#it's finally released into the wild.... i can return to being a normal person now | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

daeva-agas · 2 years

Text

Aizen route summary

The route follows after Twilight Faction common route (Book 1), which I assume you would have already known/read. The MC will just be called MC instead of Futaba (default name) to make it simpler.

To recap, the common route ends with the Senkitai attacking some sort of government meeting, with the Onikiri and our protags fighting them off. The Senkitai knock MC unconscious, and then take off. Aizen tries to shoot them down, but they got away.

The ayakashi are concerned and immediately wants to take off after the Senkitai. Aizen tells them not to be rash, because there’s too many unknown factors. He wanted to withdraw and reorganize a new plan. Toto and Gaku especially are not having it, and says that it might be too late for MC if they have to go back and redraw the plans. So they all ignore Aizen’s words and go after the Senkitai. Ouji hangs back for a little while to use his smoke to subdue the feral ayakashi and then run after the others.

Aizen gives the order to Ichijou to take the ayakashi bundled in Ouji’s smoke to the labs. Ichijou is shocked but obey. Side note: In the Night faction common route, Aizen claims that normally the Onikiri will just release the ayakashi they find back to the wild. I’m not sure if this scene shows that this is not normal, hence why Ichijou is shocked, or if this is a retcon because of the writers being disorganized. This is never ever addressed or explained in the route, so I mention this now because it’s not like I’m spoiling anything.

Aizen sends his dove shikigami out “after them”.

The scene then cuts to Kagemaru. Aizen’s gunshots had nicked Zantetsu in the shoulder. Because it’s the anti-ayakashi ironsand bullet, his powers are drained and he can’t use his whirlwind anymore. He and Kagemaru are forced to walk.

Kagemaru seems to notice something, but doesn’t say what it was.

At the hideout, they test MC’s blood on the Stone of Destruction and it reacts. Hisui does her usual hissy fit about Keijirou and such, my apologies for not being remember details, because this is old news if you’ve read the other routes and I glossed over this a little bit.

(for those who have not seen Night faction: Keijirou is the former head of Senkitai before Kagemaru, but despite being retired he still holds enough power/control in the Senkitai, and Hisui is devoted to him)

The ayakashi arrive to rescue MC and Kagemaru comes out to meet them. Hisui notices a presence that is not the ayakashi and also comes out to check. It’s Aizen’s shikigami (and it’s what Kage noticed earlier). She destroys the shikigami.

Meanwhile, the ayakashi are blocked by the barrier. Kagemaru throws them MC’s lifeless body and tells them to bury her quick before she becomes a wraith or a ghost. The ayakashi are angry and attack Kagemaru, who just cheerfully says “y’all could just join us”.

Ouji caught Kagemaru by his fog, but Kage pulls down trees on him, and managed to escape. The ayakashi turn their attention back to the “dead” MC (I mean, it’s obvious she can’t be dead, we’re only like 4 chapters in). By all accounts it looks legit, until Ouji finds a 5-pointed star mark and dispels it. The “body” dissolves into paper dolls (Akiyasu’s doing). The bell wand the “body” had was real, though, so they take it and return.

Meanwhile, Aizen is researching the Stone. His shikigami managed to hear enough about the Stone before Hisui snuffed it, and we were given the lore about how the youko Tamamo no Mae’s body became the stone and split into three. (this is real life mythology, look it up if you like)

Aizen reports his finding and MC’s kidnapping to General Ooyama. The general commands him to capture the Senkitai. Anyone caught will be used in the youjin experiments, and those who are fighting back too hard can be killed. Aizen says “And I will bring MC back”, but the general says “only because she’s useful” and not out of concern for her as a person.

Aizen thinks "So I'm finally worthy of being entrusted with something", and we get a flashback of his past. As a child, the general had found him on the streets (he’s around 10 then). Alone, no family, no house. He had to live on the streets, and he revealed that people has always been afraid of his power and avoid him.

(Artist staff provided this picture of sad little Aizen TT__TT)

Aizen: Are you gonna kill me? General: Why do you think that? Aizen: Because soldiers kill people

The general asks Aizen some questions like about his family, or how does he even live/eat/etc. Aizen does not answer. Eventually the general offered him to come along with him and offered food, shelter, etc.

Aizen: What use do I have if I live

He does agree to follow the general home, and considers himself indebted for life to the general ever since (this is the “adoption”).

Back to the present. Aizen and the ayakashi have a meeting. They discuss the Stone of Destruction, about how it can increase ayakashi power. The Stone, however, will drain ayakashi life force if used, that’s why they need onmyouji to activate it (more details in the Night faction and IIRC Toto’s route, not sure how much of it I should re-narrate here). Nachi had a fit when Aizen mentioned he used his familiar to listen, but it doesn’t work for a second time. The barrier blocked his further attempts.

Speaking of onmyouji, the ayakashi team mention the fake MC doll and the Senkitai having an onmyouji on their side. If you remember, in Twilight faction common route, they don’t know about Aki yet. They focus more on Senkitai, and only in personal character routes do Aki actually show up.

Aizen is not surprised by this, and revealed that the onmyouji artifacts and texts in the military archives have been stolen. Toto gets prickly, and accusing Aizen of not trusting them enough. Aizen responds with “You too”, for not telling that they know where the Senkitai HQ is the whole time.

Aizen delivers the general orders, in which he requests the ayakashi cooperation to raid the Senkitai and retrieve MC, and he also wants the military to keep the stone. To which Toichirou says he’s not going to sit there being ordered around. The fox village also is taking claim of the Stone after all.

Personal aside: I would like to point out that even when we were clearly shown this was orders from General Ooyama, Aizen tells this whole thing to the ayakashi as though it’s his own demands. He never blames the higher ups for the orders, and is just unfazed even when he’s the one who gets yelled at for it.

I think this might explain the very very strange bit in Koga’s route, where Aizen is abnormally vicious even though he’s not like that in most of the other routes. I would imagine this was because the General had also gave the orders to off “our guys” if they step out of line, and Aizen is obeying that.

Meanwhile, we finally have the MC’s POV. She woke up in the Senkitai base and Oboro is there, telling her she’s been out for 3 days. He introduced himself, and MC tried to ask why she’s been taken but he says he doesn’t know. He brought her food, but it’s drugged and she got knocked out again. Side note again: when I was reading this I was so frustrated that we don’t get her POV sooner/more often, but I guess they need to provide a lot of context in case of new players who haven’t seen Night faction.

Back to the other guys. From the stuff he overheard from his shikigami, Aizen knew the Senkitai is targeting the youjin labs, so he brought the Onikiri and the ayakashi to stake out.

Kagemaru shows up and the Onikiri shoots him down. This was suspiciously too easy, so Aizen checks the body. Of course this is another puppet, and the real Kagemaru show up to attack. Aizen defends himself, but Kagemaru brings out the Senkitai. They two groups start fighting.

MC’s POV again. Keijirou has brought her to a cliff, where he’s watching the goings-on in the mansion through scrying water. He asked if she knows what is in the mansion, and she says no. So he explains to her about the youjin and the experiments. She was completely bewildered, so he tells her she’d believe it when she sees it. Keijirou then brings out the Stone to ask MC to use it.

At the mansion, Aizen tells Kagemaru he’s aware that the only reason why his shikigami got in the first time was because Kagemaru let it in. So he must want the military to know this intel and demands to know what Kagemaru himself actually wants, not the youjin-stealing plot (that is Keijirou’s plan). Kagemaru doesn’t answer, casually saying “Maybe I just want to bait you all to kill you”. Aizen asks again where the MC is, and Kage says “Maybe nearby”.

The ayakashi team is fighting feral ayakashi who had shown up as well, but they notice the Stone is not with Hisui or Zantetsu. Nachi goes to look for MC in the house, but Hisui says it’s useless because “that person” has her and the stone.

Shizuki realized she means Keijirou and tells Toto. At that moment, Aizen’s shikigami appears. Realizing that it’s being sent to search for MC, Toto go after it. Not long after, Zantetsu declares their job is done, and bring Hisui away.

Nachi goes exploring inside the house. He finds the jail cells, and Oboro and Aki. They have discovered the youjin.

Keijirou is showing this scene to MC through the scrying water, and she’s shocked to see the youjin, but then Aizen appears and starts shooting. Toichirou and Shizuki also appeared and starts attacking as well. Keijirou puts up a fire barrier and holds MC hostage, demanding for the youjin. Aizen drops his gun, but point blank says “there’s no such thing”. Keijirou doesn’t believe that, since he literally just saw them earlier. Aizen says he can see for himself, and the dungeons indeed has suddenly turned empty.

When he’s distracted, MC grabs the Stone and throws it at Toto. Aizen takes his gun again and shoots Keijirou. He calls the MC, who takes the opportunity to escape from Keijirou’s hold (she jumped right into Aizen’s arms because :D).

Kagemaru waltzes in and Keijirou asked where the youjin went. Kage tells him to ask the soldier.

Keijirou: I see, you're teaming up with them to fight me Kagemaru: Nope, it's just all gone by the time I got there

Hisui appears, taking the feral ayakashi with her. Keijirou orders her to get the Stone back, but Ouji, Kuro, and Gaku appears to fend them off. Gaku gives MC her wand, and the other Onikiri members also arrive. Aizen orders his men to focus on Keijirou, and MC uses her bell wand to make barrier to protect their side. Keijirou gets gunned down and falls off the cliff.

(Interesting note: Keijirou is described as having “silver hair”. Insert silver fox jokes here)

In the distance, there was an explosion as the mansion exploded. Kagemaru tells Aizen to tell his “Higher Up” that youjin won’t make them strong. He’s oly temporarily going along with it to remove Keijirou, but of course it’s now done and they’re not going to just come along quietly.

MC gets sent to infirmary, and the military will handle the mansion explosion. MC and her friends have another meeting with Aizen the next morning.

Shizuki explains the situation with Keijirou and the Senkitai, saying that Keijirou was one of the 4 founders of the Senkitai (spoiler: I fully suspect Koga’s dad was also involved here, TBH, but I’ll explain next time it’s not relevant here).

Toto supplies that Keijirou is his uncle, and explains the situation at his village. He was too young to remember, but uncle and dad had fought for village headship, and uncle then left the village. He returned with the Senkitai to snatch the stone from their village. Keijirou’s been obsessed with the stone since forever. There was a fight, and the fox village all thought he died, but apparently not.

Shizuki briefly mentioned he was a former Senkitai member, but they don’t talk about this any further (details see in Shizuki’s route).

Gaku demands explanation from Aizen about the mansion, since they were only brought there to ambush the Senkitai, but they don’t get told what is inside that the Senkitai wanted. Nachi tells them about the youjin that he saw, but before he could figure out anything more about them, Oboro had found him and brought him to “safety” outside because there’s explosives installed.

Aizen says that the youjin are “weapons” being developed by the military, but it’s classified info he cannot share. He then tells MC that for her protection, she has to stay at military HQ until they can confirm that Keijirou is dead. This is such a rom-com plot, LOL...

And because we need more comedy, they start bickering about why this is pointless. Toto, Shizuki, and Kuro argue that the human soldiers have no chance against ayakashi and the Stone is already safe in the fox village. They start suggesting that they just let her go home and they (the ayakashi) can stand guard, while Gaku and Ouji are like “we’re too old for this” on the side.

[insert Ace Attorney “Objection” GIFs here]

Eventually Gaku asks for MC’s opinion, and she decided she is fine with Aizen’s request and so Toto grudgingly respects her wishes. The ayakashi all go home, and Aizen shows MC to her room.

(it’s a nice room BTW)

There’s a bell she can ring if she has any needs, but Aizen requests that she also hand over her bell wand. He says it’s a precaution in case she changed her mind, and he doesn’t want her recklessly escaping.

She agrees, and he remarks that he’s surprised by it. MC says that during the fight with the Senkitai, she heard him say to let the ayakashi handle the feral ayakashi. She thinks it’s a sign of him willing to trust her, so she’s doing this to show that she trust him in return. She hands over the bell wand, and the moment his hand touched it, the bell rings.

(side note again: This was the point where the preview ends, and they left us hanging for 4 BLOODY MONTHS, and I suffer, I’m sorry for my rant)

The scene cuts to Hisui, who has a piece of the Stone with her, vowing to avenge Keijirou.

At the HQ, MC has a dream of her past life brother saying “be careful”, but it’s like a broken transmission and she can’t hear him clearly. When she wakes up, she decided to write a letter to inform Nachi and the other ayakashi about this. The bell ringing is not discussed.

Ichijou brings in her breakfast and she gives him the letter to send. She’d been asked to not use familiars, so she asked if letters are okay and she even says Aizen can look at the contents just in case too.

I think I mentioned this before, but one card once mentioned that Aizen’s hair is literally blond, but nobody ever pointed it out or asked if he’s foreign. Well... Ichijou here also says Nachi’s hair is literally orange, but nobody cared either. Like, I get that the Onikiri are used to ayakashi, but Nachi wanders around town all the time and nobody seems to point out that anything is strange. It makes me wonder if Toto’s hair is literally purple, but people just don’t care somehow.

Ichijou brings the letter to Aizen, and mentions that MC is getting restless because there’s nothing to do. She’s wanting to do some cleaning around, but Aizen says “we’re not keeping here to be a maid”. Ichijou offers to bring toys.

Aizen: “Those are kids’ toys”

He says he’s got something arranged for her, though. He reads her letter, and remembers that the team had explained to him about past lives, but he thinks that was weird. He okays the letter to be sent out, though.

Ichijou comments on the bell wand that’s still sitting on Aizen’s desk, and Aizen mentions that it’s interesting that the bell still has a clear sound despite looking so busted up and rusty. Ichijou is confused, because all he hears is a broken sound, but he says it’s probably because it’s a magical property that only those with spiritual power can hear (Voltage is laying it thick here, I’d be surprised if anyone was still shocked when they reveal Aizen is the brother’s reincarnation :/)

Aizen says “maybe”, and Ichijou says he thinks it’s great to have spiritual power like that. Aizen mentally says he hates having this power.

Meanwhile, Toto is back home at the fox village. They’ve also sent out people to look for Keijirou and there’s no news. (To be fair, this is only like a day or two after they shot him off a cliff, I don��t know why they expect to be able to find him that fast, even with ayakashi powers) Keiichirou, Toto’s dad, reveals that actually Keijirou has been dabbling in dark arts. He brings out Keijirou’s old notes that he had left behind.

At the HQ, it turns out Aizen had arranged Mrs. Ooyama to come visit, and to bring MC some books to read. Among the books that she brought, there was a book of foreign poetry that caught MC’s eye. Mrs. Ooyama said that it was something that Aizen really liked too. At this MC starts asking questions about Aizen, because she's never met him out of work duties before.

(gossip time hurr hurr)

Mrs. Ooyama: I actually put that book in his room because he's always studying all day and night. He ends up liking the poetry, so it's wonderful.

She says that this is the one rare times he chooses to like something on his own, instead of just obeying everything that people tells him. She worries about him because of it. She also tells a story about a cat that used to show up at the Ooyama house, and Aizen always feeds the cat.

-------------- This cat story’s full detail was supposed to be in Aizen’s birthday event, but we’re probably not getting that in English (you can still get it in Japanese, because this story is unlockable by raising bond levels).

This comes before the route, so there’s minimal information in here to “save it for the actual route”. In short, Aizen was working hard studying so he can enter the military academy. He studies almost all day long, even forgetting to eat, and Mrs Ooyama had to remind him to not exert himself. One day he sees a cat wandering in the back garden, and Aizen starts feeding it every time it shows up.

Mrs Ooyama sees him doing that one day, and Aizen is in utter panic because he’s been doing this without asking permission, but she tells him it’s fine and he should just act like a normal kid. It’s fine to be “selfish” and want something for himself sometimes, because that’s just how kids are. He very seriously says “I’ll try”. He and baby Tatsu then play with the cat.

PS: Mrs. Ooyama considers Aizen like her real son, and the servants call him “young master” too, but the General don’t show up in this story. They’re saving it for the route.

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

Back to the story. While Mrs. Ooyama keeps MC company, Nachi is meeting with the others at Raccord. The warning from brother that MC shared is making everyone concerned, especially since they’re nowhere near finding Keijirou. Toto and Shizuki arrive, bringing the notes that Toto’s dad had provided.

(I’m annoyed that there’s so many random fillers, like there’s a bunch of lines that are just “...” and the ayakashi making shocked faces)

The dark ritual described in the notes say that someone on the verge of death can be saved in exchange for “blood”. Shizuki explains that blood means the other party had to die. For what it’s worth, this is actually what the Lord Taizan ritual actually is in real life onmyouji lore. It’s transferring the life force from person A to person B in order to extend person B’s life. In exchange, person A has to die. It’s just that in ARR-verse, they already used the name Lord Taizan for something that looks completely different in Dawn faction, they just called this “forbidden arts”.

Kuro says they must report this to Aizen immediately. Nachi is worried he won’t see them because it’s late at night, but Ouji says it’s probably fine.

... Ouji keeps doing this, and I thought initially that he knows something that the others don’t, but this is never explained, so I guess it’s just Ouji being positive and not because of some plot twist.

Aizen has a vision of the city in utter chaos. There's wraiths, possessed people, and wild ayakashi running around. No matter what he tried to do, things only got worse and the citizens are angry at the military for being useless. He heard MC exorcising wraiths, and followed her voice. When he approached her, she's suddenly accusing him of killing her. There's blood in his hands, and she’s dead. Then he wakes up.

He was distraught, but thinks to himself that it must have just been a nightmare.

Aizen: "I don't have that power anymore”

He has a short flashback of a woman cursing at his existence. This is something that is not explained either even to the end, quite honestly. We were never told if this is his mother, or just a terrified villager (remember, he said everyone in the village are scared of his power).

It’s already almost daybreak. He goes out of the office to freshen up before work and noticed that the lights in MC's room is still on. He was curious, but didn’t want to bother her. Eventually he decided to knock anyway.

MC: ???? You're still here? I thought you went home Aizen: I can't go home and leave you here alone

He reveals that he’s been staying in another room in the HQ. She then thanks him for the books, saying that she's so engrossed she forgot to go to bed. When he says you’re welcome, she thought there’s something about him that seems softer.

Talking in the doorway is awkward so she invites him in for tea. I’m surprised that at no point does either of them notice this is somewhat inappropriate (he’s in her bedroom, in the dead of the night), but oh well, we need to move the romance onward.

MC asked if there’s news about Keijirou, and unfortunately nothing yet. She then starts asking questions about spiritual powers because there’s nobody else she could talk to. She confides her frustration of having powers but unable to use them to do much, and Aizen asked her if she ever regrets having her powers because it only seems to bring her trouble.

She says no, because it’s what led her to meet all her ayakashi friends. She then asked Aizen when he found out about his powers, and he says it’s as long as he could remember. He’s always had been able to see wraiths too, and she thought it must have been scary seeing those things.

He then asked if she dreams things that become reality. She says not really. Only the dream about the ayakashi that she had, right before her powers manifested, and dreams about the past life.

Suddenly the lights go out and the windows frost over. Realizing that they’re under attack, Aizen summons youjin to protect MC, and goes outside to fight. As it turns out, it’s just Hisui alone with the feral ayakashi.

The Onikiri also comes running, but Hisui puts up ice walls and barricades herself and Aizen so that the Onikiri’s anti-ayakashi bullets can’t reach them. Suddenly lots of smoke comes out and Hisui becomes distracted. Aizen took a swipe at her, but she dodged and takes out the stone to look at it. At that point Aizen feels pain in his chest and falls over.

Hisui grabs Aizen and looked into his eyes. She starts laughing like crazy and taunts him about it, saying she’d explain what it was if he’d hand over the MC. He says no.

Just then the ayakashi team appear. Toichirou starts addressing Keijirou, and it turns out... that is not Hisui. That’s Keijirou using Hisui’s body.

I would like to point out that “Hisui” does talk differently than normal. For example, her normal self-pronoun is warawa (an archaic feminine “I”), while Keijirou-Hisui uses watashi, but I had assumed the Stone made her go insane and changed her personality. KeijiHisui says Hisui’s soul still technically lives in the body, he’s just the one predominantly in control of the body. KeijiHisui is outnumbered now that the ayakashi are here, and escapes. Aizen however looks like he’s got a heart attack, and passed out.

MC in her room is really worried. Then there’s a knock on her door, and she opens it to find Kuro and Ichijou. Kuro catches her up on what happened, while Ichijou is just there to guard. According to Kuro, Toto thinks that the piece of stone KeijiHisui had is not the missing third piece. It’s just a smaller fragment cut out of the one they retrieved previously.

There was another Aizen flashback. In the Ooyama household, a teen Aizen is studying, excited about joining the military academy. He recalls that he’s not been seeing the “creepy black things” lately and he’s feeling much better. There’s a dove taking flight outside the window, which momentarily caught his attention.

The general comes in, tells him his tutor said that he's doing very well. Aizen says he hasn't been seeing the creepy things anymore, so he was able to study better. Then the general starts mumbling about how it's pointless if he has no powers. When the general leaves, Aizen panics, and starts trying to find ways to bring his powers back.

(this will not be explained... again... Whether he actually did something to himself to manage to restore at least his Wraith vision, we don’t know. Maybe they’re still saving it for even later events or sequel)

Aizen wakes up in a room in the HQ. General Ooyama comes by and discusses the KeijiHisui attack. The general shows mild interest in the "body transfer magic" that Keijirou did, but didn’t pursue it. He instead talks about future plans to handle both the Senkitai and Keijirou. The general brings out Aizen’s notes. There were plans about preparing for the possibility of rioting citizens, and Aizen starts becoming nervous when the general asked why.

Aizen tries to answer by saying that it’s logical that when there’s danger, panicking citizens might become emotional and start to riot instead of cooperating with authorities. However, the general brings out the morning paper where it shows that some citizens have been seen trying to form vigilante bands becaus they’re dissatisfied by the police and military. Since this is news that only come out while Aizen is knocked out, the general asked if Aizen had saw a prophecy again because his plans seemed too oddly specific.

Aizen doesn’t answer, but visibly panics, so the General understood it as a yes. The general then tells Aizen to drop Keijirou for the time being and focus on the Senkitai. There aren't enough soldiers to take care of both at once. Aizen wants to at least assign soldiers to guard MC, but the general says no need. There's not enough manpower. Besides, if Aizen's power is restored, she's not necessary anymore.

General: if she's liability, then just get rid of her. It's too bad, but if one sacrifice can save the entire city, well, it's what must be done.

Aizen is mortified, but the general just says “You know what to do”, and then leaves.

Meanwhile, at the Senkitai base. Kagemaru has found out about the vigilante groups and how they’re even trying to arm themselves. He plans to incite them to riot, and fight each other so that it will be chaos in the streets. The mess will allow them to pursue the real target.

This proves that Aizen’s vision is indeed a vision.

In the morning, Aizen meets the MC and tells her he wants her to participate in the hunt for Keijirou. He shows her into his office (this is the Beside You card CG), and at that point the screen starts literally glitching. I actually thought my phone had an error here, but no, the glitch is part of the scene (which is really cool, WTF).

The scene becomes distorted, and past brother appears. He urgently tells MC "tell him to not get caught up in dreams, we all can change our destinies".

She wakes up. Before she could process that, Aizen knocked on her door for real. He gives her back the bell and asked her for help catching Keijirou. She thought that this is oddly similar to how it is in the dreams, but things soon start getting weird. He brings her outside, alone. There’s no Onikiri, none of her ayakashi friends. She tried to ask him, but he says they’re already waiting at a meeting spot.

They reach a forest and Aizen suddenly pulls a gun on her.

(I know this is meaningless to say this now that the full route dropped, but last month, the route just ended here with a message saying “the next part comes in September”. I don’t know why they do this)

Just as MC is about to ask why, a possessed random person wanders by. MC asked if Aizen would allow her to exorcize the man, but Aizen just casted the Kyuu Kyuu Nyo Ritsu Ryou spell, and it works.

(he doesn’t use the wand, MC has the wand, he just did that with his hand)

He looks very very conflicted for a second, but then goes back to villain mode and tells MC “If you want to be angry, hate your powers, and the past life that gave you that”. Then he actually pulled the trigger.

MC used the bell to create a barrier, and tried to ask why is he doing this. He tells her that she’s becoming a liability because Keijirou is targeting her. The army lacks manpower to keep her safe and fight off the Senkitai and Keijirou all at once. Since he now can also banish wraiths, they don’t really need her anymore.

She asked him how he did that, and he said he had the power all along. It disappeared temporarily, but now it’s “back”.

There was another flashback of little Aizen being chased by wraiths and possessed people. Since he didn’t know the Kyuu Kyuu spell before, the power always only manifested at the last minute, before the wraith kills him. So he had to constantly run around in fear from the wraiths, and it’s part of why he’s so indebted to General Ooyama for taking him in.

MC told him she understood the logic, but she tried to appeal to him, like “Do you really believe so as a person, not as the military”. She thought that he must’ve given her back the wand out of his conscience, so that she could protect herself. Otherwise she’d be dead already.

Aizen: "There is no such thing as "me" who isn't a soldier"

He also reveals his prophetic visions and tells her since he saw that he’d killed her in that vision, it means that this is the right decision (that’s why he’s not questioning the order, unlike how he stood up for Aki in Aki’s route). His visions has never been wrong before.

MC remembers how the brother had a message about how people can change their destiny/future, and not to be fixated on dreams. She realized this message is meant for Aizen and tries to tell him that. Unfortunately he’s not convinced enough by this.

The ayakashi team rush into the scene, also having been warned by brother, and protect her.

Aizen’s still doing the whole villain act. And this is why I mention Koga route, because he’s acting exactly the same as he did back then. I guess this is the staff trying to explain why he’s like that way back then, since I do think this is a question that everyone is wondering about.

Toto makes a flame barrier, but Aizen dispels it, shocking everyone. But they transform and tell him they’d fight him if he wants to harm MC. At that moment, the bell wand starts ringing persistently. Past brother appears.

(and if this is not obvious enough that this is Aizen, I don’t know what to say)

The vision/spirit says something to Aizen, and then goes inside him.

Aizen then sees a scene from the Heian era. He sees the past brother and his ayakashi friends, and he doesn’t get it until Gaku shows up. Then he realized that this is “the past life”.

Past!Brother's name is Harutoki.

They were talking how Harutoki’s sister is coming, but he had a vision of something really bad happening, and he wants his team to be around just in case. This is referring to the utter chaos of the curse that we see in the common route.

The scene shifts to the day where the bad thing is happening and everyone’s running amok killing each other. (for explanation why this is going in, read Aki’s route) Harutoki has found the source of the curse, which is a cursed gem. He’s nto able to dispel the curse. Past Toto offers to call their ayakashi group together to do it, but Harutoki says there’s no time and swallows the stone.

At this point Aizen is also experiencing pain in his chest, at the same time as Harutoki. He hears the enchantment of the curse, someone saying “Kill your family”. Harutoki then hands over the sword to Past Toto, asking to be killed before the curse also consumes him.

When the vision ends, Harutoki was saying to Aizen “Finally we meet, my other self”. He then wakes up to the MC looking at him in concern.

