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loggiepj · 1 year

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FORBIDDEN

Part 1

Part 2

It didn't fare well the following day.

Wanda treated the normies as if they weren't there. Y/n suffered far worse fate because she was the only one brave enough to approach the witch, delivering meals to which the woman rejected, offering a tour around the camp seeing the witch was bored, or taking care of the wounds around the witch's wrists she hadn't noticed before, which took almost hours before Wanda finally relented and let Y/n touch her, even when there were wincing and pulling away every time. Y/n guessed Wanda was mainly the reason why the former wasn't sent out to missions yet.

Y/n learned from Pietro that he and Wanda got separated when the Deviants attacked their small town. It was midday when it happened. Wanda was away on a trip to a neighboring place to replenish goods. When she arrived back, little did she know that hunters were already residing in their house.

Pietro was grateful to Y/n for not giving up on finding his sister once the former shared about his worries since he set foot on the camp. Y/n got lucky though, thanked the heavens for listening to her instinct. She was supposed to head back to camp that night she saved Wanda when she heard the commotion.

The new witch still ignored the entire camp and only talked to her brother, albeit short and wary, from time to time. Although, Y/n suspected it was primarily to convince Pietro to leave the camp with her.

While others could tell that Wanda exuded hatred towards Y/n and their lot, Y/n gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Y/n would have regarded her as an asshole for not even thanking her hosts, the ones who actually saved her and put a roof over her head, but Y/n understood what she had gone through. Pietro had told Y/n during his first night at the camp that he thought all normies were awful since he was a kid. Their parents were killed by Deviants. Slaughtered was the term Pietro used. And the normal citizens didn't even attempt to help them.

Pietro admitted he was wrong though. But Wanda hadn't realized that part yet.

Y/n tried to make the female witch feel welcomed, even inviting her to have her meals at the pavilion where every night, the normies would perform a serenade, and witches were welcomed to share their talents, which was surprisingly more, especially one male witch named Peter who knew how to play the bagpipes without sounding like a wildcat was being murdered.

Worried that the Deviants might hear the noise, Wanda gave a small comment about it, making Y/n smile because the witch appeared to be listening to her after all.

Y/n assured Wanda that the Avengers camp were now comprised of normal humans and witches, and they were all bound to protect the camp. That meant the entire camp was surrounded by protection charms enchanted by the witch members. The outside world wouldn't see the place nor hear any sound coming from inside the camp.

Y/n had managed to convince Wanda to come out of her tent on the third night she was there, but when the witch finally saw her other friends who didn't join the movement yet, she immediately left Y/n. At least, Y/n was comforted to know that she wasn't alone anymore. With her brother always away on missions, Wanda had no one else to talk to.

"Hi!"

Y/n jumped from her seat, her cheeks red from getting caught staring at Wanda. She didn't want anyone to find out about her silly crush on a witch who despised her entirely.

"Hey, Layla," Y/n replied with a forced smile, moving to the side so Layla could sit beside her. Layla was also a witch, and had been taking a liking on her since the time Y/n saved the former from the Deviants.

"What are you up to tonight? I think I'm going to sing a song," she said, sitting unreasonably close to the human. "It's dedicated to humans."

"Wow, that's cool," Y/n chimed in, hurriedly finishing her food. When the witch invited Y/n to sing with her, she immediately shook her head. "I... I don't sing."

"Rubbish... It can't be that bad, considering you have a pretty voice." Y/n almost choked on her food. She wasn't dumb. She knew Layla was definitely flirting with her.

In fact, Layla wasn't the only one. Ever since the newcomers found out that Y/n only preferred women, it seemed like some of the female witches were interested to try. And Y/n was too kind to just ignore them, but it didn't mean that she would give up to their advances. It wouldn't hurt to just talk.

Wanda didn't see it that way, of course. To her, Y/n was a womanizer. At first, she figured the normie was a mentor around the camp, always helpful and being looked up to by others.

Through time, the witch noticed that Y/n was only talking to females, ignoring the unexpected turmoil in her stomach. And when she found out from her friends she hadn't seen since the attack that Y/n was into girls, Wanda's distaste for the human only intensified.

Was Y/n trying to flirt with Wanda on their first meeting then? Does Y/n always say those sweet innocent compliments to every female witch she has saved?

Wanda knew Layla. She was their neighbor next town. And every party she had been to through her teenage years, Layla always got what she wanted, even her brother Pietro for a very short period of time. It would be a surprise if she hadn't had Y/n wrapped around her fingers yet.

That was why Wanda wondered when Y/n stood up and hurriedly left when Layla got distracted by her friend.

Where are you going? Wanda thought as her gaze followed Y/n sneakily heading into the woods after leaving the dishes by the kitchen.

The witch still didn't trust humans that much, even when all they ever did show to her was kindness. But she hadn't met any nice human before, making her wonder if the Avengers camp was all an act. Maybe her brother was bewitched. Is that possible? Can a witch be bewitched by humans?

So after bidding goodnight to her friends, excusing herself for still having a headache, she quickly went to follow Y/n.

Y/n hadn't gotten that far yet a million thoughts had crossed Wanda's mind, suspecting Y/n to betray and report to Deviants on the witches' whereabouts, expecting the campfire as their killing ground. Focused on being discreet, Wanda didn't even notice someone else was there when she bumped into her.

"Hello there," another human greeted her, a taller one with a bandana wrapped around her head. "What brings you to my garden?"

Wanda must had looked like a deer caught in a hunt.

"Oh, don't be scared, darling... My name's Pepper, I'm the nurse at Avengers camp... are you new here?" Pepper asked.

The witch immediately nodded and lied, her tongue slipping the words before she even realized it. "I got lost."

"It's okay, newcomers still get lost around here... Come with me, I'll accompany you back to your tent," she said. Wanda let herself be ushered, giving one last look to where Y/n went.

When Y/n had too much of the world, she'd go to her favorite hiding spot just beyond Pepper's botanical garden. At night, she'd lay on the ground and watch the beautiful painting in the sky, twinkling before her. She learned from her father at a young age that earth wasn't the motionless center of the universe, contrary to what her mentors told her at school. That the earth was a planet, one of the planets of the galaxy and they revolved around the sun, which was the nearest star to the earth.

It made Y/n wonder how many planets there were for each star she could see on the sky, thinking if there were also people living in it, and if they had no division between humans and witches like the earth did. If peace even existed somewhere else.

On that night though, Y/n just wanted to get away from Layla. The witch couldn't just take any hint that Y/n didn't want to sleep with her, knowing that last week, Y/n's bestfriend Yelena, told her that Layla slept with Yelena's ex-boyfriend on her first day at the camp. Apparently, it was Layla's objective to bed everyone in the place.

Y/n was her latest target.

What Y/n didn't expect was to be followed by someone as she hurriedly went to her hiding spot. Much less, someone like Wanda. She knew the witch still didn't trust her but she couldn't really blame the woman. Y/n had went through the same things she did.

So while she could still control it, Y/n buried the feelings she had for the witch before it became worse.

She tried though anyway.

The following morning when Y/n went into Wanda's tent to change the dressing of the latter's wounds, Y/n found the tent empty. Not putting much thought about it, she headed to the pavilion to see if the witch was having her breakfast early, but she wasn't also there.

Y/n knew she shouldn't worry, but if the possibility that Wanda had somehow ran away from the camp made her fear for the witch's safety for a second. So much that she didn't even notice the sound of waters splashing around as she walked by the nearby lake, heading to return the medical supplies to Pepper.

There the beautiful witch was, in broad daylight, swimming through the waters with wet skin and hair glistening against the sun. Y/n must had lost it for she didn't immediately realize the expanse of pale skin being shown that Wanda was fully naked until the latter faced the normie behind her, her perky supple breasts bouncing as she moved.

"Shit!" Y/n gasped, her eyes abruptly closing and the supplies falling out of her grasp.

"Are you following me?!" The witch exclaimed, her voice accusing.

"No! Of course not! My apologies! I d-didn't mean to see y-you like this...," Y/n nervously stuttered. "I didn't even know it was you."

She could hear Wanda scoff before her, the sound of the waters told the human that the witch had ascended herself from the surface. "So you spend your morning hours lurking behind bushes just to peep?"

"I wasn't peeping-"

"I know what you are," Wanda interjected, her voice seemed nearer. Y/n heard footsteps against the dirt, knowing the witch was walking towards her.

"Of course, I'm a human-"

"You're an insatiable seducer who have had countless women on their knees. I will not be part of such atrocity."

Is that what Wanda think of her?

Y/n laughed out loud after five seconds of utter silence. Without even opening her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you're certainly wrong about that... I've never been with anyone since birth."

Y/n heard the witch scoff again. "I find that too hard to believe..."

"Okay, it was a lie, but I haven't been with anyone, serious or not, for years now," Y/n added. "But it's nice to know you thought otherwise."

Wanda glared at the human even when she knew Y/n couldn't see her. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The human suddenly lost her composure as she tried to explain. "I was going to return these to Pepper, seeming that I couldn't find you in your tent earlier."

"Fine," Wanda said. "Get on with it."

"Get on with it? You mean tend to your wounds?"

"Yes, what else?"

Y/n's heart thudded so loud, it was deafening. She could hear scrambling before her but she didn't dare open her eyes.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Wanda exasperatedly called her attention.

Thankfully, when Y/n opened her eyes, Wanda had worn herself an undertunic. But it didn't even make it better when Wanda was still dripping wet before her, and the cloth stuck to her skin, her nipples and other curves visible through the fabric as she sat on a nearby boulder.

Y/n focused on her task as she hurriedly tended to the witch's wound, which was almost healed. It was one of the things Y/n was good at, she could almost be mistaken as Pepper's young apprentice if she wasn't keen on archery. Y/n was careful, treating the wound with delicacy as if Wanda was fragile.

She licked her lips nervously as she dabbed the ointment made by the nurse from the herbs in her garden unto Wanda's reddened skin after cleaning it with myrhh. She could tell Wanda was still wincing from the antiseptic.

"Does it still hurt?" Y/n asked in a soft voice, now wrapping Wanda's wrist with fresh new bandage, her fingers adept as she arranged the cloth around her.

It took Wanda long before she answered. It wasn't because she couldn't hear the normie before her, but because she hadn't expected the close proximity between them.

The witch intended to fool the human, not believing a single thing she had said, even the confession of her not being promiscuous, so she could prove to herself and to every witch there was in the world that humans were deceptive and liars.

But Wanda didn't expect the goosebumps Y/n left on her skin as she tended to her, even the gentleness she portrayed made the witch melt, her breathing ragged but she could always reason out that she had been swimming for hours. She didn't even notice that Y/n's lips were moving, which seemed inviting at the moment as if urging Wanda to lean in.

"It... It doesn't hurt that much," Wanda finally answered.

When Y/n had finished, she smiled then chuckled softly, proud of her work. "Done... It will heal in no time... Hey, we have the same lines on our palms."

"What?" Wanda's eyebrows furrowed, as Y/n held their hands and aligned the palms close together.

"It's a silly belief, actually," Y/n went on. "If the long straight lines ending beneath the ring fingers on the palms of two persons meet or connect with ease, it is said that they will have a long lasting and strong union..."

Wanda kept silent as she listened attentively, her mind focused on the beautiful sound of Y/n's voice and the touch of her skin against hers, her heart beating at a pace close to fear but also far from it. The witch couldn't decipher what she was feeling. She hadn't felt like this before.

"See?" Y/n's finger gently traced the skin of Wanda's palm heading to hers, like drawing an imaginary line. "A connection... We're basically soulmates..." She chuckled softly, not noticing the flustered state of the witch.

A witch and a human together. That would be quite a scandal. That would raise Wanda's parents from their graves.

Wanda immediately pulled her hand away from the human and stood up. Y/n could tell she had overstepped so she apologized and began arranging the supplies.

"Have you eaten your breakfast yet? Bruce made deer pottage this time." When Y/n looked up, Wanda was nowhere to be found. Her shoulders immediately deflated. At least, she tried.

Y/n's spirit heightened when Yelena came back from their mission later that day, entering the camp with Pietro and more witches they had managed to save from Deviants.

Much to Wanda's displeasure when she saw Y/n and another girl hugging in front of her, as if proving how much of a flirt Y/n was.

"So, who's the girl?" Yelena immediately chided, her face sporting a teasing feature.

"What do you mean?" Y/n remained to act dumb, pretending she was interested on the new weapons her bestfriend had concocted while away.

"You're my bestfriend, Y/n... I can tell when someone has your eyes or even has occupied your mind."

Y/n didn't mean it but when her eyes instinctively drifted to where Wanda was, sitting with her group of friends and Pietro, she was surprised to find the witch already staring at her, abruptly looking down to avoid the human's eyes.

"Ohhh, I can see she's definitely your type," Yelena added, following where Y/n's gaze was at.

"Shut up, she's not-"

"I never thought you're into witches."

Y/n attempted to playfully punch Yelena on her shoulder, to which the latter avoided, ending with her wrapping her arm over the former's shoulder instead. She pulled Y/n with her as they ventured further into the camp. "C'mon, I was only playing with you... Good thing, Layla still had not made you surrender to her reins yet."

Y/n laughed. And they talked more about the mission Yelena had been to, unaware of the daggers Wanda was throwing towards their way.

#wanda maximoff x reader #elizabeth olsen x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda #wanda angst #enemies to lovers

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whozzatwriter · 7 months

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"Cmon, B, I can tell by your eyes that you're hungry. You have to eat. A spoonful of blood once a week is not enough, you're starving yourself!" A pleaded with their roommate.

The vampire stayed where they were on the couch, frozen still; using all their will to stay there and not drink. "A, you don't understand…"

"Don't understand what‽" they fumed. "You have to drink a full meal or you'll die in a week, that's what you told me, a few spoonfuls only let you hold out for so long as a last resort scenario." They tilted their head and showed off the side of their neck. "You have a source of blood right here."

B was beginning to shake - torn between their vampiric instincts and not wanting to bite A. They were starting to be pushed to the back of their head, the need trying to take over. "A, don't show me that."

"I can see your eyes darkening, just let yourself go! I'll be fine, you know this!"

B practically snapped then and there, "A! I am not biting you! You are an angelic, remember?"

"Do you really think that matters right now‽" A continued. "We found out because I healed from another vampire's bite quickly. You need to feed. I don't know why you're so against it."

B forced themselves back to the forefront of their mind. "This goes further than just blood. Your blood could trigger my gag reflex just off taste if you're not the one I'm bound to."

"B. You are literally starving. I doubt the taste of my blood will matter that much."

"But what about the sting?"

"I don't care. You need food."

B grumbled. "You are not going to convince me on this A. I'm not… drinking… your blood…" Even mentioning it was causing their internal creature to fight for control, stronger than before.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to force your hand." A stomped out of the room, going to their bedroom. They took a quick breath. Were they really doing this?

Yes, yes they were. B needed to eat, needed a proper meal. A would provide that no matter how badly B didn't want that.

They changed from their shirt into one of their special tops, something that had no sleeves and a flat neckline under the collar bone. It made them look feminine.

But more importantly, it showed off their neck. Everything was visible, all the surrounding area. It put the whole thing on display.

The second thing they did was find one of their oils. It smelled sweet and enticing according to B. They rubbed it all across their neck.

Once happy with the result, they sat down and ate some chocolate, hoping to soothe their nerves a bit. Though they probably shouldn't be. The quicker the heart rate, the more noticeable. The more likely B would lose to their need.

They still wanted to eat the chocolate.

Now to hype themselves up. They were about to be bit, again. This time by a different vampire. A vampire they trusted. A vampire who was /starving/.

So what if A was an angelic? They were about to find out whether or not they truly were bound to their roommate, someone they suspected if not hoped was their bindmate.

They were about to find out. They were about to find out.

Heart racing the way they wanted, they walked out to the living room.

B perked up instantly.

The sound of a rapidly beating heart almost got them, but they stayed strong. "A, whatever you're doing…"

They suddenly got hit with the scent. The sweet, delectable scent that they knew was artificial, but still brilliantly tasteful.

They squeezed their eyes shut, refusing to even look. A had promised to force their hand, and they were already fighting for their life to remain in control.

There was a dip in the couch beside them. They felt it. They covered their nose to try and block the scents to have some winning battle, but the heart beat…

"B…" A said in a low voice. Somewhat seductive. They wanted to open their eyes and look towards it.

But they couldn't. They needed to stay in control. They couldn't lose now.

"B look at me."

They shook their head. Not even able to speak, trying to fight their urges.

The finger dragged along their arm caught them off-guard. By instinct they opened their eyes to address the person with a warning look.

They forgot in those 2 seconds it was A.

They got one glance of that beautiful, glistening neck, just open for the taking before their conscience blacked out and they were pushed to the backseat.

A saw how the reaction was instant, one moment they were still fighting it, refusing to even look at them, the next their irises went full black at the sight before them and instinct won.

They didn't even bother fighting it as B pounced, fangs elongated and sinking deep into A's neck.

Like they should be.

There was an intense warm feeling to the bite, no stings of pain. A smiled, it was just like they'd hoped. B was their bindmate, and this would be the best meal they'd ever had.

