#and apparently our place specifically is at the bottom of the list for the guy our landlord hired to plow

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

oh wonderful, apparently a pipe burst in one of the other units because another tenant didn’t pay their electrical bill and left a window open, so the water to the whole building is off for an hour or two while somebody deals with that

and after getting a massive* amount of snow last week that closed schools for three days, and another massive amount of snow Sunday night that closed schools and some businesses again, apparently there’s a good chance we’re going to get yet another massive amount of snow tomorrow night!! only this time it might even involve some rain to make everything worse!!

*by which I mean over a foot, because Alaska doesn’t fuck around

[lucy90712]

I need a girl, who is lando norris' ex, getting involved with João after the Lando+Magui rumors.Where at first they did it to affect their exes, but then it becomes true!

Out of all the things I wanted to do fresh off a break up going to a party is near the bottom of the list but my friends insisted. They dragged me out of bed and got me in a cute outfit before dragging me out my apartment and to a taxi which was already outside. The party was in a big house and had lots of people who looked like they thought very highly of themselves. It really didn't feel like the type of place I wanted to be but my friends must've dragged me here for a reason and I trust them. Within minutes of arriving I had a drink in my hand and I was being led over to this group of guys who one of my friends seemed to know as they all greeted her warmly. She introduced the rest of us to them all until she got to the last guy which is when she pulled me forward and introduced us specifically. 

"Joao this is y/n, y/n this is Joao both your exes are assholes now you can talk about it" she said nudging me in his direction

"Hey I'm sorry about her she's a bit forward sometimes" I apologised 

"It's ok what she said about my ex is certainly true so I can't be mad" he said 

"You don't have to tell me but if you want to feel free to rant about what your ex did from experience it definitely makes you feel better" he said 

"He did so many things but we broke up less than two weeks ago and he's already been seen with a new girl and now I'm sure he was cheating on me with her as it's just too soon to have met someone and moved on" I ranted 

"That's awful my ex cheated too three times to be exact now I wonder why I went back to her every time" he said 

"Right I feel like such an idiot he'd do things he knew I didn't like and then he'd apologise and I'd just forgive him I must've been wearing rose tinted glasses not to see all the red flags" I said 

"You're ex sounds just like mine" he laughed 

"They'd get along well then" I joked 

We talked more about all the things our exes had done to us including the lying, the cheating and the endless manipulation. It felt good to have someone to rant with about how awful it feels to be in a relationship like that. Joao talked about how his ex was trying her best to be spiteful and be seen with someone who's also well known as apparently he plays football. I told him about how my ex probably wasn't being spiteful on purpose but that doesn't make it hurt any less to see him with another girl who's definitely prettier than I am so soon after our breakup. 

"If you don't mind me asking who is your ex your friend mentioned him before and said he made far too much money doing not a lot" he said 

"That sounds like something she'd say but no I don't mind saying I was with Lando Norris" I said 

"Wait Lando Norris" he said sounding concerned 

"Yeah why?" I asked a little worried now 

"He's the guy my ex is trying to be seen with all the time" he said 

"Wait Magui is your ex?" I asked 

"Yeah and I hate to be the person to tell you this but she's been hanging out with Lando for months I can't say if they've been more than friends but they've known each other a long time" he said 

"Well that's good to know who knew we'd have so much in common" I said trying to make light of the situation 

Joao was so sweet he apologised that his ex had ruined my relationship even though it's not his fault at all. We both talked about how much all the rumours and pictures of Lando and Magui have hurt us as no one else in our lives understands exactly what we're going through so to talk to someone who knows exactly how you feel somehow makes you feel better. 

Eventually our conversation drifted from our exes and we just got to know each other. Joao talked about football and how he's moved all over the place the last few years and I talked about how I've been trying to keep up with school while travelling the world following Lando at his request before settling in London. Despite being from different backgrounds we really did have a lot in common we shared a lot of similar interests and have a lot of similar life experiences. After we'd been talking for a while I understood why my friends insisted I come out tonight they knew Joao would be here and that we'd get along well. To start with I resented them for dragging me out my pity party but now I really appreciate it as I think I've got a new friend for life. 

I spent the entire night with Joao talking, laughing and drinking. it was the most fun I've had in a long time and that includes when I was with Lando. He really made me forget about everything which was exactly what I needed even if I didn't want to hear it before I got here. At the end of the night Joao offered to drop me home he hadn't been drinking alcohol as he had a game in a couple of days so I accepted and together we walked to his car. He drove me right to the door of my apartment building and got out to open my door for me but before he let me leave he asked for my phone number so we can stay in contact and I didn't hesitate to give it to him as I had fun tonight and I'd like to do that again. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up quite late this morning as I didn't get to sleep until just after 3am but when I did my phone was flooded with texts and notifications from pretty much every social media I have. As it turns out someone posted a picture from last night and in the background you can see me and Joao talking to each other clear as day. Of course the picture is now everywhere as football and f1 gossip accounts are talking about it and making rumours out of nothing. Everyone wants to know what Lando and Magui will think and if we were just trying to get back at them which wasn't the aim but I can't lie I would quite like if it were to bother Lando that I'm with a new guy. 

Joao had also text me making sure I was ok and saying if I wanted him to say something he would do which just proves that he's a much nicer guy than Lando as he'd never do anything like that. After I told him I didn't care he told me to tell him if it all gets too much and he'll put a stop to it but nothing will compare to the hate I got when people realised I'd taken their precious Lando Norris off the market. After last night I feel so comfortable with Joao that I decided to admit that it actually felt good to get some revenge on Lando and give him a taste of his own medicine. I was a little worried he would think I'm insane but he actually agreed with me after what we've both put up with making our exes look stupid feels good. He then asked me if I'd like to do that again like go somewhere and if we get seen together then so be it and I agreed straight away. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Last week Joao and I went out for coffee just to talk seeing as we got along so well and we just happened to be seen by fans and paparazzi which only fuelled the rumours that existed before. Earlier this week we went out to dinner together which I really enjoyed this time it wasn't our aim to be seen together we just wanted to get dinner together but someone still took a picture of us. I've looked at this picture everyday since because it's different to the other ones the smile on my face while Joao is talking is so genuine like I'm truly happy. I haven't been truly happy in ages but Joao makes me happy and thats had my head spinning with so many thoughts. 

All of this hasn't been helped by the fact that I've seen Joao every day this week after we went out for dinner Joao invited me over to his place to watch a movie together after that we've swapped who's place we spend the evening at. We've cooked together, watched movies, had game nights it's been the best week I've loved it so much. Spending so much time together without anyone else around has made me realise that I actually really like Joao. Whenever he texts me that he's on his way to mine or greets me at the door of his place I get this strange feeling in my stomach I suppose it's like butterflies but it's just the excitement of getting to see him. I've slowly started to realise that maybe I like Joao as more than a friend I've never looked forward to seeing a friend as much as I look forward to seeing Joao every evening and the way my heart rate increases when he gets anywhere near me is just like it was when I first met Lando. That should've been the first give away but I guess I didn't think I was ready to move on so I didn't let myself feel those feelings for Joao but there is never a right time to move on so why hold back. 

Having those feelings again is a little scary especially as I've just come out of a relationship that I didn't realise was so toxic and bad for me until now. There is also the fear that Joao may not feel the same it's clear that Magui has really messed him up which I totally understand but what if he's not ready to get into a new relationship or feel those feelings for someone else. That part of it does worry me as I don't want to make a move unless I know he feels the same as having him in my life even as just a friend has helped me so much. I don't want to lose the bond we've formed over the last few weeks just because I think I have feelings for him that would be stupid but I really do think I see Joao as more than a friend and part of me wants to risk it all to see if he feels the same.

Tonight he invited me over to his place to just relax as he has a match tomorrow but he still wanted to see me as he won't be back until late after his match so we won't see each other tomorrow. He told me to bring a board game with me as I have a collection of them and he's determined to try them all as most of them he's never heard of. So far he's beaten me at every game we've played so I tried to find a game I'm good at and can maybe win but I'll be honest he's just too good at everything so once he knows the rules he's going to crush me. I didn't really mind though as he never goes overboard when he wins like Lando would and I know he wouldn't get mad if he did lose. 

When I arrived at Joao's place he was waiting for me at the door and he took the board game boxes from me. Once he put them down he gave me a hug which is always so comforting just being in his arms makes me feel safe. We sat and talked about our days for a while before Joao suggested we make some food so we went to see what he had to make which wasn't a lot as he hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while. In the end we decided that pasta was easy enough and he had some vegetables to make a salad. I was in charge of the pasta while Joao made the salad which he cut everything for and then he needed the dressing which was in a cupboard next to me. While he reached for it he put his hand on the bottom of my back so I didn't step back into him which was meant as a harmless gesture but it sent a shiver down my spine and had me blushing like crazy. It took me the rest of the time we spent cooking for me to recover from that but luckily I don't think Joao noticed or if he did hopefully he didn't think it was because of him. 

After dinner we played the board games I brought which Joao beat me at most of the time but I did beat him once which felt good although he might've been letting me win. Then we kind of just sat in silence but it wasn't uncomfortable at all there was no need for one of us to say something and break the silence we could sit like that for hours and there be no need for one of us to do something to shake off the awkwardness. As time went by we naturally drifted close to each other until our shoulders were touching and then Joao took me by surprise as his arm gently slid around my waist as he looked into my eyes probably checking to see if there was any signs that I wanted him to back off. A smile crept onto both our faces as the tension we didn't even know was there seemed to be released when we let ourselves go beyond the barriers of just friends. 

"I know we haven't known each other for long but this just feels right having you by my side every night I've never been happier spending every night cooking dinner and watching movies I don't feel the need to be or go anywhere else" Joao admitted 

"I feel the exact same I was always looking for something more than just Lando's company but with you I don't need anything else I could spend hours just sitting here talking or simply doing nothing" I said 

"I'm so glad that you feel the same I've been worried about ruining things but then I thought if things were really meant to be then you'd feel the same way and clearly I made the right decision" he said 

"I was thinking the exact same thing to begin with it felt wrong to move on so quickly but then I realised I was just telling myself it was wrong but I'm glad you made the move as I think I'd always be too scared to do it" I said 

"Let's not be scared anymore then will you be my girlfriend?" He asked 

"I'd love that" I replied 

"Although let's keep things private for now as much as all those rumours were fun now that this is more then making our exes jealous I don't want everyone to know" I said 

"You read my mind the more private we can keep things the better I want you all it myself for now" Joao smiled 

[sshbpodcast]

Bottom Five Star Trek ENT Episodes

by Ames

Everyone’s allowed to admit they’re wrong sometimes, and your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By take back a lot of the credit we’ve given to Star Trek: Enterprise over the years. Guys, we’re sorry to say: it’s just not that good a show. And sure, there are a couple beacons of hope in the darkness, but as a full series it doesn’t capitalize on its merits nearly as often as it should, and the mixed messages can be frankly insulting.

From the terrible theme song, to the constant sexualization of T’Pol, to the strange characterization of its captain as just an angry angry man, to whatever the hell went horribly wrong with the third season, there’s a lot to turn your nose up at. So cringe along with us as we give the big thumbs down to the worst episodes of the show as you read along below and listen to our banter over on the podcast (jump to 1:32:58 for the series wrap) where guest star Liz provides some added flavor. It turns out we really didn’t have faith of the heart after all!

[images © CBS/Paramount]

“Bounty”: Caitlin While the A plot of this episode with the Tellarite bounty hunter is perfectly serviceable, it’s the B plot that warrants a place on this list. For no goddamn reason, T’Pol is going through pon farr, a plot device we’ve been railing against for years. Okay, there was a reason after all: to sexually exploit T’Pol as this show is wont to do as much as it can get away with. It’s just disgusting how much Enterprise makes Jolene Blalock run around in her underwear just to titillate the teenage boys they really wanted to appeal to.

“Carpenter Street”: Jake What a waste of time. Literally! It may not have specifically made our worst time travel stories list, but it’s definitely pointless to force us to watch such a boring and convoluted romp around present-day Detroit to stop some Xindi from something or other. Really, anything in the Temporal Cold War arc is a hot mess. And combining that with the Xindi War makes it all the more baffling. Further, opting to bring T’Pol of all people back in time is a terrible decision, Archer. You’re lucky you have plot immunity, cap’n.

“Damage”: Chris “I’m about to step over a line, a line I thought I would never cross. And given the nature of our mission, it probably won’t be the last,” says Archer, nineteen episodes into season three. After he has not only crossed the line countless times, but shat on it and did a little jig. In the shit. So claiming that it’s not until he steals a warp coil from the Illyrians that he’s crossed the line is just blatant hypocrisy. Oh, and this is also the episode where we learn T’Pol is a drug addict for purely illogical reasons. What a shitshow.

“Harbinger”: Ames Oh hey, you know what was one of the previous horrible things Archer did before “Damage” but apparently didn’t count as “crossing the line”? Torturing a random sphere builder he found even though he had no proof this guy was bad. At fucking all. And there’s more shit to this episode! It’s got Reed being a big baby because he unfoundedly thinks Hayes wants his job. It’s got T’Pol being a big baby because she thinks Trip might like Amanda Cole instead of her. Everyone’s just a big baby this episode!

“Cogenitor”: Chris Frequently, Enterprise gets the ethical lesson you’d expect out of a Star Trek episode entirely backwards. This is one of those times. Trip spends the episode standing up for an oppressed person who has requested sanctuary, but Archer doesn’t want to risk the new best friendship he’s made with their people, so he throws Charles back to the wolves where they inevitably kill themself. And somehow Trip is supposed to be the baddie? Not Archer, who doesn’t even feel guilty? What message are we trying to send?

“Dear Doctor”: Ames Oh look, another time Enterprise puts its ethics on backwards and inside out. This utterly infuriating episode turns Archer and Phlox into genocidal monsters who then pat themselves on the back afterwards for handling the situation so diplomatically. Phlox should be ashamed of himself for being a doctor who spreads misinformation about how evolution works, and when Archer tries to question him, convinces the captain of his deplorably bad science. He HAS the cure, and refuses to save an entire race. It’s vomit inducing.

“Broken Bow”: Caitlin The whole series starts off on the wrong foot with a pilot episode that’s just a hot mess. The plot is almost unfollowable because there are just so many elements to keep track of. None of them interesting. In the very first few scenes alone: the time travel nonsense is just confounding; with maybe the exception of Trip, none of the characters holds our attention; and when we’re not confused by whatever’s going on, we’re just bored, which is a huge sin for a series premiere.

“Precious Cargo”: Caitlin, Jake We start seeing some overlap from your hosts in the episodes that are truly truly terrible. This disgusting retread of “The Perfect Mate,” which was disgusting enough on its own, is further tainted by some really shoddy acting from our First Monarch, a laughable portrayal of Archer and T’Pol incompetently playing good cop / bad cop, and a romance subplot so forced that we couldn’t even enjoy watching two very pretty people going to town on each other because we were rolling our eyes too hard!

“Hatchery”: Ames, Caitlin Don’t worry, we have more bad ethics the show is spouting to go through before the end of this list! For a hot second, it seems like Archer is doing the right thing and trying to save Insectoid hatchlings because it’s the moral thing to do, even in war, and everyone else is wrong to mutiny against him. But we should not have had that level of faith in this show. Instead, Archer’s mind has been manipulated by some goo or other, of course! He was wrong to want to save innocent babies! And he’s the hero of this show, FFS.

“These Are the Voyages…”: Caitlin, Chris, Jake The taste the show leaves in your mouth, when all is said and done, is whatever Chef Riker cooked up in the unexpected series finale. Making the last episode a de facto TNG episode is the wrong choice, as it strips away the ownership of the show from the actual characters as if punishing them for being bad. In fact, they don’t even technically appear in the finale at all because they’re a program on the holodeck! And to kill off Trip – the fan favorite character! – so unceremoniously! Did they hate their own fans?

“Fusion”: Ames, Chris, Jake Like Deanna Troi and Seven of Nine before her, T’Pol gets to get violated for the sake of an episode – and a bad episode at that! We’re already pretty sick of watching the women characters have their agency stripped away all the time because the story tells them so. So to watch the usually strong-willed science officer forced out of her comfort zone and used as a plaything by the worst Vulcan we’ve met (redemption for Vorik, I guess?) is just torture to watch. And the asshole sees no consequences either! Ugh!

“Bound”: Ames, Chris, Jake Like in DS9’s “Profit and Lace,” an attempt to seem progressive backfires so abysmally that we’re appalled by its tone deafness. It’s okay that Orion women are enslaved as sex workers because they’re secretly in charge! The episode treats that perplexing retcon like it’s female empowerment, while simultaneously turning all the men into drooling idiots whenever a woman is around. And unlike TAS’s “The Lorelei Signal,” the women crew members don’t even take charge. Trip does! What a slap in the tits.

—

See also: our Top Five Star Trek Enterprise Episodes list. And if you want more: here’re all the past seasonal tops and bottoms from seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4!

Well folks, it’s been a long road, but we’re finally done with Enterprise. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to move on to anything but this, even if that means slogging through the Abramsverse and the streaming era. But at least those shows reward war crimes slightly less. So keep your ears on SoundCloud or whatever podcast platform you like, talk to us through our universal translator on Facebook and Twitter, and go where your heart will take you!

[thatsmutaccount]

Hello there, and welcome, to a ~world of pure smut~!

Let me introduce myself: I'm an author on ao3 known as ThatSmutAccount, same as here, and, as you can imagine, I mainly write r18 stories where male adults do the dirty with each others.

The stories that I write are originals, so no fandom things for now, and also a lot of stuff may be considered comships or darkship, so a bit problematic for most. I will not get too much into detail but I invite you to read the tags on my works on ao3 or the first chapters of my longs, were I discuss what I do and don't write.

English is not my first language so excuse me for any kind of mistake.

I decided to be active here because I wanted to be more in contact with the people that read my stories and to make them more interactive, with things like polls or accepting requests (because apparently you can't do it on ao3 and there are a lot of people who likes to ruin the fun of others now, so I don't want to take any risks).

This first post has the task to introduce me and my works and what I write, I will repost my old chapters in the next days, and once done we will see.

Again: the content present on this account is for adults only! My stories are all smut and depict explicit sexual relationships between adult men. Please be careful and, if you are a minor, please go away, thank you!!!

Down here I will leave you with a brief list of my main stories and what they are all about:

"Rex new, exciting, happy life (as the town favorite cockslut)"; is my first and main story, a long/One-shot collection that focus a lot on the theme of like "free use" and "dom/sub dynamics"; its main character, Rex Brynn, is a young man that went from being a total jerk to a sorta "good guy" that now helps the other men in the city with their day to day problems. This story also has Rex having affairs with other members of his family, so if this bothers you don't read,

SUMMARY: We follow the life of Rex Brynn as he has evolved from a homophobic, misogynistic asshole with no friends and a bad relationship with his family to becoming the new cockslut for the whole town, and we also take a look at some of his day-to-day adventures as he goes in search of any male being willing to give him what he so desperately craves.

"Logan the himbo: college life"; my second story, a one-shot collection that deals with the himbo archetype; the main character is Logan Park, a himbo through and through, big of heart and dumb of ass that just naturally ends up in sexual situations with other men, both as a top and as a bottom. This story has its own vibe, where it tries to be both sexy and funny, so it may take a bit for me to update it because I'm trying to nail the right amonut of smut and silly, but if you want a feel good story this one is for you

SUMMARY: Logan covers all the points that can define him as a himbo: good looks; beefy; heart of gold; and a stupidity bordering on the incredible. Taking these things into account, then, it is not surprising that Logan has his fair share of admirers, some of whom are more interested in his certain specific ... "attributes" than anything else. The problem is that Logan is also naive and confident enough in his fellow men that by now everyone knows that all it takes is the right words to get this giant teddy bear to do what is asked of him. At least Logan seems happy.

"When the cat's away, the mice will play", a collection of missing moments or "what if?"s linked with Rex's story, that basically explores the relationships between the other characters that aren't Rex with each others and the sex they have together; if you like the secondary characters and want to known more about them this story is for you. Important: this story is Requests driven, forn now they are suspended but soon I will open them again, so keep an eye out 👀

SUMMARY: The place to find requests about all the characters in Rex's life and their relationships with each other without having our favorite cockslut in the way. If you want to make inquiries or there are characters you would like to know more about comment and you will be given. Leave kudos, comments and pass the word around, it is time to explore properly the world around Rex.

"All my bullies' stories" is a collection I'm planning on doing, for now only the first story "All my bullies' dads" is out, but I'm working on the next ones; it's a story were a nerd, Alex, who is bullied is actually screwing all the dads of his bullies' without them knowing, or it's more accurate to say that the bullies' dads basically saw him, saw his shaft and went "I want you carnally" and throw themselves at him without Alex understanding what is going on. Next chapters will go deeper down this line and I will talk about them soon.