Gaku has a weird expression, and Aizen asks him if it’s because his powers are similar to Harutoki’s. Gaku says yes, and Aizen verbally confirms that Harutoki is his past life.

The reason why Gaku didn’t realize this whole time is because Aizen’s spiritual powers were weakened before. Gaku only finally noticed how the powers “felt” after it restored to full strength.

(I’m grumpy when there’s filler scenes of the ayakashi just standing around making shocked faces)

Shizuki asked Aizen how he knew that, and Aizen says Harutoki said so himself. At any rate, Aizen is still weak from whatever happened earlier, and so the ayakashi take MC and leave.

They discuss needing a new hiding place, since the army will be on their tail too. Toto says they should go to Koga’s. Because the army knows of their involvement, they can’t put her in places related to them (like Raccord or the twins’ shrine). The army won’t know Koga is involved since outwardly he’s just some guy, so they won’t immediately try to look there.

MC says she’s a bit concerned because Aizen looks like he was in terrible pain, but Toto is not having it. Past life or no, he doubts that Aizen will not still try to shoot her again or whatever. Kuro sympathizes with MC's feeling, but agrees with Toto because the situation is really shady. They don't know if there's more soldiers waiting for them. Ouji reassures her, "I'm sure you'll have a chance to talk again someday".

Meanwhile, even when the curse is reacting again and he can't even move, Aizen is still thinking "I'm failing my mission, I should chase them". He reflects on how Harutoki is determined to protect his sister at the cost of his own life. As a soldier what he wants to protect is this vague concept of "the nation" and "the people”. But as a person he doesn't have anything he holds dear that badly (or so he thinks, we can see that he cares for Tatsu and Mrs Ooyama).

He remembered Keijirou telling him that he’s going to die, thinks "If the general hadn't taken me in, I would've died without anyone knowing anyway... I just happen to die a bit later". So he decided to at least go after Keijirou if he’s dying anyway.

When they fought at the HQ, KeijiHisui had told of a meeting place to Aizen, so he goes there. KeijiHisui appears, and asks where is MC. Aizen says she’s not there. Seeing that Aizen is barely able to even stand, Keijirou taunts Aizen again, but tells him anyway that it’s a potent curse that’s been stewing for centuries. If the host body dies, the curse will release to the air infecting everyone nearby like a virus.

(I mean, it’s pretty obvious to us the viewer that it’s the cursed stone Harutoki swallowed, I wonder why Aizen didn’t immediately realize unless he was too much in pain to see what’s going on in the vision)

Keijirou says he knows how to undo the curse and wants MC in exchange, but Aizen doesn’t take the deal and starts attacking. However, there’s suddenly mysterious black smoke that came out and swallowed them both.

In the HQ, Ichijou reports to General Ooyama that Aizen is missing. The general puts Ichijou in charge for the time being, and ordered the Onikiri to prepare in acordance to Aizen’s notes. Then another soldier brings in Tatsu.

Tatsu is being assigned to go look for MC, precisely because they’re friends. I don’t know if the implication is that the General wants Tatsu to dupe MC into feeling safe and then nab her.

At Koga’s place, the guys discuss their next plan. Koga is fine with housing MC, but knows that he can only stall the military for so long. Toto is convinced they can grab Keijirou in the meantime. MC offers to be the bait to lure out Keijirou, and for plot purposes some reason everyone is fine with this despite objecting to MC wanting to check on the very-obviously-incapacitated Aizen earlier.

Like, sorry for rambling, but the ayakashi themselves are the ones who said human soldiers are no match for ayakashi, it would’ve been no issue even if Aizen had military backup. Not unless the General sent all the soldiers in the imperial army after them.

Kuya suggests that they bring in “the other bell’s contract” (the Dawn faction) just in case. Kuro will invite Gin, Gaku will invite Yura, and Ouji will go talk to Aoi.

The next morning, when MC wakes up she remembers Aizen and then wonders if Keijirou had done something to him to cause that reaction. She remembered he collapsed when Keijirou attacked the HQ. However, she thought that surely the army had picked him up. She briefly wondered if he’d be less sad if he had been the one to recover the wand’s contracts himself (as he is the reincarnation of their original master).

The ayakashi had decided to settle the score that same night, and the Dawn people had showed up. The Twilight faction ayakashi is avoiding making an appearance, but will come for the showdown later. However, while they were talking, Tatsu suddenly came knocking at the door. Koga is trying to make him go away, but he’s just shouting “MC I know you’re there”.

MC decided to trust Tatsu and let him in. Tatsu asked point blank if his dad is trying to have her killed. MC doesn’t answer, but Tatsu knew it’s a yes. He was being told to take her back for “protection”, but he thought that this is really shady, and doesn’t believe it.

He asked about Aizen, and MC is surprised he’s still gone. She doesn’t know either, and it’s all weird. Nobody in the military seemed to know where he went or what his last orders was. They could only assume it’s related to her since she also disappeared.

She shared what happpened, and Tatsu then says he’ll try to go look for Aizen instead. He reassured MC that Aizen likely didn’t do what he did out of evil intentions, and MC says she is also convinced he isn’t a bad person.

As he was leaving, MC tells Tatsu to tell Aizen she’d like for them to get to know each other more personally. Like talking about likes and dislikes, hobbies, that kind of thing, maybe over tea. It’s the Ho Ho Ho moment I was ragging on about before.

Tatsu noticed that MC likes Aizen but since she herself doesn’t seem to notice yet, he was just making :D faces about it.

He then says he knew his dad doesn’t trust him to follow orders properly, so he was being followed. However, since he knew that, he already got it covered by asking Toto to put fox magic on him so that the spies won’t see him go to Koga’s place.

MC asked if Toto told him about her being there. He says no. He’d gone to Toto’s place because the military had intel on the Twilight people (so they were right to not put her in an obvious place), but he knows about Koga from that one time.

After MC exorcized the wraith from dad in the game Prologue, in the Twilight continuity Toto and Koga carried him home. Tatsu saw them, and their excuse was that they were MC’s dad’s business partners, and dad got drunk during a dinner meeting. They had given him their real names then, and Tatsu just still remembered Koga. His address is not a secret place, so he just asked around for it.

Finally Tatsu leaves for real, and MC prepares to do their thing with the ayakashi. With all 10 guys of both contracts together, Yura says it’s just like 1000 years ago (minus “brother”, I guess). Still, when MC tried to call for Keijirou with her shikigami, it burst into flames and disappeared instead.

Everyone is confused. Shizuki suggested that maybe he's somewhere that cannot be reached by the shikigami. Kuro thought he might be near death again, but Toto says no, the forbidden arts should be able to heal him again. Since there’s nothing to be done, Koga suggest they go back and figure things out. At that moment, suddenly Nachi comes screaming about trouble in the city.

I wasn’t surprised when the next scene is Aizen in the Cursed Realm place (similar to that one you see when rescuing Yura and Gaku). Aizen wonders if he’s dead. He spotted the bell wand on the ground, and wonders about MC’s fate as well. He knew that the General would just send other people after her even if he’s not there.

The bell rings, and Harutoki appears again. He then explains about the curse properly. The curse really was the same one from 1000 years ago, and even after all this time it hasn’t been purified. The reason why his powers seems to have disappeared is because his spritual powers are concentrated to contain the curse (like an immune system), and so leaving him with none to freely use.

They don’t explain why he seemingly have managed to “recover” them enough to function. The bell wand increased his powers further so he can have visions and exrocize again, but the Stone of Destruction amplified the curse to the point of it hurting him. (if Aizen is already really powerful even when half of it is still fighting the curse, then how powerful is he if the curse is gone and he has full access of his powers? D:)

Harutoki reveals his visions of a bad future is also about the “present timeline” (so our current MC, not her past life), and he request Aizen to help him change it. Aizen is still insisting the future cannot change, but Harutoki points out that the future where he killed her was averted. He apologized for taking in the curse, because he wanted to save his sister, but ended up burdening his reincarnation. He reminds Aizen that “Your life is yours alone” and if Aizen doesn’t want to do what he requested, it’s alright with him. Harutoki adds that there is a way to break the curse, and after telling the method, he sends Aizen out of the Cursed World (we don’t see what the method is yet).

He was dropped in the middle of town where chaos is breaking loose, just like he had seen in his vision. Ichijou is handling the situation as written in the notes, and Aizen tells him it’s the right move and to keep going. MC and all the ayakashi show up, wanting to help. Aizen says this is just a distraction and the main aim is probably the HQ. The Onikiri and the other soldiers will handle downtown, and MC and the ayakashi agree to go with Aizen.

In HQ, Tatsu reports that he doesn’t find MC and the general doesn’t believe it. Tatsu is not having it, and then demands to know why it’s so necessary to kill her. The general says because it’s the best way to ensure that Keijirou don’t take her and use her powers.

(Aside: I really don’t understand why the General is so scared of Keijirou, despite knowing full well they have at least the Twilight faction ayakashi on their side. Keijirou is just one. Does he think that Keijirou is more powerful than all 5 of them? The general considered Keijirou separate threat from the Senkitai, so he doesn’t seem to think that Kagemaru and Keijirou might team up again to snatch MC. This makes no sense)

Tatsu is not having any of this, and says he will go find Aizen and ask him what he really thinks. The General says Aizen knows the importance of the greater good and would not let his personal feelings get in the way. Suddenly the lights go out and Kagemaru appears.

Kagemaru: There’s a riot in town, yanno, why are you still here bickering? Either you’ve got too much time on your hands or you’re a coward.

In front of the HQ, Aizen and MC arrive with the ayakashi in tow, and they find the Senkitai. The youjin have been deployed to fight them off. The ayakashi did this whole sequence of Super Sentai transformation, LMAO. Like, one by one they go POOF *transform to battle mode* and then say a witty one-liner. It’s really like watching the final battle of a massive Super Sentai team up.

(in my original live react, when each ayakashi show up I call them rangers, like “Red Ranger transform, Koga!", "Green Ranger transform, Yura!”, just to be funny, but I think that would clog up space here)

This is such filler because it’s 10 lines of dialogue just them saying witty things.

Shizuki freezes the Senkitai and the feral ayakashi to the ground, but Akiyasu appears to dispel the ice.

Scene cuts to “a few moments earlier”, where Yakumo is visiting the HQ to visit the General. Some Senkitai members try to attack him, but he blasted them aside (you know, reading Yakumo’s route I always thought he used super strength to punch people, but he just did Kamehameha and make them go flying). He looks out the window, and sees MC fighting the Senkitai. He says “I won’t let you hurt my doll”, and did something to one of the fallen Senkitai members.

Outside, Aki is fighting Aizen. Aki says how unforgivable it is for the army to keep onmyouji on hand, and yet they killed his father (for Aki’s dad situation, more details in Aki’s route, but yeah, the game doesn’t explain what the general wanted with Aizen’s powers). They were however interrupted by a Senkitai member saying that Kagemaru wants the MC.

Oboro is suspicious, but the other Senkitai guy insisted so Oboro just shrugs and okays it. Aizen is not letting MC leave alone and also insist on coming along. Oboro doesn’t care. Aki protested, but Oboro’s reason is that if Kagemaru says so they can’t question it.

And of course it’s obviously completely nonsense. Once they got in, the Senkitai member suddenly start screaming in pain and faints. Aizen recognized hypnotism/manipulation (we saw it’s clearly Yakumo’s doing), but he doesn’t know who did it. At any rate, as they head towards the General’s office Aizen tells MC to stay back. Exorcizing wraiths is one thing, but she doesn’t have fighting abilities to fight the Senkitai chief.

(it would be more convincing if Aizen is not himself about to fall over)

Aizen: As you can see I can't protect you if anything goes wrong MC: Why are you so considerate of me now? Aizen: I'm not, I'm telling you to stay back so you won't be a hindrance

MC is not having it and says she’s helping him, and won’t let him refuse. At that moment there’s gunshots from the general’s office, so MC helps Aizen walk there (honestly what good does he expect to do if he can’t even stand properly).

In the office, the general calls youjins to get Kagemaru, who easily subdues them in his webs. Kage reveals the youjin “secret” to Tatsu, about how they’re human-ayakashi hybrids. Tatsu in confused and horrified, but the general tells Kagemaru that killing just him won't do anything.

Kage says he knows, and he already orchestrated attacks on all military outposts all over the country. He offers to call off the attack in exchange for info about the medicine that’s vital in youjin creation. Of course the general won’t answer, saying that there’s nothing to be done even if the Senkitai knows what it is (for answer, Yakumo route).

The general tells the youjin to fight back and Tatsu also tries to fight Kagemaru, but Kage retaliates with poisonous webs. The general saved Tatsu and shoots Kage (the gunshots Aizen and MC heard).

When Aizen and MC arrived, the youjin are completely bundled in web and the general has collapsed from poison. At that moment, the windows suddenly frosted over again KeijiHisui burst in looking for Aizen. When the cursed dimension “ate them” earlier, somehow KeijiHisui also got infected by the curse.

Kagemaru tells KeijiHisui that the Stone’s power is not going to last long, and once it’s done, “Keijirou” would die. I’m not entirely sure if Kage means just Keijirou, or if Hisui’s body will die with him since Keijirou claims that Hisui actually is still in the body too. He’s just using the Stone’s power to hitch a ride on her.

Keijirou reminds Aizen that his curse will infect the whole city if he dies. Aizen says it’s fine, because he knows how to break it. Keijirou then attacks Aizen to kill him before he can dispel the curse. MC uses her bell to deflect KeijiHisui’s ice. Realizing she’s there, KeijiHisui creates smoke from the Stone to grab her, but Aizen shielded her from the smoke.

KeijiHisui calls Aizen stupid for taking the hit, because it will make his curse worse. Tatsu picked up his father’s gun and shot KeijiHisui. Kagemaru poison-webbed KeijiHisui and Aizen follows through by stabbing him (her? them?). Kagemaru’s excuse for “helping” is that Keijirou is making him look bad as the Senkitai leader.

KeijiHisui explodes and Kagemaru leaves. The whole building then starts exploding. Tatsu and MC had to help the general and Aizen move, but when they head out, rubble suddeny falls and block their way.

Yakumo returns, telling them he’d been trying to dismantle the explosives but there were too many of them to take care of. He clears out the rubble and takes over carrying Aizen, and they all run out of the building.

Outside, the Senkitai start escaping the the building exploded. The ayakashi tried to stop them, but they got away. Nachi is worried and want to look for MC, but shortly after MC comes out with the rest in tow. Yura looks at the general and says that there’s no hope in saving him, but Aizen insisted on saving him at all cost. Something about how his leadership is still needed

(... I really don’t know why the plot is insisting that the general is not that bad, and it’s not even because of history because the writers says the General Ooyama of the story is not a representative of the real life General Ooyama, but... well...)

Aizen turns to ask Yakumo for help. Yakumo says are you sure you know what you’re doing, but eventually agrees to help. Once that is settled, Aizen tells MC and the ayakashi squad to help clean up the town, and he says he is staying behind. MC is worried but Aizen insist that he's fine and he’ll be right behind.

MC is still worried even after they reach the city, and the ayakashi are noticing that she keeps looking for Aizen. Toto then tells her she can go look for him. The ayakashi can take care of the wraiths.

Aizen, as it turns out, didn’t follow the team to the city. He’s gone off to a forest. He takes mental inventory of the affairs in the future. The general can have Tatsu’s support, and MC and her ayakashi friends can help the Onikiri to guard the city. He thinks of the method of dispelling the curse that Harutoki told him, and he’s still not certain about it, but he’s determined to do something before he dies from the curse and let it spread. He remembers the MC telling him that he genuinely cares for the people, and not just doing all he did out of duty, and he thinks that he’s only now realized she’s actually right. He then readies the anti-ayakashi bullets and points it at himself...

And then the MC appears and stops him. She tells him surely there’s other ways for whatever it is he’s trying to do. She’ll help him. He says this time there is no other way. Harutoki had said that to remove the curse, it needs the cost of a life and spiritual power. After thinking for a while, MC thought that the spiritual power is an equal weight of a life, so she offers her powers to fulfill the requirement of “life”.

Aizen won’t let her, because she had told him she was grateful of her powers. He doesn’t want her to do this, because she would have to give up all of it. MC realized that he knew it this whole time, but instead of asking her for that, he chose to just sacrifice his own life. She tells him that losing her powers won’t mean that she’d lose her friends, and she doesn’t want him to die, and starts crying.

He says he doesn’t want to make her cry. She responds that she’ll cry more if he dies.

Then he accepts her offer. They insert their powers together into Aizen sword, and he stabs himself with it.

There was a burst of bright light, and MC sees of a vision of their past life. Back when they were still kids living together, before her past life had to leave her family and live in a separate location.

When the vision fades, MC sees that Aizen is not moving. She’s afraid that he still ended up dead, and she desperately calls him while shaking him. After some time he responds “I can hear”, and opens his eyes. She hugged him in relief. He was surprised, but hugs her back.

(despite everything, I doubt I’m allowed to post CGs, so I did a “bootleg” redraw of the CG... TT_TT)

He reveals to her that Harutoki foresaw her death (as in, current MC, not past MC), and requested Aizen to prevent it. However, he tells her what he’s doing is because he doesn’t want to see her hurt, and it’s his own will. Not because of Harutoki’s request.

Epilogue:

Some time later, the big riot has been cleaned up and the news says the riot is caused by “anti-government group”, which is not a wrong description of the Senkitai. Just minus the supernatural stuff. Since everything is fine so far, patrolling is stopped.

MC is hanging out at Raccord with Kuro, the twins, and Ouji. Yura asked about General Ooyama, and it turns out he has somehow been “saved”, though not much detail is given. (please tell me he’s still human at least, I’m scared D:)

Kuro wonders how Aizen is doing, since they’ve not seen him for a while now that patrols have been halted. MC says she’s been invited by Mrs Ooyama for dinner, so she said she’ll ask.

Toto has gone back home to the village to report about the Keijirou matter. MC is a bit concerned that his tail still hasn’t been fixed, but Toto says they got what they need for the time being so the tail can wait.

(I’m curious what would they need to do to fix Toto’s ninth tail, though...Do they have to summon Harutoki’s ghost again to ask?)

When MC leaves Raccord, she thinks that she’d got to eventually tell the squad that she doesn’t have powers anymore. She can’t even make shikigami anymore. Just then a carriage rolls by. It’s Aizen. He offers her a ride because he’s also going to that dinner with Tatsu and mum.

He asked her about her powers, and she confirms it’s still gone, but she reassured him that she doesn’t regret it one bit. Aizen then thanks her and her friends for everything they helped with, and since the army is still focusing on repairing the damage, there will be no more patrols in the foreseeable future.

MC is a bit sad that she can’t see him, but just as she was about to respond, he tells her he’ll be missing her. MC wasn’t sure he meant anything special by it, but was still happy. He then invites her to have tea, and MC made such a shocked reaction that Aizen totally got nervous.

Aizen: “If that bothers you it’s alright.”

Tatsu had really delivered that message she told him, and Aizen thinks it’s not a bad idea so. And MC remembered what she told Tatsu, then she starts panicking too because that was embarrassing. He tells her she doesn’t have to accept, but she quickly tells him yes.

She asked if she can still meet him sometimes, and he was surprised but also says yes.

He then shows her a talisman and asked her to try making shikigami. He says even if Harutoki said her powers would disappear, they have to test it just to be sure. She gave it a try, and it worked. Aizen tells her that he still had some power remaining to make shikigami, so he wanted her to try too (the talisman is a power amplifier, I guess?). He thinks that their power were just temporarily drained, but not gone.

She thought that it makes sense, because if it’s really gone, Gaku and Yura would’ve noticed. He tells her he’s glad, because even though she was willing to give it up, it would hurt him if she truly lost something that she cherished because of him. He mentions he was also still somewhat worried that Harutoki’s prophetic vision of MC dying has not been averted yet. They now know they can change the prophecied events, but since the details is unclear it sill might be something that hasn’t happened yet.

He tells her he doesn’t want a future without her in it, so he will stop that no matter what. Not because of anyone else, but because it’s his own will. Being told this, MC couldn’t help herself and confessed her love for him.

He responds with, “You are important and dear to me, and this is my own feelings as well.”

The End

(no, there is no sonnets... yet...)

Last note: I try to make mention of issues that were not addressed by the plot, because there really is so many questions, but it’s just not explained. Hopefully I noted them all. This also feels weirdly like a product placement for other routes, but yeah, there are also issues that are explained in other routes because it’s not important here.

Feel free to ask if something’s not clear anyway.

Additional thoughts: Not sure if this is why/how this route is conceived, but there is a certain Japanese lore that says if a star-crossed couple died together, they will reincarnate as twins. And this route is, like, an oddly backwards version of it (born as twins first, reincarnates as romantic couple). Maybe that was why writing process was delayed, due to the... awkward setting of the scenario.

I have to mention again that Aizen was planned from the start. He was only revealed to be a proper suitor a bit later, but the staff created him to be a suitor from the start (he’s got live2D animation, they won’t bother with NPCs).

#Aizen Route #ayakashi koi meguri #ayakoi #ayakoi spoiler #ayakashirr #ayakashi romance reborn

94 notes · View notes

hawkmothmoon · 6 months

Text

So my first play through of BG3 was done on easy mode (first time playing a D&D game) to get a feel for it. Next one I’ll go to normal mode.

I played as a high elf sorcerer, with wild magic subclass for most of the game; at the end I respec’d to the weather magic one (tempest?) which I think was the right choice.

Next play through… maybe a Drow or Tiefling? I REALLY love using magic but also like using all the different arrows. So maybe Paladin or Cleric. I dunno! I wanna have high charisma so I can persuade people to not fight me or to give me stuff lol

FULL POST BELOW

Karlach and Astarion were easily my favorite characters/storylines, although each character had a fantastic story. Their voice actors did a wonderful job.

I loved how consent and bodily autonomy and choice were such prevalent themes from the very start. You go under the violation of having a fuckin alien tadpole go into your brain, and then can choose whether to fight against it or go along with it.

Karlach was obviously not a child soldier, but she was kidnapped and pulled into a war against her choosing, enslaved and forced to fight. She’s got a ticking time bomb in her chest. She’s been through hell, both literally and figuratively, and still remains one of the most empathetic and optimistic characters in the game. I loved when she got her engine tuned up and was able to give and receive hugs for the first time in a DECADE. And when she confronted Gortash, you could hear the agony and fury in her voice when she tells the group she was in denial that he could have betrayed her. The motherfucker was her mentor and then threw her to the wolves. Samantha Béart, I want to hug you!

At the end, my character convinced her to join Wyll and return to Hell with him. Idk it felt like if she had a friend with her (and also we had killed Raphael and Hope had taken over the House of Hope) like they could make a difference.

I’m a basic goth bitch so I love a vampire. 😭 that being said… there’s plenty of tropes and rehashed storylines about vampires. So when reading a bit about the game via all the gorgeous fanart posts I saw (which is what got me to buy the game!) and people were like “no seriously this is a REALLY great vampire character” I was curious.

First off Neil Newbon has such a DELIGHTFULLY FANCY voice. He brought so much to this character: the snark, the flirting, and the eventual vulnerability when he reveals the deep wounds on his psyche.

Seeing the “promiscuous sex-loving vampire” trope shifted to “this is a guy who had to use sex to lure victims back to his vampire master and probably had to seduce some pretty gnarly characters but he had no choice because he’d be locked alone in darkness for a year if he didn’t” was… something. Again, Neil’s voice really brought his backstory to life: the fear, the uncertainty, the growing desire to be with Tav while grappling with their many traumas regarding intimacy. It was powerful.

And when he finally confronts Cazador, I chose to stay silent and let Astarion do all the dialogue. In typical abuser fashion Cazador berates and antagonizes, then puts him in the magic binding circle thingy (side note that fight was fuckin HARD and getting yeeted off the platform sucked 😬). I then went with the option to kill Cazador and release the spawn. I loved the dialogue where he brutally murders him, but realizes he’s stopped the cycle and never has to fear him again and could be different than him was wonderful.

Finally, the scene in the graveyard was just super sweet where he acknowledges that the person he was is dead, but he’s ready to begin living.

I loved the humorous banter amongst all the characters. I haven’t played the first two games so I didn’t have familiarity with Jaheira and Minsc/Boo, the latter of whom became one of my favorites.

I definitely feel like I’ve got a much better understanding of the game mechanics now! I’ll be playing it on computer next (played it on PS5).

Anyway here’s some of my game shots. The cheese scene will never not be funny to me.

FINAL RANDOM THOUGHTS:

- for my next playthrough I might want to do the cheat thing where you kill Karlach to get the armor, then revive her and have her join the party; and the cheat where you knock out Minthara to go save the druids and then save her and add her to your party later

- Orin was a really cool villain. She was creepy as fuck. Please dont ask me how many times she bamboozled me with her shape shifting, it’s embarrassing

- those little bombs you can buy anywhere are actually super helpful during fights

- I nuked that dragon with the little bombs lmao

- being able to fly or misty step is VERY helpful

- I do NOT want to fuck the tentacle emperor or a bear but you know what I’m glad the monster fuckers have options, you do you!!!

- I should probably get the eyeball from Volo because the “shroud self” assassin guys are annoying as fuck

- people made it sound like when Orin kidnaps your companion that you have to do it within a certain amount of time or they’ll DIE but I don’t think that’s the case? I got a whole bunch of shit done while Lae’zel was in the crypt.

- ngl I thought Shadowheart was super annoying for like a third of the game, she sounds like she would be even worse if she chose the Shar path

- being able to throw buckets of grease at enemies? HILARIOUS

- enemies (and your party and yourself) slipping on ice or grease and falling over and just lying on their backs staring at the sky? ALSO HILARIOUS

- wild magic sounds cool but tbh it ended up being more trouble than it was worth, although the first time you turn your entire party into cats or sheep is very funny

- also if you wild magic and it turns all your enemies into cats and dogs and they’re low enough health that you can take them out in one shot they don’t change back so it just looks like you carried out a massacre at an animal shelter

- okay what was the deal with that goth dude who was a necromancer in the shadow lands? He felt like he was maybe important but then he disappeared after I got that journal for him

- the fairy in the lantern was very funny

- Zara the mummy seems like she’d be fun to have in the party

- those displacer leopard things are cool as heck

- Mizora was so comically terrible, love her

- owlbear cub!!!!!

#baldurs gate 3 spoilers #baldurs gate #bg3 #Baldurs gate 3 #Astarion #karlach #Mizora #shadowheart

18 notes · View notes

sokumotanaka · 2 years

Text

my thoughts on the new pokemon direct (they might come off as negative i’m sorry)

now please note, as a long time fan of the franchise, i’ve found myself growing disappointed more and more with the games since the release of pokemon sword and shield. Pokemon X and Y fine, Sun and Moon? Awesome. All the games before the jump to 3D? Addicting as hell. But I was hugely disappointed by how empty Sword and Shield in comparison to its predecessors. In other words, I’m kinda looking at this stuff through the opposite of rose-tinted glasses.

I think my biggest issue right now is the recurring theme of gigs each of the new generations has been adding that never make a return in later games. In Gen Six, it was Mega-evolutions. Gen 7? Z-moves. Gen 8? Gigantimaxing. And now Gen 9, it’s crystal pokemon I guess. Brought to you by Swarvoski!

