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#( i hope i wrote it correctly!!)
luvrbug · 10 months
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can i request sleep over hcs with any hsr characters?
i tweaked this request into a more "sleeping together" instead of a sleepover. I hope that's okay! (they also kinda turned into cuddling headcanons... oops!)
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GEPARD
He sleeps on his back arms to his side, completely straight and stiff. Puts a whole new meaning to "sleeping like the dead"
He really loves cuddling, but he's so nervous the first few times you guys cuddle. Sweaty palms, heart beating fast, etc. But he gets used to it after the first few (16) times you guys sleep together!
Lay on top of him!!! it doesn't matter how heavy/light you are, gepard Loves when you just sprawl on top of him and he can just wrap his arms around you <33
you can also just snuggle into his side or just hold hands. Gepard likes to know that you're there throughout the night.
He's a super heavy sleeper but will bolt up once he realizes you're not there 😭 literally gets up and starts searching for u half awake while you're in the bathroom.
He's sooooo warm. His body temperature HAS to be abnormal because he's just so warm!!! Belobog gets absolutely freezing during the night, but you dont even notice when Gepard is keeping you warm :]
His alarm goes off at 4:30 am Every Morning.
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Sampo
Sampo somehow wormed his way into sleeping in your bed before you even started dating. He loves to get to sleep in his favorite person customer's bed! After all, you do owe him a favor for that one time...
Without a doubt, Sampo is a cuddler. He will lay his entire body on top of you, curl himself into a fetal position with YOU in the middle, he will be the little spoon, the big spoon, he will fall asleep just leaning on you.
And the worst part is his hands and feet are So. Fucking. Cold. His body is warm, but his hands and feet are FREEZING, and he insists on using you to warm them up. No matter how loud you squeal or how many times you scentence him to the couch, Sampo will be using you as his personal space heater.
Sampo is also incredibly loving when you sleep together. Quiet, secluded nights when you're half asleep and sampo has just slipped under the covers is when he shows you his entire heart and soul. His childhood, the friends and family he's lost, his deep rooted fear that one day you'll leave too...
Sampo either wakes up at 1 a.m., and you dont see him again for two days, or he sleeps until 5 p.m., and you absolutely can not get alone time. He's like a stray cat in that aspect.
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Dan Heng
Insists that he only likes you as a friend for 3 months while you actively sleep in the same bed and cuddle every night.
Dan Heng absolutely loves to snuggle up to you, BUT he has issues with being seen as weak or getting close to you in general. However, your very soft bed and even softer hugs eventually win him over.
He sleeps with his arms wrapped around you and his head on your chest, over your heart. The fact that you're real and alive, and he can keep you safe, soothes his soul on such a deep level. He gets the best sleep of his life when hes with you.
He can't sleep if you're off on a trailblaze mission alone or if he's not there to protect you. He chugs down Himeko's coffee in the morning to deal with it.
Once you're back, Dan Heng is latching onto you !! you are both taking a nap now. No, he doesn't care that you're covered in dust and dirt. You're coming to the archives and sleeping.
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operator-pillz · 1 year
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I made this after reading hut no comfort n c ruong
Edit: guys please check out my ACTUAL art ,,, please
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radiance1 · 6 months
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"There is two of you."
Logos leaned back in his seat, resting his head against his fist as he stared at a screen displaying Pathos, currently being buried beneath a mass of different ghostly animals. "That there is."
Distain crossed Damian's face. "Who in their right mind would ever clone the likes of you, brother?" He waved a hand at the screen, a small flash of envy that crossed his heart over seeing the clone buried beneath a mass of fluff, before blinking, and jerking his head and Daniel's direction. "Full offense."
"None taken." Logos's voice was cold and emotionless, containing a more mechanical edge due to the voice changer installed in his gas mask. "Pathos is not my clone, he is half of me." Logos raised his other hand before Damian could speak. "We were torn apart, in case you were wondering."
Damian hummed, moving his eyes away from the screen and around the lab. Giving a begrudging nod at the extreme cleanliness, and eyeing a few of the tech left around, before turning back to his twin with a raised eyebrow. "I can't imagine the reason you called me here was for a mere chat."
Logos nodded. "Pathos wishes to become a hero, yet I have a different goal." Logos stood up from his chair, walking over to Danny until he was relatively close and held out a hand. "Such that I am unable to watch over him at every turn, so, dear brother. Will you look over him in my stead?"
Damian stared at the outstretched hand, before back at Daniel's gas mask covered face. His face was calm as he stared back at his twin, before clicking his tongue. "Tt. As pathetic as always. Such incompetence that you need others to clean up whatever mess your other half will surely bring." Damian crossed his arms, glaring at his twin.
"I will not be that person, Daniel."
Logos hummed. "The probability of you saying no was quite high, so I am not surprised." He walked past Damian, beckoning his twin with a hand to follow as he stopped at a nearby table, quickly gathering a few items he sought after. "These are the objects that will 'sweeten the deal' as some would say."
Said objects looked to be a few buttons, a ball, a laser pointer, and an arm bracer.
"And you expect me to accept to watch over your other half, for mere trinkets?" Damian wrinkled his nose, as he stared at Daniel as if he were an idiot, which he very surely believes he is. "I expected you to be smarter than that, but I am not surprised by your usual incompetence."
Logos shook his head. "These are not mere trinkets, brother, and I know you recognize that as well. These," Danny picked up the few small buttons, tossing them at Damian, who easily caught them. "Will are capable of expanding into ectoplasmic nets, that will also deliver a shock to those who try to get out of them, nothing lethal, so worry not about your father having an issue with them."
Damian hummed, holding one of the buttons up to his eye. Logos waved to a nearby target that he set up for this exact circumstance. "Go ahead, try it."
Damian glanced at his twin, before throwing the button at the target. It expanded into a large net that shouldn't have been able to be held in such a small object, wrapping around the target.
"Unfortunately, you will be unable to test the shock function at this moment, so you will have to test it later on a live subject."
"Tt."
Logos tilted his head. "You seem displeased."
"That you are capable? Yes. I am."
Logos hummed, before taking up the ball. "That is a mechanical eye, you be able to see through it, which would certainly make it easier for you who stalks the night, yes?" Damian clicked his tongue, and Logos took that as enough to continue. "You will be able to look through it with these," He picked up the arm bracer in his other hand and handed both items to Damian. "The bracer connects to the eye, which will show you a live recording of what is happening on the other side." Logos turned to pick up the laser pointer, before blinking. "Ah, just will it to move, and it will. So long as you have the bracer on."
Damian stared at the bracer for a moment, before swiftly putting it on, and the mechanical eye sprang to life as soon as he finished. A screen appeared over his arm, giving him a direct look through the eye's position. He tested the movement and found it true.
"Being torn apart may have been the best thing that has happened to you, brother."
"Perhaps." Logos threw the laser pointer at Damian, which he caught. "That is a small, portable laser, while also acting as a regular laser pointer. Just twist the knob at the bottom and you'll be able to adjust it." Logos' eyes narrowed. "Do not test it in here, or anywhere near here, for that matter."
Damian pocketed it silently, before recrossing his arms. He grunted.
"Pathos will be happy to receive your cooperation, though he is quite emotional, I expect you to work around that." Logos held out a hand, and Damian stared at it for a good few moments, before begrudgingly putting his hand in his twin's for a handshake.
Damian had a foreboding feeling that he would regret ever accepting this deal, and not even a minute after meeting him he already did.
[Based off of this post, and thank you @ashfly for the name suggestions! :3]
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ker0fish · 2 months
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medusaspeach · 1 year
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The head of a Gorgon is an apotropaic symbol in Greek art, meant to protect the wearer from evil and ill omens.
