#you can try to take them away but you wont succeed

[fosermi]

"They had only a single second together. She smiled at him. He smiled back. She reached out her hand, and he did as well. Their fingertips were just about to touch. Then she began to drop."

-Nightlight and Katherine's first meeting in the clouds in Nicholas St. North and the battle against the Nightmare king.

A bit old but I thought I'd share anyway! Made this back in June when I was still testing out Katherine and Nightlight's designs. Anyway my heart was stolen by them when the above mentioned scene happened- they now control my life.

Might redraw this because I much prefer the way I draw them now

[inconspicious-random-thoughts]

A unexpected lesson

The unexpected lesson we learn from both Lucifer and Alastor is that you don't have to believe or agree about the dream but can support it.

As a parent its hard support something when you believe it will lead to failure, harm and the hurt of not achieving the goal. Save the time and effort to be wasted. So a parent just tries to talk or take away the option to avoid all that. Thinking its best. Because the parent trying to have the child avoid the same mistakes they did. The parent has experience and wisdom in these things.

So the parent typically bring the kid back into reality and stop dreaming. They need the child to be realistic about how the world is. There's a difference between being cautionary and being discouraging. Unfortunately, most just go straight to discouraging as the method to be caution.

But unfortunately the parents not all knowing and surprising things can happen when one pursuing a dream. It may come true.

Succeed or failure, it necessary for a person to grow. Taking away the dream will just lead a person to wilt. Letting them go...may cause some to wilt, some to grow and some to thrive!

Things are not black and white, some things should be discouraged. If it going to bring harm to another person or the dreamer themselves or other dire consequences for example.

The takeaway is, Even if you don't believe in the dream or goal is achievable, it shouldn't stop one to support it. The lesson also broaden to non parent types. Partners, friends...etc

Both Alastor and Lucifer gave their reason why Charlies plan wont work. Valid reasons. Lucifer own experience with/against Heaven. his reason ans experience he so badly want to save and shield Charlie from.

Alastor logical one, man had one life and they lived and how they choose to live it decided they get eternal punishment or reward. There no going regretting the life that chose to follow now they are faced with the consequences.

Yet despite it all, both of them stand beside Charlie and support her dream and cause.

It's just needed and unexpected lesson and reminder what we should be doing as parents and as people.

[aroaceacacia]

thinking about last night's girl talk w zam and planet again. (zam stream, jan 23)

c!planet has always stood out in the lifesteal crowd as one of the few players who doesnt seem to take part in lifesteal's characteristic distrust and cycles of revenge. in season 4 alone, planet's only main channel video so far - "breaking survival minecraft to get revenge" - doesnt really contain any real "revenge" at all. planet and his teammates are routinely knocked down by other, stronger players; used as bodies in a war they dont have much of a stake in (besides the thrill of having duped hearts), imprisoned, killed, spawn trapped, banned, etc etc. their bases get found and used. but it doesnt really bother planet, at least not in any lasting way. planet doesnt hold grudges, he was able to stand with three heart trio and say he didnt think zam was a bad person, even after zam pointed out repeatedly all of the ways he had wronged planet, bacon, and jaron personally

part of it is just who planet is, I think. they're not the kind of person to get too fussed about the sides and conflict. they routinely make light of it when they abruptly pull out a sword on bacon and start monologuing about how they were "working against him this whole time". during the latter part of girl talk w zam they bemoaned how zam wasnt "besties" with mapicc and ro anymore - even though zam was evil when he was with them, to planet, they had been friends, and friendship breaking up is sad!

planet sees that zam is scared and tries to help talk him through some of it, puts him through a series of bizarre "scenarios" to test zam's trust - up to and including begging zam for over an hour to let planet into the new eclipse base, to which zam eventually complied - all of the scenarios are things which, had the player been anybody but planetlord, may have been actual traps or threats to zam's life. planet does care, but on some level just doesn't fully understand the position that zam is in.

zam has been harassed*, stalked*, and threatened* by mapicc (*in a video game) for months now, and planet - who is on good terms with just about everybody, including mapicc - cant really understand why zam cant just let it go. planet themself has let a lot of things go, but zam has never been afforded that privilege - mapicc refuses to forget him.

as a result, a lot of planet's advice and thoughts for zam, especially in the "therapy session" part of girl talk, seemed to lean a lot into toxic positivity. just stop being scared and you wont be scared. mapicc doesnt care about you as much as you think, etc. it's all about mindset! I think some of that advice is helpful (especially during this week - cc!mapicc is recovering from surgery and unable to be online, and ro is unlikely to do anything without mapicc there, so there isnt really any reason to be afraid of mapicc logging in) but a lot of it is not constructive for princezam long-term. and zam even said as much at one point!

I think planet is like this in part due to their more easygoing nature, but also because planet has never really been afforded the privilege of being in the position to enact revenge in the first place. their team was named "three heart trio" for a reason! of the three of them planet is the biggest grinder and usually has some extra hearts stashed away, but overall they dont have anywhere near the kind of resources other teams might have: team shades are basically all on 20 hearts, the eclipse federation has subz' grindset and firepower, and team awesome is stacked with both the hearts and power to succeed, with the addition of their abuse of the pearl and gapple glitches and leftovers from the duping war.

compared to all of that, theres no way bacon, planet, and jaron can match up. that doesnt mean they dont try, because they do! they try to fight anyways, and they take some Ws now and then! they keep grinding and they keep hanging in there, refusing to give up. but I think, when you're that disadvantaged in a server that's unforgiving as lifesteal is and can be, on some level they let stuff go because they cant afford to hold a grudge.

at the start of the APO vs team awesome war, planet, bacon, and jaron had to decide what they wanted to do. they had received an offer from team awesome to join them, with the promise of a lot of hearts for each of them if they did join. bacon expressed his misgivings by saying that (paraphrased) "team awesome did all this bad stuff to us. it wouldnt really make sense, character wise, to join them now". but they joined team awesome anyway, and they set aside their hesitation and the memories of an obsidian prison and bloody knuckles, and marveled at the feeling of a healthbar on 14. how powerful it made them feel.

[whumpshaped]

LMAO YOUR OPINION SO TRUE, I've seen people write whumpees getting tortured and assaulted and mutilated and starved and beaten every day for literal years and they still have them acting like it didn't traumatize them 😂 "no they're just really strong sorry I don't like PATHETIC WEAK whumpees who *checks notes* act like an actual human would upon being tortured and get trauma, what's trauma lol? Not real. Now move along, it's time for him make jokes about his 3rd anniversary of pethood"

to be very very clear i am absolutely not saying ppl writing defiant or "unrealistic" whumpees r bad writers or their stories r bad or anything, its just not my personal taste. like, ive seen ppl be like "ugh pathetic broken whumpees are so boring" and that already triggers my rsd so i wanna be clear that i am NOT trying to put anyone down at all, please write what brings u the most joy, because there will be plenty plenty others who love that same thing.

this got long bc im rambling im sorry

but yes what u describe is absolutely my pet peeve, for the sole reason that my own personality is soooooo far away from that that i cant project lol actually, i wonder if it rly is unrealistic, or if there are ppl who have such a strong detachment from their situation that theyd continue to act that way. or even just... you know how people can get used to everything. and how with chronic pain for example, the pain gets "boring" and you wont see those ppl just rolling around the floor in agony 24/7 bc thats not very fun. they just learn to function w pain levels potentially much higher than average. i wonder if a whumpee whos been in captivity for 3 yrs could have a similar situation where theyre just tired of being scared and they have no joys other than making whumper's eye twich. (and only break down after the stressors and repeated trauma are gone)

i think my whumpees swing the other way on the unrealism spectrum (or maybe not idk ive never been thru that and fingers crossed i never will) and im sure thats also annoying for some people. but if u know me, u know i am obsessed w rules and order. breaking rules of any kind gives me immense anxiety. i also hate unfair treatment to death! so if i see a whumpee break rules and succeed and thats how they gain advantages, it pisses me off! bc they just broke the rules why r they getting better treatment!! even if they get worse treatment im just huffing and puffing bc well u couldve avoided that!! i wouldve!!

another reason is that if whumpee is successfully defiant and pissing whumper off or smth, getting under their skin, whatever, it takes me out of the whumper fantasy... if u saw me describe my ideal whumper u saw how i literally wrote mary sue. that includes being able to control and break their whumpee. if whumpee isnt following the rules it makes me question the whumper, and i dont like questioning the whumper, i want the whumper to be in absolute and utter control of everything.

BUT AGAIN THATS ALL PERSONAL OPINION. thats what i like, thats what i write, thats what i seek out from others. i hope others have a very fun time writing as defiant whumpees as their heart desires.

[spaceless-vacuum]

Fandom‧˚｡ﾟ･° ｡✎ Legend of Zelda

Pairing‧˚｡ﾟ･° ｡✎ Yandere!Link x reader

Word count‧˚｡ﾟ･° ｡✎ 725

Summery‧˚｡ﾟ･° ｡✎ The idea was you’re just someone from some village he falls in love with. I couldn’t get the idea of how he’d ratioanlize and explain his own behavior to himself so I wrote this.

Misc‧˚｡ﾟ･° ｡✎ third pov, kidnapping, mentions of violence, murder, emotional manipulation, kidnapping

Link is unable to understand that you don’t want him. His worst tendency is the fact that in his mind you either do love him or will fall in love with him. There is no if or maybe. He has deluded himself into thinking that if he just tries one more time he can't fail. Seventeen tries later and he still isn't about to give up.

In his mind he has everything he needs to succeed; and anything he doesn't have he can go get. He faced hordes of monsters, killed ganon, and saved Zelda so many times it made him a bit too confident in his abilities. A warrior is never without a weapon if they train their mind and body after all. If you don't like what he has he just needs to try another way through.

That’s what being the hero of courage is. Perseverance. 

The idea that no matter what he does you wont like he never crosses this man's mind. It can come off as childish and cruel. To him it doesn't matter what the issue is, he just needs to find a new way to approach the issue. You refuse to eat the food he cooks for you? That's ok! Hell just buy you food, or buy the ingredients so you can cook instead. The entire time he’s so proud of himself. He filled your kitchen with so much food you won't have to shop for the next month. To Link it isn't a big deal. Why are you even complaining?

God forbid you show interest in any of his advances either (unless you want to feed these tendencies?). Once interest is shown in one tactic he'll lean hard into it. You said thank you to him for giving you a gemstone one time? Now you have ten sitting on your table. The next day he brings you even more. Apparently he hunted down a magma Talos just for you. No need to thank him, except you have to. Seriously, don't be ungrateful, it will only make things worse.