I get that Game Freak is coming up with ways to try and change up things on the battlefield and bring old players back, but I’m also kind of wishing they’d keep some of those gigs back in (particularly Z-moves, since it’s way more equal than say mega evolutions that are given to already powerful pokemon and not the ones that actually need it. Dunspacre, kecleon, smeergle, luckitung and girffarig are three pokes that come to mind that could use any sort of buff to be viable ) Gigantimaxing I can do without , but idk, I’m having mixed feelings / thoughts about the Terastal Phenomenon.

I don’t wanna come off as a negative nancy about the new stuff, I just generally try not to keep my hopes up since Game Freak has really been cutting corners and shit in my eyes.

I’m also on the fence about the designs of Miraidon and Koraidon. I’m thinking I might get Violet because I think Miraidon’s design flows a bit better. I love Koraidon’s prehistoric vibe but for some reason I’m bothered by the fact that the wheels on its body don’t move as it runs-- Also I bet ten bucks that Clavell is gonna be the villain. He just looks like the type of guy who is exploiting the school for his own gain and I’m very suspicious about this “Treasure Hunt.”

Things I like though, because there are definitely things.

FUCKING FINALLY MULTIPLAYER .As long as the game is balanced enough that a player can either do singleplayer or multiplayer without much change, I’m kosher with this. I’ve always liked the tropes in the Pokemon anime where trainers travel together and form little posses, and I’m down to do that with some of my own friends online.

Apparently, it’s gonna be fully open world. No linear paths, no broken up map sections, no individual Wild Areas, completely Open World. I’m both excited and nervous, because the graphics look like a huge improvement from SWSH and Legends Arceus, but there’s both so much and so little you could do with Open World. My biggest fear is that it’ll be a largely empty environment, with very little to do besides capture wild pokemon. BoTW pulls off the Open World aesthetic wise, but unlike most people; I kinda feel like BOTW has alot of issues with it's world feeling very empty; and that's the point. You're exploring the world after a massive tragedy that left the world largely ravaged and empty.But even after 100 or 200 years, there's no signs of reclaiming things.

sometimes you'll see an NPC and talk to them and they could be a normal person or a yiga clan member. But for the most part it's link alone.I also had issues with how weird they treat the world's races capital towns, being as small as villages. Like Gerudo town feels so small and this is suppose to be their origin point, there's multiple hylian towns but there's not other zora domains, no places built on islands or under water falls or near the ocean? I digress; my point is that BOTW could of worked better to make the world feel alive, even skyrim has several random encounters with NPCS and stuff and yeah they recycle them but seeing my companions run around slaying monsters, or the cannibal club noticing your ring and giving you a wink or seeing other thieves wander around etc made it feel like; you're not the only one out there.

And Game Freak has all the money and power to make something great with an open world setting. The question is, will they? I can’t speak with confidence given their recent entries.

I also want to say I like that you can do more than just the gym challenge this time around; personally I never got why they think this is brand new? All pokemon games give you minigames and gimmicks each region, and the motto for pokemon used to be “gotta catch them all and battles” so I’ll never get someone popping in a pokemon game going “Yeah but can I not do the gym challenge? You might as well play a different game at that point. That being said I’m also not against it, I just don’t fully understand it.

More regional forms always get a plus from me, I love seeing old pokemon get new spins. Love that Wooper. That’s a good Wooper. I just hope we get more regional forms for pokemon outside gen one and not another fucking charizard form!

Oh and it seems you’ll be building a bond with the legendary mascot of each game since you get to ride that thing everywhere, that’ll be fun.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet #pokemon violet #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet & violet #pokemon scarlet and violet #pkmn sv #personal takes

2 notes · View notes

batmanisagatewaydrug · 2 years

Text

fresh reads TUESDAY breaking news: what is Drake reading?

hi everybody, in a pretty marked departure from how I usually run this blog I'm about to do something silly. twitter has informed me that Canadian rapper Aubrey Graham, aka Drake, best known for work such as "Degrassi," has posted a picture on instagram consisting of a thick stack of very buzzy books, on top of which he has perched a shoe that presumably costs more than my student loans, house, and life.

naturally, I am now unable to rest until I tell you, dear readers, exactly what Drake is (allegedly) reading. (no shade, I just firmly believe most celebrities are illiterate.)

(starting from the top:

From Paradise, Hanya Yanagihara (2022):

In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him—and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances. (x)

this book featured prominently on pretty much every "most anticipated releases of 2022" this year, which was wild to me since I had never heard of Yanagihara prior to that. however, I'm told by reliable sources (every reviewer on twitter and youtube) that her work tends to be emotionally devastating and absolutely gorgeous, so good for her! that's way too many pages for me personally, but I hope Drake has fun.

Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield (2022)

Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. To have the woman she loves back should mean a return to normal life, but Miri can feel Leah slipping from her grasp. Memories of what they had before – the jokes they shared, the films they watched, all the small things that made Leah hers – only remind Miri of what she stands to lose. Living in the same space but suddenly separate, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had might be gone. (x)

y'all know that if there are two things I love it's queer women and the ocean being creepy, so this is an absolutely perfect intersection of my interests. this book literally just dropped last month and I am pissing, shitting, crying, etc that Drake got his hands on it before me.

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, Maddie Mortimer (2022)

Lia, her husband Harry, and their beloved daughter, Iris, are a precisely balanced family of three. With Iris struggling to navigate the social tightrope of early adolescence, their tender home is a much-needed refuge. But when a sudden diagnosis threatens to derail each of their lives, the secrets of Lia’s past come rushing into the present, and the world around them begins to transform. Deftly guided through time, we discover the people who shaped Lia’s youth; from her deeply religious mother to her troubled first love. In turn, each will take their place in the shifting landscape of Lia’s body; at the center of which dances a gleeful narrator, learning her life from the inside, growing more emboldened by the day. (x)

hipster points for this one: it's the first on the list I haven't heard of, and it won't even be released until JUNE.

Young Mungo, Douglas Stewart (2022)

Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in the hyper-masculine and violently sectarian world of Glasgow's housing estates. They should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they find themselves falling in love, they dream of escaping the grey city, and Mungo works especially hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his elder brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold.

But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. When Mungo's mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. (x)

another book not actually available to the general public yet; this one doesn't drop until April. anyways, I am ALWAYS saying I wish more queer romance started with pigeons.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1932)

Hundreds of years in the future, the World Controllers have created an ideal civilization. Its members, shaped by genetic engineering and behavioral conditioning, are productive and content in roles they have been assigned at conception. Government-sanctioned drugs and recreational sex ensure that everyone is a happy, unquestioning consumer; messy emotions have been anesthetized and private attachments are considered obscene. Only Bernard Marx is discontented, developing an unnatural desire for solitude and a distaste for compulsory promiscuity. When he brings back a young man from one of the few remaining Savage Reservations, where the old unenlightened ways still continue, he unleashes a dramatic clash of cultures that will force him to consider whether freedom, dignity, and individuality are worth suffering for. (x)

just in case you weren't aware of one of the most talked-about works of English science fiction in the world, there you go.

Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder (2021)

An ambitious mother puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son, but the experience does not match her imagination. Two years later, she steps into the bathroom for a break from her toddler's demands, only to discover a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. In the mirror, her canines suddenly look sharper than she remembers. Her husband, who travels for work five days a week, casually dismisses her fears from faraway hotel rooms.

As the mother's symptoms intensify, and her temptation to give into her new dog impulses peak, she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Seeking a cure at the library, she discovers the mysterious academic tome which becomes her bible, "A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography," and meets a group of mommies involved in a multi-level-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem. (x)

this was one of the most exciting drops of 2021 to me; don't let the fact that I haven't actually read it yet fool you. it's (metaphorically) very high on the list.

Tin Man, Sarah Winman (2019)

Ellis and Michael are twelve-year-old boys when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more.

But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question: What happened in the years between? (x)

I'm sure there's something smart to say about this novel but the whole time I was assembling this blurb I was just thinking about how delightful it is that the title rhymes with the author's name. anyway if you follow that link you can get a VERY reasonably priced paperback copy on bookshop dot org right now.

The Promise, Damon Galgut (2021)

Haunted by an unmet promise, the Swart family loses touch after the death of their matriarch. Adrift, the lives of the three siblings move separately through the uncharted waters of South Africa; Anton, the golden boy who bitterly resents his life's unfulfilled potential; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the youngest, Amor, whose life is shaped by a nebulous feeling of guilt.

Reunited by four funerals over three decades, the dwindling family reflects the atmosphere of its country--one of resentment, renewal, and, ultimately, hope. The Promise is an epic drama that unfurls against the unrelenting march of national history, sure to please current fans and attract many new ones. (x)

I have literally nothing to say about this. we sure do love a messy family drama in literary fiction, don't we?

This One Sky Day, Leone Ross (2021)

Set in a fictional archipelago called Popisho, where goats are jealous, gods are mischievous, vulvas drop off unexpectedly and everyone is a tiny bit bored with magic, the novel spans a single day.

A man and a woman, once in love, are walking across the islands towards each other. Xavier Pere, 39 is a master chef, the illegitimate son of a god, formerly addicted to hallucinogenic moths, mourning the death of his wife and forced by a corrupt governor to travel the land, seeking ingredients for the most romantic meal in the world. The female lead is Anise Latibeaudearre, 35, recovering from the loss of her fourth stillborn child. She is investigating a rumour that her husband has made his mistress pregnant.

Xavier and Anise will meet a variety of people throughout the novel: for Xavier, most important will be a paternal connection with a young, indigent graffiti artist called Romanza, who knows a lie when he hears one - and helps him as he struggles not to relapse into moth addiction. For Anise, it will be spending time with other women in a whorehouse. (x)

wow wow wow HELLO? I need to know everything about this world immediately, especially the hallucinogenic moth addiction and the people whose vulvas are just falling off! this is the wildest book in the bunch by far, and feels like a real tasty payoff for working my way all the way to the bottom of the list like this.

#bookblr #fresh reads friday #i mean it's not but you know. do it for the brand.

64 notes · View notes

whereisten · 4 years

Photo

Promises

“I make no promises, I can't do golden rings, but I'll give you everything tonight”

Pairing: Mafia Leader!Jaehyun x female reader (cafe owner)

Genre: Friends to lovers au, fluff, smut and angst at the end I’m sorry :(

Warnings: shower sex, unprotected sex, slight choking kink, slight innocence/corruption kink, oral sex (male receiving), brief mention of violent attack towards the end

Word Count: 3k

((A/N: this is a short fic inspired by the song “Promises” by Calvin Harris & Sam Smith. I’ve been obsessed with it for a while now so I hope you enjoy!!!!))

——————

“Why do you always come to me when you’re bruised and beat the hell up?” You rushed you your bathroom to grab your first aid kit.

“And now, you’re bleeding all over my floor..damn it Jaehyun!”

Jaehyun only gave you a half smile as he watched you walk back and forth while flailing your arms in the air. He sat on the couch and held his stomach while breathing heavily.

“Last time I checked, I don’t have a son that’s a gang leader! Why don’t you go to your mom’s house?”

You sat down beside him with a bowl of warm water and a cloth to wipe his bloody mouth.

Jaehyun was just a man that frequented the coffee shop your worked at. He liked looking at you while he sipped his coffee at the table in the corner, you were the calmest thing his eyes saw in his chaotic world. He was quite nervous to speak to you, and as the leader of a mafia, he wasn’t sure why.

But just a few months ago, he finally mustered up the courage to speak to you.

The two of you grew relatively close. He stayed with you when you closed the cafe by yourself, making sure no creeps followed you home, but he also just wanted to talk with you.

Something about you made him feel..happy.

You weren’t like everyone else in his life, you didn’t have any experience with crime and you sure as hell didn’t want any, but despite learning about who Jaehyun really was, you still stuck around.

You didn’t push him away, you only asked that he make sure to not bring that mess in the shop. You were also interested in him.

The two of you talked about movies, music, food, virtually anything. You clicked like you had been friends for years.

Jaehyun was somewhat satisfied with being your friend, but he knew he needed more. He felt a tinge of jealousy when he watched you smile with other customers. Your eyes crinkling at the sides as you laughed. Your voice was soothing, heavenly even. In a cruel world like this, not everyone deserved to share a space with you, he thought.

Oh and the twinkle in your eyes when you got excited about perfectly baked and iced cupcakes. He loved it. He loved everything you did a little too much.

A clear sign to him that he was too far gone. But what would happen if he asked you to date him? Would you say yes or would you say no and would the friendship be ruined?

“Jaehyun...when are you gonna protect this handsome face of yours?”

You asked while delicately wiping the blood from his face away. It has trickled down his neck, covering his intimidating demon neck tattoo in the process.

Your sweet voice disrupted his thoughts as he looked back at your worried face.

You were close to him, lips just centimeters away from each other.

Should he close the distance? No, that’s creepy. And what about his hands? Can he touch your back? No, definitely creepy.

Jaehyun was a murderer and criminal, but a creep he was not.

And almost as if you hear his thoughts run wild because of your close proximity to him, you look up with those large doe eyes and lock them with his. Your chest is stuck in place, you lick your lips, but quickly shift your attention away from his eyes and look to his neck.

Your hand stops moving and Jaehyun’s mouth opens slightly as if he’s about to tell you to keep touching him.

But instead, he apologizes.

“I’m-I’m sorry for always coming to you like this..”

He sounds genuine and your heart drops at how soft his voice sounds.

“Jaehyun..can you..kiss me?” You let out quietly without actually thinking it through.

Jaehyun’s eyes widen and he moves forward without hesitation.

Your lips finally lock as the cloth slowly drops out of your hand.

Jaehyun holds you close, pressing his palm into your back while you roll your body into his, gently pushing him into the couch more.

He looked amazing in his tight black t-shirt and you had to admit, you just wanted to feel his body on yours. His eyes were always dark and tempting as they watched you, tracing over your figure whenever you reached up high for something in the bakery.

He was a typical bad boy, irresistible, sexy, and dangerous. But Jaehyun has only showed you kindness. He was a normal person, besides the life of crime he lived.

Jaehyun takes your limp and awkward arms and wraps them around his neck while you kiss. Contrary to his rough look (created by the scary tattoos and black attire he had), Jaehyun was incredibly soft, delicately pressing his fingers in your back to massage it. His mouth caressed yours slowly, passionately but still yearningly.

He closed his eyes first, turning his head so his tongue could dance with yours.

Your hands ran down his chest tenderly as the sounds of labored breathing and quiet moaning filled the apartment.

“Jaehyun..” you whisper, asking for more without actually posing the question.

You bite your lips and look at his eyes. You take his hands and intertwine your fingers with them.

He breathes heavily and watches your lips.

You bring his hands under your oversized T shirt and take in a sharp breath when you feel his cold fingers on the sensitive skin below your breasts.

Jaehyun doesn’t know if he’s lightheaded from the blood loss or the fact that he’s finally touching you.

You still hold his hands, bringing them to your breasts and moaning once you feel his large, calloused and bruised hands on you.

Your head falls back and Jaehyun immediately leans forward and lays sloppy kisses on your neck, his hands now kneading into your breasts and palming the hard tips.

Your hand reaches down to his jeans now, patting the bulge in them gently.

Jaehyun bucks into your hand on instinct and nips your neck. You cry out, but he then holds your throat, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Jaehyun nearly screams when you look down at him through your lashes. His tongues darts out over his swollen lips as he blinks rapidly. He wants to take you but the dealings of earlier have made him sweaty and dirty, and being a nasty man for you just isn’t what he wants. So he thinks of the perfect way to please you.

You’re about to question why he stopped, but then he smirks.

“Bathroom. Where’s your bathroom?”

————

Your hand flings against the light switch as your two bodies stumble into the bathroom.

Your lips are locked as Jaehyun takes and moans that you have for him. Your bodies are hot and needy, you’ve teased each other enough already and are both in need of release.

You and Jaehyun help each other strip down completely naked before getting into the shower.

Jaehyun presses you into the chilly wall of the shower, your shoulder blades feeling attacked instantly. But his luscious lips on yours make you forget the pain soon enough.

You squeeze some body wash onto your hands and coat Jaehyun’s body with it, slowly caressing his sculpted body while he groans. Your touch drives him crazy. “Fuck..” he mutters our as your hand runs over the silky skin of his pelvis, so close to his hard member, but not close enough.

The hot water decorates your bodies and only adds to the heat between the two of you. Soon the steam builds up in the bathroom and you are both taking deeper breaths between kisses.

Jaehyun returns the favor by rubbing you down with body wash all over, teasing you while watching you tremble with a smirk.

He kneels down and runs his hands up and down your thighs, slowly working their way inwards and up to your folds. His long fingers just barely touching against your bud. So close, but not close enough. You bite your lips and bring yourself closer to him but he chuckled.

“Mmm being teased isn’t nice, is it, baby?” He winks.

“If we stay any longer in this shower, you owe me half of the water bill.”

He stands up straight and chuckles. “You know me, baby, I always pay my dues.”

“Is that so? So how did you end up with those bruises, huh? You-“

Jaehyun shut you up with a kiss. Your eyes fluttered shut and you couldn’t help but smile.

He grabs your legs by the crook of the knees and wraps them around his waist before pulling away to look into your eyes. His playfulness has disappeared and you both swallow hard.

“Are you sure you want this...with me?” Jaehyun asks quietly.

You gulp and look at his neck tattoo, the one thing that constantly reminded you that he was no normal man. He wasn’t gonna be someone you could tell your parents or friends about. He wasn’t someone you could walk in the park with. He wasn’t someone you could walk down the aisle or raised kids with one day. No. He’s a gang leader. Someone that lived a life you didn’t understand. One that was just downright scary to you. And yet here he was, resting between your legs, ready to take you.

Jaehyun tried not to think too much about the doubt that he saw in your eyes when he asked if this was something that you wanted. But he knew you were conflicted. His reputation wasn’t great and you were scared, he had to understand that. You had reservations about him and unfortunately, he couldn’t promise to prove you or anyone else wrong. He couldn’t promise to be the long term partner you deserved.

Nonetheless, Jaehyun has showed you a side no one knew. He opened up to you and you opened up to him. You had more in common than you had ever expected.

You nodded.

“Fuck me, Jaehyun.” You whisper lowly.

Jaehyun smirks when the word falls out of your beautiful mouth, making him weak and even harder than he was before.

He pushes forward, teasing your entrance as he runs the tip along the folds, parting them every now and then.

You whimper, your mouth falling open as it feels incredible just to have some sort of friction against your needy pussy.

Jaehyun goes back to sucking your neck while one hand takes a fistful of hair.

His other hand pumps up and down his length as the sounds of your moans are muffled by the thunderous flow of water from the shower head.

“J-Jaehyun, please.”

Jaehyun places both hands on your thighs now, pushing into you slowly with his hard cock.

You gasp and hold onto his shoulders, your back riding up against the tiled wall as you pant.

Your heart feels like it’s stuck in your throat while Jaehyun stretches you out. He grunts and pulls back before pushing in slowly again.

“Fuck..you feel amazing.” Jaehyun’s member is comforted by your silky, tight walls closing around him with each push.

Your head falls back again and he watches your radiant skin sparkle with water drops that run down your neck and into the crevice if your breasts. It’s a beautiful sight for him and he never wants to forget it.

He then sucks hard into your neck as his speed increases. Your mouth stays open as you whimper and grip his shoulders, your nails digging into the skin.

When you looked at Jaehyun as he stares at your lips through low eyes, you feel butterflies in your stomach. His black hair plastered onto his forehead gave him a more gentle look, and his slightly parted lips were so kissable, you wanted to feel them everywhere.

But his dark eyes. Eyes of a wolf that watched his prey. You felt desired, wanted, special..

he groans as he gets closer, you can feel his dick twitch each time it enters you, and you know he is hesitant to go harder on you.

“It’s okay, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “A-are you sure?” He he snaps his hips into you hard as if to give you a teaser of what’s to come.

“Yes!” You cry out at the sudden feeling of him in the base of your stomach.

And so, he continues to push into your pussy harder. A mixture of your loud moans and his grunts filling the bathroom. The tip of his cock hit your depths as he pushed all the way in, leaving your legs weak as they widened more. Your spine tingled with pleasure.

Your back becomes numb as it rubs against the wall repeatedly, but you don’t mind. Jaehyun fills you up so satisfyingly and the way his skin presses against yours just adds to the erratic feeling you have inside. He breathes hard against your shoulder as his hips snap into yours.

Jaehyun puts a hand around your neck and looks into your eyes. You immediately nod before he kisses you, biting his lip as he pulls away.

He squeezes it while you moan, your close so Jaehyun rubs circles into your bud. You ignore the aching feeling in your trembling legs and shit your eyes tightly.

“Oh fuck, Jaehyun, yes..”

He grinds into you even harder and soon you feel yourself climax, you clench around him as his grip on your throat tightens.

You cry out his name as he continues to push into your throbbing and soaking flower, but he pulls out quickly.

“On your knees.” His tone is gravelly and surprisingly demanding for the first time this evening.

But you don’t hesitate to drop your knees for him and open your mouth.

“Can I?” He tilts his head and gives you a cocky expression because he already knows your answer.

You nod and without a second to spare, Jaehyun shoves himself into your throat, immediately hitting the back of it and making you gag, but you ignore the pain and hollow your cheeks.

The water hits your sore back as Jaehyun fucks into your mouth with his hand on the back of your head.

Tears run down your cheeks, but you feel yourself become increasingly wet every time he grunts or curses. Looking up at the tattooed man above you as he slowly loses it just makes you think of all the ways you’d love to have him ruin your insides, and even though you just came, you want more.

Jaehyun can’t get enough of your wet and wide eyes. You looks so innocent and pure, yet so nasty for him as spit runs down your chin. He pushes in faster and you him to push him along.

“Oh, fuck...Swallow.” He demands once again before shooting out strings of white onto the surface of your throat. He releases everything into you then pulls out while breathing heavily.

He helps you to your feet and uses a washcloth to clean the spit and cum from your chin.

He then cleans between your legs and watches you giggle as he purposefully tickles you.

He carries you off to your bed and lays you down while smiling softly.

“Did..you like that?” Jaehyun was surprised with himself, he normally didn’t care for a girl after fucking her. He’d send them in their way whether or not they were satisfied because only he mattered. But you. He wanted you to be satisfied, more than satisfied to be exact.

Your approval meant something to him and part of him hated that.

“Yes, I did. I’m always down for another round some time.” You gave him a wink and blushed.

“It’s funny because I wanted to ask you something..” Jaehyun looked away and onto the blanket that covered your body. He felt like he was back in middle school and about to ask his crush to the dance.

You had a feeling you knew what was coming.

“Will you-?” Jaehyun was interrupted by his phone. He cursed and took it out of his pocket, his soft demeanor shifting as his expression grew irritated.

“Give me one sec.” he looked away from your look of disappointment and left your bedroom.

You couldn’t hear what he said on the phone, but you knew that he looked angry when he saw the name on the caller id.

Jaehyun hung up and walked back into the room. He started to put on his clothes in silence while you clenched your blanket and watched.

“What’s wrong, Jaehyun?” You asked so softly, Jaehyun wanted to give in and cuddle with you all night. But he couldn’t, especially not after hearing what he just heard from his henchman. Someone from his rival gang had stalked and attacked the girlfriend of one of his gang member’s.

She survived but was hurt badly in the knife attack and it just served as a reminder to him of the kind of life he lived. He couldn’t live happily. He couldn’t love someone like you and put your life in danger just for his own benefit. He had to end things now before it got too late.

“Jaehyun..were you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend? Listen..y/n..what we did..it was great but let’s be realistic..we would never last. We’re just too different.” Jaehyun couldn’t look at you when he said this. He was just so angry with himself. How could he get so emotionally involved? How could he fall in love so easily while knowing that nothing good could come of it?

“But Jaehyun..” you started but he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

“I..won’t be seeing you again, y/n. I regret ever meeting you.” His brows furrowed. How could he be so mean? He had to push you away, even if it meant saying cruel and untrue things.

Your eyes started to tear up. “W-What do you mean? What’s wrong?” You jumped off the bed and walked towards him, confused as to why his mood shifted and why he was acting like this.

But you were too late. He already slammed the door shut and headed down the hallway, pacing fast towards the elevator.

3K notes · View notes

kodzukenscorner · 4 years

Text

Kuroo, Bokuto, Ushijima, and Iwaizumi the morning after

anon asked: Heeey~ can I request hc for Kuroo, Bokuto, Ushijima and Iwaizumi for the morning after? I'm craving fluff right now 🥺 thank you uwu P.s. you're amazing and I love your work ❤❤

a/n: suggestive content below!

wc: 1,583

✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶

Kuroo

Waking up next to Kuroo was a sight that always brought a smile to your face

The way he shoved his head between two pillow and his crazy bed head never got old to you

But what really made your heart swell was the way he always managed to snake an arm around you no matter what odd position he was sleeping in

This morning, his forearm was resting against your bare stomach as you slept on your back

You attempted to roll over to get closer to him until you felt the ache between your legs

You let out a combination of a groan and a soft whimper but it was still enough to wake up Kuroo

He picked his head up and noticed the small grimace on your face

He immediately pulled you into his arms

“What’s wrong baby?” He whispered softly while his hands gingerly caressed your face

“I’m sore Tetsu” You grumbled into his neck as you pulled him closer to you

As much as he wanted to comfort you, he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face

“I want to say sorry, but I’m not sure if I really regret it”

You lazily slapped a hand on his chest

He ignored it and just peppered kisses along your face and jaw

He simultaneously began rubbing your thighs and you could feel the tension being released

You whined when he pulled his hands away, craving his loving touch to get some of the soreness out

“How about you wait here and I’ll make us some breakfast in bed okay?”

You nodded with a small pout on your lips, telling him to hurry back

You drifted in and out of sleep until the scent of eggs wafted to your nose

You opened your eyes just in time to see Kuroo sitting himself down next you with a full plate of food

He wrapped an arm around you, bringing you in close while he fed you

Every now and again he placed a gentle kiss against your temple or your cheek, whispering soft ‘I love you’s’ each time he did

Nights with Kuroo always left you sore in the morning and as uncomfortable as you were, you loved how soft he was with you the next day

You thrived off of his unusually sweet demeanor and wished this morning would never end

Bokuto

Bokuto is 100% the cuddliest sleeper you’ve ever met

Even if you fall asleep on completely opposite ends of the bed, you always wake up with his arms wrapped tightly around you

But you can’t complain because he was also the best hugger, even in his sleep

If you even tried to move away from him he would whine and reach out for you until he found you again and you were right back where you started

Today you were particularly grateful for how closely he was holding you

The soft rise and fall of his chest helped calm you as the soreness in your entire body sunk in

Bokuto never liked causing you pain or discomfort and always felt so guilty when you woke up in the morning with any sort of ache

As you nuzzled farther into his broad chest you let out a content sigh

Soon enough you felt him start to move and stir awake

You did your best to hold him as much in place as possible, wanting more of his comforting embrace to take your mind off of the stiffness you felt all over

He fluttered his eyes opened, surprised to see you being the clingy one for once and stroked your head

“What’s wrong babe?”

You could hear the slight concern in his voice so you peeked your head up at him and flashed him a smile which he happily returned

“Can you just stay like this a little longer?”

