#I guess this is what the spiky child looks like in my head

[stickbug-made-entirely-of-spite]

B l a s t y M c 's p l o d e s

(there's a second version under the cut, major spoiler warning for anyone who doesn't know what happens in chapter 362 in the manga!!)

If you've decided to skip the rest of the post, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day! 🧡

Yours truly, Stickbug 🪲

B l a s t y M c 's p l o d e d

I know he doesn't actually lose his eye in the manga, but I figured that it wouldn't be too far-fetched of an outcome lol

That is all! Have a good day, friends 🧡

[silverspectre51]

Summoning the Boy King

Darkseid was rampaging through Metropolis, Superman was injured, and the Justice League was desperate. As the League hid between fallen skyscrapers, John Constantine prepared a last-ditch effort to save the Earth.

The Hellblazer drew an intricate sigil on the ground; its circular design stretching over six feet in diameter. Most of the symbols within were space-related, while the others were themed to royalty. Batman, one of the few heroes in-the-know, grunted.

"Are you sure this king ghost can help?"

Constantine sighed and pinched his nose.

"He's the High King of the Infinite Realms, Bats, an' he's bloody powerful. He'll stop Darkseid, alright, but what he does afterward is anyone's guess. Believe me, I wouldn't be doin' this if we had a choice."

Batman sighed and glanced at the smoke-filled horizon.

"Alright, get on with it, then. We're running out of time."

Constantine nodded and placed a single offering in the center of the sigil: a squishmallow of Disney's iconic blue alien, Stitch.

"I beg your finest pardon," Batman sputtered, "What on Earth is that?"

Constantine sighed again as he took his position at the edge of the sigil.

"Mate, the book was very specific. Unlike his predecessor, the new king requires a single offering of space or alien theme that is suitable for children. It's bloody strange, but beggars can't be choosers."

Batman just shook his head and looked on. Constantine raised his hands and started the summoning chant. An eerie, green glow spread across the sigil, and light fog gathered above it. Little white orbs floated up from the ground and spiraled together, forming the slowly spinning visage of a spiral galaxy.

"Incredible..." Zatanna gasped, "This summoning is on a level all its own. This king of yours is on the level of Gods."

Finally, something began to form over the small galaxy. Batman's expression quickly softened, much to the surprise of his teammates. It was mere seconds before they understood, as a black blob full of white stars formed into the shape of a boy. The blob had spiky 'bangs' if you could call them that and eerie, glowing green eyes.

The squishmallow floated into the boy's arms and he squeezed it excitedly. At the same time, he took on a far more human form, with pale skin and snowy white hair. His eyes had whites now but still glowed green. He was dressed in black and white, royal attire with green accents, a black crown floating in a green aurora, and a black ring with a green stone. A black cape flowed down his back, its underside looking as if it were cut from a clear night sky.

"Awesome offering, dude! What can I do for ya?"

The voice was a reedy tenor in the throes of puberty, and its owner was more than a little geeky. The boy's smile was infectious, or it would have been were it not for the specific circumstance.

"How old are you?" Batman asked, his tone soft, "We weren't expecting a child."

The boy waved him off like it was nothing.

"No one ever does. And, um... technically I'm fifteen. I know, I don't look it."

Constantine cut in, clearly out of patience.

"Look, this monster Darkseid is destroying our world. We need you to stop him."

The boy turned in the air and took in the destruction around him. Somehow, he seemed to understand the situation immediately.

"Okay, but I gotta get permission first. This'll take a lot of power." He paused, taking a breath, and then yelled in a strange language. "Mom!"

Constantine paled and the other heroes shrank back as a green portal tore into existence. A young woman, barely an adult herself, floated out. She had waist-length blue hair and the same glowing, green eyes. She wore a royal outfit in white and maroon, complete with a glittering, silver tiara studded with rubies.

"What's the matter, Danny? Are you okay?"

Danny nodded.

"Mhmm! These guys need me to take out this Darkseid guy, though. Can I use my full power?"

Constantine snuck a drink from his flask. He did not sign up to deal with the fucking Queen Mother of the Infinite Realms, nor had he known she existed. God, he needed a smoke...

The Queen Mother smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead. She spoke whilst taking his new plush.

"Yes, Danny, you may. Let me hold onto this for you so it doesn't get dirty."

Danny nodded and turned away.

"Okay, thanks mom!"

The Queen Mother vanished through and with the portal she had created. Moments later, Danny shot off into the city, with the remaining able-bodied heroes hot on his trail. The young king reached Darkseid rather quickly, engaging him while the Leaguers looked on from cover. Darkseid was foolishly amused.

"A child dares oppose me? Flee, whelp."

Batman tensed as Darkseid unleashed his Omega Effect. Two red beams shot from his eyes, and yet the young king floated firm. Two eerie, green beams shot from his own eyes and, to the shock of everyone, overpowered his foe's. Darkseid shattered into many tiny pieces which then vanished into thin air.

"Man, he really wasn't smart!" Danny grinned, "Who fires a death beam at the king of the dead?"

He received no response, as the heroes were too stunned to speak. Smiling, he saluted the group before tearing open another portal.

"Oh well; villain gone, carry on. Later guys!"

Batman glared at Constantine, but the Brit had already absconded. Heaving a sigh, he resigned himself to this new reality. Darkseid was gone, but there was an incredible new power to worry about.

(Note: My only source of information is DP canon, DP fanon, and the Justice League cartoons from the early '00s. I apologize for any inaccuracies with Batman's or Constantine's behavior.)

[givemethesleep]

Kay, I read the post about your DnD OC's and I am SO INVESTED! That is one HECK of a traumatic backstory! I guess my biggest question is, what's kind of the endgame in your head for these characters? Because they are SO COOL and SO FULL of potential!

Do you want them to reconcile? To physically fight it out? To become an immovable object and unstoppable force, doomed to constantly butt heads?

Is there any sort of plan for either of them to address their trauma and/or get themselves in a healthier environment? Will Boreal ever find someone who loves him just for him and not for what he can do? Will he ever be able to conquer his constant need for validation? Will Australis ever find someone who isn't afraid of her and cares about her, even past her rude and snappy defense mechanisms?

Or are we going for more of a negative character development angle where they go in increasingly darker paths, with Australis eventually succumbing to her patron or Boreal's savior complex becoming much larger scale?

And please tell me anything else about them too, because holy heck, this is juicy!

I ADORE YOU. THIS IS THE BEST ASK EVER. YOU'RE INCREDIBLE MWAH<333

Answering these questions and more + some random picrews and images I have for them under the cut (when I add the cut tomorrow because idk how to do it from the web browser) <3 And grab some popcorn because this is probably gonna get long AND juicier.

SO as far as their endgames, I'm not entirely sure. I use them in a variety of contexts (D&D with my friends from highschool, Australis is my Tav for BG3, discord rp ect.) So their endings are sort of fluid but.

They don't reconcile. They miss each other terribly. Australis offends Boreal's desperate attempts to be "good" and "pure" in spite of the magic that made him the way that he is. Australis cannot forgive him for driving her into exile and building his reputation by painting her a ghastly villain. Every time they meet, they tear each other apart. More often than not, though, Boreal is the antagonist in these meetings. More on this later!

Australis gets a lot of comfort from her pact, drawing her magic and knowledge from the pool of those that came before her. Even if it's confronting, she grows a better understanding of who she is, and why she is how she is. And that, at least, is a comfort. It doesn't change the fact that a 9 year old child was tortured as she was, it doesn't change the fact that she was forcefully stripped of both her human and elven heritage in exchange for crystal-coated horns and otherworldly blue skin. But she understands it, and understanding is the first step to accepting it. Her patron is careless in how knowledge is accrued, so long as Australis contributes it's happy

I think, be it platonic, familial or romantic, Australis does have the capacity to love and be loved. How this will come about is up for debate - I'm using her in an upcoming campaign with friends, and (when I get the hardware to properly play) she's my Tav in BG3, so she has the companions from that game to play into this idea too. I'm also super keen in mushing my ocs together with friends and mutuals so. if you see this. hit me up if you like fucked up and mildly unnerving undead tieflings that turn into a creature of nightmares and explodes sometimes. She does have a pretty big heart, under that spiky exterior.

But, naturally, her story/ies are unfinished, so whether she finds a proper support system in one of her parties (or even one or more partners) is something that is still to come!

Boreal is the one that has the negative arc, with the help of @waffles5588. And his need for validation and the steps he takes to achieve it aren't specifically combatted. He does chance across an adventurer. An orc, looking for work in the more rural towns to help build his portfolio for bigger jobs. The two hit it off right away, and Boreal tags along on one or two jobs as the local guide and emergency healer should Mal take too much damage. They kind of end up in a sort of fwb bordering on romantic relationship. Mal adores Boreal. He's funny, he's someone who sees Mal as something more than a weapon, and who cares about his safety. He's also illiterate and not particularly bright, so he doesn't really pick up on the fact that most of the incidents in the general vicinity Mal and Boreal are asked to help with were incidents that Boreal himself setup. He's open to the idea of sharing his fame with Mal. It's a sort of intimacy, and he doesn't feel like Mal is a threat to him and his persona.

Though we haven't really gone into specifics, it's probably not going to be a happy ending for a long time, if at all. Boreal has to do some introspection and fix himself, which is going to be an unpleasant experience, but losing Mal due to his conniving nature would probably hurt just as much, if not more. Boreal's kind of dug himself into a lose lose situation that nothing short of a full rehaul of his entire person can fix. Sucks to be him, I guess. (All jokes aside, Boreal has two major forces that would force him to change for the better. One would be Mal threatening to leave or leaving him and ruining his reputation, the other being Helm directly stepping in and stripping Boreal of his divine power. Both of these would destroy him, but it'd be the wakeup call he needs)

That should answer your questions re: arcs, so now for some more fun facts (mostly about Australis she's the girl ever)

- Australis is an undead warlock with the pact of the tome, meaning she has her Book of Shadows to learn spells from, does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, and can turn herself into her form of dread - with a grotesquely twisted face, distended limbs and cold sharp crystals covering her body. When she hits 0 HP, she explodes into a fine powder littered with small shards of crystal, dealing considerable necrotic damage to those in her vicinity. From the dust, she regenerates with 1 HP and 1 level of exhaustion.

- Australis' pact has had a noticeable impact on her appearance. Her sclera are a very dark blue and her irises a startling pink. Her horns, once barely ridged, are slowly being encased in the same crystals that encase and hold her patron and it's vast knowledge. Her and her brother both had faint purple markings where they had once had normal birthmarks, but Australis' grew and wove elaborate patterns that darkened and pulsated.

- Every time she uses her warlock skill set, it widens her connection to her patron and the souls that make up it. Often, the voices of her patron question her actions and bombard her with alternate actions, sometimes even downright berating her. It's very very overwhelming, and she can't make it stop. Most of the time, after battles or fights where she has to take the lead, she has to shut herself in her tent and just completely shut down and endure it. She'll often emerge exhausted and with bloodied fingers from trying to claw the crystals growing on her horns off. Hence why she may come off a tad cowardly, insisting others try and carry the brunt of a fight.

- To flex his righteousness, Boreal sends Mal and some other mercenaries up the mountain to find Australis, claiming she's a witch spreading misfortune to the communities on the mountainside. Boreal helps as Mal and the crew attack and destroy the crystals in the cavern. Attacking Australis' Archivist and, indirectly, her. It's agonizing for her, her patron screaming at her in its thousands of voices to protect it, her mind and her vision swimming. She can't fight off her brother, the other half of her, and the pain Boreal and his friends are inflicting make focusing a spell nearly impossible. Her patron channels its power through her and drives the mercenaries from the cave injured, and nearly kills Australis a second time. Boreal tells the others that they must have killed the witch, or at least deterred her from attacking the villages again. They are hailed as heroes. Australis is almost fried from the inside out, lying half-dead in her damaged cavern with so many of the souls that made up her patron just... gone.

Besides, Australis had not once attacked the villages.

- Boreal is a bartender at the town he and Australis spent their late teens and early 20s in. People come to him for comfort and support, for healing and advice. That's where his people skills come from, and how his network and influence became what it is. He's a gossip and a busybody, sure, but he uses it to his advantage! The more he knows, the more damage he can cause and then ultimately fix!

Images are from picrew + a photo from BG3

[subjectively-objective]

Lasers and Robots, a Child's Two Greatest Loves: Analyzing Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (Part 2: Episode 1 "Shattered")

We open with "Scout", well, scouting a Bio-Dread fort (or maybe an outpost. I'm not well versed in post-Metal Wars infrastructure). It looks cool regardless. I like the battlement-looking stuff on the walls. It's like the robots are fighting orcs or something. The spiky radio antenna too. Awesome.

Some robots leave the fort. Did they see Scout? A routine pat rol? Scout stabs a Bio-Dread with a pointy and it overreacts before Scout casts an illusion on himself to look like a Bio-Dread. Somehow the other five robots don't notice this. Seriously? Yeah, he's got a decent mask on, but they're robots, don't they have a computer monitoring their status? Why was one of them set to patrol just around the corner? Did one of the other robots patrol the other corner? Why does their fort have these giant blind spots at its main entrance? Do they have cameras?

I like how Scout pushes the button in one pose, and finishes his transformation in a second pose. In my head his hologram whatever is off by a few inches so most of his body is actually 'grammed to look invisible.

Once inside, Scout immediately undoes his cloak. This will likely turn out to be a bad idea. We get a few shots of the inside, it's a neat industrial set. Lots of pipes and steam and stuff. Scout sets a bomb, and gets found out by the robots. A very good instance of the "two guys shoot you so you duck and they hit each other" trope happens here, I'll let it speak for itself.

Speaking of the robots, they have a neat aesthetic. We see that those two were in some sort of charging mode, so they are robots. The segmented visor is cool, and I like the tubes connecting the head to the chest. Probably pneumatics that make a good 'hiss' whenever it moves. Or oxygen tubes for the human head in there. idk, I'm not Lord Dread, leader of the Bio-Dread Empire. Their chest (and a number of background objects) has this obnoxious red flashing light. The flashing is used during the toy sequences so the toys know when to add points or take damage. So, making them the villain's aesthetic is a smart move that makes the toy sequence less obvious, but it's still a little painful on the eyes. The problem is that the light is digital, which makes it look like a glow from another reality. This makes it stand out more as a special effect rather than an aesthetic choice.

Scout runs out of the building, continuing to shoot at nothing. His lasers are green. Bad guy lasers are purple. This is a subtle nod to Power's team being underequipped rebels as green light is at a lower wavelength (and thus energy level) than purple.

Power spends six of his thirty seconds telling Hawk and Tank to "shoot the bad guys."

Wait, their lasers are blue! That's better than green, but lower than purple. Guess that's why Scout is the scout of the group, he's got the weakest gun. He hasn't shot anyone yet, but I suspect his gun to take a Bio-Dread out in one shot too.

I do appreciate the use of actual spark effects on the robots. Seeing the explosion reflected in their 360p is a nice little detail.

Come on! You can see the sparks coming off him! Don't superimpose a shitty proto-jpeg in front of your real explosion! :/

And Tank's laser is green!? That's as strong as Scout's! To be fair, he is called 'Tank' and not 'Gun,' but damn, they really gave him the worst gun. Biggest one and it has the same firepower as a pistol. I'd do the same though. Giving the person with the best armor the worst weapon is just basic balancing. What does it matter if it takes two shots to kill a Bio-Dread, when you can take a hundred.

So they can all shoot the green? Maybe their lasers have settings, and they use green to save power. Makes sense for a ragtag rebel group to need to conserve energy. Plot hole filled!

Power gets shot and falls over but is otherwise fine. Good to see power armor actually armor. Hawk and Power then set a bomb on the door for five seconds. I think this is a humor moment cause they tell Scout to "Clear the door and count to five" but the bomb only has five seconds left so he says something like "The bomb goes off in five!" or "I don't have five!" Something like that. But, the music is so loud and his mic is so bad that I can't parse what he is saying here.

In the end, Scout makes it out and Power calls Pilot in for a landing.

It's a good opening scene overall. Showed us the strength of the Bio-Dread's by Scout having to run from them, and Power getting shot (and only minorly injured), and also gave a bit of characterization for the team (mostly through Scout's unintelligible yelling moment, and Tank calling Power 'old'). Not enough to know much, but enough to hold the viewer until the next commercial break.

We cut to Volcania and get the shot of Dread turning around and waving his hand to some music from the intro. We learn that it was a power station that Power blew up (nice), and it wasn't his first. We get some silhouexposition of "Project New Order" being delayed by three months (something I doubt we'll ever hear from again given this show's audience of those darn continuity-hating children).

