#Ugh I got hit with weird feelings out of nowhere

[crimson-moonflowers]

.

[spacebaby1]

Hii what about Reader x Megumi where after a long time of getting to know each other in jujutsu high and becoming close friends (while they like to talk about deep stuff like injustices in the world, the 1% privilege, global warming, and genre inequality), reader opens up about a situation where she got harassed by a male friend at a party who tried to hug & kiss her and she doesn't know how to feel about it because she rationalizes her emotions and even her friends started acting like nothing ever happened.

(sorry for the so specific scenario haha just cane up with it while typing, you can change some things tho! thx!)

Ahhh, sorry this is too late, but this request hits home too real! Hope you like it.

Stay safe girlies/guys

It was a hot, sunny day at the start of July. Most schools are already summer break but not in jujutsu high. There were a few new students visiting today. However, you knew it would be a busy day for Gojo sensei and Nanami sensei, so you let them be and handle the work.

You were sitting on the grass far from the ground where Yuta and Maki were training, and lost in your own thoughts, you didn't see Megumi standing next to you. An ice cold can touched your cheeks, making you jump at the sudden coldness. Megumi was holding a can of cold drink towards you, "I've been calling your name for a minute, you okay?" He sat next to you. You took the can of strawberry soda and opened it, "Sorry, I was thinking. Hey, that's for this it's so freaking hot today. Megumi nodded, taking a sip of his own drink, "I don't know how Yuta and maki are training in this heat. Even I can't do that, so what were you thinking about? New mission?"

You shook your head looking ahead, and Megumi could see how lost you were in your own thoughts while still listening to him. You sat the soda to side. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded, "Sure, what's up?."

Not knowing how to make the situation into a question, but you needed to know this and if you were thinking it the right way or something else. "We've been friends for like seven years now?" Megumi nodded, waiting for you to continue, "you know how you were all like don't fist bump my shoulders, don't randomly play with my hair or like not so into physical touch thingy" He nodded again, and you sighed, "like, have I ever made you feel uncomfortable when I'd ruffle your hair or hug you? Did you feel like "Oh that's very weird?" I don't know how to explain it, but did you feel uncomfortable?" Megumi thought for a minute. "To be honest, when it's you doing that I don't feel uncomfortable because we know each other and if it's someone I just met tried to do the same with hugs and touches I'd absolutely feel uncomfortable. Why? Do you feel uncomfortable around me? Did I do anything?"

Shaking your head and waving your hands in front of you, you spoke, "No, absolutely not. Remember about the party I went to last week with my friend?" He nodded. "Well, she's been a friend forever since we both are neighbours, and we went to the same elementary school. At that party there was this friend of her, a guy that she said went to the same school as us but I honestly can't remember the last time I saw him and it was a friendly introduction at first but then he got a bit touchy around me and started to sit too close to me, he would throw his arm around my shoulder even though I kept telling him that it's making me uncomfortable and he with the others laughed it off and told me to "chill out" I don't think I'd feel the same if You or Yuji would hug me out of nowhere but tell me if I'm over thinking it and he probably didn't mean harm-"

"A guy did that? And you didn't call me to break his hands?" Megumi gave you the most concerning look you ever saw on his face, and you gasped smacking your hands together, "I knew it! I wasn't overthinking it! Those fake ass friends made me feel like I was overreacting when I told them that it made me feel uncomfortable! Ugh, now I feel so stupid! Ughhh, " you honestly felt a bit disappointed in your friends and bad for not reacting at the party. "Don't say that. you're not stupid. You just felt confused, and I feel you on that. Plus, it's not your fault it's that basterds fault. Do you know where he lives, Yuji and I would like to give him a visit." Megumi smiled at you, and that wasn't a normal smile that smile screamed rage. You sighed, "I would say that we should let it be, but if it happened to me the he probably will do it to another girl. Yes, I know where he lives." Megumi texted Yuji as you spoke, "Great, tell me his location. He will apologise."

Later that day you three walked to the guys house and he immediately had a smug look in his face when he opened the door to see you standing there, he leaned on forward while holding the door with his arm. Before he could speak, Megumi and Yuji should to your side, "So this is the idiot that made you uncomfortable?" Yuji grabbed his shirt collar with a terrifying look on his face."

"What a trash like you dares to make Y/N uncomfortable?" Megumi joined, cracking his knuckles. It's easy to say that the guy cried his apology out on his knees and didn't dare to cross his path.

[luvzshy]

Famous reader x Billie like one when they both got stomach bugs on tour

Through Sickness and Health

The low hum of the tour bus usually lulled you to sleep, but tonight, the gentle rocking only made things worse. You had been on the road with Billie for weeks now, joining her on her latest tour. It had been a whirlwind of sold-out arenas, flashing lights, and screaming fans, but you loved every moment you spent with her, even when things got overwhelming. However, tonight wasn’t one of those nights where you could lean into the excitement of the tour.

It started with a weird feeling in your stomach after you and Billie ate dinner at a roadside diner—a place that neither of you would typically go to, but tour life sometimes meant grabbing whatever food was available. At first, you figured it was just fatigue. You’d both been running non-stop for days, and exhaustion had a way of making your body feel off.

But then, hours into the drive, you woke up feeling nauseous.

You were lying beside Billie in the small bunk, her arm draped over you as she slept soundly. You shifted slightly, hoping the discomfort would pass, but it only seemed to intensify. Swallowing hard, you tried to focus on your breathing, hoping it was just a fluke. However, the queasiness rolled over you in waves, and you knew something was wrong.

“Ugh…” Billie groaned softly from behind you, her breath hot on your neck as she tightened her grip around your waist. “I feel like crap.”

You rolled over to face her, and the sight of her pale face mirrored your own discomfort. “Me too,” you mumbled, rubbing your stomach. “I think it was that diner…”

Billie’s face twisted with an apologetic smile. “We should’ve skipped the fries,” she joked weakly, though you could tell she wasn’t feeling any better than you were. “Do you think we got food poisoning?”

“I hope not, but… I’m not ruling it out.”

Before either of you could say anything more, the queasiness hit you full force. You quickly sat up, trying not to panic, but it felt like the room was spinning. Billie, sensing your urgency, reached out and gently rubbed your back. “Hey, take it easy. Do you need water? Or the bathroom?”

“Bathroom,” you managed to croak before stumbling out of the bed, making your way down the narrow hallway of the bus to the small bathroom at the back. Billie followed closely behind, equally as pale and shaky, her usual confident energy nowhere to be found.

For the next few hours, the two of you took turns hunched over the toilet, the stomach bug wreaking havoc on both of your bodies. Billie would try to comfort you, rubbing your back and whispering soft reassurances when it was your turn, and you’d do the same for her, even though you were both miserable. In between the waves of nausea, you’d collapse next to each other on the floor of the tiny bathroom, laughing at how ridiculous the situation was.

“This is so gross,” Billie groaned, resting her head on your shoulder after a particularly bad bout of nausea. “We’re supposed to be on tour, and here we are, practically living in this bathroom.”

“Yeah, this isn’t exactly how I pictured a romantic night on the road,” you teased, trying to make light of it despite how awful you both felt. “But hey, at least we’re suffering together, right?”

She smiled faintly, squeezing your hand. “Always together.”

When the worst seemed to pass, the two of you somehow managed to drag yourselves back to the bunk, exhausted and weak but at least no longer feeling like you’d keel over. Billie curled up against your side, her face buried in your neck, and for the first time in hours, you felt a little bit of comfort.

“I think we’re gonna have to cancel the show tomorrow,” Billie murmured, her voice heavy with regret. “There’s no way I can perform like this.”

You nodded, gently running your fingers through her hair. “Your fans will understand. You need to rest and get better.”

Billie sighed. “Yeah, I just hate letting people down.”

“You’re not letting anyone down. You’re human,” you reassured her. “And right now, your health is the most important thing.”

She looked up at you with tired but grateful eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out,” you said softly, kissing her forehead.

For the rest of the night, the two of you laid there, holding each other as the tour bus continued its journey. Despite how sick you both were, there was something comforting in knowing that even in moments like this, you had each other. Billie, usually so strong and confident, was vulnerable in your arms, and you were her anchor in this less-than-glamorous situation.

As the sun started to rise and the nausea finally began to subside, Billie whispered, “Next time, we’re skipping the diner.”

You chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Deal.”

And with that, you both drifted off into a much-needed sleep, wrapped in each other’s arms, knowing that no matter what the world threw at you—whether it was the chaos of a world tour or something as simple as a stomach bug—you’d always get through it together.

[altschmerzes]

THE 13 BOOKS I READ IN 2023 IN ORDER FROM BEST TO WORST + THE PROTAGONIST'S SUPERLATIVE. PART 2.

6. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engel. a timeless classic that i love love love. meg is such a fun protagonist and i really enjoyed experiencing this as an adult again. the whole like… helpless devastated rage she feels when she realizes that adults can't just. fix everything? that sequence will always rattle me around like a mason jar fulla beans. she's such a like… man. the way the narrative was like. this isn't fair. it isn't right. it's happening anyway. i'm so sorry, but it's happening anyway. that really got me.

Protagonist: Meg Murry. Most Likely To Have A Profound And Life Altering Impact On Adolescent Weird Girls Who Read Her Book.

7. Whiskeyjack by Victoria Goddard. third book in the series, slightly less fun than the others but only very slightly. i cannot emphasize enough how difficult it was to rank like, 2-8. had some VERY fun stuff with like…. things you learn that then go back and recontextualize everything else. ended on a scene that made me fucking sob which is always a plus in my book. themes of FAMILY and LOYALTY and SACRIFICE. my fucking beloved. yes please. the pov character continues to have a horrible little time. also love that.

Protagonist: (again, series has dual protagonists, so switching back) Peregrine Dart. Most Likely To Be The Unwitting Conduit Of The Deus Ex Machina. Deus Ex Dart.

8. One By One by Ruth Ware. just a really good classic mystery thriller. i love a mystery thriller, and ruth ware seems to always hit for me. managed to pull off a pov switch between two pov characters one of whom had a massive, MASSIVE secret without it seeming completely nonsensical once revealed or relying on the pov character talking in deliberately obtuse or evasive ways that would be really tiresome and insulting if carried through. there was a set of tech bro startup characters that were obnoxious and infuriating in exactly the way that those people are in real life, so points for that for SURE even though i did wanna throttle them.

Protagonist: Erin (Lastname). Most Deserving Of A Tropical Vacation.

9. The Ritual by Adam Nevill. this is the most brutal book i have read in recent memory. possibly at all. this guy gets put all the way through the wringer physically and emotionally and it is visceral in the way it is described. the protagonist was a profoundly unpleasant person a lot of the time but this was deliberate and really engaging, honestly. there were some moments of stark self-reflection from him about the ways in which he did not like who he was and the things he did, and when he recognized how like. unfair and cruel he was being to the others in his head. wasn't as good as the movie, imo, but the changes that they made between the book and film made total sense given the sheer level of interiority in the book. and boy howdy how much interiority. whoof.

Protagonist: Luke. Most Surprising Survival.

10. I Am Not Who You Think I Am by Eric Rickstad. i think the most damning thing that can be said about this book is that i literally can't remember almost anything about it. it was compelling in some ways and there were a few very specific moments that i was really gripped by but most of it was like. a really flat letdown. it was interesting enough as a mystery that i finished it but i don't even really remember why, now.

Protagonist: Wayland Maynard. Most Forgettable Guy.

11. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. just. ugh. dystopia ya in a bad way. too complicated and not well established. dumbass colour coding system. it could've been so fun, i love traumatized teenagers with powers and an evil government in all sincerity but this just did not do anything good with it. it looked like it COULD have but it DIDN'T. the love interest character was a DICK. there was some weird gender takes that popped out of nowhere. jump-scared by gender. did enjoy watching the movie though because it was fucking insane and gave me a scene where the protagonist and the love interest shared a passionate embrace over what fully appeared to be the dead body of the love interest's theoretical best friend. amazing. no notes.

Protagonist: Ruby Daly. Most Likely To One Day Decide She's Tired Of Being Nice And She Does Want To Go Apeshit Actually.

12. Reputation by Sarah Vaughan. [VIDEODROME PRESCREEN AUDIENCE REVIEW WHERE THEY JSUT WROTE 'SUCKED' AND GOT SO UPSET ABOUT HOW BAD IT WAS THEY MARKED THE WRONG GENDER] this book was BAD. the writing was bad. the characters were bad and not on purpose. the politics of the book were uh. whoof. what if white girlboss feminism was a novel. points for some of the hardest i've laughed tho at Nice Dick Mike the journalist that the protagonist cannot respect after she sleeps with him and Lady Cop With Bangs, the traitor to womanhood.

Protagonist: Emma Webster. Most Likely To Submit An Extremely Long Post To Reddit Dot Com Slash Am I The Asshole That Leaves Out A Lot Of Like, Extremely Critical Information That When Uncovered All Makes Her Look Really Fucking Bad While She Seems To Still Think It Was Entirely Irrelevant And Honestly Unfair To Even Consider. Gd Forbid Women Do Anything.

UNCATEGORIZED: 21st Century Jocks: Sporting Men And Contemporary Heterosexuality by Eric Anderson. there was simply no way to rank this among the others, it was too completely different. they were all very different books but this was just. entirely different. had a wonderful time with it though!! gave me a lot to think about as someone who thinks a lot

thank you for joining me on this journey. i loved reading books again this year and would wholeheartedly recommend anything ranked 1-9 on this list, provided you like the genre/vibe.

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Volume 4

The beginning of this volume flat out spoils things by putting characters that haven't been introduced yet on the character page. (MarineAngemon, the Juri clone, the D-Reaper queen...) Maybe that's a common practice with shounen manga...but it shouldn't be. Like, what's the point?

Ch. 22

Lopmon and Terriermon interacting will never get old. Love how they lift their ears with curiosity when they first see each other.

I think I prefer experiencing the ~sad~ part of Tamers better in manga form. I remember it being quite drawn out in the anime and I rather just blitz through it at this point. I think the whole Leomon death storyline just annoys me because they barely developed his character and then the writing expects me to be devastated. Juri was more developed, sure, but we barely got any insight into her relationship with Leomon so her deep, dark depression doesn't feel super warranted either.

Ch. 23

I think this chapter was pretty well done. They're giving an epic battle it's time instead of zooming past it.

It bugs me that there isn't a specific name for digimon/human digivolutions. In this translation they called it a "true mega form." On the wiki it's called both an ultimate and a matrix digivolution. IDK why it doesn't count as a jogress. I guess there's like...two different things: the way you digivolve (matrix) and the digivolution level (ultimate)? If it's confusing for me, I can only imagine it'd be confusing for a kid.

It's a bit weird for an English translation, but I like that Guilmon says "MMA!" a lot. I can totally hear him making that noise with his OG voice. Creative onomatopoeia.

Ch. 24

Grrr Jian said "crumbcakes," so done with this stupid translation

This chapter was hella short, not much to say about it.

Ch. 25

Okay, now they're calling it a "biomerge digivolution." I guess the localizers also thought "this needs a cool name!"

Casual 90s/early 2000s sexism sprinkled throughout this translation. Takato says he "screams like a little girl" in a previous chapter and in this one he says "easy to forget Renamon and Rika are girls when they're always kicking butt!" Eye roll...

SaintGalgomon looked super badass but for some reason when Sakuyamon appeared they chose to dedicate two closeup panels to her chest and high heels? Sus...

Ch. 26

Juri's face didn't look as sinister here as it did in the anime (when it's revealed she's possessed). I guess that's probably a good thing. More subtle.

I don't remember the sovereign digimon giving Culumon a "you're a real boy now" speech in the anime. That was sweet.

They cut the part where Beelzebumon gets zapped by a bunch a digimon. In this he just collapses after the battle with Dukemon, which I think I prefer. (But why'd he say he'd be "bunny chow?" He wasn't even fighting Terriermon...)

Ch. 27

The grotesque, over-the-top facial expressions the artist keeps drawing for Hirokazu piss me off. They're just so ugly.

Ugh...they really had to ruin a serious moment (Guilmon getting the ark to stop) with a poop joke. This manhua does NOT treat its audience with respect.

Hmm they completely cut out Juri's family. So much for developing her character I guess.

