#it started happening soon after her mother died tbh

[piracytheorist]

Spy x Family Code: White thoughts!

Alright, time to write down my thoughts about the film! I liked it a lot, and for this anime only it was a HUGE satisfactory dose after not having had anything new since December 🥲 there were a few parts that I found meh, and I will mention them here too, but overall I got a very positive view of it!

Related to this, my mom was in the next room where I was sitting watching the film, and when I finished and passed by to get some water, she asked me what film I watched that made me laugh so much. So I think that speaks for itself 😂

Anyway, on to the film!

Having seen the trailer where Twilight rips off the disguise of a woman with long, curly blonde hair, as soon as I saw her here I was like is that her? But then that guy appeared and I recognized his voice and, dare I say I was confused XD

Damn, isn't that past their rating? XD

And then the music started! STRIX theme with a new twist for the film!

I think by this point we've already shrugged away Twilight's ability to make disguises. It gets even crazier near the end, so it should be of no surprise that he just disguised himself as that woman. Lucky she happened to wear a choker, too, good cover for his Adam's apple.

The way they showed the woman wrapped in a blanket underneath the desk, though 😳 that's the kind of visual you'd use to show a character died. What am I supposed to infer from this, guys?!

Then we cut to Yor!

There's a review on letterboxd saying how easy the film is to watch and follow for someone who hasn't watched the original, and I'm happy to hear that because as someone who already knows these characters and their dynamics, it didn't feel like it dragged on too much on that.

Yor, ever being the sweetheart, will call a guy a traitorous scumbag yes but she will be kind as ever when she kills him 🥰

The way she dodged the bullets! Queen! And also a set up to later show her dodge all the ammunition thrown from the shooters and Type F!

This. Was. Amazing. I actually gasped out loud. The animators understood the assignment, 10/10.

Right after that, we see Loid reach his door, and for the first time we see him go to use keys. A few other times I remember anyone opening the door they just... opened it. You'd think an apartment where a spy and an assassin live would have better security! XD

I love how they kinda showed it like Yor was going to attack Loid, and then Loid just turned and went like "Oh hey beautiful wife, welcome home! :D" It must have looked funny for anyone who hasn't seen the anime/manga before XD

Yor wants to cook! Everybody hide!

That... is a horror of an omelet. Yor's cooking is always for the "congrats lil buddy that’s the worst anyone’s ever done it" meme. She does try, though, bless her heart.

Anya evades the horror. And Loid wants to make... peanut butter pizza???? Is that even a thing??? WITH MEAT ON TOP???

What does it say about this film that this isn't the weirdest thing to happen in it

TITLE CARD WITH THE THEME ENDING AND THE ORCHESTRA GOING WILD <3333

Damian, shut the fuck up

... I mean, with a mother like that... I'll give this to him XD

Did Anya call him an asshole? Serves him right, tbh XD

Knowing that the story can't veer a lot far from the anime/manga canon, I already knew Anya wouldn't earn a Stella in that competition. But it was a good set-up for the rest of the film to move on from.

Twilight read Henderson's lips through a window and through the latter's thick moustache, and lip reading is already hard to do accurately, if not nearly impossible. Boy's nuts. But I think it only prepared us for a fucking falcon to fly above him and throw him the message from WISE. Show-offs XD

A rare view of Berlint!

DAAAAMN the higher animation budget is really doing those characters such good favour 🥰

Bro actually read a book by flipping through it. Get outta town.

The idea of having another guy take over Operation Strix from Twilight feels a little shallow. It's already a very delicate and long-term operation, it feels that it wouldn't make sense to replace their best agent with just a dude just because said dude has connections.

Twilight meets with Nightfall outside, and Yor sees them across all those streets (I mean, she is an assassin with a deadly aim) and... she doesn't recognize Nightfall? Is this supposed to take place before Nightfall visits the Forger household?

I mean, at the current time in the anime, Yor is supposed to be over her fear of getting replaced, but I get why they retreated back a little, so they could explain the later scene of Loid taking her hand and reminding her of his vows.

Very conveniently, Yor's coworkers are chatting about cheating men, and Yor, being inexperienced with relationships, immediately believes everything, her suspicions even taking root with what she just saw.

Back home, Twilight thinks about how, since he's dismissed from Operation Strix, he'll have to move out, and the camera shows their happy family picture 🥺 he's not ready to admit his feelings to himself but the narrative is.

Making the dessert that's the favourite of the judge and in particular the one he grew up with feels kinda cheating, no? XD

Come on, Loid. A child filling her bag with toys does not deserve that murder glare 😂

That train looked a little too modern for the supposed 60s/70s aesthetic. I know Germany has some top trains (as does Japan) but like, still XD it's very different from the train we see on the very first episode when Twilight boards one for Berlint.

Lovely visuals, though!

I wonder if there's any system as to how Bond's powers work. He has the vision of Anya finding the suitcase and opening it... but that's creating a sort of paradox because without the vision coming to him and without Anya seeing it, it wouldn't have been made true. I mean, I get why it was put there, but still.

Again, the story needed a little backtracking in order for Yor's doubts to make sense. I'm not sure how much they contributed to the whole story, but at least there it was funny. The small awkward laugh she throws at the end before she exits their booth to go look for Anya was hilarious XD

Gremlin Anya is best Anya <3

LMAO at least she enjoyed the chocolate XD

The following part was intense! I found myself saying "Run Anya run!" even though I knew from trailers that they'd eventually catch her anyway.

So the microfilm hides intelligence about a research lab in Westalis. Hmm.

I think it was at this point I noticed that they had Anya react to people's thoughts way too little. I get that it can get repetitive but with her curiosity she would have tried to look for more information through the guys' thoughts.

"Chocolate thieves" is actually perfect to describe those two. They were conveniently - and hilariously - incompetent.

But it did get intense. It's always like that when a bad guy threatens to hurt, let alone kill, a child.

I love how Yor asked Anya to close her eyes while she was beating up the guys but then told her she can open them when they were down and fully expected her to believe her lie that they just passed out XD

Also, her snowman jgvllublftlulbj

Chekhov's military airplane! I didn't expect it would actually work by the end, though XD

I love the music in the restaurant. Poor Bond being left alone outside where it's snowing, though 🥲 at least they brought him food!

Yor notices that it's rare for Loid to wear turtlenecks, and that's actually true. Too bad, though, they fit him so nicely :)

I actually laughed out loud at the guys jumping on Yuri to stop him. They were prepared. They knew who they were dealing with XD

"Rubble and Bonds"... the chef is very wholesome but he literally named his restaurant after his trauma and like... dude. Therapy exists. And then he starts laying out his trauma thick while Twilight is sitting there like yup this doesn't affect me at all

I don't think he was prepared for that when he asked about the restaurant's name. I was kinda disappointed they showed the exact same footage of him as a kid from the first episode. I think they could have afforded making a few seconds of new footage of the same imagery. But maybe that's just my anime-only ass who has been waiting for a certain manga arc to be animated for nearly two years now 😶

Snidel appears! And he has the absolute nerve to just... steal the meremere plate from someone else's table. Perfect way to make us hate him.

And... I'm sorry. I have to say it. When Snidel challenges Loid to a game and the camera focuses on Loid... that zoom-in and fade to black was SO CRINGEY. Sorry XD

The music there was nice, though. I think I notice a tiny bit of James Bond music influence.

Fucking Snidel shifting the goalposts with the amounts of sugar. That's not being detailed, that's not explaining the rules of the game properly. They really wanted us to hate the guy.

Twilight looks really stricken by the fact that he lost. And we know it's not because of despair - since he immediately says they can have meremere the next day - and it's not because his pride was hurt... so you can't take it out of my mind that it was because he was disgusted by how a grown-ass man practically stole a piece of cake from a little child, and Twilight was unable to stop him.

But then XD Loid has the absolute gall to ask a chef for his recipe, and then reprimand Anya for calling him stingy. Like mah dude it was already a far-fetched request to have the guy give you the recipe XD

Twilight being totally not suspicious and bolting through the market to buy all the ingredients. Cause that's what normal people do.

The way Twilight tries to cheer Yor up and he only manages to make her feel worse never disappoints XD

Right, I forgot this film was released in December in Japan. It feels weird for it to have a winter-y, almost Christmas-y feeling while I have my A/C on XD

I like how Twilight actually cared enough to expose the guy at the shooting gallery, and advise him to run an honest business. You'd think this would be low on his priorities... but having a child will expand your sensitivities. It feels similar to how he encouraged Carroll Campbell into playing tennis more fairly and to depend on his own strengths.

And then he wonders why a little child has fun on a train ride XD

I... am not sure how I feel about Yor's outburst there. It feels directly inspired by the Disastrous Date, if not a copy of it, and I'm not sure it helps Yor's character develop in any way. I mean, again, I get that the film can't allow the characters to develop a lot since it can't veer from canon, but still, it felt a little forced just to give Yor more screentime and to have a very subtle twiyor tease.

Anya finding out about divorce through Becky's soap-opera filter, though XD

They feel too confident leaving Anya all alone (even if she's with Bond) in a strange town. I know they can keep an eye on her from the ferris wheel cabin, but still.

Now that's a character development moment you can have without veering from canon: having Yor feel guilty for allowing Anya to notice her dark mood, and then feeling happy that Anya pushed her and Loid to having a moment together to talk things out.

Also, beautiful visuals!

Twilight, best™ spy™ of Westalis™, being unable to read the room whenever his wife is involved.

MAH DUDE. THERE'S ONE THING TO DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND THAT'S BEING TOO DIRECT

That's a phrase you don't wanna hear from your little kid, especially when you're fake married XD

Handler: Go and help Twilight. Nightfall: Yes ma'am! Handler: Not you. Nightfall: SENPAI WILL NOTICE ME SENPAI WILL NOTICE ME Handler: jfc

It was really sweet seeing Anya and Bond play, and then Yor joining in. That makes it more plausible that the film is set earlier on in the story, since it looks like Yor isn't used to playing with Anya.

No, really, what did that woman who was at Franky's kiosk want to ask him when she would come by with her friend??? 😳

One day the way Twilight abuses Franky's services will come bite him in the ass, I'm calling it now.

Yet another scene where character/relationship dynamic can happen without veering from canon: Loid comes back to the hotel and says he'll go out again, Anya says she wants to come too, and Loid tells her she has to stay in the hotel. Anya goes back to the bedroom dejected, but Yor reminds him it's a family trip and they're supposed to spend this time together, connecting that to her memories of Yuri being happy whenever he spent time with her.

And I think that speaks to another level of distance Twilight has kept from his emotions; he denies himself that he loves his family, but that also leads him to forget that his family won't like missing out on quality time with him.

I especially noticed his surprised reaction at Yor saying that being away from loved ones can make one feel lonely. I don't think Twilight has allowed himself to grasp just how lonely he's felt all these years, it was just the norm for him to have no-one. He's forgotten what it's like to have loved ones and to miss them when you don't get to spend enough time with them, and he's also forgotten that for most people, this is how everyday life is like. We love people, we like spending time with them, we miss them when we haven't seen them in a while. A master of disguises he may be, but this role forces him to face the thing he understands the least: human relationships.

And so, he realizes that Anya's motivation here wasn't petulance or restlessness. It was her need to have fun with him. He considered it easier to sneak around to find the liqueur if they weren't with him, but he failed to consider that casting them aside would actually impact them. Give yourself some credit, dude 🥺

Nightfall: I will surprise Twilight with my effectiveness!

Twilight when he sees her unexpectedly:

I did love however how he looked so sternly at her when they were outside. Like lady, first, bad timing, second, this is why Handler didn't want you to be the one to help Twilight XD

Once again, Bond's power works in a form of paradox. He saw the shop where the liqueur was, and Anya went there because she saw it. If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have gone, and Bond wouldn't have had the vision.

I love how the military guys get a rough sketch of Anya and go like "Nah no-one can actually look like this" XD

Anya must have swiped some dalcs as she ran off. That liqueur wasn't gonna be cheap!

Poor Bond!

Endo has surrounded Anya with two physically exceptional parents and a big strong dog to protect her, so it's hard to make a case of her getting kidnapped believable. Realistically, I think Bond would have fought harder to keep her safe, but to achieve the kidnapping the bad guys would have had to get more violent with him. That would make for a sadder scene and also take away from the humor of those guys' incompetence, so the most violence against an animal they could resort to was a conveniently falling beer can.

And thus, the "Anya Has to Poop" side plot starts! With the amount of fear she went through in those scenes, I'm surprised she didn't just... accidentally let go 😶

I just realized when Loid was checking the plane's radio they were also refuelling it. Again, kind of a surprise the whole system worked XD They were a little too chill about the fact that Anya was with the military, though? Maybe I got the wrong vibe off of their acting, lol.

The way that Yor decides at the last moment to join Loid and just... runs and jumps into a plane that's right on takeoff. Madwoman. I love her.

Meanwhile, at least Nightfall is funny XD

They really went on and made an entire sequence in a different animation style for a poop joke. Respect where it's due 👏

Someone: So how did you save world peace this time? Anya: I refused to take a shit.

The incompetent duo have a bedpan that's shaped like a duck and, funny thing... in Greek the word for "bedpan" can also be called, colloquially, with the same word that we use for "duck". So. There's that random connection I found funny XD

Twilight tries to ask for permission to land on the airship and they immediately turn their guns on him and damn, that must be terrifying.

And damn, again, that's a huge risk he took just to get Anya back. My man was prepared to do anything. And he walked out of the plane crashing into the airship without a single scratch like GET OUT OF HERE. I wanted my whump and I only got a single drip of blood near the end 😞 when will I have my whump.

And then Yor just... ran on the top of the airship, fully exposed to the freezing weather of not only outside but also a few hundred (thousand?) feet off the ground. My girl runs on hot steam. AND THEN SHE ALSO FUCKING TOOK HER COAT OFF.

Meanwhile, Anya finally finds a private moment to take a shit. And that marks the end of the wackiest plotline in this movie XD

Okay now, look. I can maybe imagine Twilight quickly making up a mask of Snidel's face from earlier in the day (though he wasn't shown to have any time to do that), and he somehow had it ready when the time came for their duel. But making a mask of that random military guy? Yeah, my suspension of disbelief is stronger for that than for freaking time travel XD

Yor also has her moment of going like "Excuse me, may I ask a question" and immediately getting guns aimed at her.

Damn. What the actual fuck is Type F even. At first I thought it was a full-on robot, but apparently it's a modified human? The fuck. Also. Just how many fucking bullets does he have???!

For real, though, Snidel isn't fucking around. He not only is fine with murdering a kid in cold blood, he also finds it entertaining to make her terrified as well. Like, even that guy from the Doggy Crisis arc said "Nothing personal, kid," when Keith commanded him to kill her.

And then Twilight overhears the incompetent dudes mention Anya... and mighty spy Twilight's emotions get the best of him and he beats up those guys for no other reason than getting back at them? More likely than you think.

Fuck, that scared me. That bullet was literally millimeters from piercing his brain. Cool visual, though, with his real hair popping from beneath the mask.

Anya worrying about her papa :(

Okay, I don't care about the logistics. This was fucking awesome.

AND THEN THIS???

10/10. They understood the assignment.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING???

QUEEN SHIT.

No, but really, their fight was going in circles because Type F has a shit ton of bullets and Yor has great stamina and ability to dodge bullets. She can't win with her strength, so she has to use her brain and her environment. AND SHE SLAYS 👏👏👏

My dude why are you still surprised 😭😭 what did you expect your kidnapped daughter to do once she saw you came to her rescue 😭 HUG YOUR DAUGHTER BACK I BEG 😭

Nah, I know he can't yet, this guy's got the emotional type of constipation. He'll get there.

So we'll never know what he thought about her sneaking out to get him the liqueur, and why that made her smile, eh? Okay 🥲

I love how Yor and Loid just both buy each other's lies. Oh yeah I just decided to jump on your plane while you were taking off, no biggie! Yeah this military ship was totally run by chocolate thieves! And also, I was flying part-time as a student :D

(I also love how high his voice went there. It's full-on "nice sweet Dr. Forger" voice XD)

And then :)

My crops are watered :)

With the action part over, I gotta say that they handled it all of it awesomely! I felt that the whole film was a little slow at first, but I didn't really mind. The climax was great, I got my whump, I got my fake family working together with all of them pretending that oh it was just chocolate thieves and not an actual threat of war breaking out.

My question is... didn't Anya just gulp the chocolate down?

... how did the microfilm get stuck in her teeth?

... you know what, never mind XD

Aw, Twilight got Handler a bottle of wine! And she actually looked thankful for it!

... was she the one who went in disguise to trap Depple into cheating on his wife??

*squealing*

Yor offering to help with the dessert and everyone going "Naaaaah you don't have to 😁"

Damian, shut the fuck up.

It is funny, however, how Anya can say one (1) thing and unintentionally leave him a blubbering mess. Girl is not even trying for that, lmao.

And then, another trip! Buddy who has the time and money--

Oh, wait. Yeah they're going on vacation on WISE budget lmao XD

It's kinda funny to see this with me having the Cruise arc as the "last" I saw of them, as an anime only, cause it was "trip to the ocean!" then "trip to the north!" and now it's "trip to the beach!"

Aw!

Meanwhile, after the credits...

Hang in there buddy. Your time will come to get Twilight back XD

Overall, definitely recommended, it did have its weak parts and its parts that you had to happily kick your logic out the window, but it was great fun, with awesome action, character depth, and even angsty parts that I adored. This will keep my anime-only ass satisfied for a little while, hopefully we also get news about Season 3 soon!

[girl8890]

JM | Tainted

word count: 2.7k

Summary: The next in line to be throne, Prince Jimin, must decide who it is that will follow him into kingship and be his queen. None of the girls his mother bestows him with interest him at all. He much rather see all their head cuts off--imagining such things as each princess or lords daughter steps into the throne room. It isn’t until you step in, shaking and clutching your skirt as you pray for him not to pick you, that the thoughts of death stop and new thoughts surface. 

Pairing: Prince!Jimin x Princess!Reader

Genre: yandere, royalty!au, historical!au, angst

Rating: V

Warnings: bratty!jm, spoiled!jm, executions, blood, fascination with death, forced marriage, unhealthy obsession, forced kissing, jm touches reader inappropriately once, ripping of clothing, implied forced sex, implied dirty thoughts.