He grinned and pressed a kiss to your lips, there was no way he was going to say no to that

You nestled back into his chest as you felt his strong hands lightly massage your back and sides

He knew that he could get carried away in bed sometimes and wanted to do whatever he could to make you feel better

You sighed in relief and kissed along his neck and collarbone while his hands continued their light ministrations

“Does that feel good?”

“So good Kou” You mumbled in between the lazy kisses you pressed to his skin

You could hear laughter rumbling in his chest and you couldn’t help but chuckle too

Bokuto is usually a whirlwind even in the mornings, so it was like heaven to just have him quietly massage your burning muscles

Somehow mornings like this made you fall in love with him even more

Ushijima

Ushijima always woke up before you

And there was something about mornings with you that reminded him of how much he loved you

He always watched you sleep for a little bit, not wanting to disturb you

But no matter how much he loved the peaceful look on your face he just couldn’t keep his hands off of you

Before he knew it he was snaking an arm under your waist, pulling you closer while the other was outlining the features of your face

It didn’t take you long to wake up after that, feeling his hands on your skin and his intense gaze burning into you

It wasn’t fair how good he looked in the morning, the second you looked at him you felt your breathing hitch

He opened his mouth first “You look breathtaking”

It also wasn’t fair how he practically took the words right out of your mouth

“Sorry I woke you, are you feeling sore anywhere?”

You finally managed to collect yourself and smiled softly at him, shaking your head

“No, everything is perfect”

You nuzzled against his hand that was now resting on your cheek

It’s true that sometimes you’d wake up with bruises on your hips from where he had a firm grip on you the night before

Or with a dull aching feeling that nagged at you most of the day

But today you were feeling nothing but love and complete and utter happiness

Ushijima isn’t the most emotional person you’ve ever met so when you get the chance to see his gentle side like this, you didn’t care about anything else around you

He’s normally a morning person and likes to get up right away to go for a run or do something productive with his morning

But today he seemed much more occupied with drawing mindless patterns across your bare skin

He listened to you tell him a few short anecdotes and hummed every now and again to let you know he was listening

After nearly an hour of just lying in each other’s arms he finally made a move to get up

Before you could complain though, he took your face in his hands and kissed you with every ounce of love he had in his body

Your legs felt more like jelly now than they did the night before

“I’ll meet you in the shower”

He didn’t need to say anything else for you to eagerly get up and join him

Iwaizumi

Iwa is a surprisingly cuddly sleeper

In public he always gets embarrassed at any extreme acts of PDA but in private he just can’t get enough of you

Maybe he’s slightly touch starved or maybe he’s just head over heels in love with you

Or maybe it’s both

Either way he always insists that the two of you sleep with your head resting on his chest

He woke up before you, letting the morning sun stream across your face while he admired your features

He thought you looked absolutely stunning like this, practically an angel

And seeing the deep red and purple marks littered across your skin only made him more wild for you

He liked leaving marks and hickies across your skin to remind you of him

And as a subtle way of letting everyone else know that you belonged to him

He was running his fingers across the different spots when he felt your eyes flutter open

“Good morning” He uttered in his raspy morning voice that drove you absolutely insane

You moved your head off his chest and onto the pillow next to him so you could properly look at him

He turned on his side towards you and gave you an uncharacteristically sweet kiss on the lips

“Good morning” You finally said back

You stretched a bit and you were suddenly aware of the swollen marks across your neck and collarbone

“Hajime...” You whined “Why is my neck sore?”

You asked the question knowing full well what the answer was, you just wanted to make him feel a little guilty for leaving so many lovebites on you

Instead he just grinned unabashedly and pulled you closer to him, tilting your head to the side so he could get a better view of your numerous hickies

“What? I think they look good” He said as he started kissing all of your sore spots

You wanted to scold him more and tell him to be more considerate but his lips just felt so good on your skin you dropped it entirely

If you were truly being honest with yourself you loved the way he possessively marked your skin up

And no matter what you said, you knew he wouldn’t stop

Not that you wanted him to

2K notes · View notes

i-need-air · 3 years

Text

"Dude" — Bakugou Katsuki x Reader [P.2]

Word count: 6.7k;

[ Part 1 ]; [ Masterlist ]

The new message plastered on your phonescreen earned a small smile from you. After a couple of days of sitting together at the same table due to Mei dumping your lonely ass for her babies, Mina suggested to text just to keep in contact more often. Something you did not expect was to be thrown in a group text with her and her friends.

They were absolutely hilarious; until recently they found out you had decent grades and started asking for your assistance, bugging you to join their study sessions, adding something about Bakugou being an absolute beast whenever he tutors them.

Pinky: Aww sucks that you're not coming! You're missing out Bakugou strangling Kaminari lmfao

You rolled your eyes in amusement. Why of course he'd be doing that.

What a strange little man. He really was; just as you started sitting with them, he'd mainly mind his own business, wearing his normal resting gremlin face and poking his food as if he was practicing murder just for the sake of it. First he orders you to sit with them, then he turns into an antisocial bastard most of the times. Yet, somehow, lunch with them was delightful and you found yourself looking forward to spend time with them, hear about their amusing stories and to top it all, making fun of The Great Bakugou Katsuki turned the whole event into a whole different level of fun.

As you weren't completely oblivious, his wandering eyes were really hard to miss anyway; you'd catch his gaze from time to time and he'd look away, annoyed, grunting like the man-child he actually was. Infuriating; how your heart skipped every single time it happened and how you wanted to have those deep crimson orbs on you again and again.

One thing you did not want to do was to leave Mei to the side; whenever she couldn't hang out she would inform you and you'd find something else to entertain yourself with; in occasions you did march in her workshop and sat your royal ass down without permission. Like as you did today, sitting in silence, you enjoyed the normal machinery sounds and her focused hums as she worked with you by her side. It was calming. The much needed calmness that you craved.

It's been a couple of weeks after the glorious incident and you have been noticing how your classmates, mostly the popular ones, started giving you the stink eye; your spidey-senses very much aware that it had to be Midori's doing yet the girl was keeping a very low profile. The hairs on the back of your neck rising whenever you thought about her next step because this level of radio silence was suspicious.

Between your growing interest into the blond and the dread related to your nemesis, Mei stopped her hard work to frown at you.

"Something's on your mind?" She probed, adjusting her goggles better on her head. "You're awfully quiet~"

Through a small giggle, you nodded but took some time to answer. "I guess?"

"Let me rephrase that." She cleared her throat dramatically "Someone's on your mind?"

A sharp gasp left your lips, realization kicking in; you had Hatsume Mei's full attention for the first time ever. In the workshop. Where her babies were! About to point it out, she narrowed her eyes at you, zooming onto you.

"[Y/N]." It's all she needed to say before you looked down, mind on one person in particular, not noticing how your friend smiled fondly to herself as she placed her hands on her hips; she chuckled lightly.

"Mind sharing what's funny with the class, Mei?" You asked trying to decrypt her expression still locked on you. She shrugged and shook her head, her wild pink locks moving wildly.

"OI, WERD—" the brash voice interrupted itself in reconsideration. The owner of said voice clicked his tongue and entered her workspace with indifference, looking around. "My gauntlets fixed?" He asked, curiously checking the lone couch in the corner, then turning his glare at her.

Ignoring his question, Mei's inquisitive gaze locked on him. "Are you looking for someone?"

It was as if she pressed a Total Destruction button because even the hairs on his head spiked up more than normally as he threw her a bloodshot glare.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I LOOK FOR [Y/N]?! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHERE—"

"I didn't mention [Y/N] at all though." she cheerily retorted, seeing his position stiffen even more.

"WHAT— WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT— WHO EVEN IS [Y/N]?!" Word-vomit took over; he was shaking at this point, panicked and cringing at his own mistake. "I'm SO FUCKING DONE with people giving me SHIT about that dumbass!" he kicked a table trying to prove a point but the girl was unimpressed.

"So you do know [Y/N]."

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU, GOGGLES! Fucking bothersome assholes always buttin' in—" his voice started fading into the distance as he walked out, fuming with nerves.

She blinked before screaming "What about your gauntlets?" through a smile.

"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, GIVE ME—" he appeared once again, agitated.

A wave of lava filled your chest as she told you casually, even trying to copy the way he talked, making you laugh in exchange. You shouldn't feel that way, shouldn't you? It was ridiculous since he truly only insulted you and screamed in your general direction; well, it seems he screamed in every direction but it wasn't the point. The point was the warmth in your chest only gave you hope and the still functioning part of your brain begged to differ.

"He's a good guy." You whispered, suddently shy under Mei's knowing gaze.

And he called her Goggles too. You giggled fondly.

—

A few days later, wild gutural screams made you jolt from your desk in panic. You would've recognized that voice anywhere by now so you rushed towards the infirmary door just to find professor Aizawa and two cocoons made of his scarf behind him. His eyebrow was twitching and had a dark aura around him, eyes glowing menacingly but not directed to you.

"I'll fucking kill you—"

"But Kaccha—"

"Silence." The irritated and tired looking man said entering the room, dragging said cocoons behind him, knocking one in the door and pulling harder. You cringed, sure thinking he wasn't having a good day.

"OOF— What the shit was that?" The bundle started to shake uncontrollably which made you giggle. It stopped; halted and froze in place listening attentively as you tried to hide your laughter, trying not to annoy the teacher that seriously gave off a whole Done with life aura.

"You must be [L/N]." he pointed out, undoing one of the cocoons, a big fluffy broccoli like head appearing, big green eyes trying to focus.

"Yes, sir."

"They're beaten. Broken leg and broken rib. Can you heal them or should we wait for Recovery Girl?" The dark haired man went straight to business.

"I can handle that so no need to wait for her."

"Good. I'll leave them in your care." With a nod, he also released the blond, making him tumble and fall on his face. The poor guy groaned but bolted up with a raised fist.

"Behave." The older man said walking away, not really caring about Bakugou's heated muttering. The door shut gently and you found yourself looking at two boys; one fuming and avoiding your eyes, the other on the floor, staring up at you. His leg looked wonky so you fought back a face of discomfort before going to his aid.

"You." You pointed at Bakugou then at the bed. "Sit." A grin spread on your face as you used his words, meanwhile you leaned down to help Midoriya Izuku.

His eyes were absolutely intimidating, as if the boy tried to search within your soul as you helped him up.

"My name is [L/N] [Y/N] and I'm going to heal you today." He returned your smile with ease and nodded, his fluffy green hair shaking through the action.

"I'm—"

"Midoriya Izuku, yes. You're pretty popular, you know?" His face went all red, taken back by the fact.

Curses could be heard behind both; your hand was supporting Midoriya's weight as he only hopped ahead with his good leg, leaded towards a bed. Shuffling sounded too, still accompanied with another round of indistinguishable curses and grunts.

When the green-haired boy was securely placed, you turned towards the other, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed furthest away from Midoriya, pouting adorably.

"So you've got a broken rib, right?"

"What's it to you?" It was his turn to be a petty little shit and copy your words, still not looking up. His leg was shaking and his posture looked uncomfortable so it was not the time to get into your usual bickering.

"Lay down." He tsk-ed sharply. "Please." You pleaded, pursing your lips at his childish attitude. He finally snapped his eyes on you, just slightly widened in what could be surprise but you couldn't tell. All that mattered was that he ended up doing what you said. Though with more huffing, as if it bothered him immensely.

"Ya happy now?" He snapped.

"Very! Now—" you're taken back yet again by the intensity of those green eyes that looked between you and Bakugou with interest. "I'm gonna have to give you an anesthesic and adjust your leg back in place before healing you—"

Like a working bee, you ran around the infirmary getting your syringe ready, a little bit too nervous as two pair of eyes burned into your back.

"Where do you know each other from, Kacchan?" Izuku asked. Even if his leg hurt like a bitch, he couldn't help but be curious about the person Kacchan has been having lunch with for the past weeks; but what type of response could you get from the one and only?

"Mind your own damned fucking business!"

You sighed, irritated but the nickname didn't fly above your head. In all means, he shouldn't be screaming. He had a broken rib and he was screeching like an idiot. Didn't it hurt to even breathe?!

"Bakugou, you need to lay low and shut up."

There wasn't any time to play around; Midoriya behaved exemplary, just barely wincing at the syringe probing his knee but did not complain at all. The polar opposite of the blond beds away.

After letting the anesthetic to take effect, you moved towards the guy that's been living rent free in your head. He looked beaten up, had a bloody nose, open-wounded knuckles and shaky hands.

"Okay, I need you to relax." You whispered, trying to lift his tank-top but he stopped your wrist.

"The fuck yOu doing?!" his voice cracked momentarily while hyperventilating.

"Dude, take slow, steady breaths. In order to heal you I need to touch the skin closer to the wound." It wasn't entirely true but not exactly a lie either. After a pause for consideration he nodded but his eyes remained wary. "You've seen me do it before! Now show me where it hurts."

You needed concentration, focus, steady hands, rock-hard abs and tanned skin— Nooooo, [Y/N]!

All your might; all of it to act nonchalant and professional, to not fucking stare like a degenerate because he was absolutely built. But you couldn't help it. You couldn't help placing your palm on his ribs gently, instead of just the tip of your fingers as you normally would've needed. His sigh of relief made you incredibly giddy, feeling accomplished and fulfilled knowing you've done a great job for him. You also couldn't help healing his most visible wounds one by one instead of doing it all together in one single touch.

Were you flustered? Definitely and his attention only made it worse. You picked one of his hands and he spasmed away but ultimately gave in with a choked grunt; then grabbed the other and channeled your energy into his body.

Your heads were tilted downwards, both staring at how his knuckles healed slowly. What neither him or you noticed was how all his scratches and bruises all over him healed too, or the prying eyes of a third wheel that was already taking notes of your quirk.

"Okay." You whispered, not really wanting to let go. Your brain screamed Dishonor! but your heart skipped a beat, then another, then exploded when you lifted your gaze.

Crimson eyes looked at you in awe, wide and never this clear. They were shining too and you couldn't help but give his strong hands a squeeze, feeling in the calloused skin of his palm and wondered which one of you was shaking... He blushed then and opened his mouth, yet his brows furrowed as his focus shifted behind you.

"THE FUCK YOU STARING AT, PUNK?!"

Oh, yeah. Your other patient.

In a heartbeat you were by Midoriya's side and got to work, chest heavy and no words coming out of you. No snappy or cheeky retorts either, just trembling hands and warm cheeks. Only with murmurs you guided him through the procedure before healing him completely.

Dizziness overtook you; the downside of your quirk and something you've been training with Recovery Girl for the whole semester.

"That was amazing, [L/N]-san! Thank you!" The boy cheered, staring down at his leg in utter disbelief. His compliment made you grin, full and proud.

"Of course it was!" Your normal self surfaced.

"Fucking woo-hoo." Nevermind. Mood dropped and your face did too.

"Well, since you've been a good patient—" you start and ruffle through your bag "You get a lollipop!" Said candy was thrown in Midoriya's lap and he stared at it baffled. Meanwhile you turned towards the bane of your existence and raised a brow, shaking another lollipop in your hand. "You don't. This one is mine because I deserve it."

His angry, stupid and scandalized expression was everything you were looking for. Did you get out of your way to buy lollipops knowing Bakugou would end up in the infirmary sooner or later? Maybe. Was it worth it?

"What the fuck does that mean, dammit— I—" words caught in his throat as he choked with air, looking at the candy in your fingers with murderous intentions. Definitely worth it.

"Thank you?" Broccoli Boy asked but started unwrapping it, probably not to insult your kindness, and the whole interaction fueled Bakugou's anger. He snapped out of the bed and so did Midoriya, but one was marching towards you while the other just wanted to run away in fear, direction Exit.

"Gimme that shit!" He tried to grab it out of your grasp, but you moved away, laughing at his face.

"Midoriya has been nice and thanked me for the healing—" at this point he was boiling. "Say Thank you, [Y/N], you're amazing and awesome and—"

"LIKE FUCKING HELL IMMA SAY THAT, DUMBASS!" he was so sweet, the guy you liked; yeah, your sudden realization hit as he looked like a tomato ready to bite your head off and the only thing you could think was how adorable and sweet he was. All gurgling in rage, spitting cussed words left and right; dreamy, he was dreamy. He caught the lollipop from your hands, his scowl turning into a full blown victorious grin. So shiny... so bright... God, he was so handsome...

You're suddently falling in his arms in slow-motion, the world around you twisting and turning with him in the center of it all. Warmth engulfed your frame as you hit the most comfortable pillow of your life. His chest.

"Oi, [Y/—" he cursed, taking no time to place you on the bed with ease. "You okay?"

"W-What happened? Is she okay?" It seemed the famous Deku decided to remain for the spectacle.

"Get lost!"

Even if you wanted to pass out, his snaps wouldn't let you and with that thought you chuckled breathlessly. "I'm fine, I just need a nap after healing this much..." you assured into the air.

"Will you be okay, [Y/N]-san?" You turned your head until you spotted him and nodded through a smile but someone else answered for you.

"I see you took matters in your own hands." The sweet, gentle voice of your mentor put you to ease but scared poor Midoriya to the core as she appeared behind him at the door. Bakugou was still hovering over you in bed, not really knowing what to do. "You should leave [L/N] rest, boys." With tiny steps she walked around, not really paying any more attention to the scene.

The blond gave you a glance and pursed his lip, analyzing the candy in his hand. Through half-lidded eyes you saw him secure it in his fist and give you a nod. At this point everything was blurry.

"Thanks... or whatever." He didn't waste any time to bolt towards the door, his broad uncovered shoulders were the last thing you saw before closing your eyes in contempt.

"Kacchan, is [Y/N]-san your—?"

"MIND YOUR GODDAM—" the door shut close, making the room tremble and you giggled like a drunk fool.

—

Bakugou walked with his hands in his pockets, looking around with little interest as Dunce Face and Racoon Eyes blabbered without pause to breathe. Fuck, he was exhausted and the concept of shoving food down his throat sounded fucking fantastic. His insides turned and twisted knowing you'd be meeting them soon.

"Yo, isn't that [Y/N]?" Like a flash, his head bolted in the direction Denki pointed at and before he spotted you, the blond already wanted to punch himself in the jaw. Why the fuck is he acting like that? The answer faded in his mind as the scene unfolded in front of him.

—

"You're such a fucking bitch, you know that, [Y/N]?" Arms crossed, you placated the poor first year that was whispering behind you.

"Wow, Midori, so original." With a dead tone and rolling eyes from you, the white haired demon only twisted her face in disgust. "My feelings are hurt."

"Who do you think you are? You're a fucking nobody, [Y/N]! You think you're doing any good here? Go kill yourself!"

"And give you the satisfaction? No, not happening, you fork-tongued lizard." Your nails looked interesting.

Her pale purple eyes got ignited and her diminute frame puffed, like a rabid little mole-rat ready to bite someone. And just like that, she took a deep breath and started yapping and barking. "YOU'RE BETTER DEAD ANYWAY, YOU WHORE! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! NOW EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT ME! ABOUT HOW YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME! DIE ALREADY!"

Sadly you didn't have any cookies on since you definitely felt like shoving one in her fanged, venomous mouth and patting her head for the effort. Your lips turned oh, so slowly into a grin, enjoying her reaction way too much.

"That's nice. Now can you like, I don't know, go back to making potions with your coven or some crap? Leave the kid alone—"

"This pathetic little shit was talking about me! ME!" her screech hurt your ears so you covered them before you turned to the kid to just see him standing there, petrified.

"Did you try to summon Satan and she appeared instea—?"

"I'M SO FUCKING DONE WITH YOUR CRAP, YOU—" she pushed you but grasped your uniform, a ripping sound following. "UGLY—" nothing prepared you to get attacked by her. "FAT—" she raised her palm. "WHORE!"

No way in hell you were going to back down, instead you clenched your jaw and got ready to block it and finish the fight. She never remotely attended to hit you in a somewhat public place as she was a careful witch, always brewing something in that rotten brain of hers and making sure to keep her sweet appearance on point for the public.

You blinked.

"That was insane!"

The scenery in front of you suddently changed with that one single blink and a tall blond mass of muscle just popped out of nowhere. It knocked the air out of your lungs for a moment and seeing him staring down at her with such hatred, holding her wrist high in the air made you feel immense relief, much to your own surprise.

Were you that tense before?

"Midori-chan, I didn't know you were this rotten." Kaminari appeared in your field of vision too but got ignored by the girl. Her only goal was to free herself from Bakugou's grip but he wouldn't bulge.

"Y-You got it all wrong, Bakugou-s-san!"

Everyone stood there silent, utterly disgusted with her attempt to even try to twist reality.

"Don't even fucking think about it." He warned and those words rumbled deep, threat held within.

"We heard it all, Midori." You shook in place, twisting to see Mina by the kid's side, patting his back. After being used to seeing her easy-going attitude it was only natural to be amazed by her somber tone and serious manner.

Why were you so relieved? kept creeping in your mind. Why?

He then threw her wrist out of his grasp and bared his teeth in her direction, globes so bloodshot scrutinizing her. He oozed rage and fury and was combusting in place. But he did not scream. Bakugou Katsuki did not scream for once when he started talking, instead he growled his words, each with care and clarity.

"If i ever fucking hear you talking like that to anyone ever again I will— fucking— break you." you could hear his teeth grit, the sound making you shiver both in terror and excitement. "NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE! I BETTER NOT FUCKING SEE YOU OR HEAR ABOUT YOU EVER AGAIN!" she yelped, fluttering her tears away and scurrying so fast it could've been comical.

Bakugou then spun to study you, chest raising and falling heavily. You couldn't descypher his appearance at the moment; there was the aggravation, the outrage, the burning flame in his orbs but also... Uncertainty? Guilt? Shame? It wiped off his face before you could figure it out.

"We're taking him to talk to a professor about what happened." Mina's voice faded in the distance. He nodded at Kaminari, who was behind you, and got a nod in response plus a pair of thumbs up, and with that they were gone.

He still tried to control himself, but as soon as you parted your lips to say anything at this point, he snarled into the nothingness. "THAT FUCKING BITCH—"

"Bakugou..."

"FOR HOW LONG?" he then screamed at you, malice gone but tone just as rough and loud.

"For how long what?" You said calmly while also noticing and adjusting the ripped sleeve of your uniform. He ran his palm over his face, eyeing it too.

"For how fucking long has this been going?"

"Oh, her—" there was this pressure to say it out loud, to confirm what it really was, like saying it out loud would give it weight, importance...

"Her bullshit, yeah." he didn't force it either, thankfully.

"Since we were in middle-school." you shrugged, chest and neck aching without an apparent reason. You cleared your throat.

"Stop that— Stop that fucking shit. Don't do that." He got close to you in a single step and you had to look up at him, feeling so small out of a sudden by his side. You smiled, as you taught yourself to do whenever things got tough.

"Do what?" It came out shaky, too shaky for your own taste but he was so close.

"Act like it doesn't fucking matter! Like it's no big fucking deal!" His breath fanned your face.

"I mean..." you started shrugging again but he stopped the action, palms holding your shoulders in place as he gave you a pissed off look. "It doesn't really matt—"

"YES, IT FUCKING DOES!"

His fingers held you in the spot as he inspected your features with a clenched jaw and classic furrowed brow. Flames erupted in your ribcage at his words and you couldn't even breathe anymore.

You licked your lips, not sure if you could say the next words but the fact that he focused on the action too attentively gave you the push needed. "What's it to you?"

His breath hitched, fanning over your face as he stiffened. Deep crimson waved between your own orbs and your lips—

Those flames? The flames that burned your inside? They were spreading throughout your body rapidly, the epicenter at the spot where his thumb caressed your skin at the edge of your shoulder, just touching the start of your collarbone. Even through the layer of fabric you felt it, as tiny as it was, but he did not do anything, just stood there with red tinted cheeks in daze. Much like you were.

"Thank you for saving me today, Bakugou." You whispered and he just nodded, still enthralled with your lips. At least you knew he was somewhat still there with you. Involuntarily, you bit your lower lip, just a little, smiling softly, taking the smallest step towards him; the corner of his lip turned up slightly—

"[Y/N]! Director Nezu wants to talk to you too!"

The spell was broken; you yelped into him, grabbing his shirt for support and checked your surroundings. A waving hand caught your attention; Kaminari was signaling you to go to him then froze and started running away; little did you know someone was sending him a death glare.

You cleared your throat, still warm and fuzzy from head to toe and separared from the blond that caught you in his arms. Bakugou seemed to have noticed the position too because he jerked away a step back and looked completely out of place.

Ridiculous. And hilarious, looking anywhere but you and still made no attempt to move. Neither did you, instead opting to hide a giggle.

Because you felt warm, tingly, all while he was a complete gremlin, sweet in his own personalized way, in which he cared for you, he defended you.

And you're in disbelief because how come this guy, this adorable, blushing porcupine with anger issues made you feel so soft and fragile? How did you end up in this situation and how can you stay in it forever?

"What's so fucking funny, hah?" There wasn't any bite to what could've been an aggressive wording, just hidden tenderness. He fought a smile too and had the audacity to try to act annoyed. Sadly, you had to go, so you shook your head and took a step back.

Bakugou understood, so he nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'll see how later, ok?" You promised and he glanced at you from the corner of his eye. Now you had his ear in full view for you to see the tips reddened too. You want to melt, even coo at the sight, but you really did have to go. However, you couldn't leave without sending him a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, whatever." His jaw sinked a little in the collar of his shirt as he stomped away too.

—

The whole afternoon was spent talking to a counselor and to the principal himself about a problematic individual. The first year student was encouraged by your new friends to report it as they escorted him to safety and soon an internal investigation started; maybe, possibly because of you.

Why were you so relieved?

Because they listened to you. Because they believed you. Because you didn't have to prepare yourself every single morning to take verbal hits from all directions. Because you've been given a voice, unlike your old school where everything was brushed off; "It's your word against hers" and much more bullshit. No, this time was real and they proved it by listening to every single word you said.

You were dropped at your dorms just before 9 P.M. and it was too late to meet anyone at the point. But it wasn't important; the moment you landed on your bed a smile broke on your face, a few tears fell and you had the best sleep in forever.

—

The air changed. The aura around your class switched. Midori was clearly missing, which instantly turns a bad day into a fantastic one, but it wasn't only that. Students were called, one by one, again and again interrupting class and took hours to come back. Meanwhile the Divas in particular looked concerned, another great view to enjoy now and until the rest of time.

It was obvious why this was happening and you never felt this much peace and satisfaction. Even so, you started to feel overwhelmed because people suddently started greeting you. The people that weren't in Midori's toxic and constricted entourage.

They said your name! Without hatred! The school's goldenboy's name, Kaminari Denki, was dropped again and again too. It seems he just casually started mentioning what he witnessed the day before and you suddently felt the need to hug him tight. Gossip spread like wild fire thanks to him, after all.

Maybe you fell into a parallel universe but you couldn't bring yourself to care, you just waltzed on the hallways after the bell rang, wanting to go get some food, then hide at Mei's workshop for some recharging. Another part of you wanted to meet the explosive boy too, though.

In all honesty, it didn't matter where you ended. You were in an incredible mood.They talked to you and it was exhausting but nice!

