#also giving him a small mustache because I can and he should have it

[ifindus]

How about France's new hair? ✨

[shadowsndaisies]

the hard deck: athena settles debts (pt 4)

WC: 898

synopsis: what if Mav's daughter settled his tab that night in the hard deck

main masterlist

athena-verse masterlist

a/n: this was brought on as i rewatched top gun maverick again, because i love it. and even though i should be finishing the last update of season 1 for codename: nightingale (which is only missing the final fight btw its almost done!!!) i took a little brain rot break. also top gun's been officially added to my masterlist!

You'd heard the jukebox get pulled and then the piano, and you couldn't move. Even when Phoenix tried to convince you to join her by the piano. You watched as Hangman and Coyote stayed with a few others by the pool tables at first, but even they started wandering over eventually.

Hangman, however, moved slow. He lingered by you first, saddling up beside the table. And ehen he realized your gaze was going to stay focused on your beer's label, where your fingers were slowly peeling it off the bottle, he knocked on the table. A look far more gentle than you'd anticipate in such a public place crossed his face as your eyes met his.

" 'Thena?" he calls your callsign with a softness that you know is real, and your lips tug down at the thought of having to lie to him when he's being so open with you.

Before you can say anything else before he can ask more, Penny rings the bell again, and chants of "overboard" can be heard. Saved by the bell, literally.

"Go," you nod. "Penny beckons," you tease softly, forcing your lips to turn up.

He nods, and both Payback and Coyote go with him.

When you follow them with your gaze, you meet your dad's eyes, and when the three younger pilots take up positions, boxing him in, a small quirk of a smirk curls at your lips, because it would be him. He seems to catch your eye just in time and offers up a half smile in response. You watch as Penny gives a nod, her head jerking toward the door. Then the three hoist your dad up in their arms and carry him, before throwing him out, a small amused smile now on your lips, as you make a note to stop by the Kazansky house tomorrow, Ice would love to hear about this.

You're so focused that you miss the first few notes. It's not until a familiar voice fills the space with lyrics that you learned as a baby that there's a sickening twist in your stomach and a renewed need to leave as you push out of your seat, leaving the half empty beer behind.

You move to the bar as Bradley begins to sing and have to force yourself not to look at him. You know what you'd see, aviators perched low on his nose, still slightly crooked from when he'd caught a fastball to the face as a teenager. Curls that are almost golden in the light but had to be matted somewhat by the heat and sweat inside the bar. He had that stupid mustache just like his father's, that was just borderline within regs. You know his dog tags were visible on top of his tank top, with some stupid Hawaiian shirt hanging open. You know what you'd see, so you do your beat to avoid looking.

If you had caved, what you would've also seen is how he searched for you while he sang. A slow scan of the bar, for the girl he learned the lyrics beside, propped on an old piano as a toddler as your father's and his mother sang along, holding little you in her arms. In the mass of people surrounding the piano though, he's having a hard time finding you, why did he pick this song?

"Hey, Penny," you call her name, and her head snaps to you, from where she'd been watching your dad get tossed out.

Your lips quirk on end a bit. Years have gone by, and her relationship with your father, volatile as it can be, still has been the most steadfast of your life. She was your mom in all the ways that mattered.

"I didn't realize they called you back too," she says, talking a bit loud over the music.

"Best of the Best, Miss Penny," you muse, though there's a hollowness in your chest as you say it, she seems to catch it.

"What can I get you, sweetheart?" she asks, grabbing a glass and you shake your head.

"No, I, uh… I'll settle for the old man," you tell her, head tilting as you slide your card across the bar.

"No, he'd—"

You cut her off, though, before she can argue. "No, let me. I, uh, I was heading out anyways. You know him, he'd hate to have an open tab," you admit, throwing in a joke to add some levity.

"Sweetheart-" she tries again, and you know she can read you. Despite all the years and gaps in your relationship with her. This was the woman who took you to buy pads for the first time, you knew that she knew you.

"Please, Pen, I… I can't be here, not with this. It's so much worse for him, too. Let me settle it," you admit to her rawly, and her gaze moves to where there's a live performance.

"History's a fickle thing, isn't it?" she offers instead, taking your card. "The ones we truly care about, they always seem to come back in the end, though."

"You'd know better than me, Pen," you shoot back, your tones got a bit defensive but she doesn't even flinch.

She hands you your card with a bittersweet smile, "I guess I would," she nods.

You let out a sigh, and look back at her, "Tell Amelia I'm back?" you ask, and she nods. "At the end of this, whatever it is, tell her I'll take her for ice cream?" you tag on, signing the receipt.

"I will, she'll hold you to it though (Y/n)," Penny confirms.

"I'd expect nothing less as a woman of the Navy," you muse, tucking your card away and turning from the bar.

Rooster's still singing, his voice as pretty as ever. And you can't help your self. You cave.

sue me, you think as you look over at him just once as you pause by the door.

"Well, kiss me baby! Ooh! That feel's good!" he sings, and you smile to yourself despite the ache, shaking your head as you push the doors and walk out. He had a smile on his face, and maybe, maybe you could learn to be okay.

Maybe.

(Probably not.)

You're unlocking your truck when you hear your name. "Athena!" You pause and turn, surprised to see both Phoenix and Hangman; after all, they always seem to be at ends.

"Where are you going?" Phoenix is the one to ask, her cheeks are flushed and her chests heaving a bit from how she'd all but been screaming the lyrics from beside Rooster.

"Home, gotta get some beauty rest before tomorrow," you tell them. "Make sure I'm ready to show you all up," you cover.

"Are you sure?" Phoenix asks, hesitating by the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you bright and early," you reassure her.

She seems to take your word as she nods once at you before heading back into the bar. Hangman, on the other hand, has stayed outside.

"Bravado was never your strong suit, 'Thena, it's mine," he drawls, and though the words are cocky, you understand the question hidden there.

"Go inside, Jake. I'll see you tomorrow," you say softly before getting in your truck. "I gotta keep both my feet on the ground," you add, willing him to understand, before shutting the door.

You notice he stays, watching as you pull out. It's only once you pull out on the road that he turns to go back in.

He be-lines straight to Coyote, missing the look that Rooster sends him as struts back in. The one that lingers on the door, waiting for you to walk back in as well, not that you do.

...

a/n: come talk with me about this athena idea if you want, it's been a while since i've posted anything not DC, so it was kind of fun. I have a longer non-related top gun fic in my drafts too, but that'll come after cnng probably

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

[alia-schlatt]

Moustache || Ted Nivison || Pt1

In which a streamer gets embarrassed after fan girling over Ted with a mustache.

a/n: my first time writing a Ted fic because, quite honestly, moustache Ted has been on my mind the entire morning. Also, I'm using both spellings because I can't figure out which one I like better.

As always story under cut!!

ChiliAloe: If you could date any YouTuber, who would it be?

I see the message in chat and read it aloud. My sister and I were doing a get to know us stream as we did every second month for our YouTube channel.

"That's a good question." My sister ponders for a second. "Personally, if I could choose anyone, it would probably be markiplier. But I've met his girlfriend, Amy, and she's the sweetest person on earth, so I'd never actually go for him." My sister says before asking me the question.

I think for a second, "while I'll be honest, I actually went down a bit of a rabbit hole recently after watching a Youtubers almost two hour long video on the Barbie movies." I laugh. "So because of that, I'd have to say Ted Nivison, under one condition"

My sister rolls her eyes, knowing exactly what I'm going to say. "His mustache?"

"His Moustache! That man is good-looking as is, but lord- him with a mustache?" I put my hand over my face, trying to hide my blush. "A man with a Moustache has always been a weakness of mine. And hey, what can I say? He pulls it off extremely well" I shrug.

My sister shakes her head. "Don't let her fool you. Last week, she literally cried over the fact that he keeps shaving and doesn't let the Mustache grow"

"In my defense, I was ovulating," I joke, and she starts laughing at me.

I look at the chat for a second before my entire life flashes before my eyes.

TedNivison: Starting to think I should regrow the mustache.

I start hitting my sister's arm, trying to grab her attention. "Okay, okay, geez, what are you-" her jaw drops, seeing the message before laughing. At the same time, everyone in chat started spamming

HI TED!

I cover my face in my hands, embarrassed. "Ted, I am so sorry, I never would have thought you'd be watching us. I-I don't regret what I said. You are good looking just- gah." I give up rambling just continuing to hide my face. "I'm sorry," I say, looking at myself on the monitor red as a tomato.

"Let's just move on before you make even more of a fool of yourself," my sister says, and I nod "please"

Half an hour later, we end stream, and my sister offers to make hot chocolate for us. I say thanks as she walks out of our home office. I pick up my phone scrolling through my notifications. One catches my eye.

tednivison has followed you back

Followed by another one;

tednivison and 135 others have requested to message you.

My heart skips a beat, and I internally cringe into myself.

I open his message and am greeted by a goofy photo of him staring right at the screen. A small strand of hair fallen across his face.

I heard you have a thing for guys with mustaches?

a/n: Like I said, first time writing a Ted fic, and I'm quite happy with it!

Have a lovely day further everyone💗

[lemotmo]

Okay it has a bit more of their lunacy but more importantly it looks like we also got one of the reasons why some people are jumping ship, and it makes sense. Also we should all totally start saying that is who these people really are, haha. They would die.

Q. What does it feel like to ship a couple of playground bullies? You must be so proud.

Q. Wow Oliver's true colors are so disappointing. What an utter lap dog he is to Ryan. Hope they enjoy one another because no one will want anything to do with either one of them when Lou comes out and says how awful they are to him.

Q. I just feel so bad for Lou. He tried so hard to fit in with them and be friends and they went out of their way to exclude him and make fun of those of us who genuinely love and appreciate him. They can have each other. I'm all for the show giving Tommy a different love interest. He deserves better than Oliver/Buck.

Q. So I was a B/T shipper because it was the canon ship. But I was there for Buck and those psychos wanted us to start going around and bashing Oliver and spamming Twitter and Instagram with how awful he is. Yeah they can keep their crazy. I'll go back to happily waiting for Buddie. What a brunch of losers.

Q. Current canon ship or not, I'm out. I don't play about Oliver/Buck. I was happy to ship the current canon but I draw the line at openly hating on Oliver. They're crazy.

Q. You come for my boy and the other boy I have loved for 6 years and I'm out. I shipped it because it was the current canon. You want to try and force me to turn on Oliver and Ryan you're sadly mistaken. You freaks can have each other. What a complete waste of my time.

A. Once again this has all resulted from a mustache Instagram filter. I cannot make sense of you people at all. So I've decided that you are not actually Lou/Tommy fans. I think Lou got together with a couple of his friends and decided he wanted some attention. So he asked his friends to go online and pretend to be massive Tommy fans to see if he could force the show's hands. Only no one cared so you all double drowned and decided to try and prove that the audience actually prefers Tommy to Buck. But that has backfired spectacularly and now you and Lou are stuck because he can't come out and say he made all of you up for attention because that would be pathetically embarrassing. So instead you all just have to pretend to become more and more detached from reality. I hope he paid you all well for this because yikes. Don't try to convince me that you're not actually Lou and his friends. I've decided that makes sense in my head so it is now fact, and you're all bigots if you try and disagree with me (did I do that right, guys?).

Anyway, to the Oliver anons, that was always going to be the problem for the Lou diehards. The majority of you were going to be there for Buck. And the more obvious it became, especially with Oliver, that it isn't anything to really invest in most of you were always going to walk away. That's why they were so desperate to start a fandom war. Their only hope was to try and turn people against Oliver and Ryan. It was the dumbest of dumb strategies and watching it completely fall apart for them over an Instagram filter Oliver and Ryan were having fun with is absolutely fitting. They deserve their demise to be this utterly ridiculous.

I know I'm repeating myself over and over again, but still-- thank you so much Nonny for dropping this into my inbox.

A bit of a follow up to the previous ask and-- yeah, I just. No. I promised myself to not lose anymore brain cells to this lunacy. I can't anymore with these people.

But I am so thankful and happy to see that a lot of the more mainstream BT shippers who love the show, who were mostly in it for Buck and because they enjoyed the BT dynamic (Nothing wrong with that by the way. Ship and let ship!) have seen how this small subset of Tommy fans is behaving towards the cast. I know that some of the shippers weren't sure about the stories and rumours going around about Tommy stans being blocked and things like that. Today we have seen enough proof of that kind of behaviour to leave no doubt.

Anyway, on to better things I hope.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[demonslayedher]

The Taisho Secret canon content regarding The Legend of Zenitsu has unfortunately made me have to give up beloved concepts in this future!Zennezu headcanon post. Most specifically, Old Man Zenitsu's with a mustache, because Word of Gotouge says he never grews facial hair. Zenitsu is probably far more disappointed than I am about this.

But also, it has all given me a much deeper headcanon about "The Legend of Zenitsu" being a bonding experience in their marriage, for Nezuko is a big fan, like so, what with Nezuko being a willing model for Zenitsu's praise-worthy paintings.

And is my brain spinning headcanons again? Yeah.

--

Zenitsu wished he could rub it in Tanjiro's face that he got a book deal. Not on everything, just on "The Demon Slaying Arc ~Fated Encounters~," "The Heavenly Maiden Arc ~I Am Willing To Die For You~," and "The Life of the Man Who Loved The Spirit of the Plum Tree Arc." No one else deserved to know "The Tastiness of Nezuko-chan's Cooking" anyway, for Zenitsu had described it too well and it would be like sharing his wife with a bunch of slimy readers. Bad enough that he still had to share with Inosuke all the time.

But Tanjiro didn't rub it in. He smiled and made as kind a sound as even, and congratulated him.

Maybe Tanjiro had grown too mild to say or feel anything more than that.

Because Zenitsu had a publisher and small fan base, he got paid a small advance to keep writing. Not even to stop going to an office job in town, if he wanted to to keep spoiling Nezuko with nice things. The stroke to eager made him write "The Beautiful Swordswoman Nezuko Arc" in one night, but "The Golden Dragon Wandering Alone Arc ~Go And Rescue Nezuko!~" was one he slogged through. It was getting to be a handful, going to work and raising a kid living up to expectations now that people had them of him. It felt good at first, but it made the writing less fun.

His heart was hardly in it when he wrote the "Botamochi from Zenitsu Arc." The sales tanked, and Zenitsu's publisher didn't bother him when he said aside his pen for a while. It was a long while, and there were other things going on anyway.

Not long after Tanjiro died, Nezuko caught a flu that was going around. It honestly made Zenitsu a little glad to have an excuse to leave his kid with Aoi for a while so that he could have Nezuko to himself while she was contagious. He didn't need anyone's help to take care of him, because every cell down to his soul cared only about how he might pamper and comfort her.

"Nezuko-chan, come on and drink a little. It'll make your throat feel better."

"I can't. I don't want to," she moaned. Tears escaped her hopeless eyes. She still must have felt so gutted, and Zenitsu knew he could do little to fill her for the time being. Some of that hopeless look must had been from thinking she'd never be free of the headache, but at least that much he might be able to soothe.

"Why don't you rest your head on my lap for a change? Here, I'll stroke your forehead for you."

"You should sleep."

"I can do it in my sleep," he smiled to her. "Actually, did you know that the legendary hero Agatsuma Zenitsu can be even more powerful when he sleeps?"

At this, she gave him a weak smile. The first he'd seen lately. "Yes."

"It's true! It's because he can hear the sound of his wife at his side. It powers him up like lightning coming right out of his empty eye-sockets! Actually, there was one time when he blinded his enemy before the roaring sound of his power knocked him over."

"Or the sound of his snoring."

"No, no, it's thunder like it shoots right out of him! You see, it all started one night in a terrible, creepy forest, when he saw a helpless man swooped backwards into the tree tops..."

When Nezuko recovered, Zenitsu picked up his pen again, and published "Rumble of the Knock-Out Secret Swordsmanship of Zenitsu Arc ~The Legendary Man’s Eyes Shine With Light~" not long afterward. It sold decently, and it was nice to hear that he had some fans who were excited about it.

Life fell back into a new busy normal, and Zenitsu's muse was fickle. "The Potato Feudal Lord Arc" was just a passing thing for fun, not something he'd ever tell his publisher about. It was more fun for a while to try out other things, like painting. As long as Nezuko was his model, Zenitsu found he had a knack for it. He ran into Yushiro one time though, who told him he was a hack, and they got into a big argument that ended with Zenitsu throwing all his brushes and unused canvases at him and daring him to do better. Those had all cost a lot of money, so Nezuko was not happy about that. Likewise, she wasn't happy when Zenitsu refused to sell a painting of her and tore his pants while throwing a fit.

By the looks of Nezuko's ledgers, it looked like Zenitsu was stuck at that desk job, selling electricity around the little mountain foothill town. He had been there so long that he got promoted for being good at sitting in the same chair for years, and that meant moving closer to a bigger town, closer to the growing metropolis, where Zenitsu felt right at home and Nezuko assured him she would adjust.

What would Tanjiro think, now that nobody bought charcoal anymore?

The world that once had demons seemed further and further away and the droll of adulthood stretched on, and powers he couldn't behead with a swift Thunderclap and Flash fought amongst themselves. More and more, there were expectations of Zenitsu, and people depending on him. He had to assure people they would still have light and heat even as Tokyo burned, and the sound of planes rattled his ears almost daily. He was a man of his community now, and the only one his family could depend on. At Nezuko's insistence, they collected nearly-blind Kanao and his nephews and niece, and he tried to insist to Inosuke to stay with them in town where there were bomb shelters, but Inosuke, just as responsible for his own family, felt he kept them safest going deeper and deeper in to the mountains.

Nezuko knew nothing but worries. Sometimes, he almost wished she could be back to a childlike state of mind, protected from all the pain and horrors she so unfairly had to endure. In the darkness of a bomb shelter, he hugged her close as she trembled. "Say, Nezuko-chan. Do you remember that time..."