We also get our first clue of what Digitization is. Dread calls it a system he can access, and implies it has knowledge from Power's past. So, it's a sort of human database? Turning a person's memories into bytes. That's fun.

This scene was less good, especially as an intro for the main antagonist. Dread just isn't very interesting in concept and execution. Oh, an evil guy that sits in his chair and is preparing for "Operation: Cell Kill?" Where have I not seen that before. A character monologuing about some future plan we have no context for nor any confirmation it actually will matter means nothing. He may as well said his "Fairy Discovery Program" had been set back eight million ha'seconds. Despite this, I still think he's too scary for a children's show. Especially a live action one. The cybernetic implants and pale skin are disturbing, coupled with repeated references to digitization which we currently know nothing about but it certainly isn't a day at King's Island (my current guess is on par with an evening at Michigan's Adventure).

The next scene is on their ship. It's got Millenium Falcon vibes. Y'know, like a pile of scrap and lights the set crew cobbled together without taking the exterior model into account. Power is still injured, surprisingly. It's good to see that they aren't invincible so early on. Really sells that they are fighting uphill.

They get a message from some lady Power used to know. In "what used to be San Fran." I like the small background banter between Hawk and Tank, even if I'm not sure what they said. It tells me they've been at this a while and are close friends. A good dynamic to have on your first episode. The same can be said with the conversation between Power, Pilot, and Scout.

Mentor looks pretty cool especially because they pronounce it like he's a wizard. More shows need to go the Visionaries route and have cyber-wizards. That and stop making wizards good or evil. I've met wizards. Magic doesn't make you grow morals and ethics, it removes them. Why the fuck would a wizard care about the Metal Wars? He can ponder his bubbling pool of magic goo and cast fireballs. Mentor and Merklynn should kiss. Mentor should take a page from Merklynn's book and make Power and Lord Dread do their chores in exchange for magical items.

On an unrelated note, foggy holograms are both realistic and awesome. If a bit impractical. Mentor says "there's very little left unfrayed" where the message came from. He says this is because the West Coast resistance was eliminated (a bit dark for 8 minutes into your kid's show man.), but what is 'fraying?' I'm sure it's just a word I don't know, but I like to think Dread spaghettified everything.

On their way to the transmission, Power has a really weird conversation with himself. The writing is supposed to be "Pilot is a little jealous of Power's old love" but it comes off more as if she's scared Power is about to describe the scent of Athena's labia. I don't know how you can make "we hung out, played chess." creepy, but he fucking did.

"It was our inside joke!" about "King's knight to Queen's bishop 3??" Can someone who chesses tell me what this means and why is it funny?

We get an ordinary shot of San Francisco from the air and another direct mention of the war. Dread burnt most of the people on the West coast. Jesus. 

I've said it before, but this is super dark for a kid's show. I'm invested, but if I was eight and had just bought a Powerjet XT-7 toy I'd be crying that all his friends are dead and he got shot.

After they land, Pilot gets got by the classic "white gas that makes you cough once then fall over." I need to know where to buy that stuff.

I wonder what keeps these lights all powered. This isn't a Fallout future where we discovered fusion given the smoke in Volcania. Unless it's purely for the looks. If that's the case, Dread gets a lot of villain points. Unnecessary pollution is like, at least five.

The post-apocalyptic sets rule. The flashing traffic light as a centerpiece with the bookstore littered with ashen pages. I kiss the chef on his lips. 

Though, once again this would lose child me. Baby :): doesn't want minute-long stretches of silent atmosphere. :): wants explosions and lasers!

Yay! Lasers!

Hers are purple.

So, Athena was sent by Dread to capture Power, but decided to murder him instead.

Soaron replying to Dread with a "Yeah m'lord" feels unprofessional. I vibe with it though. Too many henchmen are overly formal. Its always "Okay boss" and "right away sir." We need more "whatever"s and "I'll get to it when I get to it"s from the goonion.

So, the digitization happens from Soaron's gun arm (and maybe other guns too), and it is not just making a brain into data. It Matrix-es you.

In a pretty darn good monologue, Athena explains why this experience is so unpleasant.

"It's wires and metal, but it touches you." Yeah, man, that's what matter do. I believe it was Robespierre who said "Matter is when touch stuff. Energy is when touched by unstuff. Mr. LeBas, hand me that pistol."

She literally begs Power to die instead of being put inside "the Machine." It's become a recurring theme with my analysis, but this is way too much for a kid's show. It's good enough for an adult program though, with some decent concepts and themes that could definitely have been expanded upon in a forty-minute time slot. Give a few flashbacks of the Metal Wars and Athena and the resistance and her being so broken after only a few months(?) being digitized would really pull those emotional highs the writers wanted it to. I get the idea, but I don't know who Athena or the world was before everything went to hell. I don't even know how long its been! Power definitely remembers the world before, and acts like he was maybe in college at the time.

Has it only been a few months? So we should feel completely pressed at losing everything so fast.

Has it been a few years? Then we should focus on people forgetting the world before.

With it's current state in Schrodinger Time the show can't focus on either avenue and instead flounders this weird line where it's been long enough to have resistance cells rise and fall, the world to become rubble, but also for Power to not be that old and have been a young adult when it all went down.

Her raving review firmly pushes my verdict of digitization to around "12 hour Vekoma SLC and Flying Dutchman marathon" tier. Extremely in-joyable.

The show then proceeds to remind me it's the 80s and this is a show for kids with some terrible special effects and 'pew pew's.

Soaron was just too ahead of his time. The model is impressive, the animations good, but it just can't interact with actual sets.

Hawk's "flying" reaches Tokusatsu levels of pants, but without the charm of Ultraman and pals. Jimmy Olson could make a decent Ultraman. Also, he and Taro should kiss.

This fight scene of flying cars (they just have those?) and Hawk going "whoosh" and shooting lasers like "pew pew" while Soaron goes all "Woahaa" and fires back with a "Brkow Brkow" and the PNG of Hawk zooms in for the umpteenth time goes on for—I'll give a conservative estimate—twelve years.

Seriously. You had this great emotional scene only to follow it with an action sequence with no emotional weight. If your choreography isn''t good and the fight isn't fun to watch then the fight has to have emotional weight. This fight did for the first few seconds with the SotF saving Power and Athena, but it lost it immediately as the lasers and shots of toys flying stretched into infinity. This scene was made to tie into the toys so you can score points while watching the episode. No kid made it this far, and every adult who did was reminded this was a show for children right here and turned it off (if they even saw it given it aired at 5:00AM Sunday morning on some stations.).

The episode ends with a reminder of what it could be with a heartfelt moment between Power and Athena. Surprising for a children's show, and not quite baked enough for an adult drama. This seems to be this show's favored balance.

Also, there's a refuge called "The Passages." I'm guessing sewers. My heart wants catacombs, but this show only had a $1 million per-episode budget. They couldn't afford catacombs.

Overall, a pretty decent episode. Sets were neat, action sequences sucked (though the last one the toys interacted with lasted until it became funny, then unfunny, then funny again. The perfect length for trash.), and the drama was surprisingly competent.

The show feels fake though. Like, the dark atmosphere and intricate dialogue juxtaposed with toyetic costumes and action sequences makes this feel like a show made by aliens. Aliens don't need to exposit what the Metal Wars and Digitization are; those're just a fact of life for them. Most aliens I've met age sideways too, so they need an adult drama meant to sell them toys.

In conclusion, if you enjoyed the first episode of Captain Power you might be an alien.

[shineybuddies]

A couple things I’ve done, The Inner World deserves so much better 🙁

It’s a good game that has so much potential, unfortunately it wasn’t so popular

🔆Lol some spoilers ahead(just me info dumping and ranting)🔆

The series would’ve been fire too, I want to see the sillies being silly in their world of soil. I want to know more about the world and it’s lore, like the lore was pretty solid but it had some slight issues. Though I didn’t notice them till I played both games about 7 times back and forth.

I also want to know more about Conroy and Emil, I get that they’re the bad guys and all but I wanna know about their life.

We know about Robert’s, him being taken as a baby after conroy ‘killed’ (well they weren’t really killed now were they?) off the dynasty and never being able to leave the palace while also being neglected by conroy, and we know about Laura’s too, her being hidden under the Mechatre plotting the death of conroy while also trying to find her dad yada yada alright we know that good stories 10/10, but what about the bad guys.

What we know about Conroy is that he was supposedly an orphan along with the other two Windmonks (how Mama Dola found them is beyond me) and that they were all raised in the mountains, specifically the Shovel Mountains, so basically they were brothers. We don’t know what their lives were like during that time or how they were raised in those mountains or anything really. I guess at one point Conroy was just like “Ottilie’s mad fine tbh” and Y’know…did the DEED, that scandalous Windmonk… but I understand him I mean Ottilie IS fine asf.

Fast forward Conroy wants to implement the death penalty for giggles and the king says no, so Conroy says “fuck you” and plans world domination which includes having Reminepo (Laura’s father duh) build ‘wind gods’ AKA Basylians. Y’know the deal, boom boom you’re stone and you’re stone and you’re stone and OO look a baby mine now fuck all of you FFFFFFFFFFFFFFLOOTnoses.

And some small notes I found is that Conroy dabbles in Art (which I think he displays in the throne room as you see down the hallway with all the abstract art but I’m not sure), he keeps plants on windowsills specifically the spiky ones, he takes knock out pills when he can’t sleep or is feeling lonely (poor guy), he hates fosfoses AND tumblemice calling them evil (dawg..) but loves his killer hedgehog Fonk (I do too but make it make sense), I did have more but while I was writing this a friend texted and when I texted back I forgot what I was gonna write for this but in conclusion Conroy is a LOSERMAN despite his narcissistic, good-doer image.

Now Emil is kinda difficult, we know that he tumbled down a windfountain as a child (he was probably a toddler when he fell despite his brother saying he was a baby) and we don’t know HOW he survived the fall but he did and ended up in front of the wacky stuff store where he was taken in by his adoptive parents, whom are unnamed, and his brother, who also doesn’t have a name (well, more so everyone forgot what his name was) but is referred to as Emil’s Brother, Emil probably had a good childhood seeing how he has a photo of him and his family in his office which is shown on the bookshelf he has. They look pretty happy to me, besides Emil, born emo.

Someway he heard about conroy and absolutely Fell head over heels (there’s no way he’s straight. Look at him. Plus that time when he said he’ll NEVER be as attractive as Conroy.

It’s like that “I’m not gay but damn” “you don’t have to be gay to appreciate a man’s beauty.” “Nah bro I’d FUCK you”)

Then he got all Conroy obsessed, like really obsessed. Killer obsessed (he’s so real.) Anyways somehow someway he showed up with a mob of asposians to the wind chapel, WHICH MAY I REMIND YOU. WAS DEEP WITHIN THE ROOT FOREST? HOW’D HIS ASS GET THERE AND WHAT WAS THE REASON HE WAS THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, anyways he saw conroy’s remains and was like “NOOOOOOOO THE SOON-TO-BE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS DEAD. you dirty flutenoses KILLED him 😾” “😯” boom bam bang flutenoses are hated, conroyalism is a thing yada yada deedoo yknow what happens at the end.

Some small notes of Emil is that he can get so obsessed with something that it scares people well that’s what his brother says (again, he’s so real), apparently he didn’t have friends if not a couple of them so he was probably lonely in childhood but he still had a good life with his adoptive family, he didn’t really choose to be alone though he did try to fit in but I guess him wanting everything to be orderly and wanting little to no fun drove people away, alright we get it. You’re OBSESSED with conroy. I mean cmon you have him everywhere, your office is filled with it, the wacky stuff store has a whole shelf dedicated to him, you’re spending the rest of your life for one thing only and that’s to be Conroy’s second hand man.

Istg he’s in love with Conroy there definitely is some hints of fruit in him.

And one last thing on the small notes, Emil is scary good at sculpting stuff and building, he’s spent 2-3 years on the cable car sculpture thing, in his office he has a model of Conroy’s palace on display sitting on the bookshelf, this means he could technically put conroy back together and revive him. But he’d have to figure out how, I mean conroy did shatter into tiny pieces.

I think that’s all I wanted to dump for now, but I’m very passionate about TIW and will do anything for that series. If you put in enough effort, you could find a way to make TIW 3 filled with new critters and characters. Though this is all fantasy, I know that there will never been another TIW nor will the series ever be released unless a miracle happens. But I’m keeping it realistic so my mind doesn’t build up hope that shouldn’t be there.

None the less even fanart that was made years ago makes me sob tears of joy, maybe one day TIW will get more recognition and the love it deserves.

Do I ship Conremil (conroy x Emil)??? Maybe…maybe….(absolutely 100% hands down ARFARFARFARAFRFARAF yes just yes my dictator husbands)

[adhdfanficwriter]

Chapter Three

I was now in gym. One of the few classes I share with Bella. On one half the court the guys played basketball while the other half girls played volley ball. I was trying my best to keep the ball from going towards Bella. She isn't very coordinated and would probably accidentally hurt herself or someone else.

"Crap!" I hissed as the ball flew by me toward Bella.

I turned to see her whack the ball. My eyes followed it as it soared across the gym smacking a guy with spiky blonde hair in the back of the head. I couldn't help but giggle as Bella glared at me before rushing over to the boy with me in tow.

"I'm so sorry." Bella apologized. "I told them I shouldn't play."

"It's fine, just a flesh wound." The guy shrugged it off. "You must be Isabella and Scarlett Swan, I'm Mike Newton."

"Just Bella." Bella corrected shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

The girl from the other team jogged over seemingly shoving her way between Bella and Mike. She was possessive over the boy.

"She's got a great spike doesn't she." The girl gave a fake smile. "I'm Jessica by the way, hey your both from Arizona right?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded.

"I thought people from Arizona were supposed to like be tan." Jessica says.

"We moved here from Arizona but we were born her in Forks." I explained.

"I guess that's why they kicked us out." Bella tried to joke causing me to playfully roll my eyes at her.

Mike laughed loudly while Jessica did one of those fake laughs. Bella awkwardly smiles before making her way over to the volleyball net with me not far behind.

--

"Did you know Uncle Emil has a child?" I asked Bella as we changed out of our gym clothes.

"What?" Bella asked looking as if she was a deer caught in headlights. "N-no he don't."

"You know something." I narrowed my eyes at her. "But, I'll let it go for now, I'm sitting with Edward at lunch."

I grabbed my bag walking out of the locker-room. I smiled at Edward who was leaning against the wall by the doors. Jessica flirtatiously waved at him as she walked by. I walked over to him and giggled as he grabbed my hips pulling me close.

"Hey, Eddie." I smiled.

"Hey, sweetheart." Edward smiled pressing a sweet kiss to my forehead. "Ready for lunch?"

"Mhm." I hummed interlacing our hands.

Edward smiled as we walked through the halls. Students and teachers alike gawked at us. I spot Uncle Emil walking out of the office. I quickly adverted my eyes away from him when they met his.

As we met up with the other Cullen's outside the cafeteria Alice and Rosalie both attacked me in a hug causing me to laugh. Once they pulled away I was pulled into a bear hug by Emmett.

"I remember the first time you bear hugged me." I laughed. "When I called you a womanizer."

"And when I promised not to sleep around as much." Emmett says. "Couldn't stand to see you upset."

Once he set me down I brushed my hands along my thighs before turning to Jasper who was smirking at me.

"C'mere you." He says pulling me into a warm hug.

We pulled away and I linked my arm through Eddie's. Rosalie and Emmett walked into the cafeteria first holding hands. Soon after Alice and Jasper followed.

"Let's make them wait a few extra minutes." Edward whispered before he grabbed my face in his hands kissing me.

I giggle into the kiss wrapping my arms around his neck. We pulled away so I could actually breathe. He smiled down at me before looping his arm around my shoulders pulling me close to his side as we walked into the cafeteria.

I shyly tucked myself closer to Eddie's side as everyone's eyes had landed on me. My eyes scanned the cafeteria searching for my sister. Our eyes locked together she looked at Edward then to me wiggling her brows causing me to playfully roll my eyes. The girl beside her, Jessica from gym glared at me causing me to turn my attention to where Eddie was leading me.

He pulled a chair out for me beside Jasper. I smiled at him and sat down. Jasper slid a boat of fries over to me causing me to grin taking one. Edward sat down tossing his arm across my shoulder pressing a kiss to my hairline.

"Your sister is staring." He murmured against my hair.

"She usually does when I do something that brings attention to me." I say shrugging. "I'm pretty sure my family are keeping secrets from me."