A/N: Just a reminder that this is all fiction! None of this has actually happened, and I don’t believe it will happen or is going on. I also do not condone this behavior. If you don’t like, then just don’t read. Don’t judge others for liking the fic /type of fic or judge those that write similar fics. Your hate does nothing, but give an author the excuse to use the block button. This fic concept has been in my head for awhile, and I was bouncing between putting it with jk, v, or Jm, and in the end I did it for Jm. I have a yandere jk fic coming out soon, so it just made sense for me to write it with Jm after process of elimination and because I don’t see v being all that bratty tbh lol! I hope you enjoy the fic! 💜

。・°°・°°・。 。・°°・°°・。 。・°°・°°・。

“Mother! She’s ugly! Why would you even bring her to me if you can see her face looks like that? Do you want ugly grandchildren!”

Nobody moves, or makes a sound as Prince Jimin complains about a lords daughter who’s right in front of him. Every single girl meeting him today was told to smile, and not speak up unless they had a death wish.

“But darling, she’s a high lords daughter. You must at least give her a chance,” The Queen says to his right. Not even blinking an eye when her beyond spoiled son just insulted someone her kingdom finds important for trade. There all too scared to pull our of trades, anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

Jimin looks over at the girl in front of him. She has brown hair that looks like it’s been barely washed (in his opinion), and her nose is way to big (again, in his opinion.)

“Next!” Prince Jimin yells with a wave of his hand. The girl walks away, not sighing out in relief until she’s a safe distance away from the prince’s and queens ear shot.

This is how it’s been for the past several days. Women of all titles and ages have been coming in from all points in the country to offer their hand to the crowned prince. He’s next in line to be king, and now that the current king has fallen ill it’s been assumed that the prince will be crowned soon. The king needs a queen, though. And the whole affair has been dreadful to the staff, and now even his mother

Not a single person has peaked Jimin’s fancy. He’s either sent them off the second they walked in the door, or called for their execution! Stating that the girl should be hung for treason, even though she’s done nothing wrong but show up.

In Jimin’s mind, though, some of the girls deserved it for “forgetting their manners.” There’s been three executions since starting this affair a week ago where there’s usually only one once every two weeks. All of them always been called upon from the prince, and because the king and queen spoil their son rotten they don’t care if a villager or low lords daughter dies. As long as they can see that smile on their sons face, their happy.

But with this affair, even the queens getting antsy. She knew from the very beginning that a title, no matter how big, would not just satisfy her son. He sees things, you see. Ever since he was little, he’s had a fascination with death. Starting with when they had to cover up his attempt at murder to a staffs son at age ten. Doctors don’t have the resources or knowledge to diagnosis his disorder yet, so all it takes is one girl he doesn’t see dying to be the one to marry the crowned prince.

Let just say, that’s harder said then done. Girl after girl was announced and each one left faster then the last. Jimin was starting to get antsy too, and when the prince gets antsy he finds his own way for entertainment.

A girl, about fourteen years old and an obvious no from Jimin, walks in. She’s blonde, and Jimin’s smile twitches upward as he imagines blood seeping down it. After the girl gives her introductions, apparently being the youngest princess for a country in bum fuck nowhere, Jimin comments, “I think you should change your hair color to red.”

The queen and head maid glance at each other, knowing where this is most likely going to lead, but as always they let their prince have his treacheries fun.

For the princess, who has no idea what he’s talking about, blinks up at him confused. “I-I’m sorry? Red?”

“Yes! Red! Have you ever thought about it?”

“I must say I haven’t, your majesty.”

Jimin smiles and it’s the cruelest thing the young princess has ever seen. “I could do it for you.”

“My son-“

“All I need is a blade and I’ll cut that skull right open. Then your hair would be nice and red,” Jimin then giggles and the young princess looks horrified.

The queen just sighs and then dismisses the girl. Once the room is cleared, she turns to her one and only son with a small smile. “My son, you do understand this is important, don’t you?”

Jimin rolls his eyes, leaning on his hand while he rests his elbow on the throne. “Yes, yes, mother. I know. It’s not my fault they all look prettier dead then alive.”

The queen swallows, ignoring her sons comment. “That maybe true for you, but the kingdom needs an alive queen. Why don’t you at least give this next girl a chance?”

Jimin sighs heavily, and slouches against the throne. Truthfully, he just found this whole charade to be pointless. He’s not going to fall for any of them at “first sight” or any of that whimsical bullshit. But his mother looks haggard. Not that he cares about his mothers health, not at all, but she is the queen of his kingdom and the fact he’s the one giving her this haggard look is not a good thing.

“Fine! I’ll-… try, mother.” He speaks in a hiss, and frowns as he faces the door. The queen then smiles, feeling like she made some progress, and gestures for the guard to bring in the next girl.

Jimin barely paid attention as the announcer said the girls name and title. He found the wall to his left far more interesting. Some princess from another bum fuck nowhere country that probably only helps his country with bread or some shit they really don’t need walks in. It’s all useless. He’s never going to find-

“M-my name is Princess y/n, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, your grace.” At the sound of her small voice, Jimin turns to look at the girl that’s just entered the room.

She’s clutching at her dresses skirt, making it look anything but presentable and her eyes are landing anywhere but on his own. That’s not what runs the princes speechless, though. It’s that he doesn’t see anything. He doesn’t see your death playing out in front of him, or blood seeping out from your every hole. He’s just sees you.

Your eyes are tearing up already, but it makes Jimin want to coax out those tears and lick them. He wants to stain your pink lips red by biting them, and find out what your heart looks like. This… these things… he’s never felt before.

Maybe wanting to pull out someone’s insides, yes, but never because you’re so beautiful to his eyes that he wants to paint you a controlled red. To keep you alive forget and keep you close to him. It runs him speechless, and he can’t take his eyes off of you. Not even when the head maid corrects you in your speech and posture. “It’s your majesty, princess. And stand up straight! Who taught you how to present yourself in front of royalty?”

“Lucy, shut up,” The prince commands. Both the maid, Lucy, and the queen look at him baffled, but his eyes are still on you. You look up at the prince, surprised when he defends you. Even though he’s deflected the maids command you still stand up straighter, and let go of your skirt. Instead opting to just have two shaking hands clenched at your sides. “Where are you from again, princess?”

Jimin’s voice was so soft, but it still sounded darker then anyones you’ve ever heard before. You answer his question, swallowing thickly when you stutter again. You’ve heard about this prince and what he’s been doing to other girls like you seeking out his hand. You’re only here because it’s your duty as the eldest daughter of your small kingdom to try and marry a high titled man. That doesn’t stop you from praying to the gods for Prince Jimin not to pick you.

But sadly, the gods are not on your side today.

“Perfect! A princess and she lives in a country that’s actually on the maps. You’ll be perfect!”

Your eyes widen, and you stutter out, “E-excuse me?”

Jimin stands from his throne, walking up to you still sporting his demon-like smile. “Your going to be my new queen.”

If it wasn’t for the shock, you would have fainted right there.

———

It’s a custom for the betrothed of the crowned prince to live within the castle a month before the wedding. Everything happened so fast after Jimin decided you would be the one he wanted to spend his entire life with.

He demanded the wedding be as soon as possible, and the best the king and queen of both countries could do is make it three months from the day he picked you. This really scorned the prince. He went out on a rampage and even started declaring the staffs executions and torture.

This is something that started peeking even the publics attention, and their staff went from a castle of two hundred to one hundred within a week. They had no choice but to push the wedding closer, if not to stop the prince’s unjustified tyranny, and so, it’s only been a week since you last saw him. You had one week so say goodbye to your siblings, and had to watch your mother try her best not to cry about her eldest baby being married off to the prince that has been know to be treacherous.

A life where you feel is going to be filled with nothing but fear.

The first day you’re at the kingdom, Jimin didn’t let you out of his sight. He followed you everywhere, and made you stay as close to his being without getting scolded by the chaperones. The chaperones were the worst because Jimin wasn’t allowed to threaten their deaths or tell them to fuck off. They had to be there to ensure purity within the relationship, and all of Jimin’s thoughts were anything but pure.

They just weren’t those thoughts exactly. He imagined biting your lip until it turned red, and scratching at that pale untouched skin of yours until it was marked by him forever. He wanted to taint your very being, and figure out why he never wished for your death.

You stuttered a lot, which was annoying, but anytime you clutched at your dress out of fear when Jimin got to close to you stirred on the other feelings. The other feelings you were grateful the chaperones were there for.

He wanted to fuck you bloody, and fuck your mind up with it to become the perfect wife for him. Whispering the curliest of his imaginations into your ears, and they got worse each day.

A week before your wedding, the prince couldn’t take it anymore. It was past midnight and the chaperones were not around. You were alone in our own separate room, and the prince had the devilish idea to come visit you while you were sleeping.

He woke you up by biting onto your neck, and you screamed bloody murder but it sounded like nothing, but a muffled scream against his hand that was covering your mouth. It got to the point you were crying, and Jimin licked up each of your tears.

“I can’t wait to be able to lay with you, my queen,” He whispered into your ear that night. “You’re just so pretty and I can’t help myself.”

Jimin looks down at your body that is in nothing but a thin nightgown. You clutch at the skirt of it, and it’s on that day you find out that action does nothing but stir him on. He didn’t go all the way with you that night, but the sadistic prince had his way with you nonetheless.

Tickling at your thighs, and no push of your hands could stop him from playing with your sex. It’s wasn’t until you begged, “P-please my love… N-n-not yet. We must be good.”

Your not sure how you came up with the idea, but the second you called him “my love” for the first time he was all ears to your begging. With a scoff and a roll of his eyes, he left you. Not before driving the first kiss of many to your parted lips.

You were too scared to fall asleep that night. Out of fear that he would come back and deny your begging. It wasn’t until a week later, that the begging wouldn’t even matter anymore.

———

After that fiasco, the one that left a significantly big bite mark on your neck, the prince was not allowed to see you until the wedding day. He hated being away from you. Almost scratching out someone’s eyes when they said they were with the soon to be queen before. Jimin kept his distance like a good boy, though. Because after today, no one would tell him he can’t be near you ever again.

The wedding went by smoothly, and no deaths—thank god—happened even while you were being greeted and congratulated by guests. Jimin hated others looking or talking to you. You’re his now, so no one should be allowed to see your beauty except him. He let it go once again, though. Because for once he didn’t want to scare you for what was about to come that night.

Once the wedding came to an end, Jimin practically dragged you to your new shared room. Ordering the staff to bring all your stuff in there the night before. You weren’t ever going to have separate rooms again, and Jimin was going to make sure you knew why.

“Oh my queen, my love, you’re finally here,” Jimin says while giving you a bone crushing embrace. You try to breathe through your nerves, even after he rips the back of your dress in two. Making you gasps from him exposing your smooth back to him in such a way.

He continues to hold you close and stares at the new exposed skin in the mirror behind you. Lightly gliding his fingers up and down your spine.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jimin says. It should be a compliment you take as is, but you’ve been around the prince enough by now to know what he’s going to say next. “I can’t wait to see what you look like when you bleed.”

———

The next day, you didn’t leave the bedroom. Not only were you not able to physically move without help, but because Jimin had the whole day off from any meetings and wanted to keep you within arms length. Which he did. Crushing your naked form into his chest and kissing the top of your head.

“You felt so good last night, darling. Did you like it? Did you feel as good as me last night?”

You swallow even though your throats dry from dehydration, and burry your face into the prince’s chest. Not wanting him to see the way your eyes build up with tears.

Last night was a painful affair to say the least, but worst of all from all his markings he left on you he left the worst he could give at the end. The marking he left on your very soul when he taught your body how to like it were far worse then any on your skin.

You shouldn’t have liked it. You should have hated every touch he gave you, but you didn’t. He’s tainted you and now your weeping into his chest as you painfully give him a truthful answer, “Yes… I liked all of it.”

Jimin pets your hair, smiling down at you.

He knows your not weeping onto his chest right now because you hate him. You’re crying because you loved it. If how your bodies reaction from last night said anything at all, he’s slowly tainting the very fibers of your being.

Tainting his new queen until you’re so ruined you start to love him. And he has forever to do so now.

“My queen… we’re going to have so much fun together. I love sososo much.”

You pick your head up from his chest, staring into his smiley eyes as you look him with red eyes. You swallow around the lump in your throat, and feel suddenly a whole lot lighter from his confession.

“Do you really?”

Jimin smirks, placing his hand on your cheek to wipe away a stray tear that’s leaked out of your eyes. “I do. I’ll love you forever, my queen.”

How could a person like him not love a person like you. You pushed the blood filled thoughts away, and instead gave him new thoughts to crave. Ones where he stretched out your pain mixed with pleasure, and wanting to spoil you with it instead of killing you with it.

So yes, the prince loves you. And the prince will love your forever…

As long as he doesn’t imagine killing you first…

-

-

-

The End

[noriaki-kak]

Another question 👀 (if that’s ok I don’t wanna bother you) but would you be willing to post any writing pieces you made of the Braithen kids,,,,it’s ok if u can’t !! It’s totally fine!!

Here’s some paw prints of my dog 🐾 as compensation idk,,,

OOH! Doggy... thank u for this offering! I wish I had more writing to share, but tbh I have a lot less written abt the Braithen kids than I'd like. Wrangling my ability to write is always a whole thing so a lot of stuff I do have is unfinished or so context dependent it's hard to tell what's goin on.

I do have one thing I can share though! I waffled on posting it because it takes place towards the latter half of Penelope's story and a LOT happens that I haven't covered yet. But I wanted to share it so I'll try and give a bit of context under the cut before the actual Thing itself!

SO, I think @dapper-comedy has mentioned some of this but just to be sure. After Leo is cursed and his father dies, the kingdom is left without a ruler. Penelope steps up and makes a bid for the crown, successfully taking the throne with support from the church and Leo's mother.

However, the decision to make this move wasn't entirely made by herself. An angel appears before her and basically tells her she's been chosen by god and given a sacred mission to save Braithen from demonic influence. He tells her that Leo is a lost cause and the only way to free him from his pain is to end him.

He's absolutely selling her a load of bullshit, making stuff up wholesale, manipulating her for his own agenda. He also goes a lot softer on the sell when they first meet, encouraging her to take the crown, hiding the more intense stuff (i.e. "saving" Leo), and kind of telling her everything she's ever wanted to hear.

She hated her father, but she also felt intense guilt near constantly for not being the model daughter she was supposed to be. Her desire for more out of life makes her feel like she's doing something wrong.

So this angel showing up, telling her god is real and approves of her, that she should grasp power and use it to make meaningful change, that she's allowed to want more out of life than being a good wife. It gets to her. Especially being in a vulnerable state after her confrontation with Leo, seeking meaning and concrete direction.

Over the years he acts as her "guardian" angel, appearing around her and offering counsel. He starts to let the act slip as time wears on and Penelope finds herself too deep in and too weary to take note or care.

This scene is one of the worst moments of Penelope's life. I believe Thea has spoken before about how Caspian tried to end things in a church after his demonic heritage is revealed to him, before his dad swoops in and takes him to live in hell instead.

This is the aftermath of that, with Penelope not knowing where Caspian is aside from the note he left behind. (Sorry girl, going through my half finished writing and so much of it is Penelope rlly goin thru it. Promise I'll write you into some kinder scenes soon queen.) So! Without further ado.

Penelope bursts through the doors of the church for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. She stumbles, rain soaked and bedraggled, down the aisle and collapses to the ground right before the last row of pews.

It wouldn’t be long before news spread. She had acted as was her way when she found the note, swallowing her feelings and drowning herself in practicality. Simple orders to find him had already been passed to any guard stationed in the area.

All night she searched, scouring every inch of the church inside and out. At first the lack of a body had given her a torturous hope, but as the horizon begins to faintly glow, the glorious light rips it from her.

She had to find him, she could find him. She would apologize for not being there. For closing herself off with Giselle’s passing, with the duties of the crown, with Leo’s sin.

Her fingers are numb as she gropes at her pocket, she can’t bring herself to actually reach inside, to touch the paper. The feel of the crumpled note through the damp fabric of her dress forces her to remain in reality, the words flooding her mind.

She would tell him it wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t a demon. He wasn’t, he could never be. She was at fault, all of this, everything… She would tell him, she would tell him-

She would find him somewhere crying. And he would wipe his tears when he saw her and smile sheepishly and pretend his eyes weren’t red. 

And she would pretend the same, or no…

She would cry and hug him, she could put off her duties tomorrow, they could have lunch. Maybe they could go out and pick blackberries, and the taste would remind them of Giselle. She would talk to him about her.

She would find him, she would, someone would. They would bring him to her, there wasn’t a body, that means he must, he must-

“What sort of wretched way must he have left this earth to not even leave a body? Perhaps his note speaks true, perhaps his corpse fell to ash in this holy place.” He speaks with a well practiced gentle pity. It’s not as if she ever feels his presence truly leave, but he had been utterly silent up to this point, and hearing him makes her freeze.

His words gall her, a disgusting fury wrenches at her bones.

“Please...” She wants to command him to be silent but her voice is hoarse and feeble. Shaky exhaustion ruins her strength, her pride. She gasps for air and tries again.

“Please do not speak of what you do not know.” It’s nothing, her words are paper thin. In this moment she is ruler of nothing, fallen to the floor. Frail and idiotic, and beholden to everything she hates.

“Does it not ease the pain? If he was indeed stained by the demonic, you’ve been spared from saving him.” She cannot see him, but she feels him close. “He was a good man, to rid the world of another demon for you.”

White hot fury flashes in her, she crosses her arms and grips at her shoulders, clawing at herself. She crumples forward, fighting the rage, the tears. She presses her forehead against the stone floor, her face contorted in a mask of agony.

The first dry sob wracks her body, ugly and stifled. Her throat is so tight, she sounds like an animal in pain.

“T-Take me. Send me to hell, please.” It is unlike her, she pleads like a child, honest in a way she hasn’t been in years.

“If everyone I love will be taken this way, send me too.” She begs foolishly, eyes screwed shut. Any pain would be better than this, an eternity burning would mercifully kill her mind.

“And what of Leonidas?” The name makes her grit her teeth and claw deeper into her shoulders.

“You would leave him in this world alone?” She lifts her head and he’s before her now. Through blurry vision she’s certain he looks more and more sickly every day.

She lurches forward and grips his arm with a desperate strength, digging into his flesh. He doesn’t flinch.

“Help me find Caspian, guide me to him.” She croaks out. A nausea rises in her, she desperately redirects the conversation. She’s so tired of him, she knows he has answers. Why can’t he just help like he used to-

“I swear to God I speak the truth when I say your friend no longer resides in this world.” His face is blank, and yet she knows he isn’t lying. This isn’t usually how he twists his words, this is a blunt hammer.

