we have a common goal," he instead says, "concerning the eradication of ability users."

you scoff at that, "you clearly know nothing about me. i'm not doing this for the same reasons as you."

your eyes are void of emotion, and your hand is gripping the fork on the table—an obvious threat. for the first time in a while, fyodor finds a genuine smile replacing the fake one from before, "in that case, why don't you tell me about your reasons? we may be able to cooperate on certain matters."

you can say no and leave. after all, fyodor is asking you to help him kill off some ability users that can become problems later, and he knows you don't have to say yes. you can decide that you don't want to get involved and walk away, and he can't do anything about it. holding a stranger hostage wouldn't cause you to surrender yourself, nor would a threat to your life. there's nothing forcing you to stay, but you don't leave anyway. instead, you let your polite facade drop, an unreadable expression taking its place.

"alright," even your voice, he realizes, sounds cold and blank now. it only makes him more curious, "but i have one condition."

"nobody touches nikolai gogol. i'll do with him as i please, so don't involve him in your plan. if you can do this for me, i'll hear you out."

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Hey do you guys have any fics where Klaine are spies or like criminal master minds? Or separately maybe like a mafia story but where they BOTH come from mafia families? I don't know I'm in a bad ass klaine mood. Thanks!

Here's a list of various fics. ~Jen

Here is our mafia tag.

And of course this one!

A Mafia Romance by @yadivagirl [WIP]​

Blaine is the son of a powerful crime boss. He has no intentions of joining the family business, especially since he finally has a gorgeous boyfriend named Kurt, but everyone else has other ideas. When Kurt gets caught in the middle, Blaine’s true nature is unleashed. Like father, like son. Dark!Blaine. Features sex, violence, drug references, and heavy BDSM themes.

~~~~~

An Unrefuseable Offer by Aki and Tenshi

Mafia AU. Blaine is a jaded crime lord interested in Kurt, a singer at a speakeasy. Kurt is desperate to take care of his ill father. Blaine makes Kurt an offer, trade himself for Blaine’s money and influence to get Burt the best medical care. And then there’s Sebastian, who runs a rival mob. Angst, drama, and a dark, kinda romantic story

~~~~~

A Dangerous Game by dreamcatcher (darcangell23)

The year is 1924 and Blaine Anderson, son of the most notorious mafia boss in the east, has gone to his favorite speakeasy where he sees Kurt for the first time. It’s got to be love at first sight but falling for a mafia baby so a dangerous game to play. But is Kurt exactly who Blaine thinks he is? 

~~~~~

Spy fic:

Trigger Warning by @inkystars (on tumblr)

Blaine Anderson is one of the top international spies in the world, but is very insistant upon keeping his husband, Kurt Hummel, in the dark about that matter. Which ends up being a bit of a problem when Kurt is kidnapped

~~~~~

Criminal Klaine -

An Unwritten Life by GlassParade

An adaptation of the movie “The Brothers Bloom” – Blaine and Cooper are brothers and con artists, committing crimes worldwide with explosives expert Santana in tow. But Blaine wants out of the life, while Cooper wants to pull off one last con – and for his mark, he’s selected reclusive automotive heir Kurt Hummel. With Coop’s promise to finally let him go in hand, Blaine sets the hook and reels Kurt into a madcap global adventure in lies, violence, death…and love.

~~~~~~

An Honest Man by BlurglesmurfKlaine @jinglejavey

For nearly the past decade, Kurt Hummel and his best friend Rachel Berry have made their living swindling unsuspecting bachelors. Which proves to be pretty easy on his conscience, considering he doesn’t believe in love anymore. As they always say: “You can’t con an honest man... Good thing they don’t exist.” But their mark for their last con before they go their separate ways—Blaine Anderson—may just prove otherwise, and restore Kurt’s faith in love in the process.

~~~~~

FBI/criminal:

Catch Me If You Can by @afterthenovels

In the end, catching Kurt Hummel is definitely not what Blaine expected.

Special Agent Blaine Anderson catches con-man and art thief extraordinaire Kurt Hummel twice, and on the second time they strike a deal. They’re supposed to just solve white collar crimes together, but they might even end up solving each other in the process.

A White Collar AU.

Note: There are 9 more stories in this verse HERE.

~~~~~

In Spite of all the Darkness by wishesonfallenstars

When the bodies of teenage girls start appearing next to dumpsters over New York City, the NYPD calls in the FBI. Because Serial Killers are always stopped easier when there’s experienced back up on speed-dial, and with bodies starting to pile up, they need to move fast. (warnings inside)

~~~~~

Hidden in the Deep by LauGS @heartsmadeofbooks

Kurt Hummel’s only concern was getting the perfect role in the perfect Broadway show. But when one night he witnesses a real nightmare, Kurt’s focus shifts from saving his career to saving something much more important: his own life.

~~~~~

Mr Congeniality by ifinallyfoundsomeone

Miss. Congeniality!AU

Bomb threats are being sent to the newly made Mr. America pageant and FBI Agent Blaine Anderson has taken up the position of being an undercover agent to save the pageant. With some extreme grooming and guidance from his pageant consultant, Blaine infiltrates the world of Men’s pageants. Making some interesting friends, and maybe he even winning the heart of his slave driver pageant consultant, the gorgeous and fascinating, Kurt Hummel.

~~~~~

[lowkeyremi]

I found you (Yazukza Eren J x fem!reader)

Basically, you've been messing w his yakuza group anonymously, n he finally finds you (why did i think of the "me when i fucking get you" meme)

Content: Angst, eren's a bitch, suggestive, kidnapping, language, cocky-ish reader, a lil fluff, plot twist btwn u n eren

Oml this prob the darkest thing I've written

banner by: cafekitsune

It hurt to open your eyes, so here you are in this dark environment; more specifically a cold floor. There's a blindfold over your eyes, not that it matters because once again it hurts to open your eyes.

The smell of mold is so powerful that it's the only thing you take note of. Where the fuck are you? You aren't even sure how long you've been— where ever this is.

Creak, thump, thump, thump. That tiny voice was telling you to pick your head up because someone is coming, the louder voice was reminding you that you answer to no one so you will not pick your head up.

The blindfold was removed and you let out a groan. The light hitting your eyelids already feels bad enough, opening your eyes is going to be a pain in the ass.

"Open your eyes." A soft spoken voice commands. You do so out of curiosity, and boy, are your findings humorous.

"I refuse to believe I was kidnapped by a thin, blond, boy such as yourself." You attack him with your words. Those baby blues widen, the blond smiles maliciously.

