#(while also heavily relying on him for information)

[yinyuedijun]

kitsune!suo x fem reader | feudal japan au

→ notes for an au set in feudal japan, featuring supernatural creatures and spirits (e.g., youkai). suo is a kitsune, sakura is a nekomata, and nirei is an onmyouji. → see this post for backstory on the bofurin trio (recommended background reading)

note: most information on kitsune-mochi were sourced from folkorist lafcadio hearn's accounts of traveling in japan (c.1901). I did, of course, also take creative license with some of the lore.

reader | kitsune-mochi (fox-employing witch)

→ as a kitsune-mochi, you are a human who has entered a contract with a fox spirit to care for it in exchange for having it lend you its power and carry out your requests. → in your case, your familiar is suo, a nine-tailed kitsune that lost his hoshi no tama. → most witches employ kitsune for the purpose of carrying out malicious acts, like having the fox spirit possess their enemies, steal the wealth of other people, etc. you, however, rely on suo and his power in order to perform exorcisms and exterminate demons—something that you cannot do on your own because you have no innate spiritual talents yourself.

→ although a convenient source of power, these deals are typically risky for the contract holder. you are expected to care for suo for the rest of your life, and any descendants you might have would be cursed to serve him as well. kitsune-mochi are heavily ostracized by human society as well, so if this relationship of yours were to be discovered, then your entire bloodline would suffer. → additionally, these contracts typically favour the kitsune, as they are the ones who define what it means to be "cared for", and may request dangerous or unreasonable tasks. → fortunately for you, suo is not a very demanding familiar! the most basic act of caring for a fox spirit is feeding it, and he's more or less happy with anything you make, though he especially likes tea, wagashi, or dishes with aburaage. this is more or less all he asks of you! → suo's disposition is generally so patient and gentle that you nearly disbelieved that he was a youkai. you were convinced for a while that he was actually a messenger of god who was lying to you about his identity for some reason. (at the very least, you'd noticed that he had a habit of lying to people generally, though this was an unsurprising trait for a fox and it was usually harmless fun.) → this perception of him was shattered when you saw him fight a youkai that seriously injured you. he spent an uncomfortable amount of time toying with it in a distinctly humiliating fashion before finally putting it out of its misery. it was only in that moment that you realised that you'd signed yourself and all of your descendants up for serving a literal demon 👍

→ warning: immortal/human relationship, immortal deity meets reader as a child but doesn't get to know or grow close to them until they're an adult

your backstory with suo

→ at a very young age, you were adopted and raised by a priestess of an inari shrine belonging to a small mountain village. consequently, you developed a deep respect for the kami and affection for foxes. → as a child, you once found a one-eyed, wild fox in a near-death state. this was suo after he lost his hoshi no tama in a battle with a demon—but to you, he just looked like a regular animal. most people would have let this creature die peacefully, but you were adamant on nursing it back to health. while caring for him, you named him mr. adzuki because of the colour of his fur, which suo finds incredibly funny to this day. → suo disappeared after recovering, never making his true identity known. however, out of gratitude toward you and the priestesses for allowing him refuge, he decided to act as the guardian spirit of the village, protecting it until the end of your life. → conveniently, this meant that suo got to eat all the offerings given to inari's messengers at your shrine, as well as allowing him to gain power from the prayers directed toward him. (inari himself seemed not to mind, as no actual fox messengers showed up to throw hands with suo.)

image: gashadokuro, a youkai made from the skulls of humans who died in battle.

→ although your village was peaceful throughout your childhood due to suo's protection, in your adult years, a violent conflict between humans and demons broke out in your mountain range. this resulted in the destruction of nearly all its towns and the brutal deaths of your fellow villagers. suo, not at full power, was unable to stop this, but made it his goal to save you from the carnage. → after allowing you time to grieve your loved ones, suo—still considering himself indebted to you—asked what you would like to do next. he offered you wealth, status, and other material things, but none of these appealed to you. → recognising that the mountains you grew up in would be plagued by malevolent spirits and demons for centuries after all the bloodshed that just occurred, you asked suo to teach you jujutsu. your goal was to exorcise all the vengeful spirits, exterminate the demons, and purify the mountain range so that its villages could peacefully rebuild. → given your lack of innate spiritual abilities, suo suggested that you make a pact with him and become a kitsune-mochi to acquire powers. not wanting to deceive you, however, he fully explained how dangerous it might be to enter such a relationship, and warned you not to trust fox youkai like himself.

→ nevertheless, you accepted his offer and became a witch.

image: sakura irl

meeting sakura & nirei

→ you and suo thus embark on this crazy mission to purify the entire mountain range. while you are more than capable of exorcisms and exterminations, your spiritual abilities (one of a youkai) do not allow you to purify the land. → but that's okay, because nirei and sakura have been traversing these same mountains to exorcise and hunt demons! being an onmyouji, nirei can perform all kinds of purification rituals. when you inevitably run into the two of them, and suo suggests that you all work together. → nirei is more than happy to help you purify the mountain range (because he is a good-hearted person, and also because he usually gets assignments there anyway). he improves his jujutsu under suo's tutelage, and he gets insights on kitsune that he'd otherwise never learn (it's rare for an onmyouji to meet a kitsune-mochi unless it's to prosecute them for some kind of crime, and it's just plain hard to meet and talk with a nine-tailed fox spirit). → sakura is a harder sell. he doesn't trust suo at all at the start, and he trusts him even less when he finds out that he's a kitsune and has been lying egregiously to him. (sakura and nirei spent an entire month thinking that suo was a traveling tea merchant from china and being fed severe misinformation about the entire country.) → however, sakura is very curious about you, because you're the first human he's ever met who has a mutual and trusting relationship with a demon, which he didn't think was possible beyond weirdos like nirei. → you also aren't afraid of him at all even after seeing his nekomata form, which gives him complicated feelings. he reasons that this is because you've fought too many demons to be afraid of any of them, but the actual truth is just that you find suo incredibly scary, and sakura feels harmless and adorable in comparison </3 → sakura deeply enjoys the act of helping the mountain towns and being accepted by their communities, though he's very shy about admitting it! eventually, he does "resign" to joining you in a long-term arrangement, and the four of you take on the endless mission of exorcising and cleansing the mountain range together. it's a very "monster of the week" type of set-up hehe

→ although the work of purifying the mountain range will likely take the rest of your life (and probably will require generations after you), suo often asks you what you would like to do after the work is complete—so that he can think of ways to grant your request. → you decide not to tell him this, but your wish would be to return to your old village grounds and rebuild the shrine that you grew up in. rather than just inari, you would also dedicate it to the worship of the one-eyed fox spirit that once protected your village.

[circeyoru]

When You Don’t Know Love = Requested

[Yandere Human & Demon!Alastor x Victim Angelic!Reader]

The Request

What is love? Alastor can’t really answer that question. He knows he loves his mother, the sweetest soul on Earth that cared for him. He knows he loves people’s attention on him, it proved that he was worth something unlike how his father would curse and split on him. He also knows he loves his job as a radio host, how people relied on him and his words for entertainment and serious matters or information. But above all, he knows he loves to kill

Apart from his lack of answer to this question, there was another point to his character. The want for control and knowledge. He knows he wanted things to be in his hands and for the things he owned to be in perfect and working condition. That was how he picked his new workstation and earned money, through aiming as the best host in the company and the most entertaining in the channel. That was how he could afford his mother and himself that new big house they were eying for a while

When it seemed like everything was in his grasp, he thought he had everything he ever needed. That was until his mother was on her deathbed and accepted it, not him though, he searched high and low for a cure. With his fame and wealth, he thought he could have it, he loves his mother, he loves this perfect time he was living in, he loves this ideal reality that was his

But it was taken from him. He felt rage, he felt hopeless, he felt dull

Every day, he found himself hunting more and avoiding things that reminded his mind of his mother. Those stupid memories, those stupid emotions that made his heart beat quicken. That was how he identified his twisted love. His heart had quick down once his mother was gone and he knew then, his life would be slow and dull 

Yet into his life walked in you. You were a simple traveller, going from town to town to help people and learn new things, small and big. You happened upon his hometown because of his radio. He never thought you’d be a new light in his life, at least, you started off as a small splash of paint

His boss brought you in for a special programme that Alastor was arranged to host as a podcast, a sort of interview for you to share your knowledge and stories to the listeners. The first one was heavily scripted so listeners would be introduced to the new programme and you in general, then the feedback was beyond good, the show went on with more freedom for both you and Alastor. That opened doors for you and Alastor to chat outside of work, to mingle for work

Like everyone else, you found Alastor charming and a gentleman that put other men to shame. He was perfect in every sense. Though Alastor flirted with you, as a way to test you, you never reciprocated nor did you give in. He admired that, he felt like he didn’t need to be his perfect masked self, almost in a way that was similar to when he was with his mother. There was just something about this feeling that he can’t put a finger on

What is it?

He put this on the fact that he couldn’t catch you in his web like the others were. You were attracted to him, but not to the point where you’d throw yourself at him. He tested it be letting one of his fangirls interrupt his business meeting with you in a cafe one afternoon, but you didn’t even have a hint of annoyance or anger, you merely looked over your notes and his, even asking if he needed you to leave

Peculiar indeed

It got to the point where the simple programme meeting with you at the cafe wasn’t enough. Soon, he found himself inviting you out, lunch, dinner, a stroll, a market shopping, anything to get you to spend more time with him. He loves listening to you telling him your stories of your travel, but then he came to hate having you on that programme where you also tell the world your stories. He loves that he was the first to hear it from your lips, but he hates that he need to share to all the other strangers

Your voice, he wants it for his ears. Your attention, he wants it on him. Your eyes, he wants it gazing only at him. Your mind, he wants it to only think of him. Your heart, he wants it to beat for him

This feeling. This suffocating feeling. It’s familiar, to the point he clutches his heart like it would stop its aching. He recognize this. He felt this way when he was hunting down someone in the forest in the dead of night. He felt this way when he was stalking down his next prey

Perhaps, that was it? You’re his next prey

So he got everything set up. It was naive and foolish of you not to suspect him when he invited you into the forest when the sun was setting. Surely, you heard his broadcast of the serial killer? Why aren’t you more careful? Ah, yes, Alastor was here to protect you. Yes yes, of course

BANG!

Not

When pain shot through your shoulder, your body fell to the ground. Your teary eyes stared up in horror at his sickly grin, his lips moved as he taunted, “Better start running, dear, else you might end up being one with his forest.” And ran you did. Alastor felt that ache in his heart, that rush in his body as he propped him to running after you

The game was on. You put up more of a fight, he’ll admit, maybe more so than some of his prey. Still, you were no match for him. In no time, he stopped and smiled at you when you had looked behind to see if you lost him. His hands raised his shotgun, one eye closed as he aimed. A beating heart, yours was beating wildly for survival, and his was beating wildly for…

BANG!

His smile fell when your body fell limp on the forest grounds. His eyes widened before they blinked, his gun was dropped and his legs rushed him to your side. He kneeled to your side, drenching his pants in your blood. He stared at his shaking hands and his breath hitched. These feelings in him. What was this?

Usually, he’d be laughing or trying to contain his laughter so as not to alert others. Or he’d be looking around to make sure no one saw his evil deed. Now he was doing the complete opposite

A drop of water fell on your body. Was it raining? No, it’s coming from his face, more accurately, his eyes. Why was he crying? Wait, why did he bring his body so close to you. This all felt so familiar, he was also hugging his mother like this. He swallowed, his grip on your body growing tighter and tighter. Someone, anyone, tell him… Why was he feeling this way?

It felt like he was watching from an outsider’s perspective. His hands were pressing against the bloody wounds on your body to try and stop the bleeding, then he was clinging so close to you so you don’t get cold. He spoke to you so you wouldn’t be bored in the silence. He kissed you so you’d wake up like sleeping beauty from a long sleep

Nothing worked

Now he stared at the script as he read out your accidential death by some hunter in the forest. His tears fell once more but his smile was forced on. His mother loves his smile. You also love his smile. So he’ll smile

It was too late. He can answer that question now. The one about love. What is love? The feeling he felt towards you. The feeling that makes him at home. The feeling that makes him want nothing more than you and you alone

Yet what took that away? He did. He took away his happiness and love. He might as well kill himself right then and there when he took your life. He questioned himself, why, why didn’t he understand those feelings for you were love? Why did he understand and know when it was too late? WHY?

When he saw couples on the street, being so loving towards each other. The ghost memories and fantasy of what was and could be you and him clouded his mind and eyes. He always found himself turning the other way. Then he also found their death bodies not too long after

“I hate you, I hate you…” Alastor found himself stabbing into the male repeatedly for recognizing his emotions to and for his lover better than Alastor himself. “If only… If only I knew… My darling… My darling wouldn’t be… My love wouldn’t be six feet under!”

It took some time, but the Princess’ fantasy became reality in the end. So much happened and Heaven accepted the redeemed demon souls into their pearly gates. Unfortunately, Alastor found his Hell just beginning

No surprise when he couldn’t find you anywhere in Hell, you were such a pure soul. Back then, he knew he never liked it when your attention was elsewhere or seeked by others. He wanted to gudge out their eyes and tongue so no one would defile you with their eyes or taint your ears. So you belonged to Heaven

Try as he might, he would never be able to go to Heaven and join you. Yet it irked him when other demons and angels would surround your blinding light. He didn’t make peace with the thought, but he had to put on a smiling face when he congratulated the Princess on her hard work. If only it never worked

But news of Heaven sending down some talented angels to help with the redemption project brought the Princess and her lover into a panic to ready everything. On the appointed day, the heavenly portal opened at the lobby of the hotel while everyone stood at attention to welcome their newest staff or partners

Alastor thought he wouldn’t care less. He thought it meant he was going to be more annoyed with everything. Yet, this was a welcoming surprise

Your angelic form stood out, not because you were the first to step out of the portal, those two pairs of silver wings with golden highlight while the others only had white wings did you justice for your graceful appearance. Your halo hovered above your head as a symbol of your purity and goodness

You were just as beautiful as the day he killed you

While you went to talk with Charlie and introduct everyone and their duties, Alastor felt his claws clutching his heart once more. This suffocating feeling was back and even stronger than before. His smile widened. His legs moved and brought his form to you, like he forgot that he could travel through the shadows

“My dear,” Alastor stopped at your side and took your hand in his, holding onto it too tightly like he was trying to draw blood. He looked up at you, “I deeply, sincerely, apologize for killing you.” 

He ignored the gasps and shocked look he was given. Even your look of terror and fear as your mind replayed the memories of that night. The shadow rose around the two of you to encage and ward off the other. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll never hurt you again, my heart can’t bear it. I’ll make it up to you and show you all of my love.” Alastor kissed your hand ever so gently, “Now that you’re here, I can’t let this opportunity slip. I’ll have you. Now and forevermore.”

Note: Another Yandere Alastor here. The ending's up for interpretation. I personally saw him kidnapping you to his shadow realm or something to keep you by his side. What's your ending?

Circe Y. 

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist:

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala

[donnapalude]

i think a lot of extreme readings on louis's character painting him either as the true abuser or as an helpless victim are failing to capture one of the main points of his story and of the portrayal of vampirism as a gift, which is the well-worn fictional theme of how terrible it can be to obtain everything you ever wanted.

throughout the interview louis is not just trying to exculpate himself or, on the other hand, just trying to come to terms with the abuse received. he, is of course, doing neither and both. he is trying to untangle the particular guilt created when harm descends on yourself and others from a situation that you did not directly create, but from which you partly benefitted. the fact that this guilt gets rielaborated for a long time through a pre-existing tendency for self-deception, does not mean that the harm received was not real or that the deception was only internal. it just signals that in order to move forward, louis needs to come to terms with the specific ways his own issues have informed the events in iwtv.

louis is a character profoundly scored by contrasting feelings of shame. even before meeting lestat, his role in society as an homosexual black man creates a set of conflicting instincts and expectations impossible to fulfill simultaneously. his feminine coding in the story is not arbitrary, but a logical consequence of the exclusion of blackness and homosexuality from the societal construct of masculinity. the standard societal role that men are expected to fulfill is of course one of dominance, assertiveness, and aggressiveness, translated in all spheres of life, be it professional, familial, or sexual. as a man, and in particular the head of his family, louis is supposed to fit into all of these expectations. however, as the rhetoric around the subjugation of black people relies on the (covert or overt) image of them as violent savages that need to be civilised, black-maleness is associated with an over-dramatisation of these characteristics (hypermasculinity), which ideologically requires the submission of black men in order to control the threat they pose. which means, as a black man trying to fit in white society, louis is also expected to react graciously to subduing, suppress anger, and appear non-threating (even sexually). on top of that, homosexuality entails an inherent humiliation into feminisation, as the masculine role of dominance does not exist in a vacuum, but is directly constructed upon the submission of women. and the breaking of gender roles for louis is compounded by some of his own personal traits, which lean towards nurturing, sensitivity and passivity. a passivity that, incidentally, is also informed by the tiredeness descending from his own parentified role in the family and by the many different necessities pulling him at the same time.

the picture painted here is extremely complicated. louis is not simply a man failing in his gender role. he lives in a society that assigns to him both masculine and feminine traits and punishes him when he cannot achieve them, while at the same time shaming him when he displays them. he feels shame over his sexual and violent urges, but also inadequate when he does not perform dominance. he feels ashamed of his desire for passivity and motherhood, but also inadequate when he cannot control his aversion to actual subjugation. he wants all of it: he wants to be powerful, respected, and strong, but he also wants to care and be cared for, to relax into the power of someone else, and to be able to avoid the responsibility of always being the one making decisions. he wants, in other words, to be a full human being. but the fragmentation of his identity in society will not allow it. and the cost of failing to maintain this delicate balance is not just societal reproach, there is a direct threat of violence hanging over him. this creates a paralysis in decision-making and identity-building that heavily colors louis's choices throughout his life.

