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#so probably nearly everyone is better informed about this than me
pinkie-pop · 26 days
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"Reincarnated As The Cringefail Lord of Hell's Second Child."
Part I Part || Part III
Sequel to this.
Featuring: Gender-Neutral Reader, Morningstar! Reader, Platonic Hazbin Hotel x Reader, Yandere Hazbin Hotel
Word count: 2.7k
Includes: Alastor being creepy, invasion of (your) privacy, bad things are coming...
Synopsis: A straightforward isekai story, you're reborn as the devil's child. With knowledge of your past life and the show your new world is based on, it's clear that you must be destined for greatness. The only question remains: why does everyone around you seem to be acting so...strange?
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
There's nothing better than the payoff that a successful scheme brings. Vaggie returns to the hotel a few hours after your talk with her, and with her is a pair of two gorgeous angelic wings.
“Wait, yer an exorcist?!” Angel exclaims, throwing his top arms up, and using his bottom pair to pull himself up from his position on the couch. “How did I not know about this?!” He looks around, shaking his head wildly. Husk merely shrugs. 
“Maybe if you weren't high all the time-”
“Oh, yeah, like yer one to talk, Mr. Hasn't-been-seen-without-a-bottle-in-seven-years!”
Charlie claps her hands together, effectively stopping the two before their banter turns into an actual fight. “Okay, so Vaggie's an angel, that doesn't mean that-” 
“Oh yeah, easy for you to say, Princess. I bet ya already knew about this, didn't ya?” 
“I mean, I did. But-!” 
“Then why didn't ya say anything?!”
“It wasn't my place to-”
Angel dramatically falls back onto the couch. Odd, you think, his reaction wasn't nearly this strong in the show, why is he- “Whatever. I need a drink,” he says getting up. “Husk! Pour me a drink!” Husk grumbles something under his breath as Angel passes you to get his drink. 
“I think he's over it,” you say, glancing over your shoulder at Angel, who is drinking straight from the bottle. “So, an angel, huh? How exciting! My dad was an angel, too, y'know?” Vaggie looks unimpressed at your attempt to pretend this is new information, but you ignore her. 
“Yeah…I know,” she says flatly. “Anyway, Carmilla agreed to supply us with angelic weapons at a discounted price, should we need them.” 
“Why would we need them?” Charlie asks, looking worried. Vaggie looks away, briefly making eye contact with you. 
‘Something’s going to happen on extermination day,’ you say, looking oddly certain. 
“Just…in case,” she says, offering an unsure smile. 
“Well ain't that fuckin’ ominous,” Angel pipes up from the bar. “Care ta enlighten us as ta why we might need em, toots? Something a little less vague than ‘Just in case'?” Angel puts down his drink (which is really just a whole bottle of what appears to be a mix of tequila and vodka—it’s a good thing he's already dead, you think to yourself) to make air quotes with his hand. 
“Angel, I think you're drunk,” you say, diffusing the situation. “You're slurring your words.” He's not, but you figure the statement will draw his attention towards you and away from Vaggie. You don't need him prying and accidentally figuring out something he shouldn't know.
“Am not slurin’ my words” He slurs, then slumps over, immediately falling asleep in an almost cartoonish fashion. Well, you suppose you are in a cartoon, you think to yourself, but you know that's not the reason for his sudden drunken state.
No, you're sure the sleeping spell you cast on him was by far the more likely cause. 
Alastor, who had been quietly observing the whole time, widens his grin with a look that seems to say ‘I know you did that’ but you ignore his gaze and ask Charlie for help taking Angel back to his room. 
While Charlie is busy tucking a grown man into bed, you slip out of the room and bump right into Alastor, who seems to have followed the two of you back to Angel's room. 
You have a bad feeling about this. Of all the many characters in Hazbin Hotel to avoid, Alastor probably ranked at the top of your list. You really don't need him getting curious about you.
“Why, hello there, little one,” he says, peering down at you. You think his eyes may be glowing, but you aren't sure. 
“Uh, hi?” you say, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. You glance back at the door. Charlie will be emerging from it soon. She'll save you, right?
“I couldn't help but notice the little ‘stunt’ you pulled with dear Angel Dust earlier—quite amusing, I must say! And I don't say that lightly. Might I ask you to join me on a stroll so that we might…discuss it?” He asks. You swear the room’s temperature just dropped. 
“I'm not going anywhere with you,” you say. “Dad told me not to talk to strangers.” 
“Ah, still playing the role of an innocent child now, are we?” He says casually. You stand a little straighter. “Not to worry, I'm a good friend of your sister, and besides, we have much to discuss!”
“We don't have anything to ‘discuss’,” You say firmly, moving to walk past him when he grabs your arm. 
“You may not have anything to discuss with me, but I have much to say to you,” he says. His tone then shifts to something more dangerous as he says, “And believe me,” he leans down to your level. “You don't want to see me when I get angry.” It's a cliché line and not at all scary. Even with the voodoo sigils floating around him and his radio-knob irises, you hold firm. 
“If I scream, Charlie and the rest of the hotel will hear me,” you say. The static around you dissipates, and Alastor's grin twitches in annoyance. 
“Very well,” he says, swinging his cane and turning to leave. “But this won't be our last encounter. Sooner or later, you'll give me the answers I want.” And just like that, he walks away. 
Once he's out of view, you sink to your knees. Despite your firm insistence that he didn't scare you, it was stressful nonetheless. Having him leave merely sucked the stress out of you, and momentarily took the strength from your legs. 
Yes, that's right. That's all it was. Your human nature makes you wary of him, but your demonic side keeps you steady. Soon, you'll be more demon than human, and this so-called ‘fear’ will be nothing more than a fleeting memory. 
Not that you were scared. 
“[Name]…? What are you doing on the floor?”
“It's comfortable down here,” you mutter, standing to your feet. “I'm going to bed early tonight. Where's my room again?”
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
You flop on to your and Lucifer's bed (king-sized, thanks to Lucifer's magic), exhausted. You bring your stuffed demon bear (Mr. Snuggles—a gift from Lilith, before she left) to your chest and sigh. You close your eyes. A lot happened today, and you could use some rest. 
But before that…
You open your eyes and sit upright, swinging your legs over the bed and standing. You walk to the small writing desk by the door and summon your diary from seemingly thin air, and begin writing. Journaling is a habit you formed as soon as you were able to hold a pen (this has left the first few entries of your diary completely illegible, but you were able to transcribe them once you had developed a steadier hand), and something you kept up to this day. You document today’s events, making sure to note Alastor’s suspicious behavior, then close and lock your diary. It’s a rather unnecessary step, considering you’ll be sending it back to the subspace you summoned it from, but the lock puts you at ease regardless. 
You’ve just finished clicking the lock back into place when Lucifer walks in.
“What’s that?” He asks curiously, walking over to take a peek. Without thinking of how suspicious your actions may come across, you quickly dismiss the journal back to your subspace. 
“Nothing!” You say, a tad too loudly. You clear your throat. “Nothing,” you say, quieter, this time. Lucifer opens his mouth to speak, and you realize you need to change the subject, and fast. “Um, I just realized we didn't bring any clothes with us. If we're going to be staying here, we'll need to get some.” Lucifer seems to hesitate before taking your bait, using magic to summon your wardrobe from the palace to the hotel’s drawers. You pick out a pair of pajamas and head to the bathroom to change, while Lucifer uses magic to change his own clothes instantly. When you return, he's already in bed, smiling and eagerly patting the space next to him.
Wait…what's in his hand?
You take a closer look. 
Isn't that…? 
Oh God. 
Oh fuck. 
“Dad, I don't-” 
“C'mon, sweetie, let me read you a bedtime story!” He says, opening the book of fairytales, eyes practically shining. It's endearing, in a way, the way he constantly tries to be a good father to you. But it's also annoying. You're a grown adult, for Christ's sake. You don't want to be read a bedtime story.
But it's not like you can just tell him that. 
“...Okay,” you say, climbing up to the bed and nestling yourself beside him.
It's surprisingly soothing. A hellish retelling of Cinderella, spoken to you in a soft, rhythmic voice. It reminds you of ASMR, in a way. You find yourself drifting off to sleep before you even realize you're tired.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
[Name] fell asleep. 
It’s not surprising, the story Lucifer read to you is known to make children sleepy. Still, he was half-expecting it to fail, or for you to refuse to listen to a story altogether. 
You look so young, curled up like this. So innocent. 
You look like a kid.
Lucifer’s stomach churns. What were you writing about? He knows he should respect your privacy, but…
Something tells him it’s important. He’s seen you write in that notebook before. He knows it’s a diary.
He shouldn’t read it.
He shouldn’t but…
Lucifer taps into the subspace you’ve been using (you may be unusually good at magic for your age, but you’re still a novice. You haven’t learned to secure your network yet.). He pulls out your diary but pauses when he sees the lock. 
He could open it with nothing more than a wave of his hand if he wanted to (and God, he did want to). But it feels wrong. Like he’s encroaching on something sacred. 
If he puts it back now, nothing will change. He’ll stay ignorant. You’ll keep your secrets. But your relationship won’t be affected. The two of you will go back to playing family, and he’ll never know what’s so important to you that you created a private network and a lock to keep it hidden.
He could do that, but…
He opens the diary. The first few pages are impossible to decipher, but pages 6 and onwards are legible. 
October 3rd, 20XX
This is a transcription of the following days: September1st, September 9th, September 16th, and September 22nd.
‘September 1st…? They couldn’t have been older than a month old when this was written,’ Lucifer thinks. Demons develop themselves faster than humans, but even by a demons standard, learning to read and write within just a month of being born is…unheard of.
Lucifer keeps reading.
September 1st, 20XX
I’m finally strong enough to crawl around and hold a pen. Thank goodness. Being trapped in a body you can’t control with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company is pure torture. Though, I suppose this is hell. Perhaps that was the point…? No, if that were the case, I’d never be able to walk and write, let alone so fast. I haven’t been able to keep track of the days, and the clocks are all too high to read, so I have no idea how long I’ve been here, but I saw a calendar hanging in the kitchen. I hope it’s up to date. 
I was able to pinch myself today, but it didn’t hurt. I’d count it as evidence that I’m in a dream but…well, it could also just mean that I’m too weak for it to work. I’ll try again once I’m a little bigger. 
Dreams don’t usually last this long, do they? Perhaps I’m in a coma. I must’ve gotten into a horrible accident, and I’m on the verge of death. This is just my brain spitting out random information from my subconscious. That’s why Lucifer and Lilith are here. That’s why I’m in Hazbin Hotel. It can’t be anything else.
Lucifer furrows his eyebrows. How did you know about the hotel, seven years before its opening?
September 9th, 20XX
Lilith gave me a Teddy bear today. She called it a hell bear. It’s cute, and something I probably would have kept in my room before all this. It’s less babyish than the rest of the things she’s given me. Lucifer named it for me. Mr. Snuggles, he says, in a mock baby voice. It’s bad. I know I’m in the body of a baby right now, but it still feels a little belittling whenever he does that. I used to pay taxes, you know! Sure, I liked cute things every now and again, but I was still a bona fide working adult. …Mr. Snuggles is a cute name, though. 
A working adult? Taxes? You thought his baby voice was stupid?
Okay, maybe that last one was less important, but still. Ouch.
September 16th, 20XX
I finally found the library. Goodbye, boredom! 
Lack of proper stimulation was slowly killing me. If I were an actual baby, the mobile and fairytales would probably have been enough to keep me sated, but, well, you know.
Anyway, the novels I’ve been reading lately have been pretty good, I think I’m able to more or less pick out which ones belonged to who. Mostly by the way they’re organized. The novels stored in the shelves under the staircase all have happy endings and sappy romance, they seem to be Charlie’s. The stories near the front have badass female protagonists and are usually crime mysteries and thrillers, probably belonging to Lilith. The informationals on various animals and other special interests are likely Lucifer’s. And the books in the very back…are all pornography. I’m not sure whose those are, and I’m not really sure I want to know.
Lucifer’s face turns bright red, and he nearly squeaks, but he manages to reel himself in and continue reading.
September 22nd 20XX
I’m able to crawl up stairs now. The second floor of the library is filled with Grimores. They contain complicated mathematical formulas and intricate sigils. I’ve done the math over and over, but I can’t seem to find any flaws with them. I’m not smart enough to have come up with the formulas on my own, so unless I’m doing something wrong, there’s a pretty good chance that this isn’t a dream after all. 
Come to think of it, you’re not supposed to be able to read in dreams, either. 
…I just pinched myself. Ouch.
Lucifer’s mind is racing. Nothing about this makes sense, and yet it explains so much, and yet—
He flips the page.
October 4th, 20XX
It took me a few days, but I’ve finally accepted this as my new reality. I’ve transmigrated into the body of [Name], a never before seen and likely nonexistent character of Hazbin Hotel, who just so happens to share the same name as myself. 
It’s…a tough pill to swallow. I miss my family, my friends, my home.
I may never be able to go back. But I have to try. I’ll read every grimore in the library, even the ones written in ancient languages, I’ll find a way to translate them, I’ll learn the language if I have to. Whatever it takes, I will see this done. I can’t give up. Even if I have to lose what it means to be human, even if I have to become a demon, that’s okay, once I’m back, I can relearn  what it means to be human. There’s so much I haven’t done back on Earth. So much I’ve never seen. So much I’ve never done, never said. I have too many regrets to just sit back and accept this.
I’ll find a way home.
You’re…leaving?
Home? You’re already home. This is your home now. These past seven years, have they all been a lie? Did it really mean nothing to you? Did he mean nothing to you?
Sure, you’ve always been distant, always been a bit too mature, but you were still a child. You were still his child. 
Weren’t you?
You’re…going to leave. To throw him away. Just like Lilith. 
No, he can’t lose you too. He won’t. He’ll find a way to stop you. 
Even if it means you can’t smile the way you used to, even if it means you don’t love him the same. He has to keep you. 
But he can’t do it alone.
Tucking the diary under his arm, Lucifer is careful not to wake you as he leaves your shared bedroom.
Taglist: @Halparkebitch @American-idiot21 @Toast-on-dandelioms @Mixplarab @aria-tempest @nirvana5874 @arsonist-on-fire @dollsgate @shoebillcuicui @galaxywing-has-adhd @sakuraluna2468 @luckywitchsong @ibcreations-blog @heather-hutchcroft @thoughtfulbananaduckcroissant @bee814 @deadgirldreaming @reikamasama @pandaquick
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exitpursuedbyavulcan · 5 months
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Waiting for You
A Michael Gavey Drabble
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Author’s Note: I guess I’m doing drabbles now? This came to me when I was in my third meeting in a row that covered the same information we got in meeting #1 lol
Summary: It’s the evening of your first date with Michael Gavey, but a phone call with your mum lasted way longer than it should have and now you’re running a little bit late. Unfortunately, you forgot your phone at your dorm, so you have no way of letting Michael know.
Waiting for You
7:15
That was the time you had agreed to meet Michael at the pub. He was completely certain about that - he’d written it in his planner, the calendar on the wall of his dorm, and his Yahoo calendar.
He looked at his watch again.
7:23
Being a few minutes late made sense, he thought. You didn’t have a car, and public transportation can be somewhat unreliable on weekends. But now, you were nearly ten minutes late. Even with imprecise bus timings, that seemed like a lot.
It certainly seemed long enough for Michael’s mind to start spiraling.
Maybe you had forgotten. Maybe you got on the wrong bus. Maybe the bus had a mechanical failure, or was stuck in unavoidable traffic.
The longer he stood there, hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers as he stared at the pavement outside the pub, the more far-fetched his thoughts became.
Maybe a faculty member had suddenly needed your help and you couldn’t say no. Maybe your bud had been in an accident. Maybe you’d been kidnapped somehow.
Maybe…
7:28
Maybe you’d realized you didn’t actually want to go out with him.
Why would you? After his outburst in the dining hall at the beginning of the year, he was infamous within your college. Everyone knew the creepy maths nerd who’d made a fool of himself on the first day.
It made perfect sense that you wouldn’t want to be seen with him. What if the essence of his social pariah-dom would rub off on you somehow, and people started treating you the way they treated him?
You wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t want that for you.
Ditching him would be the smart move. After all, it had apparently worked well for Oliver Quick, the cunt. Maybe if you abandoned him as well, you’d also get an invite to Felix Carton’s estate for the summer. For all he knew, it was a requirement.
7:34
It had been stupid of him to even think you’d want to go out with him.
You were popular and well-liked. You were gorgeous. You were smart. All things that should have wiped Michael off your radar entirely.
But you were also kind. You were friendly to him. You talked to him.
When he asked if you wanted to study with him, you’d said yes. When he asked to exchange phone numbers, you’d said yes. And when he asked you out on a date - this date - you’d said yes.
The memory returned, even as he tried to shove it away. When he asked Oliver if he would get him another pint, he’d said yes, too.
Then, he’d abandoned him.
7:41
Apparently, this was just what happened to Michael. He found someone he liked, thought they liked him, too, then was left behind when something better turned up.
It had happened many times before, and would probably happen many times in the future.
Michael bit hard on the inside of his cheek, hoping the pain would chase away the monumental feeling of loneliness that threatened to overtake him. He should just go back to his dorm. It was pathetic to wait out here for this long. He should -
7:44
“Michael!”
He looked up and saw you running toward him, your cheeks flushed as you pushed through the crowd. When you finally stopped in front of him, panting from exertion, you grimaced slightly. He braved himself for what you would say.
“I am so, so sorry I’m late!” You said breathlessly. “My mum called, and she could talk for hours and hours if she wanted, and I tried to tell her I had to leave, but she wouldn’t…”
You half-sighed, half-groaned, rubbing your hands over your face. “And then I left my phone in my room and I couldn’t tell you I was on my way, so…”
Michael stared at you blankly as you continued to explain. He had almost completely resigned himself to the fact that you weren’t coming. But here you were.
Not only had you actually come, but you had ran to him. You were trying so hard to make him see that it wasn’t intentional. You… you were still talking.
“It’s fine,” he said, halting your babbling. “I understand.”
Your smile of relief was quite possibly the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
He laughed in awe, then tried to play it off. “My mum doesn’t know when to shut up, either.”
