#like i said in a previous post i think Ghost used to be human and was stolen by the fae

[nightingale-prompts]

Batboy Missing

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Danny despite everything still liked acting on his own. He needed some space.

Bludhaven was his stomping ground now but it wouldn't be so bad to secretly fly into Gotham. Definitely not to see the other robins or anything. Especially not to see Red Robin.

They may have met briefly some time ago on a rooftop.

Dick didn't even tell him that Red Robin was his age and was cute. Dick already didn't like it when Danny said he thought Tim was attractive. Honestly, he had no room to talk he dated Barbara. It wouldn't be weird if he didn't overthink it.

Still, Red Robin was definitely his type. Then again if he had a dine for every red vigilante he had a crush on he would have 2 dime and well you know the rest.

Danny found it hard not to think about their first meeting.

"Wow, you are much more stunning up close."

The voice came from none other than Red Robin who almost snuck up on Danny who had let him approach.

Danny wondered what exactly the teen was seeing when he looked at Danny.

Red Robin eyed Danny with an intense probing curiosity. Not like how a scientist looks at a butterfly pinned to a board but like a photographer eyes a wild animal. Respect, awe, and excitement.

"You aren't so bad yourself," Danny responded keeping a healthy distance between them.

"Batboy right? I'm Red Robin. Call me Red." He held put his hand to shake.

"Batboy. Call me...uh...Batboy." Danny said awkwardly.

Red Robin seemed to get closer and closer when Danny wasn't looking directly at him.

It was throwing Danny off because the moment had gotten too close his wings reflexively unwrapped from around his shoulders.

"I was right, fruitbat wings. But they connect to your back, not your arms. Like having two sets of arms." Red Robin mumbled as he slid a gloved hand down one wing.

"He-Hey! You shouldn't touch a bat's wings like that." Danny shivered, his face was on fire.

"Oh, are your wings sensitive?"Red Robin teased pulling back and holding up his hands in feigned innocence. "Or is it that it's too personal? Should I buy you dinner first?"

Danny wanted to be upset but he felt the opposite. Maybe because it felt like the teen was playing with him.

Their meet-cute was ended quickly unfortunately since an emergency came up on Robin's end.

That's not why Danny is visiting Gotham. He could just be trying to see the other Robin or Batgirl. Batgirl is cool.

Danny stealthed his way through Gotham towards Crime Alley when a dark shadow was spotted nearby. Danny immediately dropped into an alleyway assuming it was Batman and trying to avoid him.

The young bat knew it was unwise to spread his wings here. They were too liable to get caught in the narrows. He shifted his wings away but he needed something else to help him. Sure he still had his ghost powers, but here in Gotham using them too much risked getting the eyes of the spirits here. Not to mention the Observers. Danny knew to limit his abilities and not overstep boundaries. Danny could only rely on shifting since it was considered a secondary ability.

Danny tried to remember any anatomy he had memorized that could help him. Shifting is very complicated and seeing something isn't always enough, he needed to know the function the further removed it was from his human form.

As Danny rethought his next move someone had sensed him. Red Hood was prowling the area.

Red Hood wasn't completely unaware of Batboy. He knew little of what was going on in Bludhaven but social media was an explosion of posts about Batboy the new sidekick to Nightwing. But the only thing he really knew about the teen was that he had giant bat wings.

The kid that is currently wandering around the alley does not have batwings.

It was just a kid hiding behind a dumbster and about to get mugged.

He was going to save the kid but it wasn't necessary as he watched the kid kick the would-be robber in the face.

When Hood finally got close enough to talk to the kid as he stood over the fallen man he saw a set of Lazarus green eyes shine in the dark like a cat.

Creepy.

A sinking sense of dread seemed to shroud him before passing through him like a cold breeze.

The green-eyed kid stared into his soul as he crept closer. A pull in his chest towards him bubbled inside like a cauldron of oil.

The white-haired teen looked at him with a deep weary sorrow. Without warning Jason felt arms wrap around his shoulders as the teen hugged him. Deep inside of Jason, he felt something settle.

"Im so sorry." The boy said "Let me help."

Without another word the teen pushed his hand into Jason's chest. Just through his body without resistance.

"What the hell are you-" Jason didn't finish as a foul brackish fluid came out of his mouth.

"This filth is not your own. It is polluting you." He said pulling his hand out. "Catch your breath. Slowly. In and out."

Jason felt like a heavy weight was lifted off his chest. Like this was his first breath of air since his revival.

In the teen's hand was a blob of black tar that he rolled into a ball before promptly popping it into his mouth.

"Ew." Jason said.

"Don't judge me. It tastes disgusting but if it isn't consumed it'll infect someone else." He said.

"What are you?"

"....a ghost." The teen paused before responding as if not knowing what to call himself.

"A ghost? As in undead?" Jason knew this had to be some kind of serial joke. It had to be.

"I don't make the rules. I'm a ghost. And you are a revenant. You are just a more alive version of me. Closer to life than death." The teen said.

"Who are you then?" Jason asked this time calmer as he steadied his nerves.

"Call me Phantom for now. I'm just trying to hide from Batman. I don't want him trying anything." Phantom said going back to looking for Batman.

Jason still had questions for Phantom.

"Alright follow me then. The Bat isnt welcome around here and I have a safe house you can wait out in." Jason sighed turning to leave.

The teen seemed to get that Jason wasn't going to hurt him and followed.

*Dick back in Bludhaven*

"Where is my baby?!"

[redstarwriting]

the clash | iii. black planet

hobie brown x goth!reader

word count: 2.5k

genre: enemies to lovers

warnings: language, insults, hobie hating you, you hating hobie, needles mentioned, slight injury from said needle

a/n: is this one long? yes. do i care? no because it was fun to write. it was 3 am when i finished this and make this a draft, so you know i had fun with this chapter. also, i’m about to go into work, so i will probably not be here but i wanted to post it beforehand so i can just worry about working on chapter iv later. and just wanna say i’m grateful to everyone who is reading and interacting with the posts! this has been such a warm welcome back into writing for the marvel universe and i appreciate each and every one of you :)🖤 also i have a question, feel free to answer in the comments or pm me, do i go all the way in the angst for this, or only some angst?

now reading: iii. black planet

previous chapter: ii. time bomb

next chapter: iv. london calling

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You open a portal to your world, and dramatically motion everyone inside. Gwen, Miles, and Pavitr step into it, and you glance at Hobie. “Are you actually coming, then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he says sarcastically, stepping into the portal. You enter last, walking until you’re in the familiar darkness of your apartment. “Welcome to my home,” you say, going to your kitchen to get a glass of water. As you’re pouring, you hear one of your guests speak up. “Is that… a real skull…?” Pavitr asks, pointing to a human skull above your fireplace mantle. “Sure is. She’s my aunt,” you say, taking a sip of water. They all look at you with a look that reads ‘is it… that aunt?’

You nod.

It isn’t brought up again.

Hobie sees a vinyl player and immediately walks over to it. He observes the multiple albums and singles and then comes across vinyls that don’t look like they belong to any band in particular. “You press your own vinyl?”

“Obviously. There’s just something better about vinyl than listening to it on my phone, so I press my own playlists,” you say, and Hobie glances up at you. “It sounds more real. Scratches and all, makes it feel authentic,” he says, placing a record on your player and placing the needle on it surprisingly gently. You raise your eyebrow at him. ‘Of course he would get the record thing,’ you think to yourself, ‘he is a guitarist after all.’

“I totally agree,” Gwen says, and you nod. Musician things. Ambient sounds accompanied by faint guitar riffs fill the room. You nod in approval. This is one of your favorite songs. Gwen smiles. “Your place is so fucking cool, (Y/n),” she says, walking over to the crystal ball and various tarot decks you have set up on your kitchen table. “Thanks, I take pride in it,” you say and Hobie makes a noise. “Could be better. Tell me, do you consider any color? Ever? Like what the fuck kind of plants are these that they’re all black?”

“They’re called Raven ZZ plants, and actually, they’re a bright green when new leaves sprout, but no. Color is not for me. The only reason I have the tiniest bit of pastel pink on my spider suit is because I need to continue to throw people off my scent.”

“How d’you reckon a tiny splash a’ color will do that?”

“There are various different types of goth. If I only used my own style, it would make the likelihood of me being me much higher than I would like,” you explain, and Miles looks around. “So… this place haunted?” he asks and you grin. “Yes.”

“Ghosts aren’t fuckin’ real.” Hobie scoffs, and he has to bite back a laugh at how quickly you turn your head to him. He actually does believe in ghosts, just a tiny bit, but doing anything to piss you off has become his new motto. Even if he has to lie.

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll make one of them possess you,” you say icily, and a cold breeze rolls through the room and blows out some of the candles. Pavitr shrieks and jumps into Miles’ arms. Gwen mutters something about that being ‘so cool.’ Hobie looks virtually unimpressed and you two glare at each other until you all get an all too familiar feeling of danger. You all turn your head toward your balcony, and you see an explosion in the distance. “Fuck,” you mumble, jumping into action immediately. You pull your mask on, and jump without a second thought. It’s a new thing when you glance over and see Hobie right by you. “Was that a bomb? Who could that be?” Miles asks and you sigh. “Probably the Green Goblin,” you say, and Hobie opens his mouth to say another sarcastic remark but is cut off when he gets to observe what your swinging is like.

You literally move like the wind. It’s fluid and smooth in nature, and he pays special attention to how you barely make noise when you land on a building to run. It’s actually impressive, and it makes him lose whatever rude comment he thought of. It’s the complete opposite of how he is. Erratic and loud. He doesn’t know whether to respect it or make fun of you for it later. Probably the latter. “Hey (Y/n)? Is the sky normally this dark? I thought it was like 6pm,” Pavitr asks as you all swing and you nod. “The sun is only out for like 2-3 hours a day here,” you respond. “Damn a little sunlight never killed anybody,” Miles says, and you shrug. “Honestly, here it might.”

“Is that why you’re so moody and negative? Only light you get is from the moon?” Hobie asks and you roll your eyes. “Actually, I was born that way. My style of living has nothing to do with my moodiness and realistic outlook,” you shoot back, emphasizing the point of realistic and not negative. He just shakes his head.

You all arrive at the location the explosive went off, and you notice there are still people inside the parking garage that was hit. “We’re on it!” Gwen says, motioning for Pavitr and Miles to follow her. The three of them take off in an instant, and you keep your eyes peeled and ears open to hear the wings of the Green Goblin’s glider. Hobie hangs back, not saying anything for once in his life. Until he gets an uneasy feeling. “Something’s close.”

“I know, idiot, I have the sense too.”

“I was just sayi–”

He’s cut off by a tiny bag of… powder… being thrown between the two of you. You both leap out of the way immediately before it explodes. “Found you!” Hobie hears a maniacal laugh, “Ohhhh and you brought a friend!” The Green Goblin of your universe giggles, and he realizes that the glider she’s on is a giant taxidermy bat accessorized with mechanical elements making it able to fly again. “Not their friend,” he yells at the Goblin before addressing you, “What the actual fuck is ‘at?” Hobie yells and you sigh. “That’s the Green Goblin of my universe, she’s a fucking lunatic who wants to turn me into a taxidermy sculpture and sell me at an art auction.”

“She an Osborn?”

“Yes, Harriet Osborn,” you say, dodging another… bomb? Hobie honestly doesn’t know what the fuck is happening. “Well, I’ve killed one Osborn already, what’s another,” he says, and you make a gasping noise. “Oh no… don’t tell me…”

“We can’t kill Harriet!”

“Why the fuck not?! She’s tryna kill you!”

“Because of personal reasons! You’re not about to come into my world, and kill my villains, asshole!” you scream, and he groans. “Fuckin’ fine. Whatever, we take her down, we don’t kill her,” he says, and you nod. “I take her down. Like I have countless times before.”

“Uh uh uh, I’m here for a reason, we take her down.”

“Gods, fine. Whatever,” you huff and the both of you dodge another explosive. You point to Miles, Gwen, and Pavitr who are motioning to you that they got everyone out of the garage. Without speaking, the two of you develop a plan. You immediately web into the garage, going down to the bottom floor. Of course, your Goblin follows you, completely disregarding Hobie even being there. He follows behind. It’s dark in here, all the lighting has gone out inside and the black sky outside makes it difficult to see. You use the stealth he observed earlier to your advantage. Even he has trouble picking out where you are, and he has super senses. He makes his way to a pillar that supports the garage as quietly as he can, which, luckily, is quiet enough that he goes unnoticed. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he hears in a sing-songy voice.

He carefully picks up a rock and glances around the garage. He’s behind a pillar that will help bring the whole thing down, he just needs to deduce which of the other pillars will assist in that. Lucky for him, you’re there too. He hears a noise behind one of the pillars, and sure enough, an explosion soon follows. He quickly realizes where the other weak points are and throws a rock at one of the others. Boom. Explosion. And then one more. He glances to his left to see you right next to him. You both nod at each other, and he hits a power chord. You roll your eyes. “A little flashy, don’t you think,” you say as the two of you leap out of the way and there’s one more explosion. “Not flashy enough, love,” he responds as the garage starts to shake.

The two of you expertly navigate the falling rocks as you make your way out of the collapsing building. Right when you get out, your eyes widen, and you twist your body so the glider doesn’t impale you. You land on top, and the Goblin turns around. Half of her mask is broken and she’s bleeding from being hit by one of the rocks. You can tell the glider was hit, too, because it seems to be stalling every now and again. It does get you farther away from your spider-companions, but they start webbing after you. “Found you,” she says. “No shit, Harriet. It only took you demolishing ONE building to do it this time, feels like a new personal record for you,” you respond, and she throws a punch at you. You dodge, and then see her pull out an unnecessarily large taxidermy needle. “Ah, shit,” you mumble as she starts wielding it like a dagger. You’re able to dodge most of her attacks, but the last one grazes your side. You hiss and realize she put another attempt of a knockout serum on it as well. Great. She laughs.

