#human tyrant design

[tulipsnflowers]

And with @pikatjejen 's tyrant human forms I'm going to share the only one I did

I rest my case.

[boyybites]

Wanna do a species sheet or two of the races/species that live in my ocverse, I literally have the world map drawn out all I'm doing now is putting down names and using the map to figure out the lore and shit.

[redtsundere-writes]

Tyrant's Favorite | Sukuna Ryomen

Part 13: Make A Wish

King!SukunaRyomen x Servant!FemReader

Summary: You used to be just another servant among the army of humans operating under the command of the terrible king, Sukuna Ryomen. An ordinary human who only knows how to wash, clean and cook. Until one day, he notices something in you that you hadn't seen before.

Tags: MDNI. +18. Murder. Blood. Cannibalism. Sukuna Ryomen Is The Warning Itself. Nudity. Sexual Display. Vaginal. Fingering.Sometimes fluff, sometimes angst.

Word Count: 7307 words. (long boi)

Beginning. | ← Previous | Next →

You were running out of time, less than two weeks to accomplish the task Sukuna had given you and you still doubted if you could do it. You sat up in bed as you watched the sunlight stream through the window, heralding the arrival of a new day, jumped out of bed to get to the dresser, opened the top drawer, and there it was. A small glass jar containing the favor you had asked Kenjaku for on the day of the harvest. You carefully examined the whitish mushrooms with brown caps. 

Amanita phalloides, the most deadly mushroom for humans. From what you had read in one of the giant encyclopedias in the library, it has caused the death of numerous people by being very similar to some mushrooms that are edible. The toxins in this mushroom act on the liver and kidneys, resulting in liver failure. You could serve it to your victim in a mushroom omelet and the poisonous mushroom would take care of the rest. All you had to do was the hardest part, pick a victim. 

It had to be a human, so Kenjaku and the rest of the curses didn't enter into the equation. Not being strong enough, it couldn't be someone with a cursed technique. That's how you ruled out Uraume and Yorozu. Whichever way you looked at it, your target had to be a servant. You couldn't kill Mrs. Inoue, you saw her as if she was your tender grandmother who worries that you eat well so that you grow up a lot. You could never betray her friendship for the sake of the king. 

“What do I do?” you asked yourself anxiously, putting the jar back in its place. 

You entered the dining room promptly as you did every morning for breakfast. You wished the servants good morning along with a smile. Now, it was harder for you to choose who to kill, as they had all been so kind to you over the past few weeks. They greeted you, chatted with you about their lives outside the castle, and looked out for you. The vast majority of servants saw you as just another fellow servant who was there because of a terrible fate, rather than a figure to be feared. You felt like a hypocrite greeting them when inside you knew the terrible fate you had planned for an unfortunate man. As soon as they knew you killed one of them, you could not restore their trust in you. You approached your designated place and were surprised to see that Mrs. Inoue was the one in charge of your chair. 

“Happy birthday, Miss,” she congratulated you with a smile.

“Oh, you remembered! Thank you!” You said before hugging her gently. 

You had spent so much time worrying about studying, taking care of your sister and choosing who you were going to kill that you had forgotten your own birthday. The days passed quickly between your responsibilities. Wake up, study, train, sleep, repeat. A vicious cycle filled with anxiety, insecurity and effort. Life at the castle really was complicated, but there were good parts. It was nice to know that someone cared enough to remember this special date.

Sukuna arched his brow at how tightly you hugged the lady. He didn't understand why they were making a fuss about the anniversary of your arrival in this horrible world. He doesn't remember how he came to this world. His earliest recollection was opening his eyes and being thirsty for human blood. From the moment he stepped onto this existential plane, he knew he had a greater purpose than being a mere man-eating curse. Birthdays don't matter when greatness is waiting. 

“Today is your birthday?” Sukuna asked you curiously as soon as you sat down at the table. You nodded excitedly. “Why didn't you tell me? If your birthday was so important, why didn't you let him know?”

“You never asked,” you replied. “Touche” he thought before taking his glass of wine. “Yorozu hasn't shown up yet?” You asked him while examining the room.

For the past month, Yorozu has not left his master's side even for a moment. She accompanied him when he did paperwork in his office, they trained together until sunset and followed him everywhere like a puppy obedient to its mother. So much so that the servants began to call her: “the dirt on the king's fingernail” or, as her friends call her, “the dirt”. It was rare that she was not present as soon as you entered the room. 

Sukuna was about to answer when a shrill voice started singing happy birthday. Yorozu kicked open the kitchen door to reveal the surprise she had planned for you. Your sister was singing at the top of her lungs, while Uraume held a small strawberry and cream cake with some lit candles. They didn't seem too happy about being part of the plan. 

“Happy birthday, dear sister!” She sang off-key. 

This brought back memories. Yorozu did the same thing every year. She would bake you a cake or something sweet from whatever was in the cabin cupboards, light a couple of candles and parade around the room you shared at 5 a.m. while crowing like a rooster. Your mother and sisters would yell at her to shut up while throwing pillows at her, but she never stopped crowing. It was annoying, but something about it seemed tender. Yorozu always wanted to make sure she was the first to wish you a happy birthday. 

“Did you bake it?” You asked Uraume when they placed the cake in front of you. 

“Only because your sister asked me to,” Uraume answered reluctantly. 

The strawberry and cream cake was a masterpiece of pastry making. Each fluffy layer of sponge cake bathed in a soft syrup that gave off a sweet and delicate aroma. The freckled fruits, fresh and juicy, rested elegantly on top of the cream. Its vibrant red color stood out against the white background and the silver platter in which it was served. At the top, perched the largest strawberry you had ever seen in your life. It made your mouth water just looking at it. Your sister knew you so well.

“Thank you, Uraume,” you said as you admired the delicious dessert in front of you. 

“Make a wish,” Yorozu excitedly proposed as she sat down next to you.

What did you really wish for? Just like your birthday, you had forgotten what you really wanted. You wished for your family to be well, not to be killed and to eat good food, but those are not really wishes, they are priorities. What was it that your heart really longed for? You had been at the mercy of other people for so long that you began to forget who you were. Your empty eyes gazed at the small flames dancing on the white candles, slowly melting around the edge as you experienced an existential crisis. Time was running out. What were you doing?

“Sis?” Yorozu called you worried. 

You blinked and focused back on reality again. The king to your left, your sister to your right and all the servants around you were looking at you worriedly. You coughed a couple of times to regain your posture and blew out the candles quickly. Everyone applauded you while you forced a smile as if nothing had happened. 

“What did you ask for, sis?” Yorozu asked you while a servant cut the cake to serve it to those at the table. 

“If I say so, it will not come true,” you excused yourself so as not to reveal that you had not ordered anything. 

The servant handed you a slice of cake with the biggest strawberry of the cake, you smiled cheek to cheek at the kind gesture. You were about to take it with your fork, but someone beat you to it. Yorozu snatched the strawberry with her hands and put it in her mouth without a care in the world. She chewed happily while looking at you with a mischievous smile. Despite being in the body of an adult, she still acted like a child. The servant, annoyed at the scene, placed two strawberries on top of your slice. 

Sukuna knew something was happening to you. He didn't know exactly what, but he recognized that expression anywhere. Nervous smile, watchful eyes and anxious hands. The signs couldn't have been clearer. You were uncomfortable. It was the expression all servants made when they saw him up close. He drank his glass of wine while you ate your cake without saying a word, while Yorozu chattered incessantly. It was odd that you were acting like that.

You stared intently at the blackboard with the double-digit numbers and letters to be solved. “Since when did math have letters?” you mentally grumbled as you paced back and forth across the library without taking your eyes off the wooden rectangle. After that archery lesson, King Sukuna ordered Kenjaku to continue the research he had been asking him to do for months. In the last few weeks, your teacher would leave you the lessons written on long scrolls or on the blackboard to focus on his new task from the darkness of his room. Sometimes you missed the company of a teacher, but the peace of solitude was fine too. The heavy door opened slowly, revealing Mrs. Inoue's head, asking if you were too busy. A smile crept onto your face as soon as you saw the colorful desserts on the golden tray. 

“Mrs. Inoue, what a miracle!” You greeted her by taking the tray from her hands so she could take a break. 

“I had to visit you on your special day. I had to visit you on your special day,” she answered as you handed her a chair to sit on. “The desserts and the card are from everyone.” 

The gold tray glistened in the dim light coming from the window. The small desserts were displayed with a precision that bordered on the artistic, denoting the creativity of the servants who were in charge of the kitchen. Small fruit tarts, a cup of chocolate mousse and tiny macaroons glistened with color in the dim light coming from the window. 

The gold tray glistened in the dim light coming from the window. The small desserts were displayed with a precision that bordered on the artistic, denoting the creativity of the servants who were in charge of the kitchen. Small fruit tarts, a cup of chocolate mousse and tiny macaroons glowed with color.

“How is everyone?” You asked worriedly as she checked the small card that was signed by all 53 servants.

“Well, what can I tell you? These last months of winter are the coldest in the dungeon. Do you remember the time when we had to sleep together to avoid hypothermia?”

The dungeon was the main cause of illness from the low temperatures that came with the season, muscle atrophy from the uncomfortable beds and broken bones from the old men falling out of the giant bunks. You were saddened to know that the situation hadn't changed at all since you stopped being a maid. You felt guilty that you were able to sleep in a comfortable bed in a heated room when several old people were sleeping in the worst possible place. The only thing that pitied your remorse was that they were safe from the clutches of curses during the dangerous night. 

“How many have fallen ill?” You asked as you looked back at the blackboard. 

You knew exactly why you were asking.  Partly it was because you did care about the servants, but you also wanted Mrs. Inoue to give you a victim to kill soon. 

“3. Less than last year,” Mrs. Inoue replied optimistically. 

You have influenced her way of thinking for months now. Even though they lived in constant fear of dying, it was better to make the most of the days alive because it was the only thing they could do. 

“Who is the worst off?” you asked. 

You prayed inwardly that he wouldn't ask you why you were asking that. Just as you were about to answer, the door slammed open again. Mrs. Inoue stood up in panic thinking it was the king or Uraume, but it was only Yorozu with a wide smile as always. 

“You're studying on your birthday!” She scolded you, offended by the sight. “Let's go practice archery like last time!” She proposed while running towards you furiously.

“I can't. I must solve these problems,” you answered. 

“Then solve them," Yorozu answered with a certain obviousness as if it hadn't occurred to you before. 

“It's not that easy,” you sighed. 

Yorozu grumbled when you looked back at the board. It wasn't fair that you were doing something so boring on your special day. You should be having fun with it. You took one of the mini fruit tarts from the tray and ate it in one bite. Quickly, he noticed Mrs. Inoue's presence. 

“Long time no see! How are you doing? Getting older every day, aren't ya?” Yorozu joked. 

“Yorozu!” You scolded her while writing something on the blackboard. “Be nice to the lady.”

“It seems they didn't teach you any manners at home, child,” the lady grumbled in annoyance. 

“What did she say?” Yorozu asked, offended. she reached over and pulled her ashen hair. “Say it again, old woman,” she challenged her. 

You looked back as you heard the lady's moan of pain. You couldn't believe what Yorozu was doing. You knew she was a troublemaker, but you never thought she would get that angry with a lady three times her age. Yorozu's hand was turning red from the pressure she was exerting, but the lady was not going to bend easily. After all, she suffered worse humiliations from the king and Uraume. You clenched your fist and lunged at your sister to punch her in the face to get her to let go, but she blocked your blow with her arm covered in glowing green armor. Your fist hit so hard that a certain part of the armor shattered, but it still hurt you more than it hurt her. 

“Don't you think my new armor made of beetle skin is cool? Although it looks like I need to perfect it,” Yorozu said excitedly before releasing the lady. 

“Apologize. Now,” you challenged her while holding your injured hand. 

“Are you really defending the old lady?” Your sister asked you in surprise. 

You only answered her with a knockout look. It was one of the few times she saw you upset. Seeing you as a second mother after the biological one, she knew she shouldn't bother you anymore if you were already angry. She undid her armor to return her posture to the lady. 

“Well, well...” She reluctantly surrendered. “I'm sorry she's so old.” 

“Yorozu!” 

“I was only joking. I'm sorry.” Finally, she apologized to your friend. 

“Aren't you supposed to be training?” You asked annoyed.

“Are you kicking me out?” Yorozu returned the question offended. 

“Yes,” you answered seriously. 

“Oh how boring…” She huffed in annoyance before walking quickly out of the room while complaining to herself. 

As soon as she was out of your sight, you collapsed into the chair next to Mrs. Inoue. The fist you hit her with stung against your other hand wrapped around her. You grabbed a macaron to eat it to calm the adrenaline rushing through your body. You couldn't believe what had just happened. It wasn't the first time you had hit your sister, but this time it felt personal. 

“What am I going to do with this girl?” You asked Mrs. Inoue rhetorically as you grabbed your forehead. 

“Thank you for defending me, but the truth is I didn't want to tell you this because she is your family, but... May I get this off my chest?” You looked at her curiously, wondering what she had kept so much to herself. “Your sister is a real bitch. She's rude, useless and stupid. She's a real pain in the ass. A fucking bitchy little bitch that nobody wants. I hope she eats a hill so she won't hear her bark. She thinks she's a good dick just because she has the king's permission...”