"Why do you think that?" Rosalie asked me.

"I got sent to the principles office this morning." I say. "First period to be exact. Jasper went with me to be a witness and the principle is my Uncle Emil."

"Principle Swan is your uncle?" Emmett asked. "But what did you do to get sent to the principles office?"

"Mrs. Russo asked me to give a fact about history so of course I gave the fact about Jazz." I explained. "She tried to say I was wrong and then called me stupid so I got up with my textbook to the right page slamming the book on her desk proving her wrong. Uncle Emil was pissed off when he found out she called me stupid and let Jazz and I sit in his office while he spoke to Mrs. Russo, me being me I snooped into his drawer and found a picture of him holding a baby a few days before Bella and I were born."

"Who was the child?" Alice asked.

"The back of the picture said; September tenth nineteen-eighty-seven; Emil and his daughter two hours after birth." Jasper says. "But the thing is the baby looks like Scar."

"It does." Edward looked at Jasper. "Your Uncle got mad at you for it."

"Yeah." I say looking at my hands.

Edward sighed pulling me closer to him kissing my hair. I grabbed my phone out as it beeped. It was a text from dad telling me to meet him at the Carver Cafe around six.

"I'll be right back." I say. "Gotta tell Bella something."

I stood up walking over to Bella who was laughing with her friends. They stopped laughing as they looked up at me.

"Hey, Bells." I say. "Dad wants to meet at Carver Cafe for dinner around six."

"You can go." She shrugged. "I'm not. I'd rather hang with my friends than him."

I glared at her before turning on my heel walking away from her. How could she be so rude about dad? She hasn't seen him since she was fourteen and still doesn't want anything to do with him?

[localcryptidsteg]

Chapter 3- Unstopable force? Meet Impenetrable Object 

Mei hurried through the jungle, hopping between sparse patches of ground between the rot. She had to find a way back to Mk; Sun Wukong didn't seem volatile, but Mk didn't have any field experience with violent ghosts and she couldn't risk leaving him alone for too long. The dangerous ones knew how to hide what they were, after all, and something had felt off about the unusually chipper spirit.

Doing her best to follow the cliffside, she ran until finding the edge of what seemed to be a city. Mei looked around warily before proceeding. For an island that was meant to be so haunted, it sure was empty in the one place she'd expect spirits. 

Making her way through the ghost town, it seemed like the people here must have left in a hurry, their things abandoned and scattered. It looked like they had rummaged through everything to grab what was most important before they evacuated. 

Winding through the streets, she found she was approaching the side of the mountain again. Maybe there was another way up to the temple through the city? 

As she explored, she could hear footsteps behind her, trying to be stealthy. Whoever they belonged to didn't seem keen on bothering her though, just observing, so Mei let it be. 

As she approached a bridge leading through a massive waterfall, that changed. 

“Hold! Where do you think you're going?” A nasal voice called out from behind her, as a looming shadow stepped in front of her. 

Mei took a step back, squinting against the sun. It took a moment to make out the armored elephant demon against the harsh light. “Well? It's only polite to answer their question.” He rumbled amicably, gesturing behind Mei. 

She turned to see a bird demon dressed in armor similar to the elephant's.

“I'm trying to find a way back to my friend. He's about this tall, spiky brown hair, orange cape, shitty old staff... has he come this way?” Mei gestured while trying to describe Mk.

“He was with a monkey demon's ghost.” 

The bird looked rattled by the statement. “You're sure it was a monkey demon? Not a weird human? Or a cat with an unusually long tail?” They asked nervously. 

“Nope. Little orange monkey.” 

The bird relaxed at the amendment. “Oh thank goodness! I was worried he was out and about again! But it's just Wukong.” They sighed, then frowned. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack, dragon child?? Have the decency to mention which monkey it was the first time around!”

Mei shrugged. “My bad. Didn't realize this island had monkey problems. Anyway, have you seen them?” 

The elephant stepped around her to join the bird. “I'm afraid no one living has been this way in quite some time. Rest assured, though, so long as your friend is with Wukong, he is safe. The man may be a bit... energetic... but he is a formidable foe. He won't let anything bad happen.” 

Mei groaned. “Well, that's one less thing to worry about, I guess. Monkey King said something about a mountain temple. Is there a way up through here?” 

The bird and elephant looked hesitantly at each other. “Well, there is, but-” the elephant started. 

“-But you'll have to get past the Six Eared Macaque to get to it, the menace!” The bird shook his head in disgust, shrugging. The elephant shot him a disapproving look. “What?? 'His Majesty' nearly tore a hole through my beautiful wings last time he left that damned cave!” The bird protested.

“I don't care if this 'Macaque' has 16 ears and can tear through rock itself! I need to get to that temple!” Mei declared, grinning. 

“Wait. It's not just that. The pass through that cave holds the heart of the corruption on this island. You'll need to find a way to clear it out before you'll be able to get through.” The elephant sighed. “If Azure Lion were here, he could help you, but...” 

The bird looked guiltily at the ground. “He hasn't been himself in centuries. The rot got to him.” 

“This Azure Lion person... he's a spirit like you guys, right?” Mei perked up. 

The elephant nodded. 

“Then leave it to me! I'm a spirit guide! I'm supposed to be finding a way to clear out this rot anyway!” 

The elephant smiled at her, surprised, but pleased. “Would you really? Thank you very much for your offer, young one!” 

Peng stooped to the ground, picking up an object leaned against the ornate gate posts decorating the start of the bridge. It was a blue and gold mask, shaped like a lion's face. A bit on the nose, really. 

“Here. You'll be needing this. Just make sure you don't go losing it or breaking it!” The bird sneered, though they handed it over readily. 

“I'll do my best-!... uh... What are your names?” Mei looked back up at them as she tied the mask to her belt.

“The Golden-Winged Peng and Yellow Tusk, at your service! Of the king's personal guard!” The bird, Peng based on the way they gestured to themself, preened. Yellow Tusk bowed lightly. 

"...At least we were back when he was worth calling a king." Peng amended, sighing.

“Mei! Pleased to meet you!” Mei bowed back, ignoring the complaint. “I'll need at least three relics that were important to your friend, though it seems like you're already familiar with the drill. Any hints on where to start?”

Yellow Tusk thought for a moment. “The palace and the barracks are most likely to have items Azure held dear. But be careful! The palace is Macaque's domain, and His Majesty doesn't take disturbances kindly.” 

“That's putting it a bit mildly, don't you think?” Peng muttered ruefully. 

Yellow Tusk cocked an unamused brow at his companion. “Quite. When you've gathered the items, return here. We can lead you to his final resting place.” 

Mei smiled softly at the two. “I'll make sure your friend can rest. You can count on it!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across the bridge, behind the falls, was an enormous cavern. At the heart of the cavern, and ancient palace stood, surrounded by manors and outbuildings. 

This place must have been where the nobility lived, Mei thought to herself. 

It was just as eerily empty as the town outside, and just as covered in corruption. Winding her way through the area, she decided to head straight for the palace. If it was the most dangerous, it was best to get it out of the way first. 

She had to fight her way through the doors, but luckily, it didn't take long. The entryway was a massive, dark hallway, echoing with the sounds of falling water. The place was clearly a grand, ornate thing in its heyday. Even now, enough was left to see what it once might have been, back when its halls were full of life.

Mei grimaced as something hollow crunched beneath her foot. Looking down, she saw bone, half-buried in rot, with a brand new hole in it. She hastily stepped back, then crouched to examine it closer. It was shaped like a monkey skull, though a bit larger. In fact, it looked like the whole skeleton was here, buried beneath the plant-like corruption. A little shrub with a blue flower struggled to break free of the thorns, closer to what must have been the ribcage. Near the skull, a mask peered through the thorns. 

Carefully, Mei leveraged her sword against the branches, breaking the mask free. Turning it over in her hands, a fanged monkey face peered back at her. It looked a little like Wukong's did, actually, now that she looked closer. 

“Oh, right! You must be the Other Monkey King.” she mused to herself, running her thumb over the mask's smooth wooden surface.

As she looked up from the mask, she was met by an identical one, though this new version had gold eyes behind it. “Other? I'm the only king!” The spirit's voice was soft, almost amused, but had an edge to it. The figure disappeared, bleeding into the shadows on the ground and chuckling as she nearly fell over. 

Mei recovered, shrugging and trying to play it like she didn't just get knocked on her ass by a shadow.

“I dunno man. Sun Wukong said you were the ‘other’ Monkey King.” 

“Sun Wukong is no king!” The spirit was directly in front of her again as soon as she spoke, looming above her. His eyes flashed purple, and all light was choked from the room in an instant, save for the faint glow the spirit let off. His hair writhed and curled behind him; a living, seething cape. “He gave up that title when he abandoned his people to save himself!” he hissed.

Mei recoiled and a little pang of guilt entered the eyes looking down at her.

The wraith disappeared and the light returned, only for him to pop up again a few feet away in a significantly less ruffled state. Rot spread beneath him as his feet met the floor, a picture of aloof, decayed grace. 

That was an interesting difference, Mei noted. One monkey acts like he's still alive, the other uses the fact he's dead to his advantage. More importantly though...

“You're the source of the rot. Aren't you?” It was more a statement than a question. 

“I wouldn't say I'm its source, so much as its host.” 

“Source, host, same difference!” Mei waved the statement off. “Either way, you control it! So you can stop it from spreading, right? Or maybe make it go away?”

He shook his head. “There is a difference, kid. It follows me around, but it does whatever it wants. I can nudge it in a specific direction, but it's still its own thing....” The monkey demon trailed off, looking distracted as he scanned the hallway, searching for something. He frowned behind the mask, tensing and backing up warily.

“Weren't you with someone else earlier...?”

Mei's face fell. “We got separated. I was kinda hoping you might be my ticket back to him. You're sure you can't just, like, clear up one teensy little path?” She pouted, giving the ghost her very best sad puppy dog eyes. 

“Sorry, but no. Why do you think I warned you two to leave while you could?” the monkey demon sighed, his tail flicked in agitation.

“I figured it was cuz you're no fun, honestly.” Mei tried to keep the conversation light for her own sake. 

“If you're going to stand around and insult me to my face, I'm just going to leave you to the rot.” The ghost monkey turned, then seemed to think better of something. “And if you know what's good for you, you'll drop that mask and get as far from it as you can. You might convince the others, but I'm not leaving.”

The dragon girl frowned, huffing and getting back up.

“Yeah, that's still not how this is gonna work. So what if you can't control the corruption! You're the heart, either way! And I need the corruption gone, so... you're gonna have to go, guy. I'll drag you to the afterlife kicking and screaming if I have to, but you're not staying!” Mei pulled her sword out, leveling it at him.  

He snorted, disappearing again. “Good luck with that!” his amused voice echoed through the now-empty hall. A new wall of rot grew to block the main doors leading to other areas of the palace.

“Run all you want, plants aren't going to stop me!” Mei called after him, kicking the skull on the ground again as if that would do anything. “Stupid stubborn ghost!” She grumbled.

Still, she had work to do. The king's mask might be useless for now, but she had Azure's mask, and his friends were counting on her to find his relics and send him on his way. Yellow Tusk seemed to think helping Azure might clear some of the rot, too.

So, deeper into the palace it would be. She tied the monkey mask in place next to Azure's, and forged ahead. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mk shifted a chair to the side, ducking to search under a table. “Are you sure it's in here?”

“Absolutely certain!” Wukong insisted, crossing his arms and nodding. 

“You said that about the last five rooms we checked!” 

“And I'm sure this is the right one this time!” The monkey lifted a broken-down woven basket in the corner, making a pleased noise.

 “Hey there, little guy! How'd you get all the way over here?” 

He held up a disk made of twisting vines with a blue channeling stone set in the middle. 

Mk stopped and looked up. “What’s that?” 

“A woodspider! They were made to help out in the archives! If it still works, maybe it has a record of where the staff is!” Wukong set the disc flat on the table, tapping it lightly. The little disk shuddered, and the gem on top glowed softly for a moment. The vines around the rim started to unfurl, but stopped. The disk went inert again. 

“Hm. Not enough juice.” Wukong sighed, disappointed. 

Mk looked relieved. “Welp, guess it's a sign! No spiders for us today! Come on, let's just leave it!” he rambled, clear tension in his voice. 

The monkey raised an eyebrow, but let it be. “Alright. You checked everything else in here?” 

Mk. “Yeah. Still no luck. Next room?” 

“Next room!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So if you have an extra staff laying around, it means you had at least one spirit guide here, right? How'd the rot get so out of hand if you had someone that could handle it?” Mk pulled scrolls at random from the bookcase he stood in front of, hoping for a secret compartment or something.  

“It's a long story. But, the short of it is, I left to find a way to clear the rot, but I was met with.... hostility once I made it back home. I didn't live long enough after making it ashore to actually help anything. But I know I spent my last few days here, and I remember my staff leaned up against a wall in the room. So it has to still be here!” 

Mk paused, thinking. “Maybe you were buried with it? Or it’s by your grave somewhere?” 

The monkey perked up. “Now there's a thought! Follow me!” He scurried off,  pausing every so often to let the boy catch up. 

They made their way to a massive inner courtyard that seemed to have been a garden at one point, though much like the mountain trail itself, had headstones and statues and monuments sprinkled around the edges. The back was completely open up to the edge of a cliff, showing a stunning view of the whole island and fading out to sea. 

“It should be.... there!” The Monkey King darted excitedly over to a tree at the very edge, its exposed roots holding it firmly in place. Nestled into the shade of the tree were two fairly simple stone statues, both depicting the same sleeping monkey. There were small braziers and incense holders and vases littered around the base of the statues, and little wooden tablets and wind chimes and charms littered the branches of the tree above them. The statues were overgrown now, but it was clear that, at one point, they had been cared for. 

Wukong circled the tree. “Ah-HAH! There!” He moved, brushing some moss off an object that was easily mistaken as part of the trunk, but when he pulled his hand away, it revealed bright red lacquer. “Well? All yours, kid!” The monkey demon seemed quite pleased with himself.

Mk reached out and pulled hard, causing clumps of moss and vine to fall away from the tree and the staff. It took more effort to unearth it than he had been expecting, and it definitely needed a good cleaning, but the twin channeling stones at either end of the staff glowed brighter than any Mk had ever seen before, and the staff itself felt sturdy in his hands. 

The boy gave it a few test swings, quickly acclimating to the surprising heft of the weapon. “It feels... right.” He held the staff sideways, looking over it with an expression of baffled wonder. “Like it was made for me.” 

Wukong grinned. Something in the king's spirit warmed at the sight of someone new using the staff. Like he was looking at a younger version of himself, back when he had picked it up for the first time. “It suits you, bud!” 

Mk smiled back. “Alright! Staff acquired! Now we just need to start clearing a path back to Mei! So... what first?” He turned back to the king, looking more sure of himself than ever. 

“First? There are a few spirits still stuck in the area. Helping them should purify some of the corruption on the island, at least for a while. I can show you where their masks are and guide you where you need to go safely, but it would be best to ask those close to them for any other information. The closest mask is in the temple kitchens.” 

“Alright! Sounds like a plan! Lead the way, Monkey King!” 

[underswitch-official]

Ch2 p12

“NO HO HO... I CAN’T EVEN STOP A SMALL, FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD! ALPHYS’S GONNA BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I’LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!��

I feel bad for Sans and say, “Let’s be friends, ‘kay?”

Sans perks up immediately and says, “REALLY!? YOU WANNA BE FRIENDS, WITH ME???”

“Of course! You’re a really great dude!”

“WELL THEN... I GUESS... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU. AND DON’T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOU, GHOST GOAT!”

“*My name is Asriel.”

“AH. OKAY, ASRIEL! WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS! WANNA HANG OUT AT MY PLACE?”

“Yeah, that sounds good!”

“ALRIGHTY! JUST COME TO MY PLACE WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE HANGING OUT!”

I nod, and Sans disappears.

I turn around and go to his house.

I find that Sans is standing in front of his house, waiting for me.

“SO YOU CAME BACK TO SEE ME! YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS... I’LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE REALLY SPECIAL... I KNOW! COME ON IN.”

Sans leads me inside his house.

Inside is pretty modest. I’m not gonna describe the layout because if you’re reading this then you probably know the layout of the skeleton brothers’ house already.

Anyway, I head over to the couch to rest my legs, but it makes a jangling sound when I touch it.

I reach under the cushions and pull out a few coins.

“*That’s about 50 G,” Asriel says as he looks at the coins.

"Woah."

I look around and see a spiky ball sitting on a plate. There's confetti and glitter all over both. I go over to touch it, but Sans and Asriel both try to stop me.

