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scary-grace · 4 months ago

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if my heart was a house (chapter 3) - a shigaraki x f!reader fic

It's been nineteen years since Tomura was sentenced to death, and you've built a life in the space he left behind, braced each day for the worst. You're prepared for everything - the questions your daughter asks, the memories that sting a little more in the winter, the specter of the news you've been afraid of for years. But of all the things life's thrown your way, it's the one you haven't dared to hope for might be the one thing you can't handle. (cross-posted to Ao3) The prequel can be found here: what I can't remember now written for @pixelcafe-network's Challenge Friday event! Banner/divider by @cafekitsune extra-special thanks this time to @shigarakislaughter for the emergency beta-read!

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 3

It’s two am, and you gave up on the idea of sleeping well before midnight. Midoriya Izuku apparently wasn’t planning to sleep at all. When you called around eleven, hoping he’d be asleep and you’d have until morning to brace yourself, he picked up the phone, sounding just as chipper as he does in every one of his voicemails. And he’s a talker. You’ve been on the phone since eleven, and you aren’t sorry about it. There’s a lot you need to catch up on. And you’re not the only one. Spinner’s on the line, too.

Spinner was Tomura’s best friend before, and Spinner’s pissed at you. You can tell, and part of you just wants to poke the bear and end the suspense about why. But you want to hear what Midoriya has to say even more, and Midoriya is a seemingly endless fount of information about the state of the death penalty and life in prison. You avoided learning very much about this during the trial. You were trying to hold onto hope, and it already wasn’t working very well. Most of what Midoriya says is news to you. You’re taking notes.

It’s only once he’s given you and Spinner a thorough background in the whole thing that he starts in about Tomura’s case in particular. “What’s interesting about Shigaraki’s case — the thing that jumped out at me first — is the life sentence. The court imposed the death penalty for six of the murders, but tacked on a life imprisonment for the seventh. It got lost in the shuffle of the death penalty thing —”

“Yeah, I never heard about that,” Spinner says. “Did you?”

“I did, but it didn’t mean anything to me,” you say. “It was all just awful. It all meant he’d never be free again.”

“I hear you. But it meant something for sure,” Midoriya says eagerly. “The victim in the life-sentence case was Shigaraki’s biological father.”

You curse. You can’t stop yourself, and Spinner’s voice takes on a note of urgency. “What was that? What do you mean?”

“His dad was –” You hated him when you first heard about him. Now that you’re a parent, you hate him even more, and your limbs start to hum with fury, such that you have to get up and walk it off. “His dad’s the reason Tomura ended up with his adoptive father. He hurt Tomura. I don’t know everything, but it was bad enough that they took Tomura away from the family.”

“So there were mitigating factors,” Spinner says suddenly. “They knew that at the trial?”

“Yes. I dug up a psych evaluation from after Shigaraki was removed from his biological parents’ care, and it had PTSD written all over it. Literally.” Midoriya pauses for breath, then launches back in. “And there’s no evidence that his adoptive father ever pursued treatment for him. Which is — we’ll get into that in a second. Anyway, the fact that the court recognized a mitigating factor in one of the cases signaled to me that there might be room for movement on the death sentence. If I could prove that the same mitigation factor existed across all the murders.”

“We tried that the first time around,” you say. “It didn’t work.”

You remember how dismissive the defense attorney was to you, how it was clear he’d already written Tomura off, how all the money you and Spinner and the others raised wasn’t enough to hire someone who cared. “I heard things have changed a little bit,” Spinner says. “Not a lot, but — Twice counsels kids who are in the system, and he says that they look at that stuff in juvenile sentencing.”

“It’s spilled into adult sentencing as well. The older generation of judges and prosecutors is retiring and the newer ones aren’t as hard-line,” Midoriya adds. “I felt pretty hopeful for at least getting the death penalty knocked down to life for Shigaraki. But once I started looking at the old trial, it was a mess. There was a lot of reason to doubt that Shigaraki actually knew what he was doing at the time of the murders — and when I pulled the confession out of the picture –”

“You can’t do that.”

“His interrogators got indicted two years ago for drugging people who didn’t confess and asking them again under the influence. Yes I can,” Midoriya says. You feel like you’re going to be sick. So much for pacing. You sit down hard. “Once I took the confession off the table, the situation changed a lot. Our legal system, regardless of what the codes say, starts from the presumption that the accused is guilty. I looked at the evidence again, this time based on the presumption that Shigaraki was innocent.”

It’s quiet for a second. You can’t take the suspense. “And?”

“Shigaraki was definitely present when the murders took place,” Midoriya says, “but it’s likely that the only one he took part in was his biological father’s. And it’s not clear that he would have done anything if he hadn’t been under the influence.”

“He was drinking?” Spinner repeats, bewildered. “He’s a lightweight. He’d start throwing up way before –”

“Not alcohol. GHB. That’s –”

“The date rape drug,” you say. Your voice sounds like it’s coming from miles away. “That was twenty-five years ago. How –”

“The same night the murders occurred, Shigaraki’s adoptive father took him to the emergency department, claiming that he’d been drinking. I pulled the records, which included a blood test that was taken at the time. Negative for alcohol, positive for GHB.” Midoriya sounds a little sickened, too. You squeeze your eyes shut. “So Shigaraki’s dad was with him the night of the murders. Shigaraki’s dad took him to the ER due to intoxication on a substance most people don’t use recreationally, but a lot of people use for — you know. And Shigaraki’s dad provided almost all the evidence against him. The state’s case would have fallen apart without it.”

You don’t even know what to say. You should shut up. Instead: “Tomura never got treatment for his mental health stuff. Every time I thought I’d talked him into it, his dad would talk him right back out again.”

“Because he wanted Shigaraki to be unstable,” Spinner says, and swears. “He fucking framed him.”

“Why?” you ask hopelessly. “What would even be the point –”

“I’ve got theories. But that’s not on me to do,” Midoriya says. “One of my classmates from law school is still a prosecutor, and he’s already arrested Shigaraki’s adoptive father. My concern is with Shigaraki, and what’s going to happen when he’s released.”

“We’ve got him,” Spinner says at once. “We can help him get back on his feet. Whatever he needs. We all have money.”

You don’t have very much money, but you want to help, too. You have to help. You have to see him again. “I can –”

“No, you can’t.” Spinner cuts you off, and does it with more venom than he used on Tomura’s apparent psychopath of an adoptive parent. “I don’t even know why you called. You don’t get to care about this any more. You fucking ran!”

“Hey,” Midoriya cautions. “That’s kind of aggressive –”

“I don’t give a shit. He’s finally started writing letters again, and you know who he asks about in every letter? You,” Spinner spits, and your chest deforms from the weight of your guilt. “What the fuck are we supposed to tell him? Sorry, Shigaraki — your girlfriend dropped off the face of the earth and none of us have heard from her in nineteen years? We thought you were dead. Then Midoriya comes up with your fucking phone number –”

“How did you get my number?”

“Uh –”

Spinner cuts Midoriya off before he can answer. “You should have been here with us, fighting for him. You gave up. Why are you even here? Why don’t you go back to living under a rock and let the people who actually love him –”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” you snap. “I didn’t give up. You have no idea what it was like for me, during the trial — everything –”

“Yeah, you had it so hard.” Spinner’s voice is heavy with disdain. “We weren’t having a great time, either. You know what helped? Staying together. You weren’t just his girlfriend. You were our friend, too. You dropped us all like we didn’t matter and ran off when it got hard.”

“Would you shut your mouth? You have no idea how complicated it got –”

“It’s not complicated at all,” Spinner shoots back. “You dropped us and ran away to the countryside to have your perfect little life –”

Your composure breaks, and for once, you don’t try to keep it together. “Fuck you, Spinner! If you would listen to me for two fucking seconds –”

“Mom?” Chihiro’s bedroom door creaks open, and you freeze. “What’s going on?”

The sound of her voice is all it takes to bring you back to earth. To notice how fast your heart is racing, to notice cold sweat dripping down your spine. “I’m just on the phone. I’m sorry it got loud. Go back to bed.”

You stumble through the explanation, but it doesn’t warn Chihiro off. She comes closer. Spinner must have choked on his own spit, because he’s coughing too hard to respond. At first. “Of course you got married and had a kid. How long did it take you to hook up with some loser and forget all about –”

Chihiro reaches over and presses the video call button, then turns the camera towards herself the instant Spinner and Midoriya both accept. “My mom didn’t hook up with anybody,” she says. “Shut up.”

There’s a clatter on the other end of the line as Spinner drops his phone in shock. Midoriya manages to keep his composure a little better. “Hi,” he says. “What’s your name?”

Your daughter introduces herself warily, and shares her age when Midoriya asks. “Why do you want to know?”

“Once — well, we’ve already filed a lawsuit against the government for violating death row inmates’ human rights, and Shigaraki is one of several plaintiffs. And once he’s released, we’re going after them for wrongful imprisonment.” Midoriya’s writing something down. “Part of the lawsuit is proving the negative impact of the government’s treatment of Shigaraki, and this will help. His wrongful imprisonment didn’t just hurt him, it kept you from having a relationship with your dad. He is her dad, right?”

That one’s for you. “Yeah,” you manage. “I didn’t find out I was pregnant until after the sentencing.”

“We’ll need to do paternity testing to confirm, but –”

“They’ll know.” Spinner’s phone is shaking, and you can see the shock on his face. “You look just like him.”

“You look like an asshole,” Chihiro says, and you take your phone back in a hurry, aware that you should be disappointed and sort of proud instead. Chihiro sits down next to you on the couch. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m —” Spinner coughs, looks away. His eyes look blurry. “I’m one of your dad’s friends. Spinner. Sorry, I just — you’re kind of a jump-scare. So’s he.”

For somebody with such a striking appearance, Tomura was pretty sneaky. He didn’t scare people on purpose, but he had no problem startling them a bit. You wonder if he’s still like that. How much will have changed since the last time you saw him. “My mom didn’t hook up with anybody,” Chihiro says. “I’ve never even seen her date. She gets sad every winter because it reminds her of him and she definitely still misses him –”

“Chihiro!” You cut her off, but it’s way too late, and Spinner actually looks relieved. You’re — what? Mortified. Sad. Ashamed. Angry. “Stop making that face, Spinner. If you’d let me finish talking, I would have told you –”

“You were still wrong to leave. But I get why you thought you had to,” Spinner cuts you off. “This is good. I’ll tell everybody so they stop putting together a hit squad, and Shigaraki –”

“No,” you say. Spinner, Midoriya, and Chihiro all jump. “Neither of you can tell anyone, especially not Tomura. It has to be me.”

“That’s bullshit. She’s Shigaraki’s kid, too.”

“My name is Chihiro,” your daughter says. “I’m eighteen. I’m not a kid.”

“Okay,” Spinner says after a second. “Yeah. He still has a right to know.”

“And he should hear it from us,” you say. You put your arm around Chihiro’s shoulders. “Not from you. And not right away.”

Spinner argues, but Midoriya breaks in over him. “I agree,” he says. “A prison sentence like his does things to people. I don’t know what he was like with surprises before, but a surprise this big, the instant he’s released — it’s a really bad idea. That kind of psychological shock can hurt somebody. We want his transition back to civilian life to be as smooth and quiet as possible.”

“He’s going to keep asking about you,” Spinner says to you. “You have to say something.”

You think Spinner’s right. What are you supposed to say, though? How can you say anything without saying the two of you have a daughter together? “If he’s going to stay with you at first, send me your address, Spinner. I’ll send a letter for him.”

“If you want it to get here before he does, you’d better mail it tomorrow,” Spinner says. Chihiro stiffens in her seat next to you. “Midoriya, when’s he getting released?”

“Sometime within the next three weeks. Our PR department has a few editorials lined up to hurry things along,” Midoriya says. He grimaces. “Sorry about the article yesterday. We didn’t sign off on that.”

“The Kizuki one?” Spinner looks disgusted. “She’d better quit mouthing off. Toga’s this close to doxxing her.”

“Don’t tell me things like that,” Midoriya says. “We’re working on it, I promise. PR and the legal stuff is my job. Your job — you two, not Chihiro — is to make sure Shigaraki has a soft landing. As soft as it can be, anyway. This is going to be hard on all of you for a little while.”

“No shit,” Spinner mumbles. He yawns. “I’m supposed to do a book signing tomorrow –”

“I have work. And Chihiro has school.”

“Get some sleep,” Midoriya advises. “And you two — work it out. Please. You trying to kill each other won’t help Shigaraki at all.”

He says goodnight and hangs up, but Spinner stays on the call a little longer. “Hey. Uh, Chihiro — can I talk to your mom for a second? Alone?”

“Are you going to be an asshole?” Chihiro asks around a yawn of her own. Spinner shakes his head, and Chihiro looks to you. “If he starts being an asshole again, just hang up.”