Something freezes in her, her eyes are bugged and glassy as she looks at her surroundings, as if suddenly lost. It’s like something is broken. She releases his arm and her hands fall limply to her sides. She wishes the church would collapse on top of her.

“Leave me.” There’s barely enough air in her sore lungs to form the words. “Leave me now, or kill me.”

There’s no response, when she blinks he is gone.

She is drenched in the silence, and her eyes search the cavernous cathedral from where she sits in a solitary delirium. The early morning glow alights upon the stained glass windows, and filters through warmly.

The glass eyes of the depicted figures bore into her, silent judges in her every failure and transgression. She fumbles in her pocket and pulls out the damp crumpled note. She doesn’t dare to unfurl it, or read it again, instead she presses it firm against her heart.

On the left she thinks.

Her far away eyes cast themselves upwards towards the vaulted ceilings, this prison she was born into, the prison she chose. Or did she really choose? No, this is her fault, she…

She thinks about the last time she saw Caspian, the empty look in his eyes that she ran from, and the dam breaks. 

It is an ugly and angry sound that rips through her, it would be generous to call it a sob. The tears run hot from her eyes as she curls in on herself.

The thoughts she desperately locks away spill forth in a deluge. What was the point of any of it? What has the false strength she built herself been for? What is the power she’s grasped for if she can’t use it to protect the ones she holds dearest… held dearest.

She is alone, and a hideous selfish fury washes over her. A desperate childish rage at Caspian for leaving her here alone. The feeling only fuels her self-castigation, he apologized so profusely in his note, so convinced he had done some wrong- 

She had always been the problem, not him. Sweet Caspian, kind sweet Caspian, heart so full and trusting. She can’t imagine life without him by her side, how was she supposed to…?

Memories of him pour over her. The frozen grief she stifled over Giselle’s death joins, and her rage breaks as warm thoughts of Leo intermingle. Every moment is like a new knife, loss, and loss, and loss, after loss.

How much more could she stand to lose? How much more can she fail those around her?

She crumples like the note in her hand as her grip grows tighter, and her mind goes blank with despair. Her weak sobs sound in the quiet cathedral, echoing off the intricate stonework. She cries in a way she hasn’t in years, snot pouring from her nose, body hunched and trembling. 

Her heart breaks, for the third and final time. So she mourns loudly, knowing that once the sun is risen, she will have nothing left to give.

[weaveroffates]

Niamh

Harper (Animulus) Niamh --> Trafalgar Niamh

Race: Selkie.

Age: 27 (post-timeskip.)

5'6"

Dark brown, almost black hair. Pale green eyes/Sea Glass Green. Pale skin, covered in freckles.

Seamstress/Quartermaster of the Heart Pirates.

~♡~ Backstory Notes. ~♡~

Harp Seal.

Her Father was a selkie who fell in love willingly with a human woman who loved him back and started a family.

Niamh had three older brothers. Mervyn, who was seven years older than her and was also a selkie. Murphy & Maccon who were two years older than her but didn't get the selkie genes(?)

Mother was an ambassador for her home island after retiring from her life of masked adventuring.

An event( ?) Happens that kills her father and separates her from her mother and her brother Maccon when she is around 10 years old.

Mervyn, Murphy, and Niamh were taken. when the trio tried to escape later. Murphy was killed and Niamh sustained injuries, got an infection, and eventually lost most of her hearing.

Mervyn dragged his sister to the nearest island and thought he had hid her well enough so he could try and get medical supplies from some locals.

But it wasn't enough as she was found by an elderly widow who thought Niamh was a "gift from the sea." Who proceeds to take her seal coat and hides it to keep her. Mervyn is unable to find it and pivots to help her adapt. Sign language, which many on the small remote island didn't know.

Hearing aids are a hard to get item? At least how far north she lived. Very expensive?

Mervyn went to a life of crime to try to afford one hearing aid. Later when she gets a replacement, Niamh keeps this one for sentimental reasons.

Mervyn also, sadly dies soon after he gets it for her. [Sickness/seal coat destroyed?]

She lives on the island until she is about 17-18 years old. Continues to look for her coat, but when a coat is buried the selkie owner of the coat cannot sense it.

Finds out she's been betrothed to the son of the light keeper, her searching becomes frantic.

The Heart Pirates arrive on the island within the first year of their travels (Law being about 17 years old when they meet.)

They help get her coat back and she asks to join them since she had no other place to go. (Law hands her back her coat.)

Dream was to travel and see the rest of the world? Wants to see fabrics and patterns from all over.

Also the Polar Tang had four teenage boys, the horrors. (Probably better than I've experienced tbh.)

Becomes the Quartermaster. [I kinda mixed the army definition with the pirate one.]

In land armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distributes supplies and provisions.

The quartermaster ranked higher than any other officer aboard the ship except the captain himself, and could veto the captain's decisions whenever the ship was not chasing a prize or engaged in battle. The quartermaster also was chiefly responsible for discipline, assessing punishments for crewmen who transgressed the articles. Taken from the Wikipedia Article for Quartermaster.

She mainly tells Law to take a nap and takes away his coffee when she does veto something.

Makes the crews custom jumpsuits, fixes clothing, and embroiders the jolly Rodgers on them. Also embroiders their names into their clothes.

Whenever someone has joined the crew to stay, she makes them a unique quilt for their bunks.

Made most of Law's clothes, curses the feathers. The animal prints are her fault, she likes them

Sealskin worn like a poncho/cloak.

Her bounty poster names her "Scary Neeve" As they misheard her/mistook her saying the town she joined the Heart Pirates as her name.

Due to the nature of have the aids and them acting more of an amplifier Niamh has to take breaks from them as they give her migranes since everything is loud.

sometimes will trade off which ear she will hear out of when needing to wear them for long periods of time.

gets vertigo easily, takes medicine for this but sometimes it's just best to rest. Rest sometimes is just sitting and crocheting.

Has balance issues before it gets real bad, Law and crew tend to watch for this.

Also gets sick if she's too far away from the sea, Zou is torture.

Her sign language is a dialect from the North-Blue.

~♡~ Romance ~♡~

Romance with Law is slow, not even considered until they are around 22/23 years of age.

Niamh doesn't push for it actually, and is content to be his friend.

It's when she almost dies during a squarmish with marines that he goes '*oh shit*' And aganises over it.

Like she was is a medical coma to reduce brain swelling.

Gets overprotective once she awakens to the point he pisses her off and they have a fight.

Have an argument, reveals feelings.

Take it slow? Nah.

Handfast ceremony with the crew as witnesses, oh god what have we done.

Keeps relationship hidden from everyone outside the crew, doesn't get revealed until after Wano.

Rather private with the crew as well.

~♡~ Sealskin, Tattoos, and piercings. ~♡~

Whatever she embroiders on the coat becomes a tattoo on her human body? It stings to do this?

She adds the Roger along the bottom.

Laws shoulder hearts to her coats shoulders.

Later she will get a heart tattooed on her ring finger.

A big piece that makes a sternum tattoo that wraps to her back? Not sure.

Remakes parts of Law's hat out of her sealskin as a wedding present. Her kind can live longer then humans but she's essentially giving a piece of her life away. Maybe that is what saves him from blackbeard later on. She can also feel vague pains from him in her soul when he gets hurt. (Or

Has multiple ear piercings. Ear cuffs and whatnot as well.

most of them are gifts from law. He likes to see the glittering on her ears.

~♡~ Niamh Personality ~♡~

Quiet, much more of one to observe then to be in the action.

Steady like the sea, and stubborn.

Has a need to fix things, even to her own detriment.

An icy anger, but patient.

She is uncomfortable with those not from the crew, and in a group of unknowns she is a wallflower.

She's not great with socializing because of her disability, those skills were not learned growing up. It's better now then when she first joined the crew.

Is often described as motherly/sisterly.

Her love language is time and making gifts for those she cares for. Which works great with her chosen profession as a seamstress.

Has a great interest in fabrics, stitching, thread, yarns, etc. Fashions maybe, but everyday wear is what she likes to make.

Likes patterns, and will make pieces that are to be styled with a plain piece. Like laws Zou look or Punk hazard are good examples.

But Law is a POS and pairs weird shit together.

The orange and yellow from Stampede for example.

She gets annoyed at him for that shit

"Maybe you should pick my outfits if it annoys you so much" he flirts "Maybe I will." She replies not taking it for flirting at all.

~♡~ Weapons/Fighting ~♡~

A pair of tailor shears turned into daggers, & various sized needle throwing knives.

Hand to hand, very much a rogue.

Kicks like a horse, has extra strength because of selkie/swimming.

~♡~ Hobbies/Things she likes ~♡~

Sewing, embroidery, quilting, knitting, crocheting, etc. If it has something to do with crafting, she probably does it.

Seashells & Jellyfish.

She does enjoy reading, but likes more to be read to while she does something with her hands. Audiobooks are her friend.

Drawing and doodling as well.

Tea person, doesn't like coffee.

~♡~ Family ~♡~

Spouse: Trafalgar Law

Children(?)

Coraline (Future)

Father: Alsvid

Mother: Animulus Calliope

Siblings:

Mervyn

Murphy

Maccon "Mac"

Maternal Aunt/Uncles/Cousins.

Paternal family (?)

[buriedself]

@ HHJKANG JUST POSTED … Taking suggestions for divorce celebrations.

001. STATISTICS …

GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME: harper hyunjung kang. NICKNAME(S): n/a. AGE:   fifty. DATE OF BIRTH:   january 12, 1973. PLACE OF BIRTH: new york, new york. CURRENT LOCATION:  manhattan. GENDER:  cis woman. PRONOUNS:  she/her. ORIENTATION:  bisexual. OCCUPATION: corporate law firm name partner. EDUCATION LEVEL: jd from harvard.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT:  5'5. TATTOOS:   secret... PIERCINGS: one in each ear. CLOTHING STYLE:   jessica pearson vibes. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:  signature glare tbh.

HEALTH.

ALLERGIES:   none. SLEEPING HABITS:   average. EATING HABITS: average. SOCIABILITY: 7/10. sociable because she has to be. DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS: yes / socially / no.

PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES:  berserk button, the chess master, stern teacher, xanatos speed chess. INSPIRATIONS: jessica pearson (suits), miranda priestly (the devil wears prada), marcia roy (succession), olivia pope (scandal), addison montgomery (grey's anatomy). POSITIVE TRAITS:   organized, ambitious, powerful, confident, loyal. NEGATIVE TRAITS: callous, manipulative, smug. LIKES: winning, family get togethers, looking out of her office. DISLIKES: losing, being lonely, . FEARS: abandonment. HABITS:  raising an eyebrow, tapping fingers, steepling hands. HOBBIES: no time for hobbies.

FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER: deceased. FATHER: deceased. step-father is long retired. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: divorced from her husband. BEST FRIEND:  tba. EXES: ex husband. SIBLING(S): none. CHILDREN: two. PET(S):  none.

002. BIOGRAPHY …

dad died in front of her when she was young -- a heart attack. her mom remarried to a high profile lawyer that was set to take over his dad's law firm

they always had high expectations for her and why shouldn't they? she was always due to become either a surgeon (like her late father) or a lawyer (like her step-father). eventually, it became obvious where her skills lay, so she was steered in the direction of law.

in college, she falls in love. against everything her parents warned about. she has not one, but two children before she graduates from harvard with a law degree. but she did it all while raising two children. isn't that enough?

her husband and her get married after she's graduated and from the outside they're perfect. both high profile, hard working people with two darling children. everyone should be jealous.

she doesn't want anyone to think she got where she was because of her step-dad's connections, so she works with his firm's biggest competitor.

soon enough, she's a fucking star. other lawyers, even those with decades more experience are scared of her. why shouldn't they be? she cuts through them in court like a knife through butter. she's unstoppable.

until it's obvious that everyone in the firm is against her becoming name partner.

harper does what she does best. she creates a case. she finds every speck of dirt on the current name partners and marches into the monthly partners meeting and demands her name go up there. easy as pie.

yes. kang for harper kang. she made it.

her and another name partner, the one she's closest to, perform a coup and over throw the other one, making them obsolete. it's just the two of them now, and they're doing what they could only dream of.

while all of this happens, her marriage falls apart. she suspects her husband of cheating, if not physically, then emotionally at the very least, but can't bring herself to do anything when she's surely been feeling something for the other name partner.

she and her husband separate, though they live under the same roof for the sake of their children and the cameras.

the divorce is messy and awful and ends in arguments more often than not. it takes two years for it to be finalized, start to finish. what's the point of celebrating in a burning house? whatever. she opens a new bottle of scotch anyway.

003. CONNECTIONS …

[on the wc page] her two children ! they have a strained relationship but she's trying to reach out and reconnect.

[on the wc page] the other name partner of kang & x. they had a fling during her and her husband's separation and are incredibly close. they might be trying to overthrow her / remove her from the firm, but she's unaware.

her ex-husband... would have to be similar age

people she / her firm represents

people she / her firm have screwed over

people that work in her firm

someone she's blackmailing for some reason

??? idfk i am writing this half asleep as i watch tv...

[the-pjo-analyst]

Chapter 8 - We Capture a Flag

Theme of the day: Hidden motives

The most mild chapter title so far lolol.

Let’s start with Percy’s hidden motive: bringing his mother back from the underworld. At this point, Percy assumes that his mom died in the Minotaur attack and based on his mythological knowledge, knows that spirits can be brought back from the dead by going to the underworld and physically getting them back to the land of the living. I haven’t really touched on Percy’s grief, but we also only get small moments on it: his brief grieving after he wakes up in the Big House (when he’s like the whole world should be black and cold nothing should look beautiful 😭), his small toast to her with a blue drink, even his whole plan to go to the underworld is likely denial or bargaining. Tbh Percy hasn’t been given a lot of time to really process Sally’s apparent death since he’s been going from one thing to the next in the few days after it happened. But I think since he found a small ray of hope like... an hour after waking up at camp, he grabbed onto that and isn’t letting go anytime soon. What else is a child supposed to do after losing their parent? He’s certainly not given the guidance he’d need as someone who’s recently experienced that kind of loss either.

Compared to Percy or the other characters with hidden motives, Annabeth’s isn’t that extreme lol. After capture the flag, Percy finds out that Annabeth put him on border patrol to draw Clarisse’s attention, knowing she’d go after him bc of her hurt pride. And it went all according to keikaku. This might be far off, but I’ve been wondering if Annabeth had inklings that Percy is specifically a child of Poseidon? When she has that confirmation, she doesn’t really finish her thought of “I didn’t want...” so maybe it’s possible? Like “I didn’t want it to be true that you’re Poseidon’s kid, I assumed it would be Zeus bc he’s already has a strike. Having one god of the Big Three break the pact is bad enough” kind of thing? Could be another reason to put Percy on border patrol since it’s by the creek and she could possibly test out her theory? Again this might be a bit of a stretch 😂

Speaking of Poseidon, claiming Percy at the moment he did just screams hidden motives. Or maybe it’s a secret’s out might as well lol. Imagine Poseidon just chilling in his underwater palace and being like whelp the jig is up ig ahaha. But anyway, I think this was addressed later in the book? That Poseidon is accused of using Percy as a tool? Like he chose that moment instead of anytime earlier because he needed Percy to go on the quest for the master bolt. Maybe it’s a bit of both options lol.

While not revealed yet, Luke also has hidden motives as an agent of Kronos. So far the only indication that something is amiss is Chiron stating that someone from camp summoned the hellhound, when they’re not supposed to be in the camp’s forest. I can remember if he did anything else besides the obvious stealing of a certain lightning bolt and shadow helm and blaming it on Percy lmao. I’ve already talked a little about Luke’s reasons for being Kronos’s agent in my previous chapter post and I don’t have that much to add to it probably until the last chapter lol. So I’ll hold off on it.

Shout out to the characters without hidden motives like Grover who really wants to be a searcher! Clarisse who just wants to beat up Percy 😂 All the campers who only wanted to have a good game of capture the flag and have their side win without all this hellhound-Big Three-child-claiming nonsense haha. Also Annabeth because her main goal rn is going on a quest.

Small things:

Luke being a good mentor makes me go hnnnnngggg

GROVER’S SHADE AT ZEUS THAT HAVING AFFAIRS IS HIS JOB NOT HERA’S SJDFHSDFJ

Oh dear Percy’s already feeling inferior of Thalia and she’s a tree rn

Previous: Chapter 7 - My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

Next: Chapter 9 - I Am Offered a Quest

[ravs6709]

Going Forward- Latham & Veronyka

Word count: 1.0k words

A late birthday gift to Larson @larsonnoarson!!! I am finally here with it though! Exploring a little latham pov of veronyka, plus a little scene i thought could technically happen in the beginning of wos. Not quite where i was originally planning to go with this tbh, but i think leaving it more open was better

Hope you enjoy Larson!!!

Warnings: swearing (out of the censored era in my writing lol, it looked too weird)

•~•~•~•~•~•

Latham's first impression of Nyk was alright. He was nothing special. Just an ordinary stablehand. Maybe a little better than that, after he got Tristan scolded by his dad. He didn't hate Tristan, but he seemed too mighty, too isolated, too far above them and all because of nepotism. So if Nyk was gonna bring him down from that pedestal, he didn't really mind.

But then... but then so much started happening all at once. Elliot's betrayal, which nearly costed them all their lives. People actually had died. A phoenix had died. He felt the grief on his own, but it was tenfold because that phoenix was his own bondmate's mother. It happened in a flash, so when it was revealed that Nyk--Veronyka--was not who Latham thought he--she--was, didn't he have the right to be upset?

Not to mention, she was receiving so much special treatment. Veronyka became an apprentice quickly, and all of a sudden she was joining their patrol's outings, even after failing her audition to become a Master Rider. She was still a rookie who hardly knew anything, wasn't skilled enough for being a Rider yet. She wasn't useless, he wouldn't go as far as that, it wasn't like she wasn't helpful at all. The worst problem was the way her and Tristan behaved with each other. Tristan seemed less... standoffish? Which wasn't a bad thing, but he was very reckless, and she only seemed to be enabling him. No. She was making him reckless.

The two kept wandering off on their own, and one time they got involved in a fire on their own. Always making decisions on their own, rarely informing them of what they were doing. It was as if the two were harbouring some kind of secret. They'd gone out to soothe things out with the villagers, but not enough was being done. What were the rest of the patrol there for at this point?

