#and it contains more fighting which I kinda struggle with...

[fiepige]

Chapter 5 is out guys!

More Hobie POV! There's no way he's doing worse than before right? RIGHT?

Summary:

“HOLY SH-” Miles and Gwen simultaneously turned to cover Pav’s mouth so as to not alert the creature in the middle of the carnage below them. The creature either didn’t hear him or it was too preoccupied with whatever it was doing. To his regret Miles soon realized what that was, as another wet snapping noise broke the silence once more. The creature was crouched down on all fours over what Miles assumed was the body of an officer, though it was so mutilated that it was hard to tell for sure. Its head was buried into the chest of the body beneath it, another wet snapping noise emerging as it pulled out a couple of ribs between its bloodied jaws... Or The Spider-Gang goes looking for Hobie. They don’t like what they find.

Chapter 5 of the Venom!Hobie fic is here! 💜💜💜

[rite-the-wrongs]

*chugs a full half and half Monster Rehab*

So, you know how Darkseid is looking for the Anti-Life Equation? Well, Danny and the other Halfas are kinda Anti-Alive. Idk, my mind is going to how Thanos is trying to impress Lady Death in the weirdest ways possible (like killing half the universe or making her side piece immortal), and changing the names to Darkseid and Danny.

Darkseid attacking the earth was far from a rare occurrence. Usually his attacks were centered on the Justice League, but around every 1 out of 5 times he would just show up on a regular Tuesday with his army pouring through various Boom Tubes in every major city.

This wasn’t even the first time Darkseid had attacked like this since Danny had joined the League. The only difference was that instead of flying to Fawcett City to help Captain Marvel fight the invaders there, Danny had been in Gotham helping Bats and Diana with an artifact smuggling ring. The two of them immediately got in the Bat-Plane and headed towards Metropolis as fast as they could and Danny had been dragged along.

Darkseid was already holding Superman by the neck when they flew overhead. Diana jumped out to help Supergirl fight some messed up guy in a pink robe while the two Superboys were beating up an old lady. Batman gained Darkseid’s attention by firing missiles at the space tyrant which froze him to the ground and knocked the struggling Superman from his grip.

Darkseid’s glare followed the plane as it flew overhead. Then it started actually following as his Omega Beams burst forward.

“Hang on!” Phantom yelled, grabbing ahold of Batman and turning them both intangible just as the beams destroyed the plane around them.

He gently flew Bats on the ground. Bats did his customary grunt of approval he gave out if you saved him from certain death and ran to help the two heroines take out cloak man as Danny flew over to help take down the grandma. A few other heroes were focusing on keeping the Parademons flooding through the portal contained. Danny recognized a few, mainly Steel, Booster Gold, and Black Lightning, but there were even more that he didn’t.

He turned back to his own fight just in time to avoid getting hit by the old lady’s baton.

“Sorry, Grandma!” Phantom smirked, phasing through the attack. “Any chance I can let you pinch my cheeks and we call it a day?”

“Temping, porkchop, but an old lady needs her hobbies. And conquering planets is one of Granny’s favorites,” the old lady laughed swinging at him a few more times, only for each blow to pass through him like the last.

“Well, next time we’ll just invite you to bingo night,” Danny remarked, grabbing her wrist on the last blow and twisting it behind her back. The older Superboy tackled her through the Halfa as the younger one flew up high and plummeted feet first into her head, knocking Granny out.

The fighting seemed to be winding down. Diana had the guy in the pink robe tied up in her lasso while Batman ran over to help the Atom close the Boom Tube and Supergirl flew over to help her cousin fight Darkseid.

The only fight that was still going strong was Superman and Darkseid. Neither Titan was willing to bow to the other. Supergirl flew in between them, snapping Darkseid’s head to the side with a well placed kick. The space tyrant staggered for a moment before grabbing her leg and throwing her at Superman. The two Kryptonians fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs as Darkseid charged up his Omega Beams.

Danny didn’t even think. One second he was floating next to Jon and the next he had teleported in between the ruler of Apokolips and the two Kryptonians. He barely managed to throw up a shield in time. The Omega Beams shook the shield and kicked up dust around it, but Phantom gritted his teeth and managed to keep it steady. He only let the shield finally fall once the dust had settled.

“Impressive, child. Not even a Lantern Ring can shield from my Omega Beams. What are you?”

“You know, just a dead guy who doesn’t really know how to stay dead,” Danny chatted, keeping Darkseid’s attention on him. The portal was directly behind the tyrant. Wonder Woman and the Superboys threw their respective bad guys back through the portal.

“How can you be both dead and alive?” Darkseid asked. If he was confused, he didn’t let it show. Batman gestured at the two Supers behind Danny. They gave him a small nod and looked at the tyrant. Danny raised a hand to stop them.

“Back everyone up and cover your ears,” Danny whispered under his breath at a level only the four supers could hear. The Superboys quickly got everyone away from the portal while Superman and Supergirl gave him looks of confusion, but eventually relented. The entire time Darkseid’s attention was on Danny and Danny alone.

“Guess I’m just that stubborn,” Danny chuckled at the dictator. “I died, it didn’t fully stick, now here I am as a ghost.”

“Breathtaking.”

“You know what else is breathtaking?” Danny sucked in as much air as he could, not that he really needed it, and released a wail.

At once, all windows on the street shattered. Everyone covered their ears and the heart breaking cry sweep through the area. The Supers all collapsed to their knees, the sound even worse for those with super hearing. Tears threatened to spill from everyone’s eyes. Everyone but Darkseid.

The Dictator of Apokolips seemed almost stunned. Blood streamed from his nose and probably his ears, though those were hidden in his helmet. The sound waves slammed into him and he did nothing to fight back as the waves set him careening head over heels back towards the portal.

Darkseid barely managed to grab the edge of the portal and the wail stopped and Danny fell to his knees. White rings flickered around him and started to change him back into Fenton, but he managed to stop them before anyone could who wasn’t already looking could see. And the only one looking was Darkseid.

“Someone close the portal!” Batman yelled. All of the heroes staggered to their feet and tried to run to the Mother Box as Darkseid just stares at Phantom.

“Such beautiful cries of pain,” Darkseid muttered. His gaze never left the exhausted Phantom. He realized almost too late that the heroes were going for the Mother Box. He charged up his Omega Beams and shot them at the closest hero, Wonder Woman. She managed to ricochet them off her bracelets, but the beams kept coming back for her. The other heroes had to back up in fear of getting hit or getting in the Amazonian’s way.

Suddenly, a yellow blur swept through the area, knocking Diana out of the way are replacing her with an unconscious Parademon. A figure, this one white and red, landed on the Mother Box, destroying the device. Finally, a red blur ran in and punched Darkseid in the face, sending the tyrant careening through the closing portal.

“Sorry we’re late.” Flash chuckled, as a frustrated Kid Flash and Impulse stopped behind him. “What’d we miss?”

A series of groans ripped through the heroes as they just sat down and waited for the Javelin to get there for med evac.

—————————————————————————

You’d think Danny’s first time fighting Darkseid would be a bigger deal, but it was honestly not as big of a deal as everyone made it out to be. Danny had been fighting genocidal inter-dimensional tyrants since he was 14. What was one genocidal space tyrant making the list?

Batman apparently didn’t think it no big deal, though, if the worried version of the patented Bat-glare and Bat-grunt were anything to go off of. It had been a few days since the fight and the Bat had finally managed to wrangle everyone who had been involved in the Metropolis fight to the Watchtower for a debrief.

The meeting was supposed to start five minutes ago, but only the Flash was still missing. Danny, Conner, and Kara had been making jokes about it to a groaning Kid Flash and a pouting Impulse when the Boom Tube opened.

Everyone jumped to the ready. Batman pulled out a Batarang. Wonder Woman readied her lasso. Superman, Super girl, and the younger Superboy all started floating while their eyes glowed red. The older Superboy got into a fighting stance that Booster Gold quickly copied. The Atom shrank. Black Lightning’s hands sparked with electricity while Danny’s hands glowed with ectoplasm. The two speedsters vibrated in place.

They were ready for anything to come through. Except for a box of chocolates, a bouquet of roses, and a severed head of a yellow, bald alien. As quickly as it opened, the portal closed again. Kid Flashes summed it up best.

“What the fuck?” The yellow speedster yelled.

“Is that-“ Diana piped up, only for Superman to interrupt.

“It’s Mongul,” the Man of Steel growled.

“Who would send a severed warlord’s head with a bunch of romantic gifts?” The Atom piped up from where he stood on Booster’s shoulder.

“Well if it’s not poisoned, dibs on the chocolate,” Impulse gave a nervous laugh.

Batman and Black Lightning approached the table. Batman took a device of his belt and scanned the head then chocolate, each one coming back clean. Lightning picked up the bouquet and found a note.

“To Phantom,” he read out loud. “Your screams of agony resonated through my very being. You are the answer to my billion year search for the Anti-Life Equation. Join me and together we can enslave the universe to our will. Darkseid.”

The room fell into silence. Everyone had various looks of disgust on their face. The silence was eventually broken by Danny groaning and rubbing his eyes with his palms.

“Why do I only attract fruitloops?” He yelled up to the ceiling.

“GUYS!” A red blur yelled as he burst into the room. Flash had finally arrived. “I saw Desaad buying flowers in central city! And then Granny Goodness showed up with a box of chocolates and they Boom Tubed away! Hey, they actually looked a bit like these. Holy shit! Is that Mongul?”

Black Lightning just handed the Scarlet Speedster the note. Flash summed it up the best.

“What the fuck?”

Idk, let me know if I got to continue.

[atzjieun]

hanging by a thread

summary | jieun’s emotions reach their boiling point when wooyoung refuses to talk

circa | august 4, 2024

contains | 3.3k words, angst, swearing, wooyoung is kinda an asshole, supportive bestie jongho

notes | the jiwoo fight that everyone’s been waiting for is finally here !!

Jieun had always been an observant person. 

It was both a blessing and a curse. While it allowed her to pick up on things that others sometimes didn’t, as well as made her really good at finding birthday presents, there were times when she found herself looking into things too much. Her mind had a tendency to look for problems that weren’t there, something she’d been working on for years but still occasionally struggled with. 

Hence why she didn’t originally question it when Wooyoung began avoiding her. It was subtle at first, with him declining when she’d offered to go out together or being disengaged in their conversations. Although she’d immediately noticed the slight shift in his demeanor, it was dismissed as simple fatigue from the tour. Given a couple days, they’d be back to talking as usual and the whole thing would be something she’d laugh about later on, knowing she’d just overanalyzed the situation. 

However, days turned into weeks and Jieun saw no change in his behaviour. If anything, it had only grown worse as their tour continued. They saw each other nearly 24 hours a day, 23 of which Wooyoung spent ignoring her. She’d notice how he’d walk over to the opposite side from where she was standing on multiple occasions, and whether it be through sheer coincidence or him purposefully avoiding her, they always ended up on opposite sides of the stage. 

She tried talking to him on multiple occasions, subtly at first, with simple questions about how he’d slept or how he was feeling that day. She asked if anything was bothering him, trying her best to let him know that she was there for him through whatever he was clearly dealing with. Though every time, her concerns were met with quick, dismissive replies that did nothing to relieve the growing fear in her stomach. 

Still, despite his treatment of her, she couldn’t help but worry, which was how Jieun found herself standing outside his hotel room at 11 at night. The hallway was eerily quiet as she waited in front of the door, dressed in only her pajamas that ironically included one of Wooyoung’s sweaters. 

Taking in a deep breath, Jieun raised her arm and knocked against the door. She just hoped he wouldn’t recognize her specific knock pattern and ignore her. 

After a few seconds of waiting, she heard the click of the lock followed by the door slowly cracking open. Wooyoung’s figure appeared in the small gap, dressed in his own pyjamas, his hair still wet. 

“What?” he asked with an impatience that made her heart lurch. 

Jieun took in a deep breath as she gripped the sleeve of her hoodie. “We need to talk.” 

“We’re talking right now, aren’t we?” 

“Not like this.” After staring at her for a moment, Wooyoung suddenly closed the door. She waited anxiously, though to her relief he reopened the door a second later after unhooking the latch, holding it open wide enough for her to walk in. 

Jieun walked past him as he closed the door behind her, taking a few steps into his room before turning back to the boy. He watched her with a tired and disinterested expression, letting out a sigh as she crossed her arms. Jieun’s gaze lowered slightly, too afraid to meet his gaze.  

“Wooyoung-oppa, what’s going on?” 

He raised his eyebrows in silent questioning, only adding to her frustration. 

“For weeks, you’ve been brushing me off and ignoring me, and I don’t know why.” Her tone of voice grew harsher as she spoke, causing Jieun to close her eyes and take a deep breath to calm herself down. After collecting herself, she spoke again. “I noticed you’ve been more distant lately and I’m worried about you, but it’s like I’m the only one you’re purposefully avoiding. Please, just tell me what’s wrong.” 

When she was met by silence, Jieun opened her eyes and stared directly at the boy, their gazes meeting. It was the first time they’d looked at each other eye-to-eye in days, yet she’d never felt so invisible as she stood in front of him. 

Wooyoung simply stood there with the same tired look he’d given her every other time he spared her a glance. She hated how she had become so accustomed to it. 

“If I did something to hurt you, I’m sorry.” Jieun knew how pathetic she must have sounded, but she had no options left. “But please, I can’t make things right if I don’t know what I did wrong.” 

Jieun waited, hoping he’d say something, anything, to ease her racing heart. If he had to tear her apart and explain every way she’d messed up, then so be it. She just needed something to pull her out of the complete darkness she’d been left in. 

However, minutes passed with the two remaining silent, Jieun’s pleading gaze resting on the older boy as his own eyes moved away, staring off into the distance like he was tired of the conversation. 

Eventually, she took in a deep breath, unclenching her hands. Her thumb ran over the shallow crescent-shaped marks that were left as her head lowered.

“I should probably go,” she mumbled, breaking the silence. “I’m going out with Hongjoong-oppa in the morning.” 

Wooyoung immediately stepped to the side, not meeting her gaze even as Jieun made her way towards the door. She hesitated for a moment as she reached for the doorknob, hoping he’d do something to stop her from leaving, though no more words were exchanged.

Defeated, Jieun opened the door and walked out of his room, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she made her way back to her own. 

Jongho was laying on his bed, absentmindedly watching a YouTube video that had popped up on his recommended feed, when Jieun walked into the room. He gave a quick greeting without looking up, though was met with silence as the younger girl didn’t respond. Instead, she walked right past him and immediately flopped onto her bed face-first, laying there unmoving. 

“You good?” he asked amusingly, sparing the girl a quick glance. 

Jieun let out a mix of a groan and a hum, remaining in her place. This caused Jongho to pause his video, fully turning his head in her direction. 

“Jieun? Everything alright?” 

