#I once again offer my thanks to everyone who has supported me during my time at rock bottom

[nymphilily]

Good news regarding my future living situation post-fire: A close family friend had agreed to come and get me and my brother to take us up to my grandma's. While we thought he was going to wait until after the holidays to get us and our things, he ended up leaving this afternoon. The plan was to get us to be at our grandma's tonight, but he had some issue with one of his tires and accidentally ended up hurting himself from sitting in the car for so long and is staying at a hotel for the evening, and will pick us up and take us to back up north tomorrow

Once we're both settled in at grandma's and the holidays are over, I am going to be looking around town for a job. Both my brother and I are going to be getting driving lessons from the family friend who is picking us up, so hopefully I can find a job out of town once I get my license

To everyone who is or has supported us, I offer my sincerest thanks. Any money that has been collected will go towards the animals full time until I have secured a stable income

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

Once again I thank you all so much for supporting me during the Kirby OC Tournament. Especially all my followers & mutual who humored me with all the poll reblog stuff.

As promised the lore. (And I've been cooking this turkey for a while and it's ready to come out of the oven.)

Fair Warning contains spoilers... I will not be explaining all the details of what happening. This is incredibly vague & via musical... so I won't spoil that much (since this does take place during the final arc... Void Termina Saga). The events that are being shown do not happen exactly how they are portrayed, however the essence of what's happening is the same.

Morgan shall be singing "Last Midnight from Into the Woods,"

Spoiler warning, (More drawn content is contained below)

(OH NO WHAT'S HAPPENING TO KIRBY...Sorry, I can't explain it just yet... Nor why Meta Knight's mask is broken in half... maybe he got into a fight or something, hold the phone I thought Galacta was trapped in insanity... what happened... Sorry if I tell anything of that it'll spoil the good stuff)

Dame Morgan: It's the Last Midnight

So in summary: After they refuse to hand Kirby over, Morgan reveals there's a traitor in their midst... Fumu is the reason why Kirby is in the state he is in (Fumu is currently regretting her life choices). Leaving Meta & Gala shocked, and scared to death at Kirby's current state, while Kirby is sad, and betrayed again...~

And Morgan just having herself a time, living her best life~

In the KBASW series, she tricks three major characters:

Namely: Queen Ripple, Hyness, and Fumu/Tiff. (the most devastating one she tricks)

Dame Morgan is basically a mixture of: "The Witch" from Into the Woods, Morgan from (Merlin's 2008 TV series), Eris from Sinbad (she has the voice of Eris), and the Joker from Batman.

Morgan represents the opposite of Celestine... (via Morgan vs. Merlyn wizard rivalry) The Anti-Celestine so to speak~

The one person she hates more than Arthur is Merlyn/Celestine.

Celestine sees magic as a tool, not a solution or the answer to your problem... promoting true self-improvement comes from within. For there will always be...: another bridge to cross, another monster to slay, another woods to go into. The only way to ever truly be prepared in this world is to learn from each other... and to be kind to one another & share the experience. If you cheat your way throw life will just get harder and move with you... Being better and leading a good example will inspire others to be better along with you.

The change starts within, with us...

While Dame Morgan:

Life is unfair, you play by their rules, you follow the system, sacrifice everything to fit the mold, and yet you can still be cheated out of what you deserve...

And you're telling me I should just "hang in there," "hold on", "it's gonna be okay eventually keep smiling".... nah? Let's stop "pretending to be good", everybody is just in it for themselves so... if you do that you're just a fool waiting to be tricked.

Why not live just for yourself... why not cheat back... why not be the bad guy? That's why her theme is "Stella Jang(스텔라장) _ Villain(빌런)

Morgan represents the easy way out, a quick fix... to blame someone else...an escape. How did she obtain this dark magic... The Jamba Heart...Granting everyone's selfish desires... the reason why everyone falls for it is because she has the charisma to make the offer far too tempting and to pass it up, no.

And guess who was her first customer... Hyness~

The biggest change I probably did the to mix anime & game lore. (Kirby Star Allies) In KBASW AU... Morgan the one who convinced Hyness the Jamba Heart was what he needed to restore his clan. It's the reason she's able to stay hidden for a long while...Allowing the negative to naturally corrupt him and use him as a figurehead...

Despite giving him the Jamaba Heart... she did not tell him exactly how to break the seal on Termina... (Whoops she must have forgotten, how clumsy of her...) Purposely having him fail~

However, the secret to this lies with... FUMU!? Due to the reincarnation of the first ruler of Dreamland... she holds the key to unsealing & controlling Void Termina... She throws them to the wrong person. She's very much tricked into thinking she's helping "Kirby," but... yeah this happens instead.

And of course, there's always a price... though once you do realize you've been bamboozled, she'll remind you that she gave you a choice... Ultimately making you realize it's your own fault at the end of the day. Very much rubbing your head in the mess you've made for yourself. (which is exactly what she's doing to Tiff/Fumu right now.)

In summary, she pretty much invites you to be your worst self; she's the villain but deliciously so! :3

[littlest-w01f]

Touch

Nesta x Pristess Reader

NESTA MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

Summary: Nesta tries to calm a panicking Reader after she gets triggered by Cassian accidentally raising his voice around her during Valkryie's training

Cw: Mention of UtM, reader's sa trauma, angst, hurt, comfort

You stand nervously among the other priestesses, Nesta had asked you to join her and the others to train, you had been given shelter by Rhysand in the House of Winds after the most horrific period of your life, you had stayed with him Under the Mountain, your High Lord, while you were forced to service Amarantha's army, every horrific thing they had made you do for five decades refused to leave you. Now you stood for the first time outside in the training rink, you were the last of the Priestess to step outside the library you found comfort in.

"I see that you're feeling nervous about today's training session, y/n. It's perfectly normal to feel anxious before something new or challenging." Gwyn smiled at you, gently holding your hand, she was dressed in training leathers while you wore your robe. "Remember, every priestess here has been in your shoes at one point or another. Even I wore my robes till I got used to leather, till it didn't feel too ristricting."

"I know," you said softly, trying to hide your nerves as best as possible. "But this is different...this isn't just a new skill or power. This is physical combat."

Gwyn nodded, understanding your concern. "You're right, it is different. But remember, we are all here to support each other. No one expects you to be an expert right away." She gave your hand a reassuring squeeze.

As you walked towards the training area together, Gwyn pointed out some of the other priestesses who were already warming up. "See those two over there? They've been friends since they started training together years ago. And that one over there, she used to be terrified of fighting but look at her now!"

Her words helped ease some of your anxiety as did Nesta's presence when she finally arrived.

"You've come so far already," Gwyn continued encouragingly. "Trust me, coming out of the library is a pretty big deal for most of us, you aren't alone."

As you smile, Nesta approaches you, a smile of her own on her lips, "I'm so glad you came."

Seeing how hesitant you still were, Nesta led you over to the sidelines, away from the other priestesses who were stretching and warming up for their training sessions.

"We'll start slow today," Nesta reassured you as she began showing you some basic moves, keeping an eye on your form and offering gentle corrections when needed.

Nesta kept an eye on you, making sure you got the moves right. Her stern demeanour softened a bit, showing a side of her that was surprisingly patient.

Cassian watched you from afar, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall. He observed the way Nesta patiently guided you through each move, helping correct your stance and improve your technique. There was a sense of pride in his gaze, mixed with a hint of admiration.

He walked over once Nesta called for a break, standing next to her with an arm slung casually around her shoulders. "Not bad," he said approvingly looking at you. "You've got potential." His tone was teasing but there was no denying the sincerity behind his words.

Seeing Cassian approach, you couldn't help but tense up. His towering presence always seemed to loom over everyone else, including Nesta who was quite tall herself. But then again, it was hard not to react when faced with such a large individual.

Forcing yourself to relax, you gave him a small smile, acknowledging his presence without letting his size intimidate you. "Thank you," you replied politely, wiping the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand.

Despite your efforts to remain calm, a sudden loud yell from Cassian towards Emerie caused you to jump slightly, you didn't register what he said, nor his tone, but your heart was pounding in your chest. Panic started to set in as you remembered the terrifying events that had happened Under the Mountian, the fear you lived in. You quickly took a few steps back, putting some distance between yourself, Nesta and Cassian.

They were quick to note the change in you, worry crossed Nesta's face as guilt filled Cassian's. Cassian took a step back to give you space as Nesta watched for your reaction.

"Nesta...Cassian..." You stammered out, clutching onto your elbows for support, rubbing your arm in comfort. "I... I need to... g-go back in... Inside... I...I can't do this anymore." Tears welled up in your eyes as fear consumed you once again, you didn't wait for a response as you rushed out of the grounds, and didn't pause till you were in the comfort of the library again.

Nesta had followed after you at a safe distance so that you wouldn't notice her, worried for you. She felt guilt bubbling in her, wondering if you would have been ok had she not asked you to step outside of your comfort in the library. She wanted to make sure you were okay while also respecting your need for privacy.

She greeted Clotho with a nod, who looked at her in a way that somehow made her feel worse, or perhaps it was also the note that sat in front of the High Priestess, 'inside, floor 2, aisle 4. She came sbbing.' as if Clotho knew Nesta was coming.

Nesta ran down the floors, till she came across the aisle where your sobbing figure sat, Nesta found you huddled in a corner, your body shaking with silent tears streaming down your face. The sight broke her heart and she knelt down beside you, a safe distance away.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly, regret clear in her voice. "I should never have pushed you into this so quickly... I shouldn't have assumed that you'd be comfortable stepping outside after everyone else was-"

"Why couldn't I do it?" You sob looking up, cutting her off, taking her by surprise, "How can it be so hard when everyone can handle it?"

Nesta blinked at your question, taken aback by its intensity. "It's not that everyone handles it easily," she responded quietly. "Everyone has their own battles to fight... Your trigger might be different than anyone else's here."

She paused, reaching out to hold your hand in comfort. "I won't ask you to go outside again unless you're ready."

You accept her hand over yours, not flinching away from her touch, "But I should be able to..." You stress, making Nesta realise you were hurting not because Cassian had made you fall back into a spiral, but the fact you couldn't stop it from affecting you.

"You're stronger than you think, y/n," Nesta murmured reassuringly, squeezing your hand gently. "It takes time to adjust and heal. No one expects you to be completely fine in one day."

Her gaze softened as she studied your face. "Don't be too hard on yourself," She urged. "Remember, we're all here for you... whenever you're ready."

"I will try..." You whispered to her before propping up a little, wiping your tears away as Nesta inched closer, sitting right beside you. You rested your head on her shoulder after a moment, allowing her to console you for a moment longer. Gradually you composed yourself, the room was quiet except for the occasional sniffles. As time passed though, even these sounds lessened

Nesta silently asked for a glass of cold water from the House, offering it to you.

Taking the glass, you brought it to your lips and drank deeply. The cool liquid felt soothing against your dry throat, providing a brief respite from your emotional turmoil. Feeling it soothe your throat which was dry from all the crying.

"Thank you," you mumbled gratefully before placing the empty glass aside and leaning back against the shelves. You closed your eyes tightly for a moment, taking deep breaths in order to calm yourself down further.

"We could first start with some breathing exercises." Nesta offered, wrapping an arm around you to pull you close, which you let her, "Before we get outside and work on physical training."

You nod, agreeing, "Yeah... That... Sounds nice."

"Besides, Cassian feels horible," Nesta then gave you a teasing smile, "I think you should make him feel like that for a little while longer."

You manage a small smile at her words. "I don't want him to feel too bad..." You whisper softly.

Nesta rolled her eyes at that, but it was playful, "Well, I'll let him know." Nesta laughed, liking the closeness you felt comfortable with him. "I for one can't wait for him and Emerie to officially get together so that she can put some manners in him, accidentally startling you..."

"I want you to stay..." You cling to her arm, "Please..."

Nesta softens, holding you back, "Of course, we can stay for as long as you want, sweetheart."

{General Taglist- @nox-ceur @lilah-asteria @paleidiot}

[f4iry-bell]

Before I tell you about my request, I have to acknowledge that you are so FREAKING amazing at writing!!

Don't know if you've already done these before, but Jameson's POV of when he first met Avery, during the will reading, when he first snuck into Avery's room, and when Avery was leaving Will Blake's ranch in tfg. It's probably a lot, but I've been wanting to read about these for a while and I also know a good writer who is capable of doing that. Also, just know that I'm probably going to request you many more things to write about.

first of all I'm HONOURED. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TRUSTING ME. second of all, i really hope this satisfy you and is enough 😭😭I'm no jlb, this is completely of what I think jameson would have thought from my understanding. if you think otherwise please do let me know. again, it's completely from my understanding of jamie's character. also sorry it took so long.

NOTE: all four parts are here. pretty long. some copy pasted dialogues!!!!!! hope you enjoy.

Jameson meeting Avery for the first time.

It was not easy for the Hawthornes, everyone grieved in their own way. But for some reason the grievance was put aside today by everyone, Jameson would like to say he has put it aside as well but the bottle in his hand and the obvious intoxication would say otherwise. It is not a good idea to get drunk during an important time like the reading of the will of the great Tobias Hawthorne, and it's definitely not a good idea to leave your family hanging while one sits at the edge of the balcony, only supported by the railing. But that's exactly what Jameson Hawthorne did.

His mind was all over the place looking for something, something that would give him the thrill more than sitting at the edge of the balcony, drunk. He might have been wrong, but there was a two out of ten chance that he may be right. He refused to look away from the brown haired girl who was standing in the backyard, completely mesmerised by the Hawthorne backyard. As she took in the view he took in her features and movements. He finally decided to interact in the only way he knew to find out what she is.

“If yes is no and once is never , then how many sides does a triangle have?” His words slurred but it got her attention. She looked up to him, bending her neck backwards.

“You’re going to fall.” She told him.

He smirked. “An interesting proposition.”

“That wasn’t a proposition,” She said.

He offered her a lazy grin. “There’s no shame in propositioning a Hawthorne.” Jameson’s smirk grew a bit wider when she noticed that he was shirtless.

“You must be Mystery Girl,” he said.

“I’m Avery,” She corrected.

She looked at him like anyone who knew what recently happened in the Hawthorne family would look at him, wondering why his face was anything but filled with grief. He wouldn't blame her for being a little judgemental. He is very good at grieving in his own way and an expert at hiding it.

“Whatever you say, M.G.,” he retorted. “Can I call you M.G., Mystery Girl?” He was trying to taunt her at this point.

She crossed her arms. “No.”

He brought his feet up to the railing and stood. He wobbled, he could see her thinking about something with worry and panic when he put one foot in front.

“Don't!” But he didn't listen to her. He twisted and grabbed the railing with his hands, holding himself vertical, feet in the air and dropped. He landed right next to her.

“You shouldn’t be out here, M.G.” He told her.

“Neither should you.” He can tell that her heart is beating fast. It was so obvious. Janeson’s heart was racing too, he told himself that it was because of the stunt he just pulled.

“If I do what I should no more often than I say what I shouldn’t”—his lips twisted—“then what does that make me?”

She sighed like she just realised who he is. She was taking in his features to make sure, especially his eyes, and his abs.

“What,” he repeated intently, “does that make me?”

“Drunk,” She said. Jameson was about to say something else, he was ready with a comeback but she added two more words. “And two.”

“What?” Jameson Hawthorne said.

“The answer to your first riddle,” She told him. “If yes is no and once is never , then the number of sides a triangle has… is… two .” She didn't explain her answer, she didn't have to.

“Touché, M.G.” Jameson ambled past her, brushing his bare arm lightly over mine as he did. “Touché.” He was impressed and intrigued.

Two out of ten, this time the odds were in his favour. And now that Jameson Hawthorne got the answer he wanted from this Mystery Girl, he has no plan to leave her alone. That moment he knew she was special. And his grandfather brought her here for a reason. He will find out why.

The Will Read

Jameson made his way to his wing and managed to find himself a shirt and suit jacket. He checked himself in the mirror once before heading to The Great Room. Once he was inside his eyes looked for a specific pair of brown eyes but he realised Avery hadn't arrived yet. He went further inside and stood with the rest of his family. Soon he watched Avery make her way inside and made eye contact with him. He immediately gave her a cheeky smile and a salute, he can also noticed Grayson stiffened at his action through the corner of his eyes.

Once the lawyers made sure everyone who is mentioned in the will was in the room they started. First, they handed an envelope to everyone in the family and to Avery as well. They were asked to open the letters after the will reading. Jameson is already curious about his letter and what the old man has to say to him and to Avery Grambs. His eyes were fixated on her envelope for a whole minute before focusing on the reading prudently.

“Mr. Hawthorne stipulated that all of the following individuals must be physically present for the reading of this will: Skye Hawthorne, Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris, Nash Hawthorne, Grayson Hawthorne, Jameson Hawthorne, Alexander Hawthorne, and Ms. Avery Kylie Grambs of New Castle, Connecticut.”

Everyone's eyes including a pair of green ones were on her. Avery Kylie Grambs.

“...To my daughters, Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris and Skye Hawthorne, I leave the funds necessary to pay off all debts accrued as of the date and time of my death.” Mr. Ortega paused before speaking, he looked directly at Zara and Skye then back to the will.

“Additionally, I leave to Skye my compass, may she always know true north, and to Zara, I leave my wedding ring, may she love as wholly and steadfastly as I loved her mother.” Another pause, more painful than the last.