You laughed with him and grabbed his hand. “Still, I’m so sorry. You’ve been waiting here, probably bored out of your mind, and…”
“Nah,” he shrugged, “it’s all forgotten now.” Indeed, he could hardly remember the panicked train of thought he’d been on for the last half hour. “Thank you - for coming, I mean.”
You smiled again. “Of course! I’ve been looking forward to this.”
Without giving him time to respond, you pulled him into the pub, both of you now laughing. “Since I was late, I’m paying!”
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flamingpudding · 7 months
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Fictober23 Prompt: 24 - "Is it over? Is it really over?"
Fandom: DPxDC
Rating: T
Warnings: Implied menstions of experimentation, and torture
A/N: My brain came up with two options… I went with the sorta angsty one…
They had raided the facility. It had been a plan they had carefully prepared for months now. Batman had gone over all possible scenarios. But it was a needed preparation. They had discovered it too late. Being prepared for ever eventuality was the least they could have done.
The entire Justice League had been horrified when they had discovered this governmental organisation what was committing sanctioned mass genocide of an entire interdimensional race. An Organisation called the GIW, Ghost Investigation Ward or more commonly called Guy's in White. If Doctor Fate, Zatanna and Constantine hadn't found out about them they probably would have never discovered the atrocities their government was committing.
But this had led to a large-scale operation. They started locating any and all locations the GIW possessed and was working on. Tracking any and all Agents that were working for or with them. Every company that was supplying them was looked into deeper until they had every little bit of information they could find.
With all the locations found they then split into teams. Planning a simultaneous strike to all facilities so that one could not warn the other. They would not let a single Agent of this organization escape. They all would be brought to justice.
Batman had not been surprised that the moment his children were clued into the operation, that some of them were ready to go off on their own to do something. Luckily they all were aware enough of the high risks and how many lives would be at risked if even only one of them messed up.
Four months. It had taken four months of thorough planning, of meticulously strategising, and careful preparation. But now everything was ready. Finally after so long the night to strike came. Originally the other heroes wanted to strike at daylight, a tactic to make it as public as possible to also gain the public opinion in their favor.
Batman had disagreed. It was better to strike at dusk or night. When their guard was down to easily overwhelm them. They could make a clear and evidence based statement to the public the next morning throughout all news channels and news times. Superman, as Clark, had already published several papers throughout the months of preparation that would play into their favor.
They had prepared for everything, arresting every Agent, every Scientist, every Guard. Everyone they encountered was knocked out, bound and prepared for transport into arrestment. He did not scowl any of his children when they used more force than necessary, quite frankly if Batman didn't have his own moral code and self control he might not have held back after what he was seeing.
Thad did not mean that he might have hit one or two of these so-called Scientists harder than necessary if they resisted. There were so many cages, so many 'ecto-entities' bound, branded and caged. Batman felt visibly sick when he came across labs with tables stained in green, knowing exactly what that meant after having listened to Doctor Fate's explanations.
They had gone through nearly the entire facility they were in charge of when Superman reported back first. "There was a boy in the deepest part of the facility, bound and hocked up to what appeared to be the facility's energy source. See if you find anyone with similar treatment in your locations. The Boy is rescued, he appears delirious and is pretty much snarling and growling at me but he is in safe hands now."
"Can confirm! A girl was found in my location in the deepest part underground. Same situation as you described. She didn't appear to be conscious, we took her off their system and transferred her to immediate treatment." Wonder Woman chimed in a moment later and Batman lips formed a straight line.
"Same here. It's an older man, face is familiar. He was shortly lucid enough to talk but all he asked about was where the children were. He might be connected to the kids you two found." Flash also reported after a while. Now Batman was more than sure, there were only four big locations aside from several small ones. His was the last one and his stomach sunk even more at the possibility of what he would find in the deepest part of this place.
His prediction was confirmed when he kicked open the door of the last room they hadn't checked yet. Nightwing was by his side, while Red Robin, Red Hood, Black Bat and Robin had hung back to take care of the evacuation of victims as well as arrest of the last GIW workers.
Nightwing let out a string of actual curses.
There in this room was a white haired teen in a ripped NASA shirt and green stained jeans, hooked up to several tubes, bound with silver shining and heavy looking chains to a wall. There was a green strain on the flooring directly below the boy and the green pipes appeared to be pumping more of it from as well as into the teen.
"Get him off the wall!" He instructed hurriedly, checking for the best way to safely unhook the teen. They appeared to be unconscious but with the report from his hero colleagues he wouldn't bet on that too much. The teen might just be too exhausted to actually react to what was happening around him.
"He can't be any older than Red…" He heard his son mutter as he broke the silver metal bindings and Batman couldn't help but agree. He didn't want to even know how long the teen had been here like this. They had been too late, they should have known about this entire things sooner. But at least they weren't too late to save them in particular.
Suddenly the teen stirred, head snapping up. Blazing Lazarus green eyes stared at them and Batman froze, feeling reminded of his second son. The boy didn't say anything, he was just staring at them before, eyes going from his broken bindings to Nightwing, to the unhooked tube in Batman's hand. He saw how the teens eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"You are not with them…" The teens voice cracked from obvious disuse or maybe overuse? He couldn't know for sure. Still he made a sound of agreement before continuing to unhook the last of the tubes.
"We already freed the others, you're the last one." Nightwing was forcing his voice to sound light and friendly. Batman knew this, he could sense the internal rage his son was suppressing. In a way he was glad it was Nightwing with him, his other sons might not have had the same control over themselves in this situation.
"What about Ellie, Dan and the fruitloop?" It took him only a short moment to connect this question to the possible three reported by the other.
"Rescued and in treatment." He answered curtly, removing the last tube while his son broke the last chain and binding. The teen fell forward like a ragdoll, Nightwing instinctively catching him.
"I can't believe it… this isn't a dream…" The white haired kid muttered, eyes going unfocused and Batman worried that the teens system was going into shook. Did he unhook the boy from the tubes too fast?
"Is it over? Is it really over?" The teens started to sound delirious and Batman shared a look with Nightwing. His son nodded as he moved to get a better hold of the teen.
"It is." His son told him voice was going soft. "Rest for now, the next time you wake up you will be free and with Ellie and Dan."
"Don't forget Vlad, he is still a fruitloop but a good one…" the Teen mumbled before finally passing out. Batman gave Nightwing a nod before the other hurried out of this place with the now passed out teen while he reported his similar finding to Superman, Wonder Woman and Flash.
He stood in the now empty room letting his eyes wander over it one last time, checking for any evidence he should keep before deciding to leave too. There was a lot to prepare for, the news, the public statement, the aftercare and treatment of the victims. Batman ignored the fleeting thought of who was going to take in their four main victims, especially the children and teen. Surely his kids wouldn't mind if he provided them a temporary home, right?
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halcyone-of-the-sea · 11 months
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Hey! Can I request another Price x daughter!reader? Something fluff. Thank you, I love your stories so much.
English is not my first language, so sorry haha
Ducky Socks
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PAIRING: John Price x Daughter!Reader
SYNOPSIS: It's your father's birthday, and what better way to celebrate than to go on a hike before giving him the gift he told you not to buy?
WORDCOUNT: 1.5k
WARNINGS: None, just fluff!
A/N: Don't apologize, Anon, your English is perfect! Enjoy!
*I do not give others permission to translate and/or re-publish my works on this or any other platform*
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When the trees peeled back overhead, you would get glimpses of a pure blue sky, fluffy white clouds seemingly picturesque. Smiling, you look back down to the trail as sweat passes like a tear-drop over your temple; delicate puffs of air escaping your mouth. 
“You alright?” Your father's gruff voice echoes in your ear, briefly shattering the atmosphere of bird calls and the crunch of branches underfoot. “We can take a break if you need it.”
Turning to your right you scoff and roll your eyes. Brown brows raise in amusement, John’s bearded face peeling up in a small teasing smile.
“No,” your tone is breathless, but stubbornness infects your bones. “What makes you think that?” 
“Well, Sweetheart, you’re just about runnin’ me off the trail.” You blink and look down again, seeing that your legs had gone so shaky that they’d forced you over into your father’s path, nearly bumping into him with every other step. 
Heat rises to your cheeks before you complain, “It’s not like everyone can go fifteen miles without getting tired!” 
John snorts at the exaggeration, shaking his head before one of his hands hits your shoulder, steering you off to the side where two large boulders look like they’d make good seats. 
“Easy, then.” You huff and let off breathy chuckles, hopping up on one while your father leans on the other. He slings the backpack off his shoulders and sets it on the ground as you take large breaths, skin all clammy and lungs burning. Your body aches, but it's a good kind of pain. 
It’s your father’s birthday today, and for the first time in two years, he’s home for it. John hums as he digs down into his pack, peeling out a canteen of water for you. “Here,” he utters, tossing it lightly to you as your hands snatch to catch it. “Go on.”
You make a face. “If this is the one you bring on deployment, I think I’d rather find a stream.”
John’s eyes crease, crossing his arms and looking at you with an amused exasperation that had become natural with you. The man’s shoulders are loose, and not an ounce of sweat was on him.
“And why’s that?” 
“Someone’s probably fucking pissed in it.” A bark of a laugh shatters the air and you smile widely as your father’s top bends with hitches in his lungs. Like the picture of a dad, his hand comes up to itch at his beard, rubbing over his chin. 
“What in the hell are you on about? Nobody’s bloody pissed in it, Sweetheart.”
“I’ve heard stories,” you grumble with a smirk, untwisting the canteen and flipping the lid off as you look inside teasingly before you brave a small sniff. 
“Just fuckin’ drink the thing, you little brat.” John rolls his eyes, smiling as he elbows your knee. “There’s nothing in it ‘cept water. Hand it here when you’re done, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah,” chuckling, you place the lip to your mouth and tilt it back, enjoying the cool liquid as it sets in your stomach. After a few sips, you wipe your face with your jacket sleeve and breathe in the scents of the dirt. 
As you hand the canteen back, your father hums as thanks and takes his own swig. He glances over when you ask easily, “Is hiking really all you want to do for your birthday?” Your voice dips, “C’mon, you only turn ninety once, Old Man.”
John gives a fake glare and licks the water droplets from his lips, grunting in exaggerated annoyance before he twists the lid of his canteen back on; grabbing the backpack to stuff it inside. 
“You’re a damn horror.” You laugh. “And for your information, Love, yes, I only want to be out ‘ere with my little girl. It’s quiet—need to do this more often.” Itching at your cheek, you coo aloud and hear John grunt, “Least it was quiet.” 
“Rude,” jumping off the rock, you steady your feet; feeling much better after your drink and small break. “How much farther to the top?” 
Your father pushes off and swings his pack over one shoulder, palm connecting with the top of your head as he ruffles your hair before you can shove him off of you—bringing you into the clutch of his side. Gigging, you pointlessly shove at him before you give up and walk beside him. 
John smiles wide and glances down at you fondly.
“Not long. We’ll get there.” He leans down close, muttering into your scalp. “And I’m not bloody old.” 
Laughing, the two of you continue on your hike, a hidden object in the small rucksack over your back.
“Finally!” You call out, shoving past a bush out to the top of the large hill that sits at the end of the trail, hands eager. Staring out over the lush and expansive landscape, you let out a deep breath before wiping your hands on your pants. 
Looking behind you, your father grunts as he comes into view, itching at his head. When he stares off into the late afternoon sun, he smiles slowly and easily; content in every way possible. 
“Well, would you look at that?” He comes over and chuckles, happiness in the lines on his face, and clasps your shoulder. “Brilliant, eh?” 
You beam, staring into his eyes as your own glint playfully. John’s brows furrow in slight confusion. 
Grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt, you drag him with you to a small bench on a plot of packed dirt, giddiness shoving in your smile as you tell him to sit down.
“Hurry up!” 
“What’s she done now?” John mutters with a grunt before a thought lights in his mind like a trail of crumbs. Blue eyes flare. “Sweetheart…” he draws, “I swear if you’ve got something in that pack of yours—”
“Shh!” You hiss, sitting down beside him and slipping your bag open. Your father deadpans at you with an unimpressed look. 
Admittingly, he had told you not to get him anything for his birthday, but when you’d seen this…well…you’d just bought it because it felt right. Plus you were obviously going to buy your father a gift, even if he hated that sort of thing. 
He deserved it. 
“Christ,” John grumbles, itching at the base of his neck as you peel out a wrapped little box; shoving it into his lap as he startles to grab it quickly before it falls to the floor. 
“Open it!” Excitement bleeds into your voice as your father sighs long, even as his heart fills with warmth. 
“How much did it cost?” He tries to say, but your face changes instantaneously to a raised-brow annoyance. John splays his hands, sitting up straighter, “Alright, alright, I’m opening it, then.” 
Pulling at the wrappings, your father peels the top off of the tiny box when the paper is far enough displaced, but he stalls when he sees the fabric under all of the material. Blinking, he stares for a moment before his hand delves inside to grasp and pull out the item.
You stifle your giggles with the back of your hand, eyes crinkled with humor. 
“What’s…?” John tilts his head before he realizes. 
He was holding a large pair of teal-colored socks, but that wasn’t what really got to him. Stationary in all of their glory was the imprint of many, many rubber duckies, each one wearing a fishing hat atop its head like a trophy. 
John’s own body fights with him as small snorts exit his lips, having to catch them as you had with the top of his wrist before his shoulders start shaking. As a tiny breeze goes by atop the hill, the both of you laugh with burning faces; the sounds echoing with a promise of nostalgia in the future. 
After a moment, John takes a deep breath and forces out, “Bloody hell, girl. Where did you buy these things?”
“I never tell,” you level, giggles still entering the sky as your father wraps a hand around your shoulder and brings you into a tight side hug. 
“Y’know, these aren't half bad, now, yeah?” Chapped lips press to the top of your head as you hug him back the best you’re able, heart wrapped in a blanket. “I’ll have to show the boys. They’ll get a right kick out of ‘em.” 
“You like them, then?” You ask, leaning into him and watching him run a finger over the fabric. 
“Like them? They’re brilliant, Sweetheart.” He squeezes you, “Thank you.”
“Well,” you sigh, “then I guess it was worth the hike up here.” Looking out over the land, John hums and rubs your arm. Happy. “Happy birthday, dad.”
“Wouldn’t be half as good without you, Love. Thanks for coming out with me.” You breathe softly and elbow his side as he chuckles. 
“You’re getting sappy with your old age.” Again a swift groan and a tight squeezing of his arm.
“I’m not bloody old!”
“Tell that to the sound your knees make when you try to get off the couch.”
“Fuckin’ hell!”
Let's just say that when Price showed back up at work, ducky socks worn with authoritative pride, Johnny made a personal request for you to find some with bar soaps on them.
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luvtonique · 8 months
Text
I realized something this morning.
This is probably gonna be a long post. (Edit, yep)
I'm a pretty fairly public figure on the internet, and I very regularly interact with a huge amount of people. From YouTube Comments to Discord to Tumblr Asks/Comments to Newgrounds Reviews to MMO Chat to Mic-Chat on Games to Twitch Chat to Stream Chat, blah blah blah.
I've, for years now, over a decade (hell over two decades) talked to probably thousands of people, and have been able to get a gauge on a pretty safe to say "average" of collective human intelligence on the internet.
I've come to realize that not everybody has that kind of experience talking to people online as I do. I've talked to literally thousands, probably near ten thousand, people online in my life.
This is a staggeringly high number and puts me in an outlier position among the rest of you, who likely have only interacted with a double digit number of people online in your life.
Now that you have that information in mind, here's what I realized this morning.
I realized that the reason I don't listen to people, ESPECIALLY when it comes to politics, is because I have learned through talking to all these people that fucking nobody knows what they're fucking goddamn talking about.
I study a lot of things in my spare time, and history is a huge one that I study. I very regularly read and listen to multiple sources talking about historic events, and I make sure to look at as many sources as possible, sometimes including reading encyclopedias in my own home that we've owned for like 40 years.
I cross-reference all of these things and paint a picture of the most likely truths through various means.
Why's that important? Because sometimes a 14 year old on Twitter, literally nearly less than a third my age, will occasionally come along telling me that I'm wrong. Not about history necessarily, but about some opinion that I have based on my own experience and my own knowledge that I've researched myself.
I usually ask them where they got their information, and I'm met with boldfaced idiocy. Completely braindead shit like "180,000 people said it on Twitter," or they link me a Tumblr post with 100k notes, or they say "It's common knowledge," (which is the biggest red flag of them all because not only does it prove they have no evidence to back up what they're saying, but as this post will go on to explain, "common knowledge" is quite literally the worst source of information on anything. People commonly think the earth is flat and that Scientology is real. People commonly think that walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror gives you bad luck. People commonly think that naturally blue food exists.)
In my life I have met thousands of people, and THOUSANDS of them are fucking idiots who very very smugly state completely incorrect knowledge. Earlier today someone tried to tell me that the creators of Beat Saber never sold the company to Facebook, and I showed them proof and they went silent for 3 hours and then went "Yeah so what, Facebook is still a good company" and I wanted to beat my head against the desk.
The internet is full of people who are fascinatingly ignorant. I'm not calling myself "better" or "smarter" than anyone here, I'm just saying that I have learned better than most people that people on the internet are not, and never fucking will be, a good source of information. I don't care if they're your best fucking friend, the coin-toss of them knowing what they're talking about or actually having the facts is so heavily weighted against them, it's seriously like a 98% chance they have no fucking clue what they're talking about.
I urge everyone to take a moment and realize that the internet is, in fact, a good place to find information and do research, but PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET, especially MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA, are NOT SMART PEOPLE AND ARE NOT GOOD SOURCES FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
These are angry, smug, annoying little idiots who are likely 14 years old with a 1st grade reading comprehension who aspires to be a TikTok content creator as a career, and under no fucking circumstance should you ever, ever, EVER listen to any social, financial, religious, gendered, medical or political advice they give.
The world has gotten vastly out of control with how much people think "A lot of people agree with me" is a good enough reason to solidify your opinions. "A lot of people agree" is the biggest red flag ever, because people on the fucking internet are complete fucking idiots, I'm sorry, but I'm someone with far more experience talking to people on the internet than literally any of you reading this. I talk to people on the internet as a career and have been doing this for longer than most of you reading this have been alive.
