#I can't claim that it wasn't a mistake from the order (I think that's what Obi-Wan or Anakin say at one point

[tomicaleto]

I saw a post mentioning Ahsoka was originally assigned to Obi-Wan and I’m like ??? Like, yes Obi-Wan asked for a new padawan but the first thing Ahsoka says as she arrives is that she was assigned to Anakin

Edit: if you don’t want to read the tags: I rewatched the scenes from the movies and it’s said several times she was assigned to Anakin by Yoda himself and at the end it’s implied Obi-Wan helped. She was never assigned to Obi-Wan.

[fakescenariosbeforesleepblog]

We won't be like them.

Ghost x Reader.

Mistakes were made in the past by your families, now, you and ghost are starting a family, and this situation takes both to reconsider if you will repeat the same paths that your families took or will you fix it.

Warning: grammatical and spelling errors, I think there's no mention of the reader's gender but if there's please forgive me.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

The credits of the pics belong to @ave661

Simon wasn't at home but he would arrive soon, both have been trouble, arguing frequently for the most stupid things.

It's late at night, your newborn is sleeping, after hours of singing lullabies, walking around the house to help him to sleep, he's finally sleeping.

You were a mess, you didn't take a shower, dirty dishes are awaiting you in the kitchen, the laundry is still in the washer since you didn't have time to put it in the dryer, dirty diapers are making the house smell bad, and your poor baby cried for hours and hours, it wasn't a good day for you, you just need ten minutes to rest.

You're sitting close to the crib when the door opens and then a bark echoes around the house, you stand up and run out of the room quickly to ask Simon to take the dog out or keep it in silence but then your baby starts to cry.

«Shit» you whispered walking back to the room, taking your baby in arms and talking him softly to try to calm him down «it's okay baby, shhh, it's all alright, don't cry please, shhh, shh...» Ghost rapidly understands the reason the baby's crying, he takes the dog to the garage and goes directly to the baby's room to help. Unfortunately your face says more than necessary, you're not happy.

- I'll take care of him, go to rest.

- As if I could...

You rolled your eyes. He can't be mad at you, he knows he messed up.

- Sorry... the mission took me more than expected, please let me help you with him.

- It's fine, I have it under control, take a shower you stink.

He sighs and leaves the room, walking through the house he observes all the mess, toys scattered, the smell of poo and dirty dishes, the laundry. He really can't blame you, you stayed alone with a newborn for days, but he can't avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the mess and the situation, he never expected to have a family because of both pasts but here he is, husband and now father, it's all new for both of you, but moments like this makes him wonder if you and him took the right decision.

He took a quick shower and as soon as he finished he went directly to the laundry room and put all the wet clothes in the dryer and put another load of clothes, he thinks the least he can do right now is try to help with the workload, even if he feels tired he knows you must be more than exhausted.

Poor Simon, he forgot to separate the baby's clothes from the rest, then he washed the dishes but he forgot to sterilize the feeding bottles.

Finally your baby is sleeping peacefully again, you are tired but you have work to do, maybe Simon is hungry or needs something, the poor man didn't have intentions to wake up the baby, it wasn't very polite of you to reject him and then tell him he was stinky.

On your way to the kitchen you started to clean a little, taking the bags of dirty diapers out, picking up the toys when you hear the alarm from your dryer, Simon tried to help after all you said, you're taking out the clothes when you notice the washer is also working and unfortunately there's clothes from the baby mixed with yours and Simon's clothes.

You're walking to the kitchen to tell Simon he forgot to not mix the laundry when then, the feeding bottles are mixed with the dishes and casseroles too.

He's drying and ordering all the kitchen stuff with the same dishcloth.

- What are you doing!? Simon you mixed the baby's stuff! Oh god, do you have a clue of the new load of work your adding me! I will have to wash and sterilize all the baby's things again!

- Sorry... I was trying to help, I forgot about it.

- «Sorry, sorry» is all you know to say but the damage is done! Fuck!

- Calm down, I'll take care of it.

- You have done more than enough, why don't you go to another long mission and leave me alone again, huh?

He's shocked as much as you, you know you said something really horrible, there's no way you can step back.

- What did you say?

- I'm... Ahhh, Nothing, I'm just tired.

- Do you think I went to that bloody mission to leave you here alone with the baby? I didn't want to but it was work and I can't reject it.

- What about the paternity permission?

- I would have the authorization after this mission, I told you about it but it seems you weren't paying attention.

You scoffed, clearly offended and annoyed.

- Well sorry, I'm worried about our newborn, it's my first time with a baby and I'm trying to do it well, you could also pay more attention when I told you I don't want to mix our stuff with his.

- I forgot it, okay? I'm as tired as you! I said I will fix it and you started to argue!

- I wouldn't start if it wasn't for you and that god-damned dog barking as crazy! Your son hasn't slept the whole day and you arrived doing all that noise!

- and am I supposed to know that!?

- Don't yell! You will wake him up Simon!

- It's you who's yelling!

- Now it's me? You're blaming me for everything just like my dad did to my mom!

-And You're exploding against me just like my father!

Both stopped when the little boy started to cry again. Ghost just walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs, you stayed there cursing yourself and started to wash the bottles again, then you went to check the washer and separate the clothes.

Your son cried for a few more minutes but then stopped. You finished all the stuff you had pendant, you saw Simon's backpack In the doorframe, there was probably more laundry inside so you took it and just as you expected, more dirty clothes, you were separating it by colours as usual when you saw his uniform with fresh blood. You sighed annoyed but then the thought of Simon being injured kicked your mind, you put the clothes in a bucket with some hydrogen peroxide to quit the blood easily and went upstairs.

Simon was putting the baby in his baby crib when he looked at you and made a signal to be silent. Once both are out of the room you point to the bathroom, he doesn't say nothing and follows you.

- Are you hurt?

- What?

- I saw your uniform with blood, is it yours?

- Oh, it's nothing, the medic helped me, I'll be better in a few days.

- Let me see, do we need to clean the wound or something?

- It's fine Love, nothing serious.

Your eyes are full of tears, you feel guilty, he tried to help with all and his wound and you didn't do more than yell at him.

- I'm sorry Si, I didn't mean to explode with you, I was stressed you arrived at home expecting to have some peace and instead of it you found all the mess, I'm so sorry.

He just hugs you and whispers «it's okay my love, shhh, it's ok» once you stop your tears you check on his wound, it's not so bad but was bleeding a little bit more, you were cleaning it when he spoke.

- Look at me, love, I know you're exhausted it wasn't my intention to give you more work, I really was trying to help you.

- I know, I'm sorry... We... we have to solve these things now before that boy starts to grow up, I don't want to give him the same childhood we had, I want to give him a good family, good memories and we're not doing it well lately... We argue all the time and I think the baby feels our stress and then he stresses too... We're bad parents... We are not doing it right.

- I know, we have things to solve, and I want to tell you I have all the intention to fix it, we're new to this, it's also not fair for us to put us expectations of being perfect all the time. we can... Read about parenthood or look for professional help, we will do all in our possibilities to change and be better, it won't happen from night to morning it'll take time, we won't follow our families steps, I promise you I will be a better husband and a good father for our son.

You smiled at him and he returns the smile, you love when he does it, Simon never smiles except when he's with you, nobody else. His smile is only for you and now for your little boy, his words reassure you, he's right it'll be a long process but you will make it, this new family will work.

[vsnyarbll]

never enough

part 2

pairing: Aegon II Targaryen x fem!reader

words: 4.168

summary: Aegon claims he is not what people say he is. Is he, or is he not?

warnings: Aegon, kissing, angst, explicit language, some fluffy moments (but mostly angst), targcest

a/n: Sorry for any mistakes. English is not my native language. Y/N is is the daughter of Rhaenyra. MDNI

Y/N was drunk. She wasn't usually this messed up after an argument with her mother.

This time they both used harsh words in the argument, and she found the solution in drinking. She couldn't even remember what had caused it, but she could remember that it hurt.

Her bad luck continued. The King and Queen decided that evening would be perfect for a family dinner.

Everyone had vacated their entire evening by order of the King. The King didn't think this was enough and made everyone confirm twice in the morning that they were free for the evening.

So the princess had to attend the dinner.

She was not sober enough to be aware of anything. Not that dinner with the king and queen would have been the last thing on her mind. She might even confuse about who they were.

Jacaerys and Lucerys had to take matters into their own hands.

They each took her arm and dragged her toward the dining room.

Y/N complained about the same things all the way. She kept turning to Jace and said, "She'll never love me the way she loves you." Jace felt sorry for her and explained in long explanations that her mother loved her the way she loved him, but when she said the same thing for the fifth time, he stopped trying. When Y/N kept talking, Jace said, “I could understand why she didn't love you," but Luke interrupted him directly.

A few steps from the wide door, she thrashed in her brothers' arms.

"Let go of me!"

“Y/N, you can't take one step on your own.”

“Try me.”

The two brothers exchanged glances.

Luke didn't want to let her go. Y/N would be in trouble if their mother found out she was drunk.

Jace was tired of dealing with her all day. He wanted her to realize that she needed them, even if he had the patience to put up with her for days.

"All right. You can walk yourself to the table."

Luke immediately started to speak out in protest but was stopped by Jace.

“She'll just take a few steps, and I'm sure she'll be fine."

He didn't want to oppose his brother any longer. And what he said made sense. He briefly weighed it in his head and let Jace do what he wanted.

“We'll be right behind you, okay?”

“You don't even have to. Nothing's going to happen.”

Jace sighed and watched Y/N walk towards the door.

Her first few steps were smooth. They were both convinced she could do it. But even though her steps were even, she banged her shoulder against the door as she walked in.

Everyone's focus was instantly on the girl.

The Queen in particular looked very surprised. Her husband had worked hard to organize that day and his granddaughter had come to dinner drunk. She had the same expression on her face that The King had when Daemon disappointed him.

Jace took her arm directly.

"Jace, I was walking just fine on my own."

"No, you weren't."

He escorted her to the table and sat her in the empty chair next to him.

"Is she okay?" asked Baela.

"No, she's not." Baela tilted his head and looked at her worriedly.

"But she'll be fine." Baela nodded, but she was still worried about her.

They couldn't leave the room because dinner was about to start. Baela tried to think of another way to keep Y/N from prying eyes. They could control Y/N if she sat in the middle of them instead of next to Aegon.

"Jace, you can switch places with her if you want. if so-" Before she could finish, the king walked in.

Everyone got up from their chairs. Jace took Y/N by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

As the King took his seat, everyone bowed to him. The Queen took her seat, and everyone sat down again.

Now that everyone was at the table, they couldn't switch places. Y/N had to sit in the chair between Aegon and Jace.

"How nice to see you all together. We need to increase the number of these dinners," said The King. "We should even have breakfast together tomorrow. Family is the most important matter in this life."

He looked at everyone at the table one by one and smiled. He loved his family.

"Distribute the food, please," he said to the servant standing next to him.

The servants quickly placed everyone's food on the table. The cooks cooked a vegetable dish for Helaena and a chicken dish for the others, a favorite of the King.

Y/N reached for the wine decanter on the table without touching her food, and Jace, who had been watching her every move since they sat down, took her hand.

"No more wine, Y/N."

"Don't be ridiculous. We're having dinner. Of course, I'll drink wine."

"I don't think you waited for dinner to drink wine."

Aegon heard the two siblings talking and understood why the girl was acting strangely. He felt stupid for not realizing it before. She didn't have her usual smiling face, and she wasn't her usual talkative self. Of course, she was drunk. But why?

There were no other events at the table while they were eating. Everyone finished their meals in peace. The Queen prayed dozens of times that the evening would be peaceful. The Gods had heard her voice and had given her the peace she wanted.

When the maids started serving the desserts, the music playing in the room changed. It was Baela's favorite dance music. The moment the melody filled her ears, she grabbed Jace's arm. "Jace, we have to dance!"

"Baela, I can't leave Y/N alone when she's like this."

"Jace, please! She's just sitting there. I don't think she's going to do anything."

Jace turned his gaze to his sister. She did indeed look calm. The drink that the maester had given her an hour earlier had finally started to work and had revived her.

"Okay, but we'll only dance for one song"

"Sure, sure! As much as you want."

They both knew Baela wouldn't be satisfied with just one song.

As they began to dance, Aegon checked everyone at the table. 

Rhaneyra and Daemon didn't care about anyone at the table except each other. 

The King was watching Jace and Baela happily. 

The Queen was chatting with Lord Otto. 

Helaena, as usual, was unaware of what was happening around her. 

Aemond was glaring at his nephew. 

What was the boy's name? He knows it starts with an L. 

‘Could it be ‘Look’? No, no, that's not even a name. Luke? Lucerys!’ 

So basically, nobody at the table was in a position to care about Aegon and Y/N making small talk.

He put his right arm around the back of the princess's chair and leaned toward her.

"Why haven't you spoken to me since you returned to the Red Keep?"

Y/N turned her head to Aegon in surprise. She was glad that she was now completely sober. If Aegon said something to provoke her, it would be easier to answer with a sober mind.

"I didn't think you were interested in chatting with me."

