#I’m also not entirely sure whether they actually made up and are gonna move on

[fierykitten2]

My aces (plus Liko’s Sprigatito) crowd around me, Spriggie falls asleep, Cherry tries to prove no member of the Quaxly line can out-fabulous it (or at the very least an unevolved Quaxly can’t) and Char and Knight have an argument again before seemingly making up and then running through each other

[reiding-writing]

Hey Red! I really enjoyed all of your writings especially because I am also a sucker for angst and hurt/comfort fic. Anyway, can I request fic about post-prison Spencer x reader (romantic) where the reader is the one who distanced herself from Spencer because after the first time Spencer released from prison, he doesn't want to touch anyone? Bet he'll be so heartbroken and thinking that she's over their relationship. Thank you! Sorry if it's too specific ❤️

distance [ s.r ]

Spencer makes a show of physically distancing himself from his teammates after he returns from prison, and in trying to abide by that boundary you accidentally misread his intentions

WARNINGS: miscommunication, established relationship

pairing: post-prison!spencer x gn!reader

genre: ANGST, hurt/comfort, happy ending

wc: 1.6k

masterlist!!

a/n: gave this one a happy ending as an apology for transgression-

You waited for 84 days to see him again; And yet now he’s stood here in front of you you can’t even bring yourself to speak to him.

He’s thinner than you remember. His cheekbones show more prominently. He has stubble lining his chin. His hair is more unruly. His eyes don’t shine anymore.

Spencer changed in those 84 days, and the second you caught his eyes a hairline fracture formed in your heart.

Gone was the Spencer who would light up at the most insignificant thing. Gone was the Spencer who would look at you with those sweet innocent eyes that would make you weak at the knees. Gone was the Spencer who would link his pinky finger in yours so that he could anchor himself to you no matter where you were.

Gone was the Spencer you knew.

Your Spencer didn’t exist anymore.

You watched as he swerved a hug from Morgan as he entered the office, clasping both of his hands behind his back with an awkward smile as he walked through the bullpen towards you were standing in front of his desk, eerily resembling the 23 year old Spencer who avoided everyone like they had the plague.

“Hey Spence…” Your voice is a lot more breathless than you thought it’d be, only amplified as you look into those gorgeous hazel eyes that you’d dreamed about being able to look into again for the past three months. “..How are you?”

It’s a completely unnecessary question Spencer thinks, it makes it sound like you’re just his co-worker and not the love of his life.

“I’m alright…” His eyebrows twitch when you take a few steps away from his desk as he nears you, like you can’t bear to be too close.

Then again, he probably looks like hell, so he can’t entirely blame you.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

“That’s good,” You press your lips into a line, nodding softly with your eyes flickering everywhere except his face. He’d been gone for 84 days, but you were treating him like you’d never met.

“I’m gonna go make some coffee-” You point lamely towards the kitchenette with your thumb, sliding past him to walk towards it as he watched you leave, eyes burning into the back of your head.

It was a weird feeling to say the least. You were ecstatic that he was home, that you could finally see his beautiful face again and know that he wasn’t suffering in a prison cell. But you weren’t sure how to express that. Whether you should express that.

You fumble with the coffee machine as you lose yourself in your thoughts. Everything about Spencer’s body language when he entered the office told you he wanted space, and you wanted to respect that.

You understood that he’d definitely been through a lot over the past few months and that he wanted time to collect himself before he let anybody else back in; But the way he looked at you when you moved away from him made you unsure. Did he want to be left alone? Did he actually want you to suffocate him with a hug like you were originally planning on doing?

You weren’t sure. And that was the worst part, because depending on which option you chose you could unintentionally swerve things into being worse than they already were.

You chose the safe option. Let him come to you. Leave him be and allow him to choose what he wanted.

He didn’t approach you for a few days, and you figured that meant your decision was correct, that he truly did just want some space to gain his bearings again and allow himself the downtime to focus on himself before anyone else.

You were wrong.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Spencer caught you right as you left the office, stood in the middle of the hallway leading to the elevator with an exhausted expression on your face after working for almost 10 straight hours.

You do nothing more than blink in his direction at his question, exhaustion morphing into confusion once your eyes catch him expression.

You could see his own tiredness echoed through the bags forming under his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped at his sides, but you could also see a flicker of hurt floating around in his gaze, seemingly amplified under the white florescents as if to torture you.

“I’m- not avoiding you Spencer,”

“Yes you are.” His tone is rigid, a stark difference from the soft and whispered tone you’d grown used to with him. It felt like having a bucket of ice water poured over your head, and as if to physically acknowledge that feeling, a shudder ran its way up your spine and into the base of your skull. “Every time I’m within ten feet of you, you make an excuse to leave.”

You can’t really argue with him there. You had been keeping your distance. But only because you thought that’s what Spencer wanted.

“Do you not love me anymore? Is that it? Am I too broken for you now?”

“What- No-” Your confusion turns into shock at his accusations, and you immediately shake your head in denial.

“Then why are you treating me like a stranger you’ve never met?” His tone borders between angry and upset, and you can see the start of tears forming in his eyes as he stares at you like you’d just ripped up a first-edition copy of his favourite book.

“I waited for the day i’d finally be able to see you again and now you’re acting like I never existed in your mind at all.” You can hear the strain in his voice as he tries to stop it from cracking under his emotions.

“Spence-”

“Have you moved on? You found someone better for you right?”

“Spencer-”

“I hope he makes you happy-”

He barely has time to get out the last sentence as you give a sharp tug on his tie and pull his face down to yours, effectively silencing all of his insecurities with a kiss. It’s soft but firm, and slightly salty. He must’ve started crying.

“I love you Spencer.” Your words hold no room for debate as your lips part from his, connection maintained through the way your foreheads press together.

“But you- Why did you- I thought…” His mind seems to run a thousand miles a minute as he stares at you, finally close enough to see the details of your face that nobody else had the privilege to know. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore…”

“Spence…” You shake your head as it rests against his, a firm denial of his doubt in your complete and utter adoration of him.

“But you kept moving away from me whenever i’d try to come over to you,” He speaks through stuttered breaths, his eyes squeezed shut to hopefully stop the tears that assault his cheeks, running hot down his skin and pooling underneath the curve of his chin.

“I just thought you wanted space baby,” Your thumbs move deftly over his cheeks, wiping away the streaks of tears and taking Spencer’s insecurity with them. “I saw you dodging everyone’s advances and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,”

“I don’t want space from you,” When he opens his eyes again, they’re big, round, and still glistening with the moisture of his tears. But most of all they’re filled with nothing but pure affection for you. “I never want space from you…”

You sure that if you keep eye contact with him for much longer that you’ll start crying yourself, so you redirect his head to lie against your shoulder as you wrap your arms tight around his torso.

“I missed you…” His voice is so quiet that if you weren’t holding him in your arms you wouldn’t have heard it.

“I missed you too Spence,” Your head rests against his, you hand rubbing soft lines up and down his spine over his shirt as he soaks in all the affection he’s missed over the last three months.

“Can I stay at yours tonight? Please?” His gaze is enough of a ‘please’ in itself, but the way his voice drops to almost a whisper when he adds the plea onto the end of his question makes it impossible for you to deny him. Although it’s not like you were going to in the first place.

“Of course you can Spence,” You place a kiss to his left temple as you carefully break the hug, taking his hand in yours to lead him to the elevator. “Lets go home,”

[restinslices]

How do you think earth realm boys would be like around their crush?

Haven’t made moodboards for them so this is all I got rn

Johnny Cage

He would be incredibly shy 

^ That's something I would say if I lost it 

Am I suffering from lack of sleep? Yes. Have I lost the plot? No. 

Johnny is a huge flirt. He was flirting with Kitana and he hardly knew her 

And I'm pretty sure a lot of his MK1 intros is just him flirting or being a little shit 

So with that being said it’s obvious to everyone 

It’s obvious at least that he finds you attractive. The problem would be trying to figure out whether he’s just being Johnny or if he actually likes you 

Which would be difficult 

He flirts, he makes sly jokes, he says how much you should be with him and that he could totally handle you, how great you’d be together and a whole bunch of other shit

Like I said though, the main problem would be knowing if he’s joking or not 

But I think if you simply asked “dude, are you joking?” He’d say “no” immediately 

But Johnny’s eyes tend to wander so you wouldn’t be wrong for being hesitant 

It’d be dogshit if you were just his distraction for the month 

You’d know he’s serious though because he keeps going for months 

Obviously you’ve encountered other attractive people but he doesn’t seem to care about them and his eyes are always on you 

A model could walk by and he’d be too busy pulling your chair to notice 

That’s how you’d know he’s serious. It’s been months and he’s still focused on you? 

Whether or not you share those same feelings is a different story 

Kenshi Takahashi 

Probably one of the hardest to tell 

Idk if this is a headcanon I made up or if it’s canon but I feel like Kenshi is good at hiding certain emotions 

If it’s an emotional moment then yeah, it could slip but this is something more casual 

He wouldn’t say anything but he’d do things for you 

You’d mention you haven’t had time to cook because you’ve been busy and he’d offer to help with whatever 

He’d ask your opinion on stuff first as well 

As friends he makes sure you’re included but it’s even more so if he has a crush (this is not correct English but I cannot think of how else to put this)

One of the other guys would make some joke about him being in love and he’d look at them in a way that would let them know they were right 

Kenshi is not 10 so trying to blackmail him won’t work 

His eyes are always on you and even though he knows he shouldn’t be jealous of other people that are close to you, he can’t help it 

There’s two voices in his head. One says “just tell them”, the other says “you’re gonna mess up your friendship”

So he’d continue to be a little butler lowkey until he actually felt like he had to get a move on 

If someone showed genuine romantic interest in you, then he’d start moving 

He’s either gonna be stereotypically sweet and get flowers and shit or he’s just gonna ask you out at a random time 

Like I said, whether or not you accept his invitation is up to you 

Dude is probably tense as fuck the entire time he’s asking 

Kung Lao

Similar to Johnny 

Kung Lao has such an inflated sense of self, you not liking him makes no sense to him 

Does that mean he just tells you right away though? No

There’s lots of things that make no sense and happen anyway so he plays it safe 

And by safe I mean he is incredibly obvious but doesn’t just straight up tell you 

Lots of flirting and lingering looks 

He does a lot of extra shit then looks to see if you saw it 

It’s like when a kid does a cartwheel then looks to make sure their parents saw them 

He also straight up asks for compliments 

“That was a really good kick, right?”

Sure Kung Lao

He likes compliments way better from you now

He kinda acts the same because everyone knows he has a big head but the flirting makes it obvious 

And Raiden definitely knows. Kung Lao told him because why wouldn’t he?

Anyone joking about stealing you away bothers him a lot more than he’d like to admit 

He’s both “I’m Kung Lao. You have no chance” and “but what if they do have a chance?”

Admits his feelings way sooner than Kenshi 

Probably does it extremely casual too just to rip the bandaid off 

You’re standing next to each other and he’s like “we should go on a date on Friday”

Well since you asked so nicely-

Who’s turning down Kung Lao? Let’s be fr for a second 

Raiden

Doesn’t he like Kitana and it was incredibly subtle? I only found out because of intros 

So with that being said, I think it would be difficult to tell 

He’d act the same way he does as your friend 

I think his fear of messing up your friendship would be higher than everyone else 

So he doesn’t say anything 

In a different post I said he’d give you produce as a gift and I think that’s still the same here 

He’s gonna still have the hookup so food is a frequent gift he gives you to show his affection 

He also offers to do tasks for you 

When it comes to training, he’s probably noticeably softer towards you 

His excuse is “oh, I didn’t notice I was doing that”

It’s a terrible lie 

Everyone at some point finds out because he’s constantly staring at you and is soft towards you 

Raiden is a pretty calm person but he’d actually strangle Kung Lao if he said anything. He’d get a toddler’s grip 

You’d probably find out about it from the other guys instead of him 

And you’d think they’re just fucking around like they always do 

Raiden still refuses to confess. He doesn’t wanna confess then lose you completely 

And tbh he’d probably take so long, you’d get into other relationships and he’d just watch 

Finally though after 279373 years he’d confess which would free him from his emotions and Kung Lao harassing him 

Liu Kang

I think there’d be two stages to this 

The first stage is “I’ll just ignore it”

During this stage he’ll try to ignore his feelings for you because bullshit comes after Liu Kang constantly and dragging you into that is something he definitely doesn’t wanna do 

There’s a good chance you were in the previous timeline and you died horribly so he wants to stay away so he doesn’t fuck up this new life for you 

During this time he’d compliment you on your skills and be a lot more patient with you when it comes to you screwing up (which is something everyone does)

He either involves you in a lot of missions of sidelines you so you won’t be hurt 

Which is kinda shitty because that means he’s sending other people into dangerous situations 

Soon after this stage, he enters the second stage 

This stage is the “fuck it” stage 

Liu Kang does not have a good history when it comes to romance 

He was way too slow and lost Kitana (multiple times I think. I don’t remember what happened in the dlc in MK11) and now in this timeline, Kitana has no memory of them and has no feelings for him. Then he saw his Kitana but they can’t be together. 

Because of this he realizes that he has to start moving quicker and prioritizing his happiness 

So he just asks 

It’s better to hear “no” than to always wonder what could’ve been 

But bitch who is turning down Liu Kang? Don’t be stupid 

He’d probably take you to a secluded spot and say how he feels and ask you to go on a date with him 

It seems like it came out of nowhere but if you review what’s happened between you two, it’ll start to make sense 

[warden-melli]

honestly the leaks are a very bad thing. nintendo is infamous for its strict copyright so people are definitely getting sued or fired. And this might affect the way the next games due might develop, worst case scenario they're scrapped entirely or changed beyond recognition by gamefreak desperate to keep things new and subvert expectations. we got some cool beta content sure, but it's done more harm than good overall.

And as a Gen 2 lover who picked Cyndaquil as my starter in my first ever Pokemon game, I'm not looking forward to having to deal with endless memes and comments of "haha Typhlosion is a pedo" for the next few years to come.

As unpopular an opinion as it seems to be, I actually agree with you fully. I know most people are celebrating the leaks, but I think they have the very real potential to cause a lot of damage to the fandom, and possibly even the franchise as a whole. We can’t really know what Nintendo/Gamefreak will plan to do moving forward, but I agree, it’s potentially not good. It seems very likely that there will be pretty serious legal actions taken against whoever they decide to go after, and yeah, it’s also very possible this may affect game development plans, or future projects pretty drastically

The worst part of these leaks for me is definitely the massive amounts of misinformation they’re bound to spread. These leaks are entirely lacking in any context, further complicated (In the non Japanese fandom) by cultural differences and language barriers leading to major misunderstandings and flawed interpretations, many of which are being spread as “canon” information by large portions of the fandom. People are wrongly coming to conclusions that aren’t canon, from sources that were never intended to be seen in the first place, the content of which they have no way of correctly interpreting. It’s a shit show, honestly.