"What?"

"...that time the great hero Agatsuma Zenitsu was a teeny-tiny, but very, very strong mouse?"

He could hear her worries lift, however slightly. Maybe that was all a mouse could do.

"Actually, it was when he was a little boy. You'd never guess it, but he was very cowardly. That was a terrible warlock with a fancy red mark around his eye painted him with a magic white makeup that turned him into a mouse!"

She stifled a snort against his chest. "Uzui-san..."

"Yeah, that was the warlock's name! Did I already tell you this story before?"

"A mouse?" his son clung tighter to him, sometime he hadn't done in years. Even when he was little he always clung to Nezuko instead anyway. Zenitsu could tell by the tone of his son's voice that he was already teary-eyed and sniffly.

"Yeah. A little mouse who thought he had no power at all. That the world was too big for him. But as it turns out..."

What really hurt was Nezuko's reaction. She sighed with disappointment, and lamented that this was why he spent so many long hours away from home.

That was a story Zenitsu recorded later, as a memory of those times. It stayed on his bookcase at home next to the Potato Lord story, now that the world was quiet again.

Business picked up really well. The world got brighter, and so did the indoor lighting. As a general sense of optimism filled the world again, the small but dedicated base of "Legend of Zenitsu" fans called for a new installment. He responded well to praise, and soon gave them "The Dragon Palace Arc ~Eternal Nezuko~," but being so busy as a highly promoted seat-warmer at the office meant he had things he had to do while sitting in that seat. He put on weight again, and spent a lot of sad, long evenings stuffing cookies in his face while streaming with tears that he couldn't be eating one of Nezuko's homecooked meals instead. "Sitting In A Happy Circle and Boiling Tea in Our Bellybuttons Arc" was something he secretly wrote at his desk as a form of silent protest. His publisher rejected that one after reading only one page.

Of course! He had to be at home to write his best work! He had to be in the same space as his muse, Nezuko! Another quickly written revenge work of his, "The Future Holds Zenitsu Arc," was considered one of his better ones.

After that, he was satisfied with writing for a while, and he muse pushed him to start playing (perfectly) the piano. Nezuko was not thrilled about the piano he bought.

If only he had taught it to Nezuko, then. Her joints all bothered her, but she kept sewing out of willpower.

This new hobby inspired another novel, and Nezuko inspired another novel after that of course, and the stress of their son getting married and wanting a lavish wedding inspired another novel and another novel after that was a desperate attempt to strike it big and get out of the debt that wedding cost them. After all, Zenitsu's daughter-in-law was a cutie and he wanted to spoil her. It made Zenitsu remember how cute Nezuko was when they were newlyweds, and before that too, of course, and now too, and before he knew it he had written yet another novel, despite his dwindling fan base. Nezuko sure liked that one, though, and that was all that mattered.

The years went by. Zenitsu felt he lost his mind over how his granddaughter got cuter every time he saw her, and he eventually reached some arbitrary age when his company could only promote him to retired. Aside from the aches in his legs, he felt as young as he always did, though. Kanao said it was probably the effects of Breath technique. It sustained them without reaching a threshold at which it would be dangerous to them.

Zenitsu still wrote sometimes. He stayed busier when his busy-body grandson read the old unpublished "The Birth of Zenitsu Arc" and insisted on learning Thunder Breath. That was like a new job Zenitsu never asked for, especially since he still only knew one of the original six forms, but Kiriya sent him a letter askeing him to give it a shot, for who knew what the future held. Certainly not demons, Zenitsu was assured of that much. If Yushiro gave his novels a bad review one more time, he'd make sure of there were no more demons left in the world.

He got back in touch with Inosuke. He thought it might never happen after he abandoned the old house and charcoal mill, but the whole time, Inosuke had been on the mountain next to it, where he had always been King of the Mountain. He still took care of the house, he said. But a King still had to be King. They weren't the only people on the mountain, though. Aoi paid house calls. Still, Zenitsu gave Inosuke a stern lecture about making Nezuko (as well as Kanao) worry, so Aoi made sure to drag Inosuke into the bigger and bigger city sometimes.

Zenitsu's newest hobby to drop money on was photography, but now that he was a pensioner, Nezuko did not mind so much. She even agreed to let him fulfill his dream of taking her to Paris. He was glad he had that camera, to prove how the city could not outshine her.

He was glad he took her when he did. Her joints made it harder and harder for her to get around, even though she always smiled and insisted Zenitsu's legs must hurt more. He didn't like it when she laughed and joked around about chopping her legs off to grow new ones.

"Grandpa," his youngest granddaughter looked to him with a tearful face, "Grandma was saying something about being a demon again. I wish she'd stop that."

"I know, right!? She's a princess, and the very spirit of a plum blossom tree! A shrine maiden too!"

"There's no way someone like Grandma would ever go to hell."

He paused, and his stomach sank.

Nezuko gave up her sewing. She spent more and more time in bed, but with no desk job to sit at and a grandson taught enough that he could be told to go off and practice on his own, Zenitsu spent his days writing again. He took a long time on that novel he wrote for her, putting in all the sorts of parts he knew she liked. Sometimes he couldn't help himself and reads parts aloud to her without telling her everything else that already happened in the story. She smiled and enjoyed each fragment anyway.

"I've finally got the title for this one!" he announced. "It's called, 'I Will Be In Love With You A Thousand Years Arc.' Perfect, huh? Well, maybe it's still missing something. A million years, maybe?"

"Zenitsu-san... tell me a story..."

"I am! I'm telling you the greatest story yet! It's about this immortal princess who..."

"Tell me a real story..."

He paused and listened to her heartbeat as she took a breath--a simple, unpracticed breath in tired human lungs. Nezuko still made the same warm sound that she always did. It had a different resonance when she was a demon, and when he carried another life inside her, but it was always uniquely her.

"I want to hear... about the time you spent with my brother."

"Tanjiro? Yeah, he... hasn't been in these for a long time. Maybe I'll bring him back."

"You cared so much about him," she smiled from her futon. "That was why you protected my box, before you even met me."

"He... yeah."

"I'm glad you were such good friends... I want to hear about all those good things that happened to you. About your Ojiisan, and your little bird..."

"Yeah," he grimaced to a smile, and the inside of his nose zapped like a storm was brewing. "I had a lot of good things happen to me. A lot of bad things too."

"It's up to you to decide if you're happy or not. I hope... you'll decide you were happy."

"Yeah," he said, the snot already flowing. "The happiest. I'll tell you all about it. I'll make it my best story ever."

"You promise...?"

He kissed her forehead. "I'd never be able to come up with anything better than the truth."

[wwane]

1.7 ch 6 brain dump

cognac has been cogged and nacked, beef jerky as been beefed and jerked; let's get these thoughts in order

spoilers for 1.7 main story and a minor one from 1.9

i have not played isolde's story yet so these are my impressions purely from the main story

so isolde is repressed repressed, like WOW

the little details i picked up in dialogue and descriptions paint the picture of an anxiety-ridden girl, walking on eggshells all day long, forcing herself to play her part perfectly, always one little thing away from a nervous breakdown or panic attack. at this point i think her corset is literally the only thing holding her up and keeping her from collapsing in on herself

the detail about how corsets aren't really in fashion anymore but she still wears them with a few more 'in-fashion' jewelry pieces: she's old money but she can't look like old news - she has to keep up with the trends otherwise the audience will leave

her whole life has been about repressing herself and shaping herself into what other wanted:

1) the bit about her remembering what it felt like to balance books atop her head to force a straight posture bc that's how people expect a noble lady to act, that's how people expect a Dittarsdorf should act (until they go crazy) 2) her mother snapped and killed her father and everyone else in the room and she's gotta carry that because she's the only one left - the one responsible one left 3) her sister died in childhood and she buried the pain and turmoil so deep inside her that she repressed the memory. if she remembers her sister dying, she'll remember that she's likely also going to end the same way, if not like her mother and she cannot allow herself to end up like her mother

which all leads to her hidden resentment of theopil and the way it leaked more and more as the story progressed. based off isolde's descriptions of him and marcus's 'reading' of his burnt paintings theophil comes off as an artsy fuckboy. whereas isolde is snapping herself in two to give off old-school noble gentlewoman vibes, theophil goes where he pleases and does what (and who) he wants.

personal theory is that isolde is a closeted, repressed lesbian who hates that her irresponsible brother is out mingling and seducing beautiful women in the way she won't allow herself to want. she's got stronger arcanum them him, she's a singer and a more talented artist, what does he have on her other than the fact that he's a man. and a 'man' at the time and place should be growing mustaches and challenging duels and joining the army and he won't even do that.

sweet songbird in a cage that hates the world around her so much. what has the world ever given her other than pain and loss and the reminder that she's next if she slips up. she's perfectly fine burning it down as long as she has her cavaradossi

there's so! much! about class disparity in here too! the difference in social hierarchy between: 1) old money isolde: still lives at the whims of human-ran society but can get away with it because she has money and connections like karl; 2) middle class kakania: whose family started out as small-time merchants but managed to attain enough wealth to send her to college but doesn't have the social-backing like isolde to avoid arrest; 3) lower class illich: street peddler and orphan with no way to climb up the social ladder. the story explicitly shows that even with her money and social network, at the end of the day isolde, kakania, and illich are essentially the same (there are other nuances though, since this is just about the 3 levels in a human society. in an arcanist society like the manus, they still care about separating between pureblooded and mixed-blood arcanists, ie: the way manus is perfectly fine with using illich and other poor arcanists as cannon fodder for chaos and leaving them to die in the storm)

kakania! i thought she was going to my fave but isolde stole the damn show. still love this baby idealist though. i love the speech she gave isolde at the end of their therapy session (ignoring the fallout of that lmaoooo) because it shows that she's genuinely wants to make the world a better place. i especially love the little bite of cynicism in her.

1) the trails grandma who describes what seems to be kakania's early circle days where she was describing her ideals and trying to get support has a line that's like, kakania is grinning and bearing through it even as she's aware her supporters are patronizing her and seemingly only there for entertainment rather than actually listening to what she's saying 2) her describing the origin of her alias to marcus and part of her speech to isolde has her revealing that she hates the hypocrisy that makes up their society: the freedom of expression and art and progressiveness all the while there are the underclass comprised of immigrants and poor arcanists forcibly kept out of sight. how much she hates prejudice hidden behind bureaucracy. she hates it but she wants to make it better!

i love that she admits when she's hypocritical!!!! kakania wanted a revolution because she knows things as they are aren't great, but when a revolution does happen and it doesn't happen in the way she wants, her beliefs are shaken. granted this is because of manus machinations and is one of the worst ways of changing their current society but still. the point being, UNLIKE HEINRICH: whose thing is that he hated how his friends were forced to fight in wwi and suffered immensely so he wants to erase wwi from existence by making it so the timeline never gets to wwi and if he's gotta have the current world as collateral damage so be it uwu.

other people have spoken more and better about greta and marcus so the only thing i'll add is i absolutely love marcus's voice-acting, especially after shit hits the fan. actually, all our mains (greta, marcus, kakania, isolde, heinrich, even karl - i had to listen to his 'oh. tragic.' line so many times lmao) are excellent!! i think this chapter has my favorite voice-acting and while the rest of the game is also phenomenal, the fact this chapter only had a few noticeable typos and grammar awkwardness kept from hindering the voice work. (also i think the 1.6 survey specifically had a translation question lol, bluepoch is learning)

speaking of heinrich: if i am to understand it correctly, he was recruited by the manus in the same storm that greta recruited marcus from. he got to live in the future for a bit, learned about the fate of his friends, and then returned to his era with the current storm. in essence, he got to see people who already died. (you following me here?) now the question is: if a storm happens to take us to before 1929, is there a chance to see schneider again? or, because heinrich's friends died in wwi he can see them but because schneider was sifted by the storm, she's gone no matter how far we go back?

additional thots:

i'm loving the idea of a kakania vs mesmer jr showdown. therapist who needs a therapist vs therapist who needs a therapist. need them to have tea and passive aggressively psychoanalyze each other.

so we know kakania started the circle and theophil and heinrich and others were part of it. did isolde join the circle herself or is this a 'theophil joined and brought his little sister to the hangout and she keeps showing up so now she's unofficially part of it too' situation?

so part of isolde's character is that she's hidden behind layers of repression and ghosts and playing the part of what her audience wants. is the sad lonely girl isolde just an act because that's what kakania wanted? because kakania wanted to prove her methods work, and isolde wanted kakania, this was the way to have her?

i love mesmer jr but i love putting her situations: i know realistically vertin would not put isolde and kakania's rooms anywhere near each other but i love the thought of mesmer's room being between isolde and kakania.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday Fandom :) Wanted to post links to the last few I know they came over the holidays in case anyone missed them. The master list has also been updated. 4x22 , 5x01, 5x02

We’ve reached our yearning era and I’m here for it. This one may not have a ton but it’s just enough that at we were all dying for more. I was so excited to be an era where very aware of their feelings but couldn’t be together yet. Good stuff. Let us proceed shall we?

5x03-Dye Hard

We jump one month into the future. Because Lucy has gone to UC school. So our couple has been apart for some time at this point. Making that longing extra intense. Lucy arrives home to a surprise party of sorts. She's just returning home from UC school. Tamara and Chris welcome her back with mustaches. I love how excited she is Lucy is back. Always take some cute hugs with them. She tells Lucy the she has to head to school but wants to hear all about it tonight. I love them so much.

Leaves us just the clown and Lucy. Bleh. She asks him how he’s doing? Says he’s doing ok. Typing is still hard but he’s glad to be back at work. Was going crazy on the couch. Tells her there’s something else that’s been helping him more. An online group trying to hunt Rosalind. Kinda like the one she was apart of for Aaron’s case back in 4x16. Lucy doesn’t look excited about this idea. He says they contacted him few weeks ago. They call themselves Dye Hards.

Hence the name of the episode. That their research is actually impressive. They compile all their credible tips in an encrypted document. Called the ‘mother doc.’ Lucy’s face is screaming how much she hates all this. But instead of reading her like he should he presses her further. Because it’s Chris…never respects any boundaries she’s putting up but sure man keep going. Force her to read about the one person who sets her PTSD off like no other.

Just so you can have some peace of mind…grumble….Dislike him so very much. Lucy tells him how not healthy this is. (It really isn’t…) That she’s just a patrol officer. He whines about how the task force is ignoring him. Of course they are ya putz. It's why he’s dragging her into this. I hate this very much. Lucy gives in and says she’ll give his doc a look. That good ole guilt driving her decisions about him some more. Smh.

Roll call starts out with Grey congratulating Lucy. She successfully passed UC school. Telling everyone that is no small feat. Look at Tim ever the proud husband. That look alone says everything you need to know about her crushing it. The soft looks in his eyes. That soft gaze he only reserves for her. *sigh* Oh pining era you are lovely.

Lucy trying to contain her emotions about all of it. Grey calling her out and congratulating her. Tim looking at her like she hung the moon and stars. Couldn’t be more telling if he tried. She can’t even look at him. Just messes with her thermos. Lucy not really knowing how to react to the attention. Especially Tim’s…She just nods and hopes they move on.

Aaron and Lucy come out of roll call together. Lucy is congratulating him on making P2. Lucy also commends him on being a good aide for Tim. Aaron is very aware of Tim and Lucy. Maybe not everything but enough to offer stepping back. Then asks Lucy if Tim said he’s doing a good job? Lucy says no…that she made that last part up LMAO

Reminds me of 1x02 when Wrigley did the same to her. Thinking she got praise from Tim early on. Only to be crushed by the fact that he hadn't...Yeah you gotta really earn that Tim Bradford praise Aaron lol His reaction to that fake news is hilarious. Lucy can't lie and has to let him know no such praise has happened. Sorry my man.

Lucy follows it up with he hasn’t replaced him yet LOL I mean that’s a lot coming from Tim. If he wasn't happy he would've traded him away like baseball card. Lucy adding on 'So he’s…happy.' As happy as one could be without his person by his side sure. This next bit it sticks in her throat a bit as she says it.

Telling him he should stick with him. Obviously killing her to be to be apart from him. To pass up taking being his aide once again. But she wants to keep the distance up. For the same reasons as 5x02. Hurts too much to be around him when she can’t be with him. The pining era is so good for these moments. Aaron asks if she’s sure? Because she doesn't seem sure...

Only they could have such immense chemistry with an intense stare. One that is across the room from each other BTW. The longing is palpable af. Angsty goodness right here. Also those are some smoldering bedroom eyes for Lucy. My god idk how she could function after him looking at her that way. Would make me hot under the collar good god. That man wants her back in his shop. But we know that isn’t happening anytime soon.

So much pining and tension with just one look good lord. His stare does end up affecting her. Her breath hitches a little when they make eye contact. She stammers a little in her advice to Aaron. I love how they find each other those across a room. That magnetic pull only they understand. It’s automatic no matter what’s going on. Lucy rambling on about needing some quiet time anyways..You know for her next steps in her career...

More like Tim thinking time. Let’s be real. I love how the entire time she’s just staring at Tim. Spending most of their conversation just staring right back. Even when he’s looked down. She misses him so much. That is very evident in this moment. When she finally breaks off her longing she notices Aaron looking at his phone ha Not even paying attention to her anymore. Making a sassy comment that he hasn't even heard a word she's said. He apologizes and says he has to deal with something personal.

We start out with Tim and Aaron. Tim feeling extra surly after seeing Lucy. Much worse getting to be that close and not really getting to see her. So Aaron is on thin ice when Tim sees him buried in his phone. He apologizes and says he’s having person problem. Tim saying this is a ‘personal life free zone.’ Ha! Not since Lucy Chen entered your life it isn’t…

Aaron tells him it could derail his career. Tim sighs and that little bit of Lucy’s influence comes out. He asks him what it is? Aaron going on about a dating site. Using a thirst trap LOL Tim’s reaction is too damn funny. ‘I wish I didn’t…’ Look at our softie helping Aaron with his problem.

