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phantombanquet · 15 days

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Main Story: Diasomnia Book Chapter 8 Episode 7-117: Preparation for Departure! (Translation)

Episode 7-117

⚠️ Major Diasomnia spoilers! Proceed with caution.

translation by: phantombanquet

Idia: MALLEUS-SHI, HUH~~~~!

THIS GRUDGE… SHOULD I LEAVE IT UNSETTLED~~!! ¹

If that happens, that pretentious inexpressive² guy, who usually keeps up his strong chara moves up in his sleeves…..

I can't help but feel sorry for myself if I don't see his pathetic figure sobbing with a runny nose and begging for forgiveness!

Now, what should I do…… Heh… Ehehehehehe!

Ortho: W-What a malicious scheming face…

This… May have angered someone who shouldn't be angered~

Idia: Heheh…… I'll show you. The ultimate power of a lone wolf³ trained in the gloomy “underworld.”

Just you wait, Malleus Draconia……

I'LL GET REVENGE BY SEIZING YOUR SPECIAL WEAKNESS!!!

Ortho: ……That's all.

From the magical disaster caused by Malleus Draconia until the awakening of Idia Shroud. This concludes the progress report.

Grim: Oohh~~! While we were fightin’ over in Lilia's dream, that's what happened to you guys.

Silver: I see. So Idia-senpai and Ortho are outside of the magical realm. It means that there is support coming from the real world.

Idia: Y-Yeah, t-that sort of thing…… Well, for now, we'll be playing a dummy video on the surveillance camera for a short while……

I can only do this much.

Sebek: So, even if you have woken up, Malleus-sama will fail to notice and the “darkness” will not attack you.

Ortho: Yes.. And like I said earlier, Malleus-san is currently……

Focused on putting Lilia Vanrouge-san to sleep.

So, I expect that he has not traced down the whereabouts of Silver-san and the others.

Sebek: Hm. I honestly want to praise your skills, but it is quite complicated when you are outsmarting Malleus-sama……

Idia: Well, that other guy is a battleship-like⁴ cheater so… We're still far off from completely capturing him.

Silver: However… I had no idea that Malleus-sama continued to expand his magical realm beyond the island……

Sebek: Furthermore, if the area is forcibly destroyed from the outside, there is a possibility that the trapped person's psyche could also become destroyed!?

Grim: Somehow it's a real mess for real.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Can we do something about this?

[Choice 2] Yuu: (If this continues on, Tsunotarou will become the enemy of mankind.)

Ortho: Yes. That's why we need your power!

Silver: Our… Power?

Ortho: Currently, the S.T.Y.X. staff is working together to assign ID numbers to the dreams of those trapped in the magical realm.

During that time, we captured your magical reaction as you “moved around on your own” in the dream.

Silver: Could it be that it was my “Meet in a Dream?”

It's my unique magic that allows me to cross between dreams……

Ortho: Yes! That one, that one!

When traces of someone moving from one human dream to another were discovered, the engineers at S.T.Y.X. were in a commotion.

So that was Silver-san's unique magic, after all. Magic is a really mysterious power, huh.

Silver: However, my magic is to reliably travel to the dream of the person I'm targeting after, like you guys. I can't call someone into my dream.

I don’t know what else to say; it's hard to explain… It's a very intuitive kind of magic……

That’s why I was really surprised when Ortho appeared in the Dream Corridor and led us here.

Ortho: What are you saying?

S.T.Y.X. prides themselves on their super computers and experts in magical engineering and magical analysis.

They tried their best to analyze magic and they finally found a way to travel from dream to dream.

Moreover, it is difficult to say that the current method is 100% reproducible so they said: “it's still a beta version.”

The mere fact that you can do it intuitively is astonishing.

Sebek: Hm. So the “power” that you need is Silver's unique magic?

Ortho: That's a part of it, too, but…

Sebek Zigvolt-san, Grim-san, and Yuu-san, your cooperation is essential.

Grim: Hmph! You're just trying to make us do the messy work, aren't ya!

Ortho: Wow♡ Grim-san, you talk too fast.

[Choice 1] Yuu: This pattern is similar to the headmage……

[Choice 2] Yuu: I don't see any other reason to be called out……

Sebek: Hmph, I don't like this sluggishness. Get to the point!!

Idia: S-So, uhhh……. While you guys were chattering in Lilia-shi's dream..

I-I was trying to think of a way to escape from my dream world……

Or rather, I've been trying to come up with a strategy to deal with Malleus-shi.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Is your strategy to get him to cry and beg for forgiveness while his nose is runny?

[Choice 2] Yuu: Is it a strategy to take revenge by capturing their special weakness?

Idia: Y-Yeah. That… Hih, hihi.

Anyhow, I made a video to explain that strategy…… W-Would you like to watch it?

Grim, Silver, Sebek: Video?

Idia: Waah~♪ Only good things have been happening lately~ It's so fun every day~ It's just like a dream~♬ Well. It was, in fact, really just a dream. Welcome, all you carefree people who live in the world of empty dreams. I am Idia Shroud. So for today, a cheat trick to create a dream world using magic — — was used by The Most Evil☆Final Boss Mage. Let me explain the strategy used by Malleus-shi. The magical realm that Malleus-shi created is kinda like a server running a huge MMORPG. And each dream of someone sleeping is managed individually. Malleus-shi is using himself and his alter ego to keep an eye on this server. To give you an idea, Malleus-shi is a server admin. And his alter ego is cracking down on users to commit violations in the online game — like a gamemaster. Malleus-shi, with the authority to operate and manage over the entire server, is currently in the state of a demon king who has the world right under his thumb.

Under Malleus-shi's control, we have NO chance of succeeding…… BUT! Because of the super geek hacker group S.T.Y.X. and Ortho's attack, all of the server's source code (construction formulas of the magical realm) has been analyzed and is now completely visible!

So — I'm going to use that data from my dream to develop and build a cheat tool. And then get rid of that damned invulnerable status! It seems like a perfect strategy at first glance, but in fact, there’s actually a flaw in this cheat strategy……. If Malleus-shi (the server admin) discovers this during development— IT'S GAME OVER IN AN INSTANT. But hold your horses! Despite that his alter ego uses autonomous magic, with the total population of Sage Island, monitoring and managing the dreams of about 20,000 people is not an easy task — even for Malleus-shi. If a problem happens here and there in your dream, there's a high chance that you'll have to deal with it by yourself! Therefore — I’ll be developing a cheat tool. I want you guys to catch Malleus-shi's eye and gather party members so we can subdue the demon king.

When everyone wakes up, we'll hand out invite codes that will allow them to travel to my dream.

Then, when all the preparations are ready, Malleus-shi will be lured to my dream and that's when the cheat tool that I developed turns on!! As planned, Malleus-shi's invulnerability will be canceled. And by using the invite codes that were diligently handed out, everyone will gather in my dream! We're going to beat him up with our sheer numbers of forces!

If things go as expected, Malleus-shi will also lift the spell and free us—! How was it!? “A lone wolf magician engineering guy explains how to capture the demon king in three minutes video.” If you think this video was good, leave a like! And this was Idia Shroud.

Grim, Silver, Sebek: ............

Idia: Ummm, e-everyone… Thank you for your attention. ⁵

Th-that’s why……

I ask you guys to go on a journey to gather “the strongest party members who will take on the challenge of defeating the demon king!”

Grim, Silver, Sebek: EHHHHH~~~!?

TO BE CONTINUED...

translator notes:

¹ - 「この怨はらさでおくべきか」 is an old Kansai (Osaka) dialect phrase. This phrase, although it seems like one will forever hold a grudge, actually means something along the lines of: “Shall I leave this grudge unresolved? (No, I actually have to solve this),” due to how the phrase is structured (which would be too deep to delve into but it’s mainly because of the か and べき/べし in the phrase).

² - 「スカしま」 is a Japanese slang usually used as an insult

³ - 「陰キャ」 is yet another Japanese slang used to describe someone with a gloomy or reserved personality or introverts. I used a known English slang instead of translating literally to preserve the meaning of the word.

⁴ - 「弩級 (どきゅう)」 is the Japanese translation of “Dreadnought,” which is a type of battleship in the early 20th century. Idia was just being a nerd again by using game-like terms so I decided to stick with using “battleship” instead of the literal translation.

