#“good and evil are not real things I found this all by myself look at me that makes me so fucking clever I’m basically an X-man”

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

VH - Lost Soul

(tw: it’s backstory time for Vampire Hero, and it isn’t very nice. Lots and lots of torture mentions.)

Vampire Hero was in hell, although not for the reasons Villain thought.

According to his watch, he’d been trapped in this maze for hours. Amid the many gifts his vampire nature had given him, a sense of direction wasn’t among them. He’d tried to punch the walls, but that would have taken too long to burst through them. They were even thicker than the skull that had thought of such a stupid thing to build. What he could do was leaving a dent to make sure that yes, he’d been there before. He had his phone on him, but there was no wifi, so no way to use his GPS. He had very little battery left anyhow– he had emptied most of it to send his wife pictures of bats on his way, which was as far as he was concerned a very good and judicious use of it. All of that was already a bore, but to make the game even funnier, the labyrinth was full of traps.

Full of pathetic traps. The ground collapsed under his feet, rocks were falling on him, all of that accomplishing nothing – but it was annoying enough that it disrupted his concentration, preventing him to find a way out. That was not the main problem, though. There were screens everywhere, too high to reach, and Villain. Never. Stopped. Talking.

“What is good and evil ? Do you know for sure what the limit is ? Good is supposed to follow the law, but is the law always good ? Isn’t it pride to do what feels right ? You think you want to stop me, but aren’t you being selfish by doing what you want ?”

She’d kept going like that for hours now. Nails on a blackboard would have sounded nicer. Not only the words were as hollow as a dead snail, but the inflection of that pompous voice was unbearable. Vampire Hero was seriously tempted to hit his head against the wall to stop hearing anything, but that didn’t seem like it’d work in the long term.

At his limit, he stepped up, his lips pinched, and finally yelled back:

“Four words. Grow the fuck up.”

“That’s all you have to say ? You’re not much for philosophy.”

“You call that philosophy ? I hate to break it to you, but knowing that good and bad are social constructs is not some kind of genius insight. All I see is a kid yelling at me that she’s very smart. You don’t give a crap about all of this. You just want to prove to yourself how very superior you are.”

“Do you think you’re better than me ?”

“The bar is low.”

“Oh, because you’re good now ?”

Vampire Hero stopped dead in his tracks:

“Even before, I was better than you."

He raised his arms and bared his teeth, his voice loud:

"You think that you’re bad ? You’ve got nothing on me ! I lured people and made them dance with me over broken glass. I had them rot blindfolded in animal cages for days until they had to lick their own blood. I had cozy nights with them having a friendly little chat in the living room while I was drinking from a corpse, and they knew that if they broke they were next. I made them starve and eat their loved ones. And I loved it ! I loved all of it ! I loved the light dying in their eyes. I thought I was clever ! I am half the reasons you’re shaking at night !”

“Zdiiiiiiiingbonnng,” made the rock on Hero’s head. He sighed in exasperation and stopped talking, wiping gravel from his hair.

“I know about you.” said Villain. “The hero agency’s lackey. Aren’t you ashamed ? You were a great prince, once.”

“Actually, I never was really tall.”

“Go ahead, hide yourself behind this kind of childish retorts. But admit it: you’ve sunk low. You arrest people who weren’t caught like you and you bring them to the authority, like a good dog. Has it ever occurred to you how much of a failure you’ve become ?”

“No.”

“Then why did you stop ?”

“If I tell you the story, will you finally shut up ?”

“Perhaps.”

“Worth it.”

Vampire Hero jumped over a couple of spikes, groaned when he realized that his jeans had a new hole, and said:

“Once upon a time, asshole, I was living happily in my castle all alone. I was rich, I was immortal, I had everything I wanted, and what I wanted was a lot of toys.”

He glanced around him, noticed nothing that indicated he was on the right path, and sighed.

“By toys I mean humans, of course. I chose among the prettiest, kindest, bravest, and I tortured them to death. I hurt them until they didn't have anything to break. I was good at it. I experimented things that would give you and all of you so-called Supervillains nightmares for years. But, you know. Decade after decade, still doing the same thing – I was getting bored. I felt empt- aw man, a dead end again ?”

He turned on his heels, swearing. That was obviously the wrong way to solve his problem. The walls were smooth and impossible to climb, so it had to be arranged. He caught a rock and throw it against the hard surface with a little more strength than necessary.

“Well, anyway. I heard there was a great conqueror who wanted the world. I made my first travel since decades, by curiosity. I wanted to see by myself who could challenge me.”

“And you fought him and you lost ?”

“I told you to shut up. I met her, and not long after I was her lucky, lucky husband. I never had her ambition, but of course I supported her. She encouraged my own little hobby in return, so I became her special torturer. My life was even more perfect, and there was this void inside me, and I hated it, and I didn't understand it. And what happened happened. I tortured the wrong person.”

“Define wrong ?”

“It was the daughter of a vampire hunter.”

“A poor choice.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. The guy was really good at his job. He was already pissed off because of the world-conquering plan, but after I did that, well, he cursed my wife and I – oh, enough with this.”

Punctured by rock impacts, the wall in front of him wasn’t so smooth anymore. Vampire Hero took a run-up, jumped and landed on the top of it. He had a nice view on the labyrinth now. For the first time, he took the right direction.

“ That’s cheating,” complained Villain.

“I don’t care.”

“What then ?”

“What then ? I had a bad century. The hunter couldn't kill me, so he drank my blood to prolong his own life and tortured me. He got good at it, too. I felt what I’d made the others feel, but only at first – after ninety years it was back to nothing. I was 300 years old and reality was fading. I was a leech. I hadn’t made a thing for myself.”

“You mean you went soft because of a little torturing?”

“No. I got old. When you have a couple of centuries, this torture-people-to-death shit doesn’t have the same kind of kick anymore. You try to get creative, but it doesn’t help. You feel nothing. So there’s nothing else you can do but stop. And speaking of stopping, it’s your turn.”

Vampire Hero was now at the center of the labyrinth. He jumped to a silver door, decided he was too done with the whole thing to use the knob, and broke it open.

Villain turned towards him, a small smile on her face, and opened her arms in a welcome gesture:

“Behold, vampire ! This room have been made of silver walls and floor. You won’t be able to enter without squirming in agony and -

Vampire Hero stepped in. Villain braced herself for his cries of pain, but there was none. He still looked bored out of his mind. There was a long silence.

“That’s – that’s not possible.”

Hero laughed. A slow, sinister laugh that made Villain’s eyes open wide.

“What are you ?” she whispered. “You can’t be a vampire. You should be crawling on the ground.”

“Don’t you listen ? I told you I’ve been tortured for decades. You know what an immortal body does when it regenerates back for the hundredth time ?"

He pointed to himself. There was a subtle change in his appearance. He still looked like his unimpressed self, but his usual lightness was replaced by something much darker. It was his eyes. Staring into them was like gazing into some horrible, nameless abyss. There was nothing human about them. They could only belong to some ghastly creature who'd lived centuries, not particularly nice ones.

Vampire Hero chuckled, and Villain shuddered.

"It gets tougher," he only said. "I’ve lost touch and taste. I feel nothing. Nor warmth or cold, and certainly not pain. My body is cut from the outside world. There's not much that feels real to me. You know what it is?”

He walked towards Villain, who took a step back and said:

“I hope you realize you’re monologuing yourself.”

“Habits die hard. I want to go back tonight and kiss my wife on the top of her head, just in the middle. It’s our habit. That’s all that matters. If I have to be on this side to support her, so be it. I don’t care about evil or good, and it won’t prevent me to eat your vocal chords if you’re off again. So, are you going to keep talking or finally shut the hell up ?”

“You know what, I think I’m good.”

*

Vampire Hero is a recurring character. His job is to troll current villains. Check the Vampire Hero Masterlist or Tag for more snippets with him.

Or back to Hero x Villain Masterlist.

#hero x villain #hero villain community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #original fiction #my writing #writing snippet #writing drabble #writing dialogue #villain and hero #creative writing #vampire #vampire hero #hero and villain #heroes and villains #fucking finally #this snippet took way too much time and effort let me tell you #I’m sorry villains saying they’re very clever because they know *morality is relative* is a berserk button #no fucking shit genius #it gives me euros holmes flashbacks #“good and evil are not real things I found this all by myself look at me that makes me so fucking clever I’m basically an X-man” #gaaaah #Moffat’s characters were never dumber than when he wanted to show off How Clever they were #anyway. #I’m calm. I’m cool. I’m calm.

[carionto]

The duality of Man, or triality? quadrality?

Alien to Human about New Human: Correct me if I'm wrong, but they appear abnormally large for your species?

H: Yea, he's a biggun alright, even without the EV suit I'd say... 7'3'', 310 pounds, bet he power lifts.

A: Umm... not to be rude, but, uhh... he seems, well... how should I put this...

H: Intimidating? Terrifying? Evil? Yea, if this station didn't have high screening standards I'd be totally pissing myself if he started walking towards me. The mohawk and eye tat totally make me believe he could snap me in two with a single glare.

A: I feel ashamed that my instincts are telling me to flee. I wish nature were easier to change.

H (shouting at NH): Hey buddy! Could you come over here for a minute please? You look awesome by the way!

A (whispering nervously): what are you doing?!?

H: Gotta overcome those fears somehow, I believe the best way is a direct confrontation.

NH approaches, somewhat slowly, looking around at all the other aliens in the station that are chatting, waiting around, or doing some work. He finally approaches A and H, and in a very deep and husky voice says: Um, hi, hello. T-thanks for the compliment, I, uh, was a little worried I would stand out too much here.

H: Oh you totally do, my friend over here is practically about to pass out from how much like a gothic viking of death metal you look.

NH: Oh no, I'm so sorry, I-I just grew up in Sweden-Delta and both my parents were huge into classic local music, so I just, uh... it's complicated. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone.

H: Hey, relax pal, we're all good people here. Anyway, what you here to do? I'm planning on starting a bakery, still testing out what kind of flour most species here can actually stomach. My friend here is on the team working on Moon theft preventative measures.

NH: Oh, that's cool. I'm here as an exchange student with the department of applied astrophysics. If all goes well, I can finish my Bachelors degree remotely and stay here as an intern with the head researcher.

H: Oooh, that's cool. (so cool yea that you're apparently half my age but oh well guess I'm a big fat time waster like my father before me and oh god change the subject before I get depressed in front of strangers) That's a real big bag you got there, carrying some super secret science things, eh?

NH: Oh, that... uhh... guess it can't hurt to tell, security vetted it already anyway.

NH proceeds to unzip the bag and hold up a large white piece of clothing with light blue rings and accents, alongside a strange white cap with what looked like small fins, and a curious little backpack.

NH: It's uhh... um... my... Ika... musume... cosplay.... (oh gods I can't believe I said it out loud again)

After a moment of awkward silence, NH slowly puts on the backpack and presses a button on it's strap, and suddenly numerous light blue colored tentacle-like appendages sprout out from the backpack and move in line with NH's movements.

NH: I, uh..., got my engineering friend to make them articulate and interface with my contacts. I can make them do all sorts of things, like make various shapes and animals with them, though works best as a shadow theater.

H:...

NH:...

A now frozen out of confusion than fear:...

H: That's so

NH: (oh I know it's so lame, but I love that show)-

H: COOL! I don't know what a ika musume is, but those things look amazing. You said articulate? How precise can they be? I'd love to have something like that instead of my useless assistant. Poor lad can't make a piece of toast if his life depended on it...

NH: Y-you like it?

H: I LOVE those things. My daughter does cosplay too sometimes, but she makes her Dreadnought suits herself from scraps. One time the military came to our house and installed a limiter on the gauss cannon she found in a crash site, said it would otherwise start to generate small doses of radiation if used too frequently. But she replaced it with a handmade rail gun before the next convention. Do you go to those? Did you see a 7 meter tall hulking metal monstrosity with a bunch of candles all over? That was her.

NH: Oh, I think I've seen video of that, but no, not in person, I go to smaller events. I don't really like big crowds.

H: Oh yea, I get ya, you do seem a bit on the shy side now that we've been talking for a bit. Hey, no worries, like I said, we're all good people here.

NH: T-thanks, but I think I should be going now, the teacher is calling me over.

H: Oh yea, go ahead, didn't mean to take up so much of your time. Have a fun stay and I'm sure you'll ace that paper or theory? Or whatever astrophysicists do, you seem like a solid kid.

NH: Oh, uh, thanks. Good luck with your bakery. And you with stopping those weird people from stealing more moons. Bye.

H: Bye bye, come visit, don't be a stranger now, I'm set up just a short bit from the main lift on floor 14.

NH: R-right, I'll, uh, be sure to stop by soon.

A is finally able to process what they just heard and says: What was all that just now?

H: What? Just a friendly chat with what is apparently basically a kid. Man, this kid's got so much going on, while I'm almost 50 and I have an oven. Life, man, it can go in so many ways. Anyway, let's go grab a drink, I'm parched.

#humans are space australians #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #humans are deathworlders #humanity fuck yeah #carionto #story #I intended to quickly write some silly dialogue again #and yet #somehow words kept happening again and now we have a #long post #and it's 1:30 at night #oh well #words won't write themselves #at least not well #I bet an AI couldn't make my kind of nonsense #AI isn't as chaotic as my brain #and it wants to generally follow existing best practices and common formats #well I say fuck that #I'm just a means to transfer what my brain spits out into reality

[sorrowsofsilence]

Burning Out • V

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x Fem!Reader

I was lost, but now I'm found Under the lights and in the sounds So let us sing and sing it loud That we're not perfect, but we're proud of who we are.

Noah Sebastian is lost. His crime-filled lifestyle is anything but perfect; but everything changes once he meets you.

Words: 9.9k

Warnings: 18+, explicit language, mentions of drugs and alcohol (underage drinking mentioned during flashback!) Crime, pls don't do illegal things lol.

Authors note: Chapter Five- I Wish I wasn't Lost: its currently 1am and i am EXHAUSTED lol. I Do hope you enjoy though <3 Thank you for all the love and support on this story, I appreciate every single one of you <3 Songs are Lost in Echoes by Caskets and I wish I wasn't by unprocessed.

THIS IS A FANFICTION USING REAL PEOPLE IN A FICTIONAL SITUATION! I AM NOT IMPLYING THESE PEOPLE WOULD DO THE THINGS IN THE STORY OR ACT THE WAY THEY DO IN THE STORY IN REAL LIFE! IT IS FICTION! IT IS JUST FOR FUN! <3

Tags: @crimson-calligraphyx @lma1986 @spicywhenspeaking @sammyjoeee @shilohrosechicken @princessmarshmallowx @laurpartyprogram @cookiesupplier @nojoyontheburn @lacktoesandtoddlerant @veronicaphoenix @er3nslovergirl @cncohshit @thescarlettvvitch @scrumptiousfestivalpost @melcchs @flowery-mess

This is an omen, a warning, a lesson to take So listen to the words that I say

I moaned as she slid down one more time and I gripped her hair, holding her still. I filled her tongue as threads of my release coated the back of her throat. The sight below me left my legs shaking as I pulled away, tucking her hair behind her ears, and rubbing my fingers underneath her chin in endearment.

What have I done?

“Good girls swallow,” I whispered and she moaned.

“Open,” I said, watching in complete reverence as she stuck out her tongue, showing me that she obeyed, drinking in all of me.

I leaned down towards her, pulling her chin up to kiss me as I melted into her lips, sighing with commitment.

What have I done?

+++++

NOAH

I wonder how How can it be that two souls live beneath my chest? I wander on Through the snowfall And the firestorm

One week passed.

I had robbed a few houses, but nothing was valuable enough to compare to the price of Y/N’s drugs. I barely made 4.5k, just enough to keep up my goal of 645 a day; and I was trying to think of another move I could make to get more.

I brought the money and log to one of D’s bitches, snarling at the satisfied look on the man’s face as he ripped the envelope from my hands.

‘Having fun Sebastian? Surprised you even made this much yourself.’ It took everything in me to walk away without bashing his fucking face in.

As each day passed I was being eaten alive by guilt, and I could barely look at Y/N. She noticed the shift in my behaviour, persistently asking me what was wrong and if she had done something.

‘Nothing,’ I would say.

‘Just stressed,’ I would say.

The last night we spent together was the night I stole her meds. I couldn’t sleep as she clung to my lying body, gentle breaths escaping her lips while she slept peacefully. I had sobbed quietly next to her, afraid to wake the candid woman that lay delicately beside deceit.

That next morning I told her I’d sleep in the spare bedroom across the hall, and the look she gave me was agonizing.

‘Oh, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I know that the nightmares are hard to deal with.’ She had said, her eyes falling briefly before she attempted to hide her expression with a smile.

My heart yearned at her words, wanting to hold her against my chest, ready to block out all the evil in the world if it meant protecting her. It wasn’t the nightmares that pushed me away, it was myself.

‘I don’t want to invade your space more than I already am.’ I responded.