You nod and kiss her forehead before she heads back to her room. Once her door shuts, you make eye contact with the camera. “Now what?”

“Look, I shouldn’t have blown up,” Spinner says. “And you shouldn’t have run.”

“I shouldn’t have done a lot of things,” you say. “Why are we still talking? You said you had work in the morning.”

“I do. But this is important.” Spinner looks as serious as you’ve ever seen him. “When you write Shigaraki this letter, don’t promise anything you can’t follow through on. I don’t know how much of what the kid said is true — the kid. You have a kid. That’s insane.”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. Spinner forges on. “Even if everything she said is true — about you missing him and everything — that doesn’t mean you want to get back together with him. Don’t say something you don’t mean.”

You can do that, you think. You need to figure out what you mean first. You nod. “This shouldn’t be the only time we talk before he gets out. Let’s check in sometime once we’ve both gotten sleep,” you say. Spinner nods, and something occurs to you. “Why’d we both end up on that call? I mean, we were the closest to him, but for something this big –”

“I was there because Shigaraki authorized it,” Spinner says. “You’re here because he named you when they locked him up.”

“Huh?”

“When people get to death row, they have to name the person who will get their personal effects and ashes — afterward.” Spinner looks away. “Shigaraki named you.”

Spinner must give your number out, because over the next week, you find yourself fielding calls and texts from Toga, Twice, Magne, and Dabi. None of them have brought up Chihiro, which means Spinner and Midoriya have kept their mouths shut, but that means that you spend a lot of time being yelled at. You get why they’re mad, but you’re getting tired of people being mad at you. Chihiro being mad at you is more than enough.

She’s not quite as mad as you thought she’d be. It could be a lot worse. She’s still talking to you, still says she loves you when you drop her off at school and when the two of you say goodnight – but the consequences of your lie by omission are lurking in every silence, and when she comes to you with questions, it always turns into a fight, no matter how much detail you include in your answer. They’re small fights, just a few minutes of raised voices and tears. Maybe other parents are used to this with their teenagers, but you and Chihiro never fought like this before. It could be a lot worse, but it’s awful.

You haven’t cried in front of her, but you’ve cried plenty on your own. In the bathroom with the shower running. On walks in the woods where you come back after dark. In the bathroom on your breaks at work when you’ve gotten another angry text or you fought with Chihiro on the way to school. And of all the calls you’re getting, none of them are the one you really want – the call from Midoriya, telling you that Tomura’s release date has been set.

You wrote the letter, like Spinner said. You mailed it the next morning, and Spinner let you know he has it, on one of the multiple daily texts you’ve been exchanging. Your interactions with him are probably the least contentious. Spinner’s trying to get his house set up to host Tomura, and because you lived with Tomura, he has a lot of questions for you.

For some reason, he’s called you today instead of texted you, and he hits you with a question before you’ve even said hello. “What kind of mattress does he like?

“Huh?”

“Soft, medium, or firm. What kind was your bed?” Spinner asks. Wherever he is, there’s a lot of noise in the background. “It would have been one of them.”

“I don’t remember. I think we bought it used.” Neither of you had very much money. “We were sleeping in a twin bed for the whole first year we had the apartment.”

“Yeah. Something was wrong with you guys,” Spinner says. You roll your eyes. “So the mattress – was it really squishy? Or really hard?”

“Neither. I think it was just a normal mattress.” The noise in the background is even worse. “Where are you?”

“I’m at IKEA. Midoriya said we might get news on a release date soon, and I’m not making Shigaraki sleep on my couch,” Spinner says. He’s at IKEA. You’re too bemused at that to really respond. “I don’t have any clothes for him, either. Do you remember what size he was?”

Yes, but – “He could be different.”

“He’s not,” Spinner says, and your stomach lurches. “Skinnier, maybe. What size?”

Spinner’s seen him. He must have. As much as your instincts are screaming at you to ask, you hold it together. “You don’t need to buy him new stuff,” you say. “I still have his things.”

“You – what? Really?” Spinner sounds shocked. “That’s – it’s been nineteen years. You kept all of it?”

“Of course,” you say. You don’t know what else to say.

The trial is a blur, but what happened after it wasn’t, as much as you wish it was. You couldn’t afford your apartment without Tomura, and because you couldn’t tell anyone why you were leaving, you had to pack up alone. You were exhausted. You weren’t sleeping and you were constantly throwing up, and when it came time to deal with Tomura’s things, you got as far as taking his coat off its hook by the door before you burst into tears. You sat on the floor with your face buried in it until it stopped smelling like him.

Getting rid of his things was never an option, not really. Even if you’ve never unpacked them, even if you haven’t looked at them since you closed the boxes, it’s meant something that they’re there. You’ve been waiting for Chihiro to ask about them. Dreading it. But maybe you can get around that. “I’ve got his clothes. And his old games. I can send them.”

“I’ll take the clothes, but you should keep the games,” Spinner says. You blink. “In case the kid wants them.”

Oh. “Chihiro doesn’t really game.”

There’s an awkward silence. “When you tell Shigaraki about her, don’t tell him that.”

You would have gotten Chihiro games if she’d ever seemed interested, but you aren’t much of a gamer, and you haven’t seen her play much except for Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and really old Pokémon games. Of all the things you’ve worried about when it comes to telling Tomura about his daughter, the fact that she’s not a gamer didn’t factor in, and you find yourself cackling semi-hysterically into the phone. “It’s not funny,” Spinner says, and you laugh harder. “He’s already going to have a hard time with it. What if –”

He's cut off with a series of staccato beeps. You have another call coming in, and when you check the caller ID, your stomach clenches tight. “Midoriya’s calling,” you say. “I have to –”

“Yeah. Go,” Spinner says at once. “He’s probably going to conference me in, so talk to you soon –”

You end the call and accept Midoriya’s, the questions spilling out in an anxious flood before he can even say hello. “Did you find out anything? I know you’re busy and I haven’t wanted to bother you, but – he’s been there for nineteen years and he should never have been there at all. Why is it taking so long to get him out?”

Usually Midoriya would have interrupted by now, but he’s quiet. All you can hear on his end of the line is ragged breathing, and your anxiety goes from uncomfortable to painful in a split second. “Say something,” you plead. “Is he –”

“It’s me.”

You don’t have to ask who it is. You’ve never forgotten the sound of his voice, even if it’s rougher and raspier than you ever heard it, and your own comes out in a strained, airless gasp. “Tomura,” you say. “Are you – out?”

“Yeah.” He sounds so tired. There’s a strange rattle in his breathing. “Midoriya wants his phone back. I can’t talk long. But I needed to hear your voice.”

“I’m – I’m glad you called,” you manage. It feels like the wrong thing to say, but you can’t imagine what the right thing is. You feel like you’ve been shoved off a building – the sick, swooping feeling in your stomach, the inability to orient yourself, the confusion and fear. “Is everything okay? What’s going on?”

Tomura starts to answer, but he starts coughing instead, and Midoriya grabs the phone. “I would have warned you if we’d had any warning, but – it was just supposed to be a pre-release conference. If the judge hadn’t insisted on holding it at the prison – it’s only been a week –”

“Breathe,” you say automatically, like you’re talking to Chihiro instead of to a grown man. “Tomura’s out. That’s good, right?”

“The judge ordered his immediate release, so he can go to the hospital. That’s how much his condition has deteriorated!” Midoriya sounds like he’s vibrating with rage. “I know you want to talk to him, but I need my phone so I can call Kacchan and tell him that if he doesn’t indict Warden Torino and everyone who’s worked under him in the last twenty years –”

“Why is he going to the hospital?” you interrupt. Your voice is shaking. “Midoriya, tell me.”

Midoriya’s not listening to you. “This is why prisoners don’t take legal action even when they’ve been wrongfully imprisoned! They know they’ll be retaliated against with impunity. How are we supposed to effect meaningful change if everyone’s too scared to ask for help?”

“Midoriya!” Your voice cracks. “What happened to Tomura?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Midoriya says. “Dehydration, malnutrition – stop that, you’re supposed to be resting –”

“Give me the phone and I won’t have to fight you over it.” Tomura’s barely audible over the coughing, but when he speaks again, it’s clear he’s got the phone back. “I need to tell you something. I promised myself I would.”

“Okay,” you say. Your heart is pounding. It’s hard to breathe. “Tell me.”

“It was real,” Tomura says. His voice goes quieter, raspier. “It’s still real. I love you.”

He starts coughing again, harder than before, and before you can say a word in response, Midoriya has the phone again. “Can you update Spinner and the others? I won’t be able to make those calls. I have to deal with this – and find a way to protect my other clients –”

“I’ll do it, but you have to update me,” you say. “Even if it’s just a text. I have to know what’s going on.”

“Fine. I’ll work on getting Shigaraki a phone,” Midoriya says. “He can call you once the oxygen mask comes off. Until then I’ll do what I can.”

The oxygen mask. Whatever’s wrong with Tomura, it’s so bad that he’s in the hospital or on his way there. You have so many questions that you don’t have a prayer of getting any of them out. “Okay,” you say, trying to buy yourself time to think, and Midoriya hangs up on you.

You slump back against the wall, your head spinning. There’s cold sweat dripping down your spine, and when you lower the phone from your ear, your hands are shaking so badly that you nearly drop it. Tomura’s out of prison, but he’s in bad shape. Midoriya hung up on you. Tomura called you so he could hear your voice, so he could tell you he loves you, and you don’t know when you’ll be able to talk to him again. And you didn’t have a chance to say it – or anything – back.

Something happened to you when you heard Tomura’s voice, the same thing that happened to you when you found out he’d been exonerated, except this time, you don’t have Chihiro’s presence to force you to ground yourself. It’s like you’re twenty-two again. The world’s turned upside down, everything you thought you knew shaken up and shifted beneath your feet. You don’t know what happens next.

Yes, you do. Call Spinner. Call the others. Tell Chihiro, because you promised you’d tell her as soon as you knew anything, and then finish the rest of your day at work. You can do this. You’ll do it the same way you’ve always done it – one step at a time.

You text Chihiro first. She should be the first one to know that her dad’s out of prison. Then you call Spinner – Spinner, who’s definitely still at IKEA, based on the noise in the background when he picks up. “What’s going on? Midoriya never called me. He’s supposed to let us both know when something happens.”

“It wasn’t Midoriya. It was Tomura,” you say, and Spinner goes dead silent. You take a deep breath, let it go, and on the other end of the line Spinner does the same. Not that it helps much. Everything has changed, and it threatens to overwhelm you all at once – but you’ll handle it one step at a time, until everyone’s looking away and you can fall apart in peace. “He’s out.”

<- Chapter 2

taglist: @shigarakislaughter @deadhands69 @f3r4lfr0gg3r @minniessskii @cryptidfuckerofficial @lvtuss @issaortiz @evilcookie5 @aslutforfictionalmen @lacrimae-lotos @xeveryxstarfallx @stardustdreamersisi @aryuunachigiri

#shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x you #tomura shigaraki x reader #tomura shigaraki x you #shigaraki tomura x reader #shigaraki tomura x you #x reader #reader insert #man door hand hook car door #needle compass north

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sweetheartdecay · 1 year ago

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field trip bonding

hey guyss! sorry i haven't been posting lately, i haven't had the motivation :((

during a school field trip to a hero agency, you and izuku midoriya get separated from the group. as you explore the agency together, you share your dreams and aspirations, forging a bond that brings you closer than ever.

----

the excitement in the air was palpable as your class arrived at the hero agency. this wasn't just any agency; it was the renowned agency of pro hero endeavor. you could feel your heart race with anticipation, and you knew you weren't the only one. your classmate, izuku midoriya, was practically vibrating with enthusiasm beside you.

"midoriya, this must be like a dream come true for you," you said, smiling at the green-haired boy.

izuku blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "y-yeah, it really is. i can't believe we're actually here!"

as your teacher began to lead the class through the agency, you found yourself lagging behind, mesmerized by the various hero memorabilia displayed in glass cases. izuku noticed and slowed his pace to match yours.

"look at this!" you exclaimed, pointing to a framed photograph of endeavor in action. "isn't it amazing?"

izuku nodded vigorously. "absolutely! endeavor's techniques are incredible. he's known for his relentless pursuit of justice and his intense training regimen."

you admired izuku's passion for heroes, which mirrored your own. the two of you continued to explore, occasionally stopping to marvel at the displays. it wasn't long before you realized the rest of the class had moved on without you.

"uh, midoriya?" you said, glancing around. "i think we might have lost the group."

izuku's eyes widened. "oh no! we should try to catch up."

you both quickened your pace, but the hallways of the agency were like a maze. despite your best efforts, you couldn't find your classmates. Instead of panicking, you decided to make the most of the situation.

