#...this does just mean these should be the next 4 probably huh

[shooks-stupid-stuff]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT HAPPENED AGAIN-

[deus-ex-mona]

winter 2k24, huh~~~~~~ _(:3 」∠)_

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.3

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.8] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

“Aquaman.” Batman swept into the room, beelining straight for the suddenly apprehensive Atlantean king.

“Batman. What can I do for you?”

“Phantom. Does he pay taxes?”

“Pardon?”

Batman makes a low noise that had Aquaman’s danger senses buzzing.

“Does Phantom have to pay taxes. Towards Atlantis.”

“No…? Why?”

“He wanted money, in exchange for… information, of a delicate sort,” Batman said, diplomatically avoiding the topic of Phantom bargaining for the identities of corpses in exchange for a measly $100 dollars per identity. Like a flea market dealer, that one was.

“You encountered Phantom again?” Aquaman perked up.

“Yes. Gotham’s bay is… polluted.” Batman paused. “With victims. Of murder.”

The entire area quieted as heads turned towards the Dark Knight.

“Yes, I am… distantly aware of Gotham’s waters.” By that, Aquaman gets green around the gills whenever he turns his awareness in that direction. There’s a reason he doesn’t enter Gotham, and the Dark Knight’s ban is only half of that reason. “Ah, but you’re correct. For what purpose would Phantom need mortal currency?”

“Hn.”

“Maybe he needs some stuff?” Flash zipped to a stop next to Batman, feet tapping as he dug into the pile of snacks cradled in his arms. “Us mortals are always coming up with new things, maybe he wants to try some games or something?”

Batman tilted his head down, seriously considering Flash’s suggestion. “It’s plausible.”

“Barry, Barry, Barry. He’s old as hell, right? He probably wants to try the new booze!”

“Hal, my man!” Flash fist bumped Green Lantern, who came up. “You’re back! What happened to John?”

“Dunno. He got called somewhere that way,” Green Lantern waved a vague hand towards the left. “Had to deal with a politician or something from that area.” He shrugged, swinging an arm over Barry’s shoulders to put him in a headlock and stealing a chip.

“Huh. Anyways, would our mortal alcohol even work on a demi-god or something?”

“We should ask!” Hal turned towards Batman. “You should ask if he wants to go for a drink, spooky!”

“He’s a child.”

“He’s been around for more than a millennia, Bats.”

“Informational gathering, right, Hal?” Flashgot out of the headlock, quickly munching on his snacks to stop Green Lantern from stealing them.

“Totally. Yup.”

“…Fine.”

“Wait, are we just gonna ignore that Gotham’s waters are full of bodies?”

“Yes.”

——

“What?” Danny asked, mind half on the bags he’s dragging out of the water and the other half on the essay he has to submit in about four hours.

“Green Lantern wanted to invite you out for a drink.”

Danny turned to the stoic Gotham knight, who had his wrist computer out to log the bodies’ info the moment Danny gave him the information. Some of them even told Danny who murdered them, so Batman could start building cases with solid leads.

Danny’s only twenty. He’s not legal yet but he doesn’t want to give any clues to who he is. How is he supposed to…

Ah!

“Can’t.” Danny shrugged. “I’m not legal. I died when I was fourteen so…” Danny trailed off, speechless at the drowned puppy face Batman was giving him. What the fuck.

“Anyways, fork over my payment.”

Batman wordlessly hands him a wad of hundreds.

“What do you need cash for?” Batman suddenly asked.

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious?” Danny tucked it in. “Material things, obviously. I need a blanket,” because holy shit, Gotham is damn cold this time of year. “Anyways, see you same time next week, litterer.”

“I don’t litter.”

“Tell that to the batarangs I found under the water,” Danny grumbled. “But I’ll stop calling you that if you get a signature from Poison Ivy. I have a friend who loves her.”

“An alive friend?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, weatherboy?”

Danny snickered and disappeared. He’s gotta cram that essay.

——

“There’s a possibility Phantom might be homeless.”

“Batman, I mean this in the nicest way, but for the love of Atlantis, please stop giving me headaches. It’s time like these I wish I stayed a lighthouse keeper.”

[benispunk]

Who's That Girl?

Chapter 5: We Stay Silent

All jokes aside, Wade had too much stuff to deal with. Keeping up his mask was way too hard.

logan howlett x reader

TW: language, D&W, panic attack, mental health issues.

A/N: chapter five is up!!! this one is directly connected to the previous chapter, it's basically the same chapter but from wade's pov, so please make sure you read Part 4 before reading this one!! Please don't be made at me I love wade so much😔✊

→ this fic is inspired by the TV Show New Girl, Wade and Logan aren't Deadpool and Wolverine (no powers/mutant gene etc) but I did take most of their character traits and storyline!!

Masterlist / Previous Part

Wade woke up later than usual, sunlight already creeping through the blinds. His phone buzzed on the nightstand with a few missed notifications, but he didn’t bother checking them right away. He stretched lazily, rubbing his face. The apartment was quiet, almost too quiet. Logan and Y/N had already left for work, probably hours ago. Good. He didn't think he was in the mood for any morning chit-chat for once.

After throwing on his running gear and grabbing a water bottle, Wade slipped out of the apartment and into the cool morning air. He’d hit his usual route— nothing too long today. He wasn’t up for pushing himself too hard.

He never liked running. He always wondered what part of running was actually satisfying for some people. It helped him clear his mind, gave him space to think, or better yet, not think at all. Maybe he had a toxic relationship with running. Maybe it worked like a drug on him. But he knew he would rather run until his legs give out rather than go down the same path he followed years ago. He knew better now.

The streets were familiar, and Wade let his feet carry him through the neighborhood without much thought. His mind wandered, as it often did, from jokes he was working on to what gig he had next to the weird thing Logan had said last night. Everything felt scattered, but that was normal. He was used to living with his thoughts bouncing around like a pinball machine. His mind felt like a computer with thousands of tabs opened.

But then, just as he rounded a corner near the park, Wade froze. Vanessa.

She was standing there, a few meters away, looking just like she used to—like a ghost from a past life. She hadn’t seen him yet, thank god. His heart slammed into his chest, panic rising as he quickly debated turning around and bolting. Too late.

“Wade?”

Her voice caught him mid-step. He turned, awkwardly waving like an idiot.

“Vanessa, hey!” Wade’s voice came out higher than he wanted, and the grin he plastered on his face felt all wrong.

Vanessa smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners, looking genuinely happy to see him. “I knew that was you. How’ve you been?”

Wade’s brain scrambled for something, anything to say. How have I been? That was a fucking big question. How do you explain six years of missing someone without falling apart? He ran a hand through his hair, nervously glancing at his shoes.

“Oh, you know… same old, same old.” He tried to laugh it off, but his voice cracked.

She didn’t seem to notice his internal chaos. “It’s been so long, huh? We should catch up sometime, what do you think?”

He wanted to run. Run so fast he could break his legs and never even feel it. Catch up? What does that even mean? How do you catch up with someone you’ve been in love with since forever even after you both decided that being friends would be better, and bla bla bla, why was he thinking about this again?

He did his best at hiding his internal panic and forced himself to stay still, nodding like an idiot.

“Yeah, totally! That would be great.” He was still smiling like a maniac, but inside, every alarm bell was going off. Abort. Abort. Abort.

Vanessa seemed pleased with that answer, though. “Great! I’ll text you.”

“Yeah! See ya around, V,” Wade blurted before turning on his heel and jogging away as fast as he could without looking completely insane. He could feel her eyes on him as he sprinted, and he didn’t stop until he was several blocks away, breathing hard.

“Good job, Wade. You fuckin’ idiot,” he muttered to himself, wiping sweat from his forehead. His chest felt tight, but it wasn’t from the run. It was that familiar pressure building inside him, the one he tried so hard to ignore. The feeling of not being able to handle any of it.

———

Wade stood outside Blind Al’s door, debating whether to knock or not. He hadn’t seen her in a while, but she had been a constant in his life during the toughest times. Before Logan. Before everything fell apart.

He knocked, and her voice came through the door, as sharp as ever. “Took you long enough to visit, jackass.”

Wade smiled despite himself, pushing the door open. “Miss me, Al?”

“Not in the slightest,” she quipped. Wade knew she couldn’t see, but the way she was standing in front of him made it look like she was staring right through him, “Something’s going on with you. Spill it.”

Wade plopped down on her couch, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Ran into Vanessa.”

Blind Al didn’t react. She just sat back in her chair. “That so? And you didn’t completely lose your shit?”

Wade snorted. “Define ‘completely.’ I told her we’d catch up, and then I ran away like a coward. Does that count?”

“Yeah, that counts,” Al said, her voice gruff but understanding. “So what now?”

“I don’t know.” Wade rubbed his temples. “She seemed happy, like genuinely happy to see me, and I just… I don’t know what to do with that.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Al said bluntly. “She’s part of your past, and that’s fine. Doesn’t mean you have to dive back into that mess.”

“Yeah, but what if…” Wade trailed off, staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t even sure what he was asking.

“Look, you’ve got your life now. You’ve got Logan, and now this new girl, Y/N, right? Stick to what’s real. Don’t go chasing ghosts.” Al’s voice softened slightly, and Wade felt a pang of gratitude for her, "Or go for it. Just, don’t think about it too much. Let things go their own way." she added.

Easier said than done, but duly noted.

Suddenly, she got up from her chair and walked towards her kitchen. Wade watched her come back with a cup of not-at-all full of alcohol coffee and settle back in her chair.

"So, you didn’t tell me about that new roommate…"

He stayed with her for lunch and then they talked all afternoon. He told her everything she had to know about Y/N, and how Logan was doing, too. But still, he couldn’t shake the thought of what had happened that morning. Vanessa. Al was always right, but the pressure in his chest still hadn’t gone away. It wasn’t just Vanessa. It was everything. 

———

By the time Wade got back to the apartment building, the weight in his chest had doubled. He made a turn into an alleyway, the walls suddenly feeling too close. His breath came in shallow gasps, and his hands started to shake.

No no no no no, not now. Not here.

He pressed himself into the corner, knees pulling up to his chest as he tried to get control, but it wasn’t working. He felt like he was drowning, like the air was being sucked out of the alley. Everything was overwhelming.

Breathe, Wade. Just fucking breathe.

He fumbled for his phone and dialed his therapist’s number. He knew she had given him her personal phone number just for emergencies but maybe, maybe this time, it was an emergency. He needed it. Because breathing wasn’t working. After a few agonizing rings, she picked up.

“Wade? What’s going on?”

He could barely get the words out, his voice shaking. “I…I c—can’t »

“Okay, okay,” she said calmly. “You’re going to be fine. You know the drill. Slow your breathing.”

Wade tried, focusing on her voice. After what felt like hours, his breathing steadied, but the tightness in his chest remained.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked and Wade had no idea what to answer. Air was back in his lungs, yes. But that was it.

"I’m losing it. I don’t know what to do." He waited a few seconds for his therapist to answer. When she didn’t, he continued. "I’m lost. I can’t make a choice. I feel like a fuckin’ loser and I don’t know why people are still keeping up with me. And I called you, god, I’m so sorry, I know it’s supposed to be for emergencies only—"

She interrupted him, "Wade, this was an emergency."

Wade shook his head and he watched his free hand for a few seconds, it was shaking like crazy. He didn’t say anything for a while. "Can we have a session soon?"

“Of course, Wade. Can you get to someone, right now? A friend?”

“Logan,” Wade muttered. “I could go see Logan.”

“Good. Do that. You’ve got people, Wade. Lean on them.”

Wade nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. “Yeah… yeah, I’ll go see Logan.”

He hung up and dragged himself to his feet, wiping at his face. Get it together, Wade.

———

Logan’s classroom was quiet when Wade arrived, a rare moment of calm at the end of a long day. The coffee shop near the center was still open, so Wade grabbed a box of donuts and two coffees before heading over. Showing up unannounced wasn’t unusual for him—Logan never seemed to mind (he did– Wade chose to ignore it). Besides, the guy could use a donut break anyway.

But as Wade neared the door, that familiar tightness crept back into his chest. Logan’s gonna see right through me. He paused, forcing down the rising anxiety, plastering on his usual grin before pushing the door open.

“Hey, I come bearing gifts. You looked like you could use a sugar rush.”

Logan frowned as soon as he saw him. “You okay?”

I hate him so much.

Wade waved him off, doing his best to sound casual. “Me? Of course! I’m always okay. What’re you talking about?”

Logan didn’t press further, but Wade could feel his friend's eyes lingering on him, studying him like he could sense the tension beneath the surface. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Logan to ask again or not. Wade kept talking, cracking jokes, doing his usual routine, but something in Logan’s steady silence made it harder to maintain.

They sat together, sipping coffee and biting into donuts, the atmosphere light but heavy at the same time. He knew Logan saw through him. He always did. But Logan didn’t push, and for that, Wade was grateful.