He goes on to tell Tim he was cat-fished and now the dude is blackmailing him. Tim is confused saying he thought the pic didn’t show anything? We find out this guy has photoshopped something worse. He shows it to Tim and I’m dying. ‘Could’ve been worse…At least he was generous. LMAO Oh Timothy I love you so.

We catch Lucy riding solo. She sees a homeless man go into an abandoned building. Calls it in saying she going to go look for squatters. She calls back in after she’s finds nothing. Saying she is Code 4. That is before she notices a freezer open with wallets in it. The man she followed in traps her in the old walk in freezer. Thankfully it’s out of commission. Unfortunately it blocks her radio signal. Leaving her trapped there with no one to tell she is….You can tell she wants to shout a whole lot of expletives above ha

Aaron gets contacted by his catfish. He wants a PS5 and delivered to his apt. Tim is so funny in this scene. Saying oh good he’s a dumbass LOL Giving up his location and needing something they can obtain on the way. Aaron doesn’t want to give in but Tim makes a good point about the photo. It’ll be in police evidence and he doesn’t want that ha. Aaron says good thing he has a gamer connection in K-Town. Tim shaking his head not shocked in the least about this. Of course he does...

Poor Lucy tries once again to get ahold of dispatch but to no avail. She has to try and talk her anxiety down. I would be doing the same thing to try and relax. Telling herself that at some point there will be a welfare check. (Well Tim will for sure…) She can’t do anything until that point. So she pulls out her phone and starts reading that mother doc the clown sent. Lucy is too funny as she reads these messages.

I love her talking to the smiley face on the freezer LOL She is so adorable I cannot stand it. Then she stumbles upon someone making sense. As she reads it aloud something clicks in her brain. A saying Rosalind told Nolan a long time ago. The 5 star meal comment. Lucy starts to get restless again. Jumps up and starts banging on the door for help again.

They show up to the address and it’s a teenager..he just wanted a PS5. I love how stern and authoritative Tim is with this kid. Saying bad behavior doesn’t get rewarded. Mmm no it doesn’t. Idk why that does it for me with Tim but it does. It’s yum tum city and I am a resident. They get the kid to delete the photo and take down the profile. He says they suck when Tim takes the PS5. Cracks me up he keeps it for himself. I love this man so very much haha

We return to the shop and Tim’s Lucy radar is going off. Aaron’s going on about the kid still but Tim’s mind is elsewhere. He has Lucy on his brain. Has that panicked look he reserves only for her going on. He asks Aaron the last time he heard Chen on the radio? He replies he can’t remember…maybe like hour or two ago? Let me start with I adore him waiting to hear her voice on the radio. Then noticing he hasn't in awhile.

How he keeps track of not hearing from her in some time. Tim knows she’s solo today. You know that man was subconsciously keeping track of her in the back of his mind. Some serious married vibes here my love. This definitely doesn’t line up with the 'moving on’ you were talking bout in 5x02. When Aaron says least 2 hours worried Tim arrives. He’s freaking out something has happened to her.

I’m sure he’s also thinking if she was riding with him this wouldn’t be happening. But she isn’t…Tim contacts dispatch about her. They say it’s been over two hours. Angry/protective Tim also joins the party. Welcome sir nice to see you. Telling dispatch they’re gonna talk about that later. Phew lord. You know that man is going to destroy dispatch over this. Hell is going to rain down on them for not keeping track of her. For now he just wants her location to check on her. Needs to get his worried husband portion to settle first.

Once they’ve arrived he calls out her name a couple times. Lucy finally hears him and bangs on the door. Then comes a DELICIOUS shot of his arms/forearms. My god it’s like they’re trying to make me a puddle. The definition in his arms as he pulls that door free.* fans self* god that man is in shape. Mmm Legit drooling as he pulls on that door. Forearm porn AND biceps shot. I’m a happy girl. Like hot damn that is a thirst trap of a shot above.

He gets the door to finally pop open. Also nice thigh/bootie shot of him as well. I'm not mad about it. Asking her how she is? So very worried about her. Unfortunately Lucy is not in the frame of mind to receive it. Just tells him she has a lead on Rosalind. Not the response he was expecting…He asks 'What?' anyways. She tells them about the message boards Chris has been on. Filled with arm chair detectives. Tim asks her if they found her? She says no she thinks one of them is her.

The Feds get brought in cause Chris’s dumbass has been talking to her. Feeding her stuff about him and the investigation going on. Because well it's Chris. Can’t read Lucy when she’s being obvious af so why would he notice this? Lucy is sweet and tells him he didn’t know. I on the other hand am like dumbass LOL He asks if he should set up a meet. Yes Chris, she’s a highly intelligent psychopath she wouldn’t see through that at all…

Garza saying Cyber crimes is now involved. They’re going to try and track her through her IP address if possible. Chris is feeling like the dummy he is. He leaves the meeting upset. I’m a bad person enjoying this lmao I mean Tim would’ve been Lucy’s real target but he was in Vegas with her. She knows that’s her fierce protector. So he was the next I was gonna say best thing but that’s not true. But closest thing that would rattle her.

Tim and Aaron arrive at the station and there is posters everywhere. Everyone is laughing. Of course Smitty has them and is glowing over it. I mean Tim did pick Nolan over him for union president. So of course he is enjoying this. It's of Tim photoshopped naked with a cupcake covering him up OMG. Tim is seeing red. I don’t blame him. Just when they thought their catfish was over he pulls this. Clearly pissed at Tim for taking the PS5 and lecturing him.

They arrive at Pavi’s house with the felony papers. Tim saying he can file these today. Or he could use his skills for good. James needs someone to teach computer literacy at the center. That if is does this twice a week he’ll shred them. Otherwise he has 18 months to file these. He’s a little snot and throws Tim’s words about electronics back at him. Tim says he’s lucky Aaron believes in second chances. His mom calls him and he says to text him the details. I love Tim leaving Aaron hanging for his fist bump LMFAO. He does tell him they did good though so that’s something. Aaron has to fist bump himself ha.

Lucy gets to join the task force with the FBI. They’re headed to Seattle where the IP was traced. Lucy looks like an absolute bad ass in OP gear. A determined look on her face. They make it inside and find two bodies…sadly the homeowners. Psycho worked out of their house and just left their bodies there as she did. She is a one sick cookie. Lucy sees her message written in blood on the wall. She is long gone.

Not a ton in this one but what we did get was real good. Plus I always enjoy Tim/Aaron time they have a good dynamic. Fun to watch them together.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Intro of Celina Juarez. I wasn’t sure about her at first but ended up adoring her. Just like Aaron. Good job writers haha

Did love Tim tearing Nolan a new one about Celina bad stop. Was sexy af. Maybe shouldn’t have been a turn on but it was LOL

Thank you as always to you lovely readers. Wouldn’t be here without your likes/comments and reblogs ❤️ see you in 5x04 :)

[tangyangie]

— 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

albedo's a guy who's hard to read. he's not super expressive—most of the time, at least. you see the most of his facial expressions.

he occasionally smirks from time to time, adding a teasing remark. and that's his way of flirting with you.

it's subtle, but it worked. (obviously—you had to get together somehow.)

but, it wasn't from the very first meeting. a lot of time and trust had to be passed before his first bit of flirting.

speaking of which—that's his love language. he loves spending time with you. there don't have to be any words, any touches... just you there with him.

whether that's him painting you (who's trying to resist laughter and movement), having you help him with his experiments, or simply sitting together and eating lunch... he likes being with you.

this should also be a given—you babysit klee. all the time. preventing her from causing explosions everywhere she goes, for one—but also just playing with her. you guys play dress-up a lot!!

albedo may occasionally watch you guys in silence. he finds it cute how well you guys bond :)

but also, speaking of dress-up... you and klee have probably messed with him while he's asleep.

stickers on his face, drawing mustaches, and giving him a rudolph nose have all been done before.

(you did take a picture after just the stickers were put on his face. he looked adorable, you couldn't help it.)

he woke up, and was smart enough to realize what both your giggling meant—but, he went along with it. until you guys (subtly) showed him what he looked like in a mirror, he played dumb with a confused smile on his face.

"hm? is something wrong?"

"pfft—mr. albedo just has a funny sleeping face!!"

"that's right! he wakes up so funny."

"oh, is that so? all this time, i thought i slept expressionlessly."

"not at all!"

"is it really that funny? should i do something about it?"

"no!! don't do anything!"

"i don't think experimentation will help with this..."

on other notes, you're constantly up in dragonspine with him. sucrose and timaeus now see you on a regular basis, and they ask you for help with things.

you usually end up staying pretty late. nights in dragonspine are cold, so he helps you warm up while he finishes his work so you guys can go home.

you have unintentionally taken 10 blankets home because you kept them wrapped around you as you returned home. oopsie?

playing with his hair is so relaxing. it's so fluffy when it's loose!! speaking of which—you're the one that does his hair every day. the braid doesn't braid itself...

klee might add a few random braids to the front when she's bored. she likes it, so albedo is content. she then braids the braids. then braids the braids of braids.

it's such a funny image—albedo's completely unbothered by it all. he's probably just letting it happen while he's filling out a few reports, or something.

he pulls tiny pranks on you. they're so tiny, that no one would know they're pranks other than you—it's his form of an inside joke.

he paints with you a lot. no matter your talent level, it's a really comforting experience. most of the time, you sit in silence and paint your subject, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling.

the rest of the time, you smear paint on albedo's face. he's now got whiskers and a nose, and you've got polka dots scattered on your cheeks.

"look, you're so cute now!"

"are you implying that i wasn't before?"

"no, that's not it... you're just a cat, now."

"don't you mean: you're just a cat, meow?"

"hilarious."

"i do try."

he's a great listener. if he hears you mention a place, you better believe that he'll take you there.

albedo's kisses tend to be short and sweet. he's got things to do and places to be, but not before giving you a small peck on the cheek.

he likes to kiss your nose. he thinks it's funny.

he does that thing where he grabs your waist to move you. instant butterflies, but he's so chill about it!!

it's almost annoying how chill he can be about it. why can't he feel nervous or get butterflies, too??

notes. it is nice to be back (i have no motivation to write) BUT i am determined to get back into it so PLEASE PLEASE when i reopen requests send me something (preferably not assclass but... if you want it then okay)

ANYWAYS take this as an apology it's been a while since i've thought much about albedo

[crystalofmoon19]

Promiscuous - Striker x Fem Imp! Reader

Promiscuous girl, you're teasin' me

You know what I want

And I got what you need

Promiscuous boy, let's get to the point

Cause we're on a roll

You Ready?

Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland

You walked off the stage along with the musicians who accompanied you during your presentation, they even offered you an invitation to their band because they needed a female singer. You were flattered by the offer, but you really weren't sure if it was a good idea to accept it when you were just visiting your family, so you told them you were going to think about it.

With this done, the musicians accepted your answer and gave you their card in case you change your mind, so the band left, leaving you alone; meanwhile you kept your guitar in its case until you heard the rattle of a rattlesnake.

"Well, Howdy, what do we have here? But it is one of the most sought-after beauties in all of Wrath."

You opened your eyes wide and your heart skipped a beat when you saw that the rattlesnake demon, Striker, was a few feet away behind you. You didn't know if this was a good or a bad sign, on the one hand you caught the attention of that handsome cowboy, but on the other hand he was still so intimidating; besides, even if you liked him, who was he to call you that?

"Excuse me! How did you call me?"

You tried to have a little courage, but the truth is that you got scared when he approached you, causing you to take a few steps back from him.

"I told you the truth, darlin', I saw you sing on stage a while ago. You have such an angelic voice that it could make anyone fight just to get your attention. I'll get right to the point, sugarcube, we both know you deserve a man that is at your level and I believe that I'm the one to have that title." .- Striker said as you noticed that he was getting much closer to you.

"So what do you say, sweetheart? Would you like to go get some drinks?" .- He said as he approached you, taking your chin in his hand and wrapping his spiked tail around you.

Striker's proposal sounded tempting to a certain extent, but that didn't take away from the fact that it completely detonated his arrogance, assuming that you already want to go out with him without even asking your opinion, getting closer than he should without your consent and calling you those nicknames that he gave you without even knowing your name. You knew guys like him in Wrath, no matter how handsome he was, you were going to give yourself your place as the woman you are but you could still take advantage of the situation.

"Oh, I see!~ So, you think we could have a fun night together, don't you?" .- You said this time with a seductive tone, you approached him closer, removing his hand from your chin while you took his face with your delicate hands and your tail began to meet with his.

"Looks like you're getting it, darlin'." .- He chuckled as he enjoyed your cute hold.

"Well, if that's the case, I hope a woman as beautiful as me can satisfy a man as relentless as you." .- You said as you began to caress Striker's face and the pleased one rattled his tail happily and you could even hear his chest growl for you as well.

"Yes, yes, you will, darlin'. After all, behind every great man, there is a beautiful woman. We would make a perfect match, don't you think, darlin'?" .- Although Striker enjoyed your caresses, he also did not miss the opportunity to join his sharp tail with your most well-groomed one. When he did so, you couldn't help but give a small scream, which completely pleased Striker, but you didn't lose your composure.

"I already believe it and a woman as beautiful as me should do what a man so handsome wants, right?" .- You continued petting Striker, only this time you stroked his mustache, which the rattlesnake demon seemed to love because he kept rattling his tail harder.

"How to cook for him, wash his clothes and fulfill his every whim, right?~"

"Yes, yes, yes I do. And you are so pretty, beautiful and it would be… divine~" .- Surprisingly Striker was starting to babble, as your charms were beginning to take effect on him, you took advantage of that while you continued stroking his mustache.

"Are you kidding me?" You roughly pulled Striker's mustache, which made him scream in pain and caused the two of you to separate.

"Is this how you see women? Simple objects to satisfy your desires?"

"Don't play innocent with me, doll! I know how you looked at me during the competition this morning, it's pretty obvious that you like me, the feeling is mutual!" .- The rattlesnake demon claimed you with an aggressive rattle of his tail but still without moving away from you.

"That's not how things work!"

"Oh, really? Why do you think that, darlin'? You're interested in me and I'm interested in you, what's the problem?"

"You don't even know my name to begin with and you call me nicknames I don't like!"

This made Striker raise an eyebrow for a moment, you had a point he didn't know your name, so you decided to keep complaining.

"Besides! What's this about approaching me like that without asking my permission? Have you heard about personal space? I bet you wouldn't want me to do the same to you!"

"You're wrong there, darlin', if you'll come up to me I'd be happy to have you~" .- Striker's flirtatious words made your cheeks blush for a moment but you didn't give in so easily and continued to hold your ground.

"Well, what if someone other than me did it? Wouldn't you feel intimidated?" .- With this last phrase you made Striker open his eyes suddenly when he imagined a scenario where he was in your place and that made him remain silent for a few moments that you decided to take advantage of to speak.

"Listen to me well, sir. I may not know the principles with which you were raised in your house, but I was taught that women are brave warriors who are equal to men, because we are both equal and we work together to get ahead in this life! No one is above or below anyone, I deserve to be treated with respect and if you are not going to do it, I'm afraid that I will return to my family!" .- You said, moving your proximity away from Striker while you picked up your guitar case, which surprised the rattlesnake demon, you were serious; you were really going to leave if Striker didn't treat you with respect.

"Fine! You win, sugarcube!" .- Striker said out loud once he saw that you were moving far away from him and this made you turn towards him with your arms crossed.

"You're right, I don't think we have made our formal introductions."

You growled angrily in response, frowning and glaring at Striker, which only made him chuckle, you're so cute even when you're angry.

"Name is Striker, although you probably already knew that." .- Striker offered you his hand to which you gave him your hand and they shook hands.

"It's my pleasure, Striker. I'm Y/N."

"Y/N. Even your name is very Hispanic, do you come from the other side of Wrath?"

"That's right, I'm proud of my Hispanic roots."

"Oh, really? Why don't you tell me more about that?"

When you were about to tell Striker more about yourself, but that's when his look with his ringed green eyes gave away his true intentions, and you weren't going to fall so easily.

"I know what you want, casanova."

"I think I've made that clear enough, pretty lady."

"Well, if what you really want is to have me, you'll have to fight for it."

"What do you mean by that, sugarcube?"

"If what you want is my love, you will have to work to earn it, I'm not going to be with the first man who says nice things about me."

"Oh, come on, darlin'! We both know we just want to release the tension between us." .- This last one made you blush again and Striker just made fun of it.

"Even if the only thing you are looking for from me is a night of passion, you will have to work very hard to get it. I'm not one of those who give in so easily." - Striker was surprised by the honesty with which you spoke, it was quite obvious that you were attracted towards him, but still you gave yourself your place and spoke the truth; at no time did you deny your liking for him, no matter how much he tried to provoke you, you remained firm.

"If all you want is to satisfy your carnal desires with a woman, I'm afraid you'll have to look for another, because I'm not the right woman for that."

Striker made a great effort not to be left speechless by you, very few had given themselves respect like you had done, many women and even many men had succumbed to his charms but you had not and that was truly admirable.

"You're lucky I like taking on big challenges, darlin'." .- Striker chuckled again while you raised an eyebrow.

"How about we make a bet?"

"A bet?"

"Yes, if I can get you into bed within a week, you must be mine."

"A week, are you serious? I think you'll need more time than that to win me over, casanova."

"Two weeks then?"

"No."

"Three weeks?"

"It's not even close."

"Come on, darlin'! How long do you want me to be behind you?"

"Well, if what you want is to conquer me, it's going to take time to cement things, so I think that will take at least two months."

"Two months? That's a long time!"

"Time is of the essence in making good relationships. It's not something to be rushed, Striker."

"Fine, let it be just for a month, and that's my last offer." .- Striker responded with a resigned snort.

"I want to see how you try, casanova." .- This time it was your turn to laugh.