I watched her take her pills when she did, my chest clenching in shame with every sip of water that followed the lies.

I wish I wasn't afraid of The haunted valley

The boys watched the remorse control me as I began to shut off the world, secluding myself from Y/N, and them.

I wish I wasn't a failure That nobody needs

“Noah?”

In the depths of my mind, I'm lost and confined A question gnaws at my core; I can't deny

“Noah.” Am I a mere illusion, a ghost in the crowd? Or do I carry a soul screaming out loud?

“Noah!”

I pulled out my earbuds at the call of my name, and my eyes squinted open. Ruffilo stood over me as I lay on the mattress in the basement, drowning in lyrics. The music blared from the removed bud as Nicholas glared, folding his arms.

I wish the voices in my head stopped their shrill tongues Just for a second so I could breathe some fresh air For a moment so I could stop sinking into despair I am a traitor in the face of myself

“Did you want to work on the song?” He asked, “Or are you wallowing in self-pity?”

A slave to a maggot that eats away my soul I ask the mountains to consume me as a whole How long will I be captured in this maze in the hail?

The song.

Y/N had hooked us up with a gig at Sammy’s tomorrow night, and Jolly had the brilliant idea of finishing our first-ever set with an original song; despite us never even playing for an audience. I wasn’t sure if I was more nervous about playing some shitty music in front of an audience of strangers, or that one of the audience members would be Y/N.

I shrugged at him, closing my eyes as I sunk into the pillow, placing the bud back in my ear.

“Nuh-uh,” Nicholas sighed as he leaned down to pull on the string of one, forcing me to listen, “you can’t wallow forever.”

“Watch me,” I glared, pulling the bud back from him as I sat up.

“You’ve ignored her for days, can’t you see how sad she’s been because of you? You fucked up, and you’re treating her as if she did something wrong.” Nicholas said sharply, “How’s that fair?”

I turned my head to avoid his targeting gaze, my eyes falling onto Jolly and Folio who pretended to be busy but listened to every word we said.

“She’s brought you your regular coffee every day after work Noah- because you haven’t even been going there.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as my head hung in shame. She has?

I rolled my head back “I know. None of it is fair to her.”

“So,” Nicholas began, sitting on a chair by one of the walls as he watched me with careful eyes, “Stop taking your guilt out on her.”

I exhaled swiftly, standing from the mattress and tossing my earbuds into the sheets, “I just- I can’t look at her without feeling like she can see right through me.”

“Is that a bad thing?” he questioned.

I scoffed, throwing my arm up as my frustration built, “Yes, it is because I stole her fucking pills and had to watch her swallow fake ones.” I began pacing around the room, shaking my head, “Pills that are supposed to be helping her, but are fabricated lies!”

Nicholas’ gaze followed me as I walked across the carpeted floor, eyebrows furrowed. Folio watched as well, his face falling. The guilt ate him too.

“She takes them thinking they’ll give her relief, but they don’t, and I took that away!” I stood still for a moment as I pushed the heel of my palms into my eyes, sighing audibly in conflict.

“You made a choice,” Nicholas stood up and I watched as he approached me, standing in front of me.

He peered into my eyes, a mix of anger and sorrow, “I hate seeing you like this Noah, but you fucked up.”

“I know I fucked up Nick,” My chest heaved as I began shaking. Nicholas wrapped his arms around me, squeezing my body gently.

“You need to tell her,” Nicholas said, placing a consoling hand on my shoulder.

I melted into his hug, holding my brother against me, “I can’t. Not yet, anyway.”

“So you’re just going to ignore her for weeks? Until everything with D is over?” Nicholas shook his head, “We live with her now. You won’t be able to avoid her, and you shouldn’t. Not after everything she’s done for you, for us.”

I pulled away from him, nodding in agreement, “I know; so I’ve been thinking…” I trailed off in thought.

“About?” Nicholas raised a brow.

“A pharmacy heist.”

“By yourself?” He watched me with amusement, “Are you crazy?”

I heard Jolly laugh in the corner and I quickly sent a glare in his direction.

“Of course I’m crazy,” I shrugged, “but I can get a fuck ton of money from this Vincent guy for getting pure shit.”

“Last time you did a big heist like that yourself was when we got into this mess in the first place. You don’t do big shit alone.”

+

The lights flickered around the room as I sat on the motel bed, my chest heaving with excitement. A seventeen-year-old Ruffilo sat beside me with the tattoo machine ready to brand my knuckles as twelve-year-old Folio watched eagerly.

“Today’s the day,” Jolly cheered, a wide smile stretching across his face as he threw a beer in my direction, “Our young padawan becomes a man.”

The can fumbled between my fingers as I looked down at it proudly, jittering with thrill. Jolly’s never let me drink before.

I opened the can in acceptance, hesitant to take the first sip with shaky hands, before bringing it up to my mouth. The beer was pungent and bitter, my lips puckering with furrowed brows; yeah, it was disgusting.

I tried to hide my distaste with a weak smile, “Yum.”

Jolly laughed, throwing his head back in amusement.

“You might want to chug it,” He said, taking a sip of his own beverage, “the knuckles hurt like a bitch.”

My eyes danced between him and the can as Nicholas and Nick began chanting, “Noah, Noah, Noah!”

Jolly joined with a raised fist, smiling with admiration as I chugged the drink, throwing the can to the floor in excitement as I stomped on it, the scream of elation ripping through my lungs as we all laughed. Nicholas hollered as he grabbed my shoulders, shaking me and I grinned, living within this moment of adventure.

“You ready?” Nicholas said, raising a quizzical brow as I began to feel the buzz. I nodded eagerly, throwing my hands in front of the table placed next to the bed.

Nicholas slid plastic gloves over his own tatted fingers before he wiped my knuckles with an alcohol wipe.

“There’s no going back,” He smiled as I sucked in a breath, anticipating the familiar scratching of the needle as it embedded the letters into my skin.

“Happy fourteenth birthday, baby bro,” Jolly walked over to me, patting my back. He handed me a crumbled paper bag, and with my free hand, I reached inside excitedly, pulling out the fabric.

I bit my lip as I tried to hide my smile but couldn’t. I was finally one of them.

“Your first mask.” Jolly nodded in approval. I tried pulling it over my head but couldn’t with one hand, so Jolly reached over, pulling it down over my face.

He bent down in front of me, his hand on top of my head as he shook me with fondness and it took everything in me not to cry with happiness at his praise.

That evening Nicholas wrapped my knuckles with black tape, protecting the freshly wounded skin. He went over the plan with Jolly, pointing towards the map indicating where I was to go, and where I would meet them after.

“This garage is filled with fancy as fuck cars,” Jolly nodded, leaning over the table, “so you have options. Don’t settle for any car, but don’t linger too long.”

“Remember, Kia’s and Hyundai’s are easier to hotwire, so you’ll have better luck getting in and out,” Nicholas said and I nodded as I jumped up and down, amping myself up.

“The alarms will go off almost immediately once you break in. People in this hotel get that shit valet, so someone is bound to notice right away.”

“Don’t forget, one, Underneath the steering wheel column find the wiring harness connector, Two,Pull aside the battery, ignition, and starter wire bundle, Three, Strip about 1 inch of the battery wires and twist them together. Fourth, Connect the ignition on/off wire to the battery wire.” Jolly listed and I nodded with each of his commands, reciting them back, “And don’t forget to break the steering lock or you won’t be able to drive.”

“Wire bundle, trip and twist, ignition to the battery,” I repeated, “Steering lock.”

+

“Well, I have no choice,” I threw my arms up, laughing, “What, you want me to ask Y/N then?”

Ask Y/N…

“No but-” Jolly started, but I interrupted him. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. She could be a diversion. A distraction in the plan.

“Y/N could be an extra body, and perhaps…” I trailed off, my mind wandering in thought. Yes, this was crazy; and the idea that followed even more so…but perhaps it could work.

“Okay,” Nicholas said as anger started bubbling from his tone as he watched me with disbelief, “And?”

“And,” I grabbed his shoulder as a smile wound up on my lips, “I can steal Y/N’s prescription while I’m there, and then replace her meds. So, she’ll never know.”

Nicholas rolled his head back in annoyance, almost laughing at my words, “Dude, you’re just going to dig yourself a hole here. You can’t be serious. Just tell her the truth about the fucking pills rather than getting her more involved.”

“I will eventually,” I sighed, “Just not now.”

“You do know how hard it is to steal from businesses alone versus a few houses here and there?” Jolly said as he scribbled in his notebook, “What is Y/N going to be able to do? Other than putting her and you in danger?”

“I have a plan,” I said, as I started pacing around the room.

“You’re considering her help? Are you fucking insane?” Jolly’s mouth hung open, “Du är en riktig klydderöv.” (You are an ass who likes to make things harder than they are)

“Listen,” I held my hands up in defence, but Nicholas threw his arms up.

“You can’t be serious; she could get hurt! You’re just using her?” he seethed.

“And you guys aren’t?” I laughed, pointing to the guitars and motioned around the room, “We are fucking freeloaders.”

“Aren't you worried about her getting injured?Caught? Better yet, Arrested?” Nick asked through clenched teeth. Why did he care so much?

“Of course I fucking am!” I growled, trying to not let any more guilt eat away at my insides, “I just want to have her as an extra body for that bit of fear factor. I don’t want her doing anything upfront or dangerous.”

“That’s still dangerous!” Nicholas exclaimed, “The fact she will be in that situation in the first place is not a good idea.”

I nodded in agreement, “I know. But what other choice do I have right now?” My eyes danced past each of the boys.

I knew this wasn’t the best idea, but my options were slim. I wanted to continue whatever was going on with Y/N- I didn’t want to feel this guilt, and if I was being honest with myself…

I was scared.

I was scared she wouldn’t see past my deceit, and I was scared she would hate me. That she wouldn’t forgive me.

I knew I had to make up for everything that had happened, but the first step was getting her proper medication back.

And to do that, I needed her help.

I wonder how How can it be that two souls live beneath my chest? I wander on Through the snowfall And the firestorm

“Let’s work on the song,” Folio changed the subject as the room heated, and I sighed heavily.

“Yeah, whatever,” I sat back on the mattress, pulling up the lyrics I wrote on my phone.

“Whatcha got Noah?” Jolly asked as he picked up the guitar.

“You've run out of luck, and I'm calling your bluff You stabbed me in the back, but not deep enough But not deep enough I see through you.” I hummed.

Jolly nodded as he tried to match the chords.

“Then the chorus, yada yada,” I said, eyes scanning my device as my thumb scrolled the screen.

“You said I'd never make it, you said I'd fall on my face But now I'm right where I belong, and I put you in your place You said I'd never make it, you said I'd make a mistake But now I'm right where I belong, and you've got nothing to say.”

Jolly eyed me briefly with a slight glare as I spoke, and I avoided his eyes.

“I like it,” Nicholas said, plucking the bass.

+++++

Y/N

With my fingers wrapped around the paper coffee cup, I sighed, fiddling with my keys to open the front door to my house.

Noah’s sudden distance made my chest clench in worry.

“look at me, show me those pretty eyes while I fuck your mouth,” he demanded and my lashes flicked up toward him, his body shuddering as I stared into him with complete greed.

The last time we spoke was that night. Noah hasn’t come to the cafe, and he has barely been home. I chalked it up to him being busy paying back D, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly broken, and that it was my fault for his distance.

Doubt ate at my insides, beginning to regret inviting them into my home.

I wish I wasn't afraid of The haunted valley I wish I wasn't a failure

Maybe Noah saw how unwell I was, after the nightmare. Maybe this whole situation made him uncomfortable. I made him uncomfortable.

That nobody needs That nobody needs That nobody needs

I’m sure he heard the nights I woke up screaming, and I can’t lie about how my heart broke when he wasn’t the one running into my room in concern. Not that he had to.

Nicholas however, was there in a heartbeat.

The boys were easy to live with, and I had a few game nights with Nick, Jolly and Nicholas. We got along surprisingly well, and I became quite close to Nicholas these past few days.

He must have noticed my inner battle because he often reassured me when I came home between shifts, running down to the basement with a coffee to greet Noah; only to be left disappointed when he wasn’t there.

“Hey,” Nicholas had waved, his gaze falling when he saw the coffee in my hands.

“Not home?” I asked, giving him a sad smile.

“No… I don’t know where he is either.”

I shared a curt nod before turning around to run back up the stairs.

“Y/N?” Nicholas called out before I took the first step up.

I stopped, sucking in a breath before sighing, “Did- did I do something wrong?” I asked, turning to look at him briefly.

Nicholas shook his head quickly, “No! No, of course not. You’ve done nothing but be kind to us.”

“Then why do I feel like I’m the problem? Did I scare him away?”

Nicholas’ shoulders dropped as he patted the seat on the couch next to him, pulling me into his side. I rested my head on his shoulder as he rubbed my arm warmly.

“Noah is a difficult creature,” He said, “But I haven’t seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

I sniffed, “Then why is he ignoring me?”

Nicholas stiffened at the question, and I tried to shrug it off, but I knew that he knew.

“I- he’s going through it. This is a lot of money for him to get himself, without any help.”

I pulled away from his hug, “I just wish he would let me help.”

I closed the door behind me, smiling down at Juice as he greeted me. I heard someone puttering in the kitchen and assumed it was Nicholas.

“Hey, Ruffilo-” I shouted, slipping off my shoes and prancing into the kitchen. I immediately gasped in surprise when it was not Ruffilo, but Noah, who sat at the table munching on a grilled cheese. Our eyes locked as we silently exchanged words, and my breath hitched in my throat. Why did I feel so nervous?

“Oh- hey-” my face flushed as I stood in place, staring at him for a moment too long, before bowing my head to pass him in anxiety. My heart immediately hammered, everything in me wanting to stare at his perfect smile or the way his long hair sculpted his face.

“Hey,” he said gently, his gaze burning into me as I placed my bag on the counter, taking in a nervous breath. I placed the coffee for him on the counter as I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water. Anything to distract myself from his presence.

“How are you?” He asked, still staring at me with intensity. I hesitated before I turned around, my back pressed against the counter as I let my eyes wander to his own. I couldn’t help but wonder why he was suddenly talking to me after days of distance. Part of me wanted to walk away.

“Uh,” I took a slow sip, the cool liquid a poor attempt at slicing through the tension that built between us, “Good. And you?”

He watched the cup that touched my lips, eyes skimming over the glass my fingers wrapped around before he hesitated, as if afraid to speak the words that left his mouth.

“I’m okay.” He began, trailing off before looking away, eyes fixated on the ground, “I’ve missed you.”

My heart raced at his confession, my shoulders falling gently with the relief at his words. Part of me wanted to scoff, part of me wanted to hold him and succumb to his touch. Did he really miss me, or was he just feeling guilty for being MIA the past few days? But nonetheless, the way my breath hitched in nervousness told me how excited I was to see him.

“I got you your coffee…” I said softly in response as I turned and handed him the cup, unsure what else to say. Our fingers touched delicately as we passed the drink, and my arm buzzed as butterflies spiralled through my body, reminiscent of the day we met.

He gave me a small smile, thanking me shyly, but I could tell that something else was on his mind as he took a sip.

It was silent for a moment as more unspoken words danced between us.

“I’ve missed you too,” I confessed quietly as my cheeks warmed, and I began playing with my fingers nervously.

Noah’s ears flushed with colour as he genuinely smiled, “Let me take you out tonight.”

“I- I have work,” I stammered, excitement replaced with disappointment.

“Call in. Let me take you on a date.” He shook his head as he took another sip, refusing to let down.

“I can’t afford to call in,” I gave him a sad smile, “But I would love to go out with you this weekend when I’m free?”

“I’ll give you the money then,” He stood up now, grabbing the glass from my hands before pulling my palms into his grasp, “Just let me treat you.”

His October eyes begged as they bore into me, trying to read my mind. I looked away, trying not to succumb to his silent plea but instead I smiled, looking at our connected hands. Why was he suddenly being this way?

“Stop looking at me like that,” I laughed.

“Like what?” He teased, before sticking out his bottom lip, packing on the puppy dog eyes.  

“Like that!” I giggled, and Noah tugged on my arms, pulling them so they were wrapped around his body as he buried me in his chest.

I sunk into his arms in alleviation as we swayed in the kitchen to the beat of our hearts.

Part of me wanted to pull away, tempted to see if he would bring me back. The other part of me wanted to berate him for his attitude. Part of me wanted him to take me against the kitchen table. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I didn’t want to ruin this moment together.

“I’m sorry I’ve been distant,” Noah whispered now, his voice vibrating from his chest as my cheek was pressed against his soft cotton t-shirt. I nodded against him in response, squeezing his torso as I closed my eyes, my mind beginning to overthink everything that’s happened between us.

I finally sucked in a breath, hesitant to ask, “Did I do something wrong?”

Noah immediately pulled me from his chest to look me in the eyes with a sullen expression, his hands cupping either side of my face, “You haven’t done anything wrong. You’re perfect.”