As they left the center together, Wade kept the conversation rolling, letting his words spill out faster than usual, a habit he’d sharpened over the years. Keep talking, keep things light, and maybe Logan wouldn’t dig deeper.

“...and I swear, man, if this one guy hadn’t backed off, I would’ve–”

“You sure you’re okay?” Logan’s voice cut through Wade’s ramble, and oh my god, was he using a gentle tone on me?

The question sent a jolt of panic through Wade. He felt the familiar tightening in his chest again, the pressure pushing against the cracks. Not now. Not here.

He immediately forced a laugh, one that felt too loud in his ears, like he wasn’t the one laughing . “Of course! Stop worrying about me, peanut. You’ve got your own crap to deal with. Speaking of which,” Wade added quickly, redirecting the conversation towards something he knew Logan wouldn’t press on, “how’s it going with Y/N, huh? Been hanging out together without me, yet?”

Logan rolled his eyes, but Wade didn’t miss the shift in his expression. He knew Logan had caught the distraction, knew the guy could read him like an open book. But Logan didn’t push, not yet.

“She’s our roommate, Wade,” Logan said.

Wade threw him a wink, keeping up the act. “Sure, sure. Got it.”

Logan let it slide, like Wade knew he would. He always did. Pushing Wade for answers never worked. Logan had learned that a long time ago. He’ll ask again later, Wade thought, the weight of it settling somewhere deep inside him. But for now, at least, Logan let it go.

Wade kept talking, kept deflecting, but even as his voice filled the air, he could feel Logan’s gaze on him, steady, waiting. Logan would be there when the time came, ready to listen. Wade knew that. He always knew that.

But right now? Wade wasn’t ready. Not yet. So he smiled, cracked another joke, and pushed the feeling down a little further.

Maybe later.

XXX

[cluescorner]

I have been unable to get the idea of baby Kaeya sneaking off to Sumeru without telling anyone out of my head

Baby Kaeya: I have successfully snuck into Sumeru in a merchant convoy. I may have left without saying goodbye, but I’m sure the Ragnvindrs will not mind. After all, surely they don’t see me as their actual family. They might raise a fuss and be in agony if Diluc were to disappear, but not for me. 

Meanwhile......

Crepus, on his 8th bottle: How on earth have I managed to lose an entire child?? Did he get kidnapped? Did he run away? Is he alive? Is he safe? I’m going to have a breakdown holy shit. I have failed as a father. Elzer, have the knights gotten back about their search of the area? Or the private squad I hired? 

Elzer: I’m afraid they have found nothing...but look on the bright side! At least we haven’t lost Diluc...

Adeline, literally physically restraining Diluc to stop him from running off to search for Kaeya: Yet. We have not lost Diluc YET. 

----------------------------------------

Merchant guy: Hey, uh, guys? 

Merchant lady: Yeah? 

Merchant guy: Can somebody read this handwriting? I think whoever wrote this must have been in a hurry or something. And are those...tear stains? 

Merchant lady: Sure...hm looks like the boss’s son is missing....

Merchant guy: Huh. Well we guarded the goods pretty well but let’s check just to make sure. 

Merchant lady: *Opens up the goods to find Kaeya wedged between 2 crates* Oh we’re so fired. 

Kaeya: In your defense, it’s only been a few days. One time I hid from...something for a week. And it was far more perceptive than you are, so you can hardly be blamed for missing me for only a few days. It was a fun challenge, but I was very hungry afterwards. By the way, do you have some water? I did not want to risk revealing myself, so I have not moved from this spot since we left. 

Merchant guy: We’re not fired...we’re dead. 

------------------------------

Crepus, sprinting to Sumeru: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

----------------------------------------

Merchant guy: So...while we wait for your dad, why did you come here anyways? I’m sure we could do something fun. 

Kaeya: Hmmm, no. You should not look into why I came here. That would be bad, for me and for you. 

Merchant lady, whispering to merchant guy: Hey, um, what the fuck does that mean?

Merchant guy, whispering to merchant lady: The boss said his new kid was kinda odd, but this wasn’t what I was expecting. 

------------------------------------

Crepus: KAEYA! OH THANK GOODNESS YOU ARE OK! 

Kaeya: Hello Master Crepus. I hope I didn’t cause too much-

Crepus: WHY ON TEYVAT WOULD YOU JUST RUN AWAY? DID YOU JUST WANT TO GO TO SUMERU TO SEE THE RAINFORESTS OR SOMETHING?

Kaeya: ...Sure. I read about it in a book and thought it looked cool. I wanted to see it, and so I left. 

Crepus: *sigh* Kaeya, next time you want to take a vacation somewhere, please just tell us. You ARE grounded for a month since you broke a very big rule, but afterwards I’ll see about arranging a trip to Sumeru for us. 

Kaeya: Crossing Teyvat to find me, grounding me, and arranging trips around my preferences? Why are you treating me so similarly to how you treat Diluc? 

Crepus: Because you are both my sons. Why on earth would I treat you any differently? 

Kaeya, forming the first healthy relationship with an adult in his entire life and realizing that he has grown attached to the very family he was left to spy on then eventually betray: Oh. This...I feel weird. Bad-weird and good-weird. 

Crepus: Well, you probably feel weird because you were LODGED BETWEEN TWO CRATES FOR 4 DAYS STRAIGHT? You’re going to give me a heart attack one day, I swear. Now we’re going back to Mondstadt right now, and you’re grounded starting the day after we get back. I highly doubt Adelinde and Diluc will be able to restrain themselves from fawning over you, they’ve been a mess. 

Kaeya, realizing that now only has he grown attached to his new family, but they have grown incredibly attached to him: Oh...oh no. 

[shelbystales]

Best Aid - Part Eight

Modern Tommy Shelby x Reader - Masterlist

Previous parts: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Summary: you are a young doctor in Birmingham. After a crazy incident, Thomas Shelby shows up at your hospital. You don’t know much about the man everyone seems to fear, but you definitely will.

Warning: swearing, mention of torture and panick attack

A/N:  Comment and interact, tell me what you think! it means a looot.

English is my second language so I apologize in advance for the grammar mistakes.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

On your next shift, the first thing you did when you arrived at the hospital was go straight to John Doe's room to see if he was still there. 

To your surprise, yes, he was still there. 

He had already undergone jaw surgery the day before, and to an even greater surprise, he was awake. He stared at the room's window as if he was hypnotized.

"Hi," you said, entering the room. "Good to see you awake," you smiled.

He shifted his attention from the window to you but didn't say anything. Well, he couldn't speak, as his mouth was paralyzed on the side of the jaw surgery, and it would probably stay that way for a while. 

His face was much less swollen and deformed then you had remembered.

You approached him to get the medical record and check the progress of his exams. "My name is Y/N; I was the doctor on duty the night you arrived. Do you feel any pain?" He subtly shook his head, and when you asked if you could examine him, he gave a small nod.

During the examination, you proceeded with caution, aware of the potential trauma he might have experienced. The signs of infection from his blood test had decreased, and the wound appeared to be healing well. Other than that, he was healing well.

After completing the examination, you left the room and returned to the trauma center, where you met with the shift residents and assigned tasks.

You started to overthink why Thomas hadn't stolen your patient, but as you created a thousand questions in your head, you just decided to accept the situation and move on with your day. After all, he did comply with your request.

Continuing your rounds, you attended to other patients.

During a break in the staff lounge, Jeremy joined you with his usual big smile. "Hey girl, how are you?" he asked, taking a seat beside you.

"Hey," you smiled back. "I'm good, you?"

"Great. Doctor says my fiancé has prostatitis," he said, relieved.

"Good, some antibiotics should solve it. Might take a while, though." you smiled

"Yeah... no sex for a while… well, at least it's not cancer," he joked.

"Dodged a bullet, huh?" you chuckled.

"Yes, yes. I was worried," he sighed. "Are you really okay? I didn't see you leave last shift."

You sighed, debating how much to share with Jeremy. "It's been a wild ride, Jer. There's this whole situation with the patient, and then late at night, Thomas showed up. It's like a never-ending rollercoaster with him."

Jeremy's smile faded, replaced by genuine concern. "What?" he asked, leaning in slightly.

"Yeah. And I fucking had a panic attack after he told me he would discharge John Doe. But then... he was so kind, helping me through the panic. I just... I don't know. I'm so confused about everything," you confessed.

"He just showed up and wanted to discharge the unconscious, almost dying man?" he asked, and you nodded.

"And as I argued he couldn't, I suddenly couldn't breathe," you shrugged. "I need a break. I told him I didn't want to see him. He just doesn't care."

Jeremy's expression turned from concern to disbelief. "That's insane. He is insane.”

“Just figuring that out now?” you frowned and sighed “But… At the same time, he brought the man in, and I don’t think he did all that to him. Also, he didn't steal my patient… and he was so so gentle to me.”

Jeremy furrowed his brows. “Okay, listen up, I love you. But you've got to figure out what you want from him, Y/N. It's not healthy to be caught in this constant state of confusion. You either want him or not."

“I don’t,” you blurted out.

“Shut up, you don’t. If you didn’t, what he did or didn’t do wouldn’t bother you,” he said, cutting through your protest with a knowing look.

You sighed, realizing Jeremy might be onto something. The conflicting emotions and the chaos Thomas brought into your life were undeniable, and deep down, you questioned your own motives.

“I just can't make sense of it, Jer. He's this enigma, this complicated man who seems to defy any logic i create,” you confessed, running a hand through your hair.

“People like that can be dangerous to get involved with, Y/N. I don’t want to see you getting hurt. Yes, he’s hot as fuck, might fuck you senselless, but we need boundaries to keep ourselves safe sometimes” Jeremy said, genuine concern etched across his face.

“Yeah I know. I just need time to figure things out,” you replied, your mind still swirling with uncertainty.

“Maybe just fuck him and ghost him” He smiled 

“That is definitely not the best option” you chuckled

“Yeah… i just. I want you to get laid. Maybe with someone else. You deserve it. Some dick could make your thoughts clearer” he leaned back as his big smile continued crossing his face

“Yeah, right. As if I have a line of people that want to fuck me”

“Oh girl… you are so oblivious. Let's start with all the male residents! And some nurses… Jesus you have no idea” He said surprised

“I’m gonna go. You forget it, i’m not getting involved with anyone in this hospital” you said

“Okay” he shrugged as you stood up and left

As the day progressed, you found yourself once again immersed in the demanding environment of the hospital.

In the quiet moments between duties, you couldn't help but reflect on Jeremy's words. The need for clarity tugged at you, urging you to confront the feelings you failed to understand.

As you left the hospital that day, the internal conflict within you raged on. Thomas Shelby's presence seemed to evoke a myriad of emotions - confusion, frustration, and an undeniable attraction that left you questioning your own judgment.

When you walked into the lobby of the hotel, you caught sight of Thomas engaged in a serious discussion with his aunt, Polly. The lines on Thomas's face spoke of stress and tension, a departure from his usual composed demeanor.

You stood there, observing from a distance, deciding if you should or not talk to him. Set some things straight. Maybe all you wanted to hear was that he didn’t do anything to the man. Or maybe that he cares about others and that’s the reason he left the man in the hospital care. Or maybe… just maybe… you wanted to hear his husky voice…

As Thomas and Polly concluded their conversation, you observed him preparing to leave the lobby, a sense of urgency evident on his face. Your eyes met, and a shy smile from you prompted a momentary pause, marked by a furrowed brow.

"Can we talk?," you mouthed standind a few feets away from him.

He slightly nodded. Stopping in the middle of the lobby and following you after you started to walk in the direction of the elevators.

As you stepped into the elevator, the atmosphere between you and Thomas was heavy. The air charged with unresolved tension.

The doors closed, enveloping both of you in a temporary cocoon of privacy.

"Alright, Y/N, what's on your mind?" Thomas inquired, his voice low and steady. His posture, rigid yet composed.

You took a deep breath, your gaze fixed on the floor, steeling yourself for the words about to spill out. "I need you to be honest,"

"About?" he replied, his piercing gaze fixed on you. 

"The man," you said, meeting his gaze, searching for any hint of emotion in his stoic posture—a true master of the poker face.

"What about him?" His response, delivered with an air of nonchalance

"Did you do that to him?" you pressed

"I already told you that, eh?" he countered, glancing around the elevator as it announced the floor—the floor to your room.

"You didn't," you asserted, the tension escalating with each passing moment.

"Yeah, I didn't do it," he admitted, his eyes meeting yours briefly before the elevator doors opened. You exited first, and he followed, the charged atmosphere trailing into the corridor and eventually into your hotel room.

In the room, you moved with purpose, entering the kitchen to fetch two glasses of water. Placing them on the dining table, you invited him to sit. 

"How long will this take?" he inquired, his posture a blend of impatience and reservation.

"Do you have somewhere else to be?" you countered, your eyes locked onto his.

