#I think it is real because I’m certain he did some similar stuff for Yellow Pages

[sweetpeapoppy]

[tundrainafrica]

Which would you say are your favorite fanfics ever? (Levihan ofc)

Okay, I don’t think I’m the best judge of what’s quality or not quality cause I ain’t no writing authority so I cannot vouch for whether you will like these fics or not. But I am a firm believer that good writing makes readers feel things and leaves a lasting impression. 

So lemme rephrase the question… What fics left a lasting impression?

So brace yourself for one hell of a ride while I talk about fanworks that just fucked me up in the following ways: 

Caused me to irrationally hate one random character

Made me forget something isn’t canon

Made me completely rearrange my day because I completely f-ed myself up.

Made me feel guilty for fucking up the view count because I keep going back there.

Makes me remember the fic as an aesthetic, not as actual words. Like literally I will imagine the setting almost perfectly in my head and like when I try to remember what happened, I don’t really remember the writing style or anything, but I could probably create a sim house about how exactly I imagined the house to look like or the yard to look like.

Changed the way I approach fic reading.

I don’t wanna spoil these fics because I’m assuming people are gonna read it so as much as I wanna make a long ass detailed review about why I love each of them, I won’t. I’ll probably just mention what the hell I was doing when I read the fic and how I completely fucked myself over. 

I probably will miss some since I’m just listing these out from the top of my head. So here goes…And I’m only posting completed fics because I’m just that way. 

Second chance by @fanmoose12

This is my comfort fic. The first time I read this fic, it was like 4am or 5am in the morning and I remember after reading it once, I read it like 5 more times that day. 

This is literally the fic I just randomly open on my computer at work on some incognito tab when I’m just tired from all the shit they make us do at work and this is the random fic that I just open up when I feel like reading. And this is one of the fics I plan on showing my children one day when I explain to them what love is. 

This isn’t depressing so I guess it doesn’t fall in the ‘fucked me over’ category but definitely one of the fics I read too many times to count that I remember it scene by scene like some simp. 

Partners by fanmoose12

Woops, one exception for WIPs. I just had to post this here because it definitely left a lasting impression. 

This was the first AU I have ever read and been invested in and I have been reading fanfiction since before I could remember and I have always stuck to canonverse fics until I got into Levihan. 

This fic got me into the AU genre and I have never read AUs in my life before this so I think that says a lot about how much this fic means to me. 

Somewhere Only We Know by @someonestolemyshoes

It’s not completely posted in ao3 yet. But since I beta-ed the fic, I finished it long before SSMS posted it but this fic. It started slow so it took me a week of on and off work to get through  but I got through the second part of the fic, the last 30,000 words  incredibly fast. I vividly remembered reading those last final scenes over breakfast completely in shock while my whole family was there. I literally had to leave the room and take my dog out for a second walk . 

I remember the aesthetic of the overall story vividly enough to actually make a moodboard of it and spend a good 1 hour going through country side pics after finishing it. . 

Yellow by @ariadneamare​

God, this fic. I read this over a day of work. Like breakfast, first few thousand words, Lunch next few thousand words. And I finished the rest before bed and oh god, this is the type of fic that builds a great aesthetic, some lightness and just to fuck you over in the end. 

I like to compare it to a longer and AU version of Pristine in terms of how it strings emotions along. I know they’re two completely different fics but the energy of the fic, the stream of emotions on how it strings you along is fairly similar. 

This is literally one of those fics where I’m just having a good day, and my mind goes ‘remember that one fic’ and I just wrinkle my nose like ‘yeah THAT FIC’ 

Pristine by @mannatea​

I’m sure everyone has read this, it’s practically a classic and I cannot count the number of people who told me it was depressing and I do not know why I did not believe them. I read this while waiting in line for milk tea. I lost my place in line around the time I finished that last part and just gave up on buying milk tea.

It has this build up, this incredibly fluffy build up which won’t make you think it will end the way it did. 

Well. you know a fic is good when you know it’s gonna end a certain way but you allow yourself to get strung along anyway. 

A Simple Choice by just-quintessentially-me

This is one of those fics for me that double as an aesthetic piece and a plot piece. I remember INCREDIBLY WELL, the road I was imagining that they were walking through and it satisfied my hurt comfort feels as well. Definitely one of my favorite 115-126 fics and one of the first ones I read in the fandom for sure. 

So those are the english fics, I have to Japanese fics that fall in that category. 

(For anyone who knows Japanese I guess but I personally think they’re worth a google translate.)

熱に浮く(Feverish Dream)

Classic canon compliant. Hange takes care of Levi when he’s sick fic but there are misunderstandings here, they contemplate their relationship and they are incredibly emotionally constipated here. Definitely one of the classics imo and it feeds my need for hurt/comfort.

前世なんてクソだと言う女と 全て忘れた男 

(A girl who thinks past lives are not real and a boy who forgot everything)

Hange is a teacher, Levi is a janitor. Hange remembers stuff and Levi doesn’t and just really cute stuff. 

I’m pretty sure you guys are tired of me rambling about how much this fic means to me but really, I wrote a Tale of Two Slaves (Which is just brushing 100k words already) because this was just so beautiful it got me into the reincarnation genre.

私の中の少女、あなたの中の少年

(The girl inside me and the boy inside you) 

Levi and Hange are exes/childhood friends and they meet again in a matchmaking party. This is just the greatest balance between emotional constipation and love. The premise was just perfect for the type of build up 

Closest thing I’m gonna drop to smut here. Will leave my smut recs for another post but I’m low key really still thinking whether or not I should expose myself by dropping my favorite Levihan smut pieces hahaha.

Filo Socmed AUs

A lot of these probably aren’t google translatable since Tagalog google translate sucks but if anyone is interested, most Filo Socmed AUs have a fair amount of English so it’s coherent. I guess? I completely forget though how much is in English and how much is in Tagalog but these are the Filo Socmed AUs I REALLY remember and really go back to. 

Vividly Remembered 

This one got me blowing my days worth of salary on some meal in a restaurant because I didn’t wanna go back home to my house yet so I remember just crying over a meal while finishing up this fanfiction instead of going home. 

Basically a fic where Levi and Hange were together already and were about to get married already but shit happened. I irrationally hate Nanaba because of this Socmed AU. Like everytime I see Nanaba, i think of this Socmed AU and I just hate her again. 

Photographs 

Levi and Hange are part of the photography club and shit happens. I remember being behind on work because I decided to take a three hour lunch break to finish this AU. This satisfied my sick Levi craving in so many ways (especially after reading Yellow)

Wherein Levi doesn’t have social media accounts and Hange is the class beadle

This last one just has the overall aesthetic of my own university so it really stuck tbh. And the premise of the build up is just incredibly cute. 

These are the ones I can remember from the top of my head so I’m sure these are among my favorites. I’ll definitely update this as I read more.

[gryffindors-weasley]

Finding A Light

Ron Weasley x Fem!Reader

Summary: Ron was left broken in the aftermath of the wizarding war. In an attempt to build a better life, he feels he may have unknowingly met someone who could put those pieces back together.

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, grieving, fluff

A/N: Remus is very much alive in this series! This will be more than one part, I hope you enjoy!

Ron Weasley was a man of few words when presented the daunting task of expressing his emotions, preferring to stuff them down and deal with the consequences later. He never outright says what he’s feeling unless it’s pried from him, and in those times it’s usually expressed through anger. He isn’t great with his words either, so it didn’t come as a surprise to Harry and Hermione to see him so closed off after the war had concluded its disastrous rampage.

It was a battle that anyone and everyone involved was more than likely to never forget, the losses and hardships engraved in their minds as a permanent reminder should their memory allow it as they age. Some had come out on the other side more fortunate than others. Some had handled it far better than others. Ron was not one of those people.

His long awaited ambitions on becoming an Auror were rapidly diminished and pushed to the very back of his mind for a good while. He had wanted absolutely nothing to do with magic beyond that very day, thought that maybe if he hadn’t used it, it wouldn’t remind him of his tragedies. That maybe that part of his life would be forgotten in time if he tried hard enough. So, his wand, his robes, his Hogwarts letters and what was left of his sentimental wizarding memorabilia were hastily shoved into a cardboard box, taped shut and stuffed away to collect dust. Out of sight out of mind was his reasoning, though it didn’t quite work out that way.

The loss of his childhood home paired with the devastating loss of one of his older brothers had been a weight too heavy to bear, pressing down on his chest with each day that passed. He nearly lost two of his closest friends amidst the chaos the Dark Lord left in his wake. Such a lifetime of pain and loss was something he never anticipated to experience all by the young age of eighteen, and it left him feeling like a mere shell of the person he once used to be. As if the years of extraordinary magical endeavors prior to that day were completely erased and replaced with utter heartache.

It took him four years to bring himself out of the pit he found himself stuck in and find some semblance of strength, if only for his mother, and he wanted to build a better life for himself. One without so much sorrow written into his story. He wasn’t entirely sure how to go about doing so, knowing a return to a normal life simply wouldn’t be feasible. Not that his life had ever been considered normal per say.

The emotional scars were something that would never go away, he understood that, but he didn’t think he could go another day having the same mundane routine night and day. He felt ready for more.

Now, at the age of twenty-two coming up on twenty-three, he found himself returning to Hogwarts with hopes to become a professor. His heart nearly beat out of his chest when he arrived, sick to his stomach with nerves as he stopped and stood in the middle of the newly constructed stone bridge. His letter crinkled under the pressure of his tightly clenched hand, luggage in the other, eager students curving their stride to avoid running into him. The castle was more grand than he’d remembered it to be, perhaps they’d made it bigger to house more young witches and wizards, perhaps it wasn’t. Either way, against his instincts, he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat and continue forward before he convinced himself to turn around and apparate home.

He quickly found that things had been kept fairly the same as he roamed the grand halls in curiosity, as similar to the school he’d grown up in as it could be. The wondrous ceiling of enchanted candles in the Great Hall was a detail that briefly gave him watery eyes; the varying hues of reds, oranges and yellows coloring the Gryffindor common room, down to the house flags pridefully ornamenting the new quidditch pitch. He found himself turning to express his awe to Harry or Hermione on more than one occasion, but was only met with the unfamiliar faces of new students. His shoulders would slump as he exhaled a deep sigh.

It had taken him nearly two months to fully adjust to his newfound routine, to come to terms with the memories that flashed in his mind of their own volition. Whether they be good or bad, they had a habit of making themselves known at the worst of times. Over the course of that time period crumpled pieces of parchment had accumulated around the desk in his room, unsent letters to his mother of his wishes to return home. All of which were written hastily in either frustration or tears, or a mixture of the two. And of the ones he had sent, they were promptly returned with enchanted letters vocally telling him with the utmost of love and sternness that he will be staying, he needs this. Those letters kept him going on those days.

Amongst those days and nights it was strange not having his two best friends there, loneliness still having its hold on him.

Remus Lupin had made his return all the more welcome though, himself and McGonagall being two of the only familiar faces that he’d truly connected with. He felt it was an honor to be taken under his wing and trained, he always had been Ron’s favorite instructor of Defense Against The Dark Arts. He’d even go so far as to say he’s the best if he was being honest.

Regardless, despite his own personal conflicts, he was beginning to feel more comfortable residing there than he had ever thought he would. It was as if the nagging rain cloud dumping over his head was starting to dissipate for the time being.

“You did very good today, Ron,” Lupin says once his final class of the day has left, “the teaching of boggarts is never easy I’ll say, and if I recall correctly it wasn’t your favorite lesson.”

Ron chuckles at the thought, pushing his chair in when he stood. “Not particularly. I still have a nightmare or two about that bloody spider.”

Lupin laughs, nodding at the pleasant memory. Things fall quiet for a few moments as Ron moves to sling his bag over his shoulder. “Off you go, Mr. Weasley, enjoy your weekend,” he urges, grabbing Ron’s attention again before he gets too far. “Here’s your weekly report. You’re becoming a fine up and coming professor I’d say. I have no doubt that I will be leaving my classroom in the best possible care.”

Ron nods with a soft laugh, cheeks flushing a pale crimson at the reassurance as he takes the parchment from him, tucking it into his bag to be read later. “Thank you, Professor Lupin, really. It means a lot to hear.”

He smiles appreciatively before making his way across the long classroom, stopping in his tracks. He takes a breath to gather his thoughts before spinning on his heel to face him again, returning to the desk he sat at. “Can I ask you a question?”

“I suppose.”

He offers Ron a smile upon seeing the clear hesitancy written all over his face. Ron gulps, fumbling with the strap of his bag that rested on his shoulder. He could practically see the gears turning in the ginger boy’s head if such a thing existed. “Was it…was it hard coming back here? After the war, I mean.”

Lupin huffs out a soft laugh at the sudden ask of such a deep question, though he can’t say he was surprised. “I was waiting for this question to arise,” he says, lifting a hand to stop Ron from apologizing. “To give a short answer, yes. It took great thought. To give a long answer, one you may not like but I’m sure you already know, there will always be bad days after experiencing such trauma. It is not easy being born into a life where magic is real and not just a trick of the eye. While it can be wonderful it also brings with it a great deal of damage.”

Ron nods as he listens to his words, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Despite all of it, Hogwarts is a place that can be good just as much as it can be bad. You just have to take it in your stride. You’re stronger than you think, Ron. If you really want to be here, I believe it is worth it to try.”

Ron exhales deeply, taking a moment to process his insightful words, a certain wisdom he appreciated. It left him feeling considerably lighter than he had before, like he was a bit more hopeful of a better experience here. “Thank you.”

That’s all he can manage to say.

The blue eyed man in front of him nods. “Go on now, you’ve had a long day, Weasley.”

—

Ron found himself to be rather excited for this weekend. It would be his first time making a trip to Hogsmeade in nearly five years, though he’d been putting it off because the experience wasn’t quite the same when doing it alone. Third years buzzed around him with the excitement of their newfound privileges and independence, bouncing from shop to shop to fully take in all that it had to offer.

He, however, walked at a leisurely pace amongst the students bustling around him, taking a moment to fully appreciate everything he hadn’t seen for so long. Catching details that otherwise went unnoticed like the chipping pink paint on the curved windowsills of Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, and the happy young couples residing inside. The vibrant green moss that formed inbetween the crumbling cracks of the old cobblestone walkways. However, the sight of Zonko’s Joke Shop made his heart lurch in his chest the moment he saw it.

He averted his gaze immediately, swallowing thickly as he tugged at his shirt collar that suddenly felt a little too constricting. It had been Fred and George’s favorite shop to frequent, always buying new things to add to their inventory of pranks. But now that one half of the pair was missing it wasn’t such a fond memory anymore, moreso a taunting one.

The sound of a couple students joyously greeting with a chorus of ‘Hi Mr. Weasley!’ pulled him from his thoughts and he was quick to smile, giving them a half wave as they had already begun to walk away. He let his hand fall back to his side, huffing out a sigh as he continued to walk along the path towards the one place he looked forward to the most, Honeydukes.

The little bell overhead alerted his entrance as he opened the door, the air noticeably sweeter than outside. He found himself smiling as his gaze bounced around the near unchanged shop, any candy you could possibly think of lining almost every brightly painted wall. Though not every single one is a desireable find, he learned that one the hard way. He almost didn’t know where to begin, much like how he felt the first time he ever entered the place, and every time after that for that matter. So he perused the shop, something he’s never done by himself.

His eyes landed on familiar chocolates, and he was quick to grab a box for Hermione because he knows they’re her favorite. Despite such knowledge she still adamantly denies having a sweet tooth to this day. To go along with that, he snags one of the last chocolate frogs for Harry.

It was a fond memory when he thought of it, a tradition they’d had as young students. He’s still got the cards he’d collected from each frog, they were tucked away in that box filled with other things. Maybe when he returned home he’d have the courage to reopen it.

He continues to look around for a bit more, finding himself wishing he had the same sense of enjoyment and innocence as some of the younger students held. For they were fortunate enough to narrowly miss being involved with such negative events. He had to remind himself that it wasn’t looming over his head anymore, to let himself enjoy this very moment. So, he tried his best to clear his mind and bring himself back to his current situation in the middle of an aisle filled with hard candies.

When he had turned the corner of said aisle he collided with something, someone to be more specific, the box clutched in his hands opening on impact and sending the assortment of sweets clattering to the ground with the addition of others. The chocolate frog had fell from its decorative box and hopped out of sight before he could process it.

“I’m so sorry!” A soft voice sounds in front of him, a warm hand enveloping his wrist.

“It’s okay…” Ron trails off when he matches the voice to its owner, blinking slowly as his mouth hangs slightly agape. He found himself staring at the girl, he was quite sure he’d never seen someone so alluring, so captivating. He didn’t know if he could manage to stop gawking. “I-it’s okay.”

His cheeks redden when he realized he’s repeated himself, the fiery heat of embarrassment burning from the very tips of his ears down to his neck, leaving his pale skin flushed. You too came to the realization that you were still gripping his arm, quickly dropping it as you laughed softly to stave off any awkward silence. He averts his eyes momentarily, needing a moment to regain his composure and not make a complete fool of himself in front of the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Though he’s quite sure he already has.

“I told Mr. Flume it shouldn’t be quite so cramped in here, but he never seems to listen,” you laugh, looking at the smattering of sweets scattered around the two of them. Ron was focused less on the mishap and more on the way you smiled brightly at him, knowing his cheeks were undoubtedly the same shade as his hair. “Give me just one moment, please!”

He nods just a little too late as you rush off around another corner and out of sight, leaving him to stand there awkwardly as students in the vicinity stared at the mess sprawled at his feet. Shortly, you indeed did come back, a new box of chocolates and what was now the last chocolate frog in your hands. You thrusted them in his direction with a warm smile, one that made his heart flip in his chest. “Take these, it’s on the house.”

“Oh I couldn’t do that,” Ron rushes.

“Please, it was my mistake. I insist.”

He laughs softly, nodding after a moment. “At least let me help you clean up?”

You nod up at him with a laugh of your own, “deal.”

He tries not to think about the way your fingers brush over his as they pick up chocolates from the checkered floor, tossing them into the nearby trash bin. And he tried not to think about the way you’d had his stomach twisting in knots as if he was a thirteen year old again experiencing his first crush.

“I’m Y/n, by the way.”

He scrambled to think of a response, seemingly forgetting his own name momentarily. It hadn’t gotten any better when you looked up at him politely as if waiting for a response. “I’m Ron…Ron Weasley.”

He could’ve kicked himself for being so awkward, knowing him stumbling over his words couldn’t possibly give off any sort of appeal. He brushed his hands off with a sigh as he stood to his feet. Though you didn’t seem to mind his nerves as you brushed your hands off on your jeans.

“Nice to meet you, Ron. I only wished it were on better circumstances.” The pale blush on your face deepened a shade.

“That’s quite alright,” he says with an airy laugh, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “It was nice meeting you too.”

That same silence took up the absence in conversation again as Ron tried desperately to think of something to say, not quite ready for the interaction to be over. You beat him to it.

“I hope to see you around here again, maybe without the mess,” you say with a soft smile, “and don’t forget your chocolates.”

He was confused for a moment, too caught up in the way your eyes sparkled as they looked at him, or the way your hair fell around your face before following where you’d been pointing. “Oh! Y-yeah…thank you,” He grabbed his sweets in his shaky hands, feeling rather bold suddenly, “I’ll see you around then, Y/n.”

He was sure your words were only friendly, something you probably said often as a kind gesture. Probably not because you actually wanted to see him again. But he let himself think otherwise if only for a moment.

You simply nod, your grin widening a fraction, “bye Ron.”

—

Ron’s lifted spirits did not go unnoticed, not by Mrs. McGonagall who made it a point to bring it up at dinner later that evening. He could tell she picked up on it, could tell by the very way she’d glanced at him frequently. Though he wasn’t sure he was hiding it very well. He pretended not to notice, focusing his gaze on the rows of tables occupied by dozens upon dozens of students seated at them, the hardwood adorned with some of the best food he’s ever eaten. Second only to his mother.

“Is there a particular reason you’re so cheery, Mr. Weasley?” She finally asks, and he sighs at the question.

“Not particularly,” he responds using her wording, glancing at her as a smile pulls at the left corner of his mouth. He watches as she raises a skeptical brow; he knows what’s coming.

“I haven’t seen you smile like that in a number of years, Ronald. I know when you’re lying,” she says with a soft laugh, though she doesn’t pry.

Ron chuckles down at his plate as he shakes his head, pushing his food around as he thought about her. The way she smiled at him, so brightly the corners of her eyes crinkled. It still felt as though those butterflies were still fluttering around in his stomach. He quickly found himself wanting to hear your voice again, or hear your laughter—

“I’ve met a wonderful person today, that’s all,” he blurts, looking to his side.

She gave him a fond yet knowing smile, nodding her head. “I know the look of young love when I see it.”

“I’m not in love, Mrs. McGonagall,” he urges almost immediately, cheeks reddening once more at her preposterous conclusion, “I’ve only just met her today.”

“If you insist, my dear.”

“I do insist.” He tries to be sure of himself despite his inability to get you off his mind, but he hides his smile behind his goblet as he takes a sip.

Later that night he went to bed with something other than sorrow clouding his thoughts, instead feeling rather optimistic about the week ahead. Or maybe it was the plans he’d had at the end of it that had him so eager, time feeling agonizingly slow. It was definitely that. He couldn’t wait to see you next Saturday.

—

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Ruki Mukami – (Chapter 2)

[Chapter 1] 

Place: Mortstein Hotel • Guest Room / ホテル • モーントシュタイン客室

Yui: (Nh...something smells so good…)

Ruki kun….?

Ruki: Oh, you’re awake huh.

Yui: Good morning….what are you doing?

Ruki: Room-services were also admirable, but since there was a kitchen so I preferred to make breakfast.

I thought to wake you up after I’m done with settings...hmph, you have a very sharp nose.

Yui: nh….I didn’t really wake up because of appetite!

Ruki: Ho? Does that mean you don’t wanna have some?

Yui: Uuuh….I’ll eat…

Place: Mortstein Hotel • Balcony / ホテル • モーントシュタインバルコニー

Yui: Waah….wonderful! Have you managed all of these on your own?

Yui: (Perfect table settings. Menus are Salad & Soup and on the main plates, there are….)

Ruki: It’s called egg benedict. ...I did even imagine cooking it in the Demon World.

The refrigerator’s number of ingredients in this hotel was terrible.

Yui: (Cooking such a delicious breakfast using limited ingredients means Ruki kun’s cool indeed.)

Well then, I’m gonna start eating!

Ruki: Yeah, I don’t mind while you’re eating but listen to today’s planning.

Yui: Yes.

Ruki: ...I am thinking about going to talk with that boy from yesterday one more time.

Yui: Eh? But…

Ruki: We still can’t give up even though we were declined for once, right?

Nevertheless….we’re dealing with getting back your heart after all.

Yui: Ruki kun…

(But the man from yesterday, somehow he seemed to deal with some circumstances…)

(I don’t think we can get to hear everything  from that man without any troubles…)

Ruki: ...What’s wrong? You’re wrinkling your eyebrows.

Yui: Umm...that’s...what can we do so that he’ll explain everything to us…

Ruki: ….Ofcourse, I’ve also thought about that.

He somehow looked like he was facing some certain issues…

Yui: kh….So, you’re thinking that too?

Ruki: ...Well, yes.

This is why, let’s try to talk with him in a different approach. There won't be any point if it gets repeated over again, right?

Yui: I think so…

(As expected of Ruki kun. Unlike me, he has always been thinking about many things…)

Ruki: Let’s pause this conversation for now...if you don’t eat then the break will get cold.

Yui: Ah...that’s right.

*Spoon*

...Yummy!

Ruki: ...Then I’m glad.

Yui: Especially the taste of this sauce...what did you apply in it?

Ruki: Oh, that was probably...cheese like thing.

Yui: ….? “Probably” you say….

Ruki: My bad, but even I don’t know how to answer your question.

It’s similar to cheese however, it was made from the animals’ milk which is unique in this Demon World.

Talking about that, there’re some pictures of the animals in the package…

Yui: I- I won’t see it…!

(...I have a bad feeling about it...I hope it won’t damage my stomach…)

Place: Rubean Lake / ルビーン 運河

Ruki: It’s about that man from the underground corridor, however, I’ve found new information about him.

