#this is the only way things could've happened given the evidence

[badgerhuan]

Mitsurugi took the bear and went to find Itonokogiri, and they investigated the origins of the bear together.

In Saraba, Gyakuten (Farewell, My Turnabout), Itonokogiri helps Naruhodou and Harumi figure out that Fujimino's hotel room had been planted with a spy camera. And then, he decided to help by investigating the origins of the camera, to see if they can figure out who bought it. It might take all night, but he's determined to do it, and promises Naruhodou that he'll have the answer by morning.

After he leaves the room, fired up about his new task, the following happens:

Harumi: But. Keiji-san, is such a nice person. Harumi: For Mayoi-sama's sake, pushing himself that hard... ???: ...though the way he's going about it is completely reckless. Naruhodou: (...that voice...!) Mitsurugi: Excuse me. ...I overheard you talking. Naruhodou: ...Mi-Mitsurugi...!

Mitsurugi appears, cutting in at just the right time to comment on Itonokogiri's behavior, with a smile on his face.

After he informs Naruhodou that a taskforce has been assemble to find Mayoi, Mitsurugi then goes to check on the bear, commenting that it's a rare, high-class brand that only a few gets imported to Japan. He checks the time, commenting that it's not too late. He then takes the bear from Naruhodou and leaves.

Naruhodou and Harumi leave as well, furthering their own investigation into Fujimino's murder. It's not until much later that Naruhodou suddenly gets a phonecall from Itonokogiri.

Itonokogiri: It's not good! Itonokogiri: I'll...I'll be back at the office soon! Naruhodou: Wh-what happened- Itonokogiri: Something unbelievable has happened! Itonokogiri: Mitsurugi-kenji was, uh... Naruhodou: (Mitsurugi...?) Itonokogiri: Anyway, hurry and come back! Itonokogiri: I, don't know what's what anymore! It's bad! It's finished! I am- Phone: ...beep... Naruhodou: ...huh, he got cut off.

Itonokogiri's call gets cut short in the middle of his panicked ramble. It's as if someone had hung up the phone for him before he could spiral too far. Also, he lets slip Mitsurugi's name before seemingly catching himself.

When Naruhodou and Harumi get back to the office, this is what Itonokogiri greets them with:

Itonokogiri: You're too late! Mitsurugi-kenji already left!

We know from the start of the phone call that when he made the call, he wasn't at the office yet, and there seemed to be someone else with him. And now, he's talking as if Naruhodou would've been able to also meet Mitsurugi if he had come back to to the office sooner. This would imply that up until Itonokogiri got back to the office, the person who had been with him the entire time is Mitsurugi.

And, most decisively, Itonokogiri is not only carrying the camera and transmitter he took from the hotel room, but also the bear and all the items related to its investigation. When Naruhodou asks him about the bear, he says:

Itonokogiri: I met with the clerk of the department store. Itonokogiri: This is the credit card receipt. Itonokogiri: ...38000 yen. That's exactly the cost of that bear. Naruhodou: ...receipt...? Itonokogiri: Of course, it's not just the receipt. I also got the clerk's testimony. Itonokogiri: "I'm sure I sold it to Outorou"...that's what they testified. Itonokogiri: On top of that, it seems that the clerk also got a signature. Itonokogiri: The one who bought the bear, is definitely Outorou!

Not only does Itonokogiri say that he met the clerk, he was also able to quote the clerk directly. This proves that he definitely has met the clerk in person.

After this, Itonokogiri gives Naruhodou back all three pieces of evidence he had on him: the camera, the transmitter....and, the bear, which he had somehow came in possession of.

In conclusion, what we can infer happened:

Mitsurugi overheard the entire conversation about the spy camera and the transmitter in the bear, and saw Itonokogiri rush out of the hotel room, razor focused on his new task: finding out who bought the camera.

Mitsurugi knew, instantly, that as much as Itonokogiri's determination was in the right place, that that search would be a fruitless one. So he went into the room, commented with a smile that Itonokogiri was being reckless, and immediately went to confirm that the bear was as rare as he thought it was.

Once he was sure, Mitsurugi hauled the giant ass bear with him, and went and found Itonokogiri, somehow. He could've left Itonokogiri running around the city looking into the camera all night...but he didn't. Instead, he looked for him, found him, and gave him the bear and told him to look into it, steering him in the right direction.

Together, they headed to the department store and found out who bought the bear. Upon learning the disturbing truth, Itonokogiri called Naruhodou in a panic, and before he could spiral too far, Mitsurugi intervened and hung up the phone for him.

Then, together, they made it back to Naruhodou Law Office, with the bear and the receipt. After making sure everything was in order, Mitsurugi left before Naruhodou came back.

Even when they're not working together anymore, even when Itonokogiri had been fired, even when Mitsurugi has no obligation to Itonokogiri anymore, they still went and found each other. Still worked together. They fall in step with each other so naturally. I doubt either one of them even thought twice about it.

bonus, when Mitsurugi says that looking into the camera would be fruitless, he says:

"The camera that the hasty keiji-kun took with him is no clue."

I need everyone who hasn't played the game in Japanese to understand, that Mitsurugi only ever uses "-kun" for people younger than him. And the only other person he's used the "occupation+kun" combination to refer to is Naruhodou, as bengoshi-kun, in the courtroom, whenever he thinks Naruhodou is being naive. This is the only time he's ever referred to Itonokogiri as such, and 1) at this point, Itonokogiri isn't a keiji anymore, and 2) he doesn't say this within Itonokogiri's earshot.

He's unable to stop thinking of Itonokogiri as a keiji (which is, in Japanese, very specifically a police detective), and he doesn't let Itonokogiri hear this half-affectionate nickname that he knows Itonokogiri would understand as an insult.

bonus 2, before Mitsurugi leaves the hotel room with the bear, Naruhodou stops him:

Naruhodou: Why...? What on earth are you planning! Mitsurugi: ............ Mitsurugi: I'm not interested in explaining myself to someone who can't understand.

He doesn't explain anything to Naruhodou, knowing he wouldn't understand. This would imply that whoever he does tell about the bear and what to do with it is someone he knows can understand him.

Itonokogiri has always been able to understand him.

And he personally saw to it that Itonokogiri is the one to figure this out and deliver Naruhodou the news.

[spencahreadreid]

His perfect girl.

SMUT. fem!reader, no Y/N, aftercare, fluff, spencers left hard, princess treatment, breast play(?) please tell me if these are wrong, I tried my best, leave asks and requests!!

You both had no idea movie night could lead to this, but here you are. The idea of letting Spencer Reid, your 'innocent' colleague touch you in more intimate ways rather than his usual hugs crossed your mind a lot. Something you'd only dreamt about, never thinking it would actually happen.

But, oh god.

You wouldn't swap this for anything.

His touch grows bold, slipping his fingers underneath the fabric of your underwear, slowly parting your wet folds. His touch is gentle, almost reverent, as he explores your core. He finds that spot, that magical spot that makes your hips buck against his hand. Desperate whines left your lips, you could've cum on the spot, just from that..

"Shhh, it's okay.." he tries to shush you, to soothe you, but all you can focus on is the way his middle finger is filling you in a way your own can't, reaching places you didn't know existed inside of you.

He takes your moans as encouragement. His thumb begins to put pressure on your clit, rubbing in firm circles, finger still deep in you. His other hand slides up to your breast, cupping it through your shirt. He squeezes gently, his thumb brushing over your nipple which (to his delight) stiffens under his touch.

His ring finger slips inside you, adding to the middle digit which had been almost effortlessly abusing your g spot. You gasp, your hips bucking to meet his hand. He finds a better pace, slowly pumping in and out of you, his thumb never stopping its motion on your swollen nub. He nuzzles your neck, letting his own hips shuffle on the couch, as if it would help his slowly hardening need.

Not too long after finding comfort in the crook of your shoulder, soft kisses and light suction, sometimes even his tongue could be felt on your neck. Open mouthed, wet, hot kisses all over your supple skin. More excuses to knit you a matching purple scarf when it's time for work next week, hiding hickeys he'd left through small comments.

"So good, doing so well. So-kiss-fucking -kiss-pretty."

When you clench around him after he had continuously mumbled out praises from those plump lips of his (not to mention the splotches of his own work on your neck), he's almost ecstatic when he makes you cum. The clear evidence of your release on his fingers, it's not long before his fingers had disappeared into his mouth. The once dripping digits coming out completely clean, but now he's left hard, and also with a DVD still aimlessly running.

That doesn't matter, only you do, he only cares about you

He carries you to the bedroom, cradling you in his arms. He lays you down gently on the bed, his eyes tracing over your body. Disappearing into the bathroom, he quickly returns with a warm washcloth, gently cleaning up the large patches of slick on your inner thighs.

He tosses the cloth aside and joins you in his bed, pulling you close. He strokes your hair, his touch careful and soothing. "You did so well, my beautiful girl.." he praises, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "I'm proud of you."

Already half gone, your eyes are half shut, the last thing you remember is him stroking loose strands of hair away from your face, smiling softly at you. Now, you finally understood the looks he'd given you, it wasn't just platonic, he'd been waiting for this the same way you had.

[riddlerosehearts]

thinking about how people who watch the emperor's new groove and somehow come out of it shipping pacha and kuzco, or thinking yzma only became evil when kuzco fired her and that she would've been a better ruler than him, are both so wrong in so many different ways and are also missing one of the things that i absolutely love about the movie. which is that, the way i see it, pacha and yzma are counterparts. as parental figures to kuzco.

like, just to get this out of the way first, yzma was a dismissive asshole to a peasant whose family was starving. and yeah, if kuzco had been in her place he definitely would've also done that, which... is why she would not be a better ruler than him. she'd just be the same because they're both horrible people in the exact same ways. her reaction to being fired is to plot murder, and as soon as his funeral is over she sets everyone to work on replacing paintings of kuzco with paintings of herself and covering the palace with imagery that makes it clear that it's all about her now. i'm not even sure why this is a discussion tbh.

and also, kuzco is literally a teenager. he's barely 18 years old. source: in the movie, yzma says at his funeral that kuzco was "taken from us so tragically on the very eve of his eighteenth birthday." she also claims in the movie to have "practically raised" him, to which kronk replies "yeah, you'd think he would've turned out better". and sure, she could be exaggerating, but what evidence do we have that she is? we learn absolutely nothing of his parents, who are never mentioned even once in the movie, or of anyone else who could've raised him, and she's his advisor who for some reason sees no problem with attending to royal duties in his place. most likely because she's his regent. also, i'm not exactly a fan of the sequel tv series "the emperor's new school" but it does have something that backs up my point: kuzco is revealed to be an orphan and just before his father went and got lost at sea, he asked yzma (who was also his advisor) to take care of kuzco if anything happened to him. so, yeah, the writers who worked on the series clearly thought that yzma genuinely did raise kuzco, and nothing in the movie contradicts this.

and i find the idea of her being his only parental figure for pretty much his whole childhood incredibly interesting because, and this also goes back into why she wouldn't be a better ruler than him--she mirrors him as a reflection of what would've become of him if he'd never met pacha. they're both incredibly arrogant, power-hungry, selfish, and cruel, with a tendency to blame their problems on everyone but themselves. yzma was even originally going to have her own reprise of kuzco's theme song "perfect world", which i really wish had been kept:

[ID: Lyrics that read:

I'Il be the sovereign queen of the nation And the chicest chick in creation I'm the cat with all the cream and ooh-la-la This deadly concentration Will put an end to my frustration Now this perfect world begins and ends with moi

What's my name? Yzma, Yzma, Yzma Yzma (what's my name?) Yzma, Yzma (What'd you say?) Yzma (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!) Yzma. End ID]

(this song can be fully heard in "the sweatbox", the documentary about the making of the movie, and is also on youtube btw)

anyway, i'm sure yzma would not exactly have been the most nurturing or hands-on guardian, especially given that she and kuzco don't exactly treat each other like family. but it makes a lot of sense to think that her behavior influened kuzco's throughout the years. and for the entire movie, she remains determined to kill him. when he tries to reason with her and admits that he should've been nicer, she says the same thing to him that he originally said when he fired her. she never grows or changes and in the end, she hurts the one person who was willing to stand by her (and even then, kronk had never fully been on board with her plan) and he ends up trying to crush her with a chandelier. kuzco on the other hand is able to realize the error of his ways, come to regret who he was in the past, and start taking steps toward being a better person. his theme song gets a reprise where it's changed from a song about one person being the center of the world to a Power Of Friendship song. why? because, as i've already mentioned, he has pacha.

pacha, who similarly to both yzma and kuzco is in a position of authority as the leader of the village but unlike either of them is gentle and humble. who isn't afraid to stand up to kuzco and be honest with him even though he's the emperor, who agrees to take him back to the palace but has no obligation to be so helpful, kind, and caring toward him--and just about every reason not to be--and still chooses to be anyway. pacha who is 45 years old (also stated in the sweatbox documentary) and can see that kuzco is practically still a kid, not a single day over 18, who has time to grow and change. pacha, who already has a wife and two kids with another on the way, but practically treats kuzco like one of his own. who acknowledges that if kuzco dies all his problems will be gone and then still worries about him and goes out of his way to rescue him after he wanders into the jungle. who sees kuzco shivering at night and covers him with his poncho, who carries him when he's genuinely too weak to keep walking, who refuses to give up on him even after repeatedly being betrayed by him because he believes there's good in everyone.

also, while yzma ends up repeating kuzco's harsh words of dismissal as she tells him of her plans to kill him, kuzco had previously repeated pacha's words that "nobody's that heartless" after he saved pacha's life. and as the movie progresses kuzco and pacha's relationship becomes more and more equal and is constantly contrasted by moments of yzma being cruel and unappreciative of kronk's kindness. a good example of this is how kronk is constantly being forced to carry yzma everywhere on his back while yzma literally walks all over him and steps on his hands when she gets down, whereas when pacha briefly carries kuzco after the latter collapses he tells him he'll have to walk the rest of the way later and kuzco doesn't even protest.

idk if i'm even explaining well what i'm trying to say here. but basically, if yzma actually raised kuzco and contributed to his current behavior, then she and pacha both are figures who guided him and helped him grow. only yzma helped him become the tyrant that he was at the start of the movie, who was selfish and callous and saw everyone else as beneath him. whereas pacha helped him see the value in being selfless and considerate of others. and in the end, yzma is stuck as a cat and nobody is concerned about her. kronk has found a new job that makes him genuinely happy, while kuzco has decided to build a hut on the hill next to pacha's and effectively joined his family. in the sweatbox documentary it's even mentioned that chicha and the kids were at risk of being removed from the film, but it was decided that they needed to be there because having just pacha as a single guy who lived alone wasn't interesting enough--kuzco needed to go from having basically an empty world where he had nobody to being able to come together with pacha's whole family. and i just think that's incredibly satisfying and beautiful. it also leads up to one of the few things i really do enjoy about the emperor's new school, which is the fact that during the show kuzco moves in with pacha and chicha and pretty explicitly thinks of them as basically his parents while he's like a son to them.

idk. i feel like my mind went in a million different directions while i was writing all this. but i guess i just think that for all of the praise the emperor's new groove gets for its comedy and for how hilarious yzma and kronk in particular are as a duo, the movie also has a lot of genuine heart that gets overlooked. kuzco's character growth and his unique dynamic with pacha is, for me, really what elevates the movie from just a funny movie that i like to one of my favorite disney movies. and i wish more people appreciated that aspect of it and saw it as a found family story in the same way that treasure planet, brother bear, and lilo and stitch are all found family stories.

