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grayintogreen · 7 months

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WIP WEDNESDAY

I'm maintaining my schedule of posting every other Wednesday, so we're one week away from the next chapter of you can't deny high noon, so here's a taste to tide you over, featuring Fjord!

“Do you think the Sages survived us killing Vokodo?”

“I went back to the cabin after I felt the fog lift. There was… Um. Not a whole lot to talk about left behind?” The look on her face said that what she actually did find was best left undescribed.

The relief about that not being an issue was tempered by the mention of Lydas’s name. It shouldn't have taken him this long to realize it, and once he did, he felt terribly stupid. He did another quick scan of the village just to be certain he hadn't missed something- Lukash and Terra; Dianda, no longer a pig (and none of those were their actual names but he had yet to be introduced to them properly); Lowry was dead; Vilya was right here beside him.

No Lydas. No Rosaline.

”Are we missing a few?“ He asked, conversationally, hoping not to alarm the druid walking beside him.

”I don't know how many fell back at the ruins,“ Vilya admitted. ”Twiggy and I fled because the fey were handling it. I wanted to make it back to the village before Lydas did, in case…“

In case he called shenanigans. Everything about the halfling said that he was a sore fucking loser and he'd just lost, potentially, the source of his magic. As someone who had endured that sting, he had a sense for what that might do to a person.

”Mm,“ he murmured, nodding. ”I just noticed he isn't here.“

Vilya's face went pale- okay, so that was something to be alarmed about. Good to know. ”I don't know where he would have gone if not back here or to the Sages, and the fey were holding that area until it wasn’t necessary.”

So unless Artagan and Luna got bored and left their posts early, just in time for Lydas to circle back and watch his masters dissolve into corpse sludge, he'd gone somewhere else, somewhere unpredictable for someone who should have known his movements. “Rosaline is missing too. Would they have gone to the Ruins?”

“Maybe, but just the two of them is a death sentence- even for her.” Vilya's expression twisted, unpleasantly. ”She thrives there in a way I never realized should have been wrong.“

Fjord thought about the broken holy symbol around her neck and shuddered. ”Thriving in a lion's den doesn't mean the lions won't eat you if they're hungry enough. I think she's smarter than that and if she isn't, Lydas definitely is.”

He didn't like smart enemies. They had a few too many on their dance cards as it is. “I hate having a loose end, don't you?”

Vilya made a noncommittal noise, but any further discussion about what they should do to make absolutely certain the fucker didn't turn up unexpectedly was halted by the sound of a dog barking.

A familiar dog barking. He blinked. “Rock?” He gave a whistle. “Rock! Uh… Fuck me, what is that word?” Gods, he hated Sylvan as a language. It was never pronounced the way it looked on paper. ”Anseo.“

He must have said it right, or at least close enough for Rock's liking, as two hundred pounds of lanky blink dog appeared in front of him, ears back and whining, and fighting the urge to jump on him by doing unhappy paw taps on the grass. Well, at least he was learning to be polite. Yasha had a great future in monster dog training ahead of her.

”This is Yasha's dog,” Fjord said by way of explanation as he held out his hand in the hopes of getting Rock to calm down. “We left him on our ship. Did you miss your mother that much, boy?”

Rock bared his teeth and whined, sinking bodily down into the grass. Yasha, as if sensing his distress, was suddenly right there next to Fjord as if she’d teleported.

“What're you doing here, buddy?” She knelt down and began to play with his ears. In response, he licked her hand and whined harder. “Hey, it's okay.”

“He's frightened,” Vilya said and whether that was just an observation of the obvious or she'd opened up a direct line of communication to him made little difference. The confirmation was just proof that something was amiss.

The stone in Fjord's pocket was suddenly a bit too heavy. He yanked it out, took a few steps back, and activated it. “Orly? The dog's here with us. Is something going on?”

On the other end of the stone, a voice that was very much not Orly's, the cold drawl more deliberate and sharp, responded: “Orly's a bit busy, Captain Stone. Can I take a message?”

Speak of the motherfucking devil. Fjord hissed between his teeth. “Is this Lydas? Or do you have a different name you'd prefer to go by?”

“I think I'm fine with Lydas, actually.”

Fjord looked to Yasha, wide-eyed and on her feet and nodded to her and Vilya to go and get the rest of the Nein while he kept Lydas talking. The longer he kept him on the stone, the less damage he was likely to cause. He hoped.

“Fair enough. Why do you have my navigator's sending stone? I believe I specifically gave orders for him to circle the island and not set foot on it, so either I have an insubordinate crew or you've just made a terrible mistake.”

“Well, since you destroyed Vokodo a lot of things that weren't possible for us are suddenly very possible… Like taking the dugouts a bit farther out to sea than we normally would have.“

Shit. Balls. Fucking- “I see.“

He paused, half for effect and half to make sure the anxiety in his head didn't color his next words. ”What do you want, Lydas?“

A beat. ”I'm sorry, Captain, are you under the mistaken impression that this is a negotiation?“

”That's usually how this goes, isn't it? 'Oh I have your wife, do my dark bidding.' And so on.“

Lydas chuckled. “Just tell your friend I'm finishing the story.”

Ass. Fuck. Balls. Shit.

Fjord calmly pocketed the stone again. Yasha had done her part while he'd been on the line with their latest fucking loose end. He gave an awkward sniff and locked eyes with Lucien. ”How do you think someone would go about finishing the story on this place?“

He shrugged, insufferably calm until he had a reason to pop off. ”How anyone does it, I imagine. Start it over and hope it goes better this time.“

”Mmhmm.“ Of course. That made sense. ”And Cree, it's slipped my mind, but how many people are on our crew besides us?“

Cree opened her mouth to give a matter-of-fact answer, only to choke on it and become less certain- not of the answer, itself (of course she knew that much), but of the implications. ”Seven.“

Ass. Balls. Shitfuck.

Fjord smiled tightly. ”Isn't that convenient?”

#cr fic #wip wednesday #you can't deny high noon #my writing

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a-tale-of-legends · 2 years

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I just woke up and went " okay what's the history of Poké Balls and how old his Drayden", so here we go! Please note that a lot of this is based on my own headcanons for the specific dates when certain events happen.

Let's get the general basics down. The invention of Poké Balls as we know it came from Johto with the use of apricorns, which is shown in pla with some extra ingredients.

The modern PokeBall, the one that trainers use in modern day, was invented in 1925( this isn't a headcanon, it's there in Bulbapedia). The modern PokeBall and the ones made in pla are not the same. I mean, clearly, but it's best to make this distinction now.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's move into Drayden. He had mentioned during his childhood ( key word: childhood) pokeballs didn't exist during. Now this kinda supports my theory that different regions were introduced to pokeballs at a different time. We know that Kanto and Johto had already got it locked down due to their natural access to apricorns to make the pla version of PokeBalls, and Hisui, by the start of PLA, have only recently started to use it more. We don't know much about Hoenn's history, sadly. Unova, as far as we know, didn't have access to apricorns back then. So maybe they were introduced to pla pokeballs later.

This might apply to both versions of the pokeballs, cause when you really think about it, Kanto kinda holds the monopoly on that, next to Hoenn with Devon Corp. 1925 , when the modern PokeBall was created, could have capped the fastest production and selling of PokeBalls ever. I say this because, in another hc, pokeballs would have had to exist before 1970, since that's when Opal and Mustard battled. And with Silph Co, I'm honestly inclined to believe that.

And this is where the math comes in! Some hc( and non hc) dates you need to know:

PLA takes place from 1868-1872. The pla pokeball was most likely invented before then, in Johto ( maybe a different variant due to different resources in Johto but I digress).

The modern PokeBall was invented in 1925 ( not hc)

The conversation between Iris and Drayden when he mentions pokeballs, at most, happens right after bw. This is because Iris is already champion here in that convo. So, nearing the end of 2012, since that's what I hc that's when bw takes place, or at least 2013. I'm not sure if these dates will be brought up but juuuuust in case it does, here.

The time between the beginning of pla and the time of the creation of the modern PokeBall is 57 years. Given how PLA pokeballs might have been created before then, we'll say 57+( not a big plus. Laventon did say that pokeballs are a recent creation in pla). If Drayden is purely talking about the pla pokeball ( as by 1925 and onward the modern PokeBall would be mass produced and sold everywhere), then it would probably be somewhere between those years where he was born. I don't think Drayden is that old, so I'm not gonna say he was born around pla. No. I am going to say he could have been born around the early 1900s, which, and I kid you not, make him about 112 years old by 2012( hey look 2012 did come in for something!). What. Opal is 88 by 2020, and Drayden over here being 112, the buffest man alive, in 2012. What the hell. I guess this kinda feeds the headcanon that Drayden, at the least, has some longevity to him. Like damn.

No could I be wrong about all of this? Absolutely! I didn't mention Kalos' PokeBall factory, or the fact that the Isle of Armor had a natural supply of apricorns. So what about them? How do they fit here? And honestly I don't know. Even with the information given to us plainly, there're still so many variables to take into account that can flip this entire theory on its head. But I guess that's part of the fun haha. I hope I was able to get my ideas across well, and sorry if it turned out to be a complete mess. But I hope you guys had a good read as much as I enjoyed writing it!

#r rambles #pokemon headcanons #pokemon worldbuilding #pokemon legends arceus #pla #pokemon black and white #pokemon bw #gym leader drayden #pokemon drayden #legendverse #cause yeah the dates i used here are from my own au lol #i think that's it? yeah i think that's all of en #*em #okay later!

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halfmylife · 1 year

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With You By My Side (Part 2)

Pairing Finan x OC

Summary Ellette and Bryce stumble across a familiar face during a meeting with Alfred

Warnings None

A/N So here’s part 2 as requested! Just some casual Finan x Ellette time but I promise I will be getting into more fun stuff soon

Part 1

By some unknown miracle Ellette had managed to pull her brother from her bed in the early morning with little to no trouble. He had an unusual ability to show little struggle after a night of heavy drinking. It certainly was a miracle.

They had work to do. They, meaning Bryce. As a newly appointed Ealdorman, Bryce was meeting with King Alfred to get to know one another. It had been Alfred’s invitation and offer to do so and her brother would’ve been a fool to refuse. Why Ellette had come along she was unsure. Perhaps her unexplainable need to see the world had something to do with it. That and she hated being left alone in Werham, the people there left much to be desired.

Now here she was following after Bryce and the King around the courtyard like a lost puppy. She certainly felt like a waste of space. Lady Aeslwith had been kind to her and tried to engage her in the conversation but would often end up joining in with the men, leaving Ellette to her own thoughts.

They all rounded a corner and Ellette was sure she heard a familiar voice though she could not say for certain. It wasn’t until they walked into the opening that she finally saw him.

Finan. He stood proudly beside the Dane slayer, fiddling with the cross around his neck. It appeared she had noticed him before he noticed her. As soon as he did, his face lit up at the sight of her.

“Lord Uhtred, Finan.” The King greeted, halting the four of them. Ellette moved to her brothers side so that she might be more visible. And so that she was closer to the Irishman. “I’d like to introduce Lord Bryce, Ealdorman of Werham and his sister, Lady Ellette.”

“Lord. Lady.” Uhtred gave a curt nod to the both of them, his accent unmistakably danish.

“Perhaps you’d like to join us Uhtred, I’m sure Bryce could use some of your wise words.” Finan looked as though he was holding back a laugh but Alfred didn’t notice.

“Of course, lord.” Uhtred nodded to Finan who nodded back. Ellette watched as they managed to speak without words and it seemed the Irishman would be staying back.

“Please go on without me, I should like some air.” Alfred nodded before departing with the lords and of course with lady Aelswith on their tail.

Air is not the reason she wanted to stay outside, though she was thankful for an excuse not to listen to the monotonous chattering of lords.

“Your brother looks surprisingly well.” Finan’s voice cut through the silence and Ellette finally looked over to him. He had made himself quite comfortable, perching on one of the low walls of the courtyard.

“He has an annoying ability to wake up completely fine no matter what state he gets himself into.” She plopped herself down on the same wall, leaving a small gap between them. “And I have seen him in some awful states.”

“You can spare the details, I saw enough last night.” Finan chuckled to himself. Silence fell around them, neither of them sure of what to say. “What brings you to Winchester, my lady?”

“King Alfred wished to meet my brother as the new Ealdorman of Werham but had little time to make the journey.” She had wondered if that was the case at all upon seeing the King. Alfred looked more frail with each day that they had been here, Ellette wondered if he was too unwell to make such a journey for a menial task. “And please, just call me Ellette.”

“That wouldn’t be very proper of me, my lady.” Ellette wondered if there was anything proper about the Irishman. He didn’t seem to be a lord or a man of riches so why the need for pleasantries?

“I’m not one for being ‘proper’ Finan.” He couldn’t help but listen to her every word and how his name sounded like a song on her tongue. He’d be happy to hear it over and over again. “What brings you here?”

“When Alfred calls we come, no doubt he has some job for us.” From an outside perspective it seemed as though Uhtred was the king’s errand boy. A sword for hire that could be turned to wherever Alfred saw fit and perhaps he was. Why would a hired sword have Alfred’s ear.

The conversation did not flow so freely as it had done the previous night and Ellette could only blame the substantial amount of ale they both had consumed and the informal nature of their meeting. Now they were amongst lords and ladies with no ale to consume.

“I hope I did not interrupt your evening last night.” Ellette fidgeted awkwardly beside him, hoping to fill the air with conversation, even if it was painful small talk. Something about the Irishman’s voice brought her some semblance of comfort.

“Course not. I was more than happy to help.” He spoke with a smile, his fingers still toying with the cross that dangled from his neck. He eyed her carefully before he spoke once more. “Besides it gave me an excuse.”

“An excuse?” She raised an eyebrow. What could he possibly need an excuse for?

“To talk to you again.” There it was again. The same charm he had tried the previous night. Ellette could not help but let out a breathy laugh. “Figured if I couldn’t charm you, I could at least help you out.”

“Well it worked.” It was true. She had learnt his name from their encounter last night which was further than she had gotten with most of the men that approached her. Though she thought it best to not dwell on it, instead only thinking of the man beside her.

“You often get men grabbing you like that?” When she didn’t reply immediately, Finan continued, suddenly seeming to worry. “The fella at the ale house last night, kept trying to grab you.”

“Oh I wouldn’t say it’s often but it’s hardly uncommon.” Ellette had an incredible ability to shrug those situations off and last night was no different. It would never escalate to anything more than a few lingering hands but she supposed that was further than she would like. “I suppose it is often my own fault, placing myself in the heart of an ale house as a woman.”

“You’re not to blame for his actions.” Finan scoffed at her response, wondering just how many times she’d had to deal with men like that. “Slimy bastard if you ask me.” She hadn’t expected the insult, nor the volume of it in the centre of the courtyard so she could no longer contain her laughter.

“Do you often stand up for women in ale houses?” Ellette had pushed herself from the wall, standing in front of the Irishman. In that moment he could’ve mistaken her for a Queen, she was as every bit of regal as the women in Winchester, if not more. Finan stood to stand in front of her before smirking.

“Only the pretty ones.” He spoke proudly as he complimented her, watching as her cheeks darkened against her will.

“I see.” Ellette tried to hide her face, averting her eyes for a moment before she composed herself. “And are there many pretty women back home?”

