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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Amphibia Weekly Reviews: Bessie and Mircroangelo/The Third Temple “The Things We’ve Set into Motion Cannot Be Stopped”

Hello all you happy people. It’s been a long road, with an even longer road trip, but the season’s almost over: just two more weeks of Amphibia.. and with all the build up weighing down on our heroes two things are clear: this cannot end well for Anne or anyone involved, and this is going to hurt. It’s going to hurt a LOT. it’s going to be some...

... how have I not used more MST3K gifs. Questions for later. Point is with emotional pain immient, a revolution on the way this episode only ratchets up the tension.. while also sparing some time for makeover jokes and a breather episode about snail mentorships, fashion montages and giant crabs. I do love me some giant crabs. And i’ll tell you allllll about it under the cut.

Bessie and MicroAngelo:

This episode finds our heroes preparing for the third and final temple, loading up the wagon and preparing weapons, maps, potions, all that good stuff.

We end up getting two plots out of this. The first is the titular one: so Polly can help prepare, Hop Pop gives Bessie the task of watchin gher snail and certified cutie MicroAngelo, that tiny Snail who I assumed would disappear forever after his intitial apperance because that’s usually what cartoons does. But much like One Piece, Al Ewing and that owl what watches me while I sleeps, Amphibia never forgets.

It’s some Looney Tunes style shenanigans.. not the bugs or daffy, more on him later today, kind more the “Bigger more responsible party protects the smaller more vunerable or reckless one” kind you’d see eveyr so often. Tom and Jerry also really loved this. And Amphibia wears it well, with some good gags and really cute bonding and some really excellent animation on Bessie, giving the old girl plenty of life and animation. The only part I genuinely do not like is Hop Pop blaming Bessie for.. running after micro angelo afte rhe ran off. Aka doing the job you assigned her.

Someone i’m looking at. Regardless otherwise it’s just some fun, adorable slapstick with a downright precious ending. And hop pop DOES apologize.. and wish he was a cute snail. I do not have time to unpack all the implications there nor ponder what Hop Pop would look like in a snail costume. This week’s given my brain enough nightmares.

So anyway, our subplot has Marcy trying to give Anne a Makeover... and her past attempts with Sasha have been objectively horrifying so Anne is rightly scared, though the armorer who comes to help with it has a blue crab so tha’ts where all my attention. I fucking love crabs.. they just look so neat. Some see the fact a spider crab being out and about in animal crossing as horrifying. I see it as oh look at my cool terrifying crab friend. About the only crab I don’t like is this asshole.

And even then he can be VERY funny. .he’s just also an exploitative douchebag and having worked in food service, let me tell you I.. I get why Squidward is the way he is. That said Krabbyland is a masterpiece entirely because he’s such a terrible person, so it ballances out when the show’s doing it’s best.

Point is I like crabs and I like this subplot.. though mostly because it says a LOT about who Anne and Marcy are and where there at. Part of why Marcy is so gung ho about helping Anne is she figures this is her last shot to be whoever she wants to be. But really she’s just projecting: it’s been obvious since we properly met her that Marcy.. likes living HERE more than earth. On earth she’s an outcast: her hyperfixations, her tendency to babble about things she likes, her smartness... alll things that just make people turn away from her or pick on her on earth, with only two people relaly understanding and appricating her.. maybe more but we don’t know the situation with her parents yet. As someone who is a lot of those things, I get where she’s coming from.

So ending up in a world straight out of an rpg... she florished. Everything that made her life difficult at home suddenly made her florish: her skill with RPG’s meant she could blend in easily with the courtly high class of Newtopia, gave her a love of taking on missions, and allowed her to put her hyperfixation, knowledge and enthusasim to real world use, creating massive improvments in an already ritzy city. Everything that made her an outcast in our world made her a hero there. It’s why I worry about what’s to come: to both Grime and Andrias.. she’s the perfectly made pawn: too desperate to have Sasha back to see the kinfe he wants her to plant in Marcy’s, and too happy to be accepted to see the rpg convention, the benevolent ruler turning out ot be a puppet for the big bad, starring her in the face. Amphibia’s given her her freedom.. but it’s also left her very vunerable and may leave her alone.

As for Anne.. she realizes how far she’s come: from selfish and kind of distructive to selfless and self reliant.. and still kind of destructive but hey, you can’t cahnge eveyrthing about yourself. It’s why when given heavy armor.. all she needs is the core of it.. something simple to guard her but nothing too complex. She’s fine with who she is.. and it’s why she’s in the best place of the three girls. And why she’s left smack in the middle of the war to come. A war she can’t stop and that will leave her having to choose one... or do the right , hard thing and choose neither and try and free them from the bad influences they’ve embded themselves in. Either way this is going to hurt both her and the audience.

Final Thoughts: Bessie and Mircoangelo is good classic cartoon fun with a suprisingly deep subplot. Simple, but a nice pallete clensar, especially since the next episode is pretty tense and given it’s ending and eveyrthing that’s been building this season, it’s likely only going to get worse from here, so it’s nice to have a quick and breezy break before hell comes to frogtown.

The Third Temple:

Before we get to the final temple we get a flashback showing how Sasha met Anne and Marcy. The other two were playing on the swings when two big dillholes pushed them off and Sasha selflessly and fearlessly stood up to them. And promptly beat herself up more than the bullies who dodged her and eventually got so freaked out by whatever the hell this was they ran and a friendship was born. But noticably she’s a lot diffrent 7 years ago, aproximately, than she is at 13: she’s every bit as fearless and willfull.. but the compassion she once had got buried under a need for control. It’s easy to see now WHY Marcy and Anne loved her so much: she was their friend, their protector, she cared about them.. and while she never STOPPED somewhere along the way it became less about doing the right thing for the women she loves and more about getting her way.

And now the two have had time to heal from what their friend girlfriend became.. it’s time to rip that wound wide open as finally, after almost a season of waiting, Sasha reunites with Marcy for the first time and Anne for the second.

Naturally her return is in time for her gem to be charged, though our heroes unware of that didn’t seek her out before going in. This time Frobo’s riding claw though weirdly dosen’t come inside. Which is a problem with Frobo’s addition to the cast as the whole: they’ve kept him out of any episode since his induction into the family and only properly explained it once. It just dosen’t make a lot of sense to me; Yes he is massively powerful but his childlike thought process counters that. He’s easy enough to write in but is left out becasue the writers don’t want to deal with an extra character. And I had more than enough of that shit when watching Ducktales. I don’t need it when your main cast isn’t NEARLY as large or hard to juggle. It’s just galling to have spent an entire season showing he was following them, give him a whole episode.. and then just forget about him because i’ts convient. Hopefully he’ll play a bigger role as things progress and we find out where he came from because his misuse is a dark spot on an otherwise great second half of the season.

Frobo does get to prove himself useful though and open s the temple door he just weirdly dosen’t come along. But this does leave the door open for Sasha to come in as our heroes struggle with the first puzzle: Turns out this dungeon was built by a bro, seriously the temple languge is very broey and VERY hilarious contrasted with how normal for a fantasy setting the others were, as is fitting the strength gem, so our heroes have to compete feats of strength. Unfortunately this does not mean wrestling the ghost of Jerry Stiller to the ground but instead fighting some Lava Worms, and fighting just ONE of them and lifting the provided warhammers is a challenge for Anne.. and she’s the only one who can with Marcy not having enough upper body stregnth and the plantars all de-hydrated spongebob style.

So naturally Sasha ends up being their savor, easily dispatching them and getting some help from grime who while also dehydrated, is still phsycially strong enough to be of some help. Marcy is overjoyed to see her.. and is the only one. Given Marcy hasn’t been on the wrong end of Sasha and Grime like they have, it’s understandable: while Marcy’s grappled with Sasha’s actions and grip on her and Anne, it’s been clear it hasn’t hit her as hard as it has for Anne and she likely dosen’t get the full scope of it like Anne does. To her Sasha just made a mistake and she’s back now and tha’ts what matters. To Anne and the Plantars... sasha and grime tried to kill them and Sasha then tried commiting suciide to save them. The scars of that haven’t really healed for them, nor should they.

And given Sasha has spent the season clearly blamiing everything on Anne defying her and has been raising an army based on her resentment, and given she flew into a jealous blinding rage at finding her exes were fine and dandy without her she.. wholheartdly apologizes.

Yeah she apologizes.. but tellingly while she talks about her and Grime being left homeless following the battle.. she leaves out everything after: The fight with Yuan, the growing rebellion, driving her friends away, the horrifying army Grime now commands. Something’s off.

Anne naturally dosen’t trust her to do this herself and insists on coming along sitll. The next task is juts.. asking how much you lift bro, which Sasha easily passes by lifting, bro.

The final test in Jim Crunch’s Temple of Fitness, I mean who else could’ve wrote this, is of course a big fight with a giant statue of a toad, fitting how each temple so far was built by one of the civlizations: there were frog statues and symbols in the first temple, the second was guarded by a newt and the last now has a toad guard.Though curiously.. the test itself is wholly designed for a human. Before it wasn’t 100% clear even with the hyroglyps if the chosen ones had to be human or not.. but now it’s impossible to argue otherwise. There were hints : The fact the guardian pegged her as a possible chosen one on sight , the ruins in the background of the title cards which also depict the watcher with a thousand eyes (which is what i’ll be calling him till we get his, her , they or it’s actually name. ).. but here the chamber includes a gravity increase dbz style, meaning our heroines are the only ones who can stand as the Plantars and Grimes frog and toad bodies respectively aren’t strong enough to stand anymore. And while Marcy tries it ends up falling on Anne and Sasha with Sasha being Angry Anne doesn’t trust her.. and Anne not refuting it, pointing out she has EVERY REASON not to. As she puts it “it’s not just toad tower”. For most of their lives Sasha has been controlling, caring about what she wants and not what the people she loves wants. It wasn’t just the fight there... it was simply the wakeup call to how bad a person Sasha had been.

And for the first time in the episode.. Sasha is geniune, apologizing for what she did, and genuinely admitting how she treated Anne wasn’t wrong. it was something she coudln’t admit to herself episodes ago.. but faced with both loosing two more people due to her behavior, and having plenty of time to reflect on said behavhior.. she finally relaizes it’s her. Fuck man.. what else is there to say.

Oh right the giant monster thing, which Anne trusts Sasha to finish.. and we get anothe rDBZ homage as Sasha removes part of her armor, which creates a CRATER, which lowers her weight enough to fight the thing. She gets a thumbs up and the honor of recharging it.

Anne suggests opening the box.. but Marcy is VERY quick to shoot that down and suggest talking to the king. And while her reason SOUNDS good,, they don’t want to get warped somewhere ELSE at random.. it’s very clear from her actions and how quick she tried to stop it that she needs them to get to Andrias for whatever he’s talked her into. And I emphasis talked her into: Marcy trusts the king, and was in a very emotional place when he was about to talk to her at the end of season 2a... and he knew it. He knew she was at her most vunerable, most malable and trusted him completely.. and knew right then and there was his shot at getting vengance.. for him and his master. Whatever he has planned.. it’s not good. The mechancial lovecraftian horror he keeps in his creepy basement full of lost souls is a dead giveaway from that. But I don’t.. fault Marcy for it. It’s not just because I sympahtize.. to her Andrias is a good noble king trying to help her. He’s the kindly mentor she always wanted, a person who enjoys her skills dosen’t care how much she talks and has complete faith in her, something even Anne struggles with.

But it’s VERY clear, to me at least he’s been likely using her from the moment they met: to her sh’es just an optomistic pawn, someone gullible enough to do whatever he says. I’ve always felt that her “missions” probably had some darker purpose she wasn’t aware of: getting Andrias things he needs for his army, an army she has no idea is opressing people. She’s insulated from that and instead surronded by adoring people who accept her for once. Even going to wartwood, she hasn’t yet made the connection between the toad towers and what their purpose is. I think deep down she might suspect this stuff.. but she can’t ACCEPT that the one person who every had nothing but faith in her.. is a horrible person who opresses others and somehow has even WORSE plans in store.

Sasha likewise is facing the pressure of her parental figure.. while her patching it up with Anne was legitmate... her and Grime’s own plans rely on getting in there and Grime simply sees the other two as pawns , and just like the king he wants he wants to overthrow, their use expires once his plans in motion.

But the thing is.. it’s clear despite assuring Grime she’s still all in.. her face in the last shot, as seen above.. says otherwise. Her apology was legitmate, not just an attempt to get close to the one thing in her way of power, but what she’s come to realize: she’s gone from blaming Anne for it.. to realizing it was her. But she’s also stuck: while Marcy is unaware of the strings her pupeteer is pulling her towards.. Sasha is all too aware of what her mentor is planning. And the thing was she was all too willing to go for it. She blamed Anne for what happened at the tower, blamed Anne for turning marcy against her and blamed the plantars and co for turning anne against her. But in the harsh light of day... none of that’s true. Marcy dosen’t hate her, neither does anne, they didn’t turn against her.. they were just tired of her shitty behavior and wanted the friend they found that day on the playground back, the woman they loved who’d go to hell and back for someone and not the bitter, manipultive person she became. She’s once again realized it was her fault.. the question is if that’s enough for her to do the right thing or not. And the hardest question of all is IF not reblling isn’t the right thing. Wfhile the Toad’s probably shoudln’t be in charge either, Andrias REALLY shouldn’t. There’s NO easy answers here, no happy outcome that makes everyone live’s better. There’s no easy way out, no shortcut home.. just the louder and louder drumbeats of war and one girl’s decision of whose side she’s going to take.

Final Thoughts on the Third Temple: As with the other four sasha episodes thus far, this was frogging brilliant. Shoudln’t be a suprise and it makes me both look forward and dread the war to come

Next Week: The plantars try to bury the hatchet with Sasha and Grime, the girls enter a battle of the bands, and the finale comes ever closer.

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#amphibia #the third temple #bessie and microangelo #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #bessie amphibia #microangelo #hopidiah plantar #sprig plantar #polly plantar #bro

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sunflowersseemhappy · 4 years ago

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would you be down to do the m6 with an apprentice with adhd 🥺 i would lov u 5ever (i will lov u 5ever anyway u r very talented)

I honestly have no idea how good or bad this is (but I live in hope), I don’t think I’m great at mental health headcanons so any criticism is welcome.

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED, but for now here is my Masterlist!

Thank you for the request @opprose, love u 5ever for the kind words!

Asra

Asra’s always been pretty patient, and that’s no problem when it comes to your ADHD, he has godly amounts of patience to spare even then.

But he’s learned about how to keep you engaged, he knows your tendencies better than you do and usually adapts the situation if needed.

Asra just kind of accepts the way things are, he knows you don’t mean to be rude if you look away and do something while he’s talking or if you forget to do the tasks he set’s you whilst he’s out of town.

It’s just normal.

Of course the burnt to a crisp cookies in the oven would beg to differ but...

Asra soon made a habit of leaving Faust with you when he could, so you didn’t forget about the cookies the next time. It seems snakes have pretty good time management.

The only thing Asra has ever had to worry about is impulsiveness, which when practicing magic, can be a dangerous game.

Asra has always strived to teach you the importance of only using magic when actually necessary but should you ever pick up a book of spells you’re sure to find a very colourful note put there by Asra to suggest against it.

Other than that Asra has just never really preferred it any other way; cluttered messes from projects you’ve forgotten about, tens of little lists pinned to the walls, or watching your face as your brain switches between one topic or another. Lighting up as you talk about things that interest you.

Nadia

At first the fact that you couldn’t seem to sit still made Nadia worry, only because she believed she was making you uncomfortable in some way.

But no, it turns out you’re trying really hard to listen but your ADHD is just making it a bit hard to concentrate. Nadia is both relieved and finds it endearing that you were trying so hard.

It both gives you the opportunity to relax because in reality the both of you were ready to burst from your respective troubles, but from that moment on Nadia is a bit more at ease with whatever ends up happening.

Although she did not expect to lose you midway through the palace tour.

An hour later she found you in the kitchens talking the chef’s ear off.

Over time she’s become less worried when you wander off (to be honest she can’t blame you, a lot of the things she has to do through the day are so tedious) but the servants have a great system for letting her know where you are.

Over time Nadia has come to adore your restless nature, it makes life all the more interesting when you’re up for an adventure that most people would shy always from.

Given that the two of you both just seem to live in the present you make the perfect pair between Nadia’s calming serenity and your energetic energy, it’s like your made to keep the other strong.

Julian

Your ADHD wasn’t necessarily the first thing Julian noticed about you but he notices how distracted you get when there’s a lot going on.

Not that he minds, he finds it quite charming that you are so interested in what's going on around you, and it’s certainly helpful having an extra pair of eyes.

And if he’s being honest he could listen to you ramble about random things all day, he finds it oddly comforting and lying back with you as you fiddle with his hands and talk is just comforting.

And it’s so strange because he thought he took ages to get some sleep in, but you? He’s impressed and worried about your up from dusk till dawn habits.

He learned three things over that week: 1) Hide the coffee, 2) Remove distractions and 3) No matter how interesting your chatter gets he has to resist encouraging you on, for your own sake and sleep’s sake.

Of course he worries about you, he knows that ADHD can be a difficult obstacle through daily life and in a place like Vesuvia those obstacles could go any which way.

What if impulsivity gets you in trouble? What if you forget to eat? What if you’re feeling down and he’s useless at comforting you? So many ‘what if’s?’ that they make him feel like he’s not cut out for it.

But when you forget something because you got distracted and Julian reminds you what you were doing, those ‘What if’s?’ don’t seem to matter as much.

Muriel

Muriel doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with you really, sure you talk a lot, but then compared to him everyone does.

Other than that you just seem to be really invested in whatever is going on in the forest, always alert and noticing the small details, like the sound of baby birds in their nest or the sound of the stream 100 yards away.

Your ADHD seems to just make you fit nicely into Muriel’s lifestyle and he likes the company even if you are noisy and tell him stuff that is weird.

But like he’s said before you’re weird, and he really likes that.

But he definitely finds it strange that you are reading five books at once, the stack keeps falling over.

Also he’s just the perfect person to keep you grounded, and he has a routine (which is more than you can say for yourself) and that routine helps you manage the disorganized chaos you often find yourself in.

Not to mention he’s strong enough to wrap you in a bear hug and keep it that way so you get at least a couple of hours sleep, fortunately your daily hikes seem to get you tired enough for that.

What Muriel finds so wildly interesting is the fact that although your ADHD can make you space out or distracted, once you’re hyper focused on a project you just sit there and do it. Enjoying every second that you’re buried in a book or carefully weaving a flower crown to put on Muriel’s head. You’re weird, but he loves that.

Portia

You are the perfect person to keep up with Portia, and being with her is like a non-stop conversation (the only difference being that Portia knows to go to sleep after midnight).

What’s more she has lots of things for you to focus on that allow you to both talk and keep your hands busy, gardening has been especially helpful as it feels productive and calming.

Not to mention you get to spoil each other with pretty flower arrangements or interesting bugs that you find.

But Portia is an oddly organized person, maybe because her own life has a lot going on in it, but she is great at reminding you to do things you may have forgot.

The notes she leaves you are always cute and remind you that to eat a banana at the very least or that you need to make sure you go to the market to pick up the bread for dinner.