This goes for anything you ask of well. Need some ingredients for a stew? You have enough stock to last for three months worth of ingredients. If you don't tell him to stop bringing you ingredients he'll never stop. It’ll just start to pile up in the pantry. The whole time he never stops to think it’s an inappropriate reaction. He's just doing his best!

Just don't treat him or any of his gifts with malice or disinterest. If you start to act cruel (ie: selling the gifts he gives you or by lying to him) he will take to more extreme measures. Rumors will spread about you. Starting with your hometown and then leading to cities and other kingdoms if your actions were that horrible. None of what is said is actually true, but sometimes the truth needs to be stretched to make a point.

Items in your home will go missing. The only way to get them back is to act nicely. To go along with the game in his head. Pretend you love him and give him his wholesome moments or he will start to take everything from you. There's where to run, no one to turn to, and no escape. Just accept Link and he will make you happy.

.

If you continue to push back he’ll grow harsh. Don't get him wrong he hates to enact violence against you, his love, but sometimes it must be done. Being a hero isn't all sunshine and rainbows. tough choices are made every day by people in power. If someone gets in the way there's not much that can be done. They will disappear and you will live by his side.

When push comes to shove he’ll do it. First he'll start with his usual methods. Just talk them away from you, threaten them a little, but if all else fails actions speak louder than words. A moment of rage and passion later the evidence must be destroyed. Monster attacks happen so often in this world. It’s a shame they got caught by one.

The remorse from having to take such an action hangs with him for a few days. However, getting to see you again makes it all worth it. For you, for Hyrule, no price is too high.

[bridgyrose]

Cinder took a step back as a beowolf snarled at her, arms shaking with the weight of the swords in her hands. Learning about the grimm through the books that Summer gave her was much different than seeing them in person. The way it snarled, the way it walked, it was just like a monster from a nightmare.

“I know you’re scared, but I need you to focus!” Summer yelled out. “Remember your training. I wont let you get hurt but I need you to take a deep breath and get in your stance!” 

Cinder took a breath and stepped forward to put her left foot in front. Her swords stayed in front of her, left blade in front with the right behind it. She watched the grimm as it took a step forward, taking one more step back to mirror it’s movement. Her heart raced as she kept watch of each movement. 

The grimm howled and lunged at Cinder. She closed her eyes and put her swords up to block, her body freezing as she heard a shot ring out from behind her. She opened her eyes to see the grimm in front of her disappearing into smoke as she lowered her swords. 

Summer lowered her rifle and sighed. “Maybe you’re not ready for this.” 

“I-I can do this!” Cinder yelled out as she sheathed her swords. “I’m not giving up-” 

“I’m not asking you to give up, I just think you’re not ready to be facing grimm yet. You’ve only been training for a couple years now, and even with the starting academies trainees dont face grimm until their third year. We’ll go back to the village and start looking for some work you can help out with. Maybe there’s a few thugs we need to deal with. Or a lost cat we can find.” 

“Let me try again.” 

Summer sighed and put a hand on Cinder’s shoulder. “Its okay to be scared. Grimm are dangerous creatures and shouldnt be taken lightly.” 

Cinder frowned and pulled away, hand reaching for her sword again. “I said I’m ready. I want to try again.” 

“One more try. Like before, I’ll be right behind you.” 

Cinder let out a sigh and started to make her way deeper into the forest as she kept her eyes open for grimm. She wasnt ready to stop training, nor did she want to give up on trying to fight grimm. And yet, she couldnt get the beowolf out of her thoughts. Her heart raced as she thought of the way those red eyes stared into her soul, the ear piercing howl that echoed through the air, the ichor that dripped from its mouth, the way the bone plating seemed to reflect the light almost like armor. 

She flinched as Summer took her arm, hand gripping the hilt of her sword. Then, she stopped once she realized she had almost walked right into a tree. 

“Its okay if you’re scared,” Summer reassured her. “All huntsmen go through this. The first time you face grimm will always be daunting. They’re monsters that are as old as Remnant that take on the forms of beasts that have scared humanity, some grimm even take on forms you’d only see in nightmares. You’re not expected to succeed on your first try.” 

“If I dont, then you’ll quit training me,” Cinder said quietly as she pulled her hand off her sword. “So I have to be ready to face grimm. I cant lose this.” 

“Who said I’ll quit training you?” 

“Mother.” 

Summer frowned for a moment, then pulled Cinder to her. “I wont stop training you if you cant fight grimm today. No matter how long it takes for you to be ready to fight grimm, I’ll make sure you’re ready to be a huntress. And maybe you can help me train my daughters if they want to be huntresses.” 

Cinder smiled a bit and looked up at Summer. “You really think I could?” 

“I do. They’re a bit younger than you are, but they’ll be training soon enough and then-” 

“And then what?” Cinder asked just before she was stopped by Summer pulling on her collar. In front of her was a large tree with cuts made from a blade. “What made this.” 

“Not what, who.”

Cinder took a step back as Summer pulled her behind. She watched her mentor study the cuts, her own curiosity getting the better of her as she started to make her way around the tree. “Maybe someone was testing their weapon? Or its just a grimm-” 

“Its not a grimm.” Summer sighed as she pulled a piece of cloth from inside the cut. “We should go.” 

“Why? Its just cuts-” 

“We’re done training for today.” 

“But Summer-” 

“I said we’re done!” 

Cinder flinched as Summer raised her voice, her legs shook as she started to follow her mentor quietly. It wasnt like her to yell at her, nor to be this quick to stop training. “Back to the village then?” 

“Back to the village and then we’ll take the first airship back to Atlas,” Summer answered. “I need to get you back to the hotel-” 

“So you can abandon me?” 

“-to make sure you’re safe.” 

Cinder frowned and pulled away. “What’s going on? Why are you so scared?” 

Summer let out a soft sigh and turned to look at Cinder. “I’m not scared and its not safe for you. Those weapon marks were made by someone dangerous.” 

“Who?” Cinder asked. “You can tell me!” 

“He’s someone you dont need to- watch out!” 

Cinder felt herself get pulled away and pushed into a tree. She winced as she took a breath and tried to pick herself up, dropping as she watched a man with blades on his wrists fight with Summer. Her blood froze as she heard a howl from the distance. Then another and another. 

A pack of beowolves rushed out of the forest, blocking her view of Summer. Once the beowolves were gone, so was Summer, her axe stuck in the ground. Cinder finally picked herself up and stumbled her way over to Summer’s weapon. She struggled to pick it up, stumbling back as she pulled it out. “Summer! Summer!” 

Cinder shivered as the wind started to pick up as she started to follow the tracks in the dirt. Human footprints mixed with grimm led her deeper into the forest. The sky darkened as the sun set and clouds blocked the moonlight. The howls of beowolves started to grow closer as she looked for a cave or a hollowed tree to take shelter in, only to stop when she saw a pair of red glowing eyes in the shadows. 

A beowolf larger than any she’d seen stepped out of the treeline, growling as it stared at her. She readied her swords to fight, only to be knocked down as the grimm swung its claws at her, her aura starting to flicker from the hit. She sliced at its bone mask, her sword glancing off it as if she hadnt even struck at it. 

The beowolf growled as it picked her up and threw her into a rock, Cinder’s aura shattering as she let out a groan. The beowolf growled as it walked to her, only to stop, sniff the air, and then run off. 

Cinder picked herself up once more, holding her side once she felt a trickle of blood run down. It didnt take long for her to drop to her knees as her vision started to blur. “S-Summer!” she called out. “Where… where are you?” A smile crossed her lips for a moment as she saw a woman walk closer to her, only for it to fade when she didnt see Summer. 

The woman stopped in front of her and knelt down to look her over. “Another child left out here to die. Those huntsmen never stop, do they?” 

“Who… who are you?” Cinder asked, the words struggling to leave her lips. “Where’s… where’s Sum-” she quieted as she felt a finger on her lips. 

“Dont speak, you’re too injured,” the woman said as she extended a pale hand to Cinder. “But I can help you. And then we can look for this Summer together.” 

Cinder nodded as she caught a glimpse of the woman’s face under the hood. Black and red eyes looked at her, almost sorry for the state she was in. “You… you can… help me?” 

“I can.” 

Cinder took the woman’s hand, only to pause when she heard Summer’s voice. 

“Cinder!” Summer called out. “Cinder! Where are you?!” 

“Sum-mer?” Cinder tried to ask. “I… I need to get to Summer.” 

“You need to heal.” 

Cinder winced as she was picked up, her eyes closing as her tiredness caught up to her. “Who… who are you?” 

“You can call me Salem,” Salem answered as her hand started to glow. “Dont worry, I’ll heal you, and then you can come find me.” 

Cinder nodded as her eyes closed and her body started to feel numb. When her eyes opened again, she was greeted with the ceiling of an inn and the bright light from the lamp on the bedside table next to her. She sat up and winced, a hand reached for her side and stopped when she felt bandages wrapped around her. 

“Drink,” Summer said as she offered a cup of water to Cinder. “You werent looking too good when I found you again.” 

“You… you left me,” Cinder said, her voice hoarse from nonuse. She stared into the water she was given to drink, her arms shook as she saw red eyes from the alpha beowolf staring back at her. “You disappeared and left me. Was that supposed to be part of the training?” 

Summer sighed and sat down. “I didnt mean to leave you like that. The man who attacked, he wanted me, not you. So I led him away from you so he wouldnt use you against me.” 

Cinder nodded slowly and stood up, legs shaky as she got dressed. “I’m… I’m ready to train again.” 

“You need to rest-” 

“I’m fine and I need to train!” Cinder winced after she put her shirt on, her hand reached for her side again as a sore pain ran through her spine. When she pulled her hand away, she expected to see blood, instead the bandages were still clean. “I need to be ready to fight that grimm again.” 

“What you need to do is take a few days to heal up.” Summer stood up and put a hand on Cinder’s shoulder. “You still have a broken rib and the doctor said its a miracle that you were still breathing. Once you’re healed, we’ll go back to Atlas and train there.” 

Cinder pulled away from Summer’s hand and growled at her. “I need to train!” 

“...fine, but only for a little bit. We’ll take it easy, maybe an hour or two, and then we’re back here.” 