I also just feel weird looking at it. I briefly saw some unreleased concept art for PLA today, and while you’d think I’d be delighted, I just felt sick. I can’t really explain why I have had such a negative physical and emotional response to seeing (or even thinking about) any more PLA leaks coming to light, but I do. I’m terrified about a leak (regardless of whether or not it’s canon) absolutely destroying the game, or its characters for me. I literally don’t know what I’d do with myself. As sad as it is, that game is everything to me. It’s very literally 90% of what I think about and create. I want it to stay perfect forever, and I’m scared a leak could potentially take that from me

And I fully understand your frustration. I am a huge fan of both Mr Mime and Vaporeon, so I know what’s it’s like to have one of your favourites picked as the punchline of an unfortunate fandom joke, and then to have that joke subsequently ran into the ground. I love the cyndaquil line too, and had just chosen one as my starter in my latest PLA play through, just before the leaks dropped. It’s gonna be rough out there for a while I’m afraid, but hopefully it’ll blow over eventually. At least for the most part

After seeing the PLA stuff tonight I made up my mind. I blocked the leak tags and I’ve decided to completely avoid any leak content moving forward. If it’s bothering you too, maybe you should consider doing the same? At least until the fandom settles down a bit?

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐦: 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

pairing: suna x reader

prompt: corn maze

haikyuu!! masterlist || hollysm event

“Let’s face it: We’re lost.”

Flicking the leaf blade of a corn plant that looked exactly like every other plant around, you huffed in frustration. The falling night made it even harder to discern whether it was the same stone you had come by for the nth time already or a new one. By now you were sure, you and your boyfriend were the last idiots wandering through this corn maze.

“I’d like to remind you that this was your idea, by the way,” you grumbled, not actually all that mad. 

“And you were the one who said ‘Oh, let’s do something cute and coupley this Halloween!’, if I may remind you,” Suna retorted, throwing pieces of corn at you. He seemed far less concerned than you, as calm and collected as ever. “Plus, you agreed rather enthusiastically when I brought it up.”

“Well that was before we’ve been walking in circles for hours. It’s gonna get cold soon, too,” you defended yourself. To emphasise your point, you rubbed your hands up and down your arms.

“Here.” Suna was already shrugging off his own jacket and draping it around you, fastening it in the front. Immediately, his warmth still radiating from the material made you feel better and you sighed contently. Your boyfriend had the audacity to laugh at you, pulling a leaf out of your hair. “How lucky you are to have a boyfriend who dresses warm enough for both of you.”

“Yes yes, you’re the best or whatever,” you rolled your eyes, then sidled up to him and slipped your hand into his calloused one, blatantly ignoring his amused snort. “About getting out of here though, if you’re now also packing something like a map–”

“Yeah no, I’m not,” your boyfriend shattered your hopes. Holding up his phone to show the endlessly loading map, he added. “I also don’t have reception.”

“I can’t believe it, we’re going to die in a corn maze. That’s not how I wanted to go out,” you joked. Turning both ways again, you tried to recall if you had seen this place before. “But seriously, what are we going to do? Even you are losing in height to a stupid plant… Try jumping though?”

“Absolutely not,” Suna deadpanned. He started moving again, tugging you along. “You know, our high school volleyball team used to do this, too. Do you know how easy it is to get lost in a maze when you have the twins with you?”

“I can imagine,” you snorted, the thought of Atsumu and Osamu bickering endlessly the entire way cheering you up. “I’m sure Kita handled it though.”

“Yeah, his sense of direction is freakish,” the middle blocker said. Taking another right, you followed him. “I’m still pretty sure he’s a robot or something.”

“Can’t blame you, someone should study him,” you agreed. All the times you had met the former captain you had failed to point out a single flaw, so you supported that theory whole-heartedly. “But I don’t think anyone else could’ve handled that team. You guys always had a knack for causing trouble.”

“Hey now, don’t lump me in with the rest of them,” Suna purposefully tugged at your intertwined hands, so you’d stumble right into him, disproving the point he was trying to make. “I never was a troublemaker.”

“‘Course not. You only filmed all of it,” you shook your head at him in amusement. By now you had figured out his strategy. You had been sticking to the right side of the maze this entire time and in the distance you saw the lights of the maze’s end. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard. No need to write out your testimony,” Suna one-sidedly grinned at you. 

“If it was so easy, why didn’t you just do it sooner?” You stared back, unimpressed.

“Where would be the fun in that, babe?” By now his smirk had widened and he wrapped a strong arm around your middle to pull you flush with his chest and you let him. “Anyway, don’t you think I deserve some kind of reward for saving you from dying in a corn maze?”

“You are the worst, Suna Rintarou,” you laughed but still took his face between your hands and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek, lingering a little longer than necessary. “There, happy now?”

“Hmmm, is that really all I get? I mean we’re talking about your life here…” Sharp olive eyes were looking at you expectantly and your heart, the traitor, melted at the sight.

“How corny,” you mused before leaning in and connecting your lips.

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[heavenb3nt]

This song is about doctor who and HERE’S WHY‼️

“Don’t cry for your daughters eve” (the song) is very koschei and theta coded. Not necessarily their relationship (though that comes into everything, they are permanently intertwined whether they like it or not) but how the time lords used both of them, it’s way easier to see with theta, what with the timeless child arc.

They are the reason the time lords have the ability to regenerate, they, unwillingly and as a product of abuse, have them life. And how do they repay them? Exile. Treating them like shit over and over again, deeming them a failure and disappointment, all of the high ups on gallifrey berating them at any given opportunity (though, as we see in hell bent, they do have the support of plenty of the less wealthy and influential of gallifey. Definitely something to be said there) they are the unwilling creator of gallifreyan society (definitely not their fault, tectuen made all the choices and is responsible for doing this, but she fucked off and now dealing with the aftermath falls to the doctor, as if always does) don’t cry for your daughters? Don’t cry for gallifey

I could go through the whole song but I’m writing this while procrastinating so take a few things I want to note:

“Punished for another's mess // So you'll take the fall” tectuen made all the choices but the consequences are now the doctor’s to deal with

“Easy to lay the blame onto her alter as mother dies // And dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and // Dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and dies and dies” If you don’t see the parallel I encourage you to think abt the timeless children for like a second. They, again unwillingly, died so the time lords could benefit, and they do nothing but blame them relentlessly.

The doctor is eve of gallifey and it sucks for everyone! The common people of gallifrey aren’t enjoying this either, sure they have regeneration but their society is ran entirely by the most corrupt and incompetent people the planet has to offer

OKAY ABOUT THE MASTER NOW.

So I would say for a start the song can be seen as like the master speaking to the doctor in many lines:

“I was frozen couldn't move from my seat // You think you'd be a saviour but can't do as you preach // Eve I'm sorry you must take the fall for their shame // I'd help you but I risk taking your place” like. Gestures. His reaction to ttc information -> anger at everyone involved -> realisation -> acknowledgment he’s benefited from her suffering

However‼️ I also think the song reflects the time lords treatment of koschei himself [hbomberguy voice] and here’s why.

The end of time was 2010. We knew about the time lords abuse of the master before we heard about ttc.

(People love to forget this when going ��the time lords wouldn’t do that..” girl child abuse is their hobby)

Rassilon sent the signal of the drumbeat back in time to just, sit there and torture them for like a thousand years until it was needed, now the plan failed, which so did tecteuns, I doubt she wanted gallifrey burnt (if she cared). But ignoring that, the master was driven insane for the sake of the time lords salvation, a thousand years into the future. He was also treated horrendously on gallifrey, he also ran away. He says his childhood was a life of duty. Not the words of someone who had a pretty okay time actually.

Going through some lyrics time.

“The court is gathered //Judge sits low // But round the room // The jury know // Gods not gonna help you now my girl” (also applies to the doctor. You guys remember trail of a time lord??) anyone remember rassilons council literally planning this? Like, we SAW rassilon decide to put the signal in the masters head. And no one was gonna object. He was condemned to madness by a group who didn’t know him, didn’t care, only had their self interest in mind.

“Legions of daughters those that you fought for happily curse your name now” the war master existed. And although he wasn’t selfless by ANY means, he didn’t want the time lords to lose (i actually haven’t listened to the audios yet I’ll make a correction if necessary <3) and although no fighting was involved, he did carry their salvation (the drumbeat) his entire life, he went day to day with rassilons “ultimate sanction” in his HEAD. And all they got was called insane, not only did the council explicitly say he was insane, in classic he’s been condemned by the time lords, and in EU he was PUT IN AN ASYLUM. ON GALLIFREY. Following his attempts to kill rassilon after the end of time. They don’t just put him in prison or kill him or exile him, they deliberately reinforce that he’s mad, which THEY CAUSED.

“Villainize victims slave to a system collecting kindling for our kin” they are a victim of gallifrey, overtly and undeniably. That is definitely not to excuse their actions nor are they more so a victim than the doctor, it’s incomparable, but they definitely suffered intense cruelty from the time lords at like every turn. They are villain (and it’s COOL) but the time lords had a hand in creating him that way, he also brought their propaganda in a way the doctor didn’t, he does follow some of their beliefs, he looks down on humans and thinks he’s better by virtue of his species.

They spent their whole life up until escaping the asylum (saxon regeneration) which was, according to one account, their 18th regeneration. They definitely were a slave to the system, and they helped their torturers, they HELPED the time lords they tried to save them even if it was for selfish reasons, and they got fuck all for it.

TLDR: Time lords love exploitation and history revisionism to a degree that feels religious in nature. Gallifrey is an exercise in one big generational trauma rooted in child abuse and colonialism, the doctor their creator and discarded and the master their salvation and discarded. Neither of them should cry for gallifrey nor the time lords, despite the fact that regular gallifreyans ALSO suffered because of these decisions, theta and koschei have been both eve and the daughters

ALSO LISTEN TO THE SONG

[apomaro-mellow]

Part 4

After a few games and a few beers, Steve didn’t even notice how close Jonathan was pressing to his side. Well, he noticed. It would be more accurate to say he was less self conscious about Jonathan being that close.

“Okay, Nancy, Robin, settle something for me”, Eddie hobbled over to a family portrait and took it off the wall. “Are these the actual Harringtons?”

Nancy shrugged. “I actually never met his parents.”

Steve turned his head to look at her, mouth open in shock. “We dated for a whole year!”

“Yes and I never saw them.”

“I saw them pulling out of the driveway once”, Robin said. “But I’m not entirely sold.”

“On my parents?”, Steve questioned.

“I’m like 90% sure that was a hoax. I think pulleys were involved.”

“You guys are insane. I have parents. And there’s photographic proof. Eddie was here when they left.”

“Like Robin, I’m also not entirely sold”, Eddie said, putting the frame back. “Those could’ve been actors.”

“Why would I hire people to pretend to be my parents?”

“Because you're a Cabbage Patch Kid”, Eddie surmised.

Nancy snorted up some of her drink while Argyle simply nodded in understanding. “That explains so much man…”

“I have a birth certificate!”, Steve exclaimed.

“Just like a Cabbage Patch baby would”, Robin pointed out.

Jonathan easily slung an arm over Steve’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’d like you even if you were a turnip baby.”

Robin grinned. “With his head it’s more like a pumpkin baby.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Steve had been in the middle of deciding how he felt about what Jonathan had just said and whether or not it was true and why that even mattered when Robin made her comment.

“Your head is like a square dude”, Argyle said.

“Oh my god, it is”, Nancy said like the answers of the universe had been brought to her.

“Are you guys high? Is that what this is?”, Steve asked as he looked all around them.

“I’d kiss your pumpkin head too”, Jonathan said, giving Steve’s temple a kiss.

“I gotta take a leak”, Eddie said, making his way around some game pieces and heading to the bathroom. 

If Steve ever felt insecure about his appearance, Eddie would’ve kissed that square head of his until he ran out of breath. He couldn’t really begrudge Jonathan since he was pretty much doing that, if a bit reserved since they were all hanging out together. When he and Steve were alone, they were probably less restrained. Probably had their hands all over each other and kissing more than just foreheads.

Eddie let out a breath and then looked down. He bit down on his knuckles. He really had went to the bathroom to piss but now he had a different problem. Turns out thinking of pretty boys kissing wasn’t conducive to NOT getting an erection. Eddie washed his hands and tucked himself away, giving himself a moment to calm down.

There were other fish in the sea. Especially compared to the very small pond that was Hawkins. He wasn’t gonna get hung up on whatever Jonathan Byers and Steve Harrington were getting up to. He was better than that. Eddie opened the door and immediately got a face full of Jonathan.

“Whoa!”

“Sorry! Sorry, I was just coming to check on you. Steve said I should, in case you get lost and I’m only now just realizing that was a joke.” The Harrington house was big but not that big.

“Yeah it was a joke”, Steve said, coming down the hall to retrieve his boyfriend.

“Don’t take it too hard Byers, Stevie here has a wit drier than a cracker”, Eddie said, giving Jonathan’s shoulder a pat.

“If that’s another jab at the shape of my head-”

“I wouldn’t dream of it my liege”, Eddie bowed with his head and moved past Jonathan to get back to the others.

Once they were behind him, he looked down real quick just to make sure his little buddy wasn’t trying to make an entrance and thankfully, it was gone. Eddie was wringing his hands as he got back to the others. That had been a close call. He really needed to reign it in when it came to those two. Eddie had thought he only needed to get over Steve but one of Wayne’s comments made him realize that Jonathan was easy on the eyes too.

Just his luck to have a crush on two guys who were all wrapped up in each other. Eddie was about to excuse himself for the evening, unable to take much more when in his hand-wringing, he realized he forgot to put one of his rings back on. He had taken them off to wash his hands and had gotten all but one back. It must still be on the sink.

Eddie turned heel to get it, making his way back to the bathroom. He was kind of hoping neither Steve nor Jonathan were using it because it’d be a little embarrassing to ask them to pass it to him while they were on the toilet but he might have to.

The next few moments felt like they were in slow motion.

Because Jonathan had Steve pressed against the door as he was kissing him.

Eddie felt like time was moving through syrup. He’s had his feelings hurt before. He’d been turned on before. Never had it happened at the same time. There was a whirlwind brewing inside him and reaching a point where it was about to burst forth. He stumbled backward, grabbing their attention. He could only take their eyes for about 2 seconds before he was bolting from the hallway.

Had somebody called his name? Probably. He had rushed from the hall and right through the door to get outside. Anyone who saw would think he had an angry mob on his tail. Eddie got to his van and drove off, not giving a thought to where he was going beyond ‘away from here’.

He did eventually stop, on a dark street corner somewhere. He really didn’t want to go back to Wayne like this. And there was no way he was going back to Steve’s house. Eddie knew eventually he’d have to make a choice, but for now, he turned off the van and moved to the back where he always kept an extra blanket and pillow. There was one thing he was good at and it was moping in the darkness.

Part 6

Tag Team

@freddykicksasses

[likesunsetorange]

Let her tie his hair with a bow 😭

ANON YOU’RE SO REAL!!!!!! doing a quick drabble bc this is so cute lol

Eren sat on the floor leaning against the couch with Caro beside him and Mikasa on the couch behind him. It felt outlandish, almost doing normal things like this—watching TV together—when just a week or so prior, it was rare they said more to each other than what was deemed necessary (and Mikasa hurling her usual empty threats and insults). But oddly enough, it was almost… nice.

Rather than arguing or berating one another, they actually made conversation—trading anecdotes and jokes, Mikasa, to Eren’s surprise, was actually funny. Her uptight and high maintenance demeanor was that of a facade, and he happened to like this new version of her.

He tried to return his focus back onto the show, but he could sense Mikasa’s fidgeting from behind him. For half the episode he could sense her moving around, whether that was her drumming her fingers against her thigh, or clicking her nails against the remote. Eren heard the quick open and close of her jaw, almost as if she were about to say something, but she remained quiet, continuing on with her tapping instead.

Finally, out of curiosity he decided to ask, “Is everything okay?” He turned to meet her gaze, the sudden disturbance to the silence catching her off guard. He could see one of her usual hair ribbons sitting in her lap, her fingers threading around it out of what he assumed was boredom. Eren thought he noticed the faintest tinge of pink flash across her face, but he wasn’t sure Mikasa ever got shy—someone as brash as her didn’t get shy.