“Go on.” That came from Zara’s husband.

“To each of my daughters,” Mr. Ortega read slowly, “beyond that already stated, I leave a one-time inheritance of fifty thousand dollars.”

Jameson wanted to smile but he knew better, just like how he knew that his mother and aunt won't be the one holding the old man's entire fortune. It's not a surprise, none of them should be surprised that the person who would be taking the fortune would be the heir apparent, his brother, Grayson Devenport Hawthorne.

There was a mini quarrel between Zara and Skye on how Jameson and his brothers became the old man's favourite, how Skye gave them to him so that her sons would have the inheritance.

“Now, if I may continue…” Mr. Ortega looked back down at the will in his hands. “To my grandsons, Nash Westbrook Hawthorne, Grayson Davenport Hawthorne, Jameson Winchester Hawthorne, and Alexander Blackwood Hawthorne, I leave…”

“Everything,” Zara muttered bitterly.

Mr. Ortega spoke over her. “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars apiece, payable on their twenty-fifth birthdays, until such time to be managed by Alisa Ortega, trustee.”

Everyone heard Alisa’s audible shock. Unlike his brother Grayson who was utterly shocked and threw knives for the word ‘what’ Jameson Hawthorne thought that this is getting interesting.

The old man didn't leave everything to Grayson like everyone thought the old man would because of the way he was groomed. Or to Nash, or to Xander, or to me. There is only one person left in the will. There could be two things happening right here, and if his guess is right…

“The remainder of my estate,” Mr. Ortega read, “including all properties, monetary assets, and worldly possessions not otherwise specified, I leave to Avery Kylie Grambs.”

And it was indeed right, if you're smart you would have seen this coming right after they read that Tobias Hawthorne didn't leave his fortune to his daughters or his grandsons. The only blood related heirs. But now? A new heiress. Not blood related as far as he knows. She is not a random girl. He knew his grandfather too well to know that he wouldn't randomly write his entire fortune to a stranger. This is something. He doesn't know what she is yet. But he will find out.

Everyone's demeanour changed, especially Skye and Gray's. Not surprised. Even Avery’s, she is in utter shock, he can only say that much.

“...I assure you, there is no mistake.” Mr. Ortega met my gaze, then turned his attention to the others. “And I assure the rest of you, Tobias Hawthorne’s last will and testament is utterly unbreakable. Since the majority of the remaining details concern only Avery, we’ll cease with the dramatics. But let me make one thing very clear: Per the terms of the will, any heir who challenges Avery’s inheritance will forfeit their share of the estate entirely.”

“No will is that ironclad,” Constantine said, his voice acidic.

“Not when there’s this kind of money at stake.” “Spoken,” Nash Hawthorne interjected, “like someone who didn’t really know the old man.”

“Traps upon traps,” Jameson murmured. Trying to look into the old man's mind about this context. Trying to look into her mind. “And riddles upon riddles.” He looked right into Avery's eyes looking for something.

“I think you should leave,” Grayson told me curtly. An order. Typical Grayson.

“Technically…” Alisa Ortega sounded like she’d just swallowed arsenic. “It’s her house.”

“I don’t understand,” She said.

“My daughter is correct.” Mr. Ortega kept his tone neutral. “You own it all, Ms. Grambs. Not just the fortune, but all of Mr. Hawthorne’s properties, including Hawthorne House. Per the terms of your inheritance, which I will gladly go over with you, the current occupants have been granted tenancy unless—and until—they give you cause for removal.” He let those words hang in the air. “Under no circumstances,” he continued gravely, his words rife with warning, “can those tenants attempt to remove you.”

Oren stood between us and her.

“Oren!” Zara sounded shocked. “You work for this family.”

“I worked for Mr. Hawthorne.” John Oren paused and held up a piece of paper. It took me a moment to realise that it was his letter.

“It was his last request that I continue in the employment of Ms. Avery Kylie Grambs.” He glanced at her “Security. You’ll need it.”

“And not just to protect you from us!” Xander added to her left.

“Take a step back, please,” Oren ordered.

Xander held his hands up. “Peace,” he declared. “I make dire predictions in peace!”

“Xan’s right.” Jameson smiled, he knew it and he knew that he is not wrong about this. A random girl picked out from a random place far from home to be The Hawthorne Heiress, this isn't something regular, this a game. One of the old man's games. “The entire world’s going to want a piece of you, Mystery Girl. This has story of the century written all over it.” He reminded her about the media and how the world is going to talk about her.

Avery didn't say anything, she walked outside. He wanted to follow her but instead he opened the envelope that was held by him.

Jameson going to Avery’s room through the secret passageway

Avery didn't stay at Hawthorne House that night, he assumed her bodyguard and lawyer took her to one of the hotel's that was owned by Tobias Hawthorne and now hers. He saw her later the next day solving the keys, yet another game that proved that she is special, she solved it faster than any Hawthorne to start with. That night Jameson read his letter again and again, it took him one read to realise it was a clue, he can't help but read it again to see what it says, where it leads. But he also knew this would be nothing without the major clue, a walking brown eyed clue.

If he was a normal person he would have knocked on her door. Jameson Hawthorne is anything but normal. He walked into her wing and moved a picture frame to solve a simple puzzle to release a handle that popped two inches away from the drawer nearby the picture frame, he pulled it and twisted it four times to make the drawer and the wall it was attached to open.

Secret passageway. It was everywhere in Hawthorne House.

He made his way inside and made his way to his grandfather’s room, now owned by Avery. Once he was close to the fireplace he heard nothing, almost thought she wasn't there. But he gave it a shot anyway.

“Pull the candlestick.”

He wasn't sure if she heard because it was dead silent. So he spoke again “Pull the candlestick on the fireplace, Heiress. Unless you want me stuck back here?” His tone was frisky.

“Pretty sure this qualifies as stalking.” His lips curved into a smile once she said that.

He can tell that she was just pulling it. “Don’t just pull forward. Angle it down.”

She did as he asked. Once he heard the click and saw the gap below, Jameson lifted the fireplace up to the mantle to go through the opening. Once he was in the room he positioned the candlestick back to it's original form.

“Secret passage,” he explained to know if it intrigues her. “The house is full of them.”

“Am I supposed to find that comforting?” She asked him. “Or terrifying?”

“You tell me, Mystery Girl. Are you comforted or terrified?” He let me sit with that for a moment. “Or is it possible that you’re intrigued?

She didn't say anything but he knew the answer. She didn't ask him what he expected her to ask.

“You’re not asking about the keys.” Jameson offered her a crooked little smile. “I expected you to ask about the keys.”

She held the keys up. “This was your doing.” Not a question, he noted.

“It’s a little bit of a family tradition.” He said with a motive. He has done nothing but think about the will reading and raise questions to himself, whys and hows.

“I’m not family.” She tried to make a statement but wasn't sure herself.

He tilted his head to one side. “Do you believe that?”

“I don’t know.” She thought before she spoke. Does she know something? That was Janesons first thought.

“It would be a shame,” Jameson commented, “if we were related.” He spared another smile for me, slow and sharp-edged. “Don’t you think?” Jameson is good at a lot of things, flirting is definitely one of them.

“I think that you already have more family than you can deal with.” She crossed my arms. “I also think you’re a lot less smooth than you think are. You want something.”

Points to Heiress. She's quick.

“Everyone is going to want something from you soon, Heiress.” Jameson smiled. “The question is: How many of us want something you’re willing to give?” He spoke in a way that would make her want to give into him. But her resistance was stronger than he thought.

“Stop calling me Heiress,” She shot back. “And if you turn answering my question into some kind of riddle, I’m calling security.”

“That’s the thing, Mystery Girl. I don’t think I’m turning anything into a riddle. I don’t think I have to. You are a riddle, a puzzle, a game—my grandfather’s last.” He spoke and looked at her very intently. He didn't care how it sounded to her, he was sure of what he believed to be true.

“Why do you think this house has so many secret passages? Why are there so many keys that don’t work in any of the locks? Every desk my grandfather ever bought has secret compartments. There’s an organ in the theater, and if you play a specific sequence of notes, it unlocks a hidden drawer. Every Saturday morning, from the time I was a kid until the night my grandfather died, he sat my brothers and me down and gave us a riddle, a puzzle, an impossible challenge—something to solve. And then he died. And then…” Jameson took a step toward her. “There was you.” He tried explaining to her how Hawthorne House is, how his grandmother was. Why his grandfather chose her wasn't random.

“Grayson thinks you’re some master manipulator. My aunt is convinced you must have Hawthorne blood. But I think you’re the old man’s final riddle—one last puzzle to be solved.” He took another step, bringing the two of them much closer. “He chose you for a reason, Avery. You’re special, and I think he wanted us—wanted me —to figure out why.”

This point he was convinced that she was a puzzle to be solved or a clue that would lead him to something. Something his grandfather wanted him to find, to know. Because the old man knew damn well that Jameson Hawthorne could never resist a game.

“I’m not a puzzle.” Her heart was beating faster because of their closeness or because of what he's saying.

“Sure you are,” Jameson said. “We all are. Don’t tell me that some part of you hasn’t been trying to figure us out. Grayson. Me. Maybe even Xander.”

“Is this all just a game to you?” She put her hand out to stop him from advancing farther. He took one last step, forcing her palm to his chest. That touch shouldn't have excited him, even if it did, he didn't concentrate on it.

“Everything’s a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win.” He reached up to brush the hair from her face, and she jerked back.

“Get out,” She said lowly. “Use the normal door this time.”

“You’re angry,” Jameson said. Making her angry isn't helpful, if she's angry with him she may not help. Or see that this is a game, and she is a piece of it.

“I told you—if you want something, ask. Don’t come in here talking about how I’m special. Don’t touch my face.”

“You are special.” Jameson kept his hands to himself, but the heady expression in his eyes never shifted.

“And what I want is to figure out why. Why you, Avery?” He took a step back, giving her space. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to know, too.”

She does, she wants to know. She must.

“I’m going to leave this here.” Jameson held up an envelope. He laid it carefully on the mantel. “Read it, and then tell me this isn’t a game to be won. Tell me this isn’t a riddle.” Jameson reached for the candelabra, and as the fireplace passage opened once more, he offered a targeted, parting shot. “He left you the fortune, Avery, and all he left us is you.”

Avery coming out of Vincent Blake’s mansion (tfg)

Jameson wouldn't forgive himself if something happened inside, if someone happened to either of them. Avery and Grayson. Especially Avery because he let her go inside, knowing the kind of man Vincent Blake is. His heart could pop out any second, it was beating that fast. He tried to keep it cool with all the paparazzi outside. He kept looking at the gate, waiting for her. For her to come out alive and bring his brother, maybe Toby even. Whatever is happening inside, he prays that she is winning. Somehow she must.

His heart skipped a beat once he saw Avery come out with Grayson and Toby. He wanted to run and hug her, he didn't care that they'd cause a scene. but he stopped himself because he saw Toby talking to her, he slowly made his way to them and the car. To let her know he was there. He also let her have her moment with Toby.

He didn't know what happened inside, but from the look of it he can tell that Avery won. Whatever game they played, however she played, she won. And she was safe along with Grayson. That's all that mattered to him at that moment.

When she made her way to him, he didn't ask her what happened. “The knight returns with the damsel in distress,” Jameson declared. He glanced toward Grayson. “You’re the damsel.”

“I figured,” Grayson deadpanned.

“What are you doing here?” She asked Jameson. He can see the victory in her eyes, she was more open with him now that the first time they met. It was getting easier to tell what she was thinking.

“I thought you could use a ride home,” Jameson told her. She looked past him, expecting to see a helicopter.

“Pretty sure you aren’t allowed to land a helicopter there,” Grayson told his brother.

“You know what they say about permission and forgiveness,” Jameson replied, then he focused back on her with a familiar look—equal parts I dare you and I’ll never let you go. “Want to learn to fly?”

Avery smiled and took his hand. He still didn't ask her what happened, he just enjoyed her victory in the air. Just Avery and Jameson.

[seblaineworld]

Hey, Seblainers! Hellooooo, everyone else!

After a seriously stressful few months, I'm finally getting a bit more back to normal and can breathe a bit more easily at last, so of course that means...it's time to decide when Seblaine Week 2024 will be held!

Now, the first poll is going to be a bit different, and let me explain why that is: I was absolutely flabbergasted by the success of 10 Days Of Seblaine, and once again would like to thank everyone who offered support and sent me such kind messages after my Mum was rushed into hospital so suddenly last year. As you all know, that meant I had to sadly postpone Seblaine Week 2023 from the original August dates, and after a vote, it was unanimously decided that we would have a 10 day event, that would comprise Seblaine Week 2023 AND Seblainiversary Weekend 2023, and it was held last November

I want to preface this next by saying that Seblainiversary Weekend 2024 will be unaffected this year and will be going ahead from Friday 8th November until midnight on Sunday 10th November 2024. So you can pop that one in your diaries, and the themes will be announced much nearer to the time.

However! I have actually received a lot of lovely messages (including, surprisingly, some from people who aren't technically even part of our tiny, (but always fierce!) Seblainer fandom, but followed along with the event), to say how much 10 Days Of Seblaine 2023 was enjoyed by you all, and the one thing I have been repeatedly asked is; can I please consider making our main Seblainer celebration a 10 day event from now on?

I honestly have no problem with that whatsoever, but I would probably take things on a year to year basis, asking the same question every May. For now, though, I want to make this entirely your decision, so the first poll has simply two options: Do you want a traditional 7 day Seblaine Week 2024, or do you want 10 Days Of Seblaine 2024?

Just to clarify; if the 10 day event is chosen, it will have 9 themes and a free day, and Seblainiversary Weekend 2024 will take place separately in November, as previously detailed above. Following the result of this first poll, and depending on whether we will be working with a 7 or a 10 day event, I'll post the various date choices before the end of May. The following week, we'll vote for our themes.

Please bear in mind that voting is restricted to one vote per person for the duration of the poll. The first poll will be open for voting from today until midnight GMT on Saturday May 11th, 2024.

P.S. I'm well aware that you are all still waiting for the 10 Days Of Seblaine Masterpost, and this will be completed and posted by mid-June. Thank you all for bearing with me during what was (and still often is!) a hectic and stressful time of upheaval. Please let me know if the poll doesn't work properly. Just send me a message or come off Anon and send me an Ask.

**Please note in advance that none of the nine 10 Days of Seblaine 2023 themes can be used for this year's event!**

Vote here, and please reblog and share this poll.

Love you all, and I am really looking forward to hosting our big event and seeing what all our insanely talented Seblainers come up with!

Ail 💜

[ye4gerism]

𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑰𝑺 𝑭𝑨𝑰𝑹 𝑰𝑵 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑾𝑨𝑹 - 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 𝐗 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 final part!

word count 1k

content warning you guys might get mad at me🧍🏾‍♀️

author’s note finally over! as i mentioned, this was my first smut based story. i had been playing around with this particular plot since my bachelorette series ended and now i finally brought it to life! thanks to everyone who interacted with this story and gave me something to look forward to every time i uploaded! i will be putting this story on ao3 as well :) my requests are open, so do feel free to request some more aot content! enjoy :)

synopsis after the rumbling, you found yourself on your feet in your home town. you have a completely new life - you’re watching your country be built again and now you have a partner! what happens when a man from your past reaches out to you via letter?

Winter 859

Jean,

I am so sorry but you are no longer a peace ambassador for the Alliance.

After much consideration, your actions are a threat to the work we've been doing and we can't risk losing our rising credibility over an affair. Your relationship with Mrs. Abe is not worth fighting Mr. Abe's influence.

Again, I'm sorry. As your friend, do know you can still talk to me if you need any support. I will send a future, more official letter very soon.

All the best,

Armin Arlert

Dear Jean,

Armin has recently told me about your termination from the Alliance. I'm really sorry - I know you loved that job and that it made things easier for you after what happened with Eren. I understand that you're currently stuck in Paradis and looking for a new job. I know you have a big heart, so I spoke with Historia and pulled some strings. She is offering you a position at the nursery. A secretarial job.

I hope you say yes and work with us until everything dies down. I know the news isn't public yet but it's going to be and your job search will get even harder.

I'm sorry about what happened with Y/N. She seemed like a really nice girl - no wonder you fell for her.

Please feel free to visit often. It's quiet on my end.

Thinking of you,

Mikasa

860

Jean decided to make a grown-up decision and court Mikasa. After receiving her letter, he quickly took up the job at the nursery. Things between them started casual - she was his friend first after all. She always told him good morning and they'd take their breaks together. Over time, his once dormant crush on her reawakened and she honestly began to like him back too.

By the spring, they said, "I do". It was an intimate wedding - all of their friends were invited and even Levi had made an effort to witness their nuptials. June was so much happier than she was in months - her son's reckless affair was no longer hanging over her head and now he was with a respectable, beautiful girl.

As the idea of you faded away, things slowly went back to normal. Jean never got his job with the Alliance back (which was fine, he loved his job at the nursery. His wife worked there and the kids were great) and his relationship with his friends was so much better. They were even finding success in negotiations with Marley and Mainland Marley. He lived with Mikasa in her cabin and was regularly visited by Connie or his mom. Everything felt settled after so many years of secrets.

Summer 861

Jean,

Hi. It's been a while. I assumed you didn't write me because of the drama of everything that occurred two years ago. I'm sorry it cost you your job.