[apocalypseornaw]

Close Call

Dean Winchester x Reader

Set in season 1 episode 12 "Faith"

When Dean's gravely injured on a hunt Sam calls you for help. With what seems like a ticking clock Dean makes some confessions but what happens when that clocks slows down?

Fluffy smut

You're not sure what you were expecting when Sam called you. Hell the younger Winchester hadn't exactly been thorough in his explanation, mixed in with the fact that you'd been freshly out of the shower when he called meant you'd barely gotten the bare minimum of it. That alone had been enough to make it feel like your heart would crumble. Dean, hurt, hospital.

"But people survive heart attacks all the time Sam" you were trying to wrap your head around what he was telling you but Dean only having a few weeks, a month at most? That wasn't feasible.

He nodded slowly "it was a massive heart attack. They said there was too much damage" you could see the tears brimming in his eyes and felt your stomach knot. "C'mere" you pulled him down into a hug and he practically buried his face in your neck "I can't lose him and you were the only person I knew who would come to us, who's always answered the phone for us both"

"It's gonna be ok. We'll figure something out. We'll hit the hunters network, make some calls. There's something out there that can help him and we will find it" you didn't know if you were trying to convince Sam or yourself. You stood there for a few seconds simply offering what comfort you could to him.

There were times you forgot you had two years on Sam in age, both of you were lifelong hunters having gotten dragged in at a young age. That's how you knew both boys. Sam was damn near a brother to you and as for Dean, he was the closest thing you had to a best friend.

After a moment Sam pulled back and you could see him take a deep breath and the resolve set in his eyes "I'm gonna head back to the hotel and get started on that list you texted me. Do you mind staying here with him?" He nodded towards the room the two of you were standing outside of. You hadn't went in yet but knew your heart would twist seeing Dean that weak. You nodded "Of course. Call me if you find anything" he kissed your forehead then turned to walk away.

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

You took a deep breath to steady your nerves before walking into the room. You could hear the stations flipping on the television before you made it past the curtain, Dean was laying in the bed. Between the grey hospital gown and how pale his skin was he looked closer to a ghoul than the bright eyed, smart mouthed hunter you knew and loved.

He smiled weakly when he spotted you "Finally they got the memo about the fact that I don't wanna die where the nurses aren't even hot" you rolled your eyes at his flirting but sat down on the foot of his bed, resting your hand on the leg closest to you "How the hell do you have a massive heart attack Winchester? If you missed me that bad you could've called. No need for dramatics"

He grinned "Wanted to make sure you dropped everything to come to me sweetheart" you shook your head, trying to hide the worry you knew would be evident on your face. He looked so damn weak, the damage done to him internally showing externally as well.

"Let me guess, John couldn't bother to answer a damn phone for Sam" you couldn't help the bite to your voice. For too long you'd been quiet about the way John treated both his sons but from about the time you turned twenty on at any given opportunity you told him. Dean shrugged "I don't know. I didn't ask him to call dad. I asked him to call you" "oh" your anger at John didn't really dissolve instantly because you knew the reason Dean had you called was because like Sam said himself you always answered.

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

"You need to get some rest" you urged Dean who shrugged "from what they said I'll be getting plenty of rest soon enough" your glare made him grin "I'm sorry sweetheart. I won't joke about it if you come up here and lay down with me. I know you drove all night to be here by now"

Wouldn't be the first time you and Dean had slept in the same area, especially since he started hunting without John. There'd been so many almost between you and him it hurt something deep inside of you to think about it. You loved this man with everything you had and to think about losing him to something as mundane as a heart attack? It didn't seem right.

You shrugged "I don't know Dean. Don't want the nurses to think I'm taking advantage of you in your vulnerable state" he nearly managed his signature smirk at your words before saying "if only I was so lucky then I could die a happy man. Now get your ass up here" he scooted over and patted the bed next to him.

You stood and walked up to the head of the bed, sliding in next to him being careful not to hit any monitor. You knew you were tense because your mind was working overdrive as was your heart but for some reason you thought Dean wouldn't notice, that proved to be wrong because he shifted to pull you further down the bed. "I'm weak,not dead. Not get comfortable and act like you want to be here. You need some rest too"

You knew what he was asking so you turned towards him, tucking your booted feet up onto the bed to lay your head over on his chest. His heartbeat sounded weakly under your ear but it was a familiar comfort. He hooked one arm around you "At least I get to hold you for a little while" you closed your eyes to ensure he wouldn't see any tears in them.

After a minute you'd hoped he'd fallen asleep but he spoke again "Remember that first hunt you ran across me and dad on after Sam left for Stanford?" You nodded "Yeah. I thought that vein on John's neck would burst when I told him it wasn't his fault he didn't know any better and maybe he didn't to read a lore book every now and then"

Dean's laughter shook you slightly "I've always loved that about you. You don't back down from him. You never have" you picked at the hospital gown Dean was wearing before saying "I hate how he treats you and Sam. You're the most important people in my life. I'll fight him tooth and nail"

His fingers found your hair, lightly playing with it "Will you watch out for Sammy? He's gonna need you?" You swallowed hard "I won't need to. Because you're not going anywhere Dean" he kissed the top of your head "Get some sleep sweetheart. I'm gonna try to"

Dean watched you sleep, even as nurses came in to check on him and he sent them out of the room with a glare. They'd told Sam he was dying, a few weeks tops. They could leave him the hell alone to hold his girl. His girl. When the hell had he started categorizing you as his girl?

Was it the fact that you knew the life? That you always backed him and Sam? That you were there when Sam left? You backed down John at every given chance, you always had his back. You were beautiful and sweet and badass. More than one night he'd shared a bed with you just sleeping and it was always the best sleep he'd ever gotten. The hunts you two worked together was a thing of beauty you knew the lore inside and out. If there was ever a chance for him to love someone and it to be a lasting love you were it.

He'd known it long before but laying in a hospital room, being told your time is limited kind of narrows things down for you. He loved you. He was in love with you. How the hell was it fair to tell you that just to leave you?

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

Your phone ringing jolted you out of sleep. You could hear a deep voice, Dean? Memories of the last few hours came flooding back and you sat up to see Dean talking on your phone. He held it out to you "It's Sammy" you took it from him and climbed out of the bed, stretching as you did so. "Hey Sam. What's up?"

-----------

Sam sounded excited from the sound of it so you decided to head to the hotel to see what he'd found out. When you told Dean you were leaving for a little while he looked disappointed until you pressed a quick kiss to his cheek "Please behave. I'll be back"

Sam had found a faith healer, from every contact it seemed legit. The problem? Dean would never agree to it? The solution? You would agree to tell Dean it was a specialist and leave it at that.

"So do you drive him in the impala or do I lure him into my car?" You asked Sam with a smirk about the time a knock at the hotel door made both of you turn around. You shared a look before Sam walked over to ease the door open. You started to reach for your gun but stopped when Dean's face came into view.

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

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked and he shrugged "I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot" then winked at you. You moved to help Dean into the room when he seemed unsteady on his feet.

The hoodie and jeans was better than the hospital gown but god he was still so pale. He smiled when you shifted one of his arms across your shoulders to support some of his weight "Just had to get close to me again, huh sweetheart?" You shook your head but helped him over to the bed to sit down then looked back at Sam "Why don't you go make sure both the cars are gassed up, grab some food for the road then we'll get going"

Dean looked from you to Sam so you explained "Sam found a specialist. Hopefully it'll be fruitful" he nodded "If you think it's worth trying" "we do" you and Sam answered in unison. Sam cut his eyes at you "I'll be back in about thirty, forty minutes then we can hit the road" you nodded and chucked him your keys "Thanks Sam"

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

After Sam left you stood there for a few minutes before letting out a breath. Dean was watching you carefully before he patted the bed next to him "Sit down sweetheart. You're wearing me out"

You sat down next to him, careful not to move him around too much. He moved back on the bed until his back was against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him.

"Do you think this specialist is gonna actually be able to help or are you saying that for Sammy's sake?" You let out a shaking breath "I'm not just saying it for Sam's sake. This specialist has got to help. I can't.. the world can't lose you"

Dean patted the bed next to him "come up here. Might as well get comfortable. We'll be here a little while until Sam gets back" you did as he asked, sitting right next to him on the bed. He lifted one arm and you curled up on his chest so he tucked his arm tightly around you. "Hey, wanna play a game?" You nodded.

"Two truths and a lie" he whispered and you laughed "ok" "I have green eyes, next to Sam you are the most important person in my life and my first solo hunt was at twenty" you felt your face warm "Dean your first solo hunt was at Seventeen" he kissed your forehead "I know"

"Ok, my turn?" You asked and he nodded before shifting to nuzzle into your neck and you had to bite back a groan. You'd always been close to Dean and so many times you two had almost had something happened but what was this? You let out a breath "My car is dark blue, my heart is crumbling in my chest at the thought of losing you and I hate roses"

He whispered against your skin "You love roses" before pressing a feather light kiss to your pulse point. You swallowed hard "Dean" "hmm?" You pushed his chest gently, just enough to put room between the two of you. He looked up at you through those thick eyelashes and your heart flipped "what are you doing?"

He pushed himself up, despite the grimace on his face. For the first time since you showed up you saw his facade slip, tears shining unshed in his eyes "I don't want to die. I don't want to leave Sam. I don't want to leave you. I've known you for years, I've been at your side for years. I've wasted time. I love you Sweetheart. There's never been anyone I feel about like how I feel about you and I know it's selfish of me to say this now but in case this specialist is a bust"

He leaned forward, catching your lips in a gentle kiss that made your heart flip. The two of you had kissed before, teenagers fueled by hormones then hunters fueled by adrenaline after a hunt, nothing had ever gone past a little heavy petting. Something or someone always caused the brakes to get hit but this kiss felt different, like he was trying to say make sure you'd remember him and it broke your heart.

He pushed your shoulders until your back was against the bed and he was on top of you, holding himself up on his forearms. He went from your lips down to your neck, kissing and nipping the sensitive flesh. Every little sound that fell from your lips seemed to spur him on until your senses caught up with you. "Dean...stop" the moment you said it he froze.

You shook your head. A day or two ago you would've given anything to be in this position with Dean but now? You couldn't..."Honey...as much as I want to believe you mean what you told me..as much as I want this...as much as I want you. You're dying, you're afraid. I'm not taking advantage" you swallowed hard before continuing "if this specialist works and we get you to the other side of this tell me how you feel" he pressed his head over on your chest before saying "I've loved you for years"

You ran your hands down his back soothingly, feeling your heart break all over again "Tell me that again when you're not dying" he raised his head to look at you, green eyes holding your gaze "Do you love me?" You blinked back tears "Ask me after we see that specialist. Ask me when you're not dying, please"

He nodded and pressed another quick kiss to your lips before moving back to simply lay next to you "I do love you" he repeated quietly so you nodded, feeling tears sting your eyes. "And I'll give you an answer when you're well"

You and Dean hadn't spoken much when Sam got back except for Dean to tease you by saying "Don't worry sweetheart, Sam's driving so you'll be able to keep up"

From what you could tell he wasn't upset that you hadn't answered his question and you knew better than to think Dean would ever be upset over you turning down any advances. You wanted him, fuck you wanted him but you couldn't have him. Not weak, not scared of dying. You wanted him at full strength with a life ahead of him.

You followed the tail lights of the impala and cranked your music up a little louder. You just needed to get Dean to this healer. It would work...it had to work.

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

You grabbed two hotel rooms in a nearby town because Sam figured it was a much better idea to have you in the car with him and Dean when you arrived to the revival where the healer was working.

You sat in the backseat of the impala as Sam pulled off onto the dirt road that lead to the field where tents were set up all around. "What kind of specialist is this?" Dean asked turning slightly in the seat to look back at you so you shrugged "One that can help you get your answer?"

A look of confusion went across Sam's face "answer to what?" "Never mind that. You two bought me to a faith healer" Dean pushed as the car came to a stop and Sam moved to help him out. Dean pushed away from him but took your hand. "Just give it a try please. For the two of us" you whispered, barely loud enough he could hear you over the crowd.

