#THEY DIDNT INTERACT MUCH WHY ARE THEY A TRIO IN MY HEAD???

[nishastisowl]

I find this old art I did when I was 12

Legit this design kinda cool but the au somehow 😶‍🌫️

[chit2luvu]

Lovers' Entanglement

Pairings: Dom!Rayne Ames X Reader

A/N: This is my first smut fic, im not sure what Im doing but my brain produced and here I present. I also published this in ao3 but i didnt rlly get any interactions hence why im here pls dont flop :< Tags: mentions of cunnilingus, nipple play, p in v, afab reader, hickeys

It’s an ordinary day for Rayne and Y/N.

Well, not so much since Y/N has been practically bawling her eyes out because he was going to graduate.

In the morning, during the ceremony, and after the ceremony.

She clung onto him at every chance. More so than ever. Her tears staining on the taller boy’s graduation gown. It was quite a sight to see.

“Y/N…” He mumbled, patting her back as she hugged him tight. Rayne did indeed love her, he was sad to part with her but it’s not like their love would disappear with the lower frequency of their visits.

The most embarrassing part was when Principal Wahlberg came over to tease the two.

“My, my if it isn’t the power couple of our school. Congratulations on becoming a full fledged Divine Visionary at the Magic Bureau, Rayne. As for your devastated girlfriend…” He trailed off, cheekily looking at the two.

“I-I’m sorry I can’t greet you properly, it’s just that I’m not ready to not see him everyday anymore Principal Wahlberg…” the younger girl said through tears.

“It’s quite alright… Hahaha, the sweetness of first love in the air... Oh to feel it again at my age. Take care of each other, you two. And congratulations on graduating Max Land, I hope to see your achievements in the future here on out.”

Rayne nodded in approvement.

“Thank you, Principal Wahlberg, I am honored.” Max politely replied, with a small bow.

“This is it. I probably won’t see them again until summer break or whatever.” Y/N sadly thought, her tears still uncontrollably flowing down.

As the principal left, the first years joined the trio to congratulate them. Finn was the first one to suggest a commemorative group photo.

Rayne pulled away from her and pinched her cheeks to try and get some sense into her .“Y/n, we’re going to take pictures now so stop crying okay? For me?” He pleaded, wiping her tears away with his sleeve.

“Eep… Not fair… you… you’re gonna make me cry more,” she sobbed trying her best to keep her emotions in check as she looked up at Rayne pitifully.

Suddenly, he kissed her wet lips to hopefully stop her from crying. And it worked like a charm. Even after the kiss, y/n continued to stare at Rayne with flushed cheeks and swollen lips, the aftertaste of their sweet kiss lingering on her lips. The group went silent after witnessing their blatant display of affection.

“Nooooo! Why?! Why do all the good looking guys snag all the girls?!?!” Dot cried out as usual with murderous intent.

“Please refrain from making love in the eyes of an innocent child,” Lance commented as he clutched his necklace.

“Omg!! Y/n!! Ahhhh~~ Mash, did you see that? That could be us!!” Lemon fangirled while aggressively hitting Mash’s back to make her point.

“Uhm…” the muscle head said with disbelief.

“N-Nii–chan?!” Finn screeched as he hid his eyes behind his hands. He had most definitely never seen such a side of his older brother.

“Rayne you daring man!!” Max exclaimed, going in between the couple and hitting their backs to dissipate the tension, finally putting some distance between the two. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s take a picture!”

The students huddled together, performing various poses as they took many pictures.

One heart in the middle formed by Rayne and Y/N while Lemon, Mash and Lance formed one on the left and Dot, Finn and Max formed another on the right.

Then, freestyle poses.

They all put up a thumbs up for one.

And a peace sign for another.

And a heart sign for the last.

“Wow! These came out good!” the brunette said, scanning the photos happily. “Can’t forget to take a trio one too!”

So Rayne, Max and Y/N took another photo.

Then another photo with just Rayne and Max.

“And now, to commemorate the cringiest but slayest power couple of our school, Rayne and Y/N!” Lemon cheered happily for the two, holding out her wand. “3…2…1… Smile!”

Another utter shock.

The photo captured Rayne kissing Y/N on the cheek

“Oi! She said smile, not kiss!” Dot complained, about to jump out into action to stop them from further PDA but Lance kept him in check with his graviole.

“Well, you probably don’t know the feeling of having the love of your life desperately cling onto you just because you guys won’t be seeing each other everyday since you don’t have a girlfriend huh?” Rayne retorted the first year with a fierce look, as he held a blushing Y/N by her waist.

There were just one too many surprises from him. The first years were in absolute disbelief at their senior’s soft attitude towards his girlfriend. The ones who found it hardest to take this in were Finn and Dot.

After the ceremony, the group disbanded, each going back their own way. By tomorrow, most of the graduates would be gone, including Rayne which the Y/N couldn’t handle.

She returned to Rayne’s dorm, helping him pack up. The once minimalist room becomes an empty Adler room. Even his rabbit bedsheet was cleared with the rest of his rabbit related merch.

“Rayne…” Y/N started, her thoughts unclear of this whole situation. Only her fervent emotions screamed, telling her not to let go of her boyfriend at all costs.

“Yes?” He calmly replied, sitting down beside her on the bed.

“I will really really really miss you a lot.”

“I know dear,” he said, sliding his hand on top of hers as he sincerely looked at her with soft eyes.

“Ray-ayneeee” she said, plunging her body on top of Rayne’s onto the bed. “I might start crying again… sorry,” she mumbled as she lifted her head up from his chest.

“Bad girl,” he whispered into her ear while he brushed back the strand of hair. Those two words make her whole body feel all tingly in a weird way. “I don’t want our last memory in a long while to be you waving at me with tears during our send off, like as if you’re sending your husband off to war.” he honestly said, still keeping his hand on her head.

Y/N’s cheeks flushed red from his comment. Rayne had always been the type of boyfriend that cared for his girlfriend by actions, not words. When she had her period, he would always bring chocolates and a heat pack to her dorm and throughout the day, he would check on her wellbeing multiple times. Even on normal days, when they talked during recess and lunch or after school hours, he was thoughtful to bring her something that reminded him of her from time to time. He did what he felt was suitable and even let out his true self. True self as in saying whatever he wanted. Even if it meant the lines he was saying sounded like some confession from a third rate romance novel.

“I guess I won’t cry anymore…” she pouted, her gaze averting away from his as she went back to nuzzling his chest.

There it was again.

That warm fluttery feeling that arises in their hearts at times like these.

But other than wanting to hold each other tight and never letting go, Rayne found himself having a new profound desire. If he were to possibly switch their positions, holding Y/N down on his bed while he whispered sweet nothings into her ears, would she like it? If he were to maybe pull down her collar and mark her neck for everyone to see would it be unfair of him? If only he could say for sure to continue to act on his instincts. After all, it was hard to stay calm with his lover’s breasts pressed up against his chest, her whole body looking as if she was being served on a golden platter ready to be ravished him. He really wanted to devour her right there and then.

“Rayne?” Y/N shyly questioned. She had long noticed his body’s reaction, unsure of what would be the best next course of action for the two.

...

“Sorry, I’ll- I’ll go to the bathroom for a bit.” Rayne enunciated, gently pushing Y/N off to the side and getting up so as not to worsen the awkwardness of the conversation.

But when her soft hand stopped him in his tracks, something inside of him just snapped.

“Y/N, there’s no saying what could happen if you don’t let go of your hand right now.” Rayne spoke as he turned around, his manner of speech getting a little shaky.

“I-I-I know! Well ummm I just thought that since we won’t be seeing each other in a long while… I… I want to help you since you're always by my side…”

He turned, his amber eyes meeting her e/c ones. He hugged her, bringing her face to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

“Y/N, you know how much I love you right? I promise nothing will change between us. You don’t owe me anything, love. I can wait until you’re ready.”

His words were always so reassuring, always laced with layers of honey, always warm and gentle. But she’s not doing it just to make Rayne happy, if it was with him, Y/N would gladly give her everything, in this case was her body.

“Rayne… I love you too, which is why I want to do it with you, if it’s with you I-”

Before Y/N could even finish her sentence, Rayne was already pinning her down on his bed. He impatiently pushed his lips against hers, their tongues entwining, leaving each other breathless as he pulled away.

“Sorry, I guess I got carried away there.”

He panted, their breaths shaky from the intense kiss. Still, his lips came close to her ear, letting out a husky voice.

“Hey, if you feel uncomfortable at any time, just say my full name. Otherwise, you best believe I’m not stopping until I leave tomorrow. I’m going to make it known to the whole world that you are my woman, no one can take you away from me. You’re mine, only mine. Got that? ”

Her whole face immediately turned into a tomato without any spell. He really was serious about her. He sat up on the bed, unbuttoning his shirt and loosening up his tie to reveal his toned body. Sure, Rayne was a magic user but he still kept fit to increase his stamina, which explained his six pack.

“You like it that much? C’mon, feel it– the only one stopping you is yourself.”

He smirked, enjoying that flustered look on his partner who was inevitably his to be taken. He leaned into Y/N, looking up to meet her longing eyes, that anticipation and excitement. It made Rayne so unbelievably happy that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He unbuttoned Y/N’s blouse, pulling her bra up in one swift motion as his large hands got to work; cupping her delicate mounds, licking and sucking on her perky nipples, even twisting and pulling, doing whatever he pleased as an Y/N suffered under his control, her moans spilling throughout the empty room.

“Rayne, that's… that’s embarrassing, why are you o-only focusing there…?”

“Hmm I can’t? It’s just that they look so beautiful, baby”

“Nghh that’s not fair”

“Sounds like you’re asking me to pay attention to some other parts too, huh?”

His hand slowly glided down her bare stomach, making his touch even more tingly on her body. Rayne undid her skirt and tossed it aside. Without sparing any time, he touched her wet clit that was practically soaking through her underwear.

“Amazing, you’re already this soaking wet for me when all I did was play with your nipples” He commented, pulling her panties aside and sliding his hand up and down on her swollen pussy.

Unbeknownst to Y/N, he pressed his lips up against her opening, licking her juices, even sucking her clit from time to time before inserting his tongue inside.

“Rayne why–! That place… It’s dirty…” Y/N could only say, before her voice was quickly transformed into pleasure again, the heat of both teens rising. “Hnngh.. Rayne I-I feel weird! A-ah! I think… I think I’m coming…! Mhmmm!” She said, pressing her mouth against her hand to hide her humiliating noises.

The older male pulled back, licking the liquid on his lips clean when he suddenly inserted his two fingers, pressing up against here and there until-

“A-aah!”

Y/n moaned loudly, unable to hide the fact that he had found her soft spot.

“So that’s where you’re weak? Duly noted.” He said, pressing his fingers up against it even more, receiving another moan from y/n. “I want to put it in so bad… y/n please I-” He huffed, his hot breath landing right on the crook of her neck.

“W-wait what about protection?!”

…

None of them had anticipated this moment so they had nothing on them.

“I think Max has some... ” he paused, "I'll be back in a jiffy, love" he muttered, leaving behind a small kiss on her cheek. Before he left, covered Y/N with a blanket and took his robe and left.

Y/n stayed huddled up in the blanket, trying to process what was actually happening. Was it too fast? I mean, they've been dating for like a year and a half so it should be fine right? Plus, it's Rayne. Yes, Rayne Ames. Sudden images of Rayne smiling ever so slightly whenever he met her appeared. That's right, he's the man she fell in love with. They both wanted this, it felt just right with him.

A few minutes later, Rayne had returned with the item in hand. He took off his robe once more and looked at her hungrily. "Are you ready darling?" he smirked, lifting the covers, trailing his rough hands along her leg up to her thighs as he got on top.

It’s not fair how he looks at Y/N with those eyes. How could she possibly push him away in this heat of the moment? She bit her lips in both fear and excitement, her eyes carefully following his every move.

He unbuckled his belt, pulling down his zip to reveal a huge bulge under his boxers. Scary. What was even scarier was when he took off all his undergarments, revealing a monster- no, a huge veiny cock. Y/N immediately yelped in shock, in awe of seeing something so… sinful. Yet, the excitement and pleasure that came along with it was as anticipated.

“Will it even fit…” she nervously questioned, finding it hard to believe that it’s her beloved boyfriend’s dick.

“We’ll make it work. I swear to be gentle, my love. I want us to enjoy this together.”

As soon as he slid on the condom, without any sense of hesitation, all Y/N felt was the warmth lining up her entrance before going all the way inside. That sense of fulfilment shared between the two was unfathomable. Like finally being one complete being, Rayne’s hot member filled her up.

“Your insides are wrapping around me so tightly bunny, how am I supposed to move like this huh? You tell me”

Unable to handle the dirty talk and sudden pet name, she averted her gaze from his in embarrassment. But that wasn’t going to stop him from teasing her further. He cupped her cheeks and made her face his way.

“Tell me how much you want it bunny, because no way we’re going to stop now. Not when I’ve got you right under my thumb.”

“P-please, Rayne, I need you, I need you t-thrusting inside of me… You… Only you can make me feel so incredibly happy and-”

“Well said dear, obedient bunnies get their reward don’t they? Now take it like a good girl for me, Y/N.”

Oh boy, she was in for a ride. The moment Rayne held her hands tenderly while leaning in, she should’ve braced herself. The moment he started moving– those shallow thrusts quickly turned into deep ones.

“Rayne…! Rayne…! Rayne…!”

“Say how good I feel inside you. How am I supposed to know if my baby girl likes it otherwise?”

“Yes…! Mmm! I love it! I love you! R-Rayne… ahhh… kiss please…”

“So needy for daddy hmm~ Don’t worry I’ll spoil you lots”

Those intense thrusts followed by breathless kisses.

Y/N was definitely not going to last until tomorrow.

Night has definitely fallen, but what time was it exactly? Who knows? All the two love birds know is that they’ve fulfilled their wildest desires; and that they’re right where they want to be in life. That feeling of content, reinforced by the way Rayne continues to wrap his arm around Y/N’s bare waist under the bed sheets.

“Was I… too rough?” the concerned male inquired.

“Kind of, my back is sore! Hmph!” she pouted, turning her head away for dramatic effect.

Rayne rubbed her cheeks playfully, trying to console the girl as he entertained her childish behaviour.

“C’mon bunny, don’t be like that~”

…

“Well, do you want to get washed up together? I think we’re both feeling pretty sticky after that endeavour, hmm?”

“Yeah, that does sound like a plan”

Without any warning, Rayne got up and picked Y/N up in one fell swoop, putting her over his shoulder.

“W-wait whaaa?! Put me down!” she demanded, hitting his back with her fists while her legs kicked the air.

“I’m taking responsibility for my actions so stay still my love”

He had forcefully picked her up to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

“We already went all the way, there’s no need to be shy showering-”

“It’s not that, it’s just that I still can’t wrap my head around what had just happened.”

“Well, we made love. It’s as simple as that, my beloved y/n,” he said in a matter of fact tone, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently.