part of how he deals with this in order to function, is by creating fictional roles for himself to inhabit and denying the aspects of himself he dislikes by projecting them on others. in s1, for instance, there is something to be said about louis taking all the masculine traits he feels ashamed of (the bloodlust, the desire for violence, the desire for (gay) sex) and assigning them to lestat, as well as blaming their growth in him to lestat's influence and vampirism. which is not an incorrect reading of the situation. the predatory drive he sees in lestat is not only an externalisation of his own issues. he is actually being hunted. and then of course he is actually being abused. moreover, vampirism does enhance his violent instincts. but all of this is also not a causal coincidence between reality and his own illusions. part of the reason louis loves lestat and is attracted to vampirism (because of him and through him), is precisely that they represent unashamed possession of what he hates in himself. he admires lestat for this and he also feels relief over his presence, as it enables him to experience those traits vicariously with reduced self-blaming by directing any condemnation externally. moreover, the stalking and power-imbalance and the forced turning create a fracture in his instincts. they provide him with seduction and power he did desire and they do that by permitting him to claim a passive role in them, so that he can avoid culpability. this is extremely confusing, as i don't think he is ever able to fully reconcile how much of what happened he wanted to happen.

from an external point of view, the audience can at least see he did not really want to be subjected to violence and he perceives a real danger of it from lestat, which then gets realised. as much as the masculine, but respectful business-owner was a persona he assumed to navigate that threat in society, the adaptable housewife is also a persona he assumes to navigate that threat with lestat. and these are unsparing calculations made to physically avoid harm by performing the characteristics better suited for it in any given moment. but the specific choices made to obtain this result are clearly tied to an exaggereted exploration of feminine and masculine roles that he would not have been able to fully inhabit without the excuse of a threat, due to the mentioned combination of shame and perceived deficiency. as shame begets pride, however, the assumption of these roles is also meant to claw back some margin of agency through the construction of a self-image that is not tied to victimhood. in other words, creating for himself the belief that through this exaggerations he is just voluntarily expressing his true self and not only reacting to the constrictions of external circumtances, allows him to bear his reality by believing it was born at least partly out of his own choices and that it helped him obtain at least some favourable outcomes.

there is a fascinating tension in him, in both wanting to deny his culpability and free-will in events in order to absolve himself and at the same time not feeling worthy of this absolution and perceiving its acceptance as a further sin. moreover, there is attraction towards powerlessness as a state devoid of the burden of decision-making, but also a rejection of it due to the guilt generated by feeling co-responsible in his own victimisation because of his passivity.

in a healthy, safe environment all of this could be reconciled. however, "marrying" lestat and becoming a vampire create an interesting conundrum, whereby he receives solutions that are technically able to magically fulfill all of his most secret, shameful, and contradictory desires (bloodlust, hunger, power, violence, sex, motherhood, submissivness), but through circumstances where his consent is severely impaired and with consequences that are harmful to both himself and others. so that he finds himself unable to fully forgive himself (he did want these things to happen, although not this way, and he does enjoy some aspects of them), but also unable to escape the situation. he occupies a state of victimhood that he perceives of his own making, which further impairs him from rejecting it, as staying in it is both denial and penance.

the ending of season 2 being centred on him accepting vampirism as a gift is a full circle. the liberation achieved after the interview is not, i think, a simple recognition that there was nothing he could have done to prevent events and that he deserves to live a full life as a consequence. there are many possible nuances to this and the situation with armand deserves a whole different conversation, but on a very basic level i think what matters most is the acceptance that he will never know, exactly, what alternative course of action could have been taken. he knows what he did not do: he did not have an active role in paul's suicide, his estrangement with his family, and claudia's murder. but his shame and tendency to self-sacrifice have created a situation of immobility that impedes him from taking full stock of the part his wants have played in events. and to fully rielaborate his role as a victim he will need, i think, more reflection on that. but in the meantime, what is sure is that protracting the same tendency by denying himself any enjoyment of his vampire life and placing all the blame for his turning and their relationship on lestat (though he is to blame for many many things), would just constitute a further attempt to avoid guilt by negating that those wants ever existed at all. the way forward is only one. to accept everything he wants and be purposeful with it now. to refuse the gift does not eliminate the terrible things that came with it, it just ignores them. maybe, by honoring it, he can honor them too. and try to avoid them from happening again.

[elysiumania]

title: when the moon descends

pairing(s): jing yuan, reader

characters: jing yuan, reader, fu xuan, yanqing

word count: 4.4k

synopsis: in the midst of his daily routine, jing yuan finds solace and delight in the presence of a certain individual who never fails to brighten his morning.

As the first rays of the sun creep into his chambers like tendrils of light, Jing Yuan feels as if he's being beckoned by a siren's call to stay in the comfort of his bed. The weight of his responsibilities as the Luofu General bears down upon his chest, compelling him to evade the challenges of the forthcoming day. However, he understands that yielding to such temptation is not an option, for the affairs of the Xianzhou Luofu demands his undivided attention and his subordinates depend on him to steer them through the tumultuous waters. So, with great effort, Jing Yuan shakes off the heavy cloak of lethargy and begins his day.

Jing Yuan acknowledges that there have been instances in which he has entrusted some of his obligations to the Master Diviner, Fu Xuan. But he knows that he can't rely solely on her, for there are still other pressing matters that require his attention. Though discreetly. 

It's like a delicate balance, trying to delegate tasks to others while also shouldering his own share of responsibilities. Despite the weight that comes with it, Jing Yuan knows that it's all part of being a leader—the ability to juggle multiple tasks and make the tough decisions that can impact the lives of many.

Although Jing Yuan is tempted to stay in bed all day, the sheer amount of paperwork on his office desk is urging him to begin his day. It is imperative that he completes those towering documents as soon as possible, not only to free up his leisure time, but also because they contain crucial information that requires his attention. The requests and reports from various commissions must be addressed promptly by the General. 

Who knows, maybe amongst these papers lies something that will pique his interest and provide a welcome distraction from his monotonous routine.

Jing Yuan starts his day with a heavy heart, knowing that his responsibilities as a General would be demanding, but he continues to walk with a purpose. 

As he traverses the bustling streets of Luofu, people pay their respects to him, bowing in reverence to his position. His subordinates, with their eyes locked on their tasks, take a moment to acknowledge their General's presence and extend their greetings. The aura around him demands respect and deference, marking him as a man of great authority and responsibility.

To Jing Yuan, his routine was as steady as the flow of the river, never faltering or swaying. The daily tasks and responsibilities that came with his position were second nature to him, like a well-oiled machine that worked without a hitch. The only thing that could disrupt the serene pattern of his life was a crisis that threatened the peace and stability of Xianzhou Luofu. In such dire circumstances, Jing Yuan would act with urgency, convening a meeting of the commission heads to ensure the safety of the people he swore to protect.

As he enters his office, Jing Yuan's eyes are immediately drawn to the pile of papers resting atop his desk, a sight that never fails to elicit a deep sigh of weariness from the Xianzhou General. It is a task that he cannot avoid, no matter how much he wishes to do so, an inescapable responsibility that weighs heavily on the shoulders of the wise and valiant leader of Luofu. 

A defeated scoff escapes his lips as he trudges towards his desk, mentally preparing himself for the monotonous task that has become his daily routine.

Jing Yuan peruses through the stack of papers, carefully analyzing each document before signing off on the ones he approves of, he separates them into two piles–one for those that require immediate attention, and the other for those that need further work. 

As Jing Yuan's eyes dart back and forth across the pages, a sudden knock at his door jolts him out of his concentration like a bolt of lightning. And then, he hears the sound of a voice that is as soothing and sweet as honey, a voice that always makes his heart skip a beat with anticipation. In an instant, his eyes light up like stars in the sky, sparkling with excitement at the prospect of seeing the owner of that enchanting voice.

Because it is none other than his most favorite being. (Name).

Jing Yuan grants you permission to enter, his gaze fixated on the door as he waits for your arrival with the eagerness of a child anticipating their turn on the playground. When the door creaks open, his eyes are immediately drawn to your radiant face, despite the pile of documents clutched in your arms. The General pays no attention to the paperwork, his entire focus directed solely at the sight of your smile directed towards him. To him, nothing else holds as much importance as you, his beloved partner, who never fails to bring a smile to his face and ease his worries. 

"Good morning, General," you address with a courteous bow, paying respect to the esteemed leader of Luofu.

The General gazes at you with his customary smile, despite having previously expressed his desire for you to address him by name in private. Yet, you persist with your habit of addressing him with formality, even in the privacy of his office.

Jing Yuan comprehends your predicament fully. Your clandestine affair is something that must remain a secret from the rest of the Xianzhou, and given that you are under his command, he acknowledges the importance of maintaining a professional demeanor.

At first, Jing Yuan was puzzled as to why you wanted your relationship with him to be kept under wraps, but after learning that you were not yet prepared to reveal your relationship to the natives of Xianzhou Luofu, he acquiesces to your request. Your thoughts and emotions matter to him, and he respects your decision. He'll patiently wait for the day when you feel comfortable enough to share your romance with everyone.

Jing Yuan understands the gravity of the situation, and he doesn't want to put any undue pressure on you. He knows that if your relationship is made public, it will draw the attention of many, and it will become a hot topic of discussion amongst the citizens. 

Being the honorable and respectable General of Xianzhou Luofu, he is aware that his actions are under constant scrutiny, and any news of his personal life could easily become tomorrow's headline. 

Therefore, he doesn't want to risk ruining the comforting and peaceful company he already had with you. No.

Being with you brings Jing Yuan a sense of serenity that he seldom experiences amidst the chaos of his duties as a general. You are his sanctuary, a tranquil harbor where he can dock his restless heart. Listening to your voice and watching the subtle movements of your lips as you speak is akin to watching a mesmerizing dance. Your eyes, like two shining stars, holding his gaze in a trance, and he finds himself lost in the vastness of their beauty. In your company, he is content to forget the world and the worries that come with it.

Despite his reputation for being a quick dozer, Jing Yuan never wants to miss a moment of being with you and hearing about your day. He knows that being in your company is a rare and precious indulgence, like savoring a delectable treat that is too fleeting and too limited. 

Although he's constrained by the secrecy of your relationship, Jing Yuan remains hopeful for a time when he can freely spend his days with you without fear of being exposed. He yearns for the day when he can finally engage in all the activities he's been dreaming of without any reservations. He's optimistic that this day will come, and until then, he will cherish every moment he gets to spend with you in private, relishing the comfort and safety that your company provides.

The prospect of that day fills him with immense anticipation, and he longs for it to arrive.

“Here are the reports of the Sky-Faring commission, General.” You hand over the reports to Jing Yuan, not daring to meet his intense gaze. 

His amber eyes seem to penetrate through your very being, leaving you feeling exposed and vulnerable. It's as if he's peering into the depths of your soul, examining every thought and emotion. You can't help but feel uneasy under his watchful stare. After all, it's Jing Yuan, the highly respected General of the Luofu Cloud Knights, and his imposing presence is impossible to ignore. Despite being his secret lover, you still feel conscious of your every move and appearance in his presence.

“(Name), come here,” Jing Yuan utters in a gentle tone, but the authoritative edge in his voice is unmistakable.

At the sound of Jing Yuan's voice, you are inexorably pulled towards him like a moth to a flame. The gentle curve of his lips and the tender warmth in his amber gaze resonate with you, enveloping you in a comforting cocoon of affection. It's almost as though he has woven a spell that ensnares your every movement, compelling you to draw near to him with a sense of captivation and awe. His commanding presence is both palpable and irresistible, and you find yourself drawn to him without any conscious effort.

You glide over to Jing Yuan, and it prompts him to swivel his body to face you. He's perched on his chair, and as he gazes up at you, you catch his amber eyes with your own. 

Upon locking gazes with you, Jing Yuan experiences a surge of emotions that swiftly courses through his being, evoking the rapid flutters of a hummingbird's wings in his chest. He finds himself captivated by the sight of you, who exudes an aura of luminosity and grace that enraptured his senses. Even in the absence of the sun's warmth, you shine like a celestial body, illuminating his world and imbuing it with a sense of wonder and admiration. As he continues to gaze upon you, his affection for you only grows stronger, as he is powerless to resist the alluring force of your magnetic pull.

In his subliminal state, he extends his hand to grasp your hands in his sizable ones, sensing the heat emanating from your palms, and he relishes the sensation of it.

In this very moment, as Jing Yuan finally takes hold of your hands, he begins to caress your knuckles with his thumbs in the most gentle and soothing way possible, treating them as if they were a delicate and fragile crystal that he is afraid of damaging. As he continues to rub, his fingers slide effortlessly in between yours, elegantly interlacing and entwining them together. The unexpected tenderness of his touch causes a warm blush to spread across your cheeks, taking you by surprise, yet you remain motionless, as if tamed by his presence. Although he can feel the faint tremble in your hands, he is grateful that you do not pull away, and he continues to hold onto you, cherishing this rare moment of intimacy.

As he tried to contain his amusement, a small, almost imperceptible chuckle escaped from Jing Yuan's lips, betraying his attempt at composure. 

Jing Yuan couldn't resist the urge to tease you a bit and asked, "Are you feeling nervous?" 

He felt a subtle tremor in your hand, signaling him that you were indeed feeling apprehensive. The sight of your sudden reaction elicited a sense of amusement from within him, causing the corners of his lips to stretch into a small, yet visible grin. However, his amusement was short-lived, for he soon sensed that you had regained your composure and settled into a state of calmness.

"General, I suggest you should release me. It would not be ideal for us to be seen in this manner," you calmly remind, conscious of the potential consequences of being caught in such a compromising position. However, you are unable to deceive the sharp eyes of Jing Yuan, who can sense the underlying emotions beneath your composed exterior.

"Let them see it." You became aware of Jing Yuan's remark, and let out a soft gasp at his boldness. 

Even though he had previously expressed his intention to honor your wishes and wait for you, he spoke truthfully at that moment. It was of no consequence to him if anyone were to witness your intimate exchange, as he desired for everyone to acknowledge that you were solely his.

"General—"

"Jing Yuan," he interjects, longing for the sound of his name on your lips.

"But we're—" again with him interrupting you.

"I have but one desire, (Name), and that is to hear you speak my name," Jing Yuan implores with a subtle plea, his grip on your hands tight as he urges you to comply with his request. His eyes seem to gleam under the sun's rays, almost as if they were hypnotic, coaxing you to surrender to him.

Your lips tighten into a firm line, unwilling to yield to Jing Yuan's indolence yet determined nature. It's one of his many qualities that leaves you with no choice but to relent and give in to his wishes.

Therefore, you relinquish, your shoulders dropping in resignation as you release a defeated sigh.

"Jing Yuan," you utter, finally giving in to his request. He couldn't hide his delight upon hearing his name from your lips. Even if it may seem insignificant to others, it means the world to the General, enough to brighten his mood.

"Very well," he replies with a subtle nod. "I earnestly request that you continue to address me by my name when we are in private. It's not desirable for me to feel a sense of separation from you due to our current circumstances. Do you comprehend my sentiments, (Name)?"

A smile graces Jing Yuan's face as his gaze lingers on you, and you take a brief moment to observe him before answering.

"I understand, but we must stay vigilant. There are prying eyes everywhere you go. I do not wish to bring any more difficulties upon you," you admit bashfully, averting your eyes from his.

Jing Yuan squeezes his grip on you and speaks in a soft tone, "Look at me, (Name)." He waits until he has your full attention. "I want you to understand that if it concerns you, it is not a burden to me. You hold great significance in my life, and I assure you that any inconvenience you may cause is of no concern. In fact, I would be delighted if you require my assistance.”

Jing Yuan's voice is gentle, reminiscent of the gentle caress of fluffy clouds on a bright summer day. He doesn't spell it out, but you can tell he's trying to assuage your worries in his own unique way. His words were already indicative of his intent, and although you have conflicting emotions, they dissipated when Jing Yuan delivered his heartfelt speech.

Your countenance brightens up as you acknowledge Jing Yuan's words with a smile that reaches your eyes, revealing the depth of your gratitude towards him. The General doesn't miss the tenderness in your look, and it stirs a fluttering sensation in his chest that he can't ignore. In response, he mirrors your expression of fondness, beaming with an equal measure of warmth and affection.

Jing Yuan yields to the irresistible impulse to draw you closer, settling you onto his lap, which catches you by surprise and causes your heart to race uncontrollably.

He envelops you in his embrace, his arms delicately encircling your waist, and he presses his nose into your hair, savoring the captivating fragrance of your shampoo that has grown to be his familiar fixation. It is a scent that he will always connect with you, a fragrance that will remain etched in his memory.

"Jing Yuan," you stutter, aware of the blush that suffuses your cheeks from both embarrassment and your close proximity. "Your actions could potentially expose us to being caught by someone."

Jing Yuan is acutely aware of your embarrassment, even without visually confirming it. Despite having shared moments of intimacy in private settings, you still appear unaccustomed to his unpredictable yet affectionate gestures. He finds it perplexing that you are still taken aback, given the likelihood of more instances like this in the future.

He contemplates whether he should demonstrate more of these affectionate actions in the hopes that you'll become more accustomed to such intimacy.

"I have already made myself clear, have I not? Let them see," he declares, as he maintains his embrace and presses his face onto your head. His unwavering action conveys his steadfast resolve to keep you close, unmindful of any prying eyes or onlookers that may come.

“You’re being overbearing, Jing Yuan.” You deliver the comment with a hint of amusement, making him laugh knowing full well that he can sense your eyes rolling in exasperation.

You feel his arms tightening around you, his hold on you growing firmer. "Worry not, no one may enter my office without my permission," he reassures you, though he quickly follows up with a caveat. "With the exception of my retainer, Yanqing, I'm afraid."

You let out a sigh and attempt to shift your position to release yourself from Jing Yuan's hold. Unfortunately, his embrace on you only grows stronger, making it impossible for you to escape his grasp.

Your tone is assertive as you convey your concerns to Jing Yuan. "I suggest it would be appropriate if you release me now. Yanqing could walk in and catch us in this position. Furthermore, Lady Yukong has a meeting scheduled shortly, and my attendance is necessary," you state, underscoring the importance of the matter.