Now that you've read this drabble, consider who you think may have written it. There are 5 writers for this game of Whozzat Writer! They are: @jvten, @tales-from-nocturnaliss, @ashesinthewritten, @laffy-taffy-creations and @kyofsonder

Keeping those 5 wonderful writers in mind, which do YOU think wrote this. Feel free to take your time and go to their blogs and really study their style of writing, whether it be how they write their posts or how they write their snippets... and come back and vote. There will be one week to cast!

Voting starts now!

Reminder for the writers: please no dropping hints or anything. You may all reblog the stories. Please no reblogging only your own, as that would be a dead give away. If you're going to reblog any of the writing, then please reblog all! :) enjoy and have fun! ~

#writers of tumblr #whozzat writer #writeblr games #writer games #my games

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tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang · 10 months

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What if the tokyo revengers cast were in a danganronpa killing game? Who would be the blackends, survivors, and victims.

Ok I've given it a bit of thought and have come up with this, a lot of them do have multiple placements though since I think it could go a few ways (also a quick warning, there will likely be a few danganronpa spoilers in here)

Takemichi- Survivor, I mean could we give him anything else? He had major mc vibes and is sure to make it to the end. He especially fits the danganronpa mc vibe since he also has that whole "I'm just a normal person, not as great as all these other students" vibes. He'd likely get a lot of character development and lead the group towards victory against the mastermind.

Hina- Victim, I'm sorry but the track record of the potential love interest surviving in these games are awful. She's bound to be a victim here, I could see someone taking advantage of her kindness to lure her into a trap.

Mikey- Killer, we already know that he's susceptible to dark impulses. Well I think these would be especially bad watching people he cares about as the game goes on. I feel like he starts off fine but as people keep dying his dark impulses get worse until he finally snaps.

Draken- Either survivor or victim, I think he could fit into either category here. There's a good chance he could get targeted in the killing game because of how strong he is along with his position to Mikey (if they were in the same one) but he's also strong enough to survive.

Chifuyu- Survivor, I think he would get through it, he's definitely both physically and mentally strong enough to.

Baji- Killer, now I don't think he'd kill in your traditional sense but he'd be more likely to kill in order to protect someone else or he'd pull a Gundham and kill to protect the group.

Mitsuya- Either victim or survivor, again I could see him being either. Mitsuya's very nice so I think he'd be popular among the other students but that popularity could be a double edged sword.

Hakkai- victim, compared to other characters i just can't see him being a survivor.

Pah- Killer, unfortunately he's easily provoked, I think in a moment of rage he would do it (as seen in the Osanai incident).

Peh- Killer or survivor, we've seen that Peh can be easily tricked so I think he could be tricked into killing someone. Or I could also see him having a strong will after Pah dies and continuing on until the end and escaping.

Kisaki- Killer or survivor, ok I think it's fairly obvious that Kisaki is capable of killing. However I think he could possible survive by using others to actually commit the murders while he's just the one planning them meaning he avoids the title of blackened.

Hanma- Survivor, I feel like this is a controversial one because you'd expect him to be a killer but I think he'd just be so interested by the killing game he wouldn't want to kill but just watch the other. Could be a potential Byakuya/Nagito/Kokichi by messing with the trials and lying to make them harder and more interesting to him.

Smiley- Killer, I actually feel like it's not because he wants to fight but because he thinks he's protecting Angry by doing it. Like maybe he heard someone was going to target Angry (could be just a rumour Kisaki came up with) and so he kills the suspected person first.

Angry- Survivor, I think he'd be heavily protected by his brother here, also add this with how strong and nice he is and he'd probably survive.

Mucho- Killer, we've already seen he's willing to kill.

Sanzu- Killer, he'd probably do it for Mikey

Emma- Victim, similarly to Hina she's just likely to be targeted.

Naoto- Victim or survivor, I feel like he'd be actually useful in the trials so he'd be a big priority for a killer to get rid of.

Inui- Victim, ok here me out here i know he's strong but he's also a loner aside from Takemichi and Koko, not interacting much with the group so I think that would make him easier to separate and kill, maybe making him a target.

Koko- Survivor, despite not being as physically strong as some of the others we've seen Koko navigate his way through the gang life and plenty of dangerous people before, even as a kid. So I think he'd get through this.

Yuzuha- Survivor, she just really gives final girl/ Survivor vibes.

Taiju- Killer, do we need an explanation here??

Kazutora- Killer or survivor, I could see him either killing someone in a panic (like with Shinichiro) or i could see him surviving with the rest of the group, especially after Baji's death.

Izana- Killer or survivor, similar to Kisaki, he could get his hands dirty or I could see him using others to kill for him.

Kakucho- Victim or survivor, he could fit either.

Mochi- Victim, I think he could be targeted due to his size and physical strength. Though I don't think he'd actually kill since he seems to have some kind of honour code.

Shion- Victim, he'd probably boast about how he'd definitely survive and then be the first to be killed.

Ran- Killer, oh dear the Haitani's would definitely hate the idea of being locked in a school the rest of their lives. Him and Rindou would likely team up to lock joints and beat someone to death, though since Ran would be the one giving the killing blow then he'd be the blackened.

Rindou- Survivor or victim, I could see him either be killed in revenge for what he did above. Or I think it would be pretty cool to see him have a kinda Fuyuhiko arc where he tries to gain back everyone's trust and fit in with the group, getting character development after his brother's death.

South- Killer, I think this is fairly obvious

Senju- Either victim or survivor- i just really think she could fit in either group, she kinda gives me Hina vibes actually (danganronpa Hina not tr Hina).

Wakasa- Victim, if there's alcohol in this one then he likely dies while drunk, especially since he tends to pass out in random places.

Benkei- survivor, ok ngl I can't even explain this one he just kinda gives me survivor vibes for some reason.

Shinichiro- Survivor or victim, I think he'd play a leadership role similarly to Takemichi, the only difference being I think he'd take more of an active role with it (like taka) which could put him at risk.

Takeomi- Survivor or victim, on the one hand he seems to gain a fair few enemies but he's also very smart and supposed to be good with tactics so I could see him using that to get out.

#ok that took a while but i think i got all the main guys???#tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers spoilers

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thebadjoe · 1 year

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BAD JOE'S DRDT CH.2 CRIME SOLVING THEORY PART 1

So, I've been viewing and reviewing the videos for DRDT Chapter 2 up until the latest available episode (being 9 at the moment) and I've come across with so much information. Lots of subtle, yet interesting things. Thanks to those, I was able to connect a lot of dots and come up with a theory that just makes so much sense and I'd like to share it with you all. Before I dwelve into it, I'd like to repeat myself by saying that this is MAJOR SPOILERS and in case you wanna try to figure out the mystery by yourself or in case I end up being right with my theory, but you want to get those reveals happen as the videos are uploaded, then I'd definitly recommend all of those concerned people to immediatly stop reading and enjoy the ride that Danganronpa Despair Time has to offer. For those who want all the spoils, then let's do this. It's showtime!

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Step #1 : The sneakiest, but biggest clue

In episode 9, also known as the first part of the 2nd trial, we get to the part where the attempted murder on Ace is revealed (which was definitly bound to happen) and Nico, surprisingly enough, they take the blame. Some of the fans have a split opinion about this, based on what I've noticed. Some say that they're probably covering for someone, or that they attempted to save Ace and so on. I figured I'd take another look back at the crime scene of the attempted murder not only because of this, but also because eventually, we're gonna need to find out how it actually happened back then. It might end up being useful to learn for this chapter, it could definitly be related after all.

But what I end up discovering, I never expected to find a piece of information that can reveal so much about this chapter. I recommend you to watch Chapter 2 Episode 6 to watch the clue I'm referring to.

Let's first watch from 19:41 to 20:31, the part where Teruko is investigating the crime scene in the fitness room. She notices a couple props that we're also able to see. There is however one prop that's shown on the crime scene, but not mentioned by Teruko.

The roll of tape! The very same tape that Ace's killer used to stick the wire to the fan, which is also most likely the same tape Arei's killer used to put it on the bars of the carousel (IT'S SPINNY THING!!!).

Wow, you found the roll of tape! Why does that matter?

You'll see very shortly. But first, take a good hard look on where the roll of tape is positioned. Now, play the video at 20:31 and pay attention to the speech bubble. The bottom part of the crime scene is harder to see now that it's darker, but it's still transparent enough. At 20:37, you can still see the roll of tape barely. At 20:39, it moves Teruko's sprite, so the tape is hidden behind her. At 20:49, for a brief moment, the roll of tape is still barely visible. But then at 20:50, Ace wakes up. (dum dum DUM, he's not actually dead!) Nevermind him though. Here comes the most important part. 20:54...

The roll of tape is gone!

Wait, I don't understand... what does that mean?!

It's eitheir an error made by the creator, which quite honestly, there's absolutely no shot that this is the case for the simple reason that this is a background that the creator made. There's no way a prop that's part of the background can suddenly disappear unless they made another background, but without the tape. Why would they decide to change backgrounds at that specific moment?

So if it's not that, then that only means one thing : one of these three took the roll of tape!

No! That's ridiculous! It can't be!

You better believe it because thanks to this huge hint, it narrows down the list of suspects by a lot as to who murdered Arei. Let's not forget... we already established that this tape was used at the playground, the real crime scene and that based on the narrative, there exists no other roll of tape of that kind due to two factors : MonoTV cleaning up the fitness room (Episode 6-7) and Rose confirmed that there used to have tape in the fitness room (Episode 7). So now, only one of these three could've done it : Ace, Teruko, Eden.

There's no way the blackened could be Ace!

You're right. It's actually impossible. He's been nearly killed, he's wounded and his mind is set on anything else but murdering Arei. Also, no offense to Ace, but I don't think he has the smarts to pull this kind of murder scheme. Even if he did, we'd have to worry about him leaving blood traces on the roll of tape. The odds of that happening seem fairly high, but there's no blood sighted on any of that tape, so... He's out.

There's no way the blackened could be Teruko!

You're right. It wouldn't make sense. She is the protag, so it's be very weird to see her go so soon. Not only that, but unless it's for self defense, she literally has no motive to kill any of the cast at the moment. Remember, she's the only one who's totally fine with not escaping this killing game, just living here. So she's out. There's no way the blackened could be Eden!

... heh! Are you sure about that? Are you thinking this because this is one of your favorite characters or because deep down, you know that she's very kind and wouldn't hurt a fly?

Well... sorry for breaking the news, but disregarding the fact that she's the remaining valid suspect out of them three, she definitly has the motive and skills to pull it off. But putting that aside for now, take a look at this.

This was a couple seconds before Ace woke up and the roll of tape disappeared. This definitly shows the possibility that she could've taken the roll of tape as she was investigating. And we all missed it because of this explosive distraction : Ace waking up, shouting. When he shouted, he also pushed Eden which could've been the perfect moment for her to take the roll of tape without anyone else noticing.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen! I accuse Eden of being the blackened!

Nooo! Why eden?! I don't want to believe it! She had no reason to kill Arei!

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Step #2 : The simple, yet heartbreaking motive

That reminds me, let's talk a bit about one of the most popular topics this chapter in this community!

I've seen so many people come up with ideas as to which secret it belongs to who, especially since some of them could potentially be pretty incriminating in regards to the murder this chapter. Maybe some of these motives could play a part this chapter, but it's very hard to tell as we don't have a lot of information on that end aside from the motives we already know who it belongs to, but aren't related to the crime.

And it's true that cause of that, there's been a considerable amount of arguing going on between the cast, which could've resulted in a murder. But otherwise, for the time being, I would like to claim the following...

None of these motives in itself have anything to do with the murder of Arei and the attempted murder on Ace. This is just a giant distraction, a red herring to throw us off track on what actually happened. We don't need to know everyone's motive to solve the murder mystery.

While it is fun to theorize who could be the secret murderer, who's the manipulator or who's the main cause behind the killing game. I think that until proven otherwise, they're unrelated to the crimes this chapter, but will play a major role in the future chapters. Why would Eden commit murder then?

Let me ask you a question. Aside from their names starting with the letter A, what does Ace and Arei have in common?

Why does that matters? The culprit for Ace's attempted murder is-

Nevermind that for now. Focus on what they both have in common. One of the main reasons why there was so much arguing happening this chapter. That's right! They're both bullies! Ace's quite the bully, especially towards Nico (which we learn in the later chapters why that was the case). He was often causing a ruckus in the dining hall. It was not pleasant for anyone. Granted, Ace didn't really bully Eden much, but that's not the same case for Arei. Arei was pretty mean to Eden, even back to chapter 1. But chapter 2 was when she was pretty nasty. Back on chapter 2, episode 5, Arei bullied the crap out of Eden to the point where she exited the playground, crying. Here's a video for reference, as a reminder. (I recommend watching the vid of chapter 2, episode 5 from the beginning to 3:40)

Granted, later on, we learn that she did it to make Eden stronger, so that she doesn't become an easy prey in the future. She didn't really enjoy making her cry, she was just trying to help in her own way. Unfortunatly, Eden didn't really get to hear that as she was probably already far gone by then.

She heard something else however right after Eden left the playground.

Even though she was not in the playground, Eden most likely heard it : Arei being evil, a bully who only wishes misery on others. And that's pretty much the moment where Eden had enough. She snapped. That. was the motive behind it all. The cataclysm that broke this kind person's mind.

Hold on! That can't be right! There's no way she heard that!

Nope, that's wrong! We already have some proof that she could've easily hear it. There was the interaction between Ace, Levi and Teruko in episode 2. When Ace left the fitness room, Toruko talked crap about him, then Ace came back running, shouting and whining that he heard all of that. Then there's this!

The suspect herself claims that these walls aren't soundproof, so she is very well aware that things can be easily heard through the walls. So there you have it! The reason why she did it : to get rid of the bullies once and for all. Now then, let's talk about another big thing that caused some conflicts with the problem solving.

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Step #3 : Connections on the murder attempt

The mystery of the attempted murder on Ace is actually pretty interesting. There's a lot of likely different scenarios that could explain what happened in here. Most seem to conclude that culprit behind each of these crimes is not the same person. But what if I were to tell that it's actually the opposite?

That's right! I'm claiming that Eden planned and carried out both crimes at the same night without any accomplices!

But that's ridiculous! On Ace's attempted murder, Teruko found wires. The only person who could have that is Hu! She has wires according to the weapon list. So Hu is definitly involved!

Initially, I thought the same thing. Hu seemed incredibly suspicious because of that discovery.

But we've all been had! It was a ruse and sneaky trick by the creator by making us believe that it was her because of the glaring hint. But it's actually another red herring.

Aside from the computer lab, there is actually another source where the culprit could've gotten their hands on wires, but it's very subtle : the clocks.

The... clocks?

That's right! The very same clocks that Eden wanted to use to decorate as an activity with Teruko. It kinda suggests that she must've taken them. It's possible since the activity was cancelled because of the bullying. And inside those clocks, they contain wires... I think...

Not something I'm entirely sure of. But based on some research and some chat with a friend. The thing on the top right is copper wire. So Eden might've dismantle that clock with her tools and expertise and unrolled that wire. I gotta admit... I'm not quite knowledge about clocks, so there might be some misinformation. But I tried looking as much as I could and from what I gathered, most of the analog clocks have this kind of clock mechanism inside. So that seems pretty plausible, but feel free to correct me on anything related to the inside of clocks. Anyways, that's how Eden managed to get the murder weapon for Ace. In other words, Hu has nothing to do with the murder scheme on Ace.

But what about Nico? Why were they at the crime scene? Were they trying to save Ace? Were they helping Eden as an accomplice? Why don't they deny the accusations on episode 9?

There are a couple theories that could explain it, but I have one that makes the most logical sense.

Nico wanted to kill Ace for pretty much the same reason as Eden : To stop the bullying for good. Back in episode 6, it showed that they had the intent on killing Ace.

And that night, Nico was actually about to commit such crime, except that they were not as prepared as Eden. They were a tad late to, because at the time, Eden caught Ace off guard and brought him into the fitness room (something I'll explain later).

So Nico desperatly tried to look for Ace, get their revenge for the bullying. And because of that bloodlust, Nico's mind was probably hazy, not quite clear.

Then they found Ace in the fitness room, about to get murdered by whatever inventive trap Eden pulled. After that, I'm not sure what happened, but Nico broke the death trap somehow for whatever reason.

That's when Teruko and Eden discovers the crime scene and at that moment. Nico comes back to reality and looks at the situation they're in. At the time, they didn't know Ace wasn't dead, so Nico legit thought they killed him. So they panicked, they got stressed, they felt guilty and ran away.

That way, it would explain the reasoning behind their whole behavior and why Nico thinks they're responsible for the murder attempt.

But hold on! There's no way she could've done both of these crimes by herself and there's nothing that shows that they're related.

There's actually some similarities between both crimes.

For starters, they both use rather complex murder methods. Upon closer look, it looks like both of these seem to have some kind of mechanism involved which gives another reason to suspect Eden considering her ultimate talent. She works on things that has mechanisms, so it's nothing new for her.

Secondly, the state of both victims. No I don't mean Ace's neck being cut and Arei's neck being snapped. I'm referring to what else there was to learn about their bodies. Disregarding the red marks on Arei's wrists, we, as viewers, learned that there's no other kinds of injuries involved.