Although they were done for the most part, Rayne couldn’t help but stare in awe at his lover. He had the love of his life, y/n, wrapped around his finger. She was right in front of him, ever so vulnerable as the marks he had left on her were clear as day. Her red, puffy nipples were so adorable, he just wanted to do it all over again.

Like as if Y/N read his mind, she panickedly declared, “You can’t anymore, I forbid!”

“Hmph fine fine” he gave in, not wanting to push her too hard.

The warmth of the water seemed to reflect the content of the two. It was as if they were already living together, in their own little humble abode, where the two did as they wished. Y/N drew soap bubble art on his chest, silly, cute doodles. Rayne, as promised, helped clean her up and they both had a nice, long, much needed shower.

“All done,” Rayne said, as he finally finished drying her hair with the towel.

“Thanks, babe,” she smiled cheerily, feeling very satisfied with the extra amount of attention she was getting.

“I’m merely giving you all the love you deserve, bunny” he simply said, taking the ends of her soft hair, kissing it tenderly, receiving another blush from Y/N.

“It’s illegal to be this smooth,” she mumbled, turning her head away from Rayne.

Her comment resulted in Rayne's soft laughter. That's right, this was the special dynamic they had. They were right where they wanted to be.

[saintgoths]

i have an idea ever since you posted ellie and rose, how about a crossover of rose in the TLOU but instead of the magical attributes she has how about her being immune just like ellie? can they have a romantic crush as well please?

anon you have done so much damage to me! i hope i didnt take too long writing this i just wanted a good imagine between the both of them. my asks are still open for imagines until i continue posting chapters of a song of thorns once again!

PECULIAR AFFINITY

WORD COUNT - 2,202

RATING - G [JUST FLUFF, BONDING AND ANGST, ALSO ROSE WINTERS MEETING SOMEONE LIKE HER BUT IN A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE].

It’s been about three weeks since Rose Winters has moved into the society of Jackson and in the start, she hadn’t really found the appeal to hang around with anyone and mostly kept to herself. Aside from her distant state, the girl was conveyed to be kind, respectful and graceful no matter how much she tried to blend in the crowd, her appearance still struck the attention of a specific trio.

Like other members in Jackson, the three observed that she was one to herself, so they didn’t try and bother her, but they wouldn’t have minded it if Rose came up to them in the time period, she felt most comfortable in. Yet, Jesse, who was the only male in the trio, was the one who had the assurance and fortitude to come up to Rose; he always made sure he greeted her during the morning and bid her a goodbye during the night.

Had complimented the fingerless black gloves she would always wear, Jesse would also make a mental note that it was something she never took off, had theorised that maybe Rose thought it went really well with her outfit. Rose normally wore an olive-green jacket with a dark grey dip hoodie beneath, with blue distressed skinny jeans with a pair of white height top sneakers. The girl was never seen without her black baseball cap as well and from time to time she held a notebook that appeared jittery.

Uprightly, it appealed to her appearance, Jesse couldn’t deny that Rose was truly a pretty girl, with her blonde hair and light-coloured eyes, Rose wasn’t an individual you could overlook, as much as she didn’t want to, she stood out.

“Good night, Rose,” Jesse once again welcomed, Rose hadn’t seen Jesse throughout the entire day, and if Rose was being upright, Jesse was the only friend Rose had right now, justly, it was a fault of hers since she didn’t really make the effort to interact with others.

“Hi Jesse,” Rose attentively greeted the tall man, her smile wide and cordial, inquisitive to whatever Jesse had to say. Whenever the two met up, Jesse would usually talk her ear off before they parted ways, Rose actually liked the fact that she didn’t have to be the first one to begin the friendship between her and Jesse, prior, it would usually be her and the bonds wouldn’t last for long.

“There’s a party going on right now, I’d like for you to come,” he genially requested with a generous and noble appearance on his face that restrained Rose to say no.

How could she say no? Jesse had been so kind to her for her to accept the invitation was the least she could do. Although her face expression was unsure, she shrugged her shoulders and arms in approval, “why not.”

Contended, Jesse patted her head, delighted and blithe of her endorsement. “I knew I could count on you!”

Thankful that Jesse didn’t leave Rose’s side when he brought her to where the rest were. Even though majority of them greeted her they carried on to what they were doing before she entered the atmosphere, the ones that were mainly receptive and accessible to Rose were Jesse’s closest friends Ellie and Dina, two gorgeous open-minded women, friendly and communicative. Well, the most communicative one was Dina, Ellie said a couple of words ere she resumed drinking from her plastic cup.

“Oh, by the way this is Ellie’s eighteenth birthday party,” Jesse briskly mentioned with an insightful and impish look on his face while Ellie lightly groaned in comedic disdain for the man.

“My birthday doesn’t really matter, but you two still threw a party anyways,” Ellie muttered, aside from her evident ache of the event, she was still grateful that her friends were thoughtful enough to do this.

Quiet, Rose watched the trio speak and annoy each other, heartfelt, Rose had thought what it would have been like if she was in a friendship group like them.

“Why do you wear those gloves all the time?” Dina curiously questioned, surely not in a manner to make Rose feel uncomfortable, Dina’s stance was more inquisitive to Rose’s rather attachment to the pair of fabric.

It grew hushed between the group and Rose awkwardly looked at her fingerless gloves anteriorly she looked at Dina. “I just like wearing them,” Rose languidly replied, ostensibly not wanting to speak more about them.

The three were keen enough to observe that Rose was put off by Dina’s question, Jesse curved to look at Ellie in hopes to save the graceless conversation. “Ellie, how about you take Rose to get some drinks?”

Able and gaffed, Ellie pushed herself off the tall table prepared to direct Rose to where the beverages were. “I’ll apologise for Dina, she doesn’t mean it in a rude way when she asked about your gloves and all, Dina is a cool person,” Ellie gracelessly atoned during the moment they strolled down the premises.

“It’s okay, I can tell that Dina’s a nice person and she didn’t mean it that way,” Rose briefly glanced down at the pair of fabric that capped majority of Rose’s hands.

“Nice gloves though,” Ellie shortly complimented.

Beholden and contended, Rose graciously simpered at the auburn-haired girl. “Thank you, and happy birthday by the way.”

“Appreciate it,” Ellie genially breathed as she reached for a drink for the blonde-haired girl. When she passed the bottled beverage to Rose, she took another one for herself, the new citizen hummed a thanks before she started to drink the brew, the two women stood in the same spot in comfortable silence, possibly the muteness was there because they didn’t know what to talk about, Ellie had thought it would have been precise if the two had known each other earlier but it could be conveyed that the freckled girl was too shy to make a move considering Rose always seemed like she wanted to be on her own.

“The moment you came into Jackson, I wanted to speak to you but it seemed like you just wanted to be on your own.” Ellie aimlessly mentioned.

Rose courteously smiled. “Well, in the beginning I did want to be left alone, so you got that right.”

Ellie gently laughed through her nose at Rose’s comment, her drink close to her chest while the loud noises of teenagers sprayed the room. Ellie took a brief look at the comers of her surprise birthday party and looked back at Rose with a suggestive look on her face. “Do you want to talk outside?” She neighbourly suggested to the new girl who benevolently beckoned her head in agreement.

Ellie with conviction led Rose outside the building, her tattooed arm hastily caught the attention to the Winters girl, a recognisable imprint and blemish stunning the capped girl, to Rose it was evident that Ellie had tried to use the permanent ink to mask the scar. Yet the imprint was far too detectable for Rose to overlook it.

“We had a bonfire before we went inside,” Ellie gingerly conveyed to the girl as she led Rose to the large logs they could sit on and get comfortable. “Everyone was actually too scared to come up to you when you first came,” Ellie gently laughed as she remembered the comments people would make of Rose, they weren’t negative, the comments were oriented about how unapproachable and mysterious she seemed.

“Well, I didn’t think my resting face was that bad,” Rose replied evidently humoured, “I guess my face was the main thing that stopped me from having friends, I guess.”

Ellie peered at Rose contrite and apologetic. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, you’re not ugly---”

“I know what you mean, don’t worry, Ellie,” Rose giggled at Ellie’s sorrowful demeanour as she placed her thumb over the opening of her bottle and rested her chin against the back of her hand. Thoughtful of the blemish on Ellie’s arm occurred in her head. “For a long time, I’ve always wanted to meet someone who was just like me,” Rose tenderly muttered, somewhat warmly contended that someone shared the same issue as her.

Confused, Ellie gazed at Rose who gently gestured to the tattooed area on Ellie’s skin, immediately caught onto what the new girl implied about, the auburn-haired girl eyes widened, taken aback and surprised. Speechless, Ellie rested on the large log, stunned that she has met someone just like her.

Ellie didn’t know if she should laugh or cry, yet she loudly exhaled in an emotional consolation and release. She covered her face with her free hand during the moment she pulled herself together as Rose watched Ellie gently break down, moreover, the crack Ellie got herself together, she curved to look at Rose who had an understanding expression on her face, comprehensive on how tiring it was to be different and to hide a part of herself from the world. “Where’s your bite?”

As she sat up straight, Rose peered and examined the atmosphere to make sure that no one was there to see them. When the light-haired girl was sure that they were safe, she gently, pulled off the fingerless glove that capped and masked the blemish that was imprinted on the meat of her thumb that spread to her palm. “I got the bite a year ago, when I was sent to look for supplies for the group I was in, it was a Stalker that got me. I was so scared for what was going to happen to me.”

“When I came back with the supplies, I countlessly apologised to the group, I remember my mouth went numb and sore due to the number of times I said I was sorry, looking back at the way I reacted it was quite stupid,” Rose scoffed at herself at reminiscence of the day, “but I think there would’ve been numerous of people who would’ve apologised for being stupid enough to get bitten.”

Saddened by her words, Ellie patiently watched and listened to Rose during the time period she charitably explained about her experience. “Yet, I was sorry for my mother and I was sorry for my already deceased dad who sacrificed so much for me.”

“And what did they do?” Ellie’s voice was gentle but tousled, her face inquisitive and impertinent to Rose’s story.

Rose looked over at Ellie, her smile short but genuine, grateful for what her previous group had suggested for her but also grateful for Ellie’s listening ear. “They said that when they notice me changing they will mercifully kill me, it was the only thing they could do. To protect themselves, their children and all,” Rose sheepishly replied, “and then nothing happened, but the bite was healing, we were all confused, as days progressed, three days, five days, a week, a month, three months, five…” she shook her head mildly surprised she was still here. “But nothing happened.”

“On the other hand, the only thing that changed were that everyone I knew died.”

Rose had mentioned that it was her mother who had knitted fingerless gloves Rose had always worn, the girl had slipped back the mitten to cap her left hand once again whilst Ellie had conveyed, she had somewhat been through the same thing, but in Ellie’s tale, she wasn’t looking for supplies and just wanted to play with her friend Riley for one last time.

“We were in a mall full of infected, I don’t know what we were thinking, but we were living our best lives before everything happened.”

Exchanging the composure and diligence Ellie had shared for her and calmly listened to Ellie’s narrative.

“To watch everyone, you loved die around you because of a bite, and you outliving those who’ve barely lived their life, outliving those who were alive before the infection took over, despite the fact that you have the same infection that killed almost every single person you have known, it gets exhausting, and I feel guilty and remorseful, like I—I don’t deserve to be here.”

“I’m still waiting for my turn,” Rose softly commented, she shared the same guilt and remorse Ellie had felt for years, the same emotions and conscience Ellie had retained.

Ellie tenderly laughed at Rose. “I once said the same thing to someone,” the freckled girl conveyed. “I’m still waiting for it to overtake me.”

“Then together, we should wait it out,” Rose smiled, “grow paranoid due to expecting the infection to take control of us even if it could take decades or more.”

Ellie laughed once more ere she swallowed the liquor from her bottle. Once she finished her sip, she focused on the blonde girl who gently simpered at her behaviour. “I don’t mind waiting out with you, for decades or more.”

Rose’s gracious beam grew in content and of satisfaction of the additional fresh pact she had made with Ellie, moved and enthusiastic about the future experiences she would share with the woman who shared the peculiar affinity with her.

Comfortable in each other’s presence, the two resumed and talked each other’s ears off until they flame from the bonfire finally settled and perished.

thank you to those who have made it to the end! liking, commenting, reblogging or following would be much appreciated! my asks are open for more imagines/oneshots about TLOU characters before i resume posting a song of thorns! i dont mind doing more crossovers but i would happily do it if it involve other characters i know.

magneticsiren

♆

[tomonari-nue]

Maki and Mai for the ask game??

am finally awake and lucid so here we go

Maki

favorite thing about them

the fact that we hardly ever see Maki doubt herself. like in any other shonen anime she'd be constantly questioning herself, but Maki just fucking refuses to even ENTERTAIN the thought of her not being strong enough. she knows she can do it. she knows bc she wants to, HAS to bc if she succeeds it wouldnt be just a victory for her but also for Mai.

least favorite thing about them

how little her interactions with Mai are – my heart just hurts not seeing them spend more time together, even if they're being hissy towards each other

favorite line

["Don't you have a heart?"] "No. It was taken from me."

brOTP

Maki & Mai, im so upset, im so upset, they really CARED!! also Maki & Inumaki & Panda – 2nd Year Trio!!

OTP

a tie between Nobamaki and YuutaMaki!!

nOTP

i once saw a post lamenting that Maki & Mai were twins and like. none of you can ever be normal about siblings. i hate it here.

random headcanon

She really had it all planned out, you know? When she becomes clan head – she had it all planned out. The changes, the new rules and a whole new accommodation for Mai. She thought about it all, she catalogued various things with Mai in her mind. She had it all planned out to give her twin the best life she could ever want.

unpopular opinion

Maki slaughtering the Zenin Clan was the dramatic overhaul and change the whole system needed to signify that their ways were outdated – they didnt learn their fucking lesson with Toji, so they made another monster of their own making in the form of Maki.

song i associate with them

Why Don't You Cry by WILLOW

favorite picture of them

scroll down to Mai bc its a joint pic that makes me want to lie down and never get up ever again

Mai

favorite thing about them

Mai not being demonized or ostracized by her peers for desiring a peaceful, normal life. like. that feels so significant for me bc the jujutsu world prides itself in being powerful and skillful but Mai? Mai just wants a good life, just a good little life of peace and some sense of normalcy. and even Maki, despite gunning for the Clean Head, she understands what Mai desires the most. and its very sad and touching.

least favorite thing about them

when she used Yuuji's death to taunt Megumi and Nobara lmao that was ROUGH. but also, not much of her, but how she's constantly written off as the bitchy sister and not seen as the severely traumatized and scared teenager she is who feels like she's been abandoned by her sister.

favorite line

"Destroy everything. Everything, big sister."

brOTP

Mai & Maki, LOOK I JUST WANT THEM TO BE CLOSE OKAY IM SO UPSET, UPSET UPSET!!! Mai & Todo bc its a classic Mean Lesbian & Himbo combo. which brings me to my crack BROTP; Mai & Yuuji.