"I'm always interested in chatting with pretty girls."

She rolled her eyes. "Have you become as bad as they say you are?"

"You tell me."

"I have no thoughts about you because we haven't spoken since we arrived."

"We haven't seen each other for only a few years. And that shouldn’t stop you from making assumptions about me. I have too many about you."

"And what are they?"

He smiled at the girl. "I know you're very outspoken."

He slid his hand off the chair and touched her arm. "I know you love dragons." He paused for a moment. "I know you like to ride your dragon."

He kept talking as he stroked her arm with his thumb. "As you know, I'm a dragon, too."

She quickly pushed his hand away. "I've been waiting to see when you'd get gross."

"And I didn't surprise you."

"And you didn't surprise me."

Aegon laughed. He took his hand off the chair and put it on the table. "You sound like my mother.”

Y/N averted her eyes. “Are you having trouble with your mother?”

"I am the firstborn son who doesn't like to take responsibility. Of course, I have problems with my mother.”

She wanted to ask him if he'd ever argue with his mother. She was undecided whether to ask him or not. But the next day, she could cover up everything she did that evening by saying she was drunk.

“Do you ever argue with her?”

He smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. "I wouldn't exaggerate to say every day."

Then Aegon connected what had happened that day with the questions the princess had asked him. Ser Cole had reported to The Queen that loud noises were coming from princess Y/N's room. And the only person in her room was princess Rhaneyra. After that, she came to dinner drunk.

She had been drinking because of an argument with her mother.

"Everyone has problems with family members from time to time, princess."

She closed her eyes tightly. "How do you know?"

"I know because Aemond and I argue-"

"No, how do you know I argued with my mother?"

Aegon was silent for a while. "You won't find anyone in all kingdom who understands these situations better than me."

She looked at him back. "But your mother is right to be angry with you. The places you've been and the women you've been with are all problematic. You're not a good person. On the other hand, nobody has the right to be angry with me. I did everything she asked me to do."

Aegon just nodded. "You're right. I'm useless. I never tried to be good."

Aegon fixed his eyes on the plate in front of him. He seemed to be saying what he was saying to himself rather than talking to her. Y/N belatedly realized that she had upset Aegon. She had no intention of being rude. She had taken her anger at her mother out on him and regretted it instantly when she saw the sadness on his face.

She should apologize, but she didn't know how.

Y/N took his hand on the table and said the first thing that came to her mind. "Aegon, I didn't mean anything I said. I'm still angry with my mother. And then you told me how your mother treated you. That made me even angrier than I am."

"It's okay, Y/N. You don't think I care what people think after all these years, do you?”

Aegon's gaze shifted to the girl's hand on top of his. Her hands were smaller and softer than his own.

Her skin felt like silk.

"Do you want to go?"

"From Westeros?"

He chuckled. "No, do you want to go now? I'd love to take a break from spending time with our precious families."

The girl thought for a while. Then she decided to accept her uncle's offer.

What could she lose?

"Where do we go? And how do we sneak out of here without being seen by our mothers?"

"Don't worry about them," he said and turned to Aemond.

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

Aemond distracted everyone so that Aegon and Y/N could leave the throne room. She couldn't figure out exactly what he had done. And as they left the table, Aemond told Aegon that he owed him.

Aegon held his hand to Y/N as they walked briskly down the hallway. She hesitated but took his hand, and they started running. Aegon's silver hair waved with every step.

Y/N couldn't help but think how beautiful he was. His skin seemed to glow in the candlelight.

They slowed as they entered the corridor where Aegon's chambers were. "Are you sure you won't get into trouble? Aemond said you owed him a debt."

"He wouldn't want anything bad. He never has."

Aegon stood in front of a large door, reached for the handle, and opened it. "Here we are! My chambers."

Y/N looked around as she entered the room. The room was quite spacious. The bed was much bigger than a double bed. There was gold embroidery and Targaryen symbols on the walls.

"There are no religious symbols in your room."

"Do I look like a religious man?"

"You look more like a sinner."

He smiled at her and gestured to the bed. "Sit down if you want."

"How many girls have you had in your bed this week? I'm trying to find out how disgusted I should be sitting on your bed," she said.

Aegon crossed the room. "My sheets are changed every morning, you know." He picked up two glasses from his desk. "But you will be surprised to know that no one has been in my bed this week."

"You don't know what a relief that is," she said mockingly.

Aegon ignored her words and reached for the wine decanter. "Will you drink?"

"I don't think another glass will do any harm. After this morning, I've discovered that my body is quite resistant to wine."

"It runs in the family."

She smiled.

Aegon filled the glasses and sat on the bed. "Sit. I'm serious. I'm not as perverted as you think."

Y/N sat on the bed and took the glass Aegon handed her. For a while, they both sat in silence and drank their wine.

Aegon looked at her out of the corner of his eye and asked the question that had been on his mind for years.

"Do you like Aemond?"

Her face flushed at the sudden question. "What makes you think that?"

"All the ladies are in love with him."

She looked briefly at Aegon's face and looked away again. "I liked him when I was little. But it was a childhood crush. It passed when I grew up."

"Do you like someone right now?"

"What difference does it make? Sooner or later, I'll marry whoever my mother says."

"My mother wants the same for me. But that doesn't stop me from spending time with the girl I like."

"It's because you're a man! I can't spend time with the man I like."

"So you like someone."

The girl fought herself not to roll her eyes. "So what?"

"I'm just trying to figure out who he is. If he's not Aemond, what other eligible bachelor lord could he be?"

"He's not a lord." He's a prince

"So if I make a few more guesses, you'll tell me."

"I can tell you if you tell me." She could never tell him. She could never say you are the one I like.

"She's not a lady." She's a princess

"So, one of your whores."

"I've never been with a whore in my life."

"Is everyone in the Red Keep lying?"

"I skipped lessons when I was younger. I like to drink wine all the time. I slept with a few ladies and maids. But I'm not what they say I am."

Y/N didn't know whether to rejoice at Aegon's confession. At least he wasn't denying what he had done. And after all, he was a Targaryen prince. Everyone thought it was normal for him to behave like this. The problem was the rumors.

"Why haven't you ever tried to change the rumors?"

"It works for me. No one expects anything from me."

Y/N looked into Aegon's eyes. "I never thought you were who they say you are." She covered her face with her hands. "Anyway, I think we should leave it at that."

Aegon slid from the end of the bed to where she was sitting. He took her glass and put it down haphazardly on the bed. The wine at the bottom of the glass spilled onto the white sheets, but Aegon didn't care.

He took her hand in his. "I'm about to do something I'm going to regret."

He took her hand to his heart. "Do you feel how my heart beats?"

She nodded, her heart beating as fast as his because of him.

"It is like this every time I see you."

"Aegon-"

"Let me finish." He studied her face. "You're the one I like, Y/N. I've admired you since we were kids. You were the first person I learned what the word "love" means.”

During her years in the Dragonstone, she thought of Aegon constantly. She always imagined Aegon saying these things to her.

Y/N brought her face closer to Aegon's. The wine she had just drunk had given her courage.

As her lips touched his lips, she felt his heart beat faster beneath her hand.

Their kisses started slow and soft. They were two souls that were meant to be but were being held back by someone else.

Then Aegon put both hands on her cheeks and pressed his lips harder against hers.

Their kisses were now passionate. They were two souls burning for each other.

Y/N stopped as soon as she realized how grave the consequences of what they had done could be.

She quickly got out of bed, and her eyes darkened. But she didn't let that stop her. Y/N staggered a few times on her way to the door.

When she finally reached the doorknob, she turned around and looked at Aegon. His face was full of sadness.

She wanted to go up to him and hug him, but she restrained herself.

She opened the door and left the room.

-----------

In the morning, Y/N woke up to the servants calling her.

Her head ached, and her eyes stung. She got up and started rubbing her forehead while her maid dressed her.

The images from the night before flashed through her mind. She had kissed Aegon and then left without a word.

Her headache grew worse with the guilt that filled her.

The servants had prepared her breakfast, but she didn't want to eat. She wanted to see Aegon, but at the same time, she didn't want to look at Aegon's face again for the rest of her life.

She glanced at the table in her room as her maid braided her hair. When she got to the head of the table, she saw that it was the same drink she had drunk the day before. "Did the maester send this?"

"Yes, princess."

She took a quick drink and headed for the door. "Princess, you need breakfast."

"I'll eat something later. I don't want to eat anything."

It was sunny outside. When the sun touched her skin through the windows in the hallway, she felt a little relief. Maybe the fresh air would do her good.

She ran into Aemond in the hallway. Y/N's room was the only one on that side of the hall, so he must have been looking for her.

She decided to pretend she hadn't seen him. And as Y/N was about to pass him, he stopped her.

"Good morning, princess."

"Good morning, Prince Aemond." Aemond looked her over. Her under-eyes were slightly purple, just like his brother's. Her eyes were swollen and red.

"I won't beat around the bush. What happened between you and Aegon yesterday?"

The girl looked at the prince in fear. "Did something happen to him?"

"I have never seen him so distraught."

Y/N's head ached again. She made eye contact with Aemond again as she rubbed her dawn with her fingers. "I guess he thinks I like you."

"My brother has never been the smartest."

"How did you know I love him?"

"Aegon is never as impulsive around my mother as he was last night. That confirmed my suspicions about him. But I didn't know you loved him until you told me."

Y/N wanted to bang her head against the wall. How had she managed to be so stupid? "I should be forbidden to talk in my condition."

Aemond smiled. "Your secret is safe with me." Then he added. "But if one of you does something stupid and things fall out between you, I'll tell him your secret to fix it."

Y/N felt her body fill with worry again. But then she pushed it down and refocused on her main goal that morning. "I was thinking of going to him. Do you know where he is?"

"He's sitting on one of the benches in the garden." She nodded and was about to walk past Aemond when he stopped her again. "He may have some faults, but he's a good man, Y/N. "

"I know." Y/N started walking, and this time Aemond let her go.

-----------

She thought she would have to look for Aegon for a long time. But the moment she entered the garden, she noticed the silver-haired boy on the bench.

Aegon had his elbows on his legs, leaning forward, covering his face with his hands.

He groaned when he saw the shoes in front of him. "As I've said a hundred times, I don't want to eat anything."

"Aegon, it's me." Aegon looked up and stared at her in surprise. "Princess."

"May I sit?"

"Sure," he said. Aegon slid down the bench to make room for her. They both watched the trees and roses in the garden in silence.

Aegon felt sad about yesterday, but he couldn't help feeling excited to be sitting so close. He could feel the warmth of her body, even though their legs were not touching.

Y/N finally felt ready to speak and turned towards him. "Aegon, I apologize for leaving you yesterday."

Aegon chuckled. "You don't think I'm sorry that you left, do you?"

Y/N's expression changed instantly. Aegon himself couldn't understand why he said that.

Being annoying was something he had used as a defense mechanism for years. But he always had a soft spot for her. He was always careful not to upset her and not to be a fool in front of her.

Something was different that day. He didn't want to appear weak to her. And he chose the wrong way to do it.

He confused appearing strong with being tough.

"You're just one of the girls I let into my room and bed. I hope you didn't let it bother you all night."

Y/N felt herself getting angry. She had barely slept all night and thought about him all morning.

The previous evening, Y/N had treated him the way everyone he knew had treated him, and it ate her up all night thinking about it.

"Aegon, I-"

"I'm sorry, but you can't tell people you pity poor Aegon and welcome him with open arms. I know you like people to think you have a good heart, but I am not someone you can show mercy. I took you to my room, and you agreed to come immediately. The only thing I'm sorry about last night is that I didn't fuck you."

Y/N stood up quickly. "I wanted to say, 'I'm sorry I left without telling you I didn't mean to kiss you,' but you interrupted me."

She leaned toward Aegon. "And if we had fucked last night, I would have dreamed all night long that your silver hair belonged to Aemond."

Aegon looked up at Y/N, his eyes red and full of tears. She couldn't tell from his eyes if she was upsetting Aegon. His eyes were always like that.

Aegon smiled to himself, not a reaction Y/N had expected. "I didn't think you meant to kiss me. But no matter who you fantasize about, I'm up for kissing."

He stood up and stood in front of her. "And I'm all for open legs."

As soon as Aegon finished his sentence, she slapped him. "Yesterday, you kept saying, 'I'm not who you think I am.' You're what I think you are.”

She took a few steps backward. "And he said you are a good man," she said sternly.

Aegon's smile faded. There was someone who thought he was weak and tried to make him look good to her.

How could he appear strong to her when others treated him like a little boy?

He reached out and grabbed her arm. "Who told you I'm a good man?"

"It doesn't matter. Does it? You're not one, after all.”

"It matters! Who tried to make me look good to you?”

When Y/N didn't answer, Aegon squeezed her arm.

"You're hurting my arm!"

He grabbed her arm tighter and pulled her towards him. "Answer me!"

She frowned. Y/N was experiencing many emotions at the same time. She felt angry, tired, and exhausted.

"Aemond told me." Aegon quickly removed his hand from her arm.

