#[ in my head i tie specific characters to other specific characters after a lot of thought and i don't commit to those thoughts easily. ]

[orchideae]

In today's episode of 'Sae, do you (...)': the topic of Ningguang and Yelan, and I thought that I should note my opinion more clearly outside of my rules as it's very important information for my portrayal: I do not ship Ningguang and Yelan romantically.

Honestly, while this is of course my own opinion, I don't find that there's anything to really substantiate a romantic interest between the two. For starters, I don't think that Ning, as interesting of a character as she is with a past that might just be similar in its 'rise' to Yelan's (we're left with very little information on the latter's childhood), ticks the right kind of boxes for her, though to be fair: not many do. Yelan craves a specific sort of thrill in her life, I mean she lives it at the roll of a dice because she is, on some level, bored, and craves the unexpected, the unusual, the 'surprise', and Ningguang's life nor personality seem to play into that. Beyond it, Yelan would need a kinship within this very specific 'loneliness' that I talk about too often and I think that Ning is not one who quite meshes into that in the right way.

Second, despite their long-standing history that even predates their mutual involvement with the Qixing, there seems to be a certain professional distance between the two that I'm quite fond of that is shown in brief event cutscenes, and also Yelan's vision story, that I find inherently intriguing. Perhaps this distance plays more into Yelan's character of not investing too heavily, or rather not too easily, into social dynamics than it does Ning's (I'm not one to weigh in on her character), but it seems evident to me that there's also that semblance of professionalism that creates a line that takes away the possibility of growing closer on an emotional level. And whether that's a mutual decision or not is not up to me to judge, but I think it's one that's made rather clearly from Yelan's side. On top of that, Yelan is Yelan and it's my personal belief that shipping her is rather difficult.

Now I'm also inherently of the opinion (unpopular, I know, I apologize) that dynamics aren't always more interesting when written in romantic settings, and I don't think it's a benefit for all of them to veer into a romantic nature. And in my opinion (and most importantly: in my depiction and understanding of Yelan's character), I think that having Ning and Yelan cross the line from professionalism into something inherently more rooted in romanticism, would be a detriment to their dynamic. Because honestly, I think the fact that Ningguang being one of two people (other being Uncle Tian) to know Yelan best, without ever crossing that line, is too good. I would simply, well, just prefer to keep that not only platonic, but professional, but of course not excluding it of Yelan's quips, and the occasional 'confidant' element.

/rambles in tags because I feel like I have more to say that I shouldn't flood the post with.

#[ psa. ] seeing isn't always believing. and if you can't trust your eyes; you certainly can't trust rumors. #[ also; and this is where you'll learn more about my 'single-ship' self-- i love the concept of ningguang and beidou. ] #[ and i wouldn't want to take away from that dynamic /in my own head/. it's not about what others do/see/view. but about my own head. ] #[ if i did ship it-- it'd counter that dynamic and i don't like that (again: in my own brain). ] #[ i'm an odd rper in that sense; but i almost have difficulty straying from this... single verse concept. ] #[ in my head i tie specific characters to other specific characters after a lot of thought and i don't commit to those thoughts easily. ] #[ but then i construct this entire huge narrative in my head that's almost like its own book. ] #[ and so i can't easily 'copy' that multiple times for multiple ships. does that make sense? ] #[ but /because/ i do that-- i heavily scrutinize dynamics across the board and it's where a lot of my enjoyment as a writer comes from. ] #[ these analyses of specific characters and dynamics. why are they the way that they are? ] #[ it's psychology. i love it. it's not just saying 'i love finding out what makes characters tick' but it's actively really going... ] #[ 'yeah okay i could ship these-- but is there basis for it and /why/ and /in what capacity/ and specifically: /would they decide to/? ] #[ sometimes i tell myself that i'm not made for rp'ing because i'm too analytical meshed in with too much emotion. ] #[ because i get too invested. ] #[ but i just-- i don't know. i wanted to kind of explain why pointing stuff like this out is important to me and my portrayal. ] #[ especially for yelan who has such a... god; it's almost an unhealthy headspace. you can't mesh that with just anyone. ] #[ the person has to /really get it/ and understand it almost on this level that isn't logical for most humans. because it's unusual. ] #[ but it's important that it's understood /by another human being/. ] #[ and i also think some people genuinely don't mesh in /that/ way. some can mesh perfectly platonically in my head and then... ] #[ not at all romantically. but when /my head/ has decided that this is how it is-- i respect when people disagree; i do. ] #[ i will never say that my opinions are the be all end all for other yelans or even yelan's character in specific. ] #[ as much as i like to think i analyze-- /i could be wrong/. ] #[ but all in all; i do respect if people disagree. but there's just certain opinions i have for my own portrayal that i need to note. ] #[ but also-- a little explanation as to why i'm single-ship more often than not. i wish i could budge how my brain works. but alas. ] #[ /sips coffee past midnight. ] #[ it's been a day. it really has been a day; i need to make my own serotonin tomorrow. i miss writing. ]

[suzteel]

I've been meaning to talk about the change in Tankhun's wardrobe over the course of the series for a while, and this gifset crossing my dash again ended up being the motivation I needed. So here we go!

As highlighted by at gifset, green lighting and backdrops are often used to indicate danger in the show. It is also a color heavily associated with the Minor Family and some great meta has been written about the use and significance of the color on the show and especially about Porsche's final green suit. Green is the color of greed, of danger, of corruption. But green can have more positive associations with it as well: it can represent hope, growth, renewal, rebirth...

But what does this have to do with Tankhun? Well it's all in the wardrobe.

When we are first introduced to Tankhun on the show, he’s hard to miss in his fuchsia robe. It's a color we see a lot of when it comes to Tankhun. For the first half of the season he’s awash in pink and color, wearing fuchsias, reds, golds, and the occasional blue-tinted metallic or sky blue. And his character is much like the colors he wears—loud and attention-seeking and distracting.

But then as we approach mid-season, we start to see a switch occur in the colors he chooses to wear. The bright reds and fuchsias fade and we start to see more subdued colors—solid whites, greens, and blacks (all fabulously and loudly styled of course because he’s still Tankhun). In fact, Tankhun’s primary wardrobe color across SIX different outfits in the last two episodes is black. For Tankhun, it’s a flashing neon sign of his state of mind as the dangerous and perilousness of the events happening around him increases. Now is not the time for bright colors, now is the time to be serious.

But I’m not here to talk about the black, I’m here to talk about the green.

While green is not entirely absent from Tankhun's wardrobe in the first half of the season (very few colors are), the first time it takes a dominant role is in episode 10 when Gun presents Ken’s head to the Main Family. As noted up top, green is a color associated with both danger and with the Minor Family, so it's not a surprise to see green appear in this scene. Both Korn and Gun actually have hints of green in their wardrobe (Korn in his tie; Gun in his cravat). But it is notable that Tankhun is not only wearing it, his entire outfit is green.

On a character level, it's a tantalizing choice. While Tankhun isn't in any more danger here than anyone else, but he's dressed as if he is. And while we do see him respond to guns being drawn with more fear and distress than any other point on the show, there's something bigger going on here as well—Tankhun is playing a role.

Let's look at the dynamic of the scene.

Korn is at the head of the table, with Gun at his left and Kinn and Tankhun on his right. Tankhun, specifically, is sitting on Kinn's right—he's performing the role of Kinn's right hand man. And he's wearing green, a color predominantly associated with the Minor Family. Sitting opposite Korn and Gun, Kinn and Tankhun reflect their dynamic in a way that foreshadows the changes to come. That foreshadowing is pretty blatant when you note the blue suit Kinn is wearing. After all where else do we see this same blue/green color dynamic?

And from this point on, Tankhun continues to wearing green in moments specifically connected to his relationship with Kinn (and Porsche). When Kinn confessed his love for Porsche and Tankhun voices his support, he's again wearing green. When Arm and Tankhun save KinnPorsche in the finale, the collar of his jacket is teal-green. And for his last appearance on the show, the green hue of his jacket exactly matches the green of Porsche’s suit.

It's again notable that when the day is won and the danger has supposedly passed that Tankhun does not return to his brightly colored clothing of the beginning of the season, but remains in his darker clothing. The choice works on multiple levels: it indicates the danger has not, in fact, passed; it points to a more permanent shift in Tankhun; and with the presence of the matching green, it links both the danger and that shift with Porsche.

There's definitely been a lot of meta about Porsche's green suit already, and I'm not going to rehash it because we're mostly talking about Tankhun here, but I am going to point out the similarities between Tankhun and Porsche at the end of the series. Both of them are eldest sons—both failed to be what their parents wanted of them, both failed to truly protect their younger siblings from this world, and both of them have found themselves prisoners in a gilded cage of Korn's making. And neither of them are truly safe there.

But speaking of eldest sons wearing green, it's interesting that despite green representing the Minor Family, the only one who actually wears it is Macau. Vegas is awash in green lighting and green decor, but black and red are his personal colors. He never wears green. Until, of course, he does—when he and Porsche genuinely cooperate for a common cause.

Just some food for thought.

#kpts #kinnporsche the series #kpts meta #tankhun theerapanyakul #porsche kittisawasd

[cultofdixon]

I love you, please don’t push me away

Daryl Dixon • She/Her Pronouns • “Can I see it…” “since when did you start to care about me again?” “I’ve lost too much. I ain’t gonna lose yea now” • ANGST/SFW • TW: Canon Violence [Mentioned] / Injuries / Messy Confessions / Anxiety Attacks / Nightmares / PTSD

Requested by: Anon

Nothing tears these two apart, well. Except that time with the Governor but every fiber of their being magnetized toward the other.

Y/N and Daryl, inseparable. But never an item even if there is a running bet between Rick and Carol over how long it’ll take.

The run down?

Daryl never saw himself relate with any of the other members in the quarry. Except for this other lone wolf type that would wander out of bounds to hunt, like him. And ignore Shane’s stupid rule, like him and Merle. And also have a short fuse just like him.

He stumbled across this person during his own hunt finding the woman bashing in the skull of a walker. She turned around when she noticed she was stumbled upon by a living being, her body relaxed when realizing who it was. Which was a new feeling to Daryl.

“Shane sent yea out or what”

“Nah fuck that pig. Was tracking a deer”

“You mean that deer” The woman pointed to the hanging animal from the tree as Daryl gave the whole scene a concerned look. “Camping tips can help in the end of the world”

“Bear tactics”

“Exactly. Tie up your shit so bears don’t get it. But hell you’ve got sickos. Might as well apply those tactics to these fucks” She kicked the dead creature while pulling out her knife. “I’m uh. Y/N. By the way…you ain’t very talkative in the camp”

“Neither are yea.” He scoffs. “‘M Daryl”

“Welp. Now you’ve got a friend.” Y/N untied the deer letting it hit the ground by Daryl’s feet. “And if we’re gonna be friends. You can carry that for me, to avoid the Walker guts getting on everybody’s dinner”

“What do I get for doing this?”

“Mmm…I’m pretty good at making arrows” Y/N shrugs watching the pondering look grow on Daryl’s face before he knelt down and picked up the deer heading back to the camp while she happily follows behind.

That first moment brought an instant connection that Daryl didn’t realize. Until he got shitty news.

“You left my brother? On a fucking roof?” Daryl snaps and right before the archer got close to hitting the stranger, Y/N stepped between the two along with Shane’s help. Not that she needed it.

“Who do you think you are to make that decision?”

“Rick Grimes, deputy—-“

“Nah. I ain’t dealing with another pig thinking he can boss everybody around” Y/N cuts him off as she stood her ground even if it didn’t entirely involve her. “How would you feel if you were left behind? Left for dead” She knew her words struck a few in the crowd, specifically Shane and Lori.

“I was left behind” Rick suddenly got up in Y/N’s face not liking her attitude but right as he did, Daryl didn’t hesitate to loom from behind her making him back up.

“And how the fuck did that make you feel?”

That brought a lot of her character out to Daryl and everyone else. She was defensive and it was clear, when she gets close to someone…she has to protect them in some way.

When the invasion happened on the camp, Daryl never been more driven by his anxiety and his fear until he thought he’d lose the closest person he’s liked in the longest time. He took out a walker coming up behind Y/N when she wasn’t paying attention. The thankful look in her eyes spoke enough even if after taking care of the walkers, Daryl subtly scanned her person as he helped the others pile up the dead.

The plan to head to the CDC was a gamble, but the ride there brought more out of the two. Given Y/N loaded up in Daryl’s truck not wanting to be stuck in the RV.

“Why’d yea defend me back when we found out they left Merle?”

“Honest?”

“Mhm”

“He’s your family, whether he annoys you or not…you’d still want him in your life” Y/N leaned her head against the window fiddling with the ends of her sleeves. “And hell. I’m done letting others walk all over people. Just cuz they haven’t been in their shoes before”

Daryl felt himself grip the steering wheel wanting to ask a question but given the lighthearted feel going on between the two, he didn’t want to taint it full of uncomfortable tension.

“Who did yea lose”

“My baby brother” Y/N frowns reaching into her backpack taking out a journal that held a Polaroid of the two on a camping trip with their parents. “I…I don’t think he’s dead but, haven’t found him since outbreak day and Glenn took me back to that camp even when every fiber of my being didn’t want to stop looking”

“Do yea entirely trust these people?”

“I trust you. But that’s cuz you’re not keeping bullshit. Yea state yer mind if you have to. Hopefully the new world doesn’t beat that out of yea”

The CDC was a weird experience. A time to feel like they were in the old world once more. Just under a different roof and drowning out reality with alcohol.

Daryl was the last to shower even if it took him some time to get there given the man had drank a bit too much. But as he entered the room he was sharing with the other single in their group, which obviously was Y/N. She lifted her head to the sound of stumbling and saw the exhaustion rise in his expression as he stumbles onto the couch she sat on. She tossed her book on her bag giving Daryl an opportunity to use her lap as a pillow turning toward her and laying there in silence for a moment. Closing his eyes and doing the best he could to fall asleep even when a part of him fought to stay awake to spend this time with Y/N. Y/N on the other hand, pulled the blanket from her shoulders and covered the man laying on her…resting a hand on his side feeling him shift to get comfortable mumbling a bit to himself.

“Don’t ever wanna lose yea…”

Those words struck a bit to Y/N and even if he didn’t remember saying that last night, she knew by the way he covered her when Rick tossed the grenade to escape the CDC…

That he meant it.

Their bond was growing to others in a beautiful way but to the pair it was weird…confusing…and a bit beautiful in its own way. But it brought certain anxiety that the other never wanted to feel in a world like this.

The farm became a temporary safe haven, and the word temporary was definitely engraved in few’s minds because of how Hershel felt toward them. At first it was to save Carl’s life and thankfully he did…next was to fix what Andrea did.

“Oh my god. Is he alive—-“

“Step the fuck back” Y/N snaps at the poor girl who kept her distance from the situation. And Y/N. The bitch scared her.

“At least we have some idea of where Sophia can be. Now we can retrace Daryl’s steps”

“Nah, I’m comin’ with yea”

“You won’t be doing much activity at least for a few days.” Hershel reminds him of his injuries only for the archer to grow annoyed but his frustration grew slightly when he noticed Y/N glaring at him.

Once he was left alone after Carol gave him his dinner and a thanks for never giving up on her daughter, Y/N came in about an hour later with clothes for him and before she even made it to the door…Daryl grabbed her wrist.

“What’s up yours? Yea been quiet since I came back or well until after yea scared the shit out of Andrea. Yeah fucking Rick told me what happened the—-“ Daryl stopped speaking when he saw the tears in her eyes making him let go and her freeze like a deer in headlights.