When she didn’t respond, Jongho quickly pulled himself out of bed, placing his phone on the side table before making his way over to hers. He took a seat beside her, poking the girl in the shoulder. 

“Are you dead?” 

Jieun let out a sigh as she rolled over, looking up at him in defeat. 

“What should I do if I think I pissed someone off and now they won’t talk to me, but I don’t know what I even did in the first place and they won’t tell me why they’ve been ignoring me for weeks?” 

“Hold on, slow down a bit,” Jongho said, eyes widening. “First of all, who is it, and second, what’s going on?” 

Jieun closed her eyes as her hands dragged down her face. “Wooyoung,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s been avoiding me for weeks and when I try confronting him, he just shuts me out.” 

A small sigh escaped Jongho’s lips as he began to gently massage the girl’s shoulder in hopes of providing some comfort. He’d noticed the slight tension between the two a while ago, but chose to not get involved in hopes they’d be able to resolve things on their own. Upon seeing her deflated state, however, a part of him felt guilty for not stepping in sooner. 

“Did you just try talking to him?” he asked carefully, despite knowing the likely answer. 

“I did. I tried talking to him multiple times, and this time he wouldn’t even say anything.” Jieun suddenly sat up in bed and turned to the boy, the broken expression on her face tearing a piece of his heart out. “I feel like I’m going crazy. I don’t think I did anything wrong, but he won’t even tell me if I did or not. I just want things to be normal again but how am I supposed to do that when he won’t talk to me about anything?” 

Jongho’s hands slowly reached out to take hers, rubbing calm, smooth circles as he met her gaze.  

“Breathe, Jieun,” he said, not letting go of her hands. “Breathe with me. 1, 2, 3, 4-” Jongho took in a deep breath, which he held for four counts before slowly exhaling, nodding encouragingly as she copied his breathing pattern. “Good. Good job.” 

Jieun continued to copy his breath pattern, her racing heart soon calming down while he continued rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. Only after she had calmed down did Jongho speak up again. 

“Jieun, you’re not crazy,” he said firmly. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think you did anything wrong, but even if you did, it’s not fair of Wooyoung to just cut you off without giving a reason, especially when you’re still making efforts to talk to him.” 

Jieun exhaled shakily. “I’m sorry,” she said, almost in shame, her head lowering. “I’m just…This is stressful. Everything.”

“And you’re completely valid for that.” One of his hands reached up to rest on her shoulder. “Anyone in your position would feel the same way, but it’s not your fault. This is on Wooyoung for not communicating like an adult.” 

She nodded as she picked the skin around her nails, pausing for a couple moments before looking up at him. 

“What should I do?” 

Jongho’s mouth tightened into a straight line, carefully thinking of what to say.

“Honestly, I think you just have to leave him on his own at this point,” he eventually answered, a sigh escaping his lips. “As much as it sucks, it’s clear that he’s not going to open up any time soon. You know how stubborn Wooyoung can be.” 

This caused a faint smile to spread across her face, though it quickly disappeared as worry clouded her expression.

“I want to be there for him though,” she whispered. “If he’s going through something, then-” 

“Eun-ah,” Jongho cut her off, taking both her hands in his once more. He looked her in the eye. “Wooyoung’s emotions are not your sole responsibility. He’s old enough to communicate his emotions like an adult.” 

Another silence fell upon the two as Jieun considered his words. Logically, she knew he was right, but that didn’t stop the ache in her heart and the feeling of helplessness she couldn’t shake off. 

Jongho placed a hand on her knee and squeezed. “You should get to sleep soon. Aren’t you going out with Hongjoong-hyung in the morning?” he asked. Jieun gave a small, hesitant nod, her conflicted gaze not going unnoticed by the older boy. He tilted his head. “Want me to sing you to sleep?” 

She hesitated for a moment, about to decline when Jongho patted the pillow behind her. Jieun cracked a small smile as she laid down, pulling the covers over her body as Jongho moved to sit slightly closer. 

Gently, he reached over and began combing his fingers through her hair, his soft voice filling the room. He sat there for a while, going through the countless songs he had engraved in his heart as Jieun’s breath slowly stabilized. 

After ensuring that she was fully asleep, Jongho, as carefully as he could, rose from the bed, keeping an eye on her the whole time to make sure she didn’t wake up. Without taking his eyes off her, he began backing up from the bed and slowly made his way towards the door. He grabbed his keycard before opening the door as quietly as possible, making sure to turn the light off before slipping out of the room. 

Wooyoung felt like shit. 

He hadn’t felt particularly great the last few days, but the interaction he’d just had with the group’s youngest member didn’t help. It was a conversation, if one could even call it that, he’d been dreading for a while, but found himself unable to say anything in front of her. After she left, he decided to take another shower despite having already washed up, hoping the hot water would help ease his mind, though it made no difference. 

Wooyoung laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly, his body numb. Time slipped by unbeknownst to him, unable to focus on anything but the events that had just transpired. 

It was only when a knock sounded at his door that Wooyoung was broken out of his thoughts. He raised his head and stared at the door, wondering if it was worth it to go and open it. Another knock sounded, though Wooyoung continued to just stare at the door blankly. 

“Wooyoung, I know you’re awake.” To his surprise, Jongho’s muffled voice sounded from outside the room.

Begrudgingly, Wooyoung pushed himself off the bed and slowly made his way over to his door. A sigh escaped his lips as he unlocked it and pulled the door open, Jongho standing in front of him with a furious expression. 

“What are you-?” Wooyoung asked, unable to finish his sentence as Jongho stormed into his room, pushing past the older without asking. He was barely able to process all that was happening before Jongho began his tirade. 

“What is going on, Jung Wooyoung? And don’t try to bullshit your way out of this or whatever else you’ve been telling Jieun. Are you really that selfish? We’re on tour and you’re causing issues for the group.” Wooyoung stared at him with wide eyes, mouth left agape, but Jongho just scoffed as he shook his head. “I could tell something was off but I thought it wasn’t my place to say, but this is just ridiculous.” 

If looks could kill, Jongho’s gaze would have put Wooyoung six feet under the moment he stepped into the room. He didn’t care if he was being disrespectful to his elder, any respect he had for the older was lost the moment Jieun told him the truth. Even now, Wooyoung’s lack of response and his eyes being glued to the floor only further pissed him off. 

“Well? Aren’t you going to say something?” Jongho questioned. “Jieun’s distraught right now because you won’t talk to her, and you don’t even have the decency to tell her why.” 

A silence fell over the two, Jongho’s eyes burning into Wooyoung’s head as the latter continued to stare at the ground. Eventually, he shook his head. 

“I can’t.”

Jongho scoffed in disbelief. “You can’t what?”

“I can’t tell her,” Wooyoung said, his voice reduced to a whisper. 

“And why not? You know how Jieun thinks sometimes and making her suffer like this is just cruel-” 

“Because I like her!” 

Jongho paused, blinking at the older with a startled expression. 

“You…you what?”

Shaking his head, Wooyoung closed his eyes and took a deep breath, refusing to meet his gaze. 

“Since when?” Jongho asked, his anger starting to subside as shock filled him. 

“Since Oakland, maybe? I don’t know, it just…happened,” Wooyoung answered, shrugging. His head hung low, almost in shame. “I thought I could ignore it and it would go away, but it hasn’t. I can’t even look at her without thinking about how much I want to hold her and kiss her and-“

“Ok, I get it. That’s literally my sister, I don’t need details. Ew.” Jongho scrunched his nose, a disgusted look on his face. 

“I’m so fucked!” Wooyoung covered his hands with his face, letting out a groan as he walked back over to his bed and plopped down face-first. “This is the worst thing I could’ve done. Especially now, when we’re in the middle of a tour.”

Jongho was left standing in shock as he tried to process all the new information he’d just received. He watched from afar for about a minute before slowly making his way over, and like deja vu, Jongho took a seat beside the distressed member.

Meanwhile, Wooyoung continued to lay there in a puddle of his own emotions, clearly overwhelmed. On one hand, it felt nice to finally get the secret he’d been keeping for weeks off his chest- he hadn’t even told San- but the weight of the secret sat heavy on his shoulders. The more he tried acting like things were fine, the heavier the weight became, and with the added guilt of how he’d been treating Jieun recently, Wooyoung felt as though he was being crushed. 

After a while, Jongho placed a hand on the older’s shoulder, a sigh escaping his lips. 

“Hyung, you don’t have to tell her how you feel if you’re not ready,” he said, voice calm and collected. “But you do have to go and apologize.” When a conflicted expression crossed Wooyoung’s face, Jongho frowned. “You caught feelings, it’s not the end of the world. But like you said, we’re in the middle of a tour, and this won’t be fun for anyone if you don’t at least try to fix some of the mess you’ve created.” 

“I don’t know if I can,” Wooyoung whispered, shaking his head. “If she doesn’t hate me now, she probably will when she finds out.”  

“Is it really that bad if you like her?” Jongho asked. “Like sure, she’s a little sister to me, but I can understand why. She’s smart, hardworking, talented, pretty- I can see why you would.” 

Heat rushed to Wooyoung’s face as he peeked at the younger boy through his fingers, though glanced away a second later. 

Jongho sighed. “Jieun wouldn’t hate you over something like this, and I doubt she’ll ever hate you, but… she’s worried. She wants to be there for you and for things to go back to how they used to be.”

Wooyoung dropped his hands from his face, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. 

“They won’t. I can’t go back to how things were before.”

“Can you at least try?” Jongho nearly pleaded. “For Jieun’s sake?” 

Another silence fell over the two as Wooyoung continued to stare ahead, expressionless. As much as he hated admitting it, Jongho was right, and so was Jieun. This wasn’t how he wanted to look back on the tour. 

A sigh eventually left Wooyoung’s lips as he nodded. 

“Ok, I’ll do it.” 

Jongho gave a small, tight-lipped smile as he patted the boy’s leg. He stood up, waiting for Wooyoung to bring himself to his feet before allowing himself to be escorted out of the room. 

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” Wooyoung promised as he opened the door. 

Jongho nodded. “She’s going out with Hongjoong-hyung in the morning, but she should be back by the afternoon.” He looked back over his shoulder, giving Wooyoung one final pat on the shoulder. “Good luck, soldier.” 

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, shooing Jongho out of his room before closing the door behind him and locking it. Sighing, he turned around and made his way back to his own bed, allowing himself to be engulfed by the cold sheets. He reached over to the bedside table where his phone laid, quickly grabbing and unlocking it before scrolling through his messages. He opened his text conversation with Jieun, the last message sent being something she’d asked him about, though he’d never responded. 

Wooyoung’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, slowly typing out a message. 

Me: hey, what time will you be back tomorrow?

He shook his head, spamming the backspace button to delete the message. After a few more attempts at writing something he was satisfied with, Wooyoung accepted defeat and turned his phone off. He placed it back on the bedside table before pulling his covers up over his shoulders. 

He decided he’d text her the next day. Only now, it would be him waiting for her response, and even though he didn’t deserve it, he really hoped she would. 

taglist: @teezingsiyeon @moonkyeom [send an ask to be added to or removed from the the taglist]

a/n: this is part one to the jiwoo incident 🫠 i'll try to get part 2 out as soon as i can

[anemptypuddingcup]

Helloooo, can i request something for zoro? I'd like non-con or smthn with yandere themes.

Also I lovee your account, ive been a fan for a little more than a year.

Keep up the amazing work <3

Oh wow! Thank you so much for sticking by for so long sweet pea! I LOVE YOU!!

I genuinely wanted to write him a bit different in this since we never see a side of him that’s…genuinely loving and wanting to be around a woman. You feel me?

I kinda got carried away with the writing in this so it may be a bit longer…

Yandere Zoro x Female Reader.

Contains: Non-Consensual. Zoro’s wearing his bandana. (For shits and giggles I’m assuming-) Implied kidnapping. Reader is tied up in Zoro’s bedroom. Zoro did starve Reader a bit to make her weaker. Broken Reader at the end.

Zoro’s feet slowly trailed down the hall as he hummed a lighthearted tune to himself, his hands tying at his bandana around his temple before he’d tighten it around his head. He smiled creepily to himself, a few hot and heavy huffs leaving his lips as he’s pressed a hand over his mouth.

As he grew closer to his bedroom door, his body grew hotter as he gripped his gray sweatpants with delight. His hands were shaking as if he couldn’t contain himself any longer. With a loving thought of that pretty face of yours, he couldn’t help but to be so shaky and uncontrollably euphoric.

Zoro presses his hand against the doorknob to his door and twists it before slowly opening the door, his eye peeking inside before it landed in your smaller frame sitting up on his bed. Your hands were tied tightly behind your back as you rested there uncomfortably, your head slowly turning around to see Zoro…peeking his head inside of his bedroom.

You watched as he walks in and shut the door behind him, his hand locking the door before he slowly trailed up to his bed. You sat up straight and scooted back and away from him, your eyes staring up at his large physique while you flinched and looked away from him. He chuckles as he grabs your shin before pulling your body down towards his frame, his hands trailing delicately along your body while you shook your head and protested with a weak voice.

“N-No…No…” You said weakly, your body struggling to even fight back as you squirmed beneath his larger frame. Zoro smiled maniacally at your weakened state and moves in closer to your face, your head turning away as he did. “Won’t you relax my pretty…I haven’t done anything to you yet…” He whispered, his voice a bit raspy as he spoke in a quiet and somewhat exhaustive tone.

You didn’t answer him and instead kept your eyes shut tight, refusing to look him in his only eye while he continued to stared down at you. He moves down to your midsection and peppers a smooch to your tummy which causes you to flinch and gasp out a bit. His body slowly climbs onto his bed before he’d crawl over your smaller frame.

Zoro’s body straddled yours but he made sure to keep most of his weight off of your smaller frame as to not weaken you even more. His hand trails up to face, feeling at the soft skin of your cheek while you could only sit there silently.

“So pretty…As always…You were always beautiful…” He whispers to himself, his lips peppering a smooch to your cheek before he slides his tongue along your cheek. You trembled uncomfortably and Zoro groans out shakily at the taste of your salted skin.

“I can finally love you without anything or anyone else in my way…” He hummed, his hands toying at your body while you sat there against him. You shuddered again in disgust, wishing that you could be free from this or at least from his contact.

You didn’t think such a reserved and quiet man would be acting like this over your own body or your entire being for that matter.

“You know how long I’ve been watching you? How long I’ve been waiting to catch you off guard…?” Zoro asked you, his fingers rubbing at your bare breasts and playing at the soft skin while you let out a soft moan uncontrollably. You didn’t answer him and instead bit your lip in to silence yourself.

“Oh come on…Don’t be like that…You should be happy that you’re finally with me…Someone who actually gives a damn about you unlike anyone else.”

You whimpered in response to his words and Zoro sighs before sitting up, knowing that he couldn’t be patient with himself much longer. He finally pulls himself off of your body and you exhaled shakily as you felt slight relief.