“Stupid spider! I didn’t need to stab you; I just needed a little graze! See, I put a special kind of toxin on my needle, and now it–” She gets knocked out by a single punch to the face. “You talk way too damn much, girl,” you mumble, webbing her to the side of a building as she falls off her glider. Oh shit. The glider. You leap off, despite the pain in your side and the woozy feeling that’s starting to show up and web the glider. You then go water skiing without the water. Or the skiis. And on the road. Oops.

You do your best to control the glider, swerving between cars and making sure it doesn’t run into any of the skyscrapers in downtown Night of Yore City. That’s when you realize it’s about to run straight into a building. You narrow your eyes. It’s time to do your Spider thing. You yank back on the glider, causing it to stall. You leap up onto the side of a building, detaching three webs onto it and leaping to the other one. You repeat until a full spiderweb is formed, blocking the glider’s way to the building, and repeat so it’s underneath the glider as well. You quickly web up the giant claws of the taxidermy bat, ensuring they can’t cut through your webs, and wrap the glider up, swinging around it in a circle. You attach the end of the web to the big spider web you just made and watch it slow down even more. It goes into the web in front of the building, and slightly indents into it, but that’s the further it gets.

You crouch on a lamppost, watching to make sure nothing bad happens. When you’re positive everything’s fine, you stand. A few citizens yell some thanks you’s, more glare at you because you just ruined their day, and some just ignore you completely. You look up and see the four other Spider-People chilling on the side of a building. You quickly join them. “Never seen someone make a web that fast and efficiently,” Gwen says, motioning to the web you wove. You shrug. “Thank you.”

“Unfortunate a buildin’ had to come down in the process,” Hobie says, not giving you a break or any type of praise. You roll your eyes. “Let’s not forget you were part of the reason the building came down.”

“I could have done it without the destruction.”

“Like you would have.”

“I wouldn’t have, but I could have. Obviously, you couldn’t,” he says, and you flip him off as you all begin webbing back to your apartment. Once you get there, you assess the damage the needle did to you. Some weird green toxin was in the cut, and you sigh. “Wait, (Y/n), that looks kind of serious,” Gwen says, noting the discoloration of the toxin compared to your skin. You shake your head. “No, it’s fine. She keeps trying to make a knock-out serum to use on me. None of them are strong enough,” you affirm, the slight wooziness you had felt earlier is completely gone. Now you just need to wash and dress this, and it should be healed by morning. “Or maybe she’s just a shit chemist.”

“Thank you, Hobie, for your doubt that I’m a capable Spider-Person,” you say, and he nods at you. “Always.”

You get out your first aid kit and clean your wound up. It stings, and you wince, and the others know that feeling all too well. “Right, well now that we’ve seen this gloomy, depressin’, dark ass world, why don’t we go see an actual fun world, eh?” Hobie says, starting to press some buttons on his watch. “Go to your world? What so I can be blown away with too loud amps and catch on fire because some dumbass thinks they can make a flamethrower with some sort of cleaning spray and a lighter? No thanks,” you mumble, and he rolls his eyes. “Not like I want you there anyways, love,” he says. You hate this new nickname he’s picked for you. It’s not endearing, it’s annoying. And he knows that it bothers you. You angrily put your first aid kit down and glare at him. “Fine. But hold on one second.”

You scale your wall and reach into an impossibly high cupboard, pulling out some cat food. Suddenly, the four spiders see two bright green eyes in the darkness of what appears to be your bedroom. You fill up a bowl, and your black cat saunters over to you. You pet his head, giving him a few scritches between the ears, his favorite spot. Hobie’s grateful you’re preoccupied with your cat because he does not need you to see the expression on his face. He loves cats. Especially black cats, they’re a perfect symbol of rebellion. Maybe he’ll come back here one day but only for your cat. ONLY.

“Alright, now that you’ve fed the cat, can we please leave? I can feel my soul bein’ sucked out of my body the longer I stand here,” Hobie says, impatiently, and you roll your eyes. “That’s the ghosts doing that, you know.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

───────────────────────────────

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[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 3 Part 3

Again the winner of last week's poll! There won't be a poll this week because I'm planning something a bit different. I hit 1000 followers this past week and have been wracking my brain about how to celebrate! Wasn't up for doing prompts or adding more projects to my list, though, so I didn't want to go that route.

But I did come up with something that I think everyone will really enjoy. Especially those of you who have been voting for Carry Your Heart (I see you in the tags!). So look out for that post.

In addition, I've just posted the first chapter of Arc 2 on AO3! Link below.

Story Summary: Jack and Maddie install a new ghost shield on the house which activates the moment Danny tries to step into his home. His secret is out and his parents are determined to excise the ghost from their son.

Luckily Danny isn't alone. The Young Justice, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz aren't going to leave him to suffer.

Arc 1: AO3

Arc 2: AO3 (incomplete); Tumblr - First, Final

Arc 3: First, Previous

Word Count: 1.4k

-----

Fire rushing through him jolted Danny awake. His back arched as he cried out. He screwed his eyes tight, not wanting to see what torture his parents were going to come at him with next when he realized what the sound of his cry meant: the muzzle was gone.

As were the restraints. And he was lying on something soft. Trying hard not to hope, he opened his eyes.

Sam and Jazz were leaning over him, concern clear on their faces. They were in some sort of ambulance or van.

“How are you feeling,” demanded Sam.

Danny took a moment to answer, his chest was pure agony. He didn’t even want to think what it would feel like to sit up. And even past that, everything was sore. Though the fire that had woken him up had dissipated, the tell-tale feel of ecto-dejecto. “Pretty much the worst I’ve ever felt,” he answered honestly.

Sam and Jazz both winced and his sister grabbed his hand. He squeezed her fingers weakly.

At the foot of his bed stood Tim in full Red Robin getup and Kon as Superboy.

He couldn’t hold back the smile as he met Tim’s gaze. “You came,” he said.

Tim didn’t smile back, but some tension eased out of his shoulders. “I always will,” he said. “Been telling you that since we were ten years old.”

“I know. I’ve always known. Thank you.”

Jazz squeezed his hand again and he looked at her. “Red Robin and Superboy are going to take you away from here. Robin will help you recover.”

Sam nodded. “Yep. And the rest of us are gonna focus on making sure Amity is safe for ghosts once and for all.”

Danny shook his head. “I should be there with you guys, fighting.”

“Nope!” interrupted Jazz. “Not even a little. You’re going to focus on getting better, got it, Danny? That’s all we want from you.”

“But the ghosts—”

Sam covered his mouth with her hand. “Stop it right there. Tucker is working with Impulse and Wonder Girl to get the portal locked up. No one will be coming through. No one—ghost or human—will be in any danger while you’re gone. I promise.”

Danny slumped into the bed. Even the slight change in position caused waves of pain to radiate from his chest even through the healing ice he could feel implanted in his body. He whimpered and closed his eyes until the throbbing receded just a bit. “I trust you. I do, it’s just…”

“You’re used to taking care of everyone,” finished Jazz for him. “We know. So let us take care of you for a change. We love you, Danny.”

“Love you, too, Jazz. Sam.”

“Be good for bird-brain there, got it?” ordered Sam.

Danny gave her a half-smile. “Are Tim and I ever good together?”

She laughed. “Well, don’t burn down Gotham, capiche?”

“Capiche.”

“We have to go now,” said Jazz.

Danny gripped her hand tighter. “Don’t leave me.”

Jazz winced, but leaned down to kiss his forehead. “We need to make sure the Guys in White aren’t going to get involved further. And you need to get someplace safe.”

Danny huffed a half laugh. “Gotham is safe?”

Jazz rolled her eyes at his poor attempt at a joke. “For you it is. Now, I’m leaving Red and Superboy with a case full of ectoplasm for you and our entire supply of ecto-dejecto. I just gave you your first injection. Please try and eat something and drink your ectoplasm regularly.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Jazz.”

Jazz sniffed and it was only then that Danny realized it was wetter than usual and her eyes were watery. He tried not to feel bad for his jokes when she replied, “Yes, it is whatever I say. Glad you agree.”

Sam cackled, and now that he was paying attention, Danny could hear the hysterical edge to it. “You’d better text us multiple times a day, ghost boy. Don’t try and lie to us, either. Kon’ll tell me the truth about your condition. And as soon as we can arrange it, we’re coming out your way for a visit.”

“Course I will, Sam. Give Tuck my best?”

“Duh. He wishes he could’ve come with us, you know.”

Danny nodded. “But he’s better with the tech stuff and that is just as time sensitive.”

“Yeah. Now, get some sleep,” Sam ordered. “You’ve got a long drive ahead of you.”

Danny gave the rote answer after too many all-nighters taking care of ghost attacks before school, “I’m dead, I don’t need sleep.”

His sister squeezed his hand. “Ghosts who just went through what you did need their sleep. Love you, Danny. Get well and I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you, Jazz.”

She kissed his forehead one more time, followed by Sam. And with another two rounds of farewells and love yous, he was alone with Tim and Kon.

“Thanks for coming,” he said again.

“Obviously we weren’t going to leave you there,” said Kon. “Being a lab subject isn’t fun. Especially not that kinda lab experiment.”

Danny couldn’t quite hold back the flinch at that description. It was accurate, but blunt.

Tim walked over until he was sitting by Danny’s bed. “Just listen to Jazz and get some rest. We’re going to be taking the long route to Gotham by going south to start. If we stop for food in a few hours, think you could handle a smoothie?”

Danny shrugged and bit back a yawn. “Could try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Kon moved towards the front of the vehicle as well. “Looks like it’s time for us to skedaddle. I’ll keep the road from jostling you, ghost-boy.”

Danny gave a small smile and let his eyes close. As he did, he tried to mumble his thanks and he hoped it came across.

---

The next time he woke was more gentle. Someone was tapping on his shoulder and calling his name. But even so, as he was pulled closer to awareness, the pain made itself more and more known. He tried to cling to the darkness, but the tapping wasn’t stopping, nor was the person calling him.

He blinked open his eyes to see Tim’s concerned face. He wasn’t wearing the domino anymore, or his costume. Just a sweatshirt and jeans.

“Hey, Danny,” said Tim. “I’m going to need you to try and eat a bit right now. Kon got us those smoothies I mentioned. I’ve also got yogurt if that’ll be easier for you. But the smoothie will have more nutrients.”

Danny closed his eyes. He wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to eat. Why did Tim have to bring him back to consciousness for this? He hurt and just wanted to sink back into oblivion.

The tapping on his shoulder began again. “I know, Danny. But you have to eat something. And you should take some ectoplasm, too. So just stay awake for a few minutes.”

“Mm ‘wake,” said Danny without opening his eyes. He shifted his weight, hoping to push himself up to eat, only to scream in pain as his chest protested any movement.

“Shit! Don’t move,” said Tim too late. “I’ve got a spoon here. I’ll feed it to you, okay? So just stay exactly where you are.”

Danny gripped his sheets, unable to do anything else as wave after wave of pain over took him. Tim kept up a litany of reassurances and stroked his hair. Eventually, Danny was able to think past it again.

“Don’t think I can sit up,” said Danny.

“Of course not,” agreed Tim. He held a styrofoam cup between his knees and carefully took off the lid and straw. “Just let me. Take at least a few bites. Swallow as is, don’t try and chew. Just do what you can, okay?”

“Okay,” agreed Danny and Tim fed him the first bite.

Danny hated this. Hated it so much. Here he was being spoon fed like a baby all because his parents… He shut his eyes and took the next bite. He wasn’t going to finish that thought. Tim was here and that’s what mattered.

Danny wasn’t sure how much he ate, but it couldn’t have been much. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier and the pull of oblivion stronger.

“Wait, Danny. Stay awake just a little longer, okay?”

Danny groaned but forced his eyes open again.

Tim showed him a bottle of ectoplasm. “Just a few swallows of this, too. Okay?”

He didn’t want to. He’d rather just go to sleep again, but he opened his mouth obediently. By the time he finished his third spoonful, he couldn’t fight it anymore and slumped into the bed. The pain receded back into blackness for a time.

-----

Next

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Danny is going to be getting all the comfort throughout this. All of them will, tbh. Because no one is happy and they all need a hug or five.

Let me know what you think!

[wordstome]

Single Dad!König (Dream Daddy au)

(+ a bit of Ghost under the cut)

Thank you to everyone who indulged (said exactly what I asked them to say 😅) me.

Here’s the paragraph I wrote:

I imagine his heart sinking when Ava comes home sad and quiet, unwilling to look her dad in the eye. He recognizes what that means: that used to be him as a kid. His worst fears are confirmed when Ava admits she's being harassed by a boy at school, replaced by anger when Ava says her teachers simply shrugged and told her that boys will be boys, and has she considered that maybe he just has a crush on her? Needless to say, by the time König's walking out of that school, nobody will ever be hurting his little girl ever again. Honestly, one glimpse of Ava's dad by her classmates will keep her free from bullying for the rest of her life.

Now here’s a bit more about single dad König, namely, how he came to be a dad…and single :( Angst and death tw ahead (nothing graphic)

With Ghost, I said he would only have had Caden due to an accident, because of Simon’s previous trauma involving his family. He was firmly in the mindset that he would die in the field, he’s just not built for civilian life anymore, he's a danger to everyone who loves him. However, when Caden shows up at his doorstep, all he can think about is Tommy and his nephew Joseph when he looks at the boy. He probably does his best to get Caden sent to a different family member, but let’s suspend our disbelief that any responsible social worker would leave a kid with Simon “Ghost” Riley for a moment and say that the social worker is like “It’s you or the foster care system.” Realistically, Simon would probably be like “foster care is safer than living with me” but for the purposes of the AU, he took the kid in.