Also she has a cuckoo clock, which does indeed make a sound to remind you of the time. You have yet to find a place in the cottage that you can’t hear it from so it works perfectly to keep you on track.

Portia’s favourite thing you do (once she figured it out) was when your were talking to yourself in your head, one moment you’re saying ‘that’s a nice embroidery (of an apple)’ and the next you say ‘I’m going to go climb a tree’. She quickly realized you were having a conversation in you head but it cracks her up all the time.

Lucio

He was not prepared for you, he comes back from the dead and wants to talk about how horrible it was for him and then you change the topic to something so random he’s just like; “What?!”

When he gets the memo about the whole ADHD thing, he’s still not sure what it entails but at this point he’s afraid to ask (you’d probably get off topic anyway).

The first few weeks it drives him crazy, especially when you completely blank on the thing he was talking about three minutes ago or forget the dinner date he had set.

Lucio learned very quickly that he needed to not take things so personally.

What’s more he even began to plan things out with you properly, giving you a cute little diary to write things down in so you wouldn’t forget the next date he had planned.

Once you get down to it Lucio can be just as talkative, disruptive, and get just as distracted as you can be. It’s between the two of you to work things out properly because you can end up either understanding each other completely or having no idea what the other is saying/doing.

#the arcana #lucio #asra #muriel #nadia #portia #julian #apprentice #julian devorak #arcana #adhd #apperentice #mc #story #headcannon #headcanon

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jinmukangwrites · 4 years ago

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oh gosh so many! um maybe 49 with twilight? or 79 with fairy hyrule?

49) “Are you afraid of me too?”

Brain: write something new. Me: proceeds to write my favorite trope anyways.

***Request are closed***

-o-o-o-o-

From the moment Wild first met him... He knew there was something... important about Twilight. He didn't know what, and he still doesn't even though it's been a week since they've all met up. It's just... been a feeling. A calling. Something special that has some sort of forgotten memory tugging at the back of his brain whenever he looks at Twilight.

Or maybe special isn't the right word. Neither is forgotten. Everybody in this group are special. It's not hard for Wild to find love for each of them. Wind's joyful attitude, Hyrule's bubbling laughter, Warriors' jokes... They're special. And it isn't like Twilight is calling upon a forgotten memory, not really. He knows what remembering forgotten memories feels like, and it doesn't feel as warm and calm as it does whenever he sees Twilight.

He's like a familiar face. Or a familiar spirit.

He doesn't know how to explain it, only that he's detirmined to find it out.

He works his fingers over a chunk of wood he's been trying to carve for the past hour. Sky tried to teach him how, but honestly Wild just isn't the best at it. He still tried though, when he's bored. The only problem now is that he's not bored. He's destracted.

Twilight left camp the moment they set it up, saying he needed a little time to himself. And Wild is worried. He barely even knows the guy, and here he is fiddling with the chunk of wood that's supposed to look like a sand seal but resembles more of chunky slug, tapping his foot with the crackling of the fire.

Ten more minutes pass and Wild decides enough is enough. He stands up and says he's going to look for their wayward companion, and no one really argues or says anything about it. It's like they're all constantly walking through cuckoo pens around each other, no one really sure how to interact with anyone. Wild understands. It's weird knowing eight other people who supposingly share the same reincarnated spirit, but Wild wishes they'll all stop acting like co-workers and skip to the friend part.

He walks through the forest alone, the sun still slightly up and the lightning bugs beginning to stir from their places in the branches. He knows Twilight went somewhere out in this direction—and the broken twigs and flattened blades of grass proves that. The ground is not soft enough for footprints to be left behind, but the trail of a big body going through the forest is enough for Wild to track.

It's only when he does manage to find a muddy patch of dirt besides a small stream does he wonder if he's been tracking the right thing.

The prints are huge. Wolf-like, but still bigger than any wolf Wild's ever encountered. He swallows nervously, wondering how close an animal has been to the camp for how long... And how dangerous it is. The tracks jump over the stream and fallow along it, and in the distance Wild can hear an even bigger stream, perhaps one of snow run-off and rocky white water.

He figures Twilight should be safe. The real issue now is whatever has made these tracks. Who knows what it will try to do during the dead of night.

Wild follows along the massive paw prints, careful to keep his body low because of the wind blowing at his back. He doesn't draw his weapon yet. He's not afraid of massive predators. He's fought plenty bigger and came out without another scar. Honestly he's more detirmined to just simply snap a picture and figure out if he should leave it alone or not. Zelda will be excited to see creatures from another time.

He comes across the stream, and just like he suspected it's mostly rocky and stony, the rocks slick with moss and erosion. The paw prints disappear into a narrow bit of the stream and he frowns when he doesn't see any tracks emerge on the other side. But, with a bit of searching around, he finds claw marks on a rock further up the stream, heading back the direction they came. It must have smelled his scent and tried to throw him off.

Jokes on it. The wind is now blowing his scent away.

He smirks when he sees drying drops in the dirt. It must have recently gone this way. If he's silent and quick, he might be able to catch up to it without being detected again.

He moves on.

And soon enough, a grin of victory spreads on his face, so much so that the left side of his features stretch oddly because of his scar tissue. He can hear heavy steps, a dog's panting. He pokes his head around a tree and has to catch his breath.

It is a wolf. But it's a wolf of massive proportions.

It's almost more than half the height of Wild himself. All dark grey fur with white markings on its flank and tail. Then, his breath is stolen when the wolf looks up from the bushes it was sniffing and instead smells the air, muscles tensing under it's fur.

It turns, and Wild knows those eyes.

And he doesn't really know what happens next. One moment he's admiring a giant creature from behind a tree and the next he's on his rear-end, hands splayed behind him as he stares wide eyed at the creature he never thought he'd see again. His best friend.

His shock and amazement must have been misinterpreted by the wolf, because the wolf backs up in frantic steps, gives a panicked whine, and then turns tail.

A second later, Wild is left alone. Breathing.

Remembering.

The feeling of a wet nose on his hand. The soft fur that comforted him during the cold nights. The excited barking when he traveled through the wetlands; the frogs not standing a chance. The growls when Wild found himself injured and cornered by a strong enemy.

The eyes so oddly human that Wild would stay up at night... wondering.

He blinks and he's in the present, gasping.

Then, he scrambles to his feet and runs.

Thankfully, it doesn't take long for him to crash through the trees to see Twilight sitting against the base of a tree, head in his hands. It all clicks together, and suddenly this whole reincarnated spirit thing just... doesn't seem so strange anymore.

The wolf. Twilight. His partner. His best friend.

He found him.

Twilight looks up at him when Wild begins to approach, his eyes suspiciously wet and Wild doesn't understand.

"Are you afraid of me too?" He asks, and Wild doesn't understand.

The too speaks of untold stories. Trauma left unsaid. Wild won't pry. He knows full well that trauma left unsaid is normally best kept that way until it's ready to be spoken about. He does understand the wolf's reaction now though. He thought Wild was afraid of it.

Wild knows the wolf, but it doesn't seem Twilight knows him.

It doesn't matter. He flings himself over towards Twilight, wrapping his arms around the older hero and burying his head into his shoulders. Twilight goes all stiff in his arms, before he relaxes slowly, but doesn't return the hug.

"Why?" Twilight asks, sounding a mixture of emotions capable to choking up a voice.

Wild smiles. "Because I've found you again."

A second, then hands wrap around his back and finally returns the embrace. "Oh," Twilight says, like he understands. Maybe he does. Maybe he knows someone else here without them knowing him.

It doesn't matter really. Wild's detirmined to get to know Twilight, and make sure Twilight gets to know him in return.

They're best friends. And they will be again, Wild will make sure of it.

#linked Universe #hero of twilight #hero of the wild #jin writes #drabble fic #lu drabble fic #fanfiction #ask #silverheartlugia2000

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cyber-flight · 5 years ago

Text

Notes from the AHWM Explanation Livestream

This will be long, so fair warning! If you're on computer, you can press the spacebar to skip this post if you want!

There was CG smoke for the bomb

The last shot was running after the bomb goes off, filmed during the day

Many cursed images

(0:56 - Guns Blazing) November 5th = gunpowder treason & plot (a reference)

Ethan is the one yelling during the run

Helicopter/Car was filmed in a place formerly known as Spiderwoods (spiders, snakes, and bugs everywhere)

Mark's patented method to get rid of snakes is to tell them to fuck off

There was big black snake near the library

Chica snore-grumbles

Most of the choices were pretty evenly split in the video data

The guy who owned the field in Helicopter/Car also owned the helicopter

It was hard to get the cameraman to know that the camera is an interacting character

They filmed up to 10 pages a day

Prison was the first 2 days of shooting, as well as the part with the most characters/extras (12 people)

Mick gets typecasted in roles of authority

The Prison location is a functioning mental hospital

John was a Prisoner, first mate, and is a realtor IRL

There is no "why" to recording this to keep a broad audience and have fun after Mark was in a depression and made WKM

The Gregory Brothers / Schmoyoho made 2 renditions of I Don't Wanna Be Free (which is on Apple/iTunes/Spotify)

The musical was a production/recording nightmare on the 2nd day

They had 20 minutes max. to learn each segment; they had a choreographer helping them learn the dances

The original vocals didn't have the accent

Mark had to do the vocals, acting, blocking, etc. in 30 mins

Mick was supposed to cross frame during the top-hats-part, but they had already recorded it; the producers weren't comfortable telling Mark "no" yet, so they had Amy do it

The smashed bricks were styrofoam; Mark was typed to a rope that was pulled

The director of photography was Phillip J Roy; he took a pay cut to work on this project

Yancy's sleeve tattoo is the whole map again

Yancy's tattoos are Tiny Box Tim and Mark/Dark across his knuckles; those were Makeup's ideas

The Musical was only 1/4 of a recording day

There was 3 work weeks of shooting (15 days)

Day By Dave made a remix

Yancy was named "Prison Mark" until the fight scene started to be made in post-production, where he needed a name; Mark liked Yancy and Amy was very against it originally

Yancy killed both of his parents; Mark knew people were gonna fall in love with him anyway

"Yancy stans, go, march on"

Yancy has an emoji bandaid

Heapass (canonically) makes an appearance in Thanks and also Yes Please; he had "Heapass" on a cast, but it was on the wrong side from the camera

Holt Boggs (the cell guard) is an amazing man; he was overqualified ("soft hands")

The cell was in a green-screen soundstage, so there was more improve

Yancy was supposed to be hidden in the ceiling or beside the bed, but under the bed turned out better; he's hidden under the bed the whole scene

The Red Gemini was the camera that they used for this project

Mark just runs off frame in Thanks and also Yes Please

The audio-only part was very convenient for filming and fitting for a 1st-person perspective

Yancy's talk at the gate was Mark real-acting & the late shot of the 1st day of filming, which made all of them realize that the project could actually work

Yancy WANTS to be in prison; he knows all the ways out - he'd leave if he wanted to

The items in the box are more representational achievements

Mark needs our help to promote AHWM, through liking the video(s), commenting good things, and spreading the project; the performance of this dictates the ability to make another similar project

Mark worked for FREE for 5 months, taking no cut of the budget for himself

"Yancy is just Prison Mark with amnesia" "There could be a time-skip there; it could work"

Robert Rex, "a god walking amongst mere morals;" has always wearing the same thing; Mark didn't know that he was going to do different accents

Amy is the hand with the feather-duster

The Warden's desk moves into the hallway after a smash-cut

Mick's line had to be rewritten so it can be ambiguous; you can only tell if you were looking

The Warden embodies "big strong hands," something Mark writes into dialogue a lot (along with "trust you me"); everytime he touches something it cracks (his desk, Yancy's shoulder)

Pulling stuff from behind Mark's back was on-the-spot

The dirt joke was a prop-person and Mark throwing buckets

Mark helped Holt Boggs make a short video

HOLT BOGGS

The truck in Prison was a one-take-wonder; they actually bashed the truck through the wall in a such a cartoony, perfect way

The Bob/Wade skit was a reference to Prop Hunt

Mark comparing the disappointment of people not liking the video to a cup of dirt under the Christmas tree

The lid to the sewer says "a heist with markiplier"

The sewer was in an actual sewer treatment plant, which took about a week of filming; some parts were flooded so they couldn't film there; this place was scheduled to be torn down

Mark forces us to choose the Light Tunnel first

Cranbersher, GrittySugar, and Lixian collaborated for the Light Tunnel; it was originally going to be live action with a green-screen and a pre-made raft; Cranberser offered when he had a 3-month break from other projects

Amy notes that Mark did a lot of "falling"

Mark had to carry a 200 pound man and a heavy camera rig to carry Y/N

There was poison ivy, snakes, spiders, etc. on the island

The Game Grumps voiced the aliens; Erin originally was meant to play the Warden & Danny was meant to play one of the guards

Many roles fluctuated due to scheduling

Getting abducted is a reference to ADWM ("not again!")

Mark loves MatPat's scenes and acting (Build a Shelter)

There were so many mosquitos near the Cave and the actors couldn't put on bug spray because they had to preserve their makeups

There was a giant hole in the Cave from which grasshoppers rained down

They were a mile into the cave; they weren't able to staff them for 3 days, so they recorded for 2 days and had fo cut some shots

The Cave freeze-frame was unscripted; the camera director didn't tell cut and it was too funny

The Hermit was originally supposed to be Jacksepticeye but scheduling errors were in the way

Mick was originally supposed to be Crazy Ed

When the sound-guy didnt have a sound effect, one of them riffed something at the mic and it was modulated to fit as best as possible

Mark's camera loses signal/battery power

Mark has done the hot-wire-while-moving in Car before (van videos)

The blue flash during Car is you from the future/another timeline

Mark was actually driving the car; someone flashed the blue light so it was a bit dangerous

Tyler and Ethan make appearances as Zombies

Tyler actually let Mark hit him with a rock

There was a dead beaver in the shed during the Zombie Apocalypse

The Zombie Apocalypse shots were in VERY hot weather

The barricaded front door but very open back door was intentional humour

Ethan's zombie handshake was thought up on the spot

Moe was the man screaming from the fire and zombie attack, making everyone behind the camera laugh

Rosanna Pansino sings opera & speaks Chinese

The Scientist had to be broken up (the cuts are in the gunshots)

243 is a chemical identification symbol in an actual laboratory, nothing meaningful to the plot

The code leads to the AHWM website

What's truly inside the box is the real timeline, which is the team making the project

The room where the monitor was in (Amy, script manager, etc.) was locked out and no one could see what was going on, only hear it through headsets

Mark threw 2 dummies (main video, Absolutely Not!)

Chica likes to climb through the cords underneath Mark's desk

The true/canon ending is For The Greater Good, which leads to ADWM

SodaPopIn hasn't really done this before, but he went with it because he was told Mark was nice; he continued even during harsh weather, many planes, and a long take/monologue

The sandwiches are a callback to ADWM

The montage endings were inspired by the ones Amy made for ADWM

There was never any time set aside to get photos for the montages, so they had to continuously get pictures

Catherine makes an appearance in the Warfstache bit

Warfstache is just a meta joke > you respond by writing in the comments as a survey, producer Catherine is more powerful than the video-editing, ringing the bell for notifications

They rented the same place for the Warfstache bit that they used to film all the other previous Warfstache bits

Dark inserts himself wherever he feels like being

There is charity (#TeamTrees) merch for each of the egos/Mark characters in this project (including the new ones)

Edge of Sleep's last episode aired yesterday (as of the stream - 6/11/19)

A "reverse" charity livestream is happening soon

The next project(s) are already in the works

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HEIST

Amy originally wasn't going to work on this project until they went to Texas; she became Creative Producer once Mark put himself into too many places

Iba originally auditioned for the man in the burning truck, but his voice was so good he became the seer/guide

The project has been "cooking" since May

The next project would be a completely different project, not a continuation

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HEIST

Regular uploads start again tomorrow (7/11/19)

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fizzingwizard · 4 years ago

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Last week I mistakenly wrote “episode 41″ instead of “episode 40.” Tried to fix it, not sure if Tumblr let me. Here’s the real episode 41!

We’ve been on a pretty darn good streak lately, but this episode was a miss for me. It’s not terrible - it’s still far and away better than much of what we were getting in the past - so I don’t want to be harsh. It’s a much needed Yamato & Takeru centric episode, which I was excited for.

But one of the weaknesses in this reboot is that the characters just lack the strong motivations and inner conflict that drove the 99 Adventure series. It’s not completely absent, but it’s very dialed back by comparison. So I just couldn’t really feel the brotherly bond this episode wanted me to feel. But more below the cut.

Pic of the week:

Yamato and his gentle face <3

The group is taking another break. I will never get bored of watching them just chill.

Gomamon gives Jou a massage. On the one hand, cute! On the other, wtf? XD I mean wouldn’t that hurt? He has claws

Cutest siblings.

Even though they’re taking a break, Taichi, of course, is too responsible to properly goof off. (99 Taichi would be so freaked out by this kid.) He decides to go scouting and Koushirou offers to go with him. I really hoped we’d see a bit of what they do this episode scattered through the main story, but looks like we’ll get to it next week and I can’tttt waaaaitttt

Speaking of the main story, Yamato and Takeru decide to go gather food.

Who even knows what the other four get up to. Jou and Mimi continuing their break makes sense, but I’m kinda surprised Hikari and Sora didn’t want to join one of the tasks, or do their own. I suppose they know they can’t leave Jou and Mimi unsupervised though hurr hurr

So Takeru and Yamato go to look for food and find themselves surrounded by fog. Suddenly this little guy, Opossomon, pops out. I instantly hate him and his annoying squeaky voice.

Opossomon takes them to his amusement park. He is sad because nobody comes to visit anymore. I figured Takeru would be like AMUSEMENT PARK AMUSEMENT PARK!! but literally all he cares about is “aw, opossomon seems sad, let’s give him what he wants.”

Whoever heard of a kid who wasn’t excited by amusement parks.

Takeru does get a little excited once they enter the park and start going on rides. They get on the ferris wheel - a classic Digimon motif - and the brothers recall going to a theme park with their parents before the divorce. Takeru reminisces happily, but Yamato seems a bit more reserved.

Takeru: Oniichan was scared of the haunted house and wouldn’t go in?

Gabumon: o_O y-you were??

Yamato: o/////////o

seriously Idk, I just love that he’s bothered by ghosts, bahahaha - pretty sure that wasn’t a thing till Tri, unless it happened in a CD drama or novel or something. Anyway it’s just, it’s just so perfect for Yamato, bahahaha

I am absolutely going to write a ficlet about Taichi, Yamato, & the haunted house now

Then there’s this weird bit. They come across a merry-go-round and they remember that, on their family trip, Takeru tried to go on it with Yamato, but Yamato said no and Takeru went with their mom instead. That seems to be the situation but IT’S NEVER EXPLAINED. Why did Yamato not want to go on the merry go round then?? Was there a reason? Or he just didn’t want to at the time, and the reason he regrets it now is because this turned out to be their last family trip and there was never another chance to go on the merry go round together after that? I could totally accept that but it’s not explained in any way.

Unless I totally zoned out... I’m pretty guilty of that with this show lol.

But this is the kind of thing that bugs me... we’re supposed to understand that Yamato, at least, is feeling some kind of melancholy, at least. But we have so little background for it. We know Yamato and Takeru don’t live together and that they care a lot about each other. But we don’t feel the kind of bitterness 99 Yamato had, nor is Takeru anything like as clingy as his 99 version. They seem pretty well adjusted.