"I didn't kidnap you, my friend did. I'm just here to get answers from you." The blond runs his hand through his short hair.

"So you're supposed to torture me? How cute." He only has shown enthusiasm to your behavior, which pissed you off a little.

"Precisely, I may not seem all that scary but I know how to get answers from people." He say intimidatingly.

You say nothing in return because you don't believe him at all.

"F/n, L/n, is it? That little sister of yours is very pretty. Wonder what would happen if I sent some guys-"

"My sister is more than capable of kicking ass, she learned from the best." You imply yourself as the best.

You're twenty-three while your sister is twenty. She's learned self defense and offense attacks in case of an emergency.

"Interesting, most people crack when a family member's life is at stake." He grins.

You are a little bit worried, but you know your sister better than anyone. She can handle anything thrown at her.

Armin, you learn, keeps asking questions, trying to get information out of you.

"You might want to just tell me because my buddy Connie isn't as nice as I am." He threatens.

"Let's hope he doesn't hit like a sissy." You respond.

Armin laughs like he's crazy. Then once again asked, "why have you been stealing our shipments and sabotaging our missions?" His voice no longer held any softness it had earlier.

"Like I said the last time, because I wanted to." A smirk creeped onto your face. Armin was getting impatient with you and your annoying back and forth with him.

He clicks the little earpiece and starts talking, "should I send in Connie or Mikasa? She's refusing to cooperate."

He was silent while the person on the other end spoke.

"Oh... alright I'll wait for you to arrive." Armin smirks at you an evil look in his eyes.

"You've done it now, have fun speaking to him." Armin crosses his arms and begins to whistle.

Excitement flows throughout your body, who are you going to encounter next?

Within a few minutes a man with long brown hair, emerald green eyes, and a well fitted suit walks in with a woman who has short black hair and a red scarf, the other man has a growing buzz cut and a nasty scowl on his face.

"It still surprises me that one woman has been able to cause so much chaos in my group." His velvet voice shook your soul.

"Never underestimate a woman, Eren." The black haired girl speaks, she has the voice of an angel.

"You can go Armin, thanks for the help." The brunnette dismisses him.

"Of course, if you need anything I'm in the main building." Armin smiled at you as he walked out, it was more of a childish 'you're in trouble now' kind of smile.

"Do I look familiar to you?" Eren asks.

You knew an Eren when you were a young girl, that was a long time ago. This man doesn't look the Eren you knew.

"No, am I supposed to recognize you?" Eren looks at your chained arms and he chuckles.

"You should recognize me, does 'Eren's famous mud pies' ring any bells?" He asks folding his big bulky arms.

"I didn't want to believe it was you." Is all you say sighing.

"What was your reasoning, if you didn't know I was the head of this group?" When Eren had found out his childhood crush was antagonizing him, he thought that you were trying to get his attention.

"Your father." Eren's eyes widened.

"My father?" He asks.

"Yeah, at first I thought he just didn't like my family. Recently though, from the test results it turns out he killed my father and once attempted to murder me in my sleep. I was only returning the favor. Seems the old geezer retired and put you in his place to save his ass." Before Eren could respond Connie spoke up.

"How do we know she isn't lying?" He asks.

"That would be a very sick thing to lie about." Mikasa counters.

"So Dad wasn't lying about that..." Eren whispers more to himself than to anyone in particular. You hear it anyway and your eyes squint.

"You knew?" Betrayal starts to seep through your body, even if you haven't seen Eren in a long time he was still somebody you used to trust your life with.

"Well yeah, but when he confessed it sounded too ridiculous to be true but now that I know it's true, I'm angry. I can't believe he tried to fucking kill you." The look on his face is lethal. You understand his anger but it makes you upset that he's more concerned about you than the fact that Grisha killed your father.

"It doesn't matter to you that he killed my dad?" Venom is laced in your voice, Eren's emerald eyes flicker your way and they soften for a moment.

"That's not what I meant. Of course I'm mad he killed your father. I'm... I just- I'm pissed he tried to kill the girl he knows I love! Even if that bastard is my father, he's going to pay." Eren blurts his love confession to you and everyone else is shocked, including you.

"Love? Eren what the actually fuck? Why didn't we know about this?! I thought we were like family!" Connie shouts he sounds more betrayed than angry.

"Yeah Eren, what the hell? Saying you love me won't bring my dad back." You're smug now, it hurts thinking about him but you won't cry, especially not in front of the son of the man who killed him. That would only make his death more pitiful.

"You can't seriously be implying you don't feel the same way." Eren's voice holds none of that comfort from earlier.

"Eren, don't do this. Not everything will go your way." Mikasa reminds him calmly.

"I wasn't fucking talking to you Mikasa! Answer the damn question!" He screams at you.

It seems he's the same as he's always been, your little maniac.

"Eren you are so pathetic, why obsess over someone like me?" His hands ball up into fists and it looks like he might bust a vein.

"Quit stalling, you can't tell me you don't love me after all those years we spent together." Connie grips his shoulder, but it does nothing to ground Eren because he's lunging at you in rage.

"No Eren, I don't love you. How could I? You and your asshole father can rot in hell." You're lying straight to his face, you want nothing more than to kiss him right now. It's not possible, maybe in another life where your father is still breathing.

Mikasa and Connie use all their strength to pull him back. You watch as they escort the love of your life out of the basement. He's screaming and cursing at you. The only thing you seem to tune into is, "This isn't over! I know you love me! You can't punish me for something I didn't do! I still love you." The last part was spoken quietly.

Your heart was beating loudly in your chest from everything going on. When he's out of sight, you mouth, "I love you too."

pt 2??? maybe?????

[gothhabiba]

More fun with Lazy Researcher Telephone leading to the circulation of completely false information:

A 1764 court document (re-discovered by Gwendolin Mildo Hall) is currently believed to be the oldest reference to gumbo (as in the okra-and-meat stew, not okra itself). Shane K. Bernard said in 2011 that Hall had mentioned the document in a lecture, but she presumably didn't give detailed information, since he ended up e-mailing her to get the actual citation.

She pointed him to the Louisiana Historical Center, who sent him a copy of the document in question, which he posted a small snippet from. You don't have to contact the LHC to get the full document--it's been digitised (look towards the bottom right of page 4/21 for the reference to "un gombeau"), along with other documents pertaining to the same court case.