⁵ - I wanted to note that Idia addressed them as 「皆様」which is a polite way of addressing others due to the inclusion of 様 (sama). Also, the “thank you for your attention” line was written as 「ご清聴アリガトウゴザイマシタ」 in the text instead of the usual 「ご清聴ありがとうございました」 which I think it's just to note Idia's personality www.

personal notes: this wasn't jp proofread so there might be inaccuracies;;; additionally aniplex jp actually posted the "how to subjugate the demon king" video but it's only available in japan.. you can still access it by using a vpn though~

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst translation #diasomnia #diasomnia chapter 8 #silver twst #sebek zigvolt #idia shroud #ortho shroud #twst grim #twst yuu #diasomnia spoilers #twst spoilers #phantombanquet #phantombanquet twst

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the-promise-has-been-made · 1 month

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Still thinking about Hadestown

How Eurydice's candle burned until she went to the Underworld, and then she lit it again in the end during Road To Hell (Reprise) and when the show closes with Hermes's final 'we're going to sing it again' and the lights in the whole theatre go out and it's just that little candle, that little light of hope left in the darkness and the silence followed by roaring applause and the cast bows.

How everyone knew what was going to happen and STILL at the end of Doubt Comes In when Orpheus turns, there were audible gasps and sobs in the audience because the tension was OFF THE CHARTS. And then there is just the silence of their final farewell and no one on the audience seemed to breathe.

Thinking about the little tremble in Hermes' voice when they ask Orpheus 'how far would you go for her?' Because this version of Hermes REALLY DEEPLY cares about Orpheus and Eurydice, and they have told this story many times and it still hurts them to see these two have their hearts broken.

Thinking about the audience not just being spectators, but actually there. Hermes acknowledges our presence before the show even starts by getting the same 'Alright!' from us as from the cast. The fact all characters introduce themselves to the audience. And again, before Wait For Me (Reprise), they tell Orpheus and Eurydice that he have to prove before Gods and men that they trust each other and their love, and that includes us, the audience. There are moments throughout the show where characters make active eye contact with people in the audience (usually inthe front row because those are visible, but I never once had the impression that the characters were unaware of our presence. We were part of the wall, part of the workers, part of the people. And that makes this show so immersive that you can't help but feel with these characters.

#Hadestown #I will be crying about this show for a long time still #this is specifically about hadestown at the West End #Hadestown uk

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hogoflight · 4 months

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INCREDIBLY UPSETTING (me. It’s upsetting me.) HYPOTHETICAL VARIATION OF HYACINTHUS’ DEATH & REBIRTH:

OK we’ve got “Apollo grieves Hyacinthus so so so much he will not let him fully die and he becomes the Hyacinthus flowers”. And he is somewhat sentient as flowers. But how would Apollo feel, knowing and realising that every single year, Hyacinthus is dragged up from death to be reborn and split into thousands of little pieces of himself, to feel every single piece of himself dying and rotting and decaying individually, mere months after feeling a remote shadow of the life he once had? And this happens every single year!

WORSE THOUGHT: WHAT IF HYACINTHUS ASCENDS. and Apollo sees him alive again and he cries and sobs and clutches him so so tightly and is so relieved that he’s back and Hyacinthus is crying and laughing and holding him upright and they embrace and for a few months everything is so, so wonderful. Then Hyacinthus falls… ill. He shows signs of being poisoned. Soon, he cannot leave their bed, and sooner, he is gone once more. Apollo is utterly and wholly inconsolable, but not as inconsolable as he is next spring, once he sees Hyacinthus standing, once again, at the gates of Olympus, shaken and silent and slightly colder than he was last time.

How would they cope? Desperately holding and kissing each other (and yeah also doing each other) out of fear the next day may be one of Hyacinthus’ last, and as a way of trying to show how much they care without actually talking about anything? What if Hyacinthus grows jaded and his self-disgust takes root and grows as he sees how completely destroyed his Apollo has become out of worry of grief for him? How would Hyacinthus feel, knowing that even through climbing out of the underworld, through Greece, up Mount Olympus and through its gates, Apollo could and would only look at him like he’s already grieving for him (or maybe he never stopped)? What if they grow to feel deeply sick at the sight of each other for a tense, uncomfortable while? What if this snaps one day when Hyacinthus is very, very late for his usual arrival, when Apollo suddenly realises he chose to stay down, alone in Greece, Without him, to avoid seeing him again?

And what if, eventually, they learn to live with this cycle? What if they move to Hyperborea when Hyacinthus arrives (OKok this doesn’t make wider sense but IT’S OK) so they can see the world together, see what’s changed in the year he was gone, and spend the more of the moments they have gently basking in each others’ presence while they have it? What if every time Hyacinthus is brought above the ground once more, he visits places and friends he’s made in Greece, catches up with them, brings souvenirs and gifts and greetings to Apollo once he reaches him?

I imagine Aphrodite fits into this by either being the one to carry Hyacinthus into Olympus every time, out of care, or helping Hyacinthus on his journey to Olympus. which is very relevant bc he could choose to just stay in Greece during spring But also Of Course he goes to Olympus (almost…) every single time bc that’s where his love is. (His journey up to Olympus is therefore motivated by love and there’s no better person to guide that journey than the goddess of love herself!)

#YELLING #hyacinthus #apollo #IM SORRY…#(Artemis w Polyboea but i dont know anything about the potential religious context of that so. Assuming it works as a one time thing here!)#death #tw death #temporary death

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forestmossling · 2 months

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this is fucking- this is just absolutely fucking-

me, holding a dagger to your throat: READ THIS.

this is absolutely astounding. every part of this series, every pov, they’re all just absolute fucking masterpieces. every relationship dynamic, every plot line, all of it is just absolutely perfect.

robin unwillingly hating eddie for filling the place steve left behind, dustin creating a steve character after his death (that had me in a fucking CHOKEHOLD), and don’t even get me started on lucas’ pov. the way i was full-on ugly crying so much i couldn’t fucking see the screen through my tears. when i posted about getting destroyed by mourning in fics, this series was what i was talking about.

hopper being steve’s dad was probably one of the best things in the entire world. there are a lot of fics where hop acts as a father figure to steve, but this - this is IT. grand fucking prix of dad!hopper fanfiction. and steve-will-eleven sibling dynamic exploration is something i would both live and die for.

and THIS. are you fucking kidding me?

the fact that hop not actually being proud of him and not thinking he was brave was steve’s worst vecna-level nightmare? and hop going from not being able to tell steve to his face that he’s proud of him in gulag but finally telling him (where we can see it) during his breakdown?? literally, with all due respect, i am absolutely demolished.

and vecna being “the kid’s literally deaf, how hard can it be?” and eddie going “not on my FUCKING watch, motherfucker”.

the life they built with each other in the aftermath, the STEDDIE - oh my god, THE STEDDIE. the steddie was sure steddie-ing. steve finally accepting that he deserves love and making the first step, eddie NOT making the first step, because he KNEW something was holding steve back (at least that’s my interpretation and i’m sticking to it), all the awkward flirting and the soft moments. just- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHRDSVIDEDHKBDEDFIDDCHJDJSJABAJCODGAHWK.

the way everybody learned asl for steve and even the kids at the library picking it up (and, oh my god, THE LIBRARY. everything about it was just so precious to me), the world the author built around the party, the way it fit so well while not taking away from the main characters.

el/dustin, being an incredibly unexpected, but just as incredibly cute pairing. also, el and steve bonding over being jocks is just amazing and wonderful (i’m not talking about lucas and steve bonding over being jocks because then i’ll just start sobbing again. i will never be the same after the lucas’ pov)

just, i’m dead. @greatunironic, you fucking killed me and i thank you for it.

95438461926840264531438956/10, GO READ THIS. RIGHT NOW.

#steve harrington #get steve harrington to be loved and appreciated agenda #jim hopper #robin buckley #platonic stobin #eddie munson #steddie #dustin henderson #eleven stranger things #will byers #joyce byers #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #fic rec #stranger things #i’m dead but what a way to go

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icycoldninja · 10 days

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Hello. I have a head canon question. If Vergil was to find love only to have them killed…so he loses them like he did his mother

how does he react…does he silently grieve or does he storm into the underworld to make Mundus…..because of course it would probably be him pay

Aww, super angsty! Enjoy!

Vergil x Reader killed by a demon headcannons

Tw: Death and injuries incoming, if you are uncomfortable with these themes, DNI!

-When Vergil came home and found the house trashed and you missing, he flipped into hunting mode.