“You shouldn’t have gone out by yourself”

“Y/N, I did what I had to. Others given up”

“Don’t. Go. By. Yourself.” Y/N hissed wiping away the tears that started to burn. “Yea ain’t alone anymore. Ain’t needing to do this shit by yourself and get yourself killed. Yea may think nobody would care if you were gone but somebody does. So watch it.” She frowns leaving on that note.

Daryl didn’t know that she felt that way toward him and there were plenty of other moments like that. For either of them.

The reunion on the freeway after the farm went up in flames. Daryl got Carol out of there on his bike, feeling his anxiety get the best of him when he didn’t find Y/N until she came running through the woods and he didn’t hesitate for a second to run at her. Bringing the tired girl into his embrace thankful she didn’t die in the flames or in the mouths of the undead.

The time the group raided Woodbury to save their own and Daryl was shoved out of the way of a bullet that embedded into Y/N’s shoulder. Thank god Hershel got it out. When he came back after leaving the first time with his brother, he couldn’t get that mental image of the disappointment written all over her face. But that was all forgiven, given she would’ve left too if it was her problematic brother.

Once the fight of Woodbury was done and people were flooding into the prison, making itself its own community…Daryl felt a sense of jealousy when watching others outside of their original group talk to Y/N who seem to be expanding their social circle. He was brewing and it was obvious to Carol.

“You’re gonna blow a fuse”

“What?” Daryl brought his attention back to reality and noticed Carol joining him beside him. “Shit.”

“What? Got spotted? We all know how much you like’er. Why didn’t yea do anything sooner?”

“It’s the end of the world.”

“Okay. Stating the obvious. So?” Carol elbows him to be told more as Daryl kept his eyes on Y/N watching her turn to him shooting him a smile.

“If I act on my feelings, and worry about another…on that level, I’ll lose her”

Carol knew Daryl felt a bit at fault for Sophia dying, including his own brother. But Y/N is a strong person. Hell she’s the one that saved them back at the outbreak in the quarry, she knows that girl can hold her ground…and she knows, how much he means to her.

“You won’t lose her…Don’t push her away”

Those words rang through his head as he found himself smoking outside the prison walls and Y/N joining him after her shift in the watchtower. The silence grew between the two even if they spent most of their time together in comfortable silence. But this was different and Y/N knew this.

“Did I do somethin’?”

“Nah” Daryl tosses the cigarette on the floor putting it out with his foot. “This ain’t worth it”

“What’s not?” She furrowed her brows confused at first as Daryl got up from his spot. “Daryl—“

“This!” He gestures to the two of them with a growing frown on his face. “It ain’t fucking worth worrying about. I can’t live like this for the rest of my life. Stressin’ over what might happen” and it clicked to Y/N as her eyes met his only for him to turn away. “Don’t. I can’t.”

“Daryl but—-“

“No. We can’t”

Another word was said because Daryl went back inside leaving Y/N outside to think about what the hell just happened. But more importantly…just…break.

The two haven’t really talked since then. Or hung around the other. The only time they would interact is when Rick asked them to go on a run, or for the council meetings for their small community. Daryl expanded and got close with other people while Y/N found herself back in the same mindset at the quarry before she extended herself to Daryl.

In the end you’re on your own.

But that never lasted because of the connection she had with him and with the others. The sickness, her angry feelings were pushed aside so that she could work with him on getting the medicine. Then when it got to their people, Y/N distanced herself from Daryl once more. This time his regret settled in in its entirety and wasn’t expressed until after the attack.

“Aren’t you and Y/N supposed to be close?”

“Why’re you bringing that up…”

“Getting to know you I guess” Beth frowns sitting across from the archer fiddling with some thread around his wrist.

“She was my best friend, that I love…and pushed away”

Beth watched as the pain when saying such brought its expression in his frown and the tears that he tried desperately not to fall.

…

“And I don’t think I’ll ever get him back” Y/N frowns sitting with Michonne in front of the fire she made for them.

“Daryl’s strong. He’ll come back to you. Even if…you two aren’t anything but friends. You two just. Gravitate toward each other naturally”

Y/N shot Michonne a smile when she said such, but during her watch while the swordsman slept, she couldn’t help the tears that fell off her face.

Michonne was right about the two gravitating toward each other. They always found the other in whatever situation they were in. Even if the most recent was the incident with the claimers, then the other with the general hospital, and finally reaching Alexandria.

And Y/N needed a minute.

“Y/N. Deanna only agreed to yea going out if it’s—-“

“I’m just sticking close. Won’t even need a goddamn car. I just. I need a minute. And I can’t get that in another confined area” Y/N frowns already geared up to head out of Alexandria. “I’ll be back before it’s too late in the day, and if I’m not. Then you can come and get me…”

Rick gave the girl a worried look, but agreed to let her go. He didn’t trust it there either and was surprised by how others are settling in.

When the sherif headed back to his group’s houses, he found Daryl standing outside of the one Carol took up with Y/N. He looked anxious from what he got first spotting the archer.

“Hey”

Daryl quickly turned toward his brother seeing the confused look. “What”

“What are you waitin’ for?”

“Courage. Fuck if I know”

“Courage for what?” Rick brought himself closer as Daryl stepped away from the door to sit on the steps.

“To talk to Y/N again. Repair what I fucking tore apart back at the prison…Before Beth and I got separated, she told me not to let a good thing go. And Carol snapped at me one of the first nights here about the same thing”

“Well. I hate to break it to yea. But she ain’t home” Rick watches the archer shot up from his spot with a you serious? look on his face. “Yeah. She needed some air. Stepped out of Alexandria”

“And yea think she’s gonna come back? After all the shit I fuckin’ said”

“You said back at the prison. Some part of her wouldn’t leave from something that happened some time ago. And there will always be a part of her, connected to yea at all times.” Rick put his hands on his hips. “She doesn’t like it here just like you. So she needed a breather.”

“If she doesn’t come back before night fall—-“

“We’ll go get’er. Alright?” He reassures the man before going back on his patrol.

She made it before nightfall.

Emphasize on the “made it” part.

“Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to help in the infirmary” Spencer, one of Deanna’s sons, got up in Y/N’s face when she first stepped back in. More so caring about the fact that she wasn’t at her job compared to the amount of blood on her. “What the fuck did you do?”

Few residence, more so her group coming close to listen to someone they didn’t know go off on one of their own.

“Why did you ignore Dean—-“

“Your mother’s.”

“Fine. My mother’s orders. You had a job to do and instead you went out doing who knows what outside the walls. Don’t you like it here? Don’t you like being safe here for once? Clearly yea—-“

“Step away from her now.” Michonne cuts in once she noticed the fists Y/N formed and the shaking her body was undergoing. “Some of us are still adjusting. You need to understand that and if you don’t, talk to your mother or I’ll let her hurt you” she states watching him stand his ground one last time.

“Turn in the weapons you took out, then I’ll—“ Spencer stops to the sound of Y/N’s bag dropping to the ground and watching her unclip the magazine of her gun and unloaded the one in the chamber before handing it to Michonne and walking past.

Y/N avoided everyone’s looks and focused on getting back to Carol’s. Even if every fiber of her being wanted to collapse in the middle of Alexandria and let the darkness settle in. But none of them knew what was happening. She just continued on her way.

“Where the hell have you been?” Carol asks when she heard the door open ignoring the rest of what Daryl was saying. Granted it was about the girl that entered.

“Needed air. Got too much of it” Y/N chokes up a bit gripping onto the stairs’ railing with one hand as the other went straight for her side taking her hand off to see the blood soaking through. “I’m gonna shower. Too much Walker blood…but uh. Is the first aid kit in the bathroom?”

Carol pulled herself away from the kitchen counter heading toward Y/N who had her back turned to her on the steps. While Daryl slide off the bar stool bringing himself within earshot.

“What happened?”

“I just cut my hand…”

“You’re covered in blood. Is it—-“

“It’s not mine. Just walkers I got stuck dealing with”

“Are you bit?”

“I wouldn’t have come back if I was” She felt a lot of the pain return to her body in that moment as she continued on the way to the bathroom leaving both confused.

You’ve always been a disappointment Y/N.

Hell. Look at me. Finally proving to this world that I’m worth something

Y/N couldn’t stand and found herself sitting in the shower letting the water wash off the dried blood but also the running. She held onto the edge of the tub feeling everything as she tried her best not to stream in pain.

Her body flinched to the sound of knocking and that resulted in the pain induced tears to finally shed.

“What.”

“Got you clothes” Daryl states from the other side of the door with clothes in hand but he couldn’t help his eyes from wandering around the room to see the blood soaked clothes and the hand print on the door. “Y/N. What happened?”

“Please…go away, Daryl”

“Nah…not this time” Daryl pressed his forehead against the door. “I ain’t leaving and I know you’re hurt…”

“I-I…” Y/N sobbed gripping harder onto the ceramic trying not to focus on the pain in her side.

“Can I see it…” He felt his heart clench hearing her wince from the other side of the door followed by choked off sobs.

“since when did you start to care about me again?”

Daryl sighs tossing the clothes on the dresser by the door and resting his hands on it. “I’ve lost too much. I ain’t gonna lose yea now” he frowns not hearing any sound come out from the other side. “Y/N?”

Something’s wrong…

There’s always been something wrong and he knew there was more to it. She just wanted to take care of it without anyone realizing. But of course she couldn’t get past the person who holds her heart.

The door was suddenly kicked open and Y/N had no strength to react except for bringing her eyes to follow his movements. Daryl gently took a hold of her face seeing the damage there along with what was happening to the rest of her body. He quickly turns off the water and as his lips moved, she didn’t register a single thing. All she did was close her eyes.

“You…were always their favorite” The youngest L/N shook in his sister’s embrace feeling the end draw near as Y/N couldn’t help the tears that spilled. “I never…got to show’em up…”

“I should have never stopped looking…I shouldn’t have left home…left you”

“Mm…” He coughs a bit as the blood splattered on Y/N’s face. “It don’t matter anymore…T-This is what I d-deserve…”

“No…no you didn’t. I should’ve found you…you would’ve loved the people I’m with…this is my fault” Y/N sobbed holding her brother tighter as he gave her one last smile.

“Yea survived…just keep doing so”

As the breath faded from his lungs and more of his group surrounded the house they were held up in. Y/N had to pull it together long enough to take care of the rest, even on her last legs. Because she would’ve found a way to bring her brother in, but as for the others?

No one is following her back to her family.

A soft groan escapes her lips, alerting the archer sitting beside her bed. He brought his chair closer carefully taking her hand into his thinking she would reject it, but instead she gave it a firm squeeze indicating some of her strength is back and that she didn’t want him to go.

“Yea lost a lot of blood…and I got mad at the surgeon here”

“Mm. Typical Daryl behavior” Y/N sighs gently grazing her thumb against his knuckles. “Last I remember…was being in the shower”

“You were in the bath as the shower ran. I don’t know how Imma explain the blood bath, literally, to Carol. But she did help me get yea here” Daryl frowns seeing the exhaustion in her expression but more focused on the black eye and bruised cheek on her left side when she turned to him. “Carried yea out in a blanket. Got bitchy when he lingered too close”

“Please tell me I got dressed after…that someone helped me. And the strange man that stared at me when we first met didn’t see my goods long”

“Imma kill him next time he does, but nah. Maggie came in with clothes”

“Everybody knows?”

“Doesn’t know why. But yeah…I…I did come running out, Y/N. Yelling for somebody. Felt…lost.” He frowns, straightening up when Y/N started to sit up. The grimace growing on her face made Daryl feel as if an ice pick went straight for his heart.

Y/N watches as Daryl got up from his seat he went to grab another blanket when he felt her grip tighten and a wince escape her lips from him pulling.

“Sorry—-I’m sorry. Fuck. I just—-“

“I can do without another…please just sit with me” She begged and she had the same look on her face like she did at the time of their fight in the prison. Something he’ll never forget. “I don’t…I can’t stand another second without you. Even if it’s just a few feet away…”

Instead of sitting in the chair, Daryl brought himself to sit on the edge of the bed holding her hand seeing the bruises on her knuckles. He kept finding more of what happened…and it upset him not knowing.

“Daryl…”

“Yeah?”

“Just ask”

Daryl didn’t want to. He didn’t want to know the pain she endured and how it happened. But he wanted to know who he had to fuck up.

“I got ambushed…by raiders in masks. I took out like…four of them…got the shiner and knocked down by the fifth…only to shoot him right in the ribs and as he dropped..” She squeezed her eyes shut biting the inside of her cheek trying to stop the tears. “I found out…it was my brother…” the tears fell stating such as Daryl soften squeezing her hand with the one she held while the other carefully wiped them away. “Then when he died…I couldn’t risk the others following…and took them out…even if it almost killed me”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s…well, it’s not fine. But that’s keeping me going. Just saying it is…that he’s not in this hell of a world anymore…”

“never looked at it like that…when Merle died. Took the blame and ran with it”

“You carry too much of the blame for things…when a good chunk of it was never your fault” Y/N frowns tugging him forward enough for her to lean comfortably forward pressing her forehead against his. “This is one of’em. You blame yourself. I break your knee caps. This wasn’t your fault…”

“I should’ve never hurt yea back at the prison…I missed you. I miss you and you’re right here”

“Daryl…” Y/N brought her soft, tiny hands to hold the archer’s face feeling him relax in her touch. “I love you…so please, don’t push me away”

The tears that fell between the two was found in comfortable silence. Only a comfort the two share with each other. Daryl moved her hands so that he could gently bring her into his embrace holding her.

“I won’t…I promise”

#cultofdixon #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead #daryl dixon fanfiction

[allsaiint]

↠ master chief/gender neutral!reader

↠ word count: 1800

↠ chapter one | chapter two

↠ masterlist

↠ description: john has no idea how to date, but he'll try his best.

↠ warnings: potential for out of character | potential for dismantling of canon | gender neutral!reader may change in future chapters

↠ author’s notes: this is based on a mix of game-canon chief and television series chief. take it as you will. if i did happen to use specific terminology to describe the reader, let me know.

-- /// --

The instant John entered the park, he sensed something was different. So late on a Wednesday evening, the only thing playing in the open air theatre was a group of young violinists, no more than high school aged. There were a few people milling about, most likely parents there to encourage the group. Others were gathered on the outskirts, at the top of the coliseum style seats. They were cloistered in twos and threes, their conversations jumbling together over the sounds of the music.

You were the lone exception, standing towards the top of the steps, half-hidden by shadows. John had never seen you before, though there had been a recent influx of newcomers to the Reach. It was mostly scientists, after a mass exodus had left gaping holes in their military programs.

He caught the way your brow furrowed a split second before he realised he had been staring. You shifted back when he tried for a smile, and gave it up as a lost cause. In some ways, the act of interacting with new people still bemused him.

He was surprised, then, to hear footsteps approach, and turned just enough to witness you falter three steps above him. Over the din of the crowd, he could hear the race of your heart, so fast that he was surprised when you managed an actual greeting.

“You’re new to Reach?” 

He had to change tracks at the last minute, turning it from a statement into a question. He had also had no designs to sit, but found himself doing so anyway when you introduced yourself.

You nodded. “I took a job at the USMC. Have you been here long?”

“My entire career,” he answered, and watched close for your reaction. He suspected that you were unaware of who he was, as most civilians were. Few knew what the Master Chief looked like without his helmet on, and a majority were within the USMC.

His suspicion was proven right when you asked, “You’re a Marine, I take it? How long have you been in?”

Something in the way you asked, or perhaps it was the lack of starstruck wonder he was so used to, made him lie through his teeth, answering, “Thirty years, give or take a few.”

Eyebrows raising, you replied, “You look so young, though.”

A product of spending so much time in a suit of armour, he supposed. Instead though, he said, “You look fairly young yourself. What made you want to take a job here?”

