#let some characters be bastards without any real cause for it

[aleksanderscult]

Majority of the fandom likes Zoya over Alina and I don't know why.

Nikolai's duology has certainly made her popular. Most people nowadays love bitchy characters with a tragic past and a happy ending so Zoya ticks their boxes.

📝 She can turn into a dragon and has so many new cool powers so she's a badass.

📝 She is a bitch but she has a "good" reason to be.

📝 She has fallen in love with Nikolai (another popular character).

📝 She has a tear-jerking past (which is always endearing)

In a summary, fandoms and media never change, dear anon.

[dunmeshistash]

Hello! I thought Laios's eyes were just very light brown cuz in my reading experience yellow/golden eyes were a sign of a werewolf. Or that your (grand)parent was a god/dragon/fairy/vampire etc. Or a wolf cursed into human form by an evil witch (this one's pretty cliché now, and rarely used). But Laios and Falin are perfectly normal tallman, and tallman are just like real life humans I believe. I guess I thought unusual eyes colors meant unusual people?

Not all fantasy worlds work the same, in Dungeon Meshi some characters have really unusual eyes but it doesn't mean anything about them being special or not.

If anything there's a type of unfounded meaning given by the certain traits like eyes and hair color by the in world culture, but that are merely visual (looks different but aren't associated with anything else as far as we know) like the silver eyes and hair that's expected from Mithrun's family and the obsidian skin and red eyes that are traits of royalty, both are visually unique but don't make them any different from other people, so much so that Mithrun is a bastard with his family desired traits while his brother is a legitimate son without the traits.

There's also Kabru's eyes that caused his family to fall apart even tho it was also based on meaning given to it .

I think it fits with Kui's storytelling and worldbuilding that minor physical characteristics don't really mean much more than the meaning we give them.

I think eye color, pupil or no pupil, shine or no shine etc etc is more a character design choice Kui makes to better express what kind of characters they are (where they're from, like Eastern archipelago people having dark eyes, what race they are with elves having the more striking/detailed pupils, their personality etc etc)

Kui might have an artstyle that's less "Animu" than what some might be used to but it is still in that style, in animanga eyes are a pretty common way to express what kind of person the character should be perceived as at a glance, that's why the eyes are often so big. So the golden eyes in Falin and Laios are probably so we recognize them as main characters and so we recognize them as siblings

Hope this made some sense let me know if I got anything wrong or said something that doesn't sound right

[ashleyh713fanfics]

Dazai X Odasaku's Little Sister Ch23

(PSA: This story contains an original character. That being said, it also has relationship building along with real life development and character studies. If that interests you please don’t let that deter you from reading. It’s worth it, I promise)

Chapter 23: "Vulnerability is a Death Sentence"

Summary: As Odasaku's little sister helps out with the Flags mission, and Chuuya has to form an unwillingly partnership with her, where he finds out perhaps she's not exactly heartless like Dazai after all. In fact, they may be more similar then they originally though. But for a boy like Chuuya who has only known betrayal, trusting another would seem impossible.

(This chapter is for the Chuuya stans. I hope I represented you well 🫡)

Warnings: pm!sixteen year old chuuya, manipulation, small bit of stabbing, talks of Odasaku's death, grumpy angry chuuya for real here, chuuya is suffering and we all love it (poor boy), distrustful Chuuya, mentions of killing and assassins, murder, morally grey complex characters, self destruction.

(This is chapter twenty-three of my fanfic "Timeless" which is now on A03. I'll link the master list below so you can get the full story. Asagao's ability is to stop time for up to six seconds.)

Master List Here- To Start from Ch1 <3

A03 Here

Work Count: 10k

Chapter 23:

"Vulnerability is a Death Sentence"

(One Year Ago) 

Chuuya: Age Fifteen 

Soul Searching. 

That’s what Shirase, a member of the Sheep said, that they did some “soul searching” before he plunged a rat poison soaked knife into Chuuya’s side with the intent of murder. The very organization that those kids called their leader, their King, betrayed him without a second thought. 

All because of one job he did with their enemies, the port mafia. 

He managed to get away, clutching his side as he pulled the knife free from his body before leaning his head against the bottom of the cliff in shame and internal pain.

Hearing the faint shouts of a kid he used to trust with his life command to go after him, Chuuya closed his eyes, willing away the reality of the situation. “Go get him right out! He may be weakened by the poison but it won’t be enough to kill him! Finish the job!”

Shirase. He could hear the anger, the disgust in his voice even from here. His own army, his makeshift family he thought he had, treating him like an enemy. 

The deception was still fresh on his tongue, cutting through his soul with his own self shame. Why the hell did he even trust them to begin with? The people that took him in and gave him a makeshift home, they tore it out from under him without a second thought. 

Perhaps he deserved it, perhaps this was always going to be the outcome. Chuuya allowed the toxic idea to play inside his mind and torment him, making the wound to his side hurt more with each self-deprecating thought. 

They saw him as weak, as disposable, and maybe he was. For a boy with no memory before the age of seven, a boy that couldn’t even dream or understand such simple concepts like bread without being taught, a boy that didn’t even know if he was human..

Maybe he deserved this. 

And yet he fought, he screamed and yelled with all his might against the idea because the reality of any of that being true was something that Chuuya could not accept. 

They wanted to dispose of him? Then they’d have a hell of a fight. 

And then, like a nightmare, he appeared. 

Dazai Osamu. 

A devil in sheep's clothing, a demon in the form of man, acting like some sort of savior even though he was the one that set everything up from the beginning. He planted the seeds of doubt into the Sheep, he was the one that caused all of this to turn into motion. 

A joke, a goddamn joke, that’s what he felt like, a pawn in a game he didn’t even know he was playing. He was always a joke, first with The Sheep and now with the Demon Prodigy.

That bastard, he hated him more than anything, but he had no choice, he had to reach out his hand to the boy, for that was his only option, and from the sick grin on his lips, Dazai knew that too. 

Easily manipulated. Easily played. 

Dazai hummed absentmindedly, his eyes sharp like a hawk. “You know, now that the GSS and the Sheep have formed an alliance, we have to shut them down. If I do my job, by noon today they’ll all be dead.” 

Widening his eyes, Chuuya immediately felt his ability activate, the red glow around him an ominous promise. “You’d really hurt all those kids?” 

What a goddamn idiot he thought himself to be. They had just outwardly expressed their desire to murder him and yet the idea of all those kids being massacred by the port mafia’s hands left him with a feeling he couldn’t bear. 

He felt pathetic, utterly pathetic as Dazai shrugged at the idea of killing kids. “Our policy never changes. That said, if someone on my team made that suggestion for me not to go through with it, I would take that under advisement.”

And there it was, like a pit in his stomach, the final piece, the checkmate. 

A hot ball of anger coursed through Chuuya’s throat as it all became clear. So that’s how it is. It was all for this moment. 

So he could be manipulated to join the port mafia. 

Narrowing his eyes at the banaged bastard, Chuuya weighed his options, the ones he knew he didn’t actually have. He wanted so badly to tell Dazai and those port mafia bastards to shove it. He wanted to not play into their hands just for the sole purpose of proving something. 

But somewhere deep down he knew he couldn’t. Although The Sheep had abandoned him, left him for dead, he still didn’t have the heart to turn the other cheek while the port mafia murdered them all. 

He cursed himself for not being as heartless as Dazai, for not allowing himself to just say screw them and die as a giant middle finger to their efforts. 

But whether human or not, whether a blessing or a curse, he couldn’t do it. “Just don’t kill the children.” 

Lifting his head, Chuuya sealed his fate, but with that came a deep rooted distrust that he would hold deep for the rest of his life. 

He would not allow himself to be played in such a way again, he would not let his heart be laid open only for people like the Demon Prodigy to crush it between his fingers. 

That’s right, he would fight and scream and curse but he would never trust again. 

Because who would want to even care for something like him? Surely they would all lie, like Dazai, and like the Sheep.

No, he’d never fall for it again.

That damn son of a bitch, if that’s how you want to play it. I’m in.

-----

(Present Day)

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Chuuya made his way down the dark Yokohama streets as he shook away bad memories he would like to forget. They needed to focus. Someone was murdering port mafia members and it was their job to stop it. That’s all that mattered now. 

He then glanced behind him only to mentally groan at the reminder of Dazai’s girlfriend following behind them, a slight skip to her step like she was going to a colorful kids birthday party and not a possible murder scene. 

That girl, he couldn’t get over her, she was a certified nutcase. He didn’t trust her, not one bit. He had learned better after all, ready for her to stab him in the back at any second of the day. A means to an end, that’s what he has to keep telling himself. 

He’d use her and then he’d never see her again. 

Besides, what the hell was she talking about, wanting to be his friend so badly? There’s no way he’d want someone certifiably insane like her so close. That was a death sentence waiting to happen. She was playing him, she had to be. 

There was no way she was actually serious about such a ridiculous thing. 

Meanwhile, Iceman was having another problem, the man not having broken his eyes from the small auburn haired dorky looking girl since they left the base. There was still something about her he didn’t like, and although she hid it well, he was going to find out soon enough. 

Because if she was a threat to his colleagues then he would do something about it. 

And that was a promise. 

He then paused when Asagao’s voice rang out next to him, a calm smile on her lips. “Iceman, right? I can see why they call you that. I can feel the cold chill from here haha.” 

The man narrows his eyes before replying. “You knew I was watching you..”

Asa shrugs her shoulders. “A bit yeah. Am I really that fascinating?” 

She downplayed it but her response only made him even more suspicious. He was being subtle about profiling her and yet she noticed so quickly. She was smarter than she led on, and that was a dangerous sentiment. 

Iceman frowns at the idea. “You’re hiding something and I’m gonna find out what it is.” 

He watched her reaction, to see him there is any unease there but she simply laughs, like it’s a funny joke. “Ah, well aren’t we all hiding something? I mean you’re an assassin right? I bet you got all sorts of skeletons in your closet, yeah?” 

She wasn’t denying it, How odd. “I suppose.” 

Asagao smiles at that, nodding in step with him. “I knew it! I bet you have a lot of nasty kills under your belt huh?”

Iceman raises an eye at that. “You don’t seem bothered by that..”

Asa laughs in reply. “Why should I be? It’s just your job.”

The man paused at the notion. While yes that’s true, the idea that this sixteen year old kid was just laughing off the idea of murder was not normal. Usually someone would steer away from those kinds of topics but not only was she encouraging it, she was bringing it up. 

Tilting her head, the kid pauses in naive confusion. “Hm? Did I say something wrong?” 

Iceman then took a breath before approaching the topic carefully. “Not many young girls have that kind of mindset, not many people for that matter. You’re not disturbed at all at the idea of me being an assassin?”

Asagao turns silent for a moment, her eyes screwing together in a complex thought like she couldn’t understand his words. “Mm they don’t? How odd. I don’t see why it would disturb them. It’s just orders after all. You get told what target to kill and then you do it? Seems simple to me.” 

Iceman stops walking at that, his eyes widening in shock at what she casually just said. “Just orders? I’m taking people’s lives.” 

She only nods in reply, not understanding the gravity of the situation at all. “Yeah, I know that. But it’s nothing personal. Just orders. An indifference.”

An indifference? Was she serious? Perhaps in simple terms it was that black and white but nothing was that simple. He may be an assassin but the act of ending another person wasn’t anything like she was saying. 

Yes he had orders and yes he carried them out but with each life there was a sort of guilt, the humanity in him, never able to fully detach from the depravity from the action. He did it anyway but to be completely void of emotion when pulling that trigger, that was a kind of heartlessness he wasn’t able to achieve. 

Regardless of who they were or how evil or innocent they were, they were still people and ignoring that felt like a disservice to the trigger he pulled each and every time. Killing was anything but simple, and yet she was speaking about it like she was talking about the weather. 

Just who in the hell was this kid that Chuuya found? 

Iceman then felt his next words form without permission. “You’ve killed before.” 

It was a statement, something he had no proof of and yet somehow wholeheartedly believed. The assassin in him was screaming it from the very depths of his lungs. This little girl had seen darkness, and perhaps had also created it as well. 

Asagao pauses at that, looking back at where Iceman had stopped walking, a look in her eyes under the dorky glasses she wears that is absolutely unreadable. She doesn’t answer his question but she doesn’t need to, the way the air shifts is enough of an answer in itself.

Something hidden behind those glasses, something lurking just under the happy go lucky persona she puts on for everyone else. Iceman could see it, better than anyone else. 

A thinly veiled danger under the surface. 

He opened his mouth to confront it when Chuuya’s phone rings, causing everyone to turn to look only to watch the young ginger boy's face grow pale before hanging up and shouting. “That was Doc, he said to hurry to the wharf, there was an ambush regarding the jewel trade!”

That caused everyone to immediately pick up the pace, forgetting any previous conversation as they rushed to the scene only for Chuuya to see Asagao bumping into random people due to their retreating figures and her unreliable off prescription glasses.

Oh for the love of..

Groaning in annoyance, the boy doubled back before grabbing her hand to pull her along with them. She was such a pain the ass, unable to not be a disaster without his help all the damn time. “We don’t have time for this, let’s go!” 

Asa squeaks as Chuuya pulls her along the streets of Yokohama, trying to keep up with him as she silently thanks the boy for not leaving her to get lost by herself. 

They reach the wharf in record time, as they see Doc is waiting for them outside the large warehouse doors, eying Asa with interest. “Oh? Who’s the new kid?” 

Chuuya brushes the introduction away though. “Not important, what happened?”

Doc then glances inside before leaning against the warehouse doors. “See for yourself, but I’d brace yourself. It isn’t pretty, even for me.” 

Pushing open the warehouse doors, the Flags all freeze at the sight before them. Bodies, dozens of dead bodies face down on the cold cement floor, all of them lower level port mafia members. 

The smell of iron is prevalent, causing Chuuya to clench his fists. No one dares speak, all of them too stunned by the scene to say anything. 

All of them, except Asa that is, the girl not having the same reaction in the silentest as she whistles. “Damn, someone got busy in here.That’s gotta be like two dozen bodies.” 

Everyone blinks in disbelief before turning to Asagao only to find her completely unbothered by the marassace. In fact, she seemed almost, impressed? But that couldn't be. This was a horrible horrific scene, who would be impressed by this?

Asagao seemed to notice the staring, pausing as she looked behind her in confusion before turning back to them. “What? What are you staring at?” 

They all turn to each other again silently. Did she seriously not think anything was wrong with her reaction? Nothing at all? They couldn’t believe it. 

Chuuya groans, walking past the psychotic girl with a mutter. “Ignore her, she’s fucking insane. We have to figure out who did this.”

Shaking out of their thoughts, the Flags nod before stepping inside the warehouse for clues, Iceman watching Asa very carefully as she casually strolls through the bodies like she was taking a walk through a park or something.

It was like she had no reaction to death at all, like she didn’t possess it. How strange. 

Asagao looks down at the bodies carefully, cataloging the manner of their death before she hums. “These kills are personal. Stab wounds, choking, they wanted it to hurt. Hey guys, what kinda enemies do you have around here?” 

The girl then notices something next to the body and slips it into her pocket with a hum.

Lippman only snorts though. “What kind of enemies don’t we have, princess? The list is pretty long.” 

Chuuya nods. “Yeah, saying it was personally against the port mafia doesn’t mean much. We piss a lot of people off.” 

They remain quiet at the idea. It was true, someone attacking the mafia was dumb but not unheard of. Mori screwed over a lot of people and many wanted revenge for their misdeeds, but still, something seemed wrong about this to Chuuya. 

They were targeting the jewel trade now, and that was his division. 

Somehow, this felt personal. 

They all pause when they hear Albatross’ voice. “Hey guys, I think I found something. Come over here!” 

The group follows the call over to a body in the corner only for the man to hold up a piece of paper. “This was in this guy's pocket. It looks to be an address, written hastily like it was in the middle of the attack.” 

Piano Man takes the small piece of paper and sure enough, it was an address, barely legible, with blood around the edges like the man was bleeding out when he wrote it. “You think this guy was giving us a lead?”

Chuuya frowns at the sight though,it seemed too easy. “I don’t trust it. It could be a trap.” 

Asagao then peeks over the boy’s shoulder though, humming in interest. “But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? A high stakes mission that could be a trap in the end! Oh, my blood’s pumping just thinking about it!” 

Turning around, Chuuya glares in her direction. She was way too happy about possibly walking to their deaths by following this note. “Could you stop being so damn giddy about this? This isn’t a game, it’s serious..” 

She pouts in response as Albatross laughs, resting his arms on Asa’s head. “Oh come on Chu Chu , I agree with her. We should go see what this place is about.” 

Chuuya hisses in response. “I told you to stop calling me that stupid nickname..” 

Piano Man only puts his hand up though to stop the bickering. “I know it’s risky but it’s the only lead we have. I say we follow it, especially if our colleague gave his life to tell us this. It would be a disservice not to at least see what it is.” 

Everyone then turns to the dead body before coming to an agreement. If this low leveled mafioso wrote them this note in his last moments alive then they had to see it through it. 

The group then starts filtering out of the warehouse, Asagao turning around happily to start her first true mafioso mission when she spots Chuuya as he leans down over the dead body of the man that wrote the note before he gently closes the man's eyes so they are peacefully shut. 

Blinking in confusion, Asa steps towards the boy. “Why did you do that?”

Chuuya only scoffs though, looking down at the man before muttering. “Thanking him for his service to the port mafia.” 

But Asagao frowns in response, her brain not connecting the sentiment. “What’s the point? He’s already dead.” 

Glaring in her direction, Chuuya gets up from his knee before walking over to her, disgust in his eyes. How could she be so heartless? “But he was human.” 

Then the boy pauses, seeing the disconnect in her eyes, like she couldn't understand a simple thing like empathy for the dead. 

And she couldn’t. For Asagao, she had been raised as an assassin with an assassin mindset. She pulled the trigger hundreds of times and disconnected the emotions that came with such an action time and time again, so much so her view on death was never quite right. 

But she never noticed it, not until she saw the way Chuuya looked at her like she was crazy, like she was doing something wrong. So much so, she wanted to poke him more about the topic. 

Yet before she could, he had already walked away, leaving her confused and bothered as she looked at the man’s dead body and felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

Just like when she tried to think about her brother, it was that same empty feeling. 

That hole inside her soul, like something had been carved out, something was missing from her humanity. Death, was it supposed to feel a certain way? Was something wrong with her?

Whirling around she calls after the boy. “Chuuya..”

He pauses at the sound of her voice, hearing the slight desperate edge of it, something he had never associated with her before. So much so, he thought it was a trick. 

Turning around against his will, the kid waits for her to speak.

Asagao remains silent for a moment, her hands tensing into a ball, unsure how to approach such a sensitive topic for her before she asks. “How..how does death feel?”

And that was something Chuuya certainly didn’t expect, his eyes rising with confusion and slight annoyance as he tried to process her words. “What kind of question is that?” 

His voice was sharp, accusatory, causing Asa to internally recoil a bit before pointing to the dead man with even more uncertainty. “I..I don’t know. I just..you look at this man and you feel something, right?” 

The girl needed to know, she needed to see if she was just imagining it or if there truly was something she was missing. Because if Chuuya felt that same empty hole that she did when she looked at that dead man, then why did he gently close his lifeless eyes and call him human? 

Asagao didn’t understand. 

Chuuya frowns even more at her odd question, glancing at the low leveled grunt before turning back to her. Sure, he didn’t know the guy personally but he had given his life in the name of the port mafia, exactly like he would’ve done. They were unnamed comrades whether he liked it or not. 

So of course he’d care. 

But that had always been who he was, Chuuya closing his eyes for a moment as he recalls sacrificing himself to the port mafia last year in exchange to save the Sheep’s lives even though those kids had actively tried to kill him. 

Pulling the trigger, ending a life, it was still something the mafioso found hard. 

So of course he cared about this unnamed dead man, enough to respect him and his sacrifice for the mafia that is. But didn’t everyone feel that way? 

Scoffing at her question, the boy opened his eyes to look at her again, accusatory. “Yeah. Don’t you?” 

But his words were like a bullet through Asagao’s chest. He said it like it was a matter of fact, that it was second nature to do something so meaningful for the dead, like looking at this dead body was obviously supposed to invoke something inside her. 

And yet, she felt nothing.

Her hellhound assassin training, it had shifted something she didn’t even know.