And, I mean, that’s probably the point. Plenty of children of divorce are perfectly well adjusted. Maybe that’s the reason the producers didn’t want to be as heavy-handed with the trauma this time - there’s more divorced families than ever and you don’t want to be guilty of suggesting all those kids are messed up because of it. I’m on board with that. But even in 99, the main reason Yamato and Takeru struggled wasn’t because their parents were divorced - it was because the divorced separated them from each other as well. Each parent took one kid. You can see how that would seem practical, except that kids aren’t furniture, you can’t just divide them evenly and call it fair.

So... yeah. This episode seems to want us to believe Yamato and Takeru are indeed struggling over being separated. But it’s so low key. It just doesn’t make sense when in every other interaction they’ve had, they’ve been fine. The only previous sign was Yamato being worried about protecting Takeru when Tokyo was in danger, and anyone would be worried in that situation - you don’t need to be from a divorced family for that lol.

Back to busness - they come across... Xiaomon? Chowmon? who is annoyingly cute and helpless. Turns out, shock! The theme park is a trap! Opossomon is evil!

And he has evil balloons! Evil balloons!

Yamato and Takeru fight the balloons but somehow end up creating more fog and get separated. Previously they’d also realized that their Digivice communication wasn’t working, probably due to the fog. I hope we see more of that in future episodes.

Yamato hears Takeru’s voice coming from within the dreaded haunted house and ventures inside.

Here’s another bit that just left me like uggggh. Yamato is scared of haunted houses, so make it a big deal that he makes himself go in for Takeru! He has like one timid line about and that’s it. There’s no challenge here. There’s no stress. The whole encounter is like a minute long.

He quickly finds out the voice was actually just a mimic coming from these Takeru balloons.

And then Bakemon attacks.

Me: Now something interesting will happen, right??

Yamato: Nope.

Meanwhile, Takeru hears the story about how Opossomon has been luring Digimon into his theme park and then sacrificing them to his Monzaemon statue thing in another weird example of this Digimon-eat-Digimon world we’re in Why Opossomon is doing this, or where Monzaemon came from, is never explained.

Takeru also encounters his dreaded theme park ride, the roller coaster. But Pegasusmon takes care of it in a single attack lol.

He fights his hardest but still can’t prevent his new friend from getting sucked into the void. This was another place where they could’ve stressed Takeru out, but he’s fine.

Ugh, I miss crybaby Takeru. The victories are more powerful when the challenges are steeper, what does this show not get about that?

Monzaemon then becomes WaruMonzaemon, but he seems to be a mindless puppet ordered around by Opossomon. I DON’T GET IT BUT OKAY.

Now Takeru does something really cool! He wants to save the trapped Digimon and he understands they’re inside WaruMonzaemon’s hole. So he willingly goes in himself!

That is SO COOL! Why isn’t it a bigger deal???

Why don’t we get Takeru struggling to muster his courage?

Why don’t we get real fear and worry from Yamato when he sees him go inside??

Yamato runs up right at that moment just in time to watch his brother get swallowed up. HE SHOULD BE OUT OF HIS MIND WITH PANIC.

But he just fights normally. Shouts Takeur’s name, gets a bit of a power boost... that’s it.

Inside WaruMonzaemon, Takeru finds out that the trapped Digimon are having their life energy sucked away by the balloons connected to them.

Then he and Patamon also realize their own energy is draining away thanks to their own balloons.

Yamato finally looks properly concerned, though it’s still like... not at the level the episode needs.

He recalls the family theme park outing again, and apparently he promised Takeru that the next time, they would go on the merry-go-round together. The episode treats this promise like it’s a Big Deal, again without explaining anything like they never got that next time thanks to the divorce, or they’re so lonely being so far apart, or Yamato is obsessed with giving Takeru everything he wants... I don’t. I don’t get it. I can’t be moved by this nonsense.

why a merry go round? Maybe there’s a good reason I’m not thinking of, but I wish it had been the haunted house or the roller coaster. It would make more sense if Takeru were scared of the roller coaster and only wanted to try it if Yamato went with him, but Yamato at the time said no, and thus Takeru didn’t get over his fear and the roller coaster itself played a role in this episode both towards Takeru getting stronger and their brotherly bond getting stronger...

Inside WaruMonzaemon, Takeru gives a speech about HOPE and HOPE IS IMPORTANT and WE MUST NOT LOSE HOPE and the other Digimon are like YES WE HAVE HOPE HERE’S OUR POWER and are able to channel their life energy into Patamon so he can evolve...

... and Angemon appears. And I’m like, oh yeah, this is the Takeru episode. It’s supposed to be his episode. IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE IT. If anything, up till this point it feels like a Yamato episode.

I mean, in the other episodes, the kids’ Crest traits mattered to various degrees. Sometimes they talked about it in words, sometimes they didn’t so much, but you could see the trait at play (uh, not sure how well that applies to Jou’s case tho...? lol). This episode gets to the very end and is like “Oh yeah by the way Takeru’s trait is hope... forgot to mention it before so lemme mention it ten times in a row now!”

If Takeru had seemed sad, scared, upset - literally any negative emotion - this would have worked, BUT AS USUAL HE’S FINE THE WHOLE TIME.

Angemon wins, duh.

And apparently it’s evening now??? They’re still gonna go get food. By the time they get back the other kids are gonna be like wtf where were you we are STARVING

So yeah, I guess you get the idea of how I feel about this episode. Just nothing special. It’s like a summary of the episode it wanted to be, if you know what I mean. On paper, everything looks fine, but in execution, it’s just... a lot of nothing. I mean compare this to 99 Takeru with DemiDevimon at the theme park. Or how about that fan favorite episode with Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon? Those both kick this out of the water, despite being no more complex.

I just so want this show to understand.... what made 99 Digimon good wasn’t just the monsters and the battle scenes, it was the kids’ relatable flaws and problems and the surprisingly organic way they learned new things and overcame obstacles. Digimon Adventure in 1999 had a way of teaching without preaching that is incredibly rare in children’s media. The modus operandi was pretty much let the kids be kids.

This 2020 reboot is not preachy - but it’s also lacking the stuff that made the 99 show relatable.

However. This wasn’t a terrible episode. At least it gave us some face time between the brothers. I’m frustrated, but I’m still glad that the show has overall been moving in a much more Digimon Adventure-like direction. And who knows what will happen in the end - I plan to rewatch the whole thing after the finale and maybe I’ll discover they were doing something totally different with Yamato and Takeru the whole time that I just didn’t notice, or that wasn’t clear until the very end. We’ll see.

Next week!

My favorite Digimon, Raremon, appears!

More importantly, TAICHI AND KOUSHIROU EPISODE, TAICHI AND KOUSHIROU EPISODE, TAICHI AND KOUSHIROU EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!

like I’m sooooo psyched for this!! I hope it’s good but I’ll just be happy to see the two of them working together. Taichi didn’t appear in the preview though, only MetalGreymon - not sure if that means anything. Regardless, my little Taishiro heart is pounding!

#digimon adventure 2020 #digimon adventure:#digimon psi #digimon adventure reboot #fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon

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ghostlyzone · 4 years ago

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i love danganronpa so much so here’s my headcanons for a non despair au. (i’ll go by class :3)

THH

1. Mukuro basically babysits junko 24/7 (she’s always wreaking havoc.)

2. sayaka helps leon learn how to sing and play guitar, and they write songs together. (they become besties:3)

3. hifumi and toko like to write together, and they meet in the library every tuesday and thursday to discuss books and fanfictions.

4. mondo teaches chihiro how to be strong !!! they have gym sessions every other day and sakura joins sometimes!

5. kirigiri, celestia, and byakuya have tea parties. (an unlikely bunch but they bond over tea and having daddy issues.)

6. makoto sleeps in really late but always ends up being on time anyways. (everyone in his class always hopes he comes late one day)

7. taka, mondo, and chihiro all play card games together. sometimes they join byuakya, kirigiri, and makoto because they play card games too.

8. the class make bets on what kind of crazy thing junko is gonna do that day. ( celestia always ends up winning to everyones annoyance.)

9. mukuro wants to be friends with hagakure, but he’s terrified of her and avoids her as best as he can. (but then they bond over disney movies and just dance.)

SDR2! + kamakura lmao

1. hajime and kamakura are twins, and kamakura has major separation issues so you’ll never see kamakura without hajime and visa versa.

2. souda and ibuki are best friends and they’re always hanging out. the rest of the class is kinda jealous because their friendship is literally unbreakable.

3. teruteru makes a big dinner for the class every sunday night, and they all get together and eat and talk about stuff.

4. the girls and boys have annual sleepovers once a month to gossip and hang out. they always plan it so that when the girls have their sleepover, it’s at the same time as the boys.

5. nagito and twogami birdwatch together on the weekends.

6. mahiru loves taking pictures of everyone, and all of her projects have at least one or two pictures of the class.

7. hiyoko and ibuki get together once a week (normally on fridays because ibuki loves fridays) and practice together. ibuki will play music for hiyoko to dance to and hiyoko won’t be rude. (everyone was shocked when they found out haha.)

8. sonia goes over to gundhams dorm a lot, and everyone thinks their dating, but in reality their just hanging out with the dark devas and making tiny hats for them.

9. chiaki and peko play fighting and action games together. chiaki loves the quests and peko loves the fighting. (they both love super smash bros and legend of zelda.)

10. sometimes fuyuhiko gets kinda roughed up bc he’s in the yakuza, but mikan will always patch him up! she does it so often they become a little closer.

V3!!

1. keebo and miu love to talk about inventions and robotics together! miu introduced him to video games and they play all the time. (keebo loves minecraft, but miu likes mario cart. they argue over which is better a lot.)

2. kaito has a nickname for everyone in the class. (I.E maki is makiroll, shuichi is sidekick, kokichi is grapeboy, keebo is robro, etc.)

3. rantaro and tsumigi hang out quite a bit. mostly because rantaro helps tsumigi with styling her wigs. but they chat a lot about anime and different things while they work.

4. like mahiru, angie loves to paint her classmates. her personal favorite is to paint kokichi because she loves doing his big extravagant cape.

5. korekiyo and shuichi love to discuss different cases shuichi a encountered. korekiyo talks about the psychological aspects of the criminal and shuichi talks about the general points. they aren’t very close friends but they do talk quite a bit.

6. tenko and maki exchange fighting tactics a lot. maybe not constantly but at least once or twice every week. sometimes they’ll teach them to the girls in class so they can defend themselves.

7. kokichi and gonta will catch bugs together. and as weird of a duo as it sounds, they do have fun. of course kokichi makes a bunch of crazy jokes but they have fun. plus kokichi can prank shuichi with some scary spider he found while hanging with gonta.

8. kaede loves to play piano for the class, and takes requests all the time! the weirdest thing she’s been asked to play was probably the wii music. she’s constantly asked to play an anime intro from tsumigi (of course she says yes.)

9. himiko preforms magic shows for the class; kirumi instantly cleans up right after. it’s a very.... messy performance. lots of glitter. ( the next day everyone gets a letter filled with glitter. they all blame kokichi.)

10. ryoma tends to stay away from the group and by himself, but he ends up being roped into their antics to babysit them. (him and maki end up bonding over being the babysitters of the group.)

11. on kirumis birthday the class threw a surprise party for her, but keebo accidentally ruined the surprise because he didn’t really understand the whole “surprise thing” (he says his software for understanding that hadn’t fully downloaded yet.) but she pretended to be shocked anyway.

#danganronpa #non despair au #headcanons #trigger happy havoc #killing harmony #goodbye despair #sdrv2 #danganronpa v3 #kokichi is a shit #i’m hyperfixating #kamakura

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greenninjagal-blog · 5 years ago

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Deja vu pt2

Wow, I did not expect this to get the following that it did. I’m so glad you guys are enjoying this! Here’s part 2 But if you missed part 1 you can find it [here]!

Summary: Four years after Remus runs away, he makes a friend and gets to see even more death.

Words: 5293

Read on Ao3 || My general writing Masterlist

Remus spends his twenty first birthday at his favorite location: The Basilisk Casino. Its a nice place, the type of place that drains life forces with people along with their wallets. The golden walls shimmer like scales if you look too long at them, which is all the more reason to focus back on the dice, the slots, the chips and coins and cards. The coins all have snarling snakes on them and Remus just loves rolling his thumb over the crevices of the design while he watches his opponents sweat. He can’t count the number of times he’s been cursed out at the table, the number of times he’s been checked for bugs by the debugging crew, the number of times that he’s had several dealers and security watch him as he played at the tables, the number of times where he cashed in his coins and called himself “Lucky”.

Luck, of course, has nothing to do with it.

But he usually walks out of the casino several thousand dollars richer and it’s nice. To have money, to have a room in the upstairs hotel that he paid for himself, to have clothes that he picked out, to wave his excess cash in the faces of every person who’s tried to figure out how he’s cheating.

(Because they all know he’s cheating. One doesn’t go a full night at the tables without losing once. It's actually impossible.)

((Unless, of course, you can see the future.))

Remus is twenty one and he’s never lost a game of cards.

The staff has mixed feelings about him and Remus knows this, because they hate cheaters when it reflects badly back on them-- and boy did a lot of them get yelled at those first three weeks before Remus had asked his poor dealer to invite her boss to the table to play-- but the number of cheaters that Remus outed purely for the fun of seeing their eyes go wide has landed him in the good graces of a few.

Which is weird, being in the good graces of people. And so is knowing that if he finds that one cute dealer with the scar on his knuckles, they’d go up to Remus’s room and they’d spend the night with two bottles of Baileys and no clothes.

“Hit” Remus sings as he knocks on the table behind his cards. His dealer, a girl who’s been working for a while and knows his tendency to give her instructions before she’s finished dealing to everyone at the table, nods to show she’s seen him. The players to his left and his right both glare at him.

Remus smiles, because he already knows what cards they’ve got and what they were going to bet now that he’s announced himself: the old guy with the silver watch was going to stand, the loser with the mullet was going to hit as well, and the woman who’s tag was sticking out was going to hit then split.

Only that old guy was going to walk away with any money earned, four rounds later, after the lady loses everything she made in a risky gamble and the slots catch Mullet head attention.

Remus stays because he likes Blackjack, likes the easy memorization, likes the repetition and the exchange of chips, and he flips one of his Barneys in the air as he waits for the table to refill.

“That’s certainly impressive,” A voice says sounding like silk even over the chattering of the slot machines to their backs.

“This? Its nothing!” Remus flips the coin again, letting the stranger catch it in the air. “I’m more impressive in the bedroom.”

The man hums, twisting his wrist to look at the coin he caught. “Do you often let people steal 500 American dollars from you?” The man asks so very teasingly as he rolls the coin between his own gloved hands.

“You’re going to give it back,” Remus says with a grin, “One way or another!”

The man has a nice smile-- a smile far nicer than the one the dealer with the scar on his knuckles has-- and its prettier in the present time than looking at it in the future. His teeth are all aligned and straight and his molars grind together just enough to look like a threat. He was dressed better than most of the people out tonight: no fancy tourist with rented suits that barely fit, and he had an actual handkerchief.

Remus wonders if he pulled it out would it be tied to another and another and another like every other clown he’s met?

--No. The man just laughs at him and and twirls the Barney between his hands.He does not ask for it back.--

“You’re awfully confident about getting your money back when this is a game between the house and I,” the man says. He’s got green eyes, and black hair that’s gelled right back out of his face. The way he leans against the table makes him so easy to push--

--The man hits the ground spilling his rack of chips and the nearby tables pounce on them like panthers. Its honestly funny to watch and Remus laughs the entire time as the police are called.--

“I’m confident about a lot of things,” Remus wiggles an eyebrow at him. “How confident are you?”

Instead of answering the man places the purple coin in the betting square on the table. Remus tosses a pumpkin just to top him.

“I heard a rumor that there’s a man here who’s never lost a game before,” The man with the green eyes says and even though there are four other people at the table (betting far lower than them of course; the table minimum is twenty five), Remus feels almost as if its just the two of them in the world. “Can I assume that man is you?”

“You know what they say about assuming,” Remus laughs as the dealer begins her deal, “It makes an ass out of me and you!”

There’s a four of spades in front of him, and an ace of clubs in front of the stranger. The dealer has a five of diamonds.

--He hits and receives a King of diamonds that puts him at fourteen. The stranger also hits, and receives a matching King of diamonds. He stands and the dealer reveals her second card: a jack of clubs. Fifteen to Fourteen to the house.--

--He hits and receives a King of diamonds that puts him at fourteen. The stranger also hits, and receives a matching King of diamonds. He hits a second time and receives a three of clubs. The dealer reveals here second card: a jack of clubs. Seventeen to fourteen to Remus--

The stranger is watching him, Remus notes with a feral grin as he taps the table behind his cards for their lovely dealer. The stranger who was betting using Remus’s money, scans the table and then taps as well.

The dealer gives Remus and Dee their matching Kings of diamonds.

“What are the chances,” The stranger muses. “Perhaps I should bet with your money more often.”

Remus taps the edge of the table behind his cards again.

“Don’t worry about that!” Remus waves him off, “You’re going to lose it in Poker in an hour.”

“Are you challenging me to a game?” the man says, half turning from the table to wave down a drink waitress. “Why would I ever want to play a game of cards with a man who doesn’t lose?”

“Beats me!” Remus admits, “but we end up over there anyway!”

The stranger laughs. It sounds like a melody to Remus’s ears, something soft and warm and Remus thinks he should hate it. Whats the point of soft and warm things when there are chips and cash and not-completely-terrible-whiskeys? Soft and warm things are illusions anyway: no mother’s love is unconditional, and no late night blanket forts in his brothers room last forever.

Isn’t it great? That whole “growing up” thing?

He’s thought about making a call with the payphone but Roman’s old number is someone else's now and Mom answers the landline with a different last name.

Remus is twenty one. Roman should be too. If he managed to stay alive this long without Remus being his godforsaken guardian angel.

The waitress returns with the drink and its a screwdriver that smells like oranges even from where Remus is standing. The stranger gathers up his chips won in the game, and slots them back into his rack.

“Well?” He says, “I would like to see this cheating trick of yours.”

Remus laughs at him taking his own tray. “No one knows my trick.”

“Oh?” The man sips his drink, “No one knows? Do I get a prize if I figure it out?”

Remus’s shoulder brushes with the man as they walk towards the poker tables. Its quieter here, away from the slot machines, and the tables are thick with intense glares at cards. The craps tables are going strong and someone must have just won big because everyone is clapping and someone is screaming. The roulettes are hardly any better, although Remus nearly cleared out a whole dealer last week with his multitude of correct guesses that got him physically dragged from the table because its literally a 1 in 36 chance every single game and theres no way anyone should be able to win three times in a row, much less fifteen.

“I’ll tell you what,” Remus says as they join a table for poker that was just clearing up. “If you can figure out my trick, I’ll do one thing for you.”

“For me?” The man echoes, “Interesting. Anything I want?”

“I will fuck you on this table if you tell me to,” Remus says, making the woman next to them choke on her pina colada.

“Charming,” The man hums, “But I believe I have a much better thought in mind.”