How have you been? Sebas and I separated. He initiated the divorce. I lived in Anahg for a while and he replaced me with a much younger girl. I think he had been seeing her during our own marriage. Of course, everyone pitied him and praised him for trading me out with someone "better". I pray she has a better experience and doesn't treat her the way he treated me.

As much as I love my home, I couldn't stay in Anahg any longer because of the stares and people always constantly talking about Sebas. He's not even from here, so I don't understand the sudden hype. I think that article, which wrongly lists his ethnicity, is the reason why.

I ended up moving to Shiganshina. I managed to get myself a job as a seamstress at a very popular boutique. The owner was kind enough to help me get my own place as I continued to build my own life. I've been here a year now. I haven't been recognized, thank goodness.

I went to Trost to see if I could see you but I saw some individuals that I didn't know approach your apartment. Did you move out?

Anyway, I hope you're well. I really really do. And again, I'm sorry. Please, if you get this, let's have lunch together. I would really like to see you.

Y/N L/N

Y/N,

Wow. So she lives. THE Y/N L/N. I didn't think I'd hear from you again. The way Sebas was so angry, I thought he dragged you off to some mysterious darkness. All jokes aside, I was seriously worried about your safety. No one would tell me anything.

I have a pretty good job. Nothing heavy. I work with Historia's nursery. I just do a lot of paperwork about the kids and spend a little time with them since my main job is really low maintenance.

I'm glad you're out of that marriage. I don't know if you're happy but I am. He wasn't good for you. And I applaud you for your honesty and humanness; I'd wish Hell on her if I were you.

And you're here in Shiganshina, wow! I know you talked about liking the busyness of it. I hope you feel at home since Shiganshina is up to speed. You're lucky; I do miss the city sometimes. I'm glad you were able to do better for yourself here. Maybe you'll own your own shop there!

Yes, I no longer live in Trost. My mother does though. I got married last spring. The woman I'm married to actually helped me get my job. My favorite part is being able to watch her and her students bond. We’re expecting. I'm really excited to meet our first child. I'm hoping for a little girl. She wants a boy but everyone knows our little one will be a girl. Maybe the next one will be a boy, so we can have the best of both worlds.

Y/N, my time with you was something. It wasn't good or bad...it was just something. You gave me some of the most exciting times of my young adulthood. I will always remember you for that. But I think it’s best to leave our story where we ended it.

Mikasa was already past marriage and childbearing age and so was I. I also got fired from my job, remember? I’m halfway to thirty. I needed to start a family. I need a way to support myself, my wife and our child.

Y/N, I loved you once but I have moved on. I don’t think we should be on speaking terms, let alone writing terms. Our chapter has ended. Please make the rest of your time here the best. Thank you for everything.

Jean Kirstein

that is the end of all is fair in love and war! i hope you enjoyed it and i thank you for taking the time to read! pls feel free to repost and stick around for whatever’s next <3

[xdarkestdesirex]

Calamity - Hide x f.Reader

Volume Two

Calamity (n.) a great misfortune or disaster

You think you're just like every other 18-year-old girl: just starting college, living alone, and working at a cute cafe, except you aren't because you're a ghoul. Trying your best to blend into a world that isn't your own, and then you meet him. Hide. He's unlike anyone you've ever met, and you slowly fall for him. But will it ever work between the two of you? He's human, and you're not.

This is a Hide x female reader, and this fanfiction story will be based STRICTLY on the mangas, including the novels.

The plot of Tokyo Ghoul and the characters are not mine. They all belong to Sui Ishida.

I don't allow anyone to copy my story, publish it on other platforms, or alter it as your own.

This writing contains highly sensitive topics like violence, gore, mental illness, talk of suicide, death, smut, and other mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.

word count 13018

prev

“Watching you ghouls pretend to be human makes me…”

-Tokyo Ghoul Volume 2 #015 Mother and Daughter by Sui Ishida

TW: TALK OF SUICIDE

——————————

It’s been a few days since Nishiki attacked us. Thankfully, everyone had healed, and Hide didn’t know what happened. We told him some driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel and crashed into us and that Nishiki was the only one who was injured badly, so Nishiki was brought to the hospital, and since we were only injured minorly, Touka took us to Anteiku.  Since that day, we have offered Kaneki our full support, and he has finally accepted. So here he was, at the cafe, learning to make coffee from Mr. Yoshimura. They were in the back room, away from customers, so they didn’t disturb everyone with their lessons. 

I held my place behind the counter as Touka was out on the floor taking orders and cleaning tables. Usually, we would alternate jobs with each shift, but I loved making the coffee, and Touka didn’t care for it as much. So she let me do it most of the time unless she didn’t want to deal with people. The door flung open, and I sent a gleaming smile towards the door, welcoming the new customer who had entered Anteiku. 

“(Y/n)!” A loud, excited voice said. Hide came towards the coffee bar and sat right in front of me. “Is Touka here?” He asked me.

“She’s with a customer right now, but I can call her over when she finishes,” I smiled towards the bright boy.

“Could you? I want to thank her for helping us since I couldn’t before I left the other day.” When I first looked at the blonde-haired boy, I could feel his kindness oozing; these small encounters we’ve had so far have only confirmed that feeling. 

“We were fortunate she was in the area. I mean, what are the odds?” It indeed was luck that brought Touka to that part of town. I’m not sure what would’ve happened if she wasn’t around. I don’t think Nishiki would kill us, but Kaneki was losing it, and he could’ve killed Hide or all of us if his hunger was that bad. And I was useless—a weakling who could barely fight back. 

“Oh, and (Y/n), I would also like to thank you.” Hide leaned his cheek into the palm of his hand and stared at me with soft, caring eyes.

“M-me? What did I do?” I could feel the flushness overwhelming my face from how he looked at me.

“For a split second during the accident, I regained consciousness, and the only thing I remember was you throwing your body over mine.” Huh? Was he conscious during that part? He wouldn’t be here now if he knew of other things. “It’s embarrassing that I got knocked out so quickly.” The blonde sweat dropped, “I would’ve liked to be the one protecting you.” 

“O-oh,” My eyes turned towards the ground, and I spoke softly, “I would gladly do it again.” 

Looking back up, I saw the plum-haired girl glaring daggers at the male before me. She doesn’t like him, huh? Well, she doesn’t like that he’s a human. Nonetheless, I waved the dark-haired girl towards us, and she begrudgingly made her way over. Once she stood beside me, I told her Hide wanted to say something to her and then walked away to give them privacy while they talked. I didn’t want to be rude and welcome myself into their conversation, so I stepped aside to let Hide adequately thank Touka. But I still watched the encounter. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Touka seemed genuinely shocked that he was thankful for her helping us. I know deep down she has a soft spot for humans and wants to be accepted by them, but with the way this world is, it’s better to have a hard exterior. 

When they finished talking, Hide approached the small table I was cleaning up and leaned back into one of the chairs with his arms crossed behind his head, flashing me his biggest toothy smile. He opened his mouth to say something when a voice called out.

“Hide!!” Kaneki says, “What are you doing here?” Kaneki makes his way towards us. It seems Mr. Yoshimura is satisfied enough with his coffee-making skills to send him out to the bar. 

“I stopped by to see you in that uniform!” The blonde gestures to the dark-haired boy’s outfit. “You look great, dude!” Hide chuckles a bit as he looks over his friend. 

“H-Hide,” Kaneki said, looking embarrassed for Hide to see him in his Anteiku uniform. “You should probably order something if you’re just going to sit there.” 

“Oh, right! A cappuccino!” Kaneki took out his notepad, wrote down the blonde boy’s order, and walked away to start making his coffee. Hide leaned into me before I could follow the dark-haired boy and whispered, “Could you make it for me?” I chuckled and assured him I’d watch over Kaneki as he made the cappuccino. 

Behind the coffee bar, I watched Kaneki nervously perform all the steps to make his friend’s cappuccino. Brewing the beans, steaming the milk, making the foam, and then decorating the coffee. He honestly did an excellent job with little direction from me.

“He better not find out,” The purple-haired girl says lowly.

“Huh?” Kaneki and I look at her with a confused expression. 

“Hide.” Her violet eyes drift to the boy she mentioned, “He better not find out you’re a ghoul.”

“H-he won’t!” Kaneki swore.

“And you,” Toukas’s violet eyes turn towards me. “He better not find out about you either.” 

“Touka, you know I’m cautious. He’ll never find out.” It’s painful to think about the fact that he could never know who I really am. I could get to know everything about him, but he could only understand parts of me and a fake me. 

“If he ever finds out about us,”  The young girl glares menacingly towards Kaneki and me, “I’ll kill him.” 

“Touka,” I glared at the girl. “There’s no need to talk like that. He won’t find out.” I grabbed the coffee sitting on the counter and walked past the girl. Her words made my blood boil. We’re trying to live cohesively with humans, but it won’t work with her mindset. 

I went over to Hide’s table and placed the cup before him. “Kaneki made this.” Hide pouted. The look on his face was quite pitiful, and I wanted to reach out, ruffle his blonde locks, and tell him it was okay. But I didn’t. Instead, I said, “He did, but I watched Kaneki to ensure he made it properly.” 

The blonde boy grabbed the cup and took a careful sip. He seemed to hold the coffee in his mouth for a moment, taking in the flavors from the bitter bean and then swallowed. “It’s not as good as yours,” He sticks his lip out in a pout again, “And I was hoping for another heart.” 

“I’ll make it up to you next time,” I say. 

“I know how you could make it up to me,” The blonde boy suddenly took a serious turn. The joking tone of his voice was gone; he spoke sincerely, causing a chill to run down my spine. “Let me take you on a date.” His olive eyes stared into my (e/c) ones, trapping me in his gaze. 

He wants to take me on a date? Like an actual date? With me? WHAT!? OHMYGOADDD.

“Yes!-” I mentally cringed at myself and cleared my throat, “I mean, I would like that.” 

*

All I could think about for the rest of the day was Hide asking me out on a date. He told me he would text me with details later tonight. I wonder what kind of date he’ll plan. Hopefully, he doesn’t want to take me out to eat. I would still eat if we did, but I would hate feeling sick on our first date. Maybe I should tell him I would like to do an activity? Would it be too pushy if he said he would plan it? No, it doesn’t matter what he plans. I’ll be happy just to be with him. I can’t believe I’m going on a date with Hide!

*

Once the day was over, Touka, Kaneki, and I were in the back room of the cafe where Mr. Yoshimura put together a basic sandwich. He wanted to teach Kaneki how to fake eating food so that he could blend back in with humans, and then he could go out and ‘enjoy’ a meal with Hide again. The older gentleman took a decent-sized bite from the sandwich, swallowed it quickly, and pretended to chew and swallow again. The dark-haired boy stared at him in astonishment, wondering how Mr. Yoshimura could even stand the taste and texture of the bread. Or how the older man could keep a look of enjoyment on his face without showing a hint of disgust.

Mr. Yoshimura handed the sandwich to Kaneki, and I watched as the boy hesitantly grabbed the food. Slowly, he took a bite and tried to eat it but quickly doubled over, spitting the food onto the floor. He over-explained how terrible the food tasted, causing the rest of us to laugh at his dramatics. I grabbed the slice of food I’d never been able to enjoy, pulled Kaneki’s attention, and told him to watch me closely. Slowly taking a bite, I swallowed, chewed a few times, and then swallowed again. The whole time, Mr. Yoshimura went into more depth on how a ghoul should pretend to eat and what the rules entailed.

Rule one: always swallow the food immediately so you can’t fully taste it.

Rule two: pretend to chew for about 10 seconds, looking and sounding like you’re enjoying the food, and then swallow more obviously. 

Rule three: don’t forget to throw up afterward so you don’t get sick. 

While discussing how a ghoul pretends to eat, my mind drifts off to thoughts of my date. If we go out to eat, I feel like I’ll be too nervous to eat correctly and might slip up on how the food tastes awful. Maybe I should practice until then? It’s been a while since I’ve gone out and had to eat a full meal of human food. Usually, when it comes to eating, all I have to ingest is a few bites and not a whole plateful. If he took me to a restaurant, it would be rude only to eat a little. Not to mention how terrible I would feel for the kitchen staff if I didn’t take in what they cooked. 

While I was lost in thought, the door to the cafe opened, and a mother and her daughter walked through. The mother had long chocolate brown hair braided to the side and wore a button-up blouse and a long floral skirt. The little girl had short brown hair and hid behind her mother. Her deep brown eyes lit up as they met my (e/c) ones. 

“(Y/n)!” the little girl said excitedly, running towards me. I swooped the child into my arms, picked her up, and hugged her. 

“Hinami!” I squeezed the young girl and then sat her back down, giving her a once-over, “Look how much you’ve grown!” I pretended to wipe tears away from my eyes. Hinami and her mom, Ryoko, haven’t appeared in Anteiku in a few months. They’ve been in hiding because Ryoko’s husband was working with a dangerous ghoul. It was nice to see their faces again. After greeting Hinami, I moved towards Ryoko and hugged her. The chocolate brown female has always been like an older sister to me, and I strived to be kind and gentle like her. After we pulled away from each other, Ryoko glanced at Kaneki and smiled at him.

“Are you new?” She said sweetly. 

“Oh, yes, I’m Kaneki,” He bowed when greeting the mother. Then he turned towards the little girl and greeted her as well. Hinami stepped back behind her mom and hid from the dark-haired boy’s gaze. I couldn’t help but giggle silently at how cute the little girl was when being shy. 

“Ryoko, let me walk you guys upstairs,” I said.

After saying bye to Kaneki and greeting Touka on our way out of the cafe, I took the mother and daughter to Mr. Yoshimura’s office. I didn’t stay around as I knew they probably had important things to discuss, and I also wanted to give them space for when they would eat. Ryoko didn’t mind being around others while eating. She loved sharing her meals with others, but Hinami was still shy and liked to eat alone. As I closed the office door behind me, my phone went off, and I glanced at the text on my screen. 

Hide:

This new arcade opened up, and I would love to take you! Does Saturday at 15:00 (3:00 pm) work for you?

A smile graced my face as I read the message from the blonde boy. An arcade? I should’ve expected that from him.

——————————

After a long week of nerves and anxious waiting, Saturday had finally arrived! It was noon, and I had just gotten out of the shower and started my skincare routine. Cleanse, tone, serum, moisturizer, and SPF. When I finished washing my face, I applied a light layer of makeup. I’m not the best at putting on makeup, so I usually avoid it, but for occasions like this (or unless I look dead), I’ll apply a little bit: a thin foundation layer, a little concealer, some bronzer, and highlighter. Then, I brushed some mascara on my lashes and nodded at my finishing look. 

I made my way back into my bedroom and opened my closet. What should I wear? I want to be cute, but I also want to be practical since we’ll be at an arcade. I opted for a tight-cropped, short-sleeved shirt. It was plain white with two black lines going down the sleeve and then a pair of black track pants with an orange stripe down the sides. Then, with the weather on the colder side, I grabbed my orange oversized puffer coat and finished the look with a pair of white chunky sneakers. I then threw my (h/c) hair into a half-up, half-down due and accessorized myself with some earrings, bracelets, and a few rings on my fingers. To complete getting ready, I applied deodorant to my underarms and sprayed perfume over myself. The clock read 13:30 (1:30 pm) when I was ready. Great, now I have to sit here and wait for an hour and a half. 

To waste time, I sat nicely on my bed, not wanting to mess up my outfit, and scrolled through my phone while it sat on the charger. The next thirty minutes went excruciatingly slow when my phone dinged with a text message. It was Hide saying he was impatient and on his way to Anteiku. He’s lucky I got ready early.

When I stepped out the cafe door, the bright boy standing at the end of the stairs greeted me. In return, I offered the bubbly boy a slight wave and walked towards him. He wore his usual yellow and black track jacket, a plain white tee underneath, and light-washed jeans. The only thing missing was the orange headphones around his neck.

“(Y/n)~” The cheeky boy’s gaze took in my form, “You look so adorable!” Hide’s slender fingers pinched my cheeks, and I quickly swatted away his soft hands. My eyes lightly rolled at his dramatics, but a smile blossomed on my face nonetheless. I did feel cute today and secretly catered my outfit to something I thought he would like. Since the blonde boy is more bubbly, likes bright colors, and gives sporty vibes, I chose something that slightly portrayed those things but also dressed in a way that screams me. 

“And you’re a dork,” I retorted. The blonde boy’s face scrunched together, wrinkling his soft features, and threw a hand over his chest. 

“You don’t think I look sexy!?” Hide gasped.

“Sexy!?” The word tumbled out of my mouth. I’ve never looked at him in that light before. My (e/c) iris takes in the male before me. His blonde locks fall just above his neatly shaped eyebrows (does he wax them?). Hide’s hair never seemed to lay neatly; it looked like he ran his fingers through it and styled his hair by messing it up. I love how Hide’s round olive eyes pop out underneath his blonde locks and the crinkles that encase his orbs whenever he smiles. Oh man, don’t even get me started on his smile. How his slightly plump lips draw up to his cheekbones, creating the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. Then you have his soft yet sharp jawline-

“Uh, (Y/n)?” Hide looked at me as he scratched the back of his head. Oh shit. I totally just stood there staring at him while thinking about how gorgeous he was. 

“I-i-i-i’m so sorry!” I quickly averted my gaze to hide my burning face.

