#( ◦ ⟡ ✰ — ❛ conversations || satomi. ❜ )

[randomkposts]

Tamaki Uchida as a Persona user

I want Tamaki fic. From If to P2. As she went to two schools that had demon outbreaks, became a devil summoner/part time detective while going to  college, then was probably awake during the dark hour, and that's probably the most in the know POV possible over multiple games. Unless you do Philemon or Nyarlathotep's POV, I guess. 

She was traumatized by the first one, refused to participate in the second one, and had moved city's and a world ending event happened.

Then the dark hour

I want Eriko/ Elly to drag her into the quest

They are both on the fencing team. Eriko is fascinated by The supernatural. And brave. And Tamaki knows the supernatural well from personal experience

So P1 protagonist, Mark, Nanjo Kei, Maki, and Reiji are doing the SEBEC questline. 

Yukino, Brown, Yuka, and Elly set out on the Snow Queen quest. Eriko notices Tamaki knows her Demon lore, and refuses the sword she offers, instead pulling her into the party

So on one hand Tamaki and Tadashi being a Devil Summoner duo is a cool concept if you choose to forget he's a self insert. Weird pairing, apparently canon. 

He is probably a strong source of support to her canonically, if you choose to view him as a character divorced from the self insert nature. But also we don't see it in focus often, so… I could take or leave him. 

But it would be interesting to have  a character who can summon Personas and Demons, and she is a crossover of 3 fandoms with her appearances in games. 

I would say Tamaki’s arcana is Strength for her starting persona.  The other bests are Justice, and chariot to start. Bads are, hanged man, the devil.

In persona 2 IS ,her goods are lovers, and the other 3 affinities.

In EP, one of her bests has changed to magician. Judgment has shown up in good. Possibly in place of lovers.  Hanged man is neutral. 

Hmm

Anyway as a Strength arcana, I'm thinking her starting persona might be Hervor. (From wikipedia)

Hervor was born after her father Angantyr's death (he died during a duel against the Swedish hero Hjalmar) to his wife Svafa, who was daughter of a Jarl Bjarmar. Rather than take on sewing or be raised as a bond-maid like other girls, Hervor proved to be as strong as the boys and learned archery, swordsmanship, and horse riding.

She dressed like a man, fought, killed and pillaged under her male surname Hjörvard. When she learned of her father's identity she decided to live as her father and to find Tyrfing, the magic sword."

One day, she arrived with her fleet to Munarvágr on Samsø (Samsey), but she was the only one who dared to embark on the haunted island. The remainder of her crew feared the nightly activities around the barrows on the island. As she approached the barrows she saw a fire shining above them, and she approached the largest one. She then talked with a loud voice summoning her father Angantyr to reveal himself. She said that as his daughter she was entitled to her rightful inheritance, Tyrfing. Then, she also summoned her eleven uncles and she did so with such a loud voice and such harsh words that finally, her father's voice was heard and he asked not to pursue her quest. She did not give in but continued to ask for her rightful inheritance.

Finally, the grave opened and in its centre a fire was shining. There she saw her father, and he warned her not to ask for the sword. It would bring death to their whole clan if she used it. Still, she persisted. Finally the sword was cast out of the grave, and she eagerly gripped it, bid farewell to her dead kinsmen and walked to the shore.

However, when she arrived at the shore, the ships were gone. Her crew had been scared away by the fires and the thunder from the barrows."

Eventually, she managed to leave the island and arrived at the court of Gudmund of Glæsisvellir. She still dressed herself as a man and called herself Hervarðr. Cunningly, she helped the king to win playing tafl. However, she also slew a courtier who tried to unsheathe Tyrfing after she had left it on a chair. Then, she resumed her Viking activities, and travelled far and wide.

After a while she grew tired of the adventures and returned to her foster-father Bjartmar. At Bjartmar's residence, she betook herself to sewing and embroidering like other girls, and was considered to be a beautiful and good-mannered girl.

King Gudmund's son Höfund, then arrived to ask for her hand, and she said yes. The old king Gudmund arranged a grand wedding, and entrusted the kingdom in the hands of the young couple. They lived happily and had two sons who were given the names Angantyr and Heidrek.

The sword Tyrfing would continue its ill work, and Heidrek slew his brother Angantyr with the sword. "

Tamaki does not so much go searching for a sword, but answers the call and receives a COMP. She goes on a journey and potentially saves her school or damns it. 

Then she tries to get out, to go do fairly normal girl stuff, fencing,and  avoid future Devil instances.

Of course, that doesn't work long term, but she tried.

For Evolved persona, am considering Bradamante.

(From Wikipedia)

“Bradamante, a female Christian knight in the service of Charlemagne, is the sister of Rinaldo and the daughter of Duke Amon, the duke of Dordognes.[4] She falls in love with a Saracen warrior named Ruggiero, but she refuses to marry him unless he converts from Islam. An expert in combat, she wields a magical lance that unhorses anyone it touches, and rescues Ruggiero from being imprisoned by the wizard Atlantes.She is described as wearing white, with a white shield and a crest of a pennon.

She is one of the French warriors fighting during a Saracen invasion into France. She is in the middle of fighting a Saracen warrior, Rodomont, when another Saracen warrior, Ruggiero, informs her that Charlemagne is retreating. Bradamante tries to leave to join the rest of the French forces, but Rodomont keeps her from leaving. Ruggiero, finding Rodomont’s actions dishonorable, steps in to fight Rodomont to allow Bradamante to leave. However, Bradamante is unable to catch up to Charlemagne’s army and instead returns to Rodomont and Ruggiero, feeling guilty for leaving someone else to fight in her place. Rodomont is impressed with the honor of Ruggiero and Bradamante and rides off, leaving Ruggiero and Bradamante together. They are mutually impressed with one another and share their identities. Bradamante also removes her helmet, revealing to Ruggiero for the first time that she is a woman. An ambush then manages to separate them.

The two lovers are separated many more times in the story, and Bradamante faces many challenges. She travels to a castle made of steel to rescue Ruggiero from the wizard Atlantes with the help of the sorceress Melissa and a magic ring, escapes from a castle full of illusions,and encounters many other difficulties.

After the lovers are reunited, Rinaldo grants Ruggiero his blessing to marry Bradamante. However, her parents reject the suitor even after Ruggiero converts to Christianity, preferring a Leo, the son of the Greek emperor Constantine. Bradamante manages to convince King Charlemagne to decree that she will only marry a man who can withstand her in battle, greatly angering her parents, who nonetheless reluctantly agree. Ruggiero, meanwhile, sets off to kill Leo. On the way, he finds the Constantine’s forces battling the Bulgarians. Ruggiero immediately enters the battle to assist the Bulgarians, who had been losing, and manages to turn the tide of the battle. However, he is captured and imprisoned by the Greeks. Leo, impressed with Ruggiero’s valor, 4frees him. He then asks for a favor, and Ruggiero, grateful for his freedom, promises to grant whatever Leo asks. Leo, having learned of Bradamante’s challenge and knowing he isn’t strong enough to win against her, asks that Ruggiero fight Bradamante on his behalf. Ruggiero reluctantly keeps his promise and disguises himself as Leo to fight Bradamante. He wins the match and retreats to the woods, wishing to die. There, Leo finds him and asks what is wrong. After Ruggiero reveals his identity and that he is in love with Bradamante, Leo annuls the engagement to let Bradamante and Ruggiero wed. At the end, their marriage gives rise to the noble House of Este, who were patrons to both Boiardo and Ariosto.

The poems drew from legends of Charlemagne, chansons de geste, and blended recurring motifs found in the Matter of France and the Matter of Britain. Bradamante and Ruggiero's romance is most likely made to parallel the romance of Angelica and Orlando. Bradamante and Ruggiero's love is reciprocated and honorable, whereas Orlando is driven mad with love and Angelica despises him. Bradamante also spends much of Orlando Furioso chasing down her love to save him, contrasting with Angelica, who spends most of the story running from Orlando."

Key word here is tries. In contrast to the first legend where she tries to give up the call and find love, the second legend has her keeping the call and finding an equal. Coursr that also depends ln keeping her OG arc. Or shifting to give her a new role in the stories.

I don't think the first Persona game was as thematically tied to legends origins. Also there's Nanjo, who has his butler as his ultimate so yolo.

One of her other bests are fortune dependant of Nova from SMT If. 

-Chariot for strength

-Magician for speed

-Temperance for balanced

-Wheel of fortune for luck

The other is justice, as she can either uphold fair decisions and consequences, and save the people, or she can turn on that and make decisions that are unfair, and lack accountability, and dishonest, as per SMT If.

The ones she is at odds with are hanged man and devil.

Hanged man is a card of stasis. A lack of a decision. Which she is at odds with. After all, she's always making some kind of decision be it active or passive.

-Upright card (keywords): Breaking old patterns, Circumspection, Letting go, Metamorphosis,

-Reversed card (keywords): Egotism, Inability to change, Missing an opportunity

And devil, a decision card. 

-Upright card (keywords): Bondage, Enslavement, Fear, Feeling trapped, Materialism, Temptation, more

-Reversed card (keywords): Breaking from addictions, Divorce, Freedom from restraints

Tamaki is not a character to stay still, take stock. It does not vibe with her strength Tarot. But as the hanged man card reveals she is keeping still, and the devil indicates she is the one trapping herself in it.  To make the best choices for her heart, she needs to reflect on what she wants, and cast off the self restraints keeping her from it. 

---

Of course, I'm not a Tarot expert. This is mostly with what I look up online. Feel free to add more in the comments or reblogs if you like. 

What Arcana's do you think Tamaki would have affinities for if she could summon a persona? And what Personas would you give her? 

[r--kt]

Do you like Kakashi's dogs? Let's talk about why there are eight of them.

another example of naruto's ✨cultural code✨

contents | the eight dog warriors chronicles · legacy · eight confucian virtues. also look at the cuties love them sm

Naruto Vol. 10 CH 90

[ one dog is wonderful, I'm saying as the owner of a sweet little york terrier. two dogs are good, they won't be bored together. three dogs? yeah, cool! how are you going to walk them though? four? yes... look, maybe we have to draw the line h- wha- EIGHT? Excuse Me!? ]

surely, it's worth starting with the fact that eight is a lucky number in Japanese culture — everybody watched Hachi. of course, this is not the only cultural detail where the eight is mentioned. I want to pay special attention to a thing that I didn't know about until I googled it, and this is clearly what Kishimoto was doing homage to with Kakashi's eight ninken.

The Eight Dog Warriors Chronicles

Better known as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden. and it's not just some kind of book, it's a novel, consisting of 106 booklets written by Kyokutei Bakin in XIX century. Hakkenden is considered the largest novel in the history of Japanese Literature. this is one of the main representatives of the gesaku genre, which includes works of a frivolous, joking, silly nature. further I will emphasize a few more times how damn popular this work is and how often it is reflected in culture.

here are some illustrations for these books

now let's talk about the plot. It's weird, but it's weird at samurai-dogs-story level so stay here.

In brief, the story tells about the commander Satomi Yoshizane, whose native lands were attacked by the army of a man, whose forces surpassed those of Satomi, and the samurai in despair swore to a dog named Yatsufusa that the dog would get his beloved daughter Fuse as a wife if he chewed that man's throat. surprisingly, the dog not only understood the owner, but also fulfilled his wish! after that the commander refused to keep the promise. however, Fuse, true to her word of honor, went with Yatsufusa to the mountains and became his wife. upon learning that his daughter was pregnant, Satomi, in a rage, sent a samurai to kill Yatsufusa and bring Fuse home. she stood up for the dog anyways and died with him. at that moment, eight pearls with hieroglyphs that denoted the foundations of Confucian virtue burst out of her womb. (...cheers for mythology, I guess)

Soon, eight dog warriors who were Fuse's spiritual children were born in different parts of Awa province. after going through hardships, they got together and became vassals of the Satomi clan, then won the battle, and soon reached peace.

some more illustrations made by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. from left to right: Inukawa Sōsuke (the dog warrior), Inumura Daikaku (the dog warrior), Princess Fuse (their mother).

the novel mainly tells about each individual warrior dog and his shenanigans in a funny adventurous way. huge fame has led to excerpts from Hakkenden being staged at the Kabuki Theater and mentioned in the anime and manga, such as Inuyasha, Dragon Ball, as it turned out, Naruto and so on. there's also a lot of films and video games.

The eight virtues

these are loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, honesty, justice, harmony, and peace.

they relate more to Chinese culture, but basically Hakkenden was inspired by it too. since I did not read the whole novel, I would still like to mention at least the values on which it is based, and which were embedded in the symbolism of this story. It's quite interesting to apply this to Kakashi's dogs. gives them more weight and depth.

It is also interesting to note that the reason why Fuse gave birth to dogs was also that her father was cursed earlier in the story in a way that his descendants would become depraved like dogs. in Japanese culture, dogs embody the duality of character: the same mentioned filth and depravity, and devotion and bravery. so as samurai. but this is a different conversation, more related to Kakashi and his dog poetry.

Did you get here? Here's an additional discovery for you✨

Pakkun's name (パックン) is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia “pakupaku” (パクパク) which reflects the sound of munching.

Kakashi, that's very sweet of you.

thank you for reading this to the end ♡

[wildflower-otome]

[Translation] Shuuen no Virche - Ankou Short Story

Writer: Satomi Nakayama Source: Shuuen no Virche Error Salvation Visual Fan Book

Note: Major spoilers for the ending of Adolphe/Ankou's route below.

Lycoris ~I only think of you~

—The Drifter, the person who I made a soul contract with.

‘—Did you know? Flowers have certain meanings and words that they symbolise.’

He was a knowledgeable man of many talents.

‘For example, red roses signify “love”, and also the words “I love you.”’

‘Is that so? At the very least, when I was in the outside world I never heard of such a thing…..I think.’

‘It’s knowledge one is unable to gain without asking first, so that’s understandable. But once you do know about it, the way you think of what you took to be everyday sights will change. If it has a meaning, I’ll teach you it.’

—Ever since then, because this conversation strangely left an impression on me, each time I came across a different type of flower, I would always ask him what it meant.

‘What about the flowers blooming in the garden at your home?’

‘The ones shaped like star fragments are lilies. They bear the meaning of innocent, pure love. The flowers that look like fairies are called laurel. They are flowers that mean to vow eternity, and the words, “I won’t change until I die.”

‘And these flowers that washed up from the sea?’

‘The ones that seem to have white wings are nodding anemones. They have the somewhat disquieting meaning of love unable to be conveyed, love betrayed. The other ones are elder flowers. They’re extreme flowers, that contain meanings of zeal, joy and pity.

‘Hoh….. There really are so many of them. I wonder for what purpose they exist…..’

