#i know they did this in 2019 but somehow hoped it wouldnt happen again....

[fitzrove]

Mark Seibert and Lukas Perman performing Die Schatten werden länger (Elisabeth, Schönbrunn 2022)

or as I like to call it: ‘famous musical actors playing with cat toys on national television, colourised’

[wolferals]

🌙TROUBLE🌙

arón piper imagine

🌼@bbaronpiper and I wanted to try something and got some basic keywords for a story and both of us wrote our own interpretation! A so seen little project🌼 hope you like it🌸

and check out her story as well TROUBLE

also check out her writings, shes amazing! @bbaronpiper

*

*

friday july 12th 2019

„Have you ever considered becoming a vegan officer?" you asked the tall handsome cop who sitting in front of you.

He looked at you in disbelief before speaking up:"Y/n, its one thing being a proud vegan but its another thing to carry out violet actions against Mr. Rodriguez. You overreacted and you have to deal with the consequences."

You scoffed and leaned back against your chair.

„And how long is that going to take here?"

He slowly lifted himself up from the wooden chair and turned to you once again, saying:"Apologize to him and maybe he wont sue you."

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms in front of your chest.

He was the one who had provoked you by pushing you out of the way, making you fall. You had just asked him what that had been for and he had responded:"Get out of the way little girl. Maybe go to school instead of protesting against something you cant stop. Maybe eating some meat wouldnt harm you."

And yes maybe you had overreacted by kicking him in his left leg. But how were you supposed to know he had just had surgery?

When you had heard about the protest against animal cruelty in the middle of Madrid you had immediately called your best friend to tell her to make some signs.

And that said friend was now hiding somewhere, just as the cops had arrived she left you alone and ran.

In that very moment you could've screamed but you were too busy trying to hide. But they caught you eventually, thats why you were here.

„Alright Ms. Y/l/n, we only need your personal details and then you can go. You will receive a letter from us in the next week."

You looked up and listened to the police man talking to you. Then you grabbed your bag that's been sitting on the floor throughout this time and walked outside.

„Alright, sit down." An older woman ordered you.

You unwillingly sat down on another chair in the main area of the police station.

There were two other people you noticed. A young girl, maybe around the age of 11 who had probably lost her parents in the city. And a rather damaged boy your age, perhaps a little bit older, who had scars in his face.

Your gaze fell to his hand that had bleeding knuckles.

He noticed your stare and looked at you.

He didnt look very charming you figured. He looked pretty serious and was probably one of those guys that got into fights on the regular or maybe even did drugs.

„Full name." the unpleasant female cop yelled at you.

You looked at her and then took a deep breath. Your parents would kill you, but you had no choice, you were already in deep shit.

„Y/n (y/m/n) y/l/n)" you spoke and looked to the ground.

The lady mustered you and eventually wrote down the information.

„Birthday", „Place of birth" , „family status (parents names and birthdays)"  and other personal information followed. You unwillingly answered each time.

Great, now you were officially fucked.

„Wait here." She said after she slammed the „questionnaire" on the front desk where a young woman took it and started typing something on her computer.

So you just sat there for what felt like an eternity until another police officer entered the room and grabbed a chair to sit in front of the guy with the bruises.

„Alright. So, beating up teenagers is now cool or why did you do it?" he asked him while leaning back.

The guy just laughed and then replied:"First of all, they are not teenagers, they are over 18. And second, this fucker wanted to rob me. I just defended myself."

You listened interested until they both looked at you, making you look away rapidly.

„So you're saying that this boy who is about 5'6 wanted to rob a man who already has a criminal record?"

The guy nodded and added:"I know how this sounds but look what he did to me! The guy can do karate. I just hit back to run away."

The officer took a long breath in before answering:"Well too bad you got caught and are already very well known here Arón."

The guy suddenly looked very mad again and leaned towards the old police man.

„I didnt fucking start this!"

The man got up, put the chair back to its original position and said:"I'll get the report ready Mr Piper."

The guy cursed and then leaned back against the wall.

You were looking at his face. The bruises you had noticed before looked very fresh, there was still some liquid blood in them. But in general he was quite handsome. He had a sharp jaw, a very chiseled face structure and a shaved head. He looked like a criminal, judging from how the criminals on tv look like.

„Qué??" he then asked, making you snap out of your thoughts.

„Uh nothing." you replied and coughed.

You turned your face away from him.

„First time in trouble huh?" he asked and you could hear the grin in his tone.

You looked back at him, looked him up and down and replied sassy:"Duh."

He chuckled at you.

Then he spoke:"Welcome to the real world."

You had to laugh at his word choice. Next he sat up right.

„Did you beat him up?" you then asked out of curiosity.

„Arón" stared right into your eyes and eventually stated:"Did you kick the man out of nowhere?"

You responded with a small laugh. „Yeah." he just claimed and looked around.

„I'm fucked." you mumbled after a couple of seconds.

You could feel him looking at you. „Nah the first time isnt as bad. Plus, you just kicked someone, you didnt kill anyone."

Your head shot around. „Ah someone knows his way around huh?"

Arón chuckled again. „Nah. Not yet." he smiled.

You noticed a little gap between his front teeth. He didnt look as dangerous when he smiled.

„You know I'm good at assuming things about people. And you dont seem like a killer girl." he suddenly said.

You smiled and scanned his face secretly.

„What do I seem like then?"

He grinned and the next thing he did was stare you up and down for a bit. Until he finally spoke:"Rich girl, who lives with her parents. She likes to say what she thinks and sometimes gets into fights because of that. But she's never been arrested before so mommy and daddy are going to ground you for that."

You scoffed at him.

But he wasn't completely wrong.

„Well. Okay." was all you could say. He was pretty right about his statement.

After sitting in the hall for a little, the old officer finally came back and handed you your ID.

„You can go."

You got up and grabbed your bag with your left hand.

„Hey princess, tell mommy and daddy I'm sorry for their criminal daughter." you heard Aróns voice as you wanted to leave the police station.

„Ha ha very funny." you replied and faked a smile that turned into a frown.

„Hey girly, can I crash at your mansion some time?" he yelled after you.

„Sure. But I wont tell you where I live." you grinned and looked at his expression.

He looked chill despite the fact that he was in trouble like you had been.

„Dont worry, I'll find you."

You nodded unbelieving and then finally kept walking.

Now you had to explain to your parents why you were late, and why you were expecting a letter from the police. Fuck.

•

•

You somehow managed to tell your parents exactly how it happened without being yelled at. They believed that it wasn't completely only your fault yet they werent happy about the fact that you ended up at the police. But on the other hand you had never had any problems with the law before and you were usually a good girl, so they werent worried as much as expected. You hadnt told them about the lawsuit yet though. That was a future problem.

As it was now the next day you were just at home, finishing some assignments for your second year of college that would start next week.

You had taken a shower after dinner and then went to your room to watch a show before heading to bed.

To be honest, you had almost forgotten about the whole lawsuit thing when you went to bed that night. It got late, you got stuck with the newest season of your favorite show and actually fell asleep at around 1:30.

A loud noise woke you from your sleep and you sat up right, looking around all confused.

Your room was completely dark besides the streetlights from outside your window.

You heard the knock again and a shockwave went right through your body. Where did it come from? The house was all silent since your parents' bedroom was downstairs and your sister was sleeping at her boyfriends' almost every night.

Slowly you made your way threw the hallway checking where the noise came from. Your first thought was that it was probably the neighbors cat in the backyard or something but then you realized the bangs came from the bathroom.

You grabbed the first thing near you which was a vase that had been standing on a little table in the hallway.

Eventually you walked to the bathroom and turned on the light.

You got scared immediately as you saw a face in front of the window.

After looking at the person you realized it was the guy from the police station. You closed the bathroom door and unlocked the window.

„What the fuck are you doing here?" you whisper yelled.

The guy climbed into the room. He was wearing a black hoodie with some dark grey sweatpants and a black beanie. „You said i could sleep here if I found you. And i did."

You were actually creeped out. So you just stared at him until your confidence came back. „How did you fucking find my house?" you asked and pushed him back a little bit. He grinned and leaned against the sink. „I stole the paper with your information."

Your eyes widened. „You what??" you asked him in disbelief. „You're welcome. Now they got nothing against you. For the police you dont exist."

You didnt know if you should thank him for it or hit him in the face for doing such a stupid thing. What if the police thought you stole it? „So where can i sleep then?" he asked you and took a look around. His bruises were still visible but now looked a lot more clean and healed.

„Uh." you stuttered and thought about his question.

„My parents are right downstairs. You cant just sneak in here and expect me to offer you my bed. I dont know you, you could be a psycho!" He laughed at you and stepped closer to you. You were intimidated because you couldnt step back any farther. Your back was already touching the wall next to the bathtub.

„I wont hurt you, I just need a place to sleep." You looked right into his eyes that were only inches away from yours.

He was so close he could probably hear your heart pound. It was about to jump out of your chest. You then offered him to sleep on the small couch in your room, if he promised to disappear before your parents found out.

So you passed him a blanket and two pillows and finally turned off the light the second time this night.

„Goodnight." you automatically whispered. You heard a little chuckle from the other side of the room before he whispered back a quiet:"Gracias."