“Oh—yea. I’m fine. Why are you asking?” She replied almost nervously, her voice coming out rushed.

“You’ve been fidgeting for the entire episode—is something wrong?”

This time, despite the glow of the TV being the only light in the room, Eren was certain she had blushed. She turned her head, avoiding his gaze. “It’s silly, you’re gonna say no.”

Eren quipped his brow, confused on how her behavior had anything to do with him. “Okay now you have to tell me.”

Mikasa let out a small huff, her cheeks puffing up in a way Eren couldn’t help but find almost endearing. Sometimes it reminded him how sweet she could be when she did stuff like that. Her voice was so low and so rushed that when she finally spoke Eren could hardly hear her.

“IwaslookingatyourhairandIthoughtitwouldbefunnytotieitupinabow,” she spat out, her voice hushed, almost in a whisper, a hopeful look on her face.

He let out a chuckle, it was funny, the simple indulgences she sought out sometimes. Mikasa had all the money in the world and he had learned that it was truly the little things that mattered most to her. Eren found it hard to say no to her, no wonder she was so spoiled, how could anyone say no when she looked at them she way she looked at him now?

“Okay, sure,” he replied. Mikasa’s face lit up in pure excitement before she positioned herself to where he sat in front of her tucking her legs beside where he sat.

She removed his hair tie, his previous bun apparently too messy for her liking. He found himself relaxing as she threaded her fingers through his hair, redoing his bun in a much neater manner than Eren probably ever could. He could feel her tie the long ribbon around it, redoing it several times until it was adequate enough for her standards.

When she was done, he heard her let out a small yay, beneath her breath, her excitement radiating off her. She jumped off the couch, pulling Eren up and dragging him to her bathroom, not bothering to care if she was tugging him too hard. Mikasa flicked on the light, her face beaming as she turned Eren a bit so he could see the shiny red ribbon on his bun.

“Look! It’s cute!”

He couldn’t help the tug against his lips at her enthusiasm, he found it hard not to enjoy her like this, it was so much better than being berated all the time. But he also couldn’t deny that he liked spending time with her aside from being on the clock, indulging in her simple pleasures, and just getting to know her better.

“Hey, where’s yours?” He pointed out, noticing her lack of her staple ribbon.

“I put mine on you, where else do you think I got it?” She responded matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes. Despite her newfound niceness, she was still a fucking smartass. “But let me go get another one—oh and we can take a picture!”

Before he knew it, Mikasa had returned, a pink ribbon tied in her hair, matching the frilly pink pajama shorts she wore. It caught Eren off guard when she tugged his arm, bringing her own arm around his, her phone in hand to take a mirror pic. She leaned her head against his arm, posing for the picture. He was unsure what to make of their newfound proximity and their newfound affections. She did it so casually it left Eren wondering if this just how she naturally was when she wasn’t filled with spite, or if it was simply for the picture. He could never tell with Mikasa.

“Okay, smile! And don’t do that ugly half ass smile guys do—it’ll ruin our picture.”

Mikasa snapped a few pictures, her face and cheeks flushed with a natural glow, her body radiating warmth against his own. He let himself bask in the moment, enjoying their moment of amicability, no matter how frivolous he felt. He leaned down a little to make sure he fit into the frame, and Eren was sure that was the first time he never had a hard time smiling for a picture.

[satansapostle6]

The Man Who Sold The World | Luke Castellan

Spotify Playlist Link

Katherine. She was the one who started it all for Luke Castellan, the reason he did what he did.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen: Nights That Don’t End

In the past few days, Luke hadn’t slept much. Most of his nights were just spent watching Katherine as she slept, making sure she was sleeping peacefully, which didn’t happen often these days, or simply staring up at the cabin ceiling. Even when he slept, Luke either dreamt of things that tormented him in his sleep, or just simply didn’t remember what he dreamt about.

But that night, he actually had a good dream as he slept throughout the entire night, one that he wished would never end.

“Okay, really good, just try that one more time, but even harder,” Luke instructed as he held his sword still in his hand. “Think you can do it?”

“Yeah,” the nine year-old nodded, breathing hard.

“Alright! Show me what you got!” he encouraged him.

Luke made the first move, swinging his sword just in time for the small boy to slash his own at the blade in retaliation, this time hitting back with an improved intensity.

“Good! You’re doing great!” he exclaimed proudly.

“Luke?” the little boy in his dream asked him once they finished training.

“Yeah?”

“How did you get that scar on your face?” the child asked him, purely curious.

“Well,” Luke sighed, trying to put a more positive spin on the traumatic memory, “I went on a quest. To retrieve a Golden Apple from the Garden of Hesperides. It’s from the dragon; Ladon.”

“Did it hurt?” the ADHD-ridden child asked him.

“It didn’t tickle, kid,” Luke sighed.

“Do people think you’re ugly?” the boy blurted out as Luke tried not to laugh.

“Uh… I don’t know,” he admitted. “But my girlfriend doesn’t mind. That’s enough for me.”

“You have a girlfriend?” the boy asked, getting a nod in return. “What do you actually do with a girlfriend?” he asked, as Luke tried his best to maintain his composure.

“No one ever talked to you about this stuff, huh? Or, any stuff?” he quickly realized.

“I’m nine,” the child pointed out.

“Fair enough. Uh… I don’t know. Depends on the person, but for me… My girlfriend’s just like my best friend,” Luke remarked. “We tell each other everything before we tell anyone else, and we always wanna spend time together. And she’s just also really pretty,” he tried to explain.

“And she likes being your girlfriend, even if you have a giant scar on your face?”

Luke nearly snorted with laughter. “Yeah, I guess you could say that… But hopefully, after tonight, she won’t be my girlfriend anymore.”

“You’re breaking up with her?!” the boy cried.

“No, no,” Luke chuckled, “I’m gonna ask her to marry me.”

*****

“Katherine? Will you marry me?” Luke Castellan asked, on one knee with the most beautiful diamond ring in his hand that he could find.

“Yes,” she gasped, “Yes!”

He quickly jumped up to kiss her, ring box still in his hand as he forgot about it for a moment.

*****

The wedding was held in Rome, during the day on the shore of a beach that looked just like paradise. It was a beautiful wedding, with a small guest list of only the most important people in their lives.

The incredibly romantic wedding ceremony and reception was followed by a two-week long honeymoon in Italy, resulting in a new development that came with an ultrasound photo on the refrigerator in their new home.

“Oh, I can’t believe my little boy’s gonna be a father!” May Castellan gushed as she and Katherine sat at the table while Luke prepared dinner. “I just wish we could’ve met sooner! I would’ve wanted to get together before you became my daughter-in-law!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Katherine sighed, “Luke and I were just always so busy…”

“Oh, it’s okay, sweetheart, I get it,” the woman promised her. “You don’t have to feel bad.”

“So, May, do you have a guess as to whether it’s gonna be a girl or a boy?” Katherine asked.

“I don’t know, what do you think, honey?” Luke’s mother asked curiously.

“I think it’s gonna be a boy,” she explained, “Luke thinks it’s gonna be a girl.”

“I see, are you hoping for anything in particular?”

“I really don’t care, I’m just happy we’re having a baby,” Katherine responded truthfully, smiling at Luke as he cooked. “But, later down the line, we’re hoping to have both…”

“Oh, that would be wonderful! You know, I’ll have to look at you when you’re further along. You can tell by the shape of the bump, whether it’s gonna be a girl or a boy,” May Castellan remarked.

“Oh, wow,” Katherine nodded.

“So, Luke, you think it’s gonna be a girl?” his mother asked him.

“Yeah, that’s my guess,” he nodded, setting plates of food down on the table as he sat beside his new wife, squeezing her hand. “Obviously, I’d be happy with anything, but I really want to have at least one girl…”

“He’d make such a cute girl dad,” Katherine beamed.

“Oh, yes he would!” May agreed. “My Luke… so sweet and gentle. You know when he was little, and I used to try and kill the spiders in the kitchen, he used to pick them up on a newspaper, and stick them outside?”

“Aw, I believe it!” Katherine sighed, affectionately kissing Luke’s cheek as she nuzzled her head into him, listening to the stories.

“You two look so happy,” the older woman gushed, seeming emotional. “Look at you, Luke, so handsome, just like your dad.”

“He is handsome,” Katherine agreed, looking up at him like he was the coolest person in the world.

With Katherine, Luke felt like Brad Pitt.

“I’m so proud of my son. Camp counselor, beautiful wife, beautiful baby on the way.”

Luke smiled softly as he looked down at his wife, and then over at his mother, who was happy and healthy, fully content with everything. He took in their smiling faces, and the beautiful sounds of their gentle laughter, treasuring it forever.

“This isn’t how it happened,” a loud, nightmarish voice violently cut through his good dream.

“What?” Luke looked up.

His blue eyes widened as everything slowly disappeared him, his lovely home, his healthy mother, and his beloved wife. Everything in that idealistic fantasy was stripped away from him until he was left alone in an empty room of darkness.

“This isn’t how it happened, Luke Castellan,” Kronos’s voice shrieked in a pitch that was both far too low and far too high.

Luke began to panic as the invisible room he was in started to make him feel claustrophobic, suffocating and not existing simultaneously.

“You didn’t leave the camp. You didn’t marry the girl. You didn’t save your mother,” the Titan’s voice reminded him. “You didn’t even keep the baby alive.”

“No!”

Luke started to twitch, remembering his unborn child as he flailed about out of instinct.

“Remember who your allegiance is to,” the voice reminded him, returning him to a new, all too familiar memory.

It was one of the earlier dreams Luke had had about Kronos; it was the dream in which he decided he’d join the father of the gods in destroying the world they currently lived in. In the dream, Luke had been showed every single ounce of suffering caused and enabled by his father, Hermes, along with all of the other gods, which basically amounted to just about everything he’d ever witnessed.

In the dream, he’d walked into an empty, almost ceremonial sort room, which was dark and empty, except for Kronos’s golden sarcophagus. Luke had touched a hand to the ancient artifact, in complete awe of the raw power emanating from it as he dropped to his knees subserviently.

“I pledge my eternal allegiance to you, Lord Kronos,” Luke vowed as he was told to. “My mind, body, and soul belong to you. I am your servant.”

“Well done, my boy,” the voice said in a saccharine tone, trying to entice him, “You’ve done well.”

All of a sudden, he looked down at his clenched fist as a beautiful Celestial bronze weapon began to appear in his hand. It was a sword, a glorious weapon he could only describe as befitting a warrior. One side of the sword, it seemed, was made from Celestial bronze, only capable of killing monsters or other mythical beings, while the other edge was steel, capable of unspeakable destruction.

This was the sword Luke had named ‘Backbiter’, capable of killing just about any creature in existence. It was one thing for a demigod to brandish any weapon made up of Celestial bronze, as killing monsters was in the job description, but in the demigod world, even just giving oneself the opportunity to kill mortals was an absolute taboo.

The sword, Luke knew, was a true instrument of death. He had received a flawless instrument of death from Kronos in exchange for becoming one.

“Why do you hope to be happy?” Kronos’s voice echoed through his empty head. “Why do you believe that this is possible?”

Luke was completely broken by the question.

“Your loyalty isn’t to yourself. You don’t serve your own happiness, or hers; you serve me,” the Titan said. “Just as I can reward you with happiness for doing as I say, I can take it back. Remember that.”

His eyes opened with a start, and he all but jumped up in bed. Katherine was woken by the sudden movement, looking over at her boyfriend as she slowly sat up, trying to shake off her own exhaustion.

“Another dream, baby?” she asked worriedly.

Luke nodded slowly, not realizing that he had already been crying in his sleep. Overwhelmed by the nightmares, he buried his face in his hands, failing to collect himself.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, rubbing his back as he held his knees up to his chest for comfort. “I’m right here, okay? Just let it out. You’re safe.”

Luke hadn’t felt safe at all in the past several days. Losing the unborn baby he’d only gotten the chance to grow to love in the past three days was the final straw for him, the very last chance he had to have hope for good in the world, or his world, at least. Ever since losing the baby, if it could even really be called that, Luke had clung desperately to Katherine even more so than before.

She was the last good thing he had, but even she had almost been taken from him by Kronos, on multiple occasions. Luke draped himself over her body, laying his head down on her chest as she held him. Her movements were slight but deliberate, as she slowly went from allowing him to sink down onto her lap to gently stroking his hair as he let out small, painful cries.

“You know how much I love you, right?” she asked him sadly.

Unable to stop his weeping or steady his breathing, Luke just nodded, hanging onto her every word as he prioritized her smooth voice over the relentless screaming in his head.

Later that day, once the both of them were feeling up to actually leaving the cabin, they decided to walk the strawberry fields, in a more quiet outing.

“I don’t know if this makes sense, but… I miss the baby,” Katherine said softly. “I know I never gave birth, but… I still had it with me, you know?”

“That makes absolute sense,” Luke promised her, a poignant look in his eyes as he felt exactly what she had meant. “I miss him or her too… I know there’s no point in saying ‘him or her’, but it just makes me feel more connected to it, actually imagining a ‘him’ or a ‘her’.”

“I wanna know what I would’ve had,” she thought after a pause. “Do you?”

“I, uh…” the question triggered a deep longing in Luke. “I wanna think so. But I don’t know if I could handle it,” he confessed guiltily.

Katherine nodded, considering his point of view.

“I wanna know… But, the thought of missing a little girl, or a little boy, as opposed to a little fetus with no identity… It makes it too real,” he forced out, a pained grimace on his face.

“Yeah,” she nodded, feeling the same pain.

“But, don’t we owe it? To what would’ve been our kid?” he asked her.

“Luke,” Katherine stopped, trying to speak as delicately as she could. “I feel the same guilt you do. I do. But, life is also for the living. I don’t want you to feel like you have to grieve a certain way, just because it would’ve been our baby.”

This caused a long, thoughtful pause as she started to wonder whether she’d said the right thing.

“Maybe you’re right. But, I don’t know… I was just really looking to having a kid, and getting to know it,” he stressed. “And I think I still wanna get to know it. Any way I can.”

“I just can’t believe this. I just can’t,” Katherine breathed, “I mean. So many things in my life, in our lives, have gone wrong. We’ve both been through so much fucking shit, it doesn’t even sound real. But, when we found out about this baby, I just…

“I don’t know. Maybe I was just dreaming, but I thought we might actually get the chance to do something right for once. I thought we’d actually get the chance to contribute something genuinely pure, and meaningful, to the world,” she expressed.

“I so wanted to have a baby with you,” Luke sighed, the look in his eyes a gut-wrenching mixture of love and trauma.

“I wanted to have a baby with you too,” Katherine agreed, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t even know that that’s what I wanted, but it happened, and then I wanted it! And then it all got taken away, so fast, and I don’t know what to do!”

He said nothing as he looked at her, the beauty of her features upstaged by sadness.

“I killed our baby, because I don’t have a soul!” she exclaimed, face contorted with disgust at herself. “I killed our baby, but I can’t even fully access however the fuck I feel about it, because I don’t have a soul!”

“Katherine, you didn’t kill the baby,” Luke promised her, taking her face into his hands, “Listen to me. It wasn’t your fault, you did not kill that baby. You loved the baby. So much. I saw it in your eyes every day,” he reminded her.