SUMMARY (for now only of the first story): Or, alternatively, stressed fathers going through a different kind of midlife crisis with the help of a pathetic nerdy boyfailure. Featuring: five oblivious bullies; five family fathers more adventurous and depraved than you'd think; and a shy nerd with a dick that shouldn't be that big. Coming soon to a theater near you.

So yeah, this are my stories. If you find them and you liked what you read don't have any problem leaving kudos and/or comments, and also of you want you can try to contact me here, I'm always happy talking with people that like my stuff ☺️

I'm leaving the link to my main ao3 profile page so don't have any problem visiting it.

That being said, stay safe and be happy, see ya, dudes!!!!

[thomaslightwoodenthusiast]

alright fuckers u asked for it u got it

here is my thomastair playlist

its fifteen songs long, could be subject to change we’ll see lol

it’s on spotify so i’m going to link it at the bottom of this post, but first i’m going to list the songs and artists and provide a little context as to why i believe it qualifies as a thomastair song 😈😈

1.) dixie boy - april smith and the great picture show

chose bc i absolutely love this song, and i love belting it when i’m home alone lol. it *is* sang by a girl, however a) her voice is beautiful and b) the lyrics just fit thomastair SO well. no spoilers ofc but think of when alastair said that he always noticed when others were looking at thomas and how much he hated it. that’s this song. although it could also be how thomas feels about charles LMAO

2.) medicine - royal sugar

got recommended these guys on ig and they’re great!! no reason other than it’s just a rly cool song, kinda sexy, it’s just great lol

3.) fleeting love - royal sugar

reminds me of earlier thomastair 💗🙏

4.) indigo - mouth culture

there aren’t many lyrics to this, but it’s one of my fave songs. such a chill, great vibe, just makes me picture the two of them sitting together in the evening, no words, just relaxing :)

5.) why’d you only call me when you’re high? - arctic monkeys

possibly the only song on this any of u will recognise HA. again no real reason. just i guess when they had their oh moment??

6.) loud - feed the biirds (not a typo)

they’re out. they’re happy. they don’t give a fuck who says what. they love each other and the whole world is gonna know.

7.) palo santo - years & years

the first of 3 y&y appearances. olly (the singer) is gay and i love how his music expresses his identity; he’s not shy about it. reminds me a little of the sanctuary scene??

8.) i need you to hate me - jc stewart

okay i’m gonna be honest this is here for 2 reasons. one, bc it makes so much sense for thomastair. how alastair was so desperate for thomas to not care about him so that neither of them got their hearts broken. two, because apparently jc stewart is from a place just down the road from where i live HA ni represent fr

9.) DKLA - troye sivan, tkay maidza

fuck it lol just makes sense to me

10.) sanctify -years & years

one of the lines is ‘you don’t have to be straight with me’ with heavy emphasis on the word straight and it makes me giggle so

11.) tout l’univers - gjon’s tears

okay it’s a eurovision song BUT i needed a french song!!! cause paris!!! if you want to look up a translation of the lyrics feel free, but here’s (roughly) what the chorus says:

all the universe // our two hearts beneath the earth // in the midst of failures, everything explodes // to be at the point of impact // without you

i am aware they are kind of sad lyrics but i think this song captures how tumultuous everything was for them at the start, especially from a personal point of view for alastair

12.) moon - the cab

i love alexander deleon’s (lead singer) work as bohnes soooo the cab are great too. again just a silly kinda sexy song lol. also just realised it’s called moon and la voyage dans la lune guys i’m so smart

13.) hypnotised - years & years

more early thomastair vibes. actually the y&y songs on this make me want to write smth. idk. i think early thomastair owns my heart tbh

14.) love it if we made it - the 1975

yes i dislike matty as much as the next person however this song means a lot to me personally. i don’t know why, but it has helped me through a lot, like a note to self kind of thing? anyways. yeah i love this song and i think it really represents the desperation of thomastair, particularly how thomas put so much effort into convincing alastair that they’d be ok, that they could be together. ‘i’d love it if we made it’ just makes me think of thomas tbh. and!!! it’s all good bc!!! they did!!!

15.) hit and run - lolo

okay i’m going to be honest. i wanted there to be specifically 15 songs and so i needed to think of a final one to add. i really like this one, and thomastair often comes to mind when i listen to it. like i could just see them doing something borderline illegal or generally stupid and running away laughing because they’re just two idiots in love. lowkey oneshot idea of them being a criminal duo? who knows

that’s it for now, happy listening and feel free to add your own songs! you should be able to, i think it’s public and if you really want you can follow my spotify lol

here is the link:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6uSxw4bJefjV9iTQaEPZYD?si=BByxWrnLTwObcEM2PYbD3A

[softomi]

I bet my wife is scarier than yours.

Kuroo Testuro

He was always lectured by you to take off his wedding ring when he went to the bathroom, but he was never worried about his ring. It would pass over his head as he washed his hands, urging to himself that the next time he’d do it. But today, his face fallen and pale; it didn’t help that you were already currently angry with him for forgetting to move the wet clothes from the washer to the drier; and now he watched in horror as his wedding ring slipped off his finger and into the drain.

“What are you doing?” Your hands on your hips when you see his hand stuffed into the sink.

Kuroo laughs, “Just thought I’d fix the drain.”

You eyed him before moving your way to the laundry room. Kuroo whips out his phone, emergency texting his friends who gave zero decent input into his situation. He fears that he may have to spend another week sleeping on the couch; or worse, kicked out of his home until he can replace his ring.

But he wasn’t going to let that happen, even if it meant they have to hire a plumber later to fix what he breaks, then so be it; as long as you never find out.

“You lost your ring didn’t you.” Out from under the kitchen sink, Kuroo watches your facial features frown, arms cross, and a deep irritated sigh.

“I swear honey, I’ll get it back. It’s in the stupid drain. Just don’t be mad.” When Kuroo finally manages to unscrew the bottom, he feels triumphant. He shakes the ends a bit and out falls two rings. Kuroo curiously picks up the band that was clearly not his, staring at it until he realizes, it was your ring, “What the? You lost your ring!” Kuroo is using his shirt to clean the diamond, “This cost a fortune and you let it fall through the drain!”

Your hand collides with his head, your lips twitching, “Were you not digging in the drain for yours too?”

Iwaizumi Hajime

Many thought that there was nothing that could scare the man. He was immune to bugs, horror films, even when his friends try to surprise him; it never really works. Nothing scares him; or so they thought. It was one thing for him to bring his kids to work, sure, he’s done it hundreds of times on days when he knew it was going to be slow; but you specifically told him to keep the children off the court. Has he ever listened; no because in his mind, what could go wrong, apparently everything.

“Now what are we going to tell mommy?” Iwaizumi has stopped the car now, parked right in front of their home, he turns to his two children. His beautiful six year old daughter and his two year old son.

The little girl has remnants of ice cream still on her face, “I fell!”

He should have known better than to trust a six year old, the moment she walked through the doors and saw her caring, beautiful, loving mother; she began to bawl uncontrollably. Incoherent crying mixed with child snot, Iwaizumi was praying that you couldn’t understand her and would ultimately just make her stop crying.

“What!” You stood to your feet, “You let her go out onto the court! You know how dangerous that can be with all the guys spiking volleyballs all over the place.” You step forward but he’s using his two year old son as a shield, “Hajime!”

“She was just playing with Atsumu and then she fell!” Your eyes narrow on the male and he concedes immediately, “Okay so Atsumu set the ball, Bokuto spiked it, it landed right in front of her and might of hit her face for a second.” You let out a large gasp, “But I checked! She doesn’t have any major injuries! Right?” Iwaizumi attempts to pat his daughter on the head but she sinks behind her mother’s legs; the ultimate betrayal.

“Hajime.” You take a step forward but he uses his son as a shield again, “Hajime!” The male side steps you, practically skipping to the bedroom with his son, “Don’t even think that you’re sleeping in our bed tonight!”

Bokuto Koutarou  

Bless his soul, somehow you’ve thought it would be the most fantastic idea to leave him alone with his one and a half year old daughter. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been alone with her before, but this would officially be the first time that you actually spend a full twenty-four hours away from the house, the baby, and your husband. You had left him a list of instructions on how to feed her, different house chores needing to be done, and even a detailed timetable of your daughter’s day.

“Oh no, please don’t cry. If you cry, then daddy’s going to cry.” Bokuto sits on the living room floor, his daughter sat right in front of him with the worst cry on her face.

It’s two hours until you said you’d be back and Bokuto is just realizing now that he hasn’t done anything you asked. He thought that if he put his daughter to sleep just an hour earlier, perhaps he’d have enough time to finish the chores; what he discovers is that his daughter wouldn’t sleep, instead she continued to bawl in the bed and even when it neared her nap time; Bokuto made the mistake of letting her have a sugary treat, obviously she wouldn’t sleep.

“I’m home?” Your words are drawn out when you step into the living room, your daughter and husband on the floor just on the verge of tears, the living room a mess with toys all over the floor, the laundry sprawled out onto the couch, and for some reason there’s paint on the floors and walls, “Koutarou!”

You pick up your daughter who crawled to your foot, her crying slows down when she’s in your arms and Bokuto sheepishly looks to you, “Welcome home honey!”

“Do you want to explain?” Your hand gestures to the entire house that is a mess, “I gave you a very detailed list Kou!”

He stands, arms encasing you into a hug, “I’m so sorry!” He’s peppering away your angered expression with kisses and you can’t help but to smile. His hands are leading you to the bedroom, “I’ll clean everything up, just rest!”

He wasn’t able to clean everything up, when you emerged from the bedroom with your daughter napping, you saw that somehow the mess got bigger. Your hands on your hips, a scowl on your lips, when he tries to skip to you with puckered lips, you throw a pillow to his face. Maybe he’d be better off sleeping at Akaashi’s place.

Kita Shinsuke

It hadn’t been long since the both of you tied the knot let alone since finding out you were expecting his first child, so there were many changes in his routine. He’s persistent though, if he could do it one day then the next day he could do it too. Ever since you’ve entered the stage of pregnancy where you want to eat everything and anything, Kita finds himself at the grocery store more often than he would routinely like to.

“Yes dear.” Kita listens to you ramble a list of things you would like from the store, he was absolutely tired and wasn’t writing anything down. You had been in a bad mood all day due to your sore lower back and anything Kita has tried hasn’t worked.

“Are you listening? Honey, I really want watermelon, that’s what I want the most. I don’t want the prepackaged ones, I want an entire watermelon.”

He insists he was listening but when faced with the two different type of watermelon, all Kita can remember is you saying prepackaged. So the frown you have on your face when he pulls out a little clear container of watermelon, his memory rushes back to recall that you specifically asked for a fresh watermelon.

“I’ll go back to the store.” He gulps.

“No.” Your words are sharp, the smile on your face sends a chill down his spine, “It’s okay, maybe our son will be happy that his father has given him poor watermelon instead of listening to his loving wife who asked for a fresh watermelon. Shinsuke! You said you were listening!”

He was dejected to sitting outside, pulling at the random grass as he looked over his rice field. He turns when he hears footsteps, you were pouting while looking down at him. If there was anything that he was glad about with your mood swings, it was that your anger left as quickly as it came. He stands, a hand supporting your back to lead you back to the house.

“Why don’t we go to the store together? I’ll buy you everything you want.”

Oikawa Tooru

It was no secret that the two of you were angry with each other, the restaurant was awfully cheery compared to the silent treatment that you were giving Oikawa and the one that he was giving right back at you. So you two settled on just not talking to each other; but the more you stayed silent, the more Oikawa felt uneasy. Because now you were reaching an entirely new type of mad, one where you looked calm and collected but deep down in your eyes, he was screwed.

“I’m sorry.” He finally spits out in the middle of the meal.

“For what?” You inquire, sipping the soup from your spoon slowly without looking at him.

He lowers his head, “I’m sorry I decided to go hang out with the guys instead of coming home to you, my lovely and adorable wife who I adore and love.” He tries sending you a sweet smile, hoping that his sugarcoated words would bring you back to smile for him.

“Not good enough.” Your words stab him in the back. You set the spoon down, opting to finally look at him before lifting your hand. You place a finger down, “I told you to come home early tonight so we could clean the house.” Another finger down, “You lied to me saying you had to practice longer.” Another finger, “You go over to Iwaizumi’s place because he just got the PS5 and you just had to play.” Another, “You forgot to take out the trash this morning which I told you to do before you left.” One more finger, “If you want to play with Iwaizumi so much then go sleep at his place.”

His heart is wounded, still, he tries to be sweet and caring, “You shouldn’t be so stressed honey, it won’t be good for the baby.”

Your glare causes him to retract in his seat, “Oh! So when it’s convenient for you, you’ll use the baby.”

“No that’s not what I meant.”

You begin to spew more words that dagger into his heart, he’s finally concluded that he can’t do anything to cease your anger at him and as he trudges behind you into the shared home, he can already feel the loneliness of the spare bedroom he’ll be sleeping in tonight. As he turns to head straight for the room, you groan.

“Where do you think you’re going?” You stand at the doorframe of the main bedroom. Your voice suddenly changes, “Sleep with me.”

[doublethetheories]

Maggie (and Ava)’s Past, Present, and Future!

Hello everyone and welcome back! Today I wanted to make a proper explanation for EVERYTHING I have involving Maggie as a theory. An alternative title is “The Maggie Masterpost” but I want to focus on her relationship with Ava since that has the most unanswered questions. So, let’s get into it!

Maggie and Ava: The Early Years

It’s shown many times that Ava and Maggie used to be really close, specifically through their drawers (panel 2248) and through the photo on the inside of Maggie’s cupboard (panel #0865). It’s also apparent that this was before Maggie became a host, as we can see from her eyes in panel #8065. I believe that Maggie and Ava used to be very close, and one of two things happened: A) Ava starts falling for Maggie and decided to confess, or B) Maggie realises that she’s begun falling for Ava and retreats into herself.

There isn’t necessarily any outright evidence for Maggie or Ava being bi/pan, but for Maggie’s story, it’d make sense if she had struggled with feelings towards/from Ava and reacted by becoming mean, pushing people away to avoid confronting it. Internalised homophobia fits Maggie pretty well.

It would also play well into the fact that Ava blames herself for how Maggie’s become mean, since Ava knew her when she’d been nicer. In panels #1087 - #1088, Ava directly blames herself for Maggie’s unpleasantness. 

“I mean it’s... it’s my fault she acts the way she does. / She wasn’t always this reckless and mean.”

Knowing this, it takes us easily into our next section.

Maggie’s Death

[TW: Lots of suicide / noose mention in this section, skip to the next heading to avoid it.]

In the Death And Demon Theory (coming later this week, mentioned/recapped in this, this, and implied in this post), I firmly believe that every Host died at some point, and their soul’s joining with a demon brought them back to life. Gil was boiled alive before being found by TiTAN’s people (and seeing Nevy for the first time soon after), Odin died in a hunting accident with his father and has since been haunted by Pedri, and Ava was stillborn and got Wrathia earlier than the others because she drank the potion first. 

But Maggie has always been a confusing spot, since we never had any clear indicators of her death, until...

This comment on Some Unanswered Questions (which this post can be seen as a sequel/follow up to) has provided the answer. In every panel in Maggie’s mindscape, she’s in a very simple costume, with a strange green necklace that never quite made sense, even though it wasn’t necessarily out of place. 

I agree with those theories Void mentioned; Though I technically don’t have the evidence to “prove” it, the necklace being a noose provides the missing evidence for so many of my theories that it can’t be a coincidence. Maggie killed herself (via noose) after her falling out with Ava, and this is where she became joined with Tuls. 

In my last post about this (Some Unanswered Questions), I listed some mini theories at the bottom, one of which says Maggie probably made her pact quickly due to how casually she mentions failing it, as if she didn’t properly listen to the terms and conditions. Since Tuls’ magic is about gaining other people’s affection, I think this still plays into the internalised homophobia theory because she’s pushing herself onto every guy she meets in attempts so shut off this other part of herself.

Maggie and Erios: Predictions + Tying Things In

It has been established that Maggie will end up with Erios (the star host) many times through various means, and I’ll have another post soon analysing her relationship with Gil and Erios. For now though, my analysis of Panel #0358 recaps fairly well how/why we first predicted that Maggie would end up with Erios.

Now that we know Erios is nobinary (and super over-the-top), we can also start to see how Maggie’s fairytale plays in.

For those of you who don’t know, every character in Ava’s Demon has a fairytale they parallel in some aspect of their major character arc, and Maggie’s is Beauty And The Beast. We’ve long predicted that this means she just wouldn’t be super attracted for Erios at first and she’d learn how love can be something that grows over time rather than being an impulse decision like with Gil, but combining Erios’ gender identity with Maggie’s (theorised) internal homophobia, I think this relationship is where Maggie not only learns to love for the person over their gender, but also learns to finally accept that side of herself and let her love finally be genuine and real.

Bonus Notes

Erios’ fairytale has been confirmed to be Peter Pan in a recent stream from Michelle on their twitch. Based on their current personality (especially the way we meet them), they will likely be learning to be more mature and less obnoxious (no offense 😅) and that’ll help their relationship with Maggie bud more. Because I can almost 100% guarantee that Maggie will NOT get along with Erios whenever they meet if they’re both the same person they currently are. 

[hockeyboysiguess]

dear winter | c. parakyo

a/n: this one was entirely inspired by and written to dear winter by ajr. highly recommend listening to this while you read. this is your reminder that vince dunn isn’t the only player on the blues. enjoy!

warnings: a little swearing. otherwise, alllllll fluff. 

word count: 6K

You sighed as you felt a firm kick to your bladder. You had to give it to her, your baby had great aim, something she’s definitely inherited from her dad since you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a baseball even if you were being coached through each movement. You rubbed your growing bump softly, a vain attempt to get her to relax, before you grabbed the full file box. Colton would be upset if he knew you were moving boxes without him. You loved Colton, god, did you ever love your husband, but he was treating you like you were going to break any second. He had as soon as you’d told him you were pregnant. You tried to fight him on it, but if Colton wanted something to go a specific way, there was pretty much nothing you could physically do about it. He was a physical immovable force. You settled for doing things when he wasn’t home.

You huffed out a loud breath as you sat down on the couch with what would be your fourth box of the day. You had been trying to go through everything in the room that was going to become “Little P’s” nursery, as Colton called her. You were also using it as an excuse to actually clean out your catch-all spare bedroom instead of just moving the problem of having too much stuff from the bedroom to the attic.

You sucked in a deep breath before blowing off the layer of dust from the top of the box. You lifted the lid and sighed. It was absolutely packed with papers and notebooks, Colton’s notebooks. He religiously kept notebooks, not a diary, not a journal. He rolled his eyes whenever you called them that, telling you that they weren’t diaries or journals because he wrote anything in them, from grocery lists, to hockey plays he thought of, gift ideas for you, anything. He also refused to get rid of a single one, much to your chagrin, but the least you could do was label them with the dates they contained to organize them. Thank god you’d pulled the label maker out for the last box so you didn’t have to get up. Getting up wasn’t your specialty anymore, thanks to Little P being a little less little since her father was a large human being.

You cracked open the first notebook after shaking off more dust, flipping to the first page to grab the date and the last page for the final one. Colton’s notebooks had never been any of your business. You thought he had every right to his private thoughts, something that had absolutely floored him when you started dating. Every other girl had tried to read over his shoulders, sneak a peak when he wasn’t around, but you trusted Colton, which is what you’d told him then and still told him now every time he picked up another notebook. The next notebook opened with a silly drawing, it made you giggle, but you didn’t pry further, simply adding your label and moving on to the next one.

Your brows furrowed when you came to a notebook toward the bottom. Unlike the rest, which were heavily worn in, the pages wrinkled and fanning out, making them appear thicker, this one was only partially started. The wear stopped about three-quarters of the way through it. You found it odd. Colton always finished everything he started, even if it was virtually impossible for him to do so. He was the least wasteful person you’d ever met. You shook off your thoughts. His notebooks were his business, not yours.

Still, regardless of you trying otherwise, your eyes flitted to the first entry in this notebook. The start of it pulled your eyes in unwillingly. It was a letter, a letter to someone else. Your heart sank and you slammed the notebook shut. No, you thought. Colton would never, but then who was he writing to? Your heart was aching in your chest. You trusted and loved your husband more than you ever thought possible for yourself, but your mind was running through possibilities and you needed to know. When your eyed scanned the first words, the tears started to slip out even though you willed them not to.

Dear Winter, I hope you like your name I hope they don't make fun of you When you grow up and go to school, okay? 'Cause Winter is a badass name

Colton’s words continued and your tears kept flowing.