-He would find whoever did this, no matter how long it takes, and boy God, does he get MOTIVATED.

-He scours the entire country, looking for you, not even bothering to catch a wink of sleep. He's too tense, too nervous, too afraid of losing you.

-When he finally finds you, he's beyond devastated. How could he let this happen again? Didn't he have enough power? Why'd you have to be taken away from him, just like Mama?

-Shocked, Vergil collapsed to the ground, unable to take his eyes off you. Tears start to well up in his eyes, and he wishes you could hold him till they disappear, like you always do.

-Gingerly, tearfully, he scoops your cold corpse into his arms and cries. He doesn't care that people might find him, or about his pride anymore. He's just so heartbroken that he lost the love of his life, his soulmate, his best friend, his literal everything.

-He kneels there for a long time, sobbing his heart out till his eyes burn. When he's done, he wipes his tears and gives you one last kiss, before lifting you up and taking you somewhere senic where you'll be buried.

-After this, Vergil is a changed man. He is even colder and more MOTIVATED than he used to be, except now his motivation isn't you, it's to avenge you.

-He opens a portal to the underworld and slays every demon in sight, making his way for Mundus's chambers. When he finds them, that old mass of flesh is screwed.

-It takes a while--nearly weeks of nonstop fighting, during which Vergil sustained heavy, excruciating injuries that made him wish he could just die and get it over with, but the thought of avenging your untimely death is enough to pull him out of his miserable trance and MOTVIATE him to keep fighting.

-Eventually, Vergil wins; Mundus and nearly all the demons of hell are dead, and for a moment, Vergil knows peace.

-You can rest in peace now, your boy did it; he avenged you and slayed all the demons in hell in the process. He hopes that way up in heaven, you're proud of him.

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quitealotofsodapop · 15 days

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¿que hubiera pasado si la Reina Madre y el Emperador de Jade hubieran conocido a Red Son cuando apenas era un bebé de unas pocas horas de nacido?

translated via google:

"What would have happened if the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor had met Red Son when he was just a baby a few hours old?"

ooo thats a good question

The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother would still be a little mad at Tieshan/Iron Fan for abandoning Heaven, but the sight of her healthy and alive would overwhelm even that. Iron Fan had almost died during Red Son's birth, and Guanyin was on hand for the delivery (being the goddess of safe childbirth).

I can imagine while Iron Fan is still resting after the birth + DBK is distracted (hard to do seeing how he wouldn't leave his wife and newborn alone for even a second), the royal couple arrive to get a good look at Red.

And their hearts just melt.

A tiny demonic calf, hair as red as fire itself, grumbling in his cradle like being brought into the world was an inconvience.

The Queen Mother sees her own True Fire burning deep within the baby's soul. No matter how the Celetial Realm or Underworld would deny it - Red Son is her grandchild. Tears in the Empress's eyes land on the baby's face, causing him to make an angry "Moo!". She can only place the tiniest kiss upon his forehed to pass on her blessing, less she begin sobbing like a child.

The Jade Emperor is more stone-face. He sees his and Tieshan's eyes in this demon, this half-divine whelp, and his heart and mind are battling over what to feel. Disgust or adoration? Or maybe fear? He can only leave a small blessing for now. He has much to think about.

Their visit is cut short by the return of DBK - alerted to his son's awakening.

The Queen Mother and Jade Emperor leave a gift of peaches and wine as the only sign of their presence.

Red Son isn't exactly sure what his mother's connection to the Emperor and Queen Mother is - only that she was a "family member" that was exiled during the War. Oh how he underestimates his place in Heaven.

#lmk xiwangmu #lmk queen mother of the west #lmk jade emperor #lmk red son #lmk pif #lmk princess iron fan #lmk dbk #lmk demon bull king #lmk demon bull family #lmk aus #lmk #lego monkie kid

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antvnger · 27 days

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So, I follow a musical based off of the Odyssey, and they just released the part where Odysseus goes through the Underworld. What got me sobbing is he meets the souls of those he lost during his journey down there. The 558 men that served under him until Poseidon unleashed his wrath, one of his best friends Polities, and his mother. And this is how he found out his mother passed away and I am not okay.

-Meme Lord

(The musical is called Epic the Musical btw 10/10 would recommend)

Oh ouch! What a way to find out your mom passed away…oh shit, that hurts me to think about. I’d cry too, Meme Lord.

Epic the Musical, huh? What, is that on YouTube or something?

#ask scott lang #scott lang #ant-man #meme lord #musicals #epic the musical #the odyssey #odysseus #tw death #ant man #antman

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summermoonshine · 9 months

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It was late August ;

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader.

Click HERE for the AO3 version. Synopsis: the tale of a summer... and its end. Content: angst; romantic; bit of fluff; slice of life; GhostxReader; Note: I cried, bye.

It was late August ;

But before that, it was a peaceful May night that turned into June when your eyes met for the first time, and with June came the bright stars, the clean skies, the colourful flowers, the heat that turned into warmth on his torn and tattooed skin, the fresh nocturnal wind and birds chirping a less harsh dawn than the winter one.

A dawn shared, after so many years, with someone by his side.

His shoulder dropping its weight lightly on yours, and that crisp, new feeling of possibility.

In mid-June his first laugh; a real laugh, not a smile, not a smirk: a sincere laugh that made his eyes shape like two crescents.

Your heart skipped the first of many more beats, and when your hands found each other for the first time – when you two were sitting on the hood of his SUV looking at the lights of the sleeping city – you knew not to have been born by chance, and that you didn't want to spend that night alone.

After that one, many others followed.

Your clasped hands were enough, though; there was no need for anything else if you had each other.

His insomnia, always present, had become almost a gift: your profile illuminated by the first summer moon, your hair ruffled by the silk pillowcase, your little kissable nose; his arms around your little body.

''Get away from me, doll. There's still time'' - he whispered in the crook of your neck at the end of June.

Each night, every night; softly.

''Go, get away from me. You know I don't deserve you.'' He held you tight, kissed your round cheeks, full of life and sweet as juicy peaches.

''Run away, hurry, I don't have to see you…” He used to say.

“But how, how can I do it if – even if I wish you would leave me – I don't want to lose you?'', and he held you tight and close again, like no one had ever done, kissing your back.

Again, again, again.

''I'm not what you believe me to be, forgive me, doll. I didn't fall from the sky: I re-emerged from the underworld. I'm only capable of losing the ones I love the most'' – he said one night in mid-July.

His perfume, his big body curled up and sweaty stuck to yours, so gentle, healthy and clean compared to his, full of scars, cuts, history: was he sobbing?

Your long, black eyelashes, your big eyes, your relaxed face.

They were the only things that kept alive that man who had been believed dead for years, perhaps since ever, during these months.

Your delicate hands, so tiny, soft – healings, were saving him with every touch of yours.

"Touch me only with your eyes" he had whispered one evening on your doorstep with his camo still on and the tiredness of a day spent in the barracks written in the eyes, but you knew well that what he meant was something else.

So your sweet and full lips had touched his above the mask fabric and it had slipped away, his shampoo-scented dark blond curls had welcomed your hands as if it were natural, and his skin, when you began to taste it in every corner of his body, had become your favourite flavour in this universe.

"I only know how to deceive, make people suffer and make them cry. Stop before it's too late, doll", but you wanted him; and he wanted you.

You knew it and he knew it too.

That strong pain in the centre of his chest suggested it to him whenever he looked at you, whenever he loved you at night, between the creaks of an old creaky bed and a distant, barely lit, strawberry and mint scented candle; lit just like that small - but still alive - flame that lit up the big broken heart of that so big, so sad, but so damn good man for, to and with you.

The first nights of August were a continuous fire.

And there was no sun that could compare with what you and he had created: you were explosive.

Your lips spoke a sweeter and warmer tongue; the pain you didn't know was now infinite pleasure, and his kisses cured everything you thought your body couldn't handle - but in the end you always made it, and this ending was the most delicious ever. Your moans were the fuel of that tireless man and his coaxing sweet, pillow talk.

“I have no eyes, no heart for anyone. None but you, you…” and a warm tear ran down his cheeks and settled on your abdomen. He remained embraced by your hips, your pale hands in his now freshly buzzed hair for the upcoming mission.

It was almost, but his 100 kg resting on your lap reminded you that it wasn't time yet, that it wasn't the time yet, that he was still talking to you.