My eyes began to glaze over as my mind eased a little, and I chuckled softly, “Definitely not perfect.”

“Definitely are,” He whispered, hesitating once more before his broken eyes began analyzing my own. He made me feel like I had no reason to think he was lying. He made me feel perfect.

Noah watched me carefully before his eyes closed briefly. He sucked in a breath, hesitating, “I- I think there’s something wrong with me. I’m so lost right now.”

“I hope you know you can talk to me,” I matched his tone, my head tilting in empathy as we stood in the kitchen, holding each other. My fingers gripped onto the fabric of his shirt as I pulled him into another hug, embracing all his insecurities.

“I know,” He sighed, before masking his sorrows with a smile.

“Please come out with me,” He pulled away and pleaded again, the pad of his thumb beginning to graze across my cheekbone before tracing the outline of my lips, “I want to spend time with you. I want to hear your story.”

I smiled at his words, my breath catching in my throat as we watched each other, completely mesmerized as my eyes travelled across the outline of his ochre eyes. The slight stubble outlined his perfect lips that wrapped around the whites of his teeth as he smiled charmingly, and it left my palms sweating.

“You know plenty about me now,” He said gently, concentrated eyes devouring me, “So who are you?”

Subconsciously I began leaning in closer to his touch, our lips inches apart, “Why are you so convincing?” I whispered, the warmth of Noah’s breath cascading along my face.

“Ahem.”

I turned immediately at the cough, and Noah pulled away from me, staring back at the ground. I looked between him and Ruffilo, who stood leaning against the wall, watching Noah with analytical eyes.

“Hi, ruffles!” I then smiled warmly, confused at his interruption but happy to see him. He acknowledged me briefly, nodding in my direction before glaring daggers towards the brunette.

“A date?” Nicholas frowned as he folded his arms with an accusatory tone.

Noah shot back a look and my eyes flickered between the two of them, squinting in confusion.

Noah shook his head, turning his back towards us, “it’s none of your business.”

“It’s all my business now.” Nicholas stood up, standing next to me in defence.

My brows furrowed and I took a step back from Ruffilo, “Ok, what the fuck is going on?”

Ruffilo’s face contorted as a quick cynical laugh left his lips, scoffing at the brunette in front of him, “You didn’t ask her where you really want to take her out?”

Noah ran a hand over his face, “I was getting there.”

I looked between them again before my eyes landed on Noah, turning my head to the side, “Take me… where?”

Noah licked his lips in thought before turning to me, “I need your help.”

+

“Y/N hurry up!” Kiean yelled, his blonde curls bouncing underneath his black hood as he threw the canvas duffle bag towards me, placing his gun between his waistband. He ran behind the counter, typing on the keyboard of the desk computer frantically.

The alarms blared between the walls as I hastily tried to listen to the clicks of the safe, my heart racing as adrenaline rushed through me, my hands sweating beneath the leather gloves.

My breath quickened beneath the full white masquerade mask, the moisture building between the plastic and my skin, causing my chest to heave.

In a matter of minutes, the police would arrive and a shoot-out would begin.

‘k-12 to k-11’, Kean screamed over his walkie, my senses completely overloaded as the mixture of sounds rang through my ears.

‘k-11 to k-12, over.’

‘status of the doors?’

I looked away from the safe briefly towards the glass front doors, watching as the other masked figures held the rifles pointed towards the blocked exterior. I turned back as I anxiously flicked between the code, seconds being wasted the longer I failed to open it.

‘blocked.’ the voice responded.

‘hostages?’ Kiean asked.

‘detained.’

My eyes flickered towards the hunched bodies sitting on the floor, covering themselves in defence as they shook with fear. Another group of men with guns stood above them, shoving the rifle into the skin of a woman who mouthed back, creating an echo of screams as one of them fired the gun.

I closed my eyes, wishing to wake up from this nightmare.

But it was real.

“Is that fucking safe open yet?”

My blood ran cold as a shiver ran through my spine, the voice of my bad decision stopping my fingers mid-turn.

A gloved hand gripped the back of my neck and I looked up at the mask that mirrored my own, the only skin was his piercing green eyes that glared at me, filled with outrage. My lungs could no longer suck in oxygen as I gasped for a breath, desperate.

“You have ten fucking seconds to open it before I blow your goddamn brains out you pathetic piece of shit.”

His fingers dug into my neck as tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I watched back in horror, trying to nod underneath his grasp.

“Kade!” Kiean growled, “Fuck off!”

Kade looked back at me with disgust for a moment longer before he let me go, and I finally felt like I could briefly breathe.

I used to love his green eyes.

++

I sat on the edge of my bed as I hung up the phone with my boss, telling him I came down with food poisoning. Classic excuse.

I picked up the plastic mask as the pads of my fingers grazed over the years of shame associated with it, as my mind replayed the memory from my past.

Noah knew bits and pieces of my story, but he didn’t know the full reason why I left my old life behind.

I was scared to tell him; even though I knew he would probably still accept me; I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him yet.

I think I lost my mind Everything I knew came falling down Anything I build comes crashing down

I was trying to leave my old life behind…but I knew I was experienced enough to help him.

However, I knew that this was going to tie me right back to those I left. If I helped him, I would be stuck in the never-ending loop again. They would find me.

I'm pleading, "God, not now" Save me from my sins before I leave Free me from the weight so I can breathe

But for some reason, I was willing to do anything for Noah.

Why?

I was clearly fucking crazy.

The more I fool myself The more I feel it creeping in I think I lost my mind again

+++++

NOAH

Y/N and I agreed to go tonight.

I was scared to ask her, especially after Ruffilo confronted us. I did genuinely want to take her out on a date. I wanted to spend time with her.

But I did need her help.

I explained the plan of the heist and she agreed surprisingly quickly. The look she gave me left me confused. I was expecting some pushback, but she just sucked in a breath, lost in her mind for a moment before nodding and telling me she needed to grab a few things.

Her reaction was strange; almost as if she was conflicted. Was she conflicted between morals, knowing what she was doing was illegal? Or was there something else?

I sent a text to Vincent, telling him I’d meet him right after the heist to sell the drugs, right around midnight.

“See you then, Sebastian. Same spot.”

Hope ran through my veins as the plans fell into place, and I grabbed my backpack and gear, before running up the stairs to Y/N’s room.

I knocked as I pushed open the door, her eyes flickering up towards me before backing down at the mask she had resting in her palms. It was a simple white plastic party mask; the black masquerade design spiralling around the eyes.

I eyed her tentatively as she continued to stare at the mask. She flipped it around and my eyes narrowed as I analyzed the pattern. I swear I’ve seen this mask before, but I couldn’t place a finger on from were.

“Do you want one of my masks?” I asked, sitting next to her on the mattress, assessing the plastic she traced her fingers with, as if recalling a memory.

She took a shaky breath as she declined, turning to face me and giving me a curt smile, “This one work fine.”

I watched as Y/N’s shoulders began to shake in what I assumed was nervousness, and I placed a hand on hers that held the mask, “You don’t have to do this with me.”

She jumped lightly at my touch, leaving me confused before pulling away.

“I told you I’d help you, Noah,” she said as she stood up, walking to her desk and grabbing her own backpack.

Y/N pulled out a walkie-talkie from the fabric, tossing me one. I raised a brow as I caught it, staring at the machine.

“When did you get these?” I asked, almost laughing at the tactile equipment. This was a high-tech radio, something that surprised me she owned.

She shrugged, eying me once more before zipping up her backpack, “A long time ago. I’ll give one to the boys too so we can communicate. They can keep track on the sidelines.”

I hummed in response as I placed it inside the pocket of my cargo pants. I watched as Y/N paced around the room, grabbing various items before turning to face me.

“Are you wearing a change of clothes underneath the black?” She asked me, her serious expression sending shivers down my spine.

I turned my head to the side as I stood up from her bed, “No… should I be?”

She nodded, raising a brow as if I was stupid, “Yes, and bring another hat.”

I gave her a curious glance but obeyed, crossing the hall to the spare bedroom to grab another set of clothes.

Once we gathered everything, we stood at the front door, prepared to leave. Ruffilo stood waiting by the stairs, folded arms analyzing us before he went up to Y/N, giving her a tight hug before moving to me.

“You guys stay safe. I’ll be tracking you.” He gave us a curt nod, sighing as he glanced at Y/N in worry.

“Please keep your phone and my laptop on next to you. Remember the password is Juice.” Y/N said to Nicholas, and he nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

“Why?” I asked her, staring down at her, slightly in surprise. I didn’t know her and Nicholas were as close as they were.  

“You never know when you need backup.” She smiled, the worry dancing behind her eyes causing my own anxiety to spark.

We gave each other a nod before waving to Nicholas, leaving through the front door. The crisp air slapped me in the face, waking me up to the reality that this was really happening: that Y/N was going to be with me. Was this really a good idea?

We got into the van, me in the driver’s seat and Y/N in the passengers.

“So,” Y/N began as I pulled out from the curb, driving down the street, “I’ve never been to this pharmacy, and I have no idea how many cameras there are.”

“Folio said that there shouldn’t be any inside since this place is pretty old, but I believe that there are two outside,” I replied, turning down the music in the car.

Y/N nodded, “Well then, we definitely should park on Twelfth Ave, so we are far enough from cameras around the pharmacy.”

I hummed in response, sucking in a breath. Her analysis and knowledge surprised me, “You seem to know what you’re talking about.”

She glanced over at me briefly before staring out the window, watching the city pass by, “I’ve seen movies.”

I chuckled, fingers tightening around the wheel, somehow not satisfied with the answer, “I guess so.”

We sat in silence for the majority of the ride, soft music from the radio tuning out the silence. As we approached Twelfth Ave, I parked alongside the road.

“Ready?” I said, glancing at her.

Y/N hummed as she peered out the window, looking for cameras before giving me a nod.

“We’re good. Masks on before we get out.”

I laughed, cocking my head to the side, “Isn’t this my mission?”

She smiled at me, “Of course; but you asked for my help.”

“Touche,” I slipped the fabric over my head as I pulled my hood over. The car doors slammed shut and we began walking down the sidewalk, Y/N’s hands now governed with gloves.

“Walkie is set to channel 14?” She asked me, double checking hers before clipping it to her belt.

“Yes,” I chuckled, reassuring her with a glance.

Y/N nodded, walking ahead of me quickly, “Ok. Before we hit the 13th street we need to check for more cameras, especially on the buildings across the street. Then scope out a place we can hide behind to change once we’re done.”

I blinked rapidly her knowledge of this surprised me, leaving me innately curious. I trailed behind her, following her commands. We hit 13th Ave and I watched Y/N as she scanned the brick that surrounded us, pointing to a camera across the street.

“That one will already have seen us. We can’t continue-” she said, her breath hitching in her throat.

I pulled her body back, turning her to face me. “What-”

“Let me finish,” She cut me off, heavy breathing erupting from behind the mask, “I need to call Nicholas.”

The woman next to me pulled out her phone, dialling Ruffilo’s number. Y/N grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side between two buildings, holding the phone close to her ear as the bricks sheltered us.

“Hey, Ruffles.” She whispered, “yea everything’s ok. I need help with the cameras, so I need you to get my laptop.”

I watched her with curiosity, listening to every word.

“Login to my computer and click the blue app on my desktop, the one with the eye- yes- yes that one.”

She glanced at me before staring at the ground, “Password is Kade. K-A-D-E. Capitals.”

Kade?

Y/N held the phone closer to her ear, frantically beginning to pace, “OK, now I need you to type the address of Noah’s tracker into the box on the bottom. Grey box.”

What the hell was she doing?

I watched her with furrowed brows. This was some spy level shit and I had no idea how or why she knew this; but something was telling me I don’t know as much about Y/N as I thought.

“Yes, the IP. Include the zeros. Then click the red icon that will pop up on the right.”

“It’s asking for another password.” I could hear Nicholas on the other side of Y/N’s phone faintly.

“Try Kiean. K-I-E-A-N.”

“Nope.”

Y/N was silent for a moment, and I watched as her chest heaved beneath her black zip-up. She hesitated for a moment, as if the words were unable to escape her lips, “Try- try my name and the date 06-13.”

“Yeah, that worked. Now what?”

June 13?

I peered at Y/N’s eyes through her mask, tears welling up along her eyelids, “OK, c-click the box that should have popped up. You’re going to need to enter this code…ready?”

I heard Nick hum and Y/N began spitting out random letters and numbers, “qqp;//0-0-0:879230/live.”

“Then put in Noah’s IP, and then continue with ‘.off/GO113MODULE=shutdown.”

What the fuck?

“Ok. That did something?”

“Did a timer pop up?” Y/N asked hastily, before eying me.

“Yeah- it says 7 minutes and it’s counting down.”

“Call me when two minutes are remaining.” Y/N hung up the phone before grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the ally towards the pharmacy.

“The cameras are down. We have seven minutes to get in and get out; maybe even less before the alarms signal the cops.”

I had so many questions, but all I could do was watch her with complete confusion, but also awe.

We reached the pharmacy door, and I pulled out a crowbar from my back, hinging it between the wood. I struggled for a moment, my teeth gritting as I pulled on the door.

“Push don’t pull. It’s faster.” Y/N mumbled, and I did as she said, the door popping open within seconds.

“How the fuck do you-”

She ignored my response and walked past me as the deafening alarm began echoing through the street from the pharmacy. My adrenaline began to spike as I rushed in and scoped the shelves before aimlessly grabbing things off the shelves hastily and throwing them into the extra backpack I brought. I began to make my way to the back of the building where the prescriptions would be, rushing along the wooden floor.

My heart pounded as the alarm rang, signalling the short amount of time we had to be in and out.

Y/N followed suit and I watched as she swiftly jumped over the counter, swinging herself between the shelves. She crouched next to me, pulling various boxes and pills off their designated spaces before shovelling them into her bag.

“You fucking know what you’re doing,” I yelled over the ringing alarm, throwing bottles left and right, trying to be as fast as possible.

Y/N glanced at me as she continued to shove random items into her backpack, turning away to ignore my question.

I leaned over, grabbing her arm as she grabbed a bubble pack of pills, “You don’t know this from movies. The fucking camera hacking? What the hell?” I knew now wasn’t the time for an interrogation; but I couldn’t help myself.

“Can you shut up?” She seethed through her teeth, eyes squinting at me angrily, “Now is not the time Noah, the cops will probably be here any minute. You’re wasting time worrying about me when you should be worried about the money.”

She ripped her arm away from me, walking to the other side of the counter, towards the register. I watched her in disbelief as she then went to pop open the register with a crowbar, grabbing the cash that lay amidst it.  

I shook my head in a mix of mistrust and admiration. Maybe taking her was a good idea after all.

Her phone rang and we looked at each other, her eyes hallowing beneath the mask, “Two minutes till the cameras are on, we need to go,” She yelled, her voice raw over the sound of the alarm.

I nodded briefly before I remembered one of the sole reasons we were here; to grab her meds.

“Wait-” I hollered, turning around. Diazepam, Adderall, Zolpidem.

My eyes flicked through the shelves, desperately searching. Adderall. Check. Diazepam. Check.

“Noah!” Y/N screamed, standing at the door, throwing her arms up. Amongst the store alarm, I could hear sirens whaling in the distance, signalling their justice.

“Wait- fuck!” I yelled, anxiously searching the last section. My gloved hand ran along the shelf as my heart hammered in anticipation, before I landed on Zolpidem. Check. Y/N stood by the door, head swinging between me and outside, peaking around the corner to watch for cops.

Grabbing my bag I hopped over the counter, slightly tripping over the mess we created but caught myself. Sprinting out of the store I grabbed Y/N’s arm, dragging her with me.

My ears still rang as we ran, and Y/N began pushing into me.

“Here,” She pushed into my side, leading us between an alleyway further down the street.

“Strip,” she comanded as she exhaled heavily, throwing her hood off her head and mask off onto the ground hastily, as if peeling it away in disgust.

“Can’t wait till we get home?” I tried to laugh, and she glared in my direction, unamused given the state of haste we were in. As my smile faded, I barely noticed her tear-stained cheeks as she took off her hoodie, pulling a pink one out of her bag. She threw on a pair of sweatpants over her shorts that were beneath her jeans and knelt to slip on a pair of white Converse.

I followed suit, throwing off my attire quickly before slipping into a pair of black and white shorts, along with a white hoodie. As I threw on my vans and hopped to get my foot inside, I shoved everything back into my bag.

The sirens got closer, the red and blue lights reflecting down the buildings at the end of the street. We began to panic and once she was ready, I grabbed Y/N’s hand with my sweaty one, pulling her with me down the alley. I looked up and down the brick towards the end before finding a ladder, pulling on it to test its strength and hopping up, beginning to climb.

Y/N followed below and once we reached the top we stood on the roof for a moment. She watched me before I began to run. The rocks that layered the top of the roof crunched beneath my feet as I bolted, my head snapping back as I kept looking behind me to check Y/N was still following, making sure she was ok.

