#there could be even a sliver of a possibility that it WASN'T even PARTIALLY his fault.... shifting the blame entirely onto Josh...

[ectonurites]

almost 4am can't stop thinking about the meaning of the idiom 'to have blood on [someone's] hands'—to be responsible for a person's death—combined with the fact that Zach is the one we are specifically shown with Daryl's actual blood on his hands (once for real and once in a dream)... Not Josh who had been holding the sword Daryl fell onto, but Zach who took the sword out.

[narrators-journal]

Part 7

I really hope this doesn't seem bipolar of Mina, I can't write intimacy issues well 😔

Previous part: Here

Next part: here

TOC: Here

Ryoji made good on his word after that.

Not only was the emo not allowed to leave the house, but for an entire week, that restriction was to his room. Which, on the one hand, wasn't a surprise. Minato had tried to escape, during a snowstorm. He'd figured from Ryoji locking him into his room that he'd face harsh repercussions for that move. But, for some reason, being locked in his gorgeous room still managed to hurt less than the chilly attitude the god's assistant held when bringing him food.

        "You can't be trusted to not sneak out." Was the cold explanation he got the first day after, delivered with another needle in the sacrifice's heart and his breakfast. Leaving him again with little to keep him company in his room but the cold weight of some nebulous pain. A pain that only seemed to worsen with each passing day. Chocked up to his confinement eating at him, Minato turned to sleeping the hours away whenever he could.

And, as a consequence of his sleeping, Minato missed meals. Going from picking at three meals a day to barely eating one of the offered plates. A trend continued partially out of pettiness despite the god's assistant shaking him awake whenever he brought food.

Yet, not even the petty drive to 'punish' Ryoji for making him hurt could silence the hunger gnawing at Minato forever. So, when he was finally given an inch of freedom again, he took the chance. Stealthing his way through the gothic halls in the cover of undisturbed shadows. Being careful in the darkness of the night to not to fall down the stairs in his haste to get to the kitchen. thankful to the silvery pools of moonlight let in by opened curtains for providing a bit of the light he avoided turning on.

Pausing at the door, Minato listened for any signs of life through the house. But, judging by the silence, Ryoji hadn't taken up nightly patrols in exchange for the sacrifice's freedom. So, sliding the door open only a sliver, the blue-haired man was able to slip into the kitchen like a ghost. Unnoticed while slithering his way to the fridge to pull out a block of cheese and jar of mayonnaise.

Sitting in the slice of yellow light, Minato used a knife to cut off chunks of cheddar to dip into the spread. Eating a sort of cheese sandwich in the solitude of the late night with no noise but his own internal voice.

What the hell do I do now? The voice asked as he ate, It's too soon to run again, Ryoji's no doubt expecting it. But, what do I do until I get another chance? Go back to playing nice? The thought of it made Minato scowl, I guess I'm already too jumbled up for that. But, can I avoid Ryoji? Do I...even want to anymore? If I do, wouldn't that just make him more wary of me?

      "I brought you dinner earlier, y'know." Ryoji's sudden presence ripped the sacrifice abruptly from his musings. Making the shaggy-haired man turn to look at the deific assistant like a child caught in the cookie jar. His cool grey eyes wide in the artificial cold of the fridge, his heart in his stomach, and his dress a mess. Yet, in contrast, the brunette was casually leaning on the closed kitchen door. his sapphire eyes seeming to catch the silver moonlight in a playful glitter despite the flat expression he wore. Not made any warmer by the silence that returned between them. Only broken when Minato finally pushed himself up to shut the fridge and move his meal to the island. Keeping the marble counter between him and the brunette.       "I know." He mumbled, the fact Ryoji was harder to see in nothing but the winter moonlight making it easier to speak. Yet, it did little to soothe the melancholy burn in Minato's chest at his mere presence.

And while there was some comfort in the possibility that Ryoji seemed just as uncomfortable, the hurt hanging in the air contested that.       "What are you doing down here? I thought you'd be asleep by now." Minato said in some desperate hope to...What? Lighten the mood? Fix shit? He asked himself, only for Ryoji's voice to save him from the introspection.       "I figured you'd come down here at some point, since you've been refusing to eat what I bring you." He gave a simple shrug, not seeming offended, at the least. "I thought it would be less weird to talk to you when you were out of your room. Less...I dunno, confrontational."       "Because waiting for me to get hungry is any less uncomfortable?" Minato asked, his flat voice far more barbed than he intended, dooming him to another tense stretch of silence under a glare. Then, an angry sigh.     "You're right, I shouldn't ha-"     "Wait!"

In a single breath, the night seemed to fall silent. Ryoji paused mid reach for the door, Minato frozen in fear at the plea that had fallen from his lips without thought.       "Wait," he tried again, masking the desperate with a more collected request, "I...I'm sorry for what I said. About you..Well, y'know."       "Saying I had no reason to worry about you?" Ryoji guessed, his take on his harsh words an equally harsh slap. Worsened with that pesky voice adding, I mean, what other direction could he take my words? But the sacrifice shoved it aside.         "Y-yeah. That. I'm sorry for that, I..."