And then Veronyka left. Tristan left with the commander to where Lord Rolan and Veronyka were, and their patrol soon followed. The action had fallen by the time they'd arrived, and Latham could see the Riders and Veronyka.

But no Tristan.

He'd been captured by Rolan.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he demanded Veronyka, striding right up to her. "We flew all the way here for you, some deserter, and now he's in danger? We shouldn't have come here." His fists hurt with how hard he clenched, they itched to just reach for her neck so he could fucking wring it or something, but he was very aware of the fact that everyone was watching.

Instead, he turned to walk away. That was, until her hands grabbed his tunic, yanking him down so that he was no longer towering over her. He shook in her grip, then froze as he met her eyes. Dark. Her eyes were dark brown, but they were near black with fury now, her jaw clenched. He'd never seen her like this before.

"Do you think there's even the slightest chance that you're more heartbroken than me?" she asked, her voice low. He wanted to open his mouth, because obviously he was heartbroken, because for all his problems with Tristan he wanted him back, but she continued on. "Do you think I wouldn't take his place in an instant if I had a choice?"

She shoved him back, and he stumbled to regain his balance. "Commander," he called out, his voice shaking, "what happened?"

The truth about Veronyka's identity was explained. An Ashfire. Veronyka Ashfire. What was... what was he supposed to do with that? The dynamic changed once more, and he avoided her. Even he wasn't sure how he felt. It wasn't like his dislike and bitterness went away just like that. He wanted to fight her, but he knew it wasn't a good idea to that, even if she started physically asking for it.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Look," Veronyka said, as they went through a sparring session. "if you have anything to say to me, just say it to my face. I'm not going to just lash out at you if you insult me."

Latham blocked one of her attacks with ease. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know," she said, her next kick containing more force. "Anything. I'm sick of all this. You glaring at me is better than... whatever this is."

"You want me to... yell at you?"

"That's not quite what I meant. But it's what you wanted to do for so long, wasn't it? Didn't you only show consideration because Tristan supported me?"

"I don't hate you," he said through a sigh, avoiding a punch.

"I know that," she said, and something about the way she was so self-assured about that pissed him off slightly.

"Then what do you want?" he asked. "I'm not going to jeapordize your role or anything--"

"I just want to be treated as more of an equal. It's annoying."

She went for another punch, but this time he was able to counter and knock her down to the ground. "because Tristan obviously cares about you."

She looked up at him. "Oh."

He stood still to catch his breath. "That being said, I still don't like you."

She got up, and she was smiling a little. His own lips twitched. "That's fine with me," she said. "You can feel free to show it more. Correct me on things, because I may be an Ashfire, but I still hardly know anything."

He nodded. "Don't complain too much, then," he said.

"Don't worry," she replied, getting into a fighting stance. 

He went back in and fought.

He was still upset at her, and that wouldn't change easily, but he knew to acknowledge that she had the same goal as him-- get Tristan back. It wasn't enough, not yet, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that he wasn't mainly affected by his emotions. Maybe she'd prove herself to be more capable.

So for now, that was enough.

•~•~•~•~•~•

cof taglist: @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? just let me know!

[vsnotresponding]

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 FAMILY WITH MOTHER, FATHER, SON AND DAUGHTER — how many people are in your oc's immediate family? how many people are in your oc's extended family? do they have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc? who in their family are they closest with? are they close with their birth family, or do they have a found family?

For Karma!!

detail oc ask game here !

karma lore time!

(adding a cut because it got a bit long)

karma has an older brother (Sher), and a father (the shahin) (he has a name but no one really uses it lol). his mother (Sadaf) dies roughly three months before the book starts.

all his grandparents are dead. he did have an uncle (Sadaf's younger brother), but he died when he was a little kid (he was also married to Orga, she's a member of the Chamber and has shown up here and there. i headcanon that she killed him tbh) (v this is your book what do you mean headcanon. i just do okay?)

he was very close to his mom. but. well. she's dead. as a kid he was also close to sher, but life happened. (also fun fact: sher was very close with their uncle)

so, all around, he's not very close to his birth family. as a kid and teen he was very close to áine, but they have been drifting apart. he does get along with garvan well enough, but he's kind of a loner (it's not on purpose, he just gets lost in his head most of the time, and then when he's with people he struggles to catch on to what's happening around him. it's the autism)

he is getting closeish to his soon to be sister-in-law, tho! they bond over being nerds <3 (and sher is *trying* to fix their relationship but karma isn't making it easy for him)

(kinda soon to call what he has with ira a found family tho. but he is very close with her after all)

[benefits1986]

Sacred Sunday

Thank you, Gary Vee for waking me up, inside out... yet again. To more curation of female-empowered content! Just in time.  Why do I keep my weekends sacred? I remember how Haruki Murakami noted that even your best stuff get spoiled when you don’t give yourself a break; be it in work or in whatever you’re too busy with. His book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a good read and I keep re-reading it. While I won’t be running anytime soon, I’d sub this with biking, walking and volunteering. Just have to rework my schedule in time for Juno szn that’s coming very, very soon. I am soooooo pumped to start a new chapter wherever the tides and the rides take me. :)  More so, had my unfair share of working on weekends ages ago and that led to spirals because my personal connections and pursuits had really major damages. I thought back then that weekends are meant to buy more time to hit more and more numbers just in time for yet another Monday. I realized that while this can happen during very special circumstances, the truth is, organizations that respect THE PAUSE are worthwhile.  This weekend, I was able to do the following stuff:  -Gave my 3 doggos a really good check because they had LBM for the past days -Anxiety management of Vidi + lump has been addressed but we have to super duper check because, mahirap na if masalisihan kami nito  -Sessions with my dad about new terms he’s hearing in my meetings + turuan siya maghanap ng legit deals in Lazada and websites because his feed is tatad ng mga dubious ads :D LELS (ayusin ko settings ng phone neto pero makulit, mhie) + LazMall vs Zalora vs apps he can check in his phone (ending: sige na, ako na bibili. Send me the link, dad. LOL. Pero syempre, may bigla na lang darating na package sa bahay tapos tatawa lang siya o maiinis kasi papagalitan ko na naman siya ‘pag ‘di legit ‘yung binili niya on his own. UGH. Boomer Weekends!!!)  -Iron my clothes as I wished that mother dragon is here to iron each crease because I abhor this chore to the core; but, I have to do it  -Requested dad to sulsi my clothes because I really don’t have the patience and the skills to sulsi them on my own  -Got my sheets and clothes from my suki laundry shop because water supply is not cooperating and while I love doing the laundry, mhie, ‘di makatao na gigising akong super aga or matulog super late, ‘di pa rin tapos labada ko after 4 hours :(  -Cleaned the fridge a bit and cooked food  -Had a massage for me and tatay kong pakitong-kitong  -HL budol c/o my gamer brother (JUSQ, mhie)  -run errands for my friend who’s a June bride (tawang-tawa ako sa pagluha niya because of this tiny errand tbh sa restroom ng office of all places at habang nagmumumog ako at siya rin)  -Maglinis ng CR :D :D :D  -Booksale Visit because why not?  -Check halaman and talk to them in time for tiny house vertical gardening so we can emulate Hedera x Cobonpue CHZ  -Bills, bills, bills, bills :D  -Checking on Zee who celebrated her 11th birthday; she’s a Potterhead queer baby in my eye pa rin kahit she totally has a mind of her own and Canadian na talaga siya; ‘di na Pinoy :D LOL  -Aligned with OG travel buddies about June ganaps because my calendar is full :D Wala ng hahabol  -Ate proper meals and meriendas with dad because this week has been a test of patience and no-mute mic meetings, too (Hassle lang kasi my dogs bark many times all throughout the day. Busalan ko na ba sila para hindi hassle magpatahimik? LOL.)  -Lunch with my brother and checking on him re: PT sessions, blood tests niya, overall health, etc. because he needs to be at his best in time for the birth of his bunso very, very soon  -Kulitan with my soul sister and syempre, meme deluge because it’s our love language -Catching up with Team Panganay because I have to move our ganap to June because... ugh  -Carving a new workspace because my dogs get in the way of meetings that call for NO MUTE MIC :D  -Cold brew x cinnamon x vanilla session because still looking for tea that will not make me poop too much :D  -Handmade letters because wala e, need and want din :D CHZ  -Basura content para mahulas mga podcasts and content na serious masyado :D  -Competitor check na funny but my brother knows them better than me he is an OG gamer and techie person :D LOLLOLLOOLL. Sornnuh.  -Feeding dad with content that he’ll most likely find helpful (UGH. Bigyan ko na ba siyang curated PL sa YT?) But, he now goes beyond Netflix na car chase, sapakan, bardagulan and the like  -Bringing Vici to the mall after his bout with major LBM this week; parang walang ‘di nagkasakit sa pag-gala sa mall (I hate going to the mall, because gastos, pero sige, go, anak. Go lang.)  What to do in the coming weekends:  -HOGWARTS LEGACY :D with my brother dear who loves the game :D Pinauna ko ng binyagan since ‘di rin talaga kasya sa sched ko tapos tuturuan niya ko as a non-gamer girl na baka madarang na ako because HP e. Akala ko mura lang ‘yun, taena. Lagas. So baon na lang ako this week to work.  -Welcome an expat friend to Manila (yet again bilang uuwi na naman siya at magtatanong na naman anong gusto kong pasalubong) + BGC nights with really early mornings (UGH. Katamad ‘to kasi ayoko talaga ng BGC as in pero sige na. Para matapos na.)  -PT sessions with my dad because I need to manage his fucked up way of biking ng walang stretching; sasabayan ko na lang siya para wala siyang kawala and endorse him to my super pak PT doc in the Southside (inception is ongoing)  -Baguio sundot but most likely this won’t happen because K is super higpit na baba ako ng Manila ng gabi to make it to my wellness leave/team building sesh; nag-away na kami kasi I usually go back to Manila from Baguio at around 12 midnight naman talaga pero he can’t allow me to do that just even for Ely’s First Birthday Dinner (Kainis)  -Laguna Bike Rides With MatchaME :D + ina and ama’s lapida (pati ‘to mhie, lista natin here) + family ganaps kahit ayoko talaga na naman since bored talaga ako  -Virgin Lab Fest with my OG travel buddies pero not sure pa here given that we have crazy schedules  -Fete de la Musique if meron this 2023 para iwas-spiral sa nanay kong iniwan ako :D Hahahahahahaha -Tea Time with OG travel buddies because ‘wag naman daw milktea  -Mega video call with soul sister since this is a monthly thing we committed to :D plus continuation of talking about our inner child hanash -Wine with OG marketing dad because birthday niya and though he does not like being greeted on his birthday (like me), may paganaps kaming parating kaya need talaga neto. Will gift him a Brene Brown book tapos kunin ko hard drive niya saka with his PL :D; hanap din akong decent wine na bagay sa personality at saltik niya which I’ve started pero so far, parang wala akong mahanap na pak -Mom’s 11th Birthday in Heaven :D eto ang malala. ‘Di ko pa ‘to hinaharap; but, I need and want to. Time to face this bitch na, for realzzz. Have to be comfy na with seeing her lapida na wala na akong spirals na malala.  -Siargaoooooooooooooooo!!! Enough said because no posting on IG BUT will pour it out here and there + meet up with the locals + secret spots na pak + photo/video walks with my phone + ink design fit for Siargaoooooo which I remember just now na almost same ng time frame ng birthday in heaven ni mother dragon back in 2018 (HUHUHUHUHUHUHU. Kismet na ba ‘to?)  -Probable sundot shot session featuring my friend in her first ever boudoir in time for her wedding I RSVP-d no to, because it’s work day (HUHUHUHUHUHU)   -Schedule my annual mega check up which is so timely given this interview of Huberman with Gottfried Glad to find a string of doctors who are progressive and are pushy, too. LOL. I abhor doc appointments, HOWEVER my mother dragon (who does not go to doc visits before she got GBS), made me promise that I get regularly checked. JUSQ. Though I have yet to master this trauma-inducing promise, I am getting there. Last year, all is good. All is well.  But, at 37, I’ll never know, right? It’s better safe than sorry, I guess. OPAK. Character arc development, right there. Since, I’m learning more and more about female health through the lens of more and more female health experts, I am realizing that being a woman is a high risk on its own. While I don’t have plans of having kids which means I won’t be putting my uterus to its natural use, I have to future-proof my body. :D CHZ. Wow. True na ba ‘to? I don’t intend to live too long naman din, but, I guess, I’m all for managing the symptoms while I can. Pota. Palliative mode na pala ako agad. Tanggap ko na ang dulo at ang hangganan. LOL.  At a time where health is wealth, let this be an important note that in the coming doc visits and interactions, I ought to choose female-empowering health practitioners. I’ve had one too many alignments with health people in general and I’ve been blessed to collaborate with not only the best, but generally empathic ones. Never mind the fact that I had to down that mom was but a case study. Never mind that our only choice was to manage her and go for the “best” quality of life as we defied gravity.  While penning this thought fart, I no longer feel the burn and the lump in my throat. This time, I’m off to make sense of mom’s battle with GBS. So far, I’ve got a clean bill of health, thanks to my organization that values THE PAUSE highly, in general. ;) Thinking of getting a life coach again. Perhaps, I’d go back to my dear life coach who helped me immensely during my toughest times ages ago. Perhaps, more than physical health, it’s time to give much attention to my mental muscles one session at a time, too. LUH.  I remember how taboo mental health is back in 2012. Looking back, I’ve been cancelled ONE TOO MANY TIMES even when I knew people around me meant well. Back then, I didn’t know that I can actually reach out to my people and ask for help. Back then, all I heard where hasty generalizations and slippery slopes were thrown at me. At times, I fought back. Other times, I backed down. These are my silent battles which I didn’t face because, I was seen as too strong, intimidating and aggressive. ‘Yung tipong since kaya ko naman lahat, bawal mapagod. Bawal mag-break down. Or puwede naman, pero out of character ko mag-spiral, ma-out of control, ma-out of focus. LOLOLLOL. :D True naman those, but, when you lose someone who is your life, your light, your everything, everything and anything spirals. ‘Yung usual kong naririnig noon is: You fought a good fight. Cry. Move on. Tapos.  Except for A and R, no one else stayed with me in a way that I want to be taken cared of. The noises are too loud. I found myself voiceless. The voices inside out fucked me up, big time. I failed to find my voice as I masked each emotion, each motion with more and more well-dressed distractions like working on weekends, on holidays, on days and nights when I cry so hard while downing deadlines. I tried numbing my pain by inflicting more and more and more pain until I died inside... until, I found myself fantasizing about dying poetically. I punished myself severely when no one is watching. Emotional eating and starving became my staples depending on my personality split.  A & R never gave up on me. They are my constants. They are my enablers. They are my go-to whenever I burn, I bleed, I die. They bring me back to life even when I no longer wanted to move forward.  May my stories about silent battles be more profound to my audience of none, and my audience of one. May these really bad shit turn into stories that allow at least one soul to learn something without having to go through a similar bad shit I went through, too. May my stories be tiny testaments that mental health should never be joked about and worse, looked down upon. May my stories remind someone that what you think, you become. What you consume, consumes you and your physical body, too.  Next Stop: Neurodivergent Universe ;) in the lens of a career woman whose content I chanced upon last week 

[foreaft]

SHAPE OF PAIN : LUNA LOVEGOOD

A PICTURE   —   a single image reminding you of someone or something you’ve lost, something you don’t want to live without.  You can’t seem to move on, to accept life has changed, to live again.  You’re trapped in the picture, in the past.  Maybe this was a lost family member or friend, maybe this was a sickness that isn’t going away, maybe this was a sinking into depression.  But, you can’t help but remember how life was before, how life after will never be the same, and can’t help but feel that nothing in the future will be able to fill the hole the past left.  Nothing lasts forever .  .  . right?

                            —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —                             

TAGGED BY   :   @yinseal ( bless u ) TAGGING   :   @daerhael   ,   @lonerebor   ,   @littlewoodlandguard​   , @caninhisstecd​ / @killedinstead​   ,   @secondscn​   ,   @cursecarried​   , @songteller​ / @dualglaived​   ,   @iaurhael​   +   you !

[boyfhee]

𐀔 RED STRINGS OF REWIND | n. riki

PRECIS. you and riki meet again, and again, and again, before you run away from him, only for fate to intertwine your paths, and start from zero, all over again. ( 6.75k )

GENRE. vampire ! riki, mystery, thriller, angst

WARNINGS. mentions of blood, hospitals, murder & deaths, depiction of potentially obsessive behaviour, multiple semi-graphic to graphic descriptions of self-harm, reader is kinda sick in the head both literally and metaphorically, riki is psychotic & he isn't actually a vampire or could be one tbh it depends upon your interpretation, transitions from past to present

NOTE. my cue to dip for next few weeks yawl <3 BTW IM SO PROUD OF THE HEADER BUT TUMBLR RUINED IT AND IT LOOKS WEIRD ON PHONE </3 big thanks to sai ( @jungwonize ) for helping me figure out the characteristics of a vampire pls that legit solved half my issues with this fic and also beta-ing this fr he's so <3 if you don't understand what's happening, i recommend you to read the whole thing because that's the only way for this to make sense. see y'all in a few weeks, happy reading <3

the first time you ran away from riki was when you were five. it was a pleasant day and you were enjoying your evening in the playground downstreet, playing catch with other kids around. an escape wasn’t necessary but you had accidently hurt riki while helping him speed up on the swings. that was the first time you had seen the boy shed tears. ultimately, being the last ones remaining, you saw the sun disappear behind the horizon as his sobs increased, the sand turning red due to blood. at that moment, all you could think of was to run; and so you did.

consequently, you started avoiding him at school. despite being just a kindergarten student, you had a keen eye, always looking out for things that could affect you negatively. perhaps, riki made it to that list, and you found yourself noting his every move. you had your eyes on every breath he took, every action, every word. you sat at the bench farthest from his seat in class, yet still your eyes didn’t leave his sight even for a second. you started lying whenever his mother called your mom, saying she was sleeping or simply, not home. you lied about the parents-teacher meeting being cancelled in case your teacher brings up the events from what happened at the park a few days ago.

the same went on for days, weeks even. you saw the everlasting friendship between riki’s and your mom turn shallow, hanging by a thread, on the verge of breaking. you didn’t mean it. the damage, you didn’t want this to turn into something big. your mom has known his mother since her college. being the top students and the best friends they were, they decided to live in the neighbourhood after the death of their husbands. your father died in a car accident. as for riki, from what you recall, his father never existed in the first place.

maybe the gods were on your side because soon after, your mother was fired from her job and luckily enough, your uncle helped her secure a job in the capital. it was nice, living two thousand one hundred and fifty two kilometres away from him, in tokyo, it felt good. you could finally breathe in relief. maybe, you feel bad for your mom since she had to leave her friends. perhaps, a part of you is upset since you had to leave your friends; though, if you had the chance, you would do it all over again.

you wanted to live peacefully. you don’t want people to blame for what happened. you didn't want to be the reason behind the dark blood stained patch on the sand that made the kids shake in fear in the dead of the night.

the second time you ran away from riki was in highschool. it was unbelievable, having him this close to you. you thought you left him behind, in okinawa, however on the first day of highschool, you had him standing in front of you, and you felt your heart sink into a never ending pit of horror. an escape wasn't planned but it was the only way left when he tried to strike a conversation with you. you both were alone in the dance room, a smile plastered on his face as he recalled the events you buried in the past. you felt your heartbeat accelerate, and your first instinct was to run; and so you did.

you spent that day in the cubicle, crying and fighting your anxiety attack. a couple few knocks on the door made their way to you but you didn't respond, knowing you're better off alone.

it felt horrifying to have your past come back to you. having riki standing in front of you was like a nightmare come true. you had noticed the scar of his forehead; reminding you of everything you buried deep, making sure no one would know about it. you wouldn't say you never expected to see him again. your grandparents live on okinawa and every time you visit them, a part of you anticipated seeing the boy somewhere around. it wasn't scary, really, for you don't live in okinawa and riki doesn't know where you live.

things were perfect, better than you had planned initially, since never once did you come across riki in okinawa. you even visited his house, asking neighbours about him and his family. someone said his father came and the family moved to germany with him. however, you knew that was a lie. your mother might've said that his father passed away when he was three, but you know he never had a father in the first place.

so, eleven years later, seeing him all the way in tokyo, attending the same school as you, it was like seeing death on your door. as if the reaper is at your doorstep, asking for your soul. however, your perfect highschool life turned into a pit of hell when the incident you've been hiding resurfaced again and this time, on a public stage.