Because yes, he talked, he always used to talk to you at night. He thought you were asleep, but you were not.

But how? How do you do such a thing? What do you say back and why? The sunlight hardened him, pushed him away from you; the night joined your paths and his heart seemed able to beat, to come back to life. And so you had always kept silence in those moments just to hear his voice, even though you were the real chatterbox - his favourite one. A real relentless talker, always with something to say and that bright smile ready to pain his heart.

He, collector of your speeches, your words, your fears, weighed the words as if they were dangerous, but how many times would he have wanted to tell you that you were his truth, his tranquillity and his cure; that you were saving him, that there was only you, that he had placed his destiny in your hands; because he knew it would all end - that it would have to end, that he had to save you, that all this was an illusion, a delirium, the most difficult torture he would have had to face at the moment of saying goodbye, because he knew he didn't have much time left in his favour.

“Before time runs out, I want you to know that you’re the love of my life. I owe you this, I owe you everything, my doll’’ –

Simon would have wanted to tell you this each and every time that you were next to him, that you were away from him, that you crossed his mind, that he smelt your smell or just imagined it, but nothing like that had ever crossed his lips.

Too hardened as he was by the life itself, he did not feel worthy to speak of love, nor to be worthy of being loved.

It was late August when you, the girl with her head on the moon and up in the clouds, were hit by the biggest pain bomb you've ever experienced and which - you were sure - you would never get over.

Silence had stolen all your words, and that strawberry and mint candle went out at the exact moment in which the house intercom had rung and that man in a uniform, who was not YOUR man in uniform, had handed you the box that now – at this precise moment – you have in front of you, on the low wooden table in the living room crafted by none other than the man you’ve been missing for the past 3 weeks; the table where you lean as if under anaesthesia in search of support; your heavy eyes wear out at the sight of those objects rigorously placed next to each other, as if by keeping them close you could piece together a puzzle whose pieces are burning in front of you.

A crumpled, bloodstained envelope.

Inside of it: a small photo of you and a yellowed sheet: just a couple of short sentences written on it.

On the table, next to this letter-like hurtful bomb, a plastic bag with a metal plate with some letters engraved on it: a military dog tags.

''Lieutenant Simon Riley ''Ghost'', RH+, 237509, Unknown, other''.

You re-read the sentences written in black ink on the blood-stained sheet of the letter: the endearing handwriting that you loved so much and that will never again be able to hatch words, and yet another hot, stinging tear scratches your face and breaks your soul into dust:

"I know you've always been awake. I will come back to hug you every night. I promise, doll.

I am sorry, thank you and… I love you.

Yours forever,

Simon."

It was late August when silence devoured your life, when the wind turned cold and life became a distant diary memory;

It was late August when his heart stopped beating – and so did yours.

It was just late August…

🥀

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traumxrei-archive · 1 year

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【 book 6 thoughts ! 】

i said i'd share my thoughts, so here they are so far >:DD

part: one, two, three, four / ??

[ warning: spoilers for book 6 up until 6-16 under the cut !! ]

[ about : overblot lore drop ]

it took yuu long enough to actually TELL CROWLEY that grim was eating those rocks :')))) makes 110% sense that grim would lash out if he's been ingesting 5-overblot's-worth of purified blot

but also, i...can't believe it took twst this long to actually explain what was going on when we were fighting the overblots jsfksdfk like this whole time i've been assuming that people just. get knocked out or tired, but what they explained made so much more sense.

crowley has said that overblotting is rare. but then how come at nrc ?? there's been 5 consecutive overblots in less than a school year ?? (the twst timeline so far is from sept till around feb, bc book 5 was set during a "spring festival" iirc) the reason they don't know enough about overblots is bc they don't have enough subjects who have overblotted to research, so... i do wonder if there's something else at play here, maybe something has changed in NRC since yuu came ?

[ about : ortho lowkey scares me ]

ortho honey....wdym do we need bring back the target alive.....ofc we need grim alive sobs (the juxtaposition between his youthful n polite way of talking + the way he literally knows everything bc his brain is the internet kinda scares me a lot.)

[ about : vil's apology ]

i made a separate post to talk about this bc i started writing n it really got too long, so yes. but also. vil whipping out 50k madol like it's nothing. his acting career has really done him well.

and kalim donating it to ramshackle, my beloved. he's so nice. even while he's saying "it was sO RUN DOWN !!" as kalim was listing out the bad stuff abt ramshackle, i wonder how yuu was able to LIVE in this dump for 6 months.

[ about : ROBOTS ???? ]

HELLO ?? INTRUDERS ????? ROBOTS ?? WHAT ????? they're ignihyde blue....also the boat ? logo ? on their arms ??? what the heck does that mean ??? ok wait i can vaguely read out letters on their arm,,,styx ?? like the river styx in the greek underworld ? having a headache, are we gonna see the underworld somehow in this book ? wait, if the facility or whatever is called styx, are these robots the "charons" ? they're carrying oar-like staffs + they're trying to capture targets D and E and bring them in,,,,kinda like how charon brought souls in a boat to cross the styx river in myth. (also i was right, leona called them ferrymen >:DD)

(n they have grim. interesting that they'd ignore yuu tho, considering it was them who is the string that connects all the overblots.)

(also don't you just hate it when you win the battle, but then in canon the chars actually lost the battle. so you're just sitting there like -_-)

[ about: ob gang's capture ]

it was. very in character how each of them got captured.

vil and jamil were protecting other people (aka the freshmen, and in jamil's case, kalim) vil is really big on his responsibilities, so even though he authorized the use of magic, he still told the freshmen to stand back bc he knew they were unskilled in combat magic n that they'd get hurt bc they don't know hot to properly defend. meanwhile, jamil was probably covering any of kalim's blindspots + making sure he doesn't get hurt while looking for places where he could attack.

riddle went out with a bang, they hit him with a paralyzing beam, and he still had enough magic power to set everything on fire before they could hit him again. he also authorized everyone to fight, bc he probably believed that a group effort could take them down. as always, his sheer firepower is very impressive, the amount of magic he has and his attacking prowess is...wow.

leona....protected ruggie from harm first, saving him from glass and telling him to back off. and then he immediately scanned them to identify who they are. and of course, leona of all people, would know who they are. i think people forget, but a large reason why leona's so smart and why he skips class is bc he quite literally learned all that material when he was younger. the fact that he was the only one to recognize anti-magic plates meaning that resistance was futile and the logo from his time at the palace. (and that moment between ruggie and leona,,,,leona knows that he can trust ruggie w/ the wellbeing of savanaclaw until he returns T^T)

meanwhile azul was with idia, even though he didn't know what was happening, he got extra info from idia n ortho,,, the way azul was about to fight and idia went don't bother (bc he actually likes azul as a friend bro), and ortho went "the chances of you sustaining an injury drops by 87% if you don't struggle ^^" also. idia being concerned ? kind of ? by the ferrymen's forcefulness while coming in and taking the students is nice to see (and i KNEW it. i bet that idia's parents, or the shroud family in general, runs this Styx facility)

and they took crowley ?? crowley seems to know exactly what's going on, so i wonder why they didn't coordinate their...pick up with him beforehand (they legit destroyed so much public property + trespassed for no reason)

[ about : the plane ride ]

it's scary how they're all in a cramped dark space flying to who knows where. like how inhumane ?? they're about to take these people to do research w/ them, but clearly they don't care that they're humans, and they treat them more like convenient test subjects that have converged coincidentally in one school.

RIDDLE SLEEPING ON LEONA'S LAP IS SO FUNNY SJFDKSJFKS I CANTTTTT the way his leg was probably cramping,,,,three hours w/o moving and someone sleeping on you, he has so much patience onggg

[ about : styx ]

so...styx is an organization that does research on blot. it makes perfect sense why crowley would know they'd come knocking, since they have had 5 overblots that one school year. and the shroud family are "the watchman of the isle of woe". leona explains that they take overblotted mages there. what i don't understand is why countries can't interfere with them ?? or is it that they won't interfere with their research bc...styx' research benefits them too perhaps...?

from what leona said, they handled extreme overblot cases that regular magic marshals couldn't handle aka ones that can't un-blot anymore, so why are they coming after the ob gang ? not only were some of their overblots months ago, they've also all safely un-blotted, and transitioned back to normal life... ig my question is why them, and why now.