Not until now. 

A horrible thought then crossed her mind. If Dazai died would she look at his body with this same empty void? Would she look at his corpse and feel absolutely nothing as well? She couldn’t bear the thought, given that he was the most precious thing in her life. 

But then again, the memory of Oda was precious to her as well and she didn’t connect to that either in any capacity. Her heart dropped at the realization that maybe this went further than just not knowing him personally. Maybe there truly was an unbalance.

How cruel of her for not having such an emotion everyone else seemed to possess. 

Closing her fists even tighter to turn white, Asa felt her tongue run dry. She wanted to tell him the truth to tell him that something was wrong with her, that she was broken or defective but the words didn’t come. 

Fear of judgment, fear of being looked at like a monster seeps in before she can even stop it. She wanted him to be her friend but surely he wouldn’t want her if she was an unfeeling monster, unable to process or understand the sentiment of death or killing. 

And even though she was wearing her glasses to blur her vision, she couldn’t help but remember Chuuya’s hatred when she looked at him previously without them. No, that couldn’t happen again, she didn’t want to see it. 

How vulnerable she truly was. 

So instead, Asagao then closed her eyes for a moment before forcing a smile onto her lips to skip past Chuuya and lock down her insecurities. “Whaaa? What kind of question is that? Of course I do. Just wanted to get on the same page. Now, let’s catch up with the others! We got a lead to follow!” 

Then she races out of the warehouse, not looking at the dozens of bodies as she goes, not because she couldn’t bear to see them.. 

But because she didn’t want Chuuya to know how broken she truly was. 

——-

They group arrived at the large unassuming high rise building that had the same location as the note the dead mafioso had in his pocket before they snuck around the back and immediately thought of a plan. 

Having no idea what they were going to walk in on, any solution was going to be risky but this was the best shot they had in order to find out who was really killing port mafia members so brutally. 

Piano Man hums before whispering low. “Alright, first things first, before we do anything we’re gonna have to find a way to disable the security systems so we can walk around a bit more freely.” 

Asa then raises her hand, waving it around like an excited toddler. “Oh, me! Pick me, I can do it!” 

The group turns to her, some skeptical, some amused as Lippman chuckles. “You sure, princess? This is a pretty risky job.” 

She only nods though, eager and ready as she bounces on the heels of her feet. “Yes, I can do it! I promise, I’ll disable those security systems super fast, you can count on me!” 

Chuuya raises an eye in concern before all the other Flags look at him and he sighs. She was crazy but he’s seen how convincing she can be, so he vouches for her. “Yeah, she probably can do it.”

Asagao then claps her hands in joy. “Yay, thank you Chu Chu!” 

But the ginger then raises a hand to stop her from getting too excited. “Don’t thank me,I still don’t trust you. So you’ll be wearing a wire to make sure you don’t do anything dumb.” 

She doesn’t seem to mind though, taking the suggestion in stride. “Oooh a wire? It’s like a real life spy mission! Alright I’m game!” 

Chuuya then groans before gesturing to the others as they fit her with the wire, Asagao humming happily as they do so. 

Albatross can’t help but chuckle. “Hey kid, you seem really excited about this but be careful, yeah? We wouldn’t want you to get stabbed or poisoned or anything haha.” 

The girl gives him a thumbs up in response. “No worries! My body detoxes poison pretty fast anyways so I’m good!” 

Pausing for a moment, the mafioso then bursts out laughing, ruffling her hair with affection. “Oh I like you! You’re so interesting Asa. I never know what you’re gonna say next, it’s great!” 

Asagao laughs as well, beaming at the compliment, which is strange for her since usually people don’t take to her odd mannerisms very well. Well, everyone except Dazai. He was always the expectation. 

Once they are done with the wire, Asa spins around in joy before puffing her cheeks out cutely to hype herself up for the upcoming undercover mission they assigned her on. 

She then takes in a breath before reaching for her clothes and ripping them in various places before she turns to Chuuya with a smile. “Chu Chu, punch me!” 

And the boy freezes, his jaw dropping open in shock. “The hell?” 

Asa nods before pointing to her eye. “You heard me, it’s for the mission. Punch me.” 

But as much as he hated her, punching a girl like her, especially Dazai’s girlfriend, was certainly something that wasn’t on his list. “I’m not punching you.” 

Asa only whines though, taking a step closer. “Come onnn Chu Chu, you know you wanna. I’m giving you a free shot.” 

His eyes can’t help but twitch at the nickname. “Don’t call me that, damn it. I’m not punching you.” 

Humming softly, the auburn girl then pauses before smiling again. “That’s fine, you probably can’t reach my face anyway since you’re so short . Samu would be able to reach, too bad he’s not here.” 

Almost immediately, Chuuya felt his anger spike at being called short. This little bitch was egging him on, how dare she. “Cut it out, it’s not gonna work.” 

Asa doesn’t cut it out though, continuing her condescending tone. “Mmm cut what out? I’m just saying you’re too short to reach my eye. It’s true isn’t it?” 

And hook line and sinker, her words triggered an automatic response in Chuuya, one that was learned by him the day that he met that stupid mackerel Dazai. She wanted him to hit her? Then to hell with it. 

Lifting his fist, Asa then smirks before quickly taking off her glasses and closing her eyes as he punches her in the eye, relatively hard as she stumbles back and the other Flags catch her. 

Seething, the boy then pulls back his hand, taking a breath and waiting for her regret only for Asagao to jump back up, wiping a bit of blood from her nose and she laughs maniacally. “Ah, that’s what I’m talking about! You didn't hold back either, good job Chu Chu!” 

He just eyes her, blinking with disbelief. “You're not normal.” 

Waving the comment away, Asa smiles, putting her glasses back on to her forming black eye. “Ha ha yeah, I get that a lot. Alright, time to disable those security systems, watch me work my magic!” 

Then she disappears from around the building, causing all the Flags to watch her with silent amusement as Lippman chuckles under his breath. “Hey Chuuya, is she always like this?” 

Looking down at his knuckles where he punched her, the boy then groans before closing his eyes, utterly exhausted.

“Unfortunately.”

——

Slipping to the front of the building, Asagao then takes in a breath before mentally preparing herself to get to work. They were all listening to her through the wire, after all. She had to impress them. 

She gives one last look at her torn dress and black eye before racing up to the doors of the building, rushing in as she falls onto the floor with a sob and a panicked breath. She ignores the men reaching for their weapons. 

Show time. 

Looking up with pleading eyes, Asa cries. “H-Help..please help me. I’m being chased. I..they robbed me. I don’t know what to do. I need help. They took my phone.” 

She sniffles pathetically, playing up the “hurt child” angle as the security guard looks down at her with suspicion before asking. “How old are you, kid?” 

Asa whimpers in reply. “I’m...sixteen. Just turned sixteen. Please sir, I’m scared..” 

Grabbing onto his shirt with shaking fingers, she looks up at him, giving her best doe eyes, blinking back tears as the officer looks at her black eye and softens. 

Got him. 

The man then gently takes her hand before helping her off the floor. “Come on. You said you lost your phone right? You can borrow ours. We have one in the security room.” 

Nodding in reply, Asa cries even louder, visually thankful as she reaches forward and hugs the officer with her small shaking arms. “O-Oh thank you thank you thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

The officer chuckles at her vulnerable display, softening even more as Asa silently pickpockets his keys and puts them in her pocket before he pulls away, none the wiser. “It’s alright kid, come on. Let’s go call the police and then your parents.” 

She nods and follows the man into the building, silently taking note of all the security cameras and sensors in the area as they enter the small security room with cameras lining the walls. There are a couple men in there, surveying the scene. 

The officer walks over to the phone and puts it up to his ear, ready to dial as Asa speaks again. “Hey mister? I’m really sorry about this. No hard feelings, okay?” 

Lifting his head from the phone, the man then raises an eye before Asa grabs his head and slams it into the security desk as everyone jumps back, another man reaching for a button on a console before she smirks. “I don’t think so.” 

She then uses her time stop ability, the world turns to a standstill as she quickly moves throughout the room, using her five seconds to grab the man’s face and slam it into the desk as well before turning it off and moving to the side. 

The guard just barely sees his friend fall unconscious before Asa does the same, stopping time to kick the man’s legs out from underneath him and putting her hands around his unassuming neck, squeezing just enough so that even when she starts time he falls unconscious as well. 

And then the room is quiet, Asagao humming absentmindedly as she steps over the unconscious men in order to sit in the spinning chair by the desk, grab the donut the security guard was eating before pushing a button and disabling all the security cameras. “Done.”

 Spinning around a couple times in the chair, the girl then casually gets up before glancing at the unconscious guards and taking a bite of the donut with a smirk. 

“Like I said, no hard feelings.” 

——

Chuuya sighs, tapping his foot impatiently as the team waits for her to return. They heard her little act through the wire and though it was quite scary how she could switch up so quickly, they all couldn't help but be impressed. 

Her cries, whimpers and pleas, they all seemed so real. She even willingly got Chuuya to punch her in the eye and ripped her clothes to truly make it look like she was a damsel in distress. 

They then watch in awe as the small red light of the security camera across from their hiding spot turns dark, signaling that the systems were disabled. She did it, Asagao managed to complete the job. In record time too.

It made the Flags wonder just who the real Asagao was if she was able to fool and manipulate the guards that easily. Did that also mean that the happy go lucky childlike personality they saw all night was also fake? Many weren’t sure if they wanted to truly find out. 

Piano Man is the first to speak, glancing to the annoyed ginger. “Hey Chuuya, where did you pick her up again?” 

The Flags all nod, wondering the same thing as Chuuya pinches the tip of his nose in the start of a headache. “It doesn’t matter, she’s a friend of that bandaged bastard Dazai. That’s all.”

Lippman raises an eye at that. “Dazai? Ah, well that explains it. This definitely isn’t the princess' first rodeo then. I’m impressed.”

Albatross laughs. “Yeah, if she really gets those results maybe should keep her, right Iceman?” 

The assassin stays quiet but narrows his eyes at the idea, not liking it when Chuuya cuts him off harshly. “Oh hell no. We are not asking her to join us. If I have to be around her everyday I’m going to lose my mind!”

The group only laughs at the kid’s misfortune as a hot ball of anger courses through him. They were treating this like all some kind of sick joke but the idea of Dazai’s crazy ass girlfriend joining them on more missions was anything but funny. 

She was good, yeah, he didn’t deny that. She was damn good at deceiving people and tearing them apart but she was also unpredictable, without a semblance of a normal thought. The Flags had seen a little taste of her insanity but Chuuya had seen way worse. These guys didn’t know who they were dealing with, that’s for sure. 

But he had first hand experience, remembering how she willingly played damsel in distress just for the sole purpose of playing with him and getting him to agree to the stupid ass “Chu Chu” nickname. 

She was unpredictable, in the worst way possible and he wanted nothing to do with it after tonight, that was for sure.  

That, and Dazai would never allow it either way, considering his ass was super paranoid about her joining the mafia for some reason. But that was besides the point, he didn’t want her anyways.

Albatross only snickers though. “Sounds like Chuuya is intimidated by a little girl.” 

Feeling his shoulders coil tense as the Flags continued to tease him about the girl, Chuuya felt his fists ball in irritation. They had no idea, no fucking idea how easily it would be for Asa to stab them in the back. 

Hell, she probably was planning it already. But unlike last year with the Flags he was smart. He wasn’t going to fall for it. This whole friendship ploy from her, it was all one big joke. He knew it. 

Chuuya would not let her sneak up on him, he would not be that vulnerable again. 

Turning to the group, the boy glared. “Hey, I’m not intimidated! And I mean it! Don’t even think about letting her join. This isn’t some kind of funny joke. I’m not going to let that little brat walk all over me!” 

Yet that’s when they all hear her voice, directly behind Chuuya, appearing out of seemingly nowhere as she giggles, feeling her breath on his neck and the scent of vanilla from her shampoo. “Hii I’m back!” 

Chuuya immediately feels his soul leave his body, jumping back with wide eyes, his heart hammering in his chest as a small shout of fear escapes his lips, Asa scaring the absolute shit out of him. “What the fuck?!”

And there she is, standing innocently behind him with that same small smile on her lips, her hands lifting out in defense as The Flags burst out in a loud boisterous laughter and their half dead friend clinging for breath from her sudden appearance. 

Albatross has to hold his knees to contain his chuckles as he wipes a tear from his eye. “Oh, that was too good! Red, you’re amazing. Poor Chuuya’s soul left his body!” 

But Chuuya’s face only turned bright red in embarrassment, recovering from his panic before feeling it switch to livid anger. “W-What, what the hell is wrong with you?! Where did you come from?!”

Asagao doesn’t react to his anger, seemingly turning her head cutely. “Hm? Oh, I used my ability to get here faster. Sorry Chu Chu, did I scare you? I just got excited hehe!” 

The boy’s eye twitches at that, resisting the urge to strangle her. She was clearly making fun of him, unbelievable. “You and your damn time stop ability, it pisses me off. And no, I wasn’t scared. Shut up.” 

Strolling up to him, Lippman only smirks though, putting an arm around his shoulder. “Come on man, let’s be honest. You totally were scared of this little cutie. Speaking of which, that’s quite a magic trick you got there princess. I’m impressed.” 

Piano Man nods, a small smile on his lips: “He’s right. You even managed to disable all the security systems. Good job, kid.” 

Asagao widened her eyes at that, jumping forward at the praise, like she hadn’t heard it very often for her skill. “Really? I did a good job?” 

Piano Man only laughs though his eyes softening as he gently pats her head. “Yeah kid, you did good. Now we can go into the building undetected. Come on guys, time to figure out who’s behind this.”

They all nod, walking in through the back door as Chuuya slumps behind, still pissed off and embarrassed about the fact that she was able to sneak up on him so easily. If she wanted to she could’ve slit his throat right then and there. 

Asa glances behind her though, noticing his distress and turning around to meet him in order to reach out to grab his hand before the boy immediately recoils, slapping the gesture away and walking past her. “Don’t touch me. Let’s just get this over with so I don’t have to see you again.” 

He didn’t trust her, no way in hell. Especially not after that little stunt of hers. 

It was a defense mechanism, learned from a life of being betrayed, a life of being played and toyed with more times then he could count. This gesture of reassurance, it was also fake. It had to be.  

But the real truth was, Chuuya felt vulnerable right now, given that he was able to be bested so easily. He didn’t like it, it made his defenses go up ten fold. He felt weak, and that was a death sentence in itself. She’d see it and take advantage of it.

So much so, he didn’t even look back to see the effect of his careless words as he simply moved forward to try to forget about her. 

No, he couldn’t be vulnerable with her. She’d stab him in the back. 

If he showed her his heart, surely she’d carve it up. 

——

As the group moved through the building, they pause at a records room, glancing at the door before Asagao takes out the keys she pickpocketed from the security guard earlier to open the door as the others stand in awe. 

Lippman beams, strolling inside the dark room. “Whoa princess, remind me to always have you on our team. You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

But this time, Asa doesn’t answer, seemingly zoned out as Albatross puts a hand to her head to bring her back to reality. “What’s wrong, Red? Why the long face?”

Snapping back, the girl then blinks before forcing a smile to her lips. “Oh,it’s nothing. It’s just..I think Chu Chu hates me.”

The two men then look at each other before Lippman smiles. “Nah princess, he’s always like that. Chuuya’s a guarded guy. Pretty rough around the edges. I’m sure he doesn’t hate a cutie like you.” 

Albatross nods. “Yeah Red, you should just talk to him. He’ll tell you the truth.” 

The two then walk to the other side of the room to start going through the records as Asagao’s eyes shift to Chuuya’s form a couple feet away. Everything about him screamed unapproachable but she never did listen to such cue’s, walking over to him tentatively. 

She settles next to him, starting to look through the files before taking a breath. “Hey Chu Chu? I just wanted to apologize.” 

Chuuya pauses his fingers before continuing to look through the files, a scowl on his face. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with her. “For what?” 

He hears her pause for a second before speaking softly. “For everything I guess. I keep making you mad. Then again, that’s not really new for me…” 

She trails off and Chuuya stays silent. She sounded so..sad? But he knew better to believe that. He knew how quickly she could change her personality to fit the situation. 

Scoffing, the boy replied sharply. “Yeah, you piss me off.”

Asagao gives a sad laugh at that. “Yeah, that sounds right. I alway go too far.” 

There’s a small bit of silence between them before she continues. “It’s just..when Samu told me about you I really wanted to meet you.” 

Chuuya frowns at that, finally turning his head to look at her in skepticism, seeing her eyes cast down to the files infront of her in some sort of defeat. Why did she look so pathetic and small right now? He didn’t like it.

Speaking, he frowns. “Why the hell would you want to meet me?”

Her eyes soften at that, a hint of vulnerability in them. “I just thought that if you handle Samu, then maybe..maybe you’d want to be friends with me too.” 

Chuuya couldn’t help but stop what he was doing, hearing her statement before his frown became more prevalent. Why in the hell would he want another mini Dazai running around him? Her logic was screwed up. 

But before he could answer, she continued. “I know I’m not exactly..easy to get along with. Not many people stick around because I always manage to make them hate me some way or another. But..I really didn’t want that to happen with you Chuuya.” 

Her hands then tighten on the files as a bitter chuckle escaped her lips. “But maybe I’m just being selfish, thinking about what I want rather than what you want. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so alone this whole time.”

Processing the words, Chuuya narrowed his eyes. What was she talking about? As far as he’s seen she was anything but alone. “Alone? You have that idiot boyfriend of yours.” 

And as much as the boy hated Dazai with his entire being, he couldn’t deny that Asagao and that bandaged bastard fit well together. Like a match made in hell. 

Although that’s when Asa gives a small chuckle, casually saying. “Ah well you see..Samu’s only my boyfriend in name. That’s all.”

The words hit him like a strike of lightning, his fingers immediately freezing from whatever he was looking at in order to turn and face her. He heard that wrong right? The way those two were all over each other the last time he saw them, there was no way that was fake. 

She was messing with him, she had to be. “In name? You two aren’t really dating?”

But Asagao only shook her head in reply, a smile on her lips that didn’t seem fully genuine.”No, it’s not like that. We’re just using each other to get what we want, that’s all.” 

What kind of fucked up reasoning was that? Using them to get what they want? What kind of screwed up relationship did she actually have with Dazai then? “You can’t be serious..” 

Asa then turned to him, finally lifting her head for the first time during the conversation, a resigned look in her eyes . “I am. We’re not like that. I just have something he needs and he has something I need, that’s all it is to it.” 

This sent Chuuya’s head reeling. None of it made any goddamn sense in the slightest. “So, you haven’t like kissed or anything? It’s just transactional?”

Yet at the word “kissed” Asagao’s eyes widen as her entire face turns red and she shifts her head down to look back at the files, recalling the memory she was trying to forget of Samu and her kissing while they were drunk. “I..well…that doesn’t matter, it still doesn't mean anything. Nothing has changed between us. It’s still transactional.” 

But her response only made Chuuya even more confused. “Wait, you have kissed?” 

Burying her face into the files in embarrassment for her burning cheeks, Asa stuttered. “S-So what? It was just a test, it didn’t mean anything. Not to him anyways. So it’s fine..” 

Chuuya deadpans. “But it meant something to you obviously.”

Asagao then closes her eyes before covering her face with her hands.She really didn’t want to talk about this, especially since she wasn’t sure herself what it meant. “I…it doesn’t matter. He doesn't feel that way about me. I’m happy just the way we are, I couldn’t ask for more. Besides, even if it was..that way, there’s no way he’d like me like that so it’s fine.” 

And that pissed Chuuya off. What the hell was this self deprecating thought process she had all of a sudden? She was always so sure of herself to a fault and now it was completely different. He didn’t like it. 

Taking a step closer to her, the boy glares. “Why the hell not? You may be insufferable but if anyone could handle you it would be that shitty Dazai.”

He believed that with his whole heart. Yes, she was batshit insane but so was Dazai. He knew that kid for a whole ass year, knew him like the back of his hand and if that suicidal bastard was going to date anyone it would be Asagao. 

But it seemed like the girl herself didn’t see that, her fingers moving to her skirt to nervously play with a hem as her eyes softened to a level of raw emotion he had never seen before from her. “I just…”

Her voice trails off but Chuuya doesn't allow her to drop the topic. “What?”