...Looks like he is a shoemaker.

Yui: Shoemaker?

Ruki: Yeah, they say, he is a tradesman who specializes in making shoes for women and…

The shoes that guy makes are very unique and charming, and those are very well known even in the Demon World.

Yui: I see...but…

(That shop doesn’t feel like shoemakers’ shop at all…)

|| Yui meant here “靴屋さん” kutsuya San” which basically means Mr. shoemaker. However, I have translated it like “shoemaker” as there’s no difference based on the politeness level in English.

Ruki: However, he looks like he’s completely retiring from his main job.

Yui: Eh...but why…

Ruki: ….No clue. But he must have reasons.

From here onward, it’s just my stimulation but…

Probably Earl walter is involved in the fact that he has paused making shoes.

Yui: kh...Earl?

Ruki: Mhm, probably….

According to my familiars, the time when his treasure was stolen,

It’s the same time he retreated from making shoes…

That’s why, today I wanna continue the conversation by keeping in mind these possible facts.

Yui: I see...then…

Ruki: Perhaps, it will be the last chance to get to hear something from that shoemaker.

This time, while talking with him, I gotta be cautious as much as I can.

So, I also want you to land me a hand.

Yui: Mhm, got it.

Ruki: I think we should figure out the ways of how to make him split out something…

Don’t you have any idea by the way?

Yui: Uumm..let’s see…

→ Selection

上���に出る / Over behaving

誠意を示す / Show good intention

Yui: We have no other way but to make him understand that our attitudes are having good intentions.

Ruki: I get your point... Maybe that’s right…

Yui: By the way, it’s important to know that man very well.

(For now, I want a little bit of information…)

Ruki: Yes, that’s what I meant.

For both humans and demons, it’s impossible to compromise without co-understanding each other.

Like I and you were, right…?

Yui: Fufu...that’s true.

(Many things happened, plus there were also sometimes when we had differences in a few cases…)

(He was able to understand me...this is why, I have him now.)

(That side can’t be changed for both humans and demons. I really think so….)

(kh….then, it means…)

(If I think...what would humans like me do in such circumstances…)

(If I try that out, then it should be fine I guess…?)

Ruki: ...Yui? Did something happen?

Yui: Something good...pops out in my head…

Say Ruki kun, would you mind going over there?

Ruki: Flower shop….? But for what?

Yui: Fufu, just a little.

Place: Glimmer Main Street, front of Wagon / グリンマーストリート表通りりワゴン前

Yui: (Waah, they are a variety of colors…!)

What about giving these flowers to that shoemaker as a present?

Ruki: ….Flowers? Such stuff...he is a guy, you’know….

Yui: That’s true but…

But you know...that shop of the man was really dreadful.

If we decorate his shop with these a little, the atmosphere may turn out better….

Ruki: Mhm, so it’s what it was about huh….?

Yui: (Will he won’t agree…)

Ruki: Well, that’s fine. If that’s what you want then do it without asking.

I will be waiting around here.

Yui: Yes! Understood.

(Which one shall I choose…)

(Red or pink ones are very pretty though... shall I go with white and yellow ones?)

(I hope he’d like it…)

*After all*

Yui: Ruki kun, thanks for the waiting. Let’s walk on then.

Ruki: Ah, but wait a sec.

Yui: Eh?

Ruki: I just thought something by being taught by your conception a while ago…

Not only those flowers but let’s buy something else for him too.

If it’s possible then the shop right there…

Yui: (...Confectionary store?)

Ruki: ...If feeling sympathy for others leads to showing a good faith in them, just as you said, then we should give more, no?

Yui: Yes...then let’s do it.

(He really appreciated my opinions…)

(May it’s a simple thing but...it makes me happy….)

Place: ‘The fear” Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子��

Yui: This place is crowded too.

Ruki: Yeah, according to that poster, there are a few baked sweets which are restricted for the parade.

*shows her the poster*

Ruki: Here, this one.

Yui: Waah, so cute!

(The small box of baked sweets, the tastes and also it’s wrappings are being specialized for the parade!)

Ruki: Alright then...which one will you choose? I don’t mind if you decide.

Yui: Then, this one...

Ruki: Okay, then I’m gonna tell them to wrap it.

Yui: Yes!

(By the way…)

(There are many cakes in the showcase which I haven’t even seen before…)

(Looks super delicious…)

*On the other side*

Ruki: ……….

*After a while*

Ruki: Oi, let's’ move on.

Yui: Ah, yes!

Place: Underground Corridor / 地下回廊

Ruki: That shoemaker's shop was...in this direction, right?

Yui: (M- may be…)

(Yesterday, we came here accidently, so I couldn’t realize at all…)

Ruki: ...hm? What’s wrong? Did you say something?

Yui: N- nothing at all. I hope we’ll find the way without facing troubles.

Ruki: ...It’s because yesterday I put some familiars out here just in case.

...Good grief, yesterday was really awful…

Yui: ...I think so...fufuh

Ruki: ….But, if I take a prediction then, you’re somehow in an unfortunate state, aren’t you?

Yui: Eh?

Ruki: Shall I press you against the wall just like yesterday…

*Corners her*

Yui: Aaah…!

Ruki: I thought you wanted to receive punishment from me once again like this…

Yui: S- such…

Ruki: Fufh...your face is flushed.

*He backs off*

But unfortunately I lack the time playing with you right now. Let’s hurry.

...I want that face to be back in the normal color before you meet that shoemaker.

Yui: (...He is so…!)

*after a while/ knocks*

Yui: Excuse us.

Shoemaker Man: Yes….but, you guys are from yesterday…

Yui: Very very sorry. Umm…

Ruki: We wanted to talk with you once more. Would you mind buying us some time?

Shoemaker Man: But, I told you. There's nothing to talk about.

Ruki: We’re actually aware of that. But still I want you to listen to us by any means…

We’ve heard about the reputation of your shoes. We’ve done something rude yesterday, for not having known such a famous shoemaker. 

Shoemaker Man: kh…!

Thanks for the compliments! But unfortunately I don’t make…

Ruki: We’ve heard that too. You’ve retired right?

Shoemaker: Mhm…

Ruki: That’s fine. When I heard that you make shoes without even using magics, it made me a little interested.

Yui: Without using magic? It means these are completely hand made…

Shoemaker: Yes, that’s true…

Yui: Wow! You are a real deal shoemaker, aren’t you!

Shoemaker Man: Fufu...that’s right. It’s something that I am special about….

Labor work is darning painful, however it’s very worthy at the end…

I feel like the people who’ll wear it will love it for a long time as much as it takes time to make it…

I see. As expected from you. ...If you agree then can we talk a little bit more?

Shoemaker: ….But…

….Well, nevermind. Got ya, come inside.

Ruki: Ah, thank you.

Place: Underground Corridor, shoemaker’s shop / 地下回廊 靴職人の部屋

Yui: Umm, it’s not something special but...if it’s good then would you accept this from us…

Shoemaker: Hm? Taking a burden for bringing a present for me…? You guys are bad…

Fufu, it’s very pretty flowers. The sweets seem to be a product of restrictions for the parade…

Ruki: ...You took a correct guess.

Shoemaker: It’s almost like a habit of mine to observe works of stuff and fashion trends.

Anyways, please wait a lil’. I’ll make some tea…

*After a while*

Shoemaker: Here you go.

Yui: We’re sorry…

Ruki: Thanks a lot. ….hm? This tea has a different aroma.

Shoemaker: Eeeh, you’re correct! This was also limited stocked for the parade. I think it also goes well with these sweets.

Yui: Waah...thank you so much!

Shoemaker: Then...what did you want to talk with me earlier?

Yui: It’s about you making shoes which are handmade…

Ruki: In the first place, why’d you wanted to be a shoemaker?

Shoemaker: I wonder...who knows…

Since I didn’t have any productive things, I didn’t expect to earn a huge profit at the beginning.

Making custom shoes one by one一

Just for one person. Putting all of my heart into making just for one person was fun to me. 

Yui: Just for one person at once…

Shoemaker: Strength and brightness...the practicality is also essential but I don’t wanna ignore the design.

If the shoe doesn’t enchant one’s heart by wearing it...that shoe will be meaningless.

Yui: kh…!

Shoemaker: Thus, when I became interested in these, then I naturally started making shoes for ladies…

Ruki: I see.

Yui: (I feel like Ruki kun is denying him a little…Umm…)

...Oh that’s! If it’s okay then I want to see your shoes…

Shoemaker: My shoes…? Well, if you’re fine with seeing the simple ones that were left then...I don’t mind…

Wait a little.

*Walks away*

Ruki: Oi, why did you dive into this conversation? It was a waste, isn’t it?

Yui: ...Because he was surprisingly sharing his feelings, so….

Ruki: We just can’t listen to his passion for making shoes.

We have to jump on the topic about Earl. Or it will be a waste of time, nothing else…

Yui: That’s...I am aware of that…

Shoemaker: I’ve made you wait.

Yui: ...Nope! Kh...ah…

*Fades to CG*

Ruki: It’s a magnificent one indeed.

Shoemaker: Fufu, these three are the ones I still can’t lose.

Yui: Wah, incredible….!

(Jet-black high heel and bright red layout, plus…)

This is sparkling. And also it has a strange shape...is it mule?

I have set the jewels in such a way so that a few light sparkles in all rainbow colors. 

Ruki: Ho...rather than a shoe, it’s more likely to be called a work of art.

Yui: Umm, can I touch…?

Shoemaker: Mhm! I don’t mind. You can also put on if you want to…

Yui: Eh, but…

Ruki: ….isn’t that fine to wear it?

...Such a splendid shoe, it might be something that can’t be seen again.

Yui: ...You’re right. Sorry for behaving like a child...then

*CG as Yui puts on the shoes*

Yui: Wah…!

(It's the first time I’ve worn such adult shoes. Feels a little strange…)

Ruki: ...hmph, not bad. Thanks to these shoes as you’re looking a bit more…

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: Nope, it’s nothing to matter.

Yui: (Ruki kun! It’s awful!)

*CG fades*

Shoemaker: nh…….

Yui: Umm, did something happen?

Shoemaker: No...that’s...that I was looking at you putting on those shoes…

I think the round toe shoes go well with you.

...Then, if I set this heel like this...no, if I do one like a princess style一

……

Yui: (He suddenly starts drawing something…)

(Hm? Could it be…)

(A sketch for the design…?)

Ruki: It’s really skillful work.

Shoemaker: Really?

It makes me happy when it is put into words.

I had practiced to sketch precisely all the way through…

Despite expectations, I did anything that was helpful in making shoes no matter what…

Ruki: Why did you stop making shoes even though you’re so passionable about it..?

...If so painful and sad reasons. So sad that I can’t even say it…

Yui: Eh?

Shoemaker: You know, there’s another pair of shoes that I made putting on all of my efforts onto that…

*Shoes those shoes*

Shoemaker: It’s this one.

Yui: W-...wow…!!

(Such beautiful heels, I’ve never seen it before…)

Shoemaker: I was making over and over again to finish that until I am satisfied.

Particularly this red one...probably I can’t create such a color a second time…

Ruki: Yeah….it looks very unique and passionate in color.

Shoemaker: Usually I contribute according to the choices of the customers….However, it’s different.

It’s the heel that I made thinking about personally for someone…

Yui: ...For someone…?

(It’s heels which means...he had made them by thinking of a woman, I guess….)

(Could it be it’s for his lover…?)

*Parade final BGM stops*

Shoemaker: ...But, just before I was about to handle over to (her)...it got stolen.

Yui: ...Eh?

(Then the stolen thing he got back from Earl was this one…)

(This shoe…?)

Ruki: ………

So this shoe was the one that was snatched by Earl huh.

Shoemaker: Yeah, that’s true.

Because he stole that, I had missed the perfect timing to propose to her.

Yui: ngh….

Shoemaker: So, that was the circumstances of shoes I faced…

Yui: Such…

Ruki: ...However, you get back the shoes didn’t you…?

Then what about confessing your feelings now.

Yui: (Certainly, that’s true…)

Shoemaker: No, I can’t do that. ….I can’t meet her anymore…

Yui: Eh?

Shoemaker: I’ve broken her heart.

I am sure she lost her interest in me….for getting unrecover shock for losing her shoes…

As a result I was even more shocked and stopped making shoes at last.

How was that? Very pathetic right…?

Yui: ...Did she directly tell these to you?

Shoemaker: Nope. These are all my conjectures though…

I was able to understand by seeing her behaviour when I last met her. That’s why I couldn’t even face her.

I am sure she will hate me so much that she doesn't wanna see my face anymore…

Yui: ...Such…

(Even though she didn’t say it to him, he already made up mind to give up…)

(Such...it’s no good….!)

You just can’t give up you know!

Shoemaker: Eh…?

Ruki: O- oi….Yui.

Yui: Whether it’s too late or not….You still won’t know it, do you…?)

(Only his lover herself will know her true feelings, no one else…)

That’s right, what about if you go to meet her from now?

Shoemaker: Eeh!?

Yui: If she sees the shoes, I bet she will…!

*Ruki grabs her*

Yui: Kyaa!

Ruki: Oi, you’re cutting out the main conversation! We’re not supposed to mind this business.

Yui: But...he explained us this far after all….I can’t leave this alone.

Ruki: This is why I am saying this….haah. Right now, you have a limited time, are you awaring of that?

Yui: kh...that’s... I am aware of it. But…!

Shoemaker: ….? Did something happen? You guys are murmuring for a while though…

*Ruki backs off*

Ruki: No, nothing. Anyway, finish this other topic conversations already, let’s jump right on to the main point.

The time when you get back your stolen thing, explain in detail as much as possible.

Shoemaker: kh…

Yui: Ruki kun…!

(If we force it then…!)

Ruki: Although we ended up listening to your personal stories. Then let me share some personal circumstances of us.

The thing that Earl stole was her heart. Now, it has been replaced with a kleinod which will keep her alive for a short time.

We must have to get back that as soon as possible.

This is why, explain in detail the time you get your shoes back…

Shoemaker: Aah...haha, so this is what it was about huh…

I see now. I thought it was very weird for you to be interested in my occupation.

Because Of your purposes, you were acting like you were showing interest in my shoes…

Yui: ...Hold on! We didn’t plan something like that, your shoes were really 一

Shoemaker: Stop it!

Enough already. I don’t wanna hear anything…

Sorry but leave this place... I want to be alone…

Yui: Wait, let us say something...一!?

*weird sound*

Yui: (Wh- what was that…?)

Ruki: ...What’s wrong?

Yui: (...everything’s getting blurred…)

*Yui collapses*

Ruki: Yui!?

*Ruki holds Yui*

Yui: I am...alright…

Shoemaker: What happened so suddenly…?

Yui: That’s...I am okay…

Ruki: You don’t have to talk...darn it, your body temperature is dropping.

Yui: ...Could it be…

(Kleinod is…?)

(No...my consciousness is…)

*Yui closes her eyes / BG black*

Ruki: ...Oii!? Oi!

Place:???

Yui: (nh...this place…)

???: Oh, we’ve met again huh.

Yui: (I am familiar with this voice…)

Earl Walter…?

???: There’s something more important than that. Your partner...is Ruki, right?

Yui: Is there anything wrong with...Ruki kun?

???: No, I didn’t mean that.

It just looks like he has rushed into trouble on his own for having too much worry for you.

Yui: Troubles…

???: You made him angry. He was very close to telling you the secret.

Haah…

Looked like you were somehow helping out that shoemaker. However…

Now the requirement is you and your partner have searched the shoemaker’s girl whom he wanted to propose, right?

Yui: kh…!

???: He has made this promise with the shoemaker for your sake…

...His hard work should be rewarded I think...fufu.

Yui: Wait up, what do you mean by that…

(...He goes away from here…?)

(...I have a bad feeling about it…)

*BG black*

Yui: kh…!

Place: Mortstein Hotel, Guest Room / ホテル • モーントシュタイン客室

Yui: (That was...a dream…?)

(ngh...Where is Ruki kun…?)

Ruki: ……..

*Page sounds*

Yui: (That’s good...he’s just putting himself into reading…)

(There are so many books on the desk...I wonder where he got them from.)

*Turns on page*

Yui: (...But it’s something...that I missed from him…)

(...It's delicate work, but he looks happy everyday.)

(I am sure he prefers this as a part of his daily basis.)

*Page turns*

Yui: (But still I burdened him with so many problems or something...even though we’re in the middle of the parade.)

(I have been always acting against his preferable things...may me he will get disgusted with me.)

(Even though he’s having eternal life...not, rather this is why he wants to spend his life calmly I guess.)

Ruki: ………

...Yui? You woke up?

Yui: Yes...how long was i sleeping?

Ruki: ...The exact time it took to finish reading two books.

Yui: I see...I am sorry.

Ruki: You don’t have to apologize. Above that, how’s your condition?

Yui: Looks like I am fine now, thank you.

Ruki: I see, Then let’s go searching for the shoemaker’s lover.

Yui: If we find out the person he wants to propose to, then he'll tell us about Earl, right?

Ruki: kh...you surprised me. I thought you were completely fainted but were you listening to our conversation?

Yui: Yes, I am sorry…

(The truth is that I heard it in my dream...I don’t want to bring extra troubles so let’s be silent for now.)

Ruki: Well, if it’s true then there’s no point of explanation. Let’s go to the main street.

Place: Rubean Lake / ルビーン 運河

Our destination is the sugar house. It’s said that she works there as an assistant.

Yui: (Ruki kun has been collecting correct information as always…)

(I also have to do my best…)

Place: ‘The Fear’ Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子店

Ruki: It’s here, Come.

Yui: Yes...will you also buy a souvenir?

Ruki: Nope, not that case...Which one you want to eat?

Yui: ...Me?

Ruki: At that time, you were staring at these, weren’t you?

Yui: ngh…!

Ruki: These are delicious so let’s get them. There are also some spaces for eat-in.

Yui: ...Is it okay?

Ruki: Yeah, it’s fine if it’s a little.

Yui: ...Thank you.

(...By that time, he meant when we came here to purchase a present for the shoemaker…?)

(When did he notice that I was interested in these cakes...I wonder.)

(He saw it when I wasn’t aware of him I think…)

(But I am worrying whether I am being a burden to him for this or not.)

Ruki: Why are you making such a face. If you are having problems choosing, then are you gonna eat every single one of these?

Yui: I- I can’t eat such amounts…

Ruki: Then, I’ll help you so...don’t hesitate.

Yui: ...Really? Alright then...

Tart, mousse, jelly, mille crêpes, sachertorte and…

Ruki: kh….! Oi...are you serious…?

Yui: Fufuh... no way. Just kidding.

Ruki: ...You…

Yui: (Just for now...let’s spend time without thinking anything.)

Place: Sugar House / シュガーハウス

Sugar house assistant: You’re welcome here.

Ruki: ….You know the shopkeeper who works in a shop in the underground corridor, right?

Sugar house assistant: kh...Did he say something…

Yui: (Ruki kun is...too abrupt.)

Sorry for saying so suddenly. We wanted to search you for your boyfriend.

Sugar house assistant: kh...I can’t meet him anymore. Please tell him sorry.

Ruki: What do you mean?

Sugar house assistant: Please leave it as it is. I want to forget him already.

Yui: If it’s okay then would you mind explaining the reason? He was really depressed about that…

We want him to become lively once again…! Please!

Sugar House Assistant: ……….

Understood. I’ll explain everything. But in exchange, can you tell him to forget about me?

Ruki: ...If your reasons can convince him, then yes.

Sugar House assistant: Honestly I was thinking to have a good future with him. But, I didn’t want to cause trouble for that.

My younger sister has been sick since she was born...it means I must have to face troubles for nursing her.

But, if I do that, then it’ll be a great problem for him….I can’t allow that.

This is why, at least...I just don’t want to be a burden to him. That’s why I've decided not to meet him anymore.

Ruki: Looks like you have decided something very complacency...if it would be that man, then he would agree to face these troubles.

Sugar house assistant: This is why I disagree...I really love his shoes. So I wanted to devote myself to help him out in making shoes.

Yui: ...I understand those feelings.

Ruki: Oi?

Yui: (“I like him, so I don’t want to bother him. I like him, that’s why I don’t want to a burden to him.”)

Ruki kun, I am sure these are the feelings... for love.

Ruki: ngh…!

Monologue  一

Ruki kun had become silent like that.

...I am sure he had gulped all the words he wanted to say.

Not tolerating the awkward face that Ruki kun was making, she gave us a spa ticket on out way back.

We left the store as the conversation didn’t get lively.

End of Monologue

Place: Spa / スパ

Yui: ...So nice feeling.

(We got separated in the changing room, so I interned in the hot spring alone...but I am somehow feeling down.)

Ruki: ...You were here after all.

Yui: kh….! Ruki kun!

Ruki: ...Tell me

Do you think those two will be happy?

Yui: ….I hope so. They are a good couple.

Ruki: But, if they love each other, then they won’t be willing to struggle for mutual concerns right?

Yui: ...Yes.

Ruki: ...I don’t think they will be able to understand each other that easily yet.

Yui: I am sure it won’t be easy...but there are different kinds of love.

Ruki: ...I see.

Yui: (Her words, her boyfriend’s... and Ruki kun’s…)

(Without any doubt, they are sharing the same feeling(s) from the beginning, then why did it turn out like this…)

Ruki: ...The wind feels so nice.

Yui: Yeah, that’s right…

………

(I don’t know what should be the correct decision though, let’s think about it.)

一The END of Chapter O 2

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 69

This arc. Arc four is the shortest arc. But it blurs a little bit into three and five so depending on how you want to cut it, it isn’t. But it probably is the shortest. It’s also my favorite I think. Of the arcs I’ve written so far.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

(Ruby PoV)

I brushed a comb through my hair. I wanted to look at least decent for when I saw Jaune again. What? Just because I could bullseye you from a thousand yards doesn't mean I didn't like girly stuff. One of those things was looking nice for my boyfriend when I visited him in a military psychiatric hospital.

I grinned wolfishly at the mirror. I didn't have a lot of hair to comb through like Yang or Weiss but I had enough to drag a brush through and make it look a bit neater. Speaking of Weiss, she came by and leaned at the corner of the wall in the bathroom. Her hair was still down and not up in its braided ponytail. I turned away from the mirror to actually look at her.

"What?" She asked. She looked beautiful with her hair down but she probably wasn't planning on coming to see Jaune like that. It just wasn't in the cards for her.

"You're not coming with me to see Jaune?" I shot back.

"He likes you, remember?"

"He liked you first," I retorted. "All freshman year, remember?"

She sighed. "I don't want to overwhelm him. He's probably going through a lot as it is. He doesn't need whatever is going on with me to add to that." She waved a hand at herself.

"That you like him," I cut through.

"Yes, Ruby. That I like him." She sounded a touch exasperated.

"Don't you want to tell him how you feel?" I asked.

"I-I suppose..."

"Come on. Let me do your hair." I guided her in and sat her down by the bath and ran my fingers against her scalp. She sighed back into my touch and I let a grin stretch my face. I started to do up her enormous plait.

"It's just so confusing."

"No it's not," I said. "The only thing left to see is if you like him back. And you flirted with him occasionally in Mistral."

"In Mistral…" she repeated. "I just don't want to confuse him."

"But what if you don't have the chance to tell him how you feel again. Think about how stressed you were before you told me how you felt."

"Ruby…"

"You don't want to let this opportunity slide by, even if he's stressed out it's not like having you like him will make things worse."

"Easy enough for you to say. You've already slept with him. And I've already kissed you. It's fairly clear we both like you while it's not so clear that he and I would work out."

"I've just slept with him three times."

"Just three times you say. Forgive me. I didn't mean to blow it out of proportion," she said sarcastically.

I kissed her on the lips with a bit of passion before I went back to doing her braid. "It'll be alright."

"And you're okay with all this? Sharing him? Sharing me?"

"Of course." I was raised by Yang and my dad so maybe my view of love was more relaxed than Weiss's. She was raised up here in Atlas where things were more strict. To me, love was love. It was about sharing and being shared. Nothing about this was crazy to me. I liked what I liked what I liked. And I wanted it, too. "You're alright with sharing me with him."

"W-well yes," she agreed.

"Then don't worry about it. You're stressing way too much."

"But what if he says no."