They kind of forgot to imply that the ark is sentient. I mean they showed it stopping on its own, but in the anime they really hammered it home by having Guilmon have a conversation with it and showing it's HAL-like eye. That was one of my fave parts so I'm sad lol

Ch. 28

Okay, this is starting to feel totally different from the anime, they skipped like 5 episodes worth of content. Also, IDK if the scanlation I'm reading is missing some pages because the ending with Dukemon being beat up was completely nonsensical (it cut from Beelzebumon being hit to a panel with Dukemon outta nowhere?) I'll give it the benefit of the doubt that there are missing pages...

The scene where Beelzebumon uses Leomon's attack to save Juri played out differently here. She doesn't seem particularly perturbed by it and Beelzebumon can't save her because he gets attacked, not because Juri recoils for too long.

Ch. 29/30

Lol they completely cut out Justimon. Makes Ryo's role even more pointless! Ryo doesn't even reappear at all...

This manhua series was crap to begin with but they really screwed the pooch with this ending. SOOO rushed. Grani appeared outta nowhere with zero introduction. Like they just went immediately to Grani's sacrifice. I still don't know if I'm missing pages or if the writing is just that garbage. Oh well! I tried.

[isagrimorie]

I really find it funny that everyone chose to collectively not address the whole weird and out of nowhere Chakotay/Seven of it all.

Among other good things Admiral Janeway (Voyager version) was totally eliminate the timeline where Seven was married to Chakotay. The moment they entered Alpha Quadrant that relationship just dissolved like mist.

This tells me, Seven only got together with Chakotay was because he was the only one who pursued her and the other options she was willing to have, as she called it, intimate relations with ran away from her. (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Harry.)

Also, I don’t think there was a lot of people she could talk to about messy Human feelings she might have (*cough* for Janeway *cough*). There might have been other queer people on board Voyager but I don’t think they’re close enough to talk to Seven.

And honestly, Seven’s probably hit the point where she just wants to have sex. And the only one actively presenting themself as a viable option is Chakotay.

I hate even writing that down. Feels wrong and I like Chakotay even though he’s bland most of the time.

Anyway I think Bjayzl was the first person who made it click for Seven that she’s attracted to women.

And then Bjayzl showed her true colors and broke Seven in a way that would fundamentally change Seven forever.

Up to the point before Seven was forced to kill Icheb, Seven still had her hair up, a looser form of it but still putting her hair up. After Icheb died, its like the last part of Seven that was Seven of Voyager died with Icheb.

I can only imagine how dark the past decades were after Seven was determined to find and enact her vengeance on Bjayzl. Especially since Seven seemed to have deliberately cut off all ties with the Voyager crew in her quest.

Seven, who always wanted family and a connection, whose worst nightmare was to be alone, deliberately cut her self off.

I really wish Seven and Beverly got to talk more, because in a way they’re two sides of the same coin. Beverly did it to protect Jack, Seven cut off ties because she failed to protect Icheb.

I do think if there’s one thing the show failed to touch on with its themes of family and parenthood, its Seven’s issues. Icheb was her son, and Bjayz., her lover used her to kidnap, maim, and torture her son.

Ugh. I just love Seven of Nine so much as a character.

But also I can see why Seven would have so many issues and why, even if she were getting better with her Borg side, she might have more of a commitment issues.

I’m glad Raffi is there for her, if and when the spin-off gets the greenlit, I look forward to fleshing that more with Raffi. I love that they’re both equally flawed and have baggage. Also middle aged women in love, in a will they won’t they Captain-First Officer romance? Bring it on!.

Anyway, tldr, I’m just really glad everyone collectively went: Seven and Chakotay was a terrible idea.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s3 ep4: The Swarm

I don't know why they named this episode after the B plot, since it was a pretty run of the mill 'we must repel the attack of scary unknown aliens' story that I didn't remember at all, whereas I remembered the part about the Doctor's program degrading very well, and found it much more interesting.

There's a lot going on in this episode, starting with the very first scene. I didn't remember it at all, so it felt very weird when they just have Tom hitting on B'Elanna out of nowhere. What the heck?? Where did that even come from?? They've established a friendship at this point, but there hasn't been a hint at anything romantic between them yet. Why did they have to start it out like this?? Did they really have to make him so obnoxious about it?? Tom's been so good lately, why give him the jerky dudebro schtick again? Ugh it's so frustrating. (On the brightside, he didn't outright insult her, so at least that's progress from season 1!) But anyway he was lucky B'Elanna didn't turn him down even more witheringly than she did.

Then we move on to the Doctor playing opera star on the holodeck, which is cute, but honestly it does feel a little random to have a medical hologram take an interest in opera, and feels like more of a self indulgent thing for the actor than a logical thing for the character. But then we learn that his program is degrading because of all the extra hobby subroutines. Enter hologram version of Dr. Louis Zimmerman, who created the EMH program, played by Bob Picardo in dual roles. It was cool to find out that the EMH was based on his creator, and see the contrasts and similarities between them. Picardo does a fine job with each, creating two distinct characters. Watching the Doctor forget things created some comedic moments, but as he forgets more about the people closest to him, it ratchets up the sense of urgency to the efforts to save his program. And we get to see B'Elanna in the role of basically being the Doctor's doctor whenever something goes wrong with his program, which is actually kind of sweet. She clearly does care, and always tries to be reassuring to him, even when he's being an anxious patient and annoying the hell out of her.

I love that Kes was the one who came up with the way to save the Doctor!!! The ship's under fire, her friend is basically dying, and there's no one available to help him, but her. So she does! I'm so thrilled they let her solve an actual technical problem, too! It's so nice that they highlighted her tenacity and cleverness instead of just her sweetness and intuition.

And then in the final scene, B'Elanna and Kes actually speak to each other! They actually make eye contact and have a short conversation! Holy almost passing the Bechdel test Batman! (Because of course, the one time they're allowed to speak to eachother, they're talking about a man.) Apparently even doing the bare minimum of passing the Bechdel test is still a little too radical for this writers room, but baby steps, I guess?? (But iirc, they never really talked to each other much, and certainly didn't have an episode where they were actually working together. Sigh.)

But anyway, the final scene was nice, and I love that Kes got to be a hero and actually come up with, and execute, the plan to save the Doctor! Hell yeah!!

Tl;dr: Though the titular plot is a throwaway, this ep gave us great material for Kes, and for the Doctor.

[destinationtoast]

Top TV shows (and TV podcasts) of 2022

It was a great year in TV! Lots of new shows I really enjoyed. I mostly haven't been pulled into the transformative fandoms, but there have been a hell of a lot of TV podcasts out there that I've been enjoying as accompaniment. I've listed podcast recommendations where applicable.

Favorite new shows

In roughly descending order -- though the first two are tied for first place:

Andor (Recommended podcast pairing: The Ringer-verse's House of R, which you'll see mentioned multiple times; it's multiple hours of thoughtful analysis for each episode of show from two of my favorite podcasters, Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin) -- it totally caught me off guard how good this is. It's absolutely my favorite Star Wars property. It feels uncomfortably relevant, full of people living under slowly growing tyranny and having to make all sorts of morally uncomfortable decisions about when to act and what to sacrifice. It also has the best droid ever, I think, and my favorite dark!bureaucrats. It felt a little slow initially, but the last half of the season gripped me so hard -- and I've heard that on rewatch those first ones planted all sorts of interesting seeds. There are a couple early threads that I'm really hoping we revisit in S2, because otherwise they're a bit dissatisfying and messy. But everything else in the show is so carefully and well done, that I expect we probably will.

Interview with The Vampire (Recommended podcast pairing: official AMC podcast, hosted by comedian/tv writer Naomi Ekperigin -- this had great interviews with the show creators/actors/bts folk; also enjoyed The Ringer's single-ep discussion) -- I was unprepared to love this one, too. Adored the books in high school (there were only ~5 at the time), but did not expect them to be turned into a brilliantly updated and compelling show. Making Louis & Claudia black and moving it forward in time were terrific moves. And making the sexual relationship text instead of subtext, with all the queer crisis that that puts Louis through, on top of the conflicts due to race... Ugh, it's so fucking good. I also am intrigued by what they're doing with the framing story. I totally re-fell in love with these characters enough that I'm about to embark on a reread of at least the first few books, even though I think a lot of the adaptations choices surpass the original work.

Severance - This was fantastic, but I never found a great podcast. I'm also a little worried it'll be a mystery box show that never has satisfying payoffs for a lot of the weird stuff that's been set up. But I loved it, and I'm excited for more.

House of the Dragon (RPP: House of R; also enjoyed HOTD by Bald Move) -- like many, I was wary following the debacle that was the end of GoT, but it felt good to be back in Westeros. This season didn't hit the highs of the best of GoT, but it also came nowhere near the lows, and I found it pretty compelling throughout and loved how much of it focused on women. I hope next season follows a wider set of characters. This was the only show on the list I felt compelled to write fic for, and I am disappointed that there's not more canon-compliant Alicent/Rhaenyra fic.

Station Eleven (RPP: official HBO podcast, hosted by showrunner Patrick Somerville) - I read the book when it came out and mostly found that it wasn't really for me. but I thought that I would probably like an adaptation for the screen. I was right, and having an IRL pandemic arrive on the scene in the meantime only made it more interesting to me. I really liked about 70% of the changes they made to the book in adapting it, and even though I thought some of what they did with the "big bad" failed, I still enjoyed it considerably. And listening to the showrunner talk about the process of adaptation was terrific.

Rings of Power - (RPP: House of R; also enjoying @wildwren and @aadmelioraa's new rewatch/deep dive podcast, Where the Shadows Lie, which covers some of the fandom discourse as well as the show - but it's by two new podcasters exploring the format, so I don't mean to set it up as competing with long-established professional podcasters! XD ) - this show was definitely slow at times, and I wish it hadn't invested so much in a couple character reveals, because I don't think the identity mysteries were nearly the most interesting parts. Still, I loved a lot about it, including both worldbuilding and some of the characters (harfoots and elves and dwarves ftw!), and I am looking forward to more. This may be the show where podcasts added the most additional meaning for me, in part because they provided interesting tie-ins to source material I hadn't read, but also because they unpacked a lot of layers of characterization and worldbuilding that I didn't always catch on first watch.

The Sandman (RPP: Endless, hosted by author Lani Diane Rich and author/comics editor Alisa Kwitney) - Been a huge fan of the source material for decades, and I was delighted to be able to see it onscreen at last. I generally thought the adaptation was very good (good enough that I haven't felt any need to explore it through fic), and I'm also enjoying all the tumblr fanart a great deal.

Heartstopper - I didn't think about this one much at all when not watching it, and never thought to look for a podcast. But I binged it rapidly twice (once with my BFF, Mr. Maccas), and it was delightful both times.

Favorite continuing shows

For All Mankind (RPP: Hi Bob! by Bald Move) - This show continues to be such an interesting alternate history, with a number of great characters, even if I find some of the storylines a bit uneven. Why isn't everyone talking about it??

Tuca & Bertie (RPP: Baby Geniuses isn't directly show coverage, but it's cohosted by show creator Lisa Hanawalt and Emily Heller -- a writer for Barry -- and it's weird and hilarious and occasionally serious, much like the show) - I'm so bummed this was just canceled, but the seasons we got were amazing. Contained a surprising number of deeply real issues that I don't usually see portrayed (e.g. the intense menstrual pain being dismissed by doctors was all too familiar, plus a bunch of the career-related compromises & angst), all mixed in with hilarious bird-person + plant-person worldbuilding and delightfully absurdist humor.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (RPP: Greatest Trek, hosted by two guys with a history in filmmaking and who are extremely endearing and goofy... these two have entertained for years with their The Greatest Generation podcast, which I also recommend.) - Every episode slays me. It's great to have a funny podcast that helps me spot all the references and Easter eggs.

Honorable mentions to messy yet compelling Euphoria and White Lotus.

Shows I wanted to continue watching but didn't get to yet: Barry, Industry.

Shows I enjoyed rewatching

Ted Lasso (RPP: Unspoiled! Ted Lasso - the two bestie hosts are having so much fun watching the show, as hardcore fan RoShawn introduces it to newbie Natasha; they can get rambly, but it's usually cute) - I rewatched it a bunch because of reasons; never stopped enjoying it.

BtVS (RPP: Buffering the Vampire Slayer -- hosted by songwriter/musician Jenny Owen Youngs and queer activist Kristin Russo, who are hilarious and also write a good song about every Buffy episode omg) - I'm currently rewatching S4 and interspersing Angel for the first time ever (I'd previously binged them separately), and Angel is comparatively quite rough, but the crossovers sure are making more sense this way. :)

[celibibratty]

This movie is funny cuz at the first time that you watched you get angry/makes you feel betrayed, me and marina first watched on 2017, and i remember that we got soooo mad(i mean it, was very very mad, it's rare ocassions that I/we got this mad)💢🔥(and to make worse mom out nowhere appears and was trying sugartalk the situation of the movie, trying to justify to us, LET US BE MAD ABOUT IT, geez), but watching again 7 years later(yeah, since then we never rewatched It)i/we didn't get mad at all, it was funny, but marina saw some people reviews, and she said that people seem to also got mad too(at least we from the past weren't the only ones😒), cuz okay the dude loved the other girl😒(i personally found hilarous how much those two take a childhood relationship so serious, japanese people and their logics), it's seems as if is a common thing of this movie, you will feel betrayed/angry(i don't care cuz it's right!, the bald dude it's better)

We were exactly like this girl, i felt i couldn't talk, my tummy used to hurt so so much(so much that at that time we used to take a stomach ache med everyday before going to School...and nowadays i don't take it anymore), my voice used to gets trembling when i talked in social situations, people referred to us as "mute" cuz i/we said any word, the scene when the girl talks for the first time in class and the whole class get impressed(saying things like "is that (...) Voice?is the first time i see her talking", "i thought she didn't know how to talk", ugh, it was exactly like this, i hate it💦, are innocent reactions/comments, but it feels so humilating

The way the mother treats the girl, ugh, it hits me/us too, is this thing of passively saying that "you're weird and stop with that"(the person can't control It, it's a process, i hate it, you get traumatized by people and then people expect you to act normal towards others as if it was nothing, it's inside of us, it's difficult), i find insteresting of our case is that we used to care so less to our parents saying this/they orders, that they even stop it saying it/trying("look at people eyes", "talk normal", never tried to do any of their orders), the part of the car, the mother thanking the school as if the girl didn't was capable of find/keep connections because she worked hard to socialize, cuz "she is weird, nobody would want to stick with/be friends with her, she is not capable of find friends", it's only School and the others to be praised, not the girl cuz in the mother's vision the girl has no courage, has something about this scene that it was so...urgh...

There's something so interesting and messed up about the fact that the girl believed that what would cure her "curse" would be love, but what really made her"curse" break was having her heart-broken/get into a very stressful situation, it was her limit, she had a big attack, that caused the egg to break/explode(the egg to me is her heart, it breaked a little in previous scenes, she was getting comfortable, as if was her heart opening up little by little, but in this moment, it breaks of hurt, it's rush It, and what has inside is not a empty/clean "egg", it's spills blood as if was opened bruttaly)i wish i could explain better💦

I still wonder what supposed to be the scrambled eggs? I think its mixed emotions, numbness, forget everything, mess everything up

This...scene...hurts 💧

this is more mine interpretation, cuz idk if this is the message that the movie wants to deliver🙄, but i find funny that the girl always likes to point that hurt words are bad and that you shouldn't say them cuz they hurt other people and you can't take it them back(which it's true), but was only when she said the hurt words that she got the strengh to go to the play, showing that express those words are also important(i wish the girl roasted her mother and her father💢, those two deserved those words indeed, but her mother and her father are literally the reason for her feeling/became like this💢, she deserved to express her anger towards them(even if her mom works hard to give her a good life)

I find interesting cuz this movie handles this trauma effect kinda well😒(i don't like those talk, but the movie is kinda about that so), cuz i think in the end the girl has no problem with talking!, I think her tummy doesn't hurt anymore!, i think she won't talk in texts anymore cuz now after that(the egg broke)she has no problem with talking anymore!, but even with that she will not be talktive/be like her kid self, she will never be the same again, it's not like in a "fairy-tale" everything super works out/end beautifully(even interesting and sad to say that cuz the girl was obsessed with fairy-tales), I find interesting that in the end we don't see the girl interacting with the boy and the other girl, personally i think after that she won't be friends with them anymore, it was gonna be just a memory of a cool thing that all of them made it together, but will stay in there, I think they'll be collegues,(but not as close as before), her relationship with her mother, i don't think will get super good/better after that, still gonna be distant, the thing that the mother now realises how much her actions affected her daughter and maybe she can try to be more pacient, but still nothing that shows in the end, in the end the curse broke, but the consequences of it still exist(pretty much like in a superation of a traumatic situation, you got over it now, but the way they affected you molded you, you can't be the same again, i mean you can be, but tbh I believe you will never be 100% like you used to be, but if is the case, it's a process)

[mermaid--bride]

Diabolik Lovers || Dark Waters - Kazemi Maniac Route [Maniac 8]

--Scene starts in Kou’s bedroom

Kazemi: ... ...