You only listened to her complain about how scandalous her snoring was, how rude she was to the servants and how much she talked about King Sukuna as if he were God himself. You knew Yorozu's behavior was bad, but it seemed to have gotten worse after the discovery of her powers and would only get worse as time went on. She was a barking bitch, but at some point she would bite back. 

“And you know what angers me the most?! How dare she take your strawberries?!” The lady complained. 

“She always does. I have always shared with him what is mine,” you tried to justify her on the only thing you could defend her on. 

“But that doesn't make it right,” she argued back. 

“It's my fault she's like that.” It was also your mother's fault that she was like that, but you never corrected her.

“Be that as it may. Let me give you some advice.” The lady interrupted you to stop excusing your sister's shitty attitude as she got up from her seat to face you, making sure you paid attention to her. “I may not know much about royalty, but what I do know is that if you're going to make a queen, you should learn to stand up for what's yours.” Leaving you with the word in your mouth, she wished you a happy birthday and walked out of your sight. 

You took another macaron to relax your posture on the chair and look at the ceiling of the library. You ate it slowly while admiring the splendid painting depicting a reddish sky and grayish summer clouds. You swallowed the viscous mixture of jelly and wafer before dropping your hands to your sides. “Fucking hell, Yorozu,” you thought. 

Sukuna was up to his neck in paperwork, so much so that he had to send Yorozu to practice on his own for the day. Document after document. Report after report. Sukuna loved being a king, but this was the part he hated the most. After finishing reading a mining production report, he put it away in the file cabinet and leaned back on the leather chair. He held his forehead to rest his eyes. He was sick of reading. A couple of knocks on the door woke him from his brief pause. He ordered with an annoyed grunt to the person behind the door revealed itself. Kenjaku bowed and approached the desk. 

“You'd better have moved on with your investigation,” Sukuna threatened him. “He's in a bad mood today,” the minor curse thought.

"Of course. It's the only thing I've done in the last two weeks,” Kenjaku said wryly behind a smile. “I have good news.”

“And what are you waiting to tell them?” The king grumbled.

“Since you are the reincarnation of a sorcerer, you have almost human genetics.” 

“Almost?” Sukuna arched his eyebrow.

“Humans don't have four arms and two penises, my king.” Kenjaku replied. “Your double genitalia are what makes it difficult to know if the conception will be effective or not.” 

“And how will you find that out?” Sukuna asked, trying to understand what he was talking about. 

“The only way we can know is by empirical research,” Kenjaku replied. 

“Empirical research, huh?” The king tasted the words in his mouth in confusion. 

“You know what I mean, don't you?” Kenjaku quickly deduced that his boss was not keeping up with the conversation. 

“Not at all,” Sukuna answered honestly. 

“Coitus,” Kenjaku replied. The older curse looked at him with no fucking idea what he was talking about. “Sex?” The master asked. There was no reaction. “The devil’s tango?” He tried a more vulgar version of the concept. Nothing. “Do you know how humans reproduce?” Sukuna shrugged.

This was worse than he imagined, but it didn't surprise him in the least. Sukuna should remember almost nothing of his past life as a sorcerer. Besides, he has been murdering and eating humans for as long as he can remember in his entire life, so he knows a lot about them. As a hunter he knows hares and deer to stalk, but not enough to understand them. He knows how they act under stress, sadness and life and death situations. Now, Sukuna was to learn about one of the greatest causes of joy for humans: reproduction. 

“Human reproduction is complicated.” Kenjaku mentally prepared himself to give a lesson to the ignorant king. “It is divided into many phases, but we will focus for now on the first one: the sexual act.”

“Just tell me what to do and I will do it,” the king ordered him to get to the point.

 “It's not that simple and even less so if it's you,” Kenjaku joked to himself.

“There is nothing I can't do,” Sukuna threatened him with the look that he was losing his patience. 

“I don't doubt it, my king, but it will be difficult to go from causing pain to pleasure,” he explained. 

“Pleasure? That's a waste of time. I just want an heir,” Sukuna scoffed. 

“If you want an heir so badly, you must give y/n pleasure,” the teacher explained. 

Now that would be tricky. The only pleasure Sukuna knew was terrorizing and killing people. It was the reason he woke up every day. He doubted it would even cause you to smile since you cared so much about others. Every time you saw him it was the same anguished and timid face as always. Like you were walking through eggshells every time you saw him. 

“Luckily, I got ahead of this problem,” Kenjaku said. “I took the liberty of choosing some novels that illustrate what he must do to satisfy the lady and conceive a seed,” he announced while handing her a couple of books marked with dividers indicating what she had to read. “If you still have questions, I will answer them in the morning.”

“Do you plan for me to read all of this by tomorrow?” Sukuna asked him while going through the books. 

“What, you can't?” Kenjaku asked sarcastically, knowing it would hurt the king's ego. In the blink of an eye, Sukuna cut Kenjaku's cheek with his technique. “That's my cue to leave,” he said with a bow to get out of her sight as soon as possible.

“Wait,” he ordered him, stopping the master suddenly. “Do you know if Mahito is busy?” Now it was Kenjaku who arched his eyebrow.

You were brushing your hair in front of the dressing table. The red moon was seeping through one of the holes in the rose window. You had put on a pink nightgown that matched your fuzzy slippers. Bedtime was approaching, along with the night's anxiety. You still had no clear target for your assassination, but at least you knew that one of the servants would naturally die soon. That calmed your worries about choosing a victim, but the anxiety of having to kill someone was getting the better of you. 

The door abruptly opened. You jumped out of your seat and grabbed the golden comb like a boomerang, ready to throw it in case it was a surprise attack. You were reassured to see that it was only Yorozu, who was laughing hysterically at your frightened reaction. 

“You should see your face, you look like you've seen a ghost!” He scoffed as he jumped onto your bed. 

“What are you doing here? You know it's curfew.” You asked worriedly. Uraume would cheat her if she found out I was in your room. 

“Are you kicking me out again?” I already apologized to the old lady. We are already the best friends in the world,” you really doubted it after hearing how Mrs. Inoue had expressed herself about her. 

“I just want you to know that even though we have more privileges than the servants, we still work for the king so we must obey his rules,” you explained gently as you sat down next to her. 

“Nah, we are not equal,” Yorozu said proudly. 

“We are humans, just like all the servants,” you shook your head. 

“No, you are equal to all humans. I, on the other hand, am superior to all humans,” your sister answered stubbornly. 

“But the king will only use you like all of us.” You told her in frustration. “Don't you see? If it weren't for your powers, you would have died by now.” Clearly, you were worried about her. 

“You don't know that,” Yorozu pouted at you. 

“I've seen the king kill people just for looking them in the eye without their permission. He's a bloody tyrant.” You grabbed her by the shoulders in an attempt to talk some sense into her.

“Do you hate him that much?” Yorozu asked you, in an attempt to change the conversation. 

“It's complicated,” you answered with a sigh. 

“Then why don't you give me your job?”

“What?” You asked dumbfounded. 

“Just think about it. You don't want to marry him. He seems interested in me for his personal use. I have everything it takes to be a queen. It's a win-win,” your sister explained as if it was the best plan in the world.

“I don't think you realize you're missing out on all this. King Sukuna may be acting gentle, but he's a cold-blooded killer. One wrong step and you're dead. Do you really want to die like that?” You were trying to talk sense into her at all costs, but she just wouldn't try. 

“If it's at the hands of the king, yes,” she replied. 

“You're crazy,” you whispered in disbelief at how foolish she was before you let her go. Where had it all gone wrong? “Just answer me something. Would you kill for him?” You asked her, begging her with your eyes to say “no”. 

“All the men he asks me to,” you recoiled in defeat, but a new feeling of justice grew in you. 

After hearing what Mrs. Inoue had to say and from what your sister herself was making clear to you, you now had a wish you wanted to fulfill. No matter what. Yorozu wouldn't be Sukuna's queen. If the king was already a horrible tyrant, then her as his queen would only make things worse. If you were the queen, some would die. If your younger sister was the queen, thousands would die. You were sure of that. You couldn't let her become a tyrant.

“Wow, you really love him, don't you?” You asked with a smile.

“That's right! The king is so strong, big, rich, and handsome. I love him and I want him to be mine, but I need your help,” Yorozu asked you with a pout.

“Tell me and I'll do it,” you replied.

“Tell him about me. Tell him that I'm a better candidate for queen than you and that I'll be the happiest girl in the world if he looks in my direction. If you do, I promise I'll give you the best life in the world.” You already knew that speech by heart. It was the same silly speech she told your mother to buy her a new dress with the few savings she had. Only you weren't stupid enough to fall for her empty promises.

"How about I tell her now?" You proposed excitedly.

"Really? Would you do that for me?" Yorozu replied.

"Of course. I owe you for hitting you," you told her remorsefully. "Just stay here. I'll take care of everything." You forced her to sit on your bed.

"You're the best!" Yorozu exclaimed as she clapped her hands proud of you.

"It didn't take long!" You said with a smile before closing the door.

The fake smile disappeared as you walked through the dark hallways with determination towards your king's room. You walked stealthily to avoid attracting the attention of Uraume or any of the curses that guarded the halls in case of a surprise invasion. Now you had a clear objective. Prevent Yorozu from becoming a queen at all costs.

The count opened the door with his heart in his hand. She must be the only person he expected to see under the beauty of midnight. It was her, his beautiful beloved wrapped in pink lace. His lips pounced on her with the force of a desperate hurricane. They couldn't waste a second of this spontaneous encounter away from everyone. He unwrapped her like a birthday present and laid her down on the bed. He was going to make love to her as if this were the last night he would be alive.

"So love is made?" Sukuna wondered as he read Letters of Passion. One of the novels that Kenjaku had asked him to read so he could learn about sex. He read in the comfort of the armchair that faced directly in front of the lit fireplace. The small crackles of the fire against the wood were the only things that accompanied him on this cold night, along with the hundreds of golden artifacts that shone from the warmth of the flames excited by the fuel. Now he understood why Kenjaku had told him to let him know his doubts in the morning. He wasn't understanding anything he was reading. Sukuna has always been a direct and initiative-taking being, he just wanted to leave his seed and that's it. Why waste time on kisses, caresses and hugs? Kenjaku had told him that he should do it for you, but he doubted that you would want him to do something like that. Surely you also wanted him to finish quickly. You weren't the enamored count and his beloved, you were just a monster and a slave. He licked his finger to turn the page, but a familiar voice distracted him.

“My king, are you awake?” You asked from the other side of the door.

Sukuna opened the door, finding you in pink pajamas. He was going to ask you what you were doing in his chambers after the clear curfew hour, but he ended up hyper-focusing on the lace that delicately decorated your chest. “Like in the book,” he thought in surprise. “Choosing some novels that illustrate what he should do with the young lady,” Kenjaku quoted in his mind. Was this how it all started?

“I’m sorry to bother you late at night, but…” Your words were interrupted by your king’s lips against yours.

In a kind of surprise attack, Sukuna bent down to your level to kiss you softly on the lips. If this was how he was supposed to do it, he might as well take advantage of it. Even though he was on the right track, he was missing one detail: that you wanted to kiss him too. Your eyes widened in shock as you felt the gentle attack against your person. Your first reaction was to step back, but Sukuna quickly grabbed your waist to stop you from escaping. His four eyes stared back at you before deepening the kiss. You had no choice but to play along with your tongue as your mind searched for answers. “What does he think he’s doing?!” you thought in panic as his kisses moved in accordance with the rhythm he had set. “Did the king steal my first kiss?!”

Kissing the king felt like you were committing the worst of crimes, but you slowly got used to it like an acquired taste. He was fierce but kind, like the calm in the middle of the terrible storm. After a few seconds of special tasting, you realized something. “Wait, this is perfect for Yorozu not becoming queen!” you thought before closing your eyes, letting yourself be carried away by the passionate act. Your arms wrapped around his neck to keep him just as close, melting into the warmth of the approach in an attempt to coax him in your own way.

It was strange. Too strange. Why were you closing your eyes? Why were you hugging him? Were you really enjoying it? Is this how it should be? Sukuna had no idea what he was doing, but he was enjoying it. He knew you would reciprocate, but surely it was because you would do anything for him. Your lips were juicy and sweet, it must have been because of all the desserts you had consumed during the day. If he concentrated he could guess the taste of the macaron you had eaten after dinner.

As the novel dictated, he carried you by the thighs with ease to get you into the room without breaking the kiss that slowly became wilder. He laid you down on the bed gently to take possession of your body. You knew so well that he didn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. You were so gentle with him even though he deserved to be punished for his multiple genocides. With his lower hands, he took your pajamas and lifted them up to show your naked body. "Are we really going to do this?" you thought worriedly as you closed your legs feeling the wetness in your crotch.

Sukuna threw the pajamas on the armchair where he was sitting and broke the kiss to admire you beneath him. Your leg over the other, your hands covering your breasts shyly and your cheeks flushed, was something he hadn't seen since the last time you showered together. You were very nervous, more than other times. Your lips were parted and shone against the firelight from the saliva you had exchanged. You looked beautiful, but there was a small problem.