OTP

MomoMai bc its v sweet or NobaMai for the WLW Hostility.

nOTP

Mai and literally any guy – she just has too many lesbian vibes for me.

random headcanon

She shares a love for weapons with her sister. She a big fan of all kinds of knives from all over the world – she just finds the different forms fascinating. Guns are also a big interest of hers; she can name literally any gun you put in front of her and disassemble it just as skillfully. Todo thinks her extensive knife collection fucks hard.

unpopular opinion

Mai's death was the gentlest one by far in the entire series. i don't think it came out of nowhere or was for shock-value; the lore of the story did predict that twins were usually a bad omen, reinforced by Mai's confirmation that her and Maki were supposed to be the same person to achieve full strength. Mai had always been so scared of the world and her sacrifice was her leap of faith bc she really believed her sister was made for something bigger than the entire clan could ever predict. from all the characters who died so far, Mai got the softest, most heartfelt good-bye in the entire series; it was gentle and tragic and somewhat felt inevitable.

song i associate with them

Butterfly by UMI

favorite picture of them

i am in so much pain

(ask me about my opinions on the jjk characters!)

[halcyonstorm]

Hey! I hope you're well. I started watching AOT and realized that levihan was a ship. And after reading the manga Ive come to the conclusion that they were more than friends if not just friends. Mostly because I saw Levi act with Isabella, a friend and a sister of sorts even Farlan. But with Hange he was just different. And thats what made me feel maybe it really was something more. He was a different Levi with her. All the teasing and the overprotectiveness, the unnecessary sass and hostility sometimes, but that makes me wonder WHY? Why was he like this towards her? And when was the moment he fell for her or decided to befriend her that way that yes I will tease this person from now on. At first I thought its because of how they met maybe but their first meeting was so sweet. Hange seemed impressed by him and he even thanked her for her compliments. I didnt think their interaction would lead to something like this. So what are your thoughts because I wonder alot on this. Also can someon pls tell me why Levi looks at her that way in aot 4 when hange meets the kids with him and says if they dont understand us we'll meet them and teach them. Like. What happened? Thank you !

Hi! I am well, thanks! And thank you for leaving me an ask! I always appreciate hearing what people have to say. I’m gonna try my best to answer your question without going on any tangents lol (but I can’t promise I won’t). This is going to be long.

Mostly because I saw Levi act with Isabella, a friend and a sister of sorts even Farlan. But with Hange he was just different. And thats what made me feel maybe it really was something more.

I 100% agree with this. When I read the manga and watched the anime, I thought maybe Isabel was a love interest (AT FIRST). When I realized she would call him “aniki” (brother) and the way he acted around her (patting her head), I knew there was a different relationship between Isabel and Levi. He saw her as a little sister and was always trying to avoid his two friends from getting into trouble. That’s why he decided for all of them to join the SC after all.

But with Hange he was just different. And thats what made me feel maybe it really was something more. He was a different Levi with her. All the teasing and the overprotectiveness, the unnecessary sass and hostility sometimes, but that makes me wonder WHY? Why was he like this towards her?

I think that the reason Levi had always acted different with her than anyone else was because of their first interaction. It was not in the anime but it WAS in the manga where Hange approaches the trio saying “I was watching you at that crucial moment!” (Not to mention the chapter Hange appears for the first time is called “Hearts” and in 139 we see “...hearts” over her head). At this point, Levi, Farlan, and Isabel were ready to kill Hange since they thought she found out about their plan to kill Erwin. What actually happened was she had seen how cool they all were and wanted to pay them a compliment. Ever since that trio left the underground, Hange was the first person to show them kindness. I don’t think this is something Levi would forget or take lightly. If it were me, I’d definitely remember that moment. I know there is a post somewhere comparing how Levi looked at Hange for the first time vs how he admired the nature outside the walls for the first time. After Farlan and Isabel died, who did he have? Practically no one. It’s my own HC but I’d like to think that Hange stuck by his side. Levi and Hange both have lost so many comrades that they found solace in each other. They bonded through grief I suppose. Also, I think Levi was intrigued by Hange’s personality. Their personalities complement each other: Hange is extroverted, loud, messy; Levi is introverted, quiet, reserved, clean.

When I first saw them, I definitely felt some romantic attraction of sorts. We eventually learn he is a clean freak, yet he has no issue grabbing her hair (which probably was greasy and unclean). Also, I believe that wasn’t in the manga and Isym requested it be added? I can be wrong with that, but I think that if there was nothing planned for their relationship, he wouldn’t have requested it. From the second I saw them, they reminded me of an old married couple. The way they bickered and how Hange never felt threatened by him.

One of my favorite scenes is when Hange enters the room that Levi’s squad is in at the castle.

E: Oh, I’m not sure if I have the authority to help you.

H: Levi, what is Eren doing tomorrow?

L: Cleaning the courtyard.

H: Okay! It’s settled!

See how she doesn’t ask permission? See how Levi doesn’t retaliate? If it were anyone else, I’m sure that 1) someone wouldn't ask that and 2) Levi wouldn’t have responded that way. We have seen all throughout the anime and manga that he usually goes along with whatever she wants to do. Remember in the OVA where Levi grabs her and yells at her? She doesn’t retaliate from his tone either. She SMILES at him. Why? Because he is expressing concern for her. He is showing he cares about her (also he’s grabbing her and bringing her close again). Eventually at the end of the OVA, we see how Levi tells Hange that Erwin agreed to capture titans for experimenting.

And when was the moment he fell for her or decided to befriend her that way that yes I will tease this person from now on… Also can someon pls tell me why Levi looks at her that way in aot 4 when hange meets the kids with him and says if they dont understand us we'll meet them and teach them. Like. What happened? Thank you !

I am not sure if there was a specific moment, but I do believe it definitely developed over time. One specific moment is the one you mentioned later on in your message, “If you don’t know something, go figure it out. Isn’t that what the Survey Corps is all about?” Levi looks at Hange almost in a surprised manner. In my biased LH eyes, it shows that Hange really is a brilliant and wonderful Commander, and Levi is appreciating her and her intelligence. In reality, it is most likely because it is something similar to what Erwin would have said as Commander. In all seriousness, her statement is entirely true. I think we can all learn from and use that statement in our everyday lives. But I think that in this moment, he possibly starts to realize how much he admires the Commander. We can also see Hange taking her own advice in chapter 126? 127? Where she forms the alliance with Pieck. She is not sure how to stop the Rumbling, so she goes to figure out how she can by talking with Pieck. As it turns out, she is successful in forming the alliance.

Overall, I think that Hange and Levi complement each other perfectly. Even if you aren’t looking too deep, I think their relationship is quite obvious. I mean… why would you ask someone to live with you if you didn’t care for them or even love them? I think that this is one of the points that other shippers bring up to break up LH (how L dislikes H or vice versa). Levi didn’t reject her. If Isym wanted him to reject her, he would’ve made him say something similar to Erwin’s “Give up on your dreams and die” statement when Erwin stated his selfish dream and was willing to sacrifice all of humanity for his selfish desire. Hange told him while he was unconscious and “not listening”, and he didn’t reject her. He says “if we run and hide, what will that get us?” and “I know you aren’t able to stay out of the action” when he sees her building the cart. We also see Levi “confess” or “respond” in 132 to Hange’s statement in 126. “Dedicate your heart”?? OMG Do not get me started on that lol.

Getting back on track, the pair is almost always together in the anime. They’re together in the manga panels when they don’t have to be. They don’t even need to speak actual words to communicate. They are the sun and moon, two wings of a bird. Levi is almost always looking at Hange in the official fanarts. We know from the smartpass AU’s that Hange says “he is a good guy” and “he doesn’t say what he means.” That’s why I think they use nicknames frequently. Four-eyes could be seen as an endearing comment coming from him. Also, Levi making Hange chocolates in the Junior High manga?!?!! Oh, yeah, its definitely to shut her up.

Im sorry for the huge tangent but I hope some of this answered your question. I enjoy reading the levihan analysis’ from other blogs. Thank you for reading if you did read this far. Have a good day/afternoon/night <3

[betawooper]

Your thoughts on the canonical kny pairings? (The main trio, uzui's polycule, Obanai + Mitsuri and Hakuji + Koyuki)

warning ahead of time that there will be ship hate, just like look away if you dont like that stuff lol

(by main trio, im assuming you mean tanjirou with kanao, zenitsu with nezuko, and inosuke with aoi so we're gonna go with that assumption)

before i actually get started, i will say i generally dont like how gotouge writes romance if they arent established beforehand (like parents), and even then there couldve been more complexity and nuance behind such decisions, the romance is just so weak compared to their ability to write sibling dynamics

with that in mind

tanjirou and kanao - ugh, i dont like it at all, the fact that this was pretty much kanao's whole deal until the douma fight was abhorrent and every time i see kanao getting all flustered around tanjirou i lose 10 years of my life. it feels out of character and i hate that every time i see kanao interacting with him i see nothing but it being used as ship fuel and not a genuine exploration of their dynamic

they also have nothing in common and nothing to bond over, and their dynamic is not fun at all, i really dont see how both fans and gotouge genuinely think theyd make a good couple, its literally "shes a girl, hes a boy, can i make it more obvious"

-

zenitsu and nezuko - ughhhhhhhh

i mentioned at some point that this ship brought the worst out of canon zenitsu, and i still hold up to that, it literally ruined whatever emotional maturity he acquired in infinity fortress. then theres the fact that canon nezuko has essentially regressed to a toddler so theres the weirdness from that + she is really in no position to return his affections when she also has no agency over her actions

its the same thing with tanjirou and kanao where they also have nothing in common and nothing to bond over and their dynamic is not fun at all and its just "shes a girl, hes a boy, whoop-dee-stinking-do"

-

inosuke and aoi - gotouge put them together bc theyre both blue-coded huh? (/s) like thats it, that is all theyve got going, they have nothing

-

uzui's polycule - now this is where it gets a little better (kinda), i like how every one of the characters have distinct personalities and they play off each other in a fun way

i do have two complaints: one is that this relationship is a big reason why i think gotouge is not good at writing romance, bc even if they know how to write the four in an entertaining way, i dont sense any romantic love in their interactions. well, theres uzui and hinatsuru, but even thats reaching

second, makio apparently being a distant cousin of uzui is just wtf, idk why gotouge felt the need to add that at all, way to ruin a perfectly good relationship with a completely unnecessary and gross factoid when they could have just not done that

-

obanai and mitsuri - i actually really like this ship, just not the way gotouge handled it. theres so much potential for them to understand each other's struggles with their self image but all they actually got were moments about obanai being a creepy overprotective bastard over her, and mitsuri going "awww hes my knight and im a princess!" like girl,,,,,,

canon obamitsu, cringe

rewrite obamitsu, based

-

hakuji and koyuki - literally like the only relationship gotouge didnt screw over or fuck up, you can tell the two love each other a lot and thats what makes the tragedy later on so heartwrenching. koyuki and keizo representing hakuji's capacity to love and find hope and meaning in a cruel world and having them dying is just like, damn, cant believe this is in the same manga where zenitsu got jealous over sanemi patting nezuko on the head

-

tldr; main trio pairings are ass, canon obamitsu is wack, uzui polycule is okay just has a few issues, and hakuji and koyuki is the best ship in this story, no question

[bunkernine]

hoo was so fucking strange because that idea that the gods shouldn't be involved kept getting pushed, yet literally most of the things that happened to fulfill the prophecy were because gods got involved? it was jump-started with hera switching jason and percy, nevermind her messing with jason and leo's lives prior to this nor pluto's pushing to not go to alaska ultimately made marie susceptible to the influence to go to alaska. the lost trios quest revolved around saving hera, but the son trios quest had to save thanatos. it's freaking aphrodite of all people who alludes that the villain is gaea, while it's aeolus who gives leo the argo 2 drawing again. and like, it's questionable as to what this lead to eventually but nemesis gave leo that stupid fortune cookie to worry about, but leo also had to make sure frank wasn't gonna kill him cause frank had both ares and mars in his head. but regardless, annabeth had some strange side quest to do for athena's sake (????), but then they fall in tartarus and hazel visits hecate to get a power up? leo gets blasted away to calypso? nico meets cupid for a wizard stick? even in tartarus, percy and annabeth rely on bob the titan, but also a fallen hermes shrine for food? and then it's nike who's the one to even suggest the physicians cure plan, like leo didnt have a CLUE what that was until she mentioned it, and then apollo artemis asclepius and some other randos are there at there to confirm and help with this plan that leo didn't even come up with, but like, literally all of this is just so ????

like here's the thing: how can the gods not help be involved, when they are so entwined with moving the plot forward that without them, nothing would happen? and beyond that hole, it is incredibly alarming how much the gods really do use their children as pawns. like, the mark of athena quest makes this pretty clear, but also? they are not constrained to the time and form and power of demigods. they allow children to fight for them, yet believe they have the right to pick favorites and boast champions? the gods are doing most of the work and planning, but shed no blood at the end of the day. luke kinda was right (he was wrong, but he was right)... and this is literally SO STUPID considering half of the people the seven met are just like "yeah, the gods and magic fucked up my life". the seven really should've just said bitch me too????

like, i keep coming back to how none of that physicians cure plan was ever really leo's. maybe he wouldn't have died? maybe jason would've died instead? maybe frank or hazel or percy or annabeth or all of the above? hoo was so weird for that "the gods don't interact with demigods"???? HUH???? why was nemesis sharing her chinese food order with them??? hera was basically living with jason, and ares and nike literally WAS???? apollo gets punished cause octavian was a little too kill-happy, but zeus, my man, ur whole extended family had the seven on speed-dial??? all in all bro, if the gods just paid their child support and stayed in this magic cloud penthouse or whatever, the plot and outcome of hoo would've been entirely different

[moash]

i am curious to hear the other directions u didnt like about row! u have good takes ♥️

aaaaaaa thank you, idk honestly, my brain wheels are just sort of spinning tonight about different things. row for me was probably the weakest book of the series, just organizationally there was a lot going on and characters disappeared for a long time and then by the time they showed up again you had lost the forward momentum for their arc. i saw a review of row that also mentioned that none of the original main trio (kaladin, shallan, dalinar) actually really did much that was plot important. the stuff w kaladin in the tower, much of what he did didn’t actually change much, shallan didn’t really actually help adolin in the trial he plot was personal, and dalinar... well like dalinar did basically nothing except that one bit at the end where he went to see ishar and ishar was like “follow me for a plot thread for the next book ;)” thinking about dalinar especially, like we’ve talked before about how following ob dalinar in row is so colossally disappointing. i also saw a post recently about how cool it would have been if moash had had a scene where he saw what venli was doing for the singers, and acknowledged it without turning her in, bc it would fit w his character so far, and help round him out a little. and i was struck by just like.... yea.

it also doesn’t help that i have a friend who’s reading wok rn and texting me updates, and she got to the chapter where dalinar is digging the latrine (one of my favorites!!) and this is something she and i have talked a lot about wrt our dnd games, but like when he says “if they had the technology to make shardblades, why didn’t they make shard-tools to help the common people? why are there only weapons?” and it’s like that whole idea of like how do we get out of a mindset of thinking only about war and violence, and move to thinking about how we can build and make life easier. i just feel like that idea hasn’t been carried through as much as i hoped when i first read it, and being reminded of it today reminded me of where dalinar is at now and so on and so on.

also also i’m working on this fic and it’s a moash redemption arc right, but the more i get into the more i’m like, ok well so i do think there’s going to be a moash redemption arc in canon (brandon sanderson do not interact) but i bet it’s just gonna be like, so regret self-flagellating, you know? which is a mindset i (catholic) am trying to get out of more and more in my writing. i don’t think he should feel too bad about killing elhokar or roshone, but to be clear, the other stuff in row is fair game.

idk!!! im just sort of thinking about the book, and like. i think i would like to reread ob and row back to back, bc in my head there’s so much disconnect between where we left the characters in ob and where they started in row, part of that is the time skip, part of that is the way i marathoned the first three books and then had to wait for row to come out, but idk there’s just thoughts bouncing around!!!! that post about lirin was good, honestly i didn’t really know what lesson we were supposed to get out of those kaladin and lirin scenes. i’d like to reread w more of a focus on those things.