That lecture wasn't the only place where Hall had elaborated. Earlier, in 2005, Hall had published Slavery and African Ethnicities in the Americas: Restoring the Links, which contains a passage talking about Comba / Julia, the woman whose testimony contains the reference to "gombeau" (Bernard didn't mention this book). She describes what led to the 1764 court proceedings--fugitive slave Louis dit Foy "had organized a cooperative network among slaves, runaways, thieves, seamstresses, and street vendors" and the group 'stole' food for their social gatherings. Hall says of two women who were members of this group:

Comba and Louison, both Mandingo women in their fifties, were vendors selling cakes and other goods along the streets of New Orleans. They maintained an active social life, organized feasts where they ate and drank very well, cooked gumbo filé and rice, roasted turkeys and chickens, barbecued pigs and fish, smoked tobacco and drank rum. (Slavery and African Ethnicities, University of North Carolina Press, 2005, p. 99)

Hall cites as the source of her information "Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana, May 6 and May 10, 1768, contract between Evan Jones of Pensacola and Durand Brothers; declaration by Captain Peter Hill. Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana, 1768.05.10.02, Louisiana Historical Center, New Orleans" (FN 36, p. 187).

It is unclear from Hall's text whether "gumbo filé" is specifically named or described in these court documents (if it is, I have not yet found it--and it also seems strange that Hall wouldn't have pointed Bernard to that location), or what other reason Hall might have for asserting this. It may just be an assumption of her's. As written, it sounds like the "gombeau" mentioned isn't even sure to be modern "gumbo" (as Bernard points out, a dish of stewed okra with butter was called "gumbo" at this time and later). Hall's research interests do not centre around food.

From this point, someone must have found Bernard's reference to this court document, and also found the paraphrasing of the case proceedings in Hall's book. They must have mentioned the court document without quoting or citing it; and they must have quoted the passage from Hall that I quoted above, also without citing it, and made it seem as though the Hall passage was in the court document. Whoever this unforgiveable bumbling can be traced back to, whether him or someone else, Lolis Eric Elie at least recreated it. In 2005, he wrote in a letter to the New York Times:

The first known printed reference to gumbo was made in reference to food eaten not by French immigrants, but by African maroons who had escaped slavery in Louisiana. This passage, from a 1764 court document, was uncovered by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, author of "Africans in Colonial Louisiana": "Comba and Louison, both Mandingo women in their 50's [sic], were vendors selling cakes and other goods along the streets of New Orleans. They maintained an active social life, organized feasts where they ate and drank very well, cooked gumbo filé and rice, roasted turkeys and chickens, barbecued pigs and fish, smoked tobacco and drank rum."

And then someone must have read that letter and believed Elie that that paragraph of Hall's was in the 1764 court document (it doesn't exactly sound like the kind of language I would expect to have been written as a summary of court proceedings in 1764, but I suppose they didn't think to check...)

So now, as a result of all of this jumbling of assumptions with evidence, and unwillingness to track down actual primary sources (even when someone has already digitised and quoted and translated them for you!), you have people confidently asserting that "gumbo filé" was specifically mentioned for the first time in 1764.

For example, Jonathan Olivier, writing for The Bitter Southerner in 2021, writes:

Looking back further at the historical record, there is more evidence of distinctions between types of gumbo. The first recorded mention of gumbo is from a 1764 court document involving escaped enslaved Africans, found by historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall [...]. “Comba and Louison, both Mandingo women in their 50s [sic], were vendors selling cakes and other goods along the streets of New Orleans. They maintained an active social life, organized feasts where they ate and drank very well, cooked gumbo filé and rice, roasted turkeys and chickens, barbecued pigs and fish, smoked tobacco and drank rum.” The entire term “gumbo filé” is mentioned, a deliberate effort to highlight a soup thickened with powdered sassafras, not okra.

Yes, Olivier, the term "gumbo filé" was mentioned... by Gwendolin Hall in 2005, not by Comba in 1764! What a mess! What an absolute disgrace of a mess. Lmao.

[fungifanart]

Choices

Characters: Male reader, Yuu!reader, Leona Kingscholar, Sebek Zigvolt, mentions of Malleus

Word count: 726

Cw: Angst, cursing

Notes: I debated making this one longer and having it be the finale, but my muse isn't cooperating right now and it's been so long that I wanted to give you guys SOMETHING. So here we are.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

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

It's barely been a couple days since the party and Leona is already fed up.

'Why?' You may ask? Because of a certain yowling crocodile who's getting in his herbivore's business while he's attempting to court him.

The horned bastard had been getting awfully close to the herbivore lately and, after some digging by Ruggie, Leona soon found out it was because he was enacting his own courting rituals on him.

The news that it was now a race for HIS herbivore's heart almost sent Leona into a blind rage as he thought about the audacity of that prissy, entitled brat to try and take what was his.

Therefore, he thought to use the Halloween incident and the Prefect’s rage to his advantage and tell the horned bastard to back off for a few days. This would serve as a proper punishment for hurting his chosen mate and also give him time to get closer to said mate, which works.....until they're approached by a head of mint-green hair during a lunch date out in the courtyard.

"HUMAN!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The half-crocodile fae shouts, completely destroying the romantic atmosphere Leona had going.

The Prefect sighs heavily before responding, "I don't know, Sebek. What HAVE I done to deserve having my nice lunch with Leona disturbed?" He says indignantly towards the other man while Leona glares daggers at him.

"MALLEUS-SAMA HASN'T BEEN HIMSELF SINCE WE RETURNED FROM THE SPECTRAL REALM!!!" Sebek begins, uncaring towards the sharp glares he's receiving from Leona and random passersby, "HE DOESN’T PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS, BARELY PARTICIPATES IN PE AND GOES STRAIGHT TO HIS ROOM ONCE CLASSES ARE OVER!!!"

The Prefect looks at him with an unamused glare, unfazed by all the yelling, "Ok? And what does that have to do with me?"

"LILIA-SAN SAID THAT THE LAST PERSON MALLEUS-SAMA SPOKE TO DURING THE HALLOWEEN PARTY WAS *YOU*!!!" The half-fae points at the Prefect accusingly, "SO I WILL ASK AGAIN: WHAT IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO?!"

The Prefect looks surprised as Leona starts growling and standing up at the half-fae for the sheer disrespect being shown to his chosen mate, "I'll tell you what YOU can do, you little--" Leona is about to tell him off when the Prefect speaks up.

"Y'know what, Sebek? I don't think that's any of your business! In fact, I think you should turn around right now and walk away!" The Prefect says with authority, surprising both men, "But if you're determined to meddle in private affairs, then how about you go tell Mr. Draconia that if he's SO broken up about what happened, then he should grow the FUCK up and actually apologize!! Now LEAVE!!!" He yells, stunning the other man into compliance.