Jing Yuan contemplates whether he should accede to your request or not. However, he comprehends that it would not be prudent to cause you any vexation on account of his own indulgence, especially given that you both have obligations to attend to. Despite the limited time you share, he remains convinced that there will be future opportunities where he can have you as he desires.

"Would it be permissible to remain in this embrace for a mere five minutes?" Jing Yuan inquires, his tone low but exhibiting a gentle and almost imploring quality.

When Jing Yuan receives a nod of your head in response, a smile spreads across his face. He holds onto you tightly, savoring every moment he has left to spend with you. He takes comfort in knowing that you will see each other again later.

As the minutes ticked by, Jing Yuan adhered to his promise and reluctantly let go of you, the loss of your warmth and proximity leaving an ache in his chest. You stood up swiftly, smoothing out your attire and trying to regain your composure. Jing Yuan watched you intently, taking in every detail of your movement and memorizing the way you looked in that moment. As you turned to face him, he remained silent, his gaze fixed solely on you.

With a sense of remorse and a weight on your heart, you implore Jing Yuan. "I know our situation is hard, but please bear it for a little longer."

You are aware that he has no reservations about disclosing your relationship, but you are hesitant due to the potential negative ramifications that it may bring. The prospect of being scrutinized and shunned by others because of your association with the General preoccupies your thoughts and causes you to be ill-equipped to handle the aftermath of a public announcement.

Jing Yuan is not oblivious to your troubled expression as he observes you closely. The way you look down at your feet and clench your fists, he already knows what is weighing on your mind. It is the same expression you wear whenever your secretive relationship becomes a topic of discussion. He truly understands your worries and concerns. Therefore, the only recourse Jing Yuan can offer to alleviate your distress is to offer comfort and assurance. He assures you that he does not object to waiting until such time that you are ready to divulge your relationship to the public, and that he will be there for you every step of the way. In his own inimitable way, he consoles you until your concerns are dispelled. Because that is the only thing he can do for you at this moment.

"(Name)." Jing Yuan once again calls your name and it didn't take him a second to gain your heed. "Will you lean in?"

You were confused by Jing Yuan's sudden request, but without hesitation, you leaned in towards him. Sensing his hand on the back of your head, you felt a rush of emotions. As he pulled you closer to him, your eyes widened in anticipation of what was to come. Jing Yuan's lips landed gently on top of your head, eliciting a tingly sensation that traveled down to your fingertips and stirred butterflies in your stomach. The contact of his lips on your head lingered for a moment briefly before he drew away. His lips curved into a smile as he gazed at your blushing cheeks and slightly parted lips as you looked into each other’s eyes.

Jing Yuan was greatly amused by your reaction, which was one of the many reasons why he took pleasure in teasing you. Your reactions were absolutely priceless, and he simply couldn't get enough of them. It only served to fuel his desire to tease you even further whenever he saw you react in such a way.

Indeed, he is satisfied.

"It would be best if you left now," he suggested, his hand tenderly resting on your head as he gave it a reassuring pat. "I understand that you have other pressing matters to attend to, and I wouldn't want to keep you from them," he explained, his eyes reflecting a blend of melancholy and solicitude. "However, please know that should you ever require any assistance, my door will always be open to you," he offered, his tone composed and reassuring.

As you blink, you snap out of your stupor and quickly straighten your posture. The blush on your face remains, a lingering effect of the surprise that Jing Yuan had given you. It was astounding how effortlessly he could catch you off guard, leaving you constantly on edge, unsure of what he might do next.

He is indeed a mysterious man. 

"Thank you, Jing Yuan. I appreciate your kind offer," you reply, clearing your throat in an attempt to compose yourself. "I shall keep that in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave."

You cast a quick glance at Jing Yuan, and your eyes catch him gazing at you with such tenderness that it leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. It was a look that he always gave you, even from afar, and it never failed to make your heart melt.

Jing Yuan observes you quietly as you collect yourself to leave his room. He feels a sense of disappointment knowing that you will soon be gone and that he will be left alone in his spacious office. However, he understands the urgency of your matters with the Sky-Faring commission and would not want to be the cause of your tardiness to a meeting that is soon to be held. It would be unwise of him to delay you, even if he wished otherwise.

As Jing Yuan is lost in thought, he suddenly feels a cool sensation on his forehead, interrupting his musings. He soon realizes that you had surprised him with a kiss on the forehead without any prior warning, making his body stiffen unwillingly.

Jing Yuan was astonished yet pleased by your unexpected display of affection. He had not anticipated such a gesture, but it was one that he valued greatly. His body soon relaxes and the warmth in his heart swelled as he closed his eyes, basking in the moment and enjoying the sensation of your touch.

It was a moment that he wished could last indefinitely.

However, the moment of intimacy between you and Jing Yuan came to an end as you pulled away from him. He couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment as the warmth and tenderness he felt instantly dissipated. Jing Yuan adjusted his posture, backing away slightly as he looked at you. He was a bit surprised by the intensity of your gaze, which conveyed a deep admiration and affection that was reserved only for him. This was a look that had the power to make him feel weak, but he always put up a tough front and never revealed his vulnerability to you. 

If only you are aware how much you affected him this much. Will you still be able to grant him more, or minimize because of embarrassment? He does not know. But he hopes it will be the former.

"I will take my leave now as I may be late," you say in a hurry. Jing Yuan simply waves a dismissive hand, giving you permission to attend to your duties.

"Good luck with your work," he said with a smile, and you nodded in response.

As you turn to leave Jing Yuan's office, you pause and take one last glance at Jing Yuan, who's comfortably sitting in his seat as he watches you.

You lick your lips and convey the words that you wanted to say. "I'll see you later."

With a final smile, you exit the room and make your way towards the Helm Master who was waiting for you. 

Once you are no longer in his office, Jing Yuan couldn't help but smile as he reflected on the brief encounter you had just shared. The sensation of your lips on his forehead is still palpable, like a vivid painting on a canvas. The warmth of your touch lingers, leaving an indelible impression on his skin. 

The encounter bestowed upon Jing Yuan gives him a profound sense of contentment and exhilaration, stirring within him a delightful mixture of emotions. The satisfaction he derived from that fleeting interaction proved to be truly intoxicating, leaving him with an insatiable yearning for more. His craving persisted, unquenched by the mere taste of that moment.

Jing Yuan redirects his focus to the documents before him, delicately resting his chin on his palm. The faint smirk that creeps his face persists as though it was a lasting imprint on his features.

How can he not be pleased when his morning was a very welcoming indulgence he had? It indeed gave him the satisfaction that he needs.

If you consistently become the first person he encounters and shower him with your affection every time the moon descends, his mornings will no longer be laden with dreariness as they were originally destined to be.

Jing Yuan will perpetually welcome anything and everything as long as it involves you.

[miss0atae]

Doppelganger and Reincarnation or how I believe new Vad / Wat isn’t what she seems to be in Century of Love (ep 6) :

Century of Love plot relies heavily on the idea of reincarnation. San made a deal with the goddess Nuwa. He has 100 years to find the reincarnation of his lover. In the meantime he is suffering from great pain every night. San has only one purpose and it's to find her. Over the years, he hasn't made progress. He is stuck in the past and the years are starting to weight on him. That's why, despite staying young he is acting a lot like a meanie grandpa.

It's the second series directed by Worawit Khuttiyayothin where you can find the representation of Chinese culture. Thai Chinese culture were represented a lot in another of his work To Sir, With Love. If in this work, Worawit Khuttiyayothin showed how the local the local Chinese community was dominating the domestic commerce of Thailand, in Century of Love, he shows a story inspired by the Chinese Folk religion and Buddhism. The goddess Nuwa is considered as the creator of mankind in Chinese mythology. I found weird that she was the goddess they decided to use for this series as she doesn't seem to have anything to do with the afterlife. I guess it's because she indeed used the five-colored stones and it was a device that could be used for the story. After all, when written a work of fiction, we don't always have to select the right god of goddess to use in your stories.

As she is presented in Buddhism and reincarnation is an important part of the plot of the stories, I believe it's important to show the link between the two. I'm not well-knowledgeable on Buddhism. I just knew reincarnation is a part of the belief. Karma influences your rebirth and the cycle of birth and death is endless. The story capitalize also on this idea. While looking for information about reincarnation in Buddhism I came upon the idea that there is no soul moving from one reincarnation to another. Also the consciousnesses of the new reborn is neither identical neither entirely different from his previous incarnation. I guess the screenwriter didn't want to rely too much on the different beliefs of Buddhism to make the story easier to follow by everyone. However, I think it would have been great to introduce this idea because it would explain why Vee could be considered the reincarnation of Vad / Wat even though he doesn't look or acts like her. Even if he is different from her, he still has the same care for others as she had and it would emphasize this “continuum” that is supposed to exist between different reincarnation. San could gradually accept the idea that Vee and his Vad / Wat would be the same being.

However, they decided to keep the idea of the reincarnation who has to look like his/her past self and he/she is able to remember some part of their past life. That's why the confusion of the arrival of New Vad / Wat works. By the end of episode 6, when San has finally accepted his feelings for Vee and the idea that he could be the reincarnation of his lover, New Vad / Wat came to his door. No doubts she is here to cause trouble. I think we can already accept it's going to confuse San. Previously, he met Third, the doctor and childhood friend of Vee who had the same face as Lord Trai, Vad / Wat's fiancé. Several time, Third admitted he felt like he already knew San and lost to him. The story seems to make us want to see him as the reincarnation of Lord Trai. San was even confused by the fact he was the copy carbon physically of the Lord, while Vee isn't looking at all like Vad / Wat. Tao has the best answer about that and it's simply that he can't explain everything. It works perfectly for the story because anything that is as magical as reincarnation shouldn't be something you can rationalize. It keeps the mystery open and it's good for the series. It engages the viewers and keep us entertain. Not being able to have all the answers, let the possibility for New Vad / Wat to exist into the story.

As for me, I don't want to see New Vad / Wat has the true reincarnation of past Vad / Wat. I know there are viewers who believe Vee is the true reincarnation and others who don't think he is. That's perfectly fine because this is what the story wants us to think. We are always presented with these two possibilities. However, since I'm not in favor of New Vad / Wat being the true reincarnation. I will explain why. In fantasy genre you can find the figure of the Doppelganger. It's a someone who looks exactly like someone else but who is not related to that person. It works perfectly well with New Vad / Wat as she looks like past Vad / Wat. Sometimes the Doppelganger is used as an evil twin in stories. New Vad / Wat is physically nearly identical to the past Vad / Wat, but she could have a radically inverted morality. Past Vad / Wat was a very caring and loving person, that's why San fell in love with her. However, we know that there are people who seek the power of the five-colored stone. They know it must be willingly given if they want to access the power of the stone. They also know San is looking for a woman and his family and Tao used a drawing of the person they are looking for. It wouldn't be too complicated to find someone who look the same and who can act as her to get the stone. Vad / Wat is inherently link to the stone.

I may be wrong, of course. After all, it's just pure speculation. I just like to imagine how things could be. It's also fun to compare reincarnation and doppelganger. This series is just fit for all these thoughts.

[tossawary]

Thinking about two (three?) different "Rin Lives" AUs for "Naruto" in very different styles.

The first (Option 1A) is, of course, the classic where Rin survives having the Sanbi sealed inside her instead of having Kakashi kill her (while Obito watches). I can't exactly call Zetsu's sinister plan here unreasonable, but it does still rely heavily on a bunch of relatively unpredictable elements.

With Obito as a hostage, Zetsu has relatively intimate information on Rin, Kakashi, and Minato, but by that point, it's like a year out of date. What if Rin, Kakashi, and Minato have all been significantly changed by Obito's apparent death and have adjusted their techniques and procedures? The plan relies on 1) neither of Namikaze Minato's students (who also know Uzumaki Kushina and Jiraiya of the Sannin) having sufficient sealing knowledge to hold out long enough for help to arrive, 2) the YELLOW FLASH to be fully distracted and occupied while this is happening, and 3) Rin dying in such a way that it looks like Kakashi's fault. (Also, 4) no other Kiri nin catching on and having issues with all of this.)

Again, it's not exactly unreasonable that all of these elements came together in a tragedy, but also still too reliant for my liking on all of these different moving pieces who could potentially pull out skills and escape plans that Zetsu hasn't foreseen. I'll need to reread that part to figure out why clones / genjutsu weren't just used to fool Obito, who wasn't exactly in a good state to resist that kind of manipulation. (Itachi used Tsukuyomi on Kakashi at least once. Obito is under severe physical, mental, and emotional strain and only awakened his Sharingan directly before his kidnapping. He's so vulnerable.)

Option 1B for this AU, a twist on the classic, is that nothing about this mission was real. The Sanbi was never put inside Rin. Zetsu or Madara fooled a vulnerable Obito with a trick / gaslighting, and Zetsu has been desperately struggling to kill Nohara Rin for years to get her out of the way before a grieving / vengeful Obito notices that Rin isn't actually dead. This AU probably takes place before Minato's death. Kakashi and Minato have caught on to some attempted murder mystery going on here and they are SO overprotective.

OPTION 2 for a "Rin Lives" AU is actually a "Rin gets resurrected" AU. Obito catches on earlier that Madara and Zetsu are full of shit, but Obito still isn't exactly sane after everything, so while Obito has Rinnegan superpowers in the middle of the final fight, he throws Madara and Zetsu's plan out the window and somehow uses a stolen / modified version of Orochimaru's Edo Tensai technique to bring Nohara Rin fully back from the dead. Obito says a big "FUCK YOU" to all of those long conspiracies and wastes all of that ultimate power on fully resurrecting some random nobody girl he loved as a young teenager.

So, it's like: "Your name is Nohara Rin and you are no longer dead. You were turned into a bomb and killed yourself when you were 14 to save your village, and now you've been resurrected as though you never died; you're not exactly 14 anymore after the dreamy time you spent watching the world of the living, but you are definitely not actually 31. It's weird.

"The teammate you once thought was dead was actually kidnapped by two different madmen and has spent the past 15 years with them molding his body and whispering in his ears, only to betray them anyway. His hands are covered in so much blood and he's started a war and it was all apparently a trick to bring you back. So everyone is looking at you, shocked, and confused, because you're not special. All of that? For you? For some random dead girl? They were ready for the world to end. Obito is looking at you, satisfied, expectant, like you're supposed to have any answers or any kind of comfort for him.

"Minato-Sensei is here too, undead in a different way, not alive again like you are (at least, like you think you are), and so is Kakashi, all grown up the hard way. They are looking at you like a miracle and also like you're breaking their hearts all over again. And oh, no, Uchiha Madara and Zetsu are very, VERY mad right now, there's no time for any of this, is there? You died in one war and it's right back into another."

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Is it okay if i request how yan!twisted wonderland characters act on how to handle f! Yuu when she got her period and practically in pain, i woild be happy too if you can do the teachers and staff but platonic yandere but if you don't want to it's fine

(This idea just comes to mind while i was in pain in my period right now, also sorry if my english not good)

Period Pain | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts

“What could constitute that you have to lay around all day!?”

*Whimper* “Becasue the pain is actually unbearable…”

“Oh…I didn’t realize you were suffering. Ace, Deuce, why didn’t you offer to help them before!?”

“But we just found out!” 

“Quick, it is on the Queen’s orders that we care for our lov–I mean friends! Get them soup immediately!” 

His various studies done in his childhood will probably include the female anatomy at one point

But he’s never witnessed it until now

And learning what your like during this time not only is this an awesome learning opportunity 

(Which he’s telling if anyone asks)

But this is the perfect time to take care of you

And flex his husband bone a bit

Directing your friends and the students of Heartslabyul to help with various tasks you need to get done

He’s worried for you 

More than usual 

Treating it like a sickness if your debating if you should go to class

“I suggest that you take the day off! While I know more than anything that you don’t want to miss assignments but your health is of utmost importance.”

And if you do decide to stay

He’s checking on you after and in the middle of class 

Often asking for your ratings of pain

When it comes to more comfort he’s hesitant

Mostly because he’ll burn up in a blush the moment he makes contact with you

Don’t even think about if you show your slightly upset with someone

It's not even in your control but Sam just so happens to run out of your preferred pain medication

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S NO MORE!!! WHAT KIND OF ESTABLISHMENT–!!!!” 

Face redder than your blood

you can usually count on the dormleader’s anger scaring who ever bought the last pack into offering it for free as long as he doesn’t burn the building down

At the end of the day he’s pleased that he can provide for you…

“In the future…Let it be known that you can call me at any time. It’d be concerning if I couldn’t do this..”

Trey Clover

Probably informed by Ace complaining about your odd behavior he’s hurriedly rushing into action

Even though his sister is still young Trey is the type of guy to just know that this happens 

Showing up with your favorite treats specially baked by him

“Figured you were feeling a little under the weather–so I brought some of your favorites.”

He’s not going to invite everyone to help him out like Riddle

Taking into account your integrity and privacy 

He’ll keep it between the two of you

Heating pad, pain relief, tampons, pads he’s got it if he suspects you need it

Observing your behavior puts him ahead of everyone else

“It's alright (Y/n), you can rest on my shoulder. I’m sure its rough going through that by yourself.”  

He offers himself as someone you can confide in especially more than usual

Willing to be a bit bolder the more you rely on him

He’s willing to give you a massage or to rub your tummy while you doze off

It gives him so much more leeway than his typical…drugging scheme plans 

“There’s no need to worry (Y/n), I’ll be here for you the whole time.”

Cater Diamond

“Whoa this is like the worst thing ever, for you I mean!” 

He gives you a hard time at first but ultimately he’s there to help

But don’t expect him not to document the whole thing

You can’t tell me Cater isn’t going to heavily allude on his socials that your dating

‘Going to buy painkillers for Pumpkin-bae’

If you at some point bring it up, he’ll just say that's a nickname he uses for you it doesn’t mean anything it does

He’s more than willing to rub your back and tummy 

But beware should you find yourself sleeping off the pain he’s taking so many pictures

With no regard to the fact that you just feel your worst 

he’s archiving and posting like this is Crewlchella

“Ah, isn't my babycakes the cutest!?”