"*Frisk, stop. You don't know what that is."

"UH, TINY HUMAN, DON'T TOUCH THAT. THAT'S PAPYRUS'S SPIKY DEATH BALL. WHEN HANDLED IMPROPERLY, IT IS FATAL TO EVEN THE STRONGEST OF MONSTERS."

I ignore both of them and try to pick it up.

Bad idea.

Pain shoots up through my entire body, and I collapse.

"OH NO! UH, UH, HMM... PAPYRUS!!! THE HUMAN TOUCHED YOUR SPIKY DEATH BALL!"

Papyrus appears with medical supplies and silently takes me to the couch.

Twelve hours later, I wake up to find Asriel sitting next to me with a face full of worry. I try to ask what's wrong, but my throat hurts too much to say anything.

"*I'm glad you're awake," he says after a moment. "*You were out for twelve hours."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"*And during those twelve hours, I caught a glimpse of what your life on the surface was like. Turns out that you and Chara share a last name. Never in a million years would I have thought that my dead brother would end up being an ancestor of the kid that I helped through the Underground. Your home life was also pretty similar to his. I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

Papyrus comes downstairs and begins to heal my throat.

When he finishes, I turn to him and say, "Thanks, Papyrus."

"nyeh heh, don't mention it."

[zaceouiswriting]

Art of Seduction: Jeremy Gilbert

Character: Jeremy Gilbert x male reader

Universe: Vampire Dairies

Warnings: Smut, kinky

To get late to a new school year, in a fresh school where you just moved to, is not a really good look. And I hate t when I don’t get a good first impression off. As my parents always said: „The first impression is the most important. Everything that happens in your life good or bad, is decided when you first meet a person!“.

As annoying as these tips were, they had a point. At least sometimes.

Even though I wasn’t in school the first day, someone still found out about me and invited me to a party in a forest.

Not even a second after I got there, the first people already were around me, asking all sorts of questions. Many drunken girls, already pushing themselves against me, grinding against my body. With a soft smile, I always carefully get them off me. I was not in the mood, for shit like this. Just after that, ‘Bros’ came over to me talking loudly. Obviously drunk, but I came there with that knowledge already.

Listening and sometimes, even engaging in their conversations. They were obviously pleasantly surprised at my viewpoints. With already made friends, I excused myself to walk around the party. Getting people, engaging some lesser idiotic looking people into more conversations. Until I saw him.

A cute boy, shorter than me, in all black, with short spiky brown hair and eyes to match that. He was leaning against a tree, smoking something. The moment I could smell it, I was a bit pissed, that a guy, younger than myself does this.

Without a care in the world, I walked over to him. Coming up from behind, I snatched it out of his hand, throwing it on the floor and stomping on it. He was so perplexed questioning if what just happened, really did happen. All the while I looked down at him, smugly smiling. „Hey little guy, you know that this shit is not good for you, right?“

My smugly asked question let him roll his eyes. „The shit is not cheap, you asshole,“ he whined as a child would do. In his clouded mind, he maybe was one at the moment.

„I might be an asshole,“ I told him, just to get closer to him, near his ear, „But I will stop you doing it again, every time I see it.“ Able to feel him shudder, under my warmth and deep husky voice, bringing chills all over his body, bringing a shiver all over it. 

„Shouldn't you run behind some short skirts or so?“ He tried painfully to sound though and smarter than he was. I did not answer his question, keeping him in my spell, with my arm leaning against the tree, just beside his head. Suggest to him, that he was trapped, even though he was free to go the other way. But he didn’t, together with his roaming eyes, I knew that I had guessed right.

But before I could flirt with the cute little guy a bit more, a scream could be heard. Something needed help. A dude found something or better the rest of someone, just so breathing. „Stay here, I check that out!“, I ordered the unknown little guy. As fast as possible, I ran up to the guy, seeing a girl on the floor, almost dead, I checked her pulse. There, but too weak to have much hope. A broken arm, but nothing else seemed to be hurt. „Can you carry her?“, I asked the dude. He was drunk, but confidently nodded

Just as he was getting her up, the little guy came running, screaming the girl's name, at least I assumed it was her name. Before he could get in full view of her, I stood up, and grabbed him, pulling him into me. „Didn’t I tell you to wait?“

„Fuck off, you are not my dad and I don’t even know you!“ He tried vehemently to get out of my grip. But I just turned him around, my bigger hand above his eyes. Pulling him away from the scene.

„What are you doing with my little brother?“, a girl asked m screaming, as I still pulled the little dude from the gruesome scene. „Protecting him, from something he shouldn’t be seeing. I do the thing, you should do, but you were too preoccupied eye fucking this dude over there.“ I pointed at the guy, she just had spoken to. Am embarrassed blush rolled over her cheeks. Softly I turned the little guy around again, carefully pushing him to his sister. „Hold him here. I don’t want someone so young, to see something’s horrible.“

As I heard the words rolling over my tongue I already hated myself. I sounded so old, but it was true, I hadn’t wanted to see something similar either. It lets someone age quickly.

Finally, as the dude got the girl off of the floor, he ran up to me. Still trying to hold her sight away from the little dude, I stood right in front of him. Leading the other guy to my car. On my way, I got a good sniff of the dude, the little guy’s sister wanted so badly to get into her bed. A disgusting smell of iron and something sweet.

At the moment my only mission was, to save that girl’s life. And it was fruitful. I brought her to the hospital gave my statements and left her with the dude who had found her.

The next days were rather hard for the people in school. I on the other hand had no problems. Going on with my day as if nothing had happened. Only to see the little dude more and more often, trying to use drugs, to let his hurt vanish. Every time I came from somewhere he couldn't see me and stopped it after his first try of it or before he was finished. He got annoyed but did not interact with me further. That was until I saw the dude, that had found the hurt girl, picking on him. „Hey Tyler, how about you fuck off and try this shirt with someone in your league?“, I asked him, towering over him. „Chill dude, little Gilbert here and I are just playing.“

„It doesn’t look like that,“ I told him, just to get right into his face, „If I see you ever again messing with him, I will push your head into a toilet and flush until you understand, to only mess with people in your league, understood?“

He puffed out his chest, in a pathetic attempt to let him look tougher, „My father is the mayor and-“ Before he was able to end his rant, he lay on the floor, with a hurting jawline.

Not even a second, anyone could’ve thought that you really did it. All the time was a smile on your face as if you had a pleasant conversation with Tyler until he was on the floor. Even as you turned back to the little guy, the same soft, pleasant smile was formed on your lips. „Gilbert? You are Elena's brother?“

„Yes, you met her already in the forest.“

„Right.“

„Don’t tell me you ran after her too?“ He almost sounded disappointed as he said it. „You look like the type of guy that would run after some short skirts.“ Again with these accusations I really could not handle that but decided to have a bit of fun with it.

My smile transformed into a smug smirk again. „Oh I’m running after someone, but not with a skirt on sadly. But I think it would good look on that special someone,“ after telling him that, I let it hang in the air for a moment before getting closer again, „Which size are you? Maybe I can find a nice fitting skirt, so your perfectly perky ass could be shown off? It would make me even wilder for you than I’m already.“

„What?“ These questions should be punishable, preferable with a paddle or whip. But the innocence in his voice almost let me forgive him instantly.

„Don’t act so innocent, little Gilbert. You are just like your sister, wishing for a strong tall guy, to make you feel safe, and maybe dick you down better than any other one. I can’t talk for Stephan, but I would give you everything you need. Even an alternative to your try to get addicted to marijuana, I’m sure I can help you at least with that and my dick would be happy to help too.“

I left him utterly flabbergasted at his locker. Tyler laying to his feet and I know that my words and smirk, were deep in his mind, questioning everything about himself.

Just as I hoped it was a turning point. Jeremy became friendlier even though he did not stop trying to smoke, but I had my eyes keener on him, stopping him most of the time before it happens. And he seemed gradually more thankful for it.

It even came to the point, that we almost were together at all times of the day. That was until he told me, why he used the drug, to get his nerves down. „After school, come to my car. I will take you home today.“ Intentionally letting it sound, as it did as if I wanted to fuck him because I wanted to. But only if he was up for it too. My sudden invitation also had another reason. One he would find out soon enough.

As I had asked him to, he waited at my car, nervously tapping his feet. The warm late summer breeze, destroyed any try of his, to have a real haircut. It was all over the place, but in my opinion, it let him look even cuter than before. I could feel my heartbeat rising and my hands getting sweaty. Hating how he made me feel, without him really knowing it.

Wordlessly, I got into the car, waiting for him to do the same. The entire ride was quiet. Only once had he spoken up, to make fun of my music taste.

The way to my home wasn’t that far, but Jeremy was impressed anyway. Just ignoring him a bit, but still making sure he was behind me, I got to the front door, and opened it. „Clara? Jerry?“, I called out. „Why are you calling your parents by their first names?“ Jeremy tried to inquire but I just hushed him with a finger over his beautiful sinful lips. Perfect to suck on certain things, I was sure about that.

The moment Clara came, she brightened up a thousand times. „Is this him?“, she asked, trying to be quiet about it, but I was sure Jermey had heard it, especially feeling his stare on my back.

Just after I told her, yes that he was the person I had spoken about, she pulled him into the house, hugging the life force out of him. It did not take much longer until Jerry also came into the foyer. His hand on my shoulder, „Is that him?“ The same question, but only this time as Clara wanted to do it. I shortly looked at him, it was still hurtful to look the man in the face, but I nodded with a happy smile. The hand that had laid on my shoulder, softly slapped my cheek, so I would look at the man. „Good job, he looks like a nice young man.“ His compliment meant so much, to me and he would maybe never know how much in reality.

„Clara, Jerry, this is Jeremy. Yes, I know the name is a bit weird, but that is not the point here guys!“, I told them already seeing their amused looks. „And Jeremy, that is my aunt Clara and my uncle Jerry.“

Thankfully he had kept all his questions at bay until we could free ourselves and came into my room. „So you talk about me?“, h teasingly asked.

„God why did she have to tell that?“, I groaned at the thought of the little guy teasing me all the time about it.“ „Don’t worry, it's cute, but I didn't think that would be the case, you do not seem like the kind of guy that had such a relationship with other people.“

Confused I turned to him. „What type of guy do you think I am I’m a sucker for family.“

„Like the type that invites random guys or girls into his house to fuck them and never call them again.“

„Yeah, I did these things a while, but not anymore.“

I could see that he did not believe me, but he stayed silent. More pressing questions on his heart, „Why are you living with your uncle and aunt?“

The atmosphere instantly changed in the room. The sadness and anger coming off of me took even Jeremy by surprise. „They died six months ago. A group of intruders, killed them, after doing horrendous things to my mother, letting my father and me watch. After they killed her, my father got free, so I could run away. Instead, I got to our weapons, got a handgun and rifle, and killed all five guys. It was an act of self-defense but I couldn’t protect my parents.“

Jeremy’s hand was instantly on me, trying to help mend my pain. I only could give him a weak smile. „My father's name was Jeremiah, that was the reason, why your name is so stupid, it fits too good between my uncle's and father's name. They were twins, that is why I can’t look my uncle in the face. He looks just like him, still.“

We just stood there for a while. Jeremy even came to me, engulfing me in a hug, at least as much as his small arms could reach. It felt nice and thanks to my efforts, he even smelled good. Keeping him away from drugs, was the best decision I had ever made.

„Are you willing to sleep with me out of pity, or do I need to tell you about my own try to drown my pain in drugs and my near death five months ago at an overdose?“

„God, you are insufferable. I would not sleep with anyone out of pity!“

„Then maybe, because you like me? I know I like you and well, you already jerked me off once, so you know I thought we could get further.“

I already had begun kissing his throat at this point, his moans always made me go crazy. „I thought we would never speak about this ever again!“, he desperately wanted to stop my actions, but instead he pulled me closer.

With a smirk, I let go of him, and he commented with a low unsatisfied groan. I quickly got to my closet getting a box out of it. „Open it, it’s for you!“, I told him.

Suspiciously he looked at me and then down at the boy, slowly opening it. As he saw what was in it, his face became crimson red and the entire room felt like a desert. „Are you serious?“

„You always told me I was hunting short skirts. If you would wear it, you would be right.“ I couldn't contain my shit-eating grin, as he took the skirt out, holding it in front of him. „Only wear it if you want me to fuck you senseless, because this thing, would make me go crazy if it’s on you!“

Without a second thought, he already opened his pants, which took me by surprise. „What are you doing?“, I asked him confused.

„I will wear it for you.“

For a moment I thought I misheard him, but he actually pulled his pants down, took his shoes and socks off, and stepped into the skirt. It was perfect for him. My eyes hadn’t misread his size.

Immediately I took off his black jacket and black shirt, leaving him only in the skirt. But I vanished back into my closet, getting something else out. One of my jerseys almost was a dress for Jeremy.

As he was dressed in the skirt and my jersey, I took a step back, admiring the beauty in front of me. Ashamed he looked to the floor. „Jeremy, eyes up to mine!“, I ordered him. And like a good boy, he did that. Hopeful eyes looking into mine.

„Come here!“

As he stood in front of me, I immediately grabbed him by his butt, slowly drifting under the skirt and ripping his underwear off of him. „You will have no need for that when you are with me.“ I threw the ripped-apart underwear away, pulling him even closer. „God, you look so good in these things. I hope you are ready!“

With no further warning, I took his legs, pulling them around me, just so he had to close his arms around my neck. „Are you still a virgin?“ Even though I could see that he did not like that question, he nodded. „God my cock, will me be the only one you will ever take, understood? Be a good boy and nod.“ And he did. „Good because you are a virgin and I actually want you to keep it, I will be gentle the first time, but after that, I will take what I want, are you okay with that?“ He again nodded his head.

Happy with him being happy about it, I finally broke the only thing that separated us. I pressed my lips onto his. Breaking both our bodies in euphoria. Fireworks exploded, in my stomach, as I finally felt his mouth from its inside with tongue, dominating him completely.

Turning us both around, I slowly let him fall onto the bed, admiring Jeremy’s beauty again, before getting his skirt a bit up. „Nice cock, just sad that it would never see any action. But your ass on the other hand, damn that’s a beauty I will love to ravage you every day, until you never need to touch drugs again, because you will be addicted, sucking me dry and riding my cock wherever we are.“

My dirty talking, made his sizable dick grow stone hard. But I did not give it any mind. Already have his legs on my shoulders, nose deep in his hole. As if he had known that would happen, he clearly had cleaned himself out.

„Dirty little whore, did you hope to finally get my dick? So clean and even smelling so nice?“

He did only answer in moans. Knowing that he anticipated something like that, I became more wild, opening him up with my tongue, to make him a bit slippery so I could break into him with my thumb, slowly opening his extremely tight hole. Followed by sticking my entire middle finger into him. Out of pure luck, finding his sweet spot with it. As he squirmed under me, I fell in love with his body even more.

Instead of making obnoxiously loud sounds his body just reacted to it. Half an hour did I use to make sure, I would not rip anything open in him, with my big dick. But before I would get into him, I straddled him, showing my cock to him, close up. „Suck it like a good boy.“

The moment my tip vanished between his perfectly formed lips, I knew that I was right. His lips and mouth were perfect for sucking cock. Obviously, he wasn’t able to get all of me in him. But I would train that later. For now, I had to finally breach him, making him mine.

As I put him directly on my cushions, putting his ass higher with a pillow. I teased his now wide-open hole with my tip. „Tell me you are mine and go on a date with me after I absolutely destroyed your hole!“

„I do whatever you want, just finally fuck me, you fucking asshole!“, he cursed at me.

Getting down to him, until our noses touched each other, I looked into his dark brown eyes, while I finally sank myself into him. Not stopping until I was buried balls deep into him. „Fuck! I did not think, you were so relaxed that I could get in completely in one thrust.“ My voice was low and husky, completely taken aback, by what just happened. Jeremy on the other hand, laid there, with his mouth formed in an ‘O’ shape obviously just like me not thinking it was that easy for me. I did not even have to use, lube.

But I took my cock out of him, to put some of it on his whole and my dick anyway. Just to not hurt him any more than I most likely already did. As I buried myself in him again, just as easy, I finally heard his first high-pitched moan. „Fuck!“, I moaned in return, already feeling my massive dick, in his high hole, spasm. If I had moved I knew that I would have come at that exact moment. Instead, I waited in him, kissing him, putting his legs in the right position, to fuck him hard and fast. Letting him forget everything, especially time.