Dean looked from you to Sam. The woman he loved and his baby brother. He'd do anything for the two of you and if this is what you asked of him, well guess he'd give it a try. "Fine" your smile was reward in itself when you reached for Sam's hand and gave it a squeeze "This is gonna work" you assured the younger man before leading the way into the biggest tent.

Dean was healed, his heart was back in top shape you should be escatic and you were but so much had happened in the last few days with Reverend Roy, his wife Sue Ann practicing ancient blood magic to hold reapers hostage and make it appear as if Roy was working miracles and the guilt Dean was now carrying over Layla the woman you'd all met with the brain tumor you'd been forced to not let be healed well nothing had gone as planned.

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

Sam had asked you to stick around, Dean hadn't said much to you and you were starting to think he regretted his deathbed confession now that it wasn't that. The last case had been a simple haunting. With the three of you it had barely take a day so on a rarity for hunters the boys had taken your suggestion of a clean hotel off route sixty six for a couple days to recoup and rest until another hunt fell in your laps or until John pulled his head out of his ass to call them.

You hadn't been long wished the boys goodnight and headed to your room. No matter where the three of you ended up they always made sure to get you a room next to theirs. You were standing at the dresser next to the door, going through your duffle when you heard a knock at the door. You eyed the gun sitting next to you before Dean's voice drifted through the door "It's me sweetheart"

Here it was. The admission that everything he said was simply words of a dying man. You took a step towards the door and reached to unlock the locks then stepped back to let him walk in.

You barely glanced his way when he crossed the threshold "Hey Dean" your voice was nearly a whisper. He closed the door behind himself and you heard the locks click into place, it was a habit of all of yours at this point. You continued your digging through the duffle bag as a means to keep your hands busy and distract yourself from the oncoming heartbreak as if he hadn't hurt your heart enough over the last couple weeks.

"What are you looking for?" He asked after a moment, humor lightening his voice. You shrugged "something to sleep in. I need to shower so I was planning on a tshirt, panties and sports bra so if there was an emergency the jeans were a slip on and go thing" he hummed a response behind you before you felt him move and his arms slipped around your waist, his hands covering yours to stop the repetitive movements considering you'd picked up and put down the same shirt four times already.

"How about we talk first?" You nodded, pulling your hands away from his. He dropped his arms so you could turn to face him and an almost shy smile played at his lips "There she is" you nodded "Here I am"

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

He reached for your hand, turning so he could sit on the dresser next to your bag. Instead of releasing your hand, he used it to pull you to stand between his legs. You laid one hand on his shoulder, trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes on you "Y/N. What I did wasn't fair to you"

Your eyes flew to his face "What?" He shrugged "I sprung that on you. You drove all night to get to me and Sam and I spill my guts and put you on the spot for an answer? How big of an asshole do I have to be? We can forget it, if you want"

"And if I want to talk about it?" Your fingers moved to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. His eyes closed for a second before he nodded "We'll talk about it" "Do you actually love me?" You asked.

When his eyes opened the intensity in his gaze nearly made your knees go out from under you but luckily he chose that moment to slip both arms around your waist "Yes. I love you. I have for a long time but you don't have to feel like you owe me anything. We can stay friends.." his eyes flicked towards the bed before a smirk snuck onto his face "If you want more I wouldn't dream of telling you no but I'm not holding it against you for not feeling the same way. I've wanted to tell you and just had really shit timing"

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

"So you don't want your answer?" You asked before leaning over and letting your lips find his neck, teasing the spots that had his grip tightening on your hips "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious but I'm not pushing"

You kissed your way across his jaw before claiming his lips, trying to push how you felt for him into the kiss. When the need for air forced the two of you away you felt a small thrill at him chasing your lips for another kiss "Sweetheart, if you're teasing the shit out of me because of that time dad interrupted us when we almost.."

You cut him off by crashing your lips against his before muttering "Still want to punch him for that" you pulled him up off the dresser and he groaned into your mouth. You broke the kiss and smiled up at him "I'm not teasing you for every time we almost had sex getting interrupted, I promised you an answer..." you took a deep breath before continuing "I love you too Dean"

"You don't have to say that to have me Y/N" he whispered, his lips barely a breath away from yours. You smiled softly "I know but Dean think about it. You're my best friend. I can't even pinpoint when I fell in love with you because the transition just happened but it did. I love you"

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

His eyes searched your face for a moment and you could feel your heart thudding in your chest before you saw the realization finally strike him that you'd meant it. You loved him, you were in love with him and you wanted him. "C'mere" when his lips found yours again your hands went to his jacket, quickly shoving it off his shoulders as he started walking you backwards towards the bed.

When your the back of your knees hit the bed he followed you down onto it, lips never leaving yours until the need for air pushed you apart. You tugged at his shirt and he got the point, quickly pulling it over his head and tossing it across the room before finding your lips again.

Your hands smoothed up his chest, fingers tracing the familiar scars. Many of which you'd stitched up yourself. He moved from your lips down to your neck, kissing and biting the flesh there. When he hit your pulse point you let out a low moan of his name and he chuckled against your skin "Fuck I love that"

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

When you felt his hands slip under your shirt you lifted your back off the bed enough he could slip it off you without ripping it. Your bra followed quickly, leaving your top half bare to him. He started to lower his mouth to your breasts but you stopped him with a hand on his chest. He looked up at you with a question in his eyes and you smiled teasingly "This is the furthest we've ever gotten. Are you sure we won't get interrupted?"

The look that went through his eyes made your stomach flip before he said "I will shoot any son of a bitch that tries it sweetheart" you laughed and moved your hand to cup his jaw "Fuck i love you Dean" he grinned "I love you"

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

He pressed a kiss to your lips before continuing his path down your neck then making his way to your chest. He ducked his head to roll your nipple between his lips and your back arched off the bed into his chest. He continued to tease the nipple as you felt one of his hands teasing at the waistband of your jeans.

He glanced up at you for permission and you gave a short nod. He broke from your chest with a wet pop "No baby. I need words. I've waited too long" you smiled "Yes Dean" he grinned before helping you to shimmy your jeans off your legs.

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

He tossed them across the room and moved down the bed to position himself between your legs. He started at your left ankle then kissed up, taking special care to leave a few hickies on your inner thighs, just shy of where you desperately needed him before going to the right leg to give it the same treatment.

You were a quivering mess under him and he'd barely touched you yet. "Dean, please" "please what?" He asked with a smirk, rocking back on his heels to look up at you. You tried to glare at him but knew it fell weak. He winked at you before licking a tentative strip across your clit.

When you moaned his name he chuckled "Oh this is gonna be fun" then dove in like a man starved of his favorite meal finally being allowed to feast.

-----------

Your legs were shaking and Dean was working to pull yet another orgasm out of you even though he'd yet to even take his damn jeans off. When he added two fingers to brush across that spot deep inside of you, that warmth burst again and you came with a scream of his name.

You weakly shoved at his head "Please Dean, too much. Please" he left a final kiss against your clit before pulling back to look up at you "Enjoying yourself?" "Get your jeans off and get inside me please" you begged and he grinned broadly "now see? That's using your words sweetheart. That's a good girl"

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

He stood off the bed long enough to push his jeans and boxers off. You'd always known Dean was on the bigger side but you'd never known how big.

He was big. You hadn't realized you'd been staring at his cock until he wrapped one hand around the base of it "Like what you see?" You nodded "C'mere"

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

He grinned and crawled up your body, kissing every inch of skin he could reach along the way. When he finally reached your lips he captured your mouth in a passionate kiss, letting you taste yourself on him. You felt the head of his cock nudging at your opening so you spread your legs a little further, hooking them around his hips. He chuckled lightly "I got you baby" before slowly starting to push into you, a moan leaving you both at the feeling.

Once he was fully inside of you he stilled to give you time to adjust to him, kissing across your neck and chest. Once the pain of him stretching you gave way to pleasure you moved your hips to give him the go ahead. He gave a small roll of his hips and when your response was a gasp of his name that was all the assurance he needed.

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

He pulled out almost all the way before slamming back into you, pulling a moan from you at the feeling. He pulled back to look at your face for a moment "If you don't like anything tell me to stop" you nodded then remembered what he said about wanting words "I will" he smiled softly "Good girl" then caught your lips in a kiss so gentle it made your heart ache. "Gonna take care of you"

-----------

Every damn thrust was pushing you closer to that edge. You'd lost count how many times Dean had made you come. You knew he had to be close. His thrusts started to falter and you knew he was close. You started to lift your hips to meet his thrusts.

"Fuck, sweetheart. You feel so damn good baby. So damn good" you clenched at his words "Fuck Dean. I need to feel you come. Please baby"

"You first. One more time" he slipped one hand between your bodies, rubbing tight circles onto your clit. You felt that warmth rush over your body again and your vision went soft around the edges when you came. You felt his hips falter right before he asked "Can i come in you?" "Please" you moaned and he buried himself inside of you with a final deep thrust and you felt when he came, the feeling pushing another small orgasm out of you.

Dean pulled out of you gently, apologizing when you whimpered. He laid down next to you then pulled you over on his chest "catch your breath then we'll go shower" you raised your head to look at him "Probably gonna need help walking" you'd never seen him look more proud "I can do that" you shook your head then curled up on his chest.

His fingers were working through your hair as you both worked to get your breathing back to normal "So, are we doing this?" He asked and sounded so unsure. You chose not to face him when you asked "Why? Having second thoughts already?" He was quiet for a moment before saying "giving you an out" you pushed yourself up the bed to face him "Damn you Dean Winchester. I love you. There hadn't been an out for me for years. I've been your best friend for a long time before your cock was ever inside me or before you ever knew I loved you. I wasn't walking away before I damn sure am not walking away now"

He grinned slightly "even the possibility of dealing with my dad?" You shrugged "John Winchester doesn't scare me" he pulled you down and caught your lips in a quick kiss before saying "I love you" you smiled "I love you too. Now let's get some sleep because if Sam heard us he's gonna give us hell about it for days"

[red-dead-sakharine]

Tickles - Part 3

Raphael x Tav, RaphaelPOV, soft!raphael, gn!tav, fluff, hurt/comfort, body worship Haarlep and Korrilla have some screen time mood music

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 & 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

He didn't know how long he sat there, staring in the direction Tav had left in. Eventually he heard familiar steps next to him. Bare feet, with an audible sensual bounce to their pace.

"Don't." he warned.

"My, my, the sheets are so clean, did you even do anything with them?" he heard Haarlep's voice drone close to his right ear. He pushed the incubus away without even looking at them. Haarlep snickered. "Oh, it did not go the way you wanted, did it? Did Tav not let you have your way?" they teased. Raphael wrinkled his nose in annoyance - the incubus had no idea what they were talking about. Of course they'd think only of one thing that could happen in a bed. Admittedly, his mind would've went similar places before today. But what Tav had done was.... different. He could still remember their touch. Their gentle strokes. He ran a hand over his ribs, trying to capture the feeling. But it wasn't the same. He longed for more. He felt abandoned without their touch. Alone in hell. He never knew he needed this kind of... affection, but now he craved it like nothing else.

A hand snaked over his thighs, towards his still exposed crotch. He caught it and lifted it. "No." he told Haarlep, finally looking at the incubus next to him. His glare was murderous. He was not in the mood - ironically perhaps. He could have this anytime. That's what Haarlep was for. But he couldn't get what Tav had given him. He worried that he scared the mortal off for good. The thought of never experiencing their touch again filled him with dread.

Haarlep looked both surprised and confused, removing their hand and sitting back up from their prowling position. "What did happen in here? You're acting very strange."

Raphael scoffed and got up, pulling his pants back on as he did.

He wandered down to the pool, eyes set on a book near its edge. He picked it up and flipped the pages.

He knew this book, of course. Sometimes, when he got bored, he would flip to a random page and tell Haarlep to do whatever it said to mix things up. They had never bothered with the later chapters though. The 'post-encounter care' ones. He browsed through them, but didn't really find what he was looking for. It was all written in a way that strongly assumed there had been lots of action beforehand. Nothing really sounded like what his little mouse had done to him. He dropped the book with a loud thomp on a nearby table.

Raphael could feel Haarlep's curious eyes on him, before their voice intruded on his thoughts again, "Were you not interesting enough for your little mouse?" they taunted, "Did you just lie there and let them do all the work?" They laughed. Raphael shot them a murderous glare and the laughter seized, though a taunting smile remained. He frowned. He did just lie there, didn't he. But... that's what Tav wanted, right? They seemed happy to do what they did. Right? Should he have done something? Should he have... participated in some form? He didn't know. He didn't know what he could've possibly done with his face buried in the bed sheets and his mouse on top of him, caressing him. Doing all these wonderful things to him. What could he have possibly done in that moment? But Haarlep was right - Tav had done all the work. Was that right? Was that wrong? He didn't know.

He didn't know!

He roared in frustration and threw the nearest chair into the pool.

Haarlep took note and made themself scarce before they'd end up as an outlet for Raphael's violent frustration. Not the time to tease the master, evidently.

He kept thrashing in frustration. A wardrobe was incinerated, a table smashed in two. Another chair flew off the balcony. He tore through the bed; shreds of velvet flying through the room. A cushion was set on fire - burning feathers blew everywhere. He was frustrated with himself, angry at Tav for making him feel these feelings, angry at Haarlep for never preparing him for this kind of affection, angry at Hope, angry at Korrilla, angry at everyone and everything. Angry at the world. Angry at his father for whom he felt nothing but disdain. Angry at the hells. Angry at the heavens. Angry at this whole damn existence for making him the way he was.

Half a devil, neither here nor there. Better than his peers but not enough. Never enough. He had clawed himself far up the ladder, and yet - and yet - he could not escape his birth. His other half that had these disgusting mortal feelings and needs. That craved affection. Craved that softness Tav had shown him. He set the entire bed on fire, threw his bedside table into the flames for good measure. His angry screams echoed through the House of Hope, and everyone in earshot scurried away as best they could; knowing to stay out of his way for their own good.