(it's a cool detail that the ob gang actually got help after their overblots. like it wasn't like everyone just picked up where they left off, vil mentioned medical mages and proper counseling, and that means that they were able to talk to someone about the things that troubled them.)

[ about : idia's family ]

not only do they run the jupiter conglomerate, aka the google of twisted wonderland, they might also run styx ? idia did ask the charon dudes if his mom and dad were away, ig this is what the shroud family ACTUALLY does behind the scenes of their big tech and energy business.

it also explains why idia deleted all those prospective work emails in the end of book 5,,,,bc he just knows that he won't be able to work or pursue any of his other dreams. his fate has been sealed since day 1 bc he was born a shroud, so he's probably going to end up having to take over Styx and its research in the future.

(and azul. being as on-brand as ever and saying he should've made idia in debt to him....sir, his family legit just kidnapped you, chill)

[ about : iDIA SHROUD ?? ]

HELLO. IDIA SHROUD ACTING DIRECTOR OF STYX ???? that means that his parents DO own styx, and that they're letting him run it for now while they're doing other things.... also i really hope that the ob gang don't get hurt hhhh

aaaannd i'm stopping here bc it's late, i did not realize that so much time had passed...i'm tempted to keep playing but i must sleep. n e ways yea this was just me rambling about what was happening as it happened, so i hope you...enjoyed ?? (if you did read this far)

#/trau rambles #whew book 6 has been a RIDE so far #i'm so excited to play more tomorrow :DD #book 6 spoilers #twst book 6 #chapter 6 spoilers #twst chapter 6 #idia shroud #vil schoenheit #jamil viper #riddle rosehearts #azul ashengrotto #leona kingscholar #ortho shroud #twst grim #kalim al asim #twisted wondeland

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nyquil-guzzler-420 · 1 year

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Yeah man we're just bro's chill out-

but also heyyyyy when you are to die defending my honor, and I am to lay waste to army's fighting in my grief at your loss, slaughtering trojan men and horses and dozens of animals, placing them on the most grand funeral pyre mortals can make, whilst sobbing relentlessly over your body just as widowed women do- Then when I eventually die on the battle field and have no more fight left in me- Can we have our ashes mixed together so we can be eternally intertwined during our descent into the underworld? Yknow, just as bro's.

#patrochilles #trojan war #iliad #troy story #patroclus #achilles #agamemnon #odysseus #hector of troy #paris of troy

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basicrese · 5 months

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oh my gods i could cry right now, i really could.

so here's my reactions to the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians (long post ahead):

Episode 1

To start, I know we've seen and heard this from the trailer and sneak peeks already but hearing the line for real from the first episode, oh I almost lost it right then and there. This has been YEARS in the making.

Baby percy already embodying the snark and sass from facial expressions and internal monologue alone, i love him

In a similar regard, I know we've already seen it from sneak peeks but the possible Blackjack cameo made me so happy 🥹

The portrayal of the mist is everything I wanted and more actually

Sally being a Medusa ally, i know that's right!!!!!

"appointment to see Mr. Kane?????" "at D'angelo's??????" They're making me go crazy because all these subtle name drops and I have no idea if they're just tiny easter eggs or if they mean something in the long run 😩😩

the design for Mrs. Dodds as a fury?????? absolutely amazing and I love how they carried that entire scene out; how she was there one moment and gone the next and that Percy didn't suddenly turn into this invincible warrior. It perfectly set up the suspiciousness of what just happened because it all happened so fast and there was no room for Percy to process what actually happened because suddenly no one even knows who she is. BUT YET there's a momentary flicker of guilt and hesitation in Grover's face and curiosity in Mr. Brunner's (just as it was written!). You can almost hear Percy's inner monologue doubting their words because it didn't add up to their body language but simultaneously doubting his narrative too because everyone is proving what he saw otherwise.

"I'm all wet now" as Sally, dripping wet because she had just been basking in the rain, goes to hug him. there is little to none seriousness in this child's body

"You fell in love with God? Like Jesus?" unseriousness.

the very intentional lighting during the goodbye scene in the way it only cast golden on half of Percy and Sally's faces

the depiction of Sally being crushed like ofc we know she's being held captive in the Underworld BUT PERCY DOESN'T AND HE THINKS HE JUST WATCHED HIS MOTHER DIE IN SUCH A BRUTAL WAY RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS EYES I COULD SOB LIKE THE WAY HE FOUGHT? THAT WAS ALL RAGE AND DESPAIR.

ngl Percy just dropping names left and right made me so anxious with the whole "names have power thing" HJGKLDSBSG had me going "don't say his name out loud!!" during the car scene

oh that end-credits was gorgeous. and the way it depicts the entire story even ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

the sneak peek of camp after the credits, we're about to eat!!!

i did not realize rick even cameoed until i saw it on twitter help

Episode 2

"You drool when you sleep." SCENE EVERYBODY CHEERED

Mr. D passed out while holding a can of coke is the only way he could have been introduced actually (and the first Peter Johnson!)

The Big House is so pretty???

The vulnerability in Percy's voice when he was asking for help to find his dad i can't do this 🧎🏻‍♀️

THE. CAMP. IT'S SO VAST AND BEAUTIFUL I COULD ONLY DREAM OF TIMES LIKE THESE IN THE PAST. also the way i'm taking it right now is that the cabins are already so gorgeous so when annabeth revamps the place by tlo? they are going to go crazier with the set design i fear

the supposed red herring on the scoring that makes you think luke is gonna bully percy but he's actually a good guy that'll be a mentor figure to him WHEN THAT IN FACT IS THE REAL RED HERRING LIKE IT'S THE GENIUS OVER GENIUS FOR ME

i was kinda lost on who the other guy with luke and percy was at first until i realized it was chris. he doesn't know what'll happen to him when the fourth season rolls around like laugh while u still can chris

percy already advocating for the unclaimed, he has always been a real one!!!

grover you sweet little satyr i need to give him a hug. the protector also needs to be protected 🥹

the way i could tell there would be an answer to the god of disappointment joke help; like they're quips to you percy but they will actually have answers to every rhetorical question you throw their way 😭😭

"ignoring me is one thing, but he doesn't get to ignore you." one thing about percy, his mother always comes first 🙏

i can't get enough over the gorgeous cinematography I CAN'T

dior embodies clarisse's pride and cruelty with such accuracy but she's so pretty i wanna forget how mean she is LMAO

the percabeth dynamics already going so strong i could cry, like that first interaction???

i love ms. annabeth chase so much she is everything to me, the poise! the confidence! the leadership!

the capture the flag sequences oh it was everything

"I am Sally Jackson's son!" EXACTLYYYY

overall, i am going through the motions and it has been absolutely beautiful so far and everything down to the cast, crew, production, set design, costume design, scoring, cinematography has been done immensely well. i can't believe we're actually here 🥹💙

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shootinwebs · 15 days

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( Content Notes: substance abuse, overdose, misgendering, shitty dads )

"I can't imagine life without you. I don't want to."

Headcanon that Molly died first.

Angel hadn't seen her in ages. He never officially heard about her death. But he knew something wasn't right.

The night she died, he felt colder than he'd been in his life. He mistook it for substance withdrawal at first, but it kept getting worse.

He kept wrapping himself in more clothes and blankets, but he was still shivering and his teeth were clattering together.

He had phantom sensations of his socks being soaked with water, and he kept changing them only to experience the same thing. And he couldn't seem to catch his breath, as if his lungs had water in them.

He felt the saddest he'd ever been. Lonely, freezing, terrified. And he had no idea why.

On Molly's last day alive, she had what others would've called a hallucination during a bad trip, where she saw Anthony dead. But, to her, it was a premonition. She'd always been the daydreamer of the family, and believed in precognition and the supernatural.

But, it was, indeed, a premonition.

Though, everyone except Anthony had always called her crazy.

As much as she wanted to reach out to Anthony, to make sure he was okay, she didn't know where he lived, and didn't have a phone number for him. She had to search for him around the city alone.

The family had been fractured since the disappearance of their mother, Viviana. She had been her children's only sense of safety after they grew up enough to find themselves in the middle of the criminal underworld. She had wanted to protect them from that life, but their father had other plans.

Nick (ArackNiss) joined the mafia voluntarily. Molly ran away when she was seventeen. Anthony (who is Transgender and was socialized as a girl -- and was continuously viewed as such by his father) wanted to follow Molly. But he had to try and find out what happened to his mother. So he stayed close by in an undisclosed location -- which seriously didn't help his substance addiction, and neither did living in close proximity to his toxic father.