“Is something wrong, my king?” You asked him worried when you saw that he just looked at you without doing anything else.

“I don't know what to do now,” he admitted.

“Excuse me?”

Sukuna stood up to take the book he was reading and throw it at you. You sat on the bed confused to try to figure out what was going on. You looked at the king and then at the suggestive title of the novel he had given you. You opened the book to the passage he was reading and immediately blushed. “I just acted out what was happening in the book” you concluded before slamming the book shut.

“Kenjaku told me to do it,” Sukuna explained. “Kenjaku?!” you thought astonished. “Love is made?” He asked you directly as if they were casually chatting and you weren't completely naked. Sukuna really was a strange curse.

With that question you could deduce what was going on. Sukuna wants an heir, but he doesn’t know how to get one. So, he sent Kenjaku to investigate and gave him an erotic novel so he could understand. “Why didn’t they ask me before?” you thought as you covered your uncomfortable nakedness with your arms.

“Something like that…” you answered. “Love must already exist for it to happen. Making love is a mere literary expression that refers to sex.”

“Damn! Everyone keeps repeating that word, but I don’t know what that is!” Sukuna complained.

You couldn’t help but laugh at his ignorance. You had always seen Sukuna as a powerful curse that knows everything. Seeing him so frustrated at not being able to understand a subject so simple for you made you laugh a little. “Wait, does this mean that the king is a virgin too?”

“You know what it means, don’t you?” He asked you directly. You nodded shyly.

You knew what sex was thanks to the education your mother gave you, but you knew how to do it thanks to the friends Yorozu made at the balls. They always talk about the gorgeous knights and what they wanted to do to them in such detail that sometimes they surprised you at how graphic and vulgar they could be.

“You owe me a favor for saving your sister at the harvest,” Sukuna reminded you. You had already forgotten that detail. “Teach me what sex is.”

“That means you want to make your heir… Now?” You asked him confused.

“What?!” The king was really lost. He had many questions and almost no answers.

Not expecting that reaction, you burst out laughing. You were laughing. You were laughing with him. It had never occurred to him that he could hear you having fun so close. It was as if you weren't afraid of his reaction for making fun of him. You were treating him like he was just another human. He blushed when he realized that he was surely acting like a lunatic in front of you.

“Let me explain,” you took his hand to sit him on the bed next to you. He obeyed your guidance. “Just pay attention”

You explained to him how sexual relations worked, the difference between the types of sex and how vaginal penetration is the only way to achieve conception. Sukuna listened intently as you explained everything to him as if he were an innocent 12-year-old boy. Then, you explained how pregnancy works. That was the easiest part to explain, since you had seen your mother get pregnant twice. The king nodded at everything you said as a sign that he was paying attention to you.

“Wow, it’s more complicated than I thought,” Sukuna said when you finished your master class.

“You just have to worry about the conception part, I’ll take care of the rest, my king,” you explained.

“No, I have to make sure you and the baby are okay,” he said before rubbing your bare stomach as if there was already a baby there. “Let me worry about it.”

Your cheeks turned red at those words. You really thought the king would leave you alone once conception had taken place like many families did. After all, Sukuna was a very busy king so it wouldn’t surprise you, but you had misjudged him.

“Thank you, my king,” you told him before kissing his cheek softly.

You smiled genuinely at him and he tried to return the gesture, but he only showed his teeth like a dog trying to smile. You laughed at how silly he looked and shook your head to stop him from doing it. You and Sukuna sat on the edge of the bed in silence for a while while you watched the small bonfire. The heat was so much that it didn't bother you to be naked, but it was better to look for your clothes before you caught a cold. You got out of bed to look for the nightgown that the king had taken from you.

"And by the way, what are you doing here at this hour?" Sukuna asked you to remember the time it was. "Ah, that's right, I came to tell him something."

"I wanted to ask him to stop training Yorozu for a while," you asked the king, starting the operation: "Yorozu can't be queen."

"Excuse me?"

"I understand that she is a sorceress that can be used for future battles and protection, but her attitude has worsened since she arrived at the castle and it makes everyone uncomfortable," you explained. “It bothers everyone in the service, even Uraume.”

“I know that,” he answered. “Uraume had never given me a service report as bad as your sister's”

He remembers the day Uraume left the report on his desk like every two weeks. Even though her face was monotonous as always, he knew from her attitude that she had left him a bomb in the form of words. She had dedicated herself to writing three pages explaining what a terrible servant Yorozu was and why she should kill her soon. She had a headache just from resisting the urge to kill her for your sake.

“Even though we are both adults, I am still her older sister, so it is my duty to discipline her.”

“And what does this have to do with training?” Sukuna asked.

“She sees training with you as a reward, it is fun because she can tempt you to her liking and that must stop. She must learn how to behave around you. What good is a powerful weapon if it's going to act under its own regime?” You knew that wasn't the reason you didn't want me to stop training with him, but if you wanted the king to be on your side, you had to give him his side. “Plus, it'll give me the chance to practice how to deal with a rebellious child once I become a mother.” You also had to infantilize Yorozu as much as possible so that the king wouldn't see her as a possible candidate for queen.

“Okay. I'll stop training her until I see that her attitude has changed.” Sukuna accepted your notion. Maybe too quickly, since you thought he would fight a little harder because he wanted to make his new weapon more powerful as soon as possible, but it had worked. “Check” you thought, avoiding a smile to prevent the king from seeing your true intentions.

“Thank you, my king,” you thanked him with a bow. “That would be all. I'm leaving to let you rest.” You turned around to go back the way you came, but Sukuna grabbed your arm. You looked at him confused as he stopped you.

“It’s curfew. If Uraume or some curse sees you in the hallways, they have the right to eat you alive.” You gasped, you didn’t know that was the reason for the curfew. “You’ll stay with me tonight,” he ordered.

Sukuna pulled you by the arm to get you into bed. He carefully tucked you in next to him so you were as warm as possible. You had known each other for so long that you felt comfortable with the idea of ​​sleeping next to him. Your heart was beating a mile a minute as you watched him settle into the large pillows. His skin glowed orange from the fireplace, while he combed his pink hair back, causing his muscles to flex in front of you. “I can’t believe this king was my first kiss” you thought before turning around so he wouldn’t notice your blush.

It had been a while since you slept with him, but this time was different. Before, you were just a servant who only obeyed his orders to the letter and trembled just by looking at him. Sukuna had only slept with you because he saw you as a sleepy pet, but now you felt like he really wanted to sleep with his future wife. You felt Sukuna’s arms snake over your body like that time to catch you by the waist and shoulders. He pressed you against his body while you felt his heavy breathing in your ear. If only he knew that this was the only thing he had to do to give you pleasure.

“My king,” you called him in a whisper.

“What?” he asked you as he closed his eyes.

“Do you have feelings for me?” you asked him curiously.

“Like what feelings?” he asked back.

You smiled and closed your eyes to drift off to sleep. You didn't know why you had asked now, but it confirmed that he had no feelings for you. He only saw you as the future mother of his heir and that was it, but for some reason that made you happy. You hugged back his arms that held you while you caressed his hands.

“Forget it, my king. Rest well,” you said before resting your head on his bicep.

Next →

Open fanfic commissions!

Masterlist.

tag list: @bbnbhm @pxnellian @kbirdieee2540

(Let me know if you wanna be tagged in the next chapter!)

[theresattrpgforthat]

Protect the Child: Playtest Server

Hey! The day's finally here! I'm opening up a playtest server for my game Protect the Child, a Forged-in-the-Dark romp of monster babysitters.

If you...

want a chance to play a TTRPG for the first time

want to learn how to play Forged-in-the-Dark games

love found-family stories

want to watch game design happen pre-release

think I (Mint) have good taste in games

...you might be interested! This will be my home base for running various sessions across a variety of genres, with the common through-line of monsters taking care of a human child.

This will include quick-start games with pre-generated characters, as well as character creation sessions for teaching people how to make their own monsters (and their own supernatural kids)! All games are expected to include a basic kit of safety tools.

Protect the Child is thematically inspired by media such as:

Ice Age,

Monsters Inc.,

The Mandalorian,

Tokyo Godfathers,

Lion King 1+1/2, etc.

It is mechanically inspired by games such as:

Brinkwood: Blood of Tyrants,

Moth-Light,

Apocalypse Keys,

Last Fleet,

Antiquarian Adventures, etc.

If you are interested, hop in today!

[politicalprof]

The Declaration of Independence

As I do every year, I am posting the entire text of the Declaration of Independence. It is flawed, inconsistently applied, and fascinating. It may be even more relevant this year than most. If you haven't ever read the whole thing, you should. It's worth the time:

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

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

[heartfullofleeches]

Remy I miss you I love you also. Titus. I love him and miss him. And also Nightlight reader. Babies. Beloved.

[I had am old blurbo with Nightlight and Titus I scrapped. Here's one for him and Remmy too]

Remmy finding Nightlight Reader at a thrift store while looking for more dolls to add to his collection of antiques. They're the most beautiful "doll" he's never seen- (anything that has a humanoid form and is made of plastic, wood, cotton is a doll to Remmy- even androids). He takes the android home - planning to clean them up and give them a comfortable spot in his room. When Remmy touches the heart on their chest-

"Powering on.......backup battery at 12% percent....Accessing memory...No memories found... error...error...err-"

"Ah!.. That was scary. Hm, where did I end up now? Oh! Hello, tiny person - are you my new owner?"

Remmy instantly falls in love seeing this robot pick up on the dolls on his bed and speaking to it as a normal person. "Um, actually..I think that's me."

"Whoa! Where did you come from? My apologies, owner - what should I call you?

Remmy falls more in love with Nightlight by the second. They're so caring, and warm, and they love to play with his dolls as much as he does. They would follow his every command as part of their programming, but Remmy hardly feels the need to order them around because he knows they'll never leave him and for that he'd do anything from them. Stays awake all night until nightlight carries him to bed making new clothes for them. Buys all the books he needs to repair any minor damages they might have - and completely erase any trace of their memories of the past.

All Remmy needs is Nightlight. All Nightlight needs is Remmy.

-

Titus is given Nightlight Reader as a present from his guards after finding the android in a landfill on earth and repairing them to working order- The emperor has been more irritable than usual- if he dislikes this bot, his guards pray that smashing them to bits will be enough to quell his anger at least for a time. The guards present the android to their king and wait-

"What have you brought to bore me with now?'

"We believe it is an earth made machine designed to relieve stress for humans-"

The emperor chuckles. "Is that so?~ I have been rather pent up recently, and it isn't a complete eyesore, but you are aware of our difference in size, yes? Are you certain it won't break on first use?"

"Er, not in that exact way, your highness. You see, they-"

Titus huffs. "Then what good is it?"

"Just....allow me to turn them on. Please place your finger on their heart, your highness."

"This is ridiculous...."

The emperor does as instructed

"Powering on....Battery at 100%...System rebooting."

"Mm....Huh? What a strange place... Are you my new own..er? Oh, owner- your stress levels are dangerously high - they're increasing by the second! Why won't I sing you a lullaby while you relax with your favorite drink? I know lots, but I can always make up new ones - maybe one about your pretty eyes."

"That..... actually sounds wonderful. I haven't had a decent night of rest in ages. It's humorous to me how you were able to figure that out in seconds when these fools have been with me for centuries. I think I'm going to enjoy your company more than I thought."

Titus cannot go or sleep anywhere which his little nightlight. Feeling their heated, smaller form is all thats needed to knock him out like a light. Nightlight Reader is restricted from joining Titus in meetings for that sole reason. This whole ass tyrant sits in his chair pouting like a child until he can reunite with his little love. Decorates them like the doll they are with jewelry and adorable outfits. Whenever Titus is in one of his rages, guards quickly run off to retrieve nightlight from wherever they're exploring in the palace

[chiyoso]

𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 (revising/proofreading)

series masterlist | part two

࣪ ˖✧ following content. headcannons · crossover · reader is herrscher of death · oc coded · sprinkle of trauma · fighting · nanook doesn't know what personal space is, nanook is referred to he/him in this fic · welt/blade ptsd moments.

࣪ ˖✧ author notes. 11/21/23 update: everything is planned out, and this will be a series. // 4/17/24 update: revamping. 1.7 out of 3 done. (god forbid tumblr fucking me up by restarting the app, and i didnt get to save. im)

࣪ ˖✧ hired actors. the astral express · the stellaron hunters · aeon nanook.

𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒕. 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 had his hand around his throat, feeeling it lump to the sight of you.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 questioning your existence in this world internally, over and over, and it didn't help that your evident youth glistened under the lights of the express' lounge, reminding the old trailblazer of what being a herrscher was; a longevity of your lifespan, a title feared by a decaying world, along with reminding him of the sins he committed long before being welcomed to this world.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 whose stomach churned at the sight of your breath hitching in your deep sleep, a sign of your consciousness returning while his astral companions and a fluffy conductor that held your hand, giving your body a positive reaction to the soft conductor's paws, all looked at you with utmost fascination.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 who couldn't help but feel compelled to ingulge in his curiousities, finding your stigmata almost immediately in the process. an intricate design that its way paved against your flesh from your neck, down to your chest.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 discussing with himeko and the conductor afterwards, having discovered your body, floating along the stars unconsciously that alerted the astral express, hence the automatic notion to save you.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 rembering stigmata technology along with other various things back from his homeworld. it's technilogy originating from schicksal, from a tyrant, and it's something that will determine if you were either a friend, a foe, or neither, and welt yang desperately hoped you were the first option, holding onto the hope that you weren't a being against humanity.

prologue; the sovereign.