It did not even take two minutes before I violently came in him. Falling onto him, with the texture of my jersey now rubbing my hands slightly. But my dick did not get flaccid. Painfully hard I kept in him, until I had enough energy again, to fuck him again and again.

And no point, not even after my body was utterly sweaty did I get rid of any clothing. Clearly liking, the roles between us, Jeremy became louder, showing me, how much he loved this. Just for me to get even more aggressive, in the end, using him more as a fleshlight than anything else. Laying down on my back, him still in his skirt and Jersey jumping on my cock, completely limp.

As finally came the last time. Jeremy was exhausted. His body was just as sweaty as mine. His skirt and my jersey were full of his cum. He fell onto me, immediately falling asleep. I was just able to get the skirt off of him, hiding it under my pillow, before I fell asleep myself, with Jeremy in my arms, where he belonged. I maybe could not bring his parents back, just as he couldn’t do the same for me, but we both could help each other heal. If that means, being together and my fucking him senseless, I’m gladly doing both of it. Loving and lusting after him.

[Masterlist]

[aimportantdragoncollector]

The questionare except its Lady Nagant herself answering it. (nobody knows how she got the form in the first place and successfully turned it in or even why she answered it, people speculate it was out of sheer boredom in Tartarus) 1. Purple. 2. Yes. 3. I don't particularly care. 4. There must be many how else will I know if the hero commission is planning on kidnapping my children to replace me as an assassin. 5. Yes as long as the hero commission's lies are exposed, if not I will do it myself. 6. I have concerns but I'm too busy contemplating how to completely destroy the hero commission. 7. Probably not, but I'm open to learning. 8. Depends on the story, is there a corrupt government? If so I will stop to reread the part of the government being exposed that's all I need in life. 9. No because the former hero commission president wore a tie meaning ties suck.

10. Demon King, Captain Hero is just enforcing the false platitudes.

11. No because I never got any affection in my life thus my children will be spoiled with love.

12. Cute children? Sign me up! 13. He's the walking representative of the phony sham so I'm not a big fan.

14. One of my handlers had spiky hair...I suddenly despise spiky hair with every fiber of my being. 15. C. Where else will I store my anti-hero commission merch? 16. One. It's a piece of garbage filled with false platitudes and is seen through rose-tinted glasses, seconds away from shattering to pieces. I despise it with every fiber of my being and hope it all burns, and that one day the truth will come out.

17. I choose option D, I don't care as long as the sex is good. 18. C. No child of mine will work for the HPSC!

19. Option C. I guess. 20. A. 21. C. As long as I can trash the HPSC. 22. Hot. You'd be surprised at what you can do with a quirk-like rifle. 23. C. Down with the commission! I have shirts! 24. Sure. 25. B. 26. If you destroy the hero commission, humiliate them on live tv, and expose the corruption you will forever more be my favorite human being or demon lord whatever you prefer. I have many ideas for this if you need some.

Lady Nagant, now that's a fun contestant!

Amazingly, Lady Nagant's deep hatred of the HPSC gives her common ground with AFO. She even dislikes ties and All Might. But Lady Nagant deserves way better than AFO after she spend a lifetime being manipulated by the HPSC. I agree that Lady Nagant would look amazing wearing black as a dark queen but preferably after she shot AFO in the head to claim his throne. Instead of passing on her questionnaire, I will give her a document full of the HPSC's darkest secrets and high-powered explosives. I trust she knows what to do with them.

[coffehbeans]

A Nest of Memories

To start off my personal weekly writing challenge, I got number 7, “Fluffy”! I decided to take it quite literally hahaha Introducing Sunflower and Juhren, the only two characters that made an appearance here in my blog before.

Set in the Middle of one my future stories, Sunflower learns that sitting on top of Juhren’s messy nest of a hair is comfortable. Childhood memories are triggered and they bond over their desire to reconnect.

Prompts are on my pinned post! You guys can send me numbers to write too!

                                                ___________

Sunflower recalled how Juhren’s hair looked like back when they were kids. Short and messy, pointed over all directions, yet as soft as cotton. She used to mess it around whenever she won in their games of race and hide and seek.

Compared to the carefree, spontaneous, and short boy that Juhren used to be, to the now stoic, fierce, and humongous giant that he became, in which she barely reached the size of his middle finger, he seemed to be a different person, or even a different creature.

Yet, that was what Sunflower used to believe, before Juhren had the chance to prove to her, through saving her countless times and treating her with kindness, that he remained the same noble and gentle soul from before. She realized at that moment, when they were both laying down in a hidden corner of the forest, resting for the day that was rising ahead, that her fear towards him almost disappeared. Almost.

She had woken up first, as the sun shone down on her face and Juhren’s hand, in which she was laid on, heated so much below her she had to get up and step out of his palm before she passed out from the heat. She yawned and wiped her sweat-covered forehead. The books were true, the Norden did have a much warmer body temperature than most living beings.

Sunflower was almost smacking the tip of Juhren’s nose to wake him up before she set the idea aside. His face, usually with a closed off expression, now rested peacefully, eyelids shut. No permanent frown covering his face, no razor-sharp teeth baring at whoever dared to hurt her. Only his soft, calm features as the breeze, resulting from his breathing, gently swirled through her hair. Sunflower sighed. He looked so much like his kid self at that moment. She approached his face to put one of his locks of hair away from his eyes, until she noticed its texture.

Soft, fluffy strands of auburn hair, with a lingering scent of chamomile. The smell almost felt nostalgic.

Taken by a moment of curiosity, Sunflower gazed at the hair on his face, memories of messing it out of childish fun coming to her mind. She tried to contain the smirk slowly creeping up on her face. Her inner child had won again.

Walking to the top of his laid down head, Sunflower clasped two thick strands of hair to support herself and slowly climbed up, careful not to wake the giant. When she managed to stay on her feet, she had reached the top right side of his head, a bunch of soft locks at her disposal. Sunflower kneeled and felt the fuzzy surface with her hand, that chamomile aroma filling the air. It might have been better to sleep up there, she realized.

Not being able to contain herself, she let out a giggle and ruffled the massive nest of spiky, fluffy hair until it got more disheveled than before. A twitch that shook the entire surface she was on broke her out of her playful endeavors, and a low voice grumbled like thunder under her. On reflex, her heartbeat accelerated. Guess she managed to wake him up.

Upon noticing the slight weight on his head, Juhren opened his eyes and stiffened. Sunflower was not on his hand. A moment ago, he had heard a soft laughter. There was only one explanation.

“Sun, are you… Up here?” – He whispered as if his voice could knock her over, and motioned his hand to the top of his head.

“Ah, hahah, yes I am” – that previous confident laughter turned into an embarrassed one. “I woke up before you and just thought, what if one day I slept on your hair?” – she tittered and, to further prove her point, disheveled his hair even more.

Juhren tried to contain his laugh, but the chuckle was strong enough to shake the head Sunflower was on and make her lose her balance. Before she could fall, Juhren held her in a loose grip and sat up slowly. He raised Sunflower to the air, the motion, albeit slow, causing her stomach to hurt.

“Guess you still have your weird ideas, huh?” – he smiled at her, and she grinned back.

Sunflower felt warmth in her heart upon seeing the pure, genuine smile form in her friend’s face. She was so glad she found him, and even being lifted did not feel as scary as before.

If messing his hair meant that he would smile like that again, then she would do it more times in the future.

[myheelsdontmatchmysweatpants]

A/N: I would like to preface this by letting everyone know that I am in no way knowledgeable about actual science things. That being said I am amazed that in a random draw I actually managed to get a prompt that had to do with flowers lol. This is my contribution to the BakuHarem Collab! Please take a second to check out the other contributions here!

Warning: bad science, no protection, swearing, overs!mulation, accidental exhibti0som, intoxicated smut? idk sex pollen is a drug i guess.....

W/C: 3.5k

“Bakugou, dude. We should not-”

“Shut up Kirishima!” Bakugou walks through the sterile hallways checking every corner for signs of other people. “That bitch took my top spot with some bullshit flowers?!” He finally gets to the lab that was granted to you for your research. After winning first place, stealing first place in the UA university science expo. He walks into the observing lobby, looking through the large window to make sure you weren’t working in the lab after hours.

“Just keep quiet and listen for any one coming this way.” He walks over to the security door and holds his key card up to it, the light on the scanner turns green and he hears the dead bolt slide open.

Kirishima is lingering behind him, hovering in the doorway. He turns to Bakugou to talk him out of this again but his friend has already entered the lab. “Ahh geez.” He didn’t even wear any safety gear.

As the door clicks shut behind him, Bakugou stops to examine the lab. Several different species of flowers in full bloom behind temperature controlled enclosures. Some of them are recognizable; lavender, chamomile, and jasmine. “I thought it would smell like the perfume department, this fuckin place smells like heaven.” Guess it wasn’t a new shampoo she was using then.

He walks through the aisles turning his head this way and that, trying to find something, anything that he can fuck up without it being overtly obvious. He gets to the back corner of the lab and sees a piece of familiar equipment. “Perfect.”

*****

“He said WHAT?!”

Your roommate flinches at your reaction to her news. “He told Professor Aizawa that your ‘Viagra flowers’ are a joke to the science department and they should ‘wither and die’.”

You’re fuming. That fuck tard Bakugou, mister my shit don’t stink is ridiculing my research? “All that man knows is how to blow shit up! Just cause I beat him in the expo this year, he thinks my research is a joke?!” You stand up from the couch, pacing in front of it and you can’t decide whether to scream or cry. “Why did I ever like that twat?”

Cause he has wide shoulders, big hands and scarlet eyes that -

“Oh for the love of god shut up.” Screw your inner thoughts.

Ochako watches you pace, worrying in her eyes when yours line with silver and your neck flushes bright red. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that.”

You stop moving and look at her, guilt flooding through you as she slumps forward. “Don’t apologize, I was talkin to myself babe.” She nods her head weakly and you stand up straight “I’m gonna go.” You walk to the door grabbing your coat and key card.

“W-where are you going?” Ochako follows you to the door and grabs your wrist gently. You turn to her and smile, she was always so sweet but you knew that if shit went down she would be right beside you, kicking ass.

“I need to blow off some steam, so I’m gonna go check on my ‘Viagra flowers’.” She huffs a laugh and let's go.

“Alright, don’t stay too late.”

You nod, put on your shoes and leave the dorm. It’s a bit of a walk to the building the lab is in and hopefully the cool breeze will calm your mind.

*****

As you walk into the building you are grateful that your professor is more of a night owl than most students. Considering how many naps he takes during lectures it is no wonder he can’t sleep at night. You contemplate going to his office to say hi but think better of it.

Don’t wanna end up venting about Bakugou to my professor of all people.

You walk down the hallway and notice the door to your lab is cracked. Not unusual, a lot of students from your class have been coming and going to see the different species of flowers and plants you are growing. Assuming someone didn’t shut the door behind them you take your phone out of your pocket to check the time. Out of the corner of your vision a quick flash of red and you walk right into Kirishima, Bakugou’s friend and one of your classmates.

“Hey! How- how's it goin?”

You take a step back, rubbing your nose from face planting into his giant chest. Does this guy eat boulders for breakfast? “Hey Kiri! Just gonna do some late night tests! You checkin out my garden?”

“Yeah! Flowers are pretty.” He laughs, it’s high pitched and obviously forced.

You take in his nervous appearance, the fact that he is still standing in front of the door and your mood sours.

“Where is he?”

Kirishima looks like he is gonna try and stall but one look at the fury in your eyes and his head hangs down. “He’s in the lab,” you rush past him and punch in the code to open the door. “I tried to talk him out of it!”

The door clicks shut and the spiky blonde huffs in annoyance somewhere in the back of the lab.

“I told you shitty hair, if you’re gonna keep a look out you have to stand outside.”

You clear your throat and his head shoots up. You walk over to him, taking note of all of the plants and equipment, taking note of anything that looks different. As you get closer to him you notice that he smells particularly good tonight.

Keep it in your pants idiot

“Really Bakugou?” You stop a few steps away from him, noticing the various disassembled parts on the counter top behind him. “What were you gonna do, break my extraction equipment and make it look like a malfunction? Are you a B-Movie villain?”

He stands up and you are reminded of how small you feel next to him, wide shoulders, arms barely fitting the t-shirt he was wearing, strong chest that tapers to a toned waist. He laughs and you look at his face. What I wouldn’t give to just lick from your navel to your neck.

“A B-Movie villain huh? That’s rich coming from the fanfiction cliché scientist.” He crosses his arms, your eyes quickly dart to the sight of his biceps flexing with the movement then back at him.

“Fanfiction cliché? What the actual fuck are you talking about?” You take another step towards him, softly inhaling his scent. Why does he smell so good?

He laughs at you again, the sound caresses your skin and you realize your feeling very, very hot. You drag your fingers through your hair, your eyes zeroing in on a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. When you lick your lips and shift to take another step closer a small part of your brain connects the dots. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Bakugou looks at you, noticing your flushed cheeks and eyes that show you aren’t quite your normal smart and sexy self. Reaching behind himself you hear the unmistakable sound of clinking glass, he grabs a beaker, an open beaker. “Just grabbed this from your equipment, I know how long it takes to extract this stuff. Would suck if it were to suddenly go missing.”

“You idiot! Do you know how potent it is in that form?!” You reach for it but he pulls the beaker out of your reach. “Why do you think I keep it enclosed? You have to close it up now!”

“Why should I?”

Honestly how stupid can this guy get?!

“Put it back in the enclosure first and I’ll explain it to you!” Your breathing is getting heavy, the closer you get to Bakugou the hotter your body feels. You lunge for him again and trip, he hurries to put the beaker on the table behind him and catch you. Put off balance from the position you both crash to the floor with him underneath you. Sighing in frustration you lift yourself up only to bump your head on the table, knocking over the beaker and spilling the extract over you both.

“Shit!” You scramble off of him and run to the door, pressing the exposure button and effectively locking it. You turn to Bakugou and back up trying your best to keep your distance. “Stay on that side of the room, if we’re far enough apart the effects won’t be as bad.”

“What are the effects?” The question is spoken so calmly that you almost convince yourself he didn’t speak at all.

“What are the fucking side effects!?” His shirt is soaked, sticking to his tanned skin. The outline of his chiseled body makes your mouth go dry. You look back at his face, his mouth twisted in frustration at your silence but no less attractive. The sharp angle of his jawline, pink lips slightly chapped, aristocratic nose, scarlet eyes that-

“Take a picture, it'll last longer.” Shaking your head to clear some of the fog in your brain, you focus on him again.

“It’s an aphrodisiac so obviously it enhances sexual desire.”

“Yeah-yeah, sex pollen I get it. But what else?” he rings out the bottom of his shirt, lifting it slightly and you avert your eyes.

“It is not sex pollen, I don’t even use the pollen of the plant.” the last part coming out in a mumble. “The aphrodisiac only works on people who are consenting adults that are attracted to each other.” You clear your throat.

Bakugou freezes for a moment and looks up at you, examining you. The flushed skin, short breaths, and how you keep as much distance between the two of you as the small lab provides.

“So why are you so far away then?” The smirk on his face is sinful as all hell.

Cheeky bastard.

“Surely I don’t have to spell it out for you.” Resisting the urge to turn your face away from him like a pouty child..

“HA!” The smug look on his face momentarily lifts the cloud of lust and replaces it with anger. “Of course you’re attracted to me, who wouldn’t be?”

“Well, aren't you a cocky bastard?” Hoping you're not about to embarrass yourself you take a chance and muster up some courage. Slowly walking up to him you notice that his forehead is glistening with sweat, his breathing heavy, ears and back of his neck flushed with pink. “Tell me, Katsuki. How are you feeling?”

A few steps and you can see his hands balled up in white knuckled fists, a few more his jaw clench and unclench. Once you are only an arms length away you can see him swallow harshly, Adam's apple bobbing, nostrils flaring. You push your breasts against his toned chest, the light friction causing a moan to escape your mouth, the sound going straight to his cock.

“I’m - I’m fine.” Bakugou clears his throat, the sound of his first name from your lips sweeter than it should be.

“Lookin a little flushed, you feeling hot?”

He doesn’t answer, his attention captured by the closeness of your body, your lips, the tops of your breasts peeking out of the v neck top you’re wearing.. He stops breathing when your tongue flicks out to lick your bottom lip.

“Cat got your tongue?”

On impulse his hands move to rest on your hips, eyes never leaving your lips. “What was the question again?”

“How. Are. You. Feeling.” you walk your fingers up his chest with each word before pulling his head down so you can whisper in his ear, the anger fading fast. “Katsuki.” You hear him growl, the sound reverberating through your core, then you're being picked up.

