#all one short line. i want you to understand why i chose this name and also to understand the poetry i was born from

[yanderenightmare]

Gojo Satoru

TW: implied noncon, yandere

fem reader

The way Gojo Senpai is so obnoxious, he doesn’t understand his flirting is making you uncomfortable…

He seriously thinks he’s making you fall head over heels in love with him even when you give him nothing in return to make him think that. He just thinks you’re embarrassed and nervous, flustered by his attention, and that’s the reason you divert your gaze and bite your lip when he has you against the lockers, leaning on his hand with his shades gliding low on his nose—telling you that you have no shot becoming a sorcerer, but that you look too cute in the uniform not to give it your best try. 

“Don’t worry, just say my name, and I’ll come save you,” he’ll say. “You can be my personal assistant supervisor instead.” 

His game isn’t anything to brag about. It's more in line with bullying than flirting, but you pick up on the suggestiveness. That heated saccharine look within his blue eyes can only mean one thing if the way he plays with your hair isn’t enough of a hint already.

But his words are nothing short of derogatory, and all in all, he simply makes you feel gross—a sentiment you thought you put across, but it seems that having six eyes only makes you blind.

It takes Shoko telling him to leave the poor Kohai alone for him to finally understand that you don’t like him. And then he’s just confused and embarrassed.

And a tinge bit irritated.

Gojo knows for a fact he could make any girl want him. Even those who seem to hate him would melt if he gave them the same attention he’s been giving you. Any girl. He could have any girl, but he chose you. And you reject him?

No. He can’t accept that.

“Most girls would be grateful for my attention,” He states plainly after having tracked you down.

Your head snapped, jolting. “Gojo Senpai—” You dropped the mop in your hands with a clatter, having been deep in your own thoughts on classroom cleaning duty. You sighed as the scare settled, giving a breathy laugh, “You scared me—”

“Is that it?” he interrupted. “I scare you?”

You quirked a brow with a tilt of your head. “What?”

“Do I scare you?” he repeated, louder, posted on the threshold in a stance you’d never seen him in—stiff and squared, not his usual lazy laidbackness.

Confused, your eyes looked around as if searching for clues but came up emptyhanded, “Uhm, I don’t understand—”

“It’s a simple question,” he said, cutting you off again, this time with a step into the classroom. He talked slowly, cradling the next words, “Are you scared of me?”

Where it all came from, you hadn’t a clue. But then again, Gojo Senpai has always been rather strange. 

Were you scared of him? It’s not really something you’ve ever thought about. Sure, if you were to go one versus one with him, you’d probably piss yourself. But in a regular setting, you just found him to be as grating as the next person.

“I don’t think so?” you end up answering.

“Good. So what is it then?” His shades were low enough for his stare to skim over. Brighter than clear skies, and yet, somehow, so dark. “Why don’t you like me.”

Oh, so he’s figured it out on his own then. It’s about time. And thank fuck for it—saves you the trouble of breaking it to him yourself. Though you were still left with the unfair task of telling him why.

“Honestly, Gojo Senpai, I’m not, or well… you’re just not my type.”

Stick to the basics, is what you told yourself. There’s no need to drag this out.

“Yeah, I figured. I’m asking why,” he countered, in complete disagreement with your thought.

Still, you wanted to fight for it. “Does it really matter?”

“Yes.”

This conversation was the last thing you wanted, but it seemed the white-haired prodigy wouldn’t leave without having it.

“Well…” you started, still pondering. Maybe he’d appreciate the honesty? He’s a rather straightforward guy himself. “I mean, there’s no way you don’t already know this, but—” You picked up the broom again mid-sentence. “You’re really obnoxious.”

He took a small second before he scoffed, “So? No one else cares.”

It reminded you of arguing with someone half your age—the petty anger in an ill-thought-through comment slung at you as if it carried all the weight in the world. But what everyone else thought of him hadn’t anything to do with you—and even so, out of the people on campus, you’re certain you’re not the only one who finds his attitude unpleasant—they just don’t tell it to his face. 

You had half the mind to tell him to go get a grip, but he was still your Senpai.

“Good for you, I guess?” You weren’t really looking to fight with him, after all. “So you can flirt with literally anyone else then,” you dismiss him and go back to finish cleaning the classroom—glad to have put it all behind you. You were starting to fear he’d never leave you alone.

There’s a woosh, then the hard thunk of your back hitting the wall. Both your upper arms are gripped tight, pinned. When you open your eyes again after adjusting to the impact, you look straight up into the full view of two crisp comet blues.

“You’re mighty rude for a Kohai. You know that?”

Your head stings. You blink crookedly.

“Senpai—”

“Maybe I’ve misjudged you. D’you have anythin’ for show to back that attitude up?” It’s eerie how he says it in the same flirty fashion he would otherwise—even the look in his eyes are the same. But his grip tightens.

“I don’t want to fight—”

“No?” he cuts you off with a pout. “I could've sworn you were asking for it—all but begging for it a second ago.”

You whimper, cowering at the sudden bite in his voice.

“What’s the matter, huh? I thought you said you weren’t scared?”

Your voice comes out weak, “Please, Gojo Senpai, I—”

“Please?” he questions brightly, eyes stark and burning like a stovetop. “Yeah, that’s got a nicer ring to it—suits you better.” The smile that splits across his face is nothing short of unhinged. “But it’s not enough for me to let your disrespect slide.” He licks his lips, and a chill runs up your spine, feeling like caught prey. “Lucky you, I know exactly what price to put on it.”

His mouth devour yours the same way—pouncing like a beast would, with teeth more than lips, then a tongue. You whine as you twist—it’s more instinctive than deliberate when your knee shoots up into the unprotected space between his legs—right into that thing that was rubbing and rutting against you.

You make a run for it as he staggers back with a hiss, but you don’t make it farther than three measly steps before you’re bent over the closest desk.

His fist wrangles your hair, using it to shove you face-down against the wood—the weight of his body on top of your back with his voice raspy against your ear. “We could’ve left this with a kiss, but I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy now.”

Tears spill hotly in a panic, but no matter how much strength you put into lifting yourself up, you remain down. Sobbing, “Let go—help—”

He snickers with a hand under your skirt, spidering delicately up your thigh. “Who’re you callin’ for help, hm? I’m already here.”

♡ GOJO SATORU masterlist ♡ JUJUTSU KAISEN masterlist

[totalswag]

worthy of love — RAFE CAMERON

authors note something short and cute for you guys. also, rafe deserves to be treated with the love that he desires. he just wants to be understood yall.

paring mean!rafe x soft!reader

summary soft!reader wants to show mean!rafe that he's worthy of love but he pushes reader away until one day he finally knows what love truly feel like.

warnings neglect, feeling unworthy of love, ward being a shitty father, and a lovely happy ending.

Rafe Cameron believed he would never be capable of love in his life.

Raised in a family where love was a rare commodity, Rafe grew up believing that affection, vulnerability was a weakness that should be avoided at all costs. But little did he know that someone was about to turn his life upside down and teach him the true meaning of love.

You.

His father, Ward Cameron, is part of the reason Rafe is the way he is. Ward tells him to man up rather than express his feelings and be vulnerable. Overall, his father has never treated him with the proper care compared to his two younger sisters. This sent Rafe into a downward spiral, leading to a darker path in his life. Rafe held his guard up.

You entered his world like a breath of fresh air, bringing with you a warmth and tenderness he had never felt before. Rafe first rejected your presence, pushing you away with his harsh remarks and cold demeanor. But you saw through his strong facade, understanding the agony and vulnerability that lay underneath the surface.

"Why do you treat me like this? I’m not someone that deserves to be loved." 

Rafe was initially perplexed as to why, of all the people on the island, someone as kind and gentle as you would want to be with him. 

One of the many things Rafe would tell you when you tried to show him that he’s capable of being loved by someone, he would shut you out immediately when you tried showing him.

People said you were crazy for pursuing Rafe Cameron. His reputation in Kildare is immense. You just chose to ignore what other people had to say because you felt Rafe deserved love.

The first time you heard those words come out of his mouth, your heart broke into a million pieces. Behind all of the roughness, coldness, and unpredictable behavior, he is someone who wants to be loved.

Rafe continued to push you away for the longest time, hoping you would get the hint. Finally, giving in after protracted arguments. For far too long, he had kept his guard up to protect himself. He did not want to feel weak for expressing himself. Rafe noticed how long you stayed by his side.

You gradually began to break down the walls Rafe had placed around his heart. You showed patience and understanding by refusing to give up on him, even when he tried to push you away. Rafe became increasingly drawn to you as time passed, yearning for the love and acceptance that had always escaped him.

Rafe started to trust again as your relationship deepened. He progressively exposed a gentler, softer side of himself, something he had never seen before. He realized there are individuals out there, like you, who care passionately and will be by his side through thick and thin.

All he ever wanted was to feel fully understood and seen. You came into his life when he was in the deepest pain and saved him. You showed he’s worthy of love, compassion, gratitude, and vulnerability are truly like, and there is nothing wrong with it. He transformed into a very different person than anyone could have predicted.

"You're the most amazing person I've ever laid eyes on, baby," Rafe said with a lovely smile on his lips, sliding the front strand of your hair behind your ear as you moved your body closer to his and closed your eyes.

“I love you so much rafey” kissing his bare shoulder a few times.

“And I love you more,”

my taglist!

✰ if you would like to be added to my taglist and be notified whenever i post please let me know in the comments or in my ask box. if there's a line across your name that means i couldn't find your account.

@chenslucy @winterrrnight @rosezza @solanathascientst @runningfrom2am @brooklynscherry-z @johannelis2302nely

[teaboot]

Bonjour Teaboot! I'm writing a fic with a Canadian character and wanted to ask you - is learning French mandatory in school? At what age/grade do you start learning? What sort of level of fluency do most students usually reach in school? Do you learn France French or Quebec French? Merci beaucoup!

Taking French as a class is mandatory, yes, (if your school doesnt have other second-laguage options, thanks for the correction, I'd forgotten) but almost nobody becomes fluent in public school unless they do French immersion.

The French is Qébecois French, and like super duper basic ass shit like "are, have, go, do" conjugations and a fee basic phrases, plus some words for table, ceiling, chair, library, hospital, whatever.

In elementary school, I don't think we did much- My english schools taught us how to sing the national anthem in English and French as well as ASL, but I've completely forgotten the ASL and most of the French. Normally we'd sing it in English and then switch to French for the last few lines, idk why.

The average highschool graduate knows, "Hello, my name is", "yes", "no", "where is the library", and a couple random words and swears. (Swears were not part of the curriculum.)

I chose to do French immersion stsrting in grade 6, so what happens THERE is you speak English and throw in whatever French words you know (affectionately referred to as "franglais"), then slowly use more and more French until about grade 7-9 where speaking English is no longer allowed in class. (I got detention a few times for chatting in English.)

One funny thing about early French classes in immersion- we had to ask to use the bathroom in French (esque-je peux aller a la toilette, if i remember correctly) and one time a kid said it wrong (esque-je peur à la toilette) which kind of sort of translates to "Am I afraid of going to the bathroom?" Which was, frankly, hilarious, and not just because he used to throw shit at my head all the time

Popular French words among English students are "pomplemousse" (Pomp-LA-Moose, Grapefruit) "Granouille" (Gran-oo-ee, Frog) "Phoque" (Fock, Seal) and "Arrêt" (A-rett, often intentionally mispronounced as "a rat", Stop)

Common French assignments in Englush schools are talking with a partner about your summer vacation, reading short paragraphs to the class, using smalltalk words in proper contexts, naming pizza toppings, singing songs about conjugation, etc.

Common French assignments in French schools are translating chapters from books written in English, writing short fiction stories, correcting incorrect sentences, reading French books, writing essays, etc.

In BC at least you need to take French or choose another language if it's available at your school? I think my mom took Russian growing up, idk, you just need a second languahe

But I haven't actually been fluent in... God, about 12 years or so now?

I van read enough to passably understand slow speech and simple books, but not enough to articulate myself past very simple concepts and ideas- directions, questions asking for help, etc, and my grammar is.... bad.

Hope this helps?

[saintslewis]

𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 | 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒

- drabble.

pairing: sir lewis hamilton x black! fem reader

summary: reader will never let the paddock forget who Lewis Hamilton is.

warnings: cussing.

saint’s team radio 🪩: this is just a lil something. I was pissed tf off yesterday because of some lewis “fans” and i will never miss an opportunity to let ppl know who my goat is 🫦. enjoy

ps, i’m not adding actual reporter’s names for this so i made up random names.

taglist: @mauvecherie-writes @perfecttrashface @non-stop-imagines @emjayewrites @purplelewlew @hopefulromantic1 @motheroffae @exotic-iris13 @httpsserene @queenshikongo3 @greedyjudge2 @cocobutterqwueen

-

The tag from your denim jacket had been irritating you since the second you put it on but you chose to forget about it, often adjusting it with your nails or a little shimmy of your shoulders.

Holding the mic from Sky Sports F1 wasn’t all too odd for you, the broadcast team only handing it to you when talking about Lewis and his achievements. Your support for the Stevenage driver was strong, often being as labelled as biased but you couldn’t care less. The support was mutual between the two of you, usually lingering on the line of friendship but doubt and time was always against you.

Your sunglasses sat on your braided head with a bored expression on your face, just wanting to get this segment over with so that you could go back to your individual blogging and interviews. Standing patiently in front of the cameras while other reporters ran around unorganised, you played with your beaded ‘44’ bracelet.

“My goodness, Y/n! I have no clue how you are so calm, this is always so hard!” One of them exclaimed, laughing in the process. “Not to mention the outfit! You look like you could go to a party!” Another laughed, her smile faltering when your eyes snapped to her, expression never changing.

After a while, the segment began and off the reporters went on a scripted tangent about other teams before getting to the main topic; Lewis. “Now, onto a different subject, Lewis Hamilton’s performance in that car has been nothing short of a…disaster if I could say.” Jimmy said, deciding to look at you as he spoke. Almost as if he was challenging you.

“For a specific race weekend or overall? His teammate, George is doing significantly better. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, it’s like he doesn’t know how to drive.” Jennifer spoke, poorly making an attempt of a joke.

“I’m not too sure why you’re speaking as if he is a rookie. You lot can see that Mercedes hasn’t been doing well as a collective yet you’re targeting one driver who has brought then 8 constructer titles rather than the other who has one win.” Lifting your mic, you spoke with a clear voice, never stuttering.

Frank shook his head and tried to chuckle. “Look Y/n. We understand he’s your boyfriend or whatever but we need to be factual here. What Ferrari has done is a mistake by signing him. I mean, there needs to be more space for others and he’s taking up space.”

“And Alonso’s dusty ass doesn’t need to leave? Using my support for Lewis to try and justify your dislike for him is unprofessional. I have no clue how you have the gumption to say all this.” You responded, still not moving from your spot.

The other 4 reporters stared at you in shock along with other people stopping in the paddock, surrounding the space just in front of the official f1 hospitality suite.

“There’s no need to use aggressive language, Y/n.” Jennifer lifted her hand to place on your shoulder but you moved away in time. “Aggressive for who?” You challenged, tilting your head.

It had gotten quite. “The viewers. It’s not a lie, Lewis is just not good anymore. He needs to make space.” One of them spoke up but you couldn’t be bothered to listen to anyone else other than Frank, your eyes trained on him.

“What? We need to speak with the producers, having an independent journalist was a mistake.” Frank smirked.

“You can take your opinion and shove it up your ass. Thanks for having me, Sky Sports F1.” You turned to the camera to blow a kiss then you gave the mic you were holding to whoever would catch it.

Walking away from the set, you knew what you did was undeniably unprofessional but those people had always had a vendetta against Lewis and any reporter/journalist who support him. Breathing out, you sashayed your way through the paddock with people staring as your braids glided in the slight breeze.

The buzz of your phone shook you out of your racing mind, a little gasp escaping your mouth as you read the notification from instagram.

lewishamilton no joke, that was the best thing i’ve ever seen. glad we have that interview together in 5 minutes :)

You first looked around the paddock after reading that message but you figured that he watched it live just like everyone else did. Your anger for that segment had clouded your thoughts so much, you forgot about the interview you were supposed to have with the champion.

Rushing to the large luxurious paddock club, you received all types of looks from those who either clearly watched the broadcast live or they’re looking at your outfit, although the latter was made up in your mind.

Luckily, he hadn’t arrived to the designated room you booked to have the interview with him but as soon as you got your phone out to record and your notes, the screams and excitement were heard from outside the door and a smile couldn’t help but sneak on your face.