Eventually he dropped to the floor amidst the destruction. Angry, frustrated, in pain, alone. Always alone. His mortal side wanted to cry. His devil one didn't allow it. So he screamed. And then he just sat there, doing nothing. Nothing.

The fires had burned out by the time Korrilla poked her head cautiously into the room. He still sat on the ground near the pool, surrounded by ashes. Like his heart. "Why were they even here?" he asked, not deigning the dwarf with a look. "They were looking for the little tiefling's contract." He narrowed his eyes, "Mol?" "Yes, that one." "Did they take it?" "No." He looked up at Korrilla, "No?" "No." she shrugged, "But they left something." He raised a brow at her. "The Archivist said they gave him this to give to you." she held up a small package, the unmistakable size and shape of a book, then dared to step closer to hand it to him.

He took the book and rotated it in his hands. It was wrapped in cheap brown paper. 'For protection, probably' he thought. His claws easily tore through the wrapping and he read the title on the cover, "A deep dive into the history of Cormyran poetry". His breath hitched and he gripped the book tighter. Why would they give him this? Not that he didn't understand the concept of a gift, no, he had just never received one. He sometimes called favors gifts when he handed them out, but that was not the same. And he had received offerings from clients and petitioners to sway him in their favor; but never a true gift. Given without purpose or hidden agenda. Just because.

"Should I... tell the Archivist to put it in the library?" Korrilla offered, trying to be helpful. "No." he pressed the book against his chest with one hand, while pushing himself to his feet with the other. Finally he had a look around, really seeing the destruction he had wrought. "Get the debtors to clean this place up." he ordered her and looked for his doublet. It had perished in the flames. No matter. He snapped his fingers an was well dressed once again. It was nice to have powers.

He headed for the exit. Visiting a few of his other clients would do him good; straighten his head. So that's what he did.

He kept the book on him the entire time.

Part 4

A day passed, and he felt like himself again. Suave and cunning and in control. He took a break, sitting outside one of Baldur's Gate's upper city taverns, drinking wine. Trying to go about his normal routine. He had just seen off a client here, who had signed a particularly satisfying contract, and he relished in his victory. Tav's book lay on the table in front of him. He hadn't even looked inside once, just carried it with him all day. He wasn't sure why.

Since he was taking a break anyway, he might as well have a casual read. Maybe the author was half decent. As he opened the first page, his eyes dropped to a hand-written note on the lower half:

From a tadpoled misadventurer, to an honest devil.

He stared at the words as if they were written in a language he did not understand. And maybe he didn't. Eventually he managed to tear himself away from the incomprehensible words and thumbed through the book. His brow furrowed in displeasure when he noticed a dog-ear on a page. Sacrilegious mistreatment of a book! He opened the page to get rid of the unsightly mark - and stopped. His eyes fell on the title on the earmarked page: "The cat and the mouse - dissection of an obscure lullaby" He frowned again and started reading the chapter, disagreeing with a lot of the interpretations the author had given. He scoffed, when he reached the end, and closed the book - leaving the earmark in place.

He stood up, finished the last gulp of his wine, and decided he would not so easily be defeated. He was Raphael, after all. Soon-to-be ruler of the nine hells! Whatever went wrong in the boudoir the other night, he would fix it. Tonight.

And so he went to prepare in his little retreat in the mortal world - the Devil's Den. He made sure his clothes were in order, and applied a fresh layer of perfume, combed his hair. When he was satisfied, he tucked the book away in a drawer of his desk - though before he left, he had one last look inside; read those befuddling words of a dedication again. Then he closed the book and the drawer and waited.

When night came and it was late enough for everyone to be asleep, Raphael sprung to action and teleported himself to the Elfsong Tavern. Right into the room, the tadpoled adventurers had rented. He heard a noise behind him and turned to see the dog, groggily looking at him, then alarmed. Before it could bark, Raphael used his magic to put it back to sleep. "Shhh," he whispered, and the dog went back to snoring soundly. Good.

He took a quick glance around the room to find his target. Everyone was asleep, well, almost everyone. The vampling looked up from his book, stared at Raphael for an appraising moment, smirked knowingly, pointed a finger towards one of the beds, then went back to reading.

Raphael looked where the spawn had pointed, and saw them. His little mouse, sound asleep. He prowled over to their bed and looked at them. Tav looked so peaceful and without worries. So calm. So soft. He noticed a book on the bedside table and read the title, "The Hells Unleashed". He knew the book - some semi-interesting read about the nine layers of Baator. Why would his mouse be reading this? He put the thought aside and focused back on his task. He had experienced what they had done to him the other night, it couldn't be that hard to copy those actions. Right? He looked them up and down, searching for a point of entry. Eventually he resorted to gently pulling their blanket off their torso and sliding a hand under their shirt. It couldn't possibly be that hard to emulate what his little mouse had done! He did his best, gently stroking their side, snaking his way upward.

Then everything happened at once. Tav's eyes popped open. There was a scream. They jumped back, hit their head on the bedpost. The dog woke up and started barking. Someone cast daylight. Everyone groaned, momentarily blinded. He froze. Tav moaned in pain. Something bit his leg. He growled and jumped up, kicking the owlbear cub aside. Astarion was laughing. The dog charged at him. Wyll plucked it off the ground mid-run, before it could jump on the fiend. Karlach rounded the corner, axe above her head and screaming bloody murder. He snapped and returned himself to the House of Hope.

This was the worst moment in all of history.

Raphael materialized in the entryway and just stood there, trying to make sense of what just happened. How in the hells did everything go sideways this badly? He blinked, confused, embarrassed, angry, frustrated, crestfallen. He was Raphael, future ruler of Baator! He had tied the threads of fate of countless mortals. Pulled the strings of many a plot, orchestrated such masterworks of mortal destinies... How could he fumble this badly in regards to his little mouse? What was wrong with him? Someone must have cursed him! Cursed him with some bad luck charm, or... or...

He remained there on the spot, mind reeling. Spinning his mental wheels. Not understanding. Not grasping what was going on, what made him so inept all of a sudden. Lost in thought, he did not know how much time passed as he stood there, thinking. Suddenly the portal to the entryway lit up. It finally pulled him out of his stupor. A moment later his little mouse appeared. Alone, and wearing their casual camp clothes.

He looked at them. They looked at him, giving him a smile. His mind was still swamped from what had happened, so it took him forever to say something. His mouse was faster.

"So that happened." they said, sounding casual, a hint of amusement in their voice. "You gave everyone quite the fright. Well, everyone except Astarion. It took him about five minutes to stop laughing." He kept staring at his mouse. How could he possibly start to explain that disaster? "What were you trying to do?" they sounded a little insecure, but apparently trusted him enough to come here alone and unarmed. 'Foolish', he thought. They were safe with him, of course, but not on the streets!

"I- " he tried to find the words, find his voice. He straightened up a little, got a grip, tried again, "I wanted to reciprocate, my dear. Was that not obvious?"

Tav laughed, "No. Not... not entirely." He frowned. They smiled. "You know, waking up to someone fondling you in your sleep is just a little bit creepy. You scared the living daylights out of me." Tav explained.

He frowned more, "That... wasn't my intention." he offered. It wasn't much. It was as if his mouse had an aura that prevented his brain from working, ever since they did those wonderful soft things to him. "I didn't mean to scare you. Not tonight, and... not the other night. I wanted you to stay. ...I didn't know how to convey it." he admitted.

Tav's demeanor changed a little, and they looked more at ease. "I was worried I had angered you." they explained. He shook his head, not comprehending, "But why?" They shrugged, a little lost, "You didn't say anything when I apologized for using Haarlep's body. And you were glaring and frowning at me. I took that as you not accepting the apology and being cross with me. And being on a devil's bad side is not where I wanted to be, so I figured it'd be better to leave, before you incinerate me." they admitted.

He shook his head and stepped towards them, "No, no, no, I wasn't cross with you! Well,... no. I wasn't. I was..." he paused. Should he admit it? He looked away, thinking. It took him a moment but he decided making himself vulnerable might be the only way to fix things. "I was frustrated with myself." He looked at Tav. Searched for judgement in their eyes, but there was none. They looked at him fondly, "Why?" "Because-" he took a deep breath. It wasn't easy to say this out loud. His inner monologue had been shut away tightly for a long time, but he felt it was necessary to share his thoughts with this one mortal, who has shown him so much affection. So much trust. He trusted them, too. "Because I enjoyed what you did to me. And I-- I didn't know what to do with it. And I," he paused, searching for words, "I hate that I enjoyed it so much. It is... soft. It's a weakness. This sort of thing has no place here in the hells." He stared at them, hoping they would understand. He could practically see the gears in their head turning, so he elaborated. "But I crave it nonetheless. I want ...more. I didn't want that moment to end. That's why I grabbed you when you tried to leave. I didn't mean to be harsh. I don't know how to..." his words failed him, so he just gestured at Tav, waving his arm up and down their form in a desperate hope they'd understand and fill in the blanks.

Tav needed a moment, but eventually they smiled at him and stepped closer. "Oh c'mon, you do know how to. You're the one who kept flirting with me, every time we met." He frowned, "That's different." "How so?" "It's talk. What you did was different. Nobody has ever..." he trailed off. It sounded ridiculous to admit it. He had lived for eons and never met anyone who'd treated him like this. Tav's expression changed to something almost sad, "Really?" He looked away and didn't answer. A pair of arms wrapped around his neck and he looked back at Tav. So close now. "First time for everything," they whispered in his ear, then kissed him on the cheek. He felt light as a feather all of a sudden, and wrapped his arms around his little mouse, pressing his face against the side of their head. Inhaling the smell of their hair. Why was this so wonderful?

"Do you want me to do it again?" a whisper in his ear. He took a breath; struggling internally if he should really surrender to this craving. He caved and nodded stiffly, his slight stubble scratching lightly against Tav's ear. His mouse chuckled warmly and pulled away from his embrace, only to take his hand, "Come!" they pulled him out of the entryway and towards the boudoir, grinning with pure delight. His heart got a little lighter with every step. They had seen him. Heard his thoughts and doubts, and didn't judge. Maybe having just one person to trust completely in this world, wasn't such a bad thing.

They came to a sudden stop. "What happened here?" Tav's voice was thick with concern. Ah. He looked around the boudoir. The ashes and fire damages had been cleaned up, but there was still a good chunk of furniture missing. The new bed was there - it was the most important piece, after all - and Haarlep stood over a collection of half-burnt books, looking them through and throwing whatever they deemed disposable over the balustrade of the nearby balcony. A chair was still floating in the pool.

He cleared his throat and used his best casual voice, "Like I said, I was frustrated." He could feel Tav look at him from the side. Haarlep looked up, their face lit up as they saw the mortal, "Ooohh, has the little mouse come for another round? Whatever did you do to him last time? I just need to know." "You never will," Raphael butt in, before Tav could say anything, "Now, out." Haarlep acquiesced and slithered out of the boudoir, winking at Tav in passing. The mortal looked a bit confused but eventually recovered and continued towards the bed, dragging Raphael along. "As long as this 'frustration' is never directed at me, we're good." they said, looking at him sternly. He returned the look, "Never." he assured them. They smiled, pulling him closer.

[mood music]

"Right then. Tell me," they leaned into him again and lowered their voice to a whisper, "where did you enjoy it most?" They pulled away a bit to look at him. He opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again and looked away, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

They ducked their head into his field of view, "Are you... embarrassed?" There was mischief in their voice. He glared at them. "The future ruler of the nine hells, embarrassed to say what he enjoys most." They chuckled, then leaned in again to whisper, "I'll find out eventually, so you might as well just tell me. It'll never leave this room." They looked at him again. His eyes flicked down, then back up to look at his mouse. He couldn't quite bring himself to say it; it was too embarrassing how much he melted under this mortal's touch. Tav searched his face for a while, until eventually a smirk crept on their features, "Ah!" they exclaimed, "I get it. The most embarrassing of places." and their hands glided down his sides, lifting up the lower part of his doublet, finding the brim of his pants. They looked at him as if to ask for permission. He just stared back, feeling his ears get hot. They smirked and slid their hands into the back of his pants. Warm fingers trailing over his butt, holding it lovingly.

He knew he was blushing violently, he could feel it. But he loved the touch of those soft hands on his rear. If he could shoot beams of adoration out of his eyes, he would do so right now. Tav's smile brightened. Maybe he was shooting adoration form his eyes. Maybe.

The hands wandered a bit, stroking his southern cheeks. Eventually they retreated back out of his pants, moving up to his doublet and starting to unbutton. This time, he had no patience and with a snap of his fingers his upper body was bare. The mouse chuckled. He left the pants on, but looked at Tav, and threw an inviting glance down. They smirked with delight and commanded, "Lay down." He complied. They crawled on top, lips meeting his. A moment of surprise, then he melted into it. He opened his mouth, greedily poking his tongue at the mouses lips to seek entry. They pulled back, kissed his forehead, "Slowly." they demanded. He exhaled in disappointment, but he complied. Another kiss, slow this time. Just kisses. Eventually a tongue at his lips, asking gently for entry. He acquiesced. Tav's tongue met his. He loved their taste. They explored his mouth, invited him to do the same. He did. Slowly. Slow was good. More time to savor everything. He began to understand. They gently sucked on it, and he moaned. He didn't care this time. Let the mouse hear how much he enjoyed what they did! He could feel them smile against his lips.