‘Hmph. They exist so that flowers will become meaningful for people—most likely. And so that one can pick flowers that have a suitable meaning for the person you are giving them too…..or so it is thought.’

‘?’

As I remained unable to imagine it, the Drifter pointed his index finger at me.

‘Meanings are not necessarily everything but—A person of the opposite sex would likely be much happier receiving red roses, flowers that are suitable for a proper love confession, than ones that mean ‘dishonesty’, don’t you think?’

‘Well…..certainly.’

At this easily understood example, I nodded my head in agreement.

‘But to think there are as many meanings as there are flowers….. Have you memorised all of them?’

‘Haha, surely not. No matter how much I love flowers, even I have my limits. It’s only the ones I’ve read about in books or handle as part of my work that I know about.’

Hearing what he said, a “certain question” came to mind. If he knew the meanings of all flowers within his knowledge, then—

‘Do you know the meaning of lycoris flowers?’

‘Yes, of course. They were flowers that commonly bloomed in my hometown, after all. However—’

‘However?’

‘I don’t know the meaning of “black” lycoris. It would appear that this colour is unique to Arpéchéle.’

‘…..Does the meaning differ depending on the colour?’

‘Yes, that is correct. For example, the roses I told you about before, there is a big difference in meaning depending on if they are red or yellow.’

‘…..Sounds like there’s a lot to it.’

I continued to think it over.

‘Then—outside of the black kind, do lycoris flowers have a particular meaning?’

‘Yes, indeed they do. For example, the representative red variety—have the meaning of “passion.”’

‘Passion…..’

Hearing the word, what came to mind was—. The figure of my dear friend, left behind in the past that had gone by.

‘…..It’s a flower that suits Yves perfectly.’

The Drifter did not fail to hear the words I had quietly murmured.

‘My descendant…..you say. Perhaps you might call me not a doting parent, but a doting ancestor, for saying so, but hearing you say that makes me feel proud.’

However, the Drifter, after picking one of the lycoris that was blooming at his feet, handing it to me as he continued—

‘The one other true form they have—white lycoris, are surely a good fit for you.’

With a smile, he told me that he was sure they suited the face that I couldn’t remember.

‘Me…..?’

‘—White lycoris mean “I only think of you” and “Look forward to the day we meet again”, words of faithfulness. They are fitting for you, who continues to wish for her salvation, and to reunite with her again.’

‘…..…..…..!!’

My eyes widened at hearing what the Drifter had said. To think that flowers with such meanings as these existed this world…..

All the same, despite my astonishment, I shook my head at the Drifter’s words.

‘…..…..…..They are unfitting for someone as powerless as I. These lycoris noirge are more than enough for me.

As if imitating the Drifter, I picked a lycoris. And then—.

‘—The one who suits pure white lycoris, the kind that will bloom after salvation, is not me, but her. …..Someday, I want to see her smiling happily in a flower garden of white lycoris noirge.’

I spoke of my dream of a future in which someday the flower petals blooming before me became pure white—.

* * *

———My wish came true.

‘Adolphe, over here…..!’

‘Calm down, you don’t need to sprint, Ankou’s grave isn’t going to run away.’

My dear princess…..and the ex-novice, had come to visit my grave, which had been placed at the center of a field of white lycoris noirge.

Even though it wasn’t even my death anniversary, whenever something happened, she had made a habit of coming here to talk to me.

About things that had made her happy. Things that had made her sad. Insignificant things.

Because she spoke to me about almost everything, almost as if she were able to see me—

(I really am, so happy)

After running up to my grave, she laid down the white lycoris she had been holding.

‘These are white lycoris that Adolphe and I grew together, with Yves’ advice. Today they bloomed at last, so we came to bring you some, Ankou.’

…..Dear me. Even though so much time had already passed since my death.

‘…..I wanted to grow them together with you as well, Ankou.’

(—My princess, your habit of crying hasn’t changed at all)

I stretched out a finger, to stroke her hair…..or tried to, anyway.

(No, you don’t need my comfort anymore)

After all, she—had become a “normal person”, able to stand on her own two feet.

After forcefully wiping at her eyes, just as I thought she might…..

‘Beautiful, aren’t they…..? Flowers that bloomed in the future of salvation, that you protected for us—!’

She spoke with the brightest of smiles.

…..…..…..…..

(Ah, in the end-)

It hadn’t been a mistake.

(These flowers suit you the most, more than anyone else in this world)

If the lycoris I had watched over had become a guide for you to advance into the future, as they turned from black to white—.

(Nothing else could make me happier. I am the luckiest person in the world.)

Until the end of her life as a “normal person”, I pray that these flowers may continue to proudly bloom—.

[usermischief]

chapter 58: it's not the devil at your door Warnings: violence

You can read it on AO3 as well.

[a/n: sorry for the very long wait. Life got in the way. Thank you so much for your patience. I hope you're enjoying the new chapter💖]

---

“John, with all due respect, I don’t think you have any idea what you’re dealing with.”

“I’m dealing with two traumatized teenagers, Noshiko.”

Stiles watches the spot on the ley line where his father most likely stands, watches as Jordan puts his head in his hands. The conversation must’ve been going on for longer than he’s awake. They’re all exhausted, Stiles can hear it in their voices.

“I think,” Brett pipes up from where he sits on the kitchen counter, “you’re underestimating Sheriff Stilinski.”

Noshiko makes a small impatient noise. “I think your personal feelings are clouding your judgement.”

“Funny, I could say the same about you.”

“Brett.” Satomi’s voice is calm, but it does have the desired effect of shutting her second in command up. Still, there is anger vibrating through the ley line connected to Brett. It’s not surprising. Although Satomi has always seemingly maintained a neutral balance. This time, however, it feels as if she’s choosing a side – a side Brett does clearly not agree with.

Stiles can’t blame him. He’s not agreeing with Noshiko either, but that’s nothing new. They haven’t really agreed on anything for most of the time. Well, aside from killing him in case he’s going to become a hazard for the people around him. That has been the case only a couple of days ago. Now, however, things are different again. Plus, killing him always comes with the price of killing every single chimera still alive and kicking.

Jordan leans back in his chair. “Locking him up in the Hale Vault is only going to re-traumatise him.” He curls his hands around something. A mug, perhaps, or a glass. If Jordan were alone, it might’ve been a glass of whiskey but with Stiles’ dad, Satomi, and Noshiko around, it’s probably some sort of calming tea.

Stiles wonders if he wishes for something stronger. He certainly would.

Noshiko doesn’t sound happy with that, “if we don’t, we put the whole town at risk.”

“You make it sound like Stiles is some sort of monster,” Brett remarks icily.

“He killed-“

“Enough!” His dad slams his hands on the table. The sound startles Stiles enough to pull away from the ley lines accidentally, returning to the quiet of his bedroom with his heart hammering as if he’s run a marathon – not because he’s scared or surprised. Noshiko has proven more than once that she’s absolutely willing to kill him if the need arises, or perhaps as a precaution. While he would’ve agreed with her a while ago, now, the thought of it only makes him want to rip her head off.

Maybe that’s proof enough of her being right.

“You know, it’s rude to eavesdrop.”

Stiles nearly jumps out of his skin. He whips around, spotting Isaac sitting on a mattress on the floor next to his bed. He’s wrapped in a blanket, wearing a sheepish grin. Stiles stares at him, speechless for a while then he settles back into his pillow. The movement jostled his wound, and he grinds his teeth. With a soft sigh, he closes his eyes, trying to ignore the pain. It feels as if someone set his whole upper body on fire.

Next to him, Isaac shuffles under his covers. “I’m angry too.” Again, he’s silent, and the night grows heavy around them. “She’s got no idea what you had to do down there.”

A tight first curls around his heart. No. She doesn’t know. Not everything, that is. But neither does Isaac. Nobody knows the full story of what happened in Eichen House’s basement. Isaac is aware of most of it, but he’s got no clue about the worst part of the story.

Without replying, Stiles pulls his covers up to his chin, fighting the urge to roll onto his side and hide away from the world for a little while longer. He’s not ready to face it yet, or anyone in it.

-

Tracy screeches as she steps on a broken flashlight in the darkness and loses her footing.

“Quiet,” Theo snaps. There’s an edge to his voice. It’s not quite fear yet, but he’s certainly worried.

Once Stiles is done with Tracy, he’ll deal with Theo. Mates or not, nobody will take away his food ever again. Some lessons clearly need to be taught as early as possible so shit like this will never happen again.

Stiles turns his head to the right. Even if Tracy were as quiet as a statue, he wouldn’t have any issue finding her in complete darkness. The scent of her sheer panic acts like a neon sign.

“Quiet!” Theo orders again, and his voice carries through the dark hallway. “Stiles, stop it.” Red eyes flash in the darkness, darting back and forth as if looking for him. They pass right over him, but his aura doesn’t give him away like it would Kira or perhaps even Noshiko and other foxes. The night is his kingdom. It bends to his will.

Tracy shrieks then hits the ground hard. She makes it almost too easy.

“Miecio!” Theo’s voice is calm, but his scent is spiked with fear now. Is he afraid of him, or what he might do? “You wanna be pissed at someone, be pissed at me. I killed Deaton, remember? She didn’t do anything.”

Stiles whips his head around and stares at the vague shape of his boyfriend, his mate. It’s getting easier to see him by the second. He can almost make out his features now. Under normal circumstances, Theo wouldn’t have any issue finding him. But now, Stiles doesn’t want to be found. By anybody. He narrows his eyes, following Theo as he moves to the left as quietly as possible. Away from him. Towards Tracy. He grinds his teeth. “Don’t tell me you’re protecting her.”

Theo’s red eyes snap towards him, and he stops moving. It’s hard to tell if he sees him or merely fixes on a spot in the dark, he assumes to be Stiles. “I’m protecting you.”

“From her?” Stiles scoffs. “Don’t insult me.”

“I’m protecting you from yourself.” Theo takes a step forward. Judging by the groan of pain, he hit one of the orderlies instead of the ground. It doesn’t deter him from moving, much less talking. “I know you’re angry, but-“

Stiles shoots his hand out, curling his fingers around Corey’s throat. “Do you consider me stupid, Theodore?” He tightens his grip, digging his fingertips into the soft skin without looking away from Theo. It would be easy, so very easy. But Corey is innocent in all this. He’s merely following orders. With a sigh, he lets go of the kid. “I’m awfully sorry about this,” he says, and, for what it’s worth, he actually means it, before shoving his hand against Corey’s chest.

A surge of energy rushes through Stiles’ body and hits Corey square in the chest. It sends him flying and crashing straight into Theo.

Stiles chuckles. “Now,” he whispers, finally stepping out of the doorway. “Oh, Tracy.” If only he could hear her heartbeat now. He can only imagine it would match the panic filling all his senses. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” As if she could hide from him. Nobody can. Not in here. However, there is nothing quite as sweet as the taste of hope ripped away.

“Tracy~” he sings. He raises his brows. He can see her now, crouching next to one of the guards, a hand pressed over her mouth. She’s holding out her right hand, claws dripping with venom, probably hoping Stiles is stupid enough to run into her.

Stiles stops on the other side of the body. “Boo,” he whispers and kicks her in the face.

She screams out in pains as she sprawls on the floor.

Could he have used magic? Yes. But this is so much more satisfying.

“Theo, please. Help!”

Stiles sets his jaw. Without hesitation, he grabs her by the hair and slams her into the wall. “I’m done with this.” Done with her dragging Theo into her business. Done with her acting like Theo cares about her. She isn’t even supposed to be here. She was supposed to rot. “Just because he got you out doesn’t mean you’re going to stay.” He leans closer and places his mouth right next to her ear. “I’m going to get rid of you one way or another.” But not quite yet, first, he is going to have a fun time with teaching her a lesson. Everything would’ve been so much easier for her if she finally realised that Theo isn’t hers to touch.

Something shifts in the darkness, striding closer by the second. Flames lick around the corner and illuminate Theo, staring at him, and Corey, both hands pressed against the wall but now frozen like a deer in headlights.

“Welcome to the party.” That certainly makes everything a lot easier. Smirking, he slams Tracy’s head against the wall and lets go of her, not bothering to wait until she’s crumpled to the ground, whimpering softly. Instead, he returns to his spot by the door, watching in amusement as Corey shuffles towards Theo again. Keeping his distance isn’t the worst idea. There will be a point when even following orders isn’t an excuse for getting to Isaac any longer, and Stiles really doesn’t want to hurt Corey.

Theo reaches out for him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Jordan,” he calls just as the hellhound rounds the corner, “we need your help.” It’s not hard to imagine how much this admission must’ve hurt his ego.

Try as he might, Stiles cannot suppress a bark of laughter. Does Theo truly believe Jordan would follow his orders?

“Stiles,” Jordan breathes, almost surprised to see him unharmed and alive. Perhaps not an unusual reaction after being gone for so long.

“Jay,” Stiles replies with a small nod, “Cerberus.” It’s fascinating to see how Jordan’s face morphs into a nearly expressionless mask. If not for Isaac, Stiles would feel bad for using him like this. However, it isn’t about revenge, it’s about a rescue, and Cerberus is the only person Stiles trusts to get Isaac out of here. Jordan would understand. He will understand. “Bring Isaac to safety. Just you. Nobody touches. Nobody stops you.”

Theo shakes his head. “Jordan…” But he is smarter than to step into a hellhound’s path. All he can do is watch. He clenches his jaw, narrowing his eyes as he’s reduced to stand by, unable to do anything else. As great as Tracy’s panic may be, there is something about Theo’s anger, that’s so much more tempting, something Stiles just can’t stay away from – and he refuses to allow anyone to come in-between them.

Gently, Jordan lifts Isaac into his arms. The werewolf makes a soft pained noise, but he is safe with Jordan – most likely a lot safer than he would be with Stiles. He could leave with him, just walk out of here, and end this nightmare once and for all.

His gaze snaps to Deaton. It’s over.

It’s over.

Stiles curls his hands into fists.

But he’s not done. Not yet anyway.

-

“Hey.” Someone shakes his shoulder.

Stiles startles awake, fist aiming blindly in the direction of the sound.

Luckily, Jordan has quick reflexes. He catches his wrist before his knuckles had the chance to connect with his nose. “Nice aim.” Jordan cocks a brow, studying his face for a few moments before his expression softens and something akin to regret sneaks into his features. He probably should’ve known better than to wake Stiles up like this.

Drawing his brows together, Stiles slumps into the pillows. He is still exhausted, but that’s not what’s keeping him glued to his mattress. It’s the past and the memories. The reality of what happened and what he did. It’s the blood on his hands. It’s the crushing realisation of having gone to far.

It’s also the fucking pain in his chest.