We reached the edge of the roof, and I scoped the scene. Although we were surrounded by buildings, I wasn’t sure where to go from here. The sirens still echoed as they flashed from below, anticipating us to decide quickly. I looked below, noticing a ladder and ledge attached to another building. We would have to jump to make it, but it looked doable.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, breathless, looking down at her. The moon light cascaded delicate shadows along her frame, leaving me captivated. As her beautiful E/C eyes looked back at me, she held out her hand, complete commitment radiating through her.

“Always,” She whispered back, squeezing my fingers. I smiled at her and looked ahead, preparing to jump.

“Follow me,” I squeezed her hand in encouragement before letting go, and she nodded.

I stood on the edge of the building, my eyes flickering over the ladder as I sucked in a breath, ready to push myself off the ledge. I jumped, the air sliding between my limbs briefly before I caught myself on the metal. I sighed heavily, looking up at Y/N and giving her a thumbs up.

She hesitated for a moment, looking down at the ground below. I watched as her gaze analyzed everything; and before fear could take over, I encouraged her.

“You can do it, I believe in you,” I said, and she nodded, her body swaying with the wind before throwing herself off the stone and landing next to me.

We walked across the ledge before reaching the end, and I looked at the ground below.

“Ok, we can swing off that pipe and then onto the top of the dumpster. Then we run,” I said, preparing to jump again.

She let out a puff of air, “Parkour?” She laughed.

“Easy,” I matched her tone, letting out an anxious chuckle, “Just watch me.”

I walked across the pipe, holding my hands out to distribute my weight and keep my balance until I was above the dumpster below. Kneeling, I then made sure I had a tight grip before dropping my body, so I was hanging from the piece of metal.

I took a deep breath before letting go, bending my knees to catch my fall on the plastic lid.

Y/N did the same, but as she hung on the pipe, she closed her eyes, afraid to drop.

“C’mon princess,” I praised, “I’ll catch you.”

She scrunched her face in thought before letting go, and I caught her, pulling her close against my body. I hugged her briefly, wanting to hang onto her forever; but we still had a job to do.

We slid off the dumpster onto the cold pavement, and I grabbed her hand, holding her as we then made a sprint toward the van. Our footsteps rang along the cement, adrenaline pushing me more than caffeine ever could. At this moment, I felt alive with Y/N next to me.

We approached the van with our chests rising and falling, pulling ourselves into the dirty grey fabric seats, and locking the doors. As we sat in the car not speaking, the only sounds being our heavy breathing, I peeked over at Y/N, who then turned to face me.

With flush cheeks, her eyes trailed along my gaze, before a wide smile grew upon her face, “Fucking hell.”

She laughed, and I mirrored her, the grin on my face expressing my devotion to this woman.

“I can’t believe we pulled that off.” I laughed, coughing as my throat dried with thirst, and rested my forehead onto the steering wheel.

Our laughs died out and I turned to face her.

“Yeah,” She watched me again, but her smile began to fall, “we did it.”

“How did you-” I began, wanting to begin asking questions, but she cut me off immediately.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” She curtly responded, completely beginning to shut down as the adrenaline wore off. Her eyes remained fixated straight ahead and I watched her in confusion and concern, millions of questions racing through my mind.

What was wrong? And how does she know so much?

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk about it,” I began as I started the car, revving the engine gently before pulling out, “but what you did back there was more than even I could do. All the boys.”

Y/N remained silent, turning her body away from me.

“You’ve done this before.”

Y/N’s head snapped toward me, “Noah,” She warned, my name leaving her lips angrily.

I stared at her, licking my lips in annoyance, but dropping the subject, “We need to visit someone before we head back.”

She swallowed harshly, nodding in silence.

My mind raced as I drove. Y/N definitely hasn’t been honest about her past. I swear I’ve seen that mask before; and I know for a fact that she’s had to have done a heist in the past or some shit. She was experienced… and who the fuck was Kiean?

Thoughts invaded my mind and once we were close to the pier I stopped abruptly before an allyway.

I turned off the engine, grabbing my mask.

“Put your mask on,” I said, and she nodded, reaching into her bag. I watched as she placed the mask on top of her face and I followed with my own, before we pulled the hoodies over our heads once again. I waited for Y/N to get out of the car, watching carefully as she closed the door.

I quickly grabbed her replacement meds from my bag, sliding them into the glovebox before grabbing both our backpacks. I slid out of the car, walking next to her.

I leaned over, whispering, “Stay behind me, don’t say anything,” and Y/N nodded, trailing behind me as we walked down into the alleyway.

It was quiet, the only sound was our footsteps and distant traffic. I stopped Y/N with my arm before we walked any further down the cement, waiting.

Y/N breathed heavily, and seconds later we heard him.

“Sebastian!” Vincent’s voice boomed through the brick walls.

I cautiously kept my distance as he turned the corner, exposing himself. He walked towards us and was flipping a coin between his fingers, tilting his head slightly as his eyes immediately latched onto Y/N. She stood behind me, almost hidden.

“a friend?” His voice raised slightly in question.

I held out my arm to hold her behind me, but Y/N pushed past my defence and stepped beside me.

Vincent immediately stopped flipping his coin once she was exposed, his eyes flashing with recognition as he stared straight past me, eyes locked onto the masked girl. He was fixated on her. My stomach churned at the way he stared, completely lost in a trance.

I looked at Y/N briefly and she stared back, shoulders heaving.

A deep chuckle radiated through his chest before he spoke, his words leaving me confused.

“We live in a twilight world.”

Y/N stiffened beside me, silent for a moment before responding.

“And there are no friends at dusk.”

I turned to her in complete confusion. The interaction between them building tension so thick I could cut it with a knife. My mind began to race.

She knows him. He knows her.

But how?

The mask.

Vincent looked away from their eye contest first, the shine of his grillz radiating once he smiled at me.

“What do you have for me? Other than an oh-so-riveting friend.”

I ignored his question regarding Y/N as I slid the backpack off my back. I opened it toward him, revealing the dozens of pill bottles.

“Quite the haul,” Vincent laughed, a low whistle escaping his lips, “but I didn’t come quite prepared with that much money.”

I tried hiding my disappointment, “Then what can I give you?”

“I brought the same amount as last week,” He said, nodding towards the bag, “Got any more of that Adderall you got me? and the zolpidem and diazepam?”

Don't worry, I'll be lost in echoes Be laughing on my own It's tragic, but it's the only life I know (Only life I know)

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes began to widen, and I stared at him.

“From whatever that name was- Y-N? Something?”

My body froze, immediately afraid to look in her direction. From my peripheral, I saw her remain perfectly still. Too still.

What should I do, what should I be? (I'm at a turning point right now) I'm so full of rage, too blind to see

“Uh- n-no.” I stammered, taking a step back as I avoided Y/N’s gaze,  “I have a few opioids.”

Vincent shrugged, smiling, “Ah sounds good.”

I looked at the bag as my hands began to shake.

“I’ll take those today for twenty-five hundred. But uh, bring the others next time. They sold great. I’ll offer thirty-five hundred,” Vincent said, reaching into the bag to assess some of the bottles.

I swallowed harshly as I nodded, “Yea- I’ll get some of those.”

Vincent whipped out his testing kid, assessing each of the bags and bottles before pulling out the cash.

“Pleasure doing business with ya, Sebastian.” He nodded as he placed the bundle into my gloved fingers, licking his lips before smiling towards Y/N.

He watched her tauntingly,"I'll See You At The Beginning, Friend."

Y/N only gave him a small nod, silently and swiftly turning around, walking back towards the car.

As I watched her leave, I then glanced at Vincent one more time who watched curiously.

“See you,” I said in a conflicted tone, before jogging after the girl who was now gone from the alleyway.

Y/N was already sitting in the car with the mask thrown onto the dashboard, staring down at her lap in complete emptiness.

I got into the driver’s seat, too afraid to say anything once I saw how she collapsed.

The words that then left her lips sounded broken, strained, and defeated. “I trusted you.”

My heart pounding in agony as she fixated on her lap with disappointed eyes. I swallowed harshly, panicking. As my heart hammered the only question that left my mouth was Why.

I wanted to blame her as if it was her fault for trusting me. As if she’s the one who made me steal her drugs. Part of me wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her, my body fighting the urge to shame her for being so kind.

The more I fool myself The more I feel it creeping in I think I lost my mind again

“Why would you trust a criminal like me?”

As soon as the question left my lips I had sunk into the seat of the car, shame taking over. I was never meant to be the good guy.

The more I start to fall The more I don't see me at all I think I lost my mind again

Her eyes fell as she grew small, suddenly insecure, “B-because?” She stuttered, “You’re not a bad person Noah.”

Yes I am, it’s my fault for taking advantage of her.

“Why did you do it?” She asked, still staring at her hands.

“Why else?” My hands ran up across my face, “I need the fucking money. Not like I do this for fun.”

I keep picturing my ending beneath a yellow rose I don't recall this type of feeling, a seed inside my bones My soul turned its back and left me, I burnt the bridge within Just another waste of humans weighing down this skin

“I tried giving you options- like the bar, or even a position at the cafe,” She began rambling, her hand moving erratically as she explained.

“And I'm grateful,” I reached out towards her arm, but she pushed herself towards the window, away from me defensively.

My hand fell in shame, “but that can’t make me enough. It’s hard to make money this way when it’s just me doing jobs.”

“I get that,” She folded her arms, holding onto herself, “But I told you I would help.”

And it pulls me further from the point that I belong And all you wanna do is take me, break me, hide me away Or you can shame me, blame me, burn me at the stake on a lie 'Cause my own mind wilts at the thought of being alive And that I'd like it if I tried

“You didn’t need to go behind my back. You could have just asked,” she whispered.

“I- the whole reason I did this robbery in specific,” I stated, opening the glovebox in front of her, revealing the plastic bottles, “was to get back your meds. That’s why I’ve been so distant.”

She stared at the orange bottles, detached.

“I have felt so fucking guilty, that I have barely been able to look at you knowing what I did,” my voice began to raise, “Like how fucked up am I? That I could do that to you, knowing, that they’re supposed to be helping you?”

I scoffed at myself as I slammed the glovebox, making Y/N jump in the process.

The more I fool myself The more I feel it creeping in I think I lost my mind again

“Y/N,” I whispered now, “I am so sorry I did this to you. I am so sorry I dragged you into this.”

The more I start to fall The more I don't see me at all I think I lost my mind again

Chapter 6

#burning out fanfic #sorrows of silence #bad omens #noah sebastian #bad omens cult #bad omens band #noah sebastian davis #metalcore #noah sebastian fluff #noah sebastian smut #nicholas ruffilo #crime #criminals #money heist #heist

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

they managed to massacre Aang's character and all the struggle and importance of his choice in the finale in a SINGLE page, and yet there are people who think the comics are good

and of course Katara's would have nothing to say on the matter, toootally in-character

Not to mention: yes, Zuko is right that a lifetime of indoctrination won't magically stop affecting him just because he's aware of it now, but the way the comics really said "If you're not perfect, you deserve to die. Not rehabilitation, not even incarceration despite it being an option, just straight to violent, lethal punishment" is horrying.

And lets not forget the blatant abuse apologism of having Zuko, the kid who was told by his abusive parent that his disfigurement and banishment was "for his own good" after he made one "mistake", turning to his closest friends and asking them to be his "safety net" by MURDERING HIM IF EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE - and said friends then agree to it.

Are you fucking kidding me? The real Aang would have double-down on the "You're NOT your father" bit, and the entire friend group would have been super concerned about Zuko because a victim of abuse saying they're as bad as their abuser thus deserve to die is one hell of a red flag as to how their mental health is going.

Speaking of mental health: I talk a lot about how Azula was constantly being abused by the supposed heroes in the comics, and how the justification of it is rooted in ableism, but this nonsense with Zuko asking to be put down like a dog is also peak victim blaming, and one of the few moments in which one can actually feel bad for comics!Zuko.

And it ties into a disturbing pattern I noticed among Avatar fans - and mainly Zuko fans. They don't truly understand that what Ozai put his children through was wrong, they simply think he chose the wrong kid as the escapegoat. They think Azula should have been the one that is constantly punished just for existing, while Zuko is the golden child that can do no wrong - or else.

This moment right here? With the people that he trusts agreeing to inflict violence on him if he ever makes a mistake? This is that "or else". This is literally the same mentality that led to Azula's breakdown because NO ONE CAN SURVIVE UNDER THAT MUCH PRESSURE.

And that leads us to the main reason why the comcis suck: Yang was using Zuko as a self-insert.

"Zuko‘s relationship with Ozai is something we – Mike, Brian, Dark Horse, Nickelodeon, and I – talked about extensively when we first started working together. There’s this strange thing that happens to people in power. The pressures of power often blur the lines between enemies. That’s part of what happens to Zuko here. Ozai is the only one who knows what it’s like to be Fire Lord, the only one who has the wisdom of experience. I also looked at my own life. I used to clash with my dad quite a bit when I was a teenager. However, as I grew up and found myself in roles that he used to have, I began to understand more and more of his decisions. My father isn't thoroughly evil, of course, but I imagine Zuko feels a little of the same pull."

Yang. My guy. My dude. The words "Ozai" and "wisdom" should NEVER be in the same sentence. Every single action of Ozai's as Fire Lord was based on him being an abusive piece of shit that finally got access to absolute power. He is not a stern dad, he is abusive. He's not misunderstood, he needed to be stopped and locked away. He is a human being with feelings and motivations, yes, but he is WRONG ABOUT LITERALLY EVERYTHING EVER. He NEVER had a point. Zuko has nothing to learn from him except what NOT to do. That's why he looks like an older, unscarred Zuko. A version of Zuko that never changed.

This is the core issue of the comics, and why it had so many moments of unintentional abuse apologism: they say Ozai is a villain, but they're going out of their way to constantly make the characters come dangerously close to saying "Maybe he had a point." That's why they have Zuko turn to Ozai for advice despite claiming he wants to avoid becoming like him - because the guy writting them couldn't understand that the bad guy was, in fact, bad and in the wrong and has no wisdom to offer to anyone.

Avatar, the series, is about the world moving past from the sick mentality people like Ozai had, and about his son realizing that he did not deserve to be abused. The Avatar Comics are about telling Zuko (and others) "Ozai isn't wrong actually, you'll understand when you're older."

No, Yang, they won't. Because there's nothing to "understand" here other than THE GUY THAT ABUSED HIS CHILDREN AND COMMITED GENOCIDE WAS WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, YOU DUMBASS!

Saying "the villain had a point" does not make a story better unless it is true - and in Ozai's case, it simply isn't. Insisting otherwise doesn't make the story and characters more mature, it just means you couldn't understand a cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds despite being a grown-ass man.

And I won't even get into Bryke approving of this bullshit otherwise I'll start tearing my hair out in rage at how badly they seem to have lost touch with the message of their best work, so let me just use a simple statemet to make everyone understand just how much of a disaster this is:

Even M. Night Shyamalan didn't misunderstand ATLA to the point of thinking Ozai wasn't actually wrong, but Bryan, Mike and Yang did. The comics understand the show less than M. Night Shyamalan did.

I rest my fucking case.

#atla comics #the comics suck #zuko deserved better #azula deserved better

[theplottdump]

Any tips for making a legacy, for lack of a better term, weirder? I've worked pretty much every occult possible into the family tree but I feel like I get too focused on just maintaining needs and normal daily family life for them, especially since I prefer to keep everyone more or less happy (i.e. no tragic early deaths). The most exciting things I've really done are turn one sim into a Global Superstar and marry off another one to the Grim Reaper, and sometimes I pause aging for a bit to spend more time on certain plots. Your legacy is obviously pretty wild so I wondered how you go about coming up with ideas like Michael Bublé Christmas Getaways and Charlie's Angels Spy Squads haha

This is a great question!! Let me see if I can dig up a good enough answer for it 😂

And I'll include pictures to break up the massive wall of text.

The reason Gens 1-3 are barely mentioned on here is because in reality there wasn't really anything interesting that happened in them. I wanted to hide away from the stress of a worldwide pandemic and watch my sims garden for a while. No real rules, just something to relax.

Gen 4 was a slight departure since I was getting a little tired of my sims doing the same thing over and over, and I decided to do the opposite and move them to a penthouse in the city as a refreshing change.

And as I started playing with more gameplay mods that added extra moodlets- the chance of hysterical death rose exponentially. My Gen 4 heir died when my Gen 5 heir, Hinoki was just a kid. So I decided to keep him around as a ghost while my Gen 3 heir worked on grinding out the ingredients for Ambrosia and Reed (Gen 4) continued to follow his political aspirations to become the first Ghost President of Simerica.

And this is where we find the nexus point of weird. And here's the biggest (not so secret) secret to it. The beginning of Gen 5 is when I started actually sharing my gameplay.