Your smile slipped, and you ducked your head to face your knees. “My homeworld was glassed not long ago. I figured here would be the safest place to go, after that.”

“I’m sorry,” John offered, watching the way you began to pick at a split in your lip before, very abruptly, you turned to snap a tie around your wrist. “I heard about it, after I returned from a deployment. I’m glad you made it out.”

“Me too,” you replied with a quiet laugh. “You’re actually the first person I’ve met outside of work here.”

That made John chuckle and over it, he heard the way your heartbeat skipped. “I’m honoured, really.”

Conversation stalled for a few moments, and John could see how you pretended to watch the violinists to make it seem natural. There was a tension in your shoulders that gave away your desire to say something though, and you were rubbing your palm with your thumb. You would press hard in the very centre then relent before looking at John. It was quite nice to know that your nervousness was genuine, and not borne of being in the presence of the great Master Chief.

“Do you deploy a lot?” you asked at last, drawing John from his thoughts. The way you asked was stilted, as though you had dredged the question from the depths of your desire to say anything at all. “It seems like I never see the same face twice.”

“I do,” he agreed, and wondered what to tell you. The people you would deal with most often were the general ranks, those who stood a worse chance of surviving an encounter with Covenant. “I’m between drops, at the moment, but one will likely come in in the next few days. Covenant has been busier than usual.”

“I heard rumours that they were looking for something, but couldn’t find it. The Spartans either found it first or destroyed it or something like that.” You snapped the tie on your wrist once, hard. “That’s why they started glassing so many planets— they were really upset, whatever they were looking for.”

It always surprised John to find out how close the rumours turned out to be to the truth. He often wondered who started with the truth, and how long it took the details to be lost. It reminded him of the game he played as a child with the other trainees. One would whisper a sentence from across a room or through a glass, and it was the listener’s job to relay what was said. It had taken him a long time to realise that the “game” was actually training, learning to lip-read. The more serious the children took the task, the better the results were, but not until their augmentations were there ever perfect results.

“Well, in any case,” you said, drawing John from his thoughts again and offering him a smile, “maybe when you’re here, you can come visit me at the aquarium. Since I’ll never be able to find and all.”

With a rough, quiet laugh, John said, “Could see about making that work. Do you have to go now?”

“Should,” you agreed, but lingered where you stood. “I have an early shift tomorrow, and a bit of a ride home.”

Shifting to his feet as well, he said, “Let me walk you?”

“Oh, it’s— I live all the way in Immoria. It’s too much to ask—”

“I don’t mind,” John said, cutting your rambling off with a small smile. He found them rising easier in your presence. “I’d rather be sure you get home safe. Call it paranoia.”

“Well, if you insist,” you agreed, though it was with an air of exasperation. The tick playing at the corner of your mouth indicated that you were pleased beneath that though.

The next bullet train was due in five minutes, and you sidled closer as the waiting crowd grew and closed in. The way you flinched was almost imperceptible when you leaned into John, and your laugh was embarrassed.

“I don’t even like eating in the caf at work,” you admitted, but allowed his hand to stay where it was on  your back. “I don’t care much for crowds since—”

“I get it,” John said as the train came to an abrupt stop in front of you. There was just the one, and it hurtled back and forth across the city twenty-four hours a day. You remained close as the train began to move, curling your free hand into his shirt when someone knocked into you. The culprit offered John a smile full of mock apology that dwindled beneath his scowl, until they shifted to give you your space.

You were busy watching the scenery pass, and startled when John asked, “If you dislike crowds, what do you do at the complex?”

“Oh, they stuffed me into some little corner room with a few other researchers. I don’t really have to deal with too many people. Thankfully.”

“I see. What did you do before this?”

You shook your head. “I travelled around, studying species in their natural habitats, how we affected them, boring stuff like that.”

“It doesn’t sound boring,” John said, and watched your eyes widen as though you were surprised to hear it. If he had to describe it, it sounded peaceful. “If you enjoyed it, it wasn’t boring.”

“Well, fair enough,” you said with a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh. “Do you enjoy what you do?”

“Yes,” he replied on reflex. No one in recent memory had asked him that and, in truth, he was unsure of the truth in his answer. He had never been given the choice to decide if he enjoyed what he did or not.

Something must have shown through in his response, because the look you cast him came with a frown. You seemed to come to some decision or assumption on your own though, and uncurled your fist to lay flat on his chest.

A little too mired in his own thoughts again, John let silence reign after that. He followed you down the street with an absent mind, aware somewhere in the recesses of it that the inattention was unbecoming of the Master Chief. He found it happening with more frequency though, since—

“Well, this is me,” you said. “Thank you for walking me.”

“Like I said, I’d rather know you got home safe,” he replied, taking the building in. It was twenty something stories, but still short compared to most in the city. A pair of doormen stood just inside, prepared to open the doors for you.

You stalled again; it seemed you had something more to say. He heard the pace of your heart increase, and his focus narrowed in on the flicker of your pulse beneath your skin.

“Do you have a data pad, by chance?” you asked after a harsh swallow.

“It’s broken,” John said. His attention turned to your face just in time to register the way it crumpled in disappointment. With more gentleness, he continued, “I’d like to see you again, though.”

The words felt foreign, coming from him. If you noticed, you chose to ignore it when you agreed. John was surprised at how eager you seemed, and found it hard not to let it envelop him.

“At the park tomorrow? Same time?” he said. Again, he was met with eager agreement that made him smile. “Good. Goodnight then.”

Your sharp inhale in response was so subtle that even he almost missed it. Your eyes widened and your throat bobbed before you replied, “Night, John.”

Even you seemed to realise how hoarse you sounded and made to turn away, but not before John caught look of embarrassment flash across your face. He watched you scurry inside, and waited until the door was securely latched before allowing himself the laugh that had been brewing all evening.

#master chief x reader #john 117 x reader #halo master chief x reader #master chief x you #john 117 x you #halo master chief x you #halo fanfic #master chief fanfic

[tubborucho]

Something I think people are missing when they talk about the whole Day 12 thing with Tubbo and Bad is that Tubbo is just like that sometimes, especially with people he’s close to. Depending on how you look at it that's not necessarily better or worse, but I think it’s an important factor because so much of the recent BBH Purgatory discussion is about how he’s singled out and that’s something Tubbo would do to anyone. He’ll get a minor irritation stuck in his head just as hard as a major problem and then refuse to let it go. The amount of ranting he does isn’t always an accurate measure of how important it is to him and “I’m still on this” (or any variation) is practically his catchphrase. I’m not trying to downplay in-character analysis, it’s a trait of both streamer and character, but it’s something you might not realize if you don’t watch Tubbo very often.

Yeah, this is also a part of it. Tubbo is very passionate about things, and sometimes those things are minor grudges that he gets stuck on for no good reason just because it’s fun for him to get annoyed at them and rant. But this is more of a cc! part of things than in character one (tho all of Tubbo’s characters also have this trait more or less).

For me, I really think it’s because Tubbo is very frustrated with the Day 12 itself, and out of everything that went wrong Bad dying is the only concrete moment he can single out. Because Quackity dying doesn’t really count in lore because he wasn’t there really (which is such bullshit btw, this is my Day 12 Roman Empire, Quackity’s death SHOULDN’T have influenced the percentage) and anyone else wasn’t there either to do the quests, for objective irl reason, so q!Tubbo also can’t really be mad at them and also who would he be mad with out of everyone on the team absent? All of them? Choose a specific person?

Meanwhile Bad was there and he died after doing something Tubbo told him not to (note: this is neutral, I am not discussing right now the moment itself and how justified Bad going in was). So it’s a concrete thing that he can blame on the percentage loss without it being meta or ‘why are you mad at me and not the others who did the same’. And it was really hard emotionally day for him, the combination of cc!Tubbo (well, q!Tubbo too but for the sake of the point we will count it as more of a cc! trait) being very competitive and q!Tubbo genuinely believing that Soulfire is cursed and that they absolutely must win this day to tie (I am pretty sure he believed it was the last day that counts? But I might be wrong) or (later) to win the Purgatory and save all the Eggs (which was his one and only goal truly, he was really clear about not straying from it even when it felt that a lot of characters forgot what it’s all for). So he singled Bad out and concentrated on it as the sole reason they lost Day 12, seething.

Now, for cc!Tubbo it’s mostly a bit, even if he acts genuinely ’not over this’, he is just having fun. And q!Tubbo may still have this grudge, but overall it does not outweigh his newfound comradery with Bad and respect for him. But q!Tubbo is also very much a Negative Nancy, he LOVES to just rant about stuff that ‘annoys’ him and get on his friends nerves. Like he find a thing and just keeps pushing it (ex: Bagi’s ‘incest’ tendencies, everything concerning Fitpac, Phil’s age and a lot of other stuff, Foolish and ‘you made it awkward now’, etc) and Day 12 is his thing for Bad along with cursing/inappropriate jokes.

Do I think it’s fair to q!Bad? When /srs – no; when /lh – yes, because it’s funny. Do I think it can count as an example of how people keep blaming Bad for everything about Purgatory? Yes. Do I think it’s actually the same as with other characters? Not at all.

All the other prominent negative after-Purgatory characterizations of Bad are concentrated on him being a bloodthirsty monster that terrorized everyone (only partially true and definitely not unique to his character). Meanwhile Tubbo never really talked about Bad being a ‘monster’ in Purgatory (afterwards) in any negative light as far as I remember, it was always very neutral. Or at least not blaming him for it. His grudge is a completely my teammate did a dumb thing so I will forever remind him it. Which tho still unfair is not hypocritical when what other characters do.

Obviously this is just my take on the situation, everyone can perceive it a bit differently, especially because I am writing this as a Tubbo main, so my view on things is skewed towards him.

#liss writes posts #qsmp #liss answers asks #qsmp badboyhalo #qsmp tubbo #soul sacrificers

[clementine-writes-things]

This is my original work, please don't steal. You can find my other works on my wattpad account which is linked in the description of my Tumblr page! Sorry if the format is weird. This is my first time using Tumblr to post writing.

~

Summary: A oneshot of what it's like being friends with Snape growing up. You two are very different, you being energetic, extremely sassy and fiesty, cheerful, and naive, and him being...himself. (Reader is a hufflepuff to add to her kind nature, and both characters are 18. Lily is not apart of this story.)

Contents: Strong language, mentions of sexual content, bullying, violence, blood, and fluff.

Word Count: 2.3k

~

No one knew how he had managed to gain her as a friend, not even himself. Though, he wasn't the one who had tried to become friends in the first place. She was.

Yes, Y/F/N. The kind Hufflepuff. Top of her classes, always up for extra credit, and always the one providing the majority of points for her house. She was a muggle-born. And, though a good handful of students in Hogwarts were too, she stood out among them. She never used shortcuts with her wand, only when she felt like it or if it was absolutely necessary, like in class. She liked to do things the 'muggle way'. It wasn't as if she hated magic, for it was quite the opposite. She loved it. But, she preferred the simple things. And she brought that mindset with her every where she went. Her positive energy couldn't help but radiate around her, filling up every room and heart she was near. So, how did she end up best friends with Severus Snape, the cold and walled-up Slytherin?

-

"The train for Platform 9¾ will be leaving in 1 minute!" The conductor announced.

The young girl quickly hopped on the train, her luggage trailing behind her. Her hair was let down with a long white ribbon pinning back a chunk of her hair in a loose ponytail, her Hogwarts uniform on, spare for the house tie which she would get at the sorting event. She made her way down the train, looking for an empty space, only to find all of them were full. Except for one, which a boy with dark black hair had occupied. She shrugged her shoulders and put her luggage in the overhead space before opening the door. The boy whipped his head around to see who had invaded his space.

"Hello! I'm y/n! It's really nice to meet you!" She beamed, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.

The boy looked down at her hand which she had held out, looked back up at her and faced back towards the window. He did not have any interest in making friends.

The girl frowned slightly, but put her hand away quickly as she sat down across from him. The train began to move, the two small kids' bodies jolt at the sudden movement, causing the girl to giggle.

"I love train rides!" Her voice filled the boy's ears.

He nodded curtly in response.

Her legs swung back and forth as she watched rows of trees fly by the window. All the hues of green blended together in a blur, creating a look of an oil painting that she had once seen a man with poofy hair paint on TV once. Her parents watched him a lot.

"What's your name?" She finally asked.

The boy groaned lightly in annoyance as he looked towards the girl. His dark brown - almost black - eyes peeked through his shaggy hair. He stared at her for a while, coming to the conclusion that she might shut up if he told her his name.

"Severus. Severus Snape."

A bright smile grew on the young girls face, her legs still kicking back and forth. After a few seconds of silence, she held up her hand -  as if to signal him to wait. Getting on the ground, she kneeled on the carpeted floor and began to search through her bag. Severus watched her, curious. His eyebrow raised as he saw her pulling out a piece of construction paper - soft pink - to be specific.

"It's the only color I have." She stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Now. What's your favorite animal?"

Severus was confused by the question, looking around, wondering if she was asking someone else. When he realized she truly was asking him, he thought for a moment, not sure why he was entertaining her giddy behavior.

"Um... I don't know. Birds are cool I guess.." He suggested.

She made a face that looked like she was wincing, then made a 'tsk' sound.

"Well, uh, I only know how to do a frog. So...you get a frog. But, I guess you can pretend it's a frog that flies!" She chirped.

Quickly, yet carefully, she began to fold the piece of paper. Each crease she made was precise and exact. She did not want to mess up in front of her new friend.

"What on Earth are you do-"

"Shh!" She cut him off, trying to keep focus.

Severus rolled his eyes and looked out the window again, blocking whatever nonsense she was doing out of his mind. He closed his eyes, leaning his head leaning against the cool glass. He wished he was still alone in this ca-

'Thwack'

"Ow! What the bloody hell? That hit my eye yo-" He paused, looking down in his lap.

The construction paper she had used was now in the shape of a frog. He looked back up, confused.

"What is thi-"

"It's a frog! I told you that's the only one I know how to make. But, wait, look!" She said, grabbing it.

She placed it on the floor of the train, pressing her finger on the end of it and letting go, giggling as it launched in the air. Severus watched it soar in the air and land upside down.

"See! It's not a bird, but it flies! Well, hops, but what's the difference, really?"

The boy leaned over and picked up the soft pink frog, smiling lightly but quickly wiping it off his face before putting the frog in his pocket.

"Thank you." He stated firmly.

The girl smiled warmly.

"You're welcome, Severus."

-

That was in their first year, when they had first met. The next following years, y/n had followed Snape around, clinging to his side. Though he found it annoying at first, he began to grow a soft spot for the girl in their third year. Now, it was almost the dawn of their last year at Hogwarts. Their friendship now fully blossomed into a beautiful bond. And, currently, they were hanging out at y/n's house, planning on riding the train to Hogwarts tomorrow together.

-

"Severus Snape! Stop using my hairbrush!" Y/n shrieked, lunging forward and grabbing the brush from his hand.

His eyebrows knitted, a frown on his lips.

"But I like your brush better, the bristles of mine are so.."

"Broken? That's because you're way to aggressive when you brush your hair! It's not going anywhere Sev! Unless, you've secretly been wearing a wig.." She mused.

Severus shoved her shoulder lightly.

"Shut up, dumbass." He chuckled.

She slightly giggled, turning back to her full-body mirror as Severus got up from her vanity and sat on the bed. He watched her as she slightly danced in front of the mirror, trying different hairstyles, starting with two braids that connected behind her head. She turned around.

"What about this one?" She asked.

Snape titled his head, observing the style.

"It reminds me of those Greek statues. But, they make me very uncomfortable. So, no." He stated.

Turning back towards the mirror, y/n inspected the hairstyle as well, and concurred. It was weird.

"You're right."

Snape groaned.

"Why don't you just use your wand and make your hair perfect?"