Based on images of the Gorgon frequently seen on ancient Greek shields and stone statue carvings. 🏺🌿 twitter 🌿🏺
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Alright let’s do this one more time, my fanfiction did a lot better then I expected (Yeah I know 31 notes isn’t a lot but it makes me happy). So here’s part two! You gotta read part one to understand this part so I linked it below, I hope y’all enjoy this one too! :D this does switch perspectives at the end to explain Miguel’s reasoning for what he does for the MC.
vvvvvvvv for part one
Part one | Part two | Part 3
TW: Injuries and Hospitals
Word count: 2.0K
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It doesn’t take long for the pain to kick in and you’re left writhing on the floor, holding your side and trying to breath through it. You start dragging yourself towards the hall closet to get a first aid kit, pain meds, anything to make this pain go away before you hear a knock at the door.
A muffled voice comes through the door, “Hey, I heard gunshots coming from here, I want to check that you’re alive!”
Fuck. It’s your downstairs neighbor. He’s very reclusive, you don’t even know why he cares so much when all he does is scowl and grumble at you. You’ve tried to be nice and make conversation with him but heaven forbid anyone acknowledges him, you barely remember his name. He knocks again, but you’re head is fogged with the pain, you’re barely registering anything going on around you. What was his name? It started with an M, you know that much, you see it on his mailbox in the mail room but when your life depends on it you can’t remember, of course.
You hear the doorhandle start to shake, and then something starting to fiddle with the lock. You continue to try and crawl towards your hall closet, taking deep breaths, You’d shout back but your vocal cords have been strained by your recent choking. You finally get to the closet and manage to open the door before your front door slowly starts to open.
“If you’re going to make noise or watch action movies maybe you should, I dunno, turn the volume… down…” you watch as your neighbor’s shadow in the doorway stops as he notices the blood on the floor. “Jesus christ, where are you? Whose blood is this?” he rushes in and sees you reaching for the first aid kit.
You glare at him, “Breaking and entering isn’t really a good look on you” you rasp.
“I think that should be the least of your worries, you sound like shit”
“Wow, thanks prince charming, that really helps”
He rolls his eyes, giving you a quick glare before he comes over and grabs the first aid kit for you, “can you walk?” You shake your head.
“That was a stupid question, try again”
He sighs, you can tell you’re getting on his nerves. Good, he insulted your jello salad at a dinner party the apartment complex was throwing, yes you’re holding a grudge. No, you won’t give it up. “Do you want my help or not?” Miguel hisses
“Wow, you’re so generous, who would have guessed that?” you cough out, wincing at your injuries and slowly prop yourself up against the wall.
He shoots you another glare before popping the first aid kit open. You blush a bit, “don’t glare and snarl at me, you’re the one who’s sticking your nose in my business”
“Would you rather I call the police to file a noise complaint?” He pulls out some gauze and medical wraps as well as some alcohol wipes. “This first aid kit is primitive, how the hell do you expect someone to work with this?”
You roll your eyes, “I’m not made of money, I can’t afford the shit Alcamex is advertising”.
He goes quiet, you feel a little sense of victory being able to shut him up. He rolls up your shirt so that he can better examine your side. He stops you before you can call him a perv and pull your shirt down with a stern look and you swallow your words, letting him continue. You watch as he rips open an alcohol wipe and hiss as he starts cleaning the torn up skin.
“You might have to go to the hospital for this, it looks pretty deep”
“I would really prefer not to, it’ll be fine”
He gives you a frustrated look before just putting the gauze on and wrapping your side tight, you hold back a groan as the wrap presses against the wound.
“You should probably get your nose looked at. It looks broken and probably needs to be reset” he says as he packs everything back into the first aid kit.
“Who died and made you a doctor? Let me guess, your favorite board game is Operation.”
He gives you an agitated look, “you need to get your nose taken care of, it’s still bleeding.”
You wipe the blood off your chin and look down at your soiled shirt, cursing under your breath. “God fine, but I’m not going to the ER tonight, I’d much rather go back to bed” as you try to get up you wince and gasp out in pain at your wrist. You scowl down at it, ‘why have you betrayed me?’ you think to yourself. It’s definitely sprained just based on the size of the swelling and the feeling of fire racing through your hand and forearm due to the pressure you just put on it.
“Yeah, I’m dropping you off at the hospital, I don’t want to hear you groaning through the floorboards all night”
You hesitate before nodding, “fine… Okay fine, take me to the hospital.”
He nods before grabbing your arm and helps pull you up to your feet. Your legs feel like jello, you grab onto his arm to steady yourself and blush a bit ‘he’s awfully buff, god damn’ you think to yourself. He keeps a firm grip on your waist and wraps your arm around his shoulders, starting to help you walk out of your apartment to the parking garage downstairs. You’re already panting and sweating from the pain alone by the time you get to the car, he helps you climb in and you buckle up. He starts up the car after buckling up himself and drives off, you didn’t even notice that he put on some sunglasses before you both left and realized you left your own prescription glasses at home on your night stand between your judging looks.
“Fuck” you mumble to yourself.
He glances at you, “don’t pass out in my car.”
“Wow, nice work, I’m so comforted right now”
He rolls his eyes, the audacity of this man. “You’re welcome.”
“God you’re really getting on my nerves, why are you helping me?”
“My own selfish reasons.” He grunts out, you can tell the conversation is over based on the ice cold barrier he’s put up.
You roll your eyes and look down at your hands, feeling a blush spread on your cheeks. you don’t know why you're embarrassed. Maybe it’s because your attitude is less than savory but then again, he’s being an asshole back. He’s uninviting and abrasive and you’re still trying to put the pieces together as to why he’s so concerned because that excuse he just gave you sounded like a bunch of bullshit.
You both ride in silence the rest of the way to the hospital, you stare at the lights flying past you and dose off a bit, pressing your head to the cold window. It’s not long before your neighbor is shaking you and makes sure you’re clear of the door before coming around and helping you out. Like he promised, he’s dropped you off at the doors to the ER, not giving you so much as a second glance before going back to his car and driving off.
You stumble into the ER and a nurse helps you sit down, it takes a minute and some paperwork before they bring you back to a room. They change you into a hospital gown and before you know it you’ve got 5 stitches, a bulky stint on your wrist and a prescription for some strong pain medications that will help with your broken nose. The doctor already came in and they decided you’ll be staying the night for observation and you’ve been moved to a more permanent room, you’re trying to adjust and maybe get some rest before a nurse comes in with a clipboard.
“We just need you to fill out the emergency contact section and your insurance information and then you can rest okay? Do you need anything before I leave?”
“No I’m fine, thank you though” you smile and take the clipboard, already against having to write this down with your non-dominant hand.
“Okay, I’ll just get a refill on your water okay?”
“Okay, thank you” you give her another kind smile as she rushes out to get you more water and you start trying to fill out the form. You didn’t know how to politely say that you didn’t have any emergency contacts. You think for a minute, reflecting on your situation and shake your head. ‘I’ve got to remember his name… for the thank you card’ you chuckle a bit at your own joke. You imagine how his face will scrunch up with disgust, just like when he tried your jello salad… maybe you’ll send him a bowl. Just to make up for him breaking into your apartment.
Suddenly the phone rings next to you, you jump a bit and hesitate before answering it. “Hello?”
You cringe at your neighbor's voice, you don’t care how sultry it sounds, you’re just forced to reflect on his glaring face. “Yeah hi, I just wanted to let you know that you got blood on my seats. We’ll talk about how you’ll pay for that later.”
“Wow, you called me, at the hospital, just to tell me I stained your car’s seat?” You grab a pen and paper and start writing down the number on the receiver, you’re going to annoy the fuck out of him, you’re determined to do so.
“Yeah.. that’s the only reason I called you.” The line disconnects and you stare at the phone in raw disbelief.
You contemplate how you’re going to cuss him out when you see him next. You’re ready to make a scene and embarrass him, just like he embarrassed you. You feel like he treated you like a toddler, like you couldn’t take care of yourself or catch a bus down to the hospital when YOU were ready. You roll over, still imagining his snarl when you see him next and give him a piece of your mind. You settle down for the night, ‘I’m spamming his damn phone tomorrow’ You think as you doze off, ‘he risked his own damn seats’.