“everyone,”

welt took a step forward in instinct, hollow and guarded to your direction. “step back, now.” a warning to his stellar companions, feeling a dread that swelled inside him from taking in your familiar energy, honkai energy, radiating and reemerging from you, forcing a part of him that he buried long ago to be present in your presence.

“huh?” the pink haired girl took a moment, glancing back and forth to you and him. “what do you mean mr. yang? she's still asle—” the pink haired's curiousity was interrupted, followed by a small yelp, reaching out for your arm mid-way, the girl's body tensing up as she found her wrist being held tightly with one deft movement, non other by you, which alerted everyone instantly.

“a-ah! let... let—go!” she whined, struggling in your godly grip, and collectively, everyone's took sharp breaths, sensing the thick, sickening spike of your aura.

you felt in your wake a metal sensation against your neck, resulting you to fully awaken in your unconsciousness, eyelashes fluttering open to the sight of a lounge of some sort.

once you did, they all took notice of your eyes the first thing, a color of your irises that brought out the shape of your pupils, it was polaris star shape and unusual — but besides the initial glaring, you shouldn't ignore the cane against your throat.

star of eden. you felt it's familiarity.

and the sovereign's presence. you found him.

unphased, you release the grip on the poor girl's wrist, sitting up slowly with the metal that remained on your throat.

“i see,” you take a breath, your eyes following the direction of the length, up, up and up towards it's bearer. “the mission,” you say with half effort, a little hazy from just waking up. “it was a success.”

haah. you were frightening, your voice dripped with elegance, haunting and low, the astral express' interiors allowing echo with the words you muttered.

mission? as if himeko's and welt's thoughts were one, giving each other looks of shared conflict.

“state your business.” the boy with horns broke the silence, his index and middle finger positioned to your neck aglow, along with the pressure, and yet their unease hadn't settled as you were truly unphased by their threatening actions.

“i relay... a message.” your head rotated slightly, to the all-too-familiar sight of authority.

“you.”

“—you do not belong here.” he intercepts.

“and neither do you, mr. sovereign.”

welt facial features screamed death. his amber irises determined to yours once you found yourself under his gaze, hearing the oh-so familiar title you let him wore again, the strength of your voice not helping as it would echo through the train's lounge.

his companions looked to one another in brief confusion, then all eyes settled on the visibly disturbed, distressed man who looked at you with so much fear and disarray.

flight or fight?

fight.

adrenaline filled hands, fogging his rationality, his mind thick with a current full of resurfacing memories. his astral companions that didn't need to know that side of his, these shattered fragments of his past, he didn't need them to be reminded, he—was about to plunge star of eden through your throat, but his cane. it was already on the other side of the express, flicked away with a lift of your finger, landing against the wall with a clear display of strength, cracks all over the surface the cane piercing through halfway.

“dan hen—” no need to complete as the vidyhadra's cloudhymm magic began to disperse the group towards the man with the glasses, away from you, hurriedly retreating from your presence.

the moment you took your first step up from the cushioned seat, you were greeted by a gravitational force in shape of an black orb, moving straight towards you with its force pulling the air around it—but you've been warned of it by your mentor, the concept of his abilities.

“a warm welcome.” you sighed as they further tensed to you—meeting the black hole with the tip of your summoned lance (the 6th divine key), feigning ignorance to their reactions while the other hand movies, a finger tracing down from your neck to your curves, black dust particles surrounded your body, changing your battered former dressing to a grand, black and elegant flowy dress, perfecting your once messy state.

“forgive us for being such a terrible hosts, however—what is a herrscher doing here?”

“haah, you act as if you weren't one, mr. former herrscher of reason.”

“...strongly,” two fingers hoist his frames up his nose bridge, eyes following the direction of his uneasy companions, before returning to yours.

“i advise you to cease,” he grips his cane. “calling me something in which i've severed ties with long before,” the astral express crew remained on the defense, pairs of eyes guided by determination, and uncertainty all focused towards you.

“i trust that you'd understand why it is heavily recommended.” he finishes with a subtle glance to your spectators, making you follow your gaze.

bronya was right, he really is too guarded. you thought, a little bit of admiration for your mentor, predicting this possibility of his hostility.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 couldn't understand you, even when you bathed in nostalgia for him, even when you aligned where your loyalty lies, meaning no harm, he couldn't understand you, and understanding something you thought you were knowledgeable about left a sour taste in his mouth.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 allowed his defenses to simmer, reassuring his fellow trailblazers that you were an ally, an ally of highest regard more specifically, now aware of your situation along with who, what about and why you were doing these things.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 who had his eyes intently to yours, finding himself wavering to the mention of your mentor (bronya zaychik), having a familiar name escape your lips, uttered in this other universe, so far away from where he was, but he was good at controlling himself and his emotions, except for the gleaming of hope in his tired eyes.

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆 more curious than ever, once he sees through your facade of intimidating elegance, falling apart to subtle, fidgeting movements with your fingers, the entirety of your demeanor and body language turning a 180 due to his line of questioning and persistence, insisting about the truth as to why you were willing to go such lengths and risk just to find him, even risking yourself that you might not ge able to go back to where he was what he was trailblazing for in the first place.

you're thankful though. that welt yang was more of a gentleman than you thought, having no other information regarding about him, except for official and important things, that made him seem threatening, or even far more than that.

also thankful that he didn't pry about your gradual change in behavior, bit by bit as the two of you continued conversing, discussing, getting interrogated, but you didn't mind, not at all.

not if you were being watched by those brown, tired eyes, attentive especially to you, maybe even captivated too? who knows. you'd brush that last thought under the rug though.

“mr. yang—?” the pink haired girl stepped forward, interrupting your thoughts, along with the conversation you and him were discussing.

“i'm sorry to interrupt but...”

“no,” welt cuts her off, glancing back and forth to you and the rest of his astral crew. “you all have every right to the context of everything's that happened within this short span of time.”

“please,” a mature voice caught your attention briefly, turning your head towards the woman in white and gold ornaments. “take your time.” the red haired woman steps in, walking in between march and himself.

“we trust in your judgement and intuition, if this person is able to be in your presence without so much provoking much hostility within you, then surely,” the red haired woman turns to face to yours, and you greet her with a subtle, necessary smile, and it doesn't go unnoticed that you two were seizing each other up, an internal battle welt and the others could sense.

“we are able to trust her too—and besides, it looks like it's going to take a long time explaining everything, so,” she turns towards her young companions, hands clasped together.

“why don't i prepare all of you some snacks and coffee in the meantime?”

𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒕. 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔

𝐊𝐀𝐅𝐊𝐀 didn't expect an actress like you to take part within the stage, let alone bearing a leading and costly role similarly to that grey haired trailblazer.

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐒 too. resulting in prolonged scripts, revising plans for penacony, it was disharmony, with elios relying in his hacker again, summoning her and against the IPC for a chance of information about you, but to no avail once she took action.

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅 found you, and her research of you frustrating, annoyed that she could've been spending her time grinding shit in her game, and instead she's spending it trying to find things about, tedious really, it was just her rummaging through files from any knowledgeable source she could find.

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅 was at a stalemate (for once), when prior to this, she thought she had finally found some dirt on you, only to actually find dirt and dust on all information regarding you, be it from the intelligentsia guild or the genius society—nothing. there was nothing about you, or your species, so.

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐒 commanded his faction, already on the tail of the astral express, and word after word, his actors and actresses will get information about you, and of course.

𝐊𝐀𝐅𝐊𝐀 finds you separated from your crew, and yet the woman couldn't shake a certain feeling off. it was neither fear, nor any sort of unease, either way, she became guarded along with her fellow hunters, only up until the point where you, the new actress noticed the group, having them under your gaze.

·୨⚝୧· ⸻ sidestory one: elios' new actress.

spirit whisper. in low, sultry tones the woman said.

that was the name one of her abilities this pecuilar woman had. a mental themed ability, able to torment, suppress, or soothe the psychological state an individual was in, along with being able to control a mortal's state of self to her bidding.

unfortunately, the moment kafka encountered and tried her ability over you, she was met with a flood of honkai energy that protected you infinitely, or rather—reciprocated her gesture.

just toying with this, less superior version, a type of corruption she was using, accessing her mind instead, tormenting the woman in ways more than one, but you can't bring her to her end yet of course, not yet. she fascinated you.

no one could. except for the sovereign, but besides that, it was the way she held herself, her lack of fear, her mannerisms and how she looked, you resisted the urge to turn her into a mindless honkai creature. elegant, powerful, maybe emperor class level even if you decided to do so.

“you interest me.” you gave a faint smile, before tugging one of her glowing threads, pulling her close to you while it was active, then your hand forces contact towards her chin, now forcefully to meet your gaze.

kafka felt a sudden pulse in her essence, her stomach whirring with an unfamiliar sensation as she locks her eyes upon your unique pupils.

young one?

you looked the same age as her.

youthful, beautiful and enchanting, the way your voice sounded; so dreamy with maturity, complimentary with your authoritative narration.

and kafka wasn't smiling this time. a sight silverwolf couldn't believe, taking mementos with her phone from far a reach, away from you.

“you are a walking contradiction, a threat to elio and our goals,,” kafka grips the hilt of her sword, taking a side stance. “you will meet your end. poetically, if not cruelly. as elio's script implies.”

“—and i've never heard a threat sound so enticing before.” you break into a chuckle, giving her a moment of respite, before flicking the woman in the chest, sending her flying with a forceful speed towards the man with dark, navy hair with red tints in the end of his beautiful strands, catching her with a visible shock in his widened eyes.

she reminds you of a certain woman you have once laid eyes on. a certain schariac, but only the way they present their demeanor and wit.

“blade-” cough. “bladie. please, do it.” the woman spoke with shaky exhales, using her spirit whisper to him that failed on you. “unleash the mara—”

“you will refrain from doing so.” you interrupted, suddenly appearing infront of the individuals.

“you—” were so far away, how did you—blade with no choice had to drop kafka, with intent to bring his infused weapon to your throat, only to be met with an lance that manifested from a key that you summoned, parrying him.

blade felt his insides suffocate, with a clenched jaw and his already turbulent mind, only spiraling downwards further at the sight of it. your weapon.

flowered with sharp ornaments of death, a dark material for its main body. it's so intimidatingly elegant, designed as if it were mimicking life and death, a craftsmanship only seen with those who had a knack for birthing weapons — like him as a prime example.

like him.

like him?

what does he mean?

“agh,” he longed for death with a groan, more than he ever did in his long life. having instances of unwanted imagery just thrashing against him, along with the fluctuating mara within, triggering and pulsing, with no kafka to ail his suffering with spirit whisper, enduring memories from the old, back when he was a blacksmith, someone mortal.

and normal.

like yix██g.

but.

who is yix██g?

despite experiencing metal and physical pain, kept his eyes to yours, one hand covering half of his face, the other had let go of his weapon, unable to hold it and himself, just struggling in your almost divine like presence, while you just studied him in clear fascination.

you drifted around the struggling man, your eyes preying upon the sight of liquid gold that seeped out from the glowing cracks, and the noises you found delectable from him came to a sudden halt, reduced to shaky gasps, and throaty exhales.

it was silent.

but it was your doing too.

“you crave death,” you whisper, trailing a sharp nail from the base of his right hand, up towards his bicep, you wrap your hand around it, keeping him in place. “but,” your eyes glow, and he tenses.

“only because the opposite of it clings to you mercilessly,” you can see blade struggle to stand, yet his eyes remained conscious, or trying to keep consciousness, and with a faint smile you help, pressing your front close to his, digging your nails into his arm, earning a grunt of pain from him.

was this it?

was he able to finally achieve—“death,” this word snaps blade out from his sleepy trance, his gaze falling to the new feeling that invaded his flesh.

it was the lance instead of your hand, remaining eye contact as you pierced a small part of his flesh, a closeness not enough to distract him from the sensations of vitality, life and energy, almost like coating his very soul besides his body.

this isn't right.

“n- no...” he grunts, both of his blade's gripped the length your heavy lance, taking in unsteady breaths, locking his eyes to yours—and only now he sees you truly, taking in the sight of you.

“you can't do this to me.”

with those words, the will of honkai whispered to you simultaneously, and you learned nothing but him craving the blankness of death, the end of which he desperately wanted long before all this.

“i-” you mirrored his conflict, facially and emotionally, your own will wavering from this revelation. “you- you don't desire salvation?” you whispered weakly, refocusing his attention and snapping back to reality, biting his lip to blood, torn with the feelings of betrayal from wishing for death all his life, as well as finally enjoying the peace that he finally achieved because of you.

blade could only reply with silence, yet his gaze told a thousand tales of sorrow and a hidden gratitude that he had no choice but to express.