“None like you.” Finan was persistent, she had to give him that. Unlike the men at the ale houses, Finan certainly was charming and for once she didn’t mind. Though she wouldn’t let it show.

“Didn’t I tell you that charm does not work on me?” Ellette gave a small smile before turning and starting to walk through the courtyard, not daring to see if the Irishman was close behind.

“Aye but your smile is telling a different story, my lady.” He called after her, skipping over to be by her side once again, walking in perfect time with her as they continued without purpose through the castle together. “Have you ever been to Cookham?”

“I can’t say that I have.” There weren’t many places she had been, yet there hadn’t been many reasons to wander off on adventures. Ellette doubted she would find many handsome Irishmen in small villages.

“You should come visit us some time.” Ellette had not expected such a quick invitation after only knowing the man for barely a day, yet she couldn’t help but want to say yes straight away. “I think you’d like it.”

“And what makes you say that?” She paused, facing him completely. Until then, she hadn’t realised how close they had been, how their bodies were separated by a short distance. They were in arms reach.

“I think you’d like the company there.” Finan cocked his head as he watched her lips curl into a smile once more. A sight he would surely never grow tired of.

“And will you be giving me the grand tour?” She teased. Finan stepped back, his arms outstretched as he grinned.

“I wouldn’t offer anything but the best.” Ellette had no doubt that he was charming, in fact she was almost transfixed on him, never wanting the conversation to end. With him, it all seemed so easy.

“Perhaps I’ll take you up on that offer.” She spoke with a polite smile that was suppressing a childish grin.

“We’d be happy to have you, m’lady.” Finan faked a bow as he called her by her title, earning a quiet laugh from the lady.

“Finan!” The pair turned their head to see the Dane slayer walking over clearly oblivious to what they had previously been talking about. “We should be going.” The man seemed as though he would not stop, not even for breath and Finan found himself leaving Ellette far sooner than he would’ve liked.

“Don’t let me keep you.” She laughed, watching his face scrunch up at the sign of his lord.

“I hope to see you again, Ellette.” Finan ran to keep up with Uhtred, springing into step with him before blurting out all sorts of questions that Ellette couldn’t hear.

She could not deny it, she hoped she would see Finan again too. Perhaps she would pay Cookham a visit once their business was done here.

“Careful sister.” Ellette had been so lost in thought, watching Finan depart that she hadn’t even heard her brother approaching. “I know what’s going on in that head of yours.” He liked to assume he did. No one knew truly what she was thinking but she certainly was thinking about Finan and Cookham.

#the last kingdom #tlk #the last kingdom fanfic #tlk fanfic #finan #finan the agile #finan the last kingdom #finan x oc #the last kingdom oc #tlk oc #oc fanfiction

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earthstellar · 2 years

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youtube

saw this and because I literally never stop thinking about Transformers I immediately realised that in Pharma’s med bay on Messatine, Ambulon was absolutely “the resident”, lmao :’(

I know this because it’s hard to even find panels where he’s not actively working, lol, with the fucked up paint job and everything, look at him

you know he was Having Some Kind of Time through the whole rust plague thing because the entire time he’s been at Delphi he’s just been like “when can I transfer, can I get Pharma to give me a reference, does First Aid know anybody who might be hiring, if I go back to Cybertron is it worth the pay cut, if they ask me for my certifications do those databases even exist anymore”

I mean technically he was a Ward Manager, but we don’t know how medical career progression works in the TF universe and I always get a distinct “forever resident” vibe from Ambulon (possibly just because life dunked on him so hard), so I’m just gonna stick with that in my own perception of things lmao

also since Ambulon was working under Pharma/alongside First Aid, and we know he went through his Act of Affiliation relatively recently, I wonder how that might have affected his role in any healthcare provision duties... or how previously being not-an-Autobot might have impacted the way he was treated professionally by others, at least at first.

I also wonder about the process of integrating Decepticon and Autobot medics together into non-factional healthcare services after the conflict ended

because oh my god...

holy shit can you imagine what the Reintegration Act post-war was like from the point of view of the fucking medical teams

“hey we’re going to be introducing a few more staff members, check out the new roster”

“thank Primus, we need more people in... wait...HE’S THE BOT WHO KILLED--”

“yeah I know, he got some of mine too. he’ll be on the Cyberpathology Team.”

can you fucking imagine this process!!!!

like we know medical units were a target during the war, as unfortunately they are also often targeted in real life (my dad was an Army medic, I know this to be true)

and enemy medics may well have been asked to advise on any strategic actions against opposing medical units... it’s grim, but that’s war, and Cybertron has no Geneva Convention.

it would have been so fucking rough trying to form a non-factional healthcare system on Cybertron after the war, hooooly shit

thinking about all the possible safeguarding concerns, like the amount of shit that probably went into figuring out how to manage the Reintegration Act in regards to healthcare services must have been next level

I would imagine healthcare/medical services were probably among the last services to fully actually integrate, even if they did start to attempt integration efforts early (if only for the sake of ensuring all Cybertronians regardless of any prior factional allegiance may then feel able to access and obtain care if needed without fear of bias or lingering factional discrimination)

it’s a hell of a situation to have to figure out

I’d imagine they likely had people working in pairs for at least some time while sorting out how to fully integrate in a safe and agreeable way, lmao fuuuuck

(the reason I say that is because when a healthcare worker is suspected of intentionally harming or murdering patients in a hospital, it is often the case that staff will then be made to work in pairs whenever possible for the sake of surveillance until the investigation is concluded. sadly, this is very much a real thing which has happened on some notable occasions.

paired working can also be mandated when a service’s mortality statistics are notably higher than what is expected, typically also as part of a further investigation; it might be only certain staff etc. that are asked to pair up, or depending on the investigative approach, they might bring in externally affiliated observers either as an alternative or in addition to this type of measure. lots of variables, but it’s something that can and has definitely been done in specific situations.

it’s super grim so I won’t go too much more into this, but if you want to know about this kind of shit, check out the Stafford Hospital Scandal and the Stepping Hill Hospital Incident for a couple examples.)

it was probably not a great time for anyone for a good minute or so!!!

circling back around to my original point here though LOL, I truly feel for Ambulon, dude went through nothing but bullshit lmao

anyway, consider this post part of my never-ending campaign to get a canonical Med Bay mini-series of some kind, please just give me Scrubs but with space robots already, god it would be so good

#mtmte #lost light #ambulon #tf pharma #idw pharma #med bay #maccadam #maccadams #medbay #medbay posting #long post #analysis post #transformers analysis #transformers lore #reintegration act #idw 1 #idw transformers

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ofwraithsandwords · 1 year

Note

Sees: "This sort of goes into my headcanon on how Integra's father has influenced her conduct with her subordinates and her position as director, but that's another subject entirely."

May you please explain more about this! (same anon btw). I am very interested! I feel like it might be in the minority of thinking she's not a very good leader/director. Her go-to solution to most things is to send Alucard out. Which always leads to a mess. Even her father realized that using him too much could've been bad. Not sure why or how he came to that conclusion. Or if ever learned from it in his later life… But I do find it interesting that his daughter proceeded to use Alucard for everything involving vampire extermination. Even gaining a replacement for alucard in seras during the 30-year gap.

More likely, stuff like that was written for cool set pieces/fights rather than show questionable leadership choices. Thus some of my confusion comes from whether this is sloppy writing or was actually intended in some way. Also, I should end this by saying this isn't a knock on her character. I just like to overthink ideas in this manga too much.

Hey again, Anon! Sorry for the delay!

Yeah, I do feel like Integra's leadership skills are definitely lacking in certain situations, but like you said, this is likely more of a way to showcase Alucard's abilities and violence in the anime as opposed to showing how Integra is kind of an incompetent director.

But here's the thing: you have to remember that Integra was given the organization when she was...14, I think? So she basically had 7 or 8 years to learn all the ins-and-outs of not only vampires as a species, but occult/supernatural-related subjects as well AND has to direct, supervise, plan, and mitigate any incidents/operations thrown her way. All the while keeping this secret sector of the English government totally under wraps. So...no pressure?

Like you, I don't think less of Integra as a character if she's seen as a faulty leader. In fact, I think it makes sense in certain cases and makes her characterization more complex and nuanced.

Anyways, as far as my headcanons about how her father shaped some of her mannerisms goes, I think it was his more clandestine behavior is what really effected Integra the most. The womanizing, drinking, smoking, fraternizing with other officials and superiors, keeping the true nature (or at least part of) the Hellsing Organization from his only daughter - the list goes on. Being around this behavior is going to have an impact on a child, especially seeing how her father probably treated women as little more than arm candy and a means for pleasure.

I think this might've been part of what drove Integra to dress in suits, to smoke cigars, and go by "Sir" in order to be on the same pedestal as her male counterparts. You could argue that it's because only knights could join the Round Table of Protestant Knights and not dames, but honestly? It's not like they couldn't make an exception. They wouldn't have had a choice. Regardless of what your opinion is, Integra chose to go by "Sir". No one calls her Mistress Integra, Lady Integra, or Dame Integra - there's only one person that refers to her with a female title and it's the Nazi war criminal himself with "Mein Fräulein".

I also have a headcanon that until Seras showed up, Integra was very in the closet and had a good bit of internalized misogyny. I mean, she grew up around and was raised almost exclusively by men, most of which who implicitly benefited from their patriarchal government. I'm sure a few of them had a few choice things to say about women and minorities in general despite Integra being half-Indian.

Anyway, once Seras was introduced and she and Integra spent the next 3 decades together, I like to think that Integra really unlearned quite a bit of the prejudice that was put on her at an early age and came to be proud of her identity as a half-Indian woman.

Most unsavory comments are met with criticism or a good glare from her which ended up causing quite a rift between her and some of the other knights. But most of them are maggot food at this point, so it doesn't really matter.

I will say though, despite her being much more respectful than her father, she's been known to put on the charm in front of a pretty lady once in a while.

#hellsing #ask #integra hellsing #arthur hellsing #seras victoria #headcanon

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avengerswriter4eva · 2 years

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Corrupted, Part 3: Villanelle*

Warnings: Dark!fic; Dom!Jock!Villanelle; shy/nervous reader; manhandling; fingering; oral; sweat; submission; dom/sub dynamics; pet names; degradation; claiming/marking; masturbation; spanking; spitting

You didn’t know how Peter talked you into ultimate frisbee early on a Saturday morning, while MJ got off just sitting in the bleachers, watching disinterestedly, but here you were. Covered in sweat, running around a field with a bunch of people you didn’t know, playing a game that you weren’t entirely certain of the rules for. You just ran in the direction that Peter pointed, or everyone else shouted and prayed to whatever deity was listening that you didn’t fall on your face and humiliate yourself further than you already were. After what felt like an eternity, you heard the sound of whistles and judging by the way everyone was walking, it seemed like it meant the game was mercifully over. You staggered over to the bleachers towards where MJ was ready, thankfully that you had lunch plans after this so you could eat and think fondly about passing out forever.

“Are we ready?” Peter’s chipper voice grated against your eardrums as you resisted the urge to punch him for being a morning person. MJ laughed.

“No way in hell I’m going to lunch with you two looking like that.” She scoffed. “Go shower. Please. And change. And put on deodorant.” You and Peter exchanged glances before shrugging and heading off in the direction of your respective locker rooms. Thankfully you always kept a change of clothes here in case hell ever froze over and you decided that you might want to exercise. They hadn’t been touched since you moved in. You grabbed your towel and headed towards the showers to rinse off. Thankfully no one else was here, and you had the place to yourself. You turned the water onto scalding and started humming, tuning out the rest of the world as you began washing. You glanced down, noticing the fading bruises that Natasha had left on you and smirked. The redhead had texted you yesterday to schedule more studying. You had hardly been able to think about anything since. Satisfied the sweat had been successfully rinsed, you reached for the faucet with one hand, wiping the water out of your face with the other. Wrapping the towel around yourself securely, you made your way back to your locker only to find the room occupied.

There was a woman laying on the bench, her fingers lazily rubbing herself through her soccer shorts, staring into the shower area at you as you approached. And she made absolutely no effort to stop. By this point in your year, these kinds of things probably should no longer surprise you, but you stopped in your tracks, taking in the sight in front of you. You knew this girl. She was captain of the soccer team, and all-around jock, and she was top tier of the school – right up there with Wanda and Natasha. You blushed as she continued staring at you.

“Can I help you?” Her accent surprised you, but it somehow made her even hotter. You realized quite belatedly that you were staring, flushing and turning away immediately.

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Shut up.” Her voice was much closer than it was a moment ago. She had gotten to her feet and was now walking up behind you, slow enough that you could move if you chose to. You chose to stay put.

“Excuse me?” You squeaked, unaccustomed to being ordered around like this before even being properly introduced.

“You know what I think?” Her voice was right beside your ear now and you could feel her breath on the back of your neck. You clenched your jaw before you trusted yourself to answer.

“What’s that?” You blushed when Villanelle chuckled behind you. Your voice only cracked a little.

“I think you liked it.” She nipped at the shell of your ear and you realized she had a good couple inches on you, at least, and she was strong. You were suddenly aware of just how strong when her hands gripped your elbows, tugging you back into her body. “Did you like watching me touch myself because of you?” Your brain went blank instantly at what you were being asked and you tried to squirm but she was holding on too tight. Your mouth was moving but no sounds were coming out of it, and Villanelle did not enjoy the lack of an answer. She moved you forward with her body, pushing you into the lockers and blocking your exit with her body. “Did you?”

“I..” you really tried to answer her that time, but she was kissing the side of your neck and words were suddenly so much harder than they should have been for a college student. You didn’t know it was possible, but her hands gripped your elbows tighter as she pressed her body against yours, trapping both of you in place.

“Did you?”

“Yes!” Your voice came out far more forcibly than you had intended, and Villanelle chuckled again in satisfaction, enjoying getting a rise out of you.

“I’m going to let go of your arms now. Don’t run.” She murmured. You had no intentions of running. When you didn’t move after a moment, she released her arms, and you felt movement behind you. “Do you like this?” You frowned, trying to register what was happening with your face against a locker, unable to see. When you realized, your legs went weak automatically. Villanelle’s body behind you kept you upright, at least for now. Her hand was moving against your ass. She was touching herself again, against your ass, while all-but holding you captive against her body. When you didn’t answer again, she clucked her tongue, her other hand tangling in your hair and tugging. “Fucking answer me.”

“Yes,” you grunted as Villanelle pressed you against the locker harder with her hand between your shoulder blades, her other hand moving faster inside her shorts. After a few moments, she removed her hand from your back, pushing her hips against your ass instead.

“Take it off.” The pressure on your ass receded momentarily and you realized you were free. Not that you were certain your legs worked. Or anything else. There was seemingly only one part of your body that functioned at the moment, and you didn’t want to think about that.

“What?” Maybe the question would buy you more time, but probably not. Villanelle hissed behind you, her hand coming down firmly on your ass that the towel only barely covered.

“Take. It. Off.” She accented each word as her hands moved around your waist, tugging at the towel but not removing it. She was going to make you do it. You inhaled sharply, deciding finally that this was actually going to happen before you opened the towel, allowing it to drop to the floor. Villanelle pushed your front up against the lockers again immediately, the cool metal immediately hardening your nipples and making goose bumps dance across your skin. This seemed to amuse her. “Poor baby, is that cold?” She murmured condescendingly in your ear as her hands grabbed your hips roughly and spun you around so you were facing her. Naked. Now the cool metal was against your back, and the goosebumps began all over again. Villanelle’s eyes wandered over the lingering bruises on your skin left over from Natasha’s mouth, her teeth, her nails. The blonde smirked at you wickedly. “Oh, I can do better than that.”