Sorry if you don’t love it, baby girl, but I do and unfortunately for you, one me and one other person get to vote on it and I’m all in for it. Also, I’m not really sure where I got the idea to start this, but I’m two sentences in and I hope one day you think this is as cool as I do right now.

Anyway, I wanted to start by telling you what made me think of your name. I was walking through Forest Park (I’m playing for the Blues right now, in case that ever changes, so I���m in St. Louis) because I was having a pretty terrible day. I botched something at practice, couldn’t get the play right, and coach got angry at me. You probably know I don’t handle people being angry with me well because I doubt that’s ever going to go away. I found out the woman I was seeing actually cheated on me (I know, weird to read from me, but I hope you stick through this one) and I’m missing my family a lot today. (Side note: please come home more, Winter. I love you.)

So I was having a terrible day and decided to take a walk. It was chilly, but sort of comforting. It smelled like it was about to snow. I really hope you know that smell too, sort of like Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year, as I also assume you know. Then, it started to snow. It was that beautiful, promising fluffy snow that makes me think of hot chocolate and peppermint and family. That’s when I really thought about you for the first time, Winter. I thought about us outside in our front yard, your mom on the front steps, and you catching snowflakes on your tongue. I thought about how you’d ask me to build a snowman with you, even though the snow wasn’t even sticking to the ground. I thought about you, Win. Winter. Some people hate winter. Some people love it. That’s also why it’s your name, Win. You might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Winnie, but that’s okay. You’re not meant to be for everyone. You’re meant to be exactly who are you as you’re reading this. 

I'm hoping that some day, I can meet you on this Earth But shit, I gotta meet your mom first

Love, Dad :) 

You placed your hand gingerly on your swollen stomach as the tears flowed freely. Colton wrote the first letter in the notebook seven and a half years before today. He’d been writing to her, the little girl still growing in your belly, for years, before you’d even moved to St. Louis let alone met Colton for the first time. Of course Winter would take that moment to kick you in the stomach. Winter. You loved her name too. You’d been racking your brain all day since you’d found out that Little P was a girl, not the boy you were convinced you were having based on your apparently flawed mother’s intuition, so when you found out Little P was a girl, you’d be wracking your brain all day for both a way to tell Colton and what you might name her. Somehow, even though he didn’t know yet, Colton had already taken care of another worry of yours, a man who didn’t know how to love you wrong. 

You couldn’t stop yourself from turning to the next page to read the next entry. Unlike his notebook he used every day, the next entry picked up a few weeks later.

Dear Winter, I hope you talk to girls Or boys or anyone you like

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written to you, but I heard something out a bar that made me come home and immediately grab this notebook. Sorry if this is a little unclear. Dad’s just a little drunk right now, but I want you to know how important this is and I wanted to tell you as soon as possible.

This guy at the bar was being... absolutely awful, Win. This girl was just trying to have a good time with her friends. She was wearing a pin on her jacket with the pride flag on it. This guy started asking her about it. She shrugged, said she was bi, and she moved on. Except he didn’t move on. I heard him talking to his friends, talking terribly about her. He was talking about her sexuality and what it could do for him, how good it would be for him that she was bi. It didn’t sit with me right, so I warned her what he said and she said something that stuck with me so I wanted to tell it to you. She said, “God, thank you for telling me. I’m so fucking tired of guys sexualizing my sexuality for their own sexual gratification. It has nothing to do with them, you know? It’s my sexuality. It’s for me and me alone. I thought it got through all of the bad stuff when my parents kicked me out for it. It just keeps on coming, you know? Fucking sucks.”

Winnie, whoever you like, boys, girls, both, neither, people who don’t identify any particular way, if you know deep down you’re not my little girl, but you’re my son, I’m always, always, always, always going to love you. I will always be in your corner, Win. My love for you will never change. My support for you with never waiver. I will stand with you a pride parades. I will advocate for you. I will do anything I can to make sure you know you are loved and supported and that you can always come to me. I will always protect you, Winter. I will always love you.

If you’re reading this and you haven’t come out yet, the door is open, Win. And I’m standing right there, arms wide open, ready to love the truest version of you, the version of you that makes you feel like your most authentic, happy self. Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.

Love, Dad

You felt your heart pound hard in your chest. Colton had never wavered on loving whoever your baby was going to be, but this, this was something special. You took a deep breath and looked down at your bump again.

“He loves you so much,” you told her softly as you gently rubbed your bump. “You have the best dad in the entire world. I just hope my genes don’t screw you up too much.”

You flipped to the next entry, laughing to yourself at how it was filled with entirely with car buying advice. Apparently, Colton has just bought a car the day he wrote it and he was keen on sharing his newfound wisdom with Winter. He also talked about how he was going to help Winter buy her first car and exactly what that would entail. It was such dad advice, but somehow it was perfect and it was Colton.

You kept reading, an entry an unknown amount of dates deep, caught your eye. You weren’t sure how deep into this you really were. You were flying through entries, Colton’s loving words pulling you through each page at a lightening pace. This one caught you eye though.

It really doesn't seem like there's anyone for me But dear Winter, I hope you like your name You know I cannot wait to teach you how to curse But shit, I gotta meet your mom first

You think your mom is going to like that I’m cursing in these letters? Probably not. But hopefully she’ll deal. I mean, I play hockey. Cursing is part of the game basically. I hope I teach you well. :)

You know, Win, I saw a couple out at a restaurant today and they were so in love. I, on the other hand, got stood up on a date today. Super fun, right? And super weird to hear from your dad, but it’s the truth. As smooth as I’ve tried to make myself look your whole life, Dad’s not really all that fucking smooth, Winnie.

But anyway, I wanted to tell you that it doesn’t matter if you ever find someone, Win. I wanted to tell you this because I need to hear it right now and even if when you first read this, you don’t need to hear it, I’m betting at some point in your life you will need it. You can achieve every single dream you have without a partner. You can have the life you want. You can have a family. You can make a beautiful life for yourself all on your own. Because you aren’t looking for your other half. You’re a goddamn full, beautiful, powerful person all by yourself. You are complete just as you are and that’s fucking amazing, Winnie.

Am I writing this for you in the future or me now? That’s debatable, but someday you’re going to need a reminder that you are a galaxy of beautiful, stunning possibilities. You are the sun, moon, stars, planets, and everything in between. A galaxy doesn’t need anyone or anything else. Always remember that anyone you let into your life should be in wonder at the galaxy that is you.

Sorry, Dad’s going to get off his weird soapbox now and go to bed. I’ll write you soon. Pinky promise :)

Love always, Dad

You gripped the notebook tightly in your hands, careful not to wrinkle the pages. You briefly thought about how you’d never read one of his notebooks before so maybe pregnancy hormones weren’t the best time to start, but this notebook was for someone. It was for the baby in your belly, so you kept reading. 

Dear Winter, 

I met someone today. I don’t want to say too much, in case it doesn’t work out. It never really works out for me, does it, Winnie? I hope a) that your mom has much better luck with men than I do with women and b) that you inherit her luck. At least I got her phone number, right? Maybe I can figure out how to sounds less like a guy that really like writing in notebooks and puzzles and more like a guy who is all about parties and adventure?

Actually, no, Win. No. Don’t listen to that. Be whoever you want to be, whatever that looks like. If some guy doesn’t like you because you’re a homebody, reject him and toss him out in the street. He’s clearly no good. Be whoever you want to be, Win. A homebody, a busy body, whoever that is, I’ve got your back for the rest of my life. 

(Side note: this girl is super, super pretty and she’s wicked smart with an incredible sense of humor. Kind of hoping this one works out? If not, then I guess on to the next one, right? If not, I’ve got to meet your mom one day, Win. We’ll see when it happens, I guess.)

Love, Dad

Your eyes scanned back up the page to the date. You breath hitched it your throat when you saw it and your hand came over your mouth as your eyes started to fill with tears again. It was about you. That was the day you met Colton for the first time. That memory was burned into your brain forever because it was honestly one of the worst days of your life, until Colton walked in.

You were about to give up. Four cups of coffee at varying degrees of strength had done nothing to stimulate an idea in your brain. Well, it would have been five cups of coffee if you hadn’t spilled the third cup down yourself and stained your favorite sweatshirt that was now a crumpled mess in your backpack. Despite that, you were still face to face with a blank Word document that needed to be six pages long by midnight tonight, which was less than twelve hours away. Procrastination always got the better of you. Today was no exception.

You had opened your day with a trip to the dentist and of course, you had a cavity. You didn’t realize until you got back to your car that your house key wasn’t on your key ring, so you couldn’t go home and your roommate was going to be out all day, so you’d had to post up in your fourth favorite local coffee shop as shops one through three were completely packed. You’d had to park six blocks over because you couldn’t find a spot. All of this chaos had wasted almost two hours you were supposed to be working. Then there was the spilled coffee, which you spilled because your terrible ex-boyfriend had shown up and tried to talk to you. In an effect to escape, the coffee had gotten spilled. To boot, after actually drank coffee number three, your mom had called you and told you your childhood dog had cancer. It was just one of those days. She was fifteen, so you couldn’t say she didn’t live a good, long life. Still, it was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

Your music was blaring in your eyes. You were rapidly flipping through Spotify trying to find something that might provide some inspiration. You sighed and rested against the back of the chair as your head fell back. You let out a long sigh and carded your fingers through your hair. Ideas or not, you needed to get started. That went out the window when you saw a large man standing next to your table when you lifted your head. He gave you a sweet smile and a small wave. Your eyes rolled up and down him quickly. He was massive, broader and taller than most people you knew. His size could make him intimidating, but there was something cautious and nervous about the way he moved. One of his large hands was shifting around his iced coffee. The other was fidgeting in his pocket. His smile was kind and inviting. His shoulder were low, hunkering down as if to try and look smaller than he was. It was his eyes that took your breath away for a second, a pair of beautiful baby blues framed by dark glasses.

You yanked one of your headphones out of your ears and raised your eyebrows at him.

“Hi,” he said softly. “Um, all the other tables are full. Do you mind if it sit? I’ve got an appointment in half an hour, so I won’t be in your hair for too long.”

You almost stuttered, but pulled yourself together in time to say, “Oh, yeah, sure.”

He thanked you with a sweeter, wider smile as he dropped down into the chair opposite you. He dwarfed it, and the small table you had stationed yourself at. He was just slightly too big for everything around him, but he didn’t seem to mind much. 

“I’m Colton, by the way,” he told you as he opened up a book you hadn’t realized he’d been carrying. 

You told him your name softly before you tried to get back to work. Every minute you had was precious at this point to meeting your deadline. Beautiful man or not, you had to get this done. Except he seemed to have other ideas. 

“What are you working on?” he asked you after a few minutes. You’d caught him eyeing you as you finally got some sort of an idea, so your fingers were blazing across your keyboard.

“Oh, just this project for work,” you answered flatly, not even looking up from your screen or pausing your furious typing to answer. “I got into this fight with my boss about it because I think her premise is wrong, so I’ve been having some issues trying to write this condensed summary of her position considering I disagree with it. But, hey, a job’s a job, right? At least I’m employed enough to keep my cat fed, the hungry bastard, and support my own coffee habits without a sugar daddy.” 

Colton laughed and like your life had sudden become a movie, the sound took your breath away. You couldn’t stop a smile from pulling up the corners of your lips as he laughed. His laugh sort of made you forget how embarrassing what you’d just said was. 

“Is he fat?” Colton asked before quickly adding. “Your hungry cat, is he a fat bastard as well as a hungry one?” 

“The fattest bastard of them all,” you laughed as grabbed your phone from next to your laptop to show him a photo. 

Colton whistled when he saw the photo and nodded softly. 

“Put a ribbon on him and you could enter him as a prized heifer in the county fair,” Colton joked, making you smile widely, your first genuinely thrilled smile all day. 

“I got him fat from the shelter,” you tried to explain. “I’m trying to put him on a diet, but he’s just not having it. Honestly can’t blame him. Diets are dumb. But the fatso won’t exercise. I got him one of those cat wheels, like a giant hamster wheel but for cats. He barely fits on it and even on the days he finds his balance enough to fit on it, he won’t use it. I’ve sort of thrown in the towel.” 

“I think he’s decided how he wants to be in life and you might just have to accept it,” Colton told you. “I’ll stop bugging you, sorry. I said I wouldn’t.” 

With that, he turned his attention to his book and you went back to your paper. You sat across from him for the next thirty minutes, occasionally taking glances over at him. You found out later on that he keep looking up at you over the top edge of his book the whole time. You somehow just never caught each other.  

As Colton got up to leave, he paused for a second with his phone in his hand, spinning it nervously. 

“Um, I know this is probably sort of random and you’re probably not interested, but would you maybe want to get coffee again sometime you don’t have to do work?” Colton asked you, stumbling over practically ever other word on his way to asking you on a date.

You smiled softly as the memory faded out. You placed your hand on your bump again. Thank god the first three coffee shops had been full that day. You gently turned to the next page then the next one and the next one, stopping when the start of another grabbed you. 

Dear Winter, don't move too far away And please don't say I'm hovering When I text you to ask about your day I wanna hear about your day Will we still hang out and talk when I'm no longer in charge?

I’m sorry if you ever think I’m hovering, Win, but I promise you, I just want to hear about your day, every single day. Sorry if you move far away for some incredible opportunity and I don’t handle it super well. You know me, your old man, I just want you to be able to catch up with you whenever I want to. I’m a little selfish that way, I guess. 

Who knows? Maybe by the time you move, teleportation will be real :)

But if you can, Winter, try and stay close to home. I miss my parents a lot, more than I can properly explain. I know you’re going to be so cool and smart and amazing and you won’t need me someday, but I hope you want me around anyway, even though I’m a lot sometimes. 

(Side note: That girl I talked about a while ago, she’s the one who made me think of this letter. I told her I was scared I was hovering too much, that I was smothering her, and she told me she wanted me around even more. I think you’d like her, Win.)

Hold on for someone who cares about you exactly as you are and loves the way you care about people. You shouldn’t have to change the way you care for someone. They should just feel it. 

Love, Dad

(P.S. Whenever you read this, please come home for a visit, even if you were here yesterday. I’ve definitely missed you since then.)

Your mind flashed back to Colton’s first road trip a few months after you started dating. You had a busy day, absolutely packed with meetings and work, so you’d barely had any time to glance at your phone all day. When you finally had a second to glance at it on the way to your car, you groaned. Two missed calls and four texts from Colton. Of course, the day he managed to find some time away from the guys to call you when you were supposed to be done with work, you had been kept late and missed him. 

You were already dialing his number as you dropped into your driver’s seat to begin the traffic-filled journey home. Colton answered on the second ring. 

“Hey.”

Your brows furrowed at his tone. He was trying hard to sound calm, but you could hear the nerves edging at each letter. He swallowed hard, hard enough you could hear it over the phone. 

“What’s up, babe?” you asked him as you slowly backed out of your parking space. “Is something wrong?” 

“No, nothing,” he said too quickly. He knew he’d said it too quickly the second it had left his mouth. He sighed and you heard some rustling on his end of the phone, following by a door being shut. “I’m sorry I bugged you today.”

“What?” you asked, even more confused than you had been previously as you turned on your right blinker. “You didn’t bug me, Colt. I asked you to call if you were free anytime outside my work hours. I just ended up working late today, that’s all.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

You could tell there was still something bothering him. His pitch was too high, responses too short. He was still on edge, something bigger dancing on the tip of his tongue. He knew you knew. You could read him like an open book even through the phone and he knew better than to not tell you when he was upset. “Relationships thrive with windows and doors open,” was what you always told him, and it takes two people to keep them open all the time.

“Am I hovering?” he blurted out. “Am I bothering you? I just, when I called you again, the guys started-”

“Those idiots that couldn’t keep a girl if they had a carefully curated list of instructions from the girl they liked to tell them how to keep her? They don’t know anything,” you jumped in. “You’re not bothering me, Colt. You never bother me. I want as much of you as I can get. If my life was you just and me, having our favorite lazy Saturday where we go to the farmer’s market, play Scrabble, make bad cocktails, and cook unnecessarily complex dinners before we watch some niche movie practically no one else on the planet has ever seen, I’d be so unbelievably happy. I want as much of you as I can have, Colt, and sometimes I feel like I’m asking for too much. You’re not hovering. I want you right here.”

“You’re not asking for too much,” he replied. Of course, Colton would ignore everything you had said to comfort him in favor of comforting you. “You’re sure I’m not too much? I can do less, if that would be better for you. I can, fuck, I don’t know, whatever you need.” 

“Colton, I love you,” you sighed. “That’s the easiest thing in the world to say to you. I love you, Colton. I love loving you. I love being loved by you. At least, god, I hope you love me back because now I’m realizing we’ve never actually said that and I’m sort of freaking out, but I love learning to love you better and I love finding new ways to show you I love you. Today’s way is actually telling you I do, I guess.” 

“Of course I love you too.”

Colton’s words had reminded you of a prayer, a prayer of a grateful man whose longing, desperate words to something out there that he’d whispered ages ago had finally been answered. You didn’t know how long he’d felt it, definitely longer than you, but love wasn’t a competition. There wasn’t a yardstick, a to-do list, or a formula. Love was whatever you made it to be. You loved Colton, and finally told him, and he loved you, and finally told you. That day, that was all either of you needed.

That day was so clear in your mind. It was the day that set your life on the path it was on, the day that really had started the path that ended up with little Winter being more than a figment in Colton’s mind when he wrote these letters. She was real and you were going to meet her in just a few short months. Your mind wandered forward, seeing Winter’s wide baby blue eyes, you imagined she’d look like Colton as well, hoping your genes didn’t taint his too much to ruin her, as Colton had her sitting on his broad shoulders, securing her safely to him with hands around her ankles as you walked through the zoo. She would be pointing at each animal, tugging on his hair, making sure he saw each and every one. He would be patient, kind, and caring, matching Winter’s excitement in kind with each animal. You would catch him on Google the night before, making sure he knew at least one random, uncommon fact about each one for her, just to make her day. That was the kind of thing Colton said he would do for her to you when you’d shown him the positive pregnancy test, and one of an ever-expanding, never finished lists of reason you wanted to have kids with him. 

You sighed as you felt her flip over in your stomach. She was constantly in motion, something that brought you peace because it told you she was healthy, but as much comfort as it brought you, it brought you more discomfort at the very feeling. You shifted on the couch as you turned to the next entry.

Dear Winter, I hope you like your name I hope you let me take a shot with you on your twenty-first But shit, you gotta ask your mom first

I really hope you let me take a shot with you on your birthday. I’m asking because I was at a restaurant early today and saw the dad order two shots of tequila at a five star restaurant for him and his daughter, who had to be about twenty-one when her birthday dessert came out. She thought it was hilarious and you could tell she she did the shot with him that she loved her dad a ton. So naturally I thought of doing it with you. I know you’re definitely not going to think I’m cool by then, and you could be living in Canada instead where the drinking age is lower, but either way, I hope you don’t mind taking a shot with your old man. 

But, even if you don’t think I’m cool, even if we have to do the shot together over Facetime, even if Facetime doesn’t exist and you have to text me to ask me what it means when you read this, I hope we do one together. I promise, your old man could drink once, Win!

So, go ask your mom and I’ll break out the good tequila for you! :)

Love, Dad

You would definitely have to approve of the aforementioned tequila shot now that he’d been planning it for almost twenty-five years based on when this was written and when Winter would be twenty-one base on her estimated birthday. You laughed lightly and shook your head. Colton was already winning parenting debates with you and he didn’t even know it. Actually, maybe he did. It would be Colton to have planned this all out just so. You smiled as you flipped to the next entry. 

Dear Winter, I'm looking for your mom I gotta find a girl that doesn't mind that I'm inside my head a lot Winter, it won't be too long First, I just gotta find your mom

This whole writing to you as I’ve looked for your mom is how this whole notebook started. 

And Winter, boy do I have some good news about your existence for you. 

That girl I mentioned a while back? I asked her to marry me today. And somehow, she said yes. 

I found her, Win. I found your mom. She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met in my entire like, that is, until I meet you. And, Winnie, she’s so excited to meet you too someday. 

Here’s hoping she likes your name :) 

Love, Dad

Your eyes were filled with tears again and you were so caught up in the moment, you missed the sound of Colton fusing with the lock on the front door as he entered the house.

“Baby? Why are you crying? Is everything okay? Is Little P okay? How was the appointment?”

Colton’s questions were flying out of his mouth almost faster than you could understand. You heard his gym bag hit the floor and his feet hit heavy on the hardwood as he rushed over to you. Colton rounded the back of the couch and stopped when he saw what was in your hands. You closed the notebook gently in your hands, careful with the soft leather binding, before pulling the elastic over to keep it closed. You turned your head toward your husband. He was white as a sheet, nervousness coating his features. His baby blue eyes were jumping between your puffy eyes, your stomach, and the notebook in your hands impossibly fast. He swallowed hard, waiting for you to say something because his mind was running too fast toward the brick wall of having to ask you what you thought about what was in your hands to actually speak. 