You have only interviewed him three times in your entire career but every time you did so, he never wanted it to end, always trying to make it longer by asking his own questions to you or just sharing a laugh.

With security opening the door for him, he entered the room and spotted you with a smile on his face. He entered alone in the mercedes shirt already on. No words needed to spoken by either of you, Lewis opening his arms for a hug to greet you. Once in his embrace, you thought it’d be quick but to your surprise, it lasted a few moments longer.

“Hi Y/n.” Lewis spoke, a hand still on your shoulder. You took a quick breath and immediately relaxed on the spot. “Hey Lewis.”

“Your response to Sky was insane but I liked it.” He chuckled, sitting across from you with his legs open and a ring clad hand sat comfortably on his lap.

You didn’t want to show him how the sight affected you especially when your emotions are sky high so you remained calm on the outside. “It’s just…I’m pretty sure I lost my job just now because of how I reacted.” You sighed out, flicking a few braids back.

“Some of them had said worse things so you’re okay.” Lewis responded, his tone wasn’t all too sure but he just wanted to lift your mood. “Yeah but I’m black. They used micro aggressions too.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at everything once recalling back to that moment.

“I heard. I’ll have a word with Sky.” He reassured you. “Oooh okay, Sir.” You joked, masking how the reassurance made your stomach flutter. You’d like to think he was openly flirting with you but you quickly put that thought at the back of your mind.

“I just don’t want those people to forget who you are, you know? I’m sure you hear this all the time. You know what you’re doing and you’re the best at it. I wanna remind the people who the goat is.” You rambled a bit, noticing his smile growing as he listened to you.

“You’re too kind, really. I know what I am, it’s just a little tough right now.” He shrugged as he fully leaned back into his seat. “If you need me to fight anybody in your team, let me know.” You winked, flashing a comical smile that made Lewis laugh.

Giving you a once over, Lewis leaned forward and rested his tatted arms on his knees. “You look good today. You always do but today…phenomenal.” He spoke, his voice noticeably relaxed. “Don’t make me blush, Sir.” You smiled, failing terribly at hiding your feeling.

“That nickname, Y/n,” He chuckled. “Is that door locked?” He asked. All you had to do was nod at the man and Lewis smirked, licking his lips in the process.

“C’mere.”

saint’s notes 🪩: slightly rushed, george pissed me off, hope you enjoyed. bye. <3

[witchyliterature]

PLEASE PLEASEEE could you do like unreciprocated love w touya i’d be so grateful 🙁🙁 maybs based off of the song chest pain by malcolm todd or promise by laufey either oneee! n i have no idea what format it could be so whatever you think fits best :)

this is actually my first time writing proper angst sooo IDK. i chose promise bc i know that song better which made it easier to write to. i think this was ok? I REALLY DONT KNOW but yeah. anyways, it’s post war period, rehabilitated touya au, mentions of death, reader is a little mean to touya but one could argue it’s justifiable (depends on perspective, idk im just the author yall). did a normal one shot format cus i can only do 10 images on mobile and i knew i wanted this to be a lot longer (it’s only 1.6k words but still). touya living with shoto canon cus i said so. use of the name dabi but only for metaphorical comparisons. gender neutral reader. hints to musician dabi (like one line). uhhh yeah i think that’s all, HOPE U LIKE

promise; touya todoroki

dabi was never a romantic.

the bubbling burnt feeling of hatred consumed him wholly and swallowed any other emotion - he was a vessel for hatred, for not only did he carry his own, but also his family’s who couldn’t express their own feelings toward endevour.

yet, touya found out he was.

after the war and a long rehabilitation process, he had realised there are other things to life, hatred was not the only emotion in sight, it was not the only emotion he deserved.

so when touya found out that he had feelings for you, the only friend he had ever made by himself after the war that didn’t have any villainous intent, he had been terrified.

he couldn’t explain it at first, why his heart would leap when speaking to you, or why he tried to hard to impress you when you both went to the gym, or even why he had made a song about you and all the lyrics sounded oddly romantic.

then, when even his socially inept brother could tell that he had some form of feelings for you, it finally clicked.

so then, he made a promise, to distance himself until these childish feelings resolved themselves.

touya didn’t deserve to love or be loved, not after all the destruction he caused or all the suffering he made others feel - even his own family.

for 16 days, he avoided you like the plague. airing your calls and texts, avoiding you at work (which was damn near impossible) and when he did have to talk to you, he kept it short and sweet, even then, his palms got sweaty and his smile would grow double its size when you were around.

but, at some point, he broke his promise.

he didn’t exactly understand why he did, he just saw someone that looked like you when he was walking home from work and decided that enough was enough.

shoto had hyped him up, telling him that this was going to be fine, you had to have want him as well after everything, or at least you would give him a chance.

touya’s confidence was built, he knew what he was going to do, he was going to ask you out.

on call though, he was still a shy little boy on the inside of it all.

leading for him and shoto to be sat on the kitchen island seats across from one another, calling your number while putting you on speaker.

“touya! oh my goodness, here i thought you were going to end our friendship! what’s going on, why have you been ignoring me?” your sweet voice rang through, it felt like he could see your small cute pout as you said that, hand on hip attempting to look serious.

“i would never, i’m sad you would think that.” touya chuckled.

“yeah well, ignoring me for 16 days is really something, you know?!” you laughed.

“my deepest apologies, you can burn me at the stake if you truly want to.” touya responded smugly.

“i would but that seems like it would turn you on.” you scoffed, he laughed in response.

“alright then, but you won’t get to know why i called you.” touya sighed playfully.

“do tell oh great touya takamani!” you said with faux respect.

that was the last name he told you, the one the government gave to him. they allowed him to keep his first name since not many people remembered him at touya anyways, as well as to allow him to keep at least some part of his identity.

“listen, you’re like really stupid sometimes, and it gets me angry sometimes. you talk way too much and you love spoiling movies for me.” touya stated.

shoto looked at him confusingly, touya flinched as he realised he was just insulting you and you were remaining silent.

“wait- i- ugh, i didn’t meant it like that. i had this whole other part to it but…” touya stammered.

“it’s ok, i know you didn’t mean it. you’re terrible at talking about your feelings but, i’ll be patient with you, i always will be.” you said calmly.

shoto looked at touya shockingly, he had met you once or twice and understood… the physical attraction to it. but hearing you talk to his brother in such a fashion made him realise where touya’s love for you come from.

touya’s own heart fluttered tremendously at that, you were always paitent with him. even now when he has ignored you for over two weeks and you never shouted or screamed, you just, waited.

“i just mean that, those traits are things i don’t even hate. i love them, and you, i love it all.” touya blurted out, his legs bouncing with anticipation while shoto gave a thumbs up.

“aw, you’re so sweet! i love you too, touya!” you responded.

“no, i mean it as though, i love you… romantically. i want to go on dates with you and take you to your favourite places and think of a future with you. in fact, i don’t even care what we do, i just want to be near you while we do those things. i.. don’t exactly understand how these things go, ive never been in a relationship or have seen a successful one other than my brother’s friends but even then i don’t really see them. i’m willing to try, as long as im yours, im willing to do anything you want me to.” touya had explained, his gruff voice softening out as he spoke.

as he spoke, it felt like you could see the starts twinkle in his eye, the ones that only show themselves when he looks at you with that look. full of love and hope, with his heart raw and beating on his sleeve. yeah, you could imagine it vividly.

and you hated it.

you hated how you can see him gazing in his house dreaming of a future with you, or how you can imagine his blushing while thinking of you, or those moments in work where his eyes are stuck on his figure and you pretend to not acknowledge it.

because you did not want him to think of you that way, you never desired to be his and you never held out hope of you two being together past friendship.

and you didn’t care if that hurt him.

“touya, i hope you’re not serious.” you laughed pitifully.

shoto and touya froze.

“i-i am?” touya responded slowly, as though he knew what was coming. he was in the danger zone and the alarm bells with ringing violently as he pretended that they were just precautionary measures.

“i know that you’re dabi.” was all you said in response.

touya’s eyes widened, his breathing quickened and his hand ran through his white messy hair.

“you do? damn i was-“

“don’t play this off as a joke. listen, i didn’t care that much when i first learned a couple months ago. i valued our friendship despite your past, but expecting a relationship between us is downright delusional. even if i were to give you a chance, it would never last. that war you started because of your own daddy issues caused a lot of my families death and financial issues, i can respect the change in behaviour and i don’t mind keeping you as a friend but i could never love a villain.” the sting of your venomous words seeped into touya’s bloodstream and stopped the rhythmic beat of his heart.

he felt dizzy and lost, he heard you speak again but it became a blur as his vision started to blur from the sting of tears the bullied its way out of his eyes.

touya was angry, sad, heartbroken and anything else under the sun. worst of all? he couldn’t even blame you. you were well within your right to reject him for that reason and he hated that.

the familiar bubbling started to boil in his gut again, his default emotion to any bad situation that was all consuming and ever so comforting in its perverse ways.

it was like a hug from his father, Lord knows that he never received that when he was younger much but the one time he did, the one time affection was shown to him, it felt like this. touya felt like everything he ever despised, all the darkness within his enveloped him within its grasp.

it was reliable, trustworthy and never lied him.

love wasn’t, it was sickening and tight on the heart. it was faulty and pretended to be there for you in times of need, but, like everything in life, was just a trick that got him vulnerable enough to make him tick.

touya finally locked back into reality, realising now that shoto and you were arguing. he has never seen his stoic brother that angry, but he didn’t know why. why would he defend the very villain that ruined his childhood? dabi was the very thing he seeked to destroy and it’s not like dabi and touya were that seperate.

touya was just dabi with a false sense of security.

“it’s fine, honestly. sorry for bothering you y/n, hang up sho’” touya suddenly spoke.

shoto hung up the phone quickly, placing it down as he looked at his brothers eyes. once full of life, stars and love looking exactly like it did eight years ago.

“are you-“

“i’m fine.” no he wasn’t, of course touya wasn’t, but what more could he do.

he shouldn’t have broken his promise, he should’ve stayed away and listened to dabi - the anti romantic voice in his head telling him to stay away.

because now touya realised now more than ever, that while it hurts be something, it was worse to be nothing with you.

[siflshonen]

The Greatest Robot on Earth: Astro Boy and Pluto Part I

So you’ve just watched Pluto on Netflix, but you didn’t know that it is the best Astro Boy fanfiction ever made. Great! Or maybe, hypothetically, you’ve read classic Astro Boy but don’t know about Pluto, or, as it was called for the Viz release, Pluto: UrasawaXTezuka. Well, awesome, because I’m about to give you all the details behind their creators and creation and give you a side-by-side of the classic Astro Boy and this new(ish)-fangled Pluto.

C'mon. Look under the read more line. You know you want to.

If you want to skip to the manga side-by-sides, check out part II and part III. Or, you can read the whole thing in one go on Ao3.

Context and Background

Tezuka, Urasawa, and the Showa Era

So, let me start with the basics: What is Astro Boy? What ain’t Astro Boy?

Tetsuwan Atom, known in the west as Astro Boy, is the most well-known manga created by the “Godfather of Manga/God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka in the 1950s, but it metastasized into multiple anime series, games, merch, spin offs of various types, and that one CGI movie in 2009. The series follows the adventures of robot hero Atom (called Astro in the west) as he fights for the benefit of humans and robots to create a harmonious future for both.

Here’s a timeline of Astro Boy- and Pluto-related events to help you visualize what came out when and why there were multiple runs of the Astro Boy manga. For our purposes, the most important thing to understand is that, even though Astro Boy was a kids’ series, its attitude and themes, as written by Tezuka, reflected the incredible shifts in Japan after World War II and the ever-present shadow of it still left in the minds of its citizens.

But before we get into all that, let’s talk about Osamu Tezuka himself.

Osamu Tezuka's Legacy and His Monster

If you, sweet reader, are a self-appointed weeb and you don’t know the name Osamu Tezuka, I’m personally scandalized. Still, here’s the short version: he was a workaholic mangaka that many hail as the creator of modern shonen manga (historians get heated about when, how, and if Japanese comics made the jump to modern manga, so do your own research, but Astro Boy is definitely the most famous worldwide contender for this title instead of, say, Tezuka’s first work Shin Takarajima/New Treasure Island), and he’s the guy who created the world’s first serialized made-for-TV anime with a sequential plot and sold it as a loss leader to get it on the air.

Arguably, the precedent he set in order to get the anime-ified Astro Boy to screens everywhere is a major reason that the anime industry is so unsustainable, but we’re not here to talk about that.

Tezuka-sensei was a prolific, passionate, and deeply beloved artist from Osaka who tackled damn near every manga genre and arguably created some of them before he died of stomach cancer (and overwork, if we’re being honest here.) I’ve only shown a few of the 400-plus titles he created to give a brief overview of the scope of his work. Since I’m talking to you as a fan, not a historian, I specifically chose titles I own or have read most closely.

Message to Adolf, which was also published as Adolf, is about Nazis. Okay, that’s only part of what it’s about, but we’ll revisit this one in more detail later.

Black Jack is probably Tezuka’s second most famous work, and yeah, it’s broadly categorized as a shonen. It follows the adventures of underground doctor and genius surgeon Kuroo Hazama who dresses like a vampire, acts like a black-hearted and preachy douchebag, and endears himself to everyone who interacts with him.

Dororo is a historical fantasy thriller about a guy regaining parts of his sacrificed-upon-his-birth body by slaying demons and uncovering the mysterious past of his companion, the child thief Dororo.

On the flipside, Princess Knight is a shojo for younger kids about a princess with the heart of a boy and the heart of a girl who uses her two hearts to genderbend as needed to maintain her claim over her kingdom and keep it out of the hands of the wicked.

Meanwhile, Ode to Kirihito is an extremely mature medical fantasy drama that questions when and how a person still maintains their humanity and when they become a beast in their own eyes and the eyes of others. As I’m sure you can tell, such themes exploring what humanity means are almost as common to Tezuka’s works as a medical professional featuring as a main character. He needed to use his degree for something, I suppose.

In fact, the common conflict between Tezuka’s bright, young, optimistic, passionate, independently-minded, and opinionated doctor main characters and the corrupt, constricting, slow-moving, old-fashioned medical institution probably offers the most insight as to why Tezuka chose to pursue manga over medicine. I don’t think this was the only reason, but from reading his manga, I feel founded in asserting that the stifling status quo of established medicine was a contributing factor.

Tezuka never made any bones about putting himself and his feelings directly in his work. He spoke what was on his mind throughout his manga, and his introductions to various Astro Boy stories are no exception. He was also transparent about his struggle to make sure his works maintained popularity even when he resented any changes others suggested he make  in pursuit of this goal. In general, Tezuka-sensei didn’t take kindly to the idea of others influencing the direction of his creative visions basically ever, if the story of the Jungle Emperor: Onward, Leo! anime is any indication. (He’s just like me for real.)

If Tezuka-sensei wanted to write about war, he did. If he wanted to write about rape or trauma or abortion or racism, he did. He jumped on the chance to write about sex ed and, well, several of those other topics in Apollo’s Song.

If that scares you, don’t worry. Most of the time, Astro Boy was usually about the nature of war, human rights, the nature of humanity, and robots. It was also written for grade school kids.

Tezuka’s penchant for frank honesty wasn’t limited to commentary made within his manga, but also about his manga, and his statements on Astro Boy are some of his more standout claims on that front. That he called Atom a “monster” and said he created him “for the exposure and the money” doesn’t paint a flattering picture of his attitude towards his most famous work.

But, in truth, his distaste for compromising the truth of his characters at others’ suggestions probably betrays his real feelings about Atom. As much as he may be Tezuka’s monster, he is also his pure-hearted hero of justice and beloved creation. And, by his own admission, his feelings towards his work during the creation of “The Greatest Robot on Earth”, the Astro Boy story on which Pluto is based, were distinctly positive (even if at one point the background characters remark that Atom is a monster!)

The readership’s opinions on “The Greatest Robot on Earth” were likewise pretty positive. Among those readers was Naoki Urasawa, who credits the story with inspiring his deep love of manga. (His recounting of the impression the story left on him in this interview with Netflix Anime is incredibly sweet.)

Naoki Urasawa and His Monster

Who is Naoki Urasawa, besides the guy who co-wrote and illustrated the 2003 Pluto manga? Well, Urasawa-sensei is my favorite mangaka, so jot that down, and he’s known for his suspense thrillers, layered narratives, melodramatic showstopper moments, and also stories about cute girls doing sports. He is also a musician and guest professor alongside his editor and Pluto co-writer, Takashi Nagasaki.