Despite his willingness to share online all about you he’s hesitant to let the curious but helpful students in to help. 

When he does he’s secretly mulling with a smile on his face

But believe him when he finds a way to casually dismiss everyone

Being sure to be your sole confidant at one point or another

“Well well aren’t you miss popular? No worries you’ve got me all to yourself and I’m definitely made of boyfriend-material!” 

Deuce Spade

“Oh? Oh. OHhhh!” 

Either you or one of his seniors is going to have to spell it out for him

And even when he gets it he still doesn’t understand

Acts like your bleeding out 

Trying desperately to stop the internal bleeding that isn’t happening

“I-I got you ice! I hope this will help. Its what my mom would give me when I was in pain.”

He doesn’t understand your mood swings but he’s going to back you up nonetheless

Yelling at someone randomly he’s either hopping on your rage train or just standing out of your way

He’s really confused but he wants to help 

And he’s willing to throw punches if it comes down to it

If you need something from him you’ll have to ask 

He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed

“I’m here to help (Y/n), just tell me what you need!” 

Ace Trappola

“Uhhh that's gross!” 

“Ace!” 

“Sorry sorry, fine we’ll help you.” 

He’s willing to help if only to avoid your wrath  

He starts acting fussy when Deuce or anyone else gets asked to help

Or when you flash a thankful look at anyone but him

That's when he starts really putting in the work

And that is truly what gets him motivated to help

Bragging rights and something to hold over you head

But when its boiled down to it and you two were all alone

He’d sigh before offering to rub anywhere in particular

His hands may wander but for the most part he’s there for that insatiably warm feeling that burns his insides when you genuinely thank him

“H-hey y-you know you owe me right? Okay, okay fine, you don’t but at least let me do this…it’d be a pain if you came out of this and thought I was a jerk right?”

SavannaClaw

Leona Kingscholar

“Don’t bleed all over my bed, herbivore!” 

He probably knows it's here before you do 

Groaning as he starts making preparations for you to keep laying in bed

Just because nature decided to beat you up doesn’t mean cuddling is going to stop

No no in fact it's going to increase because on the worse days your bed-ridden anyway

He’s hardly leaving your side but he’s not taking actual care of your needs

That's Ruggie’s job

But he’d be darned if he let your scent spur any of his students into insubordination

“She’s mine. If you really want to test that out I’m more than happy to leave you incapacitated for the rest of your life. Grr!”

He’s comforting in that he is a literal heater pack,

That holds you tight while wrapping his arms possessively around you

He makes a bigger deal of ‘hating’ it when your on your period

He doesn’t really care, blood isn’t going to stop him from having a good time~

He’s more annoyed with the fact that he has to relentlessly drown you in his scent so you don’t get unwanted trouble

He’s no doubt willing to personally bully whoever to get you your comfort foods 

“C’mon herbivore be grateful I thought of you on the way over.”

Ruggie Bucci

“Eek! Already!?”

He does keep track though 

He includes you in his monthly budget

Prepared to satiate whatever you may need during this time

Especially some painkillers that will help you cart through the day without him

He’s a busy hyena

He typically won’t be able to drop everything for you

But no doubt when the moment arises he’s got groceries and anything you need

“Take it easy (Y/n), you’ll be more able to score more deals if you're actually not fighting cramps. So just rest.”

He’s really respectful 

And he may not have the luxury of staying over the whole time

But if not the night than the early morning

After all he has to take care of Leona 

“Geez you’d think I should pay for my services with how often I’m doing this.”

“But you already do…”

“Then where's my paycheck?”

“Uh you get yours in hugs and kisses?”

“...okay with interest, right?”

Jack Howl

“I am prepared for this! Steel yourself (Y/n)! Hold out just a little bit longer.”

Once again may have picked up on it much sooner than you

Will be especially vigilant, fully taking the environment into account

He’s not going to scent you directly unless he outright asks

Otherwise major guard-dog energy

Such a cheerleader

He realizes there isn’t much he can do other than offer his body heat and general comfort

“So this is the true power of being a woman? Truly admirable!” 

He’s getting whatever you need by any and all means necessary

That's his job as your mate

He must be your protector, your provider

“Leave it to me (Y/n)! I’m here for you. As I’ll always be.” 

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto

“I-i see uhm I’ll uh-help you with that. Contrary to belief I am prepared for this.”

He’s really not lying

Upping his own research about women and how to impress them 

Left him with a quite a lot of knowledge about the female anatomy

He’s fretting all throughout the day as he prepares a little care package

His anxiety is on an all time high as he debates if he should give this to Jade to deliver

But true to nature he’ll laugh and come up with some arbitrary excuse

Forcing Azul to do it himself 

Red in the face as he's stumbling over his words he’s truly not used to seeing you so vulnerable

But once he pushes down his initial embarrassment 

He’s more than happy to do whatever you wish because he likes being useful to you

“Hey Azul can you pass me–”

“The heating pad? Already have it.”

“Oh thanks!”

“/////”

He does get a little concerned when others help more than him 

So he might just buy or threaten for whatever someone is bringing you so that he can officially hand it to you himself

“Just know I’m more than capable of doing this and so much more. S-so be at ease around me okay?”

Jade Leech

”Oh my! Well I guess it is that time after all.”

Pretends this is a surprise when he finds you hunched over somewhere

He totally keeps track 

But he thinks it's amusing to see you struggle with handling your mood and dealing with the cramps

He’s helping all the while 

With front row seats to your most vulnerable moments

He’s enjoying it until he’s pulled away or you begin relying on everyone else

Working in the Monstro Lounge during your week of pain has him stinking up the place with his terrible mood

Bordering Floyd levels of strangulation encounters 

he’s relentlessly trying to burn off his explosive anger from being away from you during this time

Call him instinctually motivated but the moment he gets the chance he slinking back to your side

“Don’t stop me from going to them…otherwise I will stay…and see exactly how fragile your ribcage is.”

Floyd Leech

“And you’ll just be laying around because of cramps? That sounds boring!”

He’s not much help in the realm of comfort 

Unless your yelling at him during a particularly intense pain cycle 

He’s not going to do anything

But he is in a bad mood

“My shrimpy won’t talk to me…They’re in such a bad mood…it puts me in a bad mood!”

Watch out without you there to maintain some semblance of balance he’s practically on a rampage

No one is safe

And in that mentality everyone is catering to you so you can entertain him for a short awhile

He won’t completely abandon you if you very seriously explain or your crying from the pain/frustration

“Shrimpy…you're really hurting aren’t you?”

Only for you

Only for you will he settle himself down to cuddle you 

Holding you tight against him 

No one will bear witness

And if they do they will wish they hadn’t

“It's not so boring laying with my shrimpy…and it certainly won’t be boring when you’re not breathing.”

Scarabia

Jamil Viper

“I have just the recipe for this.”

He’s a caretaker 

Has been all his life so this is no hard feat

Although he’s not used to caring for a girl on her cycle 

he's still one of the best

He’s cooking for you, giving you a heating pad, massaging you if you’ll allow it

He’s more than willing after all you’ve done so much for him

Yes, he’ll have to juggle Kalim but he can handle that just fine

This is you and he actually doesn’t mind caring for you

Afterall it further proves how capable of a man he can be for you

“I’m here for you, (Y/n). Obviously It’d be most convenient if you just married me.”

Kalim Al Asim

“Oh my gosh are you bleeding!? We have to call the teachers!”

Jamil has to sit him down and explain it to him

And even then he still has a hard time grasping it

But he’s more than willing to drop everything to provide whatever help he can

Which is mostly just Jamil actually relieving your discomfort

His way of helping is just buying the highest products 

And then trying to somehow “Party up” your period

“Hey (Y/n)! Let’s try playing a game to distract from the pain!”

“Ugghhhhh.”

“Great!”

He’s really trying 

And even when you or Jamil kick him out for awhile 

He feels the pressure of how many others are successfully helping you 

And decides he needs to get better

Or at least have a better understanding

So he will ask you about your ailment

Lending a listening ear whenever you want to ramble, rant, or complain

“Tell me all of it (Y/n). I can’t ever get tired of you.”

Pomfieore

Vil Schoenheit

“Oh dear…well I guess it can’t be helped.”

He was aware that this time would come 

And while he’s not usually one to indulge in endless cuddling he will do it if only to satisfy you and him too

Already there with the best products 

Heating pads, painkillers, and whatever high quality products that will come on short notice

He is definitely verbally bullying who ever came to help

He might insist on putting make up on you if your not a fan of it

What are you going to do, when you’re busy curled up in pain

If you try to get him to go away or not see you because he is a supermodel celebrity

He’s shutting that down real quick

“Don’t think I’d let you rely on some potato when I’m the one who cares.”

Rook Hunt

“Right on schedule madamoiselle!”

Totally kept track and if you didn’t come open the door he let himself in

He’s actually really amicable with anyone who wants to help 

Saying ‘it's a beautiful display of friendship and love for Madamesoile Trickster'

Comfort food? he’ll get it

Massage? He’ll do it

Pain Relief….the natural way? PLEASE LET HIM

“Blood is not deterrent for me, muya lyubov.”

You’ll have to get him to leave with how…unafraid he is with your blood

Need to insert a menstrual cup? He avidly volunteers

Have to change a pad? He’ll help you change into a new one

No? Fine. He’ll throw out the other one for you

It never even made it to the trash

He fully is able to get whatever size you prefer

You never told him

You really didn’t have to though

“Rest easy Madamemoiselle Trickster! I will happily take care of you with great pleasure for it is an honor to see your beauty uncontained!” 

Epel Felmier

“I’m on it! Leave it to me!”

Doesn’t really understand but he’s here to help

While I’m not confident he’s going to really know what he’s doing

He’s trying with that determined look on his face

This actually makes him quite happy 

He can provide for you without having insane muscle mass

At least your mood can be a bit better when Epel concocting an apple tea that fills the space with such awesome smells

He’ll now start trying to keep track of it 

Showing up at your house hair pulled bag and care package filled to the brim

Hiding behind his determination to grow he’s absolutely ecstatic on the fact that you have to rely on him

“I..want to be really good at this, (Y/n)! So please let me help!” 

Ignihyde

Ortho Shroud

“I’ve scanned my archives and have deduced that this will be the most effective during your menstrual cycle.”

The moment you groan in pain he is on it

What kind of little brother would he be if he couldn’t do this at the very least

Portable heating pad, Massager, personal pharmacist

You name it he’s got it

After all as your future little brother it's only natural he help you with that stuff

“No worries (Y/n)-san, I’ll take care of you during this major happiness debuff!”

Idia Shroud

“This is…the prophesied otome nightmare! The period!” 

He’s not coming near you for awhile 

This is uncharted territory for him and he’s debating if he wants to challenge that

He no doubt sent Ortho to help if you 

Now the question is does he end up making an appearance

On one hand he’s sure to build up on relationship points if he goes

But if he doesn’t go his rivals will no doubt up their statuses with his absence

He’d still be watching on all the cameras, so he’d know if they really were making any progress

But what about you? 

For the possibility that you look at him or thank him for helping

Even going so far as maybe leaning on him!?!?! 

Your touch alone could boost his morale significantly 

Not to mention sending him in an absolute frenzy

In the end he’ll stick it out…if only Ortho enters with him

“From my research, something that's helpful for dealing with pain is a distraction…so would you want to watch me play?”

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia

“Child of man? Are you…dying?!”

He’s very confused and incredibly scared

Whether you're clutching your midsection in pain or having bled through your pants

He’s in hysterics

Weren’t you supposed to live longer!? 

He’s in a panic teleporting you to a teacher or the Diasomnia dorm 

Where he’s urgently informing Lilia and staff about your situation

If your not already crying from embarrassment he’s eventually told the reason why this is happening

“You’re not dying but you’re still in pain? How…peculiar of the human body to plague you in such a way.”

If your period was a person he would have brutally murdered them a long time ago

Sneering at the mention of it while your groaning about it

Don’t let him know about how to make it stop

Otherwise your going to have a hard time convincing him this isn’t worth getting you pregnant for

A good way to is to give him another way to help

Maybe removing the pain with pleasure?

“If this spares you the pain of that wretched cycle then I will give you everything you desire.”

Lilia Vanrouge

“Ah, that time is here. Well then guess I should be making you my special recipe!”

“No, please! Anything but that!” 

He’s one who may not keep track but he’s able to notice the signs

You’re so vulnerable he can get away with so much!

Like every situation that involves you he is amusing himself

He’ll help you with remedies he’s experienced through his many travels

Providing exotic painkillers that magically transform all your pain into something alse

Uh oh! Now you have something else bothering you, oh what will you do?

“Oya you seem to be struggling. No worries! I’m more than prepared to help you with this pleasurable side effect. No worries, I'm no stranger to blood!”

Silver Vanrouge

“Bleeding!?!?! Stand back! I need to put pressure on the wound!”

As soon as you get him to stop trying to put pressure on your…yeah

You’ll have to specifically explain the science behind your cycle 

Alas his support is immediately garnered

“Alright! Fath–Lilia said I could aid you in this endeavor. Saying it’d be a good experience for my future as a guard to Master Malleus.”

He’ll do all that he can with due diligence

And he’s more than happy to curl up to take your naps with you

But when all's said and done you’ll try and send him away

Keyword: “Try”

“Okay thanks for all your help Silver. Have a good night.”

“Are you heading to bed?”

“..no.”

“Alright then.”

“...”

“...”

“So you're not going to leave?”

“Of course not. My job is to guard you after all, I can’t possibly let you go through this on your own as your suitor”

“Oh oka–wait suitor?”

Sebek Zigvolt

“WHAT IS THIS?! Y-YOU’RE DYING!? DYING!”

He’s alarmed 

He knows humans are fragile but to be bleeding so much with no prior warning

Your akin to glass

He’s ultimately going to ignore your reservations until your loudly explaining the science of your cycle to this man

Eventually he will so gracefully take it upon himself to provide his help to you

Doesn’t matter if you never asked he’s helping

You’re so much weaker than him it's natural that he expertly help

With no surprise to you he’s quite bad at this

Misusing your pads/tampons/other 

Throwing away your pain killers because they were ‘weak person’s crutch’

And overall just not making this a good time

So you’ll have to explain everything to him 

Every tool, every step has a meaning so if he wants to help he’s following your lead

And for you to be so stern and serious…

SHOWS HOW DEDICATED AND POWERFUL YOU ARE!!

“I no doubt misjudged your expertise!! Show me your ways so that I may aid you in our future together!”

Staff

Dire Crowley 

“Oh…uhm, right…what does that mean again?”

He’s trying…kinda

You need to ask him for permissions to deal with it anyway 

And it would be especially gracious of him to supply everything that you need

…so that you’re not bleeding everywhere

It’d be concerning if that were that the case 

So he’s totally following your lead with this one

Even though he’s not a fan of the fact so many of the students are swarming around you during this time

For all he knows you may need many people to help you deal with it

He really doesn’t like seeing you in pain so if you do at some point complain about it 

He’s frantically sending you home

“Whatever you need (Y/n). I’m so gracious I shall help you with your condition.”

“It's not a condition, it's a natural bodily function for me that just so happens to come every month.”

“E-every month?”

“Yes…don’t look at me like that! It is entirely normal and healthy!”

Crewel Divus

“Do you have everything you need? I wouldn’t be surprised if Sam didn’t have that.” 

He’s on top of it like Donkey Kong 

Making sure you have everything you need 

The only problem is the various boys that are ‘willing to help’

“I should have had Jack install those removable boards on Ramshackle’s windows…now the unruly curs will slink in.”

He’s wordlessly setting some magical traps for those who want to reach Ramshackle

His puppy is vulnerable and they’re surrounded by a bunch of other pups that are much bigger and rougher

If anyone asks about you he’s misleading them so hard

“Stay away from (Y/n) pups especially this week!”

“Y-YES SIR!” 

“Good boys. Now let’s continue working.”

Mozus Trein 

“I see. How’s your pain tolerance? Will you still be able to attend class?”

Seasoned veteran right here

He’s not freaking out because he knows you probably know best

But if you couldn’t get something on campus or in the town he’s willing to do what he can

He’s mostly being the reasonable voice when everyone just doesn’t understand

Depending on your own situation he’ll give you a written list of remedies he’s followed

While silently sending Lucius to watch after you

And I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually joined Crewel in putting protections on Ramshackle 

“For once we’re in agreement. I doubt the students will be able to comprehend, let alone actually be of service to her.”

Ashton Vargas

“What, why would that stop you from exercising? Don’t you know pushing through the pain is how you look like me!?”

“No no you don’t understand this pain is much different.”

“I fail to see why you should stop even still!”

“If you don’t get me off this field I’ll bleed all over it.”

“O-okay. To the nurse you go!” 

“Thank you.”

He’s not sympathetic because he doesn’t understand

And unless you phrase it as some type of training or exercise he will cheer you on

“Ace that period, (Y/n)!! You’ve got this!”

Sam

“Well that’s why I just stocked up on it, just for you!”

Really the MVP when it comes to comfort

He likes to pretend he doesn’t need to but he definitely did research about it

He wasn’t about to turn his favorite baby sis-student away unsatisfied

He also knows your harem will probably come soon and he can’t wait to play matchmaker

“And here’s that (f/f) you ordered in advance and for you some (h/f). Happy eating or rather gifting.” 