The silence is heavy, coating the entire room before Asa gives a tiny pathetic chuckle under her breath before finally speaking softly. “That emotion, I don’t think I’m made for that kind of thing, that’s all.”

Her words caused Chuuya to immediately widen his eyes as a pit dropped inside his stomach. Not made for what? Care, compassion, love? Did she truly think that? 

And the first thought was for him to believe that she was lying, that she was giving him this whole sad sob story to let his guard down but the look in her eyes, that couldn’t be faked, or at least it was damn hard to do. 

So much so, his voice echoed in the same whisper tone. “You don’t think you can be loved..?”

She doesn’t answer, she doesn’t have to, because the silence was answer enough as she bows her head in resignation before continuing to look through the files like she hadn’t just answered the most heart wrenching question of all. 

Did she truly believe she couldn’t be loved, by anyone, by even Dazai? Chuuya could hardly believe it. What a sad horrible belief she held inside her. He wondered why she thought that was the case?

Sure, she was hard to manage and had a tendency to piss him off more times then not but to say that she would never be loved by anyone ever was taking it a bit too far. “Why?”

The word is simple, but held a thousand questions, a thousand thoughts and a thousand feelings. He needed to know, he felt like he won’t be able to breathe without knowing why she hates herself so much.

Yet inside Asagao’s head, her mind turns with every negative thought she could possess. She remembers how she looked at those dead bodies earlier with no emotion, how she never says the right thing and mixes up her emotions because she was never taught how to process them correctly. 

She remembers the orders she received as an assassin when she was five, how she pulled that trigger a million times without even thinking about closing the corpses eyes like Chuuya had done in that warehouse. How could she possibly be worthy of love when she was missing basic human compassion? 

How could she be held by Osamu and voice her feelings for him when she had trampled on the lives of thousands of people like nothing? Even her own brother, she couldn’t feel a speck of grief for him even though she had heard so many stories from Dazai. 

There was something wrong with her, deeply deeply wrong. How could she be worthy to be loved when no one had ever stuck around long then day unless it was out of obligations or some sort of transactional means? 

Taking a shaky breath, Asagao then closes her eyes before speaking, just barely above a whisper. “How can I when I don't even know if I’m fully human..” 

And the words hit him immediately, Chuuya’ heart stopping inside his chest. Human. She didn’t think she was human..just like him. 

Fuck, what was she doing, voicing his internal thoughts and spitting them back out to him like it was nothing? The idea of being a robot, the feeling of being this monster that wasn’t worthy of the simple concept of love. 

He felt exactly the same way. 

Because Chuuya didn’t feel human, not in the slightest. He didn’t dream, he had little memory to understand and hold close. How dare she say that, she had no fucking idea what it was like to have this void inside his chest, this black hole that could never be filled no matter how desperately he wanted it to be. 

But the more he looked at her, the more he saw the pain and the regret in her eyes. She hid it well, behind those large round glasses of hers. A wall of protection, of witty comments and manipulative ideas. 

But in this moment of silence, he couldn't help but see a reflection of himself. 

And he absolutely hated it. 

There was no way. She was supposed to like Dazai, she was supposed to be evil and cruel, recognizing her flaws and yet not caring about them in any way shape or form. That’s what she displayed usually. 

But the Asagao he was looking at now, it was different. More solemn and pensive, like she was lost in her thoughts and drowning in her hidden feelings. It was supposed to be black and white, and yet now he saw the grey. 

The messy, uncertain grey. 

So much so, the words slipped out before he could process them. “Me either.”

Almost immediately, he shuts his lips again, panic on his face. Why did he say that? Why did he give her a weakness so easily? She was going to use it now, she was going to take it and throw it back in his face to destroy him. 

Yet the more he looked at her shocked expression, a small bit of hope unwillingly crept it. Maybe she did truly understand the complex feelings he was carrying alone.

Perhaps she was more like him than he originally thought. 

It was something he didn’t even humor until now. But could it finally be? Was there someone that was uncertain about their humanity like he was? Could he finally confide in someone with his darkest fears? He didn’t know. 

But the possibility was there, and it was both incredibly scary yet comforting at the same exact time. She was dangerous, he shouldn’t be humoring the thought and yet he can’t help it, having been so alone his entire life.

He opened his mouth to speak again when the Flags cut through the space, their voices breaking the tension in the air as Albatross spoke. “Hey guys, I found something! It’s a file laying out the assassinations of those port mafia members from earlier.” 

The two kids immediately turn to him before walking over to look at the file and sure enough there it was, a fully laid out plan of the murders they had stumbled upon just hours prior. Whoever these people were, they were certainly involved. 

Chuuya finishes reading the file before grumbling. “It’s a start but there’s nothing in here to suggest who it was. We’re back to square one, just fucking great.” 

Although that’s when Asa takes a look at Chuuya's discouraged expression and reaches into her pocket with a giddy smile, aiming to make him feel better. “Aw don’t be sad Chu Chu. The murders were done by the GSS.” 

The air immediately turned silent, all of them turning to Asa as she stands there unbothered, like she hadn’t just solved the case they had been spending all night breaking into this building and trying to figure out. 

Piano Man takes a step closer to her, cautious. “And how do you know that, kid?” 

Asa then pulls something out of her pocket to hand to Chuuya as he stares at the object with disbelief and shock. In his palm was a bullet shell, monogrammed with the initials GSS on them. 

Holy shit.

But the GSS were supposed to be wiped out by Dazai’s crew after he joined the mafia. Did some survive somehow, and now they were taking revenge on the port mafia for the attempted genocide? 

Snapping his head to Asagao, he closed his hand around the bullet shell before taking a step closer to her, his voice laced with a million emotions. “Where..where the hell did you get this?” 

Asa only hums though, glancing to the shell before pointing behind her. “Oh, the warehouse. It was next to one of the bodies.” 

…the warehouse? But that was hours ago. That was before they found the lead to bring them to this building. Ever so slowly, Chuuya’s disbelief starts to turn to anger. 

You’ve got be kidding me, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. She was hiding this the entire time?! Why, to play around with them?! To watch them run around like headless chickens trying to solve a case that was already figured out?!

Feeling his voice raise, Chuuya shouted. “What?! And you didn’t tell us?! Why?!

Asa didn’t seem to expect his anger, putting her hands up with defense as she took a step back with a nervous chuckle. “Ah, well..I was going to, but then our mission would’ve been over, and I wanted to spend more time with you. We were having fun, weren’t we?” 

Having fun? Having fun?! Chuuya was livid. “Having fun..this isn’t a goddamn game! This could’ve been done hours ago and yet you withheld information just so we could..hang out?! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. People could’ve died while you were fucking around!”

His words were sharp and lethal like venom, causing Asa to begin to realize her logic wasn’t exactly right and she tries to defend herself. “I..I mean yeah but..no one died. Come on Chu Chu, I thought we were really bonding back there for a second..” 

Bonding? That’s why she drew this out, so she could bond with him? That had to be the absolute worst reasoning he had ever heard of. This wasn’t some summer camp where they made friendship bracelets and bonded over a campfire, this was a real mafia mission and she was treating it like a goddamn joke!

Then Chuuya recalls the moment they shared right before this. Fuck, she knows his fear about not being human. He let his stupid tongue slip and now she was going to betray him. That’s always how it went. 

What was wrong with him? Why did he open up to her? 

It bit him in the ass as always.

She reaches a hand out but he slaps it away fuming. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! We weren't bonding, no way in hell. I only brought you here because I had to, not because I wanted to and you treated this like it was all some goddamn joke. I knew this was a bad idea, I knew having a psychopath on this job like you was a mistake..” 

Asa tries to speak again. “Chu Chu..I..but we’re friends and I just wanted to..” 

But he cuts her off, far too paranoid of her using anything against him and furious to even listen to any other bullshit from her lips. “No, shut the hell up. We are not friends, we never were and we never will be. You may have blackmailed me into agreeing to that stupid request but it will never be real, ever. I would never want to be friends with someone like you.” 

The Flags all look at Chuuya, feeling the tension in the air as Piano Man takes a step forward. He knew the boy was angry but he was going to say something he regretted. “Chuuya..” 

But the kid didn’t want to hear it, shaking his head and pointing an accusatory finger at Dazai’s crazy ass girlfriend. “All you do is manipulate and lie and treat everyone like your own personal playthings and I’m sick of it. Just stay the hell away from me!”

He tries to turn to leave but Asagao doesn’t know when to stop, her feet racing up to him as she reaches her hand out to stop him only for the boy to quickly whirl around and grab her shirt, pulling her closer and hissing. “No wonder why Dazai’s relationship with you is in name only. That’s all anyone would ever want to be with you.” 

Watching her eyes widen at his words, he knew it hurt her but that was the point. She was getting too close to him and he needed her to go away, not knowing any other liabilities about him that she could use.

He was self destructing, it was obvious, but knowing was not enough to stop it. Keep everyone at a distance, never let them know how broken he really was, lashing out with anger and insults. That’s all he knew how to do best. 

Protecting himself by a wall so no one ever came in.

Especially her.

Chuuya then pushes her away as she falls into a sensor and the alarm bells ring all around the room, causing his clouded fury to finally dissipate at his eyes to widen. Shit. 

 He then blinks as Asagao disappears from his sight, probably using her time stop ability as the rest of the Flags curse at the alarms, Albatross grabbing Chuuya’s arm. “Come on man, we gotta go!” 

Feeling pulled in many different directions, Chuuya rushes through the hallways, alarms blaring and disorienting him as his head spun from his previous display.

Everything was just moving so fast, he couldn’t breathe. 

The Flags then shoved the file with the information about the murders into his chest before telling him to run, vaguely seeing hoards of armed guards around as he acted on autopilot and dashed away from them. 

He moved to higher ground, hearing the sound of fighting underneath him as Chuuya makes it onto a platform before he freezes at the sound of a familiar voice, one that made his blood run cold and his anger spike all at once. “Well well well, look who it is. Our fallen King.” 

Snapping his head up, he found himself face to face with the kid that betrayed him an entire year ago, his white spiky hair and fur collared jacket just the same as he remembered. 

Shirase.

Chuuya gritted his teeth, standing up straight to face his past. “What the hell are you doing here?” 

Shirase only chucked though, putting his hands in his pocket. “Oh, you didn’t like the gifts I’ve been sending you? Dozens of mafioso corpses, all because you just wouldn’t die like you were supposed to a year ago.” 

Widening his eyes, the pieces immediately snapped together. The jewel trade, they targeted mafioso in the jewel trade because that was Chuuya’s division. This was all because of him. The Sheep wanted revenge and they were using what was left of the GSS to do it.

The white haired kid’s lips curve into a smirk at that. “Ah, you’re connecting the dots, huh? That’s right Chuuya, the rest of us Sheep still wanted our revenge after you sent the port mafia to destroy our alliance with the GSS. Very few remain, thanks to you.” 

Chuuya glares at the explanation. “I joined the mafia so they wouldn’t kill you. I sacrificed my life so you could live and this is how you repay me? By going after my organization?” 

Shirase only shrugs though. “Quiet Chuuya, stop acting like you care about us anymore. You picked your side, and we picked ours.”

Glancing down to the fight below them, Shirase then chuckles under his breath. “But I can see not much has changed. You're still alone. No one is going to come and save you, just like a year ago. They are all too busy to care about a non-human thing like you.” 

Chuuya’s eyes widen at that, feeling his insecurities fester from Shirase’s words. He knew it wasn’t true, the Flags did care about him, the kid was just trying to get him to doubt that. 

But somewhere in the back of his mind, that same fear crept without permission. Up on this platform it did feel the same, that small sick sense of deja vu he had felt before. Alone. Abandoned. Having no one to rely on but himself. 

And that brought a form of PTSD he hadn’t planned, feeling his heart beat out of his chest. Shirase was right in a sense, not much had changed. He was still pushing people away, shoving them out of his life so they didn’t see the ugly parts of his soul. 

He always did that, even when he was with the Sheep, and now he was here again. 

Just like a year ago, there was no one to fight for him but himself. 

It was crippling, heart wrenching in every way, knowing that in this moment he was truly and utterly alone. 

Just like he deserved to be. 

Shirase then smiles at Chuuya’s unraveling, his hand reaching into his pocket to pull out a blade, a carbon copy like last year as he races towards the boy to finally finish what he started. 

And Chuuya didn’t realize it until the blade was mere inches from his side, the boy’s eyes widening barely having time to react as his brain told him that it was always supposed to be like this. 

He was weak, too weak to ever ask for help. 

The boy then closed his eyes and waited for the familiar sting of the blade to course through him, for that same helpless and vulnerable feeling to appear..

 But it never came. 

Opening his eyes in confusion, Chuuya then felt his nostrils ring with the scent of vanilla, a familiar deja vu filling his senses as he turned back to Shirase and widened his eyes at the sight. 

Asagao, the girl that he had yelled at and had just told to get lost was standing in front of him, the blade that was meant for him plunged deep into her side like she had taken the strike for him. 

Shirase blinked in disbelief at the girl who had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, reeling back with a shout. “W-Who..how did you…”

But Chuuya knew the answer before she said anything. Her time stop ability, the one that snuck up on him earlier, she had used it to put herself in front of that knife. But why?

Asa only smirks though, her face not showing any signs of pain as she simply takes the handle of the blade and pulls it out of her side, allowing it to clang on the floor. “Nice try, but Chu Chu’s not alone. He has me.”

Shirase takes a step backwards, not understanding what was happening. “Y-You..who are you? You didn’t even wince..”

Chuuya on the other hand is still struggling to understand what is going on, watching as the blood slowly stained her side and his heart dropped in his chest. She just got stabbed for him. Why? He didn’t deserve that. 

She had no reason to after he berated her so harshly just minutes ago. 

So much so, his voice came out a whisper, his eyes never leaving her wounded side. “A-Asa..” 

But she only glanced behind him and smiled, like she’s trying to reassure him she’s okay. 

Then Asa turned back to Shirase before putting her hands out in front of the ginger haired boy, her eyes narrowing with a fire and a threat behind her glasses that made his blood run cold. “The name is Asagao, and though I’m not worthy enough to be Chuuya’s friend yet, I’m going to work hard to earn the meaning of that title. So, back off. He’s protected.” 

And all at once, Chuuya felt his heart stop, tears threatening to break free.

Oh. So this was what he was missing. 

Someone to fight for him. 

---------

(This chapter was a pain in my ass I've been writing it forever. I hope Chuuya's characterization is alright. It's my first time doing a study on him ahhh. Okay next chapter should be soon I'm already halfway down. Also If you're missing Dazai..well you won't be for long.)

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

The Woods Are Dark and Wicked

Author's note: more of husbandry AU with Olly. Thanks to Sleepy for letting me borrow her character Algeret and Cedric and helping me write this hehe. Thanks to C-u-c-k-o-o for letting me borrow Khopesh.

Summary: Olly gets cornered by Algeret in the woods for a sparring match.

Warning: bullying, taunting fighting, character death

tagged: @sleepyfan-blog @c-u-c-koo-4-40k @i-am-a-dragon34 @ms--lobotomy @jaghatai-khock

tagged: @kit-williams @whorety-k @bleedingichorhearts @thevoidscreams @gra93fruit-blog

Tagged: @felinisnoctis @bispecsual, @egrets-not-regrets @finchly-tintinnabulation

Olly had been exploring the woods near the base when he heard a familiar and dreaded voice call out to him. Reluctantly, he turns around to see a very someone he recognizes, and he frowns unhappy at Algeret, who smirks at him.

"Why are you out here alone?" Oleandros asks the Apothecary-tracked Blood Claw First Born Scout. There is a frown on his face as he keeps his body posture loose and ready as he keeps himself from curling his hands into fist or hunching his shoulders by his ears.

He remembers what some of his older brothers and cousins have murmured about how to deal with bullying and bullies- how to be more intimidating and to cause fear on others as he lifts his chin up and squares his shoulders as he glares down at the smaller Astarte.

"Aw... I just wanna spar with ya," Algeret says with a smirk on his face as he eyed the larger, younger space marine, "Unless you are a wuss and a coward."

Olly frowns at Algeret, who's in full armor, while he's just wearing civilian clothes- sized for Astartes. He glances around and tilts his head a little bit- he doesn't hear anyone else nearby, and he can't spot any of Algeret's pack mates nearby.

"I am no coward," Olly says slowly, "however out in the woods without someone to watch our fight is... unwise. If you want to spar with me, we can go to the nearest base and spar in one of the rooms."

"Naw, but I came out here because I heard you were out and about. Besides, sparring out here is more like real battle than in the sparring rooms." Algeret says with a cocky smirk.

"You are in full armor and I am not," Olly says, pointing out that Algeret has... what the first born would think is an unfair advantage.

"Cow~ard," Alegrets mocks him in a sing-song voice as he stomps closer to Olly. "Pathetic, stupid, slow, lily-livered, soft handed bastard."

"I am not lily livered, that is physically impossible," Olly protests, "I am not slow, and I have callouses on my hands from work and training, same as you."

"I see you didn't argue that you weren't stupid," Algeret points out, still mocking and taunting him.

Olly scowls at him harder, "I may not be the smartest person, but I am smarter than you realize."

"Tch, surree you are," Algeret says with a mock, "C'mon, it's just one little spar- it can't hurt… but if you are too pathetic that you must have others watchin’ us spar and must have your armor…”

“That’s not what I said,” Olly says as he clenches his fist as his temper flares, he knows that he’s being baited into this, “You have an unfair advantage- you are wearing your armor, and have weapons, I am unarmed and unarmored.”

“So are you gonna spar with me or not?” Algeret says with a cocky, arrogant smirk as he sneers up at the Ultramarine Scout.

Olly eyes Algeret with a frown, it was a very bad idea to spar out in the woods without a spotter- without an Apothecary on standby- not that he’d intentionally go too far sparring with Algeret, but accidents happened, triggers could be pushed, and well. Sometimes things could get too intense… especially between brothers or cousins who have bad history between each other. Part of him is telling him this is a bad idea, but his temper is getting the better of him.

And with what those fucking Dark Angels wanted to do to Keru, he’s been… wanting to fight someone, and punch something. But he knows that those feelings aren’t particularly helpful. Especially since Captain Ash’val has sternly ordered them to stay away from Dark Angels for the time being.

Olly rolls his shoulders and scowls down at Algeret, his eyes flashing, “Fine, lets Spar.

“Finally!” Algeret says as he bounces in place and pulls his fists up. “Lets get to it you coward!”

“I. am. Not. a. Coward!” Olly growls out as his eyes flash in rage as his hands curl into fists as he makes the first swipe at Algeret who dodges the blow.

The Blood Claw smirks at him and dodges the blow as he keeps running his mouth- spewing cruel words that are lies about Olly, he’s able to ignore them as he dodges and weaves. It’s when Algeret starts talking shit about his brothers- his cousins that makes Olly madder as he starts to stop holding back and moves faster, and punches harder as he grabs Algeret and throws the blood claw into a tree.

The helmet that Algeret had been wearing pops off and there is some blood that sprays out of his mouth at the crunching sound as he hits the tree. The color of Algeret’s eyes darkens and his eyes are filled with a dangerous sort of wrath that Olly’s not seen in the other space marine before. The dark, low growl from the Blood Claw has Olly’s hackles rise.

“Oh you fucker!” Algeret wheezes as he gets up with a growl- and pulls out his chain blade, “I’m gonna make you pay for that you bitch!”

Olly’s anger cools and he’s able to blink himself out of the tunnel vision that he’d gotten locked into when he heard the blade was drawn and revved up. “Algeret! I’m not wearing armor- that’s a live blade!”

“Good!” Algeret snarls back as he charges at Olly.

Who’s on the defense as he dodges and weaves- trying not to get hit by the blade. He staggers and lets out a groan as Algeret manages to land a couple of hits. Olly- in desperation- as he realizes Algeret isn’t stopping. And that if he doesn’t take the blade away from the armored and pissed of Space Wolf Algeret might kill me!

So he manages to grab the blade from Algeret- but in the ensuing struggle Olly accidentally nicks Algeret’s throat and the space wolf that he’s got pinned to the ground is still thrashing and snarling.

“Stand down!” Olly says as he keeps Algeret pinned, “I won the spar! Stop fighting!”

“You- fucker!” Algeret gurgles out as Olly tosses the chain blade out of easy reach as he keeps Algeret pinned easily with his strength.