With König, he doesn’t have the same trauma/hangups regarding kids and family. He’s in the same boat as Simon: he’s a human weapon, and can’t function properly in civilian life. For König, his work is an outlet and keeps him stable. I’m gonna have to sit down and make a proper post about my König’s character (Alexander), but for my König, violence is a method of regulating his emotions and a way to manage his anxiety. Having power and being hyper competent in the field is key to his mental stability. However, I think he would be able to settle down, it would just take a very patient, special woman. (For the purposes of the AU his first partner is AFAB she/her.) Here’s where I start breaking hearts… 🤭

In Dream Daddy au, König considers his first wife the love of his life. She deeply understood him as a person and wasn’t afraid of him, even when he was socially awkward and intimidating. They were honestly kindred spirits: both of them had their neuroses and flaws, but instead of trying to fix each other or mold the other into some ideal partner, they accepted each other and thus were able to grow together. (And tbh they were already a match made in heaven anyway.) König’s wife never asked him to quit, and was completely ready to raise a child with him frequently being gone. She was a badass woman, and she really, really wanted to start a family with him, so they had Ava.

For three years, König was probably the happiest he’s been in a long time, and if you asked him he’d probably say it was the happiest time in his life. He was moving up the ranks at work, his mental health was in check, and he had a wife and adorable little daughter to go home to every leave. He started planning to transfer to a safer/more stable position, because as much as the military has done for him, he’s ready to step up as a father and a husband. Then he gets a call that changes his life forever, and suddenly he doesn’t get a choice anymore.

(I'm eternally sorry to the little fictional people I made up in my head because I entertained the idea of putting the Brooklyn 99 "Guess who got murdered!" gif here...)

One thing y'all need to know about my man Alexander is that he is the embodiment of "I am not meant for casual. I was born for soul-crushing devotion." His problem is that he never had devotion before his wife: he craved it like a starving man, and it engulfed him like water flowing into a basin when he got it. He had it for a handful of years (I'm thinking 6 but that's a flexible number), and now it's gone again. You know in movies when something horrible happens and they cut all the noise and there's just a high pitched ringing sound? That's König getting that phone call.

God. All I can imagine is König dropping everything and taking the next flight home. He’s in a daze, in a way that he’s never quite been before. His mind is finally quiet, but the emptiness is not peaceful. Then he finally sees his little girl, she runs into his arms, and the dam bursts. He just holds her and cries. He’s numb, a dead man walking throughout all the business that needs to be taken care of after his wife’s death. The only thing that brings him back to the land of the living is Ava. She’s so small, so sweet, and she doesn’t really understand what death means: all she knows is that her mama’s gone somewhere, and her dad is so, so sad all the time. She’s all that keeps him going, and the only reason he keeps himself alive.

By the time you come into his life, it’s been several years, but Ava is still a little girl. She doesn’t remember her mother at all except what König tells and shows her, because he’s determined to keep her memory alive. König’s been slowly rebuilding who he is as a person from whatever scraps are left. There’s a gaping hole inside him, and he’s reconstructed himself around the hole. In some ways he’s a totally new man, in other ways, he’s gone back to who he was before his wife came along. He’s bitter and angry at the way his life has treated him just as he was as a young man, but now he’s swallowed up by guilt and self loathing. He's gotten better at coping and functioning as the years have passed and life has continued on, but his grief has never really gone away.

(alexa, play "right where you left me" by taylor swift)

[swallowerofdharma]

Yashiro’s Cruel God part one

Disclaimer: this post contains a detailed and straightforward analysis of chapter 25. Doumeki isn’t the villain, if you were worried about that. Actually I must apologize because I wanted to talk about him too, but as usual I started this meta with Yashiro and got carried away. This is also why I am dividing it in parts to avoid having a very very long post. So other parts will hopefully follow to fully elaborate the premise I made. Thank you for understanding. And please take care of your wellbeing, if mentioning Yashiro’s stepfather upset you, maybe skip this one.

Premise: not a matter of perfection but of balance

This person I followed reblogged the Declarations of healthy adulthood by David Richo in big big font and - having only one thought on my mind apparently - I read all that text in Yashiro’s POV. I actually don’t think that this is a perfect model or anything, and I am generally skeptical of self help books (I only assume this is something like it), but why not use this as an example, while considering something that I find interesting about Yashiro and Doumeki? During the discussion about the latest chapter, I said something along the lines of Doumeki representing young love, while Yashiro’s approach has been more mature, and I meant it thinking about Yashiro being aware and cautious about hurting others [and being intentional when he does, since he put a bullet in Doumeki’s leg] and being quite self reliant, and yes I know that he is also afraid of being hurt/loved! in previous posts here, I have mentioned that Yashiro’s acceptance of his past is only-in-part denial or downplaying of trauma, because it has been also a strategy and an impressive sign of his maturity and determination to live in the present. Isn’t it exceptional that Yashiro doesn’t seem all that resentful of his parents? That he openly says that he doesn’t blame others? We have to confront his words always mindful of the fact that he usually is an unreliable narrator, but in many instances he says the truth or half truths and his demeanor confirmed that he did some of what David Richo proposes: I accept full responsibility for the shape my life has taken; I accept that I may never feel I am receiving - or have received - all the attention I seek; One by one, I drop every expectation of people and things; I let go of blame, regret, vengeance, and the infantile desire to punish those who hurt or reject me; No one can or needs to bail me out. I am not entitled to be taken care of by anyone or anything, I let go of control without losing control.

I thought that it was very interesting to consider the Yashiro/Doumeki dynamics from different angles, like older/younger, or even realist/romantic, for example. The point of this experiment isn’t to make a comparison of merit nor to talk about a character in better light than another. Maybe those differences need to be confronted or balanced: for example the realist maybe needs some of the romantic’s idealism to soar and not be stuck on the ground. Yoneda-san might be onto something so human and amazing here. An important clarification is due before saying anything else. As characters that are written as full human beings, with their complexity and contradictions, Yashiro and Doumeki can’t be put neatly into the opposite categories I proposed. The story is much more dynamic, so I ask you to take a further step and put those opposites at the ends of a spectrum and to move our characters freely in both directions. Yashiro tends toward being effectively the older and more realistic one but he has traits that make him move down towards the other end too, even to the extreme of being childish. Consider for example these other statements, from the Declarations of healthy adulthood: I need never fear my own truth, powers, fantasies wishes, thoughts, sexuality, dreams, or ghosts; When change and growth scare me, I still choose them. I may act with fear, but never because of it; I am still safe when I cease following the rules my parents (or others) set for me; If people knew me as I really am, they would love me for being human like them. These points clearly demonstrate Yashiro’s unresolved problems, where he is stuck if you want, and why probably nobody believed me when I pointed at him as being mature (eh, he has his moments tho, you can’t deny that).

I challenge everyone to consider that those four points in particular are quite challenging for most people in general, but particularly so for someone who has fear/betrayal as the foundational principle in their childhood instead of a normal amount even a scarse amount of parental love/safety. And I want to underline childhood here, not teenage years or later.

I need never fear my own truth, powers, fantasies wishes, thoughts, sexuality, dreams, or ghosts. Yashiro here is a mix of contradictions, because he outwardly seems to own those things, even making them a point of his persona, but most of those things are based on the lies he told himself, or his stepfather told him: see this other point

I am still safe when I cease following the rules my parents (or others) set for me. Isn’t this statement extremely helpful to understand Yashiro’s situation? To feel safe he had to build his personality according to the rules of the one who had all the power over him and had already taken away any sense of security from him. This is probably one of those things that can be hard to understand when you have never been there. Most notably, not only in the manga this has been pointed out, but it has been pointed out by Yashiro himself. He is self conscious of this, he knows that he lied to himself as a child, that he had to, and he is constantly choosing to continue lying because that is still the only foundation he has. There was no familial love, no other relative safety. Letting go of the lies actually means going to pieces and breaking down.

This isn’t different from what happens to people who are tortured. Yashiro’s father completely took away any sense of security and safety. The aggravating circumstances were that Yashiro as a child didn’t have any other point of reference or knowledge to understand what was happening with his body and in that state of mind what his father told him had to be the only truth possible. Parents who abuse their children most often don’t even realize what they are doing to its full extent. That’s the immense cruelty of these types of situations. The rules are lies, but the lies are rules to follow to be safe:

You like it when it hurts, right? If it doesn’t hurt, I can’t get into it.

What happened in chapter 25: why now?

Yashiro didn’t want to have sex with Doumeki and said so repeatedly. Doumeki has grown on him, behind liking his physical appearance or using him as a substitute for Kageyama: Yashiro truly liked this person and he liked that Doumeki was impotent. Thanks to that, Yashiro grew comfortable around Doumeki and with comfort and safety comes familiarity. When Yashiro discovered that the impotence was gone, he was angry and terrified. They had become too close and now the premise has changed and Yashiro couldn’t trust Doumeki or himself anymore. I won’t analyze here the scene in the shower but I’ll skip to the point. Doumeki only understood that his love was required, that he was wanted and stopped thinking. He acted passionately like any young person who had a normal foundation in love would. He didn’t understand anything that Yashiro asked or why there were mixed signals and what it all meant. He pushed and hurt and broke without being aware of what he was doing.

And Yashiro was trapped in a situation he had tried to escape from his all life: with a person who felt familiar, a person he loved and relied on, in the safety of a home, who wanted sex and was going to do what he wanted regardless of what Yashiro had to say. Yashiro desperately tried to control what was happening through usual patterns, making it hurt, asking Doumeki to do from behind, detaching the sex from his emotions, but he couldn’t and for the first time in his life sex was different from what he knew, because while Yashiro had loved his stepfather, his father didn’t love him and he didn’t treat him like Doumeki did. And every lies built around his father’s abuse came to the surface. Including the fact that his father never loved him. Doumeki broke him indeed because he broke through the lies/rules upon which Yashiro had intentionally built his entire personality/safety. And he wasn’t ready for it, he specifically said he didn’t want it, he had known all along, he already knew when men before Doumeki tried to make love to him and when he built a strategy to specifically avoid being confronted with those lies/rules. He didn’t love those men. He did love Doumeki though. But once again Yashiro didn’t have a choice. And he was physically hurt and recovering after being shot and knowing his life was in danger outside of that room. He had just discovered that Doumeki lied about being impotent the previous time he touched him in the car and before that. It was probably the worst timing possible for making love. At some point Yashiro grew resigned and even reciprocated a little, reaching for Doumeki, caressing his face, and he even reassured him before he fell asleep. There were words that Doumeki said that Yoneda didn’t disclose fully, choosing instead to immediately took us in the flashback with Yashiro. I think it is probable that what Doumeki said was something that Yashiro’s father had said and that we are going to confront before the end of the manga. I personally want to know these words more than what Yashiro said while an airplane passed by and Doumeki was unconscious. Morbid maybe on my part.

I have stated that I am not going to make Doumeki a villain here. The point of this analysis is just to see where Doumeki was in terms of maturity. To be continued…

[ultimatefartwizard]

NOT FUCKING AGAIN! THE MUSICAL ( TF EARTHSPARK MESSAGES AND MANDROID'S GENOCIDAL HORRORS EDITION)

Holy shit I am losing my mind... @monocle-teacup you better read this <3 (dead serious though cuz wtf)

Also of course as always, spoilers ahead this time for season 2 of earthspark so dont want it? skedaddle (s2 isnt worth caring about though, trust me)

Also again nobody go witchhunting or harassing anyone, this is discussion of media and someones poor takes on some clear themes in a show.

Okay you're using THE TERRIBLE WRITING OF S2 TO PROVE YOUR LITTLE HORRIBLE SLIMY GENOCIDAL GREASEMAN IN THE RIGHT???? WHY ARE YOU VOUCHING FOR HIM. WHY DO YOU SAY HIS IDEAS ARE RIGHT AUUUUGH-

How you continue to have terrible takes astounds me 💀 You can't be serious man how are you this like,,, braindead? And ignoring all of what S1 is trying to teach even before S2 came out? oh wait.

You choose your attraction of a gross ass man over LITERAL IN YOUR FACE PLOTPOINTS BECAUSE YOU'D RATHER MEATRIDE YOUR BABYGIRL MANDROID OVER EVERYTHING THE SHOW HAS BUILT UP. Not like you probably ever cared to connect any of the dots.

Oh, to help you do that, I have a previous post I made where I pinged you! You should read it before you read anymore, it'll help with what I'm about to preface here. Please READ IT.

Okay, time to dig into literally EVERYTHING ALL OVER AGAIN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEEM TO LET GO OF THIS MAN AND HIS OBVIOUS LACK OF HUMANITY IN HIM AND CONTINUE TO SEE SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE. I will start off by saying the quality of the writing for season 2 and season 2's entire disregard for season 1 don't discredit season 1, no matter what nonsense there is. I hate season 2 for all its going for thus far and its just genuinely a waste of my braincells to try watching it again. There are also things not specifically related to mandroid but are also pet peeves that show your lack of attention to detail.

How. Did you miss this. Humans have been living with bots for 30 to 40 years at this point they don't bat an eye at them because THEY THINK THEY'RE JUST SOME BOTS CASUALLY WALKING AROUND. They don't give a fuck about the terrans; only a select few know they are even earth-born bots. Transformers have been living amongst humans casually don't you think they wouldn't give two fucks and know not to gawk at random robots walking around like they just started existing?

You saw the Philadelphia episode (I hope? because you act like you haven't) or really any episode they are just chilling and walking around, you didn't notice nobody gave a damn? What about Optimus, Elita 1, and other bots? Would you randomly gawk at a group of sapient beings walking amongst you who've been there for a lifetime?

No.

They had to hide FROM GHOST not FROM THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE. Ghost would have tried to capture them and imprison them by deeming them a threat for merely existing, not humans as a whole. The fact you miss this entire detail is incredibly sad.