“I don’t see anything in my eyes!” Katherine sobbed, her voice almost pouty like a child’s. “I look in the mirror, and I don’t recognize the person I see! I look at the memories in my head that are supposedly mine, and they don’t feel like mine! I feel like a—like a decoy someone made! Like people are just meant to look at me and then wonder where the real one is, while the person who this life actually belongs to runs away!” she exclaimed.

Luke’s brows furrowed in sadness for her.

“I really wish you could see what I see every day,” he exhaled, “I wish you could see the way you love me, and the way you loved the baby.”

Katherine looked at Luke for a moment, noticing the way he seemed a thousand times more upset when she expressed her own feelings of sadness or pain, as if his hadn’t actually mattered. She noticed the focus with which he looked at her, as if he were only a camera recording everything she did as some amazing feat, and the sheer love that he had for her when he looked at her.

He loved her so much, more than anything, and without a soul, Katherine was afraid that she couldn’t dream up enough ways to show him that he was everything to her. After all, she was more than willing to have a child with him, despite the current state of the universe, or her own uncertainties toward the idea.

She knew that she’d opened herself up to the opportunity for something truly great, only to have it ripped away. Life, it seemed, was cruel even in comparison to death.

“God, why do we do this to ourselves?” Luke scoffed. “Why do we risk everything serving a Titan who doesn’t care about us anymore than he cares about his own children? Why are we so convinced that his new world order is gonna be so much better than what we have now?” he demanded.

Katherine paused for a moment, recognizing his fragility in that moment.

“I don’t understand why we do this to ourselves,” Luke admitted emptily, momentarily staring at nothing. “I don’t know why we put people above us who treat us like we’re disposable.”

“Because, honey, that’s just how things work,” she concluded. “You and me, we’re just people. We’re demigods, but we’re just people. We’re just not capable of implementing change ourselves; so, we hitch a ride with whoever’s gonna make the changes we want. And rarely will that be someone who doesn’t treat everyone like shit,” she pointed out.

“How is Kronos any better than any of the gods, then?” he demanded out of frustration.

“It’s not about being better,” she responded. “It’s about results. The gods won’t lift a finger for their kids, because Zeus says so. And the only one capable of bringing Zeus down is Kronos.”

Luke didn’t say anything for a moment, knowing she was right. About everything. Like she always was.

*****

“I know this has all been beyond hard on you. And I know I’ve been tired, and hurting, and spacey… But just know, I wanna make it all up to you,” Luke said softly, looking down at Katherine as they stood in one of the showers together.

It was the middle of the day, and no one was around.

“You don’t have anything to make up to me,” she said softly, an apologetic look on her face.

“Come here.”

Katherine turned as Luke gently ran his fingers through her long hair, lathering in the lightly fragrant soap for her. When Luke was tired and didn’t know how to communicate, he would often offer to wash or brush her hair, a very primitive form of affection.

Katherine never refused, always appreciating the way his hands slowly worked through her hair, as he was terrified of snagging it.

“You have the most beautiful hair,” Luke murmured, lightly planting a kiss on the base of her neck. “You’re so beautiful.”

She closed her eyes as she felt his hands still working, washing the last of the soap out of her hair as they traveled down to her shoulders, massaging them with care. She felt beyond safe with him, to the point of feeling like she was on some sort of floating cloud.

Katherine sighed internally as she felt his strong, taut chest pressing against her back. Luke, she had always thought, was built like a god. And she would’ve much rather worshipped him than Zeus, or Hermes, or whoever.

“You know,” Luke murmured as she turned back around to face him. “When I first sensed the baby, like how Chiron said Hermes is actually associated with fertility and stuff like that… I felf so happy,” he expressed.

She nodded silently, understanding the feeling.

“Before I even knew what I was sensing,” he added, sighing wistfully. “I miss that feeling.”

“Me too,” she sighed, as Luke held his hand to her cheek, thumb lightly tracing back and forth as he tried to stop her budding frown from spreading.

-

Chapter Eighteen

[youatemylollipop]

May I ask first date headcanons for Sougo and Kondo? Thanks!

A/N: I had kinda went a bit overboard on Sougo’s part, since it had gotten far too angsty than I had initially planned. Just wanted to apologize if this wasn’t entirely what you were asking for.😅 But I still made sure to end it with enough fluffiness to make up for it! At least I hope I did.

Ft: Okita Sougo & Kondō Isao (Gintama).

Okita Sougo

➵ Okay, so first things first. Sougo is not the type to just ask his s/o out straight off the bat. The two of them had most likely ran into each other far too many times in the most inconvenient moments. It had probably been situations that made most people believe they had already been on a date.

➵ But after realizing that he didn’t mind spending time with them like this, he decided to make a move. Though, I’m gonna be frank. Knowing Sougo, there was obviously nothing romantic in his approach. Perhaps the most comical of it all, was the fact that the previous little coincidental “run intos” were much more romantic and pleasing than the real deal.

➵ Being a sadist is literally a part of his identity and whether his s/o likes it or not, they’ll just have to deal with it. Their first date is probably going to be a bit more extreme than the following ones (if his s/o is willing to endure it and decides not to dump him—if that really is the case then they must be an angel sent from heaven).

➵ Why? It’s just that the guy will only soften up to them with time. He’s still going to be a menace, but it’ll be more tolerable and stop resembling a torture session.

➵ I can most likely see him take his s/o to an unusual restaurant or some other adrenaline eliciting place. This depends on their preferences—what they dislike the most that is.

➵ Depending on his s/o’s food preferences he’ll might just choose the restaurant that’ll fit perfectly into their very own interpretation of what a personal h*ll is. If they hate sweets, then expect a pastry shop. If they dislike spicy foods, then he’ll find literally the hottest dish on the menu. If they’re not that picky, fear not. The b*stard will still find a way to make his s/o cry at the end of their visit.

➵ Just like I had previously mentioned, a restaurant is not the only variant that he has on the list. Adrenaline inducing places is another one. He’ll probably even make it seem romantic, only to hit on the most vulnerable spot. Is his s/o afraid of heights? The Ferris wheel it is. Or let’s go bungee jumping if that’s not enough of a scare.

➵ He’s not mean enough to force them into a state of panic whatsoever. If he notices that they’re about to have an attack or are close to passing out, he’ll make sure to get them away from that place.

➵ By the way, he might not admit to it, but he actually enjoys it when his s/o clings onto him like a frightened koala. It’ll make him feel accomplished, but he’s also secretly happy since their actions show him that they really do trust him—and this sadistic baby is actually very touch starved.

➵ In addition, this may not seem relevant, but I’ll still say it. If his s/o really reminds him of his sister, then expect him to act the exact same way with them as he did with her.

You’re beginning to regret ever accepting this—whatever this is. There’s no way you’ll acknowledge this as a date anymore. You should’ve known that there was a reason behind his sudden sweet behavior. A part of you feels like crying, because you had truly looked forward to your first date. But now, a part of you is beginning to question his so-called “feelings” for you.

Maybe you were just being overly sensitive. After all, it had never been a secret that the guy found some sick enjoyment in tormenting others. But a part of you was hoping that he’ll act differently with you. He had been the one to ask you out, for crying out loud! You’re pretty sure that when a person asks you out it means that they like you, maybe even find you attractive. Sougo, however, had been sending you the exact opposite signals.

“I think this was a mistake.”

You weren’t looking at him as you spoke. In all honesty did you not think that you’d have the strength to. You were already close to tears. God only knows what will happen once you make eye contact with his gorgeous maroon colored eyes.

Whatever it had been that Sougo had been talking about came to an abrupt stop as soon as he heard your quivering voice. Sure, he might have been a bit mean this whole time, but up until this point it didn’t seem to bother you that much. He might not look like it, but Sougo is actually very observant and perhaps he now realized that he might’ve gone a bit to far with his antics.

“Oh? Is [Name]-chan tired already? Do they want to go home?” There was a teasing edge to his voice that you mistook for mockery and were about to leave, until the male reached out for your shaky figure to cradle you in his arms.

“Awe, don’t cry. We’ll go somewhere else next time, alright?” Sniffing, you decided to look up, no longer hiding your face in his chest. He was still sporting that infuriating smirk on his handsome face, but it was much kinder this time.

“Promise?” Your lips had formed into a childish pout, a small part of you still upset over the way he had been acting so far. But you were glad that he had paid enough attention to you to notice and did not straight out ignore like you had expected him to do. You knew he wouldn’t apologize, but the effort that he was putting was enough to make you understand that his feelings really were genuine.

“Promise. Wherever you’d like, your choice.”

Kondō Isao

➵ There is one big difference between Sougo and Kondō when it comes to romance. Both suck at it, but for major different reasons. Unlike Kondō, Sougo is actually capable of creating a romantic atmosphere if he wants to. Kondō, on the other hand, simply does not know how to. Which is quite amusing to be honest, since the guy is a big romantic.

➵ He loves anything that would usually be considered cliché and has so many ideas running through his mind. It just makes it all the more hilarious how he’s just incapable of making it a reality.

➵ While Sougo had just bluntly told his s/o that he likes them, Kondō would probably confess in the most embarrassing way possible. I swear! This man was practically yelling at his s/o from across the street to go on a date with him.

➵ Like any rational person they obviously rejected him a few times before finally accepting. There’s nothing mean behind his s/o’s actions, they were just genuinely weirded out by him and had a hard time comprehending what was going on.

➵ When it comes to planning their first date, he’d probably make use of his stalkerish tendencies. This was before his s/o had even met him. His s/o was truly convinced that there was a gorilla roaming around your neighborhood until he had decided to yell out his confession.

➵ That was also his s/o’s moment of realization. In other words: The day they had found out that he was actually a human and not just some random gorilla-looking amanto, stealing bananas from the local shops.

➵ So like I said earlier, the man has tons of ideas, to which he also adds his s/o’s likes and dislikes so that he can avoid any possible disaster. Problem is, it’s still going to turn out into a disaster. But it’s the effort that counts.

➵ The absolute first date will most likely be some kind of festival or amusement park. Because who doesn’t like festivals and amusement parks? Kondō can truly not comprehend the thought that somebody might in fact not like them.

➵ If his s/o does, then congrats. If they don’t, then he’ll probably be disappointed that he didn’t manage to come up with something that suited their taste. But if that really does happen, then he’ll just ask them what they would like to do and then just go with the flow from then on.

➵ Surprises! Don’t forget to expect tons of surprises! And it’s probably during one of these surprises that the long awaited disaster finally happens.

The date wasn’t horrible per se. You had truly found it adorable how hard the man next to you was trying. Always prioritizing your needs before his. It made your heart melt. You had seriously started questioning why you even rejected him all those times to begin with.

“Are you alright Kondō-san?” Despite how comical everything looked, you couldn’t help but feel slightly worried. The man did take quite a blow after all.

“There’s nothing to worry about [Last name]-san, I’ve taken much worse hits than this.” Even though his words were meant to ease your nerves, they somehow managed to worsen everything instead. A part of you was wondering if it had been those previous “hits” that he’s got from work that made him like this. Maybe he should rethink his lifestyle? Living like this could be rather damaging for both his brain and his body as a whole, after all.

“I still don’t understand what made you think it was a good idea to pierce your thumb with that needle?” A blush was dusting his cheeks as the question was voiced. You couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable he was right now.

“I just noticed the way you were looking at the fish tank and wanted to catch them for you.” This enticed another laugh to come out, since you thought his explanation was utterly ridiculous. However, despite that, it was still very sweet of him.

“I wonder just how much knowledge you must carry with you to know how bloodthirsty those amanto-fishes truly are.” Although the male did seem to manage to show off his knowledge, it still did not make the act in itself any less foolish. Kondō was aware that this peculiar species has an exceptional sense of smell, yet he still underestimated just how aggressive they could get. He had simply not expected them to jump out of the tank and attack him.

“I swear that our next date will be much better than this one!” He then exclaimed with a determined expression, aready planning where he would take you. You, on the other hand, smiled with content, not minding if it would turn out the same way this one had.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

[mebiselfandi]

Title: Just My Luck

Summary: Vini and Gavi have the misfortune of continuously bumping into each other

Pairings: Vini Jr & Gavi

Tags: idk ‘you suck’ ‘no you suck more’ dynamics, one upping, Vini being an instigator for half of this😔, it’s not romantic it’s not even platonic

A/N: I feel like my writing style changed…not sure how to feel about that. Is it better or is it different? Different in a good way or a bad way idk

The venue was packed to the brim with guests. Footballers and friends. Musicians and plus ones. The multitude of crowds all chattered and mingled with each other over the loud music being played. Anyone and everyone was invited to Raphinha’s birthday party. He’d decided to make a big event of it this year. Something about you only turn 27 once. Gavi couldn’t remember. Him and Pedri made their way over to the birthday boy, wishing him a happy day and so forth before he directed them to the present pile where they could drop off their gifts. Pedri handed his to Gavi before disappearing off into the crowds to talk to someone. Gavi pushed his way over to the present pile and just his luck he should bump into the one person he didn’t want to see.

“Vinicius.”

“Pablo.”

The both greeted each other curtly, the memories of all their interactions and scuffles being brought to the surface at the sight of the other. They both left their presents before disappearing into the night, both hoping they wouldn’t have the misfortune of bumping into each other again.

——————————————————

Vini couldn’t remember whether Neymar had said the bathroom was the 3rd door on his left or on his right. No he definitely said left, right…right? Leftright? Left, yes. He opened the door and entered.

“Wait! No don’t let it,” the door shut behind Vini, “close.”

Whoever else was in the room sighed dejectedly then fell back onto the wall he’d been leaning on. Vini let his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room before coming face to face with Gavi.

“Oh absolutely not,” Vini groaned out upon realizing who he’d managed to get himself stuck with in what appeared to not be the bathroom but rather a small dark supply closet.

He turned back to the door and pulled and turned at the knob to no avail. The door was locked tight. There was no escaping. The other man simply watched as he clawed at the metal piece. He changed tactics, opting to bang on the door and yell loudly. Maybe if he was loud enough, someone would hear him and come and unlock the door.

“It won’t work,” Gavi finally piped up. Vini turned a poisonous gaze towards him. “The closet is soundproof. And even if it wasn’t the music is certainly loud enough.”

Vini now realized how quiet the closet was. Just his luck that he’d be locked in a soundproof supply closet with one of the few people in the world he didn’t like. He took out his phone and began to dial Rodrygo.

“That won’t work either. There’s no reception.”

“Aren’t you the bearer of bad news,” Vini scoffed out, “what are you even doing in here?”

“Someone said this was where the bathroom was.”

If he wasn’t so dismayed at his predicament, Vini might have laughed at the irony. But considering the joke was at his expense, the humour was lost on him. Instead he just went and sat down next to where Gavi stood. He could feel him burning holes into his head from above so he turned up to face him.

“What? Are you gonna stand there all night?”

“No,” Gavi said in an annoyed tone as he slid down the wall to sit next to him.

Vini stared at him annoyedly at how close he’d decided to place himself to him; being able to feel his body heat next to his.

“Move over.”

“Why?”

“You’re too close to me.”

Gavi rolled his eyes and instead shifted even closer until his entire side was pressed flush into Vini’s.

“You’re so childish!” Vini burst out as he shoved Gavi rather roughly away from him.

“At least I’m actually one, what’s your excuse!?”

He tried not to think too hard about the fact that he’d not only insulted Vini but also himself in the same breath.

“Man what’s your problem with me!?” Vini shouted.

“Me? Me!? You’re the one with the problem with me!”

Vini scoffed once more.

“Okay look just stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine. It’s already bad enough I’m stuck in here with you.”