"Why would he say no? He flirted back with you in Mistral if what you told me is true. He had a crush on you first. Even before all that business with Pyrrha happened. So why would he say ‘no?’"

"What if he wants to be monogamous with you. What if he's not poly." Weiss came out and said it. The big humdinger.

"Then why would he have flirted with you in Mistral?" I countered. And I didn’t really blame him for it if he did. I wasn’t mad.

She sat in silence while I did her plait. I bobby pinned it up as I worked my hands through her long beautiful hair. I squealed a little and wanted to squeeze my face into the silky mass.

"We just need to be open with him. He'll understand. I'm fairly certain he won't be upset that another beautiful girl loves him. He'll probably just be like 'I hate myself and I don't deserve it.' He's like that a bit. We just need to shut that down."

"You've thought about this a lot," she accused.

"Not really," I responded. "That's just how he is, he loathes himself, sometimes. And it's how we could be. All together. I love you Weiss. And I love him. What's wrong with that? What's complicated about that?"

"It's just a whole person to be added to the mix. And you weren't ready before."

"But I promised you I would be ready eventually."

"And that's now?"

"Yes. I'm fairly fast, in case you haven't noticed. It helps that I have him back. I was worried about him. He was alone stewing in whatever happened to him for real. He was off dealing with Salem's mind control by himself, even if we didn't know about it yet. But that's over now. We're going to keep him safe, you and me."

"You make it sound so easy. It's not. It's three people. All with their own desires. That's about as complicated as it gets. Plus you have no idea how to help with the mind control piece."

"You're stressing about nothing until we talk to him."

"It has been a long time…"

"Just a month or so," I returned. "That's less time than you spent with him in Mistral."

"You're too excited for this."

"Why wouldn't I be excited? I get to be with both my best friends."

"If he likes me back," Weiss amended.

"You're still worried about that?"

"It's kind of a big hang up, Ruby."

"He likes you. I promise. What's not to like about you?"

"I'm uptight. I worry too much. I'm an overthinker."

"Now you sound like Jaune did before he admitted we were a couple. Maybe I've got a type." I sighed.

"Jaune and I aren't that similar," she protested. "That's kind of what I'm worried about."

"You're both overthinkers. You're both super smart," I disagreed. "You have more in common than you think, Weiss. I think so, at least."

"Really? I always thought he was a bit like you, Ruby."

"Impatient?" I asked.

"Energetic and a touch clumsy," she corrected, a small smile quirking her pink lips.

"Huh," was all I could manage. We sat in relative quiet as I worked for a moment. She hummed back into my touch. She had a lovely singing voice. I could stand to hear it more.

"And now that he's got that real confidence and honesty behind him I always thought he was… well, you know."

"Hot?" I asked. He was a little.

"You see it too, then."

"You should just wait until he kisses you. Now that's hot."

I watched Weiss rub her legs together a little. "And you're alright with that? You'd be onboard with me kissing him."

"For the hundredth time, yes!" I wanted to shake some sense into her. They were both my best friends. I wanted to share them. "It's not so complicated. It's just one more person, like you keep saying."

To be honest the thought of watching Weiss and Jaune kiss was about the hottest thing I'd thought of in a bit. It made me shudder a little.

"We should see how he is first. He might not be in the best place mentally for it."

"But when he's ready we'll snatch him up, you and me."

She wrapped a hand over my neck and turned me to kiss her. Her tongue dove forward a little and I let it into my mouth. I moaned into the kiss. It felt like everything was going to be okay. For the first time in a long time I really felt it.

"Weiss…" I whimpered. "I need to finish your braid…"

"What's the hold up?" She whispered against my lips. "Are you distracted?" She teased me.

I whined a little and clenched at her hair with both hands. She groaned a little as I pulled gently on her platinum threads.

"Maybe a little." I confessed, desperately. "Let me finish!"

She turned back away from me with her face pink. She was breathing hard enough to make her chest heave. For all my sister's teasing about Weiss's modest chest size, I liked it. Her breasts swelled up at me as she panted from our long kiss.

She was only in her morning wear so I thought I could see the tips of her breasts hardened in the early yellow light. I was no better with my heart beating fast, hammering away in my chest at my ribs. The way she made me whine was enormously domineering.

It was so unbelievably attractive.

I desperately tried to remember where my fingers were and finish up her braid. My hands were trembling more than a little. I slowly got my breathing back under control. My face was as red as my cape in the mirror.

It took a moment to get myself under my own command but eventually I succeeded.

A knock came by the open door. I turned to see my older sister. "Yang?" I asked. I put the last tie in Weiss's plait. "Are you coming to see Jaune too?"

"Yeah, Blake and I both are. I talked her into it. Jaune turned himself and the relic in. That counts for something."

"Thank you Yang." Weiss tucked her hair behind her shoulder and stood up. "I was worried that this would divide us."

"Yeah well it still might," Yang said. "Jaune is a criminal now. Plus he was working with Neapolitan. He better have a good reason for that. For both those things. Let's be honest, I want Jaune on our side, his power and strength are awesome, but I don't know if I can trust him. Especially with the mind control stuff."

I sighed and nodded. I was grateful for Yang coming at us honestly. I was willing to bet the reason was good enough for Jaune, but would Yang agree? I wasn't sure.

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Jaune looked good. Tall with little blue diamond piercings like his eyes. His hair was done up in a spiky messy fashion that made him look dashing. His armor was under black clothes and he had a touch of red where Pyrrha's sash was tied to his arm and he had this little half cape to him too that made his silhouette look slick.

None of the others had brought up his outfit change. It hadn't been as important as other topics but it was there and Jaune looked good-enough-to-eat in his git-up. And if I had it my way I would.

He sat down with us just at a table within the hospital behind double locked doors like an airlock. Someone would have to let us out and the double doors ensured that none of the patients could escape, should they try.

"Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang." He nodded with a charming smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Jaune." I embraced him deeply. His wide frame wrapped me up easily. I inhaled his familiar smell wildly. Crisp spice and something else, something torched.

I had missed him. It dragged tears from my eyes which I wiped away.

"How are they treating you in here?" Weiss asked.

Jaune waggled a hand. "Eh. About as good as I could reasonably expect considering the liability I constitute. If I meant business, I'm not sure that those doors could stop me."

He'd probably been analyzing the exits. It was instinct for a hunter like him. He was trapped and he knew it. But he was trapped by his own code as much or more so than the actual doors.

"Jaune you have to tell us everything. What happened to you?" I asked. "What happened at Haven?"

"I killed Ren and Nora. Salem made me do it but I still killed them," he confessed. "She then called me to bring the relic to her. I… I know where she is. At all times. It's like an instinct. I can feel her."

"Are they giving you medication for that?" Weiss asked.

"They're trying to bring my psychosis under control. They have no idea how to deal with the Salem stuff."

"But they're related. Salem's causing it," Blake said.

"That's right. I'm skeptical about any treatment they give me. They're giving me all kinds of sedatives to relax me and they've got me on antipsychotics." He leaned back in his seat and kept one arm around me. "Propanalol and Clonazepam to help relax and then something called Asenapine for the delusions and hallucinations."

"Is it working?" Yang asked.

He shook his head. "It's too early to tell."

"But you don't think it will." Blake murmured. "You think what Salem's doing to you can't be cured."

"Right. I'm being mind raped." He had a lazy half smile. He looked consigned.

I flinched a little. And Weiss shuffled slightly in her blue and silver outfit. She rubbed one arm with the other.

"You're not being mind raped." I said. "Right?"

"She sends me nightmares and I have to deal with her hallucinations. She's attacking me all the time. She wants the relic and Ozpin dead again. She’s my head all the time like ‘do it. Kill them. Bring it to me.’ That sort of ominous bullshit. You can only say ‘no’ so many times and so many ways. It's… it's a lot to deal with."

"But you're fighting. You can resist her," Yang said.

"I'm not sure. If I hear her voice again for real I'm afraid I'll have to obey her. That's what happened last time."

"But so long as you don't hear her real voice you're alright. You're safe." I tried to confirm.

"Maybe. It's a struggle to not give in to her whispers. I hear it all the time."

"You said that you were using Marijuana to help with that. Are you still?" Weiss asked.

"They took that away from me. I'm lucky I'm in a hospital and not behind bars."

"You attacked Atlas. Set some prisoners lose when you were Cloud Strife." Yang murmured. "Burned down a building and did worse besides."

"I was working for an information broker in the city. I was looking for the maiden here. I found out that your sister, Weiss, visits the same bunker every day. Ever since Beacon fell. I'm betting the maiden is there, Tyrian brought her up before I killed him."

"She is," Weiss breathed. Blake nudged her. "What? He already knew."

"These are the kinds of secrets we can't share with him just yet. He's a liability," Blake hissed.

"You said Cloud Strife. Is that your alter ego?" I asked. "Would you rather we call you that? It's a pretty name."

"Maybe. Jaune Arc was given to me by Salem or Merlot. I'm really not attached to it. Kind of disgusted by it to be honest."

"We'll support you. Whatever you decide."

"Thank you. And Cloud does have a nice ring to it, let's roll with that," he smiled.

"You were also working with Neapolitan. She attacked me. She tried to kill me," Yang said.

"She wanted revenge against Cinder and I happened to run into her. Our agendas aligned and her powers are useful," Cloud shrugged. "I won't lie, she's a bit of a monster. But then so am I."

"You're not a monster," Weiss murmured.

"No?" He asked. "I've killed people. I've tortured people."

"I've tortured people, well a person," Weiss said. "You're not alone in that."

"And I've killed people. Lots of them." Blake muttered.

"I was made in a laboratory out of Salem's cells by a mad man. Pretty sure I qualify. You should have seen my father's other experiments. I found where I was born, this incubator. Did you know that I'm only four years old? Because I didn't. He grew me until I was almost an adult and then sold me back to Salem then she had me sneak into Beacon. All of my dreams, all of it was fake."

"But you had memories. Remember Shion? Remember your sisters?" I asked.

"Fake," he sighed. "Or wrong. Incomplete. My sisters though are somewhere out there. I couldn't find any notes on them in Merlot's laboratory but Salem mentioned them in Haven. She has my sisters, whoever they really are. I ran into their creator at this other laboratory, this man with a mustache."

"We ran into a group of girls. They were younger than you but their powers were like yours a little," Blake said. "They all had blue eyes and blonde hair. They were after the relic and attacked us in Argus. Could they have been your sisters?"

"Maybe. It's possible. I might recognize them if I saw them. Mother gave me a lot of memories, not all of them were outright wrong, some were merely half-true."

"Mother?" Yang asked.

"Salem. I meant Salem. Damnit." He hit the table with a fist.  I flinched back a little from the loud noise. He seemed oblivious to it. Running a palm through his spiky hair.

"How long are they keeping you here?" I asked.

"Well they did call it a three day hold. And mental patient or not it's nice to be held," he smiled a little. He rubbed his face with his hands. Hard. "Ah. They've got my weapon somewhere. I'd rather you all had it."

"We've got Ren and Nora's weapons, do you want them?" Weiss asked.

"No. Gods no. I don't. I don't deserve them. What did you do with their bodies, if I can ask?"

"We had them cremated." Weiss reached out and took his hand with one of hers. She rubbed gently over the back of his fingers.

He nodded. He was crying a little. "Thanks. For the best, that." He wiped his face again. His cheeks were turning red from it. He wasn't a handsome crier.

I looked over at Yang. She bit her lip and looked away from me. I don't think she felt any anger towards Jaune, or Cloud, rather. I don't think she felt anything other than sorry for him. Blake was rubbing the back of her neck and was gazing at the ground. Her stare had a thousand yards to it.  

I reached over and grabbed Weiss's other hand and she gave me a measured glance. She wasn't sure now was the time. I'd respect that if that was what she wanted. I just didn't want her to regret it.

"Blake, we should go…" Yang was watching us. "Unless you have any more questions for-um Cloud." She fumbled slightly towards the end.

"You don't have magic, do you?" Blake asked.

"Not past my semblance and a bit of dust I've been practicing with. Not that I know of, I should say."

"Then I think I'm out," Blake said. Yang nodded at her. Blake and Yang departed through the double locked doors of the hospital. That left Cloud and the two of us. "See you later, Cloud."

He nodded to them and looked between us. He inhaled a shaking breath.

"We have something we need to tell you…" I said. "Cloud, Weiss and I are together."

He breathed and nodded along. "I see. You like girls, then."

"Not quite. Neither of us do completely," Weiss murmured.

"I don't understand. I'm a dumbass so whatever it is you'd better spell it out for me," he gave me a brave smile. It was weak underneath. He was scared.

"Cloud…" I mumbled. I rather liked it. It was a good name. It was his own and not Salem's. I thought it was an encouraging sign of his independence. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet anyways. "I love Weiss. And I also love you."

"You dumb blonde, you're not stupid." Weiss said to him fondly. "I'm well- I love you too." Weiss finished. "And I love Ruby. I'm not sure if you're poly or open to that…"

"I don't want to lose you," I told him while I held his hand. I let some tears flow. " But I need Weiss as well. I can't do it without her behind me.  So will you give the three of us a try? When you left we kissed and I realized how much I wanted her. I... I need you too though. I told you that at the Golden Saucer. I meant it. I can't choose. Please don't make me choose. "

Cloud leaned back and exhaled. "My heart… from what you started with I thought it was going to be bad news…" he still looked almost scared.

"I take it that this isn't bad news?" Weiss asked. "Don't tell me you're afraid of our wants." She laughed a little but she was desperately watching his face. She wanted to know. She wanted to know what he felt. I did too, but I was less scared.

"No. Its-its fine. I'm open. I'm willing to try, just wait for me to get out of here. Alright? We'll be able to talk more."

"You think they'll let you out and not put you in prison?" I wondered.

"No way. They'll want me out in the field. The things I can do... They'd be foolish to put me away. And no prison could hold me anyways." He smiled weakly at us.

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-WG

[alligaytorswamp]

yellow , green , blue, turquoise , onyx , fuchsia , cream , mauve ( also genshin) & plum B)))

hey hi hello >:)

green: do you have a favourite flower?

nah i dont differentiate them.. every flower is just a flower to me jkhasjkdhkj...

if the flower is purple it gets extra points tho

blue: preferred type of weather?

rain!!! thunderstorms!!! <333

turquoise: favorite sea animal?

penguins or turtles :p

onyx: do you still play Minecraft?

nope, never did

fuchsia: favorite land animal?

cream: any piercings or tattoos? do you want any?

i have a helix one but it got fucked up.. so it looks weird :(

would love to fix it one day.. or maybe get rid of it completely hhh

no tattoos but i want some yes heheeheh

some longer answers will be under the cut jkahdsjkad

plum: a food you've never tried

oi.. dats like a lot of things... ;;

well I've never had anything "Chinese"/"Mexican"/idk what else people mention in a similar manner... i hear English-speaking folks refer to these.. "types" and yep never had any of that. also like.. any food chains that just don't exist in Russia? obv nope......... there is probably an insane amount of stuff I haven't tried, I'm picky and literally just eat at home 99% of the time so-

yellow: name of an artist you think is underappreciated

gonna give a dumb ass answer but... i can't...? i don't really know how much one should be "appreciated", like what is the "right amount" and whether or not this person receives it. the amount of notes/likes doesn't always represent that and also i don't look there at all.. also this one random artist can have multiple accs on different platforms with different engagements and all that... so how do i really know what's up with them? and once again i don't think i sit around thinking Damn this person needs more likes !! .. i just like/rb whatever i want and it's epic lashdjlksajdlk also i'm not sure if i have strong attachments to certain creators.. (at this point that is. i used to and some of it backfired lmao) ... the only attachments i have r ppl i'm friends with which is U Know... considered the right answer to this question and an adequate person would do just that but damn none of yall getting a free promo wtf 🙄 and i feel like mentioning one friend could lead to upsetting another or like .. i could just forget to tag someone... or I would waste time trying to figure out if it would be ok to mention them in an ask like this one and probably would decide against it anyways just not to bother anybody ....

and is getting tagged in a post saying u r underappreciated even a compliment? because i for one am not too sure about that........... much to think about uh huh

mauve: any unpopular opinions?

we entered danger zone.................... beware :з

uhhh well first of all I think childe x zhongli is like the most pathetic and boring "default" pairing this fandom came up with. they have 0 chemistry and I just hate everything about it. as much as I headcanon both as queers... together romantically it feels like 2 straight men put together by ya*i fans............ also before i blacklisted to ship and voluntarily looked through the ship tag... every post felt like a hard ooc. i could not understand what childe or zhongli are supposed to be as individuals, what they have in common, what kind of dynamic they have. deadass most crack ships with 0 interactions have more flavor than this tragedy

eng VAs are great people and appreciate their work but whoever decides the voices ain't doing it right. every male character sounds like a middle-aged white man.. and most of the youngest characters sound like very obvious adults trying to pretend to be babies. all of it irks me so bad god.. and there are so many characters that lose their little spark in eng........ (yet in korean and chinese they're completely fine??)

all of the playable adult male characters are shitty people in one way or another. none of them are good. they have reasons and different perspectives, yes, but they suck. every single one of them. stop ignoring it or trying to say only some are evil. none of them are inherently terrible.. but they're not these precious and righteous individuals. they're men.................... that says a lot, actually. :\

and as for women? god i hate the idea that they're all so uninteresting and weak. lichrally just a bunch of girlbosses, morals of most could be questioned as well... anyways some of the girls not having extremely dramatic stories doesn't make them any less cool. let them be

also all archons suck it's ok. you can still love them while acknowledging that they've done some shit. ALSO stop demonizing venti .. and now baal, while praising zhongli- he's an old loser stop lying to yourself. i hate when people present him as the only good archon, the voice of reason who is just so cool and collected but also ahh so cutely silly about mora !!!............. bitch the story quest of liyue is just one zhongli-is-a-fucking-moron campaign idk did yall skip it or something............ and even then it's ok to like him, he does have his logic/reasons/beliefs that justify his actions... he is not a good guy or archon tho.

shipping archons/adepti/whatever the fuck that isn't a basic human with a basic human is super weird. i mean the power dynamic will be completely fucked and ages? lord almighty... basically mortals should stay with mortals... the rest goes to baby jail except maybe ganyu she's a good girl

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk what else.................

maybe.. ahha... well.............. with how people hype up any vague new character that is leaked and declare how they will skip every banner ever for them - even tho all we know is... how the character looks like? it feels a bit too much. like truly what's the point of going crazy and then screaming at mihoyo every 3 seconds over some character that could be fake for all we know, or maybe they'll be a support you don't need, or they have a weapon you don't like to use.... can't you just wait till we get official info? jesus lawd- but regardless.......................... where is the same energy for baizhu :)

the man is literally in the game and people manage to forget him even in conversations about dendro specifically- how the fuck is that even real-

thanks for watching everybody don't forget to subscribe smash that like button and hit the notification bell ^_^

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter Sixteen: A Talking Water Fountain Offers Us Some Guidance

Luz filled in her friends on what she’d seen as quick as she could, and by the time she’d finished, Willow and Gus were pale, and Amity looked like she was going to be sick.

“That’s how those heroes have come back from the dead,” she concluded, and Luz nodded meekly, feeling smaller than she’d ever had before.

Luz was a confident person, but even she had no idea how they could stop literal undead Greek heroes from the past. They were just four teenagers. Luz couldn’t even drive yet. How were they supposed to destroy a literal portal to the afterlife? Her Mami had taken her to Catholic Church her entire life, she was still trying to wrap her head around god not being real, never mind the whole Greek Underworld existing as a whole.

“There’s no use worrying about it right now,” Willow tried, sensing everyone’s tension. “We should take a break and prepare for our next move, one step at a time.”

Luz nodded, eager to change the subject. “I’m definitely ok with not talking about this right now. My head hurts just thinking about it.”

“Then I’m going to shower,” Amity said getting to her feet. Luz nodded, shoveling a few grapes into her mouth. She swallowed, then called out after Amity as she opened one of the doors (that definitely hadn’t been there when they walked in).

“The three of us can gather up supplies for the rest of the quest while you do.”

Amity shot her a half-smile before she disappeared behind the door. Gus got up and took his dish to the sink, dropping them in and heading over to the desk where he began skimming through papers. Willow picked up a cracker and hummed under her breath, and Luz looked up at the sound. She was giving Luz a look that was almost too nonchalant to seem normal.

“You and Amity seem to be getting along a lot better now than you did at camp.”

Luz frowned immediately. Her stomach swirled with guilt. “I hope that’s alright, I know things in the past weren’t great between you two-”

“No, no!” Willow said quickly, holding up her hands. “That’s not what I meant. I meant what I said back in Kansas. We’re working on our stuff, that shouldn’t have anything to do with you two and your friendship. I was just noticing that you two seem close.”

“I mean… I guess we are, yeah.” Luz didn’t even realize she had reached up behind her head and was rubbing it nervously. Were her cheeks getting red? Why was she blushing? “I mean, we haven’t really been rivals or anything since the night of the skeleton attack, and we did save her so she’s kind of forced to be nicer to us. We had a talk in the tent yesterday and that kind of broke the ice between us…”

“You talked?” Willow said, now curious. “About what?”

Luz was at first not sure if Amity would like her sharing what Luz had told her, but she figured it would do no harm, if anything it would help Willow and Amity get along a little better. She told Willow about how they’d shared what ambrosia and nectar tasted like for them, but when she got to the part about Amity’s parents she froze, certain now she shouldn’t share that. Thankfully, Willow seemed to pick this up.

“I came in around that time, you don’t have to continue.”

“Well, then when you guys went to send a message to camp, we talked about the prophecy…”

She told Willow that story too, and when she finished, the Demeter camper looked stunned.

“What?” Luz asked, feeling self-conscious.

“Nothing! It’s just… Amity was never the kind of person to openly share her feelings like that,” Willow said, a small smile beginning to pull at her lips. “She must really trust you.”

Luz was sure she was bright red now. “I mean, I hope she’d trust me! We are kind of stuck in this mess together…”

“Luz, I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing,” Willow insisted, leaning forward to rest her hand over Luz’s. The demigod hadn’t even realized she was beginning to panic a little, not really understand what Willow was getting at. Willow gave her a reassuring smile.

“I just mean you should be happy that Amity trusts you. I’ve known her for five years, and I think right now she must be feeling really alone. I’m glad she has someone like you to confide in. Don’t you feel the same way?”

Luz wasn’t really sure what to think, not that that was unusual for her. The truth was Amity really confused her. When Luz was around her, she had all these intense emotions she couldn’t quite place, like the time Antheia had touched her shoulder and filled her to the brim with emotions. They weren’t bad, they were just overwhelming. She was certain Amity was feeling something similar because she had been so weird around Luz as of late. She kept getting all anxious and red, and Luz was terrified she was doing something wrong.

Maybe she should talk to her about it.

A pop from the corner of the room made Luz jump, nearly shooting up from the table as she was snapped out of her thoughts. In the other corner of the room, a water fountain had appeared out of nowhere. It was creating a misty rainbow, and from the other end of the water, a soft and soothing voice called out to Luz.

“You are receiving an incoming Iris Message,” it said, “sender: Eda Clawthorne, Camp Half-Blood.”

Willow shot up from the table so quickly, Luz launched backward in her chair and fell, landing with an uncomfortable thump. “Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please show this message.”

The fountain shimmered for a moment, and when Luz looked up from her spot on the floor her mouth dropped. There was Eda, all the way from camp, blinking her gold eyes at them. She looked just as she always did, in a red dress and boots, Owlbert perched on her shoulder, his eyes also blinking comically through the fountain. At her side, she also saw King who blinked his yellow eyes at the fountain, looking back at Eda with a narrowed frown.

“Is this thing on?”

“Yes, King.” She said shortly. “That’s why we can see the kids.”

“Eda!” Luz shot up from the ground and ran towards the fountain, arms outstretched. Eda’s eyes widened, but not in delight. In warning.

“Kid, don’t!”

“Luz, no!”

Gus managed to jump at her, throwing her back into the floor. Luz groaned in agony as she landed on her back for the second time.

“Ow! Gus, what the heck!”

“Sorry!” He said apologetically from on top of her. “But that’s an Iris Message, and it’s powered by the rainbow coming with the fountain. If you touch it with your hands it severs the connection.”

Luz’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and she slowly got to her feet. “Right, sorry.”