[baebeyza]

Saw a post saying everything after ID/W1 is aggressively heterosexual...

What came after ID/W1?

ID/W2, Cybervers/e, WF/C and Rb/a?

I didnt watch Rb/a so I cannot talk about that, but I watched cybervers/e and WF/C and I can say that those two shows have nothing "aggressively" hetero about it.

NOTE: If there are other comics apart from ID/W2 that came out after 2018/9, forgive me for not mentioning them, I am not up to date with them)

Cybervers/e:

There is no romance in this show. None. Nothing. No implied kissing, not romantic thoughts.

Windblad/e and Bee, who have the most showcased relationship, are not romantic.

Any other shown female&male relationship is not romantic. Grimloc/k and Arce/e, Shadowstrike/r and Prow/l, Chromi/a and Percy- NOT romantic.

And there are female&female relationships as well - Windblad/e&Chromi/a, Windblad/e&Slipstrea/m or Alpha Strik/e&Skywar/p, for example

There aint nothing romantic and therefore nothing hetero about Cybervers/e, which came after ID/W1.

Lets go to WFC:

Optimu/s and Elit/a are implied to be romantically involved. That's it. Implied!

They never kiss, they never call each other their romantic partner, nothing. Their interactions with each other simply imply they are really close and care for one another deeply.

But nothing about them is explicitely romantic.

And really?

Being pissed about them even having an implied romantic relationship is insulting, because both of them have stories and arcs that have nothing to do with each other!

Optimu/s has to right the wrong he has done and get over his massive guilt, and Elit/a is currently the leader on Cybertro/n, making her own difficult decisions and trying to reason with Megatro/n in her own way.

There is nothing hetero about Elit/a giving Megatro/n the chance to join her side and save Cybertro/n together.

Implying they are "aggressively heterosexual" and that its "bad" because of that tells me that some people didn't watch the show or don't care to comprehend what happens in it.

ID/W2

I admit I didnt read this, but I have close friends who do so this information is theirs and not mine: Arce*e/Greenligh*t is a thing! Cyclonu/s has a dead male lover!

ID/W2 also has a big cast of female characters overall, more than anything else that came before it.

Last but not least: Everything that came before it

Another thing about that post that annoyed me is the wording, paraphrased "Anything after ID/W1 is sooo hetero."

Have you seen anything that came before ID/W1???

G/1: 5 named female characters and 4 of them are romantically involved with another male character (But maybe my memory is wacky and Alpha Trio*n/Bet*a was a thing as well, who knows)

Head/masters: Arce/e has gone from warrior to secretary, also seen as a love interest (which is shown in the manga) Vict/ory: One female robot character and her role is "girlfriend"

Beas/t Wars: Two female characters and both are romantically involved with male characters

Beas/t Wars II: One female character and entire role is about a love triangle

BW Ne/o: No female robot characters Ri/D01: No female robot characters Arm/ada: No robot female characters Ene/rgon: One female robot and she has an origin story to why she exists. There is also the "pervy old man" trope with Bulkhea/d slapping the butt of an unnamed female medic Cybe/rtron: One female robot in the original japanese who is a femme fatal and in love with any male robot who is super strong - the second female character was changed from male to female

ID/ fucking W1: Its retconned, but don't forget that Arce/e's original origin story was fucked up and insulting! And, as far as I can tell (correct me if I am wrong) is the only female character in phase 1.

I list these not because I hate these shows or what they did - I do love most of these shows, I love the romance in Beas/t Wars and I also love Cybe/rtron's Thunderblas/t. But I have to explicitely say that the shows after ID/W1 are faring much better than what came before in terms of "heterosexual-ness" and female characters in general!

ID/W1 itself, as a whole, has it's own problems that the stuff after it doesn't have!

If I had to choose between the two stupid origin stories for Arce/e to exist, I would choose Energo/n's before ID/W1's.

Just because it's retconned, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[lieblxng]

im developing a lot of aus including the reverse au which is currently only available for rose, but leon also has it developed, i just forgot to put it in the verses page for him haha but wow im developing a reverse verse for a chara i dont have??? i might as well throw damos on the blog and be the only person in the pkmn rpc who plays him LMAO i cant help falling for obscure characters but i think he might have a better chance in getting interactions than my etrian odyssey muses but no if anyone wants to do damos,,,,you can hmu 😳😳 i cant reply it or see it if you do tho LMAOO

anyway reverse!damos here who goes by lazarus (meaning: my god has aided me) is not a nice farmer unlike his normal verse, instead being akin to a mercenary, but he kinda fills in the role of marcus - he has the ability to manipulate the hearts of pokemon, even legendaries and because of this, he’s been fiddling with legendaries and experimenting with things to try something out - and while reverse!arceus has been severely weakened from an intense fight or a meteorite too (im still figuring it out) and lost its life plates, lazarus finds it. it’s on the brink of dying, and instead of returning the plates like a nice person, lazarus only thinks of profit and benefitting himself - because it’s so vulnerable, it manipulates reverse!phae into summoning the lake guardians, where it promptly fights them and steals their gems before kicking them into the dirt. then he uses said gems to restraint and fully take control of reverse!phae before inserting the plates back into it, saying it will only get them back if it corporates. yes, lazarus literally pulls a cyrus being the first one to actually create a draft of the red chains to have arceus under its command. one of cyrus’ pc posts is “According to myths, the Pokémon created Sinnoh with its power. However, capturing the Pokémon with a Poké Ball prevents it from using its full power... But with the Red Chain, the Pokémon can be shackled, and its power can be used without restraint...” and he’s implying arceus with the first mention of pokemon, so maybe the red chains can be used on god??? i dont see why not, although the lake guardian was made more to check the creation trio than god itself, but why wouldn’t you have checks against god? “The Pokémon of the lakes and Mt. Coronet are somehow connected. Capturing the Pokémon of the lakes will free the Pokémon of Mt. Coronet. From the Pokémon of the lakes, crystals can be extracted to create a Red Chain.” i know he implies the creation trio with pkmn of mt. coronet but technically arceus lives in mt. coronet as the hall of origins can be summoned there LEMME HAVE THIS - 

originally i was going to have reverse!arceus be a completely neutral god, both in personality and how it handled things - just create life, casually, and just head out and do nothing for them - “the humans can handle their planet however they wish to. if they destroy it, they destroy it.” and i was trying to redesign it and it kept coming up as punk (more below because this is a long ass post)

so i was like, aight i guess i’ll go with what my heart wants but something still didnt feel right, because punk is an expression more than just a simple fashion statement - it was created to rebel against those who tried to hold you down and mold you into who they wanted you to be. to defy the shitty standards of what’s supposedly normal. and then it all clicked when i looked at this vid 

ive heard the music itself and one of my favs, but not the music video so i kinda just exploded with ideas and it really completed the punk i wanted to go with - funny thing, im a bad character designer so i scrapped the punk look and pulled a unique thing with phae’s case - legendaries and mythics are statements of unchanging, fixated ways while normal, evolvable pokemon are statements of improvement and change - growth, which is something phae is completely jealous of. gods don’t evolve; they don’t change. so i thought, why not keep its original look (i love it too much anyway and i cant think of anything better tbh for phae) to reflect that aspect but have the way it governs and behaves different? normal!phae and reverse!phae are still similar but opposite - normal being the kind, caring god and reverse being the relentless, uncaring god. both are the two most popular aspects and themes of gods and how they treat those beneath them, so i thought it worked.

reverse!phae never wanted to be a god. it’s immature and uncaring on purpose to get the attention of the creator of the original one itself; to be a sign of rebel, to show that it was its own character and no one can morph it into what they want it to be. it revels in its creations screaming in pain, as nothing else entertains it so and because it empathizes with them. it sends the world into pure chaos a majority of time so no one enjoys living. seeing its creations, both human and pokemon, excel in the trials and tribulations of this hell; seeing them perform so expertly under extreme stress, how humans and pokemon can come together and defeat anythin - and rebelling in their own right and way give reverse!phae so much hope and relief. that it’ll be able to do the same. and once reverse!phae does get its creators attention, you bet it’s gonna be very angry on why it exists. it might even try to murk its creator. it’s more of a “i didn’t ask to be born so i’m gonna make it your problem” type of person, and a god prone to violence - often fighting with its own creations, like even the lake trio and the creation trio. but it checks them all every time, and it’s so hungry for an actual fight that reverse!phae can actually work for and struggle for and feel like it actually won. and that’s when lazarus comes in. that’s where lazarus comes in.

how much it hates lazarus. how much it hates lazarus. it hates everyone, but lazarus has a special kind of hatred reserved just for him. in fact, hatred isn’t the proper word to explain the intense, raw, unfiltered feelings reverse!phae has for him. on one hand, it absolutely respects the honest work he puts in to further himself, but on the other hand, being the one on the receiving end of his malicious intentions is never ideal. it has no interest in whatever petty crimes he wants to commit, but trying to take god and become it yourself? completely admirable. a fantastic way to rebel, but having to have someone chain you down and control you? reverse!phae’s worst nightmare. i’ll get into that later since this is already long enough god help me

is reverse!phae messed up? yes, severely. that’s kinda what happens when you rot alone in the depths of dark space for eons. no human nor pokemon - no, no living being can ever handle that. both normal! and reverse!phae have the same backstory, but different reactions to it. reverse!phae wants everyone to scream and lash out, it wants everyone to rebel against their origins and become their own people, even with the immense baggage on their shoulders. it wants everyone to risk death to accomplish their dreams. it laughs in everyone's faces before spitting in them. i think reverse!phae will be one of my most violent takes on a muse, if not, my most since it is god and the shit it talks can easily be proven right. it constantly berates and breaks people down into pieces. no one understands it. it hates everyone and everything it sees. it doesn’t need love and kindness, it just needs a body to break. which is untrue, because obviously its yearning for love and kindness - something its never experienced - and it’s lashing out for attention. secretly hoping someone will just hug it and all its problems away. that everything will be okay in the grand scheme of things. that it won’t have to have the unlimited stress of being a god anymore.

usually when i put my touch on muses, canon or not, they’re primarily good people with hearts of gold. even with ones less so, they’re not as intense as this. so working with that kind of character is thrilling and i’m excited to see if i can get anyone interested with it lmao- reverse!phae’s name might be nou or chali, what would be better? sorry this was such a long post!! i’ve been working on this since last night and it’s been really fun to develop like this again - i only get this kind of productive with my hyperfixations, so they’re both a blessing and a curse -  i think this is everything i have rn for the reverse au but ii’ll be going back into it

[wreckofawriter]

1/2 Could I have a HP golden trio ship? My name is Stacy, I am a woman, and I am straight. My house is Slytherin, but I personally identify as a hufflepuff! I’m 5’4, a little on the curvy side, I have longe blonde hair and I wear black round glasses. Due to mental health issues, I tend to feel my emotions much more intensely than most. I love to take care of people and am super understanding, but my downfall is I don’t care for myself in the same way. I am very witty and love to laugh.

I ship you with...

Fred Weasley!

He never noticed you before

You unfortunately noticed him, he was after all one of the Weasley twins and therefore impossible to miss

You fell in love with the older twin at age 13 before you could stop yourself

You didnt even bother pursuing the helpless crush you knew he didnt know you existed

Fred tended to see all green robes as one giant evil one so you were merely another face amongst the bag guys

He first interacted with you in fourth year when you missed throwing a snowball at one of your friends and hit him instead

He was prepared to cuss at who ever was responsible when snow melted down his back but then he turned around and was met with you cowering behind one of your freinds who was laughing her head off

He just smiled and waved at you laughing a bit

You damn near passed out

Your freind was loosing her mind

Fred being the flirt that he was made his way over to you and attempting a flirtatious banter

It was quite one sided as you stumbled to even say your name

Fred thought your were completely adorable

When he saw you sitting at a table full of green he damn near spit out his pumpkin juice

"Shes SLYTHERIN!?"

Fred was not sure how to cope with this information, you seemd so sweet and cute

He immediately set out to crush his affection towards you

He did this the only way he knew how, pranks

His plan did not end how he had intended

Much to his disappointment seeing anters sprout from your head brought him absolutely no joy or pleasure

Instead he felt like a peice of shit

Especially when he saw tears begin to prick your eyes, magnified by you adorable glasses

The feeling of shit didnt go away

So instead he swallowed his pride and apologized

You only smile and say it's fine and that its no big deal

Your friends told a different story

For some reason the shit feeling still doesn't go away

He starts watching you in classes, unsure what hes feeling

He realizes hes gone to far when he starts following your around

You notice his eyes on you, his footsteps trailing after you, you try to brush it off but its driving you insane

How are you possibly supposed to focus when you can feel Fred boring holes in the back of your head?

You finally confront him about it and Fred isnt quite sure what to say, he doesn't know why hes following you, he also doesnt know why he stares at you

You politely ask him to stop before leaving

Finally fred gets so desperate he does something he would never imagine doing in a billion years

He asks Ginny for help

"You obviously have a thing for her."

"I do not!"

"Your such a moron sometimes."

"Shes a Slytherin!"

"So? What would you do if she wasnt?"

And the truth quickly came to him

The next day he asked you out and you had been elated

He quickly begins to realise how little the color of your robes actually mean

You become one of the most important things in his life

He shows off in his quidditch matches

You pester him to study more constantly tell him that staying up so late isnt good for him

Fred notices almost immediately that you are constantly breaking your own rules

He then begins to force you to do the same things you force him

"Go to bed, you can finish that essay later."

"Drink more water, you will get dizzy again."

"You need to take a break, let's go get food."