Gavi held back any retorts he had and simply scooted angrily to the other side of the closet, putting a good arms length of distance between them. At least he could find solitude in the fact that it would only be a matter of time before someone noticed at least one of them had gone missing. Then he’d try his absolute best to forget this whole cursed meeting.

——————————————

Four hours. It had been four hours since they’d gotten here and both Vini and Gavi were nearing their wits end. Four hours of absolute silence. Both of them sticking to their guns and completely ignoring the other. Like a Mexican stand-off of cold shoulders. Sure they could distract themselves with whatever music or games they had on their phones but neither one was willing to give the other the satisfaction of ‘winning’. But as competitive as they both were, they were both getting sick of being in the other’s presence. Eventually they turned to look at each other; a silent truce for the sake of both their sanity’s.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Vini said as he stood and turned towards Gavi, “maybe if we try breaking the door down?”

Gavi rolled his eyes but stood up and walked the 7 short steps over to Vini anyways. They took a few steps back and huddled closer to each other.

“On three. One, two, three.”

They surged forwards barreling full force into the door. The door stood firm however as they were knocked down to the ground. Gavi groaned lightly feeling every ache in his muscles from the impact. He sat up rubbing at his shoulder but quickly forgot about it when he took note of Vini’s still form. The other man had seemingly hit his head somehow, perhaps on the floor, and now lay unmoving next to Gavi.

“Hey! Now really isn’t the time to be messing with me!”

He slapped Vini’s cheeks lightly in an effort to wake him up. The last thing he needed right now was for someone to finally walk in and accuse him of supposed murder. But considering their luck so far, he considered it was only a matter of time before one of them had a brush with death. Thankfully the other man began to blink blearily at him as he came to. He reached a hand up to touch the tender back of his head which had smacked straight into the floor and whimpered softly when he made contact with the blazing area. Vini could already feel the beginnings of a headache brewing, maybe even a concussion.

“Come on.”

Gavi grabbed Vini by the arms and heaved him back towards the wall opposite the door, propping him up against it. He crouched in front of him and waved a hand in his face to get his attention. He held up two fingers in front of Vini’s face.

“I need you to focus. How many fingers am I holding up?”

However Vini just groaned, burying his face in his hands in the process. Gosh everything was so loud. His own breathing seemed to roar in his ears and Gavi’s question jumbled in a mess of floating letters in his head. He looked up as he felt Gavi place a hand on his cheek but sorely regretted it when the light filtering in through the small window seared itself into his eyes. They watered as the throbbing in his head amplified tenfold. He closed them again as he tried not to worsen the pain however this only served to increase Gavi’s panic for the seemingly unresponsive man.

“Vinicius!?”

“Don’t call me that,” he finally managed to grunt quietly.

“What?”

“It’s just Vini.”

Now was really not the time to be exchanging names.

“Look I need you to open your eyes so I can check if you’ve got a concussion.”

Slowly Vini opened his eyes. Wincing slightly before letting his eyes adjust to the soft light.

“Good. Now how many fingers am I holding up?”

Vini tried to focus on the fingers in front of him. Two. No four. Three. Ugh his head was spinning, he could barely even see.

“I don’t know.”

“I’m going to assume you have a concussion. Try not to fall asleep.”

“Pretty sure that’s just a myth.”

“I’m not taking any chances.”

Gavi sat down beside Vini and let the other man lie his head on his shoulder. If he wasn’t so worried(not that he’d ever admit it), he probably would have had some jab ready to throw at the other man. But right now he just prayed someone would find them soon. And for the first time that night, his prayers were answered. The door jiggled slightly before a cleaning man poked his head in, scanning the small closet before finally taking notice of the two boys sitting disheveled on the floor.

“What are you two doing in here?” The man asked accusingly.

“We got locked in,” Gavi replied defensively.

He stood up then helped Vini to his feet.

“Not again,” the man grumbled as he stepped aside to let them out.

They walked out of the closet and back into the now empty venue, both of them looking at the messages that were pinging on their phones now that they’d managed to leave that suffocating supply closet.

“Did they just leave us behind?” Gavi scoffed disbelievingly as finally they reached the grand entrance.

“Speak for yourself. I drove here myself,” Vini muttered as he rubbed lightly at his eyes. His head hurt significantly less but he still felt the occasional phantom pin pricks of pain.

Gavi took out his phone and quickly dialed a number, pacing impatiently as it rang. Vini listened in on Gavi’s one sided conversation.

“Hey, where’d you go…you didn’t think of looking for me first?…no I got locked in a supply closet…can’t you just come back…yeah Vini’s still here…yes that Vini…absolutely not, just-,” Gavi looked at his phone in shock, “he just hung up on me,” he laughed mirthlessly. Gavi swore he’d kill Pedri when he saw him next for leaving him behind.

He turned to look at Vini. The older man leaned against the wall, face turned to the sky. He took in deep breaths seemingly trying to will away the light pulsing in his head. Giving up whatever stubbornness he had left in the name of not wanting to be stranded here indefinitely, he sighed and walked up to Vini.

“Can you give me a ride?” He grumbled out lowly.

“I think the fuck not,” the other man muttered nonchalantly as he turned his face to stare down Gavi.

“Why are you being so difficult?”

“Why didn’t you drive here yourself?” Vini asked in a belittling tone.

It took every bit of willpower to not quip back. Gavi sighed and closed his eyes momentarily as he tried to calm himself down. Seeing as he was the one who was stranded, fighting with the only person who could seemingly help him was a rather poor decision.

“You can’t drive with a concussion,” he pointed out.

Whatever smugness Vini had felt over him slowly dissipated as he realized Gavi was right. Unless he planned on driving straight to heaven, there was no way he could possibly even back out of the parking lot, much less drive home.

“So what?”

“I can drive instead.”

“Like hell you will,” who did this kid think he was, “you’re not touching my car. Besides, aren’t you like 12, can you even drive?”

Gavi rolled his eyes at the other man’s poking.

“Yes, I can drive.”

“Let me see your license then,” Vini demanded as he reached his hand out expectantly.

“No.”

“Just show me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have one…”

“I thought you said you could drive!?”

“Yeah I can…but my test is only next week!”

Vini rubbed at his temples. He was sure this was some kind of elaborate prank. His only hope of getting home was the most annoying person he’d ever met and they didn’t even have a license. Was this some kind of sick joke? Maybe he hadn’t been praying hard enough and this was God’s retribution. Maybe this was because he’d pulled one too many pranks on Rodrygo and now the universe was seeking balance for his actions. Whatever had landed him in this fever dream of events, he simply prayed the night would end sooner rather than later.

“If you even so much as scratch my car, I will kill you.”

“Oh somebody save me I’m so scared,” Gavi said mockingly as he rubbed his arms in faux fear.

Vini just let out a loud groan in response as he walked away and out of the venue. They reached the parking lot which was now deserted except for Vini’s car. A sleek black sports car that gleamed in the moonlight. Shiny and expensive.

“Compensating?” Gavi smirked.

“I’ll leave you behind if you’re not careful.”

“I’d love to see how far you’d get when you can’t even tell up from down.”

“Oh just get in,” Vini bit out as he unlocked the car.

He settled himself in the passenger seat and watched as Gavi got into the drivers seat. They stared at each other in silence momentarily, unsure what to do. Until Vini grabbed Gavi’s hand, pressing the car keys into his palm.

“You better not crash my car.”

Vini squeezed his hand tight, digging the keys slightly into his palm, before letting it go. Gavi rolled his eyes then started up the car listening to the engine as it revved up. He pulled out of the parking lot and set out onto the road.

It seemed the other man had made it his task to drive as painstakingly slow as possible. Whatever few cars found themselves still out at this hour overtook them in a flurry of hoots and loud honking. Even a small bus that looked unfit for travel rolled by them. Its red rear lights flashed derisively as it wheeled away from them. Vini was sure even a child learning to ride a bicycle for the first time could surpass them. At this rate, if he got out now and started walking back, he was certain he would get home before Gavi did.

“When I said don’t crash my car I didn’t mean drive slower than my grandmother.”

“Then why don’t you drive instead?” Gavi tapped his chin lightly as he pretended to think about it, “oh yeah, you can’t.”

Vini ignored the other man’s sarcasm.

“We aren’t even moving,” Vini groaned as he closed his eyes once more.

“You know I could just kick you out,” Gavi bit back in a venomous tone.

“It’s my car!” Vini shouted incredulously.

He took a few more deep breaths to prevent himself from letting the other man get to him. They settled once again into an electric silence. Charged with the need to see who could piss off the other more. Vini let out a loud sigh then reached out and turned on the radio. He turned to look at Gavi who cringed at the loud Brazilian rap music that blasted out of the stereo. The loud tremors of the music made the remnants of Vini’s concussion pound softly like a dull reminder of why he was stuck with Gavi in the first place.

“Turn it down!” Gavi shouted, barely able to hear his own voice over the loud continuous beat.

Vini had already planned to turn it down but now that Gavi had asked, he surely couldn’t just give in. So instead, he ignored the throbbing in his head and grinned, pretending to be unable to understand what he was saying.

“What?” He shouted mockingly over the booming bass.

The look of absolute irritation on Gavi’s face spurred him on as he bobbed his head side to side in silent victory. It didn’t last long seeing as Gavi took it in his own hands to turn off the radio and plunge them into an unnatural silence.

“Hey! Don’t touch my radio,” Vini warned as he switched on the offending music again. Gavi quickly turned it off again.

“Or else what?” He challenged as he rolled the car to a complete stop.

“Or else I’ll-,” Vini didn’t get to finish as a knock interrupted whatever threat he’d cooked up.

The knock sounded again and both Vini and Gavi turned in shock to look at the police man who’d interrupted Vini. He gestured for them to roll the window down.

“Good evening officer,” Gavi greeted.

His previously boiling blood had been chilled significantly. He prayed the officer wouldn’t ask for his license seeing as he didn’t have one.

“Do you realize how slow you were going?” The man asked, skipping the niceties.

“I…” Gavi stammered.

“License please?”

Shit shit shit. Gavi’s hands felt clammy and cold as he cursed whatever spirits or deities had decided to actively work against him. Lucky for him, Vini decided to intervene.

“He’s still a learner but here’s mine,” he said as he handed his license over to the officer with a smile.

The officer huffed as he looked at the small piece of plastic. He handed the license back to Vini after a few moments of careful inspection. They both waited in shared nervousness as the officer looked back and forth between the two of them. Finally the man seemed to settle on a decision. He whipped out a small yellow notepad and began to scribble quickly in it. He tore out the ticket and handed it over to Gavi.

“I’m giving you a ticket. Drive faster,” the officer warned gruffly before stalking back to his car and driving away.

Both of them stared in shock at the small piece of paper in Gavi’s hand. The only sound the soft purr of the still running engine. Until Vini broke the relative silence.

“Yellow ticket? Sound familiar?”

Gavi turned to face the older man who looked back at him neutrally. But instead of the usual accompanying jab, he burst into laughter. As did Vini. They laughed almost deliriously at everything that had lead them to this point. Neither was sure whether they’d reached a new understanding between them but for a few seconds they could both appreciate the absurdity of the night. Eventually, their laughs subsided to heaving chests and beaming smiles. The cold night air blew into the car through the still open window; raising goosebumps on their skin. It was a pleasant night, all things considered.

“It’s Gavi…by the way.” Vini turned to look at him confused. “Nobody calls me Pablo…except maybe my mum.”

“I know. I just wanted to piss you off.” Vini smiled cheekily.

The other man let out a short laugh.

“I still don’t like you,” Gavi grinned.

“Yeah yeah just drive,” Vini grinned back.

For @swaggypsyduck is for you bestie🫣

[oliverreedmasterass]

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Interlude | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Second Interlude | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Epilogue

Chapter Summary: The group makes their way into Frankenmuth, ready to fight against the hunters to protect their nest and pack.

Words: 5.2k

Warnings: grotesque violence (more intense than in previous chapters), gun violence, blood, head injury, language, implications of death

Notes: I'm writing this to hold myself accountable: Chapters 12 and the Epilogue will be posted by Halloween. If that doesn't happen, I will deactivate my account (jk) (also thanks to @infinisonicosm for the fic idea!!)

-----------------------------------------------------

Rae was sure she wasn’t the only one feeling the day weighing on her shoulders, but no one else showed it as they briskly moved through the woods back out to the residential streets. A part of Rae was relieved that her gut had been telling her the truth so they could get back to town faster, but she was also concerned. Where did this intuition come from? Rae had never noticed it before, and now it consumed her mind. 

The sun was just starting to make its way over the horizon when their feet met pavement for the first time in hours. Beside her, Morgan let out a sigh of relief. Jake turned around and looked back at Rae and Morgan, his face twisted with concern. 

“I heard your phone call with your mom,” he told Rae. “You and Morgan need to go home and stay safe. My dad said that Bri is in town, which is really bad news. Both of you go and let your parents know you’re okay. We’ll be able to fend things off.” 

“Look, I don’t know who Bri is, but we’ve made it this far, I don’t want to leave your side,” Rae tried to protest. 

“She’s a hunter. The best, actually. A vampire killed her parents and filled her with such an intense rage, she’ll kill whoever gets in her way, even if they’re human.” 

“People say she took out an entire nest in less than five minutes with nothing but a cheese grater,” Sam popped into the conversation, widening his eyes as he shared his story. “She kept one alive so he could tell the tale.” 

“I doubt that’s true,” Danny rolled his eyes at Sam. 

“No,” Karen countered, “It is.” 

Rae grimaced at the thought but held her ground. “This seems like an all hands on deck kind of deal.” 

She noticed that Jake was looking closely at Morgan, and then turned to her brother as well. In the fading sunlight, Morgan’s skin was entirely sapped of color. His rustled hair looked like it might never properly smooth down again. He was starting to fold in on himself like he couldn’t stand upright any longer. 

Jake caught Rae’s eye and Rae sighed. 

“Okay, Morgan definitely needs to go home.” 

“I can stick it out,” Morgan gave a weak protest. 

“Take one look in the mirror and you’re gonna change your mind,” Rae cut him off. She looked around at the group and wasn’t sure whether to smile or keep a straight face. She opted to let the side of her lip curl upwards slightly, and gave a joking salute. “Please be safe,” she told them. 

Josh gave Rae a comforting rub on the back. 

“What time is your chemo tomorrow?” he asked Morgan. Morgan looked caught off guard by the question, scrambling to come up with an answer. 

“10?” he guessed. 

“See you at 9 tomorrow,” Josh winked at him. 

Kelly and Karen gave waves to Rae and Morgan, and Danny and Sam called their goodbyes as well. As Josh rejoined his family, Jake remained behind, looking at Rae with those melancholy eyes. 

“Get some rest and lay low,” he told Rae. “I’ll swing by and check on you guys later.” 

“Don’t worry about us,” Rae shook her head, even though she did desperately want to see him later so she knew he was alright. “Watch out for Bri. If anything happens to you, I’m legally obliged to kick your ass.” 

“I’ve personally never felt more threatened in my life,” Jake’s face warmed slightly. 

“Now, go out there and get em, tiger,” Rae told him. Jake laughed, but he looked unsure. Rae watched him with interest, wondering what was going through his head. Before she could react, Jake stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close so she could feel his heart thundering in his chest. “Hey, hey,” Rae softly spoke. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

“Just in case,” Jake whispered back. Then, just like that, he released and took a step back, focusing his attention on Morgan. “No more running into the woods, okay?” 

“Trust me, I’m never going back there again.” 

Jake looked over his shoulder to see his family slowly disappearing from sight. 