On the night when Molly was searching for Anthony, she visited all his usual stomping grounds... which wasn't good for her attempted sobriety. They were almost all places where people were either using or dealing. That, and she would've given anything that night to stop feeling that horrible sense of dread.

Late into the night, she was exhausted, miserable, and had no more places to search. All she could do was hope her fears about Anthony were wrong.

So when she saw someone dealing heroin behind a deli, she bought it.

And having not used any drugs in almost two weeks, and in her frightened state, she overestimated her tolerance.

She wandered down the street and underneath a bridge to use it. It was cold, raining. There was a puddle under the bridge that went up to her ankles, spilling into her shoes and soaking into her tights.

When the heroin kicked in, she slowly fell unconscious against the concrete beam she was leaning on. She then fell over, into the puddle, and when she didn't wake up, she drowned in four inches of water.

Meanwhile, Anthony saw Molly standing in his room, plain as day. But half of her was soaking wet and covered in mud, and she wouldn't respond when Anthony called her name. She just stood there shivering.

When Anthony stood up to touch her shoulder, she grabbed his arm so tightly and so suddenly that he screamed, and she disappeared as quickly as she'd stood before him.

Anthony started sobbing, terrified out of his mind.

And then, he did the same he usually did when he was scared and had no one to run to: he stumbled to his coffee table to put a needle in his arm.

Shaking so badly he could barely prepare it, and mindless with fear, he injected way too much -- while also noticing that his arm actually had a handprint in it, as if someone had truly grabbed it.

Realizing his mistake of a probable accidental overdose, and though he really didn't fucking want to, he called Nick (ArackNiss), told him his address, and said he was scared he overdid it and that he might die.

As much conflict as Nick and Tony had, Nick would never let him die.

But when the brothers and their father were at the hospital, Nick learned it wasn't up to him.

The responders, despite their efforts, watched Anthony quickly fall into a coma.

Nick was upset when he and his father were told the news, almost enough to cry. But he looked up at his father's face and saw no emotion whatsoever.

When it was just the three of them in the room, Nick wanted to stay, but his father insisted that it was time to go home, demanding that Nick immediately go back to the car.

Nick hesitated, turning and walking away slowly.

But just before he was out the door, he heard Tony's ECG monitor flatline behind him.

Their father had pulled the life support plug and killed him.

Nick slowly looked back as their father unplugged the monitor to silence it. And he watched as that evil man calmly took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Y'know, I don't remember which one this was, but both of 'em were always a waste of air, these girls," their father said, "Like I'm gonna spend a single penny in hospital bills to keep her carcass shitting the bed. Might as well get rid of the other one, too, so I don't have to keep 'em straight."

If Nick did any of what he desired in that moment -- called his father a monster, beat the shit out of him, pointed a gun at him -- there would be no children left.

Nick was the only one who showed up in the morning when there was a call to the family home that Molly's body had been found, and needed to be positively identified and claimed.

He had to bury both of his siblings. He recalled them saying they'd wanted to die together, and that neither of them could imagine life without the other. But all he could think about was how their father was what had sent the twins into a downward spiral and was ultimately responsible for them overdosing.

And he blamed himself. Maybe if he hadn't sided with his father to begin with, they would still be alive.

#hazbin hotel #angel dust #molly hazbin #arackniss #headcanon #trans!angeldust

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hangmansgbaby · 4 months

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Gunpowder & Lead O N E

Masterlist

Emory's POV is written by @mamachasesmayhem and Jake's POV is written by me.

Banners are POV changers.

"You can't be serious."

The look I sent my husband is lethal and would make lesser men cower. But not Jake. If anything, it amuses him. I swear the man gets off on trying to put me in my place.

A smirk crossed his handsome face, and I wanted to kiss it and slap it off when he replied. "Oh, but I am. Mayor Mitchell is throwing a banquet in honor of the task force in a few weeks, and all the beautiful spouses are expected to attend."

I'm damn near wearing a path in the dark concrete of the floor of The Underworld as I recount the conversation I had with Jake to the rest of the Furies.

"I'm not going. It's too close for comfort, we tempt fate enough as it is on a regular basis by being linked to these idiots! It feels like we'd be chumming the waters by going."

I stop pacing and place my hands on the stainless steel table in front of me, hoping the contrast in temperature helps me slow my breathing. Birdie's hand lands on my shoulder then pulls me upright and into a hug.

"Hey, it's ok, Em. Deep breaths," Her voice is soothing as she gently rocks me side to side. She's always been the voice of reason when I start to panic. "You don't have to go, it's not worth the stress, ok?"

Ever the realist and not afraid to give me the hard truth, Addie pipes in. "We'll support you no matter what, you know that. But it may not be the best look for the commander's wife to be missing from the event that is basically being held to celebrate his hard work."

I groan, realizing how bad it actually would look. I don't have time to dwell on it though, because the motion sensor for the front door of Cora's goes off. The live view of the detection pops up on the monitor on the wall and everyone's eyes snap to the screen. It's safe to say our jaws drop in unison when we see the panicked faces of none other than Penny Mitchell and her daughter, Amelia. A collective gasp leaves the group, and Birdie and I rush up to let them in, leaving Addie and Erin behind. It's our typical response in a situation like this, just in case it's a "married to a police officer" matter instead of a Furies one. We quickly push open the door, usher them inside, and lock it back.

"Oh my God, you two! What happened?!" I ask, wrapping Amelia in my arms and holding her close to my chest. She started working in the bakery part time last summer and she’s started to become like a daughter to me.

Birdie has an arm around Penny's shoulders as she guides her to sit in the cushy loveseat in the corner. Once the backs of her knees hit the chair, Penny collapses into it and begins sobbing. Amelia breaks not long after her mom and Birdie and I try our best to comfort them, something we've grown to be unfortunately good at doing. Once their cries slow to stuttered breaths, I offer to grab them some hot tea and they gratefully accept. When I return with two oversized mugs in hand, their faces are tear stained and swollen, but they each have a determined look in their eyes.

Amelia surprises me when she speaks up first. "We need a pomegranate scone, Mrs. Seresin."

If I wasn't already sitting down, I would have fallen flat on my ass at her statement. There's no way she knows about what really goes down in the Underworld, we keep it wrapped up tight during the daylight and are careful to make sure nobody overhears any conversations with potential clients. It takes a lot to fluster me, and I'm almost surprised with myself when I stumble over my reply. "Oh, uh...Mel...we don't have those available at the moment."

"Natasaha sent us," Penny's voice is rough as she replies. "She was dropping off something for one of the paralegals as a surprise from her boyfriend when she saw Amelia sitting in the car. I was inside, confronting Pete about his most recent affair, telling him that Amelia and I were leaving. I was so angry that the adrenaline presented itself as courage when I knew better than to speak out. My mom always said 'don't leave mad, just leave.' I should have taken that advice."

My brain buffers as I process what she's telling me. Why didn't Nat give us a heads up that they were coming like we all do with "direct referrals"?

"Miss Nat saw me in the car crying and tapped on my window. I was...I was the one who discovered dad was cheating on mom. I went into his office looking for a spare charger for my MacBook when I noticed his desktop was unlocked. I didn't mean to, but a notification came through and pulled his messages up. I took pictures on my phone and ran out like I was never there before he got back from the bathroom. I showed mom after dad had left for the day and we started packing immediately. I told Miss Nat what happened, that mom was inside telling dad we were leaving. She told me to tell my mom to bring me here and ask for a pomegranate scone. She said that y'all had a team that would hide us and protect us from dad. I don't know what happened after that, but she went inside and mom came running out a couple minutes later. Now here we are."

I'm blown away by how strong Amelia is, and my heart breaks at the same time as I watch tears steadily roll down her face as she explains what she knows. She curls further into her mom's side, finding comfort in the arms of her mom.

Penny clears her throat before continuing. "Pete had landed a pretty solid hit on me when we heard Natasha come in the door. He shoved me into the bathroom so she wouldn't see my injured face and I slipped out of the window and ran to the car while he was distracted. Nat saved our lives tonight..." she trails off, holding back more tears.