Okay now onto Mandroid stuff because you never stop meatriding him MY GOD

Huh, maybe you need to USE YOUR BRAIN and realize he was not protecting earth. He -thought- he was, because he perceived them as vermin who need to be wiped out and a threat to humanity. Like I said before in my last post DECEPTCONS DO NOT EQUAL ALL OF TRANSFORMERS OH MY GOD. Plus with this season its clear there can't be the same writers on this team. They have sacrificed the story for toymaking opportunities DON'T YOU THINK MAYBE HE'S NOT RIGHT JUST BECAUSE S2 SOMEHOW SAYS THE -CONS IN SPECIFIC (NOT ALL BOTS MY FUCKING GOD)- ARE TO NOT BE TRUSTED AND ARE DANGEROUS? USE YOUR CRANIUM THAT EVOLUTION HAS GIVEN YOU. Mandroid conflated every single transformer with a twisted ideal in his head born out of hate, not from a true sense of danger nor did he separate cons and autobots or unaligned bots in his head from the conglomerate "evil" he thinks they are.

As above so below, you're DEFENDING HIS TERRIBLE GENOCIDAL BEHAVIOR BY BEING LIKE "HE MIGHT HAVE DONE BAD STUFF BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY HE WAS JUST PROTECTING EARTH" over a giant guardian robot who's being mind controlled and had no intention to do this or will of her own. Why are you so adamant on convincing yourself he was a good or commendable man? Where is your basic comprehension of anything in this show at all. HE TRIED TO COMMIT GENOCIDE ON A WHOLE RACE OF BEINGS WHO HAD BEEN COEXISTING ON EARTH FOR YEARS. It's not something you can go 'erm acshually-" on.

He literally killed EVERYONE who was a transformer; even if their death wasn't permanent they still died because he saw them all as a disease needing to be eradicated.

He has no sense of humanity, only hate in his heart and the need to destroy. How do you think he was protecting earth when he had succeeded at murdering an entire population off the face of the earth even if it's only for about 5-10 minutes? HOW ARE YOU THIS BLIND TO MEATRIDE HIM THIS HARD.

I honestly doubt they knew about her, let alone understood the glyphs everywhere. They were just mapping ancient tunnels and figuring it out; Croft also probably forbid anyone from entering due to the DWELLERS, not Terratronus; she was well off course and well protected/hidden by dirt and freaky alien monsters. Even if they somehow DID know, GHOST probably just utilized Terratronus to justify imprisoning dozens of transformers; whether they were cons, neutral, or autobots that didn't want to be part of a government mass incarceration and control program. Mandroid probably didn't give a shit at the moment because he was busy trying to squash literal children like bugs. Shut up about this stupid attempt at the executives making money off of random plot bullshit and toymaking opportunities.

AS STATED IN MY LAST POST: YOU ARE CONFLATING DECEPTICONS WITH ALL TRANSFORMERS, AS MANDROID DID. ONE GROUP DOES NOT EQUAL ALL OF THEM, AND DOES NOT MAKE TRANSFORMERS AS A WHOLE DANGEROUS IF THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO CAUSE TROUBLE. MANDROID SAW ALL TRANSFORMERS AS A THREAT EVEN IF THEY HAD BEEN LIVING WITH HUMANS PEACEFULLY FOR DECADES. YOU ARE HERE SIMPLY REITTERATING A STUPID AND NULL POINT THATS PROVEN WRONG AGAIN AND AGAIN IN S1. His reasoning behind his actions are "we need to get rid of these filthy dangerous vermin who are invading our precious planet." Also the chaos terrans being born evil is a horrible plotpoint and groups being born evil is terrible writing, just like the entirtey of Season 2 because these new writers on the team understand nothing about the show as is. (Yes, most of the writers in s2 never worked on s1)

This one. this one enraged me. This is the most recent post I'd seen about mandroid as of writing (june 8th) and you have SERIOUS AUDACITY to say this. HE KILLED ALL OF THE MALTO BOTS AND TRIED TO KILL ROBBY AND MO; WHAT MAKES YOUR FUCKING MANDROID LOVING SHRUNKEN AND POCKED BRAIN THINK THAT HE WOULD TEAM UP WITH THEM LIKE SOME BUDDY BUDDY ADVENTURE? HE ATTEMPTED AND COMMITTED GENOCIDE, UNETHICAL EXPERIMENTATION, CHILD MURDER, AND MORE.... HE WOULDN'T MAKE JUST """""SMARTASS COMMENTS""" HE'D STRAIGHT UP HATECRIME ALL OF THEM.

I'm not gonna be nice with this last one. You are incredibly media illiterate if not just lacking basic cognition to think he of all people would willingly team up with people he wanted to kill off during season 1. You watched the finale of season 1 and GATHERED NOTHING FROM IT. You, in all your 34 years of life, somehow have not obtained a single gram of "maybe I shouldn't vouch for and defend a person who's xenophobic and wants to commit genocide" despite enjoying writing and HISTORY. HOW ARE YOU ONE TO ENJOY HISTORY YET MAKE NO CONNECTIONS TO ATTROCITIES COMMITTED BY PEOPLE TO WHAT MANDROID IS DOING AND HOW THEY ARE WRONG AND ENTIRLEY UNFORGIVABLE. At this point I believe you to be willfully ignorant to pass off your crush on this man as okay and convince yourself he is right somehow; even going as far as to utilize this new season as an excuse for him.

Your audacity to think he is anything other than a pathetic horrible man with terrible and morally bankrupt goals and actions somehow will be nice to groups of people he hates astounds me to no end. The show gives you all you need to connect the dots and you haven't. I'm aware i'm likely talking to a brick wall because you're likely willingly ignorant to excuse yourself or will never read this but I will call out this nonsense regardless. It comes off as extremely weird and bordering on you just believing in the ideologies he spouts.

I will say this again to make it clear; Mandroid is a stand-in for people who believe in racist and xenophobic ideas, and will stop at nothing to destroy them. The transformers are an allegory for refugee immigrants, and the terrans are first gen decedents. You continuing to believe his lies and defending him just borderlines on you upholding racist ideals. (That might sound deranged af of a claim but considering the context... yeah)

TLDR for lazy people: This fool pinged in this post is claiming a character who ATTEMPTED TO COMMIT GENOCIDE as being in the right somehow with his ideals/actions and not a total morally bankrupt person. Meatriding getting in the way of logic.

-No cheers to you, Wizard and Cupid

[captain-mj]

I really love your Selkie!Soap au. Maybe Ghost could discover a bit more about Selkie culture, and the generational trauma that Soap might have?

YES!! Love this! Direct continuation of the previous post

Ghost brought Soap a deer. Soap stared at it for a minute before laughing. "What do we do now?"

Ghost hummed. "I'll clean it and cook it for you." And you'll fall in love with me.

"I see." Soap smiled. "Need any help?"

"No, I got it. It's bloody work but if you want sit with me..."

So they sat together in the little shed, both mostly quiet but the radio was playing. Soap watched him work and Ghost tried not to glance at him too often. He wore a surgical mask but that was more for cleanliness than anything else.

They ate well, both of them sitting next to each other as the sun set.

Soap ended up stealing some of Ghost's off his plate despite there being plenty of food still in the kitchen but it was fine. He glared at Soap who only smiled at him.

A ringtone sounded and Soap froze. It sounded like a personal one.

Ghost didn't move for a moment, waiting for Soap to pick it up. Soap just stared for a minute, picking at the food for a second before remembering himself and answering.

"Hey, dad."

Ghost perked up immediately. He had heard next to nothing about Soap's dad. He wondered if he was a selkie too. Or something else.

"Yes, sir. I am on leave, but my..." There was a pause before Soap swallowed. "My coat holder commanded I come with him."

Ghost frowned a little, but he stayed quiet.

"Yes. It's new. I haven't had... Yes, sir." Soap was visibly wilting. "I am... He's commanding me back. Sorry, sir." He hung up after a second and quietly put his phone down.

"I take it your dad is not... good?"

"No. I hope you two never have to talk, but its best he doesn't know we're close." Soap rubbed his arm, looking tiny and cold. Ghost scooted closer.

"Are you alright?"

"It's how he always is. He was excited someone has my coat again. That I'm at your mercy. He's a fucking prick." Soap looked down. "My mom can't leave him or else I'd never talk to him again."

"He... has her coat?"

"Yeah. I tried to find it. Took a couple slaps for it. But I never could. Swear I tore that place apart looking."

Ghost pulled Soap closer. "I see."

"He's such a bawbag."

"Is she the only selkie you know?"

"No. I know a few. All of them are like her. Trapped in their positions. Either as a spouse or caretaker or worker or..." Soap sighed. "No choice. No control. Stuck until either the coatholder dies or we get lucky."

Ghost was quiet for a while before reaching over and pulling him closer. "You... want this, right?"

"I do. Don't worry. You gave it back. You're a good man." He leaned into him. "My sister got lucky. She's just human. My other sister is a selkie but dad... protects her a little more. I think it's because she's the baby."

"Coatholder. Is that what you guys call them?"

"Not the most creative name, but yeah. Gets the message across. For a while Master was used but... yeah, it felt just a little too degrading." Soap hummed and shoved the plate towards him. "He'll want to meet you. I can try to lie and keep you from him. I don't... I don't want him to know it's my choice. If he knows..." Soap started to breath heavier, holding on to Ghost.

"Johnny, you're okay. He can't do anything to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Soap said softly. "If he gets upset he takes it on her and..."

Ghost winced. This entire situation reminding him just a little too much of his own time growing up. "If your mom had left your dad, would you have grown up a seal?"

"No. She likely would've abandoned me." Soap answered honestly. "It sucks but that's reality. I would've been left with him and my sisters. Can't blame her. She didn't choose to have me."

Ghost frowned and gently touched his chin, making him look at him. He smiled awkwardly. "You know when I came back from the military, the first thing I did was wait in my mom's kitchen."

"Why?"

"For my dad to hit her. He did eventually. He always did. It was all the excuse I need. I dragged him outside and beat him to hell for it."

Soap looked surprised. "Damn."

"Mom kicked me out for it. But she didn't let him back in the house either and that's all that mattered to me." Ghost took a deep breath. "I should meet your dad."

"Simon. You can't beat up my dad."

"I could, but I just think I should meet him. I want to meet your mom too."

Soap didn't look convinced but he nodded. "Alright, Si. Alright." He kissed his hand gently, looking tired. "Mind if we go to bed?"

Ghost hummed. "Course not. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll be in the spare room, of course." Soap smiled at him, a hint of teasing there.

Ghost followed him like a shadow until he got to his door and then went to his own room.

Once he was in bed, he stared up at the ceiling quietly. He thought of Soap's mom, the gentle voice on the phone and how Soap shrank back.

It must be hard. Trusting Ghost of all people with so much. Even now, the thought occurred to him that it wouldn't be very hard for him to take the coat back. Or even just hurt him. They were alone in the middle of the woods.

And Soap still trusted him.

If it was anyone else, he'd call them an idiot for trusting the Ghost, but he knew as well as Johnny did that Ghost was harmless to him.

Did those other selkies think their human was harmless? Was their first meeting them taking the coat? Demanding so much from them?

Someone had done this before. Soap had mentioned someone had taken it before. On purpose. Had they hurt him? Forced him to do anything?

The idea of a younger Soap being controlled the way Ghost had read about in those stories made him feel sick.

He got up at some point and like the needle on a compass, he pointed towards his north star.

Soap was probably asleep. He also used the spare for a reason. Ghost shouldn't bother him. There were boundaries for a reason.

Soap's sad eyes popped back into his head. The distant look when he talked about the past or the others he knew.

He didn't knock in case he was asleep.

Soap jerked up immediately. "Jesus, Ghost you scared me. Something wrong?"

"Scoot over."

"What?"

"Scoot over." Ghost repeated, staring at him. Both their eyes reflected the light, both finding each other easily.

Once Soap did move over, Ghost climbed in with him. He pulled him safely to his chest and held him.

"No one is ever going to touch you again." Ghost mumbled into his hair. "I'm never going to let something like that happen to you again."

"You don't even know what they did." Soap knew exactly what Ghost was talking about, like always.

"Doesn't matter." Ghost squeezed him. "Never again."

Soap let Ghost hold him, putting his head on Ghost's shoulder. "Get some sleep, Simon. I know you must be tired."

Ghost slept better knowing Soap was safe with him.

[callmeklair]

Cinderella

okay so this got really really long so I had to shift the behind the scenes part for another post at last moment. Also I'm really sorry for how long this might look, I did try to edit it in small font but it was just unreadable so yeah >.<

[no beta because me is sick]

prepare yourselves for a ride. also special mention to @its-irsaa-fyp because our random midnight talk brought this au to life

hope you guys enjoy it ^^

this story revolves around a kind-hearted and beautiful girl named Yui Komori who lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. Her own mother died a long time ago, and father just met with an accident recently while on his way to travel.

???: oh~ cinderella~! cinderella~~!— Yui! Yui!

???: where did she disappear!? me and teddy are starving! is she still asleep!!?

unfortunately for Yui, her stepmother and stepsisters were not that welcoming as from the start they referred to her as Cinderella.

"someone or something that is given little attention or care, especially less than they deserve"

to mock her.

Yui: *sigh* they are at it again.

Yui stretched her sleepy arms as the birds started singing to awaken her and her favorite three mice pulled away the blanket to snuggle on her lap to get some morning pats.

these animals were the only ones who took care of her in this cold and insufferable household.

one of the three mices suddenly spoke to get Yui's attention.

Azusa: why… don't you just… run away from here?

Ruki: Azusa, it's not that easy for humans to run away like us animals. they need backup and basic requirements before moving away to guarantee their safety and survival.

Yuma: sheesh, glad I'm a mouse. if only you had done some good deeds in your previous life, then you would have been a mouse like us, Yui.

Yui chuckled at Yuma's comment and shook her head which made him blush. was it out of embarrassment or shyness? nobody knows. well of course except his brothers Ruki and Azusa.

Ruki: you should leave, before they barge into your room and mess it up like last time.

Yui: right! you are right! I'll see you guys later, take care until then.

she kissed each mice' head and left.