“I’d better go,” he said. Rae saw a flash of fear cross his face. She wanted to tell him to sit this one out, that he had been through enough and should stay with her and Morgan, but her words stuck in her mouth. She knew he would never abandon his family when they needed him. Her heart broke that, at just 17, Jake already had to put his life on the line over and over again. 

“Be safe,” Rae reminded him, and then Jake was off. Rae felt a knot form in her throat as she watched him leave but, before the emotions could take hold of her, she focused her attention on Morgan. “Let’s get you home, bud,” she told him. 

All it took was crossing the street and walking half a block for them to make it back to their new house. Rae was in the middle of twisting her key in the lock when her mom flung the door open with a relieved cry. She engulfed Morgan in a tight hug, leaving Rae standing awkwardly to the side. 

 “Four hours!” their mom exclaimed into Morgan’s shoulder. “I thought you were dead!” 

“We’re fine, Mom,” Rae promised her, trying to hide her hurt that she hadn’t received a hug as well. 

“Where were you?” their mom had her eyes glued on Rae. “What were you doing that was so important you couldn’t answer your phones?” 

“I went into the woods,” Morgan cut in before Rae could think of an answer. “I got lost and Rae had to go in there and find me. Neither of us had cell reception.” 

Their mom held Morgan out in front of her so she could study him. “Why were you in the woods? You’ve heard all those stories about people going missing, Morgan. You know better than that.” 

“I was trying to clear my head,” Morgan levelly answered back, not breaking eye contact. “You know, before tomorrow.” 

Their mom let out an exasperated sigh and hung her head, unable to continue with her scolding. 

“Come on,” she told Morgan and Rae. “Let’s get you two inside. Dad has some dinner that he can reheat.” 

Rae took a look over her shoulder at the empty residential street before she made her way indoors. They were alone. 

The next hour and a half was torture for Rae. All through dinner and creating countless white lies about what had happened in the woods, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she was in the wrong place. She needed to be with Jake, Josh, Sam, Danny, Kelly, and Karen, defending their nest and pack from the hunters. They had been through too much for her to tap out early. 

Her eyes kept falling on the front door and, after probably her fifteenth time gazing longingly out the window, Morgan seemed to pick up on her thoughts. For a brief period where neither of their parents were in the dining room with them, he leaned across the table. 

“You want to go back out there, don’t you?” he asked. Rae could only nod. Morgan took another bite of his pasta and chewed thoughtfully. 

“I do too.” 

Even though the color had returned back to Morgan’s face and he looked more like a teenage boy than a ghost, Rae quickly shut him down. 

“I don’t think you really do,” she said. Morgan looked back at her in surprise. “You’re still recovering,” Rae continued. “You need to get your rest. Also, as your older sister, I can’t afford to see you endure any more of this violent shit.”

Morgan’s shoulders slumped. 

“I honestly do want to help, but I am feeling super gassed. I haven’t moved around this much in a crazy long time.” 

“You’re gonna stay here,” Rae decided for him. “And you better pinky promise you won’t come looking for me or do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?” 

Morgan rolled his eyes, but offered his pinky out to her. “Promise,” he said. 

Rae took his pinky in hers and then stood from the table. 

“I’m gonna go out through the back,” she thought aloud. “Can you cover for me?” 

“I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’re in your room,” Morgan agreed. “Put on one of your weird folk albums super loud and stuff your bed with shit so it looks like you’re sleeping.” 

“You’re the best,” Rae grinned at him. She never had to sneak out of the house back in Folsom, but she and Morgan had had plenty of conversations over the years talking about how they would pull it off. She was so glad that Morgan had remembered their plan. 

Rae gave Morgan a kiss on the head which he returned with gagging noises, and then slipped out the back door and rushed through the side gate to return to the street. She wasn’t sure where to look for her friends, but heading downtown seemed like the best option.

Rae started to run down the middle of the road, her ponytail whipping behind her with each step. The streetlights were starting to flicker on overhead, and Rae sputtered as some gnats made their way into her mouth. The closer she got to downtown, the more Rae noted that things felt off in Frankenmuth. The streets that she and Jake had strolled down just a few days before when they first met were in disarray. Houses had their front doors entirely ripped off the hinges and their windows smashed. People stood, lost, on their porches, trying to make sense of everything. Off in the distance a werewolf howl rumbled. Rae couldn’t tell if it was Jake, but it made her run faster. 

She was moving quicker than she ever had before, but then skidded to a stop to clutch at her stomach, which was twisting in agonizing knots. 

“Oh god,” she groaned out. “This can’t be good.” 

While she held her middle, she heard footsteps rush to her side. She lifted her head slightly in the hopes that it was Jake or Josh to help her out, but was instead met with the boney face of a middle aged man who had a large scratch running from his forehead to his right cheek. 

“Gotcha,” he rasped. “Fuckin werewolf.” 

Rae’s stomach turned again and in a blur, she saw the man start to reach for her waist to hoist her up. She blinked and saw that the man was still standing over her, waiting to make his move. Then, his hands started to reach for her. Because she knew what he was about to do, Rae did the first thing that popped into her mind and jumped out of the way. The man turned around to look at her in surprise and she sent her foot flying up into his crotch. The hunter clutched downstairs and stumbled around in a daze, but then Rae saw him take out a large knife and slice at her. With another blink, she saw that he was still keeled over. After a few beats, he straightened back up, growled at her, and reached for his weapon. In a flash, Rae rushed to his side, snatched the knife out of his hand, went behind him, and held the sharp edge to his throat. 

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Rae hissed at him. 

“What the fuck?” the guy choked back. Rae saw a flash of him turning out of her hold and thwacking his hand through her arm so she dropped the knife. She waited for him to move and, as he started to shift on his feet, she sent the hilt of the knife into the back of his head. The hunter thumped to the pavement with a groan. Rae sent a few kicks into his side and head for a little extra insurance, and stole his leather knife holder to tie around her waist. She inserted the knife into it and then wiped her dirtied hands off on her jeans as she caught her breath. 

Something moved out of the corner of her eye and she felt the adrenaline rush back through her veins. The knife came back out in front of her and Rae turned to face Sam, who jumped with wide eyes. 

“Woah!” he called out. “It’s me!” 

Rae let out a hefty sigh and dropped the knife back down to her side. 

“I was gonna step in to try and help you but, Jesus, you handled that all on your own.” 

“I don’t know what happened,” Rae admitted. “It was, like, I could see what he was going to do before he actually did it.” 

“It sounds like you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve,” Sam nodded with a smile. “Speaking of tricks, look at this!” 

Sam squeezed his fists and let out a straining grunt which made Rae wince. This went on for an uncomfortable amount of time, but Rae caught sight of a nice set of fangs coming in from Sam’s mouth. He wiped some sweat from his brow when he was finished, and then flashed a wide grin at her. 

“I’m a hybrid!” he announced, opening up his arms like he was reintroducing himself. 

“That’s amazing!” Rae congratulated him.

“I still can’t turn into a bat or a full werewolf but, you know, baby steps. I was helping a nest move into hiding a few blocks over and one of the elders told me what I had to do to get the fangs. The guy was a genius or something because it only took one try!” 

“Those hunters better watch out,” Rae joked. 

“Right back atcha,” Sam nudged her side. Rae laughed, but was still filled with uncertainty about what had happened between her and the hunter. It was like she wasn’t herself for a second. 

Rae looked around and then back at Sam. “Where’s everyone else?” 

“My dad and mom are with the other leaders trying to put pressure on the mayor. Danny’s also there so they can prove they had nothing to do with his disappearance,” Sam shared. “I have no clue where Jake and Josh are, though. The last I saw them, they were by the river trying to get back some members of our pack who were taken by the hunters.” 

“I want to help,” Rae said without thinking twice. Her words seemed to relieve Sam. 

“Uh, yeah, I could use your help,” Sam nodded. “Don’t tell anyone, but being on my own out here has been kind of terrifying, even if I have my fangs now.” 

“Let’s find Jake and Josh so we have strength in numbers,” Rae suggested. 

Sam couldn’t argue with that, so he began tracking around, trying to pick up their scents. Rae followed behind him, putting every ounce of her energy into focusing on her stomach to see if it sent her any more distress signals. Rae didn’t know where it had come from, but she had total faith in the power of her gut feeling. 

Sam led them through more empty streets, which started to look familiar. Rae realized that they were moving closer to the high school and reflected on how confused she had been about Jake earlier during her first day. Ringing sounded loudly in her ears and her vision blurred, replacing the street in front of her with a disturbing scene. Rae saw Jake and Josh fighting in desperation against a staggering number of hunters who had them backed into a corner. It was dark and hard to see, but Rae could tell that they were struggling to defend themselves and growing afraid. 

Her sight returned back to normal and she immediately saw Sam in front of her with his hand on her shoulder. 

“What did you see?” he asked her with concern. 

“Jake and Josh,” Rae told him. “They’re in trouble. Somewhere dark, I don’t know where.” 

“I can smell them near the high school,” Sam replied. “Let’s go.” 

Sam started to run, and Rae followed behind him. With each step, Rae grew more anxious and worried. Considering all that they had been through, she had never seen such terror on Jake and Josh’s faces. It was as if they could see their end in sight. 

They made it to the front doors of the high school and Sam hurdled his body into them with all of his might. Rae watched in awe as the doors groaned at his weight and flung open. Sam let in another deep inhale and then looked back at Rae. 

“You said they were in a  dark place?” 

Rae nodded. 

“I bet they’re in the basement.” 

Rae started to move towards the staircase leading downstairs, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed that Sam wasn’t following behind her. Instead, he was glued in place, squeezing his eyes shut with his fists clenched, making more groaning noises. Rae watched in confusion, unsure what to do. The last thing she wanted was for the kid to pop an eye out. 

“Dammit,” Sam grunted. “I’m so close.” 

“Can I help?” Rae found her words, stepping back to join him. Sam shook his head and continued to strain. 

“AGGHHHHHH!” a voice bellowed with a crack from beneath their feet. 

“Jake!” Sam opened his eyes to shout. He then squeezed his eyes shut again and, in one fluid motion, transformed into a werewolf, fully equipped with bat wings and a set of murderous looking fangs. Rae took a second to gawk up at Sam, who had nearly doubled in size, but Jake’s screams were still sounding beneath them, so they headed for the stairs. 

Rae kept waiting for her stomach to kick into gear, or for her to see another vision, but her brain instead buzzed with panic. Sam led the charge downstairs with a low growl and immediately sliced through two hunters who had rushed to them to see what the commotion was. Rae had the knife out and pointed in front of her, waiting to see who would attack her. Finally she saw an image of a woman rushing behind her with a stake and then quickly turned, cutting at the woman before she could make her move. Rae caught a part of the woman’s arm, which made her cry out in pain, and then pushed her in Sam’s direction. In his monster form, Sam seemed to have lost every ounce of his human self. It was hard to believe that a fourteen year old was somewhere inside the terrifying monster that was fighting through a whole crowd of hunters with vicious strikes, bites, and blows. 

Jake’s screaming had stopped, which made Rae worried. Sam looked to be fending off the hunter with ease, so she rushed farther into the basement. Metal piping ran along the walls and her footsteps echoed in the space around her, lit only by a few dying light bulbs suspended from the ceiling. The farther she moved from Sam, the more she slowed her pace so she could listen for any signs of where Jake and Josh might be. After turning a corner, she heard voices and leaned against the wall, trying to stay quiet. 

“Bri should be here soon,” an unfamiliar man’s voice spoke. 

“She’ll be happy with what we caught,” a woman replied back. Rae could tell she was grinning from how she spoke. “Children of the Kiszka Pack and Wilson Nest, how lucky are we?” 

Rae thought hard about what to do. Jake and Josh were obviously behind the wall, but there were at least two hunters she would have to get through first. But she needed to make sure they were okay. Rae tried to force another vision to come to her, to no avail. Her mind remained blank, and she cursed to herself. Then, a thought ran through her mind: 

Just go in there. 

Rae felt like that was probably an incredibly stupid idea, but it was all she had. So, holding the knife firm and steady, she slipped out from behind the wall and took in the scene. The two hunters were facing away from her as they looked down at Jake and Josh, who were tied back to back on the ground. To Rae’s relief, they were both conscious, but the gash in the side of Josh’s head and Jake’s black eye left her concerned. 

“We use the children to get to their mommy and daddy, and Bri can finally get the justice she deserves.” 

Jake was gazing in front of him, looking like he wasn’t actively looking at anything, but he must have picked up Rae’s scent because he slowly rolled his head in her direction. She could see the surprise hidden beneath the wounds of his face, but he made no sound to give her away. Instead, he made brief eye contact with her, widened his one open eye, and nodded at the hunters. Rae nodded back and took in a deep inhale. 

Go. 

Rae lunged forward and plunged the knife in between the man’s shoulder blades, immediately causing a waterfall of red to ooze down his back. He fell down hard with the knife still in him, and Rae moved onto the next hunter, who was coming at her with her gun out and ready to unload. Rae caught a vision of something, but it confused her. It was just a brown blur. 

The hunter started to press on the trigger but then, in a flash, Sam soared into the room with a blood curdling shriek and slammed straight into the hunter with his talons clawing into her chest. He lifted her from the ground and threw her at the wall so her head slammed into one of the rusty metal pipes. She fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. 

Rae pulled the knife out of the man, and then looked at Jake and Josh. Their mouths were both hung wide open. 

“Jake,” Josh whispered. “I think they did something really bad to my head. I just saw the craziest shit.” 

Jake was focused on Sam, who was examining his body to make sure he hadn’t gotten any serious injuries from his fight against the herd of hunters. Considering no one else was coming into the room for backup, Rae could only assume that he had entirely eliminated that problem. 

“You turned,” Jake breathed out, taking in his brother. “You’re a full hybrid.” 

Sam let out a few beastly huffs, transformed back into a human, and crossed his arms over his chest, as if he was trying to hide himself. 

“That was my first time fully changing.” 

“You’ve got a lot of power in you,” Jake told him. 

“I just wanted to make sure you both were okay,” Sam softly spoke back. 

“We will be once we’re untied,” Josh replied. “I gotta get away from this guy. He smells like a wet dog.” 

Rae came up to them and started sawing away at the thick ropes with the blood-stained knife. Josh caught the ropes as they fell from his wrists and dropped them onto the floor with haste. 

“You shouldn’t be surprised, that’s what happens when a werewolf is in a damp place,” Jake complained back, looking offended. 

“What happened to you both?” Rae asked as she helped them to their feet. 

Josh grabbed at his injured head and huffed. “Let’s just say I put a little bit too much faith into the guy with the supposedly good sniffer. The hunters set a trap and we walked right into it.” 

“We were able to get back seven families and I thought I had a lead on one of the last ones that’s still missing, but it turned out the hunters had just gathered their stuff to lead us here. It was stupid on my part.” 

“No, no,” Josh backtracked. “You had the right idea. I mean, how could you know?” 

Jake shrugged, unable to answer. 

“How many more families are missing?” Sam continued to press. 

“Three,” Jake said. 

“Fuck,” Sam cursed. 

“Language!” Both of his brothers scolded him. 

“Any updates from Dad or Mom?” Sam asked. Josh and Jake both looked down at the ground and shook their heads. 

“Nothing,” Josh spoke. Then, he looked at Rae and Sam. “I know this probably isn’t the time, but do you think I could get to Danny kinda quick? My head hurts like a bitch. I can’t see out of my right eye.” 

“A hunter hit him over the head with a pipe,” Jake explained. 