I move to wrap them both in a hug and Birdie does the same. "You're here and you're safe now. We've got you. Let's get y'all downstairs and into bed. You two get a good night's sleep and then we'll talk more tomorrow, how does that sound?" Penny nods her agreement, and we all make our way to the secret elevator leading to Safe Haven, the shelter we've put our hearts and souls into building. "Our operation is...a lot bigger than you think. You'll see some familiar faces around while you're down here, but I promise we'll keep you safe."

An hour or so later, the girls are settled into their apartment for the night and Penny has a burner phone on hand with instructions to call me when she's ready to talk. Birdie has filled the group in on the situation; Erin is dropping Penny's car off in the impound lot while Addie fiddles with the car’s tracking system. She'll make it look like they drove towards the border then disable the system all together. It's a wild goose chase we send the more...affluent offenders on. Most normal guys don't have the intelligence or the means to track the car of a runaway spouse, but Pete Mitchell has both of those things in spades. We quickly agree that no matter what Penny and Amelia decide to do, we will bring Mayor Mitchell to his knees. This is what we were made to do; remove corrupt men from power. Suddenly, I realize that the banquet is now a solution instead of a problem. As much as I hate it, I'll absolutely be going and using the opportunity to gather intel on who I now consider Public Enemy #1.

I tell everyone goodnight, then head home to see my husband. It's gonna be difficult keeping this one from him for now, but I've held onto bigger and badder secrets before. After learning about my alter ego, Jake has made it a point to wait up until I get home, refusing to fall asleep unless he's seen for himself that I'm home in one piece. He's barely keeping his eyes open, the exhaustion of the long day nipping at his heels, when I slip into bed next to him.

He immediately pulls me close and wiggles until we're both laid down, my cheek pressed against his chest and his chin resting on my head. "You always smell like cookies, smells so good," he mumbles against my hair.

I snuggle in closer, finding comfort in the warmth of his bare skin and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. "Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to flip out like I did."

His arm tightens around me and he leaves a gentle kiss on my temple. "No, Sweets. I'm sorry, I know it's a complicated situation and I shouldn't have pushed so hard."

"I'd be proud to be your arm candy, Commander Seresin." I look up at him with a smirk on my face.

Jake groans at being called commander when he's too worn out to do anything about it. "That was mean, Mrs. Seresin. I'll get you back for it later." He pauses as he turns to bury his face in my neck, whispering a soft "thank you" before he slips into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I discreetly slipped away from the counter to check on the Mitchell girls. Penny and Amelia don't care what happens to Pete, so long as they're far away from it and can lead a somewhat normal life afterwards. This is their home too, after all. Penny tells us that her family has some property with a cabin that Pete doesn't know about up in Montana, so we make a plan to get them out there as soon as possible and they'll stay until this is all sorted out. The next few weeks pass in a blur as we make our plan for the banquet. It's been hell keeping it from Jake, but the less he knows, the better. A few days after the girls disappeared, questions about where they were started popping up around town. Conveniently, its summer break for Amelia and Penny is self employed, so Pete explains away the worry by telling everyone it was a spontaneous, open ended mother/daughter bonding trip before Amelia's senior year of high school began.

“How’s the security detail going Mr. Commander?” Nat asks, dropping a stack of files onto her desk across from mine. I groan, tossing my own papers down.

“Explain to me why we’re setting up security for an event we aren’t even working but being honored at?” I question, Nat laughs from behind her coffee with the logo of my wife’s cafe in clear view. “How’s Em this morning?”

“Dreading tonight.” Nat responds. “Are you really making her go?”

“Mayor Mitchell was very specific about bringing our significant others.” I state clearly.

“Let me correct myself.” Nat leans over the desk, lowering her voice. “Do you really want to bring your wife, THE Persephone, to a banquet honoring the task force meant to bring her and all of our significant others in for murder? Do you realize how many Furies are gonna be in that room?!” She shouts in a whisper.

I do realize how many will be there, all of them. Besides Bob and I'd wives there's still Addie and Erin who are dating Bradley and Javy, respectively.

“The girls are smart, Nat. No one will be the wiser to the Furies wining and dining under their noses.” I brush off her concern. I am fully aware of the abilities of my wife and her sisters. They’ll be fine, I know it.

“Well your wife isn’t entirely sure of that.” Nat states. “Perhaps you should talk to her.”

“We’ve talked, Nat. She’s going and everything will be fine.”

Birdie comes over a few hours before the banquet so we can get ready together. Usually, we'd have Attie with us, but she's tied up in a case that's in the middle of deliberation. I have a tendril of Birdie's hair wrapped around the barrel of the curling iron when she pins me with a look through the mirror.

I sigh, knowing something is on her mind and she won't chill until she tells me about it. "Alright, out with it."

"So you're really gonna do recon on the former police commander turned mayor at a banquet in his own home?" She asks, clearly concerned.

"It's the best opportunity," I shrug.

"That's not what I'm worried about," she says with an eye roll as I unwind her hair into the perfect loose curl.

"What are you worried about then?"

She raises her eyebrow in question. "Really?" She questions before sighing. "Hades isn't gonna like this."

I have no control over the scoff that escapes me, honest. "He doesn't even know about Mel and Penny. And what Hades doesn't know, won't hurt him."

"No, you idiot. He won't care that you didn't tell him about the girls. He's gonna be mad as hell if he finds out you're running an op as Persephone when you're supposed to be there as Emory Seresin. The wife of Jake Seresin, commander of the Spartans? The very same Spartans that are being honored at the banquet we're attending for their efforts to stop the Furies? Ringing any bells?" Birdie's hands flail as her voice rises to a higher pitch with each word.

Damn her for always being logical.

"It's gonna be fine, B. Like you said, I'll be there with my husband, Jake. Not my literal partner in crime, Hades." I continue curling her hair, acting like I've got it all under control and like I'm not freaking out on the inside.

She lets me sit in the quiet for a few minutes as I finish up, and I think I'm in the clear until we've slipped into our dresses and I'm buckling the clasp of my heels around my ankles. Jake and Bob, who had been at the Floyd home, drinking beer and watching football, come through the front door. Their boots are heavy on the steps as they climb up the stairs to make sure we're ready to go.

Birdie's eyes land on me once more, giving me one last warning in a low murmur. "It's not too late to call it off. You know Jake will lose his shit if he catches you, Em."

"Good thing he won't catch me then," I grin.

The boys step into the bedroom, looking dapper in their wife coordinated shades of green. Jake is in a sage green button up under a gray blazer that matches his slacks, with my favorite cowboy hat of his resting atop his head. If I wasn't in full Fury mode, we'd probably be late for dinner. Bob's wearing a mossy green button up with black slacks and his hair has grown out enough to curl behind his ears. They both let out whistles of appreciation when they spot us.

Birdie and I are both wearing white dresses, and the irony is not lost on us. I opted for more of a boho feel, a satin maxi dress with thigh high slits, cut outs around my ribs, and a shimmery ring that connects to a halter top. B looks like a modern-day Marilyn Monroe in a silky, cap sleeved, backless midi dress with her blonde curls. Thanks to smudge proof lipstick, both of the boys get kisses to return their appreciation. They're the epitome of southern gentlemen as both of their palms find their homes on the small of their wives backs, escorting them down the stairs. Each couple heads their separate way with plans to drive separately. Jake helps me into the passenger seat of his truck before climbing into the driver's side. As we pull out of the driveway, I notice that the brake lights of Bob's truck aren't illuminated and I chuckle.

Jake reaches across the console to grab my hand and brings it to his lips for a kiss before he asks, "What's got you giggling over there?"

"They're definitely getting a little carried away over there. How much you wanna bet they sneak off together before the fourth course starts?"

The laugh that leaves my husband feels like sunshine on my soul and the guilt for keeping him out of the loop comes creeping back in.

"I say they make it through the fifth. Winner gets to use the handcuffs?" His dimples are prominent when he grins, and I'm half tempted to make him pull over for a second so I can climb into his lap and put my thumbs in them.

Already slipping into my Persephone persona, I don't fight my smirk when I reply. "Game on, Commander."

Game on, indeed.

“You know, when I announced I was campaigning for Mayor, I figured most of Austin would laugh at me. I mean, I was the Commander who hadn’t ranked in 20 years and the minute I got the offer I retired to focus on my family. Not really a look everyone wants to vote for.”

Many of the fellow policemen in the hall laughed at Mayor Pete Mitchell’s speech, including myself and my team who have at one point or another worked directly under him at Austin PD.