Fred is willing to beat up anyone who messes with you

He still cant believe that for someone who seems so quiet and sweet you throw around witty comebacks like confetti

Never been more amazed by someone

Steals your glasses all the time

Refuses to let you put yourself down

Will shower you in complements

Doesnt care where you are or who you are with, if you start to look sad or angry he will come straight up to you and kiss you

Almost always makes you feel better

Holds your hand constantly, refuses to let go when hes feeling clingy

Always make you feel better to be yourself

[lemongogo]

Im glad im not the only one who dislikes the new main trio. Like, i love every single one of them, but i feel like they just don't work together?? Idk their interactions are kinda off, i can't get invested. I miss the original trio, their friendship was one of my favorite things of the series

sry i didnt respond sooner but yeah!! i really really enjoy exploring bakugou, todoroki, and midoriya’s characters individually, but when you place them together i feel like everything falls apart. i know the point of their incongruity is to work towards a future in which they learn proper teamwork and trust but ?? wheres the fun if they’re constantly butting heads. i REALLY enjoyed the dynamic between the og big three (nejire, mirio, and tamaki), because they’ve built their relationship on mutual respect and support. they’ve been able to rise to the top because they’re so in-tuned to how one another is feeling, thinking, doing, that they work seamlessly together. they push and inspire each other to work harder and it’s a rly good set up they have going !!

but instead i feel like our main three is kinda just there because they have “strongest” quirks and the most competitive spirit. which i mean. it’s not terrible, but it’s kind of bland imo. i can understand having a focus on the “top” 3, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to replace the original trio. like you said, i really value the friendship between ochaco, midoriya, and iida, and that was partly why midoriya’s relationship to iida through stain and kamino has been SO interesting. plus, i feel like ochaco’s character growth has been indefinitely shelved because of her redefined role as the love interest, and i really miss her. having her back in the original trio would allow her involvement to increase soo much. plus like. their personalities are so interesting and i love the way they interact and work together aa when was the last time we had a genuine interaction between iida and ochaco ;_;

[taki118]

So I read the summary for the Birds of Prey movie......I’m mad

Look I was never really hyped for the untitled Harley Quinn movie when it was announced but I kept my ear open. Then we got the info that’d itd be an ensemble movie and I was like oh good Harley is stronger with other characters and agreed with the idea that it’d be Gotham Sirens....then it was revealed it was actually going to be called Birds of prey and I knew one of two things would happen 1 it would just use the name and have very little to do with the Birds of Prey team or 2 it would make me mad. I hadn’t heard much for a while then I saw a new poster today and said why not see if a summary is out?

and it made me want to scream

So this might seem like a fine premise. Unless you’re a fan of Barbara Gordon!

The main trio of the Birds of Prey are Black Canary, Huntress and BARBARA GORDON either as Batgirl or Oracle. Not only that but Cassandra Cain was the second batgirl aka the protege to Babs (until the new 52 screwed with it).

Look this reads as it is now like a Barbara Gordon story, NOT a Harley Quinn one. Not to mention the fact that Harley has never been on the Birds of Prey team as far as I can remember. It’s like they had a Barbara movie and went “Nah we’ll just shove Harley Quinn in she’s more marketable”

And this wouldnt be so insulting if Barbara and Batgirl weren’t constantly pushed to the side in media, but she/they are. Plus it seems like they are just in name only-ing Cassandra Cain which is again (if thats what they’re doing) super insulting. 

Now again I could be wrong (i’m probably not but I could be) we could have a characterizations that feel right (even if the costume designs make me want to scream)

(Could you REALLY not give Huntress purple accents or let Canary have her Bomber jacket?! REALLY?!) 

They COULD have it that Babs is playing puppet master  and have it revealed she set everything up for the team as Oracle at the end, but lets be real they probably wont. 

Look all I’m saying is that I’m mad as hell as Barbara Gordon and Batgirls fan that they are putting Harley Quinn

- At the front of BARBARA’s Team (if she didnt start the Birds of Prey she was often the leader) - Interacting with BARBARA’s most iconic teamates (Save the Batfam) - Protecting a character who is typically BARBARA’s protege (fuck you new 52) - Keeping Gotham safe while Batman is away a role BARBARA (and the rest of the Batfam) fills in comics

Again I wont say anything really bad until the movie actually comes out and I see what they do but this does not bode well for me or any other fan of Barbara Gordon. 

UPDATE!

Just saw the trailer and have been proven right even further (NOT THAT I WANT TO BE)

- Cass not only speaks but doesnt know anything about combat showing she could have been any random kid but they wanted the name drop - Harley and Cass seem to have a mentor/big sis dynamic going on - Harley appears to be the one not only leading but STARTING the group - The back and forth Harley and what I’m assuming is Canary have is VERY reminisent of the kind Canary and Babs have in comics - And the whole message of stepping out of the shadows of the men in your life ohhhhh you know i feel like i’ve read this before or saw it somewhere gee its on the tip of my tounge there was this red head with a dad who tried to stop her from putting herself in danger like him and had this fellow hero who always out shown her but I just cant seem to remember her name......much like these movie producers

Look I could care less that this doesnt seem to be taking insperation from any Harley Quinn comics or that cannocially neither she nor any of the other characters have ever had these aesthetics (though not sure how you can have a character called Black Mask and have him not wear a mask)  What I DO care about is how fucking obvious this is a Barabara Gordon story just given a Harley Quinn makeover. That a character who is seen a marketable is being used in place of one that hasn’t been so much as name dropped in the mainstream outside of the Lego movie EVEN THOUGH she’s exisited longer.

[jojotier]

lil masterpost of some of my favorite golden trio interactions that ive written vfkjv

seriously if you’re a fic writer and you haven’t tried to write these three interacting, I suggest you try. at least once. Seriously, writing them always leaves a smile on my face...

Some more that were so long that I decided to like, at least put it under the cut to save everyone the space and breathing room:

~~

“He’s a cute guy- always wondered what it’d have been like to meet him, you know, take him out somewhere fancy…” Shiraishi wiggled his eyebrows and Asirpa nigh instantaneously appeared to smack him over his bald head with a wooden spoon. “Hey-! What’d I say?!”

“Don’t be weird, Shiraishi!” Asirpa huffed, wagging the spoon in her hand. “Or else we’re going to have to crack your egg head over a pot and have you for breakfast!”

Shiraishi whined, “Mannnn why are you two always bullying me?! I’m the oldest! If anyone should be bullying anyone, it should be me bullying someone!!”

“But you won’t! Because you know what’s good for you,” Sugimoto teased, pouring himself and Shiraishi a cup of coffee.

Asirpa said from her place beside Shiraishi, “Pour me a cup too! Black, please.”

Sugimoto felt a sudden, terrified shiver run down his spine. “... Are you sure about that, Asirpa? That’s… this is a really bitter brand, so-”

“Black,” Asirpa repeated, slowly raising her spoon. She tapped it on her other hand, eyes blazing. Sugimoto felt sweat drip down the back of his neck. “What is it, Sugimoto? Do you not think I can handle it, Sugimoto? Do you think I’m too much of a child? Sugimoto? Well? Are you saying little Asirpa is too much of a baby to handle coffee in its natural state? Sugimoto, are you saying-”

“Alright, alright! I’m pouring you some now…” Sugimoto said, pouring her some of the coffee while trying to bite back a laugh.

Shiraishi’s eyes widened in vague awe. “Man… black? I thought you’ve never had coffee before,”

“That’s because I never have.” Asirpa nodded, moving back to the little kitchenette to take the cup from Sugimoto. “ Huci never bought it much, and my aca used to say that it was too weak to even bother with. Watching you two load it down with sugar and cream, and knowing Sugimoto has a weak tongue-”

“Hey-!” Sugimoto said, slightly offended.

“- I’ve decided that it can’t be bitter at all. You’re both just weak.” Asirpa declared, before taking a giant, ill-advised gulp of her coffee. Shiraishi started to say something, but it caught in his throat, leaving him to just make a weird noise like a dying whale. Asirpa stood stock still for a second, black coffee dripping a little onto the corner of her mouth, as she took a shaky swallow. She looked up at Sugimoto, tears in her slightly squinted eyes as she tried to give a smile that didn’t look like she was in immense pain. “S. See. Not. Bitter at all,”

Sugimoto bust out laughing, trying to rein it in a bit because maybe it was a bit of an asshole thing, to laugh at a kid, but even still… it was pretty hilarious. “Really! Really now! I see that face you’re making- you think its as bitter as we do!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!” Shiraishi joined in, laughing a bit himself.

“Do not- look,” Then Asirpa, face flushing, tried to drink the rest in a few fell gulps. A little bit of the hot, bitter drink dribbled down her chin and onto her shirt as she finished, looking like she was regretting pretty much all of her life choices. Asirpa made a face and squinted, sticking out her tongue. “Ugh… I think I burned my tongue….”

~~

“... So it’s an ugly thing that’s a pile of junk, is what you’re saying,” Shiraishi snickered a bit. “So antiquated that not even JAXA wants to knock this thing into the gravity and get it down out of this airspace!”

Asirpa’s cheeks puffed out slightly in disdain. “... I’m not giving that a response. This is still neat!!! You just have no taste.”

“Oh no, yeah, it’s pretty neat,” Shiraishi ceded, glancing back out at the station. He snickered under his breath some more. “Lots of historical significance, probably… looks like an old-timey soup can.”

Sugimoto snorted at that, a wide grin splitting over his face. “Come on, that’s mean. It looks like a tin bucket from one of those cowboy movies, at least- the ones that hold all the bullets.”

“Those buckets aren’t historically accurate- bullets weren’t really that big…” Asirpa corrected, tapping at her watch’s interface. Then, her head dipped down a bit, what stray hairs that remained free from her braid falling in her face as she bit her lip, looking absolutely goofy. “... Looks kind of like a big asinru, though…”

“Hey, look!!! Sugimoto look!!” Shiraishi leaned forward, hands gripping on the railing and feet braced against it as his face lit up. “She talks so big but she thinks that ship looks funny too!”

“It’s your fault!” Asirpa uselessly tossed one of the plastic maps at Shiraishi. It went like five centimeters, and then uselessly fwumped onto the ground with a weird sound, not unlike the sound one got when shaking out a laminated paper. Asirpa chose to ignore that. “You have me thinking of tin can shaped things-!!” Shiraishi started laughing, chest shaking a bit as his grip tightened on the railing.

Sugimoto snickered a bit, eyes crinkling at the corners, “Last I checked, only you can have yourself thinking things.”

Asirpa tried to toss a map at Sugimoto, throwing it like a frisbee to see if that would get any lift. No dice. It went an even closer distance and fluttered uselessly down, sliding away from Sugimoto entirely. Shiraishi guffawed, and before Asirpa could open her mouth, there was a solid thunk. Shiraishi yelped as he hit the ground, still slightly red-faced from laughing. He’d fallen off. Sugimoto gave a hearty laugh at that.

“See,” Asirpa said, looking at Shiraishi, “this is what you get. Karma.”

Shiraishi whined, rolling over onto his back with a pout. “Let’s just get this trespassing over with…” Both Sugimoto and Asirpa giggled a bit together.

~~

“Well, we figured since it was New Years, it’d be nice to drop by-” Sugimoto started to say before being slightly tilted off balance, shoved vaguely to the side. A second face appeared, slightly lower than Sugimoto’s face and flushed lightly. The smell of sake on this stranger’s breath nearly made Tsukishima recoil, knuckles turning white as his free hand clenched into a fist.

“Heyyyyy, Tsukihime-san!” The bald stranger grinned, head seeming to bob from side to side. “It’s so good t’ see you- great to meetcha, I’m Shiraishi Yoshitake-”

“Where’s the dog.” came a third voice, and soon a third face, belonging to a girl much shorter and younger than the two above her, peered into the gap.

“Asirpa, please,” Sugimoto laughed a little, trying to hide the smile behind his hand, “don’t make it look like that’s the only reason-!”

“But you said yourself that you wanted to pet the dog, Sugimoto,” Asirpa’s eyebrows rose as she tipped her head back, staring at the scarred man in the door.

“Well-!” Sugimoto’s face flushed a bit as well, giving a bit of a sheepish look. “I also wanted to say hi to the owner, of the dog.”

Tsukishima glanced over the three of them. It was unlikely that Sugimoto had ill intent, bringing both a drunk and a pre-teen along with him. He kept his pocket knife in his pocket and opened the door just a bit wider, looking to his impromptu guests and remembering Nugget in the living room, whining underneath the table. “Sorry. My dog doesn’t like being around a lot of people- he’s easily spooked.”

“The dog or you?” Shiraishi snickered a bit, seemingly trying to peer over Tsukishima’s shoulder into the apartment. Tsukishima reconsidered not thinking about the merits of “accidental” greeting stabs in the future. Except there wouldn’t be a future, because Tsukishima didn’t want to deal with visitors. “Noah Fence, dude, but you’re like- this super hermit! I don’t think anyone’seen you outside this apartment... Tha’s what I heard from other people-”

The girl, Asirpa, turned around and kicked Shiraishi in the shins. Sugimoto followed suit, smacking Shiraishi upside the head while glaring at him. Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed as he went to close the door anyway. “Good night, Sugimoto. Asirpa.”

“Wait! Wait,” Sugimoto shoved his hand in the door hastily, trying to fold in on himself so he could hold up a package wrapped in paper the same shade of blue and white that the headband that Asirpa wore was. Of course, the designs were much different, looking more like silver leaves and boars. That’s right- it was the year of the boar soon, wasn’t it?

“We made too much mochi and yokan,” Asirpa explained, peering up at Tsukishima.

~~

“Awww, but Asirpa~” Sugimoto gave a mock pitiful whine, pushing his lower lip out like a child. “How am I gonna give miso to Huci to go with the feast?”

“We don’t need any of your poop near our shit,” Asirpa said, turning up her nose. At that, Shiraishi lost it and rolled onto his side, chortling the entire while.

Sugimoto gave a delicate gasp. “Asirpa, language! Who taught you to say that? Did Shiraishi here rub off on you,”

“I taught myself to say it,” Asirpa stuck out her tongue, but she knew no one was being serious about it. Sugimoto wasn’t the type of person to become faint just because someone younger than him said something mildly uncouth, as she’d done many times before. Sugimoto chuckled himself, a wider grin breaking out over his face.

Soon, the laughter died down again, and Sugimoto rested his cheek harder against his hand. It wasn’t nearly as cold and oppressive as before- but there was still an odd undertone, to the quiet that surrounded them. Something left unsaid.

“Man.” Sugimoto sighed, looking wistfully at the fire, “I wish I still had my miso. We could’ve used it with dinner earlier.”

It was quiet for a few seconds more before Asirpa suddenly remembered- in her coat… She didn’t remember if she’d used the last of it before, in the meal they had outside this place, but she still reached into an innermost pocket and pulled out the small metal tin. Shuffling around to Sugimoto, she presented it to him and opened the lid, showing just the smallest trace of brown miso in a corner.

Sugimoto’s eyes widened, a happy smile coming onto his face. “Oh man-! You did keep it! I would’ve thought for sure you were gonna use it as anosoma box or something, for anything you find-”

“Oh come on, that’s so gross!” Asirpa felt her eyes burn at the mere thought of it. Or maybe they burned because she was squinting so hard it looked as if her eyes had receded back into her face flesh. Sugimoto snorted, trying to keep his giggles in as Asirpa silently worked through how to even respond to that. After a moment, her face loosened back into a more contemplative expression.

“... Besides. You liked it so much that you would try to make my poor old Huci try it- so we had to keep it for when you came back.”