"I do" he answered shortly

"If you want to fix this, take a seat," you added, leaning back and crossing your arms, awaiting his response.

Thomas hesitated for a moment, his gaze lingering on you, weighing the options. After a pause that seemed to stretch on, he finally relented, his movements fluid yet hesitant as he took a seat at the dining table.

You observed him closely, noting the subtle nuances in his posture.

"Why did you bring him to the hospital if you weren't responsible for what happened to him?" you questioned, your voice steady. 

His eyes met yours, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them. "I never said I wasn't responsible. I said I didn't do it," he responded, the words hanging in the space between you like an unspoken challenge.

“Fuck you” you filled your mouth to say those words, and it felt good “What the fuck is that suppossed to mean?”

"He's a friend," he admitted

"Why didn't you just say that from the beginning?" you retorted, frustration evident in your tone.

Thomas's gaze remained steady, a mixture of regret and resolve in his eyes. "There are things that go beyond simple explanations."

"No, no. Some explanations are pretty simple," you shrugged, your frustration simmering beneath the surface.

"Y/N," he began, his Birmingham accent adding a distinct cadence to his words. "If I started spillin' every detail, you'd be tangled in a mess you're better off avoiding. Because then, you would ask me why my friend was like that. And I would have to tell you, since we're bein' honest, that he was kidnapped and tortured for information about me. Because that's what happens to people around me. And you would ask me why, and I tell you, that's business, and me business is a difficult thing to explain" he continued, his voice carrying the weight of a reality that seemed both distant and uncomfortably close.

The room echoed with a heavy silence, the weight of Thomas's revelations settling around you both. You knew exactly what his business was after a few hours googling him, no. A few hours fucking stalking the man.

"I never asked for any of this, Thomas," you finally spoke, your voice a mix of frustration and vulnerability. "I never signed up for a life entangled in your... business."

Thomas leaned back, his eyes fixed on you, acknowledging the truth in your words. "And I never asked you to. But here we are."

"I don't want to end up like your friend," you stated firmly, your voice carrying the weight of your fears and the boundaries you needed to set.

Thomas's eyes, now revealed a hint of regret. "You won't," he replied, his voice softer than before. "I promise."

You sighed, feeling the weight of the situation settling on your shoulders. Taking both hands to your face, you couldn't shake off the stress that had crept into your being.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his usually stoic demeanor giving way to an unexpected tenderness.

"Stressed," you answered

"Aren't we all?" he remarked, a rare hint of vulnerability in his voice.

"Is your life always like this?" you inquired, curiosity peeking.

"No, it has never been like this," he admitted, taking a sip of the water in front of him. "Could be a glass of whisky, eh?" he suggested, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I don't remember the last time I drank whisky," you confessed.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, glancing around the room. "I think there's a bottle somewhere."

"There's a drink cart in the bedroom," you informed him.

After a brief search, he found the cart and walking into the living room with the bottle in hand he looked at you for approval. "One glass?"

"Sure, why not?" you agreed, welcoming the distraction 

Thomas poured a modest amount of whisky into two glasses, the amber liquid catching the soft glow of the room. As he handed you a glass, his fingers brushed against yours in a fleeting touch, making your heart race wiht excitement. 

As the whisky warmed your insides, Thomas leaned back, the weight of his own burdens evident in the lines of his face. You couldn't help but notice how well he looked, how well dressed he was. If you just saw him crossing the streed, you would never believe that the man in front of you was a fucking gang leader.

The air between you carried a mixture of tension and a strange camaraderie born out of the unexpected intimacy of the moment.

"This is better," Thomas remarked, studying the liquid in his glass after taking a sip.

"You know, this isn't how I imagined our conversation going," you admitted, a wry smile playing on your lips.

Thomas chuckled, the sound rich and resonant. "Nor did I, Y/N."

Ozzy appeared, strolling in from the bedroom and hopping onto the couch, where he promptly settled down for a nap. You couldn't help but smile as you watched him make himself comfortable.

"Do you like cats?" you asked, curious about Thomas's preferences.

"No," he answered bluntly.

"Get out of my room," you joked, eliciting a chuckle from him. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "I just don't."

"Yeah, you look like a dog person."

"I have horses, I don't have a dog."

"Oh, right. Rich people pets," you teased, a playful smile on your face.

Thomas raised an eyebrow at your playful jab. "Horses are not exactly house pets," he remarked, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Fair point," you conceded, enjoying the banter that seemed to ease the tension. "So, what does Thomas Shelby do for fun? Besides making me insane, of course"

His gaze flickered with a subtle mix of contemplation and amusement. "Fun... hm, let's say I like riding horses, reading, and chess."

"Chess, huh? I bet I can win” you smiled, gaze locked on his

Thomas Shelby leaned back, a mysterious glint in his eyes as he considered your challenge about chess. "You can try," he said, his smirk hinting at a quiet confidence.

The air between you felt lighter. You felt good about it. He could be a good company. 

"What happened?" you asked, meeting his gaze. Thomas frowned slightly, not understanding what you meant. "How did a guy that likes horses and plays chess turn my life upside down? making me feel like I couldn't breathe for days? Made me fear my life. At one point I felt so paranoid that i could swear there was someone was following me down the hospital. Because the Thomas in here now... I like this Thomas."

There was a moment of silence, Thomas's gaze held a mixture of contemplation and a touch of vulnerability you failed to see before.

"I already told you I didn't intend for any of this, Y/N," he began, his voice softer than usual “Believe me if you want, I didn't want you to get caught in it. But then, I woke up and you were already involved”

"I know," you admitted, your voice reflecting a mixture of gratitude and apprehension. "But I don't know how to navigate through this. It's like stepping into a world or a war I never knew existed."

He reached across the table, his hand covering yours in a gesture of reassurance that sent a little jolt through you. "Look, I want you to know that I won't leave you alone in the chaos I've brought. Ok?", You nodded 

His touch, warm and reassuring, sent a subtle thrill through you, awakening a desire you hadn't fully acknowledged since he walked in here tonight. As your eyes locked with his, an unspoken promise hung in the air, and for a brief moment, you found myself teetering on the edge of exploring something deeper with Thomas Shelby.

you cleared your throat, a nervous habit that betrayed the tumultuous thoughts racing through your mind. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" you managed to inquire, hoping to redirect the conversation and temper the rising anticipation. The effects of the whisky were starting to weave their magic, adding a layer of haziness to your judgment.

"I do," he sighed taking his hand from yours and adjusting his suit. "I enjoyed our talk. Are we in a better place?"

"Yeah, just... don't bring me more near-death guys. Please," you chuckled, the sound echoing in the room.

"And who would I take them to?," he replied, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“I don't know" you shrugged "Government health system is avaible in birmingham"

He chuckled "yes, i have a hospital so that I can send my friends to the public system" he mocked

"Well... can I just ask you to try and be honest? That's all I really need from you. I don't want to fear you” 

"Are you sure the truth won't make you do exactly that?,"

"So far it hasn't, the other way around actualy" you answered

"Fine. That's a challenging thing to ask me, but sure. I can try," he agreed.

"Good," you smiled.

"Have a good night, Y/N," he said, starting to stand up. As he rose, something compelled him to lean down, and he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

"You too," you replied, feeling a strange mix of surprise and comfort. As he headed toward the door, you couldn't help but blurt out, "Wait, why didn’t you steal my patient?"

He stopped in his tracks, turning back to face you. "I couldn’t have him die on me, and… I trust you," he explained, his words hanging in the air. It left you with a complex swirl of emotions.

"Can I ask his name?" you inquired.

"Johnny Dogs. He's not registered, by the way. So, keep it as John Doe. If people start asking too many questions, you tell me," he instructed, and you nodded. His gaze holding yours for a moment longer before he walked out.

With a deep sigh, you sank back into your chair, contemplating the unexpected twists of the day.

The Thomas you saw in here now was the same one you welcomed into your home and that version of Thomas was surprisingly good company. That was the Thomas who drew you in, the one you found yourself attracted to. Yet, how could he embody two entirely different personas simultaneously? one you felt like punching and other you felt like kissing...

At least, he trusted you.

The knowledge of his trust provided a welcome boost to your self-esteem. Despite the whirlwind of confusion and complexity, you couldn't deny the comfort in knowing that, in his own enigmatic way, Thomas Shelby trusted in you.

taglist:

@deanlovescassie @hellstears @randomfanfics02 @literishdegree99 @watersquirtpewpewboomm @hellstears @rito4ka @alexxavicry @atomicsoulcollecto @Violet_19999 @lyarr24 @woofgocows @milkshakelol @knowledgefulbutterfly @watercolorskyy @redhead7799 @star017 @stuckinmylittlebubble @bat-luna-cat @babaohhhriley @scullys—alienpussy @kassieesworld @deepangelstudentsworld @batgurl42 @starlitjellyfish @velenzia @lyarr24 @Sweetiecake180 @musicsweetie21 @lostgirl219 @slaypussypop-21 @nyenye @izzwizz774 @ooldcardigan @kielsegur @nikkialex @1nterstellarcha0s @mariamx1 @swingingmusicalfunnydragon @illuminwtesz @lazyylover

[inthelittlewood]

Hey Martyn! So, I got into your lore because of Grian's Life Series, and now I'm just trying to find some stuff out. Anyways, I understand most of it, though I do have a couple questions.

What actually are LOOT shards/crystals? I know that they're soke aort of corruption in games of sorta, but how do they get there, how to they affect the game, and also how to disable them. It's just something I'm wondering about since I know you have to find the one piece, of treasure, but how does it actually help?

What are CHEST agents? I know that they're something almost as evil as Cruppy, which is really saying something, but what actually are they?

Are there any extra lore bits in Rats SMP that you can't get anywhere else? I just wanna know if I should grit my teeth and watch it sometime, when I'm done catching up on the VODs of Pirates (can't make it to streams for personal reasons, alas).

If you've come up with it, is there any way that the Watchers lore from the Life Series ties into the datastream hopper lore? Those two just seem a little incompatible to me - hopping the datastream, being captured by mysterious godlike entities... Or are they just two separate universes?

Do you plan on posting the New Life streams on your vods channel?

Who in Pirates is p!Martyn closest to in each faction, overall?

Also, I think you may have mentioned it on stream, but did you take the faction quiz and if so, which faction did you get? I kid you not, when I took it I got Kestrels all three times (with changing the answers to stuff that I would still do, but different than first time, I mean). Had to change it up just to see all the different faction descriptions...

Ok, I think that's it. Sorry if I have bad formatting btw, I'm typing this out on phone. Thank you for taking the time to read my questions! Absolutely love your work and lore, while at the same time having the humour some don't. Keep on doing an amazing job. Hope you find your one piece, of treasure.

Have an ice day!

That's something I want to unveil in the next lore drop, so I'm really sorry to say SoonTM but this lore doesn't have all that many secrets atm

2. C.H.E.S.T agents work are avatars controlled by human operators working for C.H.E.S.T and its evil underbelly. They're a known and trusted public computing corporation but the public doesn't know the full extent of their goals and resources

3. I try to be pretty concise and unavoidable when I do my lore stuff, so you should be able to find the Rats segments in this playlist with ease: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3MFbfp1zo8dooC57HqfbizRoc07PdlFQ

4. Maaaaaaybe, people have noticed some parallels / links and all shall be revealed one day for sure, even if I'm like gonna quit doing videos and streaming, I'd just lore dump whatever isn't revealed so it's out there ha

5. A lot of my New Life streams are me just doing the grindy parts of the SMP and with the server being somewhat inactive I want to save the crossover / collab content for the videos - I'm not sure people would flock to a 3 hour vod of me painfully and slowly building an outpost or hollowing out a mountain to make a factory ya know?

6. Kestrels - probably Sausage, with Oli as a close second. Herons - Owen or Water. Owen has an inquisitive gene like Martyn and Water likes all things musical. Nightingales - Ros is so different to Martyn that it makes for some wholesome and chaotic interations, you never know which you'll get. Kites - Bek is basically the only one he's interacted with, he had a little banter on the seas with Kuervo but it was brief

7. I did! I surprisingly got Kestrel, or I guess, not surprisingly huh?

[chunkymamatam]

Do you have any more info about shifting to MHA? I know that was probably a while ago but I really wanna try shifting there so yeah!! :DDD

Yeah. It was a really long time ago. Like 4 years lol

So this was actually the first time and place I wanted to shift to. It was mostly mini shifting.