Olly recalls that some brothers and cousins could get into a frenzied state and it took them awhile before they are able to calm down and tap out. He sends a vox message to Cedric, ‘please come to my coordinates, discreetly but quickly please.’

Olly thinks that Algeret will be fine- even with the blood flowing from his neck as Olly clamps his hand around it. Algeret’s bellsarian furnace will activate and keep him alive- and it will give the smaller space marine enough time for Cedric to get there to fix his dumb ass up. He’ll take the scolding from Cedric for being stupid about sparring.

~

Cedric was in the middle of his lunch break when his vox chirped. The young Black Templar blinked in mild surprise and read the message. Concern and alarm shot through him and he immediately stood up, threw away his remaining lunch and walked with purpose out of the base. 

He did his best to make sure it didn't look like he was running, as that would invite further scrutiny. As soon as he was out of sight of the base, and there were no other Astartes around him, Cedric broke into a full sprint, dodging around wandering baselines and over minor obstacles. He paused just long enough to snag one of the emergency kits he had stashed in hidden spots all over Gannet Point. He took a moment to double check that everything was in it's proper place in the kit before closing it up once again and sprinting directly towards the coordinates that Olly had sent him.

Belatedly, Cedric made sure to vox Olly back that [I am on my way. ETA ten minutes]

~

The tangy scent of blood was heavy in the air, and there were clear signs of a vicious fight from the tangled footprints, the splashes of blood, the trampled plants and broken tree branches. Cedric’s gaze was immediately drawn to the prone form of an astartes, with another Cousin pressing their hand on the other's bloody throat.

Relief swept through him as Cedric registered that it was Olly who was the living victor.

“OVER HERE!” Olly calls out he sounds frantic, panicked and sobbing. “He-he’s gone very still and cold… His bellisarian furnace isn’t activating for some reason? Oh please don’t be dead. I’m going to get into so much trouble!”

Cedric walked over to Olly, checking his Ultramarine brother for injuries, staring to clean and bandage his wounds. “Algerets doesn't have a Bellisaurian Furnace. He's a firstborn. He's dead by his own stupidity. Take your hands off of him and clean them with these. Are you injured anywhere else?”

“He got a couple of good hits in- but I’m not too badly wounded.” Olly burst into tears at that, “fuck! Damn it. i- I forgot that they don’t have a Bellisaurian Furnace.”

He pulls his hands off of him and stands up getting off of the.. The corpse. Fuck. He’s going to be drawn and quartered. He didn’t like Algeret. And the Blood Claw is a vicious, bullying bastard, but he hadn’t meant to kill him. Not that the First Borns would believe him.

“Anyone else know the two of you are out here?” Cedric asked as he finished cleaning and bandaging up Olly's wounds. He looks the body over With a critical eye before stripping the armor and weapons off of him. After that, he begins to remove the usable organs from the corpses, carefully placing them in stasis jars. Whether or not they will be labeled depended on Olly's answer. 

“No, not that I’m aware of,” Olly says shaking his head, “I’d told Jophie I was going to the forest to try and find edible berries to gather, possibly scope out some of the deer tracks for when hunting season started.”

Olly helps Cedric with processing the body as he helps wash and strip the body of heraldry and paint. As well as stripes anything that identifies that the armor had once belonged to Blood Claw Algeret, “And from what the… The deceased said… No one knew that he was coming out here to bully me again.”

Cedric paused, taking the useful organs out of the dead body to hug Olly, and he murmured quietly “This isn't your fault, Olly. Algeret being stupid is not your fault.” He was planning on murdering the miserable little shit soon, anyways. 

Olly is still mostly in shock at having accidentally killed someone, not that he hasn’t killed Xenos scum and heretics before. He has. He hasn’t killed a Renegade before- and sure, he’s wanted to recalibrate Algeret’s personality with a judicious application of Rock therapy, but he hadn’t wanted to… Kill him.

“Pigs.” Olly says numbly, “Fully mature and adult pigs can eat anything including meat- they are able to eat almost everything. We can chop up whatever you don’t want to keep of him. And feed what’s left to the pigs. We can then gather the- the bones that are left over from that- and buy the adult pigs and turn them into a feast. Feed it to those who want some pork- and other stuff at Stone Flame- and Rot Bone… and any traveling astartes who are hungry. That will leave the bones left- but his bones, plus the pig bones can be turned into soup base. Also if we get some bones from a butcher- for large bovine- the amount of Astartes bones won’t be enough to trigger the omophagea gland… a bone broth turned into a soup or stew- with meat of bovine, and plenty of herbs, spices and vegetables of course.”

Olly knows that he’s babbling but it helps him think of what to do next as he uses the chain sword to cut the carcass into pieces and he’s staring blankly at the bits. “After we feed the meat to the pigs, we will need to clean up… the … mess… Nanael knows about farm animals- since he’s been helping out Chaplain Malachai - and won’t ask too many questions if we ask for… how many pigs do we need to get to eat… the… what’s left?”

He continues to stare and tries not to hyperventilate. “I’m… sorry. I thought he was going to be stable enough for you to patch up… I’m sorry I got you involved in this… fuck up of mine.”

“This isn't your fault, Olly.” Cedric reiterated, hugging Olly once again. He had removed most of the useful organs, but calming and soothing his Brother.

Olly sends a [Please come to these coordinates discrete with X number of adult pigs. Quickly.I’ll pay you back for the pigs later. Please get a few pigs from several farms. Please don’t get all of them from one farm. Pig gender doesn’t matter, just fully adult.]

Nanael receives the message from Olly, it was a weird task, but then again Olly could have some strange thoughts in his head. He does manage to go to several of the farms in the local area that have adult pigs for sale that Olly’s looking to buy and he pays for them and gets the pigs loaded up into the back of a truck that can contain them.

Although Nanael and Cedric were careful- a certain sharp eyed and curious older cousin- and first born Night Lord had noticed and had sneakily followed the feathered Lamenter. He was curious- he’s no snitch, and after the battle with Stormbreaker- well, he’s grown fond of all of them.

Cedric skulking off with a med pack isn't That suspect. Could just be that one of the Scouts got injured sparring or hurt in an embarrassing way. And not something that’s his business. However- what is concerning is Nanael and some pigs. And also- Nanael with the pigs are going in the same direction that Cedric did. Yeah no, he's gotta see what the baby cousins have gotten themselves into.

What he sees as he stealths over is a grim-faced Cedric- a tear stained Olly- and a dead body- of one of those Blood Claws who liked to bully the Primaris Ultramarine. Oh no. Well. Khopesh sees nothing, and knows nothing and sneaks off so they don't notice him.

Nanael crouches down and helps them feed the bigs the meat, and Nanael nods towards Olly, “Good job- Olly, few will believe that you killed this asshat.”

“... I’m not sure how to feel about that,” Olly says as he frowns a little as he helps the pigs to eat the… the meat. “... I have killed heretics and xenos scum.”

“I know that- but… perhaps some of our older cousins seem to find you… more innocent than you are,” Nanael says with a shrug, “being underestimated- is one of our best tools to move… unnoticed on Ancient Terra.”

“That’s true,” Olly mumbles.

Once the pigs finish eating the … meat and have stomped and trampled the battle area- into looking more like someone had lost control of some pigs. They heard the beasts back into the livestock caddy and truck. 

“I’ll request Thressl to get bovine meat and bones, and get Thressl to requisition other food stuffs, so that we can start making a wonderful, surprise feast full of pork and bovine- and vegetables and carbohydrates and start handing the food once cooked out.” Nanael nods towards them, “I’ll head back to Base- and start processing the pigs, after they digest the … their last meal and have Claude and Jophiel help me prepare a … feast of meat.”

Olly helps Cedric gather up the leftovers- some of the bones that were too large for the pigs to crack open and eat they pick up and stash into one of Cedric’s medical equipment bags. Olly and Cedric do their best to clean up the … scene of the mess- and do their best to ensure that there is no blood, or anything else left over and they start destressing the stripped of heraldry and colors armor a bit. Cedric tucks one of the gauntlets into Olly’s truck who nods.

Cedric and Olly scatter the pieces of armor far, far away from the scene of the battle- and all around various parts of the massive forest that surrounds Gannet Point. Cedric will happen across a piece of armor a few days later- and it makes it seem more organic- if random people- astartes and baselines stumble across bits of armor.

It's also less likely for it to be realized it’s part of a full set of armor that way and less likely for anyone to track it back to them that way. Cedric sneaks the organs in ones and twos into Rot Bone Base, the Blood Angel Base- called Angel’s Rest, Dark Chapel Base- which is full of Chaos Word Bearers, and Stone Flame Base gets none- as Zariel would notice the extra organs and ask too many questions. While the Chaos and Renegades Bases wouldn’t ask- simply too glad to have the new organs for their uses.

[immortalthunderstorm]

The Alicent-Larys Conondrum

I'm back with some thoughts™️ on the HOTD fandom's hot topics. This time - something I've seen discussed quite a lot and what seems to be a controversial topic - the dynamic between Larys and Alicent, and mostly how a lot of the blame gets shifted onto her. There's a general tendency of overt victim blaming when it comes to Alicent herself, and often situations in which she is subjected to trauma get twisted into her own shortcomings rather than those of her perpetrators. The marriage to Viserys is one example, but the same arguments are used for her scenes with Larys.

I thought I'd try and analyse it a bit more from Alicent's perspective, though I don't disagree that the show has left this incredibly dubious at times and I really think that e.g. the foot scene was unnecessary.

Obviously Matthew Needham already provided a pretty great take on Larys as a character and his perspective on the dynamic, so I won't get into that myself here, but recommend having a listen to what he has to say.

1. Alicent should have dismissed or reported Larys after she learned of his Harrenhal stunt

I actually think it makes perfect sense that Alicent doesn't dismiss Larys despite being horrified by his actions.

The earlier episodes of the season make a point of how Alicent is isolated and lonely in the Red Keep. She says herself, she has no friends, no real allies, her former companion lied to and 'betrayed' her, got her father fired and therefore left her without her last constant family member by her side. She is heavily traumatised, forced into a marriage she doesn't want, forced to birth child after child and mostly ignored or dismissed by her ailing husband. She is queen in all but name, her job is to look appropriate, make sure the courtiers are entertained, and most of all give the king children.

Before even Criston joins her, the only person who approaches her is Larys. He seems empathetic, talks to her openly (or so she thinks), pretends to care about her as a person. This is where she is probably most vulnerable, most alone. Of course she falls for it, I don't think anyone can realistically blame her for that, she's a lonely teen forced to be a mother in what is essentially a toxic environment. Plus it is Larys who tells her of Rhaenyra's 'betrayal', which turns out to be true, so in a way he 'proves' his loyalty to her by disproving Rhaenyra's.

Later on he is the one who supports her when she vents about Rhaenyra and her bastards, they have dinners together, an honest friend and sympathetic ear in a metaphorical snakepit. And then, he goes as far as killing his own family, something that Alicent is horrified by, but it shows just how far his capabilities stretch. He has a spy network, he can get her information no one else can, information that can give her shreds of power and influence. He can make things happen without anyone ever suspecting that he, and by implication her, was involved. Larys makes himself invaluable to her and is not easily replaced.

I do disagree that she has some great power over him as a lot of people like to claim. Larys would not confide in her if that would bring him in any great danger. Realistically, accusing him would be such a wild theory, plus the absolute no go of double kinslaying, plus he's a very high ranking Lord, I'm not actually sure people would believe her - she doesn't have proof either. Viserys has absolutely not had her back ever, he has the spine of a wet slice of bread, I doubt that he'd simply put him on trial and kill him (each High Lord is an asset to the crown and if he starts "randomly" beheading people that could cause problems, like Ned Stark, like Rickard Karstark (let's put Vaemond aside here because there should have been consequences)) because Alicent said so? All that on top of Viserys' general strategy of ignoring everything that could be a "political headache" to him, my confidence in him is quite low.

And again, why would Alicent rat Larys out? He benefits her and is her main ally at court. She is shocked at how far he went, but in the end it did get rid of both Harwin and Lyonel, which caused Rhaenyra to leave and Otto to resume his position as Hand. Alicent did not condone the murders and would not have sanctioned them had he asked - but to her he is loyal beyond doubt and most importantly only to her (in her head) - later when he offers to give her Lucerys' eye she openly refuses, BUT she acknowledges how far he is willing to go for her. She'd be stupid to rat him out that would only disadvantage her.

2. The Foot Scene

Now in episode 9, Alicent is in a highly stressful situation. Aegon is to be crowned after she spent the entire day fretting he was missing or dead in a ditch somewhere, she had to fight her father and essentially most of the council not to send assassins after Rhaenyra, she had to find Aegon first to be the voice of reason to him, she is clearly distraught over Viserys death and scared for her children.

This is not the time and place for mistakes, every move has to count and nothing can slip through the cracks. Larys knows this, and he knows that he and his spies are going to be very important in the coup to come, and he knows he is the only one who can provide this. So does Alicent. She may be queen, but in actuality she wields very little power in this instance. The green council scene showed that they plotted behind her back, her father most of all, and clearly don't take her very seriously.

Essentially in episode 9, she's trying to outrace Otto and establish herself as more than a pawn. In a time where war is all but inevitable and she has enemies both outside and within the Red Keep's walls, and her children's lives are at stake - how could she refuse Larys who can provide her with valuable intelligence? By giving in to his "demands" she learns that her handmaiden is a spy which is a very important revelation.

It's hard to try and make sense of how their power dynamic switched to such extremes, we don't know whether it's happened before, in which capacity and for what. Clearly she is aware of what he wants, but how did that come up? How did this develop? We can't know so I refrain from making assumptions for any other times.

Her symbolically selling her body again for all this is a price she is willing to pay, but it doesn't make it any less of a SA (and yes, I've seen a lot of people dismissing this as consensual since she willingly took off her shoes for this. It's giving 'she asked for it'). Alicent is deeply disgusted, she can't look at him, she probably already has a very twisted view on herself and her body as something that belongs to others and he abuses that. But she indulges him because she realistically doesn't really have any other choice. He has made himself irreplaceable.

This doesn't mean it's consensual. Consent would mean that Alicent did this because she wants to, finds some enjoyment in it, and hasn't been pressured into it. But that's far from the truth. She does it because she feels like there's no other way for her to get this valuable intelligence, so she endures it despite clearly being uncomfortable and disgusted. I am so tired of everything being blamed on her just because people don't like or understand her character.

[whyisstarkidfollowingmeshoo]

I'm reading a lot of things about Hidge's sexuality canon wise. So taking account on what Nick and Matt Lang said (as much as I remember it without rewatching the video proof lol) my argument on why the canon sexuality of Prof. Henry Hidgens is that he is bisexual and Objectumsexual.

Well I think canon wise he is not polyamorous. I can accept that (i have no problem with him being poly canon wise. I am not anti-poly, just faithful with canon) but I remember Nick Lang or even Matt did not specify it. They said, within along the lines/paraphrasing: Henry loves his six boy friends, they are special to him, but Chad IS the apple of his eye. The last sentence they meant romantically.

So why bisexual and not gay? To make it clear, I have no problem with him being gay. I'm willing to be corrected. But since I'm arguing that he's bisexual, well let me start. Of course we haven't seen Hidge talk about or falling in love with specific women characters in the saga so far, however he did say in TGWDLM " Alexa, I love you like every woman flesh and bone", so there ya go. If he can find a woman that is subordinate to him like Alexa and Siri, then he can have a relationship with a woman. Come to think of it, i think he loves Chad the most because I hypothesize Chad always goes along with his plans/ideas. Yes I believe if I were to analyze his relationship personality, he wants to be the dominant in the relationship. He's very controlling and spirals when he doesn't get his way. Which why this is a good segway to...

And with the mention of two famous AI virtual assistants, I think it's enough to say that Hidge has objectophilia. More so in NMT episode Time Bastard where he shared his sexual rendezvous with either one of them to Ted and implied how he did it (some imagination and a little elbow grease or any lube lol). Not to mention that he talks to Alexa and Siri like they're humans. Fun fact, I read somewhere that people who have this sexual orientation cant handle keeping a relationship with another human because they're too controlling hence having a relationship with an object is easier because it has no thoughts, no opinions to consider. Also, this can also be a result of a trauma. Him losing his friends, especially Chad, during a lightning strike attack did not just lead him to isolation and practicing survival instincts, but also drove him to loving objects instead cause at least they won't experience terrible human deaths. Here is the source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/sex-and-relationships/decoding-objectophilia-5-reasons-why-people-fall-in-love-with-objects/story-LMvWWzhs257dD47yxNGC9H.html UPDATE: these facts are more connected to the character that is Prof Henry Hidgens whose personality reflects the generalizing views of the orientation better. Real life Objectums are a lot more complicated than that and can act against stereotypes/generalization. Thanks @fork-bork for reminding me.

Also further explanation:  ur friends can be ur life partners (hence there are old people living with friends in their twilight years) and some people like calling their friends as boyfriends or girlfriends. Hidge is just comfortable with his sexuality and closeness with his friends that he can call his male friends as his boyfriends. I think that's just Jeff's word play and humor going on as he wrote the song. And according to the song "it takes balls": Steve was a priest, Leighton was in a relationship with a person named Gary, and Greg was seeing/dating Steve's mom. Plus all of the boys, sans Chad and Henry, were attracted to females while at college based on their locker room talk acted by the Workin Girls cast.

I'm not like Unhidge Hidge, so tell me about ur thoughts/opinions/rebuttals as long as ur taking account of what I wrote here. Especially proof from the Langs with ur rebuttal. Of course in head canon or fan fic world, anything is free reins and you can experiment with Hidge's sexuality there. Just make sure to specify if it's canon or head canon so to avoid confusion and arguments.

Update:

I have the urge to check my HHP Working Boys screen recordings where Nick and Matt discussed Henry's relationship with the boys if it's poly or not. Update 2: Okay I watched it and Nick just says that Chad is his favorite so get out of that as you wish. But since the boys did their locker room talk about girls without Henry and Chad, I don't think the boys were making out with each other unless maybe just Henry and Chad if it's not unreciprocated from Henry's side.

I can understand if most fans think Henry is gay and not bi since Nick and Matt have not given more concrete proof of his attraction to human females. My only arguments with him being bi is that he loves and has done sexual acts with Alexa and Siri, AI virtual assistants with female names and voices. (NMT episode: Time Bastard).

[bowsers-keep]

So because I haven't seen any aus that swap which Protagonist is from which chapter yet I'M DOING IT MYSELF FOLKS! There are so many combinations we can mess with for 8 characters but I'm probably going to be sticking with the one that's funniest to me.

Prehistory - Cube

Imperial China - Oboromaru

Twilight of Edo Japan - Oersted

Wild West - Masaru

Present Day - Lei

Near Future - Sundown

Distant Future - Akira

Middle Ages - Pogo

Sticking Cube into Prehistory is just objectively funny because they go from robot to caveman which is incredibly entertaining. Probably on the smarter side and helps Beru more cause they're nice rather then anything else.

Imperial China was a MIND FUCK to try and commit a swap with, so the prisoner and goemon are also taking the place of the other two disciples here and per suggestion of the discord server (not too sure about this myself but it's OUR BEST OPTION!). As for this Disciple Oboromaru himself, probably has similar origins to lei but his thing is more about learning how to loosen up since he's still a wee bit serious.

Oersted does NOT become an edgy little man in need of therapy, instead he gets his Shinobi arc. Very quiet because I like his stereotypical silent protag schtick and pretty good at his job! Still bit formal as well but a good person at the end of the day so probably pacifist or normal route.

So Masaru gets a gun now, he still punches people! He just also has a gun now! I've given this man too much power that he's been slapped with currently unidentified trauma to balance him out! Still cheerful and helpful because this is Masaru but uhhh he's certainly not at his best. Have fun with the homosexual tension buddy.

Lei/just any of the disciples being present day was probably the cleanest swap here. Lei is just my default for any and all Live a Live stuff. Not much to say about this one in general because of how easy the swap was, just yeah they're now a martial arts savant. Maybe any given one wouldn't actually kill Odie but not sure.