“So I take it you don’t think I’m attractive?” His tone was soft, but there was a hint of something I couldn’t quite pick up on. 

“N-not at all!” I whipped around to look at him while flailing my arms, “I think you’re very attractive!” My hands slapped against my face. Embarrassment overwhelmed my body, and all I wanted was to crawl into a hole where no one could see me. Soft fingers encircled my wrist, pulling my hands away from my firey skin. My eyelids were anchored down as I refused to look at the blonde boy (if I can’t see him, he can’t see me, right?). 

A deep chuckle erupted from Hide, and I could feel his warm breath kiss my cheek. “Cute,” he whispered. My eyes flew open upon hearing Hide’s voice. I stumbled backward, realizing how close the blonde was to me. 

“R-right,” I tried to pull myself together, “We should get going!”

The walk to the arcade wasn’t long since it wasn’t too far from Anteiku. I kept my eyes on the ground as we walked since I was still steaming from our interaction only moments ago. We approached an old brick building with a neon sign reading ‘Joysticks.’ The windows were tinted black so that you couldn’t see anything happening inside. Every muscle in my body tingled with excitement as I stared ahead, and a weird knot formed in my throat. I remember this feeling from when I was a child. My earliest memory was at an arcade, and the only happy one of my parents before they died. I swallowed the lump as it tried to push its way up my esophagus. Hide’s large hand grabbed my own, giving me a slight squeeze, and he flashed me one of his sweet smiles. Together, we walked towards the building, and Hide pushed the door open, revealing the maze of arcade games.

“Woah,” Hide and I said in unison. 

The only lighting inside the building was the bright lights of the games and the black lights hanging above us. The carpet was black, with bright neon colors in the shape of stars littering the ground. My eyes took in everything around me, and a deep nostalgia washed over me. I couldn’t help the giddiness in my stomach and began to jump up and down. My comprehensive, childlike eyes met Hide’s, and I could tell he felt the same way. 

“I’m going to get us a playing card!” Hide yelled so that I could hear him over the loud music and games. As he went up to the counter, I continued to look around. They had Pac-Man, racing games, Guitar Hero, newer VR games, and a lot of others. When Hide returned from buying a card for us, he dragged me to one of the car racing games. I sat in the chair next to the blonde boy and pulled it forward to press against the peddle below my feet. Once Hide swiped the card on his machine, he leaned over and swiped the card for mine, and together we pressed the start button. After choosing what car we wanted and the route, we began the race. My fingers gripped the steering wheel before me, and I slammed my foot on the gas. 

I did my best to keep my car on the road, but to no avail; I crashed it every five seconds. On the other hand, Hide was a pro and sped through to the finish line, winning first place. My jaw dropped to the floor as the screen flashed with a new record, and he could input his name into the accomplishments board. The blonde slumped back into his seat and looked at me smugly. He thinks he’s hot shit right now.

“How about we shoot some hoops?” I say, getting out of my seat. I made my way over to the basketball hoops, and Hide followed close behind me. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s swishing balls. We began the game when the buzzer went off, and I quickly grabbed ball after ball and threw it in the air, and each one landed through the net with a swoosh. I guess those years of playing basketball against Yomo have paid off. 

“Well, damn,” Hide ran his fingers through his hair, “I didn’t take you as a basketball girl.”

“I actually hate sports, but my guardian made me play growing up.” Calling Yomo my guardian still feels weird because I feel like he deserves the title of dad, but even after all these years, I still can’t bring myself to call him that. When my parents died, I was alone for a few months until I stumbled across Yomo. He told me his life was rough before I came along, and he got into a lot of trouble, but when my younger self showed up, I became his new purpose. I saved him, apparently, and he saved me. But even as a young child, I never wanted to replace my father, and that’s the only reason Yomo is Renji to me or my guardian when I talk about him to others. If Hide wanted to ask me questions about my guardian, he refrained from it, and I appreciated him not delving into my past when all I wanted to do was have fun. 

We moved on to a few other games where we competed against each other or had to work together to move on. My stomach hurt from how much I’d been laughing, and my cheeks were sore from all the smiling I’d been doing. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun with someone in a long time. Spending time with Hide has been amazing, and I don’t want this night to come to an end. If I could freeze time at this moment, I would.

Hide was getting hungry, so we decided to take a break. I offered to buy Hide’s food since he paid for our game card, but he refused to let me pay. He wrestled my card out of my hand and gave the gentlemen behind the counter his card while holding me back. If I could show my true strength, I would’ve pushed Hide out of the way, but I didn’t want to scare him. We grabbed some water on our way to an empty booth, and I slid into one side, and Hide slid in right next to me. He was so close that our shoulders were squished together, and I could feel the blooming of roses start to form on my cheeks.

Hide leaned back against the booth with his hands crossed behind his head, a signature stance I noticed he takes often. His eyes were softly closed for a moment as if he were taking a second to relax. Then, a yawn escaped his plump lips, and he stretched his arms to the side. One arm fell beside him, and the other gently wrapped around my shoulders. Did he just pull that cliche move? I was amazed by how he pulled it off, but I also didn’t mind the touch it brought. I gently leaned into the side of Hide and lightly rested my head on his shoulder. He looked down into my (e/c) iris with his soft olive ones. A flicker of surprise flashed through his orbs but quickly changed into adoration as he looked at me, snuggling into him.

These past few weeks have been tiring, and the warmth from the blonde boy relaxed my tensed muscles. The lids of my eyes fluttered close, and I inhaled his scent deeply: amber mixed with sandalwood and a hint of cinnamon. The smell enveloped me, and the thought of his scent rubbing off on me from being so close lit a small fire in my stomach. As ghouls, we’re very sensitive to smells, and rubbing your scent onto your partner is a way to let other ghouls know they’re taken. It’s almost like a form of claiming. Before I knew it, I was falling into my instincts, and I rubbed my head into the crook of Hide’s neck. I felt him tense below me, as the boy whose arm was holding me close wasn’t sure what I was doing, but he quickly relaxed and traced his fingers up and down my arm. 

The waitress cleared her throat at the sight of us pulling me out of my trance. I quickly pulled away from the boy and tried to create as much room between us as possible. A basket of fries, mozzarella sticks, and a few different sauces was set before us. I faced the wall to my side, trying to hide the embarrassment enveloping my features. Realization hit me as I thought about what I was doing. I was rubbing my scent on him, trying to stake my claim. Ugh, that’s so embarrassing. What if a ghoul passes by us and thinks we’re together? Intimately. Wait, what if a ghoul accidentally mistakes him for one of us because I overpowered his scent with mine? 

Soft fingers gently gripped my chin and turned my face to look into those round golden eyes. Hide’s face was inches from mine, and his soft features gazed at me tenderly. His orbs flickered down to my lips for a split second and then found their home back into my (e/c) ones. My breath caught in my throat at the moment’s intensity, but I didn’t dare break away from his stare. It felt as if we were the only ones existing in time. His thumb caressed below my lower lip, and I subconsciously parted my lips. 

“You don’t have to be shy,” Hides’s voice was low and husky. “I like the affection.” This time, his thumb trailed along my bottom lip, pulling it down slightly before releasing my face. A deep sigh fell from his chest, and he turned his attention to the food before us. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at the loss of touch. The tingling sensation from his thumb lingered where it once was, and my body erupted into a bundle of excitement that could be mistaken for nerves. 

Hide didn’t pressure me to eat any of the food he ordered but did offer to let me take a bite a few times. He didn’t question me when I refused, and I thankfully got away without eating anything. I didn’t want to excuse myself for throwing up and ruining my makeup, and I didn’t want to risk having stomach pains. I wanted to enjoy this date to the fullest without anything hindering me.  

We returned to the games when he finished his food and continued playing all we could. We played an air hockey tournament, and it ended in a tie. It was very heated as we hit the puck repeatedly, trying to sink it into the other goal—a lot of screaming, laughing, and maybe a few flying pucks. Towards the end, Hide gave the puck a brutal hit, and it flew towards me and slammed into my knuckles. Thankfully, for being a ghoul, it couldn’t do anything to harm me, but Hide felt terrible. He went to the counter and asked for a bag of ice, and when he came back, he gently held it against my hand. 

“I feel bad ending the date this way,” he said, holding my hand with the ice.

“There are still some points on our card to play a few more games,” I stated. Unfortunately, we were getting low on funds, so the date was ending, but it didn’t have to end on the wrong note.

“You’re right,” He gleamed towards me, “And I know just the way to make it up to you!” He set the bag of ice to the side and ran towards one of those crane machines full of plushies. Hide swiped the card on the machine and positioned the crane over a plushie. The blonde male pressed the red button, and the claw descended. It gripped onto the plushie and slowly lifted it. Hide and I cheered as we watched it carry the plushie closer to the hole, and then it dropped right outside of it. We stared at the machine in disappointment, and then Hide swiped the card again. He tried a few more times before finally succeeding and grabbed the plushie from below the machine. 

“For you, my lady,” He bowed, holding the toy towards me.

“Why thank you, sir,” I faked a courtesy and then grabbed the plushie from the vibrant boy.

Hide used up the rest of our points on the claw machine, and we decided to save the card to use it in the future. That way, we could gather more tickets and buy a big prize. 

The night’s cold air whipped around me as we left the arcade. I hugged my coat tightly while clutching onto the plushie Hide won. My (h/c) hair flew behind me in the wind, and Hide and I walked side by side. Our fingers brushed against one another, sending electricity through my arm. A sudden urge of confidence overcame me, and I slowly intertwined my fingers with the dirty blonde boys. He accepted my small embrace and squeezed my hand in his. We slowly made our way to Anteiku and stopped just outside the building. 

“Thank you for today,” I said, looking up into his olive eyes, “I had a good time.” 

The sun was setting in the far sky, painting the earth with beautiful oranges and pinks. The hue encapsulated around the bright boy before me, painting him in a golden glow. His blonde locks shimmering like gold, and his olive eyes looked like a pot of honey. Hide’s soft skin glistened warmly, becoming the epitome of golden hour. 

“I had a good time as well,” Hide said, reaching for my other hand. We stood on the sidewalk, staring at one another and holding each other’s hands. Then suddenly, I was pulled forward, and my body was pressed to the boy’s hard chest. His arms wrapped around my back, and he lifted a hand to pet my hair. “I’d like to take you out for another date,” his voice whispered against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. 

My heart hammered in my chest, and I slowly wrapped my arms around the blonde boy, reciprocating his hug. I inhaled deeply, taking his scent into my nose, and relaxed into his warm embrace. I can’t believe he wants to take me out on another date so quickly. I pulled back slightly, embracing Hide, and looked at his beautiful face. 

“I would love that,” I spoke softly. Hide’s soft hand held my face for the second time today, and he leaned down towards my face. My eyes fluttered closed on instinct as I waited to feel his lips press against mine. A soft, warm feeling bloomed on my forehead, and my eyes fluttered open as Hide pulled his lips away from me. A soft blush covered my cheeks at expecting him to kiss me, but the fact that he only planted a kiss on my forehead made my heart beat even faster. He’s being such a gentleman. 

“Oh, (Y/n), Hide,” a voice drew our attention to the side. A dark-haired boy and a plum-haired girl were walking towards us. That’s right. Touka took Kaneki to Uta’s shop today so he could get a mask made. Hide let his grip go of me but kept one of our hands intertwined. 

“Hey, man!” Hide smiled towards his best friend and waved energetically. 

I glanced bashfully toward the ground as Touka looked between the male and me. Kaneki’s eyes also glanced at our intermingled fingers, and I could sense the disapproval from both parties. 

“What are you guys doing?” Kaneki asked.

“I took (Y/n) on a date!” Hide lifted my hand with his and waved it towards his shy friend. A small giggle fell from my lips as it seemed the blonde boy needed to convince Kaneki that he was indeed on a date with me. “Did you guys go on a date?” The vibrant boy cocked his head to the couple opposite from us, and the two choked from Hide’s statement. 

“Not even!” Touka scuffed as she stormed past us and up to the cafe door. Kaneki rubbed the back of his head, and his cheeks tinted with a soft pinkness. 

“Well, I better get going,” The dark-haired boy began to walk away.

“Kaneki!” Hide called to his childhood friend. “Let me walk with you!” The blonde turned towards me and planted another kiss on my cheek, causing my skin to light on fire. “I’ll text you!” was the last thing he said to me that night as Hide chased after Kaneki. 

——————————

A few days had passed since my date with Hide, and the boy kept his word and texted me as soon as he got home. We texted a lot, and I found myself distracted by my phone. During my shifts at Anteiku, I became impatient and counted down the minutes of my breaks, but then my breaks flew by as I talked to the blonde-haired boy. 

Today, I was at university, tapping at my desk while listening to my professor’s lecture, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I quietly pulled it out to see who had messaged me, and a smile bloomed on my face as I saw the text was from Hide. 

Hide 🌞

Do you want to hang out with Kaneki and me after classes?

(Y/n)

I would love to! 🥰

I quickly texted back and shoved my phone back into my pocket. There were only thirty minutes until this class ended, and then I would spend time with Hide! It’s good to hear that Kaneki is with him because I know he’s been avoiding the blonde boy a bit. 

As class ended, I made my way through the courtyard and towards one of the cafes on campus. The sun was shining brightly, but the air was cold. I wore beige high-waisted pants that flowed right above my ankles, a cropped cream sweater, and a long plaid coat that hit my calves. A pair of brown low-cut boats adorned my feet, and my cross-body tote was slung over my shoulder. My (h/c) hair flowed around my face, and I pushed the left side behind my ear. As I approached the cafe, I spotted the pair of boys I was supposed to meet up with. I raised my arm to wave at them as I approached. 

The two boys sat outside at a cute round table, and three cups of coffee sat before the boys. I grabbed the empty chair between the two and slid it out to take my seat. A deep puff of condensation escaped my lips as I relaxed into the chair. 

“I hope you don’t mind; we already ordered our coffees,” the dark-haired boy said, pointing towards the paper cups on the table.

I reached forward to grab the cup that hadn’t been claimed yet. My slender fingers absorbed the heat from the hot coffee inside. I slowly lifted the cup to my face and inhaled the sweet aroma before taking a small sip. The liquid burnt a little as it flowed down my throat, but I didn’t care as it warmed up my insides. After a few sips, I look at the blonde boy to my right. Hide was dressed up more than usual, and I could feel a slight tingle on my cheeks at how nice he looked. His dirty blonde hair was naturally unruly, but he wore a button-up shirt, a dark brown button-up coat, and light denim jeans. It was odd to see him in something that wasn’t his usual bright attire, but Hide looked good no matter what he was wearing. 

“(Y/n)! Doesn’t Kaneki look better lately?” the bright boy asks me. I turn to look at the dark-haired boy. My eyes scan Kaneki, and I can see his skin’s normal color flourishing like before his incident. He hasn’t eaten much, but his special ‘sugar’ cubes help soothe his hunger.

“He is!” I smile at the shy boy, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Kaneki.” A dusting of blush covers the half ghoul’s face, and he stutters out “T-than-” 

“Um… you’re,” a girl with an a-line haircut approached our table. “Hide, right?” She looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember exactly where I’d seen her.

“You’re Nishios girlfriend?” Hide’s olive eyes looked the girl over, “How can I help you?” 

The brunette girl rummaged through her purse, pulled out a DVD in a green case, and held it out to the dirty blonde. “This is from Nishiki. I came to drop this off for him.” Hide’s slender hands grabbed the DVD from the girl. His eyes scrunched in confusion, and then his mouth formed the shape of an ‘O’ when he remembered what the DVD was for. As the brunette turned around and started walking away, the blonde boy shot out of his chair and yelled to the girl, “What hospital is Nishio at? We would like to visit him, but-” Before he could finish what he was saying, the a-line-haired girl ran away. I cringed for the boy, who was blatantly ignored, and the blonde rubbed the back of his head, questioning if he did something wrong.

So she’s dating Nishiki? If she’s been in contact with him since our fight, she must know he’s a ghoul, and I know the brunette is human with how she smells. “She might still be shy about us walking in on them,” I said as the blonde boy sat back in his seat. 

“I guess that makes sense,” Hide’s eyes drifted to Kaneki. The dark-haired boy was rubbing his chin while staring off into space. “Kaneki,” the blonde pulled his friend from his thoughts. “Don’t stress over it!” Hide flashed a smile towards his best friend. 

We sat until it was time for Kaneki and me to head to work. Hide hugged me goodbye, and I couldn’t help but take a deep breath of his scent before pulling away. Then the blonde waved towards Kaneki as we parted ways. The dark-haired boy and I walked in silence for a few minutes until he broke the silence.

“So, you and Hide?” Kaneki’s voice was low.

“Huh?” My (e/c) eyes widened, “W-what do you mean?” The heat started to blossom on my cheeks.

“Do you like him?” The black-haired male turned towards me and stared deeply into my eyes. A serious expression overtook his face. “Answer me honestly.” 

I glanced towards the ground and inhaled the cold air before speaking, “I do like him.” I lifted my head and stared into Kaneki’s dark grey eyes, “And I promise you, Kaneki, that I will never hurt him.” 

*

The end of the day was nearing, and Kaneki and I were starting to clean things up. Then Mr. Yoshimura appeared behind Kaneki, scaring the poor dark-haired boy. I didn’t pay much attention to their conversation and continued to clean up, but my ears perked up at the sound of Yomo’s name coming out of the older man’s lips. I whipped my head around to see Kaneki looking panicked and put two and two together. 