“You’re looking good, kid,” Eda said, and luz looked up at her mentor with a grin. She hadn’t seen Eda in days, and she hadn’t realized how badly she’d been missing her until she saw her reflection. “Travel suits you.”

“Thanks,” Luz said bouncing on her toes to try and work off some of her excitement.

“Sorry to just drop in on you kids, but I got work from Cabin Six that you had managed to find your way to an abandoned workshop in Denver, so I wanted to check-in and make sure you guys were alright.”

Gus, upon hearing this, brightened. “So the map works then?”

Eda chuckled. “Sure does.”

“Remember I told you guys Cabin Six knew vaguely about the locations of the workshops?” Gus said to them, and Willow and Luz nodded. “Well, it’s because we have a map of them in our cabin. Supposedly when a demigod “checks in” it’ll show their names on the map."

“All that stuff in the workshop that appears comes from somewhere,” Eda said with a smile. “Mainly camp, though I’m sure the wisdom goddess threw in a couple of those nice accessories for you. I’ve never seen that desk before.” Eda blinked in surprise, scanning the room. “or that fridge, or that stove. Or that wardrobe… Holy Zeus, she must really like you kids.”

She shook her head, something Luz knew meant that Eda was trying to stay focused.

“Anyways, I was told by Willow and Gus the other day that you’d found Amity. Where is she?”

“Taking a shower,” Luz supplied, and Eda nodded.

“I don’t blame her. But I’m glad she’s safe. The Blight Twins have been bugging me to ask about her so I’ll let them know she’s ok. But enough about that. I was doing a little research with Lily into your “resurrected heroes” issue. You should know that when heroes do escape the Underworld, their fatal flaw remains intact. You should use that against them in combat. Achilles has his heel of course, and you already severed the ties with Orpheus’ lyre. But Theseus’ flaw is not so easily breached.”

“What is it like a weak left arm or something?” Luz asked, and Eda chuckled.

“No, his isn’t physical. It’s his recklessness. He chose to confront you on the bus, without making sure Orpheus knew what his plan was. He likely chose rebirth without thinking of the consequences. Find out how to use that against him. I don’t know who this man in the mountain is, but if you want to beat him you have to beat his cronies first.”

Luz swallowed nervously, Eda narrowed her eyes.

“What, kid? Did something happen to you?”

Luz shook her head, before telling Eda about the dream, Belos, and the portal. Sometime during the story, Amity had come out of the shower. She was dressed in the fresh clothes she’d picked from the wardrobe, had her sword strapped to her belt, and her mint hair was still wet, hanging down near her shoulders. She waved hello to Eda, not wanting to interrupt Luz, and she grinned at Amity and whispered something to King, who took off and out of sight.

Luz tried not to get distracted from her story when Amity stood next to her. It was hard. Amity hadn’t looked so at peace in a long time, and she now smelled like fresh lavender and mint. Luz suddenly realized how desperately she needed a shower, but when Gus saw Amity he had squealed in delight and ran into the bathroom for his turn.

It took longer to tell the tale than she would have liked, but she did eventually finish. When she was done, Eda hummed, putting her finger to her lips.

“Belos. I haven’t heard that name in a long time.”

Willow leaned forward anxiously. “You know him?”

Eda shrugged. “I was just a teenager when he tried to seize Olympus when he was alive. He rallied a team of misunderstood demigod’s and tried to take Olympus by force. This was before gods had to claim their children, and before we had the minor gods cabins at camp. He was an unclaimed Hermes camper who wanted recognition, and freedom from the consequences that come with being a half-blood. He was struck down by my dad’s thunderbolts personally.”

Luz, Willow, and Gus winced. What a way to go.

“If he’s alive again, then he’s a real threat,” Eda said seriously. “I don’t know much about him, but I do know his godly parent. Hecate, the goddess of magic and necromancy.”

Next to her, Amity flinched like she’d been slapped.

“Well, now we know how he can raise people from the dead,” Willow mumbled under her breath.

“Magic, that would explain that mist that was surrounding me in my dream,” Luz said, and Amity swallowed hard next to her.

“And the snow when I was trying to get to him with Skara and Boscha.”

“It won’t be easy to beat him,” Eda said seriously. “But it’s not impossible. You have help if you need it. Luz, you still have that whistle?”

Luz nodded, clutching the string around her neck. Eda grinned.

“When you need it, it’ll work. Also, your siblings from the Hermes cabin have a message for you. Something about remembering your Hermes secrets?”

Luz felt a jolt run through her. The bag of tricks that Viney and Jerbo had given her! Eda chuckled at the look on her face.

“I’m not even going to ask. The point is, if you kids ever need a hand, just know that your family has your back.”

Luz felt herself start to get a little choked up. She really missed Eda. On Eda’s line, Luz heard a thundering of footsteps, and King had reappeared with Edric and Emira on the other end.

“Mittens!” They both shrieked when they saw her. They were both dressed in orange camp shirts, and it looked like they must have come from training because they were covered in sweat. Amity couldn’t help but smile when she saw her siblings, and that made Luz split into a grin of her own.

“And that’s my cue,” Eda said, chuckling. She reached into her pocket and handed the twins a couple of golden drachmae. “I have to head out. I’ll look into this mountain man for you kids and try and get ahold of you if I find anything.”

“Thanks, Eda!” Luz said, unable to fully express how happy she was to have seen her again. Next to her, Willow had snuck off for her turn in the shower as Gus came back into the office. Luz rolled her eyes. It was supposed to be her turn, but she couldn’t be mad at Willow.

“No problem, kid,” Eda said, and she turned tail and walked away with King at her heels. The Blight twins immediately began to bombard them with questions.

“Are you alright?” Emira asked with a frown, peering over to examine Amity as best she could.

“You’re not hurt right?” Edric added, leaning in as well.  

“No, I’m fine now,” Amity said with a roll of her eyes. “Luz and her friends rescued me and now I’m just healing up. But I’m almost back to 100%.”

“You have no idea how worried we were,” Emira said with a frown. Worry was such a weird look to see on the Blight twin’s face, Luz didn’t really know how to process it. She’d only ever seen them with smirks that screamed trouble, or a sly look that shared a similar sentiment. She realized she was starting, and Edric looked over at her, his face changing to glee.

“So I take it the chariot ride went alright then?” He said, and suddenly Luz was scowling.

“Yeah, thanks for that. We had to kill the white eagle in Cincinnati to pay your mom back.”

“A what?” Emira asked, confused. Amity rolled her eyes.

“She means the Caucasian Eagle,”

Edric howled with laughter, and Luz flushed, embarrassed. “It’s not funny! It could have killed us.”

“But it didn’t,” Emira singsonged, shooting Luz a wink. “You got mittens back and now you’re together and everything is all good.”

Luz felt her face start to heat up at what Emira said. It wasn’t like that, she didn’t get Amity back, she had just helped her out. And yes they were together but they weren’t like together. And Luz definitely wouldn’t call everything “all good”…

Next to her, Amity had flushed deep red, and the twins shared an absolutely ecstatic look that was probably the scariest thing Luz had ever seen.

“Emira, I get the feeling that everything is more than “all good” for mittens here…”

“Me too, Edric. In fact, I think this might be mitten’s preferred situation-”

“Shut up!” Amity spat, her face twisting into a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. Luz now felt uncomfortable, like she was intruding on a private conversation. Thankfully, Willow had now exited the bathroom, and Luz had an out.

“Nice talking to you guys and all,” Luz started, already walking backward. “But it’s my turn for a shower. I’ll see you guys back at camp when we’re done with this whole quest and everything.”

“Bye, Luz!” Edric grinned, waving to her.

“See you later, cutie,” Emira said with a knowing wink, and Luz felt her face heat up to dangerous levels. She couldn’t really place how, but she was starting to finally process that the children of Aphrodite were a lot scarier than they seemed at first glance.

Luz entered the bathroom and her mouth dropped. It was entirely white, with gold accents, and there was a massive shower right at the end of it. Next to Luz there was a spot she could put her clothes to have them washed and dried while she showered (Luz didn’t understand how that worked, but considering it was stamped with the Camp Half-Blood Pegasus logo she imagined it was some magic demigod stuff) and there was a double vanity on the other side with a basket on top stuffed with toiletries. Her Mami would have let them live in this bathroom if they could have.

The shower wasn’t wet, despite her friends having used it beforehand, which Luz didn’t understand but it just made the whole experience a thousand times better. By the time she stepped out, she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt cleaner in her entire life. She used the deodorant in the vanity, (it was Luz’s favorite scent, so she was starting to realize the bathroom had reset after each use and accustomed based on what demigod used it) the body moisturizer, and the toner and moisturizer that was clearly set aside for her face. She brushed her teeth and combed out her wet hair, which was already drying thanks to it being so short, and even used the body spray. It was musky and smelled a bit like the cedar trees that grew in Amherst near her Abuela's house.

She put back on her, now clean, clothes and shoes, and packed the toiletries in her backpack to use later. She made sure Aletheia was secure on her finger and she exited the bathroom, feeling better than she had in weeks.

She was greeted by an unusually quiet workshop. Willow and Gus were nowhere to be seen, and Amity was sitting in a comfortable looking leather armchair next to the bookcase, flipping the pages of a novel.

“Amity?”

The demigod looked up, her gold eyes focusing on Luz. Her cheeks pinked, and she waved awkwardly.

“Hey, how was your shower?”

“Fantastic!” Luz grinned, heading towards her. “Where are Willow and Gus?”

“My siblings said Eda and Lilith sent us some money to the post office near here. They went to go pick it up.”

“That’s good,” Luz said with a smile. “It’ll be a lot easier planning our next move when we don’t have to worry too much about cash.” As she got close enough to see what Amity was reading, her eyes widened.

“Are you reading “The Good Witch Azura”?”

Amity’s cheeks reddened. “Uh, yeah?”

“That’s my favorite series ever!” Luz squealed in excitement, leaning down to Amity to see what she was reading. She was so close she could smell the mint again.“Oh, you’re at the Bog of Immediate Regret! That’s such a cool chapter.”

When Luz looked up, Amity’s face was so red Luz was worried she was going to pass out. She had leaned as far away as she could from Luz and held up her hands in surprise. Luz recoiled, putting her hands on the arm of the chair apologetically.

“Sorry, I just really love their backstory.”

“It’s alright!” Amity squeaked, and Luz rubbed her neck in embarrassment. She always had a way of making kids her age feel awkward, and one of those ways was by constantly rambling about her favorite books or anime. She didn’t want to scare Amity off. Something about her demeanor must have changed because Amity suddenly frowned.

“Luz, really, it’s ok.” She tried for a smile. “I love their backstory too. It’s my favorite series, I’ve been reading them since they came out.”

Luz leaned forward again, her hesitation forgotten. “No way! What do you think of the new one?”

Amity frowned. “New one? I’ve only read up to the fourth book.”

Luz gasped dramatically, holding her hand over her heart. “What? The new one dropped this summer and it’s so good! I have it at home. I wish it was here.”

Just like that, and end table appeared next to the leather chair Amity was sitting in, with the newest copy of “The Good Witch Azura”, and Luz whooped in excitement, picking it up and flipping the page. She looked inside the cover and awed. It was her copy from her bookshelf at home. Her name was scribbled in scraggily font on the inside cover.

“Here,” Luz said, handing it to Amity. “You can borrow my copy and tell me what you think.”

“Are you sure?” Amity took the book like it was made of glass.

“Of course!” Luz insisted, pushing it into her hands. “You have to let me know what you think. I’ve never had any friends to talk about Azura with before. We should start a little book club together!”

Amity took the book and stared at it for a few moments, before looking up at Luz with a smile. Her eyes were glowing with gratitude, and the look made Luz’s heart practically leap out of her chest. She loved seeing Amity look so happy.

“Ok, thank you.”

Luz was going to ask Amity to start reading and see what she thought of the first chapter, but suddenly the door was open to the workshop, and Willow and Gus were walking back in, with a very nervous look on their faces. Luz immediately frowned, stepping forward.

“What’s going on?” She caught sight of their panic and her own eyes narrowed. “Who hurt my babies?”

“It’s not us we’re worried about,” Willow said quickly, her eyes flickering back between Luz and Amity.

“Amity, your mother is sitting in the café across the street.”

Amity immediately froze up, her eyes widened in panic. “My… mother? Which one?”

Gus’ eyes were wide like he’d just seen a ghost. Or a monster. Or maybe something much, much, worse.

“Your godly one. She called us over on the way back from the post office. She wants to talk to you and Luz.”

[chappedandfadedvds]

Dec 29th, Monday 13:51

„We really need to stick to the list this time.“

They had just reached the supermarket in the nearest city, parking the car in a free spot that wasn’t completely snowed in, when Robbe had made that joke. Sander and Jens were both grinning as they collected their jackets to get out.

„Okay? But why wouldn’t we?“ Lucas asked puzzled at the dumb reference, as he handed Jens his gloves he had hold onto for the drive. 

„So last year at our fall-break trip together, Robbe and me sort of didn’t bother to buy a single thing that Amber had asked for.“ 

The grin on Sander’ face almost grew into an expression of cocky proudness. Though it really didn’t helped to clear any confusion of the younger boy in the passenger seat, who followed to step out of the car as well.

„And she was fucking pissed, dude.“ Jens accused, not even trying to hide his amusement away. Even though the girl had been absolutely livid, as she had expected the shopping they had done. Sander had just shrugged it off back then. „She had to go herself later again. I think Aaron and Moyo went with her, not on their free will though.“

„But why?“

Jens had just double checked the driver’s door to be locked, before he turned to face Sander to give an answer. Jens had actually never really asked. He knew Robbe had went with him and that they had gotten to know each other. There was something with a song playing as well, but Jens had forgotten which one, or why it had been important in the first place.

„Well, I, uh, had a certain boy to impress.“ Sander said and it was quite fascinating to see the oldest of them to loose a bit of his cool composure and grow a bit shy instead.

„I assume it had worked?“ Lucas only replied, smiling brightly from Sander to Robbe, who simply nodded, as they still somehow hadn’t moved from their spot on the parking lot.

„Oh definitely. He completely succumbed to my charms.“ 

Ah there it was again. Sander apparently had only slipped briefly, when a smirk graced his lips and he leaned towards his boyfriend to place a kiss on his forehead. Robbe rolled his eyes at that, but didn’t deny the allegation even in the slightest. 

„Adorable. Is that actually the first time you met? You said something about a grocery store.“

Right. Jens almost had actually forgotten that Lucas had come out early on to his two friends and that they apparently had talked hours about their experiences. Jens guessed he knew probably more about their relationship then him. Odd, when Robbe was his best friend.

„The first time Robbe saw me at least.“ Sander wiggled his brows, very much cheery over that fact. „I may or may not have seen him before, when he was with Noor.“

So maybe Jens had been wrong. Lucas certainly didn’t looked like he knew about what had happened before the two boys got together. Neither had Jens talked a lot about that time. It had been so long ago and it felt like a completely different life at that point. There was a little pause between the name dropping and him continuing to explain.

„And then there was Brit of course, who I asked about Noor and Robbe, as she was her closest friend and I obviously had seen her next to him.“

„Sorry, Brit? Who is that.“

It only now dawned on Jens that Sander actually had also been with Brit, for months at that. Which made him acknowledge some other truths about them having been with the same girl. So first of all, ugh. And second of all, how had this never occured to him before? Well, this realisation was absolutely something he’d rather see reburied very very deep in the furthest corner of his brain. Because. No. No. Nonono.

Sander too seemed to have briefly been come to a similar conclusion, as his eyes darted in horror over to Jens, before he cleared his throat and went on.

„That’s a bit complicated.“

Yes, very helpful, Jens thought, as they finally got moving.

„She is, as already mentioned, a good friend of Noor’s and actually goes to our school.“ Jens began, gladly accepting the hand Lucas reached out to him.

„Really? Why haven’t I met her, if you all know her?“ The dutch boy definitely was on a curiousity spree today. Jens guessed they wouldn’t have much luck to ignore this conversation from happening.

„Brit isn’t really part of our group. Like we are alright to give the occasional nod and hello in passing, but since Sander and Robbe became a thing, she kinda had enough of us.“ Jens managed to awkwardly proclaim, very unsure how to word it all. „A bit of a sore spot for Brit with Noor as well, as she still is close to them and us in general. You know that she attends our meetings and is in the group chat and so on.“

„Okay? Couldn’t be more cryptic, huh?“ Lucas teased with a grin on his lips, despite him being left to press on to get his answers. At least someone was having fun here. Jens hated to have to be reminded of it all. It was messy at best.

„So I knew Brit first. We got along really well since we both were in the same class in our first year of secondary school and became a couple for eight or nine months when we were 15, if I remember that right.“ He trailed off their at the end, uncertainty strong in his voice, as he tried to get the timeline right.

„I don’t care if she is your ex, Jens.“

„Well, the thing is that Jana was her best friend for years and therefore we spend a lot of time together as well. The three of us, I mean. Often with Robbe there as well. Only that the last three weeks of our relationship I cheated on Brit with Jana.“

Lucas stopped in his tracks, pulling Jens to a halt while at it. Sander and Robbe quick to join them. They only had reached the entrance to the supermarket so far. This would take forever, if it continued on like this.

„For real? That’s awful.“

„I know. I. I don’t.“ Jens stumbled over his own words. He really didn’t wanted Lucas to think bad of him. He especially didn’t wanted his boyfriend to loose trust in him. It had destroyed his relationship with Jana. It was probably the same reason Jens hadn’t yet let Lucas in on that part of his life. „Uhm, so then I was with Jana for a bit. And we probably could have tried harder, but as everyone knows that hadn’t worked out quite great in the end. Brit in the meantime had met Noor somehow and found a new boyfriend.“

„Who was me.“ Sander confided sheepishly, while he raised his hand, his head ducked low next to Robbe. Jens could never tell if the older boy was actually rueful. He never seemed to have been too invested with Brit anyway. But it was only a guess on his part. The only time he had seen them as a couple had been on their trip to the sea.

„Oh no.“ 

Lucas finally seemed to connect some dots. His mouth hung open, as he regarded every single one of the three boys infront of him. He still hold Jens’s hand. So that was a good sign, right?

„Yup.“ Jens popped the p, slowly collecting his thoughts to bring this topic to an end. It got cold, and they really should get going. „So Sander here kinda cheated on her with Robbe, who to his credit did actually broke it off with Noor a bit earlier. And well, Brit isn’t therefore really fond of sticking around so much, you know.“

„Wow. You are assholes.“ Lucas stated rather dull, yet not without huffing an unamused laugh. „Like okay, my best friend kinda did something similar. Stuff happens. Sucks, but okay. But that poor girl. Twice?“ A unison of nods followed from all of them that had been involved. „Also, first her boyfriend and her best friend. And then her boyfriend with the bestfriend of her ex? I mean. Fuck.“

„Yea, that sums it up quite nicely.“ Robbe quietly agreed.

„Good god.“

„We know.“ Sander confirmed, before they fell into silence. Each of them wallowing in their own thoughts for a little while, before they startled at Robbe’s phone notifying him of a new text.

„Uh, I think we really should head inside, guys. Amber is asking me yet again how long we will need. She also put three exclamation marks after telling us to get everything on the list.“ Robbe summed up, while he presented his phone screen to the little group to read for themselves. Amber definitely wasn’t leaving it to chance. Jens also had to promise to keep check on the other two boys.

Therefore they all finally entered the supermarket, grabbing one of the shopping carts, while Sander read the list outloud for everyone to figure out where to start. It was a long list. But fortunately the warmth already made him feel better.

Lucas came up next to him, when he pushed the cart between the aisles filled to the brim with vegetables and fruits. Sander and Robbe busy to argue what type of tomates they needed.

„I can’t believe you did that.“ His boyfriend said, without any animousity. Instead he shook his head smiling, as he breathed a kiss on Jens’s cheek, before he stepped slightly aside, to grab a bundle of carrots.

„I told you, I was an ass back then.“

„Agreed.“ Lucas affirmed and Jens nodded in turn, busy remembering if Amber had said red or yellow onions. „I’m really glad I got to know you now, though. Honestly.“

__ __ __ tagged: @odi-et-amo85, @tayspots

[purplebass]

@jedilicious Hi! Sorry if I’m tagging you, but I’ve just read your post and I wanted to corroborate on parts of your theory. LOL.

About James and Matthew and Cordelia triangle, I also see that Math is the Will of this triangle while James is the Jem of this triangle. James is also very similar to Tessa in some ways. 

Anyway, I agree that the family tree could be wrong, but don’t forget that despite the Herondales have blue eyes as a dominant trait (in fact even Anna, Christopher and Max have blue eyes, even though Kit has lavender eyes, but it still is a shade close to blue), Cordelia has black eyes, which, in my opinion, could be a dominant trait in some unions, but only if she carries a dominant trait, I think. If Jordelia does end up together, it would be harder for their son to inherit James’ eyes, because that’s not dominant. And about Marcus, Stephen and Jace - their traits could come from “far”, since Edmund had blonde hair and blue eyes. These things tend to happen. I know people with red hair that inherited this trait from their great-grand parents. Maybe Owen (if he is the only child they will have) may have black hair (dominant) and blue eyes or black eyes too. And the woman the tree says he’ll marry may have other traits that will help the following generations of Herondales to be blonde, same goes for Marcus: Imogen Whitelaw (Jace’s grandmother) has blonde hair. 

EDIT: To further add to the genetics argument, let me tell you about my personal experience. My grandfather had blue eyes while my grandma black eyes. Their first son has black eyes, while their second green eyes. They had 8 children and my father was the 7th. Ironically, he is THE only one out of the 8 of them who inherited my grandpa’s sapphire blue eyes (in fact he is the only son IDENTICAL to my grandpa, I’m not kidding). Which means that even if my grandpa had blue eyes, it probably wasn’t a dominant trait in fact my aunts and uncles have 50/50 of green eyes and black eyes. My mother had black eyes as well. In a combination of black eyes + blue eyes, you would expect that I would have a 50/50 chance of having either color, but nope. Even more ironically, my maternal grandmother also had sapphire blue eyes whereas my maternal grandpa black eyes (they also had 50/50 daughters with green eyes and brown eyes). I have pale green/grayish eyes with some small yellow and brown specs in them, and I have absolutely no idea where they came from (PIC). I only had blue eyes until I was 5-6, then my eye color settled to the one I have now. Even my hair were blonde, now they are chestnut brown. Two or three of my aunts from both sides have similar green eyes, but not the exact shade. My sister also has greenish/blue eyes, but it isn’t the same shade. This to prove that the results of eyes is not always predictable. Even if the parents have different traits. For the Herondales, even Lucie doesn’t have Will or Tessa’s eyes but a sort of cross color between their eyes. 

But yes, technically we could be all wrong about Jordelia ending together like the tree says, and Cordelia ends up with Matthew. If this is the case, it would explain how red hair were inherited by that line of Fairchilds, since Cordelia herself has red hair. Clary and Jocelyn both have Matthew’s eye color, or close to it, after all. But I don’t know, even if I’m not opposed to the idea of Matthew and Cordelia together, I think that in this triangle he is going to suffer. Or maybe, like it often happens with CC, in CoI everyone will discover James and Cordelia’s marriage is blanc and they will break it. Perhaps Cordelia could get closer to Math and see him a new light, but eventually go back to James. I don’t know, because I can’t see any interest from Cordelia’s part (yet). And until the engagement is on, I guess Jordelia may try to be faithful to each other, especially her, since she is loyal... but then again we don’t know. 

I could see Mardelia happen in the last book after Jordelia’s engagement is off (if it will be ever off) and James finally realizes that he is in love with her and not with Grace. Or with Matthew professing his love for Cordelia to her and proposing her to marry him to fix the engagement mess they created. If you think about it, it also mirrors the plot of Clockwork Prince, with Will finally declaring his feelings to Tessa but Tessa telling Will she is engaged to Jem (here James would be like Will, while in CoG he is like Jem, proposing to the girl first, while Math would be like Jem here). Even though we could also argue that when Graces asks James to run away, that was also a sort of an indirect marriage proposal to him. Or who knows, Jordelia does really get married! It is hard to tell, but considering the situation and the fact that they intend to marry but they don’t want to really marry (well, if James loved Cordelia back, she would gladly marry him), it is possible that in the end they don’t and they have to face the consequences of their lie.