20th Century Boys, named in part for a T.Rex song, is arguably his most famous work and it is heavy on the 1960s-1970s nostalgia, but in a good way! The inherent optimism, kindness, hope, and passion (and sometimes outright cheese) of every Urasawa character and title never feels insincere. The series is a seinen with the heart and whimsy of a shonen (and personally, I feel like such a description holds true for even Uraswa’s darker works.) 

If you don’t want to read 20th Century Boys or its sequel, 21st Century Boys, you can watch the live-action movie adaptations.

Meanwhile, Monster is my favorite manga and anime. Herr Doktor Tenma (yeah, like Astro Boy’s Tenma), a Japanese brain surgeon practicing in 1980s Germany, saves the life of a little boy only to learn years later that the kid is a mass murderer, his murdering ways continue into his adulthood, and he will likely never be caught. Only Tenma knows the truth, so he embarks on a quest to stop the “monster” he revived. 

I have less familiarity with Yawara! and Happy!, but the first is a sports comedy about a girl struggling to balance an athletic career and a normal life, and the second is a sports drama about a girl pursuing tennis to avoid becoming a prostitute. 

Pineapple Army is about an ex-merc’s adventures working as a self-defense instructor. Urasawa illustrated this one, but did not write it. I suppose I could have included Billy Bat as a representative work instead, but I honestly didn’t want to start unpacking that—though I will say that Billy Bat is probably the closest answer Urasawa has to Tezuka’s Message to Adolf since they both spin around the concept of a rumor or idea causing the world to lose its collective mind.

So what motivated Urasawa to add Pluto to his body of work? Mostly his editor/producer and co-writer, Takashi Nagasaki, probably. Er, that’s not very flattering. Let me try again.

Japanese media loves to emphasize passing its passions and convictions to the new generations (source: have you ever read or watched a mainstream action shonen in your life? If you’ve been paying attention to anything I’ve written about My Hero Academia or read the manga itself, I’m sure you think as much as I do that pointing out such a thing feels like beating a dead horse), and Urasawa’s (and later, the M2 team’s) motivation in creating Pluto is no exception. As Urasawa put it in his Netflix interview, “It’s like we received the baton from Tezuka-sensei, and would pass it on to the new generation."

And Osamu Tezuka-sensei’s son, Macoto Tezka (who probably spells his name that way so people don’t get him mixed up with his dad) let Urasawa and Nagasaki do it so long as they made sure the new retelling was something new, exciting, and unique when compared to the original! And while the pressure to succeed in this endeavor probably damn well near killed Urasawa-sensei, I think Tezka made the right call!

But if the goal was to pass on this Astro Boy story, which was written by a REALLY old dude, beloved by kinda-old dudes to the new generation, and practically unheard-of by today’s anklebiters, what kind of direction was the damn thing meant to take?! And why was the answer “fantasy Gulf War Astro Boy fanfiction”?!

Astro Boy in the Eyes of the New Breed

Astro Boy may be a series meant for younger kids, but it didn’t exist in a vacuum separate from the climate of the world from which it came. Tezuka would probably roll over in his grave if it did. The work, its messages, and its sensibilities were grade-A, postwar Showa stuff—particularly its reflections on pacifism, war, and power. 

Nagasaki’s summation from the postscript of Pluto: UrasawaXTezuka volume 8 sums up Tezuka and his generation’s outlook pretty handily, but I think it’s helpful to show exemplify this outlook and contrast it with the outlook of Nagasaki and Urasawa’s generation through manga!

Please observe this key moral-of-the-story panel from “The Greatest Robot on Earth” published in 1964 alongside this panel from late-1980s Dragonball featuring Muten Roshi stating the core idea of his series. I’ve chosen Dragonball as a point of comparison not just because of its notoriety as a big shonen title created for a similar audience as the original Astro Boy, but because creator Akira Toriyama was born in 1955 and, much like his contemporary Urasawa, who was born in 1960, “The Greatest Robot on Earth” left a deep impression on him. (Despite what the caption implies, the photographed page in this tweet actually features Toriyama’s admiration of Tezuka, though I don’t doubt the article from which it is pulled also includes Tezuka’s feelings about Toriyama. I ran it through Google Translate a few times and then laughed when I realized Toriyama made a self-deprecating joke about his poor reading skills, since he points out that he was in third grade when he read “The Greatest Robot on Earth” in the magazine Second Grader.)

To Astro Boy’s Ochanomizu, strength ain’t all that great, and strength for strength’s sake is foolish and vain. In fact, Professor Ochanomizu, who is the moral compass for most Astro Boy adventures, doesn’t value the pursuit of strength the way modern shonen, and several other characters within his own series, do. Hell, he doesn’t give Uran any superpowers even though Atom, the robot boy with nuclear power fueling his 100,000 horsepower (later 1,000,000 horsepower) and seven special powers is her brother! 

At the time of Ochanomizu’s creation, real-life Japan still freshly remembered World War II and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; no the fuck Ochanomizu (and Tezuka, through him) wasn’t about to endorse or create robots that doubled as weapons. That nonsense was for other, “more violent” robot manga, or the slew of other misguided and corrupt roboticists within the Astro Boy canon. Well, except there was that one time Ochanomizu helped create the artificial sun, but he didn’t ever intend for it to become a weapon.

Meanwhile, while Roshi also does not believe in strength for strength’s sake, he absolutely pursues it and encourages his pupils to do the same while fostering their awareness of the hardship, dangers, and fun of their path. Even with his warning, the Dragonball cast’s pursuit of strength is portrayed as alluring despite the double-edge, much like promoting national pride (and power) increases a nation’s convictions in its unity and identity but also draws the negative attention of other, possibly more powerful nations. Andy Yee succinctly frames this still-impending crossroads about how Japan might use its nationalism—its “pursuit of strength” in Dragonball lingo—in his 2013 article “The Twin Faces of Japanese Nationalism”. In it, he quotes this 2012 Project Syndicate article by Joseph S. Nye, Jr. pointing out that nationalism could be a force for positivity if tempered with reform and control, but could also cause the country to start conflict with its neighbors and shit the bed if left to run wild. (The conversation surrounding the topic of Japanese nationalism continues beyond 1980s manga or the 2013 socio-political scene, of course.)

Unlike Atom or Ochanomizu, Dragonball’s Goku finds such attention alluring: his heart’s desire is to fight strong opponents. It is his ikigai (“reason to live”) and at the end of the Cell Games, it becomes his, uh, shinigai (“reason to die”), if you will.

Did I lose you? I just asserted that the messages in these shonen about acquiring strength = messages about acquiring national pride and power. At its best, the Dragonball-esque attitude towards increasing national pride (and combat strength) is empowering, inspirational, and bolsters the good-hearted. At its worst, it could feed into a cycle of toxicity, unproductive self-importance and, ultimately, flat-out Japanese nationalism and war (and at its stupidest, it just becomes Let’s Fighting Love. Protect my balls.) Since classic Dragonball is a gag manga, I doubt Toriyama was ever thinking this hard about the messages of his work in regards to world history, but that’s sort of the point: Toriyama and his generation likely weren’t thinking this hard about it. Dragonball’s authorship lacks the crushing, firsthand memory of the consequences of unbalanced and misused power that the authorship of Astro Boy has.

In other words, Astro Boy’s cast pursued scientific advancement while lamenting the inevitable folly and destruction mankind brought forth with it so that Son Goku could fish naked, kick ass, get his ass kicked, meet god, kick ass, ghost god, ghost his family and friends, come back, kick more ass, repeat this cycle like twice, and get everyone to thank him for it. Dragonball’s more optimistic, power-fantasy-ish outlook broadly categorizes the outlook generation of New Breeds (shinjinrui) born around the 1960s like Toriyama, Urasawa, and Nagasaki before the reality introduced in their emerging adulthood hit them like a fucking truck.

The New Breed generation earned its name because their outlook and values, which were developed during a time of economic plenty and peace, seemed totally divorced from the values of the generations that lived during or immediately after World War II.

“They might as well be a different species,” snarked their elders, probably, though not necessarily out of bland hatred—Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Gundam series portrays his Newtypes, who are meant to be at least somewhat analogous to the real-life shinjinrui, in a generally more sympathetic light and occasionally a positive one (if they aren’t being used by someone else, that is.)

Tomino, who was born in 1941, also worked on Astro Boy at Mushi Pro.

Baggage between generations is not unique to any one country, obviously. But in this case, it seems Urasawa and Nagasaki decided to tap into it and incorporate the core beliefs, hopes, and grief of their generation and those of the generations before them into Pluto. 

Taking this approach was also the perfect excuse for Urasawa to distill everything he knew and loved about Tezuka’s works into one transformative manga. And don’t just trust Tomohiko Murakami on that—trust me as a fan of both Tezuka and Urasawa. It’s very noticeable that Urasawa and Nagasaki pulled from all things Tezuka to create Pluto even as it incorporated new ideas, including criticism of the Gulf War.

…So it’s probably a good thing I took the time to explain all this stuff to you so that you can now start to see it too! You can thank me later. Let’s see how the classic “The Greatest Robot on Earth” compares to Pluto.

[luckymousey]

Thoughts about Trey's dream (parts 257-268) (mostly things I liked)

Hey! I’m back!

Today I managed to start and finish Trey’s dream, let’s start!

Man, they even uploaded Riddle’s dream by now, I need to watch it, I don’t have enough time, help

⚠️English is not my first language and there will be spoilers for those who still haven't seen Trey's dream⚠️

Warnings?: possible swearing and grammatical mistakes

They arrive at Trey’s dream and I fucking hope they deepen up in Trey and Cater’s relationship (I write at the same time as I watch because it’s easier this way for me (I have short term memory) so I still don’t know what’s going to happen next, just to let you know)

Ace posing for the camera mid-travelling? What the hell? How!? Like, Cater filming the whole fly is easy to understand, but weren’t they flying way too fast to pose? My man here is unaffected by wind or what? 🤨 Or are they going as fast as a roller coaster?

Deuce is definitely getting his magic wheel’s driver license before the car’s one, I can feel it, he even wanted to make a magic wheel club before.

I can’t believe I was right, almost no one in Heartslabyul gets dizzy because of this type of travelling (though Cater gave another explanation, maybe i didn’t hit right in the spot)

Yo, if the Mirror of Darkness judges the dizziness resistance (I don’t know what it’s called, but you get me, right) does Heartslabyul have a big gap in number of students compared to the rest of the dorms? (I know it’s more of the sound thing, but just a question I had)

Ace being offended by the fact that we didn’t go to Deuce and he first, like, I WOULD’VE loved to go to you first, but I just couldn’t choose what dream I wanted to go first, ok? You understand? (And his dream broke my heart too many times)

AND NOW ITS POSSIBLE TO FLIGHT WITH 10 PEOPLE, MAN, SILVER IS DRAINING HIMSELF, ISN’T HE?, AFTER EVERYTHING IS OVER, HE’S GOING TO BE LIKE: “yeah, yeah, I’m happy everything is solved, I love you all, gn” HE’S GOING TO SLEEP FOR 100 YEARS FOR REAL AFTER THIS

Sebek being proud of and thankful for Lilia and his grandpa is so cute 🥰

AND MY KNIGHT, THE MIGHTY SILVER, COMES AND TALKS ABOUT GRIM TOO, YEAH, THIS IS ONE OF THE PARTS I LIKED THE MOST Grim defending us is just so cute, you guys know those headcanon some people have that Grim gives Yuu a present for Mother’s/Father’s Day because he sees them as his paternal figure because he never had someone who took care of him so much 🥺? It reminded me of those

Everyone complimenting a very embarrassed Grim gives me years of life

I can’t believe Grim said that if he was to leave Yuu behind he wouldn’t be able to study just AFTER what happened in Ace’s dream

And now the one Braincell trio talk together and tease Grim like siblings would, it’s so heartwarming 🥰

AND LEONA APPEARS WITH A FLOWN ON HIS FACE TO REMIND THEM THEIR MISSION, HE’S STILL TRAPPED WITH THEM WHEN I'M SURE HE WANTS TO FINALLY GET A NAP

The way the characters start naming sweets and everything they can smell impresses me, I can’t get a single name right when guessing what food is only by its smell 😭

My man Cater stopping everyone from suddenly entering the kitchen and showing his intelligence, he knows how to act and what to prevent

But his line?: “all I’ve to do is to drag the NPC outside, beat them and return” that sounded so sadist for me

CATER LITERALLY PUTTING HIMSELF WITH LEONA AND IDIA IS SO FUNNY, ONE IS A COMPLETE INTROVERT WHO HATES SOCIALIZING AND THE OTHER ONE FINDS CATER’S ENERGETIC PERSONALITY ANNOYING

Cater calling himself weak and that he chose Leona for said reason as unsettling, I had the same exact reaction as Leona: “don’t lie” he’s not weak! Why are you sayin that Cater? It makes me laugh a little

And then, of course, Cater drags them as Idia starts pleading for mercy: “no, don’t! Stop!”

Idia is the one who’s in most danger because he’s controlling everything, directly helping them and also communicating with STYX (who still didn’t fall asleep), running the danger that because of that, Malleus could catch him (let’s remember he caught Ortho, it wouldn’t be surprising if he suspected Idia) and he worries about having to accompany a Heartslabyul student

OMG, Ace wishing good luck to the three of them was so pleasing to my ear, I dunno, it felt…✨amazing✨ (it probably was the cheerful and sneaky way he said it

We enter the kitchen and it’s so fucking amazing, so beautiful, so perfect, AAAAAH, I LOVE IT (Alice in Wonderland is literally my fav Disney movie, I just love anything related to it) (but I ain’t forgiving them for what they did to my heart with Ace’s dream)

Something I don’t see in the kitchen is a teapot with three spouts, I demand my three-spouts-teapot

But I do see some Cheshire Cat’s cookies, they look so damn cool, I’m definitely making them when I have time

I just had a random thought, if anyone wants to make their birthday party (or anything else)

Heartslabyul themed they could make ‘sweets-garlands’, something that looks just like the food that’s flying in the new kitchen, it would be sick

Riddle would be terrorized by the new kitchen, but I bet that goth Riddle would be happily running like a kid to get more and more food (basing this off the spoilers I read about how he became a little spoiled in his dream)

AND CHENYA MAKES HIS APPEARANCE, HELLO CHENYA, I MISSED YOU 😭😭😭

Trey with his new uniform makes something inside me, I don’t know how to explain, it’s just kjhskjhgahjksjhsjk

If you look at the new clothes of Cater, Trey and Riddle, you’ll see they’re all matching, they’re wearing matching outfits and you’re not going to change my mind.

Ugh, I wish they made a new uniform for Chenya instead of just giving him a crown (but also, considering Chenya’s personality, it might be that he just doesn’t want to wear his uniform OR that his clothes can be considered uniform both in NRC and RSA)

Deuce not being able to remember Chenya’s full name reminds me of when he tried to say “Diasomnia” in the Heartslabyul Arc (I know Chenya’s name is long asf and is literally like a tongue twister, but it reminded me of that moment)

And then Ortho finally gets Chenya’s personal information…is this even legal? I mean, I know Ortho wouldn’t use their personal information abasing them (or maybe yes), but this can’t be legal (but considering what Rollo tried to do and the situation with Fellow and Gidel, I think I can say that laws there don’t work)

I swear that while the third years were reading Chenya’s information, the cat was definitely playing Dress to Impress, he was hitting all the poses he could

Idia and Leona are still talking about the theory that both Trey and Cater didn’t like Riddle as dorm leader and yada yadaaa, I feel Cater was more like he wanted to be able to live without having so many strict rules (but he wasn’t dissatisfied with Riddle) while Trey’s definitely more like he just wants Riddle to relax a little (I think. Like, I’m sure Chenya doesn’t mind being dorm leader, he’s cool and relaxed)

Idia being scolded by Ortho is *chef kiss*, I love their dynamic

Ortho is going to be a great uncle (if he really gets a nephew/niece), he’s like that friend who's like the cutest one in the group but in reality he’s the most intelligent and mature

Grim telling Ace to lower his head is so cuteeee, I need to see a fanart of all of them trying to look what’s happening in the kitchen

And now everyone is fighting with everyone while Deuce just sighs at the sight of the friends he got (even Ortho is glaring 😂)

Returning to the kitchen, Cater approaches Trey…and he tells Cater he’s not the real one…TREY, THAT’S NOT HOW YOU SAID HI TO SOMEONE; RUN, CATER, RUN AWAY

Man, the fact that Chenya is not more powerful than Riddle but still manages to keep his position as dorm leader makes sense, I think it’s like a reflection of what happens in the film: the Cheshire Cat constantly mocks the Queen of Hearts.