She shook her head.

"Severus, it's more fun this way! Sure, it can get frustrating, but when you finally get it right-"

She smiled as she looked at the new hairstyle she did, her hair half pinned up in a clip, and half down.

"-It feels good." She finished.

Satisfied with her hair look for tomorrow, she removed the clip, placing it on her night stand. She moved her fingers through her hair, ruffling it and massaging her scalp. A soft groan left her lips.

"I'm so fucking tired." She sighed as she fell back onto her bed.

"You're laying on my feet." Severus noted, in his usual monotone voice.

Mimicking his voice, she pretended her hand was his mouth, opening it and closing it as if it was talking. However, she still moved off of his feet.

"I'm bored Sev, what do you wanna d-"

The sound of a small pebble being tossed at her window cut her off, causing her to turn towards the sound. Severus did as well, hand on his wand. Shrugging, y/n walked towards the window, looking out of it, only to let out an irritated groan.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

She whipped open the window, sticking her head out of it, Snape quickly behind her. When he looked out the window, he too grew very irritated.

"Sirius, what in the actual hell are you doing at my house?!" Y/n shouted, not concerned because her parents currently weren't home, they trusted her alone with Snape.

"Aw, are you excited to see me?" Sirius asked, holding a hand to his heart.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"Excited to see your mangy ass leave, yes." She retorted.

Even though she was a very kind person, she still had a fiesty personality and a remarkable talent for coming up with excellent comebacks. She had thought Sirius was her friend, but, upon finding out how he treated Sev, she distanced herself from him. She knew who her real friends we're. And he was not.

She turned to Severus, noticing how hatred filled his eyes upon seeing the man below him. Gently, she squeezed his hand, comforting him. She felt him relax instantly.

"What? C'mon doll, don't be that wa- hold on a minute. Snivellus?! What the bloody hell are you doing here. Are...Are you two snogging?! Bloody disgusting!" Sirius faked retching.

Y/n was fuming, and she knew Severus was too. She never got this upset, never. But, she was Sev's best friend. They were close. No way was she about to let this dickbag bully him right in front of her. She turned around storming out of her room and down the stairs, Severus right behind her.

"Y/n, calm down. It's alright. He doesn't bother me anymore. Yes, he pisses me off, but, I've learned to ignore it." Snape said, trying to calm her anger.

She smiled.

"Good for you Severus, unfortunately, I haven't gotten that ability yet."

She opened the front door, seeing Sirius before her in her front yard. He winked in her direction, making her practically gag. Picking up her pace, she made her way towards him, raising her hand.

"Wh- You wanna hug or something? I don't know what yo-"

A harsh punch landed right across Sirius' nose and part of his jaw. The force of the blow caused him to fall back and catch himself with his hands. Y/n's eyes widened.

Severus stood behind her, eyes widened and jaw slightly agape.

'That looked painful.' He thought to himself.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

Sirius winced, holding a hand to his jaw which would surely be badly bruised by tomorrow morning. He nodded.

"Good. Now get the fuck out of here. I'm tired of you being an ass to Severus. You're fucking 18 for Merlin's sake! Act your damn age Sirius Black! And so what if we were snogging? Severus would make a better lover than you any day. So, you can stop flirting with me thinking it's going to get you in my pants, because it's not! You're vile and disgusting! There is no excuse for being so cruel to someone. Better yourself, Black. Episkey!"

With a swift 'crack', Sirius' nose moved back into place, causing him to groan, blood trickling down his nose. Without so much as a glance, the girl made her way back into the house, not bothering to see if her friend was behind her. She was frustrated. Her lips quivered as she marched into her room and sat on her bed. Her hands formed fists until her knuckles turned white.

"Y/n."

She looked up, seeing Severus in the doorway. Wiping a tear from her eye, she stood up and walked to her radio on her dresser. Turning it on, she sighed as "Hey Lover" started playing.

"Y/n!"

He turned her around by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. Their eyes flickered in the dim room, only illuminated by a few scented candles.

"Sev.."

Without another word, he embraced her in a firm, warm, hug. His hands rubbed her back, one trailing up to hold the back of her head. Small tears began to well in his eyes, blinking them away. He drew away from the hug. He held up his hand - as if signaling her to wait. She sniffled, going to sit on her bed, holding a pillow to her chest. Her eyes watched Severus carefully as he drew something out of his pocket. He held out his hands, a small gasp escaping y/n's lips.

"A frog? It-"

"I've been practicing. Took me a while.." He said, placing the dark green oragami frog in her hand.

Y/n's eyes filled to the brim with tears, falling without warning. Severus reached into his coat pocket.

"Now, they can be friends too." He added, placing his soft pink frog next to yours.

She chuckled lightly and sniffled.

"Yeah, best friends."

She placed the two frogs on the floor, pressing the ends of them and letting go. Like she did when she was younger, she giggled as they leaped into the air. However, Severus laughed too.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Y/n."

~

#severus snape x reader #harry potter #severus snape #writers #fanfic writer #fanfic #fanfiction #pro severus #severus x reader

[lymooniee]

Why I hc Shadow as autistic:

Just gonna preface this before I begin, this is all for fun and is a headcanon of mine. Your headcanons may be different to mine and that's valid too! Any grammar mistakes uh- ignore because I'm too lazy to edit this like crazy.

I will also link the video I made of all the moments, too, since it is way too long to post it on here. Keep in mind that not every moment is in the video, but like 95 percent of it is.

Shadow for me has always shown plenty of signs of being autistic, I'll provide as much evidence as I possibly can while doing my best to try and keep this at a reasonable length.

Shadow has always been the silent type of character when he is written correctly or, in other words, whenever Shiro Maekawa was involved with his writing in SA2, heroes and 06. Currently Prime too has done his character justice. I have to state this because I feel this is the best possible way of actually understanding Shadow as a character, so I'll mainly be touching his good characterizations and then some from his own game (not a lot however). He was silent, lonely, calm and often was in his head more than outwardly speaking out. I believe many autistic people like myself, connected to this side of him. Facing with so many adversities because of our differences from others, we become shut in and lonely too, since most autistic people don't feel as if they fit in. You can easily argue this is because of his ptsd from losing Maria, but I'd like to challenge the idea that it can easily be both and his ptsd enhances his traits.

I'll first begin with SA2, Shadow's first scene with eggman to me is quite hilarious if you put a different lens on it, the way he stand there ignoring Eggmans questions and then quickly demands Eggman to abide his rules. It puts Eggman into shock, but I think you could tie these moments that Shadow has as an autistic trait of his. Social cues are quite difficult for a lot of autistic people, and having no filter adds into this difficulty. The way Shadow ignores Eggmans questions to quickly ask him to do what he wants instead really emphasizes this point I made.

I love how he remains calm too, he doesn't yell this at Eggman and instead walks away casually and confidently. It's always been one of my most favourite moments with him. It really does make him stand out as he was able to influence Eggman to follow his wishes. If we want to talk about when he gets introduced to Sonic, I find this moment also again pretty funny in an endearing way when you put in this perspective. Sonic running to him asking Shadow to say something to speak, as Shadow stares at Sonic with silence. He's once again in his head more so than externally present, he also may be struggling to craft up a response or is at a lost with why Sonic is desperate for an answer. Conversations or socially interacting with people is challenging for most autistic people for a plethora of reasons so anything can really explain why Shadow here wasn't responding.

I've also found some of his moments when thinking of Maria (two specific moments being when Amy encourages him to help fight and the other being before Rouge approaches him to ask why he saved her), these moments he's very in tuned with his thoughts. After realizing his true promise with Maria he is in his head not responding right away to Amy, he sheds a tear and runs quickly to help and exclaims how he has to go now to keep that promise. This confuses Amy, however she doesn't stop Shadow or anything. When Rouge approaches Shadow and saying it was unexpected and unlike him to save her, he answers by saying that he didn't go to save her and was doing it for the chaos emeralds. She clearly catches on that this isn't the entire truth, this moment to me is harder to explain. But I think it's because of how he struggles to express his true intentions and feelings in the matter, similar to the Amy one before because he doesnt understand his own empathy.

Now one of if not the most obvious moments in SA2 is when Amy mistakes Shadow for Sonic, he slowly turns to look at her. Doesn't say a word or anything the entire time, and just continues to stare at her. I always loved this moment. I feel this one just speaks for itself lmao.

Now moving onto Sonic 06 moments (sorry there's not a lot in heroes tbh. There is a lot in Sonic X/Prime, Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Twitter takeovers though!) Sonic 06 main one points out how he is going to discover himself and make his own path. I've always loved this about him as a character, he's not there for anybody but himself, he knows he is different. He will embrace this about himself and not let others try to make up what he has to be. Other subtle traits in 06 are also ways in which he responds to those around him, head nods or simple "yes" responses. Again, it's his way of expressing himself in conversation that really hints at his struggles for social cues. I also adore when Rouge asks him a question and he once again demands for something, and she is like "ok cool, but you didn't answer my question?" Moments like that not only add a lot of charm to him, but something I really connected too because I do this all the time without realizing it. I think partially it's because I get stuck with my own thoughts and those questions I feel I've already got it answered for myself so it's prolly similar where that realization that you may know the answer already, but the other doesn't just doesn't click together sometimes. It could also be because he needs to get out what he needs right away to feel a sense of stability.

Sonic x just has a lot of funny moments that really make his character shine, when he crashes the plane with Espio, Vector and Charmy. He doesn't use his words and instead guides it down forcefully, I similarly do stuff like this where I struggle to express what I need or have to do so I usually just do it without saying it. This happens often when people are in the way of something I have to get to. Like if I have to throw out something for example. I also love that when Espio asks why Shadow didn't just ask, Shadow responds by saying he needs to go find Dark Oak and then just crashes straight into the wall. He really just has such a difficult time expressing exactly why he needs to do things lmao. I also love how he has a challenging time understanding instructions. Eggman asks him to do something and because to Shadow they didn't feel clear, he asks more than once for confirmation. Or when he gives the silent treatment to Rouge and she teases him about it, he just walks away without a word. Now this isn't only applied to Sonic X but Shadow has a really REALLY REAAAALLLY difficult time finding the true intentions of people, Sonic X he gets upset at Rouge and Chris for calling him out on trusting Eggman. He gets defensive and argues back at them saying that Eggman is worthy of trusting because he knows the most about him. It's all he has even though Eggman has been evidenced of tricking others around him. There's countless of other times where Shadow struggles with this, like basically every moment in his own game where he blindly trusts Black Doom. One other moment too I can't exactly remember which game it was, but Rouge was clearly lying and goes "you can trust me! really!!" And he does and then tells her absolutely everything that she wanted to hear.

Sonic prime moments are a lot less, but I do feel his way of just remaining very inwardly or to himself about things can once again be his difficulty in trusting. The way he also overanalyzes a lot of things around him as well. I also just love certain scenes like, "they're air shoes" or "hardly, I'm the ultimate lifeform" because he is blunt and took it quite literally. As he usually does in Prime, where he takes things quite seriously in general. I also feel because sonic is very VERY adhd coded in prime, it really does emphasize the contrast between the two of how someone with autism may interact with someone with adhd. In the most recent episode, he once again finds it difficult to express his protectiveness and plays it off. Or when he does compliment Sonic, he just glares at him when Sonic somewhat jokes around because it felt out of character for Shadow to do that. Even though Shadow was just being blunt about his thoughts and had a moment where he does express properly, but then his glare somewhat shows once again how he has a difficult time crafting up responses lmao.

Some more stuff but more miscellaneous, the Twitter takeovers is funny but it depends on if we want to take it as canon. He loves dry foods, adores kittens to the point he wants an orphanage (connection to animals on a deeper level), he has an organized bedtime routine, and yeah that's basically all the ones I can think of atm. These are quite explanatory I feel. Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog shows he has empathy but struggles to show it similar to basically every other moment I've described, but also just love that he can't handle computers I think that's so funny idk why. I can't even describe how it's an autistic moment for him it just feels like it. He stims with his quills a lot as well, which ugh I adore so so so much.

A lot of these things I've expressed about Shadow come from just from me loving him but also being able to see myself in him as well. I'm happy that Prime is bringing back his character to what it was, I think so many people love Shadow in the fandom simply because of how much they relate to him. He's such great representation despite it not being canon, because of how easily those can see themselves in him. I really do love Shadow and I know this is super long so if you read this, thank you and I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a cute photo of him as a reward ♡

#shadow the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog analysis #autistic shadow the hedgehog #headcanon #analysis #sonic fandom #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sth #ramble #autism #neurodivergent #sonic prime #sonic adventure 2 #sonic 06 #sonic x #i really hope this all does make sense i know a lot of it is me rambling #i just really love him as a character and could easily go on and on about him #so sorry for how long this is #i would ADORE to hear what others may add to this tbh #i just AHH

[20dollarlolita]

im trying to phrase this in a way that makes sense and isnt too long but its not working so: if i had a zelda print jsk but coorded it with all non zelda themed stuff, would it be cosplay lolita? (and also does this apply to the AP x Mario/Sailor Moon stuff?)

(the jsk is/will be made using ur tutorials btw!! you inspired me to keep sewing and designing through my Problems™️ - plus this means it'll have good lace and the right shape etc etc, im just curious if you as a person i appreciate from across the world have an opinion on fandom references vs cosplay)

So I did a post specifically on adapting Zelda looks into lolita fashion back in 2017.

And back in April when I was still able to stand, I did a coord with a Zelda print. I made the dress back in 2016 as part of a school project, but the coord involved a lot of new lolita fashion pieces that I've obtained since then. The bottom part of the skirt is the opening graphics from Wind Waker.

The really short answer is a JSK made with a printed fabric can be lolita and isn't a cosplay, but you need to make sure that the print is suitable for lolita fashion. I did a guide on that too.

But there's plenty of dresses with Sanrio characters that aren't Hello Kitty cosplays. An interesting brand to check out with regards to this is Secret Honey, who has a lot of disney tie-in dresses. You can see the difference between a themed dress and a cosplay dress.

Cosplay is cosplay. It's the art of dressing up as a character. In many cases, that's about creating or recreating specific garments worn in the source material. In cases where specific garments aren't being used, it's about looking like the character, and wearing clothing that is like what they could have worn. A good cosplay is going to go beyond just the garment and be a complete look, a head-to-toe costume.

Different from cosplay is things like Disneybounding, of which I guess the non-Disney version would be stealth cosplay. Disneybounding is dressing up in a way that resembles or reflects a character, without wearing a costume. This comes from Disney Parks policy that adults can't be wearing costumes in the park. A Disneybound look can distinctly resemble a character, but has to be constructed of modern(ish), mainstream(ish) garments. The whole look cannot be something that would look out of place at a Denny's at 2AM.

Themed lolita falls much more into Disneybounding than it does cosplay. The main difference is that a Disneybound look is composed of mainstream fashion pieces that resemble or remind you of a character. A themed lolita look is constructed out of pieces that can stand alone as lolita pieces, but that all fit a larger theme.

For an example on my coord up there, the skirt is a themed piece. The green linen was chosen specifically to look like Link's traditional green outfit, and the print is images from the game. My ocarina necklace is also a piece that I would not normally wear with a lolita look. However, the blouse is from Innocent World, a lolita brand. The overskirt was made by a lolita brand and was designed to be a lolita overskirt. The headbows aren't Zelda-themed and can be worn with other coordinates. The legwear was just going for color balance and doesn't actually add to the concept of the coord and objectively speaking, the bottom half of the coord is too punk-themed to really work with the top half of the coord. One of the really great things about wearing lolita fashion is that you can look at past looks, recognize that you like them, but also see things to improve on in the future. This is great because it allows you to experience wearing the same pieces repeatedly without wearing the same outfits repeatedly.