"hey, why don't we explore a bit more?" you suggested. "we might find something interesting."

izuku hesitated but then nodded. "sure, let's do it."

as you wandered through the agency, you found yourselves in a training room filled with various exercise equipment and holographic simulation machines. izuku's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"wow, this is where the heroes train!" he exclaimed. "imagine how many heroes have honed their skills right here."

you smiled at his enthusiasm. "it's inspiring, isn't it? seeing all this makes me want to work even harder to achieve my dream."

izuku turned to you, curiosity evident in his gaze. "what's your dream?"

you took a deep breath, feeling a bit vulnerable but deciding to share anyway. "i want to be a hero who can make a difference in people's lives. someone who can bring hope to those who need it most."

izuku's expression softened. "that's a wonderful dream. i know you'll achieve it."

"thanks, midoriya. what about you? what's your dream?"

izuku's face lit up. "i want to be a hero like all might. someone who saves people with a smile, no matter the odds."

you felt a surge of admiration for him. "i believe you can do it. you have the heart of a hero."

izuku blushed at your words. "t-thank you. that means a lot."

just then, you heard footsteps approaching. your teacher appeared, looking relieved.

"there you two are! i've been looking everywhere for you. come on, let's get back to the group."

as you rejoined your classmates, you couldn't help but feel that something special had happened during your time alone with izuku. you had seen a side of him that few others had, and it made you appreciate him even more.

back on the bus, you sat next to izuku, and the two of you continued to chat about heroes, training, and your shared dreams. by the time you arrived back at school, you felt a deep connection with him that you knew would only grow stronger with time.

as you stepped off the bus, izuku turned to you with a shy smile. "thanks for today, y/n. i had a great time."

you smiled back, feeling your heart flutter. "me too, midoriya. maybe we can do something like this again, just the two of us."

izuku's eyes widened slightly before a soft blush spread across his cheeks. "i'd really like that."

you took a deep breath and gathered your courage. "so, how about this weekend? we could go to the new hero exhibit at the museum."

izuku's smile grew brighter. "it's a date."

your heart skipped a beat at his words, and you nodded, feeling a warmth spread through you. "it's a date."

as you walked home together, you couldn't help but feel that this was the start of something truly special, a bond that would only grow stronger with time and shared dreams.

#mha #anime #bnha #bnha x reader #mha x reader #x reader #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #izuku midoriya x reader #izuku x reader #mha izuku #izuku midoriya #faithfulren

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zingsthings · 1 month ago

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Number 32 of the micro prompts?

thank you thank you for the prompt (#32 - dust motes)!! fully failed on the "micro" piece, but I didn't think you'd mind :) and since you're the author of one of my very favorite pre-canon jyn & cassian meetings, i couldn't resist:

it's dawned on me suddenly

"Oho," said the medic, and yes, he was just as exuberant as Cassian had remembered, "It's dawn, young man! You've got lucky! You'll be right as rain soon enough, mark my words." Dratthew bustled out into the hall and Cassian watched dust motes float in the rich golden light. Blurry but rich, it couldn't possibly be dawn—it had to be later in the day. It had to. He wasn't that far gone, was he? Was he?

or, a feverish Cassian Andor tries to crack a cipher. The cipher just wants to drop off her stolen goods and get off this bloody planet, thank you very much.

on ao3

Sharlissia - 3 BBY

....

He woke to fire.

Hot coals under his skin.

Cassian drifted as the fever burned through him. He shivered on the cot in the—he was in a safe house, he knew. He thought he knew. No, no, he knew, a safe house, Sharlissia—some sympathizer, too ebullient for his liking but the closest he could find when his temperature spiked, an off-books medic with a hidden room.

A hidden room where Cassian was curled up and heavy-limbed and disgustingly vulnerable.

He fought the sickening pull of the fever-sleep. It took more effort than Cassian would like to admit to crack open his eyes—his lids weighted down, heavy as a pair of Ronos—but he managed it. Some kriffing victory. What does he want, a medal?

Cassian took advantage of his return to sight, caught the piles of flimsi, and remembered. The small, cluttered room. Full of junk everywhere but the surfaces, which were somehow pristine. It ran hidden along the side of—Dratthew, yes, Dratthew's dwelling. The man had done a decent job blocking the windows, but a few bands of sun broke through the heavy synthweave.

The light burned. His limbs burned. His head, his joints—everything ached.

A ping of a comm, shrill as a needle. Dratthew was in the room? And he hadn't heard him breathing?

Pfassk.

"Oho," said the medic, and yes, he was just as exuberant as Cassian had remembered, "It's dawn, young man! You've got lucky! You'll be right as rain soon enough, mark my words."

Dratthew bustled out into the hall and Cassian watched dust motes float in the rich golden light. Blurry but rich, it couldn't possibly be dawn—it had to be later in the day. It had to.

He wasn't that far gone, was he?

Was he?

A knock.

An autodoor.

Cassian let his gritty eyes close, for now. And he listened. These days, he was always listening.

"Dawn!" Oh thank fuck, Dawn was a person.

"Dratthew." A fem, probably.

"Well, come in then, don't want you standing out in the wind." Dawn had legs.

"Got your regular." It was hard to say, reticent as this Dawn seemed to be, but Cassian thought the accent could be Coruscanti at its core.

"Very good, very good—now! Have you got any triazoles in that pack of yours?" So Dawn knew more than a bit about what she was carrying. Perhaps not a medic, but she wasn't just some hired hand moving goods. Probably stole them herself. Probably clever. Probably dangerous.

"I might." Yes, Coruscanti, and high up above the surface, with something interesting overlaying it all—

"Well, Aach over in the other room could use it. Nasty case of Ascomyce, you know, anti-febriles can only do so much..."

Now that was just brilliant.

(Cassian was going to kill the Bon'nyuw-Luq Intel chief.)

One slip of Dratthew's big mouth and a smuggler of uncertain loyalties knew his alias and that he'd been on a jungle planet. D'Qar might technically be a sector over, but it was close by. He wasn't likely to be coming from anywhere else, not with the Ascomyce incubation period—did anyone have a concept of rudimentary kriffing opsec anymore—

"For the last time, no fucking names for your special cases. I don't see shit, I don't hear shit, I don't want to know." Well, at least Dawn had a brain. Much good it'd do him, at this point.

"Aw, don't be like that, dearie, you leave the Imps hurting more than most of my special customers, that's what I've heard." Cassian winced. Somehow he didn't think this smuggler was the sort to enjoy being tagged aloud as a rebel. Even if she really was stealing from the Empire. Maybe especially then. He, of all people, certainly couldn't blame her for preferring to work in the shadows.

"Best not wag tongues. I might mistake one for low-hanging fruit, cut it off the tree." Dangerous, he'd thought. Yes. Cassian was quite sure, now, that she wasn't the type to joke.

What a kriffing mess. It's not that he didn't appreciate the chance to bring more allies to the cause, he'd been a karking recruiter for years, but there was a time and a fucking place, and right now it was looking less and less likely he'd get his meds today. Whatever Dratthew had given him on arrival was keeping the blood from boiling in his veins, but only just. If he was stuck here til next transport, if he couldn't make a full debrief and all the Partisans' surveillance went stale before the Governor and his aides could find their rightful home in Cassian's scope—

(If he died this ignominious death, the spores of an unfamiliar jungle branching deep inside his bloodstained meat, maybe—

Maybe some other hands could pull the trigger.

It was a shameful thought. A weak thought. But Cassian was weak right now, was he not? Could he not, for one moment—

A thief takes what does not belong to him. And he was not a thief anymore.

The Empire did not rest for a moment. Neither could Cassian. Who was he, to pretend he deserved to?)

"And anyway," Dawn continued, and he held his breath for the inevitable blow, "What kind of a name is that? Sick as a kath-hound and saddled with Aach on top of it all. Poor bastard."

…Well.

Cassian'd thought it was rather clever, himself. Perfectly unassuming. Just right for a man hiding in plain sight.

Kriff, who was this canny yet intensely disagreeable smuggler to judge?

Not someone who'd stayed on Coruscant, that's for certain. Were those Onderonian vowels over the cut-crystalline accent?

The voices were getting louder. Cassian pushed his eyes open again, just enough to see and not be seen, focused on the doorway. And—blurry, but there, a surprisingly small outline of a humanoid fem. Dawn, presumably.

"Now then, dear, what'll it cost us? He didn't come with much, surely you can—" Maybe. Maybe.

"Nice try. He got himself into this. I don't care if he pays or you pay, but it's three hundred creds and not my bloody problem." A true merc, then. Cassian didn't know why that disappointed him.

"Come on, Dawnie, give us a boon." Cassian nearly groaned. The woman might be tiny, but she did not seem like the sort who would take kindly to Dawnie.

"Don't press your luck." Dawn had a peculiar ability to imbue her words with durasteel. Sharpened durasteel. Perhaps he could wear her face, her voice, next time he found himself on the free side of the interrogation table—

"Not even for an old friend?" Idiot. Cassian tried to remind himself that he was grateful to Dratthew. It didn't take.

"You're lucky I'm selling it to you at all, friend. Antifungals this strong are rare. Right traceable, you know." If she talked herself out of fencing them because Dratthew just had to haggle, Cassian would—

"And if you don't have the stones, dear, maybe I'll have to patronize another supplier. You're not irreplaceable, girl." The galaxy was testing him.

In the corner of his eye, Dawn's outline stiffened.

"Yeah? Your other suppliers send you business, too?"

"What business? Thieves with bumps and bruises?"

"And how 'bout that Chiss girl last month? Needed the late termination? I send you good custom, Dratt. Don't try me."

"You sent me trouble, is what you sent. Imps running through town looking for her, but you know me, mouth shut tight as a lee romay." Cassian would have rolled his eyes, if it wouldn't've broken his cover. Or made him dizzy enough to vomit. It wouldn't have taken much. He could read between the lines of that story, and his stomach rolled and rolled and rolled.

Dratthew's voice turned sly. "But it all worked out. Funny how she showed up with just the right amount of creds—I don't advertise that sort of thing and the girl looked like she didn't have a bit to her name."

"Yeah. Funny." Who was this woman? "And I'm sure it was a nice payday for you. Nice enough that you can afford my prices." Still practical.

Maybe it had just been the one good deed. Cassian felt oddly hollow at that. But even so, his mind was sparking awake for the first time in days, and he recognized an unwholesome relief that his assessment hadn't been entirely off-base. There really was nothing like the satisfaction of cracking a cipher.

Dratthew sighed and turned to walk somewhere, his footsteps growing fainter—down the hall, perhaps? He yelled back at Dawn, "She's alright, by the way! That Chiss girl."

"Don't care, didn't ask."

"You keep telling yourself that!"

Dawn muttered something that sounded very much like "Well, that Imp was a pig, so—"

People did all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons.

The Chiss girl probably didn't care why Dawn had helped her. Only that she had.

"Hmm?" Dratthew really did not have a concept of an inside voice. Or discretion.

"Nothing," Dawn snapped. "I've got to get off-planet, Dratt. Two-fifty if you buy two doses, but that's my final offer." Cassian held his breath.

He heard Dratthew come back to the doorway, credits clacking in his trousers, and exhaled.

"You drive a hard bargain, Dawnie."

"I get mine."

They exchanged their burdens, and Cassian finally let his eyes drift closed.

"Well, lovely as always, dear," said Dratthew, voice closer now. He sounded like he was rooting through a bag. For the triazoles, he hoped.

"See you in half a standard. And tell your guest he's not as subtle as he thinks he is. Cheeky little spy." Cassian's eyes shot open, and his fever-rattled brain cast about for a retort, or even an expression to put on his face, or a nice rude gesture, but Dawn was already out the autodoor.

He was never telling anyone about this.

Beside him, Dratthew grabbed two packets and a sonic wand, chuckling all the while. "Right, Aach, let's have a look at you."

There were pristine Imperial seals on the meds.

Dawn might not be a rebel; she might be selfish, mostly, or lying to herself, and abrasive at the suggestion that she could do more, and dangerous besides but—

She was making them hurt.

Maybe, for today, that had to be enough.

Cassian felt the sting of a needle, and thought of the Chiss girl and the pig and his rifle and the cause that aimed it, and thanked her.

And cursed her.

And thanked her.

#rebelcaptain #rogue one #therebelcaptainnetwork #rogue one fic #star wars fic #rogue one fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #star wars #jyn erso #cassian andor #jyn erso x cassian andor #genfic #writing tag #prompt fill

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depression-napping · 1 year ago

Text

FFVII Ever Crisis has a Japanese-only dub right now, so just in case anyone wants to know what Vincent says during battles, I did a quick translation below. This is by no means complete or perfect, but you can get a sense for what he might say in the next installment of FFVIIR :)

Before battle

これも私の罰か

Kore mo watashi no batsu ka?

Is this also my punishment?

(OK SO I could not make out “batsu” for the longest time because he has kind of a lisp (so cute) and it sounds like he’s saying “bashhu” instead (which makes zero sense) so when I looked up the possible phonetics, “batsu” came up and I was like OF COURSE HE WOULD SAY THAT 😭)

さあ、やるか

Saa, yaru ka?