Was this what it felt in horror movies when the demon-child with rotating head and projectile vomit was finally exorcized? Was the curse really released for good?

As you floated in the skies, high on life and what-not, you turned the corner just to run nose straight into a wall. Your brain decided to take a break for the day, it seems, and you genuinely hoped nobody saw you march head first into— It wasn't a wall, but a boy that gave you a raised brow and narrowed eyes.

"Watch where the fuck you're going, dumbass."

"Great to see you too!" you chippered, walking around him, knowing for a fact his attitude wouldn't be able to piss you off—

"What's with the idiotic expression?" Nevermind, he can go fuck himself. Yet you smiled because you're a Godsend angel and that's what winged saints do.

"Just really happy." You shrugged, walking away with ease and tried to bite a bigger smile off your face when you noticed him turning to walk with you. "What are you doing on this side of the campus?" You inquired.

"Came to walk you to lunch or whatever." Well, damn, that made you halt in surprise. He's behind you, staring out the window with disinterest but froze when he saw your dumbfounded face. "WHAT? IT WAS IN MY WAY, OK? Want me to leave? I can leave! You can fuck off—" You placated your hands and started laughing.

"No, no—" Your eyes glint. "It's really sweet of you." You said, awaiting his reaction with mischief.

He first choked on air, like one normally does, and then showed the worst allergic reaction to mere words. "SW—! THAT'S NOT— I'M NOT— YOU— I— NO—" in no time you're crackling like a deranged witch, adoring every single second of the show he was pulling. He was basically howling and your laughter actually infuriated him more.

"FUCK OFF!" Your amusement calmed down as you studied him, his puffed cheeks, red eyes avoiding you; with a few stomped steps he placed himself ahead of you but made no attempt to stand you up and go be a hermit somewhere else.

Bakugou Katsuki. Ash blond hair, broad back, pink ears... Swears like a sailor, is all bark and and all bite, except with his friends. Has a big heart...

"Something strange is happening." You find yourself saying.

"Hah?" He glances back.

"People have been acting weird." That stops him.

"They better not be fucking messin' with you—"

"No, on the contrary, they're nice to me..." you assured, voice faint as his comment repeated in your mind and your chest warmed up once again because of him.

They better not be fucking messin' with you.

"Good." He says and you can't bite your tongue.

"You're a good guy, Bakugou."

He gives you a face. "Hah? Now you fucking notice?!" But he's grinning at the end of the sentence, cocky and so full of himself and you'd lie if you said you didn't consider him incredibly handsome. Although it seems he did not get the message.

"No. I mean it for real. You really are a good guy." He grunts like he hurt himself in his own confusion, staring stupidly at you, slightly blushing. "You're gonna be such a great hero too." Mouth agape to try to answer, he just gives you plate eyes and nothing else. On the other hand you genuinely expected more explosive reactions but this seemed to have broken him for some good seconds. He stared and watched and stood there like an idiot in front of you, making you want to both bury yourself in your own embarrassment and laugh at him.

You opted to look up at the ceiling, flustered and amused, yesterday's events suddently washing over you; they never really left your thoughts but now all the feelings decided to come visit once again.

"Oi—" he better not ruin it. "Wh— The fuck you kissing my ass for?!" You breathe out, long and loud for him to understand how stupid he sounded and stalked ahead; only food could save the day he's been actively ruining and that's what you were gonna get. He followed your rushed steps with cusses and questions until he grabbed your wrist to slow your pace. "Slow down, dumbass!"

The issue was that his obnoxiously loud voice caught then attention of some students that were just minding their own business.

"Is that Bakugou Katsuki?" Earning a groan from him as if it wasn't his fault!

"—with [L/N] [Y/N]?"

"Are they holding hands?!"

"So they're really together?" You cringe in embarrassment.

"Is that a confession?!" No, no, absolutely not happening. You rush out of the scene, gut burning, the boy on your toes cursing and mumbling whatevers but you didn't reach far until he talks. At least he had the decency of stopping you at an empty spot before giving you a heart attack.

"This is when you confess— or some fucking— dumb shit like that." Even without seeing him, back turned and absolutely petrified, you heard the cocky vibration in his tone that was sprinkled with some light stuttering.

Son of a bitch. That prinkly ass cocky fuck. That absolutely handful of a sea urchin—

You checked the closest stairway, your nearest exit and pathway to your salvation but something in that attitude of his just made you shake as you covered your face and laugh.

"You're... You're the worst." You mumble in disbelief but the grin that almost broke your face got even bigger as he choked and inhaled sharply.

"Hah?! Wasn't I the fucking best a minute ago?!"

"I did not say tha—"

"Same shit!" He bites when you glanced on him through your fingers. Your skin was burning so hot it would've been mortifying if he didn't look just as rattled. The view managed to calm your nerves and spike them at the same time.

"You're the worst..." Finally uncovering your face, he takes in your grin and visibly calms his fuming yet remains just as discomposed. "—and I like you."

Still, you cover your mouth because the blond in front of you started combusting and it was glorious to watch. Hell, you felt like grabbing a snack and watching him go through all those feelings that slapped his face on repeat. First his eyes widened, the teasing from before forgotten, then his skin, already splashed with red transformed completely into the same color, so deep it in resemblance with his eyes, eyes that were reading into you intensely. He went rigid too and as time passed and passed and he did not move, the only thing left was to break him out of his misery. Yes, break him.

"This is when you say it back."

He snapped. "I— DON'T FUCKING— DON'T FUCKING MAKE ME SAY EMBARRASSING SHIT LIKE THAT!" Birds flew away in one mile radius, windows trembled, your eardrums cried for mercy and you hid your smile because even through deafening volume, Bakugou Katsuki did not deny it. A zoo totally high on crystal meth started a revolution in your insides and the feeling threatened to burst out at any moment.

This is it. This ball of emotional constipation was taking your breath away while cussing you after you confessed and all you wanted to do was to squeal... What have you become?

But you said nothing, just stared with your hand covering your mouth, taking in the boy that looked like he wanted to throw fists with you, bared teeth and all, and also simultaneously die of a stroke.

"I—" he tried, you had to give him credit because he really did try. Like a challenge, like he wasn't going to back down, he gave his best and not without looking like it killed him inside. "F—" cuss word got stuck in his throat when you couldn't help a scoff. Suddently the show comes to an end when he halts, gives you a glare and takes a deep breath. For a moment you feared he'd walk away. Oh, how wrong you were because deep down you had to know he did not back down easily.

"I like— you, too." Beautiful words came out of his mouth, looking like it physically pained him to say them. "THERE, I SAID IT! YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW?!" He howls indignantly, crossing his arms, trying to hide his clear flustered self yet it takes him one glance at you to return to his self induced stroke. "Don't fucking make that dumb fucking face—" he struggled to exist. "Don't look at me like that, dammit!"

You giggle, relieved and happy and in all honesty about to cry a tiny bit. You couldn't help it, enamored with how blissful this moment was. Bakugou stops his grunts and watches you in awe, small, minuscule grin taking over his face and he clicks his tongue, trying to fight it.

And deflects, as always.

"C'mon. Have to walk you there before you get lost or some shit like that." You breathe in and nod, even thought you were perfectly capable of walking to the cafeteria as you've done it for a year and some now.

"Okay."

"You'd be starving if it weren't for me." You snort and roll your eyes, but beam like a lovestruck idiot.

"Sure thing, dude." It instantly earns a grunt, then a pout, followed by grumbles and heavy feet by your side. You check on him, noticing his shrugged shoulders and tinted nose and you almost trip with your own legs because of it. He doesn't say anything for the longest time, which you didn't mind as you yourself needed some time to shoo away the butterflies and rainbows that floated all around in your very empty head. It wasn't until you almost reached the cafeteria that he stops you by the arm and looks away.

"You— You shouldn't call your boyfriend dude, dumbass."

Remember the butterflies? Now they're radioactive and fluttering around, crazed and disoriented.

"Says the one that calls me a dumbass, Bakugou." You relent, thankful he took the initiative to answer the question that lingered in the air throughout all the walk.

A wild flush takes over him and he refuses to turn toward you, just observing from the corner of his eyes.

"It's— It's Katsuki to you, dumbass." And he drags you inside without giving you a chance to process it. But when you do, you grin like mad and whisper just as you were manhandled through the door, preparing yourself for his explosive gargling and screaming and silently apologizing to everyone in your general proximity.

"Okay, Kacchan~"

Note: Thank you for reading and for any sweet mesages! I read each and every one of them and they make me so incredibly happy!! I would like to point out that the phone editor switches around paragraphs and it's very confusing. I edited some mistakes and for now it's good but I'm scared it wasn't fixed since I edited before too and I encounter the same problem again... If you find something off, could you please let me know? I want the reading to be enjoyable for everyone after all. Thank you again! 💕

#boku no hero academia #bnha #noire writes #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugou

613 notes · View notes

sohotthateveryonedied · 3 years

Note

Hiii!! I really love your tumblr posts and I'm pretty new to the Batfam (meaning I have only read fics and textposts about them, no comics) and I wanted to ask about the year Bruce/Batman gets "lost in time". I know general things of what the kids have been doing–Dick became batman and fired Tim from robin, giving it to Damian, everyone thinking Tim was crazy for believing Bruce was alive, (don't really know what Jason was up to though, was he still murderous towards Tim? Does the pit still affect him? Also I have no idea about Cass and Duke, were they introduced at this point??) Anyways, my real question was why was Bruce lost in time, what villain put him there? And how did he get out? And how long was he "dead"? Was Bruce in another reality or like just asleep the whole time? Oh! And how soon did this happen after Damian got introduced to the family–a couple months?

I'm so sorry this is so long, but I hope you answer and thank you!!

(I’m going to try and cover all my bases here by going into how exactly Bruce “died,” what went down during the Battle For the Cowl, what the Batkids did while Bruce was gone, and how Bruce came back. Hopefully it all makes sense?? We’ll see how it goes lmao.)

Part 1 - What Happened to Bruce:

So there was this event called Final Crisis (which I won’t go completely into since it would make this post a million times longer than it already is), but the bottom line is that Darkseid wants to overthrow reality and release his Anti-Life Equation, which would overthrow the whole planet and turn everyone into slaves. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the storyline, here’s a Reddit thread that explains it WAY better than I could.)

What I CAN tell you is that during his final confrontation with Darkseid, Bruce is hit by an Omega Beam and turned into a burnt chicken nugget killed. Poor guy.

Final Crisis #6

Clark and Diana bring the body back to the Batcave and break the news to the Batfamily. Batman #687 covers a good portion of the aftermath such as Bruce’s funeral, the Batfamily grieving, and Dick coming to terms with his new responsibility of becoming Batman.

Batman #687

Part 2 - Battle For the Cowl:

Musical chairs time, fellas! After word gets out that Batman is gone, Gotham erupts into chaos. Dick doesn’t want to take over the mantle, Tim needs Dick to take over the mantle, and Jason says “fuck it” and takes over the mantle himself because somebody around here has to. He becomes this murderous psychopathic Batman and starts taking out criminals with deadly force because someone’s gotta do the job, so it might as well be him.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #1

(Okay honestly, this series had some pretty bad characterization overall, which sucks since it’s such an important storyline. Jason is portrayed as this violent psychopath, which...okay, he was kind of insane after the Pit and all, but not to this degree. Personally, I choose to owe the bad characterization to Bruce’s death because as much as Jason resents Bruce for all he’s done, he does still love him and losing him would be devastating, which would exacerbate his already fragile mental health. As for Damian, this happens roughly three years after his first appearance, so we can assume it’s been a few months since he first joined the family. He’s still relatively new at this point, so nobody knows how to write him yet. He ends up being depicted as if his main two personality traits are Bratty and Assassin-Child and that’s it. It’s all just a mess.)

Anyway, Tim tells Dick to become Batman and stop Jason’s reign of terror. Dick says no, so Tim follows Jason’s lead by saying “fuck it” and putting on the cowl himself. He goes to confront Jason, which ends in Jason beating the crap out of him (again) and leaving him for dead after Tim declines his offer to become Jason’s Robin. Dick goes to save Tim and ends up fighting Jason.

Battle For the Cowl #3

Dick wins, Jason disappears, Tim is fine, and Dick finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes Batman.

Part 3 - What Happens to Each Batkid While Bruce is “Dead”?:

Dick:

As I said, Dick becomes the new Batman a month after Bruce’s death. He’s got big shoes to fill, and it takes some time for him to get used to his new role. He and Damian end up flipping around the classic Batman and Robin dynamic, with Batman now as the fun counterpart to Robin’s edginess. Dick, Damian, and Alfred relocate to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building, operating out of a secret Bat-Bunker in the basement.

Batman #688

Jason:

After Battle For the Cowl, Jason is still batshit insane and determined to make Dick’s already stressful life even harder by becoming a supervillain with an ugly costume and an even uglier hairstyle. (I know it’s just because the artist sucked, but still. Jason is horrifying to look at during this time.) He mostly just gets on Dick’s nerves by running around Gotham with his new sidekick Scarlet and killing criminals as Batman and Robin wannabes. Eventually, Dick has Jason committed to Arkham Asylum and he hangs out there until Bruce returns.

Batman and Robin (2009) #5

Tim:

Tim...doesn’t do great after Bruce’s death, mentally. Dick makes Damian Robin, his reasoning being that Robin is more of a sidekick and he sees Tim as his equal. By making Damian Robin, Dick hopes that it will give him the stability he needs to keep him from straying back toward the “bad” side. (It’s the right move ultimately, although his execution was pretty messed up since he didn’t discuss it with Tim beforehand, but he’s allowed to make mistakes. Dick’s father just died and now he’s in charge of picking up the pieces of their broken family. It’s a lot to handle.)

Long story short, Tim has a breakdown, realizes that Bruce is alive, dons the Red Robin identity, and cuts ties with his family to travel the world in search of proof. It’s a rough time.

Red Robin #1

Damian:

Our little guy becomes Robin! So proud of him! As I explained earlier, Dick makes Damian his Robin with the assumption that it will keep him out of trouble, and he’s right on that account. He mentors Damian, teaching him how to channel his violent instincts into something productive, and it works! Slowly but surely, Damian makes the transition from bratty assassin to actual hero!

Batman and Robin (2009) #22

Cass:

Duke sadly was not introduced at this point in time, so he missed out on all the pandemonium. Cass, however, has been Batgirl for years by now, but she got kind of pushed aside by the writers after Bruce’s death. Bruce disappears shortly after adopting Cass, but once he was “dead,” the writers sort of moved Cass around for a while, not quite knowing what to do with her. First she was with the Outsiders. Then they got disbanded and Cass tried forming a new network of heroes to take over for Batman if needed. Then she helped out in said network during Battle for the Cowl, taking care of a newly ravaged Gotham. Then Cass gave the Batgirl mantle to Stephanie Brown after she became disillusioned with the role, thanks to the loss of her father and mentor. Then Cass picked up and moved to Hong Kong to “follow Bruce’s plans” by continuing whatever work he had set up for her there. It was all very vague and confusing, and Cass more or less got swept under the rug during this time. Thanks, writers.

Batgirl (2009) #1

Part 4 - How Bruce Came Back:

When the Blackest Night storyline happens, the Justice League realizes that the corpse buried under Bruce’s grave is apparently not the real one and that he’s actually alive out there somewhere! How wild is that! This is further proven by Dick after he places Bruce’s body in a Lazarus Pit to revive, which has the same result because it’s very clearly Not Bruce and they should have listened to Tim from the start.

Batman and Robin (2009) #9

Anyway, what actually happened is that the Omega Beams that Darkseid shot at Bruce didn’t kill him, but rather blasted him back through time to the prehistoric era with his memories wiped. The Omega Energy inside of Bruce ends up catapulting him through various time periods, which is all part of Darkseid’s plan. With each time-hop, Bruce builds up more Omega Energy in his body which, when he gets back to his original time period, will be unleashed and destroy everything.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

It’s been a little under two years since Final Crisis, though in-universe it’s uncertain exactly how long Bruce has been “dead.” We can assume it’s been a year, give or take. The way he comes back is too scientific and complicated for me to understand, so uhhhh the bottom line is that Tim and a few Leaguers save Bruce at the Vanishing Point and the day is saved! Hooray!

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

(If you want to read about how it actually goes down, then I seriously recommend reading Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It’s only six issues, so it’s a quick read and it explains the situation far better than I ever could.)

Bruce eventually reunites with his family after spying on them for a period of time as Insider to see what has changed in his absence:

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

After that, things quickly settle back into their new normal. Dick and Damian stay on as Batman and Robin. Bruce goes back to being Batman as well, with him handling Batman Incorporated business and Dick continuing as Gotham’s defender. Tim keeps the Red Robin outfit, Steph stays on as Batgirl, and Cass becomes Black Bat. Jason stays in Arkham for a while before filing an appeal to be moved to a regular prison. He kills 82 inmates in less than a week and gets transferred back to Arkham, which he promptly escapes from. It’s a ride, I tell ya.

Aaaaand that’s about it! I hope this answered all of your questions!

201 notes · View notes

blue-bird-kny · 4 years

Note

first kiss headcannons for tanjirou zenitsu, inosuke and genya? plus any others you feel like adding.

Here you go, enjoy!~Amanda (also it was impossible to find an image with them all!)

Warning: Mentions of anxiety, fluff, angst

(2k+ words)

Tanjiro:

With Tanjiro, he’d be the one that would initiate the first kiss. Being the gentleman he is though, he’d only do so with your complete consent and after you two had been dating for a while.

However, he wouldn't spend time planning the kiss or creating a romantic scenario, he’d want it to be spontaneous and in the moment; he’s simple in that way.

You and Tanjiro spent the day training and, now exhausted, you both laid on the floor in an attempt to stabilize your breathing. “You’ve grown as a fighter so quickly (y/n), I’m impressed. Not that I didn’t think you could do it, of course.” Tanjiro commented from the floor, watching you slowly sit up. “Well I’ve had a great teacher” you winked, poking at his side causing Tanjiro to laugh. He sat up, smiling lovingly at his girlfriend. Girlfriend; he loves the fact he can call you that. It had only been a few weeks, but it seems like he asked you out months ago, you two were just so comfortable with one another.

Of your short relationship, the biggest obstacle Tanjiro’s has had to overcome is the ability to do normal relationship things without asking first, even if you’ve said it's ok. For example, the first time he tried to grab your hand without warning, his fingers shook and his face was red. It’s one of your favorite things about him, how endearing he is.

Today, though, he's able to do such simple gestures without worrying too much. The two of you sat in silence, breathing steady, as you sat facing each other. Tanjiro reached out to grab both your hands, tightly holding them in each of his own larger ones. He wanted to reach that next step with you, but he didn’t know if you were ready. “(y/n), Can I kiss you?” his question was quiet and filled with care, he didn’t want to make you unhappy by moving too fast.

What he didn’t know was that you’d been dying to feel his lips on yours, to feel how they molded together with his, to feel more of him. You didn’t need words to convey your confidence or trust in Tanjiro, so you simply shook your head yes. Eyes closed, heart racing, you hummed in delight as he started small, placing a firm kiss onto your forehead. He leaned lower, pecking the tip of your nose, making you smile fondly. Finally, he delicately placed a tentative kiss on your lips, cupping your cheek in the process.

It was slow and quicker than you’d have liked, but there was time for more later. He pulled away a bit, just enough so you both could lean onto each other's foreheads, smiling in content.

First kisses with Tanjiro are sweet and kind and very, very soft.

Zenitsu

No matter how much he may flirt with you, even after you two get together, this boy will in no way try to initiate the first kiss.

Underneath his crazy antics, lies a boy with horrible anxiety and little self-confidence, so it’d be hard for him to be the one to progress the relationship. That being said, it's not like he doesn’t think about kissing because he does...a lot, but his fear of losing you is far greater than his desires.

Whether it is his ability to take action in battle or training with the others, you try to encourage and praise him as much as possible. This has helped his confidence some, but when it comes to you, he has more to risk than sparring with Inosuke.

It was early in the day, just before the sun's first rays could break the silence of night. You were usually up at this time, early enough to get ready before having to wake the others for whatever the day called for. Usually, in the bed only a few feet from yours, your enthusiastic boyfriend would be snoring away, but this morning he was nowhere to be found.

You silently panicked as you tiptoed out of the room not wanting to wake the others as they slept, bursting into a full sprint once outside. It wasn’t long, though, before you found his blonde head peeking out from behind a bush. Silently, so as to not startle him, you walked over and took a seat next to him. You didn’t say anything, there was no need to, sometimes he just needed you there in silence. Instead, you grasped his hand in yours, giving him a reassuring squeeze and kind smile.

“You know (y/n), You are always saving me, but I never seem to be able to be there for you when you need it. How useless am I, right” his voice was hollow, eyes empty as they gazed into space. Sometimes it was tough to bring Zenitsu out of these spirals, but you had to try, you loved him and could’t stand the fact that he didn’t see himself the way you saw him; brilliant.

The movement of your body shifting in front of his pulled him from his empty thoughts. He was startled as you unexpectedly pulled him into a tight embrace, his hands hung in the air unsure of what to do with them. “Zenitsu, I wish you could see yourself the way I saw you.” you started softly, hand rubbing soothing circles into his back. “You’ve saved me more times than I can count, on the battlefield you never fail to protect me from harm even if it means getting injured. Us being together is something I cherish deeply and I’m grateful that we’ve come together, you make me really happy Zenitsu” you tried to convey every ounce of the happiness the boy has made you feel.

Zenitsu began to cry into your shoulder, finally returning the hug you’d had him wrapped in. You two sat in silence again, save for the few sniffles that came from your boyfriend, as the sun's early rays began to penetrate the atmosphere. He pulled back after some time, his gaze switching from your eyes to your lips in a silent question. You chuckled as your hands hooked around his neck, pulling yourself significantly closer to the boy who you loved. “You can kiss me, you know”. Those few words were all the confidence he needed as he pulled you the rest of the way, lips meeting in a passionate kiss. His cheeks were damp from crying and his lips were slightly chapped, but none of that mattered because there was nowhere else you’d rather be than with Zenitsu in the early morning glow.

Inosuke:

In a weird way Inosuke was a simple guy when it came to how he expressed his feelings and emotions; short and to the point. It takes a lot to make him embarrassed, so if he wanted a kiss from you, he’d get it. He sees no point in waiting for that ‘perfect’ moment, it's going to happen eventually so why not right now?

It was just another afternoon with your friends all being patients at the Butterfly Estate. You’d all gone there after receiving some nasty injuries on the mission you’d all completed. You decided that the fastest way to heal was to sit outside in peace and quiet, allowing your body to do its thing while soaking in the sun and inhaling fresh air.

Well that lasted a good two seconds before your rowdy boyfriend came running around the corner, his boar mask on and swords waving recklessly. Irritated at the interruption, you shouted “Inosuke damn it! You’re supposed to be healing not running around like an idiot” . Your words captured his attention as he changed in direction towards you. “(y/n)!” he laughed, “I already healed, I don’t need any rest like you weaklings!” if you didn’t know better, you’d taken offense to his words but you knew it was all for show.

Inosuke couldn’t even begin running again before he groaned in pain, he’d managed to pull one of his healing muscles by running, “Sit Inosuke” you insisted. He begrudgingly sat cross-legged next to you, murmuring nonsense on his way down. You were the only person he listened too so easily and it amazed the others.

“Here” you moved toward him, “take this off so you can get some fresh air” you explained, removing his mask and gently placing it on the ground. His dark locks tumbled out onto his shoulders and over the bandage that was wrapped around his skull. You frowned as you noticed a small spot of blood that was slowly growing on his forehead. “Inosuke, you managed to open the wound on your forehead again. Aoi isn’t going to be happy about that.” you gently reprimanded, bringing your hand to the spot and slightly applying pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Inosuke watched in silence as you tended to him. He’d always admired you from the first time you two met. He was riled up by the strength you showed on the battlefield and was determined to fight you. Of course you’ve rejected every one of his requests since, but you didn’t mind the company as he seemed to stick by you like glue. Over time his admiration developed into something more romantic in the sense that he really liked you. So now, as you showed care and kindness towards him, he found it only appropriate to kiss you.

His movements were fast and dramatic as he squished both your cheeks and roughly planted a quick kiss to your lips. You were stunned after he pulled away, his mouth forming a smirk. “What just happened?” you asked nobody in particular. It wasn’t that you minded the kiss, quite the opposite as you’d been crushing on the wild man for forever now, but it was so sudden you didn’t even get to enjoy it. Releasing your face, he triumphantly raised his fist and shouted “(y/n) is mine now! She’s mine so if I see any of you weaklings around here I’ll beat you to a pulp”. Your small chuckled slowly built up to a loud fit of laughter, you held onto your stomach for support. “Oh Inosuke” you smiled playfully up at him. However sweet he was though, you were a woman of revenge and so before he could react, you held his cheeks like he did yours and kissed him, albeit much gentler and for longer. The roles from earlier reversed, as now you were the one smirking in delight and he was the one who sat in confusion.

Genya (This one is a little shorter/ more like a headcanon because I’m only just getting used to his charters so please, bare with me!)

On the outside, Genya looked like a mean, rude, and unapproachable guy, which in some cases was true. For you though, he was just a softy who wanted love and affection sometimes more than he wanted water and you were more than happy to shower him with it.

Genya would be too embarrassed to initiate the first kiss, that oh-so lovable shy side of himself stopping him from making too many moves on you. It was a miracle he’d been able to ask you out without blowing a gasket, so this was hard for him.

Anytime he’d even get close enough where he could kiss you, he’d bounce away with red checks, almost like he’d been set on fire by your presence. However today you were determined to kiss Genya, even if it meant teasing him a little further than normal.

Your boyfriend had offered to walk you to your room like he does every night, the two of you walking in a comfortable silence. You looked to see if there were others around, happy to find nobody in the corridor. Outside of your door, Genya faced you to wish you a good night, but was caught off guard when you pushed him against your door with much effort and used your arms to trap him there. The scene was actually pretty ridiculous; you were much shorter than he was and if he wanted to, he could have easily pushed you away. “W-what the hell..mph!” he was cut off as you reached up and placed a rough kiss onto his lips. He didn’t respond right away, and you almost pulled away regrettably, but after a moment he held you in place by snaking his arms around your waist. The kiss became smoother and gentler as time passed, you two quickly melting into one another. Eventually you had to pull away for air, a small string of saliva connecting you two as you both breathed in deeply.

Regaining your breath, you looked up to find his narrowed eyes staring down at yours. He scoffed in a way that would have been off putting if his arms weren’t still secured around you, “If you wanted a kiss you could have just asked” he said as red began to spread even further down his neck and up to the tips of his ears. “Ah Genya, you really are the sweetest” you cheered pulling yourself closer to his chest.

“H-hey you moron! We’re in public!” Genya panicked as you laughed at his failed attempt to pry you off his body.

Main Masterlist

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it, please leave a heart/reblog if you’d like. Thank you and please stay safe~Amanda

#kimetsu no yaiba #kny #demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #inosuke x reader #tanjiro x reader #zenitsu x reader #genya x reader #kny writing

2K notes · View notes

hyenahunt · 3 years

Text

Beast Survival - 8 [END]

Writer: Nishioka Maiko

Season: Summer

Proofreading: royalquintet (JP & ENG)

Hiyori: After all, Jun-kun, you had the ambition to haul yourself up from that bottom rung, the spirit to stand up against those above you, and the determination to cling onto that opportunity.