"He asked you to talk to me, didn't he? And you listened to him like his good girl?"

So Y/N didn't come to talk to him because she wanted to. She came because Aemond wanted her to. And he foolishly thought she cared about him.

He felt a little ache in his heart.

Y/N turned away and headed for the gate leading out of the garden.

[onmyyan]

Will you ever write an Ashley Hunt scenario that shows his “yan” side? I wanna see this fine gentleman get possessive and violent/murderous. Cause we’ve seen it with the Delmonts many times, but there hasn’t been anything with Ash yet. I guess I and probably a lot of other readers are curious to know what’d happen if like MC tried to escape, or she was being courted by another equally charming out-of-town cowboy. (That’d be so cute to have a rival cowboy scenario to Ash!!!)

A/N: TW: YANDERE, 💀 BY PIG, VIOLENCE (NOT AGAINST READER)

To think all of Ashley's problems started with a help wanted sign at the local general store in his small town.

You, bless your heart, had been working there to help the older man Paul after seeing him struggling to stock his shelves one afternoon, that being said Ashley didn't have an issue with you working, because 1. Paul both adored and trusted him implicitly, meaning Ashley had access to the grainy CCTV footage of you whenever he had to be away, which wasn't often as he brought you lunch everyday and brought you to and from work. And 2. Everyone in town knew Ashley had laid claim to you He made it clear in every way their culture said, from placing his hat on you in public to only ever dancing with you at the town socials.

At least he thought everyone knew.

Tony was a man he'd gone to highschool with, and he wasn't fond of him then, so when you came home complaining about your new coworker every red flag was raised in his eyes, he made a point to stick around the next time he took you to work, not really needing an excuse to be there, Ashley simply made himself look busy and waited. Low and behold your new coworker came in the old door, the bell jingle sent a chill of anger down Ashley's spine. The second he recognized the man's face Ashley felt his blood pressure rise.

He knew the kind of vile, peaked in highschool kind of guy this dude was so it didn't take much to set him off, that same day he takes you home with a grin that falls the second he watches you enter your home, he drives back to the store breaking all the speeding laws in order to catch Tony just as he's leaving, Tony mistakes his greeting for something friendly, grinning his weasely smile, he begins talking about his new job and the next words from his mouth are the ones that seal his fate.

"You should see the pretty little thing I'm working with- boy I tell you what give me five minutes alone with her a-"

Ashley hit him before he could finish his perverted thought, busting his upper lip with the initial hit, Tony stumbles backwards a few steps, his nose disfigured and bloodied, crimson drips all over his boots, the dirt he kicks up in his attempt to get his bearings causing a cloud to cover the scene almost eerily.

The second his body hits the ground, he's trying to get up, but Ashley is on him before he can spit out the blood in his mouth. "Fuckin' pig." He wails on him with one hand, the other fist holding his collar in a vice grip. "Nah, yer lower than a pig- a fuckin' waste of air is what you are." With every word came another devastating blow to the man's face, by the time Ashley pulled himself out of the moment, the man's body was twitching, face bloated and bloody. Broken wheezes leave Tony's lips, "Still breathing Buddy? C'mon." He rises and freezes meeting the eyes of the shop owner, an older man who'd known Ashley since he was a young boy. After a moment of tension Ashley gave him a grin, still standing over the barely alive Tony. "Evening Paul."

Paul returns the grin, leaning on the store's front porch, "Evening Ashley, fine night tonight boy..you be careful getting home." He says without looking at the bloody man in the dirt. The older man puts the help wanted sign back up and Ashley can't help but chuckle to himself, he drags Tony by his cheap boots and hauls him in his truckbed, whistling a song from his childhood as he shuts the door with more force than necessary, still fuming from the bastards comments about you, his sweetpea.

"Tch. Right where you belong, almost a shame." Ashley says to himself , the words feign regret, but the satisfaction in his tone says otherwise, it's almost too easy for Ashley to haul Tony's still unconscious form out of his truck bed and across his shoulder, he tosses the body in the pig pen sitting in the very back of Ashley's farm.

As if it were a bale of hay, Ashley tosses Tony with a satisfying thud, it's occupants didn't swarm immediately, but they would within the hour. Ashley intended to watch. It was the only end befitting the scum before him he thought would atone for his sins against you. Ashley did such a number on him in the parking lot his face was unrecognizable.

He only felt his rage quell when he slipped into your room later that night when all was said and done, blood and mud on his jeans, he smiled down at you tranquility in his gaze, he couldn't be more at peace, knowing he'd made your life better with one simple action.

[mdhwrites]

Can you explain to me how the Titan enforces Christian Fundamentalism?

The Titan makes the only crime Belos committed be that he was a false prophet. Luz is beyond reproach though because she is a true prophet and a true believer. She is then sent to murder a men, blessed with holy power and strength in her convictions, by that God... And we are supposed to cheer.

This isn't even much of an exaggeration or dramatization. The Titan's answer to Luz's fears about justifying horrible acts in the name of protecting others is essentially this. That Belos' true crime wasn't in wanting to kill, oppress or lie. It's that he did it for selfish, self aggrandizing reasons. That if he'd simply been honest and earnest, he might feel a little bad for a mistake or two here or there, like the Titan is about the Collector, but he would have been entirely justified in his genocide. Just like they are beyond approach for wanting this man dead.

As the show says "He wants to be a hero and have the power," but then Luz comes in, trying to have a badass one liner for her return and even says "Darn it, I still can't think of what to say" which isn't even a reference to an earlier part of the show (I don't think at least). It implies Luz waited to come back when it would be the most dramatic and when she was most ready to look the part of the hero. She even references Azura, the FICTIONAL HERO, in her last speech and goes back to the catchphrase she wanted for a hero just nuking a bitch. She TOOOOTALLY doesn't care about being a hero though and because of that, she's all good to be doing all of this. That's what the Titan claimed at least.

Worse yet is that we only really have the Titan's word for glory and power being all Belos cared about. The fucker spent CENTURIES on the Isles. He deformed his body and probably doesn't believe he'll go to Heaven anymore with how much magic he had to internalize in order to pursue the goal of genocide. Even when alone, with no one to prove anything to, he still talks about saving souls and just needing to survive to do this. He's okay with dying afterwards because he DOESN'T care about the glory. Literally the only time he seems to give a shit about other people's approval and the status this might get him is the Witch Hunter General lines and you know what, I don't think it's entirely unfair for him to hope to get some recognition out of four hundred years of work, even if that work was pure evil. You could maybe say Philip's journal shows a hero complex but A: that still doesn't make his belief in protecting others a lie, just means that he has an ego about it, and B: is from hundreds of years ago and he literally abandoned the journal eventually. Abandoned his own heroic tale. By the finale... His intentions are pure. At bare minimum, that's how they are framed by the show itself with his desperation to do this, even at the cost of ending himself. So why does he deserve to die by the show's logic?

Well... He doesn't. He doesn't even deserve to be stopped because his faith is earnest. Except... It's not the right faith, is it? Belos doesn't believe in magic. Doesn't believe in the Titan. He is a blasphemer and false prophet. But now Luz has actually spoken with the Titan, been friends with his son and spread her ideals across the Isles, ideals which are strictly not the Isle's ways but that do theoretically make the basis of the Titan claiming she's a good witch (which is also referencing Azura potentially). The literal first person we meet on the Isles doesn't give a shit about things like lying, cheating, etc. and the early episodes give the impression that no one here does. That Belos doesn't force conformity on that matter even, making it so that these baseline morals that Luz disagrees with are earnest and honest. And yet, none of them are allowed to stay that way. They all enter her fold and listen to explicitly her morality. A morality that happens to line up with Christian morals and that the Titan seems to approve of.

And again, that's not interpretation. The finale actually straight up confirms this isn't the Isle's morality and REVELS in that fact. Belos begs for his life, saying they are not murderers, scoundrels and killers. That their culture demands better of them because they're human. Luz doesn't disagree... But she also doesn't do the act herself (unless you want to say she brought on the rain, but then you have her boiling a man to death which is just HORRIFYING.) Then, in a moment we're supposed to cheer for, Luz's closest connections with the Isles, and Raine tacked on, show up, proudly say they're not better than murderers, and stomp the fucker out. Not a quick mercy killing like a blast of magic or a magic scream might have done. Not the eviscerating explosion Luz had to do as a part of stopping him. No, instead, they brutally stomp out a defenseless, dying man before Raine literally says, "That was satisfying."

Our. Heroes.

And don't get me wrong: Belos needed to die. Thematically it's correct and narratively it's correct. The problem is how the show frames this final conflict. It literally asks if it's okay to kill him. What is a reasonable justification for murder. For even wanting another person to die. For a lot of kids, this might be the first time they hear ANY nuance on this topic. So what is the lesson imparted? Is it that sometimes force is necessary but we should only do it when we are certain that more lives will be lost otherwise and that there is no other option? That'd be a great way to show the Titan actually learned something from his mistake with the Collector. Is it that we can't show tolerance to the intolerant because they will only ever take and destroy? Refute an argument that modern racists use to allow hate speech and actions against others. Is it the simple fact that because Luz actually fears being monstrous, she won't end up the same way because that fear and hesitation will never let her commit the sort of genocide that Belos desires? Or heck, say they aren't racist without saying the word by going "We judge him for his actions and the cruelties he has committed, not by the cruelties of a people or the circumstances of their birth." All of which would be varying degrees of fine morality wise and are genuinely ways good people cope with having to commit horrific violence.

No. Instead, it's just that one did it while excusing it with lies while Luz will do it with pure faith in her heart. You... You do know that the VAST majority of Christians literally use this as a way to dismiss bad actors in the church itself? "He doesn't represent all Christians! He didn't actually hold the faith!" Do you think every brimstone and fire preacher is just a complete liar and not a SINGLE one of them genuinely believes what they preach? Because I'm sorry to break it to you but even as far back as the fucking Crusades, while sure the leaders were corrupt, secular men, most of the soldiers were genuinely god fearing people, terrified for their souls and seeking this as their only form of penance, especially as they saw it as protecting Christianity. It's one of the reasons they were able to do so much damage because the goal for the common soldier wasn't conquest or national pride. It was to murder the other culture who had taken sacred land. They believed earnestly... So were they justified in the massacres of civilians that they committed?

And this is without getting into how we have literally a Holy Trinity of the father (the Titan's corpse), the son (King, who is exceptionally self sacrificing eventually), and the holy ghost, in a very literal sense. Or how about the glyphs being called the Titan's Language and given to Luz to empower her? How invoking simply his words grants one exceptional power? The Hexside Squad in the finale use glyphs, half of them for the first time, to supplement their powers while dead exhausted and it doesn't seem to just be able to help them, it is still keeping them close to their normal power level and potentially energizing them with how not tired they appear to be while doing this. Almost like they're prayers, pulling on the power of a higher being.

But those elements don't matter. For the sake of the Titan supporting Christian Fundamentalism, all that matters is that he puts faith above what is morally correct. That you can excuse any action so long as you are genuine in the belief that you are doing it for the right reasons. Eda could be making this same argument and it would still be wrong and morally reprehensible.

It's literally "The ends justify the means," and how is that your final lesson, for your main character, in a KID'S SHOW? Let alone when that is EXACTLY the argument Belos, THE VILLAIN, has always made. Not just with wiping out witches but with petrification, lying to Lilith, manipulating Hunter, etc. etc. That it was all justified for his grand, 'good' ends.

I already stated arguments that could have been made, that wouldn't have taken much more time to do (if any), that would fix this so don't you DARE even consider bringing up the shortening with this. It is one scene that does the vast majority of this. Arguably, like five lines tops. Five lines that destroy the morality of your very show and any chance at saying Christian Fundamentalism is wrong.

All because its last message wasn't that prophets should be questioned. Only that there are prophets to listen to explicitly and that you should avoid false prophets... Somehow. Maybe just ask if they like anime I guess?

======+++++======

This was first written before I saw the finale, then I tried to make minor adjustments because of the better absorption of events but ended up rewriting the whole thing because I wanted to better focus on just the hypocrisy and god awful morals than talking about if the Titan counted as God or god.

Also, just for those curious: I was raised on Christian morals and did go to church when I was VERY young. My faith nowadays is that I consider there to be comfort in there being a higher power but that I do not care what form they take, nor do I really like organized religion as while it brings comfort and community to many, it also is all too easy to corrupt with personal greed and anger. I've been told the closest label to this is agnostic.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[yuseirra]

I went out for a walk and it helped me organize my thoughts, let me be bold about my theories/assumptions because I CAN and it's a now or never thing till it's proven wrong. But when I write these, I am confident to a degree. I get worried later, but I feel sure when I write them.

I believe Kamiki lied to Aqua to save him the pain of feeling sorry for him, the way Ai was very harsh when she left him.

Also, I believe Ai picked the right guy to love. This guy has a really tender soul. Or at least used to be, I think. He's very gentle in nature. Uh huh, he'd have been really good with their kids if he had the chance to raise them, him and Ai would have made a sweet family the way Ai pictured it to be. This guy's polite and sweet. Let me explain, okay?