Well, shall we (do it)? (“It” being battle haha)

お出ましか

O-demashi ka?

Are you coming?

(This is likely is addressed to his teammates as in, are you going (to fight)? I’m still trying to think of a better translation…)

(Edit: He drops the last vowel in demashi so I was wondering if he maybe said o-demashou which would change the meaning to something like “shall we begin?” Still not 100% sure on this one)

フ… 面白い　Hm… interesting

Hu… Omoshiroi

(Omoshiroi can also mean “how amusing”.)

During battle

呼んだか？

Yonda ka?

You called?

(When switching to his character in battle)

こうたいだ - Fall back!

Koutai da

(Edit: 7/21: I keep going back and forth about what this means specifically, whether he is saying 後退“Fall back/retreat” or something more like 交代 “My turn”. Both sound the same in Japanese but I don’t have kanji to help here lol. Usually “my turn” is translated as 私の出番 “watashi no deban” which is what Aeris says incidentally, but deban is kind of a childish word, so this sounds like Vincent’s more formal way of saying the same thing.)

Special attack:

動くな　Ugoku na - Don’t move.

さらば　Saraba - Farewell.

受け取れ　Uketore - Take this!

じゃ、な　Jya na - Goodbye.

After Battle - Victory:

終わったな　

Owatta na

It’s over.

こんなものだ。

Konna mono da.

It’s something like that.

(I’d translate this as something punchier... Like he’s saying“No sweat” but cooler ✨)

Defeat

フ… 似合いの結末だ

Hu… Niai no ketsumatsu da

Hmph… A fitting ending.

ついに終わりか？

Tsui ni owari ka?

At last, is this the end?

(7/21: Here’s the one I was missing. This is like identical to one of his Dirge defeat lines ❤️)

If he falls in battle:

闇が近い

Yami ga chikai…

Darkness is near…

(Edit 7/21: I misheard this line the first couple of times due to battle sound effects, but I finally heard him clearly this time and it’s so perfect ❤️ haha)

If you retire from battle:

今度こそ、永遠の眠りを…

Kondo koso, eien no nemuri wo…

This time, forever will I sleep…

—-

Kinda standard stuff, but anything he says sounds so good in Suzuki-san’s voice ❤️

#vincent valentine #ffvii #ff7 #ff7 ever crisis #ff7 ec #translations #voice acting #翻訳

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comicaurora · 2 years ago

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Hey red, what's your opinion on some modern writing that's very lamp shady? And do you have any advice on how to avoid "Well that just happened" dialogue?

It's an interesting question!

The thing is, lampshading exists for a reason, but it's not the reason it gets used a lot of the time. Writers might lampshade a narrative choice they're insecure about, while characters lampshade because the things they go through in a typical story are kind of bonkers, and we might expect them to notice. If a character signs on for a simple mercenary expedition and ends up discovering they're the long-lost prince of a kingdom they've never heard of, that's weird and they probably feel weird about it. If an ally is determined to 1v1 their super overpowered nemesis with no help from their friends, those friends might have opinions about how dumb that is.

This is a form of lampshading that doesn't break immersion because it's entirely in-character and doesn't lean on the fourth wall. There's a difference between a character noticing how weird their life is and a character pointing out how cliched a recent experience was. In the latter case, the character is treating their life like a story, and while it IS a story, they shouldn't know that.

There's a spectrum here, with "complete sincerity and taking every turn of the plot at face value" defining the 0-point and "complete self-aware uninvestment" at the far end, but healthy levels of lampshading live somewhere in the middle. Characters at the 0-point accepting everything that happens without question can feel just as weird as characters that won't stop pointing out the TVTropes entry they're currently living. It's about what it makes sense for the character to find disruptive or noteworthy. A hardened badass probably won't see the need to point out how bonkers a recent fight scene was, but a newcomer to the Cool Bombastic Adventure scene might be really excited when they pull off a cool special move and want to point it out.

I think this is why the recent D&D movie worked for a lot of people, because while the main characters all lampshade their lives to varying degrees, the way they do so makes sense for all of them. Edgin is a bard and storyteller so he has a slightly meta perspective on a lot of things, purposefully avoids playing along with certain narrative conventions and sometimes responds to other people's dialogue by critiquing their dialogue instead of just responding normally; Holga doesn't really care to understand how the world works and so keeps pointing out that they should just use magic to solve their problems, which is probably the most popular lampshade in the whole genre; Doric and Simon don't get a ton of time to shine character-wise, but they'll both occasionally poke holes in the pretense of the story they're in. The thing that makes this all work is Xenk, who plays absolutely every moment completely 100% straight and is entirely immersed in the objectively ridiculous setting of D&D. Same goes for most of the villains, except for Forge, who's probably the wackiest and most self-aware character in the entire movie, but in a way that makes him feel callous and disregarding of the people around him, like he's uninvested in the world not because he knows he's a fictional character but because he has too much money and power to care about anything. The ways each character does or does not lampshade their surroundings make sense for who they are as people and reinforce their characterization and place in the world instead of undermining it.

I recently watched a couple episodes of Stargate Atlantis and noticed something similar - the main character and, to a lesser extent, the rest of his associates from Earth have a tendency to make wry observations about his objectively bizarre life and the eccentricities of the people around him, which helps contrast against the extremely serious and businesslike Cool Space Warriors they keep accumulating, which helps make them feel (a) distinct from each other and (b) relatable considering all the weird stuff that happens. And the protagonist switches off the quips as soon as things start looking perilous for his team, so you never get the impression that they aren't invested in the story they're living, and as a result the various quips and lampshades come across more as a habit or a coping mechanism than a disruption to the narrative itself.

So basically I think you can get away with a lot of lampshades as long as the character doesn't feel like they know they're in a story.

#asks #writing stuff

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year ago

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Hey Raven, hope your doing well. I was rewatching book 5 and something struck me. Crowly stills does his thing to get yuu/mc to host the NRC tribe at Ramshackle. But compare to previous chapters hes seems a little nicer, i guess? He offering renovations and upgrades ( a positive), instead of just threatening to cut yuu's food budget or something (a negative).

Where im going with this is, do you think Crowley may have felt a tiny tinge for his (in) action in book 4? Or atleast, realized he actually screwed up. He did give Yuu in case of an emergency.... and promptly ignored it (or just turned it off) when he went on break. He likely had to have heard what happened over the break...an likely saw his missed calls and put 2 and 2 together. Sure he may not feel bad enough to apologize (at least openly), but he does seem to make himself scarce early in b5. That could just be him being, well, the headmage. Maybe he's just not sure how to deal with MC or how they'd react to seeing him? So instead of threatening Yuu, he offers them something instead? Idk, maybe im reaching. Crowley relationship with Yuu is complicated. I do like to believe he has some empathy or regret (or maybe he just has more respect for yuu by b5?) After everything up to that point

Like i said, i may be reaching here. Wanted to get your input. Sorry for the long ask. Have a good one :)

In many fandom depictions of Crowley, he often serves as Yuu's guardian who is incompetent but well-meaning. I'm also guilty of doing this, Crowley is considered my OC's father figure (even if my OC isn't a Yuu). That's how we choose to engage with the characters and the world that we love! However, I don't believe that Crowley has that sort of tenderness for Yuu in canon, whether at the start or as their relationship develops over the course of the main story. Now, that's not to say that I think Crowley is cold or hateful towards Yuu. Far from it! He does care for them, but in the same way that a teacher might care about nurturing their students and preparing them for the world beyond graduation. Crowley demonstrates a similar attitude towards other NRC students, with one very clear example being in his Raven Jacket vignettes. In those stories, he likens his students to apple trees that he raises and nurtures, hoping that one day they might bear fruit. He does not particularly grant Yuu special treatment unless it's a scenario where he wants them to do a favor for him. (Though here I would also argue he does the same for other students when he wants them to resolve an issue in his place, which happens frequently in event stories; in Fairy Gala, he warns the boys they'll be held back if classes cannot proceed due to the wacky weather. In Ghost Marriage, Crowley shames the boys for not expressing interest in rescuing Idia, etc.)

I also want to set the record straight regarding how exactly Crowley gets Yuu to comply with his requests. Reviewing all avaliable books in the main story, Crowley rarely outright threatens Yuu if they refuse to help him:

Prologue — Crowley does not initially ask anything of Yuu, but he does provide them a temporary home and food until they can sort something out. During Yuu's stay, they are meant to do handiwork to earn their keep. However, Crowley tries to expel them after their involvement in breaking what is considered a precious chandelier. In this case, his anger is somewhat justified but it's still the one major example of Crowley leveraging something to force Yuu to act in a way that he desires. The thing is, it's revealed in chapter 19 that Crowley did not believe Yuu could acquire the magestone he asked for and was all set to finalize the expulsion papers. So really, he wasn't serious at all in giving Yuu a chance to redeem themselves and was going to expel Yuu anyway (until they happened to prove their "usefulness"). Whether this counts as an example of Crowley "threatening" Yuu, then, is up to individual interpretation.

Book 1 — Crowley makes no specific request to Yuu. He shows up late in the book and suggests to the frustrated Adeuce that they fight Riddle to claim his seat as dorm leader, but does not tell Yuu to do anything in this situation. Recall that it was Ace that marched up to Ramshackle's front door and demanded that he be allowed to stay overnight; Crowley had no part in that.

Book 2 — In 2-7, Crowley asks Yuu to investigate the strange string of accidents that has befallen the students set to play in the upcoming inter-dorm magift/spelldrive tournament. There is a part where Crowley says he "never promised to cover living expenses". You, as Yuu, have the option to ask him "Is that a threat...?" to which Crowley never properly responds. Interpret that how you wish. He then offers Grim and Yuu a chance to participate in said tournament if they succeed, seeing as they lacked the 7 players needed to form a team. Crowley even says he will find 5 other players to fill in their missing team seats for them.

Book 3 — Here in 3-6, Crowley never actually threatens to cut off food. Instead, he is trying to earn pity from Yuu by guilt tripping them and emphasizing that he, the headmaster, is so busy with his tasks (like finding Yuu a way home) and will provide them with the funds they need regardless because he is so very kind. He's trying to tug at their heartstrings by pointing out the things he selflessly does for them, so they feel obligated to do something for him in return. Once Yuu agrees to help, he lavishes them with praise and says it is "expected" of someone he personally chose.

But!! I want to add that in the Episode of Octavinelle manga, this same scene is depicted as Crowley threatening to cut their food budget. I'm not sure if this is just a different interpretation (since Yuuta seems to prepare more food than is usually implied in the game; this would explain why their food costs go up significantly) or if Crowley truly was also threatening to cut the budget in the game.

Book 4 — Crowley makes a reasonable request in 4-2; he asks Yuu and Grim to tend to the fire fairies over winter break since it's a task no one else will be present to handle. In exchange, he says he will give them a banquet of tasty foods (which is not an empty promise; in 4-39, the Ramshackle Ghosts tell Yuu and Grim that the headmaster has left them with a ton of food as thanks.

Book 5 — Crowley appears in 5-21 asking that Yuu allow the NRC Tribe to stay at Ramshackle for their month-long training camp. He explains that Vil and Rook are willing to give up their share of the prize money if Yuu agrees to these terms. It is then that Crowley adds that he will help with renovation too, most likely to sweeten the deal with his word.

Book 6 — Crowley does not ask anything of Yuu. He does, however, call in STYX in 6-2 because he becomes concerned about the threat that Grim poses after consuming multiple crystallized blots. After Grim is taken, Crowley instructs Yuu in 6-4 to wait until Grim has recovered and been evaluated by a third party to speak with him again.

Book 7 — Crowley makes no specific requests to Yuu.

You can see in almost all instances that Crowley uses a variety of tactics to get his students to do what he wants them to. He bribes, shames/guilts them, points out very real consequences if the problem at hand is not resolved, and, yes, occasionally makes what can be interpreted as a vague threat. Despite this, the fact remains that he was always nice, not just post-book 4 (in fact, Crowley was also nice during book 4). I don't see the circumstances as "anything before or during book 4 is him being negative and threatening to punish Yuu and anything after book 4 is him being kind and positive to Yuu". In most cases with Yuu, he is offering them something they would want. His go-to strategy isn't threats, it tends to be the promise of a reward.

I wouldn't tie any of Crowley's actions to feeling a sense of remorse or guilt on his own part. While it's true we don't really get to see inside of his head, from what we see of him... this man is utterly shameless. He's willing to resort to emotional manipulation to convince literal children to solve problems that he, the powerful mage and adult, should be dealing with. What's more, he praises himself for Yuu's competence and willingness to step up. That's him placing a lot of faith in his students, and I don't think he feels any guilt in doing this. Why else would he send them into dangerous situations over and over again? He must, to some extent, believe they can already handle themselves just fine, otherwise he's creating tons of legal liabilities for himself by purposefully throwing children of tons of affluent families into the line of fire. Besides, he's a highly skilled mage himself--if any true, TRUE danger were to befall them, surely he could save the day himself. My thought is that he has sort of a "tough love" approach where he tosses his students into the fires and sees how they get out of it in one piece, but it's just presented in a "devil-may-care" way because of his lackadaisical attitude.