(How did I end up here again...?)

(After the others left... I was going to find something else to do with my time... But ended up letting Kou-kun drag me here instead...)

(Just my luck...)

Haah...

Kou: Ne, Kujira-chan! What are you signing for?

Kazemi: You have to ask...? What did you bring me here for?

Kou: I told you, didn’t I? I didn’t feel like sleeping alone so I want you to sleep with me!

Kazemi: It’s not even sleep time! What are you talking about!?

Kou: But I’m tired, you see? I’ve been working really hard lately and school only makes it more busy for me!

So is it not natural for me to take a nap whenever I find the time?

Kazemi: Hm... Guess you have a point...

Kou: Come come now! Lay down with me!

Kazemi: Are you serious!?

Kou: Eeeh? Of course I am! Why are you making such a big deal out of it?

Don’t worry! Kujira-chan is so ugly, right? There’s no way I would try anything weird, right?

Kazemi: ...!

(Why you little...!)

Kou: ... ...

Haah... Oi, how long do you intend to keep me waiting?

Lay down with me now before I hurt you.

*thud*

Kazemi: !!

(He just pin me down to bed out of nowhere!)

Oi, Kou-kun! Let go of me!

Kou: Shut up! You are the one at fault here! You keep acting like you’re better than me or something! You’re not even a full vampire!

Kazemi: N-Neither are you!

Kou: Oh? Would you like me to prove to you how much of a vampire I am~?

Kazemi: I’ve seen enough!

(Please... don’t make me hurt you... Please, Kou-kun...!)

Kou: Hey, what is this look? Are you angry or scared right now? I can’t tell...

Either way... I guess you want to feel my fangs, right? Maybe that will remind you of what I am~

Kazemi: Ok ok! I’m sorry! Now please, get off me!

Kou: No can do~

*slurp*

Kazemi: (My neck...!)

Kou: Hmm... Haha you really taste different from anyone else I’ve tried before!

Kazemi: Ugh!

(Oh no... I hate this... last time I saw myself in this situation I...!)

Kou: Fufu... Hahahahahahaha!

Kazemi: ...?

Kou: You should have seen your face! You look so terrified! Hahahaha!

Kazemi: ... ...

(... I swear I’m gonna kill this guy.)

Kou: Now now, no need to be angry! Your blood just doesn’t appeal to me that much. Probably because you aren’t human?

Then again, I couldn’t let such an oportunity pass, now could I~?

Kazemi: ... You’re the worst...

Kou: Hmmm? That’s mean~

But I didn’t expect you to look so scared, you know? It’s not like I haven’t bitten you before.

Kazemi: ... That’s... Well...

(There’s no way I could tell him...)

Kou: Did I bring up some bad memories~?

Kazemi: ...!

Kou: Fufufu bingo~

How about we do a little exchange? You tell me something of your past and I’ll tell you about mine!

Kazemi: That’s... I can’t...

Kou: Eeeh? That’s lame...

Ok! I’ll go first!

Once upon a time there was a young boy living in a man hole. He had no family, no friends and couldn’t afford getting any food. He was taken to a place where rich people payed to have fun with pretty kids like him and so he stayed there as his only way of getting what he wanted.

Kazemi: ... ... ...

(Kou-kun.... ...)

Kou: See? Now it’s your turn!

Kazemi: ... Um... ...

Once upon a time... a little girl lived happy with her parents... The villagers found them and burned the house... and her father left her in the forest while he drove the crowd away...

All alone, the girl was taken to a hospital where men started abusing her in every way due to her beauty and mermaid properties. She managed to escape, but got her heart broken when the boy she loved refused to take her in. With nowhere else to go and no food at her disposal, she started living in the streets... and... ...

Kou: ... Kujira-chan...?

Kazemi: (I can’t... Please... Don’t make me think about it... Don’t make me remember...)

Kou: ... ...

Monologue

Kou-kun held me in his arms as I cried.

The memories were flooding my brain and despair hit me like a rock.

I couldn’t stop the flashes... as much as they hurt me...

They reminded me of the monster I am. The things I did... the people I’ve killed...

There’s no redemption to me. No forgiveness.

And yet... he didn’t let go of me. We ended up falling asleep like that.

I wonder why... he didn’t push me away...

--End of Maniac 8

[cursedbeasts]

Bestia's Wrath Chapter 17: Grand Theft Gravestone

Navigation

Tag in chrono order

Previous

Next

Summary:

Shit just keeps happening huh. Vaylin and Scorpio steal the Gravestone. Bestia and Styrak arrive at the scene and help Koth resolve a mess. Rammas has a vision.

Beginning Notes:

(Music: Skaen - Ad Cryptum)

Koth was humming a tune while working at replacing some fuses in a wall-mounted box. Tora should have been doing this, but she was nowhere to be found, so Koth had to pick up the slack. He wondered where the blue-haired mechanic even was, when a bout of laughter erupted from a room nearby.

"And I said: GIT GUD!" Someone yelled, clearly an ending to some story. 

Koth put the tools aside and peeked his head into the room. Tora, his missing mechanic, sat on the floor together with another woman, controllers in hand. A large screen was affixed to the wall, showing a split view of a grim city of spiky buildings. A character stood in the middle of the left half of the screen, while two other characters, one in orange robes, and a monster, were doing circles around them. The right half of the screen was shifting erratically. 

"How about you 'git gud' and help me with those fuses?" Koth asked. 

"Nah, I'm on break." 

Koth let out an exasperated sigh. 

"Wanna join us later?" The other girl asked, turning around. "We're playing Dreadborne." 

Koth recognised Rammas, one of the Commander's family. She'd befriended Tora, and the two often hung out like this when they had time. Sometimes Shyren, the beastly Scion, would come over, and the three watched holos or destroyed each other in games. Rammas's pitch black eyes unsettled Koth somewhat, but she has always been friendly towards him. 

"Maybe later." Something beeped. "I gotta take this." 

He withdrew from the room and picked up the communicator. It was a distress call from a small vessel drifting nearby. Koth hurried to the bridge, and activated a tractor beam. 

Back in the room, Rammas froze for a moment, nearly letting a giant Dread Seed monster kill her character. She sensed something in the Force, but it was gone, hidden, as soon as she tried to zero in on it. She shrugged, guiding her avatar away from the monster's claws. 

"You nearly let the first boss kill you!" 

"Yeah sorry, just… sensed something." 

"Force nerfshit?"

"Yeah. It's gone now but… I got a bad feeling." 

"Watch out, we got a Scion over here!" 

Tora's taunts were interrupted by the Dread Seed monster swiping at her character, sending them flying. Rammas cackled, while Tora cursed. Shyren's character jumped on the boss's head, delivering a devastating blow to its head and finishing off its remaining hit points. Rammas made her character jump in place in celebration, while Tora's character respawned nearby. Suddenly, Shyren's avatar blinked out of existence mid jump, and a message popped up at the bottom of the screen. 

[cvrsedbeast has disconnected] 

"Huh, that's weird." Rammas said. 

"I think our holonet died." 

"Ugh. It can't be out, I checked the transmitter, like, yesterday."

Rammas sensed the presence again, closer this time. At the same time, there was a burst of static on the ship's intercom system. Koth's voice, yelling about being boarded. Rammas was on her feet in moments, her mind calculating the best course of action. Rammas wasn't sure how many enemies there were, and face to face combat wasn't exactly her strong suit, especially if there were Force users. She was better at hiding and sneaking and being overlooked. 

"I think they have a Force user with them. I'm going to hide and see if I can ambush them." 

Rammas found an air vent opening, and crawled inside, cloaking her presence at the same time. She saw Tora run off to somewhere through the openings in the grate. Another burst of static and shouting came through the intercom. It was patchy but Rammas made out enough bits and pieces to get the image: the enemy was in the hangar. The Sith drew up a mental map of the ship. The game room was on the middle level of the ship. The hangar was in the lower level. She sighed and started crawling. 

Rammas didn't have to crawl far. She made it almost to the elevator when it opened and a powerful Force presence washed over the Sith. The elevator spat out a human woman accompanied by a droid. The human was none other than Vaylin, the reigning Empress of Zakuul. And the droid was Scorpio, the snobby artificial intelligence that betrayed the Alliance to pursue some nebulous goal of her own. Rammas watched with a baited breath as the two passed under the vent she looked out of. This was definitely not a fight Rammas would win, not one on one. Not even with the power of a Dread Master. She crawled away and up, away from the middle level. She'd hide, and try to call Odessen. 

A grueling climb up later, Rammas peered into the Monolith Room as she came to call it. A foreboding round chamber somewhere on the upper level of the ship, with an odd stone object sitting in the middle, cables connected to the bottom of it beneath the catwalk. Most of the crew actively avoided the room, unless repairs had to be done. The room was thankfully empty, and Rammas didn't sense Vaylin's presence anywhere nearby. It would make a good ambush site. For some reason, Rammas was sure Vaylin would come here eventually, like seemingly every Force user who ever stepped foot on the ship did. Bestia had said the monolith felt alive and evil. Rammas herself was drawn to it. It felt familiar to her. 

She climbed out of the vent, and crouched inside the well running along the edge of the room. She fished out her holocom and put in Bestia's own frequency, feverishly typing away. 

The two messages reached Odessen at the same time. Koth's message was more frantic, but filled in some gaps: he locked down the ship controls and hid. He saw his crew herded onto the bridge, and heard them screaming when Vaylin tormented them. Neither he nor Rammas knew why Scorpio was there, though.

***

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY STOLE THE GRAVESTONE?!!!!" Bestia exploded.

"They also kidnapped Koth and his crew." Lana said.

"Yeah that too. And Rammas." Bestia added.

This time it was Styrak's turn to explode, although his outburst was much more tame and quiet compared to Bestia's. 

"They what?!"

Lana and Theron flinched, again. 

"She was fine as of the time she sent the message." Bestia turned to the two humans. "Styrak kind of adopted her."

Styrak calmed down, but Bestia didn't blame him for the outburst. He developed a sort of a father-daughter relationship with Rammas, and had grown protective of her. That, and Rammas was the sixth Dread Master. She inherited Styrak's part in the union. Bestia and the others kept it a secret as to not expose their least experienced and therefore most vulnerable member. It was easy for anyone even somewhat aware of the Dread Masters to assume Styrak was back in the union. It was easy for people to overlook the tiny woman as the sixth Dread Master as opposed to the giant imposing man who has held the position for the past thousand years as well. And for the most part, he kept doing what he did, while also teaching Rammas as his apprentice. 

"I'm coming with you." Styrak said. 

"No objections here. Considering Vaylin's presence, the more power we bring, the better. Can we get Sharack for a full family outing?"

Lana shook her head. 

"Sharack is helping clean up remnant Zakuulan forces on Voss."

"Guess we'll have to manage without her, then."

The Alliance fleet dropped out of hyperspace at the Gravestone's location. The ancient ship floated in space, and a number of Eternal Fleet vessels hung by. They stayed silent as a small vessel disembarked from Deimos, Dread Masters' flagship. It entered the Gravestone's hangar unimpeded. 

"Koth really wasn't kidding about locking down the controls, huh." Bestia muttered, stepping out. Styrak followed her. "It's odd that the Eternal Fleet is quiet. I'm not complaining though."

They found Koth hiding in a tunnel nearby. 

"So." Bestia put her hands on her hips. "What's going on?"

"Where is Rammas?" Styrak demanded. 

"Vaylin has my crew, but the controls are locked." Koth looked worried and annoyed at the seemingly irrelevant question. "Rammas isn't with them. Probably hiding somewhere. It doesn't matter, if they get around the code we're in huge trouble." 

"No shit, they'll have control of the ship." 

"It's not just that. Do you know what a quantum bomb is?" 

"A what?" Bestia's head tilted to the side. 

"If they get around the codes everything in a several thousand kilometer range will go boom." 

Bestia stood silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. 

"Why in the fucking galaxy did you do that?!"

Koth flinched, both from being yelled at and from Bestia's power that began seeping from her, almost visible to the naked eye. Styrak stepped in, and Bestia walked to the edge of the hangar, fuming. She whipped out her communicator, hoping her message would get through. 

"BRONTES! GET THE FLEET OUT OF HERE NOW!" 

"There is a way to stop it." It wasn't much of a question. Styrak's voice was remarkably flat, given the situation. 

"Of course there is. I'm not stupid." 

"That is debatable. Show us how." 

While Styrak was grilling Koth, Bestia managed to calm down somewhat, and rejoined their little congregation. 

"Okay, where do we go to disarm the bomb? Also, were Vaylin and Scorpio alone?" 

"They have Skytroopers with them. I've been able to avoid them, but they might get on our case." 

"I'll deal with them." Styrak offered. 

"Let's go." Bestia growled. "Let's clean up this mess…"

The first fuse was nearby. Koth set to work on disabling it, and just as he started, a patrol of Skytroopers walked in. Bestia and Styrak dealt with them quickly.

"I could get used to having stupidly powerful Force users keeping me safe." Koth straightened."Anyway that's the first fuse. The second one is going to be difficult." 

"It's on the bridge, isn't it?" Bestia guessed. 

"Yep. Where Vaylin and my crew are." 

"You have two Dread Masters with you." 

"The child and the droid will be focused on us." Styrak said. 

Koth glanced at the two of them. 

"True. Let's go." 

When they reached the bridge, Vaylin and Scorpio were both gone. The crew, however, was tied up on the floor. Koth ran to them, freeing a large bald man with noticeable burns on his body. Bestia recalled the man's name to be Len, and that he was Koth's second in command. Bestia and Styrak took positions on the sides of the door, watching for enemies.

"You alright?" Koth asked Len. 

"Don't know…" the man mumbled. He threatened to topple over when Koth freed him. 

"We're alive." Tora snapped at him. "Took you long enough."

Koth freed her, and she in turn freed the rest of the crew while Koth worked on the second fuse. Styrak glanced over the room. Like Koth had said, Rammas wasn't here, meaning Vaylin and Scorpio hadn't found her when they rounded up the crew. But the Empress wasn't here either, meaning she could find the new Dread Master any minute. Styrak could sense Vaylin's presence, but it was far away.

"Where are Vaylin and Scorpio?" Bestia called out. 

"Probably went out to hunt you." Tora said. 

"I don't have time to explain but all of you have to go to the escape pods now." Koth said. 

He watched his crew run out. When they were gone, he stood by the console, staring down at the keyboard and the screens. The bridge controls were unlocked. He guessed Scorpio sliced through them. However, something wasn't adding up. If Vaylin and Scorpio went around his encryption, they should have tripped the bomb. But they clearly haven't. As if answering his silent question, a small image of Scorpio appeared above the console. Koth took a step back. Bestia noticed and stepped in, sneering at the droid. 

"What do you want?" Bestia demanded.

"Listen carefully. Time is short." 

"Well I don't have time for your six dimensional Pazaak."

"My "six dimensional Pazaak" is keeping you all alive. You are welcome." 

Bestia grumbled, but decided to listen. 

"We have the same objective. Like you, I wish to save the Gravestone. I lured Vaylin away so you could disable your failsafe." 

"Huh. Thanks, I guess." Koth said, still frowning. 

"Vaylin has cornered one of yours. I understand you might want to save her too." Scorpio stared right into Bestia's eyes.  

"Why are you suddenly so helpful?"

"The Gravestone is the key to everything. And the site of their fight may prove to be your undoing." 

Koth's eyes went wide. 

"Oh no." 

"What?" Bestia turned to him. "Where are they?" 

"The creepy monolith room. I hid the bomb there." 