“Josh is here.” Jordan places his hand on the blanket next to Stiles’ arm. “He wants to know if you want to join them.”

Pressing his lips together, Stiles pushes himself into a sitting position although he’d rather burrow deeper into his blanket and hide from everyone and everything forever. He winces at another zap of sharp pain cuts through his chest and back. Stiles notices the twitch of Jordan’s hands, but he seems to know better than to baby him. Turns out having one silver eyes makes for a good death glare.

Stiles clears his throat. “Theo?”

Jordan avoids his eyes.

Stiles drops his gaze to his hands then shakes his head.

Bed sheets rustle as Isaac props himself up. As much as Stiles would prefer to be alone at the moment, Isaac’s presence keeps the panic at bay. His dad joked about the co-dependency, but it was a half-hearted attempt at lightening the mood after he found out Isaac moved into Stiles’ bedroom. The days aren’t even the issue. It’s when the nightmares creep in.

Jordan runs a hand through his hair. “You can’t hide forever.”

-

“Come on, Stiles!” Theo’s frustration is palpable. “You can’t hide forever!”

Oh, but he can. Especially down here where it’s pitch black. Watching Theo getting more and more angry is like getting an early Christmas present. Stiles doesn’t want to miss it for the world. In fact, he’d like to make it worse. He wants him to explode, to taste all that pent-up rage his mate has been holding on to forever.

“Stiles, please.”

“Begging, really?” Stiles laughs softly, watching as Tracy and Corey work their way along the walls, probably to get behind him. It’s not a stupid idea to surround him, but in the end, Stiles can see them while they still have no clue where he is. With Cerberus’ fire gone, they’re back in complete darkness. “Come on, Misu, you’re an alpha now. Begging should be beneath you.”

As expected, Theo’s anger spikes briefly. His short fuse if truly a gift. “And you’re a nogitsune now, everyone is afraid of you.” His tone shifts. The storm of anger turns to a cool breeze. It’s nothing more than a façade. “Yet you’re hiding.”

“I’m not hiding.” Stiles moves to stand right in front of Theo, brushing his fingers lightly over Theo’s cheek. The simple touch makes him dizzy with want. A soft gasp falls from Theo’s lips. How long have they not touched each other? How long has he been down here? “I’m playing,” he adds in a low voice.

Before he has the chance to get a hold of him, Stiles puts distance between them. He’ s not stupid enough to risk being caught. Real kitsune or not, once Theo’s got him, it would be game over, and he’s not quite ready to end it.

Not until he’s done with Tracy.

Stiles watches her shuffle further down the wall and draws his brows together. It doesn’t seem like they’re trying to surround him.

“You play with your food?” Theo asks, his voice mocking, almost cruel – it’s the same he’s used on Scott whenever they interacted lately. “I thought your mother taught you better than that.”

Stiles whips around. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Rage licks at his insides. Stiles curls his hands into tight fists. Nobody is putting his mother into a bad light, not even Theo.

Before he can move, however, the lights come back on. A soft curse falls from his lips, and he shields his eyes. For a moment, it disorients him badly. Blood rushes in his ears.

His muscles ache.

He’s starving.

Badly.

“Tracy, no!” Theo yells.

Without the warning, Stiles would’ve been caught blindsided. This, however, allows him to sidestep her attack. Still, the claws miss him only narrowly, and he nearly falls on his ass. He rights himself the second Tracy attacks him again. There’s blood smeared under her nose and cheek. Her nose doesn’t look quite right either. Her fangs bared in anger. Good thing that anger makes her just a stupid as it does everyone else, so he manages to catch both her wrists easily.

She snarls, trying to free herself.

As luck would have it, strength-wise they’re pretty evenly matched. It’s alphas that will forever be the bane of his existence. Not only can they kill him with a single bite, they also overpower him as if he’s nothing more than an ordinary creature.

Which he most certainly is not.

Grinding his teeth, he kicks Tracy in the stomach. He’s done playing with her. This fucking kanima needs to get lost.

Now.

As she folds in on herself, Stiles lets go of her arms and grabs her head instead.

“No!” Corey’s voice echoes in the hallway.

Footsteps approach rapidly from his left, but it doesn’t matter. Stiles snaps her neck. Hardly anything could be more satisfying. Too bad she’s going to heal from that. Too bad she’ll wake up and continue to be a fucking menace in his life. Maybe he should end it right now. That would spare him a lot of problems in the future.

Theo crashes into him, and it’s like being hit by a wrecking ball. They hit the ground hard. Stiles grinds his teeth together, trying to keep the grunt of pain safely tugged away. Instead, he wedges his arm free and elbows Theo in the face. The impact sends another wave of pain through his arm. The shock, however, startles Theo long enough that Stiles manages to get out from underneath him before he’s able to pin him down.

With narrowed eyes, Theo spits blood on the ground and gets to his feet.

Behind him, Corey disappears into thin air, Tracy slung over her shoulder.

Stiles fixes his boyfriend with a glare. “You’re still protecting her?” How could he? After what she did? Not to him, but to Theo. She nearly got him killed. Her jealousy almost ended the life of the one person she claimed to love.

“I don’t care about what happens to her.” And yet, Theo is shifting into the middle of the hallway, making his intentions absolutely clear. There is no getting past him. He’s helping her get away. “I care about you.” Yet he curls his hands into fists and narrows his eyes. He’s ready to stop him if push comes to shove. An unstoppable force. “And that you can still look at yourself once you’re out of here.”

“How nice of you.” Stiles cocks his head to the side. How far would Theo really go to stop him, is the real question. There was a time when he would’ve hurt him. Not too long ago, Theo was more than willing to use violence to get his way. Things are different now, but how different is Theo when someone defies him for too long?

-

“Sorry,” his dad whispers, pulling his hands away. “I’m sorry.”

Stiles glances at him in the mirror then back at his chest. The wound is still red and aggressive. He’s still bleeding whenever he’s moving too much, or his bandages are changed. “It’s fine.” Jordan didn’t have any more luck yesterday either. The bandages stick to his skin, tugging on the scabs. He’d prefer if nobody touched it, but with how aggressively red his skin already is, he also doesn’t want to risk an infection. Not with how slowly he’s healing at the moment.

Slow enough, in fact, that people are questioning his intentions. He is trying to heal himself.

But getting run through with the sword of a thunder kitsune is nothing to shake off that easily.

Carefully, he pokes one of the scabs and winces. Yeah, there’s no shot he’ll risk an infection.

“Should we call someone?” his dad inquires with furrowed brows.

The things Stiles would give to see his dad relax. But until he’s fully healed, and the Dread Doctors are dealt with, there’s not exactly much he can do to help that. “Who, Deaton?” his tone is mocking, bit his dad’s glare shuts him up quickly. Although his father understands that Stiles and Theo had to do what was necessary, he’s still the sheriff of this town. “I don’t think so. I’m healing just a little slower than usual.” And that’s more annoying than something to worry about.

His father sighs. “I don’t know anything about this.” As it is, he isn’t the only one. Stiles is pretty sure nobody here knows what the hell is going on either – and the only people who might have an inkling are either wanting to kill him or dead. That’s not exactly comforting.

There’s also Morrell, but the last time they ran into each other, she wanted to kill him. So, he doesn’t exactly trust her either.

When his dad holds up the bandage, Stiles raises his arms compliantly. He just wants to go back to bed and sleep, or at the very least rest his eyes.

“You should stay home for the rest of the week,” his dad muses as he carefully wraps the bandage around Stiles’ chest. Only someone attuned to the supernatural world would suggest that resting for a week is enough to deal with a wound like this. A few months ago, Stiles would’ve easily died like a normal person after someone drove their whole fucking katana through his chest.

Now, he’s merely sleeping it off.

“You know,” Stiles says in a soft voice, “I do have enough credits to graduate early.” Attending summer school to be a good friend to Scott helped wit that.

His dad purses his lips. “No.” That doesn’t come as a surprise. His health and education are two things he’s never not extremely serious about.

“I can’t go to college anyway.” They don’t even know if he’s able to leave the nemeton’s territory at all, but they’re pretty sure he won’t be able to stay away for as long as any college would require him to. Once his grandparents are too old to travel, Stiles is never going to see them again.

His dad pulls the bandage tighter almost passive-aggressively. “What happened-“

“Dad, I’m a walking and talking time-bomb.” Stiles locks eyes with him in the mirror, and he knows he’s won the argument before it really began. “I’m a nogitsune now. I need to get a handle on this, or I’ll accidentally turn my school into a warzone because I’m in a bad mood. I can’t go back and play lacrosse like nothing’s changed. I can’t be that irresponsible.” And he most certainly won’t be. He was flying off the handle bad enough that he- Stiles shakes his head. Best not to think about that. Besides, there is still the issue with the Dread Doctors. If they haven’t gotten what they came for, there’s always the possibility they’ll come back for him again. A school full of students didn’t stop them before, and it’s not going to stop them now.

“I just want you to have a normal life.” He secures the bandage and drop his hands.

Stiles hates seeing him like that. He hates that his father has always tried his best to keep Stiles’ life as normal as humanly possible. Ever since his mother passed away. It has never been normal, but they found their new normal. They’ll be able to do that again. “I could start working for you,” Stiles offers with a small grin. He’s wanted to become an FBI agent, but with the trajectory his life is going, becoming a deputy might be the next best thing.

His dad offers him a small smile in return. “We’ll figure something out, kiddo.”

-

“Let’s figure this out, okay?” Theo’s new reasonable side is seriously starting to piss him off. He is burning with anger, and yet he’s just standing there. Again. Trying to defuse the situation.

Stiles wants to rip his head off. Instead, he moves his fingers in a beckoning gesture, and the four broken flashlights raise into the air, lifted by the few shadows Stiles has access to. “Oh yeah?” He’s not interested in talking this out. He’s interested in getting rid of Tracy for good. Sighing deeply, he points at a flashlight. Without a second of hesitation, it shoots directly at Theo’s face.

His eyes narrow as he swats it away like an annoying housefly. “Stop it.”

But Stiles doesn’t. “Or what?” he asks as the next flashlight rushes towards Theo.

Again, he slaps it away. “I said, stop.”

Stiles grins and hurls the next one at him. “And I said, or what?” There’s got to be a way to push Theo over the edge. He needs him to move out of his way before Corey gets too far away. He might be able to deal with Theo by himself as long as Theo won’t be able to grab him, but there’s no way in hell he can deal with the whole rescue squad.

Not right now, that is.

Not when he’s weak.

Theo bares his teeth in a snarl. “Stiles, stop.”

“Make me,” Stiles taunts before sending the last flashlight in his direction.

Finally, Theo breaks into a run, his anger boiling over, becoming stronger than his logic. Because he knows what he’s doing is stupid. He’s got to know; Stiles is having the upper hand the very moment he’s giving him an opening.

Stiles can see the realization on his face the moment he’s twisting away and out of reach. He doesn’t wait around to bask in Theo’s frustration. Instead, he breaks into a run. He doesn’t know where all his friends are, but he can pinpoint the ones he’s worried about the most – Theo, behind him in the hallway, running but not gaining on him. Brett, standing guard by the showers, the easiest way in and out, and then there’s Peter, waiting in the tunnels.

Corey hasn’t reached Brett yet, but Stiles is running out of time.

He’s doubling his efforts, rushing past mostly paralyzed guards. The chimeras didn’t even try to be sneaky on their way in. That makes it a lot easier to catch up, and thanks to Jordan burning every line of mountain ash he came across, nothing else is stopping him. Nothing at all.

As he runs, Stiles breaks every light he can find. The hallway plunges into darkness, reinvigorating him with every step he takes.

Somewhere in front of him, Corey gasps.

Gotcha.

Stiles gathers his strength and make a sweeping motion towards the ground. It takes a few seconds until the rumbling starts and a couple more until the ground is breaking apart right in front of his feet.

And more importantly, right underneath Corey’s feet.

The chimera yelps when he loses his footing in the darkness. Only a heartbeat later, Tracy tumbles into view.

“What the-“

“Jackson!” Theo yells. “Stop him. Stop him!”

Brett is moving now. Seems like he’s not been guarding the showers alone. Great. Then again, who is he told to stop? Guards, or Stiles.

Traitors. The lot of them.

Stiles brings his hands up, using the shadows to hurl the rubble towards the remaining lights in front of him.

They’re plunged into complete darkness just as Brett and Jackson round the corner.

Stiles heaves a breath and moves out of the doorway. Fuck. He was so fucking close. There’s no way to- Stiles blinks. But there is. There is a way to kill her quietly and get some power back. After all, she doesn’t need to be conscious to be terrified.

Two sets of footsteps come to a stop near the other gate. “What the hell?” Jackson repeats, sounding utterly confused. “I just saw him. He was right there.” Unbeknownst to him, he is pointing directly at Stiles. Being utterly invisible will never cease to amaze him. Werewolves aren’t usually this easy to fool.

Still, that’s his cue to move. Slowly, he tiptoes towards the wall and inches his way towards Tracy. Their confusion might be the last chance he’ll have to get to her.

“No,” Corey breathes, sitting on the ground and holding his ankle. “He’s here. He can vanish in the dark.” As he moves, a small wince of pain echoes in Stiles’ ears like a gunshot.

Hunger and guilt twist in his stomach. Corey wasn’t meant to get hurt, but following orders means that you could end up as collateral damage. The world isn’t fair, not even to someone as innocent as Corey.

Stiles crouches down next to Tracy. He places a hand over her mouth, forcing the darkness to swallow her up too. All that’s going to give them away now would be a sound.

“Tracy.” Theo comes to a stop somewhere behind him. “He’s going to kill Tracy.”

Heart hammering in his chest, Stiles places his other hand at her temple. There are no defences keeping him out. He sinks into her mind as if swallowed up by the ocean.

“She’s-“ Brett cuts off.

“She was right there!” Jackson sounds more confused than worried as Stiles makes his way into the swirling of world of Tracy’s nightmares – of the Dread Doctors and what they did to her, of her father’s death, all the other night terrors that used to plague her.

Of Theo looking at Stiles.

Of Theo sending her away.

Of Theo in his bed, unresponsive and fighting for his life.

Her fault.

Stiles grinds his teeth. That was her fucking fault, and it’s going to be the last thing she’ll ever see. He digs his fingers into the nightmare, dragging it up to the forefront of her mind, twisting it, showing her how truly alone she really was.

Because that’s the thing she’s most afraid of.

Loneliness.

Of everyone she cares about leaving her forever. A room full of people with no one to turn to, a pack, a family that doesn’t care if she’s dying right next to them.

“Phone!”

The terror tastes exquisite. Panic like that, panic stemming from love rejected, from being left behind is something he could get used to.

“Phone, someone get a fucking phone.”