“I’m gonna ruin you.” Bakugou crashes his lips to yours, pressing you up against one of the walls and bracing you with one hand so that the other can wrap around your throat. “Fuck, you drive me crazy.” He bites your lip, licking it to soothe the hurt. “Smart, funny, sexy, beautiful.”

You whine at the words and grind against the bulge in his pants, your pussy throbbing with need. “Need to feel you touch me Bakugou.” He stops moving and you shift to try and grind against him again but he holds you tight, slightly squeezing the sides of your neck.

“What happened to calling me by my first name, baby girl?” Loosening his hand and crouching down as if to put you down you sputter out “Kat-Katsuki Please touch me.”

The feral grin on his face has your pussy drooling and you all but sigh in relief when he stands up straight and slips a hand under your shirt, cupping one of your breasts. “Oh god yes.”

“You’re so soft baby,” he pulls one of the cups down and rolls your nipple in between his fingers. “Take off your shirt, wanna see those pretty tits.”

Katsuki keeps playing with your nipple when you rip your shirt off, making short work of your bra and tossing it. As soon as the other nipple is in view he dives down to suckle it, his mouth hot. You throw your head back, grabbing fistfuls of his hair and pushing your chest out to give him better access.

He is merciless in his teasing, alternating between breasts, making sure to suck each nipple till they are both hard peaks. Kissing the top of your soft globes, your collarbone and neck, everywhere his mouth goes is left with a mark in varying shades of red and purple.

You grow impatient with him, needing to make him feel as good wanting to feel him with your hands, mouth, teeth.

“Wanna feel you too Katsuki.” you whine as he pinches one nipple while nibbling the other one. When you pull on his hair a little he groans but lifts his head, pulling both nipples with him before letting them go.

“What do ya wanna feel, baby girl?”

With all your inhibitions throw out the window you lean down and whisper in his ear. “Wanna feel you fuck me.”

You pull away and he quickly sets you down, you’re about to object when he takes his shirt off in one smooth motion then starts unbuttoning his jeans. You rush to follow, unzipping your pants and pulling them down, before you can pull down your panties he grabs your hand stopping you. “Leave ‘m on.”

Katsuki picks you up again before you can get a good look at his cock, but when it's pressed against you there is no need to see it. “Fuck you’re huge.”

He smirks at you, smug pride in his eyes. “Glad you approve.” Reaching a hand down he pulls your panties to the side and runs his fingers through your wet folds. “This all for me?” bringing his fingers up to show you the slick dripping down them he puts them in his mouth and sucks. “Gonna have to enjoy that tasty treat later.”

Your body is burning up, breathing is heavy as you both watch him drag his cock along your wet slit before pushing in. Your moans echo in the lab and neither one of you cares as Katsuki's cock drags against your inner walls until bottoming out. Right now is not the time for slow strokes, not with the aphrodisiac flowing through both of your bodies, so he starts a pace that has your ass slapping against his thighs.

“C-cumming!” You scream out before your body bows in on itself and you're creaming around his cock.

“Already?” a sideways grin on his face Katsuki starts moving you up and down in time with his thrusts, his cock reaching that much deeper. “Gonna cum for me again? Come on baby, wanna feel you milk my cock.”

Your mind is going blank, the only thing running through it is Katsuki. “Please don’t stop,” you dig your nails into his shoulders. “M Gonna cum again.” His thrusts go shallow and the head of his cock drags against your walls, hitting all the right spots.

You’re repeating his name endlessly, the only word that is in your mind then you’re cumming again. Your legs tense around his waist and your pussy clenches down hard enough that he has to stop moving or risk hurting you. He watches your face contorted in pleasure and starts thrusting as soon as he feels your orgasm subside.

“One more.”

Your head fuzzy, body limp from two orgasms. “I can’t!”

“Wrong,” Katsuki pulls out for a second, setting you on the floor and pushing on your back. You obediently bend forward grabbing the edge of the counter top and he wastes no time in rutting back into you. “You want me to stop?”

“NO”

“Then you got one more beautiful thing.” He sticks two fingers in his mouth, getting them wet then reaches around rubbing soft circles on your puffy clit. His other hand gripping your hip, before moving up and grabbing your shoulder using it as leverage to fuck into you harder.

“Come on, cum for me.”

You turn your head to the side trying your best to look in his eyes, yours tearing up at the overstimulation. “You cum too, fill me up Katsuki.”

“Oh fuck yeah.” Bending his knees he thrusts up into you and with the new angle, teasing circles being rubbed on your clit and the feral moans coming out of his mouth you cum one last time.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck

Katsuki cums after you, rope after rope of cum coating your fluttering walls.

You both stand there catching your breath. Katsuki pulls out and you whimper, “Oh don’t worry beautiful,” he picks you up again, walks over to a chair and sits down with you in his lap “not done with you yet.”

By the time you are spent both of you are exhausted and lost track of how many times either of you came. He helps you stand up, quickly pulling your panties back in place. “Don’t want you leakin.”

You giggle and pick up your clothes from the floor, he helps you get dressed and you both walk to the door. Making sure to check the air quality before leaving the lab you confirm that nothing is left in the air and unlock it. Before opening the door you turn to him opening your mouth to ask a question but he talks first.

“Let's go back to my room, yeah? I’ll help you clean up.” His voice rough from moaning and growling but you can see a small smile on his lips. Even though you know that the effects of the extract have worn off you can’t help but worry that he is still under their influence. Nodding your head you turn away from him again and open the door, walking into the lobby.

“I assume you're finished with the lab?”

You stop dead in your tracks, Katsuki bumping into you. “P-professor Aizawa?” Red hair peeks out behind him and Kirishima looks at you both with a nervous sharp toothed smile and red face. The fog of your memory clears and you vaguely remember hearing knocking on the window and door while you were… indisposed.

Katsuki steps in front of you, from the lack of red on his face or neck you know he isn’t nearly as mortified as you. “How long have you been standing there?”

The tired eyes of your teacher examine both of you. “Long enough.” He sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You are both to meet me in my office tomorrow morning.”

And just before you can’t get anymore embarrassed he walks out and says over his shoulder. “The labs aren’t sound proof, and these walls echo.”

@doinmybesthere @patchworkpuzzle @eyebagsbutglam @sugarspiceanddynamight

[kitchenisking]

100 Fics for A 100 Followers😍 (1-10)

I made it to 100 followers!!!!🥺😍 I’m in shock and I’m  awe! This page was just a place to enjoy being in different fandoms and just enjoying myself! And then a friend told me to start doing fic recs and I really thought I wasn’t going to enjoy doing them and turns out it was exactly what I needed. A place to share all the amazing works that everyone in this fandom does!!! So in honor of this crazy milestone for me I’m going to to rec 100 stories! 

Now for my sanity I’m going to do 10 recs of 10 fics😇😇 

So without further ado here are the first 10….

Life in the Flicker by wanderingeyre - (Rating: T, Words: 24595, sterek)

The wolf’s fur is softer than even Stiles could have imagined, like clouds and baby bunnies, and Stiles cards his fingers through the ruff at the wolf’s neck. The wolf whines and leans into the caress and Stiles can feel his eyes fill. He stands there, crying with the wolf leaning into his legs and his hand fisted in the wolf’s fur.

God, what a night. Stiles unlocks the door. “I hope you’re housebroken.”

The Heatwave by halcyon1993 - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 6135, sterek)

The denizens of Beacon Hills are all were-creatures whose heats and ruts take place on the full moon. Omega werefox Stiles Stilinski has always wanted alpha werewolf Derek Hale to be his, and he won’t go through another moon cycle without him.

It's In Our Lungs, Our Blood by xxjinchuurikixx - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 9954, sterek)

“It’s… it’s amplifying urges. Primal urges influenced by thoughts my wolf has already had.” “So… so, do you want me? Did you… before?” “Yes, Stiles. Always.” “Then let me help.” * Derek gets hit by some sex pollen, and only Stiles can work it out of his system.

Fire Beneath My Skin by happyevraftr - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5997, sterek)

Omegaverse of sorts. Stiles is a rare find- one of the few Omega males left in the world. It’s never been a problem before, but now there’s werewolves around and he’s about to go into Heat. Chaos ensues when Derek shows up at his window unexpected.

Derek Hale Is Not Romantic by ash_mcj - (Rating: T, Words: 3507, sterek)

Derek Hale is not romantic. He’s not. Sure, he cares about Stiles...he guesses he has changed a little as a side effect of dating the guy. But he has not become, and will never become, one of those stupid romantic boyfriends.

[or: Derek (and his pack) realize that he has totally become a hopelessly romantic boyfriend]

(For~ Sterek Valentine Week 2021; Day 1: Hopeless Romantic)

In Any Version of Reality by alisvolatpropiis - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 39853, sterek)

Standing next to not-Derek – whoa, holding not-Derek’s hand? – is someone who looks remarkably like Stiles. Is Stiles, a slightly-altered replica, just like this guy both is and isn't Derek.

It’s not like looking into a mirror – one, because looking into a mirror actually makes some kind of sense, and two, because not-Stiles looks older too, mid twenties maybe. And the tips of his short, spiky hair are dark purple, and he’s got a lip ring and he’s shirtless and covered in tattoos and what the holy hell?

“Time travel?" He's sufficiently freaked. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hears his dad laughing.

“Not exactly,” not-Derek says, and shit, even his voice sounds exactly the same, disconcertingly gentle. He gestures behind him, and Stiles looks over his shoulder, where behind him, scattered across the porch and in the front yard, are more…Dereks and more Stileses.

Fourteen total, including the two at the door, he notes distantly, eyes feeling like they’re about to pop out of his head from bulging so hard.

Seven other Dereks. Seven other Stileses.

Seven Derek and Stiles pairs.

It's Called Courting by AMatchInWater - (Rating: T, Words: 1420, sterek)

Stiles has a crush on Derek and refuses to believe it could be reciprocated....meanwhile Derek has been courting him this whole time.

The Child Inside by nightlight9 - (Rating: G, Words: 1654, sterek)

The witch had been hoping to turn him into something monstrous when she cast the spell on Derek; Stiles could have laughed at her attempt. The spell was crafted to reveal Derek’s true nature and to bring it to the surface, transforming him into whatever shape it took. She had been hoping that he was an angry monster inside, but Stiles knew better. Derek wasn’t a monster. Nothing about him was ever monstrous.

Of course, Stiles hadn’t really expected this outcome either. ---------- In which Derek is de-aged and Stiles takes care of him

Easy Trouble by Survivah - (Rating: Mature, Words: 55953, sterek)

Derek+Stiles+fairies = love spell

"Make love to me," Derek demands.

What.

Fill Me In by cloudsarefluffy - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 7900, sterek)

Anon asked: How about a Sterek prompt right after Derek becomes an alpha. After that everything about Derek is so much more; his muscles are bloated in size, his cock and balls are huge, and even the amount he comes is enormous. Do size kink and Stiles worshiping Derek while Derek humiliates Stiles about their size difference until Stiles comes on him. Then Derek makes him lick it off of him. And add any other kinks or such that you'd like!

---

The night that Peter Hale died and Derek became the alpha — his eyes flashing red, locking onto Stiles as he gritted out, “I’m the alpha now" — everything changed. 

Derek changed.

[miridiums-writing]

Barbarian Bakugou x Petite!Villager!Reader

Part 2

Summary ; reader lives in village that is ravaged by bararians, bakugou catches them and finds out they are mates

Warnings ; violence, there is implied sexual assault but it never happens kinda like a passing thought. I never actually state gender though reader does wear a dress, so if your someone who doesn’t like wearing dresses then you might have trouble fitting into the narrative. REMEMBER ANYONE CAN WEAR A DRESS, I WILL HYPE YOU UP. they eat in it, also they eat meat so if you’re vegetarian or anything of the sort you probably won’t relate, Bakugou yes he is a warning.

AUTHORS NOTE ; if you want a part 2 let me know, also if you want a part with a plus sized reader instead of a petite reader let me know. Reading @thetrashywritingwitch gave me inspiration so definitely check them out

Word count : 2k

Barbarian!Bakugou x plus-sized!reader part 1

The village was alight, red ran rampant through the streets, the screams of young and old mixing to create a noise that would give anyone a headache. You were running as fast as you could, no shoes on, trying to pick up your skirts as you ran. You had been woken by a scream and hadn’t thought to put on shoes before you ran to escape the sea of arrows shot at your home. People dragged younger ones through the wreckage, others cried, others shouting for loved ones. Nobody seemed to be left unscathed.

Your feet were in tatters at this point, having ran through rocks and glass to get here. Your only motivation that got you this far, even with the pain you were in, was the orphanage at the top on town. On a slight hill further away from the village, secluded in a way. You hoped against hope the children were ok. You dodged through fire, adrenaline coursing through your veins. You had to make it. You had to keep them safe. Though in your blind panic you didn’t notice the figure stealthily following after you.

You were running up the hill now, twigs that littered the woods floor poking into your poor feet, causing you to slow slightly, but your determination kept you from walking. Just as the orphanage came into sight arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you off the ground. You kicked in attempt to get away, hoping against hope you could escape, get to them. Those kids did nothing to deserve the pain. Your attempts did nothing but tire you more, your hope of escape starting to slip from your grasp. “Stay still dammit” a gruff voice stated. He moved you both back, further into the woods, blocking your view of the orphanage and kept you still.

“Oi Kirishima! Keep those idiots away from the orphanage” He called out further into the woods, not second later a muscular man with spiky hair and even spikier teeth seemed to appear in an instant and disappear just as quickly. With the disappearance of the other man he moved you so you could finally see his face, though his grip on you never loosened. If you were honest with yourself, he was rather pretty. Hard red eyes stared into yours and seemed to judge your appearance as you gaped at him. His blond locks spiked out, much more naturally than the other mans, he had a defined jawline, and a look that screamed danger. In your curiosity you failed to notice how odd this whole situation was. Here you were being held down by an intimidation and rather frightening man, but you felt no fear towards him.

“Found you” he said, looking at you with a smirk as his face moved closer to yours. Just as you thought he was going to kiss you his face moved lower to your neck and started to pepper kisses and nips into the sensitive skin. You tensed in his hold, not sure what he was about to do, and scared for the outcome that seemed inevitable. Just then he roughly bit into your neck, causing you to shriek at the vast difference from what he was doing before and the pain that started to thump against your neck like a drum. When he was satisfied, he started to lick at your neck, no doubt cleaning up the blood. “There, now that’s sorted time to clean you up and get moving” Rather than letting you walk with him he picked up and set you on his hip, like a child. “If you move or cause trouble ill carry you in a more uncomfortable fashion got it” At his threat you tensed once more and nod in agreement. You had no idea what he could do to you and honestly, you didn’t want to find out.

He carried you both down the hill and towards the town, he hadn’t told you his name and didn’t seem in the mood for light conversation, so you stayed quiet, not wanting to anger the man further than he already seemed to be. When you both got back to the village it was silent. A stark difference between the village you had left behind, and it set you on edge. He must have noticed how you had started to shake a little, though he didn’t say anything on it. “Hide you face into my shoulder, quickly” he said, his voice slightly softer than earlier, though it didn’t stop the unease. Just as you opened your mouth to question it, he gave you a glare that made you close it instantly. You ducked your head down into his neck and froze against his side, questions swarming your mind. “right let’s move out” he shouted, his voice seeming even more loud now you were against his neck, making you cringe slightly. With one hand now taking your weight he hoisted onto a horse, repositioning you in front of him to lean against his chest. “Get some sleep, its gonna be a long ride princess”

When you woke you were still in his arms, though you were now wrapped up in a fur coat, keeping you warm from the wind. If you didn’t think about the fact he basically kidnapped you it could almost be sweet. He had positioned you in a way that meant the brunt of the wind was hitting against the fur coat, keeping you toasty warm. He was looking ahead, no doubt keeping control of the horse, though you did notice how he would glance down at you. Due to your position you couldn’t really see anything, giving in to the temptation of going back to sleep for now, who knew when you would be able to sleep again, you let your eyes closed and allowed yourself to relax, your head snuggling into his warm chest.

Your eyes fluttered open at a loud shout, startling you from the fragile sleep you had managed to get. “We’re almost there” He claimed, glancing down at your sleepy form curled into him. Cute. The thought was a fleeting one, but it made him freeze up slightly, he hoped you didn’t notice. This mate stuff was making him soft. The horse abruptly came to a stop and the man carefully picked you up into his arms bridal style. You noticed almost immediately this was much gentler than he had been previously, and honestly threw you for a loop. On one hand this was much nicer treatment than previously, even if he hadn’t been particularly bad, on the other hand what does this entail, does he want something in return? The man carried you inside what looked like a large tent and placed you down on a bed covered with fur blankets and looked rather nice and warm to cuddle up in.