"You'll be mine and you'll enjoy it, darlin'." .- Striker placed his hands on your chin again, to which you only politely removed him.

"It seems to me that you are forgetting something very important about betting, casanova."

"Or is it? And what is it, darlin'?"

"Betting is a game of two and I have not yet said my part of the bet."

"Well, what do you want to bet, sugarcube?"

"It's simple, if I manage to obtain your heart within a month..." You approached Striker and began to caress his cheeks again to which he did not put up any resistance.

"You will…" You continued petting Striker and played with his mustache. To which he only rattles his tail and growls under his breath at you.

"You will stop doing the bad things you once did!" .- You screamed loudly and pulled Striker's mustache again and he complained again.

"What!?"

"I may not know you well enough, Striker. But I know you are not trustworthy. I saw how you cheated in the horse competition and you are a bad winner, if you are already like that in a competition I don't want to think how you are with others. "

"That's ridiculous, sweetheart! You're not going to change me in a month!"

"Then the bet is off." .- You crossed your arms with a smile and turned around again.

You were really provoking him a lot and getting on his nerves and that was what set you apart from the rest. Striker loved that, so he followed you to where you were and he offered you his hand.

"Very well, darlin'. We have a deal."

You decided to shake your hand to close the deal with Striker.

"The wager is set."

This is how Striker finally set out to conquer you to make you his and this time he was going to enjoy every moment of betting on you.

[cottagecheese1]

Knocking on the devils door

Summary: When you come back from college for summer break, the last thing you expected was to have a stepdad.

Paring - dark stepdad robert pronge x reader

Warnings - not really smut but close enough, robert is a weirdo

College was fun. Well, except juggling classes and doing work wasn't all that fun, but other than that, you enjoyed it. Before you left home, you and your mom got into this huge argument about how you shouldn't go to college and just stay in your hometown and find a rich husband to take care of you, so you can become a housewife like her.

You have always been an independent person, but your mom never really understood that. Every time you would bring up getting a job or going to college, she would refuse, and ask you why you wouldn't just get a husband.

Then again, you do keep in mind that she is your mother and always has been, so you hoped that if you put this little hardship behind you, your mom would understand and also do the same.

You pulled into the driveway and took a quick gander at your childhood home. Nothing has changed even before you left, but what you did notice was an ice cream truck parked right in front of you. How strange.

As soon as you get out of your car, you smooth your shirt out. Taking in a deep breath, and walking up to the front door, knocking with your left hand while you hold your bag in the other. After waiting for a good two minutes, you raised your hand to knock once again until a tall man with long hair and a scruffy mustache answered the door.

"Listen, kid, I don't wanna buy any girl scout cookies"

He had a white T shirt on with glasses, as much as you would hate to admit it. He was a handsome man. The feeling of your tongue being caught in the back of your own throat wasn't really the most convenient.

"Um, no, sir, I'm looking for my mom? M/n?"

He looked me up and down, but before he could answer again, a high-pitched voice that was highly recognizable came quickly to the front door.

"Oh, Y/n, I'm so glad you're here! You should have called before you came! I missed you so much, sweetheart please come inside!"

To say that you were surprised was an understatement. Being welcomed into open arms by your mother after what happened really surprised you. After you came inside, and looked around at the same pictures, same radio, same dusty bookshelf that has been here since your childhood, you quickly realized there was nothing visibly different. Nothing special.

When your mother led you inside, the tall man behind you followed, "Sit down, I was just making spaghetti for tonight!" Your mother spoke joyfully. You sat quietly, waiting for someone to make conversation so you wouldn't have to.

"So, I see you met Robert, don’t worry sweetheart he may look a little intimidating, but he's not all that bad, " your mom said as she gave a heartfelt giggle. You gave a small smile and turned to look at him, you didn’t get to observe his features until now, you swear he could feel your gaze burning in the back off his head because he shifted his head around and made eye contact with you. His icy blue eyes, and scruffy facial hair made you feel some sort of way, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it..almost a little creeped out. Pulling you out of your train of thoughts was your mother, she gave a frustrated sigh, "Dammit! I forgot the pasta sauce, I'll have to run down to the store... you two don't go anywhere, and I'll be right back".

You giggled and gave a quick ‘ok’ while she grabbed her purse and walked through the front door. After your mom left, it was extremely awkward when you just sat there silently while Robert seductively eyed you up and down.

"So, you go to college?"

Giving him a quick nod, you start to speak. "Yea, sports medicine...did you marry my mom?"

He chuckled and made his way over to the fridge to grab a beer, "Yeah, so I guess that makes me your daddy, right?" He said as he took a swing of the bitter liquid. Feeling your cheeks go red, you gave an awkward laugh.

“Um, yeah I guess so, if that’s the way you think of it.” Robert cracked his beer open, and walked over to the seat beside you to sit down. Fiddling with your fingers nervously, trying to come up with a question or some kind of excuse to make this situation less awkward.

Robert reached over, and tucked the stray piece of hair behind your ear softly, “Do I make you nervous angel?” You gave a embarrassed smile, and attempted to make some space between him and you, because for some reason it felt like he was to close to you. To comfortable for just meeting you the first time.

“Not at all, why would you say that?” He then managed to get closer to you right after you said that, giving you a unsatisfied hum, he grabbed your chin softly while making you look at him, “Because you are. You don’t need to lie to your daddy angel” After he said that you pushed his hand off your face with a wide eyed look while getting up out of your seat, “Are you fucking crazy? I’m going to tell my mom.” He laughed getting up and striding over to you, never until now have you realized how much bigger he was then you, probably a lot stronger also.

Pushing you up against the kitchen wall, he grabbed your face roughly. “Your mother would never believe you, and even if she did it’s either you or me. After that little disagreement you two had about not settling down and getting a husband, not to mention you also not wanting to stay in this shit hole of a town made your mother really upset. I’ve stayed with that hag for four years, and you wouldn’t wanna ruin your relationship with her even more would you angel?”

That was your breaking point. You broke out in sobs while burying your face in Roberts shirt, “Aw, angel face..daddy didn’t mean to make you cry, let me see that pretty face sweetheart.” You looked up at him with defeat, “what do you want from me..” Robert smiled and wiped the falling tears from your cheeks, “right now I want you to be my good girl, and to look me in my eyes when I fuck you with my fat cock. I want you to beg for daddy’s dick angel.” You looked up at him with wide eyes, “no..”

All the somewhat warmth and softness that might’ve been in him disappeared at that moment, “So you want your mother to think your a whore and tried to force yourself on me? Hm?” You froze, thinking of all the things your mother has done for you, and then her going to think for a minute you tried to have sex with this man. Robert exhaled while putting his head on your forehead, “How about I give you twenty spanks for being a brat, and another ten because you’re not being a good girl, then we can start over and you can actually start being my good girl. How bout it angel?”

You looked at him angrily, “NO.” Robert raised his hand, giving you a warning smack on your cheek. “If you say no again you’ll be choking on my dick to.” There was a pregnant pause in the air for a moment before he spoke again, “if your mother gets home before we get started, it will be much much worse tonight.” With that you sighed and gave a quiet ‘alright’.

Kissing your forehead softly before following with a ‘good girl’. Pulling you in the living room, and sitting on the couch before tugging you over his lap.

Pulling your pants down, leaving you in your panties for a moment, “so pretty angel, you wear these panties for anyone else, hm?” Giving him a soft ‘no’ he gave a satisfied hum, tugging your panties down your ankles, and giving your ass a teasing smack. “Count.”

_______________________________________________

Smack after smack went down painfully on your ass, at this point you were sobbing while counting, “twenty-five..” you just wanted it to be over, “twenty-seven..” your ass is bright red and hurts like shit, “your doing so good for daddy angel, just three more.” You gave him a whine, “twenty-nine..” you think the last one hurt the most because somehow you started crying even harder, “t-thirty…” Robert rubbed your ass soothingly, and put you on his lap. All you could do was hug him, and being in such a vulnerable state, you didn’t really care that you were clinging onto him with such urgency, “Aw, daddy’s sorry angel but you had to learn one way or another didn’t you sweet pea?” All you did was whine and bury your face in the crook of his neck, you can’t describe it, but he smelled good, “daddy..”

Robert smiled finally getting you wrapped around his finger, “did you learn your lesson?” With a burning red ass and no more fight in your body all you could do was nod your head yes.

Robert leaned down to grab your pants, accepting your answer as it is, “we need to get you cleaned up angel, we don’t need your mom finding you in such a humiliating mess honey..would hate to explain this to her wouldn’t you?” Nodding your head, and letting him wrap his arms around you. Maybe this isn’t to bad.

A/n: This isn’t usually like any of my other fic’s but I enjoyed writing it. I know it’s been a minute but I’m trying to go through my drafts at the moment!

[skulls-soul]

My dumb stupid “ homework” is done and my job/employment is safe (for now) so why not I give y’all another dimigi idea (dimentio x luigi)

OK this is kind of the same set up as last time in where Luigi, Mario peach and Bowser just finished saving the universe but instead of it being that night he saw dimentio in his dream’s, it took a week for Luigi to hear him in his head

When this first happened, Luigi was scared shitless! at home all alone with Mario not coming back until late in the afternoon the next day!! Which was in hindsight a good thing since it gave him at least a little bit of time to get used to the voice while Mario was not around (that and to make sure he’s not crazy)

That means that once again he doesn’t tell Mario about what’s going on. He doesn’t want to worry him because he saved the universe last week.. (smh)  Mario still saw him jump every once in a while, but it’s small enough, in where Luigi can just pass it off as something silly

With that being said if I heard the voice of a villain, that mind controlled me to help him succeed in destroying the universe in my head saying “ how long does it take to style a tiny fuzzy mustache?”  I would jump Yelp and spin around, using my comb as a weapon too!

He wouldn’t really be able to pass it off as something silly at such a loud yelp

 Ever since that first time dimentio spoke he’s been putting his input on things luigi does in his day to day. At first it was just insults and jabs with an occasional question that isn’t so politely placed. Although, at some point that change to occasional genuine question

And it’s because Luigi always answered his questions, no matter how rudely placed, and when he got his answers, he was fascinated by Luigi’s description of the world and it also got him curious on the green fellow himself

Up the point where he started asking personal questions. When he first did so, it genuinely startled Luigi but for different reasons instead of it just being due to the sudden voice. But just like with any other question, the jester asked Luigi gave him a genuine answer. 

“ what is your favorite place in the entirety of the mushroom kingdom?” dimentio asked as Luigi walked down the woodsy path to his and Mario’s house

….. “the casino” Luigi answered hesitantly, his gaze focused on the ground.

It was dimentio’s turn to be surprised causing a laugh out of the jester,leaving luigi feeling warm

at some point, it became less and less questions about the world and more about Luigi

And At some point along Luigis adventure of getting the disembodied voice out of his head, he became well acquainted with said voice although one day they burst out into an argument (Demento said something about his mustache) so when Mario came into the bathroom with a Weegee screaming at his reflection… you can say that he was concerned

And when Luigi explained to him that the split smiled Villain is talking to him in his head…that it didn’t help with his concerns

In fact it did the exact opposite…

Aaand now he’s in peach’s castle with the two worrying over him…then Bowser joined cuz OF COURSE it’s game night so not only Bowser is here but his best friend Daisy, waluigi and wario were there…it was hectic to say the least

So much so that he had to leave the room to get some air

Dimentio was worried in which surprised him because he never thought that he would ever feel worried for the plumber and yet here he is

He didn’t say anything though, not until Luigi’s heart slowed down it was a simple question. “are you ok?” 

“Oh Um..ya just not used to being the center of attention hehe”

“Hmm well they were being loud and annoying so I did book it out of there too”

 if Luigis Giggle did something to dimentio’s brain that is for him to know and him to know only. “their just concerned… well half of them are” luigi says

“Well I think they should have a bit more faith in you after all you were quite a foe”

Luigi pouts to that yet thanks him nonetheless.

“So what do u plan on doing?” dimentio asked

“Mama Mia I have no clue”

“I think you should march back in there and give them a peace of your mind”

“Hehe….you know what your right!”

“I’m right? I mean obviously but you usually don’t go with my ideas”

“ I am going to kindly give them a piece of my mind”

“Of course” Demento really shouldn’t be surprised but he’s happy nonetheless that Luigi is taking his advice and so with that all being said and done, Luigi stands up and tells the group that they should continue with game night as per usual so he can show them all that he is fine (at least physically)

And so they do

Aaaaaand this post is too long so I’m gonna leave it here and make other posts about these two in this scenario. Sense frankly I have too many ideas 



[dingochef]

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x You (OFC)

Warnings: Swearing, Smut (MDNI 18+ Only), Angst with a Happy Ending, Stalking, P in V, oral (female and male receiving), Semi-public sex, light spanking,

Word Count 2.0k

Summary: Phoenix is convinced Jake is in love with you and Rooster reveals an earth shattering truth. (Here comes the angst, find your emotional support aviator.)

Masterlist

Chapter 10

Chapter 11: Burning In

“Shit, my squadron is here.”

Jake looks slightly panicked in the parking lot of the Hard Deck. He leans out to see through the windows to where the pool table is. Inside is the group of people who you recognize from that first night.

“Is that a problem? Embarrassed to be seen with me?” you joke.

Jake seems nervous and replies, “You are not the issue, I’m proud as hell to have you on my arm. It’s just those asshats aren’t going to play nice because it’s me.”

"I can handle myself, Jake. You all people should know that.”

He grins and shrugs,

“Touche, alright let’s go in and face the music.”

Taking his hand you walk in and join the group already at the pool table. You remember names like Coyote, Fanboy, and Payback, but you can't match anyone to their call sign right away except Phoenix. As the only woman in the group she’s easy to remember. Rooster is there also, no one can forget that mustache. You remember that Lydia is out of town this weekend for a work conference so you won't be seeing her around the Hard Deck tonight. Jake reintroduces them all in quick order, enough for you to slightly remember their names. Bob is the only missing from the original group and you bet that he's with Beth somewhere.

“I’ll go grab drinks, your usual? I’ll get some fish tacos ordered too, hun,” Jake asks and you nod in agreement. He then starts to walk over to the bar. He is no more than 10 feet away you when Rooster advances.

“So, Elsa, can I call you Ice Queen?” he asks with a smirk, he leaning over you a bit, using his height to tower above you.

You take a step back to look Rooster in the eye.

“I wouldn’t recommend it if you value the current location of your balls,” you say demurely through your eyelashes. Phoenix barks out a delighted laugh, from where she is lining up her next pool shot, and says,

“Oh sweetie, you’re going to fit in just fine.”

Rooster jumps back into the conversation and says,

“Feisty, I can work with that."

He takes a swig of his beer and leans in again, apparently his lack of personal space applies to everyone.

"So tell us, just how good is Hangman in the sack for you to put up with him outside the bedroom?” he asks, smirk on display.

“Who says it stays in the bedroom? I’m a lady and I don’t kiss and tell, but I can tell you that I am a very, very, very, satisfied woman,” you reply.

A very abrupt, “Rooster!" comes from the direction of the bar as Jake returns with your drinks.

"Just because yours is out of town and fucking range, doesn’t give you the right to move in on mine,” Jake barks as he gets back with your drinks. He puts them down on the small hightop next to you and stands behind you in an obvious territorial move, his hand on your hip.

“Honey,” you lean back and reach up to pat his cheek, “You don’t have to worry about a thing, I’m not really into guys with half a dead rodent on their upper lip.”

Rooster twitches his mustache and shrugs,

“Your loss, baby girl."

Jake looks satisfied with the retort and gives you a kiss on the cheek.

"Mind if I play a round, babe?" he asks, pointing to the pool table. "Perfectly fine with me," you reply. Rooster takes the opportunity to needle Jake,

"We'll take good care of her, Hangman, don't worry about a thing."

Jake narrows his eyes at Rooster as he grabs his beer and a cue stick to join the next game. Phoenix rolls her eyes at their display, you have the feeling it is a constant back and forth between Rooster and Jake.

"Elsa and I will be fine without you Jake, now leave us alone so we can have some girl time," Phoenix says, dismissively waving her hand at Jake in a "Go Play" gesture. You nod at Jake to let him know you're fine and he nods in return as he grabs his beer and the cue stick from Phoenix.

Phoenix leans against the wall next to you and you start the conversation,

“It's good to see the token woman of the group again,” you say.

She laughs and you continue, “Coming from the usual token woman in the room at work.” You clink each other's glasses on solidarity.

“What do you do?” she asks, taking a sip of her cocktail, a vodka and cranberry it looks like.

“I work for Lockheed Martin, mostly projects out of the Skunk Works in Bakersfield. I'm an aerospace engineer.”

“Cool, I gotta say, you’re a little different than the girls Hangman usually has around.”

“You mean someone with an IQ bigger than their bra size?,” she snickers and nods, "I gathered that.”

“We didn’t think he’d actually have the guts to go after you again after that epic crash and burn you gave him. He is way too much a vain asshole to take an ego bruising like that and stay interested. Whatever you’re about he is very much into.” she says.

Jake looks up from the pool game at the moment to catch your eye and you smile back to see a wide grin bloom on his face before he turns his attention back to the pool game.

Phoenix watches the interaction, a wry smile on her face.

“He is so into you and it looks like it's mutual. I’ve got to ask, what happens when this mission is over?” she asks.

You sigh,

“I wish I knew, I know he’s only here for another week or two, so I’m just trying to have some fun while he’s around. Nothing serious.”

Phoenix snorts.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. I’ve flown with Hangman for a good 10 years now and he has never talked about a girl as much as he has you. Sometimes he can’t remember a hook up’s name. He’s my wingman and I can tell you he is L-O-V-E.”

Phoenix's declaration brings the feelings and thoughts you had let fade into the background from earlier up to the forefront of your brain.

“Well, I’m keeping it light for both of us. He’s fun to hang around with, sexy as hell, and can cook like a master chef. What more do you need in a fuck buddy?” you say, almost trying to convince yourself that it's still only physical.