Leona sits back down and watches the crocodile retreat with his tail between his legs as the Prefect leans back against a tree, puts his hand on his face and lets out a deep sigh while mumbling to himself, eyes going unfocused, "Of course that would come back to bite me. What did he expect, though? None of that was MY fault! Is it SO hard to just--"

"Oi. NRC to Herbivore. You there?" Leona snaps his fingers in front of the Prefect’s face, interrupting his mutterings.

The Prefect is startled back to reality, "H-huh?! Oh, sorry."

They continue to eat, but thanks to that crocodile and his master, the atmosphere carries a tension that weighs heavily on both parties until their food is gone and the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch.

"Oh...I should head to class now." The Prefect says while standing up and quickly gathering his things.

"Hey, don't be in too much of a hurry." Leona says while starting to stand up, "Let me walk you there."

The Prefect holds up his hand towards the lion in a stopping motion, "I appreciate the thought, Leona, I really do, but I could really use some time alone to think..."

Leona curses his lion instincts which scream at him to do whatever his chosen mate tells him to, despite not wanting him to be on his own.

And so, he watches the Prefect walk away with a stormy expression before slumping back down on the grass in irritation, "Tch, even when he's not here, that horned bastard still manages to ruin everything." Leona grumbles to himself.

[cherrycola27]

Midnight Rain

Alright friends! This my second piece in my new series of One Shots inspired by Taylor Swift's Midnights! If there is a song on there and a Top Gun person you feel it goes with, don't hesitate to send me a request!

Paring: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Warnings: Language, Mentions of drinking, jealousy, cheating, abuse.

He knew this day would eventually come... deep down he had hoped it wouldn't, but the creme colored envelope with his name written in your script sat on his counter as a blaring reminder that it had.

He picked it up and opened it to read it again:

"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr. Bryson Edward Abbott and Ms. Y/n Grace Cooper on the 28th of May 2022 at 6pm at the Abbott Ranch, Fort Worth TX."

He couldn't believe you were marrying Bryce fucking Abbott... the one person in all of Texas Jake couldn't stand.

Maybe if he had gotten his head out of his ass sooner, his name would have been next to yours and you two would be getting married on his family ranch, but what seems like a lifetime ago, Jake Seresin left you crying on your front porch after he told you he was going to Top Gun and leaving Texas for good.

He sighed before double checking he had everything he needed for the next 14 days. His flight to Fort Worth left in three hours and he wanted to give himself plenty of time for any hang ups at the airport.

A few hours later his mom and sister greated him at baggage claim.

"Oh honey!" His mom cried as she wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Hey there little bro." His sister Savannah greeted him.

The Seresin family made their way out of their airport to Savannah's waiting car. The drive to the ranch was filled with Jake's mother and sister asking him questions and catching up. He was fine until his mother brought up Y/n and Bryce's wedding. Jake cringed at the thought of you becoming Y/n Abbott in two weeks. Something that didn't go unnoticed by his sister.

When they arrived at the ranch Jake was please to see his father and his other older sister Lauren had picked up his rental car for him. The grey Silverado similar to the one he had back in San Diego was waiting for him in the drive way.

His mother insisted he didn't need it, but there was no way in hell he wasn't going to be without transportation for two weeks.

Later when his mother needed an ingredient from the store, she was more than thankful Jake had rented a truck.

So, here he was now looking in the baking aisle for the very specific brand of chocolate chips she just had to have for her cookies.

Once he had found them he tossed them in his small cart and quickly turned to head out. In his haste he bumped into someone else. He looked up to see who it was only to be met with a familiar pair of eyes.

"Y/n" he breathed out as if he couldn't believe you were standing infront of him.

"Jacob Seresin, what are the odds?" you smiled at him before waltzing over and pulling him into a hug. He was taken aback for a moment before he reciprocated the hug.

"Pretty good odds that I'm here considering you're getting married in a couple weeks. I had some leave I needed to use so I came out a little early to see the family." He said answering your previous question.

The two of you stood there in the aisle catching up on the past years, you were both trying to be polite, but the obvious pain he had caused you hung in the air.

"Jake, I'd love to catch up more. Would you like to come get drinks with me and Bryce and Marissa tonight?" You asked him sweetly.

Jake could've said that he would rather eject out of an F-18 than get drinks with you, your fiancée, and your best friend. He could have said that, but instead he said "Yes I'd love to, where at and what time?"

"The Red Barn Saloon on Main at 8 sound good?" You asked.

"Sure." He replied.

"Great, do you still have the same phone number?" You asked innocently.

"Um no, I don't." He said shyly.

"Can I see your phone?" You asked. He unlocked it and handed it to you. You quickly typed in your number and sent a quick text to yourself so you would have his.

"I will text you if anything changes." You say before continuing your shopping.

Maybe it was wrong of him, but Jake had never been more thankful that his mother had sent him on an errand in his life.

By the time 8pm had rolled around Jake was an excited mess. He walked into the bar looking for you. While he wasn't thrilled that Bryce and Marissa would be joining the two of you, he was thankful that maybe there was a glimmer of hope that you would let him come back in your life.

He scanned the crowd until he saw you alone at a booth. You looked beautiful, a yellow sundress graced your form he had to remember how to breathe for a moment.

"Hey!" You called as you jumped up to hug him.

"Hey!" He responded hugging you back without hesitating this time.

"Where are Marissa and Bryce?" He asked as he sat down.

"They are both at his campaign office working late on some things. Marissa is his chief of staff." You explained. "Bryce texted me and said they were sorry they couldn't make it but we should have fun and he wants to see you soon!"

"Huh. Okay." Jake said. In his head he was thinking that sounded a little suspicious. Jake's father had informed him that Bryce was running for Congress. He didn't know that Y/n best friend was on his staff.

He shouldn't make a big deal about it. Politicians and their staff worked late all the time, but Jake remembered Marissa. She was a beautiful girl... and Bryce was never one to shy away from temptation. No. Stop Jake. He mentally scolded himself. He was not going down this road, no, you were happy, he was going to be happy for you.

The night played on and you two caught up over the things you had each missed over the past six years. Beers and conversations flowed between the two of you, however after three, Jake switched to water becasue some needed to be okay to drive both of you home if needed.

"Wait... wait... wait.... they call you Hangman? Like the kids game?" You laughed at him. You had asked what his call sign was, thinking it was probably going to be something Texas related, not a child's game.