Meaning that they didn't get knocked unconscious with a blunt weapon of some kind. There is only one reason we learned that they might've fallen unconscious against their will : Rose's missing turpentine. Once again, not something I'm an expert at, but I'm guessing it must've been used kind of like chloroform, right?

Considering that it's Rose's custom weapon, it probably exists only one of these. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the culprit used it on both victims.

Come on now, that's impossible! There's no way she could've caught two people off guard!

Nope, that's wrong! We actually have proof that Eden is more than capable to pull it off.

As you can see, she was able to sneak on Teruko. So she could've done the same on both Ace and Arei. This is undeniable proof!

But wait, if she snuck on both of them, then that means...

That's right! Not only did she actually intend on commiting a double murder, Eden also planned on doing both at the very same night!

Bull****! It's impossible!

Oh, but it is possible! Why else would she pick the roll of tape after the investigation on Ace's attempted murder? There's also a lot more to this than just this fact.

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Step #4 : The requirements to kill Arei

So ever since Arei's bullying, Eden did a lot of planning and preparations. Like a whole lot! It's actually quite impressive! Once you find some hard proof and then connect a bunch of dots, you get to uncover quite a considerable amount of information on what's behind the culprit's mind. Right now, I'm here to lay it out all for you to learn as well.

Before she captures both victims, there was some preparation work needed. There's some that we already know. Stealing Rose's turpentine which is easily doable by anyone as Rose tends to be easily distracted. Grabbing Arei's rope which could've been grabbed by anyone as Arei discarded it, so monoTV put it in some kind of storage. Obtaining wire from dismantled clocks, I've already discussed this earlier, so this is obviously something she would do in advance.

And then there are some more subtle prep work involved. That rope... she had to set it up somewhere first before pulling off the whole murder scheme. But for that, she first needed to go to the movie screening room. The culprit needed to place the rope in a specific spot to put her plan in motion and it was somewhere through that room.

Here is some proof showing that the movie screening room and the playground are connected.

The culprit must've placed the rope on one of these metal thingy (I don't know the proper term) so that the rope would dangle on both sides, most likely reaching (or almost reaching) the floor of the playground. This was most likely set up at night, to not get caught.

That can't be right! I don't think Eden is strong enough to punch through walls and besides, we saw the movie screening room. There was nothing suggesting that the walls have been damaged!

That's right! There is no signs of punching into the walls or any kinds of damage at those walls. The culprit used her smarts and skills to get what she needed.

She used her tools to open a panel of some kind. Wanna know what's the best part? We have proof of that being possible and it's actually way back in Chapter 1, Episode 1.

As you saw on Eden's sprite, she definitly has tools. Even her custom weapon is a tool : the wrench! Granted, I doubt you could open this panel with a wrench, but maybe she needed it elsewhere, who knows?

To further confirm this rope setup, we also have more proof suggesting this possibility. It's back on Chapter 2, Episode 8.

The culprit must've moved one of these tube lights by accident and was unable to place it back for whatever reason. Or maybe they simply broke it. Eitheir way, this proves that my theory with the rope works.

Okay... then what?

Then it was time to go for the offensive! At nighttime, she probably baited Ace and Arei at different times through whatever means, then snuck up on them and get them unconscious with a cloth full of turpentine.

Next up, Eden placed Ace in the fitness and then she placed Arei's body eitheir at the playground or hidden in the changing room within the dress-up room. It couldn't have been the relaxation room since it was closed at nighttime nor could it be the fitness room since this was the death room for Ace.

The culprit definitly set up the death trap for Ace first because of the discovery of the roll of tape that I've shared with you all at the beginning. This discovery means that Eden took the tape to use it in the playground after setting up the murder on Ace. What was the actual death trap at the fitness room though? To be honest... I'm not quite sure yet. It must be involved with all the stuff that Teruko found during her investigation, especially the broom and stepstool since they're not from the fitness room originally.

I can't quite picture yet how the whole mechanism was designed, but at the very least, we know that it involved the fan and the wires. The wires was most likely around his neck while the fan was continuously rotating. I think that's what matters the most, at least. I'll let you guys know if I can figure out how the whole thing works.

Alright, you got the murder scheme on Ace sort of figured out. But there's no way you can figure out the one for Arei!

Heh! Think again! I have a fairly good idea on how that murder scheme works.

Although... I'll be honest... this is not quite originally my idea. I'm pretty sure I heard of this theory somewhere eitheir on tumblr or youtube, but it involves a quantity of props and the seasaw. So whoever that was, thank you!

Regarding the prepping time? She also gathered more, but it could've been done during the night of the murder. We have the water jugs,

a bunch of clothes,

and we have the roll of tape that Eden picked to do this! (And something else, but I'll get back to it later)

But what about the dead fishes?! Why are they here?!

I'll get back to it later. For now, don't worry too much about them.

Now then, here's how the culprit did it.

She attached the rope at the base of the carousel so that the rope would be pulled as she would turn it.

She rolled the bars of the carousel with the same tape so that the bars wouldn't be slippery as she rotates the carousel

On the other side of that rope, she attached the two jugs of water to it.

She readjusted the rope's positioning to make sure that the jugs of water would land on one side of the seasaw.

She surrounds the jugs with clothes to increase the odds of hitting the target.

She places Arei's alive, but unconscious body on the other side of that seasaw (mostly the neck) while probably attaching the wrists to the ground with the remaining tape to make sure she doesn't move too much.

She rotates the carousel, pulling the jugs upwards.

As she reaches the maximum height, she would release the carousel and let gravity do its work.

BAM! Arei's neck gets snapped and she dies.

Then following this, a few other things happen : the rope goes through the handle of the jugs from impact, the rope probably gets snapped in two from the impact as well, the clothes get wet from the spilled water (from the jugs) and the ground gets damaged from the corpse's sudden movement because of the impact of the murder.

Here is the proof to confirm this.

Another thing to note which could further explain why Eden is the culprit. I believe there was another use for surrounding the jugs with clothes. She wanted to add a "silencer" to her murder weapon.

In other words, because Eden knew that the walls aren't sound proof, she wanted to commit the murder as quietly as possible, to make sure no one else hears it.

After the murder, she had a few remaining things to do :

She used the first half of the rope to make it look like Arei has been hanged at the swing set.

She used the other half of the rope to "hide" it under the carousel

She grabbed the empty jugs, the two pieces of tape used to hold the victim's wrists and the ball of clothes.

She threw away the pieces of tape and the empty jugs in the trash can.

She hid the ball of clothes somewhere in the dress-up room.

And that, ladies and gentlemen is how she got away with almost a double murder and pulled it off in a single night.

But when did she pull off Arei's murder? She was with Teruko since the encounter at the dress-up room up until Ace arguing close by the students' rooms.

It should be pretty easy by now. She did it right after everyone went back to their rooms. That's when she went back to 2F to resume her murder scheme.

But that whole plan creates a contradiction with this and that!!! Without an accomplice even! It's impossible!

Don't worry, I do have a valid explanation to most of what seem like an issue and it actually makes sense.

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Step #5 : The finishing touches

Alright, let's tackle what seems like the biggest issue.

We definitly saw Arei alive the following day. So your time is murder is invalid!

No, that's wrong! You probably mean this, right?

Sorry to disappoint, but that's not Arei. That's actually Eden disguised as Arei.

How is that possible? She looks nothing like Arei!

No, but with a couple preparations and props, you can definitly put on proper disguise. I have two pieces of evidence that proves that this is possible and logical.

The dress-up room in itself is proof enough. Eden could've taken a copy of Arei's uniform in here, there's a wig that looks like Arei's hair and most importantly... Do you see the pink, heart shaped box on the brown desk? That looks like a make-up kit, doesn't it? So Eden could've easily make herself look like Arei with this.

As for the glove, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason why Arei's corpse doesn't have her glove anymore. The culprit was forced to take it from the corpse to fully complete the disguise.

But there's a bunch of people who saw Arei at lunchtime!

Yeah, but did they really pay attention to her at the time? Weren't they distracted by Ace whining on high noon?

What about Teruko? She cleared stared at Arei during lunchtime, so she should've noticed if it wasn't her.

Nope, that's wrong! We have proof explaining this issue.

When Veronika was telling Teruko that the character in a certain movie she watched looked like Teruko. Teruko would deny it by saying that the character's hair and eyes aren't the same colors.

So Veronika then concludes that she might be face blind. Being unable to recognize someone from their facial appearance.

It's not quite confirmed that she has prosopagnosia, but it's highly suggestive. Therefore, because our pov is practically the same as Teruko's, what we saw is what Teruko thought was Arei standing there at lunchtime when it was actually Eden disguised.

Both the lack of words from "Arei" during lunchtime and the fact that we don't see Eden's actual sprite in the dining room proves that this theory is possible.

On episode 7, Teruko, Whit and Eden were the first three to discover the body, yet the BDA bell made a sound. That proves she's not the culprit!

Nope, that doesn't prove anything. In fact, that's just another sneaky that the creator pulled on us.

Let's think of this differently. If we follow the logic that Eden is the guaranteed killer, then you have to ask yourself : why did it still ring?

From what we've witnessed...

She says this line right before Teruko opens the doors to the playground. Why would she say that suspicious line?

Was she nervous? Was she scared of something? She was actually scared of something that could've happened : the BDA not ringing.

If it didn't ring, it would've been game over for Eden. It would've narrowed down the list of suspects by a lot. She was afraid that this outcome would happen. Why? Because she thought that no one else discovered the corpse before them.

Yet, it did. Meaning that something unexpected, which worked in Eden's favor, happened : someone else discovered the body.

So now, we have to ask ourselves the next question : who discovered the body first?

We probably have a couple candidates suitable for this, but we have one specific individual who fits the criterias better than anyone else. Someone who's been acting suspicious since after lunch time. Someone that would fill in the few holes in my theory. That's right! The first person who discovered Arei's body is David.

What about the dead fishes?

Good thing that this is being brought up because the person responsible for placing those dead fishes all over the playground is actually David himself!

What? You don't believe me? Alright, let's go through each event from David's pov. Starting from lunch time (after the attempted murder on Ace) to evening.

He's eitheir looking for Arei after lunchtime or he's just roaming around the place for whatever reason.

He finds Arei's body sometime before late evening. He probably has a lot of negative emotions flowing through him.

But most importantly, he is confused, yet determined about one thing : "Why is she dead so soon? I saw her at lunch time, so she must've been dead sometime between then and now!"

He goes to the kitchen. Eitheir to spend some time alone, away from the corpse to think about this or because he was looking for something in the kitchen. Something like a knife maybe? You know... for revenge's sake. (This is definitly possibly because when David met Teruko, Charles and Whit, he didn't expect them to be there so late) and doesn't wanna join their late dinner because he's not in the mood.

After whit's suggestion, he goes to the relaxation room.

Upon taking some time to decompress and focus, he thinks of some facts he learned about the school's features. Like the fact that there are fans in the playground that can dry up wet stuff pretty fast and the fact the doors of the relaxation room are closed and locked during night time.

That's when he comes up with a plan : he takes the fishes in the relaxation room and places them in the playground.

That way, it'll help pinpoint more accurately the time of death of Arei and possibly find the culprit who doesn't have an alibi within that timeframe.

Unfortunatly for him, even though he was trying to help, that plan of his is actually gonna mess up the group for quite a while. Because as we know, the actual time of death was the night before the day he discovered the body first.

How did he catch those fishes?

Well... good question. I guess I may be slightly off with the ball of clothes theory that it's been used for the seasaw mechanism.

It's possible that it might've been used by David to catch fish more easily. Or... maybe the ball of clothes was used by both Eden and David. Yet another possibility.

Whichever is the case, there's probably an easy explanation for this.

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And there you have it! That's my whole theory about chapter 2. The whodunnit, the howdunnit and the whydunnit.

There are probably some other wacky, slightly valid theories that could work with someone else than Eden as the culprit. But personally, I feel like this is the theory that makes the most sense within the danganronpa theme, within the narrative, within all the hints we've been given. It almost feels like the creator is whispering to us that this is the way.

But hey, chapter 2 is not over yet. There is still quite things that has yet to be revealed. Heck, I never even mentioned the ripped up message in the trash can. Mostly because I don't to do with it since it's kinda missing clues. But maybe it will be connected with Eden's murder subtly, or maybe it'll be something entirely different. We'll see.

Until then, looking forward to see what's gonna happen in chapter 2 episode 10. Will I be right? Will I be dead wrong? Will I encounter a few errors where I'm gonna have to revise my theory? Only time will tell.

Thank you for the curious people who took the leap of faith to read this from the beginning to the end. I hope you had a good time. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know!

#danganronpa despair time #despair time #drdt #drdt spoilers #drdt theory

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pigeonwhumps · 8 months

Text

Faint at First Sight

Finally, I can share my entry for the Guys in Distress zine with y'all! You can still get leftover copies of the whole print zine and merchandise while they're available, as well as pdf zines until the end of the year, so please do if you want to, it's very good!

Thanks to @blackberry-bloody for beta-ing and for the title!

Taglist: @extrabitterbrain @wolfeyedwitch @zineofgid

Kai is kidnapped during his first mission.

CWs: hero whump, hostage, torture, captivity, bound and gagged, blood, burns, electrocution, shock collar, stress position, fear of abandonment, forced to watch, non-con nudity (non-sexual), dehydration, mentioned starvation, forced to stay awake, threatened drugging

"Got it!" hisses Lian, as the slot widens under his control. Kai stretches out a hand and the memory card comes flying out, almost braining him. Lian snatches it out of the air and examines it quickly.

"Definitely what we're after. I think. Now let's get out of here before–"

"Code red," says Morfydd in Kai's ear. "Solar Flare's down, they're heading your way."

Kai's body turns cold. Gemma. No.

Lian tugs at his arm. "Snap out of it, Wolfman, we need to go. Do your wolf thing and run."

Kai clenches his fists and transforms, taking a few tries but getting there in the end, senses sharpening, colours dulling. He lopes along, keeping pace with Lian, who knows the way out.

They turn a corridor and two of Moonstar's minions stand in their way. Kai uses his telekinesis to push one minion into the other, sending them both crumpling to the floor, and he and Lian run back the way they came. An alarm wails and the bulkhead doors slam shut as they re-enter the lab.

"Fuck," mutters Lian, "what do we do now? There has to be a way out."

Kai paces, looking around, and spots it the same time Lian does. An air vent halfway up the wall.

"Wolfman," says Lian slowly, "I'm going to climb on your back and open that. You can climb up when you're back in human form, right?"

Kai gives an affirmative bark and Lian uses a chair to clamber onto his back, ripping the air vent off the wall with all his superstrength. Kai stands as still as possible, moving furniture around the room to create a step for himself. They don't have time to wait while he does it. Moonstar or his minions could be here any minute – Kai can already hear someone cutting through the metal.

The grate falls to the floor with a clatter, and Lian pulls himself up into the vent.

"Come on, Wolfman. Your turn."

Kai transforms back to human, colour vision returning and smell and hearing diminishing as he does so, just as the metal screeches and bursts open.

Kai scrambles up onto the table, a little disoriented from the change, and jumps for Lian's hands.

He crashes to the ground with a thump and lets out a sharp gasp as pain shoots up his back. His tailbone. Fuck. He tries to get to his feet but someone grabs him and hauls him upright, holding his hands behind his back.

"Get the fuck off me!" Kai snarls, trying to wrench himself out of the minion's hands but the grip's like iron. He hears footsteps approaching and struggles harder.

Moonstar enters the room.

Kai gasps involuntarily, struggling not to get to his knees and proclaim his loyalty to the supervillain. Only the nagging wolf voice in his mind holds him back. Moonstar's powers of charisma and persuasion are legendary when he chooses to use them, and Kai suspects they're the only reason Gemma agreed to let him come on this mission.

"Interesting," Moonstar purrs, approaching Kai and tilting his chin up. "You're not immune. I always thought shifters were immune."

That's when Kai realises that he's standing completely still. He jerks his chin back, headbutting the minion, who lets out a yell. Moonstar's charisma switches off abruptly and Kai thinks he might finally have a chance of escape when Moonstar's hand flashes, the glint of light the only sign of the blade that was there and gone in an instant.

And the blood.

Kai watches as a line of blood wells up from a slash on his arm, bright red and glistening.

Oh.

Fuck.

The room darkens and sways and far too soon he's out cold.

When Kai wakes, he's freezing. And it's dark. Not dark like a darkened room, dark as in there's fabric covering his face. He hears rustling, and he tries to move his hands or push himself up off his knees but he can't.

"Ah, the hero awakes." Kai's hood is ripped off and he blinks into the bright light, seeing Moonstar smiling down at him. He realises he's stripped down to his underwear, his hands and lower legs chained to the floor, and he tries to transform into a wolf but as soon as his vision starts to change, a jolt of electricity rocks him back with a cry. Moonstar tsks.

"Trying to avoid my hospitality already? That isn't very polite. And here I was, thinking you heroes had manners."

Kai swallows, feeling leather and plastic around his throat and flinching as– god. That's where the shock came from, wasn't it?

"Fuck you."

"Now, now. I'm trying to tell you something important, this isn't just a friendly chat. You see, that collar of yours is a shock collar, as you may have noticed, and the shock just now? That was the lowest setting. If you try to transform again, I'll set it high enough to kill you. Understood?"