Miguel’s perspective
‘Why did I do that… that was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. When have I cared about people after I saved them?’ He knows why, he just doesn’t want to admit that he finds you attractive. And your lack of cooking ability is almost endearing. The way you smile and wave at him when you catch him in the mail room, or the way your face brightens up at the parties the landlord decides to throw. So when he saw you, broken and bleeding after he handled the two shit bags who attacked you, he couldn’t help but soften, and decide that maybe he can allow himself to care about you.
He pulls into the parking garage and climbs out, walking in to the building after locking his car up. He looks at the buttons on the elevator for a moment before pressing one, stepping out as the doors open onto your floor. ‘I’m such a fucking idiot, I shouldn’t be doing this. I have my own shit going on.’ And yet he enters your apartment, grabs a broom, and sweeps up the broken glass shattered on your floor.
It’s not long before his ‘watch’ sets off and a small hologram of a woman in heart sunglasses and a puffy coat pops up. “Hey Miguel~ You have a priority call.”
“Tell ‘em I died” he grunts out.
“Still cracking the same jokes I see” the hologram smiles. “But you are needed at headquarters, some emergency with the cafeteria and some of the spiders. A food fight has broken out”
He groans, “god why didn’t you let Jessica or Lego Spiderman take over while I was gone?”
“Because it’s more fun to create chaos, also they have their own dimensions to take care of”
“Fine, I’ll be right in” he sighs as the hologram closes out and throws the glass away. ‘Might as well be wearing a French maid outfit, they better be grateful for this when they come home’ he walks out of your apartment and makes sure the door is closed before walking out of the building.
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I wanted to include this gem from the comics in here. You’re welcome.
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moonwoodhollow · 27 days
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Jean's Life - before | next
Jean almost expected her mother to open the door and embrace her with a warm smile, jazz would be playing from the living room and the smell of freshly baked peach pie would be in the air, but no one opened the door and it was unnaturally quiet as if the house already knew that its owner was gone, only from the playground on the other side of the street could she make out the loud laughter of children.
Exhausted and overcome by her emotions, she sat down on the steps in front of the house, they were still warm from the afternoon sun, although a cool evening breeze was already blowing from the west, which carried the smell of autumn and decay. She knew what had to be done, what arrangements had to be made, and yet she couldn't even muster the courage to go to the entrance, unlock the door, and enter the house. Lost in thought, she gazed into the distance and gave free rein to her pain.
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1twistedsister · 11 days
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NEW BUCKET LIST ITEM: Completely full name Carlos Sainz. All 17491866481 surnames.
Bonus points if it's to his face.
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keikuns · 2 years
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⋞ gif request meme ⋟:  @stormbreaker​
favorite familial relationship : Wei Wuxian ⚔️ Jiang Cheng
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kezelreads · 9 months
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WIP Talon du Couteau x Reader
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stupidumdpossum · 11 months
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My first art Cry Of Fear! Honestly, I tried to portray Simon correctly;(
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karlyboyyy · 1 year
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It's Been Three Days
Summary: What I'd like to imagine took place in the days following the events of episode 10 - lots of Kazuki sadness, Rei trying his best, hugs and tears, and talking about feelings. Because we haven't really seen much bonding between the two of them in the show! Fic tags: KazuRei, Angst/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Comfort Wordcount: 5.5k Also on AO3! << It's my first ever post on there :D
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It’s such an odd thing to realize just how quickly you get accustomed to the orchestra of background noises that fill your home on a daily basis. The video game jingle that plays on a loop and gradually speeds up when the player is nearing the end of the race. The soft *ka-tak ka-tak ka-tak* of a kitchen knife chopping vegetables on a wooden cutting board. The rhythmic humming of the washer and dryer, constantly running to keep up with the laundry that seemingly never ends. The half-broken toy that plays that awfully annoying song from that popular children’s television series and doesn’t have an off button. The sweet laughter of a young girl who loves spending the day with her papas...
It’s been three days. Three days since that bittersweet family outing and that final ride on the Ferris wheel. Three days without that familiar orchestra of noises. And man, is that silence deafening.
Rei assumed he’d be able to adjust to the quiet atmosphere pretty easily. “I’m used to this, after all”, he thought, having lived in lonely solitude for years before Kazuki came barreling into his life. But even after Kazuki made himself at home in Rei’s apartment, the two of them hardly spent any actual time together, unless it was related to their work. Kazuki would sometimes attempt to start a conversation as he cooked dinner while Rei played his video games in the living room. But he was lucky if he got more than a few words and the occasional “hm” out of Rei, who would normally have his headset on and couldn’t be bothered to pay much attention to his surroundings. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. The two of them got along well enough to consider each other friends, and they each trusted one another completely. In their line of work, trusting your partner was essential. So, they were work partners and roommates. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, that all changed after Kazuki brought Miri home…
The morning after that ride on the Ferris wheel, Rei woke up before Kazuki. This was odd because Rei could count on one hand the number of times he’s been awake before Kazuki. But that day, he didn’t think too deeply about it. He knew that Kazuki was hurting and figured that leaving him alone to work through his emotions was probably the best thing to do. Besides, Rei had no idea how to comfort Kazuki in this situation and feared that he’d only make things worse if he did or said the wrong thing. So he made himself a bowl of cereal, sat down in front of the tv, and turned on some random program, leaving Kazuki to sleep in a little later.
The show Rei had landed on happened to be one he was familiar with, having watched it with Miri every Saturday morning. “Heh. I should record this for her to watch later.” As he grabbed the remote to set up the recording, the reality of the situation came crashing back toward him like a tidal wave. How could he forget so easily? Miri was gone. Knots began to form in Rei’s stomach and he could feel the onset of a migraine. After deciding to turn off the tv, he tossed the remote onto the couch cushion farthest away from him, pushed his barely eaten bowl of cereal toward the middle of the table, and abruptly plopped his whole body down onto the couch. Lying there, staring at the blank tv screen, he thought to himself, “this… sucks,” before drifting back to sleep. When he awoke several hours later, he noticed that no lights had been turned on, no food was cooking, no laundry was being done… there was nothing but silence. Kazuki hadn’t left his room.
The next morning was pretty much the same. Rei awoke to a quiet house, and the door leading to Kazuki’s bedroom remained closed. “Is he actually in his room, or did he go somewhere without telling me?” Rei wondered. “But if that’s the case, he would’ve left a note like last time… right?” Rei checked the front entry area and saw that Kazuki’s shoes and coat were still there in the exact same spot they’d been left the day before last. “Still home…” Once again, Rei made a bowl of cereal for himself but decided to eat at the dining table this time, hoping to avoid a repeat of the tv incident from the day before. After finishing his meal, he booted up his game console but quickly removed the Morio Kart disc that was inside and replaced it with one of his old shooter games. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t played these types of games since Miri started living with them, fearing that the blood and violence would be too much for her to witness. “But I guess Miri did have actual first-hand experience with not one, but two gun fights. Hell, she probably would’ve thought this game looked fun. Maybe I should’ve played it with her…”
Around lunch time, the silence in the room was broken by the sound of Kazuki’s bedroom door finally being opened. Rei whipped his head around so quickly he could have sworn he felt something in his neck pop. But it wasn’t quick enough, as Kazuki had already shut himself in the bathroom. Rei felt like a creep as he stared at the door handle, waiting for it to turn and for Kazuki to emerge from the bathroom. When he finally did, Rei’s voice cracked as he called out, “H-hey. You hungry? I can order a pizza.” Kazuki paused for a moment, but didn’t look up, his gaze locked downward. “No thanks. I’m good.” Before Rei could say anything back, Kazuki was already back in his bedroom closing the door behind him. Rei spent the rest of the afternoon and evening alone. One would think that having a day alone to yourself in a quiet home would be relaxing, especially when your daily routine was typically consumed by chaos. But that was a far cry from this reality. For Rei, the silence weighed on him like he was being pulled further and further under water. It was suffocating, to say the least. He also began to feel incredibly anxious, because he knew that he wanted to comfort Kazuki in some way, but had no idea how to go about it. “I feel totally worthless…”
It was now day three, and Rei had had enough. “I can’t go back to how things were before… I just can’t.” He decided to try his hand at tackling some of the chores around the house. He thought that it would be really pathetic of him to expect Kazuki to continue taking care of everything for him now that Miri was gone. Sure, he’d always done so in the past, but things were different now. Rei realized that Kazuki was only ever truly happy when he had a family to take care of. But now that there was no longer a “family” here, Rei knew deep down that there was a very good possibility of Kazuki leaving. Would it be next month? Next week? Tomorrow? The uncertainty frightened Rei, but he refused to become the same useless mess he’d once been. Well… he had enough determination in this very moment to at least do a load of freaking laundry. Baby steps were better than no steps, right?