“Uh huh.” Your answer was somewhere between English and a moan as Villanelle’s mouth attached to your neck, licking and sucking simultaneously. Her teeth were rougher, and she moved against your hips, finally lifting your legs and wrapping them around her waist to give her better access. She grabbed you by the ass, lifting you even higher as she bit her way down her chest. Her mouth was hot around your nipple, her tongue surprisingly soft given the roughness of the rest of her. Her hazel eyes locked on yours as she alternately sucked and licked the swollen nub, watching all of your reactions. The cold air on your now-damp nipple made it harden even further as her mouth moved to the other, giving it the same attention. She watched you the entire time, a cocky smirk teasing the corners of her mouth every time you trembled under her attention.

“Dirty girl.” Her words broke you from a brain haze and you snapped out of it finally registering what she had said.

“What?” You glanced down to where she was looking – her uniform over her stomach, coated in your arousal, making her grin at you when you blushed, immediately shy. She guided you back down, lowering you to her feet before stepping back, holding her arms out.

“Take it off.” She ordered. You nodded, moving forward finally of your own volition for the first time. You both moaned when your fingertips made contact with the taut skin of her stomach for the first time as you reached for the hem of her soccer shirt. It came off with little difficulty, leaving her in her shorts and a sports bra, which was somehow even hotter, ho,,wever the fuck that was possible. You expected her to continue undressing but you were mistaken. She moved forward again, her lips smashing into yours for the first time. The kiss left you feverish, her tongue invading your mouth easily as she ground her hips against you, her hands grabbing your ass and squeezing hard. “Keep going,” she murmured as she bit your bottom lip, releasing it finally to continue her assault on your neck, finding each of Natasha’s lingering marks and covering them with her own.

Your hands moved up her stomach, grabbing the bottom hem of her sports bra and tugging upwards, releasing her tits, warm and slightly damp against your hands, making your knees go weak. Villanelle’s grip on your ass supported you and she guided you down onto the locker bench, pulling the bra the rest of the way over her head. “Go on,” she murmured, her fingers tangling in your hair as she guided your mouth forward and you kissed and sucked across her stomach. Your hands moved to her shorts, fingers dipping below the hem and guiding them over her ass and her thighs. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Fuck. The pressure on your head from her fist in your hair pushed you further down. “Clean it up,” she growled. You shifted on the bench to give yourself a better angle, the tip of your tongue extending and making contact with her clit. Her hips were immediately moving, her shoulders leaning back against the lockers as she ground her hips into your face.

“You look so pretty for me, милый,” Villanelle cooed at you condescendingly, but it still made you blush. Her smile returned as she tugged your hair, pulling you into her further. “You’re gonna be covered in me, pretty girl,” she groaned, her other hand moving over her tits, squeezing her nipples roughly. “ебать, you feel good.” You braced your palms on her thighs, smirking with satisfaction to notice them trembling slightly as her muscles tensed and rippled underneath you. “Gonna make me cum, pretty thing.” You glanced up to see her hazel eyes locked on yours, a smirk teasing the corners of her mouth, dimples showing as she watched you. This was the tenderest you had ever seen her, but it was short lived before her jaw clenched, her fingers tightened in your hair, and she tugged your mouth against her swollen, twitching clit, grinding against your mouth as she came hard in your mouth. Air was starting to become an issue before she finally released her grip on you. She grinned, wiping her thumb across your lips before sucking her thumb into her mouth and winking at you. “I taste good, no?” She teased.

“Yes, you do,” you gasped, licking your lips involuntarily, your eyes nearly rolling at the lingering taste of her.

“Lay down.” When Villanelle spoke again, her tone had darkened, and you didn’t question what she meant, leaning back on the locker room bench automatically. “That’s a good girl,” you flushed at the praise, squirming under the intensity of her stare, realizing that you were very naked, covered in the marks of two beautiful women, in a place where anyone could walk in at any time. “No, don’t worry about that.” You didn’t time to ask what she meant before Villanelle was straddling your hips, using her fingers to line up her pussy with yours as she began rocking against you.

“Oh fuck, that’s…” you couldn’t finish your sentence when Villanelle’s hand wrapped around your throat.

"Open your mouth, pretty girl,” she ordered. You obeyed, and her fingers squeezed harder as she spit into your mouth, watching it on your tongue, moaning as she rocked her hips into you. “That’s it. Swallow for me, милый.”

Satisfied that you had obeyed, Villanelle turned her attention to your tits again, grabbing one in each hand and squeezing as she rode you. When she started pinching your nipples and her hips picked up the pace, you almost lost it.

“Not yet.” She hissed, stopping the movement of her hips momentarily. “You don’t get to cum until I say, understand?” She pinched your nipples harder, grinding her clit down onto yours. “Understand?”

“Fuck. Yes.” You panted. Villanelle smiled and started moving on top of you again, her hands finally settling on your waist for leverage. She would grind on you feverishly until you got close, judging by the way your stomach would clench before slowing down, giving you a chance to breathe. After multiple rounds of this, you were a panting, freshly sweaty mess. “Please…please, I can’t…” you whined as her hips slowed again put she pushed onto you harder.

“Sure you can, baby, just a little more,” she cooed, rolling your sensitive and swollen nipples between her rough fingers. You groaned when she moved, but you weren’t certain if it was of relief or frustration. Your question was quickly answered as Villanelle’s hands moved down your stomach, past your hips and to your thighs, pushing them as wide as they would go as she laid on the bench in front of you. Her fingers teased your lips, moving up to your clit and circling it before brushing over it directly, making you squirm.

“So needy, baby,” Villanelle clucked her tongue at you, but you didn’t have time to respond before she put her tongue to better use, sliding it over your slit, rubbing it against her tongue’s full length. “Mmm, baby you taste good,” you blushed again, gasping when her tongue was back, circling your clit before sucking it into her mouth, her fingers teasing your pussy. She grabbed one of your hands when she slid three fingers inside of you, pulling you down against her further, her tongue still working your clit. She moaned when you started rocking your hips against her tongue, chasing your high.

“Fuck…fuck please…” you panted, praying to anything holy that Villanelle was going to be nice.

“You can cum now, baby,” she murmured before sucking your clit into her mouth again, sending you almost instantly over the edge, your entire body shuddering under her.

“Y/n? Are you in there?” MJ’s voice sounded from the near the entrance and you tensed again for an entirely different reason.

“One more second,” you called back as Villanelle tried not to laugh, still laying between your legs. You stood shakily and she smacked your ass lightly, a grin on her face.

“Guess you don’t have time to re-shower before going out with your friends,” Villanelle smirked. You flushed at the thought, but also found it hot.

“Guess not,” you smirked, pulling your change of clothes on as quickly as possible, feeling the blonde’s eyes on you.

“Can I see you again?” She asked. The question surprised you, and your blush was met with another chuckle from behind you.

“Sure,” you murmured, shyly, flattered that she would want to.

“I’ll look you up. Nice meeting you, y/n,” Villanelle murmured, lightly kissing your cheek.

“You as well, Villanelle.”

The blonde headed towards the showers cockily as you exited the locker room, MJ rolling her eyes at you. You were still floating, and you didn’t care.

#corrupted au #villanelle #killing eve #multifandom fic

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manygalaxiesinone · 1 year

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What if Goku and Adell Swapped Places (Adell's Side: Pt. 1)

((Hee ho dood! Prinnyfrost reporting for duty! Well, it's the moment some of you guys have been waiting for! Time to start covering how Adell fairs in Goku's shoes in the Dragonball series. Now as I said, like with Goku in Disgaea, this is just going to be a summary of everything I think might occur in this new timeline instead of an actual dialogue filled story. There are actually 2 reasons for it this time around. First, there's a lot more to cover here in contrast to Goku's side of things and second...I'm not really completely familiar with the original dragonball.

I've never seen the original show before, but I did get quite a bit of information about what happens in it thanks to Masakox's videos. While he never did a complete summary of everything in dragonball as he only reviewed the current dragonball super chapters and episodes, some of his content, like his What Ifs do provide some context in certain situations. That being said, if something seems a bit too of where I need to make edits, please let me know before I get too deep into this. Just a heads up, this whole first part is going to cover all of dragonball. As much as it might be easier to just start off at Z and say the time patrol just let things progress normally until then, if I started Goku off as a baby before the events of Disgaea 2, then I have to do the same with Adell. It's only fair. So let's get started.

Just like before, Old Man Gohan one day accidentally stumbles upon a ship that landed nearby his home. He decides to investigate and when it opens, he sees 3 figures. They appear to be...strange masked creatures, and one of them is holding an infant. The figures were rather...a tad startled at first, but Gohan gave them a warm welcome and invited them into his home since they currently have nowhere else to go. After eating, the two older ones introduced themselves as demons from a far away planet. Their names being...Shura and Selion.

Yeah. In case if some of you forgot, both of Adell's parents went with him when they escaped their home Netherworld, unlike Bardock and Gine who were left behind during Planet Vegeta's destruction. And since there's no Overlord Zenon or anything that's going to threaten the world at this point, Adell's going to have both his parents as well as Gohan to raise him before he even sets out in his journey. And I can totally see them letting Gohan in the family because in Disgaea 2, their closest companions in Veldime won them over with their kindness. This means, I get to have a little fun with how he gets trained early on.

Not to worry, I'm not getting rid of his fists. Gohan probably won't be able to teach him everything, but he would give Adell some early training, probably even more so than what he gave Goku since we don't have to worry about Adell turning into great ape and accidentally killing him. He would still need to hold back quite a bit though. I'll explain later.

His father, Shura, will teach Adell swordsmanship. While we don't know too much about Shura, we do know that he does use a sword to at least a decent extent given his unique skill in Disgaea 2. This would be Adell's secondary weapon to his fists instead of the power pole that Goku took in Dragonball.

Selion will be teaching Adell some magic. I say some because in this timeline, I don't imagine him using too many spells. Maybe a few buffs and healing here and there as well as fire enchantments. She would also be the one to teach Adell how to appear more...human like.

While there IS a version of Adell in Disgaea RPG that's a magic user, this one isn't so much the case. I can see him use it every now and then, but only for when situations call for it and not all that much in direct combat.

Now we get to where Bulma shows up and DOESN'T shoot Adell in the head because she wasn't caught by surprise. This is going to be similar to MasakoX's "what if Gine went with Goku" story where Bulma explains the reason for coming her with Adell, Gohan, Shura, and Selion, that she wanted to collect the dragonballs to make a wish. Sensing no ill will from her, they willingly gave up the ball under the condition that Adell accompanies her. Not for the lack of trust, but this would be an opportunity for Adell to travel the world around him. As I said before, I'm not really going to go into EVERY detail about OG Dragonball, but I will summarize the best I can.

First off is Roshi and Krillin. Things would start off as usual as Roshi would give the dragonball to see Bulma's panties. This time, he would get the actual panty shot and not Bulma's bare privates. This is because Adell wouldn't be as curious as Goku was and wouldn't...you know...steal them in her sleep. That being said, he's also not going to stop Roshi from getting that panty peek because well... Adell's still a kid at this point. His parents likely didn't teach him anything about the birds and the bees yet so when he hears this, all he's going to do is ask "panties??? What are panties??? Is it a toy?". Of course, when he gets older, he'll fully catch on that this isn't okay and would get Roshi to back off a little. Then there's Krillin. While Adell would get some training from Gohan, Roshi would probably take the time to up Adell's skills a little. Stuff that Gohan didn't get to teach him yet like the Kamehameha. He's also going to teach Adell a lesson in humility after defeating him in his first tournament, because as powerful as he is here, he's still inexperienced in combat and isn't used to certain tactics that Roshi can pull from his sleeve. As for Krillin, this one's actually going to be a bit of a toss up, because I can tell you right now, these two are NOT starting off as good friends. Remember, in OG dragonball, Krillin used to hate Goku for a while and tried to trick him on multiple occasions during training. While Adell is a forgiving person, one thing you gotta remember is that he's less laid back than Goku. It's going to take even longer for them to actually be able to bond together. I'd say the best bet would be after Krillin dies by one of King Piccolo's minions later on and then brought back to life.

Speaking of Piccolo, yeah sorry, we're gonna have to say goodbye to the grumpy green guy that we know and love in Z. Why? Well, remember what I said about the average power level of demons in Disgaea? And the fact that Adell's been training with both of his blood related parents for years before setting off on this adventure? Yeah, Adell's pretty much going to be Saitama for the remainder of this series. He's going to one-shot every major villain he comes across. This isn't to say he's going to go around killing every antagonist like Tien, but if he knows that you're like off the walls evil like King Piccolo, you're not gonna survive. Adell is much less fond of holding back his strength compared to Goku, and will go all out if he knows a situation is very drastic. This means that after Krillin dies, Adell's going to be coming for blood against King Piccolo and he's not going to have the time to shoot out an egg before he gets murked.

Next is Chi Chi. As you guys have voted, she and Adell won't end up together in the end, despite her likely having a crush on him when they meet up. I already explained why I DO think this relationship would actually work out potentially even better than the one she has with Goku before, but at the same time, there's no guarantee that Adell would seal the deal here. He would at least have some idea what a marriage is since both Shura and Selion are around in this story and would refuse to promise to marry her in the future. This would be heartbreaking, but I can see Adell letting her down just gently enough for her not to get too upset about it. It would sting but she would recover.

Now we get into the big one, Yamcha. You guys have voted that Adell will eventually end up marrying the saiyan woman that he raised after she crash lands nearby him. As a result, he does seem more confident around women, which will certainly attract Bulma, but not all that much until he spends some time with her. And no, I'm not going to kill him off because of the Great Ape form. He will experience it once, but would be able to barely dodge the rampage until she gets stuck on some rocks, forcing Yamcha to cut off her tail to set her free. As much as it's fun even for me to poke fun at Yamcha from time to time, I'm not going to do him dirty here. Finally, we have his adopted little saiyan named Shoumei. Sorry, the art for her isn't ready yet. I want @smourice-toastygraham to take as much time he needs with it. Anyway, she would learn how to fight from Yamcha, wolf fang fist and all and even learn some moves from the rest of the gang as the story progresses. However, unlike Yamcha, Shoumei never really fully escapes the bandit life. She often steals valuables every now and then, friends and foes alike, especially Bulma given her status.

This gets even worse when they meet Launch, specifically her blonde form. These two would likely get along swimmingly. If it wasn't for the fact that she's attracted to Tien, I can see her and Yamcha getting together as a couple in this timeline. A family of thieves spreading larceny in the genes. This does not sit well with Adell, as even though he's not really a hero, he does have a more righteous heart. The two would be at odds pretty often, as Shoumei would love nothing more than to tease the little "pure hearted devil boy" and the two would end up fighting from time to time, both with swords and fists. You can basically imagine them being like Knuckles and Rouge from Sonic or Batman and Catwoman from DC, especially the latter in the romantic sense, because I prefer Rouge more with Shadow than with Knuckles. Naturally, Shoumei won't be much of a challenge to Adell when it comes to physical combat, but she does toy with him in the mind category and overtime, Shoumei does get stronger and stronger from fighting Adell, especially during times when she pushes him a little too far and she gets a zenkai boost from it. They do mature as they get older, and you know saiyans, they're attracted to strength and feistiness, so it's only a matter of time before Shoumei starts asking Launch for advice (because she knows she's not going to get any from Yamcha) and the two end up hitched after one final tournament fight. And that pretty much covers OG Dragonball. Once again, if there are some important details I left out, please let me know so I can make edits before I get into the next part, where we go over Z. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you next time.