Though it was short lived…

You watched as Zoro grabbed the waistband of his joggers, his finger slowly pulling it down to reveal his leaking tip to you. Your eyes immediately widen before you shot up from the bed and let out a gasp of fear, your body beginning to tremble as you as you tried to scoot back from him once again.

“Don’t pull away from me again pretty...” Zoro demanded, his hand grabbing at your hip before he pulled you back down towards him. Your breathing grew frantic and your body squirmed uncontrollably as the terror shot through your entire body. You were silently panicking, obviously knowing exactly what he was about to do to your body.

Your heart was pounding out of your chest, and you couldn’t calm yourself as much anymore. Your eyes look up into his as you pleaded to him, calling out his name while he’d hover his body over yours.

“Z-Zoro…P-Please…” You pleaded fearfully, your throat struggling to release those very words as your voice grew weaker with fear. Zoro stared at you blankly before his lips curled up into a smile, his hands now pulling his joggers down a bit all while he stared at you. His cock was hard and twitching, the pre spilling uncontrollably from his tip as if he’s been waiting for so long.

You shake your head as hot tears began to brew in your eyes, your voice now trembling as you grew afraid. Zoro runs his thumb along your lip, shushing you while you struggled to stay still.

“It’s okay…It’ll only hurt for a moment…”

“Please Zoro…Please don’t do this to me…”

Your breaking voice causes Zoro to wince, it pained him to see you in this way…

All he wants to do is share his love with you…To show how much he loves you without having too go far.

“I need to do this…Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this? To feel your body up against mine? To feel your warmth?”

“No…Nonono…No!”

You weakly kick at his body with broken and frantic cries, using up the rest of the strength you had to try and fight back against him. Zoro sighs and grabs your thighs before spreading them open, his eyes looking down at your cunt which was slightly soaked in your own essence.

He drools out onto your slit, the feeling of spit spilling out onto your cunt making you convulse from the discomfort.

“I promise…It won’t hurt but just a little bit. After that, you’ll feel real good…”

Zoro slowly sits up and moves his face back in closer to yours. You quickly turned your head away but he grabs your chin and forces you to face him.

His thumb softly wiped your tears away and he smirks as he stared at your pained and broken face.

“Here…Watch as I slide my dick deep inside of you. I want you to see…” He whispers to you, your eyes slowly looking down and focusing on his cock. A whimper left your lips as you shut your eyes tightly, a sharp and pained gasp leaving your pursed lips as you felt Zoro steadily stuffing his cock inside of you.

Zoro hisses and bites his bottom lip, his hand moving down from your chin to grab your hip. Your body stayed still as you watched him continue to slide into your tight cunt, heavy and pained hisses leaving your lips as he did. Zoro chuckles and pulled your hips up a bit, a gasp leaving you as your eyes winced from the pain.

“Here, let me speed things up for you.”

His hands pulls your hips all the way down onto his cock, causing a loud and pained whine to erupt your lips while your face twisted in pain. You breathed heavily while Zoro froze, giving you time to process and adjust to his size.

You give him a look of revulsion, your eyes glaring at him as felt scorn and hatred towards him for ruining you like this. Zoro smiles at your facial expression, your look of anger and resentment making him even more aroused than he already was. His hand grips your face, his fingers squishing your cheeks whilst you continued to glare deep into his eye.

“How ‘bout that…You look so fuckin’ cute…when you look at me like that~” He exhales heavily, his tongue trailing across his lips while he slowly begins to thrust into you. You winced and exhaled shakily, your eyes watching as he took it slow and steady for you. You shuddered at the feeling of him thrusting inside of you, your body feeling so uncomfortable as he did.

“H-Hurts…I-It’s hurts…” You say so quietly…not having enough mental or physical energy to speak your loudest. Zoro’s eyes softens in reaction to your fragmented words leaving your lips. He slowly sighs and peppers a smooch to your chapped lips, his hand reaching up as caressing your cheek.

“You’re so goddamn tight…Just relax for me…” He demanded, his hands holding your hips still in place while he began to pick up his pace.

A soft moan suddenly left your lips as you felt him kiss your sweetened spot, your eyes shutting softly as that pain slowly melted into pleasure. Hearing your pretty voice began to motivate Zoro, his body unconsciously shuddering as his hands held on tight to your hips.

He continues, a heavy and aroused huff leaving his lips as he continued to take it slow enough for you. Your face slowly began to shift and grow into an expression of arousal, your head slowly turning away from Zoro while he chuckles.

“That’s it…You’re starting to enjoy it aren’t you?~” He huffs heavily, his hips beginning to increase in speed while his thrusts grew a bit more deeper. Your walls began to tighten around his thick length and you slowly begin sucking him deeper inside.

Another muffled moan escapes your pursed lips and your face begins to twist in pleasure as you felt his length smooching your bundle of nerves. As much as you resent this man and what he’s doing to you, your body betrayed your mind and began to melt and fall into the pleasure. The feeling of his rough and scarred hands pulling your hips down onto his cock made your mind fall fuzzy with confusion.

This isn’t what you want but your body is saying otherwise while it tried to pull your mind in as well.

As you fell deep in your thoughts, Zoro move his face in closer to yours while he pulls his body up high against yours as well. He could tell that you were trying your best to reject his affection, but your body made it more difficult for you to do so.

“My cock makin’ you feel real good, isn’t it?” He whispered, his smile wide as he stared into your intoxicated eyes.

You sigh out heavily in response before moaning once again, your toes curling at your pussy tightens around his cock much more. “N-No…Fuck- N-No…It isn’t~” You strained out, your voice releasing again as your back arches unconsciously. Zoro cups your face, staring at your slightly-soaked cheeks while your brows furrowed in frustration.

“You can’t help but to enjoy it, your body is unfaithful to your words.”

“Your body is accepting my love as it should be.”

A shaky huff leaves his lips as you felt his cock twitch inside of you. He was growing close to his orgasm and you were too. His hands held you still and he begins thrusting into you all roughly and sloppily, his eye closing softly while his brows furls in pleasure.

Your voice unconsciously spilled weakened moans as you threw your head back, your body squirming in pleasure as you exhaled heavily.

“Ah!~ O-Ohhh~” You gasp out, your legs slowly wrapping around Zoro’s hips. Your mind was so befuddled, it didn’t know what it necessarily wanted anymore. Your body demanded for more as if this is what it wanted to begin with.

The pain of your thoughts and body betraying you hurt you more than Zoro himself…

Just let it be over already.. Please…

Zoro’s hand cups your cheeks and he stared into your eyes while he bit his bottom lip in ecstasy. “I’m close…and you are too, aren’t you woman…?” He asked, his bandana slipping from his head while bead of sweat spilled down his temple. You don’t answer him and he smiles softly in responses.

Pleasured groans leave his lips as he thrusts into you a few more times, each time harder and deeper than the last. You whine out shakily as your feet begin to cramp up, your toes still curling while your calves pushed Zoro’s frame closer into yours.

You gasp out and clench your teeth before letting out a quiet and erotic moan. Your walls pulsates around Zoro’s length as you finally cum on his cock, your body trembling heavily as your cunt creams all over his length.

Zoro chuckles and gasps out before he slowly pulls out of your cunt, his cock spurting his thick seed out onto your weak body while he groans out. Your body jolts at the sudden warmth of his cum against your skin and you sigh out in relief as your body begins to grow tired as it relished in the after feeling of the pleasure.

Zoro sighs out heavily and slowly pulled off his bandana, revealing his thick moss-like strands to you. He peppers a kiss to your cheek before moving in towards your lips. His lips press against yours, smooching you deeply while you didn’t react or respond. He pulls away and stares into yours eyes, smiling as his heart fluttered with delight.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful…And you’re all mine to have…” He sighed out lovingly. You whimpered in response and turned away, your eyes slowly beginning to flood with tears as you felt broken and dirty. Zoro kisses your tears before licking his lips, relishing in the saltiness while you lied there still.

“Let’s get you something to eat…You’re gettin’ real skinny…” He chuckled, as if he wasn’t the one who did this to you in the first place. He pulls your body up and unties the ropes that were tight at your wrists. He lifted your wrists to his lips and peppered smooches to your wounded wrists before smiling, his other hand reaching to play at your hair.

You sat there unfazed by his weird gestures and allowed him to touch your hair, a soft exhale leaving him as he felt your soft strand weaving along your fingers.

You had to cope with the fact…that you’re now stuck here…with him.

“Such a beauty…that’s all mine to have…”

“A pretty woman…in my grasp..”

You stayed silent.

“You’ll love me…Just as much as I love you…”

“I promise…You will love me.”

[kaisers-house-of-desires]

So I just read your Muzan and Gojo fluff and loved them so much! Do you think it would be possible for me to request something like the Muzan one where the reader joins Sukuna in becoming a cursed spirit, but they're on opposing ends? Like lovers that are enemies kinda thing 👀

Thank you for the kind words~!

As for your request, I had to do a deep dive into spirits as it's been a hot minute since I've seen anything JJK story wise. In that research, following your request was a bit difficult but I still hope you enjoy it nonetheless~

For all readers: Please keep in mind the process I will use is not canonical in any way and is merely me making this up for the sake of the story.

This may be a bit cheesy, but you know what? We're here to enjoy and indulge in all things.

Should you desire a part 2, do let me know~

Title: To Live with You

Characters: Sukuna x m!reader

Contains: fluff, human transformation, Sukuna is in Yuuji's body

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen

Full request below the cut

All characters are 18+

MINORS, FEM ALIGNED, AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DNI

Reblogs > likes

Cold...It's so cold...

It felt like ice was coursing through your veins, but you couldn't fight it. Everything was dark, your senses dulled to nothing save for the blistering chill that seemed to spiral through your body.

"I'm almost done. I know, it must hurt."

That voice...whose was it? It sounded so familiar yet so foreign. It didn't help with how fuzzy it sounded, how muffled and distant it was.

You wanted to agree that it did hurt, but your mouth wouldn't budge, no part of you would no matter how hard you tried. You only wished you could remember how you got here so you could try and steady your heart.

Except your heart was already still.

That had to be it. You had to be dead, right? You never knew death would be so cold. Strangely enough, it wasn't terrible. If you got cold enough, everything would numb up, and you would eventually pass, surely.

But it never came, and you continued to lay in frozen limbo.

"Just one more vial...and it will be complete..."

Vial? Complete? Just what was this voice talking about?

Any thought you had would come to a screeching halt as whatever icy sensation you had to give way to a roaring flame. Your body felt like it was engulfed in heat, like you were dropped into a pit of fire. Compared to the numbing cold, you wanted to scream out with how this felt. Going from frozen to blazing was a shock, one that practically shook you out of the comatose sleep you were in.

Eyes snapping open, you sat up, sweat rolling down your face as you panted heavily, gripping at the fabric of your shirt that resided over your chest. You could once again feel the pounding of your heart, though it felt unknown, as if it wasn't meant to beat again. Your vision struggled to focus, your body unsure of its state. You felt wrong, but it was his voice that brought you back.

"Y/N..."

It took you a moment, but once you were able to meet the red eyed gaze of the King of Curses, you knew you were safe. In fact, your memories came flooding back.

The long conversations you two had, the uncertainty, the confusion, fear, acceptance, it all came back to you like a ton of bricks.

He had transformed you as promised.

You instantly wrapped your arms around Sukuna's shoulders, pulling him into a deep kiss, which he returned without hesitation. It lasted longer than any other kiss you had before, but you deserved it for the hell you endured to get to where you were now.

With this cursed transformation, you could live by Sukuna's side.

Except for one thing.

"We need to head back," he breathed once you two broke the kiss. "It's almost sunrise."

It was only now that you realized you weren't in your bed, but instead in a desolate alleyway, free from any peering eyes, but his words made the dull ache return to your body.

"Sukuna--"

"The change is faint for now, but you need to work on surpressing the energy okay?"

"Can't we just run--"

"You knew well what you were signing up for." Sukuna's voice was firm, but careful. He was right, and you knew it. Now, you had to fight more than ever to keep yourself hidden. The change was risky, but you did so to be with the King of Curses as long as you could. "Remember, I won't hold back if we ever need to fight."

You gave a small chuckle, standing on shaky legs. "Try me. With this new change, surely I can handle you."

"Now don't get cocky," Sukuna teased with a smirk, standing with you and holding you steady. "Let's get back before it's too late."

[words-of-wolf]

Content warning: this post contains mentions of wolves hunting other animals, and some thoughts on the subject. Nothing I'd consider graphic, but I know it can be sensitive for some folks so I thought I'd warn beforehand!

Hhh, it's a bit hard to know where to start with getting back into writing about my experiences.

It's not that I don't have anything to say - it's the opposite! There's so much I'd like to share. I've always loved talking about my experiences... maybe a bit self-indulgent, but I like to think it can help other folks too, and I've gotten many interesting conversations out of it in the past, so no regrets!

Can't imagine I'll be posting big things like this frequently, but I'll happily answer questions and chat too. ^u^

So... right now, what I've decided I'd like to write about is some of the, I guess kinda fundamental aspects of my identity as a wolf therian.

It's interesting in a way, because there are so many wolves around - there's a lot of people to compare experiences against! I guess, if you have a rare kintype, or a kintype that's varied enough that your individual variation of it is rare (like dragons) - it might be hard to imagine that a wolf would struggle to find other people they relate to. But then, well: there's me.

I don't think anyone's nonhuman experiences are wrong. I don't think anyones' are "superior" either; it's just about who you are as an individual, what feels right and comfortable to you. I just wanted to get that across! Cause what I'd like to talk about does involve some comparison between my feelings and the things I've seen expressed by other wolf therians, and I wouldn't want it to be read as me saying my way of being as any better than anyone elses' (it's not).

During my time in the kin and therian communities (which, I first encountered over ten years ago now, but my activity has been very on-and-off since I reached adulthood) I've met so, so many wolf therians. It's... hmm, complicated for me, in a way? Because I felt very isolated, especially when I was younger, and I felt like wolf therians were supposed to be "my people". But really, I could count on both hands how many wolves I've met that I really related to on any level.

And the reason for that is the same now as it's always been: for a lot of wolf therians, being a wolf seems to be a kind of violent, bloodthirsty identity. The "predator" feeling is strong; there's some affinity for the thrill of the kill, the violence of it all.

That's not a bad thing. It's not wrong! But my experience has been... very different from that.

My perception of wolfhood isn't really "red in tooth and claw" like that. It's more... simple. Not peaceful really - life as a wolf is full of trials and strife - but the violence never felt defining for me. In terms of personal importance, the feelings of wanting to hunt, to fight, to bite and maim... I'd be lying if I said they were entirely absent, but they were always tertiary to things that seemed far more present and central.