So Rei started off his cleaning crusade by sorting through the pile of clothes on his bedroom floor and picking up any stray articles from the living room on his way to the washer. After tossing everything in and latching the door shut, he stood there for a moment staring at all the buttons and knobs. “Why are there so many??” Kazuki had, on several occasions, shown Rei how to operate the machine, pointing out the various features and wash cycles, and showing him exactly how to measure out the soap. But did Rei remember any of that? Absolutely not. But he figured he couldn’t screw it up too much as long as he stuck with the “regular” cycle and only used a little bit of soap. Once everything was set, he hesitantly reached for the Start button and gently pressed it in. The machine came alive with that familiar sloshing sound that he’d so desperately missed these last few days. He relaxed his shoulders, let out a sigh of relief, and smiled to himself. “Nice.”
Suddenly, the soft clack of a door being opened echoed from down the hall. Rei peeked his head around the corner to see if he could catch a glimpse of Kazuki. But alas, he had just missed him yet again. Rei then heard the shower turning on and thought that he really would be a creep if he were to stare at the bathroom door waiting for Kazuki to come back out, like he did yesterday. So instead, he headed toward the living room to start picking up all of his garbage.
**********
Kazuki felt numb.
It’s been three days, and yet that feeling refused to subside. Kazuki struggled to pinpoint exactly what emotion he was feeling about this whole situation. Was he mad? Maybe a little. But when it came down to it, he knew that both Kyu-chan and Misaki were right. Allowing a five-year-old child live with two hitmen was dangerous, and he couldn’t come up with a valid justification to argue otherwise. At least, not one that wouldn’t make him sound like a selfish asshole. Was he sad? Sure. But again, he knew that Miri was safer this way. So how could he truly be sad about the fact that she was safe? He couldn’t. In fact, if he were being rational about the whole thing, he thought he should actually feel quite relieved. “Yeah right… I’m too greedy for that,” he thought. So he wasn’t mad, or sad, or relieved. He was just… numb.
Kazuki knew that it was pathetic of him to hole up inside his bedroom, but he couldn’t help himself. Coming home that night to the sight of toys strewn across the living room floor, child-sized dishes piled in the sink, the basket of pink flowery clothes that needed to be washed… all of it was just so overwhelming. Kazuki couldn’t bring himself to look at any of it, so he ended up going straight to bed that night. Over the next couple of days, he only came out to use the toilet or to grab a quick snack so that he wouldn’t make himself sick. But otherwise, he stayed in bed staring off into space. He felt sort of bad for ignoring Rei, but he knew that Rei struggled with expressing his empathy. Because of that, Kazuki was afraid that he’d end up snapping at Rei for no real reason or accidentally saying something hurtful that he didn’t really mean, knowing damn well that Rei wouldn’t know how to react and would most likely take it personally. So in order to avoid that tension all together, Kazuki chose to avoid Rei for the time being. “I hope he’s at least eating something other than cereal…”
By day three, Kazuki was starting to get sore from lying in bed for so long. “I should probably shower.” On his way to the bathroom, Kazuki could have sworn he heard the washer running. “But there’s no way… I’m not even sure Rei knows how to use the damn thing, even though I’ve shown him a million times.” Kazuki let out a soft chuckle as he turned the knob in the shower all the way to the right. There was a brief squeaking noise before the water started raining down from the shower head, and steam began to gradually build up in the enclosed space. Kazuki started to undress, removing the wrinkled clothes that he’d been wearing for three days straight. He glanced at the reflection of his naked body in the mirror, flinching at the sight. It was obvious that he hadn’t eaten a proper meal nor had he gotten any decent sleep in these last few days. He had dark circles under his puffy eyes, his hair was a greasy mess, and his face looked pale and ashen like a ghost. He was honestly quite grossed out by the state he was in, and felt sort of relieved that Rei hadn’t seen him earlier. After stepping into the shower and under the hot water, Kazuki felt his muscles immediately relax. He stood there unmoving for god knows how long, just letting the water pour over the top of his head and down his face.
Out of nowhere, Kazuki heard what sounded like a gentle knock, followed by silence. He wasn’t sure if he was hearing things or not, so he waited for a moment to see if another knock would come. Instead, he heard the *click* of the door being opened. “…Kazuki? Are you okay? You’ve been in here for a while…” Rei was so quiet that Kazuki could barely hear him over the running water. He pulled back the shower curtain slightly and poked his head out, ready to teasingly chastise Rei for coming into the bathroom while someone was in the shower. But the sight before him almost sent him into a fit of laughter. Rei had his head peeking around the door into the bathroom, but his eyes were tightly shut, scrunching his face. Kazuki thought it was actually quite adorable. “Yeah. I’ll be out in just a few minutes, alright?” he said, with a slight smile on his face that Rei couldn’t see. “Ah, okay then,” Rei said, as he quickly shut the door. Pffft! Kazuki didn’t realize in that moment, but that numb feeling was finally starting to ease, if ever so slightly.
**********
Kazuki walked out of the bathroom to find Rei vacuuming. Rei. Vacuuming. WHAT?! Kazuki was so stunned he nearly dropped the towel that he was rubbing his hair with. He stood there in awe, taking a look around the entire room. Not only was Rei vacuuming, but it looked like he did the dishes and picked up around house as well. “Ha! Maybe I really did hear the washer running this morning!” Rei hadn’t heard the bathroom door open, so when he finally noticed Kazuki standing next to the couch staring at him, he flinched and scrambled to find the power button on the vacuum. “H-hey! You’re out! You hungry? I’ve made something to eat if you’d like some.” Although he still spoke in his low, nearly monotone voice, Rei appeared to be a bit more flustered than Kazuki had ever remembered seeing him before. “Oh yeah? What’d’ya make?” Kazuki was impressed. Rei cleaned and cooked?? “Um… it’s just porridge. I found an easy recipe online. You haven’t eaten these past few days, so I thought maybe your stomach was upset. I figured porridge would be easiest to eat.” Rei felt a little embarrassed to be offering his measly porridge to a guy who practically lives in the kitchen. And let’s be honest, Kazuki doesn’t exactly hold any punches when it comes to critiquing food, so Rei’s worry was justified. Kazuki could tell Rei was nervous, and again had to hold back his laughter. “Why is he being so cute right now? It’s hilarious, but I can’t tease him too much or else he’d probably curl up in a ball and shut down.” Kazuki pulled out a chair at the dining table, sat down, and looked up at Rei with a grin. “I’d love some. Please and thank you!”
And so the two of them sat at the table, quietly eating the porridge that Rei made. Rei cleared his throat, having already decided that he’d had enough of the eerie silence that had been suffocating him over the past three days. “Hey… do you wanna hang out today? Like, together? We don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to. It’s just been really… boring.” Although Rei was definitely trying his best to communicate more with Kazuki, he wasn’t exactly ready to say that he felt lonely and anxious by himself. So he decided to play it off as boredom. Kazuki glanced up at Rei, and to his surprise, Rei was looking right back at him, their eyes locked together. “…Sure. Is there something in particular you wanna do?” Rei hesitated for a moment. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting Kazuki to say yes, and hadn’t really thought this far ahead. “Um… well, we can watch some movies. I guess? Oh but first, we should dry your hair. It’s still wet, and you’ll catch a cold. I’ll dry it for you, if you want.”