He’s taking it surprisingly seriously and Remus knows he should probably be concerned, but the truth of the matter was, he wasn’t. After all, he spent nine years physically telling the people closest to him that he could see the future, and they didn’t believe him. A strange man who was going to lose the first three hands is never going to believe in a magic like that.

The irony of it all. Remus wonders what he did that pissed off the big G up there so badly that they cursed Remus to never be believed. Maybe he should have just changed his name to Cassandra and started wearing tunics around the casino (because hell yeah those things would have been much more breathable than these slacks and button up he was currently wearing). Plus a tunic would totally show off his calf muscles.

--He gets to play three more games of roulette before he’s forced out by security who ask him very nicely to put on pants before coming back and Remus just thinks its funny how he got in to play in the first place. Turning the poor door boy bright red and stammering--

There’s something fascinating about the way the strangers lips look around the straw, the way his eyes settle on the cards of the table the way his gloves fingers weave over his chips with the certainty of someone who knows what they are doing. Remus thinks that he might have played a game with this man before, once or twice, (because he comes here often enough, doesn’t he?) but his memory hasn’t been great since he was seventeen and thought about crushing his brother’s windpipe.

Remus is twenty one and this stranger looks like danger no matter which way Remus squints at him. But is that such a bad thing?

“Are you going to look at your cards?” The man asks without looking at him.

“No,” Remus says, because he already has in the future and he’s got a seven and an eight both of diamonds. (The strangers fingers hover over his own cards-- a five of clubs and a jack of spades-- and his green eyes darting to glance at Remus in suspicion.) The other players at the table shift nervously and Remus thinks that even the old lady at the end is going to pitch a fit about Poker etiquette but she holds her tongue.

He sees ahead to the rest of the hand, something he glanced at earlier. By the time the dealer draws the turn card, Remus not looking at his cards makes the the business man to their left over confident about his chances about his straight. The couple on his right have both individually decided to back out, and the old lady is holding nothing but a two pair. She folds when she realizes that neither Remus nor the very attractive stranger to his left are going to fall for it.

The stranger folds, the businessman checks, and Remus wins the round with a straight flush without having picked up his cards before revealing them.

“You’re cheating!” The business man yells and Remus grins at him as he takes the two blacks and the quarter that the man bet with.

“Not in any way that you can prove, big boy.”

He’s twenty one and he wins the next three hands before the table clears out of all but him and the stranger who followed him there. Security is called twice to deal with another debugging ritual at the old lady’s insistence and the the dealer is screeched at by several parties. Remus thinks the old guy handles it with grace and elegance: threatening to have security called over if the players don’t sit down right then and there.

“How much do you make in a night?” The stranger asks, as the dealer changes from the older gentleman to a young girl.

“Are you planning something?” Remus asks, inhaling the scent of oranges that waft off this stranger, “Gonna get me drunk and in bed and then steal my money? Slit my throat for good fun?”

“I don’t think I’d have to get you drunk for that,” His eyes slide past Remus for a moment to something across the room.

“Oh, so true,” Remus agrees, “Everyone loves a good bit of knife play!” The dealer begins to shuffle the cards to nicely.

“Besides,” Those green eyes come right back to Remus, startlingly close and perceptive in a way that makes shivers run down Remus’s back. “Shouldn’t you already know the answer to that?”

Remus is twenty one, spending his birthday in a Casino as far away from where he grew up as he can be. And despite not having talked to his family in four years, he can still hear Roman’s voice in his head, chanting a mantra of “I don’t need you”, “I don’t need you”, “I don’t want you”.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, pretty boy,” Remus says picking up his cards to look at them, to feel them, to remind himself he’s here in this casino and not back in the room with his hands on Roman’s fluttering little pulse.

The stranger rolls a Barney from his tray, Remus’s Barney, and places it on the betting pool. “Interesting.”

Remus wonders what that means, but there’s no answering vision. Any time he pushes the stranger laughs it off until the dealer motions for them to play or leave the game.

Remus is twenty one and the way that this stranger said “interesting” is the way a scientist says it before they start dissecting a frog. Clinical, cold, like a knife straight to Remus’s throat. His green eyes are dangerous pins holding Remus in place at this table, but he can’t find it in him to wish he was anywhere else.

The stranger picks up his new cards and pretends to look at them. Remus isn’t sure what that means, isn’t sure why this stranger suddenly seems so much different, isn’t sure what could possibly be more interesting than the card game they're playing.

Until he is.

Of course because--

-- He places another three blacks in the betting pool in front of him and he turns just in time to see the stranger lunging towards the crowd that was passing behind them; towards the armed security guard that was wheeling the fucking cash box of the casino towards the elevator to the vault across the floor fuck. Several guns go off and and there’s a couple hundred screams that break Remus’s eardrums in the moment, but all he’s aware of is the body at his feet, the body of the stranger with pretty green eyes, with welts of red bursting out the back of that nice tailored suit that was suddenly shredded and that face smashed into the floor, but there’s no mistaking the way his skin on the left half of his face wasn’t--

There’s something in the back of his throat that tears him up inside, like he’s regurgitating a bunch of swords he forgot he had swallowed. Every hair on his body stands on end, curling with an electric current that didn’t actually exist but one that Remus couldn’t get out of his veins even is he started carving with a knife--

He forgot-- how did he forget? He hated the color red so damn much; how could he have forgotten that?

He grabs the stranger beside him with an iron grip and pressed him to the table as that cash box rolled by, as that future twists away, as that sight fades from his vision from something plausible to a nothingness in the back of his mind.

“Sir?! Sir!”

The stranger gasps for air, looking caught between surprised and not, with those fake green eyes and that stolen black hair, and that completely unmarred face and makes Remus’s skin crawl. Remus wonders if this stranger--this stupid idiot of a stranger-- knows his body reverts to normal once he’s dead and gone and passed.

The rest of the table is in chaos, and Remus isn’t sure if its because both his and this stranger’s chips just got tossed across the table with the viciousness of a life or death (or death or death or death) situation, or because the Dealer dropped her deck, or because Remus just grabbed a man and that wasn’t poker etiquette or something else entirely.

He doesn’t care.

He lets go of the stranger (the living, breathing alive stranger), and he shoves through the buzzed, singing pair behind him, knocking them both to the ground. His hands-- oh fuck his hands sting and shake with some emotion that Remus can’t remember the name of.

“Sir! Your chips!”

Remus rips at the collar of his shirt, tearing off an entire button as he struggles to get enough oxygen in his lungs. The golden walls shimmer and shine and distract, but Remus throws himself through the crowd to the exit.

Remus is twenty one the first time he meets someone else like him.

Well not entirely like him, because this stranger who stumbled upon him by chance doesn’t see the blood, or the deaths, or the future. He doesn’t know all the consequences, doesn’t know the feeling of seeing living, breathing people just stop, doesn’t know what it smells like to mix blood and a half finished screwdriver on the floor of a casino for a box of cash that he had no chance of leaving the building with in the first place.

The night air hits him like an eighteen wheeler (which Remus knows what that feels like, he does, because he thought about it once out of curiosity four years ago when he couldn’t quite believe that he had wasted seventeen years of his life on someone who would never been willing to do the same). Its bitter cold and harsh and it tears his skin almost right off his bones.

He stumbles and nearly falls, does fall, is caught.

Caught by the back of his shirt and hoisted back up, with a second hand stabilizing him by his chest. Remus starts to laugh because he didn’t see this coming. Of course he didn’t see this coming.

Its almost like that day when he didn’t see that argument with Roman coming, except back then he was looking ahead and that wasn’t an option, and now he just hadn't been looking long enough, hard enough, close enough.

Remus feels something against his back, solid, cold, oh its a wall. The stranger who followed him from Blackjack to poker, who bet with Remus's money, who just caused Remus to lose his first game of cards ever-- that stranger with green eyes that aren't real is right in front of him pressing him to the wall and holding him steady.

Remus laughs harder like he can dislodge the cancerous lump in his throat by the force of his will alone.

"Did I die?" The stranger asks as Remus wheezes for air.

And isn't that just hilarious?

"Everyone...dies!" Remus convulses under the man's touch, "Everyone dies... someday, Scales!"

The stranger isn’t like him, because instead of seeing things and wondering if they’re all in his head, he fucking changes his appearance.

Remus hiccups painfully-- a gasping air that shreds his diaphragm as he laughs with tears on his face. He forgot again: how he hates the sight of red, how he needs to breath if he wants to keep living, how he's too old to be crying over every single, little, itty, bitty death he sees.

"You can see the future," the man says like a statement while Remus drags his nails over his own face and through his hair to get rid of his worthless tears.

"Its funny!" Remus grins with all his teeth. "It's always funny! Did you know you revert back to your natural half snake self when you die?"

The stranger flinches, just like everyone does when Remus opens his mouth and talks about death, just like someone who’s afraid of dying, just like Roman.

“You,” Remus says gaining enough sense of his own to shove the stranger off of him and back, “You are…batshit fucking insane!” He laughs, because what else is there to do? Scream? Cry?

(He’s screamed and cried before. It doesn’t work, because they never believed him and then they go and get hurt and tell Remus to shut up, shut up, I don’t need you--!)

“How far in the future can you see?” The stranger asks.

“Take me to dinner first,” Remus twists a hand through his hair, then drags it down his face, smushing his nose and flattening his mustache and then dropping it into the empty air.

The stranger catches his hand, and the silk touch of the gloves freezes Remus’s where he stands, against the wall of a casino in a dark alley where the shimmering light doesn’t touch and the sound is strangely diluted.

“Answer me,” the stranger demands.

Remus laughs, “Or what? You’ll turn your hands into claws and rip my throat out? Maybe roll your body into a giant python and choke the life out of me without leaving a fingerprint? Can you secrete poisons too? Spit them right into my eyes--”

His other gloved hand goes right over Remus’s mouth, squeezing the hallows of his cheeks until its just borderline painful. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Remus already knows the answer before this stranger asks, already knows that despite the burning closeness between them, despite the cool indifference he’s been portraying, despite the millions of ways that he could kill Remus, he’s not going to, not in any way that matters.

He’s a good guy like that.

Kinda.

“You must think I’m insane,” Remus gurgles, shoulders shaking from laughing, with the future in his eyes and no air in his lungs.

“Are you?”

“Not that insane. Not yet!” He pushes off the wall and leans forward into his companions personal space until their faces aren’t more than a few inches apart. “Can’t you tell? I’m the pinnacle of stability, Slitherous Snape!”

“Stability is a lie made up by society to sell more products.” The man waves him off, easily without putting so much as an inch between them. “You are a seer. And I’m in desperate want of someone who can see the future.”

“Because you want to rob the casino we just left,” Remus says.

It sounds different coming from his own lips rather than the man before him. It sounds different hanging in the space between them. It sounds different being a real thing.

“Because I want to screw over the owner of that casino for some unsavory acts he performed against someone who was dear to me,” The man corrects.

“An altruist!” Remus does a shimmy with his upper body. “All that money is just a bonus then, right?”

“Oh yes absolutely! And How…” The man hesitates and clears his throat innocently, “How much money…did you say?”

Remus laughs at him, again. The hysteria is fading leaving another pesky emotion that Remus doesn’t know if he likes or not. Its dangerous, he knows that. Dangerous because even while he stands here, talking to this shapeshifter who is every bit a lie as a person can be, he feels his heels beginning to dig into this idea.

This stupid awful terrible idea. This What if---

---oh…. Oh no.---

“How many times do we die?” The man asks, breathlessly excited. “How many times do we get away?”

Remus is twenty one and he knows that stealing is morally wrong.

But.

But there’s a man in front of him who likes money far too much and a casino behind him that’s filled to the brim with cash waiting and six hundred fifty million futures where they both die painful, violent, expected deaths.

And for once Remus can’t even focus on that part of this frankly awful idea. He’s too busy focusing on the way that in every single future-- all of them-- there’s not even a little--

Remus watches them again and again, as many times as he can until he almost forgets that they haven’t even happened.

And oh.

The stranger is looking at him and there’s something in those green eyes that he can’t hide even if he wanted to.

“There’s a dealer,” Remus says, because he needs to see it happen for real. “Two inches taller, blue eyes, scar on his knuckles. Turn into him.”

The stranger blinks and his eyes are blue, his skin ripples like a puddle when a child jumps in it, and suddenly Remus is staring at someone completely different and yet entirely the same. The man before him is the dealer from the casino, but when he smiles so softly all Remus can see is that stranger who didn’t hesitate at all.

And oh.

Remus knows he’s in trouble, because he can feel electricity in his veins, that burns all of his nerves and hijacks his brain. Because this is what its like for someone to trust his power, for someone to have complete and utter faith in him.

This is what someone believing him when he said he could see the future is like.

“You’re bleeding,” The man says tentatively.

“Happens,” Remus says cupping his hand under his nose to catch the red splatters before they hit the ground. In the shadows he can’t see just how scarlet they are and he thinks that’s a relief. “You really….you really didn’t hesitate.”

“Should I have?” The man cocks his head to the side, half a grin on his face, as if he doesn’t quite get the joke Remus is telling. (There’s no joke, and that fact alone makes Remus’s stomach flip.)

The question is a loaded gun anyway and Remus doesn’t feel like pulling the trigger on himself today at least.

Remus is twenty one and he helps rob his first casino.

Which seems insane, because Remus is a lot of things, but he wasn’t really a lawbreaker until that moment he talked the man who could shapeshift into anyone straight through the four levels of security and the cameras and figured out the codes that he needed to get in to the vault and the path he needed to take out, which led him all the way up the stairs to Remus’s hotel room.

There’s enough money on the floor to fix the world hunger. The man, his partner in crime, the shapeshifter sits in the middle of it like a dragon watching his hoard, scribbling mathematics on the hotel provided pad of paper so that he can count it all. His shapeshift is off, allowing Remus a look at his green scales and yellow eye without all the blood.

He’s grinning like the cat that caught that little canary. Remus thinks its a good look on him.

Remus holds one of his poker chips in his hand, a Barney that wandered off from the casino floor and found its way to Remus’s hotel room.

“So,” He says, because silence has never been his type of thing, “What now? We split ways?”

The man makes another mark on his pad of paper shuffling through the green papers. “I’m afraid not. You still owe me.”

“What?” Remus turns to face him, and if there’s a spark in his chest, a nudge of excitement, well who can blame him? Its not like hes spent his whole life waiting for people to leave him.

Another dash on the paper. “We made a deal, unless you’ve forgotten. You said that if I could figure out how you were cheating, you’d do one thing that I want you to do.”

Remus snorted and waved to the money around them, “What do you call this?”

“This?” The man gave him a shark-like smile, “You did this of your own violation!” He held up a wad of cash, a smug superior smile on his face, that makes his fangs glisten.

“I seem to recall you asking,” Remus challenges.

“Not in this timeline, Love Muffin,” The man throws the cash at him. “You still have blood on your face by the way.”

Remus lets the cash fall to the floor because money is nice, but there’s something much nicer about the way that this man is looking at him, the way he’s still looking at him, like Remus is something more than a nuisance, more than a distraction, more than an unwanted, frustrating intrusion.

“What do you want?” Remus says, because he hasn’t looked ahead this far yet and the uncharacteristic fear in his chest is slowly turning all his organs to butterflies.

He knows what he wants this man to say, knows what he wants to hear come out of this man's mouth and he thinks that if he looks in the future and its not what happens, Remus will surely explode right there in his (their) room.

“Hm?” The man says tapping his hotel offered pencil to his chin. “Well, you did say anything I wanted right? Anything at all?”

Remus nods, rolling his finger over the snake design on his stolen poker chip.

“Well then, the one thing I want…” He hesitates, “...is for us to stick together. I think we make quite the team, don’t you? My name is Dee.”

“Remus,” He chokes, because suddenly there doesn’t seem to be enough air in the world, and he’s afraid if he inhales too deeply trying to get more, the whole reality will shatter.

Dee makes another mark on the paper. “Well Remus,” He says, “Any other places you’d like to rob with me?”

Remus is twenty one and he thinks that this is the best birthday he’s ever had.

(Part Three)

#sanders sides #Remus Sanders #deceit sanders #roman sanders #deja vu au #remus has precognition #casinos #Blood #violence #robbery #Sometimes you just gotta Oceans Eleven this Shit #the author probably should have slept instead of written but #oh well #Demus? Demus #The power of friendship compels you to rob a casino

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kenbunshokus · 5 years ago

Text

this is a (super late) update to this fic rec post! i was planning to just keep editing and updating that post, but it’s been so old it no longer appears on tumblr search system and all, so here we are. be ready for some old school zosans in the mix

all complete

absolute favorites will be noted with a ♡

list will be updated as i find more

story count: 30 fics

last update: jan 5th 2020

CANON-VERSE

Goings On by clarify ♡

Zoro and Sanji understand each other, and sometimes have a very similar sense of humor. Even though they're worlds ahead of most, sometimes they can't help but to act their age.

easily one of my favorites. zoro and sanji are completely in character, being themselves and comfortable in each other’s spaces. for anyone who thinks zoro and sanji can’t get along in canon, this fic can easily prove them wrong.

Part Timer by 8ball ♡♡

Sanji really, really doesn't want to give Zoro a job at his restaurant. Zoro doesn't really even want to work there in the first place, but, well, there’s this thing with Sanji, and this thing with feelings and the whole thing is pretty damn stupid all together.

Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways.

a wonderful, heart-wrenching, roller coaster ride of a post-series fic. this fic is not just a mere fic — it’s a zosan magnum opus with guest appearances by so many other characters, lots of crew hijinks and a must-read for everyone who craves for a happy ending for these good boys.

Say It Again by 8ball

Zoro tells Sanji how he feels. And then again. And again.

since we’re talking about 8ball i just want you to know i’d rec everything they’ve ever written, but special mention to say it again — a classic miscommunication trope fic done well where the miscommunication stems from fundamental misunderstanding of each other’s principles and views instead of just some plot-convenient coincidences. and soft zoro. god, he is soft.

The Wedding Night by cuethe-pulse (lj)

Zoro had never expected any of this.

major character death warning. don’t let the first few scenes fool you. note the warning; the last few lines were like a punch in the gut for me, except, you know, the good kind of punch. also, a quick rec of a drabble by the same author to soothe the pain after this one.

Roronoa Zoro: World’s Greatest Bug Killer by insaneidiot ♡

Sometimes, Zoro's life really sucks. He should've known better than to make fun of Sanji's bug phobia, though...

zoro’s internal monologue is hilarious — until today, this author is still my go-to expert on zoro’s voice, especially his more sarcastic side.

Quitting’s Easy by insaneidiot

Sanji decides to quit smoking. This is not quite so easy as he thinks it will be. Also, his crewmates (excluding Robin and Nami, of course!) are assholes.

fun, fun strawhat hijinks and oblivious sanji. the crew dynamics and especially sanji’s voice are pitch perfect. there’s a hint of luffy/nami that you can easily scroll past if it’s not your thing.

I can’t stop thinking that i can’t stop thinking by hieiandshino ♡

In which Brook changes tactics and Zoro is not amused. Everyone else is, though.

holy shit is this fic hilarious. i love comedy fics that manage to slip in thoughtful observations and character study in between the hijinks, and this fic pulls that off with flying colors.

The Walls See All by threesipsmore

Reiju hides a snail cam in her brother's room.

fun short fic from reiju’s pov. there’s never enough zosan set in whole cake island arc and this fic delivers.