Now this one is the main reason this swap set exists, because it would be unfair of me to only let Sundown have the privilege of seeing what would happen if he were in the other's shoes. For the sake of this I will be using my fanon real name for this man of Austin Garrett although it is not Sundown Kid without the alias and since he's a teenage boy here he probably got the idea from Matsu with the whole Lawless thing. Just dumb stupid teen boy with powers and who may or may not have a death wish. I'm trying to keep backstory details mostly the same where I can so there's still some things I need to work out with this particular swap.

Akira is a little guy robot now, he's still a bastard, but he also dislikes OD-10 for what it's doing to the people that Kato likes (and Kato himself). So he's going to fuck that super computer up. The dynamic between tiny bot Akira and Cooperate Darthe is definitely going to be something that starts off with the two not liking eachother, turned into tentative allyship, before ending in mutal respect and trust. He would also try and take on the Behemoth head on at LEAST once.

Middle Ages Pogo, I quite like this one for the reason Pogo does last longer then Oersted in the not becoming evil field. Unlike Oersted however he's much more akin to a barbarian rather then a knight because I need to keep the unga bunga somewhere in. Very cheerful and no thoughts hear empty, and cares about people very much. Very heart on his sleeve. Eventually however, the tradegy of the middle ages sets in, and a different Odio is born.

Still figuring out the details for the Dominion of Hate in this AU but that may just be in the reblogs or a follow up post.

[itsobnoxiouslove]

I was Headin’ Back Out East

The second fic for @zanibot ! For the Lord Huron Secret Santa hosted by @tinylongwing.

Summary: After the events of Vide Noir Buck returns to where he found Johnnie. A conversation ensues.

Content Warnings: Cursing, smoking, mentions of gun violence references to using alcohol as a coping mechanism. Canon typical Vide Noir album and movie content. There are also spoilers for the movie. If I missed a warning, please let me know!

Notes:

-Disclaimer: I don't think Buck is good person this story is written with the characterization that he doesn't believe he's in the wrong (mainly with Lee.)

-I would love to work with this concept more in the future! If you have any requests for scenes message me and I'll try to write them.

-If you want to expand on what I have written yourself go ahead!

-I don't own the characters/canon or any Lyrics used within the fic

Buck found himself back in the desert where he found the ghost of an Ender on his way out of the city. With the possibility of the cops or Z'Oiseau’s goons on his tail he was quick to drive out of the city.

Once the gravity of the situation caught up with him he had to take a break from the road and think things over. 

He knew things weren’t looking good for him. Lee knew what he had done and since she didn’t love him there was no reason for her not to send someone after him if she desired. He wanted to make sure he was far away before that happened. 

Buck himself needed some more time to reflect than what he could by the river so he was sitting on the hood of his car. He would’ve been leaning against it but leg wouldn’t let him stand on it much. Even without much weight on it ached.  More so now that most of the adrenaline from the night’s events was gone.  His head was starting to hurt but he could deal with the pain. 

It was quiet. Unlike the last time he was there, the sky was clear. No storms rumbled the sky, hardly a breeze could be felt, just a clear sky full of uncaring stars. Looking towards where he came from the lights from the city lit up the sky the green of the Emerald Star. Was his exposure to Vide Noir the cause of the color or was something about the place he fled just not quite normal? Part of him leaned towards it being Lee, her lighting up the sky,the true Emerald Star.

“Hey Bub! Long time no see!” 

Buck jumped, wincing as he put too much weight on his leg. He turned to be met with a particular Ender. He looked the same as he did the last time they met, not a surprise to Buck. Part of Buck’s mind still thought the other man was a figment of it.

Even if he wasn’t he was still dead and unlikely to change much in the time Buck was gone. 

Both of them just stared at each other for a couple of moments, obviously shocked to see the other. 

“Hey man. I didn’t expect to see you here.” 

“Same with you bub.”

 Another bout of. The two debating of what

"Bub! What's your name? I didn't get it last time."

“Buck.” 

The ender chuckled realizing that his nickname wasn’t too far off from Buck’s actual name. 

“Johnnie. 

The two shook hands. Johnnie’s hand was ice cold, yet it felt solid, real.

Johnnie scrutinized Buck for a moment.

“Huh. You came back from the edge.”

“Look man, I don't know what you mean by that.” 

“Ya know back from the dead! Zazo getcha?”

Buck wincing as he put too much weight on his leg, “Yeah some of the bastard’s goons Blackbrianed me.” 

“Man, the one thing I told you not to do!”

“Not like I wanted my mind to go through… that!  I wasn’t being careful and I made some enemies! I made it out alive so I don’t think it really matters.”

“You’re a lucky son of a bitch aren’t ya?” 

Buck shrugged, he guessed he was lucky. Nothing was in his favor, yet he didn't die. In the end dying would’ve not changed a thing for his now ex fiancée. Leigh would just live her new life without even thinking about him.  She moved on. 

Johnnie, much like their last meeting, was filled with more life than a dead person should have, way more than the living Buck. Heartbreak and his injuries not doing anything to help him feel better. 

“Did ya get your girl back?”

Johnnie studied Buck’s car figuring out the answer before Buck could say a word. Still Johnnie kept his mouth shut, waiting for Buck to answer. 

“No.” Buck sighed, “As it turns out she never loved me.”

“Damn. That’s gotta suck.” 

Understatement of the year buddy. He even fought death to get her back, fought death for no reason at all. He sighed, “I was a fool. I should’ve known when she left that she didn’t feel anything about me. ” 

And when the fortune teller who was scarily accurate told him to stop. Hindsight was a powerful perspective. Too blinded by his love he never realized the neon signs blinking the message, she doesn’t love you. 

“Got a smoke?”

Buck nodded, needing one himself, pulling out two cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He handed one to Johnnie and the two smoked in silence.

Finding himself smoking with a dead guy on two separate occasions was not an outcome of his journey he was expecting but it was a welcome one. Considering how bad things were going it was a nice change of pace.

“Did you get to The Enders?” Johnnie’s voice pierced the silence between the two. 

“Yeah. I wasn’t able to get to your brother. The cops showed up before I was able to talk to him or anyone really.”

Truly it was partly before Buck could work up the courage to approach him and was able to diffuse the situation he was getting himself into. 

The look Alex Redmayne gave him still sent chills down his spine whenever he thought about it.

Buck wasn’t going to tell The Ender that. He wouldn’t see the end of it. Johnnie didn’t seem to understand that strangers wandering into a place filled with criminals didn’t work well Chances were it would only hurt him more.

The younger Redmayne's  entire demeanor shifted. The endless energy he had moments before seemed to drain from his body. He looked up into the stars where his mind was sent to die with a distant look in his eye. 

Quietly he sneered, “Those bastards.”

“I was able to get your handkerchief to another Ender. She said she would give it to Alex for me.”  

This brought the energy back to the Ender, “Who was it?” 

“I only know her as Lady MoonBeam. She never told me her real name.”

“Oh her! She’s somethin’ isn’t she?” Johnny hummed with fondness in his eyes.”Thinks she ain’t nothing but a fraud, yet has her way of predictin’ futures.” 

“Follow the Emerald Star.” Buck murmured.  

“Is that what she told ya?”

“Yep. She also told me to stop looking for Leigh before giving me another hint.” 

“So did ya listen to her?”

“I followed the Emerald star and I didn’t stop looking. She was right about the Star and she must’ve known Leigh didn’t actually care about me. That or she’s just smarter than me.”

“She very well could’ve predicted it. Really if a dead man like myself can walk and Vide Noir can sling shot your brain through the cosmos seeing the future doesn’t sound that far fetched does it?”  

“No it does not.” 

Sirens in the distance perked Buck’s ear. For a moment it sounded like they were getting closer.  Buck didn’t know what was worse, the thought. If Z'Oiseau’s goons black brained him again the outcome would be different. 

Buck was certain the mission to find his fiance was what pulled him back, he had a reason to be too stubborn to die; love.

With the illusion shattered he had nothing to really fight for, nothing to pull him back from the edge if he found himself there again. It just didn’t seem worth the effort. He relaxed when they finally faded into the distance. Johnnie of course picked up on his unease. 

“So, what did ya do?”

Buck glared at the Ender, not saying a word. If he tried to lie and change the subject he knew Johnnie would pick up on it. 

“Really man don’t play dumb. I’ve found myself on the wrong side of the law many times! Besides, what am I going to do? ” He gestured to his torn up face driving home the point he wasn’t exactly alive, “call the cops on ya?”

Buck sighed, getting the point. “I shot at least two men. I don’t know if I killed anyone but I did shoot at them.”

Johnnie on the other hand treated the news by howling with laughter “There ya go bub! I knew you aren’t a coward!”

Buck wasn’t an Ender so shooting a person, regardless of who wasn’t as much of an honor to him as it would be to Johnnie, but the enthusiasm did help him feel better, “ I guess I’m not.” 

“Was he one of Zazo's?” 

“Yeah. I might've gotten Zazo too,” Buck’s mind didn't want him to recall who was caught on the wrong end of his gun,“ I don’t really wanna think about it anymore. 

Johnnie’s face lit up with the news. 

Once more he howled with laughter. While Buck shot to save his ass, possibly Lee’s and only a little out of anger over Lee herself, to Johnnie who wasn’t there was a different meaning to his actions. 

Frankie Lou and Johnnie were both wronged by the man and those who worked with him. Buck himself being crossed by man. He felt better thinking about his actions in the light of it being revenge for the two.

“Well Buck, what are ya gonna do now?”

In all honesty Buck had no clue what he would do with his life. His only solid idea was just to get out of the city. Even returning to where Johnnie was found was a risk with Z'Oiseau using it as a dumping ground. 

He didn’t even know where he would go once he got out. Maybe a motel or a quiet place to sleep in his car undisturbed. With his leg still not feeling better, maybe a hospital visit or somewhere with medical supplies. 

Returning to Detroit after that seemed appealing. Buck shared a place with Lee. He could continue living there or easily move to a new place. Life in some way could continue on like it was before, just without Lee in it.

“Drive back to Detroit, and hope this all blows over.” Drown himself in alcohol in the process, saying it out loud would’ve been too sad. 

“That’s it? Just do nothing interesting. Sure, ya didn’t get ya girl back but so what? What’s the fun in that? You fought death and got a second chance! You can’t sit around and do nothin’ with it! I went over this with you! You Bub are not a… ” Johnnie held out the last word. 

Buck rolled his eyes “Quitter. I’m not a quitter.” 

“There ya are! Do something fun! Make comin’ back worth it!” 

In response Buck got to thinking.Going back and laying low for a while was still in the plan, his leg needed time to heal. Instead of drowning himself in drink once he would just write music . His odyssey could make a good story, something people would be willing to tune into. Drugs with connection to the cosmos, defying odds and beating death. It was hell to go through but if he couldn’t get Lee back he could at least use his journey to make a living for himself. 

“Fine, I'll write some music, do a small tour eventually. Is that a better plan?”

Johnnie shrugged, “Still a bit boring but better.”

Buck looked to the sky. It was still dark out but he  knew he was losing time. Until he was certain he wasn’t going to be arrested or Black Brained again he figured traveling at night would be better. 

“Thanks. Look I gotta get going. It was nice talking to you again.” 

“It was nice seeing ya again Buck.” He paused looking into the sky thinking for a moment. Turning back to Buck he looked nervous,  “Will ya ever come back?”

Realistically there was no real reason to return.  Buck hardly knew Johnnie and despite having evidence of the contrary couldn’t shake the idea he was a hallucination. On the other hand Visiting Johnnie would be leagues easier than the city itself it wasn’t completely out of the question.  

“Maybe one day.” It could be months or even years before he would think about coming back. 

“Please bring me some smokes if you do. I will need them.” 

“Will do.” 

Johnnie waved and Buck gave him one back. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, never saying a word. 

Buck limped to the driver’s seat. Staggering into it, he took a moment to breathe. His leg taking longer to stop hurting than the last time. As he started the engine Johnnie called out “Wait!”

Buck’s heart raced as his mind jumped to the worst thing that could happen; Z'Oiseau or the cops tracked him down. 

Looking around he saw nothing of note. No cars or flashing lights, it was a false alarm. 

“Johnnie? What’s going on? You gave me a fucking heart attack! ” 

“Can I join you?”

Buck inhaled too sharply and choked on the air the request coming out of nowhere, “ Can you even leave here considering…” He gestured to the road where he found Johnnie’s body the last time they spoke. Buck was mostly certain he was talking to a real Ghost.

“Course I can! If The World Ender go wherever the fuck he wants then so can I. ”

Buck looked at the Ender as if he was speaking. Johnnie looked at him like he did when Buck admitted he didn’t know the Enders. 

“Please don’t tell me you don’t know about the World Ender?”

“As I said I’m from out of town. I know almost nothin’ of your little group and jack about The World Ender whoever that is.” 

“Well, If you let me come with you I’ll be more than happy to tell you!” 

“Last time we met you seemed happy stayn’ out here. Why all of a sudden you’re so eager to leave?” 

“Yeah I was fine here, that was before I realized how fuckn’ lonely it is out here. Ya know Buck, I think you’re the only person who can actually see me.” Buck remembered Frankie from George’s place, the only other ‘ghost’ he believed wasn’t just in his mind. how he was the only person to hear her sing.

Her band not noticing her voice or her being right in front of them. Johnnie was right. If he was able to make it back to the Enders chances were no one would see him, “I don’t think I want to be alone anymore.” 

Going from having an entire biker gang to be with to no one was a huge shift. While the Enders scared the hell out of Buck, to Johnnie they were friends, family even. Buck never had many friends; he was even coming back to Detroit with one less person in his life. The loss of Lee’s presence was hurting enough.  He could use someone to talk to. Vide Noir wasn’t even a thing out there.    

“Fine.” 

In the enclosed space he could smell decay coming from Johnnie. Buck, against his effort, made a face.

“What’s the matter?”

“You smell.”

“‘Course I do I’m dead. Nothin’ I can do ‘bout that. ” 

“I know.” 

He made his choice, and he wasn’t going to ditch Johnnie over the obvious.

He pulled back onto the road and began driving into the emerald hued night. 

[definitely-not-an-alb]

ooh, how do you think molly would grift essek?

Alright. Let’s grift Essek.

First I need to note that any objection along the line of ‘Essek is too intelligent to fall for grifts’ is unnecessary, because whatever you think of Essek’s specific characterisation, assuming you are to intelligent to fall for a grift is one of the major ways people fall for them, in a ‘renowned high pressure social group researcher proclaiming on twitter that Sissy Porn is real and dangerous’ kinda way (look it up it’s some hysterical terf bs).

Gonna use that joke as a sidenote that if I am conflating grifts and high pressure social groups in this, it’s ‘cause as far as I care the difference is how self-aware the people running the show are. Watch any MLM-Doku (and I think we can all agree MLMs are grifts) and you’ll inevitably get to the part about weird aspiration culture bs and group pressure. It’s all one soup.

With that out of the way, let’s establish a baseline: What’s Molly’s reason for grifting Essek? Probably money and also the fun of it/being bored. Considering Kingsley abandoned his perfectly fine shipping company job to run off to be pirate king, I don’t think ‘Molly keeps grifting long after the M9 have become financially stable for shits and giggles and because Jester enjoys it’ is too outlandish a projection. Additionally, I don’t think Molly is great with impulse control nor this whole thing where current actions cause future consequences.

Now; why would Essek fall for a grift. Grifting relies on the dupe wanting something more than having good sense about it. Most people want money, so most girfts are structured around greed, but we know money is no object to Essek (though this does make him a juicy target – what he would barely miss might make a good haul for any grifter). We do know he is primarily motivated by knowledge instead, as well as a desire to be recognized as intelligent and exceptional. Additionally, we know he needs (in the character development sense) The Power of Friendship. Lastly, I think it’s fair to say he subconsciously longs for excitement (happy, fulfilled bureaucrats don’t become heretic spies; nor do they befriend a gang of mercenaries; implicitly, Essek is happier living the life of a wayward refugee-adventurer wizard than that of an Evil Gay Vizier Court Wizard or whatever papers a Shadowhand stamps nine-to-five.).

Being a paranoid bastard makes him a harder target, though the fact that we know he has fallen for someone’s bs before (I’m counting the spectacularly bad decision that is him allying with the Assembly as falling for a grift here. That’s a stupid decision to make!) makes him an easier target. Being so socially isolated makes him an easier victim, too, though his general rejection of people and clear discomfort with social interactions makes him an unlikely target for something like a romance scam. Essek’s relationship to tolerating bullshit is a weird one; on the one hand, he does put up with Jester’s (and the rest of the Nein’s) shenanigans, on the other he clearly knows how to and dares to tell someone to fuck off, and there’s that time he just ditches everyone via teleport (hilarious). So boundaries-wise, he could go either way. Lastly, I’d argue he’s at least somewhat impulsive or at least not risk averse. Always remember we are looking at an NPC next to Sword’n’Sorcery Adventurers – Essek might look cautious next to ruin-trawling wizards, but compare him to Gundula, 55, who works in Insurance and just clicked on a phishing link to claim her Totally Real Oilve Garden Gift Card, and you’ll see what I mean – most people are too risk-averse and unimpulsive to, again, commit treason via international conspiracy and then run off without a moment’s notice to dig around a cursed-ass ruin to save the world from a Cronenbergian nightmare.

Conclusion: He’s rich, he’s bored, he loves pretending to be a spy or grand discoverer, he wants to buy your dodgy foreign papers and incredible discoveries about the Luxon so, so badly and he has absolutely no one left in his life who’ll tell him it’s a bad idea.

So, for example, Molly could Voynich him. All he needs is a battered notebook and some writing supplies, whatever knowledge of what wizards’ and alchemists’ and spies’ scribbles look like he can easily pick up from traveling with the Nein and an opportunity to ask Essek to have a look at this encoded notebook he’s been lugging around all over the continent with him, why, he was at this party in Zadash and everyone else was some boring old pompous wizard (such a bore!) so he pickpocketed one of them, just for the fun of it, but, well, turns out neither Caleb nor Beau can make head nor tails of the weird sign code it’s written in (how tragic, if only someone happened to be so much cleverer than both of them!) and if Essek wants to have a look Molly would be more than happy to lighten his pack. For a small pittance, of course.

What’s small change to Essek is probably pretty nice to have for Molly, even by that level and especially if we’re mostly doing this for the fun of it. Essek gets to fall face first into his desire to show up Caleb, Beau and potentially an unknown Assembly member with his clearly superior decoding, espionage and wizardly skills and gain Secret Knowledge, maybe even Assembly Secrets on top of that.

Arguably, this one does rely very heavily on the fact that it’s hard to prove a negative, or in this case, hard to prove a barely-literate conman’s scribbles are just that. Do keep in mind Essek doesn’t know Molly is a habitual conman, but even so, it’s not a fantastic con (Essek isn’t dumb and knows his arcana after all and Molly doesn’t, or at least not enough to make a proper Voynich).

You could make it a better Voynich by getting Caleb in on it, but instead let’s pep it and turn it into a proper Real Stradivari by changing the hints that this manuscript might be legit to being alchemy-related and adding in a shill. Let’s go with Jester, because she’s down to clown, can lie and has a way with Essek’s boundaries.

So this time around, we aren’t asking Essek outright to buy our bogus notes – instead Molly gives him the whole spiel, hands him the notebook, fucks off with as little time to actually look at it as possible before Jester enters the scene to ask what THAT is and go oh it’s about ALCHEMY well, that DOES look like the signs she saw around Yezza’s house, pretty suuuure, oh, do you think it might be Yezza’s? Do you think Yezza might want it? Do you think she should ask Molly to sell it to her so she can give it to Yezza as a present to be nice because she’s such a nice friend who does nice things?

Honestly, the money part is optional if this is wholly about making Essek look up to see if the ceiling does indeed say gullible (and if Jester is involved, it might well do so! Always better to check, with her!), but a proper Violin Drop concludes with the Grifter returning to take their worthless thing back only to be asked to sell by the victim, who thinks the grifter doesn’t know what worth he has. If it was real, offering to buy the notebook would mean Essek outsmarted a minimum of three people (Beau and Caleb can’t crack the code, Molly is too dumb and illiterate to know valuable research notes from the morning paper) and gets his hands on potentially unknown-to-him luxon-related secrets! Alas, it’s not real, as he will realize soon.

So these are two (related) ways to scam Essek. But there’s a third one I want to mention one that is a lot of cinematic fun and I didn’t know had a name until Wikipedia told me no one does it irl (boo! That’s no fun!). It takes a lot of prep, math, and a lot of people and combines Essek’s obsession with the Luxon’s secrets and Molly’s penchant for passing himself off as psychic.