So what's the point of this? What's the take-away?
The take-away is that I'm saddened by how many people will attack each other vehemently, cut off friends and family members, label people as toxic or problematic, jump to conclusions, etc. based on complete and utter misinformation spouted to them by people who have never once in their entire life actually looked up what the fuck they're talking about. They treat random strangers on Twitter as "experts" because that person is well articulated or put together a YouTube video with really good editing that's softly spoken by a British accent guy and has scary music whenever some "evil" person is on the screen.
The take-away is that people, like yourself (don't you dare try to deny it) will just believe whatever they read on social media, or whatever their Discord friend-group is talking about, because they are living in a complete falsehood that people on the internet know better than they do.
You are not incapable of doing your own research. You are not incapable of finding the truth. You are not stupid. Just do your own research, look into things yourself, cross-reference, use the scientific method, go to a library, read books, for fuck sake please adopt the basic social skill of "If someone says it on the internet it is most likely not true and I should look into it myself."
Because the current state of people is monstrous.
Y'all get so fucking mad about things that are just plain not true, and you revolve your entire life around things you were told by complete idiots and/or children on Twitter and other social media websites.
Stop.
Look at yourself, look at how angry you get about things, and consider that there may be a possibility that anger stems from a complete lack of any foundation or truth in your own beliefs.
Consider the almost 100% guaranteed possibility that you have been blatantly lied to by people who have no fucking idea what they're talking about, and that you are violently upholding standards that are incorrect because you have placed trust in the word of untrustworthy people.
Look up confirmation bias, read about it.
Look up manipulation tactics, read about it.
Look up "Plato's Republic" and read about it.
Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you ever, EVER, form your social or religious or political or financial or gendered or sexual etc. opinions based on SHIT YOU READ ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
And while we're here, don't listen to the news either. They're just a bunch of parrots saying what needs to be said to get you all fighting with each other so that the government can fuck things up while you're distracted. Do your own research, check multiple sources, don't consider social media or regular media to be a 'source,' get every bit of information from every angle, and for fuck sake, stop attacking people for disagreeing with you when you, yourself, only believe what you believe because your friend group believes it and you know that if you disagree with your friend group they'll all attack you so you'd rather be on their side, which only further proves my point that y'all need to fucking chill.
"Democracy will never work. If 3 medical experts tell you that you must eat a ginger root to cure your ailments, but 100,000 idiots with no medical experience tell you otherwise, you're more likely to believe the 100,000 idiots. They are louder, there are more of them, and you will gamble on the hope that among those 100,000 idiots, there must be more than 3 medical experts. The voice of the ignorant will always drown out the voice of the educated."
-Plato's Republic, 375BCE (Paraphrased)
"I can't believe Jay just called us all idiots and expects us to listen to him"
-Someone in the comments of this (It's gonna happen)
PS: If you looked up "Naturally Blue Food," and found out it does in fact not exist, good for you for doing your own research!
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yanderecrazysie · 10 months
Text
Curiosity (Yandere Tsukishima)
This was a Quotev request!
Title: Curiosity
Pairings: Tsukishima Kei x Reader
WARNINGS: Yandere themes, swearing, suggestive themes, non-consensual touching, seriously creepy vibes from Tsukishima
Summary: Tsukishima seems like a normal guy, except that he’s always writing in that journal of his. When you decide to see what he’s up to, you learn that he’s anything but normal.
curiosity
/noun/
a strong desire to know or learn something:
 DAY 1
It’s the first day of school again. (Y/n) looked beautiful as ever today, I missed seeing her in her school uniform. Of course, I’ve been following her around town over the summer, but I missed seeing her in a skirt. This is the last year I see that until I make a move, as I doubt she’ll wear skirts to university.
I’ll do my best to draw what she looks like, since this is a special occasion, but there’s no way my art can do her justice.
Tsukishima Kei was a quiet guy, which, you supposed, was common for smart kids. You hadn’t known him well throughout high school and you doubted you’d have much time to get to know him, since the end of your third and final year was nearly upon you both.
One interesting thing you always noticed is that he was always writing in a journal of sorts, sometimes sketching away in it instead of writing.
You always wondered what it said.
DAY 17
(Y/n) smiled and waved at me today. She does that to everyone, I know, but I couldn’t breathe when she turned her divine attention on me! I felt like, even for a second, I had her undivided attention! I’d do anything, ANYTHING to get that on me again. I’d fucking kill everyone she knows if that means she’ll look at me and only me.
Tsukishima always gave you the distinct vibe that he wanted a friend, especially after his only friend moved away last year, but that he didn’t know how to approach anyone. You sensed a sort of longing when he looked at you and you wondered if your friendliness appealed to his loneliness. Perhaps he was awkward or shy?
You felt bad that you hadn’t had time to talk to him, but life really was just too busy. You always tried to be friendly when you passed him in the halls or made eye contact. 
It was the least you could do.
DAY 33
I love (Y/n) so much that I was willing to dig around in her trash can to find that lip gloss she’d thrown away. How many guys would do THAT for their girlfriends? She only wore it a few times since she didn’t like it very much, but that just meant I had so much of something her precious lips had touched.
I felt like I was in heaven putting it on- like I was kissing her! I had dreams about doing just that and I woke up feeling happier and more refreshed than I had been all year. I need more.
You’d always felt like someone was following you and like your things were disappearing, but you wrote those feelings off as paranoia. Maybe you should take those things seriously, but who had time for that? You were on the student council, an honor student, and preparing for college.
Why didn’t you see the red flags?
Were you really so colorblind?
DAY 52
I went to her house and climbed in through the window. Thank goodness she’s on the first floor.
I went straight to her bed and just laid on it and inhaled her scent from the pillows and blankets. She’s on vacation and I miss her so much, so I really couldn’t help doing all this. It’s her fault for leaving me.
I wonder if she wants our room to look like this or if she has a better one in mind. I’m not a fan of the color but, if she likes it, who am I to disagree? I just want her to be healthy and happy with me. I’ll make her.
You were a naturally curious person. That’s probably why you did so well in school- you had a thirst for knowing why and how that many people your age didn’t care for. You never just wanted to accept things without an explanation. Better to be informed.
Sometimes you were called nosy or told to mind your own business, but you couldn’t help it. You also had a bad habit of eavesdropping and “investigating” on your own. You’d do great in a Nancy Drew book, but it annoyed real-life people.
It’s really no surprise that, when you went to grab Tsukishima’s left-behind notebook, you couldn’t stop yourself from peeking inside and reading some of the entries and looking at the drawings.
DAY 82
I peeked through her window at just the right time and caught her getting undressed for a shower! I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Words can’t describe the experience, so I’ll draw what she looked like instead:
You felt sick. For once, you wished, desperately, that your curiosity was nonexistent. If you could take back everything you’d seen in the last few minutes, you would.
You’d just go off to university, blissfully unaware, and never see that freak ever again. How could he write and draw such things? How could he violate your privacy like that? How dare he-
“You read it, didn’t you?”
The empty classroom went so silent you could hear a pin drop. Your horror felt like metal weighing down your stomach and throat. You couldn’t swallow, you couldn’t breathe.
Tsukishima was right behind you, inching closer each moment, but you couldn’t hope to turn around or run away. You were petrified, rooted in place like you were a statue. A statue with wide eyes and terror etched into your features.
You wanted to claim you hadn’t but the journal was still open in your hands, opened up to a disgusting drawing of yourself and your eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from it. Even if you wanted to futilely make up an excuse, your mouth wouldn’t form the words. You couldn’t so much as squeak.
As he stands directly behind you, his hands caress your waist, finger pads sinking deep into the flesh through your shirt. You shudder in disgust, but that’s the most movement your body can even make.
Even as his fingers dance at the hem of your shirt, daringly searching upwards against bare skin, you can’t move or make a sound. You wished you were a fight or flee kind of person and not a freeze.
You feel his lips brush against your earlobe and you violently shudder as he speaks into your ear a few chilling words.
“Don’t you know what curiosity did to the cat?”
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nothorses · 1 year
Note
Aren't you the one with the weird ass misogyny kink
This is such a perfect example of how fucking stupid callout culture is, actually.
For context, nearly two years ago now, a few blogs known for picking fights & starting harassment campaigns picked a fight & started a harassment campaign against first one transmasc blogger, then a bunch of other transmascs they harassed about reblogging his post who either didn't respond to them, or who responded unfavorably.
I won't get into the nitty-gritty here, but I did elsewhere [1] [2] and so have a few other folks.
I wasn't the original person called out. I was tacked on after the fact because I didn't respond.
What I've been "called out" for since then is, essentially, a bunch of complete bullshit made up by people who are pissed off that I encouraged people to think critically about the callout posts they came across.
Even among those lies, my sex life, kinks, fetishes, whatever- none of it has ever come up. Because I don't engage with that online, I never have, and I never will, for exactly this reason.
Would you be surprised if I told you this wasn't the first time I'd been accused of the "crimes" that original person was accused of?
You probably shouldn't be! This shit happens all the time, and it's only a natural progression of the callout culture it all stems from: one person has some shit they said taken out of context and painted in a bad light by a vindictive and usually transphobic internet loser, everyone who doesn't publicly disavow them immediately and without question is guilty by association, and what reason do they have to defend this person anyway, except so they can get away with the same thing? They must be doing it too!
And this ask especially is phrased in such a blatantly manipulate way. There's no good way to answer this: either I say "yes, but" and people stop thinking or caring there, or I say "no, here's what really happened" and I look weak and dubious for defending myself at all. The accusation has been made, the question has been asked, and now everything I say is with the assumption that this is something I am responsible for proving or disproving.
It's stupid and pointless and it's all fucking made up. It's designed to run on instinctive disgust and outrage, and what better conduit is there for rage and disgust than trans people? Especially trans people who talk about being trans.
And even putting all that aside: who fucking cares?
Who cares if one dude gets off to some shit he, in real life, both suffers from and actively tries to combat? Why are you so concerned with the private sexual fantasies of one random internet stranger? Why is it so important to you that everyone in the world know what this one dude thinks is hot when acted out between two consenting adults?
Come off anon and tell me all your kinks, anon. Tell me every single thing you have ever been turned on by, everything you've masturbated to, and why. I want detailed notes. I want links to porn. If you've made art, written fanfic, roleplayed- I want to see it.
C'mon, if this should be publicly available knowledge, let's start with you. It shouldn't matter as long as none of it's weird or off-putting to anyone else, right? You don't need to hide anything, right? There's nothing there you'd be embarrassed about, nothing you'd rather keep private, right? So what's the hold-up, why haven't you done this already? Why are you on anon to begin with; what are you hiding?
If anyone's the "sex freak" or whatever, anon, it's you. Nobody fucking needs this information about anyone, especially if they aren't sexually involved with each other. It's a massive invasion of privacy, and much more importantly it is textbook sexual harassment.
Anyway. Hi, voc and w-oc. I should be more surprised to see you two in my inbox, but I guess yall are obsessive enough to respond to, literally, a couple of tags on one reblog containing undefined, contextless acronyms of your urls. Hope you talk to a therapist about that someday.
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halfagone · 1 year
Note
I love me a good Damian losses his shit over his supposed dead tvin being alive because he actually missed him. Do you have any ideas?
Hmm *strokes nonexistent goatee* Now this one is tricky. A big thing for me is that if Danny and Damian are twins and get separated, then the logic for why they never tried to look for each other just has to make sense you know? But since he thinks Danny died...
How about this: Since Damian and Dányál (sorry, I like this spelling better) are twins, the decision on who takes up the position as heir will be made after an adequate amount of training and time. neither would be treated with more favor than the other, so that they can probably prove who deserves the position more. Or at least, that's how it was supposed to go.
In reality, Dányál hadn't been interested in the combat and physical training. He did as he was told, and he excelled, but it was clear to everyone that he was simply not putting it all into his tutelage. But then, when Damian and Dányál started being taught poisons and toxic flowers and plants and disease and chemicals, that is where he began to flourish. He took to it like a flower to the sun, and there was no denying his skill in the area. Damian did well, of course, but where Damian thrived in physical combat Dányál thrived in a scientific setting.
At first, this had been treated as something of a dirty secret. Or perhaps more accurately, a weakness on Dányál's part. Many believed that Ra's would not take kindly to his grandson straying aware from his core teachings for something not nearly as important in the bigger picture.
But then one day, the Demon's Head himself spies one of his young grandsons tucked away in the greenhouse, scribbling away on a snatched piece of paper about the acidity of different types of herbs and how they could potentially negatively interact with other plants. The details are rudimentary really, and Ra's has certainly thought of many of the same possibilities but has found through experimentation that it is simply not possible. But he is young still, and obviously he does have the mind for it, even if he is not yet a master of the trade.
He does not have any need for two heirs, but he does have need for an intelligent, loyal scientist.
So he drags this grandson of his in front of an audience, proclaiming to everyone present that Dányál's 'behavior' needs to be rewarded. He is to be sent elsewhere to be taught properly. For everyone in the room, they believe it is Ra's' underhanded way of saying Dányál is to be killed for straying from his path.
Talia believes this. Worst of all, Damian believes this too.
Ra's does not inform his daughter of his plans. He knows that she is soft towards her children, and would rather whisk this one away if it means she might be able to save them both. He has no plans on killing Dányál of course, but perhaps he could use this as a learning opportunity for his daughter and other grandson.
Dányál is informed of nothing. All he knows is that one minute he had been hiding away in the greenhouse and then the next Grandfather had ripped his papers out of his hands.
He thinks he is about to die, and all he can do is try not to cry as he stares over at his equally terrified brother.
He is sent to Fenton Works, in an odd little city called Amity Park, Illinois. The couple who runs the operation finds themselves suddenly in charge of a young boy named Dányál, who is to be taught everything they know. The Fenton's had run low on funding, and when a mysterious donor had reached out, they had been too ecstatic to think things through properly. They now find themselves indebted to a very powerful man, with a young girl of their own to think about.
When they hear their donor is visiting, they are understandably frightened. But then he brings a young boy with him, who they quickly learn is his grandson, and should be treated with the dignity and respect he deserves because of that fact. He tells them to train him, teach him everything they know, and logically they know Ra's wants them to teach this boy everything so that he can be rid of them. They are replacable, disposable.
This should scare them even more, make them loathe the boy for the burden and fear he now brings with him. But then they look at the terrified expression on that little boy's face, and they realize it a noose just as much as it is a chance to rescue him.
They manage to make compromises. Dányál, now known legally as Daniel, has to be enrolled in school, so as to not bring CPS or the government bearing down on their heads. They might need him to help gather supplies, and he can't do that if he doesn't legally exist. Ra's cares very little in the nitty-gritty details, but he is rather pointed in his demands. They are to keep an eye on him and report back to him about his behavior and progress regularly.
They are sure Ra's demands Daniel to do the same, report back about them and if they are keeping up to Ra's' commands. But that does not stop them from feeding him well, treating him as if he was their own. They bring him down to the lab often, teach him all that they know without regret, and watch as he slowly but surely opens up to them.
They learn a great many things about each other, and without ever discussing, they are careful not to mention any of this in their respective reports. Jazz takes to her unexpected baby brother with the same kind of zeal she takes to her school work, and Daniel- who quickly becomes the endearing 'Danny'- adores her even when the memories she brings with her stab him through the heart.
He misses his brother. But he is at least relieved in the knowledge that one day they might meet again.
At 14, Danny dies. His history with the LoA changes nothing and everything surrounding this fact. When he starts to show odd behavior, the Fenton parents begin to worry, wondering what they should do. They try not to bring up any of this in their reports, and simply hope that Danny doesn't either.
The very first time Danny misses a monthly report to his Grandfather is also the very same month his parents take him and Jazz to visit Gotham to take some samples on the swamp dwelling there.
He doesn't realize there is someone else living there, missing him just as fiercely and hoping they can meet again.
---
When Damian finds Dányál again, sees him alive and well after far too many years apart, he is at first euphoric. His twin brother is alive, after all. Why wouldn't he be happy?
But then he founds out his brother is not out from under the thumb of their grandfather like he'd first assumed. Not only is Danny still technically working for the League, he is also aiding them in some of their ventures with his joint research with the Fenton's.
Damian attempts to physically stop his brother, hoping to take him in and back to the Cave for further interrogation. But Danny can't trust Damian either now. He has no love for the League, not after a taste of freedom, however small it might have been. Damian has no way of ensuring his adopted family's safety, and honestly has shown no interest in helping them escape the League's clutches as well.
When Damian pushes, Danny shoves back. Hard.
They might have managed to escape their destined battle the first time, but there is no escaping it a second time.
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sourwolf-sterek32 · 1 year
Text
Broken Without You
Summary: After witnessing the death of your best friend Henry and his little brother, you're close to giving up and ending it all. Until Joel asks you to join him and Ellie on their journey across the country and gives you a reason to keep fighting.
Pairing: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 2.2k
Warnings: language, blood
Previous Chapter
Chapter 2-
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"My plan worked. I delivered." Henry announced once you were back topside and walking down the empty street outside the city.
The moon was shining brightly in the sky above you, lighting up the road without the need of flashlights. You trailed behind them, your eyes scanning the old abandoned houses for any sign of movement, but it seemed to be clear.
"So, we cross the river and then what? Where are you gonna go?" Ellie asked, glancing over at Henry.
"Don't know yet."
"Well, we're going to Wyoming." She answered causing Joels head to snap in her direction with a warning look. "What? It's a huge state. It can fit three more people." 
"No offence, kid. I think once we're out of here, we go our separate ways. It'll be better for everyone." You responded, eyeing Joel cautiously.
You still weren't sure what to make of him. Sure, he gave Sam his food last night, but he had been nothing but cold towards you. He clearly didn't want you or Henry around, he hadn't been trying to hide it, so it was better that you just went your separate ways.
"No, he'll change his mind. Trust me. This is how it goes. He's like, 'no, Ellie. Never, ever, ever happening.' And then I'm like, 'I'm gonna ask you a million more times.' And he's like-"
A gunshot suddenly cracked through the still night air. The bullet whizzing straight past your head and hitting the tree behind you with a loud bang.