Bestia was sprinting off before Koth could even finish. He cursed under his breath and ran after her. Styrak did his best to keep up. They burst into the chamber only to see Rammas thrown against the monolith, sliding down to the floor and leaving a dark smear on its surface. Before Vaylin could gloat, Bestia tackled her to the ground and unleashed her full power onto her. Styrak knelt before Rammas, channeling healing into her. Suddenly, he was thrown to the side, nearly hitting the wall. He saw Bestia flying through the air, but she used the Force to push away from the wall and land crouching on the floor. Vaylin fired lightning at both of them, and Styrak blocked it with a lightning bolt of his own. While two torrents of electricity collided in the middle, Bestia circled around. She heard Koth swearing from below. 

"Koth?"

"We have three minutes!"

Bestia nodded, and charged at Vaylin, hitting her with Force Fear once more. This time it sent the human flinching, battering at her already weakened mental defences. Vaylin screamed, and there was a bright flash of light. Bestia found herself thrown against the wall again, her hair standing on end. She glanced about and saw Styrak getting back up. His wings unfurled from behind his back. And then she saw Vaylin stumble. Bestia suddenly felt tired and hollow. Her eyes drifted to the center of the room. Rammas stood by the monolith, one hand resting on its surface, her face blank. 

"Something is draining us!" Styrak shouted. He looked frantically between Bestia and Rammas. He had to decide. In the end, he tried to make his way to Rammas, her being closer, and a hunch telling him she might have something to do with the Force being sucked out of them. Before he could reach Rammas, Vaylin appeared next to the small Sith, grabbed her and held a lightsaber to her throat. The action dragged Rammas away from the monolith, and the moment her hand left its surface, the weight lifted, and Rammas was suddenly blinking rapidly. 

"One move." Vaylin hissed. "From either of you. And she's dead." 

She sidestepped both Dread Masters, now utterly powerless to stop her, and dragged Rammas away into the tunnels. 

"I'll be fine!" Rammas yelled. 

"We have to stop the bomb first." Bestia said. "Koth?" 

"It's shielded. There's three relays in the tunnels around the room, disable them and I'll be able to turn it off." 

"Got it. Styrak, you go left, I go right." 

Styrak nodded, and the two split up. He had to squeeze through the narrow tunnels, which added to the rage-fueled lightning storm that he unleashed onto the relay. A more rational part of his mind told him to trust Rammas and that she was a Sith and would find a way out. However, it still failed to stop the panic churning in his chest. Rammas was his replacement as a Dread Master. If something happened to her, he wasn't sure that the Dread Masters would survive the shock it would send across their Force union. But also, maybe he'd have his power back? No, this was definitely not the appropriate thing to consider, something piped up within him. Could it be that he was growing a conscience? Could it be that he also got genuinely attached to someone who wasn't Bestia, Calphayus, Mu'hass, or one of his Kell Dragons? 

Styrak put away the moral dilemma for a moment as he squeezed through another tunnel. He saw Bestia standing over the smoking remains of the relay. 

"Is that the last one?"

"Yeah. Let's go back to Koth and see if we're going to die."

"A second time for me." Styrak quipped grimly.

They found Koth sitting on the edge of the catwalk in the central room. He wiped sweat off his forehead when the two Dread Masters entered. He looked relieved. 

"Bomb over!" He called out cheerfully.

***

Vaylin dragged Rammas along corridor after corridor. She was much taller than the Sith, and Rammas found herself struggling to walk. She was also being choked, and felt dizzy. The corridors faded away before her eyes, brightening into a dull fuzzy gray that made her think of death and disease and rot. She saw a gray room with a small bed and a force field wall. She blinked and saw a human with shiny black hair, beard, and dressed in elaborate white robes, looking down at her as she hid behind someone's legs. His eyes were pitch black. His face was vaguely familiar. She blinked again, and now she stood before a hexagonal energy cage. A small human girl sat curled up on the bed inside. Her hair was long and golden. Rammas put a hand to the energy field and the hand was tiny. She blinked, and was back inside the Gravestone. Vaylin was shaking her like a ragdoll. 

"Hey. Don't die on me. You're my meat shield." 

"Shut...up…" Rammas mumbled. 

"Oh. Good. You're alive." 

Rammas bit back whatever witty response was slowly cooking in her fried brain. She found her lightsaber gone, now hanging off Vaylin's belt. She had to think, and fast, and this was exactly what her head refused to do. Those visions weren't exactly new, but this was the first time Rammas got more than a vague hunch. She wondered if Vaylin had something to do with the years missing from her childhood. Unable to think clearly, Rammas decided to play along for now. She'd find a way to escape when her head is clearer. And maybe she'd find some answers along the way.

***

"We have to find Rammas." Styrak was limping to and from, his cane making a clacking noise every step. 

"I know, but if Vaylin is with her we can't really do much."

Bestia sat in one of the chairs. She, Koth, Styrak, and a bunch of reinforcements from the fleet reconvened at the bridge. The other three Dread Masters were here as well. Calphayus was trying to offer Styrak a cup of tea which he eventually accepted, plopping down in one of the seats. 

"We will find her." Calphayus reassured. "And she's a capable young woman, she can take care of herself."

"I know. But she is also part of the union, and if that gets damaged again, I am not sure how the Dread Masters as a whole will handle it."

"That is a legitimate concern." Brontes turned from the console that she stood by together with Koth and Tyrans. "Have you found a way to unbind the union?"

"Not yet, which is why I'm worried."

"I think you're mostly worried because you see Rammas as your child." Calphayus said, and took a sip of his tea.

"No, I don't." Styrak huffed, and crossed his arms. "This is bloody preposterous."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Bestia chuckled, despite the grim situation. 

Styrak opened his mouth to protest, huffed again, then closed his mouth and took a big gulp of the tea Calphayus had given him. Exhaustion creeped up his bones. Both the physical kind from having been drained, and the social exhaustion of having to be around so many strangers. 

"I'll go find somewhere to be alone." He said, slowly getting up. 

"We'll be here." Bestia replied. 

Styrak limped away, teacup in hand. Bestia sunk into her chair. She watched Koth explain how the Gravestone worked to Tyrans and Brontes, who nodded and asked questions. 

"Man I'm fucking beat." 

"Language!" Calphayus protested feebly.

"Yeah, sorry. Point is, something weird happened. You know this creepy monolith room here on the ship? Well, in the middle of the fight against Vaylin, it started draining us of our energy and Force power, and Rammas stood next to it like she was asleep."

"That is odd, indeed." 

Suddenly, she heard Lana calling her over. She shambled towards the main console. Theron was on holo.

"The Eternal Fleet jumped into hyperspace." Theron said. "It's just us left here now. We've got some reinforcements in the docking bay."

"Secure the ship and tell us if you find Vaylin or Scorpio. Vaylin has a hostage with her." Bestia said. 

She moved back to her chair and closed her eyes, fully intending to take a nap. She heard Koth cheering, and Lana scolding him for the whole bomb situation. Rest would elude her, because suddenly the room fell dead silent. A familiar metallic voice rang out from the communication system. 

"This vessel is under my control. Organic beings have a few minutes to abandon ship, after which your lives will be forfeit." 

"What do you want with the ship?" Brontes asked.

"The Gravestone is the key to everything. It, the Geminis, and the eternal fleet are all connected. I must find out how." 

The ship jumped into hyperspace with no command from Koth or anyone else. 

"Where are you taking us?" 

"The Gravestone is going home." 

Just as Scorpio said that, the ship fell out of hyperspace, surrounded by a swarm of Eternal Fleet vessels, all bound for the same destination. Everyone gaped at the sight before them: a huge grey planet with a white glowing ring wrapped around it. The Gravestone approached the planet, and up close, it was fully made of metal. The glowing ring turned out to be an enormous brightly lit gap that led inside. The white glow brightened until Bestia couldn't see anymore. And then, she blacked out.

[thegeminisage]

im playing zelda as much as i possibly can today since for once i have a bit of free time

ooooh this is mine cart land!! the thing with the three goron brothers...ugh my besties

they only wanted me to get 5 or more but i got 11! seems like a weird number, were there some i missed?

there's a similar minigame to this in mario sunshine which is 10000x harder. speaks to the value and smoothness of the gyro controls

they give me arrows before i play but like. um. i actually buy arrows at every single store. so. i have 590 of them....................

aww kabetta's striking out on his own to do a course up on death mountain!! im literally keeping my eye out!!!!

YOOOO when i wear my ruta helm yunobo wears it too!!! wtf!!!!

EMBER HEADDRESSSSSSS THIS IS SICK! ITS FUCKING DRAGON HORNS!!!!!!

whoa, i found a secret room with yunobo's diary...little surprises like this are so nice especially since i know every single thing about the story and ending from here on out already

YOOOOO its zelda...hold on drop EVERYTHING im gonna go farming. rip babygirl

you know, i take back everything i said about them having fucked dragon farming. sitting on a dragons back for 10m and looking at how beautiful the world is actually fucking rules. i wish i had the patience to do it for more than 2 cycles, but in a way it's better that i don't bc seeing them is more exciting! i was so so so so so skeptical, but it actually feels a lot more real and enjoyable than just mindless camping and shooting over and over, even though it's less predictable...

hyrule castle looks so fuckin spooky from here. i could just glide right over. don't wanna not gonna

oh my god oh my god oh no we're getting. bestie. babygirl. WE ARE GETTING SO CLOSE TO A FLAME GLEEOK U DON'T HAVE TO WORRY BUT I DO...........

maybe we're so far under it that it won't notice me 😭 i didn't realize they just fly around sometimes!!!

danger passed, got my second item, back 2 death mountain

actually no wait i need to refill my control sticks first. im down to like 5 or 6

ok, in doing that i realized there's a ton of sky shrines i activated but haven't done....

but let me not get distracted from death mountain lol. i'm so close

came across a freak korok seed. im sure i have the correct solution but the little bastard wont show itself...

i finally hit 999 brightbloom seeds again lol. this game..........

okay i have OFFICIALLY cleared out death mountain! aside from sidequests and that one freak korok seed. i've just got kakariko and that little nowhere-corner of the typhlo ruins to go on this side of the map 😤 aaaaaaaaaaa

[monkeywriiter23]

The days turn into night. A book by me.(WIP)

      Chapter 1:

                                 Jack Thistle

I laugh . Me and my friends were walking home from our school in the very BORING city of Le Pufe.  It might sound like a fun city, but believe me, it's not. And if I had to guess, I would say It is the most boring city in Quebec, If not that, then in all Of Canada. Also,to put this out,I only mention this for reasons which you will find out about later in the book, and a LONG way onto the book, and we are also practical jokers. No, Like, a GANG of practical Jokers, cause it is our thing. Anyways (Insert hook here) Let's get Into this story:

´

“I LIKE YOUR CUT G” Kaden shouts at a random person across the street, As we walk away in storms of laughter.

´Well, see you tomorrow” says Ariz. “Bye”. At this point, there was just Me, Lucus, and Aurora left in are walking group. Me and Lucus live in the same apartment building, so we walked the same way. We turned the corner onto Cromwell street, and Aurora stepped out of the group. 

“Awkward,” I say.

 “What is?” said Luke. 

“T- '' I begin to say. 

“What the heck?” said Lucus. He was looking across the street, and a half man half wolf sort of thing was running into the bushes. He, or it, jumped into some white circle-like thing. Me and Lucus, being the stupid kids we are, chased after it. 

“Oh my gosh”. I heard screaming, and that was the last thing I remembered… at least the last thing I remember seeing, I could still hear fine. I was in great pain, and luke was nowhere to be found, but I could not see, so I thought he was just in shock. I guess someone found me at some point, because I felt myself moving, and I heard chanting. The way I felt myself moving was phenomenal, it felt like I was being carried away through the sky by a tornado, a tornado that made me feel like I was drowning. 

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAAAHHHHAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAAAHHHHAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

   ***** “Beep beep beep”.  What's that noise? I said waking up from my dream. Oh. It's the alarm clock.I get up and turn it off. “Such a weird dream...” I mumble to myself. I check the time. 6:50  it said. I go to the bathroom and take a shower. It was a Sunday today, so I did not have to get up so early. My Dad would usually get angry at me for getting up so early, but he got a job that starts at 8 o'clock,  it’s all the way on the other side of town, so it takes two hour’s to get there.

since we don’t have a car and he has to take the bus. Me and my friends were planning to meet at the coffee shop downtown today, so I didn’t have a big breakfast. I probably could have not made a big breakfast anyway. At about seven o’clock, mom got up. “Good morning mom,” I said. 

“Good morning” she replied with her morning voice. “My friends texted me and asked if I could go to the coffee shop, can I go?”

 “Ok, but you are paying for the streetcar.” 

“Uggg, fine,” I say. So I finished breakfast, did my chores, plus my homework, which took until 9;30( ugh negatives to the power of 3,)  and stepped out the door and to the streetcar stop. It was nice to get fresh air for a change and to take a walk. 

 There was a nice breeze outside. It was a perfect mix between the sun and the city’s honking traffic. It was about 10 o'clock in the morning, so there was the wonderful noise of birds chirping.  There I was at the streetcar stop, rocking back and forth on my feet. The streetcar came with its classic screeching as it came to a stop. I was almost at my stop when I suddenly heard “next stop-’. Weird, I say to myself. Why didn't it say the stop name on the announcer?. The streetcar came, or screeched, shall I say, to a stop. I looked out the window, Two more stops,I said to myself in my head. I was dozing off… SCREECH… Bonk! Ow! I hit my head on the seat in front of me, because there was a red light. Oh good, I say to myself, My stop. If that didn't happen, or more simply, if I didn't hit my head on the seat, I would have missed my stop. This book seems boring so far, does it? Just wait, as time will tell. No, you shut up. I'm not arguing with you. Anyways, I took my phone out of my pocket, to text my mom. 

“'m at the cafe” I start to text, when all of the sudden…  “ I LIKE YOU CUT G !’ Kaden said as he hit me in the back. “

“Do you just do that with everybody? Oh, Hi Jack,” Aurora said. “So he’s finally here, is he?” said Lucus. “Yea, no crap Sherlock,” I said. “I'm gonna go get a coffee.” I walked into the cafe, which, for some reason, had a distinctive smell of gasoline. “One double double please.” Weird, I say to myself. Why is that guy looking at me?  He seems angry. Why Is-. That's the last thing I remember. Before I, for some unexpected reason, I lost consciousness, or so it seemed because it was only for a second. 

The next thing you know, I was back on the streetcar.

 *** 

Let me know if you want to hear more!

[teamconductors]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Lost Tracks of Time, Derailed: Frenzy, Part 2

Previously on PMD LTOT Derailed: Ingo was sent into a frenzy by a mysterious and very random lightning bolt. The rest of Team Conductors chased him down to Sneasler’s Seat, where they battled and captured him with only Eelektross fainting. Can the remaining team help Ingo escape from the weird condition he’s in? Or will Ingo lose his mind permanently? (Probably not the latter)

Author’s note: Alright, time to finish this thing! It was only a month in the making with the talks on tumblr or something. Anyway, prepare your favorite Vs. Frenzied Noble theme for this chapter because it’s something. I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Thank you @furiouskettle for inspiration for this whole crazy ass AU!

(Shippers DNI)

In Celestica Town, Arcanine and Avalugg were the only Nobles still there. Arcanine just freed Avalugg, and their return allowed Kleavor and Wyrdeer to find Ursaluna. Though Avalugg was nowhere near the size of his ancestors and relatives, the Pellipers used his body as a perch to get a view of the entire town.

Arcanine, who was lazing about on his Noble friend, jumped to attention upon seeing another friend approach the town. “Oh! Sneasler! Hi, Sneasler! What’s… up?” He tilted his head on seeing her carry something glowing.

“Sup. But also, where’s everyone?” Sneasler asked. Under her arm, Ingo kept trying to wriggle out of the coats to no avail. Emmet rode in her basket but popped the top off once they arrived. Chandelure floated behind them, carrying the still-fainted Eelektross with Psychic.  

“Visitin’ the other plate holders, apparently,” Avalugg said. Avalugg’s voice echoed around the mountains – not because he was yelling but because his size made his voice naturally loud.

“Seriously?! The one time I need them?! Ugh…” Sneasler facepalmed with her available hand.

“Uh, is your little bro supposed to be glowing?” Arcanine asked.

“No! He just…” Sneasler held up Ingo to Arcanine's face and Avalugg’s view. Ingo growled at the two Nobles. “Some weird lightning happened, and now he’s glowing and super strong and fast and he’s super angry and WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO?!"

“Lightning? He got hit by lightning?” Avalugg asked.