Stormbird by Judin ♡

The Straw Hats' first landing in the New World is on Arashi Island, where it looks like they'll be spending a fun week attending the local festival and making new friends. Until they spot a strange pirate ship in the harbour, and Sanji starts behaving oddly. The Straw Hats become entangled with the mysterious Gently Pirates, a crew that harbour many secrets, and whose captain is a man out of Sanji's past who has the power to tear the Straw Hat crew apart.

it cannot be overstated how wonderful this fic is, and how it could’ve fit into the canon just nicely, like a better-written one piece movie, except with zosan. not only are sanji and zoro in character, every strawhat gets a spotlight and has pitch-perfect voices. brook is especially lovely in this fic.

Unintended Consequence by itsmylifekay

A group of marines charge, Zoro slices through them, and in that instant Sanji feels his own eyes grow wide. Because there, on the arm now outstretched towards him, steel glinting in hand, is the stupid bracelet he’d given Zoro. The bastard is actually wearing it.

there’s a reason this is the most kudo-ed zosan fic on ao3 right now — it’s so soft without being ooc, and there’s a quiet undercurrent of affection laid throughout the fic that will warm you up from the insides.

Somewhere Between Sorrow and Bliss by srididdledeedee

Sanji has never cared for winter.

He can see himself, is the thing. There are bits and pieces that poke through, but it’s not all him. It’s like staring in a fractured mirror. He knows, intellectually, that the person staring back at him is himself, but his face is splintered and his shape is distorted and his body is wrong.

a fantastic character study on trans!sanji and how he comes to terms with his identity with the help of his crewmates. supportive strawhats are always a lovely addition to a zosan fic

Give In To Love by libbylune

Zoro knows better than to think about it too much, but between the rowdy festivals and ancient unexplained temples on this island, it's hard to forget about wanting Sanji.

i love how this fic puts as much focus on the boys after the confession as it does before the confession. a good case fic with its own unique island adventure and i’m always a sucker for soft!zoro

Laundry by libbylune

Dealing with Sanji makes Zoro develop a lot of opinions about clothes.

there’s absolutely nothing hotter than bi!sanji who’s completely comfortable with his gender identity and sexuality. also gay disaster zoro fumbling his words whenever sanji is around is 1) accurate 2) hilarious.

Language of Swords by HaveMyWeedCookies ♡

It took them for a while but finally, Zoro asked if Sanji wanted to hold his sword.

i love fics that explore zoro’s relationship with his craft and his swords, and adding zosan into the mix is something i didn’t know i needed. an interesting outsiders pov zosan in the pov of zoro’s swords.

Ghost of a Chance by sabershadowkat

“I know, for sure, that I didn’t expect to miss everyone so much, including you.” Sanji cut a glance at Zoro and rephrased correctly, “Especially you.”

this fic handles tropes that are usually associated with character death fics, but manages to end it with a happy ending. zoro’s devotion here is heart-wrenching.

Idiot Romance by sabershadowkat

"This has to be a joke," Sanji muttered, poking at the colored petals. Zoro couldn't have just given him flowers.

a classic — this is literally the first zosan fic i’ve ever read — and a lovely one at that. sanji is oblivious and zoro attempts romance, not that zoro ever needed to.

festival night by thisislegit

“ANOTHER FEAT BY THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN, JORIRI.” The woman turned to Mr. Mohawk and with faux sympathy said, “Oh! Sorry, sir. Maybe next time. We can’t always beat the best, but we can do our best and that’s what matters. Do we have any other takers? ANY OTHER TAKERS READY FOR THE STRONG MAN CHALLENGE? HOW ABOUT YOU SIR? MADAM? YOU OVER THERE? ARE YOU INTERESTED?”

“What kind of shit name is Joriri,” said Zoro and Sanji in unison.

i’m an absolute sucker for fics that have zoro and sanji simply hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, comfortable in a way they couldn’t with their other crewmates, and this fic exemplifies that. just them being little shits and having fun with one another.

No Victory in Hesitation & the Past Has Its Lessons by EudaimonErisornae & vageege

Zoro has a lot of things he wants to say to Sanji, but he just needs one more day. || Zoro tries to fix a mistake he made in the past.

major character death warning. i died a little bit inside after reading this tbh. there are some devil fruits-explained time travel hijinks, but mostly it’s this looming, grim inevitability of death that’s written so pervasively throughout the fic that really got me.

Imperatives by dollcewrites

Zoro is confident in saying that Sanji is a man who doesn’t do what he’s told. Which is why, when a command accidentally slips from Zoro’s lips during foreplay, he is expecting to hear the cook’s scoff as he continues to do what he pleases.

i don’t tend to do pwp, but this isn’t just one — it’s a completely in-character piece about their relationship and dynamics.

when you say by bluewalk ♡

It's a long time in coming. Usopp can promise, but.

this fic is as much sanuso as it is zosan, and usopp here is — still very much usopp, but also a very beautiful take on his character as someone who spent a lot of time behind sanji’s back, and realizes that when he watches sanji’s back, he gets to see zoro’s, too.

a complete guide to falling in love by ThousandSunny

Sanji was trained in the Bridal Arts; this does not go unnoticed by the rest of his crew.

while the main ship is still zosan, the fic also focuses a lot on zoro and sanji’s relationship with the rest of the crew, and it’s one of those fics that really makes you realize how much of a family the strawhats is. a lovely read all around.

destructivity is a poison that run through our veins by wasteofmind

Zoro thinks that, someday, they are going to kill each other.

a dysfunctional take of their relationship. it’s fascinating in the same way a car crash is fascinating — there’s an undercurrent of something violent, something visceral. this is one of the fics that inspired me to write migratory animals.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Ocean’s Child by 8ball ♡

Here's the truth: Zoro couldn't swim. He fell in the water and sank like a stone because there had never been anyone to teach him how to move his arms. He forgot that if he screamed for help the water would get in his mouth, and he even opening his eyes hurt.

Here’s the other truth, the one that stays a secret: a mermaid saved him.

a fascinating retelling of the one piece canon with mermaid!sanji. it feels a lot like a love letter to the seas, and it’s mesmerizing how sanji’s mermaid backstory is seamlessly weaved into the one piece canon.

with you by Cirro

How to find your life partner in three easy steps: 1. Punch them in the face 2. Insult their cognitive abilities 3. Embarrass them so much they agree to marry you

a wholesome two-part modern au series. my personal favorite is the second part, where sanji brings zoro home to meet zeff — complete with the two of them teasing sanji in their own ways.

The Proper Reaction (or What To Do When Your Son Brings His Boyfriend Home by three_days_late

Holidays at the Baratie were always hectic, but it's nothing Zeff can't handle. Sanji's new boyfriend, on the other hand...

on the topic of meet-the-family: the only thing more fun than zoro meeting zeff is zoro meeting zeff and the entirety of baratie staff. also includes one of my favorite line about bi!sanji: “sanji loves nice girls and bad boys”.

Exclusive by cuethe-pulse

Zoro loves Sanji, Sanji loves Zoro. Zoro wants to be exclusive, so Sanji should, too. Right?

this is a circus/bakery au. yes, you read that right, and yes, it works. i went into this fic with a lot of doubts and came out very satisfied with how fleshed out everyone in this au is, and i’m forever in awe with how the author can set up an entirely separate, vivid universe with so few words.

Delivery by styx_in_the_mud

Sanji is stuck delivering pizzas when Patty is out of commission for a while. Zoro likes to order pizza after training. Both of them are sort of idiots, but Zoro can be smooth as fuck if he puts his mind to it.

a fun, in-character au with good ol’ banter and cute get-together.

The End of It All by xpiester333xx

Humans have been forced underground due to the effects of a chemical weapon that has made surface life impossible. Sanji lives in one of these underground colonies and though he dreams of bigger things his life has been mundane; spent following strict rules and obeying higher commands. Or it was, until a stranger shows up and changes everything.

the author labelled it as sci-fi au, but I personally think it’s more dystopian-like? either way, while this fic is on the long side, it manages to keep everyone in character until the very end, which is something that can’t be said for a lot of fics.

well, there we go! feel free to drop me an ask if you want to rec me fics or ask for a more specific/themed rec list; i’ll also update this post regularly !!

i also have an ao3 donutsandcoffee if you want to see my take on these dorks o/

#opgraphics #zosan #roronoa zoro #sanji #opfanfic #one piece #fic rec #mine*#mine: fic rec #//#zoro #op

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missmalice202 · 5 years ago

Text

Designing Your Melody: Chapter 16 - Drums

Chapter 01 - Chapter 15

The night after her date with Luka, Marinette turned on her game console to meet up with her friends online. She hadn’t been able to get ahold of Alya yet to tell her about her date because the reporter had been working on a story, so she had been forced to wait until their standing Friday night gaming night to give her best friend the details.

When she finally loaded in, she was pleased to see that Rena Rouge was already logged on.

“It’s about time, girl,” Rena reprimanded. “Now, spill! Leave nothing out!”

She started her tale with how she had made her graceful entrance: by falling down the stairs. Rena howled with laughter at how true to form that was for her and asked how Luka had responded to her clumsiness. Her friend cooed at how sweet he’d been to check to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

As she continued to give a play by play of the events of the previous night, she trailed off when a notification popped up onscreen: CHAT NOIR is online.

It felt weird to talk about her date with Adrien listening. It wasn’t like she still had romantic feelings for her friend, but it still just didn’t feel right.

“C’mon, girl, don’t clam up on me now! What happened next? Where did he take you?”

“What are you talking about?” Chat Noir asked, curious about what the girls had been talking about that had made Ladybug stop talking as soon as he’d come online.

“Ladybug was telling me about her date!” Rena gushed.

“Her what?” he yelled.

Marinette winced. “Easy there, kitty. Keep the volume down please. I’d like to keep my hearing if you don’t mind.”

As he sullenly mumbled an apology, another notification popped up onscreen. Her heart skipped a beat before she read what it read. CARAPACE is online. Oh, it’s just Nino.

“Hey guys, what’s goin’ on?”

Rena chuckled at her boyfriend’s cheerful greeting. “Oh, nothing much. Ladybug was just telling us all about her hot date.”

He chortled at that information. “Ooooh,” he teased. “Do tell.”

‘God, this is embarrassing,’ she thought. “Okay, fine. Just be quiet and let me talk.”

As she told the others the events of her date, Ryuuko and Pegasus popped up online as well, eagerly joining the conversation, much to Marinette’s chagrin.

Chat Noir’s silence ended when she began describing her confrontation with Lila. He began spitting indignantly at the nonsense the liar had spewed. She giggled when he vowed to track her down and make her regret saying such offensive things to her. She spent the next few minutes talking her feline friend down from his rage until she could continue with her story.

When she finally finished, she had to move her headset away from her ear as Rena’s piercing squeal made her ears ring.

“So, have you talked to him today?” Rena asked, excited.

“No, he must have been busy because he didn’t stop by the bakery at all today.”

The fact that he hadn’t shown up for the first time in a week made Marinette’s stomach knot uncomfortably. Had he decided that he didn’t want to go out with her again and was avoiding her? Did something happen to him and now he was in the hospital, hurt? Her overactive imagination was not her friend in situations like these.

“Statistics say that if he doesn’t call you after the first 24 hours of your first date, there is only a miniscule 12% chance that he will ask you out again.” Her eyes narrowed as Pegasus’s extremely unhelpful addition did little to make her feel better about the whole situation.

“Not helpful, Pegasus,” Rena said.

“Ladybug, you should be the one to make the first move and contact him instead. Show him that you are a strong, confident woman that will not be trifled with.” Ryuuko could definitely take the girl-power idea a bit far, but she had a point. There was no reason why she should

“I have to text him tomorrow about something anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“Yo, Chat, you’re being suspiciously quiet about this whole thing. Don’t you have any advice for Ladybug?” Carapace’s voice just dripped with sarcasm. “You know, as a friend?”

“I just think that it’s kind of a jerk move to not call her after taking her out,” he growled. “If he was really into her, he would have at least texted her to say that he had a great time or something.”

Marinette’s insecurities reared their ugly heads once more; his reasoning echoed her own doubts. “You think so, Chat?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You’re worth putting in the effort, don’t you think?”

“Nah, bro.” Carapace chimed in. “Maybe he’s just got something going on today and hasn’t had the time. I’m sure he’ll call or text you as soon as he’s got a minute.”

Nino’s reassurance silenced the insidious voices in Marinette’s mind. “Thanks, Carapace. That makes me feel better.”

They continued to play when Marinette noticed that it was almost 9:00pm.

“Hey, has anyone heard from Viperion? It’s not like him to be so late on a raid night.”

Carapace chuckled. “Yeah, he texted me earlier. He got called in for a gig and he’ll be on later.”

Marinette was surprised. She’d figured out that Viperion was a musician, but she didn’t know that he was talented enough to be performing professionally. She wondered if she’d heard his music before and didn’t know it.

“Oh, is that how you met Viperion?” Chat asked. “You never actually told us how you met him.”

While Carapace explained to the others how he’d met Viperion while he was DJ-ing at a party for a Roth Records party, the topic of their discussion signed on.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Carapace cheerfully greeted. “How was the show, bro?”

Marinette smiled as she listened to Viperion talk about his performance. She was curious about what he played, but she did her best to keep her curiosity at bay.

“Oh,” Carapace interrupted, “how was your date last night?”

Marinette nearly dropped her controller. Wait, what? Viperion went on a date last night? Who goes out on a date on a Thursday night? Well, she’s just gone on one yesterday, but that’s beside the point.

“It was great.” His voice was soft with emotion. “I took her to this place I’d been wanting to check out for a while. And she’s so easy to talk to, once she got past her nerves.”

As he continued to describe his evening out with his “mystery girl”, Marinette couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Here she was, pining over some guy who couldn’t be bothered to even text her after their own date, and Viperion was gushing about how “amazing” and “wonderful” his date had been. It just wasn’t fair.

Not noticing how quiet that Ladybug had become, the others continued to grill Viperion for details.

Carapace, on the other hand, was snickering hysterically under his breath, eventually getting his girlfriend’s attention. “Babe, what the hell? Care to share what you seem to find so funny?”

Swallowing his laughter, he tried to avoid the subject, but he found himself caught in his girlfriend’s wrath. “We’re gonna have a conversation about this later,” she promised him.

Not wanting to hear any more about Viperion’s date, Ladybug changed the subject and they continued to play together for the next few hours, finally distracting Marinette from her own wallowing.

After she’d logged off and shut down her console, she looked at her phone for the first time in hours. She was surprised to see her notification light blinking.

It was from Luka!

Luka: Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before now. I had a great time last night and wanted to know if you’d be interested in hanging out again sometime soon.

Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. How could she have not heard her phone chime? Upon further investigation, she noticed the symbol in her notification bar that indicated that she’d put her phone on “Do not disturb” mode while she had been playing.

Oh man, hopefully her lack of response didn’t make Luka think she wasn’t interested in hanging out with him again. She really liked spending time with the musician. Once she got out of her own head, he was easy to talk to and there was something about him that made her creative juices start flowing.

As a matter of fact, her work on “his” outfit had gone surprisingly well. Usually, she’d run into a few snags when working on a project, but thus far, it’d been smooth sailing, which gave her a perfect excuse to spend time with him.

Glancing at the time, she wondered if it was too late to text him back. But she didn’t want him to think that she was ignoring him or something. Gathering her courage, she decided to go for it. If nothing else, he’d get it in the morning when he woke up.

Marinette: Sorry, just got your text. I’d like that. BTW, if you can make time, your outfit is almost done. Just needs fitting. Let me know when works for you.

She put her phone down and started getting ready for bed. When she heard her phone vibrate, she lunged across the room to grab it, nearly tripping over her discarded clothes in her haste.

Luka: np. I’ve got time tomorrow if that works for you.

With a giddy little dance, she texted back that she’d see him tomorrow then and went to bed, completely forgetting her hurt feelings from earlier.

-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-

Chapter 17

*First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for your patience and encouragement. It means a lot to me. Unfortunately, just when my private life got situated to where I could get some work done, I get sick (and no, it’s not corona virus lol, it’s a chest cold, but it’s still super inconvenient.) but luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), with all the hysteria surrounding the Corona virus outbreak, my daughter’s school has been cancelled for the next two weeks, so I will not be working as well since my job is such that allows me to take time off when my daughter doesn’t have school. So, I’m hoping to get some serious writing done in the next few days.

Also, I’d like to apologize for the short length of this chapter. It’s been bugging me for the last few days and just didn’t want to flow right. maybe it’s the cold medicine hazing my brain, but i’ve decided to just post it and move on. so i’m sorry if it sucks lol

as always, thanks for everyone who likes and reblogs my stories. Your support means the world to me.

Until next time, XOXO*

@write-for-your-life2

#lukanette #lukanette fanfiction #lukanette february #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous fanfic

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rkivepacks · 4 years ago

Photo

TITLE: i have sunshine enough to spread Pairing: taekook/kookv/vkook (Kim Taehyung & Jeon Jungkook) Rating: PG13 Genre: fluff, Mafia!AU, Mob boss! Jungkook, Innocent! Tae, Single father! Jungkook Word Count: 5,867 Trigger Warning/s: swearing,non-graphic description of injuries Cross-posted on: AO3/dtgloss

NOTES: ∟ banner by @rkivepacks ∟ request banner here ∟ request prompt/send commission here

∟ beta-ed by @inkedxclouds ♡ ∟ Prompt by fulltime-taekooker on ao3: Can you write a taekook mafia au with with big bad mob boss jk and a fluffy innocent tae all the cliche stuff :3

Summary: “Where are your parents?” He asks. The child turns and points at Jungkook.

He assumes the child is scared in the presence of the man. If he was the child he would be too.

“Pretty Beri, I promise I will protect you. Is this man hurting you?” Taehyung asks. He learned before that in order to gain the trust and attention of kids you have to show them you are at the same level as them and look them in the eyes.

“Him?” Beri points again at Jungkook. “That’s my dad.”

“You’ll pay for this.”

Is what the well-built man in his crisp all black suit (and probably soul) says to Taehyung. He might as well call him an entity dressed in black that suddenly developed a man. A scary man.

You’ll pay for this.

Taehyung will pay for this.

Taehyung apparently will pay for something.

For what; he does not know yet.

“Ouch- mom! What was that for?” He exclaims as he rubs on the back of his right shoulder, the sting still felt ten seconds after the hit.

“I always knew your big mouth would get you in trouble! Haven’t you learned from that professor of yours? You and your temper.” His mother says, an accusatory finger pointed at him.

He knew at this point his mother’s blood pressure is rising at an alarming rate. He doesn’t blame her but he cannot blame himself either. He would retaliate but he knows it would only make it worse.

Kids these days often get reprimanded for apparently ‘talking back to your elders’ although Taehyung would then kindly explain that he’s not talking back. He’s only explaining. Calmly.

The elderlies don’t get that and would never understand and view it from his point of view but. Well.

Here goes nothing.

“I’m only saying-” He starts but gets cut off.

“Stop talking back! If you get jumped on the streets, you’re on your own.” His mother cut him off, effectively making him heave a sigh and pull his mouth into a straight line, eyes closed.

He looks at Namjoon for help. His cousin just shrugs his shoulders before avoiding his gaze.

So much for sharing blood.