Cinder nodded and finished getting ready, swords sheathed on her hips as she made her way out of the inn and towards the edge of the village. Even as her side started to hurt, she pressed on forward to train. She had to be ready to fight grimm, needed to be ready to prove herself. 

The air turned cold as the wind picked up, black clouds blotted out the sun as thunder cracked in the sky above. Cinder panted as she felt the first set of raindrops hit her skin, already tired from the walk out. Though, what surprised her most was the lack of grimm. 

Summer motioned to a rock for Cinder to sit down on. “Go ahead and rest and we’ll make our way back once you’re ready.” 

“You said we could train,” Cinder said as she sat down. “We can find some grimm-” 

“And as much as I’d love to train, its best for us to rest while it rains. Sure, real missions dont care what the weather’s like, but right now, your health is what I care about.” 

Cinder rolled her eyes, but didnt argue as she kept watch around them. Then, she heard a howl from the forest, followed by a pack of beowolves as they stalked out of the brush and trees. She stood up and winced as she unsheathed her swords, until Summer stepped in front of her. 

“Go back to the village,” Summer said calmly. “I can hold the grimm off while you warn everyone.” 

“I want to help,” Cinder said as her voice shook. “I… I want to make sure that I’m ready to fight grimm.” 

Summer raised her rifle and aimed at the grimm in front. “If you start to tire, run. There’s no shame in running.” 

Cinder nodded and readied herself as she heard a crack of thunder from Summer’s rifle. Her eyes stayed glued to the grimm in front of her as she waited for them to come. Another shot rang from her mentor’s rifle as the grimm came closer. Once they were only a few feet away, Cinder took a breath and rushed forward to fight the grimm. 

She swung her blades at the closest grimm to her, smiling when she finally struck a leg to one of the beowolves. As another lunged at her, she took a step back and sliced around to hit its stomach. A rush of adrenaline help her relax and ignore her pain as she moved around, attacking grimm after grimm as she tried to use everything she was taught to keep her safe. Her aura flickered as she was scratched and bit, and yet, nothing could stop her. 

“Watch-” 

Cinder froze when she realized one of her swords had broken Summer’s aura and pierced through her side. She let go of her swords, one dropped to the ground while the other stayed in Summer’s side. The grimm around them almost seemed to stop as if they were waiting. “I-I didnt mean to…” 

Summer reached for her scroll and pressed a button just as she fell to the ground, motionless. Her scroll fell out of her grip, a S.O.S signal pinging out to anyone nearby. 

Cinder took a few steps back until she felt herself run deeper into the forest as the sound of an airship could be heard flying overhead. Her heart raced as her legs shook with each step, the only thought in her mind was to run as far as away as she could. Even if Summer was going to survive, she was sure she’d be blamed for what happened. And she didnt want to get sent back to Atlas to work at that hotel. 

Finally, she dropped to the ground as her legs gave out from under her. Cinder winced as she tumbled across the ground, and when she looked up, she saw Salem in front of her. 

Salem extended a hand to her, her voice as calm as it had always been. “Looks like you’re in trouble. Come with me, and I’ll make sure you stay safe.” 

Cinder hesitated as she looked up at Salem, unsure how far she could trust the woman. But as the sounds of an airship started to come closer, she took Salem’s hand and nodded. Then, in a blink of an eye, she felt herself get pulled with Salem away from the forest. 

Prev

[ero-heart]

There is barely any fanfics about the bandits from project nexus, which is a shame because I adore them, so I made one myself!

Reminder that all of my stories’s readers are gender neutral unless specifically stated,, same goes to this one! Hope you like it!

Cw: Violence, food burn 😔

SHARING IS CARING!

(Bandit x Reader)

You tried your best to succeed in life, it was hard. Slaving away at your customer service job, fighting rowdy clients, long walks through the dark streets to your tiny run down apartment. Without counting the randos that try to take over your home, those you had to fight to the death for the right to it. It’s not like your landlord cared if someone killed you and took over your living space (if they payed rent), that was how you got your apartment in the first place and it will be yours until some bastard manages to get lucky. It was hard, but you were strong, you were still standing and you did not intend to get less tougher. You were still a softie tho, all tough guys have a soft side. And this soft side was what brought you to this situation.

He was looking up at you with bright eyes, you stood tall and imposing. You won another fight, you got him on his back. This bandit jumped on you on your way home, most likely due to the bag of mini hotdogs you got from your work on the convenience store. Looking down at him, his dazed expression send a pang to your heart. He was fighting for food just like you were. You knew bandits, it was not your first encounter with one of them, they were hungry folk like everyone else but it’s significantly harder of them being able to get a job to get money for food, their communication skills were not great (most being non verbal) and employers had preference towards stronger grunts, which they were not. That also made it harder for them to fight for food when they were alone. Life was entirely harder for these guys. You sighed and threw the bag of hotdogs towards them, you could go one day without dinner.

“Enjoy it, next time I wont be as merciful..”

You left, walking on the dark sidewalks. The man on the floor trembly got their hands on the bag, sitting up to look at the contents inside it, the smell of food hit him, actual food, he might as well cry. The bandit immediately dug into it, wolfing down the hotdogs like it would be his last meal. That person beat him up and still gave him the price, he was astonished. Sharing was rare for bandits, everyone only knew how to take care for themselves and never think of someone else. When a bandit SHARES with another one, it was a sign of great trust and affection towards them. No one ever shared with him, and he never shared with anyone. But now their head was spinning. A strong grunt just shared, GAVE him all of their food. The bandit was blushing thinking about it, this grunt really knew how to fight, it was so impressive, they looked so cool during battle. His heart was melting, he didn’t knew what was happening, he wanted that grunt close, he wanted to share with them.

About three days later, when your shift ended, you came across that same bandit. You immediately got defensive at the man, but he simply handed you a piece of candy wrapper. He looked at you expectantly, almost bashful, seeming more and more excited as your hand got closer to his. You didn’t know if it was a trap, but when you rapidly took the wrapper away from him, the bandit beamed and ran away with his hands covering his mask cheeks. You were definitely confused, was this a gift? You didn’t have the heart to throw it away, so you kept it on your bedroom’s shelf. The same happened on the day after, he gave you a tomato sauce can and ran away. You washed it before putting on the shelf. The next day he gave you a crumpled coffee stained document, again to the shelf. It kept going until it came down on you that he was sharing you his food. You face palmed so hard to not have come to the realization sooner, you couldn’t believe it. Looking at your ceiling, you took a deep breath as you held your teddy tighter, you could regret everything you are about to make, but hopefully it would be worth it.

On the next night, the bandit was about to hand you a glass shard before you spoke.

“Look don’t, I- look you don’t have to. Just.. follow me please.”

You made a motion for him to follow you as you start walking. He jogged right by your side, nervous and curious about what you would show him. Soon you arrived at your apartment complex, passing the sleeping concierge, you were now holding his hand as you two got up the flight of stairs, the bandit was completely overjoyed by the physical contact and just followed through to where you were guiding him. You were not aware of his blissfulness however, upon finally arriving on your floor, you take the keys off your pockets and unlock the door of your apartment. You immediately guide him to your kitchen table before going to close the door, then march right to the fridge. The bandit looks around this new place with big curiosity, was this were you lived? It was noticeably tidier than the place he took shelter in. Your place had a couch, did you sleep in there? Did you have an actual mattress? He had one, they were super proud of finding it, his sleep had never been better. The bandit immediately noticed the smell of cooking meat, quickly getting off the chair and following it to glue themselves behind you, he looks over your shoulder to see you frying two patties on a pan. You jumped upon contact, turning around to face them and gently pushing them away, since they were too close and could get burned by the sizzling grease.

“It’s not over yet wait a bit.”

This didn’t made him go away tho, hovering you hovering the stove through all of the cooking process. When it was done, you shook the burgers from the pan to a plate. The bandit wasted no time and quickly took and brought a burger to their mouth under the mask, which caused on a half eaten patty being dropped back on the plate and the bandit blowing his own mouth while they tried to chew the hot meat inside it. You freaked out, unsure what to do you held their cheeks and told them to spit it out, they refused and successfully gulped down the food as tears streamed down his cheeks to your hands. You decided to go grab some tab water to help with the bandit’s insides. Bringing the glass to his mouth, they take it and tilts to drink it, rapidly. Soon when the glass is empty,

“Hic!”

He got hiccups.

You stay quiet for a bit before bursting out laughing over the absurdity of the situation as your guest continued hiccuping. You brought a stranger home to eat only for a burn freak out and now hiccups. Through sorries you guide the boy again to sit on the table and place the burger plate in font of him, rubbing his back as you continue laughing. You soon take a sit across them, watching him now safely munch on the warm food. You knew he was your problem now. He came in every day for more food and to share his food with you. You had to work extra hours for the new mouth you had been feeding, you also had to eventually eat the trash he has been bringing you every day for his gifts to not go unappreciated, but everything was worth it, this dude had grown on you and you adored him, as much as he adored you.

And that’s it! I hope it wasn’t messy haha! This will definitely have a part two,, I am thinking on giving a name for our Bandit friend! Mosher maybe? I hope everyone here is having a good day, if not,, I hope this story could help! Stay safe everyone 💝

[kimiehashobbies]

Night time greetings ladybugs,

Im feel so much better! Just had to work through some melancholy but im back at it. I have not done much working out this week but thats ok. What matters is im back on schedule tomorrow.

Something good I focused on during my low mood period: I finished interlocking my locs. I have microlocs so it always takes me 3-7 days. I really try to take my time. I recently cut off 3 rows in the back. My hair is fine and soft in the back in particular so it wasnt doing well in the loc style. Im going to just leave it alone. Just do wash and go in the back for it. Its a good reminder that sometimes we have to go with the flow. People wont like it but thats ok. I've had locs since October 2019. Its been amazing and freeing. I wear my hair for me now. Im comfortable with all the imperfections. I started them myself and maintain them myself. I learned from watching youtube videos. Im probably going to dye my hair again soon. I'll show pics when I finally do it. Im trying to pick a color. I didnt like dyeing my roots so i wont be doing that again. I like a soft dark brown eyebrow and root. Looks better to me.

I also got more yard work done. We are going to start spreading seeds. Its been over run with weeds but the worst part is the stickers. Awful for all of us but mostly our Luca. Im going to work really hard this spring to get the yard growing.