"Move, move!" Joel's voice shouted.
You were already moving, grabbing Sam and Henry and shoving them down behind one of the broken-down cars beside Joel and Ellie.
"The fuck is that coming from?" Henry questioned in panic.
"Shut up." Joel snapped, glaring at him before he slowly peaked out over the hood of the car, but quickly ducked back down when the person fired again.
"Fuck. Let's move. Let's go." Henry said, grabbing Sam's hand and about to run away.
"No! Stay down." You ordered, grabbing Henry's other arm and yanking them both down just as another bullet flew past them. "Are you fucking crazy? You nearly got killed."
You shook your head at him before you peaked around the side of the car trying to locate the shooter before he fired again, and you saw the flash of the gunshot in the upper story of the house across the road.
"Shooter is in the top window of that house." You informed, glancing over at Joel whose wild panicked eyes met yours. "If you give me that gun I can sneak around the back of the house and take him out."
A surprised look flashed across his eyes, but he quickly schooled his expression and shook his head.
"I'll go. You guys stay here."
"What?" Ellie practically yelped.
"If you don't move, he's not gonna hit you." Joel reassured, his voice softer and gentler than you had ever heard it before he glanced over at you. "I'm gonna do what you said. Make sure they stay behind the car."
You nodded, reaching over and grabbing Sam's hand, making sure the boy didn't try and run anywhere, although it was probably Henry you should be worried about running if earlier was any indication.
"But if you go out there, he's gonna kill you." Ellie exclaimed.
"It's dark, and he has shit aim. Nobody's gonna kill me."
"Then he's gonna kill us."
"Do you trust me?" Joel asked, looking back at Ellie who nodded without hesitation.
For someone who claimed not to be his daughter, she seemed rather attached to him and vice versa. But that was something to think about later when you weren't being shot at.
You watched Joel run off, ducking behind any object he could use for cover as the shooter began to fire at him, but like Joel said, he had shit aim. Not even a minute later, there was a very distinct gunshot, different from the single shot rifle from earlier and you knew that had to be Joel. He did it.
"I think it's clear now." You said, slowly standing up from behind the car, ready to duck back down if need be, but there were no more bullets flying towards you. "He did it."
The others all sighed with relief and stood up too, but before you could start making your way to the house, the sudden roar of car engines filled the air.
You spun around to find bright headlights of vehicles speeding down the road towards you. The large reinforced armoured truck charged through, taking out all the broken-down cars in its path and your stomach dropped. It was them.
"Run. Now, go, go!" You shouted, ushering them all in the opposite direction.
The repetitive single shot blast started up again, Joel now shooting at the cars through the window of the house. Ellie pulled her handgun out, firing off a few rounds behind her in the general direction of the cars as the three of you sprinted for your lives.
One of Joel's shots must have landed because when you glanced over your shoulder, the truck suddenly turned left, crashing into one of the houses on the side of the road. Ellie was lying on the ground though, having tripped over and you quickly rushed over to her.
"Are you okay?" You asked, looking at her up and down for any gunshots or injuries, but she seemed to be okay.
The rest of the resistance cars suddenly pulled up, their bright headlights momentarily blinding you. You shielded your eyes just as they all exited the vehicles with rifles and various weapons in their hands.
Shit, that wasn't good.
"Go. Run." You ordered, pushing Ellie forward.
Suddenly the truck caught alight from where it had crashed in the house and exploded. The force of the explosion sent you flying forward, your body tumbling hard onto the bitumen road and head slamming against it.
Black dots clouded your vision and for a moment, you feared you were going to pass out, but you managed to blink them away to find Ellie leaning over you. She was shouting, her mouth frantically moving, but you couldn't hear anything above the loud ringing in your ears.
The girl grabbed your arm, helping you to your feet. You stumbled a few steps, but managed to keep your footing as the two of you sprinted across the street and took cover behind one of the broken-down cars where Henry and Sam were.
"Holy shit, is she okay?" Henry questioned as you dropped down beside him, your back pressed against the side door of the vehicle.
"I-I don't know, man. She hit her head hard." Ellie breathlessly answered, looking over at you worriedly.
You could feel blood trickling down the side of your face from the cut on your forehead, the blood matting in your hair and staining the collar of your jacket. You closed your eyes for a few seconds, willing the world around you to stop spinning.
Hands suddenly cupped your face, and you opened your eyes to find Henry looking at you panic. You still couldn't hear anything between the ringing and blood rushing in your ears, but Henry must have heard something. His body turned tense to the point of shaking before he started to shout stuff over his shoulder and you realised he was probably shouting at Kathleen.
Henry turned back towards you, the panic in his eyes earlier now only heightened as he looked between the three of you.
"Get ready to take Sam and run." He signed while he spoke, realising that you were having trouble hearing after the explosion.
Take Sam and run? What? What was he going to do?
You watched in confusion as he gave you a small reassuring smile before he suddenly stepped out from behind the car with his hands raised.
He was going to hand himself in. That realisation hit you like a truck, and you jumped to your feet in an instant. Ellie tried to grab your arm to stop you, but you were already out of arms reach as you stumbled out from behind the car and stood beside Henry.
Kathleen stood across the road, her army of resistant soldiers beside her while the truck and house burned brightly from behind her. She grinned when she saw you before she raised her handgun in your direction, but she didn't get a chance to use it.
The truck that was imbedded into the house suddenly began to move. Kathleen turned around and you watched the truck slowly sink into the ground, disappearing completely and your blood turned cold when you realised what was happening.
As if on cue, the ground below you began to rumble, and you had to grab hold of Henrys shoulder to keep yourself up right. Your hearing slowly started to come back and all you could hear were the snarls and growls of infected.
Then, within a blink of an eye, a sea of infected emerged from the sinkhole and charged at all the resistance.
You were paralysed where you stood as you stared at the mass amount of infected tearing apart the soldiers. You had never seen so many in your entire life, and they were everywhere.
Henry suddenly pulled you back behind the car before he grabbed Sam's hand and the group of you sprinted in the opposite direction, trying to get away from the infected and men with guns.
Amongst all the chaos, you lost sight of Ellie. The girl was no longer with the three of you and you frantically looked around.
"Where's Ellie?!" You shouted over the gunfire.
"I don't know. We need to go!" Henry shouted back.
Shit, you couldn't just leave her.
"Go! I'll be right behind you." You responded, waving at Henry and Sam to keep running before you turned and jogged back in the direction you had just came from, ignoring Henry shouting your name.
You picked up a rifle off the ground from one of the many dead bodies while ducking and weaving between the infected, most too distracted attacking Kathleen's people to worry about you. The ones that did notice, you shot before they could reach you.
You hated how familiar the weapon felt in your hands. The standard issue AR-15 which you knew inside out. You ignored the feeling and pressed the butt of the gun into your shoulder as you looked through the red dot sight and shot the infected sprinting towards you.
The past was the past. It was buried, and you planned to keep it that way.
Suddenly, something banged against the window of the car to your left and you turned around with your gun raised, expecting it to be another infected, but then your eyes landed on Ellie.
She was inside the car. Oh, thank God.
"Open the door!"
Her voice was muffled inside the car as she frantically pulled on the door handle, but the car door was stuck. She couldn't open it.
You rushed over and tried the outside handle, but the door wouldn't budge, and that's when you saw the child sized infected in the backseat heading straight for Ellie.
"Move!" You yelled, waving her away from the car window before you put a bullet through it and the glass shattered on impact.
You used the barrel of the gun to clear out the remaining shards of glass before tossing the weapon over your shoulder with the gun strap. Ellie practically threw herself out the window, and you grabbed her, helping her the rest of the way out.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Ellie panted as you looked back at the car to find the infected already starting to climb out the window too. "Shit, Henry and Sam are in trouble."
Those words had your head snapping away from the infected kid and you followed Ellies line of sight and spotted the two of them huddle together under a car while some infected tried to reach them. Shit
You grabbed Ellie's hand, not wanting to lose her again as you began to run towards Sam and Henry. But you barely got a few metres before an infected appeared in front of you.
A bullet suddenly shot out of nowhere, killing the infected instantly and there was no questioning where that single shot had come from. It was Joel.
You glanced over your shoulder towards the house he was still in to find him sitting in the window with the scoped rifle. You gave him a small two finger salute and he nodded back before you took off running again.
Joel continued to take down the infected around you, clearing a path for the two of you before you reached Sam and Henry. You wasted no time, grabbing one of the infected that was holding Sam's leg and yanked it off the boy before Joel had a clear shot and killed it.
"Come on! Come on!" Ellie shouted, reaching down and helping Henry out from under the car before you all took off running.
You reached the side of the house Joel was in, but didn't get a chance to go inside before a familiar voice shouted at you.
"Stop!"
You turned around with your gun raised, moving in front of Ellie and Sam protectively just as Kathleen stepped forward, her handgun pointed at you.
"Drop the gun. I said, drop the fucking gun!" You yelled, finger resting on the trigger.
"No, I don't think I will. Henry turned my brother in, but I know it was you that killed him. So, now you get to watch Henry and Sam die."
"You make a move on them, you'll be dead before you hit the ground." You warned.
Kathleen grinned, but before she could say anything in response, the very same child clicker from the car earlier appeared out of nowhere and attacked her.
You quickly took a few steps back and watched the child unleash at her, tearing her body apart right in front of you. If you hadn't gotten that car door open, that is what would've happened to Ellie.
"This way now! Move!" Joel's voice suddenly shouted.
He grabbed your shoulder, startling you out of your thoughts before he pulled you away and you quickly followed. The group of you ran off into the darkness away from the total destruction happening behind you.
You didn't stop running until you could no longer hear the growls of the infected in the distance and you managed to find an old motel on the side of the road.
After sweeping one of the rooms and barricading the front door shut, you all collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted. Well, minus Ellie and Sam who were sitting on the bed in the other room busy reading a comic book together.
"I don't think it needs stitches, but this is the best I can do." Henry said, kneeling in front of you as he finished cleaning the cut on your forehead with a wet cloth. "How do you feel?"
"I told you, I'm fine." You sighed, not wanting him to worry about you.
"Mmm, yeah. You really think I believe that?" He asked, standing up with a stretch.
"I don't care what you believe. It's the truth."
"The truth? Really?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at you in disbelief. He tossed the wet rag onto the bench before he lifted himself up onto it and sat down, looking over at you. "That is coming from the girl who crashed her bicycle when we were five and didn't tell anyone until her wrist literally turned black. I had to take you to the ER on the handlebars of my bike."
You rolled your eyes at the memory and leant your head back against the wall behind you and closed them. The light coming in from the kids room was ridiculously brighter than normal.
A few seconds later, something hit your chest and you opened your eyes and looked down to find a piece of beef jerky now in your lap. Frowning in confusion, you looked up to find Joel walking past, chewing his own jerky before he glanced over at you.
"Don't fall asleep yet. You might have a concussion." He said, taking a seat against the wall a few metres away.
You scoffed, "why do you care?"
"I don't." He answered honestly, before he tilted his head back towards you. "But, uh, thank you."
"What?"
"I said, thank you. I saw what you did back there. You saved Ellie in that car. So, thank you."
You stared at him for a few seconds and realised that he actually meant it and you simply nodded, "she's a good kid."
He nodded too, looking over at the girl sitting in the other room with a fond look in his eye, "she is."
The three of you once again sat in silence while you ate. The kid's laughter and soft chatter the only noise before Henry spoke up.
"You think they'll be okay?"
You glanced over at Henry before looking back at the kids who were sitting side by side reading the comic book happily. Yeah, they'll be okay.
"Yeah, I think... it's easier when you're a kid anyway." Joel replied, speaking up for the first time in a while. "You don't have anybody else relying on you. That's the hard part."
"Well, I guess we're doing a good job then."
Joel nodded, looking back at the kids, "what's that comic book say? Endure and survive?"
"Endure and survive." Henry repeated before shaking his head. "That shit's redundant."
"Yeah, it's not great." Joel admitted.
"No." Henry agreed, chuckling softly and you smiled, missing hearing your best friend laugh like that.
"Look, I don't know exactly how I'm gettin' to Wyoming and I'm probably walkin'. But... you know, if you want to..." He trailed off, looking between the two of you and Henry quickly nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah. I think it'd be nice for Sam to have a friend. I'll tell him in the morning. New day, new start."
You watched as Henry stood up and walked into the kids' room, telling Sam it was time for bed before Joel tossed you another piece of jerky which you caught this time.
You nodded your thanks, but didn't say anything and he didn't say anything either as the two of you sat in comfortable silence eating your jerky quietly.
-
Next Chapter 
-
MASTERLIST pinned to profile 
Commissions open! Link in bio & DM for enquiries 
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rainywritesx · 1 year
Text
Meeting Stray Kids
Synopsis: You’re Bang Chan’s girlfriend, and he has been wanting you to meet the rest of Stray Kids for a while. Today finally was the day, and to say you were nervous was probably an understatement
I wasn’t completely sure if I wanted to post this because I’m not very confident in my writing, but I’m finally able to get over my anxiety and do it, ehe ^^, hope you like it!
Warnings/things important to mention: Reader is implied to be a woman & non-Korean, some mention of a loss of appetite.
If you enjoyed this and would like to send me a request, please make sure to read my rules post beforehand <3 Enjoy!
Word count: 1.8K
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“Love, I can practically see your mind running all over the place.” Chan laughed as he watched me nervously fiddle with my hands while I looked out of the car window. A soft sigh escaped my mouth as I looked at him with a clearly worried look. His smile fell a little as his gaze softened.
“Hey, it’s going to be fine.” He said while grabbing my hand and squeezing it softly. “The members are absolutely going to love you, I just know it.” I heard a hint of excitement in his voice that almost made me feel bad for being so anxious about meeting the rest of Stray Kids. Then again, how could I not be nervous?
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “What if I accidentally leave a horrible first impression?”
“That’s not going to happen, and even if that were to happen, they know better than to judge you solely off of the first meeting. ” That probably would have calmed me down if my brain hadn’t decided to worry about yet another thing.
“Oh my god, what if I mess up the honorifics in Korean? Minho and Changbin are the only members who are older than me, right?” My hand made its way to my face, and before I knew it, I was slightly picking at my skin. “Gosh, I’ve been learning Korean for three years but what if I speak to them informally by accident? I’d never be able to recover from that!”
“Come on, they’ll understand, it’s not that big of a problem, darling.” Chan said as he gently let go of my hand he was holding and grabbed my other hand to remove it from my face. “You don’t even want to know the things Felix said to the members by accident when he was still learning Korean.” He giggled while shaking his head.
Our conversation was interrupted by the car coming to a halt. Chan looked out the window and then turned back to me.
“We’re here! Let's go!” The two of us got out of the car, and Chan reached for my hand as soon as we started walking towards the JYPE building after thanking his manager for dropping us off. I had visited this building a couple of times before; there were a few occasions where Chan wanted to hang out in his studio or show me something, but that was usually when the other members weren’t around, hence why I hadn’t met them yet when I was there.
“I think the members are in the cafeteria since they usually have lunch around this time, are you hungry sweetie?” I shook my head. I probably should be hungry since I had a small breakfast, but my nerves were causing my appetite to be nearly gone. Chan seemed to immediately understand the cause of my lack of hunger, which I couldn’t be more grateful for.
“How about we share a plate of food? You don’t have to eat all of it, but in case you get hungry you can just take some of it.” I nodded in agreement.
We were getting closer to the cafeteria, and as we did so, I heard multiple voices, presumably the members, that were getting louder. Chan chuckled to himself upon hearing his members being rowdy.
“Wait, do they know I’m visiting today?” Chan looked away innocently, shrugging while trying to hide his laughter, but failing.
“Nope.” He giggled, causing my eyes to widen. I couldn’t say anything else, however, because we were now standing in the doorway to the cafeteria, which gave me no ability to hide. I noticed some of the members sitting at a table, while the rest were still grabbing their food.
“Hey!” Chan said, and everyone turned to our direction. I held my breath for a moment, not sure who to look at. Having seven pairs of eyes on you is definitely a nerve-wracking experience.
“Oh, we’ve got company!” Felix, who seemed to recognize me immediately, said. The two of us made eye contact and I smiled shyly. Felix accidentally interrupted Chan and I once when the two of us were calling, and he really wanted to say hi. Our conversation was short at the time, but I could already tell that he was really sweet.
“Wait, is this Y/N?” Hyunjin gasped. He didn’t wait for a response, and instead added “Hyung, you should have told us she was visiting!”
“Nah, this seemed more fun, and I think I was right.” Chan said with a small chuckle, enjoying everyone’s surprised reactions.
“Well hey, don’t just stand there, I’m sure she’s hungry!” Changbin said. Now that he mentioned it, maybe it was the smell of freshly baked bread that filled the cafeteria, but I was now finally starting to feel hungry.
“We’ll get our food real quick and then you guys can talk to each other, is that okay?” Everyone agreed and Chan and I quickly went to get something to eat.
“I’m paying.” He said before ordering for the both of us, not giving me a chance to protest in any way. I held back a sigh and simply rolled my eyes, knowing that debating him on this would be impossible. After he was done paying and we took our food, we made our way to the table where everyone was sitting now.
“You don’t have to pay for me every single time that we eat somewhere.” I said, pouting slightly while we walked. On one hand I couldn’t deny that it made my heart flutter anytime Chan offered to pay for our food, but I felt bad since he was doing it so often. He could afford it, but it sometimes made me worry I wasn’t doing enough to repay him.
“I know, but I want to. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be offering to do it, right?” I guess you couldn’t argue with that…
“Hyung, there’s two free seats over there.” Felix said as he gestured toward…. The middle of the table. My eyes widened slightly and I could feel heat rise to my cheeks. Chan and I would be sitting across each other, and we would essentially be surrounded by the other members. Although they seemed nice, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Chan didn’t seem to notice though, as he was looking at Felix, and he just nodded as he gestured for me to go to the chair between Felix and Changbin. Chan held his plate of food with one hand and pushed my chair for me so I could sit down, and immediately the others’ teasing began. He had already warned me about this beforehand, so I wasn’t completely surprised. It was slightly amusing to witness, to be honest.