His mother already left the two of them alone but he knows that does not mean he’s off the hook.Not until he has paid for whatever it is he should pay for, anyway.

He knows Namjoon is just waiting for the right timing to laugh at him, if the puffed cheeks, wavering eyes and huffing shoulder is anything to go by.

“Close your shop.” He throws the pillow at Namjoon who bellows and grunts.

He thinks back to the scenario after lunch at work today.

Taehyung and Namjoon are both manning the gallery where Taehyung works more as the curator and sometimes when he’s bored, he’s just a menace.

Today was supposed to be a normal day. It started fairly well, they’ve had the scheduled meetings in the morning, the occasional inquiries for school trips and a slightly uneventful lunch with Namjoon.

It comes after lunch.

He sees a man dressed in a black formal suit the same built as Namjoon talk to the latter. The only difference is that Namjoon lives the part of a gallery curator, in his work clothes which consists of his shirts and polos that he uses for daily wear. The other man however, is dressed in all black. He assumes the man is closely categorized as a high-profile person.

Namjoon is a smart and reasonable man. They’ve had their fair share of meticulous and borderline customers with strong personalities that Taehyung calls rude but this man his cousin is currently dealing with, is clearly attempting to show them that he’s in charge-- with the way he almost towers over Namjoon and the intimidating stare he gives off. Taehyung notices they are the same height but he admits the rude man is more broad than Namjoon.

“I’ve explained to you why. Just pay the refund and I’ll leave you and your pretty paintings alone.” The rude client says. Taehyung scoffs. Does this person not know how transactions work?

“I apologize but I already explained that the transaction is way past the period stated in our refund policy. Also, the painting has been damaged.” Namjoon explains and Taehyung’s pretty sure he’s heard of it three minutes ago and Namjoon almost replies to the client as if it’s obvious. Spoiler: it is.

“My boss doesn’t care if there’s damage. I’ll only repeat myself one more time; refund or else-”

“The painting is damaged in the lower left part. I’m not sure if you are knowledgeable in this field but I’m pretty sure most galleries would not grant a refund in that case. You purchased the painting two weeks ago and so it’s way passed the ten days refund policy. If you attempted to return it at least three days ago, I’m sure we would have less problems here.” Taehyung butts in.

“I’m not speaking to you.” The (rude) client sneers.

“I am, though.” Taehyung replies back nonchalantly, as if oblivious to the threat the man has been implying. “We have students coming in in thirty mintues. Make sure you’ve understood well by then.” He smiles innocently at the man.

“What’s taking you so long to return it?” Another man dressed in all black steps closer to them. Taehyung has seen the man surveying the gallery so he did not assume he came together with the rude man.

Is there some sort of an event around the block?

“Are you the boss?” Taehyung turns to ‘the boss’, innocence still dripping in his tone.

The man does not reply and instead looks him up and down with an eyebrow slightly raised.

“Assuming you are their boss, sir, please explain to your subordinate our gallery policy.” He requests and pouts slightly at the man.

“Who are you?” The client sneers and reaches into his coat pocket but his apparent boss raises a hand as if to signal him to stop.

“We are the owners of this gallery.” Taehyung states as if the men in front of them have been oblivious to the fact.

After a lull of silence with just the boss piercing his eyes at Taehyung throughout the whole ordeal, “I’m sorry, my subordinate is used to getting his way.” He speaks. “We’ll take the painting.” At that, he murmurs to the rude man who nods and looks expectantly at Taehyung. He does not say anything so Namjoon takes charge and says, “Come with me to the office.” Namjoon tilts his head and allows the client to follow suit.

“So you own this?” The man asks, stepping closer to Taehyung, almost crowding him.

“Yes I do.” Taehyung smiles at the man, proud of his gallery and his little revelation. “And what is your work, sir?” He asks.

“None of your business.”

“It is, I think,” Taehyung trails, his face full of wonder. “Especially if you are in mine.” Taehyung explains as if he was conversing with an eight year old.

The man scoffs and shifts on his feet. Seriously, what’s taking Kim so long?

Finally, finally , Kim comes out with Namjoon, carrying with him the painting half of his height. He huffs at the painting before turning to Taehyung.

He turns to walk away seeing Kim is already trailing behind him when a voice calls out to him. “Sir, next time, read the terms and conditions.” Taehyung informs and for the nth time the man scoffs.

His footsteps echo around the walls of the gallery, seemingly loud on Taehyung’s ears as he crowds into his space again. Suddenly, before he knows it, the man’s almost chest to chest with him, leaning close to his left ear.

“You’ll pay for this.”

Days at the gallery sometimes get boring. There are times when they only get whiffs of calls and inquiries, sometimes only a handful of them. At times there are scheduled school trips ranging from kids between middle school to college students sent to the gallery for an out of the classroom experience.

This day ends after Taehyung has finished rounding up the high school students sent for an experience at the gallery. He is tired-- students are rowdy, they are at the edge where most of the time they won’t take art seriously and would find humor in it instead of delving into its technicalities.

“Taehyung!” One of the curators at the gallery who sometimes fills in for Namjoon butts her head into one of the back offices looking for a specific brown haired boy.

“Yes, Ah Hee?”

“There is a man at the front asking for you. Says you know him.” Ah Hee says and leaves without a word.

Taehyung sighs before putting his phone back into his pocket. When he gets to the reception area of the gallery, he stops in his tracks.

It’s him.

And Taehyung is annoyed.

“I don’t know him.” He scowls before turning back.

“I told you you’ll pay for it.” The man says after him, hands inside the pocket of his black slacks, standing behind Taehyung in a stance that screams confidence and elite.

“I’m poor.” He huffs.

“No you aren’t.” The man heaves out a laugh.

“You wouldn’t know.”

“I do. Kim Taehyung.”

“What the fuck do you want?” Taehyung stomps closer to the man, furious.

“I want a lot. Do you want to be one of them?” The man smirks.

“I’m sorry but I don’t even know who you are, honestly.” Taehyung shrugs.

“If I tell you my name you’ll be more indebted to me.” He fakes concern and a gasp. “Maybe that’s a good idea? More chances of me bugging you.” He smiles. “Do you have an office? I prefer to keep my personal matters privately.” He looks around.

“I do have one, for your information. My mother told me to not talk to strangers, though.” Taehyung bites back.

“Your mother is sweet.” He smiles creepily. “So, is this your office?” He walks straight to the room he saw Taehyung walk out from and enters it without a word.

This man is frustrating . Taehyung thinks. He deems it important to follow the man into his own office before he wreaks havoc. Kids these days.

“I can sue you for being in my property.” Taehyung slams the door close, sneering at the man who was leaning his weight onto the edge of the table, a leg propped up to support himself and looking like he owns the gallery.

“You’re in my property.” The man shrugs.

“Since when is this your gallery? You don’t even know when to refund, no offense.”

“No. Let me make this clear. You are literally stepping into my property. You and your gallery which was built on my land.”

“Who are you?” Taehyung squints his eyes at the man.

“Jeon Jungkook. I would not want to give you too much personal information of mine because you know, I don’t put out on the first date.” Taehyung scoffs. “But, so you don’t spend the rest of your night thinking about me, the person you are paying your rent to for this gallery pays me which means I own this property.”

Taehyung can feel an oncoming headache. Does this man expect him to put out his dollars to pay the rent? He does not even know organizations like this still exist and have only known of them in books.

“I told you already, I am poor. My family is poor and the gallery only provides enough for me and my family.” Taehyung explains, exasperated.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna mooch you off your money. I do have other things I need, though.”

With that, Jungkook leaves the room and Taehyung is left with his own thoughts about his words. What could a man, who claims that he owns the property and assuming he’s filthy rich, need from a curator?

Taehyung hopes Jungkook does not call him to curate all the illegal doings he has going on or worse- dead bodies.

He shudders at the thought.

Gallery shifts are usually normal.They still are. The only difference is that while everything is normal, his mood is certainly not.He gets pissed, embarrassed and furious at times.The first instance was when flower stands of lilies and chrysanthemums waiting for him at the entrance of the gallery.Taehyung loves flowers and he does find lilies beautiful. However, he associates flower stands with funeral although it is also used on other occasions. Currently there are two positioned by the entrance, donned with a ribbon that congratulates the gallery as if it is on its gala night.He’s pretty sure who sent the flowers and half of him applauds this person for sending the flowers way earlier-- at least before he or Namjoon and Ah Hee come in-- so he can’t make a big fuss of sending the flowers back to whoever who sent it.

Taehyung gets pissed at the wit of that man.

He’s also pissed at the fact that he can’t seem to throw the flowers away.

The next delivery was a single stem of sunflower wrapped in a bouquet, coupled with chicken and pasta. It came with an envelope that reads an invite as a plus one to a black tie event.

The invitation also came with a phone number.

He doesn’t attend the party and doesn’t text the number.

On a Friday there were no deliveries but there was a text message.

[Unknown] I see you won’t text me first.

I was waiting for you.

[Taehyung] I’m sorry to hear that ♥

Thankfully, Taehyng had a peaceful weekend.

And with the weekend, the peace went away on Monday morning.

He has been ready to wrestle kids today who are scheduled to come to the gallery. If he thought high schoolers were bad, seven years old were worse.

Kids.

The appointment comes and oh, Taehyung is livid.

He doesn’t see a flock of kids. Instead, there is only one.

And Jeon Jungkook.

Taehyung is fond of kids. Which is why his heart hurts seeing that a child had to be in the middle of this. He doesn’t like hurting people but maybe Jungkook could be an exception.

“Hello, I’m Taetae! What is your name?” He clears his throat and crouches down to let the kid know his attention is all to him and not to the creature looming near them.

“I’m Beri. Because my daddy said my cheeks are red like strawberries.” The kid looks up to him. “Are you my teacher today?”

“Maybe? It’s a secret, though.” He whispers and the child giggles.

“First, before we start. Tell me your secret also.” He almost kneels to the ground to be eye-level with the child. He is a man on a mission and he will not let that evil man terrorize children.

“Okay.”

“Where are your parents?” He asks. The child turns and points at Jungkook.

He assumes the child is scared in the presence of the man. If he was the child he would be too.

“Him?” Beri points again at Jungkook. “That’s my dad.”

Taehyung sighs and stands up on his feet. “Is Beri your daughter?” He asks Jungkook, keeping a friendly smile so as not to scare the kid.

“She told you that, already…” Jungkook replies. “I’m not evil!” He adamantly says.

Taehyung chooses to ignore Jungkook and carefully takes Beri’s hands into his. He goes on to tour Beri around the gallery. Trying his best to explain to her the paintings in a way that she could understand. He also tries to keep his distance from Jungkook as well. You never know when danger is just around the corner.

He also takes pictures of Beri in front of artworks that peak her interests. All the while, Jungkook has been following behind who has been listening to Taehyung’s explanation but pretending not to.

When they finish the last stop at the gallery, Beri skips her way to her apparent father. Taehyung is still skeptical about this but if the child says so.

“I still don’t trust you but I trust Beri.” He says to Jungkook.

“Your faith in me is astounding, really. I’ll send you a birth certificate if I have to. Good night, Taetae.” Jungkook says before helping Beri into the car.

With that, he walks away from the two but not before saying goodbye to Beri and promising to see each other again (only her and not her father. He swears).

[Jungkook] sent a photo

Taehyung loads the file and there it is.

Beri’s birth certificate.

(For safety measures, Taehyung zooms into the photo to see if it’s fabricated. It’s not.)

Sadly, Taehyung could not always see Beri as often as he wanted to and as he originally expected. He has been busy with the gallery and working on his commissions. The gallery is not that much entertaining for a seven year old either.There are not many reasons for her to be there four times a week.

So no Beri also means no Jungkook.

It was surprising at first, and frankly for Taehyung, a little scandalous as he caught himself off-guard thinking of Jungkook in the first place. He thought maybe it is not bad at all to see Jungkook in the gallery.

For Beri. Yes. He convinces himself.

At the end of the day, Jungkook is still affiliated with the mafia. Whether he is a good father or not to Beri, he is still a mafia boss and with Jungkook comes the danger with being in that line of work.

He fears for Beri’s safety. (just Beri, he swears).

He gets reminded of his worries one time, when Beri comes barrelling into the gallery at the sight of him. The little girl came with an unknown woman who introduces herself as her babysitter and that her boss Jungkook sent the two of them to the gallery.

He entertains Beri the best he can in between his actual work.

Later that night, the babysitter tells him that Jungkook wishes for his presence and demands for him to come with them.

When they arrive at home, Taehyung doesn’t get much time to marvel at the interior as Beri hurriedly runs further into the house as she calls for her dad. There are other men who are dressed and carry themselves the way Jungkook did in the living room and at that, the babysitter swiftly lures the energetic child into her room, excusing herself to Jungkook.

Taehyung shifts uncomfortably in his place, looking around and just nodding to the men as a greeting. Thankfully, Jungkook emerges from a room.

“Taehyung.” Jungkook almost startles upon seeing the brown haired boy.

However the sight of Jungkook was not the one that surprised him. It’s the blotches of dried liquid that reeks of blood on his dark dress shirt. It’s difficult to see even with the light but he knows what he sees.

It clicks to him that he probably sent Beri to the gallery so the child won’t get to see his father in this state.

Jungkook notices the apprehension in Taehyung’s face and looks at his hands that he is rid of blood but still stained by it (if the reddish nails were anything to go by) and hurriedly assures him, “It’s not mine, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t-” Taehyung gapes and clears his throat, caught off guard. “You said you want to talk to me.”

“Yeah. Come with me to the office.” At that, he follows Jungkook to where he emerged from.

“I’m sure you know already and I don’t have to say it. But thank you for entertaining Beri while I was gone.” He talks to Taehyung with his back turned to him, focusing instead on his bloodied shirt as if looking at it will make it go away. He curses and opts to unbutton them instead. “I don’t want her seeing me do the job so I try to distract her sometimes but it’s difficult with her being homeschooled and there’s not much for her to go to.” Until I knew you. He doesn’t say.

“I told her I’d be hanging out with friends and asked for her permission if I can do that.” He chuckles and Taehyung bites at his lower lip. “I can’t exactly tell her that her father would be going out to possibly knock someone out cold.”

“You’re a great father.” Taehyung says instead.

Jungkook just shrugs and excuses himself to the restroom and later on comes out much cleaner and adorned in a new top.

“I just wanted to invite you over to thank you. I’d call you so it’s not impersonal but I’m sure you would pretend to not answer the phone.”

Taehyung chuckles.“Yeah. I’d rather ignore you altogether than have you frustrate me and I’ll end up screaming at you.” He replies and they both chuckle.

“You’re a nice person, Taetae.” Jungkook whispers almost to himself.

A shriek of daddy! can be heard from outside making the two of them turn to the sound and they do not spend more time in that room as Jungkook ushers both of them out to get to the little girl. Beri jumps at the sight of her father and Taehyung tries not to think of the scenario when Jungkook greets her with his bloodied clothes.

“Is Taetae eating with us? He should try the macaroonis.” Beri asks her father.

Jungkook chuckles. “She confuses macaroni, macaroons and macarons with each other. But she wants you to eat macaroons.” He tells Taehyung.

He did end up having dinner with the Jeons and Jungkook offered to drive him home but he refused. He had already booked a ride anyway.

When he gets home, he gets another round of earchatter from his mother.

“You, get home early. At this point I will just assume that that man killed you already.” His mother lectured.

As he has been spending time with Jungkook and Beri. Maybe he is in fact, paying for it already.

Jungkook doesn’t always try to send Beri to the gallery but when he does, he regrets it. Beri spending the whole afternoon at the gallery means Jungkook is somewhere in the city or even the outskirts doing business, knowing full well that by doing so, his one foot is already buried deep down his grave.

He assumes it’s safe to call them friends and he could worry. If not, he’d just worry for Beri’s sake.

Jungkook also tries to not send Beri to the gallery as Taehyung has his own work to get to. But at times the child could be moody and there’s nothing adults could do but move at her every whims.

As for today, instead of Taehyung coming with Beri to make sure she’s home safely, Jungkook visits the gallery instead.

It’s a record seeing him there again, and not bloodied, at that. He finds Taehyung and Beri in Taehyung’s work room. The two were both busy in their own artworks. Taehyung is working on his commission while Beri’s working on her own sheet of paper to keep her attention in place.

Jungkook marvels at the sight of Beri being focused on her art and his eyes shift to Taehyung who is in his own little world but makes sure he has his attention Beri’s well-being also.

He figures he likes seeing the two together and seeing himself with them doesn’t seem bad at all.

[Jungkook]

Are you at home?

[Taehyung] Still at the studio just fixing up.

[Jungkook] I’ll go there.

[Taehyung] No!!!! I’m finished already. There’s no need. I’ll come there instead?

In almost an hour, Taehyung reaches their house, traces of exhaustion visible at his face and even his body.

“I prepared iced coffee for you.” Jungkook pulls him as soon as he enters through the foyer into the living room.

The apartment was silent, minus the white noise in the apartment. Taehyung mutters a ‘thanks’ as Jungkook sits him down on the sofa, letting him drop his bag on one of the stools.

“I think my legs are dead from crouching down for hours. Stupid painting.” Taehyung pouts.

Jungkook slips out a giggle and Taehyung realizes it’s one of the rare Jungkook things he’ll probably have the privilege of experiencing.

“Do you want me to massage it?” Jungkook asks but before Taehyung can reply, Jungkook’s already lifting his left leg up over his thighs before kneading softly down the expanse of his leg. Taehyung leans back, almost slipping out a moan out of exhaustion.

“Good?” Jungkook asks and Taehyung nods, still pouting.

“Does being with me scare you, Tae?” Jungkook asks and Taehyung hears the seriousness in his tone.

“Sometimes. Especially when I get reminded of it, seeing you bloody.” Taehyung looks down on his coffee.

“I mean, in my defense, that’s not my blood.” Jungkook grins sheepishly.

“Doesn’t really help.” Taehyung pouts at him.

And then it dawns on Jungkook.

“Wait, I don’t think we’re on the same page. When I say it’s not my blood, I also mean it’s not my fault too. I’m not as violent as you think, Tae.” Jungkook chuckles.

It dawns on Taehyung and Jungkook sees the realization set on him. “It’s still blood!” Taehyung shudders.

“Yeah but that day, one of my men got hurt so I had to help. That’s the reason why I had my men; so they can take care of the people and I’ll handle the money.” Taehyung nods in understanding but dodges Jungkook’s teasing jabs.

“Tae, I actually want to tell you something…” Jungkook trails off and his voice matches the pace of his hand on Taehyung’s leg.

“Oh? Okay. Is it about Beri?” Taehyung looks up at him with eyes wide.

“Beri? Ah, no. It… it’s about me.” Jungkook sighs. “This is kind of awkward for me and also I’m nervous-don’t look at me like that!” Jungkook gapes at Taehyung who was trying not to laugh at his rambling.

“Wait- can I just do it? I don’t even know how to handle the situation if it gets awkward.” Jungkook continues rumbling.

“If it will let you feel at ease, Guk, I understand.”

“Promise?”

Taehyung chuckles and nods.

Jungkook sighs before slamming his lips into Taehyung’s, the impact making him hit harder than intended and pushing Taehyung back on his seat slightly. Jungkook supports Taehyung’s head with a hand on his hair, pulling away slowly but not too far.