•

When you woke up a couple of hours later your room was lightened by the sun. You rubbed your eyes and sat up. You almost had a little heart attack when you saw someone laying on your couch. But then you remember what happened only 4 hours before. The guy who's name you werent sure about -was it Arón?- was sleeping peacefully, his closed eyes facing you. You noticed he had taken off his shirt. You didnt see his stomach but you could see his naked, muscular arms over the blanket. And you saw some tattoos on them. And a small tattoo on his chest.

He looked quite cute when he was sleeping.

You then checked your phone and thought about what you'd do today until you heard footsteps coming upstairs.

Your mom! She always says goodbye before work. Its like a mother-daughter tradition because once when you were a kid and she didnt say bye you had a panic attack because you thought something happened to her. You jumped up from the bed towards the couch.

„Wake up! Wake up! You gotta hide, my mom's coming!" you shook him to wake him up. He replied with a raspy groan and eventually opened his eyes.

„Huh?" he asked confused looking at you. -„Hide! My mom!" You whispered and waited for him to get in the closet.

But since he took so long realizing what was going on, it happened what had to happen.

Your mom was standing in your room, staring at both of you. You in your oversized shirt and no pants and this strange boy shirtless. You were fucked.

„Uhh y/n?" she asked and looked at you in confusion.

You were all staring each other down until Arón spoke up:"Mrs. Y/l/n, im so sorry. My name is Arón, I'm your daughters boyfriend." He shook her hand smiling. Your mother on the other hand looked confused as hell. Just as you. Did he just call himself your boyfriend?

„Oh. I didnt know she had a boyfriend." Your mom replied and then actually chuckled. She laughed! She wasnt mad?

„I have to go to work now but nice to meet you Arón. See you later honey, i think we have to talk."

She said after none of you said anything.

„Likewise" Arón spoke before your mom left your room and closed the door.

„What the hell?" you yelled at him and lightly punched him in the chest.

„I had no choice. What do you want me to do? Say that I broke in here because we met at the police station?"

You ran your hand through your hair and then said:"Please go. I'm in enough trouble already. Please leave."

He nodded, then grabbed his sweater and put it back on.

„Can i sleep here tonight too? I dont really know where to go." he asked while picking up his things.

You rolled your eyes but nodded softly.

„Thank you!" He smiled and came up to you.

„Sure." you replied and crossed your arms.

He opened the door to your room and whispered a „see you tonight" before finally leaving your house.

You didnt really trust this guy. Something about him was off but you didnt know quite yet what it was.

•

•

Arón's been crashing at your place for a week now and a lot of weird things happened inbetween. You only saw him at night when he climbed through your bedroom or the bathroom window. Then you usually went to bed and in the morning he left. You never knew where he went and you also didnt know why he couldnt sleep at his parents'.

Your mom and dad had both talked to him before and actually believed he was your boyfriend. Around them he acted like an angel but you knew he wasnt. I mean, he's never insulted you or been rude but he certainly wasnt an example of a good guy.

One night as you were sleeping, him laying on your couch, you were woken by someones voice talking in your room.

Arón was walking around your carpet, speaking into his phone loudly.

„Whats up?" you whispered and looked at him all sleepy.

He showed you he needed a second and kept discussion in spanish.

He was pretty loud and you were worried your parents might wake up from his voice. And he seemed mad, almost aggressive.

He then hung up and before you knew, he slammed his phone on the wall. It broke immediately, shocking you intensely.

„Jeez what the fuck!" you spoke and got up from the bed.

Arón in the meantime put on his jacked and wanted to walk out of the room but you chased him, trying not to make too much noise walking downstairs.

„Where are you going?" you asked.

„I need to see someone before this certain person wakes your parents." he boldly spoke and opened the front door.

You were only wearing shorts and a top and it was chilly outside. But you were far too concerned to grab a jacket.

You closed the door behind you and ran after him.

„Y/n go to bed." he then ordered as he kept walking.

„No i need to know whats happening."

He scoffed at you and finally stopped as you both reached a person standing around the corner.

Aron was just standing there staring at the dark dressed man.

You were right behind him, carefully taking a look.

„Arón." the guy finally spoke and came up to you both, grabbing aron by the jacket.

„What do you want?" arón asked the man, sounding as if he was about to rip his head off.

„Needed to see you little brother." the guy replied and then noticed you hiding behind Aróns back.

„Oh got yourself a girlfriend huh?" he grinned and walked around him to get closer to you.

„Hey you." he smiled and reached out to touch you but you backed off and mustered him.

„She's hot." the guy then said and turned around to arón again.

„What the fuck are you doing here Juan?" Arón finally spoke up. „Taking you home. Mom is worried about you."

Aron laughed fake before claiming:"Oh really?"

Juan stepped right in front of Aron and looked at him.

„I like your new haircut brother. You look like a prisoner."

Arón didnt reply, he clenched his fist as if he was about to hit.

„If you keep going like that, you will be soon." Juan added and smiled at him.

„Fuck off im not coming home." arón mumbled and wanted to step back but Juan grabbed his arm and answered:"You. Are coming with me. Because I say so."

Aron freed his arm and yelled:"Get out of my life."

You just watched as they were yelling at each other. The reason for Aróns stubbornness wasnt quite clear for you until he said one specific thing:"Mom and Dad dont want me back! All they want was you. You're the only son they ever wanted."

He was jealous of his big brother.

What you figured out from their conversation, Juan was a troublemaker himself but then started studying and was now about to be a lawyer. Apparently their parents had always supported him, even though he used to be in deep shit often times. Arón kept claiming that he was „nothing to their parents".

At some point the situation escalated and Juan grabbed Aron rather harshly and Aron pushed him back. Which made Juan fall to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete.

Juan looked even more furious than Aron then.

He got up again and basically jumped arón.

You felt useless, watching those brothers fight in the middle of the streets.

But suddenly you decided to do something.

You went up to them and jumped on Arons back to make him stop.

„Stop this shit before someone calls the cops!" you tried to calm them down.

But Aron was so furious he threw you right off.

You landed on your back rather harshly, moaning out in pain. It had been really fucking painful.

He didnt even notice that he had hurt you, they kept yelling at each other until you heard police sirens getting closer.

Juan seemed to notice as well and let go of Aron.

„You know what, fuck you! You're useless to this family. Come back after achieving something!" Juan yelled and just disappeared between the streetlights and the bushes.

„Fuck." Aron cursed and finally turned around to you.

„Run!" he then said as the police car turned around the corner.

You got up in pain and grabbed his reached out hand.

„Faster!" he told you and pulled you with him as he was running super fast. You almost stumbled over your own feet.

„Where?" you just asked and concentrated on running as fast as you could.

Usually you hated running but right now it felt good. Free kind of. You had never run from the cops, especially not with a known criminal who wasnt as bad as you thought.

„Fuck, run faster." he yelled but you couldnt go any faster.

Eventually he let go of you to make you jump into a bush.

The cops were right behind you but didnt seem to notice you hiding, they ran past you after Aron.

And aron on the other hand did something you hasnt expected. He stopped running.

He turned around and put his hands up in the air.

What the fuck was he doing?

The police reached him and put him in a secure grip in a fast motion. He couldve gotten away easily if he hadnt stopped!

They grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the alley of trees towards the police car.

You looked him straight in the eyes as they walked past you. He inconspicuously smiled at you.

What was he doing?

As they sat him in the police car you slowly got out of the bush.

So you just stood there. They couldve seen you but you didnt care, you just wanted to see what was happening.

Some of your neighbors were outside looking as well.

Before the car took off you felt your phone vibrate in your back pocket.

Who would text you at 3am?

You took it and opened the message.

You started to smile and looked up to see him smiling at you from the police car.

Arón:"Can I crash again when I get out?"

⭐️

[eternal-fractal]

Kris isnt evil.

And yes, kris has his soul throughout the game.

Did everyone forget the pacifist ending post a genocide run?

Frisks eyes shine red, being possessed by chara, where you are unable to control frisk.

And the soul disposal? Chara already owns your soul post genocide in undertale, so they dont need to get rid of it.

But not in deltarune.

You know why chara had to take control at the end?

Because you cant control kris when they're unconscious, or unable to move by themselves. You see this during the end of the chaos king fight, and start of the dark world, where kris has to wake up and get up on his own. And chara didnt take control in the dark world because it was a bad time.

Controlling kris seems to be a consenting agreement, because kris can control himself at any time, without you being able to do anything. Like when they're afraid of susie, and backing up into the locker. Theres also the shielding scene in the chaos king fight. Not to mention the beginning where kris walks into the car, or when he chooses to hold toriels hand in the school They also get mad when mk insults susie after the dark world.

Kris seems to have control over himself whenever they want. So it doesnt seem like you're some sort of puppet master.

Why is this? Well, I have two ideas.

1) is that kris isnt even aware you're controlling him, because your "connection" isnt a master puppeteer and puppet one.

Or two, one that makes more sense and can help explain the rest of deltarune,

2) kris may have had that vessel dream in the beginning. And the text that appears is gaster talking in your place. The reason you made a vessel was because gaster knew about the threat of chara removing kris's soul, to take over and had you create a "backup" so kris would still have a body, and would have a chance to stop chara. Meaning that you'll likely play as your vessel in chapter two.