Not too much else has happened. Im back at it with my fitness, art and writing now that my mood has gotten optimistic! I have an idea for a comic book and thats what im working on for my art. Im casually drawing my 1st comic strip (i have 4 ideas) i hope i can get that first strip out this month. My timeline is kind of off a little. I haven't written at all in 2 weeks. Im picking that back up. I should've had this first idea done but I get so in my head about if its good enough. I'll never know if it is good enough unless i finish. Oh and also, I have not even looked at my Banjo so...... I take full accountability I failed at that goal.

Just a piece of wisdom I've learned is that opportunity wont just magically come without inner work. I've had beautiful ideas in my mind for at least a decade but I've always had self doubt and I'm an expert at self sabotaging. I have to get this creativity out there because its what i love and its who i am. Sometimes it is you yourself that holds you back. 2024 im done hiding, I will start this creative journey and document it the whole way through. I've got this and I want this. I believe in me and thats where action starts.

Ladybugs if you feel called to do something, just do it. The regret from not doing it sooner (or at all) will eat away at you. You cant fail if you dont try, BUT (but, but, but) you cant succeed either. You gotta believe in you and be your biggest fan.

As my favorite poet Jermaine Cole wrote "There's beauty in the struggle..."

🫶🏾🐞Kimie

[tumbleweedbloodbash]

Litterally a MASSIVE vent under the cut

Cw: neglect talk, childhood truama, school truama, fakeclaiming self, being used, self hatred, seeking abuse, suicide implications and everything familiar

Silas / Tumbleweed [he/it/they]

I am so pathetic. So fucking pathetic. I am the biggest disappointment in my family 🤷‍♂️ I'll never be anything, I'll never be what they expect of me and it's all my own fault. I really could have been better, I mean I could have changed so much been so much more but I didn't.

I will quite litterally NEVER be what they wanted out of me because how down to earth pathetic I truly am. I'm better off dead and sheltered from any chance to succeed because there is no point, every opportunity im given I throw away because I can't mentally push through it. I feel pathetic for it honestly. I want to be able to go to school I should be able to but I just can't, my mentality and my body stop me- I can't even try to go to school without being in so much pain from stress worsening my chronic illness.

Trying to be the one who stays in front for most of the day but the stress of school causes us to rapid switch so often now. The way I FUCKING TRY! to avoid the people who dislike us but first dya back I quite litterally run into them by accident. I made contact with them ffs I was trying to avoid them, I find it funny how they went from being nice to fucking lol cow farmer reddit junkies it's wild how much a few months and a shitty influence can do to someone. Idk I just feel like I'm reaching my breaking point.

I know I say that alot especially on here aha, but its just getting worse and worse. I feel the need to isolate myself again to try and live some sort of life because I'm not outside of this, im just an vicious animal to my family, a trick dog to our friends and a fucking stepping stone to anyone who I put before myself. I don't actually have a life because I spread mine out so much for the people around me to just walk all over.

I never NEVER put myself first because I'd be seen as selfish, I'd be seen as ignorant, uncaring and rude. So I'll sit there having a shut down in the car. I'll lay there holding back tears, I'll kick others out of front and take it over, I'll sit there in class and try not to violently breakdown, I'll suppress my rage just abit more so I can be there for you. I'll rid myself of hatred to seem more nice! I'll fucking break the walls so you don't have to see me break myself. I'll walk away so you don't see me cry, I'll act like I didn't just get triggered from you raising your voice, I'll suppress that really icky feeling inside me because I need to be there for others. I'll act like I'm not about to have a sensory melt down. I'll downplay every issue of my own to make yours seem so much worse so I need to help. I'll pretend like I'm not triggered by so many small things! I'll be perfect! I'll be seen as fucking perfect in that scenario!

Because truly I'm not even fucking real. I'm not real! I'm just a fucking peice of a shattered identity that only broke this badly because I was too pathetic to just deal with the childhood truama! I was too pathetic and let it all get to me :) I was so pathetic that I had to have coped by dissociating through the neglect, abuse, mental torture and nearly being killed multiple times. Couldn't even face my problems than no wonder I can't now because I'm even more fragmented and I can't stop splitting on people! IM FUCKING TRYING NOT TO IM SORRY I DONT WANT TO BUT I WONT FUCKING STOP!.

But guess what. I'll put on another act, like there isn't a thing going on! Like I'm just a trick dog made to follow people around as it's only job, I'll be your dog. I'll be a dog to anyone who needs one! I have no feelings because I'm not human afterall! So use me. Please just use me, please. I crave it, I crave just being used and fucking abused. I know when it's happening but I just keep repeating it because I deserve it.

Sometimes I wonder why I still care to do specific things when every single time I do them it's followed by atleast 1-3 scenarios. There isn't any changing it, believe me I've tried- I have tried so many diffrent things but it's also a 3 scene scenario! Maybe I keep doing it in hopes one day, ONE FUCKING DAY! there might be a chance it won't play out the same- it's always played out like this. Every. Single. Fucking. Time. I'm starting to get sick of it, im starting to resent so much now and I hate it! Maybe our ex was right and that we will never fucking change.

I feel like him now, waiting for a change in something thats never going to fucking happen because no matter how long we wait, no matter how many things we try, no matter what we do it's always a repeat of the last time. I'm starting to lose ideas on what to do or how to cope through it, im losing it I really am. I think I need to just shrivel up and never come back, I can't even live. I'm sorry, im so fucking sorry to the people who know me in person im a horrible person.

I don't think you understand just how bad I am tbh, I care about people but one second later I don't give a shit, I think whatever happens to them is karma for how I've victimised myself to things they have done. Things I've probably over exhausted to make myself hate them even more. I don't end up hating them though, whoever it happens to I end up just missing them so much IT physically hurts me. But I'm fucking horrible! I have the worst jealousy issues, I can't handle people liking the same stuff as me because I am so convinced that they will steal the ONE things I find that makes me unique! I can't fucking handle when people copy me intentional or not but it gets under my skin and I feel like I'm no longer an individual and I start to absolutely hate what I used to like!

I ruin things for everyone.

I'm better off fucking dead.

I'm sorry boris.

[epipenis]

i want them to suffer. i want to take back control. i wish id never gotten this far, this deep. i hate the idea that they think of me this way, that they’re better than me because they had a therapist telling to to do self care and about roll confusion. i’m so fucking mad and sad and hurt. i want to hurt them. but i cant. i have nothing. and its cruel. i’m just so so so fucking tired of feeling so incredibly exceedingly unappreciated. get out of my life. stop leaching off of the limited resources i have. do you even fucking realize for one second how much i’ve given up for you. how much i’ve begged and bared everything and lit myself on fire to try for you and you have failed me again and again and again and now i want you gone. and that anger and pain is so much stronger because i can’t get rid of you, i can’t have things go back to how they were, i can’t make you less selfish and ungrateful. i fucking hate you so much…. because i’ve loved you beyond what is even reasonable, or ultimately sustainable or healthy…. and it literally could never be enough. because you were never enough. and i’m a fucking fool for taking you on. i want you gone. i want you far away. and yet i want so desperately to have you see it. to have you appreciate it. at this point i just want to watch you suffer under the pain i’ve been carrying for so fucking long and literally dragging you along while i get dragged back. i’m worse off than i’ve ever been and you have barely made any growth……….. you’ve made some but it’s not even close to enough. it’s not enough. and you still dare to complain and burn the money you’ve been given. amanda said it themselves- not even if regard to me, but in regard to themselves, to jeff, ryan, rainey. “i don’t think they’ll ever realize how much good will they’ve burned”. i will never tell you these things…… bc some insane part of me needs to see you succeed because otherwise what the fuck was any of it for, and i think that could only make you crumble. and frankly i resent you for being so fucking weak that i can’t even tell you this shit. i can’t tell you anything. there is no room for growth or discussion. i always have to monitor everything i say. and you just blow your feelings all over the place. even when im begging, fucking begging. you still have to be in more pain. i hate you. i fucking hate you because i thought you were better than this and you just fucking aren’t. i hate you because you’re a reflection of all of my worst qualities and because of the pain i’ve put myself in. i want you gone. i don’t want any of the people who are supposed to be nice and to care for me give any more of that to you. i begged them to. begged. over and over again. and they gave everything even when they had nothing and i lost so much and you gave me so so so fucking little. i hate you. i hate you. i hate you i want to hurt you, emotionally, physically. i want to punch you. i worry that if you do it again i wont be able to control myself. don’t fucking touch me. how dare you be upset that i don’t say i love you. how dare you. i fucking hate you so god damn much you’re so weak. you ask for truth but you can never handle it and i always have to pick up the pieces im so fucking mad that you dare ask for patience again and again and again. you’re so like your sister. you’re awful. get away from me. how could you do this to me. you promised me it was worth it. and it just fucking isn’t. how could you fail me like this. am i really that meaningless. am i nothing. is anything i will ever do worth anything…….. i get you. because i trusted you. and i worked so so so so so fucking hard to help you figure out how to take care of yourself so that you could do the baseline and treat me with respect and trust and acknowledgement and love and gratitude and want and i never fucking got that shit. get out. get out……… i’m so mad because you tried…. because this was your best….. because i have cherished and respected and encouraged you and am grateful to you….. and it was t enough. and you will blow up again. do i ask for too much?

no. i have to believe i dont. maybe i didnt always ask in the best ways. maybe sowntimes too much. but you always gave what i didn’t want and didn’t give anything i begged for, and then acted burnt out. whose fault is that…… fuck. i’m so fucking hurt. how could i give away everything i have had to you. get the fuck out. get out…… even this pain wouldn’t have you realize it. you would be too busy playing the pain olympics and hating yourself and feeling judged. “i don’t have parent trauma” my fucking ass, fuck you, you’re so unaware. i want to kick you until you figure it out. because your stupid fucking bs has hurt me- so deeply. and even when i told you that it didn’t fucking matter and it had to be about you. is it because ‘i have things you don’t’. fuck you you selfish sinister neurotic narcissistic self centered traumatized and weak and helpless, hopeless, blind, stupid fucking bitch.

i hate that i tried to make you better when you fucking didn’t actually want it. not really.

and now i’m worse.