This time, he repeats his actions gently, nipping at the bottom of Taehyung’s lips.

They pull away from each other slowly for the second time, assessing the look on each other’s face.

“So, what do you want to tell me?” Taehyung asks and Jungkook chuckles before pressing another peck to Taehyung’s lips.

“You’re so annoying.” Jungkook chuckles before pinching his cheeks.

“Jungkook.”

“Hm.”

“I know we just crossed something that’s a one way street. Whatever this is we can’t go back to what we were before. I’ll tell you I get scared. But I also want you to know that my feelings are greater than my fears.” Taehyung whispers seriously before placing a soft kiss to Jungkook’s lips.

“I know. I’ll try not to make you feel scared.” Jungkook hugs him.

Suddenly, Taehyung stands up and reaches out for the empty coffee mugs.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jungkook asks, baffled.

“Cleaning? It’s late.” Taehyung answers seemingly obliviously and proceeds to walk to the kitchen.

“Damn-we were having a moment.” Jungkook groans and stands up to stretch before following Taehyung to the kitchen.

The morning after, Beri was ecstatic to see Taehyung at their breakfast table. If she realizes with her young mind that he stayed over the night before, she doesn’t point it out.

Taehyung insists on cooking a hearty breakfast since he found out from Beri that Jungkook makes sure that they eat heavy breakfast which always consists of fried rice coupled with meat or eggs rotationally.

Beri’s having fun being in charge of dolling up the waffles with whip creams and chocolates topped with fruits of their choice.

When they finish, Jungkook drives him home so he’ll be able to change clothes before going to the gallery.

“Listen, my mom knows about our first meeting. When you threatened me and my cousin.” Taehyung breathes out once they arrive at the gate while they stay seated inside the car.

“So does that mean…” Jungkook sighs.

“Well- she knows about that. But she doesn’t know it’s you.” Taehyung smiles at him. “Let’s go inside, I’ll be late.” Taehyung proceeds to close the door and waits for Jungkook to do the same, waiting for the latter in front of the door.

Jungkook wishes Taehyung wouldn’t let him wait in the living room to avoid awkward confrontation with his family but he doesn’t have it in him to tell the other that he’ll just be waiting in the car instead.

Luckily, Taehyung ends his internal warfare. “Just wait in my room. My mom’s going to suffer from heart attack if she sees a stranger in the morning and she’ll think you’re the grim reaper.” Taehyung says, glancing at his usual black attire before turning to walk to his room.

When Taehyung emerges from his shower, he’s already dressed and ready to go, minus his work bag that he’s currently stuffing his wallet in. With his beckoning, the two exit Taehyung’s room to see that his family had been awake at the time they were in their room.

Jungkook walks behind Taehyung for good measure and because he was slightly offended with the latter’s remark that he’s fitting for the grim reaper look and might give people a jumpscare with his presence.

However, when the two steps into the kitchen, they hear a gasp. “You!” With eyes wide, the two look at Namjoon who’s sporting the same expression on his face. With the sudden commotion, his mother turns around to look at the couple. “You’re the one who threatened Taehyung!” Namjoon keeps a pointed finger at the two.

Jungkook and Taehyung keep seeing each other. There are still times when Beri had to be with Taehyung at times and other times Taehyung would leave the gallery on Namjoon’s care to be at Jeon's residence and distract Beri.

The minor scuffle that morning was quickly resolved when Taehyung and Jungkook quickly explained what happened, and Jungkook had apologized to Namjoon and his mother for the worries he might have caused, although Taehyung insisted there were none.

Jungkook remains busy with his work and Taehyung with his, but when they’re not, they spend time together. If Jungkook can, he’ll be the one who will drive to the gallery. Some days, he visits alone to spend at least lunch or dinner with Taehyung.

Some nights Taehyung gets to spend with Jungkook, somewhere in between his sheets where they proclaim their love for each other.

In whispers Jungkook tells Taehyung how much he adores Taehyung, and Taehyung traces the words he’d be too shy to even mumble to Jungkook and the words he wants to do to him are said not louder than whispers.

Taehyung tries hard not to meddle with Jungkook’s business-- they both do. Some questions are better off unanswered. He learned from an instance when Jungkook had to take care of his business and came back home bloodied. At first Taehyung felt relieved; Jungkook always reassures him that the blood on his hands is not his and that’s fine. Everything is good as long as he knows Jungkook is safe.

That night however, he knew that the uneasiness he feels in his stomach accounts to something. He always trusted his senses. It all pointed out to an injured Jungkook who was trying his best not to alert Taehyung and Beri of his presence that late night. Taehyung had managed to put Beri to bed luckily, but when he heard movements from the kitchen his heart almost dropped to the floor.

There is Jungkook, attending to the gnash on the back of his arm. He’s frozen in his position, eyes focused on his lover who was lowly hissing in pain as he disinfects his wound.

Taehyung clears his throat, alerting Jungkook of his presence and the latter looks up, surprised at the presence. “I’m sorry.” Jungkook whispers and puts his attention back to his wound.

Taehyung walks closer and gauges the wound before preparing another pad dabbed with a disinfectant, and lightly applying it on the wound.

“You don’t have to help, Tae. You don’t like seeing wounds.” Jungkook says, his tone understanding.

“I don’t. But I also don’t want to leave you here in pain.” Taehyung keeps his voice low. The last thing they want is to wake Beri up and let her see her dad in this state.

“I know I said I won’t let a piece of my hair into your.... Business. I don’t want this to be a normal occurrence here. I don’t expect you to drop this lifestyle just so I can sleep peacefully at night. I’ll just have to trust your words and know you’ll try to be safe.” Taehyung finishes wrapping the wound and packs the first aid kit, avoiding looking up at Jungkook.

He doesn’t say anything. Jungkook knows Taehyung fears more than he admits. They’ve talked about how dangerous it is just to be associated with him, let alone be in his life. He knows seeing him in this state only amplifies his fears that Taehyung tries hard to not think about too much. His words would be appreciated by Taehyung; he always does appreciate every little thing, but he chose to stay silent. Instead, he cradles Taehyung’s face in his hands, tilting his head before pressing a kiss to Taehyung’s lips.

They also have their bad days, when Jungkook gets too heated with business matters and his head is too deep in it. He’s only human and sometimes slips. They both are. They get too pissed at each other, they have spent some nights where they went to sleep trying to ignore the other. They try to mend what goes wrong. They’ve invented too much into their relationship to let a small thing ruin it for them.

They do have good days, more so than the bad ones. At the end of the day, Jungkook goes home safely and his reward is the smile and a welcoming kiss as he wraps himself in his lover’s arms. Words need not to be said, they already know it just from how they try to let the other know how much they appreciate and love each other.

With Taehyung around, Jungkook gets to spend more time with Beri and him. More mornings and on some rare days, the whole day itself, they are together. They spend it hanging out in the gallery looking at the artworks or making one. They spend it in the kitchen trying out recipes Jungkook sees on youtube. And at night, when Beri gets too exhausted and retreats to her room, the two of them end their day together in front of the TV until one of them pulls the other to the bathtub, filling it with soap. Jungkook wraps an arm around Taehyung as they stay seated in the relaxing water, as if he’s protecting Taehyung from the slowly dropping temperature of the room. And Taehyung, smiles to himself knowing he’s been protected from things far more dangerous than cold water.

Disclaimer: This work is solely from the idea of the author. Should there be similarities with the works of other respected artists are purely unintentional. This also do not reflect on the real lives of the artists portrayed in this work. Comments, suggestions and any other concerns are accepted in my inbox. Thank you! © AO3/dtgloss

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hollyhockash · 5 years ago

Text

The Broken Clock (full quest set)

[a quest set about dealing with the depression associated with enormous guilt, and self-sabotaging in the process] [full Emptiness, Binding, and Shepherd arcs, but see description for significant caveats]

So. The premise of Glitch is that you are a Strategist retired from the Valde Bellum, the Excrucian War, and you're trying to make a life based on something, anything, else. But you were probably fighting said War, once, and if you were, you almost certainly did horrific things. I decided to tear open this subtext and make it text.

Glitch has quest sets, and their broad structure is similar to that in Chuubo's. There are, however, subtle differences in structure. So while you could probably lever a Chuubo's quest set into Glitch or vice versa, I thought it would be worth it to specifically write a set for this particular version of the system.

Also, the entire quest set is going to be in this post, because cutting it apart for posting seems pretty pointless.

The quests go as follows:

The Void Inside (20/35 XP) (Emptiness 1, Bindings 1, Shepherd 5)

The Past Rises (20/35 XP) (Emptiness 2, Bindings 2, Shepherd 2)

It Already Happened (30/45 XP) (Emptiness 3, Bindings 5, Shepherd 1)

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? (35/50 XP) (Emptiness 4, Bindings 3, Shepherd 4)

Instructions For Reassembly (20/30 XP) (Emptiness 5, Bindings 4, Shepherd 3)

Note that this quest set is about depression and self-sabotage/self-harm.

It is probably incredibly obvious that I am writing this from underneath an episode of crippling depression. I think this is a feature, not a bug.

This quest set takes cues from the True Lab sequence in Undertale, and the We Must Be Killers: Tales from District 2 fanfic series by lorata.

Do you know why Replay Value returns again and again to the topic of moral injury, of being forced to break or kill other people in order to survive, and trying to live with that fact? It’s not because of, as I thought at the time, the fact that the morality dimension of combat PTSD is underrepresented in fiction. It’s because -

There is just enough true horror I did that I cannot wholesale dismiss the guilt as brain lies. I was coerced to do these things under circumstances that nobody would consider me culpable, I wasn’t given a choice and was too terrified to disobey, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Even now, knowing full well that I am an adult and can just leave if this is visited upon me again, I am terrified that should someone ask me to do this again, I would buckle and fold.

...So it’s easier for me to think in terms of “terrible people should still be allowed recovery” than “I am not a terrible person.”

Arc Notes

Emptiness

The original, canonical order of the quest set.

The Void Inside - you’re trying to live a normal life and avoid any contact with the things in your past

The Past Rises - evidence piles up that no, this isn’t going to go away

It Already Happened - depression rises and swallows you whole

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? - you fight halfheartedly against some enemies because, unconsciously, you kind of want them to win

Instructions For Reassembly - you try to fix things

The thing about Emptiness is that there’s not really any more “cracking under the strain” that you can even do, anymore; far, far worse has already been visited on you. And so Emptiness 3 instead ends with you remembering something important you’d forgotten, and making a decision on how to deal with it.

Someone once asked what the point of being on a silver arc even is, because it doesn't involve "progressing" or "improving" in any visible fashion. I didn't have an answer then. I have an answer now. Emptiness arcs are the story of how you don't commit suicide. I suspect that the answer could be something less bleak, but right now that's all I have.

Bindings

The Void Inside - you’re struggling with whether you can ever live in normal society again, and it turns out that the answer is “no”

The Past Rises - you stop trying to push away your history, and try to engage with it; it’s terrifying to even face down the shape of things, but you have to know the scope of the problem before you can even try to fix it

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? - you’re being pursued by people who are trying to take revenge, and you think that if you let them succeed, maybe that’ll fix everything. Fortunately or unfortunately, they realize what you’re doing, and give up before you do.

Instructions For Reassembly - you decide that reparations are a thing you are going to have to do yourself, the hard way

It Already Happened - you are hit by the full force and scale of how much you once did, and realize that no amount of work on your part will make everything right

Bindings arcs are at least broadly similar to their Chuubo's counterparts. So there’s not much more for me to say.

Shepherd

It Already Happened - your life is a haze of gray helplessness

The Past Rises - some specific guilt manages to break out from underneath the depression

Instructions For Reassembly - you try to make up for what you’ve broken. You make it up to some people, but not enough.

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? - you put up a halfhearted fight

The Void Inside - you reach a new equilibrium, which is still depressed but at least slightly more functional

This is where the largest divergence from Chuubo’s arcs shows up. Shepherd 3 doesn’t end with you managing to put an old thing to rest. It ends with you nearly fixing things... only for that hope to be snatched away from under you.

The Void Inside (20/35 XP) (Emptiness 1, Bindings 1, Shepherd 5)

You try to be good. You do your best to be polite. You attempt to keep up with your bills and your laundry. And you try not to use your miraculous nature to facilitate this, because your powers only ever make things worse.

You're not an enemy of the world. So you won't do any more enemy-of-the-world things. Keep telling yourself that and it’ll work eventually, right?

...Right?

The Void Inside (35 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

a supernatural event gets in the way of you going to some sort of scheduled appointment

you pass out from exhaustion while trying to do an entirely ordinary thing (like standing in line at the DMV)

you leak your Bane/Curse out onto innocent people

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

tell someone that you don't need help even though you clearly do

drink lukewarm coffee

accidentally superglue yourself to something you were trying to fix

lie down with your face in a pillow

leave a note to someone else on the floor

try to pick up something far too heavy, or unwieldy, for one person to carry (like an enormous basket or a towering pile of books)

take painkillers

The Void Inside (simplified) (20 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

not doing some maintenance task that you kept putting off (cleaning the gutters, getting the car’s oil changed, etc.) leads to an entirely predictable disaster

you leak your Bane/Curse out onto innocent people

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

tell someone that you don't need help even though you clearly do

feed coins into a jammed vending machine

pick burrs/seeds off your clothing

stand in an empty elevator

The Past Rises (25/35 XP) (Emptiness 2, Bindings 2, Shepherd 2)

The remnants of your past intrude upon your life. Memories. Dreams. Glimpses in reflections. Physical reminders, maybe. And everyone can tell that something has gone terribly wrong. But you should be above this. You should be better than this.

They say the girl who had no feet could smile because she was luckier than someone who had no legs. And you keep asking yourself: why can’t you do that?

The Past Rises (35 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

someone shows up at your Sanctuary and forcibly drags you out of it

you panic and delete all the evidence of a problem rather than trying to solve it

one of your Treasures or Arcana visits you without notice, bearing a gift you didn’t ask for

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

try to drink from a glass of water that's already empty

listen to several voicemails and then don’t respond to any of them

are out of lotion, chapstick, or sunscreen

wake up with a piece of paper clutched in your hand

find wood that is too damp to burn

have a nightmare about hurting someone or something you care about

open a package or bag, only for the contents to spill and scatter everywhere

The Past Rises (simplified) (25 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

you are ill with a stomach flu, or a similar transient but extremely unpleasant condition

you open a container and find something completely different than the label said it had, usually something dangerous (i.e. a coffee can turns out to have a scorpion in it)

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

don't realize you're crying until somebody tells you

argue with a hallucination

repeatedly write and scribble out the same exact sentence

have a nightmare about hurting someone or something you care about

open a package or bag, only for the contents to spill and scatter everywhere

It Already Happened (30/45 XP) (Emptiness 3, Bindings 5, Shepherd 1)

You accept it now. You were a horror. You are a horror. The stain will never, ever wash out; the specter of the past crushes you underneath its weight. You wander blank-eyed through life. You can’t even cry anymore: that’s gone, too.

Nobody can save you, because you don’t let them. Because this is what you deserve.

It Already Happened (45 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

someone yells at you, and you accept it silently

you accidentally cut yourself and then stare at the blood welling up

you spend days in bed, too exhausted or depressed to get up

you descend into Infection State while alone

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

burn a candle all the way down to the stub

sit in a silent, dark room

shove a care package into the corner, unopened

run a finger over your scars, or other remnants of old injuries

eat instant noodles dry from the package

wander in a daze

throw something into an already overflowing trash can or dumpster

don't even try to leave for an appointment

It Already Happened (Simplified) (30 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

you visit a waterfall

you stick your hand into something that will obviously hurt you (like a bonfire, dry ice, or some sort of caustic chemical)

you descend into Infection State while alone

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

take pills that someone else presses into your hand, without looking at them or asking what they are

stand at a bus stop or train station, as buses and/or trains pass by without you

stare blankly at a huge stack of something

eat instant noodles dry from the package

suffer insomnia

try to read a book but can’t focus on the words

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? (35/50 XP) (Emptiness 4, Bindings 3, Shepherd 4)

The people you once wronged are here again. They (at least initially) want to beat you up. You, unfortunately, also want to beat yourself up. How long will it be until they, or you, realize that you're just using them as an instrument of self-harm?

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? (50 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

you let a pursuer catch up to you

you don't defend yourself against a crippling strike

you share a poisoned drink

someone who ought to be your enemy shows you unexpected kindness

an ally or friend tracks you down in some alien place and, angrily, asks you: what the hell were you thinking?

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

attack someone who should be on your side

sit with your back pressed up against a locked door

look around a bedroom or hotel room that is unfamiliar to you

are careless with a blade or scissors

receive a bouquet from someone you don't like and/or are afraid of

load and/or sharpen a weapon

hold paper to a flame and watch it burn

use antiseptic that burns and stings on a wound

hold a symbol or representation of your Bane in your hands

Whose Knife Is It Anyway? (simplified) (35 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

a blade is held against your throat

someone removes your heart, or something that could be reasonably defined as your heart, while you can't or don't object

someone who ought to be your enemy shows you unexpected kindness

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

sit with your back pressed up against a locked door

throw something at the wall in frustration

use antiseptic that burns and stings on a wound

sleep somewhere uncomfortable or inconvenient

continue to chew gum that has gone completely flavorless

pour water onto the ground

ignore and walk away from someone you recognize

Instructions For Reassembly (20/35 XP) (Emptiness 5, Bindings 4, Shepherd 3)

You try to fix what you broke. Or, at least, make reparations. It's not going to fix everything. But you do what you can.

Instructions For Reassembly (30 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

you deactivate some sort of security system

a Power visits you and gives you a task to complete

another Chancery member agrees with you that you are a monster, because everyone here is, and it is strangely comforting

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

suddenly find an ordinary thing inexplicably hilarious and start laughing helplessly

contemplate a bottle of medicine

look through a window at flowers outside

take out the trash

rake or sweep debris into a small pile in the corner

take a walk through a neighborhood you’ve never seen before

Instructions For Reassembly (simplified) (20 XP)

Major goals (5 XP each):

you visit someone whose life you saved

another Chancery member agrees with you that you are a monster, because everyone here is, and it is strangely comforting

Quest flavor (1 XP for yourself and 1 XP for the quest each):

bandage yourself

dump ashes into water

eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

take out the trash

#glitchrpg #quest set #glitch emptiness #glitch bindings #glitch shepherd #self-harm cw #brass hooks

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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

Text

924

Do you have a taste in your mouth right now? What of? Just the faint taste of coffee since I have a cup at the moment but haven’t drunk from it in the last few minutes. Which is your least favourite day of the week? I’ve lost the concept of the days of the week for a few months now, man. Back when we used to do things, though, I hated Sundays as I felt loneliest on that day. It was always an automatic thing too so I had little control over it. If told to clean the house, would you be more inclined to clean one room really well or clean all of the rooms with hardly any effort? Clean all rooms with maximum effort. I’d be really bugged if I didn’t strive to be perfect with the whole place lol. Do you put glue on the object you're sticking down or on the paper? Object, so that the amount of glue I’m putting would be accurate. What was your last dream about? I don’t remember the details anymore but at the very least, I know it was very vivid since I remembered it throughout the morning. I’ve been having very detailed dreams lately – it’s the depression for sure.