[Location: Starmony Hall Courtyard]

Leo: Munch, munch, chew—

Aira: Nom, nom — this is the best ♪ It's delicious~! I never knew food could taste sooo good~ ♪

Tatsumi: I wouldn't have thought you'd be able to fish up a sea bream of all things, Jun-san. Impressive work.

Jun: Oh no, it was all luck, honestly. Right back at you, Kazehaya-senpai — thanks so much for handling all the food prep right away.

By stacking up some rocks together, you managed to make us all a simple stove ♪ [1]

Tatsumi: I read about it in a book once, some time ago. Who would have thought it'd come in handy as an idol?

And all that aside, you really went above and beyond in trying out a real-life survival game for the sake of getting into your role.

Jun: Nahhh, at first I just got swept up in the whole thing, really.

But if I'm gonna take up this stageplay role as a professional, I can't give 'em some half-assed work, so I decided to take this chance to really get into character.

Tatsumi: Hmm. Jun-san, you're truly diligent.

Jun: Mmm. Rather than diligence... you could say it's something like pride, maybe.

This is gonna be my first time performing in a stageplay, but that makes no difference to the audience.

Whether it's a big name or a newbie up there performing the lead role, guests still pay the same amount to come and see 'em...

So I believe it's only right that an actor shouldn't betray their level of experience to the audience.

Well, even if I say all that, my lack of experience is gonna jump out in some way.

It'll take time to build up experience, no matter what. There's no way I could rack it all up in a day, right?

But when it comes to learning my role, there's at least something I can do. That's what I figured, anyway.

If it really was something I couldn't do anything about, I would've resigned myself to it, but I don't wanna say something's impossible without even trying it first.

That's the pride I have as a pro in the making, after all.

Tatsumi: Heheh. That sort of attitude is most befitting of an actual professional, and to continue holding onto it is truly a challenge.

So, how did it go? Have you gotten a better grasp on your role?

Jun: Mm, well... Thanks to this experience, I've gained a newfound appreciation for things I normally have around me and my own abilities.

I feel like I now understand what it's like to be in a situation where I've no choice but to do everything with my own two hands, but I don't think I can really say I've completely gotten a grip on my role yet...

Since I'm no prince, much less one who's gotten exiled from his kingdom, I can't quite wrap my head around the sheer weight of responsibilities someone like that's gotta deal with.

Though my old man's a former idol, I grew up in a pretty average household, after all.

Tatsumi: ...Hmm. Jun-san, aren't you overthinking this a little?

Jun: Am I?

Tatsumi: Yes. You took such an impossible mission upon yourself, faced it squarely, and even accomplished it without ever throwing in the towel.

That kind of tenacious spirit and resolve would stay with you no matter what shape or form you take, don't you think?

Jun: ...!

Leo: Hey now~! You two over there! Quit floating off into your own little world and get over here~!

I've just had a flood of inspiration burst forth! Let's sing a survival song with everyone!

Aira: That's riiight! The veggie foil packs are gonna get all burnt, y'knooow!

Tatsumi: Ahh, so they are. I'll be right with you.

Jun: (I get it now... I'd thought I didn't know anything about the animal kingdom, but I was only judging things by my own standards.)

(Though I didn't realise it at first, all the things I felt today could be the very same things animals living out there in the wild experience, huh.)

Leo: Heeey! Namiii~! Hurry up and get over here, toooo~!

Aira: What he saaaid! Sazanami-senpaiii~!

Jun: (Maybe the Hyena Prince would feel all these things, too.)

(What a rag-tag, fun, and reliable group. If this band of merry men is the one I'm gonna be taking back my kingdom with, then well, I guess things aren't so bad after all ♪ )

I heard ya clear as day~ I'm comin' over now—!

✦✦✦✦✦

[Location: ES Breakroom]

Jun: Heya, thanks for all your hard work today. Huh? Are you the only one here, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: It seems Adam's running late at their current gig. Work is work so there's no way around it, but keeping me waiting is unacceptable!

Jun: Now, now. I'm sure they're gonna come by soon. Want some tea while you wait?

It looks like they've brought in that black tea you've been wanting to try, Ohii-san. Shall I brew some for you?

Hiyori: Yes, yes. But of course, you shouldn't even need to ask. It's a given that you brew tea for me, yes? It should be as natural as breathing for you!

Jun: There's seriously something wrong with your personality... Ohii-san.

Hiyori: What's this? Jun-kun, you seem like you've made some kind of breakthrough. That's a fine weather! A little while ago you were going around looking like you were dead inside. Did you manage to master your role?

Jun: Mmm~ Well, you could say I'm finally standing on the starting line.

Right, speaking of which. Ohii-san, you told me the other day that I was a good fit for this hyena role, didn't you?

And that I'd just have to remember why. What was that all about?

Hiyori: Hm? — Ahh, yes.

Jun-kun, you were a non-special student, weren't you? As a result, you had no more merit than a pebble on the roadside.

After all, that's the kind of system that school had, but...

Like a messiah, I extended my hand of salvation to you and lifted you up from that place. That's why you should be all the more grateful towards me, of course.

Jun: You really don't have to be so annoying about it, but I mean, it's true. I'm always telling you how grateful I am, aren't I?

But what does that have to do with what you said, Ohii-san?

Hiyori: Well, it's not like I chose you on a complete whim, of course.

After all, Jun-kun, you had the ambition to haul yourself up from that bottom rung, the spirit to stand up against those above you, and the determination to cling onto that opportunity.

That's the very Jun-kun I chose... and with a role like an exiled hyena prince, returning to reclaim his kingdom with the help of his friends — there's no way it wouldn't suit you, right?

Jun: ......!

Hiyori: As I've told you once before, you're a noble beast who can't tell lies. [2]

And you see, that's why I extended a hand to you. Isn't my foresight incredible!

Jun: Can you stop flattering yourself with everything you say? It really doesn't feel like I'm the one being praised at all.

Hiyori: I'm just saying it as it is, of course!

Now, if you just think back to those days in Reimei Academy, to when you'd first met me, then that alone would be enough for you to play the Hyena Prince better than anyone else.

Jun: ...So that's what you mean. If that's the case, then I feel like I could keep playing him all the way until the end. Those days are carved right into my soul, after all.

Hiyori: Exactly! That's why out of everyone out there, you're the one who has to play him! Jun-kun, no one else would understand the Hyena Prince better than you!

Jun: Well then, I should know just how to reply, shouldn't I?

"I'll swallow up all the fruits of your charity, and all the days I've lived through up 'til now — and then I'll show you how I've grown strong enough to hunt my own prey!" [2]

✦✦✦✦✦

Translation Notes:

[1]: Specifically a kamado, a traditional Japanese wood/charcoal-fueled cook stove.

[2]: These lines are a direct reference to quotes in Saga - Release 4 (which will hopefully be back up soon!)

✦✦✦✦✦

← prev ✦ all ✦

#jun sazanami #aira shiratori #leo tsukinaga #tatsumi kazehaya #hiyori tomoe #enstars #ensemble stars #enstars translation #s: beast survival #era: !!#type: scout #status: complete #hyenahunttl

33 notes · View notes

dennou-translations · 3 years

Photo

Violet Evergarden Ever After: Chapter 2

Please feel free to message me about possible corrections. If you can, consider supporting the creators by purchasing the official releases. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

← Previous || Index || Next →

The Night and the Auto-Memories Doll

Everything went around.

From past to present and from present to future. The dead bodies that decayed within the soil would dissolve into the earth, and from the earth, too, would new living creatures be born. Within a few hours’ time, curtains made of stars and nightly shades would be covered over by curtains in the colors of dawn.

People went around as well.

Children would be born, muster out their voices, start walking and, once they became aware of their own selves, their stories would begin. A cycle of discovering passion, coming to know love, stopping to be children and, upon sympathizing with other families, birthing offspring just as their parents had done. A cycle of learning about the world, spreading information, teaching their knowledge to younglings without sparing any of it away and generating more such younglings. A cycle in which someone’s story was someone else’s encouragement, and those who were encouraged would conceive stories of their own.

Everything went around.

There was one cycle here. It was the story of a meager cycle that likely could happen anywhere in the world.

A man picked up a wild beast from a small island to which he had drifted. It was a beautiful beast, but it had been stocked with skills long before coming to his hands. Skills for slaughtering people with ease and seeking submission.

Their first meeting was terrible. His underling had attempted to lay his hands on the beast’s beauty. As if it were a given, the beast had killed his many subordinates, leaving only one person. That was him. Granting him both disaster and salvation at the same time, the beast had sought subservience in regards to the man.

The man fled around the island where all but himself had been murdered, but gave in and accepted the beast. The beast was useful, but also an existence that he could not handle. Be it morning, noon or night, his head was troubled with the beast, his heart unable to calm down.

Essentially, he was a man who did not want to be shackled by anything. After all, he had a past of being forced into submission by his household and parents. He had escaped from his responsibilities and his home, jumping off into the sea. The man, who had been born in a family that bore the name of a flower, had run away and gained freedom.

He yearned for it – for a freedom that no one could steal from him – more than anything. Even if he had to cast away his little brother for it. Therefore, the man had done the same in the beast’s case. The one who mattered most to him was himself. He wanted to break free from that horror. Most likely, he had cut off from himself a child in need of salvation.

Everything went around.

——O God, I want to .

Everything.

A voice that sounded like bells echoed.

“Captain,” it whispered, as if to tickle the man’s ears. “Captain Dietfried Bougainvillea.”

It was evening. A time when people were returning to their homes.

“What would you like to do?”

An orange light shone from the window inlaid with stained glass. With the sunset reflected on the elaborately designed interior decoration, the place itself looked like a single work of art.

“Could it be that, because of the impact earlier, your hearing has...”

It was supposed to be. The place where the person who called out so insistently and the person who intentionally ignored her were in was an art gallery that just recently had its interior and exterior finished.

“As if.”

“I am relieved. Then, I would like to ask if you have a plan.”

In a place they were not supposed to be at, the two who were not supposed to be together were kneeling on the floor in resignation.

“Captain.”

“.............................”

“The civilians are in a predicament.”

“................................”

“Captain Dietfried Bougainvillea.”

“............”

“What would you like to do?”

“..................”

“I would like to ask if you have a plan, by any chance.”

“.....................”

“The civilians are in a predicament.”

“........................”

“If I may offer my opinion, firstly, I could act as a decoy—”

“Be quiet, monster. Don’t keep repeating the same thing over and over. Don’t breathe either. I’m thinking right now.”

Dietfried Bougainvillea, a naval captain of Leidenschaftlich, eldest son of the Bougainvillea – a household of patriotic national heroes – and the man who had picked up Violet Evergarden in the past and brought her to this country, was covering his eyes with his hands due to having too much on his plate. The little bit of silence and darkness had brought him relief, but someone’s sobbing, the voice of a man reproaching it and the sound of a person being brutally kicked and tumbling down dragged him back to reality.

He had a severe headache. Whether it was caused by his anxiety or his injury, he had no idea. He put a hand on the back of his head and examined it, but only a bit of blood had come out.

In order to somehow spit such awful mood out of his body, he took deep breaths. He felt that he had become a little better, but the unpleasant sensation returned once he opened his eyes and cast his gaze at the woman next to him. A spoon of discomfort, rejection and fear each was thrown into Dietfried’s emotional vessels, set on fire and boiled up. However, the most prominent feeling was something else.

The woman who had been talking to him so insistently until a moment ago was now quiet just and not letting out a single breath as he had told her. Violet Evergarden.

Dietfried looked fixatedly at his former servant. The woman, whose appearance had transfigured considerably in comparison to when they had first met, bore a radiantly shining cold beauty, which was even more conspicuous under such tense circumstances. She was almost like an ice sculpture, Dietfried thought.

——Even though you used to stink like a wild beast...

She now smelled of nothing but flowers.

——...you turned out just as I’d imagined.

“You’re a siren.”

Silence.

“My little brother destroyed a train station just to keep you alive; you’re a siren through and through. I’m not into you, but my mental stability is wrecked right now, and I’m sensing the harmfulness and influence that your existence brings about in that. You’re unmatched when it comes to breaking things and causing problems.”

Dietfried had once told his brother that the beast could become a siren. He had meant to say so including all sorts of matters. This young woman named Violet was a creature that God had created by mistake and had not been born under a good star. When one was by her side, there were many of them.

“Damn troublemaker.”

Many problems. Even though she had not wished for it, she had been born this way. Under a star that attracted disasters.

——It goes round. All of it.

He ran and ran from her, yet they would end up meeting, thus Dietfried had started to think that it might be some sort of divine revelation at this point. Telling him to face the girl that he had thrown away.

Violet was still, hand on her brooch. He someway guessed that it was given to her by his younger brother. He felt like clicking his tongue. This girl might become the worst-ever wife whose hand his most beloved little brother was going to take.

——We can leave that for later; gotta overthrow this situation first.

Determined to fight this reality, Dietfried then turned his gaze towards the sight that spread out before his eyes. Women, men, elderly people – everyone was crouching on the floor with guns pointed at them regardless of anything. Obviously, the same applied to Dietfried and Violet.

Unexpected situations – situations in which they could not make a false move even if they were on their own, let alone in the presence of so many civilians – were responsible for this. On top of it, Dietfried was also saddled with someone that he had to protect despite not wanting to. Of course he would feel like clicking his tongue at it.

Perhaps they were thought to be lovers, as no one said anything even while they stayed close to each other.

“Hey, did you really stop breathing?”

She did not seem to be in agony, but her figure as she diligently obeyed made Dietfried feel uneasy.

“I was joking; breathe.”

Violet’s blue eyes blinked with a snap.

“Yes.”

And then, she finally let out a breath. Dietfried hated himself for being remotely relieved that she had safely started breathing again, was what he thought.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes.”

“From now on, follow my orders. Don’t act on your own accord.”

“All right.”

“I’m gonna save the civilians. It’s my duty. There’s no helping it, so I’m counting you in that math too... No idea what my little brother would do if he found out I’d let you die. Even if it weren’t on purpose, if anything that could kill you happened under these circumstances, I really have no way of knowing what he’d do. He’d probably hate me.”

“No, Captain, he—”

“Have some self-awareness, Monster. My foolish younger brother blew up a train station to let you live. This fact did turn into a subject of teasing towards Gil for no matter how much time passes from now, but if you think about it on normal terms, it’s out of the ordinary. That’s the way you’ve changed him. Damn witch...”

She was the tool that he had found and that used to exist for his sake. A woman who used to be a dog with no name. An orphan whom he had picked up from a solitary island, brought back with him, attempted to get the most out of yet was unable to, and then threw away.

Asset. Girl soldier. Automatic assassination doll. Witch.

——Even if I don’t want to, for now, I gotta protect this thing and take it home.

“I’ll save you, so you save me too, Witch.”

Fate went around, adding a chance meeting as the best seasoning for a finishing touch. After all, at this very moment, Violet Evergarden and Dietfried Bougainvillea were being attacked by robbers and had weapons thrust at them.

“That’s awfully unpleasant for me, but I’ll take action by considering your life to be the top priority. Not for you. For my little brother.”

Understanding that she had received permission to talk once she had received permission to breathe, Violet gave her own opinion, “No.” She did it directly, without any restraint. “No, that is my job, Captain. Major... Lord Gilbert loves you.”

Dietfried’s eyes blinked. Those green orbs were staring fixatedly at Violet since earlier, enough to seem like they would suck her in. They were green jewels in a different shade from his younger brother’s. Those green gems, enveloped in shock, reflected Violet’s serious gaze.

“I shall guard you, no matter what happens,” Violet declared with resolution, like a knight. “I will obey your orders to the best of my abilities, but if I judge it to be dangerous, I shall take action with your safeguarding as the maximum priority.”

“Hey.”

“I will definitely protect you and bring you to Major safely. Please do not leave my side, Captain.”

“That’s my line,” Dietfried said while nonetheless wanting to kill Violet.

For the exchange between the two to reach this stage, things had first begun when morning visited Leidenschaftlich. This might be going back much too far in time for a clarification, but it all had indeed started since daybreak.

The morning weather was overflowing with sunlight on that day – typical of Leidenschaftlich in early summer. Early rising ladies formed queues in the bakeries that opened at dawn and little birds flew about the shops’ surroundings to receive breadcrumbs. There was a café three stores away from one of the popular bakeries, famous for serving floral teas, its signboard girl preparing to open it. If one went further ahead, there was a bank, and round said bank, there was a main street lined with large-scale shops.

An art gallery arranged to open the next day had been erected on the main street. Its name was Artemisia. It bore the name of its owner, who was an artist.

The gallery Artemisia displayed the works of its proprietor, of course, but it also had works of artists from within and abroad Leidenschaftlich. There were rows of works from unknown young artists that the owner had taken interest in as well, devoted as she was to the cultivation of new talents.

The Artemisia Gallery, which was to become a place where novel forms of Leidenschaftlich’s art would be born, was scheduled to hold a pre-opening party today, attended only by the people concerned. The gallery’s staff had started cleaning its interior and the sidewalk in front of it from morning.

Around noon, a restaurant employee hired for the sake of that day had visited, bringing in wine, snacks and table sets. As for the dishes, there were two types: the ones that had already been prepared and the ones that would be made by borrowing the kitchen of the owner’s residence, which had been built on the gallery’s top floor. Since eating was not the main focus, the preparations were merely enough for the upcoming guests not to feel hungry.

As evening came, the inside of Artemisia began to speed up with haste. If there were anyone in command of such a scenery, they would likely be asserting with a baton: “hurry”, “faster”, “elegantly”.

An envelope closed with a wax seal bearing the establishment’s crest. Customers arrived one after another with the invitation taken from inside of it at hand. For a pre-opening party with a limited number of invitees, there was a large amount of people. The elect few of Artemisia’s employees were in a flurry of activity.

“Bring me a coat” here, “not enough drinks” there, a plate breaking somewhere. “Where’s the owner?”, “Got caught by the guests”. “There’s no one to give us instructions”, “Oh, well” – just like this, things descended into chaos behind the scenes.

Normally, their job was to calmly recommend artistic goods. Therefore, they were unable to hide their bewilderment at handling so many visitors at first. Nevertheless, if one looked at the guests being entertained, how were they? Appreciating the artworks, looking like they were having a blast. Upon seeing this, the employees were able to understand deep down. That “what, so things are the same as usual”. By the time that the customers were completely familiar with the gallery’s interior, the employees were able to show smiles with a little bit of ease.

Among the guests invited to Artemisia, a foreign body completely unrelated to this world was mixed in.

It was a woman. A beautiful one at that. From an appreciative viewpoint, there would be nothing to complain about if she were one of the artworks. She was clad in a ribbon-tie one-piece dress, snow-white as a flower in full bloom on a summer day. Her long, softly curved golden hair extended to her waist. Perhaps she had come straight from work, as she held a heavy-looking trolley bag on one hand. “Click, click,” knocked her cocoa-brown boots against the marble flooring each time she took a step.

She walked while observing every artwork one by one. Idyllic landscape paintings, abstract paintings that looked like silver ink spilled on pure-white paper, oil paintings in which the people seemed as if they would move at any moment. Glassworks and ceramics that one would be very afraid even to look at from nearby. At first, the exhibition was of works from artists renowned within the country, but the small hall of its latter half integrated displays from artists who were still nameless. The woman stopped in front of one such work.

A painting of whimsical fantasy. Was it a winter sea? It depicted various things falling and sinking into dark and cold water. A pocket watch, a feather, a bed, a knife, a white flower and a chair. All were worn-out and had damaged parts. At first glance, one would not know what it was expressing. Only the boy painted in the center seemed to pierce through the viewer.

He was still a teenager and his appearance could also be considered that of a girl. After staring at him for a while, the feeling that he was supposed to be saved would surface. Because the boy had a facial expression that almost looked like he was making eye contact with the viewer as he fell. But this could not come true. He was sinking in the picture. No one on this side could do anything. One would not know what to do with themselves after looking at it – it was that kind of picture.

“Excuse me; I was the one who painted this. Is there anything wrong with this painti...”

Suddenly, a voice called to the woman from behind. A rock thrown into the quiet atmosphere. A low tone that cut through the dimness of the room.

People were mostly heading towards the famous artists, so the woman had been all by herself on that spot until just now. The man who had showed up a bit late was coincidentally the creator of that fantastical painting, and found himself talking to the woman who had stopped in front of his art. That was an extremely natural encounter for a pair. If their positions, circumstances and everything else were different, something might have been born between them. It did not have to be romantic love, just something – something else that “the two of them originally had”.

“Captain Dietfried Bougainvillea.”

The moment the woman turned around, the space resounded with a loud squeak. It actually had not resounded, but at the very least, Dietfried heard the thump of his own heartbeat, which gave his whole body goosebumps. He was enveloped in a strange sensation, as if the blood inside him were flowing backwards. One of the things he had once evaded in his life was standing there.

“What’re you doing, Monster?”

Violet Evergarden.

Before the emerald eyes that Dietfried possessed, of a hue different from his younger brother’s, there was a young female Auto-Memories Doll. The reason why he had not recognized her from the back was likely that her golden hair was slovenly loose.

He had not had a chance to see her after she had become a grown-up ever since the incident during the Flying Letters. Only people who had great amount of interaction with each other would be able to tell such a thing just by looking at someone’s back.

“I was looking at the paintings, Captain.”

Violet was expressionless. However, her hand alone promptly searched for her emerald brooch and squeezed it.

“You, paintings? Can you understand them?”

First, a scornful laugh, and then a head start with a verbal attack. She needed to put up a defense line. After all, this girl was formerly a weapon. An automatic assassination doll.

“I cannot. It is just that... my eyes and legs stopped.”

She was the one and only woman that Dietfried feared. If he had run into anyone else, his emotions would not be so disrupted.

Dietfried was scared. This girl was terrifying.

“I caused you trouble last time.”

He knew the things she had done. He knew whom she had killed. And he also recalled how he used to treat her, telling himself that it was all right.

“By asking about Major.”

Because she was a monster.

——O God, I want to .

These words wandered about in his head. They were words that he had prayed in his childhood to the one that he would meet at some point – probably in his dying moments. Thinking back on it now, it had been a foolish, immature and helpless wish, but he was serious about it at the time.

Looking at this girl made him remember his embarrassing past self.

“I shall see myself out. Captain, please take your time.”

“Hey.”

Violet had decided to retreat from the place, putting it to action. She concluded that this would be a peaceful solution for both sides and that it would secure each other’s survival.

“Hey, wait.”

However, Dietfried still had something that he wanted to say.

At the call of restraint, Violet’s feet halted mid-step. She then gazed at Dietfried. “Why?” her eyes were asking.

Choosing to leave must have been her own way of showing respect. Considering the current and the previous relationship between two of them, it was a sound judgement. Hence, she stared at him presumptuous and mutely.

Even now, it pierced Dietfried. That quiet “why” perforated him.

Despite being the one who had told her to wait, Dietfried lost sight of his next words. He had tons of complaints. Rather, complaints were the only thing that ever came out of his mouth. Most likely, he had never presented any warm words or attitude to her. No, he had at least patted her head when they parted. But what about it? That was all he had done. Which perhaps was the reason why.

——What did you think of that painting?

Just a question like this was exceptionally challenging for him. If it were anyone else, he would surely be able to ask as easily as breathing. He could also boast that he was the one who had painted it. However, only with this woman was it so difficult.

A long silence drifted between the two. A truly long, long silence.

The mood was almost like two beasts had come across each other in the wilderness and were estimating which would attack first. Both were underdeveloped and, not matching their insides, only their appearances were actually full-fledged. Seen from the sidelines, they were a beautiful adult man and woman looking at each other, but the air flowing between them was that of a battlefield.

Dietfried was starting to sweat. As for Violet, even her breathing was becoming shallower.

Violet seemed to be thinking about something. She opened and closed her mouth, repeating it several times. What should she do in that situation? What was best? She was probably unable to decide. This was something that not just Violet but also Dietfried was thinking about, yet the degree of seriousness in behavior was surprisingly higher on Violet’s side.

She would normally not be like this.

He was the person that even Violet Evergarden, who had written so many letters, was at loss as to how to act around. That was the man called Dietfried.

Perhaps her thinking had eventually arrived to a conclusion, Violet left her baggage on the floor and put her hands behind her back. “Feel free to.”

At first, Dietfried had no idea what she was doing. Violet looked like she was offering her body.

“Ha...?”

Without hesitation, almost as if she were a tool.

“I am still. Feel free to.”

“Feel free to feast on my life,” she seemed to say. Her current self overlapped with the beast of the past.

“To do what, is what I’m asking...” Dietfried’s mouth felt sticky, giving him a hard time mustering words out. His head had been occupied mostly with how to mend the blunder that he had exposed to her, so he could not respond to Violet’s surprise attack immediately.

“Do you not remember? I used to do this whenever I had to receive reprimand or punishment.”

He could not. All of the information that had been fluttering about in Dietfried’s head until now disappeared. It vanished.

“You, what the...”

The owner of the blue eyes that stared at Dietfried as if to shoot through him always did unexpected things, tossing him about.

“I did not know how to speak back then, so in order to show that I had no intention to attack you, Captain, I would do this.”

Those eyes.

“No matter what I say, surely... there is no atonement for me. With time, I have come to understand the things I... did. And how much terror I made you go through. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the kindliness of placing me under Lord Gilbert. I wish to pay you back somehow. If you say that it is unnecessary, at the very least, do as you please.”

For whatever reason, when those eyes asked him “why”...

“Be it with fists or with reproach, as much as you want.”

...his chest ached as if it had been stabbed.

“Feel free to.”

If that place were not a quiet art gallery, Dietfried would have yelled furiously at her, without caring about shame or his reputation. He managed to ball his fists hard enough for it to hurt and swallow down his angry voice due to his high level of self-respect.

“I hate that about you...”

This girl always made him aware that she would never act as he expected.

“...to death.”

At the words spoken by Dietfried’s quivering tone, Violet took a step back. Her stance of offering herself did not change, but her instincts were on-guard, wondering if she was not going to be killed by this man. Seeing that, Dietfried sneered at her figure.

“You’re the one who could choke the life out of me anytime,” he seemed to say.

Dietfried suddenly felt the heat that had gone up his head cooling down. Violet had taken a step back. That became the trigger for him to regain his composure. Because he was able to reconfirm that she was but a child in the end. This innocent aspect and action that were much like what a child would show to an adult exerted a great influence on the other party. Dietfried loathed that.

For he, who despised interventions from anyone, had so much aversion to it that it make him want to vomit.

Those who were accustomed to oppression from others would very easily choose to hurt people. She was inwardly frightened of that tendency. Yet albeit frightened, she prioritized others over herself. That creature was like a mass of contradictions.

——Disgusting. Stop. Die. Don’t look at me.

He did not want to get involved with her. But he had a mountain of things to say. However, when it came to whether or not he could properly do it, even if he managed to squeeze them out, they would turn into nothing but abusive language.

There was a large lake between the two of them and all they could do was gaze at the opposite shore, unable to tell how deep it was. Their first meeting was to blame for that. It was the cause of everything.