About James dying, I don’t think so. In the epilogue of Clockwork Princess, it says that both James and Lucie were there when Will died, which means they don’t die in TLH, or this should assure us of this. I don’t think CC will contradict herself, lol. From the epilogue of CP:

Their oldest child, James, had spoken laughingly about Will’s unrelenting fear of ducks and his continual battle to keep them out of the pond at the family home in Yorkshire.

What you quoted about Tessa’s hardships with her children I think it has to do with the fact that supposedly, after Will’s death Tessa decided to run away and not see James and Lucie anymore, since she wouldn’t bear seeing them die as well. Still from the epilogue of CP:

It never had stopped hurting, remembering when Will had died. After he was gone, Tessa had fled. Her children were grown, had children of their own; she told herself they did not need her and hid in the back of her mind the thought that haunted her: She could not bear to remain and watch them grow older than she was. It had been one thing to survive the death of her husband. To survive the death of her children—she could not sit by and watch it. It would happen, must happen, but she would not be there.

Last but not last... is is still possible that in the end James marries Grace and not Cordelia, but I don’t think so. Grace is a semi-villain in certain ways, and besides this, the “love” or better, the infatuation between James and her, was clearly produced by the bracelet, which means he doesn’t really loves her (in fact all of the juicy stuff with Cordelia and the whispering room happened when James didn’t have the bracelet on). And I’m 99% convinced that the concept of James and Cordelia is fire and shadows or better, hot/cold, fire/ice... and the list goes on. It is clear that Cordelia is the fire that lights James’ alight, and she seems like a sort of soulmate to him, someone who could help him destroy their enemies - a pairing that is stronger only if together. I think Tatiana or Belial at the end of CoG said that Cordelia was protecting James. Surely they have a tight bond.

Besides this, I guess from a critical point of view it wouldn’t be a great plot if James went to marry a girl who not only probably enchanted him (as I’m also sure Grace might have fairy blood) but who also wanted him to leave everything behind to go to Gretna Green? Nope, it wouldn’t be interesting. And in these kind of stories it’s usual (but of course, there may be exceptions) that the first girl or boy a character likes, is usually the one he/she won’t get together with because they understand along the way how they idolized that boy/girl.

Plus, it wouldn’t have that angst and bitterness, passion, etc. that I would expect from a CC couple. CC couples are interesting because they have conflict, they are real. James and Grace look like they couldn’t be more different and the fact that, like I mentioned above, Grace wanted him to leave everything to get married with her - everything James loved to death - is a big red flag. James, run! lol. I don’t think CC would have one of the main characters of the series get married with a character like Grace. It would be anticlimactic. Unless Grace changes, which I don’t see happening. 

James is with Grace like Matthew at the moment is with Cordelia and how Cordelia is with James at the moment (sorry for the wordplay): their love is unrequited. Or maybe not yet shaped like a great love. Grace and James’ “love” is obsession, silly love. Cordelia’s love for James may be a silly love as well until he loves her properly (and we know he’s capable of doing so, he showed it when he didn’t have the bracelet on. Jordelia are on fire, basically). Matthew’s love for Cordelia could be silly too, because it’s in the beginning phase (so when it can still change).

Anyway, I talk too much. lol.

[autumn-foxfire]

A couple of disjointed notes on jjk designs

Along with female characters having you know personalities, motivations and arcs they also have very nice and non sexualized designs. Like its been so long since i saw so many female characters non of which felt like they were dressed up a certain way for the audiences sake. Like we got so many! We got five known girls out of just students so far and they all have varied designs in the way they wear their uniform and all of them seem to speak more about their personal sense of style and aesthetics rather than being made with horny teenage boy in mind. Like Maki has the shortest dress but she never once feels sexualized in it, its really great.

N like i didnt fully expect this because i remember watching the first ep and seeing yujis classmate get groped by a curse n sitting there like ah :) anime. But i think this was something that was on its way out of geges artstyle even then (with exception of meimeis brand new almost tit shot but meimei already makes me uber uncomfy so thats not out of line considering we barely see anything). Like in the prequel we also see a woman get groped by a curse n maki isnt wearing her hhh whats the english word stockings? So her legs are more bare but even then we dont ever see like anything we arent supposed to even tho she like does splits n stuff, mad impressive. So that leaves to me an impression that even back then Gege was hhh about this sort of stuff n maybe did it here or there cuz 'this is how shonen is done' but fortunatly decided to completely drop it by the time Nobara joined the team n honestly mad props cuz its rare that a manga makes me feel so comfortable about liking female characters, like off the top of my head id name nozaki kun n ouran and have beastars balance on that line sorta, its just so rare, especially in anime. N as a woman its so much easier to relate and love the female cast when they arent constantly being presented as blow up sex dolls. Its just really refreshing n really good n god bless geges soul for putting miwa in a suit to joy of every lesbian ever bls give her a scythe next BLS.

On a slightly different note, Momos anime design....YIKES. Like i think the anime so far did a p good job with colors, as far as im aware they changed toges color scheme p much entierly n he looks great, yuji has this dusty pink that looks real nice n maki has this dark green that looks very good. Miwa is sitting on a line for me tbh like she looks ok but i do think her hair color should have been idk like a little less pure blue? Little less saturated? Idk art lingo, but for me shes sitting on a line of 'she looks ok but ciuld have been better'. Like its weird in the op she looks nicer, the lighting gives her hair this silver-whitey feel that works very well for her but then in the anime her hair is just a tad bit too bright blue for me, still digestible tho.

Momo in my humble opinion looks like a disaster n im not just saying that cuz for some reason i thought her hair was sorta dusty pink like yujis. Like her hair is just so...bright. its this weird lemoney yellow that is such an eyesore n distracts me whenever i see a group photo, likw my eyes immidietly fly to her she sticks out like a sore thumb between everyone else with more natural looking/ better made unnstural colors. Like maybe if they went with a darker or more natural looking blonde??? Idk. Her hair is very bright n her face is the sort of pinkish pale n the two colors together seem to at the same time clash n melt into each other where at the same time the outline between her face n hair doesnt seem clear n they both just scream at you. Ill probably get used to it as the anime goes on but rn the prevailing feeling is '...is it too late to fix that?'

Oh also gojos eyes have been bothering me less so i think i got used to them after all, but mad props to both gege n the mappa (it botheres me more in anime cuz also color) to be able to convey a feeling of an ultimate top of the chain predator through eyes alone like SKILL. i think they also bother me cuz without his blindfold gojo just looks like a completely different character to me like if you showed me the two pics of him before i watched/read jjk i would probs say those are brothers not the same person. In conclusion im basically like a baby who starts crying when her dad shaves off his beared cuz she cant recognize him anymore.

That ends my notes on design for now

XD Lucy, I’m so glad you’ve fallen in love with JJK like I have. 

It’s a really interesting manga and I can’t wait for the anime to animate everying we’ve seen from the manga so far (it’ll hurt so good T-T). I especially love the girls designs because they just feel so much more... natural, then most female designs you get in anime. They feel like girls (also, can I just say how much I love how excited Nobara was to get a tracksuit of all things. It’s not something you really see in manga/anime and yet a girl that gets excited over comfy clothes is so much real to me XD).

I have similar feelings about Miwa’s hair. It’s way too bright in comparison to the rest of the anime designs, they should have dimmed it or something, she just stands out in a way that she shouldn’t have (though I do admit that I like the colour of blue... I’m so conflicted). And I don’t really mind Momo’s hair too much though I do think it could have been better colour of blonde (JJK using bright colours even though it’s such a heart-breaking anime T-T).

Gege and Mappa really did do a great job though T-T

[reddielibrary]

The Dream During Halloween

Written by @heknewwellenough

Gift for @reddieforlove

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

Word count: 3852

Rating: Teen

A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN BRI!!! i hope you enjoy this, and that it’s what you had in mind!!! mwah mwah

Richie doesn’t really believe in God, well, at least not to a certain extent. Okay, scratch that. He believes in something, he’s just not sure if it’s a God or a superior entity or some stupid shit like that. 

What he does believe though, at this exact moment, is that angels are real, and he just witnessed the king of the angels. Maybe that means the god of the angels or whatever, but he doesn’t exactly care about the correct terminology because he’s pretty sure this boy is a real life angel.

REO Speedwagon’s I Can’t Fight This Feeling is thrumming lowly through the speakers by the fireplace, and Richie really needs to find Bill to congratulate him on his music taste. I'm keeping you in sight is right, Richie muses indistinctly. 

“Rich.” He hears from his left, moving limply as he’s shouldered softly. 

“Yeah?” He mutters, keeping his eyes tracked on the boy across the room. He’s sitting by himself on the couch, painted light blue hands gripping a red solo cup weakly, lifting every once in awhile to drink. 

Bev shoves him a little harder, and Richie finally tears his eyes away from the angel on the couch. “Come on man, you’re being creepy. Stop staring at that poor kid. And you haven’t even seen his full face; his mask is covering part of it.”  

“Yeah, no shit Bev. You’d be surprised with what I can make do with having only half a face,” he says, his brows doing a little dance as he grins down at her. “Also,” he continues, reaching towards her headband, “can you start warning me when you want to talk to me? I’m not used to— this—“ he gestures to the dark hair curling right above her shoulders, making a grab at it, but Bev shoots his hand away from where it’s getting dangerously close to her headband. “I always think you’re someone creeping on me.”

Beverly grabs a black curl resting right above her shoulder, almost absentmindedly, and tugs on it loosely. She’s dressed as Snow White, and had dyed her hair with Richie’s own help two days ago. He’s still not used to it though, and it struck him this morning while doing his own hair how much they look like siblings now. 

“I can barely understand you,” she lifts her own solo cup to her mouth, taking a sip of what is presumably something non-alcoholic. “Take that stupid mask off and face me like a woman. Or go talk to the guy on the couch.”

Richie wriggles uncomfortably. God does he want to go talk to the boy with probably the best Halloween costume here. Better than Princess Diana and Prince Charles he’s here with, for sure. But he’s nervous. He only came to terms with this whole I-want-to-kiss-boys-like-a-lot-thing only recently, and even then he hasn’t even come to terms with it super well. The only reason Bev knows is because she’s Bev. His ride or die, his best friend, his platonic life partner, yadda yadda yadda. Same deal with Stan. He knows stuff about them that he’ll take to the grave, and vice versa. 

“I like the mask. It’s gives an air of… sexy mystery.” Richie slouches against the wall, turning away from Bev. His eyes make their way to the boy across the room, trying to pretend he’s not staring. He knows he’s not doing an entirely good job, but he thinks he has the right to stare when someone’s costume looks like that on them. 

“Not really— definitely not sexy. It’s kind of creepy. I can’t really tell where you’re looking at.” Stan remarks, saddling up next to them. He leans against the wall too, bumping his shoulder against Richie’s. His fancy blue prince pants look funny next to Richie’s black and white pinstripe pants.

“He’s looking over there— at zombie boy.“ Bev nods towards the couch across the room. “Where were you?” She adds, leaning to look over Richie towards Stan. 

Richie turns to Beverly, staring down at her sable head, astonished. “Do not just tell me you called him a zombie—”

“Getting water,” Stan says, lifting up the water bottle in his hands to show her, promptly cutting Richie off. Probably to save himself of a stupid argument. “Why don’t you go talk to him, Rich?” He suggests, loud enough to be heard over the music but not enough for the people around them to hear. He reaches over to Richie’s face and lifts his mask to sit on top of his head. 

Richie shakes his head vigorously, his mask flopping over and onto his face again. “Fuck no, Fresh Prince of Derry. I’ll just stare at Himeros for now.” 

Beverly snickers, but Stan looks at him, probably judging him. Richie sees his brows draw in the middle, and it sounds like he’s smiling when he says, “wouldn’t he be Anteros—?”

The sound of a shriek makes its way to Richie’s ears, and he gets the inkling that it’s probably a little more important than some girl getting teased or tickled or whatever the fuck off in the corner. He’s right, because when he looks over, Anteros is laughing at something Bill Denbrough is saying to him. “Oh my God. Did you guys hear that?”

“No? What?” Stan says, looking around, intrigued. “What is it, Richie?” 

“I think I just heard an angel sing.” Richie sighs dreamily, slumping against the wall even further. 

“Actually, I think you mean a god sing—“

“Oh, just go talk to the guy!” Bev gestures to the boy on the couch with her drink, some of it sloshing out of the cup and onto the floor, splashing Richie’s chucks lightly. 

“And it’s not sing, dingus. It’s laugh. Maybe he shouldn’t go talk to him,” Stan continues, “he’ll embarrass himself.” 

“I don’t have to listen to this abuse,” pushing himself off the wall, Richie turns to the royalty behind him. “I’m going to get another drink! Is there anything your highnesses would enjoy from the area of feeding?” He pretends to bow, and snickers when he hears Stan mutter no, thank you, asshat.

Bev does what Richie could only describe as a soft karate chop on each shoulder— the name escapes him— and she giggles also. “I’d like an orange juice.”

“Even though I just suffered some verbal abuse from you not even five minutes ago—“ he calls, walking away, “I will get you your juice of orange. With bubbly water, you freak!” He calls, finishing her sentence before she even begins to start talking. 

“Fucking— bubbly water. Fucking disgusting,” he mutters, walking up to the makeshift bar in the kitchen. 

“Hey, man.” He nods to Mike Hanlon in the kitchen, smiling. He always liked Mike. And Bill, too, when he had been on the lacrosse team last year. The rest of the team fucking sucked— and so did the sport in general, if he’s being honest. He can’t count how many hallelujahs he said the last day of practice.

Mike tilts his head, squinting at him. He raises his hand in a slow, confused wave. 

“Oh,” Richie laughs, pulling his mask up and over his head. “Sorry, man.”

“Oh!” Mike chuckles, walking up next to him. He bades goodbye to the girl next to him, sliding up next to Richie and leaning against the counter. “I thought it was you, Rich. You know— cause of the hair—“ he gestures to the mess of curls on Richie’s head, “— but it looked shorter so I wasn’t sure. Also, your neck is super white.”

“You mean whiter than usual?” Richie cracks, mixing Bev’s monstrosity of a drink. 

Mike gasps out a surprised laugh.“Yeah. Okay, whiter than usual.” 

Not quite what he was expecting, a similar laugh makes its way out of his throat. “I got a sexy haircut, dude, that’s why you didn’t recognize me in my sexy costume.” He says, still chuckling. He punctuates his sentence with a pop of his hip, grinning over at Mike briefly before turning back to the mouth-sore in front of him. 

“Speaking of, I like your costume. That movie’s pretty cool.” 

“I know, but do you know how many oh, are you Beetlejuice’s? I’ve gotten tonight? You think the mask would be a dead giveaway. Or that Bill wouldn’t have invited such dumb fucking people to his party.” Richie rolls his eyes, smiling at Mike’s nice rumble of a laugh. “I mean— I knew half the lacrosse team had zero brain cells, but you'd think at least some of the art kids would be smart. This movie only came out a year ago.” He scoffs. He grabs a half-filled Coke bottle in front of him and the Fanta next to it, pouring them into a solo cup, stirring them together with a straw. He lifts the cup to his mouth and takes a sip, turning fully to look at Mike, from feet to the top of his head. “What’re you supposed to be, anyway? Wait— no! Let me guess, let me guess.”

Mike shrugs, gesturing at him with his own solo cup as if to say alright man, go ahead. 

Mike has got on a yellow blazer, a red scarf around his neck, and a toque. Richie has literally no idea what he is. 

“No-fence man, but what the fuck are you? I’m trying to come up with something funny but I’m coming up short.”  

Mike laughs, like he’d been expecting that, and says, “I’m one of the boys from the Rice Krispies box. You know? It’s a group costume, with Bill and Ben.”

Richie nods. He knows Ben; he’s in his Humanities class and was in his SAT prep class last year, and he thinks Friends is funny, but never mind that little drawback, because he’s also probably the nicest fucking person Richie has ever met. He’s been meaning to ask him to hang out or something, but it’s not quite something he’s gotten around to yet, for whatever reason. In short, he’s just cool, and he makes Richie feel good. Same deal with Bill, and Mike. He smiles. “I was wondering what the fuck Bill was. I thought he was the little Nutcracker boy.” 

Mike bursts out laughing, slapping Richie on the arm. “I can’t wait to tell him that,” he mutters, small hiccups escaping his lips as he continues to chuckle, “he’ll love that—“

“Hi, Mike. Can I get by?” A soft voice says behind Richie. Both him and Mike turn around concurrently, and Richie chokes on the drink he unluckily lifted to his lips only a moment before, because there he is. The Himeros. Or Anteros. Whatever it is, or was, Richie can’t focus, or remember. He feels as if his brain has melted straight out of his ears and onto the floor, or into his drink, or something. He has no idea. None of it really matters right now, anyway. 

Mike says something that Richie tunes out accidentally, and he slides easily out of the way. They start talking, but Richie has no idea what they’re saying. The thoughts in his own head drown out their talk, and the loud talking all around him, and the sound of the opening chords of Witchy Woman starting up, all to a dull murmur as he stares at the back of the boy’s head. He feels like he should be listening to what him and Mike are talking about— to maybe pick up on a few things or something— but he’s too far gone now, his thoughts wrapping around his mind like a telephone cord around a finger. 

Richie cannot understand for the life of him why he has never seen this boy around. He’s a fucking senior this year, for Chrissake, and their school isn’t even that big like one of those schools up in Portland or Bangor. About six or seven hundo kids, give or take. And it’s not like he’s an observant person. He typically likes to think of himself as pretty observant, actually, and there’s not a chance in hell this kid would not catch his attention. He hasn’t even had the honor of having this kid’s face grace his shitty vision, but he already knows it’s going to be an appealing face.

“—Richie?” 

“Huh?” Richie’s head snaps up from where he was staring at Himeros’ feet toward whoever said his name.

It was Mike, and he’s smiling crookedly, like he’s waiting for Richie to answer. “See you later, Rich?” He says, and Richie figures he’s repeating it by the way he’s smiling and the tone of his voice.

“Oh. Yeah, see ya later, Snap.” He nods, a grin splitting his face as Mike returns it, turning to leave.

And then it’s just him and the angel, he realises a few seconds after Mike’s trodden off to go talk to Ben in the corner of the kitchen. It’s quiet, and it’s funny because everyone around them is talking, and Richie has always hated quiet. He opens his mouth to say something, pretty much anything that comes to his head first, but the boy beats him to it. And it’s perfect for two reasons. 

“Hey, Bone Daddy,” the boy says to him softly— like, to him, directly— and he kind of smiles, laughing to himself.

It’s perfect because Richie had absolutely no idea what he was going to say, so pretty much anything could have run out of his mouth, which doesn’t always fly so well depending on who he’s talking to. That greeting knocks the wind out of him though, promptly knocking whatever embarrassing thing Richie could have said out of his mind, too, which he’s entirely grateful for. 

It’s also perfect because by the minute he’s being proven right about this boy being an angel. 

“Get it? It’s from the movie.” Himeros continues, almost uncertainly. Richie wishes he could see his face— the mask is partially in the way, and he’s ducked over his own drink that he’s making. 

“Yeah, I get it,” he says in a rush, voice cracking. He takes a deep breath, continuing, “I’ve seen it like a billion times, so.” He trails off. “It’s my favorite,” he adds after a moment. The word fuck bounces around his head, feeling like he’s embarrassing himself or being especially awkward.

“Mine too.” The boy responds, turning to smile at Richie briefly. “When I chose my costume, I thought it was weird not having a Jack to go with, but Bill told me it looked fine.” 

“It does!” Richie blurts, and okay, yeah, he doesn’t exactly have a filter, but there are times when he thinks maybe he should work on that. Like right now. “I mean— it does. Look fine. I mean— I went as Jack without a Sally, and it’s not weird, right? So a Sally without Jack is not weird.” He’s rambling, and the boy is giggling, and most of the anxiety drains from his body because this— laughter, making people laugh— this is easy. Laughing makes him easy. The tension drains from his shoulders, from his brows, the anxiety flooding his body evaporates as he continues, a smile spreading across his face as he says, “your costume is definitely the sexiest one here. Excluding the cheeseburger playing beer pong, of course.” 

Richie watches as a flush coats the boy’s blue cheeks, and it’s probably the most endearing thing he’s ever seen. “Of course. Naturally.” He agrees, nodding along with Richie. He’s finished making his drink, and he turns to lean against the counter to face Richie. “And we— well we found each other, so now there’s no lonely Jack and Sally.” The boy says, and he smiles again. He sounds kind of nervous, and it further confirms Richie’s idea that yeah, this boy is his dream boy. 

Richie grins down at him, and the brief thought of how short this boy is crosses his mind. He finally takes in the boy’s full appearance now that he’s standing right in front of him, face and all. Everything about him just screams cute to Richie, from the sewn patches all over his pants and shirt, to the black boots he’s wearing. Richie notices that his hair is spray-dyed a vivid red, and it’s done really well. He probably went through at least two bottles, Richie muses. His drawn on stitched smile is curved up even more so than it already is due to the boy’s smile, and it makes Richie smile. 

The boy is looking him up and down—checking me out, Richie thinks nervously, Gee-zus— just like Richie was a second ago. The boy can’t see his face— when did I put on my mask again?— and that is both a shame and a blessing. 

“Do you— um—” the boy starts nervously, looking down into his cup and then back up again, “do you want to go up to Bill’s room, or something? To talk more? I feel cramped in here.”

Richie nods, and then realizes it might look like he’s saying no because of the mask, so he clarifies verbally with a loud, “yes! Let’s go. Do that. Lead the way, Sally.”

Himeros-Sally laughs, shaking his head, and leads the way out of the kitchen and up the stairs right outside of the kitchen. Richie follows, not seeing Stan or Bev anywhere. He mentally thanks whatever deity out there is throwing him a bone, and climbs the stairs two at a time, lifting his mask as he reaches the top step. 

“So,” the boy starts, leaning against the door once it closes. He sounds nervous again, and it drives a lot of the remaining anxiety Richie is feeling out of his chest. “Can I um— can I do something?” He shakes his head, looking down at the floor and frowning at his feet. “Sorry. That came out wrong. Can I try something, I mean.” 

“Like— like what? Like smelling Bill’s underwear, or looking for his porn mags? Because I bet they smell like—“ 

“Shut up,” the boy says, and it’s not very serious, as he makes his way slowly to Richie, who’s standing in the middle of the room, feeling silly all of a sudden. He places his hands on Richie’s shoulders, and does this thing that Richie really likes where he smooths them over the expanse of his shoulder softly. He rises up on his toes and his face suddenly becomes a lot closer to Richie’s. From behind his mask and through the peepholes, his eyes are telling Richie that he can tell him to stop. Richie does not tell him to stop.

And then suddenly there are soft lips on his. Uncertain, but not unstable. Richie’s eyes are open the whole time, and now he definitely feels like a fool. 

The boy leans back slightly, and one of his hands comes up to take off his mask. He tosses it onto Bill’s bed, and then makes eye contact with Richie again, and Gee-zus, this boy is the definition of cute. He’s the end-all-be-all of cute boys. Freckles smattering his nose and cheeks. Crinkles next to his eyes from smiling at the moment. Long, pretty lashes. Thick, bushy brows.

 “I don’t know your name,” is what he says after a few moments of just staring at Richie, also. 

“Richie. It’s Richie.” Richie breathes out, “and yours—“

“It’s Eddie.” He says softly. 

“Well, Eddie-Spaghetti. I thought you just wanted to talk?”

The boy— Eddie— frowns for the first time tonight. “That’s not my name,” Eddie argues. His frown is almost as cute as his smile. 

“Not anymore. It’s Eddie-Spaghetti. Or if you don’t like that, I can call you Spaghedward. And if you’re not into pasta at all, Eds can work.” Richie rambles, and then Eddie is pressing his lips to Richie’s again. 

“I guess I didn’t come up here to talk. You sure did though,” Eddie retorts when he leans back again, and Richie can feel him smiling, and that is something he’s definitely into. 

Richie’s eyes are closed this time as he replies with a breathless laugh. “Where have you been all of my life?” 

“Here and there,” he responds vaguely. It’s very obviously a joke, and Richie can’t help but laugh again. After he stops chuckling, Eddie answers honestly, telling him that he’s just quiet, and points out that they obviously have had very different schedules.