Kai glares at him. Fuck him if he thinks he's getting an answer. But he continues staring, finger inching ever closer to a remote, and eventually Kai spits out, "Yes."

"There. Was that so hard?" He clicks his fingers and two minions step forward, unlocking his limbs from the floor. "Now you know the consequences, we can talk like civilised people. Maybe you'll even answer my questions, though I don't hold out much hope. So, shall we begin? One wrong move and you get shocked. And I haven't given my minions any fun for ages."

One man grins, holding up a… oh, god, is that a hot poker? Kai attempts to brace himself. He's not telling these people anything.

"First question. Where does the Hero League keep their stolen information?"

"I don't know."

One of Moonstar's minions steps forward and presses the poker to Kai's side.

The heat burns, lighting Kai's back up in agony, and he lurches forward, falling to the ground, vision tunnelling. "I'm telling the truth! I don't know! Please, I don't… I don't!"

When he stops screaming and pleading, panting on the floor, Moonstar raises an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe. So we'll try it again. Where does your organisation keep its stolen information?"

Kai's not sure how long it is before Moonstar gives up on getting information that Kai doesn't know out of him and hands him over to his minions to have fun with, but it only gets worse from there. They burn his back with hot pokers and electrocute him, sometimes both at once if they're feeling sadistic enough, and when he's not actively being tortured he's left on his knees with a hood blocking out all light, white noise blasting over the speakers at random. If he even twitches a finger, whoever's on duty will shock him. He hasn't slept, eaten or drank anything since he arrived, and they've threatened him with worse.

It's worst of all when Moonstar comes to watch, taunting him. He can't block it out. He tries to hold out hope that his teammates are coming for him, but with every session that passes it's harder. They've probably abandoned him, it's not like he's very useful. He got himself captured.

On some occasions, the occasions that Kai hates most of all because they make him so disoriented and vulnerable, Moonstar directs his minions to cut Kai, forcing him to faint over and over again, until he can barely think.

And he can't do anything to stop it. They're already getting exactly what they want.

Kai wakes for the fiftieth time that session, or so it feels like, his head heavy and his body hurting. Everything hurts these days.

He lifts his head determinedly and glares at Moonstar.

The supervillain only chuckles, a smirk on his face. "It's like putting a budgie to sleep, only much more amusing." He sighs and stands, brushing himself off. "As fun as this is, though, I have something to organise. After all, if you won't give me anything, I'll have to find someone who will. Put him back to sleep in his corner when you're done."

The next day, two of Moonstar's minions pull Kai roughly to his feet, chaining his hands high above his head, forcing him to balance on his toes. Then they remove the hood and force a ball gag into his mouth, buckling it overly tight behind his head. He breathes through his nose, trying not to gag.

The minions stand back as the door swings open and Moonstar saunters in. He smiles upon seeing Kai.

"Oh yes, you'll do nicely. Just the perfect combination of injured and trapped. Got to send a photo to your team, after all. They should know about your… predicament."

Kai can't speak but he twists his hand carefully in his cuffs, sticking one finger up. It gets him a punch to the face, but he doesn't really care. Inside he's panicking. He doesn't want his friends to see him like this.

"That wasn't very nice, now, was it?" says Moonstar mildly, pulling out a phone and holding it up. "Smile for the camera now."

Kai glares at the supervillain and hears a camera shutter. Moonstar types something on his phone.

"I wonder how your friends will react to that. What do you think?"

"I think," Kai pants, "that you can go fuck yourself."

Moonstar sighs deeply and Kai's nerves light up. When he comes back to himself, dangling from the restraints, he hears a jaunty ringtone.

"Oh. Excuse me." Moonstar walks out of the room, his men following behind, and when the door slams shut Kai realises he doesn't know how long he's going to be left like this.

Well. That's okay. He can cope. He can.

In. Out. In. Out. He breathes shakily and tries to concentrate on putting his feet back under himself.

He's not sure how long it is before Moonstar returns, undoing the gag. It feels like a long time but it might not be.

"Hello again. How are you feeling?"

"Fuck you."

Moonstar tsks. "Manners, manners. Dear me, what is the world coming to? But that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here?"

"I just spoke to your pathetic excuse for a team. They're not coming for you. Told me so themselves. You're not useful enough to bother with rescuing."

No. No, that can't be true. They wouldn't leave him here. Would they?

Moonstar roars with laughter, making Kai realise he spoke aloud. "Oh, this is just too good. You're so hopelessly gullible. Of course they're coming. You heroes, you always come. Negotiations are in a few days." Oh. Kai's face heats up with embarrassment and anger. "Now. Obviously you're going to be at the talks, to remind your people what they stand to lose. So the only question remaining is whether you'll behave or if I need to restrain you."

"I won't behave," Kai spits out, "I'm not going to obey you in front of everyone. Fuck you." He won't let his team see him obeying Moonstar.

The supervillain grins. "That's just the answer I was hoping for."

Kai shivers as he waits in the centre of the warehouse. The leather and metal restraints holding him in a kneeling position rub against his bare skin, knees pressed to the cold cement. He can barely feel them anymore. His jaw aches from the ball gag and his back's agony from where Moonstar's steel-toed boots press lightly into the burns there. He swallows against the thick band of leather, feeling the prongs dig in as a subtle warning. If he doesn't stay perfectly still, Moonstar won't hesitate to punish him in front of his team.

He never wants them to see him like that.

Moonstar had him restrained like this first thing, claiming that it would 'prepare him for the long meeting'. Kai's sure it's just to make him look worse for his team though.

Not that that's really necessary. After days of torture, he must look like shit anyway.

Kai's not afraid to admit that he's absolutely terrified. What if his team doesn't want him back? What if they decide he's not worth rescuing, not worth the price? He's not really and he knows it. No-one else on the team would've been captured so easily.

What if his team decides to abandon him here?

He takes as deep a breath as he can. They're– they're coming to negotiate, right? So they can't be planning on abandoning him.

But they still could.

Moonstar drags his legs off Kai's back, scraping the injuries as he does so, and Kai sees his boots appear in front of him before Moonstar yanks his head up by the hair. Kai's eyes water as he glares up at the supervillain. Moonstar only smiles.

"Ah, I see you're doing well. No point in pretending to be defiant, you know, I can see the terror in your eyes. The tears you're trying so hard to hide. Don't worry. If your team doesn't buy you, I'm sure we can find some… other use for you."

There's a crackle of static from Moonstar's communicator.

"The heroes are here, boss."

Moonstar drops Kai and takes a seat back in his plush leather chair, feet landing hard on Kai's back. "Well, what are you waiting for? Send them in."

Kai breathes through his nose, trying to calm himself. It's okay. He can do this.

His team walks in the door, escorted by two minions. They're unrestrained, but Kai isn't fooled. They can't attack with him here.

Unless that's their plan. Use this meeting as a trap to destroy Moonstar.

Gemma would never order the use of deadly force, but the Hero League higher-ups might.

Maybe they're going to destroy Moonstar and Kai with him. Because Kai isn't important to them, not really. He's not as useful as the others.

Gemma's eyes latch onto Kai and she takes a step forward, halting when Lian places a hand on her arm.

"Good choice, Solar Flare. See that collar around Wolfman's neck? I've been using it to control him, but if you make a single move to attack me I'll crank the voltage right up and let it run until your friend's dead. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly," grinds out Gemma. Lian and Morfydd both nod, Lian avoiding looking at Kai.

"Now, before we start, are you sure you want to negotiate? I'm quite happy to keep Wolfman here. He'd make for a nice little pet hero." Moonstar ruffles Kai's hair, and he trembles, fighting back a flinch.

"You bastard!" yells Morfydd, tears in their eyes, and Kai blinks. Morfydd very rarely yells, it hurts their ultra-sensitive hearing, even with their ear defenders. "Cer i grafu ti coc oen!"

"Now now. Don't get like that. You don't want Wolfman to get hurt."

"What the hell do you want, Moonstar?" asks Gemma angrily. "What do you want in exchange for Wolfman back?"

Moonstar smirks. "Well, that's the question isn't it. Or rather, what are you willing to give me for him?"

Kai lowers his eyes. Look properly pathetic for me, Wolfman, and I might sell you back for a reasonable price. He has to look truly pathetic if he wants a chance at going home, even if it eats at his pride to do so.

It's not a hard look to achieve. He looks at Gemma, stripping away the layer of pretence that's his only protection. She looks terrified for him, although she's hiding it well, and her hand twitches. "Name your price first."

"The drive you stole from me last week, for starters. And shall we say… £100,000? Nice round figure."

"£80,000," retorts Gemma.

"£100,000 or I keep your little hero as a pet."

"Fine. Deal. Now give us Wolfman."

"My drive and money first."

Morfydd digs into their pocket and throws the small hard drive at Moonstar's head. He plucks it out of the air before it reaches him.

"Now, now. No need for violence. And the money?"

"Silverclaw needs to transfer it across. Give her a few minutes and your details."

Gemma tosses a burner phone across the floor and Kai stares. Aisling? Their medic? She's involved in this too?

"And… done. Message sent. Ooh, got a thumbs up. That's all you need this phone for, right?" And without waiting for an answer he crushes it under his boot.

"Can we have Wolfman back now? We've met your demands."

"I suppose you have. Shame, I was looking forward to keeping him. Solar Flare, middle of the room, no further."

Gemma limps forward to the midpoint between her and Moonstar, rocking back and forth on her heels, clenching her fists compulsively, staring at Kai as if she can will him closer.

Moonstar wrenches Kai's head up by the hair and murmurs in his ear, "Crawl over to your leader. Go on, show her how pathetic you really are." As he unlocks Kai's restraints from the floor he lets the shock collar remote peek out of his pocket, and Kai swallows.

He starts to crawl across the rough, cold floor, scraping his knees as he goes. There's cries of indignation but he keeps his head down, not wanting to see their faces, not wanting them to see his humiliated tears.

He doesn't notice how far he's gotten until Gemma's hands are on him, scooping him up. She's so warm, it feels like he hasn't been warm in forever.

"I've got you, Kai. I've got you. Once the money's finished transferring we'll get you out of here. Stay with me, yeah? You'll be out of here soon."

Kai lets out a muffled whine and presses against her, trying not to see anything else. She runs her hand through his hair.

Several minutes pass, he thinks, before Gemma speaks again, louder this time.

"You have it? Can we leave?"

"Sure. Go. I have what I want, after all. Take Kai Bergström with you."

Gemma stiffens against Kai momentarily and Kai looks up, seeing Moonstar's malevolent grin. He can't muster up much more fear. The four of them follow a minions outside to a League car. Morfydd and Lian climb in the front, and Gemma's starting to help Kai in the back when the man stops her.

"A parting gift from Moonstar." And he slashes across the back of Kai's hand.

Almost immediately, the world goes dark.

When Kai wakes he doesn't open his eyes immediately. He doesn't want the dream of being rescued to end. The gentle hands in his hair will disappear if he opens his eyes.

"–his identity?" asks a soft voice, tight with anger. Morfydd.

"We'll figure out how to deal with that once we're back at HQ. Lian, drive us around the back, and Morfydd, pass me that blanket. I don't want people seeing Kai like this."

Kai groans as they turn a corner, and the car quiets.

"Kai? You're awake? Can you open your eyes?"

He doesn't want to, but for Gemma he will, and he peels his eyes open.

Gemma's looking down at him holding a big pink blanket, eyes soft and tight with worry, and he's still in the car. Either the dream hasn't ended, he's having a dream within a dream, or…

He works his jaw. No gag. No shock collar either.

"Not a dream?" he rasps hopefully.

"No. No, not a dream. We can't get the rest of the restraints off in a moving car I'm afraid, you'll have to wait for medbay. How are you feeling?"

"Hurts."

"Okay. We're almost there. Let me wrap you in this blanket."

"Please," whispers Kai. Please, wrap him in something soft and warm, he needs that.

Gemma's as good as her word, wrapping him up snugly. The car pulls to a halt and he's lifted out, unable to see much over the end of the blanket. He closes his eyes, not caring much anymore.

"You made a Kai burrito," comments Lian.

"Yep. Come on."

The ride is bumpy, and Kai only opens his eyes when he's set down on something. The murmur of voices didn't register before but it should have, Aisling's right there above him along with a man he doesn't recognise. She says something he can't properly make out.

"Hmm?"

"Hey Kai. Good to see you again. This is Aaron, he/they, my newest trainee. Is it okay if he helps?"

Kai nods. This Aaron's a professional medic anyway, maybe it won't be too bad.

"Great. I'm going to take off the blanket now, and… oh, god. Aaron, pass me the scissors, I'm not taking the time to bother with the fastenings."

"How bad is he?" asks Lian impatiently.

"We won't know until we've examined him. Stay, talk to him. Keep his mind off things. Kai, do you have any broken bones?" Kai shakes his head. "Okay. Can you take off your underwear? I'll cover you with a blanket afterwards, and we'll get you clean clothes." Kai obeys and pulls the blanket up quickly, covering himself.

"I'm sorry," says Lian, looking him directly in the face for the first time today.

"F'r what?"

"Leaving you behind. I shouldn't have run when Moonstar caught you."

Kai sips at the cup of water Aaron's holding out for him. He has to fight not to gulp it down, the cool liquid heaven on his parched throat. "No. You should. I'm glad you're safe. That why you couldn't look at me?"

"No. I didn't look because I didn't think you'd want me to."

"Oh. Thanks."

Aisling's communicator beeps and she curses, looking down at it. "The higher-ups want to see us immediately. Morfydd, Lian and me."

"It has to be about the unauthorised negotiations," says Morfydd. "If they say we should've just left Kai there…"

"Nah, they'll want to know if Gemma coerced us, as team leader," argues Lian. "As if we can't make our own decisions."

"You know that's not what it's about," says Gemma mildly, as if she hasn't had shouting matches with their managers about autonomy more than anyone else here. "Go. I'll stay with Kai."

"Aaron, can you take over from me?"

"If you think I'm capable."

"Right. We'll be back as soon as we can, Kai."

Kai nods and watches them leave, feeling guilty. In addition to everything else, he's gotten them in trouble.

"Okay Kai, your front doesn't look too bad. Though, when was the last time you drank anything?"

"Aside from that cup of water… before Moonstar."

"Right. Since you're that dehydrated I'd like to put a drip in. Can you turn over so I can check your back first?" Kai does so, heaving a sigh as he takes his weight off the burns, and Gemma sucks in a breath. "Ouch. Let's clean your back and then I can heal some of it. You should take some painkillers."

Kai shakes his head, stomach turning. I could get the guards to give you something that'll make you scream properly. "I don't want any. They make me fuzzy, I'm already fuzzy, don't want to be more fuzzy."

"Easy. You don't have to have them, it's your choice, yeah? I'd advise them, but it's up to you."

"No, I– I can't."

"Okay. Take Gemma's hand and bite down on this. At least nothing looks infected."

Kai does as they say, gripping his mentor's hand tightly and biting down on the silicon… thing.

It hurts. Oh, god, it hurts as Aaron cleans his burns, his vision swims and he wants to be sick.

The waves of pain fade eventually to a dull ache, and his jaw is stiff around the silicon. He lets it go, just about.

"Are you okay?" asks Aaron. Kai nods. "Right. I'm going to heal as much as I can, although since you're so starved there won't be much energy to use, so most of your treatment will be done manually. That okay?" He nods again. Huh. Aaron has healing powers. Kai feels warm hands on his back. "Hold still."

A tingly feeling spreads across his injuries. It's not bad, exactly, just weird. He's never been healed before. It feels a bit like pins and needles. Hurts like it too, after a while.

Slowly that fades, though, and although the pain's still there it's not quite so bad anymore.

"That's it for the painful parts. Your burns don't need debriding now, that's good, I'll just bandage them and insert your IV. Later, when your body's settled from the healing, you can have some food. How's that sound?"

"Good. Thank you."

"Not a problem. I'm glad we got you back." He starts preparing an IV and there's silence for a few minutes.

"Where did you get the money?" Kai asks suddenly. £100,000… that's a lot. It certainly wasn't authorised from League funds.

"Your team's savings," replies Aaron. "I gave some too when they ran out."

Kai stares at his mentor for a moment, unable to comprehend it. "But… Gemma… you and Aisling were saving for your retirement. And you don't even know me, Aaron. I'm not worth all that."

"Neither of us are retiring yet. Besides, you are worth every penny and more, Kai. You're a valuable member of the team, but more importantly, you're our friend. You're family. My retirement is certainly not worth more than your life, don't ever think that."

Kai tries to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat, eyes filling with tears. "You– I–"

Gemma moves to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling Kai's head into her lap. She runs her hand through his hair, scratching his itching scalp.

And Kai can't hold it in anymore. He crumbles, sobbing into Gemma's lap. Loud, messy, gulping sobs that he can't quite stop.

"I was so scared," he says through tears, when he can speak, "so scared. I was terrified that you'd leave me there, that I wasn't worth rescuing. And Moonstar, he– he terrified me. He tortured me and he made me beg and I couldn't stop it. I didn't mean to, it just hurt so much. I'm sorry I got captured. I'm a– a rubbish hero."