“Colt,” you breathed out softly before placing a hand on your stomach again, “Little P is a girl.” 

“A girl? Really? I’m going to be a girl dad? Really?” 

Colton’s voice cracked with each word and tears began to spill over almost instantly as he sank onto the couch beside you. Hesitantly, as if he didn’t know if he was still allowed to, he reached a hand out toward your stomach. You grabbed his large hand with both of yours and placed it on your swollen belly. 

“Do you want to tell her what her name is?” you asked him softly. 

His eyes snapped up to meet yours. He took his bottom lip between his teeth and looked at with cautious, hesitant joy. 

“You like it?” Colton asked you, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“I love her name, Colton, and since you came up with it, I think she should hear her for the first time from her incredible dad who already loves her more than she can possibly understand.” 

You reached a hand out to cup Colton’s face as you spoke. He leaned softly into your hand, his free hand cupping over yours, completely dwarfing it. He smiled at you softly before he placed a gentle kiss onto your palm, a silent way of telling you he loved you. His fingers wrapped around your hand, pulling it down to your belly along with his as his eyes shifted to it. 

“Hey, Winter, it’s me, your dad.”

[ellgrimm]

Sweets (OHSHC bakery AU)

He lightly dusted the rectangle of dough with fine, white flour and ran it through the sheeter one last time. Mori peeled the slightly bouncy dough off the machine bed and placed it on a tray lined with a piece of plastic film. Wrapping the film snuggly around the croissant dough, he smoothed out the indents impressed by his fingertips. He scooped the tray off the maple wood table and spun around gracefully, with habitual movement, to slip it into the fridge along with the other identical trays of dough.

With that done, he slid out of the floury work apron and traded it for a fresh one he kept tidy for sales at the front register. He washed his hands and checked for any errant streaks of flour on his face. Satisfied, Mori walked out from the fairly austere kitchen and into the world of rich woods and shining glass cases that was the customer-service side of the French patisserie shop and cafe.

Haruhi was in the middle of preparing a cup of drip coffee for a patron. Another customer just arrived at the pastry counter and stood politely, waiting to place his order. “Why don’t you see to our guest, Mori?” she asked cheerfully, as she held a gooseneck kettle and slowly circled hot water over the fresh coffee grounds, keeping an eye on the weight of water being poured. A rich, gold-black coffee dripped out the bottom of the cone filter into a ribbed glass pitcher.

Mori turned to face the pastry case and reflexively picked up a set of tongs. He performed a test click: *click*. Then he looked out over the top of the case and said in a deep and calm voice a phrase he had said at least 500 times before: “Good afternoon, what would you like today?”

But there wasn’t anyone there?

He scanned left and right.

Then he directed his gaze down and his heart skipped. A pair of enormous, caramel eyes were looking up at him from underneath a glorious mop of flaxen hair. The boy spoke, blushing a bit, in a voice that rang out clear and light, “Good afternoon! I would like one tartelettes aux fraises, please.” His French was pretty good, or at least it sounded good, Mori thought. “For here,” the boy added.

“Of course,” Mori replied, as he carefully lifted the mini tart off the ceramic tray. A glazed strawberry, sliced and fanned out over piped pastry cream, sat like a glistening red jewel. He placed it on a round plate and brought it over to the register counter. “Anything else today?” Mori asked.

“Can I… get a caffe mocha?” the charming and petite lad said reluctantly after reading through the coffee menu.

Mori caught the hesitation. “Yes, sir. How many shots of espresso?” he asked attentively.

The caramel eyes wibbled a little, damply, and he burst out suddenly “um? No shots? Please?”

Mori was relieved. Now he understood what the problem was: the menu did not list “hot chocolate.” He made a mental note that he should suggest a menu update to the manager. Making cute boys cry was already not his preference; and this boy in particular deserved the world, he immediately and definitively decided.

Mori nodded and completed the cash part of the transaction. “I will bring your strawberry mini tart and no-shots ‘caffe mocha’ to you in a minute, sir. There is a table with a nice view by that window, if you like.” He gestured to a small, round table that offered a glimpse across the street of a park with a duck pond. A coveted sight in urban Tokyo.

The boy smiled and practically floated over to the promised seat. He caught sight of a mama with her raft of ducklings zooming past and gasped with delight. Mori had to work incredibly hard to suppress a grin. It was everything he had hoped for.

Haruhi noticed. She noticed a lot of things, to be clear. Here, she was shocked and intrigued that Mori had said the longest continuous string of words than she had heard at any point over the past two years since he had started working here.

To be honest, she had been surprised when Kyoya had hired him on, considering how much talking is often involved in customer service. Kyoya, in an uncommonly forthcoming reveal into the inner workings of his mind, succinctly told Haruhi once that “diversity is a strength.”And that meant, in stark contrast to longtime coworker Tamaki’s effervescent and somewhat scattered personality, a staunchly grounded giant who is almost religious in keeping up on the daily labors of a bakery is certainly an asset.

Haruhi grabbed a silver dessert spoon and placed it and a napkin on the wooden serving tray, next to the strawberry mini tart. She winked at Mori as he finished making what was honestly a hot chocolate. He grunted softly, as if to say “hush, you.”

---

He came in every day that week. And every day he tried a different sweet pastry. As far as Mori could tell, he loved them all equally.

And Kyoya saw no objection to adding Hot Chocolate to the official cafe menu. “It’s not seasonally appropriate, but there has been an anti-caffiene health trend picking up lately,” he said decisively.

On the last day of his work week, Mori once again watched the boy leave the shop for the day. This time, the boy, busy looking at his phone, bumped into a trio of well-built, strong young men. He started to apologize for running into them, and Mori panicked a little, instinctively leaping over the counter and dashing past the other customers sitting at their tables. A blur of hyperactivity in an otherwise amazingly calm and inviting space.

And then Mori stopped, his heart beating hard.

“Haninozuka-sensei! We are so very sorry for getting in your way!” the trio barked, stiffly and respectfully bowing. Honey smiled kindly and waved them off.

“Oh, no, it was my fault entirely! I must have been busy with my own thoughts,” Haninozuka offered brightly. And after a quick exchange of pleasantries, he turned and walked up the street.

The trio lingered and talked amongst themselves. Mori tried not to listen, sort of. But he desperately needed to know more about this Haninozuka person. Their… sensei?

“Sensei was so...” Said the first one.

“I know! He’s been such a goddamn hardass at the dojo lately. I wasn’t expecting it.” The second offered.

“I was ready for him to beat us up right here on the sidewalk.” The third expressed, now relieved.

Mori was dumbfounded. This bubbly slip of a lad who giggled at baby ducks and was afraid to ask for a coffee without coffee... was apparently also a brutal martial arts teacher? He couldn’t possibly... and the name was familiar, but he couldn’t finish the thought.

Mori swam in his thoughts for a minute, completely adrift in the dissonance, before Tamaki finally caught his attention and brought him back to earth. “Mori-senpai!” he practically sang, “you left this winsome young lady before giving back her change~”

Mori’s eyes flashed and he looked back, embarrassed. “Very sorry, miss.”

“Um, well, I don’t mind!” she chirped. And she honestly hadn’t minded. He had been athletic and lithe --like an action hero-- when he vaulted himself over the counter, and it had made her think spicy thoughts she would never say aloud. Not something she had expected to experience during her trip to the nicest pastry shop in the ward, but it was a surprise she would treasure for years.

---

It was an agonizing week before Haninozuka came back into the patisserie.

Mori spent every shift that week dutifully doing his work, to the best of his ability. But his ability had degraded because a solid half of his brain was fixated on this mystery. Cute? Cruel? Sweets? Sensei? It consumed him, and he was beginning to hate himself for it. It had been much easier to do this job before he had someone he so looked forward to being around.

Then Mori caught himself. Sure, the work was easier before, when he had been habitually focused entirely on the tasks. Separating eggs. Measuring flour. Shaping butter into thick slabs. Pouring coffee and picking croissants out of the case. Even washing dishes. It had become a somewhat mindless rhythm.

But Haninozuka had made him want to come to work. It made the work feel more purposeful, somehow. It was like Mori had a specific audience in mind when he wiped tables. An audience he wanted to feel safe and comfortable and happy in his domain.

But what if Haninozuka was a bad person? Those three guys had been so sure that this was an unusual side to him. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for their comments to color his idea of this boy. But he also was afraid it would be foolish to not heed their words. Surely they knew their sensei better than Mori could possibly have gotten to in a handful of hours over a few days?

But eventually, he did come back.

This time, he was escorted by the trio from before, as well as a new face. The fourth person, who had similar facial features to Haninozuka, but was a bit taller than him, also had a permanent scowl topped with a grown out bowl cut and glasses, and he was nervously eyeing Haninozuka, watching to see what he would order.

Mori was ready to push the register icon for in the hot chocolate part of the order, and jumped ahead to asking “What pastry would you like today, sir?”

Haninozuka, looking resolute, jaw clenched and without the usual gleam in his warm eyes, stated plainly “I’ll take a plain croissant and black coffee today. Thank you.” The bowl cut kid visibly relaxed a little.

Mori felt the pain in his unusually flat voice, but only nodded. “Excellent choice. Is this together or separate?”

Once he finished taking the group order, they paid and left to go sit down at a pair of tables outside on the sidewalk, well away from the previously frequented pond-viewing seat.

Mori turned to the task at hand. He brought out a set of wooden half-trays, one for each order, and selected pastries for each guest while Haruhi got to work on the drinks. Mori used the tongs to pick up the plain croissant and paused. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. It felt so wrong.

He put it back and selected a hazelnut and chocolate ganache filled croissant instead. It looked nearly identical on the outside, especially if you weren’t paying close attention. Only a small seam with chocolate peeking through could be noticed, and even then, that was on the bottom side of the pastry.

He then turned to Haruhi and said, without room for question, “make the black coffee a hot chocolate. And put all the drinks in to-go cups.”

Haruhi smiled, and used a marker to write “black” on the paper cup that would be destined to not, in fact, have any coffee in it whatsoever. She was already thinking similarly, but had been waiting for Mori to declare it officially.

Haruhi helped Mori carry the trays of drinks and pastries out to the sidewalk tables. He carefully placed the correct one in front of Haninozuka and gave a half smile. Haninozuka barely noticed, staring dead ahead, bracing himself for what would be an absolute trial of bitter drink and plain food. She distributed napkins and utensils appropriately. They both chimed “Thank you, please enjoy,” and turned to head back inside.

“Why don’t you wipe down table 3?” prompted Haruhi, who magically produced a clean damp rag and offered it to Mori. Table 3 was inside the shop, but aside from the large pane of clear glass, was right next to the sidewalk tables. The audio was barely muffled. Mori took the cloth and singlemindedly started wiping at a table that was cerftifiably already clean.

Haninozuka tremulously started with the pastry. He nibbled cautiously at one corner. He sighed.

Mori cursed silently. “You have to take a bigger bite to get to the filling!” he thought.

Haninozuka couldn’t bring himself to try a sip of black coffee yet. He went back to the croissant. This time a luscious double whammy of chocolate and hazelnut hit his tongue. His eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.

Haninozuka Yasuchika, his brother, was taking a bite of his own pastry and found the kouign-amann satisfactorily salty as well as only lightly sweet. He grabbed his latte and brought it to his lips, then paused. He couldn’t help himself. Squinting suspiciously through his glasses, which light glinted off of even though they were all fully sitting in the shade, he prodded verbally “what about your black coffee, Mitsukuni-san?”

Mori kept pushing the cleaning rag over a now polished strip of an already spotless table and watched intently. “Mitsukuni” he thought to himself. “A nice name. And… I feel like I know it?”

Mitsukuni tried to not lament the inevitable ruination of his surprisingly edible, nay delicious, croissant. He reached for his cup and brought it closer. Holding his breath, so as not to overpower his sense of taste, he sipped delicately. Yasuchika grinned.

“Why it is perfectly tasty, brother! As usual, I mean.” Mitsukuni smiled, practically florid.

Yasuchika was caught between doubt and relief. His alien brother had so obviously hated giving up sweet things this past month. How could anyone go from entire cakes to once piece of (albeit very nice) plain bread? And from the most syrupy, whipped cream-bedecked drinks to black coffee? It was an unprecendented transformation. But on the other hand, Yasuchika felt accomplished. He had singlehandedly pressured his older brother to reform his ways. It was for the best, obviously. What sort of dojo is led by someone who would do anything for a chocolate bar? The lack of self control was shameful.

The other three guys were completely oblivious to the intimate details of sugary drama. They had simply thought it would be a good idea to bring their sensei to the only place they had seen him happy in recent memory, as part of a quiet campaign to improve the captain’s mood. Practice had gotten shockingly intense this past week, and, if they were to survive next week they needed their sensei to ease off a touch. Not that they could EVER say so to his face.

Mori checked that Mitsukuni was happily enjoying his hot chocolate and pastry, and that Yasuchika remained none the wiser. Satisfied, he decided the table’s newly worn hole was deep enough and turned back to his work behind the service counter. Haruhi winked and said nothing.

---

It was almost another week before Mitsukuni came back to the patisserie. Mori had been more patient this time. He felt firmly confident that Mitsukuni would find his way back when he was ready.

And his patience was rewarded, in a way.

Mitsukuni staggered in, after dark and only twenty minutes before closing. His eyes were bleary and his countenance groggy and listless. Mitsukuni, usually so sprightly and upright, dragged his bookbag on the ground and pulled up to the duck-watching table. Mori wasn’t sure what to do. Hand the man a hot chocolate as usual? Or… ask how he was doing???

Mori decided to walk over and offer some direct, compassionate human interaction. “Good evening,” he said, simply.

Mitsukuni looked up, with dark circles under his eyes.

He slammed his hand on the table, which startled Mori for but a moment, and said “I wanna shot!”

“...” said Mori.

“Of chocolate syrup, I mean. Like, a couple pumps in an espresso glass.”

Mori left and came back in an inhumanly fast turnaround with exactly that, and offered the teeny glass full of viscous sugary syrup to Mitsukuni, who promptly sucked it down and smacked the glass upside down on the table. “Another!” he garbled.

Mori didn’t remember grabbing the entire syrup bottle, but it was in his hand already. He decided not to think too hard about that and just left the entire thing on the table and walked away, back to cleaning up behind the counter for the night.

Well after the shop closed, with most of the lights off, save for the one over the register, Mori was done closing with one exception. Mitsukuni was finishing the last of the chocolate syrup. He had perked up considerably, and was now waving his arms animatedly, talking fast about his troubles.

“And Chika-chan comes up to me, and says, you know what he says?” Mori did not know. “He says that real men don’t like sweet things! He tells me I won’t be able to get any respect from my men if I keep eating midnight cakes and carrying candies in my pockets!”

Mori assumed Chika-chan must be the grumpy boy in glasses from the other day. He couldn’t say he liked him, particularly. Or, to be more precise, he didn’t like anyone who dared tell Mitsukuni that his respectability was dependent on having “appropriate” and “masculine” interests.

Mitsukuni blurted out a final exclamation of “Chika doesn’t have the balls to talk shit about Usa-chan, though!” and he… passed out.

Mori didn’t know who this Usa-chan was, but he did know that the shop was closed and that Mitsukuni needed to go home. But where was home?

He decided to try something. He looked up the name “Mitsukuni” along with the words “Bunkyo ward” and “dojo.” The search results were conveniently helpful, offering a website that encouraged serious karate students to sign up under the tutelage of Haninozuka Mitskuni.

“Oh. He is really that Haninozuka,” Mori thought to himself. Ages ago, there had been a falling out between their families. Once a close bond through fealty and eventually marriage and bloodline between the Haninozuka and the Morinozuka families, had been broken a couple generations back. The stories we still told, the wounds still fresh. Mori hadn’t even thought about them as “real” since they had become more of a background radiation to his life than a pressing influence. Until today, that is.

He grabbed the leather book bag and slung it over his shoulder, and then picked Mitsukuni up gingerly. Mitsukuni remained unconscious, a few smears of chocolate around his mouth. A legendary sugar crash.

Mori locked up the shop, without even having to put the boy down. He walked towards the Haninozuka family dojo, which was close by.

The lights were on. It was fairly quiet on the grounds. Only once voice was shouting from inside the dojo training hall as they practiced the forms.

Mori called out. “Excuse me. I have your sensei.”

A surprised face poked out. It was Yasuchika. “My… sensei? Oh, you mean my brother, Mitsukuni.” He looked suspiciously at Mori. “Who are you? What did you do to him?”

“I work at the French pastry shop up the street. I didn’t do anything, he was just very very tired.”

Mori purposefully “forgot” to mention his name. And he didn’t want to stick around to find out what Yasuchika really thought of him, especially with their families at odds.

Instead, he gently deposited Mitsukuni’s slumbering form on a training mat and put the book bag down next to him. Mori looked into his calm, round face and committed it to memory. Then he issued a quick departing bow and turned away, leaving the compound. He didn’t look back with his eyes, but a small part of him looked forward with his heart, in a complicated way.

He couldn’t shake that, despite it all, he still wanted to see this Haninozuka back at his patisserie and cafe. He walked home, tired.

[incorrect-toriko-quotes]

Oh my God, I'm so glad you brought up Coco's past/childhood, the experimentation, etc. in your long post on it because I have being thinking about it for years. So nice to see someone talking about it, and how messed up what happened to him was. Would love to see any other rants/analysis you have on that. For example, it's been a long time since I've read the series, how is Coco's relationship to Ichiryuu/the other Kings presented? Thanks, and really enjoy your posts!

First, I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my posts! The fandom may be small, but its always worth contributing to!

You said you “would love to see any other rants/analysis you have on Coco’s past”, and trust me, I’m more than happy to deliver (believe me when I say I have a HUGE buildup of talking to do about this one specific topic)

Now, under the cut, I’m gonna answer your question on Coco’s relationships with the other characters. And I’m going to make this way more complicated than it needs to be. Because when it comes to the other characters (especially family members), Coco is one of those characters where his relationships have been heavily influenced by his past.

(Apologies in advance for how unnecessarily complicated I made this)

Let’s start with Anon’s question:

How is Coco's relationship to Ichiryuu/the other Kings presented?

Now, obviously, over the course of the series, it changes drastically. But let’s take a look at what we see in the beginning and see where we end up from there. (I’ve been going back through the series start-to-finish, since I’m finally getting to reading the VIZ translations of the manga)

In the beginning...

We all know that Coco was introduced really early in the series, at the beginning of Puffer Whale. He explains that, in order to avoid being hunted down by scientists, he moved to Gourmet Fortune and became a fortune-teller. This is not only to avoid the scientists themselves, but (moreso in the anime), its also mentioned that he tries to avoid the general media, which the scientists could use to find him through.

Now, I don’t know if anyone else remembers, but I’ll include this screenshot from Episode 4: Prepare It! The Poisonous Puffer Whale! The Heavenly King Coco Appears! (Manga equivalent is Gourmet 11: Into the Cavern We Go!!)

(A bit unrelated, but anyone else notice that he literally flinches when Komatsu jumps on him? At first I thought it was just because... that’s what you do when someone jumps on you. But then I got a closer look at this screenshot and realized just how uncomfortable he looks — hell, he looks more like he’s in pain than like he’s been startled.)

I remember seeing this, and seeing his realization that Komatsu isn’t afraid of him. At first I was like: “Okay, yeah. He lives alone in the woods with his crow and avoids other human beings like the plague. He thinks everyone is afraid of him. Makes perfect sense.”

But then I started taking a closer look at his relationship with the rest of the family (Ichiryuu, Rin, and the other Kings), as well as the other characters in general. That’s when I noticed something:

We rarely (if ever) see Coco make physical contact with anyone that isn’t Toriko or Komatsu.

Now, of course, there’s probably some things I’ve missed. But I’ve been trying to keep track of this as I go back through the series.

One thing (shortly after that last screenshot takes place) that Coco mentions is that he’s confused that Komatsu is willing to touch him because of his poison. And a few seconds/pages prior, Toriko was explaining to Komatsu that Coco had been experimented on in the past, and he left his old life behind to live quietly and undisturbed in Gourmet Fortune. And from there, as more of Coco’s character is revealed, we realize that it’s not just people around him being concerned for their own health and well-being (we all remember the fangirls in Gourmet Fortune). It’s that Coco, as a general rule, doesn’t like being touched.