‘how did you get your scar?’ a student had asked him, and you froze in your seat. the greater gods weren’t on your side since in the second half of second year, riki transferred to your class. you don’t know how that happened— or if it’s even allowed— he just did, and sat right behind you as you felt the situation grip out of your hands day by day. you expected him to disclose the intels to everyone the way he stared into your back. your heart skipped beats whenever his hand brushed past your back, or when he randomly grew a habit to play with your hair in the middle of science lessons. you didn’t think riki had any intentions of ruining things for you; that is, until that question was brought up during self study class.

you heard him shift his eyes on you as he smiled at the question. ‘ah, it’s a long story.’ he had responded. your grip around the pen in your hand tightened. suddenly, geometry was long forgotten and all you could focus on were the words leaving his mouth. ‘i was playing in a park with a friend,’ he continued, and you gripped the measuring compass, pressing its needle into the desk as your pulse surged up. ‘and got injured. the friend, however,’ you felt his gaze settling on your back once again, goosebumps rising at the sudden eerie change in the air. you lifted the divider off the desk, your right hand fisted up so tightly that you felt your nails leave marks on your palm. ‘what about the friend?’ the student asks, and oh how you wished you could wipe them off their curiosity forever.

sitting and letting him continue would be a mistake, like digging your own grave and waiting for someone to bury you. you couldn’t tell him to stop because that’d be no better than showing up at death’s door. ‘the friend, well,’ you felt him digging holes on your back by the way he’s staring at you. you felt him smirking through his words and sitting would be a mistake, so you took the measuring device and pierced through your wrist, making a deep wound that stained your shirt red, the same way riki’s blood stained the sand.

the students gasped, teachers rushed in, you were escorted to the infirmary. no one questioned about the injury, why or how it happened. their questions concerned your wellbeing and nothing else. their eyes were on you while yours were on riki, who waved at you with a smile before turning his attention towards the blood splatter on your desk like a moondrunk monster. that was the third time you ran from riki. an escape was vital and your first instinct was to get away from him; and so you did.

you didn't attend school after that.

the first few days were off as an excuse for your injury. you deliberately went for your dominant hand, knowing it would offer greater impact than any other part. it was a sporadic decision, yet proven to be worth the pain. you had your friends drop notes at your house, occasionally checking up on you as well. but as your hand got better, the reasons to stay home narrowed to a few numbers, ones that you can count on your fingers. so, burdened by the need of the hour, you prepared another plan.

attending school after three weeks would've been amazing if your brother hadn't called the local suicide hotline. it was six-thirty in the morning, you were in your room while your mom had sent your brother to call you for breakfast, only for him to find on your bathroom tiles, all red and pale from the blood loss from your previously injured wrist. you hated him for calling the suicide hotline. it was a wasted move, but you couldn't blame him when he made things easier for you.

news spreads fast, and gossip spreads faster. the details about you were headlines, if anything. while your teachers worried about you for taking such destructive measures, a few of your friends started suspecting that you had gone crazy. one of them saw you stab your own wrist, other heard you mumbling to yourself. you were also spotted staring at riki with your gaze bearing daggers against his neck. an anonymous post from a kindergarten classmate claimed you to be 'obsessive,' briefing about how you used to stare at riki all day, like a predator eyes their prey.

in just two months, the tables turned and you became the 'creepy' one amongst them. soon after, you stopped having visitors. while you declined some of their visits, others stopped caring about you, as if you would come for them next. your days started feeling longer than usual as your stay at the hospital increased. from psychic ward to er and from er to psychic ward, those were your only two destinations for the next few months. bottles of pills and syrups awaited for you thrice a day as the excessive test procedures became your only companion in the house of dead.

you had spent nights laughing and crying about your poor condition. you didn't think you would ever end up this way, between machines and syringes, taking pills as if they constituted a major part of your meals. it was pathetic, almost shameful. you were tired of running. you changed cities to escape riki. now, you're holding death's hand to save yourself from the same boy you thought you had left behind. you had considered quitting altogether at some point. you remember cutting your wrist right above a major artery, making it deep enough to drench the sleeves of your white hospital gown. you expected it to be the last time you would see your mother. however, you woke up amongst tubes and bandages the next morning, feeling weaker than ever.

your eyes fell upon your mother's pale figure, noticing how thin she had gotten since the last time you saw her. a nurse informed you that you had woken up after four days and your mother didn't even drink enough water during that period. that day, for the very first time in years, you wondered about how this might be affecting her.

suddenly, this game about life and death made no sense. running from riki seemed illogical. staying in the four walls of your hospital room started making you feel suffocated. watching your mother fight for your life day and night made you question your ways for the very first time. for the first time, you wondered if what you had been doing was right. you were ready to quit your act, deciding to change your ways, just for your mother, but that was until riki's name showed up on your mother's phone one night. a look at the call log signified that she had been in touch with riki all along, taking almost every day, texting even.

it felt unreal, like a betrayal. sure, your mother doesn’t know a thing about what you had been planning for years, but riki, of all people, it felt like living with a knife up your throat, and you realised that staying with your mother would be an open invitation to let riki into your life again. so, you decided to run again.

2 : 49 am — you had it planned. you left your room eleven minutes before three in the morning, knowing damn well that your mother would have the best sleep of her life with those five pills of temazepam you had managed to get your hands on after the doctor prescribed her a stronger medication for insomnia. somewhere inside, maybe, you felt guilty for deceiving your mother; or more like, overdosing her with sedatives to execute your escape plan. but none of it seemed to stagger you when the thoughts about your mother keeping in touch with riki flooded your mind.

echoing footsteps with moonlight illuminating the empty corridors, it was too late before you realised that you ran in all the wrong directions, trying not to bump into any hospital staff. you had seen it in the movies, but mortuaries always felt creepier than they make it to be in fictions. there’s an eerie glow in the air, one you can’t see but feel as fear crawls up your skin. you ran your fingers over the ice cold walls, strolling through the empty floor, finding your way out. despite the sinister flow in the air, your heart felt at ease, unlike your thoughts running at a thousand miles per second.

you drag yourself towards the elevator, legs almost giving up from the fatigue stacking up inside of you, the lack of food finally surfacing as your blood adorned fingers leave their imprints on the white walls. you were so busy escaping that you didn’t realise when the dressing on your wrist loosened, consequently making the blood drip down your hands everywhere you go. the elevator chimed, marking someone’s arrival, and before you could process the situation, his name fell off your lips.

‘riki—’ you had whispered in fear, stepping away from him as his feet ascended towards you. there was a smile on his face. not that you could see it, for he was looking at the floor, but you heard his faint chuckle spin into the air. ‘you shouldn’t leave any hints if you’re trying to escape,’ he had answered, wiping off a speckle of blood from his lips as his vision sharpened at the sight of the blood streaming down your hand. his antics were beyond your comprehension. maybe, he was the crazier one between the two of you. he called your name, voice pitched low as your breath hitched. another step towards you and you were running away with tears brimming your eyes.

the escape was impromptu, but equally necessary. your sense of direction dissipated as tears blurred your vision, heartbeat pacing up as you heard his footsteps echoing closely behind you. at that moment, you wondered if running away from him for the first time was the right choice. you could’ve helped him reach his home— which was just a few blocks away from yours— maybe, could have explained the whole situation to his mother and owned up to your mistakes. at that moment, the seventeen-year-old you pitied the five year old yn for the direction your life would proceed in after that innocent incident. and again, you could’ve helped him— could’ve— but you chose not to, for the five year old you were petrified at the sight of the boy looking at his own blood lusciously.

a striking pain surged up your ankles, and you found yourself rolling down the stairs; and if you recall correctly, you had screamed. it was more of a shriek, or a shout for help, one that alerted the couple few staff monitoring the mortuary. their muffled voices reached your ears as the pain emerging from your head seemed to nullify all your senses. you don’t remember a lot from that day, except him, or the way he stared at you with a frown sitting on his face as the nurses put you on the stretcher, a frown that morphed into a menacing smile soon before as your mind gave up on keeping you conscious.

which leads to the present day— in nagoya, where you’re living with your mother— surprisingly — doing quite well at twenty-seven, working as a lawyer at a local law firm. there are days when you look in the mirror, letting your eyes fall over all the scars you have given yourself. you let your mind trace over all the dreaded memories from the past, wondering how you made it out. it was quite funny, actually, resorting to death to escape it.

you haven't heard from riki in the past ten years. not that you want to, but he didn't try to contact your mother like he used to. he's just a sweet little kid in your mother's heart who stopped calling her one day. he's just a figment of her memory, or like a wild nightmare for you. you had heard from your mother that riki's mom passed away a few months after he started attending highschool, and that she sent him money every month to support him.

she's upset, but you're glad he's gone. you're thankful to the deities for finally putting him out of your life. your life feels easier. the incident from your childhood no longer sends chills down your spine. your mother looks healthier, you don't walk on eggshells anymore. occasionally, you wake up in the middle of the night, hyperventilating, whenever an incident from the past slips into your mind as a dream, but it’s fine. you have medications for them. you take medicines for anxiety attacks, for migraines, insomnia, and a lot more, honestly. your problems haven’t disappeared. they’re still there, actively being the reason for the tear stains on your pillow. they are still here, inside your mind, or beside you, walking hand in hand to remind you that you aren’t perfect— you never were. despite your perfect grades and physique, you struggle to remember things. you take antidepressants to continue with your profession. it was a fight, a war, maybe; it still is, and will continue to be one, but it feels nice to live this way, as if the universe has offered you a second chance at life. maybe, it was all worth the risk, worth enough for you to do it all over again.

“you’re zoning out again,” a familiar voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and it belongs to jay. his soft laughter spins into the air, mixing with the fragrant vanilla and cinnamon filling the cafe’s atmosphere with its magic. it feels nice to live this way because you have jay.

you had met him in college when you got lost on the campus. it was your second day, after all, and the locked rooms along with the lack of lighting on the deranged floor reminded you of the hospital. you were close to breaking down when you heard footsteps approaching you, accompanied with a concerned voice. that day, he didn’t leave your side even after classes, making sure to drop you home before continuing on the way to his’.

jay is a nice guy. yeah, he teases you a lot, points out your horrible sense of direction in front of your other colleagues, makes fun of the way you whine every time you have to work past the destined working hours, but it’s fine. he helps you whenever possible, has reserved his weekends for you unless work stacks up his desks. he feels like the highschool friend you wanted to have, like the person you would’ve had a crush on in school if he helped you with your assignments. in short, jay is nice, and even being twenty-seven year old with several never-ending issues didn’t stop you from falling for him.

“ah, by the way,” he speaks up again, gaining each and every ounce of your attention. “i won’t be able to drive you home today.”

“it’s fine. i can go by myself." those are the words you tell, however, a part of you feels upset since you planned on asking him for dinner. "honestly, i don’t know why you drive me home when i live just fifteen minutes away.”

“maybe because your directional sense is basically non-existent?” he mocks and you both step out of the cafe, your steps following him to his car. “still, take care. you know that killer is still out there, right?”

“of course,” a pause. you wonder if jay has something to say— and you swear you're not letting your hopes escalate higher than they already are. over the years, you have learnt to wish for the best and that's all you're trying to do right now.

“do you also think he's a vampire?” he asks, referring to the person the team had indicted this morning.

the question leaves you astonished. one wouldn't expect him to bring up a case that isn't his. jay has his habits— a fixed schedule, appointment limits, minding his own business— there are more. so, having him strike a conversation about something that didn't concern him was new. "what?”

“i don’t believe in vampires and all, but have you seen the fang imprints on the victims’ neck? it seems plausible, no matter how much i try to overlook it.” no, really, as an attorney, you could only think of how obscene this all sounds. you have heard about the rumours, they say the culprit is actually a vampire so hunts every wednesday, sucking people off their blood and leaving them to die, thus earning the notorious name; the vampire killer.

at the age of four, riki told you about vampires. he asked you if you knew what they were, and you responded with the classic definition that any other four year-old would've given. 'bad people who drink blood and are scared of the sun' with an uninterested grimace. your brows furrowed as you saw a sour expression settle in his face. that's when he told you another fact about vampires— they have a set target, and they chase it until it's theirs, no matter how long it takes.

you don't recall if he added anything else, not that you understand his words either, but the smirk on his face told you that riki liked vampires, probably a lot more than anyone else did.

“even if he is, they can’t say that in court,” and to be very honest, you don't want to involve yourself in a case that isn't yours either. it simply isn't worth the time. sure, the rumours going around may fuel everyone's curiosity, but not yours.

he sighs, getting into his car before rolling down the windows. “see you tomorrow. let me know if you get lost on your way home,”

“i will,” you affirm with a laugh, watching him drive away as you proceed to your walk back home.

the last time you represented a murder case was ten months ago, never again. you had a hard time dealing with everything. every mention of dead bodies reminded you of him. but you knew it was all your imagination, for riki was never a serial killer. he was just a boy, though with unusual habits, but still just a boy you had known long ago.

yet you still had your suspicion. you spent days wondering if he's schizophrenic or something along those lines, or if psychosis got the best of him. a clearer look into his condition led you to haemophilia— obsession with blood— which is fine, really, not everyone is the same. people are born different, with distinct characteristics. riki happened to be one of the very few; and honestly, he was never the one to fit the crowd.

you halt in the middle of the streets, interrupted by a call that displays 'prosecutor jung' on your phone screen. “hello?”

"attorney yn, you're required to report at the prosecution office urgently."

"right now?" you ask, confused by the sudden request and that too, two hours after your shift is over. "i'm almost home."

"we have, uh, a few things to discuss about the vampire killer case with you. please report as soon as possible."

and the next second, you hear silence devouring the other side of the line. you sigh, texting your mom that you'd be late so she doesn't have to stay up. call it overthinking or parental care, but even at twenty-seven, your mom looks after you like a five year old. you've had your aunts tell you to move out but honestly, you're having a good time living with your mother. it's better than living alone, given your health conditions.

resultantly, you make your way back to the law firm. this time, with a butter face. the extra working hours don't affect you anymore. you've done that a lot and it's a part of job responsibilities at this point. what's has your attention is the topic of concern, the vampire killer, a case you aren't associated with in any way. you haven't even read all the articles they had published regarding the case, and even if you had, you aren't sure if you would change your mind about the case being an utter idiocy.

you arrive at the firm, taking the elevator to the main prosecution office situated on the fourth floor. the building feels lonelier at night, especially with just a few people working in their cabins as even the quietest of sounds fills in the eerie silence. lifts and hallways always remind of the hospital and everything that had happened there. your skin runs cold whenever you find yourself in an alone hallway at night as the urge to run away tries to conquer your mind.

you have learnt to pay it no mind, though, just like now, as you walk up the empty halls while humming a song to put your mind at ease finally arriving at the designed venue.

"attorney yn," she shoots you an exhausted smile, the fatigue evident on her face. "thank you for coming."

you didn’t want to, actually; she forced you to come. and her being your senior, you had to follow her orders no matter how much you loathe it. "it's alright. what did you want to talk about?"

"yes," she turns around to grab a few documents off her desk before turning back to you. "we've been trying to question our prime suspect. however, he refuses to say anything without a lawyer. here are the files—"

"wait," you interject her words, cutting her off mid sentence. "why me? i mean, i'm not a criminal lawyer."