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, sort of on that note: I know we are all thoroughly enjoying the Bird App's destruction and drama and firing shots in the air to keep our property values low and complaining about Twitter users moving here and all the rest. But I'm gonna be real with you for a second and offer a Hot Take that might well get my Tumblr elder credentials revoked:

As long as they are willing to play ball with us and understand the rules of the road and etc (and lbr, we have plenty of absolutely idiotic Disk Horse of our own, that will never go away), we should a) actually be glad that they're coming here and b) recognize the far more sinister aspect of Twitter's slow motion Jenga collapse. Because it's all fun and games until the massive human rights violations and democracy destruction starts (or rather, continues). Why is that? Well:

As noted a few weeks ago when this insanity started, the second-biggest investor in the Twitter takeover, apart from Musk himself, was the Saudi government. Now, I have a friend whose PhD dissertation in sociology I have been copy-editing/proofreading for the last few years (he is originally from Saudi Arabia but doing his PhD in the UK). A huge part of his research is about how ordinary Saudis use Twitter HEAVILY, and as a replacement for the freedom of speech they aren't allowed in any other formal aspect of their country, despite many cosmetic reforms and plans for greater international investment and openness. The Saudi government, while tolerating this newfound criticism on the surface, has also routinely jailed these citizens for one critical tweet about them, including those made while the person in question was not in the country. In other words, they're not nearly as happy about this as they like to pretend, even if they're putting a good face on it, and especially during the Arab Spring and other attempted uprisings/calls for reform in the region, Twitter was a hugely effective way to circumvent government narratives and get out community information. After all, it is the biggest communication platform in the world, and anyone can instantly use it.

So, enter Musk: a petty alt-right billionaire who pals with dictators and can do anything he wants by burning ungodly amounts of money. He partners with the Saudis. Two weeks later, Twitter is going down in flames, its entire top legal team has quit, Musk is braying about bankruptcy, advertisers have fled, it's 50-50 whether it survives the year. And yes, this could be because Musk is a sociopathic idiot, since he is. But if you consider that this one evil prick can literally destroy half of the world's only medium of quasi-free speech and community organising just by throwing $44 billion at it... well... that's a lot more sinister than just him wanting to make "free speech" for all the absolute dregs of the Internet who adore him. In other words, it starts to look awfully deliberate, and Musk is anything but a fan of democracy, community organising, and all the rest.

Anyway: Tumblr doesn't function the same as Twitter, we don't want it to, and we are able to laugh at its burning corpse because many of us don't rely on it as our one and only place of meaningful speech and ability to criticize the government. But if Twitter DOES go down in flames, it will be a huge and irreparable loss in a real sense, and in that case, if you see a Twitter user poking their head in here, give them some rules of the road, advise them to change their icon, and otherwise let 'em stay.

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Unwanted Attention [Hotch x Reader]

Prompt: Having to travel to the middle of nowhere Ohio for a serial killer was bad enough, add to the fact that the local LEOs are looking a little too hard at JJ, Emily, and _y/n_ was seriously testing Aaron’s resolve. Lots of protective Hotch here! This is another @imagining-in-the-margins inspired fic for her Meet Cute Writing Challenge. I’m using the dialogue prompt: “Watch where you’re going!” “… You ran into me?!”

Category: Angst/comfort - (mostly comfort I think).

Word Count: 5.8K

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence (serial killer - kills via strangulation but nothing explicit) unwanted physical touch (groping of the behind and pubic area) misogyny, sexism, the U.S. police, language, brief mention of intimacy. 

A/N: Hi friends! I am very pleased with this one. I love writing Hotch with righteous anger. It just looks too damn good on him. I also love the duality of this man because one moment he is ready to bite someone’s head off and the next he only has eyes for you and he’s checking in and feeling guilty. You could read this story as a standalone or as a prequel to my story, Life can be Terrible, but At Least You're In It. (linked). I want to shout out @criminalskies for hyping me up while writing this. Last, if you enjoyed reading this, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! - Levi 

List with all stories 

y/n = your name 

_f/c_ = favorite color 

_l/n_ = your last name

_y/h/c_ = yuur hair color 

Walnut Creek Ohio, who on the team had heard of it? Well apart from Spencer, because apparently he’d read a United States Atlas Map one night when his insomnia was bothering him, and he had retained all the information about nearly every tiny town that existed in the States. Spencer was rambling off facts about the tiny town stating, “There are 908 residents in the town as of 2017. It’s shocking that a serial killer would target such a small community where everyone has to know everyone else.” y/n, JJ, and Reid were all at the coffee station filling up cups. y/n pulled out her _f/c_ thermos. She always made sure that anyone who wanted coffee got to go first because her reusable metal container took about half the pot. y/n had finally wisened up after Emily and Spencer kept complaining about the coffee getting lukewarm, or worse, cold while sitting on the plane. Now her coffee stayed hot for hours if need be. She had bought the teammates that relied as heavily on caffeine as she did as Holiday or birthday gifts and the thermoses were stored away in one of her closets of her apartment, ready to be taken out and wrapped at the right moment. Spencer’s comment pulled her back to the present moments and she replied, “Nothing can stop a person going bad I guess. Not even a small town.” This stopped Spencer's comments on the location of the team's most recent case, and he shifted gears to talk about the psychological development of those raised in rural environments versus those raised in urban areas. y/n continued to listen to Spencer as he spoke, even if she couldn’t always keep up with his mile-a-minute commentary. She listened because Reid was a fount of knowledge and often a comment he made and maybe didn’t even remember would be helpful later on in the case. She also listened because sometimes the other members of the team didn’t when he spoke. It wasn’t that they didn’t think that what he was saying was important, it was just that they were trying to come up with their own thoughts and theories about the case. y/n was also guilty of tuning Reid out sometimes, but when she could listen to him, she did. 

y/n had always been more of a listener than one to contribute to the conversation early on. y/n felt better about talking once she had more information and that normally wasn’t until the team arrived at the case's location or even saw the first crime scene. Once y/n had the bigger picture, she was ready and able to hope in and give her thoughts. Before that time came, she would listen and think about her prior knowledge. Although it might be less exciting than guessing and formulating theories, she found that often some basic information or past cases or criminals was useful when leads dropped or the case seemed to go cold. In her process, she was thinking about the future. As she had integrated into the team full-time at the beginning, Derek teased her for writing so much down in a notebook. She highlighted any relevant information the team stated or facts that seemed relevant. Morgan had joked in good humor but as the first few cases came to a close, the whole team slowly realized that she was approaching these cases from another angle, one that proved to be highly valuable at important points.  

y/n settled next to Emily at her desk and pulled her go bag from underneath the space. The sound of Aaron’s door closing caught y/n’s attention. He was wearing that maroon tie she liked so much. She hadn’t told him that yet, it felt too trivial, but she really liked that tie on him. Aaron caught her eye for a moment and there was a small twinge in her chest before they quickly, discreetly looked away. Nobody knew that they were spending time together outside of work. They had to be discreet because it was mixing work and pleasure and in a place like the FBI, that didn’t just fly. y/n was sure Hotch knew everything about the rules and consequences of breaking those rules, but he hadn’t filled her in on those details. She had looked at the employee handbook but it was all legalese and it hurt her head. If she and Aaron did become more serious, and committed, she would ask him to interpret the confusing language for her. Thankfully they weren’t having a hard time keeping their work and private lives separate, yet. 

Aaron felt the normal thrill of heading out to a new case. He considered the word, ‘thrill,’ thinking it wasn’t the perfect synonym for the arrival of yet another slew of murders, but it certainly wasn’t excitement either. Excitement meant something happy, something to look forward to. ‘Energized,’ his brain offered. Mentally Aaron nodded along, That would work for now. He had to be energized for this work. He wasn’t a young man anymore but there had to be a strength and calmness with him. He was the leader and even with Rossi being on the team for over a year, his agents still looked to him to make this all work. His eyes found y/n’s and there he found the look of thrill. This was still so new to her, even though she had been on the team for a while. He looked away as always, not giving into any desires that lingered when he was paying attention to his newest agent. He was grateful that y/n was professional and polite and had the utmost decorum even though outside of work they hadn’t been entirely professional. The thought of their last non-work meeting at her apartment and her heavy breathing and soft sounds on her lips, as he worked over her clothed body with his hands brought a momentatry flush to his face. 

Hotch sobered as quickly as he had flushed as Dave came up beside him and said, “You ready for this?” Aaron looked over to his friend and bluntly replied, “As ready as possible, but it's still never easy.” Rossi nodded along as they both moved down the stairs and toward the parking lot. This line of work wasn’t easy. Aaron knew that every time his team left for a new case there was a chance that someone might get hurt, or even killed and no matter how good everyone was at their job, that possibility still worried him. y/n’s face popped up in his mind as he found his seat in the jet and he pushed away the thought. His relationship with her had shifted to something he wasn’t entirely sure he had under control. They hadn’t made anything official and hadn’t even said, “I love you,” yet. However, Hotch wasn’t a man who moved quickly, but as long as he and y/n had an open, honest conversation about where their feelings were headed, he wasn’t going to fight it. He had fought so many things, and people in his life that he didn’t have the desire to fight this too. Being around y/n felt good. It felt safe and he rarely got that in his life, so he was embracing it where he could. As JJ went over more of the facts and details regarding the case involving a serial killer wreaking havoc in the tiny town in Ohio, he shifted his full attention to what his media liaison was saying. 

As the jet landed on the tiny airstrip, everyone got out and into the waiting SUVs. Aaron drove with Emily, Spencer, and JJ while Rossi took y/n and Derek. Spencer and Emily were discussing the need to work well with the law enforcement in the town as they were likely ingratiate into all aspects of the community. Meanwhile, JJ was preparing a statement for the media. In the other car, Derek turned from the front seat and asked, “So what are we thinking in terms of prior knowledge _y/n_?” y/n turned her gaze to Morgan’s and said, “Well strangulation is such a common signature that we’re going to have to look for something more specific to get traction here. The photos do look like this guy is strangling people from behind and the unsubs killing fit men someone who doesn't want to face what they’re really doing? Or it could be that they despise their victims so much they can’t stand to see them again, even while killing them?” Morgan nodded and elaborated on the idea that the killer might see these men as a competition of some kind. As having something the unsub lacked. This information allowed those in Rossi’s car to start to form a physical profile of the unsub. As the team made it to the small local police station, everyone got out of the parked cars and a man who appeared to be in his fifties who was balding badly came out to greet them. 

Aaron stepped forward and extended his hand. The man took it and gave it a firm shake, saying, “I’m Officer Bronson. Thank you so much for you folks from coming out here.” Aaron nodded, replying, “I’m Agent, Hotchner and this is my team.” He indicated to the team, quickly introducing them. First, he gestured to JJ stating, “This is our media liaison, Jennifer Jareau.” JJ stepped forward and took the man’s slightly sweaty hand. Aaron moved through the rest of the team quickly, wanting to get the introductions over with and the real work started. He motioned to each of his agents saying, “This is David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Dr. Spencer Reid, _y/n_ _l/n_, and Emily Prentiss.” Each member nodded as Hotch said their name and Officer Bronson replied, Well welcome to Walnut Creek. I wish it was under happier circumstances. I’ll let you all get inside and out of this heat.” As the team moved into the small building, Aaron asked, “Is there a space where we can get organized and look at the evidence more easily?” Bronson nodded and led the team to a table at the back of a very small station and said, “Sorry it’s nothing fancy. I’ll have someone clean off the files and stuff off for you.” The man turned and semi-shouted, “Anderson, can you clear your junk off this table?” Anderson, a thirty-something-year-old moved around the team and got his things saying, “Sorry Chief.” Bronson looked to Aaron, almost for approval, and asked, “Will this do?” To which Hotch simply replied, “It’s fine.” 

As the team settled a little y/n looked at JJ with a ‘Are you kidding me?’ expression and then looked at Anderson who was placing his numerous files on another table. JJ rolled her eyes in return. The fact that one of the officers had open files possibly containing sensitive or private data out on a table for anyone in the room to see displayed the station's lack of professionalism. The team worked up a preliminary profile and Aaron told Officer Bronson that they were ready to address his unit. Bronson called his team to the side of the room and as the officers sat down, Aaron moved forward saying, “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for your attention. My name is Aaron Hotchner and I’m the Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. This is my team, and we’re here to coordinate with you to try and stop these killings as quickly as possible. If you have any questions please hold them to the end. We appreciate you working with us, and now I’ll let Derek Morgan deliver our preliminary profile to you.” 

Aaron stepped aside to let Derek deliver the profile. Hotch had asked Morgan to deliver the profile because something about the officers sitting in front of him didn’t seem like they were convinced that they needed the team's help. Given the fact that Derek was the closest in age to many of the officers, and he could be just as intense as Aaron if he wanted, Aaron thought that the men would respect Morgan over someone like himself or Rossi. It helped that Morgan also looked more like the policemen now listening with unveiled trepidation about the profile. This was another part of the job that Aaron disliked. He not only had to profile the unsub but the law enforcement officers as well. His team and the local authorities had to work together due to bureaucratic rulings and sometimes the officers didn’t want the Bau's assistance. The idea that the team was ‘taking over’ or ‘standing on their turf’ often caused conflict. Aaron always tried to nip this conflict early. His team didn’t need to worry about that and quite frankly they all had better things to do. Aaron looked at the ten seated men, as he listened to Morgan. Most of the officers were looking at Derek, but one or two were consistently looking over at JJ, y/n, and Emily. Aaron clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to sigh. He could tell whatever conflict his team and this police unit were going to have would be an uphill battle. 

Hotch noticed when the men he was working with paid a little too much attention to members of his team. Hotch couldn’t deny that y/n, JJ, and Emily were all beautiful, intelligent, and capable and that combination was attractive. However, that did not give these men a right to act lewdly or leer at them. As Derek wrapped up the profile, he fielded a few questions from the assembled crowd. With that, Chief Bronson dismissed his men. Aaron gathered the team and they broke into smaller units to look for any clues that might bring them closer to finding the unsub. Aaron, Spencer, and y/n were headed to the high school which was the scene of the latest killing. Rossi and Morgan were headed to the hospital to see the bodies of the victims to determine if there was more to the signature than just strangulation. Lastly, JJ and Emily were going to go to the press to provide a statement for the townspeople who were panicking and holding up the police phones making those who really needed help unable to get it. 

In the evening as the team regrouped at the station, there was the kind of frantic energy they got once the case had really started. y/n had lots of thoughts and was ready to see what the rest of the team had discovered. She knew she wasn’t going to see much sleep tonight, so she moved to the break room where the coffee pots normally were in police stations. As she approached the room she began to overhear a conversation going on inside. The snippet she heard was, “So who are you picking, Blondie, Brunette, or _y/h/c_?” There was a laugh before the other man in the room began saying, “What about all three?” There was more laughter at this and as the unseen man began saying, “But if you’re really making me choose…” y/n walked quickly away before she could hear the answer. As she moved back to the team she thought, ‘These guys really have no standards.’ She felt slightly repulsed but did her best to ignore the feeling. As she stepped back to the table, and Aaron looked over at her, he could see that something was wrong. A few minutes later, when he was finished listening to Spencer’s geographic profile, Hotch moved to stand next to y/n. In a quiet volume, he asked, “Is everything okay?” y/n looked up at him. His expression had the smallest hint of worry,  and she alleviated that fear by saying, “Yeah. It’s nothing.” Aaron nodded and said, “Okay. Tell me more about what you were saying to Derek about the point of impact, we might be able to get a height on the unsub with that information.” y/n nodded and jumped into the conversation. Aaron could tell that something was off about y/n, but he wouldn��t push it. He trusted her to handle things herself and if she needed to, he knew she would ask for help. 

The night wore on and eventually, the team moved to the tiny hotel the town had. There were barely enough rooms to fit them all. The town was very cozy and picturesque in its quaintness. y/n thought about this as she drove Derek and Rossi to the hotel. She assumed it was a nice place to grow up in. To grow old in. y/n wasn’t sure where these thoughts were coming from, but she chalked it up to tiredness and the case. Because for seven men there would be no growing old here or anywhere. The sadness of that realization only made her want to solve this case more badly. There were always a lot of emotions tied to the cases they worked on, and to protect herself, she had to try and stay disconnected from the pain and hurt that the victims and the victims' families went through. But she couldn’t always hold back those emotions and now was one of those times. As everyone settled in for the night and said their goodnights, which just meant ‘I’ll be sitting up in bed reading over the same evidence as you one door down,’ Aaron walked over to y/n and said, “Goodnight, y/n.” His brief interaction with her at the precinct from earlier in the day flashed in his head. He didn’t like it when she looked upset. It made him feel nervous, so he asked, “You’d tell me if something was wrong? Wouldn’t you?” The question came out of left field and y/n blinked for a moment, not really knowing why Aaron was asking. At this point, she had sort of forgotten the rude comments being made by the officers, so she replied, “Of course I would Aaron.” At her response, Hotch infinitesimally relaxed and the two headed for the elevator together. Rossi had seen the interaction between them. He didn’t hear what they said, or that y/n had used Hotch’s first name, but he couldn't help but feel that something was there between the two agents. Perhaps it was the way Aaron leaned down a little bit to be in earshot, or the way y/n looked at his friend like nothing else around her mattered. David wouldn’t say anything yet, but he was sure he was going to start paying more attention to Aaron. Rossi wasn’t against whatever was happening between his coworkers. Aaron had had a rough few months, and he thought the man deserved some comfort.

In the morning most of the team was out hunting leads. Derek and y/n had stayed back for a minute because _y/n_ thought she had seen something new in the geographical profile. They would both head to the sight of the first body once she had looked at the board again. y/n was standing, looking at the map, engrossed in the pins Spencer had pushed into all the significant locations thus far. She just barely acknowledged when Morgan said he was going to use the men’s room. She also didn’t notice when one of the officers came up behind her. The man extended a hand and grabbed her ass giving it a squeeze. At the unwanted touch, y/n whipped around saying, “Hey!” The phrases echoed around the nearly empty office. She looked at the man, clocking his name on his badge, Monroe. There was a moment of silence before y/n incredulously said, “What was that?” Monroe gave a laugh and said, “Sorry, babe. I thought you were interested.” With that, the officer quickly left, as he noticed Derek coming back from the bathroom. Monroe nearly brushed shoulders with Morgan as they both tried to fit through the door at the same time.