That time, it was Minato letting the conversation sit in silence as his words trailed off.         "I'm...not the best with other people caring about me." He finally admitted, keeping his eyes fixed to the speckled counter top he leaned on as he spoke and ate. Listening to Ryoji sigh, this one more tired then angry,       "I kind of figured that much. Though, I mean, I wasn't much help in changing that, was I?" The blue-haired man shrugged,       "Well, you cared enough to not leave me to die in the cold. So, I say you're an improvement in that department, at least." He offered, leaving an opening for some of Ryoji's humor. But the brunette only shifted his weight from foot to foot in the first sign of discomfort on his side.       "But, what about when we were waiting for Thanatos? If anything, you have every right to be hostile to me after that." He reminded, "So, I suppose you shouldn't be apologizing..." But the sacrifice shook his head,       "I kinda got over that. A little hard to fault you for being clingy when you're alone a majority of the year." He countered, and while Ryoji still seemed to want to argue his own guilt, he only nodded for now.         "Will you stop being mad at me now? I'll...try not to be such a dick, just quit being so cold please." Minato sighed, wincing a bit when the loneliness slipped back into his voice. Keeping his eyes on the island and his hands busy with scooping up mayo on his chunks of cheese. All the while, he felt Ryoji stare into him for a long, thoughtful moment before he nodded again,         "Okay. Though, I'd think you'd enjoy my chilly attitude, with how much you seem to want to freeze to death." A weak joke. But a joke, a good sign. So, Minato snorted a bit and shook his head. Letting Ryoji join him at the island as he continued to eat his fill of cheese and mayo in the dark. The two talking here and there until the sacrifice put up the food and finally went back to bed.

And, while the conversation didn't quite help the melancholy mix of disgust and anxiety that made Minato's skin crawl at the thought of letting Ryoji any closer to him, it did ease the guilt. So, when the pair parted for the night at the sacrifice's bedroom door, the warm ruby comforter felt less suffocating to crawl and lay under.

[stingslikeabee]

Hiding in suits of human skin - the words alone made something unpleasant sink to the bottom of Melissa's stomach. She knew that was a possibility, otherwise why would one have gone through the pains of hiring a man like Daigo Dojima? But still, believing otherwise gave her a sliver of hope. Maybe it was just something else that had migrated to the area, the type that a trained hunter could deal with whereas regular villagers with pitchforks couldn't.

The appreciation for the meal, however, did elicit a smile out of the innkeeper that had grown somber with the thoughts of creatures infiltrating the town. There was so much that Melissa could do but remain vigilant, she assumed - perhaps Daigo could recommend herbs or other substances that could ward the inn against his best suspicions. The brunette would stop at nothing to ensure that her staff, guests and friends were as safe as they could be.

The new set of questions had Melissa focusing on the hunter once more, breathing in deeply before giving it some thought - it had been a while since she had seen a fresh kill, and even then the innkeeper had assumed it was the work of the same creature. Nodding, the woman raised both hands, flexing fingers as if she was trying to replicate what she imagined the claws of the beast to look like.

"I wouldn't say it favors slicing - but the few people I encountered in the woods or helped bandage here at the inn had been slashed over chest and other limbs like this," the woman made a scratching motion over her own figure, attempting to better illustrate where these had been done, "It was usually enough to tear through clothes but not necessarily wood or iron. It always felt to me that these were attempts at securing or holding victims in place."

Melissa frowned again, trying to recall the exact details even if she lacked Daigo's artistic abilities to paint it for the man and offer him better insight. "The more severe wounds were always inflicted by the bites - it looked like the jaw was powerful, and the teeth sharp and strong. It could indeed tear through flesh and bone - some of the sightings were disturbing," the innkeeper confirmed, unaware if someone was around and listening to that gruesome conversation.

A lady such Melissa shouldn't have seen so much - but the inn ended up being an obvious place to bring those that were found alive and rescued from the forest, with a good offer of beds and clean linen (as well as staff), partially due to the dwindling number of paying guests. "The bites are... Distressing. The creature has to be a large predator - assuming it scratches prey to throw them off balance and then pounces for the kill with a bite..." the innkeeper hummed, then moved both arms again.

This time, the brunette rolled the sleeves up her right arm, baring flesh to the hunter. But her next course of action was unexpected and potentially comical - Melissa opened her own mouth, brought her forearm between her teeth and bit herself hard enough to leave a temporary mark of her own. Next, she brought her chair closer to Daigo's, using her feet and body weight to drag it over and then showing him the imprint of her own mouth over skin.

"The bite of this creature would be... This much larger in comparison, I think," her free hand moved away from the mark, in a more illustrative manner to allude to how wide it was on the people she had encountered before. It was only then she seemed to realize (again) how silly she was acting in front of a seasoned specialist - her childish display of putting a limb between human teeth was probably just the stupidest thing he had ever seen.

"I could take you for a walk outside, past the village gates and where most of the victims were found... If that was of help to your research, Daigo." the woman offered with burning cheeks, a smile at the ending granted in a feeble attempt at distracting herself from shame. Why was she behaving in such idiotic fashion? It wasn't as if Daigo was the first hunter to cross the thresholds to her establishment.

But there was evidently something about that visitor that clouded Melissa's best judgement.

★. ―

Daigo did not interrupt Melissa's silence ; he respected that this topic was not an easy one for the afflicted locals to discuss. The hunter busied himself with his drink and another bite or two of his food while he waited. He was only half - aware of the fact that she was staring at him — he was too used to it, really.

When the innkeeper began to speak again, he picked up his charcoal faithfully. A low chuckle left him as she corrected how he had used her name, but he didn't respond to that. Instead, Daigo furrowed his brow thoughtfully and opted to remain silent. He scribbled notes while she spoke, foreign characters etched out with evident practice column by column.