I looked back at those segments in 154 when there's a flashback of Ai leaving Kamiki and Kamiki talking about Ryosuke, and the way things are laid out looks really similar to each other. I'd say it actually looks like parallels to each other. The sides of their faces appearing(and we don't see their eyes) and then their backs turned at the viewer. When expressions are concealed like these, you can't read what the characters are actually feeling. And this comic has really powerful expressions that are very on point and let the reader "understand" and feel what the characters are going through.

that entire page where Kamiki talks to Aqua about having wanted to scare Ai? I think 80% of it would be all lies. The only part that I believe is the actual truth would be that he did give Ryosuke the address and he didn't know that he'd kill her, but that's probably something that's slipped out by mistake. The explanation he brings up for having done such an action is utterly ridiculous and dumb. There are so many ways to "make someone despair", and needless to mention that it's so wrong and terrible to do, its also not something that's guaranteed to work, nor is it practical in the first place. It's an action that has really low probability to achieve the said desirable effect. That's why I keep making speculations about this, it does not make sense. I bet most of the fandom would have felt the same way about what he's said as well, saying stuff like: "How could he have never seen it coming?" Yeah, right?? I think he isn't responsible for this happening to begin with. Any person with a sane mind would feel this way, and he doesn't seem that insane. I think Nino could be irrational to some extent but not this guy!!! That's why I'm convinced that it wasn't this guy who could have done this, but Nino after she's been thrown into the picture.

Kamiki would know what he's saying doesn't make quite a lot of sense himself. He's a fully-grown adult!! Over 30 now, and he should know enough to realize what he's talking about. He's just trying to push through because he's been used to lying for other people's behalf and he's pretty confident that he can fool people, the way he used to be ever since he was so little.

What he's saying is just a flat-out lie to save his son from feeling the slightest amount of guilt for having to socially kill his own dad. I think so. Him and Ai are a liar couple. Ai lied and made it really harsh, I think, in order to save her boyfriend from feeling too terrible about the breakup, she wanted him to hate her for it and move on from her quickly and save himself. What Kamiki's doing here's similar. He doesn't want someone he cares about (he does care about his children btw, gonna discuss about this later) to have any remorse or concern over him. He'd feel better if his children just plain wants him dead, that's his way of loving them, the way Ai was for him.

Aqua's reaction towards Kamiki's ridiculous claim is so blank and unmoved, he should have been ANGRY, grabbed him by the collar, scold him, make inquiries, but Aqua just moves on to ask if Kamiki believed Ai's words. And then we see Kamiki's face with eyes, in acceptance, saying he did, continuing to say "everything Ai's said is the norm." That's a totally different approach to the claims he's made earlier, it contradicts it, because just a second ago he claims he wanted to have Ai feel the same despair as him and scare her for having claimed she can't love him, but then, he says what she's said (the fact that she can't love him) is understandable and right. Those two reactions, I believe, can't be simultaneously established at the same time. What he says later is how he truly feels about the situation. He just plain accepted that he was never loved. It wasn't something so surprising for him.

I said this in another post yesterday but he's as much as a liar as Ai is, they both constantly smile to pretend they're all right.

That smile he floats is consistent through the entire time he's shown in the story and the only times it breaks is when it has to do with Ai and when she sees him through. And it starts to break the moment he sees her talking about him. Every expression he makes when he sees Ai in the video are his true feelings. His smiles, on the other hand, are his coping mechanism and are all masks.

If you see his behavior patterns, Kamiki smiles when he's in distress, that's his way of coping when something he can't fully comprehend happens. He cries as he smiles as he seeked for Ai's help in a flashback in 153, and he tries to float a smile when Ai says she's going to leave him. And the way he responds to these tough situations, when he faces them, are... soft. He tries to calm himself down and inquires Ai "Why.. is that so?" and his reactions after that too.. are very far from aggressive. He was always far from being so during the times we actually see him do things.

I don't know how his way of speech is in Japanese, but I have a feeling he'd be the type that speaks in a very polite way. When him and Ai meet for the first time, I think he used honorifics to her and attached a -san to her name? He was pretty polite when he talks to Yura, too, and I mentioned this once but he EVEN ADDS A -KUN AND -SAN TO TRASH LIKE RYOSUKE AND AN ABUSER LIKE AIRI. The guy killed the love of his life and the woman.. I don't even want to bring up what she did to him, he has all the right to show signs of bitter hatred towards them, but.. he doesn't... This attitude of his is also consistent of how he was as a child. As a little boy, he was mistreated but he tried to endure it thinking 'but they're happy'. I don't think that part about him has changed so much. He finds it really hard to hate on people, even when it can be justified. That's why, I don't think he would have harnessed any hatred towards Ai. He didn't even do that to Ryosuke and Airi!!! They're terrible people!!! If he can't do that to those scumbags of individuals, would he to Ai?? Would he?? There are people who are selfish and are strong towards the weak and weak towards the strong but I don't think that would apply to his case. Nope, I don't think Kamiki originally has it in him to harm ANYONE at all.

I wholeheartedly see why Ai really wanted to protect him. He's just so.. vulnerable and maybe even too kind for his own good. Ai has a lot of protective instinct and she's really caring towards others in the ways she could. Seeing a guy like this.. would have really made her wish 'oh, I really want to help him.' AND that's exactly what she does!!! She's even left a message to her kids about this!! Help this guy with me, she says.

Continuing on with the polite and kind bit, this characteristic of him is ACTUALLY THERE in his interactions with his children. He didn't get to be with them, but I think he was happy he got a chance to approach and talk to them, he probably wants to give them their mother back with everything he's got from what I'm guessing. I think he may have just wanted to pet Ruby's head that one time his eye sparkled white and smiled. He could have been a proud dad, he praises his kids every time he meets them, says they're pretty, they made a good movie, congratulates them, says they shine. He understands Aqua's character and pays attention to Ruby when her career soars.

It's similar to how Ai was really proud of her children and wanted to spend more time with them but couldn't. I feel they would have been loving parents if they had raised their children together. It's just as how Ai's pictured it. She knows what kind of guy her boyfriend is. She's the person who'd understand him the most out of anyone, ever in the world and she wanted to be with him while being aware of it. He says he is willing to give his life for her, he STATES that as a quote. So, she did find someone who's pretty good! The guy had sweet nature, is good with kids, also had good looks(she had to mention that as she left lol.. that too is also what hurt him though, she knew exactly which strings to pull to render him speechless), doesn't have that much aggressive tendencies, is polite, a good actor, shares a similar past and could relate really well to her,

he did suffer a lot and that made him a bit insecure but he genuinely loved her and she did too, and if things brightened up a bit.. if he could have been lifted of those burdens he had..they really could have had a future together. The important thing here is that HE is the one she wants. Ai is very serious about love, and she's intelligent, I feel. She figures what's good for her and she gets what she wants. And she wanted to be with him. I don't think her being with him would be concluded as a mistake. There's been so many horrible things that were thrown to the both of them but, they were both essentially good people who found each other and wanted to love. I want the story to end with that sentiment. The more I try to analyze the guy, I feel he may not been that bad... he actually seems to be a pretty tender person inside. If only they could have been happy... idk how, but maybe they can still, you know? Because as they say in the first chapter, this story is fiction, but most fiction has a happy ending. Also, what I could infer from the movie arc when that was brought up again was that "love" isn't fiction. It's something very real that can't be brushed off as fake. Kamiki knows Ai's always loved him now, and he'll try to do something from his end. Love goes both ways and theirs will too, in the very end.

[presidenthades]

May I start off by saying that I love that you created a master list because I like to go and reread your thoughts while I wait for your next update(when I'm not rereading your other works of course).

In a world where Jace/Aegon elopement plan wasn't successful or other stuff down and miraculously war doesn't break out on Visery's deaths and Rhaenrya is able to ascend the throne peacefully. But Jace and Aegon are married off to other people, mostly because Rhaenrya believes her daughter needs a stronger consort than Aegon would provide and Aemond and Lucera have eyes for eachother so she can't use him.

How long is Aegon able to control itself before he ends up inadvertently starting a minor war/uprising/rebellion when he murders Jace's husband in order to become her second husband. Because as mentioned before Aegon would 100% try to murder Aemond if he was betrothed to Jace. I think he would go full on Yandere/insane if someone else got married to Jace(especially if he sees how much Jace does not want to get married).

(also rhaenrya repeating her fathers mistakes for added bonus of angst)

Thank you!! I will say there’s a tumblr character limit (I think?) so I wasn’t able to make a comprehensive masterlist. I had to pick out what I deemed were the highlights to include, and I might have to rotate which posts I link in the masterlist as I continue to write more metas.

Regarding your “what if Jace and Aegon marry other people”: I have a similar fic idea that I forgot to include in the masterlist previously, so I’ll just repeat it now and add this post to the masterlist later. It’s another spinoff AU of my Main Timeline, like how Lavender is a spinoff AU, and the premise is “what if the Dance happens…kinda…but nobody actually dies because everyone is too horny to function, and the genre is romcom instead of tragedy.”

Aegon and Jace don’t elope, so Aegon marries Helaena but it’s unconsummated because Aegon continues harboring delusional hope he can marry Jace somehow. Fast-forward to Viserys dying, and Aegon is more readily persuaded by the Greens to take the throne because as king, he could have the Faith annul his marriage and leave him free to remarry someone of his choosing. 🤔

Rhaenyra sends Jace and Luce as envoys to represent her interests/claim to potential allies. Luce encounters Aemond at Storm’s End, and they argue so much that Borros kicks them both out of his castle. Then they keep arguing outside, and Aemond has the brilliant idea to just…kidnap her. 💡

Aemond brings Luce to the Red Keep, and Aegon’s like “that’s not fair, why does Aemond get to kidnap his wife.” Then the bros find out from Luce that Jace is supposed to go North after the Vale so she can marry Cregan Stark. Aegon panics, and he and Aemond kidnap Jace too while she’s in transit. New Targ tradition, you have to kidnap your wife before you marry her. 😍

So both Jace and Luce are (pampered) prisoners at the Red Keep. Luce says to Jace, “hey I think Aegon is still really into you, you should take advantage of that and seduce him.” To which Jace replies, “fine, but you have to do something about Aemond so he doesn’t take Vhagar out for mass murder.” 🤝

And uh. That’s how you stop the Dance of the Dragons, I guess.

[sorcerous-caress]

I want to see Mizora cuck Wyll. I mean canonically in the game she can ;) - Shadowheart anon

Mizora cucking Wyll 

[ Smut, Cucking, Cheating, nb!reader ]

At first, she merely observed both of you.

The shy glances, the sweet words, the romantic dances, and proper courting.

She found it endearing, really. As endearing as seeing two baby deers attempt to stand for the first time.

Endearingly disgusting.

Did her pup really jump straight into acting as if the two of you were married after a single dance together? She knew he was desperate, but she didn't realise it was this severe.

You see, she felt bad for you. All of this effort, teasing, and yet you received nothing more than a few quick kisses.

Poor you all frustrated sexually while Wyll remained unaware and oblivious to your basic needs.

She just can't have that, can she? What kind of owner would she be if she didn't pick up after her pup's mistakes.

And Wyll never satisfying you was something she was dead set on correcting.

Maybe she could've whispered a thing or two to him, even guided his hand. But she knows the stubborn boy all too well, he'd think it's another one of her tricks and do the exact opposite.

And on any other normal day it might have been a trick, he was just so very fun to toy with.

But this time she has her eyes set on a much more fun activity that involves you. 

She kept thinking about it for a while, just how would your moans sound like? Would you yell her name between loud obscene moans? Or would you make quiet mewls while biting your lips?

Curiosity was killing her, and Wyll wasn't delivering at all. 

So one night, while her pup was away, probably busy saving kittens from trees or something, she made her way to your tent.

By the hells, you looked even more delicious up close.

How does Wyll not keep you chained to his bed and have his way with you all the time? It would be the first thing she'd do if she was in his place.

But enough about that useless pet.

Mizora made her offer clear to you, using all of her devilish charms and enticing curves to her advantage. Slowly explaining all the things she wanted to do to you, all the fun she planned for the both of you.

If you'd just say yes. A simple verbal contract, and she isn't even asking for your soul or anything in return.

No one has to know, well unless you want them to know. It really doesn't make a difference to her at all. 

All she wants is you in a pretty little collar while she holds the end of the leash. She'd spoil you and take you to the depths of pleasure embodied within each level of the nine hells.

And she has seen the way you look at her. How your eyes linger on the front of her open dress, how you stare at her horns in such awe.

She might even let you touch them, if you beg enough. 

Sit on her lap and show her just how low you're willing to drag your dignity through the mud, how much you're willing to humiliate yourself for her.

Let the big bad mean devil women corrupt you, you poor poor thing. You just couldn't say no to the devil, could you? Of course not. 

So just claim that she manipulated you while grinding against her fingers between your thighs. Claim she tricked you while you lick and suck on her chest, taking it so beautifully into your mouth.

And your contract with her will stay sealed away from all prying eyes. No one else in this plane of existence will know about your agreement to let her have her way with you whenever and wherever she wanted.

No one but the two of you.