When Derek got into the room, he noticed that something was off about y/n. She was standing still with a look of shock and disgust on her face. y/n tried to fix her facial features back to normal, but Morgan had seen and quickly strode into the room next to her. Derek looked her over quickly and asked, “y/n, what’s wrong?” y/n looked to the floor for a second, biting the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t really believe what had just happened. For a moment she thought about lying but knew that Morgan would keep asking until she gave in. She sighed and looked up at Morgan’s worried face, saying, “That guy just groped me.” At hearing this, Morgan turned on his heel, but Officer Monroe was halfway out the door with Officer Anderson. They were both laughing at some unheard joke. It took everything in Derek to not go over to the two men and give Monroe an unadulterated piece of his mind. However, he knew that wasn’t his place really. And he wanted to make sure y/n was okay. He turned back to _y/n_ and asked, “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” y/n nodded her head no, saying, “No. I was just shocked, I guess.” Morgan nodded along and said, “It shouldn’t have happened, period. You need to tell Hotch.” y/n’s widened at the suggestion. It made sense of course. Issues like this were under his purview, but for some reason telling him about this made her hesitate. Before she could think about it too much Morgan repeated himself saying, “Hotch would want to know.” y/n put her palms up and said, “Fine, fine. I’ll tell him when he gets back.” Morgan gave her a look that made her say, “I promise I’ll tell him.” After a second of picturing that uncomfortable forthcoming conversation y/n said, “He’s gonna be so mad.” Derek could understand what y/n was saying but noted, “Maybe, but not at you, y/n.” There was another awkward silence before Derek finally said, “Do you need a few minutes, or would you like to head out?” Desperate for a distraction y/n, almost too quickly replied, “No. let’s go.” 

At the supermarket where the first victim had been found. Morgan and y/n took notes and got the security footage. It seems like they had a real lead by finding the license plate of the van that had dumped the deceased man in the alleyway near the store's load bay. However, the footage was too grainy to make out. After finishing watching the video, y/n moved to call Garcia and see if she could enhance the video quality while Derek asked the security guard who had found the victim in the morning some questions. When she wrapped up her call with Garcia, y/n briefly slumped against the outside wall; closing her eyes. She tried to think about why talking to Hotch about what had happened with Monroe was bothering her so much. She knew that Derek was right. Hotch wouldn’t be mad at her, at all. Maybe it was a feeling of embarrassment? y/n’s logical side of her brain said that she didn’t need to be embarrassed. She hadn’t groped anyone, but the feeling persisted. Maybe because talking about the incident meant being vulnerable in front of Aaron which was all fine and good when they were alone in her apartment. But having to do so at work was entirely different. y/n let out a breath deciding to push all her feelings back for a moment. She would deal with it later. For now, she moved back inside the rendezvous with Morgan. 

‘Later’ came as it always did. It was around five o’clock and the whole team was reconvening at the station. As the SUVs arrived one by one in the parking lot, everyone got out. y/n looked over the team. They all looked a little tired, but when didn’t they on a case? y/n felt the fatigue pull at her, but she knew she would find a second wind once she heard what everyone else had found out. She knew this unsub was here lurking in this little town, ready to kill again. She looked over to Aaron who was speaking to Emily about something. y/n desperately wanted coffee and she walked toward the front door as she got close, Officer Monroe walked out the door. His badge was off and it was clear that he was headed home for the day. y/n wondered if the man had a wife? Kids? The idea of it only made her more disgusted. As they neared each other she refused to make room for him on the sidewalk. She’d make him move aside for her. She wasn’t, however, going to look at him. y/n planted her gaze on the sidewalk. Much like Monroe’s unwanted touch that morning, she didn’t expect to walk into him full force. When she turned her face to the man he said, “Hey, watch where you’re going, sweetheart.” y/n could see that Monroe was actually enjoying this and she replied, “You ran into me!” Monroe smiled at seeing this woman like this -- uncomfortable. He had enjoyed the rush of her skin under his hands, and now he hoped for a repeat performance. Hardly thinking that there were others looking on, he quickly and forcefully placed a hand on her navel and then brushed downward. y/n stood stock still as this happened because she thought that it couldn’t possibly be happening. Not here in public, in broad daylight, in front of the whole team? It just couldn’t be happening. 

Aaron was chatting with Emily about the profile as he looked over the team to see how they were doing. As he looked at Morgan, and Morgan returned his gaze with a facial expression that said, ‘We need to talk.’ Aaron gave the man a nod and Morgan looked over to y/n who was walking forward the precinct. Her shoulders seemed pulled tight under her shirt but in a way that hid that she was trying to hide her stress. He watched as she walked into one of the police officers from yesterday who had been overly enthused by y/n, Prentiss, and JJ’s presence.  Aaron could barely hear the brief conversation between the two and as the word, “Sweetheart,” was thrown out, Aaron stiffened. And then it happened. He couldn’t fully see where or how far down the officer’s hand had landed because _y/n_ was blocking his view, but Aaron observed y/n stiffen, and that told him all he needed to know. 

Before y/n could find her voice and tell Monroe to ‘get the fuck off of her,’ Aaron’s clear sharp voice addressed the officer like a whip. Like a wound aimed at the man who dared to touch y/n. Aaron was over to y/n in an instant. He placed a hand on her shoulder, firmly but gently pulling her frozen body back and behind him. Aaron towered over Monroe, and he felt his blood boil. Aaron let a harsh breath out and said, “If you value your job, and your pension you will get your hand Off. My. Agent.” Aaron highlighted each word that evinced his anger. Behind him, _y/n_ felt a wave of relief from being pulled out of that situation. Quickly Spencer and Emily were pulling y/n farther away from the scene, but she could distinctly hear Hotch say, “Get in your car and leave. Now.” Derek watched as Monroe slinked away to his car looking defeated and small. Spencer and Emily walked with y/n into the precinct, asking if she was okay, and the team as a whole huddled around her to make sure she was really alright. When she had reassured them, everyone except for Hotch moved away from y/n. Aaron placed a hand on her forearm and led her to a chair. She sat and let the exhaustion of the case, disgust at Monroe's actions, and the feeling of his hand on her body overwhelm her for a moment. A shiver ran through her. Aaron knelt down on one knee to be more on eye level with y/n. If his words before had meant to intimidate and accuse, his tone now was one of reassurance and comfort. Aaron spoke professionally but with a hint of something more that spoke to their relationship outside of work. He asked, “Be honest with me. Are you okay? Are you hurt or bruised?” Aaron’s voice helped still her thoughts and she assessed her body before saying softly, “I’m not in any pain.” She didn’t answer his first question because she didn’t particularly feel alright, but she knew she was safe now. Especially now that she was with Aaron. Aaron registered this and asked, “Has this happened before while we’ve been here?” y/n swallowed and replied, “Yes, this morning right after everyone headed out for the day.” Aaron gave her that look that said, “Elaborate please.” y/n bit her bottom lip, wondering how to phrase what had happened. Not finding any more polite or dignified terms, she said, “Morgan had stepped out and I was focusing on the bulletin board and he, um, came up behind me and grabbed my ass.” She could see the anger, the controlled rage fire through him again and she wanted to say something to reassure Aaron that she really was alright, even if she wasn’t. However, he stopped her as the Chief of Police entered the building. Aaron turned his head back to y/n and said, “Excuse me for a moment.” Then with a tone of reassurance, he said, “This conversation isn’t over.” Hotch stood and looked at Emily who understood that he was asking her to sit with _y/n_. Prentiss moved to sit next to y/n. When this was done, Aaron turned his attention to the officer who had just entered the building and said, “Chief Bronson, your office, now.” His intonation left no room for questions or delays and the older man nodded and walked into his cluttered office with Aaron on his heels. Once the door was closed Hotch turned and he felt the anger bubble up to the surface again. As Bronson asked, “What seems to be the problem?” The man sounded nervous. 

From outside the glass-walled room, the team listened as their leader said, “One of your officers just assaulted a member of my team.” Bronson’s response was inaudible, but Hotch’s reply of, “What do I mean?” Could be heard clearly. At this, the team flinched, knowing that the man inside with Hotch was about to have his soul ripped from his body and handed back to him. Everyone listened as Aaron said, “What I mean is that just a few minutes ago, Officer Monroe had his hands on a member of my team in a private area. And that wasn’t the first time this has happened today.” Aaron took a steadying breath before continuing, “As much as I respect law enforcement and what you do, I’m highly concerned about what’s just happened. If someone under your authority thought they had the right to touch a federal agent, I fear what’s happening with normal residents of this town.” Bronson stumbled to find words and said, “Well I certainly don’t condone that behavior.” Aaron let out a harsh scoff, not truly believing the man saying, “Perhaps not, but that doesn’t change the fact that your officer felt entitled to do what he did. And I don’t think Monroe thought he was going to face any consequences, and I can only imagine that he assumed that because you’ve let him get away with behavior like this before.” After this, Hotch’s voice dropped lower so the team outside could no longer hear him. Derek said, “Well I think Officer Bronson has had his ‘Come to Jesus’ moment.’” That comment actually made y/n laugh and she felt a little better now that she could laugh at this whole situation. Hearing Aaron stand up for her like that made her feel warm inside in a comforted sort of way. Aaron finished unloading with the warning, “You’ll be receiving an ethics complaint from the Department of Justice as soon as I’m back in Quantico. You might consider cutting your losses before then.” With that, he got up and left the office. 

Later that evening in y/n’s room, she and Aaron sat. She was sitting on the edge of the bed facing Aaron who was in the only chair in the lamplit space. This was to be a continuation of their conversation from before. y/n looked over at Hotch and saw how perturbed he looked. She felt a tug in her chest seeing him like this. He already had to deal with so much and now there was this. She started the conversation in an attempt to soothe this new hurt by saying, “Hotch, it really wasn’t that bad. He didn’t hurt me, it was just unexpected.” At her words, he dipped his head and said, “It never should have happened, y/n. He touched you without your consent twice, and I couldn’t prevent it.” y/n frowned and felt that Aaron had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders with this job. She said, “It’s not your fault, Aaron. I know you see how they look at JJ, Em, and I.” Hotch lifted his head and placed a warm hand on her knee saying, “Of course I see, and it bothers me more than I can say. Having these men look at you is bad enough, but when one of them starts to act on those feelings, it's unconscionable.” y/n saw that she wasn’t going to make him feel any better, so instead she put her hand over his and gently rubbed over his knuckles with her thumb. She said, “I’m going to be okay Aaron. And if I’m not, I’ll let you know. Thank you for looking out for me.” Hotch let out a breath at her touch and words, simply replying, “Always, y/n. I’ll always be here.” He wanted to lean in and press his body to hers. To cover her from unwanted attention and hands. But there was still a case, and she looked tired, but he promised himself when this was solved that he would be spending a considerable amount of time either on his or her couch with y/n on his lap and his arms settled around her; as long as that was something she wanted of course. 

The case wrapped up a few days later and the team headed home. On the plane ride back, y/n crashed on the couch facing Spencer. Emily, Rossi, and Morgan watched with a small amount of surprise,  then a soft understanding as Hotch quietly took off his blazer and placed it over her curled, sleeping body. And when Rossi left his office and walked toward his car he stopped and made sure Aaron and y/n didn’t see him as Hotch held y/n and leaned down to kiss her forehead. As Hotch wrapped her in his arms, y/n’s hands moved to his chest, and after everything that had happened on top of the case, at least she knew that she was always safe with him.

[monarchisms]

so for those who missed it, geoff talked a bit more about achievement hunter coming to an end on a f**kface break show on september 18th. some of it was stuff we've already learned from the announcement video/thread from AH themselves, but some additional information was mentioned exclusively on the f**kface stream. with rooster teeth being so great (sarcasm) at relaying info to their audience, i had to rely on a fan recording of the stream from twitter to get more context sooner, since the official recording won't be available until the 22nd at the earliest.

i'll put a full transcript of all the clips of the twitter thread under the cut, but if you want a tl;dr:

geoff's known about AH coming to an end for about 6 months (since march 2023), and that the decision to end it wasn't made lightly

he compares AH ending to when he went to quit red vs blue 15 years ago to co-create AH, somewhere between seasons 5-7, and how he continued to work on rvb until he couldn't anymore

also talks about how everyone at the company at the time (like burnie, gus, matt, and jason) were really supportive towards him, and how that led to AH lasting 15 years

he hopes that michael, trevor, alfredo, and joe get the same support he got from the audience when he made AH, and then eventually f**kface. also reassures the audience that all the content on the AH channel will stay as it is

heavily emphasizes that this decision wasn't made by the higher ups at rt or warner brothers, and wanted to nip that in the bud before the rumor went too far. notes that AH didn't fail, it just ended

talks about how there will be a couple more weeks of new achievement hunter content before they close up shop. some of the content includes the members paying an homage to past series and people at AH. it will eventually culminate into a final video that geoff's in where he gets "fucking verbose" about his feelings in relation to everything

gives a shoutout to matt, jeremy, and ray in regards to their streams on twitch, and finally ends his speech by saying that the audience should respect that the past + current AH members are continuing to do the things they love doing while being entertaining, just in their own unique ways

the full transcript:

Geoff: "The Achievement Hunter brand is coming to a close. We have decided to sunset it and to end it. And I've seen a lot of- for a very good reason- and that announcement came in tandem with another announcement, a very exciting announcement about a new brand called Dogbark. And I've seen a lot of excitement, a lot of appreciation from people, a lot of people supporting Michael and those guys [referring to Trevor, Joe, and Alfredo] going off into doing their own thing.

I've seen a lot of fear and uncertainty. I totally get and understand that; you guys are hearing this for the first time. Um, I've known about this for about six months. You know, this has been in some form of discussion or preparation for a while now. This wasn't a decision that was made lightly, uhh... but I think it's the right decision, and I hope that you'll understand and support that, and here's why:

15 years ago, I went to Burnie and Matt and Gus, and I said 'Hey, I'm losing my mind making Red vs Blue.' It was season 5 or 6, and I- I think it was 6 or 7, actually- and I was just so creatively drained and stifled. And I had such a wonderful time making Red vs Blue, but I had made it until I couldn't make it anymore. And I had this idea, and I was very passionate about this idea of this thing I wanted to try. And Burnie and Gus and Matt were so kind and supportive to give me the creative runway to launch and test Achievement Hunter out at a time when everybody- friends- everybody was telling me 'What are you doing, quitting making Red vs Blue? It's a huge hit! You're like, the #2 guy on it. You're a big part of this! Why would you leave that to do this unproven, untested thing?' And I had to! I had to follow my dream, I had to follow my passion. And like I said, Burnie and Matt and Gus and everybody else, Jason, everybody involved in Rooster Teeth at the time, were so fucking supportive and so wonderful to me in that period that 15 years later, we've had 15 years of Achievement Hunter.

We wouldn't be here on this set right now in front of all this Zimmer stuff, in front of fucking dumb pictures of Gavin and Garbage Pail Kids and Barbie and- fucking new Dallas poster, by the way. Uh, all of this has existed because they allowed me to take a chance and supported me taking that chance. And uh- I would be some kind of fucking hypocrite if I didn't provide the same level of support and genuine enthusiasm to Michael and Alfredo and Joe and Trevor as they embark on the same journey I went on 15 years ago! And this is a very- I don't want to speak for them. They didn't make this decision lightly, I guarantee you, and they will explain it in their own voice over the next few weeks as we say goodbye to Achievement Hunter and say hello to Dogbark. [actual dog barks in the background] We worked on that ahead of time.

Uhh... and so I would only ask that you give them the same level of support that the audience gave me when I tried out Achievement Hunter, this untested, unproven thing, and the same level of support you all gave us when we decided that we're going to make F**kface, an audio-only podcast recorded remotely, which is something that I never in a million years wanted to do or thought was a good idea until we did it, and found out it was simply too good, found out that it worked and it ended up becoming, I think, hopefully the best thing I've participated in. I really ju- I really just want to drive that point home. Joe and Trevor and Michael and Alfredo have spent years and years and years making content that they believe in to support and entertain you. And that's all they want to do with this new production.

Everything comes to an end. It's okay for things to end. I know it's scary and it's sad, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen, and that doesn't mean it's going away. We have 15 years of Achievement Hunter content online that you can still watch and enjoy. Hundreds of thousands of hours of content, hundreds upon hundreds of episodes of Minecraft and GTA that are still there for you to go and watch. I mean, hell, I think Emily and I are a great example of that. We've been watching a show that came out in 1978 called Dallas. It ran from 1978 to 1992, and that was 40 fucking years ago. And yet here we are enjoying it, just as if it came out yesterday. Justice for Sue Ellen, I think we can all agree, justice for Sue Ellen. So I would just say that I hope that you'll be excited about this new journey in their careers and this new opportunity for Rooster Teeth. It's sad to say goodbye to a thing, but it's not disappearing. It's still there. You can still go watch all those videos. You can still go enjoy- enjoy all that content, but you can also support them in what they're doing.

And one other little inaccuracy, or not even inaccuracy, but one thing I want to touch on- and then I'll get to breaking cards and being an idiot- is a thing that kind of bugs me, is that- I'm sure you've heard this phrase or some variation of this phrase before where it's uh, said that a lie can travel halfway across the world, while the truth is still putting its pants on, and-"

Emily: "That's kinda deep! I've never heard that before." Geoff: "You've never heard that before?" Emily: "No!"

Geoff: "Yeah, and I've seen a lot of supposition and people saying things that just aren't true. And I want to stop that right now before they travel halfway across the world. Because there is no truth to the idea that like- anytime we make a change that's controversial or a bit scary or different or new or unexpected, there's this idea that there's uh, some dude in a suit from Warner Brothers or Rooster Teeth standing just off-camera, sternly going, 'Make this decision. Follow this algorithm. We're chasing a demographic.' None of that is true. Rooster Teeth would be very happy if they continued making Achievement Hunter forever, but they weren't happy making Achievement Hunter, and they wanted to try a new thing.

They wanted to do what I did 15 years ago! They wanted to do what Ray did when he left Achievement Hunter, right? They wanted to bet on themselves and make their production. I love the work they put into- to mine, and I did my best to make it ours. But at the end of the day, I left Achievement Hunter five years ago! Uh, it would be really foolhardy and stupid and- and dickhead-ish of me to have a problem with them doing the same thing, uh, but it's also them. This is a decision that they made, that they wanted to make. It didn't come from anybody at Rooster Teeth or Warner Brothers. There was no, I don't know, this marketing department you always hear about that's telling them to make these decisions and- 'Chase the Gen Z crowd and come up- This is the name we've workshopped.' None of that's true! They came up with the name. They came up with the logo, they came up with the design, the color palette, the trailer, the content that's going to be released in a couple of weeks, that's all them! That's what they wanna do.