“But look where we are! 5 years later and I am 3 months into my first term as Mayor and we have accomplished so much!” Pete continues, earning applause from his audience. “But today isn’t about me. No, today is about the men and women assigned to bring down the vigilantes of Austin. Known as the Task Force to policemen, the Spartans in the media and heroes to the citizens of Austin, I simply know them as my friends. Here’s to them, may they find victory in bringing Persephone and the Furies to their knees.”

I eye my wife beside me who barely lifts her glass as high as everyone else at our table. I know she’s uncomfortable with the Spartan/Furies talk, especially at my work events. It’s her livelihood, her creation. “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She mutters, a soft smile graces her features.

“Make it through tonight and I’ll make it worth your while when we get home.” I whisper to her with a wink. Normally, Em would get THE look on her face and say something along the lines of ‘why wait?’ but tonight, her gaze doesn’t leave the mayor’s frame as he moves down to greet a few men in suits by the stage. “Sweets?”

“Can’t. Girls and I are meeting at the Underworld afterwards.”

Since when? They all agreed to take the night off. I literally just listened to Bob and Birdie make their own plans for when they get ho… oh. “Who came into the Bakery?”

“No one Jake, just a gloss over of expenditures.” She answers, eyes still glued.

“Then it can wait for tomorrow.” I say, resting my chin on her shoulder, kissing it as I come up. “Spend a night with your husband.” I almost plead.

“I can’t, Honey.” Emory replies more firmly, breaking her one way stare off. Erin Monroe chooses that moment to walk by from the other table and slips Emory a piece of paper.

“Oh we’re working early tonight now? ” I ask, my once soft gaze on her drops along with my voice. “I thought we agreed no Furies business.”

“It’s not.” She replies, tucking the paper into her clutch.

“You forget. I know when you’re lying, sweets.”

“I gotta use the restroom.” She suddenly stands, kissing my cheek. “I’ll be back.” She starts to walk away but I catch her wrist, standing so I can whisper in her ear.

“You wanna toe the line, Persephone?” I question, despite my low volume I can tell the words ring throughout her mind. My voice is deeper than normal, something I don’t do often.

“I’m not doing anything, Hades.” She stands firm.

“That's fine, but remember, sweets, even she obeyed Hades.” I nearly growl in her ear. Emory’s eyes widen as she looks up at me. “Don’t be too long sweetheart. Once you're done, we’re going to thank the Mayor and call it an early night, but neither of us are sleeping tonight.” I watch Emory trip over herself before she composes herself and quickly walks towards the restroom.

Bursting through the front door, I already have Emory pinned against the wall. Em groans as I attack her neck with bites and kisses. The sounds she lets out only spur me on.

“Jake.” She moans softly. “Please.”

“Now sweets,” I tease as my teeth scrape against the base of her throat. “You know good girls get what they want.”

She arches into my touch, moaning in frustration as I continue to kiss down her collarbone. I trail lower. My hand slips under her skirt. Her underwear is warm from her body heat. The soft silk feels so good against my calloused palm. Em gasps when my fingers brush against her clit. I smile into her skin as she tries to push my hand away. I don’t let up my assault on her neck. She bucks against me, trying to push me away. I growl a low warning into her ear before I take it into my mouth.

Her nails dig into my shoulder blades. I suck harder at her neck. A few seconds later, she starts to moan, her whole body arching into mine.

I feel her body tighten around me, her breath coming out in short gasps. It’s all the encouragement I need as I slip two fingers inside her. Fuck. She’s so tight. So wet. I start stroking slowly. I can see the beads of sweat building on her forehead. Her eyes are clenched shut. As I hit the right spot, she starts crying out.

“Oh fuck! Jake! Oh god! Please don't stop! I'm gonna come!” Her fingers tighten around my bicep as as soon as I can tell she’s ready to cum, I pull back making her wine as her orgasam becomes out of reach once again.

“I told you sweetheart, only good girls get to cum.” I grin down at her, leaning forward to give her another quick kiss but pulling away, just shy of her lips. “And you certainly were not one tonight. Now how about you race upstairs and show me how good of a girl you can be when you listen.” I chuckle as she shakes her head, grinning too. I slowly walk behind her as she runs into our bedroom. I follow her inside, shutting the door behind me.

Turning around she’s already laid out across the bed. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. I can’t ever truly punish her, especially with the way she’s looking at me. The pure love and adoration with a hint of lust clouding her eyes. My beautiful wife. “Fuck, Em.” I groan, stripping as I walk towards the bed. “You disregarded my one request for tonight.”

“I’m sorry! Fuck Jake I’m so sorry!”

“God I could never stay mad at you, sweets.” I grin down at her, climbing onto the bed. She wraps her arms tightly around my waist. “But you better make it up to me.”

“I will, I promise. I’ll do anything,” she breathes. “Anything at all.” She leans up to kiss me as we roll over onto her back. Our hands find each other immediately as I begin trailing kisses down her body. Her legs wrap tightly around my waist, pushing me even closer. God she’s so responsive. We fit together perfectly. I could spend the rest of forever doing nothing more than fucking this woman. She moans in response as I slip into her. I feel her pussy clenching around my cock. It sends a surge of pleasure coursing through me.

Sex with Em has always been amazing. It feels like every part of our bodies are working together perfectly. Her touch drives me crazy. She’s my everything, my life. And I’m hers. Fuck, I want to hold her forever.

My fingers dance along her skin while I thrust into her. Em’s face is twisted with ecstasy as she rides me. She’s breathing hard as her body trembles beneath mine. “Jake… please…” Her words are little more than an exhale of air, the sound muffled by our kiss. She pushes herself up, effectively flipping us to rock faster against me. “Shit… fuck yes! I'm gonna cum! Oh shit!” She yells as her climax overtakes her. l let out a deep groan as she continues to move her hips through her release, squeezing me as I finally reach my own. Emory leans down to lay on top of me as we catch our breath.

Minutes go by before I gently pull her up and lay her on the bed, moving to grab a washcloth from the bathroom. I return to the bed and clean her off. Smoothing her hair back, I press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I love you,” I mutter, kissing her again.

“I love you too.” She smiles, moving to rest on the pillows once I was done.

“Do you wanna tell me what was going on tonight?” I can feel Em’s shoulders drop as I lay down next to her. “Em?”

“Penny and Amelia came into the bakery a couple weeks ago.” She answers.

“Well you pay Mel to be there most days, so I hope she was there.” I joke but when Em doesn’t laugh with me I know it was something else. “The girls aren’t on a mother/daughter bonding trip are they?” I ask and Emory immediately jumps up.

“He was so awful to them, Jake! Nat happened to show up the night they were leaving and Amelia told her everything. Penny got hit and immediately hidden in the bathroom before Nat could see anything!” She explains. “He’s been cheating on her for years!”

“Okay but putting a target on the Mayor? Em this is so much more dangerous than going after someone like a random ex husband.” I explain. “If word gets out, his security is going to double and Em, Chief Simpson will not let us rest knowing the Mayor is in danger. Our lives will be so much harder!”

“We can’t let him get away with it Jake! What if he killed Penny? What if he hurt Amelia?”

Amelia has been like a daughter to us ever since she started working with Em and Birdie. Emory has a point, I’d never forgive myself if Pete ever hurt Amelia.

“You stay out of sight no matter what, all of you. This is close to home, personal. He knows all of you. If you get caught, we’re all screwed.” I instruct.

“We know, honey.”

“And you keep me in the loop. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, Sweets.”

“When have I ever not been careful?” Em laughs just as her phone starts ringing. “It’s Birdie, probably wondering where I am.” Em says after grabbing her phone.

“Lemme see.” I pull it from her, quickly making myself sound out of breath as I answer the phone. “She’s… she’s busy B.” I groan trying to contain my laughter.

“You’re sick. I know y’all ain’t still fucking! The curtains are open.”

“Well shit. Oh well, she’s not coming tonight.” I reply. “Also when did y’all leave?”

“After the third course.” Bob chimes in.

“HA! I win!” Em cheers.

“I hate both of you.” Birdie chimes. “I’ll let the girls know we’re meeting tomorrow instead.”

“You do that!” I say, “My wife and I are gonna be a little busy for the rest of the night.”

“Gross, I’m hanging up now.”

Emory and I both start laughing as I set her phone on the nightstand. Almost immediately Em gets up. “Where are you going?”

“Getting the handcuffs.” She smirks. “It’s Persephone’s turn to have a little fun.”

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