I think a big part of that is... well, for context, I believe my wolf identity is linked to a past life. Yeah, stereotypical, I know! But it's genuinely what I experience; I do remember that life, or at least aspects of it. And those memories influence a lot of my experiences in my current life as a wolf-person.

The thing that strikes me most when I compare my own perspective on wolfhood to the ideas often expressed by other wolf therians, is that to me, hunting wasn't violence. It couldn't be violence.

Why? Because I just plain didn't realise that the deer and other animals we killed were living things.

There was no... room to even consider that idea. I didn't know that the deer I drove to exhaustion felt pain and terror, same as I did. I just knew I was hungry and it was food.

It's a strange thing to consider, isn't it? People talk a lot about "what makes us human". I don't think there's any one thing that does. But if I were to point to one of the most jarring, and one of the most utterly sacred parts of being human to me, it would be the ability to connect emotionally with other species.

Humans are not unique for doing that. And maybe there's some animals a wolf could come to see as an individual, in the way I would've seen another wolf. But a deer would never be that. Which contrasts strangely with me, now, as a human: where I can love pigs, and care about their welfare and treatment, but still enjoy some bacon or a porkchop. That can conflict, sometimes, yeah - but from a wolf perspective, that would be incomprehensible. At least, from my experiences it would be.

And if you remove the idea of violence from hunting, suddenly a wolf's life doesn't seem very violent at all. The act of hunting and killing prey animals felt no more violent to me, than when I cook up a steak for myself now. To someone, that would be violent, but to me it's just a steak - y'know? I know the steak comes from a cow, but that fact brings me neither grief nor pleasure. It's just kinda how the world is and I'm mostly okay with that.

The act of hunting was, I'd say, something I enjoyed as a wolf. I loved the chase. It was fun. Taking down prey could be scary; even a deer is dangerous when cornered and desperate. But the thing with nature is that it makes what you have to do to survive feel desirable: so risking my life for a meal felt thrilling, in a way, and a full belly afterwards was satisfying, and comforting, and a relief from the usual gnaw of hunger.

Hunting's only a small part of being a wolf, though. Even setting aside all the attempted hunts that fall through before you even get into a full sprint.

A lot of wolf life focuses on territory. In some places, it's a very intense, almost war-like conflict; constant, bloody, often fatal. Not always, though. It depends a lot on the intensity of the ecosystem you live in: a place with lots of prey attracts lots of wolves, who then compete for access. If the prey's more spread out, the wolves are more spread out too... and an area of land feels less worth dying for when you've got so many others to search.

Me and my pack were one of the latter varieties. Territorial conflicts were rare, for us; I don't recall any specifically. We patrolled, we marked our space. Territorial disputes were something I was aware of, I think - if I saw a trespasser I certainly would've acted with aggression - but it just wasn't a common occurrence.

So my experience of being a wolf didn't feel like it was defined by violence much. It didn't feel bloody and raw. I could see myself in the image of a wolf that snarls, maybe, but moreso I see myself in the image of the wolf that sleeps, or - perhaps most of all - the wolf that wanders.

And that's what existence as a wolf was, and is for me! It's wandering. It is the neverending search. Even when you find what you need, the relief can't last long - you need to move on soon, you need to seek again soon, because it won't be long before your empty belly's gnawing at your insides again. It wasn't ever a life of violence, it was a life of travel, for the good and the bad of it: for the new sights and new smells and new opportunities; for the exhaustion, the uncertainty, the sore paws and aching muscles.

And the restlessness. The need to keep moving. Keep going. Keep searching, always searching.

But, of course, that's still not the centre piece of the puzzle. Because that could only ever, of course, be the pack.

This is something I'll probably dedicate time to writing about all on its own, because I have such deep feelings about "the pack" as a concept, and also about my pack, who I lived for in my last life.

But I will say that all of my deepest, most vivid, and most impactful memories... they're not of the hunt, they're not about territory or conflict or hunger. What I remember most richly is the love I felt for my pack. It's a feeling I can't quite find it in me to explain; sometimes I wonder if the reason I identify as loveless in this life, is simply because no love I've ever felt as a human could compare to what I felt as a wolf.

I think there's a kind of synergy between the simple mind of a wolf, and the feelings a wolf experiences: in the quiet of an animal's mind, emotions seem so much stronger, so much more vivid somehow. I feel that even now, when I have a mental shift, and the logic and reason falls away - all that's left is emotion and physical senses, and they paint a picture so, so bright.

And those past life memories that I hold dearest, they have a similar quality to them... to curl up with my family after a long day of travel. Or listen to their happy snores as we all sleep off a full belly. And playing with the pups... I was a very fun wolf-uncle. And those pups were my joy, light of my whole life! <3

So... yeah. That's what being a wolf is to me.

It's not the only way to be a wolf. It's not the "right" was vs anyone else's "wrong". This is just what wolfhood is to me personally. Maybe other wolves will see something of themselves in this, maybe not! Either way, I appreciate the time you took to read my rambling. It feels nice to carve out a place in my life again where I can really talk about this stuff. c:

[in-class-daydreams]

Graduation Gripes

Pairing: Seventh Year!Sebastian Sallow x Seventh Year!Fem!Reader (no Y/N) Synopsis. You and Sebastian have just completed your N.E.W.T.s. Now is the time for you to learn if you're qualified for your dream jobs. Sebastian, an Auror, and you, and Unspeakable. The only problem is, you've gotten into your own head and suddenly, your excitement and anticipation has turned to fear. A/N: Unedited, we ball. Fluff, angst, kinda cheesy. TW: None

“Are you ready?” Sebastian sat across from you in your favorite spot on the top floor of the library. He’d grown taller in the few years since you met him. Now in his final year, blessed genetics and  Imelda’s grueling quidditch practices saw him broad-shouldered and mature-faced with a more justified air of confidence to boot. 

In front of him were five unsealed letters and you, four unsealed and three sealed, all containing a letter grade for each of your N.E.W.T.s. Today, the two of you would learn your fates.

Naturally, your studious and intelligent boyfriend met all of the Auror requirements of high marks in five exams. The two of you had painstakingly gone over the requirements in the middle of last year.

The Unspeakable requirements were even more rigorous. Seven N.E.W.T.s, at least five O’s, two may be E’s. Upon hearing the requirements, Sebastian deemed it nearly impossible, and having taken the exams, you were inclined to agree. Though, back then, he’d said, “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

You stole a licorice spider from him and popped it in your mouth. They were still awful, but the chewing sensation was comforting. The results had already shown four O’s and one E. You could afford another E, but only one. 

You took a deep breath and slowly pried the wax seal off of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sebastian huffed a laugh through his nose, looking completely unsurprised when you unveiled an ‘Outstanding’ mark. 

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” he said with a cheeky grin. “You know, I love watching your crush exams with your eyes closed.”

“My eyes were open,” you deadpanned and placed the letter off to the side.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to your wrist. You loved this spot in the library because of the big open window to your right, which allowed the natural sunlight to beam down during your study sessions. That, and the light did wonders for Sebastian’s handsome side profile, from his now sharp jawline and the slope of his nose.

As you admired him, you thought about what it would be like if work kept you away from him for long. You’d been attached at the hip since you first bested him at a duel, and yes, you’d been alone your entire life, now that you’d tasted life with him, the thought of letting it go was devastating. You wondered if your constant hunger for “more” would jeopardize your relationship with the person you love most.

Professor Hecat, when you met her, looked to be well into her sixties. You’d come to find out later, while you were under her tutelage as a sixth year, she was hardly out of her thirties when you first arrived at Hogwarts. When she said she was “wounded by time itself,” you thought she meant naturally, the way time comes for all people. In reality, work as an Unspeakable strained the body in all ways - magical, emotional, physical - and sped up the aging process.

Your late mentor, Fig, if you knew him as well as you thought you did, surely would have preferred you choose an easier career path and live a long, happy life. Work in that sector of the Department of Mysteries, in his mind, just wouldn’t be fulfilling enough to justify the price.

You know yourself. You need to struggle, to fight. You always have. The lightning shooting down your spine and the burning in your chest was an addicting feeling you could never let go of, as if the thrill of battle had become so familiar, it was the only state you felt truly comfortable.

As such, almost every aspect of life as an Unspeakable appealed to you.

Almost.

You never cared much about your appearance. Good looks had nothing much to do about survival and why worry about something you can’t change anyway? Sebastian always said that was one of his favorite things about you, how you never cared about looks, which you thought was ironic considering how handsome your boyfriend had become.

But considering how lovely Sebastian was, if you looked a decade older than him two years after graduation, would he want to stay with you? Sebastian was never that shallow - something you loved about him, along with just about everything else about him - but truly, a handsome and successful Auror married to an aged Unspeakable he never gets to see? Could you expect that of him?

Second to last was Herbology, which was normally a deceivingly difficult subject, but your experience brewing your own potions in fifth year put you well ahead of where you needed to be. With those two factors combined, you scored yet another ‘Outstanding.’

“You’ve basically done it!” Sebastian cried. You still had one ‘Excellent’ mark left to fall back on, and in Sebastian’s mind, you just needed to seal the deal.

“Unless I scored worse than ‘Excellent,’” you said matter-of-factly.

The last subject was Ancient Runes, and as Sebastian tutored you in this subject as well, you already had a strong feeling as to what your score was.

Sebastian stared at you intently while you ripped open the last envelope and stared at its contents. He did his best to wait patiently, but the anticipation soon got the better of him.

“Well? You’ve done it?” He said it as if he was certain of your success. If you learned anything about him in your time together, it was that if there’s one thing he’s always believed in, it was you.

Knowing that, could you really let him go?

Your house robes were hanging on the back of your chair. You slipped a hand into the pocket and produced your wand, pointing it at the letter.

“Confringo,” you whispered. The page incinerated almost immediately and you pulled back before it singed your fingers.

Sebastian’s chair screeched when he shot to his feet. “What are you doing?!”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to talk about it Sebastian.” Ditching your robe, you turned your face away and ran down the stairs back to the Slytherin dormitory.

You holed up in your dorm until evening, when Imelda came in and told you to “rein in your boyfriend, he’s insufferable without you.” A quick owl later and you were heading back into the empty library once again. With exams over, your fellow students took great pleasure in not needing to be in the library.

Sebastian met you downstairs on the first level. The familiar paper in his hand made your stomach drop. When you looked at him, ashamed, he tilted his head, insulted that you’d ever consider him incapable of fixing something so simple.

He held the paper out with one hand and flipped it, revealing the ‘Outstanding’ mark. You looked away, unable to face him.

“You did it,” he said simply.

“I did,” you agreed.

Sebastian shook his head. “This is amazing! You’ve achieved your dream, why aren’t you over the moon? We’ll both get to work with the Ministry–”

“Sebastian, we’d never get to see each other!” You looked at him desperately. “I’d never get to talk to you about work, our schedules would never line up, it would take an insane toll on my body!”

“You’ve known that this whole time. I thought you were fine with all those things?” He took a step towards you and you shrunk back. Your heart clenched from the hurt expression on his face. “I won’t force you, but you’ve wanted this for a long time now. I don’t understand what changed.”

What changed? Well, you wouldn’t have been sorted into Slytherin if you weren’t ambitious. But at the same time, Fig and Sebastian were your first real family. You spent your entire life alone and you were terrified that if you became an Unspeakable, the clandestine nature of the job would drive you and your only family apart.

“I don’t know, Seb, I don’t know if I can do this,” you said miserably.

“Darling.” Sebastian came and took you by the hands. “There’s not a thing in this world you can’t do. I know that and you know that. So give me an honest answer. What are you hesitating for?”

Your eyes felt hot. “I don’t want anything to happen to us.”

Sebastian stared at you in shock. “Why would anything happen?”

You wiped furiously at your eyes and buried your face in his chest. “I don’t know! It’s stupid, I’m just scared, Seb! We have so many plans for the future and what if we can’t do any of them because of my job?” Eyes clenched shut, you whispered, “I just don’t want to lose you.” 

You weren’t sure what exactly you expected out of him, but the deep rumble of his laughter wasn’t it. You looked up to him smiling down at you with tender love in his eyes.

“My love.” He tilted your chin up to look at him. “Plans can change.”

“But you’ve been through so much. Don’t you want someone you’ll actually be able to see on a regular basis? I might not be able to bear children if the work takes a toll on me, you could never ask about my work–”

Sebastian pressed his forehead to yours. Still holding your hands, he slowly drifted down onto one knee. He looked up at you with glassy warm brown eyes and you covered your mouth.

“I don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to say this twice, so please listen. I would kill or die for you. At the risk of incriminating myself, I’ve done or come close to both.” He reached into his pocket and produced a gold ring with swirling designs around the band. “I went back to my uncle’s house. Tore it apart to find this, and just as I figured, he had my mother’s wedding ring. It was her most prized possession and I want you to have it.”

Your eyes welled with tears and you let out a shuddering breath. “Sebastian…”

“Our careers be damned, I’d rather see you once a year than be with someone else every day. I need you to know. There’s nobody else. Just you alone. Will you marry me?”

[ladyluscinia]

Hi there! I just read your meta about how Izzy knows the real Edward and not just Blackbeard, and that got me thinking… why does Ed tell Stede he doesn’t have any friends? I’d initially chalked this up to Izzy only wanting to be friends with Blackbeard, but if Izzy knows and is loyal to the real Ed, why doesn’t Ed consider him a friend?

Hi! You just stumbled on one of my favorite things to talk about that now I get to add S2 context to, so thank you!

Ok... Edward & his total denial of friendship. There's the big reason - which is completely divorced from the reality of any of his relationships - and then there's the smaller, related reason that I'm not even sure Edward is fully aware of.

Reason #1 (the big one) why Edward says he doesn't have any friends is because he's having a depressive breakdown in a bathtub when he says it.

It all comes back to the fact Edward hates himself, which was fairly clear in S1 and now made explicit in S2. Specifically in 2x03. Which, in a season full of excellently timed flashbacks and echoed scenes from S1, still contains the single example that made me leap from my seat in pure vindication.

When Edward tackles his conjured Hornigold to kill him, before he realizes he's in the gravy basket, we great a great line...

"It all boils down to this. You're afraid you're unlovable."

...followed by a set a flashbacks that feel chosen specifically for me 😌

Edward killing his dad, with the voiceover "I'm not a good person Stede..." cut to Izzy's destroyed laugh right before Edward left the room in 2x02, and then cut back to the bathtub from 1x06 to finish "...That's why I don't have any friends." Stede affirms he is Edward's friend and then it ends on the crew's mutiny from 2x02 and the absolute darkest point of Edward's depressive spirals so far.

That is literally an explicit connection I couldn't have dreamed of in the S1 hiatus.

Because, like... Edward's whole thing is that he's been on the edge of drowning under this lifelong struggle against depression since we met him. He does fundamentally believe in his darkest moments that he is monstrous and poisonous and no one could ever love him, but it's not a logical belief. He's not making an assessment of his relationships as he sees them, he's voicing his self-loathing and depression.