Regarding theme, a lot of brands have recurring themes and characters (Usakumya and Kuma Kumya are a good pair to start your research on). They make a lot of elements that are themed after these characters, but those pieces are themed lolita pieces, and not cosplay. (If anyone has ever done an actual Usakumya cosplay, please let me know ASAP. I need to see that).

Many people who wear lolita fashion are also cosplayers, and so the community has really tried to stop using "cosplay" as a negative term to describe poorly done lolita. You'll run into "cosplay lolita" still used in context of characters like Wednesday or Misa Amane, where the author or artist decided that they wear "gothic lolita" and didn't actually do a ton of research.

This means that people who wear their source material's "gothic lolita" look are really wearing a poorly-researched outfit made by someone who didn't really know what they're doing. People will also use the term "cosplay lolita" to describe a poorly-researched outfit made by someone who didn't really know what they were doing, as if "that's the sort of outfit you'd see as a cosplay of a character." However, it's a term that's falling out of favor and really isn't very nice to cosplayers who often spend a LOT of money and time on their cosplays.

#20dollarlolita #cosplay lolita #cosplay #gothic lolita #zelda

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

I know this doesn't tie into the tournament, but I've noticed how a lot of women-based media will have the fandom favorite be a side male character. Turning Red and Tyler, The Owl House and Hunter, Pretty Cure and Tsubasa, Barbie (2023) and Beach Ken.

So, I can't speak to most of those series specifically, so I'm going to have to speak with my experiences in the more abstract, just heads up there in case my opinions do not apply. Also, I'm long-winded, so let's go under the cut.

I think misogyny in the audience is always a factor because fandom loves its dudes, but you also always have to account for what I call Protagonist Syndrome, which is when a character is a little too defined by being The Protagonist, to the point that it overshadows what character they do have (and they often have at least some!). A lot of series suffer from this, and I think it's part of why the break out character is so rarely the protagonist. Break out characters, in my experience, tend to fall into three categories: 1.) just the coolest 2.) fits perfectly into the preferences of a specific, large group of fans and 3.) absolutely goddamn hilarious. If a character falls into one or more of those, even better. As Cracked After Hours pointed out years ago (if memory serves), the protagonist rarely gets the good, memorable, quotable lines. And this can get aggravated when a series also heavily defines a character by their being A Woman (and god help you if she's The Woman). Now, these ladies generally do have personalities, but they aren't allowed to shine as just characters, and that is a problem. To try and be more brief, it's often a mixing of general writing failures, "it's supposed to be feminist but I fucked up" failures, "this story is actually multiple stories superglued together so the protagonist might be less consistently designed" failures (more of a movie problem than anything else, to be fair), and writer misogyny failures. And then when you bring in fandom... well, fandom loves it's dudes.

And on the note of fandom loving its dudes, there is of course, on top of what I've said above, people just valuing men over women, but also some fans will always find a way to find a m/m ship (bonus points if it's Any Two White Dudes) to obsess over, and other fans looking for a het ship will be like "this man is such a Wife Guy, a thing that a female audience desires, and we love him for it" and find a way to make the female character bland regardless of her canon personality (tbf, the dude also becomes blander here often but continues to be more favored because of desirability). And sometimes fans are just horny and it's no more complicated than that. Not that we should ignore the misogyny in the room, but there are often multiple factors at play here, but then that's true for everything ever.

idk if I've covered All Of My Thoughts here, but that's it for this morning, at least.

#asks #not polls #you can always rely on me to say 'well there are multiple factors at play here...'

[winterandwords]

If someone wanted a brief description of what Rafe looks like, where might they look for such information … for reasons.

Or, alternatively, provide me with a brief description of Rafe, if none exists elsewhere :p. For reasons.

Because of who I am as a writer, little details are scattered through Bridge From Ashes but there's no straight-up "This is what he looks like" moment. Also, it's from his POV, so descriptions of himself are usually relative to other people and again not clear statements.

So. In terms of build, he's a big dude, 6ft 4in with broad shoulders. In the parts of the book where he's in his mid-twenties and meets Gillen, he's physically strong because he has to be, but he doesn't eat well and it shows. He could do with a few homecooked meals and less alcohol.

Later, when he's in his early thirties and working for the Authority, he's a bit healthier looking and more muscular in that he has to be fit for his job, but not like gym-abs-and-dehydration looking. Just normal-person-with-physical-job shaped.

He's naturally blessed in the face department, described as "beautiful" by the evil guy in the prologue, which is why Rafe doesn't think about his own appearance very much apart from resenting it and he hates compliments.

By the point where he meets Gillen, he has a bunch of facial scars. The most obvious are the one that runs from the corner of his mouth to just under his left ear, and the other through the right side of his top lip. Clear descriptions of the injuries that cause those are at the very beginning of BFA. They heal badly and they genuinely fuck with his facial symmetry. The other scars he has then are smaller and less severe, but still definitely noticeable.

By the time he's been working for the Authority for a while, he's collected a lot more scars on his face, including a few more severe ones that are serious enough to unsettle people in a world where it's unusual to have any scars at all. Think more than Ben Barnes' character in the Punisher after the thing with the mirror, but less than Michael Pitt's character in Hannibal after the bad shit goes down.

His torso, arms and back are also covered in scars. Some of those happened in the course of a life of crime followed by a life of reluctant law enforcement, but a lot of them are either self-inflicted or self-inflicted by proxy. He's a hardcore masochist who's into cutting and burning. The ones that get mentioned specifically a few times are a row of neat lines below his collarbone.

I'm faceblind so I struggle a LOT with describing actual faces and I don't know how helpful it is when I try. Olive skin, brown eyes, high cheekbones, strong brow, full lips, permanent dark circles under his eyes. Frustratingly for me, he doesn't look like any real person I've seen and I can't hold images of faces in my head, so he's a bit of a blur.

OK, hair. Black, thick, slightly wavy, a bit longer when he's younger (not long enough to tie back but long enough to look messy) and shorter when he's working for the Authority.

Clothes. Very "cyberpunk aesthetic man" on Pinterest, long black leather coat that's seen better days. Authority clothes are either "cyberpunk soldier" for missions or smart black with a structured long black coat the rest of the time.

That description was the opposite of brief. Apparently I don't know how to describe characters briefly.

#answered asks #bridge from ashes

[tired-reader-writer]

There's a lot of changes have been made in Arslan senki manga in comparison with original novel that may change the ending as well. For example, the holy sword Rukhnabad had been taken from the tomb, or Snake king Zahhak had comeback to life.

Do you notice any other change?

What kind of ending you think they gonna lead to?

I really don't want it ends the way it did in the novel.

As far as I remember of novel spoilers, Rukhnabad was extracted by Hilmes, but the change was that Don Ricardo (that Lusitanian dude) is currently holding onto it instead of the sword just... lying around in the ground somewhere, I suppose. In the novels, Team Arslan went to Mt. Damavand and Arslan prayed sincerely and... out popped the sword into his hand. Things are probably not gonna go down that way in the manga, I'm still squinting at that particular plot thread watching how it'd go down. It's probably gonna end up in Arslan's hands all the same, but the route might be different. An encounter between Arslan and Don Ricardo might be in order, the question is how that's supposed to happen. I'm guessing the Zott tribe will be involved one way or another, since we were shown some Zott bandits coming across Don Ricardo who is holding onto Rukhnabad somewhere after the Gilan arc.

Zahhak also did come back to life in the novels, just... not during this time frame. It happened in part 2 which the manga is probably not going to adapt so it had to be pushed up the timeline.

The biggest change I've noticed so far is that Bodin is fucking dead, LMAO. I certainly am not complaining about it, in fact I think I might prefer how he died here compared to the novels (beaten to death and then fed to crocodiles by Guiscard?), this is just more satisfying narratively. It feels like things are coming full circle. I like it.

I'm not sure how the second Battle of Atropatene went down in the novels, but in the novels Guiscard goes on to rule Maryam instead of Lusitania— whereas here I don't think we have any reason to believe he'd go anywhere other than his homeland. I hope he really doesn't go to Maryam (gotta leave the option open for Team Hilmes).

As for my Manga Ending Wishlist, I definitely want Arslan on the Parsian throne and Hilmes on the Maryami one (though it's kinda debatable if he's narratively earned it? I want good things for him nonetheless), Andragoras and Innocentis kick the bucket the same way they did in canon, and hopefully we get some closure with Tahamenay and her missing child and Arslan. It would be nice to have her tell Arslan why she was so cold to him— perhaps even an apology. Just, any sort of acknowledgement and closure for her plight and his. I'm not sure we'd have enough time for her to be shown having found her daughter again in the story, but if we'll get that I wouldn't be complaining. (We don't talk about the novel's later retcon of there never having been a daughter, hush.) Other than that, my wishes aren't too specific except that the characters we love all survive! Oh and Team Zahhak gets eradicated once and for all, though I suppose I have faith Arakawa will achieve that considering she's trying to tie up loose ends because the manga will likely not be adapting the second part of the novels.

I'm sure there were more changes that I'm just not remembering off the top of my head, could anyone else fill in?

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #heroic legend of arslan #arslan senki spoilers #biggest worry rn: the survival of Team Hilmes bc in the novels they had ZERO survivors :( #also hope Arakawa doesn't kill off anyone beloved that didn't die at this point in the novels #Saam might be... doomed though

[clxckwork-sun-n-moon]

back again with some more questions!!!

for so cries the wolf; who's your favorite character to write? do you have a favorite fight scene? (i think about the one super early one between y/n and eclipse when they're sparring is my personal favorite; the flow of action is really well done and the tension is so so good!)

i love that while eclipse is tied to them, sun and moon were kept as their own distinct characters within the fic! are there any fun facts about the sctw versions of dca boys that you can share that aren't super spoilery?

dose monty know he is the best church grim/hell hound ever in the whole world and he deserves all the pets and treats and forehead kisses on his big ole skull head?

for tangled strings; it's been a while since i've reread chapter 1 but i love love love the set up we get in the single chapter so far! the characterizations are so good too; you can really feel how on edge/wary everyone is (for their own good reasons!) and that it'll be a satisfying journey for them to all open up and start to trust/be vulnerable with one another.

what inspired the specific aspects of curse sun and moon are under? what's their relationship with each other outside of the newfound one with y/n? (soulmates with each other, business partners, romantic partners, friends who got cursed together, related in some way, etc? or is it undefined for the most part?)

i might come up with some more questions after i get home from work but!! gently hands u these for now ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ -pizzaplexjester (can't believe it's 2024 and we still can't send asks from side blogs smh)

@pizzaplexjester THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH~ aaaughh I'm truly delighted by the asks you're sending in

So Cries the Wolf

favourite character to write is a tie between Montague and Eclipse. in the case of Eclipse, I'm literally putting together his character as the story progresses, he only truly gets created in chapter 1, and every interaction he has develops more of their character and how they'll go on to carry out further interactions. in the case of Montague, he's just the most grounded character in the group, he's here to try and keep everything together, acting as much of a voice of reason as he can provide with all the events that are going on. he also acts as Y/N's tutor in a way, and makes for a nice way to provide a little more explanation into different cryptids or magical events in the story.

favourite fight scene to write was Y/N, Montague and Eclipse vs Roxy. it marked a point in the story that took it just from urban fantasy to full-blown horror, and there was something narratively fulfilling about working through the first fight where it felt like Team Ranger didn't have the upper hand in the overall situation.

the SCtW DCA boys are pretty close in personality to our classic Security Breach DCA boys. Sun is more snarky and blunt because he's dealing with adults now and not children, and Moon is more withdrawn because he's dealing with guilt from being forced to act on the virus' behalf. although we'll be sure to get some gremlin Moon in before the story closure.

Monty absolutely knows he's the best dog boy of all time, although he might need some reassurances about being the best church grim/hell hound. give him lots of skull head kisses, you'll have his tail wagging soon enough

-

Tangled Strings

for the specific aspects of the curse Sun and Moon are under, I wanted it to be something two-fold. the first part is something obvious and physical - the twisted wood hand - it marks them as having done something bad enough to inflict a curse, provides a mark of monstrosity. the second part will be introduced in the story itself, but it's something to do with removal of individuality and any sort of control.

their relationship is one of the very best of friends. Sun and Moon met each other at a musketeer training school, were pressed into spending time with each other to try and balance out the worst sides of their personalities, and proceeded to make each other even worse in the best ways. they ran away together, hit the road together, have been running scams together for years now. the only blight on their friendship has been that they never formed soulmate threads between each other....until now.

#answered #ama follower event #so cries the wolf au #tangled strings au #thank you thank you~!!

[shadowbunnydragon]

The Keyhole Halloween Special!

Oh wow! Heyo, folks! It's been a while since I had any updates for this story! I've been thinking about The Door/Keyhole a lot lately, and I've decided to finally get back to it. Specifically, to finish off the trilogy! The final story in this series will be called The Key! Not sure just when I'll be writing it, as I have a LOT to review from the previous two stories. That being said, all this thinking about it got me in the spirit to write this little Halloween Special! Nothing fancy, just a cute little peek into how various characters are celebrating my favorite time of the year! It just felt so odd and nostalgic to come back to these characters after so long! I hope you guys like it!

The Keyhole Halloween Special

by

ShadowBunnyDragon

"Okay, do you have your phone?" Judy asked, smiling up at her son. She was wearing an orange sweater and simple blue jeans. Eli was currently dressed in his ZPD costume, blushing a little while he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yep. And I made sure that it's fully charged," the human boy said, holding up said phone for emphasis.

"You worry too much, Carrots." Nick casually sauntered his way over to them near the front door. Looking out the window, he could see that dusk was inching closer, his ears picking up the sounds of chatter and shrieks from excited kits outside. He was wearing a gray sweater to help ward off the chill, at least until his winter coat would grow in, as well as a pair of brown slacks. "He'll be just fine." He gave Eli a wink along with his smirk.

Ignoring her mate, Judy looked up at her son with wide violet eyes. "I trust you, sweetie," she said while reaching up to give him a hug, that he was quick to return.

"I promise, we'll be safe, Mom." Eli smiled while leaned down and held his bunny mother. Sometimes, when he would first wake up in the morning, the human boy would feel dejected. His sleep-addled mind assumed that coming to Zootopia, meeting Judy and Nick and all his new family and friends, had all just been a happy dream. But the joy he would experience once the cobwebs from the previous night were quickly shaken off and realize that it was no dream, was a feeling he was unable to put into words. Just as they let go, that's when the doorbell rang. Opening the door for his much shorter parents, Eli grinned at the sight of his friends.

"Trick or Treat, bud!" Big Mike called out from atop Isaac's headfur. The mouse boy was dressed as a vampire, complete with a cape. "I vant to suck your blood, blegh!"

"You know," Isaac said, the coyote boy was wearing a dark trench coat over a suit and tie, with a pair of sunglasses on as well. "The vampire bat who played the original Batcula, Bela Desmodus, had a tic that caused him to make that blegh noise."

"What are you supposed to be again?" The deep baritone of Darryl asked. Eli looked down to see the chinchilla boy wrapped in gauze, yet still wearing his aviators.

Isaac rolled his eyes before pretending to speak into his lapel. "I'm a government agent! My job is to find and erase all evidence of aliens, catsquaches, and the paranormal in general, and make any and all witnesses disappear." He held up his paws and wiggled his claws in a spooky fashion.

It was then that Eli spotted Adam, who was standing a little in the back, wearing a costume very similar to Mike's. Seeing Eli's eyes alight on him, the adolescent elephant winced and nodded. "Yeah, apparently me and Mike both decided to go as Batcula tonight," he mumbled.

"I told you that it's okay, Adam," Mike said, turning to speak to the pachyderm. "Next time, whenever costumes are involved, we all know to call each other now."