What is your favourite part of the last movie you watched? Haven’t seen a movie in a while but the last thing I watched in full was The Crown; Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret really shone through in the last episode I saw. Have you stuck any stickers to the computer you're using? I put all my stickers onto my laptop case but not the laptop itself. I haven’t had the case on for a while now though, since I’m always just at home now. Do you ever write or talk to yourself in your head when you're bored? Yes or when I’m feeling upset, as long as I’m alone. I’ve found that talking to myself is a healthy way to address and deal with my emotions. What interests you the most about other people? What I find interesting always varies. I have friends who I find interesting for their music tastes; some others for their knowledge of random trivia; some for their jobs, etc. It’s always different. Do you ever take random pictures out of boredom? What of? Not really. If I take photos it’s because I want to remember a moment or because I find something cute or funny. Basically anything that elicits a strong emotion out of me, I’m bound to take a picture of. Do you prefer listening to things through headphones or speakers? Headphones. How many siblings do you have? Do you get on with them? I have two siblings. I only get along with my sister; I have not talked to my brother since last year and have no desire to again. Would you rather live in a log cabin or a brick house? Mmm I’d take the brick house. Log cabin would be nice for a quick getaway, but I wouldn’t want it to be my permanent home. There’s a psychological factor in there and I just think that staying in a log cabin would make me feel suffocated eventually, haha. Do you have a calendar up for this year? I have a ‘Job Applications’ calendar that I’m currently monitoring, and it tracks the applications I’ve sent out to different companies and how long I’ve been waiting for a response from each of them. Really needing some positive vibes and energy since I actually just got my first rejection notice today. Other than that this year has been pretty fucking boring and there’s been little need to keep an active calendar. What was the very first CD you bought? The first CD I remember asking my parents to buy for me was like the High School Musical official soundtrack. I was big on Disney as a kid and wasn’t a big fan of any solo acts or bands up until I was around 10. Do you keep things like old train tickets, etc? Yessssssss. Do you like your smile? Why (not)? I like it; I find my smile friendly and warm. I just hate smiling with my teeth at the present since one of my front teeth protrudes. Can’t wait to get braces again. Would you rather be able to sing or dance? Why? Dance. Dancers are super hot, lmao. What was your favourite colour when you were a kid? Do you still like it? It was purple/violet and it was mostly influenced by my great-grandma who lovedddd the color and had it everywhere in her home. When she passed away, my love for the color slowly faded away and I don’t think too much of it now. Have you ever said 'lol' in real life? Haha yeah sometimes. I pronounce it as ‘lohl’ and never ‘el oh el’ though. Do you like your friend's parents? I like most of their parents, though I’m aware that some have abusive tendencies. Most of the parents are super nice, though. JM’s mom cooked a big lunch for us once and his dad buys like four party-sized boxes of pizza every time we come over, Angela’s parents treat me like their own kid, Gab’s mom constantly tells me she loves me...it’s in the little things. How many times have you moved? I can remember just the two times, but I know that we moved several times more when I was an infant. Have you ever refused to try a certain food? Which? Most stuff with fruits, hah. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, like when a sushi roll has mango or if I’m having banoffee pie, but I almost always refuse a meal with some kind of fruit in it. What's your favourite type of soup? Not really big on soup. I just like miso. Very occasionally I’ll have mushroom soup too. What is your favourite candle scent? I don’t buy candles nor do I know people who regularly get them, so I’m not very familiar with the different scents. Does the sight of blood make you feel ill? In real life, it would. I always have to look away whenever Gabie gets a nosebleed ha. But I have no problem watching bloody wrestling matches and I actually enjoy the bloodier ones. Super weird quirk of mine. What do you call it when you're sick anyways? (Sick, ill, not well, etc) If I’m referring to a fever I call it sick/ill/not feeling well. If I feel like throwing up I say I’m getting dizzy/need to vomit. I’ve never referred to puking as ‘getting sick,’ and it took me a very long time to realize that it was a common American saying, haha. Did you ever really believe in the tooth fairy? I did, and I felt super betrayed when I put my tooth under my pillow only to see it again the next morning. If you had to appear in a movie, which genre would you choose? Coming of age. What do you do with unwanted gifts? I keep them, since I still appreciate the effort of the gift-giver. Are there any clothes you haven't worn in ages, that you've suddenly started wearing again? HAHA yes. There will be rare instances where I get to go out and I always take the time to look stylish as all fuck, even though I’m only running an errand and wearing flashier pieces would be so unnecessary. I just miss dressing up and looking cute, man. Do any keys on your keyboard stick? Like, if they’re sticky? No. Would you rather own a laptop or a computer? Laptop. Love it when things are portable. Do you think you'll look at old photos of yourself and be embarrassed? My teenage years are definitely bad especially with regard to my fashion choices lol, but so are everyone else’s so I’m not super embarrassed. I cringe at the photos but I wouldn’t mind if my friends poked fun at them because chances are I’d join in too. What was the worst hairstyle you ever had? I always hated it whenever my mom took me to the salon to have my hair rebonded. That kind of look has never worked with my face shape and so I usually did everything for my hair to start curling up quicker and go back to its original form. Do you like t-shirts with sayings on them? Why (not)? Not really. It’s just not a personal preference. I like plain or slightly printed pieces. Do you click on the adverts at the side of the screen? No. Have you ever coughed and sneezed at the same time? I’m sure it’s happened before. Are you embarrassed to show people your ID photo? Nah. Whatever dude. Have / would you ever become a cheerleader? I haven’t, but I would have loved to. We don’t have a cheerleading club or varsity in my old school though so I was never able to hone my skills, if ever. What's the longest you've gone without eating? Maybe a little more than 24 hours. What is one of your biggest irrational fears? Commercials airing at night. I find jingles and graphic effects unsettling by a certain hour lol. What comes up when you press Ctrl + V? “I reeeeally miss seeing you and your purple things and seeing you give glares to people who deserve it. what a lodi <333” omg aw. It’s Jane’s birthday today and I copied that bit of my greeting to move it to another paragraph so that my message would flow better. Out of the bands you listen to, were most of them around before or after you were born? After. When did you last jump out of fright? I don’t remember. Are you currently waiting on something? What? For a company to take me in. Does time pass slowly or quickly when you're on the internet? Usually it’s quickly, but now that I feel more and more useless around the house, time’s been more slow and for the first time the distractions of the internet haven’t been working. What about when you're at school / work? Depended on the amount of stuff I had to do and whether I’m enthusiastic about them or not. Does the thought of being pregnant gross you out? The thought of giving birth does, but not pregnancy. What was the last thing you made with your hands? I mean I made myself a cup of coffee tonight, but the coffee mix itself was already pre-packaged. I just mixed it with hot water. Are you good at making shadow puppets? I’d say no. Are you more hungry or thirsty right now? Neither. I’ve been so anxious and depressed these days I’m actually skipping every single meal except dinner, and even then I eat very little. I don’t even do it on purpose; my anxiety has simply stopped me from feeling hungry. No idea what the weighing scale’s gonna tell me the next time I check, sigh. Someone hire me plz. God it really sucks being a fresh grad in this current state of the world. Are you prone to headaches? No. They only come out during hectic schedules and stressful weeks. Do you forget things easily? The little and everyday things, like forgetting my school ID at home or where I placed my keys. But I don’t forget things that are more bigger-picture, like birthdays or faces or memories. Do you enjoy going out to dinner? I enjoy it and I terribly miss being able to do it. Would you ever go on a cruise ship holiday? I would and I have. Lots of fun. Would do again and again. What's your favourite sea animal? Dolphins and whales. Do you get coughs or colds more? Coughs.

#survey #surveys

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rebeccawritesbooks · 5 years ago

Note

Valerie and Lucille introducing little patsy to their 2nd newborn?

This has taken far too long to write, but I hope you like it!

Valerie and Lucille had been adoring motherhood, taking it on with every stride. Little Patsy was now just about to turn Two. Valerie and Lucille had been trying for a second baby since Patsy was One and it was a struggle and it had taken a strain. Lucille had told Valerie that maybe they couldn’t have another because God was happy with them having just one child, and that they should just accept it. This only made Valerie more frustrated and angry.

“Are you out of your mind?! Lucille! It’s been a year… there’s something wrong with me!”

Lucille did see where she went wrong with her words “Valerie, maybe we should talk to Shelagh and Dr. Turner.”

“Why Shelagh as well?”

“Well I thought with everything she went through, maybe she could give you some personal advice?”

Valerie just nodded and immediately picked up the telephone to call the Turner Residence. Valerie felt something was off, it had been a year since they began trying for another baby, she had no letters or phone calls from the clinic to say anything was wrong.

Dr. Turner invited Valerie to the Surgery right away, hopefully he could do some tests and have a look through the paperwork he had from the clinic, and Shelagh went with him too.

“I’ll see you in a bit, love.” Valerie smiled over at Lucille, then gave Patsy a kiss on the top of her beautiful dark brown hair.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Lucille asked as she came over and picked Patsy up off the couch, holding her on her hip.

“I think it’s something I need to do alone.” Valerie smiled quietly, kissing Lucille quick, as she grabbed her hat and coat and left the house.

Valerie met Dr. Turner and Shelagh and the surgery, seeing Shelagh there really did help her.

“Sit down Valerie.” Dr. Turner insisted, as he himself sat on the other side of his desk whilst Mrs. Turner stood next to him.

“Now Valerie, explain to me what’s been happening?”

“Well, it’s been over a year since Lucille and I have begun trying for our second baby and yes I know it won’t happen right away but with Patsy it didn’t take this long-”

“Let me stop you there.” Dr. Turner interrupted, looking down at the paper in front of him “Have you had no information from the clinic itself?”

“No, nothing, no letters and no phone calls.”

“Well I have the results here from the last pregnancy test you did at the clinic, I am unsure as to why they didn’t call you.”

Valerie nodded in agreement “So, am I pregnant or not Doctor?”

“Valerie, Congratulations, You are now about 16 weeks pregnant.”

“4 Months? How can I be 4 months gone and not have known?”

“No Nausea like last time?”

“Well yeah, but I had that bug didn’t I. So I’ve just put it down to that.” Valerie frowned.

“Let me take some bloods while you’re here and make sure everything is as it should be, and if I get you to do a urine sample too, then will send those off and check everything’s in order.”

Valerie nodded, and Shelagh took her blood and then sent her off to do her urine sample,which Valerie had no issue doing.

Valerie left the surgery, walking down the cobbled streets, thinking to herself how was she going to tell Lucille, that not only was she pregnant but she was 4 months along.

“Luc? Are you still here?” Valerie walked in calling out, almost in tears from the shock.

“Kitchen babe!” Lucille called out.

Valerie walked in smiling at the sight in front of her, Lucille helping their daughter place the cookie mix onto the tray.

“So? How’d it go?” Lucille asked, as she placed the cookies in the oven.

Valerie grabbed Lucille’s hand, and placed it on her stomach “Four Months.”

“What?!” Lucille practically screeched, pulling up Valerie’s top and kissing her stomach “4 Months? We’re both Midwives how did we not know?!”

“That awful bug I’ve had, covered up my morning sickness. Dr. Turner is running some tests to be sure everything is as it should be.”

Patsy came hopping over and pointing at Valerie’s bare stomach “Mummy’s tum tum!”

“That’s right Sweetie and Mummy is going to be having a baby.”

“My baby?” Patys frowned.

“Well, your baby brother or sister.”

“Sister!” Patsy exclaimed happily, wrapping her arms around her mother’s legs.

4 and a half months later

“Luc!” Valerie grabbed hold of Lucille as they walked over to the clinic, walking along the cobbled streets of Polar.

They slowly opened the doors, being greeted by Patsy Mount herself.

“Valerie, you look as if you’re about to burst.” Patsy teased, Valerie being the only one she could get away with saying that to.

“I feel like I’m going to burst.” Valerie huffed as she held onto Patsy’s arm and Lucille went to work. She was working in the clinic today anyway, and Sister Julienne allowed her to arrive when Valerie had her appointments, it was easier for them and it meant Lucille was able to take her girlfriend to clinic each week and not have to worry about her not having anyone to take her.

“Right, let’s take you through.” Patsy smiled.

Even though people were becoming more accepting of their relationship, not all where. They still lived in a rather prejudice society, which was a struggle.

“Homo!” One women shouted out “You’re type has no place here, you’re disgusting!”

“Small mindedness has no place here!” Patsy snapped back gritting her teeth, all of them Patsy, Delia,Valerie, and Lucille have had to deal with the most horrendous homophobia, they all usually say that they’re used to it, but it’s never something you get used to.

“Patsy I don’t think I can do this again.”

“What do you mean?” Patsy frowned helping Valerie up onto the bed.

“I can’t have this baby, I can’t do it again. I can’t.”

“Okay take a breath…” Patsy frowned rubbing her friends back “What’s bought this on eh?”

“You were there last time! Why did I think I could do this again?”

“Is this why you’ve been avoiding clinic appointments.”

Valerie just nodded as she went to lay down, but just at that point her waters broke.

“Valerie? You alright?” Patsy asked seeing as Valerie had frozen to the spot.

“Yeah...I mean no, that was my waters no! I can’t, I’m not having this baby. I can’t!” Valerie said quickly as she got off the bed.

“Valerie-”

“No! Patsy I’m serious!” Valerie sobbed, holding onto the bed “I-”

“Wait here.” Patsy smiled, before quickly walking out from behind the curtain, she wasn’t gone long before coming back with Sister Julienne in towe.

“Valerie, what’s this I hear about you not having a baby?”

“I can’t Sister! I can’t- I will cross my legs and-”

“Valerie look at me, your baby is going to be born and I know you’re scared but you did it once,which means you’re strong enough to deliver another baby.”

Valerie groaned, holding her breath and nodding at Sister Julienne “I’m so scared Sister.”

“I know you are but, Patsy will deliver your baby, you chose her for a reason. Trust your friend and midwife and Nurse Anderson will be there too, you have a whole family of Midwives and Nurses, that includes us Nuns.” Sister Julienne chuckled.

“I miss her.”

“I know, your Grandmother is a big part of who you are Valerie, never forget the good she has done for you.”

Valerie at this point simple nodded.

“Now shall we get you home? I am assuming you’ve been having labour pains for a while considering how much you’ve insisted on you not having this baby? Hmm?” Sister Julienne asked.

Valerie was biting her lip so hard, she was almost going to make it bleed “OH...god!” Valerie cried out holding onto Sister Julienne “Three hours Sister.”

“I thought as much.” Sister Julienne smiled before turning to look at Patsy “Nurse Mount, your shift at the clinic is over. You are now on personal midwifery duty for Valerie and her baby.”

“Of course Sister. Valerie lets get you home.” Patsy insisted, taking over from Sister Julienne and wrapping one arm around Valerie’s waist and the other holding onto Valerie’s hand.

“What about Lucille?” Valerie panicked.

“Sister Julienne I am sure is quite capable to tell her what’s happening and we can keep her updated by telephone when we arrive back to your home and then she can come and join us when things are getting a move on, okay?”

Valerie simply nodded, luckily she didn’t live far away. It was probably the furthest she would be allowed to walk. As soon as they arrived at Valerie and Lucille’s Patsy realised quite soon that she might not be able to get Valerie up to the bedroom.

“Patsy please. I need to have this baby in my bed,where I feel safest. Please.”

“Right, if we’re doing it, we’re doing it now. Come on, gather some strength.” Patsy smiled, hauling a labouring Valerie up the stairs and into the bedroom. Patsy had managed to carry up her bag, while helping Valerie up. So she quickly stepped to it, sorting out the bed and the sheets, and getting everything ready for when baby would make an entrance.

“Patsyyy! Oh god, oh god!” Valerie cried, stretching her hands out stiffly against the wall.

“Let’s get you settled on the bed, then we shall see how far away you are from delivering and then I will telephone Lucille. How does that sound?”

“Yeah, yeah whatever just get this baby out!” Valerie replied, as Patsy helped her settle on the bed, and Patsy was all ready with her apron, hat and gloves on.

“Right slacks and knickers are coming off.” Patsy smiled, pulling off her friends clothing, and elbowing her knees apart and checking how far along she was. “Well not long now-”

“Valerie!!” Lucille called from the stairs, she’d managed to finish early and she rushed home as soon as she could.

“Luc! Luc!” Valerie sobbed holding out her hand.

“It’s okay pettle, I’m here.” Lucille came to her girlfriends side at once “How’s she doing Patsy?”

“Well, I’d say not too far off, but still a bit to go.”

“I told you I ain’t doing it!” Valerie snapped, her anxiety fully backup “Patsy please!”

“What’s this about?” Lucille frowned

“Luc, I’m sorry, I just I ca- aaaaaa fuck!!”

The hours went by, and with each contraction Valerie was closer to giving birth and becoming more determined not to do what her body would need to.

“Valerie, Valerie look at me, hey, hey I’m right here!” Lucille grabbed Valerie gently, holding her on either side of her face. “You can do this. I am here and Patsy is here, and Sister Julienne is at Nonnatus at the end of the telephone if we need her.”

Valerie closed her eyes, shaking her head “After last time?”

“Lucille, I’m going to check and see if we’re ready to deliver.” Patsy smiled sympathetically, as she felt and looked, seeing how dilated Valerie was and it was now time for this baby to arrive into this world.

Patsy nodded at Lucille to let her know it was time “Val, it’s time for you to start pushing, hold onto Luc and push!”

“No, no!”

“Valerie Dyer. I need you to push now! Now push your beautiful baby out of this strong body that has survived so much already and will do this. Push!”

Valerie heard her, and she pushed, she pushed and pushed and screamed and cried. The miracle of child-birth. It was hard and it was a lot of work but by the end of it most mothers would say it wasn’t hard work, because you have a beautiful baby at the end of it all. That is what it’s all about.

“That’s it Valerie one more push and we will have your baby.”

“I can’t, I’m too tired…” Valerie said wearily.

“Come on pettle, just one more, you’re a fighter, you can do this.” Lucille smiled as she kissed Valerie on the forehead. “I love you.”

And with those words being whispered, Valerie mustered all the strength she could find, squeezing tight to Lucille, her toes curling up and she pushed, and screamed with all the courage she had, and then she heard it, or rather didn’t hear it.

Valerie collapsed into Lucille’s arms sobbing “Patsy?”

“Come on little one…” Patsy rubbed the newborn vigorously, trying to get her to cry, and suddenly there was joy in the room as the baby’s lungs began to work and her cries were heard throughout the house. Patsy wrapped the baby in a towel handing her to Valerie “Congratulations, you have another girl.”

“A girl? Hello you sweet girl.” Both Valerie and Lucille sobbed as they looked down at her.

Patsy soon delivered the after birth, with all of it coming away which was a relief after last time.

Lucille went and telephoned for Sister Julienne to bring their two year old daughter over, so she could meet her little sister. Soon enough they were walking up the stairs to the bedroom.

“Mumma!” little Patsy ran straight to Lucille

“Patsy, baby, this is your Sister, Monica.”

“Baby!”

“That’s right, you have to be gentle okay?”

Little Patsy simply nodded her head and with Valerie help stroked the side of her baby sisters head before saying “Love baby.”

The whole room filled up with tears watching the interaction from Patsy and Monica-Julienne.

#valerie dyer #Lucille Anderson #valerie and lucille #patsy mount

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