My dumb ass doesn’t understand Leona’s scientific explanation about Chenya’s UM, so I’ll simply say that it makes his body disappear

And the fact that Chenya pulled Riddle’s belt is just like when the Cheshire Cat used the Queen’s flamingo to lift her skirt

I swear to God that Chenya’s references to the original film are so *another chef kiss 💋*

The language Chenya uses (the ‘Pokandue’ word) would be something like Riddlish, from EAH, right?

“Whether I go or not depends on my mood”, translation: “I’ll only go if something perks my interest, if not, fuck off”, Chenya is so sassy, something like Floyd, I love him (I’m starting to thing he’s my favorite character, yes, a secondary character is my favorite character)

AND HIS HUMMING COULDN’T GO MISSING

“It’s not like there’s a huge difference between the reality and his dream”, Idia, dear…just wait

Oh, fuck, I just realized Trey was talking that he looked thinner than dream!Cater, not that he knew he didn’t belong to his dream, fuck, it makes sense, I almost forgot the meatballs existed

And while they’re talking about how they could wake him up Trey appears with his ‘Grandma “you’re too skinny, darling” mode’ activated and asks them if they’re hungry.

Trey still remembering Cater’s hatred for sweet things is so sweet of him (yes, I made another pun on it, hehe)

When I talked about Trey having a Grandma mode, I wasn’t lying man, in this part, he just fucking told them to eat 5 or 10 slices of the food, Trey, my man, my chef, calm down, you already have too many meatballs, you don’t need more

…and now Leona eats an entire pie…it’s understandable, he likes to eat…but man, in two bites?

Leona hating vegetables is so funny and then he demands for more food with meat, he approves, he approves

And Cater saying 200 tarts are too much even if there a lot of students in Heartslabyul…if you knew, Cater, if you knew

*puts voice of documentary filmmaker* And while the humans (and a robot and a cat who denies being a cat) are discussing which Riddle is weirder, the one in Ace’s dream or the one in Trey’s, something huge is slowly approaching them, it easily exceeds the average human size and weight, what will it be? An elephant? A walking building? An even weirder Riddle?…

Ehhhh, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

And nooooow, *drum roll* CONTESTANT NUMBER-

Ah, wait, they dropped some Trey Clover lore.

Oh, and I also wanted to say that it’s so amazing that the dorm also changes on its own and also have mushroom and cookies that can make you bigger, they really put a lot of detail in Heartslabyul (maybe because this was the first dorm)

When Idia said: “eh, etto…”, it sounded so cute ahjjksjakj

And I also find so cute that he was the one who started talking, and not just talking, but starting a conversation, he’s slowly opening to others (just a little, tiny bit, but I’m sure it’s a big step for him)

Idia and Trey have something in common! They both started doing what they like to do now just because that was just what they were used to (programming and baking respectively)

He was excited by the kitchen in Heartslabyul! Now I headcanon that he loves going to Ikea

and look at the furniture

I said it in my post defending Trey and I will say it again, Trey didn’t know what was going to happen to Riddle if he snuck out, even Idia and Leona are so fucking surprised by the 5 hours Mrs. Rosehearts took to yell at his family, and not only Trey wasn't the culprit of anything, but yelling at a married couple over a piece of tart, A FUCKING PIECE OF TART, is ridiculous.

And now we’re re-telling Riddle’s childhood, whyyyyyyyyyy 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

And Chenya and Trey see him as their baby brother!!! THAT’S WHAT I NEEDED TO HEAR, RIDDLE, SEND YOUR MAMA TO HELL AND GO AND LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOU CAN BE EITHER RIDDLE CLOVER OR RIDDLE ALCHEMIVICH PINKA

And only now you’re telling me Trey was forced to be vice-leader 🥺? RELEASE MY BOY, YANA, RELEASE HIM (only if he wants to, of course, we don’t know if he’s now happy with the situation)

Damn, seeing Trey in his normal dorm uniform feels after this long weird

Oh, WAIT, IT’S THE HAT, HE’S NOT WEARING THE HAT IN THE FLASHBACK, I know we can see him without his hat in his school uniform, but it’s weird seeing him using the dorm uniform without the hat

Wait, wait, wait, wait, THE FACT THAT CATER, WHO IS NOT USED TO HAVE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS, IS THE ONE TALKING AND ANALYZING TREY’S DESIRE FOR CHENYA TO BE THERE WITH HIM IS SO HEARTBREAKING

Leona is so sadist: “let’s just turn into sand everything Trey created for his dream. Let’s start with that silly, striped cat” maybe it’s because I’m a stupid, sensitive person, but I wouldn’t be able to even think about destroying something that makes another person happy 🥹

OUR SPECIAL GUESTS ARE FINALLY HEREEEE

*drum roll* CONTESTANT NUMBER 1: ACE TRAPPOROLLA

CONTESTANT NUMBER 2: DEUCE SPADEROLL

CONTESTANT NUMBER 3: KEITO DIABETO

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, CONTESTANT NUMBER 4: RIDDLE ROLLINGBALL

Who will our bachelor, Yuu Yuusurname, choose?

(Omg, the voiceeeees, they’re hilarious)

(The way both Deuce and Cater both though they were hedgehogs who turned into giants just shows us how crazy the dorm is and how used they’re to it)

Going tbh, when I saw the meatballs and Trey’s SSR card I thought: “oh, so…Hansel and Gretel, right?”

Bro, when they put the character besides their meatball-self is like looking an ‘before vs after’ meme

“There are two Ace and Deuce!” “It’s true!” “I didn’t notice because they were so small!” OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE, YOU EVEN CAME ROLLING INSTEAD OF WALKING

“Aren’t you all…perfectly round?” NO, TREY, HUMANS CAN'T BE ESPHERES, PLEASE, WAKE UP

Bro, imagine a student who wears glasses and only wears glasses because contact lenses make him uncomfortable, but here’s the plot twist: he’s a Heartslabyul student, round like a ball, big like an elephant, how is he going to wear his glasses??

Haha, Sebek and Silver were more worried about Riddle not being able to ride his horse Vorpal than anything else

Yk something curious? First, I know Trey’s desire is more about his peers being able to live freely as they want, but the result was way too far away from his motto: “I’m just a normal guy”, and second, this would actually make sense as he’s the based off the Mad Hater isn’t it? We kind of had to expect something crazy

The way the meatballs just start rolling to attack them, even Silver was taken down by them, god gracious, they’re going to be flattened up into a rug…WHO WANTS THE SPECIAL EDITION “THE GREAT GRIM” RUG FOR THEIR HOUSE? LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE ONLY ONE PRODUCT LEFT, BUY IT BEFORE SOMEONE DOES SO BEFORE YOU

Ok, but the fact that Tre’s first flashbacks were literally Riddle being a tyrant…lowkey makes

me want to cry a little

”I don’t like sweets at all, but it’s so delicious I can’t help myself!” *wrong answer noise* EEEEEEEEEE, Cater would NEVER say that, he already has his little trauma with sweets, leave my boy alone

Trey’s little laugh before pointing out what his real friends do and then saying he feels sick by watching them eat his food, ✨perfect✨

MY CHEF TREY CLOVER IS BACK MY PEOPLE, HE WOKE UP, YESSSSS

Aye, Ace’s coughing was nice to hear too, I dunno, when characters make small little noises is always fun for me to hear

UMMMM, Leona telling Trey owes him and Trey simply laughing, I’m also stealing this for my 3rd years headcanon

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you”���I mean, if you want to 😆

“Will a normal mage like me be useful in this situation?” TREY, WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS AFTER WE BEAT MALLEUS and probably Grim’s ASS

“Don’t make fun of me, Leona.” That’s another thing that’s going to my 3rd years headcanon 💅🏻

Everyone telling Trey he was their wildcard but I remember Idia calling him “Riddle’s pacifier” and I’m not letting you forget about that >:3

Ace taking a guess about Riddle’s dream by saying he’ll probably dream about rules and almost everyone agreeing…you’re all so bad at the guessing game, guys really, you shouldn’t play it anymore

Silver and Trey watching their first year students in disappointment and slight embarrassment is so mom coded for them, idc if Silver doesn’t really have mom vibes, this is my opinion

AND IDIA CALLED THEM PARENTS OF KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN, I LOVE HIM, TWINNNS

So we’ve reached the end of my post, I hope you enjoyed it!

[firstprincehornyramblings]

Hello everyone! I'm getting a start early, by queueing this post for tomorrow morning, look at me go. Thank you who much to @tailsbeth-writes for the tag <3 I have ... 3 wips again, because I have no self control, so we're doing all of this under the cut, because it's gonna be long, and maybe a lil nsfw <3 LET'S GOOOOOOOO.

------ George Villier's inner dialogue during an Orgy (that's the working title on this, please bare with)

It wasn’t that George had always been this way, but an ascension into power had nurtured his hedonism prone nature. If he was to be blessed with the gift of beauty, he would take all the power and pleasure that came with it. He’d earned it after all, his bed of lovers, his social standing, influence, and wealth. Each a result of unsavory acts; but that made them so much more deserved, did it not? He could have anything he wanted, like a god among men, and so he should be worshipped the same. Though he was more than content with devotion in the form of flesh; he’d certainly used his own body as currency often enough. Even now, anything that wasn’t handed to him willingly, with a brush of lips, or a clandestine slip to knees, could become his. That in itself was testament to all he’d done, that his willing submission was as effective a bargaining tool as his power.

WATERSPORTS FIRSTPRINCE (aka, Alex is funny and Henry has a weak bladder)

“You… think it’s- what?” Henry choked out, “You think it’s hot that I pissed myself in the middle of our kitchen? Is that your idea of a joke?” “I-” the brunette could feel his own cheeks heating up now, “It’s not a joke, I do, I’m sorry, but I do,” he managed after a moment. “Oh,” the blond’s eyes shot straight down to the shorts Alex had on, falling on the visible hardness there, “Oh,” he repeated, but with much more understanding this time. There were still tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall, but he was visibly less mortified, “Alex, that is so disgusting...” “I know, shit baby, I’m s-” “I can get into it.” “What?” “I said, I can get into it,” Henry repeated, “Well, honestly, I could probably get into anything that makes your cock hard, because- well frankly I reap the benefits of that. Would you like to fuck my throat?”

AND A NEW WIP, Hairstylist Henry and his least (read as favorite) Client Alex

“Alright, tilt your head back,” both of Henry’s hands rested on Alex’s temples, carefully moving the other man’s head into the perfect place, “Do you want me to stop under the jawline?” “Whatever you think looks best, sweetheart.” Normally, Henry would hate that, some businessman using a pet name on him. But usually it felt demeaning, when Alex did it, it felt genuine, perhaps that was why he didn't mind it. He would rather accept that than admit it might have something to do with how hot his cheeks felt or how his stomach flip flopped. Instead, he chose to focus on something else, like the familiar but luxurious scent becoming more evident the closer he was to Alex. “Santal 33?” the blond asked, running the trimmers over the other man’s jawline, making careful precise lines that would accentuate the sharp angles there. “Yeah,” impressively, Alex had answered that without much movement of his face; Henry was astonished. “Makes sense.” “What is that supposed to mean?” this time, the brunette moved, but he did have the mind to wait until Henry was running the trimers along his throat with less chance of Alex’s jolt messing up something. “It means you look like someone who has good taste, don’t move.” “You’re worse than a dentist,” Alex grumbled. “Stop moving, christ you’re an absolute menace, I’m going to slice your throat open.” “With an electric trimmer?” “I’m certain if I make enough effort, I just may be able to pull it off,” Henry snapped.

OKAY, that was a long one, if you stuck around thank u I love u. TAG LINE UP!!!!

@taste-thewaste @eusuntgratie @henrysfox @thighzp

@softboynick @catdadacd @sheepywritesfics @henryspearl

@basil-bird @caressthosecheekbones @henfox @onthewaytosomewhere + literally anyone else I'm sleepy and forgot, or anyone who sees this and wants to tag me, I love reading yall's stuff. <3

[taralen]

"You do what I ask of you. Addisons don't ask questions; they merely do. Now do what you're told and get in that swimsuit. We're crunching time and need this photo shoot done by tomorrow. Hop to it!"

Several weeks ago, I dreamed about wearing a really uncomfortable green swimsuit and was forced to have photos taken of me in it. I thought the idea was so specific and strange that I had to include it in one of my stories. Well, I decided Theta gets to suffer!

This plays into some further lore-building I've been cooking that focuses on one of the antagonists, Nagela, and her complicated relationships with Spamton and Theta during the 1990s. I also decided to give him a new suit for fun. Who said he has to wear the same red suit all the time anyway?!

[[NOTE: This is a continuation of something I am working on for my AU, LoveLetter. Click on Nagela's name in the previous section to take you there. Everything is still WIP!]]

During a follow-up meeting, Nagela spoke to Spamton privately concerning his unusual nervous behavior at the fashion show. He insisted that he was merely on edge from the "excitement of it all" since it was the first fashion show he had ever attended. She subtly pressed him for why he looked at that girl the way he did when they passed by her. Spamton maintained his previous statement of "never meeting her before."

Nagela still had her suspicions. She didn't want to entertain the idea that Spamton would ever be interested in any woman besides herself, so she devised a plan to catch him off-guard. Several photo shoots were already scheduled for the sponsored clothing lines she was expanding the collection on, and this gave her the perfect opportunity to test him.

In every previous photo review, Spamton never showed any interest in the models, no matter how alluring or sensual. His face remained professional, impartial, and disinterested in the Addisons wearing the clothes he would choose to sponsor. If he liked one, he'd "poach" the design from her and have it labeled under G. SHARP, his own clothing brand.

Nagela chose Theta to wear one of the most revealing swimsuits of the DEEP BLUE swimsuit line, catered to an adult demographic with erotic tastes. She pitched the line to Spamton before, and though he was somewhat intrigued, he had not made any final decisions to sponsor it.

Theta was a modest woman. Though she was beautiful, as most Addison women are, she was not quite beautiful enough for most modeling gigs due to her short stature and the unusual "dead pixels" that made her face "defective." At first, her heart raced at the idea of modeling for the luxurious NAGELA SAX company and its namesake proprietor, but once Nagela revealed what she wanted her to wear, a wave of discomfort and fear consumed her.

"Surely, there is someone better for this one?" Theta uttered as she held it before her.

Nagela loomed over, finger jabbing into her chest. "You do what I ask of you. Addisons don't ask questions; they merely do. Now do what you're told and get in that swimsuit. We're crunching time and need this photo shoot done by tomorrow. Hop to it!"

Holding back tears, she retreated to the dressing room. The bathing suit revealed too much, and the fabric pulled in all the wrong places. Still, she went out as she was told and took part in the provocative photoshoot, having to constantly be reminded to smile and "look natural."

With all the necessary shots taken, Nagela told her, "Great. Hopefully, these will get him to sponsor DEEP BLUE." Theta didn't need to know the name to understand exactly who she was referring to.

Once she made it to the safety of her apartment, she stepped into the shower, turned the water up as hot as he could handle, and scrubbed herself with a loofa until her skin reddened from friction and heat. Her mind wandered as she stared at the streams of water trailing down her expressionless face, circling down the drain. She had wanted his eyes on her, but she never expected it to be like this! Complex emotions swirled within her, filling her with a sense of uncertainty and dread piled upon a small speck of something deeper... Warmer.

[[DURING THE NEXT MEETING WITH SPAMTON]]

Nagela mixed her photos in with the others for Spamton to see. She wanted to test his reaction. If the girl meant nothing to him, he would surely react the same way he did with the other models.

But he didn't.

Spamton's eyes widened, and the cigarette slacked in his mouth. The tips of his fingers twitched ever so slightly, causing the paper to tremble. The faint hint of pink colored his white face.