[antihero-writings]

In Plain Sight –Pandora Hearts Fic for Phmonth18 Golden Trio Week – Day/Prompt 3: Friendship (Full fic)

Fic Title: In Plain Sight

Fic Synopsis: When Break hides Gilbert’s favorite Christmas ornament somewhere in the Rainsworth manor, the Golden Trio must spend the afternoon looking for it

Notes: I originally wrote this for the prompt “Ornaments” in an alphabetical Christmas prompt list my friends and I did last year. However, nobody got to read it last year, and since I didn’t get the chance to write anything for the first week of phmonth18, I wanted to at least post something, and decided this worked well for the Golden Trio! Especially since Christmas is fast approaching. I think it works best for the day 3 prompt: Friendship. I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing this, and am rather proud of how it turned out! I would really appreciate it if you left a comment to let me know if you enjoyed it!

I posted the entire thing here, but you can also read this on Ao3. It’s under the same title, by I_prefer_the_term_antihero

P.S. This is a repost of an old fic!

Fic:

“You’re the tallest, Gil, you should put the star on top!”

“Ooh! It looks yummy! Like a big cookie!”

“It’s not a cookie, Stupid Rabbit!”

It was a few days before Christmas, and the trio was at the Rainsworth manor. Finally, everything was ready for the holiday; a fire was dancing in its place, the stockings were all lined up on the mantle, and they had just put the finishing touches on the tree. The only one who hadn’t been informed about the festive season, was the sky outside; it had been raining for the past few weeks. There was a chill in the air, it was frosty, but snow hadn’t quite come yet. Still, they made the most of their time indoors.

“Perfect!” Oz exclaimed.

Oz Vessalius was the fifteen-year-old heir to the Vessalius dukedom, but after his escape from the Abyss that year, when he wasn’t off on adventures, and missions, he spent most of his time at the Rainsworth’s.

“It’s so pretty, Onii-chan!”

On account of the ten-year gap, Oz’s sister, Ada, was older than Oz now, but, no matter what, she would never stop seeing him as her older brother. She was on Christmas break from Lutwidge Academy, and more than happy to spend it at the Rainsworths, with her brother. She had, of course, brought her two cats—Snowdrop and Kitty—with her, (which Gilbert maintained a healthy distance from, due to his phobia of cats).

“The Rainsworths will have the best-decorated tree in town!”

Oscar, their uncle, was spending the afternoon with his niece and nephew too. He was a bearded, bespectacled man, with the same blonde hair and green eyes as the rest of his family. At the moment, he was sitting on one of the couches, with a cup what he called ‘tea’, but which the rest of them guessed probably had something stronger in it.

“I can’t take all the credit, Gil and Alice helped a little,” Oz joked.

“‘A little!’”

Gilbert was Oz’s servant; a dark-haired man, who often appeared cold and reserved, but who was rather sensitive, and a worrywart. He still sometimes acted as though they were only a year apart in age too, despite the fact that he was now ten years older than his master.

“Yeah, manservant!” Alice challenged, “More like we did all the work!”

“I was just teasing!”

“Well,” Sharon had a way of returning things to order with her calm and proper words, “you all did a wonderful job.”

Sharon was the heiress to the Rainsworth dukedom, and looked like a thirteen-year-old girl, though was really in her twenties or thirties—(they knew better than to ask her exact age). Her chestnut hair was usually tied back into a kind of half-ponytail, and, as always, she outmatched them all on style points; today it was with a dress of a wintery blue that looked as if she was trying to encourage the snow to fall. As per usual, she held a cup of tea in one hand—peppermint, she had informed them, for the Christmas season—and a pastry in the other. She was sitting at a small round table on the other side of the room, with Reim—duke Barma’s bespectacled, hard working, servant, who spent more time at the Rainsworth’s than anywhere else, with his two best friends—Sharon and Break.

“Well, I’m beat,” Alice stretched and yawned, “Seaweed-head, when are you going to make me some meat?”

Most Chains (creatures from the Abyss) didn’t look like Alice did; like a fourteen-year-old girl, with floor length brown hair, and an almost cat-like physique—(though it was a giant rabbit she often turned into). Also unlike other illegally contracted Chains, she did not have a thirst for human blood, although she did have a particular love for meat, as well as almost anything edible.

“I suppose I can make you something, now that we’ve finished,” Gil sighed.

“Oh? Have you now?” they turned to see Sharon’s servant, Xerxes Break, grinning as he poured himself another cup of tea. “Are you sure nothing’s…” he leaned back against the table, “missing?”

Break was a red-eyed, white-haired man, also much older than he looked. Even those close to him would say he was a bit of an acquired taste; his love for teasing, the creepy doll on his shoulder, and his general lack of regard for other people and their feelings, made it difficult for those subject to his mischiefs—such as Gilbert—to acquire any kind of affection for him.

Gilbert froze, turning his head slowly to the tree. His eyes immediately found the empty space where a certain ornament had been.

“Break!” he shouted, spinning back to him, “Must you do this every year?!”

“Let an old man have his fun.” Break grinned.

“I believe he must, Gilbert-sama,” Sharon answered Gilbert’s question, nonchalantly taking a sip of tea before continuing, “It has become something of a tradition.”

“I should have spent Christmas with he Nightrays this year,” Gilbert grumbled, reluctance in his motions as he began to pick up books, and other objects around the room, as if searching.

“You’re so mean,” Break chided playfully, then spoke a little more seriously, knowing Gilbert had no intentions of spending much time with his adoptive family, and real brother, “You’d rather spend Christmas with the sewer rat, than us?”

Gil gave him a death glare.

“Sorry…but what’s a tradition?” Oz asked, turning to Sharon and Break.

He wouldn’t admit it, but sometimes, especially with things like this, the ten-year gap could make Oz feel like an outsider.

“Every year Break takes Gilbert-sama’s favorite ornament,” Sharon explained, “And hides it somewhere in the manor.”

“Ooh! That sounds like fun!”

“It’s not fun, Oz!” Gilbert hollered at his master, “It’s a waste of a perfectly good afternoon! Not to mention annoying, and rude!”

Break laughed. Gil had yet to learn his outrageous reactions were what made this sort of thing so fun for the prankster.

“Don’t worry, Gil!” Ada bounded up to him, “I’ll help you look!”

Gilbert flushed, “T-Thank you.”

“What does it look like, Gil?” Ada asked.

He looked at Oz, then turned back to Ada, and explained it quietly enough that only she could hear.

She nodded, beaming, and began to look in a different part of the room.

“What’s the matter, Gil?”—Gil gasped as his master appeared suddenly at his other side—“You don’t want me to know what it is?” Oz’s laugh faded into a more puzzled expression when Gil averted his eyes, turning redder.

“It’s a secret, Onii-chan!” Ada answered for him, “You’ll see when we find it!”

He didn’t get the chance to ask anything more, because Alice broke in, having been observing all their interactions,

“Does…Does this mean I won’t get my meat?”

“Uh huh,” Gilbert sighed, “That’s exactly what it means.”

“No! I will not allow it!” Alice shook her head, and whirled around on Break, pointing at him in an accusatory manner, “Clown! Return Seaweed-head’s stupid ornament his instant!”

“It’s not stupid, Stupid Rabbit!”

“Aren’t you a spoilsport?” The Mad Hatter teased, then the doll on his shoulder, Emily, finished,

“Why should I listen to some dumb bunny?”

Alice growled, her hands clenching into fists. She spun to Gilbert, declaring as she ran up to him,

“Then I won’t rest until I find that ornament! With the great Alice-sama on your side, you cannot fail!”

“Sure you won’t just get in the way?”

She kicked him in the shin, then crossed her arms, “You’d be lost without me, Seaweed-head.”

“Don’t kick me, Stupid rabbit!” he rubbed his leg, “Now go look for it over there!” he stamped his injured foot back down and pointed to the opposite corner of the room, (to which she quickly ran, proceeding to tear her designated space apart in a matter of seconds.)

“Is this ornament really all that important, Gil? I mean, we have lots of—”

“Yes!” he answered before his master could finish, “it is!”

Oz sighed, knowing how attached his servant could get to things, “Alright. So…is us helping against the rules?” he asked, watching Alice destroy the room in search of it, Ada calmly remove things, and put them back where they were meant to go, and Gil as a mix of the two.

“Don’t you think we would have stopped them if it was, Oz-kun?”

Sharon shook her head, “It doesn’t matter who finds it, watching him search is the fun part.” Her mischievous side was showing; most of the time she was this prim and proper lady, but being close to Break had its effects.

“That’s right; the more people searching, the funnier it is when they can’t find it,” Break sang. “Though, tell me, Ojousama,” he turned to his mistress “are you merely saying that because you wagered he’d find it early—before 18:00?” he asked knowingly, sitting up on the table—(Reim gave him a look that could only be interpreted as: can-you act-any-less-like-a-servant?)

They turned to the clock—it was 15:00.

“Why do you want to know, Break?” his mistress asked with a tone of false interest, “Are you afraid your skills as a prankster have gone down with age?” she patted her mouth innocently with a napkin.

“What do you take me for, Ojousama?” he smirked, crossing his legs, narrowing his eyes at Gilbert, “He’ll need all the help he can get.”

Gilbert returned to him an even more murderous look.

“You… betted on this?”

“All part of the tradition, Oz-kun,” Break mentioned, stealing a mini pastry from Reim’s plate—(the incense was more than evident on Reim’s face, and probably why Break did it).

“It’s not money we wagered, though; If I win, Break has to swear off sweets over Christmas—as well as make me a lavish dessert full of those sweet things he can’t have. And if Break wins, I have to buy him an equally lavish amount of extra Christmas candy and sweets.”

“Nice! Break, I didn’t know you could bake!”

“He really can’t,” Sharon chuckled, “But it’s fun to see what he comes up with.”

Break glared at her.

“So… is this how you bet every year?”

“Sometimes it’s different. But it’s usually something to the effect of giving Break a taste of his own medicine…Though I seem to recall one year, I wanted Break to do this dance I had heard of in a book, if he lost. I believe it was called ‘Futterwacken.’”

“That’s a weird name for a dance!” Oz laughed, “So? How did that go?

“I suppose it is,” she smiled, “That was one of the tamer punishments, but, when he did lose, he refused—rather blatantly.”

“Really?!” he turned to Break.

“How many times must I tell you? I have no talent for dancing.”

“Truly, as a servant of the Rainsworth Dukedom, it would be better fitting that you learned,” she shook her head, then turned back to Oz, “Anyway, after that, we thought the chance to take away his candy was rather enjoyable.”

“Aw, I want to join the bet!”

Gilbert looked affronted, but before he could speak, Oz continued, boyish excitement simmering in his tone,

“Say, what if, if Break loses, I get to eat his candy instead?!”

Sharon and Break glanced at each other.

“Let me ask you something, Oz-kun;” Break set down his tea, “Are you willing to risk the consequences of such a wager?”

“Ehh…consequences?”

“Why of course. I couldn’t give little Oz-kun the chance of stealing my candy without the proper torment in store if he lost.”

“Eh…” Oz knew just how mean Break could get, and that this could very well turn into a prank war that ended in actual blood, “I think I’ll pass.”

“I always said you were smarter than you looked,” the Mad Hatter picked up his tea again.

“Maybe you could join in by helping me look, instead of encouraging them, Oz!” Gilbert whirled on him.

“Aww, do I have to?” the fifteen-year-old groaned.

“Oz!”

Oz turned to the masterminds, as if silently asking for them to give him an excuse not to.

“Hey, Oz-kun is sharp,” Break began, then Emily added,

“Probably smarter than these three put together!”

—two of the aforementioned three gave him what can only be described as ‘fight-me’ faces, and Ada looked disheartened—Break took no notice, and finished,

“So that depends; whose side are you on?”

“Well,” Oz thought for a moment, then mused, grinning, “it would be fun to see Break trying to swear of candy!”

“Is that so?” Break’s eye narrowed.

“In any case, why isn’t Reim-san helping?” he shifted the focus. “You’re not the kind of person to sit back while others are in trouble”

Reim sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “While that may be true, these two are often harsher with me, than others. If I help you, I have a feeling I shall pay for it in some way later,” he shot them an icy look, “dearly.”

“Whatever do you mean, Reim-san?” Sharon asked innocently. “We thought you enjoyed our company.”

“Yeah, it’s only because you’re our favorite, Reim-san,” Break gave a fake sappy voice.

“Then pick a new favorite!”

“That’s not how it works! You have a lifetime guarantee!”

“Sharon,” it was Ada who spoke. She had been focused on searching on the mantelpiece, and inside the stockings, “Why are there nine stockings?”

“What do you mean, Ada?” Oz asked, stepping over to her.

“Well, I was just thinking; there’s me, Onii-chan, Uncle, and Alice,”—Alice looked annoyed at Ada mentioning her name—“since we’re staying here for Christmas,” she pointed at each of the stockings in turn, “and these belong to Sharon-sama, Break, Duchess Rainsworth-sama, and Reim-san, right? But who does this last one belong to?” she held the bottom of the last one, careful not to pull it off the mantle.

They turned to Break and Sharon, who glanced at each other, their mischievous grins fading into more somber, reminiscent expressions.

“It was Break’s idea,” Sharon answered.

“Well, I can’t take all the credit—“

“It’s for my mother…That has become something of a tradition as well. We just thought it would be nice, to have something to remember her by during the Christmas season.”

The tone in the room quieted; the rest of them knew that Shelly was Sharon’s mother, who had died sometime after Oz’s coming of age ceremony.

“That’s…actually really sweet,” Oz noted, “Break, I’m surprised you thought of it!”

“You think you’re cute, don’t you? And you say that like I’m cruel.”

“Well…” Oz rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously, trying to formulate a non- insulting answer in his mind.

“I think what Oz is trying to say,” Reim started out gently, then finished harshly, “Is that it’s high time you realized you can be a jerk, Xerxes!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say jerk’…” Oz began.

“I would,” Gil mumbled.

“My…I cant believe that you all….” Break began softly, then Emily jeered,

“Just figured that out now!”

The anger was evident on all of their faces.

“Really, why are you all ganging up on me,” Break grinned, without a hint of hurt in his voice, “when you should be focusing on the task at hand?”

“Because it’s your fault we’re in this mess!” Gilbert shouted, then ran his hand frustratedly through his hair, observing the mess they had made of the room, before demanding, “Is it in this room?!”

“Given up already, have you?” Emily teased.

Gilbert clenched his hands into fists, biting back a retort.

“Did anyone see him leave the room?!”

Everyone looked at Gilbert blankly, or up at the ceiling, trying to think if they had, realizing they had no idea, and knew full well Sharon could have used Eques to transport him when their backs were turned anyways. Gilbert put his hands on his hips, sighing at their silence “Alright. We have a whole manor to look through, it’s best we move on from this room,” he paused, turning again to Break, with malice in his eyes, “Right?”

“Sure, kiddo!” Emily replied, and he gave the fakest grin yet.

Gilbert gritted his teeth, then shook his head, directing them,

“Let’s split up; Ada, you go down the left hall, Stupid Rabbit, you take the right. I’ll go downstairs.”