And the parallel between "I don't have any friends" and "I'm unlovable" is soooo crunchy because we know for a fact the second statement is just depression talking. Not even just Stede! Edward spends the first two episodes actively resisting evidence to the contrary in his spiral because it hurts too much - Izzy blatantly confessing his love didn't break through, it just got him shot for trying.

To go back to the bathtub in 1x06, Stede's affirmation there wasn't any more effective than Izzy's confession in S2. It gets Edward to get up out of the bathtub and pull himself back together, but the very next episode opens with Edward getting antsy and trying to leave before Stede can reject him. In 1x08 he's still half-waiting for Stede to notice there's something wrong with him.

Edward always has a little dark voice in the back of his mind saying that Calico Jack isn't his friend, and Izzy isn't his friend, and Stede isn't his friend... but it's Edward's voice. One he'll have to fight against forever, one that will sound really persuasive in his darkest moments (like when he's in a bathtub admitting its source out loud for the first time in his life), but also one that is lying.

So... that's the big reason.

Now, Reason #2 is a bit more nuanced - Edward is really repressed.

This is pretty much entirely the fault of Reason #1, but it is technically a different thing. Because Edward hates himself and has a flawed perspective of all his relationships, he instinctively holds himself back from them to some degree.

This kinda gets into the whole Izzy vs Stede thing, because Edward has a very small collection of interests and desires that he shoved into a small box as things he didn't deserve well before becoming a pirate (due to both mommy and daddy trauma), and then he never brought those things up with anyone close to him. Until he met Stede, who was basically the walking embodiment of several of those interests/desires and a person who Edward uniquely did not have a script or baseline for interacting with, so he ended up doing the reverse and diving into exploring all that as the core of this one singular relationship.

Which has left him very unbalanced.

Like, he's not wholly engaging in the relationship due to fear of rejection either way. There's nothing intrinsically healthier about letting Izzy know all his ugliest bits or Stede know all his most hidden emotional vulnerabilities. And the fear of rejection in both cases is based in his depression / conviction he's unlovable, not evidence that Izzy would react poorly or whatever.

But if he was capable of evaluating his relationships objectively, he might have felt a little like even Izzy who knew him so well wasn't as close of friend as he truly desired, simply because he puts away that box of things around him. Only... Izzy doesn't make him do that. That box was probably put away before Izzy even met him.

And like... Edward can feel his feelings about Izzy not knowing the super important emotional things he wants him to know, but it's still on Edward for not even trying to tell him.

(This got longer than I meant it to, lol. Anyway here's my hiatus post where I'm nice to Calico Jack on this topic too.)

[stu-dyingstudent]

third war continued/Sakura sent to war prematurely fic recs

Okay, I'll be completely honest, this is one of my ultimate favourite tropes when it comes to Sakura-centric fanfiction! Unfortunately, there really isn't too many of these out there and most are not completed, so if you know of any more then please send them my way. I'm begging.

Started: 2024.07.23

Last Updated: 2024.07.23

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Your Move, Instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue) - Laysan_albatross || ao3|| third war extended AU || complete

“We are still under wartime policy,” the recruiter had told her parents. He had an envelope in his hand. He sounded sorry. “She has two parents who are successful ninjas. We would be remiss to overlook her potential based upon that alone.” The Third Shinobi War never ended. Konoha needs more soldiers, grabbing anyone who can fight, especially those who can't say no.

You guys, I love this one to death. It's definitely a darker take on the Naruto universe, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The civilian born shinobi are deemed as more expendable and thus thrown into war while the clan born remain sheltered. I found it quite interesting that the Uchiha were also lobbed into this group, but it was more done as punishment instead. Very raw and properly gets across the devastation that this brings.

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still waters by Vulpecula_et_Anser || ao3 || gen || M || Sakura sent to war early AU || one-shot complete

Sakura is twelve when she queues up in front a desk with a bunch of other equally-terrified looking shinobi. The ages range from younger than her to old enough to be her grandpa. The man sitting at the desk is stony-faced as he doles out assignments. Sakura obediently shuffles forward when it is her turn, and recites her shinobi identification number in a shaky voice when asked. When the provost marshal looks at her, looks down at his paper, looks back at her, and grimaces, Sakura knows it’s not going to be good. OR How Sakura survives the war, told in bits and pieces.

Canon-fodder! Sakura makes her shinobi debut on the front lines, forcing her to get creative in her means to survive. It's gritty, raw, and the clever use of seals is great! In most of the other works of this type, Sakura is placed on a team of sorts or has some "support" (kinda), but here she is all alone. She is forced to fight for her life, to keep going despite how she feels because ultimately, Sakura does not want to die. She does meet some people later on though and it was great to see. Y'all know this type of story is my personal guilty pleasure (also one of the best I've read thus far)...

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Find Your Place (whatever it takes) - Dovey || ao3 || third war extended AU || incomplete

The war lasts longer than in canon, and has only just ended. While most of the 'Konoha 12' are clan heirs and thus protected from having to go to war prematurely, Sakura is from a civilian family, with naturally advanced chakra control, and thus is thrown immediately onto the frontlines. Now she's on a genin team in peacetime, and she's struggling to figure out how to live when she's not constantly at risk of dying. Team seven bonds in new weird ways, The Uchiha are actually all dead except for Sasuke (including war-hero itachi) who's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Konoha, Naruto isn't the kyuubi container and he finds Sakura kinda scary. Sakura would just like to have a hobby.

Find Your Place (whatever it takes) is the og fic of this category as far as I am aware. The main difference to consider is that it primarily focuses on the aftereffects of the war and the impact that it had on Sakura as a person.

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team. - waterpllar || ao3 || gen || third war extended AU || complete

She’s under Neji's command, which apparently means she’s under the Hyuuga’s command. The Hyuuga’s role is on the frontlines, but Neji must be special for a kid from the branch family, because they mostly send him and Sakura out after the big battles are done, to pick off the wounded, and burn bodies. Sakura kind of wishes she had someone to keep her from the big fights, too. Her job is with Neji, taking back kekkei genkai and retrieving important people’s bodies, but she has other assignments, too. She’s given a dull kunai and told to go through the battlefield, dodging blows and jutsus from friend and foe, slashing at whatever isn’t wearing a Konoha headband.(the third shinobi war doesn't end, dragging on for years. konoha is running out of troops, and unimportant children in the academy with even a modicum of talent are snatched up to the warfront. sakura, unfortunately, is one of them. so is neji.)

Such a strong beginning, although, I gotta say that the ending was rather disappointing imo. There was so much potential, but the author admitted to not wanting to continue the story so it was cut short. Hopefully more works of this nature will come to light!

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Induction - Anonymous || ao3 || M || gen || third war extended AU || incomplete

in·duc·tion /inˈdəkSH(ə)n/ noun: induction 1. the action or process of inducting someone to a position or organization. enlistment into military service.   or; The Third War does not end soon enough. Children pay the price.

Definitely not my favorite take on this trope, but it fits the bill, so it's here! Anyway, tbh I never actually made it far enough reading to get to the actual war part, so I don't have too much to say.

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Ground Zero - TheIzzatron || ao3 || gen || T || third war extended AU || incomplete

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this means forcing weapons into the hands of children, then so be it.

AHHHHH I'm praying for the day we get another chapter of Ground Zero!! I really appreciate how we actually get a training arc where we get a base of the characters and how this system works before they properly get dispatched. The characters and their emotions are so well done that you truly feel how unfair the situation is. They aren't heartless, they are children. Highly recommend.

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Control - Dragonist || ao3 || gen || no rating || Sakura sent to war early AU || incomplete

Kumo kidnaps a child of Konoha. Sakura graduates from the academy only a year after starting it. There's a war going on, and she's obedient enough to stay quiet and follow orders. Then the war ends, and it's unclear who is really giving them. (a mystery from a child's perspective)

I haven't read Control yet, but I really need to get around to it!

Ok I just noticed I forgot to add the link to this one, but that has been fixed!!

Edit: bruh, I’m so mad I didn’t get around to reading this sooner because it seems the author deleted it 😭 if any of you have a link/download, please send (I’m begging)

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Please send me more like these!!!!

[aihaitahm]

Hiii! What’s your take on headcannons about uh the reader who’s an significant other to the characters: Geoard, Blade and Jing Yun and maybe they like lose control of their powers and maybe how they try and assist you in containing them in the moment or calming you down?

hsr characters react to gn! reader who has uncontrollable powers

im sorry abt this one anon 😿 i wasnt sure abt how to write reader’s abilities.

also blade’s lore still confuses me and his characterization tbh.

characters: gepard, blade, jing yuan

gepard

would be on the look out when you mentioned about your hidden power. heavily protective of you and would prefer you both fought together always. would keep this a secret between you to avoid gossip from silvermane guards.

when it triggers, he would try his best in calming you down by making you look in his gentle eyes or making him listen to his words. he would never want to resort to fighting you. if you somehow just cant snap out of it, he would just hug and hold you tight. that way you know hes right there.

would ask natasha and other doctors about your condition and how to contain it. even better how to make it in a condition where it is controllable and not harmful to yourself.

would reassure you that you are not a monster and that you’re you, the one he loves and cherishes everyday.

blade

he sense your strong energy and aura the first time you both met. tbh thats what intrigued him about you anyway is how come he feels a sense of very powerful aura around you and yet you never mention a thing about it.

when you revealed it to him, he isnt surprised. he himself abandoned his body to become a blade, to possess terrifying power of self-healing which in the process, was probably the most painful thing to get through. to the point he probably got used to it. he eventually knew how to control it and lived with it. (a/n: correct me if im wrong abt this part but blade’s lore still confuses me ++ some of these are plain speculation if he did feel any pain when he abandoned his body!)

during random hours of the day or week, he would give you unwanted advice on how to live with your given powers. he would also make you join him and the stellaron hunters because he believes in your abilities if you havent already.

when you do get out of control, i feel like he’d let you release everything (except when its drastically making you insane/lose health, etc.) until you calm down a bit. he will pat you on the back and would give you treatments that he used to drink or take whenever he felt out of control before.

jing yuan

he knew from the look from your eyes that you have something powerful and absurd hidden. he just couldnt shake it off. kinda like blade except he wouldnt bring it up or question you.

when you revealed your struggle for control over your own powers, he will not be the one to judge. instead, he comforts you and maybe would help you control it by regular training with him. would search for more optimal ways that can help you.

when you get out of control, i feel like he would spar with you (obviously not hurting you) until you get tired. that is when he gently carries your body and take cares of you.

he is very detail-oriented/observant and he knows the symptoms if youre about to lose it. he asks his servants to grab him medicine for you to drink to help it subside and eventually not be as bad. mimi is also there to calm you down. would rub up your legs or arms or lay by your feet.

[dirtybitfic]

Road trip

Matt sturniolo fan fiction

-smutttttt,kinda long story might be a couple parts lols

(Contains- touching,teasing , gas station fight , dirty talk etc.and I think the rest of the dirty nasty will be in part 2)

Y/n pov-

Me and Matt have been dreaming of taking a road trip to Vail Colorado for years. Ever since we were about 14 me and Matt have just understood each other in a way that non of our other friends did . We have the same interests and music taste and we also both struggle with mental health and throughout the years we’ve helped each other through it a lot .

When Matt got his license we started talking about all the places we’d love to go to and Colorado was always our biggest dream especially during Christmas time since we both love Christmas and they always decorate their city’s and towns so perfectly that they look like the perfect hallmark Christmas movie towns.

As we got older we started to get more serious about planning a get away for a couple weeks but our parents didn’t think that it would be a good idea until we were at least out of high school which we understood and respected. This past year we all turned 20 and me and matt, Chris and nicks birthdays are only two months apart we decided to do a big conjoined party .

Chris and Nick said they had a big surprise for me and Matt and that they wanted us to open their presents after everyone had left the party . We were both slightly confused but we were excited to see what it would be.

After everyone had left Chris and Nick had us sit down on the couch as they placed bags in our hands .

Me and Matt opened them at the same time and at first we were both confused and laughing because the first thing in the bags were matching beanies .

“Chris why did you make us wait for matching beanies” I asked laughing .

“Y/n you gotta keep opening then it will make sense in a second” Nick said giving me a big smile.

We both looked at each other and reached into the bottom of the bag finding envelopes .

I opened mine first and it was a printed out picture of a gorgeous cabin in the mountains of Colorado.

“Okayyy a cabin ? What did y’all buy a mountain or something” I ask still slightly confused.

“Nooo y/n god turn it over “ Chris says lightly smacking my head.

I laughed and turned it over .

“OMG YOU DID NOT” I said excitedly realizing it was and air bnb in vail Colorado.

“SURE FUCKIN DID KID” Chris yelled back at me smiling.

“We’ll Matt you gotta open yours now” Nick says smiling at him clapping his hands.

“Okay okay give me a second “ Matt says as he opens the envelope.

“YOU RENTED MY DREAM CAR WTF GUYS” he says looking up smiling adorably.

“We sure fucking did dude. We rented you guys the car for 4 weeks . You guys have the air bnb for three weeks in December . We wanted you guys to have the perfect trip you’ve always dreamed of “ Nick says .

I immediately got up and ran at Nick giving him the biggest hug then Chris .

“Guyyyys thank you so much I love it and I love you” I said getting a little teary eyed feeling so overwhelmed.

“Really guys thank you this is better than we could have imagined “ Matt says giving his brothers a hug.

“How did you guys afford this like Jesus this couldn’t have been cheap” I say a little worried for their bank accounts.

“ eh you know we have just been saving for a while but thank our fans for that cause no way would we be able to afford this if our YouTube wasn’t doing so good” Chris says .

“We’ll thank you again this means the world to me i don’t know how I’ll ever repay you guys” I say as tears stream down my face.

“Y/n don’t cry “ Nick says bringing me in for a hug .

“I’m sorry I’m just so happy “ I say laughing a little bit wiping my tears away.

“ we’ll we’re glad you like our present “

“LOVE IT” I corrected Chris.

We all laughed and went to bed .

Now it’s a week away from December and I’m starting to get super excited our trip starts at the begging of December and I need to start packing since we’ll be gone for so mf long.

I decided to FaceTime Matt to see if he would go shopping with me for some more outfits I’ll need .

*ft Matt

(Matt picks up- Matt’s blue , y/n is pink)

Hey what’s up

Hey I just wanted to see if you were up to do a little shopping with me I need to get some more winter outfits for the trip

Yeah of course you want me to come get you

Yeah either way I can get you or you can get me doesn’t matter to me

Okay I’ll come get you In say 10 minutes I know you just love to be a passenger princess

Yeah your right sounds good

Okay I’ll text you when I’m outside

Okay see you in a bit love you

Love you too bye

(Call ends)

After about 15 minutes Matt texted me that he was outside so I put my shoes on and ran down stairs. I locked my door behind me and hopped into the car.