That was not the reaction Nagela wanted to see.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Huh?" He laughed nervously. "Nothing's wrong!" "I know you, and something is definitely wrong." She smirked and smoked her cigarette, seemingly cool and composed as ever, but a burning jealousy festered inside her. "I wasn't expecting to see such a..." He waved his hand in a circular motion. "Provocative swimsuit?" He snapped his fingers. "That's it! Right, well, I wasn't expecting to see it mixed in with the rest of these. I'm admittedly taken off-guard." "I slipped it in as a surprise, just to see your reaction. It's part of the DEEP BLUE line you showed interest in. Does this help sway your decision?" She smirked. "Will you sponsor it now?" "Is that it?" Spamton laughed, his brows furrowed. He hummed and took a moment to think it over. "To be honest, no. It's too..." He fingered through the photos. "Racy for your tastes?" Nagela grinned. "Yes, and I, um, wasn't expecting you to pick her as a model. Didn't you say she doesn't have the right 'stuff' for that?" He chuckled and scratched his cheek. Nagela pushed her cigarette into an ash trash, her eyes boring into Spamton's face. "I figured. I know your tastes very well, Mr. Spamton. I picked her because her skin tone complements that color very well, perhaps even more than a Pink Addison's would. I could have modeled it myself, of course, for my skin is just as fair, but you know me—I could never wear something so erotic. It may be my product, but it's clearly not made for either me or you."

Spamton stared at the photos again, trying to keep his composure. Complicated feelings swelled inside him, many of which he fought not to indulge in. This girl disturbed him. Seeing her made his throat tight and sweat bead on his forehead, but another part of him was drawn to her gentle smile, deep, dark eyes, and soft... NO, not going there! He wanted to get away from this strange little woman. In all the places he'd been, there was no one like her, a White Addison, just like he used to be. They seemed to always inevitably cross paths, no matter where he went, even if she did not notice him. Seeing her made his stomach churn and his mind numb, but he couldn't afford to show this weakness to Nagela.

He didn't want anyone to know his mind was spiraling over his decision to accept the deal offered by that call...

The one he felt destined to take because he believed he was...

Alone.

[streakyglasses]

So I have another prompt…well idea. Stris getting a dog - so a Stris friend of mine and I have talked a lot about this lol. We also have their children named 😆 but first, I think they need a dog. I just imagine them talking about the next step in their relationship, adding a member to their family, aka a dog 🥺 thank you for all your amazing little stories, I adore every one of them!

Hello! I’m absolutely in love with the idea of them getting a dog (if that isn’t obvious). thank you for sharing this—it was an absolute joy to write! i feel like I got to stretch writing muscles/explore aspects of their relationship that I hadn’t before. + calling back to some earlier moments & hopefully injecting enough fluff to keep us all warm through winter lol! thank you for all your support & being a part of this lil community 🩵✨

read under the cut (will be on ao3/fun later)

Things are perfect. It took time, sure, but they are. Fulfilling jobs. A small one-bedroom apartment that’s distinctly theirs. Pictures lining the walls and two backpacks hung next to the door. Hiking and food trucks every other Sunday without fail. Boredom and adventure in equal measure that blend into the only thing either of them ever wanted: security with someone else. 

On the days they both get the evening off, they usually end up in the kitchen. She teaches him family recipes in exchange for the comfort meals he’s picked up along the way. Her laugh echoes off the cabinets when he wraps his arms around her from the back, taking in a deep breath of the delicious, crispy chicken that’s cooking away on the stove. She finds his cheek without looking, easy after they’ve done this dance so many times, and turns just enough to steal a kiss before clicking the stove off. 

“Bowls, please,” she smiles. Making a dramatic show of having to let her go, Street gets them down and carries them to the couch once they’re full. 

She brings the drinks and napkins. With an already-queued baking show ready to go, she throws her feet in his lap and they dig in. It’s perfect. 

And it’s exactly the situation they find themselves in just after Halloween. Chris’s stomach is full from her burger but alive with excitement as she draws her feet back into her own space, the question that’s been on her mind all day finally about to see the light. A dissatisfied noise escapes Street, pausing the tv without a second thought, and he turns to look at her. He smiles the second he sees her smile, heart jumping at how lucky he is that she chose him. 

“You’re up to something,” he comments and narrows his eyes. She rolls hers. Glancing at his hands, she leans forward and grabs one. 

“I’ve been thinking,” she starts. “How would you feel about getting a dog?” 

Street freezes. He races through every recent memory to figure out where he missed her bringing this up before now, but comes up short. The familiar pressure of her squeezing his hand brings him back to her wide, sparkling eyes. He doesn’t know if she knows that she’s biting her bottom lip, or that she could ask him for anything while making that face and he’d find it for her. So all the questions about when and why and how melt away like ice in July. 

“Okay.” 

“Really?” Chris lights up brighter than the sun. Thumb running over her knuckles out of habit, he nods with a soft laugh. 

“Did you think I was going to say no?”

“I thought you were going to have questions. To want to talk about it.”

“I do,” he says, tugging her back to him, all the way onto his lap. “But I figure the answer is going to be yes, so we might as well start there and now we can do all the logistics.”

Settling into him, she splays her hand over his chest and breathes in his woodsy detergent. 

“I love you,” she smiles, features soft. He cuts her off to murmur it back. Pink crawls up her neck and dusts her cheeks. “And, it’s time we got a new family member. I haven’t had a dog since Champ.” 

Understanding and admiration swirl in his eyes when he looks down at her and then kisses her forehead. The few memories he has of Champ, and the poignant one of her after he passed, are as vivid now as when it happened. He holds her closer. 

“I know how much he meant to you. What breed are you thinking? Another shepherd?”

“Yeah, actually.” She blinks back the tears forming at the thought of her old partner, waving off his concern. “I’m in a group with a bunch of other K9 handlers. Cop named Andrew is looking to home a three year old named Jasper. He was shot during a raid, and the damage is too much to reinstate him, but he’s fully recovered and mobile.” 

“Do you have a picture?” 

Eyebrows furrowing, Chris reaches for her phone and pulls one up of a dog sitting in the grass, his head cocked to the side and a large bone at his feet. 

“Looks like a perfect addition.” Street says, a warmth curling in his stomach that he only feels in moments alone with Chris. “When would we get him?” 

“The end of the week. That’ll give us enough time to get everything, and for me to get in touch about any special needs or upcoming shots. If Friday works for you?” 

“That it does; twenty’s off on Friday.”

Giddiness up to her ears, she hugs him as tightly as she can, able to feel his heartbeat through her bones. He holds her just as tight. 

“What about days were both working?” Street asks, softer, mind spinning with all the new questions and possibilities. She shrugs as if she’s already thought this all through, and he realizes she definitely has. 

“He’ll come to the safe house with me. It’ll be good to have an extra set of eyes, he’s already trained, and I hope the girls will feel more secure knowing he’s there, too. Plus, I’m going to teach him some emotional support techniques.” 

“That’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

“Remember that when he’s lying on your side of the bed.” She jokes, scratching his neck lightly and feeling his muscles jump under her touch. 

“Can’t be much different than you lying on my side all the time.” 

“Please, you love it.” 

“Never said I didn’t.”

He gives her that cocky grin and she swats at his chest, but he catches her hand. The sun is starting to set, casting them in a golden glow. His eyes trace over their space.

“I see a bed in the corner,” he whispers to her, breath rustling her hair. “Toy basket next to the TV stand. Leash next to our keys. Food bowl…”

“At the end of the island.” Chris joins him, more content than she’s ever been. “And another basket of toys in the bedroom.” 

“Did you spoil Champ like that?” He sounds like he doesn’t believe her, and she laughs.

“I did. He took care of me, saved my life. Least I could do was make sure he had a lot of toys and bones. We’d usually end up on the couch together after shift; he loved to watch remodeling shows with me.” 

Street’s heart swells at the love in her voice. He sees her through his lashes and savors knowing he’ll have the rest of forever with someone as kind and passionate as her. Feeling his gaze, she glances up, too, and it’s easy to see that it’s mutual. 

“I always wanted a dog.” He starts. “Obviously my parents never had one—thank God for that.” 

She snuggles closer, pulls a blanket over them to burrow up underneath in a tangle of limbs. 

“Did any of your foster homes ever have one?” 

“A few. I was never there long enough to really learn how to take care of ‘em, though. Duke was really my first dog, if you can count that.”

“Please, I count Duke as one of mine for how much I see him.”

“And to think of all those times Luca almost walked in on us, you were really just there for Duke.” 

A full body laugh rolls through her, and it isn’t long before they’re both dissolved into the fit. Only once her breath catches and she feels the imminent threat of a hiccup attack does she rein herself in. They collect the blanket and readjust, but the buzz stays in the air. 

“Champ was my first dog, too, you know. Guess that makes Duke my second.” 

“Really? I’d’ve thought you had at least one or two growing up.”

“No,” she shakes her head. “Five kids and four adults— we could barely see the floor growing up. And then Sarzo worked full time and Helena had her hands full with me and Tomas.”

“So…”

“A few of my cousins had dogs as kids. And in high school we had to do volunteer work and one of the approved places was a shelter. I loved getting to walk the dogs, train ‘em. I knew I wanted to be a cop but it really solidified my choice to go into K9 right away. Felt like I spoke their language more than all the ‘good old boys.’” 

He drops a tender kiss on her forehead, picturing a younger Chris cuddled on her couch with Champ and remembering all the times she’d train Duke when she came over. 

“Looks like we’re both taking some big steps then; I’m excited. Who would’ve thought six years ago…” 

Narrowing her eyes, the memory dawns on her in a slow vignette, and she lets out a stunted, surprised laugh. 

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

“How could I not?” Street counters. “‘I like dogs. Not dawgs.’ How things have changed.” 

“Uh, no.” She pats his chest as if to offer her sympathy. “That still stands. You just no longer fit the description. Lucky for me.”

Her voice has barely dropped but he senses the change within it, too. A slight raspiness clouding the sentimental of the past with everything of the present. Who is he to stop them when things are perfect? 

“Thank God for that.” He matches her tone. Capturing her mouth in a deeper kiss, her chest rises to meet him. Salt lingers on his lips that she takes her time savoring with her tongue as she maneuvers to straddle his lap. 

“Hey. Hey, wait,” he gets out around heavy breaths. She pulls back, supported by his hands on the small of her back, a question on her face. “Is Jasper trained in German?” 

“Yes? Why—right now?” 

“Looks like I’ll need a teacher then.”

Street smirks something deliciously evil, and Chris has never backed down from a challenge. Her laugh is softer but no less intense, and she murmurs her answer into the corner of his mouth after another kiss. 

“Good thing you’ve got me then.”

Hands snaking under his shirt and up his chest, it lands on the coffee table and her voice lands near his ear, low and hot. 

“You need a teacher for this, too?” 

“This?” He whispers, lust speeding through the barriers in him, spurred on by something primal that puts her shirt on the floor, behind the couch. Her legs wrap around him instinctively when he stands, one arm under her thighs while the other stays square on her back. “No, I’ve got this.”  ————————————————————————As it turns out, perfect isn’t a ceiling to reach, it’s a home they build. Friday comes, Chris’s truck bed full of toys and treats and another brand new dog bed—after they came to the conclusion that just having one in the living room wasn’t enough—and she’s practically vibrating as she stops at Andrew’s place. 

He’s waiting for them with Jasper firmly at his feet, panting in the California fall. Street’s eyes widen like a little kid’s when he sees the dog; it starts to sink in that they’re taking him home. For good. 

“Hello!” Chris jumps into a baby voice to talk to Jasper, after saying hi to Andrew. She takes the leash and Jasper jumps up, ready to go. His tail wags and he happily follows every command she has in exchange for the treats she’s got in her pockets. 

“You wanna try, Street? He’s a great dog.” She asks, unwilling to let the wisps of hesitation in his irises keep him from all the good he deserves. For good measure, she bites her lip. 

“Sure. Jasper!”

Jasper turns at attention, tail still going. 

“Sitz!” 

He sits. An odd feeling sparks in Street’s chest—a sense of accomplishment and joy so large it almost seems silly for the situation. But he catches in his periphery all the confidence and pride in Chris’s gaze on him, and he lets it grow.  ————————————————————————Perfect is messy. It’s bright ropes and lamb stuffed animals and too many tennis balls strewn across their floor. It’s Chris in the middle of it all, covered in black fur and laughing her heart out as tussles with Jasper. It’s Street throwing his jacket over one of the bar stools so he can join them. 

“He’ll get used to it quick,” Chris promises Street when she senses his concern at how Jasper paces the space after they’ve played. They’re still on the floor, backs against the couch. “It just takes time. Doesn’t it, Boy? Yes it does!” 

As if she said the magic word, Jasper plops down in front of both of them. His head cocks like in the picture, one paw crossed over the other. Street races for his phone to snap another. 

After dinner and a long walk, Chris texts Andrew an update that Jasper is settling well, and they head to bed. Another small bag of treats is on the nightstand if need be, but Jasper takes one look at the lush bed on the floor and the giant one, and promptly goes up the short staircase Chris insisted on buying to protect his hips. Circling a few times, he lands in the center of the foot of the bed. 

“Finally, you can’t put your cold feet on me.” Street teases. Chris rolls her eyes but turns out the overhead light and flutters over to join them. 

“Night, Jasper!” She whispers as she goes, kissing between his eyes. Slipping under the covers, she finds her usual position with her head on his chest, just at slightly more of a diagonal. 

“Good night, Street,” she yawns, and burrows her feet up to Jasper’s side. “I love you.” 

“Love you, babe. Good night, Jasper!” 

Things are perfect. 

[peachymilkandcream]

Kingdom of Ash and Greed|Part 16 (Finale)|King Levi x Evelyn

(A/N: This is the last chapter, hope you guys enjoyed this series and are excited for the next one! As of writing I’m not sure what it’ll be but I hope you guys will enjoy what’s to come! The first chapter of the next series will post next week on the same day. This chapter will be a short wrap up of everything but I still hope you enjoy!)

WARNINGS: noncon/dubcon, big age difference, kidnapping, slavery, violence, power imbalance, implied somnophilia, forced pregnancies, mind breaking, yandere behaviour, yandere themes, forced exhibitionism, etc.

==================================

The entire Ackerman family witnessed the execution of the former king. While Evelyn slightly opposed the children seeing such violence she understood why Levi wished it. He wanted his children to understand the power they would hold one day and what would happen to those who defied their father. They all met the same fate.

As promised, Evelyn’s mother Ymir was given over to one of Levi’s aides. Evelyn knew what her fate would be but chose not to care, it was the same life she was condemned to all those years ago and no one had taken pity on her then, why should she now? It was what they deserved for trying to kill her and her kids. In fact she almost wished Levi had condemned her to death instead.

Evelyn met her father’s eye’s as he was emasculated and disemboweled, he was disgusted at his own daughter sitting on the right hand of this monster proudly. But she didn’t care, this was the life she chose and would live it proudly.

==================================

As time passed the names of Fritz and Petra were forgotten. They were replaced by the celebrations of more and more children born to the King and Queen.

The young prince and princess soon grew into adulthood, growing to become just like their parents. While Furlan continued his father’s mission in battle, fighting and gaining more lands. Isabel learned of the business dealings of the world, striking highly profitable deals which inevitably led to the downfall and financial ruin of other nations, allowing Furlan to easily take over.

With this situation Levi rarely went to war, only going to satisfy his bloodlust. He focused his attentions to home life, breeding and raising more and more heirs so that his line would be iron tight and secure. He still ran the nation, but he wasn’t as hands on that he once was, stating he wanted his children to grow up without his help.

When Furlan came to want to marry, he followed in his father’s footsteps and brought home a slave foreign bride. Levi was soon a grandfather in his fifties with his Queen a grandmother in her late thirties and still giving birth herself.

He was the king of the world. No one would stop his impenetrable force of a kingdom and his children and children’s children would carry on his legacy. All who opposed would have their kingdoms burned to the ground, which made the stones in which he built his fortune.

His kingdom of ash and greed.

The End

[thecallofthecrow]

Happy Imbolc and Welcome to My Tumblr!

Hi, my name is Kuro. I'm a Pagan/Witch/Somewhere in that realm who has been practicing Witchcraft since the 8th grade. This seems like something someone really edgy would say, and it's gonna be worse when you learn which Goddess I worship and call "My Matron."

The Morrigan, by the way. The Morrigan chose me, and as Izzy of The Morrigan's Oracle has said, she likes to weave a story. So before we go into the FAQ/Strawman Argument section, let's go into my history.

Why Witchcraft?

In the time I converted to Wicca (I don't really count myself as Wiccan anymore as I don't ft the mold perfectly so I go with the more "Pagan" overview) I was undergoing a lot of pressure. I had just gotten out of a dangerous situation at home, living with people who cared for me, and wanted me to explore my life and what I wanted for myself.

I was also in a very abusive and manipulative relationship at said time, so I was looking for help in all the places I could. I was relaxing at my local library down the street from my school, and exploring the various aisles of books as I tended to do. The library, after all, was my favorite place on the planet. I've always been a reader - and still am to this day - so fate aligned and in a little small town in a very Christian and conservative area, I stumbled upon a book.