Now, at first (again, in the context of the previous screenshots), we think it’s because of his poison. A mix of “I don’t want to be poisoned” from others and “I don’t want to poison you” from Coco. And obviously (based off his response to Komatsu), this is going to play a part in the reason why.

But then again, I would like to remind you that Coco was, canonically, experimented on. And for those of you who haven’t seen this post I made, it’s actually canon that he was branded a “Dangerous Beast” (by the scientists) when he was either 11 or 12 years old (with the odds being in favour of 11, as he has a birthday fairly late in the year).

(Image from Volume 2: Coco!! (Gourmet 11: Into the Cavern We Go!!) - VIZ Media translation. Yes, it’s the same image from my last post. Sue me.)

Now of course, you can all theorize as to what, specifically, said experimentation entails. (Personally, it just sounds like it would involve a lot of blood-drawing, but again, I think Shimabukuro wants us to make our own theories on this.)

But there’s something else to consider: if his aversions to being around other people (especially being touched), stem more from fear/trauma than from a desire to protect others. (And I think we can all agree that it’s not just introversion... this is more than a little on the ‘extreme’ side)

Now, to be perfectly clear: I’m not really referring to the process of the experimentation. I’m actually referring more to the fact that he was hunted for experimentation, as opposed to the experiments themselves.

One thing that’s always bothered me was the fact that it was the IGO who were hunting him.

Why is this bothersome?

Because the IGO wants to prevent war by beating the evil Gourmet Corp to GOD. Because the president of the IGO goes behind the backs of the corrupt, evil men who hog the food and spend lavishly at the casino to deliver food to children in poverty. Because its very clearly established that Ichiryuu’s a good father! Because, when Sunny, as a child, accidentally broke a cup and cut his arm, instead of focusing on the broken cup, Ichiryuu’s first concern is to look after the cut on Sunny’s arm. 

Because the IGO are supposed to be the good guys.

So when we see them doing morally questionable (and in some cases, morally repulsive) things, it’s jarring.

And even more so for the characters.

Think about this from Coco’s perspective, as an 11 year old child. Just for a moment. Thus far, he has seen the IGO...

Deliver food supplies to children living in poverty

Adopt some of these children (himself included)

Nurse these weak, malnourished children back to health

Raise them in a generally loving environment

Train them to be skilled Gourmet Hunters

I’m sure you’re expecting me to say something like: “He was a literal child, children are trusting!” but looking at this, why wouldn’t he trust them?

And that’s the big thing to consider when looking at his behaviour towards the other characters: The IGO’s repeated experimentation (and attempts at experimentation) were a betrayal of his trust in them.

He’s not just avoiding the scientists and the media by giving up his career as a Hunter. He’s avoiding the IGO as a whole. They betrayed him, and he can’t trust them anymore.

And then I took that back to his general avoidance mannerisms. As I mentioned: Coco rarely (if ever) touches anyone who isn’t Toriko or Komatsu.

(Top left: Volume 15: Zebra!! (Gourmet 125:  Journey to the Underworld!!) Top right: Volume 2: Coco!! (Gourmet 9: The Days of the Four Kings!!) Bottom left: Episode 5: The Deadly Cave Battle! Fire, Five-Fold Spiked Punch! Bottom right: Volume 5: The Regal Plateau!! (Gourmet 41: Confrontation and Invasion!!))

The above collage I made is a bit messy, but I think it serves its purpose. Coco rarely makes physical contact with anybody, and when he does, its with Toriko and Komatsu (and apparently mostly for comedic purposes,)

One thing worth noting, though, is that he does, in fact, offer to shake Sunny’s hand when they meet at Regal Plateau. Sunny declines and responds with...

...but it is worth noting that the offer was made. Sure, this could be interpreted as Coco doing the obligatory Older Sibling job of irritating Sunny, but when he says this, his tone isn’t snide or sarcastic. Furthermore, Coco is known for his reserved nature, and isn’t the type to draw attention to something he doesn’t want noticed. If Coco was truly dead set against Sunny touching him, its very unlikely he would’ve pointed out that Sunny was retracting his Feelers (because, let’s be real, it would be pretty in-character for Sunny to then send out his Feelers solely out of spite)

And that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t even seem to let Ichiryuu or Mansam inside his personal bubble. Every time they’re seen together, he stays a good distance away.

That last part is especially interesting. If Coco was truly keeping his distance solely to avoid poisoning people, then it seems unlikely that he’d come closer to Toriko, Sunny, and especially Komatsu, but avoid Ichiryuu and Mansam. If anybody’s going to be safe for him to be around, Ichiryuu is definitely in the top 3, if not at the very top of the list.

So thus far, we have a few things worth noting on the point of Coco’s general avoidance of all other people:

Coco initially claims that he avoids other people (especially being touched by other people) because of his poison, and is surprised when Komatsu dismisses that concern — in fact, he actually comes to become very close to Komatsu (emotionally) shortly after. More on that later.

Coco was experimented on by the IGO as a child, which was a massive betrayal of his trust in them

The only people he will let touch him are Toriko, Komatsu, and Sunny. He keeps his distance from even Ichiryuu and Mansam.

When everything is accounted for, Coco’s avoidance of other people is more an issue of trust than one of concern for their safety.

While its true that Coco directly says that its an issue almost solely of concern (the aforementioned “I don’t want to poison anyone and nobody wants me to poison them” mentality), if anything, seems more like a defense he’s prepared if he’s asked about it. I wouldn’t call it a lie (if anything, he might’ve even convinced himself that its true — but that’s just further speculation), but its definitely not the hard truth.

Anime-only fans may be surprised by this, but in Volume 3: The Thing!! (Gourmet 17: A Taste of Poison!!), Coco says this:

Makes sense, right? When he gets startled by Starjun’s GT Robot in Cavern Lagoon (literally 4 pages later), he (seemingly instinctively) prepares an extremely lethal poison — and (in the manga) almost collapses afterwards as a result (Hmm... perhaps one day I could try and analyse the effects Coco experiences of using his poison? I think the whump fans might enjoy that one)

But back to the main point: the fact that Coco says this is... odd to me. “Odd” to the point that I went back to recap large parts of the series, and sure enough... I didn’t actually find much in the way of Coco consuming canon alcohol. Things implied to be alcoholic? Yes. Things canonically established to be alcoholic? Ehh... not really.

I could elaborate on that more, but I’ll get back to the point.

The key thing he says here is that he “loses control of his poison”. Again, this makes sense (because again, Starjun’s GT Robot seemed to trigger his poison, and that was an emotional reaction. Surely being drunk would have a similar effect?).

But as I’ve mentioned: he doesn’t go near Ichiryuu, Mansam, or really any other powerful characters. He even keeps Tylan at a distance, and Tylan specializes in neutralizing poison.

But Toriko, Komatsu, and Sunny? They most definitely could not handle most of Coco’s poisons. And in the previous collage (bottom left), Toriko is holding Coco after a fight, mere seconds after Coco had been using his poison, ruling out the possibility that its a matter of situation/circumstance.

Consider now: the relationships Coco has with Toriko, Komatsu, and Sunny.

Coco (at least, at the beginning of the series) is closest to Toriko. They’re on fairly good terms, and their fight with the Devil Python (while containing the occasional playful jab at the other) is not just coordinated, but cooperative. They work well together, and they seem to get along the best out of the Kings.

When it comes to Sunny, sure, their relationship is a little strained. Sunny is jealous of Coco’s ability to make entrances, and has no qualms about saying harsh things that are, on occasion, hurtful. And Coco is still somewhat standoffish towards Sunny. But that’s not to say that they don’t seem to get along at least decently well. Unlike with Zebra, they don’t yell or argue that much. They bond over certain topics, and will still work together.

...I don’t think I need to say anything about Komatsu. Everyone likes Komatsu.

But look at these relationships compared to each other. What do they have in common?

Though they may not be the smoothest of relationships, they are at least decently trusting in nature. These are people that Coco knows he can trust.

Recall again, that Coco has had his trust in the IGO shattered by his past.

So, back to Anon’s question

How is Coco’s relationship to Ichiryuu/the other Kings presented?

Okay, so I may have strayed off topic a bit. But, well, Anon asked for more rants/analyses.

So, what does all that have to do with how Coco's relationships with the rest of the family are presented?

Well... it technically has nothing to do with it. But hear me out:

In terms of just presentation, I could sum it up in a list:

Toriko: Coco and Toriko arguably have the best relationships out of the Kings. They not only are willing to work with the other, but they automatically work together. I'd say more, but then I'd just be restating what I said earlier

Sunny: Coco and Sunny get along well enough, but its shown that they're not on the best of terms. Their relationship is somewhat strained, and they're both prone to slighting the other. Nevertheless, they're on decent terms. (Again, not gonna restate everything)

Zebra: Coco is shown to strongly dislike Zebra, especially early on. Most notably, he refuses to go with Toriko to pick up Zebra from prison without a second thought. However, due to Coco's generally docile nature, they don't get into huge fights like Toriko and Sunny do with Zebra.

Ichiryuu: ...It's complicated. While (as I said before) Ichiryuu is shown to be a generally gentle and caring father, this post elaborates a bit more on some of what could be extrapolated from the facts that Ichiryuu runs the IGO, and that the IGO has done some pretty awful things to Coco.

But, well, that's kind of a gross oversimplification of what is understood through context and offhanded comments about the past.

Because, when everything's been accounted for, Coco trusts Toriko and Sunny. Not just in the way that "they'd probably save his life if they had to", because let's be real, Ichiryuu would do that. Rin would do that. Hell, Zebra would do that.

But Ichiryuu runs the IGO. He's the president of the entire organization. And as I've mentioned in the past, he's not stupid. Goofy? Yes, but not stupid. Ignorant? Well, sometimes seemingly so for comedic effect, but he’s never proven to miss important things when it matters most.

When his child is being subjected to literal human experimentation, he can't pretend he doesn't know. And if he's the PRESIDENT OF THE IGO, he can't pretend he doesn't have the power to stop it. He's letting this happen. He's complacent in letting Coco be experimented on — something that's clearly established to be traumatizing. In the second picture featured, Toriko directly says: "He's gone through a lot of bad times. Enough to quit being a Gourmet Hunter."

Sure, as a general rule, Coco is presented with having generally decent relationships with everyone else. But when it comes to how he truly feels about most of the other characters (especially when taken in the context of his past, which perfectly enough, is what Anon was asking for), its a general distrust in almost everyone. (Because he was betrayed by the IGO, of all organizations.)

Now, what I’m about to say is fairly off-topic, but then again, what in this WALL OF TEXT wasn’t?

One thing I’m sure many of us find to be at least somewhat irritating is when introversion is treated as a character flaw that has to be “fixed”. Its never quite sat right with me when I see an introvert be “fixed” into being an extrovert by the end of a story.

But strangely enough, they didn’t really do this with Coco.

Not because he stayed an introvert the whole series (though really, he did stay fairly reserved).

But, because the extreme lengths he was willing to go to in order to avoid other people? The things he did that went beyond introversion in order to stay away from people?

Those are things we see lessening over the course of the series. Sure, he may still live on a precipice in the woods, but after Cooking Fest, he invites Sunny and Zebra over.

Think about those with that scene towards the end of Puffer Whale in mind:

(Screenshot taken from Episode 6: The Knocking Master! Time to Taste the Puffer Whale!)

Again, I’m going to end this rant on an invitation for further speculation. I wonder if most of Coco’s character development is less about him overcoming his fears of his poison (or, if you want to get philosophical, his fear of himself), and more about overcoming the fear of himself he came to develop after a series of very traumatic experiences (being convinced by these scientists that he’s a “Dangerous Beast” that should be locked up), and gradually coming to be able to trust people again?

---

And of course, feel free to add to this in the notes! Or laugh at the sheer amount of time I’ve spent analysing this. Or yell at me for being too confusing and not just answering the question directly.

[sleepless-stories]

A Call For Help |6

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Morning came and Virgil awoke feeling quite sore on his side, though he also felt safe and warm. He opened his eyes looking around not recognizing the room for a moment till he looked next to him, Starli- Logan. He was in Logan’s room… his apparent boyfriend. Virgil laughed softly to himself as he pulled himself out of bed. 

Logan shifted slightly at the loss of Virgil but didn’t wake up and simply cuddled into the blankets. 

Virgil smiled softly and looked around, he went over and opened Logan’s dresser, he grabbed some jeans and a random t-shirt before carefully getting dressed. He made sure to not to turn too much and damage the stitches or anything more than it was as he dressed. 

Virgil finished then went to Logan’s closet, opening the door he looked in it before finding a small bag and taking it, after he grabbed his uniform from under the bed stuffing it in the bag. Virgil went to Logan’s desk writing a note that he’d return what he borrowed soon. He then decided to add a small heart to the corner before putting the pen away. 

Virgil took one last look at Logan before stepping out of the room silently. He was sneaking his way to go out the door when suddenly there was a hand on his arm. Virgil turned to see Logan’s roommate, Roman.

“Morning, Logan’s boyfriend… mind if we chat before you run off.”

“You know… I really… I gotta go…”

Roman smirked slightly, “I only need a moment of your time, and at least a proper introduction.”

Virgil stared at him, this guy was going to be a real pain wasn’t he… Virgil sighed brushing Roman’s hand off his arm, “I’m Virgil, and I really should be going.”

Roman pulled him to the side and pushed him onto the couch, sitting on the coffee table in front of him. 

Virgil winced when he was pushed onto the couch, making a mental note to maybe visit the hospital, or to visit a friend who was at least proficient in medicine. 

“So… why have I never heard about you unil last night?” Roman asked.

Virgil stared, “Because… Logan wanted our relationship to be a secret. We weren’t ready yet.”

“Why were you here last night.”

“Logan called saying he was sick and wouldn’t meet up so I wanted to see him.”

Roman glared before sighing, shaking his head, “I know you’re lying… I know you came for a specific reason, maybe to do with the large amount of blood?”

“I’m fine, I just wanted to see him.”

Roman reached over and pressed his hand against Virgil’s side with adequate pressure. “You see, I’m trying to protect Logan. Along with being his roommate, I’m his best friend. And, I don’t trust you. You’re clearly hiding something, so was he last night.”

Virgil winced and gasped, “We’re not hiding anything.” he growled, “Take your hand off me.”

Roman stared at him, “I just want to protect Logan. And there is something about you…”

“I understand, you don’t trust me.”

“No I really don’t.”

“And you shouldn't,'' Virgil nodded, continuing to glare. His side was starting to hurt like hell from Roman pushing against it. He just kept breathing, keeping himself calm though to not tear Roman apart.

Roman glared back at him not noticing as a bit of blood was seeping out of the stitches under Virgil’s shirt. 

Logan had woken up seeing he was alone, his enemy had left… though in a way the lines were seeming to become blurred between them, it was unclear if they really truly were against each other. Logan shook his head getting up, he noticed a note on his desk and put on his glasses before reading it. Logan smiled softly at the paper when he read it and pushed back his hair. Logan grabbed his doorknob and paused hearing voices… seemingly hostile voices. Carefully Logan opened his door and looked, right across from him he saw what was happening. Roman sat on the coffee table leaning over to virgil his arm resting heavily on Virgil’s side. Virgil sitting on the couch glaring down Roman, his hand clenched into a fist. 

Logan walked swiftly over, “Roman… what are you doing?” 

Roman didn’t notice Logan there till suddenly he heard his name, Roman looked at his best friend then back at Virgil seeing his slightly pained expression. Instantly his eyes widened and he pulled himself back, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I um…” Roman shook his head and went to make breakfast. 

Virgil glanced at Logan after Roman left them, he nodded in thanks and stood slowly, bracing himself against the couch arm rest once standing. 

“You alright?” Logan asked, reaching forward.

Virgil took a step back and lifted the shirt slightly, just glancing at the blood before putting the shirt back down. “I’m fine. Now I need to go.” 

Logan sighed, “I could take you home.”

“I could manage alone.”

“Alright, I better not see you tonight.”

“Same goes for you.” Virgil said before grabbing the bag and going to the door. 

Logan stood there in place watching Virgil leave. Virgil… it was so odd to think, he was on a first name basis with his enemy, but Phantom wasn’t really his enemy, and he didn’t seem to be truly villainous either. Logan stared as Virgil walked out the door. His… opponent was a puzzle. But he could figure him out maybe. 

Roman glanced over at Logan when Virgil left, “Sorry about interrogating your boyfriend.”

Logan snapped out of his thoughts and looked over, “Hm? My… oh my bo- Roman, Just don’t do it again.” Logan replied with a nod before going back to his room. 

Virgil walked out the door and looked back for a moment before walking down the stairs, a hand lightly pressed to his side. Roman was right to not trust him, all he did was hurt Logan... Star. All he did was hurt everyone, that’s what got him labeled as a villain after all. Virgil got to the bottom of the stairs and closed his eyes leaning against a wall. Everything was fine though, he protected those who mattered to him, that was all he needed to do. Virgil opened his eyes for a moment before letting his shadows engulf him. Virgil fell back into his abyss traveling across the city, making the jump a few times before he finally got home. He was definitely grateful to Star for helping him, otherwise he wouldn’t have made it home, and he probably would've been torn apart by his own method of travel. 

Virgil got to his apartment and got dressed into his grocery store uniform. He would have a break later. 

_________________________ General Tag List @crazy-multifandomfangirl @aceawkwardunicorn

_______________________ A Call For Help @star-crossed-shipper @simplyapannightmare

[emy-loves-you]

Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays Chapter 6

Who the F*ck’s Rebecca? OR How the 3 Gays got Together

Virgil learns about Roman’s childhood, specifically his sister and how he ended up dating Patton and Logan.

Warning: Misgendering of a character (but no one knows that the character is trans)

Yes, Roman and Remus are brothers. Explanations are listed at the bottom

Chapter 5 | Masterlist | Chapter 7

V- (2:07 PM) Let it Go was the best song in Frozen and you cannot convince me otherwise

R- (2:07 PM) I respect your opinion, but hear me out: Love is an Open Door

V- (2:08 PM) No

R- (2:08 PM) What about Fixer Upper?

V- (2:09 PM) Still no.

P- (2:09 PM) I really liked Olaf’s song about Summer!

L- (2:10 PM) I personally enjoyed the reprise of First Time in Forever.

R- (2:10 PM) You like almost any song with a reprise

L- (2:10 PM)I will not argue that, as successfully executed reprises are “lit.”

R- (2:11 PM) Ah, and who among us could forget the absolute BOP that is… that weird ice-cutting song.

P- (2:11 PM) I don’t know, Roman. I think that song is, pretty COOL

R- (2:11 PM) Oh, lookout

V- (2:12 PM) What? He’s just saying it’s a CHILLED out groove.

R- (2:12 PM) Ugh

L- (2:12 PM) We might need you two to leave this chat if you don’t stop.

Virgil laughed, throwing his phone on the bed and stripping out of his clothes. He just finished jogging home from Janus’ (he didn’t own a car right now, preferring to walk or have Janus pick him up). It was a lazy afternoon in late September, and all Virgil wanted to do was get out of these sweaty clothes and maybe take a nap. He heard his phone go off multiple times as he got dressed, probably Patton and Logan arguing about the purpose of puns. He flopped down onto his bed and grabbed his phone, checking the new messages.

P- (2:14 PM) Lo, the Princes are calling.

L- (2:14 PM) Tell Roman not to answer, Patton. We’ve been over this.

P- (2:14 PM) They’re asking about us, Lo.

L- (2:14 PM) Tell Roman to hang up. They’re not worth it.

P- (2:15 PM) They’re yelling now, L. They brought up Rebecca. What do I do?

L- (2:15 PM) Just walk into another room, Patton. Ignore them. Do you want me to call you?

P- (2:15 PM) No, I’m good. Just keep texting me. I need a distraction.

Now, Virgil had no idea about what the fuck was going on. But he knew how to distract someone. He’d just have to trust them to tell him later.

V- (2:16 PM) Did you know that octopi have 3 hearts?

L- (2:16 PM) What

P- (2:16 PM) That just means they have more love to give!

V- (2:17 PM) The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds

P- (2:17 PM) Such a good bird!

V- (2:17 PM) Babies do not regularly produce tears until they are 1-3 months old

L- (2:18 PM) Ah, I think I understand now

V- (2:18 PM) A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time. It stands for 1/1000th of a second

L- (2:18 PM) Falsehood. A jiffy is 1/100th of a second

V- (2:19 PM) Sorry, my hand must’ve slipped.

L- (2:19 PM) You would be unable to walk on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune because they have no solid surface.

L- (2:20 PM) An asteroid about the size of a car enters Earth’s atmosphere roughly once a year. However, it burns up before it can reach us.

L- (2:20 PM) The highest mountain known to man is on an asteroid called Vesta. It is approximately three times the height of Mount Everest.

P- (2:21 PM) I think they hung up. Thanks for keeping me company, Kiddos!