“Are you sending him on a food run with Renji?” I asked while walking towards the two males.

“I am,” The old man answered.

“I’ll go with them!” I said while setting a few mugs into the sink.

“Really?!” The dark-haired boy looked at me, and it seemed a wave of relief washed over him, “That would make me feel better, to be honest.” 

Once Kaneki and I closed the cafe, we headed outside to wait for Yomo to pick us up. I don’t think Mr. Yoshimura warned him about me coming along, so seeing his surprised face will be fun. It’s been a few years since I’ve gone on a food run with Yomo, and that’s because it was getting hard for me to see all the dead bodies. I felt bad for the people we took because they must’ve been dealing with something terrible to decide to kill themselves. Sometimes, when collecting the dead bodies, I would think about whether what they did was intelligent. Maybe I would have been better off if I had made the same choice as them. Then, I wouldn’t have to suffer in this cruel world anymore, and I wouldn’t be a burden to those around me. Thinking that way wasn’t healthy, so I had to tell Mr. Yoshimura I couldn’t do it anymore. Going on this food run makes me a bit nervous, but knowing that Kaneki will feel more uncomfortable in this situation (and with him being around Yomo) made me want to be there for him. 

A sleek dark grey car pulled in front of us, and a monotonous Yomo stood out of the vehicle. The tall male cocked his head to the side as he stared at the two of us. Yomo’s face didn’t give away any of his thoughts, but I could tell he was concerned with me being here. I didn’t tell him why I wanted to stop doing the food runs, but I’m sure he came up with his theory, which probably was correct. 

“Renji!” I decided to break the tension by calling out to my guardian and rushing towards him to envelop the man in a hug. I smooshed my face into his chest and wrapped my arms around his broad back. The stone man sighed in defeat and lifted a hand to pat my head. 

“(Y/n)...” The silver-haired man glared down at me.

“I’m here to help Kaneki!” I tried to reassure my father-like figure. He wouldn’t argue if I told him I was there to help someone. Yomo knows that I would do anything for someone, especially a ghoul, to make sure they didn’t have to suffer or feel the way I’ve felt. 

“Come on,” The stone-like man spoke deeply and slid into the car’s driver’s seat. I followed after the male and took my spot in the passenger seat as Kaneki slid behind us in the back seat. 

The drive was quiet, so I tried to loosen the atmosphere by turning on the radio. Only to receive angry eyes glaring down at me before turning the radio off. I huffed in response, slumped back into my seat, and stared out the window at the night sky. Renji is an old fart, and he likes to kill anything fun. My (e/c) eyes shift to the car’s rearview mirror to check on the dark-haired boy behind me. His eyebrows knitted down into a frown, and he anxiously bit down on his lower lip. What could I do to make him relax? This would have been much easier if only Yomo hadn’t given such scary vibes. 

“Don’t worry, Kaneki!” I turned to look at the shy boy, “Renji may look like a heartless man, but he’s just a big ol’ teddy bear on the inside.” 

“So, y-you two know each other well, then?” The dark-haired boy questioned.

“I had the displeasure of raising her.” Yomo stoically spoke. 

I playfully hit the male who was driving, “Hey!”

“I’m joking,” the silver-haired male reached over and ruffled my hair. “I’ll never regret taking you in.” Yomo broke his straight face with a small smile as he glanced my way. I could feel the wetness gather at the edge of my eyes, and a warmth blossomed in my chest. 

“You’re getting sappy, old man,” I said while holding myself together. I’m an emotional person whenever it comes to Yomo. He is the person who changed my life and cared for me when no one else wanted to. 

We pulled up to a looking point on the edge of a cliff. It was dark outside, and the view overlooked the beautiful mountainside. The cool air flew around us, and I took a deep breath of the clean air. Yomo’s voice floated through my ears, but I didn’t quite pick up what he was saying. Then I heard a loud screeching sound of metal, and the next thing I knew, Kaneki was falling down the cliff side. I made eye contact with the older male, confused about what had just happened, and when I finally realized that the poor half-ghoul had just fallen from an extreme height, I jumped down after him. My feet slammed against the ground as I landed in an almost superhero-like pose, and an ear-piercing scream rang through my ears. The dark-haired boy jumped towards me and clung onto my arm while hiding behind my body. In front of me, where Kaneki was standing, lay a mutilated body. 

The sight wasn’t pretty since the man who was lying on the ground had body parts pointing in ways they shouldn’t be, and because of the impact, some of his insides were now on the outside. After a few seconds, Yomo came crashing down, also striking a hero-like pose, and casually walked towards the two of us. The older male threw a duffel bag towards us and demanded that we put the deceased man into the bag. 

“S-so, you guys decided to eat suicide victims?” Kaneki spoke from behind me, “That way, you don’t have to hurt anyone?”

“I haven’t made any decision,” Yomo said, making his way over to another body on the ground, “I still kill to eat sometimes, and so do Touka and a few others. I only do this because Mr. Yoshimura asked me to and for those who cannot kill.” The sliver-haired male glanced my way while he spoke. Once he stood in front of the other dead body, Yomo put his hands together and did a quick prayer before collecting the body into the bag.

“Kaneki, you can watch me for today,” I lead the frail male towards the deceased body he first encountered. I leaned onto my knees next to the male’s body, put my hands together like Yomo, and said a prayer. I always ask for the person’s soul to move on peacefully, and I also ask for forgiveness for taking their body without their permission. Then, I slowly collected the body and shoved it into the bag. Sometimes, they don’t fit in the bag, and you unfortunately have to break some of their bones to get them to fit. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do any of that to this poor man, and I got him in the duffle with no problems. Kaneki looked pale the whole time, and I wouldn’t blame him if he threw up. 

After collecting the bodies, we returned up the cliff and threw the bags into the car’s truck. This time, I let Kaneki sit in the passenger seat and took my spot in the back seat. We headed back towards Anteiku when Yomo pulled the car to the side of the road and got out to approach a figure on the sidewalk. When he came back, I could see that the person he was with was Ryoko. She entered the car and slid into the spot next to me. The mother looked down at her lap with a sorrowful face. I approached the woman I looked up to and grabbed her hand. She looked at me with a soft smile and squeezed my hand back. 

When Yomo entered the car, he started lecturing Ryoko about being out alone and how dangerous it was since the doves were looking for her. The brunette’s face turned more sad looking, if even possible, and I felt terrible that she had to deal with all of this after losing her husband. She’s been through a lot and can’t even mourn in peace. Ryoko wants to be vital to protect Hinami, but I think tonight is the first time I’ve seen her look sad. Whenever the mother stopped at the cafe with Hinami, she looked held together and didn’t seem to be mourning. Ryoko did an excellent job at being strong in front of her daughter, but it’s also good for her to let her emotions out. One day, I hope to be the kind of mother Ryoko is to my future children.

——————————

 A few days had passed since I did the food run with Kaneki and Yomo, and it was finally my weekend. I was heading towards the shopping center in black leggings, an oversized crewneck, and chunky sneakers. My hair was slightly greasy, so I had on a beanie to hide the evidence and keep my head warm from the cold air. I didn’t do much to present myself besides adding a little concealer to my face, as usual, and since I wasn’t planning on meeting up with anyone, I went with cozy vibes today. It’s been a while since I went shopping, and I felt I deserved to treat myself. I’ve been saving up my money and have extra to do some retail therapy.  

  While walking down the sidewalk, I had my headphones in and ignored the world around me. So when I felt a pair of hands slam down on my shoulders, I was ready to turn around and punch whoever dared sneak up on me. My body relaxed when I turned around, and my (e/c) eyes met a pair of olive ones.

”What the hell, Hide!” I yelled at the boy as I clutched my chest. “You scared me!” 

A soft pinkness crept up on the dirty blonde's face, and he scratched his head as he said, “Sorry when I realized it was you; I couldn’t help myself.” 

When I fully registered that Hide was next to me while I wasn’t looking my best, I started feeling self-conscious about my appearance. 

“So,” the vibrant boy reaches out and grabs my hand with a bright smile. “What are you up to today?” 

“I was heading towards the shopping centers,” I tell the male who’s gleaming at me.

”Can I join?” Hide asks.

”I don’t mind, but it might not be fun for you.” I squeezed the male's hand and pulled him toward my direction.

”Why do you say that?” 

“I’m going to be trying on a bunch of clothes.” The blonde boy swallows a big gulp and stares in my direction. 

“I think I’ll love this date,” Hide’s usually pale face turns two shades darker, and I playfully punch the male in his shoulder.

”Get your mind out of the gutter,” I turn my face to look away from Hide to keep him from seeing my equally red face. 

We walked the rest of the way to the mall while holding hands. It felt like we were a real couple, and thinking of us that way made my heart flutter. We browsed the aisles and began collecting a pile of clothes once we got to the store I wanted to look at. Anytime I tried to hold onto a piece of clothing, Hide would snatch it from me and keep it in his arms. The blonde also grabbed tops, bottoms, and dresses for me to try on. The idea of him wanting me to come out and show him each outfit was enough to keep my cheeks blushing while we shopped. Hide and I went to the dressing rooms when I decided I had enough clothes. 

“Hello!” The dressing room attendant greeted us, “Follow me!” The lady led us to the back, unlocked a door for me, and wrote 6+ on the whiteboard that adorned the front of the door. “You can only bring in 6 items at a time, and if there’s anything you don’t like, it can go on this rack here.” Then she turns towards Hide and says, “And your boyfriend can have a seat right over there,” She points to a few luxury chairs across from the rooms. 

Once she walked away, I grabbed my first six clothing items from Hide and entered the room the lady opened for me. Since the items I grabbed were things I picked out, I didn’t step out to show Hide. I left the dressing room, put most of the clothes onto the ‘go back’ rack, and then approached a pouting blonde to grab more clothes from him.

”You didn’t show me,” Hide dramatically stuck his lip out as far as it could go.

”Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted to see what I picked out too.” I started grabbing another group of six from his arms.

”I want to see all of it!” The blonde said excitedly.

”Okay,” I laugh at the boy and head back to the dressing room to change.

As I wore the new outfit, I examined myself in the mirror and stepped out of the dressing room. Hide’s face lit up as he saw me approach him. 

“Do a spin!” The bright boy moves his finger in a circle while his eyes rack over my body, taking in my outfit. It’s nothing special right now, just a basic shirt and jeans, but as I turn around, I’m overly aware that he’s taking every inch of me with his olive eyes. It goes on like this for a while: I try things on, show Hide, and he tells me everything looks good on me; even though that's questionable, I appreciate the confidence boost. 

In this group of clothing, I brought an exquisite black dress into the dressing room with me, something you would wear out to a fancy date. This dress doesn’t require a bra, and as I slip it onto my body, I can already tell it fits me like a glove, but I can’t reach the zipper properly. I stand in the dressing room for a few minutes, staring at myself in the mirror, bite my lower lip, and call out for Hide, who is patiently waiting on the chair outside the room. I can hear him respond, and it takes me another second to get the courage to say my following words.

”C-could you help me with this zipper?” I sputter out. It doesn’t take a second to hear a knock on the door, and if I weren’t overwhelmed by embarrassment, I would have laughed at how quickly he responded. I slowly pushed the door open while holding the front part of the dress to my chest to ensure it stayed in place and wouldn’t reveal any more body parts than I already had on display. The dress was short as it was barely long enough to cover my ass, and my boobs were already popping with cleavage as I held the dress up since it was strapless. Not to mention, my bare back was exposed as I turned around to have Hide zip it. 

The blonde gently pushed my hair over my shoulder, causing goosebumps from the subtle touch. Hide’s breath grazed my neck, and I instinctively shivered from the sensation it caused. Hide then ran his soft finger down my spine, causing my back to arch and a gasp to escape my lips. “H-hide!” Flustered was an understatement as my whole body flushed the shade of a tomato, and a weird knot began to form in my abdomen. 

“Sorry,” Hide’s voice was dangerously low, “I couldn’t help myself.” The blonde then grabs the zipper and pulls it up with ease. When the dress is secure on my body, I finally drop my arms to the side and look at myself in the mirror. It looks stunning. It shows off my figure perfectly. Hide’s strong arm wraps around my waist and pulls me against his toned chest. My heart races as he lowers his head to whisper, “You look stunning.”

”T-thank you,” It’s hard to function appropriately with him pressed against my back. “Could y-you unzip it for me?” Hide then grabs the zipper again and pulls it down slowly. He’s dragging this moment on longer than I would like, but I also don’t mind it at the same time. I might be embarrassed, but I enjoy how my body lights on fire from his touches. Once the dress is unzipped, the male closes the door behind him, and I dress back into my regular clothes. I only had a few more pairs of clothing to try on, and for the rest of the fashion show, all I could think about was how he dragged his finger along my spine. 

Out of all the clothing we picked out, I only loved about ten pieces, and I would have bought the dress if it wasn’t so expensive. Also, where would I even wear it? It’s not like I go out to any fancy restaurants or events. But Hide grabbed the dress from my hands before I could place it on the go-back rack.

”I’ll buy it for you,” The dirty blonde says while draping the dress over his arm. My jaw drops open, and I try to grab it from his arms.

”There’s no way! It’s too expensive!” I protest.

”I don’t care,” Hide smirks down at me and walks towards the checkout line. 

We stop in a few different shops and joke around together. I didn’t know shopping with someone could be this fun. Usually, I do these things on my own as I just want to get in and out, but when you’re with someone you enjoy being around, it makes everything more exciting. After a few hours, Hide and I are exhausted, and we decide it’s time to leave. Being the gentleman that Hide is, he carries my bags for me, and I hold onto one of his arms as we walk. Little droplets of water begin to leak from the sky, and then suddenly, it’s pouring down on us.

Hide pulls me to the side of a building so we can find shelter under the awning of a shop. Thankfully, I always carry an umbrella in my bag, so I pull it out and pop it open. It’s not the most extensive umbrella, so we have to squeeze together so that it covers both of us. We rush towards the cafe, and I swap the blonde for the shopping bags and hand him the umbrella. I can’t let Hide walk back home in this rain. Hide kisses me on the cheek goodbye, and I run into the cafe. Being on such a high from the day, I didn’t even notice as I made it upstairs that the cafe was closed and no customers were littering around. 

Yomo stood with his back against the wall and approached me with a more severe look than his regular face. “We need to talk,” the silver-haired man spoke softly. 

“Let me set these bags in my room real quick,” I said as I approached my door. I didn’t even bother entering my room; I just opened the door and threw the bags on the floor in front of it. “What did you need to talk to me about?” I asked Renji.

”Follow me,” the stone-like man says, walking towards another door leading into Anteiku’s meeting room. I follow behind the man, and when I enter the room, I can see everyone, except Touka, sitting around with sad faces.

”What happened?” was the first thing that escaped my lips. From the way everyone looked, I could tell it was something terrible. My eyes landed on the dark-haired male, whose eyes focused on his fidgeting fingers. Kaneki’s skin was deathly pale, and I could tell that whatever happened truly scarred him.  

Mr. Yoshimura turned to face me and told me the devastating news, “Mrs. Fueguchi was killed by ghoul investigators.” 

“What?” I stumbled backward, and a pair of arms grabbed me from behind. Yomo held onto my body to make sure I didn’t collapse to the ground. “Ryoko, i-is dead?!” 

“I’m so sorry—“ The silver-haired man couldn’t finish his sentence as I pushed him aside and ran out the door. Tears flowed down my eyes, blurring my vision, as I ran outside into the rain. My clothes drenched within seconds, but my feet wouldn’t stop. I wasn’t entirely sure where my body was taking me, and I couldn’t think straight at the thought of Ryoko being dead. She was like my older sister, and Hinami, oh god, Hinami. Both her parents are dead now. Why is this a fate that so many ghouls meet? Kids don’t deserve to grow up without their parents.

People stare at me as I run past them, whaling like a maniac, but I don’t care. There’s a place where my body seeks comfort, and I will find it. Through my tainted vision, I spot a familiar blob and sprint towards it, calling out to the one thing that could calm me down. The male turns around to face me again with a surprised look as I slam into his arms, causing him to drop the umbrella I gave him earlier. 

“(Y-y/n),” Hide’s arms wrap around me and stroke my hair, “What happened?” I sob into the male's chest, but at this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re both soaked from the rain.

”She’s dead!”

——————————

Hide brought me to his apartment, where he gave me a change of clothes and let me use his shower to warm up from the rain. The hot water that pelted against my skin felt nice, but it couldn’t wash away the pain I was feeling on the inside. After about 20 minutes of just soaking in the heat, I decided it was time to get out. Hide gave me one of his T-shirts and sweatpants, and I slowly pulled them onto my body after I dried off. Both items were large on my frame, and I had to pull the drawstring in the sweatpants to keep it on my hips. I then wrapped my (h/c) hair into a towel and exited the bathroom to see the dirty blonde resting on his couch in an outfit similar to mine, and his damp locks drooped in front of his round olive eyes. 

Hide patted the spot next to him, and I slowly made my way next to the blonde on the couch. I didn’t even bother leaving room between the two of us; all I wanted at this moment was to be held, so I snuggled under the male’s arm and into his side. Hide wrapped his arm around me and squeezed me close. His fingers drew circles on my arm, and the heat radiating from his body helped my muscles relax. After a few minutes of laying on the couch in the dirty blonde’s embrace, he lifts me to sit before him and removes the towel from my head. 