Jake approaches you from behind and you startle at his sudden presence. You think he heard your last sentence and is thinking about it before he brushes it aside and asks,

“What awful things is Phoenix telling you about me? I can attest only half of them are true.”

Phoenix tells a few stories, nothing too damning or salacious, about Jake's antics in flight school and their past deployments.

Your dinner arrives and you take a break to eat some of the best fish tacos in San Diego before returning back to the group. You float in and out of the group talking with the others as Jake plays another pool game.

Rooster rotates out of the game and comes to lean up against the wall next to you. He's silent for a few minutes, slowly sipping on his beer. You're not really bothered to start a conversation.

“So, you’re literally a rocket scientist?” he asks, finally breaking the silence.

“No, I just play one on tv,” you respond. He snorts his beer slightly and you continue,

“An aerospace engineer to be more exact, my last job I was a rocket engineer, but never a scientist.”

He laughs and says,

“It just doesn’t register, from what Lydia has told me about you and what I know about Hangman, you must have a secret thing for assholes.”

“Why does everybody keep saying that? I’m starting to get a Dr Jekyl Mr Hyde vibe here.”

Rooster leans over and says, his eyes deadly serious,

“Because he is an asshole, he's a smug, arrogant, selfish, brat who is so high on himself that he can’t see past his ego to be a team player. And up there," he points upward, jamming his index finger skyward,

"It is a life and death scenario. That’s what I see and know of him; flying a fighter jet like we do cuts to the true character of who a person is. I don’t know if he’s been playing loverboy to you perfectly to win the bet or if his heart has actually grown three sizes that day.”

“Wait, what bet?” you ask, your blood starting to run cold. A sickly sweet smile forms on Rooster's face, one you'd imagine on the Devil making a bargain with you.

“Hah, didn’t think he had told you. When you left that first night we all bet $500 he couldn’t get his way into your bed in a week. Had to pay up on that one when Phoenix smelled the strawberry shampoo and he didn’t come home that one night.”

Time starts to move slowly as you comprehend his words,

“There was a fucking bet to see if he could bag me like some fucking trophy?”

Rooster is looking satisfied,

“Yup, and I don’t think this is the rom-com where he actually falls in love sweetheart, sorry to break it to you.” He walks away with a light swagger in his step.

The information Rooster has just told you overwhelms every part of your brain as you try to process it. You're on the edge of losing it and you catch Phoenix’s eye and say to her,

“Umm, come to the bathroom with me.”

She sees the panic in your face and follows you quickly.

You hear the usual jokes about girls going to the bathroom in packs as you walk away. As soon as the door swings shut, you ask her with deadly seriousness,

“Phoenix, I know you’re a straight shooter and won’t lie directly to me. Was there a bet to see if Jake could get into my pants? “

She sighs and pinches her nose,

“You’re right I won’t lie to you, but know that everything else I said out there was the God’s honest truth. Yes, there was a bet. But he technically won it that day I smelled your shampoo on him in training. If you were just a conquest, he wouldn’t have stuck around, he sure as hell wouldn’t have cooked you his nonna’s secret recipe, and he wouldn’t have put in nearly the effort he has with you. I think it's the real deal, but you’re going to have to ask him that.”

You start to feel the tears forming and you take a deep breath and blink them back like you've practiced so many times before. You turn to leave the bathroom, and Phoenix calls out,

"He didn't take the money, if that means anything to you, Elsa."

You shake your head and walk out of the bathroom and see Jake has Rooster pinned against the wall with a pool cue and is screaming,

“You told her that? What kind of psycho are you? For once in my life I find something worth holding onto and you deliberately go and shit on that.”

He drops the pool cue on the table and stabs Rooster in the chest with his finger,

“You better watch your ass up there.”

He turns to see you and can tell that his house of cards is tumbling down. The warmth you had thinking of Jake in your chest has now just dulled to a cold hard weight. You catch his eyes one last time and turn to leave, pushing the door open into the cool night. You start walking home as the tears start to fall. At the edge of the parking lot you hear Jake call out,

"Elsa! Talk to me please, baby. Elsa!"

Your only acknowledgement that you hear him is to raise your middle finger to him and keep walking. Phoenix is holding him back and telling him,

"She's going to want space to think. I know you want to run after her, dude, but she will eat you alive and you'll kill any chance you have. Give her some time."

You snort with the thought Phoenix is the smartest out of that whole group.

It takes the usual few minutes to get home. You unlock your door and step inside, shut the door, lean against it and cry. You're angry at Jake, but mostly you're angry at yourself for letting him worm his way and not keeping him at arm's length like your gut told you. From letting yourself get in so deep that you were starting to develop feelings for him. You haul yourself off to bed and pass out from the overwhelming exhaustion of having your world tilted on its axis.

@starswholistenanddreamsanswered

Chapter 12

@mayhemmanaged

@callmemana

@dempy

@hangmanscoming

@lanie-k

@callsign-viper

@senjoritanana

@djs8891

@atarmychick007

[survivalist-anon]

Log 18 prt2: The Magical world of Conspiracy theorists

After an hour so, we head to the car and....see a mail man? A conspicuously large mail man, with wires coming out of his head and connecting to his shoulders. It didn't help he was wearing onlya hat to cover it up and it still looked uncanny from a distance.

The two of us watched as this was clearly another covert Astartes simply placing a package in the now yellow mailbox.

"Oi! What in blazes are ye doin?", Fjord shouted from across the driveway.

The "mailman" just looked at him, "....I am performing my duties as a postal service officer! Nothing to see here citizens of the United States of America.", this clearly was the worst possible acting I have ever seen.

"Hey it's ok! Aldercon knows us!", reassuring him felt strange considering he should have known us.

He stared at us, not really sure what to do. "I do not know who this "Aldercon" is.", now this was getting strange.

I walked up to him and wondered what was going on. "Hey ugh,-", I look at his name tag and it was a generic name, likely because it he wanted to disguise himself, "ugh...Joe....what's going on?", I could see he was looking a little high strung.

"Handler, Aldercon has requested extra vigilance around 50 miles around perimeter of the area and within the confines of the town. Do not fret, this is merely a simple sweep.", he gives me a wink. "Also, here. Supplies for repairs, all the necessary tools for tracking and recording any information and medical ointment.". He hands me THE most heaviest medium sized box.

"Oof! Thanks, I'll put this inside. Have a great day.", I nodded to him as he left into his..... postal truck. Which was literally a large military van with a stolen plated side of a real postal truck.

As he drives off, I wondered as to how nobody has figured out about these guys.

I can tell they knew what to do in terms of espionage and disguises, but it was the equivalent of wearing a groucho marx mustache or the Clark Kent effect....it was obvious but it somehow worked.

Fjord walked up with same level of confusion, ".....I could see his bloody metal hand too....dumb bastard.".

"Wait he had a what??", I literally didn't notice.

Driving downtown once again, I stop by the same coffee shop from a few days ago. From the driver seat, I could see Benedict sitting with his crew again.

"Fjord, follow me, theres someone I want you to meet.", I point to Benedict and his eyes lock on.

"Ah, who is that, another handler?", he scratches his sideburns.

"Nope. This is....an ex-bigfoot hunter.....now he hunts Astartes...or at least he hunts for footage of Astartes.", I turn to see him with a puzzled look on his face.

"... footage? Is that not.... something Aldercon wants to avoid?", he groaned.

"Yep. We're going to see how much he knows... And how much she can tell who is human and who is an Astartes.", he was connected the dots after my statement.

"ah, yes.", as we both leave the car, we enter the coffee shop as if we're getting something.

I turn to Benedict looking at me from the table with that smug yet charmingly dubious grin.

Something tells me....I'm going to have a rather interesting surprise. "So, Fjord, I know we just had some breakfast at home but would you like a snack?", i could see he was sniffing the air and enjoying the smell of the shop.

"Oh no thank you lass. Although everything does smell a bit different. I don't smell the musky reek of corpse starch anywhere.", he crooned a bit.

I... don't want to know what corpse starch is....

"Ah! Miss Drake! A fine pleasure to see you once more.", Benedict announced from his usual table at the right side of the shop. "I see you have a... compadre with you?", he placed his fingers together to act coy.

"Oh Hey Benny.", I joked.

He's grin turned into a small annoyed scowl, "Do not call me Benny.", he pointed.

He than glanced on to Fjord, and gave a huge smile. "COME! Why don't you sit with us. We were just discussing our latest find! I call it, 'the Red legion marine'...", as me and Fjord make a seat for ourselves as best as week could, I could hear the creaking of wood from Fjord's chair.

I was seated on a metal chair, "ugh, you want to switch?", I ask.

Fjord having reconsidering the possible fragility of his seat struggling to handle his bare armorless weight, "ugh...I believe that would be a wise choice."

We make a quick switch.

Benedict was watching us intently, "now....these....are top secret.", he slid a set of four photos, they were of that fast moving marine from the wild cam footage. "I'm... certain you're familiar with this specimen?", I had to come up a bluff.

"...oh wow, ugh, that's absolutely horrifying....but the guys back at the reserve haven't seen this one....yet ....", it wasn't the best lie, mostly because in the past I've people like Benedict walking around the area with the same set of cameras.

Fjord glanced over and made a rather brute observation, "......that's a WordBearer.", he pointed to the symbol on his pauldron, "he has no real allegiance to the Black Legion either....in fact factions have a tough time tolerating each other.".

I give him hard stare. Now that he just stated everything he just said, Benedict may start to suspect on who or in this case what he is....

Fjord, shot me a glance and realized what he had just let slip out, "oh but of course I could just be wrong....I ugh...read it in a book.".

This just made the whole situation almost just as worse, considering that implies somebody wrote a book about Marines.

I can see that the look on Benedict's face along with the rest of his crew we're looking at Fjord with mild suspicion.

"hmmm..... Melissa, care to site what urm....I do believe you haven't introduced yourself to us...", he motions to Fjord.

"Oh, my name is Fjord... I'm very new in town.", giving a smile.

The look of the gang started to go from suspicion to surprise.

"Woah, sweet fangs. Where did you get them done? I've been thinking about doing a set myself but they're expensive as hell", the one I assume is Melissa spoke.

Fjord, understandably having no idea how to answer that again puts us in a deeper hole, "oh they're natural lass, they started to grow when I began my process.".

I give him a little nudge on his leg, "He ugh, did hormone therapy, yeah he was born with a very rare condition and when he was young he started doing this hormone treatment that helped him be a little more physically better... It's just a side effects is hair growth and....teeth growth.", I tried, and most likely I'm failing as much as Fjord is.

Benedict on the other hand was now glaring at the both of us with increased suspicion, "Hmmm..............I have never HEARD of such a thing."

"Actually that sounds cool. Oh my name is Charles McHines by the way.", the beef farmer reached out to shake both of her hands.

After he shook mine, he then as he shook Fjord's, he could see his hand was twice the size of his own. "WOAH, now that's a handshake!".

However what worried me was that Steven, an old peer from highschool, wasn't too surprised.

"Oh and Fjord, this is Steven, I want to highschool with him.", Steven in his usual weird kid self gave Fjord something he liked to call, "The flimsy hand", as a way to determine the personality of those he meets. There's no basis to this handshake, but it is funny to watch as many people get uncomfortable shaking you as possible.

Fjord sort of looks at the hand and tilts his head, gives him an equally flimsy shake of his finger, not wanting to crush his hand.

"...hmm.... bro's got it.", Steven ominously croaks.

"....got...what?", Fjord asked.

"Steven please don't, he's not going to get the joke.", I knew what was coming.

"Bros got....DA BEEEEEEAAAAAANS.", Stevens level of absurdist humor unfortunately is not universal no matter how funny it is to most other people within his circle of Friends

Fjord on the other hand was actively confused. "....what beans? Lorey what beans does this man speak of?".

I lean close to his ear and whisper, "sometimes we call animal paws 'beans' to be affectionate or something.", Fjord just stares at me and then stares at Steven.

"....ok...you have.......rooooots.", and I rather light hearted tone.

Steven has absolutely no idea what did he mean by this but he was just chuffed to hear that Fjord has... Somehow accepted his invitation for friendship.

"wait what does Roots mean in this?", I ask.

He leans to my ear, "I just made it up, your highschool friend scares me. I can't tell what he's thinking.", he cautiously looks at Steven who is now just wiggling and being silly in the seat.

The whole situation was weird but whimsical at the same time, meanwhile Benedict was starting to lose his sense of humor as the seconds go by. "EkEHM....your .... Professional opinion...Lorey?".

"oh I'm sorry, I lost the plot a little bit over there.... But ugh.... I think I have seen this one in one of our wildlife cameras but I'm not certain if it's the same one.... I would really hate it to be another one". I tried my best to be as vague as possible to see how far these guys have done their investigations.

Melissa looks at me and then Fjord, "well you see, me and Benedict have been doing our fair share of hiking as of lately and actually I have collected-", she takes out a small box from under the table, "-some of the things he's been leaving behind! It looks metal as fuck though.", she said opens up the box to show little creepy relics and bits. Stuff that you would imagine people who perform satanic witchcraft or something a lot closer to dark religion would be doing.

I for one am surprisingly shock that someone of her subculture would even dare be so foolish has to even pick it up to begin. If it's a weird creepy thing that somebody made from the bits of the forest that is in the forest, you leave it there and go about your merry way, you don't just pick it up.

"Melissa, I'm not certain if you believe in witchcraft or not but don't you think that this is a bad idea to just pick up what he leaves behind? I mean what if it's cursed.", I dryly ask.

"oh don't worry your little head, I work with this kind of stuff all the time. The only thing I know is that the best way to diffuse dark magic is it a little holy water.", she then on ironically takes out a spray bottle with the words 'holy water', "I had the pastor bless it.", either she knew exactly what she was doing or maybe she is just soaked everything in regular water.

"aye lass, messing with those is dangerous! It could corrupt your soul! WordBearers are tricky bastards!", he then takes a closer look at some of the items and notices that what should have been covered in sigils and blood, now look like they were washed clean. "Ugh?", picks one of the items up and start smelling it. "Why does half of this stuff smell like flowers???".

I didn't pick one up and I start to realize, it smells like Rosemary, bay leafs and basil. "Oh I get it, you did a lot more than just spray it with holy water didn't you...".

I was under the suspicion she knew what she was doing, although to Fjord's displeasure, she was a wiccan.

"yep. I knew there was dark magic when I saw the look of the guy, so I just decided to bring my 'cleaning supplies' and boom! Dark aura no more.", although she's a little bit cliche, I do have to respect somebody who knows how to properly perform all of this.

"yes Melissa took some soap and leaves and that stupid holy water that I'm certain that a Pope has to bless and not some random Pastor from Oregon.... And just washed off the evidence! We could have proven that these marines are actively out there hunting people!", Benedict looked at Melissa with frustration.

"like as if I'm going to take it to the cops, I was going to take it to one of the native reserves around here to investigate if anyone has seen this marine.", she responded.

"oh you were going to take it to us then?", I asked.

"no, to be honest I have no idea who to talk to about this. It's not like as if they're going to take somebody who brought in a bunch of creepy sticks and animal bones macably put together and some weird demonic ritual seriously.", she said with a sigh.

As much as these guys obviously had a lot of time in their hands to the point they would rather risk their lives just to get footage of a Space Marine in the wild, I couldn't help but feel bad or how much exposure they were putting themselves through. I'm wondering by this point if I can just convince Aldercon to let them help.

"hey Fjord, do you think we should go and ask-", he shook his head before I could finish my statement.

"-ask whom?", Benedict stared with anticipation at me. "You wouldn't happen to be holding out on some essential information? Miss Drake? Because I assure you, with your insider information and our resources-", gets up from his seat,"-we will prove to the world that not only these marines live among us..... BUT PLAN ON TAKING OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE! They plan on harvesting our DNA in order to make more Marines! Creating an army do battle against the lizard people of Los Angeles and the government slaves in Washington! For you see Lorey, they are here to help us fight against the planetary conspiracy of creating a world order between slave all of humanity!", he says this with the reverence of somebody who has discovered a great revelation. As he looks outside the window to dramatically look at the world he's so adamantly believes in danger due to this very specific reason, I can't help but feel more embarrassed at this point.

Mostly because of how on Earth did not only I get into this mess, but these guys who I can only sum up as the heavily discounted Scooby-Doo gang, have become associated with me and Fjord.

By this point, the both of us probably were Scrappy and Scooby in this situation, completely lost in the insanity of it.

"...ugh... Benedict I don't want to hurt your feelings but that is the most insane shit I have ever heard.", I coldly respond to him.

"see I told you that one wasn't going to work.", Melissa chuckled.

"WOULD YOU QUIT BUSTING MY BALLS.", Benedict frustratingly turns around what gave Melissa with a annoyed glare.

Fjord was just absolutely entertained by the whole situation. ".... Well I do suppose they're here to protect humanity. But I don't know anything about any lizard xenos.", this is like the third time he practically puts a neon sign on his forehead saying "I am a Space Marine ".

Benedict turns to Fjord, feeling like as if his conspiracy theory was validated. "Is that so? Are the Space Marines human? Subhuman? Super human?", he means towards him.

Fjord by this point probably didn't want to give away anymore information, "ugh...I don't know. They could be mechanical for all I know.".

"hmmm robot space soldiers here to protect humanity from the forces of intergalactic darkness....sounds.... plausible... logical even.", you're just as glasses with his pinky. "Intriguing, but where are your sources Fjord???", dramatically again turns to him. By this point he was just prodding him for more information.

"Ben, seriously stop scaring the sexy werewolf guy, but seriously are a werewolf? Because your hair is crazy. I love it.", Melissa genuinely asked.

"ugh-", I interrupted Fjord before he could respond, "well look at the time we going to go and get some camping supplies. I've been planning on going on a trek up the mountain boarder for a while and I just remembered we needed a few extra camping gear. Right Fjord?", I ask him hoping he understood what I was doing.