Regarding book 4, I personally see Crowley giving his cell phone number as just a means to provide reassurance to Grim and Yuu, since they (especially Grim) are protesting about him seemingly leaving on vacation. It's an empty gesture so he can have his getaway without much of a fuss; I totally believe that Crowley did not ever intend to answer his phone. When he returns in book 5, he's already asking another favor of Yuu, so I get the sense he isn't really bothered by what happened. I would even say that Crowley still has several major appearances in book 5, not that he has made himself scarcer. He appears to ask the favor, appears again to evaluate their performance, and then a third time at the cultural festival to speak with the headmaster of RSA. Crowley gets plenty of screen time here, much more then in books 6 and 7. If he truly felt bad or actively wanted to avoid Yuu, he could easily just tell other students (ie Vil) or even school staff (ghosts, teachers, etc.) to relay the deal for him.

Again, I want to be clear: THIS IS NOT CROWLEY BASHING. The only thing I am expressing in this post is that while I do love this bird-brained goober and think he cares for his students, I don't believe it's done in the conventional sense you're thinking of. Crowley can be selfish and callous and throw his students into danger, and that's okay! Sometimes we want to love a useless man who's trying his best, even if his best is pretty lousy/j

Whew, that was a lot of brain dumping! I hope I properly responded to all your thoughts and that you found this read semi-entertaining~

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slowlypalefire · 1 year ago

Text

Event Story

Ebert Vs Ellis

Part 1

*The translation are not guaranteed to be entirely accurate, so expected some errors.

On Valentine's Day, the kitchen at Crown Castle was filled with the scent of sweet chocolate.

Kate: "It's baked!"

I looked at the steaming chocolate cake and looked at the maids.

I decided to make sweets to convey my daily gratitude and love to each person I care about.

It was just yesterday.

Everyone seemed to be having fun talking in sign language while wrapping, and I couldn't help but relax.

(Hehe, everyone looks like they're having fun. It's like this after all.Every event is fun)

Maid Chloe: "The men might start fighting over my sweets!''

Maid Marie: "That's just too much of a dream! I understand, though."

"Kate-san, don't you want to see your chocolate be compete for once? "

Imagine that you have a chocolate and multiple people ask for it.

(I feel lonely when no one wants me)

(In that case, it would be better if they competed for it...maybe you might be happy)

Kate: "Sure, I might be happy."

I communicate this in sign language, which I have just begun to learn.and,

the chocolates made by the maids themselves ,they took it with them and quickly left.

Leaving behind only a “meaningful” smile.

Kate: "Oh, what? Let's make tea while eating the leftover cake..."

Elbert and Ellis: "Kate"

When I turned around, there was Elbert-sama with a wistful expression on his face and Ellis-kun smiling.

Ellis: "I heard a happy voice, so I was curious and came to take a look."

Elbert: "… Me too. Because I heard your voice."

"…The smell of chocolate.Were you making sweets?"

Kate: "Yes. We all worked together. We did a good job, look."

Ellis: "It's true. It's so cute in the shape of a heart. As expected of you, Kate-san."

Kate: "Ellis-kun is always good at complimenting. Thank you."

Elbert: "...I want it."

Kate: "eh?"

Elbert: "... I want your handiwork."

Ellis: "I want some handmade work from you too."

Mr. Elbert is standing on the left and Ellis is standing on the right. When they told me they e wanted it, I couldn't help but feel happy.

(Hehe, both of you are so kind as always)

Kate: "Of course, I have prepared it. I have prepared it for all the Crown members as a token of my daily gratitude."

Elbert: "Kate,this is?"

Ellis: "It's about two sizes bigger than the others. It seems a little special."

Kate: "Ah, that’s a present is for my favorite."

Elbert & Ellis: "...favourite?"

Kate: "The maids told me and I ended up making it..."

The maids told me that, unsexy Valentine's Day is not Valentine's Day.

(Besides, I'm also thinking the same)

Elbert: "...I see. ....Who does this belong to?"

Ellis: "I’m also curious about who Kate will give something special to."

Kate: "Um..."

When I was struggling to answer as I received stares from both of them, my left arm was grabbed tightly.

If you look to the left, you will see long hair with a fringe.His beautiful blue eyes were fixed on me.

Elbert: "...I want this"

Then, I was tapped on the right shoulder.

When I turned my gaze to my right, I saw twilight eyes that seemed to capture the changing time.

Ellis: "I want this too."

Kate: "But there's only one, is this okay?"

Elbert & Ellis: "Yeah"

(L-let me see…)

Kate: "Ah, that’s right! I’m going to make the same thing now. Shall I make another one?"

"There are still some ingredients left, and it looks like it would be fun for the three of us to make together."

Elbert: "...That sounds like fun too."

"I want 'this one', if it's not this, it has no meaning"

Ellis: "Then I'd like 'this one' too. Give it to me, Kate-san."

I can't help but notice that Elbert-sama and Ellis-kun might have had a rift, but...

That doesn't seem to be the case.

Rather than trying to keep each other in check, it seems like the two just want their favorite chocolate cake.

Elbert: "Kate?"

Ellis: "Kate-san"

(What to do...)

Liam: "Wow, I was drawn in by the delicious smell of chocolate..."

"Well, this seems like an interesting thing?"

Kate: "...Liam"

Liam: "Lord El and Ellis both want Kate’s favourite chocolate cake, right?"

"That's sounds fun. I was getting so excited. Can I join in the fight?"

Kate: "Mo,Please don't tease me anymore."

Liam: "Hehe, I'm sorry. I don't want to cause Kate-chan any more trouble, so I'll step down."

"Hey, El-sama, Ellis. Isn't it okay to just share eating this special chocolate cake?"/

"Hey, El-sama, Ellis. How about we just cut this special chocolate cake into half? Is it okay?"

Elbert: "Ah. ...I won't even gave away one of the pieces.I want them all."

Ellis: "I'm the same as El. I think I want them all."

Liam: "Bothering the princess, what a troublesome prince you guys are"

Kate: "Prince?"

Liam: "That's what the play we're rehearsing for is about. Ah,that's right!"

"The two princes fell in love with the princess at a ball party, and they prove their love by devoting themselves to the princess."

Liam takes my fragile hand in a light gesture. And, kiss on the spot.

Liam: "My sin was that I loved you at the same time. In that case, let me prove my love to you by devoting myself to you."

"-like that"

"Isn’t it okay for El-sama and Ellis to prove their love and compete for it? Just like a prince."

Ellis: "Kate's favourite,if i do my best and prove my love to you will i get the special chocolate?"

Liam: "That's right. The one who serves Kate-chan for a day and steals her heart the most wins."

Elbert: "Who decides the winner?"

Liam: "Of course, it will be Kate-chan."

Kate: "Eh, why does it have to be me?"

Liam: "So, don't hold a grudge and fight fair and square."

Elbert: "...I understand. ...I’ll do my best."

Ellis: "Hehe, it’s getting a little fun."

Liam pressed his lips to my ear.

Liam: "While you're at it, enjoy it, Happy Valentine."

#ikemen villains #cybird #cybird ikemen #ikemen series #ikevil #ikemen elbert #elbert greetia #ellis twilight #ikemen ellis #ikevil elbert #ikevil ellis #ikemen villians elbert #ikemen villians ellis #elbert vs ellis #ikevil translations

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gor3sigil · 5 months ago

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Hi, this might be a bit random, but please bear with me. I’m German and curious about something regarding the French language and gender neutral words. Do you also have “Gendering” in French? “Gendering” being a description for giving gendered words “gender neutral” endings. Which is ironic while also fitting, because the most prominent way to do it is in my opinion not actually making words less gendered but just adding a “*” to make the appearance of it being inclusive and not actually have a gender neutral ending. The ending is just whatever gendered version of the word is longer with a “*” slapped in between. Alternatively there is also “_” or “:” as a placeholder in between. Speaking wise it’s just a pause.

To visualise it: “act*ress” would be how it works on an English word. This would be counted as gender neutral by the standers of a majority of people doing “gendering”.

I have heard about something similar existing in French before and am curious, about your thoughts on it. (Full disclosure. As a nonbinary individual I am so uncomfortable with being relegated to being a special character and still forced to relate to gendered endings rather than people putting in proper work and make up gender neutral endings. There are ways to make words gender neutral in a way that actually removes the gendered endings, but they are so wildly unpopular that I’ve never seen them used by queer orgs. Or even at all. There is one way to “gender” that is fairly popular that results in gender neutral endings, but it gets criticised for not working at all times, and works within the regular grammar, while the other versions is making up new endings. (I like both of them way more than the common one with the “*”.))

That's a super interesting question, and we do have that in French ! There's a few different ways of making words and adjectives gender neutral in French:

When possible, we combine the masculine and feminine end of the words. I personally do that mostly orally because it's easier to pronounce. For example: actor and actress in French is "acteur" and "actrice", combining both endings would be "acteurice".

If the word ends in "eux", we use the X to combine masc and fem endings and create a gender neutral form. For example: happy is "heureux" (masc) and "heureuse" (fem), so it becomes "heureuxe" (gend neutral). Both these forms we use orally mostly. When we write, we'll do the third option:

Separate the gendered endings with what we call a median point that has been created for this purpose, "⸱". So it becomes "Iel est content⸱e" (They were happy. Note that "iel" is a neopronoun made from the pronouns "il" (he) and "elle" (she) as we don't have gender neutral pronouns). The median point can be replaced with "-" but the median point is really the most common way of making our language gender neutral while writing. Its use is more and more common but very politically aligned with the left and fiercly contested still by the French Academy and more right winged politicians, as it's deemed as a butchering of the French language. But progressive spaces incomporating it to their publications and, more marginally, it making its way into our literature, help a lot since people are seeing it more and more and getting used to it. The only downside to it is that it's a tiny point so it can be hard to read, in this case we'll use a bigger alternative with the "•" or a "-". I have seen "*" used too in french but it's more used in a way of degendering the language contrarily to inclusive writing as I've shown above, and it's not that common even in queer orgas.

#trans #transgender #genderqueer #queer #lgbtqiaplus #lgbtqia #inclusivity #inclusive language #gor3sigil.txt

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shaotie · 2 months ago

Text

What D.I.D I Do Wrong? - Short 2

A Little 'Adventure' - Chapter 1

I decided to break this into two chapters because editing long posts on tumblr can be a headache sometimes, enjoy! 💚🐢

(see the end for more notes)

🔹🔹🔹

~Eight Months Post Invasion~

Leo tried to use his portals again.

"What you fail to understand..."

He really did.

"Is that strength..."

But every time he tried...

"...always..."

The same thing happened...

"...prevails!"

Over.

"What you fail to understand..."

And over.

"...is that I missed on purpose!"

Again.

The sparks of blue light, the crisp static of his ninpo charging up, the feeling of his powers pouring into his swords - Leo didn't know which one it was or if it was a combination of the three that triggered him but every time he tried - every attempt to open even the smallest of portals - always led to him seeing the flash of blue light that took him to the wrong side of the prison dimension portal; it always led to him seeing himself gazing down at the giant opening between two dimension.

And it always reminded him of the terrifying moment it snapped shut with him on the wrong side, floating alongside the monster who tortured him for eight of the longest, loneliest months of his life.

That was why - ever since the invasion - he couldn't summon his ninpo beyond a few sparkly blue flashes, which was also the reason why Leo and Raph were heading to their destination on the underground mystic express. Their destination being a speciality medical place about an hour outside the Hidden City that tested for, diagnosed, and treated mystical illnesses and afflictions.

Leo didn't understand why they were going there. Not that he didn't comprehend where they were or where they were headed, it was more along the lines of thinking this whole stressful endeavor was pointless.

Orado could access Leo's mystic powers no problem - even to the point of lending them to his Leon persona from time to time so he could have a little seretone-pumping, endorphin-producing fun. Heck he even unlocked a few abilities Leo himself didn't know he possessed. So clearly the problem wasn't with his ninpo.

It was with him.

But Donnie expressed concern that Leo's Orado persona might be hurting him in some way by tapping into the mystic energy Leo didn't seem to be able to use, which got the big brother of the family worried, which in turn led to Mikey telling Draxum about the problem, who - in turn - recommended the Gemstone Mystic Energy Testing Services (or GEM-METS) and even went so far as to make the appointment for Leo (without discussing it with him first, might I add).

So therefore Leo was here on the yokai underground train, on his way to go through a bunch of tests he didn't want and didn't see the point of - but apparently when you mind splits into different parts your own voice becomes smaller and you are not listened to anymore when it becomes time to make important decisions about your very own life.