"Hey," scolds Gemma, gently but firmly, "you're not rubbish. Heroes aren't infallible. Most of us have been captured at least once. And I'm sorry for making you think you weren't worth everything to us. The only reason we didn't come for you sooner was because my leg had to heal first, but I never should've made you think you'd been abandoned."

"It's not your fault," Kai sniffles. "I've felt like that my whole life, I know it's irrational. I've never been abandoned."

"I'm your mentor. Maybe your fear wasn't caused by me, but I should've reassured you. I should've known how scared you were and helped you. I'm sorry."

"It's not like I told you anything."

Gemma raises an eyebrow. "Just like you didn't tell me you still pass out at the sight of your own blood? You told me the exact opposite, actually."

Kai, who'd just been starting to feel a little better, wilts, hiding from Gemma's stern look. "I just– I wanted to go on an actual mission," he mumbles. "and I know you only took me because I'm not really affected by Moonstar's powers but you'd have left me behind if you thought I'd be so use– detrimental."

"No, Kai. I'd have made sure you had one of the new cut-proof full-body suits. And I still am going to get you one made. They'll ground us at least for the unauthorised ransom negotiations, we have plenty of time."

"Thank you."

"And we didn't just bring you for your powers. I wish you'd think better of yourself. You're brave, clever, resourceful. Besides, everyone has to have their first mission at some point." Kai snuggles up against Gemma. "Hey, are you okay? Well, you're not, obviously, but you're not usually this physically affectionate."

"I'm still scared," whispers Kai. He doesn't want to admit it but they agreed a long time ago that they'd only tell the truth in the medbay. "I keep thinking I'm still captured. If I close my eyes and I'm not touching anyone, it's like I'm still there. I mean, I know I'm not, but I'm still so cold and my body can't believe it. How do I do it?"

"You wait. Get some sleep, so you can think properly. Don't be too hard on yourself, you were tortured for a week, it's bound to stick for a while. And I'll stay. Prove to you that I'd never abandon you. I really am very sorry I ever let you think we would."

"It won't help to drown yourself in regret," murmurs Kai, finding Gemma's warm, calloused hand. He only spent a week there? She squeezes his hand tightly.

"Stealing my own words now, huh? Go on, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake."

"I can't. I've seen you have nightmares, I don't want to remember what happened. I never wanted you to see me like that and I– what if I experience it again?"

"Then I'll wake you. You need rest. You could let Aaron give you a sedative?"

Kai shakes his head. "I won't be able to wake myself then." And he really doesn't want anything injected into him. It's like putting a budgie to sleep, only much more amusing. A needle might draw blood, and that would only make him weaker.

"Okay. Okay. Stay awake as long as you need to. Whoever comes over here next can fetch you some extra blankets, and let me give you a hug in the meantime?"

Kai nods and lets himself fall into Gemma's arms. She's warm, so warm compared to him, and he knows he'll fall asleep eventually but he really doesn't want to.

At least he's home, though. That's the important thing. He's home. He just needs to remember that and he'll– he'll be okay.

#whump #whump writing #immortal cannon fodder #kai oc #lian oc #morfydd oc #gemma oc #aisling oc #aaron oc #moonstar oc #whumpee and caretaker #whumpee and whumper #hero whump #hero villain whump #hero whumpee #hero caretaker #villain whumper

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joviantwelve · 1 year

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Hello! I've been doing some long, hard thinking about my current commission offerings.

TL;DR:

I am doing away with my "standard" menu (headshot/halfbody/fullbody/etc.) in favor of more experimental work.

Effective June 1, my commissions will close completely, including the waitlist.

If you want any of my current offerings, please let me know before then. You will be added to a final waitlist queue, with payment only required once I get to you.

If you're currently on my waitlist, or are interested in what's next, please see the bottom of this post. Once the final orders are complete, I will focus on relaunching.

Below is a more elaborate explainer of why I'm doing this, and what I'll be doing next.

Introduction

Essentially, commissions have worn on me more and more as time goes on (which may be tangible if you ordered one recently and it took months). Part of me wondered if I was burned out on art in general, or it was just becoming less of a hobby for me, but that sentiment didn't feel quite right. After all, I could still get grabbed by a picture idea every now and again, which I would then crank out in one evening.

Was there some sort of difference between the pictures I could hammer out quickly vs. the ones I couldn't? Well, I wouldn't make a post about an investigation without already having a prime suspect.

My Art Style

When I first started drawing aliased, it was to quickly crank out panels for my forum adventures, mostly because I was using GIMP and didn't know anything about brush settings. I was way too frustrated with anti-aliased lines and how little I could make them look how I liked, so I retreated into something completely different.

It worked for a while, but as I became more comfortable with the style, I developed bad, perfectionistic habits (something I've already mentioned being A Problem I Have). I would tweak lineart at the pixel level, just because some stray bump or two bugged the hell out of me. I consider this one of the reasons my art output has slowed down.

Trying to embrace a "perfectly inconsistent," or "consistently imperfect" look as "my style" just created its own irony. For example, I will deliberately draw patterns and textures by hand, because it sticks out too strongly otherwise if I just paste it in. You can bump into this quickly enough by scrolling through my various character references.

I would love a world where all my OC references feel "current," but as it stands, I'm finding it increasingly hard to work on the remaining characters I want to draw while commissions are also an obligation. Taking a break from aliased character art commissions in order to work on aliased character art references is...just doing more of the same? It isn't a break.

In order to create breaks that actually feel like breaks, I have to compromise. ONE of these has to go home and change. My personal art gets priority here, and I still very much want my OCs to look consistent in their reference art, so...I need to find a more efficient way to draw for money that keeps my dysfunctional brain entertained.

The Long, Slow Realization

Back when I used GIMP, I tried the chalk brush on a whim and ended up quite liking it. The rough look helped me ignore what I would consider "imperfections" otherwise. However, perhaps because I had a comic or character references I wanted to keep consistent, I mostly considered it a fun oddity and nothing more.

More falling dominoes that would eventually lead to this post were my experimental style offerings that I introduced last year (at the time, I just offered it because I thought people may be interested in art that looked relatively unique), Art Fight (having to agonizingly obey "finished not perfect" because of the event deadline), and other gift art I did around this time (the reasoning being, it's gift art, they wouldn't mind if I used it to experiment).

Now that I use CSP and am no longer bound by webcomic obligations, I've been experimenting more with brush settings. Wouldn't you know it, most of my modern art of my original stories is no longer aliased. I go "off-model" deliberately, fuck around with layer settings and effects, and enjoy creating pieces just because I saw a cool tutorial, brush, or program I wanted to try. These are the types of pictures I mentioned I could crank out in one evening. Maybe they're not "formal," but I feel like they're the most "me."

With all this new experience swirling around in my head, I finally realized: Why am I not selling art I actually find fun to draw?!

The New Offerings

Currently, I'm leaning toward one style of illustration only, cheaper than the experimental style I offer presently, and "rougher" as a result. I want something equivalent to my '22 Art Fight output; something flashy, unique, and most importantly, quick to do.

The specifics are what I intend to figure out while I work through the queue. Here are some thoughts already rotating around in my brain:

Should I offer price "tiers" that roughly equate a level of "polish" (equivalent to sketch/flats/shading) or just go with one-price-fits-all?

Should I still offer sketches as a cheap alternative, or is that too confusing with my Ko-fi already sort of being that?

Should I offer specific pricing for bust/halfbody/fullbody/etc., or was that another symptom of why I had commission burnout before, and should be avoided?

Should I eschew all of the above and just offer one thing at one price (e.g. "give me $50 and I'll draw your OC" with no other choices for the buyer), or is that too intimidating?

And so on. The last option is currently what I'm vibing with the most, but it's definitely the most daring idea of the bunch, too. (& If you have any thoughts on this, let me know! I have so much more thinking to do.)

The Old Offerings (But New)

When I reopen, I would like to have as few options as possible. However, I have considered the possibility that an old offering would speak to me and I would add it to the new menu again. Here are some thoughts on those:

Icons have a pretty high chance of coming back.

I've always liked drawing faces and headshots the most. If I decide not to bring back headshot sketches, I could just roll it back into "icons" and instead offer colored sketchy headshots. This would be similar to the headshots I did for Art Fight, but...with colors.

Half/fullbodies would depend on how the new style goes.

This is elaborating on what I said in the previous section. While I'm sure my core audience (i.e., you) will be fine with a potentially spontaneous angle to my commissions, buyers I'm less familiar with might not be. I want to try "one price fits all," but if someone gives me shit about me drawing a bust when they were anticipating a fullbody, I might have to add options to specify this.

Regardless, the style would still be "experimental" either way--the composition is what's important about it (which is also why I feel like I can get away with one single price). If anything, I feel like forcing myself into the little boxes of "halfbody" and "fullbody" was partially what was stifling me. Like, when do I ever consciously decide to draw a halfbody of an OC? I don't. It feels very arbitrary, and I'd like to distance from it.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Character design is NEVER coming back!

I deeply appreciate those that did want a brand spanking new OC from me, but I've never considered myself to have a terribly strong design sense. They just kind of ended up being extra nervewracking to do because I had to design a character on top of drawing a fullbody. I will still take the final requests for these, but this is your absolute last chance for a Jovian Twelve™ Brand Original the Character.

What if I'm Already on Your Waitlist?

You don't have to do anything! I will get to you when I get to you. After June 1, I will close the waitlist, and whoever is on there will be able to have one of my old commission types, as promised. You can change your request anytime as long as I'm not currently drawing it!

Reminder that my waitlist is NOT "first come, first served;" I order it based on the complexity of what's wanted. Because of my slow pace, I didn't want to keep someone waiting forever when all they want is three sketch headshots, you know? This is a heads up that if you change your request, your position in the list may change as well.

I have no ETA when the current waitlist will be completed, given that currently, fullbodies are taking me months. Sorry :( Just another reason I'm making this post!!

What if I Want the NEW Style?

I will accept up to five (5) waitlist slots that want to "test drive" the potential new commission style, placed after the "traditional" queue is all cleared out. (So, you'd be waiting extra long.) If you're interested in this, get in touch! I will offer them to you at a lower rate than what I'm expecting to charge for the real deal, as thanks.

If you're already on the waitlist for something else, and want to test the new style instead, let me know! Just be aware this would bring you to the bottom of the queue as described above (but it WOULD give me one less commission I'd have to go through to get to the new stuff, WINK).

In the chance I get no takers the entire time it takes me to go through the waitlist, then the first five commissions I do in the new style will just have to be "test slots" instead.

Final Word

I know these long posts might not be terribly interesting to anyone that's not me, but I find it therapeutic to scrawl my thoughts out in text. Additionally, I'm over 30 years old and conclusions are still the hardest part in writing an essay. I can feel my writing style begin to devolve the closer I am to the end...

Uhhh.

Thanks for reading, and understanding?! See you soon, maybe?! Get in touch if you want to discuss Commissions From Me?? 💃 Cool.

#text #commission #why do i type huge essays like this? what's wrong with me #at least that's off my chest now I GUESS

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boliv-jenta · 1 year

Text

Tim Rockford x OFC. Name only, no physical description.

WC:1.9k

Warnings: Death. Some bad language. Some descriptions of smut.

Follows on from this.

Someone mentioned more Tim, and this happened. In my defence, I'm still very sick. This may be a fever dream.

Afterlife?

The two of them stood in each other's embrace for what felt like eternity. It could have been and the both of them would be fine with it. It was so strange. Even on top of the strangeness of apparently being ghosts. The two of them didn't know each other except they felt completely in love with one another.

Though Tim's marriage didn't end well, it started lovingly. That love strengthened with the birth of his two children. He knew what love felt like. This was it. Except this was stronger. He felt an incredible bond to her. He prided himself on being a very articulate man. A skill used in crafting his cases. In interrogations, he used his carefully chosen words to twist and trip up his suspects. His words had never failed him. Until now. He couldn't for the life (afterlife?) of him, put into words his feelings for her.

The feelings that bound her to Tim were indescribable. This whole thing was insane. Like some weird Alice in Wonderland-esque drug trip. She had died but there was no grief, she was completely okay with it. There was something in the back of her mind telling her everything would be fine.

Then poor Tim showed up. Damn her aunt being under her mother's thumb. Her grandmother who seemed sweet to the outside world. Who had fooled her for the most part, only letting her facade fall on a few occasions. Blaming the snap of anger on the crotchetiness of old age. If only she'd looked deeper, sooner.

Now Tim was here, in her arms. He was suddenly her whole world. She barely knew any facts about him but she knew he was the love of her life (afterlife?). It was the strangest feeling. Also, the most beautiful and profound. She thought her ex was the one. She had truly loved him, at first, then things just..nothing lasts forever she supposed at the time. But this, with Tim, she knew it would last forever.

Even death couldn't stop her from overthinking. Her curiosity had always been a weak spot. Sadly, it led to her death.

"Detective?" Lifting her head from the warm, firm comfort of his broad shoulder she came face to face with him.

He was a beautiful man. Those whiskey rich eyes. The nose and jawline that would have even the finest sculptor down their tools in envy. The pillowy fullness of his pouty lips.

His face softened as he answered. "Please. Call me Tim, Jessica."

"Tim. Then you can call me Evie." Evie smiled almost shyly. Only her friends called her Evie. It was oddly intimate, given that they were already oddly intimate with each other. The taste of the coffee he had earlier, still on her tongue. Their chests still flush together. The press of something that had her questioning where he kept his firearm, to her hip.

"Hey, Evie." He smiled awkwardly.

Gradually the walls of the little bubble they were in started to thin. As if their nagging doubts were over inflating it. Untangling from each other they stood in silence for a long while, until the silence and the bubble was broken.

"Great. I knew you'd be one of those couples. More paperwork for me. Alright, this way." The rough smokers voice belonged to a woman who looked like she'd stepped right out of Central Casing for a 1950s telephone operator. Complete with headset. Standing next to the door to Evie's closet she tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, don't just stand there. In you go."

The two of them stood there dumbfounded. They stared at her until she huffed and swung open the door. The door that should have revealed a very haphazard filing system of old shoe boxes, box files and childhood mementoes. The door that actually revealed what looked like a huge police station bullpen.

"What the….?" Evie breathed.

Tim had already moved toward the door hand hovering over his gun in his shoulder holster.

'So, that wasn't his gun. Good to know.' Evie thought to herself.

Tim's instincts took over and he kept Evie behind him while he cleared the area. There was no way what he was seeing was real but it appeared to be. It felt real as he put his hand into the closet. The cool air from a nearby fan blew over his hand. The noise of a hectic police station filled his ears. The smell of old coffee and printer toner wafted his way.

"Listen. I haven't got all day. In or out?" The woman asked, seemingly completely uncaring of their choice as long as she got an answer soon.

Evie wondered who the hell she was. A chill ran down her spine at the mention of hell. Well, standing her wasn't getting any answers. As Tim turned back to her, brown eyes seeking her answer, she walked straight past him. Once the two of them entered the bull pen, Central Casting lady followed. Closing the door behind her, it disappeared. Not one person in the room looked twice at the dissipating door. Or them for that matter. They all carried on with whatever they were doing. Sorting papers. Talking on the phone. Typing on computers, all from various decades. Evie spotted a brand new, state of the art laptop, a big chuckled 80's number, one of those late 90's colourful iMacs. Tim spotted a guy using a typewriter and,he swears, a guy with a quill.

"Boss's office is this way." The woman's heels tapped on the hard floor as she raced ahead of them. She must have been in her late 60s but she could move.

The boss in question had 'Henriksen' painted on the glass of their door. Opening the door for them, she shut it behind them when they entered and left without a word.

Another mystery woman, Henriksen presumably, didn't even look up from her paperwork. "Take a seat."

Only when Tim and Evie hesitated, looking at each other for reassurance did she look their way. "Seats, now. Please."

The two of them moved like the school principal had summoned them.

"I'm Henriksen. I run this office. I know this is strange for you. We have a whole procedure to help you deal but we need signatures first. Red tape will drive you nuts!" She spoke a mile a minute and dumped two heavy files in front of each of them. Each labelled with their names. Evie barely had time to register that Tim's middle name was Ernesto before the woman started again. "Short version. You died. When people die they hang around unfinished business and what not. Most people move on after the closure of the funeral or loved ones saying goodbye or murder victims wait for justice. Some are stubborn S.O.Bs and can't move on. They are the ones we have here." Jumping up she moved to her window to tilt open her floor to ceiling blinds.

Tim fumbled for his glasses as Evie stood moving closer to the window. "Tim?"

Warmth bloomed in Tim's chest as she reached back for him.

Neither one of them could comprehend what they were seeing. Over a few blocks of relatively new city buildings, the view diverged into a forest complete with a castle that looked like it came from the middle ages except it was in pristine condition. The other side held the view of a suburb that looked like it was from the 1940s. Further up the city blocks it looked like Tokyo all bright and neon, except Tokyo didn't have hover cars.

"We have a lot of people from a lot of different times. This place seems to adapt to what people want. Most people are actually quite happy here. Some want to move on. That's where you come in."

Evie finally found her voice. "That's where we what?"

"You two have everything you need to move on. You know who killed you. You have the love of your soul mate. You can choose to go to the next place. I can't tell you exactly what is there but it's peaceful. I know you two experienced a little of that back there. You were on your way until you started questioning it. If you sign here. You stay with us and you can help others find what they need to move on and help us police this place. You have twenty-four hours to think. Phillis will show you where you can stay."