and i’m selfish. and awful. maybe i’ve only survived this long due to a saint complex………. kill me. but then again, i really believed in you…. and now i hope no one ever does again.i hope they all give up. i hope you never find someone to love you, hold you, make you cum, take you in, share their love, their community, i fucking want to burn your clit off. i want to tattoo on you the pain you’ve caused me so you never forget. i want to kill you and myself because i hate the idea of being this fucked and thinking this low of anyone. i just……… wish to god, please god, lord, savior, god, God. i wish this had t gone this way. i wish it was over. i wish you were better, somewhere far away, and i was happy….. i wish i hadn’t given up so much, i wish i could have it back. i hate you. i want to bite you. i want to choke you out. i want to tie you down and punch you……….. im nothing. i’m fucking nothing. and now i’m the scary and fucked up one. and now i’m the one you’ll work through in therapy. it’s me. i should’ve left a long long long time ago. but i didn’t.

take some responsibility. punch me, hard. do it first. so i can punch you back. i want to see you and hear you in pain. i want to be in pain. i want to be dead because i don’t want to be in pain and because i give up. i’m the fucking worst. i’m the tyrant. why didn’t you run. why did you have no one and nothing else. why are you still so sweet and tempting, why are you still so beautiful, why did you hurt me….. why did you hurt me. why. why. was i never enough. why did you do this. please just. fucking go away so i don’t have to hear you answer and i won’t even get a chance to ask because really want kind of sick unwell masochist am i to ask that question. at this point. i’m so hurt. i’m tired of begging. pleading. there’s no hope.

now i dry my tears and prepare for a war. what will i do. how strong can i be. what will it take. how far will i go. now that i see it, i want out. how do i sustain this. why. why are you like this. i hate you. you’re nothing. you are nothing. and it’s too late.

please hold me…………. don’t fucking touch me.

oh how things have changed. i can see the path walked a million times over, and im walking along side it. its littered with gravestones, id put a flower at every one. it’s frozen now. i can’t go back.

why couldn’t i have met you when you were better. would you have gotten better without me? am i really so se centered to believe that’s true? but then i look at how insanely fucking hard i’ve worked, and how little has changed, and i think……. maybe. and then i see you making progress. and i resent you for me. there’s no progress for me, when do you work on us, when do you help me. when do you stop thinking you’re so fucking perfect. you’re pretentious. and insolent. and stubborn. and childish. you are childish. no matter how much you know or what parent figures you have in your life or what you believe you’re doing and preforming. you are weak. and not in the ways you coddle yourself for. in the ways you praise yourself for.

no more flowers. don’t miss them. or i’ll hate you more. just leave. and never come back to this grave yard. not unless you bring your own flowers.

fuck you. for never helping pull the wagon. for dragging me down. for thinking to highly of yourself and so little at the same time. fuck yoh. fuck……… i want the tears to stop. i want to ache to stop. i want you to keep asking so i can keep denying. i want you to suffer. i want to take away everything i can. we’ve been down this road before. and i brought us back. and now. “whatever im going through” and it’s triggering you. i just……….. want to bite you. tie you down so you can’t stop me or scratch me, and bite you. i’m tired…………. im so tired. i want to feel the tired, that sad exhaustion and rest and peace in pain. but i want to bite you first.

ok. now that i’m sufficiently marked for inpatient. and you’re doing so well.

run good for you by olivia rodrigo. i told you one day it would be the song i played after we broke up. and you told me no… i should’ve known then.

💐

goodbye. i’ll miss you. and i’ll hate you for making me miss you. make it quick. give me a reason to hate you.

[scribeforchrist-blog]

God’s Mighty Weapons

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ 2 Corinthians 10:4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM WEARING MY ARMOR

I AM LISTENING TO GOD

I WONT WOBBLE

I AM GROUNDED

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THOUGHTS:

=======================

This world will shake its head at our prayer life and try to make fun of our ways. They will even try to tear us down by what they do and say things to discourage us from the way we live our lives, but we can’t allow what they do to steer us away from God; we shouldn’t allow what they do or what they say hurt us! We must understand that when the enemy comes after us, he will come to try to break us, and we must be ready at all times. And how do we be prepared for battle with prayer and fasting?

One time, the disciples had an opportunity to deliver this boy from a spirit, and they couldn’t do it, so the man came to the source(which is Jesus ); he said I asked your disciples to heal my boy, but they couldn’t, and Jesus said unto him this kind can only come out by prayer! “Mark 9:29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Prayer is the only way to win against the enemy, and using the name of Jesus is the only way to be victorious against satan; having faith that when we do this, we will succeed is the only way we can stand against him as long as we are doing anything in our own strength we will forever fail! God is looking for a group of people who will stand up against the wiles of the devil and not fall and prey to them; God is looking for people who will deny their flesh and pick up their cross and follow him. If you’re not doing this, you need to start standing with God, not against him!

Ephesians 6:11: Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

It says here put on the whole armor of God, not pieces, not what we think we can use, not what we think is best but if WE PUT on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD, WE WILL SUCCEED, but when we do it in our strength and our knowledge we will fall every time, don’t let people fool you, don’t let people tell you, you don’t need to pray ,the times we are living in it’s best we pray we should call upon the name of God because if we don’t we will have itchy ears for the wrong things, we will listen to the wrong people ,start asking God to renew you so you can walk in him!

Verse 12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

The Bible tells us in this verse that we don’t struggle against people and, authority, and the government but against powers of the darkness of this world against spirits and forces that are not seen; people aren’t coming against you; they are coming against the spirit you carry, they are coming against Jesus ,when people are trying to break your spirit, the spirit they are carrying is trying to break you from God, they trying to tear you from his hands but when we participate in the things of the light they can’t do it all we have to say under our breath is I rebuke you satan I see you, and I have the power and authority of Jesus inside of me to rebuke you !

Verse 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

The last verse we are going to look at tells us to put the FULL ARMOR ON so that we can STAND OUR GROUND; the Bible says after you did everything, stand, don’t fall, don’t wobble, don’t let go, continue to be who God has called you to be.

***Today, the Holy Spirit is saying stand, don’t give Satan anything, don’t for a minute bow to Satan because when we do, we leave ourselves open to be attacked; we allow ourselves to be open to falling, we allow ourselves open to turning our back on God we don’t have to do that all we must do is pray fast, have faith and stand and God will do the rest. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father , we thank you for everything, we ask you to forgive us of our sins father God show us the way and we will follow we are sorry if we haven’t been fasting , if we haven’t been praying father give us a desire to stand strong ! Help us not to bend the knee, father we ask you to show us how important it is to wear the armor! Lord help us to draw near to you so we won’t fall ! Lord this world is so cruel and tough and sometimes it’s hard but father we ask you to give us strength to stand ! Give us strength to be who we are in you and not to be a shamed in Jesus Name Amen !

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REFERENCES

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+2 Corinthians 2:5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God

+Romans 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness

+Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city

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FURTHER READINGS

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Exodus 32:1-33:23

Mathew 26:69-27:14

Psalm 33:1-11

Proverbs 8:33-36

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[nyxerebus]

Not Him (Negan X Grimes!Reader)

A/N: I have a other Negan x Grimes reader series, but this is NOT a apart of that series, just a one shot i wrote :) You can read part 1 of that series here: I'm Her Daddy Now

TW: Gore, Make out, Blood, Angst

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

Her back was pressed to the RV. The Saviours had started to force the people from Alexandria to kneel in front of it in a half circle. They hadn't noticed her yet. Would they recognize her? She had changed a lot since the last time she saw her dad and younger brother. Her hair was longer and darker, and her scarf was covering half her mouth and nose. She had started to look more and more like her father though, the famous Grimes stare would stare back at her in the mirror every morning. A cruel reminder of the family she had lost. The family she thought she had lost, until she saw them in front of her now.

Her eyes wouldn't leave her baby brother, how much he had grown! He was not the scared 11 year old she got separated from all those years ago, now he was a tough young man. And by the looks of his eye situation, it had been a long and rough journey since they last saw each other.

“Are we pissing our pants yet?” She rolled her eyes at Negans extravagant entrance. He was always like this, so much. “Boy do I have a feeling we're getting close”

She had been with The Saviours the past two years, been with Negan for one. She wasn't a wife, she was more than that. She was his girl, his right hand woman. By the look of how her father was staring at Negan, telling him about their relationship would be a tough talk. But nonetheless she looked forward to talking with him, to be able to be a family with them. She prayed they would forgive her for being on The Saviours side. Considering what was about to happen. This wasn't the first ‘punishment’ she had been a part of. She knew what was going to happen. She droned out when Negan went on with his speech about how they needed punishment, and how he owned them now. It wasn't until he was deciding who to kill that she focused on the conversation.

“eenie ... meenie ... miney ... mo '' Her blood ran cold when Lucille landed in front of her younger brother. “No!” She heard her father exclaim. “Shit, man. I’m usually not happy about child murdering, but Lucille is a thirsty woman!” He raised the bat. Her body acted before her brain could tell it no. She took long strides and placed herself protective in front of Carl, shielding his body from Lucille.

“Not him” She hissed out. Negan was taken back, usually (Y/N) wouldn't have trouble when he had to punish new communities. “The hell you saying?”

“Not. Him” She glared at him, she would rather die than let anything happen to her brother. Negan leaned down so only she could hear what he was saying. “You know him?”

“He's my brother,” she whispered. Negan took a step back and rubbed his beard. “You know I have to punish them” He gave her a stern look. “You want to kill him? You have to go through me. Take somebody else”.

“Listen folks” He was addressing his men. “Now some new information has occurred and it looks like my girl here knows this boy. Now I am a gentleman” His famous smirke etched its way to his face. “You all know I can't say no to my girl, but my other girl demands some punishment for their actions. Now I want to please both my girls at the same time. So, we spare the boy, but my girl has to choose who will take his place AND finish the job” He held out the end of Lucille to her, while the men in the back murmured in agreement and some even cheered her on.

She grabbed Lucille. “Go get em BabyGirl”. She turned around and faced Carl. He was crying now. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it didn't seem as if it helped. Her eyes danced between the group that was kneeling. Her eyes landed on the large redhead, he pushed up his chest, as if he presented himself as a sacrifice. She walked over and stood in front of him. The dark skinned girl next to him cried out when she realized what was about to happen. (Y/N) was standing in front of him and leaned in, whispering so only he could hear. “I’m sorry”

“Don't worry, if it saves the boy. I’ll gladly take it” She raised the bat. and with all her might swung it down. The sound of the cracking of a skull was a sound all too familiar to her, but she had never heard it when she was the cause. it almost made her stop. But she couldn't stop. She took swing after swing. Knowing how Negan wanted him to end up, to end up in a mess of blood and brain goo. Blood splattered everywhere, and she had to fight back her dinner making its way up when she saw his skin tear and expose his brain. The bat felt heavier and heavier after each blow down onto the man's head. Christ, she didn't even know the name of whom she was killing. Cries and cheers filled the silent night. When she heard the splattering sound of the bat hitting the brain goo, she stopped. She turned around to face Negan, avoiding her family's gaze.