#disgaea 2 #dragonball #goku #adell

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izzyizumi · 1 year

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"Wow, you've been venting a lot about D02 Fan base Issues lately, I wonder what happened???"

"Well you see ever since post-Kizuna dropped, which is extremely suspicious TIMING in itself..." (While DigiAdv 2020 was also airing BUT.....)

In the last section of caps, when I proceeded to politely (hyper-formally) request this person stop harassing me by spamming me with multiple rude comments early in the morning when I wasn't even AWAKE to answer, and mentioned I was away because I was observing Shabbat (noting to them politely what it was), they proceeded to flip out, "turn" on me and start accusing me of "betraying" the pair. "Okay I beyond messed up" was their failed ""attempt"" at an blatantly insincere apology (they since continued to spam/harass a handful more times) and acknowledging they WERE HARASSING ME.

Except here's the thing. a. The Taishiro tag, by all means, is still for a rare pair ship. b. I am very aware of which fans follow me for my O.T.P. and actively post about it and who doesn't (including people who have lurked before). c. When the harassment started up I reached out to multiple other Taishiro fans (and people aware of the ship fan base being active) actively posting at the time and we were keeping aware of the situation in case they went about to target others. d. THIS PERSON WAS NOT AND NEVER A "FAMILIAR FACE" HERE / IN KOUTAI OR ADV+02 TAGS and posted fully and competely mainly on Anon (before "de-anon"ng using multiple account names; this was just before A.O.3 introduced comment blocking as a feature almost immediately after I began contacting them about it.) e. The timing of this is STILL highly suspicious to me considering the harassment mainly began in 2k20:

What was happening in Oct. 2k20 (aside from it also being my bday month, which was fantastic timing to harass someone??)

It was around the ending of DigiAdv 2020 Ep 18, when a lot of long-time fans would have returned to (if briefly) see the end of the Devimon arc involved, including past long-time Stans who dropped off partly keeping up with "canon" post-Tri (also especially if they hated ALL said new canon since...)

Kizuna was already out, but hadn't debuted in some countries (however, long-term Adv-02 fans were pretty aware of Kizuna developments due to notable leaks) and a lot of Stans also came back to actively "talk" / rant about Kizuna and the ""timeline"" since.

The person started out using a handle referring to a well-known N.S.F.W trope that I have absolutely 0 interest ever engaging with, and they likely knew that I might be semi-aware of it if just due to its sheer popularity. This was the first clear "hint" something was immediately wrong with the persons' commenting style, but I humored them at first by responding seriously and politely, giving a simple answer to the question ("plrease read all author's notes and tags clearly before reading".)

They since moved on to create multiple accounts and handles to spam / harass me ("Tales" might have been a reference to "Tales of" fan base, which I'm not involved in but was also suspicious in itself), pretending to be ""different"" people each time but using the exact same speech patterns / ~~accusations~~ and basically failing massively at "obscuring" / hiding themselves, almost to the point all of this was INTENTIONAL. (Also failed at making me take them seriously once I realized their intent to spam.)

The second (literally right the nights when I posted it, showing they actively WATCHED ADV-02 SECTIONS) I introduced more Daisuke into the storyline, (I had already finished the thing a bit earlier on, it just wasn't on A.O.3 yet...) they "turned" and "flipped" on me, "pretending" like they actively hated him and disregarded him, but my suspicions are really high that this was all an ACT. Because THE HARASSMENT DID NOT RAMP UP AS MUCH UNTIL I BEGAN "TOUCHING" DAISUKE / USING HIM IN MY THINGS AT ALL. (Very Suspicious)

I have seen similar long-term behavior from certain 02 Stans in this fan base who act like they have ownership over Daisuke head-canons and interpretations or something... including from a former person-I-briefly-interacted-with who used to (and STILL, as recently as the last weeks, though I won't name names but...) often acts really possessive over him and their interpretations. (You know, there's no rhyme or reason for why these kinds of things happen, right???) I long since hard-blocked the person on all DigiAdvs related accounts over it.

^ The conclusion made by A.O.3. was that it WAS harassment.

So, I'm just saying.

But you know what pissed me off the MOST? (MORE THAN THE FACT I WAS BEING ACTIVELY HARASSED AND SPAMMED ABOUT MY O.T.P WORKS AND FAVS?)

When I very formally informed this person (during the time they attempted fake-"politeness"/creepy fake "praise") I was (mentally) away noting Shabbat during the time they sent like 6 harassing comments in a morning, they proceeded to make the "turn", accusing me of multiple times (since) of being a "traitor" and INSULTING SHABBAT TO MY FACE AND ACTING LIKE THEY DIDN'T KNOW / ""GET"" WHO JEWS ARE, EVEN WHEN I SPECIFIED IT WAS A HOLIDAY.

Which IS ANTISEMITISM. Regardless of any fan base involved things it's to the point of antisemitic hate speech and religious harassment. I'm not even sorry to point it out but it IS.

{I finally let them know I was aware of the kind of spam tactics they were using against me. They proceeded to say this and continue acting "clueless" about what they were doing, while also half acknowledging it all the same} (Like seriously????) Anyway, if you (anyone posting in Adv or 02 sections, especially Koushiro or Daisuke involved fic!) ever get harassing spam comments from any of these user-names, REPORT THEM TO A.O.3.

I also don't mean to ~~call out~~ another "response", but...

When I brought these concerns up with people who I suspected may be involved in the (or possibly aware of similar) active harassment but was INITIALLY genuinely giving the benefit of the doubt, I intentionally left out about half of the comments since A.O.3 was still handling the case. One of the people I asked about if they were aware of such things actively going on in 02 sections commented very oddly and almost vaguely to me

"Maybe they're using an A.I. generator? They're getting more advanced {with text} (!!!!!) these days." (Summarized response)

A response I still find highly suspicious to this day.

Because this was blatantly NOT the work of an A.I. This person KNEW which characters they were talking about (despite trying to make it seem like they were "clueless" or "~~couldn't read~~" the MASSIVE amount of author's notes and summary and tags I left all over the fics and making a blatant show of "not actually reading" / absorbing it).

Also, in between, they NOTICED(!!!) immediately when I began up-loading my old A.M.V.s to other non-DigiAdvs sections(!!!) and began spamming those comment sections TOO (all with the same type of comments). (I did NOT give these any attention or response at the time)

So I'm Just Saying. Yeah?

This is unacceptable.

{Mocking Shabbat after I got after them for spamming me.}

So yeah, to anyone who MAY have been involved in this?:

(Kizuna spoilers!Koushiro moment Commence):

I'm still NOT amused.

(DO NOT copy or re-post my gif.)

It's been just about a year since the harassment-spam began last year (to eventually be squashed by A.O.3). All I'm saying is, yeah I'm still ticked and there were reasons why I wasn't actively posting other works, including for other not-O.T.P things...

(While it may change {with my postings} with the coming year I'm not going to deny that I'm not still majorly pissed off at the sequence of events at all.)

#d02 issues #digiadvs issues #izzyizumi personal #izzyizumi vents #izzyizumi blog #(You know)#(You know? I wasn't going to compile these because I figured enough time had passed in between + I was trYING to wind down But)#(I'M STILL PISSED OFF)#(I have a very VERY HIGH suspicion of who all may have been involved and I'm sure they may be aware that I'm thinking so)#(If that person is seeing this post?)#(Well)#(Posts the Conclusion)#(If anyone has any similar info on these usernames or things they experienced around the times PLEASE also reach out to me somehow)#(Because I Am Fed Up)#(This started out as something I was just flat out laughing at)#(LIKE YEAH I ~~hate KouTai~~ so much I ACTIVELY MAKE ALMOST ALL MY STUFF ABT IT INCLUDING MULTIPLE A.M.V.s)#(WOW I cant BELIEVE someone who ~~HATES THIS SERIES SO MUCH~~ WOULD MAKE SO MANY WORKS FOR THEM etcetc)#(Once it turned to antisemitic hate speech? YEAH)#(I might add to this post or expand in another later but I'm keeping it no rb for now bc I don't necessarily want this spread)#(I AM however Finally Posting About It)

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parkjaechan-updates · 7 months

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Jaechan's Interview in Singles Korea Magazine October 2023 Issue

After seeing a flashing light, even if you close your eyes, the light doesn't disappear for a while. Is that light brightness or darkness? Is it what I'm really seeing, or am I actually seeing nothing at all? One thing is for sure, until it disappears on its own, you have to be captivated by that moonlight-like dimness without moving. Jaechan's pottery finish was clearly meticulous, but there were stories he wanted to tell in his eyes.

Despite his seemingly noisy appearance, he confessed that he actually prefers things to be rugged. His gestures were neat, and in his words, he could be as quiet as being in the middle of a typhoon alone, or when the surroundings were silent, he could burst out like colorful fireworks. This writing made him smile. Like a candle in the wind, he could appear fragile one moment and stand tall the next. Jaechan, who didn't belong to any one ideology, existed in his own unique way without being defined. And now, the ambiguous symbol that is Jaechan, after passing through Sangwoo in "Semantic Error" and sending signals toward the universe from the nest called DKZ, says, "Hello."

The solo artist Jaechan is doing it for the first time. There is a certain determination behind "JCFACTORY". When I was contemplating my first solo album, I like things that are originally rugged, so I thought about giving it a more rugged feel with the title. I chose "JCFACTORY" from "JCSTUDIO" and "JCFATORY". Isn't a factory a place where something is made? Since the album is also the result of my work, I thought it would be more fitting to name it simply 'Factory,' without any embellishments.

I heard that you participated in producing all the tracks on the album, including the title track 'Hello.' However, for this album, you only participated in the top line and lyrics. 'Hello' is a song I created with the desire to introduce myself as a whole person, just as the title suggests. I wanted to say, "This is who I am, a different me from when I was active with DKZ, and this is my style." Additionally, if you like this vibe, it also carries the meaning of "let's enjoy it together" and "let's have fun."

Apart from the title track, do you have any songs that you particularly cherish? 'Oh Girl' is a song I had already started working on when I was 21 years old. Isn't it often the case that you become the fool for someone you like when you're in love? The lyrics say, "I'll gladly be the fool for you." 'Time' also holds a special place in my heart. It's a song I wrote while getting immersed in the late-night emotions in the studio. (laughs)

You suddenly felt a certain emotion in the middle of the night and wrote a song. While listening to a sad song in the studio in the early hours of the morning, I started reading comments, not about me but just personal comments from people on various articles and social media posts, regardless of topics like society, culture, economy, or entertainment. There was a wide range of sadness there, and there were people who empathized with the sadness of others. Then, I suddenly thought that the reason for so much sadness might be the lingering attachment to time passing too quickly. I put that kind of content in the song, acknowledging the bitterness of time flowing relentlessly but accepting it with composure as something inevitable.

It's quite a profound topic. I'm also curious about your creative process. How long did it take to work on it? Actually, when it comes to the theme of time, I completed it in about 30 minutes because my message was clear. However, 'Hello' took about three months from receiving the track to the demo version. I decided right away that 'Hello' should be the title track and started working on the top line and lyrics. During that process, I think I took more time to contemplate as I blended what I wanted to say, how I wanted to present myself to the public and fans, and how it all fit together.

What was the story that Jaechan really wanted to tell in 'Hello'? There are lyrics that say, "Don't interfere. I am me when I am myself." I think these lines might be the best way to showcase my philosophy. I don't try to adorn myself to look better than I am now, nor do I deliberately lower myself. I simply want to affirm and accept myself as I am. Of course, there are times when I'm not feeling great, times when I gain or lose a bit of weight, but all of that is still just me, and I believe we should cherish every version of ourselves.

If I can be entirely myself within relationships with others without letting them define me, it seems like there would be no unhappiness at all. However, it's not quite that simple. While being okay with things one way or another can be beneficial for my mental health, it doesn't necessarily lead to progress. (laughs) Being endlessly forgiving of oneself can lead to complacency and even push the future version of oneself into unhappiness. I believe in the need for self-improvement, and when it doesn't go as smoothly as desired, I can also experience stress. It seems that as much as valuing oneself is important, maintaining objectivity about oneself is also crucial.

You seem to have quite profound thoughts. Do you often write songs based on your personal experiences? Of course, the things within me serve as material, but I can't write about things I haven't experienced myself. I still think I lack life experiences. That's why I tend to seek inspiration from movies and media. Watching movies or reading books can certainly broaden my range of experiences, but it's even more interesting to watch works where various people are telling their own stories. By carefully examining comments on these works, I think I learn to see things from different perspectives and understand that different emotions can exist, saying to myself, 'Oh, this point of view is possible,' or 'One can feel such emotions.' It helps me develop a more multifaceted viewpoint.

Jaechan, you are not only an idol and a talented musician but also a charming actor. Many people still remember you as 'Sangwoo' from "Semantic Error." "Semantic Error" is truly a work I am grateful for. At one point, I received many questions like 'Weren't you hesitant about the BL genre?' and 'How did you choose such a risky work?' But in reality, I only felt gratitude that the work chose me. At the time, there was an atmosphere among the actors who appeared together that we should think of this as our last opportunity and give it our all. We worked with determination, like friends, and through the project, I gained wonderful people.

Sangwoo is a 'J' personality type, while Jaechan's MBTI ends with 'P.' Were there any similarities between Sangwoo and Jaechan, or was there something about Sangwoo that Jaechan wanted to emulate? Perhaps there's a bit of similarity in the slight cuteness that comes from their gruffness? But I can't find many points that Jaechan would want to emulate from Sangwoo, who is a perfectly planned character. That's because I believe in the value of potential that comes from spontaneity. As a 'P,' I take great pride in it. (laughs)

I saw that you mentioned wanting to play a villainous role someday in a video where you reviewed the music video for the new song 'Hello' with the DKZ members. Today's photoshoot concept was about recreating the seductive and decadent look of 1980s glam rock artists. You seemed to like the concept of the "bad boy" vibe. However, I always think that, quite literally, I might not have what it takes to become a bad boy. (laughs)

Even if you're not actually a bad person, through acting, you can explore life as a bad character. If the opportunity arises, I'd like to try playing a villainous role like Senior Im Siwan in the movie "Unlocked." I feel curious and attracted to characters who may seem good and decent on the surface but have a dark side hidden within them.

It's true that while not everyone may be a psychopath, there's a complexity within each person. Jaechan, in person, seems to have both a bright side and a lonely corner, and it appears he possesses a duality of softness and strength. I'm now more curious about Jaechan's activities as an actor. I'm currently filming a new drama based on a web novel of the same name, "The Woman Who Plays." We're almost at the end of filming, and I enjoyed it so much that I wonders if it's okay to feel this way. Apart from it, I'm also diligently preparing for a mini-series. As an actor, that's true, but before that, my biggest desire is to use this solo album to showcase Jaechan's unique style as a singer. It's my first time on stage as a solo artist, and although it's daunting, I'll do my best to create a fantastic performance, so I hope you'll watch and support me.