Not publicly, but with a small group of friends and simmers on a discord, like I've mentioned before here. Suddenly I wasn't just playing for myself, I was very slowly starting to play to make my friends laugh- to see how they reacted whenever I would leave little updates. And I found I really enjoyed that!

I started contriving little scenarios- what if Hinoki slept with her husband's band mate and had a secret child. And then someone would pop in and say she might have to run away for a while to Tartosa to have a baby. This independent toddler trait gives baby Val such a stink face- oh you should put him in a tiny leopard print robe to match. And it became this back and forth of - you know what would be funny?

I was started going off the rule from my friend @anotherplumbob that my first born would be the heir, so i had the fun task of figuring out how to get from point A to point B with Valerian, and what the hell point B even looked like.

We knew he was evil- he killed his dad as a toddler, and was just a full creep through his entire childhood- and so I started asking, what story do I want to tell my friends? I love romcoms, I love spy movies- what would be fun for me?

We're all influenced by our environments, the art, media, and music we consume, and that's all directly reflected into what we decide to put back out into the world.

And through exploring those characters, through playing the game, through my friends throwing the weirdest suggestions at me - what if he made a robot copy of his childhood Nanny? Okay, what mods can I use to reflect that in my gameplay? - What if he 3D printed a baby? - What if the Volcano gave them another baby? (this one is never happening shooby) - The whole thing spiraled out of control 😂

SO TDLR- How can you make your legacy weirder?

Find a community or even a couple trusted friends to bounce ideas off of. The amount of time I've spent conniving and scheming with @doctorsimcraft should honestly be studied. Write for yourself and like the 4 people you care most about. Enthusiasm is infectious. Find some good gameplay mods to add color to your gameplay- More Personality Please is an absolute game changer. Wicked Whims and Lumpinou's RPO are also fantastic additions if that's your style. Hopefully the game throws you some fun curveballs. Adversity and conflict breed interesting story - or something like that. Think about the types of stories that you would be excited to tell- really lean into your favorite tropes and themes. It's not a checklist, it's just like - I really love campy spies, I really love enemies to lovers - what do I do in game to make this happen. Find your story and let drive your gameplay- not the other way around. Or find a good balance and see what happens.

And to be honest I've very much lost that balance and fallen into a total rut of letting the story overtake the gameplay. So whenever I get too overwhelmed by my stupid large ambitions I just sit down and play and see where the game takes me.

I hope I can get back to not posing every single scene out for Gen 7 but I also love making poses, and breaking my game in every way to be able to tell the stories I want to!

It's why I'm so comically slow now. But I guess that just means we get to spend more time getting to know our characters, which I do genuinely enjoy.

I don't know if that was helpful or incredibly unhelpful- but it's what I got. Good luck! And above all have fun- in whatever shape that may take. (Hopefully it's a weird one)

xo, Anne

#mailbox #Anonymous

[furiousgoldfish]

I finished reading "Becoming Yourself: Overcoming Mind Control and Ritual Abuse" by Alison Miller, and it was filled with incredibly useful information for those who struggle with a dissociative identity disorder. It was also filled with descriptions of some of the most extreme and atrocious kinds of abuse, so to anyone wanting to read it, there's a trigger warning for cult abuse, rituals, childhood sexual abuse, satanic rituals, child trafficking, child murder, brainwashing, mind control, and every form of religion used against the mind of a child.

I was reading this book to figure out if I had gone thru any kind of abuse of the sort, and I didn't, one of my abusers was utilizing religion against me and had done enough of brainwashing to construct several brainwashed and controlled parts, who were still under the influence, but that was it. The book is extremely clear and it will not confuse you about what happened to you, it tells you the intention behind every type of abuse, and often, how to resolve the results. The books also notes that the word 'alter' is triggering to those who went thru ritual abuse and developed a dissociative identity disorder, for similarity with the word 'altar', which is used in rituals, so they prefer to use the terms 'insiders' and 'parts', which I found to enjoy as well.

One of the repeating points in the first half of the book was on insiders who pretend to be something else, for instance, insiders who pretend to be your abusers, pretend to be demons, pretend to be gods or powerful entities, who believe it's their job to hurt you, or to control you, who are made to bring out consequences if you attempt to act against your abusers. I had something like that in my head, but I had refused to believed it was an insider, because it looked just like a case of 'internalized abusive voice', and I had fought against it viciously and focused on shutting that voice down and keeping it scared, often via imagined torture if it was making me feel anxious. Reading about these other scary entities, who would, when asked, admit to just being an insider pretending, I became curious enough to engage with the abusive voice and ask it, 'are you just an alter pretending'? The voice laughed at me and admitted to being found out, and then promptly stopped pretending and showed themselves as a child part. It took me several weeks to admit to myself that this was real, because it was mortifying. I had fallen for the trick, and even tortured a child part for doing their assigned job – this part now believed their only function was to be tortured. I feel responsible for that. But there was no way for me to know. Insiders are good at keeping up a pretense.

You can sometimes recognize that an entity in your head that is scaring you, claiming to be able to control you or triggering you on purpose, or pretending to be evil, demonic, terrifying, animalistic, powerful, magical, godly, is actually a child part, just because they often act the version of that thing that a child would believe is real. If your entity is often repeating the same lines, only knows 1 way of behaviour and has predictive responses, believes to be your abuser or something similar to it, doesn't follow any real-life logic and seems to belong to another world that a child would think is accurate, then it's likely a child part, for some reason programmed or brainwashed to believe they're what they're pretending to be. I should note that when children think of these scary entities, they're often very creative, and put their whole heart in it, so it's going to be an entity that is engaging, feels powerful, doesn't back down easily. Parts who pretend to be evil or demonic will sometimes cling to what they think they are very dearly and will not allow themselves to think of themselves as humans or children, this is for their own emotional protection. All they had in their childhood was being tough. They cannot let that go.

Another incredibly useful information I got from the book was on how to process trauma if you are a multiple. I had never seen instructions on how to do this before, and I'm going to share them in another post that should be posted right after this one, and I'll put a link to it here.

#did #osdd #system #multiple #alison miller #cult abuse #ritual abuse #mind control #becoming yourself #trauma recovery #trauma healing #alters #trauma information

[archiveikemen]

William Rex Main Story: Chapter 0

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection. I do not own any of the original content. Please support CYBIRD by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

❥･• Warnings and FAQ

≪ this story is in william's pov ≫

—

If life were a fairytale, happiness would be easy to find.

As long as you stayed away from sin, did as you were told, behaved yourself, and remained on the bright and safe path.

However, if… your innermost desires wanted another path,

Would the “happy ending” you obtained by killing them off be real happiness?

My answer is… NO.

…

William: — Slit your throat open. As slowly as possible.

There was no target of Crown’s who could escape us.

That included our target for tonight. Unable to even scream in agony, he picked up the knife with trembling hands.

In my hand was an envelope I found in that mansion we were in, with “Golden Butterfly” stamped onto it.

(To think I’d ever see this again.)

(Evil truly never learns its lesson.)

(That goes for them — and of course, myself included.)

If you asked 100 people, you would receive 100 different answers. There was no such thing as absolute evil.

If there was actually such a thing, it would be what’s residing in everyone’s hearts.

Something utterly unforgivable. Once forgiven, they would lose their individuality.

(To me, trampling on the freedom of others is an absolutely unforgivable sin.)

(And this “Golden Butterfly” was guilty of exactly that.)

In order to punish those unforgivable sinners, I was willing to go as far as to become a sinner myself.

If this were a fairytale, I would face the same fate as this man, which was to be painted as a villain.

Alfons: Ordered to “shut up” and unable to scream even in his last moments… how pitiful.

Elbert: … We didn't have a choice. There’ll be trouble if his neighbours hear screams.

Roger: Damn, that’s a convenient ability. It’d be a real nuisance if you were my enemy.

William: Ahaha, if you become my enemy, I’ll write it down on a calendar to give you an advanced warning.

While talking to those people who had long grown used to witnessing the punishment of sinners, I sat down in front of the piano in the hall.

William: Since we’re here, let’s play him a song.

I didn't have a specific melody in mind, I only moved my fingers across the piano keys as they pleased.

Ellis: That’s wonderful, he can die happy now.

Jude: … How is that possible? You’ve got a screw loose.

Every member of Crown had a different outlook on death.

There were some who pitied, some condemned themselves, some would laugh coldly, some who mourned the deaths, and some who simply accepted death as a matter of fact.

(Their similarity is that they’re all here because they followed what their hearts truly wanted.)

However, not everyone was capable of doing that.

I suddenly recalled those greedy eyes I saw in the evening.

(It’d be good if “she” could take the first step.)

Those were my thoughts as the knife went deep into the man’s neck, and fresh blood spurted everywhere.

— The door to the hall slowly opened.

Alfons: My, my, we weren't expecting an audience tonight.

(... That’s…)

William: Now look who we have here, aren't you the little robin I met earlier today?

Kate: Um… uh… eeh…?

I remembered that woman, who was petrified by the bloody sight she witnessed.

She was the postwoman I happened to meet in the evening.

– Flashback Start –

Kate: Pardon me, that envelope is mine. I have to deliver it.

She had a calm look in her eyes as she ran after the envelope.

William: Here you go, my lady.

Kate: … T- Thank you.

William: You’re welcome.

Kate: …

When I handed her the envelope, she seemed to have forgotten herself and stared blankly at me.

(... Found another one.)

(People who have this look in their eyes are often holding themselves back.)

(Holding themselves back from saying things that shouldn't be said.)

I loved witnessing the moment they decided to speak their mind.

I stared at her in silence, watching her calm gaze waver.

At the moment — it was as if I saw the burning flames of desire in her eyes.

Her heart was overflowing with emotions, and she was doing everything she could to suppress them.

“Take me to another world.”

(— “Anywhere”.)

It was as if I heard those words coming from her tightly shut mouth.

(Ahh.)

(What a pity.)

I didn't know what motivated her, but I knew that she wanted change.

There was a desire hidden deep inside of her, struggling and desperate to be free.

(If she were given the chance to freely follow her desires… how beautiful would that be.)

William: You only have two more deliveries to make?

Kate: … Huh?

Kate: P- Pardon me, I was in a daze—

William: You should hurry. It’ll get dark soon.

(It’s too unfortunate I can’t take her away right this instant.)

(Even if that “somewhere” you desire is this abysmal darkness.)

(But… if you follow your desires and take the first step…)

(Perhaps, we’ll meet again.)

– Flashback End –

(... I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon, and in this kind of setting.)

Liam: She’s acquaintances with Will? Does she know about us?

William: We merely exchanged a few words on the streets, Liam. She doesn't know about “Crown”.

Liam: Then we’re in trouble. What should we do…?

(If I say to kill her, you would surely not hesitate to do that immediately.)

(This cat living with the guilt and pain of taking a life is awfully commendable and lovely.)

Harrison: My apologies if it’s freaking you out. That thing is actually just a stage prop used for a play.

(... You’re still the same as ever, Harrison.)

If you took into consideration the reason why he was present on this dark night, you would understand why he tried to create an escape route for her.

He looks like he doesn't have a care in the world, but he had a strong will.

Kate: Y-You’re lying…

Harrison: … It would’ve been better if you at least pretended to believe me.

Unfortunately, she instantly ruined her chance of escaping.

(Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.)

(She was meant to come here.)

Harrison: What do we do about this, Will?

William: Of course we should — take her to “The Palace’s Grim Reaper”.

Jude: Tch… I told you to lock the gate.

Roger: Haha I didn’t think anyone would trespass. You’re a naughty girl, aren't you, young lady?

Ellis: Why don't you come over? There’s no escape.

“There’s no escape” — the moment she heard those words, her body grew stiff.

She tried to back away, but her leg only moved slightly.

(Sorry, I can’t let you leave.)

(“Because you saw” is, of course, one of the reasons… but that's not all.)

It must've been a coincidence that one of her deliveries was addressed to this mansion.

However, our meeting right now was no coincidence.

(The sound of a piano being played is a sign that there's someone in the mansion, but a postwoman has no reason to enter a mansion in the dead of the night.)

(You came here on your own will.)

(You have yet to realise that.)

With great pains, she took the first step.

William: “Come here, poor little robin.”

(Let me see the desire that’s propelling you.)

Her legs obediently started moving.

Kate: I don’t want to…!

(Haha, I’m finally hearing her say her desire out loud.)

Like she was presenting herself, she stopped in front of me.

I could clearly see a splash of red on her cheek.

(... Beautiful.)

For some reason, the colour of sin suited her.

(If your will leads you to be stained with blood in the future, that would suit you much better.)

William: Pardon my discourtesy.

I pulled her closer, and she shut her eyes out of fear.

William: Done.

I wiped the blood off her face and let her go.

As if all the strength had left her body, her legs gave way and she fell onto the floor.

The calm gaze I saw in the evening was now shaking like a violently stormy sea.

It contained feelings of fear, confusion — and small bit of anticipation.

(What’s hidden in your heart?)

(What was it that made you brashly run into the darkness?)

The thought of finding out the answer to that mystery made my heart dance.

(Ahh, this will be fun.)

William: A late self-introduction. My name is William. William Rex.

William: I’m inviting you for dinner tonight. What is your name, dear guest?

(I’ll give you as much love as I can.)

May you be a flower blooming beautifully in the darkness.

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil main story #william main story #william rex

[jinxquickfoot]

So I finished my Age of Ultron rewatch. It's been a couple of years since I last saw it, and here are some random thoughts I had on it:

Things I will maintain I like about this movie:

It has some of my favorite jokes in the MCU, and they're usually the little moments. The little nod of validation Rhodey makes after getting a laugh at his "Boom! You looking for this?" story. Clint telling Steve he's no match for Ultron and Steve replying with, "Thanks, Barton". Clint's "Yeah, you better run" after Pietro has long since disappeared with Wanda, there are loads of them.

I like Vision, Wanda and Pietro. Despite being secondary characters with not a huge amount of screen time, Wanda and Pietro feel like real people with real backstories, and Paul Bettany is wonderful the first time we see him as Vis.

It's the only movie we get to see the Original 6 hang out as friends.

I love that Fury randomly shows up in the middle and is like "let me make a sandwich while we discuss how not to let the world end also by the way hi Tony I really care about you"

Other casual appearances of other MCU characters, something that is so lacking Phase 4 onwards. Sam being at the party and Thor going to Selvig for help makes the world feel lived in.

RDJ's never dropped the ball as Tony but his performance really stuck out to me here, god he's good

Steve and Thor have multiple moments of teaming up and working together, what an underrated duo

Hulk vs Iron Man suit inside an Iron Man Suit fight

The Avengers do their best to evacuate Sokovia before Ultron attacks, which does not excuse the amount of damage caused there, but I do think is a plot point everyone forgets about (myself included)

And things that annoy me (skipping over the stuff everyone talks about like the Natasha/Bruce plot):

I hate how Joss Whedon writes Steve, both here and in Avengers. He only feels like Steve when he's being given jokes, otherwise he is so self-serious and stiff, the core of Steve is his heart and it is nowhere to be found in this movie

The movie spends so long setting up character arcs that feel promising and have no payoff. What is the point of Laura telling Clint the Avengers need him if he's going to retire at the end of the movie. Steve has several references to finding home in a way that doesn't go anywhere (Until Endgame, I guess). Don't get me started on Natasha.

It's trying so hard to have a theme but it never says anything unique. Bruce, Tony, Natasha and Vision all refer to themselves as monsters. Ultron decides that the Avengers are the bad guys. Steve has a speech all about proving they're not the monsters Ultron says they are. Based on WHAT? What is the message of this movie?? That the Avengers are better than the evil AI who wants to kill everyone?

(I half-feel there was a previous draft where Clint was their heart, or something, or he died and they were like whelp Phil Coulson 2.0 let's go avenge him, and the random pieces of that are still floating around the script with nowhere to go)

NO ONE is remotely concerned enough when their friends are getting hurt (maybe just the hurt/comfort lover in me, but still.) Natasha comes across as the only person who cares when Clint sustains a life-threatening injury. No one seems to be bothered that Natasha is being held captive by a psychotic supervillain. Tony shows more emotion over a fictional future where they die than when someone is actually in danger.

They really could have had a premise where they weren't allowed to access technology at all and could have gone retro with everything and they didn't and that just feels like a wasted opportunity. Clint and Natasha digging out old spy tech. Steve being like "Yes! This is familiar! I got this!" Tony making genius inventions out of tech from fifty years ago. Come on, it was right there.

#thanks for coming to my ted talk #age of ultron #mcu #marvel #avengers #thoughts

[perspectivestarters]

Perspective's Sentence Starters; Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain (Part II)

TRIGGER WARNING: Violence, abuse, religious themes, ect.

THOROUGHFARE

You knew you had to see it all.

You had to get out and go chasin' its sweet call.

Don't run, I'll take you anywhere.

Hey, do you wanna see thе west with me?

Lovе's out there and I can't leave it be.

Love's never meant much to me.