With some of his cases, Daigo had been able to quickly prove that there was no inhuman presence. A poisoned well, perhaps. Rabid dogs. Rot at the bottom of the communal grain storage. In this place, though, the hunter dismissed his first suspicion. The facts that Melissa confirmed ( the very same she wrote him prior ) did indeed point to a real monster, and that caused a knot of anxious excitement to form in his gut. That the locals were familiar with the large predators in their area helped him make that determination — surely they would know what was normal for those animals, which would make the unidentified creature's attacks stand out more.

At her question, Daigo leaned back in his seat with a dull thump. The tip of his charcoal tapped aimlessly against the page for a moment. "It is most likely new here," he finally said, "but I also do not want to rule out anything so early. I have known beasts that hid for years, whether they were asleep in secret lairs or hiding in suits made of human skin. To me, it is as possible that your monster has been here for fifteen years as it is that it arrived within the last two."

The hunter sighed. " — and I am not ' Mr. Dojima, ' especially if you are just Melissa. Daigo, then. My thanks for supper."

He used a hand to gesture at the meal and then grabbed his drink. Another swig went down. Daigo set the mug to the side and cleared his throat.

"Melissa." The hunter grinned, though it soon slipped away. "The wounds that it inflicts. Can you tell me about those ?? Even if you have never seen them yourself, any information that you have heard would help. You mentioned claws and fangs. Does it favor slicing its prey or biting ?? " His voice was eerily cool, as if the thought of a dismembered corpse did nothing to him.

[bestworstcase]

Your thoughts on the Lost Fable and interpretation of Salem and Ozma's relation to the narrative also ended up making me think of one other little detail:

It's called the Lost FABLE. Not the lost History, or lost Truth.

FABLE. As in a FANTASY. A FAIRY TALE.

It was right there all along.

And frankly recalling how Ozma's original question that drove him to despair was "How can I destroy Salem?", and how we all speculated that it meant that there was a different way to beat her...

But in truth, it was also arguably showing us one of the core rules of the Relic Djinn:

You only get what you SPECIFICALLY asked for.

And that only reinforces the possibility that what we saw of the Lost Fable was being filtered through the perspective of what Ruby asked:

"What is Ozpin hiding?" -> "What details did he hide, from HIS perspective with all of HIS biases and expectations?"

And Jinn can't give the full details because that wasn't specified in the questions she was asked.

...I kinda wonder if things would have been different if the question was "What is the Truth about Salem?"

precisely. she literally begins with “once upon a time.”

and of course—think about how ozpin thinks, in general. how he perceives the world and processes the things that happen to him. he is consumed by fairytales and deeply preoccupied with archetype and symbolism and narrative. when he invites pyrrha into his conspiracy he leads by asking “what’s your favorite fairytale?” and guiding her toward the one he intends to use to ease her into the (partial) truth; when qrow fills RNJR in on the reality of the situation as he understands it, he does the same thing, and when he tells ruby about the magic in her silver eyes he starts by talking about legends of silver-eyed warriors. the conflation of real history with fairytale is the ideological bedrock of the huntsmen cult because ozma relies on fairytales to make sense of his own existence.

“the girl in the tower” is an actual in-universe fairytale that ozma wrote at some point to immortalize the tiny sliver of the past when he got to be truly happy.

and if ozpin had decided to share his true past with team rwby, he would have started with the girl in the tower—same as he started with the story of the seasons when he revealed the maidens to pyrrha—so when ruby asks “what is ozpin hiding from us?”, jinn starts with the girl in the tower too.

it’s notable, too, that ozpin doesn’t learn any new information in the lost fable. because there are certainly things he doesn’t know—salem has been alive in the neighborhood of a couple hundred million years, it simply isn’t POSSIBLE that she could have told ozma every important thing she experienced in that time even if she wanted to—so if jinn had really shown them everything, ozpin would have doubtless had a revelation or two himself (especially since she kept going after the murderdivorce—at which point salem herself vanishes from the narrative, leaving only ozma’s assumptions about her behind; that would…not have happened if jinn were telling the whole story). but he didn’t. because jinn showed the kids everything he knew and believed and chose to keep secret.

(you know how mockingly she asks oscar if he has a question for her in V8…? there is absolutely something jinn knows that ozma doesn’t and i bet she’s been trying to goad him into asking for centuries.)

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

Penny/Oscar prompt(with trans!Penny and trans!Oscar): Still feeling confused by being chosen as the Winter maiden, she approaches Oscar about whether she can really be a Maiden when her soul came from a man. Oscar tries his best to answer as himself, saying they're not so different as Oz only reincarnates into men, and explains he wasn't born as one, but that it's their feelings towards their gender and own identity that matters more and is a true reflection of their soul.

I don’t think I’m ever going to be completely happy with this one.  It’s been through (at minimum 3-4) drafts and waaay too many read throughs.  I’m just gonna call it done here.  A part of me feels like I could still make it better somehow, but I already put all that I could into it.

That said, Penny and Oscar as valid af and anyone who disagrees can fight me behind Denny’s (sure I’ll probably lose because I’m basically Steve Rogers before he became Captain America, but yeah).

Also if it doesn’t come across that they’re valid af in this fic, I will just go and edit it some more.  I did my best, but I also am somewhat worried that’s not enough.

anywhoooo off to the fic!

.