With that Henriksen press a button on her desk and Central Casting…Phillis came to collect you. Henriksen say another word as she went back to work.

The ride over had been silent but eventful. It's not every day you see a road rage incident involving a hover car and an old timey horse and cart. The two of them ate in silence. Phillis had left some TV dinners for them. They sat at the table in silence until the leftovers had cooled and congealed.

Tim eventually spoke first. "I don't even know where to begin…"

"Me neither. This is too much."

"I know. It's weird but I kind of miss when I was just dead and standing over my body with you."

"Same. I mean, not you being dead or the body part but it felt…"

"Right."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to..?" Tim stretched his hand out for her to take. Once again they stepped into each other's arms. It felt nice, reassuring, but the same peace wasn't there.

Chuckling nervously, they both realised it was different now.

"Maybe if we..?" Evie leaned in to kiss him. The peace wasn't there in the kiss. Although something else was. It took them over as they pulled at each other's clothes and blindly fumbled their way to one of the bedrooms that Phillis had pointed out.

The next morning, with the sunlight warming her bare back it was easy for Evie to forget everything. It was just another beautiful morning at home. Opening his eyes to see Tim, looking beautifully at peace, brought her back to her and now. Shame flooded her. It wasn't like she hadn't had a one night stand before. There were a few bad ones, a couple of good ones. Neither of them compared to last night. It was perfect, the kind of sex she thought only existed in movies or female producer porn. It was as if he knew what she wanted before she did. When she did want something different, she didn't feel uncomfortable to ask. During the second round, that they woke up for in the night, she'd asked for him to be rougher. He'd delivered, with great enthusiasm. It was amazing. Now, it suddenly felt awkward. She had so many conflicting feelings. On one hand, she was head over heels in love with Tim. On the other hand, he was a stranger! She didn't know how old his was, where he was from. Was he a cat or a dog person? An early morning or a late night person. She knew nothing about him yet she'd been happy enough to share some of her kinks with him.

Tim slowly woke when he felt her turn over. Needing a minute he kept his eyes closed. Fuck, this whole thing was just ridiculous. He was in love with a stranger. Sleeping in an apartment that belonged in the 40s. Was he dreaming? It all felt real. Last night felt very, very real. Making a beautiful woman cum, twice, around him felt very real. Her taking control to make him cum, felt very real as well. Her begging him to cum inside her, that felt very real. And like the most erotic experience of his life (afterlife?) He started to swell at the memory of it. A memory cut short by the sound of shouting outside their apartment.

Any awkward conversation they might have had to have took a back seat as they quickly dressed to the point of decency and ran to the front door of their apartment.

Outside, in the hallway, there stood an honest to goodness pirate, complete with eye patch and wooden peg leg. Apparently about to shoot a knight, in full mediaeval armour.

Tags @kirsteng42 @prolix-yuy @thegreenkid2 @hquinzelle @fangirl-316 @gracie7209 @jedifarmerr @doommommy @scorpio-marionette @sturkillerbase @harriedandharassed @aynsleywalker @mswarriorbabe80 @quica-quica-quica @rise-my-angel @adancedivasmom @graciexmarvel @kinda-nobody @movievillainess721 @munsonownsmyass

#pedro pascal character fanfiction #tim rockford #tim rockford x ofc

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midnightcreator12 · 4 months

Note

For the prompts you're doing * mf deep inhale * FIC PROMPT! The whole squad going to the mall cuz we NEED it! (03' turtles too, if it's alright and doesn't get to messy to write abt cuz dialogues with big groups are HARD, so it would be understandable ngl ;-;) Everybody needs some shopping tours. Aaaaand perhaps Leon getting lost cuz i'm a sucker for stupid things suddenly happening. I love drama.

I am so sorry with how late this is aaand I did try to get the 2003 boys in there but....it was a lot to balance for something I was trying to keep short so I hope it being Post-The Portal Home is okay!

You do know I know what an interworld market is, right?”

“Clearly you don’t because you call it an ‘interworld market’ instead of a shopping mall,” Leo grumbled.

“That’s what you call a large market with a variety of products from multiple regions! I don’t come up with the names for things…although I guess since Earth hasn’t made contact with other planets it would be an inter-nation market?”

“Shopping center,” Donnie corrected from above. “Or, more commonly, the Mall.”

Chula rolled her eyes fondly, leaping from their current rooftop to the next.

Their new member, however, loudly interjected, “Why would you call a building the maul? That sounds like a terrible idea to get people to restock there.”

“Not ‘maul’, a ‘Mall’!,” Mikey corrected.

“That’s what I said!” Seena protested.

Chula laughed now, hard enough that she had to pause or risk mis-timing her next jump. Seena growled as she ran past, pausing just long enough to smack her shoulder. The blow barely did anything but Chula still reached up to rub the spot and let out a tiny whine.

“I know that didn’t hurt! Cut it out Verd!”

Chula laughed again, louder, before moving again.

It’d been a few days since she and Seena had returned to the boy's dimension. Of course, she and Donnie had gotten to work, making plans to try and track down Astra and the battalion. Since it was obvious that combing each possible reality would take way too much time, Donnie had proposed that they work on the transdimensional communicators and pass them out to the various turtle teams in each reality. When she’d asked why other versions of the brothers he’d gone on…quite a rant that basically boiled down to ‘we attract weird, both versions of ourselves that we’ve met attract weird. Any other versions of us are most likely to bump into a magic space wizard and a ship full of human copies.’

It was the best idea they could come up with that could be done in the relative near future but it meant that trying to look before the communicators were done would be a waste of time. Which meant Chula was stuck waiting for that near future to become the present.

And while she’d tried not to mope around too much…one of the boys must have noticed.

She suspected that was why Raph had proposed this outing. She suspected that it was actually a group idea to try and keep her spirits up and to introduce Seena to more Earth stuff.

So, they were breaking into a ‘shopping mall’.

And apparently, shopping malls on Earth were contained in large buildings.

“Why would it be inside?” Seena asked as they peered down at it.

“Where else would it be?” Raph asked.

“Outdoors.”

“Why would you want to shop outside?” Leo said as he pulled out a katana. “Sounds weird.”

“Your planet is the weird one.”

“Children, let us remember that we’re from different realities,” Chula said as she moved away from the roof edge and waited for the portal to be opened.

“...still weird,” Seena muttered.

Her comment went ignored as Leo opened a portal and all the boys hurried to push Chula and Seena through. Leo bounded in last, sweeping his arms wide in a showmen-like gesture, “Ladies, welcome to the Queen’s Place Mall! Our go-to hotspot for all the latest fashions, food and learn valuable lessons about multitasking and prioritizing!”

“Wha-”

“Just roll with it,” Chula cut Seena off before she could finish the question.

The other boys were already chattering over each other, trying to pull the pair of aliens in every direction as they pointed out storefronts and the food court and Chula picked up Raph mentioning an indoor public gym that he liked to frequent.

Chula chanced a glance to Seena, snorting when she saw how lost her friend was in the middle of the kids' excitement. But she was letting Donnie and Mikey tug her along, stiffly nodding as they pointed out what looked to be a clothing store, so Chula wasn’t that worried.

She turned to Leo, grinning broadly, “She’s goin’ to be comin’ back in a completely new getup, isn’t she?”

“A good chunk of the plan for this was to get her a new fit,” Leo admitted breezily. “Seriously, does everyone in your reality just have the one outfit they wear all the time?”

Chula frowned, “I’m literally wearing a second outfit to what I normally wear.”

“And no offense, but this getup looks like you just snagged it outta a thrift store because you needed a change real quick.”

“Leo!” Raph chastised.

Chula just shrugged. Because Leo wasn’t entirely wrong in his assessment of how she got her ‘casual’ attire.

Leo led the way, taking Chula to another clothing shop. She expected him to open another portal to get past the gate covering the entrance but instead he dropped into a crouch and whipped out a lockpick set from his belt, “Watch and be amazed.”

Chula hummed but let her eyes roam around. The main bulk of the building was a large open area covered in shiny tiles and polished wood. She could see various little stands scattered around and further away a water feature stood as a centerpiece. Above their heads were walkways for a second floor, probably a copy of the first. She absently wondered if this was what the markets on Courcsaunt looked like, perhaps they could bring Astra here and ask when they found her.

The metal gate made a rattling sound and Chula looked back to see Leo swinging open the shop door. She followed both the boys in, eyes scanning again at the new space.

There was….quite a lot of clothing. And accessories and flashy trinkets scattered everywhere.

“Earth doesn’t skimp on the variety, does it?”

“People like to have a lot of choices,” Raph said. “And this one is one of my favorites. They have a lot of plus size options.”

“Which means we can find something in your taste without going to a mens section!”

“Thank Ashla for that,” Chula chuckled. “What are you pullin’ out back there?”

“Oh, just some options,” Leo circled around another rack and out of view. “You are getting the full Earth experience with this!”

Raph wandered off as well, browsing the racks absently. And with nothing better to do, Chula went in another direction to look around.

It really was quite fascinating to see how many different things this one shop had. Granted, for all she knew, the Core Worlds back home were much the same but she’d tended to avoid anything beyond Mid-Rim. And most of the shops and markets tended to only have a handful of things unique to the individual vendors.

But it seemed Earth locals liked having as many choices as possible in one place. Chula would bet her slug-thrower that every other shop and stand in the mall had just as much variety available.

She looked around the racks surrounding her, taking in the bright colors, intricate designs, layers and layers of fabric-

Her eye spotted something bright blue with rainbow accents.

Curious, she wiggled it out from between the other bright colored clothing around it. And smirked when she realized what it was.

Leo and Raph were finding things for her, she saw no reason not to return the favor.

—------------------------

“Have fun?”

Seena sent Chula a seething look. She was carrying her normal armor and wearing a dark gray jacket over a white top and loose pants that matched the jacket, “Seems I’m not the only one.”

Chula chuckled, grabbing the skirt of her new flower printed dress and flapping it dramatically, “Leo has excellent taste.”

“Then why is he dressed up in a Quarf jumpsuit?”

Chula glanced back at Leo, happily showing off the clothing Chula had found for him to his brothers, “He said it’s called a unicorn onesie.”

“Whatever. Did all of this at least cheer you up?”

Chula’s grin became softer as her hand smoothed over the silky fabric of her new ensemble, “Yeah. I think I needed this.”

“Thank Force for that then. I never want to have a ‘makeover’ with those two again.”

“Says the woman wearing that makeover.”

“Shut it Verd.”

Both pause for a moment as the group started moving towards the exit.

Then Seena spoke again, “Sooo, we’re just straight up robbing this place?”

“Donnie said he’d leave money. Non-humans aren’t really…widely accepted on Earth.”

“Ah….so why do you want to live here again?”

Chula grinned, looking back towards the boys just in time to see three of them climbing up Raph, “The company makes up for the need to hide.”

#lone hunter and turtle #tmnt #rottmnt #star wars #tmnt au #fanfic #oc #midnight talks

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lady-o-ren · 2 years

Text

NEVER WILL I LOVE THEE

CHAPTER ONE // CHAPTER TWO // CHAPTER THREE //

Ao3 Link ( HERE )

~ CHAPTER FOUR ~

The King of Albìōn has a penchant for art, particularly for paintings that adorn the walls of his private quarters. He stares up beneath one now as he pours himself a dram, depicting a stormy sea split by thunder and a ship lost in her tumultuous waves. But just as he brings his drink to his lips a voice comes from behind him.

"Isn't it rather early to be drinking?"

King Quentin turns around and lifts one feathered brow at the princess seated by the windows open to a view of the mainland. She wears a dress the sweet color of plum wine with fitted sleeves and a belt of woven gold around her waist that matches the thin cord threaded through her plait gathered around her face like a crown.

He raises his drink.

"A conversation with you, my dear, always calls for something exceptionally fortifying," he smiles, meaning his words teasingly, and hopes she receives it as such for she hasn't sought out his company in months. But alas . . .

"You should've filled the goblet then," Claire says dryly, the look of betrayal still lingering in her eyes from when he bartered her hand away.

The king sighs and sadly replies -

"You're right. As always." And tips his goblet to his mouth wishing he had poured himself a punch of whiskey.

"And I'm right about this, I think." There's the slightest hesitance in her voice as she thumbs the thin bandage wrapped around her hand no longer bound with a handkerchief and he knows they're back to talking about the heir to the mountain throne.

"You think? Just yesterday you threatened to throw yourself off a cliff to avoid marrying the man and now you're saying we should align ourselves with him. What's changed your mind?"

He couldn't imagine hers being so easily swayed.

Nor could the princess, baffled still at the sudden shift in her impression of Jamie.

"Jam - King James just isn't what I imagined him to be when I threatened to tear his head off. He -"

The elder man's body jerks in shock, spilling his drink down his cuff and the rug beneath him.

"You did what?!"

Claire bites her lip, crossing her arms as she leans back into the plush velvet of her chair. It's the first time King Quentin has seen anything approaching a smile on her face in his presence in a very long time.

"I threatened to kill the Red Warrior King and he -" her voice softens remembering the startling sincerity in his eyes. "He pledged me his hand - not in marriage but in friendship. To protect me - Albìōn -" she corrects herself with a shake of her head, furrowing her brow. "from Wolverton."

"Wolverton isn't the warlord Dùghall was. Him we can manage and have so far," he assures her, pulling a fine stitched handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands.

"How are we managing when the wolves are already pacing at our doorstep?" Claire asks in what sounds like a thinly veiled jab at her uncle's competence that's sharp as any arrowhead right through his gut.

It was true that there were sightings of strange fellows crossing back and forth into Albìōn territory from the east, rogue bandits they were thought to be, but were now strongly suspected of being Wolverton's men scouting the terrain.

He and his advisors thought it had to do with a dispute regarding their port and had fortified their border. But of course one never knew what could drive a man to be so utterly reckless to possibly start a war.

Unless he was desperate for something else entirely.

And that very real possibility made the king's head throb and for the muscles behind his eyes to pinch.

"But with the might of Scotia's army at our side -" the princess continues, hands turning to fists in her lap. "he wouldn't dare make an enemy of us."

"Oh, but he would," he replies grimly, taking a seat across from his young niece, bracing his hands on his knees.

"To the world you're still engaged to the bloodthirsty Red King. To threaten us would be suicide and should've been enough to defer any strike against us, if that's Wolverton's plan. But to place our safety in a man who has yet to truly prove his decency would be disastrous for us if he's playing us for fools."

"He's proven himself to me. And you, hasn't he? Why else would he still be here? Why haven't you sent him away?"

King Quentin doesn't know himself, maybe he wants to believe in the young man so desperate to prove himself honorable and trustworthy, and lifts a stocky shoulder.

"Because there must be more to that fool who took one look at you and was able to give you up."

Claire scoffs, embarrassed, and her uncle gives a soft chuckle.

"And he isn't Dùghall. Thank God," he says with gratitude to the heavens above.

"Or Wolverton . . ." She adds, and together they exchange a tense gaze.

He then sucks in a sharp breath, his hand flying to his brow, as a bolt of pain cracks through his skull.

Claire quickly moves to her uncle's aid and bends to her knees.

"It's another migraine isn't it, Uncle Lamb?"

He's been plagued by them since Dùghall set his eyes on Albìōn. They make his heart race and sometimes have even caused him to faint, a real troubling sight to see.

But he smiles through the hammering pain, peeling one eye open.

"You haven't called me Lamb in ages, dear girl"

"Uncle!"

He winces and digs his knuckle hard between his eyes where flecks of light scatter his sight. "Yes, yes, it's a migraine and only that," he says and pats her inquiring hands away. " Didn't sleep much last night. Little wonder why. I'll send for Master Raymond."

The princess shakes her head.

"He's on the mainland today but I know what to do."

Claire's been shadowing the Master herbalist for years now wanting to be more than just another figurehead and serve her people the best way she can. She's done everything from grinding herbs to helping set a few bones and is more than capable of helping her uncle.

But Lamb shakes his head and even that slight movement is enough to make him grit his teeth. He didn't want to worry her over nothing. A girl who lost both her parents far too young.

"No," he says, already regretting the gruffness in his voice. "Master Raymond is who I need. He's set me right before and it wouldn't do if he didn't earn his keep."

Claire of course takes offense and stands, steeling her heart against him once more.

"Then I'll go and fetch him myself," she says shortly, adding - "I'll have someone tend to you in the meantime so don't dare move a muscle until then."

And so the princess leaves in a swish of her dress that trails behind her, quick on her feet.

~ The Mainland ~

In the heart of the city is L’Hôpital des Anges, a charity hospital run by the formidable yet saint-hearted Mother Hildegard (another of the princesses' teachers) and the nuns of the Couvent des Anges that is free to the public and where Master Raymond offers his services. He even has his own personal quarters to muck around in that connects to the large outdoor garden.

That's where Claire hurries to after ferrying over the water and weaving through the hospital corridors where her presence is a welcomed sight amongst the nuns and other physicians who treat her with the same grace as a comrade and dip their head to her. She approaches Raymond's quarters down one of the few quiet hallways and presses her dark cloaked shoulder against the heavy door, entering slightly out of breath.