And the best thing about it? She’ll never wake up from it. The last moments of her life will be filled with everything she’s utterly afraid of.

How fitting.

Bright light rips him out of the nightmare.

Stiles blinks, raises a hand to protect his eyes.

Theo crashes into him again, ripping him off Tracy. It feels like what Stiles can only imagine to be hit by a wreaking ball. The impact makes his bones ache. Unfortunately, this time Theo is also prepared for Stiles’ trying to hit him. He grabs his arm in a painful grip. “Don’t,” Theo warns in a low growl.

But Stiles has one hand free. He slams it to the ground. The nemeton reacts faster this time. Roots curl around Theo’s ankles and rip him away before slamming him straight into Jackson, whose phone clatters to the ground. It lands flashlight down, taking part of the light with it.

Brett’s phone is still directed at him, and he’s standing only a foot away. “Don’t even think about it.” His stance is clear. Brett will fight him, no questions asked. He’s come a long way since their last run in down in the tunnels.

“You people really need to stop telling me what I can and can’t do.” Stiles jumps to his feet.

Brett huffs. “Go on, throw your rocks at me. You can’t kill me with your powers.”

“Oh, but I can.” Stiles smiles, cocking his head to the left as he pulls the roots back towards him. “And I have.” And he will again.

Just not yet.

Now, he needs to leave. Preferably fast and before the werewolves manage to pin him down. He is going to walk out of this place with his head held high or not at all.

Stiles flicks his wrist, and four phones are grabbed by shadows and pulled towards him. Four, but it’s only five people. He looks at the phones, drawing his brows together. Theo didn’t bring his phone. He’s also wearing sweatpants. Someone is prepared to hunt him down as a wolf if he has to. 

Of course, Theo isn’t about to give up easily.

Fun.

Stiles crushes their phones and throws the remnants back at them. By the sound of it, his aim wasn’t off.

Now, to distract them. A little bit of strife can never hurt anyone. All he has to do is-“

“I’m going to fucking strangle him,” Jackson snaps, fidgeting with something right next to his left eye.

It takes Theo a second to react, but he grabs his brother by the throat and slams him into the cold stone wall. “Touch him, and I’ll rip your head off.”

Never mind.

With anger issues running so deep in the family, Stiles doesn’t have to do anything. No wonder he’s so drawn to all of them, and especially Theo. Theo’s anger, his rage, it’s like crack. If they weren’t mates already, Stiles would’ve guessed they were destined to be anyway.

Brett growls in annoyance. “Guys, you know-“

“Don’t start, Prep School,” Jackson snarls. “You don’t get to act all high and mighty just because Satomi had pity on the poor little orphan.”

That snaps Brett to attention. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take much, but with how aggressive Jackson and Theo are, this fight works without much of his input. Good. Makes it a lot easier for him to slip out unnoticed.

Stiles grabs Corey by the back of his collar and pulls him to his feet. “Time to go,” he whispers, watching as the three guys barely resist to jump each other’s throat. Maybe they’re finally getting it out of their systems so their childish bickering will stop. “It’s gonna get ugly soon.” Too bad, Stiles has to leave. He would’ve preferred to stick around and watch everything blow up, but alas…

“You fuckin-“

“What?” Brett taunts, “you fucking what, Theodore. Speak your mind.”

Stiles doesn’t hear the reply, if there even is one. Instead, he slips into the showers and ushers Corey out of Eichen and into the tunnels. His second least favourite place on this godforsaken earth.

Corey drops to the ground with a wince and crouches down to hold his ankle.

“Sorry about that,” Stiles says, and he means it. The kid wasn’t supposed to get hurt. “Wait here. I’m sure the others will come soon.”

Sitting down, Corey frowns at him. “Why are you so nice to me?”

Nice is debatable, but in comparison to the others, Stiles supposed he’s right. “You didn’t stand in my way… at least not out of your own free will.” He shrugs and turns away. Time is a limited resource, one he’s not planning on wasting any longer, not even for Corey.

Sighing, he hurries down the corridor in the direction of Peter. He’s not sure who is stationed at the other exits, and although Peter may be strong, Stiles is pretty sure he’s his best bet of getting out of here before his influence over the others is completely gone.

Whoever decided to put Jackson and Brett together wasn’t exactly a genius. No wonder Stiles is usually the one making the plans.

“I know you’re here,” Stiles calls, slowing down as his eyes dart around the intersection. He has absolutely no intention of getting jumped by Peter Hale so close to freedom. “You might as well come out now.” After all, he can’t evade what he cannot see.

“My, my.” Peter chuckles. “So angry.” Slowly, he’s sauntering around the corner, placing himself in the middle of the intersection with his hands in his pockets.

Stiles curls his into fists. Peter seems almost bored and not the least bit concerned about Stiles getting past everyone on his own. “You’re alone?” Stiles asks, forcing himself to relax his shoulders. “Are you that full of yourself?” To be honest, he wouldn’t put it past him.

“You’d be surprised what a little family time can change.” Peter’s smile is unpleasant as during his worst days.

And Stiles doesn’t trust it or the fact that he’s all alone down here. That just doesn’t seem right. Loyalty to his family or not, Peter is the one most likely to let him walk away if it benefits him in some way.

“Get out of my way.”

“Unfortunately, I was told not to let you pass.” Peter is standing his ground, and with how narrow the tunnels are, getting around him might become an actual challenge. The thing is, if Peter doesn’t move to ensure Stiles isn’t turning the other way either.

He narrows his eyes. “What do you want?” because this is Peter Hale, and Peter Hale always wants something.

His smile broadens, and Stiles only barely resist the urge to step away when Peter closes in. “Your anger.” Peter raises his hands as if to grab Stiles’ face but thinks better of it. All that rage holds so much raw power, and you’re wasting it on my son’s incredibly uninteresting plaything.”

Stiles stiffens and curls his hands into fists. “What?” he asks through gritted teeth

“Oh, she hates you.” Peter leans in and lowers his voice. “Every day, she was sitting in his home, hoping you’d rot somewhere. She never wanted you to be found, Stiles.” Every single word is a match struck, slowly burning away the threads holding Stiles together. “And then,” Peter continues, putting his hands on Stiles’ shoulders, “the worst part, the utmost insult, Theo brought her here. Not to knock out those guards, oh no. She was his failsafe.”

Footsteps echo in the corridor, and Stiles looks over his shoulder, watching Jackson and Theo rush towards them at breakneck speeds.

Peter puts his mouth right next to Stiles’ ear. “She was supposed to paralyze you in case you lost your mind.” A chuckle ripples through his body. “Theo didn’t trust you, so he-“ Peter makes sure to lower his voice even further “-brought-“ and yet every single word feels like a godforsaken punch in the gut “-her.”

Stiles turns around fully, curling his hands into fists.

Without a second of hesitation, Jackson yanks Theo to a stop. “What did you do?”

Stiles’ gaze is locked on Theo. Angry churns in his stomach, spreading its uncomfortable heat throughout his whole body until there is nothing else left.

“I was told not to harm him,” Peter replies as he steps away from him. “I happen to be formidable at improvising.”

Stiles reaches a hand towards the shadows. There is terrible lighting down here, yet enough for him to vanish completely. Still, there is plenty to use to teach Theo his lesson once and for all. He pulls his hand back, dragging six shadowy throwing stars into the light.

“Do you- uh.” Jackson stops himself, glancing from Theo to the throwing stars and back again. “Are they real?”

Theo merely scoffs. “He’s a nogitsune.” The idiot might have not been said, but it’s very clearly heard.

Idiot, indeed.

Stiles throws the first star.

Although Theo seems to believe all of this is merely a hallucination, he moves his hand to swat it away like he’s previously done with the flashlight – unlike those, however, the throwing star buries itself in the back of Theo’s hand, drawing very real blood. A gasp of pain falls from his lips. For a moment, he stares at his hand, watches the thin line of blood forming on his wrist. He grinds his teeth, blue eyes narrowing dangerously as they lock with Stiles.

Rage.

Finally.

“Fine,” he snarls, pulling the star out of his hand. “Have it your way, little fox.” Blood drops into the dust at his feet before his skin closes up.

Stiles raises his brows and snaps his fingers, dissolving the stars in front of him.

“Theo, don’t fall-“

“Stay out of this,” Theo snaps without as much as a glance at his brothers. “Get the others and get out of here.” For merely a second, Theo looks at Peter. “You too. This is personal.”

While Peter is listening to Theo, Jackson doesn’t seem convinced. “Listen, Theo. This is a terrible idea.” He puts a hand on Theo’s shoulder and watches Peter as he all but saunters over to them. He couldn’t pretend to be more unbothered if he tried, yet, merely a moment before he passes Theo, he shakes his head. The movement is so small, Stiles would’ve never noticed if he hadn’t been looking for it.

“No,” Theo snarls in response to something Stiles didn’t hear. “I want you both to leave.”

And they do, even if only reluctantly.

Theo doesn’t move, but his claws spring free with a soft snick. “Not exactly how I imagined our reunion to be.”

“That makes two of us.” Stiles crosses his arms behind his back and smiles, head cocked slightly to the left. “I wonder whose fault that is.” After all, Theo came here not only disrespecting but also insulting him by bringing Tracy along like she’s never done anything wrong in her life ever – like she’s never done anything to them.

Red bleeds into Theo’s eyes. “Your little game ends here.” Without wasting any more time, Theo charges at him.

Predictable.

Stiles avoids him at the last second. Smirking, he dips his hand into the shadows again. A rush of power courses through his as the darkness bends to his will and around his fingers to create a slim chain. Stiles grabs it with both hands and wraps it around Theo’s throat. A snarls fills the silence of the corridor as Stiles yanks him back.

Theo’s breath hitches. His hands fly up to grab the chain, but for a moment, Stiles is stronger. “You know,” he breathes, pressing his mouth against Theo’s ear, “you should just give up.”

“On you?” Theo makes an odd sound in the back of his throat. “Over my dead body.”

Stiles lets go of the chain as if it burned him and steps away from Theo. His chest is suddenly too tight, his heart at least two sizes to big. He opens his mouth, but the words get stuck in his throat.

The chain dissipates.

“Miecio.” Theo raises his hands. His movements are so unbelievably slow – like he’s dealing with a caged animal.

And in some ways, perhaps he does.

Stiles shakes his head. “I don’t want you to die.” The words come out broken and angry. His heart hurts, and he wants to punch Theo until his knuckles bleed.

“Really?” Theo’s lips quirk into a grin. “I wouldn’t have guessed.” He moves closer, one step at a time. So dreadfully slow. The grin doesn’t reach his eyes.

Stiles’ body goes cold.

Theo doesn’t trust him.

But he trusted Tracy.

The rage returns like a tidal wave, drowning Stiles, consuming him. He rushes forward, slamming into Theo at full speed. It’s like running into a brick wall. But the anger numbs his pain. They’re crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Stiles!” Theo bares his teeth, sharp, a death sentence. It’s one bite, that could kill him. Maybe even less. “Snap out of it.” He reaches for his arms.

But Stiles gets his hands on him first. He grabs Theo’s face and straddles him, slamming his head against the unforgiving stones once then twice. “Fuck you,” he spits. The soft groan, the pain thrumming under Theo’s skin – it’s like a drug. “Fuck you.” He could’ve already been out of here, but Theo had to make it complicated. He had to kill Deaton and, worst of all, he had to bring Tracy to stop him. Not only did he think that she could beat him, out of everyone, he chose the one person disrespecting Stiles and their relationship – and he’s not going to allow that again.

Stiles digs his fingers into Theo’s skin, almost blind with rage. “And you call yourself my mate? His eyes burn, tears prick at their corners. He’s been kidnapped, starved and experimented on.

And Theo allowed her back.

“You disgust me.”

Theo’s grips around his hips tightens as Stiles forces his way into his head. Another soft groan falls from his lips, one that might have very well be his name.

Stiles hits a wall in Theo’s mind. He didn’t expect this to be easy, not at all, but this one makes his head spin. Stiles closes his eyes and takes a breath. “Let me in,” he whispers, locking eyes with Theo again, and presses his thumb to the corner of his mouth. His stomach flutters as somewhere, deep inside him, the desire to kiss and hold Theo takes root. He’s missed him, desperately. His body craves his touch, his warmth so much more than everything else.

There.

The flash of an image. The woods. A bridge.

His sister’s death.

Stiles grinds his teeth and latches onto it, hooks his fingers into the crack to pry it open. “Let me in.”

“Please,” Theo growls, but the sound is weak, almost soft.  “Miecio, please.” Pain swims to the surface. Emotional pain. The one Theo loves so much.

Stiles gets it. He really does. It’s beautifully raw and nearly overwhelming, especially as Theo’s defences finally break open.

Another pained groan falls from Theo’s lips, but he’s stubbornly fighting back and sinks his claws into Stiles’ sides.

He hisses in pain.

Bastard.

The image flickers again, but Theo isn’t the only one who’s stubborn. Stiles pushes harder against his mental barriers, refusing to be forced out again – and then everything around him shifts into focus.

He’s standing on the bridge, looking down at Tara pleading for her life. She’s dying. Slowly and alone because Theo doesn’t care.

Or rather, he didn’t.

The little boy next to him is void of any feelings but pure hatred. He couldn’t care less about his sister’s death. Things are different now. The image flickers without Stiles’ doing. Little Theo is gone, replaced by Theo as he is now – damaged and unable to help. He is trying, however, pounding his fists against an invisible wall.

But there’s no way through.

No way to help—

Stiles blinks. There is Tara, dead in the water, his biggest regret. Next to her are the Dread Doctors, each of them holding one person.

Stiles, Jackson, and Peter.

After his sister’s death, Theo’s biggest fear remains the same; losing his family all over again.

“Stiles…”

He blinks again. The image in front of him flickers. What is he doing? What was the thinking? Theo would never hurt him. He’d never break his trust. Why- No. No. This is all wrong. This isn’t what he meant to do.

He’s hurting Theo over nothing.

Stiles pulls back and lets go of Theo, nearly throwing himself off him in his haste to get away. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, reaching out but hesitant to touch as Theo rolls onto his side, eyes squeezed shut tightly. “I’m- Theo, Misu, I- I didn’t- I’m sorry. I-“ didn’t mean to do that? Didn’t know what came over me? But he does. He knows the answer to that very question. Rage. Jealousy. The simple fact that he believed Theo disrespected him.

And Peter’s words finally made him snap.

“Theo, I-“

“Mom. Mom, no!”

Sharp, raging hot pain burns in his chest. Stiles opens his mouth, but no sound escapes him as he blinks down at the katana coated in his own blood sticking out of his chest.

-

“I’m going to kill her.”

“And that, dear brother, is why you need a babysitter around the clock.”