“Woowww it seems our hyung has great manners after all!” Jisung said in an exaggerated tone.
“He learned it from me, obviously,” Changbin smirked, causing me to chuckle as I sat down. Chan shook his head and made his way over to his own seat.
“Well everyone, this is Y/N, Y/N, these are the members. You’ve met Felix before,” I smiled politely at Felix, who smiled back.
“Hi Y/N! It’s so amazing to finally meet you in real life!” Felix said happily.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” I replied as my hand subconsciously made its way to my hair to play with it, feeling a bit shy.
“Oooo, your Korean is good!” Hyunjin said. “How long have you lived here?”
“She said a single sentence.” A voice whom I assumed to be Minho commented, earning an eye roll from the other member.
“Moving on,” Chan said, ignoring the two which made me stifle a giggle. “The guy sitting on your other side is Changbin, that’s Minho, Jisung, Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Seungmin.” I smiled and lightly bowed at each member, trying my hardest to at least appear calm and composed
“Sooo, Y/N, how old are you?” Hyunjin asked curiously.
“Hey, where are your manners! Never ask a lady her age!” Jisung interrupted him.
“You’re one to talk about manners!” The other member retorted immediately. Chan looked at me and sighed, shaking his head, and I couldn’t help but quietly giggle. This was going to be interesting.
—————————————————————————————
“…And we had to attend ISAC the next day too! Chan hyung couldn’t stop complaining to us about his stomachache during the entire thing.” Hyunjin laughed, causing me to giggle as I covered my mouth.
Surprisingly, the afternoon had been going way more smoothly than I expected. The members’ easygoing attitudes definitely helped, they were polite of course but also made sure to joke around, so I didn’t feel as stiff. Although they did ask me questions, especially ones about Chan and my relationship that he never answered, it wasn’t overwhelming at all.
I was awoken from my thoughts at the sight of Chan walking towards my direction.“Sweetie, I’m sorry to interrupt, but don’t you have a shift at 3?” My eyes widened.
Shit.
I looked at my phone and then noticed it was 2:45 already. Gosh, my boss was going to kill me…
“It’s fine, I can drop you off so you can make it in time.” I sighed in relief.
“Thanks Channie.”
“I’ll go get the car, I’ll see you in a bit yeah?” I nodded and he then left. My gaze went back to Hyunjin, who had a small pout on his face.
“I haven’t even shown you any of my art yet!”
“I’m really sorry, but I can’t exactly miss my shift… Show them next time I visit! I still want to see them, Chan has told me about how beautiful your work is.” A shy smile covered Hyunjin’s lips as he nodded. I got up and grabbed my purse. Before leaving, I made sure to say goodbye to everyone, even receiving a hug from Felix, with whom I couldn’t stop talking during lunch.
“You should visit again soon, we may be busy at times but you’re always welcome to join us! Though, I’m sure Chan hyung knows that too.” I smiled and nodded.
“It was really lovely to meet you all! I was kinda worried that I was going to mess up or something, but everyone has been really nice.” Felix nodded.
“Mhm, except for when you almost cursed at Minho when you tried to compliment his shoes.” I covered my face in embarrassment, earning a giggle from him. Thankfully it was only Minho and Felix who had witnessed that, I think I would’ve died on the spot if the entire group heard it. Still, it was embarrassing.
“Please don’t remind me!! I knew I was going to mess up my Korean at some point.”
“Nah it’s all good, I think he knew what you were trying to say.” He giggled. The two of us were interrupted by a car honking, which was probably Chan waiting for me.
“Okay, I really gotta go now, byee!” I said before leaving the building, feeling a lot more relaxed compared to when I arrived here.
Hm, I guess it didn’t go that badly after all.
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siriannatan · 1 year
Text
Prep & Punk - Flower Husbands
AU by @vyeoh, it's really cool and stuff and all their art is really good
AO3
[Treebark thingy from this AU]
Jimmy would literally rather be anywhere but where he was now. In Scott's bedroom. Trying to focus on maths. With only him and Scott in the whole house. Completely unable to focus.
Why was Jimmy spending his weekend with Scott and not Grian and Joel? As much as studying wasn't a 'bad boy' thing,  almost failing most his classes was apparently even less so. So their math teacher assigned Jimmy a tutor - Scott apparently volunteered to spend his time trying to get some information into Jimmy's head. He had no idea why after their last rather messy break up and the whole Tango thing... jimmy tried really hard to think about geometry and not that. It wasn't all that hard. But quite frankly focusing on anything right now was a bit difficult.
In the past three months, he spend pretty much ignoring Scott's existence he forgot about a certain habit Scott had. He liked to wear skirts. Not a bad thing in the slightest. Jimmy was all for everyone wearing whatever they wanted. He, Grian and Joel had their leather jackets. Cleo, Scar and Bdoubs their weird old people shades, and Tango and his friends had their ties. Scott and Martyn had Pink. The capital 'P' is not a typo. Literally every Wednesday the two showed up in pink. And back when Jimmy was dating Scott he himself would wear something pink to fit Scott better. 
Grian and Joel still poked fun at him for that.
No. The skirt was neither nothing new or a problem in itself. The problem was how much of Scott's legs it exposed, making Jimmy's brain unable to think about anything but that. And suddenly realise he's missing Scott. But who could blame him? Scott was damn pretty and smart and... just Scott. And that maybe his marks were better when he'd sit around Scott and Martyn - very unhappy that Scott would explain everything to Jimmy at least three times - studying. Jimmy was no Grian or Joel, just hearing about a thing during the class was not nearly enough for him.
A sudden flick to his forehead had him looking up at Scott's face. It was no less distracting than the skirt. "Eyes up here Jim," he chuckled and Jimmy felt a weird pang. He never called him back when... "Have you heard a single word of what I just said?"
"Juliet's potion only made her look like she died?" Jimmy tried to scrabble together something they talked about in the past hour. He instantly knew he was wrong by the sigh Scott let out.
"We're at maths, Pythagorean theorem," he said but did not sound the slightest bit angry. Just a bit disappointed and maybe sad. "You didn't use to be that bad, Jim, no matter how short of a skirt I wore in the past. What happened?" he asked, pushing some hair off of Jimmy's face.
Jimmy just shrugged. He was not about to admit he didn't really study without Scott there. "I don't know," he shrugged instead and tried to focus on the pale pink, full of colourful side comments and sticky notes page of Scott's notebook. Scott's notes were always so clear and easy to understand. Jimmy sat through more than one session of Scott working on them and technically understood how it worked but was still beyond impressed. "I guess I was busy with other things..."
"I know I'm probably the least 'bad boy' person you know but you know you can always come and ask me if you don't understand something?" Scott sighed, leaning back and gently kicking Jimmy under the low table they were sitting on a fluffy carpet by. "I know you probably like Tango better... I can see when I've lost but... I don't want you to fail school. Not when I know you're smarter than that," he said, looking away from Jimmy, all slumped and sad and Jimmy felt mildly like a jerk.
He broke Scott's heart with a damn text. Managed to stay together with Tango for only like a month until they both realised they are too different. And then spend two more months avoiding Scott and admitting his own feelings. And throwing all the studying Scott practically dragged him through away... "No... Me and Tango... We weren't all that compatible... Not that way. He's cool to hang out with but most of the time I have no idea what he's talking about, it's damn hard to keep up with him..."
"Jim... please don't..." Scott protested and pounded the table. Glaring at Jimmy with teary eyes.
"I'm not," Jimmy stopped him and gently took his and in both of his. "I've spent three months being an idiot and I'm frankly done with that. I missed you. I missed carrying your bag. I missed you leaning on me when there are no free chairs or we're stuck in a line. I missed sitting silently while you study. I even missed Martyn's grumbling. But mostly I missed listening to you talk and just being around you... I missed you Scott," Jimmy really hoped he managed to express what he just realised. That his grouchy and angry phase was just him denying he was missing Scott playing with his hair and playing with Scott's hair. "I miss you so damn much..." he added, barely a whisper, not daring to look away from Scott for even a second.
"You promise... you promise it's all true and nothing but?" Scott sniffed, staring at his held by Jimmy's hands. 
"I do, Scott," Jimmy nodded. He was never so sure of anything he's ever said.
"So it'd be okay if I said we should have a break and maybe a nap?" Scott asked with a pout.
Jimmy had nothing against a break and a nap. Maybe ended up texting home he'd be staying over at Scott's and not at all telling Grian and Joel where he was the whole weekend. And maybe Scott wore Jimmy's leather jacket the whole Monday. And maybe there was a bright pink hairpin in Jimmy's hair.
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kasagia · 1 year
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Our little game pt. 2
~Part 1~ ~Part 3~ ~Part 4~ ~Part 5~
Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x witch! reader Summary: After the engagement party, you, Katherine, Freya, and Rebekah start to organize a grand fairytale wedding for family members only. Which means you'll be staying at Mikaelson's house a little longer than you initially assumed. But everyone is delighted with your presence. Especially little Hope and her dad, who loves to watch you play with his little princess. Kol is teasing him that he's using the baby charm to get to your cold, iced heart because he isn't hot enough. Kol nearly gets stabbed. But Elijah comes and rescues his youngest brother. After all, someone has to perform the marriage ceremony. You also meet "The Hybrid's Therapist" and makes a huge, life-changing discovery. Word count: 6,3k+
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Y/N POV
Three days. That's how long it took the original family to get me acquainted with everything that happened in those missing years. They found a new member of the family, killed their parents (and crazy aunt) again, and ruled New Orleans just like "in the old, good times." That was too much information to get in that short time. Especially since I was drunk for half of it. Bekah and Kit-kat made the decision to get to know me and Freya by attending parties every night. It was fun at first. But when the hangover came to me the morning after, it wasn't funny anymore. At least I made a new friend.
"Earth to Y/N!" someone screamed at me and pushed, making me fall from the kitchen chair. I groaned in pain, rubbing my sore butt.
"Kol Mikaelson. Do you wish to die on this awful morning?"
"It's 11am." he replied, annoyed. The 10th-century maniac always started his day with the crowing of the hens. I was unworthy (or too lazy) to participate in this mystery of the rising sun.
"I told you. Morning."
"I'm sorry, but I, unlike others, have a real problem on my hands, and I don't have time to deal with your bitter, hangover attitude."
"I apologize for your grace. What is so important that you have to hurt people this morning? You broke one of Klaus' paintings or finally stole his precious daggers?"
"That's better." I gave him a stern look. "Relax, darling. I was joking."
"Not appreciated."
"God. I don't know why my brother likes you."
"Hey! Elijah is my friend; of course he likes me." I replied offended.
"Not these ones. And not in a platonic way." my amused, kind smile faded at his suggestion.
"You know what? I'm too hungry to… what did you say? Deal with your attitude?" I said with a mean smirk on my way out of the kitchen.
"No! Wait a second!" he used his vampire speed to stand before me. "I'll make you breakfast. Just help me."
"What will you cook?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Scrambled eggs?"
"I want waffles."
"Waffles?"
"Uhm. With cherry jam, whipped cream, and strawberries."
"You're going to be fat."
"And very happy. You don't want me to be happy?" I gave him my best puppy eyes.
"Alright, alright. Three waffles then." he agreed, heading to the cooker.
"Six." I corrected him, sitting down at the kitchen island across from him to watch him cook my food.
"Seriously?" he gave me an incredulous look.
"I told you. I'm hungry."
"My God, watch over your future husband."
"And his bank account." Kol burst out laughing as he started cooking my breakfast. "So? What can I help you?"
"It worked. I have a real date with Davina."
"Congratulations." I nodded as I poured myself a glass of orange juice.
"Thank you. But now, as she said yes, I have to make this day unforgetable and amazing."
"I'm starting to worry about you. Are you feeling fine? How many fingers do you see?" I asked, showing him two fingers in front of his face. He snorted, pushing my hand away.
"This is very funny, but I need your help."
"Why me? I mean, you have two older sisters and two older brothers who have probably been in many more relationships than me. They know how to flirt better than me." I inquired, feeling uncomfortable about assisting a 1,000-year-old vampire in picking up a girl when the number of my ex-boyfriends was limited to only one.
"Oh, you'd be surprised…" he says, looking at me with a little smile. "Maybe they have some... romantic experience, but they are over a thousand years old. And Davina is from these times, like you. You know what I'm trying to say?"
"Usually? No. But let's say this time I understand that you called your sibling pensioners. So, tell me something about your girl. I need to know her likes."
~•♤♤♤•~
*After some time*
"I think that's all." he handed me my food, looking at me expectantly.
"Well... I think you shouldn't take her on your first date to any fancy restaurant, cinema, or theater."
"Then what?"
"You're a good cook. Make her something and go boating on the river at night. You know stars and constellations, tell her about them after dinner. But don't make yourself a genius, women usually don't like this."
"Do you think that's enough?"
"You can scatter rose petals on the deck and decorate it with lights. But definitely don't take the poor girl to Paris, or you'll overwhelm her. Save something special for significant dates, like big anniversaries or something."
"You sure?"
"Trust me, women like it when a man makes an effort. She'll be delighted if you do everything yourself. A pampered vampire prince flying around town to fulfill her every little whim and do something special for her? She will love it."
"Vampire prince?"
"Please... like your family doesn't act like royalty."
"Does that mean I'm the king, love?" Klaus came to the kitchen with a little girl in his arms. God. This man looked too hot while he was holding a child.
"Absolutely not. But this sweetheart in your arms is a true princess. Yes, Hope?" I asked, giggling, when she started laughing after I tickled her. I was so fascinated by the sweet child that I didn't notice the look a holding her hybrid was giving me.
"If I remember correctly, this is not your babysitting week. Have you been stealing her from Hayley for three days because you missed her, or do you have another reason, brother?" Kol asked, snapping me out of my trance. This child could easily charm people around her.
"Did you steal her?" I asked indignantly.
"I am her father, love." he replied, looking at me offended.
"What's your point?"
"I can't steal my own child."
"Well, since you don't get along too well with her mother, I believe you can. Did he steal you, angel?" I asked her as she started to grab my hair in her little hand, forcing Klaus to lower himself to my level so the little princess wouldn't fall out of his arms.
"No, I don't. Hayley knows where she is. You two don't have to worry." I gave him a chair so he could sit next to me and not have to do gymnastics with the little troublemaker he held.
He sat her on his lap so she had better access to my bracelets, which turned out to be her next interest. I giggled as I watched her mumble over the pendant of a silver witch flying on a broomstick towards a diamond moon. A birthday present from her father. Talking about the hybrid, he also probably appreciated the selection of my jewelry.
"May you be more like your mother, sweetheart. It would have saved her a lot of nerves." I said to her, taking the pendant away just as it was about to go to her mouth. She screamed something in her language and grabbed my finger instead, trying to drop it with her gums.
"She must have been teething." I thought, not even noticing the gentle, lovely gaze the hybrid was giving me while holding the baby.
"She has the look of the devil in her eyes. That's all me, love." I shifted my gaze to the girl's father.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"I think we already talked about nights and beds. Did you reconsider my invitation?" he asked, smiling and leaning closer to me.
"Don't talk to me like that with a little baby in your arms. It may be traumatizing for her. Just like for me." I replied, pretending to tremble with disgust.
Kol's snort reminded both of us of his presence.
"I told you, Nik. The baby trick doesn't work on her when your baby is cuter than you. You have to find another way into her cold heart."
"Don't you have a girl to chase?" I asked, shooting him a stern look. Did each of them have to be joking about our improbable romance?
"Actually, I do Y/N." Kol came over to us, kissed Hope on the cheek, and did the same to me. Klaus's quiet growl didn't go unnoticed. "Bye darling!"
"Stop calling me like that, you're a taken man!" I shouted after him. "Idiot. What?" I asked the hybrid, who was staring at me with a strange, unfamiliar look in his eyes.
"H e did you breakfast?" he asked with a cold, impassive tone, trying to cover his emotion.
"Yeah. He wanted help, so I made him do something useful in return."
"Oh, I see. Were that cheek kiss and "taken man" talk also part of your generous help." his resentment became more audible in his voice with each passing second. He was angry. But why the fuck?
"What's wrong with you? Kol and I are friends if you expect me to act like we don't..."
"Are you two just friends?" he immediately cut me off, not caring to hear what I was about to say.
"No. We're secretly married, and I'm expecting his child. I'm madly in love with him." I said sarcastically as I was about to leave the kitchen. I didn't like the direction this conversation was going.
"Y/N." Mikaelson's firm tone of voice and the use of my name instead of his usual "love" told me he wasn't joking or playing a game after all.
I turned and took a step closer to him, so our chests met. Hope's legs were hitting me a little as she waved them around, muttering something under her breath. His eyes were all on mine. Unwanted shivers ran through me.
"Kol fell for your town witch, Davina. I helped him plan a fantastic date. That's all. Don't misinterpret our actions. That's how we talk to each other. But even if we were something more, it wouldn't be your business. I'm not your toy that you can appropriate."
"I've never said you are. Don't misinterpret my actions."
"Are you using my own words against me?"
"I don't know, love. Did I?"
He gave me a challenging look, occasionally lowering his gaze to my lips. I stood there, never thinking about how close we were until his nose brushed mine. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of backing out. He'd never kiss me anyway, would he? We did a lot of stuff, true, but a real kiss was something neither of us could do as part of our "game." At least that's how I explained my suppressed desire to be close to him.
"NIKLAUS!" Elijah's yell immediately pulled us apart. I cleared my throat, reaching out to take the little one from him.
"I'll take her to the park. Maybe we even go to the playground, what do you think, Hope? Do you want to swing with auntie Y/N?"
"I'll try my best to come to you two as fast as I can." he said, and gave me his child.
He took a moment to look at both of us, and before he left, he kissed Hope on the head. Little bastard had to give me a "goodbye kiss" in the exact same place as Kol did. And just to be clear, I wasn't blushing.
Blood just suddenly ran into my face and made me red like a tomato. Just it. It had nothing to do with a kiss from the original.
~•♤♤♤•~
3rd PERSON POV
"I hope you had a good reason to call for me, because I was that close to finally making this little, stubborn witch kiss me."
Klaus ran into a library to meet his elder brother. It appeared that he wasn't alone. Kol was right behind Elijah, proudly smiling at him. That little bastard tricked him.