“I won’t let you down, Seaweed-Head!” Alice sped down the hall, not even searching, as if she had forgotten the task she’d been given.

Ada nodded, “Come on, Snowdrop, Kitty!” she called to her cats.

Oz sighed, “Alright, fine. I’ll help too.”

Gilbert smiled, about to thank him, when Oz added,

“But I expect to be rewarded for my troubles!”

His servant rolled his eyes.

“I kinda need to know what it looks like, though, don’t I, Gil? You seemed to want to keep it a secret earlier.”

“You’ll…um….You’ll know it when you see it,” Gilbert looked anywhere but at his master.

Oz sighed, putting his hands on his hips, “Really? That kinda makes things harder, you know.”

“Oh, not up to the challenge, are you Oz-kun?” Break goaded.

“No, no, I can do it! I just feel like we’re not addressing a key part of the puzzle here!”

With that Gilbert pulled him out of the room and into the search.

Gilbert was right; it did seem like a bit of a waste of an afternoon; exhausting wasn’t the only word that came to mind after rifling through each room one by one, with no clue as to where it might be. Especially because the feeling began growing in them that Gilbert was way too attached to things, as well as that Break was, indeed, a jerk. They didn’t know how much time had passed before they met up again in the hall, everyone hanging their heads in shame and disappointment.

“What should we do?” Ada asked quietly.

“We can’t let the clowny bastard win!” Alice slammed a fist into her other palm to emphasize her point.

“That’s right!” Gilbert agreed, “For years I had to put up with his constant teasing, it’s high time we got him back!”

“I don’t think losing the bet is really going to make him stop. I mean, he’s lost before, right?”

“You don’t have to be so blunt about it!” Gilbert complained.

“Sorry,” Oz shrugged.

In the moment of silence that followed, Ada’s cat started rubbing against Oz’s leg, as if trying to comfort him.

“What do you think, Snowdrop?” Oz asked jokingly, picking up his sister’s cat, (Gilbert eyed it, a whine developing in his throat, scooching away), “Do you have any idea where it is?”

Oz gasped.

“What is it, Onii-chan?”

Tied into the cat’s collar was a ribbon, attached to a little ornament. He pulled it free and placed the cat on the floor (it meowed and padded away).

The other three gasped in turn, leaning in to get a better look at it.

“That bastard!” Gilbert slammed his fist into the wall behind him. “He knew I wouldn’t go near your cats!”

“Yeah,” Oz laughed, “leave it to Break to take the cheap shot.”

“What are we waiting for?!” Alice demanded, “Didn’t I just say we can’t let the clowny bastard win!”

“You’re right!” the others said together, and bolted down the hall.

“We found it!” Oz held the ornament high, like a trophy, as they burst through the door.

At the same moment that he held up the evidence, the hour chimed.

They each glanced at each other, then at the clock, which read exactly 18:00.

“My, my, isn’t this an interesting turn of events?” Break remarked, stretching, “It looks like it’s a tie, Ojousama.”

“It would appear,” Sharon smiled “In that case, would you please excuse me for a moment?” she gathered her dress and hurried out of the room.

“So, which one of you found it?” Break asked, walking over to them.

“I did.”

The prankster smirked, “What did I tell you?” he ruffled Oz’s hair, “Oz-kun’s sharp.”

“So… what does that mean about your wagers?” Oz tried to put his hair right. “Since you tied?”

“Just a moment Oz-kun,” he put his hand on Oz’s head, his sleeve falling over his eyes, and looked over their heads

Sharon quickly did return, a little out of breath, holding a small package wrapped in a ribbon.

“Here you are, Break!” she held it out for him.

He took it from her and unwrapped it, opening the little red box to reveal that it was filled with the the candy she had promised.

“Just the thing I needed” he patted her head, unwrapping a piece and tossing it into his mouth. “Better luck next time, Ojousama,”

Oz and Alice stared at him, open-mouthed, dumbstruck that he had beat them.

“Now I suppose I should get started on that dessert of yours,” he waited until the proper moment to add.

“Please do.”

“Huh?” Oz and Alice asked simultaneously.

“Since we tied,” Sharon spoke, as they both turned to them, “we both win.”

“So…does that mean the clown still has to swear off candy?” Alice asked hopefully.

“No—Unfortunately,” Sharon added, glancing at her servant, who rolled his eyes, eating another piece, “We both get the rewards of the wager, but no one gets the punishment.”

“More in the Christmas spirit, wouldn’t you agree, Ojousama?” he said between candy crunches.

“Since when do you care about ‘Christmas spirit’?!” Gilbert demanded.

“Better luck next year, I guess,” Oz tried to put a positive spin on it.

“Next year?!” Alice fumed, “I want to settle this now!” (Gilbert held Alice by the neck of her jacket.)

“Believe me,” Reim grunted, eyeing Break, “it’ll only end worse for you,”

“Who knows?” Break shrugged, “There may not be a next year, Oz-kun.”

Alice continued to seethe while the others glanced at each other, unsure of how to respond to such a statement.

“There you go again,” Reim scolded. “You can’t just mention something like that!”

Break dismissed him with a wave of his hand, chuckling to himself, and muttering something about his uptightness, as he made his way down the hall to the kitchens.

After Break left, Oz looked down at his hand, opening his fingers to reveal the little clay, painted oddity he was still holding. Alice came behind him and looked over his shoulder at it.

“What…is it?”

“You didn’t know what you were looking for?!” Gilbert questioned.

“Because you never told me, Seaweed-head!”

Gilbert looked away, clearly wanting to bite back, but without argument with which to do so.

Oz shook his head, staring at it. It was rather crudely made, ineptly painted. But he couldn’t mistake it for anything else—and Gil had been right, he did know it when he saw it.

Because he was the one who made it.

“I can’t believe you kept this, Gil.”

Gilbert looked away, nodding and turning red.

Now he understood why Gilbert was so intent on getting it back. This ornament had probably become a symbol to Gilbert—much like Shelly’s stocking on the mantelpiece was for Break and Sharon—for Oz himself. This ornament, through the years, had probably become tied to his faithful valet’s unending hope that his master would come back. Each year Break took it, as if teasing that perhaps he wouldn’t (and, maybe this was his roundabout way of him trying to prepare him for that), but Gilbert always got it back, as if displaying that he would never lose that hope.

“Oy! What is it?!” Alice demanded again, upset her ‘manservant’ wasn’t focusing all his attention on her.

“It’s a bird, Alice,” Oz answered simply.

“Really, how do you figure?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look very good does it?” Oz laughed.

“Seaweed-head, why would a crappy ornament like this be your favorite?”

“Oy! You don’t see me criticizing your bad taste!”

“Bad taste?! I have impeccable taste! I eat meat every day!”

“That’s not what—”

“Its because I made it for him,” Oz answered her question quietly.

“You?” Alice laughed, slapping him on the back, “You have pretty poor skills, Oz.”

“Give me a break! I was a kid!”

Oscar laughed, walking up to them, “You’re still a kid, Oz. Yes…I can’t remember how old he was, but he made me, Ada, and Gilbert ornaments,” he laughed a little, putting his arm around Gilbert, “I remember how offended Gil was at his master making him a gift.”

“Yeah,” Oz laughed, they all looked up at Gil, who got steadily redder the more they spoke, “We had to force him to accept it.”

“Why are you surprised he kept his, Onii-chan?” Ada asked, “Uncle and I kept ours. They’re back at the Vessalius manor. But! we could bring them over here if you want!”

“That’s okay, I believe you! Still… Like Alice said, they don’t look very good.”

“But, like you said, you were the one who made them for us,” Oscar ruffled his nephew’s hair.

“What were the ornaments you made for them, Oz?” Alice asked.

“Well, I made Ada a little cat, and uncle Oscar a camera. I didn’t really know what Gil liked, so I just made him a bird. Funny, how your chain is Raven now.”

“How come you haven’t made me one, Manservant?!” Alice hit Oz on the head.

“Hey! I’ve been busy!” he rubbed the spot where she hit him.

“In any case,” Alice turned to Gilbert, jumping quickly to the next subject, “now you can make my meat, Seaweed-head!”

“Break’s using the kitchen, Stupid Rabbit!”

“Then let’s go to the market! I’m starving!”

Gilbert sighed into his hand, “Fine. Let me get my hat and coat.”

“Can I come with you guys?” Ada asked—Alice looked peeved, but Gil and Oz had already welcomed her.

“I’ll go check if Break needs anything!” Oz ran off towards the kitchen.

As Oz arrived, he saw that Break had changed out of his white coat and purple shirt into more casual closing—likely so he wouldn’t ruin his normal outfit. He had rolled up the sleeves, and was wearing a pink apron Gil sometimes wore when he cooked for them here, but which probably belonged to Sharon’s grandmother, or mother. He had already begun to make a mess of things; flour was all over the counter, chocolate was on the walls, somehow there were even ingredients in in his hair.

“You need some help?” Oz asked, half-jokingly.

Break looked up.

“Oz-kun,” he noted, then grinned, “You? Help me? Gotten bored of Gilbert-kun, and Alice-kun already?”

“Nah. I just wanted to know if you needed anything. We’re going to the store.”

Oz knew that Break could have asked for help from the staff, or Gilbert, but Sharon called him ‘Mr. One-Man-Show’ for a reason; sure, it might not taste or look all that good, but at least he would have made it himself.

“You really think I wouldn’t have come prepared?”

“But, if you won, you wouldn’t have to make—”

Oz gasped. Realizing something:

They both had bought the supplies ahead of time. Oz thought one of them would have to go to the store, depending on who won the bet, (perhaps dragging the other begrudgingly along), but they both had already bought the necessary ingredients. Which meant, either the food one of them bought would go to waste, or be used in some other way, or, regardless of who won or lost, they still intended to give each other the gifts.

“You already had the ingredients,” Oz thought out loud. “and Sharon-chan already had your candy…”

“So?”

“I would have thought one of you would have to go to the store, depending on who won.”

“What’s your point, Oz-kun?” Break pushed his hair back.

Oz shook his head, grinning like he now had some secret information. “Break, you really are a nice guy, aren’t you?”

Break put his hand on the table, turning to him, “Wipe that cheeky grin off your face before I do it for you.”

Oz put his hands behind his back, sauntering closer.

“Oh, nothing,” he whistled, “Just that, well, you do this every year, don’t you? Sharon likes to give you a taste of your own medicine if you lose, but you both use this an excuse to give each other extra gifts, don’t you? I bet it was your idea in the first place.”

“How do you know we weren’t planning to use the supplies in some other way?”

“Because you’re not considerate enough to let others use your stuff,” he grinned, “Didn’t you just say there would be punishment in store if I got your candy?”

“Well,” he smirked at Oz’s discovery, twirling the spoon in his hand, “‘nice’ would be stretching it. But maybe occasionally I’m not a complete ‘jerk.’”

Oz grinned. That was all the confirmation he needed.

As if he were brandishing a sword, Break flicked chocolate on Oz’s face with the spoon, “Now get out of here.”

Oz rolled his eyes.

“Good luck, Break!”

With that he exited the room, and ran to the front door to catch up with Gil, Ada, and Alice, who were gathered there, waiting for him.

“Break doesn’t need anything!” he called to them, “Let’s go!”

At first it may have seemed like a waste of time, but, in the end, Oz realized; an afternoon playing a game, learning that after ten years Gil had still cherished the small gift he had once been reluctant to accept, seeing how Sharon and Break found ways to bring each other joy, spending time with his friends, spending time with his real family, would never be a waste of an afternoon for him.

[dancingkirby]

In which Bolin plays with toys and Eska fails at flirting

I’m going to have to think up a title for this story soon.  I was thinking maybe “Into Open Waters.”

“How dare she? How dare she?”

Eska paced around the room, trying her hardest to keep her voice low so as not to disturb Kinalik.  The stress of the previous sleepless night, their escape in the wee hours, the sheer physical effort required to waterbend all the way to Republic City with a toddler and luggage in tow, the energy required to interact with people in a strange place…all of it was consuming her.

She collapsed in a chair, her body shaking and angry tears streaming down her face, which made her feel all the worse; like she was no more mature than her daughter.

Did their courtiers think that the twins did not hear the snickers and whispers of “half breed?” And yesterday…they had all looked at Kinalik like she was a monster. They felt that their only option was to get her out of there.

“I was trying to explain, but she wouldn’t listen!” she moaned to her brother.  

“Perhaps she felt the same about you,” Desna offered cautiously.

“Perhaps,” Eska muttered, making an enormous effort to control her crying.  “I have no harsh feelings towards our cousin’s significant other; she is not nearly as uncouth as the others.  I was just…trying so hard not to cry in front of them that I forgot to thank her.   People only seem to care about what I do incorrectly; not what I do the appropriate way.  Yes, I know you are an exception, brother,” she hastily added to ward off his protests.  She furiously scrubbed the tears away.  

“I recommend that we go to sleep right now and ponder the matter further in the morning,” Desna said.

“Yes…that would probably be wise.”

Eska was worried that she’d have problems falling asleep like she often did in locations that weren’t home.  However, the rhythm of Kinalik’s breathing soothed her, and the trio was soon huddled together in a deep slumber.

When Eska woke up who-knows-how-late in the morning, her back was throbbing in pain.  She supposed it was to be expected with all the exercise and lifting that she did yesterday. Even attempting to roll over caused her to moan. Thankfully, Desna had already awoken, and was ready with the bowl of water. He and Eska silently healed each other, then Eska also healed Kinalik, who was uninjured but wanted to do what the grownups were doing.  It didn’t get rid of all the pain, but reduced it enough to allow her to perform the usual morning functions and help Kinalik with hers.

When they got downstairs to the breakfast room, Korra was sitting there alone.  She had finished her own meal, but there was still a pot of tea and a plate of steamed buns filled with bean paste on the table. Eska was impressed to see that they’d remembered about Kinalik’s noodles, and that the child’s chair had a pile of cushions on it in lieu of a booster seat.

“Asami’s in the shower,” Korra said in response to their unspoken query.  “She likes to fiddle around in her workshop first thing in the morning when she’s feeling upset.”

Even Eska could tell that the last few words were pointed.  “Hm,” was all she could trust herself to say in response as she grabbed a bun.

“Does she eat anything else?” Korra asked, referring to Kinalik.  That was a somewhat safer topic, at least.

“Rice. Eggs.  Apples peeled and cut to slices exactly ¼ inch thick.  Arctic hen.  Some types of fish; she seems to change her mind about exactly which types by the day,” Eska answered.  She stopped to think.  What else was there?

“We have been having modest success in getting her to eat kelp,” Desna reminded.

“Oh yes.  The first time she ate that was a triumphant occasion indeed.  And before you ask, cousin, we do give her a daily multivitamin.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Korra said quickly.  She took a sip of her tea and said, “I wonder if she’d like Narook’s?  They have a kid’s menu.”

“Is it noisy?”

“Dinner can be…lunch is usually quieter.”

“We will consider it.”