His underlings had attacked her and she had killed all of them. She then chased and chased after him, making him into her master. Despite there being a hierarchy, Violet was the one who had a grip over his life.

One would understand, after spending time with the girl, that this was a necessity for her. She was always like that, ever since the island only the two of them knew. Whenever anything happened, she would prioritize Dietfried. After all, even as he handed her over to Gilbert, she had not resisted.

If anything could be changed, that was the moment.

The two who never mingled with each other met again countless times in a parallel line. On such occasions, they would become unable to make a move due to shouldering the truth of rejection and of the things they had done, thus running away.

——Gilbert.

What did the person who brought the two together, whom they loved most, thought of that?

“You... I...”

——If I could change for Gilbert...

“Captain...?”

——If I could change, right here and now, for your sake...

Would it be easier for him to breathe?

Just as Dietfried was about to make a bitter decision...

“GYAAAAAAAAAH—AAAAAAH—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

...an incident occurred.

It was clearly not a hasty crime. The scream of Artemisia, the owner, echoed, and by the time that Dietfried and Violet had bolted from the quiet hall where there was just the two of them, robbers were already thrusting their weapons mostly at vulnerable women and children, having them on their knees. The course of action was far too swift.

Wide-eyed, Violet swung back her trolley bag and was about to throw it at them, yet Dietfried stopped her.

“Are you stupid?! Those aren’t all adults that can run...!”

Among the hostages, there was also a little girl held under someone’s arms, looking like she did not understand the situation.

“I will save them as fast as possible and take control of the rest.”

“They’ve got guns; what’re you gonna do if they hit someone else with a warning shot?! There’s the other artworks too... This ain’t a stage for a tactless bastard like you to brawl! Just stay put for now!”

“But, Captain—”

“Stay put!”

While the two were trying to push past each other, the robbers took notice of them.

In the main hall, perhaps in order to bind people up through fear, the men were being beaten without exception, being put on their knees over the floor. Seeing that, the women naturally sat down, trembling, and began to cry.

While screams were resounding like music, one of the robbers headed towards the duo. “So there were still weeds growing here?” was the look in his eyes as he swung his firearm emotionlessly.

Dietfried would have managed to avoid it. He had done it several times until now. He could do it as easily as floating on water. If he could catch the man’s gun with one hand and pulled it just like that, he was able to picture the opponent falling over as a reaction. Once he stole the gun, he could shoot each member of the robber gang one by one in the head. And then, there would be a gunfight. He would have done that if he were alone. Yes, if he were alone.

——Why now of all times?

There was nothing more humiliating than a punch that one had to resign oneself into receiving. But he had things he had to protect above his own dignity. Thus, he accepted the attack without dodging. If he were to start a scuffle amidst the current situation, he did not think that all of the people who had become hostages would remain unharmed. He would aim for a chance. That was what he should do. He made such decision not only for his own welfare but also for that of other people.

However, the automatic assassination doll made a completely different one. When her eyes glinted like that, she quite literally moved on automatic. She came forward to take his place. In that instant, the face of Dietfried’s younger brother was the only thing crossing his mind.

——Gil.

It was almost as if he had readied himself to do it. That was how quickly his arm reached out. He forcefully embraced Violet and turned his back towards the robber. A violent hit struck him from head to back. He could hear Violet’s breath quietly catching while holding her in his arms.

And such was how they had arrived to the present.

Dietfried did not think that his decision to suppress Violet was a mistake. He was aware that she was the woman who had fought by herself against terrorists inside an exploding train, but it would be a problem if she did something of the sort in the Artemisia Gallery.

Right now, he felt like a pet owner containing the rampage of his mad dog.

As for the mad dog herself, she had grown quiet ever since Dietfried had been hit, as if her functions were gone. Dietfried had pushed away the hands that had attempted to give him first aid. Any false moves and the robbers might beat him again.

She, who always took upon herself to protect, wound up being protected. On top of that, she had let the other be injured. This must have caused her to fall into despondency, enough to result in service outage. However, with time, she had rebooted and was rousing herself up once more to get through this situation.

“I understand that I should refrain from the use of force in an art gallery. But should we not place human lives above the artworks?”

——Whose fault do you think it is that I got hit on the back of my head?

Because she was saying the most obvious thing with the most serious face, Dietfried grabbed the collar where her brooch resided, taking the brooch along, without thinking. The thread that fastened the ribbon-tie dress’s button let out a screech. It was not the kind of deed that a gentleman would do to a lady. But Dietfried did not loosen the strength that he put into his grip.

“You... Do you still need disciplining from me?” he said, voice filled with rage, close enough for their faces to touch. “Think of this as a place that can hardly compare to any other... This thing’s pretty important for you, isn’t it?”

After blinking with a snap, she opened her mouth once, then closed it.

Once Dietfried’s hand let go of her, she grasped the brooch as if to protect it. She was more concerned about the brooch than the crumpled bust of her dress. She stroked it over and over, making sure that it had not been damaged.

Finally, she whispered in a dazed state, “I understand.”

“As if an idiot could,” Dietfried said with a snort, yet the other was a poker-faced Auto-Memories Doll. No matter how much he hurt her, it would have no effect. That was what Dietfried had thought.

“I understood completely. I will avoid combat here as much as possible.” Alas, her voice sounded a little faint.

Dietfried stared at Violet from the corners of his eyes. The brooch was indeed important to her. She was holding it down with both hands. She did not want anyone to touch it – that was what she was indicating. The two of them were speaking in an awfully low tone, but her timbre just now was as thin as the cry of a mosquito.

Dietfried said with a somewhat softer voice, “Good that you get it. I’m indebted to the owner of this gallery. I’m gonna choose the best I can for her sake too.”

“All right.”

“Human lives are the priority, of course. But we’re not gonna fight in a stupid way.”

Like a child, Violet nodded repeatedly.

“You’ve only ever been doing body guarding, murders and military action, and that’s why you don’t understand. In the sea... In fleet battles, we fight to protect. Our way of thinking is different from those who fight to conquer.”

“To protect...”

“If you can’t put brakes on them at sea, the enemies go to land. The reason why Leidenschaftlich is called a military nation ain’t just the army’s achievement. I’ve... never taught you how to fight at sea, huh... For now, forget the method of destroying and taking control of everything. Learn from my ways.”

“Understood.”

Dietfried was inwardly surprised at the obedient reply. Rather, even more than this, he was surprised that he and the “beast” were able to have mutual comprehension.

When she was in his hands, this beautiful Auto-Memories Doll was a “wild beast” that did not know how to speak, as well as a tool. An incontrollable beast, to boot.

“Still, if that is how it is, please do not forget that your wellbeing is my top priority all the more. I shall fight to protect you, Captain. Please do not think of protecting me for Lord Gilbert’s sake. If necessity arises, I will not might if you use me as a shield. I can be replaced, but there is no substitute for you.”

If, at that time...

“This is also linked to protecting Lord Gilbert.”

...in that place...

“Bye, Monster. This guy’s your next master.”

...he had educated and guided her instead of letting her go, would she have grown up the same way?

“Shut up.”

Would she have thought like that?

“Shut up, Monster.”

He had never even thought about it.

Another side of him immediately answered “no” to the self-questioning. Surely, a Violet Evergarden raised by Dietfried Bougainvillea would not have turned out like this. He might have at least taught her how to talk. They would have trouble communicating otherwise. He would have probably given her clothes and personal belongings for daily life. Bringing her along when walking around would look bad for him.

However, when it came to whether or not he would have bestowed this girl with something that would be enveloped in her hands with utmost zeal...

——I see; so it’s the same color as Gilbert’s eyes. That brooch.

...he would undeniably have not.

——Come to think of it, she was always following me around from behind ‘cause she hated being alone.

If there was anything he could have done for her, it was to at least fill up a coffin with flowers and leave it available for her. He did not intend for anything to happen, but he might have done that much. After all, if Violet had stayed beside Dietfried Bougainvillea, she would have surely died before him, for his sake.

“We’re gonna do an act.”

——Aah, Gilbert.

“An act?”

——I’m always late to realize how great you are.

“That’s right. You’re the one who suggested it, so I’m gonna make you into a decoy.”

——You’ve made that filthy beast into this.

“Understood.”

——You were able to change her like this.

“First, take this... It’s late for that, but... you got any questions about a joint struggle with me?”

As Dietfried asked, Violet responded with her neck tilted, “Why...? I do not.”

For whatever reason, his former weapon would show scraps of emotion only at times like these. Just innocently, unaware that it was merciless of her.

“Please use me correctly, Captain.” She smiled.

Why had robbers attacked the Artemisia Gallery?

There was a certain amount of history that led to such violence unfolding amidst everyday life. Firstly, it would be preferable to start with the time when a turning point happened in the life of the robbery’s main offender, but that would be rewinding too far. On to a brief explanation.

This case was a crime committed by a habitual criminal.

There were various reasons for people to rob, yet the advantage was but one. Earning compensation within a short period. Good citizens would be paid for their work, but thieves did not share this mentality. People received rewards through serving others. In order to gather a large sum, a long time and effort were necessary. Thieves abdicated from this. To achieve success, no matter in what land, a person had to be equipped with skills as a rule of thumb.

If one could stop after doing it once, why did they do it countless times? There were people here and there who thought this about criminals. It was because, if they had succeeded once, they could do it again. They were instantly able to attain things that they would have to spend a long time out of their lives to earn. This was the arrival of an opportunity to do that.

Once one got used to it, identifying opportunities was surprisingly easy.

Supposing that there was someone who excelled at predicting people’s thoughts. The other person’s personality would be determined by the movements of their eyes, the way they breathed, their voice tone, the relationships of power in their background, their social position and other such things, so one would be able to deduce what kind of conduct should be taken in order to derive the “correct answer”. It seemed like magic at first glance, but it was no more than the result of someone continuously keeping watch on another person for many years.

Since this was a strategy against individual matches, the robbers needed a slightly better ability to grasp the environment. As they were walking around the city, they incidentally found out that a new gallery was going to open. The opening date was also announced. It appeared that there would be an event only for those concerned on the day before.

No matter the establishment, dealing flawlessly with the inauguration of a new shop was difficult. Even if there were people in it who already had experience working in a gallery, but the use of their abilities to have control over such a situation and proceed with it smoothly was different. Employees would be in quite a panic on the day. If it was a members-only celebration day, there was no mistaking that the original state of the security that should be guarding the gallery would be insufficient.

And so, the robbers had thought, “Aah, if you poke this place, it’ll surely crumble down.”

They did not have any grudges in particular. They had simply judged that they could do it, thus undergoing the assault. The truth was merely that the Artemisia Gallery had been unlucky.

How many hardships the owner had gone through until she was able to open the gallery, had she lived her life bowing her head to other people? How many artists were looking forward to seeing their work exhibited in the gallery? The feelings of such people could be trampled miserably at times.

Not that many people paid any mind to weeds when walking. That was all. Except, this time, the Artemisia Gallery had been lucky about just one thing.

“No good... Hum, excuse me...! She suddenly...!”

A naval captain who loved art...

“Ugh...”

...and the woman who used to be called Leidenschaftlich’s War Maiden were amongst the hostages.

The man who had caused a commotion and pleaded to one of the robbers in a panic raised both of his hands as a display of no resistance. He was a long-haired a man. His slightly curvy dark hair went past his shoulders. Right next to him was a woman holding her stomach and trembling.

“What?”

A few armed men gathered around them.

“It seems her stomach hurts.”

“Just a stomach ache? Leave it alone.”

“You’re telling us to let her go to the bathroom? We still gotta watch these people. Besides, she’s a woman. If someone takes her to the toilet... Well, how much stuff did we get?”

“We’ve piled most of the paintings in the carrier, but there’s still the ornaments. It’s still gonna take a while.”

The robbers had a choice. The option to either silently let her suffer or kindly take her to the restroom. Beating only the men was likely one of their policies. They did not hesitate to make use of violence when needed, but when it was not, it was best to have as least animosity as possible in order to get through with things unobtrusively and quickly take the treasure. It seemed gentlemanly but was a self-righteous thinking.

“What do we do? The Head is...”

“The Head got in the car first. As if we can ask him stuff like this every single time it happens.”

“Head” probably referred to the member worthy of being their chief.

As the quiet exchanges continued in front of the agonizing woman, she finally lay down on the floor while still holding onto her stomach. The man who had appealed about her bad condition shook her shoulders, telling her to “hang in there”.

As if she had received a signal, the woman raised her face slowly. Her gemstone-like blue eyes were visible through the gaps between her disheveled golden hair. She was covering her mouth, perhaps trying not to vomit. Even so, it was easy to tell that the woman’s looks were remarkably good.

“It’s gonna take a while, huh. Besides, we’re gonna need the women later.”

Her eyes locked with one of robber’s as though sucking him in. One would not understand the destructive power that having this woman look up at them from their feet with her eyes wet had, unless they witnessed it themselves.

“Then, I guess it’s okay.”

From the vulgar smile of the man who had said so, one could presume what his intentions were. As the woman was covering her mouth, the robber instructed her to stand up, pointing his gun at her, and then took her to the restroom.

After that, the woman and the robber did not return for a while. Since there were no other people who mustered out the courage to say that they wanted to use the toilet, the period of their absence passed as if it were natural. In the meantime, the gallery’s exhibits were being carried one after another to cars with roof racks parked outside the establishment. The robbers were dressed as employees who worked with the transportation of goods, so even those walking down the street did not think there was anything strange about that work scene.

Once they had finished relocating most of the merchandises, one of the cars left the gallery. The other one that remained parked was meant for the getaway of those who were keeping watch. With the artworks that had been collected for the sake of this day snatched away down to the last one, the gallery was bare. The owner, Artemisia, had all the while been suppressing her cries and shedding tears.

Apparently, those thieves were quite the habitual criminals. They had threatened everyone with armed force upon entering the establishment, robbing people of any resistance, but after that, as long as everyone stayed still, they would do nothing but coldly keep control of the hostages, not even raising their voices. If people did as told, they would not lose their lives. That hope made the hostages obedient. Even though they were robbers, this seamless way of dealing with people was like that of artisans. They did not think of humans as humans.

“Excuse me; I just... want to lend her a handkerchief. That’s all. The sleeves of her clothes are already soaked with tears. Can’t you allow just this much?”

Hearing a voice from the back, Artemisia turned around. It came from one of the artists that she had invited over for today, whom she had known for quite some time. She was shaken by a sense of guilt that she had done something terrible to him as well.

Their first meeting had started at a certain recreational facility, when she peeked from behind while he was painting a landscape. She did not know his occupation, but they kept in touch and she had him show her his art. It seemed he had always been drawing as a hobby. He told her that even most of the people who were close to him did not know he painted, and that he had truly only been doing it for himself.

The busy man had weaved his way through spare time and the work he brought had swayed Artemisia’s senses. At first, he had hesitated at her request to put it on display, but then smiled like a boy and gave her his ready consent, looking happy.

——Aah, God. Please give it back. Please give that fun time back to everyone.

Artemisia was upset and vexed at the fact that the artworks were being stolen, but more than anything, it felt like the regret towards everyone who had been looking forward to this day would split her chest open.

“Hey, he told you to use this.”

He had lent a handkerchief to Artemisia through one of the robbers. Artemisia wiped her tears and managed to lock eyes with him somehow. She then mouthed a “thank you” to him without letting out her voice.

The man smiled. But it was not the smile that Artemisia knew. He was different when he talked about art. She had shivers before she could think. His eyes were not smiling.

“ .”

The man said something to Artemisia. As he had only moved his lips, Artemisia could not tell whether she had been able to read what he tried to convey. She could not, but most likely, he had said:

“It’ll be over soon.”

Eventually, the robbers started to create an atmosphere of evacuation at last.

“Let’s take one person with us until we leave the harbor. Can be a woman or kid. Which do we choose?”

“Woman it is.”

“That guy was playing around with the woman we were planning to use for that, wasn’t he? What happened to him?”

Assuming that they would finally be freed, the hostages started fidgeting. They had faced a disaster and the artworks that they had dedicated their lives to making had been stolen. This joyful day had been repainted into despair. But they were alive. That was the one and only bright side of today. They would not be able to maintain their rationality unless they comforted themselves with that. At any rate, they wanted to hurry and be liberated.

Amongst them, there was a man who merely observed the robbers’ movements in silence all the while. It was the man who had been caring for a woman that had a stomachache, looking worried. Once the woman had been taken to the restroom, he became expressionless, as if he had lost interest in everything. Occasionally, there were moments when he even yawned in secret, as if he had grown sleepy.

“Go call him. We could use that woman as hostage. She’s young, so she can come back walking if we throw her away on the street.”

Hearing these words, the man let out his voice and laughed. By the looks of it, he had not intended to laugh, but wound up doing so. He put a hand to his mouth, but then shrugged and let the robbers see it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. But trying to rape that thing, huh? No matter how many lives you have, it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Hey, what’s with you...? Got a complaint or something...?”

The man kept laughing, as though to say that the robbers’ threatening figures were even more comical. With her eyes, the owner, Artemisia, begged the man provoking the robbers to restrain himself, for she could not afford to lose not only the artworks that she had collected but also a guest that she had invited, yet the man closed one eye at that and replied, “Artemisia, it’s okay.”

No one in this place knew his social status. Or his history.

In the past, Dietfried Bougainvillea used to wield a weapon that could become the world’s best. It was now away from his grasp, but it was not as if their master-servant connection had been completely severed. The beast had a high level of loyalty, so although they had met by chance after a long time, her heart recognized it. That he was the one she had been following in the past – someone worth being served by her. Therefore, the beast would attend him to exhaustion.

Only a limited number of people could handle the beast. The feeling that she had returned to his hands for now was somewhat strange.

“She runs quick.”

“Ha?”

“That’s why it’s the end for you guys. My bad.”

“Hey, shut this dude up.”

As Dietfried had suddenly started talking, the robbers naturally had a doubtful reaction.

“She’s as fast as a deer. And this is the city’s main street, so there are hotels nearby.”

“So, what’re you saying?”

“I left my bodyguards behind to come here today. They’re probably drinking at their room’s bar. There’re also guys among them who know that thing from the time when she was still by my side. I left my hair tie with her, so she should be able to convince them with that. I could predict that you’d take the things you stole to the port. It’s pretty difficult to get away from pursuers on land when you make such a mess in the center of this city. It’s harder to be tracked using the sea route than the land route, right? But the sea route doesn’t work against me. It looks like one vehicle left a while ago, but it’s over by the point they reach the port. You’ll probably go outside now, but if you’re thinking about taking someone along as a hostage, you’d better drop it. Many of my subordinates are hot-blooded. If you rouse them up like that, they’ll probably get too excited. If that happens, you’re the ones who’ll be getting the short end of the stick. No matter how many dead bodies fall down, we can deal with it all we want in the aftermath. We’ll need to get the stories straight, but today’s hostages will surely choose to cooperate with me. Having people trample on the proof of a life that you’ve lived with all your might is painful for anyone.”

The eloquent man did not run out of breath even when speaking nonstop in such a situation. However, this majestic aspect of him was reflected in others’ eyes as dreadful and similar to madness.

The robbers abruptly realized that all the hostages were looking far behind them. They felt that there was something behind them. It was like a ghost, hiding even its flame of life, simply waiting for the orders of its lord.

Outside the windows of the gallery, they could hear the sounds of someone fighting from around the area where the car was parked. Simultaneously, they could hear a faint breathing just behind them.

The respiration of a woman who was out of breath from running loomed over their ears.

“Do it, Violet.” Dietfried raised his thumb and made a swift throat-cutting gesture.

While watching his doll render the robbers unconscious with a strength as overwhelming as a monster eating people, Dietfried reminisced to the past.

——Everything goes around.

He recalled the time when the two of them were stuck in that isolated island.

The beast had been scared when the rescue fleet arrived. So had Dietfried. He would not be able to bear it if more of his comrades were murdered. Hence, he had taken the beast’s hand and guided her to the outside world. In his perception, it was the same as taking the reins.

There were no reins anymore now. No need for him to pull her by the hand when walking, either. There was nothing between them.

Not love, passion, attachment, desire, anything.

“Captain.”

There was nothing, but one thing was for certain.

“Captain Bougainvillea.”

If he called for her, this Auto-Memories Doll would most likely go to the ends of the world to save him. That was her nature.

“I have just returned. Are you unharmed?”

At that moment, the beast was well aware that he had called her name for the very first time. Her eyes were crinkling.

“Yeah.”

Just this much compensation was enough to make the beast smile.

After a little while passed, Leidenschaftlich was embraced by the gentleness of the night.

Summer constellations were decorating the jet-black sky. Just as sunny as it was during daytime, the night sky was twinkling so brightly this evening that it could be called a banquet of stars. The day was about to end in Leidenschaftlich. Today was filled with chaos ever since morning.

While being observed by gathered-up onlookers, the arrest drama that had unfolded in front of the Artemisia Gallery was already coming to a conclusion, its many procedures and processing passed over to the military police. Seeing the stolen artworks safely re-delivered to Artemisia, Dietfried took a breather. His gaze then fleetingly drifted to the side. A dirtied ceramic doll was standing there. A woman beautiful enough to look like such, who shone amidst the night, was standing there. He had to say something to her. As one would expect, he should do that at least now. But he could not think of anything.

——“You did well”. “That wasn’t too bad”. “Good work”. “I commend you”... Which one?

Inside his head, words were being conceived and then disappearing. Just like the dreams that the sleeping children all around Leidenschaftlich were surely seeing right now. They were born and then vanished.

At last, he attempted to open his mouth, “Aren’t you cold?”

“It is summer, after all.”

And ended up talking to her like a man who was unused to inviting women out.

Violet Evergarden, who had been fighting reasonably and in order to protect, was still by Dietfried’s side. It was fitting to say that she had been today’s most meritorious person. The one who had come up with the idea of the arrest operation was Dietfried, but the one who had done all the work for it was Violet.

First, she had put up the woman-with-a-stomachache act and gone with one of the robbers to the restroom. She had then quietly strangled the neck of the man who had reached a hand to her shoulder with her mechanical prosthetic arms, making him pass out.

She had broken out and escaped through the restroom’s window. Rather than going to the military police, she had gone to the hotel that Dietfried instructed her to and notified the naval soldiers, who were enjoying cigarettes and drinks in a room on the top floor, of the circumstances. One of the soldiers, who happened to know her, had been frightened at first, but upon seeing that she had been entrusted with Dietfried’s ribbon, his facial expression changed and he contacted the military police, then informed the port’s security to reinforce their inspections.

Without waiting for them to get ready, she had immediately run back to the Artemisia Gallery and infiltrated it through the same route. A few of the robbers, who had the bad luck of spotting her, fell to the ground with one kick or punch to the abdomen, and so, she had finally returned. As Violet stood behind the remaining robbers while catching her breath, the hostages stared as if she were their safety, but Dietfried was sneering as he looked at her.

Just as ordered, she had saved Dietfried without damaging a single artwork.

“About what happened...”

“It will probably be best not to tell Lord Gilbert. He would worry.”

Upon seeing the last artwork be brought in, Violet took the trolley bag that lay by her feet. She likely intended to go home by herself.

After making her do so much, something similar to guilt was now sprouting within Dietfried. He wound up acknowledging that she, too, was important to someone. That was what he thought after the battle, when he saw Violet stroking her emerald brooch as if to confirm that it was there.

Even though she used to be a wild beast whom no one would mourn if she died.

——Aah, that’s an excuse. It’ll be nothing but an excuse. If so, then I don’t wanna say it.

Back then, when she was by Dietfried’s side, every single day was filled with madness on all accounts. They used to roam around battlefields, fighting from dawn to dusk, growing too accustomed to violence. The war then ended, peace had returned, and he realized that an era in which he could even make art was arriving. That those times were abnormal and the way he felt now was the default.

“I’ll take you home.”

“No need. Your escorts must be waiting, so please, feel free to take your leave, Captain.”

“It’s fine; just this time. I’ll take you home.”

“No need.”

“I’ll take you. Listen up, this is an order.”

“I cannot accept your command.”

“You little... You were taking action like I instructed you to just a while ago.”

“Because it was a state of emergency... Besides, Captain Dietfried, it would be reasonable if I were to take you home, but the opposite is illogical.”

“What’re you talking about? You’re a woman, aren’t you?”

“A woman”. Finding himself asserting this with his own mouth, Dietfried regretted it even more.

The corner of Violet’s lips had a cut and blood was coming out of it. Her ribbon-tie dress was drenched in sweat. Even those who did not sweat much would be like this after such a huge scuffle during summertime.

“I’m calling a carriage. It’s all right; just wait right there. I’ll see you off until you get inside the Evergarden house. And then it’s goodbye. We’ll never see each other again. No matter what you and Gil become, we’ll never see each other again.”

What he had done today to this woman, who had become fully able to accept someone’s love, was not something that a son of the Bougainvillea should ever do to a lady.

After they had hopped into the carriage, a moment of silence went on for a while.

——Is it okay for her to keep such an open secret even though those two are a couple?

Dietfried found himself accidentally concerned about his younger brother’s love life. After all, this situation might be a betrayal to his dearest brother. Gilbert had completely forgiven Dietfried. For pushing the headship succession onto him. For not having any consideration for their family. For forcing an indescribable wild beast onto him. He had forgiven everything.

Thinking back, the only time that he attempted to push Dietfried away, saying he would not forgive him, had been when Dietfried offered Violet to him. He had called it “human trafficking”. Told Dietfried not to be violent with a child.

Most likely, those two were each other’s only exception from the very beginning. There was probably no pardoning what Dietfried had done to Violet today. Gilbert would forgive most things. Save for matters related to the one and only thing that was most important to him. Being hated by a loved one. This could cast a shadow over anyone’s heart, regardless of how old they were.

“It is all right.” The voice that cut through the silence was thrown at him as if to soothe him down. The words sounded almost as if she had perceived Dietfried’s uneasiness. “If, by any chance... word ends up reaching him through someone else about this case, I will definitely defend you, Captain Dietfried.”

“‘Defend’, you say?”

“To tell the truth, I often get involved in large-scale incidents without Major knowing. But I return without fail. To Leidenschaftlich. I will return today as well. Therefore, we are all right.”

“What do you do out there?”

“We were separated for much too long. Therefore, we have many moments that the other does not know about in the first place. Perhaps even now, too. I have work to do and so does he. We have limited time to see each other. However, I will definitely always return to Major. He knows this as well. Even when we are apart, that person is the only one who occupies my mind. I am not sure if I convey it to him properly, but that is how it is.”

Her statements were something that would normally make him burst into laughter, but Dietfried was unable to do so.

——When did you become like that?

Dietfried hated Violet. Several factors had induced his emotions to it.

——Now you can correspond to someone’s love.

He saw himself overlap with her. Her subservience to adults and the way that she herself wanted it disgusted him. He despised the wild beast that did not yearn for freedom. Despised the fact that she had been trained by someone to be this way. Despised everything. To begin with, Dietfried did not have many things that he liked.

Even the number of people who could become kind had a limit.

The truth was that, even if he wanted to be kind, it was no longer possible. He had prayed to God for it countless times in the past. However, unable to achieve this, a man named Dietfried Bougainvillea existed.