One time I went and I “gained sentience” as me and my friends like to call it lmfao in the street. I looked around and I was like “oh shit. I’m actually here.. huh. I wonder if I can bother Hawks” I saw he was busy and I was like “man I’ll go bother Aizawa he’s too busy with fan girls for me to introduce myself.” I go to walk off and I hear flapping of wings

My first thought was “ah he has hero work to do.” Tell me why this man lands in front of me and knocks me on my ass. That shit hurt like a bitch 😭THEN HE HAS THE AUDACITY TO ASK IF I NEED HELP GETTING UP LIKE HE DIDN'T DO THAT SHIT ON PURPOSE

Also keep in mind I had never met that man until then. I shifted home it freaked me out so bad lol It's funnier when I remember over there my clone teleported her ass away pfff

The next time I managed to shift there I was in an alleyway and all of a sudden a feather floats down. This stalking ass bitch was watching me up above. He drops down and I kindly (NOT) tell him he needs to stop doing that shit (He hasn't done it since pfffff) and he was like

"So.. You're the one who teleported away in the middle of a crowded area?"

"What does that matter? The fuck were you doing watching me???"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out! Haha anyway duty calls" THEN THE BITCH FLIES AWAY Keep in mind I didn't think he was actually stalking me and that's why I didn't freak out more and this next bit happened.

I left after that interacting and came back a different night. It was night and I was just trying to figure out wtf to do now that I'm here and tell me why this man appears behind me saying some "We meet again!" Now if I call you one of my many claimable slurs...(/j) but seriously tho little 18 year old Tam was just happy to be there lmfao. He comes at me with the "I just got off of work you wanna get a bite to eat"

... I said yes and he finally asked my name LMFAO I ended up going to his place at the end of the night. Crazy I know but again I didn't think he was ACTUALLY stalking me okay????

It gets better because after that I ended up accidentally shifting into the LOV hide out LMFAO I literally don't know why tf my clone was there but I was trying to get out of there so fast. They wanted me dead bro. Now I momentarily shot myself in the foot when I was arguing why they should let me live. Shiggy asked why I should be allowed to live and I was like "I got dirt on everyone"

he said "prove it"

I was like "Well I got dirt on everyone here too so I could probably prove it like that"

BRUH BAD MOVE THEY WANTED ME GONE EVEN WORSE WHEN I PROVED IT

I revealed to Dabi I knew who he was and gave a few details about every person there that I definitely shouldn't have know from there perspective but then Magne came in and I was like "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE????" proceeded to give them life saving advice for her and went home cuz that shit was TOO stressful. had to let my clone deal lmfao

It worked considering I was a free man when i went back. did it last long? no. Was freedom nice for a while?? yeah. Tell me why I run into Hawks and Endeavor. He introduced us and idk if it's just his face but bro was mean mugging me. Endeavor please stop looking at me like that I haven't even started dogging on you verbally yet. They end up running off to do their job or whatever and I walk off. Tell me why I see Shigaraki creeping in an alleyway just watching. HELLO??? I cross the street and end up getting snatched up by Dabi and Twice anyway but fucking christ bro. They take me to the warehouse and tell me why they hit me with the "You were right" MAGNE FUCKING DIED BRO I WAS SO UPSET

Long story short they forced me to stay with them after that. Dabi for the longest time gave me the cold shoulder and was acting like he hated me. I'm just gonna say he didn't and not go too far into what happened cuz idk how old you are. There was also this time when Shigaraki kissed me out of nowhere. I was drunk and rambling and crying about something to him and he kissed me. Gonna be honest I thought he just wanted me to shut up and he was just following the trope. I didn't think he liked me. I only found out because he found out what happened with Dabi and chased me down to confront me about it. It was a wild time. I was so fucking scared bro.

He said "How did you not know I liked you??? I literally kissed you"

"I thought you just wanted me to STFU!"

Shiggy after I said that dumb shit:

I'm fucking stupid when it comes to people liking me in short. I stopped going to that specific DR shortly after that. I have other MHA DRs if y'all wanna hear about them.

[farfromrealitypls]

I care

Summary: You made a risky choice helping Rafe, but it felt so right and turning out… it was.

(This story is inspired by that one scene in obx, were the pouges tried getting JJ’s boat for John B)

Warning: Angst, violence, language, blood

A/n: Hello!!! Yeah I have a thing for mean Rafe with a soft spot for y/n… and for y/n to be the one “fixing Rafe” enjoy <3 Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The whole situation was so chaotic, you could barely comprehend what was happening.

Barry was long gone, leaving only Rafe.

You exchanged panicked looks with Kiara before looking around and seeing Pope still beating the shit out of Rafe.

“Pope stop! You’re gonna kill him!” you yelled and grabbed Popes arm.

“He almost killed me! Remember?” He snapped back, still having that insane look in his eyes, hitting Rafes face over and over again. He let him fall to floor and grabbed the metal bar, wrapping it around his neck and started to choke him.

“Pope enough!” Kiaras voice echoed through the hall.

“Pope!” JJ added from a far.

You could see Rafes body slowly going numb and his face turning lightly blue.

“He didn’t tho! Get off him!” You grabbed Pope from behind and tried to pull him off with all your strength.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you defending him?” He finally let go of Rafe and the tall man fell to the floor, panting for air and blood smeared all over him.

You dropped on your knees next to him, tearing up at that sight.

Of course Pope didn’t deserve it, but neither does Rafe…

“Pope look at him! He’s had enough!” Your voice cracked as you yelled up at Pope.

“Are you serious? Did you forget what he put us through?” He yelled back tilting his head and squinting his eyes in disbelief at your words.

JJ and Kiara stood there, watching the scenario from a far, not really knowing what to do.

“I know! I know! But we’re not better if we do the same thing to him!“ you shook your head and the first tears started rolling down your rosy cheeks.

„I- Y/n what the fuck! Who’s side are you on?“

You ignored his question and just looked at Rafe through your teary eyes.

„Breath, breath Rafe“ you whispered in a soft voice.

„He jumped me with a golf club y/n!“ Pope screamed at you louder this time.

You snapped your head back up at him.

„And who fixed you up Pope? Huh? Who was there? Taking care of you? Us! 4 fucking people! JJ, Kiara, John b and me. And who’s gonna make sure he’s ok when you fuck him up? Nobody. His dad is probably gonna beat the shit out of him some more when he comes home like this.“

„He should!“ He shouted, slightly bending down, making sure Rafe heard it too.

You scoffed and shifted your gaze to JJ and Kiara, still standing by the door, unsure of what to think about all this.

„Let’s go y/n. He‘ll be ok, come on“ Kiara tried to convince you with a soft voice, waving you over.

„No you guys should leave. Hate me forever i don’t care“ you sniffled, turning your attention back to Rafe.

“You’re insane.” were Popes last words to you before he stormed off.

JJ looked at you once more before following Pope, Kiara hesitated a little longer, giving you a little smile before she left too. Leaving you with Rafe.

You sat there sobbing on your knees, watching Rafe still panting for air, with blood all over him.

“Shh. Its- Its ok” the sobs making it hard for you to form that sentence. You gently ran your hand over his chest, wiping your tears away with your other hand.

You couldn’t make out the reason that made you stay, but you knew seeing him like this made your heart ache.

Suddenly he reached for your hand and just held it, pressed against his chest.

His breathing started to calm down and he made eye contact with you, there was something sparkling in his eyes and you couldn’t figure out what it was.

You just gave him a warm smile.

He took one last deep breath and slowly tried to sit his aching body up, letting go of your hand.

“Careful” you said softly, putting your small hand on his back to help him sit up.

He let his head drop, not saying a word.

“Can I see?” You gently took a hold of his jaw, lifting his head to look at the wounds on his face. You leaned in closer to get a better look and Rafe just stared at you, scanning your face. When you noticed and your eyes met his, you pulled away. You gulped.

“Does it hurt a lot?” You asked quietly, feeling stupid after for asking that. Of course it hurt.

“No it’s fine.” His voice was low and raspy.

He slowly got up and his face contorted in pain. You got up with him attempting to get a hold of his arm to steady him, but he pulled away.

Slightly hurt by his rejection you took a step back.

“I don’t think you should be up, you probably have a concu-“

“I said I’m fine. Ok?” he snapped back.

You gulped and his behaviour hurt you, he realised you stayed for him. Right? Why was he acting so cold now?

“So what do you want in return for helping me? Money?” He said annoyed while rubbing his head.

You were taken aback by that question.

“A “thank you” will do” you shrug your shoulders and shook your head.

He scoffed.

“Yeah thanks. Not like I needed it”

He turned his back to you and made his way towards the door, you hesitated but followed. Was he serious?

���You should go home and let someone take care of your cuts” you mentioned while catching up to him.

“My dad kicked me out. I can’t go home.” He said dry while still walking away from you.

“Do you at least wanna call him?” You suggested innocently.

“He doesn’t care ok?” He stopped and turned around to yell at you.

You flinched at his sudden outburst.

You could see the pain in his eyes, but it wasn’t from the cuts, it was something way deeper.

“No one does.” He added before walking out the door.

“But-“

“Go home y/n” he didn’t even look at you.

You were still following him outside.

“Rafe-“

“Just leave! I’ll venmo you cash for your “hero act” alright?” He sat down at the dock that was right in front of the building. He rested his hands in his palms, not glancing at you once.

You stood there trying to blink away the tears that were forming in your eyes. You just risked losing one of your best friends for him and he acted like this. Now you felt stupid for caring, for staying with him and for trying to be nice to him.

“Fine” you said quietly and left.

You walked off and couldn’t stop yourself from crying. „What did you think? Why did I even try? He is RAFE“ you mumbled to yourself. „Gosh“ you stopped in your tracks, pressing your palms onto your eyes and took a deep breath. One last sob escaped your body before your breathing finally stabilised. You let your hands drop again and just stood there for a while. You didn’t walk off that far yet and suddenly you had the urge to turn around. You had this image of him sitting there alone, hurt, probably hating himself and scared to go home. It made you feel sick. You thought about all the people that had probably walked out of his life, because he acted exactly like this when they did something nice. And you knew he always claimed to be a „proactive“ type of person and believed he could handle everything. But you thought everyone needed at least one person in their life that will be there for them, no matter what, even Rafe. You decided you will try to be the person that stays.

So you took another deep breath and turned around, with fast steps you made your way back to him.

His head whipped up when he heard your footsteps and he frowned when he looked up at you. His hair parted in the middle and fell onto his forehead. The blood on his face had dried and even with the bruises and cuts, he was still handsome.

“I care.” You said standing in front of him.

“What?” He shook his head in confusion.

“I care about you” you repeated, feeling nervous because you just said that out loud and there was no turning back now.

His expression softened and he gulped. He watched you carefully, not taking his eyes of you. He scanned your whole body, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“And I’m not gonna leave. You think I would risk losing a friend that I’ve known my whole life, for someone I don’t care about? No. I’m staying until we get your face fixed up and until I can make sure you’re ok” you sat down next to him, looking at your feet dangling from the dock.

You could feel him staring at you, but you were to nervous to face him. Your heart was beating so fast, you were scared he could hear it. The silence was unbearable and you wished he would just say something. Anything.

He remained silent and took his eyes of you, looking down at his own feet.

You stared at the water and it felt like time just stopped, you wouldn’t be surprised if you would just wake up at any moment, realising it was just a dream.

You gave yourself an inner pep talk before deciding to just risk it all and leaned over to put your head on his shoulder. You felt him tense up beneath you and he let out a shaky breath. But he didn’t push you away or made any comment. Instead you felt him resting his head on yours too, leaning into your body more.

You felt warm and safe in his presents and you liked to believe he did too. You closed your eyes and now desperately wished this really wasn’t a dream.

Suddenly you felt him move and reach for your hand, he took your hand from your lab and intertwined his fingers with yours. He ran his thumb softly over your skin. You felt yourself blushing and hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“Thank you” he whispered. You felt the butterflies in your stomach and the heat rising to your cheeks even more.

“Of course Rafe” you whispered back and gave his hand a little squeeze, you could feel him smile against your head.

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

august 17, 2021 4:00 a.m. paradise hotel

three hours later

[grant] you know, i didn’t get a good start to dealing with the whole “my body is broken” thing.

[henry] huh? oh, sorry, i'm awake and heard you; i was just surprised.

[grant] the first time that, um, i got really sick after my sister died, everyone just thought i was mcfucking mentally losing it. i mean, i was, but also i could not get out of bed, could not walk, couldn’t hold a toothbrush even because my hands wouldn’t move…

[grant] and my parents, who are medical professionals, wouldn’t take me to any doctor because they thought i was melodramatic.

[henry] you missed two months of school. we went different schools but i remember that. i didn’t see you for that two months either.

[grant] they only ever took me because they got tired of dealing with me, and they were getting in trouble for me being truant. and what do you know? like every other kid with something wrong, the answer was growing pains. you're tall for your age, so that's it!

[henry] doctors are stupid sometimes.

[grant] tell me about it. i lived with two idiot doctors for eighteen years. the proof is in the pudding.

[grant] and then, uhh, there’s the whole…

[grant] the whole college thing.

[grant] did i ever tell you how i became an addict, bud?

[henry] you’ve never wanted to.

[henry] i assumed it was because people try to numb childhood trauma. and i could tell something was not right with the college hockey team situation, but i didn’t know what or if that was connected at all.