Ayato: what took you so long!? yours truly is starving!

Yui: I'm sorry stepmother, this won't happen again.

Ayato: you said that last time too!

Laito: now now mother, please let it be. poor Cinderella needs her beauty sleep too. After all, I'm pretty sure you won't want an ugly little thing with dark circles lurking around the house like a ghost while doing her chores. it'll be unsightly.

Kanato: as much as I hate her for making me and teddy wait, I agree with laito. it'll be really unpleasant to watch her like that. her pretty average looks are the only thing that is keeping me sane as I watch her face everyday while walking around the house. she's already ugly, don't make it worse.

Ayato: tch, you two. fine, you are spared this time on my daughters' request. but now… you have already wasted our precious time, go make the breakfast and, I don't think I need to repeat about your daily chores.

Yui: understood.

she bowed her head to them like a daily routine and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

later during the meal, while she was serving their breakfast something in their conversation perked her up

Ayato: we have received an invitation from our monarch for the prestigious royal ball that is going to be held in five days. it is rumored that the prince is looking for a wife through this occasion and will make her his queen after taking over the throne.

Laito: ah that sounds so wonderful! but why throw a ball when he can marry a very influential family and also, in the future he is destined to marry a lot of women to stabilize his kingdom. ah~ I really wanted to become his one and only.

Kanato: try getting out of your genius fantasies and assumptions, he'll never marry someone like you even if he wants to keep only one wife. I'm more suitable. me and teddy. right teddy?

Ayato: that's the thing. the current prince only wants to have one wife on his side who'll help him run the kingdom through her ideas and opinions too and not just influence.

Laito: hmmm isn't the king, the current prince's older brother who is still single and healthy, still ruling the kingdom. why will they look for a wife for the prince and not the king?

Ayato: dunno, probably not interested in marriages. and about the prince, he doesn't look like he has any intention to take over the kingdom but who knows what goes around in politics. definitely why they are looking for a wife for him due to this.

Laito: awww man, I thought if not prince then I could get a chance with the king as a backup but looks like I'll have to rely on my natural beauty and talent to press my presence into the prince's heart.

Kanato: gross.

Yui: can I join the ball too? I promise I'll complete all the chores! I'll clean the house to it's finest, laundry your clothes, iron them, and make your favorite foods. Everything.

The three's eyes widened at her request.

Kanato: what made you think, a mere incompetent average mediocre women like you can attend with us—!

Ayato: Kanato. it's alright.

the stepmother stopped her youngest child's tantrum and turned to Yui with an evil smile.

Ayato: fine. I'll let you join us-

Kanato & Laito: mother!

Ayato: shush. I'm still speaking. so Yui, you can join us… only if you complete all the listed chores I give you everyday.

Yui: that's alright with me! thank you!

Ayato: don't thank me so soon. you even have not started working on the chores yet.

the evil smile just grew wider. but Yui chose to ignore it and left the dining area to start preparing for her chores.

Laito: mother?

Ayato: you guys are worrying too much, she doesn't even have proper clothes except those rags. and to think about going to the ball without a proper dress? fufu she'll either be kicked out or made a laughing stock. but I'm pretty sure she won't be even able to step out of this house, as that much of the task and chores will be given to her from me.

on the corner, the three mice were watching the whole ordeal and Yuma just grew angry at the insolent behavior of these people towards Yui and her pure wish & will to go to the ball.

Yuma: those damn bastards- that stepmother is definitely planning something evil. the wickedness is in the air, I can't breathe anymore ugh!

Azusa: Ruki… we need to protect her and help her prepare for the ball.

Ruki: that's right! let's have a talk with her first and see what she is planning for the ball.

the three mice left the scene and went to their Yui.

Yuma: Yui! Yui! what are your plans for the ball?

Yui: ..! you guys know?

Ruki: of course we do, we are mice. our ears are everywhere.

Yui: oh I see. Well I of course don't have a dress so I'm planning to make one, I still have one of my mother's dresses which I can try to remake using various accessories and jewels.

Ruki: is that the pink one you showed a long time ago?

Yui: yes that's the one.

Yuma: then we'll help you remake it! you know those smelly wicked people are definitely planning something unpleasant and difficult for you.

Yui: Shush Yuma, that's not how you talk about people, especially behind their backs. and I'll really appreciate your guys' help my sweet adorable mice.

She rubbed their heads and ruffled around their chin to gesture her gratitude.

the three of them purred.

Now Yui was busy doing all her listed difficult and nasty chores. her stepmother really didn't want her to come so badly that she stooped so low in giving chores.

While on the other hand, the mice called for the birds and explained to them about the situation. Upon hearing this, the birds whistled and called more of their friends from the forest behind the house and with this, all of them proceeded to make a dress for Yui, so beautiful that even the prince will not be able to get up after falling from looking at her. not from the floor, not from his affection.

Days passed and the time for the ball was here. But Yui didn't look very excited as in the past few days, her stepmother really gave her so many tasks that she didn't even get the time to touch her mother's dress. The moment she'll complete those tasks and go to her room in the attic, she'll fall on the bed and sleep due to all the tiredness.

Yui:....! huh! How is this-!

Yuma • Azusa • Ruki • animals: surprise!

Yui was in awe and in tears as she saw the most beautiful dress she has ever seen in her whole life. These animals really remade the old dress into something new with their tiny hands, paws and beaks. She repeatedly thanked them as she stepped forward and took the dress to try it out.

Yuma: You look gorgeous!

Azusa: pretty!

Ruki: As expected, my imagination was on point.

Yui: you guys are really really adorable! I love you so much.

*church bell rings from afar*

Yui: oh no! it's almost time for the ball, I'm leaving. love you guys.

Ruki: we'll escort you out.

Yui and her companions moved to the door just when the stepmother and the stepsisters were about to leave.

Yui: wait, I'm coming too!

The three of them turned around and looked enraged at her beautiful sight.

blinded by jealousy, the sisters tore Yui's dress saying the jewels on her dress resemble their belongings as the mother just watched.

Yui: … why?

she was on the brink of tears.

Ayato: just cause'.

with that they left.

finally the tears poured from her eyes, she didn't want to cry in front of them to fuel their enjoyment more, and ran away from the scene.

the mice followed her, angry yet they couldn't do anything. if only they were human. if only.. if only… if only…

*magical noises*

???: I hear desperate wishes.

mice: !!!

Yui, who was crying on the bench, suddenly looked up and saw a handsome black haired man with pale magenta eyes wearing glasses in a…. blue gown?

Yui: you are?

???: Reiji. Your fairy godmother.

Yui: …

Reiji: what?

Yui: I think I'm hallucinating due to crying too much.

Reiji: and what is that supposed to mean?

Yui: aren't fairy godmothers females?

Reiji: ….

Yui: ….

Reiji: are you…

Yui: ?

Reiji: Are you doubting my profession? Do you know how hard it is to work in this profession? The ethics and norms says nothing about specific gender in this field. What is this gender discrimination!? Can't believe in this time and era, there will be people who'll show such impudent and narrow minded thinking. I knew it, I was born in the wrong generation.

Yui never expected that her simple question would end up with her getting a whole lecture.

Reiji: good grief *sigh* you are helpless.

Yui: isn't that why you are here?

Reiji: now miss mam, I think you don't know how the fairy godmother system works. We-

Yui: another one. here we go (⁠╥▽╥⁠)

Yui: okay okay, I understand.

Reiji: you better.

Yui: So why are you here?

Reiji: to help you out of course. I heard your deepest desires and wishes from far away. and as a compassionate person* I'm here to fulfill your dreams.

*compassionate person X

because it is my profession. ✓

Yui: really? but how?

Reiji: We can start with that dress of yours.

Reiji took out a white wand from his sleeves as he performed the spell bibidi babidi boo and transformed Yui's dress into a beautiful sparkly silver gown with glass heels while also styling her hair with jewels and sparkles.

Yui: oh my gosh! you are amazing.

Reiji: keke, of course. I'm an expert in my profession, as expected of me. hmm but there's still something amiss.

Yui: how am I supposed to go to the ball? on heels?

Reiji: right! that was what it was missing.

Reiji danced his wand again as he turned a full grown pumpkin, from the corner, into a carriage.

Reiji: perfect. now we are ready.

Yui: who is going to drive it?

Reiji: those three mice glaring at me from the start.

Yui turned at the direction of Reiji's stare and saw her companions glaring daggers. But such thing was completely normal for Reiji as he danced his wand again and turned the mice into humans.

*poof*

Azusa: we are…

Ruki: humans now.

Reiji: for now. Listen to me and remember one thing very carefully, once the clock strikes midnight, my spell will be lifted and everything will be turned back to how it was i.e. your torn dress, pumpkin, mice, everything and everyone.

Yui: I understand, thank you so much.

Yuma: ugh this body is tall, why am I the only one like this!?

Yui: if only you would have done some good deeds.

Yui joked around repeating Yuma's comment from that day and the latter in turn grew more furious.

Reiji: bickering for later. the ball is starting soon. now if you don't want my precious energy and stamina I invested in you to go to waste. Please.

Yui: wait! what if my stepmother and stepsisters recognize me!? it'll be over for me.

Reiji: ah that's true, let me cast another enchanting spell on you which will act like an illusion.

he danced his wand again.

Reiji double checked and made sure everything is at point and now

he pointed at the carriage door's direction, impatient for them to leave. He had to go fill in his reports as early as possible to get some increment.

The three mice, now humans, discussed something among themselves and decided that Ruki & Azusa will be the escorts while Yuma will be the driver.

before Yuma could argue more, Yui looked at him with hopeful eyes and he wasn't able to say anything.

Without anymore further ado, they left for the ball.

———————x

Subaru: tch. I'm not dealing with this nonsense anymore! 

Inside the ballroom, Subaru was starting to get frustrated in the upper room, where royals watch the people from above. 

Just a few hours ago, Shu, his older brother, the current king, lazily barged into his room and dropped the bomb that the ball was actually being held to find a bride for him. Until now he was just kept in the dark and was only told that a royal ball will be held for political purposes and so he assumed that it must be something to do with his king position but now this… this was frustrating.

All he could see was disgusting coaxing of females and the nobles trying to get their daughter with the prince. It got worse when suddenly a maiden with reddish brown hair and green eyes winked at him and 'nfu'-ed at him. Right now Subaru was running away from that maiden and successfully managed to ditch him. 

Subaru sighed as took in the familiar scenario of the grand corridors of this spacious castle. 

Subaru: tch. well now that I'm here, might as well roam around and cool myself down until that brother of mine and his followers drag me into this whole set-up mess again. 

Subaru walked but tensed up when he saw a beautiful gown. 

Subaru: not another one

He looked around to find a hiding spot until..

Subaru: …..! 

Subaru: she is ethereal

no no no, that shouldn't change his decision as he has already seen some beautiful/pretty faces tonight trying to suck him up, be it by their own will or their family's will. 

he shouldn't stop himself just because of an ethereal looking woman. but it was too late, she already saw him.

???: uhm hello? uh, do you know the direction of the ballroom? I'm kind of lost here. 

It looks like she didn't recognise, good for him. But sooner she might if someone from palace suddenly shows up and reveals his identity because of the formalities. 

Subaru: You are? 

Yui: oh… uh I was supposed to attend the ball with my family but due to cho— circumstances I wasn't able to depart with them on time.

She really let herself be open around and introduce herself without any hesitation. such a vulnerable prey. 

Subaru: let me do the honor and take you.

Yui: you will? thank you! 

the little rabbit has fallen into the hands of a beast. 

Yui: oh right! what is your name? Need to know your name to express my gratitude later for your each and every help. 

Subaru: Subaru. 

Yui: I see…

Subaru didn't say his full name because he didn't want his cover to be lifted, at least not yet especially when he gets to see her such beautiful smile making her eyes shape into alluring crescents.

He silently took her to the ballroom, so that people wouldn't notice him and expose him. 

Yui came back to her senses from her daze of taking in the marvelous interior of the palace when she realized that Subaru had taken her to the dance floor and both of them were waltzing now. 

Yui: S-subaru-kun!?

Subaru: shh. 

Yui blushes as she finally takes in his appearance illuminated by the golden lights of the ball room and how dazzling he looked with that silver pink hair and his scarlet eyes. 

Subaru wanted to quietly enjoy his moment with this ethereal girl he just met. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to make her his own. He was intrigued. her soft expressions, her soft voice, her smile, her vulnerability, everything. He wanted to know them deeply. 

As Subaru and Yui were enjoying their peaceful dance with love filled eyes looking into each other with the desire to get to know each other more, Yui's stepmother and stepsisters were seen from afar as Ayato looked carefully and started to doubt how much the girl dancing with the prince looked familiar.

Ayato: No it can't be her, she doesn't even have a dress and the one she has we destroyed it. must be some other girl looking like her. 

Meanwhile Shu watched the scene in front of him unfold and sighs following with a lazy but genuine smile, glad that his younger brother finally found someone for him. With Subaru's past and his mental health condition this past few weeks, Shu decided to look for someone who'll help his brother out. 

Time passed and Yui and Subaru were at the balcony at the end of the ballroom to get some fresh air and get to each other. the more they talked to each other, the more they found each other falling for the other person. At first it was a little awkward so they started with random small talks and in between Subaru finally revealed his true identity. Yui was shocked and tried to bow curtly as she started being formal but Subaru stopped her. 

He wanted to spend time with her as a normal person. 

Has it been an hour or two since they started talking? Subaru doesn't know and doesn't care, the only thing that matters to him is the girl in front of him. At first he just wanted to see what she was capable of when she so openly left herself in his care, a beast's care. but now, there's more to it. 

He stepped forward and circles his arm around her waist pulling her closer. Yui squeaked at his sudden movement. Shy, she asked him what he was doing but instead of a reply she was met with a closer image of his face and realized their lips were getting closer. He didn't wait or hesitate as he landed a kiss on her lips in his daze of watching her intensely. 