“There was a lightning bolt. It struck Ingo, and Ingo is now not himself,” Emmet said.

“Lightning… lightning from nowhere…” Avalugg said. “It’s all groggy, but something like it’s happened before.”

“What? How?!” Sneasler asked.

“You know how to help Ingo?” Emmet asked. He stood on top of Sneasler’s basket to get a better view of Avalugg.

“Let me think through the fog first…” Avalugg’s jaw moved like he was chewing on something. “It… has to do… with… food.”

“Food?” Emmet asked.

“Yeah, lad. Food,” Avalugg said. In some frostbitten memories, he saw lightning, he saw the cold tundra air, and he saw little bags filled with food.

“Oh! What if he just needs his favorite food?” Arcanine asked.

“Arcanine, this is serious!” Sneasler said.

“I’m serious, too! I mean, when I’m super angry, eating good food helps me feel better!” Arcanine’s tail wagged.

“You know the worst part, lass? That sounds correct,” Avalugg said.

“I want to try that,” Emmet said. Though he was willing to battle Ingo if it meant stopping him from hurting himself, Emmet preferred a more efficient, less violent solution to his brother’s ailment.

“…Alright. Sure. Why not?” Sneasler shrugged. “Emmet, what’s Ingo’s favorite food?”

Emmet held up one claw and opened his mouth to speak. He stood still for a couple seconds, then his hand lowered in defeat. “…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?! How do you not know? You’re twins!” Sneasler said.

“Amnesia,” Emmet said.

“Okay… Chandelure, what about you? You know anything?” Sneasler turned to the Old As Balls pokemon.

Chandelure nodded. Their flames shifted in size as they recalled what Ingo liked when he was human and they were together.

Sneasler and Emmet watched the pokemon “talk” until a realization came over Sneasler. “Oh right, our translator is kinda knocked out. Sorry, don’t know what you’re saying,” Sneasler said.

Chandelure’s flames stopped and stilled like the others were looking at a picture of the pokemon instead of seeing them in person.

“Well, shit. We have no idea where to start,” Sneasler said. “Do you know how many types of food there are, guys?! We could spend years trying to figure it out!”

“We have a starting point,” Emmet said. “The Pearl Guild has a chef. He makes dinners, and they’re delivered to our tents. He can help us.”

“Works for me. Let’s get out of here before he tries to eat my finger or something.” Sneasler readjusted her hold on Ingo before taking off.

***

On a far wing of the Pearl Guild’s main building was the kitchen. A wide pantry that covered a wall was filled with jars of grains and spices, baskets of berries and vegetables, and boxes of rice, pasta, and other odds and ends for cooking different dishes. A large pot sat on a hearth in the middle of the room. Two tables sat on opposite sides of the pot to have plates and ingredients at the ready. An insulated box kept perishables fresh longer, thanks in part from Gaeric’s assistance in making ice.

Riley the Lucario tended to that night’s dinner – a tomato berry-based stew – when he sensed someone coming his way. He identified them as Emmet, Lady Sneasler, and Chandelure based on their auras. He didn’t recognize the fourth one.

“Dinner will be ready soon, so please be patient, Team Conductors,” Riley said.

Sneasler (still carrying a wrapped Ingo under her arm) and Emmet both kicked open the kitchen door. Riley jumped and nearly dropped his ladle.

“I am Emmet. We need good food for Ingo,” Emmet said.

“Hi. You’re the cook, right? Wanna help us help this guy?” Sneasler pointed to Ingo, who growled at Riley. Chandelure floated past them all and looked up close on each ingredient in Riley’s pantry.

Riley stared dumbfounded at the team. Not only did the weird Sneasels and Lady Sneasler barge into his kitchen unannounced, but Ingo’s aura was completely unrecognizable. He could see a glimpse of it underneath the unworldly energy, but that was only when he looked hard enough.

Emmet pointed to Ingo. “That is Ingo. Ingo is verrry much not himself right now. He needs his favorite food to recover, but we don’t know what it is. Help us.”

“…Okay… Uh, let me finish making tonight’s dinner first…” Riley considered asking for some compensation, but looking at Ingo again made the thought disappear. He never interacted with the twins outside of their daily wake-up calls, but even he knew what Ingo was like. And he knew that growling, intimidating others, and generally being unapproachable was not Ingo’s usual self.

And thus began Riley’s overtime shift. Team Conductors already eliminated the obvious foodstuffs: apples, berries, and gummis were ruled out by Ingo’s refusal to eat them. The first recipes he tried were the ones he could easily make or had on-hand: rice cakes and rice balls, pickles and pickled radishes, poffins and puffs.

When Ingo was given a sweet poffin, he chewed for a moment before spitting it out directly in Riley’s face. Ingo growled and struggled with his restraints for the first time in an hour.

Sneasler put him into a Bewear hug to stop him from ripping apart the two coats. “Stop it! Uh, brake! Halt! …Okay, I give up. Just please stop.”

“He doesn’t like sweets,” Emmet said.

‘Noted…” Riley wiped the chewed-up food from his face.

Without really thinking about it, Sneasler scratched the top of Ingo’s head. She realized what she was doing when Ingo’s purring overpowered the sound of the hearth’s flames. His ears even relaxed instead of standing high on alert. Sneasler stared at Ingo and pulled her hand away from him. At least he stopped struggling.

“Oh no, I just had an awful idea… What if his favorite food is something we can’t make?” Sneasler thought about Ingo and Emmet’s theory that they were time travelers. That, and the fact that Ingo was reincarnated from a human, made it a real possibility.

“Sneasler, do not tell bad jokes,” Emmet said. Emmet’s voice cracked. He covered his mouth and shook his head. “We will fix Ingo. He won’t be like this forever. He can’t be like this forever.” The idea made him sick. Emmet couldn’t remember the first time he lost Ingo, but losing Ingo again when he was right next to him? His heart couldn’t take it.

“Okay, wanna try some weirder recipes then? Maybe I can try some human recipes. Recipes from humans. The recipes made by humans. A lot of recipes I know were first made by humans- er, versions of them, I mean. But let me get some humanier human’s recipes.” Riley muttered to himself as he searched through the boxes in his pantry.

“You… are really getting into this, huh?” Sneasler said.

Riley blushed. “Hey, I’m in the Pearl Guild, too. I may be more of a cook than a rescuer, but I like helping others, too. And… look at him.” He gestured to Ingo. “If my food can help him, then I’m gonna try every recipe I can.”

“Thank you,” Emmet said with a softer smile.

***

It was 3 am. Irida was running on three hours of sleep, and Chatot got even less. The rescue requests from Distorted Floors increased with each passing day, and the Nobles were still too busy dealing with their own duties to help theirs. The Nobles go missing, the Nobles are found but are “Chained”, the Nobles lost their “Plates”… Meanwhile, Palina brought back more and more cries for help from the post office.

“Chatot…” Irida sniffed the air. “Please tell me you smell that, too.”

“Well, I don’t know what it is I’m smelling, but… it smells good?” Chatot asked.

“It does… But what is Riley doing up this late?” Irida stood up for the first time all night. She stretched her legs and began her walk to the kitchen. Chatot followed suit after stretching his wings.

The unfamiliar smells were the first thing that made Irida realize something was up. The second was seeing Eelektross’s tail peek out of the infirmary room. The bottom half of Eelektross’ stretched out into the hallway, and he showed signs of poisoning. His head took up an entire bed, and he was next to the still-comatose Uxie and Mespirit. 

“So, Team Conductors is still here?” Irida asked.

“Makes sense. I haven’t heard anything from the team recently, though… I wonder if Lady Sneasler is here as well.” Chatot hopped past Eelektross.

“Most likely.” It made sense since she was their sister, but there could have always been a situation where she would have to separate from them.

Irida and Chatot walked to and opened the door to the kitchen. The strange but pleasant smell hit them like an Air Slash. Then they got a look at the scene. Bowls upon bowls of food were laid out across the countertops, all either emptied or almost full of foods. Riley held and stirred something in a small pot. Emmet was eating a bowl of pasta with spiced red sauce next to Sneasler and Ingo. Ingo glowed yellow and was tied up for some reason. Sneasler kept Ingo pinned to the ground. Chandelure floated above everyone like nothing was wrong.

“Hello, Guildmaster Irida, Mr. Chatot,” Riley said. “Would you like a midnight snack?”

“I… have a lot of questions…” Irida said. “Let’s start with the most pressing one. What happened to Ingo?!”

“Uh… Honestly, we don’t even know what happened,” Sneasler said.

“Riley is helping us help Ingo,” Emmet said.

“Riley is helping you… by cooking for you,” Chatot said.

“Yes.” Emmet nodded.

“Lady Sneasler, with all due respect… Is this really a good use of our time right now?” Chatot asked.

“Uh, yeah. Ingo is a lot stronger like this. I’m the only one who can keep him down,” Sneasler said. Almost to confirm her fact, Ingo snarled at Chatot and Irida, making Chatot jump back.

“Wh-What I meant is… while I am very, very concerned about Ingo’s current state, I don’t think we need a Noble to do this job,” Chatot said.

“Yeahhh, no. I’m not leaving this guy. Not chancing it.” Sneasler noticed Ingo struggling again.

“Lady Sneasler, Guildmaster Irida and I have been patient with the Nobles not helping us. But here you are, not even trying to collect the Plates or whatever it is you lot are doing!” Chatot’s feathers ruffled up, and his wings flapped in frustration.

“Look, I get it, you’re angry. I get it! But you have no idea what he’s like when he’s loose! We need to help him first, then I’ll help you guys or something!”

“Chatot, let’s give everyone some space for now,” Irida whispered to her partner.

“I’m sorry, my Irida, but I can’t handle this anymore! We haven’t been able to do anything for days!” Chatot flapped in Irida’s face. “Lady Sneasler, please act like a Noble and help us for once!”

“Chatot!” Irida snapped at her partner.

“You. Did not. Just-!” Sneasler’s growling could almost match Ingo’s.

She accidentally loosened her grip enough for Ingo to squirm out of the coats.

Emmet jumped to attention. “That is not good.”

Ingo screamed, making everyone cover their ears (and equivalent). He prepared a Poison Jab and dashed past Irida to strike Chatot. Chatot flew and was embedded into the opposite wall. The bird pokemon fainted from the critical hit.

Ingo ran off. Irida, Emmet, and Sneasler ran outside the kitchen. In an alarmingly short span of time, the plants that adorned the immediate walls were cut and withered from poison. Dents and holes in the walls marked where Ingo bounced off.

Irida stared at Chatot. “That… was one hit. That was only one hit. Time to sound the alarm!”

“No need, Guildmaster,” Calaba said. She, Lian, and Palina ran from an adjacent hallway to where they heard Ingo’s shout.

“So that was definitely Ingo. What on earth is he doing?” Palina said.

“Wait, that was Ingo?” Lian asked. “Are you sure? I mean, that didn’t seem like him…”

“We can ask questions later! For now, stop him before the entire guild collapses!” Irida ran toward the sound of Ingo’s scratching and snarls. She was followed by the three housekeepers and the rest of Team Conductors.

The rescuers found Ingo in the assembly hall. The room had a large stage and more than enough space to accommodate the members of the Pearl Guild. Plants and vines lined the walls and climbed to the ceiling, and the ceiling had several windows to act as a sunroof (though often covered by snow). Poison puddles ate away at the wooden floor. Ingo himself hanged on the wall that served as the backdrop to the stage.

“Well, at least he’s not covering the ground completely in poison again,” Sneasler said.

“Ingo! As your guildmaster, it is my duty to make sure you don’t hurt anyone else,” Irida said. She and Emmet approached Ingo, who growled as the two came closer. “Please do not make us battle you.”

As Irida stepped onto the stage, Ingo yelped and dashed at Irida with a Drain Punch. Irida used Double Team and made several illusionary copies of herself, one of which took the attack and dissolved upon impact. Instead of getting intimidated, though, Ingo Drain Punched copy after copy, trying to find the real Irida. Lian and Calaba used Water Pulse at Ingo, but despite them using the move repeatedly to try to strike him, their attacks missed.

All of Irida’s copies were destroyed by Ingo in bursts of snow fluff, so when he dashed to strike the guildmaster, a fluffy half-ton weight careened into him, knocking him to the floor.

“Thank you, Lina,” Irida said.

Palina, who just used Extreme Speed to save Irida, picked up Ingo by the scruff of his neck and Crunched down. “Alright, what’s our plan to contain him again?” she asked through her teeth. She yelped as Ingo swiped at her muzzle with Poison Claw, making her drop the Sneasel.

Lian used Acid Spray on Ingo, but the poison-type pokemon shook off the acid, getting it on Palina and Calaba.

“Lian, I know you’re not used to battling, but please think about your attacks,” Calaba said.

“S-Sorry,” Lian said. He had little time to feel sorry, though, as he sensed Ingo preparing a Drain Punch. Ingo rushed to strike Calaba, but Lian rolled up in front of her and used Protect. When the initial attack failed, Ingo struck the shield in a rapid-fire Drain Punching.

“Forget what I just said. Good one, Lian,” Calaba said from behind the Sliggoo.

Lian smiled, but it turned to a frown as he realized he couldn’t keep up the Protect indefinitely. Before Ingo could break the barrier, Sneasler scooped him up into her arms.

“Alright alright, that’s enough battle time,” Sneasler said. With one arm firm around his body, she scratched Ingo’s head and even behind his ears. Ingo started purring again, making her relax for just a moment. A moment was all that was needed for Ingo’s purr to shift into a sharp screech as he Iron Tailed Sneasler’s hip.

Ingo made a mad dash for one of the doors, but Palina used Extreme Speed and Crunch to stop him. “Nope! You are not leaving this room!”

Irida ran around the chaos to meet with Emmet and Chandelure. “Emmet, does Ingo know or used to know any fire-type moves?” she asked.

“No,” Emmet said. “Why?”

“We can encase him in ice,” Irida said. “My ice will keep him from moving to break free. We can even have Gaeric help, if we need to.”

“If the ice won’t hurt him, then I like the plan,” Emmet said. “Stay in a distant station, Chandelure.”

Chandelure frowned but understood that their flames could melt the ice. They left the hall to find Riley, who they are still certain could help their trainer.

“Lian, Calaba, use Water Pulse on Ingo please!” Irida said with her most leaderish voice possible.

“A-And what do you want me to do?” Palina asked as she watched Sneasler and Ingo try to out-speed each other.

“Make him tired,” Emmet said before Irida could answer her.

“Good enough for me.” Palina used Extreme Speed to join in on the chase around the room. Ingo literally bounced off the walls while using Poison Jab and Iron Tail. Sneasler resorted to parrying his attacks with her own Dire Claw. Palina resorted to spamming Extreme Speed, as she could not afford to use Flamethrower or Dig in the guild’s assembly hall. It was bad enough that Ingo was causing structural damage with each dash. Even worse, she kept stepping in Ingo’s puddles, poisoning herself.

“Irida, how are we supposed to hit Ingo?” Calaba asked. Next to her, Lian struggled to keep track of the three pokemon’s movements.

“You want water to help him freeze. I have an idea.” Emmet summoned water and Surfed around the room.

“EMMET!” Sneasler said as the attack hit her, Ingo, and Palina. The water covered the hall’s floor and took the poison with it. The non-poison type pokemon found that they were not poisoned upon contact with the water.

“Emmet… I understand what you were doing, but…” Between the poison and the super-effective move, Palina found it difficult to stand as her nerves shot pain through her whole body.

“Alright, let’s see if these old bones still work…” Calaba took a deep breath, then she charged at Ingo on top of the water, who was still recovering from getting disoriented from the tidal wave. Calaba used Surf to increase the water and dilute the poison.

The two Surfing pokemon distracted Ingo from an incoming Dragon Pulse, knocking him to his knees with a splash. This time, Ingo didn’t immediately get up.

“Now we have the space we need! Go, Emmet!” Irida promptly used Ice Beam. Emmet did the same. Ice crystals grew larger and larger around Ingo. He Iron Tailed to crush the ice as it grew around him, but soon the ice overwhelmed him. His entire body was encased in ice with only his head poking out.

“Did it work?” Lian asked.

“Looks like it,” Sneasler said. She and the rest of the pokemon watched Ingo try to crush the ice from inside with his claws, but he could make no progress on freeing himself. His attempts failed, and he resorted to simply growling at every living being in the room.

