#has anyone else ever noticed how similar these two series are?

[libraryofgage]

Addams Family B-Side (6)

Part of: Steve Deserves Good Parents, Actually

Debbie and Fester Addams One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six (you're here!) Rick and Evelyn O'Connell One | Two | Three Harley Quinn One | Two 10th Doctor and Rose One | Two (on the way!) Scooby Gang (there are plans for this one lmao, so plz be patient with me orz) Jedidiah and Octavius (from Night at the Museum) One | Two Queen Clarisse Renaldi One | Two | Three Leverage Crew One

Hi it's been a fucking minute since I updated this one orz thank you so much for your patience, y'all

Anyway, this fic was line-jumped, and it's one of two jumps I received on kofi. If you'd like to learn more about line-jumping your favorite series, you can read this post

There are three memes at the end for you <3

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't :^)

---

The first time Steve got expelled, his father picked him up from school while his mother stayed to chat with the principal. He was twelve at the time, confused about what he'd done wrong, and feeling validated by his father's ecstatic praise of his initiative.

He'd wound up in Grandmama's kitchen, sitting cross-legged on the island while Wednesday added spider legs to a mixing bowl. Fester had gone off the find Gomez after telling Wednesday to keep an eye on Steve. She'd immediately turned away after Fester left the room.

"So," she said, idly stirring, "you've been expelled. What for?"

"I brought rattlesnakes to class."

"Why?"

"We were learning about snakes. I thought the teacher would appreciate live examples."

"How many?"

"Twenty seven. One for each student."

"Did they bite anyone?"

"No," Steve said, frowning and not bothering to conceal his disappointment at the fact.

"That's a shame."

Steve nodded, watching Wednesday for a few minutes before asking, "What are you making?"

"A cake for Joel."

"Why?"

"He insists on celebrating our anniversary."

"What kind is it?"

"Cinnamon with walnuts."

Steve thought for a moment, trying to figure out why that specific combination sounded familiar. Finally, he said, "I thought Joel was allergic to those."

"He is allergic to many things," Wednesday said, looking over her shoulder to smirk at Steve. "But especially cinnamon and walnuts."

"How come you're making it then?"

"To make sure he remembers how breathless I made him when we first met."

Steve thought that might be one of the most romantic things he's ever heard. He carefully filed the idea away in the back of his mind, hoping he'd one day find someone with an allergy severe enough to use it.

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

Eddie can't stop looking at Steve's parents, his gaze moving between the two as he tries to figure out how the fuck they ended up together. He feels like someone is about to jump out and tell him he's on a prank show. What else could describe the sheer polar opposite natures of Steve's parents?

Debbie looks exactly like the kind of woman who'd live in a Barbie Dream House: blonde, perfect makeup, pastel dress, the refined air that just hovers around her. Fester, however, looks like he belongs next door. Eddie had noticed how pale he was the first time they met, but he's positively corpse-like now that Steve and Debbie are around for comparison.

He'd almost believe Steve wasn't their child if not for the fact that Eddie can see every way he is. Steve might look like Debbie on the outside, but he's undoubtedly an Addams on the inside. He has Debbie's fashion sense and air of elegance. his eyes get the same crazed light sometimes that Fester's do when Debbie speaks, and the words they speak are similar.

"Eddie," Debbie says, snapping him out of his thoughts. At some point, he'd started staring at Steve, and he feels his cheeks flush at getting caught. "Steve tells me you play guitar. Did you recently learn?"

Oh. Eddie feels his shoulders relax some at the familiar topic. "My mom taught me when I was younger. She used to play for me whenever I had nightmares."

"She doesn't play for you anymore?" Debbie asks, spearing a piece of chicken with her fork.

"Oh, uh, she died a few years ago," Eddie says, smiling apologetically for such a downer of a topic. "Cancer, you know."

"That must have been excruciating," Steve says, a soft sigh accompanying his words, and Eddie isn't sure if he's sympathetic or jealous.

Debbie nods as she inspects her chicken closely before putting it in her mouth, her eyes narrowing slightly as she chews. "I said no poisoning the food, dear," she says, looking at Fester with a somewhat strained smile.

"Aww, it's just a nightshade reduction, Mother. We didn't even put any on Eddie's plate," Steve says.

Now that Eddie is actually paying attention, he realizes the dark sauce drizzled across their chicken is missing from his own. "Why don't I have any?" he asks, figuring it can't really be a nightshade sauce.

"You haven't worked your way up to nightshade yet," Fester explains, his eyes lighting up as he adds, "But don't worry! We're getting you started with just a dash of chalk in your rice."

Eddie blinks, glancing down at the half-eaten rice on his plate. He didn't notice anything weird about it, so maybe they're joking. But then he hears Debbie's put-upon sigh. "Fester, dear?"

"Yes, Pumpkin?"

"I'd make you sleep in the doghouse, but you'd just enjoy it."

"Eddie doesn't mind, I'm sure," Steve says, looking at Eddie with a smile that makes his heart speed up and his palms sweat. "It's okay if you do, though. Just be honest."

"I don't mind," Eddie replies, wondering where the words come from. If he'd been anywhere else, with anyone else, he'd definitely be losing his mind over a light poisoning. Somehow, though, he can't bring himself to be that upset about it. Maybe, if he tries hard enough, he'll even build enough of an immunity to kiss Steve when he's wearing that raspberry lip gloss.

The blinding smile he gets in return eases any lingering doubts he might have. Steve leans close enough for their shoulders to brush, Eddie's skin tingling through the fabric of his sleeve. "We Addams are experts at acclimating people to poisons. You'll be enjoying nightshade in no time," he says, his voice light and reassuring like Eddie was somehow impatient.

And then, without thinking, Eddie's eyes glance down at Steve's lips. They have a suspicious sheen to them, and Eddie's only half-certain he's not imagining the artificial raspberry scent. "What, uh, what about raspberries?" he asks, the words tumbling out before he can stop them.

If anything, Steve's smile just gets wider. "I'm sure we can figure something out," he replies, his tongue briefly swiping across his bottom lip.

Eddie looks away and grabs his glass, gulping down half the water inside before he says anything monumentally stupid in front of Steve's parents.

"Steve, stop torturing Eddie. You know that's dessert conversation," Debbie says, her voice light and breezy.

Steve sighs and pulls away. "Sorry," he says, not looking the least bit apologetic at all. In fact, he even glances at Eddie again and smiles, eyebrows raised slightly, and Eddie thinks he's about to die of thirst.

"Eddie," Fester says, mercifully giving him a reason to look away from Steve and try to gain some semblance of chill. "What are your interests?" Fester glances at Debbie, practically preening when she smiles and offers him a subtle, approving nod.

"Well, uh, music. I like heavy metal and play in a band. Dungeons and Dragons, too. I play that with my friends."

"Dungeons, you say?" Fester asks, suddenly looking more invested in the conversation. "What's your favorite kind? I'm partial to the French Revolution era dungeons myself."

"You just like the guillotines, Father," Steve says.

"Now that's an instrument of death. Nothing inspires fear like the glint of the blade in the sun, don't you think, Pumpkin?"

"Yes, dear, but you know I'm partial to electric chairs myself."

Steve leans closer again and says, "Mother nearly killed Father's family with electric chairs, you know."

"A splendid attempt it was," Fester adds, looking over with a bright smile.

Eddie glances between all of them, taking in their expressions and trying to figure out if they're being serious. He watches Debbie drag a carrot through dark sauce on her plate; he briefly looks into Fester's eyes and sees the manic joy lying in them; his heart speeds up at Steve's soft and contented smile. Eddie then glances around the dining room. He notes the shotgun placed on the wall with a little plaque beneath that reads "Attempt 12" in flourishing cursive. He looks at the window and sees the black, molded wood of the house next door. He thinks of Nox the spider and Kas the taxidermy rat and the ornate dagger and everything else he's found in his locker.

And he realizes something.

They're serious. They're all completely serious about everything. Steve and Fester weren't joking that first time he came over and they talked about the oven being big enough to fit him and a roast. Steve really has fought all of his siblings and was gifted a trident at his bar mitzvah. Pubert doesn't protect his kidneys.

Okay that last one maybe isn't as important, but it's one Eddie savors nonetheless.

He has two options here. One, he gets the hell out of dodge, makes some strained excuse to leave after dinner and avoids Steve in the hallways and hopes he doesn't wake up buried alive. Two, he embraces it, starts eating a little chalk with every meal, and lets Steve introduce him to whatever freaky shit will earn him another blinding smile.

"So, how did you two meet?" Eddie asks, looking at Fester and Debbie with a smile as he shovels more rice onto his fork.

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

"I approve."

Steve blinks, and then his mother's words process, and he stands a little straighter. "That's good. Though, I would've been happy to follow in Romeo and Juliet's footsteps if you hadn't."

"You wouldn't even need poison," Fester says, his voice ringing from the kitchen as Steve helps his mother gather up dessert plates. "Just wear the raspberry stuff."

"No star-crossed suicides for you, mister," Debbie says, playfully tapping her finger against Steve's forehead. "Anyway, he's a very nice young man, and he adapted rather quick, don't you think?"

"He thought it was a joke before, but he doesn't think that now. And he didn't run away screaming!"

"Not that you would've minded, I suspect."

"Well, no," Steve agrees, flashing a grin as he puts the plates on the counter next to his father. He then pulls down Tupperware, ready to pack up the leftover chicken and rice.

"He seems like a tough nut to crack, but he's nearly there," Debbie says, leaning against the island with a thoughtful look. "I mean, he seemed ready to do whatever you said at the dinner table."

"Then why hasn't he done anything? Am I being too obvious? Should I play hot and cold?"

"No, I don't think that would work here."

"Just tell him," Fester suddenly says, looking at Steve as he washes a plate. "Wouldn't that be best?"

"Would it?" Steve asks.

Before Debbie can do more than snort derisively, Fester nods. "Just think about it, son. You tell him, but leave it all up to Eddie after that. He'll torture himself trying to build up the courage to even hold your hand, especially if you catch him when he's midway."

Steve can't help the way he lights up at the thought. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Father. I'm gonna go plan my confession right now," he says, disappearing from the kitchen not a moment later.

"When did you get so good at this?" Debbie asks, a little pride tinging her words. When Fester lights up, she decides to reward him that night with an extra ten minutes of cuddling before bed.

----------

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And now, some memes:

[trippinsorrows]

looking through your eyes + three

authors note: wow! omg, thank you all so much for the kind words of support for this story! it really does mean a lot to me, cause i know the content is pretty heavy.

also, if anyone has read the acotar series, i imagine the dynamic between roman and the twins to be a bit similar to the bat boys. and yes, we'll def see more of the twins moving forward.

in addition, if you want to be tagged, you have to explicitly ask as such. the last thing i want to do is tag someone i thought wanted to be tagged and didn't, and they end up triggered. :(

if any cw/tw’s are missed, please let me know, and i will add them!

cw/tw: language, violence against women, trauma responses (nightmares/night terrors), hints at suicidal thoughts, references to traumatic past

song inspo: 'looking through your eyes’ by leann rimes

words: 9k

Roman doesn’t come back until the wee hours of the morning, and he’s out the house again before the sun is even up.

Solana knows all of this because she doesn’t sleep that night.

It’s not for lack of trying. She spends nearly two hours twisting and turning before finally accepting that sleep isn’t in the cards for her. She instead finds herself sitting on the floor of her bathroom, door locked, writing away in her journal. No letter to mom this time, just pure word vomit, all of her thoughts and feelings about everything that’s transpired. 

There’s as many tears as there are words, and like always post–writing, she feels a tad bit better. The best and only release she ever has is in her written word, all of the things she could never say aloud, melted from her head and sealed into paper.

When she’s done writing, Solana opts to read a book in her Kindle Library. Doing so makes her realize that she still doesn’t have her stuff from back home. It’s not that she has a lot, but the items she was told to pack just for the first few nights will only last just that—for a few days.

But, Solana doesn’t think it’s a good idea to ask Roman about that. She doesn’t think it’s a good idea to ask him for anything, not after she’s clearly and understandably upset him. She’ll just….she’ll just have to make do until it's noticed she's essentially living out of a suitcase. 

And Solana has a thought, an idea, that getting up early to fix him breakfast could be a good thing, something to tame his anger toward her. It’s the least that she can do.

But one look around Roman’s massive kitchen indicates he’s every bit the stereotypical bachelor. There’s only a couple of ingredients, not enough of anything to make an actual meal. There’s also a lot of “meal prep” meals, which makes sense. She can imagine he’s insanely strict with his diet and fitness. One can’t look like Roman Reigns without an intense amount of focus and dedication.

It makes her wonder just what kind of dietary restrictions and preferences she’ll have to learn about him to make meals that he can actually consume. Another question she needs to ask but doesn’t know how or when considering he already has very little to no interest in having anything to do with her.

It’s another thing she knows she’ll have to figure out but tries her best to focus on anything else besides the fact that she’s now married to a man who can’t stand her, the same man her family wants her to somehow assassinate.

Yes…..other things is a much better seat filler.

Solana briefly wonders how she’s going to get to work considering her car is still back at her dad’s house, but just when she’s considering calling an Uber, she’s met in the living room of Roman’s massive estate by none other than his right hand man and cousin.

Solo Sikoa 

All he says is, “ready?” And she realizes that this is how she’s to get to work, that he is to escort her. Him and another set of large men, guards as she realizes. A separate set of guards, not the ones who roam and patrol Roman’s mansion. 

Being around so many men….it’s a different kind of experience. Leaning more on the side of uncomfortable than anything. 

But, she’s at least a bit more at ease when Solo only opens the door to the back of the SUV and doesn’t join in, instead sitting in the passenger seat.

She's grateful for that.

Solo is almost the same exact person as his cousin. Large, strong, stoic and scary as hell. The only difference is that she’s not sure Solo is capable of sentences that include more than 1 to 3 words.

It’s obvious he’s not thrilled about being assigned as her personal guard, and she can’t blame him. There can’t be anything exciting about watching her boring life and making sure nothing happens to her during said boring life.

But Solana can’t deny there’s a small part of her that feels a small sense of comfort at having someone to look out for her. Even if she partially questions his loyalty to said job. Something happening to her wouldn’t do anything to anybody. At all. 

She’d just….cease to exist.

And lately….that hasn’t seemed like the worst thing ever. 

But, it’s when she arrives at work, goes into her office to start to prepare for the work day only to find her brother already waiting that that comfort is obliterated.

“Sis.” Wes' smile is tight and inauthentic, his eyes darting between her and Solo. “Sorry to scare you. I was just hoping we could talk.”

Talk….

Wes never wants to talk to her, not unless it’s him berating and screaming while he beats the shit out of her. 

“Alone.” He gives Solo a faux sympathetic expression. “Family things….you understand, I’m sure.”

Solana doesn’t know if Solo understands or he doesn’t, but she does know that Wes' kind and friendly tone is all smoke and mirrors. She knows he’s pissed that he didn’t catch her off-guard, didn’t catch her alone, that he couldn’t corner her like he always does.

And for a second, Solana believes she’s safe, knows that Solo won’t let Wes lay a hand on her. It’s….it’s his job to keep her safe, right?

But just as that hope is present, it’s extinguished by the reality she knows is inescapable. Solo won’t be with her 24/7. She won’t be protected forever. She’ll eventually be around both Wes and her father alone. And the price she’ll have to pay for denying him in this moment….

It’s not worth it. 

Roman’s words to her father about not touching her are nice in theory, but she knows better. Xavier Miller does what he wants, regardless of what’s said and by who.

“O–of course,” Solana mumbles, fingers dancing at the side of her pants. She turns to Solo. “Please….give us a few minutes.”

For the first time since she’s met him, Solo actually shows some type of emotion. It still stems from anger, maybe a branch of irritation, but it's still something different. “Tribal Chief said I’m supposed to watch you, so that’s what I do.”

She swallows. This is going to require a level of assertiveness that’s almost foreign if not non-existent. “I–I understand, but….Wes is my brother. He—” It’s almost impossible for her to even get the words out. “He would never hurt me.”

Solana almost immediately wants to vomit. That’s all this man has ever done. 

At least since the murder of their mother. 

Solo is struggling but wavering, she can see as much, so she continues. “It’s okay,” she assures, even mustering up a small smile. “Please….just a couple minutes. I won’t—I won’t say anything to Roman.”

Solo still looks torn but eventually agrees, leaving her alone with one of two men who hate her most on this earth. 

The door is barely closed when Wes has her pinned against the wall, hand slapped over her mouth, a knife pressed to the base of her throat.

“You stupid bitch, don’t think for one second that being married to Reigns changes shit,” he snarls. “He doesn’t give a fuck about you. He just doesn’t like people messing with his possessions.”

Solana knows all of this, knows that anything Roman may do that seems to be for her benefit is just him asserting his dominance. She doesn’t need to be reminded of this. 

“Wes, you’re hurting me.” She suddenly feels so stupid saying that, telling him what he already knows. Of course, he is. That’s the whole point. Still, she stupidly believes she can plead to whatever humanity is left in him. If any. “P–please.”

“Shut up,” he hisses, shoving her head against the wall. Solana winces quietly, mindful of Solo who stands outside the door because of her. Because she told him to, because she welcomed this violence onto herself.

“Reigns told dad you won’t be available for a couple weeks, so I suggest you start doing what you need to do to change that. We need to be able to communicate with you.”

This startles her. Why would Roman say that? Did Roman say that? Wes is a master manipulator, and she doesn’t put it past him to be playing mind games.

“I—I don’t know what you want me to do.” And it’s true. Solana has no idea what to do in any of this, how she’s supposed to kill a man who’s more or less impossible to kill, how she’s supposed to win his favor when it’s obvious she already annoys him. It’s all so confusing and overwhelming.

“Did you fuck him last night?”

It’s a question she hoped no one would ask, didn’t believe would be asked because there’s no one who would care enough except for Roman himself.

And while Solana knows being dishonest with her brother won’t turn out well, in this moment, she doesn’t know how he’ll respond if she tells the truth.

So, she lies. She lies to live to see another day, for what reason, she doesn't know. It’s not as if any other day will provide her some sense of solace or security. But, it’s just what she does. 

“Y–yes.”

Wes looks understandably pleased. “Good.” She gaps in fear when he drags his knife against her skin, gently trailing it across, just light enough to avoid drawing blood. “That’s all you’ve ever been good for us for anyway.”

A frown falls upon her face. What….what does that mean?

“Just keep contact open, you understand?” No, she doesn’t, but she has no choice but to pretend that she does. Nodding, Wes shoves her into the wall one more time at an angle that causes her shoulder to take the impact. Wincing, she holds onto it as he releases her and walks out the door. “Don’t fuck this up, Solana.”

Easier said than done. Much easier said than done. 

It’s when he leaves her alone that the tears pool in her eyes. But, it’s when Solo walks in, studying her that she sniffles and wipes at her eyes. “I–I’m fine.”

She’s not.

She’s far from fine. 

————

The day ends up slightly, maybe even moderately, improving. It’s to be slightly expected though as it’s Monday, the day that Solana runs her reading club with the younger kids. It’s always a highlight to see their bright, smiling faces, answering all of their fifty million questions.

It’s a break from a very bleak reality that is her life, immersing herself in their world of pretend and minimal worries.

Sometimes, she finds herself a bit jealous. Jealous that they still have their innocence, that their view of the world hasn’t been painted in red and blood like hers.

But, it’s when Solana is in the back taking her break, journaling, that that improvement takes a deep dive. Because a single knock on the door is followed by the large intimidating frame of her husband entering her space. 

Naturally, her stomach knots. She hasn’t seen Roman since last night, since he helped and scolded her in the same brief timespan. She understands it though and doesn't entirely disagree with what he said.

She’s far from the perfect picture of mental stability. 

Swallowing, Solana stands up and opens her mouth to address him when his eyes go from her face to her wrist. Following his line of vision, she sees why. There’s a blueish/greenish obvious bruise starting to form, beyond that initial point of formation really. It's just a straight up, fully developed bruise.

Roman slowly walks over to her and reaches for her arm. Solana naturally tenses. He hesitates for a second but still takes her wrist, lifting it so that it's at her eye level but still close enough for him to assess. 

She closes her eyes and acts quickly to think of an excuse. “I—umm—”

“Who?”

His voice is quieter than she anticipated and as much as she wishes she doesn't know what he means, Solana knows exactly what he’s asking. She just doesn’t answer. 

“I’m only going to ask you this one time and one time only.” His brown eyes are burning into her as he perfectly enunciates each word. “Who fucking touched you?”

Solana winces at his tone but eventually answers. “Wes....”

Roman drops her hand, and Solana brings her arms to her chest, head dropped. 

He’s pissed. 

That seems to be the only emotion he experiences around her, because of her.

His nostrils are flared as he demands. “Where was Solo?” 

Making him wait for a response is clearly something that sets him off even more, so Solana does her best to answer in a timely manner. “I—I asked him to leave. Wes….Wes didn’t want him in the room.”

“Of course, he fucking didn’t. Why would you—” Roman pinches his nose. A day. It’s been less than 48 hours, only a day in, and this marriage shit already has him fucking stressed out. Being married to this damn girl is like having a fucking child to look after. “From now on, I don’t give a fuck what your idiot brother and poor excuse of a father tell you, you’re not to be alone with them.” Roman’s command is a lot easier said than done. Denying her father or brother has never done her any favors. Solana isn’t sure how to verbalize this to the man in front of her who’s already six different shades of annoyed. “I thought I made that clear to them at the wedding, but obviously, they need a reminder.”

Solana feels every bit the scolded child, murmuring a quiet, “I’m sorry…”

Roman looks at her, and for a slither of a second, maybe even less than that, he feels bad for her. Feels bad because it’s clearly not her fault that she’s so fucked up. With a dad and brother like Xavier and Wes, what chance did she have?

He then briefly wonders about her mother, wonders what the dynamic was like there. But that’s a short lived trail because his mind then goes to his own mother. 

And Roman can’t have that, can’t go down that road for a variety of reasons, reasons that may not be that different from Solana’s. 

“Send me your work schedule.” Redirection is always a good strategy. That and fucking. Obviously, only one is an option for the woman in front of him. 

Panic builds in Solana’s stomach. Why does he want that? Her mind starts to race, arriving at only negative conclusions. Does he want her to quit? That thought kills her. 

Working at the library is the highlight, the only highlight, of her days. She doesn’t know what she would do without that outlet. 

“It won’t get in the way of my duties to you.” Solana typically isn’t the one to advocate for herself. Ever. But this….she can’t lose this, and it scares her to think of what mental decline could happen if she does. Nothing good. That’s for certain. “I—I can get up early and–and make your breakfast and meal prep lunch. A–and I’ll make sure your dinner is ready too by the time you come home—”

Rubbing his temple, exasperated, Roman asks, “what are you talking about?”

She’s not above begging. In a pleading tone, she begs, “please don’t make me quit my job.”

Roman isn’t quite sure what to make of the fact that the most words he’s heard leave Solana’s mouth are practically her begging to keep her job. He can understand it though. He would bet that her only time away from her family was when she was at work. “You can work as little or as much as you want. I don’t care about that.”

His words create instant relief. “Oh–I’m sorry, I thought—”

Roman runs his hand over his face. “You don’t have to apologize for everything.”

“Sor—” Solana drops her head as he exhales. Loudly. It’s not even noon, and he’s already over and done with this damn day.

“What time do you get off today?”

Solana licks her lips, answering. “Three.”

“I’ll meet you then.”

He can see she wants to ask but has decided against it, most likely recognizing his irritation. “We need to get your stuff from that house.” 

And in the midst of her anxiety in this conversation, she finds a glimmer of hope. She’s thankful that this isn’t something she had to initiate to ask him about.  

Something tells her Roman doesn’t like being questioned a lot.

Or at all.

“O–okay.” Is the answer she finally settles on, not wanting to say too much, vowing, “I’ll make sure I’m done by 3pm sharp.”

On one hand, Roman enjoys and respects punctuality, but something tells him Solana’s is based more on fear than anything. “Whenever is fine.”

Nodding and pushing her hair behind her ear, Solana watches Roman walk over to the door, preparing to leave when he asks, “is your brother right handed or left handed?”

His question takes her off guard, and she doesn’t quite know why he’s asking this in the first place. “W-what?”

Roman clearly doesn’t like repeating himself, because his tone takes on an edge. “Is he right handed or left handed?”

Solana swallows. She’s made him mad. Again. “R–right.”

Without another question, he leaves. And once the door shuts, he snaps at Solo, demanding, “why the fuck did you leave her alone with him? I told you to watch her!”

Roman knows his cousin well enough to know that Solo is doing a brilliant job masking his embarrassment at his failure. “She said—”

“I don’t care what she says. You don’t answer to her. You answer to me. Understood?”

Solo keeps his head high, acknowledging, “yes, my Tribal Chief.” Roman wastes no time in exiting the library and entering the SUV waiting for him, slamming the door shut. He pulls out his phone, selecting one of his most recent contacts, hitting dial. 

Jey answers on the third ring, but he’s immediately yelling to someone else, “slam my door one more fucking time, Nicki, and see what happens!” Roman’s jaw clenches, another new source of irritation being presented to him. “Ayo, Uce, now’s not a good time—”

“I don’t care.” Roman’s hot headed cousin and his equally hot headed wife arguing is nothing special. The fight. They fuck. They make up. And do it all over again. It’s not pressing news or even news at all at this point. “The Miller boy. Send him a message. A clear message.”

“I’ve got—”

“Did you hear what I just said?” There must be something in the air or the water, because Roman having to repeat himself is fucking asinine. He speaks once, and everyone should jump immediately. The fact that that isn’t happening is only pissing him off more. “And his right hand…make sure it’s broken.”

Jey sighs on the other end of the phone. “Aight. Me and Jimmy will have it done by the end of the day.”

Roman ends the phone call before his cousin can feed him any more excuses. Head tilted back against the headrest, he tries to settle himself. This day so far has been nothing but inconvenience after inconvenience. 

There’s nothing that pisses him off more than having to repeat himself, having conversations extend longer than they should, and that’s all this day has been thus far. He’s had to over explain and reiterate himself more than Roman feels necessary. 

And the day isn’t even halfway over. 

He needs an outlet.

Roman switches apps, finding one of his more recent contacts and sending out a message. 

Roman: Come over tonight. 

As expected, her reply comes almost right away. 

Samantha: Lol. That didn’t take long.

Samantha: See you then.

————

Solana always struggles with a level of anxiety when entering the home she grew up in. For a myriad of reasons. Most, if not all, being completely valid. Nothing good has ever happened for her in that place. And more often than not, she’d barely be in the house for more than a couple of minutes before she was either being berated or beaten.

Usually both.

But this…..this is different. A lot different, because she’s not walking into hell alone, she’s walking along (behind) Bloodline guards and the 6’3, pure muscled leader of said Bloodline. 

Roman Reigns.

Who also happens to be her husband.

Playing around with the wedding ring on her finger, Solana tries again to remind herself that this is real, that she’s married, that she’s married to Roman Reigns of all people. 

The reality definitely hasn’t set in.

Roman is about to knock on the door again when it swings open. Solana naturally steps back, something Roman takes notice of.

Xavier looks pissed, his fiery gaze landing on her first, but just as quickly as it was present, it's gone, settling into an almost pleasant smile. Directed at Roman, of course.

“Tribal Chief,” he greets. Solana’s gaze is on the ground now, focused on her painted toes instead of the man before her who she’s certain would be unleashing hell on her if not for the multitude of much larger, much stronger men surrounding her. “I wasn’t expecting—”

“I don’t care,” Roman interrupts, voice reeking of indifference. “She needs to go get her stuff.”

“Oh.” Solana can only imagine the difficulty her father is having in not throwing a fit. “Well, we can arrange for it to be delivered—”

“No.”

She means more to think it than to say it, but that intention falls short, because she definitely says it aloud.

And most of her regrets it, but there’s a small slither that doesn’t.

Solana knows her father. She knows him very well. 

Roman has done nothing but piss him off from the very beginning of this whole ordeal, pushing and pushing him. And Solana has always been the object of her father’s anger, but Roman seems intent on making sure that doesn’t happen. 

That means he’ll have to get creative with his punishments.

If he can’t hurt her, he’ll go after the things she loves. 

The few items in that home that she holds near and dear, items that belonged to her mother.

She knows he would dispose of them all so that all that would be retrieved by the movers would be clothes.

And the thought of the only things she has of her mother being discarded like trash makes her sick to her stomach.

She can’t give him that opportunity. 

Looking up, she’s met with two sets of eyes on her. One indicating irritation and the other, curiosity. Swallowing, she stutters, “I’m sorry. I—”

“No.” Roman’s interruption is stark and to the point. “We’re already here. She gets it now.”

“But—”

“Move.”

Xavier’s jaw ticks, but he does as such, stepping to the side. Roman looks back at Solana, motioning for her to walk in. 

Instantly, she’s going to the key holder. She has to make sure she gets her mother’s stuff before anything. But, the key to the attic, the key that’s sat in the same spot since she was a girl, is suddenly missing.

Her stomach drops. 

Without hesitation, she turns to her dad, asking, “wh—where’s the key to the attic?”

Solana knows before he even says anything that she’s not going to like his answer. She just doesn't realize just how much she’s not going to like his answer.

“Oh, I put it in your old room on the dresser.” Solana’s chest is immediately tight, her stomach dropping. Xavier gives that sly smile and little shrug. “Figured there’d be some things you’d want to grab as well.”

It’s hard for Solana to not start crying right then and there, standing between her father and her husband. Two men who dislike her for very different reasons. 

And maybe dislike isn’t a strong enough word to describe the feeling her father has toward her. Because one has to have an inhuman level of vitriol toward another individual to put her in the situation he just did.

That room….Solana hasn’t been in that room in years and planned to never enter it again for as long as she lived. And he knows that. Knows that there’s nothing in there she wants. Knows that she’d rather walk on burning coal barefoot than enter that space of horrific memories and unspeakable horrors. 

“I–I—”

“Is something wrong?”

Roman, watching this whole exchange closely, is instantly annoyed. It’s obvious something is wrong, there’s some story with this old room of hers, because she looks just as terrified as she did last night. And something about this pisses him off all over again, because this man is still trying to defy his orders, still trying to find ways to inflict his torture without lifting a finger. 

“Where’s the room?” 

Solana doesn't expect that question to leave Roman’s mouth, but it instantly brings on another layer of dread. He doesn’t know why she can’t go in that room, and he can never know, but that not knowing is probably going to result in him pushing her to hurry up so they can get the hell out of here.

But, that doesn’t happen. He steps towards her dad and repeats in a calm voice. “Show me.” It’s then she realizes that he’s asking so he can retrieve this key for her.

And that confuses the mess out of her because why? He doesn't have to, doesn’t need to. It doesn’t benefit him in the slightest. 

So why?

But for Roman, it’s simple. He’ll take any opportunity presented to piss off this son of a bitch, and undermining every attempt Miller takes to mess with Solana presents an opportunity for Roman to assert his dominance. 

And it’s obvious by the pure terror that crosses Solana’s face that, for whatever reason, she has zero desire or even ability to enter this room. It does cross him a bit strange that she would have such a reaction to her childhood bedroom, something that typically holds special memories for people.

Until he enters said room. 

Immediately, there’s a darkness about the aura, something heavy and unsettling that he can’t necessarily describe but most definitely feels. It’s a stark contrast to the design and decoration, lots of pink and girly shit, a couple of stuffed animals sitting on the top of the dresser. It’s on the dresser he notices a shattered picture frame that in picking up he sees a photo of a young woman, dark curly hair, beautiful, light eyes and a breathtaking smile. There’s something about her that reminds him of Solana. Her mother. This has to be her mother.

For reasons Roman doesn’t quite understand, there’s something suddenly uncomfortable by looking at this photo, a ghost, someone from the past. A person cruelly and violently ripped away from her family.

It….it hits too close to him.

Laying the broken photo frame down, Roman continues to assess the room and suddenly notices scratches on the door and the wall that holds the door. But, they’re not scratches that come from furniture being moved or kids being rough, they’re clearly nail marks. As if someone was dragged and the scratches a testament of their fight against whatever attack they were facing.

Snatching the key off the dresser, he then redirects his attention to the poorly cleaned splashes of dried blood on the carpet near the bed. He’s suddenly frowning of sorts. 

There’s a story here. A story that paints a dark, grim picture. One that makes Roman slightly curious about just what the hell this girl has really been through in this hellhole?

Not wanting to stay in that creepy ass room any longer than necessary, he walks back out into the living room and ignores Miller’s obvious irritation to reach Solana the key.

Accepting it, she offers the first smile he’s probably seen on her since their first meeting. “Thank you.” Her voice is the usual mixture of soft and quiet but also….grateful. She’s probably the only person in history to ever be so happy at being given something as simple as a key. But Roman isn’t stupid. He recognizes the deeper meaning. 

Nodding, he motions for a few of his men to follow her as she heads for wherever the attic door is located. 

That leaves Roman alone with his least favorite person in the world.

“She can’t take everything, you know.” Xavier shares. He reminds, “she has a brother. My son and I deserve to have something of my late wife to—”

“I don’t care.” And he doesn’t. He honestly, truly doesn’t. “She can take whatever she wants.”

“I understand that she’s your wife, but she was my daughter long before she became your wife. And you’re standing in my house.” Xavier doesn’t skip a beat to contend. “I think you should also remember that, Tribal Chief.”

To be fair, Roman would like to think he’s done a half decent job all day managing his temper. He’s yet to maim or kill anyone which is commendable for him, in and of itself. But something about Xavier pisses him the fuck off to the point where he doesn’t give a damn about controlling his temper. 

And that’s exactly what happens. 

In a matter of seconds, Roman has Xavier by the throat, pinned against the wall, squeezing so tightly he can practically feel the man's bones pressing against his fingertips. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” Xavier’s eyes are nearly bugging out of his head as he helplessly grasps at Roman's grip, which only makes the Tribal Chief squeeze harder. “Don’t ever fucking forget who runs this. I run it all!” As much as Roman enjoys playing the long game with this bastard, there’s only so much he can put up with. Miller needs to know Roman is not his daughter, but he damn sure will dictate that any interactions with said daughter go through him. “You see Solana when I say you can see her. You talk to her when I say you can talk to her.” Intensifying his grip, Roman notices the color draining from Xavier’s face. And it’s probably the best thing he’s seen all day. “You live because I allow it. You’re still fucking breathing because I will it.” Recognizing Miller is at the door of unconsciousness, he finally lets the man go, enjoying the sight of him coughing violently, nearly laying on the floor. “Don’t you ever fucking forget that shit.”

Xavier, wisely, doesn't say much after that. And neither does Roman, who simply makes sure his men help Solana gather all she needs, which isn’t that much outside of clothes. He starts to ask her about her car, but something tells him it’s under Xavier’s name, which is why he decides against it.

He’ll just get her another one. 

Roman doesn’t want her to have shit to do with this family, largely because he doesn’t want shit to do with this family.

And he knows what the first step toward initiating that separation will be.

—--------

The Warehouse has always been Roman’s escape.

17,000 square feet of escape, completely revamped and redone by him in his early twenties. It’s a massive compound that serves as both a place to train and compete. The former of which being why he’s present and needing to speak to the one person who he has in charge of all the day to day workings of the Warehouse. 

But, that’s all she’s interested in outside of competing herself and only training those with some fire to them.

It’s why he’s not surprised when Nia takes one look at him, then Solana, and with a snort and roll of her eyes, simply says, “no.”

Roman isn’t an idiot. He knew his cousin would immediately decline, would know what he wanted to ask before it could even leave his mouth.

If only he cared about her objection. 

“Wait here,” he mutters to Solana who only nods, hugging the jacket around her body. Solo remains nearly inches away from her. She looks so out of place, a small part of him can’t blame Nia for declining.

Nia continues to walk the balcony, eyes clearly checking in on the various sets of people training. Roman does as well, just not nearly with the same amount of focus and attention. That’s what he has Nia for.

His blood cousin and close friend since they were kids, there’s few people in this world that Roman trusts, and Nia is grouped in that category. She’s a worthy member of the bloodline and a hell of a person to have alongside you in a fight. 

It’s why she's the perfect person for this task.

“Nia.”

“I said no, Roman.” She turns to him, smirking, taunting him in a way only she and his close family can. "You know, that word that you hate?”

It actually makes him chuckle, a speckle of amusement in a day full of anything but. “If you know I hate it, why are you saying it?”

“Because unlike the rest of the world, I’m not your bitch.”

It’s partially true. Nia has never been one to shy away from being completely and, often, ruthlessly honest with her cousin. It’s something Roman sometimes appreciates, enjoying the occasional challenge and differing perspective.

This isn’t one of those times though. 

He again reiterates. “She needs to be trained.” 

It’s abundantly clear that Solana has no backbone, and he can’t entirely fault her for that because it’s also clear that she’s never really had the chance to develop one. But, that’s no longer the case, because while he can deal with the stammering and quietness, her fragility has to go. 

She has to learn to stand up for herself.

She needs to learn how to fight back.

Nia turns around with a sarcastic chuckle. “You really think that girl can be trained? I saw her at the wedding. She looked terrified the entire time. You breathe too hard in her direction, and she’ll probably have a fucking panic attack.” Roman is briefly taken back to last night. Nia hasn’t the slightest clue how true her words are. “She’s not built for this life.”

Roman doesn’t entirely disagree. If there was ever a person who’d do well and significantly better in something cookie cutter, white picket fence type shit, it’s Solana. But she’s here now, this is her life, so they need to make the best of it. She needs to learn how to survive in this life. and he expresses as such. “Regardless, she needs to learn to defend herself to some extent.”

Nia shrugs, leaning back against the railing and crossing her arms. “So teach her.”

“I don’t have the time. Or the patience.” It’s almost entirely true. There are already so many hats that Roman has to wear. Adding on another one that includes teaching a traumatized young woman how to fight is not an option. Even more, something tells him that Solana would do better training with a woman. She seems most skittish around men.

Nia scoffs, pointing to herself. “And you think I do?”

“Nia….” As much as he enjoys sparring with his cousin from time to time, his patience has grown thin. His tone darkens. “I’m not asking you.”

While tempted to continue to push back, Nia isn’t a stupid woman. She can recognize when Roman is about to lose his cool. “Fucking hell….” With a heavy sigh and shrug of defeat, she accepts. “Fine. I’ll do it, but don’t expect me to like her.”

“I never expect you to like anyone.” He chuckles, adding. “And Nia…..take it easy on her at first.”

Nia curses, instantly accusing, “You think coddling her will help?”

“I know being too rough with her won’t.”

A hard exterior is built from experience and tolerance. Roman fully believes that. However, something tells him his new wife has had enough experiences that anything more could push her closer to breaking point. So approaching it almost gingerly would probably wield the best outcome. 

Nia is, justifiably, vexed. “Whatever. I don’t have time for your weak ass wife. I’ll have Naomi teach her the basics, and once she learns how to actually throw a punch without crying, I’ll take over her training.” 

Roman has no issue with this. Solana seemed to be fine around Naomi at the wedding, so it might actually be a good match. “Fine. Just keep me updated with her progress.” Roman adds, starting to walk away.

“Do I have a choice?”

Instantly, he answers. “Nope.”

Nia’s laughter behind him brings a small smile to his face. 

Rejoining the group, he finds Solana looking just as nervous as he left her. “Let’s go.”

He turns and so does Solo, Roman deciding he’ll talk with Solana about starting training back at the house. But, her small voice calling his name, the first time he’s heard her say as such draws his attention.

Turning around, he asks, “yeah?”

She swallows and starts that damn stammering. It’s hard for him to not snap at her to just get it out. He hates that beating around the bush bullshit. “Umm, can we—uhh, stop somewhere?” Roman does his best to hide his irritation. Where the fuck does she need to go? “I just—-I noticed you don’t have a lot of ingredients at the house, and—and I need some things so I can cook.”

Initially, Roman’s first reaction is to tell her no, that she doesn’t need to cook. He doesn’t need her to cook for him. He does just fine on his own, but that’s the thing that makes him pause. He’s not on his own anymore. She needs to eat too.

So, he agrees, “fine.”

“Ayo, uce!”

Jesus Christ.

Roman needs a vacation. A week long vacation, because the way the past 24hrs has drained him more than anything he’s experienced in the past year is criminal.

The twins jog over, exchanging what is an undeniably awkward acknowledgement to Solana. And he doesn't blame them. She’s so damn docile that they probably don't know how to interact with her.

“Let us catch that ride with you.”

Roman shuts his eyes. “Why?”

Jimmy is the one to answer. “You wanted us to debrief you on that thing from earlier, remember?”

Roman realizes they’re referring to the message he had them send Solana’s brother, which he does want to hear about but not necessarily now.

“She needs to stop at the store before we head back to the house,” Roman informs, hoping the twins will just take a car back to the house to meet him their to debrief.

But that’s too much like right, because they end up in the same SUV as him and Solana, seated in the back, while he sits in the middle with her. And it’s not missed upon him how she’s practically tucked in the corner of the SUV, notebook out as she writes away while his idiotic cousins go on and on in the back about whatever.

The old lady from the library wasn’t kidding. This damn girl is always writing. 

When they arrive at the grocery store, Roman reaches for his wallet, sliding out his black card and handing it to her. “Here. Use this.” 

Roman hadn’t thought about this until just now, thought about the need to make his money available to her. He makes a mental note to have his accountant add Solana to all of his accounts and have cards mailed out with her name. In the meantime, she’ll have to deal with using his.

“Thank you.” She accepts the card, quickly asking, “what’s my limit?”

“What limit?”

Her cheeks redden as she explains. “Like….like how much I can spend?"

“There is none,” he answers with a shrug. “Just get what you need.”

Jey suddenly leans forward, tapping Roman on the shoulder. “Ayo, Big Dog, lemme run this by you.”

“No.”

Of course, the word goes in one ear and out the other. “So, I’m trying to explain to her that it’s not what she thinks. I don’t even care about that bitch, but she’s not trying to hear me. Going on and go about how I ain’t shit, I don’t treat her right—you know, the usual—-and so finally, I just snap on her ass cause who the fuck you think you talking to—”

Jimmy agrees. “She acting like you ain’t got no options.”

Jey sucks his teeth, “man, that’s what I’m saying. Like, I ain’t gotta put up with that shit!”

“Hell naw!”

The idea of grocery shopping doesn’t appeal to Roman in the slightest, but neither does listening to his dumbass cousin complain about his marriage problems to his equally dumbass brother. So, it’s the lesser of two evils, really. 

“Fuck it,” he mutters, unbuckling his seatbelt, and opening the door. Solo and Solana’s eyes fall on him as they’d yet to enter the store. “I’ll go with her.”

Solana looks expectedly surprised as Solo simply nods and gets back in the passenger seat.

“I’ll make it quick.”

Roman says nothing, walking alongside her, still providing enough distance to not make her uncomfortable. 

As long as the twins are harping on and on about stupid shit, she can take as long as she wants.

Once in the store, Solana pushing the cart, Roman realizes she was writing down a grocery list that she uses to track the needed items as they peruse what feels like endless aisles. Granted, he hasn’t been inside an actual grocery store in probably close to two decades, if not longer, so maybe this is normal for a grocery store. 

It’s when they reach the produce section that she seems a bit stumped, chewing on her bottom lip, clearly perplexed.

He starts to ask her what’s wrong, but she walks over to one of the workers and takes him slightly by surprise when she starts speaking in a different language. Spanish, he eventually settles on. It’s also the first time he thinks he’s ever seen her smile. Outside of when he gave her the key And laugh. That one is definitely a first. Both small and quiet, but still, a first. She seems to know or at least be familiar with the worker who digs around the produce and reaches over a packaged bag of whatever produce it is. 

It’s when she returns to place the produce in the basket, continuing to walk, that he asks, “you speak Spanish?”

She looks up at him, but not for too long, as if doing so is forbidden, explaining. “My—my mom taught me. She was originally from Mexico.”

Roman figured as such from the picture he saw in her room that Solana’s mom was Hispanic or had some type of Central American ancestry. He’s also surprised by her answering with more than just 3 to 5 words, providing more information than he asked. 

It’s not something he necessarily cares about, but it doesn’t annoy him like it typically does when people give him a longer answer than what’s necessary. 

“Are—are your cousins always like….like that?” Again, she takes him by surprise, up until the point where she immediately goes into apologizing. “I–I don’t mean it in a bad way. I would never—”

“Yes,” he cuts off her rambling. It’s unnecessary because the answer is simple. “They are.” With a mutter, he adds, “they never shut the fuck up.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees it. That smile smile, this time conjoined with a small laugh that she does a decent job trying to suppress. And it’s like she catches herself, changing the subject as she asks, “umm, are you—like—allergic to anything? Or is there something you don’t like? I can learn—”

“I can eat anything.” It’s a simple, truthful answer. It also seems like something she’d been wanting to ask but only built the courage to do so at the end of their current conversation, even if brief as hell.

Solana doesn’t say much after that, and it confuses Roman when she tries to grab items on shelves much higher than what exceeds her reach. It confuses him because it would be significantly easier for her to just ask him to reach it. Granted, something tells him just her asking to be taken to the grocery store seems to be her daily quota for requests.

So he takes it upon himself, hand on the small of her back, ignoring how she tenses at his touch, to tell her to step aside as he easily retrieves the item. With a tuck of her hair behind her ear and a small “thank you,” she continue shopping but this time actually, still with that same irksome gentleness, asks him to reach items that she cannot. It’s not a lot, just a couple.

And it’s not long before she’s done, checking out with his card that she makes sure to give back to him immediately. He gets the sense that that’s something she thinks is important to him.

It’s not.

The worst he can see her doing is going crazy at fucking Barnes and Nobles.

Roman has his men load the trunk for her, something that also seems to take her off guard. Like she’s not used to the assistance.

And she probably isn’t. 

————

Samantha Irvin has been on Roman’s revolving roster of women since he was in his teens. The longevity being that It’s always been the easiest with her. Sexually, at least. Their compatibility in that one area, the only one he really (only) cares about, is astronomical. But lately, more in the past few months than anything, she’s dropped a comment here and there about wanting more. 

He’s ignored them everytime. 

Roman has never promised Samantha anything more than what they currently are: fuck buddies. She knows this, just like she knows she’s not the only woman he’s fucking. Nothing about that should indicate him wanting more with anyone, including her.

Well, other than the wedding band now on his finger.

Samantha’s gaze falls on that wedding band, a bitter chuckle leaving her mouth. “I still can’t believe you actually did it.”

“Yeah,” he mutters. Discussing his shitshow of a marriage is the last thing he wants to do and far from the reason he left Solana in the middle of the night to come see her, to come work off his frustrations.

The same reason he invited her over tonight. 

Last night was a dumpster fuck, without a doubt. But today with Solana was….decent. Not amazing. Not awful. Just some strange space in between. Even as they arrived back at the estate and she went straight into cooking, creating something he can’t pronounce but can honestly say was delicious, a meal she delivered to him in his office. There was something manageable about that, this level of she does her thing, he does his, and if their paths cross in the process, he can deal with that.

The intimacy though….that’s something he’ll have to figure out, have to navigate, just not now. Not tonight. 

Right now, he just needs Samantha’s talented mouth on him.

She moves her hands up his chest, biting on her bottom lip. “She’s just a little girl, baby. You need a woman who knows how to please you.” Roman knows the other side of what she’s saying or rather what she’s not saying. Another subtle, or not so subtle depending on how you look at it, hint that she’s the one he should settle down with.

In all honesty, he has, or had, zero desire to settle down with anyone.

Especially not with Sam. She’s the kind of woman that’s good for fucking and nothing else. As much as Solana’s extreme passivity annoys the shit out of him, he’d pick that over the bitching Sam would do. He just knows she’d be on his ass about stupid shit like fucking other woman and not paying her enough attention. Like she’d think she’s somehow above him doing who and what the fuck he wants just cause he put a ring on her finger.

Way too needy.

But at least he can actually fucking touch Sam.

Kinda hard to make a baby with someone who has literal fucking panic attacks just from being touched.

It builds up his frustration again, hence Roman grabbing Samantha by the back of her head, forcing it back. She hisses, both from pain and pleasure. It’s another thing he does actually enjoy about her. She lets him be as rough as he wants and needs.

“Why are you still talking?” There may be a slight dim in her eyes at his question, but she hides it well. “I don’t give a fuck what you think.” He releases his grip and shoves her to her knees. “Put that mouth to actual good use.”

If she’s hurt by his brusque tone, she doesn’t show it, simply bringing her hands to unbuckle his pants. “I got you, daddy…” 

She gets his zipper down when a scream sounds throughout the house, causing her to freeze in her motions as she shoots Roman a confused look.

“What the hell?” Samantha’s obvious irritation is the last thing he hears before adjusting himself as he heads out the room and down the hall.

For some reason, Roman already knows what to expect before he even reaches Solana’s room. Opting against knocking, he opens the door and finds her twisting and turning in the bed, eyes shut, chest moving up and down, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead.

Yeah….just as he expected. 

Sighing, he walks over to the bed, sitting on the side. “Solana.”

“No.....” she’s crying in her sleep, clearly in the midst of a nightmare. Or night terror. “Mom, please…don’t leave me.”

Roman tenses. Immediately, he knows exactly what her nightmare is. He brings hands to her shoulder, shaking her. “Solana, wake up.”

“No…..”

He says her name again, a bit louder, firmer, “Solana, wake up.”

“No!” She screams again, shooting up from the bed, immediately fighting and pushing against his body. “Leave me alone!” She’s crying, clearly fighting against the demons one faces once in life but forever battles, even when they’re gone. 

It’s a permanent scar on the soul.

“Solana,” he says again, still stern, but somehow gentle. “You’re fine. You’re safe.” It’s the ‘safe’ word that seems to trigger something for her, mouth still ajar, painting heavily but no longer struggling against him. “It was just a bad dream.”

There’s a fleeting thought he has about pushing some of the flyaway hairs out of her face, but it’s gone before he can really process let alone act on said thought.

Solana looks at his hands on her forearm and immediately tugs them back to her body, hugging herself. She drops her head, eyes closing, “I’m—I’m sorry.”

His eyes take her in, studying her, “it’s fine.”

“I—I need some air.” She kicks the blankets off her body and swings her legs over the bed, hurriedly grabbing a notebook off the dresser and rushing out of the room past a smirking Samantha.

Roman shuts his eyes and runs his hand over his face, ignoring the strange array of emotions, or something like that, he’s experiencing.

He hasn’t been this exposed to this kind of behavior in years.

This may be more complicated than he realized. 

And it’s as he stands up from the bed, walking near the door that Samantha smirks. “Did she seriously say mom?”  His eyes snap to her as she runs her hands up and down his chest. “What a fucking child.”

Her words take him back, reframe things so that it’s not Solana the child crying for her mother not to be taken from her. It’s a young boy. Burned, bloody, and beat, fading in and out consciousness, the gaze of fiery flames in his peripheral vision, the smell of burning flesh invading his nostrils, the sound of wails and sirens all mingling together from the shock of it all. 

Roman catches himself, forcing those buried memories back where they belong in the very back of his mind. He then looks at Sam for a good five seconds before demanding, “get the fuck out.”

She pauses and then asks with an uncomfortable laugh, “what?”

“Get the fuck out of my house,” he repeats, shoving her hands off him. 

“What did I sa—”

“Get out!” Roman snaps, volume and tone making her jump. He probably scared her. He also doesn’t care. He just wants her gone. And she does as such, walking away without another word of protest. 

Left alone, he tries to gather himself, moving back to his room.

So much for a fucking distraction.

 —----- 

Roman finds her out back on the patio. 

He needed to clear his head, get back into his tunnel vision focus, and the gym he had included when he built the house is the perfect place to do that. Two hours later, recentered and showered, he readies to call it a night. But, he realizes he probably shouldn’t do as such until he makes sure Solana is at least partially stable enough to be left alone. 

And she is. 

She’s laid out, sleeping on the rattan lounge chair, a closed notebook tucked into her side. Roman recognizes it as the same one she was writing in that day at the library as well as the one she used for her grocery list just earlier in the day. 

He settles down on the chair next to her, studying her. Even in her sleep, she looks….sad. And for the first time in the midst of all these strange experiences with her, Roman understands. He understands her sadness, understands her difficulty, understands the memories that clearly haunt her.

The same way they used to haunt him. 

His hand goes to his tatted arm, intricate tribal tattoo hiding permanent remnants of that night of hell. The night that he once had the same kind of night terrors about. 

Noticing the breeze, he walks back into the house, grabbing one of the throw blankets on the sofa. Roman is careful to not directly touch her as he lays it over her body. A part of him is tempted to carry her back to her room, but he remembers these kinds of nights. The kind where it’s a challenge to escape the memories, let alone find a place and mental space to turn your brain off enough to just sleep.

So he leaves her alone, allowing her to enjoy the only escape she clearly has in this life.

[sukaaxo]

tamlin ‘watched feyre waste away’ theory

i see a lot of ppl claiming tamlin just watched feyre waste away and never noticed it. but when rhys mentioned feyre looked skinny, tamlin looked confused. so honestly im on the side of he couldn’t actually see it.

i had a car accident a few years. it was me, my sister and my parents. i ended up bed bound for a few months bcz of a broken hip. i lost A LOT of weight bcz of this. no one in my immediate family (the ones that were in the car accident) noticed that i had and i didn’t notice that they had. my grandad came over after a month or two and he commented on how skinny i looked to which we all looked confused bcz i couldn’t tell and neither could they. turns out we had all lost over 5 stone between us and and we COULDNT SEE IT bcz we spent so much time together.

the same thing happened when i was with my ex bf. we both had severe depression during covid and lived together. neither of us noticed each others decline bcz we were wrapped up in our own and it took me visiting my parents when the lockdown lifted for someone to notice how badly we had fallen.

another less personal example is when u go to the gym. u rarely notice progress until u show side by side comparison pics of ur before and after. u don’t notice slow progressive changes when ur seeing it as it happens.

my point being that being within an enclosed space with someone and both of u declining makes it harder to notice these things. especially people within close relationships. the only reason other people noticed in MAF is bcz they didn’t spend time with feyre constantly (rhys, guards, villagers) or didn’t go through similar trauma with her (ianthe, lucien). but tamlin , who went through the same, if not MORE torture underneath amarantha, was suffering just as badly and was in close proximity with her often would have struggled to notice. feyre even mentions at some points that tamlins hair lost some of its shine and his muscle some of its definition. he also looked tired and stressed all the time. yet she never tried to help him

so many ppl were suffering and im so tired of ppl only ever caring about feyre’s or believing shes this little victim who’s been abused and ignored by so so many and not someone who was also ignoring everyone else’s feelings and problems to highlight hers. she DID go through stuff but so did everyone else and no one was helping anyone. everyone in the series has been through abuse and torture and no one shifted blame the way feyre did.

[sorcerersandskillusers]

How do you think Atshi and Dazai's relationship compare to their relationship in beast, i feel like its a topic thats been left behind when talking abt beast

Ooo this is an interesting one.

The relationship between Dazai and Atsushi in BEAST is really interesting already, I love how Asagiri didn't just make it a carbon copy of Dazai and Akutagawa in the main timeline, instead its completely unique but equally fucked up. But comparing it to the main timeline I think it is the best example of just how far BEAST Dazai is willing to go in order to ensure Oda's happiness in that universe, even at the cost of tormenting someone main Dazai really cares about.

First lets look at Dazai and Atsushi's relationship in the main series.

Atsushi has absolute loyalty, love and respect for Dazai in the main series, Dazai was the first person who ever affirmed Atsushi's right to live and might be the first person to ever offer him kindness. Dazai also works as Atsushi's motivation to save Kyouka, he thinks of how Dazai chose to save him even though he would be a massive burden to the ADA, and this gives him the conviction to save Kyouka despite her past.

Dazai is the person who Atsushi always thinks of when he's in a terrible situation, he's who Atsushi wants to run too when he thinks he can't win a fight, in other words he makes Atsushi feel safe something he probably almost never felt in the orphanage where he was abused for anything he did.

(from 55 mintues)

These two pages capture this perfectly

And eventually Atsushi is able to replace visions of the orphanage director (who appeared when he was at his lowest and made him feel like he had no right to live) with Dazai giving him encouragement and the focus to keep going.

On Dazai's end:

I think Atsushi is probably the person who sees Dazai's true suffering better than anyone else alive in the series, even including characters like Chuuya and Ango. Atsushi (very similar to Oda) will often cut through Dazai's jokes and see through to what he is really thinking.

Atsushi is also one of very few characters to openly be kind to Dazai, off the top of my head it's only him and Oda who ever really say nice things about him to his face.

(notice both times Dazai is surprised by this)

Atsushi is even able to pick up a hint of Dazai's past when Dazai talks about mimic in 55 minutes.

So suffice to say, in the main series Dazai and Atsushi are extremely close, both being essentail to the others growth and a person throughout the series, I could probably go on for pages about this but for now let's talk about how BEAST twists this relationship into one of the darkest in the series.

BEAST Atsushi suffers more than almost anyone else thanks to Dazai's plan. Since he can't use Fukuzawa's ability to control Atsushi's ability, he makes Atsushi wear a spiked collar that stabs him in the neck while transformed and uses the pain of that to help Atsushi remain in control of the tiger.

Not to mention that BEAST Atsushi, just like regular Atsushi hates being hurt and hurting others, he is constantly terrified on every mission he is sent on and hates the pain he has to go through each time.

So why is he so loyal to Dazai? Unlike Akutagawa Dazai didn't physically abuse Atsushi until he became dogmatically loyal, he didn't need too, all he had to do was twist the suffering caused by the orphanage director in Atsushi's mind and make it work in his favour.

Trigger warning: Psychological abuse!

This was Dazai's method, give Atsushi an order he knew he would disobey and set things up so it would lead to Atsushi undergoing unimaginable pain and suffering beyond anything Dazai could inflict himself. Dazai twisted that pain in Atsushi's mind into

"This is what it feels like to disobey me"

And since then, Atsushi has been completely incapable of not following Dazai's orders.

Another important factor is that Dazai himself is very friendly with Atsushi, letting him call him "Dazai-san" instead of boss and giving him praise for his work. This just further cements in Atsushi's mind that Dazai is the kind, generous person who tried to help him, which makes him even more loyal to Dazai.

There's a lot more I could go over, but I don't have time right now. Overall I think BEAST really shows just how far Dazai is willing to go to achieve what he wants, the way he treats BEAST Atsushi is incredibly cruel, and then leaving him alone in a world where his only purpose was fulfilling Dazai's orders is another level of cruelty.

[rgbsilver]

long rant on why bunny duo WILL happen

If you can’t tell I am going insane (spoiler warning/leak mention)

1: Merchandise/Logos

As I’m sure your aware, WanPre’s logo scheme corresponds to just about every single Cure:

Pink for Komugi/Wonderful, Purple for Iroha/Friendy, Green for Mayu/Lillan, and Blue for Yuki/Nyammy. This leaves us two colors left: orange and yellow, just enough to fulfill another duo.

The colors don’t just stop at the logo, either.

A special shout out to the daily satoru blog for finding this out (I never could have!), but Mayu’s ribbons also similarly match up with this.

Again, two colors are left, an Orange-Yellow color and White, just enough for our bunny duo!

These buttons are also similar: notice the outer colors and the inner colors. The outer colors on the owners correspond with their pets theme color (Mayu is Blue, Iroha is Pink, which fits with Yuki and Komugi) and the opposite for their pets.

By this, we can assume that Daifuku could be a White or Grey Cure, and Satoru could be a Yellow or Orange cure.

This ones already been mentioned, but again, the yellow/white colors!

..And even more buttons. Almost all merch featuring Satoru and Daifuku is either Yellow/Orange, or White/Grey. I’m not going to list everything ever here, but check out the Precure Wiki for more merchandise listings.

2: Daifuku is an anomaly (lol)

If you are unaware, Daifuku is a huge character for merchandising from WanPre. According to the wiki, out of all of the mascots, Daifuku has sold out much, much quicker and is well-received by fans.

Also, in WPC23.. do I have to explain this screen shot? Yuki just straight up calls him not ordinary.

But, she is right. Out of all the animals we’ve seen in the show, besides the Cures and the Kirarin Animals, none have the same proportions Daifuku does. And we know he isn’t a Kirarin animal (lacking the gem), so you can assume he’s a future Cure.

Also, as of WP24, Daifuku (and Satoru) has been to Niko Garden. Not sure if that strengths the point, but yeah.

Daifuku’s movie character: note how again, only the Cures in their animal form have the wristband (Komugi and Yuki.)

And, some card listings that were leaked a while ago:

This one is pretty self-explanatory: there’s 1 more slot for a Cure (or maybe a movie exclusive character) on these cards.

And as of recently, we have seen both of them together on one card in merchandise: it’s possible they both could be a Cure, just on one card.

And last but not least..

There’s 1 more spot for a Cure, or a duo! 3. Other things

Although I do agree the ending doesn’t leave much room for more cures, know that we still might get another ending. Mahou Tsukai and Kira had 3 endings, and Star Twinkle even had 4.

The point is, it’s not too late to call it quits! We have had cures introduced later too: Majesty’s first appearance was in 31. We still have hope. Probably. I’m also probably going insane.

We also can have another ‘Black Pepper’ which personally I think is going to happen— Daifuku will be a white colored Cure and Satoru will be a orange or yellow colored Black Pepper like hero.

Plus, we haven’t had a series without a mid season or additional warrior since Smile, which was 12 years ago. It’s pretty unlikely that’ll happen again.

And it’s not like there is anyone else who can be a mid season besides these two. Unless you count like.. MeyMey but that’s really unlikely lol.

(Against some popular theories: I think it wouldn’t make sense for Niko to be a cure, as not only as she (?) doesn’t fit the orange/white/yellow scheme (based off the Niko leaks), but they aren’t apart of a duo like Mayu and Yuki, Iroha and Wonderful, Satoru and Daifuku..

Plus, in WPC24, notice how Niko’s egg only glows after both Satoru and Daifuku are touching the egg. )

According to some posts I’ve seen on the wiki, ratings for the show actually drop if they don’t have a mid season or additional warrior— having one apparently does better for merchandise sales and reviews in general. Take this with a grain of salt, however. I have no idea if this is true, but I believe it. Plus, with Cure Wing being generally well-received, it’s not impossible that we can have more male cures in the future.

anyways. This is all just a theory. A FILM THEORY.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk ok bye. In my eyes will Daifuku be a cure? Yes. Will Satoru be a cure? Probably but more likely to be something like black pepper. I’m going insane thanks bye

[epicthemusical]

Thoughts/HC for Perimedes and Elpenor

WARNING ABUSIVE PARENTS AND UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISMS

a lot of this was inspired from this fic series and this Tumblr user so check both of them out!

@amazingmsme

Now as the two youngest crew members they are definitely effected a lot more by the war. They have just barely considered men when they leave. One thing they both have in common is they don't know what it is like to actually have a father(will explain later)

Past/home life:

Okay so for Perimedes he is an only child with abusive parents. His parents used to show how much they loved each other but the marriage went downhill and now all the do is argue. The parents often yell and hit him in their anger. Perimedes had to learn to take care of himself and not depend on anyone else. He also learned that love is something toxic and should be avoided. Caring for someone leads to getting hurt.

Now for Elpenor. Elpenor is the oldest of 3 the other two being twin sisters and toddlers when he leaves. He grew up without a father for majority of his life since his dad died early in his life. As the only guy left in the family he teaches himself to hide any of his pain from others because he felt he had to take care of the family in his father's place.

Interactions with the crew

Perimedes keeps his distance emotionally from everyone on the crew. Nobody manages to get through his high walls he has built. The first person to find their way inside his walls is Elpenor. He doesn't know how they did it maybe it was the feeling of being needed,to be relied on. Maybe it was the fact they are the youngest on the crew and similar ages. Maybe it's his smiles and laughter that made Perimedes feel happier and lighter. Whatever it was it terrified him. Eventually another person manages to make it through his walls, Polites. He doesn't know how he feels about Polites. It's different than he feels with Elpenor. He learns to look up to Polites and is the person he goes to with his issues and looks to him for guidance. Polites helps teach him about life and how to do things ranging from how to sail a ship to the aftermath of his first kill. It isn't till after Polites dies that he realizes that he had seen Polites as a father figure or at least what a father SHOULD have been. The pain from his death enforces the idea he has that caring about someone leads to being hurt and he pushes away Elpenor scared of how much Polites death hurt him. When Elpenor dies at Circe island he doesn't notice still determined to avoid him so when he sees Elpenor in the Underworld Perimedes feels so guilty over not being there for him.He decides then and there to never love anyone or anything other than himself ever again.

Elpenor had two masks he puts on for the crew at first. The first mask tries to show how mature and dependable he is because that's all he knows from home. Eventually he realizes that as the youngest he doesn't have to be dependable, that nobody needs to rely on him and it feels freeing. However after he gets rid of the first mask he has a second one that hides any of his pain behind pranks, smiles, and laughter. He still can't bring himself to show his issues to the crew. He sees Perimedes and how detached he is and is determined to become his friend. It takes a lot of time but he is so happy that his efforts finally pay off and they become close friends. Just like Perimedes he looks up to Polites as his father figure. The only two of the crew he lets his second mask drop around is Perimedes and Polites. He never really understood why some of the crew turns to alcohol as he never liked it himself preferring to talk out his issues with the two people he trusts. But then Polites dies and it hurts to lose his father figure. After that Perimedes turns colder and pushes him away leaving him alone. The two people he trusted and kept close are no longer there for him. After watching all the men die to Poseidon he has a lot of nightmares and by the time they arrive at Circe island the nightmares along with the fact Perimedes is still keeping his distance he decides to turn to alcohol for the first time. He sits up on the roof looking up at the sky. He drinks and drinks hoping it will make him forget, that it will dull the pain. Before long he can't think just like he wanted. Everything seems so far away when he accidentally walks off the roof. He sees the crew from the banks of the river in the underworld as he calls out to Perimedes all he can say is his last thoughts.

I died and nobody noticed...

I died and nobody cared...

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 10

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

Before Anya gets her first stella, we get another scene of Twilight pressuring her to study after he sees her poor test scores. While he's still a bit strict here, he catches himself soon after chiding her, realizing that pushing her too hard will only hurt her motivation (meanwhile, Yor is once again the encouraging mother and compliments Anya on her good math test score).

Rather than keep forcing his agenda of making her an academically inclined scholar like he did before, this time Twilight makes noticeable effort to try to understand Anya's side of it, as he and Yor discussed previously. He tries various activities to see which one she naturally excels at, and though she doesn't do well in any of them, he tells himself not to get too worked up, since she is only a first grader and Desmond won't be making his move right away.

Even when Anya continues to screw up when they volunteer at the hospital, he doesn't get mad at her. However, when she does end up getting a stella, he doesn't hide the fact that he feels genuinely proud of her. He pats her head (one of his rare displays of affection) and tells her "nice work," all the while thinking to himself that he felt the same sense of pride when he stopped a terrorist attack during a mission. We get two "softly emphasized" panels of Twilight smiling proudly at Anya, and Anya beaming back at him. The fact that he's allowing himself to feel a genuine emotion for this child that he originally felt no qualms about returning to the orphanage, shows his growth not just from a parenting perspective, but also from an emotional one, as slight as it is.

Of course, Yor has no problem giving Anya a big hug and telling her how happy she is. Looking at Anya's face, Yor is probably still learning how to hold back when hugging Anya and was squeezing her a bit too tight. Thankfully she didn't break anything like she had done with Yuri!

When Anya decides that she wants a dog as her stella reward, Twilight and Yor's initial ideas about dogs are fitting. Since both of their lives have revolved so heavily around their work, they never got to know many "normal" things, including a normal relationship people have with dogs. The ever-paranoid Twilight imagines a burley guard dog trained for security purposes – someone like him could only imagine getting a dog because it would be useful for his missions, not for something "trifling" like emotional support. Yor sees dogs as dangerous, likely because many of the criminals she's sent to assassinate have attack dogs for their protection.

Twilight even goes so far as to have WISE supply their own trained dogs to the pet shop. But much to his dismay, Anya doesn't like any of them, causing Twilight to reluctantly decide to try the adoption fair instead.

When Anya wanders off, Yor panics when she can't find her. More of her naivety about the world shows when she assumes that Anya was kidnapped in order to be some shady character's bride because she had just seen it on TV.

When she finally does find Anya with the terrorists, we once again see her scary "mama bear" mode that's strictly reserved for anyone who threatens her loved ones. Similar to how Twilight is willing to quickly cast aside his "for the mission" philosophy if someone he cares about is in trouble, Yor will quickly cast aside her desire to act "normal" for the same reason. She and Anya then share a sweet moment where Anya apologizes for running off and Yor gives her a hug.

I'd also like to mention that both Twilight and Yor were threatened by the German shepherd, but both of them chose not to actually harm him even though they definitely could have. Instead of giving him one of her deadly kicks like she does to anyone else who's about to harm Anya, Yor chose to instead give him an intimidating glare (which worked).

Twilight could have shot him, but instead he chose to shoot off his vest containing the bomb. Even when the dog was biting him, he chose to trap him in a nearby dumpster instead of shooting him. He even apologized to the dog, both for having to put him in the dumpster and for the more general reason that dogs like him have to suffer for human conflict.

As much as Twilight and Yor see dogs as dangerous creatures, they choose not to harm a dog that was actually a threat to them. Yor even showed concern for Bond (a dog she just met who was supposedly allied with terrorists) when she thought Anya was being too rough with him.

Anyone who shows compassion to animals always gets points in my book! (there was also the time at the Eden interview where Yor chose to subdue the rampaging bull by hitting its pressure points when killing/injuring it would have been easier for her – she even said that she wasn't sure such a thing would work on a bull, but took the risk anyway).

Of course, Twilight and Yor's initial concerns about dogs disappear once they bring Bond into their home and see what a gentle boy he is.

Continue to Part 11 ->

<- Return to Part 9

[pteren]

the number 5. thoughts?

in the context of my "threes in writing" post: five is slightly better than three, but only just. that post is written humorously but it is rooted in a seriously held belief that primes have become too cliche.

ever noticed that almost all life on this planet has an even number of legs? ever thought it might be cool to see more creatures with three or five legs? thats how i feel about writing. i want to see more four-legged theses, more hexagonal paragraphs, more sets of nine perfectly balanced ideas. im bored of reading 5-book series just because we've all quietly agreed that 5 is a cool number of books to write. no! you can tell a story in any number of acts, and it can actually be very harmful to try to divide a narrative into the wrong number of pieces. the biggest example of this is Portal 2, which absolutely does not need another sequel- Chell's story was completed in two acts. there is absolutely nothing else to talk about. and yet Valve is continually ridiculed for "not being able to count to 3"- when that's never what they set out to do in the first place!*

sometimes i'll be listing things, come up with two, and have an irrational urge to add a third thing. i'll actively wrack my brain for a third item to "fill" the list, even if there is none, and have even been tempted to use a subpar specimen as filler. this does the number two a disservice and compromises my integrity as a writer. why should anyone listen to what i have to say when i care more about how many things i'm saying than about what i'm saying?

and there can be benefits to using less conventional numbers in writing! divisible numbers (especially multiples of two) give you way more stylistic opportunities, because the elements of a set can be paired up or compared to each other in a variety of ways. for example, in a recent post i wrote "my hubris is stronger than tooth or hoof or sucker or stinger" - a list of four items grouped in pairs of similar-sounding words. i made a masterpost a while back expressing my distaste for five-paragraph essays (which have three body paragraphs). in practice i've found it's often more more powerful to write four body paragraphs and use them to play off of one other.

i don't really hate the numbers 5 and 3, and i will write in groups of three if that's what my goal requires. this response actually ended up being a five paragraph essay (um. sorry). but i think there are some other cool numbers out there that deserve more rep- and as a sworn enemy of convention it is my charge never to do things just because everyone else does them.

*don't get me wrong i would love to see more portal games, but "portal 3" is nooooot the right way to go. chell has been through enough shit. i want a six-part ratman story dammit.** **also this is not about half-life. i have not played half-life. do not yell at me about half-life.

[lawlietscaramels]

L and Matsuda for 002?

-🎲

THANK YOU 🎲 ANON!!

How I feel about L: hhhhh sigh. hhh. sighhhshhshsiigggh. honestly? he's kind of like my favourite jumper. he's my number one comfort character ever and I came very close to crying in bed for days after he died. i am not 'typical about this man.

How I feel about Matsuda: he's such a cutie!! teehee!!! look at this silly fella who probably cuts his own hair!! giggling and kicking my feet cause he's funny and silly and would be a good friend doncha think?

All the people I ship romantically with L: Matsuda, Misa, Rie, other people's OCs (if they're shipped with him by their creator xD). Light deserves a mention because while I don't ship LawLight romantically I do think they're an iteration of the "red thread" trope because no matter what time, no matter what place, they'll write history together with a pen filled with their own blood in place of ink. that said I was genuinely surprised that so many people ship them just because I don't see it at all. I don't hate it, there's just nothing that clicks for me when looking at L and Light.

All the people I ship romantically with Matsuda: mostly just L, I've seen Matsu + Misa stuff but I think they'd be cuter friends.

My non-romantic OTP for L: Light 100%. You can't have one without the other. I can't explain all my thoughts about them without a whole post dedicated to it, but anyway, Light is my answer.

My non-romantic OTP for Matsuda: mentioned it above, Misa! They're two sillies and they're both :3 so they're besties and they've probably got matching friendship bracelets.

My unpopular opinion about L: he does eat normal food on a semi-regular basis. specifically, meat, usually I think steak. I hc him as anemic but also Watari wouldn't let L die or become malnourished and there's important things in food that you can't necessarily get in vitamins or tablets. and actually, as someone with anemia, I think L would actually have really strong cravings for rare or medium rare red meat when his iron is low and thus when he eats it he enjoys it.

My unpopular opinion about Matsuda: He's actually really smart, especially with humanities subjects. Just doesn't have great detective skills. A different career path may have been beneficial but he actually really believes in justice, probably more so than L and Light, and he actually QUESTIONS his own sense of justice which leads to more balance. he's such a great guy.

One thing I wish had happened with L in canon: he survived. and actually, I'd just really like to see him solve lots of cases. idk how many/if any he solved outside the anime but you know. a side series where he solves cases and explores the world and has tea parties with Watari would melt my heart.

One thing I wish had happened with Matsuda in canon: honestly I just wish we got to see more of him in general. I wish we got deeper into his character - into everyone's character, actually, they're all a little 2D and it's not just the animation - but yeah. more Matsu. how he works.

My L OTP: I'm not sure if I can pick one HAHAHHS I love all his relationships (well, my headcanons for them) from platonic to father and son to mentor and mentee to enemies together to lovers. yeah. I just like L LMAO but maybe Matsu. hm idk. I hear some people ship him with BB or Naomi and I wanna look into that.

My Matsuda OTP: lowkey L and Matsuda are one of my favourite ships. in Matsu's case I don't really ship him with anyone else so this is the only answer. some of you might have noticed that in my headcanons Matsuda plays Pokémon Go! and L is a Pokémon fan too... hmm... Also I like them cause they're both childish: like yeah L is always calling Matsuda stupid but does he call any other task force members stupid, even when they deserve it? no. arrogant child and silly child. even in non ship situations I think they're actually on similar wavelengths in a way.

My crossover ship for L: (platonic) Saiki K. you can't tell me they wouldn't be best friends come onnnn smnsndndm hehe

My crossover ship for Matsuda: I dunno actually...

A headcanon for L: if he has to wear shoes, he has to wear blue socks. not dark blue or navy, LIGHT, SATURATED BLUE. it's like neon ahhaha. there's little yellow flowers at the hem bits but his jeans cover them.

A headcanon for Matsuda: he doesn't like chips because they're too crunchy. he likes chips though. curly chips. YES I CALL BOTH TYPES CHIPS AND IT MAKES IT HARD TO DISCERN OVER TEXT SHSGYAYDH SORRY

[somegirlontheinternet135]

For anyone who doesn't know what Diabolik Lovers is. . . you don't want to know, and don't need to know. . .

But if you're curious, or had watched the series, keep reading

As the opening suggests, I've recently fallen down the "Diabolik Lovers" rabbit hole, very similar to "Madoka Magica" but not in a good way. . .

I'll probably be the first to say that Diabolik Lovers is the ultimate guilty pleasure anime; it's bad, but it's good at being bad, which I entirely blame on the fact that the show was made in 2013. . .

There was a lot of issues I had with the series, but the biggest caveat I had other than the thorny vampires, was the story. Cause other than the mom coming back to life and new vamps, it was ✨Boring✨

Especially the ending!

And because I disliked the story so much, I've made a whole mental reboot in my head. What do I mean by that? Basically taking the entire series in my head and giving it ✨A complete makeover✨

I'm talking redesigns of old characters, introducing new characters, worldbuilding, and an actual story! Which all of that, I could go on and on about, but given my very messy schedule and several other projects, I don't think I'll be able to

So for now, I'll talk about what I'm most proud of: The story

(Massive spoiler warning)

(Tw: Heavy topics will be discussed, stop reading if you're uncomfortable)

Alright, let's talk about. . .

✨Diabolik Lovers: The Glass Labyrinth✨

This takes place in the modern day, roughly 5 years after season 2; things still haven't changed, and Yui is still very much stuck with the vamps. Yui is, as expected, extremely depressed; not only is she trapped with bloodthirsty vampires who constantly torment and ab*se her, but she has no family nor friends to run to. All except for one little creature she acquainted with, a peculiar dove

Ever since she started reading on the balcony alone, the same dove would always fly over to where she sat and approached her, even letting her scratch its head. Yui was surprised at first, but having no one else to be around other than her ab*sers, she lets it go and the two become good friends

But it doesn't take long for simple head scratches to turn into full blown therapy sessions, as she begins lamenting all her feelings to the creature. Talking about how alone and trapped she feels, and wishing she were a dove so she can "fly away from this horrid life. . !" Of course, all the little guy could do was sit and listen, again this was a bird, not a miracle worker. . . This routine would go on for at least a few months till one day, when she's out on the balcony reading, waiting for her little bird friend, it arrives as normal, but Yui is quick to notice that something was off, it wore a strange device. Fortunately, she was able to get a better look once the creature landed, it was one of those capsules they used for messenger pigeons

Yui takes the capsule from its back and opens it, which the dove gladly allows. Revealing the letter inside, she finds out that the letter was from the dove's owner. They asked if she wanted to talk more in the letter, to which Yui, desperate for friends, immediately accepts the offer. Quickly, she flips the paper over and begins writing, asking general questions like who they were and where they'd come from; but before she could roll up the paper again something happens. The letters begin to shift into another sentence in different yet beautiful handwriting, reading:

"Who I am isn't important, but what is right now is getting you someone to talk to, you seem like you need it." Before disappearing from the page. Yui, although shocked, response back just as fast as before, asking how it knew that, it merely said it could tell from her rather shaky writing. It's quick to change the subject, asking general questions about her, to which Yui very much responds to them. Her and the talking paper begin having a conversation, still so curious about who was really behind it, but within minutes, their subject begins to change into something far more mysterious. Witches

Being the religious girl that she was, Yui knew quite a bit on witches, how the devil would leave his marks on unexpecting women, their familiars, the trials against them, a tiny bit of everything. When writing it all down, the paper disagrees with her, saying that witches are far more complex than she lets on. It goes on to compare witches to vampires, how, unlike them, a witch and her familiar are much harder to spot. They can be anywhere. . . When Yui was about to ask how it knew, she puts two and two together extremely fast. Just before she can ask any more questions, the paper burns into ashes, startling her, and the little dove? gone without a trace. She lets the realization sink in as she watches the ashes scatter in the wind. That dove, the dove that visited her constantly, the dove she's been venting to. . . was a witch's familiar

The next day, it was all she could think about. Did a witch really try to contact her? How did they know so much about her? Why her specifically? Questions that were, understandably, messing with her head for what felt like days, the only way for her to gain closure now is to do more research, a lot more research. And unfortunately, she knew exactly where to start. . . The vampire brothers

Fortunately, Yui's interaction with the dove and paper were left under their radar, but for everything else, they could tell something was up. Something was plaguing her mind, and they knew it. Despite some bewildering and bizarre guesses they were making to what it exactly was, Yui had to pick one of the brothers to ask for information; she knew that Subaru or Reiji would be too stubborn to give a full answer and god forbid if she asked someone like Laito, Kanato, or even Ayato. Making her safest option, the eldest brother, Shu. So later that night, sneaking past snoozing vampires, makes her way to Shu's room. But before she even knocked on his door, she knew that Shu wouldn't give away that information for free. . . yeah, we can all see where this is going. . .

For the sake of everyone's sanity, let's use our imaginations and picture Shu sticking a straw in Yui's shoulder or something-

Once inside Shu's room, their interaction goes to following:

Yui: Ok, kinda an off-topic question, but what do you know about witches?

*Shu stops drinking her blood*

Shu: Witches. . ? They're old hags who fly around on broomsticks and eat small children. . .

Yui: . . .That's what you think witches are. . ?

Shu: Well, aren't they? Why are you asking?

*Yui gets a little flustered but manages to keep calm*

Yui: Oh- n-no reason! I just thought that someone like you, a vampire, would believe that witches existed-

Shu: *Heh* Obviously not, witches don't exist, and if they did, they'd be a huge threat to us, us especially

Yui: Wait, why?

*Shu realizing his mistake*

Shu: uuuuhhhhhhhhhh-. . .

*Cut to Yui being kicked out of Shu's room*

Although it wasn't much, Shu had unintentionally given her just enough information to guide her on the right path of where she needed to go next. She sneaks back to her room, not before bumping into Laito. . . yeah, the guy wanted a midnight snack. . .

In the years she spent with the vampires, not only did she get a little braver, but a little smarter too. Using the vampires' dislike for loud noise to her advantage, she plants tape recorders of various loud and repeating noises and hid them in various hard-to-spot locations, that whenever they'd turn on, it causes the brothers to go mad trying to find the source of the sound, and for extra measures, she places one of Kanato's "wax figures" in her bed to give the fake illusion that she was sleeping. And with the brothers distracted and using a homemade rope, Yui is able to sneak off the balcony and leave the mansion, all the way to her local library

She estimated the time it would take for the vampires to find the device to be roughly an hour, so she makes every visit count. There, Yui was able to learn not just more on witches, but their relationship with vampires. She learns three major things:

Vampires and Witches had been coexisting alongside each other for years, but the most talked about and cataloged were the witches (The witch trials)

The relationship between the two beings is extremely shaky, one second they're completely peaceful, another they're at full on war with one and other. Through most of history, however, they had a business-relationship; a vampire could sense a witch from miles away and would often do tasks for a witch in exchange for their help and or guidance

(This is the most important one) A single witch or any magic user can take down an army's worth of vampires, within minutes. . .

A witch can fight a vampire. . . and win

Yui gets a habit of preforming this plan often, each word of the books enticing her more and more. She was thankful to have a working library card, but even if she did bring some of the books with her, it would immediately give away what she was doing to the brothers. Besides, Yui absolutely adored the new amounts of alone time she was getting. And, as a bonus, she gained more of a resistance to dirt and bugs, due to sneaking outside so much, and being completely willing to dodge the vampires by any means possible, even if it meant crawling through the mud and jumping into bushes. But of course, all good things must come to an end. . . And on one rainy night, when in her normal study nook, she gets confronted by Reiji, who had followed her all the way to the library

The interaction goes as the following:

*Reiji places a hand on Yui from behind, startling her*

Reiji: I should've known something was off. . .

Yui: Reiji-san! I-

Reiji: Now, explain to me, why exactly have you been leaving the manor?

Yui: H-how did you?!-

Reiji: Let's just say it was a hunch, and. . .

*Reiji trails off and pulls out one of the tape recorders from his jacket*

Reiji: Judging by how many of these you've been leaving around, it was likely you've been doing this often. . . Now, if you could be so kind as to give me an answer. . .

*Reiji starts to get more irritated*

*Yui, although scared, tries to stay calm and makes up an excuse*

Yui: Well Reiji-san, you see-

*Reiji cuts her off, noticing the several open books she left carelessly*

Reiji: What exactly have you been studying here anyway?

*He instead focuses on the area surrounding them, picking up one of the books*

*Yui tries to stop him, but fails*

Yui: Uh!- Reiji-san! You don't have to do that!! Please give it back!