Theo glares at Jackson but doesn’t stop his pacing. His shoulders have been one rigid line ever since Stiles’ dad dropped him off here. Theo didn’t act particularly surprised about the early visit. He even had Stiles’ favorite breakfast ready at this ungodly hour in the morning. They didn’t even try to hide that they’ve planned this.

That, at least, means his dad stayed in contact with Theo despite Stiles avoiding him after what happened in Eichen.  

Huffing, Theo all but throws himself onto the couch and puts his head on Stiles’ lap. The way he is able to bounce back from everything – the way he trusts Stiles so much more than Stiles does himself – it’s almost too much.

Stiles swallows around the heart lodged in his throat. “Comfortable?” he asks, trying to sound casual, like he’s joking, but his voice is quiet and brittle.

Enough so that Theo studies his face with knitted brows before he smirks at him, “always.”

Jackson groans. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather be in school right now.”

“Why aren’t you?” Stiles asks as Jackson slaps Theo’s legs for some room.

His brother doesn’t fail to respond with a kick before scooting up a little higher.

“Because he-“ Jackson points at Theo without looking at him “- is a homicidal maniac, and you are the most unstable person I’ve ever met.”

Theo scoffs. “Why do I get flack when everyone in here killed someone?”

Jackson shoots him a sharp look.

Stiles pushes Theo off and gets to his feet.

Theo’s eyes widen slightly as he sits up. “Babe—”

“Don’t.”

“That wasn’t you.”

“I said don’t!” Stiles has never been able to handle insults very well, but on a normal day, he was able to wrap the insults up with a neat little bow to obsess over at a later time. “Don’t fucking tell me who I am, okay?”

Jackson eyes him warily, not moving from his spot on the couch. He won’t even give them the illusion of privacy.

Narrowing his eyes, Theo all but launches himself over the back of the couch. Although being smaller than Stiles, he seems to be towering over him. “You want me to call you a murderer instead? A monster?”

Stiles balls his hands into fists. “Don’t try to take away my accountability, jackass.” His heart is pounding in his chest as his anger rises like a tidal wave.

“You killed Tracy,” Theo shoots back without a second of hesitation. “Is that what you want to hear?” He sounds like it didn’t matter when it most certainly does.

It wasn’t self-defense. Not this time.

With Tracy, it was murder.

Stiles runs his fingers through his hair. “I killed her in a fit of jealous rage.” Who knows what else could put him in a state like that? He’s a ticking time bomb.

“It’s kind of hot when you say it like that,” Theo smirks, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I can’t believe I’m related to you,” Jackson mutters as he gets to his feet. “Anyone want a drink?” He points in the direction of the kitchen.

For a moment, Stiles stares at him. Yeah, sure, how could they ever be related. More so to clear his head than as a response. “Was it still hot when I tried to kill you?”

“Not really, no.” Theo cocks his head to the side almost contemplatively. “But I nearly killed you once too. I’d say we’re even.”

Stiles closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “If you want to be technical about it,” he remarks icily, crossing his arms over his chest, “I almost killed you three times already.”

Theo huffs out a breath. “The time you threw me across the room hardly counts.”

“I should’ve stayed in London,” Jackson mutters as he wanders into the kitchen, shaking his head.

“This isn’t funny,” Stiles snaps.

“I know.”

“Then stop making light of this!” Stiles curls his hands into fists again and presses his arms tightly against his chest. He wants to throw something. He wants to hit something, someone. Theo, more specifically.

Theo stares at him for a moment, lips pressed together then he lets out a breath. “I’m not.”

“Trust me, Stilinski,” Jackson chimes in, tossing Theo a water bottle which he catches effortlessly, “we’re all taking this very seriously.” Raising his brows, he offers Stiles one as well.

Stiles can’t help but think of his babcia for a moment, who strongly believes that a good herbal tea can cure everything. Sighing, he takes the bottle and sits down on the edge of the dining table – if not to drink it, then at the least to give his hands something to do. He fidgets with the label, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted mentally. The urge to hide in his room returns in full force, and all he can do now is try not to shrink into himself.

Scrunching his brows together, Stiles rubs his chest. The pressure on the not fully healed wound helps grounding him.

“Does it still hurt?” Theo asks in a soft tone.

Stiles only nods. It’s been a week since Noshiko tried killing him, and he struggled to heal for the first couple of days. His body took over in the end. Now, the only mark on his body is the one on his chest. Everything else is gone, even Donovan’s bite. He’s hated and loved his scars, but in the end, they were proof of everything he’s endured – they made this carbon-copy of his body his very own, they made him feel human.

They’re gone now, and Stiles feels like a stranger to himself.

Theo sets the bottle of water on the table next to him. “Babe,” he all but whispers and cups his jaw, gently forcing Stiles to look at him, “I know you’d prefer to blame yourself for the rest of eternity, but I’m not going to. Things like that happen.”

Scoffing, Jackson sits down on the table next to him.

Stiles quirks a brow. “You mean a lot of people try to kill their significant other?”

“You were turned into a nogitsune hardly an hour before killing Tracy,” Jackson reminds him, twisting the cap of his water bottle as he stares out the window. “Losing control is kind of an initiation ritual for supernatural creatures. All your senses are heightened, your instincts crank your emotions up to a hundred – even Theo struggled to adjust to turning into an alpha, and he is still technically human.”

Technically.

Believing them is easy, hiding behind their words is not. Stiles swallows and looks everywhere but Theo’s face. “It’s no excuse.”

“No,” Jackson agrees.

Theo shoots him a look. “But we did learn what triggers you, so, we know what to avoid for now.”

“Hitting on your boyfriend for example, which is a mystery to me anyway.” Jackson smirks at Theo, clearly satisfied with himself.

“Killing your food,” Theo continues, not deigning the dig with a reaction. “Speaking ill of your mother.”

Under normal circumstances, Stiles wouldn’t have reacted badly to Theo implying his mother didn’t raise him well. Theo liked his mother, a lot. There were days when they hung out in the kitchen and watched her bake or cook or just drank hot chocolate together. During her stays at the hospital, Theo constantly kept asking if she’s okay and when she’d be coming home, and he’d be there on the days they’d pick her up. Theo never even spoke badly about his dad, and he’s given him a hard time.  

Jackson grimaces, “don’t go around insulting people’s mothers. You’re asking to get jumped.”

Stiles presses his lips together to hide his smile.

Judging by Theo narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, he’s probably failing miserably. “Glad you think this is funny.” He squeezes Stiles’ cheeks for a moment before smiling himself. Genuine, soft. He leans down to brush their lips together.

And that’s almost all it takes for Stiles’ heart to nearly combust.

“We’ll figure this out,” Theo whispers.

Stiles nods, slowly, and buries his face in his chest.

[apteryxparvus]

L ♡ V E R ⇌ L ⦻ S E R — chapter 4

Chapter four — In our exes to enemies to lovers era

Pairing — Scaramouche / Female Reader

Content warning — swearing • mentions of bullying

Summary: In a twist of unfortunate events, you find out that being exposed as the target of Kunikuzushi middle school bullying escapades was just the beginning of your troubles. To your dismay, you’re thrown even deeper into the glamorous but artificial world of celebrities. Oh, and the cherry on top? You’re forced to pretend to be in a long-term romantic relationship with none other than said ex-bully. All because of a careless misclick by his social media manager.

prev • masterlist • next

Scaramouche glares at the damn Zoom Meeting link his PR manager sent, his frustration overwhelming his thoughts. He lets out an exasperated sigh, trudging over to his computer setup. Slipping on his headphones, he counts to five, attempting to quell his irritation before joining the meeting. Clicking on the link, his camera pops up, revealing his irritated expression staring back at him.

He waits for Hiratsuka to let him in the meeting, silently praying that it will be over quickly, and hoping his simmering anger won't spill over. But of course, everything takes a nosedive when he hears Satomi's high-pitched, shrill apology piercing through his headset.

"Scaramouche, please, I beg you, please, forgive me. I swear I didn't mean for this to happen," she wails, clasping her hands together. Through her pixelated image, he can almost make out the tears in her eyes. "I genuinely thought I was browsing the tags on my personal account!"

"So you're telling me you spend your time liking and retweeting mindless gossip about me and my personal relationships?" Scaramouche grinds his teeth, his voice strained.

"Oh no, no! It's not like that, I swear!"

"Then pray tell, why the fuck did you go ahead and like a damn post about my personal relationship? You should be fired and blacklisted from ever handling anyone else's social media," he snaps.

Satomi's face turns a bright shade of red.

"Scaramouche, please, hold your tongue. Let's not dwell on the past. Our purpose here is to discuss damage control. Satomi will have a private conversation with me and the department head, not with you. Appropriate measures will be taken regarding her actions," Hiratsuka interjects, her voice maintaining its professional tone.

"A few news outlets have already published articles mentioning this slip-up. I will be contacting them to arrange potential interviews," Hiratsuka continues, her gaze locked on Scaramouche, daring him to object.

Scaramouche offers no verbal response, just a grunt. His PR manager shoots him a stern look.

"As for the individual mentioned, we will also make efforts to contact her. Her profile has been set to private, so we are exploring alternative methods of communication," Hiratsuka explains.

"Neither you nor Satomi will be contacting her," Scaramouche interrupts angrily. "I've had enough of all this shit. I'll speak to her myself."

Hiratsuka stays silent for a few moments. "Then I must insist that you maintain a professional tone when conversing with her. Once I have the necessary information, I will provide you with the means to contact her."

"Sure, whatever. I’ll be taking my leave then." 

With those words, he abruptly leaves the call, dismissing his manager's protests. Removing his headset, Scaramouche heads to the kitchen, grabbing a cold beer from the fridge. Settling back onto his couch in his living room, he cracks open the can and opens his Twitter account, seeking out your profile.

To his surprise, it's not set to private as his manager claimed.

Without a second thought, he seizes the opportunity to message you, wanting to put an end to this whole mess. He navigates to the private messaging section and feels his eyes twitch with annoyance.  He skims through the flurry of messages you sent just minutes ago — they all initially appear like a jumble of nonsensical words.

He snorts when his gaze lands on your final message.

Author's note: hiii besties, here i am (drunk af after a shiiiiit weekend at work) enjoy this chapter i totally did not proof read <3

Taglist — @scaramoo @bananasquash @yukiipc @theblueblub @feiherp @scarletttcroww @farelady-fate @skyoverkill1 @reversearrowhead @magica-ren

[nami-moittli]

Thinking about what would happen to the digidestined if they ended up dying in the Digiworld, which of course means I have to think about Kouichi

Just. Imagine the end of Frontier but Kouichi just. Doesn’t make it. He dies from that fall and he dies sacrificing himself to save his brother. That would just be, so entirely fucked up for these kids to go through, especially Kouji (now that the others would be fine either, just yk. Not loosing a brother bad)

Like, Kouji coming back to his home, slamming the door behind him and stomping up to his room, the fact that it’s his dad’s and step-mom’s anniversary completely forgotten

Kousei’s obviously mad. He thought that for at least one day Kouji would try to play nice with his new mother, but nope, he’s gone all day with no explanation and walks straight past the both of them with no remorse. Of course, he doesn’t realize the true gravity of the situation, but he still marches right up those stairs after his son, Satomi following soon behind him, though not as mad about the whole thing. Just, worried

Kousei knocks furiously at the door, demanding to be let inside, or at least have an actual conversation about his behavior, Satomi stands still only halfway up the steps, just wanting to know if Kouji’s okay, knowing he’d probably never tell her

After a while, Kouji gets angry and slams the door back open, a furious expression on his face with red, puffy eyes indicating that he had been crying. In fact, there were still tears at the edges of his eyes

It takes Kousei by surprise, but he quickly shakes his head and starts lecturing Kouji about acting like that on their anniversary day. That he knows that Kouji isn’t the happiest with Satomi, but he needs to get over his mother’s death, after all Kouji didn’t even know her and it was time to move on

But then Kouji says, not exactly quietly, but with a shaky and sharp voice he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me I had a brother?”

Then suddenly the ball was in Kouji’s court, because Kousei certainly wasn’t expecting that. He stutters a bit trying to readjust himself to this new topic, but Kouji’s already blowing up at him

WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME I HAD A BROTHER? WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME THAT MOM WAS ALIVE? THAT SHE WAS DEAD IN THE FIRST PLACE WHEN ALL THAT REALLY HAPPENED WAS A DIVORCE? WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME THAT I WAS A TWIN?!

Kousei has no fucking clue on how to respond to this, but it ends up with Kouji getting so frustrated that he pushes Kousei away with all his might, right into the doorframe

Kouji is slightly mortified by his own strength for a moment, seeing how much pain his dad seems to be in, but he quickly pushes past that and charges for the door, pushing Satomi out of his way too

(Not as hard as his dad though. Kouji didn’t actually want to hurt them. He was just so hurt himself, and Satomi really wasn’t that bad. Not to mention he didn’t want anymore accidents on stairs anytime soon. Or at all)

He ends up grabbing his Kendo stick, just for that small bit of comfort that comes with being able to properly defend himself as his dog barks at him as he leaves.

He’s running, but not really sure where to. Just. Away. While running he pulls out his phone and send out a message to the other Warriors. (They had exchanged numbers at the hospital. A way to keep in touch.) The only ones who could know how he feels. (They can’t. They didn’t loose a brother before he got to know him. At least, that’s what Kouji thinks)

The others would love to have him stay, but it was J.P. who actually had the room for him. Apparently J.P.’s parents got home really late, if at all most nights, so if Kouji just wanted to be away from people, his place was his best bet.

It was a ways away. Not like that mattered to Kouji.

[stevebattle]

Gundam Concierge Haro (AKA Gundam mascot "Hello") by Bandai Namco, Tokyo, Japan (2017). The "Hello" robot, demonstrated at CEATEC 2017, is based on the robot mascot of the Mobile Suit Gundam science fiction anime franchise (fifth image). The robot answers questions, and is voiced by Satomi Arai. "The unique-looking communication robot has LED-installed eyes and ears that move. Speak to Haro and it will respond by conversing in Japanese as well as wobbling and swaying around as it interacts. Its AI technology can access a database to search for the best response to a certain question or statement based on the speaker's meaning." – Gundam Concierge Haro Robot, Japan Trend Shop.

[keithisbae1]

“So, do you plan on bringing a fourth kid into the family?” It was meant as a joke but Sasuke almost spat out his drink having to move Sarada on his lap encase it spilled on her. She didn’t pay any mind and continued to happily baby babble to Boruto.

“Your joking, right?” And here he thought Naruto was starting to act mature suggesting to meet up at the park rather than his usual ramen stand. He even insisted on bringing the kids along for them to also bond, his older twins Satomi and Saori were playing in the flowers still in sight since they knew not to go off to far whilst the four of them sat on the bench.