Why is chara doing this? I feel like this could be chara from the genocide run in undertale, with so much lv that they're unable to be reasoned with, and who's goal is to destroy worlds, and destroyed the undertale one. Let's call them lv-chara

But gaster didnt exist in that world, and he was unaffected by the genocide. But we do know he is observing this world helpless to intervene.

So I believe that after the universe was destroyed in undertale, he decided to craft an entirely new one, since the old world is unable to be saved, as lv-chara has gained absolute control over that universe.

But they wouldnt have that control over a new universe.

So they took every possible measure they could so that the genocide run could never happen again.

This is why "your choices dont matter" because gaster knows about the "anomaly." Which is the player, and all the possible timelines. So gaster got rid of any other timeline. And hell, even in the agreement of the game, he forced you to accept the terms of "you will accept everything that happens from now on."

Why? Well, does the quote "But you refused" ring a bell?

This is why they created the vessel. Because if chara somehow managed to bypass all that, he would be helpless.

This could even explain why the save points look different. Kris doesnt have as much less determination as they did in undertale, giving them enough power for a few resets but not enough to erase the world. (I'll get to kris in undertale shortly)

A few times you dont even reset when you're defeated. You just pop up at the last save point, after you've been defeated. You see this happens when susie defeats you and ralsei. (If you didnt know, when you lose and come back, you get more dialogue where susie rematches you because you arent pleading to not join.) You only reset a few times, like at the jevil fight. This is probably because you dont actually die the other times. Meaning jevil literally kills you.

This even explains why you have three save files.

Because even if chara manages to destroy the world, you'll have two more chances.

This is why gaster forces you into a pacifist run.

Because he hopes, and prays to any unknown being that could be greater than him, that you wont repeat your mistakes.

And if you will, gaster prays that you can't repeat your mistakes.

He doesnt even know if the anomaly will come back, be the same anomaly, or if there will even be an anomoly.

He also created a universe where chara never even existed. Taking their place in this universe is: frisk!

But why would frisk be so okay with this?

They had even less control in undertale. This is an improvement.

But that's not the main reason. You know how gaster is taking every possible precaution? I would say this includes talking to frisk about his plan, and begging them to help.

Frisk, of course never even had a say in the genocide run. Of course they would want to live in a world with control over their soul, (which was sold against their will) no possible threat of genocide, and the ability to live a happy life with all their friends in the underground, with no human vs monster war, where asriel never even became flowey, and where there was no resetting.

"But frisk and kris are different names?" Is frisk even a name? According to how many of me, theres only around a thousand and a half people named frisk. That's an extremely low amount. And this is 2019, so how many of them are kids named after undertale? And when I went on a few sites like baby names, frisk didnt even have any results.

So it's likely that they just asked gaster if they could change it to a name they liked more before the new universe was made. And even if frisk didnt want to change it, theres still reason to. Gaster wants to take every possible precaution, no matter how small or "insignifigant" remember? And that could include changing their name to frisk to make it harder for chara to find them, if they even could.

"But what if I never did a genocide run in undertale?"

That doesnt matter. Because this isnt about your undertale run. Any of ours actually.

Toby fox even tells us that this is a world separate from undertale, and our undertale world will remain exactly how we left it.

This even fits the message of undertale where you "cant undo your actions" you may not be able to undo your actions, but you can move past them, make better decisions, and learn from your mistakes.

And depending on your actions in undertale, you could be the same anomaly or a different one. If you did a genocide run, you're the same anomoly. But if you never did, or hell, never played undertale in the first place, you're a different anomoly.

But when do anomolys take control?

I feel like here, anomolys take control right before a major event. This is why you can see kris is several years older than frisk was. The major event here isnt chara, but the dark world. This is why you create the vessel as soon as you get there.

Gaster doesnt seem to have absolute control over this universe, despite making it.

This is why he makes a "connection" with you. He NEEDS an anomoly. Think about the difference between playing a game and doing it in reality?

Let's say you beat asgore in undertale. You were able to beat him there, but in reality? Be honest. Not only would you not survive one fireball, but you would not have the physical movement, reflexes, or ability to beat him.

In the undertale universe, anomalies are able to do the impossible easily. Gaster needs that ability to beat chara.

And you know the narrator chara theory? If it's true, How could it fit into here if kris still has dialogue boxes, and chara doesnt follow them around?

Like I said kris still has a lot of control. The narrator is likely just kris, if the narrator even is someone.

What do you guys think? Personally, I feel like I made a pretty damn good theory for what's going on in deltarune.

[canadiankazz]

The Sixth Time - An L.A. by Night Fanfic

Seeing as how his sanctum is currently off-limits, Annabelle invites Jasper over to her place. He gets a little bold during feeding again and they talk about the Blood Bond.

L.A. By Night Alternative Universe where Jasper has been feeding from Annabelle for several weeks/months and they have developed a Blood Bond. SPOILERS for the end of Campaign 1 including the one-shots. This was written before Season 2, Episode 4.

It’s worth reading the rest of the series before this part.

The Entire ‘Feeds From’ Master List Can be Found Here

I lay no claim to owning any of the characters involved. 

As always, special thanks to @cravatfiend for the support, feedback and encouragement during the writing of the drafts. Special love to @gokaiyellow for their additional input and for being as patient as they can, and to @fluffy-wookiees  because it was our conversation about Blood Bonds that inspired the main chunk of this fic. Thank you to everyone else who has enjoyed this series so far. 

Also posted to the author’s Ao3.

First published Feb. 11, 2019.

The Sixth Time Jasper Fed From Annabelle

Jasper was trying to read in bed, but he was having difficulty concentrating. He could hear his newest prisoner from the Ivory Tower ranting and raving from all the way across his sanctum. In the month previous, Baron Abrams had secretly managed to acquire Nelli's sire, Chaz Price. Chaz had then been placed in Jasper's possession for safekeeping until the Barons and the Prince and whoever else in charge of Kindred politics in California worked out their political arguments.

Chaz was currently calling Jasper every insult under the sun and moon, but Jasper was doing his best to ignore it. This had been going on more or less since he had woken Chaz up from his staked Torpor in his cage. He had heard it all before, from Tara, and from others. It was better to let Chaz get it all out of his system now. Jasper didn't know how long he was to keep him here. It had already been weeks. It could be months, it could be years. Jasper hoped it wouldn’t be decades.

Jasper put down his book, which was about famous ghosts from around Hollywood, and sighed. It wasn't Chaz's insults that were distracting him, not really. It was an odd feeling of loneliness. Before Chaz, his sanctum had been relatively quiet, save for the times when Annabelle had come over. Jasper reached down off the side of the bed furthest from the door and found the small plastic tea light candle he had hidden down there, out of sight behind one of the bed legs. He brought it up and flicked the little switch on the bottom to turn on the fake flame. It flickered dimly. The button battery that powered it was slowly dying.

He missed her, he realised. On a night like this, he might have called her to come over and hang out. They might have watched a movie. She might let him feed off her. He licked his fangs at the memories he had of biting into her flesh, of tasting her powerful Brujah Vitae, and of the sounds she made as the endorphins brought on by the Kiss clouded her brain and made her body react in rather interesting ways.

His phone buzzed with a text message. He looked at the screen. It was Annabelle, texting him privately, away from the group coterie chat. He smiled. She had been thinking of him too. Was it her emotions he was feeling, mixed with his own? Their Blood Bond had faded somewhat since their last encounter many weeks ago, but if Jasper concentrated, he could feel where Annabelle was in the city, and was sure that if she were in any great danger or emotional state, he would know about it.

“I had a dream about you yesterday,” Annabelle's message read.

Jasper dreamed about her all the time, but he hadn't ever told her about it. He wasn't surprised she had been dreaming about him too.

“What happened in it?” He inquired.

“You were feeding from me.”

Jasper smirked. He could envision Annabelle blushing while she was typing that.

“Where?” he asked, both meaning where on her body, and also a location for them both to be in. He had only ever fed from her in his sanctum, but with Chaz here under his secret lock and key, Annabelle wasn't allowed back in.

“Everywhere,” was Annabelle's reply. Jasper chuckled.

“Did you have a favourite place?” he asked. He wasn't usually this much of a texter, but he didn't want Chaz to hear him making any calls.

“Neck.” Again, Jasper could picture Annabelle blushing.

“Mine too,” he replied truthfully. He sighed a little to himself. His hunger was under control at the moment, thanks to the elder Toreador still cursing him out in his cage, but feeding from his prisoner and feeding from Annabelle were two totally different things. Annabelle wanted him to bite her. She enjoyed it almost as much as he did. Sometimes, he thought she enjoyed it more than him, especially when she used Blush of Life while he bit her. He hesitated a very long moment, before texting her again. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

He blinked at her reply, not sure how to respond.

Annabelle didn't send him another message for a long time. He briefly thought that she might be done for the night, but he was wrong.

“Elle is going out of town this weekend to visit her parents,” Annabelle told him. “And Mark is still away.”

He waited without replying. Annabelle was typing another message, erasing it, and re-wording it. He knew what she was going to ask him, and was about to pre-emptively inquire about it when her message finally got through.

“Would you like to come over on Saturday?”