This singular book, "Wicca: The Complete Craft" by D.J. Conway came into my hands like fate screeching into my body full force. I had been raised Catholic, but at the time was non-practicing. However, I have always been very open minded. So with this interesting book, and a lot of time to kill, I sat down and began reading its pages with great interest as to what it had to say.

Needless to say, something connected. The open feeling I felt reading the contents of Conway's book filled me with such interest that I then checked that book out and went home to read it.

My Grandparents weren't thrilled. I don't actually know their religious backing, as they were non-practicing and never went to Church. Same for my Dad, he didn't practice actively either, and I wasn't in much contact with him at the time because he was going through his own journey at the time and we didn't intersect much. However, no one stopped me from delving into the pages of this interesting book.

I understand not everyone is lucky enough to have been given this luxury. Had my family been more fanatical, or practicing Christians, or less open minded, I probably would have been forced to return the book and never bring it into the house again. However, that was not the case.

To make a long story short, I converted to Wicca. I kept myself in the broom closet for a long time, before finally revealing at one point to my Grandparents,

"Grandma, Grandpa, I'm a Wiccan now."

They didn't really question me. I think they thought I was going through a phase and this would end. Well, here we are at age 30 worshipping the Morrigan and about to do an Imbolc ritual this very nice, with offerings lined up to go and plans made. I have an Oracle and Tarot deck (having bought my first tarot deck legit yesterday and the Oracle deck years ago now). I have an entire altar now.

This doesn't mean the journey was easy. I posted a Facebook post at one point revealing this factoid of mine, my transformational journey, and my Dad saw it. Pardon my sailor mouth, but he flipped the fuck out.

He came storming over to the house and yelled at me for like, two hours for not asking him for guidance to find the love of Jesus again, for not asking him to take me to church and see the love of HIS god. He was very disappointed in me. The argument devolved, as it always does, into him screaming at me and me calmly responding with reasonable arguments, and then after he left me crying my eyes out because all I've ever wanted was for him to love me. A bit TMI, I know, but I guess Daddy issues are common in this community from what have understood over the years.

But, I did not let it deter me from my craft. I continued working with my Gods and Goddesses, primarily with - who I thought was - Artemis, who turned out to be the Morrigan but we'll get into that when we get to more recent stuff.

I would commune with her when I had time to kill, pray to her, do altar work with her. Some of my school friends, through middle and high school, also converted over. One of these "friends" who we won't get into stole my pentacle necklace, my prized, blessed possession and one way of expressing my faith and beliefs. He would later, in high school, be told to take it off during class because it was "a gang symbol." Even though he was an awful friend who - in the end - got what was coming to him, I was angry on his behalf.

Justice is an important thing to me. We live in an unjust world, as many of you - especially on Tumblr - know to a great degree. There is much discrimination and mistreatment of people of all creeds and birth. I won't get too social justice-y so we can stay on topic, and I understand that with the modicum of personal information I'll give out that I have a certain inherent set of privileges that I am learning more as time goes on I need to keep in check.

These privileges did not keep me from facing some discrimination. I am on the ace spectrum. For a long time, before the whole Wicca thing, I showed no interest in relationships. The one I was in when I converted to Wicca was out of interest for the person. However before that, my family confronted me constantly with the question "are you gay?" At the same time, I am also disabled, with several mental illnesses, however we will get to that in the FAQ section.

I also faced religious persecution, just like said "friend" in high school. When people found out my faith, they reacted negatively, by and large. Oh the woes of living in a non-open minded world. I'll give a particular example that gets my blood boiling.

I was talking to my friend, we'll call her O. The topic of religion came up, one I'm very interested in having studied various theologies over the years. I'm not afraid of backing up my choices, but I am not closed minded to the whole "I'm right and le Christians bad." I had several Christian friends of various denominations, even at the time.

My friend asked some interesting questions, to which I explained my points on. Then some asshole from across the room, who was apparently listening, jumped into a conversation he was not even remotely included with "You are going to burn in hell."

It caught me by surprise, because he was sitting right by the teacher. The teacher kinda looked at him, then at me. I asked him to repeat himself, so he gleefully did. I tried to counter with something, I don't remember what, but respectfully, and the teacher told me to be quiet. She was staring directly at me. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe she just didn't want a religious argument breaking out in the middle of fucking Geometry, I dunno. All I know is, I stopped all pretenses of playing nice after that when people would pull the same shit.

I will admit, I got a little petty. I unleashed my full witchy pride and gleefully told people about my faith and my experiences. I wasn't afraid of backlash anymore, as I had gotten it several times by then. Nor did I stop having theological discussions about the Bible and scripture with my Lutheran friend. We'll call him D. He was very kind always and never delved into insults, but we liked to joke that I was a godless heathen. I still do that joke with my Grandparents and we get a laugh out of it every time.

But never did I stray from my path. I did my craft, I communed with "Artemis", and practiced spells. Over the course of my life, some of the work fell by the wayside, but I always kept my Goddess' requests in mind. Eventually, I entered college, and moved out of home and never had a space for an altar until literally yesterday. But I held faith that all would be fine.

Why the Morrigan? Isn't She Evil?

Alright so let's dispel (heh) some notions right now.

A lot of people find the Morrigan in various ways, and I even got this question today on Imbolc of all days, the celebration of Brig, the Morrigan's daughter.

The way Izzy put it on The Morrigan's Oracle was that "she likes to weave a story." She will often change shapes and trick you into thinking you're talking to someone else. So, since I was a Hellenist at the time, I got put with Artemis, which is weird because I'm a dude, so that should have been red flag number one.

I worked with "Artemis" for years. Called her mom, she took care of me, and all she ever asked of me, no offerings, no requirements, no rituals (as a lot of the worship happened when I had fuck all space), was to fight; fight my battles (which were many and constant) and better myself. She wanted me to get my shit together, which was made harder by me being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Shocking, I know; the person who thinks they can weave magicks is psychotic. We'll get to that, please be patient.

Eventually, fast-forwarding about 10 years after working with Artemis through high school and college, something didn't feel right. I felt doubt for the first time, even after converting from Wicca to more vague Paganism. "Artemis" was quiet, and the few times she did speak up she told me to "keep going." This is something I needed, dealing with suicidal tendencies and psychotic problems. It runs in my family, and we'll leave it at that.

But a couple years ago from around now, I discovered this odd attunement towards crows. I first was afraid of them, as you will hear many worshippers of the Morrigan state. But then, i grew weirdly attracted to their presence. They weren't tellers of doom to me, but a sign. I delved into research, trying to find a Hellenistic answer to the question and drawing up little.

Then she appeared to me. Not in a hallucinatory way though, let me explain.

Her presence was made known to me when I finally found a Goddess linked to crows, who was also known to be a triple Goddess. I had an affinity towards triple Goddesses all the time, yet I never even considered the idea that a Celtic Goddess, with my Irish roots, was even a possibility as a point of worship. But when I made that link, I felt something as I read up on her. I remember at one point I felt like something of a feeling of divine amusement as I finally made the link.

Broke out that Oracle Deck, which I will include the picture of as it is my favorite Oracle Deck (Seasons of the Witch Oracle: Samhain) and put out a feeler. I got a strong answer back, in which she finally removed the mask. It was her, the Morrigan, in full presence.

I was kinda scared shitless because she's often associated with Death itself, and many other bad things. But as research will tell you, she's not really that scary. I call her "theatrical" more than evil. Yeah, in some stories she does some fucked up shit, but honestly, in regards to the Gods and Goddesses of myth, all of them have done something arguably disagreeable, and they usually have their reasons.

So does that mean you don't believe in Artemis' existence? That's kinda fucked up if you believe that.

I believe Artemis exists. I'm in that weird zone of Paganism that says any pantheon probably exists. I have Norse, Hellenistic, Celtic, and various other people who go for different Gods and Goddesses as friends, so I believe their experiences are valid and their connections to their deities are real and valid. I believe anyone who believes any religion should be seen as valid unless they use it to harm people.

Harming people through religion is not alone in Christianity. I was manipulated by some very awful people who were Pagan, and I will never forgive those people for what they did to me. Fuck those guys lol, we'll get into that later.

But as for why I don't think Artemis was really the one communing with me, and it was Morrigan "weaving a story" as some of her other worshippers state, is because all her requests line more up with her than Artemis. My mind was small, I liked Hellenistic beliefs, but my mind was too small to address the Morrigan at the time, and when I finally made the connection, it was the right time. I do truly believe the Morrigan is watching over me.

So what then, you're a worshipper of the Morrigan now? What about other Celtic Deities?

I believe they exist. As mentioned earlier, the Morrigan chose me, not the other way around. Other deities choose their followers. I have a friend whose mom worships Lugh, though she's a terrible person. However, NO ONE FUCKING ASKED my opinion on her, so we'll leave it at that.

I don't mess with Lugh much because any time I even think about him I get this kinda hostile energy. There's others, but the three I'm drawn to right now, and technically one of them is three Goddesses, are the Morrigan, Aine, and Brig.

Okay, can we address some stuff now?

Sure, let's advance to the FAQ section. I'm gonna try to speedrun this because I've been typing for like, an hour or two and I've got shit to do.

FAQ

So you're a Witch, does that mean you curse people and do magic for Satan?

I know this is literally what I earlier joked to be the Strawman section but this one was just too funny not to do.

I don't do curses. A concept I kept from Wicca, which isn't exactly exclusive to Wicca but not all Pagan's believe it, is the Law of Threes and the Wiccan Rede.

The Law of Threes is basically defined as something where whatever you put out into the universe - be it curses, hostile energy, hate, whatever - comes back to you three times in strength. So curses are a big bad. In the same way, revenge magic is a big no no, and some gods, even who reside over Justice, don't like you asking for Justice when it comes down to dolling out your own sense of justice, or even asking for it. Your mileage may vary depending on the practitioner.

As for the Satan question, I know I mentioned all deities probably exist, I don't believe in Satan, or Hell, or any of that. The Underworld definitely exists, as does the Hedge, but the Underworld isn't as scary as it sounds. It's kinda just... A thing. Do your own research on that and don't ask me.

To summarize, no; I don't curse people and worship Satan because I don't curse people and I don't believe in Satan.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You've been a Pagan for a long time, so are you an expert?

Hell the fuck no. I haven't actively practiced in ten years, and even before I was shit at it. I need to seek out lessons from people more informed from me to get shit right and last night during my own ritual I was so nervous i forgot how to draw a star that Kindergarteners learn to draw. The Morrigan was very amused.

Are all Witches in a coven? Are they scary?

Man fuck covens. I was in a coven once; most high school drama ass shit I ever encountered. I don't do covens, and covens with (gasp) men allowed in it seem to be rare as is. I guess that's my gender reveal I was trying to avoid.

Wait how can you be a dude and a Witch? Aren't those all girls?

I will summarize this specifically, and it kinda varies so YMMV.

Warlock is kinda a mistranslated word from my research and means oathbreaker. I identify with the word Witch, and a lot of sources back me up while a lot of other sources say it's a male witch. You choose what you want to be called, but I would prefer to be referred to as a Witch or if you don't feel comfortable with that feel free to just call me a Pagan (or crazy, that's valid too).

You're a schizo, do you really think you can hear your Goddess?

Valid point, but this is different. There's a lot of theories as to the scientific backing of "hearing your god." I feel energies rather than directly "hear" something. It could be nothing, it could be something. I just go with my gut.

Atheists reading this might be like "oh yeah he's nuts." That's your prerogative. Home Button is right there and if you want to avoid the whole entire subgenre of this thing, there's some interesting tags you can blacklist if Tumblr still has that feature. #witchblr is a great place to start with avoiding this content.

I'd like to not get people going into my comments saying I'm utterly nutterly butterly, but I expect I'll get some of that. My advice to other witchs, Pagans, and Wiccans, and everything in between to just block or not engage. Really, as someone who works in social media, they're just giving you more engagement and spreading your content around. This can be a good and bad thing, but you decide what is best for you and don't listen to my psycho ass.

Magic doesn't exist, you're just crazy. Take your medicine.

It's on my desk, I already did, and surprise surprise I still believe in this shit. Chill, my advice to the hardliners is just to avoid my content if you don't want to read it. It'll be better for both of us if you just ignore me, or block me, or whatever you want.

So, what is this Tumblr gonna be about, really?

Let me address this plainly. I'm a creative, and I need an outlet to talk about my faith. My friends are starting to get annoyed because half of them are either atheists or agnostic and don't care or some sect of Christianity and think I'm a devil worshipper ooOooOooOH so spooky.

So I'll publish, as you've seen, poetry that comes into my head after rituals, teatime, communing, or whatever comes across my mind. I will also try to, ironically, demystify the whole thing regarding witchcraft and explain, from both a metaphysical and scientific lens, explain how all of this exactly works. A lot of magic and ritual is more psychological, and not all that crazy to understand, so I'll do some articles on how magicks work. Not in the crazy New Age Starseed psychotic way (everyone say it with me, fuck DOLORES CANNON), but in a way of how all of this works on a practitioners psychology. There is always a logical explanation for why we feel certain things work, even if in reality, it could be mystical or metaphysical. I will approach things from both lenses.

And let me just say, because from my first post you might think I'm a channeler, and that the Morrigan literally speaks through me, I feel more like she's my muse and sends me ideas. I'll be at a zen state and words just come into my head, then I write it down and post it. Some of it might be utter garbage. I never said I was a great writer.

Wrapping Up

Thank you for reading this gigantic wall of text. If you made it this far, feel free to reach out to me any time. I'm seeking out mentors and guides to learn the more ins and outs of more interesting aspects of the craft, and I will always have questions that need answering. If you feel like reaching out, my DM's are open.

All of you have a wonderful Imbolc, and Blessed Be.

Kuro

[poppetsisters]

4, 9 and 17.

4. It took a lot of wordsmithing. - Penelope can be shortened to Pen, like what I use to write and draw. - It is quite literally a pen name - It can also be shortened to Penny, from which several word plays can be derived (I'd offer my two cents, but I'm only one) - A Poppet is a type of doll used by witches to represent other people (think a voodoo doll but less racially charged). Eve had a theory a long time ago that we were all the puppets of some meta consciousness that was so bloated and shifting in its multitudes that it had to create us to represent all its facets in a non-overwhelming way. She'll say this is the reason Poppet is our last name, but to be quite honest, I just think replacing the U in Puppet makes it sound more dynamic and fun. - The first and last name were chosen in tandem to go together: the four syllable first name followed up with a two syllable last name gives it a punchy rhythm thanks to the four P sounds needed to pronounce it in full. - Adding onto this, Penelope Poppet as written invoke a consistent motif of roundness and tall lines, and I'd even go as far as to say the letters themselves paired with their sounds invoke a colour palette (I always think of yellow and green when I hear my name).

Alice gets her name from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but lately she's been wanting to go by Mittens. Why? because it "sounds more like her"

Eve chose her name because she knew I hated shallow bible references and wanted to piss me off. She later retconned it to be short for Everything and I think that is very funny.

9. My favourite part is allowing myself to succumb to madness. I already decided gender is a construct! What else is a construct I wonder? We can't prove that God exists, but we can prove that she unambiguously exists in our minds! Superman is more real than I am because he will outlive me in the minds of millions. Our perception of the world is based on meat mechanisms called our five senses. Who's to say actual real things are real? Ayn Rand has nightmares about me!

This may sound like a psychotic break, but that's only because I'm writing this as 2am. The point I'm trying to make is that my life became way more fun once I realized that transformation and magic were real.

17. It hurts, but you can't be reborn without first dying. Can't rise from the ashes without first burning up. Can't climb out of a grave and take back your beating heart without first burying yourself. Do you understand?