“Hey so where you thinkin the mall” Matt asks

“Sadly yes that’s where all the good stores are” I said sadly he knows I hate the mall.

“Alright let’s go then” Matt says as he starts to put in directions to the mall .

He tells me to connect to aux and play some music .

As come here was ending we were pulling into a spot and Matt turned off the car .

We got out and started walking in after we did a little shopping we ended up grabbing some food and parked to eat.

I cant believe our dream trip is only 4 days way

I know I literally can’t wait I don’t know how I’m gonna sleep I’m getting to excited

No seriously god we’ve been dreaming of this for so long I just can’t believe we’re finally getting to go. But what are you telling the fans since you’ll be gone for so long

Oh we pre filled a good amount of our videos for the next couple weeks but I thought it would be fun to do at-least one vlog with you while we’re on our trip you know most of the fans like you

Awww well that actually could be really fun

Yeah they can see us running around in the snow being fucking stupid that’ll be really fun

Oh yeah can’t wait for them to see me snipe you with a snow ball

Oh really

Oh yeah just wait you’ll never know when I’ll get you I’m really sneaky you know

Yeah yeah whatever

We both laughed and after we finished our food we threw away our trash and he dropped me off at home.

Fast forward 4days——

I finally fished packing last night thank god and I just woke up to my alarm it’s currently 4 am me and Matt decided to get and early start since we’ll be driving pretty far to get to Vail and we want as much day driving time as we can get.

Vail Colorado is about 30 hours from Boston so it’s gonna a loooong drive.

-incoming call from Matt

Hey what’s up

Hey I just picked up the car and holy fuck it’s amazing but I’m otw to get you now I’ll be there in a bout 15.

Okay see you then I’ll make sure to have all my shit down stairs by the time you get here

Okay see you in a bit

Yep byeeee

Call ends

I started bringing all my stuff down and grabbed a blanket for the car just in case one of us gets cold and filled up my water bottle and then put on my shoes .

Matt just texted me he was here and I started to grab some of my bags to take them out to the car.

When I opened the door I audible gasped the car was … gorgeous.

(A BABY BLUE BRONCO FUCK YESSSS MUTHA FUCKAAA)

Matt got out and helped me grab my bags .

Omg Matt the car is so prefect

I know right I can’t believe we get to drive this for 4 weeks

Yeah good thing you make good money cause gas isn’t gonna be cheap

True true

We got my stuff into the back after I locked the door .

Hey my mom made you a breakfast sandwich and that matcha shit you love I set it on the back seat

Awww she is so sweet she didn’t have to do that

I know but she wanted to she always says “y/n is the daughter I never had” you know sometimes we think she loves you more than us

Hey you know that’s not true but seriously I’m gonna text her and tell her thank you

After we hit the road we’ve been sitting in comfortable silence listening to my playlist I made .

Was playing as I started to get hot a little bit surprisingly I thought I’d be cold but my dumbass did what every girl does and wore nothing under my sweatshirt. I started to get uncomfortable and shift around in my seat which Matt noticed pretty easily .

Hey you good you keep shifting around

Yeah just getting a little hot

Well take of your sweatshirt then

I… can’t (I say awkwardly)

Why not?

Because I have nothing underneath

Y/n I don’t care if your just in your bra I don’t want you to be uncomfortable

No Matt I mean I have … nothing on underneath

Ohh ohh shit ummm well you could always just take your pants off unless that’s weird then idk what to tell ya

I mean ig as long as it’s not weird for you

No not at all get comfortable

I started to take my pants off and caught Matt glancing over making my face go red . It’s not like he hasn’t seen me in a bikini but I’m wearing a thong which for some reason feels a bit more intimate to see me in .

Matt clears his throat as I look over at him after I finally get my pants off and throw them in the back seat.

I decide to tease him a little bit cause I think it’s funny

What’s the matter Matt

What oh um nothing just getting a bit hot myself

Here I’ll help you get your sweatshirt off

Oh okay (he says as I help him pull his arms out and pull it over his head )

I gasp quickly realizing he had nothing on under his either. I don’t think he heard me though but god his tattood arm gripping that steering wheel and his big veiny hands . NO WTF AM I THINKING THATS MY BEST FRIEND.

I snap out of my trans to look away but he glanced over at me smirking a little bit.

Why were you staring at my hands y/n

What I wasn’t I don’t know what your talking about

Okay so what were you starring at then hmm

God I have to think fast I’m just gonna sayyyy

Yo-your tattoos I was just like looking at them

Oh well alright

Their just really cool

I moved my hand to trance over his key tattoo

I love this one

Oh really why?

I don’t know I just do

He suddenly moves his hand off the steering wheel I didn’t understand why at first but he moved it so I could trace over his other ones.

I really like this one too -I say tracing over his dog one with its mouth open

And why do you like that one or are you just gonna say . He tries to mock my voice “idk I just do”

First of all I do not sound like that you asshole and no I was actually gonna say I like it because it has a dark vibe and I love tattoos like that it reminds me of this hellhound tattoo I wanna get

Oh really well that’s cool . You gotta show me that Pinterest board you have all your inspiration on cause your tattoos are pretty cool

He says as he moved his hand to my thigh racing the dark moth I got for my first tattoo . The way he’s tracing it has my breathing becoming uneven and my heart starts to race. Idk why I’m feeling this way but Jesus I’m getting wet . It feel wrong but it feels so good.

I cant believe you got your first one on your thigh and it��s big too

Yeah idk I just felt like it was the right place for it

It didn’t hurt?

No it felt good to be honest

Ohh your one of those people huh?

What the Fuck does that mean

You just like pain that’s all

Oh ummm ye-yeah I guess I like the feeling of tattoos a lot honestly I almost fell asleep getting all of mine

Mmm interesting

Why is that interesting

No reason

Yeah okay whatever

God if only he knew . Me and Matt have never really talked about our sex lives with each other I mean sure we talked about when we both lost our virginity but other than that it’s not really our typical conversation.

Their was one time he was on my phone looking for a picture and he almost went into my notes app and I screamed at him so fast to not read anything In there . He obviously got scared and threw my phone at me and apologized but the reason I didn’t want him going in there is because my top note is my kink list .

YEAH MY FUCKING KINK LIST . That’s the last thing you want your best friend of like 15 years to read . He tries to ask me why I got so defensive over it sometimes but I’m to awkward to tell him why. Honestly if he read them I’m scared he’d think I was a freak which I mean I’m a freak in the bed but not as a person u mean you know what I mean.

As I’m deep in my thoughts Matt starts to move his hand further up my thigh which causes me to gasp and snap my thighs shut.

Sorry sorry

N-no your fine it just caught me by surprise is all

I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable

He try’s pulling his hand back down but my thighs have his hand locked in

No your fine you didn’t I just ummm I mean you know I have no pants on sooo

Oh trust me I know

He says looking at me with a sly smirk I didn’t know what he meant but my thighs slowly opened back up letting his hand free.

AHHH SHIT BITCH I yelled out this is one of our favorite songs to sing in the car we always goof off and it just puts us in a good mood.

And just when it hit me

He sung as he gently smacked my thigh jokingly causing me to jolt and laugh a little .

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC WHITE BOY

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC RIGHTT

Yesss Matt

I said as I laughed a little and we kept singing along until the song ended I started to get a little thirsty .

Hey do you got any drinks in the back

Oh yeah I packed you a couple doctor peppers in the little cooler can you grab me one of the Pepsis he says pointing to the little black cooler behind my seat.

Yeah one sec .

I unbuckling and turned in my seat trying to reach back to the cooler but the car was a lot bigger than I realized so I kinda had to bend over the middle console to reach as I was reaching over I could feel his eyes on me and as a joke I giggled my hips a little making my ass move . But what Matt did next shocked me .

I felt his hand smack down on my ass hard causing me to scream out from shock and the sting since it was straight skin to skin contact.

MATT

HEY IF YOUR GONNA PUT IT IN MY FACE LIKE THAT IMA SMACK IT

He says putting his hand up in defense . I sat back down and handed him his Pepsi .

You know I know I shouldn’t say this but… you have a nice ass

Oh I…th-thank you

I tried to hide the blush that was creeping on my face .

I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that

No no It’s fine you just made blush

I said laughing a little bit

Oh cute he said smirking at me

Oh shut up

I said shoving his arm playfully .

Do you mind if I take a little nap

No not at all we got a long while to go to so get some sleep I’ll wake you up when I stop for gas in a bit so you can pee and stuff

Okay

I got comfortable and dozed off .

I started to have a wet dream about Matt . He was touching me in places that felt so good and he was making me call him daddy and all this crazy shit and I was just getting to the good party when I got woken up by Matt shaking me telling me we were at the gas station.

Hey I’m stopping for gas you wanna wait her while I pump the gas and then we can go inside to pee and grab some snacks

Huh oh yeah yeah let me put my pants on

I reached back still half asleep trying to find my pants and I grabbed them and slid them back on.

I waited while he pumped the gas then we went inside. I didn’t relize I had to pee so bad until I got to bathroom and Jesus Christ I felt a lot better after I finished I walked back out looking for Matt seeing he was over by the drink section I started to walk over when I bumped into someone.

Oh my god I’m so sorry I said to whoever I bumped into

Yeah you should be fucking sorry princess

The guy says raising his voice at me causing me to take a step back kinda shocked

You don’t have to be a dick it was an accident

Don’t raise your voice at me sweetheart that’s not gonna end well for you he says getting In my face.

I started to get anxious and tears started to well up in my eyes I tried to keep them in to not show this guy I was scared of him.

Awwww you gonna fucking cry

I started looking back to find Matt but I didn’t see him anymore . Fuck he probably thinks I just went back to the car.

I …

You what bitch he spit the words out in my face as he towered over me . My fight or flight kicked in and I started to run away to the door to get to the car.

I opened the door and got half way across the parking lot before I got yanked back by my hair.

Where you going sweetheart. What did I scare you huh he said in my ear making me feel sick.

God where is Matt I started to say in my head as the tears started to stream down my face and I reached back to get the guy to let go of my hair .

That made him pull harder causing me to wine from the pain.

He kept saying mean ass shit in my ear but I was starting to have a panic attack which caused my hearing to go out all the sudden I saw Matt running at the guy and shoving him off me . Matt picked me up like I was nothing speed walking back to the car I was shaking in his arms .

He opened the door and set me down before closing the door and running to his side I’ve never seen him move so fast in my life I just curled into a ball crying from shock of what the actual Fuck just happened .

I’m so sorry y/n I thought you came back to the car or where still in the bathroom I would have never left you in there alone

I… I k-know you wou-wouldn’t I’m okay I - pr-promise I’m just sh-shaken up a b-bit

I know sweet girl I’m so sorry really come here

He said as he pulled me into him engulfing me in a big hug instinctively I crawled over the middle and sat on his lap sideways just wanting him to hold me for a second .

Shhhh it’s okay I got you

Matt says as he rubs my hair and holds me close

I smilled a little as I felt my body stop shaking and my nerves starting to calm weirdly Matt just has that effect on me he always knows how to calm me down.

After a bit I start to laugh a little .

What why are you laughing he said with a small chuckle

I’m a 20 year old woman sitting in your lap crying like your my dad and I’m a little girl having a nightmare it’s just kinda funny

I mean yeah when you put it like that

Okay I think I’ve calmed down thank you Matt

Of course pumpkin he says squishing my cheeks

MATT WHAT THE FUCK I say bursting out laughing

What I was just acting like a dad as a joke from what you said

Okay I mean it was funny and it cheered me up so

Good now get your cute little ass back in your seat so we can get going

Okay okay I’m goingggg

I said with a big smile and blushing checks. Did he just call me CUTE. Omfg he is gonna be the death of me . First my wet dream now this Fuck me this is gonna be a longggg trip.

I qued up some music and layed back in my seat and started getting hot again so I took off my pants. I guess the ac doesn’t work to well in here cause Jesus the heat gets hotter than a mother fucker and unless we wanna roll down the windows we aren’t cooling off anytime soon.

Started playing and I was just shaking my head along reading a couple text from some friends I had missed during my nap.

So uhh can I ask you something

Yeah ofc

What exactly made that guy grab you like that

Well um I had just come out of the bathroom and I was heading over to you by the drinks where you were and I accidentally bumped into him and then he started to get mad and all up in my face so I ran out the door and then he kinda I just chased me

damn all over you bumping into him

Yep I guess so

What a psycho

Yeah cause wtf I even said sorry like 5 times

Well at-least your okay

Yeah thank god you came to the rescue

Also uhhhh what we’re you dreaming about earlier

Oh uhhh why I shifted awkwardly in my chair wandering why he’d wanna know

Well you were kinda sleep talking a little bit

Uh oh what um what did I say

I was getting really fucking nervous now

Well um you said my name a couple times and then well you said daddy a couple times too

Ahahah ohhhh um weirdddddd yeah idk why I said that

Yeah hmmmmm what we’re you dreaming

He said more in a demanding tone

You really wanna know I asked nervously

Yeah I do

Okay I was uhh kind of having a wet dream

Ohhh I see was it about me

Maaaatt stooop

What come on just tell me now I really wanna know

Okay yeah you were in it

Damn well was it good

Mhm yeah sure ig can we move on

No no I wanna know the details

Keep your eyes on the road Mathew

Okay okay if I keep my eyes in the road will you tell me what happened

Yes I’ll tell you

Okay my eyes are glued to this rode now speak

Okay um well you were you know telling me how hot I was and you were asking me if I liked being fucked like a slut and you know I was like yes and you said yes what and I was like yes matt cause I didn’t know what you wanted me to say and you said nope try again and I said yes daddy and you know you started touching me and then you asked me to read my list of kinks to you and so I did and then yeah the dream ended .

Well uhhh I- um

I looked over and saw his face was a little red and he was shifting in his seat.

Yeah well you just begged me to tell you sooo

Yeah well your right I did. Was it at-least a good dream

Yeah yeah it was uh good

Oh yeah . So uhh is that kink list in your notes app

I- uh — ye-yeah

Read it to me

What Matt no that’s so embarrassing

What no it’s not

Why do you wanna know my kinks Matthew

I just do okay

Okay okay fine but you can’t judge me

I would never judge you y/n

Okay let me open it up real quick okay ummm god this is so embarrassing

Oh come on they can’t be that bad

Okay um

Humiliation, dominant x submissive , role play, whips, sadism,exhibitionism,dirty talk, auralism, orgasm control, impact play, consensual non consensual, praise kink, degradation by words, knife play, blood kink and uhh yeah that’s it .

Oh wow ummm alright

So uhhh the dominant one do you like to be the dominant or like

Oh god no I’m absolutely the submissive

Okay good

Good what do you mean good

Oh nothing nothing . So uh what’s consensual non consensual?

Well um I don’t know how to explain it well let me look up the definition, okay well it says it’s a style of bdsm where both people agree but one person acts in non consensual behaviors.