“Ah, so we’ve stopped Ingo’s rampage for now, which is good,” Irida said. “But this ice won’t last forever. Lady Sneasler, how do we help Ingo with his… condition?”

“Oh right, you don’t know,” Sneasler said.

“Ingo needs his favorite food,” Emmet said. “But we don’t know what it is.”

There was audible silence.

“That’s a pretty good joke, fellas,” Lian said.

“Not a joke. I wish it was,” Sneasler said.

“I suppose that explains Riley’s late-night cooking…” Irida stomach growled from her remembering the smells.

Riley ran out into the hall with a basket in his hand. Icy, slightly poisoned water flowed out of the doorway into the guild. Chandelure reentered the hall as well.

“Speak of the pokemon…” Calaba said.

“Hi again, everyone! I have one more food for Ingo to try before I need to do shopping,” Riley said.

Emmet ran up to Riley to see what he brought. Without asking, he opened the basket and found pastel-colored balls inside.

“Those are sweets,” Emmet said. “Ingo doesn’t like sweets.”

“Well, I just thought that some pokemon who don’t normally like sweets sometimes have an exception,” Riley said. “These are daifukus – uh, filled mochi. …It’s the only food thing left that I have on hand. If this doesn’t work, Gaeric and I can make sleep tea... Though maybe we won’t need it, looking at the ice…”

“Ingo got pissed the last time we made him eat something like that. Are we sure about this?!” Sneasler asked.

Ingo sniffed the air. His ears perked up, and his growling got louder. Poison leaked from his hand, which didn’t do much at first – until the pokemon realized he was producing so much that the ice started to crack from the internal pressure. Then streams of poison broke through the ice like a fountain.

“Oh, crap!” Irida said. She took an offensive stance and prepared another Ice Beam.

“Damn it, Riley!” Sneasler grabbed Riley by the back of his neck and intended to throw him out for provoking Ingo, but Ingo beat her to it with a Drain Punch. Riley was knocked over, and the mochis fell out of the basket and into the water.

Ingo took one careful step after another and approached a pink stuffed mochi. He picked up the treat, sniffed it, and took a small bite. His eyes widened. He hummed happily and took another bite. He scarfed down the treat and ran to grab and eat another pink mochi.

His glow burned brighter, turning from yellow to white with enough intensity to blind every pokemon who could see.

The light cleared, and Ingo looked like his old self. He was drenched from both water and sweat. Red blotches of dried blood were on his head. The edges of his eyes were red and puffed like he refused sleep for a long time.

“Is this a pecha berry jam-filled mochi?” Ingo asked. “This is excellent, Riley! I never realized until now how much I missed the taste and texture of this treat! Bravo!”

“Thanks…” Riley weakly gave Ingo an appreciative wave.

“Ingo!” Emmet tackle-hugged Ingo. “You’re back!”

Ingo hugged Emmet back. “It appears I’ve returned to the proper station, Emmet,” he said.

“Wait, pecha berry is your favorite food? But you’re a poison type!” Lian said.

“Not the berry itself, but this form with the mochi pleases my palette,” Ingo said. The subtle pleased expression on Ingo’s face transformed into horror. He let go of Emmet and bowed in front of the rest of the pokemon present. “Forgive me for my temporary loss of control!” Ingo said. He stood back up and said, “It is not becoming of a pokemon rescuer to endanger others, let alone my friends, family, and allies!”

“Wait, y-you remember what happened?” Sneasler asked.

“I am surprised by that as well, but yes. It… wasn’t pleasant. Like a foul combination of extreme sensory overload and a full-steam ahead train.” Ingo cleared his throat. “But! I have still caused many damages to the guild. Guildmaster Irida, what would you like me to do to pay for the damages I’ve caused?”

“Uh…” Irida looked around the room. She took note of the structural damages, plant destruction, and how beat up everyone was. Palina barely hanged on from the poisoning, Riley’s body wanted to pass out, Calaba was ready to use Rest, and Lian looked more worried than ever. “Yeah… first, go to sleep, everyone.”

“Pardon?” Ingo asked while Emmet asked, “What?”

“Just… let’s give everyone some space.” Irida took a deep breath. “I’m glad you are back to your old self, Ingo. I truly am. Just… Let’s put a pin on the repairs. Everyone needs to get well rested first, and the sun rises in a few scant hours.”

“Now that you mention it, my body does feel rather…” Ingo’s sentence trailed off as he fell to the side, though Sneasler caught him. “Thank you, Sneasler. As I was saying, I believe I overexerted myself from the battles.” His muscles ached all over, his cuts stung from sweat, his claws swelled from overuse, and he needed water.

“You agree to rest now?” Emmet asked. “Our destination is our beds then.”

***

In the twins’ tent, Ingo laid in his bed. He held his cap on top of his chest. Emmet sat in his own bed, sewing their coats back to normal condition after Ingo shredded through them to escape. Sneasler sat on the ground in front of the entrance.

Ingo, with his head laying back, turned to the bulletin board with his and Emmet’s various notes about their pasts. “…Would it alarm you if I said that the frenzy felt familiar?” he asked.

“Uh, yes!” Sneasler said.

“It wasn’t familiar to me,” Emmet said.

“How peculiar.” Ingo took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I realize I apologized earlier, but I apologize to you both again for seeing me in that state. I truly lost control, and I hurt all of you.”

“It’s fine, Ingo. We get it,” Sneasler said. “Though, now that I’m thinking about it, I gotta ask something.”

“What can I help you with, Sneasler?”

“Why did you run halfway across the region to go to my Seat? And where the hell did you find this?!” Sneasler got the Warden bracelet out of her basket and tossed it to Ingo.

Ingo turned the bracelet around in his hands. “…I do not have an answer that would satisfy you, sadly. If I had a reason to go to your Seat, it was not one I was consciously aware of. It was like I was drawn there. …And I do recall that being at the Seat and looking at that bracelet made me feel calmer.”

“Huh. Interesting. Well, sorry that all happened, Ingo,” Sneasler said.

“Yes. It was verrry strange,” Emmet said. “I am glad you are back, Ingo.”

“As am I, Emmet,” Ingo said. He grimaced as he thought of how to string together his thoughts. “Between the amnesia, the transformation into a pokemon, the possible time travel, and now the lightning, I am starting to wonder if I angered a legendary pokemon in my past.”

“I doubt it, but I might have,” Emmet said. “…Now I am worried they are taking it out on you.”

“Okay, now you’re just making yourselves all worried,” Sneasler said. “Which I guess is fair. Still have no idea why that all happened. But go the shit to sleep. We can figure that out in the morning. I’ll even let you help.” She pointed up to Chandelure, who smiled at the offer for help.

“Very well, if it will help you rest easy, Sneasler,” Ingo said.

He, Emmet, and Sneasler quietly prepared for bed, but a foreboding feeling would not depart from Ingo’s mind. Not only was the lightning and frenzying familiar, but so was Sneasler’s Seat and the bracelet. Chandelure’s flames reflected off the metal, and he turned the bracelet to watch the light dance. He needed the moment of calm again.

***

Author’s Second Note: Why is Ingo’s favorite food pecha daifuku/pecha jam mochi? Well, since he was working with Lady Sneasler, he had to deal with poison on a regular basis, so he had to keep pecha berries and full heals in stock. I imagine that Beni taught others how to make mochi, which eventually resulted in making pecha jam mochi. It’s medicinal without tasting like it, it’s delicious, he loves the texture of the mochi, it can keep for a while, and it’s very reminiscent of his time in Hisui.

[twinklelilstarkey]

Where is my girl, bro? - Qb!Rafe Cameron

Words: 2.1k+

Summary: Rafe is, finally, having the game that he anticipated for so long, but he can’t find you in the stands.

Warnings: Cursing? Female!Reader. Rafe being a sad boi for a few minutes. 

DO NOT REPOST, REWRITE OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORK!

Inspired by the iconic video “I can’t find my mama, bro” (but, of course, instead of mom, it’s his girlfriend)

One thing you absolutely hate but, for some reason, always happens to you is that whenever you really want or need to be somewhere at a certain time, something *always* happens and you end up being late. 

It could be for presentations, tests, and many other important things, and no matter what you do, it just happens. There’s no way to escape it.

Today is your boyfriend’s game. You never miss a game, ne-ver. And he has been telling you about it for way too long. Always saying how excited he is to play it, just so he can finally beat the guys that have been talking shit about his team nonstop for so long.

You did everything to get there in time. You left the college library early, went back to your apartment to take a shower and get ready. 

You did everything in time and still had at least twenty minutes to spear. So, with the time remaining, you calmly and slowly got onto your car and drove your way to the stadium with absolutely no worries. 

The time from your apartment to the stadium wasn’t all that much. Ten to fifteen minutes, max. Plus, the games are always a few minutes late. You were as relaxed as one can be.

But that’s when everything went to shit.

There was a car accident at one of the streets that connected to the stadium, so the road was closed. It wasn’t a big accident, just a tap that took one off the road slightly. No one was hurt, thankfully. But you had to do a whole different rout, where you were met with nothing but... traffic, of course.

Still, you didn’t stress. You still had time. Rafe didn’t have his phone on him anymore, so you couldn’t text him just to tell him know that you were on your way. But, still, you didn’t panic, yet.

It took you a good 15 minutes to get out of the traffic and get in the parking lot, to find almost no empty spots. 

But life’s still great, right?

You were able to park your car all the way in the back and as soon as you turned off the engine, your friends started blowing up your phone to say that the game has started.

You jumped out of the car, locked the doors and started running to the stadium. 

Midway through the ginormous parking lot, you remember that you left the lights of the car on. So, running back you went.

To say you were out of breath was an understatement.

You called your friends when you were able to get in the stadium (in as: ‘just walked through the door’) to see where they were seated, and you did that while walking at fast pace to the usual seats, slightly off to the left of the field, already expecting their answer.

And all you got as their answer was “our usual spot was occupied”, which made you stop walking and sigh to the ceiling, “we’re on the right, by the doors”.

And there you went again. Running like a mad woman, again, through empty hallways to the other side of the stands.

The game had been going on for a good few minutes now and Rafe was sitting on the bench, breathing a little heavy has he just left the field and his eyes study the stands.

“Where is my girl, bro?” He asks his teammate beside him.

His friend tries to help him find you, eyes scanning through the sea of college students and families, but soon enough he was called back in the game. 

Rafe’s telling himself many times that you are there and he just isn’t seeing you. 

You wouldn’t miss a game, right?

You pant as you make your way up to the stands. Your legs are starting to ache from the sudden running and jumping up stairs, and the urge to yell a ‘thank god’ when you spot your friends at the front seats and not all the way in the back is too intense for you to just not let out a whisper yell version of it.

“Finally!” Your friend says loudly over everyone’s loud excited voices.

You sit beside them, feeling exhausted, eyes already on the score board, scared to see that you missed any points, but you’re happy to see that you didn’t miss all that much.

You sip your drink excessively as you quench your thirst and your friend starts to update you on what you missed.

Rafe’s eyes go back to the stands as he makes his way back to the bench and he frowns at the fact that he can’t see you nowhere close to your usual spot. He looks through the sea of dark blue jerseys, trying to at least find his number on anyone and go on from there, but he just... can’t see you.

“Still can’t find her?” His other teammate asks.

“No, like... what the fuck?” He curses more to himself than anyone else, sad tone. “Where the fuck is she?”

He’s not cursing you, he’s cursing himself. Like what if he forgot to tell you that the game was today? He had stopped checking his phone long before the game started... what if something happen? Maybe he should’ve checked his phone earlier. 

Oh, god, where are you?

He lets himself fall back on the bench, eyes still on the stands, which almost made him trip over an helmet on the floor, but he didn’t seem to care all that much.

Your eyes stay on the field, watching the game continue as you try to cool down your warm body, nodding at your friend’s words and waving your arms around your face to seek some wind.

(...)

The game continues on, Rafe keeps on trying not to think too much about your absence on your usual seat, forcing himself to think that you have been there the whole game, and imagines you in previous games just to simulate some idea of your presence.

Everything is close to ending, his team is winning, as expected, yet he was still dragging his feet on the grass and letting his eyes stay on the ground as he walked back to the bench. 

He feels sad, this almost-win doesn’t even feel like a win. He never celebrated a home game win without you, and it’s weird to even think about it.

“Yo, Cameron!” His friend screams from a few feet away from him.

Rafe lifts his gaze from the ground, up to his friend. He has an outstretched arm, pointing at the opposite side of home team stands, the one’s he has been looking at for way too long.

Rafe’s heart speeds up for a bit as hope runs through his system and he stands up, almost running full speed to his teammate. He stands behind him to try and follow his pointed finger. His blue eyes scan the middle rows first and suddenly... he spots you.

You’re smiling at your friend, wearing his jersey, like always, shaking a cup on your hand and sipping the last drops of your drink at the bottom of the cup.

You are nowhere near where he thought you would be. Yeah, you’re on the front row but way off to the side, close to the doors that he had just walked through on the break.

How the hell didn’t he see you?

A wide smile spreads over his lips and his heart squeezes at the sight. He has never felt this much relief in his life. You’ve been here this whole time.

You’re not going to miss a home game win.

The last seconds of the game run out and the team starts celebrating as soon as the number zero hit the timer.

A heavy weight has been lifted off Rafe’s shoulders and he honestly didn’t even realize it was there until now. His smile is huge as he jumps around with his teammates while they chant whatever nonsense you always had trouble understanding a word of.

His helmet is on his hand, letting his hair flow away freely in the wind as his features twitch upwards in the happiness with the win of the game that has been on his mind for so long.

You smile from your spot on the stands, some people in the stands are just as loud as the team, jumping and dancing around. You can’t blame them, after so many weeks of both colleges fighting against one another on social media, yours can finally rub the win on their faces.

As the team separates to go to their girlfriends, boyfriends and family members, many people walk over to the railing of the stand.

Rafe walks towards you, smile as bright as ever, being highly contagious to you.

“Hi baby!” You squeal in excitement as he gets closer to you.

He answer back with a just as excited tone and cheesy nickname and comes closer to the stands. He climbs them a bit and you lean down to cup his face and give him the usual kiss after a game.

His cheeks are sweaty under your fingertips, but it’s not something you haven’t grown accustomed to.

When being able to pull away from the various pecks, Rafe helps you down the stands, almost against your will, and pulls you into a not so comfortable hug due to all the gear on him.

Yes, you, supposedly, can’t get on the field, but there’s too many people around you for anyone to notice, and other people are also doing it, so it will be impossible for someone to call you out specifically in the middle of such commotion. 

“I didn’t see you for most of the game.” Rafe tells you and you look up at him.

“I expected that. I got here late and supposedly our usual spot was taken.” You explain over the loud music.

“You were late?” He asks loudly, forced shock on his tone as he pulls a quite offended look on his face, “For my special game? How could you?”

You giggle at him and he breaks the fake expression so he can smile.

“There was traffic and the parking lot is completely full.” You explain.

“Excuses, excuses.” He says while waving his head from side to side comically, “You. little missy... for-got!”

He pokes your side with each word and you laugh at him again, loving his playful and excited mood.

“Did not do such a thing!” You say, playing along.

Rafe’s smile is wide and bright and god, you wish they could win everyday.

If it meant him stopping to worry so much about everything and just be this happy every day... Ugh, where do you sign? No matter what cost. You will sign that, god damn it.

As you’re about to pull away from your sweaty boyfriend, your friend stops you.

“Wait! Let me take picture!” She says.

You pass her your phone with the best of your ability and she takes it in her hands midair. You walk back to stand beside Rafe and wrap one of your arms around his waist, as his do the same, pulling you closer, completely against him.

Your friend takes as many pictures as she can of you two smiling, just for memories’ sake, but you, many family members and significant others, are interrupted by the usual voice saying a ‘please stay on the stands and do not step on the grass’ blah blah blah. 

“Thank you.” You thank your friend as she shows you the pictures from her place up the stands.

Rafe holds your waist close to him and, just like any other guy around him, he helps you up. But... Rafe is Rafe. He can only fight his urges to some extent.

As soon as your hands grab the top railing and you stand safely at the top, his hand lands a loud and hard smack on your ass.

God, you hate this man.

You send him a glare and the bastard sends you a cheeky toothy smile, so forced that even his eyes close with his cheeks. You shake your head in a chuckle and jump to the other side of the stands.

“Don’t take too long on the locker room!” You tell him over the loud music and he nods.