[sunbloomdew]

my olba mc timeline!

introducing my darling buttercup, Haru Nakamura :D

finally i can post this! i'm very happy to talk about a character i have been working on since may haha. does that mean they are fully cooked? let's talk about something else :) insert why do they call you babygirl meme

you don't wanna know how long was the process of making this one drawing,,,, 1/10, would do it again no question, but god did that take time. here's the sketch for comparison :]

(hopefully) short and concise description of each step below + a couple of songs that i assign to each step, from their playlist because i can and i will

ʰᵃʰᵃʰᵃʰʰᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃ ᵗᵘʳⁿˢ ᵒᵘᵗ ⁱ ʷʳᵒᵗᵉ ᵃ ᵇⁱᵗ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ʰᵃʰᵃʰʰᵃᵃʰ ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ʳᵉᵃᵈ ᵃˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰⁱˢ ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵐʸ ʰᵃⁿᵈ ⁱⁿ ᵐᵃʳʳⁱᵃᵍᵉ ᵇᵗʷ

now before i move to each step, i want to take a moment to talk about Haru's name. they are japanese american (their biological parents were both japanese people who moved to california) so i wanted them to have a japanese name.

first their birth name, Kaito. i picked this [快仁] way of writing it. 快 means "pleasant, comfortable, agreeable" and 仁 means "humanity, benevolence and kindness". i chose it as their birth name because of a few reasons:

first, some other ways of writing this name include a kanji that means "ocean, sea". it's an obvious connection to the setting of olba, as well as the character's deep connection with sunset bird, especially in their childhood.

the meanings assigned to the version i chose, describe haru at their core and during step 1 when they use this name. they are a comfortable presence whose greatest desire is to make meaningful, genuine connections with other people (fucking extravert). while they are pleasant they are a people-pleaser as well - part of their journey is to unlearn that.

it sounds very cute and they are the sweetest kid

now the name people actually know them for, the one they feel describes them the best - Haru. the kanji that i picked [春] means "spring, season of growth and renewal" and it's precisely what Haru's 'arc' is about. the meaning and value of their personal growth, understanding themselves and working with oneself instead of against.

a little tidbit about their name: there is a kanji with which it can be written that means "cherry blossom". those flowers are considered as a symbol of spring in japan, usually blooming between the end of march and beginning of may. another fun fact, haru's birthday is on the 2nd of april :]

Nakamura is a surname i chose instead of Last in the game. i thought it would be fun to headcanon that the family's surname is actually from Noelani's side (some Hawaiian last names are Japanese in origin, hence Nakamura). The kanji i picked to write it are [中村] - 中 meaning "in, inside, middle, center" and 村 meaning "village, hamlet". I think of it as a reference to sunset bird itself.

so once we put all of the ingredients together it already forms an image of a character. i've been reading a book by david day "the hobbits of tolkien" in which the author describes j.r.r. tolkien's process of creating the hobbits. it's very fascinating, the way in which he used his philologist knowleadge - digging up the word first and then tracing it's origins and the word family to slowly create the hobbits we know today. my process of creating haru was somewhat similar in methods, though definitely not the process (god no, i am nowhere near tolkien's level). i wanted to mention that because the words we use to describe the world, or in this case characters are important.

i like to think that haru's whole name means "spring in a village", with them being the embodiment of said season, connected to an undeniably summer town. a little bit like baxter, our resident autumn boy stumbled into a seaside tourist town. only in haru's case the lines are more blurry. i think of them as the manifestation of the spring/summer period, when the sun shines brightly and trees bloom but the wind is still chilly and strong.

in any case, let's move further! fairies know i could talk just about their name forever

Step 1: welcome to childhood folks! in step 1 Haru uses their birth name, Kaito, and he/him pronouns. Kaito is a lonely child who wants only one thing - to have a friend. he is too fat, too shy, too different from other kids his age, which leads to him being isolated from them. this plants the first seeds of his insecurities that will follow him into the future. being ignored and laughed at really impacts Kaito, who only wants to make friends with anybody. it makes this thought slowly grow at the back of his mind: "there is something fundamentally wrong with me." thankfully, he has the support of lizzie and their moms and the soothing sound of the waves and the warm sand at the beach, which make his social isolation feel less hurtful.

when it comes to his personality, Kaito is an open-hearted, open-minded kid who is quite shy. he is naive, terribly impatient and impulsive which can be a fatal combination. curiosity is another defining trait of his - not really with any things of an academic nature, but definitely about other people, so much he can be very nosy. despire that he is pretty good at reading social cues and figuring out people's feelings. if only he had enough foresight to actually confirm his thoughts with others - he is prone to assume things solely based off his judgement. he is empathetic and a good listener. his tendencies in people-pleasing are only starting to grow, but it will be a huge problem down the line.

a sidenote about his design: colours chosen for each step hold a meaning. the colour palette for step 1 is a triadic colour scheme with purple, teal and yellow. i chose those colours because they remind me of summer, and in step 1 kaito is at the beginning of his growth as a person. at this point in their life, they are connected with summer as a season the most, because they have yet to begin the process of figuring themselves out and understanding themselves.

Cove moving in is a turning point for Kaito. he changes his life by befriending him. it doesn NOT alleviate the insecurities and doubt still nestled in Kaito's heart. rather he views Cove as someone special for befriending him. the setting for their relationship is Nervous Fond. Kaito likes Cove immediately (as they do with most people, they are very open) but is very nervous about this whole making friends process.

Alright this all probably sounds very angsty but this internal turmoil of Kaito's is (for now) very much in the background. think of it like a box covered with sheets, dusted over and hidden in the attic. step 1 is mostly cute kid shenanigans (and some crying).

Songs:

hawaiian roller coaster ride - mark keali'i ho'omalu, kamehameha schools children's chorus; lilo and stitch original soundtrack

the right amount of dumb - kan gao; finding paradise (original game soundtrack)

i have a hole in my tooth (and my dentist is shut) - dodie

take me anywhere - kan gao; to the moon (original game soundtrack)

second child, restless child - the oh hellos

(the right amount of dumb is like their theme in step 1 because they are a bit of a dumbass <33 silly little kid)

Step 2: ahhh early teenage years. i think 12yo and older is the time when you start to realize how profoundly fucked up reality is and react appropriately! which is exactly what Haru is going through, on top of being obsessed with becoming popular. sigh.

step 2 is very rough for Haru. for one, their insecurities from childhood only grow. they see their inabilty to create a large circle of friends as a reflection of their worth. their self-esteem is at all time low, which is why they do everything they can to cover it up. kids are cruel so they cannot show any weaknesses. in order to cover up their low self-confidence they become very arrogant,they arrive at this conclusion: if they are so unlikable (false) then they only need to pretend to be someone else entirely to make people like them (bruh. teenage brain is a mystery).

and so begins their fabrication of themselves, altering parts of their appearance, personality even giving up and picking up hobbies just to appeal to the 'popular kids'. deep inside they know that this is futile. you cannot make people like you, you cannot make them respect you if they don't no matter how hard you try. but they are so starved for social interactions, that it doesn't matter at the moment. if they get to hang out with the cool kids, if people wave to them in the corridors then what does it matter that the person they are greeting is fake?

those purposeful but forced changes consume them. they are constatly playing a role around people they know but don't trust - they can only relax with their family, Cove and Derek. but even then, they aren't fun to hang out with that much. seeing as they can reveal their true thoughts only then, it makes them constantly angry (at everything, but at themselves the most probably) which affects their relationships with their friends and family.

to them it feels like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. they can't bear their soul to the cool kids group, because that would mean admitting that they are not a person they pretended to be - this loud, out-going, larger than life, perfect person. and in their head they think they can't reveal anything to their loved ones either - it would mean admitting defeat in making friends.

so yeah, the struggle is there y'all. despite all the harm that comes from their behaviour and their environment, they learn a couple of things too. they realize they aren't a mind reader and perhaps asking people about their problems is better than assuming you know what is wrong, even if you are like 99% sure you know. doesn't mean they won't ask in the most blunt, tactless way possible tho. their shyness as if evaporates completely - you're not gonna make it far in middle school being shy. funnily enough, they are a massive people-pleaser. you'd think that this bold, boisterous teen star would be far from it, but every action Haru performs in their school circle is for the approval of others. if there are any mild upsides to their state is that they can fulfill their innate need of connecting with other people. it's not deep or meaningful in most cases but what can you do.

as you probably noticed, the main colour of this step is green. but why? green is such a nice colour, with so many positive meanings... sike! i mean yeah it is, but you know what else green symbolises? greed and envy. i used green for this step to highlight haru's desire of becoming popular not as a genuine dream, not even as a way to connect with others but because of the immense jealousy they felt. of other people who got to have friends that liked them for who they are. of elizabeth especially, who never seemed to struggle with making people like her. in this stage of their life, green is definitely a negative colour for them.

the comfort level in step 2 is Direct Fond for both Cove and Derek. no matter which route i'm deciding on romantically, haru does not have a crush on anyone in step 2, or at least doesn't allow themselves to have.

Songs:

freaks - surf curse

kawaki wo ameku [カワキヲアメク] - minami [美波]

carnivore - starset

stand out fit in - one ok rock

remember my name - mitski

(i especially like carnivore for this step because haru starts avoiding eating meat, cause they don't like the taste that much. the choice of this song is a bit of an inside joke for me, also the lyrics fit very well)

Step 3: we enter era of healing! i'd say in step 3 haru is at a solid 3/4 way to doing better internally. step 2 was their lowest, but now they are beginning to bloom. but growing older doesn't only bring knowleadge and growth, it also brings a new lot of issues to deal with.

Haru has been confronted about their behaviour. the impact it had on others and on themselves (there was a lot of crying and broken confessions, not a good time). as they reached their limit, they finally decided to speak their feelings and accept help from their loved ones.

now, it's hard to simply get rid of one's insecurities, especially those that seemed to be reinforced by the outside world for a long time. they use a strategy as old as time to deal with (not cover up anymore) their low self-esteem - fake it till you make it. some of their arrogance stays with them, as a blanket of security in a way, but they are determined to be confident in themselves.

their growth starts with a somewhat superficial thing but one that they always cared about: their clothes. they were always interested in clothing and fashion but only in step 3 they move a bit further with that interest and begin to make clothes on their own. it's an important passion to them, not only being very therapeutic but also allowing them to express their true self, both in terms of their personality as well as gender.

a major shift in their perception of their relationships with others was caused by realizing, that gaining popularity was not going to make them feel fulfilled. they had always desired deep, meaningful relationships, and while being recognized at school was nice, it wasn't really what they were looking for. this in turn make them rethink their whole "pretending to be someone you're not" business and with their loved ones assistance they figured out that... it simply wasn't worth it.

and because haru is the most impulsive person on this side of the globe, they did not ease themselves into this realization but again forced themselves to abandon their old ways in favor of being painfully true to themselves. and then everybody smacked their foreheads.

haru is a lot kinder to themselves now, courtesy of cove and others, but they still tend to ignore themselves in favor of somebody else. their shyness returned, and they no longer try to force themselves into acting more out there than they are. since the let down their walls, they speak their mind without thinking and are prone into agreeing to things immediately, often finding themselves in uncomfortable or annoying situations.

right now their most pressing struggle is dealing with becoming an adult. they feel as if they had just got peace and stability in their life and yet their friends are leaving or staying, getting jobs, time is slipping through their fingers like sand and everything is different. haru themselves feels very lost and overwhelmed by the future, so for now they latch onto people, their friends, sister and moms and try to spend as much time with them as possible, drowning the sound of their own fear in their laughter. on top of that there is a new guy in sunset bird, who seems to have a bit similar internal struggles to them, and haru feels like they could make a connection for life. i wonder how that will go :]

step 3 colours! they wear a lot of different colours because their style is mostly inspired by the 80s, plus they like to go crazy with the clothes they make. but colours that appear the most are definitely pink and yellow, plus a little bit of green. green appears in smaller amounts and in shades closer to yellow to express it's different nature than the green in step 2. this time it represents growth, freshness and hope.

now yellow is a very important colour that i consider haru's main colour. they are simply inseparable in my head. it was completely gone from their colour palette in step 2, and in step 1 it had more of a golden shade, one reminiscent of summer, but in step 3 it brings forth thoughts of spring more. it is purposeful, as Haru is finally growing into the person they want to be. yellow's positive meanings are among others optimism, happiness, creativity and enthusiasm. but it can also be associated with fear and cowardice and that is definitely something that fits haru in this step as well.

pink is prevalent in this specific outfit, but like i said, the clothes they wear in this step are pretty colourful. still, it holds meaning, seeing as it's also visible in their step 4 clothes. pink is invincibly linked with romance and romantic feelings - something haru allows themselves to open up to in step 3. like most things about them, if they have a crush on somebody their infatuation comes fast and strong, seemingly out of nowhere. but other than romance, pink is a colour of youth and playfulness.

after dealing with all that teen angst, they are very playful. combined with the dread of the future and genuine excitement they finally feel, they are a sweet, sociable person. the comfort level is Relaxed Fond, unless they have a crush on either Cove or Baxter, then it's Nervous Crush.

Songs:

permanence - bears in trees

wishing well - the oh hellos

infinite - lyn lapid

summer depression - girl in red

what if it doesn't end well - chloe moriondo

(i didn't put this song here despite it being the first one on haru's playlist, but teenage dream by katy perry is such a step 3 haru song)

Step 4: sweet woes of adulthood! Haru has grown and grown up but of course, life is a continuous string of things happening and us having to deal with them. some things stayed the same, for example their big ego. from aiming to cover up their low confidence, to actually gaining a healthy amount of it, like in most things they do, they went overboard. and while some of it is still a little bit of a defense mechanism, they are also completely insufferable and a beast of self-esteem. you win some you lose some.

they grew into the person they were always meant to be: free spirited, open, empathetic and creative. even so, they still retain their oh so recognizable traits. their curious, almost nosy demeanor, impatient nature and people-pleasing ways. they are still reckless though not quite as impatient, they learned to be a bit more chill.

haru learned to manage their intense nature. especially when it comes to meeting new people, they realize and respect the fact that not everybody will be eager to form a deeper bond, as much as it confuses them sometimes. they have always been ride or die type of person, but growing up has mellowed them out a bit.

the most growth happened with their way of managing their relationships as well as their perception of themselves. they are a lot more mature and as such manage to maintain their relationships. even if they still sometimes assume other people's thoughts or take up too much upon themselves, they see what they have accomplished and are very proud of themselves.

their struggles now involve the usual perils of adulthood, but mostly keeping up with their friends and making sure everything is alright. other than that though, they eagerly travel and go out of their way to meet even more new people - they do need someone to anchor them, or they will get carried away and eventually step on somebody's toes (or fail to return from another state on a scheduled date).

speaking of their adult relations, baxter leaving was a huge blow to them. like traumatic event rank S type of thing. when they meet again it's a storm lol

when it comes to Haru's other dreams and goals, i picture them with a business that makes custom clothes, like handmade ones. their side job would be helping out cove with surfing lessons and his business. they like to work with other people and are a fairly good leader, but they dislike doing the simple tasks because they are so boring.

last design notes! so there is yellow and pink, a bit of blue and white, at least in this outfit. yellow, pink and white are their characteristic colours, but green finds it's place here too sometimes (to drive home the spring theme more).

like i mentioned, haru's colour is yellow. it's the colour of sunshine, buttercups, the sand and some birds and fish, and most importantly it's the colour i associate with spring (along with green). haru is a character that represents the late spring, teeming with life and joy, intense in growth and weather, downpours or clear skies alike.

i don't think there is much more to say about the colours in this step, as in my opinion yellow is most significant. pink also connects with haru's acceptance of femininity and figuring out exactly how much they associate with it. and blue is the colour of the sky :)

in step 3 they are at Direct Fond or Crush. I like their energy in relationships with other people :]

Songs:

hey blondie - dominic fike; barbie the album

everybody loves me - onerepublic

never gonna not dance again - p!nk

sick of losing soulmates - dodie

rebel rebel - david bowie

dancing with myself - billy idol

(hey blondie is such a bop holy shit you guys- also very much a haru song <3)

wow i can't believe i actually wrote this. i am very particular about my characters so now that i have this sort of "introduction" for haru posted, i can post other things about them! don't ask me how that works, it has to be chronological

if you've read this thank you very, very much <3 and if you didn't, fair i feel you lol. feel free to ask about them if your heart desires :]

toodles~

[immoralimmortals]

A Song With Ten Names

Chapter 14: Community Gardens

Chapter 1 ☆ Next chapter

Summary of chapter: Roses are notorious for being difficult to care for when newly planted, needing nearly immaculate attention. One wrong move and it's all over. Takara's thorns are untrimmed, and gardeners' hands may be left bleeding. Will more wary fingers make for better blossoms, or will it simply quicken her (or their) demise?

Author's Note: The song for this chapter is Community Gardens by the scary jokes and Louie Zong. A short and sweet chapter to lead into more ideas I have for the zombie combo and the elemental pair (Itachi and Kisame, fire and water).