Eventually they broke the kiss, looked at him with such love and delight in their eyes, he wanted to drown in them. He grabbed their head - cautiously! He needed to be more careful. Not rough. Not like with Haarlep. Soft and gentle. Like handling a delicate flower. He ran his fingers through their hair, and they closed their eyes, clearly enjoying it. He felt proud. He made them feel good, this was his work! He let them go, and they moved on. Kissed his adam's apple. His breath hitched. A little lick followed. He clutched their shirt. A little suck. He clutched it tighter, gasping. He didn't know at this point, but it would leave a mark - something for him to admire in the mirror the next day. They moved on, kissing their way down his chest. Getting lost in the tuft of hair there. Running their face through it, dropping kisses along the way. He moaned. He didn't care to hold back. His hands rubbed Tav's sides clumsily. They didn't seem to mind his fumbling. Whenever they looked up at him, they smiled. He was elated.

They moved on downward. Kisses towards his bellybutton. Another lick. He shivered. Kisses down his happy trail. A finger pulling slightly on the hem of his pants, kissing the forbidden zone. He clutched the sheets. Hands ran up his arms, rubbing gentle circles over his muscles. A kiss on his biceps. He looked at his mouse - hoping his gaze conveyed what he felt. They looked up at him, smiling. Always smiling. Eyes shining. He knew no sight more wonderful.

They climbed back up, kissed his temple. Gently nudging his head sideways, "Turn around." He complied, his heart pounding with delighted anticipation. A tug on his pants, he lifted his body so they could come off. Kisses on his back - he fell back onto the bed. Kisses down his spine, hands on his flanks. He gripped the sheets again, knowing what would come. Looking forward to it. Hands on his butt, kisses just above, then trailing down each cheek. He moaned. The kisses morphed into licks. He shivered, burying his head in the bedding again. "What you do to me!" he mumbled into the cloth and heard a slight chuckle in response: "You have the most beautiful butt in Baator." He wanted to respond but another lick on his right butt cheek turned his brain off. Fingers gently ghosting over his thighs, outside, inside. His breath hitched. A kiss at the inside of his knee. Hands running down his lower leg, then up the other. A kiss on the other knee. Hands ghosting back up his thighs, over his hips. Another kiss, another lick on his butt. He whined into the bed. A gentle suck. He didn't know where up and down was anymore.

Hands and lips ghosting back up his body, kissing, licking their way towards his head. A kiss on each shoulder, a hand in his hair, a kiss on his neck, a nose gently nudging him to remove his face from the bedding before he suffocated. He complied. Another kiss on his temple. A kiss on his cheekbone. A kiss on his nose. He whined. It was bliss. He was being tormented with bliss! A head pressing into the sheets next to him to find his mouth. Gently making contact with his lips again. A body sinking down on top of his.

His hand found Tav's and he interlocked his fingers with theirs. The mouse's other hand still ran through his hair, soothingly stroking, caressing, combing through it. Their lips still together, kissing, gently touching. Eventually they rested their head next to his, lying on top of him, still a hand in his hair, the other still interlocked with his. He smiled at them, and they smiled back.

He could stay here forever.

'cause this was rapture.

👉 Part 5

[max-nico]

Happy whumptober everyone !! This is technically an installment to an old series I have on AO3 so here's that link, in case you want a little bit of context.

01. Race against the clock

Search party || panic attack || “if only we could hold on”

Sonic did not expect losing a kid to be this stressful. Especially when the place he lost him isn't very big. One bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a basement, and a garage. Honestly if you want to be a little more technical, the garage door stays locked at all times, so does the basement, and the second bathroom. That's even less places for a toddler to be able to hide, but somehow Sonic still can't find him.

Shadow can't either. He's begun looking in places that are physically impossible for the little fox to hide in, because if either hedgehog has learned anything; it's that toddlers are enigmas that can do anything if given enough time unsupervised. Not that Sonic was leaving the kit unsupervised. He would never. Don't ask for Shadows' two cents on this topic though, because he has a lot of evidence that shows otherwise.

“Alright.” Shadow huffs, slamming a couch cushion down. “Walk me through it again. What happened?”

“Well, the kid wanted something from me, but I couldn't understand what he was saying.” Sonic drawls.

“Right.”

“So, he stormed off, then he disappeared. I was in the kitchen when he walked away.”

“And there was absolutely no suspicious noises, shouting, or anything?”

“There was a big boom.” Sonic elaborates.

Shadow looks thoughtful for a second, a hand running through his well manicured quills. “Did you go investigate the boom?”

“‘Course not. There was no howling or crying so I figured he just got frustrated. He gets that storming off stuff from you, by the way.”

Shadow glares at Sonic's cheeky smile.

There's silence between them for a few moments as they think. There's truly not a lot of places the kid could've gone. The house is small, only really having the necessities and… various nicknacks. Nothing the kid can break or hurt himself with, obviously. They're both good enough at parenting to at least put away all the fragile stuff.

“Do you think he left?” Shadow says out of the blue, a slightly sick look on his face.

Sonic replies with a matching concerned expression. Miles has seen both of them storm out of the house multiple times. Shadow does it out of anger, and Sonic does it to irritate Shadow. It's a balanced relationship. Unfortunately, their very normal and healthy balance has put them in quite a predicament.

Miles is nothing if not a mimic. If one of the hedgehogs does something, he's immediately copying. Everything from words, to actions, to gestures. It's as endearing as it is annoying. Shadow's had to cut down on threats and Sonic's had to cut down on recklessness, but they've both come to terms with the fact that it's probably for the best that they drop those habits anyway. Now they just have another habit to drop, the habit in question being; leaving the house to influence some sort of rage, of course.

“Shit.” Sonic says.

- ฅ -

Miles is very angry, or was very angry. Now he really just wants to go home. The sun is going down and it's getting cold outside. He doesn't want to be outside when it's cold because… because it's cold. He hates being cold.

Sonic taught him what cold was sometime ago, well Tails has always known cold, he just didn't know what it was called until a few months ago. He taught him that the fridge-freezer is cold and the stove-oven is hot, and they are opposites, but they both can hurt when there's too much of either.

That's another word he was taught, ‘hurt’. Lots of things can hurt. After discovering how many things can make him hurt, Miles has begun to be afraid of a lot of things. Things he wasn't afraid of before living with Sonic and Shadow. They taught him ‘afraid’ and ‘scared’ and ‘fear’, and they taught him how to be those things too.

The sun is going down. He is afraid of the dark, and he is afraid of being cold. There is no Sonic to read to him before bed, and no Shadow to give him a blanket when he shivers. Miles is alone, and he thinks this is the scariest thing of all.

Still, he carries on, unsure of where he's going, determined to get home before nightfall. He's gotten turned around a million times by now in these woods. The house is surrounded by it. Everything looks the same, everything smells the same, everything feels the same. The trees are so so tall, and the brush is so thick it pulls on his fur. He can barely see over the huge bushes. He doesn't understand how anyone finds their way in here.

But then, there's a miracle. A path. The trees have been split down the middle, and the brush is burnt to a crisp, but there's a path. Miles isn't sure what he's going to do when he reaches the end of it, but it has to be better than ripping at plants and shivering in the cold.

He trips on to the thin line of clearing. The leaves under his knees burn patchy holes into his fur, making him hiss loudly. The worst part is he's still cold when he stands up, you would think burning yourself while being cold would make you warm, but no, it just makes you cold, and it makes you hurt.

Miles feels like his heart is stuck in his throat. He's felt like this before. He knows he has. The memory is blurry, buried deep in his subconscious, and the same thing that squeezes his heart tells him to leave it alone. Miles doesn't think he has a choice, he's still walking down this path, and he's afraid if he doesn't pay more attention the cold will get him.

The cold, or the dark, or the fire, or the aloneness.

He starts sprinting. He can't help it. He can't let the cold the fire dark solus it get him. He feels like his lungs are wringing themselves out in his chest, he can't get enough air in as he runs. What if it catches up to him? Miles can't stop. He can't. He can't. He can't.

Of course, Miles' body doesn't care about the dark creeping up on him. He collapses in a heap on the forest floor. The smoldering thicket beneath him puts more patchiness into his coat, but he just can't find the resolve to get up. He's suffocating, he can't focus on the heat. He just can't.

Miles isn't sure how long he lays there. Long enough for the moon to rise high in the sky at least. Time got weird when he crumbled. He blinked once, twice, then the sun was completely gone, and the light from the brush had been snuffed out. It left him shivering and alone on the charred floor.

The fox debates on getting up for a while. Doing what Shadow does by weighing the pros and cons. He gets tired of that quickly, and decides to lay there out of pure and utter exhaustion.

Miles dozes for a while. It's so cold. His nose is runny. He's hungry. It's dark. His body hurts. He's scared. Miles doesn't want to remember the last time he felt like this. He still doesn't think he has a choice.

His mind fumbles through fuzzy memories of labs, IVs, medical tables, white floors. The full picture is just barely out of reach, like he's dragging the anamnesis from his brain with a fraying rope. The longer he lays shivering the more he begins to remember. Obscured faces just barely begin to clear when something blue enters his vision.

The memory is gone, floating away from him like a heavy fog.

“Sonic!” Miles yips, pushing his dirty and burnt body off the floor. He smiles and tilts his head up, getting a long whiff of Sonic's naturally breezy scent.

Only, he finds it to be lacking. He smells ozone, heavy and metallic. It makes his nose wrinkle in disgust as he finally begins to focus on the thing in front of him. Blue, sharp, and robotic. He swallows as he realizes the machine in front of him is definitely not Sonic.

So what does he do now?

Alright. Barely proof read. Wrote in about an hour n a half.

When this is posted to AO3 (don't expect that to happen any time soon) this will be proofread, elongated, and maybe multi chapter, for your reading pleasure.

Feel free to hop into my askbox !! I am p bad at keeping up with asks but I try my best !

Whump prompt explanations

Race against the clock = make it home before nightfall

Search party is only Sonic and Shadow bc in the fics canon their friends don't know about Tails yet

Panic attack. Tails has one.

I honestly forgot about the quote. It will be used as a chapter title when I post this on AO3

I make no promises that I will participate in everyday of whumptober. By the gods am I giving it a shot tho

[kanansdume]

Okay, so I know that legends and Disney Canon keep making Han and Leia get married and have kids or whatever, but quite honestly it's just the most boring possible choice and clearly just done so they can get themselves a next gen Skywalker Saga, so I'm going to present my alternate future for Leia that doesn't actually contradict anything from Lucas's works.

Firstly, Leia becomes a Jedi. She's just as Force sensitive as Luke is, and would sort-of be the obvious first person for Luke to train. Leia is arguably more suited for being a Jedi than Luke is due to her training in discipline and emotional regulation from a very young age, so she's already sort-of there philosophically in a way Luke maybe was not in ANH or even ESB. Leia I think would have a little bit of an easier time adjusting to that lifestyle because, in some ways, she's already lived it. She's clearly perfectly capable of non-attachment and letting go given the way she handled Alderaan. She's coming into it pretty late, but there's ample evidence to show that Leia's sort-of been acting like a Jedi just without the lightsaber or Force training for most of her life.

Secondly, Leia was a politician, yes, but she was specifically the Princess and Senator for Alderaan, a planet that no longer exists to represent or lead. There are obviously a few Alderaanians still around out there who happened to not be on Alderaan when it blew up, but they're probably more likely to just settle on other planets as refugees and would then end up under someone else's leadership. I don't really see Leia attempting to create a new Alderaan that she can then represent in the New Republic. While it's possible she could end up more of a consultant or an aide of sorts, I'm putting forth that Leia would end up a political representative for the new Jedi Order. Luke has to go out and find more students, which means he doesn't really have time to be sitting in the Senate hashing out what the relationship is between the New Republic and the new Order. He's also just not really suited to that kind of work to begin with. But Leia could. Lack of representation in the Republic Senate is something that maybe could've been useful for the Prequel Jedi, and it would've be interesting to see the new Jedi Order have more of a political presence in the New Republic and I think it should've been Leia.

Thirdly, Leia never gets married to Han or has children. She's still in a RELATIONSHIP with Han, sure, she loves him and all, but Han is by nature something of a wandering soul and neither of them necessarily feels the need to make that sort of commitment in order to know how the other person feels about them. And neither of them really wants or needs biological children of their own. Han has the Falcon, and Leia will have the other Jedi. They're both still in love and the relationship is serious (it can even be exclusive if you want it to be), they just don't get married or have kids and this allows them each to explore their own paths without the obligations that come with things like marriage and kids. Leia never mentions anything in the OT about really desiring either of those things, so it's perfectly in character to just have her... never do either one in favor of focusing on helping Luke rebuild the Jedi and integrate the Order with the New Republic to help fortify and strengthen both groups.

Leia should be a Jedi and the only reason people keep refusing to do so is because they can't conceive of a more interesting future for her than marriage and kids and I find that really sad.

[dracox-serdriel]

OMitB Season 4 Theories

Spoilers for all episods of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 up to episode 6. (If you want to skip it, please strike the 'J' key to jump past this post.)

Sazz knew about another murder in the building (likely the "sensitive topic" she meant to discuss with Charles at the end of Season 3) and possibly also knew about the cameras hidden in Oliver's and Charle's apartments.

Obviously, someone else knew Sazz knew about the murder and that she planned to spill the beans to "the podcasters"

The spy cameras must've been placed sometime before the start of Season 4 (how else would the killer know that it was safe to enter Charles' apartment to get Sazz's body?)

My theory is that the cameras were somehow placed by Marshall Pope or someone helping him spy. (Mostly because of his stage direction -- he describes Oliver as "flitting around" -- not something that would be obvious actions given the OmitB trio are podcasters who rely way too much on hidden cameras -- so more sound than video.)

When did Dudenoff die?

In theory, he could've died before Tim Kono.

The Brother/Sisters said that Dudenoff cut off all contact with them three years ago. (To the best of my knowledge, they are the only ones who gave a firm time about when they last spoke to Dudenoff.)

The "old incinerator" is banned because it causees a very noticable power surger in the entire building whenever it's used. Andn, according to Oliver & Charles, that kind of power surge hasn't happened in a while (since the old incinerator was banned).