"we'll, you were requested by the suspect." she explains, her words making you freeze in your stance. "he claims to know you and wouldn't accept any other attorney."

you don't ask further questions, or rather, are not allowed to as mrs. jung and her team escorts you to the questioning room. she assures you that you only have to ask a few questions and after that, their lawyer would take over, but honestly, that's none of your concerns at the moment.

you don’t even know the name of the person indicted. they prefer not disclosing it. you haven’t even seen him because of your sheer indifference towards the case. you don’t know anything except that, his victims die of anaemia. you’ve had your suspicion— it’s him— and you’d be lying if you say you didn’t sleep for days when the news broke out. the truth is, you never recovered from the trauma. you claim to have forgotten the boy you used to play for hours with. you say his name doesn’t affect you anymore. however, the mere news about the blood-thirsty killer in the neighbourhood was a spark to your fears, gradually igniting it, and now it burns like a forest.

amidst all, you find yourself standing before the questioning room, ready to go in, and you have your one thing clear : this isn’t about riki. but that’s just something you’re convincing yourself to believe in for your sake.

you open the door, stepping in, eyes wide open at the sight of complete emptiness in the room, except one police official standing in a corner. you sigh in relief, taking a seat, maybe you weren’t just ready to face the suspect; or perhaps, you simply didn’t want to. the officer informs you that the person you’re about to would be back shortly, for he has gone to the washroom. in the meantime, you decide to look through the intels regarding the case, provided in a file handed over by the prosecutor in charge. there’s no picture— or maybe they didn’t add one— which is odd. there are blank spaces all over the pages with very few details written along the lines : suspect is in his late twenties, unemployed, lives alone, is conjectured to be suffering from renfield’s syndrome— those words leave a bitter taste on your tongue.

you don’t know much about that term. actually, scratch that, you don’t know anything about it at all. you don’t think the team handling the case does either, for there’s only scarce information present in the documents given to—

“it’s been a while, yn.” your breath hitches, heart skipping a few beats before beating restlessly. shivers shoot down your spine as your grip around the papers tightens, crumbling their corners. “we meet again.”

it’s him, you know it, it is him, nishimura riki— you know. he hasn’t changed much. riki still has his devilish eyes beholding a sinister glow. the menacing smirk still adorns his face like diamond jewellery. it has been ten years but the way your name rolls off his tongue still makes your skin crawl, giving you chills as all those memories flood back inside your mind. there’s a pen in your pocket, and you wonder if running away is still an option. you bite the inside of your bottom lips, tapping your foot nervously on the granite floor as the taste of iron conquers your mouth. a part of you wonders how riki would react to that. you look at the officer, and then contemplate doing exactly what you did in highschool.

“you can’t run away now.” riki chuckles. it’s more of a taunting laughter, one that reminds you of all the olden times. it’s infuriating and at the same time, is inducing fear inside your veins. you can’t look him in the eyes— you won’t— it’s the same as losing a game at the cost of your life. you take a sharp breath, digging nails into the palm of your hands once again, before his next words manage to seize your attention. “why have you been running from me, yn?”

it’s an innocent question, really, you wonder if the cameras in the room make you seem like a socially incapable person at the moment. “i’m in a hurry so let’s make this quick—”

“tell him to go out.” you flinch at his words, you always do. there’s nothing in the world that makes you shake in fear as much as riki’s presence. you look at the officer, and then at riki— his lips, because you don’t want to look into his eyes ever again. his words ring inside your head while you consider his request. “you’re taking a lot of time for someone who’s in a hurry, yn.”

you want him to stop calling your name. it’s not appropriate, quite literally, because you’re no longer friends. you’re his attorney and he’s your client, you want to create a line between, though, you dare not to. you look at the officer, gesturing to him to leave as he hesitates for a brief second before stepping out of the room. your instincts are telling you that it was a wrong move, for being alone with riki is equivalent to standing at gunpoint where the trigger pulls when the timer goes off.

“alright, let’s star— let me just—”

“my god, yn, you’re shaking.” he cuts you off, making your fingers wince at his voice. your gaze falls upon the floor, blinking nervously as you bite the inside of your cheeks, making your blood hold the only taste in your mouth. your eyes follow his actions as he stands up from his seat, the metal chair sliding against the floor, making you wince again, taking a sharp breath as he crouches in front of you. “are you scared?”

his voice is no louder than a whisper, but it resonates like a loud thud against your ears. as if someone is screaming in your ears. irritability surges inside of you as you start pricking the skin alongside your nails obsessively, glancing into the camera, waiting for someone to arrive and help you get out of this. the silence in the room trails on your skin, eating you out, before you decide to take the matter in your own hands.

you stand up, pushing your chair away from him with your legs as you exhale heavily. “please, go back to your seat.” you don’t look at him, actively avoiding his sight by running your gaze all over the room anxiously, but you feel his eyes on you like a burden on your shoulders. there’s a sudden shift in the air as he stands up, dragging his chair just next to yours before taking a seat and waiting for you to continue.

“is this okay?” it’s not, and you hate how you feel as if you’ve lost your ability to speak and counter his actions, simply nodding as you sit apprehensively on your chair. you pick one of the files, frantically going through the pages instead of reading it with proper attention. at this point, the case is the last thing you care about. with a heart pacing unbelievably fast, you feel like you’re going to have a heart attack, while your mind is reciting nothing but chants and prayers for the prosecution team to come inside.

riki’s eyes follow your gaze, watching you as you flip though the documents, sweat covering your forehead. his irises settle upon your hand, the one you had injured deliberately in highschool, and then the scars on your fingers and wrist that you had acquired over the years, finally residing upon a certain word on one of the papers that makes him chortle. “do you know about renfield’s syndrome?”

it’s a question that leaves you perplexed, making you freeze in your stance. “yes— i mean, no, i don’t.”

“it’s clinical vampirism, obsession with drinking blood.” there’s slight amusement in his voice as he inches towards you, whispering those words with a straight face. that’s the first time in years you look into his dreadful eyes. a pause, silence fills in the air between the two of you before he claps abruptly, startling you with his maniacal laughter. "it's crazy, right? people don't want to accept that vampires exist so they make it a medical condition."

your blood runs cold at the sound of his laughter. riki was arrested as the prime suspect for one of the most gruesome cases, yet no remorse has been evident on his face ever since you stepped inside the room. you pay his words no mind— try to—because indulging into his thought process would do more to you than you want done, and is, if anything, unnecessarily time consuming. "what were you doing this thursday?"

you inquire, waiting for his response, but not a word comes out of his mouth. he leans against the chair, playing with the ring on his index finger with a stoic face. your breath fastens again, nervousness creeping in as the silence drowns you inside of it. you're scared of riki's words, but you fear his silence even more. it's like a thousand screams lay unveiled behind his silence, and he looks at you as if you're going to be one of them soon.

"why do you always run away from me, yn?" there's sadness dripping off his words along with unknown beads of guilt. "from the playground, then school. you had always run away from me." he removes his ring, placing it on the table before looking at you with a luscious glint in his eyes, the one you saw that day, in the playground. "it makes me want to chase you even more."

another series of villainous laughter spins in the air as you stand up, rushing towards the door to call for help, only for him to make you trip on the calloused floor with his legs. you think you’re finally connecting the dots. however, you don’t want to accept it. his questions hold no meaning to you since he knows exactly what happened. riki knows you didn’t run away from the playground. you told him to stay while you called someone for help, but you turned around when his sobs stopped, only to see him devouring on his bleeding knee succulently. running away was the only escape for the five year old you, who had witnessed her only friend turn out to be a devillious monster.

you fist up your hands again, wanting the nails to pierce through the skin of your palms. you find yourself in the same situations you used to run from in the past, except, there are no escapes with time. your vision blurs as a single tear rolls down your cheeks while you attempt to stand up again.

"there, there; let me help you," the only sound you're able to perceive is his footsteps approaching you as he locks the door, sliding the key back inside his pocket before crouching in front of you once again. “c’mon yn, stop running away. don’t you think we should catch up after all these years?”

strings of no’s fall off your lips along with the tears streaming down your face as you drag yourself away from him, against the cold floor. you look towards the cctv, praying that someone would report soon. truthfully, they should’ve been outside, checking up on the situation since it has taken so much time. you hear riki sigh before shooting you a pitiful gaze. “you know, the cctv isn’t working.”

and just like that, the last strands of hope you’ve been holding onto breaks as you look into the eyes of the person you’ve been running from all your life. it feels as if the world has stopped with your breath caught up inside your throat. you watch his lips curl into a smirk as he inches closer to you, halting a few inches before your ears, whispering, "no one will come." and before you could react, you felt his fangs pierce through your neck as you feel all your senses died down.

perhaps, your biggest mistake is that you saw a friend in a monster. you had known it all along, his habits, the way you saw his mother drink down his father's blood— all of it; and yet, you wanted to believe riki was different. the truth is that everyone is the same under their varied skin. their true colour surfaces according to the need, making them someone the world never assumes them to be, like the innocent boy you once knew became your worst nightmare. and now, all you could do is wait to die as the excruciating pain makes it harder for you to breathe with every passing second.

and hour flies by, and the door finally unlocks, revealing a gruesome scene mrs. jung— blood splatters on the floor and on the wall, scratches on riki's faces, signifying that you had tried to fight, although ending up losing terribly. your pale blue body catches her attention, especially your lifeless eyes that still stare at with disappointment and shock. riki stands up in a daze, handing her his blood-drenched handkerchief. "her mother is next."

taglist in the rbs.

[stargazer-balladeer]

Hi, hi! I'm not sure if your requests are closed or you're on hiatus?? But I'm posting this just in case. May I request some headcanons of the Kamisato siblings with a reader who's their younger brother please? ✨

"You will be okay" [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Kamisato Ayaka & Kamisato Ayato + GN! Reader

Notes: I don't write for male reader's sorry qwq so i made it gender neutral instead. Hope ya'll like this!

Warning: Few curses knowing me and spoilers for their backstories.

Kamisato Siblings

Honestly speaking, they didn't know that it was possible for their mother to give birth yet again another sibling for them but when it did happened, they were both equally ecstatic. Ayaka has always wished for another younger sibling so that she won’t be the youngest anymore, and Ayato is just happy to have another member in the family.

But tragedy was soon brought upon them when their father died when you were birth into this world, shortly after, their mother followed the same fate as their father. Ayato has no choice but to become the next head of the Kamisato clan so that their clan won’t fall, and to take care of his younger siblings. 

Since Ayato is mostly busy ever since taking the head of the clan and Yashiro Commission, Ayaka was left to take care of you, putting all of her attention on you. She spends most of her time playing with you, entertaining for you hours. Ayato sometimes joins in on the fun but it only happens rarely. 

When Ayaka reaches a certain age where she has to practice being a lady in the clan, she can be seen holding you in her hands. There’s no place Ayaka will go without you in her hands. Even when Thoma starts to work for them, she still insists that she carries you.

To be perfectly honest, both of the siblings including Thoma would spoil the heck out of you. Buying you the most expensive toys, clothes, etc. Only the best for their younger sibling. 

But Ayato is albeit stricter in spoiling you. You don’t want to grow up like those stuck-up spoiled kids now do you? But Ayaka and Thoma? Haha, your wish is our command. 

They’re both very protective of you, not over, but still very. You’re the last blessing that they’ve received before both of their parents died in their childhood. Your birthday might be a constant reminder to them of their father’s dead, but they continued to smile for you. 

Both of them are very supportive of you in whatever you want to do. They would never force you to carry on the Kamisato clan’s legacy, they’ll do it for you. If they could, they would rid of the world’s ugliness for you. 

No one’s allowed to come near you, whether it’s girls or boys. Not even the old men or women who is only seeking the youngest out of convenience, so they had either Thoma or one of the trusted guard to stay with you if you want to walk around town.

Ayaka encourages you to make friends so that you won’t be lonely (”don’t be like your big sister, okay?”). But she did have to convince your older brother to let you out on your own, and Ayato can be stubborn when he wants to be. Maybe having both of you looking at him with puppy eyes would do the trick...

You might inherit both of their beauties tbh. And because of that, they’ve received plenty of proposals of an arranged marriage for your hand. Whenever this happens, both of them are in a bad mood. How dare they ask for your hand already?! You’re still their precious baby sibling! (yes we will ignore the fact that you might already be older)

When the war is happening in Inazuma, Ayaka and Ayato was gravely worried about you, especially if you manage to obtain a vision as well. They decided to shield you from the world and protect you from the Vision Hunt Decree by staying in the house only. It’s only when the storm has finally cleared that they finally allowed you to step outside, but their still worried so you might be seen with either of them or Thoma. 

If you ever feel the need to cry, Ayaka is there to comfort you along with Ayato. Their both there for you. So don’t be afraid to lean on them if you ever need help.

Ayaka is more prone to show you affection than Ayato. She regularly kisses you on the forehead, morning to meeting you on the street to evening. She sometimes pats your cheeks, and maybe squeeze them slightly while chuckling at your angry face. Ayato is more into headpats, and maybe a hug or two if time allows.

Overall, a pair of protective siblings who was forced to grow up too fast. But please don’t grow up too fast okay? Let them deal with the commission, so please continue being their baby sibling until the inevitable happens that you’ll get married and possibly leave them- 

[x] Main Page || [x] Inazuma Page

[komotionlessqueenmm]

One man's trash, is another man's treasure.

(1-4)

Short story # 6

2,355 - Words

Fandom - House of Wax (2005)

Paring - Bo Sinclair X Reader

Summary - The reader finds herself & her 4 month old son stranded in Ambrose. While Bo finds himself enamored with the woman, wanting nothing more than to protect and provide for the two of them.

Warnings - Some dark topics, talk of abusive relationships, eventual blood & death, eventual smut. (I'm not sure what else tbh)

Notes - Italics mean the reader is singing.

Pt. 1 ~ Pt. 2 ~ Pt. 3 ~ Pt. 4

----

"No no no." (Y/n) sighed as her jeep sputtered and died, white smoke bellowing from under the hood. "Please don't do this." (Y/n) muttered under her breath, pulling the jeep off to the side of the dirt road, despite her desire to keep driving. "Damn it." She hissed under her breath when it died completely, flipping the four ways on instinctively. The baby fussed tiredly from the backseat, drawing (Y/n) full attention. "It alright my love." (Y/n) cooed before exiting the driver side, sliding onto the back seat, she comforted the infant. "Sh sh sh you're alright baby." She cooed as she brushed his hair away from his face, kissing his little hands. The baby's cries subsided, and he cooed up at his mother. His wide and bright eyes melting her heart, as he peered up at her. Allowing the child to suckle on her finger, (Y/n) used her free hand to check her cellphone, hoping to call triple A. "Of course." She sighed under her breath, tossing her phone into the front seat, after finding it dead. (Y/n) jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the window, looking to find a man standing there smiling at her.

"Oh you startled me." (Y/n) chuckled when she opened the door, leaving her child in his car seat. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare ya." He chuckled with embarrassment. "It's alright, no harm done." (Y/n) brushed it off before offering him her hand. "My names (Y/n)." He shook her hand with a smile. "Lester." He then pointed to the jeep. "Car troubles?" He asked as he let go of her hand. "Yeah I'm not sure what happened to it." (Y/n) sighed as she turned her attention to the jeep. "Mind of I take a look?" He tilted he head a little. "Please do." (Y/n) smiled quickly moving to pop the hood. "Where you headed?" Lester asked as he inspected the engine. "Anywhere." (Y/n) leaned her hip against the side of the jeep. "Running from something?" He asked impulsively. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked that." Lester quickly stammered. "It's alright..." (Y/n) cleared her throat. "Someone actually, I'm running from someone." She admitted. "I'd appreciate... I'd appreciate it if you'd forget ever meeting me after this." (Y/n) added. "Well a pretty face like yours would be hard to forget, but don't worry your secret is safe with me." Lester smiled, his honesty making (Y/n) smile. "Thank you Lester." Her appreciation making Lester grin. "You're welcome (Y/n), but I'm afraid I cant do much about your jeep." Lester's smile turned to a apologetic frown. "Are you sure?" She frowned a little when he nodded his head. "Well I appreciate you trying." (Y/n) sighed softly. "I could give you a ride into Ambrose, Bo owns the garage he could help you I'm sure of it." Lester suggested. "Oh I'd really appreciate the help!" (Y/n) beamed her excitement making Lester smile.

"Give me one moment." (Y/n) quickly moved to the other side of the car, unbuckling the car seat, she hulled her baby out of the car. "Oh you've got a little one." Lester observed with slight shock. "I hope that's not a problem." (Y/n) bit her bottom lip nervously. "N-no not at all." Lester stammered. "You need me to grab anything?" He asked. "Could you grab the stroller from the back?" She asked. "Sure thing!" Lester moved to grab the stroller while (Y/n) shouldered the diaper bag. "Let me lay a blanket down in the bed of my truck real quick." Lester explained as he carried the stroller to his truck, (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding as she closed up the back of the jeep, locking the doors before she joined Lester at his truck. "There we go." He murmured to himself as he laid the blanket out, laying the stroller on top of it. "Don't want to stain that up." He explained with a smile, (Y/n) smiled then looked to the cab of the truck. "I think I'll have to hold him in the truck huh?" She observed, sitting the car seat in the tailgate to unbuckle the infant. "I'm afraid so." Lester rubbed the back of his neck a little. "Oh let me get that." He moved to grab the now empty car seat. "Oh it locks into place on the stroller." (Y/n) explained pointing to where the car seat went. "Well ain't that convenient." Lester smiled as he latched the car seat into place. "Yeah it's really nice." (Y/n) agreed with a smile.

They rode in a comfortable silence for about ten minutes, before Lester struck up conversation. "So what's the little guys name?" He asked as he glanced towards the baby, quickly casting his gaze back to the road. "He's names Von." (Y/n) smiled as she lovingly stroked the baby's back. "Dose it mean something?" Lester asked with genuine curiosity. "I got it from old Norse, it means hope." She explained. "That's really cool!" Lester beamed excitedly, making (Y/n) chuckle softly. "If you don't might me asking... Where's Von's pa?" Lester asked after a few minutes. "That's who I'm running from..." (Y/n) admitted, finding it easy to confide in him. "He do something?" Lester asked. "When he found out I was pregnant... He tried to kill me." (Y/n) murmured softly, her words making Lester frown. "A neighbor heard the commotion, and he saved me. My ex went to jail, but he has friends in high places, and was able to get released last month." (Y/n) paused for a moment. "I received full custody of Von after my ex was sentenced, and when he got out I took off." She swallowed thickly, subconsciously touching the scar on her mouth from where her ex had slashed her with a knife. "He's a dangerous man, and I'm terrified that he's going to come after me, to finish what he started." (Y/n)'s confession upset Lester, he wasn't upset with her, but with her ex, a man he didn't even know.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Lester cleared his throat, swallowing the emotional lump that had formed. "We'll be in Ambrose in a minute." He added. "Ah hell." He sighed at the sight ahead. "I forgot this road washed out last month in a storm." Lester explained as he parked the truck, I gotta flip my hubs into four-wheel." Lester explained, as he opened his door. "Oh I don't want to trouble you any more than I already have." (Y/n) reasoned. "Oh it's no trouble, I'm happy to help a pretty lady and her baby." He offered her a friendly smile, before setting to work. After he had finished his work, Lester hopped back into the truck with a grin. "Now hold on, I'm gonna take it slow but it's still gonna be bumpy." He explained as he put the truck into drive. (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding, cradling Von against her chest firmly, in hopes of not disturbing him to much. True to his word Lester took the drive nice and slow, the truck rocking this way and that as the tires rolled over some of the larger rocks. "Here we are." He murmured as they cleared the ruble, and made it to solid ground again. "Welcome to Ambrose (Y/n)." He smiled at her as he drove onto town, parking outside of the gas station. "Wow this place is really cute." (Y/n) hummed as she looked at all of the rustic buildings. "I'll go see if Bo is in." Lester offered as he hopped out of the truck. (Y/n) had nodded her head exiting the truck herself a moment later, her legs desperately needing to stretch. "Hello my sweet." (Y/n) mused at Von, who cooed up at her, a little drool dribbling down his chin.