He did. He very much wanted to spend the weekend with her, at her place. They hadn't seen a lot of each other in a long time. He had also never been inside her house, and had to admit he was curious.

Still, there was something inside him that made him hesitate in his reply. It wasn't Chaz. Chaz could sit a few days on his own, and Jasper would make sure he fed him before he left.

No, it was something else, something more intimate. Jasper knew that if he did go, the weekend was likely to turn into another feeding date, and likely an extended one at that. He doubted either of them would be able to help themselves, strong though their willpower was. If Annabelle did let him bite her again, their Blood Bond would redevelop and strengthen. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it still made him a little nervous. There was ever growing tension between the Anarchs and the Camarilla these nights, and if, somehow, the Camarilla worked out that Jasper was holding Chaz captive, they could use Annabelle to get to him. He had already promised himself that any Kindred who hurt Annabelle would not last the night if Jasper were able to get to them. He also knew that Annabelle could definitely handle herself in a fight. But she was also still a Neonite, having been Kindred for less than a year, and the Camarilla was home to many very powerful vampires who could take her apart quite easily if they wanted to.

Jasper's phone buzzed again. Annabelle had sent him a single question mark, waiting for his reply.

It was dangerous, and he knew he shouldn’t, but damn it... he wanted to. He had already admitted that he missed her. It was already too late to deny his growing feelings, beyond just the bond with her blood.

“Yes, I would,” he texted her. “What time?”

He could picture her smiling, her pretty face lit up both with the light from her phone, and the joy and anticipation she got from his reply.

“11:00 Sat.” she replied.

“See you then,” Jasper promised.

Annabelle sent him a smiley face. He didn't return it, but he smiled physically.

**

Saturday night came and Jasper arrived completely unseen to Annabelle's door. He had taken every precaution he could think of to secure his haven and the prisoner inside it. He wanted to enjoy this weekend without having to worry, though it would always be on the back of his mind. He found that he wasn't as nervous about visiting Annabelle at her home as he thought he might be. His Beast was getting excited though. He could feel it in his chest and throat. He growled at it, closing his eyes and counting to ten. He hadn't lost control with Annabelle on one of their dates yet, and he wasn't about to.

He knocked, letting himself become visible as he interacted with the door. He pulled his hood down lower over his face, just in case someone from another house was watching. He didn't have long to wait. Annabelle flung the door open and greeted him happily.

“Jasper, hey!”

He smiled at her. “Hi.”

“Come in.” She beckoned him into the warm interior of the home and he stepped over the threshold. She closed the door behind them. He instantly found himself glancing around, taking in the space.

Annabelle led him through to a tiny living room. There was one bookshelf full of books, one full of DVDs and Blu-Rays and another full of CD's. Jasper found himself drawn to them. He tilted his head to read the covers and cases.

Annabelle watched him with a little amused smile. “How have you been?”

“Oh you know... “ he shrugged. “Same as ever.”

She gave him a flat look. “Don't be mysterious with me, Jasper.”

He gave her a little half smile. “I've been pretty good.”

“Yeah? Me too.”

There was something unsaid between them. It was easier, sometimes, to say things like “I've missed you” over text rather than out loud.

Jasper sat on a sofa. It was second hand, inexpensive student furniture, but he felt at home with that. In fact, a lot of Annabelle's place reminded him of his own, except she had a lot more stuff. Photos of Annabelle, Mark and Elleanore together, knick-knacks, Anime figures, even the odd stuffed animal were everywhere. The room was neat and cluttered at the same time. There was a framed Les Miserables poster on the wall that made him smile. There was also a lot of vampire media, mostly shoved into one corner. Books and DVDs and Blu-Rays about Dracula, Underworld, Anne Rice, and more. He shook his head a little when he saw that.

“How's your new... guest?” Annabelle asked.

“A pain in the ass,” Jasper said. “I was glad you invited me over.”

“You know... I still don't approve of all that,” she said with a frown.

“Yeah... I know, but when you change the world, I won't keep anyone in a cage ever again.”

Annabelle's jaw tightened a little and she searched his face for any sign he was making fun of her. She couldn’t see any. “Right. Well...” she sighed. “Would you like to finish watching Hellsing?”

They had left off part way through the second to last episode. Jasper grinned. “Yes, please.”

They sat next to each other on the sofa as they watched the OVA on Annabelle's small flat screen TV. Gradually, so gradually neither of them were aware of it, they got closer and closer to each other. Soon, they were touching hands, then a hand was on a knee. By the end of it, they were leaning against each other and neither of them minded. The epic religious choir music that played over the final end credits made Jasper smile. Annabelle noticed.

“What's that look for?” she asked him

“This music is awesome.”

“It is pretty cool,” she agreed. “This is your thing?”

“Oh yeah. It reminds me of O, Fortuna.”

Annabelle giggled. “You're such a dramatic goth.”

Jasper snorted and shrugged. “Well...”

“Don't you deny it!”

“I wasn't going to!” he said defensibly, but with a smile.

A quiet settled between them. Annabelle bit her lip and touched his hand. “Would you like a tour?”

“Sure,” Jasper said.

Annabelle got up and showed Jasper around. It didn't take long in the small house. Living room, kitchen, bath, laundry, bedrooms. The room Annabelle slept in felt so very much like her that Jasper couldn’t help but smile. Anime, band posters and little love notes from her partners decorated the walls. There were some clothes stacked on a chair by a desk covered in textbooks and old protest fliers. Her window had a large, thick blanket covering it, duck-taped securely to the wall with multiple layers. Jasper eyed this critically. Annabelle followed his gaze.

“Oh, that's very secure, don't worry,” she assured him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, it hasn't fallen down yet. Just don't pull on it too hard.”

Jasper scowled, not reassured. He didn't feel like he should have to tell Annabelle how dangerous something like that could be.

“Jasper, it's okay,” Annabelle said again. “The blind is down on the other side. The blanket's just for extra security. Besides... I'm still here, aren't I?”

He licked his fangs, thinking this over. Annabelle swallowed.

“Okay,” he relented reluctantly.

“Um... besides, look at this!” Annabelle stepped towards her bed, which was quite a lot wider than Jasper's. “Look at how big my bed is,” she teased, waving her hands like a girl on The Price is Right. “It can fit two, sometimes three people in it!”

Jasper snickered. “Very impressive,” he admitted.

Annabelle sat on the bed, playfully bouncing a few times. Her smile was infectious. “I almost can't believe you're here,” she told him. “I almost can't picture you in a home like this.”

He shrugged and sat on the bed next to her. “Well... I was, sort of. A long time ago.” He sighed and looked around again, remembering.

Annabelle's smile faded. She hadn't meant to dig up sad, old memories of the life he had to leave behind, but she didn't. “Jasper, I'm sorry.”

His brow furrowed a little and he looked at her, his thoughts snapped out of whatever he had been remembering. “Why?”

“I feel sometimes like... maybe I'm a little insensitive to that fact that... I still kind of have my old life, a bit, and you don't. And I'm sorry. I don't mean to be insensitive.”

“It's okay,” he said quietly. “I know you don't mean to, but sometimes it is a little like... you know... check your privilege.” He smirked a little.

She smirked a little too.

He wanted to change the subject and, feeling bold, took her hand in his. “So... what else did you have planned for this weekend?” Jasper turned her hand over palm-up and ran a faint line over her wrist with his cold, pale thumb. He had bitten her there before and he was deliberately trying to remind her of that. It worked. He felt her shiver, just a tiny bit, and she swallowed again.

“Um... well...” her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. “I did think that we could... feed, if you wanted to.”

“I've missed someone giving me permission,” he admitted to her. “It makes me feel a little less horrible, sometimes.”

“Oh, Jasper...” Annabelle bit her lower lip, her heat breaking a little. “I don't think you're horrible.”

“I am a little though.” He knew there was no denying that, but he wasn't particularly sad about it. It was a fact.

“Well... not here, you're not,” Annabelle insisted. “Here, you have permission.”

He showed his fangs when he smiled. “Thank you.” He stroked her wrist again. He couldn’t feel her pulse, not yet, but he imagined it might be getting a little faster if it could.

“It's been a while,” Jasper said after a moment of silence. “Where would you... like me to begin?”

Again, Annabelle smiled like she would have turned scarlet. “Wherever you want,” she said quietly. He voice was a little breathy. Already, her body was reminding her of the experience to come. The bite – the Kiss – was a taboo pleasure that she couldn’t achieve with her boyfriend and girlfriend, although she had tried. Of course, sex with them was good. It always had been. But this... whatever she and Jasper had was something different, something more... well, the only thing Annabelle could think to describe it was vampiric. It felt wrong but oh, so very good at the same time.

For Jasper, it was the most intimate he had allowed himself to be with someone in five years. He did not count his other feedings from Kindred as being anything like this. With them, it had been a necessary thing, or so he told himself. Though he enjoyed the taste of terror and he enjoyed toying with Camarilla assholes, being with Annabelle and being willingly offered her blood was something he found himself enjoying far more.

“Neck?” Jasper asked.

Annabelle's free hand went to the collar of her T-shirt, which was much higher than that of the tank tops she had worn previously when he had bitten her throat. “I'll get blood on my shirt,” she mumbled.