It's possible Dudenoff died three years ago. His body could've been stored in any number of secret corners of the Arconia - though my guess is that he was hidden in the bricked up walls that cut the West Tower off from the rest of the Arconia.

Dudenoff's death predating Tim Kono's has a number of thematic components/call backs:

In episode 1x01, Charles' opening monologue: "Here's a thing I don't get. People who worry about living in a big city because of all the crime. As any true crime aficionado will tell you, it's the boondocks you need to worry about. I mean, let's face it. Nobody ever discovered 19 bodies buried in the backyard of a 14-story apartment building."

In episode 2x03, Oliver says: "Bunny and I, we're lifers. She's probably gonna be buried in the Arconia. And on hot days, the whole building will be able to smell you."

It makes sense that the killer would want to burn the body after someone cotton onto Dudenoff being dead.

My theory right now is that Dudenoff wasn't murdered. The illegal sublets are all under his name; his death would nix the rent control entirely - so all of the Westies with illegal sublets have cause to cover up his death. So his death could've been accidental or natural, and plenty of people still had tons of reason to cover it up. Not to mention there's someone is cashing Dudenoff's checks on 125th street - that could be part of the cover up or it's just another reason to keep his death a secret.

It would be easy for Sazz or literally any outsider to see evidence of the coverup (and maybe even the body itself) and conclude - well of course this was a murder! Especially if they didn't know about the illegal sublet thing going on.

Missing Pieces

The student film, "The Desecration of Alice", almost certainly had another actor from Dudenoff's classes -- a woman, the person who played Alice. I'm guessing that this is Rudy's ex-girlfriend, Helga -- the one who abandoned Hammy Faye Baker (the pig) in the Dudenoff's studio apartment.

What's with the Ham Radios? Seems like a way someone keeps in contact while staying off the grid.

Who is cashing Dudenoff's social security checks? I have zero reason behind it, but I truly think it's Lester the Doorman. He's been doing it as a favor, cashing the checks, then dropping the cash off to someone, per Dudenoff's request. Again, zero reason for me to suspect this. Just thinking.

Or... is Dedenoff actually dead?

Dudenoff has allowed people to illegally sublet from him for decades. Would it be so wild for him to have allowed someone he cared about to use his health insurance coverage to replace a shoulder? That could easily explain how the serial number traced back to him -- without him actually being dead.

This would also explain the Ham Radios.

Who is the killer?

Not enough information about who is the killer/shooter of Sazz, but people I'm keeping an eye on:

Bev Melon - the producer

Marshal Pope - the writer

Helga

Ana - Inez and Alfonso's daughter

Rudy aka Christmas-all-the-time-guy - easily the most atheltic of the Westies, could almost certainly handle the ubertight window of he shooter + the cleaner

Scott Bakula - ok, not really, but why not? Super sus how he turned up in 4x01 and was like, "Ho-hum, TOTALLY not like Sazz, right?!"

Sazz's Agent - unnamed character, see next section

Why Sazz?

Sazz has a ton of connections - she's the reason Charles had friends when he worked on Brazzos. Most people at the stunt bar seemed to know her fairly well. She is clearly far more competent at keeping interpersonal connections (especially those critical for her job) than most of the other characters in OMit-B.

The relationship Sazz was keen on quitting (she gave more than she got) -- I know Charles thinks it was himself -- but I don't think so. I think the person Sazz was keen on quitting was actually her agent. This is a character we've only heard about in passing, with Sazz talking to them on the phone -- but it makes a lot more sense than it being Charles.

The Theory of Season 4

While there's no real limits to the question "Who has access to Charles and Oliver's apartments?" Because of all the secret passage ways and stuff... but my theory is that Sazz's agent is in complete cahoots with Bev Melon (the producer) and leverage Sazz to plan cameras in Oliver's and Charles' apartments, among other things, to help Marshal (the film writer) and Bev get a full jump on the OMit-B.

Oliver is 100% right to be surprised at how far along the project is when they go out ot California in 4x01. That didn't happen by accident. This production had a crapton of inside sources to draw from to get it to where it is.

If Sazz's agent used blackmail or even just basic power pressure to get Sazz to participate in this kind of spycraft, then I could easily see how Sazz would want to get out from under that thumb.

At least, that would explain why Sazz is suddenly pushing to retire, even though there was a recent reboot of Brazzos giving her plenty of work (even if the show is on hiatus ATM).

[antianakin]

I've complained before that some of the way Ahsoka is written in Rebels makes very little sense with the character we knew in TCW, in particular the fact that she's suddenly considered a really great spy when one of her primary characteristics in TCW is that she's bad at subtlety (which seems like a necessary trait for a spy).

But there was a chance to help explain it if anyone had ever explored how her experience during the Wrong Jedi arc had allowed her to learn from THOSE mistakes.

Ahsoka acts impatiently and impulsively and even almost arrogantly in the Wrong Jedi arc. She thinks she knows better than anybody else, she thinks she can solve this mystery when no one else can or will, and she FAILS. She doesn't discover anything useful that could clear her name or point her to the true culprit. All she ever does is make choices that make her look more and more guilty and then gets caught anyway and someone ELSE has to go find the evidence on her behalf (something that could've been done earlier had she not kept running off half-cocked and forcing everyone to chase HER instead). By the end of that arc, she's able to recognize (to some degree) that she fucked up. She says that since the Council couldn't trust her, she can't trust herself, either. She chooses to walk away to try to figure out where she went wrong.

These are flaws that have been given to Ahsoka since the START. Many of the earlier episodes that focused on Ahsoka's flaws focused on her impatience and arrogance and how she learned to overcome them when she started facing larger, very real consequences of her mistakes. She obviously does get better and does learn more patience and humility over the course of the show, but she's still young and has only been a padawan for a little over a YEAR by the time the Wrong Jedi arc happens (at MOST it's been two years, which is still a drop in the bucket in comparison to most apprenticeships for Jedi from what we can tell). It's entirely reasonable that she still struggles with these flaws and that it might cause a larger issue if the stakes are high enough sometimes and her emotions run out of control.

And I would've loved to see more of Ahsoka really acknowledging how she'd fucked up, how she'd put the Jedi into a corner, how she'd MADE herself seem untrustworthy, how she'd made it impossible for anyone to truly support her, how her OWN lack of trust had led to her own demise. If she had been less impulsive and not run away, if she'd been less arrogant in thinking she could do this on her own, if she'd been more patient and trusted that the Jedi would find a solution, maybe she never would've ended up in that court room at all, maybe she never would've even been expelled from the Jedi Order in the first place.

And THAT'S what I could see leading to Ahsoka finally learning things like subtlety. If Ahsoka learns humility and patience after that experience, if she realized just how bad the consequences were when she DIDN'T learn that lesson and worked hard to apply it to her choices later, I could see her becoming better at things like spywork.

But unfortunately, her behavior in TCW season 7 just shows she's almost less subtle than ever, and certainly more arrogant and impatient than she was even by season 4 and 5. She's gotten WORSE since that arc, not better. And then we never really see anything between THAT behavior, the bratty teenager, and the wiser spy she's become by Rebels, which just makes the whole thing even more unbelievable.

So yes, sure, time passes in which Ahsoka COULD have learned the skills necessary to be a better spy, but the actual narrative we have for her shows that she DOESN'T learn those skills and in fact leans more into the flaws that would make her a WORSE spy.

[iveriee]

Hello 👋. I have never done a request before but I really love your Yandere! Tom riddle one so much. Can I request a Yandere!Draco with childhood bestfriend trope,please? It would be so nice if Draco and reader have big height difference. English is also not my first language so forgive me for any mistakes. Thank you ❤.

★;ANSWER: Of course! I apologise if this fic is disappointing, I tend to criticize myself quite alot more while writing for other characters.

★;CATEGORY: A yandere x Reader.

★;PAIRING: Yan!Draco Malfoy x Gn!Reader

★;SUMMARY: In which.. you reunite with him after being victorious in evading him for years.

★;PS: This fic contains mentions of obsessive behaviour, stalking,perversion, and delusional thoughts. In no way do i encourage such crimes in reality, This is only for entertainment purposes. The quality of this fic may be a bit more low than usual as i have been dealing with quite alot of personal issues. Never i have ever written for Draco before and so i must warn you that this may be a bit OOC.

Reunions. A word engraved with joy—visualized with the imagery of heartening, friendly affection by both the Wizarding World and Muggles.. However, in your vision, it was, perhaps, the utmost vicious thing you could've heard. In an instants notice, the past years you had spent at Hogwarts seemed like a distant haven—plunged by the gratifying tsunami that was Draco Malfoy and smothered by the sizzling volcano that was Time.

To evade and ignore him ever since that day was, perhaps, indeed the most orderly choice you had made. No longer were you two mere innocent friends and to get him to comprehend that you did not reciprocate his tendencies was an utter lost cause—And so you cast your gaze away, paid no heed to his words and formed healthy friendships. Yet the perversion of his gaze stained you like a persisting poltergeist.

And so here we were. The beginning was a mere, regular day of ignoring Draco at the Great Hall during Breakfast. It had transfigured into a sort of routine, done with persistence everyday. Even more so, he had perhaps quitted attempting to rekindle the friendship, the evidence of your cause being that he would no longer try and speak to you or gaze at you from the Slytherin Table, neither would he attempt to seem good in your vision. It was utterly foolish of him to even try doing so as you knew that he was an obnoxious, racist, spoiled,bullying assh—You had a revision test to study for, the thought reached your mind(as you were the one to force it on, though, of course, you would never admit so).

The conclusion that he had given up, was, of course, an illusion you had conjured up for reassurance and so was proved. In what way? The climax of Breakfast had birthed a cramped crowd of students, which was not so pleasant, now was it? Henceforth, you had resorted to sprinting out of the Great Hall earlier. If you had perhaps known what would happen, you'd oblige to suffering in that crowd. What occured is truly an obvious act that needs no introduction.

Times had transformed and Draco towered over you. It seemed quite foreign even so. Perhaps—you could just speak to him and conclude this delusion of a situation. "It would be very nice if you didn't interrupt my attempts to go to Class, Malfoy." You stated firmly, angling your gaze away.

"And It would have been very nice if you didn't ignore and reject me, [Last Name]" Draco answered. (or perhaps snickered, more accurately) His gaze plunged on you, fixating on...unspeakable places for quite a while...(as proved by his smile) Resulting in on you attempting very hard to defeat the urge to punch him. "Maybe if you said yes, we wouldn't have to be in this situation." He added hastily.

"I don't remember asking you for advice, Malfoy." You spat firmly in answer. "I've attempted quite alot to tell you that i do not fancy you. But of course...you're a fucking jerk after all, what did I expect? Don't think that I'm not aware of your stalking." You asserted, tilting closer to him (something you'd regret quite much).

His eyes broadened, emitting an almost evil smirk from you.

Oh, how that would reverse...

To your utter dismay, your domination over him had, of course, concluded in mere seconds, His hands proceeded to your shoulders, resulting in you flinching. "Drop the act [Name], i know you like me...." He stated, gazing at you. Perhaps this boy was utterly and completely delusional. And indeed, he was. He spoke once more, forming a frown on your lips. After all, now he'd be having what he longed for quite a while. "But i guess for now, We should have a proper reunion."

[sinner-sunflower]

P.2 HH Lucifer-centric AU 4/?

STORY 1, PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8, PART 9, PART 10, PART 11, PART 12, PART 13, PART 14, PART 14.5, PART 15, PART 16, PART 17, PART 18, PART 19, PART 20, PART 21, PART 22, PART 23, PART 24, PART 25, PART 26

More on the siblings' program.

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

Lucifer stifled a chuckle as he observed his brother's expression. If only Michael knew that Lucifer had already been informed of his impending demise. He's more shocked that Heaven might be the cause of his death.

Heaven's really keen on killing him, huh.

Lucifer: I'm immortal! You're being ridiculous.

Michael: And you're being a fool! These threads just made a divine move. This had never happened before!

Lucifer: Then why tell me, huh?! Last I checked, you and Heaven could barely give a rat's ass about whether or not I'm still alive.

Michael: Because believe it or not, I do still care about you! You're my little brother, Samael!

Lucifer: I said my name is L̴͎̭̥͎͊̀u̷̧̨̟̻͓͗̍c̷̢̪̱̄̀̊̎̀͝ì̷̘͚̰̖̦̱f̴̻̮̲̮͈͈͑̓̃̃̊e̸̫̒͑͒͊͗͆r̸̨̤̀̂̚͝ͅͅ!

Sue him if he couldn't control the fiery words that erupted from his mouth. Michael always had a knack for provoking him, intentionally or not.

Lucifer: And you have a funny way of showing it. Did you know that the Fall almost killed us?! Lily and I had to lay there, surrounded by darkness, bodies so burnt we couldn't move for weeks.

Despite the looming threat posed by the King of Hell, Michael refuses to back down. Instead, he straightens his posture and closes the distance between them, showing the unwavering protector of Heaven that he is.

Michael: You don't understand! I- it was such a hard decision! It was the best option! I'm Heaven's protector and-

Lucifer: You were my protector too!

The Archangel was taken aback, a rare moment of vulnerability revealing itself in his features. Lucifer, observing this reaction, knows he has struck a chord. Despite Michael's claims of caring for his family, it's evident that Heaven had, and always has been his top priority.

Michael thinks about a lot of things too. Like how everything would've turned out different if he was never given this duty- this purpose.

Michael: They were going to kill you.

Lucifer couldn't remember the last time he had heard his brother speak to him with such softness.

Michael: Your original punishment was death. They wanted you killed. By my blade. We begged them to reconsider. You should've seen it-

The warrior of Heaven laughs wetly.

Michael: -the Archangels of Heaven, on their knees in front of people other than our Lord. It took so many meetings for them to relent. That's why you and Lilith spent a long time held in the Garden.

Lucifer: Shut up.