Oh so like if I held you down and told you to take it while you struggle and try to get away would that be that

Oh I uh y-yeah that seems pretty on point yep

At this point I could feel how wet I had become from that sentence coming out of him mouth just imagining him do that made me wanna scream.

I didn’t realize I had been squeezing my thighs together but he did.

Aww is someone getting a little worked up

No Matt shut up

Really then show me proof that you are or aren’t

What do you mean

Spread your legs

What

Spread you fucking legs

He said as he put his hand on my thigh prying them apart.

My breathe hitched as I looked down at his hand moving slowly up my leg.

His fingers hit the lace of the thong over my soaking wet core causing a small wine to escape my lips.

Now why would you lie to me hmm your so wet

I didn’t lie I just didn’t tell you the truth I said then realized that’s the exact definition of fucking lying

So you fucking lied sweetheart he said smirking over at me

Yeah I guess I lied

If I touch you will you be a good girl and stay quite for me

Okay PART 2 coming soooooon…

💋

[memorysuace]

Mouthwashing characters and who I think kind of are like them them in Persona 2.... guys hear meow-t

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR P2 AND MOUTHWASHING!!!! THIS IS ALSO ALL JUST MY OPINION AND MY KNOWLEDGE ON THE CHARACTERS FROM P2 IS A BIT RUSTY IF IM BEING HONEST! (i love the game to death but i have issues with remembering things and its been a while so PLEEEEEASE cut me some slack if im wrong or leave somethjng out (although do tell me so i can fix it...) THANK U!)

Anya

I feel like Anya and Tatsuya are very similar. They both feel trapped by their circumstances and tend to be unable to feel their feelings properly. Anya is stuck on a spaceship with her abuser, the one who ripped her autonomy from her, and has no means to really fight back, in the end killing herself because she couldn't properly express what he did, nor talk about it to anyone without risking the consequences. Tatsuya's situation is very similar to this, being isolated from the people he tried so hard to cling to after finally finding a place to fit in, only for Nyarlathotep to take that happiness from him by ending the world and forcing him to live in a reality that is basically his own hellscape. Tatsuya can't reach out to anyone about whats going on out of fear of what will happen, and has to suffer silently because of it. He has nobody to go to, just like Anya, and it's implied that Tatsuya has had many thoughts of taking his own life during the events of Eternal Punishment.

Swansea

When I think of Swansea, I think of Baofu. They both have made made bad mistakes in their past and have attempted to reconcile and move on. They act harsher than they let on at points as well, but in the end they are able to show they genuinely care for the people they are close with. (I honestly dont remember much about Baofu, but i can feel it in my BONES that these two overlap somehow.... I need to re-research some of these characters man..... baofu is really cool.....)

Daisuke

Daisuke also kinda reminds me of (Innocent Sin)Tatsuya, but Maya as well. Daisuke not really knowing what he wants to be, or do with his life, reminds me of Tatsuya, but the cheerful and more optimistic parts of his personality also remind me of Maya. I want to touch on Daisuke's relationship with his parents and compare it to Tatsuya's, but it's a bit difficult for me to comprehend media, and honestly I really do not want to be wrong about this, so for my own sake this is pure theory (😝). I think Daisuke's relationship with his parents could possibly be a bit strained. Not an intense amount, but when I think about him and how he thinks about his mom, wondering if she's disappointed in him, I feel that. It makes me wonder if maybe Daisuke isn't as close with his parents as it seems? That maybe they struggle to communicate their feelings toward him healthily? If Daisuke feels like a disappointment, that's caused by something. Maybe his parents had said something similar to him. Now that I'm thinking about it, his relationship with them reminds me of Katsuya as well. He took the internship because of his parents, Daisuke did all of this to appease them, which with Katsuya, isn't exactly what he did, but their motivations both root from something to do with their parents.

Jimmy

Nyarlathotep. the connection is that i dont like him 😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿

Actually though, they are both irredemable villains, characters so complex and well written that they make you so angry you want to rip your hair out, yet you want to know so much more about them. I don't hate Jimmy as a character. He is a horrible person, but so well written. You as the player feel no sympathy for the person you play as most of the time, you hate him. You view Jimmy the way he views Anya. Everything that happened to him was his own fault, he deserved what was coming to him. this actually wasnt really comparison it was just a rant about jimmy im sorry

Curly

Curly really, really reminds me of Philemon. Very neutral. In Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Philemon and Nyarlathotep make a bet about the will of human life. Knowing the consequences of losing the bet, Philemon still accepted it, causing all of these awful events to take place when he could have attempted to prevent it. That doesn't immediately mean Philemon is a horrible person. He is meant to be neutral. His actions palallel how curly acts, trying to stay in the middle of everything instead of taking a side. Sure, he wasn't the exact reason Jimmy crashed the ship, but he didn't do anything to make sure he didn't either. Just like how Philemon wasn't the reason Maya died, that was a choice Nyarlathotep made, to have her killed, but he also did nothing to prevent that.

someone match my freak and discuss this with me the hyperfixations are all coming together and its driving me crazy

[driftwithme]

Right now I'm kinda sick which means I have no brainpower to talk about this properly or at least how I want to.

Subject at hand: Mako, Chuck and Raleigh all had an specific item in the movie that kinda explains or contains them as characters.

Mako and her relationship with swords is the obvious example. If you'll permit me to call it her motif, then let that be it. For the sake of storytelling, Mako is given an object that is the summary of her struggles and dreams, of her traumas and her hope. Swords are part of her heritage, given that his dad dedicated his life to making them. An item capable of both great damage and impossible beauty, the movie even adapts it to be more like the girl itself: chainswords that stay hidden and silently away for their turn to strike, capable of flexibility and quick adaptation, they are almost unbreakable, used to support others in need, cut straight through the heart of the enemy and provide a sure win even under great underwater pressure or up in the sky.

Mako is the girl welding the sword and she's the one crafting the sword from scratch designing it and she's the sword itself, okay?

Mako's a weapon in the context of she being a soldier. She's deadly, trained to kill, efficient with a perfect score in combat simulations, one of the brightest in the Jaeger Program. But she is also a craft in the sense of being someone intricate, because her story is way more complex than people imagine. She is beautiful as a woman, delicate in her ways of treating others, elegant in her movements...

In this case, the objectification serves a more artistic purpose. Whenever you think of the chainsword, you think of Mako and the other way around. Her scene killing Otachi in the name of her family is her breakthrough in the movie, where she achieves her dream/goal, when all she has gone through pays off. Then the scene where she uses the chainsword to oin Slattern to G. Danger is the culmination of her arc to say so: now she will kill the Kaiju that killed her adoptive father and will finally put an end of the apocalypse.

Without having to make it explicit in the film, you know that Mako gave those chainswords to G. Danger during the restoration program hoping that it'd be somehow her jaeger, that she'd finally become a ranger piloting it, etc.

Now, I said something similar can be found looking at the depiction of both Chuck and Raleigh in the movie. That's because, to me at least, the narrative does something similar in Chuck-Max and Raleigh-his photographs.

Raleigh is our narrator, our protagonist, we see the world through his eyes. I guess the thesis hear is that Raleigh is the man behind the camera, guiding our perception of this fictional world. Photographs can be intimate, int he way they reveal the interest of the one taking them. In sharing with us the concept of Raleigh having photography as his hobby, the story reveals us a man oriented to details and sensitive to the art of framing an instant, telling a story in one snap.

It also tells just how sentimental he is, how much he loved his home, his brother, 'cause he was surviving with rations at the end of the world but wherever he traveled, he took his pictures with him, put them on the walls of his residency. He's then a man who likes to take a look at the past. He said it himself: he spent 5 years on the past, never thinking of how the future would be. Nostalgic or even melancholic, but ultimately willing to make new good and bad memories and capture them for posterity. Loyal, down to earth in the sense that he knows where he came and what made him the way he is, sensible and patient, likes walking around cities or touring maybe, which is interesting really. For all the cocky American dream of a man the movie suggests he was, he didn't have posters of action movies or pics of him in fights or any of that. He had pics of architecture, nice tiny shots that suggest calmness, a steady hand and a more passive spirit. It really matches Mako Mori in that sense.

I could dive more into the subjects of how his photographs characterize Raleigh Becket, but I'm not lying when I say I'm feeling sick and my brain is kinda foggy.

I'll close this post talking about Chuck and his relationship with Max instead.

One of the first things I noticed on my last rewatch is just how many times Chuck and Max are practically switching roles in the film

As in Chuck gets treated like a dog and Max gets treated like a son. As in they are one and the same sometimes, given that Max is the vehicle of Chuck's repressed emotions, since he refuses to let them out openly. As in Max is the representation of the intricate rituals the Hansens use to communicate the things they cannot say but want to.

I'll try explain it quickly using two scenes from the movie, okay?

First one: when Pentecost and Mako were showing Raleigh the jaeger bay on the Hong Kong Shatterdome and the Hansens arrived just in time to greet the newcomer, Herc tells someone to stay but he is not talking to Max.

His clipped tone given as a short command surprised me because it sounded like the one you'd give your dog when you see someone or some other dog approaching. Now, if you know your dog is a troublemaker and if you have trained, you could give the command to tell him to stay away from the trouble.

But Max runs freely to Mako and Herc only jokes about how Max is always slobbering over pretty girls, a comment you'd expect from a dad about his teenage son. He doesn't tell Max to stop. He doesn't even look at the dog as he's talking with Raleigh.

The one who stayed behind, grounded, was Chuck. This alone tells us so much about the Hansens and their stiff relationship. Chuck is the dog who might bite, the one you need to pull the leash to avoid him attacking. Herc is not a perfect man but here it's obvious he did fuck up as a dad. He gives orders like he's a commander and Chuck a subordinate. Stay.

(I can't remember exactly the dialogue, so you might forgive any discrepancy. What I know is that Herc told Chuck to stay behind while he greeted Raleigh, meaning that Herc knew Chuck might cause a scene. What did he know about Chuck and Raleigh and why did he tell Chuck to stay behind?).

The second scene: on the farewell moment before Operation Pitfall, Chuck kneels to pet Max one last time and tells him to take care of Herc (or was it the other way around?).

I choose this moment to defend my point because here? Here Chuck is assigning Max as his replacement. Not in the mean way, of course, but he acknowledges that his dad might lose his only son and trying to soften the blow, he gives Herc one last mission: to take care of Max and also let Max take care of him. Max is an extension of Chuck, so it's a way of saying that their bond stays there and they will ALWAYS take care of each other, it doesn't matter if Chuck dies during Pitfall.

It's also telling that Chuck kneeling to pet Max is a metaphor for Chuck asking Herc for forgiveness. All his intentions go to Max in that sense. Now Chuck has become Max and Max will always be Chuck. Now, man and dog are one, because the dog has taken Chuck's place as Herc's son and Chuck is the dog that gets send to die at the bottom of the ocean, some fucked up version of Laika up in space.

That's why we see almost every pilot eating at least once in the movie, but not Chuck. He was feeding Max and once it was over, they both walked away like the food was not on Max's belly but Chuck's. That's why Max and Chuck almost never interact with someone at the same time.

Chuck is the kid who got instructed but not raised by his dad. He's the war dog with an impressive killing count that doesn't get to brag because he barks too much and he's not nice to strangers. He is, to any means, just an scared animal behaving like he was taught to. He is confused and jealous when Herc gives his attention (and affection in Chuck's eyes) to someone else. Chuck is desperate to be told he's a good boy, he's enough, he's loved and appreciated. He lashes out when he feels threatened or cornered and he gives puppy eyes meaning "sorry" when he knows he has fucked up, etc etc etc.

An if it feels abhorrent to reduce Chuck to the role of a dog, it speaks volumes about the way he got treated in the movie. In the end, the only thing he really wins during the movie is to be called his father's son. You can argue "but Shan, doesn't he also wins the respect of most characters?" and I'd tell you that it's a sad sad thing that the only way you can get others to acknowledge you as a good man is by exploding yourself at the bottom of the ocean.

I'm not talking about Mako or Raleigh here, because through Max, we know that Mako and Chuck could be friends but in the movie all we get is a tense relationship summarized in maybe one exchange of words (that got Chuck beaten up by the way). And when it comes to Raleigh, all the resolution we got was a silent apology and the equally silent acceptance of such after the Double Event, if we don't count that Chuck was on Raleigh's left side during Stacker's motivational speech

But you know those metaphors of pets being like children? From that angle, Pentecost and Herc are always treating Chuck as an spoiled brat. Which he is, but c'mon. It's not like Herc can talk much being that he failed Chuck big time and it's not like Pentecost wasn't there to witness how the youngest ranger ever to be graduated survived 5 years of actual hell and achieved the best killing count. You don't get there for being a kid. You don't go so far without maturing hard and fast. Chuck is not some annoying puppy picking fights because he's bored. He let's Max sleep and eat and okay to his liking because that's the side that Chuck himself can't be: carefree, soft, selfish in the sense of being self-indulgent.

Mako had to shape herself into a sword to avenge her family and make justice and even survive in a world that tried to kill her when she was still just s little child. Raleigh had to freeze his memories in photographs because he's by now used to tragedy and not having enough time, things ending fast, his happy days going away, losing his home and family. Chuck gave his dog the comfortable life he wishes he could have, he devoted himself to the task of giving Max all that he felt Herc failed to give him, and finally gave Max his place as Herc's son.

Which yeah, pretty much is what I tried to say in many clumsy words ejdjdkjfkfkdn:

Mako, Chuck and Raleigh all had an specific item in the movie that explains or contains them as characters.

[eating-plastic]

Next Lesson: Marlon x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, age gap (reader is +18 obviously), fighting, minor violence, fluff, probably some grammatical errors

Word Count: 4559 words

A/N: Yay Marlon! He's kinda underrated in my opinion and needs some love. Also, I noticed that I'm not really following the canon of the game when I write for Stardew Valley. I hope that's not too infuriating. I'm just trying to add my own touch to things. Anyhoo, that's all. Have a good day!

--------------------

You grew up with farming in your blood. You enjoyed aiding your parents whenever you could, but for the most part you would be hanging out with the animals. From the cows and sheep, to your father's hunting dog (who was a total sweetheart when not tracking deer), to the many barn cats that kept the rodents at bay. Even as you grew older and your other siblings moved away to the city, you were content where you were. And why wouldn't you be? Farming made you who you were, with a love for nature and an optimistic view on the world, if not a little bit naive.

Unfortunately, life isn't full of happy moments, as you learned when you got a letter containing melancholic news. Your grandfather had passed away, which made you tear up as you read the note. You had loved him, dearly. You could remember visiting him when you were very young, helping him, hanging out with his animals, him reading you bedtime stories when you'd struggle to fall asleep. At least he had passed away peacefully in his sleep.