"It was because I kind of sort of used to be an asshole to fly with and would leave my wingman hanging." He admitted.

"I know what that's like. To be left hanging by Jake Seresin." You blurted out. Once the words left your lips you immediately covered your mouth in embarrassment. You hadn't meant to say that. The alcohol loosened your lips.

"Jakey, I'm sorry I shouldn't have." You apologize seeing the hurt flash across his face.

"It's okay darlin. I deserved that." He says rubbing you arm.

You feel like such an ass now. You told yourself from the moment you saw him in the store you weren't going to bring up the past. He checked his phone.

"It's getting late sweetheart. How are you getting home?" He asked.

"I was planning to Uber, but" you pause checking and seeing that there in none available. "There isn't one for another two hours." You sigh

"I can take you home if you want." He offers with a genuine smile. He holds out his hand to help you up. You take it and wobble upon standing. He tucks you closer to his side as you two leave the bar.

You don't know why but you curl in closer to him, breathing in the familiar scent of him. He helps you into his truck as you feebly feed him directions to your home... the home you share with Bryce.

He helps you up the steps but you can't find your keys. He knocks on the door and a flustered looking Bryce Abbott opens it a few minutes later.

"Jake?!" He asks looking almost startled to see you. "How are you man?" He asks. "I'm good. Hope you are. How's the campaign going?" Jake asks making small talk.

"It's good. Thanks for brining Y/n home. Did she try to call me I didn't see a missed call from her?" He asks Jake.

"No she was going to get an Uber but it would have been hours so I offered to bring her back. I only had a couple and stopped drinking a while ago." Jake explains as he passed you to Bryce.

"Thanks man, I owe you one." Bryce nods. Jake turns to leave before Bryce yells out to him.

"Hey Jake!" Jake turns back around.

"So listen I know this is crazy and all but, one of my groomsmen just had to back out of the wedding his job is sending him to Finland to secure an account and he has to go. I know we haven't talked in a while but we were always old football buddies, and if you already have plans I get it, but I talked to your sister and she said you were free... could you possibly fill in? I know Y/n doesn't want an uneven bridal party." He asks you.

Jake should have laughed in his face. Jake should have turned around and run. Jake should have said no, but instead Jake said "Sure man, I'd be honored. Y/n has my number. Just call me in the morning with the details." Before leaving into the night wondering what the fuck he was going to do.

Jake Seresin isn't exactly sure how he made it through the next 10 days with a smile on his face but somehow he did.

He fell into the role of groomsman perfectly. Your family thanked him over and over again. So did you. He actually felt like he could do this until the rehearsal garden party Marissa was hosting.

Everything seemed to be going fine. As luck would have it, he was paired with his sister in the bridal party, which made all of your single friends in the party a bit excited knowing he was available. You would be lying if you didn't say you weren't a touch jealous when you saw the way your sorority sister Emma looked at him.

But, you couldn't be, you were getting married, you didn't want Jake anymore. He chose his career over you. He wanted to chase a dream. He was fickle like midnight rain. You weren't. You were calm, sure, and steady.

"Y/n!" Bryce yelled at you snapping you out of your thoughts. You turned and saw his face and knew his expression meant he was angry. "Shit" you mumbled before walking up to him

"Hey honey whats up?" You asked with the biggest fake smile on your face.

"We need to speak, privately." He grumbled before you followed him into the house.

A while later the party was running low on bottled water. Jake being the dutiful groomsman went inside to look for some, and that's when he heard it.

The hushed yet fiery tones of you and Bryce arguing. He shouldn't be nosy but curiosity got the better of him.

He peaked inside the study just in time to see Bryce reach out and violently grip your arm and pull you towards him. You yelped in pain and tears formed in your eyes. Jake couldn't hear everything that was being said, just you profusely apologizing while Bryce shook you.

That son of a bitch, Jake thought. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. You were always so sweet and kind, how could Bryce be so mean and cruel to you.

Jake had seen this pattern of behavior before, he once kept some really shitty company, and he could tell by your reaction that this wasn't the first time Bryce and hurt you.

As much as he tried to push down his feelings, he couldn't anymore. He decided in that moment, though he didn't know how, but he was never going to let Bryson fucking Abbott hurt his girl again.

Jake didn't plan to come to Texas to ruin your wedding, or maybe he did who knows, but tonight was the bachelor party and in less than 24 hours, unless he did something you were going to marry Bryce Abbott. The thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth, worse than the shitty whiskey he just took a shot of.

Bryce and all of the groomsmen were out at some bar celebrating. Jake was the most sober of the group, he mentally decided that was what he needed to do in order to figure out how to get you to leave Bryce.

"Jaaaake" Bryce slured as he came over and threw his arm around his shoulder.

"Hey man how about some water? You are getting married tomorrow." Jake said trying to get him to slow down.

Bryce too a sip before looking back at him. "So dude I really appreciate you filling in. You want to know something?" Bryce asked with a bleary look on his face.

"Sure." Jake responded. "Marco, the guy you replaced isn't actually in Finland. I kicked him out because he walked in on me and Marissa screwing in the office." Bryce laughed.

Jake's eyes went wide. "He threated to tell Y/n so I blackmailed him and kicked him out of the wedding." Bryce continued.

"If you're sleeping with Marissa then why are you marrying Y/n" Jake asked as he tried to remain calm and not punch Bryce in is teeth.

"Y/n looks good in pictures, she will be a good politician's wife and she comes from money... money fuels campaigns. Plus she has no idea Marissa and I are sleeping together because we work together and work long hours. Anyway I'm going to go ride the mechanical bull. See you." Bryce says before walking away like nothing had happened.

That was it, the last straw. Jake grabbed his things and sped to your hotel room.

He pounded on the door. You were surprised to see him when you opened it.

"We need to talk." He said before barging in.

He explained everything to you that Bryce had said, and what he had seen. You confessed that it wasn't the first time Bryson had hurt you, and that deep down you knew something was going on with him and Marissa.

Then he apologized to you for leaving you. Told you how sorry he was for everything and how this was all his fault.

And then he did something you didn't expect.

He kissed you.

It was searing, hot, tender, and full of passion.

You broke apart before he spoke again.

"Y/n please don't do this. I still love you, you still love me!" Jake pleaded with her.

"Jake, I'm supposed to get married tomorrow! I can't just call off the wedding because you came back into my life two week ago and threw my world off its axis!" You yell back at him

"But he doesn't love you! He is cheating on you! He hurt you!" He shouts back.