That is them following the same passion that I followed 15 years ago and the same passion that I followed when I created Let's Play, and the same passion that I that I followed when I created F**kface. And hopefully the same passion, the same passion that I created this with, and hopefully the same passion that I'll create the next and the next and the next thing with, and hopefully the same passion that they get to do, uh, as they continue their career. So all I'm asking for is give the new thing a chance, support it. It's a brave thing to do to walk out of the safety of Achievement Hunter into a new thing.

And also, uh, I've seen a lot of doomers that are saying like 'Ah, I called it ten years ago! I knew it was gonna fail!' It didn't fail. It ended. It was 15 fucking awesome years. And I'm going to stop talking now because I'm just going to get rambly. But I will say: There's a couple of weeks left of Achievement Hunter content coming out where they pay homage, if you will, to a lot of the videos and the shows from the past,, and the people from the past, and they have a lot of sweet things that they're going to do. And it'll culminate at the end with one last video that I am in where I get fucking verbose about my feelings about all of it. So if you want to hear more about my feelings of the 15 years of Achievement Hunter, I ask that you tune in to that last Achievement Hunter video. But I also ask that you tune into every video between now and then, because they're going to be saying goodbye to Achievement Hunter with a lot of love and respect and humor. And uh, I think that's what it deserves. And I hope that we all get to share in that together, and then, and then subscribe to Dogbark and give it a shot. [dog barks again] Thank you.

And uh, remember that all of these people that you've loved that have come and gone are still making content right now. Jack and BK, I think Jack's on vacation, but Jack and BK are over there in Inside Gaming, making content, playing video games 3, 4 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week, playing Minecraft, playing all those old games that you loved to see us play. And Michael is making Face Jam every week. And Michael and Trevor and Alfredo and Joe are going to be making Dogbark every fucking day. And Gavin and I, we're making F**kface every day. And I'm making ANMA and I'm making So... Alright, and Ky has helped producing it all uh, behind the scenes.

Matt and Jeremy and Ray, they're streaming every fucking day of their lives, I believe. I think Jeremy's on, like, 18 days in a row right now, or something? [referring to Jeremy's uncapped subathon]. So all the people that you loved to support and who uh, entertained you throughout the years, they're still doing the thing that they love. They're just doing it in the way that they wanna do it, in the way that makes sense to them. And I just hope that you will be... respectful of that, and give them an opportunity to entertain you uh, in much the same way they entertained you last year and the year before and 5 years ago and 10 years ago. They just want to get up every day and make the best content they can make, and they're not- they're not making these decisions for any other reason than this is where their creative interests are leading them. And much like you gave me a chance 15 years ago, let's all give them a chance today. [dog barks again] That's it. I'm done. Let's open up some fucking cards."

[perseruna]

Pre Season Four press thread with Freya talking about Ciri and Liam.

Freya's been on a press tour for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes for the past few months, and she'd sometimes share a morsel of information about S4 of The Witcher, so I thought I'd put all the quotes on it together to tide us over during the hiatus and bring in some more positivity!

Allan reveals that Ciri goes to "quite a dark place within herself… She's trying to pretend to be someone else and is becoming that," she explains. "It's a darker place for her but there's many moments of joy and freedom in many ways that she hasn't had. So it's this double-edged sword." To not succumb the story to the fantastical elements and magical powers Ciri has, Allan strives to still make Ciri relatable and as humane as possible. “I’m always fighting to prioritize and keep the story and character building to try to make it as real as possible. Because otherwise, it would just be soul-sucking.” Allan heavily relies on the books in which The Witcher is based for the upcoming season, more than in years past. "It's been exciting because I've been able to have creative input about things I like in the book, and I'll ask to put those elements from the book in the show," she smiles. She sees her journey with Ciri as one that both mirrors and seeps into her own life in its own strange way. "What I go through as Freya in some ways is what she's going through," she says. "We have kind of become those characters and the line has crossed over a bit. She was never particularly dissimilar to me. She's formed quite a lot of me." (via Flaunt Magazine)

"I don't want to speak for [Liam], but from what I've understood, I feel like he's really wanting to try and bring the heart. He's been training. I feel sorry for him, honestly, because, number one, that fan base can be very attack-y, and it's not an ideal situation to be in taking up someone else's role. But I'm really excited to see what he does. And he's such a lovely guy. I just hope that people give him the time of day, you know?" (via Collider)

"[Liam]'s so sweet and just such a normal guy and so willing to connect," Allan says. "And I feel bad for him because he's had so much weight and pressure on his shoulders, joining a new cast as one of the leads and replacing someone else who's already done three seasons. It's a lot. It's been important for the rest of us to really make him feel that he's a part of the family." (via Inverse)

"[Ciri]'s experiencing a very complicated romantic relationship for the first time and really falls into a very dark and brutal side of herself but also a very free one in some ways," Allan says, calling it liberating "to be able to do something different than before and surprising, hopefully." (via Variety)

“[Liam]’s lovely. Really, really sweet, a really, you know, grounded person. And I was dreading it for a while if I’m being honest, but now I’m on it, and we have, thank god, a great director starting us off which has made it so much fun. My storyline is… there’s so much great stuff to play. I’m actually quite happy, yeah.” (via Comicbook)

“I haven’t… I haven't necessarily really wanted to do [Season Four]. But now I really want to. Now I’m loving it. And let me tell you why. Because our director (Sergio Mimica-Gezzan) for block one is brilliant. You don’t always get directors that actually direct you, and give you ideas that you haven't thought of that are intelligent. And he is that. And it’s so lovely to have that. But I struggled at the idea of going back before shooting. Just because it’s been such a long journey, and it’s been very tough at times, for everyone. But now that I’m on it, and I’m with this amazing group of new actors who are just such fun people. And like I said we’ve got this great director, and so I feel suddenly very lucky to be doing it, and I’m glad that I am, having been kind of dreading it for the past year. Was it because it was just so intense to shoot? Yeah. I mean there’s lots of various factors, I think everyone found it difficult last season. And you know, sometimes there can be creative struggles, and that’s why it’s so lovely to have Sergio, our current director, to have someone lead us through it and have someone who's on the same page. And also, just like, you know, you hear this often with people that have been in something that long, and you played a character that long so it really does feel like… I feel like I’m about 100 on that show. I feel like the old women of the set, even tough I’m still the youngest. Still the bloody youngest, but I feel like I’m bloody ancient. Ciri, this season, is so dark. It’s so dark. I mean, this is really exciting, and this is why, now, I’m really getting into it, and happy that I’m doing it because she has such a great storyline, it really goes to a dark place.” (via Reign)

Allan teases that Ciri's storyline in The Witcher's next chapter will take "the biggest shift we've seen. It's so unbelievably different from anything that I've ever played with her," she says. "She has her first experience with romance, if you can even call it that, because it's not a good relationship. She goes into a very dark part of herself that I think is going to be terrifying to look at."  Some fans weren’t thrilled when the transition was first announced, but Allan dismisses the vitriol. Fans “just love to hate on something,” she says. “We’ve made it clear that we’re welcoming [Liam] with open arms.” (via Elle)

There's no relationship this season. Ciri's off on her own path and [Geralt]'s off on his own, and so it's, "Forget about Geralt". That's what Ciri's in the zone of. "Let's try and block that out. That never happened. Now I'm Falka; I'm not Ciri." But as you can see, I sort of haven't left it behind. I'm sort of still in it now. But Liam's lovely; he's a really nice guy. I haven't seen anything he's done because we don't really have scenes together, but he's so sweet. I've heard that he's smashing it, so I can't wait to see what he's doing. (via Screen Rant)

The other day I was fighting a monster [in the Witcher Season Four]. Spoiler. Yeah, no way! Who would've thought! [laughter] And they actually got those VR goggles, so I could see on the set where the monster would be, and how it looked like. It was kinda crazy. They’ve not done that before, but it was great. It meant that I really understood what it is that I’m actually fighting. (via HighVoltageLive)

"You actually also haven't seen that [Ciri] gets new hair and makeup, as well, which I think when you see that, it's a lot of paralleling the game. So, I think that will tie it all together, as well. But I think it was basically about getting a mixture between the books and the game. I was very heavily involved with the costume, and I really wanted it to be a bit of a mixture of both, just so that fans had that. The minute I'm in that costume and the new hair and makeup, it feels like a different Ciri. It's so much fun. We've just never seen her like this, and so I'm really excited for people to see what happens. It's fun." (via Collider)

[On when Season Four will come out.] Listen maybe 2025, maybe… I don't know. That’s me guessing, I’m just guessing. Because I actually don’t know. But I hope so! Because I want people to see it, because it’s actually really cool. So, please watch it. Please, okay. Because Liam’s gonna rock it, so. (via The Direct Extras)

[justlarkin]

Hi! Sorry for bothering you. But I'm writing my own fanfiction of housamo, the whole game in fact, but I'm having complications on understanding the reasons why most of the exiles were banished according to their worlds rules... I'm not very smart and wiki information is incomplete or too difficult to get... could you please help me by sharing a simple explanation....?

No bother. I don't get some of the lore stuff in housamo either, so don't feel dumb about it.

So the general reason they were exiled is because the rebelled against the worlds' system in some way and had to be removed to protect their systems. Not all of the exiles' rules and backstories have been revealed yet, so I'm not sure about all of them currently.

-Takamagahara's system tosses away anything undesirable and works with Amaterasu exposing everyone's sins with her light and reflecting their shame back at them to keep them in line. Susanoo felt zero shame and therefore couldn't be controlled that way, so he was eventually sent away due to his behavior.

-The World of the Old Ones exists within Azathoth's dream, so invading one's dream without consent is considered very taboo and is forbidden. Cthulhu's ability allowed him to invade other's dreams whenever, which of course violated that big rule.

-Hourai's system runs on the belief of letting nature run it's course and not interfering, but Nüwa would constantly interfere by causing and trying to prevent wars and disasters.

-The Oceanic Realm's system is the belief that in the end everything and everyone will sink to the bottom of the ocean for eternity. From what little we learned from Gurangatch, the Rainbow Serpent would rise from the depths again and again, so while everything else would sink forever, they wouldn't.

-Great Spirit's system is the belief in unity with everyone being one with Wakan Tanka. Heyoka's eccentric behavior caused him to become a social pariah and an outcast, separating him from Wakan Tanka and the rest of Great Spirit, so he was exiled.

-Olympus' system relies heavily on everyone's connection to the world representative, Zeus, most importantly the familial and sexual bonds. Eurynome's rule allowed her to rend bloodlines and anything that stemmed from said bloodline such as curses, so the Olympians would've been screwed with most of them, especially the key players, being related to Zeus in some way. Also, Eurynome's relationship with Zeus isn't known yet, so there could've been more there. Another thought I've seen is that Eurynome might've rejected Zeus, which is unheard of with the way his power works, on top of the bloodline thing.

-Varuna-Kamadeva and Asura were essentially exiled for the opposite reasons. Shangri La's system is the belief that one should let go of all of their attachments to achieve enlightenment. A situation happened where one of Smokey God's other friends did something to Asura's daughter and he became enraged and attacked them. Unable to let go of his anger and wanting to continue fighting, he was exiled. Either Asura himself or a part of himself that he cut off went to Deva Loka and became known as Varuna.

I can't remember the exact way Deva Loka functions, but Varuna was the omnipotent world representative who would gift parts of his power to others. He would continue doing this until he was left with nothing but love and desire and became known as Varuna-Kamadeva. That's when the others decided that he wasn't fit to be world representative anymore and wanted him to relinquish that role to Shiva by making him fall for Parvati. And obviously Shiva blasted him once Varuna shot him with an arrow, exiling him. So since he became unworthy of the role of world representative once he lost his attachments, I guess the belief focuses on holding onto one's attachments.

-Yggdrasil holds the belief that the world will eventually experience Ragnarok and the era of gods will end, making way for the era of humanity. This of course never happened since Loki confined Yggdrasil within a wall that causes the world to loop post Ragnarok the same way Tokyo's wall functions. It's a world of those destined to fall, but Freyr couldn't be defeated as long as he had the power to rend through defeat, so he had to go. There's also just the fact that Freyr seemed to be opposed to meaningless sacrifice like what the gods intended to do for humanity.

-Kitezh's system is belief of diffusion, so pretty much just combining and spreading into other sources to achieve power. Maybe it's more parasitic or infectious in nature. Like if they were to be attacked by invaders, Perun could mix himself into their memories to mess with and dominate them for example. Perun lived heavily by this belief, but the ultimate goal of diffusion is complete assimilation, to be combined everyone, so you're no longer identifiable to one location. He attempted to do this by removing all documented traces of himself, but the problem was Veles existed. Veles' rules, his words, allowed him to separate and isolate things, so he was potentially able to untangle everything achieved through diffusion. Ofc Perun wasn't the one who wanted him to go, but he still violated the belief of the world.

Those are the ones I could think of rn, some of them haven't been revealed clearly or I'm just blanking rn.

[bonnieisaway]

anyways while I was editing earlier we have almost a precise ranking of power for the shadow killers despite most of them not actually ever saying/their official ranking never been mentioned. and most of this is either just mentioned in passing or can be guessed from the way the show presents them. up to season 4 spoilers ahead btw

so like, obviously Seven (in his prime, at least - do you think the second spot ever took his when he disappeared btw? like do you think there was a time where he was just labelled missing for ages before somebody else became number one?) was rank number one, it's said and talked about like a million times, Seven was conclusively the highest ranked and most powerful shadow killer by 18 years old.

along with this we hear one other thing: Green Phoenix is mentioned to be the (physically) weakest Shadow Killer. given how much people are sticklers for the rankings we can presume this puts him at the lowest of the seven, even if he chose to appear weaker than he is and his focus is majorly on cunning and wit rather than martial prowess, I assume this is where he's offically ranked honestly

everyone else has never had their number mentioned - or if it was said in some obscure place i don't know it's not on the wiki, but let's be fucking for real nothing is on the wiki seriously one of us might wanna update that thing one day anyways - but I believe we can roughly guess where the rest of the killers rank given by their actions in the show and the order which the show presents them.

which - this might be a controversial one tbh - puts Redtooth fairly low on the list. he is physically more powerful than Green Phoenix, but Green Phoenix is able to outwit Redtooth twice, and Green Phoenix is technically the one who kills Redtooth. But also, Seven at fairly low strength was able to fight Redtooth and almost won on his own. Redtooth is also mentioned in season 4 that naturally, he was physically weak and actually struggled with picking up qi and such - he does not have a natural nor honed talent and his power ENTIRELY relies on the Blood Demon inside him. So he's easily outwitted, he's physically weak without the Blood Demon which, up until season 4 was still restrained heavily, Seven is able to handle him all the way back in season two. Notably, Dai Bo and the rest of the cast are unable to handle him however, even though most of them are built to handle aggressive opponents liked Redtooth.

But it's mainly the fact he appears and is 'defeated' so early in the show that makes me truly believe he ranks so low. Obviously we probably haven't seen the full capabilities of Redtooth and most of the cast however, and this is a ranking with the seal. Obviously he seems to be set up to absolutely rock White Fox's shit in season 5, but it's still really important to keep in mind that this is purely the Blood Demon.

after him the other shadow killer we have the most information on is Blackbird, who Seven ultimately beat into the fuckin ground but boy did we sure almost die getting there!!

So from what we know about Blackbird, from season three, is that unlike Redtooth, he is physically strong, and similar to Green Phoenix he's largely driven by his trauma and his need to validate something that's missing within him, but his weakness seems to really only be his own ego - his weakness (aside from the sun like a fucking vampire. cringelord) is when he can't win, when he is struggling, his frustration is ultimately his downfall. This is one of - if not the only - few fights where 'prime' Seven - or even just Seven as he is now - does not appear to be physically stronger than somebody, and he's actually just barely faster than Blackbird (being able to fucking FLY he's still got a bit of an advantage but Seven's reaction time is evidently quicker, and Blackbird comments that Seven's ambushes and speed used to be infamous - a prowess that Blackbird is almost capable to keep up with) but he wins the fight with wit and outsmarting them. And ultimately, Blackbird's weakness was himself.

Which is a lot to say he's really strong. But it's hard to place him anywhere on the leaderboard without a key thing that Manjusaka says:

"It seems you're the best after all," as she turns to Blackbird. This is (presumably) the direct translation, because in English Manjusaka actually says something different that I wanna touch on again later, but she turns to Blackbird and says he's the best after all. Which would imply: Blackbird took the spot for number one when Seven was missing. Blackbird had been second to Seven in the league - and some of his contempt for Seven may be because of that. This conclusively puts Blackbird in the number two spot for me.

The next three we have even less information on, so it's really hard to put them in precise spots. As for Manjusaka though we have this: she is very cunning and manipulative, and the other Shadow Killer we know to be infamous for their cunning and wit was the lowest ranked - because the ranks seem to have FAR more value in raw martial prowess and strength than wit. Along with this, Manjusaka never actually works alone. In English in season 3, when she turns to Blackbird, she says "I guess we're just better together," which puts a lot of emphasis on her working with somebody, and emphasis on the fact that she's USING the fact that Blackbird is so high rank so that she can be powerful by proxy. She's also the only one who seems to defend her other Shadow Killers - though they aren't immune to her own scrutiny, Manjusaka outright kills three people for shit-talking Redtooth.

Along with this - Manjusaka dies to Green Phoenix (coughprobablycough) and leaves her as an opponent Seven will never (probably) fight. The Shadow Killers have kept appearing in an order of higher and higher ranking, and Manjusaka is the third to ever appear, and of the three, ALL THREE have died and one came back. Just like, the order these characters have appeared in, they usually appear in increasing power and every season has ended with Seven fighting or about to fight a new, powerful Shadow Killer. Manjusaka dying already leaves her feeling fairly low ranked, given the pattern the show has exhibited.