"Bo's not in." Lester sighed as he exited the station. "He should be back soon though, he doesn't typically leave the garage empty for very long." He explained. "Well I guess I'll have to wait." (Y/n) smiled softly. "I could wait with you." Lester offered. "Oh no it's alright, I've already taken up so much of your time." (Y/n) declined his offer. "I'm sure I'll be alright, like you said he shouldn't be gone long." She reasoned as she subconsciously began bouncing Von gently. "Alright here let me grab the stroller for ya." Lester smiled as he opened the tailgate, grabbing the stroller he attempted to set it up. "The red leaver on the side, push it, then pull the stroller up. It'll lock into place with a click." (Y/n) explained, pointing to the red leaver. "Got it." Lester chuckled softly as he pulled the stroller up, smiling when it clicked into place. "Thank you Lester, for everything. You've been a real help." (Y/n) sat Von into the stroller, strapping him in before she turned her attention to Lester. "Here I've got some spare cash." (Y/n) quickly pulled her wallet from her back pocket, pulling out the thirty dollars she had. "Oh no I can't take that." Lester shook his head. "Please it's the least I can do." She smiled before taking ahold of his hands, placing the money in his palms. "What about your jeep, how are ya gonna pay for that?" Lester voiced his concern. "I've got some prepaid cards, I'll be alright." (Y/n) assured him, smiling when he finally nodded his head in agreement. "Alright... But if ya ain't got enough have Bo call me, I'll help ya out I promise." Lester smiled when (Y/n) nodded her head in agreement. "Thank you again Lester." She shook his hands before releasing him, waving as he hopped into his truck, and drove off.

(Y/n) sat on the curb outside of the gas station for about thirty minutes, gently rocking the stroller back and forth, letting Von sleep peacefully. "Go tell Aunt Rhody, go tell Aunt Rhody, Go tell Aunt Rhody that the old gray goose is dead." (Y/n) sang the old lullaby. "The one she's been saving to make a feather bed. The old gander's weeping, because his wife is dead." She reached up turning on the small battery operated fan she had attached to the stroller for Von. "The goslings are mourning, because their mother's dead. She died in the mill pond from standing on her head." (Y/n) smiled at the sight of birds flying in the distance. "Go tell Aunt Rhody that the old gray goose is dead." She finished the lullaby, softly humming in her throat the last line, drawing out the lullaby a little longer. "You've got a real pretty voice." A man called out softly, his sudden appearance making (Y/n) freeze up momentarily. "Oh thank you." (Y/n) smiled up at the handsome man, rising to her feet as he tossed his cigarette off to the side. "My names Bo, I own this shop." He introduced himself, offering her his hand. "I'm (Y/n)." She smiled shaking his hand. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked. "My jeep broke down a few miles down the road, I got a ride from a man named Lester into town. He said you'd be able to fix my jeep for me." (Y/n) explained, idly continuing to rock the stroller back and forth. "I'm sure I can." He smiled. "Do you know what's wrong with it?" He asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I have no clue." She chuckled softly. "Well can you explain what happened?" Bo asked with a small chuckle of his own. "Uh it made this sputtering kinda sound, like it was running out of gas, but the meter said I still had over half a tank. And white smoke started coming out from under the hood, then as soon as I got the car off to the side of the road the engine died." (Y/n) explained to the best of her memory. "When was the last time you put oil in it?" Bo asked with a small tilt of his head. "Last week." (Y/n) replied quickly. "Has it been giving you problems before today?" He asked. "None." (Y/n) shook her head, not having had any issues with her jeep since before today.

"Hm I have to have my brother tow the truck back here, before I can determine what's wrong." Bo explained. "Of course." (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding. "I'll have to call him from the house, my shops phone has been broken for two weeks now. You can come with me if you'd like, give you a chance to relax somewhere a little more comfortable with your little one there." Bo offered as he glanced to the stroller, a friendly smile on his handsome face. "Yeah sure that would be really nice, thank you." (Y/n) smiled as he nodded her head, following Bo to the house on the hill. "What's his name?" Bo asked as he looked into the stroller at the sleeping toddler. "Von." (Y/n) smiled. "I like that name." Bo admitted with a grin of his own. "Thanks it means hope in old Norse." (Y/n) explained. "Well I like it even more then." Bo's smile widened a little when (Y/n) giggled softly, a notable blush painting her cheeks. "You know you and Lester have been some of the nicest people I've met in a while." (Y/n) admitted. "In my experience some of the nicest people are from rural areas like this." Bo mused, his statement making (Y/n) nod her head in agreement. "Yeah it's nice." She hummed with content as they reached the front porch.

----

Part one is complete!

Let me know what you think!

Oh and let me know if you wanna be tagged in the next parts!

Love ya!

PS this is the lullaby (Y/n) was singing, its called Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

[mythiccheroacademia]

The whole time traveling children has me feelin some type of way tbh. Imagine Mirio, Kaminari, and Tamaki walking into their respective rooms and there are just small children vibing. Mirio with his daughter, Kaminari with a daughter and Tamaki with a son. 😭

as i said, parent!bnha is SUPERIOR

A/N: So, instead of making these separate asks, I’m just going to make it one giant post. I thought it would be easier that way. Probably the only post that’ll have more than three characters lol

Warnings: none

Kaminari Denki:

when kaminari walked into his room, he didn't expect to see two children on his bed fighting like wild animals

the younger girl was totally beating the boy’s ass tho

kinda embarrassing bc she’s gotta be like, seven, at most

as if it’s not the weirdest thing he’s seen (bc it’s not) he rushes in to break them apart

he manages to separate them with his arms 

the boy with yellow hair snaps his jaws at his sister’s fingers

“hey! bad! no biting!” he scolds

the little girl blows a raspberry and taunts “yeah! papa says no biting!”

the older sibling just rolls his eyes “rat”

meanwhile, denki is literally malfunctioning

papa?

PAPA? HUH???

the only person’s pants (and heart) he’s been trying to get in to for the past three months was y/n’s and he sure as hell would remember if he did

he didn't have kids

especially one that was his age

“sorry! you two are cute, but i’m not your pops”

thus, they begin to tell denki about how they mayhaps followed him and their mother into a dangerous mission and got hit with a time travel quirk

denki just nods his head

tbh, he’s not that weirded out

weirder things have happened

but, he does have one question

“who’s the lucky woman?”

coincidentally, you bust into his dorm room, wet from a recent prank and head steaming with anger

“Kaminari Denki!”

his son juts a thumb over to you

“the woman that’s about to murder you”

“oh say less”

his life literally couldn't get any better

before you get the chance to throttle him, the little girl jumps in your arms and your anger is immediately quelled 

“hey mommy! i just wanna let you know that it was [son’s name]’s fault that we followed you when you told us not to”

“WHAT!?”

you’re to busy trying to get them from killing each other to comprehend anything that’s going on

kaminari is in a love-struck gaze bc hot damn, he won the jackpot, huh?

if he wasn't in love with you before, he’s in love with you now

you and your feral children

it was nice being God’s favorite

Kirishima Eijirou: 

funny thing was

kirishima woke up from his afternoon nap with his mini-me in his arms!

at first, he was really confused as to why there was an 8 yr old boy with spiky teeth and (your hair texture) black hair on his bed

he thought he was dreaming

then the little boy bit his nose and grinned like he had done the funniest thing in the world 

“WAKE UP DADDY! WE GOTTA GET SWOL TODAY”

did he get hit with some duplication quirk?

and what was that he said...daddy?

as in, father?

kirishima is wide awake now, but before he can ask the kid what’s going on, the boy is up and making use of his punching bag

he decides it wouldn't hurt to get a morning work out in, so he decides to humor the kid

after a mini workout, kirishima is in near tears as the boy tries to flex the little muscles he has 

eventually, he gets the kid to tell him what happened and finds out he was hit with a time travel quirk of some sort

instead of being weirded out, kirishima is ESCTATIC 

he has a family in the future 

he’s so excited and proud that he just has to show his son off to his friends!

the first thing he does is go and bother bakusquad in the common room

he’s bragging like shit to them and his ego swells as they all swoon over how cute and handsome the kid is 

you and bakugo come out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion is about and the little boy excitedly runs to you and jumps into your arms 

“momma! you’re here! you’re so pretty! why’d you marry daddy when he looks so unswol?”

it’s silent before bakugo fucking dies of laughter 

“y-you finally let shitty hair hit it? and got knocked up?? LMAO”

everyone’s dying and kirishima wants to die

he can’t believe this was how his long-term crush on you was getting outted

by an 8 yr old boy

so not manly

you look confused before you put the pieces together

the kid did look like you and kirishima

you want to console kirishima about the crush that you lowkey knew he had on you, but your son was one step ahead of you

with a gracious smile, he hits bakugo’s head

hard

“what the fuck kid!?”

“don’t make fun of daddy, uncle bakugo! at least daddy didn’t faint at his wedding″

Bakugo’s contemplating murder and everyone’s rolling on the floor

“WE BEEN KNEW YOU WERE THE BIGGEST SIMP”

even ten years later, bakugo still holds a grudge against your son

Togata Mirio:

i’m about to kill y’all w this one

since year one, mirio has been feigning over you 

but 1) you were too dumb to notice 2) you both were really busy with, y’know, school and 3) he lowkey gave up bc he thought you deserved better

so imagine his surprise when he sees this four year old girl on his bed

and she looks like you with his features

mirio might not be the brightest crayon in the crayon box

but he’s got eyes

and it wasn't like he’s memorized your features to the T

the tiny girl is swinging her legs absent-mindedly before exploding with happiness when he sees him

she runs to mirio and he catches her with open arms 

“daddy! daddy! i got hit with the coolest quirk at school today!”

proceeds to tell him about her best friend discovered her quirk and it was a teleportation quirk 

mirio can’t help but giggle along with her even tho he knew it was a scary situation for the parents

speaking of which...

he innocently asks her who’s the mom

“mommy is the prettiest mommy in the world! she has e/c eyes, hair like me, and the most beautiful s/c skin! her name is togata y/n!”

if he wasn't geeking before, he’s geeking now

not only did he manage to marry you, but you let him be your baby daddy?

him?

big bet

mirio doesn't even care at this point

he’s parading around UA with the fattest smile as he introduces his daughter to damn near everyone 

everyone’s freaking out bc wtf when did mirio get someone pregnant??

maybe he should've explained himself, but he sees you at your locker and makes a b-line for you

“good morning, y/n!”

he doesn't notice that you slam your locker close and hide the confession letter you wrote to him behind your back

you’re a stuttering mess and he’s too busy basking in the fact that he’s holding y’alls child 

y’all look like a mess

but he’s ready to lay it on thick when the little girl kisses your nose and cheers,

“mommy, i missed you”

he explains the situation 

you cant help but smile, “you know this could potentially ruin the timeline?”

and you feel like melting as he gives you the softest smile 

“there’s no way I’m letting that happen. not when i end up with the woman i’m in love with. we’ll just have to twist fate together”

and twist it you did

Tamaki Amajiki:

tamaki wasn't the bravest person ever 

and he knew his crippling anxiety got in the way of a lot

but he had never been more proud of himself for managing to invite you to his room

it was supposed to be a study date

despite how bold you normally were, he took comfort in how nervous you seemed 

now, you two were leaning in, about to kiss

and then a voice from behind interrupts 

“uh, am i interrupting something?”

you two let out the ugliest squeal and jump 50 feet away from each other 

you’re all over the place, trying to explain the situation

tamaki’s heart is barely beating at this point

it takes the kid, who looks about 16, about thirty minutes to calm you down and revive tamaki

explains that he’s from the future and a descendant of tamaki’s family

decides to leave out that you two are his parents so he doesn't risk possibly erasing himself from the space continuum 

that would be bad

despite how surprised you two were, you two take it rather well 

you three spend the day together bc you and tamaki feel this weird sense of responsibility for the guy even though he’s only two years younger

the boy is trying his hardest not to expose himself, but it’s so hard

you two are asking him everything from his favorite food to if he has any siblings

he’s good at pretending that he’s cool, calm, and collected, but he wants nothing more than to jump into his parents’ arms and cry about how scared he is of messing up

but he won’t 

bc he’s a strong boy

but he slips up

“how far are you down the future?” tamaki asks

“uh, about like 100 years or so--”

“you’re lying”

the kid nearly chokes on his food as his father blinks at him

you try and scold tamaki but he continues

“i don’t mean to be mean, but your nose twitches when you lie. y/n does the same thing”

that’s when the jazz record stops and everyone is staring at one another

“....wait”

this time, you nearly pass out

y’all had a kid together???

THE HELL??

the boy, coincidentally, starts fading and he thinks he fucked up

now he’s full out sobbing into the both of your chests, scared that he’s disappearing

despite the news, you and tamaki calm down, look at each other, and hold your son

“don’t you worry, baby” you coo, kissing his fading hair

“i have a feeling we’ll see you quite soon” tamaki comforts, closing his eyes

Bakugo Katsuki:

bakugo finally understood when his mom said

“the meaner you are to your parents, the nastier your kids will be to you”

he regretted being such a demon bc his kid was literally the spawn of satan

katsuki didn’t need an explanation to know that that...thing was his kid

he looked damn near identical to him with features that he couldn't quite place

but anyways, that wasn't the focus rn

rn, he was trying to figure out a way to keep that animal caged

as soon as katsuki took his eyes off him, the six yr old ran out the door as fast as his little legs could carry him

“catch me if you can, you old bastard!”

yup, it was his kid

“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE FUCKER”

his son is blasting his way through the halls, skillfully evading Katsuki’s grabbing hands 

he’s wildly laughing as he flips and turns through the doors, watching with glee as his father falls on his face

multiple times

the small boy latches on to a cupboard and smirks

“no wonder mom always beats your ass! you weak!”

katsuki nearly looks like the devil, eyes white, and face red with fury

his pride suffering by the second

he’s about to cuss the kids to hell when you come out of the kitchen, confused

you were about to ask why katsuki looked like a rat with rabies before you caught sight of a basket of fruit teetering on the edge of the cabinet, above the little boy’s head

“look out--”

the basket falls on the kid’s head and he’s on the floor, reeling from the hit

katsuki would've normally laughed his ass off, but he felt kind of...concerned?

he watches you run towards the child who’s trying his hardest not to cry

the boy holds his head, fat tears in his eyes as you pick him up and coddle over him 

“i’m sorry, baby. I'm sorry i didnt get there in time” 

cue the waterworks 

the boy is full-on sobbing into your chest about how his head hurts

you bounce him and kiss his forehead as katsuki checks over the red bump 

“you’ll be okay, brat” he comforts, voice softer than usual

in that moment, katsuki can’t help but notice how much a family y’all look like rn

then the dots start connecting and he goes 

oh shit 

so, maybe, he’s had a tiny crush on you

and it didn’t help that you two were friends with benefits bc yall were horny teenagers

but who knew he’d get the balls to ask you out on a proper date one day

he was such a simp for you gosh it was ugly

“you have to be more careful from now on,”  you say to the boy 

the brat suddenly looks innocent and katsuki wants to throw him

“sorry, mommy. i’ll be gooder”

the look on your face is priceless 

bakugo uses it as a chance to kiss you 

“huh?”

“i guess now’s a good time to tell you that i want to be your dick on demand but with feelings and shit, dumbass”

[theartofdreaming1]

Slightly paraphrased, but Peeta talking about that moment he developed his crush on Katniss is just too sweet 😊

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 22-24 are below the cut (sprinkled in some psychology thoughts again).

heart

Honestly, I think the people in Panem would perceive the whole everlark storyline the same way we perceive and react to our ships on tv (desperately wanting to reach through the screen, shoving the characters forcefully together, screaming “And now, kiss!”); especially the Capitolites who barely recognize the tributes (or people in the districts, in general) as people. The people in the districts would definitely view the whole thing more under a “reality tv” kind of lens, questioning how much of the relationship is real or not (we know that Finnick certainly thought that the entire thing was just a spiel, until Peeta hit that forcefield). The time spent in the cave must have been pretty convincing, though.

mind

I think that Katniss is still torn here - On the one hand, she kind of wants to believe that Peeta is actually into her (remember the happiness she felt when Peeta told her how his crush on her began, and it all added up and seemed so real), but on the other hand she’s terrified of that possibility because A) lingering trauma from her mom’s depression in response the Mr. Everdeen’s death, B) Katniss never even considered falling in love, so that’s a sudden unexpected thing to deal with, and C) maybe it’s just for the sake of the Games; and wouldn’t that hurt, getting your hopes up only to learn it was only for show? (How about we ask Peeta about that?)

soul

Yeah, that quote about Peeta only eating stale bread also struck me as quite sad. It just further adds to his understanding how there should be more to life than just survival, though. (One day, I’ll make that post about Peeta, Katniss, and Maslow’s pyramid of needs, I swear! I’ve already gathered some research material)

Chapter 22

My mother’s hand strokes my cheek and I don’t push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much I crave that gentle touch. How much I miss her even though I still don’t trust her. - Ugh, I can’t... Katniss misses her mom, misses being cared for😢 I’m so glad we’re going to see her patch up her relationship with her mom in CF... On a different note, Katniss craving that gentle touch just perfectly illustrates why she’s so drawn to Peeta, who is generally such a gentle soul (I mean, he’s literally the person stroking her cheek here 😊)

He [Peeta] doesn’t seem angry about my tricking him, drugging him, and running off to the feast. Maybe I’m just too beat-up and I’ll hear about it later when I’m stronger. But for the moment, he’s all gentleness. - As I was saying... 😉

“I’ll go hunting soon,” I say. “Not too soon, all right?” he says. “You just let me take care of you for a while.” - I love them so much😊🥰 And then Peeta makes sure she’s well-fed and hydrated, he rubs her cold feet and tucks her into the sleeping back... and she let’s him! 💗

“He [Thresh] let you go because he didn’t want to owe you anything?” asks Peeta in disbelief. “Yes. I don’t expect you to understand it. You’ve always had enough. But if you’d lived in the Seam, I wouldn’t have to explain,” I say. “And don’t try. Obviously I’m too dim to get it,” he says. - Oof. This exchange here is interesting in many ways: 1) it highlights their different experiences, tied to their different socioeconomic backgrounds, basically, and 2)  that Katniss is very much aware of this difference, but we also see hints of her own ignorance here - because Peeta didn’t have to starve in his childhood, she thinks that he can’t possibly understand this level of hardship; but there are other ways in which one can suffer/lack fundamental needs, which brings us to 3) Peeta’s response about being “obviously too dim to get it”; I think this is a clue to his mom being also verbally abusive towards him: she called him “stupid creature” when he burnt those loaves of bread for Katniss and when he’s losing it in the attic of the Justice Building in D11 in CF he is mad that Katniss and Haymitch keep things from him “like [he’s] too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them”, which - to me - sounds like he’s tired of being treated that way (i.e. the way his mother treats him)

“I want to go home, Peeta,” I say plaintively, like a a small child. - God, this is a teenager in a murder-arena who feels like wanting to go home is a childish notion instead of a totally legitimate wish for anyone in that situation, regardless of age 😢

It’s not that Peeta’s soft exactly, and he’s proved he’s not a coward. But there are things you don’t question too much, I guess, when your home always smells like baking bread, whereas Gale questions everything. What would Peeta think of the irreverent banter that passes between us as we break the law each day? Would it shock him? The things we say about Panem? Gale’s tirades against the Capitol? - Geez, Katniss, give Peeta some credit here! A) It’s not like Peeta can walk around District 12 talking publicly about the injustices happening there - she and Peeta hadn’t even talked with each other before the reaping, whereas Gale is her best friend who rants to her while they are outside the confines of D12 and B) Peeta is literally the one who introduced the whole “not a piece in their Games”-idea to her; why would he be clutching his pearls over Katniss and Gale’s irreverent banter?! Just because Peeta didn’t live on the brink of starvation (she again brings up how his house smells like bread and - at this point - still thinks that the family running the bakery actually gets to eat what they produce just like that), doesn’t mean he doesn’t see how shitty life in D12 is - he can still want better conditions for those who are worse off than him!