“Okay… who the hell is this person and what have they done with Rei?! It’s like the onigiri incident all over again…”
“Ah-haha, it’s okay. It’ll dry on its own. And it’s warm enough in here that I won’t get sick.” Kazuki was truly beside himself. He knew that Rei had started to step up more to take care of Miri. But he couldn’t think of any time before when Rei had offered to take care of him.
“Dude, just let me dry it. I used to do it all the time for Mi- uh… I mean. Well it’s not like you haven’t done the same for me before, so just shut up and let me do it, okay?” Rei scratched his head, annoyed with himself for almost bringing up Miri. He told himself just this morning that he would avoid saying her name in front of Kazuki at all costs, not wanting to upset him. But Kazuki wasn’t upset and could see how frustrated Rei looked. “Okay then. You can dry my hair.”
Rei sat on the couch, his legs far enough apart for Kazuki to sit on the floor between his feet. Kazuki held his knees close to his chest, his chin resting on top of them. The loud whirring of the hair dryer filled the air around them, as Rei ran his fingers through Kazuki’s soft hair. “Fluffy…” Rei absolutely kept that thought to himself, and could feel his cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“I can’t even remember the last time someone’s dried my hair. Maybe when Yuzuko and I first started dating?” Kazuki thought back on the memories of all those years ago and smiled. “But man, this does feel nice. And he’s being so gentle, it almost tickles. And this warmth… I could fall asleep.” A few moments later, the loud whirring ceased and Kazuki jolted in place, having truly almost fallen asleep. “All done,” Rei said in a soft voice. “Aw man, already? That was so relaxing!” Although Kazuki was only teasing, the words were true, nonetheless. “Um… I can brush your hair now, if you’d like? I don’t mind.” Although his words were nonchalant, Rei looked almost excited. And who was Kazuki to say no to that? “Okay.” Rei got up to find a hairbrush and returned in a flash to continue playing with Kazuki’s hair.
After a while, Kazuki was the first to break the silence. “Ya know, I really thought the three of us would be together forever.” He let out a soft chuckle before continuing. “How silly is that?” Rei paused for a moment, surprised by the topic of conversation. He didn’t think Kazuki was ready to talk about this yet. Before Kazuki could notice that his hands had stopped moving, Rei started running the brush through Kazuki’s hair once more.
“Like, I actually thought, ‘Hey! This is my second chance! I can build a life with these two, and we can be a real family. We can be happy.’ Why did I get my hopes up? I should’ve known this would all end eventually. I mean come on. Look at us. Two hitmen raising a child together? That’s some shit straight out of a manga. It could never actually work in the long run.” Kazuki closed his eyes and held his hand over his face, gently rubbing the furrowed skin between his eyebrows.
Rei was thankful that he was sitting behind Kazuki, and that Kazuki was unable to see his face in that moment. Because he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and could only imagine what sort of twisted expression his face was in.
“Hey, Kazuki?”
“Hm?”
“Are you… going to leave?”
“Leave? What do ya mean? Where’m I going?” Kazuki realized he sounded slightly exasperated and hoped that Rei didn’t pick up on it.
“I know… I know that you want a family. And now that Miri… now that it’s just the two of us, we aren’t really a family anymore, are we? So are you going to leave now?”
Kazuki could hear the slight hitch in Rei’s voice, and quickly turned around to face him. Rei’s eyebrows were contorted and his cheeks were flushed red. And his bottom lip trembled.
Kazuki panicked. “What?? What are you talking about? Why would I leave?”
“Because it’s not safe for you either! The organization… they’ve already made it very clear.”
“But that was just about Miri, right? It was about our work getting sloppy, yeah? But she’s safe with Misaki now. And we’ll just go back to how things used to be.” As much as it pained him to admit, Kazuki knew that the words coming out of his mouth were true.
“No! It wasn’t just about Miri… it’s more than that.” Rei paused and closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to level his breathing. He then looked directly at Kazuki with glistening eyes and spoke more softly. “Don’t you get it? I’m a Suwa. I’m expected to continue the Suwa family line, and to take over the family business. But I…” Rei closed his eyes again and shook his head. “I don’t want to! I don’t want to…” Rei could feel the hot tears welling up in his eyes and failed to keep them from breaking through.
“Then what do you want?” Kazuki said in a soft, low voice. He could tell that Rei was terrified and could feel the adrenaline coursing through his own veins, causing his hands to shake. The only word he could think of to describe this feeling was protective. It was almost as if he was prepared to single-handedly take down anyone and everyone who had caused the man in front of him to break down in tears. Because anyone who was able to cause this normally emotionless man this much pain… deserved to suffer.
“I just… I just want our family back. But I know that’s not possible right now, and it may never be possible again, no matter how much I miss Miri. And god, I miss her so much… But above all, I want her to be safe. So I know that she needs to stay with Misaki. And I also know that you’d be safer, too, if you left… if you got as far away from me as possible. But Kazuki… I can’t. I can’t lose you, too.” By now, Rei was no longer able to hold back the flood of tears rolling down his cheeks, and his breaths were coming in short, shallow bursts.
In the blink of an eye, Kazuki had gotten up, positioned himself next to Rei on the couch, and pulled him into his arms, holding him close to his chest. Kazuki’s left hand cradled the back of Rei’s head, while his right hand gently stroked the space between his shoulder blades.
“Rei. Listen to me. I’m not leaving you. I will never leave you. You hear me? We ARE a family. Even if it’s just you and me. We can still be a family. Alright? So stop crying. Please, stop crying.” Kazuki tried with all his might to comfort Rei, but could feel that he himself was on the verge of breaking down.
“But… you deserve a real family, Kazuki. You deserve to be with someone you love. You deserve to be a papa. Because you’re such a good papa…” Rei buried his face in the crook of Kazuki’s neck, attempting to stifle the constant sniffling. He desperately grasped at Kazuki’s shirt, pulling it back so much that it was nearly choking Kazuki. But Kazuki didn’t say anything nor did he stop Rei.
“Rei, you deserve those things, too. You also deserve to be with someone you love. You deserve happiness.”
“But I AM with someone…!” Rei let the sentence trail off, surprised by the words that he’d nearly blurted out, and paused to catch his breath. “I was happy with our family. And I’m happy with you. I’d never known that feeling before, until I met you. And having Miri with us… made it so much more obvious. So I know I’m being selfish by asking you to stay with me. But I don’t want to give up any more of my happiness. I don’t want to go back to how things were before. I can’t go back. So Kazuki, please… I’ll try harder, I promise. I’ll clean more and I’ll learn how to cook and I won’t complain as much. And I’ll protect you. I’ll do anything to protect you. So please…” At this point Rei was sobbing so much that he began to ramble and his words were somewhat difficult to understand. But Kazuki continued to hold Rei in a tight embrace, gently stroking his hair to try and calm him down.
“Hey shhhh, I already said I’m staying, didn’t I? So try to calm down, okay? I’m not going anywhere. And hey, you did so good today with the chores! I was so impressed. And your porridge was delicious. Make it for me again sometime, will ya?”
Rei nodded, his face still pressed against Kazuki’s collar bone. “Yeah, okay.”
Kazuki slowly pulled away from Rei, holding both of his hands in his own between the two of them. “Have you calmed down a bit?” Rei nodded without saying anything. The tears finally stopped, but his face looked a mess. Kazuki reached his right hand up to gently rub Rei’s cheek. “Good. Ya know, I must say… you’ve been acting awfully cute today. I’m not used to it,” Kazuki said, letting out a small sigh of relief mixed with a faint laugh.