(Not that he was never listened to - his input was always respectfully heard - but rather he was no longer given the privilege of making the final decisions about his health and wellbeing)

Sigh.

Leo wished things could just go back to the way they were before.

Well, at least his family always had his best interests at heart, and always had his back.

(And he supposed it would have helped with his case if he told his fam exactly why he couldn't use his ninpo - that it sent his mind cartwheeling back to that day. But it wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about outside of his therapy sessions)

Leo blinked a few times, noticing that Raph now had a supportive hand on his shoulder. And when he sensed someone looking at him he raised his eyes to see that practically everyone in this train car had stopped what they were doing and were one-and-all staring at him wide-eyed from surprise - with one dog yokai curling his upper lip up in something that looked along the lines of judgement or disgust (or perhaps it was a combination of them both).

What did he do?

Did Cleo take control and freak out?

Was she making him scream out loud like how she had been screaming inside his head ever since late last night?

What was the trigger this time? Was it the fear that he had no idea what to expect from the testing he was about to do? The sensory over-stimulation of being on a bright, busy, noisy, crowded train? The fact he was away from the safety of his sewer home that he didn't like to venture far away from anymore because stuff like this happened to him time and time again?

Leo didn't know the answer to any of those questions, which added to his mounting frustration. The only thing he did know was that whatever he did (and then immediately forgot) caught the attention of everyone on the train and prompted Raph to put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

Raph.

His always-there-for-him protective big brother who was grounding Leo in reality by his just-right-not-too-soft-not-too-firm touch as if he knew that was exactly what Leo needed right now (he did).

Leo didn't bother asking what he did this time. Instead he tugged at the hood of his hoodie so it covered his face and hid away as best he could by lowering his head to stare at his feet, scrunching his shoulders, and stuffing his hands into the oversized pocket in the front of his hoodie.

(Boi, he could really used his stuffed unicorn right about now)

Raph seemed to sense that his little brother was over-stimulated, so the rest of the train ride was done in silence on his part. But he thankfully didn't remove his hand off Leo's shoulder and even gave it a little squeeze as a heads up to let him know they were arriving at their destination.

That small but significant act helped pull Leo out of his mind enough that he was startled and not outright scared out of his shell when the computerized female voice announced from the speakers that they had arrived at their destination: Gemstone Haven, which was a wealthy underground yokai city that was about half the size of the Hidden City.

The train slowed to a stop, chimes sounded, doors slid open, crowds moved - yokai were getting off, yokai were getting on, all of the busyness left Leo feeling a little dazed and confused. But luckily he wasn't alone and he kept his head down to block out the sensory bombardment as Raph lovingly and gently guided him toward the doors, keeping his hand firmly rested on his shoulder and walking so close behind him that his plastron was pressed up against the back of Leo's shell, because of how he sensed his little brother needed extra comfort right now.

It was grounding.

It made Leo feel like he had a big, strong rock protectively shielding him from all the chaos around, helping him to stay present in the moment instead of hiding behind one of his personas or paying the sensory muting void another visit.

Without raising his head Leo glanced up very briefly at the people who were leaving the train car with them, but quickly shot his eyes back down when he noticed the side-eyes some of them gave to him, and how those same yokai where whispering to each other (probably about him because of whatever it was that he did wrong this time).

Raph led him off the train and after walking a few feet into the station he gripped Leo's shoulder a little firmer and stopped walking to read the signs overhead so he could figure out where they were supposed to go from here.

As soon as they stopped Leo shut his eyes and took a hand out of his pocket to reach up and put it on top of Raph's because he was suddenly fearful that his brother was about to disappear or randomly walk away - leaving him here all alone.

Once again as if he intuitively knew what Leo needed, Raph hunched down and leaned ahead to put his mouth at ear level with his brother to tell him why they had stopped and were just standing there in the middle of the busy station.

"I'm looking for the exit to Sapphire Street."

Leo swallowed down a nervous lump in his throat, gave Raph's hand a little squeeze, and turned his face toward his brother's to tell him: "This is a lot."

The already over-stimulated Cleo was protectively sharing the front with him (on his right side) with the mild Penelope (on his left); with Penelope's soothing presence being the only reason why Cleo hadn't totally freaked out and exploded right here and now, out in the middle of a busy public places (again for the... well to be honest he stopped counting a while ago).

But the lights, movements, sounds, even the stuffy heat of too many bodies pressed too closely together - the everything - added to Cleo's over-stimulation and played on Leo's insecurities, so that if they didn't get outside and away from the swarming masses and soon neither he nor Penelope would be able to hold on much longer.

"I see it, it's this way," Raph told him with a strain to his voice because he realized how important it was to get Leo out of here and now.

On the way toward the wide staircase leading to Sapphire Street the hustle and bustle of everything around him made Leo groan and squeeze Raph's hand just as tightly as he was squeezing his eyes shut.

Raphael responded by putting his other arm around Leo in a half hug, noticing how tense his body was when he did so.

There was no more time left, Leo needed to be brought to a quiet place right this second or he risked either having a major Cleo-induced freak out or succumbing to the pull of the void.

"Why didn't Raph remember Leo's headphones?" the snapper sourly muttered to himself, realizing for the first time he forgot to ensure Leo remembered to wear his noise cancelling headphones that Donnie made for him and helped with sensory over-stimulation.

They had to get up early and leave at six am that morning for Leo's eight am appointment and Leo hated going out as a group because turtle yokai (called kappa) were a rarity, which meant the more of them who were together the more attention they drew to themselves from curious onlookers who had never seen a 'yokai' sporting a shell before.

For those reasons Raph and Leo had left - just the two of them - when the rest of their family was still asleep, and sitting at home on a little table beside the lair's rec room exit were Leo's blue headphones and a small bag of fidget toys and snacks - all things he needed to help him cope with the stressors of leaving home and going to a busy (noisy) city.

As if it was an oasis in a desert, Raph saw just what they needed to their left. A tiny convenience store inside the train terminal that was empty save for the single yokai sitting behind the cash register.

Without a word (so he didn't push his already over-stimulated brother over the edge) Raph brought Leo over to the store where he could take a short breather from the too much everything and where the protector of the family could pick up a few things to help.

As soon as he was brought into the store, the Cleo side of Leo's mind felt relief from the relative quiet around them and the lack of busy crowds bumping past them, which gave Leo the courage to peek his eyes open to see where they were.

The sight of an aisle filled with candy to his right and a fridge straight ahead full of pop, bottles of water, and other cold yokai-type drinks reminded him of the times before the invasion when he and Mikey would throw on their jeans and hoodies and sneek above ground late at night to visit a 'mom and pop' corner store for junk food (and partly for the thrill of leaving the lair when they weren't supposed to).

To his left, Raph was looking over a section full of headphones, reading the labels to try and find a pair among the wide variety of shapes and sizes that would fit over Leo's turtle head and that also included a noise cancelling feature (not caring in the least about the expensive price tag attached to the ones he needed).

As he did that, Leo reached out and took a bag of bright green sour apple candy off a display hook, to look down on it and crunch the bag in his fingers.

The color was pleasing to his eyes and the crinkling sound made him smile, so that he took his other hand out of his pocket to squish and crackle the package around in his fingers for the sensory stimulation it gave to him (because, as he learned from this whole situation he was thrown headfirst into, it was actually very possible to seek certain comforting sensory inputs while still feeling over-stimulated in other ways. Who knew? Not him - at least not before the invasion).

That was around the time Raph reached out for a box containing a pair of headphones he wanted to get a better look at and the movement in Leo's peripheral caught his attention, prompting him to look up in that general direction - where his eyes settled on a tiny, plushy pink unicorn keychain with a sparkly horn and yellow swirled in among the pink fur. So he absently pocketed the gummies with his right hand and reached out for the unicorn with his left.

"Alright, we're ready to go now bud," Raph told him, smiling down on his traumatized little brother who seemed to be enthralled by the pink squishy goodness in his hand.

Thankfully Raph was observant enough to notice when Leo (or rather Cleo - who lived in the moment and didn't fully comprehend simple logic like purchasing a product instead of just taking it) stuffed the candy in his pocket. So in his loving big bro voice Raph reminded his red-eared slider brother: "We gotta pay for that candy before we take it, bro."

Oh. Right. Leo had totally forgotten he pocketed the bag of green candy and took it out to hold it in his right hand as he continued squishing the unicorn in his left.

With a supportive hand still on Leo's shoulder and the other one holding the new headphones, Raph had them both go over to where they had to pay - picking up some yokai equivalent of beef jerky, as well as some nuts along the way in case Leo needed a snack before they went home (because they all knew by now that Leo had a harder time regulating himself when he was hungry).

Leo laid both of his items on the counter and silently watched as the pigeon yokai rang their things in. Then as Raph paid for their purchase Leo reached out to stuff the candy back in his hoodie pocket before picking up his new comfort item to gaze down on it while grasping it in both hands and squishing it in his fingers.

Raph thanked the clerk when he was given back his change and then wasted no time ripping the headphones out of the box and throwing it in the garbage on their way back into the busy terminal.

The noise, lights, movements, and other sensory bombardment all around them still hit Cleo, but not as hard as before because of the brief sensory break they took and because of the cute pink unicorn fidget toy that distracted Leo's mind. In fact he was doing so much better than before that Leo grunted in protest and pulled away a little when Raph tried to put the headphones on his head (not having noticed that either he or his big brother had pulled his hood down at some point).

Raph said something to Leo that he didn't pay any attention to and the next thing Leo knew he felt (but ignored) the sensation of a pair of headphones being draped over his neck. That didn't bother him because it was a familiar sensation by now, and Raph breathed a sigh of relief that his over-stimulated brother seemed sufficiently pacified and then gently encouraged him to move along - guiding him up the stairs toward the outside where they would have to walk down the road called Sapphire Street for about eight minutes or so until they reached the Gemstone Mystic Energy Testing Services building.

🔹🔹🔹

Notes:

I've been saying I need to let Raph's loving and protective big brother side shine from the beginning of one of my fanfics (because of my affinity for making him and Leo butt heads in my fics) so here it is! Lovey dovey Raphadoodle protecting his traumatized little bro!

🔹🔹🔹

next>>

🔹What D.I.D I Do Wrong? Masterpost

🔹My Main Masterpost

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sol-consort · 5 months ago

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So I can't lie, I've only just started following you (love your works, love seeing you experience cyberpunk it's so fun <3) but I have thoughts about Kaidan and River and I want to speak them

A lot of ppl point to River and Kaidan and go, "wow, what a boring romance," and sometimes, I agree, but... I also think that's the point!! Shepard and V are both strong, badass, carrying the weight of the world (or galaxy) on their shoulders! And yes, perhaps they want someone who will be as wild and badass and crazy as they are but also. It isn't hard to imagine someone like that wanting something soft. Wanting that simple, "boring" love that perhaps doesn't involve blowing up a factory for a change. And idk i just really wanted someone to see this and I thought you might like the thought process.

anyways, I love reading your stuff and hope you're doing well <3

But River and Kaiden aren't comparable at all?

Kaidan was infamous for being the vanilla boring choice because he was one of the only two human male romance options in a world filled with colourful aliens. The best of the best allowed a spot atop the Normandy.

While River is an average human character in a cast of other average human characters.

Of course he is boring, all of them are boring! It's a given, so no one ever complained about it because he is just as interesting as other romance options.

(If anything, his mission actually affected (horrified) me the most. And the only one to top it was Evelyn's, which I'm not counting as Judy's mission. No, Judy's mission is liberating Clouds for me.)

Comparing River's date to the others... like nothing is special about any of them. All your run of the mill Night City dates.

Judy takes you swimming, Panam has more family drama, and River takes you to meet his family on better terms this time around. It was actually rather sweet.

When has anyone ever said River was the boring option like Kaidan's case? I've heard a lot of complaints and words thrown his way, sure, but boring was never one of them.

Kaidan had it bad, man, and this is coming from a die-hard Kaidan fan. But this vanilla cake had strawberries, aka men stuttering, so I devoured it all the same.

What people have criticised River's romance for is how rushed it is, how forced fem V is into it. Not how vanilla he is (which he isn't have you seen that freaky sex scene he pressed a naked V against a fully visible-from-outside window for all to see.)

And having just played it myself, yeah, that's true.

It's the lack of choice that's the issue, not the content itself.

If you pick fem V, then you're forced to have an ex-boyfriend when talking to him.

It's the awkwardness of someone confessing their feelings on the dinner table with their family present. Where are we? At a high school lunch table?

This mission would've been better received if only there was a build-up to it, a prequel mission where you get to opt in or out of River's feelings.

It's also the lack of a choice to say "I don't like men" when rejecting him. V just has to come with a lame excuse that rightfully confuses River, who in turn becomes pushy thinking this is just V being self-deprecating or testing the authenticity of his feelings.