*After reading a few sentences, he fixes his glasses and sighs, assumingly unimpressed*

Reiji: Witches. . ? Do you really believe in such fairytales. . ?

*He looks down at a now scared Yui*

Reiji: Stories of women possessing magical powers aided by the devil, and using said powers for either malicious purposes or to help others in need. . . Just more folklore and nonsense created by mortals. . .

*Reiji shuts the book with one hand*

Normally, this would be chalked up to his constant need to judge and him wanting to play the role as the "smart one," but there was something about his body language that didn't match his tone nor what he was saying. Yui managed to notice small things, like how his eyes widened before he fixed his glasses, or how he pushed the book closer to his face, as if wanting a better look, it was almost like he was surprised she was reading about this stuff. . . And when she attempted to confront him on it, he quickly got defensive, even going as far as to grab her hand, scolding her to never question his authority, but decides he wasn't going to hurt her, saying that he didn't feel like punishing her. So, with that, the two leave, Reiji pulling Yui by the hand, all the way back to the mansion, to which a bunch of "happy vampires" were waiting for her

Despite their negative and overall cruel comments, once Yui went back to her room, she couldn't fall asleep, especially with all the information she'd gathered. She formed somewhat of a theory board in her head, taking what she knew and trying to figure out what it all meant. The books, Shu's comment, Reiji's body language, everything was or could be important. Yet out of all that was being sorted in her mind, what she found most jarring was the fact a witch was the only being strong enough to take down a vampire. She laid in bed, eyes open and unmoving for hours, till finally the morning light sent her back into reality. Once she got up, she was, as expected, very tired, clearly noticeable by her dreary eyes and messy hair, and when she made her way to the dining room, Laito humorously remarked how she "looked like she just rolled out of bed"

At the dining room table, Ayato and Subaru were talking about a popular theme park that's near their area, but all eyes are shifted to Yui once she sat down. Laito's perverted comments of how he much preferred her half-asleep state as he played with her hair without consent; Kanto's attempts of gaslighting her, saying she wouldn't be so tired if she'd just stayed put like she was supposed to; even Reiji telling them to stop; it was all routine to her at that point. After he scolds two of the brothers, he's quick to scold Yui next, telling her to fix her behavior because they had a big day planned. What was their plan? Well, the Mukami brothers had gotten tickets to the theme park Ayato and Subaru were just talking about and invited them all to go with. Of course, this got the respected amounts of excited and nonchalant reactions, but not everyone was too happy. . .

Subaru, although excited for the trip, was extremely hesitant to bring Yui along with them, given her sneaking out so much, questioning the others if she really deserved to go. And taking the opportunity for more alone time and possibly the chance to go back to the library, she accepted her punishment, telling the brothers that she deserves it. To which Reiji is quick to stop her, asking what kind of fools she mistaken them for. It was obvious that if they left, Yui would just try that little stunt again. She was going, whether she wanted to or not. . .

Fast forward to when they actually got to the theme park. The gang meets up with the Mukami brothers, who were more than happy to see Yui again. . .

*Kou yells out to the group*

Kou: There you are!

*They all turn around, seeing the Mukami brothers walking towards them*

*Azusa runs ahead, like an over excited puppy*

Azusa: Eve!

*He proceeds to run up and hug Yui, making the other vamps a bit defensive, but that drops once the other three show up*

*Laito giggles a bit*

Laito: Well Little B*tch, looks like someone's happy to see you!~

Ruki: Nice seeing you all again! Glad you've made it

Subaru: *Uh* *Duh!* This is the most popular theme park in town right now! Why wouldn't we show up?!

*Reiji fixes his glasses, unfazed*

Reiji: It'd be rude to turn down an invitation. . . And if I may ask, why did you want to meet us here in the first place?

*Reiji takes the matter way more seriously than it had to be*

*Ruki laughs a bit*

Ruki: This is merely just for some rest and relaxation is all! We hardly spend any time together and we thought this would be the best way to do so. . . And besides. . .

*Ruki trails off, looking over to Azusa, still very much latched onto Yui*

Ruki: It's nice to see Azusa so happy. . .

Reiji: . . .Is that so?

*Yuma chimes in*

Yuma: Yeah, on the ride here, all he could talk about was that little piggy. I don't think I'd ever seen him run that fast. . .

*Meanwhile, Azusa was still very much hugging Yui, the triplets watching in slight amusement*

*Yui was too tired to attempt to pull him off herself*

Azusa: I missed you. . . so much Eve. . .

*He hugs her a bit tighter*

Azusa: Did you. . . miss me too. . ?

*Yui tries to choke out a response, despite having the air squeezed out of her*

Yui: I-I missed you too- Azusa-kun. . .

Kou: Alright Azusa, let her go or she'll pop!

*Kou pulls Azusa off her, Yui immediately taking a breath after*

Kou: I'm sure she's happy to see all of us! Aren't you little Maso-kitty?~

Yui: Oh! *Um-* yes, of course. . .

From early on in their interaction, it's safe to say that Reiji was still a bit iffy about the Mukami brothers, even if they formed their little alliance almost years ago; and the fact that Ruki paid for everything. Aside from that, the Mukami brothers planned the trip cause they were generally interested in the main vamps and wanted to get to know them more. It seemed like everyone was excited for this trip. . . well, "almost" everyone. . .

As part of her punishment, Yui would be paired with the triplets, as well as Kou and Azusa, entirely going on the rides and attractions that they wanted to go on; which were all, unironically, mostly horror based. And sure, there were some rides and sites she enjoyed, but that didn't distract from the fact that the whole time, the vampires were watching her like hawks, further reminding her how trapped she was. Want to know what was so interesting? This behavior doesn't go unnoticed! Whilst Azusa was holding Yui's hand, guiding the group to the ride he wanted to go on next, she thought she heard whispers. . . Whispers from girls amongst the crowd! At first, she tried to ignore them, thinking they were merely voices in her head as a result of not sleeping. But as they continued, the more apparent they got. . .

"Is that who I think it is?!-"

"No way, it's her. . !"

"Look at the guys she's with. . ."

"They look scary. . ! Like serial killers. . ."

"Could you imagine what she has to go through. . ? Poor girl. . . "

"Honestly, if I were her, I'd probably drive my car over a cliff, it'd be better than what she probably has to go through. . ."

"Don't say that! She's been with them for years, who knows how bad her situation is. . !"

Left and right, the whispers didn't seem to stop. Although it being very obvious just who they were talking about, Yui didn't seem to believe it, and heck, a part of her didn't want to. . . She'd lived with the vampires for so long, and for just as long, people just didn't seem to care. . . Not enough to get her out of that situation nor enough to help her. And by that point, she'd already seemed to accept that. . . in till she got a look at the crowd herself, finally seeing the tens of hundreds of eyes on her. These girls were talking about her and her alone! And honestly, why wouldn't they?!

Through their eyes, Yui was basically being dragged to these different locations, with her head down and a visibly sad look on her face, her dreary eyes only doubling it; she looked, acted, and was miserable. Back to Yui, to say she was surprised would've been an understatement, but not before long, Kanto gets in front of her, blocking her view of the crowd and demanding attention. This would continue throughout their visit, Yui would hear whispering and once she'd turn her head, one of the vampires would be in front of her. And as this pattern continued, it became very obvious to her of what they were doing. . . They were clearly trying to distract her, block her from the truth in some way. By all means, she could've confronted them, but by that point it was already too late. . . She was much too tired to fight back, and even if she did, she'd doubt that her attempts at rebelling wouldn't last long. . . After all, she was only human. . .

Continuing on their trip, just when the sun was starting to set, the vampires decided that it was probably time to meet back up with the others, but not before making a quick pit-stop at the nearest restrooms. As the guys took their time doing their business, Yui, waiting outside, catches something moving in the corner of her eye. . . a small, white, flying something, if you will. . .

Just flying above her, was that familiar dove. . ! She couldn't believe it. . ! Ever since her hyper fixation on witches, she'd never had time to be around the little creature, she even doubted if it would even come back anymore after she learned the truth; but there it was, flying circles above her! It whistled and cooed, as if to tell her something, before darting off in another direction, like it wanted for her to follow. Suddenly all the energy she lost a day before, came flooding back into her body, and with little time she had to think, she sprinted in that same direction, not looking back, and chasing the dove. Now, for as ridiculous as this sounds, it was actually due to a much bigger flaw in the boys' plan. Originally, they were going to work in shifts, one person was going to watch Yui whilst everyone else did their business, and the one thing they never thermally talked about was who was gonna watch her first, nor did they estimate just how long they would each take, so they were all treated to the pleasant surprise of seeing each other in the restroom, with none of them watching Yui

*Azusa and Kou leave their restroom stalls at the same time*

*Kou sighs*

Kou: *Sigh* What a great day! Think it's time we head back now, don't wanna keep our little Maso-kitty waiting!

*Azusa nods his head*

Azusa: Agreed. . .

*Just when they were about to leave, they see Kanto washing his hands at one of the sinks, shocking Kou*

Kou: What the- Kanto?!

*He doesn't notice them at first, already looking down at the sink, but once he hears his name, he peers at the restroom mirror, seeing the two there and turning around, just as surprised as they were*

*Kou gets angry at Kanto because he, to him, was supposed to be watching Yui*

Kou: What the hell man?! I thought you were watching Yui!!

*Kanto, having no idea what he was talking about, gets irritated as a response*

Kanto: What-? No! I never said that!!

Kou: Dude didn't you listen?!, we all talked and agreed you would do it first!!

Kanto: Oh please, we'd never agreed to that!! And besides. . .

*Kanto turned to, and staired death-daggers at Azusa, who was still very much confused*

Kanto: Last time I checked. . . We'd agreed to let Azusa be the first to watch her. . .

*Kou is quick to defend him, blocking the two from each other*

Kou: Hey man! leave him alone!! He has nothing to do with this!

Azusa: I. . . was supposed to be watching Eve. . ?

*He tilts his head*

Azusa: But. . . I thought. . . Ayato was doing that. . .

*Just then, Laito and Ayato walk out from the nearby urinals to meet up with the rest of the group*

Laito: Well gentlemen, shall we goin-?

*Seeing Kou there, the two are shocked, since they believed that Kou would be the first to watch Yui*

Laito: Kou? What on earth are you doing here?!

Ayato: Yeah man, what the hell?! You're supposed to be watching Yui!!

Kou: Dude no!! That's not what we talked about!!

*Azusa puts two and two together, quicker than everyone else*

Azusa: So. . . if we're all here. . . then who's watching Eve. . ?

*That realization hits the rest of the group like a truck*

Ayato: Oh sh*t! PANCAKE!!

But just when they sprinted out of those restrooms, Yui was nowhere to be seen. . . Oh crap. . .

"Well why can't they just teleport to her?!?!" Is what you're probably asking, and the simple answer is that they can't anymore. That's right, we're getting rid of their whole teleporting ability! They got away with it for too long, it's dumb, it's stupid, you're welcome-

Moving on, of course the vampires go full "manhunt mode" trying to find her, assuming that because she was so tired and the fact that she wasn't a great runner, she couldn't had gotten far, right? Well, unsurprisingly, the exact opposite happened. Yui manages to make her way to the other side of the park, somehow avoiding the other five in the process, still very much on the trail of the dove. Speaking of which, the little dove flew and flew while Yui just followed and followed, eventually leading her all the way to a run-down funhouse, far away from all the other attractions. It flies into the building through one of the only open windows, to which she's quick to follow suit, although rather scared and questioning whether or not the place would even be open, Yui is proven wrong once she placed her hands on the door, allowing it to creak open. . . no turning back now. . .

Seeing the building from the outside, it led her to question to what it was exactly it closed down for, because despite how old the building probably is, it still looked fairly decent. Entering and exploring however, she very much understood as to why, each corner and crevice of the building were covered in not just black mold but were riddled with the bite marks of rats and other creatures. As grossed out as she was, Yui kept moving, using what little sun was left peering through the windows as her source of light.

She needed to find the dove, she had to! Cause in her mind, maybe just maybe, it would help her learn the truth. . . did a witch really try to talk to her. . . and after several minutes of searching, she finally found it. Inside an open room, with its walls coated in mirrors, was the little dove, sitting right in the center of the room, waiting for her, helpfully illuminated by the last few seconds of golden hour. Yui was overjoyed, and ran toward the creature immediately, going on to tell it how happy she was to see it. After so much waiting, she'd finally would get some form of closure! But their little reunion doesn't last long. . . Just moments after Yui enters the room, the once completely open-door slams shut, startling the both of them and causing the dove to fly into Yui's arms. Both were, respectfully, confused by this, considering they were the only two who'd entered the building to begin with

Turns out, other girls weren't the only ones sneaking glances at her. . . Men stared too, but rather than viewing her as a victim, they saw her as a price tag. . . This one group in particular knew the vampires were overprotective of Yui and would go through extreme lengths to keep her in their mits, thus, the kidnapping. And given the brothers are rich, we all can probably tell what will happen. Out from the shadows, the group of men revealed themselves one by one; to make matters worse, Yui could recognize so little about their faces before she started backing away in fear. That only continued when they started talking, and by the first sentences she already knew exactly what their plan was. . .

She hoped the little creature in her arms would help her, but it was just as scared as Yui, beginning to quiver in her arms, even it knew they couldn't handle these guys alone. . .

Now with the two surrounded, this seems like the end. . .

But strap in everyone, this is where things get good!

Remember the mirror-covered walls? Well, one of the men notices and points out something disturbing about their reflections. The images presented, instead of showing the regular facial features, it showed the men with black holes for eyes, as well as large, drooling a gap smiles, it looked like a kid scribbled over the mirror with a black marker. And before anyone could know what was going on, something just as terrifying is displayed, the images begin to distort and move in ways unlike any funhouse mirror can. What were supposed to be faces began laughing, their arms increased in length, and parts of their flesh were fused together, almost like something stripped out of a horror movie. Using their elongated arms, they stretch themselves out of the mirror, each reflection grabbing their respected creator and pulling them to their fates. Yui watches in speechless awe as the men scream and struggle for freedom, but are left helpless in the hands of the mirrors. . .

Sooo. . . They're dead. . .

Pretty much every moment of that scene was jarring, but what made it even more jarring were their reactions. Yui, rather than going into instant terror or fear, is left in a state of shock, maybe she was still processing what happened, perhaps she thought the encounter wasn't as terrifying as having bloodthirsty vampires at her neck; but one thing's for sure, she'd never seen something like that before. As for the little dove, its reaction was the polar opposite, it cooed in cheer and glee as it flew from Yui's arms and onto her head, snapping her back into reality. She attempted to calm the creature down and figure out what was making it act like that, but to no avail; till, from out of the blue, a feminine voice began to speak to both of them, echoing within the room and only increasing the little creature's excitement

"Good work Apollo! You've got her!"

Somewhat startled by the sudden talking, Yui violently turns herself around to find the source, causing the bird on her head to fly off and onto her shoulder, still just as happy for some reason. When she asked who said that, the dove finally directs her to the very front of the room, there, the final unused mirror stands. But instead of showing anything that merely resembled her reflection, it showed something entirely different. Like some kind of magic, bright, colorful blobs of light began to shine from the mirror, turning her confused shock to amazed awe. Gears in her mind began winding as a curious gleam gets into Yui's eyes, she walks forward, still ever so curious

The feeling she got was almost magnetic, continuing to creep forward it were like time itself stopped just for her, and by then, she'd already long forgotten about the vampires hunting her down, truly during these moments. . . nothing mattered other than to reach the mirror. . . Only when Yui reached the middle of the room, is when she abruptly stopped. Thankfully, her sudden stop made her come back to her senses for a little bit, so although still curious, she couldn't understand why. . . she wanted to keep moving but her body kept telling her not to

Obviously, this starts a small argument between her mind and gut, both fighting for control as Yui stood there helplessly, rightfully confused the bird on her shoulder.

"Cmon, cmon!- We're so close, keep moving!"

"No, no, something is bound to happen! We should stay put just in case. . !"

But as the two sides continued to bicker back and forth, the still yet radiance mirror began to move, vibrating violently, bringing the internal argument to screeching halt; and Yui immediately understood why she stopped. Suddenly, a white aura glowed from the mirror edges, the rapid shaking causing cracks to form on its surface, and once more, that feminine voice speaks to her once more

"Awh, having trouble deciding to keep walking, are we?~"

"It's honestly understandable, I mean if I saw a glowing, shaking, mirror, I'd walk towards it too right? *Hah!*"

"Oh! Another thing, terribly sorry for what happened earlier. Me and Apollo expected you, but, weren't expecting the guests. . ."

*Even more cracks form on the mirror*

"*Sigh* supposed I kept you waiting for long enough, don't you think. . ?"

"You've worked so hard and gone through some much. . ."

*The mirror becomes almost entirely broken*

"I'd say it's time we finally met: face to face!"

And with that, the mirror finally shatters, nearly making Yui fall back in fear, covering her face and the dove with her arms as to not be injected with the shards of glass that were flying across the room, yet only exciting her bird friend. Once she thought the coast was clear, Yui hesitantly pulled down her arms to see what was in front of her, then she saw what she thought to be unexplainable. The mirror was shattered, but the colors underneath still remained, creating this luminous, unworldly, entrance. . . like a portal to another dimension

Gaining back her footing, Yui was, respectfully, tooken back by the sudden jump-scare of broken glass and surprised by the vortex in front of her, but the little creature didn't seem to mind, fluttering off her shoulder and atop the strange gateway, yet by then, she'd already put the pieces together and knew exactly who was about to walk through that door. Like clockwork, a faint silhouette formed in front of the entrance and began pulling itself out of the reflection. This was it. . . The moment she'd been waiting for. . . The witch that's been trying contact Yui, the witch that sent their familiar to her at a time of need, they were finally going to meet. . . And honestly, Yui was whole mess of emotions at that point, scared was one thing for sure, but a sudden wave of joy and determination as well. Finally, she would get the answers that she so desperately wanted, and nothing was going to stop her, not even bloodthirsty vampires. . .

Stepping out into the real world, the figure fairly resembled a human, with a short structure and a thin hourglass figure, perfectly matching their voice. They lightly dusted off their shoulders as the dove cooed in joy and fluttered onto one of them

"*Sigh* Not one of my greatest entrances, but it'll do. . ."

They turn to a, very much in awe, Yui, and begin to walk toward her, amused by her reaction and the look on her face. Slowly but surely, their figure changes, becoming more human and revealing their true form. They've shown to be someone roughly Yui's age, brunette hair with bleached tips and the richest of hazel eyes; wearing 70s attire, a red beret, red-painted lips and an amused yet sweet smile. Now in front of her, there were so many things Yui wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask, but due to experiencing so many emotions at once, it awkwardly came out in one sentence

"Y-you're. . . you're-"

"What? A beauty? A muse? *Gasp* Your savior?!"

"Y-You're the witch. . !"

". . ."

"*Eh* I get that a lot. . ."

"Niji Shikisou, The Painter Witch, at your service~"

"Nice to finally meet you, Ms. Eve. . ."

As they did a little curtsy to introduce themself, new questions as well as old remaining ones were swarming Yui's head, and they were very aware of this, and although they wanted to clear things up to make things easier, what Yui didn't know was that time was running thin. Just before Yui could say anything else, they quickly cut her off, telling her they understand how confused she must be, reinsuring her that she will get the answers soon as long as she was patient and if she trusted them, offering their hand. And like the Painter Witch said, she'd come so far. . ! After outwitting the vampires and commending to their torment for years, she deserved to know the truth. . ! So, Yui, wanting the truth more than anything, takes Niji's hand, accepting their offer, which pleased them that she was so willing to cooperate

But everything can't be too easy, they're quick to direct the group's attention to the ground, where most of the largest shattered glass shards laid. Forcing herself and Yui to crouch down and look at the shards, Niji uses that same spell to alter the current reflections, to show what exactly was happening concurrently. Just like before, it instead revealed the actions and faces of all ten vampires. . . and they looked angry! Turns out while searching for Yui, the triplets, Kou and Azusa rejoined with the rest of the group, and were getting close to their half of the theme park. Of course, Yui was absolutely terrified by this; now if this were one-off thing, the brothers would probably find a "creative" way to punish her, likely a whipping or taking turns drawing her blood, but remember, she'd done this multiple times to this point forward. . .

So, case in point, if they find her now, they'd rip her to shreds, or worse! But before Yui could properly panic, Niji calms her down, reinsuring her that she has nothing to worry about with them around. Very much unintentionally reminding her of a very important fact, witches are stronger than vampires. They go on to say that they've already had a plan to deal with the vamps, and they were gonna need mirrors, a lot more mirrors! Despite having even more questions, from that point forward, Yui had never trusted another person more in entire life, there was no time to chat. Grabbing onto her, Niji forced the two of them back up again, saying they had no more time to waste. With that, pulling Yui by the hand, they sprint toward the shatter doorway, forcing the whole group inside! All the while, Yui fully trusted her, despite having no idea what her plan was. . .