“Look here’s the deal,” he said, sitting down on the floor before you, making your face in line with his. “You’re my mate, kinda like a soulmate, I guess. It’s a feeling. My name’s Bakugou Katsuki by the way. Call my Katsuki though, it’ll just piss me off if you call me anything else. Just, listen to what I say. Ill go get you some food, you look like you need it.” As Katsuki walks away you could hear him mutter under his breath “Skinny as anything” When he had officially left, and you decided he was far enough away you started to look around. The tent was rather spacious, but not to the point it was cold. If anything, it was so warm in here. Like an invisible fire was somewhere in the room keeping it warm. The tent itself smelled like wood pine and honeysuckle, and a hint of caramel, it felt more homely than your old village ever did. You knew you had to think through what he had told you, but you didn’t want to even think about it. Taken away from your home after it having been destroyed by them and he tells you you’re his soulmate and you need to listen him.

When Katsuki got back you were cocooned in the blankets, sure the room was warm, but as the night air drew in the rooms temperature seemed to drop drastically, so you had taken it upon yourself to collect all the blankets and pile them onto of yourself. Katsuki stood at the entrance dumbfounded at the sight, as in comparison he stood tall in his trousers and fur coat, with his necklace and earrings to adorn the look. He wasn’t used to feeling cold. He would need to thank his parents later for getting on at him to make sure he had enough blankets for his mate when it got cold. He placed the food down on the table and started picking apart the blankets until he revealed you, cuddling into yourself. “Look, I know its cold but you gotta eat, come on” He allows you to get yourself up, though you take one of the smaller blankets with you to combat the cold.

The meal itself wasn’t anything special. A meat of some kind with potatoes and asparagus. You were so hungry you ate it without question, too hungry to care. He watched you from the other side of the table, it made you slightly self-conscious but brushed it off as his thing, he had a habit of watching you. When you finished you made sure to tidy up your area as best as you could, not wanting to seem impolite. This made Katsuki scoff at you, your insecurity coming back quickly.

“Bed time” was all he said, even though you had been sleeping most of the day, the thought of curling up into the blanket seemed heavenly. As you climbed into the bed, securing yourself under the furs Katsuki came in behind you. He simply brought your body to his, circling his body around yours in a protective manner. With him so close to you, you found it hard to fall asleep. Though Katsuki seemed to find it easy, simply snuggling his face into your neck and falling asleep. You decided to go through your options. Option one, stay still and go to sleep unknowing to what could happen tomorrow, though by his current attitude and behaviour you now highly doubted it being too dangerous, or option two, somehow manage to escape his iron grip and run out of the tent, with no knowledge of where you were, how far from home, or what could be outside the tent. The thought of meeting something worse than Katsuki made you shiver and slightly move closer to him. At least you knew what he was capable of, plus you had the added protection that he claimed you as his mate, those usually ended happily. No one wanted to endanger their mate, it went against Barbarian law. Something you vaguely remembered researching when you were young and curious. With those thoughts in mind you allowed yourself to succumb to the warmth Katsuki provided and fall into a broken sleep.

Please reblog, it helps my tumblr grow and makes me wanna write more

[jujutsu-headcanons]

Gojo Satoru general headcanons

Let's get one thing clear: this man is absolutely chaotic. He is always full of energy. His energy levels never reach below 50%. He is loud and proud, always running, and never takes a minute to relax.

Do not give him Monster. Shoko did that once and it took her forever to get him off the ceiling. Also, avoid caffeine. Shoko replaces his normal coffee with decaf and he still hasn't noticed the difference. Keep it that way.

He was the class clown when he was younger. He wasn't exactly a trouble maker, but he may as well be. I cannot word that sentence and I am sorry. Next.

All of his teachers assumed he never listened in class, so they always called in him when they thought he wasn't paying attention. It still shocked them every time he rattled off the correct answer.

Not only did he answer the question correctly, but he could also explain his reasoning behind the answer, and if it was multiple choice, explain why the other answers were wrong. 

This tall man child would march up to the board and absolutely fill it to the brim with work, turn around, drop the chalk-like a mic drop and walk back to his desk with the smuggest look on his face.

That doesn't mean he did the work tho

Idk how schools in japan work but we all know schools in America only care about the amount of work you do and not what you actually know so we'll use that for the sake of the headcanon: he had straight D's bc he never turned in his work

Despite not doing the work snd goofing off, teachers actually really liked him

A lot of people liked him and he was super popular, but he still felt alone

Fake friends, you know how that works, he didn't meet any real friends until he became a shaman

Clean freak. This dude actually makes his bed. He scrubs his bathroom twice a week. His desk can get cluttered but he straightens up once a week. He's not exactly a germaphobe because

He cannot respect your personal space and that's actually canon but let me take it a step further 

He's a slapper. Especially when he laughs. It doesn't hurt, it's playful dw. He hugs you from behind especially when he's cold. He picks you up and carries you around. He will grab your wrist, arm, or hand and lead you around even if you're following him. He lays his legs across you or lays across your lap. Puts his head on your shoulder. Platonic cuddling between friends is mandatory. He's just so hands-on it's ridiculous.

Unless you explicitly tell him you're uncomfortable he won't stop

Don't worry, if you aren't in that type of relationship, your no-no square is safe. Except, if you seem chill, he will slap your ass regardless of friendship status. His ass is also slappable. You can't tell me Geto and Gojo didn't run around slapping each other asses, okay

He was weird and scrawny as a child. He didn't start beefing out until he started training to be a shaman and he's still kinda smaller than most beefy boys

He can pick you up and throw you around easily. He carried around a 170 pound Yuji like a sack of potatoes and can easily carry around three times that weight

It's amazing he's so tiny because you remember 2014 Shane Dawson making all of those wack ass desserts that was just s pile of chaos wrapped in chocolate?

He can eat every last bite of one of those monstrosities without getting a stomach ache, gaining weight, or dying basically

He knows bc Yuji dared him to do it

He has really cold hands and feet

He sounds old. Let me elaborate. He's constantly cracking his joints. They also creak when he moves. He complains about body pains like he's 80 y/o

He also shares wisdom with the kids as if he's actually 80 y/o

It's irrelevant advice that doesn't make sense but is also useful. Megumi can't count the number of times he's asked Gojo for feedback on his technique but had been told to remember to chew 40 times or never go to bed angry

Starts off sentences with "now son" and "when I was your age"

He uses his blindfold as a headband when he wants his hair out of his face. He also uses headbands as... Headbands... When he wants to wear sunglasses but get his hair out of his face

He owns so many pairs of sunglasses but he always wears the same pair

He's only bought a handful of them himself, most of them are gifts

No one knows what to get him for Christmas or his birthday bc he has everything, so they resort to sunglasses

His favorite pair is a pair that Shoko and Geto bought him as a gag. He thought they were dead serious, though, so he wore them around for a month

They were heart-shaped, rose-tinted glasses

Can you believe this man doesn't use any gel or anything to keep his hair spiky with the blindfold on? It just naturally defies gravity when the blindfold is on

Tell this man he's pretty because he already knows. He's narcissistic but not the cringy kind

Photogenic as hell. Takes great pictures from any angle. 

He gives everyone a different story as to why he covers his eyes. Sometimes he says it's because his eyes are too pretty and are a distraction. Sometimes he says it's because the sunglasses/bandages/blindfold look cooler than his eyes. Sometimes he says it's to protect the six eyes from seeing things he doesn't want to see. The world may never know

He's tried covering his whole face before, but he thinks he's too pretty for that. He at least wants one of his many amazing features to be shown at all times.

So about his driver's license;

He knows how to drive. He can be a good driver. When he wants to be. He just doesn't have a driver's license.

Now he TELLS people he just never got around to getting one, however, there's a rumor he lost it due to too many parking tickets

It's amazing the only tickets he's ever gotten have been from that and once he got caught without a seatbelt; he would have gotten out of that one if he hadn't been flirting with the police officer so bad

This doesn't stop Gojo from driving places though

He steals Ijichi's car a LOT and Ijichi DOESN'T KNOW HOW like??? The windows are never broken and it doesn't look hotwired-

Gojo has a key

You're not even supposed to be able to duplicate car keys but Gojo did 

Also; none of the first-year trio knows he doesn't have a driver's license, though that much should be painfully obvious

He whips around corners, speeds up at yellow lights, goes "watch this" and does a donut, it's just a mess

The poor students have to sit in the backseat too. Just imagine Megumi with all three seatbelts around him like that one meme.

He thrives off of Nobara and Yuji screaming from the backseat, and he can see Megumi being smooshed because he thought the middle seat was the safest through the rearview mirror

Which he doesn't even need because of the six eyes

Despite being such a reckless driver, he knows when danger will happen, so he's never once gotten in a wreck

He blasts the radio, which makes up for the driving.

Has a habit of getting in a car and ending up in the McDonalds drive-thru

Steals other people's fries and keeps the fullest one for himself.

He was rebellious as a kid and teenager, but hey, at least his juvie record is sealed 

He's been detained and in the back of a cop car many times, but the reason was never really bad enough for him to be arrested. Mostly he's just being mouthy. And the time he got caught spray painting on the side of a building. And that one time he and Getou hopped the fence to get into the local pool. And that other time-

It got worse after Getou wasn't around to get him out of trouble. Suddenly, breaking the rules wasn't fun anymore and he mellowed out. 

Tried alcohol and cigarettes before he was legal. Decided neither was his thing, however, he did start drinking occasionally when he was legal.

He's a fucking chaotic drunk. Oh my god he's absolutely feral

Most bars in the vicinity know him by name and they sigh whenever he walks in

Shoko is his emergency contact. She hates it

Shoko has to drag drunk Gojo home at least twice a month and is not happy about it

Once she left him in an alley. He made it home okay so she guesses it's fine

Once he got so drunk he spilled beer on his sock. The thought the fastest way to dry them was by sticking them in the microwave. Forgot about it until someone asked, "Who the fuck is cooking socks???"

I feel it important he was in the break room of the local grocery store and no one knows how he got there

As he was escorted out he stole a grocery cart and rode away in it while singing Don't Threaten Me (With A Good Time) by Panic! At The Disco

He has no alcohol tolerance at all what so ever

He will literally just stare at you and giggle

It's funny he's really flirty but also doesn't seal the deal. Literally, every woman in that bar is willing to get in his bed but he declines every offer. No one knows why

Its because he respects women

He helps his students break the rules as long as they're within reason. Once night Yuji was really hungry and after having a temper tantrum he couldn't order Uber eats bc the school is supposed to be secret Gojo helped sneak him out to get food. Who needs curfew anyway.

The shirts in his closet range from like twenty bucks to the iconic rich bitch shirt the kids ruined in that one chapter we all know the one 

He still wears that by the way, he calls it "art" 

When he was younger, Megumi drew a picture of Gojo being eaten by his shadow dogs. Gojo found it and now it's framed in his room.

He keeps up with current trends and memes like no one's business. This is how he bonds with his kids.

Don't call him old, but also, he'll tell you to respect your elders it's a mess

He has a lot of games on his phone. You can usually find him holding his phone sideways playing some RPG game he probably spent too much money on 

He did hop on the Pokemon Go hype train but after becoming overpowered he got bored

This happens to a lot of games. He pays way too much money, gets to be the strongest in the server, and gets bored

He likes games where you can kill other people's troops and likes to watch as they lose all their power

I canon him as being borderline sadistic

This is why he's Sakata Gintoki reincarnated

White hair, sweet tooth, black leather clothes, dad vibes, never takes anything seriously bc when he does he's scary as fuck, the works.

He is Sakata Gintoki

He liked Gintama growing up. He watched a lot of iconic shows as they aired. He considers himself an og

He's hella bilingual

Because he's the strongest he goes overseas for missions a lot. Because of this he speaks a lot of languages and knows a lot about international cuisine 

He takes pictures of himself eating disgusting foods like snails. He never likes them but he loves the idea of Nobara gagging back in japan

Has paperwork sitting untouched on his desk from three months ago that he will not touch for at least another three months

Does the crossword puzzles in the newspaper every week

Uses humor as a coping mechanism and it honestly just became a personality

Constantly popping his joints. I'm sorry if you find this gross I too find it gross.

Probably brought home every stray animal he ever met ever until he was at least like 22 y/o

Tags: @wasabito @kittaliapenn

[keiichikuzuryuwu]

Place Your Bets

Implied (Future) Keiichi Kuzuryuu x Reader

Summary: This is a reimagining of the manga’s version of the Four of Clubs game, featuring a very stubborn, very smart mother hen Y/N instead of a gentle girl.

A/N: I have literally never seen anyone write for Kuzuryuu and that made me sad, because I love him. Also I know very little about how to actually take care of a baby so please be forgiving.

TW: Blood, leg injury, a crying baby

Walking along a deserted street, a man in a hat was making his way toward tonight’s game. Based on his body language, you would think he didn’t want to go, but in honesty, he was tentatively looking forward to it.

“Oh my god, another person!!” The voice of a woman caught his attention, pulling his gaze away from the lights in the distance. As he looked over, he took note of how clean she was, all glow and innocence compared to the world around her- a new arrival, clearly. But what truly surprised him was the fact that she was carrying a sleeping baby in her arms. It was rare to come across a child here, much less a baby. Perhaps it was her’s, which was why she hadn’t abandoned it yet, “You wouldn’t happen to be this baby’s father, would you? Or at the very least have seen anyone who could possibly be their parents?”

So it wasn’t her’s. The man wondered how long it would be until she gave up on it.

“No, sorry. I’m on my way to a game, so if you’ll excuse me,” He tipped his hat and took a step, only to feel his arm grabbed.

“Wait, what game? Should I be heading there too?”

“You… don’t know about the games? Are you new here?” He already knew the answer, but no point in signaling that to her. She may end up a Heart Specialist and get into his head, after all.

“Yes, actually! One moment, I was going to meet up with my friends, and the next, the entirety of Shibuya was powered down and empty except me and this little one here,” So she’d walked all this way from Shibuya in just a few hours? Maybe a Spades Specialist, then.

“Well then you should come with me. We need to get you registered for a game so you don’t end up a day one victim.”

“Woah, what?? Day one victim??” The color drained from her face, before she grabbed his hand and began walking, “What and where is this game? Is it Trivial Pursuit? Because I’m really good at Trivial Pursuit! Wait, but that’s a one winner game and this is looking more and more like the set up for a death game manga but in real life,” She looked back at him, “Did I get stuck in a death game manga but in real life?”

“Um…” He didn’t really know how to respond to this woman. Regaining his wits, he caught up to her brisk pace and pointed in the direction of the lights, “See those lights? That’s where the closest game is. And, yes, you unfortunately did…”

“Brilliant, let’s go,” She still held onto his hand as they walked, confusing the man. They were complete strangers and he’d just told her that she was walking towards her probable death, yet she continued to hold his hand as though they were allies.

Walking up to the glowing tunnel, the man spotted the registration phones on a table, three of them already missing. The already registered participants were scattered nearby, looking at them strangely. Did they perhaps think he, this woman, and the baby were a family? The thought almost flustered him.

“So what do I do?” The woman asked him when they got over to the table, “Just take one of these phones?”

“Yes, here,” Handing her one, he watched as she tapped to turn it on.

“I don’t like the fact that this facial recognition already had me registered with an ID number,” She scoffed, putting the phone in her skirt’s pocket before hesitating, “Wait, do I need to register this baby too? I mean, obviously I’m not gonna abandon it, but… they’re a baby, they can’t really play a game.”

“No, unfortunately they need to be registered… Here,” Picking up another phone, he held it up to the face of the babe, the ping of the completed registration sounding a moment later, “You keep hold of this one too, since you’re holding the baby.”

“Alright, sounds good to me,” Placing the other phone in her pocket, she cooed at the baby, “You better hope this isn’t Trivial Pursuit or I’m gonna have to kick your butt, baby~ That’s right, that’s right~”

“Please don’t taunt the baby like that. It’s… unnerving…” Nervously pulling on his collar, the man was surprised when she just laughed.

“Sorry, I cope with stress by joking around…” She placed a hand on the back of her neck as they walked over to the others, “The only way this baby isn’t surviving is if it’d be better to do a mercy killing. Other than that, I’m fighting tooth and nail to make sure they get through this with me.”

“You for real??” One of the men closest to them, with spiked, pitch dark hair, scoffed, “You really think you can keep a baby alive here? Put yourself first if you wanna live, lady!”