Well, at least until the inevitable day where she orders Wyll to come to her for a very urgent matter concerning his contract. It just happened to coincide with the day she had your head buried between her thighs with your hands tied behind your back.

[androgynoussublimeangel]

One of the biggest bummers for me with Monkie Kid fandom is the unequal idealization of Wukong and villianization of Macaque. I think it downplays the incredibly deep and interesting dynamic that comes from people who have hurt each other but are learning and growing as individuals coming back into orbit of each other and relearning who they are to each other.

It also goes to say that while Lego Monkie Kid is derived from JTTW it can definitely stand on its own considering what they've modified or adapted to work better with what they were aiming for.

Objectively when the series begins Wukong is a better person but he wasn't when his life was more intertwined with Macaque.

In fact they're both pretty bad at the begining. And often even enabled each other to be worse.

Wukong made lots of rash decisions that even if he claims was for "us" was often motivated by selfish ideals for glory pushed by the brotherhood as he disregarded Macaques opinions and worries.

Whereas Macaque has always been focused on perceived slights, essentially victimizing himself more than he actually is and using this to justify his harmful behaviors. He often prods when he should be understanding or aloof when he should be sympathetic. He's quick to lash out because he's always on the defensive.

They both have done things wrong but I'm tired of the fandom always siding with Wukong when the idea is that they're BOTH in the wrong in different ways and most of the turmoil in their relationships stems from simple miscommunications that are escalated by the fact that neither had really faced their past (until season 4 obviously)

And most of the animosity they feel towards each other is leftover from a close relationship now in shambles and being forced back together in order to survive.

(Some people irl can't even handle being in the same room in a cordial setting with someone they aren't friends with anymore. Like come on not crazy that they both instinctivly become defensive. Not to mention we see that they often teased and bickered playfully so not odd to fall back into the pattern just with more animosity. )

We've been following Macaques slow redemption, his willingness to fight LBD despite not knowing if they'd succeed and could result in them all being destroyed. As well as his misguided attempts to mentor MK in his own emotional stunted way.

And Wukong himself has made his own major mistakes as a mentor as well that's like the entirety of the 3rd season but again he's had more character growth thus admitting his wrongs and reflecting on them comes much easier to him, out of the two Wukong is currently the more emotionally intelligent as odd as that sounds. He's more willing to face the reality of his actions than Macaque is but this aligns with their character types. Wukong often being blunt, straightforward and headstrong compared to Macaque who is hesitant and holds his cards close to his chest quick to hide his true intentions behind attitude and misdirection. Along with this Wukong is predictably bitter when trapped under the mountain especially when Macaque escaped the consequences which once again plays into his self-serving attitude but at the same time Macaque had always been hesitant about crossing the Jade Emperor and warned Wukong that in classic Wukong fashion, he wasn't thinking it through and considering the consequences.

(Side note I find it incredibly odd for people to not consider all of elements on both Wukongs and Macaques separate experiences. As well as the odd skew on Macaques motives during the Samadi fire arc, since his resurrection his one goal has been to escape and protect his second chance at life, stealing Wukongs power from MK is a measure to protect himself and its easier to trick MK than Wukong (this isnt to say its justified, hurting MK was wrong plain and simple because again Macaque is heavily flawed as well and hasn't had the time or guidance Wukong did to reflect and change cuz he was ya know, dead (but his death is another interesting conversation when considering the context of the original vs LMK which might play it off in a different way or have to avoid it altogether due to rating issues)and when he is forced to work with LBD once again his life is on the line, that's called coercion. AND he still fights a possessed Wukong at MK behest, despite the likely traumatic fear that would be triggered by fighting Wukong again and that LBD might not stop a possessed Wukong from killing him again. Doesn't mean what he did was right but if you consider from his perspective along with the fact that he died before he got to have his own "journey to the west" or journey of growth and self-reflection. We're seeing the Macaque that Wukong killed all those years ago. It makes understanding his motives a little easier.)

[asexual-society]

This might be a stupid question but what exactly is "internalised gay-/bi-/ace- etc. phobia"? Is it only called that if I'm ace and wish I wasn't for example? Or is it also internalised phobia if someone claims to be accepting of a sexuality but secretly isn't?

And how do I know if I have internalised phobia and how do I get over that? I'm aroace and I'm fine with the ace part but the aro part troubles me sometimes. I can't help but see it as a huge personal loss. I know about qprs but I want the romance, I want the feeling and I'm not capable of it. And that bothers me. And yes, it makes me feel broken.

So. We live in a society. Most of us live in a society that is misogynistic, that is racist, that is homophobic, that is ableist, etc. Everyone who lives in a society like this will spend their life internalising these messages, so even if they are a part of one of these groups, they may still hold bigoted views towards other people of their same group (or towards themselves). I'm going to explain to the best of my understanding but people are free to correct any mistakes I might have made.

A common example of internalised homophobia might be if a gay man is distrustful of other gay people who are especially over the top in expressing their queerness, or has a dislike for effeminate gay men, or a lesbian who thinks gender nonconforming or butch lesbians are ugly. Internalised -phobias and -isms can also be self-directed having been enforced for many years by others, such as a woman who shaves her whole body because she views having body hair as being "unhygenic" for women, or a woman who genuinely believes that she, and all women, are less intelligent and more emotional than men.

A person with internalised acephobia may have learnt from society that being a virgin or not having sex, or specifically being asexual, is weird or embarrassing or cringe, and feel the need to have sex just so as not to be one of "those people".

Crucially in order for some form of bigotry to be called "internalised", the person has to be a member of that group, so if an Asian person is racist towards a black person, that isn't internalised racism, it's just regular racism (or specifically anti-black racism). If an alloromantic asexual person says something like "I'm ace but don't worry, I can still feel love", that's not internalised arophobia, it's just regular arophobia (but it might also play into internalised aphobia if they feel that the only way they can deal with their asexuality is to throw themself as hard into their romantic endeavours as possible).

Lots of aromantic people struggle with the effects of amatonormativity, and feeling that their life will be incomplete without romance, or that they're missing out on a fundamental human experience (this is not true, you can live a happy and fulfilled life without romance or any form of relationship). You could be what's known as Cupioromantic, which is a label under the aro umbrella that describes aro people who enjoy being in romantic relationships and seek them out, but it's important to understand the distinction between wanting to be in a romantic relationship because you enjoy it, and wanting to be in a romantic relationship because you feel like you won't be happy any other way.

Unfortunately (if you see it that way), wanting not to be aro will not make you magically allo. Wanting to be another sexuality has never been able to turn someone into that other sexuality, that's why conversion therapy doesn't work. You have to find a way to live with it, and there's no surefire way to accept your orientation, but having other friends who share your orientation can be one of the best ways to feel less broken and less alone. Personally, I like to write about aro characters who are like me, mostly because they don't really exist anywhere else, and it helps me to remind myself that I'm not the only person like me in the world. But you could also listen to more music that isn't about love, or see if you can avoid specific things that you know make you feel unhappy in your aromanticism. I'm not saying it's easy, and I'm not saying that path to acceptance will be linear, but I do think trying to work towards that acceptance is worthwhile.

I hope this helps, and that you feel better about yourself soon.

~ mod key

edit: the reason i hesitated to call "wishing i weren't aro" "internalised arophobia" in that post, is largely because it depends where the desire not to be aro is coming from. if it's from a profound loneliness that many aro people experience due to their aromanticism, being misunderstood or even abandoned by their friends, having difficulty connecting with people who aren't aro, that's very different from a person wishing they were aro because society tells us we aren't whole without a partner, or that we're missing out on this experience, or even that we're broken or mentally ill for not being able to experience this sort of attraction.

[morethanafanstuff]

In defence of Molly...

In my first playthrough years ago I disliked her. I thought she was a spoiled brat. But that was because I didn't understand her. Being more in the camp in my other playthroughs I changed my mind on her completly. And now I truly feel sorry for her. Now she does have one issue: She doesn't integrate herself into the gang at all. She's always away from others. Is it inside Dutchs and her tent, next to it or completly alone somewhere else. But at the same time I understand that for her it might be more difficult. Maybe this life isn't made for her and I think she's with the Van der Linde-Gang, because she truly loves Dutch. And seeing him treating her like shit makes it sad. He is manipulative. He gaslights her. When she tries to talk with him, he is telling her that she's too emotional, to keep herself together, that it isn't important enough. He treats her like everything is her fault, that all she is is too emotional. And truly I don't think he loves her the way she deserves it. In fact, we can witness how his "love" vanishes from chapter to chapter. And there were a few times were Molly tried to reach out for help. One time she tried to talk to Arthur, and I truly wanted to help her, but Uncle interrupted her and basically pushed her to the side and she went away. And this was not the only time. She really tried. So in some way maybe this was her start to integrate herself. And this is what makes me feel sorry for her. Because at some point she tried, but we simply couldn't help. She is not a spoiled brat. All she wants is to be loved by the men that treats her more like an object - because I am sure enough that she's good enough for some alone time in their tent at night. She wants to be heard and taken seriously, which Dutch does not do. Her behaviour isn't perfect. She doesn't do any work, no chores, because she refuses to be someones servant. I think this shows that she is not made for a life like this. But does that mean she deserves all of this? And then when Dutch disappeared and was stranded in Guarma, she thought he was dead. I think after everything, this was her breaking point. Because Dutch was the only person she really sticked to in the camp. She doesn't get along with Karen, Sean doesn't like her, and she never really talks to the others. So who is there? At this point she's alone in this changing world that doesn't want Outlaws anymore. And we know how everything turned out; when Dutch was back, she was drunk and claimed to be a traitor. That she was the one telling the Pinkertons everything. We all know now that she lied. And I truly think that was her way of finally getting Dutchs attention. Attention that he for a long time didn't gave her. I think all she wanted was him to hear her out, but of course that was a mistake. Yet she was drunk, so I can't blame her for her action. At the same time I can't blame Susan for killing her. Susan will be another post, because I kind of enjoy this. Now, if all of this wasn't bad enough, she didn't even get a funeral. Dutch ordered the others to burn her. Now I get the anger of the gang. Because they want to protect each other. And they didn't know she was lying. But knowing that she wasn't a rat, I truly mean it when I say that she didn't deserve that. Nothing that happened to her. She is not a bad person. She is flawed, she is not perfect, but she is a victim. A victim of Dutchs neglect and maybe the right word even is abuse. Molly deserves better. And I don't think she deserves the spoiled-brat-title.

[sweetescapeartist]

VEGETA A.K.A. THE YAMCHA DOWNGRAD

What do I mean by this? Simple.

Vegeta may be a more powerful character than Yamcha, but all of Yamcha's bad qualities (like his cockiness) are amplified in Vegeta. And Yamcha's good qualities (like his compassion) are minimized in Vegeta.

If you want to say I'm slandering Vegeta for pointing out some facts about him pre-development, go right ahead.

Odd how you can't criticize the alleged "character with the most development in Dragon Ball" during the time he hadn't developed. I mean... he had to be pretty darn terrible in order to be "the most developed character" that fans claim he is, right? Or are fans foolish enough to think that every evil action Vegeta did before he changed wasn't actually evil? 🤔

YAMCHA:

A handsome bad boy who Bulma fell for.

A bandit, but not really an evil guy.

Written to lose some battles to show how strong an opponent is.

Cocky, but gets humbled enough that he becomes more respectful and aware.

Sacrifices his life to fight in place of his friend & dies in an explosion. Bulma cries over his death.

Ended up in a crater once. Fans make fun of his death, calling it the "Yamcha pose."

Has a reasonable fear of death after dying multiple times and being at near death.

Spent time with Bulma and took her out on dates despite having far less money than her.

Used to argue with Bulma, then break up and get back together often.

Bulma was upset when Yamcha would go to train to get stronger. So, he trained less to spend more time with her.

Gets along well with Bulma after they broke up. No arguing and they're friendly with each other.

VEGETA:

An evil villain who Bulma had a 1 night stand with.

An evil genocidal maniac.

Written to lose many battles to show how strong an opponent is. Also to show how Vegeta's ego & overconfidence often lead to his own downfall.

Extremely cocky, arrogant, & egotistical. Constantly gets humbled, but barely learns from it because he's so stubborn that he refuses to learn.

Sacrifices his life because he is the reason the universe is in danger & he dies in an explosion. Bulma cries over his death.

Ended up in a crater over 30 times. Oddly enough, the fandom doesn't promote any "#PrinceOfAllCraters" memes.

Talks big, but is actually very fearful when his opponent is too strong. He will give up & freeze in fear or desperately attempt a suicide attack so he doesn't lose to his enemy.

Would rather train than go on a date with Bulma. A moocher.

Often argues with Bulma and ignores her to go train. (Having a Saiyan is indeed toilsome.)

Bulma is often upset that Vegeta trains all the time. Vegeta now trains even more often & leaves for months to a year to train. (Ironically, Bulma used to get upset with Yamcha for training far less than Vegeta.)

Barely gets along with Bulma after all these years. There are a few moments where they are friendly with each (besides moments when they discuss with others about saving the world). But, he has finally managed to improve into a caring family man that is less selfish.