"What's going on here?"
"Kol told me about your..."
"Using our niece to flirt with Y/N. How do you plead from that?" Kol chimed in on his older brother's words.
"I'm not going to talk with you about my relationship with Y/N."
"Which, by the way, doesn't exist at all." the blond man moved towards his younger brother, but the oldest Mikaelson's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Behave yourselves. Both of you."
"I'm sorry, brother, but as you can see, he's the one who has consistently sabotaged my plans for Y/N. Make him behave himself." he pointed an accusing finger at Kol.
"I'm trying to save you from making the great mistake of your life. As much as I love Y/N, she doesn't fit our lifestyle. If you started to date her, you'd put her in the middle of our enemies, old, crazy witches who want to kill us, or even worse, your ex-girlfriends. You'll ruin her, and she deserves something more than our family drama."
"And you, Elijah? Do you share his opinion?"
"It doesn't matter. We just... want you to reconsider your plans before it's too late."
"Yeah. Let's take Hayley as an example. She didn't end up well after a night with you. Or... both of you." Kol stopped as he saw his brothers' angry look. "Alright, that was the wrong example, but you know what I mean. She's just a human with superpowers. She wouldn't put up with all the pain that comes with being a Mikaelson."
"Yes? Then what would you say about Davina? Is she strong enough? How is she different from Y/N?"
"She was born here. From the beginning, she grew up among witches. Y/N has known our world for only 4 years. That's a short time even for a mortal."
"When exactly did you become the voice of reason in our family? I thought it was Elijah's responsibility."
"Well, someone has to, as long as he's enchanted by Petrova's charm. By the way, you're no better than him."
The hybrid was about to throw a dagger at the brazen original, but his phone rang. He gave his brother his most terrifying look and went out of the room, taking the call.
"Oh my god, I miraculously escaped this. I'm never playing bad cop in your plan again, Petrova!"
"Do you think it will really work?" Elijah asked, completely ignoring his brother's nervous outburst.
"Of course, honey. We all know that he hated when someone tried to control him or give him an order. He'll run straight to her and admit his feelings right after he deals with the new vampire group. Let's hope Y/N finally tells him how she really feels about him." Katerina stepped out of the shadows, embracing her fiancé before kissing him on the cheek (to Kol's groan of disgust).
"How did you know where he went?"
"I could convince Rebekah to turn some vampires against Klaus and Marcel to keep them busy for the rest of the afternoon. Which will give me enough time to implement plan B."
"Which is?"
"What kind of matchmaker would I be if I told you before anything really happened? Trust me, they will be officially together on the day of our wedding at the latest." she said, then kissed the smiling original passionately, not caring that they had company in the room.
"Ugh! That's too much, even for me. Get a room or something before another innocent soul sees that. Before I go. Are we still on for tonight?"
"Yes. Me and Rebekah will help you with this date, but we are not cooking. Only decorate."
"Thanks. Play nice and use protection!" he shouted as he left, causing his brother to blush. Katerina laughed, kissing the vampire's rosy cheek.
"Wanna help me set up your stupid brother with Y/N?" she inquired, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 
"Why exactly are you helping him? I thought you hated him?"
"Well, besides wanting to score points in your eyes and be able to point it out to him every chance I get, I think it would be nice to have Y/N with us permanently. She's a good friend."
"It's nice to see that you're starting to think not only about yourself but also about others around you." he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Well, if you come upstairs with me, I can show you how much I think about others… pleasure."
"Are we alone?"
"Mhmm..." the original picked her up in bridal style, causing the younger vampire to laugh as he carried her up the stairs.
~•♤♤♤•~
Y/N POV
Damon called me for the fourth time that day. I have been successful at ignoring him and playing with Hope. At least until Katherine didn't join us and took my phone to hang him up.
"What does he want? I thought your group fell apart?" she asked, putting my phone back in my pocket.
"Well... let's say we are on a break." I said, trying to get my hair out of Hope's grip to set the girl on the swing.
"Do they know where you are?"
"No. Actually, I only wrote to Bonnie to say that I'm safe and she doesn't have to worry about me."
Now that I think about it, none of them took an interest in my fate. Only Bonnie. On the other hand, it didn't bother me at all. I already had people who cared about me.
Damon called again, causing Kat to grimace in annoyance.
"Please, can I pick up your phone and tell him to fu..."
"Katherine! There're children here!" I cut her off before the curse reached Hope's ears. Klaus would kill me if his daughter's first words were "fuck".
"Atherine!" I froze in place, stopping swinging the girl. Now, I think he'd rather hear that her first word was curse than Katherine.
"Ha ha. You should see your face!" the woman laughed as she continued swinging Hope.
"But... how... when... What?" I mumbled, still in shock.
"Please, I taught her my name a long time ago. That's how I won Kol's collection of wine." I felt a stone fall from my heart. I was safe. "But this is the first time she told it in front of someone other than me and Kol, so... I don't think that Klaus knew." a mischievous smirk grew on her face. Well, I guess I'll be dead after all.
"No. Absolutely not. It'll break his heart if he hears that's her first word." I stopped the swing and crouched down to be at Hope's height. "C'mon Hope. Say daddy."
"Y/N... continue like that, and Klaus would rather listen to you calling him daddy than his own child." Katherine began to tease, making my face flush uninvitedly. If I was screwed anyway, why did she have to kick me down?
"Stop it. It's a serious situation. I took her for a walk, what should I do when we return and she starts calling your name?!"
"Well, if you try to use this daddy line on him..."
"Katherine!" I stood up and yelled at the laughing vampire.
"Atherine!" she cried, waving her arms happily.
"No sweetheart. Dad. Daddy. Dada. Dad." I knelt in front of the baby once again, practically begging her to help me in my unfair battle with amused Katherine.
"That's not how you teach a child."
"And how should I know that? I'm 20 with no siblings. Hope is the first child I care for. Thinking about that, I'm surprised that Klaus even gave her to me."
"From the first seconds of her life, this little one has had a 24-hour survival school. One afternoon with an inexperienced aunt wouldn't kill her." She stopped seeing how upset I was. She took my arm and made me look into her eyes. "Hey. Do not panic. Nothing happened. I will teach her, and Klaus will never know. You don't have to worry."
"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at her unconvincingly.
"I did it once. I can do it again. In the meantime, you can go pick up alcohol for the wedding from the bar across the street."
"Did you order alcohol from the bar? Doesn't your fiancé happen to have an age-old collection of all sorts of liquors?"
"Yes, but it is not an inexhaustible well. Kol insisted that we have to start restocking our supplies this year, and for every bottle we take, he makes us add new ones. It's not my fault that moron likes a special recipe that they only make at this particular bar."
"The Mikaelsons and their picky palates." I mumbled under my breath, kissing Hope's head before leaving her alone with aunt Katherine.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the playground. If Klaus finds his daughter with Katherine, at least she'll be to blame for the little girl shouting her name in fascination.
Or he'll have a heart attack. Maybe it's better to warn him.
Hello half-wolfie. I just want to let you know that the little princess is with Her Majesty. Don't get mad when you see them two - I have to go and take care of the wedding (which you're not helping me with at all, Mr. Best Man). I'm getting alcohol and rings, so you're responsible for flowers and food. Good luck! :)
Mr. Big Ego: I hope you know what you're doing. Also, if flowers and food aren't a woman's thing to do?
I'll turn a blind eye to this horrible sexist discrimination just because you're probably miles away and my magic won't reach you. Back to the topic. You're an artist, and you have a pretty good sense of style, so I believe you'll do just fine. Besides, you're quite handsome. Use your charm on the women, and they'll do the job for you.
Mr. Big Ego: Thanks for the advice, I'm just trying to use it in case you hadn't noticed. ;)
My God, are you getting senile blindness? I wrote that you're "quite handsome," not "incredible hot." You've got to find a desperate woman, so go and do your job, because I'm not going to do shitwork for you, LOVE. :-*
Mr. Big Ego: I'd rather read how you call me that under other circumstances... :-/
Take what they give you.
Mr. Big Ego: We both know I can get a lot more out of you. Like those tempting, little moans a couple days ago...
Don't you happen to have something urgent to do, your grace?
Mr. Big Ego: Nothing is more important than you (and Hope). Until we meet again, my love. <3
"Boyfriend?" woman's voice brought me back to earth. I looked around, realizing I was under the bar and blocking the entrance. I was annoyed that I couldn't stop smiling since I began writing to the hybrid.
"He wishes." I replied as I put my phone away and entered the bar.
I headed straight for the bar, hoping to settle this as soon as possible and get back to my girls. I loved Katherine, but the desire to spite Klaus might outweigh her good-natured offer. I wanted to make sure she didn't teach Hope anything terrible (like "Kol," for example).
Fortunately, the bar wasn't that crowded, so I was able to get to the barmaid without any problems.
"Hi, I'm Y/N. My friend ordered some of your drinks for her wedding. I promised her I would get them. It should be booked for Petrova or Mikaelson."
"Oh yes. I know. I am Cami. It's nice to finally meet you. After all the stories I've heard about you, I feel like we've known each other for a long time."
"Klaus' psychotherapist? I thought it was at least a full-time job." the blonde giggled.
"Let's say he's making progress."
"Which doesn't explain how you know me. Is Klaus talking about me all the time, again and again? I must be the real bane of his existence."
"Actually, he's very fond of you."
"Fond of me? In what universe?"
"Wanna have a drink?"
My first thought was to say no, but the barmaid poured me a drink before I could decline her offer.
Maybe one drink won't hurt me.
~•♤♤♤•~
"Have you never been in love?" Cami asked after serving me another tequila.
In those few hours (and probably 2 bottles used to make me a drink) the blonde went back to the topic of Klaus's untrue feelings for me. Forcing me, in a way, to talk about my love conquests. I was sure that they were not as diverse and interesting as hybrids.
"I was. Long time ago. We did all these stupid, cheesy things together. Stargazing in the forest on top of his car, swimming in the lake at night, dancing in the rain. He was my date at prom. We even won the king and queen contest. But the point is that my personal experience tells me that loving him wasn't worth it at all."
"And why is that?"
"Because my boyfriend—the man I'd been dating since we were ten years old—broke up with me via fucking SMS on my 18th birthday."
"Oh."
"Yes. Oh. And please don't give me any therapist speech about that: "He was the problem, not me." I got over him a long time ago." I said, taking a sip of my drink to avoid her sympathetic gaze.
"Then why don't you want to give a chance to someone new?" I mean, it's been proven that a new relationship and crush can aid in the healing of broken hearts."
"Well, I'm assuming you can't heal something that doesn't exist anymore. Also I don't need any new love in my life; I have my friends, and they are giving me enough of it."
"For now, but what will happen if one day you would like to have your own family? A person who'll choose you above everything else in their life?"
"Please, don't even tell me that Klaus fits into this "ideal" husband-to-be for me." the woman sighed, rubbing her forehead. I smiled victoriously, knowing that I had won over Klaus' therapist and that Katherine's little ruse had failed.
"To be honest, I shouldn't do that, but desperate times and all of that." the blonde took out a small dictaphone from her pocket and played a recording after a few clicks. "A week before Elijah and Katherine's engagement party."
"All right. Let's talk about something else. How do you feel about your brother getting married to Katherine?"
"Stupid question. Of course I'm happy for him. Even if his partner leaves much to be desired."
"Well, I've heard something different."
"And what exactly?"
"That you're grumpier than usual and growl at every poor soul around you. There are also many stories in the city about you. You've gone mad because you're secretly in love with Katherine, and that's why you don't want them to get married. But my personal favorite is that you tried to steal the ring from Elijah and sell it on Amazon."
"I admit I was more… moody in the passing days, but all is well now. I'm really happy for them. Very."
"Are you sure your mood swings have nothing to do with Y/N?"
"Veto."
"Come on. We need to finally talk about her. It's the perfect time."
"You're not going to let this topic go, are you?"
"Not as long as she is an important person in your life. Rebekah told me she had an impact on you. You tried to be a better man for her! I thought only Hope had that power over you."
"Do not say that. She'd be overjoyed to learn she has any power over me."
"Would it be wrong if she listened to how important she is to you?"
"Y/N and I are… complicated. We actually never say nice things to each other. I don't even know why Rebekah told you about her."
"Your sister said you loved her. You still do. Even after a year without receiving a single call, text, or email from her. I also saw her portraits in your art room. And pencil sketches. Maybe even some sculptures…"
"I see what you're saying, but it's not my fault she's… unimaginably, incredibly beautiful. I'm just admiring her charm. As an artist, it's my duty to try to capture the depths of her eyes. Or her sweet smile when she is laughing at stupid little things she admires. That's true. I have many pictures of her, because despite my tireless efforts, I have not succeeded in presenting her beauty in a proper way. There are no paints that match the color of her eyes and hair, not even talking about her probably soft, delicate skin. No canvas big enough for her portrait will ever make me forget her or stop imagining her every time I close my eyes. She is always in my darkest nightmares or in my sweetest dreams. Every single day, she steals my thoughts, so that sometimes I find myself thinking that she is here, chasing me around my own city to make me want her more than I already do. I'm disgusted at how easily I succumbed to the magic of her charm. And the worst part is that she didn't even have to use her power to make me enchanted with herself. It looks like she has to mess with me even when she isn't around."
"I think it's enough." she said, pausing. I stared at the recorder for a good few minutes, analyzing what I had just heard. "I'll leave you with that for a while and see if Steve has already sent you crates of alcohol. Take your time."
I took a sip of my tequila. It's impossible for him to have feelings for me, right? He has a child, a city to rule, and I… I'm only 20. I don't have so much on my mind, and I wouldn't find myself in a life like his. It's something else to spend here a month than… half of my life. And even if I wanted to be with him (assuming we really love each other), I would have to become a vampire.
As if my life wasn't already complicated enough without knowing the hybrid's supposed feelings for me.
At least it can't get any worse.
"Y/N? Is that you?" Fuck. I take that back.
"Tom." I said after I turned to the place where his voice had come from. My worst fears came true.
"It's you."
"Yeah. It's me." I replied, not sharing his delight and amazement. Meeting my ex was the last thing I wanted to do after hearing Camille's recording. As if I didn't have a mess in my head anyway.
"It's good to see you."
"You don't have to lie." I replied, turning back to the bar. Not trusting his words even a little bit.
"I'm not. To be honest I… I missed you."
"What?" I asked, eyeing him properly for almost two years.
He has changed. His dark hair, which was always combed and slicked back, was tousled in all directions, adding charm and feistiness to him. He had a slight stubble on his face, and judging by the obvious fatigue on his face, life had not been kind to him either.
"Can we go somewhere private and... you know, talk?" he asked tentatively, trying to grab my hand, but I pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry, but you're like, two bloody years late. We have nothing to talk about." I got up, intending to leave the bar as soon as it was possible, so I could free myself from him. What happened in the past should remain in the past. There was no point in re-entering the same river.
"Y/N! Wait a second, please! I know I screwed up then, but please, let me at least tell you why I had to do what I've done."
"The thing is... I don't care about it, Thomas. You abandoned me in the darkest, most difficult period of my life, when I desperately needed someone to care for me, without so much as a blink of your eye. You didn't have to explain this then, so I don't want to listen to it right now."
"I did it for your safety!"
"My safety?! Please spare me that pathetic excuse. You had two years to come up with something really good, and you went with: "I did it for your safety."
"Two years ago I turned to vampire, Y/N. Ripper to be precise."
"What? But who turned you? Damon?" I asked in shock, not believing that my sweet, darling Thomas could ever turn into one of them.
"I had an accident that was quite dangerous. I was on the edge of life, so they gave me vampire blood in the hospital to help me heal, but… it didn't go right. I woke up hours ago with that uncontrollable hunger. I could only think about human blood. I was too scared to get close to you or anyone else. Damon helped me get out of town, he sent me here so I could learn how to control myself."
"He didn't tell me anything. Not even a little word. And he had known all along when he saw me crying on his brother's shoulder." if I was angry at Damon before, I am mad as hell at him now. This son of a bitch didn't deserve any help from me.
"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I tought it'd be easier for you to forget about me if I... broke your heart."
"Do not flatter yourself. It takes so much more to break it. You weren't even close enough."
"I should know. You've always been the strongest person I've ever met."
"Don't act like you still care about me." I growled, moving backward with each step he took towards me, until I hit the wall behind me.
"Y/N. I have no idea what you've been through these two years, but all I know is that when I was gone, all I could find myself thinking about—all I could remind myself of my old life—was you and our time together. I've never stopped loving you, Y/N. I don't think I could ever do. But I had to leave. Otherwise, I could hurt you. Only here could I learn to control myself and my primal hunger for blood. The mere fact that somehow, from all places in the world, you found yourself here proves that we are meant for each other."
"Stop it. You can't just show up after a year and tell me all of this as if nothing happened. You left me. You break up with me by fucking SMS. Did you even know how it hurt me? You, of all people, promised me that we... we would last forever. And I believed you. I don't think I could ever trust you again."
"I know, honey. I know I fucked up, but all I can do right now is prove to you that I would never, ever leave you and hurt you like this again. Just give us one more chance."
"And what if I have someone? What if I've already found the one man who would never even consider hurting me? Who would rather tear the world apart than see me in pain?" I asked, staring hard into his eyes.
"Do you truly have that someone, honey?" he replied, rubbing a tear from my cheek with his thumb that had unknowingly flown from my eye.
"I... I..." I really would. But I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell him what I really want.
Before I could answer him, the dark-haired man came closer to me and connected our lips in a tender, longing kiss. I shivered as, for no reason, I felt watched.
What was truly terrifying to me was that I didn't feel anything but guilty. But I shouldn't be... right? I was a free, single woman.
Then why did I feel like I was doing something wrong? Why didn't I have any butterflies around my first love? Why all I could think about was how much better Klaus' lips would be on mine?
"Please, don't give up on us." he said, resting his brow on mine.
"Tommy I... I..." Why didn't I feel anything?
"Y/N? Are you okay?" I was almost glad to hear Camille's confused, worried voice. She must have noticed my red eyes from crying and possibly my makeup smudged by tears.
"Yes. Thomas was leaving, right?"