Molly would need something people in Rosohna bet on, like some kind of sport, preferably one with only two results and places people do said betting on said sport in groups. I’m assuming this exists on account of gambling and sports being culturally pretty universal concepts that love to go together.

Anyway. Imagine you’re Essek Thelyss, and one day a bunch of weirdos show up in court with a piece of the god you’re atheistically-heretically obsessed with. A few weeks later, you, having your ears to the ground about new developments regarding said not-god-pieces, hear one of the weirdos has made a name for himself as a outright oracle, correctly predicting the outcome of Fantasy-Dodgeball (Rosohnas’ favourite sport) perfectly six weeks running. He swears it’s because proximity to the Luxon amplified his inborn and long-trained psychic powers to predict the future.

Now, this is obviously bullshit. Except if Essek, being regrettably acquainted with the weirdos, were to ask, Molly would certainly confirm that sure, he has mystic powers and certainly they were amplified by the Luxon and predicting sport results is a hobby of his wherever they go, does Essek want to see? and lead Essek to a bar where every regular can swear on whatever he likes that Molly has correctly predicted the results of Fantasy-Dodgeball since the first week of being in Rosohna, in fact since before he himself knew the rules or track-record of any of the teams. Not only that, but there’s a second bar full of people Molly can introduce him too. And if he wants, he can certainly come back for a drink in one of them again next week when Molly has done it once more. Just call on Molly, he’ll tell you the time and date to meet some true believers, not all of whom can possibly be his shills.

(And, incidentally, barely worth mentioning, really, since Molly’s psychic blessings from the Luxon are so accurate, he has Exciting Business Opportunities for anyone willing to place more than their weekly betting budget in his trust, and he’d love for Essek to take a look at his powers. For a small compensation of his time, of course.)

Of course Molly can’t predict the results of Fantasy-Dodgeball. Instead, the first week of downtime in Rosohna, he found out what people like to bet on in Rosohna and where, picked one or two places in each district, go there and make predictions with a fifty-fifty split, then eliminate each watering hole where he was wrong each week, slowly cutting his audience back to only people who are getting to know him as That Outlander Who Always Knows The Results of Fantasy-Dodgeball, all the while escalating the story from him being just some dude betting and drinking with the guys to the whole Chosen By The Luxon thing. Considering this is a double-scam involving a faith aspect, he might very well still cash in in places he’s been wrong once only since victims of faith-based scams are very likely to overlook inconsistencies in their scammer’s stories or promised results. By the time Essek gets involved Molly’d be down to one or two places of true believers coming to him for ‘always accurate’ tips and a bunch of other people all over Rosohna he might get some money off based on the faith-aspect. And now perhaps one intrigued high-ranking government official who’s more than willing to overlook the hereticism inherent to the whole thing and is instead very likely to fall in the academic glue-trap of trying to disprove something clearly bogus that you do kind of want to believe in because like.

Wouldn’t it be cool? If the Luxon had more awesome powers? And one of them happened to fall in Essek’s hands, with no oversight and no need to cooperate with someone like Trent or Ludinus? Would he not want it to be real?

Anyway. The real answer to this question is: Enlist Beau to send bogus stuffed bills to Essek’s secretary. Bureaucrat on bureaucrat violence, let’s go.

[lordofdragos]

ITS TIME

TIME FOR THE DRAGOS WALL OF IMAGES AND SCREENSHOTS *UPROAROUS APPLAUSE* Ok but for real For the people that know what this is you already know (Great sentence there Drago glad I can speak English to say stuff like that) but for those that DON'T know This is going to be me screaming and having a mental break down about a game called "In Stars and Time" I highly recommend you DO NOT view under the read more page break if you intend to play this game at any future point in your life, which I would HIGHLY recommend the game is so GOOD AAA Anyways, off to the races!

Actually let me add tags to this post first... And done!

WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN YOU WON'T LET ME YOUR BACKSTORY This sounds like something me and my friends would say to each other when we're being assholes

Game gives us the best party member to control in my personal opinion My personal opinion is I've played this game for like 20 minutes but I threw scissors 3 times against Tutorial Kid I know what I am *Insert that always throws scissors guy meme where he complains about the rock players ruining the metagame*

L bozo sorry m8 YOU'LL GET OVER IT AXFCDHVGJN

I get the distinct feeling that everything will not be fine soon . . . Owie

Time to talk to every bird again!! I am mentally stable I swear the game hasn't already captured my entire soul what no haha

Its the Bastard tm I vaguely know about this character ALSO YES THANK YOU I NOTICED THAT HAPPENING ACTUALLY

So I MAYYYYYYY have gone through this dialogue like 30 times or something to see if anything funny would happen It didn't

Hooray for teamwork!!

DAMN KID DO YOU MIND Also note here from Future Drago Does this one not count as a loop since it tutorials you to restart in the castle? I don't think it increased my loop number

AYO?

WOK!!!!!!!!! Man I really love all of the characters but Bonnie is interesting to me because they are written so perfectly like an actual child Which means I constantly flip between YEAH CHILD ENERGY AND EXCITMENT And get this RUNT AWAY FROM ME GOOD LORD I know it somewhat sounds like I dislike them but no really just more of a testament to how GOOD the writing is

So real game

Mission failed we'll get em next time

Sometimes when the game itself tells you you cannot go further the best way forward is to fight to the death BTW I recommend losing to a normal Sadness some time good reading there

MINOR WORD CHANGE GAME I SEE YOU YOU AINT SLICK

War. War never changes. Went down purely to spite Bonnie for saying smart kid intuition we all stupid here except Odile

This conversation gave me the feels man

Funnyjokespun person! Also Hampter Sif!

End of images for this post but final thoughts at the end of this wonderful loop WHY WON'T ANYONE TOUCH SIF DID SIF ASKING TO STAY WITH THEIR FRIENDS AT THE BEGINNING CAUSE THIS DID THE FUCKING TREE DO THIS MAN?? It has been TEN HOURS and I just finished loop 4 I am so glacially slow (I think) I do basically everything everytime because I love it I refuse to fall into despair! The game will probably change that without my consent in the future though so OH BOY

Alright thats one massive post done how do I like schedule this so I can type more and have them all come out at around the same time...?

[mysticbeaver]

Your opinion on all the side characters? Or what you like or dislike in each of them?

Thanks for the ask, and it's a long one! Nice for a change. Let's see...

- Jonny 2x4 - one of the characters I'm guilty of neglecting... But I think he's a fun, quirky kid (even when he's supposed to be annoying). I remember when I first watched Dear Ed (where he got in a fight with Plank) the scene at the playground made me sad for him. It seems to me there's not much Jonny fanart here on tumblr compared to how Plank and him are considered icons of the show elsewhere. That's probably what makes some like me less interested in the character... I hardly react to pics of real Plank IRL, sorry Plank fans 😅

- Sarah - she's fun... c'mon! Again, non-tumblr fans are on a different planet, the hate boners people have for a 6-7(?) year-old character are entertaining... for a while. I love that she's actually intimidating and strong, she ain't just bark and no bite, another less slapstick-focused show would have handled her differently. A lot of people cheer for the scene where Ed shouts at her in Little Ed Blue, cause they want to see her get "just desserts", but I never care about that, I like her for the rabid little princess she is lol. I also like people's headcanons of her treating her brother better as she grows up, and hopefully escaping the unhealthy favoritism from her parents.

- Jimmy -  even more than Sarah, the hate he sometimes gets is really tedious to me... he's always entertaining, especially his "theatre kid" moments, and his squeaky voice borders on "dog frequencies" sometimes haha. The only thing I've found slightly odd is maybe his flaws and negative traits (spoiled, Sarah always has his back, secretly a cunning little bastard) are sometimes given a free pass just because he's queer-coded, maybe? This only ever bothered me exclusively in relation to someone like Kevin being written off instead, but this my own bias, just a lighthearted observation (for real tho please tell me if this is a dumb reasoning)

- Nazz - she's the nicest and most well-adjusted "normal" kid around (if you ask me kevin ain't normal haha), but had an unfortunate starting point of "girl all the boys have a crush on", which she was never developed out of, or at least not nearly enough as she should have been. I've read something about the writers struggling to figure out what to do with her, maybe? Can't remember. Some people point out her hidden intelligence, but I think it would also be interesting to explore her negative traits, mainly I see her as slightly two-faced/flighty when it comes to how she interacts with the Eds.

Kevin - oh boy, my sense of this character is probably so skewed... The one character I used to get upset and annoyed about like an idiot, in regards to other people's takes and such, sometimes I resent the fact I ever got fixated on the character... why??? Help 🤣 I guess what torments me is that the viewer was never really meant to like him or find him interesting in any way? and doing otherwise is just a case of "fandom brainrot", I dunno what others think 😵‍💫 His jerk/bully role is definitely handled in more interesting ways than other shows would, there's enough meat to the character I guess it's possible to be invested in headcanons/developments. (or so I convince myself...)

Without getting too rambling, let's just say I love him as much as I'd find it entertaining to see him get incinerated by a flamethrower lmao.

Rolf - my other favorite ofc, and a much more pleasant one lol. Nothing embarrassing about loving this character, for sure. In fact I'm probably guilty of not seeing his flaws, but I guess he can be arrogant, and violent/gross with his traditions, when he could learn to be lenient considering how he's treated with a fair amount of tolerance by the cul-de-sac. But in the end he's just a kid trying to get used to a new land and culture.

Kanker sisters - I never thought much about Lee but my eyes have been opened by the implication that being the oldest one in a tough family/social background kinda excuses a lot of her behavior... But others can analyse this better than me.

I think Marie is the unfortunate middle sister who maybe had the least distinct personality? (beyond her aesthetic hinting at her being a punk chick), thankfully she's got plenty fans (btw her being underdeveloped is more food for thought for marie x nazz/nazzarie 👀...). I haven't got much to say unfortunately, other than my first eene ship was eddmarie exactly because of Marie development.

I'm guilty of seeing May as the most innocent one (certainly thanks to that bit where she cries in Hanky Panky Hullabaloo) and the only Kanker I'm keen on shipping with an Ed (the Ed).

Bro? - well... He serves his purpose haha. And he's got an interesting aesthetic. I do like people being invested in the character and even liking him or imagining a more redemptive interpretation of him. Fans have been able to like much more monstrous characters in fiction, being a Bro fan is no big deal... "I can fix him" sure go ahead! You're a saint 🤣

[bohemian-nights]

Thoughts on Sara Snow?

I’m mostly going to be focusing on Sara Snow in the context of the show because there is too much in the books about her(all we know is she’s the bastard sister of Cregan Stark) to do any real in-depth analysis of her character.

Let me start by stating that I do believe she’s real, I don’t hate her, and I believe she does serve a purpose(more on this later), but in show context, I understand why some fans don’t want her included.

(By some fans I mean Black women cause those are the only fans I see that have a legitimate concern with her inclusion).

This show(and GOT cause I haven’t forgotten what you guys did to Missandei either🙃) has an abysmal track record when it comes to Blackish women. They are all treated like disposable props for white characters(which is a common trope in media)and aren't allowed to be full characters.

So the optics of having Baela being “left” for a white girl* coming off the heels of what happened to Laena just looks bad.

*I think Sara should be played by a mixed actress, which would take care of the image problem, but it’s pretty clear that if she’s being included she’s probably going to be played by a white girl.

That being said, there are ways in which they can include Sara without it being disrespectful or making it seem like Baela has been slighted in some way.

We have to keep in mind that Jace dies pretty soon into the Dance, he’s weak asf(sorry to any Jace fans but your fave is lame in HOTD), and he and Baela never marry let alone have children. He’s her stepbrother/cousin, but he’s just a blip in her life. He is not her endgame.

That role belongs to the lord in training of f*ckboy’s Alyn Velaryon. He is the one who she married and had children with. He’s her destiny, not Jace.

If they focus on these guys' relationship and have Alyn actively chasing after Baela and Baela is more receptive to him we can avoid her being the jilted would-be girlfriend who doesn’t measure up. Remember Baela and Jace do not know each other well. Unlike in the books, they weren’t raised together and they’ve only presumably met a handful of times since Baela was raised on Driftmark with Granny.

I doubt she’s that attached to Jace so it would be easy enough showing her getting swept up in Alyn(he’s Corlys 2.0 he should be very charming) to the point where she doesn’t really care wherever Jace goes or whoever he is with.

Back to Sara Snow. I know a lot of fans like to say she’s irrelevant, but there are very few truly irrelevant characters(cough Corwyn Cornbread cough Lasagna Radish), during the Dance and Sara isn’t one of them. She has a purpose and that purpose is to be to Jace what Nettles and Alys are to Daemon and Aemond.

Yes, Jace is a bastard, but he’s still a (half) Targaryen bastard. He’s a prince. There is a certain level of respect he is given when even the maesters see him. We see this respect come into play when it comes to Sara Snow.

Like with Nettles and Alys, Jace is thought to be too good for Sara. The maesters(and Mushroom) hurl a bunch of sexist, xenophobic, and classist language her way, calling her half-wild, an unwashed northern bastard, a wolf girl, and a creature.

The maesters do not believe she exists, but they then say that if she did she wasn’t used as anything more than a roll in the hay. A chance for the Prince of Dragonstone to sow his wild oats before he went back to his high-born Valyrian betrothed Baela.

I feel like the point of the Dance is to show the folly in the pride, prejudice, and greed of House Targaryen as well as the other noble houses in general. Sara shows this.

Finally, I’d like to note that most of the outrage regarding Sara Snow being included is being made by the same people who ship Jace with Cregan(cause I guess two men sleeping together doesn’t count as cheating 🙃) or Nettles😒

I’ve already explained why this is, but it’s being done by Dumbnyra stans to “keep” Nettles away from Daemon.

This is less about racism or Baela being shafted and more about just not wanting Sara included.

Honestly, even if Baela was white like her book!counterpart I could still see people arguing against Sara’s inclusion citing that you are trying to take away from gay representation(even though there is nothing to indicate Jace is gay) or an interracial romance(lol again they don’t want Dettles to happen and will use whatever at their disposal to “stop” it).

Sara Snow would be a great inclusion to the show, but time will tell if she’ll be included at all🤷🏽‍♀️

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

Why the jester being the secret son of King Klaus would have been a good twist: a compilation of circumstancial evidence

the king is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the dead. His first wife. His second wife. His brother. He cannot let go of the past and keeps tormenting himself by projecting the dead onto the living.

2. blue eyes are seen as an indicator that someone is royal. Clear blue eyes like the sea. The king has them. The first princess Varona has them, the second princess Lux has them, the rumored bastard prince Fanton has them. And who else has them? The only character with blue eyes who is not part of the royal family? That's right. The court jester. (I also find the paneling very interesting as it focuses on the jesters reaction when the message about a prince who has been secretly living on the palace grounds is being read aloud.) - chapter 51

It is implied that Fanton might be a pretender to the throne. Wouldn't it have been hilarious if there had been indeed a secret heir and this boy has been living right under the princess' nose enjoying her protection and affections? That princess Varona has been agonizing over the wrong person the entire time when the real threat has been by her side all along?

3. the Jester, princess Varona and the late king Klaus look alot like each other

do I even need to elaborate. Other readers have said that the princess and the jester look alot like siblings.

4. The king's hallucination. In chapter 19 the king had locked himself up in his room and has been smoking bokhwa seeds (a foreign drug). The consumption of the drug caused him to experience nightmares and auditory hallucinations. He asks the jester if he can hear the screams of soldiers dying. What was the king hearing? Could it possibly have been a memory of the night when he staged the coup d'etat to dispose of King Klaus?

The jester asks him if he had an unpleasant dream and worries about his health since the King had been using drugs. To this the king answers: "You sound just like him." The jester assumes the king was talking about the prime minister but what if he wasn't? Couldn't this scene have felt familiar to him? - chapter 19

5. the scene where the King runs away from Lux because he sees his dead wife in her and then turns around the corner, almost running into the jester and he has a look of pure horror on his face. - chapter 22

6. we know nothing about his parents. the protagonist himself confesses that he was never curious about them since his mind was preoccupied with finding ways to survive in the harsh environment of the orphanage he was raised in.

what we do know is that a nobleman took a shine to him and acted as a father figure. ("as for a father I suppose I had some of sorts"). It is highly unlikely that an aristocrat would take in a dirty orphan boy without having any ulterior motives. If the nobleman knew about mc's identity as the King's trueborn son it would serve as a logical explanation why someone like him took in a homeless child. He either did this to protect him following the King's orders or to use him once has grown up. - chapter 47

but something must have went wrong. The aristocrat died and mc became the court jester.

7. The protagonist is said to be the court jester that the king adores so much, yet the king calls him to his side and makes him perform tricks for him for hours. He doesn't care if the jester gets hurt, with a cruel smile on his lips he demands the jester to continue juggling knives while he is bleeding. Granted the king is occasionally cruel to servants (throwing objects at them when he is in a terrible mood but he seems to have been the cruelest to the jester.) - chapter 2

Presuming that the protagonist had been the previous king's son this would certainly explain the abuse and humilation. Making the surviving son of king Klaus a jester could have also been a petty form of revenge.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Remembering my legacy story...

That tag has me thinking about my legacy story and how the story was shaped by my discoveries and ignorance while learning about this game. The first few generations were kind of tragic. I played vanilla and on normal life, and it took me until the day before X's birthday to get married. I was so scared he was gonna die without children, causing me to fail the challenge on the first try lol. He actually was engaged before, but his fiancé showed up the night before the wedding as an elder!! My boy had to start all over. UGH! He eventually found someone, but he had to propose to her three times! FINALLY he got married and had two children before he croaked.

His wife died on their son's teen birthday, leaving both children an orphan! I was terrified social services was gonna come and take them away! 🤣 I didn't know yet that teenagers were just baby-faced adults. 😑 But man, that period was hard. Those poor kids had to grow up way too fast. They got jobs to pay the bills, and they had almost zero free time. They were tired ALL the time because all they did was work. They had their jobs, but they also had a garden they had to take care of because the flowers paid the lion's share of the bills. They stopped doing their homework because it took up too much time. Their grades plummeted, and the principal called every day. But somehow I discovered you could have their birthdays at any time, so I aged the oldest one up like 4 or 5 days early because those poor kids needed a break!

(more generations under the cut)

At the end of generation two and through three, I felt like I had a good handle on the game and what it could do, so my curiosity came out and so did Stories By Jes2G lol. That's when this story started to get real messy LOL. My heir had a girlfriend, but the relationship wasn't really going anywhere so he started seeing this other girl. But he didn't know girlfriend #1 was pregnant! He fell all the way in love with girlfriend #2, moved her in (learned my lesson from gen 1!!), married her, and knocked her up. They had a happy little family for a while. No sooner than he forgot about girlfriend #1, the bastard son showed up at his door all casual like my mama said you're my daddy...nice house! 🤣 That did not go over well. As a matter of fact, his wife was very upset and tried to burn off some steam on the treadmill. But she was an elder and... RIP Adalynn.

Generation four was when I learned just how much you can learn about your characters just by letting them be autonomous and watching them go. The tragedy of this generation was what happens when two horny teens get married out of high school lol. Those two had nothing in common and led two separate lives under the same roof. That was partly because I was focused on making them complete their aspirations, but also they rarely interacted with each other when they were autonomous. The wife was a career woman and was not interested in having a third child. But the first two were girls, and this legacy was a strict patriarchy and I needed a son. That caused a lot of drama in the story, but he found a way to make her give in. But things were never the same, and she eventually divorced him and left the kids which of course affected the next generation.

Every generation up til like...seven had some kind of drama/tragedy, and I didn't realize it until I stopped and read the story myself. I was like WHOA! This is so much! This is what I put my readers through? LOL I made sure to tone things down in the second half of gen 8 because we needed the break. We had peace and happiness for a while followed by a veeery slow burn. Then I kicked the drama back up and ended on a hopeful tragic note, bring back the fall out from the gen 3 mess. It was a great ride!

I used to love building in The Sims 3, but something about this game's building mechanics completely turned me off. To be honest, I don't quite know what it is about building that just infuriates me. So the generations two through like...eight(???), my legacy house was made up of styled rooms lol. I honestly don't know anyone else who even used those things. I'd just piece together those rooms and close them in with walls lol. Needless, the legacy house was very odd and much bigger than it needed to be because of all these oddly shaped blank spaces. 😅 I made use of every single one of them too!