“We should go to City Hall,” Sam told them. “Danny might still be there with our parents trying to talk to the mayor.” 

They began to move towards the hallway leading back to the staircase when Rae was hit with an overwhelming wave of nausea and a vision. A tall woman wearing all black. Armed with a gun and stake. Moving fast. 

“Guys,” Rae choked out, trying to get the image out of her head so she could warn her friends. 

“What is it?” Josh looked at her, concerned. 

“I think it’s Bri,” Rae said in fear. Sam wore a large frown on his face. Across from her, Jake had gone more pale than he already was. 

“Where?” Sam whispered. 

A wooden stake came whizzing through the air and just barely missed Sam, clunking against the wall only inches from his head, and clattering to the floor. Sam’s eyes were bugged, and his breaths quickened as he looked beyond Rae at something. Rae turned and saw the tall woman, maybe a few years older than her, rushing toward them through the darkness. 

“Fuck,” Sam, Jake, Josh, and Rae all said at the same time. 

“You took out my hunters?” Bri barked at them as she neared closer. Without any struggle this time around, Sam transformed back into his hybrid form. Rae could tell that Bri slowed down at the sight of Sam, but continued to project herself forward. Even though Jake looked entirely sapped of energy, he sucked in a deep breath and turned into a werewolf. Josh let his fangs grow out and touched his head gingerly. 

“I’ll be okay,” he told himself. 

Sam pounced on Bri, knocking her to the cold pavement, and held her down by the shoulders, foaming at the mouth. Jake joined his brother and tried to put weight on her feet to keep her entirely immobile. Before he could secure his paws around her ankles, she kicked free, and twisted out of Sam’s grasp, rolling away from the brothers. With a crazed look on her face, she reached behind her and pulled out another wooden stake, tossing it from hand to hand. 

“Which one of you wants to go first, huh?” she asked them with a malicious grin. 

“Preferably none of us,” Jake said under his breath. Josh sped at Bri, hissing and attempting to swipe at her. Bri expertly dodged his blow and held the stake up, ready to insert it through Josh’s back. Jake rushed at her and smacked the stake from her hand so it rolled away. Sam booked it to the stake and threw it into the distance. While he did this and Josh tried to regain his balance, Rae was struck with another image. Bri had a gun and pulled it on Jake, pressing it against his heart. 

“No!” Rae shouted, throwing herself in between them right as Bri flipped the gun out from her sleeve. To Rae’s surprise, instead of Jake’s chest, the gun was forced against her head. 

“Oh Jesus Christ!” Jake cried out in surprise. The feeling of the cool metal just above her ear made Rae tremble. “Let her go! She’s not one of us!” 

“But she obviously means something to you,” Bri smirked. Jake’s face fell. “How about we strike a deal,” Bri continued. Josh and Sam were by Jake’s side now, gaping at Rae in fear, unsure what to do. “You three hand yourselves over to me, and the girl doesn’t get shot.” 

Rae knew that, no matter what happened, it wasn’t going to end well. She pictured the bullet waiting to launch from the gun and let out a shaky breath. 

“What do we do?” Josh whispered to Jake. Rae could see Jake deteriorating in front of her. 

“Any day now,” Bri called to them. Rae squeezed her eyes shut and saw Sam holding his hand out towards Bri, closing his eyes. Hypnosis, Rae thought to herself. As a hybrid, Sam can hypnotize Bri. She reopened her eyes and stared at Sam, meeting his gaze. While he first looked at her in fear, his scrunched face opened with recognition at what she was trying to tell him. Whether it be intuition or some kind of telepathic connection, Sam quickly shut his eyes and lifted his shaking hand towards Bri. 

“What’s he doing?” Bri stared at Sam. Jake and Josh studied their brother in confusion. 

“Close your eyes,” Sam hummed at Bri. While Bri first looked at him like he was crazy, Jake and Josh let out a collective gasp. Although the gun was still held against her, Rae dared to peer out of the corner of her eye and saw that Bri was standing stiff, her eyes shut. “Put the gun down,” Sam continued. The cylinder jutting into Rae’s skull was quickly removed. “Now sit.” Rae watched Bri drop herself to the floor, her face placid. Jake and Josh hurried to her side and used the ropes from the previous hunters to bind her in place with her arms behind her back. Sam took a brief pause and looked around at them. 

“Go,”  he said. “I’ll keep her in place here.” 

“What, are you crazy?” Josh shook his head. “Absolutely not. We’re not leaving you on your own. I’ll drain her and we can get a move on.”

“No,” Jake cut in. 

“No?” Josh’s voice rose in surprise. 

“We can’t,” Jake said down to Bri, who was sitting at his feet. Josh stared at Jake like he was out of his mind and threw up his hands in exasperation. “I can’t be responsible for taking another person’s life.” 

“Then leave the room, you’ll never know it happened,” Josh said. Jake frowned.

“How about this,” Rae proposed, “We’ll tie her up extra good and keep her down here where she can’t hurt anyone else. Sam, how powerful is your hypnosis?” 

“What do you need me to do?” 

“Tell her she has to stay down here until she hears some obscure word like, I don’t know, Raisin Bran or something.” 

Sam held his hand out towards Bri and began his humming sound again. “You must remain here, unmoving, until you hear the word antidisestablishmentarianism.” 

“That should do the trick,” Jake said, looking relieved. 

“Just,” Josh cut in, “let me tie her up a bit more. To be safe.” 

After ten minutes of tying knots that would floor a boy scout, they left the high school, en route to city hall. Bri remained behind, restrained against a pole in the far back corner of the basement, her head rolled down, still under Sam’s spell.

****

Taglist:@lvnterninthenight, @writingcold, @myownparadise96, @i-choose-the-road, @psychedelicsprinkles, @mama-likes72, @ascendingtothestarssasone

[bluebunnysart]

Domestic Stray (Hoshitele Cat AU)

TITLE: Domestic Stray 

Ship: Cat!Haruno x Cat!Matataki

Word count: 3188 words

A/N: Finally putting words down in a document to try to bring the Hoshitele cat AU to life! Just to quickly set expectations, what I’ve written will focus mainly on Haruno and Matataki, as cats! However, do note that these cats are INSPIRED by Haruno and Matataki and thus will not be completely the same. I’ll try to make them as in-character as I can while trying to connect stuff with the source material, but this is a cat alternate universe, so keep that in mind before you engage with this (100% self-indulgent, made for fun) work. 

Just in case, TW for blood in this first scene lol but we’re mainly a cute slice-of-life/lowkey love story (on the slow side), and I would never have them harm each other, so rest assured. xD 

While writing this, I debated whether I should have honorifics (like -chan) or not, and I think I won’t. Since this is an AU, this is one of those things I won’t have because Haruno’s the only one who’s gonna be using them anyway. xD 

If you’re ok with all that… Hope you enjoy! 

I knew I shouldn’t’ve trusted them. 

That was the thought a certain light brick red-colored cat had as she forced herself to put one paw in front of the other, despite her entire body screaming at her to stop. With each painful step, a decent amount of blood would pool on the ground beneath her, forcing her to keep going unless she wanted to leave behind an even more obvious trail to where she was. 

If I actually die from this, I’ll be so pissed off, she thought bitterly, biting back a hiss as she accidentally stepped on a small, pointed rock. Normally she wouldn’t make such an amateur-ish mistake, but it was kind of hard to see with her vision going in and out, and the blood pouring into one eye from the gash on her forehead didn’t help. 

Quickly. She had to find somewhere to hide quickly just in case those other cats (who she’d given a good beating to, thank you very much) decided to come back for more. With how much blood she’d lost, she knew she didn’t have much time left before she straight-up passed out, but if she could find a place to rest for just a little while, then there was still hope for her yet. 

House cats didn’t like it when anyone intruded on their turf, but house cats were also soft and typically unused to combat; she was pretty sure she could take one. And if she chose the right spot, then she wouldn’t have to encounter a dog, a human, or a cat! 

The scent of blood might be strong, but the smell of everything else in the neighborhood would be even stronger. 

Taking a deep breath, the light reddish-brown cat forced herself to keep going, letting her nose guide her. She couldn’t be too picky, lest she risk collapsing while still out in the open, so she chose quickly.

Small gap under the fence she could squeeze through? Check. 

No strong scent of humans or cats in this area? Check. 

Long row of bushes that would effectively hide her and help mask her scent? Check.

By now, her wounds had stopped bleeding as much, so there wouldn’t be the equivalent of a giant bloody arrow pointing to where she was. This was perfect. 

The light brick red-colored cat collapsed on the spot, shutting her eyes tight with a grimace as another wave of pain went through her from the impact. 

That’s it, she thought firmly as she felt her consciousness rapidly slip away. If I survive this, I’m not trusting anyone ever again. 

–

Birds were chirping. And although her eyes were closed, she could tell that the light of the sun was shining on her face. Which means…

I’m alive? Matataki thought, as her eyes snapped open. It took a second for her vision to adjust, but instead of seeing the green of grass or the dark green of the bushes she’d taken shelter behind, what she saw was… A wall? 

Huh? 

Her heart sped up as the almost-too-familiar feeling of dread started to creep in. Without moving her body, she scanned everything she could see in front of her first: a wall, and above it, a windowsill, and on top of that…. A cat! 

Matataki felt her hackles rise, but she didn’t make any sudden movements just yet. The other cat was currently facing away from her, looking out the window, and it looked like they hadn’t noticed her yet. If Matataki was careful, maybe she’d be able to get away while the other cat was still distracted. After all, if there was a cat here, then maybe there was a cat door?

Very, very slowly, the reddish-brown cat tried standing up, but it was no use. Her legs immediately gave way, but instead of landing on the hard floor, she landed on a soft cat bed, which she just now realized she had been on top of. The sound had been muffled, but the other cat had been so close. There was no way they wouldn’t have noticed, Matataki thought.

Sure enough, the other cat, who was a lovely vanilla yellow color, turned around. Her eyes, which were a more saturated yellow, at first looked surprised, before they shifted into something else. 

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed, and her voice sounded kind of… relieved? 

“Who are you?” Matataki asked, eyes narrowed. And what do you want from me? she thought, but she decided to ask one question at a time. 

“Don’t you remember me?” the yellow cat asked, and Matataki took a moment to study her in more detail. 

Horizontal black stripe on the top of her head that followed the shape of her head but ended at her ears. Perpendicular to that stripe was a vertical stripe that went down the back of the cat’s back and flowed into a black tail, which Matataki had seen before she’d turned around. And finally… The thing that set a wild cat like herself apart from a house cat: the black strip of fabric tied around the cat’s neck, which ended at a neat bow behind the cat’s neck.  

“Nope. Not ringing any bells,” Matataki said bluntly, with a deep frown. If this cat was trying to pretend they knew each other in order to get on her good side– 

“I’m Haruno,” the blonde cat said warmly, seemingly unbothered by Matataki’s cold reply. “I guess it has been a really long time since we last spoke to each other,” she added in a lower tone, as if speaking to herself. To Matataki, she continued: “I say hi to you sometimes when you pass by. We’ve never had a proper conversation or anything before, but, well. It’s nice to meet you! I’ve always wanted to get along.” 

Unfortunately for Haruno, the brick-colored cat had stopped listening to her after ‘I say hi to you sometimes when you pass by.’ Instead, those words had caused Matataki to dive deep into her memory to try to figure out if she remembered anything like that. In general, Matataki didn’t speak to house cats, so it was 100% likely she had never spared the golden-colored cat a reply. But when it came to friendly house cats and the cats that lived in this neighborhood… Maybe something like that happened? 

“Matataki?” 

Matataki snapped out of her thoughts and almost glared at Haruno. “How do you know my name?” she asked, not bothering to hide her wariness. 

Haruno blinked, obviously surprised once again. “You don’t know?” she asked. This time Matataki did glare at her, so she hastily explained: “I thought you would already know this, but you’re kind of famous around here. Like, from all of the things you know and can do. I heard you’re really good at using tools! And apparently there’s no place that can keep you out if you’ve decided you want in.” 

Haruno wasn’t even bothering to hide the admiration in her tone as she praised her, and Matataki couldn’t help but feel awkward from suddenly being showered with compliments. Being famous or whatever isn’t a good thing, she thought darkly as she remembered what had happened to her. They only keep you around to use you and then try to get rid of you so they don’t have to honor their end of the deal. 

“Whatever they say about me, I don’t care,” Matataki said, her tone harsh. “What do you…” She paused as she glanced down at herself, finally noticing and registering the bandages on her body. “...did you do this?” 

“Nope! Not me! My human did,” came the reply, which sounded happy and proud. “I’m glad I found you as quickly as I did, because it looked really bad–”

“Wait,” Matataki cut in. “What happened? What human?” she asked, her blood having run cold. Was that human still around now?

“My owner. My caretaker,” Haruno answered. “Who’s usually out of the house, by the way, so you don’t have to worry about meeting them if you don’t want to.” The vanilla-colored cat had read the panic and look of displeasure on Matataki’s face and directly addressed it. “As for your question about what happened, well… You were kinda out for three whole days. I was wondering when you’d wake up, but your breathing was normal, at least, so I knew you would eventually. Anyway, I’m really glad you’re alright! You really gave me a heart attack out there…”

Once again, Matataki was drowning the rest of her words out in favor of focusing on what the other cat had just revealed. Three whole days, and she’d been patched up by a human? It was good she wouldn’t have to interact with it, but… Ugh… If she had to live with a human, then maybe it would’ve been better if she hadn’t been saved.

Pushing that thought out of her head, the light red-brown-colored cat tried to stand up again. She managed to succeed for a couple of seconds, but her legs were shaking too much, so she eventually opted to sit. 

Okay. She was way too weak to leave, and even if she did leave, she might not last for long, especially if those cats were still out to get her. 

“Okay, house cat.” 

“It’s Haruno.” 

“Yeah, that.” Whatever, she almost added, but she decided being snarky to someone she was at the mercy of probably wasn’t the best idea. “I assume there’s probably a reason why you brought me in here, so just tell me your terms. You house cats– er… House cats like you are usually more pacifistic, and I can at least pay you back for helping me.” Even though I didn’t ask you to. “So just tell me what you want, and we can settle this peacefully, without any issues.” As long as it doesn’t involve any humans. 

Matataki was met with a blank stare before Haruno’s eyes widened in surprise yet again. Looks like Haruno was as unused to dealing with her as Matataki was with house cats in general, who she tended to ignore altogether.

“Terms?” the blonde cat asked. She immediately shook her head. “Nonono, you don’t need to pay me back or anything! I didn’t try to save you with an ulterior motive or anything.” 

During their whole conversation, Haruno had been sitting on the windowsill and Matataki had been either sitting or lying on the cat bed. Now, Haruno chose to jump down from the windowsill so that they were more or less on the same ground. With them sitting in front of each other, it was clear Haruno was more than a little bit bigger than the injured cat, which made Matataki frown.

“I didn’t help you because I wanted something from you,” Haruno repeated, flicking her black tail. “When I see someone in trouble, I just want to help them. I couldn’t just leave you like that,” she said, her eyes softening. 

The yellow cat’s eyes were a bit too earnest, so Matataki found herself immediately looking away from them. It didn’t matter what others said. The only thing that mattered was how they actually acted in the end. 

“Anyway–” the stray cat said, trying to continue to negotiate her exit, but she was interrupted by the sound of her stomach loudly growling. Before she could react, Haruno was already on her paws again, her golden eyes sparkling. 