One of his lines after you reject him is literally "But I like you..." and V automatically replies with "I like you, too" without input like ????? Queen of mixed signals ig. Then poor River is just as confused and replies with "I don't understand..."

And my perspective is a biased one IN RIVER'S FAVOUR!

I did romance him, I'm clearly into him and his whole shtick. The choices that were forced onto V are choices that coincidentally alligned with what I would've picked. As far as I'm concerned, everything is peachy, and I love River's intensity.

Yet I still caught on to the lack of choice and V's mixed signals. So imagine how unbearable it must have been for a fem V player who didn't come into this with romance in mind.

I know well enough not to confuse my personal preference for characters like him with what's right and wrong in character design. The reality is, River's romance made a lot of people uncomfortable, and on many accounts his feelings come off as rushed or surface level because the player never gets the chance to connect with him on a deeper level, neither could we confide in him about Johnny like we did Judy—not until the very end of his romance, literally seconds before becoming an official couple.

And that's not River's fault. He's more complex than Kaidan. I'll give you that.

But there are many things left unaddressed, missed opportunities, and bad timings.

For example, take how he mentions that he shot the last woman he dated because they ended up on the opposite sides of the law.

I read that line and got immediately hooked!

The potential it had to create conflict between dutiful cop River and thief mercenary V. The romance drama! Two opposites yet hearts so alike! Can their feelings survive this strife?

I thought it was strange when V didn't acknowledge the resemblance in their current predicament after he said that line. But I still had hope. Maybe V is trying not to kill the mood, okay, fine.

I go through his the rest of the mission, anticipating this conflict to pop out from behind any corner. I was so looking forward to the eventual confrontation, the inevitable conflict between River's morals and his hearts' desires!

And!!! Drumroll..... we get.....

Nothing.

River's romance is not vanilla, at least Vanilla has a flavour. His romance is a whole nothing burger!

And V is to blame for a huge portion of why River and the player never click.

He is an outsider looking in; V never gives us the prompt to open the door for him and have a heart to heart. EVEN when he himself bears the most fragile parts of his heart to us on that patio and recounts the murder of his parents. We don't get the chance to at least reply with grace.

Later on in the morning, after sleeping together, he implies that he shared that piece of his past to try and encourage V to open up about this thing he's sure you're hiding.

From River's perspective, everything is going swimmingly. He did all the right steps and gave plenty of room for V to interject and share their sorrows. Many chances for us to entrust in him, but V never took any of them.

It's V who was never given the choice to do either by the devs. You could tell him about Silverhand after sleeping together in an awkward, equally rushed morning talk. And it doesn't feel that touching of an intimate milestone of trust since it only happens at the very, very end of your blossoming romance. Which makes you wonder what the romance was even built upon.

We CAN'T set boundaries with River. We have no say in the matter. And then we act surprised when he crosses them as he took the player's lack of interjection as V's willingness to reciprocate his feelings.

The man isn't a mind reader, cut him some slack. As much as his feelings come out of nowhere from the perspective of the player, it must've been equally jarring for him to have fem V be so open to his flirting only to be met with rejection at the last step when the player is finally given the wheel.

Kaidan was called boring because of his lackluster dialogue and awkward delivery (which I loved bc I'm a deviant ig) He constantly talked in circles, danced around each subject and his own feelings, never gave an outright confession and was reluctant at times.

This line of his especially stuck to me the most.:

So, in comparison to River's beautiful heartfelt lines, daring yet romantic inputs, and being open and direct about wanting you, they're not alike at all. Even their sexualities, Kaidan is bi.

The only thing they have in common is being looked down upon by the fandom.

V: Just don't fall in love with me.

River: Too late, V.

RIver: Too late.

He said it while smiling the most melancholic yet serene smile.

We just gave him a soft rejection, and he hands us his heart on a silver platter in return, fully accepting the possibility that we might break it. But happy to have even gotten the privilege to love us at all.

River embraces his feelings, views love as a beautiful thing, this strong unbreakable bond. A gift with no expectations. He defies the stereotype of emotionally constipated straight dude who's constantly hiding under layers of irony or several feet deep down in denial. Who's as emotionally intelligent as a potato.

Even the infamous icky scene of "who thinks V and River make a good couple" wasn't something out of his own doing! He didn't encourage them. He didn't want his sister to put you on the spot like that. He was taking things slow, and suddenly, both of you were thrust in the middle of a confession and conversation about marriage by his family.

River was quick to get up and fish you out of the situation afterwards, clever and witty as he realised your discomfort and wanted to give you space.

Yet he still owned up to his feelings, faced this unexpected turn of events with grace, and attempted to make the best of a bad, awkward situation.

The jig is up. He might as well do a proper confession even if it's rushed. It wasn't what he planned, but it's what outside circumstances drove him to.

So because of context and bad timing, his confession atop the water tower falls flat on its face. Instead of his sincere lines having that authentic feeling, they feel extremely self-centered.

You ever spoke to a straight dude on a date and noticed how he only ever seems to talk about himself? Never ask how you are after you ask him. Never return the compliment. hogging and hijacking the conversation at every turn, then have the gall to claim that you're a good listener. Saying he must be falling for you when you haven't shared a single fact about yourself or interests so far.

THIS is how River's romance unintentionally feels at times.

It's not how he is on paper, not how his character operates on principles, and most likely not how the writers wanted him to be.

But it is how he looks like to half the playerbase, if not more.

It would've been easily remedied if only we got the option to tell him to fuck off early on, AND the option to entrust and confide in him in return.

Instead, we get FUCK ALL!

Nothing ever comes out of all of this exposition. Oh my god. It was like watching a movie where the director and genre switch every 5 minutes as the player and V contradict each other every other sentence. As draining as swimming against the current.

Creating an experience where the only way to have a smooth sailing River romance is to be 110% into him, only then do the player's choices and V's automated responses allign.

And all of this is coming from a River fan. I MAY poke fun at him in tags from time to time, but that's just my way of showing love.

Realistically, if I didn't like River and found him uncomfortable and boring, then why the hell would I waste time to go through his romance??

I never romanced Garrus (only flirted then broke up for Thane, didnt even bother seeing the sex scene before breaking up) because I found him boring despite the whole fanbase chasing after his turian lack of ass. While the boring Kaidan stole my heart.

Between you and me, I really want to reload a savefile and lock into a relationship with River. Especially since having multiple romances in Cyberpunk has no real consequences and no one ever confronts V for cheating, unlike other games.

That reload game button is calling to me like the green goblin mask ngl, so why the resistance?

Because I'm trying to build a narrative that differentiates V from Johnny by giving V opposing core traits. Never smoking, for example.

Not out of some moral obligation against infidelity in a videogame where you literally murder people—why even draw that line at all?—but for role-playing reasons.

If Johnny was fully loyal to either Rogue or Alt, then I would've made V a whole serial cheater. I just want opposing traits to have interesting symbolism, that's all.

In a second playthrough however, I'm fully coming for River's juicy ass.

AND I'M KEEPING THE "fuck the police" SHIRT AND WEARING IT EVERWHERE. Because I do love River, and I headcanon that this V is also deeply in love with him but by moral obligations can't let her heart stray since she wants to be serious about Judy.

If anything, it's Liara who River reminds me of.

Another character who gets attached way too quickly. Her yearning rivals River's, ever so devoted and in love with the player, wanting something real and deep, not a passing fling.

River is the right guy wrong time. Another character done dirty by greedy shareholders who kept rushing the writers for a game so they had to cut corners, and an impatient fanbase who just wanted to hype up the Next Big Thing release date without a care to its current state.

We kept opening the oven door every 5 minutes, then acted offended when the cake came out deflated and half-baked.

Lastly, thank you for the opportunity to talk about this! Even if you don't agree with a single word I said so far, I'm just glad we get to dissect characters like that, it's very fun. And thank you for your sweet words, I'm happy you like my stories!

Bonus points for anyone who can count how many river/water puns I snuck in this character analysis post.

#☆River #☆cyberpunk #☆other fandoms #☆character study #River ward

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theresattrpgforthat · 1 year ago

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Mint Plays Games: The Wildsea

I spent the month of April (and a little bit of May) playing a game of The Wildsea as part of our Planedawn Orphans meta-campaign series. The Wildsea is the brainchild of Felix Isaacs, and published under Myth-Works, and it’s had such a successful crowdfunding experience that it’s got a number of special scenarios, expansions and game accessories for the dedicated collector. I have access to the original game, as well as the Storm & Root expansion, but most of what we used was just from the original game.

The Wildsea was chosen to represent the “Earth” element from the checklist in Planedawn Orphans, this time targeting a relic titled “The Titan’s Throne.” Once again, we had a few folks who signed up to play as their Planedawn Orphans characters, and a few people who just signed up to play The Wildsea.

Once again, the setting and character creation was very very fun, and in this case, I think it might have been my favourite part of the game, especially when we got to ship creation. I’ve often referenced Forged in the Dark games as a cornerstone for The Wildsea in the past, but the character and ship creation process is, in my opinion, much more time-intensive than many other typical Forged in the Dark games. When you sit down to make a ship, each player has a number of stakes they can spend to ensure that the ship has a component or two that they really want. Our crew decided to build our ship out of the body of a giant lamprey eel, covered with copper scales and complete with a lightning spear built into the tail. We all agreed it would likely be horrifying to look at; and we embraced that horror whole-heartedly.

The rules are very similar to Forged in the Dark, with the added mechanic of a Twist, which makes the generally larger dice pool more interesting; roll two of any number and apart from success or failure, you’re going to have something else interesting happened. However, I feel like the twist mechanic kind of threw my play group off their rhythm, since the narrative kind of had to stop in order to give them time to think of something that they could add to the narrative. This might just be a table issue, as some groups of players might be jumping to add details to the narrative, while others might be more used to looking to the Game Master for guidance.

The game has a lot of interesting set pieces and hints of lore built into its setting, but there’s more prep that I think might be required than I originally thought. There were moments where the freedom of the setting led players down paths that I hadn’t anticipated, and I had to quickly invent NPC’s and setting descriptions that I wasn’t prepared for. I’ve heard about this kind of problem described before about the family of improv-heavy games, of which PbtA and FitD are definitely members, but this was the first time that my sparse notes in terms of locations and NPCs felt like they really bit me in the behind.

Overall my experience with Wildsea was a bit more stilted than I would have liked, but I don’t think I need to lay all of our problems at the game’s feet. Our game group had a big lull in between sessions, and we had to meet in a format that meant that communication was sometimes slowed down or difficult. I definitely want to give this game another go in the future, hopefully with a group that can all meet in the same place, and hopefully with less gaps in between sessions. The biggest takeaway that I have from this game is that Game Masters should definitely look through all of their players’ character sheets and take note of what each character is geared up for and what the players have indicated is interesting to their character arc, because I think the game will connect with your players more if you have designed threats or set-pieces that speak to those abilities.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #indie ttrpg #mint speaks #mint plays games #the wildsea

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violadiaries · 7 months ago

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Fluffcember Day 10 - Carols

@fluff-cember

Fandom: Tensura

Pairing: Guy Crimson x Leon Cromwell

Guy looked around the capital of El Dorado, somewhat fascinated by the lights glistening illuminating everything. Leon hadn't been in, when he had arrived at the castle. And everyone had been rather unwilling to tell him where exactly the lord of the castle had vanished to as well. It hadn't been the first time, so Guy was somewhat accustomed to waiting for Leon. Though maybe he should start actually announcing himself before he just showed up at Leon's place. That might prevent situations such as these to occur.

"Lord Guy, please go back to the castle."

Guy laughed and shook his head. He kept looking around. While he had heard of this Christmas thing that was celebrated in El Dorado, he had not yet heard of this special market going on right now. And Claude had said something about it. Which he definitely was regretting now, at least going by the way he was running after Guy.

"Aw, don't be like that, Claude. I like El Dorado during winter. I'll behave, Leon won't notice a thing," Guy called back to him.

Though, Guy decided, it was Leon's own fault. For not anticipating Guy's visit. Yes, that did sound more like it. He should have at least noticed Guy arriving, and coming back from where ever he had run off to this time. One thing Guy had been sure of was that he hadn't been in the castle.

Guy stopped at a stall, looking at the small ornaments on display. While also allowing Claude to catch up to him. Leon's knights were always so painfully fun to tease. Just like their Lord and Master. But Guy did still have some amount of respect for them. At least the stronger ones.

"I am under strict orders, Lord Guy," Claude said.

He wasn't out of breath in the slightest. A testament to his endurance, as Guy had not been lenient with his speed. Though he did not expect anything less of the one chosen by Leon as the leader of his army.

And always the one having to babysit him, whenever Guy showed up while Leon was out of his castle. In a way did Guy pity him. Surely he had much more important things to take care off. But then again, it was also partly Leon's fault.