I'll come with you if you're sure it's what you need.

Every small town diner saw our faces at least once or twice.

I started to see you differently.

For the first time since I was a child, I could see a man who wasn't angry.

It's been a long damn time since I left.

Now that I met you, I finally know just where I'm headin'.

You got lost in it and yet you found yourself. We finally reached the edge after all this time.

I didn't find my love, but I still made it this far without it.

Maybe not, 'cause look at what I've got.

You might not be my love, but, baby, I doubt it.

In your pickup truck with all of your dumb luck is the only place I think I'd ever wanna be.

GIBSON GIRL

You wanna love me right now.

You wanna get alone with me.

You wanna get my clothes off.

You came alone to me from however far away.

You're all the same.

He's cold-blooded so it takes more time to bleed.

Obsession with the money, addicted to the drugs.

Says he's in love with my body, that's why he's fucking it up.

I can be immoral in a stranger's lap.

Something they all want that only you can have.

You wanna fuck me right now.

You wanna see me on my knees.

You wanna rip these clothes off.

If you hate me, please don't tell me.

I would show you something you can never have.

PTOLEMAEA

I followed you in.

I was with you there.

You love blood too much.

You’d do wеll to say yes to me.

Suffering is nigh.

Even the iron still fears the rot.

Hiding from something I cannot stop.

I can't lead him back.

You poor thing.

There's nothing you can do.

It's already been done.

Show me your face.

Please don't look at me.

I can see it in your eyes.

Tell me, what have you done?

Make it stop, I've had enough.

I am the face of love's rage.

I am no good nor evil, simply I am.

I am here now as you run from me still.

You can't hide from me forever.

SUN BLEACHED FLIES

They talk all about that money and how their babies are always changing while they're breathing in the poison of the paint.

God loves you, but not enough to save you.

Good luck taking care of yourself.

That's how my daddy raised me.

If they strike once then you just hit 'em twice as hard.

In the end, if I bend under the weight that they gave me, then this heart would break and fall as twice as far.

We all know how it goes.

The more it hurts, the less it shows.

I still feel like they all know, and that's why I can never go back home.

I spend my life watching it go by from the sidelines.

God, I've tried, but I think it's about time I put up a fight.

I always knew that in the end no one was coming to save me.

I just prayed and I keep praying.

If it's meant to be then it will be.

I met him there and told him I believe.

I forgive it all as it comes back to me.

I can't let go when something's broken.

It's all I know and it's all I want now.

STRANGERS

Don't talk to strangers or you might fall in love.

You devour like smoked bovine hide.

I never considered myself tough.

You're so handsome, walking over to me.

I tried to be good.

Am I no good?

My memory restricted to a Polaroid in evidence.

I just wanted to be yours.

Can I be yours?

Just tell me I'm yours.

We'll make love in your attic all night.

Euphoric in some strange delight.

I'm happier here 'cause he told me I should be.

You're so handsome when I'm all over your mouth.

Am I making you feel sick?

Found you just to tell you that I made it real far.

I never blamed you for loving me the way that you did.

While you were torn apart, I would still wait with you there.

Don't think about it too hard, or you'll never sleep a wink at night again.

Just know that I love you.

I'll see you when you get here.

#rp sentence starters #rp sentence meme #rp sentence prompts #sentence starters #sentence meme #sentence prompts #lyric sentence starters #lyric starters #music starters #rp meme #rp memes #rp prompts #ask meme #exodusmusing #*mystarters #*preachersdaugher

[therealvinelle]

In the recent chapter of Amulett d'Amour it's revealed that Dumbledore invited all those women to see who was missing or acting off. What would have happened if one of them had declined his invitation to come (either because of prior commitments, illness or just not being interested)? Would he have become convinced it must be her who is playing Lucy (even with Lucy not being present)? Would he start stalking collecting evidence a la his "Tom is Evil McEvil and you must kill yourself to stop him, Harry" memory collection? Would he try to confound her until she is "fixed"?

(Anon is referring to Amulette d'amour by @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin and myself)

I had to think about this one for a bit.

See, the thing about Albus Dumbledore per canon is that he doesn't actually require any evidence to determine Tom Riddle is responsible for something. It is enough for something suspicious to have occurred in the general vicinity of Tom Riddle, for Tom Riddle to have visited a household a fortnight before a death occurred, and Dumbledore will suspect him.

Cases in point being when Dumbledore suspected Tom Riddle was responsible for various things that happened at Hogwarts while Tom attended, without ever being able to prove anything. What these things were, why he thought Tom was involved, is never expanded upon. The Chamber of Secrets is opened, Tom was actually behind that but Dumbledore had no proof nor reason for suspecting as much. Hepzibah Smith is poisoned a few days after Tom visited, two heirlooms Tom had been shown were found to be stolen, Tom did it (@rankheresy episode on that subject here, or this post will get far too long. I will say here, though, that Dumbledore never actually received confirmation Tom had the stolen heirlooms in his possession. It could just as easily have been an heir (Hepzibah mentioned having heirs salivating over her things) pocketing these things so they wouldn't have to share. He still decides, without evidence, that Tom murdered Hepzibah and thinks he now knows what two of the horcruxes are. Because he found a memory of Tom being shown two heirlooms and the woman shortly after died).

(JKR is not among the authors who realize that no, you can't have you character instinctively know things. Dumbledore consistently guesses, speculates, and suspects wild things he has little to no foundation for, and while in the real world this would make him a lunatic and a rather stubborn, unintelligent man who refuses to look past his own biases, in the world of Harry Potter he is reciting the Word of God and actually right about everything. The result being that trying to do Watsonian analysis leaves you with a lunatic.)

My point with all this is that Dumbledore doesn't actually require such petty things as proof, or confirmation of his hypotheses. The things he does consider to be confirmation, such as a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle asking his professor about splitting his soul into a nifty number and receiving a vague "I guess??" answer, or Morfin Gaunt being visited by his nephew (episode!), are so weak that it's only Dumbledore's massive confirmation bias making him consider such things reliable.

With that...

I'm not sure a guest being absent from the party would change a thing. Dumbledore has all the proof he needs, it exists in his own mind and is formed of his own wild but naturally correct speculations. He knows he's right, so he doesn't need outside support from such things as reality.

The absent woman would be visited, and he might decide for himself, "Ah yes. This is the one" and never change his mind on the matter, or he would decide "No, Tom wouldn't want this one. My search continues". I personally would expect the latter as uh no one is special or good enough for Tom.

#fic meta #my fic #the carnivorous muffin #the carnivorous muffin fic #amulette d'amour #anti albus dumbledore #harry potter #tom riddle

[jazzzzzzhands]

Ok FOR REAL Theory Time!!! Gonna be massive spoilers plus mention of bugs/fungus! So I'm calling this the Mold Theory And what is the Mold? It's the black stuff under Home! (Mold under a house is very suiting, right?) The Mold has contaminated Every single thing that the Restoration team has found! The team talks about the envelopes, the antiques, and the artwork found for Welcome Home and how it is alwasys Wet and covered in Grime. The stuff that is "Growing" all over the found items... Staff must wear gloves or they will get covered in it

You can see it all over the gloves, the Walls, and even the Website Itself! It's also been shown on the restored art prior to the update. But one unfortunate person seems to have touched it. and that is.. The Question Answerer! (The head person of the Restoration team is also most likely infected) Now what this Mold does is, It seems to have an effect of the person's mental state. Causing them to see and hear things, as well as having lucid nightmares and an overwhelming urge to draw spirals. From the very moment of contact, it seems to have effect "When I Unwrapped the first letter, I felt it. I heard it. Open Open Open. I want it out, I'm Going to get it Out" Instant Hallucinations and Obsession! Now I'm going to be Comparing this Mold to a Real fungus called Cordyceps, or the Zombie-Ant Fungus. It is a fungus that can control BUGS (familar themes right?) and take over their minds, forcing them to act unnaturally and wander far in order to spread itself! ~Similarily~ this Mold can take control of the Host's mind as well. The "Spores" that it is trying to spread are the drawings of the spirals/eyes. And the more eyes are Drawn, the more Wally can SEE. Wally has made it truly apparent that he can see us through any rendition of his eyes. "I've seen you every time you've looked into my eyes" "I have more eyes than I did before, you know how to draw eyes You draw mine, many times. I know it is thanks to you, Neighbor.. That I can see.. but it is still.. I can't see" He is giving us instructions.. "You have work to do" -Giving us instrustions on how to draw an eye... "Please Open, Let me In" Now I find this last instruction very funny He doesn't say "Let me Out" No... He says "Let me IN" Into What? What are we Opening? Our doors?Our EYES? our Mind? our Heart?? I think that could be exactly it!!! Letting him.... into You!!! (The collective You) Isn't that Funny? A Funny little thought?! The Puppet becoming the Puppeteer! ooh hee hee hoo hoo I think I'm very clever about that! But there are so many themes of Strings/Control/Scripts That I simply couldn't help myself! Now does that mean I think Wally is Evil? Absolutely NOT I LOVE Wally, and hey, what's a bit of mind control between Neighbors? <333 I'll borrow a cup of sugar and you can borrow my sanity! That's what Neighbors are for! <3 Jokes aside, No I Do NOT think Wally is Evil!! No, he might become a Puppeteer over the Real world... (and It might be for good reason, to save his friends and himself) but he is still very much a Puppet himself. Literally and Figuratively, And the Real Mastermind behind the strings is... Home!

Afterall? Isn't that where the Mold is coming from? From Down Below? Below Home?

This image gives me BIG TIME Obediance vibes Reporting/Worship/Subjugation I very much see Wally as the Lure of a very big Angler Fish.. The bait, the perfect little puppet that has captured our hearts and led us by the hand into Welcome Home. Isn't that very much how it has gone in real life? (Oh I KNOW I got the Mold BAD!!! ahahaha) (I can't stop drawing himmm!!! :3c ) But this is where my rambling stops, Until Next Time! I will just say that: The Relationship between Home and Wally (And by extension, YOU) Is a Strange one for sure! And I cant wait to see it further! And Just one more extra note on this whole Fungus thing.. Did you know that the BIGGEST Organism on the entire Earth.. Is a Mushroom? It is because they are connected through their Roots... (Down Below) and Houses kinda are shaped like musrooms... I will Leave it at That! Ahahahaha!

#im very very normal about all of this! #lyinggg #mold theory #welcome home #wally darling #welcome home theory #i know i can be a bit sparadic i hope this all makes sense!! #i can go a bit off the wall sometimes!! #its hard for me to articulate what i want to say sometimes! #i swear its so much more in my brain!! #also i am really bad at typing #im going to look for mistakes but im sorry if i typo! #jazzisaspazz #long text post #shout out to my sister for putting this into my brain #maybe i will have more thoughts later! #i do have a bunch of random things written down #maybe i will make an “observations” post? #will u guys be interested?? #please feel free to send me asks and theories of your own! #feel free to add on or to correct me!! #i mean u can also send me art request ...;w; #or to randomly tell me about how you also enjoy cereal on ur hot dogs.. no? just me? ok #i have a really nice art coming tmrw that im so so proud of.... #saving it for tmw... cause its my birthday tmrw!!! #a gift for me! to post something that im really really happy with!! #oof oog i talk a lot in the tags #i'm talking to myself really #if you made it this far... you get ... a gift.. #its an apple! 🍎

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

Ok, it's time to deep talk even more about Magnifico! Part 1.

Since my analyses have gotten so much love, support and agreement, I feel motivated to continue 💙

In my first analysis I've touched up on many things, but something I want to deepen a little more is his trauma and his responses to it. Next to his character all in one of course.

After watching and rewatching and studying while making screencaps, I found myslef being heart broken for Magnifico even more. He's so horribly misunderstood it blows my mind. People are so freaking mean and ignorant it's insane!

We know that Magnifico was deeply traumatized as a young boy. Most people focus on themselves, their pain and their healing, but Magnifico instead wanted to make sure others will never suffer like he did. Please, let that sink in for a moment. His first response isn't to look at himself but to look at others. He lost everything and what does he want to do? Give! His first impulse was - I need to learn magic, so I can be strong enough to build a place where I can make sure people will never have to endure what I had to. Not "I gotta build myself a safe place so I can never be hurt again" like a little hermit crab hiding in a new house. No, he always looked what he could do for others!

This is one of the most selfless things a human being can do! It's not happening often but it's happening. People with trauma using their trauma as a motivation to help others.

Magnifico's determination to build a save haven for others despite his situation is freaking honarable!

He loves deeply! I did explain that the trauma Magnifico suffered heavily influenced and altered his thinking, his feeling, his actions and decission making.

He loves deeply but his paranoia and fear cloud it. What I mean is, some of his decissons aren't right but this doesn't make him evil! He's like a helicopter parent! His motivation to fiercly protect and keep save is purely love driven and initially right but because of his immense fear and paranoia it's becoming overprotectiveness and that is not the right way.

He never meant harm, he never meant to hurt. He was being too selfless in way. I heard another Magnifico defender say, he did too well.

And it's true.

Magnifico has given so much in his life. Matter of fact, he was absolutely right when he said he gives and gives and gives and yet people still aren't satisfied. And I totally get it! It's real life. People are greedy beings. Give them your little finger and they soon want your whole hand.

The people of Rosas live in total peace. They get everything they could ask for and more. Enough food, good homes they don't even need to pay rent for, enough money ... they get wishes granted every month. Sometimes even more! Magnifico mentioned in the past year he's granted 14 wishes, which means he did grant more than just one every month from time to time.

Magnifico is so much more than his handsome looks and his abilities. Yet, all people saw him as was that. A very handsome genie. Not the benevolent ruler that even made this flourishing life possible in the first place!

And I mean yeah, he said "I'd love to see you try and do my job!" And he's right again. I've never ruled a whole kingdom before and successfully at that! But I can imagine it must be darn hard! Certainly not a piece of cake.

People loved and celebrated him for what he could give and do! But what if he'd been just a regular king without any magic powers to grant wishes?

We see how the people of Rosas reacted after he told them about a threat. In the end they ask for another wish ceremony. And Magnifico snaps at them. He's clearly in distress even though he tries to appear collected and sovereign, and the only thing they care about is getting more wishes granted? Dude, give this poor man a break!

I can totally understand Magnifico having a nervous, emotional breakdown. Add it all up. He's constantly on edge because of his trauma, he always means well but the pressure of his ambitions and his duties as king are weighing him down further, he's constantly triggered, constantly irritable, no one gives a toot (Amaya included) which is like fuel to the fire in his soul, he feels threatened, he's terrified, he feels not understoond, valued and respected and furthermore used and exploited.

See how he make's the wishes spin around him faster and faster here? It's literally symbolic of what's going on in his soul at that moment.

Same as this one does.

The mirror is cracking, meaning his soul is cracking further. He's starting to break.

It's no wonder he loses his cool, really. Everyone would eventually break in such a situation.

Now, back to the whole wishes situation

Stop a moment and look how Magnifico looks at this wish/dream. He adores it, he appreciates it. (It's a happy family btw.) and someone who's as good in reading emotions as I am will see the ever so slight pain swimming along.

As king, it's Magnifico's duty anyway to make sure his kingdom runs well. That his people are safe and content, that there is order. And the whole decission making rests upon his shoulders as well.

Should he be in the leading position he is in? No. No, a person as deeply traumatized as he is, shouldn't. But the fact that he still tries is admirable! He's not in power because he's a power hungry, cruel, cold-hearted, selfish, narcissistic psychopath, like a villian is! He is in power and wants to stay in it, because he wants to protect others! He cares so much more about others, that he stresses himself to the peak of breaking mentally!

His trauma keeps him in this spiral. Trauma driven motivation > stress/trigger > trauma response > desire> action > trauma result/success or failure

Yes, he doesn't grant every wish because his trauma blurrs his judgement. He's so deeply into it that he cannot judge properly. Does this make him evil? Nope. It would be laughable how rediculous the hater's arguements are if it weren't so sad.

The arguement "Magnifico sees the dreams of people as a threat to his power so he steals them and makes people forget them."

🤨 huh?

I could slam my forehead even harder against something other than my hand. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The ignorance hurts!!! Like, have this people even paid any attention? Clearly not.

He never stole anything! Neither did he manipulate, play or lie to people. He left the decission to them. It was an open fact "If you want, you can give me your wish and I will keep it save and eventually grant it." And even if one doesn't give their wish, they are more than welcome to stay in his kingdoom and live a happy life!

Now listen. Magnifico's desire to keep the wishes in the first place isn't out of any bad or ill will! To say he keeps the wishes because he simply likes to be in control over people because of selfish, cruel reasons is a big mount of bullcrap. Look at how this man treats the wishes! Which by the way, to him, resemble his people!

Ah, yes, sooo evil and selfish and ill willed!

If someone sees this, the pure love in his whole bodylanguage, and still claims that this man is evil, actually doesn't give a damn about his people, and takes the wishes just because "powerhungry" has something really wrong!