“I’ll be right back,” Hide kisses the back of my head and enters the bathroom. When he emerges, he has a brush in his hands and retakes a seat behind me. Slowly, Hide starts to brush my hair, careful not to hurt me or snag the brush on potential knots. How he’s caring for me causes overwhelming emotions to envelop my body again, and tears trickle down my cheeks. Hide just continues to brush my hair, planting a few kisses on the back of my head every once in a while, and when he finishes, he places the brush on the coffee table. The blonde’s soft hands grip my arms, and he turns me around and pulls me to lie on his chest. We stay on the couch in silence as he rubs circles on my back and showers me with soft kisses. All I do is cry on and off for hours until my body tires itself out, and I fall asleep. 

*

When I woke up the following day, I found myself in a bed I was not familiar with. However, the scent of the owner that lingers on the blankets is one I’ve grown fond of. I buried myself deeper into the bed and reached around to see if said owner was lying next to me. To my disappointment, there wasn’t another body close to me, but I guess the courteous thing would be to put me in bed and for him to sleep elsewhere. The door to the bedroom cracked open, and Hide poked his ruffled blonde hair through to check on me.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Hide’s morning voice was more profound and raspier than usual, and if I weren’t so depressed right now, I would be able to appreciate the sexiness of it. The blonde pushed the door open all the way and entered the room. “I can make us breakfast if you’d like?” I subconsciously cringed at the thought of food. The last thing I want right now is to ingest something that tastes terrible and makes me sick.

“Thank you for offering, but I don’t feel like eating right now,” I say, inching further into the bed. Hide doesn’t argue against me eating; instead, he crawls into the bed beside me. We lay there for a while, snuggling with each other when a knock sounded on Hide's door. The dirty blonde male groans and peels himself from me as he makes his way towards his front door. I stayed in bed, listening closely to see who was at the door, and I could hear the faint sound of a worried male. Was that Kaneki? I slowly got out of bed and made my way to where the voices were, and as I got closer, I confirmed it was indeed the dark-haired boy.

“(Y-Y/n)?!” Kaneki called out as I appeared behind Hide. Then, from behind Kaneki, a stoic male emerges into the apartment, and suddenly, I’m enveloped in a rib-shattering hug.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” The silver male questioned, “I was worried.” 

“I’m sorry, Renji.” I pressed my face into the male’s chest. “I just needed to get away.” Another moment passed before Yomo released me. He looked around where we were, and his eyebrows dropped into a scowl once they landed on Hide. 

“Who’s this?” Yomo glares daggers at the blonde. And how Hide is glaring back at Yomo, I’d think he’s jealous. If a male like Yomo burst into my apartment and hugged the girl I’ve been on a few dates with, I would also get the wrong impression. 

“Renji, this is Hideyoshi Nagachika, we uh, we’re dating?” I say the last part as a question because I wasn’t sure how to introduce the blonde male to my guardian. Dating is correct because we’re going on dates but not together, and I didn’t want to introduce Hide as just a friend because he is honestly more than that to me. 

“Dating?” Yomo’s eyebrow twitched at the information.

“Hide, this is Yomo Renji, my guardian.” I introduced my father figure to Hide, and the blonde’s face fell into shock and then panicked. Hide reaches out, shakes the older male’s hand, and nervously laughs as he tries to introduce himself properly. Yomo doesn’t say anything to Hide as he glares daggers.

“(Y/n),” Renji looks at me, “Grab your things, we’re leaving.” 

*

On the way back to Anteiku, Yomo lectured me about boys and how they’re all animals. I rolled my eyes and said I could handle myself as an adult. It also helped to have Kaneki in the car because he defended Hide and told Yomo how he’s a good guy and respects women. My mind flashed back to the moment we shared in the dressing room, where he ran his finger on my back, and all I have to say is that was very disrespectful (the good kind). A slight blush creeps up on my cheeks while thinking about his touch, and unfortunately, Yomo sees my flustered face. Let’s just say the silver-haired male started steaming out his nose. The whole time I was growing up, I was never interested in boys, or at least didn’t show it, and I had never liked a boy before, so Yomo hadn’t seen this side of me. 

A few moments of silence pass as the mood shifts severely due to the events a day ago. We might joke about trivial things, but we are all deeply hurt. A large hand reaches over to me and squeezes my thigh. 

“I’m sorry, bubs,” Yomo says quietly. Tears again start spilling down my cheeks, and I use the end of my sleeves from the crewneck I wore yesterday to wipe them away. 

“How’s Hina? I choke out.

“She’s resting at Anteiku. We’ll be taking care of her from now on,” The silver-haired male explained. I wasn’t surprised that Anteiku would take her in; it was the obvious choice, which meant I could watch over her. 

“Touka was extremely upset when we told her what happened. She wants us to go after the Dove that killed Ryoko. Would you help keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash?” Yomo asked.

“Of course, I’ll watch over her.” 

——————————

A few days have passed, and I’ve been watching the plum-haired teenager closely. She’s been patrolling around the city on the lookout for certain doves, and I’ve been following from a distance to figure out what Touka could be planning. I know she’s going to attack them, but when and how? While walking down the sidewalk, I approached two males ahead of me and overheard them talking.

“The only big one we had recently is the binge eater case.” The one with slick black hair and glasses said. Binge eater? Is he talking about Rize? “I wish the main office would take it off our hands. They’d solve it so quickly.” The male continues talking. They have to be ghoul investigators. There’s no doubt in my mind about it. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling erupts throughout my body. I can sense something terrible about to happen, and in a split second, I’m pushing the male in front of me, yelling at him to watch out. A sharp pain jolts through my back as I fall to the ground on top of the black-haired male with glasses.

“Kusaba!” The buzz-cut male yelled out to his friend. 

Touka stood, towering over Kusaba and me, in her ghoul uniform. I could feel her deathly glare behind the rabbit mask as she scuffed and ran away. I looked down at the disheveled male who was pinned under my body. His glasses that sat neatly on the bridge of his nose were now crooked, and his hair that was slicked to the side fell in front of his eyes. A pink hue dusted across the male’s cheeks, and he averted his eyes from my figure that pressed against his chest. Realizing the scandalous way I laid on top of the male, I quickly pulled myself off of Kusaba and reached down to him. 

“Are you okay?” I ask. He takes my hand, and I help the male off the ground. 

“I-I’m fine, thank you,” The male with glasses bows towards me.

“Kusaba! Nakajima! Are you-” A tall, buff male yells as he runs towards us, and once his teal eyes land on my frame, they widen. “You’re hurt!”

I reach around to feel my back, cringing at the pain when my finger brushes against the gash. When I pull my hand away, I see crimson smeared on the pads of my fingers. My (e/c) eyes shift from the blood-staining my hand towards the taller male, meeting his deep teal orbs, “I’m okay, don’t worry!” I do my best to flash the large gentleman a convincing smile. Any sane person would be freaking out or crying in pain after getting wounded by a ghoul. Touka didn’t mean to hit me, but I’d rather get a scratch on my back than this guy possibly dying. But I also can’t have them getting suspicious of me. It doesn’t matter if I just saved one of their own; once they find out I’m a ghoul, I’m dead. 

“Amon,” That Nakajima guy called out to the tall male, “That ghoul. It was the rabbit.” 

“The rabbit!?” The guy, whose name is Amon, looked at his colleague in shock. “You’re a fortunate girl, do you know that?” He then turns towards me, “That you got away with a scratch.” Amon motions for me to approach him, and I slowly move toward the tall male. My body shook involuntarily once I was in front of the large male. This Amon guy is fucking huge. He towers over me by about two feet (a bit exaggerated), and his shoulders are so broad I doubt my arms could wrap around him. He twirls his finger, and I turn around so Amon can look at my back.

“You’re going to need stitches,” The male says sternly, “I’ll take you to the hospital.” And before I could protest, another voice appeared.

“(Y/n)?” The deep voice made a calmness wash over me, and my body relaxed, “Shit! You’re bleeding!” The blonde figure runs towards me and grabs my arms, positioning me so his olive eyes can look over my wound. “What happened?” Hide’s voice was laced with concern. His toned arms pulled me closer to his side as he glared at the three males standing around me.

“Oh, you know, playing hero again,” I shrug. 

“(Y-),” Hide was cut off by the tall, dark-haired male,

“Again? Have you seen a ghoul before?” Amon questions.

“No, this was my first encounter with a ghoul, but,” I look towards the blonde male, trying to figure out how to explain my past escapades.

“She saved my life after I was hit by a car,” Hide explains to Amon. The tall male looked toward me with a straight face, and it was hard to read whatever lay beneath. You’d think I’d be used to reading stony expressions from being raised by Yomo, but everyone’s poker face is different.

“She needs to get to the hospital and have that wound taken care of,” The large male states. 

“I’ll be sure to get her there,” Hide assures him. The blonde gently wraps his arm around my waist, being sure not to touch the gash, and we turn around to leave.

“Wait!” the male with glasses calls out to us. Hide and I pause and look back at Kusaba. “T-thank you again for saving me!” He bows deeply and then shouts again, “C-could I possibly get your number!?” My mouth hung open in shock, and I was about to refuse politely, but Hide beat me to it. 

“I’m her boyfriend.” The blonde boy glared at the other male, and I couldn’t help the deep shade of red from blooming on the apples of my cheeks. Hide just said he was my boyfriend. Someone pinch me. I must be dreaming. Was he serious about that? Or was he just saying it to keep  Kusaba from getting my number? I was pulled out of my thoughts when Hide started to drag me away from the other males.

“Hide?” I look up at the blonde.

“Yes?” He looks deeply into my (e/c) eyes.

“D-did you mean it when you said you were my boyfriend?” 

“I did.” Hide’s olive eyes looked at me with an emotion I hadn’t seen before. His marble-like orbs seemed to hold the world within them. “Tell me if I’m overstepping any boundaries,” Hide rested his soft hand against my cheek, caressing my skin. “But, I’d like to be your boyfriend.” The blonde’s voice dropped an octave. 

“I’d like that too,” I whispered. A wide smile grew on the vibrant boy’s face, and the next thing I knew, his lips crashed into mine. He held me close, gripping my hip as our lips intertwined. We only pulled away to catch our breaths, and he rested his forehead against mine. 

“I’ll take you to Anteiku.” The blonde smiled. 

——————————

Nakajima: *Hits Kusaba over the head* You idiot! They were clearly together!

Kusaba: *Crying* How was I supposed to know!?

AN:

So I saved Kusaba, who we only got to know in the manga for a few pages, and yes, this is important for the plot of this story. I’m stopping this chapter before the end of volume two and carrying it on to volume three because, wowza, this got pretty long. Also, HIDE AND (Y/N) ARE DATING NOW! Don’t come at me for them getting together so quickly. I need this fast pace for my timeline to work as planned. Even though they’re dating now, it doesn’t mean their relationship will be hella fast, but this is no slow burn. Buckle up and enjoy the ride! OH! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the arcade date, and the little impromptu date at the mall!

Read on Quotev first!

[wipethetape]

your relationship with charlotte

Charlotte Field x Designer!Reader

A/N: headcanons for my president. might create rusty oneshots in the future. do i have a thing with successful women who can be my boss? definitely yes no

Charlotte is the first female president and you are the lucky first lady of the first female president.

You tied the knots when Charlotte won her presidency. But the press and public already know about your relationship because of the rumors going around before she announced her campaign for presidency. The rumors about a renowned designer that was seen hanging out with the press secretary for months.

This was fueled when Charlotte thanked you on national television during one of her interviews for the dress you exclusively designed for her at the event she attended together with the prime minister of Canada. Your faces were headlines of the news for weeks, gaining a mixed reaction from the press.

As opposed to what the media thinks, Charlotte was simply a muse for your design when the gossip sparked. Sure, the very reason you offered to design for her was because you admired her, but you knew nothing can go on beyond that. You believe that a woman like her would prefer males like the prime minister she was rumored to be with.

Oh how wrong you were to assume that. Charlotte approached you first, and she fell for you the moment your eyes met during one formal event. She knows who you are and she's a huge sucker for your designs. She even tried inputting the idea to the president before that he lets you tailor his suits so he would also get the press secretary a dress from you.

She made sure she led you to the idea of offering her to be your muse, which materialized when you asked her to come to your studio and check the designs you drew for her.

You became closer after the acknowledgement she had done on TV, and since the media already thinks you are together, then why not make it true?

You pursue her and tell her straightforwardly that you like her very much and that you are willing to wait for her to become the president (you already claimed it) before marrying her, that is if she wishes to be with you. She only laughed for a good one minute before saying "Just ruin this dress you made, fuck me from behind and choke me a little bit."

After the announcement of her candidacy, she ordered Maggie to also release the news of the both of you dating. Maggie was against it at first, but Charlotte said that it was better that the story came from her than from the president who was waiting for an opportunity to get back at her.

It seemed to be a bad idea because of the reaction it garnered, but when the poll results were released, Charlotte's ratings increased. 

The engagement was crazy. The ratings continue to increase as Charlotte continues her environmental initiatives and participates in events that would be favorable for her candidacy. 

The other engagement (the asking of hand in marriage) happened on the Pride Parade. You were so nervous about finding the perfect timing. Charlotte has no idea of what you were planning, just purely enjoying the moment with you not minding the cameras. 

When you asked the billion-dollar question, everyone cheered and waved their flags for the both of you. You hated public proposals, but you were sure that Charlotte would say yes because weeks prior to the parade, she was teasing you about a marriage and a ring. 

Charlotte was about to kiss you in the middle of receiving 'congratulations' everywhere when you put a finger on her lips, much to her dismay. You held her hand and pulled her in front of the homophobic protesters, then gave them a show they would never forget. 

The parade was an entire bliss, everyone congratulated your new engagement, and you were both once again the talk of the country for the remarkable public display of affection, and your decision to hold a discount sale and giveaways of your designs as a token of appreciation for the people who supported your relationship with Charlotte. 

[deputyash]

To the New Year! 🎇 🎉

This is a super long post, but I really wanted to make it because 2022 has definitely been a year about reconnecting with friends and making new ones. 

I was more or less gone from this blog for two years and despite the various criticisms people have about it, it was the Collapse DLC that brought me back. I realized how much I missed talking with people and having fun sharing things with friends. 

When I first came back, I was incredibly nervous because I wasn’t sure what I would come back to. I was worried that no one would be interested in talking to me anymore, but soon I found my way again and was able to find the people who have always made me so incredibly happy. 

Each of you have brought something amazing to my year and it's been so much fun seeing everyone again. I love all of you! I think about y’all and worry about y’all because I just truly care about you all so much. I only ever want good things to happen to you (and I know that’s not always possible, but it still doesn’t stop me from wanting it for you). 

I know this list of people is not exhaustive. There have been soo many people who have made my year amazing, but I had to at least somewhat narrow it down or it would be an absolutely huge post haha. But just know that if we’ve interacted in any way this year, I am thinking about you and appreciate you so much as well! Everyone is so creative and amazing and I just adore seeing everything everyone has to offer, no matter how big or how small it may be. I love you all and I hope the new year is an amazing one!

@teamhawkeye - 

Katie, the ever wonderful Katie! You were one of the first people that I had in mind when I came back. You have always been one of my favorite blogs. You are so smart and creative and skilled in everything you do. I will always love seeing what you have to offer. Thank you for being one of the first people to talk with me after coming back to my blog. I enjoyed our talks about your stories/OCs, Resident Evil, our pets, and eventually FC6. I had so much fun playing FC6 co-op with you this year (even if it was full of technical difficulties haha). I just hope I didn’t sound too nervous when we first started playing together haha X3. I look forward to seeing what amazing things you do next and I hope we will get to play more together in the near future. I hope the new year brings you nothing but positive experiences and fun adventures! 💗 (Also, you may or may not have inspired some of my film projects this year thanks to your Evil Dead posting haha) 

@harmonyowl - 

Fae, my dearest Fae, my Tumblr wife hehe, I have absolutely loved getting to reconnect with you. It makes me so happy thinking about the beautiful storylines we created for Grace and Dove. It was so much fun and definitely a highlight of my year. (There may have been a few times where I thought about our storylines during class…oops haha). I have also loved hearing your own storylines for Grace, Blythe, and your DAI OCs. They are all so well thought out and fit perfectly into their worlds. You are also so supportive and kind and understanding. You were always there when I wasn’t feeling good and you never made me feel embarrassed or anxious about anything. You make me feel so comfortable. I adore you so much and I can’t wait to see what characters and creations you make next. (Also, we still need to finish our Nightmare Run for FC5, we’re coming for you Jacob! 😉) I hope the new year brings you nothing but great things! 💗

@strafethesesinners - 

Lydia, the brilliant Lydia, it has been so lovely getting to know you this year. You have created such wonderful OCs and I absolutely adore Cooper. You have put so much care into your OCs and people definitely notice. I have enjoyed talking with you this year (I’m pretty sure we’ve talked at least once everyday ashdgk haha), I only wish I could've met you earlier. It was so fun to discuss Cooper’s tattoos, create the FC5 OC aesthetic post, and of course making storylines with Cooper and Dove. I hope we have many more fun conversations! Thank you for recommending Dishonored to me too. I have had so much fun hopping around the plague-filled streets haha. You also got me addicted to RDO for a little while there haha but I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed our co-op sessions and I knew we’d be able to complete that difficult Saint Denis mission! I hope the new year brings you a wave of inspiration and you can continue to make beautiful things.💗

@radiojamming - 

DJ, the amazing DJ! We may not have talked much earlier this year, but we definitely did a speed run right here at the end haha! Thank you so much for going to the ends of the Earth to find me a Black Forest cake. If those arctic expeditions would’ve had you as a captain, they probably would’ve been successful every time haha. You made my birthday so wonderful, probably one of the best birthdays I’ve had! It was so lovely getting to meet you in person. You are so intelligent and funny and amazing. Also you have such adorable kitties! I want to hug them all haha. I hope we get to talk some more this new year! I’d love to hear more about arctic expeditions! It always sounded so fascinating to me! 💗

@laindtt - 

Marie, you absolute sweetheart! <3 You are so, so sweet and supportive. You have been there for me when I wasn’t feeling well. You always reached out to me when my anxiety was getting the better of me. I hope I can repay your kindness someday. I hope we will continue to talk and get to know each other this next year because you are also so creative and talented as well. I know I haven’t been able to read through your stories yet, but I will because I just know they will be amazing. I hope you continue to create wonderful things and share them! 💗

@fuckin-nancy - 

Beth! The lovely Beth! :D It has been so lovely getting to interact with you more this year. I know we haven’t talked a lot, but I always enjoy our exchanges. It’s so amazing knowing someone who enjoys both FC5 and The Long Dark! You are a great writer and I very much enjoyed reading the things you posted this year. I hope the new year brings you great things and I look forward to talking with you more! 💗 (Also, you’ll have to tell me how the cookies come out!) 