[kiddoryder]

V Trap

Sonya and her friends try to rob the Vees and things sure do happen!

Commission for @dustinlaughlin

Hardy and Sophie McKnight belong to @loli-momo1908

Hardy Wiley and Crimson Minx belong to @dustinlaughlin

Another typical day in the Hazbin Hotel has come and gone. Everyone just finished Charlie's rehab activity for the day, so they were free to do whatever they wished for the rest of the evening, as long as it remained appropriate and not destructive, as Hardy had already fixed the wall three times in a row today.

Hardy - *take a breath* “Okay that should do it for now. Hopefully this stays like this.”

Niffty - “I can help with the cleaning Hardy *manic giggled* I love it when you work and show your strong muscles.”

Hardy - *uncomfortable* “Uhhh, yeah, thanks Niffty.” *nervously chuckled*

Charlie - *smiles* “Thank you so much for all your hard work, Hardy. I don't think the hotel would still be standing without you.”

Hardy - *smiles* “My pleasure, Charlie. Now all I need is for this wall to not be destroyed until tomorrow because I used up the rest of our renovation resources. Anyone in this hotel who makes another big hole in this wall will have to stay up standing guard tonight so that we don't get any trespassers.”

Angel - “Relax hottie, no stupid idiot is fucking dumb enough to break down that wall.”

Blitz - *deadpanned* “I wouldn’t jinx it dude.”

Hardy - *yawns* “Well, with that out of the way, I'm going to my room and rest up. Good night everyone.”

Hardy began to go upstairs to his room. Then the TV was on and it was Vox introducing a new show.

Vox - “Hey folks at home! Today new show is How I Fuck Your Brother is having a sequel: How I Am Still Fucking Your Brother. Also other news, if you see radio it just a remind how the radio demon is a coward who prefer to live in the old time like a fucking loser caveman instead of embracing the future.”

Blitz - *groans and mutters to himself* “Again with this fucker. *outloud* Just what is with this asshole's problem with Alastor? I mean, I get that he's a fucking psycho and all, but this is just getting annoying. Just how deep can this bastard hold a grudge, anyways?”

Vaggie - “Oh trust me, people like Vox can hold grudges for a really long time.”

Blitz - “Well, in any case, what kind of dumbass would watch a sequel to that series? The previous series was already brain-rotting in a very bad way. The jokes were weak, the characters were nowhere near charming or memorable, and the plots of each episode were predictable and repetitive.”

Husk - *cleans a bottle* “Basically shows that these shitty shows are basically network fucking cash cows. They wanna milk that fucking cow until it dried.”

Alastor - *smug* “It just goes to show that the picture show is not as entertaining as radio is.”

Blitz: *scoffs* “Whatever, old man. Like your taste in entertainment is any better than his. And you just let him throw his baby tantrum like if it funny.”

Angel - *to Alastor* “Ya know, I been meaning to ask you this, why you and flathead hate each other in the first place?”

Alastor - “Oh, nothing special. I simply declined his request to join his little club. Since then, he's been mildly inconveniencing me by gloating at how successful he is, like some toxic fan who got rejected by his favorite star and would instantly turn into a toxic hater.”

Charlie - “It doesn’t bother you that he always insults and trying to make you look bad?”

Alastor - *dismisses* “Oh please, that pompous buffoon couldn't even get a raise out of me, let alone my attention. Although I do admit it is rather fun to irk him.”

Blitz - *sarcastically* “Oh yeah, it's a real blast to get him all riled up and cause a major black out throughout all of Pentagram City. *sighs* I swear, one of these days, Alastor, you're going to make him cause a black out through the entire Pride Ring.”

Alastor - “As fun as that may sound, even I know he's not that powerful to cause such a thing.”

Angel - *annoyed* “Hey it had happened before.”

Charlie - “It took hours for all the lights to come back on.”

Blitz - “Hardy and I had spend all those hours standing guard because of you. We stood there no matter how tired we were.”

Sophie - “It was spooky being in the dark.”

Alastor - *dissmives* “Oh come now, everyone. What are the chances of it happening again?”

Husk - “Careful, Al, you might jinx it.”

Vox - *on the commercial* “You know we should ban radio because it old as shit and nobody use it anymore am I right?”

Blitz - *groans at the commercial* “Ah jeez, will you just SHUT UP already?! Show off your hate boner on your own time, will ya?!”

Husk - “Sometimes I think that fucker is in love with Alastor.”

Alastor's eyes turned into radio dials for a moment after hearing Husk making that assumption.

Alastor - “Aha ha ha ha! Would you good people excuse me?”

Alastor walks off to what everyone believes is going to his radio station.

Vaggie - *shakes her head* “Oh great another battle between radio and tv.”

Blitz - “Well, you know what this means?”

Husk - *sighs* “I’ll get the candles and lanterns.”

Blitz - “And I'll move the food in the fridge into the cold compartment so they don't go bad.”

Then they saw the lights flickering on and off.

Alastor - *on radio* “Salutation sinners. It is I: Alastor. I came on to talk about how how insure Vox is. He claim he can make these great things and can even protect you from danger. But I highly doubt that he knows if they work or not or if they are even safe.”

Hardy was in his room while this was happening when he sees his bedroom lights flickering.

Hardy - *facepalms* “Oh no, not again Al. Of all the times he has to go do one of his spats with Vox, it had to be tonight. And I just said that I used up all our renovation resources.”

Vox - *furious* “YOU SON OF A BITCH ILL DESTROY-“

Vox began to glitch and then the lights went out in all of the city. The loud sounds of the light going off scared Sophie and hug Blitz. Fat Nuggets got scared, ran and crawled up Angel’s tux.

Angel - *comforting and cooing* “Aww it’s okay baby. It’s okay I’m here. Don’t be scared.”

Charlie - *cries out* “ALASTOR!!

()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, at Sonya and Liz's place, Sonya was in her bedroom reading one of her favorite stories: Willow the Winja Warrior. A girl who is not only a ninja, but is a witch as well. She travels to fight people and protect weaklings. Her twin sister Liz was looking bored since she wanted to do something fun.

Liz - *groans* “How long ya going to be reading that book? I wanna go out.”

Sonya - “Shush, I'm getting to the best part. - Man who knew a witch can be a ninja at the same time?”

Just then, her bedroom lights went out.

Sonya - *whines* “Oh, come on!”

Liz - “Guess Flat Face blew up again.”

Azarel - *calling out* “Sonya! We need your help putting out the lanterns!”

Sonya - *calling out* “Alright Dad!”

Sonya closes her book and goes to help her parents.

Sonya was putting up the candles downstairs and then Went upstairs to put up the candles. Then she heard small rocks being thrown at her window. She went to her window and saw her friends Raina, Frostbite, and Rimfire.

Sonya - “Oh hey guys!”

Rimfire - “Hey Sonya, did your house lose power too?”

Sonya - *nods* “Yep power out.”

Rimfire - “Ours too. We were thinking of taking advantage of this and cause some mischief. Wanna come?”

Liz - *excited* “Oh heck ya!”

Sonya - “But what about helping mom and dad?”

Liz - *scoff* “Ah, they can handle it without us. Come on, let's have some fun!”

Sonya - “Eh…Yeah why not? When the next time something like this happens.”

Sonya climbs out of the window and joins up with her friends.

Raina - “Being in the dark isn’t so bad. It’s reminds me of the forest but with less trees.”

Frostbite - “I got something for us.”

He show them bandanas and domino masks.

Rimfire - “Why these things?”

Frostbite - “Cause they are cool and we would look cool wearing them.”

Sonya - “So what are we going to do?”

Rimfire - “I suggest we do some looting around town.”

Raina - “Yeah! Nobody would tell. I did that a lot when I was alive. It was survival of the fitness.”

Sonya - “I don't know. Won't we get into trouble? And I don't mean with the stealees, but with our parents. Especially with Charlie. Like if we get caught we would be so grounded.”

Rimfire - *smiles* “Not if they see us. *nudges her elbow* Eh? Eh? Get what I am saying?”

Sonya - *realize what Raina meant* “Oh my spell book! Yeah there are some invisibility spells that we can use.”

Liz - “It should be easy for you. I mean you have been studying a lot lately. You need a break and have fun.”

Sonya - “I guess you're right. *pulls out her spellbook* Let's see, I think invisibility of spells were in page 35. *found it* Okay I found it! One of the invisible spells involve holding our breath.”

Rimfire - *shakes her head* “We can’t do that that’s too much pressure.”

Sonya - “There another one where we have to be quiet or else it will wear off. We can still talk to each other though but not too loud.”

Frostbite - “That sounds simple enough.”

Sonya - “Alright let do this!”

Sonya starts chanting in an eldritch-like language as magical circles appeared beneath her and her friends' feet, causing it to shine really bright.

Raina - *amazed* “Whoa…The sun came down here!”

Frostbite - *chuckles* “No Rainy, we are about to turn invisible by magic.”

Then with a flash of light, everyone turn into invisible outlines.

Frostbite - *amazed* “Whoa this is so cool!”

Rimfire - *impressed* “If I knew something like this it could of been good for my hunting.”

Sonya - “Don't forget everyone, we have to be very quiet or else the effects will go off. So don't make any sudden loud noises.”

All - “Right!”

Sonya - “So, what place should we loot first?”

Liz - “How about a bank?”

Sonya - *shake her head* “No, too cliche.”

Frostbite - “But we could get a lot of money though.”

Raina - “How about a flower shop? They took some of my plant friends.”

Sonya - “Raina, you know I can always ask my cousin Charlie to buy them back.”

Rimfire - “Now, now, guys. I know just the perfect place for us to loot.”

Sonya - “Where?”

()()()()()()()()

Sonya got her answer as they were all standing in front of the V Tower, the Three V's main headquarters.

Sonya - *shocked* “The V Tower?! We're going to loot the V Tower?!”

Raina - “I bet they have a ton of cool stuff!”

Frostbite - “Yeah they could have cool weapons.”

Rimfire - “Personally, I want to check out this so-called "Angelic Security" that Vox mentioned and see if it's a real thing or not, like that Electric Car that he promised years ago.”

Sonya - *calming down a bit* “Well I guess looting them won’t hurt. Maybe Vox has some cool movies and video games.”

Rimfire - “Yeah, and hopefully something that isn't a porno made by that Val douchebag.”

Raina - *confused* “What’s a porno?”

Sonya - *frantic* “Nothing! Nothing important! Forget what she said! *nervously chuckles and then glares at Rimfire* Dont. Ever. Bring that up again.”

Rimfire - *chuckles* “Right. I forgot Raina is sensitive to that stuff.”

Sonya - *whispers* “She’s still getting the hang of modern stuff.”

Liz - “Remember when she thought TV was a light box that trapped people?”

Frostbite - *impatient* “Well, are we just gonna stand here and talk all night or are we going to loot the heck out of this place? Let's go!”

()()()()()()()()()

They saw people going into the V tower and the kids got inside. They first went to Velvette’s room and saw bunch of clothes, money, etc and took some of the money and clothes. Then they went to Vox room and was amazed on the technogoly he got. They look around and grabbed plenty of the latest technology that Vox have.Then they went to the elevator and finally talk and the spell wore off once they were laughing loud and bragging.

Sonya - “Man this is a great heist!”

Liz - “I haven’t had this much fun since Wild Cherri took me for my first bar fight!”

Rimfire - “Yeah the stuff we got were amazing!”

Frostbite - “We will be so popular in school. Alright let’s get out here.”

Unfortunately instead of going down, the elevator went up and it went to Valentino floor. The kids weren’t paying attention and got out the floor and once they realized were they were, the elevator already left. The kids began to look around Valentino’s floor.

Liz - “Man…Look at all this stuff. Some of the stuff actually look kind of cool yet weird at the same time.”

Raina - *grabs a mask* “Is he an actor?”

Sonya - *awkwardly* “Uhhh, something like that... *realizes* Oh shoot, the spell wore off!”

Frostbite - *dismissive* “Don’t worry nobody is here so we don’t have nothing to worry about.”

Rimfire - “Maybe he actually have something that worth stealing.”

Frostbite - *sees the whips* “Never realize he has so many weapons. He doesn’t seem much of a fighter to me.”

Sonya - “Yeah, but why just whips? Surely, he has to have something else that's more effective.”

Liz - “Like a gun or something?”

Rimfire - “He has these board things *picks up a paddle* maybe they can knock people out?”

Sonya - “I think those are Cricket Bats. My dad told me about this sport called Cricket, which is sort of like British Baseball with it's own set of rules.”

Liz - “Oh yeah he would always play with Uncle Luci. Dad swears sometimes Uncle Luci cheats.”

Raina - “Who knew a guy like Val like sports.”

Frostbite - “Hey, I found some balls in here! *picks up a ballgag* Why does it have belts conjoined to them?”

Sonya - “Maybe it’s Vel’s new sense of style?”

Then they heard footsteps coming. The kids began to freak out.

Rimfire - *freaking out* “Uh-oh, someone's coming! Sonya, reactivate the spell!”

Sonya - “It'll take too long, just run and hide!”

They all began to hide in different places so they wouldn’t get caught. The opened and it was Val with two sinner girls. One sinner girl was a cat and another girl was a lamb.

Val - *sleezly* “I’m so glad you both decided to join me.”

Sinner Cat Girl - “Oh no, we are happy that you invited us, Mr. Valentino.”

Sinner Lamb Girl - “Oh yeah we heard so much about you *giggled* we always wanted to work with you.”

Valentino - *chuckles* “So glad to hear that mi armor.”

Val kisses one of them. Both Sonya and Liz made a gag look. They never liked kissy mushy stuff.

Valentino - “Now then, why don't we get down to business, shall we?”

Sinner Girls - *simultaneously* “You got it, Mr. V.”

Sonya and Liz then noticed one of the windows had a balcony with a ladder with it. Sonya began to signals the others to leave by the window she’s pointing too. Rimfire, Raina and Frostbite slowly crawled to the windows. However Raina’s tail causes a lamp to fall and break getting Valentino and the sinner girls' attention.

()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Hardy and Blitz were finishing putting up the candle and lanterns.

Hardy - “There, that's the last candle. Now all we have to worry about is standing guard until the power comes back...Again.”

Blitz - *annoyed sigh* “I swear Hardy, one of these days, I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch, Alastor.”

Hardy - “I settle for knocking out his daylights.”

Blitz - *shakes his head* “I can’t believe my parents were ever friends with that guy. *to his sister* you okay Sophie?”

Sophie was sitting on the couch next to Angel and Fat Nuggets who was on Angel’s lap napping after calming down.

Sophie - “Yes I’m okay. Angel and Nuggies are keeping me company.”

Angel - *flirty* “There’s room for one more.”

Blitz - *annoyed* “Don’t push it.”

Charlie - “Do you guys need any help?”

Hardy - “No need, Charlie. We're all finished. All we have to worry about now is preventing any rioters or burglars from attacking and raiding this hotel.”

Then all of a sudden they saw a portal on the ceiling opening. Rimfire, Raina and Frostbite fell on the ground with the stuff they stole. Raina began to notice that the portal was slowly closing.

Raina - *yelling* “Sonya! Liz! The portal is closing! Come down now!”

However, all that came down was Sonya’s sweater and hat. Then the portal closes. Her friends looked in horror that Sonya and Liz didn’t come down from the portal.

Blitz: *surprised* What in the Pride Ring is going on here?! Where did you guys come from?!

Charlie - *realize something* “Wait a second, I know you three. You kids are Sonya and Liz's friends.”

Niffty - “Ooh! The young hazbins!”

Raina - *confused* “Uh…Yes we are?”

Angel - *walking by* “What’s going on- *see Sonya and Liz friends* Hey, you're the little shrimp’s buddy.”

Vaggie - *confused* “Wait where is Sonya and Liz?”

Rimfire - *nervously* “W-We don’t know.”

Blitz - *suspicious* “What do you mean you don’t know?”

Frostbite - “W-We lost them”

Charlie - *shocked* “Lost them?! What do you mean lost them?!”

Angel - *gasps when they saw the stuff they looted* “Where did you get those stuff?”

Raina - “We-We looted!”

Angel - *picked her up* Who did you loot?!

Raina - *scared* “Valentino! And the other Vees!”

Angel Dust - *panic* “YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?! *shakes Raina violently* ARE YOU INSANE?! NO ONE STEALS FROM THE THREE VEES ALIVE, ESPECIALLY FROM VAL!!!!! HE SHOWS NO MERCY TO ANYONE WHO WRONGS HIM IN ANY WAY, NO MATTER HOW TRIVIAL IT IS!!!!!”

Hardy - *stops Angel Dust from shaking Raina* “Angel, quit it! You're gonna give her shaken baby syndrome or something!”

Charlie - *realize and panics* “Wait, if Sonya's hat and sweater are only here then that means….”

Everybody called Sonya and Liz’s name in the hotel hoping she made another portal and was at the hotel but it sadly proved false.

()()()()()()()()

Back at the Vee tower, Valentino was holding a scared shaken Sonya upside by her ankle showing her to Vox and Velvet. They were surprised to see a child in their tower. They never allowed children to come to their place since it’s not a place for them.

Valentino - *sinisterly smiles* “Well, well, well, what have we here? Looks like we got ourselves a little burglar, and it's royalty, no less.”

Vox - “So, Lucifer's little niece thought that she could just sneak into our tower and steal from us, huh?”

Velvet - “It also the same with these royal fucks. Think they can take whatever they want from us and not give a shit.”

Vox - *serious* “You honestly believed that you would get away with stealing from us, hmmmm?”

Sonya - *trying not to be scared* “Umm…It was just a joke?”

Velvette - *sarcastically smiles* “Oh, it was all just a joke. *scowls venomously* Well I'm NOT laughing, ya little shitty tosser!”

Sonya - *scared* “Ah! I’m sorry!”

Velvette - “Any ideas to punish the brat?”

Valentino - “Oh, I have so many ideas, but I honestly cannot choose.”

Vox - “Let's throw her in a cage until we all decide what to do with her.”

Valentino - “Good idea babe. Good thing I still got that cage from Angel’s last movie.”

Valentino roughly threw Sonya in a pink cage and locked it. Luckily it was still big enough for Sonya to have room, and able to stand. Sonya ran up to Valentino and shook the cage door.

Sonya - “Hey! I’m not a dog!”

Vox - “No, you're right. Dogs are way cuter than you. You're vermin.”

Sonya growls in anger as Vox walks away with the other Vees. Sonya tried maybe ways to get the cage open, but it was not used. It was even magic proof cause the spells she remembers couldn’t open the cage and the lock was a combination lock.

Sonya - *distress* “Man…I can’t believe this is happening. I should've known looting the Vee Tower was a bad idea! Why didn't I talk myself and my friends out of it?!”

Liz - *to Sonya* “Because we get caught up in the heat of the moment?”

Sonya sadly sighs and slumps to the floor. Feeling bad for her sister, Liz put her hands on Sonya’s shoulders.

Liz - *comforting* “Hey don’t worry we can get out of here.”

Sonya - “How? They took our phones, your scissors, and my book. And this cage is like impossible to get out of.”

Just then, they hear some sounds coming from one of the air vents. The air vent cover from above fell on the floor and a long strand of rope falls down. Then, they see someone sliding down the rope like a professional. It was an extremely beautiful female sinner that resembles a pink and white-furred mink and is dressed in a matching red trench coat and fedora. The female sinner turns around and spots Sonya.

Female Sinner - *surprised* “Well, here's something I didn't expect to find in here.”

Sonya - “Who are you?”

Sinner - “The name's Crimson, Crimson Minx. And you are?”

Sonya - “Sonya. Sonya Morningstar.”

Liz - “And I’m Liz Morningstar her twin sister.”

Crimson Minx - *interested* “Gemini Twins, huh? Now this is a real surprise. And here, I thought it was a simple legend.”

Sonya - *happy* “Yeah! You’re one of the few that believe in that. So thanks for that.”

Liz - “Ya think you can help us out? Scratch our back and you can scratch ours?”

Crimson Minx - “I could, but what's in it for me?”

Sonya - “We're cousins with the princess of Hell, Charlie. We can tell her to give you a reward, or maybe even a royal favor. Hell, we can even ask our uncle who the king of Hell for the royal favor.”