——O God, I want to, he begged a certain Someone in his mind for the first in a long time. Perhaps since his childhood.

Still, this sort of being did not give any reply to calls. Even now, he had no idea if his plea had reached Him. It was certainly impossible. His and Violet’s stars were in a position that would not radically change.

Nevertheless, for some reason, he had the overwhelming desire to ask someone for forgiveness today.

——I wanna go back.

Not even he knew where to.

——Hurry and be over, this day, today and the time I have to spend with her.

He was not annoyed.

——O God, I want to...

But painfully miserable.

“Captain.”

The carriage ran amongst trees dyed in the darkness of the night. A cool voice echoed amidst them.

Violet was looking at the scenery outside. She was observing the moon, which chased after them, no matter how far, far apart they were.

The moon was something that would continue to exist forever. Unlike stories. Regardless of whether Dietfried concerned himself with it, everything about his story would come to a closing one day as well. Demise would arrive even to the things that he did not wish to ever be over. Even the feelings he had now would end.

“How was I today?”

“What?”

“Did my work earn your satisfaction today?”

Dietfried could not read the intentions behind Violet’s question at all. She was someone whose emotions he could not read in the first place, but it was even harder to understand the meaning of that sentence.

“What do you want to say?”

Silence.

“Hey, just say it straight. Don’t be dodgy with me.”

“All right,” the cool voice entered his ears once more. Such coldness resembled the night, but it never left his ears, easy as it was to catch.

Violet turned her neck and cast her gaze at him. Slowly, blue and green eyes blended with each other.

“I...”

Bathed in moonlight, she was simply, purely beautiful, enough to take Dietfried’s breath away.

“When I was with you, Lord Dietfried, my work was never satisfactory. Now that I became an adult, have I finally been able to repay my debt... with my work?”

“What d’you mean by ‘debt’?”

His voice was hoarse. He suddenly felt as if this icy woman had robbed his entire body of its heat. The inside of his mouth was extremely dry.

“I mean everything. It all started when you brought me from that island. I am the way I am now because you entrusted me to Ma... to Lord Gilbert.”

“If you’d stayed with me, probably nothing good would’ve happened.”

“How would I be if I had continued to serve you?”

These words became a bullet and pierced Dietfried’s heart. He felt as if his breathing would stop at the unexpected question. Things had been like that since the distant past. Dietfried would reconfirm time and time again that she was a woman who could have become a lethal weapon for him.

“So you also imagine a hypothesis... of ‘what if’,” her exquisitely cold voice rang within the darkness. Upon being asked, “You too?”, Violet nodded.

That was his line, Dietfried thought, but Violet then sent his gemstone eyes a dream-like gaze. His existence might be devoid of realism to her.

Violet began to whisper. If only she had disobeyed that order back then. If only she had rushed to him a step faster at that time.

“Back then, if”. “Back then, if”. “Back then, if”.

She could not bring myself not to think that, if only she had had this extra step, he would not have lost that emerald eye.

“Besides, I wonder... if I had managed to protect him back then...”

She had to let go of her most beloved lord’s hand and was entrusted to someone else as if she had been thrown away.

“...I would not have had to spend that time away from Major.”

Thinking back, she had always been abandoned and then picked up by somebody. She should have been used to it. That was the star she had been born under.

She was originally a foreign body to this world and was supposed to have been eliminated. Her destiny had also flowed in this way. The reason why Violet had rebelled against her sectioned path, despite having been tamely submitting herself to it, was that the other was special.

——I also threw her away.

He had thrown his home away. Thrown away his little brother, who cried in protest. And thrown away this beast.

“I also wonder what would have happened if you had not left me with Major.”

This woman.

“But all of these are akin to dreams, crossing my mind and fading away. After passing through countless ‘if’s, I...”

He had pushed this woman onto his brother and forsaken her. Looking at her made him sick. He was also scared of her. Most importantly, he would have stopped being himself. This terrified him.

“And now, I have become an Auto-Memories Doll and am spending a night with you.”

This woman possessed an element that transmuted people.

“Y’know, you’ll be alone one day. You’re the one who’s got the longer lifespan, aren’t you?”

Violet closed her eyes at those words. If she had pictured numerous “if”s, this would obviously come to mind as well.

“I do not know.”

“If that happens, what’re you gonna do?”

“I do not know. But are you not the same as me when it comes to this? You love him, right?”

“I’m... I’m the older one. I’ll be gone sooner.”

“No one knows about that. But... if, one day... I do become alone... if I am left living by myself... my order will still be valid. I will probably live on.”

If she ended up living by herself, this supposition was the cruelest of things to the beast. Just what did he want to do by making her say this now?

Thinking back, ever since they had first met, he had not known how to deal with her. Should he have protected her? Killed her? Protected? Killed? Or perhaps...

“That is why I write letters every day. Even if they do not reach him, I write letters to Major every single day.”

Silence.

“Captain, what will you do?”

“Me, huh? I... let’s see. Paint, I guess.”

“A painting or Major?”

“That’s right.”

“May I go see it?”

To Dietfried Bougainvillea, this wild beast was both a woman and a monster from the very beginning. She was now as far-off as a dream.

“You’re the only one of my relatives who knows I paint. Do whatever you want.”

——O God, I want to be a good person.

#violet evergarden #fyeahvioletevergarden #veedit #dietfried bougainvillea #kyoani #kyoto animation #akatsuki kana #takase akiko #my translation

214 notes · View notes

impala1967dwinchester · 3 years

Text

Dean Winchester: Change is due

*Credit to gif owner*

Pairing: Dean W. x Reader

Pov: Reader

Warning: Fighting, Swearing, fluff, angst, Dean being a douchebag, guilt.

Summary: What about talking instead of fighting.

Word Count: 1.8k

A/n- This is for band-pyschos 1.5 followers bingo writing challenge. This makes me sad, but whatever.

Square- "Stay with me"

Dean Winchester Master List

Main Master List

Tag list: @akshi8278 @deanswaywardgirl @wonderfulworldofwinchester @doctorlilo @hit-meup69 @fofisstilinski

The drive to the bunker was quiet. The rev of the engine. The downright scariness of the way that all I could hear was the passing of other vehicles on the road. That sound too eventually stopped as the driver back to the bunker was much longer than originally anticipated.

Dean had a temper like nobody's business. The temper of a wild dog, or maybe it was a wild bear. Regardless Dean's temper was downright scary most times. But then again most times that temper of his was never directed towards me.

Yes between miniature fights, and getting annoyed with each other fights did occur, but nothing too bad. You see, three years into hunting and now living with the famous Winchesters. I had fallen deeply for Dean Winchester.

Falling for someone is an already dangerous game, but falling in love with a Winchester. The most hunted after, hunters of them all that was a dangerous game to start playing.

I played the game regardless. Can you imagine falling for someone so much that your worlds just connect so well? Like amazing jigsaw puzzle pieces. Or maybe falling in love was like finally figuring out the correct word in a crossword puzzle.

Like Forrest says "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get." I would have never been able to tell you that when I was a little girl playing in my room running around in the pure white dress that I would one day grow up kill the monster that haunts this earth, and fall for the most righteous man, the fallen soldier, the best hunter I had ever met.

Could you imagine a six-year-old, coming up to their parent and saying that one day they'd fight monsters, and fall in love with the greatest monster hunter of them all. In your dreams.

Life with the Winchesters was most of the time pandemonium. Life with them was like living in the thunder dome. Like driving on the icy roads and hoping that you don't fall off the cliff. But life was calm sometimes, being able to have a half-assed normal life was good for all of us.

Sam was the best brother a person could ask for. The best friend a person could ask for. I think the moment I met the Winchesters, Dean and I were like magnets dragging each other together. Slated to be together for the rest of our lives, soul mates if you will.

This last hunt was nothing like we had ever dealt with before. So many children had been killed. I had put myself in the way, getting hurt instead of letting more children get hurt. A natural mother... or maybe just a natural instinct of a woman.

Dean, of course, was anger like normal, but usually, his anger would blow over and we'd either make-up or like the band, AC/DC says "You shook me all night long".

this night was different though. Something was off, something felt wrong. Yes, the drive was long and very fucking quiet but something in the air felt wrong. I'd like to think that I'm a tough cookie, a queen disguised as a princess.

I always think that Dean forgets that the reason he and I get along so well is that we are almost alike, in almost every way. We act the same way, love the same things, react the same way. Two peas in a pod if you will.

Dean tends to forget that when he gets angry, but comes to his sense rather quickly after, he either gets blown off, or the subject gets changed, something that he does often to Sam or me. In the situation where he knows he has no control, or where he is uncomfortable, feeling like he's being pushed into the corner.

I used to let Dean act like a douchebag. I let Dean get mad, yell, throw things, get in my face. But recently. Dean's anger has been out of this world, too much to bare, too much to handle. he almost turns into the hulk. It's like he forgets his normal manners and just wants to hulk smash literally everything around him.

How do you make someone realize what they are doing? How do you show someone how they are acting is affecting you?

Finally after what felt like days, but was really just hours of driving we pulled into the garage, the sound of the engine bouncing off of the cinderblock walls. During said drive Dean and I made eye contact once, his green ember eyes staring deep at me through the rear-view mirror. My own eyes making sure to stare at him with just the same amount of deep soul searching Dean was.

Sam steered in his sleep, the coldness of the garage and the car smell waking him from his sleep. Not a single word was said. Sam was the first one out of the car, opening the impalas back, grabbing his bags, and making a rather quick exit of the garage.

Neither of us moving from our spots. We sat in silence. A silence that's a funny word if you think about it. It the most screamed word when you're being told to be quiet. But it weighs heavy between two people.

Fighting was and has never been my style with Dean. Dean wants to yell and be an idiot then I'll let him be, but I won't go without saying my peace. I'll get up and leave if I want to. There's nothing holding me to the man, an argument is just a battle of words.

Finally, Dean moves, moves to look in the back seat. His eye passes over my figure like always. Passing by over my crisscrossed shins up to my jean-covered thighs, over my hips, up my t-shirt and flannel covered belly, up to my tall shoulders, and to my face.

The little light that was streaming into the impala's backseat. "Why?" Was all Dean said, staring at me. I chewed my lip thinking of anything to say. "Stop chewing on your lip. It's finally started to heal." Dean said.

Still, my body stuck in my crisscrossed position. I heard the creak of the impala, as I saw Dean shift from the front seat to the back seat. "I'm pretty sure that I just told you to stop doing that." He said bringing his thumb up to my lips, gently pulling down releasing my bottom lip from my teeth.

"What were you thinking?" Dean asked picking once again at the issue at hand. "I was thinking about the children," I said looking at the man next to me. It was quiet for a moment, then a heavy sigh filled the air.

"The children?" Dean said questioning me. A cocked-eyed eyebrow raised in confusion to my answer. Sometimes it's like my answer is either not good enough, or isn't the right one. "Yes, the children," I stated calmly.

"I'm getting confused here Y/n," Dean said shifting causing the smallest of creak from the old impala. "I stepped in front of the children," I said.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that but why?" He asked. This firstly is going calm, and Dean's asking questions just before assuming shit, but why does this seem odd, kinda like all of the sudden protecting the young kids isn't enough to get a few scrapes and bruises.

"Did the great Dean Winchester just ask me that?" I said now turning the tables and questioning him. "Yeah, I did." He said so cut and dry-like. "You really wanna know why?" I asked

We were still sitting in the back of his precious car. I had rested my head on the headrest, closing my eyes. Dean was just staring, it had become a bad habit of his after we got together.

"Because Dean those kids didn't deserve whatever that monster did to them. Hell, I just pulled ten kids out, you and sam pulled at ten each. Can you even imagine that, because I can. Being so scared that I can't even protect myself." I said.

Taking a deep breath in and sighing loudly.

"What are you talking about Y/n?" Dean asked, looking at me now with more intent. Wanting yearning to get to the bottom jar of worms we had so carefully opened.

"You know what ignore me, it doesn't make any difference," I said uncrossing my legs and turning to unlock the back door. I was stopped before my fingertips even grabbed onto the cold metal on the handle.

"Do you remember that promise you made me? All those years ago." Dean said, pulling me into his warm touch. His scent of bourbon and wood fell down around us. "No, I don't Dean," I said honestly confused about what I had promised.

"You promise me that whatever was on your mind you would come to me and talk about it. I know six years is a long time, but that day you promised that you've never broken that promise." Dean said while he drew small circles into my lower back.

"Tonight though right now, you're breaking that promise. You don't have to give me every single detail but just don't go walking in front of a monster because you don't know what else to do. You know that you can talk to your boyfriend right?" He said questioning me towards the end.

I only shook my head in response Dean took that as his sign to continue talking. "I just, I'm fearing that you're starting to drift away, and honestly Y/n. Honest;y Y/n I don't think I would know what to do without you." Dean said.

This is different, new, and odd. This Dean is someone who only comes out when the world is ending or the tears are about to be shed for the umpteen amount of time. This Dean, this is the Dean I fell in love with. "So make me this promise now, stay with me," Dean asked.

"Stay with you?" I asked, "Of course stay with you, I guess I just have to learn to be able to ask for help, right Dean." I said hugging him from the awkward position we had fallen into when he pulled me away from the back door.

"No more running, no more fighting alone. We do everything together now." Dean said, cupping my slightly tears stained cheek." Bumping our foreheads together in a sign of good faith you could say. I hummed and returned the favor.

Moments like this the calm, and the quiet. These were those times where I felt at home. I've realized with this job, hunting home isn't a place with four walls and a roof over your head it's about the people in your life. Make a home with the people who care about you. Make a home with the people you would fight anything to hurt, Make home able to be anywhere.

And when you can do that finally you can make home turn into love, and love into strength. Having all three makes you happier I'd like to think in the long run of things. So just "stay with me" that's all I'm asking of you, the rest we can do together.

Completed on: 05/06/2021

*Happy Throwback Thursday*

#band psychos bingo challenge 2021 #dean winchester #deanwinchtser #supernatural #supernatural x reader #supernatural fic #supernatualfluff #angstspn #spn angst #spn fluff #supernatural fluff #tw swearing #tw panicking #tw guilt

98 notes · View notes

eunjidrabbles · 3 years

Note

Boxes, bitter version with Rosie 🥺

Boxes Bitter Ver.

A new start, or a painful end, it all comes in a small cardboard box. All life's stories are kept in it and sealed shut until the next phase of life, where it is unveiled again.

Warnings: (M18) Guns, blood, death, su*cide

Word count: About 3k

“... With two more bodies found, that totals up to five cases this month alone. Local authorities are advising for everyone to avoid loitering past sunset until the perpetrator has been caught. Now, we shall pass the mic over to detective Lee who is in charge of the cases so far.”

Sighing as you tapped a button on the screen, the dull droning of the news report was changed into familiar, comforting melodies. With a groan, you stretched your arms out in front of you as you looked out into the evening sunset grumpily, unhappy to be trapped in the enclosed space of the patrol car. You know that it was part of your duties, even more so important now to patrol around the city, but you wanted to be part of the elite team that detective Lee led in the frontlines, directly involved with the rampant murder cases. It was weeks before from when you first heard the news from a neighboring city that the cases had shot up and the news that the murderer had yet to be caught sent chills down your spine when the first case popped up on the outskirts of your city. From your own personal network of friends, you knew that the killer passed through three cities and a small town, bringing up the body count along their way. There was no concrete evidence the cases were linked together of course, but you knew your instincts weren't wrong. Perhaps it had been your uptight sense of justice and following the law that spurred on your want to put an end to the seemingly senseless murders, but you had your orders and you would follow it no matter what you thought of it.

A snort before the start of a giggle caught your attention as you turned away from the tinted windows to look at your passenger seat occupied by your patrol partner. As they caught your furrowed and confused gaze, they burst out laughing even louder, throwing their head back as their entire body shook in the seat. "If you." Taking a deep breath to calm themselves down, they wiped away the little tear drop that formed at the corner of their eyes. "If you glare at the window any longer, you'll melt right through it already." Finally properly seated, they reached over to give your cheeks a quick pinch as you swipe at it, failing your attempt on disrupting them. "Lighten up, we both know that you don't like to stay still.” As their hand remained on your cheek, you eyed them for a second before suddenly turning and playfully snapping your teeth around their thumb earning you a surprised gasp. “You bit me!” Shrugging as if to tell them that’s what they got coming, you released the finger and looked at them with a smirk. “You’re lucky that we’re dating or else I’d report you for assault.” Chuckling at the comment, you stuck your tongue out and rested your hand on the steering wheel and tapped with the beat of the song playing. Your free hand snuck past the gear and found their hand to hold, a silent comfort to the both of you. “We also both know that you like me too much to report me even so.” A huff was all the answer you need to hear as a grin broke on your face. It wasn’t easy to find someone that understood your high sense of justice and want to protect people. That usually means that you would spend more time dedicated to your job than normal office workers, but you couldn’t blame your previous partners for leaving. Being an officer was a thankless and risky job, not knowing if you’d be able to return home the next day when sent on a dangerous assignment. A squeeze of your hand pulled you out of your thought as you turned to look at your partner once again.

“It’s okay to be afraid, you know.”

“Afraid? Of what?” Scoffing playfully at the sudden comment that came out of nowhere, you shook your head.

“The killer.”

Your smile dropped from your face and your frown crawled back as they brought it up. “I’m not afraid.” It was a little ridiculous that your partner whom had long accepted your righteousness to mock your will so, to be afraid of someone harming the defenseless. You knew what it meant when you don your uniform, and the more you thought of it, the more annoyed you got, wanting a clearer explanation before the situation escalated into a fight. “Why would I be afraid? If given the chance to, I’d stop them with all I have.”

“I know.” Their hands tighten around yours, as if fearing of letting go. “That’s why I want you to be afraid.” Their downcast eyes held a sense of selfish guilt as they brought your intertwined hands to their lips. “You’re not afraid of giving your life to stop them, but I am.” Your eyes softened when you heard them starting to explain, wondering where they were going with their train of thought. You understood that they cared for you deeply, but you knew that their words were going to fall on deaf ears if they told you to keep out of the cases. Finally bringing their gaze back to you, they took a deep breath.

“I like you more than like, (y/n). I love you. I want a future with you, that’s why I want you to be afraid.”

At the confession given, you could only stare back blankly as you start to get light headed. You studied their face for any signs of them joking around, and when you are sure there was none, you then let yourself fall into your thoughts. It wasn't that you couldn't love, but rather that you knew loving someone means to dedicate yourself to them, just like you're doing with your job. The thought itself honestly scared you a little that there was already someone whom you've spent your time with ever since you were in training that was willing to do so without hesitation. It was only fair that you'd tell your partner so, that you need more time.

"Listen, I-" The static buzz on both your walkie talkies cut you off as both of you broke eye contact, hands still together, and the other to receive the message. “All units, we have a suspect on the run heading towards the warehouse district. Suspect is wearing a white hoodie and blue ripped jeans. Suspect is armed. I repeat, suspect is armed.” Moving your gaze from the walkie talkie to your partner and the silence they were holding, you could already hear the thoughts going through her head. Slowly sliding your hand out of theirs to place on the steering wheel, you answered the call. “Patrol four here, we are two minutes out. We will be on route.” A fuzzy “Affirmative.” was heard before you stepped on the gas pedal to start the short drive. Throughout the two minutes even as you parked by the sidewalk, you could feel their gaze on you silently begging for you to say something in response to their confession. Stepping out the car, you finally feel the gaze lighten as you looked down to double check all your equipment, avoiding eye contact with them. “(Y/n).” Turning sharply to them as you walk into the silent streets, you snapped. “We’ll talk later, alright?” Looking back and inspecting the area with a quick glance, you sighed. “We should split up to cover more grounds-” “You’re not walking away from this.” Gritting your teeth, you took a deep breath to try rationalize your thoughts before you snap yet again. “Look, we are on duty right now. That should be our priority. We can talk when we get back.” Not giving them a chance to continue to talk, you walk in a direction, praying that they would go the other way. It didn’t take long of a walk before you heard sirens of other patrol cars before a flash of movement appeared in the corner of your eyes and you focused your attention back to your near surroundings. Reaching down, you double checked that your equipment were still there before cautiously following to where the movement was. There was just a cluster of sounds of something falling before you heard footsteps running away from where you were and on instinct, you gave chase. Losing track of how many turns and twists you took, the only thing pushing you forward was the thought of capturing what might be a suspect for the murders. Nearer and nearer you got, until you could see their attire, fitting that of the report and pushed yourself even more so to catch up. Hearing a soft curse right before you turned the corner, you slowed down a little to find the suspect looking around the dead end surrounded by tall warehouse doors.

There the suspect was, cornered with you blocking the only way out, back into the maze of buildings. As if knowing that, they turned around slowly, pulling out a blade from their hoodie pouch. Red stained the front of the snow white attire as they cleaned the blood off the blade as it exited it’s hiding place. “I wasn’t going to kill one more tonight, but I will if I must.” From the slightly shadowed area they stood in, you couldn’t see much of their features but as they took a step forward into the ray of streetlight, you could see the blonde pink hair that she bore, face showing just the slightest hint of annoyance, as if you had just told her some bad news and not a look of someone that was threatening to kill you. Something in your head finally clicked when you realised that she was approaching and you took a step back and pulled out your handgun and pointed it directly at her.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

There was something sick and twisted about the way she hummed happily and took another step to you as if she was just on a midnight stroll that made you flinch and take another step back. You knew that was the last step you could take backwards, anything more and it would be hard to block the sides of the exits and it would be back to a wild goose chase.

“I’ll really shoot!”

As if fully amused by your words, the annoyance forgotten and now on her face was a pleased grin as she inched yet another step forward to you, blade’s reflection shining off the dim streetlight. In your years of being an officer, you were lucky you had never once had the need to fire your weapon. Normally armed criminals would give by the time you even pull out your weapon yet here she was, bringing a blade towards you who held a weapon of advantage. Steeling yourself, you took a deep breath and held it, determined not to let her pass. The next step she took, a loud bang deafened you momentarily as you pulled on the trigger and closed your eyes, flinching at the loud sound.

When you cracked open your eyes slowly, shock flooded your senses as you spy dark brown eyes slowly revealing themselves behind the half shut lids. Your eyes darted from her head to toe, finding no signs of an additional injury past the blood that previously stained her clothes. Did you miss? Quickly scanning all around behind where she was, confusion wrapped it's claws around your lungs when you found no marks of a missed bullet anywhere. You gasp, as if suddenly remembering how to breathe when your brain pulls forth a memory of a story you were told when you were a child. Of how the world started peacefully and everyone's soul were whole but when Chaos struck, the souls were torn apart with the sole mission to find back their other parts and since they were once whole, the only way to know was how the parts of the souls refuse to hurt one another. Soulmates, was the name. There were no proper records of soulmates being real but deep down inside you, you felt the instant connection once you registered the fact that your bullet didn’t hurt her. Dread started filling every pore of your body when your brain finally remembered the main reason you were here; to chase down the murderer. Who is also your soulmate. It took probably was a few seconds before she looked up at you again, this time with an unmistakable glee in her eyes as she dropped the blade in her hand and skipped towards you while you stood rooted to the ground.

“I finally found you, love.”

Your weapon was lowered by her as she gently pushed down your arms as if she haven’t just threatened you with her blade before you shot at her. Her words ran through your head as it gets caught on a particular word. Finally. It then dawned upon you partially on what it meant, but you had to be sure. “What do you mean, finally?” Tilting her head innocently, she pouted and rubbed her chin as if in thought. “What do you mean, what do I mean? It took a while, but I could hear the voices drawing me in your direction but there were so many imposters out there, so I just had to make sure.” Bile starting rising to your throat when you confirmed your thoughts. This... psychopath had killed her way to find you. All those murders, all the innocent life lost, was all to find you. There was the little dark side at the very back of your mind that saw her dedication to find you, her other half, where the thought that she saw your life worth more than others brought a certain morbid appeal before you shook away that thought and forced yourself to remember what you were fighting for. It was a tear between your mind and soul, one calling out for the other part of itself and one holding on to what you deeply believed in. Tears begin to leave your eyes when you realized the situation you have in your hands. It should be logical to arrest her here and now, but you were compelled to let her hand come closer and closer, until she was wiping away at your tears.

“Y-you do realize that in search for me, for your happy ending, you put an end to so many others’?” Slowly, her other hand reached around to pull you into a hug as she shushed you. “How? How do you live with that?”

“I know. But you’re more important than they were.”

Somewhere in the distance within the maze of the warehouse, you could hear a familiar voice shout your name and the both of you darted your head in the direction. “Run away with me. We can live a life, just you and I. I’ll protect you from everyone. No one can hurt you.” Her voice was laced with desperation as she turned you to look back at her. There was a moment of silence as you stared into her eyes, searching for something that wasn’t there. “Am I really important to you?” Her hold on you tightened as she shook you slightly. “Of course you are, I killed to find you.”

“I understand now.” The moment those words left your lips, her smile widened despite the sounds of frantic footsteps steadily approaching. “There is no other way of getting through to you, is there?” Raising your free hand between the both of you, you brushed her hair back slightly before yanking yourself out of her hold and repointing the gun at her head again. Confusion flashed on her face, with a shred of amusement yet again as she questioned you. “What are you doing? You can’t hurt me.”

“Not physically, that is.” Taking a step away from her as she tried to grab at you, you repositioned the gun to your own head and watched as her eyes widened and any signs of her smile dropped along with her jaw. You could see her freeze up as she tried to think of the best thing to do. “That right there, what you’re feeling. That is what you made everyone else feel. Fear, despair.”

“I did all that to find you, how else was I supposed to do so?” Cutting her off by cocking the gun, she flinched at the sound. “We are supposed to be perfect, be whole together. I don’t get it, love.” You could see her torn as she twitched, clearly holding herself back from rushing to you in fear of your trigger finger being quicker. “If you can’t understand, then I’ll make you understand as a soulmate.”

“Don’t do this, we can live forever. Just us.”

Biting your lips, you heard the voice of your partner ring out clearly, calling for your name. “I’m sorry, I love you too.” Taking a deep breath, you pulled on the trigger.

Soulmates are one in millions. To be able to find the other part of your soul was honestly a miracle. However the moment one part rejects the bond there is to the other, there is no pain describable in the world close to what they would feel. That was what exactly went through Rosé‘s body as she fell to the ground, writhing around in the sharp pain before she gave in and whited out. Next time she awoke, a pool of blood was laying under you and blurry figures rushed forward, one running to you and kneeling beside you. The pull between the both of you was no longer there, and all she felt was an empty void. As she focused her eyesight on your unmoving figure, it slowly drifted to the other figure kneeling by you with face flushed from bawling screaming a name. Your name. That’s right. She didn’t even get your name before you so violently rejected your other half; her. Glancing at the offending weapon that slipped out of your grip and slid towards her, she inconspicuously picked it up. All those that she killed to find you, all the scars she gained from those fighting back, and just like that, you were gone. What’s the point anymore? Before anyone could stop her, she cocked the gun, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

Bang.

#blackpink imagines #bittersweet series #Rosé angst #rosé imagines #Rosé x reader #bitter version #this one is dark #so i had to put warnings #this took longer than expected #hope you enjoy?

55 notes · View notes