@deputyrooksadventures - 

Ocheewa, the great Ocheewa! You are so lovely and I have enjoyed getting to talk with you this year! You have shared such a delicious recipe with me that was so fun to make. I will definitely be making it again. I also can’t wait to try out RP with you! I just hope I’m good enough at it X3. I hope the new year is gentle to you and that it will bring you happiness and success. If you ever need a friend to talk to, I am here for you! 💗 

@derelictheretic - 

Dean, the talented Dean! You are such an amazing artist and writer! I have enjoyed seeing everything you have created this year. Your OCs are all so brilliant and I just adore them! It has been nice getting to interact with you this year. I’m very happy that I found your blog! I hope we will get to talk more in the new year! I look forward to seeing what amazing things you create next! 💗 

@statichvm - 

Macy! The sweet Macy! You are so amazingly talented and your creations are always so pretty and well made! You are so much fun to talk with and I always enjoy seeing your Little Bit and the chaos goddess Stella! I hope we continue to talk this next year and if you ever need some cute pet pics or just a friend to talk with, I am here for you! I hope the new year brings you happiness and good experiences. 💗

@cryptichobbit -

You are so lovely to talk with and I always enjoy seeing your aesthetics and the picrews/miekers of your OCs! They all are so amazing! I love the idea of a werewolf deputy and your V is so cool! I can’t wait to learn more about them! I hope the new year is good to you and that I will get to hear more about your lovely characters! 💗

@ri-a-rose - 

Ri! The delightful Ri! You are always so supportive of everyone and I admire that so much! You are such a wonderful person! It was so fun getting to see your OCs this year! They are so cool and I love them! Also, I am very interested in hearing more about your interest in knitting! That is such a fascinating skill and I would love to hear about it! I hope the new year brings you great things and that you will continue to share your brilliant creations! 💗

@glowwormsmith -

Bria, the fantastic Bria! You have such cool OCs and I always enjoy seeing the picrews and other tag games that you do for them. I appreciate that you always think of me for those tag games as well. It is always fun to do those (even if it takes me a while to do them haha). I’m glad that we got to talk some more this year as well! I hope the new year brings you lots of good things! 💗

@krenee1drful -

Kelli! The remarkable Kelli! You have experienced so many new things this year! I am so proud of you! Your baby is just so adorable and joyful. You are doing a great job and I know you’ll be just as great in the new year. I also still enjoy seeing your OCs, they are always so cool and I love learning about them! I hope the new year brings you many more amazing memories and experiences! 💗

@i-am-the-balancing-point - 

Gigi, the incredible Gigi! We may not have talked a whole lot this year, but the times that we did were so meaningful to me. You reached out to me, before you even really knew me, when I was having a hard time. You are so supportive and understanding. You helped me so much when I was struggling. You are truly amazing and I appreciate you so much. I also enjoyed our conversation about our favorite foods. It makes me hungry just thinking about it haha. I hope we get to talk more in the future! I hope the new year is good to you and you get to have lots of fun! 💗

@redreart - 

Redre! While we may not have talked a lot personally, you have brought so many of my visions to life this year! I absolutely love every art piece that you have done for me. They are all so beautiful and I will stare at them endlessly haha. I also want to thank you for thinking of me for WIP days and for the well wishes for the holidays. I appreciate that so much! I hope to see more of your lovely OCs and beautiful art in the next year! 💗

@shellibisshe -

Shelli! We only began to interact towards the end of this year, but it was very fun getting to tell you all of my millions of AUs and OCs haha. It was nice getting to share my creations with someone. It was also very fun getting to hear about your OCs and stories too! It’s always so cool to see how everyone interprets characters and crafts their storylines. I hope we get to chat some more in the future! 💗

[lenteur]

random thoughts about castaway diva, episode oven four

(read more because i always get carried away lol and this post might contain spoilers)

I find it funny that bo geol is considered the mean and condescending brother (in mok ha's eyes) when in reality he seems to be the more mature and rational one.

In that aspect, he does remind me a bit of ki ho because he's always thinking of everything and making sure to prevent risks from happening. He might keep a distance from mok ha because he doesn't know how to approach her after all these years?

As you can see, i'm very invested in the 'who is ki ho?' part of the plot.

For once (exageration), I agree with woo hak on the digital illeteracy. I'm seeing this first hand among neighbours and family friends. Some people take it for granted when they grew up with the internet and know how to work on laptops/computers. However, be geol should take into consideration that mok ha has lived on a deserted island for 15 years, i repeat 15 years!!! It's only normal she doesn't know how to do a lot of things that weren't necessary for survival.

I expected bo geol to be more understanding of mok ha because he seemed more polite than his brother. However, woo hak is the more empathetic one it seems.

Seeing mok ha being so impatient to reunite with ki ho makes me in turn impatient but alas, i don't think it'd be good to make them meet again right now because this drama would be 6 episodes long instead of 12.

it's beautiful how mok ha is offering to eat with woo hak just so he won't be alone. She's felt alone for a long time (both when she lived in chunsam and on that deserted island). The only person who showed her support hasn't reunited with her but she wants to be like ki ho: helping others during harsh times because she doesn't want that to happen to anyone else.

Woo hak, i think, holds a special place in mok ha's heart (unknowingly). I mean he's the first human she's seen after 15 years. She sees him like her savior. So yeah, it's understandable how she extends her hand towards him. Just like he did unintentionnally on the deserted island.

Honestly, is there anything bad about this drama?

The psychological warfare between lee seo jun and yoon ran joo... mind blown

The thing I appreciate the most is how mok ha is protecting ran joo and seeing right through the ceo's tactics. At least, there's one person on ran joo's side. I'm relieved.

The whole time mok ha was singing as ran joo, i was holding my breath and telling her to pay attention to her surroundings because someone might catch her and blow the whole cover up 💔😭😭😭

Mok ha in the white dress she's gorgeous 😍💓😍💓😍💓

I feel for ki ho because he thought by changing his identity he could escape his father. However, mok ha reappeared and everything is back to his teenage years. The vision of officer jung is scaring me.

Is this drama's purpose to confuse everyone watching or what? Because at this point I think ki ho is both brothers. I mean bo geol knew immediately where mok ha was even though woo hak didn't tell him about what's written in the card. But then, you have woo hak getting hit with memories (more like nightmares) of his father. I'm not sure how it'd be possible to get flashbacks from someone else's life. This isn't a sci-fi drama, is it?

Lee seo jun is shady soooooooooooooooooooo shady. I don't trust him and I don't want mok ha nor ran joo being around him.

THAT'S IT! I'm no longer watching the show. Why are you creating a love story between ran joo and lee seo jun? HUH?!!! Is ran joo going to be swayed by him and lose her career just for some man? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! I don't approve.

I didn't think I'd say this but I'm thankful for lee seo jun being manipulative and disgusting. I do not want a love story between these two.

But the fact that he's basically stopping any of her albums to be sold so she won't reach the 20 million goal is utterly vile. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

What kind of man is scared of a woman's success? A BIGOT!

I don't know what to think of this episode. So many things happened.

I'm going to give this one a 8.75/10

[winderlylandchime]

(Lets all say a silent thank you to my cousin who suggested that I record him at major moments last week) 2/3And Brian said there’s nothing noble about being poor. (And my brother lost his mind. Im glad you gave me a heads up that you guys were wondering about this scene so i could film him) ‘Wait!!!!! hold up!!! Pause it! I’ve had thoughts about brian and money and *waves his hands while fast walking* stuff but I need my laptop! (he has over 20 google tabs opened with research about colleges in Pittsburgh that could do marketing degrees, how much it would cost and shit like that. One tab was also ‘how to learn to play violin in less than a week’ he said he wanted to see if its really that hard) Okay so! I’ve been thinking A LOT about this. So Mike said they were in the same school, remember? But Mike dropped out or something like that from college which to be fair, so did I and I think I’m doing fantastic, haters that go by the name mom and dad may disagree but I’m here for a fun time not to cure cancer, anyway back to Brian. Brian has this big fancy wearing suit type of job and he’s a partner remember? So that unfortunately demands a resume with big words on it like “college”. So Brian definitely went to college and he obviously worked his ass off since clearly him and Mike are nowhere near each other cash wise. I mean a loft like that? That he probably owns? At 30? Plus the suit wearing job? Yeah, he did a lot of work and probably even had straight As. Probably even in high school so he could get into college AND like how he keeps going at Justin for school? Remember him being impressed by his SATs and how he would make him study like crazy. Shit I wouldn’t be surprised if he even quizzed him during sex. Poor Justin for sure got a boner while taking a test. Wait im getting distracted! Anyway his *gags* dad also took money for him AND HE HAD IT FUCKING READY! He went to see him and he already had it ready! And just before his nephew said Brians sister says he doesnt give them any money which clearly not true to some level but clearly they saw him make money and they took it. And we both know that house was on fire! It was burning every day! This dude made it out alive but he most definitely got 3rd degree burns. So he for sure knew the only way out was to turn 18 and get into college far away and then never come back unless it’s for a funeral to make 100% sure that they are in in that box. So him saying there’s nothing noble about being poor is coming from a different place than what Justin is dealing with with that fucker. That dude is just a broke college student who got offered a deal that kinda sucks BUT he said it himself to Jen, his parents payed for shit, they supported him. Meanwhile Brian? Every single thing he has down to his drugs was bought by him. And i doubt he’d ever take anything from anyone because you know how shitty abusive parents are? They buy you a box of cereal once and then throw it in your face for 3 years straight. So he probably never got anything from his parents and if he did it came with a price *looks at paused Brian on tv and takes a deep breath* and probably some bruises too. So him saying and thinking that, is coming from a place of survival and “look what i did for myself” when everyone probably told him he’s never gonna be anything except maybe dead. And sure he clearly loves money and power since he’s even willing to work with that fucker but in some way can you blame him? He was powerless all his life. But if that would be Ethan who would say that? Now that’s different. It’s not exactly survival in the same sense *looks at me in worry* i fear, i lost the plot of the point..i will make it back but i need to think. *plays the episode again* ‘WHY WOULD THEY MAKE HIM JERK OFF TO RAGE?! No matter what he’s always gonna be obsessed with Brian. HE IS RUNNING WITH SPERM IN HIS CUP! RUN FORREST RUN. Is that really how this was done?’

WOW the character analysis from your brother… I personally think he’s spot on (I’ve given a lot of thought to Brian’s SES background and where he is financially and professionally at the start of the show… too much thought? Nah.) (Btw tell your brother some day that the fandom thinks Brian went to Carnegie Mellon - I love all his open tabs) And this is happening in parallel to Stockwell - Brian is clearly a take the money and who tf cares where it’s from because he had to be, he didn’t have any alternative. His advice makes perfect sense for him to have survived.

Cosign your brother’s analysis.

[cxhleel108]

LITG S5 MC:

Name: Omari Martin

Age: 25 (During the Season) 26 (Now)

Birthday: June 30, 1997 (Cancer)

Hometown: Born in Durban, South Africa. Raised in Truro, England. Moved to Edinburgh, Scotland for college.

Ethnicity: South African

Job: Photographer

Sexuality: Straight

Height: 163cm/5’4

Hobbies: Drawing, Photography, Painting, Crocheting, Driving

Personality: My girl loves hard ok. If you’re a part of her close circle, you’re guarded for life. The Cancer sign is a crab so everything important to her is staying protected in her shell. That includes her emotions/feelings. Omari is more on the emotional side, but at the same time, she only gets vulnerable with people that she trusts. If she doesn’t trust that you’ll value her feelings as much as she would value yours, she’s only giving away so much of herself. Also, if you screw her over she can forgive you eventually, but she will never forget. “I get in my feelings, I’m sensitive, and I can be hurt just like everybody else but I rarely feel hatred or bitterness towards people who do me dirty. In due time I can let the hurt go, but I know to let the person go as well and break the toxic cycle before it can even manifest.” Art has always been a big part of her life. She’s very imaginative and loves creating her ideas into visual forms. Getting to do photography is basically her dream job. Now when it comes to partying, if her friends are going then she’ll go. If it was up to her how she spent her night, then she’s staying her ass at home. She likes hanging out in a more intimate environment because she feels like you can connect more that way. “My idea of a dream date is so simple. I really do not require a lot when it comes to that. Just me and my partner at home eating sushi or maybe pizza, doing whatever. Bonus points if he likes art too cos then we can draw together or something like that.” Just remember this, she’s def not boring and can turn up when she’s in the mood.

Why She Came On Love Island: Omari was ready to find new love. She felt that she had taken enough time to be with herself after all that happened with her last relationship and the one thing she hates the most is being alone. So, what better way to get over your ex cheating on you than going on an island vacation with several hot men waiting to cuff you?

Who She’s With: We’re just gonna discuss what she got up to after the show because all of them boys from the season literally SUCKED so bad that she ended up getting with nobody <3. Ok, Finn was cool and they did have a lil thing for a bit after the show ended, but they both knew eventually that they wanted different things so they just stayed friends. Other than that life’s been pretty good for our girl. She took her prize money and used it to move back to Truro because there was really no point for her to stay in Edinburgh anymore thanks to Suresh’s cheating ass. She got a lot of good offers for photography work so safe to say she’s been getting a few pretty pounds. A lot of apologies were sent her way once the season was done. Alfie, Dana, Arlo, and Gabi hit Omari up to say sorry for her terrible experience on the show and the part they played in that. She appreciates all of them admitting their faults and is completely fine with having cordial relationships but none of them are gonna be her besties anytime soon. “It’s sad cos I really did view Dana as a good friend and obviously everyone saw how much I fancied Alfie but all of the weird behavior became way too much to ignore and I couldn’t deal with it anymore.” Suresh probably has tried numerous times to apologize again and again but Omari has that man blocked on everything possible because she really wants his chapter of her life CLOSED. Her favorite thing to have happened because of the show though has to be the support she’s gotten. A large portion of the fans were rallying behind her the whole time. #JusticeForOmari was even trending on Twitter at one point. All of the winner girlies from the previous seasons (you’ll meet them soon) sent her sweet messages. Dani from Season 2 and Simone from Season 4 specifically showed her the most love. Dani invited Omari all the way out to LA to come on her channel/podcast so she could say all the things that she couldn’t on the show. “She’s exactly how you’d expect her to be in real life after seeing her on the show. Just super cool and hilarious 24/7. We got to laugh, bond over similar experiences, get serious, talk shit, and then laugh some more hahaha. I’m really grateful to her for that. Also, Bobby makes the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had in my entire life.” Simone invited her out to lunch when she was in the area one day. They had a nice lil spill sesh and Simone even put Omari on to one of her friends who happens to be a certain tall, gentle, cat-owning tattoo artist from Falmouth that we all love. “I was talking about how I wanted to get a really nice and more noticeable tattoo cos I only have a small one on my wrist, so she recommended a close friend of hers who does really good ones and only lives about 25 minutes from me. I could tell by the fact that she started telling me stuff about him that wasn’t relevant to his job and then showed me a picture of a very attractive man that she was trying to set me up haha. But, that’s how Oliver and I met.” So yeah she’s with Oliver now and they’re just living life being like the cutest and most creative couple ever. (I really needed to give her a happy ending cuz…well you already know why)

[alexandriaisburning]

031: Valkyrie Elysium

This entry contains spoilers for the story of Valkyrie Elysium. 

CANON FIRE is made possible by the generous contributions of readers like you. Support more writing like this on Patreon. Thank you!