Crimson Minx - *intrigued* “The princess, and king huh? Hmmmm, okay then.

Crimson Minx kneels to the finger-scanning lock and uses her make-up kit to open it. Sonya and Liz were amazed at how she managed to get it opened.

Crimson Minx - “Now then, since I got you out, how's about you do me a favor by pulling a distraction? I don’t want those wannabes overlords to be suspious over this.”

Sonya - *nods* “Oh, I certainly would love to. But just out of curiosity, why? Are you some sort-of master thief or something?”

Crimson Minx - “Got it in one, little lady. *gently boops her nose* While you keep the Vees busy, there's something I need to pick up. You think you can keep them busy?”

Liz - *scoff* “Oh please we are the master of busy.”

Crimson Minx - *chuckles* “Now stay here and act like you are trapped.”

Sonya - “Got it!”

Crimson Minx quietly began to walk away. Then Sonya and Liz saw the Vees coming back. Sonya sat back down looking sad and annoyed.

Val - *annoyed* “You better hope those lights are going back on Vox! Do you know how many movies I gotta do?”

Vox - *rolls his eyes* “Relax, it will be back on soon. It wasn’t my fault that radio fucker insulted me.”

Sonya - “You know for a guy who hates Alastor so much, you sure love to talk about him a lot.”

Vox - *annoyed* “What's your point, ya brat?”

Sonya - *mocking* “Ya sure you’re not in love with him?”

Liz - *chuckles* “I bet he want to make out with him! *make kissing noises*

Both Sonya and Liz laugh. Even Val laughed a little but Vox was getting mad but Velvette stop him from losing his temper.

Velvette - “Don’t listen to her. She is just a little tasteless brat. I mean look what she’s wearing! It look like something you see a homeless fucker wears.”

Sonya - *scoff* “You’re the one to talk lady.”

Velvette - *insulted* “Excuse me?!”

Sonya - “You go around acting like you’re all cool with your fashion and media stuff but in reality, it’s boring! You post stuff that people already know or don’t care about. And also, your design and your hairstyle is tacky!”

Hearing those words made Velvette turn red. Vox and Val actually had to restrain her from ripping Sonya to shreds. They are both aware of Velvette’s temper. Especially when it comes to her appearance.

Velvette - *angry and waving her arms* “Let me at her!! I’m gonna make sure her face is tacky and won’t be shown again!!”

Valentino - *struggling* “Velvette, how about you take your own advice and cool it!”

Sonya - *disgusted* “Oh, and then there's you, Val.”

Valentino - *confused* “What? What about me?”

Sonya - “Acting like you’re better than everybody being like an Ozzie wannabe but you’re NOTHING like him. You’re nothing but a pathetic bully with bad vision and even see three dollars in front of him. That’s why Angel is popular not because of you but because he’s literally better than you!”

Valentino blankly stared at her with wide-open rage-filled eyes and a trembling lower lip.

Valentino - *furious* “YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR SAYING THAT BIG TIME YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

The three Vees were now enraged and were about to kill her, until Sonya bashes the cage open right into their faces, leaving red marks of the cage's bars on their faces.

Sonya - *laughs* “See ya!”

Sonya began to run away in the hallway. They kept running hoping they could find Crimson Minx. Or at least an exit door that they can escape from.

Liz - “I hope that Crimson Minx can help us!”

Sonya - “I just hope she didn’t betray us!”

()()()()()()()()

Deep inside the Vee Tower's secret facility, Crimson Minx walks inside and places a pocket flash drive into one of the ports. She then fiddled with the keyboard and began downloading data into her flash drive until it was complete.

Crimson Minx - *smiles confidently* “Like taking candy from a baby. Now for that little Gemini girls.”

But when she turned around, two demon security guards were aiming their handguns at her. However, she was unphased and kept smiling confidently.

Crimson Minx - “Hello boys. I'd love to stick around and dance, but I've got some kids to pick up from the daycare.”

Crimson Minx leaps in the air and before the guards can shoot her, she split kicks them both in the faces.

Crimson Minx - “Hm hope it serve you right on pointing a gun at a lady.”

Crimson Minx runs off to find Sonya and Liz.

()()()()()()()()()

As for Sonya and Liz, they were still running from the Three Vees. Sonya was surprised that can actually run and not send someone else to do their dirty work for them.

Liz - “Geez I never saw them so mad.”

Sonya - *running* “Yeah, we need to find a way to lose them. Any ideas?”

Liz - “We can set traps or distract them with different doors. Like in the cartoons we watch. They always work.”

Sonya - “Perfect! Cartoons are the best teachers.”

As they ran, they found themselves in what looked like a kitchen.

Sonya - “Hey, I have an idea. Follow my lead.”

The Three Vees entered the kitchen when suddenly Velvette got hit in the face with a pie. There, they find Sonya and Liz throwing pies at them.

Sonya - “Eat pie sucker!!”

They continue throwing pies at them, getting them all covered in crust and filling.

Velvette - *furious* “You bloody little knob, this is one of my best dresses! Now you're gonna get it!”

But as she runs closer to the twins, Liz starts pulling cork bottles in the champagne rack and they fire at the Vees like a machine gun barrage.

Liz - “Ha! I knew it was good for something.”

Valentino - *mad* “Hey! Do you have any idea how expensive and hard to find they are?!”

But then, a cork bottle hits Valentino in the eye, leaving a large black eye.

Liz - *mockingly* “Here's mud in your eye, ya fly!”

Sonya - “Ha! Good one dude.”

They high five each other. The Three Vees attempted to reach her, but they were slipping and falling from the wet alcohol all over the kitchen floor. As they struggle and continue slip over, Sonya slides her way out of the kitchen and then pulls out a cardbox filled with mousetraps. She scatters the mousetraps all over the kitchen floor, causing the Three Vees to get snapped by them all over their bodies. One even snapped on one of Valentino's nipples.

Valentino - *in pain* “MY NIPS!!”

Sonya couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Even Liz burst out laughing as well. Unfortunately, Vox was getting very mad as his face starts glitch again.

Vox - *furious* “You had played us for the last time!!”

Using his demonic powers, Vox controls electrical devices around the area, despite the power outage.

Sonya - *shocked* “Whoa! How are you doing that!? There’s a huge blackout with no electricity!”

Vox - “Bitch, not even an outage can limit my powers! I AM the power!

Controlling the electronics, Vox has Sonya caught in metallic coils. Even Liz felt trapped as well.

Sonya - *struggles* “Let me go!!”

Vox - *darkly* “Oh, I don't think so, you little monster! Now, as for your punishment, we're going to have you as our lab rat for my latest device: A mind-controlling chip that will make you obedient and helpless to our will.”

Sonya - *scared* “N-No! Please no!!”

Valentino - *mockingly* “Aww look who’s scared now.”

Velvette - “Oh relax, kid. You won't feel it anymore once you have it on. Hell, you won't feel anything for that matter.”

*laughs*

Sonya was struggling to break free but it was no use. The coils wrapped her even tighter.

Vox - *thinking aloud* “You know, since you are that Gemini shit, you are actually worth millions of dollars for being so rare. So maybe you'll be of use for us by making a fortune. It's the least you can do after all the property that you and your little friends stole, and for the expensive champagne bottles that you wasted on us.”

Sonya - *tearing up* “No please!”

Just then, a flashbang rolled in beneath the Three Vees' feet and exploded, causing everyone's vision to white out temporarily blind them and their ears to ring like crazy. During this, Crimson Minx comes in and pulls Sonya out of the coils. She carries her in her arms as breaks through the glass window and falls out of the tower. But while falling, Crimson Minx activated a hidden paraglider and they glided safely to the ground.

As Sonya's vision and ears were clearing up, she saw Crimson Minx holding her with a smile.

Crimson Minx - “Sorry I'm late. I have a flair for the dramatic.”

Sonya - *amazed* “Wow! Thanks!!”

Liz - *amazed* “You were awesome!”

??? - “Sonya! Liz!”

Crimson Minx and the twins turn to see Charlie and the others racing toward her.

Sonya - *gasps* “Cousin Charlie!”

Liz - “Cuz!!”

Charlie tightly hugged Sonya and Liz. They were so relieved that their baby cousins were alive and well.

Charlie - *relief* “Thank goodness you are both okay. *looks for injuries* Are you hurt? Did they try anything on you two?”

Sonya - “Don’t worry we are fine.”

Liz - “Yeah we are okay.”

Angel - “That's good. Now, moving on from that point, *angrily picks them up and yells* WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU TWO THINKING OF STEALING FROM THE VEE TOWER?! DO YOU HAVE A DOUBLE-DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?! Every sane person in Hell knows that you should never - NEVER - steal from the Three Vees, especially with someone that is unpredictable, apathetic, and remorseless as my boss, Valentino. If we haven't hired Crimson Minx to rescue you, you two could have been their latest money-making play thing, and NEITHER OF US would want that!”

Rimfire - “Hey dude ease up on them!”

Frostbite - “Yeah it was our fault because we led them into looting.”

Raina - “And it was an accident.”

Sonya - “And you guys hired Crimson Minx to save us?”

Charlie - “It’s a long story.”

Flashback

Angel - *frantic and pacing around* “How could you let this happened!? Do you have any ideas how dangerous this is?!”

Raina - “I’m sorry! I honestly didn’t think Sonya would sacrifice herself for me.”

Vaggie - “Wait, she did what?”

Raina - “When we got caught, Sonya opened the portal with a magic spell. I almost didn’t make it inside because Valentino grabbed my tail. But Sonya quickly grabbed me and threw me in the portal. It showed that she actually does care about me…I’m so used of people betraying me at certain situation like this…”

Charlie - “I can understand that. But I’m marching down to that tower and getting my baby cousins back!”

Vaggie - *worried* “Charlie! You know what the Vees can do.”

Charlie - *determined* “I don’t care! My baby cousins are in danger right now! I’ll even commit murder if I have to do in order to save them!”

Hardy - “Whoa! Whoa! Charlie, I understand you want to save them but you can’t just march there. They know you and who knows what the traps they can do and stuff.”

Charlie - “Well I’m not sitting by and letting those assholes hurt or even kill my baby cousins!”

Hardy - “I can send somebody who is able to save them without getting caught.”

Blitz - “It’s better not be Alastor. You know how Sonya is afraid of him.”

Hardy - “No it’s somebody else. Trust me. They are an expert on not getting caught. Beside, they owe me a favor.”

()()()()()()()()

Liz - “Wow…Well we are grateful Madame Bond here, was able to save us.”

Angel - “Yeah, well, be thankful that you three managed to make it out unscathed, because they would have done the same thing to you three if they caught you.”

Hardy - *sternly* “Seriously girls, you two were very fortunate that I found Crimson Minx walking by while I was racing off to rescue you.”

Sonya - “You two know each other?”

Crimson Minx - “Oh yeah, we've bumped into each other while he was on one of his hero-for-hire cases. We played a nice game of Cops and Robbers, and he impressed me with those skills of his when we got mixed in with a would-be terrorist group of petty and unprofessional miscreants.”

Hardy - “Well I couldn’t let you get hurt or something.”

Crimson Minx - *teasingly* “Aww you care about me Mr. Goody Two Shoes?”

Hardy - *shrugs* “Well sure. You maybe a thief, Miss Minx, but I still care for others' well being.”

Crimson Minx - “Oh, you are such a sweetheart.”

Crimson Minx kisses Hardy, causing him to go stiff and faint on the floor.

Sophie - “Is Hardy okay?”

Crimson Minx - “Oh, don't worry, sweetie. I have that effect on most men.” *giggles*

Sonya - “Well thanks again for saving me.”

Crimson Minx - *ruffles her hair* “You're welcome, little lady. And thank you for being such a big help with my little heist.”

Hardy - *springs back up* “Wait, what little heist?”

Crimson Minx - “Oh, would you look at the time, gotta run!”

Crimson Minx pulls out a grapple gun and launches it, zipping away from the group.

Hardy - *calls out* “Minx wait, what heist were you talking about?!”

But Crimson Minx didn't answer as she already fled the scene. Hardy can't do anything but sigh in defeat.

Hardy - *growls* “That woman…”

Charlie - “Sonya, Liz, are you sure guys hurt in anyway?

Vaggie - “Did they try to do something to you?”

Sonya - “No. me and Liz are okay.”

Angel - “Good, because we're going to inform what happend with your parents! *grabs Sonya by the cheek* Now come on.”

Angel Dust drags Sonya by the cheek as she repeatedly says "Ow!" along the way. Everyone else follows them.

()()()()()()()()

After informing Azarel and Zella what happened. Azarel and Zella were not happy that their daughters were in serious danger.

Azarel - “That was the stupidest! Most dangerous! Stupidest!”

Liz - “You said that already Dad.”

Azarel - “And I’m going to keep saying it young lady!”

Sonya - “Dad please…This was all my idea.”

Zella - *surprised* “You? But this is something you don’t normally do.”

Sonya - *sighs* “I know…”

Liz was shocked that Sonya wanted to take the heat on what they both did. But not wanting her to get in more trouble with their parents, Liz said:

Liz - “Sonya please, don’t cover for me. I was the one who pressure Sonya into going.”

Azarel - “Now that I believe.”

Rimfire - “Wait Mr. Morningstar, don’t be too mad at them.”

Frostbite - “Yeah we pressure her into going saying it would be cool and fun.”

Raina - “And she did save me.”

Azarel and Zella looked at each other. While they were angry at their daughters for doing something this stupid and dangerous, they couldn’t help but feel proud that their friends and Liz owning up to their mistakes. Even how Sonya saved Raina from danger. Even Angel was impressed by it believing he was too hard on them.

()()()()()()()()()

Sonya was in her room reading her book until her phone rang. It was Charlie wanting to FaceTime her. She picked up the phone and saw Charlie.

Charlie - “Hi sweetie! I just wanted to check up on you.”

Sonya - “Don’t worry cousin Charlie I’m okay.”

Angel - *pops in the facetime* “Hey kid, what your jail sentence?”

Liz - “I got grounded for a month with no video games and anime. No turf wars and pranks. And extra chores.”

Sonya - “I got grounded for 2 weeks with no magic, video games, extra chores and going to hang out after school.”

Angel - “Harsh. Look kids, I’m sorry for being to harsh and acting like an alcoholic father. I was just so worried about you two. I mean you guys are like my little sisters.”

Charlie - *touched* “Aw Angel that’s so sweet!”

Angel - *rolls his eyes and teasingly* “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t tell anybody.”

Sonya - *chuckles* “It’s alright Angel. To be honest, Liz and I did deserve to get grounded for doing something like this.”

Liz - “Yeah. I’ll admit it was one of the stupidest things to do.”

Sonya - “Honestly I’m surpsied you covered me. Well sort of.”

Liz - “Hey you’re my sister. We are suppose to have each other back. Beside you suffered enough and don’t deserve to get grounded long like me.”

Charlie - “And it was very mature and brave for your friends to admit their mistake too. Even though it got them grounded too.”

Sonya - “Yeah. Anyway, I gotta go. Have a good one.”

Charlie - “Later!”

Charlie hanged up. Then Sonya saw a message in a group chat of her friends. Frostbite texted “Thanks for saving my sister.” And Rimfire texted “You guys wanna hang out again after our grounding is over?” touched by this, Sonya texted “Sure we love to hang out again.” And “No problem Frost. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Sonya - “It’s great to have friends like them.”

()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, on the other side of Pentagram City, Crimson Minx was meeting up with the cilent who hired her to steal data from the V Tower.

Crimson Minx - “Okay got what you needed. Also had to make a pit stop as well.”

“No matter, as long as you got what I requested.”

Crimson Minx hands the flash drive to the cilent and the cilent hands her a briefcase filled with money.

Crimson Minx - “A pleasure doing business with you.”

Crimson Minx walks off with the briefcase. The cilent turns around and walks away. As the figure walks into the light of a street light, it was revealed that the cilent is none other than Lute, the late Adam's former lieutenant and current commander of the exorcists.

The end.

[demonsfate]

same anon here… if i may shift the rant to kazuya a bit… i think it's a very, very fine line here between what many Kazuya defenders say and what i'm about to say, but what makes Kaz so interesting to me is that, while he was definitely shaped by the trauma wrought on him by Heihachi and likely would've turned out fine under different circumstances, he still chose evil. He embraced it. Heihachi was thought dead and gone between TK1 and 2 and that didn't stop Kazuya from doing any of the long laundry list of crimes he did. That doesn't make him without humanity and he's plenty sympathetic, but it's a very important distinction to give him that agency because the implication otherwise is that being abused makes you evil when that obviously isn't true in so many real life cases, and is actually quite insulting to the many normal people out there with completely batshit parents!

And as you said, this also contrasts him with Jin. Kaz was saved by the devil and embraced it (and his actions reflect that), Jin considers himself cursed by it (with his actions showing the insane lengths he'll go to get rid of it lol [why did they take the worst possible approach to this though lol i'm in pain]). The contrast is so much more interesting than yet another villain protagonist in a series made of them.

ps I do wonder how much modern moral purity has to do with all this, like. just from casual observation it seems so many Mishima fans keep trying to argue why their man of choice is "the good one". Missing the point much? In this series as well, Tekken is not at all subtle about everyone being a rat bastard (which is why i love them haha)

pps btw you've near single-handedly opened my eyes to how funny DJ is and i've gone from ew cringy ott edgelord to him becoming my beloved fucked up catbird creature who fills my heart with joy

And that's also why Jin can't work as a villain. I cooooould be wrong, but I'm pretty sure some of the devs had once said that Jin was like if Kazuya made better choices and attempted to better himself instead of giving into hatred. Which would make sense, as they both grew up similar. Only that, Jin's "hardships" came a little later in his life. But both still essentially lost their mother, was abused by Heihachi, betrayed by Heihachi, and then found out they both a fucking devil. Kazuya and Jin show how two people can react very differently to similar scenarios. Which, beyond Jin being the "good Mishima" and the "protagonist" - Tekken 6 also ruins the entire point of that.

Like I don't care if Jin was doing it for a ""good cause,"" once he's crossing his arms and smirking, and literally calling people "pitiful" after beating them in battle... that's just - that's just Kazuya!!!!! Which Jin isn't supposed to be. Like it's also what made Jin so interesting as a main character - because he really was meant to be Kazuya's contrast / foil. They go well together. Which, is a shame most of that potential got tarnished after they refuse to acknowledge them in Tek5, then they do have a rivalry again in Tek6 but Jin might as well not even be Jin, and then Tek7 Jin was mostly absent... so. Let's see if 8 can do better.

Also I don't wanna hear the rubbish that "Mishima Bad" that every Mishima is cursed to be an Irredeemable Jerk. Because Lars and Jinpachi are both fine people who were a lil misled at first but were good people in heart. Jinpachi was only "evil" when he got literally possessed by an evil spirit - and much like Jin, Jinpachi was wanting to die in order to be free of the evil spirit and save the world.

I don't mind Jin making mistakes sometimes, or lashing out in anger, or not being able to control DJ. But I don't think they should ever go to the extent of what Tek6 did. I think Jin should always just struggle with moral in the sense he just doesn't know what would be best to do. (Tek4, for example, where he had to decide from committing murder-suicide or not) Jin isn't the ideal hero, he's not a knight in shining armor. But in the end, he should still be somebody who's compassionate toward his friends and the other fighters who deserve that compassion, and someone who doesn't get innocents killed because he's trying to awaken some stupid doomsday chicken.

AND THANKS OMG - funny enough when I first started this blog, I wasn't as invested in DJ. I just had him around because it felt kinda hard to write Jin without him. But then as I started becoming even more familiar with the series, and I started developing my own ideas - I started really liking his character. A good thing I will say about Tek6, regardless if it was intentional or not - he was pretty funny in scenario campaign should you choose to play as him. Maybe the "eating people" think was solely included to be Edgy; but I just found it funny how much he kept CONSTANTLY bringing it up, and then making other characters confused LOL. But I also like the inclusion just BECAUSE - when I see a nonhuman character, even if they do appear somewhat human, I do like to give them traits that separate them from humans. But also with the idea of Azazel seeing DJ as nothing but a tool and thus creating him to be nothing more - I also like to have the depiction that DJ isn't necessarily "evil," he's more so just the response of a scorned God who felt betrayed.