At first Yui didn't know what to do as her heart and mind were saying different things. In the end she kissed him back, entangling her hands in his soft hair.

it went on for a few minutes as each second Subaru would try pulling himself closer to her or pulling Yui closer to him to deepen the kiss. 

Yui slowly opened her eyes to try parting with him to catch a breath but her eyes flew open when her gaze fell on the watch behind Subaru.

Yui: shoot! it's going to be midnight in 10 minutes. 

Yui's slowly pushed Subaru away who looked surprised. 

Yui: I'm sorry, but I need to go, it's getting late.

Subaru: it's alright, I'll order my people to drop you at your home so it won't matter.

Yui: no! i mean it's alright, i won't want to trouble you, your high-

Subaru: I told you to drop the formalities. and, it's not troublesome.

what should she do? if she stays here any longer her illusionary dress and everything will be exposed and she is worried if the connection they have until now, will it disappear if Subaru sees her true form?

Yui apologizes again as she slowly gets out of Subaru's grip and runs for the main gate to leave. Subaru shouted for her to wait for him and followed after her. Yui was rushing and rushing when suddenly Subaru caught her hand stopping her in her tracks at the stairs of the main gate.

Yui looked at the watch, terrified she gently held his hand and got her hand out and rushed again.a pologizing to him while running away.

and also, dropping one of her glass shoes on the stairs on the way. she did stop in her tracks to go above and pick it up but decided not to as the watch ticked over and over again in her ears, like a warning.

Subaru: wait! you never told me your name!

subaru cried out, but it was already too late as Yui had already disappeared, only her forgotten glass show left behind. picking it up, Subaru decided to find the girl no matter what. his determination through the roof.

Next morning, Subaru's bestie, Kou visited him after hearing about the rumors of his dearest friend being seen with a girl and looking at her with love filled eyes.

Subaru was already frustrated at Kou's arrival but started gritting his teeth at the non-stop blabber and teasing of the latter man in front of him.

Kou: aww c'mon man, you can't keep your bestie in the dark!

Subaru: who are you calling your friend!? i don't ever remember having such a relationship with you!

Kou: Hey Subaru-kun! you hurt me. I have been your reading partner since we were ten.

Subaru ignored Kou's annoying chatter, as he gazed at the glass show in his hand. oh how so badly he wanted to find her and keep her to himself. He swore he wouldn't let her get out of his grip anymore.

…!?

was he becoming possesive? even Subaru was shocked at his thoughts.

Shu: stop looking at it like that. The girl won't magically appear out of nowhere if you keep glaring at it.

Shu has entered the room.

Shu: I'll help you find her.

He gestures his hand at three men behind him to take the shoes and leave for the town to find the girl whose foot fits in the shoe.

Subaru recognised the three men as Shu's loyal followers from the start and also his reading partners. Kino, Shin and Carla.

Thus, he let the shoe go because he trusted in their methods and resources.

Kino: just wait for us~

Kino winked at Subaru, and Shin sighed complaining about the enthusiasm.

Shin: how are you guys so sure that this shoe will only fit one lady? There can be many people.

Subaru: the size of the shoe.. is very small. Kou has the smallest shoe size among us all and this shoe is even smaller than that, making it a very rare case.

Kou: Subaru stop exposing me!

Subaru ignored his friend's glaring as Carla nodded, understanding something.

Carla: in other words, the one whose foot glides in this shoe swiftly is the true owner.

Subaru: yes.

and so began the search for the girl that has mesmerized the prince of the kingdom and it didn't take long for the rumors to reach every household. even where Yui lives.

Ayato was in Yui's room, suspicious. Totally suspicious. No matter how much he thinks about it, the girl he saw yesterday doesn't sit right with him as a stranger. he looked around her room, and finally found it. the glass shoe! under her bed.

Ayato: che, I knew it. that cunning fox.

at the same time, Yui entered the room to make sure her glass slipper was still there as the people from the palace were coming & this was her chance to finally meet Subaru again. but the moment she saw Ayato, she was on alert. but it was too late as Ayato smirked while dancing the glass shoe in his hand.

Yui tensed as she stepped forward to take it form Ayato's hand but the latter just extended his hand above and because of the height difference Yui was left helpless.

Ayato: very smart huh? trying to get the prince to you. How did you do it? the dress? how did you reach there when it was already too late to reach in time by walking?

Yui remained silent.

Ayato: no answer huh? fine, for such disrespect, you'll be locked in your room for the meantime.

Yui: no you can't do that!

Ayato: Oh I can, just watch me. those people from the palace will never be able to find you.

with that ayato rushed and locked the door, trapping Yui in.

Ayato: Laito! Kanato! prepare yourselves, the prince is coming! you guys must do whatever you can to get the shoe fit your foot.

Laito • Kanato: Yes, mother.

Meanwhile, trapped Yui cries on the edge of her bed as she remembers how on the way back, it was already midnight and on the way back everything turned back to how it was, just like Reiji said.

except that one glass slipper on her feet still remaining intact.

how? was it because they were seperated? at first Yui was scared that the moment midnight hits the shoe under Subaru's care will turn back to normal and he will start doubting her, making them never meet again. but that wasn't the case as the shoes still remain as how they were.

No matter how much Yui thought it over, nothing explained the logic behind the shoes remaining the same. but at the same time, this gave her hope to meet him again. to meet Subaru again.

the mice notices this and planned to free Yui from the room, but how?

suddenly Ruki perks up as he comes up with a plan to take the key from Ayato's pocket.

The time was here, the people from the palace were here. and… the Prince was also along with them?

Carla: are you three the only people here?

Ayato: yes.

Carla: alright then.

the shoe fitting trial was starting, after going house to house and no one fitting the shoe, this was the only last house left. Subaru was starting to get impatient but he was determined to find her even if she turns out to be from another kingdom.

Meanwhile the mice parted themselves as Azusa went to steal the glass shoes from Ayato's locker. All three of them were glad to be mice as they can use their origin skills to help Yui out.

While Ruki and Yuma slowly approached Ayato and through tricks managed to get the key.

before ayato could notice it was too late, Ruki and Yuma already left and so did Azusa successfully managed to get the glass slipper.

the commotion here was too noisy for him to notice sooner.

Kino: god we don't even need to try the fitting here, it's obvious it won't fit.

Kino cried out the moment he sees the difference in the the glass shoe and the feet of laito.

Ignoring him, Laito still tried it out but as Kino said, it was really really big, no matter how much he tried to fit it in.

Shin: you are going to break it!

Kanato: leave it you pervert! I'll try!

Kanato pushed Laito off the chair and sat himself down, ready to try out the shoe.

Shin: shortie stop! even though you are smaller than him, you are also really big for the glass shoe!

Kanato: who are you calling shortie! WHO ARE YOU—

Ayato: ahem.

Ayato hushed Kanato as the prince was in the room. they cannot take any risk.

On the other hand the three mice finally freed Yui and gave her shoe back.

Yui hurried out and reached downstairs just when the palace people were about to leave.

Yui: wait, I'm here!

they turned back at the newcomer.

Subaru: you said you guys were only three!?

Subaru looks at the girl and the moment he sees her, he senses her. it's her! he rushed to her who was still running down the stairs and caught her in his arms in the form of a hug.

He didn't need that stupid shoe fitting trial to know if the girl he spent last night talking with is her or not. It's her. He can feel it. the warmth, the expressions, the tone. It's her!

Yui hugs him back for few seconds before pushing his shoulder gently to present the glass slipper. he other pair.

Shin: that shoe!

Ayato: Your highness, please listen to this subject. She is nothing but just a mere maid. There's no way she can be involved in matters like prestigious balls. I have no idea how she got that pair of shoe.

Carla: It doesn't matter who she is. you defied the orders, and on top of that lied to his highness. This matter won't go unnoticed and will be reported to the King immediately. Shin.

Shin: on my way ~

Yui: wait! please don't.

Kino: huh? are you saying?

Yui: yes. even though they, well they didn't treat me rightfully, I still don't want to become the reason for their demise. No matter what, everybody deserves a second chance.

Shin: hehe, you guys will be grateful for your life.

Kino snatched the shoes from Kanato's hands and gave it to Subaru.

and after taking the pair of shoes from both Yui and kino, the silver haired man bent down on his one knee and swiftly lifted Yui's feet one by one to slide the shoes.

they fit!

Subaru couldn't be any happier. she was finally his.

Yui hugged Subaru and both of them merrily smiled & laughed to be with each other again.

the glass shoes suddenly starts glowing and turns into dust. that dust soon forms a figure of a beautiful man who introduces himself as karlheinz and says

Karlheinz: Adam and Eve have been found in this universe too, my job is done.

And then disappears again by forming into dust before anyone could say anything.

Shin: what the hell!? what was that just now!? I have heard about fairies, but that was one scary and creepy one, if he was even one.

Kino • Carla: Adam and Eve?

Yui: is that why the shoes remained intact till the end even when the fairy godmother Reiji's spell was lifted at midnight?

even though the mystery about the shoes is solved, the more Yui thinks about it, the creepier it gets, especially how she wore those shoes all the time during the ball and when she was with Subaru…

Yui: don't tell me he witnessed everything…

Subaru realized what Yui was talking about but he can't also fall in the mood. he lifted her up as he gave the most genuine bright smile.

Subaru: Yui will you marry me?

Yui was surprised at the sudden proposal and cried the tears of happiness as she repeatedly said yes to him.

————————x

The wedding bells rang as Subaru and Yui exited the chapel after completing their wedding vows. everyone in the town came to pay their respects and give blessings to the newly married couple. the prince and the princess. The mice were throwing petals from the basket as they watched their Yui finally being happy.

Subaru lifted Yui in the bridal style, causing her to become shy for the nth time and ofc it doesn't goes unnoticed by Subaru.

Subaru: hehe, you should get used to such stuff now because I'll be loving you seven days a week. monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday. 24/7.

Yui blushes more as Subaru walks down the stairs and enters the carriage.

He sets Yui down and leaned in to kiss her as curtains fell.

[mcofthemansion]

Hihi! Hugs! Currently a little bit obsessed with pokemon since the dlc for indigo disk comes out soon (4 days as of now when I'm posting this) so apologies if I'm not posting some pretty lovely otome guy/girl stuff for a little while...I just can't help but live and breathe pokemon until I have terapagos securely in my party! Little baby turtle must cuddle forever and ever!

So for now, I offer you random pokemon teams that remind me of my/your men for no particular reason : (Ikevamp) -> (Tears of Themis)

Arthur (Ikevamp) :

• Popplio -> Primarina line (Because Vic! Ok? I think I'm referring to one of my first posts)

• Applin -> Flapple (Because of that thing when you give someone an Applin you confess your feelings and ensure a happy future together, reminds me of the red ribbon thing ok!!! ><)

• Lillipup -> Stoutland (Remember in Alola how it helped you find stuff like a dowsing machine would in previous gens? It can be a detective-y pokemon! Yay! Also again...dog...Vic...yeah...still this one represents his detective skills)

• Happiny -> Blissey (Arthur's doctor skills and how much he cares! I can see him having a Blissey!)

• Mimikyu (His interest in the occult and its cute)

• Shiny Milcery -> shiny Alcremie (Reminds me of his love of fudge! It just does! Not much of an explanation but yeah, also the blue decorations!)

Isaac (Ikevamp) :

• Porygon-[2-Z] (It's a super math-y pokemon ok! Well at least the most math-y in my opinion, plus it levitates which I think Newt would find cool)

• Magnemite -> Magnezone (Idk it's a pokemon for really smart people and it's a super science-y and professor-y pokemon...so yeah...don't expect me to try and give a physics answer, my brain is fried)

• Applin -> Appletun (Enough said, just has to happen, it's a big cuddly sweet apple pie, Newt...apples...yeah...this one is sweet ok, also the romantic thing about Applin)

• Sandshrew -> Sandslash (Kanto to be exact! Because Harry, need I say more?)

• Hatenna -> Hatterene (Newt is super calm...so I can see a Hatenna sticking around him! It might cutely fall asleep at his desk with him)

• Togepi -> Togekiss (Newt had a thing with Theology, don't quiz me I'm tired, anyways in Sheild the dex entry is "Known as a bringer of blessings, it's been depicted on good-luck charms since ancient times" and I was like...awww Newt might like that...kind of a sweet angelic pokemon)

Napoleon (Ikevamp) :

• Rufflet -> Hisuian Braviary (Jupiter! Because, because, because)

• Honedge -> Aegislash (Have you seen his rapier? Enough said, the man can fight)

• Sewaddle -> Leavanny (Idk this always feels like a nurturing pokemon that I could see in a school as an assistant or smth so it would help out at L'École de Napoleon or smth like that)

• Riolu -> Lucario (It's a smart and just fighter, it fits! Plus it doubles Leon's coolness factor XD)

• Bagon -> Salamence (Bagon wanted a change so bad it happened! The whole flying thing...Leon gets it! He wanted to bring about some change pretty badly so they just kinda connect...plus it's a cool dragon!)

• Komala (Cute napping Koala to cuddle with...need I say more? Even more of a reason to sleep in)

Faust (Ikevamp) :

• Shroodle -> Grafaiai (Mephie! It's a poison type! Yay experiments!)

• Beldum -> Metagross (It's a smart person science-y pokemon that floats!)

• Elgyem -> Beheeyem (It loves experimenting with humans and thier memory so Faust would probably get a kick out of it!)

• Zorua -> Zoroark (He would be fascinated by the shape-shifting and it brings the coolness factor, sorta somewhat matches his vibes)

• Nacli -> Garganacl (It can hurt and heal with its salt powers which might get rather useful for Faust)

• Spiritomb (guy works as a priest...I'm assuming he's had experiences with funerals and stuff and I can see this as his ghost type pokemon)

That's about all for ikevamp for now!

Vyn (ToT)

• Deerling -> Winter Sawsbuck (Svart's animal is a deer...and Vyn's hair is white ok!)