"Not that that would stop someone." Isaac giggled, only to be silenced by Mike tugging on his headfur. Eli was a little confused by that, but didn't have long to ponder it.

"Hey, Eli," Chuck mumbled while munching on a Whoseawhatsit bar. The snacking cougar boy had his fur dyed gray with green painted veins visible, with a fake bloody bite mark on his shoulder, visible through a hole torn in his white t-shirt. Overall, his zombie costume was simple, yet well-executed. He grinned at the human boy, some fake blood slathered going down his chin. "Ready for the best night of the year?"

"You bet!"

Judy stood there, watching her son excitedly converse with his friends, struck by the contrast of how he was when she and Nick had first met him. Scared, alone, hurt, and somewhat withdrawn into himself. A warmth spread through her chest, that only grew in intensity when she felt her mate slip his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. The fox's muzzle parted her ears as he rested his jaw on her head, his tail curling around her feet.

"I think it's safe to say that he's come out of his shell." Nick's smooth voice was too low for Eli or his friends to hear, but Judy heard him perfectly. She resisted the urge to turn in his arms and bury her face in the soft fur of his neck and simply nodded.

"I'm just so proud of how far he's come," she quietly replied.

"Me too... he really is a strong kit."

"He's our strong kit." Judy turned and kissed the corner of Nick's mouth before they broke apart.

"What do you think?" Ned and Ted asked in unison. The two black bears were wearing a single flannel shirt that covered both of them, with both of their heads poking out of the neck hole. Ned's left arm was sticking out of the left sleeve, and Ted's right arm was being used for the right sleeve.

"That's a pretty cool idea, guys." Eli smiled, fighting back a giggle at the twins' antics. The two ursine were beaming with pride before a white tigress hopped in front of them. Kimi was also wearing a costume ZPD uniform, and struck a pose as she whipped out a fake ticket book.

"Ready to hit the streets, partner?" Kimi purred, her black and white striped tail swishing mischievously.

"Oh wow, Kimi, we both picked the same kind of costume!" Eli spoke, completely oblivious to the looks his friends, as well as his parents, were giving him.

"Yeah, what a coincidence," Isaac snickered, before a sharp tug on his headfur from Mike got him to settle back down.

"I think it really suits you, Eli," Lyla said while slipping in between him and Kimi. The zebra girl was wearing a pirate costume, complete with an eyepatch and a plastic cutlass. Eli blushed and looked away.

"Th-thanks, Lyla. Your costume l-looks really great too." Kimi pouted and crossed her arms, shooting a snickering Isaac a pointed look. Looking on, Judy struggled not to gush at the cuteness of the sight, squeezing Nick's paws with her own. The fox tod smirked at first... and then quickly suppressed a yip of pain as he forgot how strong his bunny's grip could be when she wasn't being careful.

"Alright, kids," Nick said, wincing a little as he managed to manually disengage the vice that were Judy's paws and step forward. "You all have fun tonight. Don't stay out too late, and remember to be safe."

The group of young mammals thanked Eli's parents and started to trickle away, with Eli being the last to leave.

"Thanks, Mom," Eli said, bending down again to give Judy another hug, which she was quick to return. When they let go, Nick found it was his turn. "Thanks, D-dad. I love you."

"We love you too, buddy. Now, don't keep your friends waiting." As Nick said this, he could sense that Judy was filming them with her phone, most likely ready to send it off along with all the pictures she had no doubt stealthily snapped of Eli in his costume off to various friends and family. With one last squeeze, the smiling human boy let go of his fox father and turned to jog to catch up to aforementioned friends. Judy and Nick watched from the open door, seeing the young tigress slip her arm around Eli's and start tugging him closer, her voice drifting over on the gentle October breeze saying that it was already chilly tonight. Nick chuckled as he watched Lyla take Eli's other arm in her own and agree.

"Poor guy still has no idea, does he?" Nick asked while closing the door.

"I thought about bringing it up with him." Judy grunted while she carried the big bowl of candy to set on the small table near the front door. Her smaller gray paw darted out to gently slap the red one that had tried to swipe some of the candy. "That's for the Trick-or-Treaters, Slick," she said, waving a finger in her face.

Nick chuckled and held up both paws defensively. "Can't blame a tod for trying." Judy rolled her eyes, missing Nick tucking the three little boxes od Dorks he had swiped with his other paw up his sleeves.

Meanwhile...

"Trick or Treat!" Sarah practically sang it as she stood on the stoop in her bright blue princess costume, looking up at the chuckling female lioness with her bright brown eyes. Her big brothers, Elijah and Elliott were standing on either side of her, Elijah dressed as Ironmammal, and Elliott as Doctor Odd. Nearby, Emmitt and Olivia watched their pups weaponizing the combined efforts of making their eyes as wide as possible, definitely getting larger pawfuls of candy as a result.

"She might not be an otter, but our little princess sure has gotten the hang of the 'Otter Eyes'," Emmitt remarked.

"I thought that it was called the Puppy-Eyes," Olivia said, feeling her husband intertwine their tails. Emmitt took a moment to clean his glasses, beaming at the joy on their pups' faces as they excitedly ran back, Elijah and Elliott now riding on their baby sister's shoulders.

"Mommy! Daddy! We've already got lots of candy!" The little brown-skinned furless mammal was hopping from foot to foot in pure joy.

"You sure have, Princess." Emmitt saw that their little plastic pumpkins were already almost at halfway full, and this was only the fifth house that they'd hit on their street. Internally he was grateful that Olivia had thought to bring some empty pillowcases to pour the candy hauls into. "Let's go on over to Mr. Hornsburger's house next." He motioned to the next house in line, this one with little plastic headstones planted in the front yard, with a large plastic bear skeleton strewn between them. Nearing the open gate for the white picket fence, Sarah stopped, a troubled look on her face.

"Something wrong, honey?" Olivia asked, looking up at her daughter in concern.

"Uhm... the skeleton's kinda spooky, Mommy." Sarah was hugging her pumpkin bucket to her chest.

"Don't worry, Sarah," Elijah piped up, his voice sounding a bit tinny as it came out of the speaker in the mouth of his plastic armor. He stood proudly on her shoulder, striking a heroic pose, one that Elliott was quick to imitate.

"Yeah," Elliott squeaked, swishing his high-collared cape. "Ironmammal and Doctor Odd will protect you!"

"... Uhm... okay," Sarah's face broke out into a happy grin that, despite missing a couple of teeth, was bright enough to practically light up the street. Emboldened by her big brothers, Sarah stood up straight and marched down the paved walkway towards the front door. She slowed a little as they neared the skull of the skeleton, but kept moving. A motion sensor in it was triggered, and the eyes glowed red before it let out a roar. Sarah shrieked and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. Olivia watched her reach up to ring the doorbell, and crossed her arms.

"That seems a little too spooky for little pups," she huffed. Emmitt nodded in agreement, but was happy regardless.

"Maybe, but I think the pups are making Mr. Hornsburger pay for it." As they watched, it was clear that their children were using the same trick as the one from the last house. The middle-aged rhino seemed completely caught off-guard before scooping out some large handfuls of candy for the awaiting buckets. "With interest, it would seem." Olivia wrapped her tail around her husband's and leaned into him.

At that moment...

"Enjoy braving the terrors from beyond," Chaz said, speaking in a deep and spooky voice. The timber wolf was dressed like Freddy Cougar, waving with his knife glove at the group of mammals that entered the entrance of the haunted house behind him.

"We're doing pretty well so far." Arnie, whose costume was that of Barkenstein's Monster, walked over, having gotten a fresh roll of admission tickets. "I think we'll be able to hit the goal for Mayor Snow's new human refugee center well before midnight."

"I still can't believe the Chief actually agreed to this," Chaz said this under his breath before putting on his spooky voice for the next group that walked up to their table. His tail started to wag when he recognized the couple holding paws. "Well, look who it is!"

Baily and Sophia were both blushing, the red-headed human man seeming a little flustered, until the lioness started to rest her head on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak when a loud voice interrupted him.

"Yes, yes, I know," Leodore Lionheart said while brushing past Baily and Sophia, a lioness in his own age range on his arm, a large politician's grin plastered on his muzzle. "No one expects to run into the former mayor, especially at a charity haunted house, but please, gentlemammals, I'm just an ordinary citizen like yourselves. There's no need to make a fuss over me."

The rhino and wolf officers shared a look but elected to say nothing. "Uh... okay, welcome to the ZPD's haunted house. All proceeds go to char--" Chaz found himself cut off by the pompous feline.

"Ah yes, the human recollection center! Had I still been in office when they'd started popping up, I would have happily set in motion a program just like it. We'll take four tickets, my good sirs. One for me and my special lady friend here," Leodore purred as he said this, leaning down and whispering something in the lioness' ear. She giggled and lightly swatted his shoulder. As Baily and Sophia watched her aunt flirting with her latest beau, the two were finding it hard not to cringe. "And for Barry and Sophie here. You could say that we're here on a double-date." He flashed the younger couple a wink, prompting the two to look at Arnie and Chaz with twin pleading looks in their eyes.

"Right away, Mr. Lionheart." Arnie quietly chortled, trying to disguise it as a coughing fit. He smiled sympathetically to the pair while accepting the money Leodore had tossed onto the table, tearing off four tickets in exchange.

"Actually," Chaz mused, his tail wagging again, "this whole charity was organized by Mr. Andrew Harcourt, the human whose boat crashed ashore a few months ago."

"You don't say?" Leodore started to scratch his chin, looking thoughtful. "I may have to introduce myself to this young up-and-comer. Maybe see how he would feel about running with me as my new assistant mayor. But, that's a plan for tomorrow. Tonight, we'll see how scary this haunted house actually is. C'mon Benji, Sophia. Let's see who gets startled first."

Baily and Sophia waited for the double doors to close behind Lionheart before they smiled at Arnie and Chaz.

"So how scary is it?" Baily asked.

"Chief Bogo is in a creepy clown costume, slowly stalking the halls in his section," Chaz explained.

"Oooh, ordinarily he's a rather large and... imposing mammal," Shophia chimed in.

"That's putting it mildly," Arnie snorted. "I think he was really excited for tonight." Just as Bailey and Sophia were getting ready to head in, out came a loud, high-pitched shriek. The doors were thrown open, and Leodore came sprinting out, passing right by Bailey and Sophia and the table, almost bowling over a group of costumed mammals.

"NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THERE BEING ANY CLOWNS!!!"

Elsewhere...

"Oh, Renato!" Lily set the bowl of candy she had been holding down on the coffee table, her heart skipping a beat as the large black jaguar entered from the kitchen, also carrying a bowl, this full to the brim with freshly popped popcorn.

"Yes, mi amor?" He purred, taking a seat at the couch. Lily cuddled up to him and pressed Play on the remote, resuming their Halloween Horror Movie Marathon. On the tv, Malevolent Deceased 2 started to pick up from where they had left off.

"You should have seen them! So many cute children with just the CUTEST little gray fox kit riding around on a sweet older human boy's shoulders! All the kids tonight have just been so adorable!" Lily gushed, before composing herself. Renato began to chuckle, it tapering off as he began to look pensive.

"Is something wrong?" Lily asked.

"... Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Before you came to Zootopia... had you ever considered... having children?"

"Oh." Lily looked away, fiddling with the sleeve of her white sweater. "Well... yes, I had... but with h-how... with how m-my marriage was... I think on some level, I knew that bringing any child into that situation wouldn't have been fair to them. So I... just pushed the thought out of my head..."

"I see." Renato felt like he could kick himself for asking such a question. Feeling that he had ruined the mood for their movie marathon, he opened his mouth to apologize for bringing it up, when Lily continued.

"But... I... w-well..." She was now wringing her hands a little, looking away. "I... would like to become a mother one day."

Renator felt a warmth in his chest.

"I'd like to... have a cub or two myself," he confessed. "But... with the scar... I'm afraid I might be a bit too... scary..."

"Nonsense," Lily said, startling the jaguar. "I've seen how you dote on your nieces and nephews. And getting to know you, I've seen firsthand that you are one of the sweetest, gentlest, and cuddliest mammals I have ever met." Renato was grateful that his dark fur could hide the blush he felt. He almost jumped a little when he felt her hand come to rest on his. Looking over, he saw that Lily was looking at him, the sad expression gone, replaced by one radiating joy.

"I think you'd make an amazing father, Marshmallow." He smiled at the embarrassing term of endearment that had seemed to stick.

"I think you'd be a wonderful mother, my Water Lily," he said. Their lips met, with the kiss ending just as the main character of the movie started to fire up a chainsaw.

In Savannah Central...

"Halloween... a night for costumes and candy and smiling happy kits. At least, that's what it looks like on the surface. But underneath the family friendly veneer, beats the dark heart of the underbelly. Tonight is when that darkness likes to float up to the surface. And we, this city's stoic sentinels, are charged with keeping chaos and anarchy from running rampant in the streets."

"I can see why the Chief wasn't too keen on the idea of you wearing your Batbun costume tonight," the human officer chuckled while his diminutive partner furrowed his brow. The two were presently on parking duty, wearing their meter maid vests and hats.

"Oh come on," Jack said, hopping down from the truck in front of the expired meter, having just tucked a ticket under the windshield wiper. "It'd look a lot better than this dayglow vest! Plus, as my side-kick, you could dress up as Sparrow!"

"I don't think so, Jack." Walter printed out a ticket for a mouse-sized SUV that was somehow parked in two average-sized handicapped mammal parking spaces at once. "Well now this just seems intentional."

"Yeah, the nerve of some mammals," Jack said, leaning down to check the license plate as well as to look inside. "No handicap plate, and not even one of those little hangey-things you put up in the rearview window."

"They're called disability placard holders, partner." Walter printed out a tiny ticket, and very gently tucked it under the wipers.

"I still can't believe that Bogo's still got us doing parking duty though!" Jack huffed and pouted, his foot starting to tap in annoyance. "We should be out there, getting into chases, slapping the cuffs on some perps, bagging evidence!"

"Hey now, a boring night is a good night when on the beat," Walter explained, seeing the smaller mammal rolling his eyes. "Besides, keeping new officers on parking duty for a few months is a great way to help get them familiarized with the city, as well as with dealing with less than friendly citizens. Most police work is actually pretty boring, and other times you're dealing with people who are not having a great day. Parking duty can also help weed out the officers who can't handle that aspect of the job."

"... So what you're saying is... we're being tested!" Jack was tapping his chin as he spoke.

"Yep."

"... Got it!" As Jack began to strut along with a newfound confidence, Walter felt a pit of worry start to form in his gut.

"Wait... Jack, what are you thinking?"

"Hmm? Oh! Well, if that little country bunny could make a huge bust like she did with that little Nighthowler incident and become a hero, then how hard can it be for a couple of smart mammals like us?" Jack rested his fists on his hips, striking a heroic pose.

"Didn't that 'little incident' revolve around a large conspiracy involving several high ranking political figures?"

"Only, like, three or four officials other than that crazy ewe," Jack said, waving a dismissive paw. "... And around thirty other mammals, including a couple officers, after everyone was rounded up." He mumbled that last part under his breath.

"Uh-huh... and you think we're going to make an even bigger arrest than that before we've even finished our stint in parking duty?" Walter had become an expert eye-roller since being partnered with Jack.

"Well we've gotta because this is just dull." Jack threw his paws up at that in exasperation.

"Parking duty is also a great way to help some of the more excitable of the new officers help curb some excess energy." A feminine voice wafted over to the pair. Looking towards the source, they saw a pair of mammals that the partners had become more familiar with since joining the ZPD. Nadine Wolford-Fangmeyer came to a stop just short of the pair, with Ralph right beside her. The gray wolf was pushing a stroller, with a happily babbling little Rosalie inside. The human baby was cooing and looking all around with wide green eyes, sparkling with excitement and curiosity. She was also wearing a wolf footed onesie with the soft faux fur the same coloration as Ralph's.