Lastly, through the lyrics you wrote, in the most Jaechan-like language, is there something you'd like to say. In the song '어쩜 (MAYB),' I wrote, 'I want to give my whole life, it's for you.' It's a statement that I want to dedicate my entire life for you. As someone whose profession thrives on the interest and love of the public, I don't think there can be a more meaningful sentence than this. It may sound grandiose, but this is truly my sincere feeling. ♥

Photo Credits: (1) 겨울 #Hello (@JJAENYANG1206) / X (twitter.com) Translated by Park Jaechan Updates

#t:trans #t:interview #t:magazine #singles

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spockandawe · 3 years

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There’s something that I’ve been wanting to articulate about the hualian relationship for a while, specifically the early hualian relationship, so let me see if I can find the right words for this.

The way Hua Cheng presents himself as San Lang is important. Without his pov, it’s impossible to get direct-direct confirmation, but the whole scene reads to me like he’s presenting himself in the most nonthreatening and appealing way that he can figure out. He’s young, but not child-young, but still young enough that Xie Lian might not want to let him go wandering off on his own (but also not young enough that Xie Lian will feel obligated to take care of him as an adult). He doesn’t put himself forward so hard that he looks suspiciously pushy, but he’s also more than happy to help Xie Lian out the moment Xie Lian hints that he’s mildly curious about something.

(side note, I have to wonder how much he xuan had to endure re: hua cheng workshopping disguises over the years before xie lian finally showed up and put him out of his misery)

And Hua Cheng gradually lets more and more of his real personality show, especially as Xie Lian persistently declines to scold him for being mean or insist that he show Fu Yao and Nan Feng respect or anything like that. Banyue forces his hand sooner than he would have preferred, but also Xie Lian has pretty solid observational skills on his own and was already drawing certain conclusions by that point. But the initial San Lang disguise still fascinates me, and I can’t let it go.

I think the way I’ve described it before is that Hua Cheng shows up, presenting himself as appealingly/nonthreateningly as possible, and completely ready to amputate any parts of his personality that Xie Lian doesn’t like. Fortunately, he’s thwarted by the ways Xie Lian has grown up over the last eight hundred years, and how much Xie Lian genuinely likes him and likes being around him. Then the final nails in the coffin are Xie Lian being very *shrug* about any ulterior motives Hua Cheng has about approaching him, and Xie Lian directly expressing that he’d rather see San Lang’s real face than a mask, even if the mask is prettier (is this a literal face or a metaphorical face? por que no los dos?). But also, I think there’s an element of grief to this whole early meeting that I completely missed until now.

They spent eight hundred years apart. Hua Cheng died as a teenager, and got very little post-death time with Xie Lian before they were separated, and then he spent eight centuries as a ghost, where he fought for power and took on responsibilities as the ruler of the ghost city. Whether he wanted to or not, he’s grown up. And he grew up without anything but the memory of Xie Lian in his life. He became the adult that he is... on his own.

And at first I was only thinking that if he’d had the option, he would have happily shaped his entire personality to be whatever Xie Lian needed/wanted him to be, and then belatedly remembered... he already did that. He already tried to do that once, as Wuming. He was perfectly willing to be treated coldly and have his attempted expressions of support rejected, and in the end, he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his own existence as soon as Xie Lian started regretting something that he’d set in motion. I don’t want to say that he was “hiding” his true personality there, but it does demonstrate how completely willing he was to subordinate his own sense of self to whatever he thought Xie Lian wanted him to be.

But after eight hundred years, where he’s one of four ghost kings, and where he rules a city with subjects who look up to him and rely on him, he... has a sense of self. He’s grown up and his personality has settled into place, and it’s no longer possible for him to mold himself the way he wanted to before, because it’s over and done. I do think he’s still perfectly ready to remake himself into whatever Xie Lian wants him to be, however unhealthy that process is, but that’s a different thing.

Fortunately, it doesn’t come to anything, because Xie Lian likes him very much the way he is, thank you very much, even the uglier parts of his personality, like the way he treats Xie Lian’s heavenly friends. Now, it takes time for Hua Cheng to really become confident that Xie Lian means what he says, and that he does just want to know who Hua Cheng really is, and when he introduces himself as San Lang, he doesn’t have any way to know that’s the case at all. So I think their early interactions really do have that underlying element of preemptive grief, because Hua Cheng is trying to sound out what kind of person Xie Lian would most like him to be, while also mourning that he wasn’t able to grow up organically shaping himself into that exact person, the way he once wanted to.

#hualian #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #hua cheng #xie lian #hua cheng x xie lian #meta #xie lian x hua cheng #the longer i take to go back and recheck my own tagging system the more painful the process becomes

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ilalos · 3 years

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Worth it (Anthony Bridgerton x reader) Part 1/2

Summary: You’re Simon’s cousin and you are ready for your first social season, excited for the courting and dancing. Your plans are shattered when you find yourself in an arranged marriage to none other than Lord Anthony Bridgerton, the one man who avoided love like it was the plague.

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, arranged marriage, tiny bit of angst, Anthony is an idiot, if you think of anything else please let me know.

Word count: 2.5k

It was the second season the duke and duchess had the pleasure of enjoying together in their London home. The duke’s household had been rejoicing in the arrival of baby A for a year now and the family was also preparing themselves for the birth of their second child. One might think that they would rather spend these blissful moments away from the chaos that the social season brought, and one might be right.

Simon and Daphne had opted to miss this social season in view of the fact that Daphne would be heavily pregnant when the summer started and would be at risk of having the baby in London instead of the comfort of her home. They chose instead to visit the Bridgerton home before the season started so Daphne could be with her family for a couple weeks with no added stress.

But their plans changed when Simon’s aunt, seeing that they were going to London, decided to ship you, her daughter, with them so you could be part of the social season and hopefully find yourself a husband. The couple had agreed to take you to London and also to chaperone you throughout the social season.

You were a good, polite, and well-prepared lady; your mother had sent you to the finest finishing school in the country to make sure you were molded into the perfect bride. Despite the extensive preparations your mother had subjugated you to, there was one thing they couldn’t take away from you and that was the desire to marry for love. Everyone told you that what mattered was how well you could marry, that you’d eventually grow to tolerate your husband and that your children would give you more than enough joy; but that just didn’t seem enough for you. It didn’t matter how you felt about a loveless marriage though, your mother had been clear when she told you that you had this one season to find a husband and if you didn’t she’d choose for you whomever she seemed fit.

On the day of your arrival you learned she didn’t intend to give you even one season and, with no previous notice to you or him, you were introduced to Anthony Bridgerton as his bride.

Violet Bridgerton had grown tired of her son’s refusal to marry and after pressing him about the matter he admitted he was looking for a wife this season; she didn’t trust him to choose well and when Daphne wrote to her mother about you, she decided it was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. And so, with your mother’s blessing, Lord Bridgerton was given your hand in marriage.

“I beg your pardon?” Anthony was shocked, to say the least.

“You heard me, son, this is Lady (y/l/n) and she is to be your bride”

You couldn’t think, move or do anything but stand there staring at the man you were supposed to marry. Your mouth opened and closed like a fish and Daphne had to guide you to take a seat because she feared you might faint. Anthony then excused himself and fled to his study with Simon hot on his heels.

“I’m deeply sorry for throwing this at you with no warning, your mother warned that if you were told before you got here you might have refused to come at all” Violet apologized taking a seat in front of you and taking one of your hands between hers.

“Anthony is a wonderful man and I’m certain you will learn to like him, maybe even love him” continued Daphne.

Meanwhile, in Anthony’s office, a similar conversation was being held.

“What excuse do you have now to reject her?” Asked Simon

“I don’t know her, that’s enough to not want this marriage”

“You said you didn’t wish to love the person you had to marry, so I don’t see the big deal in not knowing her” Simon served himself and Anthony a drink as he spoke.

“Even with that being true, I also said she had to be smart and at least interesting to talk to” he took a small sip of his drink “and also that it wouldn’t hurt if she happened to be beautiful”

“And isn’t she?” Simon raised a brow behind his cup before continuing “She is incredibly smart, kind and she also attended the best finishing school available in the London area, which means she is as proper as a lady can be”

“Well yes, but-”

“Your only problem with her is that your mother forced her upon you”

“My only problem is that I saw in her face she had no idea she was betrothed to me, it is not fair for her to be forced to a short and loveless marriage like ours will be” Anthony finished his drink and slammed the cup on his desk, he knew there was no way out of this.

“She, as any lady in the country, knows that her duty is to marry well” Simon placed his cup softly besides Anthony’s “You’re the most desirable bachelor this season, there’s no better man for her if we look at status, money, and age”

Anthony limited himself to roll his eyes and remained silent, he knew Simon was right but it still stung that because of him you were now forced to be married to a man you didn’t love.

“Well, she’ll be a young widow so she’ll eventually have a chance at finding love”

A knock on the door interrupted Simon’s answer and he was thankful because he was quite frankly tired of Anthony’s certainty that he would die young, he understood that Edmund’s death had been hard for him but it was still tiresome to hear him speak like that constantly.

“Yes?” Called Anthony from his desk, prompting Gregory to enter.

“Mother requests both your presences in the dining hall for supper, now”

The rest of the day was uneventful, Anthony refused to speak to you and you were too shocked to utter a single word to anyone. After supper you excused yourself and went to bed early, when you had laid down Daphne entered your room and gave you a letter from your mother before saying good night and wishing you sweet dreams. You sat up and decided to read the letter before bed, maybe it would bring you some comfort.

“My dearest daughter,

If you’ve received this letter it means that you know about your engagement to lord Bridgerton, we couldn’t find a way to tell you because we feared you might refuse to travel to London if you knew. I hope you understand that all I’m trying to do is securing your future, the viscount is a kind man and you’ll be safe with him. I sincerely wish for you to be happy by his side, and maybe even learn to love him.

I know your father is looking down at you proudly and I’m certain he’ll bless your union with happiness, you were his sunshine and he’ll always take care of you no matter where he is, as will I.

Love,

Your mother who loves you”

You couldn’t help but feel angry at your mother for lying to you like that as if you were a child with no control over your own emotions. It would’ve been nice to know about your fate before you got here, it would have saved you from daydreaming about balls and love matches that you now knew were never going to be possible. Still, you were grateful that they had chosen Anthony, they might as well had promised you to an ugly old man. So you fell asleep that night disappointed on the false expectations you were allowed to have, but grateful for having secured the best bachelor in the season without even trying; it might not have been a love match but at least it was a good one.

-this time jump is brought to you by Roma, my golden retriever-

“If we are to be married no matter what, shouldn’t you spare me the pain of courting her?” Anthony was straightening his tie as he spoke to his mother.

“Courting, in this case, isn’t meant to convince her to marry you, it’s so society can see your intentions are respectable” she took over his hands and settled the bow tie once and for all “this ball is the perfect opportunity for everyone to see you both as a couple”

“And you act as if you weren’t already attending for Eloise” Benedict entered the room also dressed for the ball.

“Chaperoning, not dancing” clarified Anthony.

“It’s only one dance, my lord, it will be over before we know it” you had entered the room without anyone noticing and Anthony was a little taken back by your beauty, but recovered quickly enough.

“The dance might be, but the ball will be unending” with that he left the room to go and rush Eloise, they were going to be late.

You frowned a little looking at his retreating form, he hadn’t said anything about the way you looked, not one single compliment for his future wife. Benedict must have noticed your disappointment because he swiftly stepped in to make you feel better.

“You look positively stunning (y/n)” he kissed your hand with a small wink “My brother sure is a lucky man”

“That he is” called Daphne from the door “Here you go darling” he placed a tiara on your head, “I told you it would look wonderful with your dress, now let’s go” she patted your back softly “Simon’s waiting for us in the carriage”

“We’ll see you at the ball, my dear” called Violet seeing her daughter to the door.

The ball was beautiful and you felt overwhelmed by the number of people in the room. Simon and Daphne guided you through the room and you felt everyone’s stares on you, you hadn’t presented before the queen because you were already in courtship with Lord Bridgerton so everyone was seeing you for the very first time.

Daphne had begun to feel tired and Simon had left to fetch her some lemonade while she found somewhere to sit down for a while, leaving you unchaperoned and praying no one would approach you while they were gone.

“Excuse me, miss?” So much for prayers.

“Yes?” Yo faked a smile as best as you could looking at the old man in front of you.

“I see you have so much space in your dancing card, perhaps I could book myself the next dance?” Your card was in fact empty because your darling fiancé had yet to appear.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible Mr. Wyatt, since she’s dancing with me,” said Anthony who had gotten to you just in time.

“Perhaps the next one, then?” Persisted Mr. Wyatt.

“That would be my dance” this time it was Benedict who saved you “Would you look at that? Her card is full, maybe you could try on the next ball” You hadn’t even noticed them scribbling all the Bridgerton’s names on your dancing card until it was full, but it now was and you were thankful for it.

“Thank you so much, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had had to dance with that man” you thanked Benedict.

“What are brothers for if not to protect future sisters-in-law from dancing with horrid men?” He joked back, making you giggle.

“Well then, let’s have our dance and get this over with” Anthony broke you from your fit of giggles.

“Remember you two, you have to look madly in love” at his brother's comment Anthony only managed to huff some curse words under his breath, dragging you to the dance floor by the wrist.

Once on the dance floor, you both got in position, and when the waltz started you began gliding through the dance floor gracefully.

“For someone who says he doesn’t like balls, you are an exceptional dancer,” you said in a playful tone.

“Mother made us take classes when we were little, any respectable man should be a decent dancer”

“They paid off, it’s a pleasure dancing with you” he didn’t respond to anything so you continued “Are there other talents you are hiding from me, Lord Bridgerton?”

“Not that I’m aware off, miss (y/l/n)” his answer was short and it was clear he didn’t care for conversation.

It had been like this since the two of you had been introduced, any attempt you made to get to know him better was quickly shut down by him. It was as if he wanted to remain a stranger to you, but you were to be married and you at least wanted to know a little about him besides his name and his clear lack of humor.

When the dance ended you left the dance floor and met with Colin by the beverages table.

“Why so sad, love?” The pet name caught you off guard but you assumed it had something to do with the alcohol you could smell on his breath.

“It’s nothing, Colin” you attempted to smile as you served yourself a small glass of lemonade “Have you seen my cousin?” You asked before he continued asking questions.

“He is by those tables with Daphne, a ball is no place for a pregnant lady” Colin pointed to the other corner of the room.

You thanked him and walked to where he had pointed, you were ready to leave, and also what Colin said was true, being in this ball was very stressful for Daphne so the earlier you left the better. Soon you spotted your cousin, his wife, and, to your horror, Anthony.

“Cousin! What are you doing here? I thought you’d be dancing with Benedict” said Simon.

“I was thirsty so I went to get some lemonade, here” you handed a glass to Daphne “I brought you some”

“How nice of you, thank you” she took a small sip “shouldn’t you be having fun? It’s your first ball dear”

“I think I’m quite tired already” you turned to look at Simon “Perhaps we could leave, cousin?”