"You hurt me too Jacob." You say barely above a whisper.

He pauses for a moment thinking about his next words.

"I know. I know I hurt you. And it is the biggest mistake I have even made in life, and I will never forgive myself for it. But Y/n, baby, I promise if you give me another chance I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I would do anything for you." He says taking your face in his hands.

"Would you give up flying for me?" You ask knowing that's what drove you two apart all those years ago.

"Absolutely. I'd turn in my wings today if it meant I could keep you forever." Jake tells you without hesitating. You can see that he is being truthful by the look in his eyes.

You're shocked because you didn't really think he would say that.

"I—I, Jake" you don't know what to say.

"Let me see your hand." He says. You hold out your left hand to him. He slips your engagement ring off and places it on your other hand, then he slides his Navy ring onto you finger.

"Jake what are you doing?" You ask looking at him confused. "I can't keep this!" You say going to remove the ring.

He stops you. "There's only two ways I will take this back from you. Tomorrow I'm not coming to the wedding, I can't stand up there in a suit and tie and not be the one marrying you." He begins

"I'm leaving for the airport at 6:30 tomorrow afternoon. So, you can either send that ring back with Savanah before then and I will drive off into the sunset. But if you chose to do that, just know I won't be back." He says.

"Or, you can bring it back to me yourself and I swear on my life, I'll give you a diamond ring to replace it." He finishes.

You arent sure how to respond. There is a beat of silence before he kisses you again. This time you don't fight it. You both break apart when you need air.

"Jake." You state as he starts to leave the room.

"Y/n, last time I didn't give you a choice when I left, this time I am, and whatever you chose, make your choice because it's want you want." He tells you before leaving for the night.

The next day you are getting ready for the wedding. Everyone is buzzing around you and talking but you honestly don't hear them.

You look back over to your small clutch that had Jake's ring neatly tucked into it, hidden from everyone. You look back at Savannah wondering if she knows what he said last night.

It's almost time to put on your dress and head for the ranch. You look at the time... 5:00pm. Jake leaves in an hour and a half.

Suddenly you feel a deep ache in your stomach, the thought over never seeing him again makes you sick. Jake was right. You deserved more than Bryce, someone who would give up everything for you. Someone who loved you.

Like the sky after a rain storm everything suddenly became clear.

"I need everyone out! You shout at all the people in your room. "I just need a little time and space." You say. Everyone silently nods and leaves. You lock the door behind them.

You take a deep breath, knowing what you are about to do is crazy and will forever chance the course of your life. You quickly write down an explanation before shrugging your robe and grabbing some clothes from your suitcase.

You find your car keys and slip off the ring from Bryce, placing with the note. You grab Jake's Navy ring and slip it on your finger. It looks like it belongs there.

You check in the hallway to make sure no one is there before slipping out and heading to your car.

30 minutes after you left, your phone was blowing up, but you didn't care, just like Jake said, you made this choice for you.

And once your father and other brother heard the reason you left Bryce, let's just say it ended his campaign and the hope of him ever having a straight nose ever again.

You were racing against time now. Damn downtown traffic. You had to get to Jake before he left.

6:05 was the time on the clock when you checked it again, you were almost to the Seresin family ranch, you sped down the road praying you would make it in time and hoping he didn't leave early.

Jake looked at the time on his phone 6:25... he sighed thinking that you weren't coming.

At least he tried.

He climbed into the truck and cranked it. The engine roared to life. He shifted into reverse and as he looked back to check his mirror, he saw a cloud of dust coming up the drive.

"No way. No fucking way." He breathed out.

He jumped out of his truck just as you pulled in behind it sending gravel flying.

You hopped out and ran into his arms almost knocking him to the ground.

You wrapped your body around him and pulled his face down to yours. You kissed him with all the passion you had been holding back.

"Jake." You breathed out looking deep into his eyes.

"I can't believe you're here. Is this real?" He asked looking at you.

"You aren't dreaming fly boy, I'm real, I'm here." You assure him before he kisses you again.

"But... why?" He asks now looking confused.

"Because I never stopped loving you. And I deserve someone who loves me so much they would give up everything for me. I never forgave myself for not going after you last time. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice." You tell him as you hug him tightly.

"Baby, you don't know how happy this makes me. As soon as we get back to California I'm going to get you the biggest diamond ring and and turning in my wings. I made you that promise and i intendto keep it" Jake tells you.

"I don't want you to give up flying." You tell him.

"But you asked me if I would and I told you that I would if you came back to me." He says looking puzzled.

"Just knowing that you would is enough for me. And I know you love flying, I couldn't in good conscience ask you to hang it up... Hangman." You tease.

"And as far as a big diamond ring, I've had enough of those. This one will do for now." You say showing him his Navy ring on your hand.

He smiles the biggest smile you have ever seen, your heart could burst at how happy you are.

"Well darlin, if you've got your things, all that's left is to hop in the truck and go. What do you say?" He asks opening rhe passenger door. You grab your suitcase out of your car and he puts it in the truck, whatever you don't have your family can send you or you can buy. It doesn't matter as long as you are with Jake. You climb in, ready for this next adventure.

As he is about to drive away you pause. "Wait! I don't have a plane ticket!"

"Don't worry sweetheart, I already took care of that.' He says handing you two first class tickets to California.

"You already had the tickets? How did you know I was going to come back?" You ask him looking like the confused one now.

"I didn't, guess I was just hoping you would."

You both smile at each other before driving off into the sunset.

Tag List: @dreamingathighaltitude @shanimallina87 @luckyladycreator2 @meggiemoomitchell-deactivated20 @mak-32 @katieshook02 @samhapner6 @rosiahills22 @thedroneranger @roosterforme

[n3kk1tty]

Slasher Company AU

Head Retainer/ CEO : Niki Dreadwood

This is an AU in which all Horror Movie villains / Slashers exist and work for one company.

Niki became CEO of the company after working her way up. From the retainer of the killer clowns from outer space to a head retainer to eventually killing the old CEO to take his place after Heaven and Hell decided having a demon in a head position of a company filled with humans was not a good idea.

Niki understands what it's like to be worked to the bone for no pay. She may be in charge of a company whose whole purpose is killing but that doesn't mean she has to be a bad boss. Fair wages, health care, paid vacations, and a 24/7 health professionals at the ready is what she implemented as soon as she took over. If you don't want your position you're free to move around the company till you find a place that suits you. She is also the reason it's mandatory to know necromancy and healing magic if you are to work directly with the slashers.