You’ll never forgive him for making you wait 2 hours for him to only say ‘Sorry, I had to enjoy the shower while we still had hot water’.

Never. You will take that with you to your grave.

“Sure thing, ma’am!” He says, playfully saluting you.

You smile down at him and take some steps back.

“Wait!” He says, hand on the air.

You walk back close to the railing and he smiles, climbing up the stands again.

“I deserve one more kiss, no?” He questions, standing right at eye level with you.

You bring his hair back, not letting it fall back on his eyes and cup his cheeks, giving him the kiss he so wanted and wasn’t able to get when you were standing beside him.

Rafe’s free hand holds you close to him by the back of your head, but you pull away quickly as soon as you feel his tongue touch your bottom lip.

“We are not doing all of that here.” You warn him.

He stares back at you.

“I’ll wait in the car.” You say, your lips hovering over his, pressing a last kiss on his lips.

He jumps back down to the grass and stares as you turn to grab your things from your seat. 

His last name is written across your back as well as his number. A dark blue jersey matching the one he is wearing right now.

Your friend stands beside you, so that the both of you can leave, and you give him a last look before he has to step away with his team and resume his celebrations while you go to the car.

He steps back from the stands, eyes on you and on his jersey. Rafe loves to see you wear it, it awakens some sort of possessiveness in him, but, god, he is dreading to take it off of you.

Is this good? Because I love the idea of qb!rafe, but I don’t know shit about American football, and wrote this on a free morning. Help.

If you guys enjoyed this, I’ll write a fic with qb!rafe and maybe some more imagines of him just being a jock...? Maybe?

[whiteqnn]

PURE [4] - Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

A/N: I’m back. Shout-out to my sister @mojajasnoscmrokirozproszy , who encouraged me into finishing this part.

part 1 

part 2 

part 3 

part 5

PURE [4] 

Corpse was confused, to say the least. He stared at the screen with his brows furrowed, not exactly understanding what just happened, or what caused Y/N to leave so suddenly. He thought they were all having fun, or at least that’s the impression Y/N gave while interacting with other players. 

Was she just pretending she’d had fun when in reality, she didn’t want to spend time with them? 

He knew it was none of his business. They didn’t even know each other, outside of these two short games they’ve both been part of. But Corpse was quick to get attached to new people, and Y/N’s sweet voice, her innocent demeanor, and pure personality made him instantly like her... 

Perhaps it wasn’t exactly a good thing that he felt so worried when she left, given the fact that two of them have spoken maybe for a few minutes since they met each other. But Corpse couldn’t help it, and certainly couldn’t stop this weird feeling that something was wrong and that he needed to make sure that Y/N was okay. After all, he was the only one who knew that she left. Except for his audience, of course. 

So the moment her white little astronaut suddenly disappeared, Corpse went on a killing spree. He didn’t even care about that whole finish my lyrics thing he decided to terrorize his friends with, he just wanted to finish this game and check on Y/N. It was obvious that she wasn’t telling the truth. Even though it looked like she was trying really hard to contain her emotions, he could still hear her quavering voice. It was too hard to hide, and he knew it firsthand. That’s why he made it his point to at least check on her.  

“Jesus Corpse, you just went full berserk on us...” Felix murmured when the last person was killed, and Corpse could see a sign victory on his screen. It didn’t make him smile though, not how it usually would. 

“It was great though! Let’s do it again, but maybe on the other map?” Sykkuno suggested, clearly very excited about this hide and seek game they’ve come up with. 

“Sure, let’s get the first one maybe?”

“Actually, would you guys mind if we had a little break?” Corpse asked before they could start another game. “We’ve been playing for a little while now...”

“Ah, yeah! Bathroom break!” came Rae’s response, followed by a few hums of approval. Corpse sighed in relief. He was afraid his worried voice would draw the attention of other players, but they didn’t seem to notice it. 

“All right, is ten minutes good?” asked Sean, and when everyone agreed, Corpse excused himself from his audience and muted his mic. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it, only to be hit by a sudden realization.

He didn’t even have Y/N’s number. 

“Fuck...” he cursed quietly under his breath, running a hand through his hair. How the fuck was he supposed to check on her? He couldn’t use discord, he was still streaming after all... Maybe Twitter would work? Nah, she probably wouldn’t even notice his messages. What was left then?

Of course. 

Sean.

Corpse didn’t even think about any explanation as he quickly typed in a message to the said man, asking if he had Y/N’s number. The response came almost immediately. 

“Yeah, I have. Why?” 

Okay, now what? He couldn’t just tell him what happened. Corpse knew that Sean and Y/N were close, but he felt like it wouldn’t be fair towards the girl if he told Sean what happened. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know... Maybe she didn’t want to speak to anyone. 

Him included. 

But Corpse felt as if he had to do it because that was something he wished someone would do for him if the roles were reversed. To at least show that he cared, that she wasn’t alone with whatever it was that bothered her... 

Was he being intrusive, for wanting to make sure that everything was okay? And what if she was totally fine and he’d just end up making a complete fool out of himself?

“Not that I haven’t already made a fool out of myself...” he mumbled under his breath, his fingers quickly typing the response to Sean. However, before he could finish it, the said man’s name appeared on his screen with an upcoming call. 

It was so unexpected that Corpse almost dropped the phone.

“Um, hey man” he said after picking up, his hands trembling as he tried to come up with some good explanation as to why exactly he needed Y/N’s number. “Look I-”

“Does this have something to do with her disappearance?” Sean cut him off, leaving Corpse with his mouth hung open, utterly shocked.  

“I um- no. I just wanted to call her and... cause I don’t have her number...”

“Corpse, I heard what she had told you...” Sean sighed into the phone “I was flying around you after you murdered me.”

“I...” Corpse tried once again and again found himself at the loss of words. His brows furrowed suddenly as he realized something “Wait- are you still streaming?” 

“I left for a moment to grab something to drink and call Y/N. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t say anything on the stream.” 

Corpse sighed in relief. If Sean managed to somehow play it off, then his fans maybe haven’t figured out what was going on. He didn’t want them to attack Y/N’s social media with tons of questions she obviously wouldn’t answer. 

“Do you know what happened?” Corpse asked quietly, hoping that maybe Sean knew something more that would ease his nerves. He hoped that it wasn’t anything serious, that maybe Y/N just had a bad day. “She left so suddenly and I got a little worried...” 

For a moment there was silence between the two of them, Corpse impatiently awaiting an answer and Sean thinking about the right words... or wondering whether he should tell him the reason for Y/N’s disappearance in the first place. 

“It’s- ugh.” Sean groaned, before letting out a heavy sigh “It stays between us, all right? I don’t want others to start texting her out of nowhere, asking if she’s okay. She would probably kill me.”

“Yeah, absolutely” Corpse nodded his head rapidly, even though Sean couldn’t see him. 

“Okay... So I don’t know the exact reason of her disappearance...” he began, and Corpse felt his heart sink in disappointment. “But I have some suspicion.”

“Can you be a little more specific, Sean? We don’t have much time before the next game...” Corpse didn’t want to sound rude but he was slowly growing impatient, and even more nervous when he still wasn’t able to check on Y/N and make sure that she’s okay.

“She received lots of hate after our last stream.” Sean finally explained, although his voice sounded quite reluctant. “And when I say lots, I mean lots, Corpse.”

“What?” Corpse grunted, his brows knitted together in confusion “What do you mean?”

“Oh you know, man... Comments on Twitter, on her Instagram, even under her latest video...” Sean let out an exasperated sigh “Apparently, some people are not happy that she’s playing with us.”

“Why?” Corpse managed to utter, completely shocked at the news. For some reason, it was the last thing he expected Sean to say. It didn’t even cross his mind that someone as sweet and polite as Y/N might have to deal with this kind of issue. 

She was always so kind, why would anyone hate on her? 

“You know how some people act online...” Sean murmured, his voice clearly gloomy, as opposed to his usual cheerful tone. “They think she shouldn’t be playing with us cause she’s not popular enough. Some consider her annoying, not funny enough, and so on...”

“What does popularity have to do with who we’re playing with?” Corpse almost growled these words, feeling anger slowly bubbling up in his stomach. He couldn’t comprehend why anyone would act this way towards Y/N, towards this little angel as Sean put it last time they played, towards this sweet, innocent girl, his partner in crime... 

“That’s what I told her before the stream” Sean explained with a sigh “And that she shouldn’t worry about what strangers think of her... but it’s easier said than done.” 

“You think she received another text or something?”

“I don’t know man” Sean sighed “I tried calling her like ten times already and she didn’t answer. It’s not like her to leave so suddenly, without saying goodbye. I’m worried something happened...” 

Corpse clenched his jaw, closing his eyes for a second. If Y/N didn’t answer Sean’s calls, why would she answer his? They barely knew each other, while Sean was her best friend.  

“Maybe... I’ll try calling her?” Corpse suggested anyway, his voice low and almost shy. He figured it was worth at least a try. 

Sean was quiet for a moment as if contemplating what to do. They were already running out of time, and Corpse didn’t know what to do. On one hand, he didn’t want to end the stream and leave his fans, he felt bad at the thought alone of disappearing so soon and disappointing them... But on the other, he couldn’t just leave Y/N like that. Especially, since as Sean explained, it wasn’t like her to act this way. It only proved that whatever happened was rather serious.

“Y’know what?” Sean suddenly said “I’ll give you her number, maybe she’ll pick up from you.”

“Thank you, Sean” Corpse said quietly, ready to end the call, only to be stopped by Sean’s words. 

“Look... I know I shouldn’t be asking you to do it, but... could you maybe try talking some sense into her?” he asked, clearly uncomfortable with this request “I feel like you’d be able to calm her down...”

“I...” Corpse stuttered, running a hand through his hair “I’ll try, okay? I’m not sure if she’ll want to talk about it though, I’m basically a stranger, so...”

“Corpse, she agreed to join us only after reading your last tweet.” 

Oh. 

His heart fluttered with something that didn’t seem like growing panic. And even though his face was expressing his worry, his lip corners formed a small, bashful smile. And whether he liked it or not, his cheeks turned completely red.

“I’ll... I’ll see what I can do” he managed to reply, before ending the call. 

Corpse ran a hand through his locks and down his face, releasing a heavy breath he didn’t know he was holding. He considered getting Y/N’s number a difficult task which, however, turned out to be the easiest one. Now came the real challenge. Calling her. 

For a moment, he just stared at the screen of his phone, scanning the new message from Sean, which consisted of Y/N’s phone number. It looked as if he was memorizing the number when in reality, he just felt panic overtaking his body and complete chaos in his mind. 

Let’s say she picks up the phone, and then what? Should he just say hi? Introduce himself? 

“Hi it’s me, the guy you basically don’t know and who became paranoid after you disappeared from the game” 

 Yeah, sure. Perfect introduction for the pep talk he was supposed to deliver. 

Why was it always that he acted almost as if on instinct one second, only to start having second thoughts a moment later. He couldn’t back out now when he had already got her number. Not when there was also another person counting on him. Not when he still didn’t know what the fuck happened, and for some reason was determined to find out. 

And then was the problem of his voice, which suddenly seemed stuck in his throat. It was a very weird feeling, typical for one to get while being on the verge of a panic attack. As if there was a need to talk, but the body refused to. As if his vocal cords were paralyzed and not eager to cooperate. 

As if it was him who just experienced something strongly upsetting, not Y/N. 

Corpse fidgeted with his phone for a moment, before deciding against the idea of calling the girl. He figured he wouldn’t be able to utter a single word if she picked up the phone from the unknown number in the first place. If she did though, she’d probably consider it some misdialed call or some prank. Which was the last thing he wanted her to think.

Instead, he opted on sending her a text. 

He sat still for a moment, thinking about a message that wouldn’t right away reveal the cause of his concern, but which would say enough to figure out who sent it. His thoughts drifted back to the game they were both playing, remembering his stupid comments and her gentle voice. His fingers typed out the message almost automatically. 

“Wanna jump into the lava with me?”

He hesitated just for a second, before sending the text, his heart doing a backflip in his chest the moment he pressed the send button. Corpse gripped the phone tightly in his hands, his eyes staring at the screen and waiting impatiently for those three little dots indicating that the other person is typing a response to appear. He waited and waited, and a lump slowly formed in his throat when Y/N didn’t respond immediately. 

Was he really getting paranoid? 

Maybe he was just tired. Or she had a bad day. Or she just found this game boring.

Or she didn’t want to play with them. Or she thought his comments were annoying. 

“I’m an idiot” Corpse muttered to himself and slapped a hand on his forehead, pushing those thoughts away. Deep down he knew that wasn’t the case, but the longer Y/N didn’t respond, the louder was the voice at the back of his head, telling him that her problems were none of his business and he shouldn’t be asking for her number in the first place.

But it was the right thing to do. He knew it, Sean knew it, and Corpse also hoped that Y/N did not perceive his text as some pathetic joke. He waited for a couple of minutes, before typing another message:

“I’m here, partner, if you need to talk.” 

He felt the need to assure her that despite the ongoing stream and the other players probably already waiting for him to return, he was there for her. That’s what he considered the best option, not to force her into talking, but to let her know that she wasn’t alone. And that it would take just one word from her to make Corpse drop everything and listen to her. 

After what seemed like an eternity of staring at his phone and analyzing his own messages, Corpse put his phone away, realizing that Y/N wasn’t going to reply anytime soon. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed in himself, and guilty as well. Perhaps it would be a better idea to call her, but at that moment he wasn’t able to trust his own voice. He thought about sending her another message but decided against it. Another new text was probably the last thing she needed, with her phone being drowned by hundreds of notifications from angered, and worried fans. 

All Corpse could do was hope that she saw his texts and that she knew she wasn’t all alone. He sure as hell wasn’t going to make her feel as if she was obliged to confide in him. After all, he was a stranger. 

Then again... sometimes to understand a problem and look at it from a different, new perspective, what one needed was, indeed, a complete stranger. 

-

The next two hours felt almost like an eternity. And a complete hell to Corpse. He tried his best to focus on the game and interacting with his fans, but no matter what, his eyes would drift towards his phone every now and then. Hoping to see Y/N’s name pop up on his screen, with a message saying that everything was fine. 

But then again... would it be enough to calm his nerves? Maybe she’d write something like that just so he wouldn’t worry. Just so he would leave her alone.

She might as well just tell him to fuck off...

The fact that he received so many notifications all the time, especially now, during a stream, didn’t really help. Each time his phone lit up with a new notification, he would crane his neck with the hope of seeing Y/N’s response, only to be disappointed when it turned out to be just some new comment or someone tagging him in an instastory. Something that usually made him really happy now was the reason for his irritation. 

He couldn’t focus on the game itself either, finding it difficult to do his tasks and form some logical arguments during discussions. He didn’t really care, to be honest, when people threw him away almost at the start of the game. Winning or being the best Impostor was currently the last thing on his mind.

So when he said his goodbyes after the last round of Among Us and ended the stream, after thanking his fans, Corpse didn’t know what to do with himself. The game, even though he didn’t really pay much attention to it, provided at least some distraction from his phone, which was still silent when it came to Y/N’s texts. She either didn’t see them or didn’t want to see them. Corpse could only guess what was her reaction if there was any. 

He’d exchanged a few messages with Sean though, the man asking about Y/N during the stream and after it ended. Corpse couldn’t stop the guilt from growing even more when Sean expressed his concerns regarding Y/N and her absence. He knew the older streamer counted on him when it came to checking on the girl, but, obviously, he failed at getting a simple message from her. 

What was he even hoping to achieve in the first place? That she will text back right away, telling him everything that bothered her, confessing all her problems? He would have to be a total idiot to expect this girl to react to his messages.

It was all so overwhelming and frustrating at the same time that he felt almost nauseous. 

Leaving his phone in his room, Corpse walked to his small kitchen to grab a glass of water. The cold liquid brought much-needed relief to his burning throat, giving him a momentary sensation of comfort. He tested his voice, clearing his throat carefully and mumbling some nonsense under his breath. A sigh left his lips once he realized he could talk again and this weird feeling disappeared. 

He splashed his face with cold water and returned to his room, plopping down on his chair and giving his phone a quick glance. Perhaps he didn’t expect Y/N to reply to his texts at all because at first, he didn’t even notice her name on the screen of his phone. He looked back to his computer, almost out of habit, glancing between the tabs he had opened on his screen before. 

And it struck him suddenly, making him almost jump out of his skin when he realized that she did text him back. 