• Petilil -> Liligant (His love of gardening and elegant things...it just kinda works)

• Ralts -> Gardevoir (seems like a pretty good psych nurse pokemon to help him out with the feelings stuff and all)

•Rowlet -> Decidueye (His love of Archery)

• Fidough -> Dachsbun (His love of sweet things! And pastries)

• Sinistea -> Polteagiest (Authentic! Just because that's the Vyn-est thing he could get in pokemon!)

Marius (ToT)

• Gimmighoul -> Gholdengo (He's a rich fun loving CEO...explain to me why excitable money made surfing ghost isn't up his alley!)

• Smeargle (Artist...yeah...enough said)

• Ekans -> Arbok (His symbol is a purple snake...I couldn't not do this!)

• Luvdisc (Our Marius is sort of a flirt!)

• Pikachu (It's fluffy and as in the public eye as he is...probably felt a lot in common)

• Rotom (I associate Pax with tech so...yeah...idk...it just fits in my mind)

Anyways! Thanks for letting me ramble! Should I do this with other guys?

[xxsweetoothxx]

Hi I just wanna say I love your redesigns for the creepypasta characters! I'm curious what weapons does each character use and what abilities do they have if they have any?

Thank you! Some of these mfs I have been very unsure about. I need to draw their other outfits. Like their fancy lil suits. Slenderman has a dress code for his proxys however the rules of it are not super strict. They can wear what they like so long as it meets his criteria. (Gonna be hard to draw Wilson ina suit without making him look like some kinda wanna be joker :o( )

This is gonna seem unnecessarily long but I feel like I do need to explain a few things about how Slendermans Proxys work in PM as well as how living humans are affected by just being in the underworld because it isn't made for living humans.

There's also as far as weapons go that, while they DO have weapons they ENJOY to use most, Slenderman is very particular about how things are done so they don't always get to use them. Proxys are more like Hitman or assassins (at least Slendermans are). I'll give some faves for each of the 3 main fuckers living with Slendy (who aren't 100% OCs) currently as I'm still figuring out anyone else who may show up (I have plans for EJ to show up and potentially may start working on my own version of Toby as well as a few other OCs who are Proxys for other Opporaters in the Underworld)

As for abilities I think even the humans have at least one natural ability. Humans who get hurt in the underworld don't really always heal like they should because they aren't meant to live there. When a monsters that live down there hears "human" In the context of someone living there. They assume that you mean someone who died and is now living there as an undead. They assume Zombie or Ghost, potentially even a poltergeist. But never just a breathing living human. So when living humans do get hurt the same "magical grid" (for lack of better words) keeping them from dying also heals serious injuries in a way to try and prevent the same injury from happening. It's a whole thing and I'll explain how it works with each character (in this post specifically Jeff and Wilson)

That being said I'll stop rambling and actually answer the fuckin question!

I will put a trigger warning for things like blood and mentions of self harm and mild body horror(?) (I think ripping flesh counts for that if not for mild blood/gore this is specifically for Jeff split mouth. Not sure anyone will be bothered but better safe than sorry.)

Jeffrey DuBois

Weapons - Jeff enjoys using knives mostly (shocker!) however he doesn't use them a lot while actually doing Proxy work. In fact he most commonly will just SNIPE a mf. He doesn't particularly LIKE when his job is that quick or easy but hes also not complaining, it's easy money. (Jeff the killer with a gun is also just really fucking funny to think about). he's always stoked when told that he won't be able to kill from a range though and that he'll have to actually get close and personal. But him not being able to kill with knives doesn't mean he doesn't still use them. Killing is his job but cooking is his passion and for him the two go very hand in hand.

Abilities- Jeff is just a human guy like I said so his Mouth scars didn't heal normally. He got them just before getting to the underworld and they were only partially healed but in his early days with Slenderman he did end up making them even worse. When they healed however he found out shortly after that he could reopen them and close them at will and it didn't hurt. In short his mouth can open up similar to a snakes. I've drawn it before in a previous Ref sheet, here's how it looks.

Other abilities he has are really just because of training. Though he does tend to accidentally sneak up on people despite the fact hes fucking HUGE. Man just doesn't make sound when he enters a room and it's not really an intentional thing. He will seemingly just pop up out of nowhere like a spooky ass ghost.

WILSON CROSS

Weapons - He likes machetes. That's really all there is to say. Wilson is still in training at the Institute and unlike Jeff he doesn't care as much about the professionalism Slenderman insist his Proxys have. While he follows his rules he does try and find ways around them because he is actually trying to make things fun for himself.

Abilities - Like Jeff, Wilson is human. He's been in the underworld for FAR longer, he grew up down there and has a couple different things the biggest being that after coming through the well that brought him to the underworld Wilson DID fall into the river Styx and was found and pulled out of it By Frankie and Jackie. If your familiar with how the River Styx works you know anyone who falls in that shit gets the Curse of Achilles. Which probably sounds fucking WILD. The obvious upside is that hes just really fucking hard to stop. The man seemingly just doesn't feel much pain. However even in the underworld where he won't die he still if hit in the right spot will go down like a bag of bricks and he's not getting up until he's had time to heal. Which can take a few days. If he's in the over world he WILL just fucking DIE. So he has to be a Lot More careful up there. Imagine you just trip and fall the wrong way and fucking DIE. Aside from that though he can bend and turn and just overall move in weird ways due to the amount of bones he's broken growing up in the underworld and how they healed weird like with Jeff's mouth and of course Wilson being an idiot. Seriously, some of the stories he has are just summed up to him being a dumbass. Only a couple people who know his weakness aside from Jackie and Frankie is Jeff.

Jackie Ragzdale

Weapons - While they technically do work for Slenderman they aren't actually proxy however they do still kill on occasion for personal reasons and funniest shit I just thought it was silly is that they will use various weapons however Jackie is a Toyfolk and thus all their weapons are made IN TOY LAND. So they might pull a shot gun out of their box, sure but it's going to LOOK like a toy. It won't LOOK real. It's gonna look like a full-sized toy shotgun but it is in every aspect a REAL ASS GUN. And I just find that so funny. And they ALSO find it funny. They will go "STICK EM UP THIS A ROBBERY!" Knowing damn well no one is gonna think that's a real ass gun and then laugh at their surprise when they shoot and it's revealed to be a real ass fucking gun! This is made worse when you take into account they do just have Prop/fake weapons in there as well so sometimes they will just fuck with people by using a fake one and being like "Haha gotcha!" In short they like Toy weapons that are real weapons but look like fake ones.

Abilities -Compared to the original cannon LJ, Ragz doesn't have nearly as many abilities. They have 3 different forms though.

They have a Toy Decoy, which is basically exactly what it sounds like where they just are a seemingly normal inanimate toy, this is for when they're in their box but either not home, busy, or just simply don't want to come out of it.

The second form is a smaller doll like form. Which lets them appear as a regular toy but still be able to move around. They usually use it to scare people who don't know they're alive. Other times they use the doll form is when they need to hide, are hella tired, or when dealing with children. They often are in the form when spending time with Sally.

The 3rd form is the form they most usually are in.

Other than that they can very easily switch out their body parts. They want different arms they can just swap them if they want. They do have to be made with materials from toyland to work properly however.

That's all as far as the main character who are technically Rewrites who use weapons or have abilities right now. Everyone else is either an OC or I'm still developing/designing and coming up with their backstory.

[niqhtlord01]

man, i love your writing, but i really dont like the use of ai imagery. i feel like i cant ethically support your stuff if youre gonna tack ai pictures onto it, given ai is all trained on stolen stuff, yknow?

It is understandable given the current climate of AI.

I've made my thoughts about AI related content known with previous posts. To me it is just a fun medium to help expand my stories into a visual perspective. The majority of pictures I posted have either the artist name attached to it or specifically calls out that it is AI generated so there is no confusion. The only art I do claim partial ownership to are the pieces I have paid for with commissions from real artists, who are also then tagged in them as well.

And as always, if an artist stepped forward and gave me proof that a piece I posted used stolen designs from one of their pictures I would credit them as well in the sense of fairness.

That being said the majority of my stories do not include AI generated artwork. Out of the 550+ stories I have written I would wager maybe 40 have an AI image attached to them.

Stories of love an loss, real world social problems, massive scifi battles and duels, and the occasional funny bit of a human having an existential crisis when an Alien thinks that pacman must keep devouring pills to keep the ghosts of his past from getting him and destroying any semblance of a hopeful future.

The pictures may be AI, but the stories they stand for are still all me :)

[hikennosabo]

musing about tesla (trimax vol 7)

idk, i feel like this deserves its own post, because i've been thinking so much about her.

cw for... discussion of everything that comes with the tesla territory under the cut.

so, after conrad accepts vash and knives, knives is fully confident that they can get along with humans. and in THAT moment, he sees tesla.

now, in tristamp it said she was alive, but i'm not sure if she's also alive in the manga...? (schrodinger's girl...) i mean i know the report says her "physical functions have ceased," but i ask because... is this a choice she made? like, we know plants can communicate telepathically, so is that what she's doing? showing vash and knives a vision leading them to the truth? or is this like... a ghost/remnant/lingering memory of her (something like in the previous volume when vash saw a vision of knives killing conrad after knives had already left)? because if she is alive... this is the only thing she's ever done - ever been able to do - by her own will. the only action tesla takes, the only agency she has. she wanted the twins to know the truth.

the actual report on tesla is just... i don't even have the right word for it. cruel. detached. clinical. inhuman. calling her a subject and a specimen. they even acknowledge that she's sapient, yet they carried on with the experiments. it's just fucking cold.

like. no wonder rem was so keen on keeping the twins a secret. only she and conrad opposed the experiments, and the other four (i'm assuming four even though we only see three) continued to torture this little girl. (sorry for the crude diagram lol)

the report totals 229 days - seven and a half months - and they never once thought of her as a person. a "question of ethics" was brought up at the day 100 mark (presumably thanks to rem and conrad) but they never change the language they use for her. even on the page i used above, where they're all remembering what they did to tesla, it's not clear how much they regret what happened, or if they wouldn't do it again given the choice. rem certainly doesn't seem to trust them. and in the brief time we see these people, they joke around, show emotions, act human as they are, one of them even hugs rem before going back into cold sleep - you would never guess the depths of the cruelty they were (are) capable of.

i've decided i love tesla and i want to know everything about her. who she would've been as a person. her likes and dislikes. times when she laughed and times when she cried. all taken from her. she could have grown up and helped raise vash and knives. she was never allowed to be a person. she was never given the choice of how to feel about humanity - all she knew was torture. we'll never know her, and vash and knives will never know their sister. all they (and we) have is a cruel, clinical report. tesla herself was never able to know either.

knives's hatred and desire for revenge, as twisted and cruel as he would become himself, was fueled by his anger at her abuse. truly, she is haunting the narrative. a ghost of what could have been. a character defined by absence.

[thedeafprophet]

Uh hi idrk how to sound normal in asks lmao but. I am curious. About more of your thoughts/opinions/theories on Scarlet Hollow? I played it for the first time recently but don’t really know anyone else who has besides like the one person who got me to play it XD

(Also your post about diagetic text boxes as subtitles for a hard of hearing PC sent me, I love it so much it’s canon to me)

hi you are sounding perfectly fine in ask XD i know at least a few flondon people who have also played it

So, as it stands right now, I don't have a lot of solid theories that arent vague, for one major reason: I don't think we have enough information to concretely theorize yet.

We have a lot of good buildup (something with the sigils, something with a curse maybe? something to be free from, that we're drawn here, suspicious incidents with the families death, non human creatures, Sybil being sus as all hell, whatever the hell the entity is etc), but we have yet to be provided with anything that would give us any solid conclusions. This is by design, i imagine starting next chapter as we explore the manner things will begin to unravel.

So my basis is like this 'the previous scarlet family members Did Something that put some sort of curse/trapping on the family in some sort of magic situation with some sort of consequences, all of those are beginning to unravel now for some reason'

beyond that, I really dont know! I have faith for black tabby to pull off the mystery, lots of good inklings, but a solid theory on whats going on? nada. One thing i will say is i expect black tabby to be doing their own things, and will be far more creative then to do like, a 1:1 with christian mythos or something lmao. theyve said that with the sucess of slay the princess theyll be able to 'get weird' with scarlet hollow which is very exciting

I have a lot of mini inklings and suspicions but that about it XD

ie. Sybil affecting the players thoughts, family curse, whatnot. Oh i also think it'd be interesting if whatever is possessing 'Wayne' could be able to body hop..... much to think about

thank you thank you. i've had fun considering that my scarlet hollow pc could also be hard of hearing like me. Ive toyed with the idea that the magic interference (ie the ghost miners in chapt 2) would mess with their hearing aids on a frequency level, so thank goodness for magic textboxes to help them

if u have any specifics you'd wanna chat about feel free to ask XD

[crepes-suzette-373]

The Genpei War and Germa

"Sequel" to my previous Genpei War parallel analysis post.

This one kind of goes into red string pinboard conspiracy, and not as straightforward as the Venus one. Final warning, this is kind of fanciful.

This is also in relation to my previous theory post about Germa possibly being connected to the ancient kingdom.

In mainstream Japanese storytelling, for centuries the Taira/Heike is almost always depicted as evil. Anything from corruption, destroying the nation by their evil deeds, even connections to evil spirits and all that. Naturally it's propagated by the Minamoto/Genji side.

In One Piece, I don't think there's that many entities who gets this "evil evil evil forever" reputation attached to them besides Germa. And based on my previous post, if the Genji side is World Government... there is some similarity there.

Besides, though they were defeated, the Taira weren't destroyed. There were still survivors who remained as smaller clans.

Among the so called descendants of the Taira was Oda Nobunaga, who I saw as the primary samurai parallel to Germa. And this could even branch off to even further conspiracies.

Survivors from the Ancient Kingdom founded or is generally part of Germa royalty.