[henry] it could have come from anywhere. most everyone in college does drugs. i smoked a lot of weed.

[grant] it’s both of your assumptions. there were a lot of things i needed to suppress, and i didn’t know how to control myself after tasting the slightest bit of freedom from my parents. but also…

[grant] the dudes on the hockey team hated me except sebastian. i just didn’t click. i wasn’t the right kind of person to fit in that very dudebro jock locker room.

[grant] so, on one hand, i started on a bunch of party drugs and alcohol because i figured out that when i got fucked up out of my mind, they finally found me funny, and you know how i am.

[henry] you are really desperate for people to like you and for you to not feel like you're imposing.

[grant] it’s totally true. i need to be liked. and need is the right word. it’s not as bad now, i've grown out of it a bit, but still, the feeling is there. i need to be liked and to not be anyone's burden.

[grant] yet that’s not the whole story.

[grant] i was, um, well, also illegally prescribed a lot of painkillers.

[grant] by the team's medical people.

[grant] my health issues were already there, but playing a contact sport made it worse. i'm gonna be honest, i don’t remember what happened, but i got some kind of back injury, and i went right back to that state i was in after my sister died.

[grant] seriously, same stuff. couldn’t really get out of bed, couldn’t function. at least not without...

[henry] oh god. i don’t like the way this sounds.

[grant] i was naive enough to hope that people might do the right thing for me once in my life, so i told the medical staff, like, hey, i'm suffering, and i need help. and they just kind of, uh, waved me off and said their job was to patch me up so i could be on the ice, not fix me.

[grant] i was already trouble in all the staff's eyes because i was the odd one out in the locker room, and that's not looked upon well. so, in hindsight, i should have seen literally all the red flags or should have been brave enough to just break down and see a real doctor elsewhere again, but i didn’t.

[grant] anyway, the team staff offered me opioids and i gladly took them. and they kind of sort of barely worked. so i took more. and more and more, and i mixed them with all kinds of other substances. like, i should probably be dead from the amount of mixing i did or from just the sheer volume of drugs i took. also, no one gave a fuck how many times a week i came in to ask for drugs as long as i played hockey good enough.

[henry] and you were good.

[grant] still, the pills never genuinely made me feel better. they just got me high enough to forget about suffering. that makes sense now because i have a diagnosis and have heard nothing but anti-inflammatories are going to really work on resolving the whole pain thing. too late for that, though. i'm an addict. yes, am, not was, even if i'm sober. so, i won't touch them now. i haven't in years.

[grant] but there you go! there’s the story.

[grant] that feels supremely embarrassing to have told, but i wanted to get it off my chest. you are my best friend. more than that. you're family. you're my brother. i don’t have to be afraid to tell you anything and you deserve to know the truth.

[grant] especially because you've never shied away from honesty and you stuck with me that whole time. i don’t think most addicts are lucky enough to have friends and family that patient. and i tried many, many times to push everyone away so i could destroy myself in peace. i wouldn’t blame any of you if you had given up on me.

[grant] yeah. it's not very kind of me to receive that much, um, grace and love and forgiveness, and not at least reward and thank you with the truth. the full and honest truth, even if you didn't ask for it. oh, and a window into why i am the way i am, why i keep my mouth shut.

[bucknastysbabe]

♡ 1, 2, 3, 4 I wanna be a whore ♡

Rating: Explicit

Tags: SLUTTY HIMBO CAMBOY AEGON, Aemond can’t stand the little creacher, nerdy reader, pillow humping, oral sex on a toy, f!masturbation, cyber sex, open ending, Aegon’s a little slut for attention and we all know it, Post Nut Clarity, modern setting

A/N: I got horny and inspired from the gc again.

Enjoy: @godrakin @borikenlove @targbarbie @fairysluna @ilikeitbetterangsty @lovelykhaleesiii @sahvlren @xfancyuu

You were friends with Aemond. Study partners who chat and chain smoke more like. The pair of you were in grad school for Psychology. Which you had the idea Aemond chose this profession to figure out what the hell what wrong with his family. But that was none of your business of course.

His brother actually lived in the apartment…but you rarely saw Aegon. Aemond sniffed about his elder, “He’s a degenerate. Stay away lest you end up with a disease.” You thought his brother was cute, in a soft way. Although, Aemond had a point. It was obviously he liked to…go out. Get busy. It made your cheeks blush to think what he did.

Pausing on your research you looked up at Aemond. He was thoroughly annotating a book, pen scratching against the book. You looked around the spacious apartment, thinking. “Aemond.”

“Hm?,” he intoned, eyes not moving from the paper.

“Okay so I know you have a job and everything. Um. What does Aegon do for work?”

The pen stopped. Aemond’s lips quirked up a bit as he turned to you. He asked, “Do you really want to know? The more questions you ask about my darling brother the more you will need to take a shower.”

You scoffed and replied, “I’m not a septa. What is it? He’s an escort for old ladies?”

Aemond sighed, chuckling, “No. The wretch does ‘camming’. Gets on a live feed and acts like a slut for money.” He rolled his eye, “The bills are paid. I don’t dig deeper.”

You laughed airily, cheeks flushing up again. You stated, “You’re lying. Really?”

“When he’s not partying all night with god knows what the little bastard does that shit. Good thing I’m usually gone when it happens,” he shook his long hair, “Enough. I’ll get sick on my book.”

“Yeah, okay.”

You stared at your report for thirty minutes straight thinking about Aegon’s ‘job’. Imagining his pretty body spread out on a bed, moaning and sighing. Your cunt twitched. This was bad. Then your brain spat out the idea of Aegon’s lips wrapped around a dildo and you slammed the laptop shut.

“I need to go home. My cat is probably hungry.”

Aemond glanced up under his hair, smirking haughtily. He hummed, “Uh-huh. Have a good night. Text me about the next meeting, I was thinking we should consider a non-intrusive measures study.” You packed your shit haphazardly, nodding along and babbling, “Yep, sounds good, see ya later Aem.” He laughed again as you shuffled out.

You huffed once in the hallway. This little, fixation, needed to be gone. Aegon was by all means a fuck face from how Aemond explained it and even Daeron agreed when he visited a while back. You’d barely spoken a word to the man but he was pretty, okay?

Clicking the button to the elevator, it opened immediately, you stepping in with your head down— completely out of it. A yelp and very human body collided with your own, sending your drink and phone flying backwards. You stumbled back and apologized profusely, then choking on your spit when Aegon’s lidded eyes met your own.

He smirked, bending down to pick up your phone. Your mouth grew dry at the sight of his painted nails. Aegon rasped, “My bad. Aemond will make anyone run away without looking.” You smiled awkwardly, scooping your drink and replying, “No, of course not! Just been staring at my research all day.”

He eyed you up, violet eyes sparkling. Aegon giggled, “That sounds dreary! What are you going to do now?”

You blushed under his gaze and shrugged. “I- uh- Probably go feed my cat and have some wine and watch tv.” Aegon snickered further, “You’re as bad as Aem. Must be a psychologist thing. I have an idea for you.” Your brows raised up at his provocative tone.

“Aaaah-and what is that Aegon?,” you stuttered while shifting on your feet.

He held his hand out and asked, “Phone?”

Dumbstruck you unlocked the phone and gave it to him, lamely adding, “I’m not much of a party person, if that’s what you’re doing.” He shook his pale waves and hummed nonchalantly, “Just leaving something in your notes, check it later.”

He gave the phone back with a pretty smile, you practically mush under Aegon’s gaze. You stammered, “Ah- okay- s-see you later Aegon. Thanks!” You stepped into the elevator and pressed for ground floor. Aegon stood and chirped as the doors closed on him, “You won’t regret it!”

Immediately swiping open your phone and jamming on the notes app multiple times you read what the blonde had typed out. It was a website and a username, ‘dragonwh0r3’. You had to stifle a laugh at the silly name but you were most definitely tuning in to what Aegon was bringing to the table.

Hours later you were seated on the couch, big ass shirt on and pussy out. The vibrator laid next to your twitching fingers. You had typed in and found Aegon’s account, even paying the fee for the live watch. You’d been fucking wet since the elevator debacle, it was needed. A splurge, Aemond needn’t know. And wouldn’t know.

The feed started, your eyes roving across the the screen, rabbit clicking to make it full screen. Aegon was clad in silky pink shorts and had some sort of Angel outfit on. He looked angelic, especially with the outline of his pretty cock straining the silk. In a soft purr he spoke, “Heyyy babes, missed you all so much. By popular request I’m wearing the outfit ‘twinkfucker78’ sent me, thank you!” He grinned and blew a kiss at the camera.

You were going to fucking blow up. Spontaneous combustion. Nuclear fission. Fuck.

A couple of clinking noises filled the speakers, obviously fans who wanted attention or a request. Aegon’s violet eyes skimmed over the chat, his full lips quirking up teasingly. He ran a hand down his chest and giggled, “Lots of different ideas for tonight. Y’wanna defile the angel huh?” Loads more of coins jingling hit the chat.

Aegon laughed, “That’s a lot of money, hm, I do love having something in my mouth!” He leaned forward toward the camera and breathed, “I’ll have to go get my toys, you guys are something else tonight.” You almost whimpered when he disappeared, but Aegon came back with a rounded pillow with a dildo obscenely sticking out from the end.

He placed it on the bed, tutting, “Going to have to work for it tonight,” he pouted with fat lips, “You guys are mean.” The chat blew up again, more and more feeding in. Aegon stripped out of his silky shorts, exposing his pink cock and bubbly ass. You moaned, reaching for the vibrator. Aegon’s cock was so pretty, thick, and curved.

He straddled the pillow and you shivered realizing what was about to happen. As if Aegon read your mind he rambled, “So, yeah, m’gonna hump this pillow and suck a little. I love having things in and on my mouth, cock, pussy, fingers, whatever.” You watched with wide eyes, trembling with excitement.

Aegon lapped up on the pink cock, taking it time getting it wet, like it was real, hips rutting behind him. You grabbed your phone to take a picture of the credit QR code like a madwoman, Aegon’s slurps and moans echoing in your living room. You gave no fucks dropping 50 and typing haphazardly, “You possibly can’t fuck my pussy that slow. Speed it up, Angel.”

Your face flushed harder, panting, and glad you picked some dumbass username. Aegon was moaning around the head of the cock, watery eyes flickering up to the screen. His lips split around the lurid pink, pulling off with a line of drool. The blonde panted in a high tone, “Mhm, someone’s needy? You want me to fuck your sweet pussy faster? Guys m’so tireddd though, feel like being lazy.”

You didn’t have to drop any money this time, a cacophony of clinking filling the room. Aegon rolled his eyes and began to move faster, plump lips obscenely stretched. He whined softly, eyes fluttering. Fuck, he was gorgeous. Aegon pumped his pretty pale hips harder, gagging around the fake cock, drooling.

Aegon whined, “Fuck, wish this was your cunt, bet it’d be so warm n’ tight hngh!”

You had the vibe on your clit and those purple eyes looked like they were on you, and you only. You cried out and shivered, goosebumps erupting over your skin. You typed again with shaking hands, praying he’d see it, “Slutty boy all you think about is getting your dick wet? Already whining on a pillow lol.”

It probably would get lost in a flurry of comments.

Aegon didn’t lose it apparently. His body drew taught, milky thighs flexing as he moaned gutturally. The blonde had the dildo sliding on his flushed cheeks as he rasped, “One- hah- of you thinks I can’t fuck?” One of your legs was haphazardly thrown to the side at Aegon’s drawl, “Baby, I’d fuck you whining like a bitch and you’d still see stars.”

You seized up and came around the vibrator, howling in pleasure. Legs shaking, eyes watering, absolutely earth shattering orgasm. The thought of this perfect, slutty angel fucking you was too much. You laid back on the couch, watching him messily suck the cock while practically bouncing on the pillow. He whined and squirmed, growing close, popping off the fake cock to whine.

“Oh god, close, gonna cum so hard baby, oh!,” he whimpered shakily, eyes clenching shut as he shook. Aegon leaned back to paint his soft tummy and the pillows with cum, groaning and tossing pretty platinum hair around. The chat roared with more clinking, you an absolute noodle by now.

Aegon shuddered one more time, panting out, “Mmm- fuck guys. See you tomorrow?”

He rolled on his side, wide eyes closer to the screen, lashes wet. Aegon cooed, “Thanks again for making this slutty baby cum and eat some dinner. Love you guys, remember my prices for private vids are linked on my page. Bye!” The blonde blew a kiss and the screen went dark.

You looked up at the ceiling and groaned, “Holy goddamn fucking shit! I just came to Aemond’s brother! The dumb slutty one!”

Post nut clarity was a bitch.

Your phone vibrated. Rifling around you picked it up, seeing an unknown number. Sleepily swiping it open your eyes widened dramatically.

“y don’t u just cum to my room and ill show you how i fuck next time u wanna be boring w aem?”