“If you wish” he looked you up and down, making sure you were alright “Why don’t you and Anthony promenade around the room while I send for the carriage? Just to end the night right, at least in the eyes of the people”

You simply nodded and watched the way Anthony rolled his eyes as he offered you his arm. His plain rejection of you always hurt you, you knew he didn’t love you but never did you expect him to despise you. You walked by his side with a soft smile planted on your face but on the inside, you were hurting because with each day you saw your future clearer, and what the future held for you was being married to a man who could not stand you and would never love you. But then he lead you to your carriage and kissed your cheek when you were out of everyone's view, maybe he didn't find you so bad after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hi! I hope you enjoyed reading this, if you like it let me know i love the feedback. I’m kind of in love with Anthony atm so that’s why this is the second story I’ve written of him. Thanks for reading! :)

#anthony bridgerton #bridgerton #bridgerton netflix #anthony bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton x you #anthony bridgerton imagine #bridgerton imagine #my writing

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blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years

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Anonymous asked: I love your long posts which make for great reading and I wish you could do more because you’ve got such a range of astonishing interests. I’m hoping because you’ve served in the military you would have studied military thinkers. Do you think the Art of War by Sun Tzu is way overrated by everyone? I studied him a bit for my masters but I still couldn’t get my head around him. Interested to know your thoughts. Thanks!

“To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear." - Sun Tzu's Art of War, Chapter IV - Tactical Disposition, Clause 10.

Sounds cool, doesn’t it?

But what the hell does this quote really mean? Do you know what it means? Can anyone else tell me?

Look, I enjoy a good Sun Tzu quote as the next person. Only recently I was exchanging thoughts with a fellow blogger whose studying Thucydides, Clausewitz, and Kissinger for an advanced course at the US Naval War College. Even he prefers Sun Tzu over Clausewitz. I can see why too. If you can make sense of chapter one of Clausewitz’s tome On War you deserve a Nobel Prize.

Unlike my very learned fellow blogger, there are lot of folk who don’t know Sun Tzu at all. They can quote him, but almost certainly out of context. As someone who partly grew up in the Far East and even learned Chinese and Japanese (a pitiful but functional degree of fluency) I’m embarrassed (not hard since I’m English) when I hear other Western compatriots romanticise and elevate Eastern icons to mythic status that the Chinese themselves have never done.

I am even more bemused than embarrassed after having hung up my military uniform for ‘civvy’ corporate clothing at how badly abused Sun Tzu’s book is in the corporate world. In my workplace I grit my teeth at corporate high flyers who mistake a balance sheet for a real battlefield by quoting Sun Tzu out of their arse, and then as self-styled ‘corporate warriors’ work themselves up in a lather of testosterone induced self-importance to crush their corporate enemies into the dust.

This is why the The Art of War by Sun Tzu has invited a jaundiced eye roll. And rightly so. I can see why many view Sun Tzu as over-rated because many easily impressed people go all woo woo over anything ancient and Eastern.

It’s become a familiar trope to say the art of ‘strategy’ as a science began 2,500 years ago with the writing of The Art of War. I would dispute this. Not that the writing of Art of War was the earliest written but whether I would call it a manual of strategy per se - more on this below in my answer. However you rate or overrate the Art of War it’s important to have perspective and remember this book is written in 512 BC. Other than the bible and some religious books, there are not many books that can survived thousands of years and still remains a steady bestseller and enjoys a wide influence in military academies and army staff colleges today and even as far into board rooms.

The question behind your question is just as interesting to me: why did Sun Tzu and his Art of War gain such traction in the West?

Sun Tzu (544-496 BC) wrote the original text of The Art of War shortly before 510 BC. During most of the past two thousand years, the common people in China were forbidden to read Sun Tzu's text. However, the text was preserved by China's nobility for over 2,500 years. The Chinese nobility preserved the text of The Art of War, known in Chinese as Bing-fa, even despite the famous book-burning by the first Emperor of Chi around 200 BC. The text was treasured and passed down by the Empire’s various rulers. Unfortunately, it was preserved in a variety of forms. A "complete" Chinese language version of the text wasn't available until the 1970s. Before that, there were a number of conflicting, fragmentary versions in different parts of China, passed down through 125 generations of duplication.

Indeed at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were two main textual traditions in circulation, known as the (Complete Specialist Focus) and (Military Bible) versions. There were also perhaps a dozen minor versions and both derived and unrelated works also entitled Bing-fa. Of course, every group considered (and still considers) its version the only accurate one.

When I last visited China before the Covid pandemic for work reason, I had time off to go to a couple of museums that housed the fruits of a number of archeological digs uncovering the tombs of the ancient rulers of China in which sections of Sun Tzu’s works were found. These finds have verified the historical existence of the text and the historical accuracy of various sections. I understand new finds are still being made.

The first complete, consistent Chinese version was created in Taipei in the 1970s. It was titled The Complete Version of Sun Tzu’s Art of War." It was created by the National Defence Research Investigation Office, which was a branch of Taiwan's defence department. This version compared the main textual traditions to each other and to archeological finds and compiled the most complete version possible.

This work was completed in Taiwan rather than mainland China for a number of reasons. Mainland China was still in the throws of the Maoist Cultural Revolution, which actively suppressed the study of traditional works such as Sun Tzu. The mainland had also moved to a reformed character set, while Taiwan still used the traditional character set in which the text was written. Only today is the study of Sun Tzu in mainland China growing, interestingly enough, through the translation of Sun Tzu into contemporary Mandarin. Based on the archeological sources we have today, we are reasonably certain of the historical accuracy of this compiled version that is the basis of what most people use today.

Surprisingly, the Art of War only came to light in the West around the 18th Century.

Historians believe it was first formally introduced in Europe in 1772 by the French Jesuit Joseph-Marie Amiot. It was translated at the time by the title “The thirteen articles of Sun-Tse”. Joseph-Marie Amiot (1718-1793) was not just a Jesuit priest but also an astronomer and French historian, as well as fervent missionary in China. He was one of the last survivors of the Jesuit Mission in China (he died in Beijing).

Many of the historical problems with understanding Sun Tzu's work can be trace back to its first Western translation in French. A Jesuit missionary, Father Amiot, first brought The Art of War to the West, translating it into French in 1782. Unfortunately, this translation started the tradition of mistranslating Sun Tzu's work, starting with the title, The Art of War (Art de la guerre).

This title, copied the title of a popular work by Machiavelli (a criminally underrated writer on military strategy), but it didn't reflect Sun Tzu's Bing-fa, which would be better translated as "competitive methods."

We cannot say what effect being translated by a Jesuit priest had upon the text. It was unavoidable that the work's translation reflected the military prejudices of the time era when war was both popular and Christian. It was also unavoidable that most future translations would reflect some of the first translation's prejudices. However, war was on the verge of becoming much less Christian in the West since this time was the era of the French Revolution (1789).

The work might well of slipped into obscurity after its initial publication, but it was discovered by a minor French military officer. After studying it, this officer rose to the head of the revolutionary French army in a surprising series of victories. The legend is that Napoleon used the work as the key to his victories in conquering all of Europe. It is said that he carried the little work with him everywhere but kept its contents secret (which would be very much in keeping with Sun Tzu's theories).

However, Napoleon must have started believing his own reviews instead of sticking with his study of Sun Tzu. His defeat at Waterloo was clearly a case of fighting on a battleground that the enemy, Wellington, knew best. Wellington’s trick at Waterloo was hiding his forces by having them lie down in the slight hollows of this hilly land. This is exactly the type of tactic Sun Tzu warns against in his discussion of terrain tactics.

After Napolean, Sun Tzu's theories made their way into western military philosophy. Many of his ideas are reflected in the ideas of work of Carl von Clausewitz. who defined military strategy as "the employment of battles to gain the end of war."

The first English translation of The Art of War is less than a hundred years old. Captain E. F. Calthrop published the first English translation in 1905. Lionel Giles, an assistant curator at the British Museum and a well-known sinologist and translator, attacked this early translation, and he published his own version in 1910. It soon began to be read alongside Clausewitz’s 8 volumes of turgid German military prose.

It wasn’t long before military thinkers were ditching Clausewitz for Sun Tzu because no one could get past Chapter One of Clausewitz’s On War. The “Clausewitz is dead, long live Sun Tzu” school was first championed by the influential British military theorist B.H. Liddell Hart in the 1920s. Basil Henry Liddell Hart (1895-1970) was a captain in the British Army. He was a very influential military theorist and historian, and author of several books such as The Future of War (1925) and Strategy (1954). Having witnessed first-hand the mechanised onslaught of the Great War, Liddell Hart sought a philosophy of warfare based in the prudent use of technology, psychology and deception - and the avoidance of the 'total war' catastrophes of preceding decades.

The main idea of Liddell Hart is to bring the set of principles of warfare in a so-called ‘indirect approach’ to the enemy. His advocacy in his scholarly work of an ‘indirect strategy’ over direct, frontal operations, was a reaction to the high casualties of the Western Front in the First World War. But his ideas were not simply about physically outmanoeuvring an opponent. Instead he pushed for a psychological scheme: to strike from unexpected directions, to generate strategic dissonance, and to induce paralysis. Hart’s well-known thoughts are “Only short-sighted soldiers underestimate the importance of psychological factors in time of war”, “Originality is the most important from all military virtues”, and “The principles of war could shortly be condensed in a single word: concentration”.

Liddell Hart believed that distilling historical insights of strategy and operations would offer the chance to avoid the costly disasters of modern war and ensure a more cost-effective route to success. He imagined technological solutions in the form of air power and mechanised land forces outflanking and shocking an enemy at the tactical level. This would be complemented by taking indirect strategic ‘ways’. Like his contemporary J.F.C. Fuller, Liddell Hart considered concentrations of air and armoured forces driving deep into enemy territory to destroy their ‘nervous system’. The psychological aspects of this were central, since acquiring an advantage demanded moves that were unexpected, with precise attacks at the most vulnerable points. As the most influential military writer of the modern age, revered and reviled by three generations of strategists, armchair and armipotent, his controversial theories of armed attack laid the foundation of the famed German Blitzkrieg.

Hart’s championing of Sun Tzu’s work as articulated through his own works got a new lease of life as the world gingerly settled into the ice bath of the Cold War. The rise of Communist China, against all the odds having defeated the well disciplined nationalist armies of Chian kai-Shek, was a wake up call for the West. There was a general befuddlement among western military analysts to explain the secret of Maoist success. There was an intellectual inquest in the 1950s and 1960s for some way to explain (and, it was hoped, learn to counter) Maoist military doctrine. Sun Tzu was seen as one of the historical and cultural sources of some particularly Chinese or Asian way of war, and his work made its way into Western discussions of counterinsurgency and asymmetric warfare.

Into the breach - and with fortuitous timing - appeared a new translation of The Art of War that was to become the defining translation right down to our day. Liddel Hart provided the foreword to Samuel Griffth’s 1963 translated copy of the Art of War. It was to quickly become a key text in US war colleges and this version is still to this day favoured by most of these institutions. We also studied Griffith’s translation at Sandhurst alongside Liddell Hart’s ideas.

There is no question that Griffith’s translation has become the standard go to translation to this day in military circles - that is until James Clavell’s more populist and looser translation came along in the 1980s. One can see why. Griffith’s translation provided a number of historical Chinese commentaries on the text. It should also be noted that Griffith’s strengths was his immense experience in the military and knowledge of military history as a brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps.

However, this was also his version's greatest flaw. Like many other critics I have the impression that Griffith did not really believe or understand all of Sun Tzu. Indeed he would often explain away Sun Tzu's direct statements without making it clear that this was his commentary and not what Sun Tzu wrote. The other main criticism and this one is stylistic and therefore just my opinion, Griffith was also not much of a writer. By our standards today, much of Griffith’s language can seem awkward and dated.

Looking back it feels ironic of the US military were wrapping their heads around Sun Tzu as way to get inside the Chinese communist mind (of Mao the military strategist especially). Unknown to them Mao had desperately tried everything to get hold of a copy of the Art of War from the Chinese Nationalists. Cambridge historian and doyenne of intelligence history, Christopher Andrew in his book The Secret World: A History of Intelligence, wrote that the theory that Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was critical to mastering contemporary warfare is propagated through the use of a tantalising anecdote: “During the civil war between Communists and the Kuomintang regime [Mao Zedong] sent aides into enemy territory to find a copy of it.” The ancient text, ostensibly, was of such vital importance that Mao was willing to risk men’s lives to obtain it, while Chiang Kai-shek vowed to protect it all costs. It’s a questionable anecdote at best as there are no historical evidence of it.

We can say that the notion that Sun Tzu’s slim treatise is considered both potent and slightly dangerous - providing the master key to unlocking victory in war through the ages - is a compelling myth that refuses to die. Mao most likely never ordered a clandestine operation to pilfer the text, nor did Chiang Kai-shek give any thought to shielding its contents from prying eyes. Both men certainly read it long before the start of their civil war, both most likely had ready access to it during the conflict, and neither man won or lost based on adherence or divergence from its teachings. But undoubtedly it set the hearts of Western military theorists aflutter in trying to unlock the secrets of Eastern military thought.

Sun Tzu and his ideas in a reincarnated form took hold of the wider public imagination in the 1980s. The 1980s was synonymous with Japan. With the perceived rise of Japan as a global economic power and the changes in post-Mao China, there was a Western (meaning American) search for more explanations. What was the secret of Asia’s rise? How were Japan and China ‘doing’ this?

In Western business circles it was for a time trendy to read it because of the perception that it was part of what made Japanese businesses so successful during the 70s and 80s. Management gurus and other corporate consultants certainly latched on to it and touted it as a way for Western businesses to re-orient their entire management and business philosophy. I don’t know if that ever actually was the case in Japan - my father who worked in both China and Japan in the corporate world at a very senior level said it wasn’t - but what is true is that in the West as the Japanese economy languished into the lost decade of the 90s so too did interest in Japanese business practices, and thus Sun Tzu.

The idea that The Art of War was a kind of how-to guide to ‘strategy’ was made especially popular by Hollywood in the 1980s. Oliver Stone’s iconic film ‘Wall Street’ seemed to typify the ‘greed is good’ New York capitalist scene of the 80s and 90s. Hollywood mirror imaged the rise of the corporate raiders and junk bond kings like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken. Hollywood sent thousands of American businessmen off to read Sun Tzu to look for ‘leadership secrets’. This is part of a general Western fascination with ‘timeless Asian wisdom’, the American idea that ‘the mysterious East’ is possessed of secret knowledge. American and European businessmen were enamoured of the idea that “a battle is won or lost before it ever begins”, a saying that reinforced traditional American business attitudes about a winning mentality and a ‘can-do’ spirit being two keys to success.

Because Japan and China were trendy in the 1980s and 1990s it also influenced Western popular culture, not just fashion (think Kenzo) but also comic books (manga) and anime. In this Eastern friendly climate it led a number of popular fiction authors to release their ‘own’ versions of the work to capitalise on its newfound popularity. These versions were more about the pop culture of the era than Sun Tzu. Unfortunately, though popular, none of these versions took advantage of the work completed in Taiwan creating a definitive version of Sun Tzu's text by this time. These versions were based either on old English translations (the Calthorp and Giles versions) or incomplete Chinese sources. However, all of these versions remain popular today, despite their questionable sources and poor quality of translation.

In 1983, James Clavell updated The Art of War translation of Lionel Giles and published it in a very popular version. This started a very common practice in English translation: creating a ‘new’ version from other English translations instead of going back to the original source. Authors today continue to follow this practice, which only perpetuates and exaggerates the problems with early translations.