It took 13 to 18 years, but at least Vegeta became a better person. Vegeta may be stronger than Yamcha, however, he's no Yamcha when it comes to compassion, kindness, & attentiveness. But, Bulma made her mistake and had to live with it for years until something good finally came of her relationship with Vegeta. (Besides their children.)

Vegeta is basically "What-if Yamcha was evil & a huge prick who treated Bulma wrong for years?"

Wait a sec... that sounds kinda like the lies the fandom spreads about Yamcha... 🤔

Could they be deflecting Vegeta's treatment & negligence of Bulma onto Yamcha in order to make Vegeta & VegeBul appear more appealing? 🤔🤔 (Even though they claim Vegeta had the most development, they take his development away from him just to make him seem "perfect.")

Why lie about other characters so often to make your favorites look better? Those particular characters must be worse than the lies told about Yamcha & others. If not, then those "fans" should stop spreading lies.

If you gotta lie to make a character look better, then that character is trash. I ain't saying Vegeta or VegeBul is trash. Those who defame Yamcha & other characters in order to prop up VegeBul are the ones who are inadvertently saying that Vegeta & Bulma are trash.

[thefriendlyoldstoryteller]

Melinoë and the Thief

Chapter 1: Soup!

Hades 2 Fanfiction

Warning: This is probably inaccurate and made for fun.

Melinoë just returned from one of her failed attempts to destroy Chronos, as usual. She wished to use the witches cauldron, but Hecate was using it for one of her rituals. So instead she checked on the fated list of minor prophecies and saw a rather odd one, it stated:

'' The princess of the underworld will meet a useful mortal under strange circumstances. ''

Just as she was pondering about what this might mean, there was a flash of light by Hecate's ritual that drew her attention. She walked over and asked: “Headmistress what happened?”

“I am not quite sure. The ritual was executed correctly.” Hecate replied.

In this moment a naked man erupted from the Center of the cauldron, gasping for air, his lower half still covered by the brew.

“Ah it burns!” the figure screamed.

“Wait. No. The fire is gone. But where am I? Who are you? And why am I in soup!?” he frantically asked.

“Calm yourself. You are at the Crossroads. You are save here, mortal. And this is not soup, but a ritual brew.” Hecate answered.

He looked at the '' Brew '' and took a quick sip.

“No, definitely soup. And bad one too.” he said, trying to be funny in order to reduce tension.

Melinoë interjected before anyone could reply: “Who are you, if I may ask?”

“Sorry missy, but I never introduce myself first. Out of principle.” he replied smoothly.

“My apologies, the situation must be quite confusing, let me introduced myself then. I am Melinoë, princess of the underworld and this is Headmistress Hecate, goddess of witchcraft.”

“Goddess of witchcraft? Wait that means.” he looks over to Hecate “Oh, no.” he sinks deeper into the soup “Can...can you just send me back to the fiery place, please.”

“First answer our questions, then we will see. Speak now, who are you and what is your business in the underworld?” Hecate demanded.

“Well, not a good idea to lie to a goddess, so.” he mumbled.

He stood back up to his full high and with pride and confidence proclaimed: “I am Miron, greatest thief in existence and self-proclaimed god of thieves.” after he said that Miron lost his confidence and continued “ And I was in the underworld to, well. Um. To steal from Hades and hoped he would make me officially the god of thieves. And I know, I know, that sounds bad. Because it is. But hey, stealing lies in my blood, I can´t help myself.”

“I can't believe that.” Nemesis stated as she joined the others at the cauldron.

“I know, pretty impressive.” he replied.

“No. I mean, I don't believe that you just wandered into the underworld without anyone noticing. You could be one of Chronos spies, as far as we know.” she readying herself for a fight.

“Wait!” Melinoë jumped between Miron and Nemesis “The fated list spoke about a mortal that would be useful to us. Maybe he is that mortal.”

“Have you any proof of what you claim, mortal?” Hecate interrupts.

Without hesitation Miron started to fish around in the soup, searching for something.

“Here is your proof!” he held up a carrot, confusing everyone.

“Oh, rats.” realising his mistake he searched once more.

“There it is.” he pulled out a dark purple gemstone “This is a gem I stole from a really realistic looking statue of Nyx. Now that I think about it maybe it wasn't a statue.”

Nemesis tore the gem out of his hand. “Yep. That's one of Nyx's, alright.” she stated, inspecting the gem “From her necklace specifically.” she continued.

“This proves that you spoke the truth, but one question remains, are you a spy?” Hecate reasoned.

“I'm not a bloody spy. I'm a proud (soon to be) god of thieves...” Miron exclaimed. He thought for a moment and quickly added. “And sometimes a mercenary, thieving is not as lucrative as you might think. Most of the time I work for the highest bidder. So, what are you paying me?”

“We spare your life.” Nemesis threatened.

“Sold, to the Lady with the death threats.” he answered.

“Now. Can I please get some clothes. I really hate, to keep standing in this soup.” he said.

“Of course. I get you something, maybe Odysseus has some spare clothes.” Melinoë said and walked away.

“Miron, as long as you respect the Crossroads and its inhabitants, you may stay. Nemesis, since the situation is now under control, you can return to your station.” Hecate declared.

“I keep an eye on you.” Nemesis said with cold anger, while she was leaving.

“You can try.” he replied, challenging her.

And so Miron stayed at the Crossroads, what wacky high jinks will he be up to? How can he be of service to Melinoë? This and maybe more in the next chapter of this cobbled together Fanfiction.

But for now

THE END

[kny-stardust]

Chapter 3 - Promise on the Snow

Word Count: 3014

Summary: Your family has been turned into onis, and a man has arrived on the spot, wanting to claim their lives. Your father told you to spare no mercy to those who threaten your family, but can you stain you hands with blood of another person?

You stared at the man that stood before you. Tanjiro was motionless in your arms, but you could still hear him breathing and feel his claws clinging into you. You held him close to you as you watched the man, more specifically, his weapon. You also knew he stared back at you, if his lingering gaze and tense stance was anything to go by.

“Why did you do that?” He asked you suddenly, his voice low, which almost made you mistake it by the wind. He sounded disappointed. “Why did you move? It would have been faster and less painful if he hadn't been aware of it.” He asked again, but didn't seem actually asking her; it was more like talking to himself.

“What are you talking about?” You questioned him, although you fully understood what he meant. You just needed a small opening. The handaxe wasn't too far away from your grasp. You could be quick enough to grab it and protect both you and Tanjiro from him. One small opening. That's all you needed.

The man, however, didn't answer, but instead raised his hand towards you two, which made you flinch a bit.

“Give it to me.” He demanded, staring back at you.

“What are you talking about? Give you what?” You asked him, half-screaming, which made Tanjiro start struggle against you, forcing you to hold him tighter.

“That thing you're holding. That oni. Give him to me.” He said coldly as he glared at your brother. “It's okay if you can't move. Just release him and try to stay away. I'll make sure to make a quick job.”

You feel your body freeze by a second as the words left his mouth. You were sure you didn't hear him wrong, but your mind found it hard to process them. Did he just asked that? That straightforwardly and plainly? You grit your teeth as you glare back at him.

“What nonsense are you saying!? Do you hear yourself!? He's not it! He's my brother!” You screamed at him and you held Tanjiro closer to you.

“I must apologize, girl, but he's no longer your brother. He's an oni now, a demon like they like to call them. A man-eater monster, a threat to all, including you.” He said, his hand still reaching out to you as he took a step forward, but you crawled a step back, further from him, closer to the handaxe, taking your struggling brother with you.

“You're wrong... You're wrong! He's not a monster! He's not! He wouldn't do nothing like that to anyone!” You cried back, feeling tears starting to gather in your eyes. “He's a victim! Just like mom and Nezuko! The real monsters were the ones who did this to him!”

He stopped in his tracks, sadness taking over his features as he watches you both for a moment. After seconds that feel like an eternity, he sighs and you watch him crouch a little, prepared to launch himself forward, towards you both. You think fast, throwing yourself and Tanjiro to the ground, closer to the handaxe, your body covering his to not allow that man to touch him. Your hand find the handle of the weapon you sought, but your body met the cold snow under your. You quickly pushed yourself up and looking down, you saw no trace of Tanjiro. You mind goes blank for a moment until you hear him and looks for him. Your heart sinks when you see him struggling against the man that presses him down against the snow, one of his hand and a knee on your brother's back. The other hand was still holding the spear, which blade was dangerously close to your brother's neck.

“Let go of him!” You cry at him, standing up, with the axe in hand and rushing towards him.

“Stop!” He orders, his spear turning towards you, making you freeze on your tracks. His eyes are staring at you with pity, looking into your soul. “Listen: I know what you're going through. Believe me when I say I've seen this countless of times. Your brother was attacked and demon blood got into his wound. When this happens, a person either dies in the process or turns into a demon. Your brother is no longer a human, but a demon. There are only three fates waiting for him: to become a man-eater monster, to burn in the sunlight or to die by the blade of a Demon Slayer like me. There's nothing else awaiting for him! To prevent your brother from suffering or inflicting pain on others, I must kill him!”

“No! You're wrong! Tanjiro would never kill someone! He's good person! He's still the same! He recognized me! He can be turned back!” You cried as you took a step forward, but the tip of the blade quickly turned to your brother's neck. “Stop it!” You told him, tears falling down your eyes.

“Crying and screaming won't do you any good. We wouldn't be here if it worked.” He told you, surprisingly calmly, but his tone was low and his eyes were cold. “Listen. It's not unlikely that the onis have a cure for your brother, but what can you do? What will you do when you're against them? The same as now? If anything, you'll only put up a good pity show for them before they devour you. The way you are now, no person will respect you, let alone demons who care about no one other than themselves!” He tells you, looking at you the same way a disapproving parent would look at a child throwing a tantrum. “You tried to save him, didn't you? You were smart, trying to get to that axe, the only mean to protect both of yourselves, but what then? Would you attack me? That alone wouldn't be enough. You would have to kill me and you know that, but could you? Could you be cold enough to kill another human being? To have blood of somebody else in your hand!?”

Your blood freezes the second you hear that questioning, taking a short step back. For a moment, you imagined the scene, the man laying down on your feet, the snow red around him and you covered in his blood along with the axe. You could tell your family fortunate enough to live in a place where the people were (mostly) peaceful and there were very few dangerous animals, so aside from a couple of wolves, some foxes and the bear you watched your father slashing with the same very axe you held, death and killing were rare for you, and they were never human. Your father always told you and your siblings to be kind and gentle to others, because it paid off more than being unkind or ruthless. So, your heart pained by having to follow to your duty or to keep your kindness.

“You can't... For the second time, you couldn't protect him, but I assure you that none of this is your fault... There was nothing you could have done in both situations... I'll take full responsibility for what happens later, but first...” He says while raising his spear to Tanjiro. “I must finish this one first.”

As soon as those last words left his mouth, your body moved fast, closing the distance between the two of you and swinging the axe in the direction of his neck. He reacts properly, blocking the blade, but didn't seemed to expect the strength that there was behind the weapon. He was thrown back a few meters away, finally being off of your brother. His eyes are wide open as he stares at you, but you couldn't care less to his shock. Your father told you that you should show no mercy to those who threaten hour family, and this man would be no exception. You breathe in deeply, feeling your body heat up, your heart beat faster and a burning feeling crawl from your hairline to your forehead. You tighten your grip on the handle, launching yourself towards the man who quickly stands up and prepares himself.

Blow after blow, he blocks your attacks, just barely, his bones shaking with the impacts and his fee getting dragged through the snow; he's dealing better with them than he did with the first one, but it was not enough. He merely blocked your attacks and didn't attack back. Except, a couple times he seemed to try to hit you in some places that would make you stop, but you knew what he intended to do and swiftly doged or parried his advances. The edge was yours. You were out for blood, but he hesited, not wanting to kill you. It would be a matter of time before you dealt the definitive blow. Just one would be enough.

Catching an opening, you close in with the man, so close you could her his erratic heart, and swinging your axe to cut the line of his life, but the next thing you know is that your flying, with an aching pain consuming your stomach. Then, you hit something, hard, knocking out the air of your lungs as making the darkness surround you, quickly. The stress of the situation had kept you awake thought the whole ordeal, but it still was the middle of the night when you woke up and the tiredness from carrying a basket full of coal was not completely washed away. You were tired and with the impacts you had on your head, you couldn't resist the dark ess that came to claim you. Your last sight was of that of your brother, on his knees watching you. And your last thought was you begging him to run.

“(Y/N)...” You heard a voice coming from the darkness, but you couldn't open your eyes. They were so heavy. “(Y/N)...” The voice called you sweetly, but you couldn't see them, nor reply. A hand touched your face, brushing your cheek. The touch was warm and gentle. “I'm sorry, dear... I'm so, so sorry... Please forgive me... I didn't mean to leave you alone like this...” The voice said, almost sobbing. “Please, take care of your siblings for me and dad, okay?”

“Mom!” You cried once you recognized the voice, but when you opened your eyes, you couldn't see her. She was gone.