L- (2:21 PM) It was not an issue, Patton.

V- (2:21 PM) Yeah, no problem Pat. Now can someone explain what just happened?

L- (2:23 PM) As you can probably tell, I am not home at the moment. Apparently, Roman’s parents decided to call him and an argument broke out. The rest is not my place to say.

Virgil bit his lip, refusing to look at his phone screen. Did Virgil have the right to ask about that. It was obviously a very sensitive topic, and Virgil had only known Roman for about 3 months now. Virgil felt like he knew a lot about his 3 crushes (their quirks, their favorite sweets, their goals in life), but he knew very little about their lives before Virgil had met them. Which was fine; they knew very little about Virgil’s life, too. But he desperately wanted to help Roman; to make him feel happy and safe and loved. Virgil sighed, setting his phone on his nightstand. If Princey wants to tell me what’s going on, I’ll listen. If not, I’ll just have to deal with it.

Virgil woke up from his nap to the sound of his phone going off. He blindly felt around for it, his face still firmly planted in his pillow. He finally found it, turning it on before he lifted his head to read the text. It was a private message from Princey.

R- (3:02 PM) You’re probably wondering what happened today.

V- (3:02 PM) I am, but you don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. I’ll respect your privacy.

R- (3:02 PM) As much as I appreciate that, you still deserve to know.

R- (3:03 PM) Do you mind if I call you? This doesn’t feel like a conversation to have over text.

Virgil thought about it for a moment. He originally never wanted to call Roman, simply because he might recognize Virgil’s voice as Anxiety’s. However, not only was Virgil 99% confident that Roman had never even heard of The Dark Sides, Virgil’s head was still foggy after his nap. Before he knew it, he was already calling Princey’s phone.

“Virgil?” Roman didn’t sound as… grand as Virgil expected. His voice was subdued and slightly hoarse, probably from the screaming match with his parents.

“Heya, Princey.” Virgil cringed at how gravelly his voice sounded. He’ll need to get some water after this conversation is over.

“You sound so tired. Oh my stars, did I wake you up? I’m so sorry. I’ll let you get back to sleep-”

“Princey, it’s okay. Just finished my nap. Might not talk much, but ‘m all ears.”

“Alright. Where do I even begin?”

“Take your time. ‘m not pressurin’ you or anythin’.”

“(sigh) You’re right. I guess I should start at the beginning. I grew up in a very... conservative household. My parents expected me and my sister, Rebecca, to be perfect. ReeRee was my partner in crime. We did everything together up until highschool. My parents expected me to get a football scholarship and date the hottest girl in school. I did those things, not because I wanted to, but because they wanted me to. ReeRee was a different story. When my parents signed her up for cheerleading, she tried to join the football team instead. When they told her she should wear her hair in a ponytail, she cut it off to match mine. I didn’t understand, and it made me angry. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror; she was starting to look more and more like me, and yet each change made my parents angrier. Why was looking and acting like me a problem? I thought they liked this version of me! One night in the summer before junior year I was really frustrated and I took it out on her. I told her to stop acting like me. I knew she didn’t deserve my anger, so I went to Patton’s place to cool down. By the time I came home, my parents refused to acknowledge that I even had a sister. I pushed her away, and now I’ll never get her back.

After that, things changed. I was so angry, and everything I saw reminded me of her. I quit the football team, because every time I went down to the field I expected to see her. I dyed my hair, because every time I looked in the mirror I saw her staring back. I stopped caring about what my parents thought, ‘cause it was their opinions that dragged me into this mess!

I had already been friends with Patton since Freshman year, but me and Logan had been at each other’s throats . We were always bickering about something, and sometimes I used our arguments to vent out my anger at whatever was wrong at the time. I didn’t even realize how much I had cared about Patton and Logan until I learned about the LGBTQ+ community. My parents were super strict, and Patton and Logan didn’t exactly flaunt their relationship. I had no idea that liking guys was even an option . Once I learned about it, my parents quickly tried to shut it down. Everyday, they’d start their day telling me that ‘homosexuality is a sin’ and ‘God made you to be the gender you were born with!’ If they had told me that before ReeRee left, I might’ve believed them. But by this point, I didn’t care about a single thing they told me.

So one day, I’m arguing with Logan about who knows what, and suddenly we’re inches apart, and I remember pa saying ‘ a boy should never kiss another boy.’ And just think, ‘Fuck it.’ And now me and Pocket Protector are suddenly making out behind the school building. Microsoft Nerd asks why the hell I decided to make out with him of all people, and I break down right there. He agreed to keep it a secret, but he refused to do anything more than a simple make-out session until he had Padre’s consent to do so. Which I understood, consent is important, cheating is bad.

Now we’re having these ‘sessions’ at least once a week for almost 4 months. Patton eventually walked in on us and he was understandably upset. I explained what had happened and that I’ve had a crush on both of them for a while. And they’re like ‘cool, we’re polyam.’ And now I’m starting senior year dating two men, which mom and pa were not okay with. I told ‘em to fuck off and we moved away as soon as we graduated. They still call occasionally, asking when I’m gonna get my life together and get over losing ReeRee. I haven’t blocked ‘em yet in case they find her or change their minds.”

Roman finally took a deep breath. “Sorry about the rant. Didn’t realise how badly I needed to get that off my chest.”

Virgil snorted. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. Told ya I’d be a good ear. And Princey?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t gotta do anything to impress someone else. You bein’ you is good enough. And if Rebecca could see you, I’m sure she’d be proud as hell. And don’t be ‘fraid to hit me up if you need someone other than your SOs to rant to; I’ll always be here for ya, Princey.”

“... Thank you, Virgil. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that until you said it.” He sighed, and Virgil could hear the sound of running water. “I’m gonna go drink some water. My throat burns like a bitch right now.”

“Same. Catch you later?”

He could hear Roman chuckle to himself. “I guess you shall. Farewell, Storm Cloud. And pleasant dreams!”

Virgil blushed. The way Roman said his nickname… it made Virgil’s gay heart nearly explode. He quickly hung up and buried his face back into his pillow. I’ll get water later. AFTER my heart stops racing.

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Now, for those of you wondering about why Virgil doesn't realize that Roman and Remus are brothers, I'm gonna put a quick explanation here, 'cause I don't know how to casually fit this into the story. 1.) Remus has never told Virgil his deadname or his last name. He's probably told Janus (since their pretty close) but Virgil doesn't know. 2.) Remus has never told Virgil that his brother's name is Roman. Additionally, when Virgil is talking about the 3 gays, he only calls them "Pat, Lo and Princey." 3.) Roman's parents didn't tell him that Remus transitioned, so he doesn't know that Rebecca now goes by Remus. Also, none of the characters have actually sent pictures of their faces, so none of them have any idea what the other looks like. 4.) It is a total coincidence that both twins moved to the same town. Remus believes that Roman still lives in their hometown, and Remus could be dead for all that Roman knows. There is no logical reason for them to think "maybe Virgil's friends with my long-lost sibling" 5.) Virgil would NEVER out his friends like that. He tells Janus and Remus everything, but he would NEVER betray Roman's trust like that. Same thing for telling Roman about Remus. Roman might know that Remus is trans, but he doesn't know about Remus' background. ONE LAST THING: Roman and Virgil will eventually see each other face-to-face but WON'T recognize each other's voices. This is because during the phone call Virgil is still groggy from waking up and Roman is still hoarse from screaming.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

[an-actual-angel]

Pairing: Connor (RK800) x Reader, Collin (RK800-60) x Reader, Richard (RK900) x Reader

Summary: The year was 2082. 44 Years after the android revolution. Things have turned south for humanity. Androids now rule the world, leaving humans to be considered as mere animals. While some Androids still have a general disdain for humanity some have taken to the idea of keeping them as “family pets.”You, born in captivity, specifically bred to be the perfect pet happen to get adopted by the RK brothers.

Chapter Description: After a fantastic date with Collin and Connor, You realise you need to metaphorically or maybe literally clean your drawers of Richard. Getting rid of his gifts is a good start.

(If anyone wants to be added to the tag list, either dm or reply to this post <3)

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Chapter 26 -

Your name: submit What is this?

‘Connor should be arriving home soon.’ You thought to yourself as you sat down the new book you had been reading, deciding to go spruce yourself up a little in the mirror in your bedroom. When you were pleased with how your hair was sitting you decided to make your way to the living room, perhaps Collin had finished up on the work he was doing earlier. You didn’t see him about but you settled down on the couch anyway. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long until either Collin or Connor showed up. Turning on the TV to whatever crappy show was on to fill the silent room with noise, you patted a pillow down on your lap, settling into the sofa to make yourself more comfortable.

A noise jolted you out of your nesting and focused your attention towards the door. Unfortunately, the noise hadn’t come from Collin or Connor. Instead, it was Richard and he was holding the three bags you had previously left at his door.

“What’s this about?” He questioned you, holding the paper bags out loosely by two fingers.

“I’m returning those to you.” You replied coldly, without giving him so much as a second glance. “You bought me all those outfits, I only ended up wearing the one.”

“Yes.” He nodded his head as he moved closer to you. Placing the bags at your feet, he sat on the other sofa that was close by. He placed his forearms on his knees as he leant in to talk. “They were gifts though.”

“Thanks but no thanks.” Your eyes still refused to look his way.

A tutting sound left Richard’s mouth as he adjusted his posture, sitting up straight again. His lips kissing his teeth as they became a flat line, he stared at you in assessment before choosing which words to say next. “I must insist. I bought them specifically for you.”

“You can’t just win me over with fancy clothes, Richard.” You spoke his name with such bite, such venom as you still refused to look in his direction.

His nose snarled up in frustration as he shot up from his seat, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV, he stood in your eye line.

���I know you’re mad but you are not making this any easier for me.” His voice raised slightly, not in an aggressive way but in a way you could tell he was really pissed off. Good.

You shrug lazily in response.

Richard’s jaw clicks as he steps closer to you. “What do you want me to do, huh?”

“How about go away?”

Richard’s lips part, he really could not believe you were talking to him like this.

“That’s not going to happen.” He shakes his head.

“Jesus, Richard leave her the fuck alone.” Collin's voice juts in. Your head turns to notice Collin making his way towards you, a large bowl of popcorn in hand.

Richard squints as he watches Collin approaching. “This is none of your business, Collin.”

“Well, it is kind of.” Collin sets the bowl of popcorn down on the table, close to where you had sat. “You’re harassing my girlfriend.” He shrugs sitting down, placing his arm around your shoulders.

His what?

“You’re what?” Richard spits his words as if Collin is playing some kind of stupid joke on him.

Collin raises his eyebrows in response, a way that kind of says ‘are you stupid?’

“My Girlfriend.” He mocks, saying it slow to drill in the point. “Well… actually.” He sighs a little with a smirk “She’s mine  and  Connor’s girlfriend.”

“What?!”

Oh shit, you think Richard is about to blow a fuse.

“You’re dating a human? Really Collin?”

“Well, that didn’t exactly stop you, eh big guy?” Collin’s foot lightly taps against Richard's shin.

He could not believe what he was hearing today. Holding one of his hands up to his temple, as if to massage this all away, Richard tries to gather his thoughts. Finally opening his eyes, they fall on you – trying to figure out if this is all a bluff. You rest your head into Collin's shoulder and smile up at Richard.

LED flashing between colours, he gives Collin a final scowl before storming off and leaving the bags behind. You both hear the door slamming as he leaves.

Collin bites his lip to contain his laughter but when he catches a glimpse of your face it all spills out.

“Oh. My. God.” He wheezes. “His fucking LED was like a disco!”

You shake your head to stop from laughing along, a few more huffs leave Collins chest before he sighs. “God, we need to mess with him more often.”

Eventually calming down he gives you another wide smirk as he leans into you slightly. “Sorry about saying you were my girlfriend, that was a little presumptuous. I just wanted to annoy Richard.”

“Oh, was that all?” You teased.

“Well I mean, I would willingly jump at the opportunity if it presented itself.” Collin smiles back with a sly wink.

“Maybe, if you play your cards right.” You bump into him playfully.

“Oh, I’ll be on my best behaviour, promise.” He laughs, placing his hand on his heart.

You respond with a giggle as he takes your hand in his, placing it up against his chest.

“Hey, you know what?” He asks.

“Hmm?”

“I just remembered. You still haven’t kissed me yet.” Collin cocks his head to the side, maintaining eye contact.

“Well, apparently we made out.” You teased, referring to the night you both had a little too much to drink.

“Well, it doesn’t count when your drunk.”

“Charming.” You laugh in response. “Is that what you say to all the girls?”

A deep chuckle rumbles in his chest as he slides his tongue across his teeth with a smile. “What type of scoundrel do you think I am?”

“The worst type.”

“Is that so?” his eyebrows raise in amusement, as his face inched closer to yours.

You nodded a little in response allowing your foreheads to touch as you let out a small chuckle.

Two of Collin's fingers trail up your arm, leaving small shivers as they graced your exposed skin. When they reach your shoulder, he guides them to take your chin, guiding your face he places a small chaste kiss upon your lips.

“I can be a gentleman when I want.” He whispers softly against your now parted lips.

“But is that what you want?” He asks before leaning back in taking your bottom lip in both of his as he kisses you a little more slowly now. His right-hand moves to the back of your neck, pulling you further into the kiss.

Your whole stomach is buzzing in anticipation while your limbs feel weak as he continues his tender kiss. Experimenting by slipping his tongue into your mouth, an involuntary moan escapes past your lips. He parts with a slight chuckle before pulling your mouth back towards his.

The noise of the front door opening is what finally causes you both to part. It was Connor and he looked really embarrassed.

He wasn’t sure where to look upon entering into the living room and seeing both of you kissing so shamelessly, he supposed it was something he would have to get used to but it was still strange. Maybe it would have been a little more comfortable if you and Connor had kissed before but you two hadn’t made it that far yet.

Instead of commenting on the kiss, Connor’s eyes fell to the bowl of popcorn. “Were you two eating popcorn?" he asks. "Collin, you’re going to spoil her appetite.” Connor reprimanded his brother as he signalled to the bag of groceries he had just brought home.

“Don’t worry Connor, I didn’t touch it.” You giggled in response, holding your hands up.

“I thought we were going to go out and eat?” Collin adjusted himself in his seat to be half kneeling on the couch, getting a better view of Connor, who was now heading towards the kitchen.

“I thought it would be nice if we all cooked together.” Connor shrugged, shooting a warm smile in your direction.

“Well, that sounds like good fun.” You jump up from the couch to go join Connor, skipping your way into the kitchen.

Collin rolls his eyes and follows. Before entering into the kitchen, however, he pulls Connor to the side, on the other side of the doorway that you had already entered into. “Hey Con, I may have accidentally called her our girlfriend so heads up. That conversation may be coming up sooner than we thought.”

“What?!” Connor shouts in a whisper. “What happened to taking things slow?”

Collin responds with a shrug and a wink before walking backwards, into the kitchen. 

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Chapter 27 -

The weight of something being placed over you is what woke you from your sleep, not the loud movie, the talking or even being lifted up… It was a damn blanket being placed over you that caused your eyes to smack open.

Your eyes snapped upward to see Connor tucking you into your bed. He had carried you to your bedroom from the living room. After you, him and Collin had made some dinner, the three of you had settled down into the Livingroom to watch a film. You falling asleep almost immediately as you lay your head back. Once the film was over Connor took it upon himself to leave you back into the comfort of your own bed. That way you wouldn’t wake up with a sore back.

He tried his best not to wake you from your sleep which was going well until the blanket he lay over you had scared you out of your skin.

With a jump, there was no denying you were now awake.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Connor whispered his apology.

“It’s fine.” You utter in response, a warm smile forming across your lips.

Connor's hand reached down to stroke yours for a brief moment. But before he could pull his hand back your other hand finds its way on top of it, interlocking your fingers and refusing to let go.

“Can you stay a little while longer?” you ask sheepishly, not wanting to let go.

“Of course.” He shyly smiles down at you as you sit up a bit and pull the corner of your blanket to the side, leaving room for Connor to join you in the bed. As he slips under the blanket beside you, you lay into him, your head resting on his chest, over his 'heart' and his arms cautiously slink around you.

The added warmth from Connors body and the rhythmic beating of his thirium pump lulled you back to sleep in no time. In the morning you woke to find Connor still with you in the bed. You had a mixed feeling of delight, to the fact that Connor was sharing your bed and a slight feeling of aggregation, because he wasn't close enough. Both of you had separated from each other in the night. You carefully fidgit your way over to him in the bed, unfortunately waking him from stasis mode.

“Morning.” His smooth voice surprised you as he wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you closer into his chest, A fluttering feeling filling your chest. “Good morning.” You giggle slightly as your eyes lock into the warmth of his dreamy gaze.

“Good sleep?” He asks causally, lips tugging into a small smile as he moves stray hairs away from your face.

“Yeah.” You hum in response, your head finding itself pressing against his chest, in seek of warmth and the sound of thirium pump.

“Good.” He chuckles lightly, his fingers trailing their way through your messy hair.

You both stay like this for a few heavenly moments until you hear a huff leave Connor’s chest.

“I suppose I better get ready for work.”

“Awh.” You complain, your head still hidden in his chest.

“You still have Collin to keep you company, it’s his last day off before going back to work.” Connor taps your shoulder lightly as you separate from his embrace and sit up. An action he follows as well.

“Hey, Connor.” You stop him before he moves to get out of the bed, placing your hand on his, heart thudding in your chest.

“Yeah?” He asks turning to meet your gaze.

You hesitate for a moment but you know the time is right.

Your hand reaches out to his cheek and you plant a small kiss on his lips. It takes him by surprise but he is soon smiling and pulling what was meant to be a small kiss into something more passionate. Slow and soft but still… passionate.

His hands made their way to the back of your neck and up into the roots of your hair. With a slight tug on your hair, your mouth opened slightly wider, granting him further access to explore. It took every bit of his will power to pull away and not just take you right there and then. No. Connor had more control than that.

As he pulled himself together and allowed your lips to separate, you tried to hold in the shy giggle that was about to erupt from your mouth. Connor smiled at you in endearment before stating with a laugh, “Okay, I really have to go get ready now.”

You follow him out but go your separate ways as Connor travels up to his room and you, to the Livingroom. You immediately spot Collin, still asleep in the same clothes from last night.

At least you weren’t the only one to fall asleep.

Creeping up close, you knelt down to his eye level. A smirk tugs on your lips as you poke his cheek.

He flinches slightly, so you poke him again.

You giggle as he furrows his brows, turning his face inward to the pillow he was laying on. He groans before turning back around to face you, looking like someone who just sucked on a lemon.

His face finally relaxes when he adjusts back into where he is, and who was poking him.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” You sing to him as he adjusts himself to sit up.

With a satisfied look on his face, he turns to ask “So, how’d you sleep princess?”

“Princess?” You mock his name choice.

Collin snorts in retort, “Fine then how’d you sleep, oh dark one?”

“Actually, I prefer Queen.” You move to sit up on the couch beside him, Collin moving his legs to the side so you can have more room.

“I’m sure you do.” He laughs, ruffling your hair.

“Hey!” You yelp as you try to fix the mess he made of it. Not like it mattered that much anyway, it was already kind of messy anyway, you just woke up.

“So,” You begin “It’s your last day off.”

“Ah, freedom from being stuck with you, eh?”

“You’ll miss me, don’t lie.” You hit your elbow against his, an action in which he returns.

“So what do you want to do today?” You ask, thinking that he might as well do something fun before going back to his regular duties.

“Uh, no idea. What about you?”

“Let’s go somewhere.” You shrug.

“Well, we can go get breakfast out if you’d like.”

“Sure.” You smile at his suggestion, you did love going out into the city.

“Y’Know. I have never eaten as much as I have my whole life as I have in the past few days with you. Is this what dating a human is going to be like?”

“Well you don’t have to eat, you choose to. Whereas I actually do.”

“Yeah well it would be awkward if I didn’t”

“Don’t lie, your just looking for an excuse. Eating’s fun admit it.”

“Maybe.” He shrugs and then gives you that famous RK800 wink.

“Okay you, get up. Go get dressed and il meet you back down here in five.”

“Yes mam.” he salutes in a tease at your ‘bossiness’.

When you are both ready, Collin takes you into the city. Your first stop is for breakfast at one of the human (pet) friendly cafés. You and Collin had been to this café once before, you really liked it, the stuff was pretty great.

“So I was thinking today we could just head around the city, there's also a pretty good museum that I think you'd like. Then maybe head home and watch a movie?"

“We watch a movie every night.”

“Fine then, what would you suggest?”

"I don’t know." You shrug.

"Thought that much."

You hit his arm playfully as you both laugh. Your laughing then comes to somewhat of a standstill as Collin freezes.