“Shut up!” Although he had meant to sound forceful with his words, Rei instead sounded like a whiny teenage girl, which made him feel even more embarrassed and caused a fresh wave of blood to rush back up to his cheeks. He then realized that his face probably looked absolutely ridiculous after his meltdown and attempted to wipe his eyes and turn his head away so that he was no longer facing Kazuki.  
But Kazuki only found this to be even more endearing, and immediately guided Rei’s face back to where he could see it more clearly. He then positioned his hand so that he cupped Rei’s chin in his palm, with his cheeks squished between Kazuki’s thumb and four fingers. “Heheh fish lips.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and at the fact that Rei was even letting him mess with his face like this in the first place. Truly, he was not used to this side of Rei. But he was enjoying himself.
Kazuki’s laughter eventually trailed off, but he kept Rei’s face cupped in his hand, lightly squeezing his cheeks. Then the expression on his face softened as he continued to stare at Rei’s puckered mouth. After what was probably only thirty seconds, but felt like hours, Kazuki locked eyes with Rei. “Hw-hwat?” Rei stuttered, unable to enunciate due to the squished cheeks. He wondered how long Kazuki was going to hold his face like this and why he just kept staring. If he was being honest, he was starting to feel a bit uneasy. Rei had never really had anyone look at his face for this long or this closely before. He felt almost naked.
“Rei. Have you ever kissed anyone?” Kazuki maintained eye contact after asking the question, so he was able to see the exact moment the pupils in Rei’s deep blue eyes constricted to half their size.
“HUH??! What kind of question is that??” Rei flailed, yanking his face away and batting Kazuki’s hand down. “Seriously, what the hell??”, he thought to himself.
“Aww, come on. I’m just curious! You’re acting so adorable today, and I wondered if anyone else has ever seen you like this.” Kazuki already knew that Rei had probably never been in a real relationship before, so the words he spoke were only a joke. Still, he found himself slightly annoyed at the thought of someone else experiencing this side of Rei, but decided to keep that thought to himself.
“Why should I even tell you?” Rei continued to swat Kazuki away, but Kazuki was relentless.
“Hehe so I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”
“Ugh! Why do you even care??”
Quicker than Rei could stop him, Kazuki grabbed Rei’s face again, this time sandwiched between both of his hands. “Because. I do care. I care about you. And if we’re going to be a family, I want to know everything about you.”
Rei stopped resisting, and just stared back at Kazuki. “He looks so serious now…”
Kazuki’s gaze lowered slightly, and Rei realized just where he was looking. His mouth. Rei then noticed that Kazuki was slowly leaning closer toward him. “He’s not… ACTUALLY going to kiss me, is he?!” Rei didn’t know how to react, so all he could think to do was close his eyes and brace for impact.
Kazuki paused in his tracks and smiled to himself. Rei had his eyes tightly shut, reminding him of earlier that day in the bathroom. “He’s so funny.” Kazuki continued leaning in, closing his eyes and gently kissing Rei on the forehead.
Rei’s eyes shot open in surprise. A forehead kiss was NOT what he was anticipating, and he felt a little ashamed for expecting something different. But that feeling of shame melted away the moment he met Kazuki’s gaze once more and saw the slight shade of pink on the apples of his cheeks as he smiled a goofy grin. Rei couldn’t help but smile back and let out a soft, breathy laugh.
Kazuki carefully pulled his hands away from Rei’s face and stretched out his arms, taking a deep breath and letting out a loud sigh. “Haaaaahhh! So. Should we watch a movie now? Was there one you wanted to watch?” Kazuki leaned back into the couch, but not before pulling Rei to his side and wrapping his arm around him, his hand on Rei’s bicep. In this position, Rei was able to rest his head on Kazuki’s chest just under his arm, but he wasn’t sure where to put his hands. One arm was stuck behind Kazuki against the back cushion, so he didn’t really have a choice there. But the other was left out in front, hovering over Kazuki’s lower stomach. Rei hesitated for a moment, but finally thought, “Screw it,” and set his arm down so that it lay across Kazuki’s waist. After receiving no complaint from Kazuki about where his hand fell, Rei tightened his grip on Kazuki’s side ever so slightly and nestled even further into place. “He’s warm,” he thought. “This is nice…”
“Any movie is fine. Whatever you wanna watch.” Rei honestly didn’t care about the movie. He was just happy to be spending time with Kazuki. Happy to be pulled out of the suffocating silence.
“Hey, Rei?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry for avoiding you these last couple of days. It was nothing against you. So I hope you didn’t get too lonely.”
“…I was lonely. But it’s okay. I understood what you were feeling.”
“I might get like that again… I mean, I’m feeling a little better now. But it comes in waves. Ya know?”
“Yeah… I get it.”
“Then will you cuddle with me to make me feel better?” Kazuki said playfully.
“Yes.”
Kazuki only said that to tease Rei, so he wasn’t expecting him to respond so quickly or so matter-of-factly. But he found that Rei’s response made him insanely giddy. Kazuki tightened his hold on Rei, pulling him in even closer. “Good. That makes me happy.”
“…” Rei didn’t know how to respond, but knew that he, too, felt happy in that moment.
It’s been three days. And there was no telling how many more it would take before things finally started to feel normal again. Or maybe things would never feel normal again. Maybe there was a hell storm coming their way that they weren’t at all prepared for. These were all possibilities that they had to consider. But as they sat there embracing each other’s warmth, Kazuki and Rei both knew that they’d be okay, as long as they were together. If one was suffering, the other would be there to help pick up the pieces. If one was happy, the other would be there to celebrate in their joy. After all, isn’t that just what a family is?
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anotherduckinthedepths · 11 months
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Just because I feel like making others cry today When Slimecicle was greiving the sudden loss of Juanaflippa, Tilin told him via a sign "Uncle Slime don't be sad, I love you"
Tilin, the egg who was unintentionally killed by the very man they said those words of reassurance to after Juanaflippa was revived, when everything for a minute felt ok. Wonder how haunting those word might've become to Slime now, with the image of the egg's corpse replacing the alive and empathetic child that said them.
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marivenah · 5 months
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FLUFFTOBER - DAY 22
Picking (Flowers) - for Aiden
>> prompt list
Pairing: Aiden x Faith
Characters: Aiden Hunter, Faith Seed
Words: 1k
A little late because I didn't manage to finish it in time and then wanted to drop it completely, BUT I picked it back up and completed it!
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The colourful grassland out in Hope County holds so much beauty Aiden never really noticed before. Funny that all it took was a war — a cause he now dedicated his life to.
Though, he didn’t exactly expect to be needed for this. But he is not complaining. The silence is comforting. So far into the Henbane Region, away from all this mess. The Project, the Resistance, and everything in between.
They had more Peggies with them at first — uh, Brothers and Sisters — but Faith sent them away, leaving only her and Aiden. He’d lie if he said that he wouldn’t feel a little safer with more Chosen around. Who knows if Laurie is going to show up.
The Deputy.
The grip on his rifle tightens when she comes to mind. Aiden hopes that the Deputy will see that she is fighting the wrong fight. That she’ll see the light and put an end to the conflict.
In the background, Faith is roaming over the flower field, her dress gently swaying with her movement. One would only ever see her with Bliss flowers but today she decided to collect all different kinds of flowers. Right now, she’s picking lilies. White ones.
“Lilium candidum, more commonly known as the white lily. While lilies come in many different colours, such as yellow, orange, and red — the Madonna lily is the purest of them all. It symbolizes modesty and innocence of the soul. And yet it earned the name ‘flower of sadness’.”
Aiden listens intently. He didn’t expect to get a lesson in botany, but it sounds intriguing enough. Especially when narrated by Faith.
Her fingers carefully brush over the white petals.
If the agitation didn’t keep him on high alert, the Chosen would’ve questioned the sight. Is it real or just another Bliss dream? The Siren looks more like an angel to him.