"Oh right! We needed more...twine.", I'll have to commemorate his dedication to trying to be elaborate.

"....hmmmm... Perhaps you would also like this.", Benedict hands me a heavy duty toolbox, as he opens it up it is filled with extra camera gear for me to set up in the middle of the forest.

"wait you want me to put up cameras around the mountain range?", it was then I remembered why he tried to make friends with me in the first place. I was knowledgeable about the forested area enough to know where there could be more cameras.

"perhaps these would be a much better quality than the ones at your government facility, or perhaps a place just a few miles off of one of the campsites.... Specifically the one next to the mountain range?", he gives me this look knowing that if I refuse, he probably knew how to get me to do it.

".... First off I work with the state, second what if I say no?", this is probably a great chance to figure out what he knew. So far he's told me nothing but absolute insane conspiracy theories, surface level information one could only just look up online and a bunch of semi blurry photos.

From the standpoint of somebody who is doing reconnaissance, he barely knows anything.

"well if you say no, then I'm going to have to post on our online blog that there is an armorless space marine walking around with you, either pretending to be a normal person or someone else.", I was completely floored, I know there was enough information he could have deduced something but how did he figure it out so fast.

".... What are you talking about....", I looked a Fjord and he looks back at me. The both I was practically were caught.

"you know exactly what I'm talking about, Miss.Drake, for you see, just about 3 days ago, me and Steven we're hiking up that area in order to find more substantial evidence other than Melissa's silly box of rat bones!", the volume in his voice was starting to worry me.

"dude can you just lower down your voice a little bit, even if you don't want anyone to know what you're talking about, you sound kind of a little cringe.", Melissa spoke.

"yeah come on, we're here to ask for their help, why are you threatening them?", Charles responded.

"Ugh, well because if they don't agree to our demands then we we will have to push extreme measures in order to reveal the truth! Duh! Anyway, I know very well Fjord is likely a 'canis familiarus sapien' from the Orin's belt region of the galaxy, and that his race has made a deal with the Marines to also protect humanity.", again with the absolute confidence of what he thinks is true.

Fjord just stared at him, "I am a what lad?", he looked at him annoyed.

"You, are ....a space dog man!", handing me a file from a website that clearly just made conspiracy theories from all around the world showing a poorly drawn picture of a Wolfman and science fiction garb. "Sited around 1973 in Liverpool, England! This entity suddenly appeared in a grassy field, as a stumbled around attracting the attention of the village folk, he ran off into the forest never to be seen again! Then continued sightings occurred all the way towards the North of Sweden!", it was then he showed me another page from this file.... With a very familiar photo.

"Ugh, Benedict, that's Rupert D. McCainel. This man believed werewolves were real. Oh shit did you get this from his family website or something????", I couldn't honestly believe how stupid he really was to believe in half of this.

"ah, it's dat man from that book you showed me. Toke said he looked like Grimnar.", Fjord was looking at the picture again. Probably now wondering what on earth did this fat weirdo was talking about.

"Sir Rupert D. McCainel was an avid cryptobiologist far ahead of his time! And whom may I ask is this... Grimnar? An ancient Viking lord? Some unrecorded Legendary folk figure?", Benedict by this point was fishing Fjord.

Did he know what Fjord was?

"Ben, come on. Let's not interrogate a potential friend.", Melissa steaming him down. "Sorry about Ben, he's been a little excited ever since he found this concrete wall near the mountains. Seriously only you and Steven found that thing and haven't been able to find it since.".

Bingo. He knew about the Fort wall.

"Oh is it one of those 'abandoned staircases in the middle of the forest' things? I told you those were abandoned properties that built their stairs with much stronger material.", I sarcastically remark.

"Oh please. This was a professionally constructed concrete wall in the middle of the forest, freshly made and laid with equipment tires strooned about! Clearly a secret government facility is underway. This must mean that these marines are intelligent enough to use complex machinery such as forklifts. Mysterious indeed", Benedict remarked.

"Fjord, what do you think of all of this?", I ask worried if he has had any of his feelings somewhat heard about any of this.

"I'm still processing how am I a dog man... I mean I am flattered but I don't think anything that you said is correct lad. I for one, never heard of any Xenos like that.", he remarked. By this point he's probably been more severely disappointed yet somehow entertained.

"Hmmm, xenos you say?", Benedict continued.

"look Benedict we got to go now, we're a little behind schedule and I want to see if I can find some supplies for my next trip up the mountain. I'll lay those cameras for you, just as long as you stop harassing Fjord with all of this complete nonsense. He's not a space dog from some planning on the Orion's belt or anything.", I sternly respond. This whole conversation had begun to become extremely unhelpful.

"fine, but I will be expecting the footage after your trip is complete! Me and my cohorts will be eagerly awaiting such valuable evidence.", he I just as his glasses again.

".... Yeah just take your time, we're not in a rush to get any of it anyway. I hope you stay safe on your survival trip by the way.", Melissa politely wished.

"yeah sorry about the convo, Benedict could get a little bit too excited about his silly theories. We just want to take a closer look at these guys and see how they're like. I mean I heard there's one in Pennsylvania that acts like a superhero! Like Superman or something.", Charles so far has proven to be one of the more reasonable people amongst this crowd of conspiracy theorists along with Melissa who seems to be a reasonable person.

Steven is ...well Steven.

"we very much appreciate this meeting with all of you. You see like a humorous bunch, hopefully we see each other again.", Fjord surprisingly seemed rather ok with this whole silly ordeal.

"well it's been nice knowing you guys, hopefully we'll see each other around and I will bring back the camera footage. Just as long as you guys stay away from the camping areas around Pine Hills. Unfortunately, my boss James has told me that those areas will be prohibited for the summer due to some.... Extraneous and dangerous circumstances.", I give a polite not to all of them and I look to Benedict, "oh and Benny, please don't accuse people of being some random alien from outer space okay. Fjord's feeling were very hurt.", I jokingly reply.

Dude looks at me with a small look of confusion until he realizes what I am attempting to do, "Oh yes. Oh my poor wee and frail constitution, what would me own ma say if she had seen her own son so brutally hurt.", the hammy performance wasn't needed but I loved it.

Benedict however wasn't too pleased with being mocked. Especially by someone who's easily dwarfing him by a good foot and half. "hmmm indeed.... perhaps I had been insensitive. Good day to the both of you.", I swear if he had a fedora he would have tipped it.

The both of us get into the car, heading off to any outdoor activity store we could find.

I look to Fjord, who was slumped in his seat. "Fjord, are you ok? Look I wasn't expecting Ben to be so....stupid...I thought he was just dramatic.", I felt Benedict's comments were way out of line.

He was deep in though but he snapped out of it a little, "oh, don't worry lass. Nothing that fool said actually meant anything. In fact it was rather entertaining. But it's clear here on this planet, most mortal seem to be very unaware of what anything related to Xenos. But...there something I'm wondering.....HAVE you mortals come in contact with ...."dog-men"?", he chuckled a little thinking about it.

"ugh, no... honestly dog-men from space is genuinely something new to me. So...yeah....let's just say there's a lot of extremely bored people in the world....I'm sorry.", from what I've learned today, Fjord's world seems to have its own taboos and issues that I had no idea about.

His more stern look softened a little, "lass you have nothing to apologize for. Being part of the Vlka Fenryka, we tend to have some....remarks. Hmf, none of them bother me whatsoever. So....what shall we do with this?", he holds up the cameras the Benedict gave. "How 'bout we show him some real footage?", I could see he was giving that mischievous smile of his.

It was a contagious smile too, "I think....he would very much appreciate that actually.

End of Log 18 prt2

@kit-williams @barn-anon @egrets-not-regrets @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @walking-natural-disaster @starfrost740 @squishyowl @sleepyfan-blog @lawnchair86

[wilfywarfy]

Happy Anniversary~

"...hello?"

It all looks so… familiar. Like he's home, but he knows he's not. There's no banter coming from the commons. Or the sound of pots and pans clashing against each other. Not even the sound of walking on the upper levels.

It was quiet. Too quiet. This wasn't his home.

"Hello?" He calls out again. Where was everyone?

"William?"

Wilford turns around. Not because it was his name they'd called out, but because there was someone else.

A man in a white dress shirt and black pants comes up to him. He wasn't completely sober. He could tell by the way he stumbled. He himself had stumbled like that many times before.

"Hmm? Oh, it's not-"

"'ve been wondering where you were! Come on, we've been waiting for you!" The man holds out a hand for him.

Waiting… for him?

"Well, I suppose I can't keep the party waiting! Oh, by the way, it's Wilford. Not William." Wilford takes the man's hand, letting himself be led.

"Haha, yeah, whatever you say, Will! Now… where's that poker room… oh, right." It seemed the alcohol was getting to his guide as he took Wilford to the party.

What he's met with, well, it certainly is a party. There's 2 other people in the room, both looking equally, if not even more, intoxicated. Both seated at the poker table, with large glasses of wine.

Wait… wait a second…

"Abe?"

The man looks at Wilford, squinting to try and get his vision to realign. "William! Where'd you go? We'd been waiting forever!"

"Uhm, Wilford. I… I just got here. I don't know where I am." He says honestly. There was no point in lying.

"Haha! Aww man, you are hilarious! Maybe you should stop drinking, you're starting to go insane!"

Even Abe didn't believe him? He spent a whole 19 minute special making Abe believe him! That was NOT a small budget special either. "No, I'm being honest!"

"Hah, sure you are! Come on, go pick up your hand again! It's your turn!"

Abe gestures to an empty seat at the poker table. Set up with a rather nice looking pile of chips. A tempting glass of dark red wine. And a hand with his name written all over it. Maybe he could tolerate being called William… especially if it meant a bit of fun.

"Well, don't mind if I do~"

It takes time to get into the swing of things. After all, drunk humor is different from sober humor. But if there's one thing Wilford was good at, it was adapting! Before he knew it, he had the whole table bursting out in laughter with every quip he fired out. And it was much easier with every glass of wine he finished off.

"Haha, William, my friend! You truly are a comedian if there ever was one! Say, why don't you come work with me? You'd make a killing, you know!"

"Oh, Mark, I'm already there! I'm one of the biggest names in entertainment! At least… I think I am."

"Hah, alright, Mr. False Memory. Whatever you say!" The rest of the table laughs.

Mark… Mark… why'd that name sound so familiar?

"What the fuck!?"

Everyone's attention snaps to the door. A new player seems to have entered the party. And he didn't look too happy, considering how he held out his gun. It was a rather nice looking gun, if Wilford said so himself. A beautiful revolver. Why, he had one himself!

"William!" Damien said, breaking out into a fit of giggles. "There you are!"

"Yes, it's me… what is HE doing in MY seat?" William points the muzzle towards Wilford, who's unfazed.

"Well, that's William!" Damien says, as if it's the most casual thing in the world.

Both Wilford and William look at Damien, before looking back at each other.

"Well, let me explain-"

"You can explain once you're dead!" William unclicks the safety, and continues to point the gun towards Wilford

"Hey! Wait just a damn second! As someone who also has a rather dapper looking mustache, I don't want to get into a squabble with a fellow stache haver!"

Wilford holds his hands up, showing that he doesn't have anything. Though in doing such, shows that he has his revolver tucked away in his belt. 

"You do have a dapper mustache, I'll give you that." William slowly points the gun to the floor, though he's still defensive.

"Exactly! There's no need to fight, friend!"

"Wait a damn second…" Abe says, as if he'd just made a discovery. "William… isn't William?"

"I've been saying that, Abe. My name is Wilford."

"It's rather rude that you would confuse us, Abe. We look nothing alike." Both Wilford and William look at Abe, both placing a hand on their hip, as if to say 'We're nothing alike! Just look at us!'

Abe is still very confused. But he's also very drunk. "...okay."

"Anywho, that still doesn't explain why you're in MY seat, drinking MY drink, and mooching up to MY detective…friend." William clarifies.

"Well, look…" Wilford looks at the badges on the man's uniform. "Colonel! Look Colonel, I mean no harm by being here… I don't even know why I'm here if I'm being honest. But this party is so fun! I couldn't resist! By the way, Mark, lovely party throwing skills!"

"Thank you, William."

"Wilford. Anyway, I never meant to harm you. Or anyone here. I simply wished to play poker. So… if you'd like, you can have your seat back."

William stares at him. The amount of pink on Wilford was nauseating to all his senses.

He then looks at his hand, or rather, what Wilford had done with his hand. He had more chips than when he left.

"...haha!" William throws an arm around Wilford, pulling him into his side. Wilford is caught off guard, but adapts, and tosses an arm around the Colonel. "Boys, I think we have another player in our party!"

The boys laugh, and raise their glasses in celebration. 

"Say, Mark. How do you feel about setting up a new hand for our new friend here?" Damien asks the red robed man.

That smile was fake. Wilford could tell a fake smile from a mile away. Why, Mark, why-.

"Of course! BENJAMIN!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Get our new friend his own glass. And bring up a new keg, would you?"

"Yes, sir!"

Wilford doesn't remember laughing this much. The only time he wasn't laughing was when he was drinking, and even that was a task.

His own vision becomes blurry. Time starts to slow. And the slur of his voice grows thicker.

"Say, Wilford… how do you feel about games of chance, hmm?" A sultry voice asks. Who exactly it is, it's hard to tell.

"Well… I do love gambling!" He gestures to his large pile of poker chips. Which he'd gained by, admittedly, changing a few of his cards. What was the harm if they didn't know? "Why do you ask?"

"Well… I challenged William to a game of Russian Roulette. It's a false round, no danger. So… what do you say? Want to bet?"

"Hmm… nah, I'm alright. You two have fun though!" Wilford went back to counting his chips… or trying to, at least. It was so hard to count. He's pretty sure he hears an 'Alright… if you say so.' From over his shoulder.

It's not even a few moments later before he hears it.

BANG!

Wilfords eyes grow wide. And it's like all the alcohol is flushed from his body, leaving him cold sober. That wasn't the sound of a false round. No, that was a bullet. A real, authentic bullet. He knew the sound by heart. 

He drops all his chips and scrambles out of his chair, his feet guiding him to what had happened.

There's so much blood… so much blood… so much blood.

"Haha, Mark lost!" William says joyously, clapping as he laughs.

"What… what the hell?" Wilford says quietly, taking in the scene before him.

Fuck, there were bits of Marks head splattered on the floor. Small chunks of muscle, skull, and brain matter in places where they didn't belong. Blood was pouring from the hole in his head, like some kind of fucked up syrup.

"No…no… this, this isn't real…" Wilford says to himself.

"Heh, damn right it's not real. Come on, Mark, get up!" William kicks Marks body. There's no response.

The smell of rot starts to spread out. Open bodies smelled like death. He knew it from first hand experience.

"This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real…"

"Oh, come on, don't be such a sore loser, Mark! Get your ass up, spoil sport!" The Colonel kicks him again. No response. "Ugh, Damien, help!"

"What's wrong, Will?"

"Drama boy here won't get his ass up."

"...eh, probably just fell asleep."

No, he's not asleep. He's dead. Wilford has seen many dead bodies. Enough to know that Mark was dead. There was no false round… Mark was dead.

"Wilford… you alright?"

Wilford looks at Abe, concern written on the detective's face. Meanwhile, his own was covered with fear.

Pure fear.

"He's dead… he's dead…" Wilford keeps stepping back, til he comes in contact with the poker table. He grips onto it. Hard. His nails make indents in the fine wood.

"He's dead… he's dead…" Once his hands hurt enough, he uses them to cover his face. Blocking his view of everyone messing with the body of their friend.

He's dead. He's dead.

And then… it's quiet.

Wilford looks again… everyone is gone. Mark… Damien… Abe… they're all gone. Hell, the room is gone. Replaced with the loneliness of black. 

"Do you remember yet?"

"...what?"

"Do you remember what this place is, William?"

"...why did you bring me here?"

"For you to remember…"

A crack of lighting strikes too close for comfort, thunder not too far after. It makes Wilford jump in shock.

"For you to remember what you did to me."

In front of him, a body drops. As if waiting for him, right here, at the right time.

It's Marks body. The wound is still fresh. He wants to throw up.

"For you to remember what you did to them." 

"William!"

"William!"

"William!"

Voices surround him. Ones that feel so close, and yet, so far. Never front and center. They hadn't been front and center for a long time.

"For you to remember the mistakes you've made…"

"I… I didn't know…" he pleads with the voice.

"All of those horrible mistakes…"

"I didn't know it was loaded…"

"Everyone you've hurt… everyone you've betrayed… all the pain you've caused."

"Please, I'm sorry!" He begs.

"It's too late for sorry…"

Wilford looks at his hands. They're covered in red. Dripping red onto the supposed floor of this void. He tries to wipe them on his pants, but nothing comes off. Blood just keeps dripping off, never ending.

"Do you think sorry will fix everything you've done?"

He turns around to where he hears the voice, but is met with bodies. Piles, upon piles of bodies. A sick mountain range of his own creation. All mangled in ways that he's caused. Some so bad that he can't even recognize them. The smell of rot is unbearable. The sight is unbearable. He has to physically stop himself from spilling sick all over.

"Do you think sorry would bring them back?"

He turns again.

There's 2 gravestones… overcome with the consequences of time. Both adorned with blue and red flowers respectively.

Damien Whitacre. Celine Whitacre.

"Damien… Celine…" Tears form in his eyes just from the names alone. Oh, Celine…

"Do you think sorry would fix all the pain you've caused him?"

"Why can't I remember?"

"Get your ass down on the ground!"

"Am I crazy?"

"Abe…" oh, his detective… he never deserved all that trouble… he deserved rest. Peace.

"Do you think sorry would fix all the pain you've caused me?"

A cold hand rests on the back of Wilfords neck. All his memories hit him like a freight train. Everything. Everything he'd done.