“If you don't want blood on your shirt, take it off,” Jasper told her, surprising himself with the bold words. He was mildly surprised again when she did what he requested. He thought she might have said no, but she didn't. The shirt hit the bedroom floor. She wasn't wearing the lacy bra he had seen before, but he liked the way this one went with her skin tone. He found himself staring and looked away. He heard Annabelle chuckle.

“It's okay,” she said. She sounded nervous, but excited. “Are you okay?”

He looked at her again and swallowed. Was this not everything he wanted? He had repressed that side of him long ago due to the Nosferatu curse, but Annabelle was bringing it out in him again. She didn't care that he was a Nosferatu. She was happy to be with him. Jasper nodded. “It's just been a while,” he mumbled.

She scooted away, back onto the bed and gave him an inviting look. “It'll come back to you.”

He followed her up the bed and lay next to her. The extra space was nice, but he didn’t want to admit it out loud.

“You know...” he said, with a pause to touch his tongue to his fangs, “If someone had told me four or five years ago that this is where I would end up one day, I would have thought someone was playing a cruel joke on me.”

Annabelle smiled at him. “Lucky you then, I guess.”

Jasper chuckled. “Yeah.” He hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder, trailing his fingers up to her neck and Annabelle leaned into his touch. This made him feel bolder. It reminded him that he was wanted. His hand lingered over her pulse point and he blinked in amazement when he felt her activate Blush of Life. Like magic, her skin warmed and he could feel the quick but steady pulse in her neck. Annabelle sighed and fidgeted a little. His hand was deathly cold.

Jasper thought he should say something, but nothing was imminently coming to mind. He shifted, leaning over her a little. His fangs itched and his Beast growled. Her warm, inviting skin and the delicious Vitae under it were temptingly close. When he did open his mouth to speak, his voice was a snarl.

“May I?”

Annabelle shivered at the growl. Her skin erupted into goosebumps. Already, she was turned on. Her body remembered the pleasure he had brought her in the past. “Yes,” Annabelle breathed.

Slowly, as if to drag out every moment, Jasper slid his long, sharp fangs into her flesh. Again, he had gone for the spot where her neck met her shoulder. Annabelle let out a gasp and a whimper at the pain of it. Her body tensed and she found herself gripping a pillow. She could feel Jasper's tongue on her skin. He shifted again a little and she felt him place a hand on her opposite shoulder to the one he was biting and slowly trail it downwards over her body right as the ecstasy hit her.

Annabelle let out a long, soft moan of arousal as the pleasure slowly crawled across her body. Jasper's hand trailed down over her bra, over her breast, and settled on her ribs. He could taste the lust in her blood. He only wanted to take a little bit at the moment, just a sample. They had all weekend, after all. Annabelle trembled and squirmed beneath him. Her grip on the pillow tightened. She was biting back another moan or cry of pleasure. His Beast was almost purring inside him, listening to her heavy breathing and tasting her desire. It wanted more, it always wanted more, but Jasper had to hold back.

Annabelle sighed as he lifted his fangs away from her. She hadn't quite reached the climax her body had been heading towards, but she was shaking with the anticipation of it. She was about to say something, but she felt Jasper's cold tongue dip south of her collarbone and lick up a warm drop of Vitae that had begun to run slowly downwards. His hand found hers that had been clutching the pillow and, without saying anything, he brought it down to her crotch. She was wearing jeans, and she was aware of how restrictive they were currently feeling. Jasper pressed Annabelle's hand to the oh-so-sensitive area that was begging to be touched between her legs and give her neck wound another little suck.

Annabelle's body bucked with that blessed, cursed release she had been seeking. He kept her hand pressed to her jeans and his mouth on her neck to catch any more drips and to keep her climax going as long as it could. He could feel her fingers moving involuntarily against herself, trapped under his own. The scream Annabelle had been fighting back escaped through her clenched teeth.

Jasper tenderly licked her wound closed and drew back from her a little bit, including pulling his hand away from hers. Annabelle's body curled into a slight foetal position as she trembled in the aftershocks. He could her her cursing to herself under her breath. Jasper stroked her arm, smiling to himself. That had been a spur of the moment idea, but he liked the results.

Annabelle's face was bright red when she looked at him. He tried and failed to look innocent.

“What?” he asked.

Annabelle clenched her jaw, but smiled at him. “You... that...”

“Yes?”

She playfully punched his chest. He fell back onto the bed in mock pain. “Ow.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled. She snuggled up to him and he put an arm around her near naked torso.

“I still don't know what that was for,” he chided.

“Yeah, you do.” Her pulse was still slightly fast. Her hips squirmed a little.

“How are you feeling?” He knew the answer, but wanted her to say it.

“Good,” Annabelle sighed in contentment. “You have a way of making me feel so good...”

He stroked her shoulder in little circles. His white fingers contrasted dramatically with her skin tone. “Not too hungry?”

“I'm alright.”

“Good.”

“That... thing you were talking about a while ago...” Annabelle said, “where you feel my emotions... that's still a thing, right?”

“Yeah, that's still a thing,” he said softly, still stroking her shoulder. He could feel them now, the bond newly refreshed after having faded somewhat the past several weeks.

“What am I feeling now?”

“Happy,” Jasper smirked. “And you're still a little surprised at yourself because you never thought that this would happen.” He gestured to the two of them, snuggling on Annabelle's bed. “I feel the same way.”

He heard Annabelle exhale as she smiled. Her body was so warm against his. Part of him loved it. Another part of him was reminded how repulsive his body must be in comparison to hers. He tried to ignore that.

“Is there a name for that... feeling emotions thing?” Annabelle asked.

“I think it's a Blood Bond.” Jasper replied.

“Oh... that sounds kind of nice.”

“Mmm... but it isn't always.”

She tilted her face to give him a curious look.

Jasper considered for a few seconds how to explain it. “You know about ghouls?”

She frowned but nodded. “Yeah...”

“What are they?” He knew, but was testing her.

“They're people who have drunk vampire blood and become slaves. It sounds awful,” Annabelle said.

“It can be, but it can be useful for the vampire, especially if they have few morals about ordering people around and removing their free will. So... if that's what happens when a human drinks vampire blood, what do you think happens if another Kindred does it, beyond the feeling emotions thing?”

“Do... they become a slave as well?” Annabelle asked, mild horror creeping into her voice and in her expression.

“That can happen,” Jasper said gently, honestly. He sighed. “You giving your blood to me... gives you power over me, potentially, especially because we've done it so often, and because we've almost always done it right from the source, as it were.”

“So... I could give you an order right now... and you'd have to obey it?” Annabelle looked slightly terrified.

Jasper nodded.

“Oh, my God...” Annabelle said slowly. She hugged him a little tighter. “I would never, ever do that to you.”

“I know,” he said softly.

“Ever,” Annabelle insisted. The idea of taking away his free will chilled her.

“I know,” he repeated. “I trust you, Annabelle. You're one of the very few Kindred whom I trust, because I know that you'd never make me do anything against my will...” He sighed again. “Unlike some others I could mention,” he growled to himself.

“What? When? Who?”

“Do you recall me doing anything that seemed a little wild and out of character several months ago? Maybe something a little wacky in front of a big crowd?” Jasper sounded annoyed at the memory.

Annabelle gasped as it hit her. “The Succubus Club?”

Jasper growled and nodded.

“The dancing?”

“That was Victoria Ashe,” he said, his voice several degrees rougher in anger. “She made me do that.”

“But... you looked...”

“Like I was enjoying it? Yeah, because at the time, I was. I was lucky that she didn't order me to do something really horrific. If she had told me to try to kill you, I probably would have.”

Annabelle tensed in anger. “That... woman!” She had her own growl now. “And Nelli was all buddy-buddy with her!”

“Toreadors are like that. They have a certain way of making people love them, and want to do what they ask. It's like when Victor orders people to forget things, and they do. It's how they operate. Don't be mad at Nelli... or do, I don't care.”

“I'm sorry I laughed at you, and applauded,” Annabelle said, remembering her reactions to seeing him moonwalk on that dance floor.

“It's okay.”

“Is that a Blood Bond? Did she...” Annabelle didn't want to finish the question.

“No,” Jasper assured her, and he sounded grateful. “No, she didn't give me her blood.” He stroked her arm and her side, trying to soothe her a little. He could tell she was getting riled up, that her inner rebel wanting to put the boot into the rich elite was emerging. There was a time and a place for that, which was not here and now.

“I'd stake her so hard if I could,” Annabelle mumbled into Jasper's lean chest. He smiled.

“You do that, Annabelle. If you ever see her again, you do that.”

“Damn right, I will.”

They were quiet for a few moments, with Jasper gently stroking her smooth skin. She was still warm. It could last a long while, if she wanted it to. “You know... going back to the Blood Bond thing...” Jasper said quietly. “The way you and I have been doing it, letting me bite you... it would be very frowned upon by most Kindred society.” He grinned. “We've been very naughty, you and I.”

Annabelle snorted. She didn't have a very high opinion of what most Kindred society thought. “You mean they don't do it like this?”

“No. Going right from the vein is a little taboo.” He drifted a hand up to her neck and she wriggled a little.

“How do they do it then?”