"Now come on, it's…"

Guy trailed off as his eyes were drawn to another stall. Though not the wares were intriguing him, but rather the sole customer looking at them. Guy couldn't see much of him, but he did know him to be a man. With shoulder length silver hair, reflecting the light surrounding them in a slight mint colour.

"Who's that?" he asked.

Though the thing that had ultimately drawn Guy's attention to that particular man, was what he could sense. Or rather what he couldn't. The way he was expertly hiding his magic power. Appearing much weaker than he definitely was. Though the only thing Guy could tell was that something was off. That he was hiding just a little bit

Claude followed his trail of view, before temporarily stiffening. Guy almost wouldn't have noticed it, if he hadn't looked at the knight in the right moment. He did stay silent for a while longer, before letting out a long sigh.

"Most likely an adventurer, why did you ask?" he answered.

Guy smiled at that and turned his gaze back onto the stranger. He simply could not believe that Claude was not fully informed what kind of adventurers entered and left El Dorado. Just in case one of them could pose a threat to Leon.

Not that there were many who could match him. Especially not when he did get serious about fighting. Which he did by far not often enough for Guy's liking. But it was somewhat endearing how his subordinates still cared for him in this way. It was a testament to their loyalty.

"I see. Go back already, I've found my past time," he said.

Something was very interesting about this man he was seeing. And Guy wanted to know what exactly it was that drew him in. So he would follow him around a little bit. Right now he didn't seem to have noticed Guy yet. Though Guy himself was hiding his power as well.

Claude let out another sigh before shaking his head. There was something the knight wasn't telling him, and Guy was very sure he also wouldn't proceed doing so, even if Guy threatened of tortured him. Which he wouldn't do, because then Leon would get angry at him.

"Lord Leon will not be appreciative if you harass visitors to his country," Claude said.

Guy chuckled and nodded. He wouldn't harass him. He would back off when he noticed that his advances weren't welcome. He did know how to take a serious no after all. And he just wanted to have a little bit fun, until Leon was ready to entertain him.

Ultimately he first wanted to claim Leon as his, before he pursued another interest. After all, while his 'no's were given out freely to Guy, they were never that serious in tone. More annoyed, because Guy decided to flirt with him in public.

"I won't harass him, I just wanna say hi. And then I'll come straight back to the castle, promise," Guy said.

He would just see what was up with this man, and whether or not the secret was worth knowing. And then go back and wait for Leon. Or maybe by then Leon would already be waiting for him to come back. Guy turned his attention to the knight next to him, as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Come on, surely you have more important things to do, than play babysitter for me. I'll explain it to Leon, if he finds out," he added.

He definitely would, after all it wouldn't be Claude's fault, if Leon found out. Unless he told him himself, then it totally was his fault. But it wasn't his fault, that Guy wanted to have a little fun and was bored.

And even if he didn't have anything else to do for the night, he could definitely use some time off from his duties. To just relax and take care of himself. All of those knights were as big workaholics as their master, really.

"Fine, but please, I beg you, Lord Guy, do not cause a disturbance," Claude said.

Guy brightly smiled at him and nodded. Partly glad to be rid of his babysitter, to freely roam this Christmas market thing.

He did wave after him, as Claude retreated, walking back to the castle. A slight slump in his step, so unlike the uptight knight Guy knew rather well by now.

"I won't~ See ya~" he called after him.

Guy watched as he vanished within the masses, before he turned around to view his new target again. His smile turning more predatory, as he slowly approached the stand. The man was still looking at the wares in front of him, once in a while looking up as the shop keep said something to him.

He pretended to be another customer, looking at the wares. Magic stones, and of high quality at that. Guy could see what had drawn an assumed adventurer here. Especially if he would be able to use magic to some extent. Or was able to craft something from this. As he stood next to him, he finally was able to get a proper look at him as well. Hair neatly tied back into a low pony tail, orange eyes firmly focused on the wares. A scar running down the right side of his face, from the forehead, over his eye, to the cheekbone and vanishing beneath he scarf he had wrapped around the lower half of his face. Though it didn't diminish the mysterious type of good looks he had. If anything it enhanced them. Beneath the cloak Guy had seen from behind he was wearing a rather tight, outfit. At least what Guy could see. Dark pants, clinging to his legs and some belts, holding various pouches in place. Standard adventurer garb, from what he knew.

Guy put on his best smile, as the man turned his head, to look at him. Only mustering once him before turning back to the stones he held in his hand. He seemed to contemplate a little bit longer, before putting one back and putting the other in his bag. Taking out enough coins to pay it. He walked away without taking the change he definitely would have gotten.

"Always a pleasure!" the shop keep called after him.

Guy looked at the stone he hadn't taken, as he heard the shop keep let out a nervous sigh. As he looked up the man was still looking after the adventurer. So it was him the shop keep had been nervous about.

Guy looked to the stones. Even he could tell all of them were incredibly high quality. So the man should have nothing to worry about, right?

"Tough customer?" Guy asked.

He'd definitely stoop as low, as to engage in small talk, just to figure out more about this adventurer. He did follow his energy through the masses though. Just to not lose him.

The shop keep looked at him, a strained smile on his face.

"Lir? Nah, I mean, not really. He's just a bit…intense, I guess. Never speaks, but always takes incredibly high grade materials and stuff. Some even whisper that he's secretly working for King Leon, to make sure the wares in the market are the real deal, and no fakes," he explain.

Guy had halfway tuned him out after the first word. He had heard that name before after all. Though the rest of it was rather informative as well. Had that been why Claude had been so secretive about this man. He wasn't a simple adventurer, but reported right back to Leon?

That could be. That would also explain why he was able to hide his power so effectively. Yet that wouldn't explain why Guy wasn't allowed to know about it. He had met every single one of Leon's direct subordinates in the past after all. So why not this one?

Guy thanked the shop keep and went on to follow this 'Lir'. Still wondering where exactly he had heard that name before. He just knew he had heard it before. But it wouldn't come to him where. It was annoying him incredibly much. 'Lir''s next stop was at a stall selling sweets. Where Guy got to know, that he always, without fail, bought them for the children from the orphanage. Though the mass too big this time. Stumping the elderly lady selling the sweets.

His seemingly last stop was a stage. Surrounded by the lights, making it the perfect place in the market. Creating a serene and calm atmosphere. In front some people were walking, some standing. 'Lir' stood still close to a table, watching the stage. Or rather the kids, standing on the stage and singing. Right, Guy had heard that before. He had tuned it out though. They weren't even good after all. Though as he watched 'Lir', his expression softened, as he watched the kids, Guy did remember. He had seen the name on a gravestone. The one in the inner most garden of the castle. When he had asked Leon, he had just answered that 'Lir' had been a friend. Guy always knew not to pry any more.

But that name was anything but common. Though another possibility, checking all the boxes, crossed Guy's mind. Not many people saw him and just didn't react after all. Leon hadn't all those years back then. Having been thoroughly unimpressed by Guy. And now this man. Being rumoured to be a subordinate of him. While Leon was nowhere to be found, and Claude had been rather secretive about why.

Guy's smile formed into a grin as he approached the man again. Coming to a halt next to him, pretending to be listening to the kids as well. He had to say, if it hadn't been for that, he wouldn't have known. Most likely at least.

"Leave if you won't listen. It's disrespectful for the children," 'Lir' said.

Guy chuckled. His voice was a little bit on the lighter side, than Leon's. Though with magic as strong as that of Leon many things could be made possible. Especially changing something simple as an appearance or a voice.

But Guy knew that Leon cared so very much about all the citizens of his country. And especially the children. He just hadn't thought that he never went to see them outright. But rather disguised.

"Why are they singing? And always songs with the same theme," Guy asked.

'Lir' sighed and shook his head, his eyes not leaving the children on the stage. Gloved hands clasped together, appearing to want to keep out the cold. They were essentially singing the same themes over and over again. Praising Leon, or having invented some kind of romantic story. Guy had to say, he started to like it.

He turned his gaze to Guy again. Guy grinned at him, as he let out another drawn out sigh. Now that Guy was actually paying attention to it, he could hear the music from everywhere on the market. It did make for a great atmosphere.

"They are called 'carols'. Christmas carols to be exact. The children are singing them, to practice gratitude, so I've been told," he explained.

Guy nodded and scooted closer to him. He liked the more romantic ones best. He did wonder which ones Leon liked the best. Though Guy was more than sure that he wouldn't find out about it anytime soon.

Guy looked back to the children. Objectively speaking, they weren't good. At all. Though they did put in the effort. And that must be what seemed to be so endearing to Leon-…'Lir'. He always had possessed this soft heart, even when he wanted other to think he was cold as ice.

"I think I like it," Guy said.

'Lir' huffed and shrugged his shoulders. He stole some glances here and there at Guy, but didn't say anything else. Just kept his silence, and listened to the carols. Pretty much all of them were child friendly though. Guy wondered who had thought of the texts. He definitely had not heard of something like this on the main continent.

Though that surely was the result of this coming from another world. Which was relatively common in El Dorado, seeing as most of the higher ups, as well as the king, came from this other world. Both of them did raise their eyebrows when one a little bit more explicit came up. Guy grinned while 'Lir' just stared. His disguise momentarily slipping. It was only a split second, but Guy did spot familiar blue eyes and familiar blond hair. As well as a familiar, very pretty face.

"I think I like this one the most," Guy whispered.

Leon glared at him, before he turned away. So this really was what was going on. Leon going around his own kingdom in disguise, so to not attract too much attention. And obviously his higher ranking knights knew about this. Having vowed not to tell anyone. Not even Guy.

Leon pushed himself away from the table and approached a young woman, standing close to the stage. He had his scarf pulled up high again, making him look somewhat dubious. She did seem to recognize him though, and readily accepted the pouches with the sweets he had earlier bought. Afterwards, he approached Guy again and pulled him away with him. Off to a little alleyway, away from the attention. Though thanks to the lights having been hung up everywhere, still as bright. The song still ringing in the distance. Other's starting to play it from magic devices as well. A song talking about a king blessing a demon for this holy occasion. Their king blessing a demon.

"What are you even doing here?! Can you go about this the normal way for once and announce yourself?" Leon hissed at him.

Leon was facing him again, though not dropping his disguise. He had pulled the scarf down somewhat though, causing Guy to see the full extent of his changed face. Still as pretty as Guy liked it. Even if the scar gave him somewhat of a rugged appearance. Leon had probably thought it would make him look unattractive of something, so he wouldn't draw attention to himself.

"Could you answer me, Lord Guy?" Leon said.

Guy chuckled at the way he almost hissed the 'Lord' at him, just so he could keep up pretences. He liked it. It was different. And maybe Guy could even get away with being even more forward. After all they weren't amongst others anymore. Even if the sounds from the market carried to them. Guy cornered Leon against the wall of a house, smirking at him.

"But it's much more fun like this~" he purred.

Leon flinched and looked around. He let out a quiet string of curses, so unlike him, as he noticed what kind of situation he had brought himself into.

"Maybe you can…convince me to not tell Leon about this," Guy said.

If Leon wanted to keep this game up, Guy would play along. He didn't mind to do so actually. It was fun after all. And he would like to know how far Leon would be willing to take this game, before he fessed up.

Leon let out a long sigh and shook his head. He looked around, as Guy decided to throw caution to the wind and press his lips against Leon's. As soft as he knew they were. Leon did stiffen, but he did not push him away like Guy had anticipated. He hesitated for a moment, before he retaliated by wrapping his arms around Guy's neck, as he closed his eyes.

Guy didn't hesitate to attack Leon's neck next, using his hand to push that bothersome fabric of the cloak and scarf out of the way. It was annoying him. But because it was Leon he would make sure to be careful and not rip the outfit to shreds.

"How…ha…how do you think…Lord Leon would react…if he knew…" Leon breathed out.

He did not make one move to get away from Guy. Rather he pulled him closer, contrary to what he was saying. This was enough confirmation that Guy needed to not give up pursuing Leon anytime soon. Though maybe next time he would let him come closer, while he wasn't wearing a disguise.

Guy grinned as he thought back to the song. The Christmas Carol, as Leon had called it. If he paid any mind to it, he could still hear it in the air. Though right now the sight in front of him was more alluring. Leon letting him roam his hands so freely as well.

"Maybe he'll…'bless' me, for this holy occasion. Let's see, when I'll tell him," Guy breathed.

Leon stiffened at that, before he let out a shaky breath. Still not pushing Guy away. Still giving into his advances.

Oh yes, Guy had decided he liked this festivity very much, and even more the songs being sang during it.

#fluffcember #violas fluffcember #fluffcember day 10 #tensura #leon x guy #guy crimson #guyleo #leon cromwell #guy crimson x leon cromwell #that time i got reincarnated as a slime #fanfic #fanfiction #'What a great date that was ;)' - Guy Crimson #probably #'It doesn't count if I'm wearing a disguise.' - Leon Cromwell #probably XD

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