“I did do the right thing,” I say. “No! Just don’t, Katniss!” His grip tightens, hurting my hand, and there’s real anger in his voice. “Don’t die for me. You won’t be doing me any favors. All right?” - Well, we’ll see this song and dance again in CF...

And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don’t want him to die. [...] And it’s not about what will happen back home. And it’s not just that I don’t want to be alone. It’s him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.” - I wish CF Katniss would remember this moment when she is questioning her motives about saving Peeta’s life in the arena - You. Care. For. This. Boy! You. Value. Him. For. Who. He. Is!!!

This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of. [...] This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another. - Whoo! Is it hot in here or is it just me? 😉

I’m struck by his immediacy now. As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow; the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe. - He makes her feel safe in a murder-arena!!! 😭 This is the kind of stuff that makes everlark just a top tier romance, tbh

Peeta telling Katniss about his crush starting on their first day of school 🥰😭 - and her reaction to it... For a moment, I’m almost foolishly happy - yes, because you have a crush on him, too! - and then confusion sweeps over me. Because we’re supposed to be making up this stuff [...] So, if those details are true... could it all be true? - YESSSSSSSS!!!

“You have a... remarkable memory, “ I say haltingly. - as a severely socially awkward person... I felt that lame response in my bones 😅

“You don’t have much competition anywhere.” And this time, it’s me who leans in. - God, this would be such an amazing moment if it didn’t get tainted by that immediate sponsor gift, which just serves to muddle Katniss’s feelings with her sense of survival, further complicating her relationship with Peeta... *sigh* 

Chapter 23

“What was that you were saying just before the food arrived? Something about me... no competition... best thing that ever happened to you...” “I don’t remember that last part,” I say, hoping it’s too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush. “Oh, that’s right. That’s what I was thinking,” he says. - Peeta is the master of being a cheeky little shit and adorable flirt at the same time

“So, since we were five, you never even noticed any other girls?” I ask him. “No, I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you,” he says. - I appreciate that while Peeta has had a crush on Katniss forever, he clearly didn’t spend the entire time pining after her, oblivious to the rest of the world - he has a life outside of Katniss Everdeen, but ultimately, it all lead back to her

A disturbing thought hits me. “But then, our only neighbor will be Haymitch!” “Ah, that’ll be nice,” says Peeta, tightening his arms around me. “You and me and Haymitch. Very cozy. Picnics, birthdays, long winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games tales.” “I told you, he hates me!” I say, but I can’t help laughing at the image of Haymitch becoming my new pal. - Laugh all you want, this is going to end up being your future anyway 😄

He [Haymitch]’s at something of a disadvantage because most mentors have a partner, another victor to help them whereas Haymitch has to bready to go into action at any moment. Kind of like me when I was alone in the arena. I wonder how he’s holding up, with the drinking, the attention, and the stress of tring to keep us alive. - Katniss is already worrying about her “new pal”, I see ;)

Maybe he [Haymitch] wasn’t always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbearable. It must be hell to mentor two kids and then watch them die. - Honestly, that sounds absolutely awful...

Poor, Katniss, when she learns of Thresh’s death :( - But no one will understand my sorrow at Thresh’s murder. - It’s horrible how compassion and basic human decency gets construed as ‘weakness’ in the world of Hunger Games (esp. the Capitol)

Then I escape into sleep, comforted by a full belly and the steady warmth of Peeta beside me. - Honestly, I think a word analysis of THG-series could be interesting; how often does Katniss mention “warmth”, “steady/steadiness” “safe/safety/security” in connection with “Peeta”?

“We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery,” he says. “Bet that’s expensive,” I say. “Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it’s gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale,” says Peeta [...] Huh. I always assumed the shopkeepers live a soft life. And it’s true, Peeta has always had enough to eat. But there’s something kind of depressing about living your life on stale bread - Katniss is starting to realize that the lives of the merchants isn’t a cushy as she thought; also, in a way, we see a “prettier” version of how Panem treats the districts overall -> feeding the districts just enough that they can do their work (plus/minus a couple of people who’ll die of starvation, but at a small, for Capitolites insignificant margin), but not so much that they are in good shape to rebel; here, the merchants of D12 have just enough that they can live a “decent” life (they know it could be worse -> the Seam), but they don’t have enough to live a free, comfortable, self-determined life either. This also just further drives a wedge between the inhabitants of D12 (the merchants won’t want to rebel because they don’t want to get ‘demoted’ in their lifestyle, starving like the people from the Seam, and the Seam folk feel resentful towards the merchant people, while also not having the resources to rebel, due to their awful socioeconomic conditions)

What would be my life like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I’m not really sure who I am, what my identity is. - It’s so sad who Katniss has been so consumed with ensuring that her most base needs are fulfilled that she barely has had the time to really figure out who she is and what she wants from life (If we’re talking Maslow’s pyramid of needs, Katniss would primarily be stuck on the lowest tier 😢)

At least, we’ll be friends, I think. Nothing will change the fact that we’ve saved each other’s lives in here. And beyond that, he will always be the boy with the bread. Good friends. - Honestly, Katniss counting on being good friends with Peeta after the Games is the highest honor she can bestow on him at that moment (she’s so into him, lol); of course, knowing that their relationship is going to be a bit rocky once they’ve come back makes this thought a little sad... but we also know they’ll make up (and out ;) in the future

Peeta licking his plate and blowing a kiss out to Effie is such an adorable goofball-moment 😊

I cover his mouth with my hand, but I’m laughing. “Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave.” He grabs my hand away. “What do I care? I’ve got you to protect me now,” says Peeta, pulling me to him. - This moment would be so cute (also, Peeta’s so confident in Katniss’s skills to protect him, which is adorable - toxic masculinity who?) but... Ugh, he’s just so giddy here, it kind of breaks my heart for when he learns later that (at least some) of Katniss’s reactions were just for show

“If we want food, we better head back up to my old hunting grounds,” I say. “Your call, Just tell me what you need me to do,” Peeta says. - Love how Peeta’s always ready to follow Katniss’s lead :)

Ideally, I’d dump Peeta now with some simple root-gathering chore and go hunt [...] “Katniss,” he says. “We need to split up. I know I’m chasing away the game.” [...] “Show me some plants to gather and that way we’ll both be useful.” - Teamwork! If it weren’t for Katniss worrying for Peeta’s safety, they’d be on the same page here

“What if you climbed up in a tree and acted as a lookout while I haunted?” I say, trying to make it sound like very important work. “What if you show me what’s edible around here and go get us some meat?” he says, mimicking my tone. - I really like how Peeta’s challenges Katniss here; he doesn’t just go along with everything she says, while still being quite reasonable

I feel like I’m eleven, again, tethered not to the safety of the fence but to Peeta, allowing myself twenty, maybe thirty yards of hunting space. [...] I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel to show for it. - I don’t know, but Katniss feeling tethered to Peeta makes me think of Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory, according to which children with a secure attachment to their primary caregiver use  their “attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment”... Of course, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation was conducted with young children, but attachment styles are supposed to influence the relationships we form with people in our later lives as well (including romantic relationships)... I dunno, just a random association that popped into my brain 😅

Chapter 24

Peeta’s a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood. - Heh, Peeta sure knows how to handle fire, huh, Katniss (or should I say: Girl on Fire?) 😏

I order him into the sleeping bag and set aside the rest of his food for him when he wakes. He drops off immediately. I pull the sleeping bag up to his chin and kiss his forehead, not for the audience, but for me. Because I’m so greateful that he’s still here, not dead by the stream as I’d thought.  - Aww, this is so sweet (and domestic)!

It’s funny. I feel almost as if it’s the first day of the Games again. That I’m in the same position. [...] But no, there’s the boy waiting beside me. I feel his arms wrap around me. - They are a team! Katniss doesn’t have to face the horrors of the Games alone anymore! It keeps boiling down to this.

[resident-leevil-old]

okay well anyways somebody asked me if i felt like talking about my raccoon city survivors au with mia and ethan again and the answer is YES.

> AU MINI FACTS <

- Ethan's mother died while giving birth.

- Ethan Winters and his father moved into Raccoon City when Ethan was a baby, around 3-4 years old.

- Ethan trans ftm because im trans and i said so.

- Mia trans mtf because im trans and i said so.

- Ethan & Mia are childhood friend to lovers in this au.

- Ethan's father worked for Umbrella, and Mia's father worked for the Connections while her mother also worked for Umbrella.

- Mia was born in Texas, but her family moved to Raccoon City after she was born. They still owned property in Texas, though.

- Mia & Carlos are related because I said so.

- so yknow the "dude its been three years" guy? that's their childhood friend and his name is Kyde because i said so.

- Albert Wesker Personally was ordered by Spencer to kill those scientists btw.

- a lot of this au is because i said so tbh

> AU SUMMARY <

Ethan Winters, Mia Oliviera, and Kyde Wells work together to survive six days of the Raccoon City Outbreak. In the process they uncover secrets and encounter many obstacles that just nearly cost them their lives.

> CHAR.BGROUND <

ETHAN W, SR - A scientist who worked for Umbrella. He lost his wife during the birth of his child E///// Winters. Struggling with the death of his wife and the harsh decline of his mental health, he began to experiment with viruses and vaccines in an attempt to bring his wife back, even using his child as a subject at certain points due to the child having strong genes from the mother. He acknowledged that he was a horrid father, but justified his actions by claiming he would bring back a better mother. He thought of Albert Wesker as a friend, and told him the truth of his research.

ETHAN W, JR - A quiet 14 year old that had a hard time making friends. Due to experiments from his father, Ethan is a culmination of infections and viruses that each impact him in different ways. As he grew up Ethan refrained from talking too much as to not interrupt his father's work, causing him to become selectively mute.

MIA OLIVIERA - Younger sister of Carlos Oliviera. Mia skipped a grade due to her intelligence and advanced knowledge on many things kids her age normally didn't. She very easily got sick as a child, though she seemed to outgrow it as she got older. She was schooled both at home and at school before the outbreak. She shared classes with Ethan Winters (Jr) and Kyde Wells.

KYDE WELLS - A friend of Ethan & Mia, known for his cowardice. Kyde has a heavy sense of self preservation, but a weighted sense of compassion as well. He only ever has risked himself for his two friends.

JAMES HARISON - Mia's father. He worked for the Connections as a scientist and a researcher. Harison and his wife often exchanged information they learned from their jobs, aiming to and succeeding at "fixing" their daughter's proneness to viral sicknesses.

MARISA OLIVIERA - Mia's mother. He worked for Umbrella as a researcher. Oliviera and her husband often exchanged information they learned from their jobs, aiming to and succeeding at "fixing" their daughter's proneness to viral sicknesses.

JAKE VERANO - An Umbrella worker who had been trapped in the underground facility for a week, listening to the sound of his coworkers being eaten alive. Unstable because of his experience, he tries to create a cure using the intel of Ethan W (SR).

> FULL AU <

[September, 25, 1998.]

Ethan Winters walked home from school when his father failed to pick him up. He walked through the streets, paying no mind to a big fight breaking out near him. On the way home, he meets up with his friend Kyde who had also been walking home. They talk and walk together for a bit, before splitting up.

When Ethan arrived home, he noticed the front door of his house had been opened slightly. Confused, but wary, he entered the house, knowing it was uncharacteristic for his father to forget the door was open.

He entered the living room, and found his father laying on the ground dead, shot twice in the head, having just been killed moments prior. Ethan moved over to his father, before Albert Wesker walked out of his father's office.

Ethan barely has much time to react to him, overwhelmed by his own panic and the death of the only adult in his life. Wesker - wanting no witnesses - shoots him three times in the chest, and leaves under the impression the child is dead for good.

Ethan Winters dies for the first time that evening.

[September, 27, 1998]

For the past two days, Mia and her parents have been barricaded in their home, unable to leave safely. Mia sat in her room for most of the time, unable to look out of the windows due to boards covering them. During those two days Mia tries to call Ethan and Kyde several times in hopes that they were safe. Neither of them answer.

Until this day, the 27th, at 2:00 am, when she calls Ethan. And he answers.

{TRANSCRIPT OF THEIR CALL:}

Ethan: h-hello?

Mia: [Ethan]! You're alive! Are you okay?

Ethan: I'm breathing. [Pause] I'm breathing. You okay?

Mia: I'm boarded up in my house, we can't leave safely. Everything is a mess. I'm so glad you're alive, [Ethan]. Are you safe? I'm guessing you're safe.

Ethan: Not sure. Not sure. Find you soon, here alone. Alone.

Mia: Alone? What happened? Where's your dad?

Ethan: [Pause.] [Loud sound in the distance.]

Mia: [Ethan]? Are you okay?

Ethan: [Dial tone.]

Mia speaks with her parents about the call, expressing worry about her friend. She spends a while trying to convince her parents that Ethan may be alive (purposefully omitting the dial tone) and need their help. Finally, they agree, and at 12 pm, they head out with all the resources they could gather.

Managing to stay out of sight, the family make it to the Winters' household. They find Ethan hiding in his bedroom, one infected laying in the hallway with a pole through its head and Ethan's father laying in the living room dead.

They rescue Ethan, and flee from the house. Mia's parents explain that they need to evacuate the city, but that they wouldn't be able to drive, so they'd have to move on foot. They returned to their house and rested for the night.

[September, 28, 1998]

The family and Ethan head out again, this time aiming to evacuate the city. After several close encounters with large groups of infected, the kids and Mia's parents are unfortunately separated. Given instructions by her parents, Mia leads Ethan through the city, having to take detours due to infected blocking pathways.

Eventually, during the night, they run into Kyde, who has lost his parents trying to escape the city. The three of them take refuge in an empty abandoned house, and rest for the walk in the morning.

Ethan sits up for a while, thinking about what happened to him, and trying to figure out how to explain it to his friends. Eventually he falls asleep, unable to figure it out. In the morning they head out again.

[September, 29-30, 1998]

During another detour taken due to large groups of infected, Ethan is kidnapped by a man in a white lab coat.

Mia & Kyde go after them, refusing to leave Ethan behind. They manage to find him after roughly half a day had passed.

Ethan had been in a hysterical state and through tears he explains to Mia and Kyde what had happened to him in his house a few days ago, confessing that he had died and revived two days later. He warns the two of them that whatever Jake, the white lab coat man, did to him, it made him dangerous and unstable.

Mia and Kyde refused again to leave him behind, and spend hours gathering information from files and research left scattered around. They manage to make Something that was able to calm him down and cleanse what they had learned had been called the "T-virus" from his body.

As soon as Ethan had woken up again, they fleed the facility, Mia & Kyde both making sure he didn't collapse on the way.

[October, 1, 1998]

They don't stop running when they're out. A broadcast goes out saying that the city will be blown up in four hours due to being unable to contain the outbreak. The three of them realize they won't be able to get out if they take anymore detours unless they find a vehicle with gas in it and a clear road to drive on.

Three hours later, out of options, nearly to the city boarder, and faced with another group of infected blocking the only straight shot out, they decide to risk a run through. However, just as they were pushing through, a helicopter flew overhead and spotted them. Calling to them, the pilot tells them to attempt making it up a building nearby if they could.

Through pure bullshittery and luck, they manage to make it up, and they board the helicopter. Just as it begins to take flight, the city starts to blow up bit by bit. In the distance, they see other helicopters flying.

> AFTER THE AU <

Mia and her parents reunite, her parents having managed to get out before the children did. Kyde goes to live with his relatives in Texas, and Ethan is offered to live with them as well.

Mia's parents move back to their texas home, and everyone who had been in the city were given therapy. Eventually the three grow up and graduate from highschool, and move on to other things, never once separating.

The three of them eventually move into a single house together in California, and some time after that Mia and Ethan get married. And for a while they live happily

And then, Mia witnesses Ethan having some sort of attack in the middle of the night one time, and realizes that he hadn't been completely cured of whatever had been infecting him in the city at all, and that it had only gone dormant for some years. While he wasn't vicious or attacking anyone, Ethan had just been really plagued and didn't even remember the fits that only seemed to happen every other night.

Out of worry and fear, Mia begins to work for the Connections, hoping there was something she could learn from them in order to help her husband finally be cured. And years after, RE7 began.

And THAT, my friends, is my Raccoon City Survivors au with the Winters, also known as Raccoon City Winters.