Well. Aemond would just have to get over it.

“Sure. Can’t wait. Bad grammar though.”

[chaoscheebs]

It's Midnight, Cinderella, chapter 5

(Chapter 1) - (Chapter 2) - (Chapter 3) - (Chapter 4) - (Chapter 5) - (Fic Tag)

--------

Mokuba entered his brother’s office to said brother cackling evilly at his computer. Well, that’s a hell of a way to start the workday. “Does this mean you found the guy, big brother?”

Seto stood up, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Not yet, but I found the e-mail address of one of the women who was talking to the playboy the man came in with. If I can get his name from her, the rest should fall into place.”

“Just make sure to come up with a good excuse for e-mailing her; you don’t want to come across as a creep,” Mokuba warned.

Seto just waved him off. “Yes, yes, I know. I already have a plan for that.”

“Which is?”

“The man mentioned a game I’m assuming the playboy was responsible for, but I can’t remember the name of it,” Seto answered with a scowl, resenting the fact that he let himself be distracted by the man’s charms. Remembering the stupid game he mentioned probably would have saved days of searching. “I’m simply going to ask her about that and pretend I’m interested in learning more about it.”

Mokuba nodded. “Sounds reasonable, as long as she’s not hoping for a business deal with him.”

“From what I heard, they probably weren’t talking business when I saw them together; I’m willing to take the chance,” Seto said with a shrug. “Besides, most people know better than to try to compete against me anyway.”

“Mm-hm.” Mokuba, looking less than impressed, walked around to his brother’s side of the desk, and stole the chair his brother vacated earlier. “Move over; I’ll take care of the e-mail.”

Seto, however, refused to budge. “I can handle it; get out of my chair.”

Mokuba looked up at him and raised a single eyebrow. “Big brother, I love you, but you don’t know the first thing about charming information out of a woman.”

“And you do?”

“More than you; I am the cute brother here, after all,” Mokuba said, stubbornly reaching out for the keyboard and pulling it closer to him. “What’s her e-mail address?”

“The man at the party thought I was cute,” Seto said, one hand on the keyboard trying to drag it back towards himself, before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth. He quickly realized his error and covered his mouth with his free hand, eyes darting away.

“He thinks you’re cute, huh?” Mokuba replied, grinning up at Seto. “Guess that means we really have to get this done with delicacy so we can get you reunited, then~”

Seto turned his back on Mokuba, hand still over his mouth, muffling his next words. “I said nothing, you heard nothing, nothing was said.”

“Sure, sure~” Mokuba said cheerily. “Anyway, her e-mail address?” Seto grumbled a bit, but eventually muttered a Kmail account address. “Thanks. Don’t worry, I’ll get the name from her, no problem, I promise!”

“Please do,” Seto said, finally regaining a bit of composure. “I want this entire debacle to draw to a close as soon as possible.”

“Because you want to see him again that badly, big brother~?”

Seto raised his hand to cover his face, the red tinge to his ears still visible. “Just send the damn e-mail, Mokuba.”

Mokuba kindly stopped teasing his brother there and got to work. It’s hard work, tightening the noose on the “mystery man”, but one way or another, it was going to end soon.

--------

The bell at the top of the game store door jingled. “Grandpa, I’m home!” Yugi announced, before doing a double-take and adding, “Jounouchi?!”

Both men in question were, in fact, out on the sales floor, the latter helping the former place things on one of the higher shelves.

“Ho ho, welcome home, Yugi!” his grandpa brightly greeted him.

“Hey, Yuug!” Jounouchi said, clapping his hands together to get dust off of them. “Yer gramps said he needed a lil’ extra help out today an’ I was free, so here I am!”

Yugi smiled. “Ah, OK! Thanks for helping out; we appreciate it.”

“’Ey, not prob, man! Just happy I was available,” Jounouchi said with a little half-salute.

“Oh, Yugi!” Yugi’s grandpa interrupted, slipping behind the register counter. He bent down to pull up what looked like an ordinary Amazon box, which he then set on the counter. “By the way, a box came in for you; why don’t you go take it upstairs?”

Yugi stared at the box, a chill running through him as he remembered the last time he got a surprise box. “… I didn’t order anything.”

He then felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I got yer back if it’s anything weird again.”

Yugi placed his hand over Jounouchi’s. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Yugi’s grandpa just laughed at their worries. “Ho ho ho, I’m pretty sure it’s safe, boys; it just sounds like a bunch of plastic!” he said, shaking the box to make whatever plastic bits were in there rattle loud enough to hear.

“GRANDPA, NO!”

“YO, BE CAREFUL WIT’ DAT!”

Yugi and Jounouchi both shouted in sync and rushed to the counter, Jounouchi getting there first and snatching the package out of the old man’s hand. He passed it to Yugi and said, “How ‘bout we go open this upstairs?” He cast a look at Yugi’s grandpa and said, “Yer good for now, right? Don’t need anything else?”

Yugi’s grandpa shot Jounouchi a meaningful look back. “No, no, that should be everything for now. Go have fun, boys, ho ho ho~”

Yugi looked to his grandpa, then to Jounouchi, and back again, confused. Something was definitely up, but honestly, this worked out fine for him. It’d be harder to talk himself out of talking to someone this way, ultimately. “… sure, grandpa. Let’s go, Jounouchi.”

--------

Several moments and a little work with an open pair of scissors later…

“These are…”

“… infinity cubes?”

Jounouchi finished Yugi’s sentence stared at the contents of the open box. Well, at least it didn’t look to be anything dangerous, although they thought that about that tape too…

Yugi opened the plastic bag the toys were in, picked one up, and began to fiddle with it. “Now I know for sure this isn’t something I bought and forgot about; I always break these—” His hands stilled for a moment, sudden realization hitting him. He searched the box more thoroughly and under the bag was a packing slip with a note.

“’Break as many as you need to’? The heck?” Jounouchi read over Yugi’s shoulder. He then noticed Yugi’s hands began to shake, Yugi’s shoulders soon following suit as Yugi grit his teeth and crumpled the note, though by accident or on purpose was beyond Jounouchi.

“You…” Yugi hissed low like an angry alley cat. “You…” He balled up the already partly-crumpled slip of paper, drew his hand back like he was about to throw it, but stopped and started to lower his hand. He would have succeeded in doing so as well, has Jounouchi not grabbed his throwing arm.

“Dude, if throwin’ the thing’ll make ya feel better, throw the thing,” Jounouchi told him.

Slipping free of Jounouchi’s loose grasp, Yugi lowered his hand to chest level, looked down at the paper, and after a moment of thought, pulled back and hurled it across the room. “HOW DARE YOU?!” he yelled.

He grabbed one of the fidget toys out of the box and threw that too. “NOW YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME?!?”

CLACK. Another cube hit the wall.

“AFTER ALL THIS TIME?!?”

CLACK.

“AFTER…! AFTER EVERYTHING…!!!”

A shrill screech of frustration, followed by another loud CLACK.

Shoulders heaving with each heavy breath, he glared at the small pile of junk opposite him until he collected himself.

“Feelin’ better?” Jounouchi asked.

“A little.” Yugi then dropped back onto the bed in a sitting position, then flopped over on his side, barely missing the open box sitting on it.

Jounouchi picked up the box and set it on Yugi’s desk, then pulled up a chair and sat down, facing Yugi. “Right, now that that’s outta the way, what’s up, Yuug? I ain’t seen ya that pissed off in a while.”

With a groan, Yugi rolled onto his back and pulled his pillow over his eyes. “It’s… a long story. A long, stupid, stupid story.”

“I got time.” Jounouchi leaned in closer. “For real, man, spill. Y’always bottle things up an’ it ain’t good for ya. Just let it out.”

Yugi gripped the pillow tighter and let out a long, low, unhappy groan. “… all right…” he finally says, “but it really is really, really stupid.” He hesitated a moment longer, heaved a sigh, and slowly rose into a sitting position, setting the pillow back in its place behind him afterward. “… OK, so, I think I told you about that fancy masquerade party thing Otogi invited me to, right?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well… I met someone while I was there,” Yugi said. “Or should I say, I met someone I already knew who didn’t recognize me? Which I’m honestly still pretty pissed off about? Like how could he not--” He reached for the box of fidget toys, forgetting the box had been moved already. Realizing his mistake, he withdrew his hand, drawing it to his chest and looking down as he clenched it into a fist.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Jounouchi replied, offering him one of the cubes.

Yugi took the cube, looked at it for a moment, and decided to busy himself folding it in on itself over and over. “Anyway, he approached me first, and it was really clear he didn’t recognize me at all, so I thought, hey, let’s see how long it’ll take for him to notice? Just a little harmless fun, y’know?”

“And he didn’t notice.”

Yugi practically leapt off the bed and slammed his hands down on his desk. “He didn’t notice AT ALL! Even after I dropped major hints! I even mentioned wanting to beat someone with a dragon-focused deck and NOTHING!”

Jounouchi blinked twice, then scowled as the realization hit. “This is totally about Kaiba, ain’t it? Y’need me to sock him in the face for ya?”

“Wha—NO!” Yugi backpedalled, waving his hands in front of himself. “This isn’t—this isn’t a ‘need to punch him’ situation! He didn’t even do anything other than be oblivious! I was the one who—uh…” Yugi faltered, balling his hands into fists as the memories washed over him again. “I was the one who really fucked up here, so don’t be mad at him for this, OK? I… let things go too far, and I know it.”

Jounouchi tensed, his eyes narrowing. “Exactly how did you ‘let things go to far’?”

Yugi sat back down on the bed, slouching sadly forward. “I… So, I told you he didn’t recognize me at all, right? So I, well, kinda took the opportunity to, uh, flirt a little? It was kinda cute to see him that oblivious and all.”

“Not the word I’d use t’describe Kaiba, but go on.”

Yugi sighed. This is why he didn’t want to talk about this with Jounouchi.. “Anyway, somehow, it led to a card game, which I really should have figured was his way of flirting back, and, well…" He stopped to take a deep breath. “Well, he said if I could pull together a deck that could actually challenge him on the fly like that, I stand a chance at defeating my ‘mystery rival’. Which… was really nice to hear? So I sort of kissed him on the cheek for that.”

“An’ he got mad about that?”

Yugi averted his eyes. “… he did not. In fact, uh, he kind of kissed me? And, uh… well…”

Jounouchi leaned forward in his seat, elbows digging into his legs and his hands folded horizontally, blocking view of his mouth. “Yuug. Buddy. Bro. Pal. Please tell me this ain’t leadin’ to what I’m thinkin’ it’s leadin’ to.”

“OK, I won’t.”

They sat in silence for a while after that, Jounouchi unmoving and unblinking as Yugi, still refusing to meet his friend’s eyes and getting increasingly red in the face. In the end, however, Yugi caved first. “I mean, look, he was like the fantasy for years, OK?! I know I should’ve said something, but, well…!” He hesitated, hands gesturing wordlessly in the air. “It was… nice to be wanted and acknowledged for once. Once he started getting handsy, that was it, it was over, brain dot exe has crashed, dick dot exe is now running.”

That actually got a snicker out of Jounouchi. “His nerd shit is rubbin’ off on you, Yuug.”

“More like rushing coding in the middle of the night to get out short games out for game jams is a bad influence on me.” Yugi sighed, then picked up the blue mask off the headboard of his bed, twiddling it back and forth in between his fingers. “But anyway, now I have no idea how to even talk to him about this, or if I even should, y’know?”

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “Y’didn’t talk to him that night?” Yugi remained silent, the mask in his hand suddenly seeming really interesting to him. “Yuug. Please tell me you didn’t hit it an’ quit it with Kaiba.”

“… more like I hit it, then fled like a scared rabbit in the middle of the night once I was sure he was asleep. Also, I’m pretty sure he still doesn’t know it was me.”

They sat in silence for a moment again, Yugi visibly sweating as he raised the mask just high enough to cover half his face. “You’re totally gonna die, y’know that, right? It’s gonna be Death-T 2.0: Revengeance if you don’t do somethin’ here,” Jounouchi said, not waiting for Yugi to continue this time.

Yugi slumped forward, his hand dropping in the same motion. “I know, I know, but how am I even supposed to bring his up to him? Or should I even bring it up? It’s not like he’s actively looking for me, right?”

"Maybe he ain’t,” Jounouchi said, “but even if he ain’t, the longer you don’t say nothin’, the madder he’s gonna be when he does find out. An’ he probably will; you know your luck, man.”

Yugi winced. “Ugh, you’re probably right.” He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out. “… I’ll talk to him tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll still, y’know, have a job afterward?”

“I mean, you could always take over the game shop, man,” Jounouchi said, shrugging.

With a dead, distant stare, Yugi replied in something that was not quite a hiss, but not quite a whisper, “I am not taking over the game shop; I have already done my time in retail hell.”

Jounouchi recoiled like he took psychic damage from that. “It’s kinda terrifyin’ when you talk like that, bro.”