This wasn’t the type of conversation he imagined.

“Well, it’s not like you have to have them right now. I’m just curious if you and Sakura-Chan talked about it.” Not really, talking about more kids didn’t seem necessary when Sarada herself couldn’t speak yet and the twins were still young needing all their attention.

“Where is this coming from?” At first Naruto seemed to hesitate to reply, almost embarrassed which wasn’t like him at all.

“Me and Hinata were talking last night, and we decided that once Boruto’s old enough we might try for another. I mean seeing your older two act with Sarada got me thinking that I didn’t want Boruto to be an only child. And I’m sure he’ll be a great older brother too.” 

Ah, that made sense.

“So, you wanting another kid means we must? Do you not remember Sakura giving birth to twins?”

“Hey! I’m fully aware, I was only curious since I’m sure Sakura-Chan would love to have a kid that isn’t a copy and paste of you.” 

Touché. He smirked rolling his eyes.

“Very funny.” The two were then interrupted when he felt a light tug on his sleeve to see his two daughters with flower crowns.

“Papa, Papa, look, we made flower crowns for Sawada and Bowuto.” They smiled, Satomi put one on Sarada and she clapped delighted whilst Saori put hers on Boruto who only blinked seemingly confused at what was on his head.

He then made a little fuss not liking it.

“Aww, I think it looks cute buddy.” Although cute was probably not the look Boruto was going for. Naruto then turned his attention to the girls asking them questions.

Sasuke couldn’t help but smile fondly at his daughters talking animatedly. Yes, he was perfectly content with his little family and if they did end up having another baby in the future, he has no doubt they’ll be loved and taken care of just as much.

The twins were planned, or at least one of them was.

When Sakura first told him the news, full of excitement and glee it wasn’t long until the rest of his family found out and they even had a small celebration for them. 

And then she found out they were having twins. Embarrassingly Sasuke had fainted on the spot after hearing this, not his finest hour he’ll admit. It was one thing expecting a baby on their first but twins. She was so small, and whilst he had no doubt his wife could take care of herself Sasuke had refused to take any missions until the two were delivered safety. Even with his mother insisting that they would take care of her or his in laws. Sasuke didn’t like the idea of leaving Sakura alone knowing she was carrying not one but two of their babies. 

Sarada on the other hand wasn’t planned but after the first two, they were more confident in what they were doing. He felt more at ease on taking missions and leaving her by herself. But he still made sure to ask his or Sakura’s parents to take care/keep an eye on her. Sakura was also excited since Naruto and Hinata were expecting which meant their little one already had a play date.

The thought of adding another baby… what kind of surprise would they have installed for them. 

“What if she ends up on having triplets?” Having triplets would mean there would also be a chance for them to be three girls and whilst Sasuke didn’t care for the gender, the thought of having six (as if three wasn’t enough) girls and having to deal with all the boys, heartbreak…

His stomach turned queasy at the thought.

“Uh, Sasuke you okay? You look kind of pale.”

[shockersalvage]

Salvage Showcase - Satomi Aoba

As we head back to DRT, we now are looking at one of its most surprising additions that it ever decided to include, and its even stranger use of her.

Here we have Satomi Aoba - a member of Sayaka's idol group.

The Summary

Technically, Satomi has been in Dangronpa ever since the 1st game. Satomi is an idol that was apart of Sayaka Maizono's group. They were immensely popular and treated each other as both rivals and even sisters in a way. But, popularity wise, Satomi was only the fourth popular member of their group (5th being Ayaka Haneyama), making her one of the least popular, though supplementary material like Danganronpa S heavily implied that this was in spite of being the leader of the quintet.

During Sayaka's stint in Hope's Peak Academy, the World Domination Proclamation happened, where 'Byakuya Togami' broadcasted his challenge to the world that he'll take over unless someone kills him or find the 'pitiful cattle' within 24 hours. Satomi would get caught in this event as she had left her former life behind to see the world. Arriving in Prague, she arrived to a town that was attacked by the Mystr'y Research Society. Everyone, but one villager, was killed in a locker room type method. This last villager, a 'Moleman' (think a shut-in), finds her and they agree to work together (after Moley proves his worth, in this case, by hotwiring a jeep)

They come across the MRS in a house, trying to do another locked room mystery set-up and have a discussion, mainly concerning their foes background as Hope's Peak Junior High students and how they were responsible for enacting a global locked room mystery during the WDP as well. It's during this conversation where one of the MRS trio, the Vice President, recognizes Satomi as being the #4 idol of Sayaka's group, and her low popularity. Just as the conversation shifted to killing the Moleman and Satomi, the former tosses up a table and gets both out of there.

They escape via jeep with the main plan being to head to the airport to escape this insanity. During this car ride, thier conversation together has Satomi gradually convince this Moleman that his cynical attitude towards trying and the need for willpower to continue on, even if life doesn't exactly bring them what they want.

Sadly, things come to ahead when the Imposter (the one managing the WDP and currently a member of Despair High School/Ultimate Despair) uses Sonia's influence to drop a satellite in their area, which causes their jeep to crash. Satomi is badly injured from the satellite drop and seeing her unconscious is what drives Moleman to desperately go from location to location trying to find a way to get her patched up...

Satomi would not wake up, at least for the rest of the DRT trilogy. Her body is carried towards Detsky's Island where a Despair High School base is located. It's there, during a conflict with DRT's main protagonist Blue Ink, does the Moleman turns out to actually be the alter of the SHSL Hitman: Suzuhiko Otsuki. Otsuki had slaughtered the MRS and Hasegawa leaders that were nearby, but Satomi wasn't killed yet. Otsuki claims to have missed her, but before he could kill her Blue Ink interrupts him. Thus, her life was spared...but that ends her involvement with the DRT story.

We do know this isn't the end for her. Somehow, by unknown means, she was recovered and patched up, and eventually got back to Japan to be with her idol group. Once the Tragedy would start, though, since she was one of the closet people to Sayaka, she was kidnapped by Ultimate Despair as part of their group of Captives. Her final fate remains unknown.

Described by Sayaka as 'adult-like, cool, and reliable', Satomi serves as the positive to Moleman's negative. While Moley is very bitter and holds talent & life in disdain, Satomi is optimistic and believes that it is worth living for, even when things don't go as well as they should. She has a very professional attitude due to her career as an idol, which results in her being polite and calm, even in face of danger or injury. That said, she can be pretty frank and doesn't hold punches concerning her new friend's attitude or worth during hard times (initially she didn't event to work with Moley since she thought there wouldn't be any value to it) and, if push comes to shove, is quick to take action when needed. Nevertheless, she does know when to compliment him for being legitimately cool and does want to see him improve.

The Rundown

DRT is a story based around the themes of 'Reality vs Unreality/Escapism'. For her role in the Moleman side plot, Satomi serves as the 'Reality' aspect of it all, played positively against both the MRS and Moleman. Specifically, Satomi is the ideal that life is worth living as you continue to try, even if your current life is not the best.

Satomi serves as a foil to the issues both Moley and MRS hold, as they are those whose dreams didn't come true or they gave up on them. In contrast, Satomi is someone who, technically, is living her dream and, on the surface, is doing well for herself. But, there's a pretty clear snag. She's good, but isn't nowhere near good as Sayaka or the two idols above her. Heck, despite being 4th, VP even pointed out there were going to be die hard people who supported the 5th least popular more because she was officially last. Unofficially? She is the least in star power and it wasn't her fault. Just like Moley, her situation is due to other people being more skilled being considered.

What definitely separates her from her ally and enemies is what she does in response to this setback. It would be pretty easy to be bitter in her situation, like Moley, or turn to self-destructive actions in face of an unfair world, like the MRS. But its her drive to continue in spite of this unfairness that puts her above both, despite essentially being far from her element as possible. It's this drive that gets Moley to try his best to save her and refute the Despair Novel, even when all Hope seems lost.

She plays an irreplaceable role in Moley's story...and it becomes very tragic when the person she was empathizing with and encouraging just so happened to not only, in a way, be actually brimming with talent, but an aspect of him was essentially using her in order to get closer to killing someone. Even if Moley cared, the main personality of Suzuhiko is cruel to the core that abandons or slays whatever bonds made by his alter in favor of his own connections and goals. Just casualties that had the misfortune of getting invested in a 'lie' or 'unreality'.

Beyond that, Satomi is heavily reminiscent of Sayaka and her role in DR1. Satomi follows in the footsteps of the lead idol by acting as an assistant or companion to a 'normal' guy in a deadly situation created by despairful fanatics. What is noticeably different is their actions under pressure. Sayaka is trapped in a school with the paranoia of being murdered and threat of something have been done to her friends. She's the first student to snap and attempt murder.

For Satomi? She's in a stressful situation in the country where the WDP is mainly taking place, in a village that has been mostly slaughtered save for one guy and is in the presence of a group of murderers who are not only in league with the instigators, but also plan to do the same to her as well. Yet, she doesn't break. She's unnerved, but keeps her cool, even when she gets seriously injured from her accident. It's showing that, despite not being considered to be on par with Sayaka, she does hold a quality that allows her to surpass the Ultimate Pop Sensation in one area.

Personal Thoughts

(She's in the back)

Satomi is a character I quickly found myself taking a liking too. I'm a sucker for works that flesh out minor characters, especially one who was pretty much just a blip in what was essentially the First Death's motivations. I love how she's the right combination of both optimistic, kinda blunt, yet also takes up after Sayaka and even Ayaka as being idols who are not afraid to throw down if need be. Only person in what is essentially a ghost town? Beat him up with your suitcase and ask questions later! Require answers but no one's answering the door? It's break in time!! Sayaka's group has no chill when it comes to killing games and I love that it is a consistent trait all five share. Kind of makes me ponder if 2 and 3 of their group would have been bludgeoning people during the Tragedy if they got the chance and had to do it. Beyond that, her dynamic with Moley is legitimately one of the most well developed relationships within DRT, and you really for it when Moley is trying his best to save her...

Which is why the 'Suzuhiko Reveal' will always have a sour taste in my mouth. Not only was this connection tossed away for essentially someone akin to Genocide Jack (and not quite good as it like her), Satomi never shows up again. She never manages to reunite Moley/Suzuhiko, there are no scenes in which we can tell she got rescued by someone else, she's just gone from the trilogy. The only reason we know she doesn't die here is because of DR1, but even then its not a huge comfort since her fate is still unknown. The only member of Sayaka's group that was known to be recovered alive was Ayaka.

It's just odd to me. To go out of your way to flesh out someone who had no character, make them extremely likable and never resolve their plotline is just extremely odd. I can appreciate the attempt, but if their story ends with them being essentially ditched and forgotten for another storyline together, well, I can't help but wonder why put effort into them in the first place. The Moleman arc of the book just reeks of thrown out potential for, arguably the worst character of the book, but what's done is done.

Next time: Back to the misc stories of the DRverse!

[cubistemoji]

The first time I met him, he literally ran into me in the hall. I was carrying a stack of handouts, he was distracted. The papers went flying, scattering everywhere. I fell backwards, landing hard on my tailbone. It hurt, but more than that it was going to be a pain to clean up. 

"You couldn't have watched where you were going?" I grumbled, looking up into eyes hidden by dark bangs. He must have had a face, but I can't describe it now. 

—

Then he said, "sorry, I got lost in your beautiful eyes," and I called him a creepy weirdo and scrambled to my feet, grabbing as many pages as I could on my way.

—

"You couldn't have watched where you were going?" I grumbled, but a hand reached out to help me up, and he smiled. His eyes were hidden by his hair, but his smile seemed friendly enough.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm —." His name doesn't matter, it changed all the time. I can't remember the first one anymore.

"And I'm running late, so if you'll excuse me." I picked up the papers and continued on my way.

—

"You couldn't have watched where you were going?" I grumbled, but the guy immediately started apologizing and helping me pick up the papers he'd spilled. Nice of him, I thought.

"There you go," he said, handing me a stack.

"Thanks. You didn't have to do that, but thanks." My face felt hot.

He smiled. I couldn't see his eyes behind his bangs, but his smile was friendly. *What's your name?"

I told him my name in turn, and excused myself from the conversation before I was late to class. When I got there, less time had passed than I thought.

—

I saw him around occasionally after that, the boy whose eyes I couldn't see. He joined the art club with Akko and her friends, the cutest girls in school. Rumor had it he was going to confess to Akko at the end of the school year. Not like I cared. Akko could date whoever she wanted.

—

He joined the art club with Akko and her friends, the cutest girls in school. Rumor had it he was going to confess to the club president at the end of the school year. Not like I cared, I barely knew either of them.

—

He joined the art club with Akko and her friends, the cutest girls in school. Rumor had it he was going to confess to the foreign exchange student at the end of the school year. 

"What about the club president?" I asked, but Akko blinked and said she didn't know what I was talking about. The lights flickered once.

—

He joined the culinary club, with Micchi and president Satomi and Iori and, well, me. He seemed to be more interested in Micchi than cooking, though— apparently they were childhood friends. And that was kind of a pain, I'll admit it, but only because when two out of five people are busy flirting instead of doing the stuff we're supposed to be doing we never finish in time. Otherwise it had nothing to do with me.

—

He joined the culinary club, with Micchi and president Satomi and Iori and me. He seemed to be more interested in president Satomi than cooking, though— I guess he liked the big-sister type. And that was more than kind of a pain, because president Satomi was the president and club leader and she was supposed to be teaching us how to cook and not making googly-eyes at some guy. I told him off for it a few times, but it just made president Satomi giggle and blush even more.

—

He joined the culinary club, but he seemed to be more interested in talking to all of us about everything but cooking— asking Iori what she liked to do after school, making plans to go to a cafe with Micchi on Saturday and then shopping with president Satomi on Sunday, distracting everyone to the point that we barely finished preparing the dough for our milk bread before we had to leave school for the day. And this was frustrating.

I told him off, but I think I just made him scared of me. He started ignoring me instead of trying to talk to me at all.

"We had such a nice club before that guy showed up," I complained to Akko on our way home one day. "Did he do this in the art club too?"

Akko giggled and said, "I don't remember seeing him at art club before, but it's funny to see you all worked up about a boy."

I felt my face get hot again. "It's not like that."

—

He joined the culinary club, and he was a model member— focused, quiet, scrupulously polite to all of us. Micchi and president Satomi tried to tease him a bit, but he didn't really engage much. He wasn't a great cook, sure, but none of us were when we first started. I helped him out a bit, reminding him when to do what. I could feel the other girls looking at me when I did.

"Thank you for your help today," he said after club ended. "Do you think you could give me some extra tutoring before the next meeting?"

I gaped. "You want to come to my house? When we barely know each other?! What kind of a playboy are you?!" 

—

"Thank you for your help today," he said. "Let me get you a drink to repay you."

I frowned. "Isn't that a little much? I just did what any good club member would do for a newbie."

—

"Thank you for your help today," he said. "Please let me return the favor sometime."

"I'll hold you to it," I said, and meant it. 

Then he left to go talk to his friend Tomoda from the basketball club, and I tried to put the conversation out of my mind for the time being.

"Oh my God," Micchi squealed, squeezing my arm, "he's totally into you! And you're totally into him! You guys should date, it'd be so super cute!"

"I hardly know him, how could I date him?" I pulled my arm out of her grasp. 

In the back of my head, a memory flickered of Micchi holding on to him just like this, chattering about how excited she was to see him again after he transferred to our school and how glad she was he joined our club. That time, he let her. Today, he brushed her off, politely telling her he didn't want to make too much of a fuss.

"Maybe you should date him," I said. "Since you're childhood friends and all."

Micchi laughed. "You saw how he was today, didn't you? He's not interested in me at all. He's locked on to you now."

Something about her phrasing seemed strange to me, but I wasn't sure what.

He kept coming to culinary club meetings, and now that Micchi had pointed it out to me I was aware of his attention on me. But it didn't feel like a guy pursuing me. It felt more like he was trying to tame a scared wild animal by slowly gaining its trust. 

"That's because you're hard to approach," Micchi explained. "So he's being careful."

It didn't feel like he liked me at all. I started watching him back, trying to figure out how I could make him do something drastic, show his hand. Show his eyes, which I had still never seen.

After a few weeks of this, I told him I'd like to cash in that favor.

"Um," he said.

The lights flickered.

—

I told him I'd like to cash in that favor.

"Are you sure?" he said. "Right now?" 

We were leaving school after club, but it wasn't a special occasion by any means. 

"Why not? You're not busy, are you?"

—

He scratched the back of his neck. "Micchi actually asked me to go to a cafe with her after club today..."

"I see." A spike of fear ran through me, but I wasn't sure why. Fear and... Disappointment? No, not that. "Never mind, then. Have fun with Micchi."

— 

He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm actually getting extra tutoring today..."

"From a cute girl?" I couldn't resist asking, watching his blank face flush pink. "Never mind, then. Have fun with that."

—

"Sure, okay," he said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Go?" I repeated. "Awfully forward of you, though I guess that's par for the course for your kind."

He looked blanker than usual, then blushed, flustered. "I didn't mean to assume—"

—

"I'm not busy," he said, and faced me expectantly, as if waiting for my command. 

I let him wait for a few seconds, then relented. "Let's go somewhere we won't be disturbed."

I took him to that strip of lawn by the river, just grass and running water and no pretty girls waiting for a chance to talk to the boy with hidden eyes. We sat down on the slope.

"So," I said, cutting to the chase. "What's your deal?"

The lights flickered, even though we were outside.

—

He was silent, frozen still, for what felt like forever.

"Um," he said, eventually, "what do you mean by that?"

"You know, the way you keep chasing every other girl in school, but no one seems to remember you doing it. Your eyes. The way every conversation with you feels like it's happened three times. What's your deal?"

"Um," he said again. "Um."

Something— not light, not darkness, but something I could feel on my skin and face and inside my body— flickered.

—

He scratched the back of his neck. "I actually do have somewhere to be today..."

"Reschedule that. I need to talk to you. It's important!" I grabbed his sleeve. 

Of course, that attracted a crowd, gossip-hungry teenagers gathering like ants around a dropped jelly donut. I heard people whispering about confessions, and how did a frigid bitch like me ever fall for someone as plain as that guy? I felt like crying, or worse. 

I looked up at him, but all I could see on his face was the shadow of his bangs, lips frowning slightly.

The lights flickered.

—

He kept coming to culinary club meetings, but I didn't see him there because I stayed home, bedridden with a horrible migraine for a week straight.

—

He joined the culinary club, and didn't talk to anyone at all, just chopping the carrots and onions in focused silence. I could hear Micchi and president Satomi whispering about him, but I wasn't paying attention to them.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" I tried. Nothing.

"What's your name? What class are you in? What year?" Nothing.

I looked at his attempts at julienning. Big and rough and uneven chunks of vegetable scattered across his cutting board. "You're not very good at this."

He shot me a look then, but still said nothing.

—

He wouldn't say a word, but he cut the vegetables perfectly. 

"Wow, where did you learn that from?" Micchi cooed over my shoulder when we all gathered s around his station. "Definitely not when we were kids, that's for sure."

"That's not right," I said. "That's not right." No one seemed to hear me. 

I shrugged Micchi off me and went to the door, but the moment I turned the handle the lights in the room flared, bright and buzzing loud inside and outside my head, before plunging the room into—

—

I'm carrying a stack of handouts through the hallway. He's running, distracted. I look up, see the shadowy forehead, and take a large step to one side. He trips over nothing, skidding to a stop a few feet past me, and looks around, confused. I turn away quickly and keep walking, my handouts secure in my arms.

My head pounds. My heart pounds. The lightbulbs overhead burst, showering me in shards of glass.

I sink to the floor.

He touches my shoulders and whispers low in my ear, "I can help you with that."

[loveephia]

nationals (oc drabble).

content: fluff, humor, implied kanoka x sakusa, suna being a wingman.

⚠ warning/s: none.

note: just a little drabble to get a grasp of niiyama's dynamic and sumire's character. :p

"get me out of here." sumire muttered shakily.

"but we just arrived!?" ririka screeched.

from merely a few meters away was inarizaki; the male representatives for hyōgo prefecture, and the second strongest volleyball team. everything about them was intimidating. who wouldn't be scared?

maiko facepalmed, "you're not even going up against them!"

"my life, my emotions!" sumire screamed with tears forming in her eyes, desperately trying to hide from inarizaki's members.

"man, the atmosphere here never gets lighter." jinko sighed. "right..? i can already feel my stomach turning." ayame said, relative to jinko's statement. satomi patted the two heavily on the back, "think of it this way; volleyball is just a more intense version of "don't let the balloon touch the floor"!" she tried to cheer her fellow third years up.

"that doesn't change anything except make volleyball sound stupid." shinju deadpanned.

"oh, c'mon, guys!" satomi cried out.

"nah! it sounded pretty funny, to be honest. it makes me feel a lot better, too." ririka said, "so thanks, tomi!"

kanoka kept writing her fears down on the face of her palm, eating every last one like they're candy. she was soon caught doing so by the other first place ace of japan, sakusa kiyoomi. kanoka's cheeks were pink from embarrassment. she hesitantly bowed her head at him as an unsaid greeting before shuffling away timidly.

"was that amanai from niiyama just now?" komori curiously asked sakusa as he nods. "she's grown a lot these past few months. i want to see how much she's advanced." sakusa stated.

"ooh, sakusa's interested in a girl? say less!" komori teased his dear cousin.

"i'm leaving."

"keiji, kōtarō, where are you..?" sumire struggled to find the two people dearest to her from fukurodani. in the midst of the busy crowd of powerhouses, sumire was weaving through each student with careful eyes.

sadly, not careful enough since she happened to have bumped into someone.

someone from a certain school she was avoiding.

"and it really just had to be one of the miyans, huh?" sumire mentally facepalmed, having recognized the number on his jersey.

atsumu turned around, and before he could even scold the poor girl, sumire was quick to apologize aplenty. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry! i was trying to look for fukurodani, and i wasn't being careful enough."

"please excuse me..!" sumire muttered sheepishly.

"hold on now," atsumu said, putting sumire's walk away to an abrupt halt. "yer from niiyama, right? i remember watchin' yer team play last year. you were all pretty good!" atsumu dropped an unexpected compliment.

what he said about sumire's team wasn't some kind of fabrication to get under her skin or anything. he was being dead serious. niiyama wasn't given the title "queens" for nothing, y'know?

"o- oh! thank you, miya."

"call me atsumu. can't have ya callin' me by my last name when i have a stupid pig fer a twin." atsumu said.

"wanna say that to my face?" osamu entered himself into the conversation, having heard atsumu's insult.

the twins started to bicker, and as sumire was about to slip away, suna's eyes were watching her with a look that said, "don't go yet. osamu wants to tell you something."

sumire shivered, so against her will, she stayed for a little while longer.

"you were looking fer fukurodani, am i right?" osamu asked, and sumire nodded. osamu pointed at a specific direction ahead. "they're over there somewhere, near some red team named nekomo."

"yer memory is rubbish. they're called nekoma!"

"doesn't matter. i was kinda close."

sumire expressed her gratitude toward osamu, who shook it off, saying it was really nothing. sumire then nodded at suna, who, like osamu, shook it off as well.

before sumire ventured off to find fukurodani, she snuck a small glance at kita, who was busy talking to the fifth strongest ace, aran ojiro.

"ah.. he's so handsome in real life." sumire thought with gleaming eyes and a peachy blush on her face.

once sumire was no longer within earshot, the inarizaki second years were left to ponder over the interaction they just had with niiyama's own second year. "do y'think i can get amanai's autograph from her?" atsumu asked. "man, at least befriend yahagi first before pulling a jerky move like that." suna said, going on his phone to scroll through whatever.

"hm.. yer right." atsumu said.

"hey, hey, hey, sumire! it's been a while, my pupil!" bokuto greets the girl with a warm yet albeit bone-crushing hug. "h- hey, kō!" sumire manages to stutter out from the pressure of bokuto's arms around her.

"your pupil?" akaashi said, "i'm pretty sure that i was the one who taught her how to set our entire junior year together."

"just let me have this moment, 'gaashi." bokuto sulked, still squeezing the life out of the poor libero.

when bokuto finally let the girl go, she made a beeline for akaashi and brought him into a calmer embrace compared to the ace. "keiji, i missed you a ton!"

akaashi planted a hand on top of sumire's head. "have the setting techniques i taught you been of good use?" he asked. sumire nodded, a determined smile on her face. "i've gotten really precise, too. you should watch me and my team play."

"will do. only if you reciprocate, of course."

"mhm!"

time skip.

the opening ceremony finished, and the first batch of games had finally set place. teams who frequently go to nationals are called "seeded teams", they don't have to play the first round and immediately advance to the second.

niiyama is a seeded team, so here sumire and kanoka are, walking around the venue to find themselves a vending machine.

"sumire, what kind of drink does shinju want again?" kanoka asked. sumire looked up from her phone and thought for a bit. "green tea, i'm pretty sure."

while kanoka pressed the buttons needed to obtain the green tea bottle, sumire felt a tap on her shoulder. she turned around and saw suna rintarō, the middle blocker who helped her find fukurodani earlier.

"oh, suna! do you need anything?" sumire asked.

"i looked over your shoulder and saw that you wanted a picture with our captain." suna bluntly stated, and sumire burst aflame at that, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed or what. "h- how—"

"he's nearby if you want one. i'll even help you ask." suna said.

"i—" before sumire could reject his offer, she thought back to hachi's words. with a sigh, sumire excuses herself momentarily from kanoka (who understood) and follows suna.

"why are you helping me, by the way?"

"there's no specific reason why. i just wanted to."

finally reaching kita, suna came to a halt. he looked over at sumire to see if she wanted to ask first, but at the flustered state she was in, there was no way a word would exit her mouth. "cap, this is yahagi. she wants a picture with you." sumire freezed on the spot. so straightforward!

"oh, sure." kita accepted.

"phone." suna commanded. sumire held her phone out and gave it to suna. "i take good angles. by the end of this, you might as well have the photo as your background." he reassured sumire with a thumbs up.

sumire stood cautiously next to kita. unfortunately, suna thought that she wasn't close enough since the space between the two felt awkward. "move a little closer to kita, yahagi." suna said.

sumire did as he said, but there was still something bothering suna. the atmosphere felt.. off. so kita did the unexpected and wrapped an arm around sumire's waist, whose face was now glowing a vibrant shade of red.

"say cheese." suna teased, finally taking the picture.

kita's hand was off the girl's waist, leaving sumire to calm down the rapid beat of her heart.

as sumire fanned her own face down with her two hands, she went and snatched her phone out of suna's slender fingers and ran away from the two inarizaki boys.

"you're welcome." suna cackled, though sumire could no longer hear the boy.

suna then glanced at the captain, whose ears were quite red. "what are your thoughts on my friend, captain? isn't she cute?" he asked, trying to get something, anything, out of kita.

"i.. did that out of the blue." kita said, referring to the part where he had an arm around sumire. "i need to apologize when i can." he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"who knew that kita could be so impulsive." suna thought, amused. "i got a good look at her phone number. if you want, you can text her your apology." suna offered.

kita merely looked at the middle blocker with a disappointed expression on his face. suna shrugged, "fine then, suit yourself."

sumire panted from the run, making it back to kanoka, who was still getting drinks. she sighed, going on her phone to go check the picture.

her eyes sparkled.

she sent the photo to the niiyama group chat and simply waited for their responses.

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[herbrokenmelodies]

DANCE WITH THE OCEAN, MOVE WITH THE SEA, LET THE RHYTHM OF THE WAVES, SET YOUR SOUL FREE 🌊 cerberus corp has been watching Himiko Yamada.  some of the public has dubbed them Songstress because of Siren Song gifted by drowning at some D-Listers Party having been an extra ordinary since 2011, they’re doing a good job at hiding  Strained Voice, Sore Throats and Constant Champed Lips when they aren’t working their day job as a Nightclub Manager, they are fond of Retail Therapy and are never seen without American Express Gold Card. at first glance they seem Charismatic & Confident, though their close friends know them to also be Manipulative & Money Driven.  they consider themself a anti-hero

bio ┋ musings ┋ connections ┋ playlist ┋ pinterest ┋ navi

name  himiko yamadanicknames  himi, miko

age  thirtydfive date of birth  1st june 1988zodiac  gemini place of birth  yokohama, japan current residence  new york

gender  cisgender women

pronouns  she/hersexuality  bisexual occupation  nightclub manager at the abyss

faceclaim  satomi ishihara

height  5'7 feet

tattoos  none piercings  ears distinguishing features  scar on bottom back positive traits  charismatic, confident, hard-working, fun-loving, upbeat, talkative negative traits  manipulative, money driven, dramatic, annoying, boastful.

labels / tropes  [coming soon...]

inspirations london tipton {suite life}, madisynn king {she-hulk}

...more coming soon

likes  retail therapy, partying, dancing, music, glitter, themed parties, fancy over the top cocktails,dislikes  small talk, silence, fears  drowning, permanently loosing her voice, no wifi, credit card getting declined, being sober for too long hobbies  mixology, partying, yoga, pilates,spin class,making money from people who need her powers, shopping, online shopping,habits  sleeps about three hours, never misses a sale, thriple checker, glitter havoc, always presentable

002.  EXTRA ORDINARY

TW: DROWNING, ALCOHOL

near death experience…  Himko wanted to be famous, it was always as simple as that but to make or break in the big city, no matter how much money that her daddy has, she still had to network in order to get it. she was not the best with business conversations  or stale dinners or drinks in rundown bars, she was more a girl who was the life of the party and so exactly that is what she would do. She managed to sneak her way into some D-Listers Celebrity party with samples. Yet she got a little more carried away with partying, one tequila...three...tequila....four tequila, floor....of the swimming pool. She was little too drunk to remember but woke up in Urgent Care and was told she was lucky she made it that night. From their she got a pity recording studio time...that helped her work out her powers. Not so much a record deal.

power…  Siren Song, the ability to enchant and compel others who fall influence under the hauntingly beautiful voice of the siren song. However, it is not as simple as Himiko singing and all falling under her enchantment. For people to succumb to her Siren Song, she must sing a song backwards that contain the name and command that she wishes the listener to obey. The influence only lasts for 10 minutes and 43 seconds after the song has concluded after which the enchantment would fade away. The Siren Song is only temporary. Her power is best used for interrogation, assisting in short tasks.

drawbacks / vulnerabilities… Those who have been influenced from her song will remember they have been influenced unless they song states otherwise. The more awareness that someone has of her power, the higher a persons resistance will be to her Siren Song. That being said, those of strong will are able to break the enchantment instantly compared to those who may be intoxicated as their mind is far more impressionable. Himiko is able to compel at most 3 people at a time, anything more than that her voice will be strained until she gets her voice back. Side effects include, a dry throat, constantly chapped lips and possible strained voice.

codename…  Siren...would have been the obvious choice for her but she decided to name herself Songstress at it has a slight air of mystery to it. She picked it and did the marketing for it, to the right people.

[wildflower-otome]

[Translation] Shuuen no Virche - Yves Short Story

Author: Satomi Nakayama

Source: Shuuen no Virche Error Salvation Official Visual Fanbook

Lis ~Innocent• Pure Love~

It happened on a clear sunny day, a day without a cloud in the sky.

On a particular afternoon, after some time had passed since I had begun helping out at Yves’ handyman shop.

‘---You know, the other day when I was out searching the forest on a request, I found a field of rare flowers.’

While Hugo was gone from the shop for two full days, out on an job---.

In front of Fuku’s fish tank, which we had moved so he could bask in the sun, while hulling a large amount of peas for dinner, Yves brought up the topic of the mysterious flowers as we casually conversed.

‘A request from the other day…..you mean when you went to survey the northern forest?’

‘Yes, that’s the one. I’ve grown a lot of different flowers as part of my hobby, but it was the first time I’d seen flowers like those.’

Let’s see now, Yves said as he did his best to remember the scene he saw that day.

‘They were different colours, red and white. They were shaped like…..I’m not quite sure how to describe it.’

As if it were difficult to explain, Yves groaned as he continued to shell peas.

After gently scolding Fuku as he splashed up out of the water as if looking for food, ‘I don’t think you can eat peas, so sorry but no can do~’, Fuku went back into the tank as if disappointed.

‘It was like stars in the night sky had fallen down…..something like that?’

‘Wow, that---’

This time, just as Fuku was enthusiastically gulping down the fish food that Yves dropped into the tank, it was my face that lit up with a smile.

‘That sounds lovely. Just like the kind of magic flowers that appear in books.’

‘Right? Especially because it was a whole field of them growing and they covered an entire area. The moment I spotted them I couldn’t help yelling, “Uwah- Wow, wow--!” like a little kid.’

‘Hehe, I would have liked to have seen you like that, just as much as I would the flowers.’

Gweck, as if satisfied, Fuku made a movement as if he was burping.

‘Well then, how about we go see them together tonight, after work is over?’

‘Eh?’

‘I thought it would be a waste to only keep them for myself, after all. Ah, no need to push yourself if you dislike the idea though?’

‘No way---. It’s not possible I’d ever dislike going out somewhere with you, Yves!’

‘Ahaha, thank you. Well then it’s settled…..once you’ve got permission from Sister Salome, let’s meet up in front of the shop tonight at 9pm.’

‘Understood. …..I’ll be looking forward to it.’

‘Yeah, me too. Ah-, I wish it was 9 already!’

‘Hehe, you’re definitely being a little too impatient.’

As the two of us anticipated our upcoming plan, in front of us Fuku seemed to be sleeping comfortably.

*

Impatiently, I continued to glance up at the clock. The time for us to meet up had finally arrived.

I joined up with Yves at the shop after heading there at a half run, having been seen off by Mam. And as I followed after him as he walked as if enjoying himself, we continued to head north---arriving at the entrance to the forest.

‘It can be a little difficult to keep your footing in this forest. ---Come, give me your hand.’

I hesitated a little as he held out his hand to me as if it were only the natural thing to do.

‘…..Embarrassed?’

‘There is that, but also…..’

‘?’

‘If I fell over, I might take you with me…..that’s what I’m worried about.’

‘Ahaha-, it’ll be fine. Even if you do fall, I’ll be sure to catch you.’

‘…..R-Really? Then, I’ll take you up on your offer…..’

Timidly I grasped the hand slightly roughened from swordsmanship practice. And then, with steps that adjusted themselves to my pace, Yves began to walk.

Perhaps because the sun exposure was good, there were already countless other varieties of flowers blooming in the forest. The number gradually increased as we went further in---. It was almost like the forest itself was welcoming us.

‘I-I feel kind of nervous now.’

‘Hehe, I think that nervousness will become another emotion entirely once you see the flower field.’

Stepping clear of the small rocks that blocked the way while supported by Yves, we continued down the path.

And, the instant we came out of a place where the trees grew thickly as if bent together on top of each other---.

‘Wah…..!’

Innumerable stars had fallen in the open space.

No. Strictly speaking, it was a field of flowers so beautiful they could be mistaken for stars.

‘…..What do you think, beautiful aren’t they?’

‘Yes, far, far more than I ever imagined…..!’

However, I still couldn’t believe that flowers so beautiful existed on the same earth as I.

‘They really are flowers….. I completely thought they were stars incarnate---’

‘Stars incarnate, huh---Sounds like something out of a dream. But these little guys are without a doubt companions that live together with us here in Arpéchéle.’

So speaking, Yves drew nearer to the flower field---and stroked the beautiful flower petals gently, so that they wouldn’t be damaged.

---Beneath the full moon. Yves’ figure as he gently touched the incarnated stars was so very---.

‘Beautiful. You’re beautiful, Yves.’

‘…..Hm, I am? Not the flowers?’

‘The flowers and you, both of you.’

I drew nearer to the beautiful Yves. And at his side, I gave a broad smile---

‘These flowers that are like incarnated stars really suit someone like you, Yves….. a pure person that shines down brightly upon others.’

I tried saying exactly what I thought.

Hearing my words, for a moment Yves’ eyes widened, however---. A few seconds after he had completely comprehended what I had said, they narrowed gently.

‘If that’s the case, it’s the same for you, too. I’m sure these flowers are smiling for someone pure like you, that can call flowers your family.’

As he spoke, flower petals whirled up into the air and he grabbed hold of a white one……

‘…..Look, it suits you really well. The way you look right now Ceres, you’re a star incarnate that can make people’s wishes come true, just like these flowers.’

As he put the petal up against my hair, he smiled innocently.

‘…..Really now-‘

Beneath the moon. In the midst of flower petals of many different stars---.

‘It might be fun to come here with everyone else too next time.’

‘Hmm-, but I’d like this beautiful scene to be a secret spot just for me and you. …..Is that alright with you?’

‘…..I can’t say no when you ask with a face like that.’

Softly snuggling up against the shoulder of the star-like person who was good at getting his way---I continued to gaze at the view of the starry sky that spread before us until the coming of the new day.

[chocsra]

✧ INTRODUCTION

☆ filipino-canadian (full filipino tho not mixed)

☆ what languages i speak: fluent in english, studying french bc of school, and idk how to speak tagalog, I'm so sorry 🥹

☆ interests: all kinds of art (music, visual art, writing) • makeup & skincare omg • revenge action media, ex. kill bill, blue eyed samurai • literature • trying new food! my favs: south asian & arabic food • queen of tears • katheryn bernado • music • sleeping • maid sama • shoujo? • asmr..

☆ artists: laufey • sade • beabadoobee

☆ songs: love flew away, while you were sleeping, lovesick, like a tattoo, talk • cologne

☆ favs: romance literature • celestial being metaphors • uzzlang makeup • satomi ishihara • the moon • 00s asian fashion • beabadoobee style • characters: chuuya, hong hae in, kobeni, power, dazai, raiden shogun

☆ anyways: i don't mind being dmed or anything at all! talk to me ab anything, send a request privately, have a civil conversation together, im down. please no sudden venting though.

☆ and for clarification: i see all of your asks and they're all so cute, if you've sent one a long time ago and it hasn't been responded to I'm so sorry, i most likely don't know how to write it. i will still try to get to it though. 😭💔

[linkspooky]

CHOUIN X, CHAPTER 41.1 THOUGHTS.

Another interesting chapter with lots of character development for Tokio and set up for future plotlines. In my last post I speculated their might be a future relationship between Azuma and Palma so it's interesting that this chapter it's Tokio who senses that she's in trouble and goes out of his way to save her. More thoughts under the cut:

I NEED A HERO

The chapter begins with Tokio sensing Palmera's crisis, presumably because they are both Beast Choujin and they were both given their abilities with the same serum made from Zora's blood. Tokio's argument with his teacher is actually a pretty nuanced one where both sides have a point.

Tokio is right in that a chaosified Choujin presents a risk to not only the person who's chaosified but also everyone around them, and there is legitimately no one else on hand to handle it and people might be hurt in the time they wait for backup.

It calls back to Tokio's conversation with his little birdy friend, those who hesitate lose. Though Tokio might not be thinking entirely clearly here if he's motivated by his fear of losing people above all else. It's very Kaneki of him, to hate to be helpless and do nothing in this situation.

On the other hand not only is Zora the bigger objective they are after a person who is a risk to even more people, but this is also Tokio's misison. He's the one who asked everyone to delay their mission amonth and trust him to hunt down the source of the Opium. He took on the responsibility, it's therefore irresponsible of him to just change his mind halfway through and then run off to save someone half-cocked.

At the same time, Yamato Mori is given the power they have because their mission is to save people. It's against the nature of their mission to sacrifice someone who they can save, and abandon them in order to claim a higher objective. Heroes are supposed to save people. It's their duty and the responsibility they've been trusted with.

It's a good conflict where Tokio has to figure out where his duty lies. Letting someone else handle Palma is a more utilitarian decision for a greater objective. Saving her is a more altruistic decision. What's more important? Maintaining law and order, or helping the people in front of you.

Not to insert Azuma into everything (can you tell he's my favorite) but he'd probably favor the former over the latter considering his policeman father.

One more piece of foreshadowing is setting up Tokio with the objective of being the one to succeed Sandek. Once again the author making a parallel between Tokio and Sandek, while Azuma is continually paralleled to Batista.

In a previous post I discussed whether it was more likely for Azuma or Tokio to eventually defect from Yamato and join Zora's cult, and I think setting up Tokio as a successor to Sandek is more proof that he might be the one to stay with Yamato Mori.

Though on the other hand Sandek arguing with Sato and going against the parameters of his mission to save Satomi might also be proof that his values don't allign with the values with Yamato Mori, which might eventually give him reason to leave.

There's a lot of potential set-up with this chapter. If Satomi is saved by Tokio that might give her a reason to join up with Yamato Mori and give her further interactions with Azuma. We'll have to see how all this setup pays off in future chapters.

[kitkatwinchester]

I hate everything about this.

...okay, that's a lie, because I DO love how concerned they all are about each other, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I love some good whump.

THAT SAID.

I'M SO WORRIED ABOUT OUR WHOLE PACK AHHHHH.

I hate that Rafael and Noah and Melissa are all stuck on the outside only VAGUELY aware of the current situation, but WELL aware that their kids have professional killers going after them at all times, which only adds to their worry.

I hate that our pack is all being affected in slightly different ways, which makes it impossible to know what the next set of symptoms will be, and even more impossible to know how to cure it.

I hate that, according to Satomi, and as evidenced by her DEAD PACK, this is FATAL to werewolves, and we have TWO OF THOSE actively affected right now, and that is REALLY NOT A GOOD SIGN.

I hate that Lydia is in her lake house, completely alone and unaware of what's going on, and so (validly) emotionally impacted by Meredith's death and trying so desperately to reconnect with her somehow, but without any support (though, as an aside, I freaking KNEW it. Her mom MUST know more than she's letting on, because Meredith was IN THAT ROOM.).

HOWEVER.

I love love LOVE how concerned our pack is for each other, and how much they're still helping each other and keeping an eye on each other and still so in sync. Plus, I am SUCH a sucker for a good ol' sick fic. ;)

I love that, when Ken came into the locker room to check on Scott, Scott's immediate response was "Get Stiles." (SCILES ALL THE WAY! <3 <3)

I love Kira's awkwardness when Malia asks her about the bag under Scott's bed. ("No, I've never been under Scott's bed. Or in it. Just on it. Wearing clothes." XD)

I love how Malia was so quick to reach out for Stiles in concern, even when she's pretty sick herself, when he started to fall over while trying to look at the map.

I love how concerned Ken is, and how he's doing his best to help these kids and keep an eye on them and make sure they're okay, since he's our only parental resource that can at the moment.

I love how quick they were to come up with a plan and find a place to hole up and protect themselves, but also protect others from them.

I love Sciles's silent conversation about getting Malia to open the vault.

I love Malia calling out Sciles for hiding something, only to save them from actually revealing the truth when she incorrectly assumed that the hidden information was her presence of the name on the list.

I love how quickly, and yet very not-smoothly, Scott and Stiles recovered, mostly because if Malia was j a little better at social cues, you know she would've picked up on it.

I love how concerned Stiles was when Malia found out how much she was worth, only for Malia to be pleased that she's the least likely target of the group ("It's progress." XD).

I love how much they still have each other's backs, and how much they care about each other, and I love that they at least have each other during such a terrifying and deadly time, and I REALLY hope they can work together to figure it out and save each other and get better, because I REFUSE TO LOSE ANY OF THEM GOSH DARNAT!

Anyways...

This is one of those episodes that I can already tell I'm gonna love to hate, hate to love, and I already know it's gonna make its way pretty high up on my favorite episodes list just from the whump and hurt/comfort alone.

Let's see even more of it. XD :( <3

(This was before all the bad stuff started happening, but it's all four of them, so it works. <3)