“Do you think something so pure, can be so woeful?”, she asks.
One cold shiver runs down Aiden’s spine and takes all of his tautness with it when he realizes the question was directed at him. Jacob taught him that Faith’s words are never to be questioned. But what does the protocol say for questions she has for him?
Faith makes a beeline and now stands close to him, allowing for direct eye contact. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t take his eyes off hers. The green is hypnotizing, in a strangely gentle and comforting way.
Is this another test? Or genuine curiosity?
To not risk anything, the Chosen answers with a counter question, “Is sadness something negative to you?”
She tilts her head but shows no sign of confusion on her face. The soft smile still lingering on her lips. Her hands are neatly clasped behind her back. The answer to his question seems to be obvious to her.
He gives in, “I think sadness can be something positive, in its own way. It shows that the person is emotionally affected. That there is a deeper meaning behind it all. If there is no happiness nor sadness all that’s left is indifference.”
No words follow but Faith is still eagerly listening. Obviously, waiting for the answer to her question.
Aiden clears his throat, “I do believe purity and sadness aren’t mutually exclusive. On some occasions, one can even lead to the other.”
That is when her eyes drift away and the smile drops slightly. Not a spontaneous question, seeing as the answer gave her reason to think.
“Depending on the circumstances”, he adds.
Then, she puts the lilies away. While the Herald rummages through her pile of flowers, she starts humming. The melodic sound is as ever soothing.
“Do you think something pretty can hide an ugly truth underneath?” Another question from Faith.
She pulls a yellow flower from the basket. At first glance, it seems to be a dandelion but at closer inspection — after she hands it to him — the petals are different.
She continues her little lesson, “Tanacetum. It symbolizes protection, resistance, and health. Beneath it though, the core reveals itself to be poisonous.” Faith’s voice has just as much venom in it as the word itself.
Aiden would ask her why she picked the flower in the first place, but the Project most definitely has good use for poisonous flowers. And everyone has their role to play, including plants it seems.
“Everything that is pretty, has a secret. Something dark that it’s hiding. That’s why it is pretty. Otherwise, it can’t deceive. Which it does to survive in this endless circle of life and death. After all, life is all about survival, is it not?”, she asks, putting the flower back.
Only the strong survive.
“It shouldn’t be”, the Chosen mutters under his breath.
Within a heartbeat, Faith grabs one of Aiden’s hands, caging it between her own. “Our home is being poisoned by those pretending to be saviours — disguising it as healing. It is them who have turned it into a fight for survival and then put the blame on us.”
The Resistance. If only they were able to see the truth. If only his sister would have followed him.
“Don’t let yourself get fooled by its shell, by its façade. It cannot give you what it promises.” The Herald’s view is fixed on their conjoined hands, softly squeezing the Chosen’s hand. “But once we enter New Eden, all of this will finally be over, giving our lives a new purpose.”
The contact makes him feel unsure, but at the same time, there’s warmth spreading in his chest. This sensation shouldn’t come over him. When Jacob finds out —
“You know”, Faith starts, her lips curving into a smile, “When I think of you, what comes to mind is protection, of course. But, also healing. True healing. You took the step. The leap of faith. You wanted to be forgiven, to be reborn. And you succeeded. Because you had faith.”
He had faith. He still has faith. So much work, so much remorse wrapped him into a cocoon of misery, unable to find a way out. Then, faith found him. Ironically, his faith is standing right in front of him.
A selfish thought. He mentally shakes it off.
She continues, “Much like the Achillea, or Yarrow as most would call it, you healed. Something you decided to do all on your own.”
From the pile of flowers, she hands him red ones, which he assumes, are Yarrows.
“The red ones fit you best.”
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yanderefan-kimi · 1 year
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Kurobe Makoto and the path of cruelty
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Heeey yall this isn't something I normally do but I thought I'd finally live up to my username and start talking about some yandere characters! I was recently rereading this series in anticipation for it resuming soon when this panel (the second image) caught my eyes again, so I decided to rant a bit about this, so here goes *cracks knuckles*
Just a small disclaimer: I'm not an art history major or anything like that, I literally just googled this painting and read the wikipedia article because it fascinated me
Okay so let's start with a VERY brief description of this series, since I don't believe it has been officially translated yet so I don't know how many people have heard of it:
This is デスゲーム漫画の黒幕殺人鬼の妹に転生して失敗した (which basically translates to "I Reincarnated As The Mastermind's Little Sister from a Death Game Manga and Failed") which was originally a web novel by Inaida Sou and was adapted to manga form by Pepu.
I won't go too deeply into the details because I think it's the sort of story that's more fun to read yourself, but the basic premise is that Kurobe Mai, the protagonist, has reincarnated into one of her favorite manga series... which was unfortunate, since it happens to be a Death Game series and she happens to be the first victim. Her older step-brother, Makoto, is a psychopath and the mastermind behind said Death Game in the manga. With a year until the start of the manga, Mai's determined to stop her brother, but her actions cause him to develop an abnormal obsession with her...
In chapter 13, the two stop by an art museum that was showing a medical science exhibit (split into three sections: Exploring the Body, Disease and Death, & Love and Life.) They're both looking around until Makoto comes to a stop at this painting in the 2nd section of the exhibit and stares at it silently for a while. That is, William Hogarth's: The Reward of Cruelty - which is his final work in his Four Stages of Cruelty series (warning if you want to look this up, the paintings are a bit gruesome and unpleasant, on purpose.)
The Four Stages depicts the story of the fictional character Nero as he walks down the path of cruelty. In the First Stage, he's torturing a dog as a child. In the Second Stage, he goes on to beat his horse as an adult. In Cruelty in Perfection, he moves on to theft and murder. Finally, in The Reward of Cruelty, Nero has been hung for his crimes and his corpse publicly mutilated by surgeons.
These paintings were much different from Hogarth's other works because he wanted to shock and deter his audience. He was dismayed over the casual acts of cruelty he witnessed and wanted to warn others that the inevitable end of the path of cruelty was death as retribution.
I thought it was interesting how Makoto chose this specific painting to stare at. Sure, he was fascinated by the macabre, but I think it was likely because he realized that he was walking that path of cruelty himself.
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Ever since he was young, he found everyone and everything to be dull and uninteresting. He never struggled at anything, could easily read others, and couldn't empathize with anyone. The only thing that excited him was death. So he started torturing and killing insects, but like all addictions, it was never enough. Soon enough he started desiring for bigger, harder targets. Like a cat, or a dog... or a human.
Makoto realizes that his desire for death and pain was far from normal, but he also felt no desire to change himself. I wonder if he was staring at that painting like he was looking at his inevitable end. Throughout the series, he's been devising various schemes to get Mai's attention (as well as juggling between wanting to kiss her and kill her), but she always strives to surprise him, so what if he fails? What if he succeeds? Was there nothing awaiting the end of his journey other than his early death?
After he's been staring at the painting for a while, Mai comes up behind Makoto and asks if he's finding the exhibit interesting and if he's feeling better. He hugs her, saying that he's fine, and the two go home without ever stepping into the third section (Love and Life.) Now, he's been getting more and more touchy-feely towards Mai with each chapter, but I felt like this hug was a bit... softer. Like he wanted some reassurance that he wasn't at that final stage of cruelty, that he hasn't gotten his "reward" yet.
Anyways, I'm just really fascinated by this scene since it was pretty much glossed over in the web novel, so it was something that Pepu-sensei decided to add in for a reason. Now we're at the gushing part of the post cuz I really think Pepu-sensei is incredibly skilled at panel/scene composition in manga and it's fun to analyze specific scenes and guess the reasoning behind them. (I am vaguely referencing the center spread from the first chapter, which I might talk about later but it's really great, trust me)
Basically, I really love this series (PLUS Inaida-sensei is one of my fav authors and I love Pepu-sensei's art sm) and I really can't wait to see where it goes. It has a good following so we're actually gonna get a whole extra volume and I'm so excited to see what new arc they're gonna throw at us!! And and I'm super excited to see how some scenes in the finale are gonna play out and I should probably stop gushing or I will never finish this post lol.