They were spared from doing further chatting for the moment by Asami entering the room, fully dressed but with a towel wrapped around her head.  Korra looked at Eska expectantly.

Eska supposed that this was her cue to apologize.   Damn it.  She’d never cared about the feelings of anyone outside of her family before.

“I’msorry,” she mumbled while looking down at her hands.  This seemed to satisfy the requirements for now.

“It’s okay,” Asami said.  “I know you must have been under a lot of stress.  Now, is this enough food for you?  We could have the cook make something hot…”

“This is sufficient,” Desna assured her.

Asami sat down as well and got her own breakfast, and apparently decided that it would be best to get right to the point.

“So…Korra said that you were concerned about Kinalik’s safety…”

“That is one way to phrase it.”

“So exactly how deep into hiding did you want to go?”

Good question.

“We hadn’t thought things through that far yet,” Desna admitted.  “All we were hoping for was to buy a few days of time to strategize. That was why we chose not to stay at a hotel.”

“Simply arriving at this destination was the main objective.  They will discover our location sooner or later, but I doubt that they would take our lives here.  Nevertheless, we should take precautions,” Eska added.

Korra and Asami stopped to think, and then Korra said, “Well, you do have one thing going for you.  You’re fairly obscure.  Probably all that most people in Republic City know about you is that you’re those creepy twins.”

Eska clenched her jaw, and willed the angry words ready to spring from her back down her throat. She didn’t want another argument to start so quickly.  Desna appeared to be having a similar struggle, but was able to state in an even tone, “We do like our privacy.”

While they had been talking, Kinalik had finished her noodles and was getting bored.

“Down!” she commanded.  Eska rose to help her off the cushions, and sat back down with her daughter in her lap.

“And that’s another thing,” Asami said.  “I didn’t even know of Kinalik’s existence until yesterday, and I don’t think Korra did either.”

“They may have mailed something,” Korra said.  “But I was kind of distracted at the time.”

“We did air a birth announcement on the radio,” Eska remarked.  Granted, it had run only once.  At 6 AM.  Neither the twins nor their advisors had wanted to call much attention to it.

“Well, anyway, if all that the general public knows about you is that you’re twins, we’d want to make you look as unalike as possible.  Plus, the weather’s much too warm right now for your regular wardrobes. We’ll need to shop for new clothes, and one of you might have to cut your hair.”

Asami looked over at Desna, but Eska quickly said, “I’ll do it.”  Desna had done so much for her; it was only fair that she should be the one to make this sacrifice.

“I have to go get the rest of my stuff this morning, but…hold on, let me write this down,” Korra said.”  She retrieved a notebook and pencil from a side table.

“Asami, could you take them downtown this afternoon?  I’ll probably want to rest, and you’re the one with the style sense. And um…I still can’t drive that well.”

“Sure, but maybe one at a time?  Whoever is after them would be looking for twins.”

“No prob. Desna, you okay with waiting until tomorrow?”

“Whatever you think is best,” Desna answered, albeit apparently with some unease about them being separated.  The twins squeezed hands under the table.

“Bolin might want to join us,” Asami remarked.  “You know how he is about makeovers.”

“Oh, yeah, whoops, I forgot about Bolin.  And we were going to do a proper introduction today.”

“I wonder…” Asami trailed off as Korra scribbled away.  

“Hm?”

“I was just thinking about how to make all this more pleasant for Kinalik.  I think I have an idea.  You go over to Air Temple Island.  I can take care of arranging things.”

“’Kay, love you.”

They kissed.  Eska was relieved.  All of the talking had been making her dizzy.

After Korra had finally departed, Asami got Eska, Desna, and Kinalik situated in the living room. Unlike the more formal parlor they’d seen on the tour yesterday, this room was stocked with comfortable furniture, which was a blessing for Eska’s back.  It was decorated with plush carpeting, wooden paneling, several paintings, and a tall bookcase in the corner.  Eska made a beeline for the latter and thumbed through the selection.

While Eska was busy with her browsing, Asami used one of the mansion’s many phones to call Bolin.

“So what do you think about coming over here shortly?  Makeovers may be involved.”

Eska could hear Bolin’s shriek of joy from clear across the room.  Asami had to hold the receiver at arm’s length until he calmed down.

“I take it that’s a yes?  Okay, what time?  Yeah, I think we can do that.  So see you…oh?  What is it?”

She listened for a few seconds, then said, “Well, I’ll ask them,” and covered the receiver with her hand.

“Eska, Desna, Bolin says that Opal wants to come meet you.  Is that okay?”

Eska was intrigued in spite of herself.  She wanted to see just what sort of powerful woman had managed to ensnare her ex’s heart.

“It is all right with me.  Desna?”

“Me as well.”

“Great!” exclaimed Asami.  She turned back to the receiver and said, “That’s a yes from both of them.  See you in a few, then?  All right.  No, Pabu had better stay at your apartment this time. Bye.”

She hung up the phone, then left the room, saying vaguely that she had to “get things ready.”

Eska, in the meantime, had found several recent issues of Republic City Style.  She had first encountered this publication in the storage room of the library back home, and knew that it was trash, but had been unable to stop reading these chronicles of uncivilized famous people and their clothing.  And it definitely wasn’t because she was jealous of them and their hedonistic lives!  No, if ever asked, she would claim that it was simply anthropological studies.

“All right, let’s see who Ginger is dating now,” she murmured as she sat down to look at the pictures with Kinalik.

“May I have one?” Desna asked.

“You may.”

They were deeply engrossed in their reading material, with occasional snorts of incredulity from the twins and squeals of “Pretty!” from Kinalik, when they heard something being hauled down the stairs and dragged into the living room.

“I found that box of t-o-y-s that I was telling you about yesterday!” Asami said as she beamed. She had removed her towel, and looked no worse for wear from the exertion.  Eska wished that she could look that put-together.

“So I was thinking that Bolin could help Kinalik look through these, and that maybe she would warm up to him more if she associated him with a positive thing like that.”

Kinalik perked up at the mention of her name.  Eska thought that this was actually a clever idea, and wished that she could have thought of that herself.

“Shall we see what is contained in here?” Eska asked Kinalik. Her daughter didn’t answer verbally, but appeared happy for the first time since they’d left the palace.

As Asami left to get some scissors with which to open the box, the doorbell rang.  The door was opened shortly thereafter, presumably by the butler…what was his name again?

“We have arrived!” Bolin announced as he bounded into the living room, followed closely behind by Opal.  “And…hey neat, what’s that?”  He gestured at the box.

Asami explained her idea to him as Kinalik removed the first item from the box: a stuffed animal in the form of a cat-owl.

“Great, sounds great!” Bolin enthused as made to sit down right next to Kinalik, then caught himself in time and picked a spot a respectful couple of feet away.

Asami had certainly never been lacking in any amusement as a child; Eska felt a twinge when she remembered how her own toys had been taken away when she wasn’t too much older than Kinalik.  There were stuffed animals of all sorts (yes, including a turtleduck and a koala otter), dolls, and Satomobile models.  Thankfully, nothing was in that box that would pose a choking hazard; Eska presumed that Kinalik was smart enough not to put toys in her mouth, but one never knew for sure.

Kinalik was insistent on doing the unpacking herself, and kept most of the toys to herself, but every so often she would shyly offer one to Bolin.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed at her latest offering of a stuffed animal that was so worn that Eska couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be.  “Do you wanna know something, Kinalik?  I don’t remember what toys I had when I was your age.  I wish I did.  So this is really as exciting for me as it is for you!”

Kinalik scrunched her nose, and either because she didn’t know how to respond or didn’t have the words, settled for “Okay.”  But she did hand over a toy truck to him.

“Oh, she’s just adorable!” said Opal, which slightly startled Eska because she’d been so focused on the scene across the room.  She was seated at the opposite end of the couch from the twins.

“Yes,” Eska answered.  She and Desna switched places so that there would be no one between Eska and Opal. Then she remembered.

“I have on my possession a copy of Kinalik’s birth certificate,” Eska stated as she took the piece of paper out of her pocket.  “It contains proof that Bolin was not being unfaithful to you.  Not with me, at least.”

Opal didn’t move to take it.

“It’s okay, I believe you.  Really,” she said.

It was just that easy?  Eska had been anticipating a more frosty reception.

“So what do you think?  Can we be friends?” Opal asked as she smiled gently.  She extended her hand, and Eska forced herself to make eye contact while tentatively reaching her arm out as well.  But she only had the nerve to brush Opal’s fingers with her own.

Just then, there was much excitement from the duo on the floor.  Having removed all of the toys from the box, they had reached the best part…the packing paper.  Kinalik reached for a particularly large piece and gleefully ripped it in half.

“That makes a cool sound, doesn’t it?” Bolin observed.

Kinalik studied the two halves in her hand, and then crumpled one up, walked over, and reached up to place it on Bolin’s head.

“Oh wow!  A hat!  Just what I always wanted!” Bolin said with all evidence of sincerity.  He tossed his head ever so slightly, and the paper fell to the floor.

“OOPS!  It fell off!  How clumsy of me!”

Kinalik looked at him, then at the paper, then back at him.  And she laughed.

This was something that even Eska herself rarely elicited from her daughter.  She wished that she could telepathically transmit to Bolin the significance of this event.  But as he glanced over it her, it seemed that he already knew to some extent.

Shortly thereafter, Korra returned, and while the servants transferred her things, Asami herded them all into the main dining room for lunch.  Evidently, Korra had informed her partner of Kinalik’s preferences, because the meal was omelets…plain for Kinalik and with vegetables for everyone else.  Kinalik actually ate most of hers, and even sampled a piece of mushroom from Eska’s plate without spitting it back out.

When that was concluded, Desna put Kinalik down for a nap while Eska ventured out into the great unknown.

For what felt like the millionth time, Eska felt the ends of her now shoulder-length hair.  It felt exceedingly strange to not have it hanging halfway down her back.

Also, the hairdresser had insisted on using hair clips to pin her bangs back.

“You have such a perfectly-proportioned forehead!” the older woman had gushed.  “And such delicate eyebrows.  Why would you ever want to cover that up?”

At least it might work as a disguise.  And Asami and Opal had wholeheartedly agreed with the stylist.  They had tried to get Bolin’s opinion as well, but he held up his pointer finger for silence.

“Please don’t disturb me.  I have attained manicure Nirvana,” he stated in an exaggerated whisper.

When Bolin had finally descended back down to Earth, they went clothes-shopping.  First they got some everyday items.  Eska was rather embarrassed that she had to wear clothing from the Juniors section due to her petite frame, but she managed to tolerate the shopping long enough to attain several new outfits.  The store had a changing room in case one wanted to wear an outfit out of the store, so Eska had changed her regular tunic and leggings for a sky-blue shirt with cap sleeves, white pants that fell just below the knee, and white sandals.  It was odd to have so much of her skin exposed in public, but it was amusing to imagine how the dreaded councilors back home would react.

She was taken aback when she realized that she would have to help carry her own belongings for the first time in her life, but decided not to argue.

Then Asami had remembered about Korra’s party, to which Eska hadn’t realized that she was invited, so they went to a more upscale boutique that specialized in Water Tribe inspired designs to find a dress.  Of course, the one that caught Eska’s eye was too large for her, so she would have to come back later for fitting.

By the time that was over, all of them were loaded with shopping bags and getting tired, and Eska’s back was acting up again.  She still didn’t understand why some girls and women did this for fun.

“There’s a bubble tea shop just down the street.  Let’s stop there,” Asami suggested.

Eska was about to inquire what bubble tea was, but her thoughts slammed on the brakes as a horrific sound rose from the corner next to the tea shop.

“What. Is.  That?” she demanded as she jammed her fingers inside her ears.

“That’s a trombone,” Opal answered.  She and Asami rolled their eyes at Bolin, who was edging nervously closer toward the tea shop door.

Even leading such a sheltered life, Eska had heard of street musicians.  But she had been under the impression that most did it for money.  There was no tip box beside this man’s feet, so either he was just doing it for fun or wanted to cause all pedestrians an agonizing death.  Probably the latter, she thought.

“I am going to ambulate over there right now and inform that man that he must cease and desist immediately,” she declared.

“Maybe…just going inside would be a better idea?” Bolin offered.  “Come on quick, before he sees us!”

Bolin dashed inside, and the three women had no choice but to follow, Opal and Asami both making noises of disapproval.

They got their orders and sat down.  Eska had assumed that the bubbles would be some form of carbonation, but they were actually solid spheres.  She guessed that it was not called “sphere tea” because it didn’t roll off the tongue as easily.  In any case, the spheres had a pleasantly chewy texture.

Meanwhile, Asami was still scolding Bolin.

“He’s a much better person now and you know it!” she said.

“He still scares me!”

“Well, I invited him to the party, so get used to him.”

“You what?  Oh frick…here he comes.”

The door abruptly swung open as if accompanied by a musical cue, and Trombone Man walked in like he owned the place.  To Eska’s relief, he had put away that torture device for the present.  Wait…why was he making a beeline to their table?

“Hi, Tahno!” Asami said cheerfully as Opal waved.  The latter elbowed Bolin, who squeaked out a “Hi!”

The name rang a bell.  Eska tried to recall where she’d encountered it.

“Now who is this lady here?” Tahno the Trombone Man asked.  “I don’t believe that I’ve seen you here with the Uh-vatar’s crowd before.”

Eska assumed that he was referring to Opal.  But after several seconds, she realized that he was looking at her.  Just in time, she remembered how she knew of him.

“I saw you in the magazines,” she said.  “Except then you weren’t there anymore.  And then you were, but not quite as often.”

“Guilty as charged.”

Was he flirting, or just making fun of her?

Eska rose from her seat and affixed her best glare.

“Your subpar pronounciation irritates my auditory receptacles.  As does your so-called musical talent.”

The look she was giving him would have sent a whole room full of courtiers fleeing.  But Trombone Man just laughed.

“Oh, did I offend you, Ice Queen?”

Did he know?  At any rate, Eska realized that he towered over her by at least a foot, despite her drawing herself up to as full a height as her back would allow.  This would not do.

“If I am the Ice Queen, then you are my subject.  I demand that you swear fealty to me by kneeling.”

She heard three sharp intakes of breath.  But kneel Tahno did, after only a brief pause.  He kept his eyes and his smirk on Eska.  Eska remained outwardly composed (at least she hoped so), but her heart was starting to pound…from anxiety or from something else?

“Of course…you do know what this means, Ice Queen?  Now I must kiss your hand.”

Eska barely had time to process the words before Bolin leapt in between them.

“O-kaaaayyy!” he exclaimed louder than he had to.  “I know we’re all having a wonderful time here, and it was great seeing you again, but look at the clock!  We really have to be going now, so bye and see you at the party, I guess!”

He herded the trio of women out the door, drinks, bags, and all.  Eska didn’t know whether she wanted to thank him or throttle him.

“That was interesting,” Eska mused as they walked back to the Satomobile.  “However, I doubt he would show the submission required to be my husband.”

Bolin choked on his last sip of tea.

“Mental images, Eska!  Mental! Images!” he gasped out.

At least he was starting to show his true self around her.