“i see.” but it was too late, seeing as how you pulled you and your lance away from him, your weapon, assuming its key-like state once again before disappearing into a golden dust of air.

he stood still in the same silence, but his expression became more vulnerable each second, and he allowed his gaze that followed you, you that assumingly kept his the mara in him control, or got rid of for good, either way, he was at a silent bliss. it was far superior than spirit whisper.

it's effectiveness would be proven by how he began find himself trembling in self awareness, the fog in his mind that had once enveloped him, always feeling like in the verge of breaking, now met with feelings without torment that he longed for since his many rebirths and eons of living.

“what you crave,” he gets interrupted by your sudden closeness, your face nearing his, all while you trail your index against his bandaged scars on his left hand. “is a temporary solution,” you smile, and he inhales.

“you are already aware of death, so why rehearse it further?” his gaze falls to your gesture with confusion, reacting to your words with disbelief, along with your sudden touch.

you were wiping golden tears that streamed down to his pretty face with your thumb, the remnants of the golden liquid that strained his face looked absolutely endearing, especially when he looked all confused and fragile, causing you to chuckle while your thumb continued to wipe the gold off the handsome canvas of a man.

your touch was similar to how kafka treated him, and yet, yours carried obvious interest and seduction that his scarred, gashed physique subtly trembled to, and it calls to you again as well, the will of honkai whispering the remainder of his struggles to you while you continue to study him—and he was doing the same to you.

“immortality isn't that bad, there are an infinite amount things to do and to live for.” you say with a distant gaze, retracting yourself from him, with blade following you to your direction instinctively, almost as if it were a reflex to follow you.

how can you say those words so simply?

blade stood tall, idle as you drifted away from him, his appearance nothing matching the vulnerability his expression carried, having trouble with breathing, taking in sharp, unsteady breaths as if it were his first time breathing in a long time, and it was, you gave him this new beginning.

something he was unwilling to acknowledge, this overwhelming sense of clarity you gave him, and if it was unintentional or not—what is he to do with this unwanted peace now?

you won't get away with this.

you can't do this to him.

not after all these centuries of pleading for death.

this wasn't the mercy he wanted.

“you—simpleton.” he grunts, clenched fist mirroring the frustration mixing with his weak gaze. he couldn't do anything. how can he?

what could his own blade do to you? and what would it benefit him if does decide to come at you once more? the one that gave him this serenity, this peace of mind he had once had long ago.

and if someone like you existed, won't his loyalties lie better at the hands at someone who was able to give him wanted? instead of continuously giving him tedious tasks, missions, with nothing to look forward to afterwards.

the silence broke with a snap of your fingers, golden dust particles coming off from your fingers, and of course, they had no choice but to refocus their attention to yours.

“somewhere, and someone, knew, that i would be here,” you incite, your irises preying to their direction, settling upon the battered three.

“isolated from the express. a coordination much perfectly timed, and so carefully anticipated,” and your gaze shifts to kafka.

“as if my presence caused a troubled influx of superiority, becoming known to those with great influence.” they all glance to one another, specifically to silverwolf shrugging, before laying their eyes on you as you continue ascending.

“it's not you,”

you point to blade.

“nor you,”

to the silverwolf girl.

“especially not you,” you point to kafka, and can't help but subtly smirk to the sight of her in her physical state, something that you had a delight in causing from her persistence in erasing you from elios' narrative.

“and,” you let out an amused 'hmm.' “the three of you are so willing to reduce yourselves into puppets,” and you raise your chin, and you sneer at their facial response and ques. “so, continue what you are familiar with, and listen well.”

with your index, you do a vertical motion, cutting the ether with a dark glow that trailed your finger against the space before you, the rift having these scarlet and gold colored, mist-like substances seeping out from its contents.

the rift expands shortly after its creation, warping and molding into a dark gate, with an arched entrance, and an abyss at the other side, pertaining the same two-colored mists that glittered towards you.

the two hunters had already helped kafka up, continued to look towards you that was prepping to take your leave. “on the day, where···i find the path of akivili struggling against their foes, will be the same day where the concept of their faction ends. this includes any living, and non-living thing.” you give both the two contrasting individuals, before taking a glance to blade.

“because a herrscher—no,” you pause, rethinking your choice of words, turning your body to them once more. if welt had provided you information that holds true, then.

“classify me with a category you're all familiar with, to give your elios' an idea of what kind you are dealing with, and is planning against. you are making an enemy of an emanator of a pathless.”

you sigh through your nose.

“and maybe something more.”

but this faction didn't need to know about that yet, especially blade.

[editing/revising/proofreading]

[this part below is being edited real time.]

”... And, if any of you partake in harming The Sovereign, Welt Yang, I will gladly ruin the continent of this universe only within a few hours, heed my warning, or die permanently to the touch of my weapon.”

Permanently. Permanently?

Warm, throbbing and dizzying.

That's what he felt at the moment from the genuine threat you gave, he sensed no bluffs, no lies and only the truth, and he... found complete comfort in knowing you can give such a wish to the trouble man who struggles in his immortality.

Blade's heart only fluttered to your words upon talking about a permanent death, while Kafka only looked... genuinely annoyed for the first time, something even Silverwolf couldn't achieve.

Herrscher... Herrscher... Whatever you called yourself, it was an old language and something Silverwolf can definitely look up about.

And you, mentioning Welt Yang of the Astral Express—even if you said something else... about... him being the Sovereign? Them following Elio's next scriptures, they will definitely be stopping by to wherever Welt Yang is, alone or not, ignoring your genuine warning with the goal of attaining information from him regarding to you.

Blade... smitten at the thought of permanent death, only wanted to meet you again, to feel your authoritive, piercing gaze to him again.

He tried his best, prolonging the pierced scar you placed upon his flesh, to not heal immediately, but ultimately losing to his immortality a few days after, leaving him restless and unyielding to the thought of your reverence since meeting you.

Herrscher... of Death.

Something his mind kept repeating, and the threatening, genuine tone of your elegant and sensual voice just left him alone with his vitality, his newfound serene and awareness of himself that you bestowed to him only frazzled his mind and the clear emotions he was once experiencing again in a frantic daze.

He will plead to Elio, to Kafka, to let him meet you again—ultimately being denied as you were the most dangerous leading actress in their script that they desperately tried resuming without fail. He needed to see you again, that was apparent, and his visible desperation only amused Silverwolf while she worked, researching about you with Blade by her side, waiting for the silver haired girl to indulge him anything related to you.

You tested his patience immediately.

You were emitting such intense, unfamiliar blazing heat signatures that anyone with the technology or the abilities to sense such energy can easily detect in any reach within the universe, thus alerting... a few Aeons.

But only The Aeon Of Destruction was the first to take action.

The Aeon himself... had a certain difficulty capturing you in his domain in psychological aspects, all because of the intense, infinite authority that the Will of Honkai had that resided within you.

You were on your way towards Jarilo-VI, heeding the cute little human whose wrist you gripped firmly previously request since encountering the—Trailblazers...

is what they call themselves, apparently they're also under the belief of what they call an "Aeon" something similar to you, an Aeon of Trailblaze, named Aki- Akivili? No matter, The Sovereign had already informed you quite a lot, important information that had stored inside your brain with the help of the Will, that enhanced your capabilities in all aspects.

Once again, you were on your way towards the supposed cold planet you haven't been to, heeding a request to the human named after a month, flying along the sea of stars with your flowy, dark and elegant dress, only to be met with a sudden bright light combusted to where you previously were that you effortlessly dodged.

Looking over your shoulder with a stern gaze, your irises land upon an unfamiliar figure, a figure whose presence heavily differed from the people you encountered previously.

Your stoic expression changed to one that was filled with amusement, your lips curled into a sly smirk as you turn your body to face the figure who dripped in gold.

“Now this... is a situation I've certainly been wondering about since my time here in this universe.”

You enraged him with the familiar feelings of anger, frustration and all things negative.

You weren't cowering in fear, dread and insanity like the last time people laid their eyes upon, and that angered him further.

“Reveal your nature, or perish to my wrath.”

...

“And who, might I be revealing myself to?”

You questioned the Aeon back?

A sudden whip of golden liquid hurled towards you in a speed that only beings like you and him are able to witness.

But it was met with an effortless vertical rift of darkness that emitted with white dust particles that met the aureate liquid whip, and you weren't moving an inch as well.

The Aeon's slashed chest that continued to drip with gold, throbbed with a slowly growing sense of wonder from your piercing, unwavering gaze.

A staring contest basically, all while both of your abilities continued to clash each other, but one thing was clear... You genuinely weren't phased by such a situation at all, especially with that growing faint smirk that he grew more irritated of.

Fucks sake, he was an Aeon.

But you...

He didn't know anything about you, everyone except for your mentor's mentor (Welt Yang).

How was the Aeon supposed to know? That you were a living death, an absolutely feared existence back in your homeworld?

As soon as an uncontrollable yawn escaped your mouth, your little action caused the being to flare up in golden destruction of his boiling liquid.

“You dare...”

“I dare.”

He genuinely wanted to go all out.

But how can you satiate the thoughts the stirred endlessly within his heavily troubled mind? How can you heed his running questions if he decided to end you? (He can't, if he tried either way.)

“You're one of the creatures who call themselves... an Aeon, that the mortals revel and believe in, aren't you?”

Creatures. Creatures???

He's so pissed off that its starting to show on his face, veins popping all over his jaw along with the dilating gaze of fury was visible to you, causing your playfulness to highten. He was one of those type of 'rulers' that you despised, the same type of Herrschers who wanted to rule over humanity that you hated.

And the fact that you called him a creature.

Another blink, and he was suddenly infront of you, fuming before you while you planted your 'innocent' smirk towards the tall, menacing Aeon.

“What are you.”

Now, Welt Yang had mentioned the time, date and the advance technologies about this universe to you. Of course it was all vast and drastically different to both of your homeworlds, even the Previous Era's technologies heavily differed to this universe's, and this universe was all the way fast forward to a more than a thousand years later, and the time this mission you did in hopes of discovering Welt Yang's whereabouts happened, it was 2029 in your homeworld, a vital information that heavily fascinated you.

With that knowledge in mind.

“An old god.”

?

“No such thing.”

“Of course, you most likely came into life after the creation of the old, ancient rulers titled Herrschers.”

...

Herrs...cher?

“An old language... You speak the truth.”

“But of course.”

What can he do now? What is he able to do?

You were a more ancient testimony in contrast to him, he couldn't... fanthom you, understand you.

“And I come from another universe if it satisfies your loud thoughts.”

“...That is if you believe in multiverses, being who weeps in gold.”

“Mm.” That made sense to the Aeon, a concept he can grasp. His anger immediately soothed, replaced with a natural curiousity and fascination towards the being before him.

“Before so rudely interrupting my travels,”

“All you need to know, is that I side with humanity.”

Oh.

“And I've most definitely heard of your endless atrocities and sins against the mortals who struggled to your lowly imbued subjects that abide your words, Aurelian.”

Referring to the time where the pink haired mortal that shared their recent adventure against a being named Phantylia the Undying, a Lord Ravager who works under the Aeon, Nanook.

The air tensed once again, this time the Aeon felt your seriousness, your stern, unwavering gaze.

Your words raised a question within him.

“...Why do you side with such weak, feeble and distasteful creatures? Beings that taint themselves with nothing but greed, selfishness, and an endless need to hurt their fellow kin—”

“You speak from experience, don't you?”

Ah. That was haunting, for a split second.

Oh how he hated your words with a passion.

Only because... you spoke nothing but continuous truth, and despite his supreme status of being the Aeon of Destruction...

The forgotten, brought out once mofe with the truth can only truly waver whatever creature harbors a dark, sinful past—and we all know this certain Aeon, is just oozing with a heavy amount of all kinds of negativity. Holding eons and eons worth of sin, all by a tall, dark, and quite ravishing figure.

Bzzt Bzzt ... Bzzt

Right, Jarilo-VI.

“Mm, however fascinating this situation is, I must take my lea—”

“No.” (Decode: I'm not done with you.)

“Unfortunately, that is not for you to decide, Aurelian.”

“Tch, foolish woman.” Says the Aeon and his uncharacteristic actions right now.

Aurelian... you already had a nickname for him? Teasing bastard.

Nanook attempted to grab your arm, only for you for you to retract and raise it up as your face breaks into a knowing smirk once again from earlier.

Wh—!?

“You dare defy me?”

“You dare provoke me?” Your smirk fainted, narrowing your eyes to his actions.

“You're blessed to witness my appearance that many perish in hopes of understanding the concept of an Aeon.”

He attempted to attain you in his grasp once again, which he successfully did as his hands finds its way swiftly to your wrist.

“Unhand me, the subjects of Akivili need my presence.” — “At once.”

“Resist once more and you'll b—”

You sigh, in defeat, summoning the tall, black and red gate you previously with your other free hand, and he took witness to your effortless abilities.

“Encounter me once again in another time where I don't have matters to attend to, Aurelian.”

The moment he loosened his grip upon witnessing your summoned gate, you quickly free yourself from him, floating backwards towards the gate while your eyes settled into his, before disappearing into the gate towards Jarilo-VI.