“Cutting, apparently. Dripping blood into mouths, that kind of thing.” Annabelle could feel him shrug a little.

“Like at the end of Hellsing?”

“Yeah.”

Annabelle's brow furrowed. She found herself playing with a buckle on his chest. She didn't know where he had found hoodies with buckles. “How do you know that?”

“I asked Eva.”

Annabelle's frown deepened. “Did you tell her about us?”

“No. I just asked her about the details of how Blood Bonding works. If she suspects anything, it's because... well, the Tremere have many mysterious ways of finding things out.” He caught himself smiling at that. He had a certain admiration for the Tremere.

Annabelle relaxed a little. She didn't mind Eva, despite any magic she had done on her in the past. She was mysterious, but seemed to be in Jasper's favour. “Oh. Okay.”

They were quiet again, comfortably cuddling. Everything Jasper had just told Annabelle about Blood Bonds was turning around and around in her mind. It gave her a degree of anxiety, but she believed the fact that Jasper trusted her so sincerely was an honour.

“Jasper?” She asked softly.

“Yes?”

“Do you... mind being Blood Bonded to me?”

He gave her a comforting little squeeze. “No.”

“Are you sure? That's not just my magic Vitae talking, is it?”

Jasper chuckled. “Yes, I'm sure. If I did mind... we wouldn't have had another date after that time when I was hit by a truck.”

“Oh.” She remembered the evening he was referencing well. She had been so very worried about him when she found out, and that worry had turned into terror when he didn't answer her calls or texts. Despite his efforts of healing, he had still been extremely badly hurt when she finally found him, and Annabelle was happy she found him when she did. The potential consequences of what could have happened if she hadn't were too scary to consider. She also wished she had been there to have prevented the incidence from happening in the first place. That night was the first time she had let Jasper feed from her neck. Every other time before that had been from her wrist. It was a big move, she knew, but she wanted it. It felt better to her, somehow. They had shared his bed for the first time afterwards. “Was that when the... Bond happened?”

“I think so, yeah,” Jasper said.

“Ah.”

“Yeah,” Jasper sighed.

“But it doesn't have to be a bad thing?” Annabelle confirmed. “The Blood Bond?”

Jasper shook his head. “No, it doesn't. Don't worry about me if I mind it or not. If I ever do want to... I can just keep away from you for a little while and that'll weaken it.”

“Oh, that's why I haven't seen you in a long time!”

“Yeah. That and... ya know... my guest.” Jasper smiled sharply.

“Uh-huh.”

“But there is a silver lining, of sorts,” Jasper explained. “If you are in trouble, and need me, I will feel it. You can summon me, wish I was there, and I'll feel it and come to you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Now... you can see how another Kindred might abuse that power...” he paused to let Annabelle picture it, “but I trust you to not abuse it.” He gave the top of her head a little nuzzle.

“Right. I get it.” She smiled. “Thank you for trusting me with this, Jasper.”

“Thank you for letting me feed from you,” he replied.

“You're welcome.”

They spent the rest of the night chatting and watching bad reality TV on Annabelle's computer. When the sun rose and they felt the need to retire, they fell asleep spooning on Annabelle's large bed. The city of Los Angeles moved on around them, but they were content and dead to the world.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #63: The Sleeping Prince. What if…Oscar falls into a deep sleep for the Merging of the Two Souls?

‘Sup FNDM fam! Happy New Year from the squiggle meister! For my first theory post of 2019, since Oscar is a perfect little prince now (hypothetically speaking), consider this for a sec. 

What if...for the Merge, Oscar suddenly falls unconscious, putting him out of commotion for when the heroes begin to commence their plan to commandeer an Atlesian airship with the group unsure of what to do to wake him back up.

As Jaune said last episode, they're not leaving for Atlas without Oscar. But what would they do if the Merge suddenly happens and he’s temporarily unable to aid them with their plan for Atlas?

In the fairy tales, it's usually a kiss of true love that awakes the sleeping princesses from their eternal slumber. If Oscar is expected to fall to sleep during the Merge (because I honestly can't picture him being conscious while unceremoniously merging), imagine if… it's love that ultimately wakes him up. Not necessarily from a kiss per say but I have this little hunch where Oscar will start to merge with Ozpin but it’s the love he feels both for and from the teammates he’s grown to care about that keeps him from resisting the part of the process that’s meant to make him disappear entirely; if that makes sense.

Remember the God of Light’s warning to Ozma before his first reincarnation? He told him that where he sought comfort, he will only find pain. In a sense, you can say the God of Light’s heed to Ozma happened twice within the cycle. For Ozma it occurred in his first reincarnation as Diggs after Salem, the former love of his life---the mother of his children---the woman he had refused the peace of the afterlife to return to, killed him with her very own hands as a final sign that she had lost herself to the darkness.

And for Ozpin, it was recently when his own allies turned their backs on him after promising they wouldn’t upon learning the truth. The first deceit came from Lionheart, a friend and member of Oz’s very own inner circle of trusted lieutenants. The second came from the group of young heroes whose lives he had promised to protect and guide. Even Qrow, a former student and long-time friend of Oz who completely devoted to him, turned his back to him and it is his words that made the old wizard turn to grief and isolation for the third time in his many lives (counting Ambroise and Emmanuel---the second and third reincarnations).

Who knows? Perhaps this will be a sign that Oscar is potentially doomed to meet the same fate being challenged by that same love and comfort in others that has left his predecessors crushed by grief? I’m not saying that the heroes will hurt Oscar (at least, not now after what transpired when they thought he went missing). But I can somehow imagine Oscar meeting a dishevelled and grief-stricken Ozpin again within his mental mind palace or Dreamscape and having the older soul mock his young successor for getting himself attached to the love and comfort he feels from the heroes. Imagine…that love and trust is what Oscar will hold onto as a lifeline to keep him from losing himself completely to the Merge?

While I’m aware that Oscar has come to accept his fate now, I can’t help but still feel like that’s all a front from Oscar. It could be just my interpretation, though. It’s just the way how he spoke in V6 C8 gave me the impression that Oscar had technically given up on wanting to resist the Merge while subtly foreshadowing that it could happen this same volume.

“…These past few days, I’ve been scared of the same things you were. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be…me. But I did some thinking and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left…”

It wouldn’t surprise me if in a later episode; Oscar does begin the Merge with Ozpin and will reunite with him in his mind for it. Don’t want to anticipate too much but it is a strong possibility of it happening especially since they do have the model of Professor Ozpin. I doubt they just made that for the opening. I feel like Oscar is going to meet Ozpin face to face in his mind and when he does, I think the two souls will have a confrontation that could either be just them standing around and talking (like Raven and Yang in the V5 finale) or end in them literally squaring off against each other in an all-out showdown. We’ve already seen two Maidens duke it out.

Will we get to see the two souls fight next?

I would think we should since it’s something that’s been foreshadowed since the first volume. I love the idea of Oscar literally fighting the Merge. Fighting Ozpin and fighting against losing himself. The thing that has always been hinted about the Man with Two Souls is them fighting for control. So maybe this will be part of the Merge? Oscar fighting against Ozpin for the chance to remain as himself.

We know Oscar has accepted disappearing one day but...what if… it's the love he feels from the team that convinces him he needs to fight to be himself. What if...Ruby shares another Rosebuds bonding moment with Oscar where she basically tells him to fight to be him. And since these words come from the girl we know Oscar greatly admires, it’ll hold a lot of weight and meaning in Oscar’s eyes.  

I didn’t particularly like how Oscar told everyone that he was going to disappear soon and everyone was…I guess, so clouded by their relief of him being safe to feel the full weight of his words in that moment.

I just found the fact that there is Oscar basically talking to group like he’s going to technically sort of die soon (I mean it pretty much had that final farewell sort of tone to it, for sure) and everyone is all happy smiles. Like…what? Why are you smiling? Yes, this is a happy moment but what’s being said and foreshadowed isn’t so…again why didn’t we get the characters briefly looking unhappy when Oscar brought disappearing only to perk up when he showed them that even though it’s bad, he’s still determined to do his best like the best boy he is? I dunno. It was a little weird moment for me and one of my gripes with this episode.

I think eventually when things simmer down and once the Merge actually legit starts happening before the team’s very eyes where Oscar gets down because of the Merge, that’s when the others will start to see the light of the child’s words and begin to truly panic about losing him.

Another thing that needs to be addressed are the group’s feelings now about Ozpin. Following the events of C5-C9 and now that Oscar has become an official valued member of the group (as himself), how does the group feel about Oz? This is why I found the happy-go-lucky smiles when Oscar mentioned disappearing for good to be off putting. The group do realize that if Oscar disappears for good, technically that could spell the team being back with Ozpin…kind of…sort of…maybe-ish. I dunno. I just want to know how the group feel about Oz now? Did Oscar’s disappearance also help them to forgive Ozpin too?

I don’t think that is the case which is why I hope it gets addressed in the remaining 5 episodes.

Overall, I just want Oscar to fight to be himself you guys. This is just my opinion here but personally, Oscar has been way too accepting of his fate. I understand that merging with Ozpin is a destiny that Oscar can’t run from. I understand that fully but…I still feel like he should want to fight to be himself if he could help it y’know what I mean? I don’t know if that’s possible or if it’s impossible for Oscar to not fight against losing himself. But nevertheless, I just want Oscar to fight to be him and for someone to tell him to fight to be him. Because Oscar is pretty great.