~Meanwhile~

Both Sakamaki and Mukami brothers were still searching for Yui, the sun was now completely out of the sky and all the lights in the park were coming on. Once the group rejoined, the rest of the main vamps, Yuma and Ruki were all rightfully angered by them losing Yui, causing the group to argue a bit, only stopping once Reiji breaks them up and reminds them of the task at hand, putting an end to their fight for the time being. Like a pack of hungry wolves, they scout a majority of the theme park for their prey, and looking at their plan on paper, it was pretty uncoordinated, cause despite working together for half the search, they could only cover so much ground at a time, making their attempts to find Yui even more difficult than if they just split up into groups of two. Making matters worse, they weren't the quietest nor the sneakiest either. . . Yuma and Subaru, so angry about her sudden disappearance, caused massive amounts of damage to the park itself, to which they were narrowly caught by park staff

This was entirely Reiji's idea, due to still not trusting the Mukami brothers, and finding the plan as a way to not only find Yui, but also to keep a close eye on them in case they tried running off with her again, despite how time consuming it would be. At that rate, the vampires kept searching and searching as it got later and later into the night, eventually making their way to the other side of the park, where all the old and unpopular attractions were. Irritated, Kou climbs up an old signal tower to get a better look at their surrounding area, the view he got wasn't the best, the tower he climbed was a bit smaller than what he expected and the night sky away from any source of light wasn't helping either, but he made do with what he had. When yelled at from the ground, asking for what he saw, he did a slow 360° with his body, scoping out the land. He yelled out the repeated phrase "nothing" as he went full circle, at first he didn't see much, just rundown buildings, the night sky, nothing too special. It's only when he got about halfway around, he saw something truly unexpected. . .

"W-W-Wait. . ? What are those sparkly star things. . ?"

"A-Are those particles?!"

From out in the distance, Kou saw bright yellow, glowing particles, radiating from one specific area. Bewildering him, cause aren't all the attractions were supposed to be closed? And what made more suspicious, were that the particles were coming from one specific area and nowhere else. . . Once Kou came down and reported what he saw, they were just as confused as he was, and despite how big of a red flag that is, the guys were running thin on options on actually finding Yui, so they headed there without another thought, desperate to reach her again, and once they did, it was nothing like they've ever seen before. In front of them was the most saturated building the group had ever come across, covered in every hue of the rainbow, the building itself looked like something straight from Las Vegas, like one of those fancy and over-the-top casinos, and at its entrance were flickering, neon-glowing signs reading things like:

"Alastor's Wine: Best Served Cold Finale!!"

"One Night Only!!"

"Don't Miss It!!!"

Alongside a sign of an amorphized dove. All radiating, you guessed it, the glowing particles Kou saw earlier. Internal alarms were blaring in their heads as everything about that place practically screamed "trap!" But at that point, they were already getting desperate, a majority of them were tired from the searching and wanted to get things over with. So slowly, they crept up to the building's entrance, watching each other's backs in case something happened. Pulling Ayato in front, the rest of the group decided to send him inside first, and annoyed but still wanting to keep his pride, he grudgingly agreed. Right away, and like Kou, he notices the unexplainable, how despite the building being so unyieldingly bright, there were no signs of any lights, no stage lights, no electrical cords, nothing; so either they used really powerful technology, or this was the building's natural colors. . !

The groups kept moving despite, and luckily for Ayato, the building had no doors, which made taking a look inside a tinier, all be it being ten times saturated on the inside than on the outside. With everyone in front of the door, they all got a look inside, it seemed safe enough, neither of them still weren't too sure. . . what if the gateway is rigged with traps? Sheepishly, Laito suggests that Ayato should go first, since he made this far taking the lead, to which he immediately regrets, because he knew a rattrap when he saw one. . . It went on back and forth between the guys, everyone pointing fingers of who'd be willing to sacrifice themselves of entering the strange building, eventually sparking yet another argument between the vampire, but this time, Reiji is even quicker to end it. . ! He breaks up the fight in half, loudly scolding them that their bickering wouldn't get them anywhere closer in retrieving Yui, and how he was gonna get everyone inside? He thought of that too. . .

Turning to Ayato, he asked for one of his shoes, and although confused, he reluctantly does give him one. Reiji goes on to explain that he's going to throw it into the building, and if nothing happened to it, that meant that the room was trap-free and it was safe to enter, earning a collective "ooohhh!-" from the rest of the group; there were many times where Reiji truly felt like the "smart one," this was one of those times. . . Anyways, with the object in hand, he throws it into the building, already thinking that this plan is was just a waste of time as is. Yet, instead of the shoe just getting a long distance in the air before hitting the floor, because, well, gravity. . . The object, immediately upon entering the building, completely changes. Its appearance alters, lightening in color and matching the building's insides, which takes the entire group by surprise. That's when Reiji finally notices just how different the insides of the building were from the outside

Cause while everything outside looks sturdy, simple and well, normal, the inside of that building looked almost "hand-drawn", it looked more smoother, rounded, like something straight from a classic Disney film. But just before Reiji or Ayato could question anything further, Laito, obviously thinking that it dragged on for quite long enough, just pushes them in without warning. Uncalled for sure, but exactly what the group needed. . .

"Laito, what the hell?! What was that fo-?! Wah-wait a sec. . ."

Similarly to the shoe, both Reiji and Ayato's appearances change just like that. Becoming more detailed in their physicals, again, like it was straight from a classic Disney film. Of course, everyone had their questions, Ayato even asks if they'd all took something earlier. But no time to think about that! They have a Yui to catch! They had to keep going, so with the unintentional greenlight, everyone else entered the building, a few of them marveling in their new looks, and quickly began their search. . . They fell for it

With that, we finally learn about Niji's plan, and unsurprisingly, it involves using Yui as bait, but not in the way some think. Niji, as holder of the Painter Witch title, was no stranger to creating vivid illusions that mess all sorts of minds, so they knew immediately what they wanted to do. Using their magic, they transform the building, turning it from a crusty run-down attraction to a marveling casino within seconds. But, as fate would have it, they knew the vampires weren't going to fall for such a trick, so that's where Yui comes in! Niji could change the casino all she wanted, yet there were still some things she couldn't, more importantly being, Yui's scent, which was behind by her earlier. . .

Exploring inside, every room had the typical over-exaggerated casino vibe, blinky lights, colorful machines, any bell and whistle you could think of was there, but of course, that's not what the vampires are here for. They immediately recognized Yui's scent from the hallways she'd traveled in before, and reverted back to their instincts, scouting each and every room in search of their prey, all now irritated and dead set on finding Yui. Till finally, all 10 of them, after tracking down her smell at its strongest, led them to grand and alluring doors, jackpot. . !

Yui's scent was now stronger than ever, and they were ravenous, like they've haven't eaten in years. Both Yuma and Subaru swing the doors open with full force, allowing everyone to run inside without a second thought. The room inside completely matched the door that guarded it, the place was almost entirely covered in large round tables, all draped in simple white cloths, looking to be a sort of preforming area, at half of the room was a massive stage, weirdly shaped and leveled by stairs going up, covered in even more bright colors and blinky lights, but the strangest thing about it were the mirrors littered all across its walls, including one giant mirror in the center, only lit with dim lighting. Yes, something was especially off here, red flags were all over the place. The group didn't let their guards down for a second, checking their surroundings and watching each other's backs. Their eyes were glued to the stage, waiting for something to just pop out, and eventually something did. . .

"Finally, you all showed up! I was starting to get bored!~"

*Niji's voice echoed within the room, practically jump-scaring the vampires and throwing them into defense. Looking all around to find the source of her voice*

"Do you know how easy you're making this for me? I could've made my get away at any moment, but *sigh* I knew. . ." "I knew that little pests like you were much too persistent. . ."

*The group gets slightly irritated, noticing that the voice was feminine*

Yuma: Who the hell are you?!

"Who I am is none of your business nor of your concern thank you. . ." "Not like it'd be much use to you anyway. . ."

*She only fuels the flame as most of the group got angrier, how dare this woman talk so condescendingly to them. . !* *Quickly realizing she was the one responsible for Yui's disappearance*

Ayato: Alright, quit the horsesh*t, where's Yui?! We know you have her!!

"*Hmm?* I have not the slightest idea what you're talking about"

*Before Ayato could bark back, Kou places a hand on his shoulder, giving a nod while smiling as he stepped in front of him*

Kou: Look lady, there must be some misunderstanding here. Our little Maso-kitty happens to be our property, so if you could just hand her over-

"Oh! You're talking about Ms. Eve! *Haha!*" "Yes, she's safe and sound with me and I plan to keep it that way. . !"

*At that point, their patience was already growing thin, like ravenous dogs ready to snap. Subaru shoves his way to the front*

Subaru: *Ugh* You piece of sh*t!! GIVE US THE MORTAL OR ELSE!!

*Suddenly, the giant mirror at the center of the stage begins to glow, the same as before but brighter than ever* *The group shields their eyes*

"Oh temper, temper!~ What got you so worked up?" "Are you upset I have your little toy?~" "Well too bad! You weren't putting her to good use anyway. . !"

*Cracks begin forming on the mirror* *Most of the group peak to see what was happening*

"Yet to come this far. . ! It gets harder and harder to tell whether or not you actually care about her. . !" "*Sigh* suppose there's one way to find out. . ."

*Finally, the mirror shatters, sending glass all over the place and causing the group to fully cover their faces* *Once it sounded like the coast was clear, they all slowly put down their arms*

*All eyes towards the now broken mirror, Niji steps out of the carnage as once unnoticed spotlights shine onto her, revealing her form and sickly-sweet grin* *Revealing her true form, the vampires were a mix of shocked, confused, and angry. Subaru, so angered, immediately began running up to the stage, all the while Reiji immediately realized something sinister about her*

Subaru: Why you!!-

Reiji: Subaru, wait!!

Just before he could even land a finger on her, she swiftly dodges the attack, shocking him, and delivers a colorful blow, causing him to go flying into one of the mirrors on the side. She then proceeds to turn to the, now horrified, vampires, shocked that she managed to take down Subaru so easily, and finally realizing who exactly they were up against. From her back, Niji proceeds to pull out a paintbrush, holding it in both hands before it magically increased in size, letting it go and allowing it to levitate in the air like it was nothing. It floated above her as it began to spin violently, the bristles extracting a colorful paint-like substance as the wind around them became sudden and almost violent. Niji begins cracking her knuckles

"You all do love Ms. Eve, don't you?~" "So, why don't you all stand up and fight me for her?!"

And it was at this moment, they knew. . . they f*cked up. . .

With a blur, Niji gave all ten vampires the most colorful beat-down ever. . ! Seriously, paint was everywhere! And unlike Niji who has magical powers, the vampires didn't have weapons, only having the cloth-drawn tables as ways to block their attacks and as projectiles, which she'd merely blast. But regardless, it didn't matter what they did or what they threw at her, cause Niji would just hit them even harder, it was hopeless. . ! All the while, she would continuously tease them, asking why aren't they using "their powers?" And in all the commotion, you had to wonder, where was Yui in this? Keeping this part brief because of time

Well, Yui alongside Apollo, was climbing up to the roof of the building. As a part of Niji's plan, once the vampires were defeated, Niji would fly the two away, allowing Yui to leave the vampires' grasp entirely. Obviously, Yui was hesitant but wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like that, so she ran to the rooftop as fast as she could. But before Yui could make it, she gets confronted by a paint-covered Azusa, who saw her heading upstairs and tried to beat her to it, He made one final attempt to convince her to stay with them, saying how things wouldn't the same without her, only to be cut off by Niji, pressing the back of enlarged against his own, threating him not to say another word, forcing him to back off. They proceed sprinted pass him and toward Yui, grabbing her hand once more and guiding her directly to the rooftop

Every moment, Niji just seemed to surprise her more and more, whilst also confusing her at the same time. Why did she do so much for her? For what reason was she being picked out? What did it have to do with being "Eve?" How did they even know she was "Eve?" Yet despite all the questions, a part of her felt. . . relieved, like years-worth of chains were magically being lifted from her body, this was her chance of escape, and she took it without another thought. Arriving on the rooftop, as Niji prepares their paint brush for their escape, Yui grabs ahold of their wrist with both hands, and just thanks them. For, well, everything, for giving her a friend, for saving her from those creepy men, everything, small tears welled up in her eyes as Niji turns and smiles at her, saying it wasn't a problem, before instantly scooping her up, and onto the magical brush

Both of them on basically a broomstick and with Apollo on Niji's shoulder, the two take to the skies, Yui held on for dear life while Niji was as calm as ever. Just before they'd could fully leave, the vampires showed up just at the nick of time, all injured and covered in paint and bruises, already angered but unable to reach them due to them being very much flightless, they were unsurprising powerless, and Niji takes the chance to gloat a bit while they were still in the air

*They giggle*

"Awh~, what's wrong? can't make it up here?~" "You know, if you want her so bad, why don't you just fly up and get her?~" "I've always wanted to see a vampire turn into a bat. . ."

*The bloodthirsty vampires were beyond angry and ready to snap, but from below, they looked like angered little dogs*

Ayato: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU'RE MESSING WITH?! WE'LL RIP YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB!!!

*Reiji started to bark back as well, his now extremely cracked glasses almost completely fell off his face*

Reiji: IF SOMEONE LIKE YOU HAD ANY BRAIN, YOU'D STOP TREATING THIS AS SOME GAME!! HAND OVER THE MORTAL!!

*Despite the tears rolling down his face and the obvious redness, Azusa tried to stand his ground and act tough*

Azusa: You. . . you big bully. . ! L-let go of Eve, LET GO OF OUR EVE RIGHT NOW!

*Yui's eyes were closed out of fear during the yelling, she wasn't used to being so high up. But just by their voices, she was surprised, she'd never heard them this angry before. . .* *Niji just looks down at them, unimpressed but amused, before laughing*

"Oh no~ I'm so scared!-*hahahah!*" "I knew you would all get mad, but I didn't expect you to be this hotheaded- Oh!- That reminds me!"

*They snap their fingers as warm-colored particles release from their fingertips*

"I left a little surprise for you, think of it as a parting gift!" "Just be careful going downstairs, ok?"

*Within seconds, the brush began to lift higher into the air, Yui holding on all the tighter as she felt it shift*

"Well gentlemen, I think it's time we'd depart. . ." "Terribly sorry it has to end like this, but don't worry. . . We'll take good care of her. . ." "Bhyeeee~!"

And just like that, they were gone. . . The vampires watching speechless, in horror, as the witch shot up into the sky and disappeared, Yui only catches glances of their faces as she, Niji and Apollo flew off. . .

. . .

You still here? Good. . .

As you can probably tell, this's one of my longer posts, and I'm not too confident not many people let alone anyone will read it, but I had a lot of fun writing it so, screw it I guess

Big apology for taking so long, I thought it was going to be easy but man, did it take me longer than I expected, to a point I had to write some parts in school TwT Overall, I did this project for fun, as well as trying to bring in more darker and mature elements to my writing. Despite how time-consuming it was and how trashy the actual anime was, I genuinely enjoyed putting my personal spin on this show and giving it the rewrite it deserves. I'm not entirely sure if or when I'll bring this back, maybe if it gets popular enough-

How I actually found this series is still beyond me though. It really felt like I just looked at the show and went, "yeah, I can fix him. . ."

Anyway, be on the lookout for my other projects And as always, stay tuned^^

[alltheotherblogs]

So, Regular Show.

Apparently it's getting some kind of pseudo-reboot. A new series tacked onto the ending of the last with some returns from previously featured characters. This is not necessarily bad news! But, the reasons for fans being skeptical are obvious.

One of the most important examples of a good idea gone sour is... Adventure Time. It doesn't take a genius writer to see that they blatantly disrespected the themes they started with. I had a chance to analyze, and criticize the series from a new and fresh perspective. And so as I jumped into it for the last time, I quickly used an analytical eye to spot the things I had missed as a child. One of these things was Princess Bubblegum. Coming from an abusive background, I can spot abusive behaviors the moment I see them. And P.B. is textbook. The various ways she manipulates the Candy people, the main cast, and Finn himself... It's scary familiar to a lot of the controlling tactics used by abusive parents. I don't have any specific examples and if I'm gonna be honest I don't desire to find any. But one thing that always comes to mind is how she attempts to manipulate the Flame people using these same tactics, and it fails... This is where an inconsistency pops up in the writing, Flame Princess and Marceline have similar father figures with similar motivations for how they operate and their family dynamic. The main difference I want to call attention to here is that Flame Princess didn't just overcome it but decided to rise to the occasion and take over the Kingdom. Marceline distanced herself from her origins as much as possible... I think you can see where I am going here. Where Marceline comes to accept her father, it only happens after he changes. I don't really think Flame Princess ever accepted her father. And so when Flame Princess sees P.B. blatantly stealing, and attempting to trick her and her subjects, she gets pretty reasonably angry. A manipulative woman pulls up into your abode under false pretenses and tricks you and everyone else so that she can get her sticky grubby fingers onto some SERIOUS ancient tech. Acting like someone as tyrannical as P.B. is anymore trust worthy with it than anyone else is delusional.

From here it's not very hard to draw a comparison to real world behavior. For once you have a character that is reacting reasonably to something instead of being absurd. And then you have the last episode where Marceline just magically, for no reason and with very little buildup, just falls into P.B's arms like some sick individual with a different KIND of authority issue. Marceline has an issue with authority not an issue without it. Even in the very first episode, this is how P.B. is setup. An authoritarian with a very skewed moral compass. The fact that she is completely different by the end of the series yet lacks any real character development and still commits the same sins she did at the beginning, it isn't some clever subversion or smart multilayered writing... It's just bad writing. That is why I get so mad whenever people say "oh you are just bigoted that's why you don't like it." If you are one of those people who unironically thought THAT was the reason the ending didn't go over well, you are more stupid than your teachers and parents thought. It wasn't hard to notice that they just inserted a relationship between two incompatible characters right at the moment the rest of the shows writing began to suffer.

Haven't finished J.G. Quintel's other show, "Close Enough" but I'm working on it. And it has good parts, which makes me confident this new show will have a good energy and a positive impact on the series as a whole. Since it'll serve as a sequel rather than a reboot, we have a lot to look forward too in terms of new characters and unique dynamics.

Regardless, the history of this kind of thing cannot be ignored. In recent cinema everything is getting a crappy reboot. It's gonna take a few times before they learn, what made the old thing work was not that it was the old thing, but how it was the old thing. You get what I mean?

People don't like same shit different wrapping. They like same wrapping different shit. They want to see skillful talented writing. They don't want cringey politically motivated garbage and marvel-quality one-liners. They want actual comedy, they want in-world belief systems to help the characters play off each other. They want creativity and a well built world. Not Helluva Boss, not Hazbin Hotel, neither of those cringey politically driven shows with TERRIBLE writing. People want the first five seasons of Adventure Time! They want Golden Era KOTH! they want good comedy delivered without pretentious snark... While it isn't HARD to do this, with studios breathing down peoples necks, and the people who give orders being corrupt scumbags with what I like to call "Wrong Beliefs" it is super difficult to actually make something good. But, Smiling Friends did it, Adult Swim continues to produce quality, Newgrounds continues to let loose incredible people, and talent always rises to the top regardless of what corruption is going on in the western media. It takes some time for these mega corporations to fall, but sure enough, hollywood is failing as everyone predicted. The games industry is failing, as everyone predicted. What happens when Hollywood and the Games industry fail? Indie creators come up to bat. Not all of them are going to hit it out of the park, but strike while the irons hot, and you just might see sparks.

What I'm trying to say is, just don't fuck it up J.G.

[crystalelemental]

I may have a full writeup opinion thing later on, but for now, a general gist for Mob Psycho 100 now that we’ve finished.

Holy shit this show is fantastic.  Legitimately one of the best anime I’ve seen.

Shigeo is my boy.  I think this is a pretty common response but that is baby.

Ritsu’s great too, and I adore that conclusion in the final episodes.  He had been repeating that phrase a lot throughout the series, and I had noticed it as a thing where he’s constantly offering to talk, but Shigeo refuses to really tell him what’s up, and the payoff to that is fantastic.

Teru’s the fucking man.  Rival characters are great broadly, but this dude is the shit.  His piece in the final episodes is legitimately my favorite; he cannot match Shigeo by power, and cannot truly stop him raging out of control.  So instead, he goes out of his way to protect what he knows Shigeo would care about.  I can’t stop your powers.  But I can stop you from betraying your own ideals.  You are my rival, and I am here for you so hard that I will protect you from yourself.  Fucking love this kid.

I wound up really liking Reigen too.  He’s such an interesting character.  Kind of a shithead, but at the same time...he legitimately does help people, even if he lies about what the help is, and has a pretty solid sense of ethical action and what’s right to do.

To avoid going on about all the characters, I’ll just say no one missed.  Everyone’s solid.  Body Improvement Club are fantastic bros, Dimple’s a bro, telepathy club are great when they get serious, it’s nice to see literally every antagonist come around.

Okay I lied one more: Boss.  Like, not a huge fan of him broadly, but I adore how they wrapped him up.  It was so set to be an attempted self-sacrifice for Shigeo, who had done similar without the sacrifice bit, but it mirrors the student council president bit.  Just stepping out of it isn’t atonement.  You have to work hard and be there to make things right.  And when making that final choice...he does choose to stay, to put in that hard work for his son and his estranged wife.  And it’s so goddamn good.