Thomas Cleary, another well-known author, did his own The Art of War translation with historical commentary in 1988. Again, his name recognition did much to increase awareness of Sun Tzu, even if his work did nothing to improve the general quality of the translation.

Looking back the whole Sun Tzu as a business model fetish in the 1980-90s was really pretty silly, rather like 80s shoulder pads. Of course, there are some similarities in leadership regardless of profession, but the basic goals and working environments of war and of business are so wildly different that applying Sun Tzu to business is superficial at best.

So to me the problem is not that Sun Tzu is ‘overrated’ per se, the problem is that every half baked author out there try to apply its principles to every problems that mankind have. The Art of War, as the title suggest, is not The Art of Managing your Business, the Art of Winning in Competition against your classmates, The Art of picking up Women, The Art of Living Life to the fullest. It is, and only is, The Art of War. It is ‘overrated’ only if you expect it to answer every problems in your life.

The Art of War is not the word of God. It is a war manual advocating common sense with pithy aphorisms - and a very good one.

It’s not that I think the Art of War is over-rated it’s that the more common problem is that many people vastly under-rate Sun Tzu. By misreading Sun Tzu thoughts and ideas, I believe many are in effect under-rating the problems which Sun Tzu is addressing, namely war, or the continuum of conflict resolution where divergence in interests of multiple parties extends to the possible use of lethal force on a massive scale. A lot of people trivialise this problem with idiocies like “what if someone threw a war and nobody came” (clue, they would win, then hunt down and enslave or kill everyone too foolish to contest the issue, as has happened countless times in human history) or “ban war” (said ban apparently enforced by throwing flowers at soldiers).

Understanding that war is a very real and intractable problem is necessary to fully appreciate the genius of Sun Tzu’s work, especially where it avoids fixed and easily definable tactics specific to the Warring States period and instead illustrates timeless concepts of out-thinking the enemy at every level of conflict. That the text is still mostly readily applicable or at least reasonably insightful after thousands of years is a testament to the inability of humans to push warfare beyond the fundamental aspects of conflicting interests and continuum of forcible resolution Sun Tzu addresses.

Still, the particular translation matters far less than having an appreciation that, in war, you have an active opponent who is trying to out-think and counter any moves you make, and having an appreciation of non-dualistic philosophical reasoning more characteristic of Chinese classics generally. The classic symbol of Yin-Yang (and a number of derivative versions) illustrates apparent dualism as being a part of a deeper structural unity which does not permit a fixed division into separate parts.

Hence the difficulty of applying the principles of the Art of War to artificial ideas of “winning/losing” (or war/peace, right/wrong, us/them) as categorical absolutes rather than negotiated possibilities in a continuum of desirability/costs. And it is very difficult, no one should sugar coat that. Humans sort and construct their perceptions of reality by appeal to such gross simplifications. Binary logic is an immensely powerful tool in many areas because it leverages the ability to simplify complexity and then build valid inferences based on fixed premises. But at some point you have to go beyond that to have a more fluid response to reality as it is. Which Sun Tzu does for the reality of war.

I would recommend anyone to read it. At the end of the day it’s a book of highly general aphorisms that effectively synopsise the essential insights that apply to all kinds of human conflicts. Turning an enemy's flank has the exact same effect in 2500 B.C. and in 2000 C.E. and it has the same effect in the boardroom, or public market as it does on the battlefield. Deception and intelligence are still used in exactly the same way, whether conquering foreign lands, or stealing market share from a competitor. It's a book about common sense; but common sense must seem profound to those who have none.

Overall, I think Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a worthy read and not overrated because in our society of over educated achievers, common sense is in as short of supply as it has ever been; if this book can provide the meaningful framework for educating very bright people in down to earth common sense, that can only be a good thing.

The value of the book then is to drive home the fact that, in human conflict, there really is Nothing New Under the Sun (Tzu).

Pardon the pun and thanks for your question.

#question #ask #sun tzu #military history #book #philosophy #china #culture #the art of war #war #military #warfare #strategy #society #literature #america #britain #japan

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ariapmdeol · 3 years

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introducing @gavinom and I’s DSMP Parahuman AU!! This is a superpowers AU based on Worm, a web serial by wildbow!!

This is a superpowers AU,,, with a VERY complicated story. There are 3 or 4 main POV/plotlines:

Tommy and Tubbo’s plotline

Techno and Phil’s plotline

Dream’s plotline

Wilbur’s plotline

also niki’s plotline bc i appreciate her so much

they’re all very heavily interconnected! There’s a connection chart here, but there’s much more detailed explanations under the cut!

basic worldbuilding info: the city that this story focuses on (Dream SMP) is run by the Dream Team! They’re a group of villains who took over the city after it was being badly mismanaged by corrupt officials. Dream has connections to Cauldron (human experimentation group looking to create artificial powers). SBI + everyone else all live in this city! Powers are common and have a classification system shown below, and people with powers are called Capes! Capes are divided into Heroes, Villains, and Rogues (who are neither heroes or villains). People get powers when they experience an emotionally charged or traumatic event or events called a Trigger Event! These events shape what kind of power the cape gains!

SBI Tommy and Wilbur are both Philza’s biological kids! Philza is a researcher with long hours, Wilbur takes care of Tommy, but all of them have something else going on! ages: Tommy: 16 wilbur: 21 philza minecraft: early 40′s?

PHILZA - Mover 4 Philza is a researcher working for an organization called Cauldron. Cauldron is experimenting on people in order to understand and create powers artificially! As he ends up more and more involved with both the research on powers and the affected people (called Case 53′s), including technoblade, he decides that he cannot tolerate this anymore, and plans to break techno and others out! He steals a vial labelled ‘Zephyrus’, drinks it, and ends up with wings! He and techno break out, unlock a ton of other cells (including Ranboo’s!), and end up on the run. However, both his sons are left behind... After months of being on the run, he and Techno finally decide that it’s safe enough to return. But hang on, why is the house so empty? And did someone just open the door?

Technoblade - Tinker, Brute 3 technoblade is one of Cauldron’s Case 53′s! His power is a Tinker power, which means that he can invent things! However, he can only invent what chat decides is necessary. This is seen as an EXTREMELY overpowered and rare ability. Most Tinkers have some kind of specialty that they’re limited to, or some other restriction that limits their Ability-Driven inventiveness. Techno’s only limit is his Chat, which can be convinced into a certain direction. He also has had a lot of physical changes like gaining claws, tusks, hooves, and a tail! Techno also has increased regeneration and resistance! He’s fiercely overprotective of Phil and the two of them are best friends! After months on the run, he and Phil return to Phil’s home, but something is off... Is that a Tinker’s lab?!

Tommy - Trump 6 and Tubbo - Tinker (Drones), Master 3 Tommy’s plotline is technically our main POV! He really admires his older brother a ton! Philza’s spent a lot of time away from home, so Wilbur ended up looking after Tommy a lot, especially after Phil went missing... wonder where he went? About a month after Phil vanished, Wilbur starts spending a lot of time away from home too, so Tommy spends most of his time with Tubbo! When Tubbo got his powers, it was... not a good day. Tubbo hadn’t been having an easy time at school, and it all kind of... got to be too much, so he triggered. However, they both quickly realized that Tubbo had gotten a Tinker power! He creates and can manipulate Drones without a remote being necessary! The two of them immediately decided to become heroes, and started making costumes and hero names and stopping minor crime! Very quickly though, they got into a situation that was too much for them. Tubbo got badly injured, and Tommy triggered his ability for the first time. Tommy has the ability to boost the abilities of people he cares about! He makes them stronger and loosens some of the restrictions on their powers. Tommy and Tubbo continue trying to be heroes when they come across Ranboo, and take him home with them! Hm? it looks like someone else is inside already, who could that be?

Wilbur - Master 4, Thinker 3 Wilbur is a very charismatic and scheming character! He cares a ton about his family, and does his best to look after Tommy. He’s bitter and angry at Phil for essentially leaving him to take care of Tommy so often, and he triggered after Phil’s funeral, over a month after Phil first vanished. His ability is illusion based! He can project illusions into someone’s mind, and can read people very VERY well. He realizes that his power is definitely a powerful one, and ends up becoming a villain! He goes to Dream, and asks for some territory to prove himself as a leader (and bc villainy is profitable shhh). Dream agrees, and Phantasm becomes leader of a territory called L’Manburg. On his villain team are niki, eret, and fundy! He doesn’t want to involve Tommy or Tubbo in this whole thing, and he has no idea that either of them are Capes. He ends up spending more and more time outside the house and running his territory. Fundy ends up looking up to him as a sort of older brother/father figure, and when Fundy ends up without a place to go, Wilbur sets him up in their villain HQ! When he comes home, he immediately notices something is up. His power had suddenly gotten... stronger? He opens the door and sees...Philza?

Dream - Master 7, Tinker(?), Striker 2 Dream has the power to possess objects that he touches! He uses this + custom Puppets to act as the unkillable leader of the Dream Team! Dream is heavily involved with Cauldron, and personally oversaw Ranboo’s experimentation. He and Philza knew each other as civilians, and he knows that Philza stole a serum from Cauldron, but Phil doesn’t know that he’s Dream, just that he works for Cauldron! Sapnap and George both don’t know about his involvement in Cauldron, though. Dream is looking for Techno, and wants to convince him to get on his side. He has yet to meet someone who can beat him and his ability, after all! That’s part of why he gives Wilbur territory to look after so easily - he’s confident in his ability to take Wilbur down. However, things might be more difficult than he assumes... As a bit of a side note, both Awesamdude and 5up are rogues, but he hires both of them for jobs and such!

OTHER STUFF THAT I HAVEN’T QUITE PLANNED OUT AS MUCH IN DETAIL:

fundy and 5up are in a ML style love square! 5up has a crush on Fundy’s villain identity, while Fundy has a crush on 5up’s civilian identity!

niki and ranboo are siblings! she became a villain with Wilbur to look for him. Ranboo has been missing for a very VERY long time, and doesn’t remember anything before Cauldron!

5up also tends to help out Tommy and Tubbo a lot? He saved them from a situation that was UH.. VERY OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE pretty early on, and decided “welp time to become a big brother”! he’s been teaching them how to fight, and Tubbo is really having fun with it

all the plotlines collide on the same night. Phil and Techno come home at the same night that Tommy and Tubbo are bringing Ranboo home, Wilbur’s been out for the past week and is only now JUST coming home after getting Fundy settled, and none of them know about the other person’s powers at all

it’s CHAOS because Phil’s been assumed dead and has just come back with WINGS and a tall and intimidating Technoblade, who immediately pulls a sword on them, Tommy and Tubbo still are in costume, Ranboo recognizes Techno and Phil as the guys who broke him out, and WILBUR is realizing that he’s missed a hell of a lot

and NO ONE KNOWS that ranboo is the one niki is looking for! not even ranboo

theres like. a whole timeline to this that i still need to draw/write out but TRUST US WE HAVE A PLAN

George is a Precog who gets prophetic dreams! They’re primarily impressions though, and he’s ended up in someone else’s dreams a couple times... If he uses his ability too much, he gets insomnia!

karl and quackity are both there too i just havent planned their part yet!!

sapnap is a high Breaker/Brute/Striker cape, I just haven’t narrowed down the specifics yet!

#dsmp parahumans AU #sleepy bois inc #tommyinnit #tommy innit #technoblade #philza minecraft #tubbo #tubbo underscore #dream smp #dsmp #mcyt #dsmp au #superpower au #clingyduo #aria draws #my art #THIS AU IS SO COMPLICATED I LOVE IT SM #worm au #WORM WEB SERIAL MY BELOVED

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dreamwritesimagines · 3 years

Text

Twisted 20 - The Compass [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking, blood.

Word Count: 4000

Summary: Coming home can be unpleasant.

After getting a phone call from the FBI, you were now sure of one thing:

Karma really needed another hobby other than messing with you, and this break up was definitely not going the way it was supposed to go.

For starters, people who broke up with each other were not supposed to see each other this much. You had different lives, different social circles, different jobs and somehow universe kept pushing you two in each other’s space.

To make things worse, the last time you talked to Garcia she had offhandedly mentioned Luke dragging Spencer to a nightclub much to his displeasure and introducing him to a friend of his. Naturally, your mind was full of images of Spencer in a happy relationship, eventually moving to a house in the suburbs with her and having kids and all that.

“I don’t know what Luke is thinking,” Garcia said, “But I’m two seconds away from pulling him aside and giving him a piece of my mind. Reid is obviously still not over you, ambushing him to introduce him to a girl won’t change that.”

Needless to say, you had been in a terrible mood for the last couple of days.

“What’s taking her so long?” you checked your wristwatch and Nolan looked at you over his newspaper.

“Oh she’s talking to the board of the charity auction,” he said, “There are some last minute changes, apparently.”

You heaved a sigh and checked the time again, “I can’t stay for long,” you murmured and Nolan raised his brows.

“Oh? In a hurry?”

“Me and Spencer and…well, some of his team will go by the woods,” you said, “They found some bones near dad’s cabin close to the weekend house and they think it might help me remember where the rest is buried.”

He made a face, “That’s disturbing.”

“Nah, I thought going on a dead body remains hunt with my ex in the woods near one of my childhood trauma places would be romantic,” you deadpanned, “You don’t do that with your exes?”

“Not really?”

“Oh man you’re missing out.”

He let out a chuckle and shook his head, “I take it things haven’t improved on the heartbreak front?”

“I wouldn’t know, apparently his friend is setting him up with someone.”

“Mm, let me guess,” he mused, “Your plan is to do nothing about it?”

“No, I’m actually following your example,” you smiled at him sweetly, “I’ll just wait for decades and hope the girl turns out to be a serial killer.”

He tilted his head. “Touché.”

“Aw thank you,” you pushed at the food in your plate, “No seriously, what can I do? I can’t just go to him and tell him not to date other people. We broke up— I broke up with him.”

“You could explain the reason behind that.”

“I can’t do that.”

He clicked his tongue, “Well then, I suggest you get ready just in case he happens to ask for your help planning his wedding.”

“You’ve been absolutely no help at all Nolan, I appreciate that.”

“I’m offering you my wisdom and you’re not taking it,” he held up his hands, gesturing surrender, “I also suggested to get his superiors to fix a meeting with him to talk to him about certain boundaries and mistakes but…”

“Get his superiors— I’m sorry, what?”

“I play poker with the head of the department he works under.”

“Of course you do.” You sipped your coffee, “When did you suggest that exactly?”

“Oh not to you, to your mother,” he nodded to himself as he saw the look on your face, “Yeah. But then I saw how it could not only damage some professional relationships, but also it’s better to let young people solve their own problems, no matter how easy it is to solve them with an outsider’s influence.”

You pulled your brows together.

“Try again.”

“I asked your mother and she said no.”

“Oh thank God.” You pinched the bridge of your nose, “Yeah no, don’t do that. We’re not in high school, you know?”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he smiled slightly at the scandalized look on your face.

“Whatever,” you waved a hand in the air, “It’s strange that mom said no though. She doesn’t really like him nowadays, and she keeps listing all his….disadvantages whenever I talk about him.”

“Disadvantages?”

“Mm hm. The other day she said it was maybe for the best in the long run, because he’s an FBI agent so considering his paychecks, we would eventually fight about our future children’s tuition fees.”