You stare at the half lit ceiling of your house, feeling a great weight over your body. Slowly, you look around, taking notice of the big and heavy covers over you, as well as the hair of your siblings. Takeo, Hanako and Shigeru were on your left, the latter resting his head on your shoulder and the former resting with his arm over the other two, protectively. Nezuko and Tanjiro were on your right, with her facing you away and him laying on his stomach, making you unable to see their faces, but you could still hear their peaceful breathing. And last but not least, Rokuta was laying on top of you, clinging to your clothes as his head rested on top of your heart. You sigh in relief, hugging your baby brother, who stirred a bit in his sleep before calming down.

It had all been a dream. A very bad dream. It wasn't a first, but it was the first you remembered what you dreamed.

You turn to your left, where there was light coming from, but you noticed that it was the outside, which you could see was strangely somewhat bright. Stranger though, was the silence that took over your house. Everyone, including yourself, woke up early in that house; more often than not, you woke up early to find your mother already up preparing for the day. Usually, you could already hear sounds coming from the kitchen, but you heard none.

Carefully, you lay your baby brother in your place on the bed as you get up to check up on your mother. However, standing in the middle of the room you notice that the room felt strangely larger. That's when you remember that the room you and your siblings shared didn't have a opening to the outside, but your parents' did. Did you all sleep in your mother's room? Why? You didn't remember it. You shake those feelings aside, blaming your forgetfulness on the sleepiness in your head, walking towards the opened doors to close them. It's the middle of winter. They could catch a cold.

“Ah... You woke up...” A voice said, calmly and gently, but you felt chills rushing down your back.

As you held the doorframe, you slowly turned to where the voice came. There you saw him. The same man from your dreams, with the very same haori and sorrowful gaze , was walking towards you. The memories of your dream came crashing over you, bringing you to your knees. Tears ran down your face and sobs escaped from your mouth as you remembered the sight of your mother. It couldn't be! It couldn't be true! You shook your head hard to chase away those thoughts. You had to be dreaming! You had to! That could be true! Your mother couldn't be dead! You refused to believe it! You refused!

You heard the man stopping in front of you.

“You're not real... Nothing of this... Is real... Go away... Leave us alone... Let me wake up...” You managed to say between your sobs, hoping you could bring yourself to wake up.

The man didn't say anything for quite sometime. For a moment, you believed you really were just imagining things. That, however, broke the moment you heard something sinking to the snow and had arms warping themselves around you, bringing it to a hug. The arms were strong, the chest that you were held against was firm and you felt a pleasant scent of a flower surrounding you. More than anything, you felt warmth from his body against you.

He was real. Nothing was a dream. Everything you "dreamed" was real. You were wide awake.

“I'm sorry for what you had to go through... I truly am...” The man told you, and that moment you broke.

You couldn't hold it in anymore. You hugged him back and started to cry on his shoulder. You didn't even remember what he had done prior. You just needed a friend shoulder to cry in, because you and your siblings were orphans now. First you father. And now, just as you were managing to move on, your mother. How would you be able to tell them that?

The man didn't complain, didn't seem to mind. Instead, he patted your head and rubbed your back. He let you cry freely, not saying a word. He only sighed once your sobs began to die down. He let go of you, watching you wipe away your tears as he kneeled at the floor by you side. You breathed in deeply, calming your aching heart before you opened your mouth.

“I'm sorry...” You told him. “I'm sorry for this pitiful scene... And for earlier too...”

“No, I understand... You were in your right in both times.” He replied in a quiet voice. “Besides, sorrow can lead us to things that are unlike us... So, I can't really blame you.”

You just nod at his response. You understood that well.

“...why didn't you kill Tanjiro?” You asked him after some silence. “You... You kept saying that you would kill him... Then, why didn't you do it when you knocked me out?”

You notice a strange shift in his movements, but he soon quiet down.

“I decided to give him a shot... Both him and your sister.” He said, making you look at him, eyes wide.

“My... Sister...?” You asked him.

“Yes... Nezuko. I think it's what your siblings called her...” He said. “She turned into an oni as well... She tried to wake you up when you were knocked out.” He said, then turning to you. “By your reaction, I believe you thought she was dead, right?”

You nod at his inquiring, ashamed by the fact.

“It's okay... Usually, you don't know when someone will turn into an oni. Some are quick, others take a long time. Besides, they stay in a near death state during that and seeing your family dead and your brother barely ‘hanging on’, it's no surprise you didn't notice it. Don't punish yourself over it...” He tells you in a soft tone.

You don't reply, just nodding at him.

“Either way, I decided to give you siblings a chance... I won't kill your sister and brother, as long as they don't hurt anyone...” He says as he stands up. “As for you, you better keep your word...”

You look at him.

“Keep... My word?” You asked, your voice soft.

“You said that he could be cured, right? Then, you shouldn't wait for others... They won't understand or listen to you. Look for the cure yourself and turn them back.” He said, picking up his spear that was put aside. “Look for an old man called Hantengu that lives at the foot of the Mount Sagiri. Tell him that Aizetsu sent you. He'll help you... And, don't let the sun touch your siblings. It should be relatively safe now that it's cloudy, but direct sunlight is fatal for them.” He tells you, sparing one last glace at you and your sleeping siblings inside the house before he vanished from your sight, leaving you alone to your thoughts.

[starlightiing]

I think we have to be careful of who from each driver to believe about the team instructions. It is not new for drivers to exaggerate or even twist the truth when talking to the media to make themselves look better or to discredit another driver. I'm not calling any them liars btw.

Simply put we don't even know how clear the instructions were given to each driver. We know Alpine isn't the best when it comes to communication between their drivers. Prime example is Japan GP 2023. Ocon knew one thing and Gasly knew another.

Another thing, this isn't the first time both drivers have said completely different things to the media, just in China, they both had very different statements on the value of the upgraded package.

This is a good point as well. And not even that one would lie over the other, sometimes interpretations are just different as well.

I think it's very hard to draw definitive conclusions with all that's circulating around. And it doesn't help when there are people making baseless, ridiculous claims on anon in other's ask boxes with no sources.

Personally, I believe them both. I think there was an order that was similar to what Pierre said it was, and I think it was misinterpreted, misinformed, or even simply Esteban seeing a chance, taking it, and grossly misjudging that opportunity (but not intentionally making an attack on Pierre, that part was entirely accidental). Supporting the other car is one thing, but if you can overtake your teammate safely and get additional points for the team (and selfishly a little more for yourself) wouldn't you? He just wasn't able to do it safely. Grossly misjudged.

Intention means a lot...and I don't think the intention was there to cause Pierre any grief. Esteban fucked up, he made a huge mistake, and he's more than paid for it (and would have more than paid for it alone on that crazy penalty for Canada).

At the end of the day, thankfully, Pierre still got his point. Esteban knocked himself out of the race and got a huge penalty and a big slap from Alpine. What more could anyone actually want from that?

Esteban and Pierre may not like each other but every incident they have together doesn't have to be an attack on the other's life. Esteban saying he follows team orders isn't calling Pierre a liar. Esteban saying "Pierre is a liar" would be him calling Pierre a liar.

I think people forget just how human these guys are - which is, by the way, just as human as the rest of us. We make mistakes. Especially when your heart rate is jacked to high hell in a hot, cramped car going at speeds most people can only ever dream of achieving in one of the most prestigious and competitive sports in the world.

It's so easy to judge, I guess, when you're not the one in that situation. (And this goes for everyone attacking Pierre for his onboard response as well. Again, I reiterate. From his POV all he sees is Esteban coming in to make an incredibly bold move on him and now there's damage to both cars. In a spot where Pierre is in the points for the first time this season and fighting for his own points and glory here. I think from his perspective he genuinely thought he was being attacked because that's kind of what it looked like. His heart rate is also jacked. He's also hot and uncomfortable and has adrenaline rushing through him. He's an emotional person, and he yelled because all of that comes to a head when your teammate nearly takes you out (intentional of the teammate or not).

As an empathetic person, I can't help seeing the issues and the non issues from both of their sides and I can't help concluding that they should both be treated like the imperfect human beings they are and not dragged through the mud, suffocated, stepped on, and eaten alive like Esteban was for a mistake/accident. They both deserve grace and understanding.

(as an aside, thank you for the information from 2023. I am slowly making my way through those races with Stuart as I did not watch them - this is my first season following every single race instead of just a race here and there, so there is a lot I don't necessarily know).

[cartoon-buffoon]

Despite taking a hiatus from writing I decided to cobble up something together from an AU idea for Epic Mickey because I COULDN'T GET THIS STUPID IDEA OUT OF MY HEAD! Because of my hiatus I'm posting this here rather than on my AO3 in order to just catalog this AU and it's premise in some way. Note that I still have yet to play the game and I really could sit down and play it now although I refuse too and I'm waiting for the remaster to come out. Be warned this is like 3,662 words, comes from an awful writer, and more than anything this is just an excuse for me to insert my favorite murderous rubberhose characters into a world and have them interact with my favorite normal rubberhose characters.

Repeating myself this time in bold letters: This is a fanfiction with 3,662 words that I'm posting here because why the fuck not. I have not played Epic Mickey yet this is an AU idea that takes place in that world. This features Oswald as well as the horror characters Bendy/The Ink Demon, Skitzo the 1920s Killer Bear, and the Cartoon Cat and Dog. As such these are MY takes on this character where they serve a role in this AU. Excuse the cringe and if you wanna spare yourself do not click, I am a bad writer and I never claim myself to be good. Also I basically copied and pasted this from my notes so there probably IS mistakes.

(also adding this but uhh I don't think this story needs any MAJOR content warnings but ya know this story is called "Blood and Ink" so expect blood and some stuff relating to it. Overall this entire thing is rated like T for teen. Oh and one last CW warning: cringe)

Blood and Ink

Oswald looked at the map the Sorcerer gave him, this was the right place yet he felt unsure about all of this. The area he found himself in wasn't known to anyone in wasteland but him, even then he never had been here. He never had any reason to be here until now. Wasteland was meant to be a savior from oblivion, a place that the forgotten would thrive and live, sadly some couldn't be spared. Even wasteland was home to a place where the forgotten truly came to die, a select few not even Yen Sid could save. As such he created a place for them, a place that served as a memorial to those who didn't even get a second chance.

The graveyard

That's where Oswald found himself, walking amidst the area where the dead came to dance and spirits of cartoons of long past lingered. The worst part? All the names and portraits on the graves he recognized. Each and every name littered on a gravestone was some toon he remembered yet seemingly no one else did. The lack of recollection made it so that this entire place was a reminder of the fate that had befallen them.

"No! I already went through the trouble of getting this!" Remarked Oswald while holding the magic brush he "borrowed" close like a weapon "I can't let it get to me now.... I gotta do this" stuffing the map down into his shorts he pressed on "if not for me, then for wasteland and everyone in it!"

Despite his own courageous words he was scared to death by the surrounding—well—death. It seemed like the faces on the tombstones followed him, the eyes of the fallen eyeing one of their brethren that was still breathing. Gravel and dirt made an uncomfortable noise scraping against the bottom of his paws, it was even more uncomfortable of a feeling. Despite the sensation he wasn't going to be deterred by pain, after all there was something much more frightening to worry about where he was at. Oswald knew the graveyard wasn't just a memorial, it's other purpose was the exact reason why he was here. The graveyard served as a prison for things that even Yen Sid had no control over.

The words of the Sorcerer echoed in the rabbit's mind, the warning he was given frightening him of what's to come: "some toons—nay—abominations do not deserve remembrance. There are some which are made of neither paint nor thinner which have no reason to exist, creatures not made to bring joy but to corrupt and feed on the joy that others bring. Toons, if you can even call them that, which are made of ink and blood. Like parasites you can't merely get rid of these accursed amalgams as well, like leeches they latch onto whatever comes their way, likewise they dwell in the world I created for you and so many others. Locked away in an area you know about yet never ventured into they await for whoever wishes to disturb them and open a gateway to their calamity" The look Yen Sid gave him was impossible to forget, Oswald saw fear in the Sorcerer's eyes as the last bit of the warning came out "I cannot save you nor wasteland if you call upon their aid as I'm bound to not interfere in your affairs, but I cannot bar you from this information either. It is your choice Oswald, I urge you to make haste and choose the fate of everyone, else your choice will be made for you by the powers at play"

It still gave him the chills, those words telling him how exactly dire everything was. Oswald pressed on however, hoping to get his mind off things he glanced at a grave trying to recall whatever poor soul was gone completely. There on the stone read the name of a long since gone toon by the name of “Krazy”. Curiously the grave was half-broken, chipped on one side via some vandalism caused by a brick. Upon closer inspection Oswald found the brick also had a name on it, “Ignatz” it read.