"Well hey there, you two," Walter said, walking up and crouching down to tickle Rosie's feet. She squealed in delight and clumsily clapped her little hands. "And hi there, cutie."

"Hey guys, working a late shift?" Ralph snickered behind his paw. "I take it that someone annoyed Chief Bogo today?" At that, all eyes turned to stare at a certain hare, including Rosie's. The baby looked from Jack to her little stuffed bunny and giggled.

"Hey now, that warthog was looking real sketchy, and I thought he was throwing up gang signs. When he kept making more of them when I tried to question him... well, I thought he was being confrontational... how was I supposed to know he was deaf?" Jack looked defensive, his ears drooping as Walter sighed.

"I do know some sign language... though I've never seen hooves being used to speak it before. But anyways, from what I could tell, that guy was aggressively trying to dispute the ticket Jack gave his car." Jack looked vindicated at that. "But still... yeah, the chief wasn't happy that he kept theorizing that the guy was part of some kind of counterfeit turnip operation which... I'm not even sure how he got to that conclusion."

"The pieces were all there!" Jack huffed and crossed his arms, his ears drooping again. Trying not to laugh, the other three officers changed the subject.

"So... uh... Rosie's been having such a fun first Halloween," Ralph said, his tail rapidly becoming a happy blur, quickly whipping out his phone to show off the pictures in the different costumes they had tried on her.

"And there's been a significant drop in mammals asking if she's a little tiger or wolf cub that just has a condition to cause her fur to not grow in," Nadine said, leaning down to check and check on her little girl.

"Mama!" Rosie shrieked, reaching up for her. The tigress purred and happily complied, passing along the candy bucket to a surprised Jack. He set the jack-o-lantern bucket down on the stoop of the apartment complex they were standing in front of, vaguely aware of the gaggle of small children from multiple species milling at the door. A young giraffe girl dressed like a ballerina reached up to press a button, only for the door to swing open a second later. Out came a lynx wearing a skeleton costume with a plastic cauldron of candy.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! Take a pawful, if you daaaaaaaaaare!" he said in a spooky voice. The kids all found this silly and thanked him, each reaching up to grab some for themselves, quickly scurrying away. Jack was mulling over possible crimes he and Walter could check for while on parking duty, when a shadow loomed over him from behind. The lynx in the skull mask smiled and patted the confused hare on the head. "Here you go, little guy." The big cat dropped some candy into the plastic bucket Jack had been given before walking away. Jack felt a blush on his ears, ready to tell that guy off. Then he saw that one of the candies was a 3 Catketeers bar, and decided to let it slide for tonight.

Heyo! Be sure to keep an eye out for my final installment in The Door series, The Key! And have a Happy Halloween! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

#zootopia #human #adoption #foundfamily #comedy #family #judy hopps #nick wilde

[smiletimeisrunningout]

okay more Baldur's gate things because I'm definitely adding my Lex (half elf, wizard, criminal past, supposedly into knowedge?? the summary is: she's a weirdo with a personal code and lots of tadpoles) to my multi and yesterday it was hilarious:

I saved the thiefling and that's all that matters to me/Lex (don't know what I'll do when I'll try a less 'gotta protect the underdog even though I'm supposed to be a criminal' person), though I may have skipped forward too fast for a level 3 character in act 1 by killing all the goblin leaders, including the one we could have apparently recruited if letting those innocents be slaughtered. No wonder she gets along with Wyll best.

I had Volo rip her eye out by accident when pushing him to go on with his crazy experiment to remove the tadpole so now she can see invisibility with her prosthetic one. No, I will not be taking criticism or questions at this time (I need to rp the after because she was impossibly chill about it and that's canon)

Lae'zel came onto her??? Is that how you say when someone basically tells you she'd like to jump your bones? which is literally out of nowhere because as much as Lex finds her funny in my head, they disagree about everything, but because Lex didn't run away from giant fights (which I HATED, I was forced to, and I'm pretty sure Lex didn't want to do given her background) she was into her???? Obviously if I rp I won't ask another rper to replicate that, just to know that Lex would keep her and the others forever and have weird adventures because FUN. Also Lex NEVER takes her threats seriously nor shows all that respect, mostly she makes smartass or amused comments, but also got in the way so Shadowheart wouldn't kill her and won't criticize her for her way to live.

Shadowheart woken Lex up at night when almost killing Lae'zel WHILE SHE SLEPT (after the artifact fight) and she was saying she'd claim La'zel had started changing, so while I interrupted the fight peacefully there is no way Lex specifically as a character would ever grow super close/trust her again? I headcanon Lex is fine with people keeping their secrets, she does it too, but betraying trust and companions and lying about it, and the 'attacking a companion while they sleep'? Against her code. Even if she feels affection for her, she hasn't forgotten that Shadowheart wasn't exactly joking when she said 'huh I'd kill you right away' after Lex told her that if she (Shadow) turned she'd tie her up and go find a cure for her. She tries not to disrespect her faith and supports her, let her keep the artifact (and saved her on the ship at the beginning) so she thought they were getting closer, but this crossed the line even if Lex will still treat her as a friend and defend her.

ASTARION IS SO FUNNY. I stand by the idea that 'Lex will insult/roll her eyes at him at all times, but violently protect him with her life, she feels she's the only one who can be like 'shut the fuck up, Astarion' and won't let anyone else mistreat him unless it's a friendly thing, even told the others to trust him when they learned he's a vampire. I like the idea that she's very "I'm not buying any of your crap" to him, while unable to stop smiling at him and secretly worrying for him. Also I feel that when he sensed that she wasn't about to suggest sex at the druids party he was like 'I want sex... NOT WITH YOU' only because she wasn't giving him the vibe she'd say yes, otherwise they'd probably be considering it, even if it's just casually? Astarion was shockingly offended by Gale's reveal because 'he didn't tell his FRIENDS he was dangerous' he used the words "friends", he focused on that, me as a player and Lex as a character are so intrigued by that, considering that Lex herself didn't feel that personally slighted by Gale not telling the truth in general, just not liking that he might die nor that he didn't tell them he could "erupt" (also, if there had been a dialogue option for it, she'd have been like "you didn't tell you were a vampire and tried to bite me while I slept??" She gave him permission to do it once because she's a weirdo and it hurt, but it was such a dangerous thing). By the way, she told Astarion she can suck the enemies' blood but not hers, because it DID hurt and because she's not going to give her literal blood to people. She kinda looks at him softly when they are not bantering so there is that, and she drank his wine so. Weirdest relationship.

Wyll got horns and she's into the demon look. No but seriously, Wyll is the one she effortlessly gets along with and she likes so much (because they are both heroic even if she's not supposed to be) even though I accidentally started romancing Gale. She still thinks so very highly of Wyll even after knowing about him making a mysterious deal with the devil, never knew she wanted to be heroic too until meeting him and realizing she was choosing to fight for others all the time, the way no one ever fought for her. So help me god if the others don't rally up for her if she gets in danger.

Karlack is going to be her best friend, I can feel it. But she just arrived and I don't know much. 

We are in love with the dog.

I know nothing of Minthara, I killed her right away to protect the tieflings. 

I have Halsin in my camp but considering I didn't directly save him, I don't know him much

Wyll got horns and she's into the demon look. No but seriously, Wyll is the one she effortlessly gets along with and she likes so much (because they are both heroic even if she's not supposed to be) even though I accidentally started romancing Gale. She still thinks so very highly of Wyll even after knowing about him making a mysterious deal with the devil, never knew she wanted to be heroic too until meeting him and realizing she was choosing to fight for others all the time, the way no one ever fought for her. So help me god if the others don't rally up for her if she gets in danger.

I ACCIDENTALLY started romancing Gale to see if he'd respond well (when they performed a spell that bonded them a bit, so I reasoned she got a bit lost in it, and conjured the image of them having a romantic walk? she's weirdly sweet?) but I can feel that once he revealed his secret Lex pulled back because he not only hid it for so long, but can't deal with the 'sleeping with a goddess wasn't enough' which makes her think of how many tadpoles she put in her brain, even if she's still very friendly to him and kinda flirty, and I'm so curious to see where it'd go, but I think this was too big of a secret for her??

Karlack is going to be her best friend, I can feel it. But she just arrived and I don't know much. 

We are in love with the dog.

I know nothing of Minthara, I killed her right away to protect the tieflings. 

I have Halsin in my camp but considering I didn't directly save him, I don't know him much

We got Withers, Lex still can't believe a magical corpse is trying to get her money. He's is the equivalent of that guy in Spyro who asks you lots of diamonds to build bridges. It's hilarious.

Lex is shoving tadpoles in her head, she WANTS to be a cool wizard and I headcanon it's to protect herself because she lived a life of rejection and hunger, but in the end she's slipping into I NEED POWER TO SURVIVE. Yet she refuses to abandon companions who are a threat.

I literally made this post her unofficial about page in my multi.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #i can't wait to add her and rp her but I can't until I know the full story #or at least the full story in my playthrough

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

Hi, Jil!! Just popping in because of your tags on my fic asdfghjkl

I did write "this one is for my Pokémon mutuals" with the thought "specifically Jil" in parentheses in my head--you're like ... my main Pokémon mutual. Gotta share some breadcrumbs of Aria/Eusine with THE Pokémon mutual, of course.

Also Eusine is a fairly arrogant character--he's very proud of his knowledge of myths (oh no ... a man who likes history ... and me having a history degree ... how could I resist ... /lh) and does tend to dismiss others when they try to correct him. He's not as dismissive of Aria or Morty, though, because ... *childhood friends beam.* Also maybe he likes Aria that way, so he's a bit easier on her, who knows--

Anyway, I had the misfortune of seeing the only (?) Johto anime episode with him as a kid, and little 9-year-old Sarah really though, "Man. This guy's a jerk." Little did she know she'd fall for that jerk years later. We don't talk about that--

The loss of the shiny Pidgey exists because I was training Ollie (my Chikorita/Bayleef/Meganium) in HG the other day, encountered a shiny Pidgey, and realized I didn't have any more Poké Balls--massive loss. But also a win because ship lore. And also the second time I've run into a shiny Pidgey while playing a Johto game ... maybe someday I'll actually catch the thing.

ANYWAY. I always felt Suicune would prefer Aria over Eusine (similar to the way the plot unfolds in the games, with Eusine eventually ceding the right to catch Suicune to the player), and while she would like to catch it, she's not as ... let's say ... passionate about it as Eusine is. Hence why Suicune tends to respond to her.

... she does think him chasing after Suicune all the time cute, though. It's very subtle, but she would've been mega embarrassed to fail that Pidgey in front of him--because, while it's not stated directly, she's imagining a scene where she failed at her life goal in front of her crush. It's not like Eusine doesn't do that on a regular basis, but that only makes it worse for Aria asdfghjkl

I also liked writing the subtle “… you were talking to Suicune about me?” followed by Aria immediately changing the subject--and then her adjusting his bow tie later. Subtle things get me all the time--

Anyway, uh--Morty, huh? 👀 /lh

(And sorry for the essay--I just. Have a lot to say and like to respond to tags through asks, sometimes asdfghjkl)

~ heart-of-aspiration 📖

HI SARAHH!! - oh man the fact you had me in particular to share the aria/eusine ship makes me SO honored ("THE pokemon mutual", that made me audibly giggle) and i'm honestly here for it, and you can tell i can definitely like - have the capacity to take batch after batch of hardcore pokemon ship/self insert lore (and be equally as talkative and lengthy about it...) so naturally i'd immediately gravitate here, and it's characters belonging to gen 2 which i'm incredibly biased to.... AHFJSHFGAS

i should've expected this from eusine - it would seem that he doesn't seem too dissimilar to his manga counterpart (which is radiating the same vibes as how you written him, he's definitely arrogant but kind enough to help) i actually should share some panels of him maybe! i'll admit that he was really hilarious for being lowkey petty due to a certain circumstance in the manga, but moving on!

i respect that his attitude is toned down towards aria and morty, they're totally good friends and morty doesn't seem like someone who'd engage in fights quickly - he's super relaxed and wise...

the whole pidgey story got me WAHUSHASHDAF THAT'S SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNITYYY but that moment was enough to be a realistic incident for aria and i LOVE it. i hope you can actually catch that shiny birdie!!

i can totally imagine a scenario where she notices eusine on his failed attempts to catch suicune and he probably curses to himself (assuming he's alone) and aria would just quietly laugh, reminding herself how much she adores him and how cute he is for that - i swear i know a dynamic where they had a similar vibe to this but i can't seem to point out who or what -- but my point is, i love that dynamic so much. it doesn't feel TOO much like a rivalry but it's enough to at least poke fun at each other's professions + their little romance heheh ITS JUSTTT. YEAHHH!!!

let's not talk about morty /lh /pos the headband makes him look so cute combined with his relaxed personality and i'm on a hunt for a misdreavus and to name it after him as we speak WAHUSDHAUFS (IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL HOWEVER BUT I'M GETTING THERE) let's just say he's one of the early crushes i have - not too active but i... would like to hold his hand HWAJHSDJAHJFDSAF. if he ever resurfaces im running to you immediately /pos /lh

#AND AGAIN - I PROMISE YOU - i genuinely love to respond to lengthy asks - it feels like having a nice conversation. #and you don't have to feel awkward when trying to carry on with the convo #so if you have something big to say to me - hit me in the tags or ask box :3 #~ mail #sarah tag

[natashasfilms]

Chapter Three - The Fox

Summary: FBI agent Leila faces a profound life change after giving birth to a baby girl, supported by her loving husband. Despite the challenges of motherhood, Leila returns to her role as a dedicated agent a few months later, ready to confront gruesome and haunting cases with the BAU team.

Pairing: BAU!Fem!OC x Male!OC , EVENTUAL Aaron Hotchner x BAU!Fem!OC (Like much later)

Warnings: This story contains mature themes such as sexual content, strong language, violence, mentions of alcohol and drugs, blood, gore, and death. All the usual Criminal Minds stuff. And there is NO CHEATING.

Note 1: I imagine Leila Kade as South Asian but I have decided to let you, the reader, imagine her appearance, hence the reason why I have not given her a face claim. However, her race does not affect the story, whatsoever. You, as the reader, are free to imagine her however you want. If you don't see her as South Asian, then that's fine. It won't affect the storyline. I also imagine the OC!Male as South Asian, but again, it won't affect the storyline.

Note 2: The team will consist of the main cast (Emily, Derek, JJ, Spencer, Penelope, Aaron, and Rossi) but will also include Elle Greenaway and Jason Gideon because they were some of my favorite characters and I wanted to include them with the rest of the team. Basically, Elle and Gideon never leave when Emily and Rossi join.

Note 3: There will be multiple time skips throughout this series. For example, the first chapter will begin on the first season and episode of the show but then there will be a time skip to later episodes (because there are obviously way too many episodes to write this series on and I wanted to include specific episodes that would help the plot of this story). This means that this series will be a slow burn romance but I believe it to be better this way. This will also stray from the actual show a lot, so don't expect it to follow the plot precisely.

Series Masterlist

Season 1, Episode 7

"Just call us if anything happens, and we'll do our best to get back as soon as we can." Leila told their nanny, Grace, as she and Zaid prepared for work. "Jasmine might get a little fussy, but don't worry if she keeps crying."

"Of course, I have everything under control. You guys focus on your work while..." Grace playfully tickled Jasmine's stomach, causing the baby to giggle. "Jasmine and I have a blast together."

Leila smiled, planting a gentle kiss on her baby's forehead. "Thank you so much, Grace. It's been challenging to find a good nanny who fits our needs. We truly appreciate you stepping in."