Too agile, he thought.

“... How difficult.” He referred to your enigmatic existence. Nanook's thoughts lingered about you, a serious threat to his existence and his other fellow Aeons, and yet couldn't help but think about the nickname you gave him.

The way your rifts of darkness swallowed his bright, golden attacks with minimal effort, he wanted to fight you again, maybe even seriously, he wanted to converse with you once more, more about you, your capabilities.

And, as trifling this encounter was, this one wasn't the worse one—for the Interastral Peace Corporation (IPC) had their eyes set on you.

2024 CHIYO·SO.

[jooshthepunished]

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security - Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. - The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free system of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Column 3

Massachusetts:

John Hancock

Column 1

Georgia:

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

Geo. Walton

Column 2

North Carolina:

Wm. Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

South Carolina:

Edward Rutledge

Thos. Heyward, Junr.

Thomas Lynch, Junr.

Arthur Middleton

Maryland:

Samuel Chase

Wm. Paca

Thos. Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Th. Jefferson

Benja. Harrison

Thos. Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Column 4

Pennsylvania:

Robt. Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benja. Franklin

John Morton

Geo. Clymer

Jas. Smith

Geo. Taylor

James Wilson

Geo. Ross

Delaware:

Caesar Rodney

Geo. Read

Tho. Mckean

Column 5

New York:

Wm. Floyd

Phil. Livingston

Frans. Lewis

Lewis Morris

New Jersey:

Richd. Stockton

Jno. Witherspoon

Fras. Hopkinson

John Hart

Abra. Clark

Column 6

New Hampshire:

Josiah Bartlett

Wm. Whipple

Massachusetts:

Saml. Adams

John Adams

Robt. Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:

Step. Hopkins

William Ellery

Connecticut:

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

Wm. Williams

Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire:

Matthew Thornton

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Riddle, Rook: By Order of the Queen

I wrote this one during a very busy time for me irl so I apologize if I didn’t end off the Platinum Jacket line of imagines strongly 🙇‍♀️

A Tale as Old as Time.

A young girl, an older man, and an odd hare shared the same table. The latter two were sitting upon it, propping their feet on the cloth.

Pots of tea—each of a different design—did not match the cups. A mouse poked its head out of one, curiously staring at the girl. Bent spoons sat beside the saucers, gigantic sugar cubes floating in pools of tea.

Riddle stared at the painting intensely, picking apart the details, the rules being skirted or blatantly violated. The man and the hare are not in chairs, there’s far too much sugar in their drinks, and is there even jam properly smeared on that dormouse?

“Roi des Roses, what about this painting has captured your gaze so?”

He startled at the deep timbre at his ear, jolting back. His shoulders relaxed when he met a familiar face. His heart, still racing, was unable to be wrested under control.

Devious, tumultuous thing, the heart.

Riddle cleared his throat. “A roundabout way of asking for my opinion on this work, Rook-senpai.”

The grin the Pomefiore student wore stretched, reminding Riddle of his childhood days. Cheshire smiles and sugar-coated memories, tasting far sweeter than the hours he toiled at a desk.

“Ah, do forgive me for the sudden request! As an avid fan of art, I love to hear different interpretations of the same piece,” Rook rambled excitedly. “A painting that invokes joy in myself, for example, may bring about despair for you, or vice versa! The wellspring of human emotion, expression, and experience is just that vast.”

With an exasperated expression, Riddle folded his arms. “… Well, I was just thinking that I would never allow for this sort of behavior at an unbirthday party. It would be an affront to the spirit of Heartslabyul.”

And yet…

His chest ached so longing when he looked at the illustration. A taste that remained long after he tried to wash it down. It drew a word out of him, pulled thin.

“However… I must admit, I feel a little envious of their quaint little tea party. It looks…” He grasped for the correct adjective. “… fun.”

Rook’s brows sprung up. “Fun!”

“You disagree? Or does it perhaps surprise you that the rose-red tyrant would make such a remark?”

I know what they say about me. The thought was tinged bitter like medicine as he swallowed.

“Non, non.” Rook wagged a finger, his eyes half-lidded. “You are correct in every way!”

“I beg your pardon?”

The Pomefiore vice dorm leader placed a hand on his chest. “My immediate family is quite large and likes to keep busy. Those few precious times when we are able to steal away and sit down for a meal with one another… Those are the most magical of all.”

“We each fall into our seats and—like a match struck, the moment comes alive. Words and laughter flow like fine wine, enhancing the flavor of the food that touches our lips. The weariness of study and work melts away in the dishes and drinks, replaced with good company in a safe, warm haven.

Riddle squinted at his senior. Suspicious. “… What is it that your family does for a living again?” When met with Rook’s still dubious smile, he sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s fine so long as you’re not hurting anyone.”

“Fufufu. Roi des Roses, I see that you’ve considerably lightened your evaluation of the rules.”

Riddle made a pensive sound, not confirming nor denying. “Mmm. Lately I’ve come to a realization.”

“And what might that be?”

He hesitated. “That perhaps the world as I saw it is not as it truly is.”

It feels like waking up from a dream. Tendrils of it still clinging to him as he made to rub them from his eyes.

Rook silently nodded, watching him. Not the huntsman stalking his mark, but a silent observer.

“I wonder for just how long I’ve been living in that false reality. Seeing the tea party and thinking it a disgrace…”

Something slovenly. In need of fixing. Out of line.

Wrong.

“Ah, but—” Rook raised a finger, “what matters now is that the veil has lifted. The line between truth and lies is that much clearer to you. That is the first step to any story: the beginning.”

Then his hand fell and grasped Riddle’s.

“R-Rook-senpai…?!”

The man practically glowed, his grip firm. “Now the decision to stay on the path or to stray from it is yours.”

To renounce the party or to join it, given the invitationz

Riddle pulled himself away with a frown. “Of course, within the limits of what is acceptable,” he lectured. “A minimum level of decorum is expected, even at the most ‘fun’ of festivities. Should anyone cause a disturbance in the peace—”

He raised his arm, slashing at the air once, delivering a strong blow to an invisible victim. Riddle, in his element, brimmed with smugness, arrogant as an unchallenged queen.

“—it will be off with their head!”

Without an ounce of fear, Rook laughed and bowed his head. “As the queen commands, so shall I heed her orders,” he drawled. A tilt of the head, then came a suggestion. “And if I were to drop by an unbirthday party to observe?”

“Because you asked politely, I may consider it—but see to it that you attend as your normal self,” Riddle warned. “That means I expect you to be on time, your behind planted in a seat at the table. There will be no hiding out in the bushes, no watching us from a distance. You are to stay and engage in all manner of merrymaking with us.”

“Oh la la!” Rook feigned surprise, throwing both hands up in an exaggerated act. “Is that a rule?”

“No, but they are orders,” Riddle clarified with an all-knowing smirk. “After all, it would be a shame if you disobeyed and missed out on all the fun we shall have.”

[truth4ourfreedom]

OPERATION HAMMER: THE END MAY BE NEAR FOR THE PEDOPHILES AND THE CORRUPT LEFT!!!!

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is publishing information that we freedom loving Americans must repost and share! Here is one of his latest:

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

Operation Hammer

In a world shadowed by secrecy, where power struggles and hidden agendas shape our reality, the storm is finally upon us. Operation Hammer, an unprecedented global initiative, has brought to light the underbelly of corruption, foreign interference, and crimes against humanity. With 450,000 sealed indictments leading to thousands of JAG tribunals, the stage is set for a seismic shift in the fight for justice and transparency.

The critical executive orders—13818, 13848, and 13959—are the backbone of this monumental operation, targeting human rights violators, foreign election meddling, and Chinese military companies. This is not just a battle; it is a war for the soul of humanity.

The Unfolding of Operation Hammer. Operation Hammer is a codename that has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power worldwide. This initiative, spearheaded by the White Hats military, is a coordinated effort to dismantle deeply entrenched networks of corruption and criminality. The sheer scale of this operation is staggering: 450,000 sealed indictments, thousands of JAG (Judge Advocate General) tribunals, and a litany of trials, sentencings, and, in some cases, executions. This is not merely a legal battle; it is a global reckoning.

The Genesis of Operation Hammer. The genesis of Operation Hammer can be traced back to the alarming rise of crimes against humanity and foreign election interference. As global citizens, we have witnessed the erosion of democratic principles, the manipulation of electoral processes, and the gross violation of human rights. The executive orders 13818, 13848, and 13959 are not just legal instruments; they are the swords of justice designed to cut through the web of deceit and bring the perpetrators to account.

Executive Order 13818: Targeting Human Rights Abusers Executive Order 13818, signed on December 20, 2017, is a powerful weapon in the fight against human rights abuses. This order enables the U.S. government to impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption. The global reach of this order means that no tyrant or corrupt official is beyond the grasp of justice.

Executive Order 13848: Combating Foreign Election Interference Foreign election interference is a dagger aimed at the heart of democracy. Executive Order 13848, signed on September 12, 2018, addresses this critical threat. This order declares a national emergency to deal with the threat of foreign interference in U.S. elections. It allows for the imposition of sanctions on individuals and entities that have engaged in or assisted foreign interference in elections, ensuring the sanctity of the democratic process.

Executive Order 13959: Restricting Chinese Military Companies The global influence of Chinese military companies has raised alarms about national security and economic stability. Executive Order 13959, signed on November 12, 2020, seeks to address this issue by prohibiting U.S. investments in Chinese companies that support the Chinese military. This order is a decisive step in curbing the expansion of China’s military-industrial complex and protecting American interests.

The Mechanics of Operation Hammer. The execution of Operation Hammer is a meticulous and coordinated effort involving various branches of the military and intelligence agencies. The sealed indictments are a testament to the thorough investigations and the gathering of irrefutable evidence against the accused. These indictments cover a wide range of crimes, including human trafficking, corruption, election fraud, and more.

The JAG tribunals are at the heart of this operation. These military courts are tasked with ensuring that justice is served swiftly and fairly. The trials are conducted with the utmost transparency, providing the world with a front-row seat to the administration of justice. The sentences handed down by these tribunals range from imprisonment to execution, depending on the severity of the crimes committed.

Join and share my channel immediately: https://t.me/JulianAssangeWiki

PLEASE REBLOG AND SHARE!! MAY GOD BLESS OPERATION HAMMER!!

[cosmignon]

MAGISTA, TYRANT OF SLACKTIDE 🦀👑🦀

I drew a sketch of Magista earlier in the week and then decided I needed to clean it up AND draw a follow-up pose for the boss fight :] translating a very not-anthro crab into a human design was a very fun challenge! Plus, any excuse to draw a big evil woman am I right?

Here below is the lineart + all my sketches for the right pose bc this was also drawn as fanart for the VOD of @facefullabugz and @friendlyfrankenstein playing the game and they encourage folks to show off their process ^_^ go watch their vod here it's fun!

If you like this illustration, consider supporting me! commissions | ko-fi | patreon | shop

Image ID's are in the alt text + listed in order below the cut:

ID #1: An illustration of a humanized depiction of Duchess Magista from Another Crab's Treasure, both before and after she has been infected by pollution. To the left, Magista is holding her large scepter up high as she stands upright, smirking. She is wearing a long elizabethan dress that cuts off at the shoulder with giant frills and lace, as well as sharp pointed boots and a gaudy plastic tiara with the number 30 on it. To the right, Magista is furiously driven to swing her scepter like a mace, her eyes are completely dialated and a black ichor drips from her mouth onto her collar. Her robes have been tattered and ripped apart from behind. End ID.

ID #2: The isolated lineart for the previous illustration. It is completely black except for the eyelashes for both Magista figures being colored in bright red. End ID.

ID #3: A step by step collage showing the development of Magista's action pose from the first illustration. It starts at the top left with a pencil sketch, and progresses through various iterations of digital sketches until the final lineart is shown on the bottom right. End ID.

[pruneunfair]

Rating female leads in manhwa.

Navier

6/10, I absolutely hate her writting and has devolved into a mary sue who only reacts to everything around her while her mass of supporters never shut up about great she is. Her synopsis claiming her as someone who loves all her subjects gets contradicted when its shown she doesnt really care about the slaves.

BUT in season 1 she wasn't bad, I liked her resolve and it was when she actually cared for her people, I feel like if we got to see a clear backstory beyond "she wasn't allowed outside when she studied to be empress" I would understand her total apathy more.

Ariande

7/10, I adore villains, especially villainous protagonists and at first I liked the idea she wouldn't be any better than her family but still had a soft spot for Arabella, she loses a few points because it turns out she's excused for killing people before in the name of "love" and is viewed as someone who can do no wrong.

Adelaide

10/10, she's like Navier but better, she has more noticeable flaws and while she is a kick ass warrior during the tower arcs she still is human and can't always take it alone without consequences, she acknowledges Diane's struggles and makes an effort not to be her enemy and is proof that you dont need to make FL overpowered gods to be strong women. A beautifully made FL in a underrated story

Robellia

1/10, She doesn't divorce her husband despite the title literally being "I will divorce my tyrant husband." But that's more of a problem in most other manhwa. She's too much of a perfect epic goddess for me and most of all she does the whole "buying all the slaves but giving them a home." to make her look even better, what is with manhwa and inserting slavery for no other reason other than to make the FL look better?