They end up laying down on Bill’s bed on their sides while Eddie talks, Richie’s mask thrown up by Bill’s pillow next to Eddie’s. Richie realizes Eddie’s probably as much of a talker as Richie is himself as he rambles on about the organization of classes. “I guess the people who organize classes just hate us. You know, since we seem to have never shared a class together. You’re not taking any AP classes, right?”

Richie shakes his head. “No.” 

Eddie frowns, “me neither,” he mumbles, biting his lip. “I don’t get why we’re not in any of the same regular classes, then.”

What he says goes in one ear and out the other. Eddie’s bitten lips have captured his full attention, and he wants to kiss them. Bad. So he leans over quickly and does.

Eddie splutters, seemingly caught by surprise, blush coating his blue cheeks again. “I— um— oh. Okay.”

“Sorry,” Richie hastens to say, shaking his head again, glasses getting pushed against his face and his hands under his head feeling uncomfortable. “I didn’t know if—“

“No! It’s fine,” Eddie shakes his head too, soft smile reappearing on his face. “It’s fine,” he repeats, softer this time. “I probably should have asked first, anyway. So I’m sorry.”

Richie scoffs, dramatic. “It’s fine. You’re fine. You did kinda ask, anyway. Besides, I wanted those cute lips on me, anyways,” Richie grins, laughing at Eddie’s bashful smile and the roll of his eyes. 

When Eddie doesn’t say anything for a few moments, Richie fears he made it awkward, but then Eddie looks into his eyes and cracks a smile, a laugh escaping his mouth. He starts to laugh even more, and then Richie starts to laugh, and then suddenly they’re laughing together on Bill’s bed in their Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween costumes at nothing. This is the best Richie has felt in a long time. He feels as if he’s known Eddie for years, and not just for two hours. 

Eddie wipes away a few tears from his eyes, rolling onto his back and staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars Bill has on his ceiling. “I’m glad I met you,” he says softly, in the Eddie-way he does that Richie is grown accustomed to in the past couple of hours. 

“Same here, Eds.” Richie whispers back. 

Eddie’s hand reaches over and threads through the hand Richie has resting by his face. Still on his side, and staring at Eddie’s face poised up to the ceiling with his eyes closed, Richie can’t help but think for the hundredth time that night yeah, definitely an angel. 

[salty-dracon]

Some thoughts on The Caligula Effect 2

So I joke about this game getting a second remake to my friends online and the next moment I learn THIS was announced during the Japanese Nintendo Direct. Let me spill out my thoughts to spark discussion as well as provide a record to myself if this game actually does get localized.

Everything is under the cut!

My thoughts on Overdose were that it has a fantastic world... and that’s it. Out of the game’s cast, there were maybe four characters I liked, and the rest had moments that made me lose all sympathy for them. I recall it was common for some Let’s Players to like the villains better than the protagonists, and I’d agree on that front. I actually think the anime is the best iteration of this game’s story, changing up the formula enough to provide a really solid characterization arc to everyone. But Overdose suffers from poor writing issues (killing Eiji offscreen in the best ending was one of the worst decisions they made), rough handling of certain topics, boring and monotonous dungeons, and 500 social links you’re never going to do. I’m incredibly critical of this game, and I’d never recommend it to someone without a LOT of disclaimers, but somehow I still love it.

Already this game looks CRAZY good visually. It doesn’t look like a reskinned Vita game anymore, with something a little more reminiscent of say, the Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth games. That’s not to say that the game doesn’t still implement its fantastic character art, which still show up next to the speech bubbles. (At least the models have moving jaws. That’s important.)

Here’s to really hoping this game won’t be another Caligula 1 reskin, because uh... the game is about a protagonist who realizes that the world is a virtual one created by a Vocaloid who won’t let anyone out and joins up with a group of teenagers who also want to get out despite the fact that their real world lives were horrible so that they can set things right and they call themselves the Go-Home club (and also a Vocaloid gives them weapons made out of black stuff) but the people that are stopping them are basically the servants and guardians of the Vocaloid keeping them trapped in, who also happen to be humans who can’t return to the real world because their real world lives were so horrible, and so they have to fight because the Vocaloid won’t let them out otherwise. I mean, of course it won’t be a reskin, but I’m surprised at just how much of the original story they kept.

As for things they absolutely did NOT keep, DAMN this game looks dark! I was once remarking to a friend about how Caligula’s story would appeal better to me specifically if they’d gone with a religious pressure rather than idol stan theme, and they appear to have really pulled through with that religious pressure. I just realized, while writing this, that the image I showed off above actually has an image of an angel in the stained glass window being worshiped by fans with glow sticks. Furthermore, there’s a gothic cathedral-like altar, a halo behind Regret’s head, and this whole exchange looks like it takes place in a church. While I’m not religious myself, I can talk a lot about church architecture (see: my Fire Force livetweet) and I’m interested to see how this game handles it.

Not only that, most of the character designs seem darker and very different from the original game’s. Take a look at this game’s idol goddess:

Is μ going through an emo phase? I wouldn’t blame her lol. I think she still has a fantastic design that is in equal parts dreary and beautiful, while perfectly matching the color scheme of the new game.

And what a color scheme it is! The world of Caligula 1 had a gorgeous white, black, pink, brown, and gray color scheme framing bold pops of color in the form of flowers. Caligula 2 changes things up by making black the primary color framing everything else. The pops of color are so much bolder, too, from Noto’s bright yellow sweatshirt to basically everything χ is wearing. Do these changes reflect the story’s potential darker tone too? Or are they representative of something else?

We don’t know too much about the characters, but Caligula 2 looks like it’s giving them different weapons. It looks like the protagonists wield double knives instead of double shotguns. As for the other weapons, I see shortswords, katanas, chains, pistols (much smaller than Shogo’s), canes, and Qiyana’s ohmlatl from League of Legends. Definitely a shift from the original game’s weapons. I wonder if they’ll make a comeback? That giant gun was unique to say the least.

The Obbligato (I think?) are this game’s Ostinato Musicians. Italian for “obliged”, they are the ones who defend Regret from any threats. The one shown off most in the trailer is this guy who looks like the 1010 dudes from No Straight Roads. Man, he really looks like Shadow Knife in that image up there...

Also we get a, um, clown astronaut and a crazy high school yandere. Just to name a few. Definitely not the first time I’ve beat up a clown in a video game. Pretty unique as far as villains go, though. I hope this game has its own villain route, where you learn more about them. I’d really like that.

Social links! Looks like you rank up social links the same way you do in the original game. Do you want to make this character spill out all their trauma? Are you SURE about that, despite there being no negative consequences to you, the player? Awesome. Get ready to be sad.

The battle system is, from what I’ve read, similar, but not the same, as the battle system in Overdose. I’m not going to give too many details on that. They still seem to be time-based with combo chains, but they’re pretty vague. Looks like you still get to unleash crazy special attacks against your enemies. And they in turn can unleash crazy special attacks against you.

I absolutely want to see a. better characters and b. better overall writing. In my opinion these were the two weakest points of Caligula 1. Despite the protagonists’ tragedies, some of the little things they did made me sort of hate them. I did not like how everyone in the original Go-Home Club used Kotaro (who you learn is FOURTEEN!) as a verbal punching bag despite him being one of the kindest characters in the club. As for better overall writing, I stated before that I preferred the anime’s interpretation of events, because I thought they were in a better order overall. Besides killing Eiji offscreen, I hated how they wrote μ to be such a monumentally stupid character (I often point to Persona 5 Royal on how to write a villain like her well) and their, in my opinion, poor handling of certain topics like fatphobia. And though the character episodes sort of redeem them, it’s like... not really? The way I described it to a friend was that while the moral of Caligula 1′s story may have been “We live in a society and everyone’s dealing with their own hardships, but you can’t run away from them forever and you can at least be sympathetic to those facing them”, the character interactions end up dumbing it down to “We live in a society”.

Also an anime adaptation would be really sick. The anime just had so much better writing.

As for what I’m really curious about:

1. Who is Regret and how is she related to μ and Aria? We already know she’s a Virtuadoll like them, but if I recall correctly μ and Aria had some more concreteness to their backstories. Specifically, the human characters remember them existing as vocal synthesizer programs before they became the rules of Mobius. Regret’s backstory is that she just kind of showed up one day. Does she have different origins from μ and Aria? By the same merit, who is χ and how is she related to Regret, μ, and Aria? We know that χ opposes Regret and gives the Go-Home club the power to fight back against her, kind of like what Aria did in Caligula 1, but was she a co-creator of Redo like Aria was, or was her role completely different? The fact that she isn’t a little sparkle like Aria was (as a result of losing all of her power) indicates that their roles might be a little different.

2. What relationship does Redo have to Mobius? We know Mobius was created because Aria and μ wanted a place for humans to live without the sorrows they experienced in the real world. However, eventually μ was manipulated by everyone’s negative emotions and Thorn’s actions. This caused her to prevent anyone from leaving, and also the plot of the first game. Is Redo a second, improved iteration of Mobius, or a completely new virtual space? Were the goals behind its creation the same as in the first game? Or was there another force at work? Is Regret trying to copy μ or improve on her work? Or is she doing what μ did independently? I don’t think there’s enough information to predict the answer to this, but from what I’ve seen, there are a lot of similarities between the two worlds, from the high school to the end goal. However, there are some differences in tone. Mobius was a place to escape suffering, while Redo is being marketed as a place to escape regret. Redo also has a more religious bend than the idol theme of the first game.

3. What other links do the first and second games have to each other? People have been theorizing that Marie Mizuguchi/Wicked from the first game may return as Marie Amabuki (I think) in the second due to them having the same VA. There’s obviously the shared artstyle, symbolism, Catharsis Effect, glitchy NPC faces, and general setting. I also suspect that this game takes place after the events of Caligula 1. Not much I can say about this right now, but I wonder how everything joins up. Or if it even matters that they do. I haven’t seen too much on whether or not this game is being marketed as a standalone or a sequel, or if you even need to play Caligula 1 to enjoy Caligula 2.

Conclusion: While the Caligula series isn’t one I’d recommend to everyone, for the way it handles a number of sensitive topics, I will still be checking out Caligula 2 if it comes to the West. Though very little has been revealed thus far, so far I’m interested in the religious iconography used as well as the darker tone and colors presented in the game. As well as the characters, who have more varied and interesting designs including super unique weapons. I’m a bit disappointed that the plot, as it has been revealed, is an exact copy of Caligula 1′s plot, right down to the names of the protagonists’ faction. I was hoping for a bigger evolution to the story, but considering so little has been revealed in the first place, this may be a bit of a preemptive judgement.

That’s it. I hope you enjoyed my discussion of what I’ve learned so far.

[heyyylittlemo]

Ask game

1. Where did you hide the body??

Me: *pause* No, where did you hide the body—

*police stare at me with disbelief*

Me: there’s no—there’s not a single body here—well stop looking at me like that, you’re the cop! You should know! Why are you asking me for! Body? Whaaaaaat. Ahaha.

*cops shake head*

*whispers to my friend* Guys I think I pulled that one off

Police: you know we can hear everything you’re saying

me: 👁👄👁

2. Favorite rock? The 1975. Dominic Fike. Arctic Monkeys. Bad Suns. The killers. Pale Waves. Etc. That good good shit 👌

3. Most aesthetic season? Fall. Love them orange colors. The leaves falling. Though spring is also neat if you have a bunch of flowers bloomin in shit and winter is only aesthetic when it’s snowing. Boring ass summer tho just be heating me up.

4. When texting do u shorten words or spell out? I used to write stuff out all the time mostly but now it’s like half and half bcuz its just faster and nobody got time for it 🤣🤣

5. Vintage stuff? Hell yeah, but maybe not anything too expensive since some old stuff IS hyper expensive.

6. Colors that pop or blend? Not sure I understand what u mean abt them blending ahaha u mean like when they’re so similar to another?? Well I think it’s nice but honestly I prefer a pop and a bang, y’Know?

- At this moment I realized I was answering the last few questions from a completely different ask and felt like a dumbass 😂 anyways the actual number we’re on is three so imma just kickback

3. Worst dream u have ever had? I had sleep paralysis but was imbetween that and a lucid dream. At first I was paralyzed and could see my bed but my eyes felt closed and open at the same time?? A giant dark demon looking dog had towered over me and began to tear at my neck. It looked and felt very real I started to try to scream and it felt like a scream was coming out but no sound exited. Then I went into a lucid dream where I was being chased by this dog and running for my life I was running by and nobody could save me nobody in the dream when it caught up to me I was back in my bed and it was trying to eat me again. I was so terrified I couldn’t sleep for a whole week.

4. Lyric that comes to your mind? “And I don’t think I can be there. I’m paralyzed,I’m terrified of being alone. When you said I deserved what had happened.”

5. Blood make u uncomfortable? Yes, I passed out once when getting my finger pricked and a VERY small blood sample and another when dissecting a fish.

6. Even or odd numbers? Well I like the number 5,7,9, 3 so odd. (Like me 🤣🤣)

7. Something I hate that I love? Anything I’ve ever loved becuz love can be frustrating. Bruh.

8. 1st initial of someone I hate? Hmm...do I hate someone tho? Not that I can think of...

9. *Skipping down the lane* NOPE

10. Corn dogs? It’s funny cuz when I think of corn dogs my mind will always go to when we first moved to our current house because at our initial town we never had Sonic and while we were getting the house fixed up and moving stuff we use to always get Sonic since it was the closest to us most times to eat and that was a bunch of corn dogs and hotdog days 🤣 so thnk u corn dogs for ur service

11. I’m not a huge movie person so...I looked up movies from 2005 and movies Inlike from this time are Brokeback mountain bcuz it’s gay af, Shark Boy and Lava Girl damn I rewatched the shot out of it when I was younger, Narnia and the Chocolate Factory(although it low key creeped me out as a kid, and idk why).

12. Least fav music genre? Most country, most EDM, dubstep, screaming/really hard rock, some pop music, mumble raping.

13. As someone who waits on tables, my job is my least favorite restaurant experience 🤣🤣 just dealing with ppl...like ok, I’m half Hispanic right?? But I look white. Well, I work at a Mexican restaurant and so sometimes racist costumers will say shady shit just bcuz I guess they think it’s appropriate to say it to me just bcuz I’m not Hispanic in their eyes?? But it pisses me off and I feel like I can’t say anything without causing a drama which I hate and when the “costumers always right” it can be hard to budge and stand up and say “bitch wtf did u just say??” And there’s just folks who take things the wrong ways or ask too much at once or give u a hard time or just say something that sticks onto you for the whole day. One bad move can turn my whole day upside down.

14. 3 things never come near me? Cockroaches, Needles, and close mind ppl

15. Worst way to die? With regrets. Something really brutual, random, or where something just happened to go wrong (accident). Being killed by someone u love.

16. Unusual habits? Doing a Michael Jackson esque “hee-hee” after every sneeze I make, being extremely clumsy and making every task 100% more difficult, having the ability to talk as if I have an accent that comes from nowhere in particular just stupidity also I can’t speak my own language half the time 🙃getting words confused or misusing them in a sentence so I sound dumb having a very weird imagination and thoughts, I swear it like I never went to school and don’t know how the world works, plus many many more

17. Clothing style u want? I want to dress in a way that screams who I am and is a blend of both femininity and masculinity. A little vintage. Grunge. Urban maybe?? What do I know abt fashion 🤣🤣

18. Song or artist that deserves more? Dijon, hands down. I love his stuff. He’s like Frank Ocean meets light-singing beautiful lyricist with a more rock vibe?? Hidden gem. I also think Durand Jones & the Indications needs more love along with BadBadNotGood they sound like old-times but are new!! Oh, and Pale Waves is like a female The 1975 and kicks it. Bad Suns is a good alt rock band that no one seems to recognize :,D Toro y Moi too! His song with Flume “The difference “ is a banger!! Kid Cudi is my man when I want a blend of rock and rap. Also Dominic Fike,King Krule, and Roy Blair, who are all amazing!! Ok I need to stop 🛑

Duck I answered the past questions from a different post I’m sorry 😐

17. Emoji never used? There’s a bunch since I reuse the same over and over again. Lmao

18. 3 sentence Gatorade horror story? A faint quiver overtook the small freezer the Gatorade lay in; no one had come by in days, hours, weeks; when was the last time he met the lips of a thirsty body? They’d forgotten about him, as his last sips remained glued to his hollowing entrance. ‘Help, ‘it wanted to say, but it’s frozen lips could not be moved; It’d stay here, die here...just like the rest.” What am I doing with my life 🤣🙏

19. Do u know what an old bay is? A bay that is old? And old ocean? Idk!!!

20. Can u dance? Sometimes I dance when I’m alone but nothing spectral lol

21. What first comes to ur mind when u see ropes? 2 extremes. Sex and death. Hm. Ok. Moving on.

22. Make an obscure reference. “Even a bra couldn’t hold these nipples” *Holds a water gun to chest*

23. Fav balloon color? Pink or yellow.

24. If u were in court would u be innocent or guilty? Depends, what am I in court for 🤣 lmao jk honestly idk bcuz I don’t think I’d wind up in there

25. Are u hungry ? Nope

26. Unlucky number? Hm I don’t think so but I have a lucky number “123”

27. What’s “JMD”stand for? I’m guessing...Jamming my d—- 💀lol jk ahaha why am so dirt

28. Random inside joke? *chirpy squeak* I’m making a double batch of cookies

29. What sends chills up ur spine? Seeing disgust food or smell disgust or talking abt disgust things like gore

30. How many questions are in ur inbox? A pathetic zero ahaha no one want to ask me anything 😂

31. Someone real who scares u. 2 of my ex friends. One when I was 10 said disturbing things and I was kinda forced onto the friendship and everything they said make me fear for others lives...and then a different ex friend who seemed normal at 1st but became both low key psychopath cult leader type stuff and I booed out of there—-.

32. Run or hide? Uhh probably hide because I’d say even if ppl say “u can run but u can’t hide” u CAN just hide! that’s the point of hiding they not find u xD also why not combine them? Hide then run somewhere far away once I got them off the trial.

33. Last person who made u angry? A frickin beetle that flew at me and pinched me in the middle of singing in the shed xD also my autocorrect

34. What’s going on in ur head? I should probably pee soon—

35. Little thing that makes u Smile? A lot of little things bruh.

36. Are u a descisive person?

Not sure.

*pAuse *

Ok, I guess I’m not then 🤣

37. Would ppl say I’m paranoid? Hm maybe about certain things social situations, singing in front of others what ppl think abt me etc etc

38. Store least likely in? Any southern clothes shop, Abercrombie & Finch types shit, lol

39. Do I like hats fave type? Hm not wear many hats but I think they’re cool any type is cool for different ppl and their aesthetici just can’t rock a hat.

40. Bow ties or ties? Don’t really care but now want to see more bow ties

41. Who? You.

42. What? Reading this shit

43. Where? In ur ass

44. When? Now.

45. Why? Not even u know why.

46. How? We all want to know

47. Do u collect anything? Vinyl records.

48. What tome is it? Time to get a watch

49. Fav transportation? My car or walk is possible

50. Would u ever kill someone to save someone? Don’t want to think about that

51. Make a joke. Yo, it’s time to make a joke—so the other day I was working. And I was practicing my Spanish, yes? Anyone whose trying to learn anew language k n o w s that sometimes words can be so close to another u just confuse then! So apparently churros in Spanish is a desert but if u say it more harshly (it literally sounds almost the same) it makes a whole different meaning—diharrea, but like I didn’t know that so I legit just walked up to this person and asked if they would like some shit to eat. So yeah, that was great. Let’s not forget that I mixed up blood, watermelon, and sangria which is a wine. I legit once said I had mixed wine in my vines and another time watermelon 🤣

52. I’m really confused so I skip

53. Would ur dash be confiscated SFW? By dash do u mean this account? Um not 😬

54. Do I like to cuddle? Hell yeah and manhandle ppl all the time it’s my affection

55. What makes u angry? Close minded ppl or ppl who jump too fast to conclusions, strict schedules just dumb stuff that people try to force when I just want to be carefree 😭✌️

56. How many voices are in ur head? 😐

57. Do U consider urself mentally stable? 😐

58. Are u easily offended? Well U just called me mentally unstable and asked it there was voices in my head!!

59. What’s wrong with taking the backstreets? Uhm...

60. Any questions u want ppl to ask u? Nothing in particular but it’s be nice if someone care to ask me something abt me from personal question to my opinions on shit to 19 days fandom related junk 😌

Woooo I’ve finished this game! Thanks to @seiji-amasawa for introducing me to this ^^

[magicmanias]

Sparks

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: You were found in the ruins of the city of Sokovia when Ultron attacked—a helpless, thrown out HYDRA experiment that was left to die. The Avengers take you in and love you as if they were your own. And though you love your family, a certain sophomore at Midtown High lit the real sparks within you.

Warnings: Minor Angst in the beginning, Fluff!, so. much. fluff.

Word Count: 6.5k (this was way longer than I intended it to be)

A/N: Sorry for the long exposition, but I feel like it makes it all worth it when Peter and Y/N meet. And I didn’t heavily edit it, so I’m sorry for that.

AU where Tony discovers Peter earlier, Civil War happens but all is forgiven, and Homecoming has not happened.

There were loud booms and crashes in the distance. Flurries of terrified strangers ran past you. You didn’t know anything. Any of this. You placed your hands over your ears and closed your eyes shut. The screams. You couldn’t take the screams. You ignored the blood on your bare feet that began to run onto the dirt ground. Where were you? Where was your commander? You needed orders. Tears started to stream down your face.

“Hey Cap?” Tony flew down from the sky and landed on the once floating city of Sokovia. In the chaos amongst the terrified civilians, there was a girl. She couldn’t be more than fourteen. She looked normal—except for the red and yellow sparks that flew around her. Surrounding bits of debris floated around the girl, who appeared to be in agony as she sobbed on the ground. “I think I found something.”

—

“Hey, could I… ask you your name?” A tall, blond man in a blue suit sat down calmly in front of you. You backed away from him and cowered in the corner of your containment cell.

“Well, my name is Steve.” He reached his hand out. You refused to touch it. “We're here to help you.”

“Where's Mr. Strucker?” you whimpered. “He's my commander.”

“I-I um…” The man named Steve crunched down to your height. “Do you have a name?”

“I'm Soldier #82467. Experiment XIV,” you repeat what you were always referred to as. You were a number, not a name.

“How long has Mr. Strucker been your commander?” Steve asked you calmly.

Maybe this man could help you find your commander. Or was he the plague of the earth, as your commander always told you about? “My whole life. 14 years.”

“Do you know your birthday?” Steve continued.

You shook your head. You didn't know why that was important.

“I think we can give you a name. If you want one,” Steve said, with a small smile. You couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.  “Would you like a name?”

You slowly nodded your head. A name would be better than a number.

“Let's see what we can do.”

—

“Miss, could you sit here, please?” Bruce asked you. That's what Steve said his name was. It was strange to be on a first name basis with these men.

They were very odd. They weren't… intense like the men back home. They smiled a lot more too.

Bruce placed many strange items on you, similar to the doctors back at the base. The tools he used were cold, but you were used to being cold.

“Breath in, and out,” he said. Another man came into the room. He seemed older than the man who questioned you, Steve.

“Tony,” Steve approached Tony. “Did you get the results?”

“Yeah, Capsicle. She's definitely enhanced.”

“So what did Wanda say?” Bruce asked.

“She didn't know about her. They must have placed her away from the twins,” Tony answered. “And Nat is seeing if she can pull up anything on a Soldier—”

“Don't call her that,” Steve interrupted. He looked back at you. “We don't know her name yet, but she's a kid, Tony. Not a soldier.”

“Well, Nat is seeing if she can pull anything up on her in the old files that were recovered from SHIELD.” Tony cleared his voice and muttered a small, but sincere ‘sorry.’

The three men directed their attention to you. “Um, do you know what your powers are exactly?”

You hesitated before whispering softly, “That's classified.”

“You can tell us, kid. We're the good guys. The people you used to know, weren't very nice people. And we're trying to fix that,” Tony said, placing a hand on his shoulder in uncertainty. “If you tell us, we can help you control them.”

“They already tried,” you mumbled. “And they couldn't… I killed everyone who tried. I-I didn't mean t-to.”