"Mark… please…" tears spill down his cheeks. He can't look at him… he can't look at him again.

"No… that won't do… not after everything you've done…"

The cold hand vanishes. And he's alone again… in the loneliness of black.

"It's all your fault, William."

Wilford looks around. There's nothing. And yet, there's everything. It's too much. "Mark, please, it was an accident!"

"You hurt me, you hurt your friends, and you left her to die!"

"I didn't! I didn't leave her! I swear!"

"So many people… hurt. Because of you."

"I didn't mean to! I didn't know!"

Ear piercing screams are heard all around him. Victims of his crimes. Innocent people, dead. Coming back to haunt him for his actions.

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mark! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, William! And it hasn't cut it for a long time!"

"I didn't know!"

"William!"

"William!"

"Please, William!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You'll never be forgiven, William… no matter how much you try… you'll always be a murderer!"

"It was an accident! Please, believe me!"

"It's all your fault, William!"

"It's your fault!"

"It will always be your fault!"

"Murderer!"

"Please! Please, it was an accident! You have to believe me!" Wilford sobbed. Trying to plead to the voices of his friends. He wasn't a monster… it was an accident. A bad accident. He never meant to hurt them.

"It's all your fault!"

"Your fault!"

"Your fault!"

"It's all your fault, William!"

—

Wilford's eyes shoot open. His heart races in his chest. It's hard to breathe. The air feels like sludge, suffocating him. His face is wet from tears.

"It… it was an accident… I swear." He says to himself, in the dark of his room. The tears come again.

He's alone.

[geralt-of-baevia]

Begin Again

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Summary: When Penny starts working at AFC Richmond as their new head photographer, she catches the eye of a certain mustached, happy-go-lucky, head coach of the team. But can their spark endure through the season's pressures and the demons of their past?

Pairing: Ted Lasso x OFC (Penny Fletcher)

Word count: 2k

Warnings: None…yet! Just some fluffy fun.

A/N: So, this lady here is oBSESSED with Ted Lasso and this idea came to me (because I am also a photographer and I'm going to live vicariously through Penny 😝) and it's just snowballed into so many ideas and I love these characters. That's all. 💛

Beta: Thank you to @midnightswithdearkatytspb for proofreading this and helping motivate me to finish this! This story wouldn't happen without you!

Tag List: Let me know if you want to be tagged for updates!

Just breathe, just breathe. It’s just a job.

As I walked down the road to the pitch, I could feel my heart making its way up into my throat while my stomach twisted into devilish knots. I swallowed hard and figideted with straps on my camera bag, my stomach all the while knotting harder. 

“Just breathe, just breathe. It’s just a job,” I said to myself outloud this time. I had been telling myself this since last night when the Sunday Scaries began. With one more deep breath I walked into the parking lot, where I thankfully saw my uncle. Never had I been so happy to see him. 

“Uncle Leslie!” I yipped. He snapped around to me, a large grin growing on his round face at the sight of me. 

“Poppet! So glad you’re here! Come! Come!” He motioned me over, giving me a warm embrace once I made my way across the parking lot to him. I think he could sense my nerves by the way he held onto the hug a little longer than me. 

“Are you terribly nervous?” he asked, holding me by the shoulder with his free hand. I nodded. 

“You have no idea. This is my first like, truly professional gig. I mean, I’ve never shot anything on this level as a proper job. What if I fuck it up?” I asked, giving him an uncertain face. 

“Then we’ll fire you,” he told me nonchalantly. My eyes widened at his words and he frowned. 

“Oh poppet, I was just kidding,” he said, bringing me into another fatherly embrace, giving me a reassuring squeeze. “You’re going to do amazing. You are very good at what you do. That’s why Rebecca hired you.”

“It’s not just because you’re my uncle and you gave her my resume and portfolio yourself?” I asked, muffled into the lapel of his brown suit. He laughed, pulling me again to arm's length. 

“Honey, the fact that I’m your uncle has nothing to do with you getting this job. Alright, maybe a little,” he said, giving me a scrunched up face. I mimicked him, letting out a heavy over exaggerated sigh. 

“You are an incredibly talented photographer, that’s the reason I recommended you for this job. You’re going to smash this, poppet. Now, should I take you up to meet your new boss?” I nodded. 

After navigating the clubhouse, we made it to Ms. Welton’s office. I watched as my uncle rapped his knuckles on the door, and after half a moment a woman’s voice told us to come in. My uncle gave me a thumbs up and a reassuring smile before opening the door. 

“Good morning!” he said chipperly as we entered the office. I followed behind just slightly. 

Rebecca Welton was as gorgeous in person as she was in the photos I’d seen of her. She held a presence in the room that I coveted for. And god damn it if I didn’t want to photograph her, she was so striking. I decided to focus on that for the time being, instead of my nerves.

“Oh! Good morning, Higgins! Is that our new photographer behind you there?” she asked, standing from her seat behind a large, wooden desk. A big grin spread across her lipglossed lips. 

“Yes it is-”

“Knock, knock!”

I turned around to see the infamous mustached coach of Richmond walk into the room, a small pink box in his hands. His eyes got wide as they met mine, realizing he was interrupting something. 

“Oh I’m sorry, folks. I didn’t realize-”

“I’ll stop you right there, Ted. Higgins was just about to introduce me to his niece, and our new photographer, Samantha,” Rebecca told Ted as she made her way around the front of her desk, sitting on just the edge. 

“Well, hot diggity dog! You mean to tell me we’re going to have two Higginses working here? I didn’t think that was a possibility and now that it’s possible, I don’t want it any other way,” Ted rambled out. I giggled a little at his words, and he seemed to almost blush at my reaction.

“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you Ms. Welton,” I said, putting my hand out. I turned next to Coach Lasso, extending my hand to him. “And very nice to meet you Coach Lasso.”

“Oh we don’t need the formalities around here, just call me Ted. And speaking of formalities, do you go by Sam?” he started, and I had a hunch I knew where he was going with this. “Because if you do, we already have one Sam here and that will just get so gosh darn confusing. So, you have two other options.”

“Oh?” I asked, it coming out of my mouth before I could stop it. He smirked at me. 

“Man and Tha. I mean, they are the only other options with a name like Samantha,” he jested. 

“Well, lucky for all of you,” I said, also turning to address Ms. Welton, “I go by my middle name.” 

“Oh yes, I probably should have told you that, Rebecca,” Uncle Leslie said in a deadpan tone, his face suddenly realizing he did not let anyone know that information. 

“It’s okay Uncle Leslie. But I go by Penny-”

“LANE?!” The sheer volume and excitement that came out of Ted caused the other three of us in the room all to jump in tandem, Ms. Welton clutching her chest. I laughed, my heart still beating quickly in my chest. 

“Actually, it’s funny you say that because that is where my name comes from.”

“No it is not,” he blurted out, a big stupid grin plastered on his face. 

“It is! When I was born, my parents didn’t have a middle name picked out for me for ages, and my second day in hospital apparently I “smiled” for the first time when Penny Lane came on the radio. The nurses told my parents it was just gas, but they decided to look through rose colored glasses and think I smiled. So, Penelope became my middle name.” 

Ted looked at me with the largest grin plastered on his face, and out of the corner of my eye I could see my uncle and Ms. Welton giving each other a knowing look. 

“Yes yes, that’s a lovely story Penny, but I’m terribly sorry and I must kick you out now. I have a phone meeting starting in ten minutes and I’d like to get myself properly prepared,” Ms. Welton interjected, going back around her desk and sitting down in her chair. 

“Like a pot roast! MmmmMmm! Man oh man, I sure would love myself a properly prepared pot roast right about now. Like one of those ones that have the potatoes and carrots-”

“TED!” I jumped again as Ms. Welton broke Ted’s concentration. 

“Sorry, boss. I will just leave these here for you,” he said, walking over and setting the pink box down in front of her. She excitedly clapped her hands together before picking up the box and inhaling deeply, her face relaxing into a small smile.

“Thank you, Ted,” she said with a nod before turning her attention back to me, “Oh Penny, I will come find you later. I need to iron out some final details with you regarding a photoshoot.”

“That sounds excellent, Ms. Welton,” I said, giving her a big grin. She met my smile with  her own, melting away some of my nerves. 

“I’m very looking forward to you being here, Penny,” she said as the three of us exited her office and went into the hallway. 

“Would you like to come down and meet the team? I’d be happy to introduce you,” Ted offered. 

“That would be lovely. But I think my Uncle Leslie was going to give me a tour-”

“A tour that can wait!” my uncle interjected happily, “Go meet your new art subjects!” 

Ted and I looked at each other, holding each others gaze for a moment before he left out a happy sigh. 

“Well alright, then let’s get to it!” he said excitedly, nudging his head in the way we were supposed to go. 

“After you Coach,” I said, gesturing in the same way. As we made our way down the hallway, I mentally kicked myself. “I mean, Ted. Sorry.” 

“No no, that’s okay. You can call me Coach, Ted, T-Dawg, whatever you like. As long as it’s not wanker,” he jested with a short laugh. 

“Oh yes, wanker is indeed a good one. But I promise I won’t call you that. I think I’ve only ever called two men in my life wanker and really meant it. I don’t see you being my third, T-Dawg,” I said, giving him a coy smirk. He shook his head with another laugh. 

“Oh Penny, I think you’re going to be a grand addition to this team.”

“Addition to the team?” I asked, an eyebrow raising at him. 

“Well, yeah. Everyone here at Richmond is part of the team, you included,” he said, giving me a friendly wink. I felt my heart make its way to my throat, but this time I was leaning towards it not being from nerves. 

“Th-that’s very sweet, Ted,” I said, giving him another smile. 

I followed Ted into what I assumed to be the coaches office. Inside I recognized Coach Beard sitting at a desk and Roy Kent leaning against a metal filing cabinet. 

“Hey guys! This is-”

“Penny Fletcher. I looked at your social media, you’re a phenomenal photographer. Those photos you took at the World Cup?” Coach Beard nodded an approving nod. 

“Wait, you took photos at the World Cup?” Roy interjected gruffly before I could reply. 

I felt my cheeks flush red. 

“Oh, yeah I did. I entered a lottery for amateur photographers to get photo passes and work with a journalist from your country. I just happened to be one of the lucky three that won,” I explained. Coach Beard nodded again, looking down at his phone as he typed away at it. 

“You guys have to see the shots. They are far beyond superb in my opinion,” he said, holding his phone out to the room. 

Ted clapped his hands before rubbing his palms together in excitement. On the screen was one of my photos, a mid air action shot where the player was completely horizontal after head butting a goal. 

“Woo-wee! Show me the goods!”

Ted and Roy hurriedly moved up from their spots and got closer to Beard’s phone to have a look. 

I watched as Ted’s eyes lit up at the photo, pointing to the screen. 

“Is there a direction I can swipe on this to see potentially more incredible photos, Beard?” 

“To the left.” 

Ted began singing as he swiped through the photos. “To the left, to the left, everything you-”

“-own in the box to the left…” I quietly sang along with him. Apparently, it was louder than I had intended because Ted looked over at me from the phone and just grinned. 

My heart rose into my throat again. 

“So what kind of photos are you going to be taking of the team exactly? Just action shots like these?” Roy asked, taking his place back against the filing cabinet. 

“Well, I mean yes. But I’m also going to be doing all of your portraits and team photos as well.” 

“All of our portraits?” Roy implored, furrowing his already permanently furrowed brow. I couldn’t help but giggle at his face, quickly putting up a hand to cover it. 

“Oh god I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh,” I said, “but when you do that with your eyebrows you look like a proper Jim Henson Muppet.” 

Roy growled low in his throat, his expression not changing, Ted and Beard trying to stifle their giggles at my comment.

“And yes, all of your portraits. Well, I guess you could also call them headshots if you’d like. But something already tells me you guys are familiar with a different kind of headshot,” I jested, awkwardly pointing fingers into the room. I immediately mentally kicked myself. 

“Penny?” Beard asked, getting my attention. 

“Yeah?” 

“I think you’re going to fit in here great.” 

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 4 - Old Friend (Part 1)

this chapter broke into my house and robbed me. this chapter punched me in my stomach and proceeded to kick me as i was down

anyways we meet Seiya's brother Gaku. Gaku seems to be a gnc person but is still referred to as Seiya's brother so i will be using he/him pronouns for him

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1-18. The explanations of the puns were so long that i decided to make a separate post for them. tbh you can just skip the puns and go all the way to the end of this section

Previous | Next

It was a certain day off.

The five boys of the Kazemai High School kyudo club gathered at Minato’s house. It was a study session to prepare for a regular exam, and since Minato’s father wasn’t at home because of work, they occupied the living room.

Seiya smiled.

“Ryouhei, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I can help you with most of the liberal arts subjects.”

“Woo! I’m so glad that I have you, who’s at the top of our class, as my childhood friend.”

“I’m happy to be helpful to everyone.”

Nanao, hearing that, waved his mechanical pencil with a frog on it. There was also a pencil case with frogs in traditional Japanese design on the table.

“As expected of President Mustache. You really give off the composure of someone worthy of a mustache. Maybe I should have chosen science classes too, though it’s a bit late for that now.”

“Apparently, nowadays there are some universities where they don’t divide the courses into the sciences and liberal arts, but allow students to take both.”

“This is what they call the age of diversity. Our future is shining brightly. Exciting, sparkling!” Ryouhei also chimed in.

“Sparkling! This humble one is also excited!”

Next to them, Kaito put down his pen.

“You two! Those Yotubers’ ways of talking are rubbing off on you. Nanao, stop playing with frogs and focus on your problem set.”

“Yeah, yeah, Kacchan. Follow your own path.”

After checking on everyone, Minato went to the kitchen. He returned to the living room with a drink in hand.

Minato’s cup was purchased on the return trip from last year’s regional tournament, and it had the illustration of a dormouse on it. In his left hand, he held the dormouse mascot that Masa-san gave him. The dormouse was a small mouse that was a natural monument and also called the spirit of the forest and the guardian deity of the mountains. Masa-san gave him, who was suffering from target panic, the dormouse mascot in place of a talisman, but Minato had no way of knowing the prayer it contained.

When the five’s cups were emptied, the intercom sounded. When Minato looked through the camera, he saw a young woman standing there. “Hello?” he answered.

“Mii-chan, it’s me. It’s been a while.”

“Oh! I’m opening the door now.”

When Minato opened the door, the woman suddenly hugged him.

She was in her twenties. She was gorgeous and bewitching, but also cute—she was a superb beauty who made one feel that gap. She was dressed in a stylish outfit, and her straggling hairs fell gently.

The beautiful woman exclaimed in joy.

“Mii-chan, you smell as good as ever! Is it rosemary? It’s different from a vegetarian’s scent. The fact that you smell like this and don’t use antiperspirants or perfume is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Can’t you do something about that quirk of yours?”

“I feel so refreshed when I smell your scent, Mii-chan. ‘Mina-huffing’ is way better than cat huffing!”

Minato grimaced, looking fed up. Since he knew that the other person only looked slender in clothing and was actually a Jeet Kune Do master, Minato didn’t disobey her and stayed still. It was a martial art where the opponent was defeated within six seconds. He wouldn’t be able to stand a chance if he was hit in a vital spot.

“I’m studying right now.”

“Oh, that’s right. I came here for something else. Let me just come in for a minute.”

The woman left Minato and went into the living room without hesitation. She opened the door with a bang.

“Who’s that?” Just when Kaito muttered in his mind, Seiya shouted, “Onii-chan!”

Kaito let out a splutter.

Rather than the fact that the person who he thought was a woman was actually Seiya’s brother, he was more shocked by the fact that Seiya calling him “Onii-chan.” Seiya’s brother completely ignored the dumbfounded Kazemai High School kyudo club members and made a beeline for Seiya.

“Seiya, you completely ignored your phone even when I called you. I came back home after all this time, so keep me company for a little bit at least.”

“Why are you coming in all the way here, Onii-chan? You’re as restless as ever.”

“Can’t you be a little more affectionate towards your beloved brother? Something like, it’s been so long, I missed you, Nii-san!”

Seiya made no comment. His eyes were glassy.

“Ugh, you’re such a prickly kid. Everyone, sorry for interrupting your studying. Nice to meet you, I’m Seiya’s older brother, Takehaya Gaku. I do the branding for ‘Hanayoi,’ which promotes Japanese style merchandise. You over there, that frog pencil was also one of the things I had a hand in.”

“Whoa!” Nanao said. “I know Hanayoi. You did a collab with Yumihiki Douji recently.”

“You watched it? I’m so happy to hear that.”

Gaku sat down in front of the table.

“I’d feel bad about staying here for too long, so I’ll just tell you why I’m here. Everyone here should also listen. I chose the path I liked, so Dad wants Seiya to inherit the hospital. He says he wants Seiya to start preparing for that soon.”

“You’re talking about that again? And this isn’t something you talk about in front of everyone, you know? Onii-chan, you do what you want, and yet you expect to me to obey you.”

“Mom and Dad always respect our wishes. But in their hearts, they think that you’re suited to becoming a doctor. This is the countryside, so doctors are absolutely needed. They want you to contribute your service to the community. They won’t back down until you say yes.”

“There’s no point in using martial arts on me. I know your weak spots. It’ll be no trouble for me to defeat you.”

“Ugh, Seiya, how invincible are you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I plan on staying here for two or three days longer anyway.”

Gaku stood up, then stared at Nanao, who had been listening with his chin in his hands.

“…Magnificent. You’ve caught my eye since the moment I entered this room, but you’re so beautiful. How would you like to become our new brand image character?”

Gaku’s eyes roamed over Nanao’s figure, then he raised his hand and inhaled the scent deeply. Gaku’s sense of smell was unusually developed, and he was an eccentric who judged people based on their body odor. It was said that only one in five people could sniff out asparagus smell, which was the smell of urine after eating asparagus. He was one of them, and he was also a perfumer.