Arianna

0/10, there is nothing good about her. Other than being a mary sue and a personality that only revolves around the latest sexy man, she legit forces another guy to join her haram by threatening diplomatic war on his kingdom and bodyshames her fiance but all of a sudden wants him more than ever when he loses weight, it took a random chick being inserted with a 🍇ist persona to make her look "better."

Yerenica

6/10, in any other story, this girl would've been despised by the fandom for being a homewreaker/pick me. She gives me so much second hand embarrassment but she's not terrible, I actually really like her design too. Not a fan of the kidnapper-hostage relationship she and the ML have though.

Pereshati

10/10, the best one here. She feels so much more human than the others on this list, she's got flaws, a relationship with the ML Therdeo that has both realistic progression, blunders, but overall healthy love, she also has relationships outside of her husband which I really love, I actually get scared for her when shes in danger instead of the usual "oh great, heres the typical kidnapping trope", a great motherly FL

Hestia

5/10 I will be easy on her since I just started reading my derelict favorite but I've only heard bad things about it through spoilers so I don't have much hope, also girl, please acknowledge that just because your favorite character did it for love doesn't mean he's absolved for murdering 2 people, thank you

Edith

9/10, my 3rd favorite on this list. You do not know how happy I was when instead of immediately viewing Rhyse as a rival to defeat, she was actually nice to her and the chapters of them were so sweet, she even acknowledges that it isn't anyone's fault for acting out but the author who is pulling the strings.

Layla

8/10, I feel so bad for this poor girl. For some reason I noticed on reddit and tiktok that she's getting hate for not standing up to herself or just not being the usual "girlboss" protagonist, did it not occur that she cant do much to a duke!? Layla deserves so much better and she needs to be far away from Matthias, I don't care if it's "dark romance" he is torturing her for his own pleasure.

[brucewaynehater101]

Emperor Obi Wan Tim Kenobi has a different crown from each planet that is under his control, there are historians and fashion designers trying to figure out a singular imperial crown for Tim to wear everywhere in the empire instead of changing his shiny hat all the time in an attempt to be considerate and also because before Tim they were all trying to kill one another for the glory of their respective tyrants and a single crown for the united empire seems like a nice peace symbol. Prior to the C4 interfering, there was definitely a near genocide and all the planets are coexisting peacefully but that's mostly because they're all a little scared of one another and still healing from all the harm they inflicted on one another.

The problem with the singular imperial crown is that more planets keep joining and bring their own shiny hat for the emperor which makes the historians and fashion designers start all over again since it wouldn't be fair for the peace symbol/imperial crown to not include the newbies.

Any time one of the planets has rumblings of a rebellion wanting to overthrow the emperor because he's "soft" and making noise about returning to the bloodshed of the "good old days" they get very quietly nipped in the bud before their emperor gets any idea they existed. Tim has become a good luck charm and symbol of peace in the empire and they don't want to scare him off.

The lack of rebellions and general acceptance of his rule is, however, actually making Tim more paranoid rather than more comfortable. After all, he's used to Earth.

Earth is fucked, so I don't blame Tim at all. I wonder if Tim is scared that these planets are trying to hide their horrible history (as some powerful nations on Earth try to do with their actions).

Imma call Tim's hero name as Patron for this AU (feel free to hc a different one). Anyways, Patron is trying to find out what shit his newly acquired planets have done in the past, what sort of shit they may or may not be hiding, why absolutely no one is against his rule, and why there's been no rebellion. It's practically unheard of (especially on a human standard where some people disagree seemingly on principle) that there would be no dissent.

Is Tim helping them? Yes. Was he given the power instead of him taking it? Yes. Yet, there's also the fact that he's human. He (at the beginning) has no information on the culture, values, morals, traditions, etc. He doesn't know what's important to them. How can he thus lead them?

(Slight debate on the "lead" portion since he seems to be guiding them to self-sustainability rather than control them)

But you are absolutely correct that the zero dissent would freak Tim out. It should.

The idea about the crowns is adorable, though. I've got a somewhat simple idea for them, though. What if he had an elegant and simple design of some type of metal twisted on his head? Then, as decorations, little spheres of each planet is added. Whatever the planet looks like, it's added to the crown when Tim gains it. Just miniature planets that can easily be added or taken away based on how his empire changes over time.

It sadly doesn't have as strong of a tie as incorporating the essence of the planet into his crown, but it does allow each planet to be proudly displayed.

[simply-ivanka]

Declaration of Independence

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Signed By:

Georgia

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

Massachusetts

John Hancock

Maryland

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Delaware

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

New York

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

New Jersey

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Massachusetts

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

Connecticut

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire

Matthew Thornton

[yunarim]

hello! If you can, can you write a head cannon(others are fine) with the femperfect who had an ability to neutralize magic with a simple physical contact? Like the magic will automatically disappear once it makes contact with her so she often wears gloves, and I would like to see the overblots reaction(if you can't do all you can just do malleus ^^) thank you!

yuu can neutralize the use of any kind of magic with a touch.

… ✦ characters : overblot squad … ✦ tags : female reader, books 1-7 major spoilers, hurt/comfort, cursing in leona's and vil's parts, mention of blood in leona's part, jp translation terms (dorm leader, VDC), can be read platonically in all of parts except for vil, idia & esp malleus ones (i imply romantic way tho), me experimenting with the format or something … ✦ song : monochrome frame ⏤ kanon wakeshima … ✦ recommended : light mode [ … ✦ ao3 ]

… ✦ Riddle Rosehearts ┆touching . . . neck ⏤ ✧ Her wearing gloves wasn’t exceptional. They all were, and since Yuu didn’t have her specifically designed dorm uniform, indeed, it was quite common for her to wear gloves. 

⏤ ✧ Riddle would often find her look around before washing hands and taking off her gloves.

⏤ ✧ One day he realized he waited for her to do that and observe if she hid something underneath this accessory item but ended up dispelling his own doubts - her hands were just beautiful. 

“Oh, do you eat this with your hands?” She asked at an unbirthday party, glancing at a pink cupcake on the plate before her. 

“Yes, as a rule. If you’re worrying about getting messy, do not fret. The cupcake doesn't crumble, and Trey made sure the cream isn’t too greasy and doesn’t stick to the fingers.”

Yuu smiled, taking off her gloves and wrapping her fingers around a small cupcake. 

“Woah, such a nice taste! Tell Trey he did well.”

Still, he wondered, what was the mystery shrouded in darkness of her gloves. 

⏤ ✧ Yuu was gentle in her actions, she never judged, smiling tenderly and telling him to take his time and not to rush things. 

⏤ ✧ Unlike a certain duo getting on his nerves.

⏤ ✧ Never in his life felt he so powerful, so authoritative, so… valid. 

⏤ ✧ Something underneath was telling him it wasn’t right to throw insults at her and just… yell like he was a little child, not knowing how to handle his own emotions.

⏤ ✧ Yet maybe he was, calling her insolent and foolish. 

⏤ ✧ She was just a magicless human! Why rush to him, tearing her gloves off her hands and screaming something with such an obstinate gaze fixed on him?

“My goodness, Riddle, come to your senses!”

⏤ ✧ Her touch felt so ephemeral and light on his deadly cold skin, and even though his almost devilishly malevolent grin didn’t scare her, Yuu still bit her lip after Riddle’s phrenetic laughter. 

⏤ ✧ A sudden flash of light made him switch his attention to what happened to him just in a mere second. 

The overflowing power that pounded in his vessels with a burning seething abruptly left him in an instant, devastating his mind and body.

He collapsed, exhausted, to the ground, barely finding the strength to raise a pair of bulging eyes to her and exhale brokenly.

“What did you?.. Huh…”

⏤ ✧ He was at loss for words, not even caring about Trey’s concerns at the moment. 

⏤ ✧ Light flickered on where she touched him, and he welcomed the sensation without realizing it.

“You… you do have magic after all?”

⏤ ✧ One little gentle touch, and all of his enormous powers are gone. So simple yet devastating.

“I would call magic not the fact I neutralized you, but rather…”

She embraced him, welcoming into her tender hug and encouraging him to let all his negative emotions free, and he laughed, hiding his teary eyes in her shoulder.

Maybe she was right, and this was her real magic.

… ✦ Leona Kingscholar ┆touching . . . shoulders ⏤ ✧ He wasn’t surprised that Heartslabyul little tyrant or what do they call him even was defeated with the help of Ramshackle dorm girl.

⏤ ✧ Women are strong. And that’s a rule.

⏤ ✧ But one look at Prefect’s hands got him thinking that maybe she was strong another way. Such hands couldn’t bring harm to anyone, he was sure of it.

⏤ ✧ Her rather adamant gaze on him was such an entertaining sight to witness. 

Leona chuckled when she stepped on his tail. She did apologize for her behavior, of course, but he knew from the very beginning that she wasn’t entirely regretting her actions.  

“I’m really sorry,” her voice was firm, steady and solid enough for him to fix his gaze on her a little longer than he thought he would.

“You aren’t, Prefect.”

“Do I know you?” 

She didn’t. Yet he knew her after what happened, his eyes locked on her hands in an examining way. 

⏤ ✧ A little thought of asking Riddle what the hell is wrong with her hands since no trace of magic was found on her. ⏤ ✧ She was just a normal girl minding her business, and it was supposed to be this way.

⏤ ✧ He wasn’t against her planting flowers when he was around since she remained quiet, her head full of worry because of those little accidents he sabotaged with Ruggie’s help. 

He did know he should stay away from her hands. 

Especially in that state when his own looked so rough, long pointed claws clenching in fists and digging into the palms, scarlet blood mixed with viscous ink trickled down his hands.

⏤ ✧ Such a reckless human being, knowing nothing about his disappointment, rushed to him without any doubt. What a joke. 

⏤ ✧ Even hyenas turned against him, and would she even make any difference? Of course not…

⏤ ✧ He was trying to convince himself he stopped for a mere moment because she was a magicless woman. 

And yet somehow she almost grabbed his hand, claiming he was being unreasonable and unstable and some other pathetic bullshit.

He brushed off her hand, knowing it would do something to him. Something he realized he wasn’t so opposed to accepting when she yelled out his name, this time putting both her hands on his shoulders.

“Do this shit once more and you’ll fucking witness my real wrath, Leona, now calm down!!”

He fell into her embrace, her hands still on his shoulders but not gripping them firmly. She sighed in relief, gently stroking his hair, and smiled.

Shit, Leona thought, laughing to himself and almost craving her warm touch, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, while dust accumulated in a sedimenting cloud was dissolving around them, so no one could really see him being suddenly vulnerable.

She was dangerous. And maybe he liked it.

… ✦ Azul Ashengrotto ┆touching . . . cheeks ⏤ ✧ How curious! A supposed-to-be-magicless human performing miracles with just a little touch! 

⏤ ✧ He thought of depriving her of Ramshackle dormitory first, but now, after she bewitched Riddle and even Leona? No, he couldn’t miss such an opportunity to take her powers. 

⏤ ✧ He could have everything one might dream of in at the snap of a finger, and a siren’s voice, a ballerina’s gracefulness, a mind of greatest’ scientists ⏤ one harmless contract, and a wish could be granted. 

⏤ ✧ And yet Yuu. Girl from another dimension with that always gloved hands of hers. She was such an interesting person to observe. 

He gathered information, oh sure he did, he already had two opponents down thanks to her, and he couldn’t afford being another one himself.

“How about your neutralizing powers?”

“Ha, you wish, mind dealing with overblots then?” 

Oh, Yuu was amusing, indeed, but Azul just knew he would deprive her of her ability one day. Sooner or later. 

⏤ ✧ Despite rejecting his offer and agreeing to do an extremely ridiculous task instead of having her ability deprived, he would still find her in Mostro Lounge, her fingers on the glass full of drink he personally made, her lips gently pressing to its corners. 

⏤ ✧ A tender smile spreading on her face was quite distracting, which Azul wouldn’t ever admit, his gaze fixed on her delicate hands. 

⏤ ✧ She was captivating and it was scaring him. 

Ah, really, foolish humans, knowing about his past and making fun of his own intelligence. 

He was working so hard, but one magicless girl suddenly got all the attention and appreciation he always wanted just because she could neutralize magic with a touch?

Azul thought he hated her at the moment ink was splashing everywhere, drops of tar scattered in splatterings, falling on her clothes as well as her hands, ungloved this time.

Mind dealing with overblots… right? 

Part of him wished she would just touch him and they would be over it, but still he hesitated when she approached carefully, no signs of fear in her eyes. She was truly magnificent. 

“Let me handle this responsibility, Azul,” she said, pressing her fingers to his cheek and caressing it. A flash of light turned him back to normal state, the only difference was him crying and leaning to her touch, as if starved for it. “And you please remain the way you are.”

And he will.

… ✦ Jamil Viper ┆touching . . . hands

⏤ ✧ That Ramshackle dorm girl having an ability to neutralize others’ magic with just a one touch has become an axioma by now. 

⏤ ✧ Having any problem with the amount of magic used? Or maybe overused? Then no need to worry, NRC now had Yuu to handle all that.