There Are No Strings On Me (The Farm Boy Is Also A Cricket, Too)

Penny watches the airship lift off and fly away.  She hates staying behind like this.  She understands why.  What she is now, a Maiden—she’s too important to risk on a reconnaissance mission.  The fate of Atlas, Mantle, the entire world rests partially on her shoulders, and not just in an ‘Ironwood telling her that it will be her job to save the world one day’ way.  This is real.  Too real.

Penny holds one of her hands in the other.  She rubs circles with her thumb on her open palm.  Her father, the first chance he got, repaired the damage Cinder’s fiery blade caused when it exploded.  She’s glad for that.  There’s no doubt in her mind that there will be a battle in the near future she will take part in.  Going into a fight with sustained damages is no good.

Penny closes her eyes.  A part of her wants to playback that terrifying moment.  Hurtling through the air, her sensors alerting her to the incoming blade, catching it, her hands overheating.  Spinning out of control.  Falling.

Catching herself.

She refuses to let herself do more than think about it.  She survived the fight.  So did Winter.  That’s what really matters.  

Although, dying doesn’t necessarily scare Penny.  She’s done it once already.  She doesn’t remember it or the time between it and her reactivation.  She never felt pain, terror.  One moment she knew nothing more, and the next she was blinking awake in her father’s lab.  Penny knows truly dying means not waking up again, but she finds it hard to fear the moment when it’ll eventually happen definitively for her.

What she does fear, and what she would cry over if she had the capacity, is the possibility of an afterlife.  Penny has hard evidence now that, if an afterlife does exist, she doesn’t get to go there.  She doesn’t go anywhere.  She just shuts off.  Like any other machine.

She’s not real like actual people are.  She’s a very close replication of life, but there’s still a gaping chasm between her and everyone else.  One that she can never cross precisely because of what she is.

I have come too far to be stopped by some toy!

They’re words said in rage by someone whose opinion Penny knows she shouldn’t really be considering, but they’ve stuck with her since they were yelled at her.  Is that what she is?  A toy?  A puppet?  A plaything?  An imitation of life meant to explore humanity’s capacity for creation?

An imitation of humanity itself, one that deceived—stole—one of its greatest powers out from under it?

Penny can’t describe what having the Maiden powers feels like.  They’re just there.  A part of her, but one that’s somehow detached from her operating systems.  She controls them, can send commands and signals to them like she does literally every other aspect of her body, but they are distinctly separate from her machinery.  Like a magnet that got accidentally stuck to her and won’t come off.  Not truly a part of her.  Not really.

She shouldn’t have gotten them at all.  The Maiden powers were intended as a gift from an old wizard to four living girls, to aid mankind.  Penny isn’t alive, not like everyone else is.  The gift to the maidens was never meant for her.  She intervened in a process she should have stayed out of.  It was not her place to act like she had.

But if she hadn’t…

Penny can imagine what would have happened if Cinder won that fight.  Fria’s final moments would not have been peaceful.  Winter, out of aura and injured, would be in no condition to continue a fight against an even stronger opponent.  Penny herself…well, she already knew how little Cinder regarded her life.

She’d had no choice, hadn’t she?  To save all three of them.  To not waste the window of opportunity Winter gave her by distracting Cinder.  In those precious moments, there was only her.  Penny.

She could have told Fria to think of Winter, couldn’t she?  Fria knew Winter.  Thinking of her probably wouldn’t have been too hard.  But, Penny hadn’t.  Penny had taken Fria’s hand and held it.  Because no one should be alone in that final moment.  Because she couldn’t say she knew what awaited Fria on the other side and she wanted to give Fria whatever comfort she could to send her off.  Because, in that moment, the magical powers hadn’t mattered, but the old woman in Penny’s arms did.

Now, here she is, the Winter Maiden.  A thief of a gift to humanity.

“You okay?”

Penny nearly jumps.  She hadn’t heard Oscar come up behind her.  Her receptors had captured the echoing sound, sure, but her processors hadn’t been attuned to register it.

“I—I’m fine,” Penny says too hurriedly, and closes her lips firmly to prevent the hiccup from escaping her.

Oscar looks at Penny a long moment, and then sits down beside her.  “I hate staying behind like this,” he admits, gesturing to the cave opening the airship flew out of to exit the Crater.  “I know there’s more I can be doing but I…”

“Are too important,” Penny finishes for him.  And he is.  Ozpin can always reincarnate into someone else, yes, but there will only ever be one Oscar Pine.  Even if he stayed behind, like her, because of the special magic connected to him, that’s the truth Penny believes firmly in.

“I guess you know what that’s like.”  Oscar laughs quietly.

Penny doesn’t answer.  They settle into silence.  It’s an odd place to sit, really, the opening that looks out over the Crater.  They have an entire, somewhat comfortable, temporary hideout to go rest in, but neither really want to leave the spot where they can see the sliver of the sky where the airship will first appear when it returns.

“Penny, I…” Oscar begins, and Penny turns to him to listen.  “If it was going to be anyone, I’m glad you’re the Winter Maiden.  I know we don’t know each other well, but I do know you’re a good person.”

“Thanks,” Penny replies quietly.  She knows the words are supposed to be reassuring, but they fall flat to her.  Again, she’d been the only one there, in that moment with Fria.  If the Maiden powers could have gone somewhere else, they probably would have.

It was unfair to them, and Fria.  There’s no way the previous maiden could have known Penny’s true nature.  Fria had much more important, pressing matters on her mind to truly take a second and notice the exposed metal of the palms of Penny’s hands, first when she touched her leg, and then when she held her hand.  Fria probably hadn’t had time to realize no ordinary person could have come through the freezing whirlwind of ice and snow.  She probably hadn’t seen how Penny’s legs were clearly synthetic and attached together at an artificial knee.