But it's not the little herbalist she finds tending to his rickety still over the hearthfire, it's the mighty Red King.

The young princess feels a strange warmth fluttering beneath her skin at the sight of him before her. It's something greater than excitement and more potent than a fever, almost aching like a thorn embedded deep inside her chest. She can't quite put her finger on it but knows she hasn't been the same since she boldly took his scarred hand in hers, heard him speak from his heart.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asks, sounding breathy, as she pats down any flyway curls that may have unraveled with a sudden self conscious hand.

Jamie looks over his shoulder, surprised, and straightens himself to his full erect height. He's dressed in layers of blue, a deeper shade than his eyes, with a simple gray cape draped over his proud shoulders, fastened with a silver brooch beautifully shaped into a running stag. And at his waist shines the hilt of a great brutal sword, belted to his breeches that tuck into his high leather boots that are lightly muddied at the heels with sprigs of trotted leaves.

"Yer Highness." He bows with an irrepressible grin. "Ye're a sight I wasn't expecting to see so soon t'day."

She draws closer to him, letting her fingertips drag against the edge of a long stained counter near her, careful of the clutter atop.

"I could say the same about you. Of all places I wouldn't have expected you here." And she gives him the expectant look of someone used to getting answers then and there making a glint of amusement color his cat-eyed gaze.

"Weel I was told that both you and yer uncle wouldn't be speaking wi' me till later in the day and I heard wonders about yer Master Raymond so I came to see him for myself. Wanted to know if he could do anything for this."

He flexes his scarred right hand, turning it over in self examination with a look of loathing that stabs sharply at that tender place inside the princess's heart.

"It still pains you?" She softly asks.

"It always will, I think," he says with a mournful, crooked smile, his fiery mane shielding the helpless emotion warring in his eyes. "But aye, I take yer meaning. And there's more of me that's ruined than not that I wondered if he could help wi' too."

It wasn't only his hand but his back too, she recalls from their conversation last night. Black Jack flayed him to the bone when he was only a young lad, intent on torturing him to his last breath.

Yet here he stands.

A man who exudes valiance. Whole and alive.

She pushes off from the counter that gives a little uneven shake and comes to Jamie's side, the last of any hesitation she carries melting away. She reaches a hand for his leather bound wrist while her other presses into the ruined flesh of his palm.

"I know there's hope for you yet, Jamie. Master Raymond works miracles here, all our physicians do."

He lifts his gaze to hers, feeling the ache in his hand fade as if there's magic in her touch, in the way she speaks his name.

"I'd hope so," he manages to say, wrapping his fingers around her own. "We're surrounded by nuns are we not?"

And together they share a warm sparkling smile.

But over by the wall behind them where honeycomb shelves have been built into the squared stones, Murtagh groans and rolls his crow-black eyes before taking a heavy swig from his silver cup full of cherry brandy no doubt courtesy of Master Raymond. Wherever he may be.

Claire jumps having not noticed the older man before, taking in his leather armor and the perpetual scowl he wears, and pulls away from Jamie looking more than a little flustered realizing they've had an audience all this time.

"Dinna fash, Yer Highness. Tis only my godfather and personal guard, Sir Murtagh of Broch Mordha, " Jamie proudly announces, feeling his heart jitter introducing her to one of the last of his kin.

"Yer Highness," greets Murtagh, bowing without an ounce of disdain he usually bears for protocol, and even makes an effort in softening his harsher features. "Tis an honor to meet ye."

"The honor is mine, Sir," Claire smiles, having regained her composure, remembering this was the man who saved Jamie from the sadistic clutches of Black Jack, brother of King Wolverton. "Your King has told me a little about you, all good I promise and nothing short of heroic."

Never one good for compliments, Murtagh grunts modestly but the fondness in his eyes for his godson is apparent as the pink color peeking through the coarse black hairs sprouting from his face.

Seeing his bashfulness, the princess gestures with her chin. "How's the brandy?"

Much more comfortable with talk of drink, Murtagh narrows his gaze down into the rich red contents of his cup.

"It needn't be sae sweet but it's none sae bad either. Though I'd prefer something stronger . . ." He raises a thick furry brow in hope and Claire grins at his directness, taking an immediate liking to the guardsman.

"That blue bottle above you might be more to your liking. It's absolutely violent and is sure to grow hair out your ears."

Intrigued, Murtagh glances to the shelves behind him and sees ( amongst a grand assortment of jars and concoctions better left untouched) a indigo bottle glimmering like a gemstone in the firelight.

"I thank ye, Yer Highness. Ye're a grand deal more hospitib than that wee froggy, " he says with approval (good as a smile coming from him), as he plops down on a stool pulled out from underneath the counter, and uncorks the bottle.

"Oh? What did he do to you?" Claire knows her mentor is a strange fellow who takes great joy in making people squirm and wonders if he tortured the men with the horrors of parasitic and fleshy infections.

Jamie chuckles as he rubs his big hand down the strong lines of his jaw, face dashed with pink. "I'm afraid it's something no lady should ever hear but I assure ye the moment was one I'll treasure forever."

Murtagh growls in retort, dribbling the golden liquid down his throat that indeed burns him from his throat to his ears.

"Oh , dear," she grins. "Where is he now?"

"He said he needed to fetch something from the garden before tending to me but I think he might have taken the opportunity to escape over the wall from my godfather's ire."

Then as if summoned, the wee froggy hops into the scene.

He comes from the outside garden that's a blur behind the far wall made of paneled glass and creeping with ivy that crawls up the wood-beamed ceiling.

"Milady! What can I do for you today?" The little herbalist beams with toothless delight, and fisting what looks like two shrunken heads he's pulled from the ground that he drops on the counter in front of the dagger-eyed Murtagh, giving him a none too subtle wink.

Fingers tightening together beneath the dark velvet material of her cloak, Claire glances hesitantly at Jamie not wanting to divulge her uncle's health, no matter how minor.

"Oh, well, our Lamb is feeling ill again, same as before, and I need you to take a look at him."

Jamie raises a quizzical brow as does Murtagh.

"Ah, I should've expected it considering . . . " He makes a flourish with his stubby wrist in the air towards her (or rather the oblivious young king), before fiddling with the ties at the back of his dirty brown smock. "I'll see him right away, milady. And in the meantime, you can see to your big fellow."

"Me? My fellow?" She blushes just as Jamie does, their close proximity to the fire not helping.

Raymond chuckles widely as he quickly puts on his coat

and reaches for his medicine box on a small bench beside the door leading to the hallway.

"You say you want to be more hands on with our patients, and there's no better specimen than the man you are to marry, no?"

Being that their broken engagement has yet to be announced, Claire couldn't very well argue with her teacher now could she?

Especially when said teacher knew the king would rather his niece busy her time elsewhere than fret over him.

"I suppose . . ."

"It's settled then. My surgery is at your disposal and so is my Malva out in the garden with her flowers. Shout for her if you need her assistance." Then halfway out the door, he says one last thing.

"And know I have every confidence in you."

The little man then bows before taking his leave.

" Ye have a wee lamb?" Murtagh asks curiously once the door snicks shut, doing his best to suppress a burp that's bubbling right beneath his sternum.

"What? Oh, yes. A gift from a merchant needing a salve for a burn. He gets sick now and then, but is rather sweet, my Lamb," she says, remembering the near neglectfulness of her uncle's parenting when she was a child and how he's grown into the role of her father since. It's enough for her to feel a small sense of shame for how she's treated him and moves to grab a hanging smock from the corner of the room to distract her mind with Raymond's task for her.

"That's an odd way fer a princess tae spend her time, here in this place wi' the sick and near deid," observes Murtagh, feeling deliciously warm from the drink rapidly loosening his graceless tongue.

Which is far too much for Jamie's liking, who glares at his godfather and throws one of the gnarled roots the little man left behind right at his head.

"What was that?" Claire asks, looking over her shoulder at them both, having discarded her cloak and replaced it with a smock, rolling up her dress sleeves.

Jamie looks at her with supreme boyish innocence and puts his hands behind his back just as Murtagh clasps the lump growing on his heavy set brow.

"Nothing. I was only saying I think that's a grand gift to have, a sensitivity to those suffering, I mean. If only there were more people like you there'd be less need for soldiers like me," he says with great admiration that suffuses his voice and it does not go unnoticed by the princess.

Looking between them, Murtagh sighs and decides there isn't much for him to do but to give in to fate - at least for the moment.

"I think I'll stretch my legs o'tside," he says abruptly, smacking his legs before standing. "I'll send the lass in fer ye, Yer Highness."

"That won't be necessary," says the princess, her attention on his godson. Gaze lingering on his powerful form, bright and besotted. His godson, damn him, is no better.

Murtaugh shakes his head and takes his leave - but not before grabbing the bottle and a rock of a fossilized reed off a potting table to prop the glass door open.

"Bi mothachail air do mhodh, A Rìgh."

(Mind yer manners, My King.)

Jamie barely tilts his head in acknowledgement as he watches with an enchanted smile, the princess on tiptoe reaching above herself for a thin vial stored in the honeycomb shelves the color of crushed elderberries.

"So what is it ye plan on torturing me wi'? " He teases, leaning his thick forearms on the counter between them, mindful of the mortars, pestles and odd bits and bobs atop it.

"Don't worry, I haven't been taught the art of amputation yet. I'm just going to make you a salve to ease the aches you have and we'll go from there."

A frown of disappointment crosses his face. "I've had those before. Leaves me feeling like a greased pig but none so better than I was before."

Claire hands him the vial.

"This one is different. It's oil infused with the flower of a freshly picked Casia stalk. A very rare and fussy plant to cultivate unless you're a very stubborn old man."

Jamie turns the glass cylinder over in his hands and mouths the name to himself, committing it to memory with a nod, and looking oh so adorable as he does so that completely contradicts his cruel-hearted reputation, absolutely charming Claire.

"Ye'd be a bonnie lass to have on the battlefield, ye ken," he says impressed, popping off the cork to take a whiff of the oil only to scrunch his nose.

Claire tries not to laugh and plucks the Casia oil from his big hands, setting it aside.

"I think for the moment I'll stick to merchants. Here." She dips her fingers into a small bowl of dried herbs yet to be sorted and crushes it between her hands to bring out their fragrance. "This is plain old rosemary. Much more pleasant to the senses."

Jamie leans over her cupped palms, breath warm as a kiss against her supple skin.

His lips near enough to do just that.

And both blush realizing what they're imagining.

Jamie straightens himself and runs a hand through his unbound hair, seeking for something to say.

"Uh, what else goes in this salve I can help ye wi'?"

Claire wipes her hands together, flustered to the bone around her ribs, making it hard to breathe, and takes the chance to calm herself, ordering him about the room.

The air soon fills with the spicy, floral scent of the salve mixture brewing over the flame of a small alcohol lamp Claire keeps careful watch of. She continuously stirs the contents even as the heat of it encourages a wispy forelock to fall across her eyes and tickle the soft tip of her nose.

She puffs and puffs at it to no avail.

"What?" Claire asks, feeling the young king's gaze upon her. "Amazed that I haven't burned down the room?"

On a stool across from her, Jamie crosses his arms, looking at her thoughtfully.

"Ye might yet,'' he answers playfully, watching an oily sheen coat her from her sensitive brow to the smooth pearl of her cheek as she loses patience altogether and brushes the curl away with the back of her hand. "It's only . . ."

He begins to say, but shrugs it off.

Claire hums curiously, just as another lock falls to tease her cheek that sets her pink lips pouting with ire, coaxing him to smile wistfully and speak.

"It's only that ye 'minded me of my mother just now," he softly murmurs, eyes faraway to those long ago memories. "Her hair was always coming undone. In the kitchen over a pot. Out in the fields wi' my father. Telling me a story to get me to bed or when I had a nightscare. And always one would softly brush across my cheek when she'd kiss me, spoke her love for me . . ."

He half smiles through a hard lump poking his throat and shakes his head.

"Anyway ye 'minded me of her, of home," he finishes shyly, ducking his head and fingering the grooves in the woodgrain, wondering where the hell Murtagh was and why he could never shut his gob around the princess.

But then Claire whispers her hand across his cheek, haloed by the light around them with utter tenderness shining in the heart of her amber-gold eyes.

"Your mother loved you terribly, didn't she?"

He breathes shakily. "I was smothered wi' it, by her and my father."

"And home? Where's home for you, Jamie?"

"Lallybroch," he says with loving reverence that encompasses more than just his childhood home. "A wee farm over the mountains of Scotia and the bonniest sight ye'd ever see. Lush wi' lochs shining bright like silver and trees tall as sky, hills full of thistles and heather to pony over, mebbe a faerie hidden somewhere . . ." He says with a hint of laughter.

"Lallybroch sounds like a dream," murmurs Claire, imagining his life of freedom dappled in green and dirt and shoving hay.

"It was. And I would be working my parents land right now if it weren't for Dùghall." His brutalized hand suddenly turns into a rageful fist. "He never forgave my father for marrying my mother and "stealing" her away. Blamed him for her death in childbirth yet couldn't be bothered to mourn his own sister at her grave. And when he realized that I, just for being born, could threaten his reign and inherit the mountain throne he spilled so much blood to gain, he had my father killed right before my eyes when I was only a boy of eight. Stole our land. Stole my sister. All to keep me in line so I'd soldier in his fucking name."

The vulgar word leaves his mouth without thought to the lady of gentle breeding but the princess is unbothered. She of course has bitten off far worse regarding her former betrothed.

"How long did you live this way?" She asks, resting her hand over his, loosening his hardened fingers to twine with hers.

"More than fifteen years he kept us apart, Jenny and I. It wasn't until he died that we were able to see each other again and she - she was so much smaller than how I remembered her in my heart and dreams. She's older than I but she barely comes to here now."

He raises his other hand above the countertop remembering how it was walking up the steps to the fortress that Dùghall had built for himself only to see Jenny running down them right into his chest with tears in her eyes, looking so much like both their parents.

Dark as a selkie. Radiant as spring. And very much alive.

"And God, she held me fierce. Like she was trying to impart the piece of my heart I'd lost when we were children."

Tears gloss the corner of Claire's dark lashes as a stinging thought comes to her.

"This must've been mere months ago, Dùghall hasn't been dead a year. You've barely spent any time with your sister at all, haven't you?"

Jamie shrugs and carefully strokes his thumb across her bandaged hand, down the length of her ring finger. "I had an obligation and a duty to a sassenach bride that I'd never seen nor met that needed to be set right."

"You left your sister's side for mine? How utterly, utterly -"

"Daft? Ludicrous?"

" - noble of you, you idiot!"

Jamie laughs heartily, shaking down to his belly. He can count on one hand how many times he's laughed like this in all these lost, miserable years.

"And I'm sorry for it, Jamie."

"Don't be," he squeezes her fingers, the bones delicate as a birds. "I left her in the care of a loyal kinsman and fellow soldier, more like a brother of my heart. Not that Jenny needs his protection. She's more a queen in my people's eyes than I their King. She was born to it, ye ken, bossing people around, " he says to make the princess smile and succeeds.

"But I do miss her wretchedly and the life we should've had where we owned by no one but the land and sky. Wish too I could've taken her and my godfather back to Lallybroch to start again - if the house still stands."

"Why didn't you?"

"What if someone more terrible than my uncle had taken Scotia for their own? I couldn't abandon my homeland. My kinsman. The men I'd soldiered wi'. Fate has forced this crown upon my heid just as she forced a sword in my hand, damned if I wanted it or not, but it's mine. Just as you must wear yers, I reckon, Yer Highness?"

In truth, Claire had never felt the weight of her own crown until she became her uncle's ward at the age of four.

More so when she was made aware of the curse for being born a girl.

"I must tell you something, King of Scotia," she says seriously, pulling her hand from Jamie's that leaves a worried knot on his brow.

"You've spoken of your duty to me, your pledge to protect me from harm, bared your bleeding heart to my own and shown me how decent of a man you are. Yet I've done you a disservice and like you, I need to set it right."

Jamie leans forward.

"Whatever it is, let it be the truth, always. Let that bind us together and never will we lose faith in the other. May I have this vow from ye, Yer Highness?"

He extends his hand between them and she takes it once more. Big and strong and warm.

"Always, you have my word," Claire nods, as she loosens a tightly held breath.

"There's a chance, a very small one, that Wolverton might be wanting more than just control of our port," she begins." You see, Dùghall wasn't the only man I've ever received a proposal from. I've had a fleet of them since I was born, mostly from old men planning ahead for their third or fourth child bride."

A low and beastly growl rumbles from Jamie's chest with blood in his eyes, giving the princess her first true glimpse of the fearsome warrior he is, one easily capable of plunging his sword into these filthy, faceless men.

It should frighten her, seeing him like this.

Yet the blood in her veins rushes with heat, especially just below her belly, and so she swallows hastily and continues on.

"Well one in particular was Wolverton. He sent me a few letters over the years until I was ten - too old for him then I suppose," she adds dryly. "But I was able to read one or two, ones my uncle hadn't yet burned, filled with God awful poetry and the worst attempts at flirtation you could ever read."

Jamie's nostrils flare hearing that last bit.

"Did the sick pervert ever make threats against ye?"

She shrugs, watching her forefinger brush against the golden hairs on the back of his palm, bristling like the curls on his head. He must have cat blood in his veins, she thinks.