Nolan thought for a moment, “She does have a point, considering what FBI pays their agents…”

You blinked a couple of times, “Right,” you said, “That’s exactly why I broke up with him. Because who would be paying for our hypothetical future children’s future tuition fees, yeah. Deal breaker, that one.”

“It could be a contributing factor though—“ he started but you heard your mother’s heels approaching and soon enough she walked into the living room and pressed a kiss on your cheek.

“Darling, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” she told you before pecking Nolan on the lips, making him smile, “This whole charity auction, honestly…”

“Do I have to come to that thing?” you looked between them, your brows pulled together in an attempt to make them take pity on you but your mother tilted her head.

“Yes you do.”

“It’s just that…” you heaved a dramatic sigh, “You know, I’m going through a break up—“

“You’ve been going through a break up for more than a month now, you’re not allowed to use that as an excuse.”

“My heart is broken!”

“Good, focus on charity then.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to Nolan, “What’s the real reason she’s dragging me to this?”

“Oh no, I’m not getting caught in this crossfire.”

“Mom?”

She cleared her throat and sipped her coffee, “The other day when I visited Nolan at work, he happened to introduce me to this very handsome Chief Marketing Officer who’s handling—“

“Oh no.”

“Keep in mind that we pay him more than what FBI pays his agents.” Nolan stated, laughing up his sleeve as if he found it hilarious and you scrunched up your nose.

“Nolan, I know you were born in the eighteenth century but that’s actually not a problem we have these days.”

“He’s single,” your mother said as if she wasn’t even listening and you threw your head back, letting out a whine, “He loves dogs and squash—“

“Jesus Christ.”

“Don’t worry, he’s not sitting at our table,” your mother said, “I fixed another surprise for you at our table, and I figured you’d want to keep your options open.”

“Besides, if your ex boyfriend is moving on…” Nolan trailed off and your mother raised her brows.

“Oh, Spencer has a girlfriend now?”

“No!” you said way too loudly and then cleared your throat, “I mean—I don’t care. But I don’t think so, I would’ve heard it.”

“See? More reason for you to meet other people.”

You pouted, “I hate this so much. I can’t believe I’m being dragged into this nonsense only because you guys are making me, this is seriously bullshit…”

“Y/N, do you want some cookies?” Nolan interrupted your grumbling, “One of my assistants brought them from France the other day.”

You scoffed, “How old do you think I—” you paused for a moment, then shrugged your shoulders, “Actually yeah, I’d love some cookies right now.”

***

Unfortunately, when you left your mother’s house you had overestimated the traffic and how long it would take you to get there so by the time you had pulled over by the road leading into the woods, you could only see one FBI car. You didn’t have to wonder who was in it when your eyes caught the sight of Spencer leaning against it and your heart skipped a beat.

“Fuck…” you murmured to yourself and considered for a short second to drive away until others got there, but it was too late. Spencer turned his head, saw your car and stopped dead on his tracks so you heaved a sigh and pushed open the door to step outside. You looked around before you pulled yourself up to sit on the hood before you fished your cigarette pack out of your purse.

“You’re early.” Spencer said and you raised your glances to look at him for a second before lighting your cigarette.

“So are you,” you put the lighter back into your purse, “Came by yourself?”

“Luke is talking with the police.”

“Lovely,” you exhaled the smoke and he crossed his arms, looking up at the sky for a moment before stealing a look at you.

You had no idea what to say to him. After that one day of truce, it was like you were back to being enemies and ignoring each other. The fact that he might have been ready to date another person made you feel even worse if it was possible, especially after that phone call between you. He had said that he was a mess just like you were, he had said you had taken a part of him when you left him, and—

You didn’t even know what you hoped for. You knew it wouldn’t change anything, and yet the thought of him being with someone else was more than enough to make you feel like you were falling off a cliff.

Maybe it was just the truce talking. Maybe he didn’t mean any of that.

Your phone vibrating in your purse made you snap out of your thoughts and you looked at the caller I.D., then frowned and answered.

“Hey, I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“On a Sunday?” Lincoln’s voice reached you, “Who’s the workaholic now?”

“Still you Linc,” you said and Spencer’s head shot up, “What’s up?”

“I just called to let you know that they just moved me to your table.”

You pulled your brows, “I’m sorry, what?”

“At the charity auction. My table was 3, they just e-mailed me to say I’ve been moved to 1.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re the surprise?” you asked, pinching the bridge of your nose, “Somebody needs to stop my mother.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” you said, “I…That’s great, we’ll sit together then. If you like sulking the whole night, we’ll be just fine.”

“Come on, it could be fun.”

“I doubt that.”

“Hey, at least you’re not alone.”

“I’ll drink throughout that night, you sure you can keep up?”

“Do you even know who you’re talking to, you amateur?”

“Oh it’s on.” You smiled slightly and he chuckled.

“I’ll see you at our table then. With drinks.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” you said before you hung up, and put the phone back into your purse before you felt Spencer’s burning gaze on you, so you looked up at him.

“What?” you asked and he scoffed a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

“Nothing.”

“Professor.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he said, his gaze fixed on the woods and you tilted your head.

“Fine.”

He sucked a breath through his clenched teeth, as if trying to decide whether to say anything or not before you could ask again, Luke approached you two, another car pulling over by your car.

“Hey there.” You greeted Luke as you jumped off the hood and he tilted his head.

“Why are you shorter?”

You motioned at your sneakers, “I figured since we’re going into the woods, heels would be a bad idea.”

“Is this the first time I’m seeing you without heels?”

“Probably.”

“Should we get going?”

JJ stole a look at Spencer and you, then turned to Luke, “Actually, do you mind coming with me to the car for a moment? There’s this file I want to get your opinion on.” She nodded at you, “You guys go ahead if you want.”

You pulled your brows together for a second, trying to understand what was happening but then decided you wouldn’t question it and stepped into the woods, a shiver running down your spine.

It looked way too familiar.

You gritted your teeth and started walking, and it didn’t take long for Spencer to catch up with you.

“So I never got to ask you,” you managed to say after almost ten minutes of complete silence, “That…that blood vial in that petal bowl, whose blood was it?”

“Anthony’s.”

“Right,” you murmured as you kept walking, “Was it….was it something my dad did back then?”

“No.” Spencer said curtly and you looked over your shoulder.

“So then what does it—“

“Are you dating other people?” the words left his lips in a hurry as if he didn’t know how to stop them and you stopped dead on your tracks.

“I beg your pardon?”

He opened his mouth for a moment like he was trying to find the right words but then he closed it and shrugged his shoulders.

“Never mind,” he murmured, walking past you and you gawked after him for a while before you rushed after him.

“No, what was that?”

“Nothing.”

Maybe your whole theory about Spencer being a genius therefore not being able to be jealous wasn’t exactly the truth.

“I’m not— is this about Lincoln?” you held up the phone in your hand before you sped up to catch up with his long strides, “There’s this stupid charity auction bullshit and we’re both attending it, that’s it.”

“Alright,” he murmured, still walking and you let out a breath.

“Spencer!”

“What?” he turned around to look at you, that fire burning in his eyes again, “I said never mind, okay?”

“I’m not dating Lincoln!” you exclaimed “And I— even if I were, at least he’s not someone I met at a nightclub my friends forced me to go, unlike some of us.”

“What does that-” he started but it hit him in a second, “Garcia told you.”

“It came up.”

He raised his brows, “Yeah? How?”

“It just did.” You managed to say even if your cheeks were burning, “So what? You’re going to stand there and ask me that when you’re moving on already?”

“I’m not moving on!” he said as if you had just insulted him, “Besides, you broke up with me remember?”

“Yeah and you wasted no time Spencer, congratulations.” You murmured as you walked past him but as soon as your eyes caught the sight of the huge cabin by the small hill, your breath got caught in your throat and you took a step back, the memory flashing through your mind so fast that the headache hit you out of nowhere.

Your father tugged you by your hand through the woods as you yawned, rubbing at your eyes.

“Are you sleepy honey?”

You nodded, looking up at him,

“Daddy I thought we were going to come here tomorrow, with mom and Mina.” you said as you hugged the huge teddy bear you had brought with you when your father had woken you up and told you that you would be taking a small trip to the cabin.

“We are,” he said, “We will go back home after our hunt is done here.”

“Yeah but mom says Mina and I can’t be outside the cabin at night,” you murmured, “The lake is too close, remember? We might fall in, she says.”

“She’s right, no leaving the cabin by yourself when it’s dark outside,” he said, “Or else no chocolate for a week, you know the rules.”

“Okay, okay…” you yawned again, and your father knelt down so that you could look him in the eye.

“Petal honey, I want you to pay attention,” he said, “Look around. Let’s say you’re in the woods by yourself and you’re hunting. You know how we hunt, right?”

You took a deep breath, “Stab the prey, twist the knife, pull it back and watch them bleed.”

“Very good,” he said, “When you’re hunting in the woods, what’s the first thing you do?”

“Look up at the sky,” you said, “That’s how I know where I am.”

“Good start. How about if your prey is running to get away from you? How do you chase them?”

“People aren’t calm when they’re being hunted,” you repeated what he had told you, “They make noises. I follow that, and wait for them to tire themselves out.”

He nodded, then you both climbed the stairs to the front door of the cabin.

“And what’s the one thing you remember?”

“To stay calm and patient.”

He smiled at you and opened the door to the cabin so that you could see the bloodied person tied to a chair, screaming through the gag.

“Good,” he said, “Let’s go over what we do with the prey, shall we?”

“Y/N!” Spencer’s voice cut through the memory, almost grabbing you and pulling you back to the reality and it was only when you realized you weren’t standing anymore, instead you were on the ground on your knees, gasping for breath.

“I can’t—“ you choked out, pressing a hand over your chest “I—I can’t breathe—“

“Yes you can,” he helped you sit and lean your back to the tree trunk, “You just need to focus on me, alright? Can you breathe with me?”

You sniffled, trying to match your breathing with his and he nodded,

“There you go,” he said with a smile, “You’re doing great. Is it okay if I touch you?”

You nodded your head, still desperate to cling to anything that would protect you from that memory and he entwined his fingers with you.

“Keep your focus on me,” he said as he wiped the teardrop off your cheek with his free hand, awakening a fire right beneath your cheekbone, “Here’s what we’re going to do, you will inhale when I squeeze your hand, exhale when I stop. Can we do that together?”

You inhaled when you felt his grip tightening around your hand, then exhaled when it became loose again.

“Y/N?”

You let out a shaky breath, “Hm?”

“Why are public proposals so bad?”

A teary laugh escaped from your lips, “Professor…”

“No, I want you to tell me,” he said as you inhaled again when he squeezed your hand, “Why are they so bad?”

“Because they—“ you exhaled, “They’re not private.”

“They could be romantic.”

“But they’re not,” you protested, “They’re not romantic. They’re pretentious.”

“Pretentious?” he squeezed your hand once more and you took another breath.

“If you need an audience for something like that, you’re pretentious yeah.” You said as the nausea slowly retreated and he pushed your hair behind your ear before his knuckles brushed over your neck, it lasted only a moment but it was enough for you.

“Thanks,” you mumbled and he offered you a small smile.

“Anytime.”

“Brings back the memories, huh?” you leaned your head back to the tree trunk and he nodded.

“Yeah,” he murmured, “Yeah it really does.”

You pressed your lips together, “Spencer, why are you helping me?” you asked him, taking him by surprise, “With….all this. I thought you hated me.”

He swallowed thickly,

“I can’t hate you,” his voice was almost a murmur, “I wish I could. Trust me, I tried.”

“Guys?” you heard Luke’s voice and you turned your head to see them approaching, “What’re you—what happened?”

“We’ll meet you there in a second,” Spencer said, shooting JJ a look and she nodded.

“Okay,” she said, “Come on Luke.”

They walked past you to the cabin and you looked up at the sky for a couple of seconds before willing yourself to focus on him again.

“You remembered something,” he said and you nodded.

“A memory,” you managed to say, “I…Spencer, there are dead bodies in there.”

“I know, we found bones in the backyard—“

“No,” you cut him off, “You don’t understand. There are dead bodies in the cabin.”

He pulled his brows together and you pulled your hand out of his before standing up on shaky legs, still holding onto the tree for support.

“Y/N, we can wait-” he said but you shook your head and made your way to the cabin until you reached the stairs. Every cell in your body was screaming at you to run away, but you managed to force yourself to climb the stone stairs and stopped for a moment at the door as Spencer stepped to stand next to you. Everything looked exactly the same as you had left them all those years ago right before your father was arrested.

A shudder went down your spine, the same as the one you had gotten when you woke up in your apartment after being drugged. Something in here was way too dangerous for you and it wouldn’t rest until you were at its mercy so you had to get away before it could dig its claws under your skin, but-

You had to do this. You could do this.

You had been through much worse than this before.

You had survived your father, you had survived his copycats, you had survived everything thrown your way so far, you could survive this as well.

You rolled your shoulders back and stepped into the huge living room, the memory pushing at your mind but you shook your head, forcing yourself to focus.

“We can leave if you want,” Spencer murmured and you dug your fingernails into your palms hard enough to hurt.

There was a reason why police couldn’t find anything in this goddamn place when they first checked. You had repressed the memory just like you had repressed the rest, and now that you were here…

The memories about the cabin were swirling in your head, each more terrifying than other.

“Luke.”

Luke turned his head, “Yeah?”

“Do you mind stepping aside for a moment?” you asked, “Actually, if no one could—if no one could stand on the rug that’d be ideal. Thanks.”

JJ shot you a look but nodded at the two other agents walking around the living room and you slowly approached the magnetic chess board by the coffee table, holding out your hand over the pieces for a second. Panic roared through you but you gritted your teeth and moved the pawn, then put the bishop where your father taught you to put it way back then.

“It’ll be like a treasure hunt, but you need to keep it a secret,” he had told you, “Pinky swear?”

You turned the queen in hand your for a moment, then put it right next to the bishop and the small basement trapdoor which was impossible to see even if someone was looking for it clicked under the rug. Spencer froze for a moment before he and Luke pulled the rug off the floor and pulled open the hatch but the smell coming from downstairs made you cover your mouth.

“Stay here,” Luke told the agents as he went downstairs and Spencer followed him right before JJ did. You stalled there for a moment, trying to repress the fear pinning you to your spot before you stepped closer to the stairs leading down to the secret basement.

“Miss—“ the agent said but you ignored him and made your way down. JJ and Spencer already had their flashlights on as Luke held his gun, ready to pull the trigger at any unexpected movement.

“You can’t be here.” Spencer told you but you weren’t even mood to snap back at him. You dragged your fingertips on the wall until you found the switch and turned the light on, the smell getting worse and worse.

There were three huge boxes by the wall, all tightly shut and you had a feeling—

No, not a feeling. What you had was a memory and you knew exactly what was in them.

Spencer turned to you, apparently ready to tell you to go upstairs again but as soon as his eyes caught something over your shoulder, he froze, his jaw clenching. You could feel your heartbeat getting faster and faster as Luke stopped dead on his tracks.

“Y/N, go upstairs.” Spencer said, his tone way too controlled until you turned your head, “No wait, don’t look—“

But it was too late. The bloodied message on the wall made you gasp as you took a step back, unable to look away as that familiar dread filled you once more, the simple line causing goosebumps to rise on your skin;

Welcome home Petal.

Chapter 21

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid x you #criminal minds #spencer #reid #spencer x reader #reid x reader #twisted

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