Despite being a Maiden who lived well into old age and was, therefore, arguably very clever,  Fria probably hadn’t noticed all the little hints that indicated what Penny is, even though she had every reason to critically examine Penny, since she’d been attacked for the power she was tasked with protecting mere minutes before.

Because that would mean Fria had known (or at least suspected) Penny’s true nature, and decided to choose her anyway.

And why would she do that?  Penny, as she keeps telling herself over and over again, isn’t actually real.  Not a real girl.  Not like Ruby and the rest of her team.  Not like Nora, or Winter, or even Cinder, who’s part Grimm now.  All of them were born, created as girls, and Penny was…well her father had been more focused on building something that functioned.  He’d never chosen a gender for her.  She did that herself, later on, after she gained consciousness.  But he’d given her his aura, and her father was a man.  So, following that line of logic, shouldn’t she too be a man too?

“What if it was a mistake?”  Penny asks Oscar in barely a whisper.

He looks at her.  “What if what was a mistake?”

Penny takes a breath she wholly doesn’t need, but the action she learned is one that people do when they need to prepare themselves to say something important.  “Me becoming the Winter Maiden.  I have my father’s aura.  I’m not a real girl.  I tricked some of the most important magic in the world and stole it from humanity and…” she trails off, unsure of how to finish her self-doubting argument.

At first, Oscar doesn’t reply.  Then, “I have Ozpin’s magic, and his memories,” he says slowly.  “Does that make me him?”

“Of course not,” Penny retorts.  “You’re your own person!”

Oscar grins, and Penny gets the feeling it was his ploy to get her to say that, for both their sakes.  “So, if I can still be me, even if I have a wizard living in my head, then why can’t you be your own person even if your father gave you some of his aura?” He posits.

Penny huffs.  “I know I’m not the same being as my father.  There is substantial evidence supporting the concept that we are two entirely separate entities, but I have his aura, and he is a man.  The maiden powers only attach to females.  Therefore, logically, they should not have come to me.”

“So, following that reasoning, aura and gender are linked,” Oscar muses.  He pauses and, if Penny weren’t so wrapped up in her own tumultuous thoughts, she’d recognize the signs that he’s mentally preparing himself to say something he considers very important.  “What if I had evidence to the contrary?”

“What do you mean?”  Penny asks, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Oscar doesn’t look at her.  His shoulders hunch in.  Instinctively, Penny reaches over and wraps a reassuring arm around his shoulders.  She doesn’t know what he’s going to say next, but she can still recognize it’s hard for him to say.

“I was…I am…Penny, do you know what being transgender is?”

Penny doesn’t reply.  The moment she heard the unfamiliar word, she immediately sent out an inquiry to the Internet to find its meaning.

“Transgender,” she finally says.  “Denotes or relates to a person whose gender identity and expression does not correspond with what it was at birth.”

Oscar lets out a sharp laugh.  “That’s one way of putting it, I guess.”  He pauses.  Sensing he’s not finished, Penny waits for him to continue.  He does.  “For me, it means, when my parents’ only child was born, they had a daughter.”  Oscar glances at her warily, but Penny doesn’t interrupt.  He gazes down at his hands, and sighs.  “And that they never got to meet their son either.  They died before he figured that out about himself.”  Hurriedly, he adds, “That’s not the point,” while wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Penny hugs Oscar, hoping to communicate that he doesn’t have to explain further to her if he doesn’t want to.

Oscar leans into the hug.  He doesn’t wrap his arms around Penny in return, but he does rest his weight on her.  “The point is,” he starts again.  “I once had…doubts.  Kind of like you do.  But I learned aura and gender aren’t really related.  Aura is just aura.  It doesn’t really concern itself with any other part of you.  It’s just there.  Completely yours.  It’s what we believe about ourselves, our identities, that makes us who we are.”

“But my aura is my—”

“Yours.”  Oscar sits back.  “Penny, have you ever considered that all parents create their children’s auras when they conceive them?”

“What?”

“It’s something Oz told me once.  We had a conversation kind of like this.”  Oscar inhales slowly and exhales.  “Oz told me everything comes from somewhere.  He has…interesting theories on the origins of Dust and semblances, for instance.  But he told me, our parents are always a part of us, because they gave a part of themselves to make us.  He said, because of that, mine will always be with me.”  Oscar stares down at his hands.  “Even if I never got to know them.  My aunt used to say the same, that I had my father’s laugh and my aura is nearly the same shade of green as my mother’s, but she’s not an ancient, mystical immortal, so I guess she was harder to believe.”

He smiles softly.  “It’s reassuring, in a way.  To know they gave me part of who I am.  My aura.  My laugh.  My appearance, to an extent.  But they didn’t decide who I am.  I’ve done that on my own.”  Oscar looks up at Penny.  “So have you.  You said it yourself.  You aren’t your father.  You have substantial evidence proving that.”

“But you’re human.  I’m not alive.  I don’t have a soul like—”

“How do you know?”  Oscar interrupts.  “How do you know you don’t have a soul?”

Penny hesitates, and then admits what she’s been thinking,  “I died.  I died and I didn’t go to an afterlife or anything.  I just shut down like any other old machine.”