Oswald recalled the pair, one adoring the other and being met with a brick to the head. Despite the abuse they cared for each other, Ignatz and his violent ways was a sign of love, at least that's how Krazy interpreted it. The two toon's graves stabbed Oswald in the heart he was lacking, the knowledge that toons who had families, wants, dreams, all of which he also had were suddenly erased and left here pained him. This pain was just another motivator, he didn't want his friends or his family sharing the same fate, he didn't want wasteland to just be one giant graveyard where everyone was just words and pictures on stones. That mouse had forgotten and abandoned them despite everything they had been through, it was Oswald who had to be the hero now. Shaking off the emotional hurt Oswald stopped in front of a large stone mausoleum. The door was solid rock, the entire thing being rendered inert by the Sorcerer himself to prevent things from getting in. Well, it would be more exact to say he wanted to make sure nothing got out.

Oswald took a breath and pointed the paint brush at the two grey doors, ready to open it "alright magic brush, do your thing!" After a second or two nothing came out, the rabbit looked down with a frown "oh you gotta be kidding me, get on with it already!"

Slapping the hilt as if it were a toy that was running out of batteries, Oswald activated it's powers. Calling upon the magic that jostled through the enchanted item a torrent of blue paint came spilling out of the tip and onto the stone returning it to marble. After a few seconds the paint brush stopped, the last bits of paint fully giving life to the mausoleum, Oswald was unsure how exactly how to use it yet since he got to wasteland he had been testing it out. One could suppose it was just luck that he had figured out how to fire paint, how to use thinner was another story completely and he was unsure on how to call upon that power yet that didn't matter. What mattered right now was finding these things that could help him.

Trying to push the door open came with its own unique challenge, Oswald found his small statue made it hard to push solid marble. That wasn't going to get him down or stop him, instead he took a few steps back, holstered the paint brush via having his ears hold it, and puffed out his chest. With one quick charge the rabbit used all that strength he had earned by keeping the blot bottled long ago to open the door to something far, far worse. The heavy doors scraped at the ground and parted, Oswald's momentum carried him forward into the mausoleum sending him tumbling down some stairs deep into a crypt.

"AH!" He yelped whilst falling. Luckily for him he landed on his paws, well at least his paws landed first and all of his distached limbs slowly landed on top of each other after. Piece by piece Oswald was reassembled by gravity until he was standing there fine. "Phew!" He huffed "now where is-" his eyes landed on the brush next to him "there you are, let's get going"

Grabbing the brush the rabbit walked through the darkness and shadows with less fear than he had coming in. After all he had to save his world from whatever was happening to it. If the Sorcerer couldn't save it maybe these mysterious toons locked away could, rumors said they held creation powers similar in nature. These rumors weren't as kind to these toons as they were to the Sorcerer however, while Yen Sid was treated as some sort of guardian angel these creatures were treated like Boogeymen. Evil monochromatic beings that would snatch up a victim in the dead of night and gobble them up, at least that's what so many seemed to believe. Through a certain doctor's help Oswald had found out something different, bits and fragments of who or what they were got teleported into wasteland, posters for their cartoons, burnt film reels, and pens that their animators drew them up with. One such artifact were newspaper clippings detailing the hysteria that these creature's cartoons had brought upon anyone who viewed their cartoons. Their cartoons and the effect they had on the watchers were the exact reason why they were locked up. The things the audience did to themselves, what they did to each other, it was awful, the description of the people maiming one and another reminded Oswald of who exactly he was calling upon. He was asking for help from the downright evil.

That didn't matter still, instead of focusing on how horrific these things could be he descended into the crypt further until the door behind him slammed shut. Oswald's ears shot up and became detached by the startling slam, he didn't turn around though, he just had to keep going. Oswald kept walking until he finally reached the end of a long passageway which opened up into a large cavern. In the cavern at the very back were four projector screens that were powered off, just sitting there dormant and ready. It was pitch black and he couldn't make sense of whatever was going on behind the projector screen's circuits, besides there was no power in the cave so it's not like they'd be able to turn on anyways. Stumbling around he eventually walked right into the center of the room, this one little action awakening something he should have thought harder before asking for help.

The cavern was slowly covered in a grim red light that painted shadows on the walls, the shadows dancing and writhing while music played from nowhere. Now that he could see Oswald saw unlike the rest of the screens around wasteland these projector screens had no technology or mechanical parts behind them, they were just blank screens with red and black splotches on them. Wasteland itself seemed to sense this sinister presence, tints and turps came rising from the ground and flew at the projector screens to keep whatever was coming at bay. Once the spirits made contact the blue and green creatures suddenly stopped, the little wisps jittered around uncontrollably and Oswald watched as their color faded and were replaced with a crimson and black respectively. The newly made corrupted spirits circled the rabbit and crashed down at his feet, splatting red and black against the ground around him.

"What the?–ow!" Oswald grunted when some of the liquid hit his paw, it stung like hell although it didn't melt him like thinner would of "ah! Son of a Lady!"

All the corrupted guardians slammed into the ground and began creating a black and red insignia, Oswald quickly hopped away from it else he would be stung more. The insignia that grew was a giant star and it seemed to warp and shift once it became full, it wasn't some painting placed on the floor, it was like a living thing. The red light cast on the area began to fade making way for a very dim yellowish light, the rabbit was shrouded in darkness once more. The darkness uneased him, it felt as if there was something else there in it with him, waiting for him to move. Oswald's attention turned from the shadows to one of the projector screens which had some sort of spotlight cast onto it suddenly.

"huh?"

A voice unfamiliar to Oswald came from the darkness, it's voice broken and staticy. It was as if whoever was speaking was trying to mimic some announcer and with it came an entire orchestra. The mysterious music played and echoed off the walls, drums getting beat played while the star on the ground slithered over to the projectors.

"Ladies and gents, toons, tints, turps, blots and whatever-ya-call-it's, put your hands and paws together for the quartet EVERYONE'S screaming about!"

The projectors one by one tore and ripped apart, black and red oozed from the destroyed screens creating puddles on the ground which began to morph into shapes. Skeletal structures were formed from the blood and ink, the rising creatures soon growing flesh and cloth that covered their bones. Oswald gagged at the sight of the creatures slowly forming one by one. The first fully manifested and looked like a demented parody of a cartoon, it had small round ears and a short tail like a bear, a pronounced snout, two wide eyes that emitted a red glow, and it's proportions were odd, it had long limbs with an elongated torso only to end in a plump belly half covered by grey shorts. The most disturbing part was the blank grin with no emotion behind it, it's sinister smile contrasted with it's rather goofy appearance and haircut. The second creature grew out of a pillar of ink, its horns and teeth formed although it's face was obscured by black that dripped off its entire visage. Once it was fully created it stood hunched over on hoofed feet, spikes bristled up along its spine as it looked over to see the final two manifest. The final two creatures lashed at each other before even forming, inky claws grew from two puddles and clawed at the other until they stopped momentarily and sprouted out in the form of a lanky malnourished feline and canine. Both of them had bloody gums with large teeth and glowing eyes, seeing all this Oswald froze in place like a deer in headlights at the things awakening before him.

"Oh this is gonna be so FUN!" The grotesque toon feline exclaimed, its face morphing and stretching until it finally landed on an appearance that looked somewhat friendly, it stretched it's body over to Oswald quickly addressing him "hold on a minute will you pal? We gotta gather our bearings" the creatures head snapped around 180° to look at the bear who was scanning the room with his eyes which were white, it was as if trying to find something "speaking about bearings, Skitzo you find that runt yet?"

The bear—Skitzo as the cat called him, shook his head and let out a growl.

"Aww that's too bad, he'll turn up eventually, he always does, after all we can't kill him"

"Let the kid go, he don't do anything tos ya, Skitzo" the dog remarked.

In response Skitzo looked at the canine irked, the bear's eye twitched before both large white pupils of his turned red. The bear reached into his shorts and pulled out a jagged knife, a static noise filled the air as Skitzo spoke yet no words left his mouth.

The dog grew in size, now towering over the others he was summoned with at alert of the static noise “Oh yous looking for a fight already? Well buster step right up to the plate and you'll get what's coming to ya”

The two stared down at each other, seeing them get ready to fight the cat pulled out a frying pan and rolling pin and clobbered both over the head. The two immediately stopped their fighting, Skitzo’s eyes going white and the dog having a halo of stars spin around his head. The cat rolled his eyes and snapped back, his body and head fixing themselves while he addressed them

“alright, alright, you two cut it out, as much as I would love to see your ugly mug get ripped apart by Skitzo, now's not the time and you can brawl later” the cat looked around, trying to find the fourth member of his group "Inky, what're you do—oh! I see you're already back to ya old tricks"

Oswald was surprised to find while he was staring at the three titans in front of him the one a devil had changed shape, it now looked smaller in size, much smaller in fact. It was almost his own height now, it even looked more friendly sporting a wide grin with piecut eyes looking like a genuine toon. Skitzo scooped up the small creature up and placed him on his shoulder, the little devil quick to hop and and dangle his feet off the edge as he sat.

"Okay, nows that wes got that taken of, howzabout we do something about our viewer?”

The dog pointed to Oswald who had just idled by and watched everything unfold. A lump of spit built up in Ozzie's throat, with a comedically loud and audible "gulp" he swallowed it and spoke up.

"I'm-"

Before he could get another word out the cat had lunged forward and snatched Oswald up. The cat's face morphed back into a monstrous look with bloody gums and eerie shaking slit pupils.

"Oh we know who you are, ain't that right fellas!?"

All the creatures nodded in agreement. The small little devil melted into a puddle of ink on Skitzo's shoulder and slowly regrew back into the form of Oswald, albeit looking slightly different. It looked like a version of Oswald that was a bit more human in design, the rabbit remembered the style he had during that time yet it was still a surprise to see it again. In its copy state the devil began to dance around and sing a familiar song that struck a chord with the rabbit and brought back memories of when he had popularity. What scared Oswald was how the little devil perfectly copied his way of speaking back then right down to the very tone and annunciation.

"Lucky rabbit! That lucky Oswald rabbit! Nicest rabbit that you ever knew!"

The toons snickered, the cat quick to speak up again after his friend reverted shape "we've seen and heard all that you've done up until now, we don't really care about any of you toons yet what got our eyes is the fact that you went off the grid for a bit, you somehow when somewhere in this hell where we couldn't see or hear you and that caught our interest"

"Yous disappeared, showed back up holding that brush and suddenly comes looking for us? Yeah by that points we knew something fishy was up" the dog added.

"So now that there's no need for introductions, after all it don't matter if ya know our names" the cat's face grew in size, it got snout to snout with Oswald, breathing it's putrid breath that stunk of rotten flesh all over the smaller rabbit "why ARE you here?"

Oswald looked at them all determined, despite being in both the face and grip of danger he held his ground "I need help, wasteland is deteriorating and the sorcerer said you guys have some sorta power that can hopefully keep this place intact awhile longer, at least until a permanent solution can be found"

“Need our help?” The cat tilted its head unnaturally, its neck elongating slightly “that's the funniest thing I've heard in awhile! We don't help in fact, we do the complete opposite!”

Oswald was dropped onto the ground, he quickly picked himself up as well as the brush and kept up his pleas “You don't understand! It's gotten awful here, earthquakes, tsunamis coming from the thinner ocean, some toons are even naturally becoming inert! We don't even know what's causing it and I'm on my last paw” Oswald lowered his voice, feeling it not wise to come off aggressive in this deal he was trying to make “I don't want wasteland to be destroyed...”

The cat pulled out a giant magnifying glass in order to look at Oswald, the cat’s smirk grew wider seeing his desperation “heh, looks like you're in quite the pickle, can't say you're very smart for calling on us of all things though” the cat pulled out a cigar and lighter from seemingly nowhere and lit it up, taking a few puffs before putting it out on Skitzo's skin.

Skitzo giggled at the sensation, the cigar didn't go out and just caused more smoke to appear. The bear took the extinguished cigar and offered it to the little devil riding on his shoulder, once the devil declined with a head shake Skitzo just shrugged and swallowed the thing.

“Do ya knows who we even are?” The dog asked, leaning down on all fours to look at Oswald.

“You're toons” Oswald replied “toons who are not very nice..." He trailed off at the recollection of what their cartoons did to whoever watched them.

“Well you're right about one thing, we ain't nice”

“Yeah, that's putting it bluntly!”

“whatcha got dead wrong though is the fact that we're toons, nah we're something far more scary”

All of them seemed to surround Oswald, even the little devil hopped off Skitzo’s shoulder and shifted back into its larger demonic state. Skitzo’s eyes turned red again, the bear brandished his knife and stood ready to bring the massive blade down upon the rabbit. The cat and dog grew in size, the cat now sporting scruffy fur with gloved hands that were also claws, the dog took a form something similar although it's body didn't stay consistent, constantly shifting and changing growing massive or shrinking suddenly. The now large demon made of ink got ready to pounce, resting on its heels it awaited the signal from all the others to maim. All the monstrous toons casted a shadow over Oswald blocking out the magical dim light, despite it all the rabbit stood unwavered. Oswald stared back at them with a scowl and readied the paintbrush in his hands, he was ready for a fight and he expected these things to not be the negotiating type. The monster's smiled seeing their soon to be victim so full of life and confidence, what could a little cartoon rabbit and a brush do to them? After all they weren't even on the same plane as the toons, they took pride in saying exactly what they were to someone who wouldn't be able to hear for much longer.

“We're terrors!”