Should he decide over other peoples dreams and wishes? Not really! This is a grey area. Back to his duty as a king. A king needs to care for his people. Magnifico takes this very seriously. Thanks to his trauma, a bit too much. This might be "not ok" but it doesn't make him evil. Good grief! Urgh!

He loves his people! He keeps the wishes because he thinks that it gives him a better opportunity to keep watch over them! Why does he want to watch over them and have the control? Out of fun? To satisfy his selfish urge to rule over others? No, because -

"Everything, everyhing I do is to make sure that never happens again!"

It's the very same stupid reason people have been villainizing Abuela Alma from Encanto. It makes me fuming mad that people ignor deep trauma and the mental issues that come with it and make such people out to be villains. Abuela treated her whole family unfairly, yes. She was harsh, inconsiderate, cold, stern, overprotective, insensible etc. But why did she act like that? Because she was hecking traumatized!

After she and Mirabel reconcile, she tells her family this :

"I'm so sorry I held on to tight, just so afraid I'd lose you too!"

Aha! Now taken in consideration that she is also deeply traumatized and I mean, pfff, she saw her home town getting burned, had to flee with her 3 newborns and see her soulmate get stabbed to death or even beheaded (we don't know) right in front of her eyes.

Her desire to keep safe was always good but her trauma blinded her to a degree.

A similar case were people have been villainizing a character for having trauma would be the case of Imelda from Coco. Her trauma of losing her husband and having to raise their daughter on her own caused her to forbid music for 2 generations! She was harsh too, and even though her actions concering this might have been wrong, she meant well. Everything she did came from the good motivation to keep her family from experiencing the crushing hurt she had.

Yet another example I've seen Magnifico defenders bring up would be Elsa! Elsa has been born with ice-powers because she's actually part spirit as we've learned in the 2 movie. She got traumatized as a child when she accidentally hurt her little sister Anna. Her response to trauma brings her whole kingdom in danger, even threatens to kill them by freezing them to death, and when Hans and his guards go to find and kill her, she defends herself and almost kills one of the guards. Yet, despite everything, Elsa isn't made to be a villain! She was supposed to be but in the end recieved love and appreciation, while Magnifico didn't?

It makes absolutely no sense.

Does trauma justify wrong actions? No! But it explains them and it certainly doesn't make someone a villain! Goodness gracious! 😩🤌🏼

Alma was obsessed with having the "miracle" controlled because she was terrified if she would lose that control, her past would repeat. She would lose her family.

Elsa abandoned her kingdom because she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

Imelda forbade music because she didn't want her family to experience the hurt she did.

All of this Sounds similar, right?

Magnifico obsessivly wanted to stay in control because he was terrified that if he would lose that control, his past would repeat. People will get hurt and lose everything like he did.

He panicked as an unknown light flooded his kingdom and made the wishes rattle.

The very first thing that came to his mind was "threat." And this was ONLY because of his trauma.

More in part 2 ⬇️

#king magnifico #disney wish #wish 2023 #team magnifico #magnifico defenders #king magnifico isn't a villain

[lavender-romancer]

Poison   

Part One  Draco Malfoy x Hufflepuff Reader  Cho Chang x Hufflepuff Reader (unrequited) CW: angst 

You and Draco had been together for around a year but as you both approached 7th year you could no longer see him the same way as before  

”*°•.˜”*°•. ˜”*°•. ˜”*°••°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜

Draco was suffering in his own head. Unable to unload anything inside it on anyone else, unable to ask guidance from the one person he trusted the most. The pressures from his father had turned him into someone who he wasn't, sure when he was younger he would tease or push people around but he wasn't evil. The mere fact he was conflicted about his past decisions proved he wasn't who his father wanted him to be. Being with you had made him into a better person, a more forgiving person who wasn't easily led by petty arguments. But now…you hardly talked to one another. 

"He's going to end it with me, I'm sure of it." You vented to Cho in potions with a miserable look on your face. 

"You don't deserve to be ignored or at the least disregarded, I know it was good before but sometimes things happen for a reason, Y/n." Cho reasoned and you had to agree with her, you deserved a better partner.

"Can't imagine myself dating again, I mean I don't know if hat I expected from a teenage relationship but it was more than this." You buried your head in your jumper and Cho giggled. 

"You're quite dramatic when you're lovesick aren't you?" She teased and you rolled your eyes.

"I've just got to stay strong I think, not show him that it's getting to me otherwise he wins." You took a deep breath and sat up straight. 

"Exactly! You're better than that." Cho encouraged you and you got back into your experiment. 

Leaving the class you were chatting to Cho as you saw Draco in his all black suit walking the other direction. He saw you and stopped dead in his tracks. 

"Hey Y/n," Draco said with a small smile. 

"You okay?" Cho asked and you nodded, "I'll see you later then?" She gave you a comforting hug before walking off. 

"What do you want or need, Draco?" You asked with a huff.

"What's wrong? You've been off with me all of this term." He asked, pulling you into an empty classroom.

"Me? Are you seriously asking me what's wrong with me?" You scoffed and sat down on one of the desks. 

"You've been behaving all moody for a while and I have no idea why." Draco looked like he rolled his eyes and you could have laughed at how pathetic it was. 

"Maybe it's because you don't speak to me anymore? Maybe it's because you don't want me anymore? Or maybe, just maybe, I've realised you're not the center of my life anymore and it's not that bad." You hissed back at him with a look in your eyes he'd never seen before. 

"Look I know I've been distant but it's not because of anything you've-" 

"Oh I know, I know it isn't my fault because I haven't done anything wrong. But if you don't want me grow some fucking balls and tell me, yeah?" You walked past Draco and out of the classroom. 

Draco didn't know where to go from here, he just leant against one of the desks and breathed. He felt it was all his body would allow him to do at this point, the way you looked at him was seared into his mind- the true hatred. You could never know the reasons he was so distant but, Draco didn't want to let you go either so he was stuck in a sort of ethical limbo. He couldn't be honest about his connection to the Dark Lord without the possibility of you telling someone. It wasn't worth the risk. 

"I can't believe this is real, it still seems insane that I'm in bed with you." You told Draco as you leant on his bare chest. 

"In what way?" Draco looked puzzled. 

"Because you fucking hated me before, plus…I wasn't your biggest fan either." You laughed and Draco rolled his eyes in his classic way. 

"I don't know if I hated you, I think I teased you because I found you attractive but I was so awful with girls it just came out like that." Draco rubbed his hand up your arm to your hair, playing with it absentmindedly. 

"Well, everyone definitely thought you hated me." You looked up at him with a shit eating grin and he pulled your hair slightly. 

"I can always go back to the teasing if you prefer it?" He asked, "And who's 'everyone' including?" 

"Cho, the Golden trio, Seamus, Susan, Luna-"

"Alright, so a lot of people. God, you have too many friends." Draco smiled and you hit his chest playfully. 

"Just because I have more than two friends doesn't mean I have too many, you're just jealous that you can't make any friends at all." You turned around and leant on your elbows, looking at him as he raised an eyebrow. 

"Is that so?" He asked and you nodded before Draco tackled you to the bed, pinning your arms as you both giggled. 

"I'm sure this will be the best thing for you, eventually." Cho said softly as she held your hand, your eyes were glassy but no tears seemed to form. 

"Maybe, I think it's just that I've existed with him or thinking about him for so long that it feels odd that it might end. It feels wrong to be in this position." You took a deep breath and looked at Cho, trying to smile as she looked at you supportively. 

"You'll get there, I promise you it will get easier day by day you'll realise you don't need him to get through the day. Look how well you're already doing." She gave you the warmest smile and you couldn't help but blush because it made you feel so warm.

"You're right. I need to just…learn to live with it and not dwell. I mean, I have you and I have my other friends so what could really be that bad." You squeezed Cho's hand and sighed. 

"Come on, we've both got quidditch practice." Cho smiled. 

Flying together made you both feel so connected, like you'd always known one another. Even though you didn't play together, some houses would do a general practice every so often where anyone from any team could come along. You were looping around each other, bright smiles on both of your faces as you chased one another and messed around. 

"If you two can stop flirting, we can get down to some actual practice!" Roger Davies yelled from just below you. 

"Flirting? What are you on about?" Cho asked with a pink tinge to her cheeks you couldn't ignore. 

"Oh come on, if you two can't see it you're blind." He called back before flying to the ground. 

"No-no idea what that was about!" Cho stuttered as she also headed towards the ground. You had a puzzled look on your face before flying down to the rest of the group on the ground. 

Draco entered the room of requirement with a little bird. Even though he had so much to accomplish…you were the only thing on his mind. You distracted him from all tasks, not that he didn't welcome distraction from the awful task before him. He'd been trying to repair the vanishing cabinet for about 9 months now and even with the advice from Borgin he hadn't got any closer. There was no way of getting the cabinet to Borgin and Burke's but Draco had no idea if the incantation was even working, every live thing he put in there would come back dead. It wasn't even as if Borgin could apparate into the room of requirement, but Draco didn't have time on his hands. It was why he had been so stressed recently, or really the past 6 months at least and he knew you had felt it. But how could you know? How could you be told what had happened? Draco knew that you wouldn't be on his side of the inevitable war, so what was the point in telling you? 

As he looked around the room packed with relics from the school's past, he couldn't help but remember all the times the two of you had snuck into it. Making out whilst you should've been in potions or fucking in a free period, Draco saw you everywhere in this place and it only made him more eager to get out. He placed the little bird he had seen in the corridor in the cabinet and shut the door. The bird's tweets could be heard as well as the little scratches when it would jump around on the wood, Draco felt guilty about using the bird but he had to try again with something living.

"Harmonia nectere passus," his wand was lifted as he chanted the incantation but there wasn't the familiar whoosh sound, he could still hear the bird "harmonia nectere passus," he repeated and there were no more noises.

After a few moments he repeated the chant again but even though there was a woosh he heard no tweeting. Opening the cabinet the bird lay dead, unmoving and lifeless and Draco couldn't handle it. He stepped backwards after shutting the cabinet and sat down on a rough looking chair before bursting into tears. 

You walked towards the Hufflepuff common room, pausing to groan at the fact you had to tap on all the barrels once again to enter. When you were in first year you got it slightly wrong and got covered in vinegar so you were sure to get it right even if you were in an awful mood. When you walked in you went over to one of the cacti stands and smiled as they danced with their arms moving up and down. The common room was full of plants and due to your love of them you couldn't imagine a place you'd feel more comfortable. 

You dreamed one day of owning a country house with sprawling ivy all over it (even though it ruins the brickwork) and large gardens you could tend to. Your Muggle mother used to always take you to the allotments in the posher part of your town even though you lived on the other side. Falling in love with plants was easy when you felt so calm and fulfilled after being around them, you had never felt so at peace in your life. Being around plants would be so important to you when you eventually left school, living in a city felt almost impossible to you. 

Draco used to love listening to you discuss your favourite flowers, or ways to pot different plants and how fertiliser impacted growth but always made sure to tell him to never use peat fertiliser. He used to laugh because it wasn't as if he was ever going to use any fertiliser anywhere in his life. You felt as if you were yearning for those times, yearning for everything he made you feel. Draco made you feel at home. Being without him for so long was taking a toll on you because you weren't used to it, even an afternoon without one another was surprising. Draco had met your mother for God sake, not that you could meet his parents but either way you were so close with one another- it seemed unimaginable that you could be apart from now on. 

Maybe he was your poisoned tree? Infecting all other facets of your life until he took over your psyche and your life with it. Making you progressively weaker as the poison took control over your existence as you were controlled by his actions. For God sake you couldn't do anything without thinking about him, or what he would've said in that situation. He was everywhere you looked and you didn't have to see his face to know it. Why couldn't he just tell you what was going on? You believed that he loved you, you really did so you didn't think he was cheating but, it was something. Something so big that he didn't feel he could tell you. There were always rumors about the Malfoy family but you never really entertained them as real, what if there was some truth in them? Were they all death eaters? That eventuality was suddenly becoming more and more of a reality. You needed to clear your head so you headed towards the only place you knew you'd be alone- The room of requirement.

next part

#draco x reader #draco fic #draco angst #draco imagine #draco imagines #draco fanfiction #draco x y/n #draco malfoy x female reader #draco malfoy x hufflepuff!reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy story #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy

[isopod-lesbian]

In 2015, I played Life is Strange; I was 17 years old, and hadn't quite realized I was a trans woman yet. For me back then, LiS was a fantasy more than anything; not because I wished I had Max's powers, but because I got to play as a young woman falling in love with her best friend. Even before I could articulate why, I felt this deep ache of longing for what could have been. By the end of that year, I had come out to myself and my friends, and I still credit LiS for helping me figure things out that way.

When I first played LiS, I felt like the "Bay" ending was the most appropriate for Max's story. If LiS is a game about growing up, then sacrificing Chloe is a hard but necessary choice to make, and I believed it was the right one. I never questioned the idea that good people will sacrifice their own happiness for the good of society, or for the people they love. So, when I began adulthood, I did so with purpose, but without passion. I did all the things I needed to do to survive and make it out into the world on my own, and I was miserable for most of the time.

When I came back to the LiS fandom in the past couple of years, I got a chance to re-examine my favorite game with a new perspective. I immersed myself in fanfic, I indulged my nostalgia, and I began to reinterpret this work that shaped me years before. I looked at the "Bae" ending especially with fresh eyes; I started seeing it not as a selfish decision, but an unselfish one, a choice made out of love for a girl who was let down by everyone who was supposed to care for her before. How cruel it was to imagine Chloe's story ending with her bleeding out in a bathroom, still thinking that nobody cared for her.

Now, I'm 25. I'm an adult in every sense of the word, and despite everything, it seems like my life is...kind of working out. I'm almost a year into HRT, I have a job that lets me live a reasonably nice life, and I'm planning on moving in with my girlfriend. When I started True Colors, I tried to temper my expectations, and hoped that my nostalgia for the past wouldn't inhibit my enjoyment of a new entry in the series. So, 6 years after the first, I played a Life is Strange game; and, for the second time, it showed me exactly what I needed to see.

If Life is Stange is a game about growing up, True Colors is a game about what happens after. It's a game about starting over, about finding a place to call home and people to call family. Where Max's powers let her find the perfect way to get what she wanted or say the right thing, Alex's powers ask her to understand the people around her. Where LiS holds the threat of the Storm over Max's head, Gabe's death in True Colors is just a tragedy that Alex has to process. LiS' central mystery comes down to an evil man doing evil things; True Colors' is the result of an entrenched capitalist machine that operates not out of malice, but out of sheer self-interest.

When I finished True Colors, I was confronted with a choice that felt like the polar opposite of LiS' ending. After all the excitement and emotion, the question posed to Alex first felt almost incidental. Nobody's life hung in the balance, neither choice carried any real emotional consequences, and there was no way of knowing what the ultimate results might be. But as I considered Gabe's vision for Alex, I was struck by how real it felt. How it felt like the choices I was already making in life, and the choices I know are yet to come in my future. I think 17-year-old me would have jumped at the idea of a life of adventure, traveling the country with the girl I love. But now, I can't help but think of how many chances we really get to find a home. I doubt it's a high number. So I chose to stay. And I can only hope that, whenever I'm given that choice in my life, I am brave enough to take a chance on whatever place I've found for myself.

#Life is Strange #True Colors #Shoutout to The Wrecking Collective #also yes this is my yearly text post #also nobody will be surprised that i romanced steph so i didn't even mention it LOL

[riotwritesthings]

for the soul

WinterIron, T, 1.7k - Fluff, Humor, Established relationship, cooking as a love language

In which there is lasagna, kisses, and an undetermined number of gnomes

I swore to myself the next thing I updated would be BTY. That... clearly has not happened ahaha.

While I'm having a little ol' major writer's block, plz enjoy this little fluffy thing I wrote for @gayspacesprinkles awhile ago and just found and finished up

---

"Tony?"

"Shit!" Tony swears as he jumps up from where he's squinting into the oven, nearly cracking his head on the handle in the process.

He spins to find Bucky standing in the kitchen doorway, a carefully blank expression on his face. Bucky is still wearing his boots and tac-vest, but he at least seems to have finally given in to everyone begging him to leave his rifle and masks in the hangar. It means Tony can see it when the corner of Bucky's lips starts twitching up, when Bucky swallows hard like he's trying to fight down laughter.

"Shit," Tony says again, his shoulders dropping a little, and when Bucky raises an eyebrow he hurries to add, "I mean, how long have- when did you- fuck..." He trails off helplessly as Bucky's smile gets wider and wider, and in the end, Tony can't do anything but grin back and wave weakly as he says, "Hi."

"Hi," Bucky says back, warm and fond, before looking around the kitchen and asking, "What happened in here?"

"Uh," Tony says slowly, looking around the disaster area of the room himself and wincing because he hadn't realized it was that bad, "well-"

"Did the evil lawn gnomes get in again?" Bucky guesses, walking further into the kitchen and stepping over a spilled bag of flour in the process.