There’s a long pause where Oscar doesn’t say anything.  Penny begins to think he doesn’t have an argument to refute her claim.  When she’s about to stand and walk away, Oscar finally speaks.

“What if you weren’t dead?”  He asks quietly.

“What?”

“Your father recovered your core, you, from Amity Arena, and used it to rebuild you.  A part of you never shut down completely.  In your own way, you were still alive.”  Though the words seem more like an statement, Oscar speaks them like he’s asking a question.

“I guess.”  Penny frowns.  She’s never really thought of it like that before.  Everyone told her she died, so she assumed she had.  But, a part of her had still existed in the world, hadn’t it?  Vulnerable.  Weak.  But not snuffed out completely.

Penny thinks about it more deeply.  Maybe it was like she had been in a coma?  When people are grievously injured, they can go into comas.  They don’t necessarily remember what happens during them either.  They wake up on the other end still alive, just with a gaping hole of time they weren’t conscious for in their life.  Like her.

“That doesn’t mean I have a soul or will go to an afterlife like everyone else,” Penny mumbles, but she’s not as certain that she believes herself now.

“Penny, I’m not sure how else to tell you this, but no one knows what happens to us after we die.  Not even me, and I—well, Ozma—sort of died once.  Actually, it was more like a couple times.”  Oscar winces.  “But Ozma didn’t maintain memories of what happened to him after once the God of Light brought him back.”  He smiles at her.  “Wondering about it, I think, is one of the most human things someone can do.”

“Oh.”  Penny considers the idea that she’s just as alive as everyone else is, and lets that sink in.

“If it helps.”  Oscar leans back on his hands and looks up to the small sliver of sky that’s visible to them.  “We’re probably the only two people who can be completely certain about their identities.”

“How so?”  Curious, Penny cocks her head.

“I was chosen as the next life as an immortal who only reincarnates into men.  You’re the Winter Maiden, who can only be a girl.”  Oscar shrugs.  “We were each chosen by magic older than this incarnation of humanity itself based on the identities we decided for ourselves.  If that’s not validating, I don’t know what is.”

“I never thought about it like that.”  Penny sighs.  “I—I thought I tricked it.  That I looked enough like a girl that the maiden powers came to me because they had no place else to go.”

“The maiden powers are meant to go to those who will travel out in the world and make it a better place because they are able to.  I think that fits you pretty well.”

[stoopsbookstore]

Stress Relief -M-

Synopsis - Doyoung is rethinking his decision to give Jaehyun's cousin an internship. He's constantly messing up the shipping orders, he spills coffee everywhere, he takes too many breaks, but Jaemin is his best friend's cousin, so Doyoung deals with it. One day, Doyoung has been stressed out so much because of Jaemin's bullshit, he freaks out. His maid offers a source of relief.

Warnings - Office sex, Window sex, Phone masturbation (it's on speaker while they're doing it), mentions of a pregnancy/breeding kink, Power dynamic (CEO/Maid), Soft Dom!Doyoung (probably could've written him more dommy, but I was feeling a bit soft)

"I know he's your cousin, but holy hell, Jay, Jaemin can't do shit right," Doyoung held his head in his hand as he talked to Jaehyun about his cousin's daily antics, "he fucking ordered 500 tons of printer paper, we only needed 50."

"It's a simple mistake, I promise. He's just a ki-"

"He's 19 and he's a dumbass. This isn't the fuckup he's done," Y/N came over to Doyoung, handing him a peppermint tea and a croissant to Jaehyun, "Thank you, Y/N. I know you're related and I'm doing this as favor, but shit, dude, you couldn't given him an internship? If his parents wanted Jaemin to get experience, why not just do it with family?"

Jaehyun wiped his mouth as he took a bite of his pastry, "Blatant favoritism. Since we are related, the company would see it as a conflict of interests. It was either ask you or have him clean vomit up at the carnival with Yuta's younger brother, Yuto."

"Baking soda or corn starch," Y/N started wiping down the trophy case, full of Doyoung's medals and awards from years past and present, "Dries it out, that way you can easily vaccum or sweep it up. No smell as well."

Doyoung nodded towards Jaehyun, a smug smirk on his face, "See? No smell."

"Ok, asshole," Jaehyun threw a napkin at the older male, "I'll talk to him, tell him to shape up or clean up. Y/N, always a pleasure. I wish you could come clean for me, but what from I've heard, sounds like Doyoung gives you a hell of a paycheck."

"3 year contact, full benefits, an pet-friendly apartment with half-priced rent as well as Holidays off? I sure hope that's a hell of a paycheck," Doyoung stood up, shaking Jaehyun's hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jaeh-" Doyoung was standing in his office, pants soaked in various caffeinated beverages, his phone on speaker.

"I know! I know! He accidentally spilt coffee on your pants in front of Mr. Park and his son, Jinyoung! Just send him ho-"

"We were so close to a possible merger! A small startup was in my grasp! He even flirted with Y/N as she was cleaning up his mess!"

"Listen, I'll knock some sense into him, just one last chance, please?"

Doyoung ran his fingers through his hair, Y/N taking Doyoung's jacket as she attempted to clean, "Fine. One last chance, but if he fucks up again, he's out."

Before Jaehyun could say his thanks, Doyoung hung out, slamming the speaker, a piece flying onto the floor. His head pressed against the desk in annoyed anger as Y/N stopped cleaning his jacket to grab the disjointed speaker piece. Doyoung noticed as Y/N bent down, her skirt rode up, a sliver of her black cheeky panties showing. He quickly diverted his attention when she straightened up, placing the small object on his desk. Doyoung fiddled with his tie as he continued to watch Y/N cleaning his office, poorly hiding the thoughts in his mind.