The sigils on everyone's bodies bind their souls to their bodies so they can't die until they are removed. After selling your soul, joining the corporation and being sworn to eternal secrecy gets many benefits of the jobs while also dealing with the drawbacks. One big benefit is essentially being frozen in time. You can't die or age and you can choose to have your family members join this benefit.

Niki's powers of advanced healing and necromancy makes her a formidable apponent. Which makes her deadly enough to be able to boss many slashers around by just not giving in.

The problem with being a necromancer who's died over 1,000 times is that you tend to stop viewing death as a serious thing and it becomes more like sleeping than permanence. This causes Niki to stop viewing life as important as it's too easy to break and bring back. To stop herself from becoming too heartless she has a three strike police. She'll ask you to do something 3 times. The last time though she will kill you on the spot and revive you later when it's convenient for herself.

Her hat isn't just for show either. She pulls many things from her hat or summons things from it. When you've hit your third strike expect most likely a gun to be swiftly pulled on you and Niki never misses.

Niki's familiar Butterfingers (possum )is a stable constant in her life. Many slashers don't make good company and the woman prefers after work to unwind with zero responsibilities with her furry companion in their cottage in the woods. Only a select few even knows we're Niki stays and getting to it is no easy task. A three hour hike through thick mountain woods filled with many creatures and traps Niki has set.

So far the only people to ever be in her home is her most trusted work companions and Hannibal Lector and Will. The pair had been sent to retrieve their boss after she hadn't been to work in a 24 hour period. They feared the work aholic was passed out again in dire shape forgetting that bodies need food after they saw the woman stay up for three days straight.

Niki takes vacations or breaks but they always appear to be just more work. She goes on field missions occasionally to catch new slashers or tie up loose ends which seems to bring her tons of joy. When a new slasher is discovered and picked for the company it is not like the person has a choice in their joining. A red envelope will appear brought by a flock of crows and once open will drop a key and announce to the person that they have been chosen to be a part of the organization and that a packet with further details will arrive shortly.

If one decides to refuse the envelope or not follow the instructions personnel will show up in the days to come to physically kidnap the individual. Branding them with the company sigil and keeping them hostage till 'orientation' is complete and they are more cooperative.

These events are like vacations to Niki as she's not often in the field anymore. When Silent Hill was brought into the company the woman had a field day running around branding whatever creatures she could get her hands on. Esme and Delilah had to convince the poor girl to remember to eat and sleep. Niki during the whole ordeal had many encounters with Pyramid Head as she relentlessly persuad him.

The creature could have sworn he killed her over fifty times but every time he turned the corner there she was jabbing a branding iron at him till she succeeded. Then he spent the time chasing the 5'ft woman around the grounds as she quickly branded others. Niki was the main reason Silent Hill and its residents were conquered so quickly. Anyone who has seen Niki in the field knows she thrives in battles of blood. Healing herself no matter the damage inflicted each death seemed to excite the woman more as her height she used to dodge attacks and swiftly take her opponents out.

Sometimes Niki does training with slashers just to blow off steam and has to be reminded to stop killing and reviving her opponents too many times.

Over all Niki is a chaotic woman who lost touch with her humanity a long time ago. It doesn't mean her heart is gone it just means she doesn't understand the value of things anymore. Life, Money, and normalcy have been behind her for years. Driven solely by her wants to be better than her predecessor and keep her business functioning in an effective manner.

This AU is free for people to join in the discussion and make content for this world. Make Oc's, art, or ideas till your hearts content using #SlasherCo tag to keep all the content easy to follow on Tumblr. I'm excited to see what comes from this adventure.

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but I'm confused about the whole embodiment and their opposite deal. Like does Dream embody both dreams and reality or does Death embody both life and death and so on or is it more like an influence thing? Like dreams influencing reality but Dream not being an embodiment of reality. Sorry again if it sound like a stupid question but it just confuses me so much.

no questions are stupid questions! even if i don't always get round to answering everything i get sent (i try, but it's always a little reliant on whether my brain cooperates with me), i do want everyone to know i will never judge you or look down on you for asking questions, even if you think the answer's obvious

so, correct me if i'm wrong, but i think this is mostly about everything destruction says at the end of brief lives about the endless and their opposites? and maybe also how the fandom has taken it from there

as far as the in canon conversation about this goes, destruction doesn't use the word embody, he uses the word define. death defines life, destiny defines free will, destruction defines creation, dream defines reality, and so on.

to use the most bare bones metaphor for this, think of it like light and shadow. they exist where the other isn't. it's why it's such a popular metaphor for everything, because they are a zero sum equation. the more light, the less shadow, and vice versa

if you take a torch and you move it around, you're only moving the light source, that's all you have physical control over. but because it's a zero sum equation, you're also deciding where the shadow is. which is exactly how the endless work. death may not control where life is, but she controls where life isn't, which when you take a step back is kind of the same thing. when someone doesn't have a destiny, they have a choice. despair has just as much control over hope as dream does, because dreams can create it and despair can destroy it, as we see in three septembers and a january. some of the others are a bit more complicated to explain, or we don't actually know for sure what their opposite is, but that's the essence of how they define their opposite

as far as embodiment goes, the endless don't always embody their opposite? but they do sometimes, in a similar negative space kind of way, because (with the exception of delirium) they don't experience their own aspect

destiny has no path of his own, he lives in a realm of eternal choices. death will never die, and she deals with that by living to her fullest

you can take the opposite of desire two different ways, either hatred or indifference, but i'd say they've got a good helping of both

dream has no dreams of his own, he doesn't let himself - as far as he is concerned, he is the only being in the universe without a story (and yes he does fail to see the irony even when the reader of the comics are themselves a character in the comic), and god knows he's got no hopes for his future. not necessarily embodying reality, but he's certainly embodying the opposite of dreaming!

now, the reason i say he's not necessarily embodying reality, is because i think destruction was slightly wrong. i recommend reading this meta if you want me to break it down fully, because i can't really say it better here than i already did there

but to sum up - reality can mean a few different things. if we take reality to mean the waking world, the things that people experience when they're awake, then sure, dream only defines that because he controls dreams, and when people see the difference between dreams and the waking world, that's what makes them act to change it

but we also use reality to mean the truest state of something, a thing without lies or delusions or places to hide. and this is where a lot of confusion can lie - because that is dream's purview. you can't lie in a dream, or pretend to be something else. dreams are helpful because they show you your truest self, and then its up to you to decide what to do about that. its why he builds nightmares like the corinthian, to show people the parts of themselves they can't face, because only through facing the lies that scare you will you be able to get rid of them. and so in that sense, dream doesn't embody reality at all. he embodies lying to yourself. and as anyone who's read the comic is aware, he definitely definitely does

[kenny-the-ken]

Mad City

ALL AGED UP CHARACTERS!!! Hello guys!! Long time no see!! My writer's block has been literal fucking hell on earth lately, I'm slowly getting back at it though!! So here is the first instalment of my Gang AU!! I have been so excited to write this and I took my time cause I wanted it to be gooooood!! This is just the first part so I'll have the next part out soon guys!!