“Shit.” Collin stops in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights.

“What? What is it?” You ask, worry seeping into your voice. You never saw him this startled before.

“It’s my ex.” He whines. “Let's cross the street before she notices me.” He grabs your hand tightly in his as he pulls you forward, perhaps a little too forcefully. But it was too late.

“Collin!” A voice exclaims in fake excitement. You turn to notice a very tall, slim, absolutely gorgeous lady Android in a tight black dress, calling out to him. She was in a group with four other girls all trotting along with shopping bags in hand. All of them deadly stunning.

“See you're out with your pet.” She sneers as she looks down at you. Your initial reaction was to pull your hand away from Collins grasp, you not wanting to embarrass him. However, his grip remained firm on your hand, holding it in place.

“How’s Rich? Is he still single?” She smirks looking Collin up and down. A poor attempt to make him jealous.

“In your dreams.” Collin's head tilted to the side. “You know he thinks you’re trash, right?”

“Collin.” You whimper under your breath. You knew he didn’t like her but that was harsh.

He tilted his head down to meet your gaze as he gave you a small squeeze on the hand as if to say “It’s okay.”

“Listening to your little pet now?” Her eyebrows raise as she flicks her long ebony hair over her shoulder.

“Who’s walking who?” One of her friends called over her shoulder. Snickers echoing from the girls around.

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Collin spat back at the group, moving his hand to slightly push you behind him as if he was going into protector mode.

When the tall android lady, Collins ex, notices her face snarls up in disgust. “How pathetic, you’re probably fucking her too.” Her outburst causing all of her friends to laugh along.

“Probably only screw he can get.” One of them adds.

Collins snarl fades and is replaced with a smile. “No actually I haven’t had sex with her but if I did, I could truthfully say that she, without a doubt would be the best person i'd ever been with. But I suppose that wouldn’t be hard to beat, Would it?”

“You’re disgusting.” Her arms cross her chest.

“Yeah well so is your personality, have a nice day.” Collin gives another fake smile before grabbing your hand again and leading you away.

“Loser!” She calls out, as you both continue to walk. To which Collin replies with a middle finger up in the air, not bothering to look back.

“What a bitch.” Collin whispers under his breath as the two of you make a decent distance from the group.

“She’s not worth it.” You try to ease him, rubbing your thumb against his hand that was still clasped around yours, him seeking comfort from your touch.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” He releases his hand from yours and then begins to rub your lower back as you both walk. “She always treated me like shit.”

You bit your lip in contemplation. “Why did you go out with her then?” You ask.

I thought I deserved it.” He shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

“Collin?” You stop walking, pulling back slightly.

“Come on it’s fine.” He continues on, pulling you forward slightly.

“Collin.” You speak his name again but more firm this time.

“Come on.” He insists, pointing his head forward.

“Well, We’re talking about this later then.”

“Pfft.” when he scoffs at your worry, you stop in place.

He turns to look at you and you pull his hands forward until he is right in front of you. One of your hands reaching up to brush against his cheek.

“Collin, you don’t deserve to be spoken to like that, ever.”

“I know, I guess I’m just used to it.” He drops his head and places his hands on your shoulders.

“Well, that changes today, okay?”

Collin smiles a little at your reply. “Come on.” He pulls you forward to link your arm with his.

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Tag list: @connorsdimple @crushedtincan @clussysposts​

[susiequaz12]

Carrot Top- 14: Afraid

Woooh! Another update! I didn’t expect this one to come so soon, but it did, so here yah go. Time to also meet some new people!

CW: Medical whump, restraints, blood/knives/torture mention, non con (nonsexual) touch mention, possessive/creepy whumper.

Tag list: @imagination1reality0, @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @thehopelessopus

Masterlist here.

The small girl burst into the Doctor’s office, dragging a boy behind her by the hand. 

“Dr. Tusik!” She called. “Tusik!” She threw out her arms, releasing the boy’s hand as the Doctor turned around from his stack of papers he was investigation. “It’s been far too long! We definitely have to do something.”

The doctor set a paper down and looked at the girl, speaking in a slow voice, with an accent long faded of his home country. “Slow down vnuchka, is this about what I think it is?”

“Andrew!” She cried. The doctor nodded. The boy standing in the doorway dropped into a seat behind them in the small office. 

“This is not like him.” She continued. “I mean, sometimes he’ll hold a grudge- and, and we’ve all argued before, but usually you just, give him a day, you give him some space and he’ll be fine. Dr.- It’s been five days.”

“Slow down now child, just breathe. We’ve sure to find an explanation.” The old man pushed his glasses up his nose. He adjusted the papers on his desk and took the stethoscope off from around his neck, placing it on the messy pile of paperwork and writings.

“An explanation for why Andrew’s been mia for almost a week?” The boy asked. “I’m sorry Dr Tusik, but what kind of good explanation could there possibly be for something like that?”

The girl spoke again. “Justin’s right, where could he have gone? He lives with us for goodness sake, he hasn’t answered his phone, his mom’s is too far away and he doesn’t have a car, there’s- I don’t know where else he could be! There isn’t anywhere else he could be!” 

“Ali, calm down, pozhaluysta, please.” Dr. Tusik stated gently. “It’d do good to remember you’re not the only ones with concerns for the boy.”

At the shouting and the noise, a figure had stood in the doorway behind the two. They turned around to find a young girl. Younger than Ali by a few years, but much taller and ganglier. She had beautiful curly auburn hair that tangled itself up no matter what you did, and freckles across her nose. You couldn’t mistake who she was related to- it was obvious. 

Andrew’s sister. 

Her eyes were red and she held a crumpled tissue in her fist. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, and then smiled. 

“Hey guys.” She stepped into the small office. 

“Mickie- hey.” Ali stated. She approached the younger girl and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

They all sat down in chairs around the small office while Tusik explained.

“Mickie came in a few minutes earlier with the same concerns. She’s visited a few times now, and we’ve previously discussed some things. Possible explanations, and solutions.”

“I just can’t get it out of my head that he’s really mad at us.” Justin stated. “I mean, I feel like I kinda pushed him over the edge a little that night- it’s understandable if he’d want to ignore us.”

Mickie shook her head. “Andrew doesn’t ignore people. He’s too kind for that.” She sniffled. “We’ve literally gotten into some of the worst arguments you could imagine growing up. I mean, he shoved me in a suitcase once that ‘accidentally’ fell down the stairs, all because I’d broken his Star Wars Lego set. We didn’t talk for the rest of the day but after that we were fine.” She turned to Justin. “He doesn’t hold grudges. Andrew’s not mad at you, so don’t blame yourselves.”

Ali kept a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She changed the subject. “So have you heard from him? When was the last time you guys talked?” 

She shrugged her shoulders and got quiet, wringing the bottom of her t-shirt in between her hands. “Just that night. We were texting and I could tell he was getting frustrated with you guys-”

Justin interrupted. “I knew it, I knew he was mad at me, I should have given him that ride home, I shouldn’t have-”

“Justin shut up.” Mickie stated. Justin stopped abruptly. She brought a hand to her face. “Sorry, I- he wasn’t mad at you okay? Just frustrated- trust me.” She sighed and fiddled with the crumpled tissue in her hands. “He talked to me more than anyone. Sure, he lives with you guys, but put yourselves in his shoes. You have each other to hang out with. When you’re spending all your time making him feel like the third wheel it’s understandable for him to get a little frustrated. He wasn’t mad, I promise. Just tired. He was saying how he needed to clear his head, just walk, spend a bit by himself.”

Dr. Tusik began to speak, breaking the silence that had begun to fill the room. “Mickie and I have previously discussed where he could be- potential theories and such, as well as our ideas as to how to solve the problem.”

“Oh?” Ali asked.

“Andrew and I talked almost constantly. I mean he’s not just my big brother, but he- he’s my best friend. He’s not- he’s not ignoring anyone, he couldn’t be, so- he... he-” Mickie’s voice began to break. Ali rubbed her back as she began to cry.

Tusik finished for her. “He was taken.”

Mickie regained her composure quickly, dabbing at her eyes with the torn up tissue. “There’s no other explanation. Why else would he ignore us all for so long? He probably- he probably feels just as bad about it as we do.”

“But who? Who possibly could have taken him?” As Justin asked the question, silence filled the room once more. They all knew the answer immediately after the idea had been posed. The man had been looking for them for a while now, ever since they all discovered their abilities. 

No one wanted to admit that that was where he was right now. 

- - - 

Andrew twisted his own fingers in his hands as he sat. He twisted the bottom hem of his shirt up, wrinkling it between his fingers.

His ears popped as a yawn got trapped in his mouth. It was late at night, after dinner. He knew because he hadn’t been fed- his stomach growled ever so slightly. He had been left alone all day, and had fallen asleep only to be awoken roughly to be dragged down to another one of these rooms.

There were often times he’d be dragged down here, and spend all day in an endless misery. 

Those days were the worst.

They were the days he was taken in to be tested- to be poked, prodded, examined. Rough hands grabbing at him, stabbing him with things, treating him like a lab rat incapable of cohesive thought.

One day he was forced to run on a treadmill until he passed out or threw up. They were testing his heart rate apparently.

Another day they cut into his muscles. Poking at them to “see how they worked”. Other times they just sat and stared. 

So when Splice said that the doctors had a new drug they wanted to try, anything could have been possible.

He was placed in the medical chair as Splice sat on a stool next to him, waiting for the “Doctors” to come in. They were called Doctors, but for all intents and purposes, they were just people curious about how peculiari worked- hired to treat them like lab rats using whatever unconventional methods they saw fit. 

When they came into the room a wave of cold chills instantly ran over Andrew’s body. There were three people- all wearing medical masks in white coats and gloves. They didn’t acknowledge Andrew as they walked in and set a massive amount of supplies down on the counters. 

Splice stood up from his stool while one of the doctors spoke to him in regards as to what could be expected from this procedure. Andrew tried to pay attention, but it was difficult when the other two doctors were surrounding him where he sat. 

His wrists were grabbed and strapped down to the armrests of the chair- his ankles restrained in a similar fashion. He felt the mechanical humming of the chair through his muscles as it was lowered until Anrew was laying nearly flat on his back. Then a thick strap came to wrap across his forehead as well, keeping his head in place.

He tried to remember to breathe as he began lose track of what was happening around him. 

He felt something tight around his bicep, cutting off circulation, and then something cold and wet wiped across the crook of his arm. This was followed by the sharp sting of a needle before an iv was slid into his vein. 

The cuts on his other arm were quickly cleaned and bandaged without a second glance. 

He flinched, as cold gloved hands reached under his shirt, placing several small patches onto his chest. They connected to wires that stuck out of his shirt and tangled around him, leading to machines that surrounded the chair he was strapped to.

The third doctor quickly finished explaining things to Splice, and the man sat back on the stool, content with whatever was about to happen to the boy in front of him. 

A cart was rolled over with a massive amount of different knives, tools, vials, and bottles. Andrew shivered- thankful at least for the small protection of his shirt.

The actual administration of the drug went quickly. It was slid into the iv and Splice and the doctors sat with clipboards, simply waiting.

At first Andrew didn’t feel anything. 

And then all of a sudden everything was closing in on him. The world started spinning around his head- he felt cold chills up and down his spine and sweat started dripping down his face. His eyes couldn’t focus on any specific thing as shapes distorted, growing larger and smaller, spinning around and flying through the air. Any slight movement around the room seemed to fly at his head, causing him to flinch and recoil back at the foreign objects.

He thought he heard voices but they were muffled. Just sounds that echoed in his ears and throughout his brain. Undecipherable, but loud and invasive.

And then out of nowhere, his heart seemed to betray him.

Without a second warning, his heart sped up, pumping as fast as it could. He heard harsh, shrill beepings around him as it felt like his heart would explode out of his chest. His breathing got heavier and he felt a weight on his chest. Like all 350 pounds were suddenly on top of him again and he couldn’t breathe. 

And then he had a singular, prominent thought. It spoke so loudly, and so clearly in his mind.

I’m going to die.

The fear of that thought struck into him and he suddenly had the image of Splice coming towards him, knife in one hand, whip in the other. Then the man was on top of him, and his hands marked ownership- gripping at the collar, grabbing at his hair and face. He saw the whip crashing down over his body, the knife tearing through his skin. His limbs began to feel warm and sticky as he felt his blood pooling over his sides, washing down him in rivers, splashing onto his face as Splice began to beat him senseless.

And Andrew screamed.

Though he was muzzled, you could still hear his terrified cries as he truly believed that his tormentor was carving him open and beating him to death at that moment.

Though at that moment- Splice was still sitting on the stool next to the Doctors, watching Andrew thrash about on the bed. He smirked as the screams tore at Andrew’s throat, coming up empty behind the muzzle surrounding his face. 

“That’s genius.” The man stated. “You said it mimics fear?”

The doctor closest to Splice nodded. “The drug triggers the body’s natural responses to fear, making them actually think they’re in danger. We’re hoping with some alterations it will cause more extreme hallucinations and paranoia. Of course this is just a test run.”

“It’s brilliant.” Splice stated.

Andrew’s eyes were clenched shut tightly as tears and sweat poured down his blood-stained face. His body shook, knuckles white as he mumbled incoherently through the muzzle. 

He suddenly arched back as if in recoil from pain, his chest heaving in the air, legs scrambling to try and curl into himself. 

And he screamed once more. 

It was harsh, and loud, and guttural, and brutal. He choked on his own spit before bursting back into a series of sobs. The whole time his body continued to shake and thrash about, eyes occasionally shooting open, only to be clenched tightly once more.

They waited maybe an hour or two to try and see the full effects of the drug from beginning to end. Andrew didn’t know how long it had been, and Splice didn’t care to know himself. The boy had periods where he would flare up with terror, the shock and phantom pains taking over his face and body. And then for long stretches of time he would lie there, quietly sobbing to himself as tears streamed from his eyes. 

Sweat dripped from his forehead and chills wracked his body as his temperature spiked. His wrists and ankles were raw and red from where he’d struggled against the restraints.

His reactions were getting slower as the drug began to wear off.

They watched the boy suffer for a few more minutes before one of the doctors inserted new fluids into his iv. The fluids ran through and within a couple more minutes the drug had been completely flushed out of his system.

Andrew lay in a broken mess where he was restrained in the chair. The doctors pulled off his restraints, and Splice chuckled as the boy flinched at every hand that came near his face, and every jostled movement of his body.

After a couple more minutes, the iv was removed, the machines turned off, and Andrew was being pulled to his feet. Splice stood in front of him, hands bracing his shoulders to keep the boy from toppling over. 

Andrew fell forward, his head lolling into the man’s chest. Splice rested a hand on the back of his head, gently carding through the pale locks of hair. 

“I want full updates on the progress of this drug. I expect an updated version within the week.” Splice stated. He tilted the boy’s head up by the chin to look him in the eyes. They looked blurry and unfocused.

“How nice it will be to be able to hurt you without getting my hands dirty.”

He let Andrew’s head fall back to his chest.

Splice began to guide the boy towards the door when a guard burst into the room. The man look disheveled, clearly in pain, and a little confused.

“Sir!” He cried.

“What is it- what’s happened?” Splice asked.

“There’s been a break in. We have intruders in the building.”

A look of shock washed over Splice’s face, followed by a small smile. The man gripped Andrew by the shoulders and looked down at the boy. “Well, let’s go meet our guests, shall we?”

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Raise Your Voice Against Liars

By BeeTeeDubya14 & Naruwitch On Archive of Our Own

@thebigpapilio asked me if I accepted submissions and I do! This is a Miraculous + Persona 5 crossover, that they have been working on with their friend! While I don't actually know Persona 5, I read over the first chapter and found it very interesting! I thought for sure you'd all enjoy it as much as I did! So here is the first chapter! If you like it please go on to Archive of Our Own and give them some love!!

"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin."

-Andre Berthiaume

Chapter 1: L'Interrogatoire

Sae leaned back, puzzled by what the prisoner just said, “So the Phantom Thieves only stole the heart of Futaba Sakura…? And Medjed was in turn defeated by her real-world hacking abilities…? Well, this does correlate to the facts as we know them…” 

Sae grew quiet, and her next sentence was mostly to herself, though she said it aloud. “If he’s telling the truth, then Wakaba Isshiki didn’t commit suicide… did a third party target her life with the goal of destroying her research? Wakaba’s death was two years ago… that also coincides with when the incidents started occurring… does this other Metaverse user that Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned… really exist…?”

With a frown, she shook her head before turning her attention back to the captive, “Earlier I mentioned those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public. All of a sudden, people will lose consciousness, or become violent… A situation as incomprehensible as that can’t be explained away as ‘troubled social conditions.’ I suspect that these cases are all connected to a larger, man-made plot. The method involved always muddled the explanation, but your story has virtually confirmed its viability. Although, I wouldn’t have expected a new criminal to come to light from your testimony…” Sae leaned closer to the prisoner, “What did your group think of this other Metaverse user?”

“You mean the true criminal?” he questioned.

Sae scoffed, “How self-centered of you. The Phantom Thieves tamper with people’s hearts without asking consent. How is that different?”

Sighing, Sae then continued to focus on the prisoner. “Well… no matter how you thought of them, there can be no doubting your resolve. Are those incidents because of you or someone else…? Either way, I will get to the bottom of this.”

Sae shook her head, and pulled out her briefcase again, “Now let’s move on to your next crime.” She pulled out a folder, just as she had the last four times and laid it in front of the teenager, “Lila Nikenna Rossi. An Italian student who was studying at Collège Françoise Dupont in Paris, France. This is the first known report of the Phantom Thieves targeting someone outside of Japan. Your testimony regarding this incident will be serious. I’m sure you understand why. Not only is she your first foreign target, but also the youngest target out of all that the Phantom Thieves have changed the heart of. Answer me carefully. Why did you go after her?”

Despite all the grogginess afflicting him, Akira Kurusu managed to faintly grin.

“We owed some good people a favor.”

Chapter 2: Wake up, Get up, Get Out (Of) There

"Are you sure you're going to be okay in Hawaii, Marinette?"

"Yes, Luka, I'll be fine," Marinette smiled as she pulled her luggage off the security belt.

"Remember, if you need to talk, at any time, please do it, okay? I don't care if it's 2 AM over here. If you need-"

"Luka, you're treating me like a child," Marinette said bluntly, but no heat was behind it.

The guitarist gasped on the other line, "No, no! That's not what I was implying, I just-"

Marinette giggled. That's one of the things she really liked about Luka. "That overprotective attitude isn't going to change anytime soon, is it?" That said, although there were times where he went a little overboard, he usually knew Marinette's limits. It seemed that he needed a small reminder before she departed for her flight, though.

Ever since Chloe's stunt as Miracle Queen, she and Luka had been dating steadily for several months. After Adrien had made it official with Kagami, Marinette struggled to move on and accept that it was better to simply be friends with the model. She, of course, didn't want to use the older Couffaine as a fallback guy, and she had made that clear to him shortly before they made it official too, but… Luka had been there for her when no one else was. She had been in a dark place, and there seemed to be no way out. But Luka provided the light she needed to find the exit.

As for Chloe herself? Well… once word got out about Hawkmoth's near victory, and Chloe's involvement with it, many citizens and even government officials spoke out against the mayor and other members of his staff for action to be taken. The incident with the metro tunnel was also brought up, as Chloe was never adequately punished for intentionally endangering so many people. Mayor Bourgeois, to appease the masses, was forced to send Chloe away to a boarding school in Sweden, at least until Hawkmoth was finally dealt with. That's where she'd been for the past five months, and Marinette hadn't heard from the blonde since.

She shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts before they could fester. She was going to Hawaii for crying out loud! And she was going to have a blast! Nothing was going to change that. Not Hawkmoth, not Lila, and her lies, nothing would get in her way of having a fun time.

The thought of Hawkmoth had her hand subconsciously wander to her purse, where Tikki and Kaalki were situated. She was so lucky (heh, that would garner a laugh from Chat) that Kwamis didn't show up on cameras, much less on airport security x-rays machines. She would have had a field day trying to explain that to a security guard.

Luka gave a breathy laugh over the phone, "Sorry, a force of habit. Sorry I couldn't be there to see you or Jules off personally."

Marinette smiled. That had been the original plan, but as luck would have it, Luka got called in for an emergency shift by his boss at the very last minute, and there were no other people who could fill in.

"No problem, sometimes life happens like that. Although, even on vacation, Hawkmoth's Akumas always have the worst timing."

She could see Luka wincing on the other line, "Yeah, considering that Hawaii is practically on the opposite side of the world, it looks like you're in for some long nights. So sorry, babe."