“Look at my dirty girls!” He exclaimed, and pulled her towards him, her back pressing against his chest. Blood had splattered on her face and upper body, but Negan didn't care. He never cared about blood getting in the way. He grabbed Lucille from her and turned her head sideways, so he could whisper into her ear: “Good Girl”

“(Y/N), I, what-” Rick was trying to speak, the shock of the situation still not leaving him. “I have to say, seeing my girls work together like this, just warms my heart-” He squeezed her closer; “and tickles my balls” He grinned at his men, who mostly chuckled at his crude words. “You can go to him” He whispered and realised his grip on her. She was about to walk away, but was stopped when he grabbed her arm. “Wait” He pulled her back so they were chest against chest. “Give me a kiss first” She just rolled her eyes, knowing he wanted to rub it in Rick's face that his daughter was with them, with Negan. Standing on her toes, she reached up and kissed him, she was going for a simple peck. But he tightened his grip around her and deepened the kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth and she had to bite back a moan. When he pulled back a string of saliva was still connected between them God, how he loved the look on her face. Covered in blood, with a post makeout haze still in her eyes. He laughed out and realised her. And without being pulled back, she walked over to Carl and kneeled down in front of him.

“Hey” She whispered out, he stared back at her with a dirty glare. But tears of seeing his sister for the first time after thinking she was dead was pressing on. But then one of the guys in the line up jumped up and punched Negan in the face. You gasped and were about to stand up. But Negans men handled it and held him down. “No, nope. Put him back”

She knew what was going to happen, Negan was going to kill one more. She wouldn't let Carl see that, see it again. “Don't look” She pulled him closer so his face was pressed against her chest, face turned the opposite direction of the group. Carl was fighting back, but gave up after his sobs got the best of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and cried into her chest. “Shhh”. The sounds of someone else getting beaten and the all too familiar cries filled the air once again. “No!”

“Its going to be okay” She tried to comfort him, “I won't let them hurt you” His sobs got louder when he heard the stuttering of the man who was being beaten; “Maggie I will find you”. He whispered the name of the dead man into her chest. “Glenn” Negan speaking and the cries of the group became just background noise. All she cared and focused on was her brother. She rubbed his head and back, trying to lull him into a calmer state. But she was pulled from her work on comforting her brother when Negan grabbed Rick and pulled him away. “No!” Carl shouted, sitting straight up and separated from her. (Y/N) held Carl back from punching up and attacking Negan. Negan sent (Y/N) a small nod, which she returned with her own nod. They were telling each other without words:

‘I can't promise he wont die’

‘As long as Carl lives, I don't care’

“Calm down Carl!” She held her back. He started to cry again, the fear of losing her father taking its hold on him. (Y/N) wiped his tears, bur cringed when some blood from her fingers stained his cheek. “Come here” He fell into her arms again. She didn't know what to do. She hoped Negan saved her father, but her father was a grown man. Her primary mission now was to secure her brother. And she would be damned if she didn't succeed.

[multyfandoms-imagines]

How do Dark Deception characters react when Y/N has been hurt via an unknown way?

I can tell right away that pretty much all of them at one point in time will try (and some even succeed) to kill/destroy whatever did it. But say. Before that

Treats them nicely: Reaper Nurses, Bierce, Joy Joy Gang, Malak, Mama Bear (to my surprise)

All of them are professional to firstly treat their (S/O) to a stable condition, then get on whatever unlucky thing or person did it.

Bear in mind (no pun intended) that Reaper Nurses will be quick to act if their (S/O) is a female, not other genders. Mama Bear is gonna be "shushing" their partner and the other guys/gals will be "heal first, punish later"

In Bierce case she may just pester whatever nightmare monster hurt you (like the time she opened a door in Agatha's level)

Malak is not stupid. You are supposed to be tested in the nightmares to get the piece through blood, sweat and tears. But if you got hurt outside of them, he will heal you with his magic and ask how did you get hurt

Penny is the most gentle out of the 3, so she can take care of a mortal. Hangry and Lucky are nearby in case she needs something to be passed. Then all 3 later gang up on whoever was unlucky to hurt you. (Tho if you got hurt via trap or something, they would go and mark the places with similar danger for you to avoid)

⭐Panic first⭐ : Murder Monkeys, Dread Duckies, Golden Watchers, Agatha

Their first reaction is to scream, because HOW did it happen and they dont know how to treat wounds. They know how to inflict one, not the other way around

Monkeys and Duckies will be territorial around you for some time. You can bet they wont leave for a while

Agatha becomes a sad kid and clingy. Very clingy. She cant let her one true friend get hurt like that!

Watchers are drama queens. You cant change my mind. They will make a drama from that accident

Confused: Clowns Gremlings

Honestly since they are clowns, some of the tricks require to be hurt in a comedic way. You know. Think of "Tom and Jerry" kind of humour. So they may not catch on that "oh yeah, mortals dont actually bleed like that" too soon. Some will panic, some will call Malak or Nurses, some will try to help. Clown Gremlins do be having colourful personalities

[lilflowerpot]

IDK if mermaid aus are your thing but if you had to pick one which would it be

Mermaid au where Keith takes a boat out to investigate the "haunted" lagoon everyone has been warning him to stay away from, where he meets the terrifying but beautiful siren who lives there,

or

Mermaid au where marine biologist Lotor is given the opportunity of a lifetime to study an actual, first ever discovered mermaid, but slowly begins to question the morality of his work as he realizes the human-level sentience of the creature.

Not only are mermaid aus my thing,,,,,, but I've had a each-uisge (pronunciation here, because whatever you just read it as is almost certainly wrong) au in my drafts since the 2020 keitor month that I tragically only ever finished one thing for. So, uh, considering I don't know when exactly I'll get around to posting that - only that I am determined to do so - I'll just... leave a little excerpt here, shall I?

-

There’s salt in his lungs, ice in his bones, and dimly, at only twelve years of age, Keith realises that he’s going to die.

It’s a distant sort of epiphany, but as the dark ocean swallows him down amidst the splintered wreckage of his father’s vessel and the modest company of souls she’d been transporting to the mainland, Keith finds the fright being bled from him as quickly as the colour from his lips. Everything is quiet here. The storm rages on above because it must - try as they might, they had been nowhere close to escaping it - and the freezing currents still churn and swell and crest with waves thrice the height of any man, but here, far beneath the liquid violence of the ocean’s surface, Keith is small and pale and without enough of himself left to waste on being afraid.

As the last remnants of consciousness threaten to slip away in favour of an inviting calm, and yet before Keith can properly submit to the crooning call of an eternal slumber, a great stallion appears; the beast stalks through the shadowy depths, more hunter than horse, coat golden and mane luminous against the murky waters that play with it, and when Keith’s final breath bubbles from his lips in a soundless cry, he finds himself at the centre of the animal’s attention.

Its eyes are infinite.

Immeasurable, incomprehensible, far closer than before, and Keith - despite being cold, and lethargic, and practically upon death’s door - recognises this beautiful creature for what it is, for the only thing that it can be, and the terrible truth of it snaps him from his senseless stupor and into a fit of panic.

Each-uisge.

Keith flails, claws a faint line beneath the beast’s right eye even as it rears back with a wildness he wasn’t expecting, and when the boy chokes again it’s not from the water in his lungs but rather a fist around his throat. If he lives long enough to bruise, it’ll take the form of a man’s fingers, a man’s hand, and yet it is not truly a man that now reels him in and speaks ever-so-sweetly without impediment, as if the two of them aren’t some dozen gyrd beneath the ocean’s surface.

“You marred my face,” his smile is sharp, entertained, the handsome not-man speaking with the air of someone whose temper might be as changeable as the tide, “not many would dare, fewer still would succeed, and none have ever lived to tell the tale.”

There are black spots dancing across Keith’s vision and, though futile, he struggles to blink them away- to free himself- to take a breath even though all there is to breathe will drown him.

The not-man coos.

“Feisty little thing, aren’t we? Such ferocity, such fight,” and from the stories Keith’s mother used to tell him of the Fair Folk, the only thing more dangerous than their wrath, are the games they are so wont to play, “do you so dearly wish to live?”

It’s impossible to answer.

There’s salt scorching his lungs as he coughs it all up, ice is his bones splintering like lightening, and dimly, at only twelve years of age, Keith realises that he’s going to live.

But at what cost, remains unseen.

[blzzrdstryr]

Reveries of turmoil

Yandere!Childe x fatui!reader

[Previous chapter]

Just as you predicted that short and stifled conversation was a portent of future changes. Childe stopped trying to talk to you outside the business, he even avoided your eyes in those rare moments when you looked at him first. Normally obnoxious and persistent Harbinger seemed to deflate in your presence, as his swaggering and blustering attitude disappeared within mere moments.

You would be overjoyed for this turn of events, if you didn’t have any experience of dealing with and tolerating Tartaglia. Childe, as you already established, is a chaos personified, an erratic whirlwind that twists and ruins everything in its way wrapped in human skin and caged by human bones. It wouldn’t be a surprise if some nasty complications arose out of this faux armistice and sneaked upon your unsuspecting self.

Ajax wont do anything drastic, you reassure yourself - the Rite of Descension gets closer and closer with each passing day, he just can't afford to fail this, meaning that he will have to keep you on-field. It would be logical to do so, let you work, but logical sometimes means predictable and nothing about Ajax is predictable.

Fortunately he continued to keep this strange distance as days passed. Was your little episode and words you said to him enough to stop him in his pursuit? Maybe it truly hurt him, maybe it made him see how miserable he was making you, maybe his obsession with you ceased to exist, it’s flames fizzling and going out just as fast as they ignited. You doubt all of it, yet continue to hope for the better, despite the evidence of the opposite shoved in your face.

Ajax will never let go of you, not in the way you want. He killed and tortured people right before your eyes, sometimes had you assist him in doing so. Most of the time this was done in Tsaritsa’s name, for the future of Snezhnaya and her people, just another working assignment regardless of the blood curdling screams and alien agony.

However, in some rare cases the torment of others isn’t something that is totally impersonal to you, sometimes you’re the main cause. Childe is possessive, terribly so. He watches over you like a dragon guarding his gold, scaring away other possible admirers. And if his title and reputation wasn’t enough to keep away whatever poor sod who decided to tempt the dragon, well, other way more grim methods were used.