Plus I think that’ll be the be all end all to both Oscar and Ozpin’s conjoined stories, right? Either Ozpin’s run will conclude this volume and Oscar will take his place on the cast moving forward as his successor, now complete with his memories, knowledge, skills and magical capabilities (hopefully) while still retaining his personality.

So picture …Oscar accepting his fate but also fighting it at the same time. He wants to be a Wizard of Light like the others before him. He still wants to do everything in his power to fight to protect humanity and stop Salem once and for all. But he will not lose himself. So ...rather than Ozpin absorbing Oscar and his mind becoming dominant, it's the opposite where Ozpin becomes a part of Oscar while the former farm boy still gets to be himself.

Basically what some fans have been saying since the beginning that Oz will disappear and become a part of Oscar with our Barn Prince still remaining as himself but gaining all the memories and skills of Ozpin and all the Wizards before him.

Or…Oscar and Ozpin will fuse and this new fusion will be a perfect blend of them both signifying a perfect alignment between the two soul where it doesn’t feel like one has eclipsed the other. It’s both but at the same time it’s not them. Someone entirely new who is as much Oscar as the original while still having some essence of Ozpin in there.

Whatever the outcome, I do think the Merge could be a plot point set for the final few episodes of V6. Emphasis on could. But if it does happen, only then will Oscar’s true fate be decided once and for all. Either that or it gets delayed and Oscar goes into the Atlas Arc now fighting against Ozpin to let the Merge fully take him over. Who knows?

That's just me. Don’t know if you guys would agree or disagree. But anyways, as always, these are just my thoughts and theories. I guess we’ll see what the Writers got cooking for us when C10 premieres this Saturday.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[eno-o-ugh]

Questions to ask for 2020

Dear E,

HelloOoOo, its been awhile i havent do any posting here. So, just few days ago i found this set of interesting questions to ask for 2019 & 2020 but it actually quite drives me to think more towards 2020. I wanted to put it here just for fun or for my own reading in near future. Kaja! 🤩😎😏

What was one of the moments you were most proud of this year? What does that tell you about what you want to spend your energy/time/money on next year?

One of the moments is where i find myself struggling with my issue and heartbreak, but i still manage to give myself away as much as i can for people around me without mentioning about the war inside of me. Tbh, i never regret it. I still wanna be able to pour out my energy and time for people who need it because somehow it helps me too.

When were you genuinely surprised this last year?

Im genuinely surprised when Farah got engaged early January and decides to get married after raya. Because by that time i realized something which is, “This is it! Im at that phase of my life where everyone at my age will start to carry huge different commitments/responsible in their lives. And i will too” But then, one by one of my friends got engaged/married and im no longer surprised hahhaha.  

What was your best failure this year? (i.e. what thing that didn’t go well eventually taught you something critical?)

I can say that my best failure is when i dont meet their expectations of me. Like when they thought i would feel sad/pity for some issues but i didnt. Like when they thought of how my mind works/thinks in certain way but its not. No one can actually explain my thoughts/actions well. I wanted to say that they always misunderstood me, but i end up saying nothing to them and let it be. Because it is a waste of time to ever explain myself.    

What was your most overrated success? (i.e. something you thought would feel great that was sort of a let down?)

Most overrated success is when i first rent a room and live on my own. Ya, its most overrated because everyone else did it better than me and earlier than me lol. 

Who really enriched your life this year in a big way? Who is someone you want to get to know better in the year ahead?

Person who really enriched my life last year is Fatna. I can literally talk about anything with her. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Anger or disappointment. Excited or confused. Health or wealth. In seriousness or trivial. Like you can name it, anything. All of the words that come from her always knocked me to reality, gave me something to ponder upon and so solid to be ignored just like that. And for that, im so grateful to have her last year. Someone that i want to get to know better is the one that has strong soul to overcome anything on their freaking own. 

What community are you a part of right now that you find most nourishing? What kind of community are you craving?

Im in a community where everyone is struggling/surviving/working to support their lives. Some even did part time jobs to gain side income. Its probably because they have certain goals set to be achieved. Maybe to get married or they will have children or maybe just simply to support their luxury lifestyle. Its not that nourishing, but some sort of intriguing perhaps. I cant wait to be in a community that always giving/lifting/sharing with others. But right now, i understood when everyone need to be selfish and put themselves first. I hope later on everyone will come to realization that there is no use to be selfish.  

What goals—personal or professional—are you releasing in 2020?

Personal; To increase knowledge and understanding of Islam and practicing it better. Professional; To make a change in my job/add something new. 

Who did you feel most jealous of this year? What is that person up to that you want to bring more of into your own life?

On instagram, i started following artist (women) that already fully cover their aurat and have family of their own. I guess im jealous of them. Being able to be a better muslimah which is better than their previous self, a devoted wife and mother. I guess im longing for that feeling to be one of them. I’ll try my best, to practice goodness in my inner self first.   

Where and with whom were you most resentful in 2019? How can you get straight about your own needs and articulate them so you can stop feeling that shit in 2020?

Tbh, ive already make peace with it and try to forget it. But in this case, it just the matter of answering this question okie? I felt most resentful with my friends whom befriend my ex and also befriend my ex’s new girlfriend. Because they all knew it all along but no one, not even a single one of them be upfront with me and tell the truth about it. Everything just sort of unfolds by itself. Better yet, they really showed me who they truly are. It makes me wonder, whats the use of having friends who wouldnt dare to tell me the truth that i need? The way how to stop feeling that shit is to be neutral with them. Im not going to be so close yet not so distant with them anymore. I knew the boundaries better these days.   

What piece of art, movie, or book really inspired you this year?

Art; . Music; Stone // Alessia Cara. Movie; Toy Story 4. Book; The Art of Letting God

What conversation was most memorable in 2019? What made it stick with you so powerfully?

Every deep conversation that i had with my girls (Sheera, Farah, Fatna, Zatie, Zila, Aida) are so so memorable and powerful. Every. Single. One. It could be because im at my lowest of low and i took every word from them personally. I couldnt thank them enough for always listening to my rants and always try their hardest to come up with something to say when its already good enough for them to hear me out. 

If you had to articulate a mantra for 2020, what would it be?

Whatever that had happen and will happen, youve got yourself and Allah all along for better or worse.

When were you most physically joyful in 2019? How can you get there more in 2020?

I find myself physically joyful when it all in balance. Like the amount of time spent with family/friends are equal with time spent alone. I personally like that part of my life so muchhh. I guess by knowing what worth my time is how i’ll get more joy and satisfaction in 2020.

What is one question that you found yourself asking over and over again this year? What version of an answer are you living your way into?

Tbh, theres a lot of open ended questions. But none of it is repeated. I always try my hardest to control my thoughts and its not easy, i swear. But its something i need to keep doing to prevent myself from overthinking/overanalyzing every single thing especially when i know im that type of person. I have only one chance of life, and i know im not going to let myself imagine the variety versions of how my life could be. So, im just keep doing and keep going. Nothing else.   

What was the most sacred experience you had in the last decade?

Many. I could cry if i need to tell all of the story. But one of it is when i joined Farah for the usrah session at her in-law’s. During that time, i felt at utmost peace and calm being surrounded by so much purer and beautiful souls. I feel so small. I can feel my heart being the softest its ever been. I always almost cry when they read the hadith/quran translation/during halaqah/during tazkirah. I pray i get to experience it a lot more this year and spend my tears for matter like these.   

What makes you despair and what gives you hope right now?

People. Theres different type of people with different kind of character. And i will never know what their intentions in my life are whether its bad or good. But bad people will always make me despair and good people will keep on give me hope.  

[comicteaparty]

January 7th-January 13th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from January 7th, 2019 to January 13th, 2019.  The chat focused on MoonSlayer by Monica NGalvan.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START! Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on MoonSlayer by Monica NGalvan~! (http://moonslayercomic.com/) You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until January 13th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. What is Nirúr’s role in Syrma’s curse? Why is her Syrma’s death so important to Deneb and Nirúr’s goals? Is Nirúr as evil as everyone makes him out to be?

QUESTION 4. What do you think happened in the past that convinced Menkar to join to the side of the liosalfar (besides his past betrayal of his former king)? How might revealing this affect Syrma’s quest?

monicang

Hi everyone! I'm Monica, the author of MoonSlayer. This is just for telling you that you can ask me anything you want to know about my comic! Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Why is the Storyteller helping Syrma? What exactly are the Storyteller’s ultimate goals regarding Arunor? Do you believe Puck will remain loyal to the Storyteller, or will he now work for Deneb?