“Come on, don’t say that!” The woman snapped back, before taking a breath and calming down, “Here, how about we start over and introduce ourselves?”

“This could be a Hearts game, or the rules could state we need to kill each other,” The only other woman there, a stark, gothic contrast to the Mori girl aesthetic of the woman with the baby, stated coldly, “I’ll pass.”

“One minute until registration closes,” A calm, female voice suddenly came from all of their phones, startling the woman with the baby.

“Huh?” Taking out her phone, she looked it over, “Guess it speaks too… These are my least favorite part of this nightmare so far,” Then, she took note of the camera app, “Ooh! Hey, wanna take a selfie?”

“You want to… take a selfie with me?” The man she’d arrived with questioned her, utterly befuddled by this woman.

“Yeah, come on! This might be the last chance we ever get to take a good picture!” Moving in close, she held up the phone, making sure to get both them and the still sleeping baby in the shot, “Awesome! Thanks for indulging my possibly last request!”

“You are way too chipper, lady,” A new man spoke as he walked up. Short cropped hair with designs buzzed into it and a mean face, this man screamed gangster. In reaction, the woman held the baby tighter.

“Entry has now closed,” The phones spoke again, “There are a total of seven participants. Please proceed into the tunnel.”

“I just hope it’s not Spades… I’m not very good at physical games…” The man in the hat grumbled, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow as they walked into the tunnel. About 100 feet in, the woman suddenly stopped, “What’s the matter?”

“I hear something…” Straining her ears for a moment, she suddenly looked up at the top of the tunnel’s entrance.

“Wha?! What the hell?!” Just as the words left spiky haired man’s lips, a barrier fell from the ceiling, creating debris and, more importantly, blocking them in.

“UWAAAHHH!!!!” The baby had woken up due to the world shaking from the force of the barrier’s impact with the ground, only for the woman to pull out a pacifier from her purse and stick it in the infant’s mouth.

“Thank goodness I thought to grab that…”

“W-We’re trapped in??” Goth woman shouted, panic taking over, “But that isn’t the standard!!”

“Guess they really don’t want us to be able to choose the coward’s way out this game…” Gangster guy placed his hand on the wall.

“ARGHH!!” Everyone’s attention was directed to the man in the hat, who was sitting on the ground, blood gushing from his leg, “Some rubble… it went into my leg!!”

“On no!!” The woman with the baby was the first to react, rushing over to him, “Hold the baby, we need to wrap this up and restrict the blood flow!”

“O-Okay…!” Carefully, he took the baby, doing his best not to shake as she took an extra baby blanket out of her bag and used it to create a makeshift cotton bandage.

As she worked, their phones chimed again- “The game will now commence. Difficulty: Four of Clubs. Game: Runaway. Rule: Endure the four trials and reach the goal within the time limit. Clear condition: Reach the goal safely.”

“Trials? Goal? What’s it talking about?” The goth woman mumbled.

“It looks like these are the trials it’s referring to…” At a man in glasses words, everyone turned around and saw what he meant.

In the floor, walls, and ceiling were various doors and hatches. The first door was in a wall, marked ‘Trial One,’ with a timer stating the lock released in fifteen minutes. Next to that, several round hatches labeled ‘Trial Two’ were going to release in thirty minutes. Trial Three’s vents in the ceiling were releasing in forty five, and Four’s hatch on the floor was set to release in an hour.

Spiky haired man noticed a placard on the wall by Door One, and walked over to inspect it.

“The distance to the goal is written here… But I can’t read the most important part. Damnit…” Sure enough, where the number should be, instead was worn down metal.

Looking down at the ground somberly, Glasses stated, “A conjecture… ‘Runaway’ means to flee… Something will come out of each of these four doors after a delay. Perhaps it means we should run towards the goal while running away? If the fourth lock opens after an hour, and we were to run for that amount of time, then the distance to the goal is around ten kilometers…”

“Ten??”

“Game… start.”

At that moment, the timers started counting down, and their phones switched to an hour long timer as well.

“Ten kilometers in an hour is cutting it too close! We can’t afford to waste a second!” With that, everyone save the woman with the baby and the man in the hat started running.

“Can you stand?” The woman asked him as she took the baby back, genuinely concerned about this stranger.

“With help, I think I should be able to…”

“Hey, you lot! Care to help a lady out??”

“I make no promises that I’ll hold on to you till the end…” The gangster helped lift the man to allow the woman to continue carrying the baby safely.

“Thank you in the meantime…” The man got out through labored breaths as they walked.

Within the first five minutes, everyone reached a bus covered in graffiti, the first car they had seen since the game began. By the time the man, woman, and gangster got there, it seemed their fellow players had exhausted it.

“There’s nothing here except junk, and it’s not going no matter how hard I hit the gas!!!” Spiky hair complained as glasses looked underneath the bus.

“The belt is cut, that’s why. Looks like this isn’t meant to be our method of transportation…” Getting up, he began running, “Looks like we have to run! We lost time here, so let’s hurry!”

“Gaaah!! I’m at my limit… There’s no way I could run…” The man in the hat groaned, “Don’t worry about me anymore, you all should hurry on ahead…”

“But-!”

“It’s like he says,” Goth woman cut off the other, “The first trial is about to start… In order to survive in these Borderlands, sometimes we have to do callous things. If you don’t learn that quick, you won’t be long for this world,” With that, she began running as well.

For a moment, the man, woman, and gangster didn’t move, until the gangster helped the man over to the first step of the bus and set him down before walking away.

“You too??” The woman angrily called out after him, “You’re going to desert us??”

“I tried helping… But now, things have changed…” He picked up speed, quickly catching up to the others.

“Selfish cowards!!” She yelled, shaking her fist at them. Sighing, she turned to the man, “Guess it’s just you and me, huh?”

“Are you sure? You should go run-”

“Nuh uh. I’ve decided I’m staying here, so I’m staying here,” Scooting around him, the woman gently placed the baby into the dip of the driver’s seat before helping the man up and to a seat so he could prop up his leg, “Let’s see…”

“What are you doing?” He raised an eyebrow as he watched her go up and down the bus.

“In order to slow the flow of blood more until we can get you help, we need to raise your leg. By doing that, the blood will- Here-” She took the baby and handed them to him again before looking around more, “The blood won’t be able to pump up there as fast, and it should give us some wiggle room.”

“You seem awfully knowledgeable about this. Are you perhaps a doctor?”

“Hah, no, I just remember a lot. Picked this up from a medical book I read when I was sixteen for fun. I’m actually a Masters student working towards simultaneous degrees in Psychology and Religion with a focus in cults,” Before the man could comment on how impressive that was, the woman sighed, “I’ve found a Japanese to English dictionary, a space heater, a set of keys that turn on this motionless bus, and a gum wrapper, but nothing to prop up your leg,” Sitting in the chair across the row from him, the woman took the baby back and gently bounced it, “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens…”

“I’m sorry I’ve dragged you down with me…”

“Nonsense!” She waved her hand dismissively, “I’m not much of a runner, and I’ve got this little angel to look after. There’s no way I could run to some mysterious goal even if I wanted to. Besides…” Her eyes shifted back and forth before leaning in and dropping her voice as though they were being watched, “Something about this game is striking me as odd.”

“What do you mean?” The man leaned in as best as he could, voice dropping as well.

“Before I tell you my theory, could you explain what exactly the card level of this game means? You said you hoped this game wasn’t Spades because you weren’t good at physical games, while the woman stated we shouldn’t tell each other our names in case it was a Hearts game. That means the different suits represent different types of games, while the number represents how hard it is, right?”

“You picked that up quickly. Most people don’t realize that their first game, it generally takes someone explaining it to them their second or third game for them to get it,” Thinking for a moment, he nodded, “Very well, since we’re going to be here for at least an hour, I’ll tell you. Yes, the number on the card connotes how hard the game will be, with Ace being the easiest, while King is the hardest. As for the suits- Spades represent physical games, lots of moving around and exertion. Diamond games are intelligence and wit based games, and are the least physically demanding. If you were to find a game of Trivial Pursuit here, it would fall into that suit.”

“I see,” She sounded enraptured.

“Hearts,” He paused, considering his words, “They’re psychological games…  They mess with your mind and your morals, and are widely regarded as the most brutal of the four suits. If possible, you do not want to join a Hearts game.”

“And Clubs?”

“Clubs games like this one refer to team battles and a mix of the other’s elements. It’s an unofficial rule that there is always a total win scenario, that it’s possible for all participants to make it out alive.”

“Then that puts us at an advantage!” She nodded decisively, “If Clubs are a team battle, then by sticking together, we have a better chance at survival!”

“But we’re just sitting in a bus?”

“Look mister, I’m trying to remain positive here, so if you could work with me a little?”

“Alright, alright,” The man put his hands up, chuckling. From the sound of it, it was an unfamiliar noise to come from his mouth, “We’re at an advantage because we stuck together while the others are only thinking of themselves.”

“That’s the spirit!” She held out her hand for a fist bump, which the man would have returned, had it not been for the bus suddenly lurching forward, “The hell??”

“UWAAHHH!!!” The motion woke up the baby again, but neither the man or the woman had time to calm them down again, as water was quickly rising around their enclosure and leaking in through some gaps in the windows.

“Oh no, you take Yuuji, I’ll stop the water!” Handing the baby to the man, the woman began to shed layers of clothes, using her jacket, cardigan, tights to plug the gaps. In the end, she was left in just a camisole and her torn up skirt, having even used parts of that to slow the water, “There, that should keep us relatively dry as long as the water goes down soon.”

“You called the child ‘Yuuji,’” The man commented, a bit surprised.

“Huh? I did, didn’t I?” Laughing sheepishly, the woman sat back down, “Don’t know why, they’re not my kid. I don’t even know if they’re male or female.”

“Well, I suppose they do look like a Yuuji,” He looked down at where he was bouncing the slightly calmer baby on his shoulder, “Can I ask why you chose to take this baby with you? You even grabbed their diaper bag.”

“Guess I felt bad about them being abandoned by their parents,” She shrugged, “Something just told me I needed to hold onto them and protect them; which makes no sense, given that it’s not like I grew up with great parental role models.”

“Maybe you just possess a natural maternal instinct, bad parents or not.”

“Who knows? Maybe you’re right.”

For several minutes, neither of them said anything as the man calmed down the baby, lulling them back to sleep.

“It seems as though the water is going down,” The man finally commented, the woman looking out the window to see that they were no longer surrounded.

“Yeah, but now it seems like the temperature is dropping fast!” The woman was right, the air was indeed getting colder, “I’ll go turn on that space heater before Yuuji wakes up again!”

“Sounds good to me.”

With the space heater on, the bus quickly warmed back up, keeping the baby asleep in the man’s arms.

“This cold must be the… how much time has passed?” Looking at her phone’s timer, the woman's brow furrowed, “Forty five minutes?? When the heck did the first trial happen??”

“We must have missed it somehow while we were talking.”

“Weird. Maybe it just passed right by us,” The woman didn’t let it bother her too much, just grateful to have not had to deal with it. Silence passed for a few more minutes as the woman held the baby, before she spoke again, “Okay, something’s been on my mind for the last half an hour, and I gotta know before we die… You were totally faking your personality when we got here, right?”

“H-Huh??” The man’s eyes widened, and he could feel his pulse quicken.

“Acting timid and stuff. Fake, right?”

“I… I…” Sighing, he looked her in the eyes, “How’d you know?”

“I sorta guessed around the time you told me about the suits. Your speech pattern started getting more eloquent, your sentences became longer, and you didn’t bat an eye at the fact that I’m working towards two Masters degrees at the same time. That last thing doesn’t really have to do with the timid thing, but it did tell me that you’re smarter than you seemed. That accident with your leg was very real, something you didn’t account for that truly did leave you near helpless; but before that, it was all strategy so we’d underestimate you in case this turned out to be a single winner game.”

“That’s… phenomenally impressive,” He stared at her in awe, “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Because I’ve been having fun talking with you and didn’t want to make it awkward,” Laughing, she shrugged, “But my natural curiosity got the better of me. I want to die with as few regrets as possible, and I’d regret not getting to see your actual personality,” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she kissed the top of the baby’s head, “I hope however this ends is clean and painless. I doubt it would happen, but if my family were to ever find my body, I wouldn’t want their last image of me to be tainted by something like decapitation, y’know?”

“Yes, I… I understand,” Moving closer, the man took the woman’s hand and squeezed it gently, “I promise you, if we survive this, I’ll do whatever I can to help you survive long enough to reunite with your family.”

“Aww, thanks,” She smiled sadly at him, “That means a lot. You’re a really nice guy, even if you are a crafty strategist.”

“I-”

KABOOM!!!!

An explosion violently shook the bus, causing the baby to once again wake up and cry.

“Quickly, on the ground!” The man pulled the woman and baby into his arms and got on the ground, shielding them with his body as the bus continued to shake. It seemed to go on forever, the shaking, as the bus grew warmer and warmer, far warmer than the heat the space heater would have been able to produce. But, finally, the shaking did stop, and the world became quiet outside of the baby’s cries, “Are you two alright?”

“Y-Yeah, I think so,” After she was helped up by the man, the woman grabbed the baby’s pacifier and returned it to their mouth, “That was the fourth trial, right?”

“I believe so,” He nodded, looking out the window, “All I can see are scorch marks, so I can’t tell, though.”

A little fanfare like tune emitting from their phones answered them, however.

“Game clear. Congratulations! To the survivors of the game, we will now supply you with a Visa.”

“G-Game clear?” The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, “You mean… we won? But that would mean…” Handing the baby to the man, she threw open the door to the bus and hopped out, running around the bus, almost immediately spotting the confirmation she sought, “The goal… It was the bus…”

“It was the bus??” The man limped out of the bus, handing the woman the baby due to feeling shaky as he saw what she’d found, “The graffiti… G-O-A-L… Dear lord…”

“Your injury saved us,” Tears flowed down the woman’s cheeks as she suddenly hugged the man, laughing almost manically, “It saved us! I don’t normally believe in luck, but tonight I think I’ll make an exception!”

“I can’t believe it, though! You were right!” The man laughed as well, “We stuck together as a team instead of only thinking of ourselves, and we survived!”

“Wait- oh no!” Pulling away, the woman frowned, “Those poor people that ran on ahead!! They… If the trials didn’t kill them, then… what did?”

“Anyone who breaks a rule like leaving an arena before the game is over or doesn’t achieve game clear… They’re struck down by a laser from the sky…” His words cause the woman to gasp, a hand covering her mouth, “I hope for their sake, their deaths were as clean and painless as the one you had wished for…”

Taking his hand, she squeezed it gently, “I’ll carry their memories with me, and push forward. As ill as they treated us, I can only hope that wherever they are, they find peace.”

“You’re an incredibly kind woman, Miss…?”

“Oh wow, we never did introduce ourselves, huh? If we’re gonna be sticking together, we should probably at least know the other’s name,” Wiping away her tears, she laughed, “My name is Y/N L/N, Y/A years old, Masters student, and guardian of this little angel until further notice. It’s nice to meet you, Mister…?”

“Kuzuryuu. Keiichi Kuzuryuu, 37 years old, attorney at law, and Diamond Specialist here in the Borderlands. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss L/N.”

“Please, we just nearly died together! You can call me Y/N. Mind if I call you Kuzu?” She looked at him so hopefully that he couldn’t find it in himself to refuse her.

“Alright, you may call me ‘Kuzu’… Y/N.”

“Excellent! Now let’s get out of this place! I’m tired and we need to get you off that leg.”

“I believe I saw a furniture store near here that we could use as shelter before finding something better tomorrow,” He offered as she helped him limp out of the tunnel, the barrier to the outside having been blown off in the explosion.

“Perfect, let’s go there. There’s some supplies to take care of Yuuji in this diaper bag I grabbed, but we’ll need to find some more tomorrow as well.”

“Sounds good to me.”

An hour later, as Y/N and Yuuji slept soundly in one of the spacious beds on display in the furniture store, Kuzuryuu stood outside and pulled out a walkie talkie.

“HQ, please respond. This is Four of Club’s observer, Kuzuryuu,” Taking off his hat, he pushed back his hair and slipped on his glasses, “Surviving players- two of six. Dispatch the cleanup squad to deal with the disposal of tools and materials.”

“Copy that, sir. Anything else?”

“Yes… Tell the others I won’t be back for a while,” He looked back through the doors to where Y/N and Yuuji slept, a small smile on his lips, “I have a player I’d like to place my bets on.”

Y/N L/N

Clubs Specialist

End of Day One of Sojourn