“Those were mini doom bots, and I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be based on monkeys," Tony says, trying to quickly and subtly wipe away all the shredded cheese somehow clinging to his shirt, "also... yes, let's go with that. The monkey gnomes got in again, and I am definitely not the one who made this mess."

"Definitely not," Bucky says agreeably as he comes to a stop in front of Tony, still smiling widely.

He starts to lean in but then hesitates, second-guessing himself, and Tony has no problem meeting him halfway. So he leans in to press a kiss to Bucky’s lips, still thrilling at the fact that he can and Bucky may have only been gone a week, but it was long enough for Tony to start wondering if he’d somehow dreamed all of this up. Too good to be true or not, it’s apparently real because when he pulls back Bucky’s eyes are still closed and his smile has gone soft and a little wobbly.

“Welcome home,” Tony says, his own voice coming out breathless and a little unsteady, and his heart trips over itself in his chest when Bucky’s eyelids flutter open to reveal his blue eyes practically shining with happiness. “I, uh- I made you dinner,” he adds, a little sheepishly.

“It looks more like you made me a mess,” Bucky points out, glancing around the kitchen again.

“We’ve already determined, that was the monkey gnomes,” Tony says flatly, trying so hard not to break out into a smile as well when Bucky grins at him, “and in my defense, JARVIS was supposed to tell me when you were almost back.” He finishes that statement by glaring pointedly up at the ceiling, although to be honest the fifteen-minute heads-up he requested wouldn’t have been nearly enough time to clean all of this up. Still, at the very least his AI could have let him not be caught completely unprepared.

“My deepest apologies, sir,” JARVIS says, not sounding apologetic at all.

“In his defense, we did lose communications in the jet on the way back,” Bucky says, but Tony waves him off.

“Apologize to the drive-through box I’m going to put you in,” Tony grumbles at JARVIS and then turns his attention back to Bucky, a nervous smile growing on his face again as he adds, “I thought it would be nicer to make it from scratch, but I didn’t realize how messy from scratch is, how does anyone cook like this?”

“I think you might just have a skill for it,” Bucky says thoughtfully as he looks around the kitchen again, barking out a laugh when he notices the food processor in pieces on the floor.

“Okay, that one was my fault,” Tony says with a wince, “don’t tell Thor.”

“It looks like you threw it off the roof,” Bucky says, sounding impressed, and Tony grabs his hand to try and pull his attention away.

“It deserved it for what it did to my tomatoes,” Tony says dismissively, “now don’t look at that, pay attention to me.”

“Gladly,” Bucky says, looking far too amused, and then raises one hand to brush… something off Tony’s jaw. “So what’s the occasion?”

“Well, since your mission got in the way of our third date—“

“Fourth,” Bucky interrupts, grinning.

“Third,” Tony says firmly, “we agreed we wouldn’t count the park after the incident.”

“You agreed,” Bucky says, “I’m going to be laughing at the videos of you running away from a goose for years.”

“Geese are terrifying!” Tony insists for the thousandth time, mostly just for the way it always makes Bucky laugh extra hard, his head thrown back and his nose scrunching up. “Anyways,” Tony says pointedly, “for this, our third date, I thought I’d try and make you something special.”

“A mess,” Bucky says, nodding.

“I changed my mind, no lasagna for you,” Tony says with a sniff as he turns back to the oven, but he doesn’t even try to fight down his smile while Bucky makes whining noises of complaint behind him.

Once the lasagna is out of the oven and cooling on the counter, they both stare at it in silence for a moment.

“So, uh…” Tony says slowly, “There might actually be no lasagna for you.”

“It… doesn’t look that bad,” Bucky says, but his eyebrows are slowly crawling up his forehead.

“You’re too kind,” Tony tells him, patting him on the shoulder, “but you’re also a liar. Look at it, I followed the recipe exactly, how does it look both mushy and half-burned?!”

“Well—“

“There are noodles in there somewhere, I swear, I made them myself!” Tony says, a little manically, and Bucky huffs out a laugh. “Don’t even look at it,” Tony decides, pulling the oven mitts back on, “I’ll dispose of it before it poisons us."

Bucky beats him to it though, scooping up the glass casserole dish with his metal hand and marching for the table, stopping only long enough to grab a fork on the way. “I’m gonna try it, I like a little danger,” Bucky says as he drops into one of the chairs, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows.

“There’s danger and then there’s this,” Tony mutters as he slowly trails after Bucky, oven mitts still on his hands and a half-formed plan in mind to snatch the pan away before Bucky can eat any of the questionable food.

Bucky must see it on his face though, because he curls one arm protectively around the lasagna and holds his fork up like a weapon, and Tony sighs in defeat.

“At least sign a waiver first,” he whines as he drops into the seat next to Bucky, “I don’t want to be held liable for whatever happens to your intestines.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, baby,” Bucky says with a laugh and then looks back down at the pan with a conflicted expression. “It… smells good, at least?”

“Ringing endorsement,” Tony says with a roll of his eyes, then waits with bated breath as Bucky scoops a bite out of the pan and begins to lift it toward his mouth.

Other than the red and white of tomato sauce and cheese, it doesn’t look much like lasagna at all, and Tony has to resist the urge to slap the fork out of Bucky’s hand before he can actually eat it.

At least if Bucky ends up in the medical wing after this Tony will have something to bring up when Bucky teases him about the goose incident. They might even get to tease each other about it for years, and that thought has warmth blooming in Tony’s chest. It's almost enough to fight off the sense of impending doom as Bucky shoves the forkful of ‘food’ into his mouth.

Bucky’s eyes go wide as he chews, painfully slowly. Tony is just about to ask if he needs a bucket, or a trip straight to the emergency room, when Bucky’s gaze snaps up to him again.

“Tony,” Bucky says faintly, and then nothing else.

“Bucky,” Tony returns, and after a split second adds, “Please don’t die like this.”

“Tony,” Bucky says again, “this is amazing.”

“Oh no. You’ve lost your mind,” Tony says mournfully, “my Italian abomination has driven you to madness.”

“Yes,” Bucky agrees without hesitation, “because it is that good.” To prove his point, he scoops up a much bigger forkful and shoves it into his mouth, making exaggerated happy noises that are not doing funny things to Tony’s stomach. “Try it,” he insists, holding the fork out to Tony.

“You just want me to die of intestinal implosion with you,” Tony says suspiciously but reaches out to take the utensils because he dares anyone to resist that encouraging look on Bucky’s face.

“It’ll be our most romantic date yet,” Bucky agrees and then nudges the pan towards him.

Tony is a little tempted to take his chance, grab the lasagna and run, get rid of it before it can hurt anyone else, but Bucky looks so hopeful and honest. So instead Tony takes a deep breath, dramatically preparing himself, and then tries a bite of the mushy abomination.

Instantly the taste of tomatoes and rich cheese fills his mouth, spices blended just the way he remembers from countless childhood trips to Italy. The lasagna might look like a hot mess, but it tastes perfect and Tony's eyes are maybe a little wet as he swallows thickly.

“Oh thank god,” Tony says with a sigh, ”Nonna isn’t going to haunt me for completely ruining her recipe.”

Bucky laughs, low and warm, and when Tony looks up he’s caught off guard by Bucky leaning over to plant a lingering kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Tony," he says softly, still close enough that Tony can smell the sauce on his breath, "this is perfect."

"You're welcome," Tony says, just as soft, and then simply can't resist tilting his head just enough to kiss Bucky again. They linger there for a long time, trading soft kisses and sharing the same air, until Tony pulls away to ask, "Does that mean you'll help me clean up this mess?"

"You can bet your perfect ass that I will not," Bucky says happily, then steals the fork back and pulls the lasagna closer while Tony squawks with indignation.

#my fic #winteriron #bucky/tony #starkbucks #buckyxtony #riot writes

[husbandohunter]

Hey I saw that your requests are open so, remember your genshin impact x reader, where the reader was very smol :X I have been recently Been simping intensely for ayato. Could you maybe make a part 2 where ayato is present? I would love to see that happen!

Inazuma Daycare [Baby Male Genshin]

Characters: Itto, Ayato, Thoma, Kazuha, Gorou

Synopsis: A supposed demon, a Yashiro Commissioner, a former criminal, a foreign servant and the General of Watatsumi…all under the age of six. Since it can’t be helped, you must do everything for them.

Tags: gn reader, platonic love, children

(A/n): When someone request the child series, it's free real estate *proceeds to insert the rest of the boys*

Arataki Itto

The loud kid who speaks before raising his hand. The kid who brings trading cards and aggressively shows off how poggers his legendary collections are worth MILLIONS (they're not). The kid who sucks the life energy out of your body.

"Teacher! Pick me, pick me!"

But you just can't hate him.

Itto would undoubtedly still be the tallest. His horns were like little bumps, barely poking out. He's not particularly savvy with his face painting skills yet, which you must fix it up for him after he got into a mess as always.

"I wanna use the colour red. Make it streak down like tears of blood on my face! Oh man, I'm going to look so cool!"

Okay Itto, now sit properly or this marker is going across your nose.

During art time, he likes to create his own version of 'Teyvat Creatures'. You had an earful of them: King of Hiligalaticalspectadogchurls and Evil Beans (the main villain of his hand-made manga by the way). Colours outside of the lines too. Very proud of his work. Sells them for 50 mora each.

Lunch time was the messiest for him. He can't hold his utensils and prefers to use bare hands.

The reason why Itto has such good beatboxing skills was that he practiced at a young age. Though he ends up spitting everywhere instead. You hope that he'll get better as soon as possible.

Voice cracks. You can hear him across the playground field.

But no matter how rowdy he is, Itto gets along with everybody and never leaves them feel left out. You find him inviting little children in the corner to a game of tag during recess. Sadly, he still ends up being last place in these games. Might pout. Might get salty. Might cry.

Itto refuses to agree that he is a crybaby. He runs a lot outside and would end up scraping his knee when too careless. You remember fixing a wound for him, his face would be all scrunched up as tears were piling up. He'll just keep repeating the same phrases: "this is nothing"/ "I'm a man and men don't cry".

You laughed, "Yes, indeed you are."

Kamisato Ayato

The kid whose parents fund your entire business. The popular trustfundkid. The kid way too mature for his age. Ayato holds tight to his refined image that he may come off a bit vain. Why is he even in your daycare anyways?

The first thing he does when entering you classroom was to mutter, "So this is where the donations went."

"Excuse you not everyone can afford high-quality furniture like you and for the record, I bought them myself."

When Thoma isn't available you'll be his substitute. It's unbelievable how rich the Kamisatos are. Ayato couldn't even fasten a sash knot and expected you to put on his kimono the moment he outstretched his hands.

You found a hidden bottle of Bubble Tea which of course, you confiscated. No desserts before lunchtime, Young Master.

Despite his rather lavish upbringing, you often found Ayato being picked up by his servants rather than his parents. His family loved him very much, but they were obviously too busy to attend their son's needs all the time. Since then, you saw him in a different light.

Thus when indoor recess was finished, you made Ayato in charge of putting the toys back into the toybox.

Thoma was about to help, that is, until you interjected faster than the Shogun's lightning.

This would be the first step to helping the young boy connect with his fellow classmates. He didn't have to be treated on a pedestal, he was an equal, a child who needed your attention more than anything. Initially, Ayato felt bothered by the tasks you gave to someone like him but those tasks ended up bringing the two of you closer.

For instance, serving the meals. Ayato genuinely liked your cooking much to your surprise. He was often served the best and healthiest dishes with the best ingredients but they lacked the cozy hearth-like feeling that you had. He said it tasted simple, yet honest.

Enjoys his hand being held when you both cross the street. Politely asks if he could keep holding onto you. “I like it when you hold me, teacher.” It's safe to say that the kid has grown attached, albeit clingy. Next thing you find yourself carrying him like a baby.

You will never know that Ayato intentionally finds excuses to follow you around. He'll get jealous when his classmates, even Thoma, steal your attention. And when you scold him for it, he'll get sad. But don't be fooled! They might just be puppy eyes.

Thoma

The kid every teacher- no, every MOTHER would dream to have. (Totally 100% a mommy's boy). He's got that vibe to attract grandmas and aunties of all sorts. Thoma deserves all the stickers and he always ends up claiming his sticker prizes first, for being such a good boy. In fact, he is the only kid that eats everything you serve, even the vegetables.

Give him the head pats, give him ALL the head pats (Ayato stares menacingly from the corner). "Whos a good boy? Yes you are, yes yoo are Thoma uuu!!"

In contrast to his master, Thoma was an appreciative, humble and attentive little boy. You found him glued to Ayato's side, performing duties such as carrying his luggage, smiling through the obvious heavy lifting. You feared that he was threatened and sold into child slavery.

Kid!Thoma would definitely be a ship figurine junkie. He'd bring in a new model everyday and held it tightly in his tiny, fat, little hands. It's so endearing to see him during indoor recess, when he drags his toy across the floor, making splattering sounds with his mouth.

"Sshhhhhhwishhhhhh, pow! Bam. Babababababbaammbam!!" he says while bumping two boats together in battle.

Thoma, boats can't shoot elements from their canons.

In art sessions, he drew you a picture of him and you together eating ?dango? (he tried his best, okay?), "This is for you teacher, because I love you soooo much!" HNNNNGG

*Clutching chest and dies of heart failure*

When there would be quarrels among the other kids (Oh the usual, Itto whining over how Sara took his favourite cup), he's the first to call you over. "Teacher said no more fighting, we have to be nice to each other!"

He's such a sweetheart. Thoma would pull in a stool and reach to sprinkle food into the fishtank before eating his lunch. He said he felts bad that the fish had to watch everyone eat while they wait for their turn :(

"Good job Thoma, here's your seventh sticker for the day."

Kaedehara Kazuha

The toddler 1/2

You recalled the day when Mister Tomo dropped off Kazuha on his in daycare for the first and he'd timidly clung to his pants while hiding from behind. He's a shy little one, still is. You had to do a little coaxing otherwise Mister Tomo would have been late for work and stayed in your school for the rest of the evening.

However when Mister Tomo managed to sneak out without Kazuha noticing, he started to cry immediately. It brought so much distress that Gorou felt like crying too. You had to carry him because if you didn't, Kazuha would have found some way and climb over the fence, chasing down the running figure.

It took a long time before Baby Kazuha became comfortable with you. He tends to be very sensitive, especially towards nature. You'd bring him to the school garden every once in a while to show him the flowers. He looked so cute when trying to grab a butterfly, twisting and turning in your arms.

Quiet reading time was when you spent most with the toddlers out of all the kids. Kazuha is the only one to take out a bunch of books but never go through all of them. He'd flip through a few pages before getting bored and moving on to the next. You found him to be an extremely fast learner when it comes to literate subjects.

The way his little smile stretches his chubby cheeks when he says a word out loud. That's it. That's the show.

Kazuha may be a toddler but he's old enough to walk and play with Itto and the other kids. The thing is, he never does. He prefers to quietly play in the sandbox with Gorou. It's a wonderful bonding experience for both of them. Since the day you taught Kazuha not to eat sand to draw shapes and build sandcastles, he couldn't pull away from it anymore. And if you did, he'll start whining.

Likes to play with the pet turtles. When I say play I mean he simply sits there and stares as they watch them slowly crawl on the floor. When Mister Tomo arrived to pick him up, Kazuha asked him whether they can have a turtle too.

Needless to say, he'll have no trouble coming to daycare anymore.

Gorou

The toddler 2/2

Juggling between Kazuha and Gorou was hard, especially when you had to shoo Itto away from petting his ears or prying Yae's hands from pulling his cheeks. He was often dropped off at daycare with a stuffed Shiba Inu in his arms, notably that it was his guardian and good luck charm. Everywhere he went, General Gorou Jr would follow him too.

Since he was still young, you also had to spoonfeed him his lunch. Ah but don't forget to feed General Gorou Jr! You would now be serving two small bowls as his stuffed toy took space on an empty seat. Most of the time it was just Gorou talking to his stuffed animal and you learned many things about his alter ego. From General Gorou Jr's birthday to the way that he liked his bread sliced up.

Gorou once placed his Shiba Inu against your cheek to mimic a dog kissing you indicating that General Gorou Jr appreciated all the work you've done. Totally not lowkey expecting a kiss in return.

It's funny how his dog sense would kick in and he would suddenly become shy about it. One of those moments was where he'll be digging the sand beside Kazuha's sandcastles and burying the shovels that were needed for the process. This would make Kazuha angry and they get into a fight over protecting/digging up the sandbox.

Then there were other moments when a ball would suddenly roll by (Yae) and it would distract him from whatever he was previously doing (ends up having his desserts stolen because no one was guarding it)

"Hehe, teacher did you know that Gorou sleeps while hugging his tail?"

See for yourself. When it was nap time, Gorou was the first one to fall asleep and the last one to wake up. He'd pull up his fluffy tail between his legs, nuzzling against the fur, dozing off into dreamland.

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