Do you remember that line in the Mitski song Nobody that's like…Venus, the planet of love, was destroyed by global warming because its people wanted too much? I think about that a lot. The otherwise abrupt tonal shift in the song lyrics I chose is how I interpret that bit.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Full disclosure, I am a monster

A creature of despair, not that that should be a cause for concern

If there's one thing I've learned in all my years here

It's that despair is less abundant in those who understand

How to plant their hearts in community gardens

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It's a wonderful summer day. The sky is blue behind the backdrop of tall, tall trees. A bird the same color sits upon a block of wood hung up by rope, unable to make the swing work as intended with its small weight but still enjoying it all the same. The roses of the haunted mansion's garden are in full bloom; no attempt has been made yet to trim down their thorns. A shimmer of green passes between two sets of eyes, a dragonfly unable to make either Akatsuki flinch from their staring contest.

“Itachi,” Hidan coos, drawing out the last syllable like casting fishing wire with bait. Such tone is only on his tongue when he is trying to get something he wants, and the man he speaks to has that clocked. “Is it really that important? Can’t I just go in?”

The raven shakes his head, despite how helpfully Hidan gestures in a shoving motion, demonstrating the direction in which he should move his ass. She’s in a sensitive state, surely, to have not run out to greet them as she attempted before. Takara is to arrive on her own volition, he decided on the spot, rather than the zombies go in for a game of hide and seek. But he had already explained this to Hidan.

At the front door.

And then he tried to get in through the back.

There is no point in repeating himself.

The shirtless man makes a sound halfway between a hum and a growl. The scent of these damn flowers outside is starting to get unbearable, giving him a headache. “What’s the big deal? What, are ya hiding her?”

No budge. This is getting a bit fucking silly. Hidan swallows. Why is he nervous when his lord has done as promised, prevented her death until his reurn? It’s that much like the traveler, he’s had the problem of being excited first and having possibilities of the bad hit later. Such a self-confident man has no use for second guesses, though, and so he is simply left antsy and frustrated with these worthless feelings. One silver brow raises. Whats more, what the hell does the Uchiha think he’s doing?! Blood so easily boiled begins to simmer, and Hidan makes an accusation:

“Is she even here?!”

Itachi’s black eyes shift ever so slightly. “She is.”

“Eh? What are ya loo—” The reaper’s chin goes over his shoulder to follow the Uchiha's gaze only to choke on his own words. She is one of the only people that can make him speechless. However, his first comment is about who is escorting her down the aisle, since he’s what's unexpected:

“Tobi, you little—" he stammers in annoyance, "What the fuck are you doing here?!”

Unlike himself, the swirled man does not answer, and though the reaper groans, it also gives Hidan’s brain time to refocus. His eyes trail from a gloved hand to an ungloved one, trailing up the arm, to the dress strap on her shoulder, to her face. Ah, yes. There she is, frail and eyes red. Radiant, holy, much like when she was ready for his blades. Like a bride is presented to the groom, has been bestowed before him, emerging the veil of leaves in her pure white gown, long-wild roses framing her entrance. Doesn't matter that her hair has been caught and pulled in disaray by brambles, that scuffs of dirt powder her knees. All the same, all the same, Hidan recognizes her. The lamb's bottom lip quivers.

She’s crazy for wanting to see him again, right? All of a sudden the stranger remembers their introduction more sharply: the death, the yelling, the proselytizing to get her to murder in cold blood. Is this a mistake? It's too late to back out now.

She stares at him.

...

...

He stares at her. Why is she looking at him like that? His brow furrows while her expression remains fixed, unblinking eyes still stinging.

...

...

The girl that was named Takara is a fool, cursed with the wisdom of his care behind doors of a blood-drenched temple. He never hurt her, not once, not ever, and he never made her kill again, no matter how much he wanted her to. A beast he may be of many sins, but harming her is not one of them. Taking care of her when she had no one else has staked his claim as war-torn guardian angel. She mutters his name to remember the taste, just in case, to be sure if it remains sweet or bitter on the back of her tongue, and she feels with his two syllables butterflies in her chest. They flutter out her mouth and straight into his heart. Her voice is even prettier than he remembered.

All of her is.

Tobi lets her go so the prophet and disciple may run to each other at once. Despite it being mutual, the cool and savage Hidan must feign surprise as she dares to hug first. Her face goes right in his bare chest; it feels like it always belonged there. The woman admits something unbelievable:

“I missed you.”

She did, huh? No, of course she did. He was her first: her first Akatsuki savior, her first real friend. Hidan has a long several days to think over how to skirt a thin line; he must seem like it doesn’t affect him so much, and yet not be too uninterested. He is not a pathetic man, not one that should buckle down just because he’s getting emotional, but now that the reunion is really happening, it’s so easy to be dragged down to her level. His anchor, she is, pulling him further and further into the depths of humanity. Oh Jashin, why did you task him with such a fragile little thing? You know that’s not what he’s good at! He “tsk”s in her ear, putting one hand on her back.

“Fuckin’ sentimental,” he murmurs, so grateful to have what he curses out loud. His eyes raise, meeting black ones in the corner. “What’re you staring at?” he challenges levelly. Itachi does not answer. Hidan swears in the back of his mouth.

Then he feels a pressure upon his back and sides.

“Tobi, get the fuck off of me RIGHT NOW, you little shit! Can’t you see we’re having a moment, here?!” The actor couldn’t help himself, going in to make it a group hug and diffuse a wee bit of anything too good. The orange mask whines like the baby he is, something about how he missed the priest too, doesn’t that matter?!

Goddammit.

This is going to be a long...however the hell long this is to be together, in this place. Tobi’s just the pissy bonus on a shit cake. Kisame being a self-righteous fuck who thinks he knows better...Itachi being a bossy prick...and even fucking Kakuzu…

He still hasn’t said a word since the meeting to Kakuzu. It may just stay that way.

But...but… His skin dries her tears. The symbol he prays to is now pressed between them, unifying them. She hasn’t let go. Part of him is assuaged that she really did have enough sense to want him back, after all.

It’s not like he doesn’t deserve her want or anything, though, he convinces himself.

Despite his own aching soul, what he will admit to, she will be worth the trouble. Whether it’s just them in the room or everyone alive in the fuckin’ place, it does not matter. She is here. She is here with him. He presses her into him just a bit tighter, tilting his chin down to nest in her hair. It’s still too damn soft.

“...Missed you too,” he mumbles, just for her dumb sake, just glad his prayers to Jashin for her safety were heard.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You'll be fine, you honeycomb

Who could ever hurt you? Who could be so cold?

You'll be fine, oh, honey pie

Who could ever hurt you? Who could be so unkind?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Didn’t this place use to be...shittier?”

“Mm?” she turns around with the next step, the arch of the kitchen entrance by her side as they enter what used to simply be an abandoned hideout for the Akatsuki. He almost looks uncomfortable, the way Hidan’s eyes slide over the seamless ceiling, the dripless sink. The host has to mentally walk herself back to the times of prayer and nighttime gigs. “Oh. Yeah, it was. Kisame and Itachi have been helping me fix it up, since we gotta live here.”

“...Were we not livin’ here before?”

Oh. The juggling act begins so soon. The performer glances to the other that took her home, to whom she confessed her troubles to. “Uhh…” Tobi just shrugs. It’s with his whole body, shoulders and arms and hands included, but it’s still just a fucking shrug. No advice he can give for this one.

This is awkward. Shit.

In the woman’s silence, Hidan’s gaze goes over to the one man she named that’s present here. To her, Itachi is as chill as can be. To Hidan…to Hidan...—

She’s not sure, and she doesn’t want an opportunity to learn what negative trait Hidan could have assigned to his neutral expression. An explanation interrupts: “For longer term, I mean.”

...

The shirtless man now shrugs, too.

“Didn’t really need it, but if you want all the bells and whistles and frills, who am I to stop ya?” His shoulders lower, his lips pursing boredly. “Seems like ya to do that. Frilly shit.” But abruptly his eyes light up— and not necessarily in a good way. “Wait, you didn’t touch my room, did you?!”

As soon as she can answer, uh, no, at least she hasn’t, but maybe Kisame— Hidan is off, hopping over the stair rail to go upstairs as quickly and directly as possible. The traveler takes half a step to join him, hand to her chest, but then stops and sighs. There’s another to attend to, that she shouldn’t leave waiting any longer. Silently, her eyes meet black ones. Itachi nods, and it is understood. While one Uchiha will ensure Hidan won’t destroy any remodeling, it’s up to another to escort her to the final man.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The culmination of man's mistakes came the day

The sun ran so hot, it turned the desert to glass

If there's something to be learned from all these losers

It's that the price that you pay

For arrogance and a false sense of immunity

Is to face the wrath of a dying star

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Almost like it’s a gut instinct, the traveler wanders to the front door. The entrance is open, but the two tallest guys she’s met are at the threshold, barring entry and exit alike. Kakuzu is arguing- as reasonably as he can— with Kisame.

“I can...understand your hesitation,” he draws out, deep and careful as such a precarious bargain requires. “But it’s been long enough to wait for her. She’s not coming down.”

Cloakless, muscled arms are folded and their shoulders tense. The shark is trying just as hard to meet in the middle, but an attachment both hold— ironically what this is about— is causing an uncrossible barrier. The treaty is wavering, and it hardly even started. It’s a difficult balance that both Akatsuki have artificial sympathy for another, for her sake, as Kisame needs to temper down after Takara’s explanation, and Kakuzu now has to reprove he is safe enough for her to be around.

Just for her sake, they’re trying. God they’re trying. But it still isn’t good.

“We’ll hang out here, then.” Yeah, Itachi’s idea for her to come at her own pace is mostly because of that other one, but...the one that bruised her may initiate alarm as well, even if she so earnestly pushed it aside. He second guesses himself again, as he did with her upon his bed. Him? Kakuzu really cared about someone? Anyone?!

Sizzling annoyance and anger is under Kakuzu’s skin and stewing in the back of his throat, and the fact it is still there instead of expressed outward in his fists is proof. Yes, he does care. So he must have patience. Patience.

And finally, patience is rewarded.

Kakuzu freezes as soon as he sees her, tilting her head to appear from behind Kisame’s large, protective figure. She smiles. So softly, she smiles. The bounty hunter must keep his gaze unmoved, lest he emote in such a way it could alarm the delicate creature. To Kisame he succeeds, but her this is the kindest he’s ever looked back, and so he fails the task utterly.

And what does he feel, those eyes widening? Is he afraid, she wonders? Afraid again like as he clenched her shoulder?

And of her to him...does she hate him? Is that pain on her face, he asks? She looks like she’s been crying. Is that why she hesitated to come down? For a calculated man, his thoughts rush so much faster than hers. Are those tears for him? Does she fear him after what he did? He wouldn’t blame her. Not at all.

Kisame and Tobi wait, one with worry staring down to where she hides behind his arm, and the other with distant interest like that of a scientist. What will they do?

But she does not fear him. Not even after how it was supposed to end, in tragedy. Kakuzu gave her a name, and though she does not know its meaning, it is still a treasure grander than any wealth that glitters like gold. His hopes for her from their beginning shine through. She will succeed, always succeed and never be without, not again in the state she was found. But he never wished for her success to be wrapping him around her finger, for her to never be without the steel hunter’s best intentions...yet here they are.

"Hi," she says.

God damn you, girl, for falling into his lap not once but twice to look up at him with those starry eyes.

Kakuzu dares not move even as she does, as the queen steps around her blue shield and approaches. Her regality astounds him, something he never noticed until it was gone. The smoothness of every motion, from the way she hoods her eyes to the way her chin keeps so level even as she walks; it is all so precise, so accidentally commanding with how simultaneously demure and unconfident it seems. It impresses him. Perhaps, unconsciously after all those nights of observing her talents, it always has.

The guard, in turn, watches with caution as his ward raises her arms around the dragon that once captured her like she was a hoard of riches, holds him with all she has in her poor forgiving soul with a love better reserved for saints than sinners as he.

Just as Hidan did a month ago, Kakuzu’s hand raises, bends fingers that don’t know what to do. She trusts him. Why does she trust him?

Palm goes flat.

It lands on top of her head as lightly as humanly possible, perhaps even lighter.

The fool has forgiven him, the treasurer must accept. How terrible. How terrible for them both. It’s a shame Kakuzu has nothing to pray to, as that would mean he could be absolved of his harm. But at least she has been kept alive. At least, at least. No matter how conflicted he is— why should he care? He meant to leave her be in the end, after all-— Kakuzu still has a gratitude in how blind fate ended up in her favor.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Words he should be saying come instead from her. Kakuzu can’t even grunt to that, voice trapped behind his mask.

Kisame quietly marvels at this confirmation— yes, even the coldest five hearts can reserve some form of affection— though he also makes a disturbing note. Two violent, ruthless people have crawled to her for comfort, like wild animals finding the warmth of shelter. But she is only so big, the depths of kindness must only go so deep. It is only so long until sharp claws try to dig deeper, try to make more space where the is none to give. Two criminals who only know how to hurt other people. Two murderers with nothing but pride left to lose.

...Hidan not even included in that count.

She plants her care in each of their gardens, the orange spiral notes, and they have returned the favor, no matter how hesitantly. It may not be long before the hearts they plant in her own patch of earth that is her soul begin to crowd, tangle and choke till fertile soil crumbles to dust.

“...You too,” the stitched man finally answers. Her cheek rests deeper into his sunset cloak, and while he does not pull her in, neither does he deny this affection.

The gardener performs her duty diligently, Obito thinks, with sweet hums and dirtied bare hands that unknot the roots of all evils.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The years have been hard on this lonely heart

If you wanna know the truth

There's no more community gardens

So I guess I'll have to settle for you

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Uchiha Sasuke

As one of the main character’s there is understandably a lot to love, but bear with me i swear the list won’t be that long.

Killing Danzo. Pretty simple and straight forward, i love when Sasuke faced off against the person who manipulated his brother into murdering their clan and got some sweet sweet revenge. Seeing Danzo destroyed without any sort of real struggle on Sasuke’s part was delightful. Danzo was so weak on his own he had to steal Sharingan to have any confidence in his strength and Sasuke destroyed him easily. It was beautiful.

The look he gave Kakashi when his dumb Sensei swooped in to save them after ‘dying’ and made it look like it was the easiest thing ever. Annoyed Sasuke is life. Look at that face and tell me it’s not hilarious. He has known Kakashi for less than a year and he’s so done with him already XD.

Saving Karin. This dude had no reason to go out of his way to save Karin, but he did because deep down trauma and all Sasuke is a good dude. Ya he got lost and almost caused her death, but gdi this moment when they’re pre-teens was too good to skip because of what happens in the future.

Killing Orochimaru. King shit. Should have killed them again.

(Movie only) when he got that actress’ autograph for Naruto and chose the absolute WORST picture for it. Once again, King shit. Go Sasuke go that was delightful.

Pointing out that he has no reason to love Sakura. Look, listen listen. I’m not shitting on the ship or anyone Sasuke was talking to at the moment, but being honest with himself is an absolute win for me. I personally believe him and Kakashi had good point’s and good reason’s for why they believe what they did, and i support Sasuke for knowing he can’t make new bonds and just love someone without a reason. He has lost so much and he can’t open his heart in hope of healing the way Kakashi does and that is valid.

Copying Lee’s primary Lotus and calling it by his own created name. Just, delightful. Perfection. Great way to annoy tf out of Lee and amazing to see.

Showing up at the foot of a cliff expecting Kakashi to drop his own training to start training him because he’s ready to go. His determination to get stronger is always admirable.

Threatening to chuck Kakashi’s book, and then Kakashi himself, into the river. My boy he’s awkward but he’s trying to help i swear XD still, i get it. I’d probably do the same XD

Petting his eagle summon while Hashirama is trying to talk to him about facing Madara. I love that he clearly gives zero shits what any of the Hokage’s say (especially Hiruzen) and that he shows it in the way he just… largely ignores them.

Jumping in front of Naruto to take Haku’s attack even though dying means he can’t avenge his clan. Sasuke has had so little to hold onto since his clan’s death but he has bonded with Naruto in such a short time and made him such an important part of his life even when you can tell he doesn’t want to. It’s so sweet and sad at the same time.

The fact that out of all Kakashi’s students he actually took the lesson of teamwork the best! Sasuke doesn’t like Kakashi and he has his reason’s for that, but at the end of the day he understood the assignment Kakashi gave to his students. Sasuke didn’t have to make a whole new team to chase after Itachi, Join the Akatsuki, and kill Danzo with, but he understood that even with his improvements it would be better to have a team around him and he knew just who to pick. The most forgotten of Orochimaru’s experiments. A+ for understanding the assignment and kicking its ass (even if he did fail it a little down the line he STILL did better than Naruto ‘do it all myself’ Uzumaki and Sakura ‘drug my teammates’ Haruno.