"Y/N, you're always so hard working. Don't you have a social life? Any friends or boyfriends or girlfriends," Doyoung tried to talk in his smoothest voice, concealing his speech of any suspicious tones.

"Nope, I'm single and I don't really go out. Honestly, Mr. Dongyoung," a strain in his pants emerged as Y/N's voice became more sensual to Doyoung, maybe a sip of water would help, "I just kinda stay home, watch some Netflix or Hulu and play with my cat."

Doyoung choked on the water a bit, his mind dirtying up Y/N's sentence, "your cat?"

Y/N grabbed the feather dust out of the office closet, her movements much more fluid than Doyoung has ever realized, "Yeah. She's a little puffball, only about 2 years, her name is Mimi."

"Oh," Doyoung let out a relieved sigh, a hand reaching under his desk while his free hand continued scrolling mindlessly through a document, hovering the mouse over his two screens, "I bet she's really cute."

Y/N chuckled, "She's an asshole, but a great cuddler. So basically it's like having a boyfriend, except the cat knows how to take care of itself."

Doyoung palmed himself through his pants, continuing to watch Y/N as he pretended to be interested in the annoying numbers that appeared on his screens. Y/N smirked, feigning innocence as if she hadn't noticed Doyoung craning his neck when she bent over again to fluff the couch cushions.

"Is there anything else you need help with, Mr. Dongyoung? I know you're stressed, so I can stay if you'd like," Y/N subtly bit her lip at the growing tension, walking over to fill his mug up with more tea, "maybe help with some stress? I know peppermint tea can help."

Doyoung chuckled at the question, "we have very different ideas of stress relief, Y/N."

"What's your idea of relief?"

"Call me forward, but bending you ov-"

The phone rang, Jaehyun's number appearing on the caller ID. Doyoung breaking out of his melodic way of speaking and answering it with anger and annoyance, Y/N hiding her surprise at Doyoung's bluntness.

"What, Jaehyun?" Doyoung almost growled, a shot of hotness going to Y/N's core, "I'm sort of busy."

"So I talked to Jaemin," a groan out of Doyoung's mouth as Y/N placed his tea on the desk, rubbing his shoulders, "Don't groan. He says he's sorry for messing up the order, he said Ten's handwriting was atrocious and he misread it. He also said he wasn't flirting with Y/N, he was just trying to be nice."

"I think he was being more than just nice. Talking to Taeyong about how he would love to make out with her in the 15th story hallway closet?" Doyoung heard a little giggle from Y/N, a sense of annoyance coming over him. Doyoung pointed to the couch, Y/N thinking he meant to clean it, but as she went to grab the lint roller, he signaled her to just sit on it. He scooted his seat from out under the desk, turning it to face Y/N, the bulge in his pants noticeable, "that's not being nice, Jung."

"He said that? The little shit told me Taeyong said that!," the air started to grow hotter between the two, Doyoung pointing to the door and making a locking motion with his hands, Y/N making her way, locking it as Jaehyun continued to defend his cousin, "anyway, he just became an adult this year, we did stupider shit when we were his age."

"Name one time I fucked up by ordering 10 times the amount of product needed or I tried hitting on my boss's employee," Doyoung motioned Y/N to take off her panties, Y/N sliding them down her legs as she walked back to the couch, throwing them at Doyoung, the fabric landing on his black suit pants, "Seriously dude, one time."

Jaehyun stammered as he failed to register one time that Doyoung had fucked up as badly as Jaemin, "there was that one time at Cube Cafe where you spilt coffee o-"

"On Y/N. Who, if I remember correctly, said it was her fault, we exchanged numbers and three years later, in a cruel twist of fate, became my employee," Doyoung unzipped his pants, his free hand going in his pants, the sight entrancing Y/N to start teasing herself, "The defense being one situtation was two college students being dumbasses on campus while the other is a college intern being a dumbass towards a CEO."

"Fuck, I hate when you're right. But you know you did that on purpose so you could 'talk to the pretty girl with the caramel frappuccino', don't even lie" Jaehyun sighed over the phone, Y/N unzipping the back of her uniform, exposing a matching black bra, Doyoung finally pulling out his cock as he started pumping, "I'll talk to Yuta, see if he can give a job to Jaemin that doesn't involve vomit. I'll call you in a bit, bye dude."

"Alright bye," the line went dead as Doyoung let out a growlish moan, his eyes watching Y/N push in one finger, "God, I needed this release."

"So you were saying?" Y/N pulled out one of her breasts from her bra, rolling the nipple with her free hand as she added another finger, "how do you relieve your stress?"

"Where was I before I was interrupted?" Doyoung kicked off his pants, pulling his boxers up as he walked over to Y/N, pulling her fingers out of herself as he helped her up to her feet, "I think I was talking about bending you over my desk, in your maid outfit or even naked. But I like the outfit better, it just reeks of desperation, so hot and passionate, I couldn't wait to strip your clothes, so I just said fuck it and started fucking you."

The two walked over to Doyoung's desk, him grabbing at the papers and files, moving them out of the way, Y/N playfully swaying her hips. Doyoung pulled down his boxers again, this time taking them off as he leaned Y/N over his desk. He flipped her skirt up and pulled her bra all the way down as he reached in his desk junk drawer to pull out a condom. Rolling it on, he rubbed his cock over Y/N's core, gathering some of the wetness that had occured.