Michael: So, I'm really sorry that we let you down.

Lucifer: Shut up, Michael.

His brother once again composed himself, his gaze turning cold as it met Lucifer's.

Michael: But if I had the chance to go back, I would do it all over again.

Of course. Heaven always comes first.

Lucifer: You should've killed me when you had the chance. And now you think you can beat me at my own game?

He attempts to crush the thread still held in his hand, its glow resembling the purest gold. It seems to almost be trying to talk to him, to reason with him like Michael every time they meet. But it all sounds like mockery to his ears.

He hates it.

Lucifer lets out a manic laugh.

Lucifer: Divine move? Divine move? You think you have any moves at all?!

He begins to yell at the threads.

Lucifer: Maybe then, Heaven could've killed that weak, naive angel. But me? ME?! Ì̶̢̤̉'̵͙͕͑M̷̱͋̀ ̵̬͌T̴̥͠͝H̸̫́̑E̶̳̠̐̎ ̴̠̣̎̐D̷̼̕E̵̢̳͆V̶̳̩̉̋Ì̶̬L̴̥̗̾ ̴̮͝F̸̝̓̀Ų̸̠͗̑C̵͚͗K̷̺̚̚I̵̠̋̕Ň̸͎͈G̵̘̔ ̵̤͛I̸̩͐N̷̥̰̋C̸͓̒̍A̴̙̓R̵͍͛N̴̤͎͠A̵͇̟̓Ṯ̴̯͊Ḙ̴͑̇,̴̰͆̑ ̵̤́ͅÝ̴̙̫̈́O̵͚͐͒U̵̙͂ ̷̱̆͜͝Ċ̸͍̌Á̷̰́N̸͉̈'̶͇̎͂T̵̠̒ ̶͖́K̶̛̲̮̆I̸͎̘͐̃L̴̟̙̔̿L̴̜̾͊ ̶̱̥̌M̵̳̕E̵͈̯͋́!

Lucifer's disguise falters, his emotions resonating through his disguise as his golden hair reverts back to the darkness Roo had cursed him with.

The threads began humming. Were they afraid of them? Of him? That's funny, Fate itself, afraid of him? He wonders if even Death would tremble in his presence.

Michael splutters in disbelief at the sight of Lucifer's transformed appearance.

Michael: Lucifer—what? Why do you look like that? What did you-

The younger doesn't grace his brother with an answer or allow him to finish. Instead, he summons Keekee once more and swiftly opens a portal back to Hell.

Lucifer: Don't worry, Mika. I won't die that easily because I'll be there to watch Heaven fall.

Nothing matters. Not his brother's shouts of concern, not the short thread, not Roo's cryptic words. What matters is Charlie and her future.

He'll defy Fate if he has to.

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

Michael slumps on a chair in exhaustion after Lucifer left. He fears for the worst of Heaven and his brother's fates.

He grabs an orb from his pocket dimension and starts to recite and incantation to call his siblings. He knows he should tell the others, to discuss The Fates, Heaven, and Sa-Lucifer. Lucifer who is clearly hiding something.

But he hesitates.

'Knowing them, they would go down to Hell to confront Lucifer and it might just make things worse with their little brother than it already is. '

Before he could make a decision, there's a loud crash from beyond the door.

Michael: Hello?

He vaguely hears shushing on the other side and a bit of arguing. Slowly, he approaches the door. He grabs the knob and swings it open swiftly.

Michael: Gabriel, I told you not to-

Michael stops in surprise as he stares at his eavesdroppers. One lets out a squeak while the other saluted him.

'A young Seraph and a winner?'

Emily: Archangel Michael! We-uh- we can explain!

Sir Pentious: Your Heavenly Grace!

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

A Shameless and Teen Wolf reference??

I miss season 3b. Nogitsune Stiles was the best villain to come out of that show.

Edited some stuff! Moved a few dialogues

[cocogum]

Count Harebourg is alive. Here’s why.

Believe me, this claim sounds laughable, but trust me on this.

Harebourg, the count of Frigost, the xelor demigod, Xelor's son, the crazy narcissistic punk from the Ogrest manga, and a complete weirdo stalking a 13-year-old royal in her adventures, is alive.

Many people would understandably believe that he was gone for good when the eliabomb completely destroyed Oropo's pocket dimension.

But what if he was never there to begin with? What if he wasn't there with Oropo and Echo during that time?

Before I explain my theory, though, I'd like to show you some very odd proof that our lovable, crazed demigod xelor is alive in the sequel of the Wakfu mmorpg. Which would be Waven.

Thanks to Waven, we learned that the world now divided itself into four clans:

The Order Clan

The Nature Clan

The Science Clan

The Trade Clan

Each twelvian has a purpose to fill, contribute, and is a member of one of those four clans.

So far, the only people who you get to receive quests from those clans are the following: Dally, Eva, Ruel, Alibert, Arpagone, Coqueline, Ogrest, Otomai, Dathura, Goultard, Kali, Black Bump, Joris, Jerubim, Atcham, Moumoune, Sipho, Maskemane, Justice Knight, Renata, Miranda, Kabrok, and Yrehn.

That makes 23 canon people in total who survived the great wave. We know that those are canonical survivals because some of those quests contain little pieces of lore and information that already hint at some things that happened during the beginning of the Waven era.

Things like the fact that Coqueline has become Sipho's new master now that Echo is no longer alive. Not only that, but Sipho and Kali, residents of Coqueline's animal sanctuary island, now listen to and obey her for anything.

We can also see that Kali and Sipho joined the Nature Clan with Coqueline. Unlike Coqueline, however, they have no reason to be in a clan that doesn't correspond to their ideals and passions, yet they joined it to stay with her and follow her orders.

Joris became the king of Bonta and joined the Science Clan.

Kerubim, as always, manages his bazaar store and yet surprisingly joined the Science Clan instead of the Trade Clan.

As for Atcham, he joined the Trade Clan, most likely just so he could find a good excuse to beat the shit out of anyone who'd give him fake goods.

Meanwhile, you have Kabrok and Miranda, who never stopped their selling tactics and joined the Trade Clan together. (I wonder what happened to their daughter, though, since we don't see her in their shop. There's literally no sign of her anywhere, but let's not jump to conclusions yet.)

And then, we have Yrehn, who some may know her from the upcoming Bestiale show. She'll be playing a major role in it as the main character soon.

So her being a part of Waven by making her first appearance in this way is huge proof that the people giving you quests in Waven ARE, IN FACT, alive and well in this new era.

Now that we have enough evidence that the quest-givers are canon to Waven, this only begs one question.

If Harebourg is dead, why is he in Waven?

Not only is he here, but he is also a quest-giver and has joined one of the four cardinal clans in the world. Even his choice for joining the Science Clan makes sense, given his mindset and xelor nature.

Of all the people the Waven team could've given the responsibility to give quests to, they chose the one with the least reasons to be there. Literally, if you take a look at all the other characters that give you quests so far, they all pretty much have legitimate reasons to have survived the great wave: Joris became king of Bonta, Atcham and Kerubim were with Joris because they always tag along with him, Miranda and Kabrok survived because you can buy things from their island shop in Waven, Yrehn is alive because she's the next main character in the upcoming show Bestiale that happens during Waven, Kali and Sipho are alive because you can tell by their dialogues when they give you quests that they joined Coqueline in the Nature clan which also confirms Coqueline is alive. Dally, Eva, Goultard, Ruel, and Alibert are alive because you can participate in missions with Dally, Eva, and Goultard in Waven's story mode. You can see Ruel at Astrub, and Alibert has real dialogues when he gives you quests about how he still works at his inn, which means Yugo's home also survived. Maskemane is here because the last time we saw him was in the Ecaflip Dimension, so he somehow succeeded in coming back and missing the great wave. Ogrest and Otomai are also here because you can see them in Waven's story mode. Arpagone and Moumoune are enutrofs and well...well they're enutrofs they somehow survived the Dofus era and the Wakfu one so it wouldn't be surprising if they're still here. Dathura and Black Bump are demigods and have gone to their own corners, Renata may not have explainable reasons why he's here, but I believe that since there are still sadidas in Waven, so can Renata be there. As for Justice Knight, it would simply be too weird for him not to have survived the great wave.

So again, why is Harebourg here?

All the other quest-givers not only have canon dialogues on what they could be doing in Waven, but they also have genuine reasons to have survived the great wave.

Harebourg doesn't have either of these.

(He doesn't have canon dialogues because all of his quests are about experimentations and nothing about himself)

Unless something did happen in Season 3, and we didn't see it.

Hear me out. I have a theory that could solve all of this.

It took me a couple of months to think about it, but I FULLY believe that even though his place in Waven is off-putting, THERE IS ACTUALLY A REASON WHY HE'S HERE.

This is where we come to my theory:

Harebourg’s ice magic should have been able to get destroyed during Pin’s birth back in Season 3.

When you’ve got a copy paste version of a DEMIGOD (Oropo) telling a DRAGON (Adamaï) that Pin’s birth is stronger than him AND managed to destroy his tower, you know Harebourg’s own ice magic just HAD to have been demolished.

Oropo wasn’t just carelessly saying that he couldn't withstand Pin's power. The guy literally had trouble reconstructing his own tower every time Eva was pushing! He had the Eliacube, an artifact stronger than the gods combined together! An eliacube is a mechasm's heart, and we can see how even the mother of the Krosmoz, Eliatrope, had trouble being accepted by it. And since it was said that Harebourg’s ice couldn’t get destroyed by a mortal, guess who did manage to break it.

The Iop god.

So if Oropo said that Pin was able to overpower him while he had one of the most powerful artifacts that the World of Twelve and the krosmoz has ever known, Harebourg should DEFINITELY have been freed by now.

Yes, he may have not been saved by Echo’s feathers during the final fight, but he must’ve had a few recall potions to bring him back to the World of Twelve. Given from what we’ve seen with Poo, every member of the brotherhood has one or more potions that can lead them back to the tower or to the World of Twelve.

For Harebourg, his recall potions strictly only redirected him back to Frigost. And that's exactly what happened in this scenario. As soon as Pin's birth ended, Harebourg's ice prison broke, leaving him understandably confused and disoriented by the change of location and situation he was in. So, knowing that he had no business in whatever was going on at that time, he decided to drink one of his potions and go back to Frigost.

His absence in the political meeting with the royals and counts from Season 4 makes sense since it's been a few years that Frigost hasn't had him.

(The only reason why he wasn't in the meeting of Season 2 was because it was only reserved for all the race leaders to learn more about the new race on their planet. That would also explain why Lance Dur, being a count, and the king of Amakna weren't there. The Queen of Sufokia wasn't there despite representing a race, but she had a reason not to be there since she was busy finding a location for her people at that time. Astra, the main queen of Bonta wasn't there either because the king of Brakmar was there. Although even if Harebourg was allowed to participate in that Season 2 meeting, he wouldn't have come since he couldn't give two shits about any other nation or race except caring for his dear Frigost lol)

Due to his major absence from Frigost, he was too busy catching up to his lands' problems to care about what was going on to the rest of the world.

To conclude, Harebourg may have survived, but he was the only member of the Brotherhood of the Forgotten to have missed so much.

So what do you think?

This all makes perfect sense, right?

Right?

No joke, I fully believe that this is exactly how it happened because you cannot tell me that Pin managed to destroy Oropo's tower REPEATEDLY but did not break Harebourg's ice.

It also makes perfect sense that Ankama would've seen that big detail from Season 3 and retcon the whole thing by making him appear on Waven, which is why he'd even be there in the first place.

On another note, there might have been an actual reason why Harebourg had been forgotten by his brotherhood.

@doc-acher once summarized the explanation here. It's basically a conspiracy theory that explains why Harebourg might have been forgotten, a petty reason which made Tot retract his statement about saying Harebourg died years ago in some of his past tweets 👇

Btw that last tweet says:

Zexion: Thank you for this amazing season! I gotta ask: what happened with Harebourg at the end?

Tot: Uh...I think he ended up with Echo and Oro

IRGL: Or it's another way to say "oops, I zapped him" :p

Tot: I zapped him :)

[chiefdirector]

Talking | Tim Bradford | The Rookie

Act One | Chapter 16

I’m in a&e (er for my American friends) so y’all are getting a chapter early

"So, Detective Bradford, what evidence led to the arrest of my client." Wesley asked, pacing back and forth, arms crossed behind his back. He looked at (Y/N) expectedly.

They had been going over trial preparation for the last hour or so. In exchange for his services, (Y/N) brought a take out for them, as well as Tim and Angela. The other two had retreated into the kitchen to have some beers so as to not bore themselves to death.

"The operating detective arrested Mr. Smith of the claim of him being found holding the murder weapon over his dead fiancé."

"That proves nothing. Could he not have just picked it up in the heat of the moment? It must have been pretty traumatic for him. People act irrationally in moments of crisis."

"He could've but he didn't." (Y/N) rebutted, leaning further into the couch. "He practically confessed."

"There's no "practically" about it, detective. Either there is hard evidence that my client did this or you have arrested an innocent man going through one of the most terrifying things that one could experience."

(Y/N) flicked through the case file she had been given to build her testimony around. The acting detective hadn't been all too thorough as they were sure it was a clean cut case. Letting out a small "ha!" She smugly presented Wesley with a sheet of paper. "Here you will find the prints we ran on the gun. Only one set, belonging to Mr Smith. Any more questions?"

"No more questions at this time," he said, finally sitting down and reaching for the beer Angela had brought through to him a little while back. "You did good. Just keep that energy up and you'll be fine."

(Y/N) sighed, "You think? Court was never my strong suit."

"Yeah. I'd challenge you in the courtroom any day."

"No thanks. This was hard enough." (Y/N) laughed, leaning her head back to look into the kitchen, watching Tim and Angela bicker about something. "You wanna call them through or should I?"