Grace returned the smile, nodding her head. "I'm grateful that you two chose me. You won't regret it."

Leila nodded in agreement and walked back to her room, where she noticed Zaid fiddling with his tie. She rolled her eyes playfully and approached him, standing in front of him. "How many years have we been together, and you still don't know how to tie a tie?"

Zaid flashed a cheeky smile, allowing his wife to fix his tie. "Who says I can't tie a tie? What if I pretend not to, so you can tie it for me?"

She finished tying his tie, her eyes meeting his. "You're such a dork." Leila teased.

Zaid gently cupped her cheeks, planting a tender kiss on her lips. "And I'm proud to be your dork."

Leila giggled, giving him a playful shove. "Come on. We have to get going, or we'll be late."

He groaned playfully, grabbing his briefcase and her bag, and they headed out of their room. After bidding farewell to both Jasmine and Grace, they quickly got into their car. Zaid drove Leila to the BAU before he left for work as a detective.

Arriving at the BAU, Zaid stepped out of the car and walked over to the other side to open the door for Leila. They strolled into the building together and stepped into the elevator, Zaid managing to sneak in a sweet kiss before the doors opened.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Leila spotted her team huddled in a circle in front of the glass doors. Her eyes lit up when she saw Haley and Aaron, with their newborn baby Jack cradled in his arms.

Leila walked over to them, softly gasping with delight. "Aw, is that baby Jack?" Haley beamed and nodded, the two women sharing a warm embrace as Zaid approached Aaron, offering a quick hello and a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.

"He's so gorgeous." JJ remarked, a warm smile on her face as her eyes remained fixed on the baby.

"Thank you." Haley replied with a grateful smile.

"If you find baldness and wrinkles attractive." Spencer quipped, earning an eye-roll from Leila at his cheeky comment.

"Look at his little widdy biddy nose." Penelope cooed, playfully slapping Spencer's hand while sporting a big grin. Derek approached them, and Penelope turned to him, teasing him. "Don't you want one of these?"

Derek pursed his lips, allowing a brief smile to escape before adopting a more serious expression. "I'll stick to practicing."

Leila playfully furrowed her eyebrows. "Shh, there are children here." She said, making everyone laugh, and Derek playfully left the scene. Leila's eyes then locked with Zaid's, who winked at her. "I already miss Jasmine." She admitted with a touch of longing in her voice.

Elle walked up to them, and looked at both Aaron and Haley, congratulating them on their new baby. Her face seemed tense, which meant they had a new case. The Hotchners thanked her warmly, appreciating the kind words and well-wishes.

"She's amazing." Aaron said, looking lovingly at his wife and then back at the baby in his arms. "I'm a little terrified."

Zaid joined the conversation, a playful grin on his face. "Oh, I can relate to that feeling. I remember holding Jasmine as if she would be crushed if I so much as moved."

Everyone laughed once again, enjoying the lighthearted moment. Haley gently took Jack from Aaron's arms, cradling their precious baby close before putting him in the stroller. "Well, we should get going." She said, looking at Aaron with a loving smile.

Zaid checked his watch, realizing the time. "Ah, shoot. Me too." He kissed Leila goodbye and exchanged farewells with the rest of the team. After Haley and Jack got on the elevator, he followed suit, joining them before the doors closed.

"A pleasure seeing you, Mrs. Hotchner and Detective Divan." Spencer called out with a friendly wave as the elevator descended. Elle walked up to Leila and Aaron, handing them files on the new case. The rest of the team had already made their way to the conference room, ready to focus on the new case.

"Bad?" Aaron asked as he accepted the file from her.

"The worst." Elle responded, shaking her head.

Leila sighed, already looking through the case file as the three of them went to a separate room to look through it in detail. The new case involved a murder of the Crawford family, a mother, father, son, and daughter. They were found dead inside their home in what seems to be a murder-suicide.

However, the team isn't convinced that it is a murder-suicide since there was another family murdered the same way, the Miller family. The other connections between the two sets of deaths are that the families were found five days after the start of what was supposed to be a family vacation. The families ended up not taking the vacation, but their bodies were found less than a day postmortem.

There was already a suspect named Eric Miller, the deceased Reese Miller's ex-husband and the biological father of the two deceased Miller children. He was known to be extremely abusive towards his ex-wife, prompting Reese to get a restraining order against him for domestic violence.

Leila put down the file, closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. Cases like these were difficult for her, as it reminded her of Zaid and Jasmine. She shook her head, grabbing the file once again to sort through the details.

Elle played the recording of a medical examiner detailing the autopsy report of the victims, which listed all the wounds inflicted on the family. "Sam Crawford, white male, aged five, multiple stab wounds, laceration to the left ventricle. No defensive wounds present. Allison Crawford, white female, 32, multiple stab wounds, COD, exsanguination. Emily Crawford, white female, eight, multiple stab wounds, COD, exsanguination. Christopher Crawford, white male, 36, point-blank single nine-millimeter gunshot wound to the temporal lobe."

Aaron looked through the photos of the victims, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion when he noticed something strange. "Where's his wedding ring?"

Elle looked through the personal effects, shaking her head. "It's not listed in his personal effects."

Aaron's frown intensified, and he turned a photo around to display it to both women. The image captured the husband's hand, revealing a distinct tan line where his wedding ring should have been. "He obviously wore one, so where is it?"

Leila tilted her head, mirroring Aaron's expression. "He took the ring?"

Spencer was tasked by Gideon to talk to Eric Miller, the primary suspect. Though Leila could sense his nervousness, she tried her best to encourage him. Leila, Elle, and Aaron stood outside of the interrogation room, observing as Spencer initiated the conversation with Eric.

As the younger profiler brought out photos of the Crawford family to show Eric, the latter began to grow increasingly agitated, slamming his handcuffed hands onto the table, causing Spencer to startle. Eric's voice rose as he got up from his seat, locking eyes with Spencer and shouting at him.

The trio swiftly entered the room, with Aaron using his commanding tone to immediately shut him down while other officers present restrained him. "Sit down. Now."

"Who's this? Your daddy?" Eric shouted, glaring at them. "I'm done talking to you people."

"You don't have to talk." Spencer cleared his throat, still nervous but confident enough to continue. "Just listen."

The three profilers listened intently to Spencer's words, observing as he skillfully broke through Eric's emotional defenses. Leila's focus remained fixed on Eric, witnessing the transformation of his angry expression into something more vulnerable. "I never laid a hand on my children. You hear me?" His voice cracked as he raised it again.

"I hear you." Spencer responded softly, offering empathy.

"I found them like that. Dead. Bloodied. My babies. My sweet babies." Eric's emotional walls crumbled, tears streaming down his face as he sank into the chair. "I was crazy out of my mind, I didn't know what to do, and I knew the cops were gonna blame me, and they have."

Spencer's brow furrowed as he probed deeper. "So you ran?"

Eric's gaze moved between the agents, searching for understanding. "So what have I got now?" He deflected, avoiding the question.

"You have your innocence." Spencer assured him, his voice sincere. "For the sake of your children, I believe that they, at the very least, deserve the truth."

As Spencer prepared to leave the room with the others, Eric's voice halted them. "I can't get the image of my dead children out of my mind. Ty, my little boy, he was clutching a piece of paper. I think it was a drawing, maybe a painting. Please. I'd love to know what he painted, Dr. Reid."

Leaving the room, Leila paused for a moment, her expression reflecting concern as she regarded Eric, before eventually following her colleagues out.

"Interesting interrogation technique." Elle remarked, directing her attention toward Spencer as they walked. "What'd you hope to accomplish?"

"Miller was closed off, defensive, hostile. I needed a way in." Spencer clarified, clutching the file in his arms. "He suffered a breakdown but I don't think he killed his family, and I know he still loved his wife."

"Why do you say that?" Aaron asked him.

"Even though they were divorced, he still wore the wedding ring."

With Penelope's assistance, they managed to access the Crawford family's financial records. It became evident that Allison Crawford was spending considerably more money than Chris could comfortably afford. Furthermore, Chris had written several checks for therapy sessions. Interestingly, Allison held two separate cell phone accounts, one of which was billed to an address located in Southeast Washington, D.C.

They stormed into the location they had uncovered, weapons at the ready as they methodically cleared each room. Gideon's attention was drawn to a painting hanging on the wall, which he took and examined closely.

Curious, Leila approached him and asked, "What's that?"

"It's a child's painting. It's a colonial house. Mom, Dad, two children out front holding hands." Gideon replied, his focus fixed on the painting.

"And a big dog." Leila added.

"I think this is the Crawford house, it's signed by Emily." Gideon's gaze remained on the painting as he remarked.

"Strange." Spencer's voice interjected, capturing Leila's attention. "Eric Miller said he found his son clutching a painting. He wanted to know what was on it."

"What was on it?" Elle asked.

Gideon turned to face her. "His son's blood."

An abrupt crash echoed through the house, instantly grabbing their attention. Reacting swiftly, they rushed toward the source of the noise, the accompanying sound of a dog barking filling the air. Someone whistled, prompting the dog to bound towards the person. With their firearms at the ready, they approached cautiously, their weapons trained on the individual who confronted them.

The man apprehended turned out to be Allison's brother, Frank. He was convinced that Chris was responsible for the family's demise. Despite Chris's disapproval and reluctance to let Frank visit their home, Frank had sneaked in after his phone was cut off. He recounted that he had peered through the window, spotting Allison, Emily, and a weeping Sam. Frank assumed that Sam was upset due to getting into trouble. As Allison noticed him, she allegedly mouthed a message that seemed to say, "Get the hell out," compelling him to leave.

Gideon probed further, asking if Chris had seen him. Frank confirmed that Chris was absent, but there was another person present at the head of the table. Derek raised an eyebrow, seeking clarification about this "friend." Frank acknowledged the peculiar detail, indicating that he saw someone, though not their face, but the person seemed notably petite.

Derek pressed on, asking whether the person was white or black. Frank couldn't definitively determine the person's ethnicity but hesitated before revealing that their hair was red.

Outside the interrogation room, Leila, Elle, Spencer, and Aaron stood watching. Leila's voice chimed in. "Frank didn't see a friend that night. It was the unsub."

"And she wasn't saying, 'Go away.'" Aaron added, arms crossed. "She was saying, 'Help me.'"

In that moment, the expressions on Derek and Gideon's faces made it unmistakably clear to Frank that the individual he had seen wasn't a friend at all. Filled with the weight of this realization, he began to bang his head with his hands, unleashing a piercing scream as he shouted about how that person had murdered his sister and her entire family. The urgency of the situation prompted all of them to rush into the interrogation room, where they tried to restrain Frank and prevent any further self-harm.

"Both families had a dog and both houses had a dog door." Derek pointed out, his gaze fixed on the photos displayed on the crime board. The team had reconvened to discuss the case, armed with the new evidence they had uncovered.

"Fielding said that the person he saw was small." Elle added.

"Yeah, well, in order to get through that door, you'd have to be 5'4", tops, and real thin." Derek replied.

"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'" Gideon quoted Sherlock Holmes.

"Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character." Derek countered. "Whoever did this isn't."

"He's probably already found another family by now." Leila remarked, her gaze straight ahead of her.

With more thinking, discussing, and Penelope hacking through the Government's HMO database, they managed to find out that both the Crawford's and Miller's were going to a therapist. The therapist they discovered was not a man, but instead a woman.

Dr. Howard said she only saw the two families once but prescribed medication for them as she was the only medical doctor there. Gideon asked who she handed her files over to, prompting her to search through the files and identify Karl Arnold as the recipient.

Guided by Dr. Howard, they proceeded to Karl Arnold's office, only to find it locked. Swiftly, Derek took matters into his own hands, breaking down the door with a kick, a sight that left Dr. Howard astonished and concerned about the door. Derek turned on a lamp nearby and saw all of the children's paintings on his wall.

Derek got a call that Karl's home was raided, however, he wasn't there. Aaron reached out to Karl's ex-wife while Leila, Derek, and Gideon sifted through the office, searching for any clues to his whereabouts. Amid the stacks of patient files, they stumbled upon families with similarities to the Crawford and Miller cases, though only one family captured Dr. Howard's attention.

"Wait. The Dunkens. That's not one of his cases, that's mine." Dr. Howard declared, her voice quivering as she spoke. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued. "They have a baby boy and a slightly introverted eight-year-old named Jackie."

Gideon uncovered another painting and presented it to her. "Jackie's work?"

"He took it from my office." She cried.

"Were they planning a trip?" Leila inquired, her expression filled with concern.

"To the Adirondacks."

Leila, Gideon, and Derek hurriedly exited the room, leaving Aaron to search Karl's office. They raced to the Dunkens' residence with backup in tow, approaching the house cautiously. The SWAT team paused briefly before forcefully entering. Inside, they encountered the mother, father, and daughter seated at the dining table. Panic-stricken, the family pointed out that the unsub had taken their baby to the basement.

Descending the basement stairs, Leila, Derek, and Gideon readied their guns and flashlights, their footsteps steady. Their voices echoed in the dim space as they called the unsub's name, scanning their flashlights for any sign of movement. Eventually, they spotted him, hunched on the ground with the baby in his arms.

"Karl." Leila's voice was measured, her movements cautious. "Give me the baby."

Karl moved his hand away from the crying baby's mouth, his eyes locked onto the agents aiming their weapons at him. Leila, taking a calculated risk, holstered her gun and slowly approached, extending her arms towards the infant. As Karl rose to his feet, his gaze remained unwavering, a shift in his eyes catching Leila's attention.

Just as she anticipated a sudden move, Karl unexpectedly tossed the baby into the air. Reacting swiftly, Leila caught the baby and retreated against the wall. Meanwhile, Gideon and Derek dealt with Karl, who brandished a knife. Derek swiftly disarmed him and pinned him to the opposite wall.

The cries of the baby reverberated in Leila's arms, her heart racing. She held the infant tightly, her thoughts racing as images of Jasmine flashed before her eyes. While her priority was the baby in her arms, memories of her own daughter briefly consumed her mind.

She shushed the baby quietly, her eyes softening at the small human. "Shh, you're okay. Let's get you to your mommy and daddy, okay?"

They brought Karl back to the precinct, determined to get a confession from him. Despite the absence of DNA evidence linking him to the families, their only chance at securing a conviction was to get Karl to admit to the brutal killings. Gideon devised a smart strategy, rearranging the photos of the families to provoke Karl's emotions. Their calculated approach ultimately led to a confession from him, avoiding the need for a prolonged struggle.

They all gathered at the conference table once again after Aaron found a box in Karl's office. An unspoken tension gripped them as they awaited someone to open the box, prompting Gideon to take the lead. He unlocked the box, spilling its contents onto the table.

Wedding rings started spinning on the table in front of them. Leila's heart clenched as she gazed down at her own wedding ring. She and Zaid had been married for about ten years and the thought of any harm befalling him or Jasmine sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed hard, her eyes transfixed on the last ring as it came to a halt.

As Leila packed her belongings in her office, a knock on the door pulled her attention away. Zaid had told her he'd pick her up once their case concluded, and Leila had called him as soon as they closed it. She turned, finding her husband leaning against the doorway, a warm smile gracing his features. But his expression shifted as he caught sight of the weariness in her eyes, prompting him to stride forward and gently cup her face.

"Tough case?" He inquired, his voice hushed.

Leila nodded subtly, and she found solace in his embrace as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I just want to go home and cuddle with both you and Jasmine." She confessed, her voice a soft murmur.

Zaid's response was immediate and reassuring. "Okay. Let's go home." He murmured, pressing a tender kiss atop her head. Gathering her bag, he slung it over his shoulder and guided her out of the office, his arm securely draped around her shoulders. Together, they walked down the corridor, on their way to seek the comfort of their own home.

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