(if you like yandere, I highly suggest this series!! Plus this is the only series with Kurobe Mai so... 👀)
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Text
Dollhouse
Relationships:
Greg/Gov
(And if you squint) Implied California/New York
Read on AO3
(This is a songfic using the song Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez)
Warning: angst
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey girl, open the walls
Play with your dolls
I sigh as I walk back into the statehouse again. 5 days a week, only Friday and Saturday for breaks.
I think the only real reason I kept this job was because of Gov, the states are just annoying.
We'll be a perfect family
"Oh Greg you're here! Great, we can start now! Can't have a meeting without filming an episode! Gotta get paid somehow..." Gov greeted mead I walked in. He mumbled the last part, but I heard it. Money's been tight, I realized that a while ago.
When you walk away is when we really play
Gov walks out of the room and immediately Florida runs at me, Louisiana and California close behind him. "Greg!! You're back!"
"I was gone for two days, Florida. You know I come back every time."
Florida isn't the brightest.
You don't hear me when I say
After the meeting, I go to speak to Gov. I always do, not that he ever listens.
"Mom, please wake up
Dad's with a slut
And your son is smoking cannabis"
"Hey I think California might finally have the whole Disneyland thing under control. It's safe to say he can handle himself now" I tell him.
No one never listens
"Sure, yeah" he mumbles, shuffling through papers on his desk.
This wallpaper glistens
"Alright, I'm gonna go sleep then" I tell him. Without waiting for an answer, I go upstairs to my room. It's next to California's and Texas'.
Don't let them see what goes down in the kitchen
Of course, they're fighting again.
I guess tomorrow might be a better day. 
Places, places
Get in your places
"Gov calm down, they're probably fine" Virginia tells Gov.
"No, they need to be here. They need to be sitting right across from me where I can see them or- or-"
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
"Greg, can you come comfort him? I'll try to find Loui and Florida" Gin asks me. "Yeah, sure." I reply.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
"Gov it's okay, nothing's wrong."
He's having a panic attack.
Please don't let them look through the curtains
"Gin will find them, they're okay"
"No, no they aren't I can't- don't-" he chokes between tearless sobs.
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
"I found them!"
"Virginia, thank God you're back!" I exclaim.
Gov takes a few deep breaths, "finally. Now I know you two aren't hurt."
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
"Alright everyone sit down in your seats, we're going live today" I say, the states mostly know to listen to me. Except New York. He does what he wants.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
"Alright, live in 3..
2..
1."
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Just after I finish my countdown, Gov shoots me a look that says "thanks for that"
I just simply nod and mouth, "don't thank me, thank Gin for findin' em"
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
The meeting was just as eventful as any other, Texas and Cal got into a fight, Florida passed some questionable laws and Loui just drank to avoid responsibility.
After the meeting was over I did what I normally do and take the video equipment first, then go back to the Table for my sound equipment.
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
On my way back, I see Cali and Texas still at the table, New York seemingly holding Cal back.
"Don't, B. It's not worth yer time" he tells them.
"Don't tell me what to do, York!" They pull away from him, "I can fight my own battles!"
I see things that nobody else sees
I leave before it escalates.
I don't wanna be part of this mess.
Hey girl, look at my mom
She's got it going on
Gov is in the kitchen, not drinking coffee for once.
Ha, you're blinded by her jewelry
When you turn your back
I walk closer to him instead of continuing to my room. It might be nice to have a normal conversation with him for the first time in who knows how long.
She pulls out a flask
And forgets his infidelity
Turns out I was wrong, “Gov what the actual hell are you doing?!”
He’s drinking.
“Louisiana!” I scream, the tone in my voice harsher than I meant it to be.
Uh-oh, she's coming to the attic, plastic
Go back to being plastic
“Mais, what was dat for?” He says as he runs down the stairs.
“Did you by any chance give Gov vodka?”
No one never listens
“Nah, you know I only drink daiquiris”
This wallpaper glistens
“Sure you do.. just leave okay? Find out who gave him the vodka if you can”
One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen
“I’m fine, Greg. Stop worrying so much” Gov says, his words are already slurring a bit.
“You need to get out of this addiction, Gov. You were doing so well, what even happened?”
Places, places
Get in your places
“It’s none of your business, Greg! Leave me alone! I hate all of you. You’re all useless.”
Loui looks hurt at the statement, but I just shake my head. Gov is an aggressive drunk, he doesn’t mean it.
He doesn’t mean it.
I just gotta remind myself that.
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
He doesn’t mean it towards the states.
He doesn’t mean it towards his coworkers.
He doesn’t mean it towards me.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
“C’mon Gov, let’s get you upstairs”
“No! Absolutely not! I have work to do!” He screams, shoving me away.
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Louisiana tries to help me calm him down. He tells him, “What would dey all think if dey saw you like this? ‘specially Flo’ida, you know how much he cares ‘bout you, even if he don’t show it.”
“Especially me” I mumble to myself now than anyone else. Gov and Loui can’t hear me.
“Gov,” I start, “Louisiana’s right. You gotta calm down. For the states if not for yourself.”
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
He doesn’t answer, which usually means I’m right but he doesn’t want to admit it.
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
I take the bottle away from him and place it on the kitchen counter. “Come on, Gov. Let’s go upstairs.”
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
We get to my bedroom and Gov sits on the bed. “You gotta stop this man, I hate seeing you like this” I say. Not that he’s gonna take me seriously but might as well try.
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
A few hours pass, most of the time Gov just sits there and complains about everything while I edit episodes and send some emails to Ben, Liv and a few others. We were going to have them make a guest appearance again.
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
After I finished my work, I joined Gov on the couch. He’s listening to true crime again, honestly I can’t blame him. That stuff is interesting.
Hey girl (hey girl)
Hey girl, open your walls
Play with your dolls
We'll be a perfect family
“Gov, you wanna go sleep? It’s gotten pretty late” I ask him.
“Mmm I don’t wanna get up” well, that’s a first.
Places, places
Get in your places
“Alright, stay here then. I’ll get you tea” I offer. “Coffee?” He pleads.
“Absolutely not”
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
I go downstairs to the kitchen to make tea and see Florida and Louisiana sitting at the table. “You okay, Florida? You look a bit off” I ask. I’ve gotten to know the states pretty well.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
“I-is Gov okay? I didn’t means to stress him out so much.. I- Loui told me what happened, Greg” he turns to face me.
Please don't let them look through the curtains
“He’s okay, Florida. I promise. He’s gonna go to sleep soon”
“Mais sha, I told ya he’d be alright”
“I guess you were right Loui, I just- I know I’m a lot of trouble but I’ll stop if he needs me to-“ Florida starts, but I cut him off before he can finish, “Florida, no! You make him happy! Sure, he gets stressed when you’re not in his sight but that’s because he feels responsible for you. Almost like a big brother”
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
“I see him as a big brother..” Florida lightly laughs, his voice bitter.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
“Seriously Florida, he’s okay. I promise.”
Please don't let them look through the curtains
“I believe you, Greg. Thanks.”
“Of course”
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
I see things that nobody else sees
I grab the tea cup off the stove and proceed upstairs back to my bedroom.
“Here, Gov. drink at least a little bit” I say, handing the cup to him.
“Thanks Greg, I don’t know what I’d- what any of us would do without you”
D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
“It’s my honor, Gov”
I see things that nobody else sees
We lay down next to each other in the bed, and when his hand accidentally brushed mine, my heart skips a beat. After a few minutes pass, the silence only proves Gov has finally fallen asleep.
I quietly get out of the bed and grab the tea cup to take it back to the kitchen.
“I love you” I whisper to him before closing the door to my room, “I really, really do”
I know he’ll never hear it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@uriahcantdraw
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