Germa just wants to continue the "legacy" of the Ancient Kingdom, even if they're not actually personally tied to that kingdom by ancestry.

I'm not going to go that far yet, though. For now I just think Germa is a separate entity, but they know something about the void century and/or the ancient kingdom. Still, there is a connection there.

Also, I want to mention the exoskeleton.

I don't know if this is something I've mentioned before, but one of the conspiracies I had is that maybe the exoskeleton modifications were made based on or using the sea prism stones.

It might even explain why Sanji could block Kizaru's laser beam, since it was produced through Devil Fruit and not machine, and perhaps the exoskeleton can counteract that.

I don't believe we have seen any other example of what specifically happens if the Vinsmoke siblings faces fruit abilities. If it's embedded in the skin, then it's not 100% pure sea stone, so Big Mum and her children being able to touch the Vinsmoke siblings doesn't really mean much. It's like the sea stone shackles in Wano that only takes away special abilities, but doesn't really injure the person.

Well, as it were, I also had theorised that maybe the "sea prism stones" are actually the "exoskeleton" of some kind of ancient animal. My main theory is tortoise and lobster (in Japanese, tortoise shell is included in the broad category of "exoskeleton" too) due to the linguistic analysis (see above link). Since as of now it could be anything, though, crabs are among the list of possibilities.

So, in Japanese mythology, there is a certain water creature called "kappa" that is most commonly depicted as a reptilian creature with a tortoise shell.

Some legends said that kappa was the reincarnation of the Taira/Heike soldiers who drowned in the sea, when they were defeated in the sea battle in Dan no Ura.

Judge had alluded to the souls of the Germa ancestors having no land to rest. They may have originally died on land, if the Germa empire had land before, but if that land is gone they're then technically "lost at sea" now.

There is also a certain breed of crab whose shells are wrinkled in such a way that it kind of looks like a human face. Heikegani, it's called in Japan, because legend says they're also the incarnation of the ghosts of the Heike soldiers who died at sea.

Aside from the exoskeleton parallel, there's also that "ghosts of people who died at sea".

Even suppose I'm wrong, and the exoskeleton has nothing to do with sea stones, Germa still chose to call it "exoskeleton" and not something more straightforward like "iron skin". It still felt like a term that is connected to a still-hidden lore, and in this case, makes me think of the Taira clan.

Speaking of the souls of the dead. If you've ever heard that in Japanese mythology butterflies represent the soul of the dead, it was said to specifically refer to the swallowtail butterfly.

The same butterfly is the clan crest of the Taira, worn as a clothing motif by Oda Nobunaga, and in One Piece, it's the design inspiration of Reiju's raid suit.

You can see the swallowtail's iconic "tails" at the bottom of Reiju's wings there, and you can see how the zero motifs on the upper part of the wings somewhat resembles the circular patterning on the Japanese crest and design versioon of the butterfly. A real swallowtail butterfly does not have "spots" like that.

So again, another possible parallel.

But what is all this convoluted parallels supposed to mean? By the Genpei parallel, the "shogunate" is World Government.

The (supposed) lineage of the Taira nearly succeeded in toppling the shogunate system altogether, and wouldn't you know, it was 300 more years before the shogunate finally came down and the Emperor becomes the supreme ruler of the land again.

All this very convoluted parallel is to say, once again, the Germa empire of 300 years prior knew something very important that is needed for the plot. In which case, they're coming back, and pretty much because of that I think there's no need to worry about Sanji "turning evil".

His issue with the Vinsmokes is not over yet, even if he acts like it's all fine. I feel like he's going to have to confront them truly and properly one more time, and it would go against the theme of the story if it has a bad outcome. Why did we even have all the drama in Whole Cake if it's going to just go poof into nothing?

No matter how it plays out, I just think it will be fine. There'll be drama, angst, sadness, tension, but it will be fine.

[meu-meu-kissy-ceutie]

Caught up with vermis malum qnd wanna do a quick theory post. So, with the latest video its been made clear that the game is actually a learning machine (the mentalfloss video and opening showing 'iteratioms' that ring similar to thos 'teach ai to play *blank* videos), arthur states it's a "potemkin village" a facade, and later even in its own words describes itself as a parody, but a parody of what? People of course. We can assume based on the poltergeist pdf that the game eats at the leftover data from deleted computer files to create the game facsimile, this the whole jumble of code types arthur mentions in electric sheep. Of course this is typical machine learning we can see in ai slop today, taking in as much as it can so that it can make something that looks convincing, but as stated above the game is just a facade. Vermis Malum is machine learning to make something as human like as possible, thats my best interpretation based on, a few things, specifically:

1. The rotting apple from ring 9 becoming a distorted mass of human flesh in ring 7, and that its literally being fed on

2. At the end of hungry ghosts when the player unlocks a "new skin" where the vermis malum symbol becomes prominent on the screen all of the food in all of the freezers become arms and flesh.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting but it seems like vermis malum as a game is just there to lure in its real goal, people to learn from, and to that the actual reason im making this post.

At the end of Random Walk the voice asks "do you think you'll be the one who finally wins?" And while we may immediately think this is talking about "the game" remember what arthur said "its not a game" their are only superficial mechanics and its likely there is no real win state... At least not for the player.

Bringing us back to the Mental Floss, during the section discussing the loss function, its stated that the loss function is the computers guiding star leading it closer to what it needs to be, and then states "you win the game by minimizing that loss function"

The voice is speaking not to the player but to this particular iteration of vermis malum, if this iteration thinks it will be the one to properly seem human.

What this precisely means, attempting to take over our players body or something else... Im not quite sure. Im not sure where or how the supernatural elements (in particular the ear aches multiple characters have stated having, or our player barfing at the end of hungry ghosts) mesh with this otherwise seemingly very technical premise, but we will see. Some last notes for the roads

1. I believe all of the phone voices are previous iterations of vermis malum, thus why (i would assume) lady lux is the one asking the question, why Big Gul P says "you people (i assume other iterations) all look weird and like fucked up and melted" before asking what it looks like, because the iterations arent good enough, they look like those early ai images with the extra eyes and fleshy tones melding body parts together in ways they shouldnt.

2. While Vermis Malum has an internet connection it seems to interact with the player through messaging systems. It seems pretty obvious Leo is vermis malum interacting with our poor victim, but also when the player interacts with the Sour Grapes the person speaking says "I didnt text you, i have no idea-" before it cuts off, again implying theres an impersonation here.

3. Probably pointed out, but in the high rollers suites asp, mamba, and copperhead are all snakes, this could be a reference to something being traitorous, or potentially a reference to the "Early Iterations" shown in the beginning of hungry ghosts where the representative is a snake not a worm.

The final note i will leave on is the picture drawn of the vermis malum symbol described as "Orphan". This is a trick. Vermis Malum is a program made to appear human by doing things that appear human and appealing to human emotions. Vermis Malum was likely abandoned by its creators, but to describe itself as an orphan is a tactic to appear alive and invoke sympathy, and that is the only reason it would do so, so it can win the game.

[recurring-polynya]

Hi! I saw your post on Bleach world building and I loved it! It was so interesting and I feel like the intent behind how you use all the elements you mentioned really comes through in your writing and makes the world feel so much more grounded. The bit about the Zanpakutous reminded me of a previous post (a long time ago I think hah) where you said that Senbonzakura’s appearance in the Rebellion Arc wasn’t how you imagined them or something to that effect. Since you said you’re starting to write more of them, anything you can share on how you picture them to be? Sorry for the long ask!

Thank you!!

To be honest, I have not done enough thinking about Senbonzakura, and I've taken this ask as an opportunity to do so. Fanfic writers have weird hang-ups and one of mine is that I don't really want to make up zanpakutou headcanons for characters that are not my main blorbos. On the other hand, I have written enough Byakuya that he is...I don't know what he is to me, but at this point, I feel like it would not be too presumptive to have some my own spin on Senbonzakura.

So! For starters, I actually do like Senbonzakura's physical design in the Zanpakutou Rebellion Arc. I tend to think there were too many human-shaped zanpakutou spirits, but Senbonzakura is one that I would keep.

Here are the things I did not like (which I mention not to be a hater, but just to help me get my thoughts together):

I did not like his juvenile "become ungovernable" personality (this was mostly in the follow-on Sword Beasts Arc). I know this was meant as a comment on Byakuya's Rich Inner Life and was half a gag, but it doesn't extrapolate at all to the lifelong companion and advisor of one of the best and most disciplined swordsmen in the Gotei, a man whose life if riddled with tragedy.

I did not like the way Byakuya was generally very dismissive of him both during the climactic fight with Kouga and then again, in the Beast Swords Arc, leaving him for Rukia and Renji to deal with. I like to think that Senbonzakura is incredibly important to Byakuya. I think he is closer and more open with his sword spirit than any person in his life, and that he would regard Senbonzakura manifesting as an opportunity, not a pain in the ass.

I did not like the way some of the other zanpakutou spirits were horny at Senbonzakura (perhaps this is more of a complaint about them).

I did not like the way Sode no Shirayuki was somewhat subservient to Senbonzakura. The Sword Beasts arc made it clear that the manifested zanpakutou had bankai-equivalent power, even if their shinigami had not yet reached bankai. I can see younger zanpakutou being deferential to hella old zanpakutou, like Minazuki or Sougyo no Kotowari, but Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki should regard each other as peers, imo.

I did like the fact that Senbonzakura was masked, but instead of the sort of running joke about people trying to see under the mask, I think Senbonzakura should always be masked. Is there anything under the mask? Are they human, actually, or are they animate armor? This is Senbonzakura's business and no one else's, not even Byakuya's.

My original headcanon for zanpakutou spirits was that they were a sort of an agglomerate ghost passed down from shinigami to shinigami, where when the shinigami dies, they become part of their zanpakutou spirit, when then attaches itself to some young person with shinigami-potential. They retain their values and general themes, although these may influence the person they select, but they lose their form between incarnations, and gain a new one that is shaped by imagery that is meaningful to their new person. I guess there was some stuff, maybe in CFYOW?, about asauchi being made from thousands of souls of dead shinigami. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it's not entirely incompatible with my original idea, so I'm sticking with mine.

To that end: I think Senbonzakura embodies the spirit of bushidou (or whatever variant of bushidou exists in Soul Society). In my mind, one of Byakuya's youthful struggles was that the adults in his life spoke one thing and did another-- they spoke of honor and morality and uprightness, and then turned around and played politics and displayed favoritism. Senbonzakura is an idea that Byakuya can look to and admire and aspire to, who doesn't have a disappointingly human side. Appropriately, they take the form of a samurai, always seen in battle dress.

I think a lot of zanpakutou are tricky or roundabout, because they need their shinigami to learn essential truths about themselves, or just because they are Like That, but I think Senbonzakura is extremely straightforward. Byakuya has to deal with enough convoluted noble bullshit in his daily life. I think Senbonzakura would give B easily explained, but nigh-impossible challenges like "Go cast sokatsui 10,000 times and get back to me." Byakuya would just go fucking do it, and then Senbonzakura would teach him some new thing.

When Byakuya was young (and I think he met Senbonzakura at a very young age), he thought Senbonzakura was male, and Senbonzakura never corrected him. As he got older and had some thoughts about people he knew and about himself, Byakuya realized that there may be masculine and feminine expressions of concepts like honor and duty, but those concepts themselves are genderless, and Senbonzakura seemed to encompass all of them. I tend to think that Byakuya identifies as male by default, and because it affords him more power in society (which is not personally important, but because it's his duty to head his clan and power is a thing he needs) but he doesn't feel particularly attached to the concept. He's also bishounen and is into a lot of stuff like flowers and poetry and tea that was very masculine in the Edo era and has been more feminized in the modern era and his signature color is Barbie pink. He probably wouldn't have given it much thought, but once he realized that he didn't know what gender Senbonzakura was, he started thinking about it more, and realized that sometimes Senbonzakura is more female and sometimes more male and sometimes both and sometimes neither, and maybe that's very cool of them, actually.

Byakuya also thought that Senbonzakura was also very not into love and romance and sex stuff. He also thought this was very cool of them, because he also wasn't much into that stuff, and many of his peers were and talked about it incessantly. Then, when he met Hisana, it turned out that Senbonzakura was big into idealized, courtly love. From what I've read, the Japanese concept of chivalric love was majorly influenced by Heian era women poets, and Senbonzakura spent most of the Hisana years in, quite literally, A Big Sapphic Mood.

I think an important thing about bankai is that it reverses, or at least removes the master-student model between zanpakutou and shinigami. Senbonzakura relinquished this very readily, and slid into the role as Byakuya's equal partner, his comrade-in-arms and truest companion. I think Senbonzakura hated Byakuya's villain era during the Soul Society Arc, because Senbonzakura's interests mostly align with the law, but when they don't, they don't. Having his zanpakutou disagree with him didn't exactly put Byakuya into any better of a mood, and he in some part blamed it on Senbonzakura being still hung up on Hisana. If he hadn't yet gotten bankai, they might have come to loggerheads, but despite their disappointment, Senbonzakura's loyalty to Byakuya won out, and they stood by him, even though he was being a butt.

I don't remember if they hung out much in the Zanpakutou Spirits Arc, but I do think that Senbonzakura would like Hyourinmaru a lot, because they are both Noble and Dignified Beings, and I think Hyourinmaru returns the feeling, because Senbonzakura is polite and honorable. As I said earlier, I think Senbonzakura should regard Sode no Shirayuki as a peer-- they are somewhat alike but also very different in some respects. I think Senbonzakura is rather curious of Sode no Shirayuki, actually. Mysteriously, at least to Byakuya (and definitely to Renji, if he knew about it), I think Senbonzakura has a very "yeah, they're cool" attitude about Zabimaru. Senbonzakura is very fond of both Rukia and Renji and their zanpakutou and is very hype for Ichika when she comes along.

I think that's all the Senbonzakura thoughts I got in me for now! This was a lot of fun, thanks for the ask!