Grabbing his phone quickly, he unlocked it and opened the messages, almost hitting the one with Y/N’s name on it. 

“Hey, partner.” was all the message said. And yet it made Corpse’s heart almost jump out of his chest, both from relief and a sudden feeling of panic. 

She texted him back. Now, what the fuck was he supposed to do?! 

He stared at her text for a second as if trying to convince himself that it was real and he didn’t accidentally pass out on his desk, dreaming that Y/N takes his comments and texts seriously. 

When he came to the conclusion that the text was, indeed, real, and Y/N probably expected him to write something back, he thought about the best way of asking her what happened. On one hand, he knew from Sean what could possibly be the reason for her disappearance. On the other, what obviously mattered was Y/N’s version. How to get it out of her though, without being too intrusive?

Corpse decided that the best option will be to make some dumb, small talk, which would ease her (and his) nerves.

“Y’know, I almost didn’t manage to finish the mission without you” he texted her, concluding that playing along this partner thing would maybe work. In his text, Corpse referred to the one time he was the Impostor after Y/N left, and which happened to be completely boring without her running around “Had Toast and others suspecting my every step all the time.”

This time, much to his relief, the three little dots appeared almost immediately.

“I’m glad you managed to kill’em all nevertheless.”

He imagined her saying it with that sweet voice of hers, which made him snicker, whether he liked it or not. While thinking of some right response, Corpse couldn’t help but wonder how did she know that he managed to kill every crewmate during that round... she wasn’t playing anymore then, so that could only mean she watched his stream.

“Not gonna lie though, everything would go way smoother hadn’t my partner in crime left me on the battlefield all alone :/” he texted her back. Corpse watched intently as the three dots danced next to Y/N’s name and suddenly disappeared, then appeared back again after a few moments, only to disappear again. And for a second he panicked, that maybe this text sounded passive aggressive, or that it made Y/N blame herself for leaving the game... 

However, when her response finally came, he realized he was wrong.

“Can I call you, Corpse?” 

For the first time in a really long time, Corpse was so eager to agree on a phone call.

He replied frantically, telling her that of course, she could call him, and then waiting impatiently for the call. And when she didn’t call immediately, like he expected her to, he found himself wondering if she suddenly changed her mind and decided against the idea of calling him. 

But then his phone buzzed and her name appeared on the screen.

The device almost flew out of his hands, his heartbeat quickening and a lump forming in his throat once again.

Relax, man. It’s Y/N, your partner in crime. You’ve heard her voice before. 

But this was different. The circumstances were different and the reason for a call was different too. And now it was just the two of them, as opposed to a lobby full of friends. And Corpse tried so hard to figure out how to convince her that all the hate she receives on social media didn’t mean anything, that for a moment he forgot she was still calling.

He pressed the green button carefully, as if he was defusing a bomb, and found himself unable to utter a single word, just like before. There was silence on the other line too, as if Y/N expected him to speak up first. 

So Corpse build up the courage and took in a deep breath, before letting out a quiet, almost shy:

“Hi”

 The word left his mouth almost as a whisper, and for a moment he thought that the girl didn’t even hear it, but then her voice told him otherwise.

“Hey... Corpse” she mumbled. She sounded so different, almost as if she was sick. Her calm and soft voice was so quiet that Corpse had some trouble hearing her at first. She sounded so tired, so hurt, so defeated, that he completely forgot every advice he had managed to stock in his mind before this call. 

“It’s good to hear you, partner.” he said after a moment, realizing that asking what’s wrong wasn’t the best thing he could do at that moment. He felt that she’d probably hung up on him if he did... “I didn’t think I’d hear from you after you aborted the mission.”

He heard her sigh out a laugh at his words, his tone playfully accusatory. The girl cleared her throat and wondered for a second, before replying:

“It wasn’t exactly my mission... And if I remember correctly, you were the one who broke our partnership, chasing me around the ship.” 

He could almost hear the smile behind her words, which made his lip corners curl up slightly. He was glad she still managed to joke with him. It meant that, perhaps, it wasn’t that bad. 

“Did I kill you, though?” 

“You would if you had a chance.”

“I had plenty of chances Y/N, and I never took one” he replied right away with a chuckle. “I may be the murderer, but I’m no traitor.”

“You say that after luring me to that lava pit and killing me and Sykkuno? It was a trap all along, wasn’t it?” she asked suspiciously, but he knew she was joking “I bet you were conspiring with MrBeast all this time...”

“How dare you” he scoffed, trying to hold back his chuckle “I took you there cause it’s a special place, it was no trap! It just happened to be the wrong place and the wrong time...”

“Sure, partner”

“I’m serious!” he laughed “Besides - I apologized, and if I remember correctly, I think we both agreed that I jumped into that lava pit for you after all...”

“After they voted you off! You didn’t have any other chance!”

“Maybe it was all planned?” he said, changing his voice to more mysterious “Maybe I conspired with MrBeast so I could jump into that lava pit... and the only way to do it is by being voted off. So, either way, I kept my word.”

“Fine... whatever.”

Their laughter died down and was replaced by surprisingly comfortable silence. Corpse was happy with how the conversation started - he believed it would be easier for Y/N to explain what happened now, if she wished to explain, of course. 

“Y’know...” he began after a second, deciding to change the subject and finally address the issue. “Partners are supposed to help each other... and be there when the other person is in need...”

He was careful with his words, being full aware that Y/N might find it uncomfortable to share her problems with him. He wanted to encourage her, just slightly, if his previous texts weren’t enough. 

She sighed quietly and he could sense her reluctance. 

“But only if the other person wants partner’s help.” he added after a moment, keeping his voice as soft as he could. Y/N didn’t respond right away, but she didn’t hang up either, which Corpse took as a good sign. He gave her a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts, before asking another question: 

“What made you so upset, Y/N/N?”

He could hear her inhale the air sharply as if she had trouble breathing steadily. The line went silent, not that Corpse was surprised. He waited patiently, giving the girl the time she needed to decide whether she wanted to answer that question and what words should she choose if she did. 

And when she finally spoke up, Corpse felt as if his heart could break.

“They are just so mean...” she almost whispered, her voice cracking. He didn’t have to ask whom she meant, it was obvious. “And I don’t even know why... I didn’t do anything to those people, and yet they are so mean towards me.”

Corpse hummed in response, allowing her to keep talking. If there was one thing he knew that helped coping with stress, it was sharing it with someone else. And even though he himself had a lot on his plate, he felt the need to be that someone for Y/N. 

“I... I don’t want you to think that I’m some crybaby, who takes everything super seriously and can’t take a joke, but...” she stuttered for a moment and Corpse fought the urge to cut her off and tell her that what he thinks of her is the complete opposite. “But those comments... those weren’t jokes, Corpse. I don’t think anyone would find them funny.”

His heart ached at the sound of her quiet, weak voice. And then it angered him, that some anonymous haters managed to upset this cheerful, innocent person. How could anyone do something like that to Y/N?

“I... I’m sorry for telling you this...” she suddenly trailed off, sounding rather awkward and uncomfortable. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with my silly problems...”

“They aren’t silly as long as they are problems to you, Y/N.” 

“Yeah, but... I’m sure everyone from the group has received such comments at some point of their career... or maybe they still receive them...” she murmured almost embarrassed. “Maybe it’s no such a big deal after all...”

“Let me ask you something” Corpse said, feeling anger bubbling up in his stomach. Not directed at Y/N, of course, but at the people who made her think this way. “Imagine that someone, let’s say me, calls you because of the same reason. Would you consider telling me that online hate, or any hate for that matter, is not a big deal? That those are just my silly problems” 

She was silent for a moment, thinking about his question, and probably not expecting it in the first place. However, after a few seconds of initial surprise, she replied firmly:

“Of course not.” 

“Then why are you trying to convince yourself that they are?” he asked in what would sound like an accusatory tone, but in reality was just his voice laced with worry. “There’s no such thing as a silly problem Y/N, as long as it bothers you. If you consider it a problem, then it is a problem. And the fact that other people receive similar, or even worse comments, doesn’t mean anything. Maybe just that they are longer on Youtube and they’ve learned to deal with this kind of stuff... And your reaction? It doesn’t make you a crybaby and please Y/N, don’t ever think that way about yourself.”

He said it all so quickly and almost on one breath, letting all his frustration out and trying to form his babbling into some logical statement. 

“I understand what you’re going through...” he confessed after a moment of silence between them. “I know what it’s like to go through the ocean of positive comments and find those few which say something completely different... something that is meant to hurt you and humiliate you... Something that ruins your day, or even a couple of next few days or weeks... Something that completely overshadows everything else you’ve read about yourself. Something that people write from the safety of their own computers or phones, without showing their faces and remaining completely anonymous.”

For a moment, Corpse allowed himself to speak about his own experience, thinking that maybe when Y/N realizes that he knew exactly what she was dealing with, it would make it easier for her. “And that is the key fact, Y/N, that they are anonymous. They do what they do because no one can see them because it is comfortable for them to leave a hate comment and not face any consequences. Because they don’t have to face the person their hate is directed towards.”

“Some of the accounts were not anonymous...” Y/N mumbled, and Corpse could clearly hear that she was speaking through the tears. “People were using their public accounts, with photos and everything...”

“But let me guess, those comments weren’t even about your videos, huh? They weren’t about any of your work?” 

“Well...” she whispered, thinking about Corpse’s question. “Truth to be said, no. Most of them just looked like some kind of a personal attack on me...” 

“Exactly. It’s not even criticism, it’s just plain bullshit cowards are sharing online. They probably aren’t even able to form some logical sentence, they just combine some random words which are supposed to hurt you.”

“It works...”

“Y/N...” Corpse sighed into the phone, hearing her defeated tone. “Let me ask you another question, okay?” she hummed in response, and Corpse cleared his throat. “Tell me, whose opinion matters to you the most?”

“My friends... and my fans’“she said.

“Okay.. and whom do you consider your fan?”

“Someone who finds the content I create interesting and entertaining and takes his time to watch my videos.” she replied right away.

“Okay. Do you think that people who left those comments took their time to even watch your videos?” 

“Probably not...” she replied after a second. “Look, I know what you mean Corpse... That I shouldn’t worry about it because they are not my fans and therefore their opinion shouldn’t matter... but that’s not the case. It’s the fact alone that for some reason people spend their time hating me when I didn’t even do anything to them.”

“You didn’t do anything to them.” Corpse repeated her own words in his deep voice. “And they didn’t watch your videos. It seems like they don’t have any reason to leave those comments, right?” he asked. “I know that it’s hard Y/N, I really do, but the truth is, you can’t really have everyone leaving positive feedback under your content... There will always be someone who will consider it a good idea to send you a hateful message, just because they can, not because they have any specific reason to. Now I don’t say that’s okay... but it’s in a way like some disease. The one there’s no cure for. Even though you can’t cure it, you can make yourself immune.” 

“How, Corpse? How do you make yourself immune to messages saying that you’re a fucking annoying bitch, that you don’t deserve what you have? That you don’t deserve your friends, and you are not good enough to play with them? To spend your time with them? How do you deal with comments suggesting that you should go and kill yourself, because you’re not famous enough, and you will never be?” 

Her voice suddenly rose, and Corpse felt as his heartbeat quickened with each comment she described. He gripped his hand around the phone, his knuckles turning white and his brows furrowing in an expression of pure fury. 

He considered her words for a moment, trying to come up with the best advice, but realized there wasn’t any that would satisfy her. He could imagine the state she was in, she probably wouldn’t take any of his advice seriously. And he wouldn’t blame her for that. 

“I’m sorry for snapping on you...” she suddenly said, her voice back to its soft tone. “It’s just too much for me to handle...”

“It’s all good, Y/N, don’t apologize. You have the full right to be angry and to show it. I just want you to remember that...” Corpse gulped the lump in his throat, feeling his cheeks getting warmer. “Those comments are not what define you. As a matter of fact, they’re not even about you. You know why? Because people who write them don’t know you. They don’t even take a moment to acknowledge what an intelligent and talented person you are, not to mention how kind... but I do. A-and everyone else too.”

She was silent for a moment, and Corpse panicked, that maybe he said too much, or made things awkward again. But then she spoke up, her slightly less weak than before.

“I suppose... maybe you’re right, Corpse.” she said, still sounding a little bit unconvinced. He understood, it was clear his one pep talk wouldn’t suddenly make her forget about it. It would be like telling a person with depression to stop having depression and expecting them to suddenly feel better. “Thank you. For listening to my pathetic babbling... and for not telling me to just pull myself together.”

“First of all, your babbling is not pathetic...” he began “Second of all... I know we don’t really know each other, but... If you ever feel the need to talk to someone, I’m here.”

“And for that I’m grateful, Corpse” she said, clearly smiling. “Sorry, I mean, partner.”

“Partner.” he chuckled into the phone, smiling from ear to ear. 

“It’s getting late...” she yawned into the phone. “Sorry. I think I’ll go to sleep, I’m really tired...”

“Of course” Corpse replied, hiding the disappointment in his voice. He really enjoyed talking to her, just to her alone, but he understood that the whole conversation and the event preceding it probably exhausted her. 

“Hey...” she suddenly said, and Corpse could swear that her voice sounded as if she unexpectedly became shy. “Um... it was really great talking to you, you’re a really good listener, Corpse.”

“Glad to hear that” he smiled happily.

“Um... would you mind if I called you tomorrow too?” she asked so quietly that he almost didn’t catch it, his breath hitching in his throat. “If you have time that is... if you don’t, or if you have some super plans, then I understand, it’s fine-”

“I don’t have any super plans, Y/N” he couldn’t help but chuckle, finding her nervous banter adorable. “Call me whenever you want.”

“Okay...” she sighed, almost in relief, but Corpse didn’t want to point it out to embarrass her even more. “So... let’s say, around 2 pm?” 

“Sounds good to me.”

“Great.” she said, her voice trailing off a bit. “I’m falling asleep here, Corpse... Thank you once again, for everything.”

“Anytime, Y/N.”

“Good night, partner.”

“Goodnight, partner.” 

-

Part 5 coming soon. It will probably be the last part of this series, I’m not sure yet though.

TAG LIST FOR PURE IS CLOSED. 

TAG LIST FOR CORPSE REQUESTS/OTHER FICS IS OPEN (if you want to be tagged, please send me a text)

@slytherin-chan @pillowjj @afuckingunicornn @love-and-virtues @ignooynim @crapimahuman @hannahjsworld @laugh-like-the-moon @fallengoddess772 @kingric03 @dolphinpink310 @paigeyisme @bunnychano3o @dxrtygxrl28 @z-nyx @baby-iyania @trashygeek @qmalley @yn-dreamlife @queenshadow142003 @daughterofsmokeandbone23 @my-little-art-world99 @yoongi-holland @rinarecommends @psychoticunicornsblog @goldensunshinestyle @unstableye @pastelvixenbeauty @weallneednamjesus @benakenalove @corpsesimpp @xenos-sonex @jellicorn05 @must-be-a-weasley-92 @keijikunn @infinitely-kate @thisshitisfuckingdifficult @summerbbygirl @mygirlviolet @eat-your-veggies @evans-dejong @jeffxx @weepingdonuthumancookie @myinnergayistakingover @i-love-scott-mccall @thecanterburywitch @annshit @blood-of-fandoms @namjoons-crabssss @guadu-chan @harleyharleycrow @stormyskys13 @soft4kei @ukai-hoe @that-chick212 @campcampie @cookiewhoree @ukiyolixx @princess-skate @newtaholic-staygold @unknown-and-invisible @cherry-piee @marvelenthusiast3000 @apples-of-february @lovelybrit @wineandionysus @faepetersen @vincent-stargogh @idalinette @ggsmashgg @browneyespinkhair @uwucorpse @fluffylittellama-blog @yoshigguk @queentorresstuff @becihadshawn @winged-reader @x3musicismylife @musubipost @missdox @honeyames @dark-o-room @izthefangirl @l0verl0ser @laurenfangirlsout @asianfrustration13 @hopelessfluff @sacrifice-me-please @stopicouldhaavedroppedmycrossant @sleepingalaska @strangenerdsstuff @otakuartist05 @blossom-702 @astream-ofconsciousness @mythicalamphitrite @infinitelycharmed23 @ s1utforfictionalcharacters @ abrokenlink  @ lestrangeesme  @laazullii @ avesagittarius @ smiithys