“Hey, hey. Doll, it's ok,” Steve put a hand on your shoulder. You flinched at his touch. Sparks began to fly around you. Steve quickly moved his hand away and backed up. The sparks faded out.

“I don't w-want to hurt you…”

—

“Nat, what do you have on her?” Steve asked. Nat walked into the living room with a file in her hand.

She placed the file down and opened it up. Inside, there was very little, but enough to give them something.

“She never… had a name,” Natasha explained. “But they did label her. Project Y/N. Maybe we could call her that?”

“It's better than Soldier #82467,” Sam said from the couch.

“I agree,” Steve said. “How come Wanda never knew her?”

“Y/N said she killed everyone who tried to stop her?” Natasha pointed to a paragraph in the file. “They put her in solitary confinement for the past few months.”

“Do you think we can help her?” Clint asked. He always had a place in his heart for kids.

“We already have,” Tony said. He entered the room with Bruce. You trailed behind Bruce meekly.

“Hi, Y/N,” the redhead said. She gave you a tight-lipped smile.

“Is that my name?” you asked her. She nodded. You liked it.

“It's not perfect, but we gave her a cuff that can stop her powers from emerging when she gets stressed.”

“Can she use them otherwise?” Wanda asked. The rest of the Avengers had walked into the room to meet you

“Yeah, with practice I think,” Bruce said.

“What can she do, exactly?” Rhodey asked.

“It appears she gained her abilities from the mind stone as well,” Vision thought aloud. “I believe her powers were given to her recently. Definitely later than Wanda.”

“I've had them for about five months,” you told everyone. “I shoot sparks and I can create heat and fires. And I can move things—without touching them.”

“I know a man who is well versed in the Mystical Arts. His name is Stephen Strange. Perhaps he could help Y/N harness her abilities,” Thor suggested.

“Thor, that's a good—” The alarm blared throughout the tower. It startled you and sparks began to fly around the room. Part of Thor's cape almost set on fire.

“Like I said, it's a work in progress,” Tony yelled over the alarm.

“Suit up, Avengers!” Rhodey called out.

“Hey hey! We should call this chick Sparky!” Sam laughed at his own joke. Everyone glared at him.

You laughed quietly. Yeah, you liked the Avengers.

—

[One Year Later]

A lot had happened in a year: Steve found Bucky, the Avengers met Ant-Man, Wakanda had opened itself to the world, and you were succeeding in your training with Dr. Strange.

Steve and Tony were very protective of you and kind of acted like your dads—you even took Tony’s last name and he and Steve signed on to be your official guardians. Nat and Wanda were like big sisters to you and you told them everything. Bucky, Clint, and Sam were the “cool” uncles that you hung out with to get away with stuff and pull pranks. Rhodey taught you how to drive and told you funny stories about Tony. Scott taught you magic tricks and you were friends with his daughter, Cassie. You often helped Bruce in the lab with his research and he definitely taught you some sciency things. And you always helped Thor out because you were the only one who could help keep Loki under control; he had a soft spot for you. You also liked to help Vision in the kitchen. You made some mean cookies.

“Friday, where's Tony?” you asked, getting up from bed.

“Mr. Stark is on the bottom floor.”

You threw on a pair of loose shorts and a tank top and went downstairs to the foyer.

You walked to the main door to see Tony with a boy. He looked around your age. He had short, brown hair and a matching set of eyes.

“Sparky!” Tony called you over. You rolled your eyes at the nickname. You cannot believe that stuck. Sam sucks so much, you thought.

“Hi, Tony.” The boy looked at you and you returned his gaze with yours. He swallowed deeply. Your eyes widened.

SPARKS. 

Your eyes widened.

“Peter, this is my daughter. Well, technically she’s Steve’s too, but she has my last name, so she’s like 60% my daughter. And drop the staring, Parker. She's off limits.” Tony gripped Peter's shoulder playfully. He blushed, still looking at you.

“Hi, Peter. I'm Y/N,” you squeaked. You smiled nervously at him. You didn't have much contact with people outside of the Avengers and Cassie was really the only person you knew who was close to your age.

“I-I'm Pe— I'm P-Peter. Oh wait, you knew that��” he stuttered. He closed his mouth and bit his lip. You thought it was cute and you lightly giggled.

“I said she's off limits, Parker,” Tony almost growled. You felt the embarrassment rise to your cheeks and suddenly you felt panic. There was something about that kid that threw you off.

“I have to go,” you mumbled quickly before scurrying away.

Peter frowned at your early leave. He gulped. Stupid, Peter thought. God, why can’t you just talk like a normal person?

“She's just a little shy…” Tony sighed. “Y/N doesn’t really know any people around her age. She’s fifteen, like you.”

“I-I didn't know you-you had a daughter,” Peter inquired. He thought you were really pretty and you didn't really look like Tony.

“She's not my actual daughter. I took her in,” Tony paused. “Do you remember Sokovia?”

—

It had been a couple of days since you saw Peter. Even though you ran away from him, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. You didn’t really understand why and when you went to talk to Nat about it, she just smiled and said that you had a “crush on him.” You didn’t know what that meant though. She said it meant you liked him.

You did like Peter, you didn’t like him the same way you did the Avengers. The Avengers were your family, but he wasn’t like that to you. It was a different kind of like. You regretted running away from Peter before you could really soak up his features. His brown eyes that had looked straight into yours. It made your stomach feel weird but in a good way. His lips were… nice, too.

You decided not to talk to your “dads” about it. It didn’t seem like something a person would ask their father figures about.

Summer was ending. Tony knew it was about time you’d be around people your age. Sure, the Avengers were good company and they were your family, but you needed to make connections on your own. You had lived with them for a year now, and Tony knew you were adjusting to your new life well.  

You needed to go to school.

Of course, he knew you’d be just fine education-wise. Before they gave you powers, you were training to be a spy for HYDRA, so you were given a rich education. Tony and Bruce would often teach you about science and math as well, so you were definitely well off there. Making friends was the challenge—but Tony knew a certain high schooler with spider-powers and a large knowledge on pop culture who could help her out.

“School? Tony, are you sure? She’s barely been here a year. And she doesn’t even have her powers fully under control,” Steve argued. He walked around the kitchen counter to get a mug from the cabinet.

“Yes, I think she’s ready. She’s gotta make some friends, Rogers. And what could go wrong? It’s high school,” Tony shot back. “I just want her to have some friends her age. I mean, we may have to leave her behind one day. This isn’t safe work.” Tony frowned at the thought of leaving Y/N if something were to happen to him. She was his daughter.

“You know she’s just as much mine as she is yours. I get a say in this,” Steve countered. “I mean, I’m just worried for her.”

There was a long moment of silence. Steve looked down at his coffee in contemplation. Tony came closer to him before finally saying, “Do you remember when we found Y/N?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” he answered. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“And do you remember what you said to me when I called her ‘Soldier?’” Tony continued.

Steve realized where Tony was coming from. “I said, ‘She’s just a kid, not a soldier,’” he recited, like lines from a play. Steve sighed. “You’re right.”

“I know I am. We have to give her a chance to have some sort of childhood. Let her go to school,” Tony pleaded. His eyes grew with hope. Steve knew he couldn’t say no.

“Fine, but I want someone to look over her. She doesn’t know how to interact with people her age and I don’t want her to burn the school down,” Steve urged.

“I already have someone. You know the kid that stole your shield?” Tony laughed at the memory. Steve groaned.

“So we’re going to Queens?”

—

Peter had finished making his way around patrolling the streets of Queens as Spider-Man. He didn’t have much action today—just a couple of petty thefts. But for once, he was actually glad about the lack of opportunity. It meant he could swing around, daydreaming about her. Y/N Stark. Damn, she was pretty, he thought. Granted, his turned focus almost caused him to crash into a pole, but it was worth it. He hoped he would be able to see her again. Maybe next time Mr. Stark needed him, she would be there.

Turns out, Mr. Stark needed him right now.

“May?” Peter opened the door and walked into his apartment.

His aunt was on the couch. She turned to face him, “Hey baby. How’s Ned?”

Peter tossed his keys into the bowl next to the door. “Ned? Oh, uh. Ned—Ned is good. He’s fine. Hey, did you see that crazy car outside…?”

Tony Stark and Captain America were here. In his apartment. Two Avengers. At the same time. I mean, Mr. Stark had come by once, but he was here again—with Steve Rogers.

“M-Mr. Stark? Wh-What are you doing here? Uh, Ca-Captain,” Peter stuttered.

“Relax, alright? You should be used to this by now,” Tony said as he sat up from the couch.

“Tony Stark was talking to me about his daughter, Y/N,” May smiled at Peter and walked over to him. She gave him a hug, before quickly retreating. “Honey, you need a shower.”

Peter nodded silently and continued to stare at Steve freaking Rogers.

Steve, who was standing in the corner of the room, also walked over to Peter. He swallowed hard. “Hello, Mr. Parker.”

“Uh, hi-hi, sir.”

“Peter, I’m gonna hand it to you straight. We want Y/N to go to Midtown High,” Tony started. Peter zoned out every word after that. Y/N was going to school with him. He would be able to see her every day.

“Pete? Peter, are you even listening to me?” Tony asked, annoyed. Peter snapped out of his thoughts.

“What? Oh, yes, sir. I-I was listening.”

“Great, I thought you were drooling over my-our daughter,” Tony smirked. Steve glared at Peter.

“So, your Aunt has so graciously allowed Y/N to stay here for the school year,” Steve said, dropping the glare to thank his aunt.

Peter glanced at May, giving her a look of surprise. May smiled overly sweetly at him. Like she knew something he didn’t.

“Yeah, what, with the Avengers moving upstate and all, we wouldn’t be able to drive her down her every day and Midtown is a great school,” Tony added innocently.

Steve’s face darkened as he came closer to Peter. He went full-on dad mode, “Son, we want you to help her out. Now, she’s new to all this, like Stark told you, and we don’t want her to freak out. We’re giving you this responsibility. Do you think you can handle it?”

Peter nodded vigorously, “Yes. Yes, sir, Captain America. Yeah.”

“See? What’d I tell you, Rogers? He’s a good kid. He’ll watch after her,” Tony cheerfully patted a frowning Steve.

Tony turned back to Peter and his face too, darkened for a moment. Peter almost didn’t catch it. “No funny business, okay? We don’t want grandkids just yet.”

Peter blushed bright red. “Nope, no funny business. Got it.”

And with that, the two men exited the small apartment after thanking his aunt one last time.

May closed the door behind them and faced Peter. She smiled wickedly, “So, is she cute?”

“Wh-What?” Peter half-laughed to cover up his blush. “N-No, no. Well, I mean she’s not—not pretty, well I mean she’s beautiful, but not in a weird way! I-I mean. Wait, like she-she—”

“Okay, okay, baby. I get it. You love her.” May left him to process and walked into the kitchen.

“What? Wait—May!”

—

You looked out of the window of the car. You’d never been this far out into New York before. “Happy, are we there yet?”

“No, not yet,” he answered bluntly.

“Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers are calling you, Miss,” Friday announced. You answered the call and your dads came onto the holo-screen.

“Hi, doll,” Steve waved at you. “How’s it going?”

“Well, the traffic is pretty bad, but we’re almost there,” Happy answered for you.

“Happy, what did I tell you about answering someone else’s questions?” Tony snapped at him.

“If someone calls me honey, sweetheart, or doll, it’s not for me,” Happy repeated.

“Anyways, we want you to know that Peter is a good kid, okay? He’ll help you around school. You have all the same classes as him, except one. So, he can show you around the school and help you make friends.”

“Yeah, I know,” you tried you sound annoyed, but you were teeming with excitement.

“If he tries anything, you tell us so I can—”

You interrupted Steve, “Hey hey hey, I get it. I get it. You know, you should warm up to him, dad.”

“I know, I just—” Steve sighed. “I just want you to be safe, baby.”

“I love you, dad. I love you, other dad,” you said, waving goodbye to them.

“Wait, am I ‘other dad?’ Y/N—” You hung up before Tony could finish.

Finally, you arrived at Peter’s apartment. Happy walked you up and left your bags with you, before leaving.

You hesitated to knock. Your hands shook with anxiety. You took a deep breath and slowly knocked.

A woman opened the door.

“Hey, you must be Y/N. I’m Peter’s aunt. You can call me May,” she told you. She shook your hand gently. “Let me help with your bags, honey.”

“Oh ok. Thanks, May.” You walked into the apartment and looked around. It was small, but it felt homey.

May placed your bags down near the couch and walked into the kitchen. “Oh sorry. Peter’s not here right now. He’ll be back tonight.” You nodded and sat at the dinner table. You were slightly disappointed, but still, you would see him tonight.

“I just ordered some pizza, so if you’re hungry, you can eat that,” May reminded.

Later, May had to run out for work but promised that Peter would be there soon. She already set up a small mattress for you next to the couch and taught you how to use the shower. So, you sat and waited for Peter to come while you ate a piece of pizza.

After two slices, you already felt pretty full, so you threw the plate into the sink, and got ready to take a shower.

—

Peter swung from the building across his apartment. He landed quietly on the fire escape in front of his room. Crime fighting took a little longer than expected today.

He felt pretty beat up on his side. Luckily, May wouldn't be able to see the damage there. It was definitely going to bruise.

He peeked inside the apartment to check if May was there. He heard the water running and assumed she was in the shower.

He crept into his room and slowly closed the door. He took his suit off and let it fall to the floor. Before he changed, he checked out his side. Yep, it was definitely going to bruise. It looked like someone colored his entire right side with a purple magic marker.

He slowly picked up his suit and winced at the pain of bending down. He had to stand still for a moment to bear the pain.

The door suddenly opened. In a panic, Peter threw his suit into his closet. It was Y/N, with nothing but a flimsy towel covering herself. And he was in nothing but his boxers. 

“Oh, sorry!” you squeaked out. Were you supposed to leave? Did you want to leave? “I-I just heard noise s-so I thought I wouldn't make s-sure N-no one broke in or-or some-something.”

You blushed at the sight of his half-naked body. There went that feeling again. The one that felt weird but amazing all at the same time.

“I-It's Okay. I thought you were May. God, I'm so stupid. I thought you weren't coming u-until later! And I-I just got home so I figured I'd change and…” If Peter was panicking before, he didn't know what this was. His cheeks burned. You looked really hot. Even though your hair was wet and you were wrapped in a towel, you were still really pretty. He once again realized he was in his boxers and tried to shift certain parts.

Suddenly, you realized you were staring at his body and quickly retreated, “I should go.” You turned on your heel and headed for the door.

When he heard the door close, Peter quietly groaned and collapsed onto his bed.

“Why can't anything go right? It's only day one and you're already messing up,” he mumbled into his pillow.

Slowly, he sat back up and ran a hand through his hair and over his face. “Mr. Stark said, ‘No funny business, Peter.’ So no funny business, ok? She's… just your roommate/friend… Your super pretty roommate.”

—

School didn't start for another week, so it gave you a chance to get to know Peter.

At first, he avoided you like the plague. You tried to get to know the boy, but he always made an excuse to leave. It upset you. You had started to think he didn’t like you the way you liked him.

But eventually, he warmed up and started to speak to you, and… smile. He had a nice smile. It made your cheeks hot and the fluttery feeling would come back.

He made you laugh, more than Clint or even Sam. He showed you a bunch of new things too: memes, vines, old movies (you liked Star Wars a lot), and The Office.

You met his friends, Ned and MJ. They were really nice to you. MJ even drew a picture of you. You were “hanging out,” as Peter called it, with them and at one point you had stepped out to go to the bathroom. When you came back, you overheard them telling Peter something that he strongly denied.

“No! I don’t. She… doesn’t like me like that,” Peter argued.

“Yes! She totally does. And you do too,” Ned pushed.

“Dude, you’re a bad liar,” MJ scoffed.

School started the next day and Peter suggested a good distraction for your anxious nerves. Tonight, you were watching Alien. And though you used to live in a place full of nothing of fear, you were still scared. Come on! The alien ate people!! It was freaky.

After a long stretch of silence, the alien popped out of nowhere and started to chase the people in the movie.

“Ah!” you yelped. You jumped and dug your face into Peter’s chest. He was just glad you couldn’t see his face. He was so flustered, he forgot how to breathe.

Finally, he managed to croak out, “A-Are you scared?”

“A little,” you whimpered. “I thought this was supposed to be a comedy.”

“I told you it was scary, Y/N,” he laughed. You continued to hide your face in his chest. Carefully, he placed his hand on your hair and began to pet it to calm you down.

A couple of sparks flew around you and Peter noticed it. “Hey, hey. It’s ok, Y/N. We can watch something else if you want. I don’t mind.”

Slowly, you lifted your head to meet your eyes with his. Your face was really close to his. Peter stared back at you in uncertainty. His eyes dilated and his mouth was tight-lipped. Your heart thumped in your chest and you felt the urge to close the small space in between you. You knew what a crush was now.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Peter jumped away from you and you sat back in your spot. It was May.

“What’re you two doing?” she asked.

“We were watching a movie,” Peter explained quickly.

“Really? It seemed like something else,” she chuckled.

“No! It wasn’t anything!” Peter yelled and retreated into the kitchen.

“What does she mean?” you asked, puzzled.

“Well—”

“No! Nothing, it’s nothing, Y/N,” Peter interrupted his aunt from the fridge.

“Ok, well I guess I’ll just let you two finish,” May said nonchalantly. She turned to Peter, “Don’t have too much fun, baby. You know what Mr. Rogers said.”

“I know! I know, May,” Peter sighed. Oh, that’s what she meant, you thought.

“I’m going to go to bed,” you blurted. Peter looked up at you from the fridge.

He frowned. “Oh ok, that’s fine. Um, I’ll turn the TV off.”

He switched the TV off and turned to his room. Before he went in, he turned to you and softly said, “Night, Y/N.”

“Night, Petey.” He gave you a small smile and entered his room.

—

You took a shower and changed into a thin white t-shirt and sweatpants. You tried to sleep, but your nerves got the better of you. You were really nervous.

After several hours, you gave up and crept into Peter’s room. “Peter?” you whispered softly. No answer.

“Peter,” you tried again as you closed the door and approached his bed. He looked really peaceful asleep. You hated to wake him up, but you needed to see his big, brown eyes again.

You slightly shook him until he woke up.

“Huh? What? Y/N?” Peter rubbed his tired eyes and sat up. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. Like two. I couldn’t sleep,” you told him. You played with the hem of your shirt nervously. “I-I’m nervous about school.”

“Hey, it’s ok. School isn’t so bad. Kids’ll like you,” he assured. You placed your head on his shoulder and pouted.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve never gone to school before. I don’t know what to do,” you fretted.

“It’s easy,” he said. “I’ll help you out. You know, with finding your classes, homework, checking out books, all that.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled. You hesitated before saying, “Can I sleep here?” Peter could barely hear you.

“What?”

“Can I sleep here? Just tonight?”

“Um, yeah. Sure,” he breathed. Peter knew it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but he wanted to be near you just as much as you wanted to be near him. Mr. Stark’s gonna kill me, but it’s worth it, he thought.

You climbed into bed with him and nuzzled into his body. He was warm.

“Night, Petey,” you yawned. You closed your eyes and you were out like a light. Peter, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep anymore. You were so close to him. You were sleeping right next to him. You were touching him.

Peter thought about you for the rest of the night. Not only were you beautiful, but you were smart, nice, funny, and dorky. He loved every bit of you. He knew there were sparks the first time he met you and with each minute, his affections only grew.

He dreaded the morning to come when you would both have to get up.

—

School wasn’t so bad. You had all your periods with Peter, except fourth period. So, you had some time to cope with that.

First period AP European History was fun. You liked learning about the history of Europe. You would often glance over at Peter and sometimes he would glance at you. You don’t even remember what the teacher said the homework was because you were too busy focusing on the piece of hair that stuck out on Peter’s head.

Second period Honors Humanities was too easy. You already read most of the literature the teacher said you were going to read. Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, The Odyssey, The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations. Done and done.

Third period Honors Pre-calc was incredibly boring. You already knew stuff like that up to the math of radioactive gamma rays and neutron stars. So, you spent the whole period messing with Peter using your powers. You rolled his pencil across his desk and untied his shoelace. He rolled his eyes playfully at you and made an ‘I’m going to get you back’ face at you.

Fourth period was when you had to leave Peter. He was in Spanish 5 while you were in AP French. Your fear subsided, however. You had grown used to other kids and French was easy. After all, you already knew that amongst seven other languages fluently. So it was a breeze.

Trying to find Peter at lunch was difficult and you tried to focus on controlling your stress so sparks wouldn’t fly everywhere. After about ten minutes of wandering around the school trying to find the cafeteria, you finally bumped into Ned and MJ, who led you to Peter. You opened your lunch to find a note that Tony had slipped into it somehow.

We love you, baby. -TS and SR

You smiled at the small note. You looked over at Peter to see him chewing on a PB&J sandwich. He was so cute.

“Subtle,” MJ whispered to you.

“What do you mean?” you asked nervously.

“Don’t worry. He likes you too. Trust me,” she winked at you. He liked you too?

After lunch, you departed from Ned and MJ and walked to PE. You were in deep thought the entire time. Peter liked you?

Finally, you made it to the gym. The teacher just let you do whatever you wanted for the first day, so Peter asked if you wanted to walk around with him, which you quickly agreed to.

“So, how was French?” he started.

“Facile,” you answered, smiling.

“Easy?” he asked. You nodded. A gust of wind flew towards you and you shivered.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“Um, a little. But I’ll be fine,” you said. You brought your arms up to hug yourself for warmth.

“Here,” Peter slid his sweatshirt off. “Take this.”

You blushed. “No, it’s fine. Then you’ll be cold.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Take it,” he assured. Hesitantly, you took the sweatshirt and slipped it over your body. It smelled like him.

“Thanks,” you mumbled. There was Peter’s smile again.

After gym, you had AP Chem. Once again, easy A. For you and Peter. You guys even got to be lab partners. You messed around with each other while the teacher talked out how H2O and O2 yielded H2O2.

Finally, the day was over and you sat next to Peter on the bus. Ned allowed it. He sat with MJ. You were still wearing Peter’s sweatshirt and embraced the warmth it gave you. 

—

Later, you were finishing up chem homework, when you heard a crash in Peter’s room. You ran in to see Peter in a red suit. He slid his mask off to reveal cuts and bruises all over his face.

“Oh my God, Peter what happened? What are you doing?” you sat him on the bed and examined his wounds.

“I-I was um…”

“Are you that Spider-Man guy?” you questioned him, shocked. “Is that why you were at Avengers Tower the other day with my dad?”

“Yeah,” he winced when you touched one of his cuts. You muttered a small ‘sorry.’

“Oh my god. My dad never told me,” you gasped.

“Yeah, he didn’t want you to know. I’m so screwed,” Peter said through gritted teeth.

“Let me help you, Pete. Should I—Should I get May?” you asked.

“No, May doesn’t know.”

“She doesn’t? Oh ok, well um… Do you have a first aid kit?” you asked in a panic. He was pretty beat up.

“Yeah, under the sink in the bathroom.” He lied on the bed and groaned.

You got the kit from the bathroom and proceeded to clean the cuts on his face.

“Ok, we’re done with your face,” you said, placing the cotton ball down. “Now take off your suit.”

“No, it’s ok. I got it, Y/N.”

“Peter, it’s fine. I got it,” you urged. You gave him your best puppy dog face and he couldn’t resist.

“Fine.” He slipped his suit off and looked away from you. You tried to ignore his toned chest and stomach and placed bandage wrap on his torso.

“Got beat up pretty bad, huh? Tough bad guys?” you asked to distract him.

“Uh not really. I got kind of distracted,” he laughed. Your hand slipped and he hissed in pain.

“Sorry, uh go on.”

“I um…” If you’re going to tell her, I guess now would be the time, he thought. “I was thinking about you,” he continued.

You dropped the wrap and opened your mouth slightly in shock. “What do you mean?”

“Well—”

“Kids, I’m home!” May opened the door. Yours and Peter’s eyes widened. He threw his suit out of sight and quickly slipped on some clothes.

May entered the room. “Pete, what happened to your face?”

“He fell!” you blurted out. “We were running during gym and he slid face-first onto the floor.”

You and Peter laughed nervously. “Yeah, I uh, fell.”

“Ok, be more careful baby,” May closed the door.