"Here. If you changed your mind." he slipped a piece of paper into my hand and kissed my forehead before obediently leaving the bar.
"Who was that guy? Does he hurt you? Should I call…"
"No! There's no need. Tom would never hurt me. Not deliberately." I cut her off before she could say HIS name. I didn't need another dose of confusion in my head.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I will come home. I think that's enough excitement for one day."
"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow. Just to check if everything is fine."
"There's no need." I responded, unaccustomed to the other's concern about me.
"You know I'm a good friend too. Not just a pseudo-therapist for a bloodthirsty millennial vampire." I smiled involuntarily, feeling some of my overwhelming emotion disappear after her little joke.
"I'll remember that for next time."
"Bye Y/N! It was nice to finally meet you." I waved to her as I crossed the exit from the bar.
As I turned to head towards the mansion, I noticed someone hiding in the darkness and staring at the bar's window. Someone who was as broken as I never imagined he could be. 
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Shit. He saw us. But why did I care?
And then, when our eyes met, I knew that my decision about me and Thomas would be much harder than I had previously thought. And it was at this point in our game that Klaus and I had to finally define who we had to be to each other. It would be the hardest choice of my life.
A terrible (but true) thought crossed my mind.
I'm a freaking Elena Gilbert.
~•♤♤♤•~
Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank you for every heart and follow; I really appreciate it. <3 For anyone who is interested, this "story" will have like 5 or 6 parts in total.
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harryforvogue · 10 months
Note
faye coming home to harry all excited with news that she got the lead role they’ve she’s been practicing for for weeks 🥺 and he def does the cute little embrace where he grabs her by the waist and spins her aroundddddd 🫶🏼
When Faye gets to his flat, there’s still some makeup on her face, her cheeks red to an exaggeration, and her lips so deeply pink as if the lipstick they used on her stained. Her hair is in a loose braid down her back and there are still some leftover pins in them. She takes her shoes off and hobbles over to him.
Harry glances at his phone. “It’s early, love. Everything went all right?” He looks for the signs. No red rimmed eyes, no messy hair from her nervously playing with it, no sad mouth.
Usually during audition nights, she’s out longer than anticipated. It’s why they set their dinner date tonight at Harry’s house instead of a real restaurant. Too many times has Faye felt bad about not making a reservation on time. Harry insists he’s a better cook anyways.
“Yes,” Faye answers, putting her bag on the counter. “I know you said only to use the key you gave me for emergencies–”
Harry smiles. “Actually you decided that for us. You can totally walk in any time–”
“I got it.”
He stills. “You…you got it?”
“Yeah. I got the part,” she says. Her hands are balled up into excited fists, and upon looking closer, Harry sees her shoulders shaking.
“I mean of course you did!” Harry removes his apron and tosses it on the counter, holding his arms open. She’s at him in a flash, wrapping her legs around his waist, tucking her head into his neck. He holds her tight to him as he spins her around. “I knew you would! I just knew you would!”
When Faye lifts her head up, she’s smiling so hard, it has Harry realizing he can’t remember the last time she was this happy. He places her on the counter and holds the back of her head as he kisses her hard.
Her legs stay wrapped around him, ankles crossed behind him back as if to keep him from moving away. When he shifts the kisses to her cheek, she’s laughing again, her fingers buried in his curls.
“I know I’ve been really busy,” she says, tilting her head back. “And I made you practice the lines with me so many times and I missed a lot of dates, but I think it worked out well, right?”
Harry lifts his head, cupping her face. He runs a thumb over her red cheek. “I’m so proud of you,” he says, kissing her mouth again. “You’re so bloody talented, I never doubted you for a second.”
Her eyes are lit up, cheeks stretched in a smile so big, Harry can’t help himself but lean in and kiss her face again. His stubble rubs against her smooth cheek, and she laughs again. She hugs him tightly. Harry feels the force of her arms and legs holding him down.
“I came back early because I was the only one they let finish the whole audition. I was the last one. Everyone else before me was only allowed a few lines, but they gave me a whole scene. I even had to improvise a little bit.”
“They loved you,” Harry murmurs, his hands sliding down to her back. “They loved you so bad.”
“And!” She pulls back with bright eyes. “And one of the producers of the play has worked on indie films and when I was talking to her, I kind of hinted at the fact that I want to be working on films too, and I think she got the idea because she took all my information down and told me to bring my portfolio next week. Isn’t that so cool?”
“It’s fucking amazing, Faye! Fuck, I’m so proud of you. You’re going to make it to Hollywood.”
Faye suddenly looks very timid. “Well, maybe not Hollywood…”
“Of course you will! Hey, have I ever been wrong about anything? You always get the roles you want, the reviews people write are insane, and that one play you directed was on for nearly 4 months! That is Hollywood material if I’ve ever seen it.”
The smile slowly returns to her face. She rests her forehead on his. “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“You’ll probably have to practice lines with me some more.”
“I would do that on any given day, my love.”
She closes her eyes right before Harry kisses her again. It’s a slower, less frantic kiss than before, the adrenaline leaving their bodies. His hands are now resting on her hips, Faye’s arms around his shoulders casually. She tilts her head to kiss him better, and when he pulls away, it seems that her face is even redder than before.
He gently rubs her cheek. “What’s with the war paint, Cherry?”
“Oh they were trying some looks on me.”
“Yeah? You’ve still got some glitter on you.”
“I didn’t really take my makeup off all the way. I wanted to come home and tell you the news as soon as possible.” She turns to look at the half prepared dinner. “Would you mind if I took a quick shower while you’re finishing up?”
“Yes. It’s not like I expected you to help me cook or anything,” he teases. Finally, he releases her and lets her hop off the counter.
“Hey, you said I was a hazard in the kitchen last time!”
“Right, because you nearly cut your thumb off, remember?”
“It’s because Timmy came in and surprised me! I do cook my own food, you know? With minimal casualties.”
“Mhm.” He kisses the top of her head. “Change into my clothes, yeah?”
She smiles knowingly up at him, bouncing on her heels. “Are you telling me or offering?”
“Oh I’m very much telling you. I will be upset if you don’t come back in just a shirt and shorts. Dinner may be canceled. Couches will be slept on.”
“Your shorts are huge on me.”
Harry’s eyes sparkle. “Fine. A shirt and nothing else. I don’t mind at all.”
“Of course you don’t.”
After she showers and Harry’s setting up the table for the two of them, she comes down in just a graphic t-shirt of his, her long hair in waves against her back. He knows that once she brushes her hair, it’ll go all straight, so he takes his time admiring her slightly curly look. Her bangs are twisted and pushed back with a pin to avoid them from becoming too fluffy (her words). The black shirt looks really nice with her black hair. And her legs… fuck.
He looks at her, then the food on the table, mutters a swear, and then quickly makes his way to her.
“Oh no. Oh no no no. What are you doing?” she cries when he picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She grabs his shirt so tight, he thinks it may rip. “Hey! I’m gonna fall! Harry! Don’t–!”
He starts towards his room. “Dinner can wait.”
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jamisonwritestf2trash · 8 months
Note
what if the tf2 mercs went to see Barbie? Ik its not relevant right now but this is critical information to tf2 lore and I'd love to see your take on it
TF2 Mercs Go To The ✨️Barbie✨️ Movie!
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Who cares if this is like two months late, I certainly don't. You're right it is critical lore and, dare I say I'd be wrong not to speak my truth on how these grown adults show up to the Barbie movie.
Mutual appreciation comment: You're so cool and silly for being a mutual, love you for that 💖
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Normally, I'd write a prompt like this merc by merc. Not today, these guys are all going together, this is getting written like the amusement park and beach headcanons.
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No spoilers! I think? I mean everyone's probably seen the movie, but still I tried to keep this spoiler free!
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So to start, we have various reactions.
Medic, Pyro, and Engie are the only ones outwardly and inwardly excited. Like we'll get to the dress-up shenanigans in a minute but these guys are hyped. Medic and Pyro more so than Engie, he's only excited because he's never seen Pyro this excited.
Heavy and Sniper both don't particularly care, but Heavy is more happy to go just to hang out with everyone.
Solider and Demo wanted to go to Oppenheimer, and the other mercs told them the Barbie movie was Oppenheimer. Hilarity ensues. (More on this later.) I'm also half kidding, these guys wouldn't complain about going to Barbie, they just also wanted to see Oppenheimer.
Spy and Scout are secretly so fucking excited for this movie. But outwardly hate the idea or complain about it. Oh, it's a girly movie for little kids? Okay Scout, keep saying that while you find some thinly veiled excuse to dress up for the movie. This is a waste of time and money? Sure Spy, keep telling yourself that while you pick out your outfit, I'm sure you just so happened to have a pink dress, like everyone else so obviously does.
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My Everyone's favorite part! Dress up time!
Don't get me started on Medic. He was prepared weeks in advance. Bedazzled his boots and gloves, found an extra lab coat, and dyed it neon pink. Ordered a boa and everything. He went all out and killed.
Pyro and Engie don't dress up nearly as much, but they both still dress up! Pyro finds anything pink they can, and even has Medic help with bedazzling. Engie finds one single pink shirt, and decides to call that good, but then is promptly drug off by both Medic and Pyro to help him come up with a better outfit.
Heavy and Sniper are quickly descended upon by Medic and Pyro. These two are hellbent on dressing everyone up. Pyro's busy covering Sniper with pink glitter while Medic's trying to convince Heavy that the bedazzling gun is safe to use on skin! (It's not). Both Sniper and Heavy feel deeply changed after their time with Pyro and Medic.
NOW HEAR ME OUT. Demo and Soldier would dress up in a full Barbie outfit for fun, and I'm willing to die on that hill. Like you do not have to convince them to put on something pink and sparkly, they would do that for laughs/fun. Demo is more to do it for a laugh, and Soldier is the type to do it because he likes having fun and being pretty :,) They are the only two to not be accosted by Medic and Pyro that night.
Scout is getting ready and he's so hyped, like this man has an entire outfit planned, but he's got to play it cool, you know. He spends at least an hour going in and out of his room, pretending he can't find anything and pretending to borrow things from the other mercs, until he finally gets cornered by Pyro, and dragged off to the lab for his Barbie movie makeover, complaining the entire way. (He wanted this outcome).
I'm so glad that I started writing this post-Spy Dress. I needed validation that he serves, slays, whatever, just fucking rocks a dress. Wears a pink dress 100% No question. Sequence, lace, boas, hot pink boots, it's so over the top but it's amazing. Medic just rolls his eyes when Spy claims he just had it lying around.
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Movie reactions!
Medic had so much fun oh my god. He was so enamored with the movie. Could, and would rant for hours about this movie if you gave him the chance. Didn't cry like most of the others, but he still genuinely loves the message and just everything about this movie! See's Scout crying and immediately rushes up to half comfort him and half use this as an opportunity to rant, "Well, Scout you see, zhis movie is supposed to make you cry, because if you look at ze-" type vibes
Pyro didn't really pay attention to the other themes, was just obsessed with the pink, glitter, anything Barbie and happy was all they focused on. Ask them about the movie afterwards and they'll just make happy noises and try and explain what they thought of the movie through muffled noises. It's clear they loved it though.
Engie was entertained by the movie enough, he got the message and really liked the music. He's just so happy to see Pyro and Scout having a good time, is a little worried about the other team members sobbing, but he tries his best to comfort them while having a very excited Pyro ranting something he can't understand.
Heavy cried. No doubt in my mind. Also loved just having a good time and being with the other mercs and just. Had to listen to Medic ramble for weeks afterwards but didn't care, was just happy his friend's all had a good time.
Sniper's reaction was to be expected. Indifference, got why everyone was hyped about the movie, he thought it was an alright movie and he wouldn't be opposed to going again, but enjoyed being out more than being at a movie.
Demo was told this was Oppenheimer and rolled his eyes, but he did keep hearing explosions from Oppenheimer playing next door and was so confused. He was hyped the first time thinking Barbie was about to get violent, but then realized where it was coming from, took a swig of his drink and settled back down to watch the rest of the movie. He didn't hate it, didn't love it. Had more fun getting ready.
Soldier was told this was Oppenheimer and believed it. The fact that you could hear explosions was also helping the other mercs case of genuinely trying to convince him it was Oppenheimer. I wish I could say he bought it and was totally fooled into watching Barbie under the guise of it being a totally differently movie but honestly I think it's funnier to have him pretend that the other mercs really got him when this man knows more about American history than anyone else here. Makes a joke about Oppenheimer being a very beautiful woman, and freaks the other mercs out a little bit.
Scout will have you wondering, can a two hour movie really help you work through all your internalized issues? For Scout it can! He went from being woefully misinformed on the way women are treated, (Not on purpose/with hate but just with that whiteboy has never seen the effect society has on women.) to crying in the first half an hour and changing his entire out look on things. It's one of his favorite movie now, he is no longer afraid of admitting that.
Spy is not crying, fuck off. He's just so bored that's why his eyes are watering. Man is sobbing. He loves this movie. Not that he will ever admit that. Loved the soundtrack most. He also had to try and fix his makeup (yes he wore makeup, I'll die on this hill.) in a dark theater so no one would know he was crying, and I think that's really funny.
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Bonus! Favorite Songs! (I listened to all the songs on the playlist to do this. I felt glitter melting from my ears, (/hj) you're welcome &lt;3
Medic- Dance The Night. PLEASE HE WOULD SLAY DANCING TO THIS! DANCE WITH HIM! He's so silly, he want's to just have fun dancing to the entire soundtrack but this song in particular. You will hear this song blasting from the lab at least twice a day for about a month. (No this headcanons isn't based on the fact that this is one of my favorite Barbie songs).
Pyro- Speed Drive. I like the idea that Pyro just really likes upbeat music. This song makes me feel like I just did a line of coke so I'm assuming that they'd feel the same way, and they love that feeling! They also like songs with a lot of reptation so they can remember it better. ALSO,
"She my best friend in the whole world
On the mood board, she's the inspo
And she dressed in really cute clothes
Kawaii like we're in Tokyo
Devon Lee smile, teeth a white row
Got a classic, real deep, Van Gogh
She got loyalty, she says, "I love you, girl"
I love her more"
They sing that either out loud in a muffled voice or think it in their head about Engie, All. The. Time. They're besties yk?
Engie- Hey Blondie. Please, I'm sobbing. He thinks this song is so cute. He loves how sweet it is. He just immediately loves everything about it. Plays this so much when he's working, sings it a lot without noticing.
Heavy- Journey To The Real World. Honestly? He just really likes mostly instrumental music, and he also just likes short songs! I think he just likes the spacy vibe of this song.
Sniper- Forever & Again. Not going to lie. He was half paying attention to the movie and then this song dropped and it hit him like a ton of bricks for no reason. He was just super chill and then BOOM. Immediately having a silent sob/crisis. (He's okay, Scout comforted him, Scout was also crying too at this point).
Demo- Barbie Dream. He's not ashamed. He loves it. It's fun, it's silly, he's fun, he's silly. They we're made for each other. Likes the simplicity of the song. Hated how it got stuck in his head.
Soldier- Choose Your Fighter. I can't express how much I think this man would love Ava Max. Like it's insane. But that's also not the main reason. He likes how upbeat it is, and how confident it makes him feel. Like you can't tell me he didn't hype himself up with this song after the movie.
Scout- I'm so torn on this one, like I feel like he'd belt I'm Just Ken, but also, like I can imagine him also singing Barbie Girl, BUT THEN ALSO MAN I AM???? He likes the entire playlist. He liked everything, the movie, the soundtrack, this movie has him in a chokehold.
Spy- What Was I Made For? SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP. I honestly don't think I can let this man be happy in my headcanons😭But that doesn't matter! I heard this song and was like, oh yeah Spy from TF2 vibes hit hard with this song. Nobody else knew what I was talking about lmao.
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Ah! This was super fun to write, but it took me so long to write for some reason, (I've been putting off real-life work.) But that's neither here nor there. Also I had this finished, and then went, Oh! I should add their favorite songs, and it took another hour.
(I did a word count for fun, 1766 words, only counting the actual headcanons and not the preface and what I'm writing here and now. Also in times new roman, 12 point font, and double spaced this takes up 6 pages 😭)
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morgana96 · 2 years
Text
Trying to Debunk Things the FFXIV Fandom Keeps Making Up About Lyse Hext
(Warning: Stormblood MSQ Spoilers Under the Cut)
I’ve been playing FFXIV for a few years now. It was my first time every playing a Final Fantasy game, and I was nervous I wouldn’t be any good at it. But FFXIV has been a huge comfort and highlight in my life. It’s gotten me through some very tough times and has really inspired me creatively. Not to mention I've met some really great people through the game, and that the community has so many nice and talented people.
But just like any other fandom, things are far from always perfect. There are fans who engage in offensive and gross behavior, fans who are toxic about how to best play - there are plenty of issues this fandom has that most of us are already aware of. But one thing that I think about a lot - although it's far from the only thing - is the strange amount of malice certain fans display when talking about the character Lyse Hext.
I couldn't understand for the longest time why some players hated Lyse so much. Personally, I enjoyed Stormblood, and I like her character. I enjoyed seeing her learn to step out of her sister's shadow and start to become her own person, and I consider her to be one of many characters who my WoL happily considers a good friend.
So it baffled me that people hated her so intensely. I get that not every character clicks with everyone, and that people have varied tastes. But the absolute vitriol some people treat her with has always confused me. That is, until I eventually realized what part of the problem is.
You see, I'm convinced that a good number of Lyse haters weren’t paying thorough attention to Stormblood’s plot. That, or they’ve simply forgotten certain details with time. Because most of the things they accuse her of or site as reasons for their hatred LITERALLY NEVER HAPPENED IN THE GAME.
There are so many accusations I've seen thrown around about her, and nearly all of them are something taken out of context, misremembered, or just straight up made up.
So what I want to do is go over some of the biggest accusations this fandom has perpetuated about Lyse and debunk those that are untrue or based on misunderstanding.
People who've followed me for a while probably know I used to do this all the time back in my Naruto fandom days. I’ve seen some really wild takes from that fandom, and still do occasionally even though the original manga ended nearly a decade ago.