With that, I think I can start gushing about themes.  Human connection being the biggest.  I love how this show handles connection, because I feel like it’s a fairly simple premise?  Like a lot of shows go for that as a major facet.  How often is your shonen protag’s thing “magical ability to be friends with anyone?”  But I think what works for this show is two things.  One, that they never back down from it.  In most stories, there’s the inevitable exception.  Someone you can’t reach out to and change.  And the notion is that you’re supposed to know when to draw that line, and when it’s okay to avoid “going soft” to protect everyone else.  That doesn’t really happen.  Shigeo will fight anyone who is a legitimate threat and not seriously hold back, but at no point is it fully malicious “you have to be destroyed,” which is something for later.  The other is...it’s not friendship.  Like, he has a very clear group of friends.  But there are plenty of people who aren’t strictly friends with him.  They’ve reformed, but not in a way where they’re integral to his life and all about staying close.  Rather, it’s more about what some stranger has done to really change your life, and what you in turn can do for others.

The other big one is that sense of special vs. average, and that what’s important is self-improvement.  Shigeo’s is really interesting as a protagonist, in that he’s...well, a lot like most shonen protags that never lose, but specifically my comparison was always Saitama.  There is never, at any point, a question of whether or not Shigeo’s gonna win.  He isn’t just strong, he’s virtually untouchable.  He is, by the standards of psychic powers, the most specialest ever.  And while Saitama’s power is played for comedic anti-climax, Shigeo’s is both to showcase a theme, and to a degree to set up for the final battle that’s ultimately against himself.  But his power, and him being the strongest, would usually be a huge deal, and the thing to focus on as he meets other people who test those limits and he has to refine that one major focus.  That’s really what shonen focuses on: what makes you special, and that being the area to refine as you become the best.  But...not here.  Shigeo is, from the start, very focused on the idea of being nothing without his powers.  If he didn’t have this, what would be left?  A lot of characters seem to have this history of wanting to be someone important; of wanting to leave a mark.  And that aspect that makes you special becomes the focus, only to be revealed that it’s either not really want you wanted, or you’re not actually the best at it, or that being so successful has gone to your head and poisoned your relationships with others.  It’s why I loved the Body Improvement Club so much.  They’re complete bros, and are super supportive.  Yeah, Shigeo passes out like every time.   But one time, he passes out a little later than he used to, and that’s a celebration.  You’re getting better.  You’re improving yourself.  The critical focus is on the idea that getting better as a person, and being well-rounded, is far more important than being “special.”  It’s Reigen’s first real teaching.  Take pride in what you can do, but don’t let it convince you you’re better than anyone.

The best bit for this was near the end of season 2, when Shigeo confronts the Claw underlings about what they’re destroying, and pressing “Could you make these things?  Can you do all the things that these people you claim are beneath you have done?  No one lives alone; everyone relies on the kindness of others.”  That’s honestly one of my favorite scenes in...anything?  It’s so strong.

But really, the biggest angle is just in that sense of Shigeo’s conflict always being with himself.  Don’t use your powers on others.  Don’t lose control.  Maintain.  And that’s important, but then to some degree he’s not honest with himself, and that repression manifests directly as the final conflict, as he loses control, something others have alluded to throughout the series.  It’s so good.

What that I want to talk about an aspect I was the most concerned about: Tsubomi.  She doesn’t get a ton of play.  Most of what we know of her is flashbacks, or other characters’ descriptions.  It makes her kinda hard to read, but the final episodes do handle this really, really well.  The first part of the final arc hammers in that Shigeo...doesn’t even entirely know why it is he likes her so much.  He comes to an answer, and it’s very sweet, but you realize that they haven’t interacted once.  It’s all memories, and nothing in the present moment.  So when they started teasing stuff like she’s thinking of cheering for him at the rally, it’s like oh, are they really setting up that this is reciprocal?  And I think the absolute best way to finish off the series?  Was the rejection.  There...really wasn’t a strong sense of romance there.  And Shigeo shouldn’t be with her just because he’s the protagonist, and we’re all rooting for him.  There’s more to it than that.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that conclusion.

This...is absolutely one of my favorites.  This show is incredible.  Looking back, I can’t think of a single thing that really missed its mark.  Even in episodes where it can feel a bit slow, it trains you quick to understand, this is buildup.  And the payoff at the end is gonna be something incredible.

[alkhale]

ALK !!! KAPFM CHP 9 BLEW MY MIND. SHSHSHSHHS SORRY THIS WILL BE LONG BC !!! UUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!

When okkotsu said “Even if you cannot be separate, you have to imagine it so.” , “In this manner, you can easily remember…That you are still two.”

I felt like that sentence felt familiar before i realized that you titled chp 4 by “i want my life in two” AND somehow the cycle of that two different lives are oddly similar ?? Like how mirai found someone that she likes (chi & okkotsu) ; that someone was taken away (the kamo clan & the villagers) ; she went on a rampage (trashing around the small shed & the village massacre)

chp 4 ends with = (A finger stuck itself into the series of tapes, starting to wind it back.) and as the summary for chp 7 goes : The stories that unfolded each time, however, as of late, did tend to be quite a bit different. Perhaps because of one character that did not quite belong with the rest. (1) Gojou Satoru.

YOU YOU YOU MIND BLOWER AHHHHHHH. I love love how you do this thing with naming the chapters that follows the theme of the story u wrote, it may seem like a minor detail but i rlly rlly love it omfg like

atcit : the mc’s rule of threes

memos : hoku as a protagonist has a goal to paint the best story and if u combine the title of the current chapters together and it can already form a prologue of a story which coincides that hoku just joined the strawhats and is painting for the strawhats’ journey

kapfm : mirai is essentially stuck in a loop/ limbo of a monotonous life (even tho it involves more than plenty of adrenaline for sorcerers & non sorcerers) and theyre not even bothered to think much of it unless its rly rly important for the future/ whatever that is in scope in their curse technique and someone new in their latest lifetime who seems like he wont ever fit in her standard script of life. and not only that but, some chapters may seemed like it mirrored the other but its not !!! like one of those games of finding the abnomalies in 2 similar pictures and its bc of that one ridiculous op guy 😭

hmmmmmm how should i put it, ik that its 2 entirely different series and themes but mirai and hoku is actually a good foil for each other SHJSJSJS dunno if anyone else noticed and may sent sth about them both in an ask

Like, mirai’s ability to see the future and is convinced that it is set and even if it changed it wont necessarily be a good thing for everyone involved; and it wont be an exeption to the strongest sorceror in the new era vs hoku’s plan to draw the best story in a world and the boy who she is convinced could overcome his predecessor (i.e gold roger) but that conviction itself it sth that has been set from the very beginning bc luffy is the protagonist and she thought of herself as a bystander and wont make sth as small as ripple

i probably didnt explain any of my thought even tho i just wrote a paragraph HSHSHSJSH IM SORRY BUT TLDR-ing MY THOUGHTS ABT THEM THIS WAY = once u open a book, the stage and ending has been set for the characters, theyre essentially “doomed” to that ending; no matter how much you flip the coin it will always land on tails/ heads and it will always be one of them and never be other but for the one who flip the coin, they may ruled out themselves out of the possibility that they’re (one of) the anomaly and could change sth around them

I just, love all ur stories & ur ocs, and i love u too🥹

anon, i just want you to know that you've absolutely made my night, like you have literally no idea

work and everything else have all melted away after reading this and the spews of thoughts/theories/connections, it always makes me so, SO HAPPY when you guys do stuff like this because i put those lil things for my own love and its just ;-; really, really rewarding to know you all enjoy them too

THANK YOU FOR NOTICING ALL THE LITTLE CONNECTING THREADS, i also love naming chapters with a little extra thought and trying to follow the chosen lyrics for that moment in KAPFM's case

sometimes they hint stuff ;)

GOJOU BEING THE ABNORMALITY IN TWO PICS IM CRYING, yes, because he is exactly that and if only mirai could see the headache he will become :')

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE

[shipcestuous]

Hi there! I'm a bit of a newbie with incest ships, and frankly most if them overlap with horror media, but I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see Nick/Carly, Clay/Jonathan (baby's first incest ship, lol), David/Mia and Sabrina/Lucifer on here!

I was wondering if I could give you a recommendation for a potential father/daughter ship? It's from a film series called My Super Psycho Sweet 16 that aired on MTV from 200p-2012. In the first two films, the main protagonist Skye is a social outcast because her father, Charlie, murdered a couple of teens at the rollerskating club he owned I believe about 10 years ago (my memory's a bit foggy, lol) and he ends up faking his own death and escapes prison at the start of the movie. He ends up killing everyone who ever picked on Skye brutally at this bitchy girl's sweet 16 party that's being held at his old rollerskating club, which Skye decided to crash. There's a great moment where Skye is lured up by some bullies wearing her dad's old costume and she reaches out to touch his mask, and she just looks so mesmerized in that scene. It's always stuck with me.

There's also him tracking her down after she ran away at the end of the first film and he literally says "you're not going to take Skye from me" before murdering her new step dad, among many other things that happen. It's kind of an obscure and (obviously) dated series, but the dynamic of these two always intrigued me---it has a similar feel of the balance that comes with obsession, protectiveness, and a twisted but very genuine love that reminds me a lot of Michael and Laurie's relationship in the Rob Zombie films, and I was wondering if anyone else can see it too, or if its just my shipper brain going nuts (again). Skye also has a little sister named Alex who she also develops an interesting relationship with throughout the second and third films as well (trying to avoid spoilers lol).

PS: I noticed you looked at Cherry Falls a while ago and, having recently watched that movie for the first time a few days ago, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed the tension between Jodie and both her father and Leonard 💀

Take care! <3

Thank you so much for this recommendation, Anon! I had not heard of this movie series. Charlie's obsession with his daughter sounds fascinating, and there's a lot to explore with what I'm sure are Skye's very complicated feelings towards her father. I love that there's a family at the center of this series.

[kidflashimpulse]

the recent Dark Crisis issues have got Bart SO wrong in one specific way imo. Bart wants credit from his friends and family, but he doesn't really give two shits what anyone else thinks of him. the idea that all he's ever wanted is to be noticed? to have FANS? to be next in line as the Flash? that's literally his 00s era discount Wally West characterization all over again. Bart being changed from canonically HATING excessive attention to actively craving it? that was NEVER earned

THIS ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️ THIS x 1000000000 omg u nailed exactly WHY as a bart fan his YJ DC characterisation infuriates me so much !!!

“that's literally his 00s era discount Wally West characterization all over again” like i felt this in my bones LOL

it’s the type of bad writing that is among the biggest bart crimes out there no joke like, no disrespect to Wally the guy has his own thing going on and it works for him but the whole thing that i’ve always found important to bart is that whilst they share similarities he is largely different from the three generations of Flash’s before him, like significantly and has his own thing going on with his own path and these differences are his strengths and what give him his own set of personal values and priorities (like what u mentioned with how he feels about getting attention) Sure, within his family he always had the pressure of following in all the other flash’s footsteps but that’s never stopped him to do his own thing.

The moment ppl treat him like wally jr (which is so crazy how recurring it has been in recent works, like WFA?? YJDC??) the series becomes garbage to me 😂 doesn’t mean there arnt parts of it i don’t enjoy like stuff regarding other characters or plot, but in terms of how it fares as a bart story i drop it like a hot potato lol and that also roughly summarises how my experience with his titans run is and a lot of his 00s issues onwards which is a shame and with how big social media is with fans, it’s ridiculous how it’s still happening today, like come on…

There are three generations of white guys before him, all great guys in their own way, all very similar especially in their values as heroes, it’s almost appallingly ridiculous to then treat him like another copy and paste when it’s a fact for literally any family out there that with each generation more differences arise that reflect the social consciousness, writing bart with the same values of guys who are essentially his grandparents/parents/uncles is absurd. It would make sense if they were a consistent role in his life since birth but they weren’t/aren’t, he also has a drastically different background to them too which just compounds to how dumb it is to write him as wally 2.0.

anyway, moment of self promo i kinda very superficially/roughly explore this whole thing of generational legacies in an upcoming chapter (it’s still in the drafts stage btw but it’s WIP which is smn lol) of my latest fic AAIT/it’s a lowkey underlying theme in it already. I knw ppl in DC social media have their mixed feelings regarding YJA but as a bart fan it’s a refreshing piece of media in how they treat him especially with how he ties in to the bigger picture of things, so I enjoy it and think about it a lot.

Also why despite peoples common grievances with Bendis’ YJ, i also enjoyed it a lot. Sure I get some of the criticism where they say it regressed some characters in a way, but I always felt like it was a very much needed soft reset of things that lent room to a lot of potential for all these characters to develop and grow in a fresh new way. The expansive cast of characters was also a good direction of comics YJ too that i think was needed. So YJ 19, I see u !!! lol and YJDC ur just the worst thing ever lol sorry !!

[unseededtoast]

Shadow of Obsession | Spencer Reid x Reader

Part Six

Series summary: In which you find that love is an obsession that can quickly spiral out of control.

Also cross-posted on Wattpad and AO3. Link to my masterlist for everything else I’ve posted

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Finale

*Content warning: description of sexual activity*

My hands should be on her smooth, soft skin. My lips should be on hers. Not his. Never his.

The miniscule camera remains where it was found, seemingly taunting you with every red blink. You and Spencer had both agreed that leaving it there was the best course of action. Taking it down or purposely covering it would tip off the stalker that they had found it. And who knows what kind of reaction that would invoke.

The two of you knew that it had recently been placed there, as Spencer would have noticed it earlier from one of the several nights he stayed over. After the discovery of the camera, a sense of dread filled your chest. You worry about what the stalker might have seen through the lens. If the stalker saw you on top of Spencer, then it's likely that something else is going to happen soon. That's just the nature of these cases, you had seen it time and time again.

And since then, neither you nor Spencer, had brought up the incidents from yesterday. The kiss shared in your bed, the passion on the living room couch. You know it had been real for you, but a tiny voice in the back of your mind wonders if he was just trying to keep you calm in the midst of this situation.

You remembered one case in particular, a while back in California, with a similar scenario. Spencer was placed on security detail for a woman and he ended up kissing her. He told the team it was to keep her from becoming overwhelmed with the situation, that she likely would have spiraled into a state of panic. He further elaborated that he gave her something to stay distracted. And you wonder if yesterday was all just some elaborate distraction.

Your heart sinks, saddened to think how you're supposed to move on from here if it was all just a ruse. There's no denying it, you've had a crush on Spencer since your early days at the BAU. You had tried to suppress it for as long as you could because you didn't want to ruing your professionalism or the team dynamic. But yesterday you were no longer able to withhold from your urges.

And now that you've had a taste of him, you never want to let him go. You want to be able to feel his hands on your body, feel his lips on your neck. You want him all to yourself, selfishly and shamelessly. Being the center of his attention like that was like a drug, one that you seem to have gotten hooked on the first time around.

The thought of him putting his hands on someone else like he did you makes you hot with anger and jealousy. You don't want his hands on anyone else, and you certainly can't stand the thought of him kissing someone else either. No, you want Spencer Reid all to yourself.

And you know if that is to ever happen, you have to find and stop the man who has turned your life upside down for the last week.

Now, you and Spencer sit at the dining room table, staring right at the manila folder that was slid underneath your door.

"Here's the timeline I put together, I am almost certain that it's correct." Spencer keeps his voice low as he speaks to you, spreading out the news articles and photos. You nod, showing him you understand and watch as the timeline gets pieced together.

Once it's all laid out, you take your time analyzing it. You recognize that the photos don't seem to be that old. In fact, you remember wearing a few of the outfits. You don't understand how you didn't realize all of this before, it seems clear as day.

"How didn't I see this?" You quietly ask, mostly to yourself. Spencer shifts in his seat, leaning forward to talk to you easier.

"It's probably just because you were in a state of shock." He explains, but it doesn't make it easier for you to accept.

"I should've been able to recognize this sooner. I mean, what the hell I'm a profiler and I couldn't even see the building blocks of my own case." You try to keep your voice quiet, but your anger and frustration bubble up. Spencer reaches over and puts a hand atop of yours, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Don't do that to yourself." He keeps his voice low and meets your eyes. They're soft and understanding, it doesn't seem like he's blaming you one bit for missing things. You sigh and look back down to the photos.

"You're going in to talk to the team today right?" You eventually ask, hoping that you'd be allowed to tag along.

"In about an hour, but you're still under lockdown. I can have one of the other agents stay with you here if you want?" Spencer offers and you're quick to turn it down. You don't want anyone other than him inside your apartment with you.

"That's okay. Just, come back here afterwards?" You ask, knowing it sounds desperate, but you don't care. He brings you comfort and you feel safe when he's here with you. Not that you doubt your own abilities, you just like having the reassurance.

"Of course." Spencer promises and the two of you fall back into a comfortable silence.

When it's time for him to leave, you close the door behind him and look over to where the camera was discovered. You really wonder how long it had been there. Standing just out of its reach, you stare right at it. It's very small, blends right into the television stand. If it weren't for the light you'd never know it was there at all.

You tilt your head and think about who you know has been inside your apartment. Of course, there was Spencer and yourself. But other than that, nobody had really been in here, that you know of. That is, except for agent Valentine.

-----

Spencer quickly makes his way to the BAU, his heart pounding from reading Hotch's message. Apparently, Hotch had not sent Valentine over to your apartment, nobody had sent Valentine anywhere. Spencer knew something was weird about him showing up, he just felt it.

Of course, he also has to remind himself that nothing has been proven. Yet. But, he has a feeling that they're going to find some concrete evidence very soon. Spencer had taken the manila folder with him, ready to hit the ground running.

As soon as he enters through the glass doors, he sees that everyone is waiting for him in the briefing room. He wastes no time, he goes in immediately. All eyes are on him, some more apologetic than others, some confused. But he pays them no mind, all he can think about is your safety and tracking down the man who has made your life hell, the man who turned your team against you.

With the reminder that half the team didn't even believe this was legitimate, he has to keep his anger in check if he wants their help. But deep down Spencer knows he would be able to handle this without their help, there's nothing he wouldn't do to protect you.

"Did you bring everything?" Hotch asks, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's all here." Spencer says and spreads out the evidence he's committed to memory.

"Can you brief the team on the situation?" Hotch then asks as everyone begins looking over everything. After a deep breath, he explains the situation and how it unfolded step by step.

By the end of his explanation, he can see the remorse on the team's faces. Their eyes are trained on the photos and it's Derek who decides to speak up first.

"Listen, I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize to me, she's the one you have to beg forgiveness from. What if something had happened to her because none of us believed her? How many of these cases have we seen end badly because nobody believed the victim? She's not even some stranger, she's been part of this team for years. I still cannot comprehend how any of you doubted her. So if you want to apologize, I would start with her." Spencer cuts Derek off abruptly. Derek's mouth is left open, but he takes Spencer's intrusion in stride. He nods,

"I understand." Derek leaves it at that, and everyone else seems to take note, keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Spencer excuses himself from the room to keep himself from saying anything further. They know that they've entirely messed up, and it would only hurt the case to keep harping on it. He goes to the breakroom and makes some coffee, hoping that some sense of normalcy will help him get through the day. Truthfully, he wants to go running back to your apartment, but he knows he needs to be here.

As he sips on the hot coffee, his eyes travel to your empty desk. Wilted flowers sit on your desk, but the bright white paper attached to them catches his attention. He abandons his coffee and goes to your desk. The notes from the flowers find their way into Spencer's hands and he reads them over again, despite the fact he's had them memorized since the first time he read them.

But this time, two things catch his attention. On one of the notes, the words "brilliant mind" are used and in the other, the words "story not yet complete" are scrawled on the paper. Spencer's mind flashes back to yesterday, where Valentine stood in your apartment and used very similar words. In fact, he quoted verbatim the "brilliant mind" part.

By the time the dots connect in Spencer's mind, his phone rings in his pocket. He sees your name on the screen and doesn't hesitate to answer.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asks, heart thumping in his chest as he realizes he knows exactly who the stalker is. He had strong suspicions, but this was the final nail in the coffin, the last shred of evidence he needed to confirm it all.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just- I think I know who it is." You say, sounding breathless. Spencer's shoulders relax as he hears you're fine but his adrenaline spikes when you announce that you've also figured it out.

"Who?" He asks, hoping that you two have come to the same conclusion.

"It's Valentine." You say. Spencer looks back to the team in the briefing room and knows exactly what to do next.

"Listen to me. We're going to arrange the security detail to bring you here. We need to explain all of this to the team, and then we are going to find Valentine." Spencer says, walking towards the briefing room as you two exchange rushed goodbyes.

-----

Spencer tries his best to not stare at the clock while waiting for you to arrive. His foot taps anxiously against the floor, his eyes dart towards the elevator every few seconds. He's calculated the time it should take for you to get here and he's already decided that if you're even two minutes late that he will go out and find you himself. Sure, it may be a little dramatic and overkill but he is not prepared to spare any effort for you, not when Valentine is still out there somewhere.

The others wait in the briefing room as Spencer told them you were on your way. Right before he walked out of the room he noticed their shared glances full of tension. Secretly, Spencer couldn't wait to watch them beg for your forgiveness. His blood still boils if he thinks about it for too long. And though he knows a lot of things, he doesn't think he'll ever understand how the team could've turned on you so easily.

As he paces around the bullpen, he hears the elevator ding and the doors slide open. He rushes to greet you, relieved to see that you're accompanied by two agents he recognizes from the security detail. Spencer thanks the agents and leads you away from them with his hand on the small of your back. He looks over you quickly, making sure that you're okay.