—

You ate dinner in awkward silence with May and Peter. You stared at your food the entire time. Peter glanced every now and again at you, but you refused to make eye contact with him. Did you not like him back? Great, he thought.

Peter laid in his bed wide awake. He couldn’t stop thinking about you and how he had completely screwed up your friendship. He needed to fix this. He got up from bed and walked into the living room.

He saw you, still in his sweatshirt, sleeping. He tripped over the couch and fell onto it.

“Oof!” You quickly sat up at the noise and sent sparks through your hands.

“It’s me! It’s just me!” Peter whispered loudly. You lowered your hand and sighed.

“Peter you scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“What are you doing here?”

“I-I um…”

“Peter… do you… like me?” you closed your eyes shut in embarrassment.

“I-I uh…” Peter blushed for probably the hundredth time this week.

You frowned. “I get it if you don’t.”

“What? No, Y/N I do like you! I like you a lot. Ever since I first met you actually. Even though you ran away and all but—”

“I like you too,” you smiled widely.

“I didn’t tell you because your dads said I couldn’t be with you,” Peter pouted at your fathers’s warnings.

“I don’t care what they say. I want you,” you whispered.

“I want you too.”

Your faces were really close. You were unsure of what to do next, but before you could decide, Peter closed the distance between the two of you.

Wanda had told you what kissing was but you never expected it to be this great.

His lips were soft and moved carefully as if he was scared of rejection. You pushed back a little and placed your hands on his face. He wrapped his arms around your waist and deepened the kiss.

Peter never wanted it to stop. He quickly ended it for a breath of air but crashed his lips back onto yours. His hands moved up your waist and into your hair. You wrapped your arms around his neck in reply.

“Go out with me,” he said, releasing you from his grasp.

“Like-Like on a date?”

“Yeah, we could go out and eat dinner and take a walk around Central Park or Coney Island and ride the Ferris Wheel or—”

“Yes,” you breathed.

“R-Really?” Peter was surprised you agreed.

You nodded in reply and kissed him again.

—

On Saturday, Happy drove you and Peter to the Avengers complex to visit. The Avengers greeted the both of you.

“Man of Spiders! Lady Y/N. It is wonderful to see you both,” Thor greeted.

“Sparky, eh how’s it going?” Sam asked.

“Hello, guys!” Wanda waved at you both.

You greeted all of the Avengers and lastly your dads.

“Hi, peanut. How was school?” Tony asked, giving you a hug.

“It was great. Peter really helped and he introduced me to his friends.

“Oh, that’s awesome, sweetheart.” Tony let go and turned to Peter.

“Peter, did you go a good job?”

Peter swallowed. “Uh, yeah. I-I think so,” he sputtered nervously. You hadn’t told them you were dating yet. Only MJ, Ned, and May knew.

“You think so?” Steve questioned.

“I mean, yeah—yes, sir. I think so…”

“Dad, lay off, will you?” You pushed against his chest to get him to back away from Peter.

Nat came up to you to give you a hug, but before she did, she stared at you for a long moment before yelling out, “You kissed Peter, didn’t you?”

“Wh-What? No, I didn’t,” You were bright red. Shit, shit, shit.

“What?!” Tony and Steve yelled simultaneously. They stared at Peter.

“Parker, what was the one thing I told you not to do?!” Tony yelled.

“Uh, n-not to-to—”

“Not to hook up with our daughter!” Steve finished.

“But I—”

“You what!?” Tony screamed. “You did it anyway. I trusted you, Peter”

“I called you son…” Steve growled.

“Hey!” you yelled over the chaos. “I like him, ok? And he’s a nice guy. Come on, guys. Let him be.”

“But-But he—” Tony tried to defend.

“But nothing! He likes me and he’s nice and smart and he makes me laugh, ok? He’s good. You like him, don’t you?” You gave them your puppy dog sad face.

Steve and Tony softened. “Ok, fine,” Steve raised his arms in defeat. “But I’m watching you son.”

“Yes-Yes, sir,” Peter stuttered.

“But don’t kiss each other in front of me please,” Bucky added.

In spite, you smirked and pulled Peter to you by his shirt and gave him a quick peck.

Everyone groaned.

“My eyes!” Clint yelled.

“Oh boy,” Bruce turned to the face the other direction.

“Aw,” Wanda clasped her hands to her chest.

“Just—Just fucking… kill me,” Tony said.

You leaned over to Peter, who was sweating nervously at Steve, who glared at him angrily. “I think they like you.”

—

Tag List: @kitphi @loxbbg @weasleyisourjedi @sunnynightt @starlightfound @dennasaur @saturn-aka-six @peter-spider-parker-man @imbumkyung @thegloryofliterature @queenmadness @emilymarie0422 @tegan-eva @babebenhardy

[guildofempyreans]

I feel like talking about something kinda-sorta more casual again,,, last time I talked about certain character’s name origins... This time I wanna talk about... hmm....

Concept Design/Portrait/Character Story Choices I Made Before I Finalized Them!! Yea!!!

Because a lot of characters appearances look very different than how they are now. And even some characters acted differently, or some “concept” characters who no longer exist had a similar role to these “finalized” characters! And a lot of characters had aspects of themselves & their reasons for being in Maginia changed... 

It’s all very fun to reminisce about, for me 😅.

Anyway, again, stuff under rm because this one is Long. Let’s start with...

1) Zandiel

Uh... His primary design never looked any different NHGNKG... This entire fic partially started because of a sort of domino effect that started with “wow I’ve never made Hero M1 in EOX before! Maybe I should! Surely this will not come back to alter my life in any form :) ...Anyway I want this dude to have bright green hair, brown eyes, dark skin, Voice 8 or 15, and... name? Hmmm, Ain? Maybe? Zandiel...?”

Soooo... yeah. His design/personality was the same through the earliest concepts to right now. Of course, as he started to become “the protag of an EOX fic I wanna write” I had to start thinking of his actual story & abilities!

2) Siegril

His portrait/personality was the same throughout. Also I can’t remember exactly what he did before I decided “he’s an assassin who was sent to kill Zandy”, but now that I think about it, I think he was always that. 

Zandiel & Siegril gave me the least amount of trouble. Absolute kings.

Anyway, Siegirl has had some slight cosmetic changes that actually started happening AFTER I started the fic. Like, his hair became poofier (in drawings), he has big yellow bubble accessories that hold the front part of his hair together instead of those tiny gold cylinder accessories, and his ears are shorter/slightly rounder than Celestrian’s ears.

He never did have those Warlock arm-tubes, though. And boy howdy do I have a reason fo--

3) Ylva

Alright, now here’s where we start REALLY getting into changes.

Originally, the character who fulfilled the role of “Wing’s owner & an experienced explorer, also a guide of sorts” was actually going to be Dragoon 2 (Eyepatch Dragoon), and her name wasn’t Ylva (I forgot her name,,,). She was practically a different character.

She and Wing were going to be a pair of “veteran explorers” who viewed things much more seriously. You actually wouldn’t have met them until the Lush Woodlands, where they would be helping beginner adventurers through that labyrinth.

And then at another point in OtL’s concept phase, Ylva was originally going to have the appearance of Therian F! At this point, her name actually did become Ylva, and you would meet her & Wing the same way you do in the finalized version! 

Though, at this time, the tavern Zan & Sieg met them at WAS actually going to be... K... Kv-- bro I can’t even say it. Anyway, stan Ethis.

Alright, back to Ylva, I eventually ended up changing her design to this one, and things were pretty much set from there! Earthlain F babey,,,

4) Tenmaar

At first... Tenmaar was simple enough. At first, his overall role was going to be fulfilled by a dude named “Neo”, and Neo had the appearance of Masurao M2. He also acted much more chipper, but in a mischief-causing way. I guess if you wanted to compare Neo to any of the final characters, he was like a mix of finalized Luxes/Alverion/Kor?

Anyway, this guy still used a Drive Blade, and you still had your first “real” meeting with him in the Eastern Shrine. The scene played out slightly differently, where “Neo” was actually in the middle of fighting the Blossombeast itself, and he ends up joining the Empyrean guild after that (Siegril was still wary of Neo, similarly to the way he is with Tenmaar. However, for Neo, it was more because of the way he acted as opposed to Tenmaar’s whole “mana” deal).

Eventually, for one reason or another (I’m pretty sure it’s because I decided on Luxes being a character) I decided I wanted to change this “Neo” lad’s personality. And I wanted an appearance change along with it.

AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALL WENT TO SHIT FOR A BIT.

TENMAAR (whose name probably wasn’t even finalized yet) ENDED UP BECOMING THE MOST DIFFICULT CHARACTER TO DECIDE ON A DESIGN AND PESONALITY FOR.

We had Fencer 1, Dark Hunter 1, Highlander M, Shogun 1 (yes, Leonidas’ final design), Ninja 1, Landsknecht 1, Masurao 1 of course, and... probably more that I considered momentarily, but these were the primary ones I was juggling between for 3000 years. We had all kinds of personality ideas, too.

In the end, I was starting to lean towards Fencer or Dark Hunter, but felt that he and Siegril would have felt a bit too similar to me if he was the Dark Hunter. I can’t fully explain it, but I just didn’t like it, and there was no way I was changing Sieg’s design for Tenmaar’s sake. So I ended up with Masu 1... an astounding conclusion to the worst design-choosing tale in this story: going from Masurao to Masurao Again.

And in Fencer’s case, his design just didn’t feel right for Tenmaar.

Aaand yep I’m very happy with Masu 1 Tenmaar. Damn ya tits fat, what’s ya pronouns

5) Biscotti

My guy was gonna look like Buccaneer 1 for a bit, actually.

Yeah he was still gonna be dressed like a medic, as Biscotti was always intended to be a medic, but he was originally gonna be,.... Pretty Different. In looks and in personality. Much less chill & joke-y. In the end, I much preferred the idea of Biscotti acting the way he does now, so I dropped the old personality. Soon, I changed the looks, too.

Also, for a while, Biscotti was originally going to be a part of the Seafarers’ crew, which meant that you literally wouldn’t have met him until WHEN THE SEAFARERS PULL UP--

When I got to the point where I decided that Biscotti would run a hospital in Maginia (design & personality change already done by this point), he was originally going to have a husband who worked as an apothecary (sidenote: Kor & Ruki didn’t exist at this point. Sure there’s nothing wrong with 3 apothecaries but I’ll just put that out there because why not--).

You may be wondering why I keep saying Biscotti and not including Flynn, well that’s because:

6) Flynn & Sheria

While Flynn’s design stayed the same the entire time, his role was much different. He was originally not “Biscotti’s little brother who works as the Leader of the Redray Rescue Division” (there was a brief moment where I decided they straight up weren’t even related) but instead...

“Sheria’s retainer who traveled around dungeons with her as a duo and was Biscotti’s long-lost brother, though he had no recollection of Biscotti” 

Yeah... Flynn’s role and story sure has changed a lot. He & Sheria were originally going to be a duo that you’d meet every once in a while in towns or labyrinths, where they’d both be strolling around & having a grand ol’ fun time every time you saw them. 

The Empyreans would always wonder if the two were gonna be alright, and just HOW they’ve been able to make it this far. Not just because it’s only two of them, but because of how frivolous they seemed to be inside of the labyrinths.

Still, the two would help the Empyreans whenever they crossed paths, and would eventually both join the guild!

7) Kaida

Kaida was originally going to have the appearance of Protector 2 (pigtails protector), and you would have met her-- unconscious-- in the Small Orchard where her friend (this character ended up being dropped, but her name was Perrine) would ask the Empyreans for help because of a monster (Owlbeast) that attacked Kaida.

I can’t say much about what Kaida “was and was not going to be like in terms of aspirations and stuff” because, at this point of ET: OtL, I haven’t given much info about her in the actual story. So, you know, wouldn’t want to spoil or anything.

Just know that she was originally going to act more gung-ho, and her friend was the more sensible one who’d try and stop her from being reckless. Kaida & Perrine would then be like Sheria & Flynn: a duo that the Empyreans occasionally see in town/dungeons and eventually end up recruiting.

==

Alright, that’s that for now. My arms hurt... Though one more thing: 

Originally, EVERYONE was meant to join the Empyrean guild. See how Biscotti didn’t own a hospital and Sheria wasn’t leading her own guild. Yep, they were all originally intended to be full-time Empyreans. Eventually it kinda hit me that “Hey, not everything here has to be centered around the Empyrean Guild. Oh, and not everyone HAS to join them, either.” so... yep there’s that!

This was a lotta fun to write & reminisce about, like I said earlier ghkgn... 

And if you’d wanna see any more posts about “concept character designs/story” or have any questions about a character in general, lemme know 👀👀

[its-r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s]

The Right Side of Wrong- Ch 1: W-I-C-K-E-D

Words: 2,435

Warnings: nightmares, mentions of gang activity, mentions of death and trauma, stress

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH FINALLY!! I’m not sure how many of you were dying for me to start posting again, but frankly, I was. I missed getting feedback from you guys! I’m so very glad to finally be back and able to post actual writing for you guys. As you know, I spent quite a bit of time trying to perfect this story so I really hope you guys enjoy it like you did the first one!

(If this is the first time you’ve seen one of my stories: Hi! Welcome! Feel free to check out my first rewrite, “Call Me A Freak”, for a better grasp on what is going on in this one!)

Call Me A Freak- Ch 1 | Preview | Ch 2

~ ~ ~

I blinked, attempting to register my surroundings. It was just too dark. I could make out the low fog settled around my feet as I stumbled forward. It almost glowed, a light blue-ish, green-ish color.

There were murmurs up ahead. People.

In my hazy determination to find them, I ran directly into something. The top half of my body fell forward, catching myself on the edges of the cauldron.

The steam that emanated from it blurred my vision as I pushed myself away from it. The water inside bubbled and boiled, the same sickly color as the fog around me. As I rubbed my eyes, I approached once more, getting a better look inside.

Bobbing across the top, were dozens of ripe, red apples.

“W-” I could hear someone whisper in the distance. “I-C-”

I turned on my heel, but the sound came from everywhere, surrounding me.

“K-”

I tried to run away from the cauldron, but the minute I was around one, I ran into another.

“E-D.”

I kept running, doing my best to dodge cauldrons and skip over the fallen apples that littered the floor. In a blink, I found myself running through the halls of Auradon Prep.

They were empty. Along the way, a few apples were discarded on the ground, all with single bites in them.

Across the lockers that lined the school, in large purple letters, were the words: LONG LIVE EVIL.

That was my work. It had to be. And my paint.

“Mother always knows best,” the quiet voice came back.

I dashed out of the hallway and down the stairs towards the front of the school.

It was too empty. Too quiet. And too messy.

“Show her. Pass every test.”

The entrance to the school was a mess. Apples and papers everywhere. The Beast statue was defaced with spray paint.

“Hear her voice in your head.”

And flying high over the school was a new flag. An old design which I had long since discarded. A silhouette of my mother, the words ‘Long Live Evil’ in green on a purple background.

“Evil is the only real way to win,” the voice beckoned me.

~ ~ ~

My hands were holding me up, pressed against the Beast statue at the front of Auradon Prep.

I noticed multiple familiar faces within the crowd of paparazzi. Hadn’t they learned their lesson? Hadn’t any of them?

I had been known to shriek, break down, and run off while on camera. A result of sensory overload most often, but it could also be triggered by… uncomfortable questions.

All of my friends had become experts in the art of avoiding paparazzi specifically for this reason. They knew I was still healing and god was it hard to heal when you were also the girlfriend of the king.

So, sometimes, when I needed to be by myself, I wandered alone and that’s almost always where they found me. Photographers and interviewers all desperately looking for a brief word right when I needed space.

They weren’t the best on timing.

“Only three days to the Royal Cotillion!” a young woman exclaimed, shoving a mic at my face. I wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted me to say in response to that, so I nodded, smiling tightly.

“Ever think that a girl like you would be a Lady of the Court?”

I blinked, temporarily blinded by a particularly close shot at my face.

“How do you feel being the most envied girl in Auradon?”

I scoffed, but was bombarded with more questions.

“Okay! All right!” I could hear Ben exclaim, pushing his way through the crowd towards me. I sighed in relief, glad to know that someone would be able to get me out of there. “Excuse me.”

He held a half eaten apple in his hand, which looked suspiciously similar to the ones in my dream. That had been a common occurrence recently: deja vu.

He wrapped an arm around me the minute he reached me. He had on one of his signature blue suits with a gold handkerchief. I quickly turned into his shoulder to regain my composure while the crowd turned on him.

“Did you ever think you’d be with a Villain Kid?”

Ben and I both whipped around to look at the woman who had asked. I bit down tightly on the inside of my cheek as Ben chuckled next to me. Multiple people had gone silent, waving mics in Ben’s face to pick up his answer.

“We’re done here,” he responded politely, grabbing me from the opposite shoulder and leading me away from the cameras.

In a whirl, with perfect timing, as always, Fairy Godmother took command of the cameras, preventing them from following the two of us as we left and asking them to make their exit.

“You feeling alright?” he automatically asked, running a hand over my back.

“Fine,” I said, quickly. “A little overwhelmed, but I’ll be alright.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. “It gets frustrating at times. Sometimes I wonder if they say some of those things just to get a reaction out of me. They want to watch me break and be the villain my mother was.”

“Don’t pay any attention to them.”

“Well, that’s a lot easier said than done, right?”

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “You know, maybe we should do something. We should go somewhere. Get away.”

While I appreciated the suggestion, I was so tired that when I thought of getting away, that included getting away from Ben. I wanted to just have some time to myself again. Some privacy again. I hadn’t seen a moment alone practically since I had gotten off the island.

“Yeah,” I replied halfheartedly, but he didn’t even seem to notice, distracted by his own watch.

“I have a council meeting. I’m so late!” His face pinched in stress. I knew he didn’t want to leave me here, especially after just promising some time to ourselves, but he had responsibilities.

“That’s okay,” I told him. I had gotten really good at pretending like things were totally fine, the Auradon way. On the Isle, if I was upset, I would hide it underneath my anger, but here I had to smile and act like a feather when bricks were weighing me down.

“We’ll do it sometime!” He promised, leaning down to kiss my cheek, but he hadn’t made contact before someone else was dragging me away.

“If we don’t do a fitting for your gown right this minute, you’ll be dancing in your bathrobe, okay?” Evie insisted.

Turns out everyone was stressed, because Evie was never so forward unless something needed to be done. In fact, she was rather efficient nowadays, but all that meant was piling on more work than she needed because she could power through it.

“Hi!” She smiled at Ben, sort of an apology for stealing me away, but if I knew Evie, she was well aware that Ben had stuff to do anyways. “Let’s go. Let’s go!” she sang to me, dragging me towards the dorms.

“Bye, Ben!” I called.

“Bye.”

I stumbled after her, trying to keep up in my heels. Evie was so well adapted to the formal, princess life (mostly because her mother had been teaching her she was royalty since she was a girl) that I looked like peasantry in her presence.

Once we had made it to the dorm rooms, she pulled down the pieces she had made of my dress and had me start fitting sections on.

It was yellow, with blue sequins and accents across the top and down the skirt. Evie had chosen it so that I would match Ben and fit the “Beauty and the Beast” aesthetic of all the events.

Evie began the process of pinning and marking the edges of the dress to be hemmed, where she would close up the back of the dress and tighten the waist. I stood still, my thoughts drifting, as they normally did when Evie forced me up onto her dress stand.

The dress was huge. I couldn’t imagine getting out the door, much less dancing for hours in it. Evie was fairly accommodating to my needs when it came to her designs, but there was also a certain standard that my outfits were expected to meet. I couldn’t just wear anything to a ball like this. Eyes would be on me at all times and I had to look traditional. I had to fit in. The people of Auradon were just jumping for an excuse to make me look bad.

Evie pulled me from my thoughts as she forced my shoulders back, so that the dress would fit me correctly.

I squealed a moment, in shock, but I was cut off when Evie pulled the corset together in back and pinned it there, squeezing my rib cage uncomfortably.

“Okay, Evie? I cannot breathe.”

She stepped around me, going back to her work table. “Well then, you can breathe after Cotillion.” I glared at her and she shrugged. “It won’t stay up unless it’s tight, M.”

“I sincerely doubt that I’ll ever be allowed to breathe again,” I grumbled. “I have at least twenty events directly behind it and I can’t remember what a single one of them is.”

Evie walked around me, pulling out the bottom of the dress to get a good look at it in full.

“Impeccable,” she smiled to herself.

I was glad Evie was getting some sort of satisfaction for her work. I mean, she was constantly designing and sewing dresses now and they always turned out amazing. Everyone was thrilled with her efforts and she was getting paid.

Not to mention, despite all the stress it caused her, especially right now, with the Cotillion so close, she was happy. She loved making dresses for others. It brought her peace and made her feel like she was doing some good for others. And she got to hang out with her new boyfriend, Doug, as she worked.

My eyes drifted away and I noticed my old leather jacket on the coat rack by the door.

I’m not sure why I kept it. I didn’t wear it anymore. Frankly, I couldn’t. My outfits nowadays were kind of expected to reach a level of sophistication. But the two green dragons, twisted into a heart, left a familiar sense of calm.

“Evie?”

“Hm?”

“Do you ever think about what we’d be doing if we were back on the Isle right now?”

I regretted the words the minute they left my mouth.

These dreams I’d been having were unsettling to me. I had read up on reoccuring dreams and how it’s believed they are predicting something. And that terrified me. Not just the empty school and the vandalism and apples, but the fact that my mother was somehow involved in all of it.

“Why do you ask?” she said, seriously.

It was upsetting. Sometimes I felt like everything was going too fast and no one was giving me space. And then the minute I admitted this, I was being babied. My mother had died almost a year ago and still, no one dared mention her name around me.

I just wish I had some time to truly find myself. Once we had abandoned the Isle, the four of us had basically lost any sense of identity we previously had. We were no longer the leader, the thief, the flirt, and the snake.

Evie and Jay had truly found their calling. Evie could practically make a living for herself at this point and Jay was looking into universities to continue playing Tourney at. And Carlos wasn’t completely set yet, but he was relaxed, still messing around with different types of tech and looking after Dude.

I was just trying to survive.

“I’m fine,” I replied, stepping down from the pedestal.

Evie didn’t say anything, turning back towards her work table. I figured she was done at this point and was about to ask her to help me get the dress off when I saw a book on my nightstand, titled The Lady’s Manners.

I gasped rushing over to grab it. I was supposed to run through all of this a week ago, but it had completely slipped my mind. Ben had given it to me to prepare for the Cotillion, seeing as it would be a massively covered event and his parents would be present.

Luckily, my spellbook was also on hand and I had the precise spell for this already marked. “Read it fast, at lightning speed. Remember everything I need,” I recited.

Quickly, I transferred the spell on to the book of manners and began flipping through the pages, running my eyes down the lines to grab any information I could.

“I know Mal’s secret to fitting in and Ben wouldn’t like it one bit,” Evie scolded beside me.

I sent a quick glare in her direction, then continued my skimming.

“Haven’t you guys had enough secrets between the two of you already?”

I rolled my eyes. “What’s the harm, E? These girls around school have had their whole lives to study and learn the ways of a ‘lady’. I’ve had a couple of months. You saw how I was before I started to use magic and it wasn’t good. I was a disaster. I was a shame to Ben and everything his family stands for.”

“You were recovering,” she insisted. “But now, you’ve been talking to therapists, you’re getting your head back on your shoulders, and personally, I strongly believe that this spellbook-” she reached into my lap and took it from me, “-belongs in the museum along with my mirror.”

“Well, it’s hard to act like a person when no one treats you like one,” I grumbled.

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged off the question, changing to subject. “You don’t ever miss running wild?”

“Stealing, and lying, and fighting?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Don’t you miss the freedom of it all?”

“No!” she exclaimed. “M, why would we? Look at us! We’re happy! We’re in Auradon! Where is all of this coming from?”

I shook my head. “Nowhere. Just… wondering.”

“If that’s true,” she answered, briefly squeezing my hand, “then can we please just leave the past in the past?”

I looked into Evie’s eyes as she said that and deeply felt sorry for saying anything. Evie was doing her best to comfort me and make sure that I was alright, but she had some deep scars from the Isle herself. She didn’t want to talk about it unless she had to.

So, I just nodded solemnly.