“A life working retail forever is terrifying,” Yugi countered.

“All the more reason t’get this straightened out an’ fast, then.” Jounouchi ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head. “Seriously, bro, you’re already a trouble magnet, and now you’re dickin’ down the damn trouble. You got any sort of plan of attack for this?”

“Uuuuuuh… Word vomit an apology and pray it works?”

“Yugi…”

Yugi threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “I’ve been trying to think of something better! Just nothing sounds good after I write it down or try to rehearse something!” He dragged a hand down his face. “I just… you know I’m not good with people…”

“Yer better than you think you are; you just overthink things too much,” Jounouchi said. “C’mon, we’ll figure somethin’ out together, OK? I’ll be yer soundin’ board!”

Yugi weakly laughed. “… Yeah, we’ll figure it out together. Thanks, Jounouchi. I know this can’t be easy for you, because of who’s involved…”

“Can’t say I’m a fan a’ that jerk, yeah, but you’re the important thing here, y’know?” He held his fist out to Yugi, waiting for a bump back. “We got this.”

Yugi completed the fist bump. “Ha… Yeah, we got this.”

--------

Unfortunately, as time would soon tell, they did not, in fact, have this.

[iprefertheterminsane]

Take me Home (Where I Belong)

I'm almost finished with my domestic perryshmirtz 5+1, which I'm gonna upload to ao3 soon so here's a tease in the form of the first chapter!

Rating: G

Relationship: Perry the Platypus/Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Tags: Human Perry the Platypus, pre-slash, domesticity, Perry's moved in before they even stopped calling themselves enemies, it's normal to want to kiss the homies sometimes, right?, long suffering Charlene, Perry's got 4 kids actually and that fourth one is Vanessa, haha Perry the Platypus you are dating my father.

Even after having his plans foiled for the day, Heinz doesn’t let him drive home.

“Look at yourself, Perry the Platypus, you’re barely standing on your own two feet.” The scientist points out. He’s right, of course, not that Perry will let him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. It seems to mean less than little; Heinz had already buckled him back into the passenger seat of his truck with the tenacity of a father, and Perry is just barely conscious enough to comply- a bit dumbly, but the taller man does not seem to mind-without much of a fuss. He’s still talking, naturally. Perry has gotten so used to the chatter the droning had begun to take on an ambient sort of feeling, like brown noise. “-practically an accident waiting to happen. Honestly, you’d think Francis would want to try keeping his best agent alive-that agency is gonna do you in better than I would, one day.”

Perry considers giving up a token protest-he had gotten here with the hoverjet on auto-pilot; the routes between the lair and Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. has long been keyed in as his defaults-but decides otherwise. He really was quite exhausted, surely it would be no bother to let Heinz drive him back to Evil Inc. where he’s parked. Why waste fuel when a cheaper of transport was on offer? The Major has particularly been going on and on lately about turning the office more green and saving energy, no doubt one of their latest efforts to cut costs-so he was doing the agency a favor, really. He trusted that Heinz was a reliable enough driver when they’re neither forced to undergo the serial killing obstacle course that was the Drusselsteinian Driving Test Route.

He would sleep in just until Heinz gets them back home. Decision made, he lets himself rest his eyes.

00..00

“Up, up, up, Perry the Platypus you don’t really expect me to carry you up the stairs do you-,”

“-Ok, here we go, sit here-no, no, don’t lay down just yet you need to take your shoes off Perry the Heathenpuss-,”

“-I am not letting you sleep in the corset of a waistcoat Perry the Platypus, wow is this Kevlar? No wonder you can stand my Titanium punches-Ok uppies, I should probably help you take this tie off too, huh? They could strangle you in your sleep, y’know, nuff said, if nuff was-y’know, me-it’s so weird to see you so biddable, Perry the Platypus-,”

“-ok, last thing Perry the Platypus, yes I promise, just need to help you get under the covers, alright? Now, isn’t that better? Aw, look at how cute you look, Perry the Platypus, like a little angel-,”

“Good night, Perry the Platypus.”

00..00

Perry snorts awake in the penthouse guest room with the covers pulled up to his chin, blinking against the light of the setting sun from behind the half-shaded curtains facing east of Danville.

He isn’t sure what’s woken him, but finds himself unable to go back to sleep. This was probably a good thing-he’s never stayed behind in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. for so long without making his excuses before, and the clock shows that he’s nearly late for dinner back at the Flynn-Fletcher’s household. He’ll have no trouble flying home now, he feels perfectly well-rested.

Rising to his feet, he finds himself underdressed. His hat rests on the right-hand nightstand, right next to his sleeping head, and the rest of his clothes-vest, tie and shoes-draped carefully over the chair that looks like it’s been dragged over from the kitchen, positioned right next to the room’s entryway, deliberately left ajar. He shoves the hat back over his head and toes his shoes back on, but blinks deliberately at the rest of his attire. They are, of course, crucial parts of his armour, but what was to fear for stepping out without them? Heinz’s scheme was thwarted for the day, and lest the man was suddenly overcome with another plan while Perry was out, which he sincerely doubts, Heinz would not have reason to attack him out of the blue, and certainly not out of armour. He was obsessed with playing fair, and acting by the book. As far as they are both concerned, they were now both off the clock.

Perry decides to take the clothes and fold them over his arm, but he steps out without putting them on- the vest tends to cinch, which he tolerates, but not without reason-and goes to search for his host to make his goodbyes.

It’s easy enough to find him; Heinz is in the kitchen, naturally, making dinner for himself, with Norm at the dining table carefully slicing vegetables and making prep; something doughy, it seems. Perry wonders if it’s pie-Heinz makes wonderful doonkleberry pie. He rests his hips against the doorjamb, and chatters his teeth to make his presence known, a noise Heinz is well familiar with. It cuts off the man’s mindless chatter, and he beams. Perry can’t help his own answering smile.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus!” He crows. “Just in time for dinner! I don’t suppose you mind setting the table, just need to give me another couple of minutes-,” he cuts himself off as he sees Perry shaking his head, and Perry signs, regretfully, that he has to make himself scarce.

“YOU AREN’T STAYING FOR DINNER?” Norm asks, as despairingly as his cheerful-sounding robotic voice could make it sound. His mouth is down turned.

“Yes, it’s already so late, Perry the Platypus, surely your report could wait a couple of more hours.” Heinz adds, cajoling. “I worry you know, a man has to eat homemade meals every couple of days, else you tend to get sick to the stomach. I don’t know if you cook. I’ve made lemon pie for dessert.” Heinz sing-songs enticingly at the end, and Perry has to admit it’s persuasive. The man really does have a knack for baking.

But he’s already missed out on family dinner yesterday, due to making up for Agent G’s maternity leave, and the Flynn-Fletchers would worry if he missed out on another. He knows for a fact Linda’s made her award-winning meatloaf tonight, and hedgehog cake for supper. He’d hate on missing out on the treat for the world.

He’s halfway through realizing he’s said it out loud, ‘I have homemade meals at home,’ before he freezes, taking in Norm’s and Heinz’s curious blinks, and his hands pause abruptly, letting the sentence trail off awkwardly. He could see from the look on Heinz’s face that he was curious, mouth opening as if to pose a question, but seems to ultimately decide against it. They’ve both scrambled enough of the expected norms of their Villain-to-Spy nemesis-ship today, and crossing the line to figuring out Perry’s home life seems a midge too far, even for them.

Heinz hums, and changes the subject. “Are you really driving home fully dressed like that?”

Perry looks down at himself. ‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’

“Nothing, which is my point. You could just leave them here, you know, they’re all dirty, Norm can run them through with the rest of the day’s laundry, and you can pick them up tomorrow. It’s weird to see you all dressed down, you know, but not bad weird, a good weird, makes me feel like a good host. That’s how you know you’re an adult sometimes, ugh, just listen to me talk about good hosting etiquette, Vanessa never has to worry about that sort of thing you know, even though she should. I hope Charlene’s teaching her.”

Perry’s wandered over to the coffee machine at this point, using context clues to figure out how it works and avoiding the large red button in a transparent case on the right-hand side of it’s case. He taps it, and churrs again.

“Oh, coffee! That’s a good idea, Perry the Platypus, some strong caffeine to help drive you through that traffic, I bought this travel mug for you!” Heinz hands him a short and stout chrome and teal travel mug with a silicone top and an anti-slip base. “I saw that color while scrolling through Etsy while I was looking at bento-boxes for this scheme I’m cooking up next week-oop, forget I said that Perry the Platypus, no spoilers! It reminded me of you! But the travel mugs aren’t related, it was just in the same shop, I love travel mugs, especially these newer novelty ones, you know there were never any novelty items back in Drusselstein, on account of the state largely frowning on any sort of color or patterns-,”

Perry churrs again, twisting the top of his cup back on and pointing out the door. Heinz visibly deflates.

“Oh, right, yes, leaving, of course, Perry the Platypus, let me just let this simmer and walk you to the door-and leave the clothes with Norm, Perry the Platypus, I’ve told you, you can come to fetch them tomorrow.”

Heinz helps hold the mug for him while he gets himself settled back in the hoverjet, and the clock on his dash informs him he should reach the house just in time to reach the Flynn Fletchers begin dinner if he rushed. Heinz leans forward to hand him the travel mug, leaving them close, just close enough that Perry feels the ridiculous urge to-maybe-leave a soft kiss on the other man’s cheek, the way Lawrence does when Linda was about to leave the house for the errand of the day.

Heinz doesn’t seem to notice, mumbling about setting the mug just right into the cupholder behind the handlebar, because it was hot, Perry the Platypus, we wouldn’t want a repeat of the driving test incident, do we? When Perry switches the jet on, Heinz waves. Perry, inexplicably, tips his hat back in return.

It isn’t until he’s 15 minutes away from the house that he realizes he really had left his vest and tie behind at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. He hopes Heinz doesn’t plan to do anything inadvisable with them.

For some reason, Perry doesn’t believe that he will.

[punsmaster69]

4/NOV/20XX

[It's Sans' handwriting. It's a bit messy at points, appearing as if the book was on an unsteady surface.]

heya.

been a minute, huh?

a lotta minutes, actually.

about two day's worth of 'em.

papyrus finally ungrounded me from writing.

got my phone back, too.

on the condition that i, uh.

stop setting alarms.

won't go into detail about it.

besides, i gotta talk about 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, right?

——

really do start a lot of these entries with 'woke up in x place, with x thing'.

....

it's another one like that.

this time, next to tori.

incredibly, i woke up before her.

the blanket over us looks like one of papyrus' spares.

haven't checked the time, but it must be early b——

[The line runs off the side of the page.]

....

hold on, i'm only able to use one hand, and this thing keeps slipping off my lap.

as much as i don't want to, gonna see if i can move my hand without waking her up.

——

[The writing returns to normal.]

ok. good now.

now that my nausea's subsided some, i realize i'm pretty hungry. but..

don't wanna move from this any more.

...

since she's still asleep.

——

"SANS, I-"

"(shh.)"

"(OH, SORRY.)"

"(I'M LEAVING TO TRAIN WITH UNDYNE. ACTUALLY, UNDYNE SAID SHE JUST WANTS TO TALK TODAY.)"

"(WHICH ISN'T TRAINING.)"

"(BESIDES THE POINT. I'M LEAVING, AND MS. TORIEL PROMISED TO TAKE CARE OF YOU TODAY!")

"(i need a babysitter?)"

"(IT'S FOR YOUR SAFETY!!)"

"(YOU WERE... STILL SORT OF WOBBLY, YESTERDAY.)"

"(DO YOU NEED ANYTHING BEFORE I LEAVE?)"

"(nope, i'm good-)"

"(actually. could you hand me what i didn't finish eating last night?)"

"(you don't need to heat it up.)"

"(BUT-)"

"(paps, you should probably go before undyne gets mad at you, too.)"

"(besides, i like cold stew.)"

"(...ALRIGHT. IF YOU SAY SO.)"

after handing me a spoon and my half-bowl of beef stew, papyrus nodded goodbye and dashed out the door.

——

.....

it's real quiet.

not used to being up as early as papyrus usually leaves for.

just me and... sleeping tori.

she must be comfortable.

our couch 𝙞𝙨 pretty nice.

——

couldn't help but wonder who's watching tori's kids, so i messaged frisk.

in response, i got a picture of grillby in tori's kitchen. he's handing flowey something.

at the bottom of the picture was frisk, blurry and way too close to the camera.

"why're you so close"

they then sent a picture of them even closer, equally blurry.

i sent a blurry close-up back.

"Why are YOU so close?"

"yeah"

"Yeah."

"cool"

"Cool."

that kid's going places.

——

"Your influence is rubbing off on me, it seems. I am usually one to be up sooner!"

tori jolted up.

"Ah! I did not mean to keep you in one place this whole time."

"not like i was going anywhere."

i wanted to lean back against her, for some reason.

...

nope.