"How did you figure it out?" He asks once he's satisfied that you're not in any distress. Or, no more than you've been experiencing for the last week.

"I was looking at the camera we found and remembered that Valentine was standing right over there when he came over. And then I started thinking. How did he get my address? Why did he say he was aware of the situation beyond the encryption? And his behavior reeked of desperation." You explain and Spencer nods. He glances back towards the briefing room and decides he wants to speak to you privately a little longer before the two of you head in.

"I knew there was something off about his behavior. And I knew that we would've noticed the camera sooner if it had been there a while." Spencer confirms your thoughts about Valentine's behavior. You nod your head and continue on your train of thought before you lose it.

"And I figured he got my address when he was working on my computer two months ago. Remember, after the article was published about the case where women were being killed for affairs, that Valentine had to come and install an encryption software onto my computer because the one I had was outdated?" You ask and Spencer nods,

"Yeah, yeah I remember he was asking about the pictures on your desk and about that case because the article was next to the computer. You showed him the article and said that it wasn't entirely true, but that you didn't care because the team wins together." Spencer's face lights up as more connections are being made.

"Right. And if he was working on the computer it's hard to say what else he installed on there. And then the photos from the folder? Those were taken roughly two months ago. Spencer, it all makes sense." You say, slightly breathless, almost in disbelief that you've finally figured it out, and that all the scattered pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together to form one cohesive picture.

"Come on, we should tell the others." Spencer says, resting his hand on the small of your back as the two of you walk into the briefing room.

He feels you tense as you walk in, and chooses to stand right beside you as you explain everything to the rest of the team, who gives you their full attention. Spencer's eyes watch each one of them as he tries to look for even the most minuscule indicator that someone doesn't believe you now. But much to his relief, he can't find anything of the sort in anyone. By now he's aware of everyone's behavior and is able to clock them all pretty easily. He can only find guilt and interest written on their faces.

-----

By the time you've explained everything to the team, you're met with several silent stares, each one exuding a different emotion. From a quick sweep you can pick out sadness, anger,and guilt.

But there's one person not here that you wish had made an appearance. After all your years here, you'd never known Penelope to miss something like this. But she's nowhere to be found. Perhaps that's because she still doesn't believe you. And with that crushing thought, you let yourself step closer to Spencer, who reaches for you but ultimately decides to give you a soft smile.

You know he was reaching to you to provide you comfort, but the team doesn't know what happened between the two of you and neither you nor Spencer seem to want to bring that to attention now. Maybe once the dust settles and the two of you figure out exactly what you're doing, but not now. Now you'll just have to settle for being comforted by his soft, puppy-dog eyes.

Breaking the silence, Hotch steps forward with a pointed look on his face.

"She is no longer safe to be in her apartment and she isn't safe here, not with Valentine working here. Temporary arrangements need to be made immediately. As for the rest of you, look into our systems for any other trace of interference. And once we get all of our evidence documented and Penelope determines if she can crack the code, that's when we go after Valentine." His words are concise and spoken with authority.

Everybody at the table nods and leaves the briefing room, leaving you, Spencer, and Hotch alone. Nerves prickle the tips of your fingers as you wait for Hotch's further orders.

"Is there anywhere you could go until we get Valentine?" Hotch's voice has noticeably softened and you're thankful. While you know Hotch has your back, his authority and confidence can sometimes be overwhelming.

"No, sir." You answer after considering the question.

You didn't have family in the area, there's no boyfriend you can crash with, and you know staying in a hotel with the security detail would draw unwanted attention. The crease between Hotch's eyebrows deepens, but before he can speak another word, Spencer clears his throat and takes a step forward.

"She can stay at my place." He offers and your heart swells.

While it's no strange occurrence for Spencer to stay at your apartment, you had never stayed at his before. You had always respected his aversion to shared spaces and germ transference but after yesterday's actions, this shouldn't have surprised you as much as it does. You quickly regain your composure and judge Hotch's reaction. His eyebrow is raised and he glances between you and Spencer critically.

"I'll inform the security detail of the location change." Hotch states and then turns to leave the room. The tightness in your chest is relieved as he walks out of the room. Your attention is then focused on Spencer, who's already looking at you.

"Are you sure?" You ask him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. The corners of his moth tuck up into a smile and he nods.

"I'm positive. I would feel much better with you at my place." He affirms and you're unable to keep the grin off your face or the redness from staining your cheeks.

"Thank you, really. I'll go pack some things up and then I'll be over once you're done here for the day." You say and go to leave, but are stopped by Spencer's hand around yours.

"No, I'll go with you. I don't want you going back there alone. Especially now that we're on his trail. He could devolve and destabilize at any moment." Spencer says, keeping your hand within his. He pleads with his eyes for you to agree, and you know you're going to give in; after all you've never really been able to deny Spencer anything.

"Okay." Is all you say before the two of you walk out of the briefing room together.

----- Agent Valentine POV

The video on my screen plays over again and again and again. And each time I watch it, it doesn't become easier to accept. My knuckles turn white from how harshly I grip my computer mouse, replaying the video that's surely ingrained into my memory at this point.

As I see the dark footage of Spencer Reid on the couch with her, putting his hands all over her body, receiving her affections, my breathing becomes heavy and erratic.

My eyes are drawn to the way his fingers seem to map out every curve of her body and how his lips are able to taste the sweetness of her skin. It should be me. My hands should be on her smooth, soft skin. My lips should be on hers. Not his. Never his.

My printer sounds off as it prints a few copies of the image on my screen and I'm quick to add it to the others I have. I reserve one copy and hold it in front of my face before placing it on my desk and cutting out Spencer's face. I cannot even bear the sight of him anymore, my blood boils with unexplainable rage the more I think about him.

From the night at the bar I knew he was going to be a problem for me. That's why I tried to drive a wedge between them, but for some reason he didn't fall for it like the others. Not that my plan was bad, all I did was give her the credit she's rightfully due; it was her own teammates who didn't believe her. Perhaps that should show her how much they value her on the team.

I should've been the one to swoop in and save the day and then she would've had no choice but to see me. She would've seen everything I have to offer her. My eyes glance at my phone, hoping that she would call and ask me to install those cameras inside her apartment. After all, they would keep her safe. I would be here to make sure nobody got in, that she got home after work. My foot taps on the ground as I stare at my blank phone screen.

With a sigh, I look over to a framed photo of her I keep on my desk, and her smile calms me immensely. Soon this whole headache will be over with and we will finally be able to live the life we deserve together. I can almost picture it.

I can see the two of us on the front porch of our home, hand in hand, as we watch the sunset and count the fireflies. I can see us sharing breakfast across the table from each other, the sunlight illuminating her as if she had come straight down from heaven. I can see the fulfilling life I know we'll have. And that reminder is all I need to keep moving forward. All of this will be worth it in the end, when I can finally have her.

I click through her social medias to see if she's updated anything only to find that she hasn't. But I still go through the photos and am in awe of her beauty, just like I'm seeing her for the first time all over again. And once I'm done with her socials I check her work credentials to view her recent activity. It seems she hasn't logged on in a few days.

I chew on the inside of my cheek as I ponder when I should come in and magically crack the encryption code to save the day. By then, I will have had enough time to delete any tracks I may have left and plant new ones, ones that would reflect Spencer was the one who meddled with FBI systems. And then she would see me as her savior, she would have no other choice but to finally see me and be done with Spencer for good.

It's then that I start deleting my trail and working on fabricating false information. But for some reason as I try to place the falsified records, my computer begins running slow. Frustrated, my fists ball up and I try to get it running faster. But no matter what I do, it's still stalling.

That is, until my failsafe alerts me that someone is already in the same system. My blood runs cold as I realize someone has actually cracked the encryption code and is seeing everything I've done and am currently doing.

With a racing heart I try to determine my best course of action. And unfortunately, I think they've forced my hand to do something drastic. 

-----

With a bag slung over your shoulder, you watch as Spencer opens his front door for you. The warm green walls invite you in and you realize it's been a while since you've been over here. But not much has changed. For a few moments you take it all in, seeing that he has a new bookshelf that he's already managed to fill and that he's rearranged his furniture slightly.

"It's so peaceful here." You say softly, placing your bag on the ground while you walk around. Spencer places his keys on the counter and watches you walk around his apartment.

"If you want, I can take the couch so you can get some rest." Your head swivels to look at him, eyebrows drawn tightly together. Does this mean he regrets what you two shared? Was everything just a distraction after all?

"Oh, um, you don't have to do that. This is your home, I can take the couch." You reply after a few minutes of jumbled thought. Your heart sinks as the words tumble out of your mouth.

You should've known better than to believe it was real.

Turning away from him, you walk to the window and look down at the street below. People are walking without a care in the world, and you wonder what life would be like if you hadn't taken this job. Maybe none of this would've happened if you just took another path.

Behind you, you hear Spencer grab your bag off the floor and you twist around to watch as he takes the bag into his bedroom. But you try not to put too much thought into it, he probably just doesn't want it laying in the floor.

Moments later, he comes to stand next to you, his hands shoved in his pockets. You don't know what to say, and apparently neither does he. There are a few questions burning on the tip of your tongue but you can't find it within you to ask. Not right now.

Instead you keep your eyes focused on the ground before you, wondering how much longer you're going to have to live here like this. During the quiet moments, which are few and far between, you're reminded of how much your life has been interrupted in just a few days.

You're no longer safe in your apartment, you and Spencer had actually kissed each other, your team turned their back on you, and one of the smartest people in the FBI is your stalker. At this point you're convinced you have the worst luck in the world.

"Are you hungry for dinner?" Spencer eventually breaks the silence, his voice raspy from the day.

Turning away from the window, you see how tired he is and you remember that he really hasn't slept much in two days. And now you're here in his home, disrupting his routine.

"I can take care of it. Please, let me. You're letting me stay here and you haven't had much sleep. It's really the least I can do." You answer and make your way to his kitchen.

He follows behind you and leans forward on the counter, watching you take inventory of his pantry. For as often as the team travels he keeps his pantry fairly well stocked, especially for a man.

"How do you feel about chicken parm?" You ask, closing the refrigerator door. Spencer's already looking at you, a small smile on his face.

"I think that sounds fantastic." He answers and sits on one of the stools. You nod and turn back around to collect everything you need.

While you prepare dinner, Spencer observes quietly. His hair is disheveled from the day and you notice some stubble adorning his jawline. A part of you hopes he keeps it and grows it out, there's just something about it that makes him look irresistible; more so than usual. He reaches up and loosens the tie around his neck and you try your best to sneak glances of him while you work. But eventually he's the only thing you can think about.

"Why don't you get changed into something more comfortable? It'll be done in a few minutes." You propose, hoping that he goes away for a few minutes so you can concentrate on not burning the sauce.

With a lazy nod, he slinks away to his bedroom and you let out a sigh. You wish you had the courage to ask him if the kisses were real. But you're afraid that if you ask, and he says no, that your only chance with him will wither and die. But if you don't ask, then you can convince yourself there's a chance.

After a few moments he returns in some simple sweatpants and a plain shirt. But somehow he makes it look like luxury loungewear. Instead of taking his spot at the counter, he walks behind the counter and looks over your shoulder. His hands rest on each of your shoulders and he rests his head atop of yours. In an instant, your heart thumps heavily in your chest, so much that you're sure he can feel it too.

"It smells amazing." His voice is quiet and deep, his lips are right by your ear which causes a shiver to run down your spine.

"Spencer." You say, not sure of exactly what you want to say, or ask, as your mind is becoming fuzzy and overwhelmed by his close proximity. His hands run down your shoulders, down your arms, before they rest on your hips.

Perhaps the kisses were real after all. Or maybe this is all just another distraction. Which means if this is a distraction then something else must've happened and he doesn't want you to find out about it yet so you aren't more scared.

You turn the heat off on the stove before you turn around in his arms. Your eyes meet his and you see how his eyes look over your face as if he's memorizing every small detail. Which he very well could be.

"Hmm?" He hums, his eyes flickering down to your lips.

"Spencer, what are we doing here?" You finally gain the courage to ask him.

He blinks a few times as if he's processing the question. For once, you're not sure if he has an answer at ready. Had you really just caused Spencer to really think about a question?

Eventually though, his grip becomes just slightly tighter on your hips and he licks his lips. With hopeful eyes, you look into his as he finally answers. You just hope he isn't about to break your heart.

"I think this entire situation made me realize how much I care about you. Can I be completely honest here?" He asks and you nod your head, wanting nothing more than the unfiltered truth from him.

"Of course." You affirm and he takes in a deep breath.

"When you realized someone had been stalking you, it made me come to understand that I hate the idea of someone laying claim to you like that. I hate the thought of someone looking at you with impure intentions, I hate the thought of someone invading your privacy, I hate the idea of someone else putting their hands on you. And if I am being honest here, I haven't had such violent thoughts since I was in prison. And, truthfully, I know I would do whatever it takes to make sure that you're safe; there would be nothing too extreme."

His words make your heart skip a beat and you find no traces of a lie in his eyes or written anywhere on his face. Instead, all you see is driven resolve. And you know he meant every single word.

"Spencer -"

"I'm sorry if that was too much, I know the way I said it was intense. But I mean it. You've found a way to infiltrate my every thought in the best way possible. I wake up and wonder if you slept okay and if you're alright and I go to bed wondering if you feel safe. And in the moments in between, I think about what I could be doing to make sure you feel safe, about what I can do to protect you from Valentine." He cuts you off and rambles on a bit more, and you take in every word.

If Spencer were anyone else his words may raise some concern, but because he's Spencer, your Spencer, you're just relieved. You're relieved because you know now that it was all real. And after he's done speaking, you lick your lips and fight the smile that wants to plaster itself on your face.

"Spencer, you're the only one that believed me about this from the get go. You're the one who made sure I've been safe. And, if I'm also being completely truthful here, you've found a way to occupy my every thought too." You say, trying not to let your voice waver at the end. Because Spencer is so close, it's hard to concentrate on exactly what you want to tell him. And as he hears your words, he smiles.

"And if I'm being even more truthful, all I've been able to think about is how your hands felt on my body, and how I never want anyone else to feel your touch." You go one step further to prove your point. He's so close to you now, that your noses almost touch. There's a growing heated tension between the two of you, and you know that it's going to give at some point.

"And I never want anyone to feel your lips on their skin, I never want someone else to hear the way you pant and moan. I want it all for myself." His voice is merely a whisper now. Your hands come up and grab the front of his shirt, no longer being able to take it.

Your lips crash onto his, and he wastes no time in cradling your face with one hand while the other wraps around your waist. Your mind flashes back to last night, but unlike last night there's a sort of hunger lingering between you two. Something primal, and desperate.

A few seconds of heated kisses leads Spencer to lifting you and setting you on the counter where your legs wrap around his waist. Your hand finds his hair and you tug on it slightly, eliciting a breathy pant from Spencer as he places kisses on your cheek down to your neck.

Your eyes flutter shut and your lips fall apart as you're bathed in warm ecstasy. There had been many many nights where you had dreamed of this happening, but now that your dreams are reality it's difficult to fully grasp.

Spencer's fingers slide up your thighs and sneak underneath your shirt. Your back arches into him and you encourage him to keep going. His lips find their way back to your neck and between his hands on your bare skin and his lips hovering over your sweet spot, you're convinced that you may explode from burning desire.

"Spencer please." You beg him, pushing your body to be closer to him, your legs pulling him closer into you.

His breathing is heavy as he pulls away and looks you in the eye. But only for a moment because before you know what's happening, he's scooping you off the counter and taking you to his bedroom.

Spencer places you gently on his bed and wastes no time to get his hands back on you. This time though, his hands travel further south. Your body is hot with need for him, you're sure your cheeks are flushed. And before Spencer takes even a single article of clothing off of you, he takes a step back to take in the view.

"You are so unbelievably beautiful." His breath is airy, his lips a dark pink and just slightly swollen.

Suddenly feeling self conscious about being under his careful gaze, you reach out for him,

"Come here." You tell him and then grab him by the front of his shirt. Spencer supports himself as he hovers above you.

The two of you kiss each other once more, full of passion and desire. You lead his hand to where you need him the most and you feel his breath hit hitch.

"Are you, you're sure about this?" He suddenly sounds nervous and you smile sweetly back.

"There's nothing I want more than you." You truthfully tell him, and he doesn't second guess your words.

His lithe fingers make quick work of the button on your pants and he tugs them down your legs with an almost expert precision. You see his pupils dilate as he looks over your soft skin, his hands grabbing onto your thighs and you swear you hear him restrain a moan.

He works his way towards the thin elastic waistband, his fingers hooking onto it and gently pulling. You lift your hips and watch him as he looks like a man starved, that's just been served a four course meal on a silver platter. His hair hangs down in front of his eyes, but you can still see the need within them.

Your eyes flutter shut once more as you feel the cool air of the room against your half-bare body. Spencer hums in appreciation and his hands find their way back to your thighs. Your breathing increases, you chest rises and falls quickly as you anticipate the feeling of Spencer's fingers.

But before you feel anything, both of your phones ring in the room next door.

Freezing in place, the two of you work your way through your mental fog and debate whether or not it's worth answering. Spencer looks heartbroken, as if he's a child on Christmas that's been told Santa forgot to stop at his house.

"We should, um, we should probably get that." You clear your throat and push away the deep disappointment you feel. Spencer stands up straight and offers you a hand off the bed.

"Yeah, yeah of course." It sounds like he's trying to convince himself and not you. Quickly, you pull your pants back on and find your phone before it stops ringing.

Desire is soon replaced with dread as you think of a hundred different reasons why the team would call both of you at the same time

-----

The entire team sits around the table in the briefing room as Garcia explains her breakthrough discovery. Spencer and you had decided to take seats on opposite sides of the table, but it doesn't help that you're thinking of his hands on your skin. 

"So basically that's how I cracked the AES 128. However, when I cracked it I saw everything he had done and what he was in the process of doing." Garcia explains, though most of the technical talk goes over your head. 

"And what did you find?" Hotch is the first one to speak up and he leans forward on the table, his elbows resting on the hard surface. Penelope takes in a deep breath and her eyes flicker over to Spencer. 

"Well, sir, it looks like he was trying to erase his tracks and replace them with Spencer's credentials. My best theory is that he was going to alter everything and then make the encryption go away so we would find it all. But that's not it, no, Valentine's credentials were used to enter the BAU the night that the evidence was retagged." She elaborates and your eyebrows scrunch together. 

You vividly remember receiving that text from Spencer and a shiver runs down your spine as you realize just how close Valentine's been operating this entire time. You swallow the sickness that wants to rise within you

"And I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but I am fairly sure that he went through your personnel file." Penelope looks at you as she speaks, her eyes full of sorrow. 

"That's how he knew where I live." You speak up, throat feeling dry. To keep from crying you bite the inside of your cheek. You had the suspicion that Valentine had done all of this, but to hear it confirmed out loud shakes you to your core. If he looked through your file then he knows just about everything there is to know about you.

This time, it's Spencer who breaks the silence. He stands from his spot at the table and angrily runs a hand through his hair. He paces back and forth before saying anything, probably choosing exactly the right words. Everyone's eyes are glued to him as he stops pacing. He pushes his button-up sleeves to his elbows and looks right into your eyes, like you are the only two in the room. 

"If I find him, I'm going to kill him." His voice is calm, level, serious. His rigid posture and bluntness is something you're vaguely familiar with, but you haven't seen this behavior from him in a long time, not since he was released from prison. 

"Don't-"

"Don't tell me I'm overreacting. We know how these things end. There's no chance in hell I'm letting him get close enough to hurt her. He will have to kill me first before he gets a chance at her. No, if I see him anywhere near me I don't think I'll be able to control myself." He admits. And even though his words should shake you, all they make you feel is safe. 

You know Spencer would go to any length to make sure that you're safe. That much is clear as day to you now. It's almost endearing to hear. And you'd be a liar if you said you wouldn't do the same for him. 

The rest of the team stays silent with his admission. Everyone knows that he means exactly what he said. And surprisingly, nobody tries to talk him down any further. They know he's right, these situations usually end with the victim badly injured or killed. We've seen it enough times. 

"We know how the behavior patterns of stalkers. If he gets wind that we're after him he'll go for her. Spencer, stay with her. The rest of you, it's time to bring him in." Hotch orders in a stern voice. The team is quick to get to their feet and get to work. 

Before you're whisked out of here once more, Spencer stands in front of you to block your path. You look up at him through your lashes and he takes your hands within his. 

"I'm sorry for the way I said everything, but I want you to know it's true. For what he's done to you, my beautiful girl, I would kill him in a heartbeat." He reiterates and it makes your heart beat faster. You squeeze his hands in appreciation. 

"Well, let's hope you don't find him first." You say with a small smile on your face. 

Spencer walks you out of the office with his hand on your lower back. He never once loses physical contact with you until you're safely in his car. And even then, his hand rests on your thigh. You observe his behavior, never having seen him so possessive before. It's interesting to you, seeing this side of him up close and personal. His eyes hold a burning intensity, like he could stare right through someone's soul, his shoulders seem broader from his tense posture, his jaw sharper from clenching it in anger and determination. 

Though it may scare some, it only intensifies what you feel for him. 

Part Seven