“Mm, mm, what a pleasant scent. It’s sweet, heartrending, and strong—. You fit the image perfectly. You’re the very picture of the crowned Frog Prince.”

“Hold on a minute, I can’t see what you’re talking about.”

“There is no one better suited for this role than you. This is a big project that will be expanded overseas. Don’t you think it’s a great opportunity?”

“No, no, no, the more skillfully someone speaks, the more I’m on guard.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Please give me a reply in three days.”

After only saying what he wanted to say, Gaku left. In the calm after the storm, the five boys remained silent.

Ryouhei moved to break the silence.

“I was so surprised to see Seiya’s brother. He got even prettier than I remember. What will happen if Nanao takes on that job?”

“I’ll be okay, but it might be tough for Nanao to balance his thing with kyudo,” Seiya said.

“Huh!? Can’t you wait for a moment? Then I’m against it. You agree with me, right, Minato?”

“…I will respect the two’s wishes.”

“Huuuh!? Kaito-kun, you of course are also against it, right?”

“I dunno. It’s up to Seiya and Nanao.”

“What? Why aren’t you stopping them? Don’t you all want to stand on the same stage together again? We can only be high school second-years once! Well, you can be held back a year, though!”

Seiya opened the reference book on the table.

“Sorry, guys. My brother’s always like that. He throws everyone around him into confusion and immediately leaves. Nanao, you should think about it carefully before responding to him.”

With complicated feelings, the five boys faced the table again.

After the study session finished and everyone left, Nanao went to Kaito’s house.

He took two teacups in the kitchen and poured black tea, milk, and sugar into them. His brain needed sugar to work. He put the cups on a tray and went to Kaito’s room on the second floor.

“Hi, Kacchan. Today, I’m specially making this tea for you. Be thankful.”

“Yeah, yeah, Frog Prince.”

Nanao put the teacup on his desk and sat down on the bed. He flicked the frog-shaped clock by his side with his finger. The second hand was moving as usual.

“Kacchan, what do you really think about what Gaku-san talked about earlier?”

“I already said that I don’t know.”

“You didn’t put a stop to it this time.”

“Hah? Did something like that happen? If I say anything, your judgment might be affected, so I kept quiet.”

“You could have at least given your cousin some advice. What a useless man.”

“Shut up. Neither you or Seiya are little kids anymore. It’s the truth that by the summer vacation of your second year in high school, you have to decide on your career path to some extent.”

“That’s so early. I feel I only just entered high school.”

Seiya was also faced with the dilemma of choosing his career. Kaito was probably feeling nervous on the inside. Even Minato should be wondering whether he should encourage or discourage him.

Kaito got his phone out and started playing a game. Lately, he had been absorbed in a city building game. He had built a kyudojo, a library, and a concert venue just for Japanese rock. Once, he had cried tears of gratitude when the avatars of the bands he liked in the real world performed there.

Lucy the cat rubbed against Kaito’s back and showed her belly. Kaito petted Lucy without looking away from his game, and Lucy kicked him as though to tell him to look at her.

Nanao remembered when he and Kaito visited Tokyo together in middle school.

Kaito had let out a big yawn.

“Ah, this is such a pain. I only care about kyudojos and kyudo stores. Are there any nearby?”

“Don’t say that, Kacchan. Let’s take the classic course first.”

He stuffed his mouth with crepes and peered into a store where everyone was lined up. At the storefront where accessories were arranged next to each other, he could see a man giving out rings as a gift.

It was fun to walk around the city. The place where they lived was surrounded by mountains, but this place was full of man-made object and people. It was a stimulating and lively space.

A little further away, there was a man running through the crowd.

“Why is that guy running?”

“Who knows, maybe he forgot something.”

As they were talking, the man quickly approached them and handed him his business card. The name of an agency was printed on the front, and the names of the talents affiliated with the agency were printed on the back.

Talent scouts really did exist. He thought it was an urban legend.

Kaito’s eyes flashed in their usual way. From his point of view, the person approaching Nanao was nothing but a suspicious person who deserved to be guarded against.

“Sorry, we’re in a hurry,” they declined and started walking away.

As they continued on their way, eating snacks, someone called out to them again. Nanao didn’t know if it was a scout or someone trying to pick him up, but he completely ignored them. However, some people were persistent and would stubbornly keep talking to him. Thanks to that, they walked faster and faster.

“Hey, hey, you over there. You’re a shining diamond in the rough. Could please just listen to what I have to say?”

“If you put it like that, I might be a little interested.”

“Tell the kid next to you to consider it too. I really think he’s got what it takes. Getting famous with videos is fine and all, but I recommend that you join an agency that can manage you properly.”

“No, thank you,” Kaito answered.

“Why don’t you join with him, then? I think a combination of two different types is also a good idea.”

“…”

“You might have to pay for the lessons, but we also have plans that are better than other agencies.”

“Shut up! This guy won’t leave our hometown!” Kaito shouted and grabbed Nanao’s hand, then started running.

Masquerade.

This was a city where you could meet a different version of yourself.

A doll-like girl spinning on a music box and a man holding a fake sword studded with sequins. Were the woodwind instruments being played foreign? Many boats floated on the meandering river, and the two went against the current. Was this really reality? His feet felt unsteady.

“Let’s leave this place quickly. There’s too many people and we’ll keep getting bothered.”

“You’re right.”

The sounds of people bustling about was comfortable.

Kacchan said that there were too many people here, but everyone was nose-deep in their phones and no one’s looking around. No one’s paying attention to us. No one knows who we are.

I will protect Kacchan. In this city, he’s the only who knows me, and I’m the only one who knows him.

I will never forget Kacchan gripping my hand.

It seems like he forgot about it, though.

That’s fine. This is a memory that only I remember.

“Kacchan, I wanna eat chips. Go and buy some.”

“What, go buy it yourself. I think we have some downstairs.”

“Can I eat them?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

When Nanao got up, Lucy let out a small meow.

After the study session, Seiya and Minato watched Ryouhei leave until they could no longer see him.

“Minato, I’m going to go shampoo Kuma. Wanna come?” Seiya said.

“Of course!”

Minato went to Seiya’s house. He rolled up his sleeves, took off his socks, and Kuma, who realized what was going to happen, ran around excitedly. When Kuma was still a puppy, just getting him to soak his paws in the bathtub full of hot water was a difficult task, but now it was one of his favorite times. They wetted his fur in the shower and lathered up the dog shampoo.

“Kuma, doesn’t that feel good? Do you feel itchy anywhere?”

Kuma tilted his head left as though to say, “Here,” so they focused on that area. As they were rinsing off the later with the shower, Kuma shook his whole body.

“Kuma, don’t shake!”

“Kuma seems to be in high spirits,” Seiya said.

While they were shampooing Kuma, they saw a gecko on the windowpane of the bath. It had a light pink belly and the base of its tail was heart-shaped. The edges of its five tiny fingers were transparent and beautiful. It didn’t so much as twitch even when Minato touched it through the glass. He once saw one in his own house, and he had captured it and let it go outside. The gecko was still clinging to the window even after they finished shampooing Kuma.

Seiya’s brows lowered when he saw Kuma leaning against Minato as he wiped his wet body.

 “Kuma, you sure are making a nice face. Even though I’m your master.”

“Kuma likes people.”

The two and Kuma went out for a walk. As they walked toward the red sun, the indigo sunset approached from behind. The first star of the evening shined in the evening sky, and it matched the speed of the two boys and dog. When they stopped, the star also stopped. The large yellow moon shined on the horizon.

On the roadside, bees gathered by the fleabanes, and butterflies gathered by the milk thistles. A loud chorus of frogs could be heard from the rice fields that had just been filled with water. There were also baby praying mantises in the purple thistles, shortawn foxtails, and ixeris flowers. Though their bodies were only one centimeter long, they were vibrating them like adults. They seemed to be imitating the appearance of swaying leaves, but it was said that only two percent of two hundred eggs could grow into adults. Minato sent thoughts of encouragement for everyone to survive safely.

Minato patted Kuma on the head.

“It seems that there is a family of wild rabbits living in Shuu’s garden. At first, when we saw each other, they would run away like rabbits do, but lately, they are the ones who have been approaching me.”

“With that house, I’m not surprised about anything that lives there.”

“To tell you the truth, I once asked your dad a question. I asked him, aren’t you worried about Seiya quitting Kirisaki? Is there anything I can do?”

“…No way, really?”

“He told me, ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Worrying would mean that I don’t believe in Seiya’s strength. Both Seiya and his brother are people who don’t see hardships as hardships and can blaze a trail forward.’”

“Dad said something like that? I didn’t know.”

“You have a great dad. He’s really cool.”

“Yeah, he is, thanks. My brother’s a weirdo, though.”

“Kuma’s cute too.”

“My brother isn’t cute, and I don’t listen to what he says.”

“Brothers, huh. I’m a bit jealous.”

Minato looked up at the sky. The full moon was changing from yellow to silver.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“…Yeah, it really is. Minato, do you know the anecdote about Soseki Natsume?”

“The one where he had a habit of pulling out his nose hairs when he got writer’s block and line them up on his manuscript paper?”

“That’s what came to your mind? It’s the one where he said that when Japanese people convey their love, they don’t say ‘I love you,’ but use another way to express it.”

“Sorry, I don’t know that one.”

“You and Kaito really don’t waver, huh.”

“What will Nanao do? Kaito was clearly shaken.”

“The two of them are probably discussing things right now. It might be something that’s hard to talk about in front of us.”

“You’re right. Oh, I saw two dormice in that tree hollow ahead. You wanna go see them?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two boys and dog went to the woods. When they went into the woods, Kuma took the vanguard position, probably with the determination to protect his masters.

When the wind shook the leaves, white-tailed skimmers spread their wings.

The wind blew through the blue yamichi of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

After the prefectural tournament qualifiers, the club members headed toward the targets as they pleased. Not thinking about unnecessary things and simply releasing arrows with all your strength was also a pleasant feeling. They surrendered themselves and rode the updraft.

When they generally finished shooting their arrows, the signal to gather was given.

“Today, we’ll be having a special class today. Let’s warm up before inviting our speaker. First question, what day is September tenth?”

Ryouhei immediately raised his hand.

“It’s Kyudo Day!”

“Correct. Now, the second question. Does anyone what day is August tenth, a month before that?”

“Yep, yep, it’s Masa-san’s birthday!”

Kaito turned to Minato and grinned triumphantly. Masa-san smiled in embarrassment.

Tommy-sensei continued. “Third question. What day is September first?”

“The questions suddenly got harder. Seiya, do you know?” Minato said.

“Hmm, is it famous?”

“Oh? Takehaya-kun not knowing something is surprising. Let’s get into the main topic. Self-possession is necessary for kyudo. Learn the best techniques to stay calm in any situation. That’s right, it’s all about words, it’s about how you perceive events positively through words. Here comes the specialists. Come on, everybody!”

The ones who appeared at Tommy-sensei’s signal were two elderly men. Question marks popped up over everyone’s heads.

“These two are acquaintances of mine. They are alumni of the ‘Kazemai High School Bad Puns Association.’”

Seiya’s glasses flashed. Kaito had a bad feeling.

The class began.

“Bad puns are things that have ‘creativity and impact,’ and enriches communication between people. We take advantage of the infinite ‘attraction’ of puns, and our wish that bad puns will bring color and richness to life and delivers salvation to the world is embedded in September first.”*

“…I can already sense that this is going to be a disaster.”

Kaito was in agony, but Seiya straightened up even more and listened attentively.

“A barrage of dad jokes that follow up on each other. This is indeed ‘jab-jab’ humor, Kacchan.”*

“Na-na-o, not you too!”

As the cousins’ comedy routine unfolded, practical training began. First, they were asked to tell the bad puns they already knew.

Keyaki went first. “The principal’s in good form!”*

Kanbayashi went second. “The dog’s so nervous that it’s wetting itself.”*

Himuro went third. “Suki kuu mushi mo tadetade.”*

Everyone’s eyes widened at the fact that Himuro spoke, but only Seiya sighed by himself.

“It’s no good, first-years. You can’t just say such excellent bad puns.”

Keyaki shrank back.

“What exactly is an excellent bad pun…? It’s too difficult for amateurs. I feel like successfully pulling off a bad pun is more difficult than the path of the bow for me.”

“First, we must learn the classics. I’ll give you some examples. ‘6:30 is the best time on a clock, hands down.’ ‘Thanks for being so grape!’ ‘Camping: like many of the best things in life, it’s tree.’”*

The two teachers applauded.

“Wonderful! As expected of the club president, you have a very good understanding of this. Oh, you over there, you say a pun too.”

“Me too?” Masa-san said.

“Of course. To us, you’re also a Kazemai kid, Coach Takigawa.”

“Then if I may be so presumptuous, I will contribute one pun. ‘My back is kaino at kai.’”*

Seiya inadvertently laughed, but then made his face serious in an effort to hide that he laughed.

“Recreation is a form of communication and relaxation that’s also used in free schools, and it is also a way to train people to think in a way that softens their stiffened heads. Now, we pros will show you how it’s done.”

“What kind of sport is kyudo? The kind of sport that makes your chest squeeze tightly and impresses the people around.” “If you draw a bow in Yamagata, your arrows will bend.” “Ah, I hit the inside of the curtain.” “Hakama wa hakanma.” “What are yuu going to the kyudojo for?” “I get angry when I don’t do the uchiokoshi well.” “When I do uchiokoshi, you go to the front.” “Let’s have a third party look at our daisan.” “Ya o hanatsu to yugaeru kero.” “Zan, shin!!”*

Kaito quickly stood up.

“They’re cold, they’re too cold! Are we in Siberia or Alaska or something!?”

Unable to endure it any longer, he left.

Tommy-sensei chuckled. “���Good reaction, Onogi-kun.”

Before they went home, they received a large amount of broad beans from the teachers, who had grown them in their home gardens.

“Hey, hey, what are you going to do about Seiya’s brother, Gaku-san’s offer?” Ryouhei asked Nanao.

“Oh, I think I’m going to turn him down on that day.”

Kaito’s face relaxed.

“You’re giving your answer too early. You might regret it later that you should have accepted it.”

“I won’t regret it, and even if I do in the future, so be it. I’ll consider it again at that time. The current me has decided not to do it. My dream has already been fulfilled. I wanted to become a normal high school student.”

“A normal high school student?”

“Don’t you think it’s amazing? Frogs and birds risk their lives to get food every day, but we normally eat our lunches in our classrooms, normally make side trips on our way home from school, and normally groan about bad test scores.”

“Is Nanao really a high school boy? You have a pretty philosophical view of things,” Seiya murmured.*

The second-year girl, Hanazawa, writhed in agony. “Takehaya-kun, don’t just smoothly insert an old man joke here.”

“The only old man we need is Takigawa=san,” Shiragiku said.

“Putting aside the fact that our club has a high concentration of old men, I don’t know how a guy with a fan club could be called normal,” Seo continued.

“That isn’t something I wanted, but I’ll properly fulfill the role given to me. I don’t want to disappoint the girls who love me.”

“Wow, you’re like a real prince.”

When Ryouhei looked at him with eyes full of respect, Nanao gently lowered his eyes. If the fan club girls were here, they might have fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes, a strong gaze appeared there.

“I want to become a carpenter. I want to start with design. Kacchan, let me build your house.”

Kaito’s eyes widened.

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.”

“Of course it is. Because it’s the first time I told someone. Before I came here, I asked the teacher to let me switch from the humanities to the sciences.”

“That was fast! I didn’t know you could change it.”

“First, I want to build a round wooden frog house in a green forest. The eyes will be the windows, where you can see the starry sky through them at night. The Summer Triangle of summer and Orion of winter. It’ll be amazing to gaze at them while lying down on the floor with everyone. Right now, I’m researching the costs.”

“You’re really moving too fast. Where are us students gonna get that money from?”

“It’s not about whether you can or can’t do it, it’s about envisioning it first. I don’t think it’s that difficult.”

The first-years applauded.

“As expected of Kisaragi-senpai’s super positive thinking. He has a dream!” Kanbayashi said.

“I will try thinking about what I really want to do,” Keyaki said.

“I want to continue doing kyudo even after I graduate. Have you decided on what you’re going to do, Narumiya-senpai? Are you going to go to a university with a strong kyudo club?”

Minato looked indifferent.

“All I thought was that I should probably go to university. On the career preference questionnaire, I thought about my family finances and wrote down the names of several universities I was interested in, including a local public university, a department where I could study Japanese culture, a university with a Shinto course, and an agriculture department.”

Seiya pinched the corner of his eyes. “Our teacher is probably very confused, thinking that Narumiya-kun is supposed to be in the sciences.”

“I’m interested in what Shinto priests do, but I don’t know if I want to do it as a job… To be honest, I’m at a loss.”

Tommy-sensei, who had been silently listening to them, laughed out loud. Masa-san was also next to him.

“Ah, the worries of vibrant youth. Try talking to yourself, not others. It might be a good idea to try drawing a mandala chart. By the way, the goals I set when I was fifty were to walk eight-thousand steps every day, learn the names of flowers and plants, and take pictures of clouds. Please look at my work.”

Tommy-sensei showed them pictures of clouds in the shape of soft-served ice cream, candy, and dried squid. He told them that they weren’t edited images, but actually floating in the sky.

Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“What’s that, it looks tasty!”

“Ho ho, there’s Pucky here too. And even a Koala’s Dash.”*

“Whoa, I wanna try searching too! Nee-chan, Shuu-kun, and Sae-chan would definitely love it if I show this to them.”

It seemed that Tommy-sensei taught them a simple game once again. Minato thought that the people who could laugh at bad puns and were curious no matter how old they were might be the masters of life.

When Seiya returned home, he told his parents this.

“I’m going to be a doctor. But right now, kyudo is my top priority, so I might become a ronin.* Mom, Dad, will you still support me?”

“Yes, of course we will.”

“Do your best, Seiya-kun.”

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