"What is it that you do all day, when you are stuck inside like this?"

"sleep."

"...I think we have done plenty of that."

"Surely that is not all?"

"me and paps usually play games or something."

"been getting real into this puzzle one."

"do you wanna play something?"

"I am not very good at games..."

"i'll pick somethin' easy."

——

"This is turning out to be quite the house!"

"if you ignore the dirt floor."

"..And the lack of proper opening doors."

"at least we have windows."

"..holes for windows."

"Which one is your room?"

"this one."

"..You have made your walls dirt, as well."

"only the finest of materials in this house."

"Of course."

"here, i made a bed for you."

"Oh! Do we need to sleep in this one? I think we may have missed a few nights."

"nah, it's for setting your respawn point."

"...?"

"when we die, we'll be here instead of really far away."

"I see."

she stared at the bed.

"....."

"It is just the one?"

"mine's in my inventory."

"Please, place it down! Set your, 'respawn point,' in the house with me."

i placed it in the corner of my dirt room.

"....."

she moved hers into there as well.

"........"

"What? Surely you did not expect me to sleep in the living room."

"...side by side?

"The dual bed looks much more comfortable, does it not?"

"i can make you another one, if you want."

"........"

"No."

"This arrangement is good, I think."

"Space efficient!"

"....ok."

——

"Sans."

"yep?"

"Why are there holes everywhere?"

"avoiding death."

"You did not fix them."

"i'll get around to it."

"....."

"Nevermind."

"nevermind?"

"I am tempted to change our living arrangement."

"this poor dog would grow up in a broken home."

"You are its father now too?"

"you're its father?"

"Ha! Sure. Yes, I am the father."

"......"

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU EVEN DOING?"

"O-Oh! Papyrus!"

"didn't hear you come in."

"YES, WELL, YOU SEEMED QUITE OCCUPIED WITH.. WHATEVER THIS IS."

"I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT."

"I'M GOING TO GET CHANGED, AND THEN I'LL BE RIGHT BACK DOWN."

i waited until paps was fully in his room.

then i ran inside, took my bed, and placed it a space away.

tori ran her character up to me (with the default skin) and punched me in my (also-default) face.

"ow."

"It is in the game!"

"would you punch me if you could?"

"No!"

"I would do this."

and she moved her character closer, nearly face-to-face with mine.

struggling to use the hotbar, she eventually threw a flower at me.

silly, sure.

but it..

made me really happy.

....

wish it didn't.

——

"Papyrus is here to watch you now, so.."

"...going home?"

"Unfortunately."

"THANK YOU FOR KEEPING AN EYE ON HIM, MS. TORIEL."

"Of course. It was a pleasure."

"Sans, thank you for playing with me. I had a lot of fun!"

"Even if we did not actually accomplish very much."

"come by anytime you wanna play again."

——

she messaged me to ask if i ended up moving the bed back or not.

....

more space efficient like that, anyway.

[neon-vocalist]

hey guys! chapter 4 out now! there were a couple odd translations in this one, so i did my best, but for the lines that i really changed, i added puroeng's original translation in the notes just in case. here's the doc, here's the video, and the script will be below the cut!

[Scene: Kamikou courtyard, the day of the festival] Unknown female voice, offscreen: Oh… Mizuki!

Mizuki: Ah..?

Footsteps. Kanade and Mafuyu appear onscreen.

Mizuki: Kanade, Mafuyu! Welcome!

Kanade, standing next to Mafuyu: Ah, um… thank you for inviting us.

Mafuyu: There’s a surprising amount of people… it’s a lot…

Mizuki: Unlike MGA {Note: Miyamasuzaka Girls’ Academy}, our school doesn’t require a ticket to enter, so quite a lot of people come! Our classroom has been full since morning!

Kanade: I see… Ah, by the way, will it be okay if you don’t help out your classmates?

Mizuki: Yeah! I worked morning shift at the reception, so I’m free now!

Kanade: I see. Good to hear that.

Mafuyu looks from side to side. Mafuyu: …Maybe Ena is still helping out her classmates.

Mizuki: Probably! …I— still haven’t had any contact with her, so I don’t really know—!

Kanade: In that case, it could be quicker to go to her class stall directly.

Mizuki: Ah… you’re right! Then, text her ‘we’re coming to you,’ and—

Footsteps.

Ena, offscreen: Sorry for the wait!

Mizuki gulps, looking anxiously for Ena. Mizuki: (...We’re not talking right away. Act natural. As usual.) Mizuki: …Huh…

A dramatic drum boom plays as Ena appears onscreen for the first time, frowning, in a bright red shirt that reads AUTHENTIC IKAYAKI 3-D. There are pulsing rays around her to emphasise her presence. Mizuki looks at her in confusion.

Mizuki: A…authentic ikayaki?   {Note: Puroeng chooses to translate “honmono,” 本物, as “real,” which, to be fair, is a legitimate translation— the word can mean authentic, genuine, or something akin to the English “real deal.” I prefer “authentic” here. Also, translation softwares all seem to think “honmono” means “serious,” and I laughed for a good 5 minutes at Ena’s shirt hypothetically saying “SERIOUS GRILLED SQUID” before I sought a better translation.}

Kanade: That’s very… straightforward…

Ena: Ahhhh, jeez! This is why I hated this T-shirt! The whole class got carried away and made this design…

Mizuki: Ahhh… uhhh... well… well it’s not so bad, kind of…

Ena: Hey! Such half-hearted comments are so annoying! If you’re going to tease me, at least do it properly!

Mizuki: Eeeh? You’re making no sense~!!

Kanade: …But you look good in that T-shirt, Ena…

Ena: Eh..!!

Mafuyu: …She’s flustered.

Mizuki: She’s happy about the compliment, but being in that T-shirt… that confused face, huh~

Ena: Hey, now! I don’t need you to speak for me! Anyway… Now that we’re all here, let’s get going! Where should we go first?

Mizuki: Mmm… Ena’s class’ ikayaki stall is interesting, but… It’s not time for lunch yet, so let’s check out places as we go!

Kanade: Yeah…

Mizuki: Well then, let’s go! Today… let’s have fun!

Ena pauses, looking pensively at Mizuki. Ena: (...Mizuki seems… a bit different. Surely… it’s related to what they sent me yesterday. I’m curious too, but… I’ve decided to wait for them properly. Let’s all have fun together today.)

[Scene: Kamikou hallway, decorated for the festival]

Students’ voices and footsteps roar in the background. Mizuki stands, concerned.

Mizuki: (...I guess it’s still scary to go around the school with them…. But…)

Kanade: Um, what they're doing here is—?

Mafuyu: It says “Everyone’s transformation SHOW!”?

Female voice, offscreen: Ah, Mizuki—! Yoisaki-san and everyone too!

Mizuki: Eh…

An stands next to Akito. An is smiling and waving, and Akito stands beside her with a typical unbothered expression. An: Everyone, welcome to class 2-A!

Mizuki: Ahhh, it’s An and everyone—!

Kanade: Shiraishi-san, it’s been a while!

Akito, to Ena: So you really came…

Ena: That doesn’t hurt anyone, does it? I’m a student here, after all.

Akito: I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.

Mizuki, to An: Ahaha, so how is your class doing? Getting many customers?

An: Yeah!! It’s packed!!

Mafuyu: What exactly is your class doing?

An: It’s a photo booth where you can dress in all sorts of costumes! Some of my classmates love making clothes, so they created all kinds of outfits!

Kanade: Wow… there are so many different kinds of clothes…   {Note: This is probably the translation of mine that strays the most from Puroeng’s. They translate it as “Oh, it’s true that there’s all kinds of outfits.” Take your pick.}

An: We have dresses, Chinese clothes, maids, and even aliens! You can be anything you want! Please try it if you like!

Ena: Hmm… Since we’re here, we might as well try it!

Mafuyu: You just want to take some photos, don’t you, Ena?

Ena: I didn’t mean that! We could make some memories, right?

Mizuki: …Memories… Right. Let’s do it then.

An: So, Kusanagi-san! We’ve got four more customers! An, smiling with her hands on her hips, begins shoving Mizuki towards the door.

Mizuki: Eh? W-Woah! An, hey, you’re being too pushy!

[Scene: Inside the room where Class 3-C’s play is taking place]

Kanade: It’s been a while since I last watched a cultural festival’s play…

Ena: Me too. Well, most plays in cultural festivals are all just inside jokes that end up falling flat, so they become painful to watch…

Mizuki, grinning: Don’t worry about that! It was Rui who directed this one!

Mafuyu: I see. Kamishiro-san…

Female student, offscreen: Thank you for coming to the “Full Moon World Tour” today! The show will be starting soon!

Kanade: Ah… it’s about to start. I wonder what the story is about.

Tsukasa: “Now… Let’s head to the moon, let’s go! We’re gonna make this full moon world tour a success at all costs!”

Students, offscreen: “Here we go! Let’s send Dr. Tenma to the moon!”

Ena: Huh?

Students, offscreen: “One… two… three!”

Tsukasa: “Wooooooah!!!! Break through the atmosphere and reach the moon!!!”

Kanade: Eh? He’s headed straight for the audience…

Mafuyu: …He landed headfirst onto a moon with his face drawn on it…

Kanade: Amazing… He’s stuck right in there…

Ena: Wait, is this a moon tour or moon destruction?

Mafuyu: Well, with this development… it stays true to the original work.

Ena: For real?

Mizuki: Haha, typical of Rui and Tsukasa-senpai~

[Scene: Kamikou hallway]

Kanade: …I was surprised. I never expected that the earth would get invaded by the moon’s residents…

Mafuyu: Yeah, it made me think about the state of humanity.

Ena: Really…? It felt like a total waste to me…   {Note: Puroeng translates this as “I felt like being swung around a lot, though.” I don’t know what that means.}

Mizuki: Ahaha! It’s cool that we all had different impressions, isn’t it? Mizuki looks affectionately at their friends. Standing across from them, Kanade and Mafuyu smile back, while Ena has a more serious expression. Mizuki: It’s so fun… just like I thought it would be.

Ena: Ah… Hey, Mizuki, why don’t we visit your class next?

Mizuki’s face falls. Mizuki: Huh?

Ena: The escape game sounds fun, so I’d like to check it out!

Mizuki: Ah… S-sure! Let’s go, then!

Kanade, Mafuyu, and Ena smile at Mizuki. Fade to black.

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 16: Crossing Paths - Episode 10: The Unexpected Encounter

Homare: The boy from the café is Guy-san’s younger brother…!?

Tsumugi: Kureha-kun, was it… What a coincidence.

Guy: Yes. We don’t live very far from each other, so it wouldn’t be shocking if we were to meet by chance. But fate, so to speak, is a strange thing.

Tasuku: You seem pretty calm about this.

Guy: My father had told me a little about him beforehand.

Guy: He was so similar to the boy Arisugawa had met that I had my suspicions.

Guy: Honestly speaking, when I heard he would be participating in the workshop, I was hesitant about offering my help there.

Guy: He probably does not know of our relationship yet.

Guy: But Fushimi seemed to be in a tough spot, and I didn’t have any concrete proof, so I accepted.

Guy: Now that I’ve confirmed who he is, I regret being so careless.

Izumi: I don’t think there’s anything you could’ve done differently about this.

Azuma: Who’d have thought it would be the same person?

Tsumugi: Have you told your father?

Guy: Yes, but when I explained the situation to him over the phone, he started apologizing for making things uncomfortable.

Hisoka: … I don’t think should blame yourself, Guy. Kureha seemed happy to get to talk to you.

Tsumugi: I’m aware you’re in a difficult position, but please let us know if you need any help.

Homare: I will also comply, should you choose to avoid contact with him.

Guy: Thank you. For now, I will simply wait and see.

-

Kureha: … *sigh*

[Door clicking open]

Keiku: …

Kureha: Oh…

Keiku: That looks good.

Kureha: You mean the financier? I’ll give you some as thanks for the pudding you gave me the other day.

Keiku: Cool.

Kureha: … There’s something different about you lately.

Kureha: I know we don’t talk much but… You kinda seem softer than you used to be.

Keiku: Nomnom… I don’t really get it, but it might be ‘cause I’m hangin’ out with different people?

Kureha: You mean like Towa-kun and the people from MANKAI Company…?

Keiku: … You curious? ‘Bout MANKAI Company.

Kureha: … I guess I am. I probably am. There are some people I’d like to meet again.

Keiku: Go meet ‘em.

Kureha: It’s not that simple…

Keiku: Do it like Towa.

Kureha: I can’t just do it like Towa-kun!

Keiku: So true.

Keiku: But you can find most of those guys just by walking ‘round Veludo Way. One of ‘em asked me ‘bout a cheesecake shop before.

Kureha: Huh, really…?

Keiku: Also, some of ‘em own their own shops. Like, uhh, Guy? He’s got a bar.

Kureha: ——

previous episode | masterpost | next episode