"Of course, a condom for safety. As much as I'd love seeing you with a swollen belly and covered in my cum, we can't do that right now. You'd look so beautiful carrying my kids, then I'd get to spoil them as they grow up," Doyoung pushed into Y/N, a moan escaping her lips as her breasts pressed against the glass table, the coldness bringing a new sensation against her warmimed body, "we can talk about that later, if you'd like. To be honest, I've thought about you and I doing this ever since I spilt that drink on you."

"Was it in purpose like Jaehyun said?" Y/n questioned as Doyoung kept thrusting, the glass desk moving in rhythm with the pair, "needed a reason to talk to me? It seems like you got a bunch of more confidence."

"Could you tell? Becoming a partial CEO with your brother of a multi-million clothing company can do wonders," Doyoung admittedly regretfully pulled out, bringing Y/N to his chest as he became nibbling on her neck.

"Why did you pull out?" Y/N arched her back and started rubbing her thighs together, "do you have a meeting?"

"No, hell no, not until later. I would cancel it if I did," Doyoung walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk, opening the curtains as he looked over the 6th story pane of glass, "come here."

Y/N walked over to Doyoung, his hands finding their way to her hips as he turned her around, unzipping her top the rest of the way and throwing it aside, leaving Y/N in just her bra, skirt and stockings, Doyoung slipping off her kitten heels as he kissed up her legs.

"So gorgeous, so beautiful," Doyoung kissed Y/N's back, shivers spreading throughout her body as Doyoung reached her neck, light bites accessorizing her skin, his long fingers tangling in her hair, pushing into Y/N, "I don't think you've seen my house in the few years we've known each other, we should change that, show you some of my toys I have, maybe get you some."

The sharp, calculated thrusts and smug taunts from Doyoung made Y/N hum in ecstasy, Doyoung's free hand reaching down Y/N's skirt to play with her clit. Y/N grabbed at Doyoung's forearm as he started at a fast pace, his fingers rolling the small bundle as he kept up fucking Y/N into the window. Doyoung pulled out for a second time, spinning Y/N so the duo is now face to face, Y/N biting Doyoung's lips. Slipping in one more time, Doyoung lifted Y/N's leg to rest on his hip.

"I want to take you on a date, I want to make you mine, years of seeing you in those skirts and shirts that my brother has designed," Doyoung leaned down to kiss Y/N's breasts, his thrusts starting to be more sloppy, "your tits peeking out of them, your skirt raising up everytime you reach up to clean the higher shelves."

Y/N leaned down to bite down on Doyoung's neck, her moans muffled and vibrating against his sweaty skin. Doyoung felt his high coming on, his thrusts slowing down, milking every drop into the condom. He pulles out, tying the condon and throwing it away. Noticing Y/N didn't get off, he dropped to his knees, spreading her legs apart, kissing her thighs.

"Doyoung, you don't have to do that, I'll be fine, I should get back to work, the 4th floor needs to be done and I have a vibr-"

"It's the gentlemen thing to do," Doyoung kiss her clit as Y/N leaned her head back on, the pleasure spreading through her body, "I'll have Hongjoong do it, don't worry."

Doyoung sucked and lightly nibbled on Y/N's clit, pushing 3 fingers into Y/N as he thrusted them in and out, working to Y/N's high, he would feel bad if he got off and she didn't, even though he's her boss and this started because he need some sort of release. Y/N's thighs started to shake as Doyoung continued licking at anything he could find, his fingers going at a merciless pace once he found the spot that made Y/N go high-pitch in her moans. Y/N didn't even notice her high had came until Doyoung stood up and brought her in for an intense kiss, her essence on his lips as she could taste herself on him. Doyoung helped Y/N over to the couch, taking off his jacket and giving it to Y/N as he gathered her clothes.

"I can't believe I just screwed my bo-"

"The next word out of your mouth better be boyfriend," Doyoung kissed her forehead as he walked over to his desk, looking for a specific piece of paper and calling the front desk, "Hey Ms. Sana, can you cancel the rest of my appointments for the rest of the day, Ms. Y/n isn't feeling well, so I think I'm going to give her a ride home and make sure that she's okay. Also, ask Hongjoong to clean the fourth floor, I'll give an extra 1,000 dollar bonus this month."

"Ok, Mr. Kim, I'll do that right away."

The phone hung up with a click as Doyoung texted the valet to bring the car around to the back, Y/N putting on her shirt and Doyoung's jacket. Doyoung helped Y/N up as he slid her shoes on.

"Where's my underwear, those are kinda my favorite pair."

Doyoung took them out of his pocket with a smirk, "they're mine too and I think I'm going to keep them with me. I'll get you more pairs, one in every single shade, hue and color."

The pair walked out of the office, Sana looking concerned and shouting an admittedly adorable "Y/N fighting!" as Doyoung and Y/N made their way down the hall to the back elevator. They waited for the elevator to come to the 6th floor, Doyoung's hand gazing over Y/N's.

"So, I assume we're going to your house."

"Like I told you, I've known you for a few years and I want to show you my house."

Y/N sleepily groaned, "I kinda want a shower and a nap first."

"Fine, a shower and a nap first," Doyoung put his arm around Y/N's waist as they stepped in the back elevator, her head resting on his chest as she curled up into him. Then with one last devious smirk on his face.

"But then, I'll give you a tour. Maybe show you some of my playthings."