"Not in the letters I read, nor did I think much about them at the time. He was no different than all the others wanting to claim me like some prize." But then she smiles, almost in disbelief . "Well, except you of course."

Jamie's mouth lifts lightly at the corner as he clasps his scarless hand over hers to now hold between both his own.

"I rather the respect and trust of a friend than a wife hellbent on beheading me."

Claire playfully rolls her eyes, taking a hand to her brow.

"You'll never let me forget that will you?"

" Never," he grins sharply. "As a man of the battlefield I greatly admire ye for it and encourage violence on any man who dares to harm ye, be it with his hands or his poetry. "

And then more seriously adds -

"And it may just have been poetry and nothing more to Wolverton. Maybe his men at the border are only there to rouse attention, for the man gets over lonely if he's not the center of it. But know, Yer Highness, that ye shall have nothing to fear as long as I'm here. I promise."

The young king's face is half gilded in daylight that floods in from the open door. Fierce and determined, with something aching in the rapturous blue of his eyes.

It gives the princess a sudden thunderous urge to press her mouth to his.

To steal his breath away.

It's a thought that should frighten her.

Yet she can't stop the giddy beat of her heart anymore than she can stop the sun from rising.

When the king is forced to take his leave at the insistence of his godfather sensing a shift in the clouds, the princess hurries to jar the salve she's made and wraps it carefully with cloth.

"Here, before you go," she says, and presses it into his hands.

Warmed to the tips of his ears, Jamie plops it inside his sporran with the crooked smile she's become so fond of and words of gratitude that make her blush like a rose that the young king finds far too attractive.

"Are ye sure ye won't let me escort ye back to the castle? I could wait here wi' ye until ye're ready to leave."

Claire shakes her head needing time alone to collect her thoughts and can only do so away from him.

"I told you I'm needed here, the sisters are always in need of a helping hand. But I promise I'll be with my uncle and you before the evening tide and fog comes in."

"I'd feel better if ye had a guardsman around ye. The more the better, " says Jamie, already eyeing the two doors in the room as if Wolverton were hiding behind them.

"I'm well protected in these walls, Good King." Jamie blushes sheepishly hearing that. "There are not only guards along the corridors but I have Malva here with me too. She's handy with a paring knife, ask any of the guards or patients who've tried to get cheeky with her."

Jamie flicks his gaze over to the small lass putting her treasures from the garden to dry on a rack, humming softly to herself. While she's not much of a formidable thing, a fleet of guardsmen around the princess is a comfort.

"Even so I think I'll worry. I'm - "

He pauses just as she reaches to brush another damnable curl away from her face and beats her to it without thought, his fingers gently skimming along the shell of her ear.

She gasps and Jamie's eyes go wide realizing what he's done. It was one thing to hold her hand, a touch she elicited. It was another thing altogether to touch her as if she were his.

"Forgive me, Yer Highness!" He takes a step back, gripped with shame. "I don't know what came over me. But I swear to ye -"

As Jamie trips over his tongue with apologies, Claire blinks once then twice before a small spill of laughter spouts from her lips she cups her hands to.

" I think I know what came over you. And I think you should call me by my name if you ever dare to touch me again. And I do, Jamie. Double dare you to."

It's Jamie's turn to look at her with disbelief as his chest swells with the overwhelming beat of his heart racing madly beneath.

He licks his lips. And breathes once then twice.

"As ye wish, My Lady Claire. But know that I've many names for ye I that I yearn to call ye by, each one a token of how blessed I think ye are."

Claire wonders if she's swaying on her feet when she lays a hand on his breast that he clasps his hand so she feels the truth of his heart beneath.

"Surprise me then when next we meet alone. Now go or Sir Murtagh will send in one of my guards if you tarry any longer. "

Jamie squeezes her hand, resisting the urge to press her palm to his mouth, and departs backwards with a bow before following after Murtagh waiting outside the door for him.

Moments pass where all Claire can do is fiddle with small things left on the counter, moving them around, wondering what exactly happened just now. What it all means. What will happen when he eventually takes his leave back to Scotia. Will she dare to kiss him goodbye?

Her mind so distracted she doesn't realize Malva's humming has stopped. Nor does she feel her presence behind her until it's too late and she's choking on laudanum pressed to her face.

Claire wakes sometime later, her senses still drugged and numbed, rocking to and fro as if she were in a boat.

Was she?

But how . . ?

There's darkness all around her or maybe her eyes are shut but then she sees a pair of vicious snake eyes that pierce through the enveloping fog.

And hears a voice, the hushed threat of a nightmare.

"Hello, Princess."

A/N: Sorry this took so long 🙏 Last chapter was actually supposed to end with Claire's kidnapping but once I wrote like 90 percent of it I realized oooo that's not gonna happen. These two dummies need to spend more time together. I just didn't know how to frame it other than I wanted it on the mainland for whatever reason. So I split Jamie's backstory so I'd have something to write if I couldn't figure it out. And it took forever to figure out the reason to get them on the mainland.

Also I'm really not good at writing multiple people in a scene or clothing description. It's very clumsy, I know.

Things I couldn't fit in:

*When Jenny is taken prisoner by Dughall he doesn't chain her in a dudgeon or anything. She's only a child of ten so he lets her have free reign around certain parts of the fortress. When She gets older that extends to the city Dùn Èideann (with a guard of course) which is how the people get to know her. And She doesn't try to escape because she was too afraid Dughall would have Jamie killed and vice versa. They were able to send a few letters in between at least.

*Murtagh was fiddling with a certain medicine jar and Raymond teased him by asking if he needed help getting an erection cause that's what the jar is for.

*Claire knowing Gaelic because of course she'd learn her would-be oppressor's mother tongue.

*I didn't want to use Malva since in the books she's just been so abused and fucked by the people around her but I needed someone and it was almost John Grey as a double agent but didn't give myself the space for it.

#jamie x claire #outlander fanfic #outlander fanfiction #outlander fic #outlander

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manygalaxiesinone · 4 months

Text

Disgaea 7 DLC Episode: Persona 4

Part 1: Prince Detective Naoto

Young Detective: "Now then, is there anything else I need to go over?"

Pirilika: "No. That's all I have for the testimony. Thank you again so much for coming out here on such short notice, especially since you're supposed to be relaxing."

Young Detective: "It's alright Pirilika. Consider me stubborn if you may, but I can not simply leave any case unsolved."

Pirilika: "So cool..."

Fuji: "The hell's going on here?"

Pirilika: "Fuji, stay right there! This is a crime scene!"

Fuji: "Huh?"

Pirilika: "Someone stole the new dress I was working on last night!"

Fuji: "Okay... and? This is the Netherworld. Thefts are bound to happen. It's your fault for not keeping a tighter lock on your stuff. Wait... you're not keeping all of your cash lying around in the open, are you?!"

Pirilika: "Of course not!"

Young Detective: "May we please get back on track to the case at hand?"

Fuji: "Who's this kid?"

Young Detective: "Kid?"

Pirilika: "Don't mind Fuji, he's just very blunt. This is Naoto Shirogane, a famous detective from one of the human worlds. He came to Hinomoto with his friends and offered to help out."

Fuji: "A human detective? You sure that's a good idea Piriko? I think you're wasting your money here."

Naoto: "Care to elaborate on that statement, Fuji?"

Fuji: "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? You're in the netherworld! Whatever criminal that did this is probably too powerful for you to handle even if you do find them."

Naoto: "In other words, you are doubting my combat capabilities, correct? Perhaps a test in strength would change your mind, if you would be so bold to face me that is."

Fuji: "He he... bold is the wrong word for it. I'll be sure to do my worst so you'll see what the Netherworld is all about!"

Part 2: Captain Ressentiment, Yosuke

Fuji: "Alright, not bad. You're tougher than you look."

Naoto: "I suppose this means the results are to your satisfaction, Fuji."

Fuji: "For the most part, but I'd better tag along anyway. Wouldn't want to wake up to phone calls of your friends yelling how we got you axed during a vacation."

Pirilika: "Fuji, if you wanted to help investigate, you could've just said so."

Fuji: coughs blood "You know damn well that ain't true!"

Naoto: "Blood? Do you need to go to the emergency room?"

Fuji: "It's just my allergies, I'm fine."

Naoto: "Allergies???"

Pirilika: "Fuji has an empathy allergy."

Naoto: "Is this a demon specific allergic reaction? It's the first I've heard such a thing."

Fuji: "Hey, didn't you say we should get back to the case at hand?"

Naoto: "R-Right... my apologies. Now then... hmm?"

Pirilika: "What is it, Naoto?"

Naoto: "It appears the culprit dropped a weapon in their haste to steal the dress."

Pirilika: "Doesn't look like a knife any of the prinnies carry."

Fuji: "In fact, it doesn't look like a knife you can find anywhere in Hinomoto."

Naoto: "In that case, that narrows our search down to one potential suspect."

-later...-

Shop owner: "And don't let me see you around here again, got it?!"

Brown Haired Guy: "Geez, getting kicked out because I asked for a bowl of ramen? How was I supposed to know this was a pasta shop?! Ugh, so much for nothing bad happening on a trip for once."

Naoto: "There you are, Yosuke senpai."

Yosuke: "Oh, Naoto. Man am I glad to see you right now. Who's the cat girl and horn guy?"

Naoto: "They're my new clients for a case today."

Yosuke: "Of course you'd be working when we're on vacation."

Pirilika: "I'll be sure to make it up to her when we're done, but right now, would you mind helping us out?"

Yosuke: "I already got a bad feeling down my spine, but what's up?"

Naoto: "Pirilika's dress was found missing this morning. The culprit left a knife at the scene of the crime. This knife to be exact."

Yosuke: "Wha- that's the knife I've been looking for all day yesterday!"

Pirilika: "This is your knife?"

Fuji: "Sounds like an open and shut case to me."

Yosuke: "Wait, hold on! I didn't take the dress!"

Fuji: "Nice try. I suggest you hand it over now before things get ugly."

Naoto: "Fuji, wait! We should at least hear his testimony first."

Yosuke: "Seriously, even you think I'm a suspect?!"

Pirilika: "You DID say it was your knife..."

Yosuke: "Give me a break already."

Part 3: Kingpin of Steel, Yu.

Naoto: "So you realized late afternoon yesterday that someone took your knife and searched for it well into the evening?"

Yosuke: "Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you. Yu was helping me look this whole time so he can verify!"

Fuji: "I don't know. Why were you so hard pressed on finding some knife?"

Yosuke: "In case I need to fight, why else?"

Fuji: "I get that, but couldn't you just buy another one?"

Pirilika: "Don't you get it, Fuji? That knife was a family heirloom that's been around for generations! He was so afraid of disappointing his father after losing it that he spent all day looking for it, otherwise he would have to spend the rest of his vacation bracing himself for severe punishment when he returns home!"

Fuji: "Piriko, what did I tell you about making up backstories?"

Yosuke: "Sad part is, I can totally see that happening if it was an heirloom. I'm actually just trying to save enough money as I can to buy a motorcycle. Chie seriously put me in a bind after buying those clothes for Teddie."

Fuji: "Now that I can relate to. It ain't easy being broke."

Naoto: "Very well senpai, as long as we can verify your testimony, you'll be in the clear. Do you happen to know where he is right now?"

Yosuke: "Last I saw him, he was playing with some cats not too far from here. I'll show you the way."

-later...-

Catsaber: meow

Silver haired male: "There you go. I caught another big one for ya."

Catsaber: purr purr...

Silver haired male: "You sure seem happy. I better check up on the others. Let me know if you get hungry again, alright?"

Catsaber: Meow!

Peppy Pigtail Girl: "Senpai!"

Silver haired male: "Ah, Rise. I was just about to look for- ah!"

Rise: hugs tight "Senpai, I can't tell you just how happy I am right now!"

Silver haired male: "I see the cat's not the only one in a good mood..."

Rise: lets go "How could I not be now that I got this new dress. What do you think?"

Silver haired male: "It looks great on you. You look like you're ready for your next huge show."

Rise: "Ooh! I knew it! I'm so glad you got it for me! I can't thank you enough right now!"

Silver haired male: "Wait, but I didn't-"

Pirilika: "There it is!"

Silver haired male: "Hmm?"

Pirilika: "My dress! We finally found it!"

Rise: "Wait, YOUR dress?"

Naoto: "Rise, you're currently in possession of the dress that went missing from Pirilika's wardrobe earlier this morning."

Rise: "What?! There must be a mistake. It's probably a duplicate."

Pirilika: "It can't be. I started making the dress myself yesterday only for it to disappear when I got up this morning."

Rise: "But... I got this as a gift from Yu senpai."

Yu: "But I didn't-"

Yosuke: "Come to think of it, whoever stole that dress did steal my knife too, but you wouldn't do something like that, right partner?"

Yu: "Of course not. I was-"

Fuji: "Seems to me we found our culprit. All that's left is to detain him."

Naoto: "Does Fuji usually rush into everything so recklessly?"

Pirilika: "Not all the time, but he does enjoy a good fight."

-after the battle...-

Yu: "Can you please hear me out now? I didn't-"

Naoto: "I know. You are not the culprit senpai."

Yu: "Please stop cutting me o- Oh wait, you knew?"

Fuji: "He's not guilty? How?"

Naoto: "If you let Yu senpai explain, he was probably going to tell you that he didn't give Rise that dress. He was with me all morning before Pirilika gave me the phone call to help her with the case."

Rise: "Wait, what were you two doing together?"

Yu: "We were just eating breakfast and talking about what we were planning on doing for today. Once Naoto received the phone call, she rushed out the door."

Fuji: "Wait "she"? You're a girl?!"

Pirilika: "You really are full of surprises, Naoto! I'm so glad I hired you."

Naoto: "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you get that attire, Rise?"

Rise: "Some weird looking penguin gave it to me as a delivery. The box said to me from Yu. I had no idea it was stolen."

Fuji: "So it WAS a prinny."

Pirilika: "Hold on, Fuji. The prinny probably didn't realize he was delivering a stolen item as the real culprit hid it among inside his delivery bag."

Prinny: "Special delivery for Miss Rise dood!"

Rise: "Hmm? Another one?"

Prinny: "That's right. Another gift from Yu. He must really like you, dood."

Yu: "About that, I don't remember sending anything to anyone lately."

Prinny: "Wait, Yu?! What are you- I mean... maybe you probably just...forgot dood. It happens."

Yosuke: "No, he has pretty good memory. He definitely would've remember doing something like that."

Prinny: "Okay well maybe he was trying to keep a low profile to sending gifts to Risette, dood!"

Rise: "Wait, how did you know I'm Risette?! I've been keeping a low profile since we got here!"

Prinny: Tries to back away. "Uh, well... you see dood... I-" Bumps into Fuji and drops the box he was carrying.

Fuji: "Going somewhere?"

Pirilika: *Gasp!* "That's the swimsuit I was going to pitch in my next meeting!"

Yu: "I also notice a few pictures of Rise coming out of his satchel."

Naoto: "It appears we have yet another Rise stalker scenario. He was likely trying to sneak rare photos of Rise in outfits Pirilika's company haven't released to the public."

Prinny: "Crap! My cover's blown! You'll never take me alive dood!" Runs away.

Fuji: "Piriko?"

Pirilika: "Fine, just don't go overboard."

Fuji: "You know I can't promise that. It's time to do my worst!" Runs after the prinny.

Rise: "Ugh, even when I'm on vacation in another world I just can't escape. I like being an idol, but I just want to relax together with senpai."

Pirilika: "I'm sorry for putting a damper on your brigade. I didn't mean to mess up your vacation."

Yosuke: "It's putting a damper on your parade and it's not your fault. If anything, you're as much of a victim here as any of us."

Yu: Scratches behind Pirilika's ears. "He's right. We're just glad it worked out in the end, so don't worry."

Pirilika: "Mmm... that feels so nice... I-I mean, I still want to make it up to you all. Especially Naoto for helping me out with this case to begin with. I really can't thank her enough."

Naoto: "Being able to provide assistance is rewarding enough, Pirilika. Don't be afraid to ask for my aid in the future."

Pirilika: "You're so cool, Naoto! A real spitting image of an ace detective. Actually, there is one thing. Fuji and I are traveling across Hinomoto to look for internal treasures so we can take down the shogunate that's been corrupting the land. I understand if you don't want to, but if you help us out, you can stay with us on my ship with your own room."

Naoto: "Hmm... I would more than happy to assist you, however a case such as this would require a team effort. Therefore, it would be more prudent to consult with our leader."

Yosuke: "She's got a point. If we're gonna help save the world, then we gotta stick together. We work a whole lot better as a team."

Rise: "What do you think, senpai? You up for spending our vacation by going on another adventure?"

Yu: "..."

Pirilika: "..."

Yu: "...When do we start?"

Pirilika: "You'll help?! Thank you so much! I promise, I'll take good care of you all while you're with-"

Boom!

Yosuke: "What was that?"

Pirilika: "Sounds like Fuji finally caught up with the prinny. Don't worry, I can heal him so he can be interrogated."

Yu: "What kind of adventure did we just sign up for?"

#persona 4 #disgaea 7 #fuji #pirilika #yu narukami #yosuke hanamura #rise kujikawa #naoto shirogane

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