Constructed of sketches and outlines, Valkyrie Elysium gestures towards idea after idea it can never follow through on. Like its post-Ragnarok world, it’s full of ghosts with unfinished business. You see its ambitions in its combat system, layered with systems and nuances that speak to developer Soleil’s pedigree as Team Ninja expatriates. You see it in the surprisingly detailed backstories, which illustrate a society of gender and class violence. It's a game that leaves a lot of implications, because it doesn’t have time to tell the whole story. 

And yet, or maybe because of this, I find myself thinking about Valkyrie Elysium long after the story’s concluded. I think about the Einherjar, the troubled souls I brought upon as my allies in my quest to restore the world. I think about the feminine merchant boy, lifted out servitude by the affection and patronage of a prince he failed to save. I think about the butch knight, equal to skill to all in her class, but wishing she was born a man, limited in position by the body she’s trapped in. I think about the witch of the forest, who gave up her desires to continue the good work, becoming a martyr and accepting false accusations, believing in a destiny she thought others wanted for her. 

And I think about their unwavering faith in the Valkyrie, and their belief that we would lead them on a noble cause that would help right some of the wrongs left unresolved in their previous lives. And I think about how I failed them. 

After several admonishments by Hilde, a valkyrie turncoat, and conspicuously the only Black character in the cast, our Valkyrie finally learns the truth during a crisis of faith. Odin the god she put her faith into, never intended to save this world, but to erase it and start anew. 

I knew. I had long figured Odin had been dishonest, and was waiting the whole time for this turn. But for our unknown Valkyrie, upon finding this out, she has no choice but to fall in line with the god she’d put her faith in. 

I knew. I knew that there were several steps I’d left incomplete, that if I’d spent a little more time searching, digging up histories, I’d be offered a different choice. But in my exhaustion, in my hours of grinding away at the final area, I only wanted it to end. 

I’d seen layers of new mechanics continue to stack, slowly meted out by the flimsy construction of its RPG mechanics and endless tiered currencies, filled with promise only seen in a few brilliant flashes. I’d retread the same ground, the same level layouts, again and again, collecting everyone’s unfulfilled desires, and searching for redemption for the Einherjar who’d supported me. But as it dragged on I thought less about the good times I had grappling across battlefields, raining chaos upon monsters with my group of queers and outcasts, and more about when the end would arrive. 

I wanted the work to be done.

And so it was. With so much left incomplete, my Valkyrie was left with an incomplete picture of events, shown the ultimate truth of Odin’s design, but without knowledge of herself, unable to self actualize and make a choice for herself. She was left to move onto the new world alone, the Einherjar that had supported us left behind to be erased from this world, becoming only legends for the new one. My work was done, but I’d left everyone else behind to finish it. 

I stared dumbfounded at the conclusion. Unsatisfied, despite finally achieving an end I thought I wanted. The credits ran, then I was returned back to a point right before the end. Another chance. I could try once again, collect all the missing pieces, and write a conclusion to the stories left unfinished. I could do right by them. 

But I had made my choice. Like the Valkyrie, I had rushed blindly to finish the work, and left behind more ghosts. How could I resurrect them yet again, just to satisfy my pride?

It was time for them to rest. Time for me to leave them at peace, to let my goodbyes linger. It almost felt fitting, for a story about who we leave behind, to end with regret. 

[chaotiicgoods]

Share the top songs in your playlist that most inspire / represent your muse the most. Bonus points if you include lyrics to go along with it.

TAGGED BY: @virmireisms, thanks 🥰 TAGGING: @smokedanced​ (garrus) @acourtcfmuses​ (tali) @illbringthechaosmagic​ & YOU ;D

Under the cut because I’ll explain them hehe 😜

Million Years Ago - Adele

Lenna was kinda forced into being a soldier, and at a very young age. The times of innocence didn’t last; she lost everyone she loved on Mindoir, then joined the army. She didn’t necessarily want this, but she felt like she had to because that was the right thing to do for everyone she lost. That pressure she has put on her shoulders becomes even worse during the pursuit of Saren. She loses Ashley on Virmire, she loses the crew of the first Normandy, she almost loses herself. And once the Reapers are officially there, it’s even worse. She loses Thane and Legion during the war. She feels powerless, and she always feels like she could have done more, even when it’s not the case. She has never had a break in years.

I know I'm not the only one Who regrets the things they've done Sometimes I just feel it's only me Who can't stand the reflection that they see I wish I could live a little more Look up to the sky, not just the floor I feel like my life is flashing by And all I can do is watch and cry I miss the air, I miss my friends I miss my mother, I miss it when Life was a party to be thrown But that was a million years ago

Lavender Haze - Taylor Swift

Lenna’s canon love interest (aka the one from my playthroughs as her) is Kaidan, and I feel like this song is totally a Shenko song. Since the events of the first game, Kaidan has quickly become someone Lenna is comfortable with. He’s her first boyfriend since the one who was killed on Mindoir. She’s not afraid to talk to him, to open herself to him. And that becomes even more important during the events of Mass Effect 3. She has so much pressure on her shoulders. Some people (including herself) feel like she isn’t doing enough, that she isn’t quick enough, but she manages to find peace every time they are together. She never forgets about the war, but when she is alone with Kaidan, she feels like she could have at least some small, stolen moments of peace in his arms, aka that lavender haze for her.

I've been under scrutiny (yeah, oh yeah) You handle it beautifully (yeah, oh yeah) All this shit is new to me (yeah, oh yeah) I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me So real, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

I Won’t Let Go - Rascal Flatts

This song is the support song, the meaningful friendship song. Lenna is not just the Commander of the Normandy; she wants to be there for everyone on it. Maybe it’s because she lost so much in her past; she wants to do all she can to prevent this from happening again. That’s why they quickly all become her friends. She offers them, support, comfort and friendship. She wants them to feel home at her side, on the Normandy. They are a team and not just on the battlefield.

Don't be afraid to fall I'm right here to catch you I won't let you down It won't get you down You're gonna make it Yeah I know you can make it ‘Cause I will stand by you I will help you through When you've done all you can do And you can't cope And I will dry your eyes I will fight your fight I will hold you tight And I won't let go

[middle-earthtrash]

‼️Hi, my name is (Aisher al-Rasher) from Gaza thank you so much for reaching out this fundraisers is $265/35,000 😭 to evacuate me and my family from Gaza strip, every day death approaches us, Please donate any amount you can, share my story with your friends, family, and Reblogs are very appreciated. The more people who know, the better chance I have of reaching my goal, thanks‼️🕊

Hi, everyone, I am Aisher al-Rasher From Gaza, I am a single mother of three children and my parentfather. I am reaching out to you with a heavy heart, seeking your sympathy, understanding and support. Today, I want to share with you my story of courage, bravery, and a great need for help.

In the photo, you see my three children alongside my parent. You might notice the absence of their father. The truth is, the chaos of war has brought us sorrows we never imagined. Alhamdulillah for everything, but my husband was taken from us by a bomb. others are my parents and my sister but they are also not in this world, it remains only a story, they were hit by a bomb and lost their lives. Now, I am the sole provider for my family, navigating through the ruins left by the recent conflict in Gaza. Our once peaceful home, a sanctuary for us, now lies demolished by the ravages of war, a stark reminder of the violence that has become a part of our lives.

The conditions are bad, lack of sanitation and clean water, causing health problems such as hepatitis A. We need urgent help to move to a safe place where we can get the necessary medical services, And my father, already ailing with type 1 diabetes for 9 years, now suffers is even more due to the destruction of many health centers. Left without proper medical care, he now resides in a tent, his new home, SubhanAllah. He requires essential medical equipment, food, and medicine to survive and moving to Egypt gives us that hope. But our challenges don't end there. We, too, have found shelter in tents, longing for a place where my children can once again laugh and play freely.

It's been 9 months since I could work, unable to afford even the basic necessities. We require $35,000 to cover these urgent needs until God provides another way for us. Your generosity will not only save my family from the brink of despair but will also offer them the security they desperately need. With gratitude from the depths of my heart, Thanks for being the beacon of hope in our darkest hour.

Now, regarding our situation, Gaza's borders remain closed, leaving us trapped amidst the chaos of war. However, there's a glimmer of hope through Rafah border crossing, albeit at a hefty cost. Each person's passage amounts to approximately $7000 to $9000. With a family of 5 members, this becomes a daunting task. Here's how your donations will be utilized:

● Passage fees for each family member to cross Rafah border safely to Egypt: $ 7000x 5 = $ 35,000

●Remaining funds for housing, food, clothes, milk, and other necessities during our stay in Egypt.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read our story and for considering our request for help, Your generosity will not be forgotten our spirit of humanity. Your contribution is not merely a donation but a lifeline for our family. Every $ you contribute brings us closer to safety and a chance to rebuild our shattered lives. Please share our story and consider donating to make a difference. Thank you for standing with us in our time of need. Insha'Allah. ♥️🌹🇵🇸

[sonalirichard]

☯️ ♀️ ♥️ ♂️ ☯️

💚 🅰️ 💚 🅱️ 💚 Greetings , Your Highness Big B ‼️

That"s all over 🪀

I no longer have my Own Home , a Roof over my head , and a Reason to Survive ‼️⏳⏰🔥💣😱‼️

All Hopes , Confidence & Dreams were burned in the Fire of all - consuming darkness & hell 🔥

There is such Emptiness 🗯 , Oblivion 🥀

& Silent Silence 🤬 inside me 📛

And the Pain🩸,

Tears 💧, Suffering that tear apart the Soul , Heart & Mind no longer torment ⛔ 💔 💦 ...

The Painting 🖼 , painted in Watercolor 🎨 , disappeared from the canvas , washed away by a powerful Tsunami of Global Chaos and Storm 🌊

The Unfair Victory of Evil 😈 over Good , Darkness over Light , Lies over Truth opens our Eyes to the Cruel Reality of this Crazy & Dangerous

World 😱 🌎 😈

⚕ But what about the Power of Faith , Kindness , Love , Friendship , Wishes & Motivation ⁉️

🕉 And where is a Help , Support & Care , Personal Talisman & Strong Protection in a Terrible Situation❓

🕊 What is the Supreme Divine Purpose 🦢 & Meaning for Human Life ⁉️

😇 God , Higher Powers & the Universe Offer , and Man Chooses ✅ ...

And depending on the Choice , there will be a Different Outcome ...

💎 In my Life due to a Wrong Choice

Everything has collapsed to the ground ⚠️‼️❌

And all the Fundamental Canons & Ideas about Life turned into Ashes 🔥⚫🥸

♥️👑♥️ As Michael Jackson used to say , ~ "When You"re on a Horse & basking in the Rays of Success , Fame , Victories , Luck & Fortune ~ Everyone is trying to be close & bask in these Rays with you 🏆🌟

But when suddenly there comes a Black Streak of Difficulties and a Difficult Period of Trials ~ All these People disappear somewhere , leave you without explanation , and in the worst case betray & turn away from you , as if they don"t even know you ‼️🥶🤢🤯🥵‼️

💜⛩ 💜 🏡💜 ✈💜

That"s what happened to me ...

During a Difficult Period in my Life ,

I was left Alone with Evil 👿 , so-called Friends scattered & fell silent ‼️

And You 🅰️🅱️ ~ my Valuable and Beloved Man ♥️ Topped the List of those Who Ignored my Requests , Appeals & Pleas 🙏 for Help & Salvation ‼️ 😱 💦

🅰️♥️🅱️ I so wanted You to Save me , my Dearest 💋,

but You are absolutely Not Interested in Me 💔 My Life & Fate 😱 🤬 🙈 🙃 🥸 🤯 🤡

I realized that

I have No Value 📛 for You 💎,

You don"t care if I"m Alive or Not ❌

And the Realization comes that There are practically No Real Men , that Love and Trust do not exist , that Men want to hide Everything on a Golden Platter , without any Efforts & Investments ...

Their Words are not supported by Actions & Deeds .

Just Blah Blah Blah 🥵 ...

Men don"t even want to Lift a Finger for the Sake of their Beloved Women 💘 , They are Lazy , Passive & Indifferent 💔 💦 🙄

🦕🦖 In ancient times , after Dinosaurs & Pterodactyls ,

Men were Hunters 🏹 ⛏🪓 , Conquerors &

Getters .

Now Men do not want to make Efforts to Win🏆

the Woman they Love 💘 , they expect the Woman to do everything Herself , and He will only enjoy the Fruits & the Result of her Work on the Relationship 🍎

🅰️mit ji 💝 ,

I asked and begged You repeatedly to Save me 🙏 , but Not a Single Word of Support , No Actions in my Direction , and

I did not see or wait for any Real Help from You 📛 ❌ ‼️

And how it BROKE MY HEART 💔

YOU BROKE MY HEART 💔

& DESTROYED DIVINE LOVE 💘

YOU CHOSE YOUR OWN MATERIAL VALUES , AND I WAS LEFT TO DIE ‼️😱‼️

Then May Your Money 💰 Love You now and Make You Happy 🙏 🙏 🙏 ...

After all , this is the only Thing that You really Appreciate and Love 💙💙💙

🌼🌻🌸 Despite the fact that You pretended not to know me , ignored Me & my Pleas for Help , left me to die , and actually Killed me with your Refusal to Help

⏩ ⏩ ⏩

I am still Grateful to You 🙏♥️ 🕉 for Everything , and even for the fact that thanks to You , I once again became convinced that Real Loving Men capable of Actions and Deeds , except for Playing with words in relation to a Woman , practically do not exist at the present time , and You will not find such Responsible and Conscious Men during the day with fire 🔥

A Real Man is a Rarity nowadays ‼️

🅰️🅱️ , YOU CAN BE PROUD OF YOURSELF , BECAUSE YOU REALIZED YOUR GREAT REVENGE PERFECTLY ‼️

⚛ DON'T WORRY , I WON"T WRITE , CALL OR BOTHER YOU ANYMORE 📛

I"M FREEING YOUR SPACE FROM MY PRESENCE 🕉

I WILL NOT JUDGE YOU ~ THIS IS THE PREROGATIVE OF GOD 😇 & THE HIGHER POWERS .

💝 I JUST WISH YOU HEALTH , HAPPINESS & ETERNAL PROSPEROUS LIFE ♥️🏆🙏 ⚽️ 🎁

On this Planet Earth 🌎 , I have

been looking for Support , Healing , Help , Salvation and Love 💞 for a very long time and diligently ...

😱😈👹 In the end , instead of Helping , they deprived me of Everything and Threw me out into the Street like a Stray Dog ‼️ 💦 🖤

NOW I"M ON THE STREET & ALL ALONE ,

I NOWHERE TO GO & NOWHERE TO LIVE ‼️ 💣‼️

🎖🏆🏅 YOU CAN BE PROUD OF YOURSELF FOR KILLING ME , BECAUSE OF YOUR COLDNESS , CRUELTY , INDIFFERENCE , SELFISHNESS & GREED ~

I FOUND MYSELF ON THE STREET , WITHOUT ANY HOPE OF SALVATION 🔫 ♠️

🕊 WHEN I AM GONE , I WILL DISAPPEAR ONLY PHYSICALLY , BUT MY SOUL , MY LOVE ♥️, MY FEELINGS , MEMORIES & KINDNESS WILL LIVE FOREVER ~ FOR YOU 💙 & FOR EVERYONE WHO COMMUNICATED WITH ME ...

😭 OMG , MY SWEETEST & MOST CHERISHED DREAM HAS NOT COME TRUE ~ I DID NOT SEE YOU AGAIN , OUR LONG-AWAITED MEETING DID NOT TAKE PLACE , AND ALL DREAMS OF A HAPPY PRESENT & FUTURE TURNED TO DUST & ASHES ‼️😱‼️

I"M PARTING WITH THIS LIFE , WITH THIS WORLD & WITH MY DREAMS OF MEETING YOU , BECAUSE I NO LONGER SEE THE POINT ,

I DON"T FEEL

THE DESIRE &

I CAN"T LIVE LIKE THIS 😳🥺😢

😔 FOR ME , THE ENDLESS STRUGGLE WITH EVIL 😈 FOR MY LIFE , FOR THE VERY RIGHT TO LIVE , HAS BECOME UNBEARABLE AND MEANINGLESS .

THIS ALIEN EVIL , HATRED , WAR , STRUGGLE & SUFFERS HAVE DESTROYED ME & MY PERSONAL LIFE 🤯‼️🥸

I JUST WANT TO CLOSE MY EYES , FALL ASLEEP & WAKE UP IN MY PERSONAL PARADISE 😇

SO BE IT 🙏 🙏 🙏

💜 MY DEAREST ,

I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME 🙏♥️ FOR EVERYTHING , AND I FORGIVE YOU FOR EVERYTHING 🕉

I HAVE NOTHING ELSE , ALL MY RESOURCES HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM

ME 💦 💦 💦

BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE THING THAT WILL LIVE FOREVER , EVEN IN SUBSEQUENT REINCARNATIONS ~ THIS IS MY ENERGY , LIGHT , GOODNESS , STRENGTH AND LOVE 💘 

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

I WILL LOVE YOU 💘 FOREVER BY

UNCONDITIONAL & DIVINE LOVE 💖, PASSION 🔥 , DEVOTION , MIND , HEART 💝 & SOUL 🕉 😇 💟

WE ARE BELONGS TO EACH OTHER FOREVER & EVER , ETERNALLY , MY BELOVED BABE ... 💘💋💘💋💘💋💘

YOUR WHITE ANGEL 🕊 🤍 🦢 SONALI 🐼

LOVE 💘