But while I had to wade through a lot of nonsense back then, I really enjoy breaking down stories and characters in order to prove my perspectives. So I’d like to get back into it (especially since I’ve been struggling with focus issues, and this gives me interesting subjects to focus on!)
So let's get started:
“Yda was better than Lyse.”
Let's get something straight right of the bat. The “Yda” these players claim is “better”? That person's not real.
In the game’s timeline, the original 1.0 takes place in 1572, and the true Yda died in 1571. In other words, the “Yda” with Papalymo in 1.0 is Lyse. Apparently, legacy WoLs do encounter the real Yda via Echo visions from before 1.0, but the “Yda” they are with during 1.0 and beyond has always been Lyse. (I am not a legacy/1.0 player, so I'm using resources like the lore books and short stories to get this information.)
So what this means is that unless you are a legacy WoL, you never even knew or saw anything of the real Yda. It was always Lyse.
Everyone in the Circle of Knowing already knew this. Remember, it was Papalymo who asked them not to say anything; he recognized it as a coping mechanism for Yda's death, and he wanted Lyse to figure out for herself that she should not hide herself in her sister's shadow and legacy.
And deep down, Lyse had a feeling the others knew. She just didn't voice this, which is described as her “deciding not to know” that they knew. She even admits that she wasn't trying to truly “become” Yda, so it’s unlikely that she was really changing her personality all that much from what it usually is.
So I can't help but be annoyed when people insist they “liked Yda better”. Not only because I don't think Lyse's personality changed much from when she was “Yda”, but also because people who make this claim fail to see how ridiculous they sound.
The lie was a better character?
You see Lyse’s grief response to losing her older sister as a better character?
You hate that Lyse finally chose to let Yda go and try to become her own person? And preferred the lie?
What a weird hill to die on.
“Lyse didn’t do anything for the Resistance before my WoL showed up”
This is what I’m talking about when I say there are definitely players who just weren’t paying attention and instead make up whatever best fits their own biases.
Lyse and Papalymo were working with the Ala Mhigan Resistance since the end of A Realm Reborn. With a great deal of effort, Conrad managed to get them to Rhalgr’s Reach after the events of the Bloody Banquet, and the two of them pretty much spend the whole time after that working directly with Conrad’s faction of the Resistance until you finally manage to find them again towards the end of Heavensward and right before Stormblood begins
Lyse is not some stranger to them by the time your WoL crosses Baelsar’s Wall. By the time you get there, she’s already become close with Conrad, M’naago, and Meffrid. She’s already gone on countless dangerous missions with the Resistance and engaged directly in conflicts with imperials on their behalf. All of this is made clear in both the MSQ and the extra stories online.
I get so frustrated when blatant misinformation like this gets passed off as canon. How are you going to accurately criticize a character when you don’t even remember major parts of the story you’re criticizing? It makes no sense.
“Lyse stole the credit for saving Ala Mhigo from my WoL!!”
Yeah, no. She didn’t.
I’m not even going to pretend to humor this one. It doesn’t deserve it. It’s a lie. A straight up lie. It literally never happened.
But you know what the most annoying and sad thing about it is? This stupid claim is the exact opposite of how Lyse actually behaves throughout the game.
Lyse is seen regularly talking about how much she looks up to the WoL. She talks so much about how they inspire her, whether directly to them or to others when they’re not around. One of the biggest parts of her arc is getting over her fear of not living up to “true heroes”, including her family and the WoL. Hell, when people rightfully thank her for her efforts, she downplays it as simply doing the right thing and not something anyone needs to thank her for.
And when the WoL finally beats Zenos and Ala Mhigo finally becomes free, do you know what she says?
“You beat [Zenos], after all. You’re the real hero of this story. So run along and take your plaudits!”
How media illiterate does someone have to be to think that THIS is a character who’s “stealing credit”?
So no, Lyse Hext did not “steal credit” from your WoL. In fact, your WoL honestly just sounds like a delusional, self-important prick.
“Lyse didn't earn being the leader of Ala Mhigo/ the Resistance! It should have been Raubahn or M'naago!”
There are quite a few big issues with this one:
1 - Lyse is NOT the leader of Ala Mhigo, nor is she the leader of the entire Resistance.
Raubahn is.
Raubahn is Ala Mhigo's acting head of state. He's the one who is now the main head of the Resistance, which is the city-state's official military now that the Empire has lost control there.
I can’t even count how many people I’ve seen shouting about how “Raubahn should have been in charge!”, when he already IS in charge. And basically almost NO ONE ever fact checks anyone else on this.
These players are literally accusing Lyse of stealing a position she doesn’t have from a man who is, in fact, already in said position.
It’s wild.
2 - Lyse is currently the commander of the Resistance troops at Rhalgr’s Reach in the Fringes. That’s it.
The story makes it very clear that the Resistance was originally not headed by any one leader. There were multiple factions with different leaders, and they didn’t always get along and often had different perspectives on how best to free Ala Mhigo.
For instance, it was the Griffin specific faction of the Resistance, led by Ilberd, that attacked Baelsar's Wall. This branch of the Resistance was not affiliated with Conrad, and in fact, some of Conrad's group and fighters from other groups went to join the Griffin after being taken in by his words.
And because of the slaughter Ilberd purposely led those people into to summon Shinryu, many Ala Mhigans became wary of all factions of the Resistance for a time, even though they weren't necessarily affiliated with the Griffin’s faction.
The Resistance only recently began transitioning into an official military unit, rather that countless factions doing their own thing. Lyse is specifically in command of the group at Rhalgr’s Reach, because that was Conrad’s group. She’s NOT in charge of anyone else’s faction.
My guess as to the current chain of command is that the other factions are still being led by their respective leaders, and that since Raubahn now leads them as a whole, they (including Lyse) fall under his command and answer to him.
And as I said before, The Rhalgr’s Reach Resistance are not strangers to her, nor is she a stranger to them; she’s been working with and helping them since the end of ARR. It’s only because so many people refuse to acknowledge this that they’re convinced she’d done “nothing”, or that they somehow would see her as unfit.
3 - There are few things as universally annoying in fandom spaces than fans pitting women who are canon friends against each other. And unfortunately, this is exactly what I see happen most of the time with Lyse and M’naago.
Now unlike some of the other things I talk about in this post, I can at least understand some of the frustration regarding these two. After all, M’naago has been with the Resistance for a longer time.
But once again, this ends up tainted by people’s weird obsession with outright vilifying Lyse and everything she does. She’s not some evil schemer trying to usurp M’naago, and M’naago isn’t her bitter rival or victim. They are clearly very close - Lyse referring to her as “Naago” is a big deal in Seeker culture - and their stories on the lodestone makes it pretty clear to me that they care far more about each other and working to save their homeland than titles and mantles of leadership.
Honestly, I think a lot of people like to forget how much Lyse tried to reject becoming a leader. She was constantly comparing herself to others, and as a result, she considered herself unworthy of such a role and convinced herself it was something you needed a natural talent for. She was the one who insisted that being related to Curtis and Yda wasn’t enough to make her a good leader. It was only when she accepted her own limitations and imperfections that she finally accepted that role. She had to sort her own personal feelings out before she was ready to take on that responsibility.
One of the things I love about Lyse is that she’s a wonderfully flawed character; she has a lot of doubts, but she is trying her best to improve herself, instead of constantly wondering if she’s living up to someone else’s legacy. She’s not a Warrior of Light, or a decorated Archon. But she’s passionate, determined, and always willing to learn from others while she tries to become who she wants to be. In my eyes, that’s what Conrad’s talking about when he tells her she can become a leader. And regardless of what anyone else says, I enjoyed watching her start to come into her own.
“Lyse is a White Savior.”
This issue is much more complex than the other things I’ve brought up here. So I want to start out by making some things clear from the start.
As a black woman, I think one of the only well-founded criticisms regarding Lyse is her pale completion compared to her father Curtis, whose skin is much darker. Colorism is a serious and ongoing issue in entertainment media industries. It’s my belief that Lyse’s character design is a perfect example of that issue. And we as a fandom should absolutely acknowledge and criticize it.
However, I also disagree strongly with anyone who refers to Lyse as “a white savior”.
To provide some background information, “white savior” is a term connected to the long history of white people colonizing, oppressing, and denying agency to non-white people. Its concept originates from the racist ideology known as “The White Man's Burden” (named after a pro-imperialism poem), which falsely claims that white people are morally obligated to "save" people of color from themselves and their "savagery", thus justifying their colonization and cultural genocide. It’s also recognized as a common trope in media, where a white person - usually a white man displaced from white society - is made into the leader or liberator of a group of people of color, thus making said white person the focus of a story that doesn’t actually affect them the way it affects the marginalized.
There are two main reasons why I disagree with calling Lyse a white savior:
1 - Like I’ve already said, I 100% think Lyse’s character design is flawed. But something that’s very important to note here is that Ala Mhigo/Gyr Abania is not a homogeneous society some players seem to think it is.
Like a lot of the other regions in Eorzea, Gyr Abania has a diverse mixture of the world's fantasy races, including Hellsguard Roes, Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te, and both Highlander and Midlander Hyurs. But Gyr Abania is also not homogeneous when it comes to skin color. There are characters and NPCs throughout the Gyr Albania areas with varying skin tones. Some are fair, some are dark, and some are somewhere in between.
The problem with Lyse’s character design is that she’s suspiciously fair skinned despite being the daughter of a clearly dark-skinned man.
But what I tend to see people turn that into is “Lyse is too fair skinned to be Ala Mhigan”.
Fordola is fair skinned. M’hahtoa, M’naago’s mother, and several other members of the M Tribe are fair skinned. There are multiple NPCs across the Gyr Abanian maps that have fairer skin (some are named/can be spoken to, while others are unnamed/background NPCs).
I don’t think I’ve ever seen these characters brought up when people start talking about Ala Mhigan ethnicities. Maybe someone out there has and I simply missed it. But as far as I can remember, I’ve only seen Ala Mhigan skin tones brought up when someone is calling Lyse, and no one else, “too pale to be Ala Mhigan”. It doesn’t work to make this claim because Ala Mhigan is not a race; it's a nationality which is made up of multiple races, and those races seem to have varied skin tones based on what we see in the actual game.
Now remember, this is in no way a recant of my stance. I think Lyse should be closer in skin tone to her father. But the white savior label doesn’t work in this context because despite the problems with her design, Lyse is an Ala Mhigan refugee; not some random foreigner coming into Gyr Abania with no understanding of their history and plight. It’s not enough to claim she’s “too pale to be Ala Mhigan”, because Ala Mhigo/Gyr Abania isn’t homogeneous like that.
2 - When it comes to white saviorism, there’s a very specific privilege and ignorance that comes with it. The reason why it’s offensive is because it makes a white person the focus of a situation that they can’t and don’t truly understand. A story’s white savior - whether consciously or unconsciously - symbolizes white ego and narcissism. And frankly, I do not think that was ever the intention of Lyse’s story.
There’s a big difference between a white savior’s intrusion into a foreign country and a refugee returning to their homeland after many years. While only Lyse’s early years were spent in Ala Mhigo, she is not completely removed from it like people seem to think she is. It’s very clear she remembers her time there, and has clear memories of life with her father and sister.
She was only five when Yda got her out - right at the start of the Garlean occupation - and because of this, she initially doesn’t know how to convince other Ala Mhigans that the fight for their home is still worth it. Her love and hope for a better Ala Mhigo is mistaken for ignorance, because many have been so worn down by the loss and bloodshed that it’s considered suicide to fight back anymore.
Stormblood does a great job of showing how imperialism wears down its victims. The hopelessness felt by many in Ala Mhigo and Doma is the result of years of violence, abuse, and cruelty, and that’s exactly the imperials’ intention; an oppressor wants to break the will and spirit of the oppressed as much as they can, conditioning them to normalize their mistreatment in order to diminish threats to their control.
Characters like Fordola also help show how imperialists manipulate the oppressed to work against their own best interests. All of Fordola’s actions are driven by the misguided idea that working with the Empire would “free” Ala Mhigo. She was convinced that as long as she fought and killed for them, she’d eventually prove that Ala Mhigans are worthy of the Garleans’ respect. But that was never going to happen. It was a tactic to indoctrinate young Ala Mhigans and maintain the imperial status quo. And sadly, Fordola fell deep into that trap.
This is the real cause for Lyse’s initial disconnect. It’s not because of privilege or bias, or a lack of personal connection to Ala Mhigo. It’s founded on the fact that she simply hasn’t experienced the Empire’s relentless tyrannical tactics the same way those who remained in Gyr Abania have.
But this doesn’t mean she hasn’t dealt with loss and fear. Both her father and sister were killed by the Garleans. She’s experienced displacement and having to flee from your home to survive. She’s lost comrades and close friends while with the Scions. This isn’t some naive little girl who doesn’t know the pain that comes with battles and war.
The biggest challenge for the main cast of Stormblood wasn’t just physically fighting the Garleans. It was about a shared sense of pain and loss, and trying to break through the hopelessness the people of Ala Mhigo and Doma were feeling.
Lyse, the WoL, and the other characters aren’t doing what they do for glory. They’re not claiming to know better than the Ala Mhigans and Domans. They’re not trying to take their agency away. They’re trying to convince them to take back their own agency and futures from the Garleans. It’s about understanding their pain, their loss, and their fear, and trying to help them rediscover the strength to keep fighting for themselves. At least that’s what it was to me.
And speaking of the Garleans, it’s wild how I don’t see more people bring up their similarities to white saviorism.
So many Garleans refer to non-Garleans as “savages” and treat them as second class citizens in the provinces.
They insist that their societies and faiths are “primitive”, and that this justifies their invasions and conquests.
They outlaw cultural and religious practices and force their own practices in their place, all under the guise of “civilizing” conquered people and saving them from themselves.
They propagandize themselves as selfless heroes, and people like the WoL as the monstrous villains. “We’re simply trying to rescue these poor, deluded “savages” from themselves and their eikons. Why are you mad?”
And when people fight back and reject them, the Empire plays victim. Take Varis for instance; during that meeting with the Alliance, he targets the very valid issues the Eorzean nations have. But that’s not because he actually cares about fixing those problems; he’s literally just gaslighting them and trying to justify Garlemald’s false sense of supremacy.
It’s all right there. It’s literally a perfect fictional example of the racism, narcissism, and backwards logic of imperialism.
Yet somehow, I’ve see Lyse, an Ala Mhigan refugee, called a “white savior” more often than Garlean imperials.
It’s frustrating, to say the least.
~~~
Well, these are pretty much all the main accusations I’ve seen thrown at Lyse since I’ve started the game. If I think of anything else, or if someone gives me something else to look at, I will add on to this.
I don’t know if I’m changing any minds with this, or even if anyone even has the time or patience to read through this whole post. But it’s feels good to finally write out a lot of my thoughts on this subject after so long. I’d like to do this on more subjects relating to FFXIV, including ways I think certain parts of story could have been improved.
But that’s or another day. Thanks so much for reading ~
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gin-juice-tonic · 9 months
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Hey there! I have a friend who wants to write a character with OCD, but I'm worried that she might not have a fully accurate image of what it is. I don't really know many people with OCD, but if you could could you give some tips to pass on to her? Sorry if this is weird, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to. I just thought it would be better to get information from someone who is affected by OCD than skim an article about it. Thanks again (p.s. I really love your comics!!)
This is going to go under a cut cause i wrote more than I really intended. It's very long. I put a video clip of a character who I think is a good representation in media at the end if you decide you dont want to read all of that and just skip down there.
The thing is that OCD varies a lot from person to person. My experiences arent gonna look the same as someone else's who also has it. Some people have very visible symptoms, some people have things that are still obviously ocd symptoms but would only be recognized by someone who knew what to look for, some people only have mental symptoms - you wouldnt be able to tell unless you were a mind reader. And just like any other disorder it has a range of severity.
Also not everyone's triggered by the same things. I know you said you'd rather hear from a person than an article, but I think she should look at articles that detail what typical obsessions are (Though she should go in knowing these thoughts are beyond people's control. They're sometimes extremely upsetting, and theyre of course upsetting to the person who has them. They may be very hard to read if you arent well-versed in this stuff.) In fiction I usually see perfection and contamination, but there are wayyyy more than that. Some triggers come and go even. One day I can be completely fine about something and encountering it a different day it might take me 3 months to stop spiraling about it.
An important thing that IS spread across everyone who has it is that giving into compulsions makes things worse. They are a feeling of momentary relief that can fade incredibly quickly, which is what leads people to do them over and over and over again much to the detriment of the person doing it.
There is not a lot of rhyme or reason to it. And it cannot be logic-ed with. You could be the smartest, most level headed, logical person in the world, but you cannot logic your way out of obsessive thoughts. (This usually creates an obsessive thought spiral even, which is bad and can be dangerous...)
Adding onto that, she should think hard about whether the character would know they have OCD or not. The public perception of OCD is not great. Most people dont understand what it looks like, including people who have it. And the people who do have it often feel like they cannot talk about it. (I was encouraged by a psychiatrist to never! talk about the intrusive thoughts I have to ANYONE. She sucked, but it shows the attitude that surrounds the disorder.) And whether they know or not will make a big difference in how they view themself and their mental health. Personally when I did not know I had it I was doing a lot worse mentally. A lot. Frankly it very nearly drove me to suicide. And then I found out what it was, and it helped. It didnt magically make things disappear of course, but it helped.
She also might be tempted to make the characters symptoms manifest in ways that are comedic or silly. I am not bothered by this necessarily, I think a lot of the things I do are silly and would be perceived as funny by an outsider. But if she is going to do this I ask that she makes sure she shows how frustrating and embarrassing it is for the character. If you want an example, there is a character in the show Scrubs with OCD. (Side note, Scrubs is rated TV-14 so turn back now if youre too young but)
His name is Dr Kevin Casey, though you could probably just find his scenes from looking up Scrubs OCD. He is played off as a jovial man whose disorder makes him quirky, but he is given a scene in which you can really see the toll it takes on him. One line he says "Nobody's supposed to see this" hits especially hard.
So if that was too long and you didnt read most of it the number one important thing I'd personally ask is however inconvenient this characters OCD is going to be to everyone else Id like her to make sure she shows that its a million times more inconvenient to the person who has it.
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