Manjusaka is also tied to Shimen and are inseparable - what Shimen and Manjusaka lack the other make up for. Shimen appears slow yet viciously strong and stone faced, he's nothing but muscle and qi, and Manjusaka is fast and stealthy - she teleports around, she uses deception and poisons to best her enemies. They're also hardly ever depicted apart. They're only separated twice - when Shimen leaves the fight with Blackbird due to general disinterest, and when Shimen and Manjusaka split up in season 4.

(these two symbols fading into each other feel like they represent Manjusaka and Shimen)

They're constantly depicted together and fluently work together. They coordinate easily when that's not the normal for the Shadow Killers - infighting is banned and that's it, they aren't required to get along. But these two are two inseparable halves of one whole, they are both arguably strong on their own but they have glaring weaknesses that the other fills. Their weaknesses, to a point, are when they're separated. This also would seemingly put them next to each other on the ranking - together it feels like they make up one, unstoppable person, and it makes sense that separately they are at similar ranking/strength, just simply excel together, and weaker rankings would be the most likely to bond together to form stronger ones.

Not to mention, Manjusaka dies on screen at the end of the season four and that's it, and Shimen's fate is left entirely unknown because he doesn't appear again and only the leader approaches Green Phoenix. But during the opening for the entire season we see one shot of Shimen we never actually see during the season:

Shimen left alone and unconscious without Manjusaka. And he leaves the Blackbird fight unharmed, he obviously leaves the encounter with Ouyang Zang (is that his name ? straight up might've misspelled it sorry ) alive because he appears again afterwards, and it seems to imply that without Manjusaka, Shimen is left weak and vulnerable. So these two, to me, feel like they're exactly next to each other on the rankings - and possibly ranked somewhere in the middle

Which now only leaves White Fox, who we know the least about personality wise but we've seen some of his martial abilities (AKA: hey guys I can make a nitrogen bomb from my finger. wanna see) and watched him fight the prince of Stan, which does lead to the conclusion that he is fairly powerful, though it seems it's not really physical strength but his qi, speed, and reflexes that let him overpower his opponents. Given the rankings I've given the other Shadow Killers it naturally leaves him at a semi-high spot.

Which leaves me with my final (guesstimated) ranking of the Shadow Killers, with Seven during his prime, Redtooth's seal still not broken:

Seven

Blackbird

White Fox

Shimen

Manjusaka

Redtooth

Green Phoenix

Shimen and Manjusaka feel interchangeable in their spots, honestly? And I would almost put Redtooth above Manjusaka ...? But it kind of feels natural that he's below her. Also, I went back and skimmed the show to see if anybody else was introduced by ranking, given that a lot of people in the show had been previously, and I only found these scenes:

Which are all only labelled 'the seven greats' according to the translation, unless somebody here speaks Chinese and their rankings are actually said/implied in the Chinese characters and Netflix just didn't translate it which wouldn't even surprise me honestly Netflix just fucking does that sometimes

so yea 👍 that's my estimation on the rankings of the Shadow Killers maybe the show will prove me right eventually. this post took me like 2 hours to make. help

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

YOI meta: How episode 7 lays bare Viktor's strong compassion and his struggles with putting himself in someone else's shoes

Of all the events in episode 7, the kiss and the fight in the underground parking get most of the attention, but how often do we discuss the deep care Viktor exhibits for Yuuri in this episode and the difficulties he faces in the process?

Having learned the general aspects of supporting an athlete in competition in episode 5 (I discussed this at length here), Viktor now pays more attention to Yuuri's mood and actively supports him. However, there's a striking discrepancy between his compassion and his clumsy attempts to help Yuuri. Viktor has no prior experience with coaching, and he's not familiar with anxiety either, wherefore some difficulties are to be expected. However, his trial-and-error-informed handling of the situation implies general struggles with putting himself in someone else's shoes.

Let's go through this from the start:

Seeing Yuuri nervous and overtired the morning before the free skating worries Viktor. However, he neither understands Yuuri's feelings nor does he have a clue about what Yuuri is thinking. He thus resorts to his own experience to solve the problem: taking a nap. Note that, whereas this enables Yuuri to catch up on some sleep, it doesn't solve the underlying cause of his anxiety.

However, Viktor underestimates Yuuri's anxiety which renders his effort ineffective. At the warm-up, Yuuri is less than one hour away from his free skating, and his anxiety is getting worse. This forces Viktor to take more drastic action, for which he relies on past observations of Yuuri.

As a coach, Viktor has to weigh the risk of a panicky Yuuri messing up against a calmer but less prepared Yuuri messing up. Yuuri has reached a point where forbidding him to jump during the warm-up is worth a try despite the risk of sending him into the free skating poorly prepared. It's a very savage solution, though. Not that Viktor canonically is savage at times, but in a sport that heavily relies on muscle memory, this instruction borders recklessness. I wonder what Yakov would say to this.

Using observations, past experiences, and logic to empathise with and support someone is a common workaround for people with poor cognitive empathy. Viktor does this a lot, especially in this episode. His low cognitive empathy is also the reason for his canonical bluntness.

In my experience, this workaround leads to mixed results as observation and reason can only compensate for so much. The good news is that it becomes more effective with experience, even more so when one is aware of their issues with perspective-taking. Viktor is only 27 and he's smart and committed; he can totally improve this skill in the future.

Please note that struggling with cognitive empathy doesn't make someone a bad person. There are several empathy types which work together but manifest differently in people depending on personality/neurotype. The emotional empathy, which enables a person to share someone's emotional experience, is not affected by this. In Viktor's case, it works pretty normal as I will detail in the following.

Viktor has learned that a lecture is inappropriate when Yuuri disobeys his instructions (and it doesn't stop Yuuri from disobeying again). As Yuuri is visibly distraught, he thus tries to comfort Yuuri using another method common for poor cognitive empathy: He uses facts and makes it sound as if it's not a big deal. Spoiler: for someone with anxiety, it is.

While facts work great as a great reality check and are more effective than flowers of speech, Yuuri is already too far gone to feel comforted. Facts and logic only work in the early stages of an anxiety episode. From Yuuri's perspective, Viktor's cheerful tone suggests he doesn't take the situation seriously, even though quite the contrary is true. As a result, Yuuri sees his feelings dismissed and withdraws into himself as he spirals into a panic attack.

This image speaks volumes of the isolation Yuuri experiences in his anxiety as well as Viktor's compassion and lack of understanding as he turns away from the camera. This boy is deeply worried but has no fucking clue how to handle the situation as it's uncharted territory. As the free skating progresses, Viktor is under increasing pressure to get Yuuri into a headspace that allows him to skate clean. Again, he relies on logic to solve the situation. However, while removing Yuuri from the anxiety-inducing situation is helpful, it doesn't eliminate the source of his distress.

In Yuri!!!, characterisation is often narrated through minor characters. While Chris's lines express bitterness about losing Viktor as a rival, they also reveal Viktor's change from being 100% devoted to the ice to 100% devoted to Yuuri. And you can see how much he cares for Yuuri on his face.

However, Viktor's efforts continue to be ineffective, which at this point is no longer surprising. So, in the following, we see more clumsy attempts at calming Yuuri in the following:

This entire episode is a textbook example of Viktor gloriously failing at taking Yuuri's perspective. As the situation escalates and Viktor fails to reach Yuuri, he finally starts to analyse Yuuri's distress.

While Yuuri's anxiety dominates the plot, the depth of Viktor's care and compassion is told through small details like expressions and gestures like the tenderness with which he holds Yuuri's face as he covers his ears. Even more so than the scene in the mixed zone, this frame perfectly captures the discrepancy between Viktor's emotional and cognitive empathy.

With Yuuri's free skating approaching rapidly, the pressure to solve the situation is on Viktor, and the inevitable happens: he messes up completely.

I cannot stress enough how much Viktor sucks at perspective-taking. It's already hard for most people to understand anxiety disorder if they haven't experienced it themselves. But Viktor having such a hard time with perspective-taking is a general issue, and it runs like a thread through the entire series. One cannot overcome this by just trying hard enough as it's cause by a differently wired brain.

And so, here in the underground car park, Viktor's inability to put himself into Yuuri's shoes reaches a dramatic climax as he threatens Yuuri with resigning as his coach as a last resort.

While cutting into someone's panic attack by directing their anxiety at something else appears to be an effective emergency exit, it's one of the worst things you can do to a person with anxiety disorder as it creates a new demon in their head. Don't. Do. This. Ever. Yuuri might go into the free skating relieved, but he will agonise over Viktor returning to his home country throughout the next two episodes. As I said above, anxiety defies reason. (I'll write more about how Yuuri's anxiety works in another meta-post.)

Right here, it drives them even further apart, as represented by their physical distance.

Viktor could not be any farther away from understanding Yuuri. He has not a fucking clue what he's doing. He's just trying out what comes to his mind, and it backfires.

Ahh, I love him to pieces but I want to slap some sense into him! I solemnly swear that from now on, every time I agonise over my poor social skills, I will think of how Viktor fucked up in the underground parking and Yuuri forgave him.

Ironically, Viktor's trial & error approach finally succeeds. As Yuuri starts to cry, the underlying cause of his fear is finally unveiled.

Asking Yuuri right away would have avoided this escalation, but that's not how Viktor's brain operates. At least he is aware of his issues to somewhat extent.

To calm Yuuri, he comes up with something I guess is another default that worked in the past:

Nope. This is not how you introduce the subject to your boyfriend, Viktor! Not when he's upset. You could have just given him a hug, but the idea doesn't even cross your mind even though you seem to be a hugger by nature.

On the other hand, Yuuri didn't communicate his needs unprompted, but communication is key. You cannot expect a person with poor cognitive empathy to magically anticipate your needs and read your mind. It just doesn't work that way.

Unfortunately, the Stammi Vicino reference is lost in the Crunchyroll subs, but that's what Yuuri says to make Viktor understand.

Note how close they are again, while people in the corridor are blurred. The creators did an amazing job at letting images speak for the characters.

I doubt asking Yakov would have helped. Not only because Yakov would have used the situation to dismiss Viktor once more as a coach but because Yakov's method is unsuitable for a student suffering from anxiety. However, as Yakov is one of Viktor's to-go-to defaults, he naturally considers the option.

Imagine this scene but with Yuuri. Just nope.

Now back to the aftermath of Viktor messing up and saving Yuuri from going into his free skating with a panic attack by accident rather than design. While Yuuri is relieved of his anxiety, the situation is still awkward as he and Viktor had no time to make up or process the fight.

This small gesture of reassurance is so important as it gives them both closure that enables them to enjoy the free skating. I regard the tissue as a token of peace (I mean it even contains his DNA).

Ultimately, Viktor's trial & error approach to calming Yuuri succeeds. Yuuri, albeit rightfully annoyed, understands the intention and recognises Viktor's affection and compassion in his clumsy attempts to support him, which culminates in him reciprocating his affection by jumping Viktor's signature move.

Does low cognitive empathy make Viktor a bad coach? Certainly not. Viktor is very passionate about the task and his high emotional empathy and his natural drive to support Yuuri with all his heart speak for themselves. Like everyone, he needs to grow into his role and make it work for him. In Yuuri, he has someone who calls him out on his bullshit gives him immediate feedback he can use to improve.

Episode 7 is a major learning experience for Viktor in understanding Yuuri and supporting him in a distressing situation. And as Yuuri can see beyond Viktor's flaws, it brings them closer together.

A side note on harmful mischaracterisation

High/normal emotional but low cognitive empathy is a trait of autism albeit not necessarily limited to it, which is one of the reasons many autistic fans of Yuri!!! including me identify with Viktor. (I have a theory that the creators accidentally gave him a bunch of autistic traits when they applied the socially awkward genius trope, which generates autistic-coded characters per default. I discussed these traits and why autism is a valid interpretation in response to another post that brought up the subject.)

Whether or not Viktor is autistic, his struggles with perspective-taking are so obvious I consider them canon. I suspect this spurred fan theories from Viktor having ulterior motives for becoming Yuuri's coach to labelling him as downright evil. It explains takes like "Viktor became Yuuri's coach because he was bored and doesn't care about coaching at all until some arbitrary point mid-season where he suddenly falls in love with Yuuri". While I believe that everyone is entitled to their own headcanon and can change characters for their fics in whatever way they like, labelling his behaviour as uncaring, ill-intent or assuming a hidden agenda and calling it canon or at least a valid interpretation not only mischaracterises Viktor but hurts and demonises autistics and other people dealing with this issue. So please for the love of god and the YOI creators keep that in mind!

If you enjoy my meta posts, please consider giving my blog a follow or checking out my works on AO3(link in bio). You will find the results of my meta musings in there!

[sturniololoco]

hiii, i just wanna say i love your writing so much and keep up the amazing work! also earlier today i was watching the vlog about chris and nick learning to drive , and wanted to know if you could write something where sturniolo sister is there and maybe she gets a chance at driving as well with matt guiding her, idk if that makes any sense at all 😭 but if you understand what i meant could you do something like that? thank youuu 😭🩷

Driving Lessons

Sturniolo Little Sister (SLS) x The Sturniolo Triplets

Warnings: Cussing, panic, etc.

Note: Kinda short. Sorry!

SLS/N's POV

I think it's safe to say that Nick, Chris, and I rely on Matt a ton when it comes to going places.

Whether it's to school, target, or to a friend's house, we always need him to drive, and he usually doesn't pitch too much of a fit.

But I still wanted to help out and get my license, so I asked him to teach me.

So that's where we are tonight: In the middle of an empty McDonald's parking lot at 2:30 in the morning.

-

I got into the driver's seat as Matt went around the car and into the passenger's seat. Matt somehow convinced Nick and Chris to stay home, which I was very grateful for, knowing that they would only be a distraction.

Matt showed me how to adjust my seat and rearview mirror since he was so much taller than me. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants, feeling nervous.

"Hey, your gonna do fine. I'll be right here the whole time." He said, picking up my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

I nodded, trying to get my confidence up. I looked at him, waiting for my first instruction.

"Okay, so the first thing you're going to do is move your shifter from the P to the D. Tell me, what do those stand for?" He asked me. I looked at the shifter labels and thought back to my driver's ed book.

"Park and Drive? I said, almost like a question I was afraid to get wrong.

"Yes, good girl. Go ahead and move it, but keep for foot on the break." He said. I smiled, happy I was making him proud.

I did as he said, then slowly pulled out of our parking spot, checking for cars.

-

After about 15 minutes, I was finally getting the hang of it. I always made sure to put my blinker on at turns and to check for people and cars.

"I'm so proud of you baby, you're doing amazing. Much better than Nick and Chris by far!" He joked as I made my last round of the parking lot.

As I went to pull back into our parking lot, a truck pulled into the row behind me, taking me off guard. My hands began getting sweaty again and a cold flush of fear flowed through me.

Instinctively, I sped up a little. Then, I pulled into the closest parking space I could find. I quickly put the shifter back to the P and switched the car off.

I breathed heavily, hands shaking as I stared out the front windshield. I heard Matt's door open and close, then saw him walking around the car to the driver's side.

He pulled my door open and then crouched down to get on my level. He used his pointer finger and thumb to pull my chin to the left, forcing me to look at him.

"You Okay SLS/N?" He asked me. I nodded.

"I need words, sweetheart. I need to know you're okay." He said again, letting go of my chin and putting his hand on my cheek.

"I-yeah I'm okay. I just got nervous. I'm really sorry." I say, feeling bad that I ruined the night. He gave a smile, saying,

"Don't you dare say you're sorry! You did so well and I am very proud of you. So why don't we get a McFlurrie and head home, yeah?"

I nod vigorously. He chuckled and took my hand, helping me out of the car.

-

"So, what did ya crash into?" Chris said as we walked inside, McFlurries in hand. I giggled while Matt said,

"For your information, she did very, very well. She even got rewarded with a treat." We cheered, touching our McFlurries together.

"You didn't get me one?!" Nick said, looking disappointed.

I rolled my eys and handed him mine so he could take a bite, which he gladly accepted.

"Fuck no I didn't get you one! The last time we drove, you took out the side mirror with a stop sign!" Matt said, laughing.

That caused all of us but Nick to laugh out loud, clutching our sides, out of breath. Nick shrugged and said,

"That bitch was in my way!"

[whencyclopedia]

Nerva

Marcus Cocceius Nerva was Roman emperor from 96 to 98 CE, and his reign brought stability after the turbulent successions of his predecessors. In addition, Nerva helped establish the foundations for a new golden era for Rome which his chosen successor Trajan would bring to full fruition.

The End of the Flavian Dynasty

The assassination of the Roman emperor Domitian (r. 81-96 CE) brought an end to the short-lived Flavian Dynasty, a dynasty started by his father Vespasian (r. 69-79 CE), in the year of the four emperors, 69 CE. Since Domitian left no surviving heirs, the throne of the empire was left vacant. In order to avoid possible civil unrest, violence, or a civil war, a temporary or quick fix appointment was necessary, at least until a better candidate could be found. The answer to the problem came in the form of a man already ill and old even by Roman standards, Nerva.

Nerva was an ideal candidate, one who presented a sharp contrast to his predecessor. Domitian had not been groomed to become an emperor, as his older brother Titus (r. 79-81 CE) had been. However, the sudden death of Titus brought Domitian to the throne. Although he proved himself a capable administrator, he saw the role of the emperor as one vested with absolute power and the Senate was all but stripped of its authority. While he did not neglect the welfare of the empire, he executed or exiled those who opposed him. Near the end of his reign, after an assassination plot failed, paranoia seized the emperor, causing him to rely heavily on informers. This paranoid behaviour led to cruelty and executions, a real “reign of terror.” And it also led to his death.

The sudden appointment of someone with no ties to the throne caused many to question why the relatively obscure Nerva had been chosen. According to the historian Suetonius, Nerva had “debauched” Domitian in his youth, but this was only imperial palace gossip. There was speculation that he had been approached by the conspirators in Domitian's death, although there was little evidence to support these claims. Possibly he had accepted the throne to save his own life because he was in danger of facing treason charges by the former emperor and faced exile.

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