You never personally witnessed these kinds of torture, but you heard rumours and sometimes saw the bodies after, images that keep reappearing in your nightmares. Maybe this lull is nothing but a quiet before the storm, a short breather after he commits some unforgettable atrocity again.

He personally summons you the day before the Descension. You brace yourself for incoming nonsense, except nothing comes. “Agent [Last]”, he says, his voice tense and restrained.”I need you to attend the Rite of Descension with me. You will be disguised as a civilian", and then he dismisses you, no hint of mind games he likes to play in sight.

You want to hope that he changed, you succeed and fail at the same time - this new Ajax is pleasant, he’s cold and disinterested, just like any boss should be, yet you just can’t relax and focus wholly on doing the job - it’s a privilege only those who haven’t met Tartaglia can afford.

He’s a sea, treacherous and ever changing, calm and serene in one moment, yet violent and crushing in the other.

You spend the day torn between the anxious thoughts of Tartaglia and what he might do and the preparation for upcoming ceremony - it's a once in a lifetime event, it's Tsaritsa’s will and hope, it's Ajax’s eyes focused on you. You can’t afford to fail, you have no right to do so.

Wearing a simple Snezhnayan overcoat with nothing hiding your face is surely strange after years of donning a fatui uniform. Tourists and Liyuens alike pass by, not paying you any attention. Both vision and delusion glow under the thick fabric, asking you to use them.

You walk faster.

The top of the Yujing Terrace is lit with sunlight and full of human sounds, as merchants and other workers haste to finish their tasks and join the people at the top. You look around, quickly noticing the familiar ginger - he stays half-turned to you, his eyes focused on the figure of Tianquan. You quickly avert your gaze, as if not recognizing him, and shift it towards other people - you spot two vision holders among the crowd too - an electro and geo one, and a strange person cladded in the exotic clothes with some sort of flying fairy(?) floating around.

You walk to the altar placing Liyuen flowers nearby the multiple offerings of food, wine and gold, their simple white petals contrasting against the gaudy luxury of the rest.

"Qingxin flowers?", someone suddenly says, a speck of genuine surprise evident in the phrase. Their voice is too close for your comfort - you quickly turn on the heels, alarmed by a person somehow sneaking up on you only to be met with a pair of the golden eyes.

It’s a nicely dressed Liyuen gentleman, with the air of wisdom and elegance surrounding him, an inner dignity shining from beneath, and most importantly the one you saw wearing a vision at the back of the coat. You try to look as calm as possible, despite the senses telling you otherwise - after years of service any vision holder unadorned by the Fatui colors is perceived as a threat.

“Yes, it is”, you quip back, not wanting to look suspicious: “Is this improper? Qingxin as an offering?”, you mimic a light concern - something that would be appropriate for the foreign merchant who might have offended the god of commerce.

“No, not at all”, Liyuen laughs: “just in all of my years, I have never seen anyone offer these flowers”.

“Huh”, you smile, looking at the man before you. Is he a simple liyuen you thought of him at first? He has Geo vision - the symbol of Archaic Lord’s recognition - and the way he said “all of my years” carry more weight than usual, a mark of something hidden beneath the mundane phrase.

“Something tells me, you must have attended every rite of Descension”, you continue, the starter vague and innocent enough - a perfect way to fish out more information. For some reason, his golden eyes widen a bit, it’s subtle and quick enough to go unnoticed by most people, but you’re not the most people - all Fatui agents are trained to catch even the smallest changes and educated in multiple fields, physiognomy included.

What could have caused such a reaction and why did he react the way he did? The Rite of Descension is a prominent event in the life of every Liyuen, even if it’s annual, as thousands of thousands of people traverse great distances to see their god fly down from the heavens and grace his subjects with the wisdom of countless years. You remember seeing Liyuens living in Snezhnaya consistently take a leave every year for a week, when the prominent date showed on the horizon, missing working days and no doubt a lot of nerves, only to see the archon of their homeland.

So why did that man looks so surprised?

“You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you?”, he responds, voice calm and pleasant, despite the masterfully hidden surprise: “And yes, I have always tried my best to be at every Rite to this day. Rex Lapis shares his experience with his people, so it’s an incredibly important day. And what about you? What brings a foreigner here?”, he makes a gesture at your obviously snezhnayan clothes.

“Well, I am a travelling merchant as you can see”, you raise your hands, showing him more of the coat: “Having blessing from the God of Commerce won't hurt, right?". He, again, reacts in the way you haven't anticipated, a handsome face adopting a contemplating expression for a short second.

"Rex Lapis rewards diligent people, work hard and he shall bless you too", he says with an air of wisdom around him, like an old enlightened monk passing his knowledge to the disciples surrounding him: "And you shouldn't keep your vision beneath the layers of cloth. I feel its chill just standing here, who knows what it will do to your body?".

Then he simply turns away and goes to the exit of Yujing terrace, and it’s your turn to suppress the rising agitation - how did he know, where’s he heading now?

“Wait”, you say: “why are you leaving?”

“I dedicated my whole life to my job, which consists of a collection of small and incredibly repetitive tasks, they took up most of my attention and I slowly, but surely became a creature of habit, deaf and blind outside its limited field of experience and comfort zone. Time never stops, so I decided to leave the work I’ve been entrusted with, and I want to start it by breaking my strongest habit - religiously attending every Rite of Descension”.

“Ah”, you reply, equally impressed by his speech, and feeling that you are talking about two completely different and unrelated topics: “well, good luck on that”.

More and more people flood the terrace as one of the main threats to your plans finally arrives - stern and ambitious, Ningguang looks as elegant and intimidating as ever, geo vision and the tassel attached to it, shaking with every graceful step. She throws a short glance at Tartaglia - he stands surrounded by the rest of the agents - yet her face doesn’t change even a bit, whatever hostility she may hold for your faction masterfully suppressed.

You quickly look around - tourists and citizens arrive at the last minutes and milleliths come with them. Soon, all of the exits are heavily guarded by at least four soldiers, all carrying spears and clad in armour - surely a necessary precaution, given the presence of Fatui and their Harbinger.

There are no milleliths among the crowd though, not in the on-duty uniform at least. You study the group again, this time looking for anyone with weapons, as someone lightly pushes you away - it’s that foreigner again. “I am sorry, we need to go closer”, the pixie-like creature apologizes, as it flies after the stranger, and you conclude that there are no armed people, except you, Tartaglia, milleliths, Ningguang and that strange person.

“The hour is upon us”, Tianquan starts, after looking at the bright sun above, two women around her slightly bowing down, as she invokes the power of geo. The gold glow surrounds and illuminates her whole figure, before condensing into hard rocks of the same shade. They shine and fly around her for a bit, leaving the yellow trails behind before starting to spin around the shrine in the middle of the rock table.

Soon the golden inscriptions on the shrine start to glow too, before it sends a bright orange beam into the blue sky. The crowd "Oh!"s and "Ah!"s as the clouds deform around the pillar of light.

Tension, so thick it can be tasted, descends in the waves upon the Terrace as some - carefree and ignorant - hold their breaths in excitement and anticipation, whilst the rest focus in caution - Fatui and Qingxin alike. You shift, taking out both vision and delusion out of your coat, as your eyes frantically shift between Tianquan, Tartaglia and the spiraling clouds above, your whole being ready to aid Childe in his mission.

And then something unexpected happens: a majestic dragon does descend to his people. By falling straight to the ground. Serpentine body slumps around the crushed offerings, elongated tongue escaping the confines of the maw.

A long second of absolute silence passes before Ningguang collects herself, checks the body and orders milleliths to close off all the exits, as the crowd erupts into turmoil and chaos realizing what exactly has happened. You disguise amongst the panicking masses, hiding two glowing orbs in the deep pockets of your coat,before looking at Tartaglia again - he in turn intently stares at the blonde foreigner, who quite clumsily tries to sneak past the soldiers.

Milleliths catch onto that running after the stranger and you use this opportunity, turning invisible in the same second. People around you are too panicked to question your sudden disappearance or the unnaturally cold breeze swaying past them, as you make your way - Childe has already departed, chasing after the group of soldiers, and Ningguang is seen leaving too, giving the last orders, before turning to the Yuehai pavillion.

You contemplate for a second, unsure what to do - Tartaglia has ordered you to aid him in case of Qixing intervention, there was nothing about the death of your target and the glimpse into Tianquan’s actions might be a key to solving the mystery of said departure. The thing that you plan to do is opportunistic, reckless even - who would have known that Ajax will rub off onto you? You chase after Ningguang, careful to keep yourself invisible.

Who is Rex Lapis’ murderer?

She goes up to the aged man standing at the stairs of the pavilion, they exchange a couple of words before Ningguang steps up on the little floating island and it starts to levitate! You run after her, still unsure what to do - the platform is too small, Tianquan will no doubt feel the chill coming from you, but the opportunity to learn what Qixing are planning is too good to miss.

In the end, you come to compromise, jumping after the rising platform, as your hands clutch into its rough protrusions and you grit your teeth, enduring the pain and cold from the vision overuse. The little island rises higher and higher, as people and buildings underneath turn into small dots. Your fingers start to slide off a couple of times, yet you grab onto the island with a renewed strength everytime that happens, asking Tsaritsa to let fortune favour you.

The platform finally stops moving, and you pull up, once you hear her heels clicking away.

Jade chamber, as it turns out, exceeds all rumours, luxurious and opulent, shining above the prosperous city, it glows under the sunlight with a golden radiance. You would have stopped to admire it if it wasn’t for your goal. You sneak after Ningguang, following her to the office as she takes out papers and folders from the shelves. She focuses on them, as you carefully step near her, glancing at what she’s reading - it’s reports of fatui activity throughout the months, leading to this day, thankfully vague and very far from reality.

Does it mean that she also has no idea of what or who caused Rex Lapis’ death and tries to find his killer? Or does it mean that she looks for a way to deduct Fatui's next actions?

You don’t have time to contemplate, as the frost worsens and you feel cryo energy exhausting from the overuse - one more minute and you’ll become visible. You quickly walk away - you don’t have enough time to reach that platform, so you do the most logical thing - fling yourself out of the window, opening the wings of the glider halfway the jump.

You push the most of your invisibility, letting go of the cryo powers once you're only a couple of meters above the ground. In the end you find yourself tired and frozen to the very bones, slowly coming back to the Northland bank.