"Actually," Wesley stood up, "I should probably get her home before something stronger comes out. You know how those too get."

"Oh god, don't remind me."

It didn't take long for Wesley to gather Angela up and make a quick departure. Once Tim had closed the door behind them, he made his way back into the kitchen where (Y/N) had begun to clear up. Dishes were stacked up high in the sink and bottles littered the counters.

"God, how much did you drink," she said, turning to face her husband. "It looks like the remnants of a brewery made a home here."

"Hardly any and not nearly as much as Angela, I always forget how much that woman can drink." Tim moved forwards, pacing his hands on (Y/N)'s hips, bringing her body into his. Softly he kissed her, "Leave all this for tomorrow."

"And what will we do now," she said, leaning in to kiss him again.

Quickly, he moved his grip on to hold her waist. Swinging one arm under her legs, he picked her up bridal style, moving towards the bedroom. "I can think of something."

- - - - -

"You look happy," Angela teased as she walked over to (Y/N)'s desk. "Too happy."

(Y/N) didn't look up to respond to her, knowing the direction Angela wanted this conversation to go. She didn't want to humour her friend but she also knew that if Angela wanted to do something, it would happen. "Can I not be happy? Is that against the rules?"

"Not at this time in the morning you can't." She said moving round the desk to lean over (Y/N)'s shoulder, now whispering. "Somebody got laid."

(Y/N) let out a breathy laugh. Shaking her head, (Y/N) continued to type. "And someone's trying to live vicariously through me. Having a dry spell, are we?"

"Not at all. But as much as I like talking to you about this, I have a suspect on the store robbery; his name is Damian Barrett. I'm sending Harper and Nolan to bring them in..."

"Right, okay? What do you need from me?"

Angela smiled,  "Nothing. I just wanted to say 'hi.'"

"Bullshit," (Y/N) leaned back in her chair, finally turning to face Angela who had decided to perch on the surface, "Also, that isn't a chair."

Lopez rolled her eyes as she got down. "I do have a reason for coming here though. Patrice is on my case about this wedding."

"And Patrice is...?

"Wesley's mom." She took out her phone, scrolling through her messages to show (Y/N) "This is just from last week. I need help."

"Don't ask me, Tim and I almost eloped. A lot less fuss and mess." (Y/N) smiled as she absently played with her rings, "I say go to the courthouse and throw a party or something after."

"You're wedding was lovely. How did you do it?"

"I didn't have much to do with it. It was all Grey and Tim."

Angela raised her eyebrow, "Sargent Grey? Sargent Grey as in the Sargent Grey who works here and was your boss helped plan your wedding?"

"Yeah," (Y/N) said, smiling as the memory came back to her.  "Grey nearly lost his head when I mentioned eloping. Something about how it would be a 'tragedy' and that it would happen over his dead body."

"Great," Lopez sighed, moving back towards her desk. "You are no help."

"Hey," she laughed, "You asked me!"

- - - - -

It was only mere moments after Angela had returned to her own desk did she approach (Y/N) again, this time her easy-going demeanour had hardened into something more serious. She had their shared case file tucked under her arm. 

"Harper and Nolan found our friend and put in interrogation. He's waiting on us. Seems like bad news, but like I said, he's only a suspect and we have got nothing concrete. We're going to try for a confession," Angela said, taking off, not leaving (Y/N) to question her any further.

With a small sigh, she got up to follow Angela to the interrogation room. She was going to let her take the lead, it was her case after all, she only came onto the case as a consulting detective. Besides, by the looks of the case, (Y/N) thought it may be an easy win.

Act One | Chapter 16 | Chapter 18

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Tags: @xceafh  @kmc1989  @buba424 @salty0cracker @iamasimpingh0e @malindacath @agentred27

Tags are open :)

[lukecastellanshandholder]

Hey guys! I'm back to talk about something that I've been thinking about for a solid week and I'm ready to info dump.

So, I've been thinking about just how much Percy and Luke are the same character. They are so much the same and it's really amazing just how much detail and thought Rick put into making it where Luke and Percy go through so many of the same things and life experiences.

Like, It's something that I had noticed from the beginning, but it wasn't until just recently when I reread some parts from The lightning thief, and the from The diary of Luke short story, that I realized just how similar Luke and Percy are.

Let's start with just the way both of their characters are written. They both have the same underlying anger towards their fathers for leaving their mother's alone to deal with terrible things. In Sally's case, that is Gabe. In May's case it's the curse of Delphi that has driven her insane.

Both Luke and Percy have the same feelings of self doubt. The way they treat and talk to their friends or people they consider important, are very much the same. They act the same towards people who they don't know and don't trust. They have that same underlying snarky humor. It was scary how when I was reading TDoL, that I thought I was just reading something from Percy's pov.

And that's far from all of it! Another thing that I realized that they have in common is that there is a character that represents the promises that they couldn't keep or fullfil. Let me explain.

With Luke, that character is Annabeth. In TDoL, Luke promises Annabeth that Thalia and he would be her family. Did he know how to even be a family given that he had never had one? No. But he was going to try for Annabeth. However, he wasn't able to keep that promise, especially with Kronos brain washing and manipulating him. Breaking that promise is something that he feels guilty for all the way to his death. It was a constant reminder that he had failed those he held dear.

With Percy, that character is Nico. In The Titans Curse, Nico makes Percy promise that he would protect Bianca and make sure that nothing happens to her. Percy says that he's not sure if he could do that. He had no idea he would even be able to protect himself, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try to keep his promise to Nico. Unfortunately, he's not able to and Bianca dies. He wasn't able to keep his promise and that guilt follows him. And Nico himself was a reminder for sometime of the promise that Percy wasn't able to keep.

So in short, Nico is to Percy what Annabeth was to Luke. A physical manifestation of their inadequacy and failure.

Both Percy's and Luke's stories have so many parallels to them and it's quite clear to see. Which is why I find it a bit funny when others say that, "Percy would've never done what Luke did!" To which I have to say, "are you sure?"

Because really, there would've only needed to be one major change and Percy could've easily ended up in Luke's position. If Sally wouldn't have been a strong pillar for Percy. If she would've ended up like May, it would've been quite easy to get Percy to change sides. Because it's quite evident that Percy loves Sally and would do anything if it meant making her happy and keeping her protected. If Kronos would've went to Percy instead and promised to help Sally and keep her protected, Percy would've joined him. Because let's not forget that Percy's fatal flaw being loyalty gets him into some rough situations if he thinks that he'll be able to help or save a loved one. It would've been easy for Kronos to manipulate him like that.

The only main difference with Percy and Luke, is that if Percy would've been the one that Kronos was able to manipulate into being his vessel? He would've won. With Percy's amazing power and strength combined with the power of Kronos, the gods would've never stood a chance. Not to say that Luke didn't have his strengths. He was cunning and charming. He had a fierce determination to see change. He was able to rally others to his cause.

However, Percy also shows those same attributes in his own journey. There is a reason why everyone else at Camp Half Blood so willingly rallied behind him and trusted him as leader, and it wasn't just because of the amount of times he had saved the world at that point. There was a reason why so many people were drawn to Percy, and not all of it was just Aphrodite playing with his love life.

Long story short, Luke and Percy are basically the same character with just how much they have in common, and I think it's time that we talk about it more 😌💜

(Ps. Sorry I wasn't on here for a good bit. I'm ok, life has just been... Rough. But I'm back to my usual delusional ramblings again 😌👌)

[rainyarcades]

I have reason to believe Cassie's dad tried investigating into GGY, and it didn't end so well for him.

Let's get into why...

The therapists say to patient 46 (Gregory, while under the Dr. Rabbit (Mimic) influence) that the techs were getting concerned with his diving into the system, hacking it and messing with code to change how the animatronics act. This happens multiple times:

Now, what is Cassie's father? A Fazbear Technician! Evident by the fact he has a Faz-Wrench, something only Fazbear techs own. Now this is absolutely a stretch, right? Well, it is, until I bring up this note found in the AR world:

In the AR version of the Plex, Cassie experiences personal things that wouldn't be there for other people-- cutouts of herself with Roxy, of her with Gregory (and subsequently crying when he's gone), missing posters of Gregory, eyes that stare at her, mirrors, etc. So this note is another personal thing to her, and given the importance of the other personal things listed, it's likely this note has a good amount of significance to her too. I previously thought it was because Cassie's dad had left to look into something, but I had zero idea what it could be-- until now.

Either the note was placed by someone else to cover up her dad's disappearance (more likely, death), or he left it there knowing he'd be gone longer than normal while looking into this mysterious GGY. With people repeatedly disappearing, and GGY linked to the animatronics being messed up, he could've taken the initiative to look into it himself- and, possibly, payed the price for it.

When this happened, I don't have much of an idea. But I assume closer to the time SB took place rather than GGY, since it's pretty likely Mimic's influence was dropped right before the game, and RUIN seems to happen maybe a few weeks to a month after the base game? I think Cassie would've done something, or felt something was off, much sooner if it'd happened before then; but we don't know enough about her yet to know if that's the case. There's no mention of any other family she has outside of referenced 'emergency contacts'.

We still don't have a whole lot of information about Cassie, so we don't know how long she was left alone, if she's left alone often, etc.

With Help Wanted 2 possibly being a prequel to Security Breach, it's possible we'll also get a confirmation as to why and how Gregory got stuck under the Mimic's influence, plus what happened to Cassie's father. Maybe the game takes place a few weeks before Security Breach? I dunno. We just gotta wait and see!

I just doubt this note means 'he went away for a while at some point and came back', and it's not like past tense is used when she says her dad has a Faz-Wrench like it is when she talks about him collecting old lunch boxes. It has to be significant, otherwise, why include it?

I believe whatever happened to him, Cassie doesn't know about it yet- but her link to the Mimic, and by extension Gregory, goes deeper than we realised- that's why she was introduced at all in RUIN.

Her story is 100% far from over, but I don't believe we'll focus on her again juuust yet.

We know Scott doesn't drop huge lore without clarifying it in the next installment; Burntrap > Mimic for starters. Dittophobia happened, Steel Wool is now referencing fnaf 4 in tweets tagged as SB and RUIN. GGY is still shrouded in mystery, answers are bound to come up soon! (There are way more examples of Scott confirming lore in the next installment of something, but I can't bring it all to mind right now-- there's definitely plenty of examples, though, and iirc Scott made a steam post about this once)

Gregory had a huge reveal at the start of this year with GGY's release; plus, the Mimic (and how it can control things) was finally introduced in the games.

I think GGY is next to get fleshed out in the game universe, and Help Wanted 2 is the perfect place to start. And, of course, that all links to the people who'd sunk too deep into the mystery; the therapists, Tony Becker, and the technicians.

[marcusrobertobaq]

Case given to Hank:

"investigate the android cases and see if there's any link"

What deviancy is about:

rA9 clues are present in almost every case, likely a myth or savior figure

All cases involved androids having emotional shock, often being self-defense or witnessing androids being treated like androids

The answer is: YES, the cases GOT A LINK. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Apart from Connor giving CyberLife info they already have the mission is OVER. They already know what deviancy is and when it happens and what causes.

Then we got Markus speech

There's an organization made of deviants

rA9 points at this organization

(Connor finds out the relation between the leader, Kamski and his own series)

It's just a matter of checking evidence if these deviants point towards anything related to this org, a HQ or anything - something they would find.

What may be the issue with this whole thing:

Connor ain't working with the DPD at all, the case assigned to Hank ain't the same.

Connor was sent to hunt deviants, not assist DPD in 'em case. They needed do it in a legal way so they assigned the guy to a lieutenant that could give him access to crime scenes and evidences. So this "finding the cause of deviancy" or anything related to "finding if the cases are related" was never Connor's mission. He's there to take deviants out of the streets from start and they just needed a excuse. The cases started becoming more alarming and frequent with time, after all.

So, "solve the case" what case? The "excuse" case was already solved, mf even discovered CL got something to do with all this. It was all just a matter of finding this "organization", something they could've done before the feds took over or even before the org itself grew up.

Conclusion: the investigation arc is about 3 things

Finding out CyberLife was lying and they got something shady behind all this shit

Finding out Markus relation with Kamski, which also involves Amanda and Connor himself

Finding out deviancy is related to emotional shock and rA9 - presumably a savior basically all androids seek

None of 'em are related to DPD, but Connor needed access to some shit and the legal way was using DPD. It's Connor's mission (only) finding a way of stopping the deviancy issue, either by collecting all androids to disassemble or killing 'em. It includes Jericho rebellion (later).

So no, idk wtf Hank was talking about related to almost solving the case. They got both the knife and the cheese in hands.

I know investigations like these ain't a week thing, some shit are just slow normally cuz we're dealing with humans. But here we're talking about androids in a case that needs to be dealt with asap - another reason they got an android like Connor there. Idk if it would be a month thing if Markus didn't started a revolution, they were concerned with solving the cases before the shit hit the fan, similar to Amanda needing it done asap before the media finds out. The problem is: EVERYBODY KNEW THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING, INCLUDING THE MEDIA.

It tells me 2 things:

Either CyebrLife knew there were a possibility with the numbers rising exponentially a rebellion would start and a group like Jericho be formed (meaning they know the deal about rA9) and that's the only concern they had and the reason they wanted Connor to deal with all androids

Or the hurry they had with the case was to find out about things quickly before it became a federal thing, something that catches even more attention and rumors.

Maybe both.

All this big ass post to explain why DPD's case not being solved is super weird like they were just waiting for something to happen even tho they already had answers and was just a matter of telling people what to do. And what to do? Find this place where androids are reuniting after analysing the clues and working with CyberLife a way of tracking missing androids. How to stop deviancy once and for all? That's a good question I bet nobody can answer, maybe cuz ain't got an answer, maybe u just can't. What u can do is try collecting these "defective" androids, destroying generations and replacing with better systems, preferably if away from Kamski's design.