The streetlight flickered, the fresh snowfall glimmering under the dull, orange that came and went with each flicker of the lightbulb. The streets were quiet, the snow lay still, not a footprint in sight. Silence. Peace and serenity as the calm peace was broken by the deafening echo of three gunshots, coming in quick succession and followed by the silence once more.

The once white snow beneath Stan’s feet was now tainted a scarlet red, the body of the man that had crossed him now laying lifeless at his feet. “It's done.” Was all he muttered into the brick, burner phone in his hand, before hanging up, popping the back open and taking the battery out, followed by the sim card, which he snapped in half.

The drive back to base wasn't long, the streets of South Park belonged to those in a higher position, those whose names were spoken only in hushed tones, out of fear. They ran this city, and anyone who dared pose a threat, or think they could deal drugs on their turf, well let's just say, they'd end up like the guy left laying with three bullets in his head.

Car tyres screeched as Stan pulled to a stop, exiting his luxury black car, heading inside their base. And once inside Stan could hear the bellowing of an argument.

“What the fuck did you think was gonna happen, Eric? I mean, you trusted Leopold of all people with a large shipment of cocaine! Kenny's gonna flip!” It was Kyle, and even through his gritted teeth and obvious immense anger, he continued on with decoding. Kenny was planning a heist on the bank in town, and Kyle was their only hope of bypassing security and wiping the cameras clean so that they wouldn't be caught. The ginger hadn't been persuaded easily to join them, but it was simply money that he couldn't pass up.

“Well I'm sorry, Kyle, but I didn't see you having any better fuckin’ ideas!” Eric retorted. Their relationship dynamic was something that often confused Stan. He was sure that they'd hooked up before, but neither would ever admit it, both far too proud to be honest.

Stan and Eric were known as Kenny's bodyguards. They were often sent to kill or threaten those who opposed them, and even though Stan may be saying it himself, they did a pretty good job. Stan was emotionless, no empathy for those who dared to threaten not just his, but his friend’s lives. Eric on the other hand, well, Eric felt plenty of emotions, and none of them good, at least for the person who he was taking them out upon. He was ruthless, and everyone knew it, he wasn't someone who was easily pushed around, in fact he seemed to take great pleasure in the torment of others.

Kenny, now Kenny was a completely different story. The once muffled blond was nearly his younger self’s complete opposite. At only 23, Kenny had set up, trained, and equipped the gang with everything they could possibly need for power and control. Stan admired it, really. He wasn't seen much, he was always busy, calls, drug deals, cartel cooperation, gun smuggling, you name it, Kenny was in on it.

“No, you tell that mother fucker that if I don't get my shipment of drugs by tonight, then there's gonna be a fucking war, understand?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Kenny wasn't one to mess around. Coming from the background that he did, it was no surprise that he was ruthless. He was used to this way of life, his parents used to cook and sell meth for Christ's sake! This was all he'd ever known, and god damn was he good at it.

“Stan, Eric. I need you guys on standby tonight. Kyle, how's getting into the bank’s main systems going?” Kenny spoke with authority, he'd been doing this from he was a teen, he'd been drug dealing from he was sixteen, so this wasn't exactly a surprise to anyone that Kenny was running a pretty big, and successful gang in South Park, and they were expanding, and rapidly at that. Kyle shot Kenny a quick thumbs up, his other hand still absentmindedly typing on his keyboard.

“Stan, my office now please.” Kenny spoke with authority in his tone. Kenny wasn't stupid enough to do business where he lived, so he had bought an old garage in a shit part of the city, and ran his business from there. It was quite deceiving, larger on the inside than it looked on the outside, and besides, his philosophy always was, don't shit where you eat. He learnt that one the hard way with his parents. The base wasn't anything fancy, but it was discreet and well hidden, and that's what matters most, especially in this line of business.

Making his way towards his office, Kenny continued walking, Stan hot on his heels behind him, the ebony haired male knew how the blonde worked, he was blunt. Kenny didn't grow up with words that were in a thick coating of sugar, no, Kenny grew up around addicts, for a while he was an addict, but that trend always seems to break everytime he died, his secret weapon that only those closest to him knew about.

Sitting at his large oak desk, Kenny motioned for Stan to sit facing him. “Close the door, Marsh.” He nonchalantly added, before looking through some of the mass piles of paperwork that sat atop his desk, still carefully eyeing Stan as he sat directly facing him.

“So, you took care of him then?” The blond was never one to beat about the bush, to Ken, time was money, and any time wasted was money lost. “I doubt he'll be selling fentanyl on our streets again, considering I put three bullets in his skull.” Stan laughed, his demeanour relaxing. He knew Kenny would be pleased with his work, and now he could finally relax. Or so he thought, till Kenny passed him a file across the desk, motioning for him to open it.

Tolkien Black

Head of Organised Crime Unit

Jimmy Valmer

Head of Drugs and Money Laundry Intelligence

Timmy Burch

Head of Cyber Crime Intelligence

Bebe Stevens

Chief of Police

Attached were pictures of each member of the police, all of whom were in pretty high up places. Quirking a brow, Stan's crisp blue eyes met with Kenny’s icey blue’s, a smirk on his face. “It seems we have a few not so secret admirers. I'll be pairing you up with Cartman, Tucker and Donovan, I want eyes everywhere, you understand? These fuckers wanna shut us down.” The raven haired twenty four year old worried his lower lip between his teeth, mind racing as his eyes quickly scanned the pages of information Kenny had already collected on them.

“Do you want them dead?” Stan asked, his tone stern, and Kenny smirked in response, a twinkle in his eye. “If they can't be bought then, yes. The question is, Stan. Are you game enough?” Kenny always had been a tease in one way or another, Stan tutted, flipping the brown file closed before standing to his feet, placing out his hand to Kenny, which he took, their eyes locked in their own staring contest.

“Tell me, Ken. When am I not game?"