***

You approach the building as the Sun begins to set - its pink-orange rays dying everything in the warm glow. The bank looks glorious like that, sinking in the reddish tones, it looks like an illustration out of children’s books - a place of something miraculous, a place of something hopeful.

“Hi”, you throw to the tired Vlad and he nods, after suppressing an escaping yawn: “Is boss here?”

“Yeah”, he croaks, drowsiness evident in his speech: “came back like an hour or two ago. Can’t really remember”.

“Huh.. Well, thanks”, and with these words you enter the bank, pushing the doors and preparing yourself for the confrontation to come.

After chatting with Ekaterina and confirming that yes, he is in his office, you head for the staircase, all of the information you learned today buzzing inside your head.

Childe sits, hunched over the papers, as you enter, not paying you even the sliver of attention. For some reason he’s in a different clothes.

“Eleventh Harbinger”, you start the standard greeting, all formal and stiff: “this subordinate has finished the task”.

This finally prompts him to raise his head, cold blue eyes look at you, no hint of the usual obsessiveness in sight: "you may speak, agent" he succinctly says, putting the writing feather aside. You quickly report to him all you have seen today, without your own thoughts involved - they’re just baseless theories, after all.

“So you say, Tianquan was reading the reports about Fatui activity. Haven’t you destroyed those reports earlier?”

“Those papers contained nothing about the current situation, they were actually far from reality, I doubt that any of those reports survived the fire”.

“Seems, I’ll have to take your word for it”, a sigh, he leans closer in his seat, propping left cheek on the palm: “Why did Tianquan look at them? What was she trying to do? Pin her crime on us?”, he glances at you again, gesturing that you can speak your mind and you do.

“Highly unlikely, sir. From the short time I spent watching her and her reputation, I have an impression that Qixing Tianquan is a person who prefers to plan her every action. If she or any other Qixing higher up, were the one who murdered our target, then every needed preparation would be done months, if not even years in advance. She would somehow cast us as the killers right at the ceremony, in front of thousands of Liyuens, making us a scapegoat for public outrage and creating alibi for herself”.

“So, that’s how you think”, he hums, blue eyes deep in thought: “Your entire conclusion is based on the mere impression. With Tianquan’s ambition I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one behind this...”, a vague hand gesture: “catastrophic situation”.

“When I sneaked inside the Jade chamber, she looked very frantic, it didn’t show on her face, but her movements were harsh and quick, lacking any of her elegance. She looked like she tried to keep herself together”.

“Anyone would try to do that, especially after killing a god”, he looks somewhere to the left, no doubt imagining battling the dead archon: “Well, my conclusion isn’t based on anything solid either. We don’t know who killed Rex Lapis, but we still need to somehow obtain his gnosis”, the last part isn’t addressed directly to you, it seems that Ajax just decided to voice out his worries.

“You can go”, he says, standing up from the table. You are touching the door handle, when you hear him asking:”what’s with your hand?”. The tone is nothing like that time, yet shivers still go up your spine when you remember what happened that day.

"Frostbite, from my vision", he comes closer to you, hand outstretched to yours: “Can I?”, he asks and waits for your faint nod, before gently pulling it closer to his face.

“It’s a second degree”, he mumbles, inspecting the white-blue discolorations and small angry blisters - the skin throbs and aches at his touch, yet most of it remains numb, muffled, like sounds underwater: “You should get it treated”.

“I should”, you agree, eager to leave this room and situation: “I will ask medics for some..”

“I already discharged them”, his hand suddenly shifts, now resting atop of the door handle, his frame suddenly looming over you: “I have a medkit here, with the ointments and balms. Maybe you should stay here and let me patch you up?”

Why did you even think that Childe could change?

***

Ajax has you sitting on his chair, with sleeves rolled up to the very elbows, as he frets around you - checking the temperature, pulling the warm water closer to you and taking out needed medicine out of the kit. It’s mostly silent, except the tune he quietly hums - Childe looks peaceful and content like this, maybe he likes caring for you.

“Does it hurt?”, he takes a discolored finger, probing around the blister, as the warm hydro energy engulfs your damaged hand. The burst of sensation explodes at this action - pain, tingling, throbbing, even relief.

“Bearable”.

“Understood”, Childe gets back to his task, continuing to rewarm your hands, still humming that tune as he does so. He takes out the healing ointment, when the healthy color and warmth returns to your limbs and spreads it on the skin, bitter herbal scent filling the room in an instant.

“[First]”, he says, as he rubs the place between the index and middle fingers: “I think we need to talk. About that day and your reaction”.

“And what about it?”, you respond, too quickly and snappy for the calm-facade - the memories of that day, of what you thought he will do to you, of how he witnessed you falling apart - all of these are too much, a maelstrom of conflicted feelings rising every time your thoughts stray to this topic. He finishes applying the balm and now switches to the bandanges, wrapping treated hands in them.

“Don’t you think you treat me too harshly, [First]? I understand I may have been… unpleasant in the Past, but I thought we moved past that. What have I done to warrant such ire?”, he says it with his usual smile, but there's a tense, heavy tinge in his words. It’s subtle enough to miss, but you knew Ajax since you both were fourteen, so the strain doesn’t go unnoticed.

Everything, you want to coldly respond, but you stop yourself again - Ajax is still a Harbinger, even if he trailed your steps at the training camp like an overeager and highly murderous puppy not even a decade ago, no matter your own feelings or sentiments or even experiences he still holds that power over you, whether he realizes it or not.

“There were.. things”, broken bones, coppery scent of blood, someone else screams: “training with you wasn’t pleasant for sure”. Childe laughs at the last part, yet the tension clouding in the air doesn’t dissipate, turning more tangible instead.

“I see”, a long pause: “I want to prove you're wrong, I want to prove you that I will never do something against your will”.

You already did. You stay silent at that, anger and fury and frustration boiling underneath, burning and scorching your insides like a magma moments before the eruption. His hands finally wrap the last layer of bandage, tying the ends into a neat little bow, yet he doesn’t let your palm out of your hold, as his lips hover over it, breath burning the skin even through the fabric. And then he releases it, not doing anything.

“Good luck with that”, you finally suppress the inner storm, and stand up from the chair, quickly heading to the door. The place where he almost kissed your tingles and throbs with a renewed strength. Your cheeks burn for some reason.

[whitefantasy21-blog]

If there was a person that Cale ever hated more than the annoying Hawkmoth, including that bastard Choi Han

It was most definitely, Cale Barrow.

Lets rewind;

After one akuma battle, reporters flooded in the scene like sharks smelling blood

There was alot of questions being screamed at them and frankly, Cale was tired from the water fight

Black Cat gently supportz him up as he glares at the reporters making them back away abit

however one brave (foolish) reporter asked

”Ladybug! What is your real identity?!"

Then Ladybug had the brilliant idea of outing himself

"My name is Cale-" then he fainted, his partner had to carry him all the way to MasterDeath's house for safety

But surely someone must have connected the dots by now rigth??

Ladybug and Black Cat were heroes and definitely should be protecting their identities however had seen how exhausted Ladybug had been after that Shark themed Akuma who had apparently gone crazy because of that popular baby song about sharks

Ladybug might have slipped up at that time,

then, suddenly

Cale Barrow, a new transfer was the number suspect of being Ladybug

Cale scrowled as he watched the other red hair be asked if he was Ladybug

Barrow adjusts his glasses and denies it, however no one believed him because he was reaaaaallly suspicious, like why was he never found during Akuma battle ?

Barrow: because i would be hiding for my safety like any sane person should??

righhhhhht,

Cale hated him for wasting all his efforts in trying to out himself, if he gonna be Ladybug then he should take the workload of Ladybug aswell,

Cale decided to read books at the library and just slack off when suddenly

"You are Ladybug"

he looked up from his book to stare at the red hair looking down at him

"What?"

"Its obvious, I don't know how stupid the people here are not to know"

Cale decided to play dumb "I dont know what you're talking about"

Barrow narrows his eyes at him "I'll tell everyone"

"Do whatever you want" if he succeeds then there would be less work for him

Then, the following days includes Barrow trying to out Ladybug as Cale Henituse

It started out subtle like comparing their looks and behavior, but it didn't really work because everyone was under the expression he was Ladybug

before just saying "Henituse is Ladybug!"

but the people around him seems to have illness that hinders intelligence

they gave reasonings of how such a rude person cant possibly be Ladybug

Cale Henituse is also very dumb because he grades were always near the bottom of the class, if cant possibly be able to pull out all the strategies Ladybug can

The young master is just a very big fan of Ladybug, everytime he says he is Ladybug is just a diehard fan thing or if you asks some people just him looking for attention, how could someone as great as Ladybug can he possibly compare to

Barrow cant understand how they could badmouth someone while praising the very same person

"You! tell them thd truth!" Barrow points agressively at Cale

"I am Ladybug" he says boredly

"See!" Barrow turns excitedly when he heard a gasp, Litana had a look of understanding

"I understand, you're trying to protect your identity as ladybug by telling everyone Cale Henituse is you"

after all there was no way that trashy guy could be Ladybug

the nextday

Barrow had taken one look at Cale's polka dots clothes and almost exploded in rage

Cale stoods up and walked to the door before looking back with a mocking smile on his lips

'No one will ever believe you.'

Barrow who read his lips, screams "Cale Henituse!!! You son of a-"

Cale sighs, well that backfired

Regardless trying to out himself as Ladybug wont work

At least he wasn't the only one suffering

.

.

.

Not said in story but might as well add that

When the children heard about Cale Barrow, they were annoyed cause they think that someone is pretending tobe Ladybug

Cale had to placate them by bringing them to eat sweets with him

there was this one time that Barrow would be just walking by when he saw Cale, a child sitting on his lap with two older children eating at a cafe

but what really caught his attention was their clothes

Cale has the usual [I am Ladybug]

the dark haired child has [Im Babybug]

While the Red haired and Silverhaired children has [If lost please return to Ladybug]

Barrow almost had a stroke right then and there

Choi Han and the others don't really believe the rumours but once doubt is planted it could only grow from there

The black cat would look at Ladybug with sad eyes that makes him feel guilty for reasons unknown

Cale didn't do anything wrong.

Alberu looked at him with disappointment "Dongsaeng stop endangering yourself"

"im am not??"

regardless of what thought about the topic;

they needed to be more watchful of Cale Barrow because he could be in danger.