⏤ ✧ He couldn’t care less about her, but still found himself thinking he felt sorry for her. He didn’t wonder how it felt to be the one everyone relies on when it’s hard, but other times forgot you exist. He knew it by heart.

… Huh. Or maybe not?

“You should give yourself more credit, you’re doing excellent. Always remember it,” she said to him one day, her fingers clasping around his wrist reassuringly.

An electrical impulse ran down his whole hand, a sudden warmth spreading in his vessels.

He chuckled, a small knife cut didn’t bother him at all. Why would she say it so unexpectedly thoughtfully to him when she stayed in Scarabia? 

Everything in his plan was perfect, and yet her words distracted him for a moment. He was too preoccupied with his own feelings and conflicted emotions to handle her… care?

⏤ ✧ No way. It was not her ability he secretly admired for being so helpful. It was her shrewdness and the way she saw people through. 

⏤ ✧ Did she feel he was about to do something malicious and not so praise worthy? Otherwise why would she say such things to him? 

⏤ ✧ There was no way she genuinely cared for his well-being.

He couldn’t remember when was the last time his emotions were so tangled and complicated so that he couldn’t sort them out. Snakes aimed right at her hands she was reaching to him weren’t scary, and even the way he smirked when her attempt to touch him failed didn’t cause her to stop. 

A small part of him wanted her words to be true but he knew all the things she said were a mere mendacity to fool him. 

“You’re not someone else’s shadow, Jamil.”

He pushed her hard enough for her to fall on her knees before him. His anger spread in the ink splashing everywhere, but she remained her gaze fixed on him nevertheless.

He thought that maybe… maybe it was worthy to believe her.

He chuckled when he outstretched his hand to be shaken himself, and Yuu smiled at him, taking his hand in her.

… ✦ Vil Schoenheit ┆touching . . . eyelids

⏤ ✧ Good for Yuu she still managed to control her own psyche by dealing with so many splashes of demolished emotions in such a short amount of time.

⏤ ✧ Still, Ramshackle Prefect was complicated to him. Vil genuinely thought there was something wrong with his sudden desire to take care of her.

⏤ ✧ She was close to being perfect by now, despite having those horrible eye bags appeared because of sleepless nights she took helping Azul with arranging new drinks in the menu and all the times Vil caught her excusing herself during their VDC rehearsals in order to check on Leona or Riddle or whoever she kept an eye on after overblotting.

Yuu was wonderful, truly. But instead of appreciating herself she preferred to praise everyone else.

And Vil wasn’t an exception.

“You’re a lifesaver,” she giggled when he bent towards her face to apply a concealer. “A true hero, really.”

Hero?.. He? Ah, Prefect, what were you saying? 

He sighed, taking her hands in his and asking whether he could take off her gloves or not as she nodded, allowing him to apply a hand cream on her skin. What a pleasant feeling…

“Even if you’re a manager, you’re still our representative. No way you would show up on stage with these eye bags of yours. And what did I tell you about having some sleep before VDC? You really…”

She smiled, saying something about having a bad feeling before going to sleep. How truly discerning she was at that very moment. 

⏤ ✧ He couldn’t be a hero, at least her hero, when he chuckled so maliciously at her attempt to reach for him. Now no one could, he was fairest of them all, outshining especially her.  

⏤ ✧ He applied a curse on her which restrained her from touching him ever so slightly, and that would be it until he willingly allowed it. He believed in his strong volition, but still…

“Every hero has their moment when they have a whole world turned against them, Vil,” she said demandingly, almost choking on the dark fog coming off from Vil’s body. “And since when do you act as if you’re such a mediocre character! Where’s Vil who would step on everyone and slay as a fucking queen you really are!!”

He laughed genuinely at her wording, not noticing her getting up from her knees after being blown away with the magic wave he created, and pulled him closer by a translucent veil, pressing a gentle kiss on his eyelids.

“I would prefer cheek instead, thank you,” he chuckled, light sparklets surrounding him. “You ruined my makeup.”

“You also ruined a whole stage, but okay.”

… ✦ Idia Shroud ┆touching . . . forehead

⏤ ✧ The one who Idia wanted to avoid the most was none other than Ramshackle Prefect.

⏤ ✧ All eyes were on her by now, and that meant he would rather die than talk to her.

⏤ ✧ If not only the whole STYX demanded him to get in touch with her in order to get the data regarding her ability, gather info on how her powers work, otherwise she would be taken by force and…

⏤ ✧ He DIDN’T want all of those at all!! She already swept every SSR character off their feet already, and now interacting with him? What the hell!

⏤ ✧ Ugh, not him actually spotting her trying to beat the boss in a PSP game. Where in the world did she find a working PSP even? 

⏤ ✧ Her fingers were clicking furiously on the buttons… those were the hands that dealt with five overblots? Unbelievable.

⏤ ✧ Unbelievably pretty⏤ WHAAH he didn’t want to even think about her that way what the!!

⏤ ✧ Idia was avoiding her like the plague. Even after all things happening at STYX he still preferred to listen to others’ complaints and oh whatsoever important rather than facing her, but his responsibilities came first above everything.

And when he thought it would be hard to convince her to do some tests in order to analyze the data received from them she willingly agreed, smiling at him like it was nothing.

“Okay, but help me with beating that boss later,” she sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. Idia wondered whether her ability was helping her herself. “I’m going crazy right here.”

“U-ugh, f-fine… It’s not even t-that hard tho…”

“It is!” She protested, turning to him and witnessing pinkish hue flaming on his hair. “It’s just you’re too good. I admire you for that.”

⏤ ✧ Nononono he wouldn’t fall into that trap, he already heard enough about her being so unnecessarily nice!!

⏤ ✧ Shit. He fell, and fell hard.

Why would deny her touch when he would make her try doing it at least? He had cool armor, he was floating midair. She couldn’t even hear him properly when Vil appeared before her, covering her with his back and demanding her stay behind. 

It was normal for him to behave that way. Covering himself in a darkness where nobody could reach for him, and yet Yuu could somehow. He jolted for a second when she yelled at him, telling Vil to step aside. 

She still couldn’t touch him. He wanted to believe that no one could, but somehow the image of her fingers clicking on a game console popped up in his mind, causing his heart to skip a beat shamelessly. He was so pathetic and⏤

“I thought you would help me beat the boss, Idia, not me helping you beat the shit out of yourself!!” 

She was insane for asking Epel to take the chariot and fly over to him, then leaning towards him and trying to touch him. She grabbed his armor, hissing under her breaths while he wasn’t getting her actions at all, trying to cover himself from her. From the rest of the world.

“Fine then! If you’re the final boss I should beat, then so be it!”

No, why was her face being so close to his, that’s bad!! 

His mind blew completely after Yuu pressed her lips to his bare forehead and threw him onto the chariot.

“Did I manage? Will you help me now then? Hehe.”

“Sh-shut up!!”

“Make me.”

Note: never ever piss Yuu off again. (Well maybe just a little because she was so hot ahem⏤)

… ✦ Malleus Draconia ┆touching . . . lips

⏤ ✧ Yuu was a rather peculiar child of man. Wielding no magic powers, and yet Malleus felt something in her from the very beginning. 

⏤ ✧ First he observed her when she was busy renovating the Ramshackle garden, she seemed so peaceful and collected, humming something under her breath.

⏤ ✧ He would bring her flowers every night without her noticing only to find her bringing blankets and a container with a hot tea in it and spending a whole night waiting for something… or rather someone to come.

⏤ ✧ “A stranger who brings me bouquets every night, please let me know you’re here. It’s quite cold outside.” She said one night, her gaze fixed on green sparkletts floating around her. 

⏤ ✧ Next day he appeared before her, placing a flower crown he made on her head. Small gypsophila flowers intertwined with scarlet zinnias, decorating her delicate image.

⏤ ✧ “Ah really, why would you appear only now. With such a pleasant gesture even! Wait for a moment then.”

She gathered some flowers she had grown by herself, then took her gloves off and did another flower crown for him personally. Something fluttered in his chest the moment she touched his horns, smiling softly, and laughed with her clear sweet voice, recoiling after decorating his head with a flower crown.

His heart was pounding in his chest, his whole body shuddered at her touch, and in that moment he knew he was close to making a deal with the devil so that the lingering feeling of her fingers would never leave him.

“Would you mind teaching me how to make those? I guess I’m pretty bad…”

He chuckled, admitting he never felt something so pleasant and light before, as if her whole body was radiating something celestial, her hands feeling absolutely pristine and divine.

⏤ ✧ Every night they met she would tell him stories about what happened to her. So many students overblotting, and yet… The way she stuttered for a moment every time she mentioned overblots was confusing to him as if she wasn’t telling something really important. 

⏤ ✧ He wanted to trust her nevertheless. She was tender in the way she looked at him, glimpses of happiness blossoming in her eyes every time he appeared in the garden, welcoming her gently. 

⏤ ✧ He craved her touch, the image of her putting a flower crown on his head still lingered in his mind, never fading nor dissolving, remaining the most precious memory of her.

“You never fail to impress me, child of man,” he said once during VDC right after Vil overblotted and he arrived.

“How come, Tsunotarou?” he laughed at how astonished others were at you calling him by that silly nickname. 

“Witnessing you have no fear towards me is truly a blessing.”

She smiled at him then, her cheeks slightly dusted with a beautiful pinkish hue. 

“Having you as my dearest friend is a blessing too!”

⏤ ✧ Friend…?

⏤ ✧ Right, friend. And what friends are needed for? 

⏤ ✧ Apparently, Malleus thought Yuu would be delighted to see him putting everyone in a sleeping state. If he can’t be someone even dearer to her, then he would be her most devoted guardian.

⏤ ✧ She resembled a fairy, telling him about her tremendous adventures, so it would be natural for him to tell her a fairy tale in return.

“Do not resist the temptation, child of man.”

His voice, so alluring and somnolent, enveloped her, her eyelids feeling leaden. He was standing right in front of her, looking at how her body trembled under his enticing enchantment. He knew by now he shouldn’t touch her, even though her eyes told him otherwise, begging to lean to her.

“Although it would be interesting to fall under your spell and feel that divine feeling, please allow me to grant you with a happy ending you truly deserve.”

“You… never asked me… what kind of ending I truly want…” Her voice was fading, and she could barely stand at that moment, but Malleus knew.

If she takes one step closer, that would be the end for him. 

So she did, thorns enveloping her, but she managed to grab Malleus by his clothes somehow, her face being extremely close to his, his astonished gaze fixed on her, blurry and sorrowful.

“Perhaps a true love kiss would wake you up from this dream, Malleus.”

She pressed her lips to his, tenderly whispering those words and smiling through the kiss when a bright light surrounded them. 

Malleus picked up her exhausted body, oblivious to the dissipation of his own magic, and looked at her worriedly, ignoring the slowly awakening students.

“Ugh… don’t underestimate me. You still haven’t taught me how to make pretty flower crowns.”

And she was right. “Indeed. That’s the least I can do for showing me the ending I truly do adore.”

⏤ ☆ notes : omg thx for requesting!! i got carried away in malleus part (a little bit.... kinda... forgive me for that) but still i hope you like it! ~

⏤ ☆ tag list : @isacoremeow

© yushiiae 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.

[unsoundedcomic]

"Bastion knows the Twin Gods and Ssael the Godslayer come from stories"?! But Lady I herself was talking about "remembering the makers". And you had said that Ssael's book was written on a book made from a substance unknown to man. And the whole weird thing about twins always being of the same gender but never any triplets etc. Those are hints of the existence of an intelligent creator. And Lady I was talking to Ssael. Bastion doesn't *know* the stories are fake, he just assumes.

Oh, without a doubt the world was made. The evidence is clear that life was engineered and is being engineered towards some purpose. The khert is nakedly designed to favour humans and behave in a way they find intuitive and useful.

However there is no reason at all to imagine those makers were the Gefendur twin gods. They could have been humans from another world - or some species grown beyond humanity - operating with highly advanced technology, eager to replicate their kind in another land. They could have been some First Senet.

(Twin births themselves are no evidence because Kasslynians don't know that triplets or beyond are even possible in humans, nor that gender mixed twins can exist. Even if they discovered that they were, and Kasslynians had been engineered to only be able to produce single babies or same gendered twins, that's still no useful evidence that the Gefendur claims are true because...) Bastion says Gefendur dogma focuses on twins because twins existed in the world when that dogma was devised. That brute fact inspired the characters; not the other way around.

Perhaps the scriptures of Ssael were written on unknown materials. Bastion has no idea, he's never examined them. But is it more likely that some self-important undead Tain obsessed with pubic hair and shrimp overthrew cosmic tyrants, or that an opportunistic group of cultists mourning their murdered leader found some rare materials and wrote a bit of aspirational fanfiction on them, then passed them off as divine?

Of course Ssael existed! He was a figure in history! And Lady Ilganyag says he had a marvellous singing voice. But Bastion says if you think that means he walked the khert whole and cut Yerta's head off, then he has a coastal cottage in Ulestry to sell you. And you should stay out of Sharteshane, lol. They'll eat you alive!

...this is where Duane calls in the Lions of Mercy and Bastion has to flee to the tune of Yakety Sax.