QUESTION 6. What do you believe Henna did in the past that caused her to be exiled from the court of the sidhe? What does this have to do with Henna turning into a monster? Also, what deal did Henna make with Puck?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably when henna goes to bathe and puck shows up and we start learning that something is wrong with henna. i enjoy the illustration work a lot with how much detailed work is put into henna's appearance. but i also just like the elements added to the story because it really adds this forboding sense that time is running out for everyone really, not just syrma. and i think the addition really helps to add more stakes to the matter, since the more lives in the balance the better? XD 2) this is a tough choice. probably henna. of the designs i like hers the most because its just so strange, mystical, and beautiful at the same time. but also i like how teasing she can get in one scene but then serious and badass in another. all around shes just a really intriguing character to me that i enjoy learning about. 3) I wouldnt label Nirur as "evil" so much as id probably assume hes self-absorbed and concerned only with his well-being. as for his role, i assume some magic shenanigans where somehow syrma's death will help release him. although i feel like not everything is as it seems. like nirur expects his sister to fail and is just trying to get syrma to come to him to trick her into using her inability to be affected by magic to bust him out of god jail. but just spit balling on that one i have no real evidence other then i assume nirur is cunning. 4) i think maybe the liosalfar saved menkar's life. and that menkar may have really just been depressed and had nowhere else to go at the time. i dont think itll reall affect the quest so much as make syrma go "omg hugs for menkar"

5) given the convo the storyteller had with hatal, im gonna assume hes helping syrma out of boredom. cause it seems implied that their world is just kind of stuck and static, never changing and never growing. and i think the storyteller just wants that to change. which i mean to be fair, you cant be a good storyteller when there are no stories to tell. and you cant have good stories without change, growth, and progress. as for puck, yeah i think hes gonna remain loyal to the storyteller. just cause deneb probably wouldnt help him even if he helped her. 6) im gonna just take a stab in the dark here and say maybe forbidden magic comboed with a lack of deference to the crown. although i assume that henna was exiled partly because nobody wants a monster in their lands, so better to get them out before theyre too dangerous to lose. as for the deal, help syrma and get cured? i mean that seems the most likely. and i assume it was a generally vague deal that henna partly regrets cause theres a lot of help needed.

keii4ii

1) This may be a weird choice, but I really liked the scene when Syrma kissed Menkar and ran off. Or rather, that's the scene that made me like her. It's not that I ship them (I'm aro and rarely get excited for shippy stuff). Rather, it made her feel more 3-dimensional to me. There's a lot of scenes portraying her as this perky, reckless warrior-huntress... But there's gotta be more to her than just the fighting and the hunting, right? And that kiss scene did it for me. She was still the same perky, reckless girl, so it wasn't like showing an unexpected hidden side of her. But it still showed that there are mundane moments in her life, too.

6) There is a short story in the Threads anthology that goes over this. I actually read that short story before reading the main comic... It doesn't explain everything, but it explains a lot.

Kabocha

I've only just now started reading this comic, so I'll answer the questions later... But I really like the art so far. It's lovely and incredibly intricate!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. What do you believe the group will do regarding the last potion ingredient since Henna’s blood is useless? How might Farian and the other sidhe help or hurt the situation?

funakounasoul

I need to do an archive binge of this comic again but I wanna just say that I love this story. Love Syrma and want to see how she achieves her goals. I love the art style. It's clean and professional but it's on a stylistic side that attracts me (I tend to not go for stories, especially fantasies, where the cast looks too realistic). Keep up the amazing work, Monica! :D

Kabocha

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? http://moonslayercomic.com/comic/ch5-20/ I loved this sequence -- Syrma getting the Angisu was pretty dang neat to see, especially when she threw the flames at the monsters! 2. Probably Deneb. She's got enough mystery around her, but so far I just like how... IDK, goal-oriented she is? She's interesting so far, and I want to know what she has in mind for Syrma. 3. NO IDEA! I think Deneb probably expects that Syrma will take her place, and that's why she chose her and took her magic -- this was all necessary to get her ready. 4. Menkar was probably going to be king before the other guy was put in place, and things went badly. 5. I can't really say why the storyteller might be helping Syrma, but I do wonder how much of this has to do with fate? Alternatively, Deneb could be totally losing it and degenerating somehow, and he's trying to find a peaceful end for her. ...Granted, nothing involving Syrma ever seems to be peaceful for long. 6. ...Y'know, I'd like to know what Henna did? I imagine her exile is directly related to becoming a monster, and is just a consequence of not being with her people... I do think, based on the cast page, that Henna probably helped Iris become immortal, which pissed off several sidhe.

snuffysam

1. Definitely the sequence where Syrma first uses the Angisu. The flames turning into claws around her hands... beautiful. 2. Syrma. I just love the way you see her grow up throughout the comic. 3. I think Deneb wants to use Syrma to free her brother somehow? I'm not sure how sacrificing Syrma would help with that, however. 4. I agree with Rebel on this one. Menkar was exiled for his betrayal, and the liosalfar took him in. 5. I think it's possible the Storyteller just disagrees with Deneb's actions, and wants to stop her somehow? As for Puck, I think he may pretend to be loyal to Deneb, but I still think he's going to help Syrma overall. 6. Agreed with the other sentiments, I'd also like to posit that maybe Henna doesn't know if she's actually helping Syrma, or if she's a traitor. After all, she threatened to reveal her deal with Puck to Syrma and Menkar, which isn't something you do if you're only being helpful.

Kabocha

Seeing how Puck got in a hell of a lot of trouble, I do wonder if it's just that nobody wants Deneb to know what's goin' on

snuffysam

the whole comic is leading up to a surprise birthday party

Kabocha

Oh no! D'ya think Syrma and Deneb have the same birthday? Maybe Deneb's just trying to prevent Syrma from crashing her party or something.

snuffysam

it's the only reasonable explanation i feel

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. What insight do you believe the beginning of the comic gives us to the current story? What do you predict given that Syrma was warned about being seduced and is also emphasized to be all alone?

RebelVampire

i want to add to some of the discussion that i kind of think deneb isnt losing it. i think shes already lost it. XD in the sense that shes just being completely used by her brother and just flat out cant see it. is so dedicated to him nothing about morality or anything else registers to her anymore. its all about getting nirur out of prison, even her children be damned. 7) maybe theyre gonna be extremists and kidnap farian. cause that can only go well right? although i forsee them getting majorly delayed, caught, and sent to sidhe court. puck can be their lawyer. 8) the fact shes all alone....gonna be honest. i just assume everyone be dead. henna is a monster, puck got offed by deneb, menkar died fighting the dragon. cause i dont have optimism from that beginning. i feel like the warning about being seduced is gonna cause syrma to maybe sympathize with deneb some. see that she is a victim of nirur's machinations. and then syrma will kill them both cause i mean the title is moonslayer O_O

monicang

I have to admit that I'm amazed with the guessings and theories of all of you. Some of them are quite close to the truth.

Kabocha

Maybe Nirur lost it and that's why he's locked up... and Deneb's susceptible to the same issue as him. And Syrma's... well, Syrma's going to take over for both of them. Regarding question 8 -- I'm honestly worried xD Like, what's Nirur gonna do? Try and tempt her with power and such? Surely he knows she's not really attracted to that... Unless he can promise her all sorts of things like, her family back, a happy life... using illusions. But maybe he'll also just try to win her heart. XD

Monica -- oh my!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you believe that Syrma and Menkar’s relationship is changing, or is it all just playful teasing? How might the growing tension between them change the direction of Syrma’s quest?

snuffysam

No idea what Syrma's intentions are, but I don't think Menkar's going to take the teasing seriously. like 1) from his point of view, syrma was a baby yesterday, and 2) pretty sure he watched his wife and kid(s) die.

keii4ii

It reminds me of something from a game, when a human character and a dragon character interact. They'd met and fought together as allies in a war 3 years prior. They reunite, the dragon gives the human what he needed, and goes on her way. Human: Wait! Aren't we going to talk and catch up? It's been 3 years! Dragon: What? But we saw each other just 3 years ago!

My guess is Syrma has a crush that she's okay with being unrequited, because she understands there are the differences between them. By the same token, I think she might feel jealous if Menkar were to pursue a relationship with another woman, especially a mortal/non-dragon woman (I don't think this likely, just speaking hypothetically). Not like vehemently jealous, just a "hey I thought... ugh n/m " kinda thing.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) i do think the relationship is changing. they seem way too blushy and into the flirting for it not to be. but more i think the dynamic thats changing is them both kind of coming to terms with the fact that they may have some feelings for each other, even if they dont know what to do with them. in terms of changing the direction of syrma's question, i assume itll motivate her more. up until menkar probably gets killed cause i ahve no hope for him to live through this quest. 10) i am looking forward to syrma's growth most of all i think. cause shes still got a ways to go before she's ready for any moon slaying. so im interested to see in how the future trials challenge her and prepare her for the task at hand.

keii4ii

I'm looking forward to finding out what the whole deal is with the intro, obviously! Wanna know what everyone's endgame is: Storyteller, Puck, Nirur, Deneb, etc. (I also wonder if the sun is ever gonna be more involved? )

snuffysam

what if everyone's fine having a nice picnic and syrma's just alone because she's the only one who could go through the gate,

RebelVampire

that is also possible. i just dont think itd sit well with the other charas

snuffysam

it's not a happy picnic

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about MoonSlayer this week! Please also give a special thank you to Monica NGalvan for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked MoonSlayer, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: < http://moonslayercomic.com/%3E

Monica’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/monicang

Monica’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A378XX

Monica’s Store: http://moonslayercomic.com/store/

MoonSlayer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoonSlayerComic