#( and why him and everyone else in that division followed him )

[lostusagis]

( It's sooo wild because you know.... Kamui is the way he is and yet... people think he's a really good leader, his division is really loyal and really enjoy following him too like..... I think about that a lot you know? Stupid yet, good leadership skills. He actually has admirable traits. That's why they follow him. Personally, one of my favorites things about him is that he always repays his debts. Especially if it involves them saving his life.)

[justwinginglife]

The Unwitting Confession

Inspired by my bestie @ectopodl3, thanks for always matching my freak, love ya!

It had been roughly 6 months since Soshiro Hoshina joined the Third Division as its Vice Captain and it was an eventful 6 months to say the least. Everyone had been clambering over each other to get a good look at the new Vice Captain and even now they were still on the fence about what they saw. The poor guy had to fight twice as hard as anyone else to prove he deserved the spot and some people still required more evidence from him. For 6 long months, he took on whatever grueling task he could get his hands on to show the world that he was more than capable to lead a division. And for 6 long months, you were right there in the trenches beside him.

You had been both Captain Ashiro's favorite platoon leader and close personal friend for awhile now, so when she had made the decision to invite Hoshina to the Third Division, you fully supported it (in fact, you were the only one who supported it). Because of this, she relied heavily on you to help him transition into his new role.

You made quite the impression on him from day one. You knew everyone else would be skeptical of him and Mina was counting on you to make him feel comfortable, so you went a little overboard in welcoming him. That day, he arrived at his new office to find his desk covered in all manner of drinks- coffee, juice, milk, water, smoothie, soda. You had just placed the final can on his desk when he came in looking quite shocked. You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly. "Well this is certainly one way to meet you Vice Captain," you laughed. "I couldn't figure out what kind of drink you liked so I bought them all." You gestured to the gifts you'd laid out for him.

You thought he would just keep staring at you all day like some strange circus attraction but then to your surprise, he started laughing uncontrollably. His eyes filled with tears and he even had to steady a hand on the doorframe to keep himself from toppling over from the sheer exertion of laughing so hard. "You better help me finish all of this." He said, finally catching his breath, "Hey- what's your name anyway?"

So, despite Mina having drawn up an entire itinerary she had wanted you to follow on his first day (give him a tour, introduce him to the other officers, yada yada), you and Hoshina ended up spending the entire time just talking and drinking in his office.

"Ooh- this one's pretty good, have a sip." You passed the lemonade over to him and he eagerly took it from you.

"Mmm, I like it but the coffee was better." He said as he chugged the drink. "Fuck, now I have to pee." He laughed.

"Hey! I wasn't finished drinking that!" You pouted, watching as he added the empty can to the stack of other empty cans.

He shrugged. "It was my gift, wasn't it?"

"I'm gonna have Mina demote you. I'm thinking cadet."

He laughed again and the feeling in your chest told you the sound was starting to grow on you.

"Please be my guest, I think everyone would be happier if I wasn't the Vice Captain anyway." He said, speaking the first serious thing you'd heard him say all day.

You nudged him with your shoulder. "I wouldn't. You're actually growing on me, Vice Captain. Even if you are a lemonade hog."

There was that laugh of his again. "How 'bout this? I'll make you a deal. I'll stay Vice Captain and I'll bring you a lemonade every now and then if you promise to follow all my orders."

You rolled your eyes and nudged him again, this time leaning into his shoulder. "Now where's the fun in that? I think you'd have such a good time running around trying to keep up with me, why would I want to spoil that for you?"

He grinned and you thought you felt your heart skip a beat. "Alright I think you really oughta show me the bathroom now before you go telling anymore jokes. I can't laugh anymore than I already have without bursting my bladder." He stood up from the floor where you two had been sitting, brushed up against each other, and held a hand out to you. You took it and he hoisted you to your feet.

"I'm supposed to give you a tour anyway so I guess we can start with the bathroom. Wouldn't want the new Vice Captain to pee his pants."

You both took off down the hallway, knocking your shoulders up against each other, and swaying with laughter.

And that was that- friends in an instant.

If people had seen the two of you from afar, they would've thought you'd been friends since birth the way you two were inseparable after that. You wanted to train? Hoshina would follow right behind, eager to knock you down a peg. He wanted to go for a walk? You'd say there's no way in good conscious you could let a little lady like him walk alone so late at night. He'd punch in you in the arm but let you tag along anyway. You wanted to have dinner alone? Too bad- he wanted a bite of your dumpling. No, actually he wanted all of your dumplings. But he bought you some more afterwards.

You'd even have your fair share of arguments- you may have brought up his brother too much (only because you were so curious about his home life) and he may have shot back that the reason you'd been single so long was because you did dumb insensitive shit like bringing up his brother too much. And then you wouldn't speak to each other for days. But then you'd cut yourself and he'd bandage it for you, grumbling that it was inconceivable how a member of the defense force could be so inept with a knife, or his stomach would growl and you'd grumpily hand him your last granola bar, and then everything would slowly go back to normal between you two again. It was all the little things that made you realize you couldn't live without him. And some part of him had to know he couldn't live without you too. Not anymore.

So now, 6 months later, you're on your way to work, texting Hoshina that you bet you'll beat his lazy ass there, and then you see a crowd of news reporters outside the base. Mina had just sent you and Hoshina to dispatch of a large kaiju roaming downtown yesterday and the reporters couldn't believe that he'd took down the beast and not you so they were there for the "real answers." You were so tired of dealing with all the people who couldn't accept how amazing Hoshina was. For months, you talked with reporters, officers, supervisors, and really just anyone who'd listen about how skilled and inspiring Hoshina was but all your effort had been slow to take effect.

Eventually Hoshina caught on that you were fighting all his battles for him behind the scenes and he made you stop. He was so pure and good, he thought he'd just change their minds with his actions. Said he'd win them over eventually if he worked hard enough. It was that kind of thinking that made you love him and made you all the more pissed to hear people shit talking him.

So today, you're fully prepared to tear the crowd a new one (yet again), when you hear a voice from behind you. "Boy they really don't know when to quit do they? It's like, just leave the man alone."

You turn to see a civilian walking up to you, scoffing at the crowd. You're both shocked and pleasantly surprised that someone besides you is defending Hoshina. You nod enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's like he's done so much for the city and you want to undermine all of that? It's ridiculous."

The civilian nods. "I was there when he took down that kaiju yesterday, I know he's the real deal. The two of you actually make a pretty good team- are you guys dating?"

You choke on your coffee. "Oh, um, us? No we're- we're not together." You say quickly.

The civilian raises an eyebrow. "So you're telling me you don't find that muscled man attractive? Not in the slightest?"

You blush. "I really shouldn't be talking with you about this. I barely know you."

The civilian laughs. "Oh come on. Woman to woman. Don't tell me you haven't thought about what it would be like."

You sigh. You haven't told anyone how you feel about the Vice Captain, not even Mina. It would be nice to vent it all out. And this is a stranger you'll never see again. Fuck it. "Okay fine. I am completely in love with him but that's a secret okay? Who wouldn't be in love with the guy? He's strong, he's handsome, he's loyal, he's funny, he's dedicated, he steals my food but then he replaces it. I mean he's a catch all around. I just really wish people could see him the way I see him. He's a great guy who really cares about people, and that's all there is to it." You shrug as if you're simply reciting a textbook with common knowledge, but inside you're a simple woman who's dying to hear this random civilian tell you more about how you make such a good couple with Hoshina. But this bonding moment is interrupted. By Hoshina.

He's up ahead, across the street from you, and he's yelling and waving at you to hurry up and cross already so you can walk to work together. You excuse yourself, earning a wink and a "go get him tiger" from the stranger, and you run through traffic blushing as you greet him.

"What was that about?" He asks, pointing at the now fading silhouette of the stranger you had just been talking to.

You grin. "Oh nothing- I just met a fan of yours, that's all."

You arrive at work a couple minutes later, Hoshina still demanding for more answers about this so-called fan of his, unaware he even had fans, when suddenly you're greeted at the door by Captain Ashiro herself. She never greets you at the door. And she does not look happy. She looks... constipated? Stressed? You can't quite figure out what face she's making but you realize the face she's making is for you when she finally pulls you into her office and slams the door behind her, shoving her phone at you.

"Mina, Mina what is it, you're scaring me- oh SHIT."

I am completely in love with him but that's a secret okay? Who wouldn't be in love with the guy? He's strong, he's handsome, he's loyal, he's funny, he's dedicated, he steals my food but then he replaces it. I mean he's a catch all around. I just really wish people could see him the way I see him. He's a great guy who really cares about people, and that's all there is to it... to it....that's all there is to it...

You stare at the video of you that's playing on repeat. Notifications flood the phone as you realize you're now going viral with your secret love confession for the Vice Captain.

You think your cheeks might be on fire and your throat is rapidly going dry. You think you might just die. Then it hits you.

"Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no. Where's Hoshina's phone? Mina, please tell me he hasn't looked at his phone yet. Oh I know- you distract him, I'll break into his phone, I'm sure I have to know the password by now- you know what, I'll just break his phone. Yeah. Then he won't have access to the internet. All will be fixed. Mina? You in?" You trail off as you realize she's looking at the door to her office that's now just opened behind you.

Fuck.

"You wanna tell me what this is about?"

Fuck.

Mina winces. "I think I'll leave you two alone now." She closes the door behind her.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You don't turn around. You don't breathe. You don't exist.

"You can't ignore me forever, ya know."

Fuck.

You sigh. You slowly turn around to face your doom.

"Hi. Hoshina. What's up?"

He rolls his eyes. "Don't 'what's up' me, what's up with you? What's up with this?" He holds his phone up with the video that's on replay. I am completely in love with him, but that's a secret okay? I am completely in love with him, but that's a secret okay?

You groan and collapse into Mina's office chair, burying your face in your hands, waiting to die. "Go on. Say what you want." You mumble through your fingers.

You hear him walking up to you and before you have time to think about how mortified you are, he kneels on the ground in front of you and yanks your wrists away from your face. "I want to know if it's true."

You roll your eyes. "Did you not just hear my voice on the video saying I love you? Do you really need to rub it in and hear me say it live?"

He nods sincerely, giving your wrists a squeeze. "I do. I need to hear you say it. I don't care about the news, what I care about is you and right now I need to know how you feel."

You inhale and for a moment you consider not exhaling and just passing out to avoid answering. But then you let out the breath. "It's true. I love you. I've been in love with you. For awhile now."

He smiles softly as if to say everything is okay now and you're lost in the gentle curve of his lips. God you want to taste kiss him so bad.

"Well I'd say I love you too but I don't know if I need a reporter in the room for it to count."

Never mind. You don't want to kiss him anymore. You punch his arm.

He chuckles.

Then he pulls you down to the floor with him and the two of you sit there for a moment, shoulder to shoulder, just like you did when you first met. Then he nudges his head up against your shoulder and whispers, "I really do love you."

And now you kiss him.

[hoshiina]

pairing: hoshina soushirou x gn!reader (no prns)

request: Hii im the anon who ask for the wips and i saw the blurbs you have. IM VERY MUCH HOOKED with the third ones where hoshina loves reader's smile🥹 relating to that maybe i would like to add(if you want, but feel free to do seperate if you want) soft moments with hoshina x reader who felt like she being the most pessimistic person regarding love(not anti but just felt like she doesn't deserve it) so she is on denial when hoshina make a move on her

notes: reader is usually rather energetic, talkative reader, hoshina thinks you are "beautiful" at some point, TYSM FOR THE REQ!! sorry it took so long omg

wc: 1300

Something was wrong— terribly wrong. There was no way someone would want you, let alone your vice-captain who could have anyone in the world. Not your vice-captain who did everything with such care and looked after everyone so preciously. And definitely never your vice-captain you were terribly in love with.

There must be some mistake. Or else he wouldn’t have just said what you thought he said.

“Pardon me?” you asked.

He looked a little flustered and you had never seen such an expression on him, confusing you further. “I love you,” he said again, softly. “I’d love to know if you’re in a relationship.”

The way he spoke so carefully added to how nervous it made you feel— it was so different from how he usually talked to you. Now, you were lost to say the least, because you couldn’t think of one reason why he would like you, let alone romantically. Under normal circumstances, you’d assume you were being played with or that this was a silly prank or dare, but you knew that Hoshina wasn’t one to do something so horrible. So what was happening?

“I am not…” you said, still confused, but the visible relief in his eyes made your heart tighten. Oh gosh, is he serious?

“I’m… thrilled,” he said, and he wished you goodnight and left. While you were terribly flustered to know he liked you back, there was a voice in your head that wouldn’t stop making you feel anxious. Something felt so odd to you— to be loved back. To be loved back by him. You enjoyed talking to people so you talked to him often, but never had you thought he'd think of you like that. Having a naturally talkative personality, it was true that both of you had fun talking to each other, but you had accepted that your love was unrequited ages ago. When would he have possibly fallen in love with you? The more you thought about it the more impossible it sounded. As thoughts of him circled your head, it’d be morning before you knew it.

It'd be hard for him to point out exactly when he fell in love with you, because he was in love before he knew it. Before he knew it, he'd catch himself following you with his eyes. He adored watching you work, because you made everything look exciting. Of course, he saw how you groaned at the paperwork you had to do, but he'd see how the little things would put a smile on your face.

He liked the work he did, he liked all of it quite frankly. From neutralizing kaiju all the way down to the research he had to do— rarely did he think something was a chore to do, but if you were around to laugh at something silly he found or mutter about the binders and binders of files that the 3rd division just doesn't have space for anymore, he'd start looking forward to these moments.

While he knew you were like this with everyone, he hoped that you were happiest with him. It would mean everything to him if you looked forward to doing seemingly mundane work with him too.

However, while he loved so much about you, there was one moment specifically that made him realize he wasn't moving on. His heart would be yours forever at this rate. You'd look so horribly tired after all this work, and yet, if someone needed help with anything at all, you'd still smile and ask them what's wrong. You'd find the energy and speak to them so kindly. You might not have the energy you usually had, but you'd be so happy to help. Even if they couldn't tell how exhausted you were, he could. He knew how much you did for everyone in the division, and he thought you were stunning when you did so. You were the most beautiful when you had that lovely smile on your face that seemed to light up his world.

He loved you so dearly.

You loved talking to people, so there always seemed to be something for you to talk about. A new finding you wanted to share or a terribly random thought that popped up in your head. While you naturally talked to most of the people in the division, you looked forward to talking to Hoshina the most. The way he'd always listen so intrigued at your dumbest thoughts and laugh at the smallest things you said meant more to you than one would probably think.

And if you shared your daily happenings with him, he'd share his with you too. To say you loved these moments would truly be an understatement. Nothing could possibly make you happier.

However, you knew he was like this with everyone. His laugh would always manage to keep the morale of the division up and he'd never miss potential problems in the condition of any of his officers. You knew he was a sweet person, but also the best one could ask for in a vice-captain. You weren't special— he was like this to everyone. You knew better than anyone else.

You couldn't imagine anyone falling for you, let alone the kindest person you'd ever meet in your life. Let alone the person you'd probably love for the rest of your life.

Yet, here you were, alone with him this afternoon working away through paperwork and it was quiet. Eerily quiet. He was the first to break the silence.

“I rather dislike the rain,” he said, looking out the window. “It’s been raining all day.”

You paused to look outside as well. “No, you’re right. I don’t mind the rain, but I hate how dark everything is.”

“Yeah,” he said. More silence.

“Sorry, I’m awkwardly nervous now,” he said, eyes fixed on his work. “I didn’t mean to make things… weird.”

You could tell he probably didn’t want you to, but you couldn’t help but look his way. Your eyes widened and your heart filled. You weren’t afraid to say much, but you were afraid to talk about this. However, you thought you’d be able to if you were talking to him.

“I just… can’t imagine that you’re… in love… with me,” you said, looking down at your paperwork. “Sounds too good to be true. I know... sounds unlike me, right?”

Immediately he looked up at you, shocked to say the least. You could tell he probably wanted to ask why, but he thought for a moment more.

“What… would I be able to do to show that I am?” he asked. “You’re the one I love… you always will be.”

Your eyes widened. “I just… don’t know why,” you said honestly. “Why me?”

“Because I love you,” he said. “I love a whole lot about you, but I love being with you. I enjoy spending time with you and watching you enjoy the life around you. Is that too simple?”

It took you a second to reply, but you felt a lot better. “No, not at all,” you said. “Because I feel exactly the same way.”

“You’re kidding”

“Absolutely not”

“I’m going to kill you if you’re lying,” he said.

That made you laugh. “You know I wouldn’t,” you said, and yes, he knew you wouldn’t.

“Hey, Hoshina,” you said, avoiding eye-contact. “If I get worried… will you tell me again?”

“I’d tell you until you get sick of my voice,” he said while getting up to kiss your forehead. “I love you so much.”

[hoshinasblade]

hoshina found you in the rooftop of the training building.

the lights from the skyscrapers miles away from the base looked like beacons from this distance, hoshina thought to himself. you were however looking at the moon, crescent-shaped in the sky, dark clouds swallowing some of its luminescence.

hoshina knew he would find you here. he would have dropped by sooner, but the close-door meeting of high-ranking officials in the force took longer than he expected. even now, his top uniform unzipped and both his hands in his pockets, hoshina can still feel the tension and fatigue from the discussion earlier.

"i'm thinking of quitting." your face is indecipherable, but your voice betrayed the emotion swirling inside you. "i'm no good here."

the commanders of the anti-kaiju divisions met a few hours ago - an emergency session to discuss possible strategies on how they're going to handle kaiju threats going forward. it has not been a week since the attack in the tachikawa base where several officers in your platoon had died protecting each other. the image of people you'd trained with, worked with, even shared a meal with, dying under your command is forever etched on your memories, unable to be erased.

the truth is you cannot even stomach looking at yourself in front of the mirror without feeling like a complete, utter failure.

hoshina stood beside you, the cold breeze blowing the stray strands of his hair away his face. he wanted to offer his jacket to you but settled on putting his arm around you instead. "it wasn't your fault", he said, because it really wasn't. he faced the strongest entity in the horde of monsters that attacked the third division base that night and survived by the skin of his teeth. his only consolation is he didn't lost you in the whole ordeal.

you sniffled. "i'm not like you, soshiro. i'm not... strong." hoshina wanted to assert that what you said is a lie but decided against it. "tell me what i need to do," you pleaded, "cause i don't know anymore."

hoshina wished he could take away your pain even if it means he'll have to be the one to bear its burden.

"as your vice-captain, i am going to ask you to stay," hoshina said before turning to look straight at you. "we've lost a lot of people already, we cannot afford to lose any more." i cannot afford to lose you, he wanted to say.

your scoff surprised him. "and as my boyfriend?" you presented your follow-up question.

"as your boyfriend, i need you here," hoshina answered too quickly. he reminded himself to slow down; the last thing both of you need is an argument. he let the silence enveloped you for a few seconds, just enough to calm his own erratic heartbeat. hoshina, watching you from the corner of his eye, started to speak again. "you remember when you said you wanted to be a defense officer? we weren't even dating back then," hoshina pointed out. "i wanted to be one since i was little, but you, god, i have never met anyone else who wanted to protect people so bad like you do. honestly that's part of why i love you," he told you.

hoshina understands all too well how you feel - the horror of knowing you could have saved people who laid their trust on you but didn't. there are a thousand reasons why he wakes up each day as the vice-captain of an anti-kaiju division, and one of it is because he has to make it up for the people he's lost along the way - he's decided to continue on his mission of eradicating kaijus because if he stops he's scared everything and everyone he's lost will be in vain.

"look, if you really want an out, we know i can't stop you anyway", hoshina said matter-of-factly. "but if you stay, i'll be here for you." his hand lightly touched yours. "i'll protect you. i'll take care of you so you can take care of other people too. i'll protect you."

you did not reply. you did not have to.

[lacontroller1991]

Feo, Fuerte y Formal (The Ghoul/Cooper Howard x F!Reader)

Main Master List || Misc Master List

Summary: Cooper sees you again for the first time in over 200 years

Warnings: 18+ Strong Language, Sexual Suggestions, Divorce, Canon Typical Violence

----------

Feo, Fuerte, y Formal. Words Cooper Howard spoke over 200 years ago back when he was at the height of his career. Back when he had a profitable career, a beautiful home, and a beautiful family. He had fame, wealth, and a future. Until it all came crashing down. When Vault-Tec had initially dropped him from their promotional team, he was relieved, glad to be done with the corporation that was planning the destruction of the world, but with Vault-Tec dropping him, Barb did too. Once Barb found out why her Pip-Boy was acting strangely, she had it double checked by the science division to confirm her suspicions before taking it to Cooper to confront him. His mistake was that he denied he had anything to do with it. If he had lied about this, what else has he been lying about? Yet, it was mutual. Both were caught destroying the very core of their marriage, trust.

The divorce was quick to follow. Despite having the best lawyer he could find, Barb had Vault-Tec, and Vault-Tec could buy out anyone, leaving him with a whopping sum of $30,000 - compared to his net worth of 2 million - and Roosevelt. 

Of course with the biggest name in the country dropping him from their team, his agent promptly dropped him, blacklisting him from Hollywood, ending his career. His one way of making money was no longer profitable. In a way, he was relieved. Hollywood wasn’t what it used to be. It used to be a beacon of hope, a place for everyone, the American Dream. What a load of bullshit. 

If there was anything to make it all tolerable, it’s the time he got to spend with Janey and you. You had come into his life when he wasn’t looking for it. Your bar had practically become his home, but when you got tired of seeing him drunk as all get out and passed out on the bar you quickly offered him a couch to sleep on at your place, and the rest was history. 

Until the bombs dropped, and everything changed. Again. Cooper doesn’t know exactly how he survived. He doesn’t know if it was sheer rage keeping his heart kicking, or if it was the drive to find you or Janey. He knew Janey was somewhere in a vault, safe with Barb, but had you been lucky enough to secure a spot in one, or were you part of the 90% that didn’t have the means to afford a spot.

200 years later and he still doesn’t know. 

Feo, fuerte, y formal. He has ⅔ of them on his belt. Ugly and Strong. Long ago are the days where he was dignified, not that he gives two shits. He did initially. His handsome features quickly hollowed out with his hair coming off in chunks, giving him a ghastly appearance. It took some time to get used to, but after 50 years, he learned not to care. Not like there were people lining up to be with him anyways. If anything, his ghoulish features gave him an edge in everything he does. No one really tries to mess with a 200 year old bounty hunter who has zero qualms about skinning you and eating you, alive or dead. Still, it’s lonesome walking the wasteland without anyone by his side, whether he likes to admit it or not.

The town is quiet by this time of night. From his best guess of the moon in the sky, it’s a little after 1 in the morning. Walking along the streets, he eyes the closed vendors, save for one on the corner. Piquing his interest, he stalks over to the stand, eyes focusing on the elder woman in a pair of dirty coveralls.

“Get lost Ghoul, before I kill ya.” It’s a threat that he doesn’t doubt that she’d act on. Taking a step closer to the stand, he raises his hands, eyes trained on the way she inches closer to the gun undoubtedly hiding below the counter. 

“I ain’t here to cause you any trouble. Was wondering if you had some vials.” Slowly, he places some caps on the counter. He still has four vials, but having more never hurts.

“I done told you,” the lady cocks her gun, pointing it at his head but he’s unfazed, “get lost ghoul.”

“Now Janet, is that any way we talk to customers?” The additional voice causes Cooper to freeze in his spot, his blood turning to ice. That voice, it sounds familiar. A woman moves from behind him to next to him, leaning against the counter. You’ve got to be kidding me. If his heart hasn’t beaten since everything went to shit, it sure is now. 

“We have strict rules, just because you’re special doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.”

Watching from the corner of his eyes, he rakes your body up and down as you sigh. You don’t look a day over the last time he saw you and you still have that radiant aura about you. He surely has to be hallucinating. 

“It’s your store, but wouldn’t you like more money? He’s obviously not feral, just help him out. For me?” Cooper watches as you bat your eyelashes with a smile while the older lady grumbles ‘fine’ and reaches into a bag, shoving vials onto the counter. 

“You owe me big time missy.” With a smile, you take a hold of the vials, nodding your head in appreciation.

“Of course Janet. Just let me know when you want to cash in that favor.” Grumbling again, Janet scowls at Cooper before slamming the window shut and turning off the light. “Here you are. Don’t normally see new folks around this area.” Cooper tilts his head lower, allowing the cowboy hat to cover his eyes as he takes the vials from your hands, your soft looking hands. Oh how he misses those hands. Without a word, Cooper shoves them into his coat pocket and turns around, wanting to get the hell out of there before you try and make more conversation. There’s no way it’s her. She’s been dead, long dead, he thinks to himself, footsteps making a quick pace but you catch up to him, stopping right in front of him with a hand to his chest, causing him to growl. “I understand you probably want to carry on for the night, but why don’t you rest for the night? I have a couch in my living room and some fresh water. I don’t know if ghouls drink water, but I have some.”

He halts for a minute, his hat still covering his eyes and he sincerely hopes that your hand can’t feel his heart beating through his chest. She’s still too pure for this world. “Ain’t you scared imma eat ya?” 

“Pfft no. If you do then oh well. If there’s anything I’ve learned in this world, it’s to take things as they come.” With each passing moment, he feels his resolve breaking. He’s spent years looking for you, and here you are, offering him a place to crash like the first time. Is he going to deny you this time? “Just for the night?”

Sighing, he thinks about it for a moment. He’s ugly now and burnt, there’s no way you would remember him. “If it’ll get you to shut the fuck up.” 

----------

“Welcome to my humble abode. It’s not much, but with how shitty this planet is, I say it’s pretty nice!” Cooper takes a second to look around. It’s not like your previous apartment with sturdy colorful furniture and plants in the windowsill with Cash playing on the radio, but it’s still oddly, you. Barely noticing your disappearance, your reappearance in front of him causes him to lightly jump. How the hell did he not hear you? “Sorry to startle you. I brought some blankets.” “I don’t need blankets,” he grumbles, eyes still hiding behind his tipped hat, one that you wore from time to time when you would roleplay with him. From behind the rim, he watches as you shrug your shoulders, setting the blankets down on the couch before clapping your hands.

“Don’t blame ya. It’s hot as hell out there. Can I get you any food? Water?”  His eyes follow your frame as you pull out a chair from underneath the table, gesturing for him to sit while you grab food from the cupboard, fixing him what seems to be a PB&J? 

“Why are you being nice? Nice people get killed up here.”

“Believe me, I can handle myself. I’ve killed. It’s hard not to up here.” You set the plate down in front of him, taking the seat to his right. Picking up the sandwich, he inspects the bread, hesitantly taking a sniff before taking a bite, moaning softly as the creamy texture of peanut butter balances out with the fruity jelly. Did PB&J ever taste this good?

“Where the hell did you even get this stuff?” You shift in the seat next to him, crossing your arms while he munches on the sandwich. Fuck, he misses actual food. “Stole it from a vault.”

“A vault?” It’s abrupt. She’s been in a vault this whole damn time? 

He can tell that he struck a sore spot, but now he’s too intrigued. Seeming to notice that he won’t drop the subject, you let out a sigh, cracking your knuckles. “Yep. I was there when the bombs dropped. Went to my dad’s house to check on him but he dragged me with him to a vault and put me in a cryogenic pod. Woke up two years ago, found out some fucked up things, left with a shit load of food and weapons, never looking back. I mean… the stuff down in the vault… FUCKED up.” 

Cooper leans forward, swallowing the rest of his PB&J. “Go on.”

“Well, different vaults have different experiments. Mine was an interconnected vault but something always seemed off. Now I get being nice to your neighbors or whatever, but there is no reason the people in that vault were that nice. It’s like they were overly optimistic. So weird.”

Cooper huffs out a laugh, memories of you always supporting him no matter what flooding through his brain. “You were always optimistic.” The words slip out of his mouth causing the both of you to freeze. Internally cringing, Cooper wishes that he was strapped to the tip of a nuclear bomb and exploded, 20 times over.

“I’m sorry, have we met before?” He can feel your eyes raking over him, trying to make a connection and he wonders if you have yet or not.

“Not until today.” Shoving the plate aside, he quickly gets up and makes a move toward the door but he has to give credit where credit is due. You’re fast and standing in his way, gun cocked and aiming at his head.

“Not so fast cowboy, who the fuck are you and how do you know me?” He avoids making your gaze but you’re unrelenting. 

“I ain’t no one, you’d be wise to let me leave.” He tries to move past you again, but you block his path, using your gun to knock off his hat, revealing all of him to you, his hazel eyes meeting yours, causing you to gasp. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. She knows. “I can explain.”

The gun decocks with a soft click and drops to the floor, a pair of arms flinging themselves around his shoulders, dragging him into a soft body. She’s even softer than I remember. It takes everything in Cooper to not sink in your grasp. It takes everything in him to not take you in his arms and make up for lost time. 

“I thought you were dead.”

“I thought you were too. You still making it a habit of inviting strangers into your house?” His arms hang by his side, not daring to return the hug, afraid of what would happen if he did. Seeming to take the hint, you let go of him and he doesn’t miss the hurt in your eyes and he wishes he can take it away, but it’s better this way. You don’t want to mess with him. He’s a monster. It’s all he’ll ever be. The Cooper Howard that you know is long gone like the world that you both knew. You deserve someone who doesn’t eat ass jerky. You deserve someone who isn’t addicted to drugs. You deserve someone who doesn’t have one foot constantly in the grave. You deserve someone who is handsome, not ugly.

“Only handsome cowpokes like yourself,” he would smile at your jest, but now he’s insecure. 200 years of living on his own forges him to be as tough as steel, removing any feelings he may have had, but one hour in your presence? It has the old him rearing his head, but a thought creeps in his mind, and he runs with it. Surely you’re mocking him.

Sneering, he takes a step toward you, opening his posture to make him appear larger. “You can’t really mean that. You think it’s funny making fun of me?”

“What?”

“Calling me handsome? I ain’t handsome.” He can tell that you can see right through him and his bravado. He knows that you can see his feelings behind his mask. 

He hesitates as you take a step toward him, hands reaching up to take his face between your palms while his breathing hitches. He hasn’t had tender affection in a while. “Cooper, it’s clear that time hasn’t been kind to you, but if you think that I really care about looks then you’re not as smart as I remember you. When have I ever cared about your appearance?”

“You digged my hair if I can recall.” He tries to play it off, but fails and you know it, so you call his bluff.

“If your skin is this rigid now, I can imagine how the rest of you must be.” He blushes, hard. “I’ve missed you.” He moans softly as you place a lingering kiss against his lips, his arousal growing rapidly in his pants. The kiss ends too soon and you’re pulling away, eyes blown wide as he gets a good look at you. 

“I’ve missed you too. More than you could know. What say we use that couch for reasons other than sleeping?”

“Sounds mighty fine.”

[baby-tini]

Mikey brain rot. So i was thinking about toman mikey bring reader to the meeting because last time some other gang found out about reader and tried to hurt her to get back at mikey so now he isn't leaving her alone at all (im not good at explaining sorry😭) anyway feel free to ignore if you want!

Don't worry you explained it perfectly, sorry it's so late 😭 Also this happens while Mikey is in Toman, but he's 18 and also Baji is alive in this because HE DIDN'T DESERVE TOO DIE, I'M STILL PISSED ABOUT THAT. TW- violence, implied violence

When Takemichi had interrupted a Toman meeting, by rushing up the stairs and shoving his phone in Mikeys face, Mikey and Draken were pretty pissed, until Takemichi had told Miley you were in trouble. Showing Mikey the text messages, Mikey, Draken and his division captions had rushed to the location you gave Takemichi. Their motorcycles speeding down the high-way as they weaved through cars. Mikey leading, naturally gets to you first, and the others follow in-suite. He's with you in seconds as he knocks one of the guys on their ass with a kick to their stomach. The guy, toppling over and falling backwards as the vice commander and division captions approached, Mikey handing you over to Takemichi as he told him too leave and take you somewhere safe. Mikey never did like you seeing him fight, your gorgeous eyes should never see something so.. brutal. From that point on, you were never allowed out of Mikeys sight. If he had too attend something urgent and genuinely couldn't be with you, he'd have Draken or one of his captions with you. More often then not, you're usually with Draken or Baji. Funnily enough, he'd rarely leave you with Takemichi, because Mikey acknowledges that Takemichi can't fight, and therefore can't protect you. You're safety comes before everything and everyone else. Everyone knows and understands that, they respect him for it, Mikeys first priority is always the people he holds close, but because Mikey holds you the closest, you're always priority number one for everyone. If you're ever in trouble and Mikey can't come, which has never happened before. Mikey has verbally stated that he expects everyone too drop everything and protect you. Because you are with, The Manjiro Sano, everyone sees you as an extension of him, and Toman will treat you how they treat him. With the same amount of respect, loyalty and they hold you too the highest of priorities, as expected of the loyal followers of Toman. That's why you always stand next to Mikey on the stairs of the Musashi Shrine, never an inch below. As I've stated, he's with you constantly, so he's with you at your house, you're at his house a lot. He doesn't go to class, so he'll just sit in your class, he dares the teacher too scold him or call a principal, because he'll beat them both up and just take you away. Manjiro was already pretty clingy but since... that happened, you're always with him and his friends. Even if you're with your friends, Mikey will be there, and of course he has too drag Draken along, sometimes Takemichi, but that's rare. He doesn't really care if your family does family night, he will barge in. Because, his thought process is, that you're his significant other, so obviously he should be invited. Plus, he plans too marry you anyway, so why not start a little early? He's also a very family-oriented person, so getting along with your family means a lot, unless, your family is shitty, then he genuinely doesn't give a FUCK. Although, he would be with you whether they accept him or not, but he would very much rather they accept him but more importantly the relationship he shares with you. You are the most important person in his life and he doesn't mean too come off as over-bearing but he needs constant update from either his friends, your friends or more importantly you, yourself.

[paragonrobits]

More fun Calvin and Hobbes facts!

Not only is Hobbes NOT an imaginary friend by word of the comic's creator, Bill Watterson, but he doesn't seem to know what an imaginary friend is, nor that plush toys in general are actually toys; Susie Derkins (a girl Calvin has complicated feelings about and tends to randomly alternate between prosecuting a rivalry between the two of them and seeming to regard her as a friend or at least someone he bothers talking to) has a plush bunny she calls Mr Bun, and Hobbes at one point notes with some concern that he seems comatose.

The comic was well known for its lavish backgrounds, and two chiefly notable examples include the woods around Calvin's house and the landscapes of his imagination; in the former, he and Hobbes often go exploring, sledding or racing around on a little red wagon, often while expressing philosophical insights (usually ending in Calvin crashing into something in a way that underscores the point of the dialogue).

On that above note, in the latter case, Calvin often imagines elaborate and fanciful settings such as alien worlds, and the tone of a lot of these vary between comedic bits of Calvin pestering people by shooting them with darts while his fantasy portrays him as a space hero fighting horrible blobby creatures.

Calvin And Hobbes probably wasn't the FIRST comic strip to follow then-current paleontological debates and scientific course, but it was written at the exact right time of increasing interest in dinosaurs as public consciousness accepted the image of them as clever, quick-moving and fierce creatures instead of the slow-moving brutes doomed to die out from earlier perspectives; while the comic initially did depict them as something akin to retrosaurs, this died away very quickly and the comic was an entry point for becoming a Dinosaur Kid for a lot of people i think

There is often a division between the vibrantly illustrated worlds of Calvin's imagination against the much more dull visuals of school he has to deal with; he frequently has trouble with his school work, he's EXTREMELY prone to acting out and causing mischief at school, and school is often portrayed as a dull, exhausting and tiring thing he hates above everything else. His fantastical worlds are fun and lovingly illustrated; the world he has to actually deal with is at best tiring.

Hobbes is essentially his only friend. Calvin doesn't really seem to want to deal with other people at all (he seems to find it difficult at best and the few times he does, he comes off as out of his depth and uncertain). While he pesters Susie at the best of times, she is also notably the ONLY person he goes out of his way to talk to at all, and some of his comments to her are strongly revealing.

Calvin himself is an EXTREMELY intelligent kid, often discussing deeply philosophical stuff, and its frequently brought up that no one knows why he struggles with schoolwork as much as he does. At one point Susie even raises the question and he gloomily replies that he finds his life is easier if he lets everyone's expectations for him be as low as possible. Interpretations have ranged from him being an undiagnosed kid on the autistic spectrum (not unlikely, given this was written from the mid 80s to mid 90s) to simply reflecting the anxieties of school for many kids of the era.

This strip exists:

[cheesus-doodles]

A Friend In Me: Chapter 4

Yandere Platonic Toman

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Chapters 1 | 2‎ | 3

Masterlist

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my usual pink line divide no longer works because it messes with the tags ;^; have this divider from angelfire instead

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The world around Mikey came to a standstill. His ears buzzed with static, unable to process anything as his mind raced. In a sole instant, everything clicked together as if an incomplete puzzle finally being solved, and the Tokyo Manji Gang president could see the full picture, though the surprise at this revelation never made it to reflect in those abyss eyes. 

It made sense now, the blond-haired boy mused, watching the other five Toman founders burst into action in slow motion around him. He understood. Why you were attracted to two fighting delinquents instead of beating a hasty retreat like everyone else when you first met them, why you never seemed bothered by them turning up with small splatters of blood on their disheveled uniforms, why you could so effectively patch up injuries. You had never divulged or discussed your home life nor your childhood with them, and he had never bothered pressing you for details. Because why would he, when all evidence pointed to you living alone and having always lived alone? Having followed you home countless times to an empty house, you were always alone at all times of the day. No laundry or carelessly strewn clothes to be found, no closed or locked room that indicated another resident in your home. Even the pictures that decorated the walls and your bedrooms have always just been you and them.

“Hey!” From behind Mikey came a shout from Mitsuya, quickly followed by the telltale sounds of a tussle between the Toman Vice President and the Second Division Captain over you in the middle. “Don’t pull like that!”

You had grown up beside a delinquent. Your older brother whom you had never cared to mention was himself a fearsome and borderline insane delinquent - they had doubetlessly heard of Madarame Shion’s brutality and his supposed involvement in underworld crimes even before their paths crossed. Of course nothing they did would surprise or scare you if this was the normal behavior you were exposed to all your life. 

Abyss eyes turned to take in the expression on your face, the horror at what was happening slowly settling into your swollen eyes even as tears continued to streak down flush cheeks. Yet, all it took was the merest exposure to what was the normalcy of any delinquent’s life for you to break down - a telling-off, a by-far bloodless fight, nothing that would raise the eyebrow of a seasoned onlooker really. So how much did you really know? Did you know of their previous clash with Shion and the ninth generation of Black Dragons back when from the founding of Toman? He doubted it - your reaction to them after their fight would have been a lot stronger if you did. But most importantly, why didn’t you tell them earlier about having an older sibling?

A muffled shout from your still-connected call to your disgrace-of-a-delinquent older brother was enough to draw Mikey’s attention back to the current situation at hand, though he all but ignored whatever that goon had to say. No, you couldn’t know, he determined, because if you did, you would clearly see that they had no reason to fear a shithead like Shion. They had beaten him and his gang once already, what was a second time? But he could get the answers out of you later, once you were safe and away from this mess. For now, the Toman President mused, as time returned to its usual speed and the world exploded back into its full chaotic state, there were more important things to settle.

The mere thought of possibly losing you to this black-haired homewrecker you called Koko, or even worse, the loser of an older brother that they have already beaten to a pulp once; his heart raced. He couldn’t accept it. These weak-willed losers couldn’t be allowed to win him, especially not in a matter as important as this. 

Pivoting around, your watery eyes were helplessly fixed on the brawl going down right in front of you, phone clutched in a white-knucked grip. This was all for your own good. He was just protecting you from the wider world, the Toman President tried to convince himself, his slippered feet starting its ominous route towards the brawling four, his hands tucked almost casually into the pockets of his school pants. Your eyes immediately snapping to him and your lips falling apart as you watched him move.

Not because Mikey needed your support and your attention; no, he didn’t need you as much as you needed him. He was strong, the unshakable pillar of the Tokyo Manji Gang, not soft and weak and a crybaby like you. His heart wasn’t aching at the mere thought of never being able to see you again, never having you pamper and lavish him with attention and love and filling the hole in his heart - the palpitations was from excitement, the itch to fight and drive away the enemies of his friends.

He was the Invincible Mikey, and now more than ever, he needed to make sure that everyone knew why.

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Ninth Generation Black Dragon President. You heard Koko loud and clear right before the momentary tranquility went straight to hell once more, but now you could barely think amidst the cacophony. Individually, the words made sense, yet strung together, it became incoherent to your spinning mind. Too many, too much. Watching Baji once more take aim at the opposing delinquent, you staggered a step forward, your heart urging you to take action; do something, do anything. Before someone gets hurt again. 

You were yanked back before you could take another step, vaguely registering Draken’s voice snapping at you but nothing registering in your mind. Fixated on the fight going on its second round, the white of Inui’s uniform, combined with his sunflower-blond hair, seemed to almost glimmer in the sunlight as it caught your eye, and the memories you had long lost to the back of your mind came surging back to the front. You had seen that uniform before, having washed and scrubbed the blood from the white fabric before Shion moved out. It’s happening. Again. Any control you felt you had left over your own life was slipping through your fingers once more; the way of your life that you had so painstakingly built, the personality you had so carefully tailored, everything was falling apart in front of your eyes. All over again.

Those stunned expressions you just saw simply couldn’t be faked, you knew instinctively, not with how all of them wore the same look on their faces. For reasons beyond you, everyone present all knew your older brother, and vice versa. They all hated each other, and you were caught right in the middle. How could you have known that the only friends you had knew of and hated each other? What more could you have done? What could you have done differently?

Maybe you should have heeded Mikey’s and the other’s warnings about Koko. Maybe if you hadn’t gone looking for that CB250T. If you hadn’t-

Every breath became heavier and heavier, faster and faster, and you struggled to fill your lungs, the air sludgy and thick. The world around you was all too much. Too loud. You couldn’t-

A fresh pair of arms enveloped you, and you were pulled into a tight hug. “Breathe.”

You let out the breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding, your body shuddering as the atmosphere instantly thinned out. You gulped down as much oxygen as you could, your sweating palms glistening in the light of the afternoon sun.

“Are you alright?” Mitsuya’s voice was calm, soft, those calloused hands gently running through your hair as he bodily blocked you from the fight that was occurring just a stone’s throw away.

Unable to speak, you simply nodded, wiping your fist on your shirt. I’m fine, you mouthed, though you knew that Mitusya knew it was a lie, your skin having turned several tones lighter from the lack of air. But you had other more important things to concern yourself with (at least in your view), as you attempted to look over your friend’s mob of purple hair. What had you missed? 

“Relax,” the Toman founder tried to convince you, resting one hand atop your head yet not forcing you down by any means despite Draken’s annoyed ‘tch’ from behind you, where he continued to hold on to you tightly. “Let them handle it.” 

Let them handle it? Giving a shaky glance you hoped was reassuring at Mitsuya, you turned your attention back to the fight, right as Kazutora broke past Inupi’s defense, his fist outstretched and jealous anger fully directed at Koko.

In a single blink, you broke free from both Draken and Mitsuya’s grip, your long strides closing the distance between you and Koko. “Tory, stop!”

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‎

The last thing Koko expected was to see you flying towards him, putting your decidedly much more fragile self between him and the Toman founder.

”Fuck- Watch out!” 

An exceptionally hard yank from Koko had both you and him flying backwards, but the loud smack of a fist into the back of your head as the two of you fell towards the ground was unmistakable. His gut dropped. Damn it. Too late. Landing with an oof on the hard ground and you atop him, the infamous financier could hardly acknowledge the ache of his back, not while his thoughts were focused solely on you. “Are you alright?” What on earth were you thinking? He wasn’t exactly a delinquent but he sure as hell could take, if not dodge, a hit better than you - he just preferred standing behind others.

You winced, rubbing what should be a forming sore spot where you were hit. “I’m fine,” you assured, the momentary crinkle of your forehead as you carefully shifted tilted your head telling otherwise, though it was quick to evaporate as the realization of who cushioned your fall hit you. You scrambled to stand, but you were instantly tackled to the ground once more by a bawling Toman founder with black and yellow hair and nearly falling over again - Kazutora, if Koko remembered correctly.

”I- I-“ Barely able to speak, your own injury was forgotten as you instantly shifted to attempt to soothe the wailing boy with an undeserved gentleness. “I hit-”

”I’m fine, I’m fine,” you tried to reassure. “It barely touched me.” It was obviously the wrong thing to say, your voice quickly drowned out as Kazutora only cried harder, burying his face into your shirt, fists clenching bundles of your school shirt. 

Koko could only watch on as you caught his gaze, returning an apologetic one of your own as you did your best to soothe the bawling delinquent - a sight that he never thought he would witness. He did already have a good idea of what your self-proclaimed Toman friends were like, having been forewarned about how protective they were of you (some of your stories truly did raise an eyebrow or two). And sure, Inupi had whirled around at his alarmed shout with what should be an intent to help, but his attention had been forced back to the fight on hand almost instantaneously when Baji had attempted to take advantage of his momentary distraction to go in for a sweep; it's not as if his friend didn’t care at all. But expecting to have to throw hands was one thing, understandable even, given how he would be associated with Inupi and thus the Black Dragons, but this level of attachment? Were all these waterworks even real?

A set of footsteps stomping in his direction had the notorious financier look up, and straight at the Toman’s Vice Captain towering over him. But the other’s ire surprisingly wasn’t directed at him, and instead, you were bodily lifted by the front of your shirt, forcing Kazutora off of you right before you were shaken like a stuck salt shaker. “What the hell were you thinking?! That was insane!”

“I’m alright-” You barely got two words out before being cut off again.

“YOU ARE NOT OKAY,” bellowed back an uncharacteristically furious Draken, and you threw both hands up in surrender even as you continued to be shaken around like a martini.  “YOU COULD’VE GOTTEN HURT. OR KILLED!”

Kazutora only started to cry harder at his words, babbling incoherently as he tried to latch onto your legs.

At least the Toman Third Division Captain was on your side, stepping between a furious Vice Captain and you and prying you free with little effort. “You’re making it worse,” Pah said simply, echoing Mitsuya’s earlier words.

‎

“-ey! HEY! ” The vague screams of Shion echoed out from beneath you, alerting you, Koko and everyone else to the fact that you had yet to hang up on your previous call. Fishing around beneath you where your phone had most likely fallen earlier on, your older brother’s frankly annoying shrieking was finally noticed, now that the general mayhem had died down. 

And much to Koko’s annoyance, you visibly stiffened upon hearing Shion once more, like a bolt of lightning ran up your spine, and you bent over to gingerly pick up your dropped phone. He hated seeing you scared of someone as useless as Shion, a scumbag even Inupi wasn’t impressed with. If he could make your problem disappear, he would in a blink. Not that this would be right time to tell you this. 

The clash of delinquents had long driven off any last soul left that tried to wander down this street, the road deserted of passerbys of any kind. Even the wind had long died down, and Koko hastily dabbed away the sweat forming along his upper lip. “Ah, nii-san-” You mumbled out under your breath, though that was most likely more to remind yourself who you were dealing with on the other end.

“FUCKING FINALLY! YOU GET YOUR ASS HOME NOW!” 

Deflated, you looked defeated at your older brother’s orders, your shoulders slumping over. “I-”

But Shion was not done. “AND DROP THOSE TOMAN FUCKS, UNDERSTAND?”

And that was apparently where the former Black Dragon President crossed the line. In a blink, your phone disappeared from your grip as if by magic. You barely had time to react, the small, outdated electronic now clutched tightly in Mikey’s white-knuckled grip, a speed that took even Koko by surprise. When did he get that? Where did he even come from?

“I’ll kill you,” the threat from the Toman President was loud and clear, the sheer rage burning behind those empty eyes enough to have even Koko recoil. “You try anything funny, and I’ll kill you, right here, right now.”

A snort. “Try it, motherfu-”

‎

It was a loud crack, followed by a small fizzle, an unremarkable show that marked the untimely end to your device as Mikey crushed the phone underfoot without an afterthought. Your jaw dropped. Koko estimated you must have lost the equivalent of several months of work in one inconsiderate move. 

Not that the Toman lowlives you called friends knew, of course, seemingly failing to notice you staring on speechlessly as Baji proceeded to grind the heel of his foot into the electronic device, spitting curses probably meant for your brother. You no doubt knew full-well by now that they were pissed to hell and back, both at Shion and at him, but did they have to take this out on your poor, defenseless phone?

A shove from Mitsuya quickly broke Baji’s rampage. “Stop that!” The purple-haired boy scolded, as he pushed the other Toman founder away, earning himself an irritated “Huh?!” from the First Division Captain, though that did little to scare Mitsuya. “You’re making it worse!”

The breaking of your phone was of relative insignificance to Koko at least, watching you dejectedly shuffle forward to pick up the broken pieces of the devices to stuff back into your pocket; the short tranquility he got now from the previous chaos was worth the cost to replace it for you at a later date. Even better, he could get you a nicer model, something pretty and slick and get into your good books, perhaps convince you to get an additional number that only he would have? That would definitely put him ahead of the Toman boys, at the very least.

“Hey.” A short shuffle, and Koko looked up, his eyes instantly focusing on your outstretched hand.

Inupi had long stepped aside, not eager to be pulled back into this particular lover’s squabble, those blue eyes content with observing as the Toman founders were once more embroiled in pointless arguments once more. Complete with threats of violence and withholding of lunches, it was Mistuya this time that was caught in the middle, attempting to scold both Mikey and Baji with backing from Draken. 

You, though, had turned your attention instead to him. “Are you alright?” Your voice was soft, barely audible over the other loud voices. Even with all that happened, you hadn’t forgotten about him.

“Ye, I’m fine,” Koko assured. “Just a bit sore.”

Yet as he reached out to accept your offer of help, it was a sudden recognition of the situation he put himself in that rang in his ears and rattled his mind; the sensation much as if he was waking from a trance the black-haired boy hadn’t even realized he was in. Widened almond eyes met yours, the realization lighting up dilated pupils: if he had known any better, you would have been the last person he would ever want to court, let alone be in any sort of relationship with, coming laden with so much baggage. Anyone would be insane to want to be involved with a walking spark like you.

Alas, the sensation was momentary, and the thought of letting you slip away from him - letting someone Koko cared about be stolen away from him again - was accompanied immediately by a heart-throbbing sense of loss that came surging from his gut. Could he truly live without you to fill the hole in his heart? More importantly, did he dare to attempt to? 

Too lost in his thoughts, it was a subconscious catch of movement in the corner of his eye that snapped Koko out from his inner turmoil. It was of course you, though the disappointment was already written on your face as you began to pull away and straighten up, words tumbling free from pressed lips. “Ah- I’m glad,” you muttered, starting to turn away from him. “Hopefully it doesn’t hurt bad.”

How long had he been trapped thinking in real world time? Long enough for you to notice his hesitation, at the very least. Panic now kicking his reaction back into high gear, Koko all but threw himself after your now-retreating hand, catching it just centimeters away from where it had been, a nervous smile pulling at his lips. “Thanks,” was all his heavy tongue could stutter out, the black-haired boy trying desperately to pretend that nothing had happened as he pulled himself up, taking care to rely as little as possible on you. You said nothing, but the upturn of your lips told him everything he needed to know. You didn’t even pull away from him when he had surreptitiously intertwined his fingers with yours, quietly pulling both your hands behind him so the others couldn’t see.

See? There was no doubt - you wanted to be with him. The little moment however didn’t last long, as Koko forced himself to focus back on the issue at hand. He had to solve this issue before they could take you away from him. He couldn’t lose everything again. Wrecking his brain, the solution that Koko arrived at was surprisingly simple. 

Money. 

It was money that could have saved Akane, so maybe money could save you too? That was it. Money. Money could solve everything, couldn’t it? “How much?” Koko found himself blurting out before he could stop himself. Those two words were enough to dumbfounded everyone there, with eight pairs of eyes turning to stare at Koko. Were they really that surprised? Or just waiting for an offer?

“A hundred thousand yen,” the black-haired boy clarified. And he didn’t need to clarify what he was saying - a hundred thousand yen for them to give you to him. He didn’t want to fight, he was barely interested in being a delinquent as it is. All he wanted was you, no matter the cost. “I’ll give you a hundred thousand yen.” 

“What?” You were the first to speak, your slack jaw and furrowed eyebrows sending a throb through his chest. Damn, was his offer too low? You were priceless of course - no matter how vast Koko’s fortune was, you would always be unattainable - so were you going to think that he was being cheap? That you were only worth so little in his eyes?

Even Inupi had raised an eyebrow at his named price, and though the surprise was written all over his usual stoic expression, the blond-haired boy said nothing.

But before he could try and revise his offer, to make sure you knew just how much Koko was ready to spend on you, it seemed his words finally set in in the others’ much slower minds. “Do you think we’re just going to sell-” The vein bulged prominently on Baji’s forehead as he once more lunged forward, and would have reached his target if not for Mitsuya grabbing the back of his shirt. “You son of a bitch!”

“How fucking dare you?!” Kazutora snarled, and Koko braced himself for another fight as the duo-colored delinquent made to pull away from you.

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‎

“Honestly why is it everytime there’s a ruckus, it’s always you, Mikey?” A new voice sighed out from behind Koko, catching all present by surprise. Those abyss eyes were an exact carbon copy of the Tokyo Manji Gang President’s, though the man that they belonged to was one that Koko was thankfully still on rather good terms with. “Can yall at least keep it away from my shop? Bad for business and all.”

By now, the once clear sky had filled up with clouds that blocked most of the light from the afternoon sun, the oppressing heat somewhat dissipating as the breeze picked up once more.

From where you were at the center of the mess, your ears perked up as if a dog recognized the word ‘snack’. “O-oji-san?” You sniffled a little, though you quickly pulled yourself together, rubbing your nose on your forearm. Eyes, though red and swollen, were now dry.

“I’m not that old!” Shinichiro froze right as the words left his lips, blinking as he stared back at you, the gears very clearly turning behind his eyes as he took in the entire scene that had unfolded right in front of his shop. “Oh,” the man mumbled, as if all the puzzle pieces had just fallen into place, gaze turning from you to Mikey before landing on Inupi and Koko. A pause, and he sighed, resting one hand on his hip. “It’s you, huh?”

Kazutora shuffled protectively in front of you in an attempt to hide your figure from the older man’s view, your arm interlocked tightly with his as he glared back. “You staring?” The sandy-brown eyed boy demanded, puffing up his chest the same way a cat poofed up its fur, a 180 from his childlike state just minutes earlier, the tears now all gone as he scowled at the newest entry.

This, however, only earned him a whack to the back of his head by Draken, after which the boy deflated. “That’s Mikey’s older brother, dipshit.”

Shinichiro seemed to barely notice the small squabble taking place, his hand dipping into his pocket to withdraw a small, slightly crushed pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Sliding the stick into his mouth and lighting up, the older man took a long inhale, his voice slightly raspy as he spoke. “So,” he started, looking at Mikey. “This is the buddy you’ve been telling me about?”

Yet before Mikey could answer the rhetorical question, Shinichiro had already turned to Koko. “And also your little birdie?”

“No.” “No.” Both Mikey and Baji snapped irritably together in response to the second question, with Baji seemingly just a hair’s breadth away from flying straight at Koko once more, his fist clenching with anticipation.

“He,” Baji very pointedly hissed out, sharp yellow eyes glaring across the aisle at Koko. “Needs to stay away.”

You meekly shuffled your feet, your eyes turned down towards the ground as your Toman friends turned on cue to shoot you a stink eye. Ah. Caught breaking the rules again. “Koko’s just a friend,” you offered weakly, though it didn’t seem to convince anyone. 

Koko could only feel the growing pit at the base of his gut as Inupi threw a similarly dirty look his way, though the sunflower-blond Black Dragon member still raised his pipe in defense. Fuck. To be fair to him, Koko reasoned internally, he hadn’t known about your ties to the Tokyo Manji Gang back when he was standing outside Inupi’s door in the rain, but he did casually fail to mention it even after he knew. Now that it was out in the open, there wasn’t really anything more he could say.

Shinichiro let out yet another ragged sigh as he took another breath, exhaling the smoke into a column that hung lazily in the still, humid air before speaking again, this time his words directed at you. “And you’re related to the Ninth Generation Black Dragon President? The one that Toman bea- OW!”

You were slightly confused at Mikey’s sudden move to stomp on Shinichiro’s foot, the abrupt sentence stop only leaving you to wonder. Was Shinichiro trying to say something that Mikey didn’t like? Shrugging it off as something you wouldn’t be able to find out anyway, the side eyes sent Shinichiro’s way were hard to miss. “Madarame is my nii-san,” you nodded, reaching down to gently touch the remnants of your phone jiggling in your pocket. “He moved out from our family home years ago, but it seems like he’s back today for some reason.”

Hopping around the pavement, the man’s expression was twisted in pain radiating from his bruised foot, with Mikey still scowling at his own older brother. “Ah, i-in that case,” Shinichiro managed to grit out as he shuffled back to lean against the glass windows of his shop. “You should go home and see what he wants.”

That turned out to be a highly unpopular opinion, and the disagreement your friends felt necessary to voice was made obvious even with the respect the delinquents had for Shinichiro, Mikey being the loudest in his protest. 

“No!” “Absolutely not.” “Are you crazy?!” “NO!” The torrent of disagreements were certainly surprising to you, and you blinked owly as you were physically pulled further away from Shinichiro, as if the older man was going to personally rip you away from your friends and bring you home.

Shinichiro, however, was undeterred by the outburst that half the neighborhood must have heard, waving his arms downwards in an attempt to restore the peace, waiting for the chaos to die down before continuing, his smoking cigarette lightly gripped between two fingers. “As I was saying, you should go home and see what Shion wants first, since he is your older brother. And then Mikey and your friends can meet you after. I’ll settle things here and then send them over, alright?”

It was phrased as if it was a suggestion, but there was no negotiation to be had. Now that Shinichiro was present, he was in charge. 

You seemed hesitant, but ultimately agreed. That did make sense to you, given that if Shion was planning to move back home, there were arrangements that would have to be made, and changes in your schedule. And with how much your older brother and Toman seemed to already hate each other, it would be better to allow tempers to diffuse before combining both halves of your life. “Alright, I’ll head home first.”

“What if she isn’t safe at home, Shinichiro-san?” Draken pointed out, his arms crossed, Pah nodding sagely along, joined by the frantic bubbling and wailing from Kazutora, who had done another u-turn from badass delinquent to bubbling and wailing mess, attached to your side like superglue and refusing to let go.

Mitsuya straightened out your school uniform for you, a more levelheaded presence though still physically blocking any view you had of Koko further down the street. “Are you going to be safe?”

You paused, your head cocking as you considered what Mitsuya was asking, before slowly nodding. “Madarame-nii won’t hurt me,” you tried to assure, though you didn’t sound very confident yourself. “I should be fine.”

“They won’t be long here,” Shinichiro promised, grabbing Mikey by the back of his shirt as said boy attempted to make a break for you, before he turned to almost effortlessly snag Kazutora in the exact same manner.

Koko’s heart sank when you turned away from him, but with Shinichiro’s stronger-than-it-looked hand resting on his shoulder, Inupi was already distancing himself from the Toman boys, all he could do was watch you say your goodbyes to your Toman friends before disappearing round the bend, with no say on whether he would ever be able to see you again. Maybe, maybe all he needed was more money.

‎

‎

Fourteen years in the future, the atmosphere that blanketed the headquarters of the feared Tokyo Manji Gang syndicate was not too dissimilar to the delicate yet weighty tension outside of Shinichiro’s shop. It was by every account a gorgeous day outside, the bright afternoon sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows and catching in the gold trimmings of each and every fitting of the opulent home. Yet, the hallways of the penthouse were unusually empty of the usual black-tie suited gangsters and guards and the like that usually teemed this area, the deafening silence weighing down what was the epitome of luxury. But it was hardly a concerning issue to Kisaki as he stalked down the wide corridors, casting a shadow on the priceless art and other masterpieces as he swept past, the crystals that decorated the chandeliers hanging above chiming lightly as they jingled with the air conditioning. After all, he did know why everyone had been sent away, and he did hold a very slight responsibility for the cause.

His destination was at the end of the corridor, a simple white door fitted into wallpapered walls that stood out like a sore thumb amidst the lavishness, a curse from a different time that continued to haunt both him and Mikey. Because it wasn’t just the door that was a specter from the past, Kisaki knew. The sole rap on the door was a courtesy, and the suited man didn’t wait for a response to enter.

The room he stepped into looked ripped straight from a common suburban home, unfitting for a multimillion dollar house right in the heart of Tokyo, even less so for a yakuza boss with the entire underground world at his fingertips. Simple painted walls, a hardwood flooring, and well-worn furniture that had seen better days, things that Kisaki wouldn’t even give a second glance yet things that would get him shot between his eyes if his fingers lingered on them for a second too long. “Mikey,” Kisaki greeted, cutting a straight path to the single armchair turned to face away from the entrance.

There was no response from said man, abyss eyes staring blankly out clear, streakless windows into the open sky, though his gaze did turn to meet Kisaki’s as the door swung close with a soft click, the dragon tattoo decorating his scrawny neck contrasting greatly with his pale skin. A sky-high view of the city skyline worthy of the sky-high price, but again, not what he was here for. 

The Toman second-in-command held up a sheaf of papers, his other hand pushing up his glasses. “Need your sign-off on these.” It was rare for him to have to do such menial tasks as delivering paperwork - that is the sole purpose he pays for Mikey to have a dedicated secretary - but with it being this time of the year again, the reports were once more starting to be returned unsigned and unread.

Yet for all the effort Kisaki undertook to come here in person, it meant nothing to Mikey, the yakuza boss simply ignoring whatever his right-hand man had to say as he turned his gaze back out the window once more. The spectacled man tried again, taking a step closer. “Mikey,” he insisted, hand reaching out in an attempt to pass on the papers on hand. 

But it was the distinctive click of a gun’s safety being switched off that had Kisaki retract his hand as if burnt, the anger that had sparked in those usually empty eyes clear as Mikey swung around to glare at him. Throwing both arms up in surrender and under the other’s deadly scowl, he backed away slightly; an inch closer, and those reports would have brushed against the delicate decades-old fabric of the armchair. Your armchair. 

That heavy pressure was palpable as the silence weighed on the passing time. A heartbeat, then two. “What?” The biker gang president-turned-mafioso finally growled out, voice hoarse from lack of use - it must have been at least a week since he last spoke, Kisaki noted.

”Your sign-off.”

”No.”

Kisaki let out an exasperated sigh. “Mikey-“

”No,” Mikey repeated. “Leave.” And that was that, with said man refusing to look at him a moment longer, flopping back down into his armchair limply, the momentary energy from a rush of adrenaline dissipated back into the cocktail of depression and drugs the former delinquent had been indulging in.

There was nothing more that the second-in-command could do but to obey and leave. But he did understand the reason behind Mikey’s foul mood - it was just about a month out from both Shinichiro’s and your death anniversary, after all, even if both events were several years apart. Pausing at the threshold of the room, Kisaki used the moment it took to open the door to subtly glance around; it was rare that he ever had the chance to see the inside of this room. 

After all, the ghost that still haunted them was you. 

This was, or had been, your room, with every last item and detail having been painstakingly removed, transported and reinstalled when the yakuza boss had finally been convinced to relocate from what had been your home in the suburb for his own safety. That armchair, your bed and covers that Mikey still sleeps in, the wooden floor panels and the old plastered walls and ceilings. Even this blasted door which formally served as your bedroom door. It was all you. 

And your death hadn’t even been planned. Sure the spectacled man knew of your existence, but you had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had been caught up in an attack meant for another.

Carefully closing the door behind him, Kisaki shook his head, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The once strongman of Toman, the invincible delinquent, could conquer anything he set out to - the spiral into crime, the murder of his former friends, the whole of the Japan underground world. Yet twelve years on, Mikey just couldn’t let you go, long after you had breathed your last breath and torn the entire Toman apart.

The good thing was that at least Kisaki doesn’t exactly need the Toman boss’ approval to get things done around here; it’s far easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

‎

‎

Back fourteen years in the past, you hardly had the time to worry about what time would eventually bring to your doorstep, knee-deep in your current problems. The moon hung mockingly high in the sky as you closed the door gently behind you, tweaking the knob slightly as it latched back into place to stop its usual click. Your efforts, however, were in vain, and you froze as the all-too distinctive sound echoed through the otherwise silent night. Carefully pressing one ear against the wooden front door, you held your breath, waiting to hear that distinct stomping of feet  down the stairs in your pursuit and the roar of your name.

The past weeks have been nothing short of hell. With your older brother Madarame temporarily moving back into your family home, it went without saying that you were no longer permitted to see your Toman friends going forward, let alone have them come over. Biting your lip, you would simply agree and say nothing more, careful to tread on eggshells around the volatile boy. With how closely your older brother has been monitoring your every move, you hadn’t dared to step out of line - you did previously have a front row seat as to what happened to the people around you the last time you dared to openly disobey.

Yet time and time again, it was Mikey and the others that persisted in swinging round to pick you up in the evenings against your brother’s orders in the one and half week since the fight, exactly as Shinichiro had predicted, even doing several very loud donuts that your neighbors would not appreciate outside your house just to make sure that Shion knew they were there. To your surprise, it was your brother who has done nothing more than scowl at you running out to meet them from the window like a disapproving mother before disappearing into the house, failing to even bring up your cheeky escapades the day after. Him and the Toman founders definitely weren’t on speaking terms, you determined, but there was more to it that either party was willing to say.

But all this was far from your concern at the moment. 

Tonight was one of those rare nights: with your brother fast asleep in his bed instead of out and prowling the streets, and the mobs of various-colored hair were nowhere to be seen lounging along your street, busy with a gang meet at Musashi Shrine. A rare chance to take advantage of this extraordinary situation where you have finally been left alone for just a small window of time. That is, as long as you didn’t get caught first - and your brother would 100% tattle on you to your friends if it would get you in more trouble.

The summertime heat was already in full-force by now at the start of August, and though the blazing temperature has at least cooled somewhat with the absence of the sun from the night sky, the humidity had yet to let up. Beads of perspiration that dotted your forehead trailed their way down your forehead as you waited, your heartbeat racing with every second ticking by. Was this it? 

A minute passed. Then two. And the inside of your house remained as quiet as the dead of night, the peace of your neighborhood unbroken. Heaving a sigh of relief, you quickly turned heel, fleeing down the lifeless main street before taking a corner at the first alley, coming face to face with a familiar grinning face waiting for you under the flickering light of a weary streetlamp. “Took you long enough,” Koko chuckled, both hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. 

“That’s not very nice!” You tried your best to put up an indignant front, but the facade collapsed into a wide grin too quickly for any part of it to be taken seriously. “Did I keep you waiting long, Koko? Sorry ‘bout that.”

The black-haired boy waved off your apologies, pulling himself up from the wall he had been leaning against. “Nah, it’s just been a few minutes,” he admitted. Offering a hand to you, you were glad to accept, gently intertwining your fingers with his as he led you through the dark alleyway, your duo’s footsteps barely echoing amidst the silent residential buildings. “Any place in mind?”

You shook your head. “Didn’t think about it cause I know you do.”

“Ah.”

You laughed as Koko rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. You did know him well enough to assume otherwise. Letting out a hum, you allowed the other to tug you closer to his side, to which you responded by resting your head on his shoulder. “So where are we going?”

If you could be honest with yourself for a moment, Koko was the breath of fresh air you had been looking for. It was a truly ungrateful feeling to harbor, especially towards your Toman boys who had been the ones to take you in and accept you as a friend, but he was an escape from the constant neediness and possessiveness. You did love them dearly, really, but sometimes it all just got too much for you, with the final straw being that particular incident outside of Shinichiro’s shop; you had never been frightened of Mikey or Baji or the others before, yet seeing them snap before your eyes at another that you held dear to you - it was all too much, on top of having to deal with new tension at home.

All you wanted was to be able to hang out with a friend you made yourself, someone you didn’t have to give constant attention to. A friend who wouldn’t put you on a pedestal.

“There’s a nice karaoke place in town,” Koko replied almost absentmindedly, his well-gelled hair bobbing slightly as it caught the occasional light as the two of you stepped out of the alleyway and back onto a main street. “We can take the train there.”

Your mind immediately thought to the last round your Toman boys had invited you to karaoke with them, the session ending with you having to cool heads when they started bickering about whose turn it was with the mic. “That’s a good idea,” you nodded. Those places were open pretty late, right? Plus a private room would make it a lot harder to get caught.

‎

The area the two of you ended up in was a location slightly outside of town, which you recognized as not being too far from Shinichiro’s shop - the now-closed small convenience store was the same one that Mikey had been dragging you past just two weeks earlier. This was definitely a more uptown area compared to where the bike shop was, you noted, the stores though all closed at this hour were steadily getting larger and more luxurious the further you and Koko strolled down deserted streets.

“It’s so quiet,” you found yourself musing out loud, earning a soft exhale from the other. 

You rarely venture to this part of Tokyo City, it being well out of your usual sphere of life with good reason, though even with the handful of visits under your belt, the difference between day and night was still starkly visible. A flood of business suits and their occupants busy on the phone, with the rare occasional student weaving their way through the crowd, these streets were hardly catered to a younger audience, the prices well out of the range of what any student could afford, and you would assume the same, even more so in fact at night. The last thing you would expect to find here would be a karaoke, but perhaps you simply missed it before.

“This way,” Koko tugged you through an unassuming door, tucked neatly between two shopfronts and one you would have completely glazed over. Up a dimly lit stairway and with a light knock from your friend, the well-worn steel door opened to reveal a backdrop of high ceilings and a chandelier, framing an elegantly-dressed lady ushering the two of you in, the door swinging shut behind you with a quiet click. You felt your jaw dragging across the floor, eyes glancing around and taking in as much as you could. What even was this place?

Shiny, polished granite floors sparkled with specks of yellow reflected from the dim lights above, the walls trimmed tastefully with gold and decorated with flourished wallpapers. The crystal vase in which an enormous bouquet of flowers had been professionally arranged, atop a spotless dark wood counter, combined with the staff here wearing full suits, was all rather intimidating.

Vaguely noting Koko saying something to the lady who had welcomed you at the door, his words blending into the soft classical background music, you were only grounded by the fact that your hand was still laced with his as you shrunk shyly behind him. Needless to say, you felt extremely out-of-place, dressed in nothing more than your usual outing attire having expected a simple date. Were they going to kick you out?

Not just yet fortunately, as you were led down a velvet-walled hallway instead, lined with doors that ran the entire length, before being ushered into the room right at the end. Koko had stepped into the booth first, holding the door open as you quickly followed suit, and much to your relief, the inside looked similar enough to a regular karaoke room. Letting out a sigh of relief, you settled on the sofa, patting the area next to you. “I thought it was going to be so different,” you admitted, snuggling in close to Koko as he sat down next to you. “The outside looks so fancy.”

Said boy laughed, shaking his head as he leaned over to grab two microphones off their stands. “I thought it would be better since it's unlikely you’ll be found here.” By your Toman friends, that is.

“Not that I don’t like it,” you hastily added, accepting the device from Koko. “It’s lovely, thank you. And I doubt they know this place even exists.”

“No way,” the financier rolled his eyes, earning a giggle from you. That goes without saying. “Come on, pick a song, I’ll order us some drinks.”

‎

Time slipped through your fingers, the minutes flying by without your notice. Though you barely had a sip of alcohol (Koko refused to let you have any more than a taste of his cocktail), you were sure that you were giddy enough from giggling the entire time. 

”I still can’t believe you managed to nail that song!” You laughed out, lightly tapping on the black-haired boy’s arm as you carefully stepped across the curb. “I sounded completely off, I swear.”

“No way,” Koko disagreed, a tinge of red brushed across both cheeks as his gaze fell away from yours, though from the alcohol or otherwise, you couldn’t quite tell. He has had several drinks, after all. “You were great.”

Definitely the alcohol, you mused to yourself, squeezing his hand lightly as you gracefully ignored his voice trailing-off. “Thank you for bringing me out tonight, Koko.” And you meant it - with everything that had been going on at home and with the Toman boys, you truly did need this break from the hum and drum of regular life, even if you didn’t know it before. “I really had fun.”

No response, and none was needed, the other only returning the squeeze of your hand, face still turned away from yours. Strolling down the quiet street, it was late into the night, way past the time that you were usually already tucked into bed, your lights turned off and usually accompanied by one (or more) of the Toman founders. Yet your life these past months have been anything but usual, and having been unable to see Koko without getting him into unmeasurable amounts of trouble that would most likely end up with him in the hospital, you did miss him dearly. You will deal with the consequences of a lack of sleep tomorrow, you determined.

The music of yester-hours still buzzing in your ears and a hum under your breath, it would have been a perfect ending to your night if all the excitement ended there.

“Hey assfaces!” 

A sudden loud voice from behind that reverberated across the silent night had you jump a foot into the air like a startled cat, and you whirled around to locate the source of the disturbance. Koko, though, seemed barely bothered, his light tugs at your hand urging you to keep walking before trouble found the two of you. Too little, too late; your paths were quickly being blocked by several punks with aggressive hairstyles that you quickly identified as delinquents, though they didn’t seem to have a uniform of any sort, with the attire consisting of a mix of ruffled school uniforms and streetwear. “Strolling through my territory, huh?!”

Your heart skipped a beat - did they know who you were? Were they looking for Koko? No, that couldn’t be it. You decided that being friendly couldn’t go wrong, maybe it’s just a case of mistaken identity. “Hello,” you greeted. “Can we help you?”

A jeer rippled through the crowd in response, and you shrunk back. That was obviously the wrong move. Worse still, your voice seemed to have triggered a memory recall. “I’ve seen you somewhere before,” the seeming group leader muttered, squinting as he leaned in towards you. 

The grip Koko had on your hand tightened ever so slightly even as the expression on said boy’s face remained relaxed, almost as if bored. He must have gone through this multiple times, you reckoned, as you tried to shift away from the other.

“Ah,” the recognition settled into the other’s eyes as he pushed his face into your personal space, and you recoiled at the spit flying out from his mouth at you. “It's the shitbag always hanging off of Mikey, aren’t ya you little thing?”

Uh oh.

Another wave of sneering washed through the gang, though this time, the scorn was audible.

“I got beaten up by those Toman fuckers last week!” “One of them burned my bike!” “He stole my lunch!”

Your heart dropped into your gut. Fuck. You never thought you would be recognized.

The head delinquent’s smirk only grew larger as the displeasure boiled over into calls for Toman’s death, and he made to grab at your arm. “You’re quite the cute thing. Those fuckers have good taste. I think I’ll have some fun fir-”

A loud crack! - and you whirled around to the sight of a delinquent crumpling to the ground, clearly having lost consciousness. And there was Koko, calmly withdrawing his fist, simply not having the disrespect. “I rather you pick on someone your own size,” he stated, as if it was another usual day.

Time seemed to have frozen for a second, with the rest of the delinquents present turning almost robotically to glance between Koko and their downed buddy, the moment bringing with it an unexpected peace. But alas, it did not last as pandemonium quickly broke back out, the hoodlums sent into an uproar. “I WANT BOTH OF THEM DEAD!” The gang leader roared.

Koko shoved you. “Run!” He yelled, as he started beating down whoever he could reach. “Get to safety!”

You took off, drawing half the crowd with you, that distinctive side-swept mob of black hair quickly disappearing behind a wall. Fuck.

‎

Shit shit shit- your feet were all but flying over the pavement at this point as you sprinted down the street as fast as you could, taking random rights and lefts in an attempt to shake off your pursuers. But alas, enraged delinquents weren’t as easy to lose as you had hoped, and the stomp of their boots echoing behind you only ate away at your gut more and more. The light of the streetlamps overhead flashed and disappeared as you bolted through each and every circle of illumination, the environment all but a blur - you were sure you were completely lost at this point, though all your mind was urging you to just keep running.

What on earth were you going to do now? What could you do?

Your thoughts wandered back to Koko whom you had abandoned on the main street as you took another shark right, and your heart clenched, the guilt already starting to gnaw away at your gut. The last glimpse you had, he had been surrounded by so many of those fierce delinquents; yes, he had taken one of those builds down easily, but with opponents of such numbers? Maybe you should have stayed, but you didn’t want Koko to have to not only fight but also watch over a useless you. And, you tried to reason, with you running off, you at least have managed to draw some of the crowd away to chase after you.

But now that you were on the run, easily recognized by the self-declared rivals of the Tokyo Manji Gang, you were no doubt only creating more trouble for Mikey and the rest of your friends. No matter what you decided, no matter what you did, you only seemed to drag more and more people you claim to care about into the mess that was your life. 

Turning down yet another side alley, your lungs were beginning to burn from effort, every breath you took becoming heavier and heavier as your calves yearned for relief. You couldn’t recall the last time you had to assert such consistent effort, but you urged yourself on, forcing yourself past your limits as the adrenaline rush slowly ebbed away. You needed a place to hide and rest, somewhere safe - but where could you go? 

Bursting out back onto a main street, it was a familiar white awning that caught the corner of your eye, and though now folded up, you could recognize the partially hidden words and logo anywhere. S.S Motor…you weren’t sure if anyone was still in the shop at this time of night, but it wasn’t like you really had any other choice now. The white awning was calling to you as if it was your salvation as you closed the distance in under a minute, slamming straight into the locked front door. Damn. The door wasn’t going to give way no matter the amount of desperate rattling, and you should have known better, yet here you were, wasting precious time.

Letting go of the worn brass handle, it was the bloodthirsty calls for your blood growing nearer and nearer, accompanied by thunderous footsteps, that had you hesitate to leave the minute safety that the indent of the shop doors allowed you, with each precious second passing decreasing the amount you would have had to continue your escape. But even if you wanted to, your body was already at the point of giving up - you were physically incapable of running any further, your legs urging you to give up as you doubled over, pressing your hands against your knees in a bid to catch your breath. This was it, you supposed. You were going to make more trouble for Mikey and the rest, and probably get beat up in the process.

You took a deep breath, steeling your nerves, and turned around. No, this was not the end. You weren’t going to give up so easily and disgrace your Toman friends here. You had fists just like them after all, you could at least put up some resistance.

The click of a lock opening had relief that flooded into your system when your name was called by a recognizable name. Looking down at you with furrowed abyss eyes was none other than Shinichiro, that signature bluish-gray overalls of his tied still around his waist, spanner in hand. “What ya doing here at this time?”

”Chased,” was all you could hurriedly say in the time you had, as you glanced backwards at a roar that sounded just a turn away. “CanIcomeinplease?”

Shinichiro seemed to understand almost immediately. “Hide and call the police,” he grimaced, holding the door open and allowing you duck in under his arm. But much to your surprise, the older man didn’t follow you inside, instead stepping outside to block the path and line of sight of the horde of delinquents who have finally caught up to you. “Can I help you?”

Scurrying behind a motorcycle and rolling up into a ball in an attempt to make yourself smaller, your shaking hands could barely grasp your small phone without almost instantly dropping it, and you struggled to make sense of the keypad through teary eyes as you followed the commotion outside through the commotion alone, scared to give any visible indication of your presence to the angry gangsters outside.

Demands for Shinichiro to step aside, to bring you out to them, the threats of death and torture, and all the while the man was attempting to calm the mob and diffuse the situation. He was depending on you, you tried to tell yourself, finally punching in the emergency hotline, the dialing and connecting noises sounding as if they were echoing through the whole shop and not just in your ear, as if those ruthless hooligans outside could hear.

But they must have sensed your panic, your fear like a predator in the dark woods. A scuffle, and your heart sank like an anchor as a loud clunk rang out through the dead silence of the night, followed by the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground. Grabbing the nearest tool, you flung yourself out from your hiding spot, and sprinted towards the shop exit.

‎

‎

Your hands were still shaking as the blue and red lights of emergency responders illuminated the once-quiet neighborhood around you, the foil blanket that the paramedics had wrapped around you doing little to stop the cold from seeping in. Seated just outside of the parameter of the yellow crime scene tape that now lined the parameter of S.S Motor, you barely registered the policeman attempting to talk to you to get your witness statement, his words flowing like water past you, reverberating into an inaudible distant mess in your head. Those lifeless eyes were all you could see, that accusatory stare that haunted you no matter how hard you tried to push it away. The ambulance had already taken your victim away, the first responders claiming that he was still breathing and that they could still save him, but Shinichiro-san? 

He was already cold when the first sirens arrived.

And it was in this broken state that Mikey finally stumbled across you, his phone gripped tight in one hand. Black, empty eyes wide with what could only be shock as he took in the chaos that had unfolded outside of his older brother’s shop, his gaze eventually falling on you, a trembling and responseless form on the sidewalk, a splatter of blood across your once-pristine clothes. In an instant, the Toman President had pulled you to your feet and straight into a tight hug, your face pressed tight into the crook of his neck, much to the surprise of the officer. 

He didn’t need to say more. The last of whatever control you had left fell apart, and the tears trailed down your face, the hiccups uncontrollable. “M-mikey,” you wailed into his skin, your fingers gripping the back of his shirt as the past hour flashed in the back of your eyes. “I-I’m-”

“What happened?” The blond-haired boy’s hair was soft, hoarse, the disbelief clearly tinting his words. It couldn’t be Shinichiro underneath that cover, could it? It couldn’t be. But that call, this scene.

“I killed him,” you whispered out, pulling away, as you looked back down at your trembling hands. “H-he attacked Shinichiro-san, so I…I-”

There was only one covered body, yet two weapons. Mikey pulled away, eyes staring at you, trying to read your thoughts. You couldn’t have killed Shinichiro-san; so who? 

Those five minutes were burned into your mind. You standing from behind the motorbike to find one of the delinquents with a blood-splattered steel pipe in hand, and Shinichiro sprawled out on the pavement right in front of his shop, the blood trickling down the side of his head; something washing over you as you had grabbed the heavy wrench with two hands and bursting through the shop doors, swinging the tool with all your might. The connecting blow that reverberated through your bones, and the other continuing to stand for a moment longer, swaying, staring blankly at you before crumpling to the floor. The rest of the ruffians dispersed as the authorities approached, leaving you behind trying desperately to administer first aid and CPR to Shinichiro, all the while fervently trying to ignore the other boy downed by your hand.

“I killed him,” you mumbled again, your voice haunted as the tears flowed once more. “I-I didn’t mean to- I swear-”

But the last thing Mikey could care about now was some nobody. “What happened to Shinichiro?” He repeated, this time more firmly, both hands gripping you and pinning your arms to your side. “Why him?”

“Protecting me. Th-they’ve seen me with Toman…”

Mikey audibly snarled. “And why were you here? Why aren’t you at home?!” The boy all but shouted at you, shaking you vigorously. You couldn’t blame him. It was all your fault.

Your mind jumped to Koko, where you had left him fighting that group of gangsters back along the shopping street. You couldn’t get another into trouble - not when you had committed the ultimate sin. And with the turmoil boiling in your stomach, you did something you never thought you had the stomach to. The tears started once more as you pressed your face into Mikey’s jacket, fist clenching around the white fabric. “Was looking for a job so I-I can move out,” the lie slipped out from your lips, each word burning your tongue as you mumbled out. “Th-they said they pay well.”

A murderer. You thought you would be better, better than the clusterfuck that was your family. You had tried to be better, striving to be kind, thoughtful, open-hearted. Yet here you were, you thought bitterly. The rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.

The policeman seemed to have heard enough, one strong hand coming to rest on your shoulder as the other shook Mikey off of you. “You need to come with me to the station.”

A liar and a murderer.

[ornii]

Wednesday addams x male reader who can read minds and sees the future and he always teases her. During a fencing session she can't land a hit and gets increasingly angry then tells him she loves him and it catches him out and she manages to get a hit but it leaves a scar on his eye. He's furious thinking she said it just to win they argue and she says she meant it then a lot of fluff.

They are already dating and he's irish please.

So Heimdall basically, but more simply put:

“It’s Skill, Not luck.”

Wednesday Addams X Male Reader

Fencing, the art of footwork and swordplay was founded ages ago and to this day still a practical challenge for those not versed in their footsteps. In Nevermore there were two divisions, same teams of course. Men’s Division and Women’s division, both intense divisions of fencing and sharp skills. But for both, they were dominated by the “Power Couple.”

Wednesday Addams was a fierce competitor, swift and decisive with her movements, she made little error and did not err from her training. Teaching too of the Class was a challenge she enjoyed and profoundly excelled in. Her Boyfriend on the other hand, it was very different.

(Y/n), Wednesdays Irish Boytoy as many would claim, was also top of the men’s division, not for his evil calculating attitude, but his absolute abilities. Foresight. Being able to see the future, see your opponents moves before they can even make them gives you an almost omnipresent advantage in many situations, fencing especially. It was a normal day being King of the castle, another student falls before (Y/n), as he scores the final point.

“Game goes to (Y/n).” The teacher said, and (Y/n) calmly took off his visor to smile, he offers his hand to the student who takes it.

“A bit predictable, but nonetheless, good effort.” He says, (Y/n) then casually turns to face all the other students.

“Well, anyone else? I’m open to all challenges?” He says with a vast number of confidence, nobody really took up his offer, why would they? he could literally read them like a book, know their attacks, what they’re going to do, it’s impossible to touch him. everyone was silent until one voice decided to test her mettle.

“I’ll play your game.” A voice creeps from behind everyone, they split like the ocean and to Wedensday, dressed in Black as usual. (Y/n) was actually taken aback by his girlfriend challenging his spot.

“A ghrá?” (Love?)” he asks a bit shocked, he shrugs it off and smiles. “Very funny Wednesday..” he combs his hair back but sees she isn’t the one for jokes or in the mood to jest. He knows that look in her eyes.

“With all due respect, you’re the one only I haven’t bested in any division, I plan on changing that… I suppose luck has to do with that.”

“Not Luck, Skill.” (Y/n) responds, but decides that now would be the time, he turns to the teacher.

“Then let’s begin.” He asks, the Match was set but (Y/n) did not put his visor to cover his mask on.

“(Y/n)? Mask?” The Teacher Orders, (Y/n) calmly raised his hand. “It’s no need, she won’t lay a finger on this beautiful face she adores.” (Y/n) smugly got in position. Wednesday kept a scowl, everyone was at the ready. (Y/n) watches calmly as his foresight activates, an almost ethereal spirit from Wednesday shows her next movement, right foot forward, strong lunge to the left. Her body follows suit and (Y/n) effortlessly dodges the first stab. Everyone tries to contain their laughter, seeing Wedensday get played like a fiddle. She begins to pick up the pace, going for more quick and calculated stabs. (Y/n) begins to dodge left and right, reading each movement.

“Well! Someone’s confident today!” (Y/n) smugly steps back, he locks his arm in and counters Wednesday, a loud thud is heard, (Y/n) again dodged her stab, this time his rapier casually poking her forehead, only shouted by her visor was her growing anger.

“Point, (Y/n).” The teacher allows the two to separate. (Y/n) calmly raising his rapier. He can sense the unease, the growing anger in Wedensday, he grins and blows a kiss. The students watching try not to laugh as the couple have their little spout. “You know Wednesday, it’s like a song really. You’ve heard the tune before, the lyrics, you know them by heart so there’s no reason for you to struggle to sing the words. That’s what this is like… I know what you’re going to do, makes counters too easy.” He explains, She said nothing.

“Wish to try again black dove?” (Y/n) said, Wedensday without any hesitation gets back in her stance.

“Shut up and Duel..” she mutters and this time attacks more ferociously. Students watch with bated breath as (Y/n) sees, she’s going faster, trying to overwhelm his foresight. But even going as fast as a cheetah, her attacks remain futile as (Y/n) ducks down, and delivers a firm poke to her naval.

“Point two, (Y/n).” The teacher delivers the second one.

“This is best to five sweetheart. I know you can do better.” (Y/n) steps back, and Wednesday removes her visor, “Fine, no safety, I will win.” She and (Y/n) lock eyes. His confidence is overwhelming, (Y/n) doesn’t even assume a combat stance, Wedensday charges and uses her quick movements, but each attack was perfectly parried. (Y/n) calmly walks back as Wedensday attempts to put more pressure on him.

“Love, this is amusing…. But please, I’d rather not cut you. I do love you after all.” He tilts his head, dodging her stab. Wednesday is visibly angry, and says something (Y/n) could never foresee.

“I love you too! Which is why I’m trying to stab you—“ she blurts out in a small little fit of anger, (Y/n)’s foresight took a nosedive as his eyes go wide, “wait, did you—“ before he can ask, he could see the rapier racing to his face, with barely any hesitation (Y/n) threw his blade up to attempt to counter, but it was too late for him.

A splash of blood hits the ground and (Y/n) falls back, clenching his eye, grunge of pain echo though the room and stunned silence. Wednesday gripped her rapier, adrenaline finally causing though her cold veins, she suddenly comes down from her high and sees what she’s done, the blood splatter reached her forehead and she wiped the warm liquid from her skin and then quickly saw (Y/n) being helped by the teacher. Gut twisting regret was all over her face, she took a step to try to approach him, but something stopped her. Guilt.

Wednesday sat outside the nurses office, waiting impatiently. Her members have been agitated so bad, her foot is tapping the ground. She’s never done this, she could only stare at the ground, pondering the fate of her boyfriend. The doors knob turned and opened, the Nurse stepped out with bloody gloves and Wednesday hopped out of her chair.

“How is He?” Was her immediate first question.

“He’s fine, thankfully the cut just tore though the cheek muscle and part of the upper eyebrow, missed his cornea by millimeters. should be fine with a bad scar. I have to contact his family.” The Nurse walks off and Wednesday turns to the door, a wave of negative emotions washes over her. She gripped the handle and twisted the knob to enter. She saw (Y/n)’s face, half of it, he was staring at the wall.

“… What do you want?” He asks coldly. Wednesday had never felt so, off.

“I, wished to speak with you—“

“Why? You got what you wanted. You wanted to use our relationship to get one over me, you got what you wanted, right?” He turns to her, letting her see the other half, his eye was covered in gauze with clear medical tape holding it there, the beginning and end of the scar can be seen under the pad.

“You’re right, it is What i wanted, and I was selfish and, evil to do something like that.”

“Really?” He said with such Fake Shock, Wednesday couldn’t be angry at him for it. He looks back at the wall and then from the Corner of his good eye, sees her sit next to him.

“(Y/n), Im sorry…” She Mutters, (Y/n) turns to face her, she could barley look at him.

“You’re disfigured because of me, when you went down I had this sense of fulfillment and pride, but then, it felt like needles were tearing though my heart. I always thought I’d enjoy that sensation but I didn’t. I was selfish, bitter and angry, I hope you can forgive me.” Wednesday lays out her apology, it’s dead air for a moment until (Y/n) sighs.

“First of all, I’m not disfigured..” he grabs the tape and pulls it off, the scar wasn’t entirely bad. The bloods Coagulation around his scar so no bleeding, just your puckish rouge like scar now, his eye looks just fine, albeit a bit red.

“Second, if you want to make it up to me..” he begins, “Kiss it to make it feel better.” He said with a smug smile, Wednesday was actually taken aback, seems his attitude has always stayed intact. “But if you don’t want to—“ he trails on, before feeling her palms grip his face, more accurately the cheeks of his face and she lays a cold but, loving kiss on his closed eye. She lets go and (Y/n) stares at her, actually at a loss for words, he couldn’t hide his smile. He scoots over and lied back, laying his head on her lap, Wednesday was less than enthusiastic about it, his eye looked up to hers.

“Ye know, this might be dumb to say..” he starts,

“But what?” She replies.

“You kissing my eye, I actually didn’t see that coming..” he chuckles, Wednesday closed her eyes, trying to stiffen a smile to not show.

“Heh.. I love you, Wednesday..”

“… I love you too..”

[boozenboze]

Tokyo Revengers x Male reader

Summary: Being an Ace and a division captain are two hefty things to juggle. So what happens when the other Toman captains find the leader of the 6th division at volleyball practice

Females She/Her and She/They DNI

“Good hustle L/n keep it up!” The coach yelled to the s/c skinned male who gave him a thumbs up. Practice didn’t end until late that night, and the Toman meeting that had been planned had begun without. He didn’t worry about it to much, but he knew he’d have to go through a light hearted interrogation from Mikey and Draken.

To be honest, they should’ve known that the male had practice. Why you may ask? Well thats because he had mentioned his after school activity plenty of times to them. If they hadn’t known then that would be on them for not listening.

(Pov switch)

Mikey was giving his speech to the gang, eyes wandering ever so often to see if his eyes would catch sight of the h/c haired male. Before the beginning of the meeting the blonde had been searching for him and to no avail, he didn’t spot him. The other captains tried calling or texting him but they would left with his voicemail. They continued to wait for him but had to start since there was no signs of him showing up.

The meeting ended not to long ago snd Takemichi was trying to call M/n again. As he did that, the other captains conversed with each other while also wondering where their 6th division captain was. This wasn’t the first time the male had missed a meeting but the other times he’d make sure Mikey knew so that confusion wouldn’t get caused.

“Hey-Hello! M/n where were, you the meeting is over.” Takemichi spoke as his mention of the h/c haired male caught the others attention. When they approached they watched as Takemichi’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“When did you start playing volleyball?” Takemichi asked as the others held their own looks of question.

“I-uh ok we’ll come over to see you. Ok bye.” Takemichi said before hanging up.

“When’d he start playing volleyball?” Mitsuya asked as he glanced at the others. Angry hummed in response before saying.

“That could explsin the other times he didn’t show up.”

“Yeah thats true...wait Takemichi you said thst we’d go and see him hm?” Draken questioned as Takemichi nodded.

“Alright lets go I wanna see N/n-chin play!” Mikey said with excitement as he made his way to his motorcycle. The others sighed at their commanders attitude and followed behind him, getting onto their own bikes.

(Pov switch)

“Nice serve M/n!” One of your teammates yelled on the sidelines as the ball made contact with the floor of the other teams side. It was the males ball again and he bounced the ball a few times before serving it again. Once again it was a perfect serve but the other team was able to pass it back to which your teammate Lain was passed it to your setter Ryu.

The captains had just arrived to the gym and heard the sound of shoes squeaking against the floor and a ball making contact with it. A loud boom and cheering could be heard as they walked in and they saw M/n's team cheering. They could tell because of their f/c jerseys and shorts. M/n was doing a little dance with Ryu who was laughing his ass off as they did.

"Can ya'll stop acting like you won an actual game." Your captain who was on the other team said as you turned to face him.

"Your just mad that ya'll lost~!" The h/c haired male whipped out his middle finger and started to shake his hips out of mockery. The captain rolled his eyes as his gaze averted to the Toman captains who were standing by the door.

"Are those gang members?" One of your other teammates said warily, as the Captain spoke up.

"Do ya'll need something?" His voice was loud which caused everyone to turn their attention to the entrance door. M/n's eyes widened at the sights of his gang. He was only expecting Takemichi to show up.....not everyone else.

"I-uh...what are ya'll doing here? Takemichi I thought you were the only one coming." M/n replies to the others that hadn't said anything yet.

"Um yeah I did...I forgot to mention they were tagging along, sorry." Takemichi said as his eyes wandered down to M/n's legs. He kept his gaze steady on his thighs. He looked away, reminding himself that he had a girlfriend as the other captains stared as well.

"Why didn't you tell us your thighs were so.....gyat!" Baji said as he did hand motions around M/n's legs. The male laughed in response, not thinking anything of his comment. He has worked hard to get his legs to the state they were in now so he appreciated the compliments.

"Can I....touch them..? Baji asked, voice getting a bit quieter but loud enough for Mikey to hear his question.

"Not if I don't touch them first!" Mikey said as he leaped over to the h/c haired male and began to feel up his leg. He squeezed his thigh with his hand and the male above whimpered slightly from the blondes grip. M/n's thighs had muscle definition and were a little jiggly.

"Ah...Mikey are you done yet?" M/n asked as Draken attempted to pull the commander off his leg. Mikeys grip got tighter and a moan was stifled from his lips causing both blondes to look at him. The male looked away from them, forgetting to mention how sensitive his thighs were. Mikey let go and laughed with a blush on his face. Draken and the others were the same way. Smiley was laughing while maintaining his iconic expression, as well as Angry who had turned away. Mitsuya was smiling as Sanzu massaged his temple.

"Yo M/n! Come get your shit!" Lain said as he approached the male with his gym bag. M/n took the bag from him and nodded as I thank you as the brunette left the gym.

"Well now we know one of our captains secret...Imma use that against him when we play Mario Kart." Smiley said as his smirk turned to something more devious. Angry side eyed his brother as he turned his gaze over to the h/c haired male who was making his way over to them.

"I'll be at your house in a bit, the game should be updated by then yea?" M/n said as he walked out, moving towards his bike.

"What were ya'll talking about?' Mucho asked as Smiley laughed in response. He walked away from the taller male as the twins exited the premises. The other captains watched them leave with looks of suspicion.

"They're planning something...lets follow them!" Mikey exclaimed as the others followed him out the gym.

"That was interesting"

"Mhm!"

[awkward-tension-art]

Darkness on Umbara Chp.6 (Rex x Reader)

Chapter 5. Chapter 7.

The Gorge

cw: Rex x Reader, Reader is a medic, incorrect military procedure, graphic descriptions of injuries, blood, swearing, death and battle, Spoilers for the Umbara Arc, Pong Krell is an asshole, reader insert, names of non-canon dead clones, reader is gender neutral, no use of (Y/N), if i miss a tag LMK

Minors DN

Airbase. 

That’s the priority. That's why the 501st had retreated away from the capital. 

A fucking airbase.

You could see it in the distance from where you were. The tall tower was clearly marked by a bright pillar of light that reached towards the clouds.

As Fives, Krell and Rex inspected the area on a cliffside, you and Kix weaved around the men, treating any injuries you saw. Sadly, painkillers were getting to low levels, so you decided to use them for the truly brutal wounds. For those you had to deem were suffering beyond comprehension.

You regretted using them on yourself. 

But, everyone else…well, they were big boys. They just had to handle it. Judging by the uninterested look that Hardcase had while Kix stitched up his shoulder, you were confident that the men weren’t going to complain. 

Your gaze swept over the battalion. The dark, tentacle-like trees had fanned out from the jungle, allowing an easier view of the soldiers. You counted the silhouettes, their white and blue armor stark against the ash colored ground. 

By the end you were right. A majority of the battalion had been injured in some way. Wounds were expected. But this many…It was getting hard to keep up, and judging by the way Kix swayed slightly when he stood, he was feeling the same thing.

“Alright men, we’re splitting the battalion,” Rex called, getting everyone at attention, “Half of you will remain here. The other half, follow me down to the gorge.”

You sighed and watched them go. Your tired steps were about to go to your medical speeder, but Krell halted you, “Doctor, you will be going with them.” He stepped between you and your goal, which was to resupply.

“Respectfully, sir,” you looked up into his small yellow eyes, “I think it would be better if I remained here and-.”

“My orders are for you to go with the platoons down to the gorge.” the besalisk crossed two of his four arms, surprisingly, he wasn’t yelling at you. Instead, his tone was icy and yet uninterested, “I’ve seen how you are during battle, and your expertise is wasted as a backline medic. You will be with the men on the front.”

You blinked and nodded. Was that a compliment? 

“Understood, sir.” you saluted with your uninjured arm and followed the platoon. At this point, arguing with him about your training would only result in a bad outcome.

You found your position next to Kix, who looked very unhappy to see you, “please don’t tell me…” 

“He complimented me,” you gave a sarcastic smile, “Said my expertise was wasted by not being on the front.”

Before Kix could respond, Rex began to speak, getting all the attention onto him, “Alright listen up!” His voice held authority with every word, “We’ll assemble the squads into two divisions. We’ll move straight up this gorge to the airbase on the far side.”

The medic beside you snapped, “The casualties are going to be high!” 

Tup scoffed, “Is Krell trying to get us killed!?”

“You know, I wasn’t sure that Krell was crazy before.” Jesse snarled, helmet in his hand. He practically glared at Rex as he continued, “But now, I’m positive!”

“We had to retreat from the capital because the general pushed a flawed strategy!” It was Fives’ turn to argue, “Now this?”

Hardcase raised his heavy weapon, “I don’t know! Could be fun.”

“Well, I, for one, agree with the general's plan.” Dogma chimed in, seeming much more confident than anyone else. 

“What plan?” You turned to face him, “Blindly rushing into the unknown without a care for the costs isn’t a plan!” Your words might’ve struck Rex, truthfully, you couldn’t look at him to find out. 

You had all the faith in him. You just had no faith in Krell or his tactics. But arguing would seem like you were against your lover and not the temporary General.

“We are running out of time and this is the best option!”

Jesse spoke up again, royally pissed, “No recon? No air support? We don’t know what we’re up against!” He waved his helmet in the air in frustration, “They have weapons we’ve never seen before!” To punctuate his point, he tapped his helmet to his head a couple of times. 

The 501st captain stepped forward, attempting to reason with everyone, “A few of General Skywalker’s plans seemed reckless too, but they worked.”

His words did little to ease the rising tempers, “Yeah, but General Skywalker is usually leading his men up in the front not bringing up the rear like General Krell!” Fives stepped towards Rex, riling up everyone else, “A full frontal assault would leave us too exposed!”

The other men rose up in dissatisfied chatter. They were clearly unhappy with the plan.

“We have to look at other options!”

“It's going to be a meat grinder!”

Rex sighed, frustration clear, “Fives.” He commanded the ARC trooper to follow. The two stepped away, out of earshot. 

“What supplies do we have?” Kix turned to face you, “This…is going to be difficult.”

Wordlessly you took off your pack and knelt to go through the packs you carried. Luckily the both of you stocked up as well as you could from everything on the medical speeder. But it never hurts to check. 

Bandages and bacta were the most needed, and hopefully, you had enough to see this through.

You attempted to get your pack back on by lifting it with your bad arm, only to drop it and hiss in pain. 

“Damnit.” you swallowed, feeling the very bone pulse in agony. It’s only been a few hours since you were shot. Your arm was nowhere near healed. 

Kix put a hand on your uninjured shoulder to hold you steady, “Take it easy.”

“I’m fine,” You mumbled, adjusting your pack, “The men have survived worse than this. How would it look if I burst into tears every time I get hurt?” 

“Nearly getting your arm blasted off isn’t just ‘getting hurt’. If you need a break, the others will understand.” He argued softly.

You shook your head, “And what about you? You’ve been unsteady on your feet from exhaustion for hours and yet you still run around helping those who are wounded.”

“Only because you’ve been taking a majority of them.” Kix responded, though he didn’t argue with your point. 

“Are you two done?” Dogma snapped from his position, “We’re about to start moving.”

“Hey, Dogma, have you considered shutting the fuck up?” An ARF trooper, Jumper, leaned forward on his AT-RT to silence the ground soldier, “How about you don’t pick a fight with the two people keeping all of us alive.”

“Hey-!”

“Everyone, enough.” Jesse finally stepped in to get everyone quiet, “Now is not the time or the place.” A mere minute later instructions were given. 

You’d go with Rex and his half of the platoon. Kix would go with Fives and Hardcase and their half. 

Splitting up…wonderful idea. There’s no way that could ever go wrong. 

You hung back, keeping your position behind a majority of the men. Noct and Nax, however, were walking on either side of you. As if they were intending to guard you from threats. Your nod to them was in appreciation as both platoons marched forward slowly and carefully. 

Three of those flying beasts that attacked on the main road flew overhead. They didn’t make a dive or move towards anyone on the ground. Instead, you’d think they were fleeing something.

A rapidly approaching rumble cut off your thoughts. The ground was shaking, and it was only getting worse. Nax grabbed your wrist to keep you steady as the vibrations got stronger and louder. Even the AT-RT’s were unstable from the sheer power of the sway.

You raised your comm and began to speak, “Kix, what is going-.”

In the distance, you heard the commotion. Shouting. Booms. It sounded like something was…howling? 

Everything around you was shaking violently, and Kix finally responded, “We’re under attack!”

Without wait, Rex diverted off the original path to aid his brothers. You all ran as quickly as you could despite the dark, dense plant life that hindered your movements. Once you made it over the ridge, you paused, taking in the battle.

Chaos. Chaos and mayhem. At the center of it all, was a tank in the shape of a centipede, marked with blue lights. It roared before slamming down, killing all soldiers under its massive body. 

“Get those rocket launchers down there! Move it troopers!” Rex commanded, pistols in hand and immediately running to aid the soldiers.

The blaster guns that ran down the centipede tanks back were firing in all directions, making it difficult to maneuver or navigate. Still, you managed to get close enough while remaining behind the cover of a massive tree and its roots.

One of the green shots hit Jumper’s AT-RT, killing him in a burst of neon flames.

Another name to your list.

“Watch out!” The ARF trooper next to you called as another tank shot up from the ground. He was hit almost instantly, knocking down from his vehicle. immediately your hands were on him and dragging him behind cover. 

“I got you, Dia.” you reassured, pulling off his helmet.

Pupils uneven. Head injury. Concussion. Watch for seizures or signs of stroke. Traumatic brain injuries were difficult to deal with in such a chaotic environment, but you did what you could with the supplies you have. 

One of the tanks swung its massive head, slamming into one of the troopers that had a much needed rocket launcher. He hit the ground, but curled his body to protect the precious weapon. Once the Umbaran tank turned to continue its destruction, Kix leapt out from the black and red foliage. Thank whatever gods decided to keep him alive!

He grabbed the trooper just as Hardcase got the rocket launcher. You rushed out to join him, taking hold of one of the troopers shoulders, “Follow me!” You shouted, leading the medic to your position of cover hidden in the dense trees. When you returned, there were already several more injured that were taking refuge.

Behind you, there was another explosion. The now headless tank roared before it melted into a screech. Its massive silver and blue body twisted and spasmed as every section burst into flames and destruction. You spotted Fives and Hardcase sprinting to avoid getting hit by its thrashing legs.

Rex called out, tone commanding yet anxious, “Everyone regroup, now! Take cover!” 

The platoons scattered, fleeing into the dark and foggy forest. Luckily the thick trunks and roots of the red, glowing trees were condensed enough the tanks couldn’t push through. 

“Move it! Move it!”

“Let's go!”

“Go! Go! Go!”

You swallowed and looked up at Rex. He was breathing heavily, but still standing. However, you didn’t miss the blood on his wrist. 

You reached into a small pack on your thigh and took out clean bandages as you approached. He would always opt for bandages and not bacta. At every battle, if he got hurt, he’d reject the medicine, saying ‘save it for the next soldier you treat.’ So you’ve learned to just accept his selflessness and use standard first-aid supplies if the wounds weren’t so bad.

“We’re safe for the moment, but they’ll be coming around any second,” He continued to lead the men, not stopping even when you grabbed his wrist and began to bandage it up, “Bring up the launchers, spread detonators along that corridor. Trap them in the bottleneck.” The captain nodded in appreciation once you finished your work. He continued, “We’re going to blow those things sky high.”

Fives rushed past you to a soldier, Hana, who carried explosives in a large pack. He grabbed several of the bombs before running with the other to the narrow part of the gorge. Several others followed the ARC trooper. 

You remained with the injured, just like Kix. Your focus was on the trooper, Hek, in your arms working to stem the bleeding on his chest. However, no matter what you tried, he slipped away under your hands.

Hek. One more death to blame on Krell.

Your priority shifted to Silk, who had sat down and waited patiently with a bleeding, smoldering neck and shoulder wound. Either he was the most patient man in existence, or mentally gone. It didn’t matter though, because you began to patch him up, using whatever you could to save him.

After a few moments, the ground shook violently again, causing you to hold him close to your chest to protect. From the direction of where the men placed bombs, you heard the booms and crackles of their explosives detonating. The tanks they destroyed howled and wailed as it sounded like they crashed into one another, ripping each other apart.

Soldiers had run back to your position to take cover from the resulting explosions. Hardcase dove to your right, getting behind the massive root protecting everyone from the fire. Rex, who was thrown from the force of the bombs, landed on his front right next to you and Silk. Fives and Jesse stumbled, also hitting the dirt after getting shoved by the burst of heat and flames. 

It was a few seconds later when your ears were blessed with silence. Seemed everyone was waiting for…something. Another attack? Or just appreciating the brief moment of calm.

The captain got onto one knee, turned his head to you, and his shoulders slumped slightly with relief, “Good job.” he stood, addressing his men, “Be ready to move out in five.”

Five minutes to rest.

Hardly enough time for you and Kix to tend to all those that were sporting injuries, but you could at least handle the more serious cases. And in those five minutes, despite your best efforts….

Fyre. Vim. Oz. Ringo. North. Gabe. Tro. Tess. Zeb. Sante. Reign. Pheon. Dawn. Nim. Jamie. Jumper. Hek. Recon. Mav. Zeo.

You added a few more names to the list of the dead.

[akkivee]

hello vee.

@/twogallonhats on twitter made this iceberg, and now i am subjecting you to this. Explain to the best of your knowledge, good luck.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay sure

idk why rhyme anima is listed tbh it’s just a zany anime version of hypmic but that very well may be the reason lol like it gave us a man by the name of tom whisper weathercock lol

there’s always a prolific push for your fav to win the drb lol. iirc during the championship round in the 1st drb there was a fan?? fans??? who gave money to some guy with a following to post a video of him asking everyone to vote for mtc lol. jp fans for the second got together and made eng/kor/ch instructions on how to vote in the vr battles it’s a time can’t wait for that to kick off next year 😬

arb is technically not canon and therefore ooc lol

idk what hypmic tictok sounds mean. i can tell you of a few times hypmic was trending on tiktok tho lol

idk if they were even a soundcloud rapper, but some soundcloud rapper fell in love with hypmic and decided to make ichiro his oc/persona and put himself on a team with jyushi and samatoki and they were california division lol

back in 2018???? hypmic posted a christmas video except it was just champagne gold and base hifumi.png in a santa hat slid across the screen truly graphic design is hypmic’s passion lol

i mean there was a brief time there were rp accounts on twt so ig that’s what it

kimura loves black people so much and wants to be black so bad he felt the need to bl@ckface for one of his album drops. fandom asked he take down the posts, he didn’t, fans called him out on it, he blocked them

around the time when there was rumblings that gbr was exiting uhhhhh the eu i think, a dice cosplayer had a video of themselves popping mentos in a coke bottle go viral. someone in british politics used it as a metaphor for whatever stance they had on brexit lol

lol i’m lumping hypstage and hypnama together since i don’t think there’s a real reason they’re listed other than occasionally being points of discussion

hifumi was the original tbh creature

asmr tubers vibe with hypmic characters being their yandere bfs

idk if it’s more than memeing on hitoya but that hitoya card in the pic was clowned on so hard LOL

i couldn’t tell you a specific instance of it but hypmic jank includes frequent misspellings lol

lol i also don’t know if there’s actual controversy behind oridivis besides them getting thanos snapped

*rio voice* curry friday and the mtc seiyuu used to celebrate it lol

there was a collab with some instant curry company (probably called curry meshi lol) and they had the leaders rap a song for it. the songs’ are fun and what’s even funnier is that the song has the leaders sharing this curry and kuukou technically didn’t eat the curry bc it was all gone by the time the cup reached him (and jakurai ate most of it LOL)

i have no fcking clue what weenor busujima is lol

the fact hyprice is a thing is a damn good reason to be here lol. ogs know a hypmic series producer made the joke in 2018 during a hypnama that spawned the concept years later lmao

there was a typo on kuukou’s introductory bio that said he was 68cm LOL

akuma no hana is indeed a song about sex idk what else to tell ya lol

throwback to the hypmic bathtubs they had a live for crazy ass hypmic merch moments lol

the hangout streams are located in this building called mixalive. instead tagging that building’s twt for one of their events, hypnosis flava iirc, they mistakenly tagged a porn twt lol

there was an art trend a few years ago where artists drew their bde faves (and even real people got in on the trend) balancing a shampoo bottle on their big 🍆. ichiro was unfortunately the face of the trend

stage hitoya went viral for that pic used in the iceberg and i had to see randos calling him a two face ass character ONLY HYPMICS ARE ALLOWED TO BULLY HITOYA DAMN YOU

the seiyuu are always getting up to shit backstage lmao tradition is ishiya-san and amasaki-san prowling up on the mtc seiyuu menacingly lmao

if there’s drama or anything of relevance outside of yes stream discords exist, ion know about it lol

a few songs are inspired by/interpolate from other songs. this a normal thing in the music industry (let’s get physical by olivia newton john and physical by dua lipa comes to mind) but hypmic caught a lot of flack for ‘stealing’ from black artists. shinogi dead pools is kendrick lamar’s drank swimming pools bar for bar lol but again, it’s very normal lol the whole kendrick vs drake rap battle that happened this year literally was them using each other’s sound to diss them

some european(?) indie film had an actor wearing ichiro’s jacket

there was a brief trend in jp where they made snow sculptures of their characters as means of attractions and hypmic jumped in on it. it produced the ugliest kuukou known to man he was so unflatteringly scrunckly i loved him LOL

????? bat seiyuu family???? i’m sure what i have in mind is not what they have in mind lol but i mean yeah it’s a running joke that the bat seiyuu consider each other family lol shoutout to sakakihara-san randomly calling hayama-san his ‘onii-chan’ and both hayama-san and sakakihara-san bullying tf outta takeuchi-san by calling him ‘papa’ lol

ariana grande is based about samatoki and there’s proof lol

hypmic vs crsm rap battle was REAL and fumiya wanted to EAT THEM

kamio-san has taken to slapping kuroda-san’s ass and kuroda-san has taken to trying to murder him for it 😌

quite recently lol mtr’s album art was leaked ahead of the hangout stream in a post meant to advertise the fan meeting lol

british dice was a theory i didn’t pay attention to bc i kinda thought just the concept was dumb *wheeze* i think it had something to do with a mistranslation about dice’s father

the rest of that tier i have no fcking clue about lol

in a camera transition during the 9th live, someone’s desktop background was on screen instead of the yknow, livestreaming concert lmao

they got some ddb members to make choreography to move your body til you die!!! i tried i didn’t think it was too bad but the pace of the dance needed to be slowed down eventually lol

if this isn’t poking fun at sensei saying men should automatically know how to rap idk what that is lol

if there’s a trip the mtc seiyuu have taken that stands out from the others, i don’t know about it lol

the hypmic cafe that’s going on rn have these stickers??? standees??? for sale and someone stole all of samatoki’s LOL

[mackjlee9]

Simon Riley x Werewolf!Top!Male!Reader [Smut&Fluff] |commission|

Warning; rough sex, overstimulation, breeding kink, size kink.

Masterlist. Commission Rules.

Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

From the moment their eyes met, (M/n) knew he had found them. His mate. Maybe they didn't meet in the most conventional way, but nothing was conventional in the military.

(M/n) and his team had been assigned as support for an undercover mission with the Task Force 141 team. He was part of a special division of human hybrids, and he, being the biggest of them all by quite a lot, caught everyone's attention the moment they walked out of the chopper and into the building where the meeting had been arranged, following the man called Price in complete silence.

Walking through the open metal doors, (M/n)'s eyes scanned the room briefly, his nose smelling the air, and a particular scent caught his attention. That's when he made eye contact with cold blue eyes, that were seemingly staring into the depths of his soul. He almost couldn't believe it. He felt his saliva gathering under his tongue, and he forced himself to swallow before taking a deep breath and approaching the table where everyone was.

With no time to waste with introductions, Price went over the plan, making sure everyone understood their role and how important it was they stuck to it, and like that, they were assigned a partner.

They were in charge of bringing support and use of their enhanced abilities since this was an experimental mission to see how hybrids and humans could work together.

And it turned out to be an astounding success. Their mission wasn't exactly big, but it was important, and it had to be done as quickly as possible, they had to get to know their partners' habits and tells to be able to bring the best out of them, something that seemed to work as easy as breathing for (M/n) and Ghost.

Both had hit it off quite well since they first talked, despite both of them being men of few words, they understood each other perfectly, and well, (M/n) could not feel happier about that, getting along with his mate so well from the start was something not many hybrids got to experience and he was glad and overjoyed.

But with the mission over, they no longer had a reason to hang out together, telling bad jokes and keeping their stoic expressions as they silently communicated with each other. (M/n) didn't want to rely on the 'what if', the thought of potentially not seeing Simon ever again made his chest hurt, as if his heart was being torn from within.

So, gathering all the courage he had, he walked up to Simon when everyone else were enjoying the end of the mission, and sat next to him, staying silent for a few seconds.

"You okay?" Simon asked quietly, noticing the state of the hybrid, he was tense and seemed ready to break down, he couldn't help but wonder why, placing his hand on (M/n)'s shoulder, "(M/n)?"

Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at Simon, feeling his body heat up at their proximity, and for a moment he forgot everything he wanted to say when he stared into his blue eyes, looking at him with such warmth that made him weak and filled him with want.

"I-..." He blinked a few times, taking a deep breath to regain his composure, "I was wondering if... We could maybe, uh..." (M/n) scratched the back of his head as he racked his brain, trying to think of what he wanted to say, Simon made him feel like a little kid having his first crush, he was so lame, "Could we exchange numbers? To, you know, stay in contact, maybe?" He finished slowly, his voice turning quieter and quieter the longer he talked.

He was sure Simon didn't even hear him and he was about to stand up and walk away in defeat, but he was met with a cute chuckle, making him look up again.

Simon stood up from his spot and walked to the desk across from them, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen he found in one of the drawers, and scribbled something on the paper. (M/n) just stayed there in place, watching Simon's back, a hint of hope glimmering in his eyes. Standing straight, Simon turned around and walked until he was standing in front of (M/n), handing him the paper in his hand.

"Here," (M/n) stared at it for a few seconds, his sight shifting between Simon and the paper, before finally, reaching his hand up to grab it. He stared at the numbers written in black, accompanied by a skull drawing, reading 'Ghost' right below it. It was cute, "Oh, one more thing," looking up again at the sound of Simon's voice, (M/n) saw him reaching for the bottom of his mask, lifting it above his lips and leaning down.

A soft kiss was placed on his cheek, his face heating up at the unexpected gesture.

"I'll be expecting to hear from you soon."

His eyes watched as Simon left after fixing his mask, walking to where the rest of his team was, and damn, (M/n) didn't care if he looked like an idiot right now, it was quite amazing how a simple kiss could have him high in the clouds, daydreaming and smiling like an idiot in love.

But to be fair, he was in love, so he allowed himself to behave like this just this one time.

//////

Like that, months passed and they got to know each other better as much as they could every day. Waiting to hear from the other when they were out on a mission, and talking for hours when it was just training day at base.

And now, it was their first time meeting up after half a year, they were both on short leave for a few weeks and they decided to meet up, catch up on everything that had happened and enjoy each other's company as much as they could.

Something was certain, love came quite naturally for both of them, it was this strange yet natural force making them need to feel each other close, to see the other safe and sound. So the first time they kissed, everything felt right, like it was meant to be that way.

Soon enough, they learned how compatible their bodies were, even more so when it came down to having sex.

Their first time together was a little more on the softer side, mostly since (M/n) didn't want to scare Simon right off the bat, he knew how rough he could be, and he hated the thought of potentially hurting his lover in a way neither of them wanted, so he held himself back to the best of his abilities, resorting to biting himself whenever he felt like he was going to do something he will regret later.

Of course, Simon was a sharp man, and he soon realized that his lover was holding himself back, holding back his urges and desires, he wondered why would (M/n) do that, but being honest, he had no idea, which led him to think it was his fault, but before he could spiral into his insecurities regarding sex, he sat on the bed next to (M/n) and gently stroked his back.

"Is everything alright?" He whispered, leaning his head on (M/n)'s shoulder, and the male glanced over his shoulder at him, showing a hint of a smile.

"Yeah... Everything is fine, nothing's wrong," Simon frowned as he saw (M/n) turn his head to look the opposite way, hearing and feeling him take a deep breath, "Uh, let's... Let's just sleep, is getting kind of late anyway."

Simon was perplexed, even almost mad at him for just dismissing his concern and worry, as if it was nothing, as if nothing was happening when it was more than clear something was happening to (M/n).

He let it slide for now, getting in bed too and turning on his side and facing away from his lover, the cogs in his brain turning as he thought of what could possibly be bothering (M/n) so much to the point where he doesn't wanna talk about it.

Without even realizing it, Simon had spent the whole night awake, only snapping out of his trance when the sunlight coming through the blinds made him blink a few times, making him groan and sit up on the bed, reading the hour on the digital clock on the nightstand.

It read 7:00 am, and Simon sighed, feeling his body tense and tired, his mind exhausted, and his ability to focus pretty much gone. He decided a morning jog would help him, but even if it didn't, at least it would take his mind off of things, clear the thoughts plaguing his brain, and ease him, if only for a few minutes.

///////

The jog did not work, and not only that, but the rest of the week went exactly the same.

He tried to either have sex with (M/n) or he tried to get him to tell him what was wrong and what was bothering him so much, but it never worked, it was all futile, and Simon wondered if he was the right partner for (M/n). He couldn't help it. He usually wasn't this insecure about himself but something about it all made him doubt himself and he hated that.

And he definitely had enough of feeling that way because his lover didn't want to be honest with him.

He was sitting on the bed, waiting for (M/n) to lay next to him. His eyes followed his movements, stiff and rough as he felt Simon's cold stare on him.

(M/n) sat on the bed, his back resting against the headboard and he slowly turned his head to glance at Simon, whose expression was serious, he seemed mad too which worried him.

"Are you okay, darling? Do you need me to-?" Simon gripped his wrists as he reached to hold the blond's face. He blinked a few times, caught off guard despite his good reflexes, he just tends to feel more relaxed around his lover, "Uhm... Is there something wrong...?"

Simon groaned and shifted his weight around on the bed until he was straddling (M/n)'s lap.

"Darling...?" (M/n) tried asking once more time, feeling a little nervous and on edge with Simon's bold movement.

"If you don't fuck me right now, you're telling what's wrong with you," with wide eyes, (M/n)'s eyes observed Simon's expression, he was mad but he could see a hint of sadness in his blue eyes, and that broke him a little bit more.

He didn't have much of a choice. He'd rather tell Simon the truth about what was bothering him over hurting him because he couldn't control himself. (M/n) took a deep breath, and placed his hands on Simon's hips, stroking the scar that reached down to his hip bone, something that always help the blond relax after a tense day.

"I, uh..." (M/n) blinked a few times, unable to maintain eye contact with his lover, even when he knew Simon was trying to look into his eyes, "I'm in... My r-rut started this w-week and... And I don't wanna hurt you, Simon..."

Holding back a smile, Simon held (M/n)'s face, lifting his head to make him look at him, and let him know that it was okay.

"You would never hurt me, (M/n)," the (h/c) haired male instead of looking relieved at the reassurance he looked rather sad, his eyes shifting away from Simon's.

"You don't understand, darling, I... I'm a wolf hybrid, a werewolf, I am not... Not as gentle and soft as I appear to be, and... I'm scared of hurting you and making you hate me," Simon saw a few tears running down (M/n)'s face and he felt as if his heart was hurting at the sight of his partner so conflicted and worried about his wellbeing.

"Well, how about..." Simon's quiet words made (M/n) reach his hand up to wipe his tears away, glancing at him briefly, "How about this, I'll tell you when it's getting too much... We could have like a safeword, if that could ease your mind because..."

Simon stood on his knees, his hands moving to intertwine with (M/n)'s (h/c) locks, pulling on his hair and making him tilt his head back.

"I've been feeling really pent up this week and you keep avoiding having sex with me," he whispered in his ear, placing small kisses on the sensitive skin of his neck, making (M/n) sigh at the feeling.

"I'm sorry about that, darling... But, are you sure you wanna try this?" Simon scoffed and grinded his hips forward, letting (M/n) know how much he wanted to do it.

"Don't make me wait more, for the love of God."

(M/n) chuckled, his arms wrapping around Simon's waist, nodding a few times.

"I won't, I won't~."

///////

Well shit, Simon was able to realize just much (M/n) was actually holding back. In the fogs of his hazy mind, he remembered that 'red' was their safe word, but honestly? He was feeling so good that he doubted he will be using it any time soon.

(M/n)'s hands held his hips tightly, surely leaving bruises, lifting and lowering his body onto his cock with ease, hearing his groans and growls next to his ear, the praises leaving his mouth and making him whine with embarrassment.

"Fuck, darling, you feel... So good around my cock, you take me so well," (M/n)'s words got out rushed but clear, making sure Simon heard them, that he felt his love and need for his body, "I'm gonna fill you with my cum, fuck- imma watch how your belly swells up from it," Simon released a breathless moan, his hands holding onto (M/n)'s back for some sort of stability, leaving scratch marks across his skin.

(M/n)'s ears twitched, moving from being pressed back against his head to standing tall, not wanting to miss a single sound coming from Simon. He had tried to control himself from going to his werewolf form and now he got stuck with his ears and tail showing, wagging excitedly and thumping on the bed.

"I'm... I'm gonna cum, fuck, baby take it all, please, please, take all my cum~" his desperate and whiny words made Simon's body tremble, his insides clenching around (M/n)'s cock, making him moan his name as he bit his bottom lip hard, keeping the blond sitted on his throbbing cock as he spilled his cum as deep as he could.

Simon's eyes rolled to the back of his head, his mouth wide open as he gasped for air, whining at the feeling of being full of his lover's cum.

"You're... Ngh, you're gonna ma-make me p-pregnant, (M/n)~" the blond muttered in a daze, his eyes filling with tears as he felt his head spin from the pleasure, his legs tightening their hold around the hybrid's hips.

(M/n) stared up at Simon, a dreamy look in his eyes, shifting his hands to grip the blond's thighs, turning them around on the bed, lifting Simon's legs and keeping him pinned down, growling as he continued thrusting into him, unable to take his eyes away from the obvious bulge forming on his lower belly, he could see the outline of his cock as he drilled his cum-filled walls, feeling him twitching around his cock, whimpering and crying out his name.

"Please~ more! Fill... Fill me up more, I want it all~" damn, (M/n) had forgotten that the cum of a werewolf in their rut works as some sort of aphrodisiac, Simon's body taking all he gave him, slowly dropping out of his hole, making him groan as he thought how many more times he was gonna stuff him full.

The bed creaked under their weight and hit the wall with every thrust, the wet squelching sound as their skin slapped together filled their ears, their noises mixing as they got louder and louder, (M/n)'s thrusts turning rougher with every passing second, getting drunk off the sight of Simon's body taking him, taking all of him so good.

Simon felt how his voice was turning hoarse and raspy, and he knew his voice was gonna be gone by morning but he didn't care about that, he could only think about (M/n)'s sweet words and praises in his ear, his touch turning gentle and sweet, stroking his skin, playing with his chest, leaving wet kisses on him as his hips continued their ruthless pace.

"You look so beautiful like this, darling... So perfect," (M/n) sighed dreamily, going back up to reach Simon's face, holding his face and pressing their lips together, nibbling on his bottom lip before pulling back, "I love you so much."

(M/n) started leaving another trail of kisses down Simon's neck, stopping on the spot where his neck and shoulder met, licking and biting on his skin softly, moving his hand to wrap his fingers around Simon's leaking cock, slowly stroking his tip, feeling him shiver underneath him, whines and whimpers escaping past his swollen lips.

"I... I l-love you t-too, fuck~ you're filling me up s-so much, ngh," taking in a heavy breath, (M/n) held onto the blond's hips, leaning back to get the full view of Simon's reactions, how his thighs trembled, how his back arched so beautifully off the bed and his cock was colored in such a pretty pink, twitching and leaking pre-cum onto his abdomen, looking up and staring into his blue eyes that were filling with tears with every second that passed.

"Simon..." He whispered, gracing the tip of his fingers on the tip of his cock, hearing him let out a choked whimper, "You've been so good today, it's time for me to reward you, don't you think?"

Simon looked at him with such love and adoration that (M/n) thought it almost resembled the same heart eyes he has for the blond.

"Yes, please, I've been... So good~"

++++

Oh sheesh I hope this was good enough :') and what they wanted

@xdark-acadamiax (let me know if you want me to remove the tag~!)

[blitz0hno]

Times Milgram has implied 3 kayanosys alters sorted by how much of a stretch I think I'm making:

1. His chess piece in Deep Cover

Kotoko is a highly intuitive person - her subconscious has represented Mikoto with three distinct parts on his representative chess piece, and that could mean nothing, sure, but it's a possibility. also worth noting that when this breaks, it shows two prongs broken off, with the third missing. This is shown twice:

The paint splatters for that half are connected, while the other one that broke off was straying away. This is consistent enough for me to consider it a hint at something.

2. Backdraft, in which Mikoto has 3 lines of paint over him. The other guilty prisoners only get one. It looks eerily similar to the chess piece.

3. His birthday flowers. Everyone else got one distinct flower - Mikoto has 3. I don't remember what they all are but in the depths of Tumblr there's an analysis I'm sure I remember existing so shout-out to that mf.

both his prisoner number and birth date are divisible by 3 but that's a bit of a reach lol

4. These flashes in Double

Why 3 silhouettes? Why is one cut off? Could be for aesthetics, could be a clue.

3 eyes = 3 points of view? Mild stretch, but the art of Milgram strikes me as very very intentional. The repeated vertical "stacking" of the lines in Deep Cover, Backdraft, and these eyes remind me of the concept of structural/tertiary dissociation, but again a bit of a reach

4. His uniform

Would almost rank this above Double's visuals. Sure, nearly every prisoner has three vertical straps across the torso, but Mikoto has 3 horizontal straps across his waist and 3 on his wrists (worth noting that the third wrist strap is broken on the Double album cover, which matches the breakage in Deep Cover's MV). 3 stacked lines again. A pattern is a pattern I suppose.

5. A) how the fuck did he know to do this when Mikoto and John had no clue what was happening to them, B) we never see him with his hair like this after MeMe. He disappeared, like Mikoto is implied to be trying to do in Neoplasm. Presumably, he split and/or stopped fronting, resulting in the theoretical "other" two taking over.

6. This frame in Under: MEOWWWWWW BIIIIIG STRETCH!! He's holding up 3 fingers lol (also emphasizing the wrist straps). I'm reaching the way he reaches for his face under stress but it's Something

Some other things that are almost too minor to consider but I thought about them anyway because this project has driven me insane:

-repeated use of red-green-blue-specific coloring in both MeMe and Double

-John is associated with Christ imagery (crown of thorns graphic in Double, "savior" complex etc.), which is closely linked with the "Holy Trinity." The 3 aspects are all considered equally God, and at the same time, equally their own being. Never understood that until I understood plurality, even though we aren't religious anymore.

-3 prevalent major arcana - the Fool, the Hanged Man, and the Devil - in MeMe; followed up by Death at the end (drastic change).

- 9/3 = 3 (could be a coincidence). Also his bangs are divided into three parts (big stretch)

In conclusion either this all means absolutely nothing or I'm about to boost my "theory maker" credibility tenfold in t3 lmao only time will tell

[cinnamostar]

colors of you

pairing : felix x gn!reader

summary : skz, semi pro league of legends team, now has a new competitor to face in the scene in the upcoming regional tournament, but after a few practice matches, felix knew he hated you and thought you were a complete asshole.

wc : 5.8k

cw : not proofread (i am lazy), collegiate esports au, very competitive rivalry on one end, unrequited love, enemies to a secret third thing i won't disclose, cursing, some angst, sadness, fluffy feelings, and y/tn = your team name + y/ign = your ingame name/username.

a/n : this fic was inspired by league of legends worlds 2023, except not as hardcore. i didn't write tooo much on the gameplay so anyone who didn't play league would also be able to enjoy and follow the story well. likes, reblogs, and feedback is appreciated as always

⌲ SKZ - semi-pro league of legends team

member profile

⌲ channie - in game leader, mid laner, azir + zed main

⌲ dwaekki - adc, caitlyn main

⌲ hyune - supp, pretty girl supp main (everyone has to beg him to play anything else)

⌲ miniverse - top laner, sett main

⌲ sunlixie - jungler, diana main 

* currently undefeated in collegiate regional cup, three year streak

⌲ Y/TN - up and coming semi-pro team

member profile

⌲ y/ign - in game leader, jungler, briar + kindred main

⌲ nyangknow - adc, kaisa + jinx main

⌲ jone - mid laner, ahri main

⌲ bibibread - supp, renata + rell main

⌲ some guy - top laner, yone + aatrox main **

* has won smaller level tournaments, gained entry to collegiate regional cup through these wins

**(a/n: some guy is literally some guy lmao sorry i did not feel like adding some random idol to the story)

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･

Felix clenched his jaw as flames of anger flickered within him, the obnoxious, classic, yet familiar, league of legends red defeat screen only fanning the resentment that burned hot through his veins. He ripped his headset off as he swallowed down the third bitter loss his team faced that day, his face glaring down at your username that seemed to mock him in every post-game lobby chat. 

y/ign: GG! Thanks for the skrims :) Same time tomorrow?

He rolled his eyes at your message, trusting Chan to coordinate with your team for the next matches as he closed out the client while reaching for his headset once more, letting out an exasperated groan. 

“Well… that went as well as it did last time, huh?” Chan’s lighthearted laugh rang through Felix’s ear which only irritated him more, unsure how he was able to remain so positive after three soul crushing defeats. “Overall, their team is really solid and versatile. I can see why they’ve been dominating the lower tier teams and why they’re in our division now, but those games definitely helped us understand the skill of each of their players and what champs we need to ban.”

Changbin hummed in agreement gloomily, “Man, I don’t wanna play against them more, that y/ign guy is fucking annoying to play against. I can’t even farm properly without them ganking my lane every few minutes.”

Felix scoffed, “Yeah, imagine being counterpicked by them and having them take your jungle camps every game,” frustration colored each of Felix’s word a bright and gaudy crimson as he spoke through gritted teeth, taking a swig of water hoping it would somehow cool down the unbearable rage he felt bubbling inside him.

“I’m sorry, man, I know those games were especially rough on you,” Chan mumbled apologetically, carefully choosing his words to avoid hitting a nerve, “But we now know what champs to ban for them, we know to ward your camps early game, and to change our approach.”

“Yeah, I guess we can try out a more dive heavy comps and try to get early picks so they can’t shut us out of the game so quickly,” Seungmin suggested with uncertainty as he weighed the options his team now had, “Or more tanky… Maybe we need more CC?”

“Ah, well, it’s hard to say because god knows what other champs they can play. Each game they had an entirely different comp, so I guess we can try to prepare for every scenario we have seen so far, but we will still have to stay wary during the champ select process,” muttered Chan as he reflected today’s matches, trying to formulate a game plan for the team, “All good though, let’s just rest up for today. Skrims at the same time tomorrow, but log on an hour before so we can review our vods and discuss what we wanna try out in our games, alright?”

With that, the team grumbled a disheartened goodbye as Felix exited the call, once more tossing his headset in annoyance while he rubbed his face, clicking his teeth as he replayed each death from today’s games and how it was always you flashing your mastery after each kill. 

Felix had no idea who you were, but your team had randomly emerged into the scene these past few months, quickly making themselves a well-respected and feared team as you dominated the lower tiered scene which now meant SKZ, a team well known within the semi-pro scene had no choice, but to take your team as a serious threat. Chan had reached out to you via discord, asking if your team was interested in a few practice sessions against his, which leads us to today.

There was no mistaking that your team was extremely well-versed and had done their research against SKZ, promptly banning each of their signature mains during the champ select process while picking characters that were either, quite frankly, annoying to deal with or countered their own. Felix should have known it was a bad omen when your team banned Chan’s Azir and Changbin’s Caitlyn, but once he saw you pick Briar against his own Diana, he knew he was in for a rough day.

You were perhaps the most annoying person Felix has ever had the misfortune to go against, somehow knowing just how to piss him off as you counter jungled him throughout the game and took every opportunity to gank his teammates, ultimately ruining their chances to catch up to your team’s gold. You even stole Baron from them, which ended up costing them the second game after your team immediately wiped his. He was filled with vengeful rage each time he saw your character on the screen, cursing internally whenever you made a good play, not even giving him the chance to trash you because you seemed to never make a mistake.

After today, Felix knew he hated you with all his being and made it his personal mission to give you a taste of your own medicine, swearing up and down that he would make sure that any games he played against you were absolute hell. He had a month to prepare for the next LAN tournament, where he would embarrass you on stage and disgrace the newly-founded prestige your team name had earned this past year. y/ign would no longer be the latest jungler breaking into the scene, you’d no longer be the new talent to keep an eye out. He wanted to make sure you were nothing but an utter disappointment to everyone who looked forward to your next performance.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･

When the next day came, Felix was brimming with confidence after spending last night researching your team, but with extra attention focused on you and your playstyle. Felix looked through your team's past matches and if he was lucky enough to find an old broadcast of the games, he’d scrub through them to gain a better understanding of your jungle pathing and how it differed by each character you played. Today, he refused to be caught off guard by your skill and would not give you the chance to gain as much map control as you did yesterday. 

When logging onto his PC, Felix noticed a notification on his discord:

✩ y/ign sent you a friend request!

hey! wanted to thank you for the games yesterday and look forward to playing you guys again today :) 

While you probably had the best intentions in mind, Felix immediately felt the scorching, yet thrilling, heat of competitiveness settle into his body as he scowled at your message. “Fucking asshole,” he mumbled under his breath in disbelief, assuming you sent that as a way to get under his skin before today’s skrims. 

sunlixie accepted y/ign’s friend request! 

sunlixie reacted to y/ign’s message with a thumbs up!

Great, not only are you extremely talented at the game, but turns out you’re an incredibly cocky person! Anything Felix had ever learned about you, aside from his research last night, was completely against his will and it was only making him despise you even more. He hated how easily you ticked him off, how easily you filled him with unbridled rage by doing the absolute bare minimum, and he hated how sour the taste of anger was. He hated this feeling, as it always ended up clouding his perception and made him an absolute hellish person to be around, but it was also one of the most driving forces behind his competitive nature. 

Despite his huffing and puffing, Felix decided to close his eyes for a brief moment, as if he was meditating away all the negative emotions you so effortlessly planted within him with a simple message. After taking in a deep breath, Felix joined the discord call with the rest of his team, greeting them with a cheery ‘hello!’

“Felix! You sleep well? Sounds like you’re feeling better from yesterday,” asked Chan, the smile in his tone was impossible to miss.

Felix nodded before responding with a “Yup, got my eight hours and feeling a little more confident after some research.” 

“Good, good, that’s what I like to hear.”

Before Chan could continue with their pre-match meeting, Hyunjin piped up a question, “Did anyone else get a message from y/ign?”

Just hearing your username was enough for Felix’s entire mood to deflate as he sunk into his chair with furrowed eyebrows. He was about to open his mouth to tell everyone how rude you just are, but to his surprise, Changbin beat him to it, “Dude!! They are so nice!” a giggle escaped Changbin as he recalled the message, “They said my Draven was pretty good and that Hyunjin’s Lux had their bot lane nervous!”

Now that was not what Felix was expecting to hear from anyone as his jaw dropped, completely shocked to hear just how sweet your messages were to everyone else and how downright rude yours was to him. What the hell is your problem? Felix hadn’t realized how tight he was gripping his mouse til he felt the plastic material slip from under his fingers, landing on desk due to all the force applied.

“Right! It’s nice to know we had them sweating even though they looked so composed,” Hyunjin eagerly added.

“They’re super kind and humble, which is refreshing to see in this scene,” laughed Chan, “Maybe I gotta play a little better today to get my own compliment, but they did thank us for playing against them and for agreeing to not post the vods. What about you Felix? They say anything to you?”

Felix was still recovering from shock after processing the information he just learned, stammering in both surprise and upsetness, “Dude… I… I don’t know what to say because they were a straight up asshole to me.”

“What?! No way!” gasped Changbin, “Maybe it’s because you’re their match up in the game, but that doesn;t sound right…”

“Yeah, that’s weird,” Seungmin added, “What did they say?”

Felix then pulled up the message you sent, reading it out for the rest of his team to hear, adding an annoyed “Can you believe the nerve of this guy?” 

.

.

.

A few moments had passed by where no one had said anything, the call remained dead silent as everyone tried to figure out how to gently inform Felix that he was being an idiot and turning a very friendly message from you into an ill-intended one.

Chan cleared his throat, holding back a laugh as he realized your performance yesterday really struck something in Felix, “Bro, I hate to break it to you, but that was definitely a nice message… I don’t really see where they’re being rude at all.”

This time, it was Felix’s turn to stay quiet, a perplexed look overtaking his features after hearing the rest of his teammates agree with Chan. Maybe if he squinted really, really hard he’d be able to find a hint of kindness in your message, but Felix had already convinced himself you were his ultimate rival who was trying to throw him off a game. There is no way you’d ever send him a nice message just because, right? 

“Well, I don’t know… Maybe you guys are right,” mumbled Felix, not completely convinced by his friends, which prompted Hyunjin to chuckle.

“Lixie, I have never seen someone get to you so easily before! Those games yesterday must’ve done a number on ya, huh?” 

Felix rolled his eyes as he let out a peeved exhale through his nose, unable to deny any of what Hyunjin had said, “Yeah, yesterday was rough, but surely today will be different, yea?”

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･

Luckily for the SKZ boys, today was different from the day before. This time, the boys were able to secure a win in the first game, while the second game was a very close loss due to Changbin being caught out, but this just called for better positioning and map vision, all things that could be easily resolved by being more mindful. 

Despite the major improvements in the SKZ team’s gameplay, your performance did not fall short from yesterday’s as you still managed to be a threat SKZ couldn’t ignore. Although Felix was able to maintain control of his side of the map and trade some camps with you, you were still able to fill him with rage by somehow targeting him every fight, which made it nearly impossible for him to play the game. Luckily, Seungmin ended up using his Mordekaiser ultimate on you, which gave SKZ a chance to focus on the rest of your team while Seungmin did his best to tank your damage in his realm. This strategy definitely led them to their first win against your team, but as soon as the second match started, your team switched up to an entirely new comp, which SKZ struggled to answer.

Unfortunately, your team wasn’t able to stick around for a third game due to some prior commitments, so there was no decisive winner for the day.

y/ign: GGs! sunlixie, you really were sweating today on that diana jg kek

nyangknow: if i ever see you irl, its on sight, sunlixie… targeting a poor lil adc like me? 

nyangknow: lol but gg! y/ign slammed their desk when u stole elder last game kek

y/ign: shut up before i expose ur government name

nyangknow: …

channie: haha, sunlixie wasn’t gonna let u guys embarrass us again 

channie: GG! dm me on disc if you guys wanna set up some more skrims 

dwaekki: :3 gg!!! u guys did great, heh ty for games!

Once again, Felix found himself frowning at your message in the post-game lobby, irritation bubbling up in the pit of his stomach as his knuckles turned white from clenched fists. “Dude, I don’t get what their problem is with me,” whined Felix as he closed out the client once more, not even bothering to send a message in the chat.

Seungmin snickered over the mic, finding Felix’s one-sided rivalry hilarious, “That was definitely a compliment, don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled snarkily at Seungmin’s response, not being able to find any of the validity in his comments, “Just felt like they were poking fun at me.”

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟ

The weekend of the Regional Collegiate LAN tournament had finally arrived, and luckily for SKZ, they didn’t have to worry about traveling since their university was hosting the event. This event did hold some importance, but it mostly helped determine seeding for the next tournament with only a few teams at risk for elimination. Due to SKZ’s skill level, elimination was the least of their concern with them being favored to win first place. First place did receive a cash prize to help cover travel costs to nationals, but it also helped any team gain more support and made the pro scene more aware of potential candidates for their team. 

SKZ was getting set to prepare for their first match of the weekend, but had some time to kill so they settled on roaming around the venue to catch up with some friends from other teams and greet any fans that approached them. In this world, it wasn’t uncommon for any of the more popular teams to have fans, as some people were either fans of individual players, their skills, or they were a fan of the entire team. 

Today was no different as Felix walked through the venue on his own, chatting with friends from other teams and meeting any new recruits while he was at it. Frustratingly enough though, your team and you had been quite the topic amongst his friends, each of them expressing concern at how intimidating and difficult your team seemed. Everyone in the scene knew that SKZ and Y/TN had gone against each other in a few practice matches, meaning everyone was swarming to them like flies, trying to extract as much information as they could against your team. Although, you and SKZ had an agreement to not leak out any team comps or skrim information before playing, so Felix had to deal with a whole lot of begging while trying to skirt around the subject.

Felix had finally gotten a moment of peace as he excused himself from the last interrogation, deciding it was time to group up with the team seeing that their match was in about an hour from now. Before he was able to get far, he heard a voice behind him call out:

“Yo! Sunlixie, is that you?”

Well, he was wearing a jersey with his name on the back of it, so it wasn’t weird for fan interactions to go this way. He put a smile on his face and turned to greet the owner of the voice, who he honestly thought was a little too cute to be wandering around the convention center on their own, but nonetheless he pushed the thought away and decided it was best to maintain a level of professionality when interacting with fans. 

“Hi! Yup, that would be me!”

The mystery person had a smile stretching across their face reaching out to shake Felix’s hand, which he took politely. He had no idea who this person was and it didn’t look like they were part of any teams since they weren’t wearing a jersey, so it was safe to assume this was just another fan.

“Wow, it’s so great to finally meet you! I’m y/ign, or you can just call me Y/N if you prefer.”

Felix eyes widened in pure surprise when your username left your mouth, not expecting the human he was talking to was you of all people. He did his absolute best to maintain his composure, but the sound of your name dampened his mood in the blink of an eye, his shoulders visibly tensing as his smile fell into a more awkward version of it. 

“Oh, sorry! You aren’t wearing your jersey, so I didn’t realize it was you,” he forced an uncomfortable laugh, but you had already picked up on the stiffness Felix was now carrying in his shoulders, “But, uh, you can call me Felix.”

Ever since you became acquainted with SKZ through your skrims, you could tell that Felix definitely wasn’t your biggest fan. Maybe you had gotten off on the wrong foot, but other than playing the game, you weren’t sure what you had done to make him dislike you so much. You had quickly befriended everyone else on the SKZ teams, even going as far as playing other games outside of league with them or meeting up with them to get food, but Felix was the only member who was uninterested and incredibly dry towards you. 

You had done your best to reach out to him and try to get to know him a little better, thinking maybe he just needed time to warm up to strangers, but that theory was quickly disproved when you found out Jeongin and Jisung had played some ARAMs with him and even met him in real life. Apparently, he was the sweetest and most pleasant guy to be around, yet you never had the pleasure to be met with his warmth. Instead, all you knew was an icy and cold exterior that pushed you away at every corner. At some point, you had been discouraged to attempt to be his friend, but you still thought it would be best to remain as cordial as you could with him, which meant greeting him and inviting him to any events your team hosted.

Not everyone was going to like you, that was a lesson you had learned long ago and you weren’t going to let it get to you when you had other things to focus on. You didn’t need to be his friend, anyway. 

“Yeah, my team isn’t scheduled to play til way later, so didn’t really need to wear it,” you smiled at the boy, nervously playing with the hem of your shirt as you watched Felix’s expression slowly drop, “Well, uh, I’ll let you go back to your team. Good luck in your games!”

Felix raised an eyebrow as you hastily turned away, surprised at how different your demeanor was in person compared to his initial impression of you. 

Online and through your varied interactions, Felix had pinned you as some overconfident, cocky, and disrespectful asshole who was purposefully targeting him. While everyone around him insisted that was not the case, he couldn’t help but feel the burning flames of hatred burst in him every time he received a message from you, each seemingly mocking him for whatever play he made that day. 

However, this version of you was entirely different than what he had imagined this whole time. You didn’t ooze out that same confidence he had pictured you to have, but instead you seemed a lot more timid and welcoming in person. There was a gentle shyness that accompanied the warmth of your aura, golden and bright hues of yellow radiating off you as you smiled with not a single hint of malice in your eyes. When he met your gaze, he thought he would be staring right into the same sweltering, scarlet fury he had become so familiar with, but while searching your eyes, all he found was the brilliance of your tender-hearted benevolence, only rays of sunshine and light coloring the bright green meadows that expanded across your being.

What was this? This wasn’t the scorching, volcanic, blindingly red world he had been living in the past month, yet he still found himself melting under the comforting warmth, wanting nothing more to bask in your glow and forget the blistering one-sided rivalry he had imagined. For a moment of time, he felt the amber light you emanated was slowly turning his ugly red into a more placid orange, one akin to the sky’s palette during sunset. 

Maybe the boys were right, maybe you did mean well. Maybe he was the asshole, not you.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･

The crowd cheered loudly as the announcer’s voice boomed over the intercom, officially declaring SKZ as the victors of the regional collegiate cup for the fourth year in the row. As soon as the blue victory screen popped up during their 5th game against Y/TN, the boys quickly stood up from their seats as they huddled into a group hug while gleefully jumping up and down, ecstatic screams and laughter leaving them as they celebrated their win. After an intense final match where SKZ and Y/TN had traded wins, in the very last game, SKZ was able to pull out with the third and final win needed to end the tournament. That was perhaps one of the most difficult finals SKZ had to play in a long time and for the first time in years, they were afraid that their reign was coming to an end, but luck was on their side today and all the skirms against your team had come to fruition. 

Across the stage, your team stood amongst the chaos erupting throughout the venue, you remaining still in your seat as you watched the defeat screen go through its animations, tears pricking the corner of your eyes in humiliation. Second place was nothing to be ashamed of, but you couldn’t stop the overwhelming rush of emotions that filled you, the blinding stage lights causing your vision to go blurry as the feeling of failure took hold of you. You enviously watched SKZ celebrate their win as you wiped away your tears, standing from your seat with the rest of your team as you headed to congratulate the opposing team.

As your team approached SKZ, Felix immediately noticed the shift in your emotions and saw through the fake smile you forced onto your face as you congratulated each of them. All he could see was the bleak tears that clouded the brightness that once occupied you, the golden aura of yours being overtaken by the blues of sorrow and disappointment. The sun that once gleamed through your entire being had been replaced by flooding waters from a relentless storm of emotion, the cerulean raindrops overtaking the shining yellow hues of your personality. 

As the colors of your emotions blended, Felix swore he saw the slightest tinge of an ugly green forming as the two aforementioned colors danced with one another. Was that jealousy? Although, as soon as he took note of it, the color instantly melted away as you shook his hand, a sincere ‘congratulations, you did amazing,’ leaving your mouth despite the tumultuous storm that dampened your conscience. Somehow, even as the bitter taste of failure lingered on your tongue, your genuinity never once faltered.

The vengeful, piercing, crimson rage Felix had felt for you weeks prior had dulled out as your sadness bleed all over him, guilt now washing over him as he had realized how sorely mistaken he was about you. The burning competitiveness and hatred that once fueled him had been put out by your misery, a deep violet now painting over him as the heavy hands of culpability dragged him down into numbing darkness of shame.

For some unknown reason, Felix felt the urge to run after you as he watched your figure shrink off the stage, wanting to apologize for his unwarranted attitude towards you this past month and bring you back to the warmness he had just learned about to revel under it once more. He remained unmoving as his teammates dragged him into another celebration hug, insisting to take a photo to remember this moment, yet Felix wanted nothing more to forget the sight he had just witnessed. Even though his wish had come true, he couldn’t bring himself to savor this victory against you.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･

A few days had gone by since your team had lost the tournament, suffering from what you had considered a rather embarrassing loss. While the games were incredibly close, you were sorely disappointed in your own performance, as you felt that you made too many mistakes that had cost your team the game. After walking off the stage, you succumbed to all the emotions you felt in that moment, letting your body tremble as tears rushed down your cheeks, choked sobs escaping your mouth. You remember how hot your face grew as the rest of your team turned to console you, feeling self-conscious how you were supposed to be the leader, yet you allowed your emotions to get the best of you. 

Despite that, you had managed to get over the brunt of your emotions after a few days, but the message you found waiting for you today on discord had taken you by complete surprise:

✩ sunlixie sent you a message!

hi y/n! i wanted to reach out and apologize to you for how rude i’ve been to you. i’m really sorry, there’s no excuse for any of it. to be honest, i kinda just got rlly tilted from when we played our first skrims, and i guess i ended up taking anything you said the wrong way. again, there’s no excuse for this and i apologize for being that way, but i’d like to have a fresh start and be friends if you are ok w that!

oh, also, you did really great during the tournament! don’t beat yourself up for it, that was the first time we had to play all five games out in the finals, so you guys had us nervous!! 

Well, that was entirely unexpected, but as soon as you read the message, a smile broke out on your face while letting out a sigh of relief, happy to know that it had all been a rather strange misunderstanding and not something you had done. With that, you hastily wrote out a response to Felix, letting him know that all is forgiven and that you would love to be able to finally form a friendship with him. Well, maybe something good did come out of this loss.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･

After playing a few league games with Felix, you both began to develop a close friendship with each other. You finally began to understand what everyone else meant when they described Felix, you were beginning to see why his username was sunlixie. The coldness you had come to know him as melted away as the days past, only to reveal that under that hardened exterior was a boy filled with so much love and gentleness, that it’d blind anyone who stared into his soul for too long. The deep tone of his voice only added to this inviting warmth, adding a layer of comfort and safety that could lull anyone in a peaceful sleep, it was no longer a scary sound that reeked with hatred. 

Eventually, you and Felix had decided to go on small outings together, usually opting to grab a bite at your local coffee shop as either of you would ramble on about a new game to try out or discuss practice for nationals. On the occasion, one of the SKZ boys would tag along or Minho, a member on your team, would join you both, but every time this happened, Felix always felt disappointed that he would miss out time with just you alone. 

Truthfully, he wanted you to himself during these rare moments, wanting to be the only one who made you laugh and be the center of your attention. Jealousy would inevitably creep up behind him, pointing out each and everyone of his insecurities while he watched you interact with the others, it whispering in his ears that you’d never look at someone like him romantically, that he’d never have a chance with someone like you. He hated how much time he had missed out on getting to know you and being your friend due to this childish rivalry, feeling jealous over how much closer you were with everyone else, especially Minho.

Of course your bond with Minho was deeper than everyone else, you had known him longer than Felix and the other SKZ boys and were teammates. Yet, the pangs of insecurity would hit his heart directly each time he’d watch you laugh at a joke Minho made, always playfully slapping his arm in a fit of laughter. 

All Felix could ever think was how much he had wished that was him, how much he wished he’d be able to make you laugh to the point of tears as the unpleasant color of green slowly festered within him, becoming more vibrant as time passed. He was crushing hard on you and he needed to do something about it before it became unbearable to deal with because he hated the unsettling feeling of jealousy.

Thus, Felix decided to finally bite the bullet and asked you to come out for some coffee today, but letting you know he needed to talk about something personal, so he’d prefer if you came alone. 

As you approached the coffee shop, you wondered what Felix could have possibly needed to discuss with you, but you were honored to know that he felt comfortable enough to reach out to you and confide in you with something so personal, which only goes to show how much closer you two have gotten. Upon entering the building, your eyes searched for Felix, finding him seated in a more secluded corner with two coffees waiting on the table. Once his eyes met yours, you waved from the entrance with a smile on your face as you skipped over to the table.

Sliding into your seat, you caught onto Felix’s jittery energy as his legs bounced while his fingers anxiously tapped against the table. His body stiffened as he met your eyes with a nervous smile. Your eyebrows furrowed upward in concern, as you never seen the boy in this state before.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

Felix’s eyes widened at your question, his body completely stilling, not completely aware of how on edge he looked from the outside. He felt a familiar warmth rush to his face as a gentle pink dusted across his cheeks and ears, the rosy color of shyness making itself nestling itself in his stomach. The buzzing flutters he had felt in his stomach earlier sped up with the drumming of his heart, his head feeling like it was about to explode as he scrambled to find the script he rehearsed last night.

“Uhm, yeah, everything’s okay. I just wanted to talk to you about something,” his voice trembled meekly, cringing at the sound of his voice.

You nodded at his words, a panicked look overtaking your face, “Oh, no, did I do something wrong? Did I upset you?”

The blonde haired boy shook his head vigorously, finding your worriedness a bit charming, “Ah, no, not at all! It’s nothing like that!”

The tension in your body dissipated, as a caring smile returned to your face, “Oh, okay. Thank god, I was scared for a bit. Then what’s up? What did you need to talk about?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to say this…” he mumbled quietly, but just loud enough for you to hear. He felt himself shrink under the intensity of your gaze, surprised to see an overwhelming amount of concern etched on your features. 

“That’s okay. Sometimes, you just gotta say it.”

He exhaled nervously, nodding in agreement with your words because he was freaking out on the inside, unable to recall any of the words he had prepared for this moment. Right, at this point, he should just say it.

“I… I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you and-”

Oh, that isn’t the reaction he thought he’d get.

You were never good at hiding your facial expressions, and this moment was no exception as your face morphed into a surprise expression, your mouth dropping as the words left Felix as the warmth you once held paled into white cast of shock and confusion. As soon as you processed his words, you bit your lips while trying to find the words to respond to the sudden confession.

“Ah, wow, thank you, I’m really flattered, but…” you paused for a moment, confusion and uncertainty laced in your voice, “you do know I’m dating Minho, right?”

[david-talks-sw]

The Sith don't want peace.

I've seen some fans use the below quote by Lucas in the Revenge of the Sith director's commentary to frame Darth Sidious/Sheev Palpatine as "evil but with well-meaning intentions".

"Lord Sidious thinks he's bringing peace to the galaxy because there's so much corruption and confusion and chaos going on. Now he's gonna be able to straighten everything out, but the price the galaxy is gonna have to pay for it is way too much."

And uh... no.

Sidious thinking that him ruling the galaxy will bring about peace as a byproduct and him wanting to bring about peace are two very different things.

He's not doing what he does for altruistic reasons. He's a selfish dick who is saying that technically the galaxy won't be fighting anymore and the corruption in the Senate will be quelled... because of course it will be, they'll all be under his thumb in his totalitarian regime.

So Palpatine is not lying, but he's not being genuine either. And that's his whole schtick.

"The Jedi are holding you back, Anakin." Yes, because Anakin has a tendency of flying off the handle, mainly because you enable him to give in to his darker instincts, Sheev!

"The Jedi are trying to take over!" Temporarily? Yeah. Because you're a dictator who orchestrated a war and cemented division across the galaxy, and everyone behind you is corrupt to the bone, SHEEV!

He's not Thanos or Killmonger, he's not the "if you think about it, he's actually a good guy who took it too far" villain.

This is a modern myth with a binary view of good and evil. He's Iago, Jafar, Freezer. He's not "gray", he's the classic "he's evil because he can be" villain. The Emperor is the Devil. As stated by Lucas himself:

"Palpatine is the Devil. There’s no fall from grace there. He’s the evil one." - Starlog Magazine #337, 2005

And the Sith are not pragmatists or people who try to bring positive change using their passion. They're not "free thinkers" who "follow their own path". They're not "religiously persecuted for pursuing knowledge beyond the dogma of the Jedi".

And this battle between the Jedi and Sith, thousands years prior to the films ⬇️...

... it didn't happen the way it's shown in the comic panel. That's Sidious showing horrific unreliable visions to Maul - a child - to indoctrinate him into hating the Jedi.

You know who does that? A cult. That's what the Sith are.

Hell, their code was partly based on Mein Kampf.

The whole "the Jedi 'limit' but the Sith 'embrace' and that's why we're being hunted down" line is just that. A line.

It's what the Sith tell themselves to justify the fact that they fucked with Dark Magic, got corrupted, and are now making it everyone else's problem.

"The Sith are people who are very self-centered and selfish. [They] learned how to manipulate both sides of the Force, and then they fell into the trap of being corrupted by the dark side." - Sci-fi Online, 2005

Which is why the Jedi step in, to stand up to them.

"The Jedi are the enemy of the Sith because the Sith want to dominate the galaxy, to control everything, and for a thousand years they have had a plot against the Jedi." - Sci-fi Online, 2005

The Sith just wanna subdue and control everyone around them, including the Force itself, to fashion the galaxy in their image.

"The end game for the Sith was to bring the world into a very selfish, self-centered, greedy, evil place, as opposed to a compassionate place." - James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, 2018

So sure, have fun with your The Old Republic OC, go to town.

But when it comes down to it, when we're talking about the intended narrative (I'm looking at you, The Acolyte):

The Sith don't care about peace, they're literal religious extremists.

While some Sith may say they're misunderstood and some may justify themselves as being altruistic... at the end of the day, they're objectively not. They're greedy, power-hungry and self-centered.

They're the anti-theme to Star Wars' theme of "be compassionate".