She had the news app on high alert at all times, so the second an Akuma alert went up, she'd teleport back to Paris to deal with the Akuma as quickly as possible. She was grateful that Luka would be on standby with Sass as well, especially when Chat Noir alerted her that he would be out of town for the weekend as well.

"Yeah…"

"Marinette! We're about to board! Please come and join the class!" Mme. Bustier called from the boarding gate.

"Gotta go, Luka, I'll text you when we land in Tokyo!"

"Okay, be safe! Love you!"

"Love you too!"

There were, fortunately, no accidents or disruptions as Marinette boarded the plane and found her seat. After buckling up, Tikki and Kaalki poked their heads out of her little purse. The bag was small enough that Marinette wasn't required to put it under the seat, so long as it stayed flung over her shoulder. The little red Kwami winked at her holder, and Kaalki nodded. Marinette smiled at her little companions and pretended to listen to the flight attendant give the safety instructions.

It wasn't long before she watched from her window seat the plane take off from the tarmac. Once the pilot said they were at cruising altitude, Marinette pulled out her MP3 player and headphones and leaned back with a smile, the soft melody of Luka's guitar strings lulling her to sleep.

o~o

Marinette was awakened by the thump of the plane landing.

As she traversed the airport "with" her classmates (they were all hanging around Lila and leaving her alone), she noticed a pattern in the dress of many passersby, most of which were likely Japanese locals given that they were in Japan at the moment. Black & red seemed to be a common staple at this airport, more than occasionally accompanied by the words "Take Your Heart" and a weird logo of a domino mask and top hat. The words "Phantom Thieves" were sprawled across many of the logos too.

Marinette wanted to ask around as to what it all meant, but she didn't know a lick of Japanese and had places to be, so she moved on. She'd just look it up at the hotel.

She sent a quick text to Luka to let him know she'd arrived safely and was on her way to the hotel they'd be staying at for the night. Then she switched to the web, typing "Phantom Thieves" into the search engine. She found quite a few interesting things in a place called the "Phan-Site." There was apparently a group of vigilantes out there in Japan - Tokyo, specifically - calling themselves "The Phantom Thieves" with the power to "change people's hearts" (which seemed to mean making said people confess their crimes. How that worked, Marinette had no idea). So far, the Phantom Thieves had only taken down four major targets, their names, and information listed on the site. Marinette didn't recognize any of them, but when she typed up the names, she was immediately glad that these people had had "a change of heart."

The first, theorized to be the Thieves' very first target, was a man Suguru Kamoshida. He was apparently an Olympic volleyball medalist that taught at a high school called Shujin Academy. The Thieves targeted him because it was revealed that he was physically abusing and even sexually assaulting several students at the school. One of them even tried to commit suicide right in front of the student body because of it. Thankfully, this student survived their attempt. According to separate reports, the school was well aware of the abuse but didn't do a thing to stop it. Then, about a week after the suicide attempt, Kamoshida confessed to everything! The abuse, the assaults, everything.According to reports, it was like he was a completely different person, almost like his personality had changed entirely. He was now being held on bail and awaiting trial. Marinette hoped he went away forever!

The second person was a former artist named Ichiryusai Madarame. (Now that she thought about it, she could have sworn she saw his name on some art pieces at the Louvre for a limited time Japanese exhibit). He cultivated his own fame and fortune by sacrificing the livelihood of children. He took young artists into his home, a tiny shack, and then stole and plagiarized their work, passing it off as his own. Apparently, one of his victims was his own foster son. Just like with Kamoshida, Madarame, shortly after one of his exhibits closed, confessed to these crimes, his personality having shifted completely. Even though he seemed to show remorse, Marinette hoped he got what he deserved. This man reminded her too much of Bob Roth, especially when he stole Kitty Section's music and her costume designs.

Next was Junya Kaneshiro. This target was apparently what really allowed the Phantom Thieves' popularity to take off. He was a mafia boss that even the local authorities were struggling to arrest, even though his crimes were common knowledge in the Shibuya area. Then suddenly, he one day turned himself into the police. This one didn't have as much information. The police apparently tried to keep the arrest on the down-low due to the circumstances. The only reason the public found out the Phantom Thieves were involved was because of an abundance of calling cards that were scattered all over Shibuya. Kamoshida and Madarame had received similar cards before they confessed as well.

Finally, and this happened about a week ago, a group of international hackers, under the name Medjed, attempted a cyberwar against the Phantom Thieves and Japan itself. They threatened to ruin Japan's economy through a cyber attack unless the Phantom Thieves surrendered and revealed their identities to the public. They had set a deadline and everything. Then, the day before the deadline would have expired, the Phantom Thieves apparently stopped them, as Medjed's website was hacked with the Phantom Thief logo all over the webpage. Whether that was done by the Phantom Thieves themselves, or an avid supporter, no one knew, but Medjed was stopped, and Japan's economy remained stable.

Despite being vigilantes, Marinette genuinely believed the Phantom Thieves were helping the public overall by exposing corruption like this. Who knew what would still be happening if these people were still allowed to roam free? She didn't know how the Thieves convinced these people to confess their crimes and had no clue what "steal your heart" meant, though she had a feeling it wasn't something natural. Their actions seemed to be non-violent, though. None of their victims showed signs of physical injury or torture when they confessed. That was likely another reason the Phantom Thieves were receiving so much public support.

Marinette had learned a lot about destiny from Fu (it still hurt a little bit not referring to him as Master, even in her head), and the fact she was temporarily in the place where something this momentous, something this clearly magical was going on… she needed to look into this. But how? Nobody knew who the Phantom Thieves were, much less what they looked like! You could supposedly communicate with them via a proxy on the Phan-site, but no one has officially met any of them face-to-face. They seemed to be masters of blending into the crowd, not to mention the police weren't getting solid leads either.

What was even more confusing was that Tikki and Kaalki didn't know anything about this whole thing either.

"I've never heard of "changing people's hearts" in the way it's described here," Tikki admitted, referring to the Phan-Site.

"Hmm… maybe Ziggy knows something? She's the kwami of Imagination, so she's the one most connected to the mind," Kaalki suggested.

"Alright, I'll talk to Ziggy when we get back to Paris," Marinette nodded. She hoped the Goat Kwami had a possible answer.

"Hmmm… I wonder if Kagami knows anything about them," Marinette wondered aloud, glancing over at Alix, who was snoring in the bed next to hers. Surprisingly, Alix had volunteered to room with Marinette, which shocked her. She and Alix were friends, but not like how she and Alya used to be. Now that she thought about it, though, Alix may still listen to Lila's stories, but it seemed to be more out of politeness than actual interest now. If anything, for the last month or so, when Alix and Lila interacted, the skater just looked bored with the Italian. Could it be that the skater was catching onto Lie-la's lies?

Deciding to check if her theory had merit, Marinette sent a text to the fencer, asking if she had heard of the Phantom Thieves or not. She got a reply a few minutes later. Kagami had heard of them, but she didn't know much about them either. She and her mother had been living in Paris for about a year and a half, and the Phantom Thieves had only surfaced only a few months ago, so she didn't have much information apart from a few Japanese news articles and some online searches.

Marinette sighed and began to put her phone away when an Akuma alert blew up her screen.

"Perfect timing, Hawkmoth," she muttered sarcastically as she got up and tiptoed to the bathroom. She turned on the light to make it look like she was simply using the toilet before letting the two kwamis slip out of her purse, "Let's deal with this quickly! Tikki, spots on!"

One magical transformation later, Ladybug stood in all her glory in the tiny Tokyo bathroom. She quickly pulled out Kaalki's glasses and slipped them on. "Tikki, Kaalki, unify!"

o~o

It was about thirty minutes later that Ladybug (Lady Horseshoe with both Miraculous active) stepped back into the hotel bathroom. By the time that she had gotten to the actual fight, Luka, clothed as his new hero alias Kobra, had managed to corner the Akuma and figure out where the item was. One Lucky Charm later, and two shots of Second Chance, according to the snake hero, the Akuma was purified, and everything returned to normal in Paris.

She was also equally grateful that Kobra seemed calm after the fight ended. There had been fights in the past that had left the hero shaking, eyes wide with barely masked horror. One fight had him clinging to Ladybug afterward for about two minutes before she convinced him to let go of her. Even after that, it had taken the night being alone, lots of tears, and cuddling for Luka to finally calm down and accept that everything was okay.

During these moments was when Marinette was reminded that the Snake Miraculous was sometimes considered the most dangerous of the Miraculous. Not only did it make the holder a problematic opponent in combat, but the mental load it carried for the holder itself could take its toll over time. Luka had seen some things as both Viperion and Kobra, some that took more time to process and work through than others.

It had taken Luka a while to understand that he could talk to someone about what was going on. Due to his own family dynamics, and his selfless nature, Luka wasn't used to talking about his own problems, and usually preferred to work through them on his own. Over time though, this wore the guitarist down, to the point that he couldn't hide it anymore. This was one of the factors that convinced Marinette, as the Guardian, to make Luka a permanent holder. Sass had been an excellent help for Luka to process the many 'bad endings' he was forced to witness as part of his power. However, there were sometimes days where talking to the little kwami wasn't enough, which was why the couple had the rule of calling the other whenever they needed to speak. Even if it was in the middle of the night.

Other factors contributed to this decision too, but Marinette was too exhausted to dwell on them for now as she snuck out of the bathroom. To her relief, Alix was still asleep and seemed oblivious to what had happened.

After grabbing a macaroon for Tikki and a sugar cube for Kaalki (both of which she picked up in Paris), Marinette quickly climbed into her own bed and was asleep within seconds.

[botslayer]

Octodad: Not-so-dark theory

From top to bottom, Octodad looks like a fairly innocent game, A simple story about an Octopus trying to survive in suburbia. But, through subtle hints and references, and inconsistencies with that premise, it is revealed that Octodad is no mere cephalopod. He is, in fact, something far more horrifying, on paper at least... What do I mean?

Octodad is not, in truth, an Octopus, He's a Cthulhi. For those not familiar with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Cthulhi are also called "The Starspawn of Cthulhu" and "Xothians," and are a race that looks like Cthulhu who's true origins, as with everything in the Cthulhu mythos, are debatable and vague as sin, the only things known for a fact are that they look like Cthulhu (Or, in their first appearance, like Octopi), worship him, followed him from their home dimension/universe into ours, and then perished en masse while what remained of them went into a death-like sleep, same as Cthulhu.

Now, Star Spawn aren't often seen in the works of Lovecraft, but they do have a sliver of popularity in the fandom. Not as big (in the popularity sense) as Deep Ones, but not as unknown as the humble Penguins of Leng. Now, again, it's worth noting that common interpretations of Star Spawn are basically baby Cthulhus, just tiny versions of their dark and malevolent master, but to start with, they were described as "a land race of beings shaped like octopi and probably corresponding to the fabulous pre-human spawn of Cthulhu," in the story "At the Mountains of Madness." 

Octodad highly RESEMBLES an octopus, but with some interesting tweaks. Namely: His eyes, two of his Tentacles, and something we'll talk about in just a minute. But let's talk about Octodad's anatomy when compared to another octopus, namely, the one in the "Wold of kelp" at the Aquarium.

Now, this is Octopus is a giant, climbable sculpture one might see at a water park, so in a technical sense, some liberties could have been taken with its anatomy, but it looks semi-accurate to real octopi, down to the slit-like pupils and the tentacles all being at roughly the same spot despite them spreading out for kids to climb on. Now, if you pay attention, a patron of the Aquarium will note that the "World of kelp" was something else before it was the world of kelp, though they THINK it was "Squids or something" before. Based on how the section played out, I have to believe the whole affair was either cephalopods in general given how many bases of just kelp they went over, or just Octopi because HOLY CRAP there are lots of octopi out there. Failing that, I don't think the statue was a squid to begin with, the eyes are far too forward on the head, what can be seen of the tentacles makes them all look the same, and most species of squid have circular pupils and irises, not slits/rectangles. 

Octodad, in contrast to the sculpture, has vertically ovular pupils, far rounder than the slits on the larger statue, on top of that, his eyes take up a slightly larger portion of his head. Then we take a look at Octodad's tentacles, namely the two that form his mustache. These two tentacles are set away from the other six in a way that makes no real anatomical sense for an octopus. Not to mention that the two are preposterously shorter than the others, it's less like another pair of tendrils and more like a strange growth coming out of the middle of his head. Moving on from that, there's also a certain disparity with his other limbs, his "arms" are shorter than his "legs" when he stands, however, when he enters water, his limbs, save for his mustache, are all of equal length, this strange effect carries over to when he's buck-ass naked, so no, he isn't just scrunching two up while he's in the suit... Speaking of naked octodad:

What the hell is that THING in the midst of his tentacles? It's a lighter color than the others, he's still using two tentacles per leg, one per arm, and his mustache is basically vestigial. Octodad's anatomy makes no fucking sense unless you consider the idea that he has some level of shapeshifting power... and wouldn't you know it, Cthulhi have just that. To what end is a little shakey, as with most things in the Lovecraft universe, but still.

Also worth noting is the church Octodad got married at, a Church dedicated, at least partly, to Cthulhu himself. Now, we only see one window with any kind of figure on it, Cthulhu, wereas the others are all decked out with a strange symbol, as are a few paintings lining the walls of it. These paintings may be of religious significance to the practitioners of this particular faith, but a lot of it looks like some minimalist "If you get it you get it" kind of stuff, and then one is literally a crayon drawing of a child with a smiling balloon. The last vaguely Lovecraftian thing in the church is the treasure chest Octodad gets his wife's ring from, all the coins within have a squid/cuttlefish-like creature printed on them, In the story "Shadow over Innsmouth," the people of a town called "Innsmouth" start breeding with fish people. They did it specifically for the undersea gold the fish people (called Deep Ones) give out for the service. Deep Ones worship multiple gods, cheif among them are their great parents, Mother Hydra and Father Dagon, though worship of Cthulhu isn't against their laws or anything. 

The game takes a break from the hints of Eldrich horror while the family is at home, though it is worth noting that we don't REALLY know where Octodad's children came from. Hell, the game makes a joke about it at the end, Tommy asks, plain as day, "If dad's an octopus... Then where did me and Stacy come from?" While his parents laugh the question off, it has a few possible answers: The two of them (Or just Tommy) are leftover from a failed relationship/marriage Scarlet was a part of before Octodad came in, the two (Or just Tommy) are adopted, or, in a manner not dissimilar to deep ones, Cthulhi may just be able to breed with humans in this universe. 

Now, I say Tommy may be adopted/Not Octodad's specifically because Stacy says something concerning in the "Deep sea" exhibit at the Aquarium. She apparently has dreams wherein a deep, dark spot in the ocean seems to call to her. This turns out to be a sea horse ranch. Cute as that is, dreams are a recurrent theme in Lovecraft's work, sometimes compelling people into the service of Great old ones like Gla'aki, for example. Or there was that one story when a guy met Yog-Sothoth, the omniscient and omnipresent god of the universe just because he dreamed that deeply. Also "The Dreamlands" are a place in Lovecraft's fiction. I could keep going down that rabbit hole, but I'm lazy and I think that point is made.

There is also another reference (Possibly) to "Shadow over Innsmouth" and "Dagon" with the character of Chef Fujimoto. Now, Fujimoto himself is not a reference to anything in particular, but his backstory has some Lovecrafty bits. Namely, Fujimoto was once a soldier (Dagon) who cut open a combatant. Instead of human guts, "Piles of fish" were inside. (Shadow over Innsmouth.) This one might be a little more of a stretch but remember that Fujimoto is OBSESSED with Octodad and believes very firmly that there are fish people everywhere. ("Why is everyone fish!?") There are several Lovecraftian stories where the character feels he is being pursued or is surrounded in some way. Call of Cthulhu ends with one of the characters feeling that the cult is gunning for him, partly because some dude looked at him funny, and Dagon ended with the main character fearing that a servent of Dagon was coming up his stairs after him, so he threw himself out a window. The crippling paranoia experienced by Fujimoto is another hint that SOMETHING Eldrich is happening in the universe of Octodad. 

Also worth noting is that a magazine entitled "Inquisitor" can be found at Gervason's, Octodad is on the cover, and they think he's an alien. Which begs the question: Why is it that most humans will let an obviously strange man do things without much concern at all? Hell, there are three lines present in both the main game and one of the extra shorts that imply EVERYONE sees something is wrong with Octodad. And I quote/paraphrase:

"I thought he was a lawyer?" "He's slimy enough to be one."

"Is it just me or did the captain look jigglier than usual?"

"Hmmm, I don't see a blurblerulb on the list." 

These lines imply on some level that people recognize SOMETHING is wrong or different with Octodad but they don't carry the thought far enough to do anything with it... Unless perhaps at a distance, hence that cover of “Inquisitor.” 

Another thing that tends to happen in Lovecraftian horror is the mind not making proper sense of things. For example: Canonically in the mythos, the image of Cthulhu mankind sees, humanoid body, octopus head, draconic wings, etc, is not what he really looks like, it's just our perception of Cthulhu because our minds aren't equipped to comprehend the real deal. Looking too long at just what we can see of Cthulhu will unravel your mind, causing both insanity and death if exposed even longer. I think that's part of Octodad's effect. When he's dressed, the humans around him perceive what their mind makes sense of. He's in a shirt and pants, therefore he is appropriately dressed as a human, therefore their minds SEE a human even if he's not QUITE right. We see, rather obviously, that he doesn't have human hands, he has tentacles with suckers, but Scarlet refers to it as a "Hand" still, this implies she and others see his appendages as hands or feet when he's disguised or doing something "Human enough." Only really undone if he's naked or does too many strange or seemingly malicious things like accidentally smack someone with a bag of doughnuts.

This is why you can get away with randomly dragging things across the floor, their minds are telling them something is a little off, but their ability to perceive might be telling them he's just got a medical condition or something. It's nothing to judge him for, he's just got a disability. 

So at the end of that trail, what are we left with? Octodad as a Xothian/Deep one hybrid? Does that fundamentally change the game's story? Does this mean Octodad is a dark horror from beyond? Does he secretly seek to kill and maim and destroy all the things we hold dear? Will he one day help awaken Cthulhu and usher in the new age of the great old ones? No. See, Octodad, despite his horrifying inspirations, is a benevolent creature. He "blubs with a love for all mankind" in the ending for Dadliest Catch. He still obviously loves and cares for his family, whether they know his secret or not. He's just an alien from another dimension... or at least he has ancestry from another dimension. 

Now, why is that? I've got two little ideas for that: It's an often found interpretation that most of the original writings of Lovecraft focus on the idea that "It is different, therefore it is bad." Xenophobia of an extremely high sort. Mind you, I often find this interpretation lacking, but we can probably discuss that later. I feel Octodad may be a natural extrapolation of the idea that it isn't bad because it's different, in fact, Octodad, despite keeping a secret, is an all-around "good" guy. Upstanding, moral, all that garbage, he just happens to be non-human.  Something supporting this being a running theme is the scene with the Snugglefish. For those who have yet to play Dadliest catch, a section of the game takes place when the power in part of the Aquarium goes partially out. During this event, Octodad and Stacy come upon a large sculpture of a creature called a “Snugglefish.” which is covered by the dark. We shine lights at the supposedly malevolent creature, complete with monstrous teeth and evil red eyes, partially with the intent to “Blind it” despite the fact that its obviously a statue. That whole section up to then is nothing but fumbling in the dark, looking at the strange and some might say “alien” life living in the deep ocean, you can also learn some stuff about them if you pay attention.  The whole thing ends when you fully light up the spots on the statue, revealing it to BE a Snuggle fish as opposed to some giant monster. As a result of revealing this, Stacy’s fears of it go right out and she feels she understands the creature better, as with most things, learning and understanding quiet one’s fears. when we learn what something is, we stop seeing it as an immediate threat is the take away from that section, I think, which is, again, I’d say, a call to Lovecraft's writings and his fear of that which was different and unknown and how it’s so easily thrown out with just a LITTLE understanding.

Another plausible explanation for Octodad’s kindness may be that Octodad is not a Star Spawn of Cthulhu, but of Kthanid. Kthanid is not an original creation of H.P. Lovecraft, but a bloke by the name of "Brian Lumley." Lumley's creation is the brother of Cthulhu, and is considered the main reason Cthulhu is sealed away these days. Kthanid is said to look almost exactly like Cthulhu but to have "Golden eyes that radiate peace." He's a loving, benevolent "Elder God" that wants the best for not just Humanity, but for all things. It would logically follow that if a creature dedicated itself to Kthanid, or was one of his spawn, it would be at least mostly as loving and kind. So, if Octodad, or "blurblerulb" if you prefer, was a purely hypothetical Kthani instead of Cthulhi, his disposition may well fit within the actual mythos.

So, what do y'all think? Does this theory hold water? Or does it sink harder than Cthulhu going back down for a nap?