“How inconsiderate of me!” the house cat exclaimed, yet she looked excited for some reason. “I have no idea when your last meal was, but you haven’t eaten for at least three days! You must be famished!” 

Matataki opened her mouth to deny it, but after a second, she seemed to reconsider and closed it. There was no point trying to avoid looking weak in front of this cat. She had been too weak to stand properly, for goodness’ sake. 

Haruno seemed pleased with this silent agreement, if the smile on her face was anything to go by. “I’ll be right back!” she announced, darting off. As Matataki watched her black tail disappear out of view behind a wall, she couldn’t help but silently agree that Haruno seemed to really like taking care of others. 

I’m not trusting anyone ever again. The very last thought that she’d had before passing out came back to her again, and she internally patted herself on the back for remembering what she’d decided on. No matter how nice someone acted, they showed their true colors eventually– especially when it was no longer useful to act nice. 

Everyone is selfish, after all. In the end, the only one you can trust is yourself. 

It took barely thirty seconds before Haruno was back. In her mouth was a bowl, which she proudly placed in front of Matataki and pushed towards her. 

“Since you’re a patient here, we provide only the highest quality care,” Haruno said cheerfully in almost a faux-professional voice. “This is my favorite! Wet food! I know wild cats hunt and all, but I bet you’ve never tasted chicken before! Go on! Try it!”

Matataki looked at the contents of the bowl suspiciously. Brown mashed “stuff” mushed together with pale light chunks mixed in and strange yellow-ish liquid coating everything and oozing out the bottom. She didn’t know how cats would be able to get their paws on poison, but she couldn’t rule the idea out. 

“You eat it,” she demanded. Even if she was hungry, maybe she could still find something else. 

“But it’s for you,” Haruno said, looking disappointed that her offer had been rejected. She seemed to look up in thought before finally nodding. “Oh, I get it! You probably haven’t eaten anything like this before, so you want me to taste-test it for you to show you it’s safe. Sure! It’s really yummy, so I’ll take a couple of bites. But I really want you to try it too! Is that okay?”

“No promises.” 

Haruno seemed to think this answer was good enough, so as promised, she took a couple of bites of the wet food. Matataki watched as she licked the rest of it off her muzzle and then sat back with a satisfied expression, looking at the slightly smaller cat expectantly. 

Well. No cat would be crazy enough to consume poison in front of her, so after maintaining Haruno’s stare for a moment, Matataki finally gave in and decided to try it. 

It… was better than anything she’d ever tasted. Cooked food was much better than raw food, and the stray cat didn’t often get the chance to eat it for obvious reasons. Either she was really hungry or she couldn’t get enough because the food was gone before she knew it… 

When she looked up, Haruno was giving her a really kind smile, which really made her fur stand on end. It felt like she’d lost somehow… Matataki was a stray cat! A wild cat at heart! And she would not be won over by house cat luxuries, even if they tasted better than her usual. 

“You– you don’t have to watch me while I eat! I’m not gonna waste it!” the light red brick-colored cat snapped, mostly to hide her growing embarrassment. 

“Hehe, sorry,” Haruno said with a giggle, but she looked more amused rather than apologetic. Matataki didn’t know how to react to someone reacting to her like that. As if to throw the injured cat a lifeline, however, Haruno changed the subject. “It’s not good to eat too much, so that’ll be it for now. The automatic cat feeder gives you the exact amount you need at the exact time you should have it. Convenient, right?” 

She paused, as if she remembered something. “Water!” she exclaimed, her tail standing straight up. “I’ll get you some water! And I’ll make sure not to spill it!” 

As if this was going to turn into a thing now, Haruno dashed off. This time, she took a little longer to return, but as promised, she carefully offered the other cat a bowl of water. Matataki hadn’t even gotten a word in before the yellow cat had decided to act on her own, and once more, she eyed the bowl before doing anything else. She considered refusing since she’d already been offered a handout earlier, but one glance at the taller cat reminded her that she should probably stay in her good graces, so she gave the water a cursory lick or two before moving back again. 

“Okay!” With that word, Haruno curled her tail into a hook shape and circled Matataki as if she was examining a shiny new toy. In reality, she was just making sure the bandaged cat was in good condition and not in need of anything else. The smaller cat narrowed her eyes and regarded her uneasily as she did this, and Haruno took the hint and stopped. 

“Can I get you anything?” the house cat asked, and Matataki shook her head. 

The only thing Matataki wanted was to get out of here, but in her current condition, that was a horrible idea, so she was slowly accepting that she would be stuck here for a little while. But she probably couldn’t have been stuck with someone even friendlier or more helpful than Haruno, so at least it wasn’t worse. 

“What are you expecting from me?” she finally asked, unable to articulate sentences like Is it fine if I stay and I can’t leave right now so I’m stuck here. The latter statement would reveal too much information (and vulnerability) to a cat who had the advantage over her, even if it was only a house cat. 

“Nothing,” Haruno answered easily, with a smile. “I just want you to recover and get better! So you need lots of rest, you shouldn’t overwork yourself, and if you ever need anything, you can just ask me!” She curled her tail over her paws, her eyes sparkling beautifully like yellow topaz gemstones. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. You’re my guest.” 

Matataki almost let out a sigh of relief, but it just came out as a slow exhale. In her entire life, she’d never been treated with as much grace and hospitality as this. It made the skin under her fur crawl because she knew it would all fall apart eventually– it inevitably did, when it came to her relationships (or lack thereof) with other cats. 

“...thank you,” she finally said. Even though she was incredibly out of her element and expecting the worst, it still felt like an important weight had been taken off her shoulders. She would do her best to avoid the human, but since she wasn’t being left outside to fend for herself in her weakened state, it was still much better than nothing. She just hoped Haruno wouldn’t force her to get along with her human, even if that human had possibly saved her life. 

She didn’t say anything else though. She just looked at the other cat, and Haruno was wearing the brightest smile she’d had all day. 

“You’re welcome! Let’s get along from now on!” 

END 

A/N: Ok that was much longer than I expected and I kinda started writing at like 10:36 PM and now it’s 2:46 AM. So that took me like… about 4 hours to write! But it was really fun to me! :D I really wanted to write something for them and now I’m glad and happy I finally did it! c: 

Yes, if you’re wondering, I did look up cat facts whenever I needed them. I also looked up stuff about blood loss. I’m thinking Matataki stays with Haruno for like a month, at the very least? And any other stories will be about them doing various activities or bonding. 

I didn’t think I’d make the intro as long as it is (actually, I was planning to make it like maybe a 3-sentence scene or preview and go straight into the waking up scene, but it has important details I might like to reference later so you know what? Yeah, I’ll keep it like that.) 

I’m a Warrior cats kid so I’m totally used to all the cat descriptions and stuff (paws, tail, muzzle, lol) but it might be weird for a non-cat person, I think. xD Anyway, I’ll upload this to AO3 on request but since this is just a niche thing for now, I’ll keep it on this blog only. This won’t be the last time I write about them, I think, ‘cuz I like this AU a lot, but hopefully I did a good job capturing their characters! I don’t want Matataki to be too mean or Haruno to be too hyperactive/helpful or anything, but this is their first meeting and they’re drastically different, so their differences get exaggerated a bit. If anyone ever feels like giving me feedback, I’m totally open to it! Anyhow, I love cats. How did you know? xD

[potetosaradas]

Oooooh, I'm curious, if Prime wiped out all Diane's but killed his Diane first when Beth was 5 or so then when did he decide to erase them? Obviously he couldn't have done it when she was a kid cause then there'd be no one to take care of all the Beth's so he had to do it after she moved out as an adult, anywhere from 18-35, that's a long time to wait after dropping the bomb though, if he did that to spite Rick and keep him from getting a new Diane, why do you think he waited so long?

Hey Anon, thanks for asking lol

I’m gonna preface this ask with a disclaimer that i am usually wrong about EVERYTHING so don’t quote me on this.

I have one crazy (entirely unfounded) theory on why there’s a gap. (This post is going to be entirely incoherent and streamed directly from my brain to fingers so i apologise)

So i’ve been thinking about this too, about the gap of time. First of all, i think its interesting that Beth has never once mentioned Diane, and also Morty refers to his grandma as Rick’s wife (there’s a big detachment there) so Diane must have been gone for a long long time. I agree that Diane must have died or been deleted some time after Beth became an adult. (Also its not said HOW dianes were killed, ie if there was a body left behind or not.. either way traumatic? Possibly reasons why beth drinks???)

So why would Prime wait that long? Well, I think we should be asking ourselves, why would Prime meet Diane, settle down and have a family with her? Part of me wants to say its because he wanted to understand Rick better- to see what Rick rejected him for. But actually, crazy thought, but WHAT IF, Prime was gathering data on Diane as the first test subject for the Omega Device. I’m not sure but wrangling with infinity doesn’t seem like something you can do in a week, even for a genius. I think he was studying Diane, and Diane’s effects on Ricks. Almost all Ricks meet a Diane. Surely, this must be of some interest to Prime. Why would Ricks settle down with Diane? What is so special about her? She must be deleted lol

Related unrelated, we know that Prime stuck around well into Beth’s teen years (i think 15 years old?) don’t forget it’s canon that he made toys for her too. I don’t want to say he ever hated Beth, she’s a part of him after all. He probably hated the idea of family/attachments though, but I don’t think he ever hated Beth as a person. Also we know that Prime was a heavy drinker. I think Prime took Rick breaking up with him harder than he thought he would. I’m not gonna say he stuck around for Beth, but I know for sure that he was deeply unhappy, negligent but he stuck around. I think it was during that time he was planning and plotting the creation of the Omega Device and Diane was going to be his first test subject.

Also id like to add that Prime was not immune to Diane. (INSERT GARFIELD MEME) whatever his reasons were, he decided to marry Diane and start a family with her. Why would he do that???????????? To an extent, whether Prime will admit it or not, he was affected by Diane too. (He also made bots with her likeness on it, possibly to torment Rick but also??? Hello???) perhaps, just like he did with Slo Mobius, he was trying to prove something to himself (and other Ricks) by deleting Diane out of existence.

Also I’d like to add, I mentioned this in one of my fics, but Rick never once showed an interest in finding a Diane. After his Diane died, he went straight for Prime* lol i believe that Rick was never truly about family life (possibly Prime knew this and wanted him to see reason, ironic that he was the one who started a family tho) but Rick went straight for space, met birdperson and STILL KEPT HUNTING PRIME. He could have so easily found another Diane (Prime did), but he didn’t.

*its interesting to me because as reluctant as Rick was to join Prime, now that his family was out of the picture, he could go look for Prime and be fully immersed in thoughts about Prime guilt free lol

[allylikethecat]

Just thought I’d also jump in your asks and stop the spiralling, the whole food poisoning situation actually made for a really good chapter so don’t worry!

Putting Matty in one of the most vulnerable states a person can be in and having George be so unphased by it and taking care of him, and Matty trusting him so much even in such a vulnerable situation even though things aren’t good between them, was one of the best insights into their relationship that we’ve had in any chapter so far.

On that note, I’m glad you went for George in this chapter! I feel like it’s another page in their story that makes sense (also Matty would never recovered from Ross or Adam walking in on that)

Oh my gosh thank you so much I was 100% like “oh no… I went to far” with the food poisoning, I was like this is it, out of every weird thing I’ve done in fic the food poisoning is gonna give y’all the ick 😂 I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the chapter and am very thankful for you reaching out to let me know! 🥰

Yes! Fictional!Matty was truly at his most vulnerable and potentially his lowest point in this chapter (which says a lot considering everything else we’ve put him through!) and even if things are weird and tense and not good with him and fictional!George at the moment, they are still each other’s “person” whether they like it or not. They have so much history together, that it just, in my opinion, made sense for Fictional!George to step up and for Fictional!Matty to let him (plus you’re right- Fictional!Matty might have just actually had that heart attack he was trying to manifest if Fictional!Ross or Fictional!Hann found him) 

I also wanted to show that even though it’s been three years since they broke up in this universe and they have both “moved on” and that Fictional!Matty even has a girlfriend, they are still tethered together by more than just the band. Fictional!Matty was more concerned about Fictional!George in the entire situation rather than letting his girlfriend that he “loves” know whats happening. (I purposely had Fictional!George let Fictional!Matty know he texted his parents after they released the statement, and made no mention of his girlfriend- because Fictional!George is petty and he might not want to be with Fictional!Matty at the moment but like IRL Matty says about Somebody Else - you still don't want someone else to be with your ex) I’m not sure if this came across clearly, but I did try my best to show that while they are both *trying* they are still hung up on one another! (And remember- it’s mentioned in the Ear Infection fic that Fictional!Matty got dumped for still being in love with Fictional!George!!) 

Anyway this got super long and rambling because I got overly excited about getting an ask. Thank you so much for reading and for your support during this endeavor. I hope you enjoy the conclusion on Tuesday! 🥰

❤️Ally  

[soyeonsbabygirl]

Sir yapsalot is back 🤓

I think fnaf makes up what they lack in actual scare factors, with stress & anxiety factors—that are mostly effective for the first two nights 💀

Like in fnaf 2 with the alarm that goes off whenever something’s in front of you or in the vents. That’s gonna be really stressful when you don’t have any idea why it’s happening, and even when you do, you know that you have to be ready to avoid death when that sound plays, so it becomes more helpful than stressful. It’s like Freddy’s laugh in Fnaf 1, if you’re just playing and haven’t figured out that he laughs whenever he moves and that it’s really supposed to help you, you’re gonna be stressed about who the hell this making (actually kinda fucking creepy) laugh and WHY they’re doing it.

nowadays even someone who’s never touched fnaf 2 or any fnaf game probably wouldn’t be that scared considering the alarm’s been made a meme 😭

Now in the later/custom nights the usefulness of the alarm isn’t in your favor anymore because of how much is going on, you’re going to be hearing that through nearly the entire night. And even now that it’s not scary anymore like it was on the first night, it’s still not a joyous tune, right? And, assuming players are keeping their volume up to hear sound cues, it’s fairly loud too. Loud noises activate our body’s stress response, which releases adrenaline, and that can make you more focused and can be used in your favor, but, again, there’s a lot of shit that’s happening (fnaf 2 has 11 animatronics). So it’s really a double ended blade.

But the regular office ambiance is also made to be stressful, so the alarm would just pile onto that. Like a muddy soup of things that are supposed to intentionally stress you out and immerse you more.

Now, I don’t have an opinion about which game has the scariest jumpscares, I mean, it sure as hell isn’t pizza sim or fnaf 3 (the hallucinations get better scares than springtrap 💀). I’m a little bitch baby, so they’re all bound to get at least a jump out of me 🥲 but I have an opinion, that Im sure tons of people won’t agree with just because of all the other extremely non-scary aspects of this game, on which one has the most anxiety-inducing jumpscares :p

Yeah.. Security Breach—now just HEAR ME OUT!! SB has one thing no other fnaf game fully has, free-roam. Meaning, when you get spotted, you can get chased, and for a lot of people, being chased is just instant fight or flight whether they’re being chased by a friend or a stranger. Also the fact that you might lose a shit ton of progress is so 😭

Oh god… yall rlly don’t want to encourage me to talk abt my interests 😭

- Sjar <3 (this is attractive?)

SB DOES HAVE THE MOST ANXIETY INDUCING JUMPSCARES!!

I loved playing it (I loveddd Roxy!!) but I was so paranoid that I would get caught EVERY SINGLE TIME! I didn’t really like the second part of it though, that was vv disappointing to me.

Yes it’s vv attractive when you talk abt your interests and yap to me i love it 🩷🩷