When you gained your composure, the letter revealed to you that he had left his farm to you, his favorite grandchild. The one that never complained about the work, the one who appreciated what nature could give, the one who was always excited to visit.

It was bittersweet. You were planning on getting a farm of your own soon, and now you got one. Oh how you wished it was under different circumstances.

Eventually, after you had your chance to mourn and move on from your grief, you packed up your things and moved to his humble abode in the beautiful Stardew Valley.

The sight of the old farmhouse broke your heart. It looked like the little guest home you and your siblings would stay in had been demolished and the fields that once held flourishing crops and animals were now overgrown with foliage. Upon entering what was once your grandfather's abode, you find it almost completely bare.

A rush of memories from your childhood flooded your mind. You could almost hear the ghost of those moments long past. You think back to the plot's condition and how it most likely became the state it was because of your grandfather's debilitating health. It almost made you misty eyed again.

No, your grandfather wouldn't want you to feel so sorrowful. He would want you to make new memories, now.

And that was just what you were going to do.

On top of being optimistic and free-spirited, you were a very determined person. You weren't going to just sit here feeling miserable. You were going to hit the ground running with getting this farm back to its former glory.

--------------------

Your friendliness made it easy for the other villagers to get along with you. Well...most of them. While you spent your first year or so just focusing on repairing your new home, you began to slow down on the renovations now that it looked almost like how it used to. Nowadays you were spending more time on leisurely activities and bonding with the friendly townsfolk.

Of course, your favorite activities always involved the outdoors, and you found yourself spending more time on the beach or in the woods.

That was where you are, now, with trees surrounding you and birds singing above. You were near the mountains. You always wanted to see them as soon as someone told you about them. There was a rumor that there was a cave in the mountains that held an old mine that mysteriously shut down. The cave was also the home of beautiful crystals and gemstones.

The thought has you curious, and you should be at its entrance right...about....

A chill runs down your spin as you are face to face with the large, dark opening of the cave. You feel frozen on the spot, like the shadows had hypnotized you. If you strained your ears enough you could swear the opening was calling to you.

You shake your head, slightly breaking the spell that the dim entrance casted on you. You look around and are met with what looks to be an outpost to your right. You move to check it out, but stop when you notice a closed sign.

You don't know if you wanted to go into the cave. Who knows what dangers were in there. Not to mention the darkness. Then again, if the cave was so dangerous, why wasn't it blocked off. The Community Center was dilapidated and blocked off to the villagers, so why wasn't this?

'How bad could it be?' you thought. 'I'll just explore around a little bit and leave.'

So you passed through the entrance, a chill consuming your body at the drop in temperature. It was relatively dark, so you turned on the flashlight on your phone. Even though you didn't see any sparkling treasures, it still was cool. You had never entered a cave before, so everything fascinated you.

You were going to turn around, until you found the "mine" part of the cave. A ladder that was descending into the Earth now faced you. Like with the entrance, it called to you. You look around, then at your phone. It was at 78%. That should be enough.

'I won't stray from the ladder,' you thought.

And so your curiosity made you climb downwards.

To your surprise, there were lit lanterns on the walls of the cave. That's odd. If this cave is abandoned, why are there ignited lanterns? This was another thing that told you that these caverns couldn't be that dangerous.

Right?

Either way, you still explored around, even when you would hear strange noises. You thought they were just phantom noises. Noises of past events that still lingered, just like when you first moved into your grandfather's old farm house.

Eventually, you began to get bored. The bland, brown walls quickly lost the charm they had when you first entered.

As you moved to head back though, you felt a sharp pain in your ankle. You let out a pained shriek and jumped out of the way. You looked at the dirt floor and thought you could see something moving around in the dirt. You look down at your leg, and saw a shallow, but still bloody laceration. You let out a shaky breath.

You should probably leave.

You move back to the ladder, this time at a bit of a faster pace. You didn't know what cut you, but you needed to patch it up in case it got infected.

Just then though, you heard a weird squelching noise behind you. You slowly turn your head and are met with...a green jelly...thingy?

You didn't know what you were looking at. How could you? You had never seen a bouncing, green jelly ball before. Not to mention the weird but cutesy face it had.

You analyze the...creature as it slowly bounced towards you. You don't move, until a bit of the green slime splashes onto your legs. You let out another shriek of pain. It felt like you had acid spat on you.

Okay, you definitely had to leave now!

You turned and broke into a sprint towards where the ladder was, trying to run faster when you heard even more squelching noises and shuffling in the dirt under your feet.

Once you got to the ladder, you practically scrambled up it as quickly as you could. When you got to the top, you just laid on the dirt floor of the cave's entrance. Your breathing was frantic and you tried to get it under control.

"What the hell?"

Your head shot up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Standing in front of you was an old man whose face was illuminated by a torch he was holding. You felt frozen on the spot and struggled to find words for the situation, then again your hyperventilating was making it difficult. His confusion and annoyance quickly turned to be more sympathetic, and he slowly knelt down.

"Hey...hey, it's okay, kid," he held his hand out to help lift you to your feet. You took it, finally starting to breathe like a normal person. "There you go. Just hang on and follow me out."

You did just that, trying to keep up with the older man despite your injuries, as the light of the outdoors got closer and closer.

--------------------

Of course, the day that Marlon decided to go get some groceries for him and Gil, the new farmer he had heard so much about decided to do some cave exploring. As soon as he got back, Gil had told him that he thought he saw someone unknown wander into the caves, but didn't know if it was real or just a dream. Frustrated that he would have to go save a curious idiot or fetch a body if he could, he grabbed his sword and ran as fast as his bad leg would allow him.

Luckily, you were alive, but clearly shaken up after obviously having explored the first level or levels of the cave. He wanted to berate you, but after seeing your terrified face, he had softened up.

Now you both were standing in the warm sunlight, and Marlon got a good look at your injuries. He asks you what happened, and you explain what you experienced to the best of your abilities. You truly were utterly clueless about monsters, telling him that you really weren't from here.

"Yep, sounds like a slime and a duggy. You're lucky you stopped exploring when you did. The deeper you go, the more dangerous the creatures get," he explains.

"I...w-what?" you truly couldn't wrap your head around anything that was being explained to you. Marlon just shook his head.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Your injuries aren't severe. Come on, let's get you patched up," he turns and walks into the outpost by the cave.

You follow him, and notice that the closed sign had been flipped to open. The interior of what you were told was the Adventurer's Guild was cozy, with a warm fire going. Apparently cozy enough for an old man in a rocking chair to nap by.

Marlon tells you to sit in a stool by the front desk, while he walks behind it to look for a first aid kit. Once he retrieves it, he moves back to you and kneels down to treat your injuries.

"You got a name, kid?" he asks while bandaging the laceration on your leg.

You introduce yourself, telling him your name and how you moved to Pelican Town. Now in better lighting and being much calmer now, you got a better look at the old man patching you up. He was rugged, with a few small scars on his hands and face, facial hair, and most notably, an eyepatch. You had to admit, he was handsome despite his age. In fact, you would say that maybe his age added to his attractiveness.

"What about you, stranger?" you ask after explaining yourself.

"Marlon," he answers, simply. Funny, considering how you told him your whole life story. Looks like you're going to have to be an interviewer.

"How come you know so much about the mines?"

"Used to explore them," once again keeping his answer short.

"Why?"

"Research."

"Research on what?"

"What do you think? Monsters, minerals, anything you can find. Lots of valuable things within those caverns."

You were surprised at the in-depth answer. Still, you'll take it. You decide to ask one more question.

"Who's he?" you point to the old man sleeping in the rocking chair.

"Gil," Marlon finishes up with patching your leg. Okay, looks like you were going to have to ask another question.

"How do you know him?"

"He was my research partner," he stands up from his spot on the floor. "So was your grandfather."

Your eyes widen.

"What?"

"Ever since the mines closed, Gil, your grandfather, and myself wanted to know why," he puts the first aid kit back.

"I see...," you think. Your grandfather loved telling you stories, but he never mentioned anything about this. How odd.

"Here."

You look up and are taken aback by what Marlon is holding towards you.

It is an old, weathered sword.

"What-?"

"Just in case," he explains. "If you ever wanna learn a bit about self defense, come on by. You'll need it if you decide to go into the mines again."

You hesitantly take the weapon.

"Believe me, I'll never go back into those mines ever," you let out a shaky laugh. "But thanks for the offer."

Marlon nods to you and you bid him farewell, leaving the Adventurer's Guild with your new weapon. Despite it being the first sword you ever held, it felt natural wielding it.

--------------------

Marlon knew you would be back. If you were anything like your grandfather, then you would be curious about what the mines held and would want to learn how to survive.

And he was right.

It was only three days after your attack that you wanted to explore the mines once more. You wanted to know just what you'd find in those caverns and more about your grandfather's involvement with them.

You arrive at the door of the Adventurer's Guild around noon, with your old sword in hand. You made sure that the sign out front said open. You enter but are met with an empty front desk.

"Well I'll be, so you are real," you turn your head to Gil, still in his rocking chair but now awake and writing something in a booklet.

"Oh Hi! I'm Y/N," you greet.

"I know. Marlon told me about you, but it's nice to meet you properly," he gives you a warm smile, which you return.

"It is. Um, do you know where Marlon is?"

"Ah, that's right. You wanna learn a bit of fighting?" he asks, and you nod. "Yep, that's what I thought. There's a path in the back. Just follow it and you'll meet him."

"Okay, thank you, Gil!" you chirp before turning to leave.

"Mhm, good luck," he calls and returns back to his booklet.

Upon finding the path, you follow it. It's narrow , with few twists and turns, and leads you to a clearing. The open space is set up with training dummies, targets, and chests.

You see Marlon next to a sword stand that holds blades of different sizes and conditions. He picks one up, and swings it experimentally. You make your way towards him, but step on something that makes a loud crunching noise.

The old man quickly swivels on his feet, holding the blade towards you, causing you to jump back. When his eyes lock with yours, he lets out a sigh of relief and lowers his weapon.

"First lesson, kid: never sneak up on your allies," he scolds.

"Sorry," you mutter, sheepishly.

"Yes, well...now you know," he clears his throat. "It's good that you're making mistakes here instead of within the mines."

He holds his hand out for you to shake. It serves as a proper greeting at your arrival. You take it, feeling your brief embarrassment melt away.

"My grandfather always told me that making mistakes is good," you explain. "That mistakes are lessons to learn from."

"In most situations, yes," Marlon nods. That was something he always would say if he remembered correctly. "But in those mines, your mistakes can be fatal."

His voice is serious, making sure that you understand how dire your errors could be.

"I know," you nod, thinking back to your now healed up injuries.

"Good," he then walks towards a chest, and you follow close behind. "Now, then, let's get started."

--------------------

You were only taught the basics of self defense and fighting. As such, you were awkward with simple swings and dodges, making numerous mistakes and learning how to correct them.

Marlon was a stern teacher, but it made sense why he was so strict. You had to know that your blunders could get you killed. He wasn't always so serious though, as he made sure to praise you on your improvements.

Now you were both walking back to the Adventurer's Guild. You felt a bit exhausted but proud of yourself. Back where you lived, you never had to worry about self defense or, you know, literal monsters, but doing something new made you feel good.

"Not bad for your first day, kid," Marlon states. "You aren't ready for the mines quite yet, but you'll get there in no time."

"Believe me, I'm as shocked as you. It's odd how natural swinging this sword feels now," you look down at your weapon. Sure it wasn't pristine and was old, but you liked it in a way you couldn't explain.

"I'm not shocked at all," he gives you a shadow of a smile. "It's in your blood."

This was the closest thing to a smile that the old man had given you, which causes you to beam.

"I guess it is, huh?" you think.

"It may help that you're wielding your grandfather's sword, too."

You quickly freeze up at that.

"Wait, what? Really?" you ask eagerly.

"Of course," he nods, smirking at your reaction. "It was used well in his hands, and now it will be used well in your own."

"Wow," you look back down at the sword in your hands. Perhaps that was why it felt so nice to wield. "Thank you."

Marlon nods, and continues to walk forwards. With this new tidbit of information, you had to know one thing.

"So when's our next lesson?"

"Whenever you're ready, Y/N. Although, I would recommend resting up a bit beforehand."

You nod. Truth be told, you wanted your next lesson to be as soon as possible.

--------------------

Your skills had improved greatly. Ever since you stumbled through the basics, you quickly got the hang of fighting. As such, you started exploring the mines deeper and deeper, meeting with Marlon and Gil afterwards when you were curious about a monster you fought or a gem you collected.

You didn't really need to attend lessons with Marlon as often, but you enjoyed seeing him. Well, you enjoyed seeing Gil too, but this was different.

Not only was he attractive for his age, but the fact that Marlon was still an admirable fighter despite the bad leg made you rethink your taste in men.

You never thought you'd be smitten with a man so much older than you. You tried to ignore your crush on him, as you felt a bit disgusted with yourself. There was no way he could feel the same way for you. He probably viewed you as a surrogate grandchild or something like that.

Still, you tried to hang out with him as often as you could, and you always try to make him proud as you loved his praise. You also enjoyed making his day. At first glance one would think that Marlon was the stereotypical grumpy old man, and if you saw him walking around Pelican Town you would think that you were right.

But truth be told, he could be soft when he wanted to be, and you felt good to know that you were one of the few people he showed this side of himself towards.

That's why even now, despite being so under the weather, you still made your way to the Adventurer's Guild. There was a bug that was going around. Nothing too serious, it was just something that made you feel a bit feverish. You feel hot, but need to attend your lesson with Marlon.

Unfortunately for you, he notices just how ill you look as soon as you enter the clearing.

"Yoba, Y/N, you don't look so good," he remarks. He places a hand on your forehead and feels how you're burning up. "Are you sick?"

"What? N-No, I'm fine...I'm fine...,"you begin to sway, your eyes becoming heavy, and your legs give out underneath you.

Marlon quickly throws his arms around you to keep you from hitting the ground. He calls your name, worried. Even the simple walk from your farm to here was too much for you.

"Goddamn it," he mutters. This wasn't going to be pleasant. He picks up your limp body and carries it back to the Adventurer's Guild, despite his bad leg's protests.

Once he gets back, Gil instantly jumps from his chair.

"Marlon, what happened?" he follows him into the back room as he lays you down on the bottom bunk bed.

"They just fainted, alright? Look, go find a wet cloth, they're burning up," he commands, sitting down on the bed to rub his leg. Gil quickly leaves to do as he is told, returning as fast as possible with a soaked rag.

Marlon takes it and lays it over your forehead, before just looking down at your unconscious form.

"It's that damn flu going around. May need some medicine," he mumbles.

"Do...do you want me to go get it?" Gil asks. Typically Marlon went out into town to buy things, but with all the pressure put on his bad leg and knowing how protective he was over you, Gil knew he would have to be the one to go out.

"Yes," Marlon answers, still not looking up from you. And with that, Gil left the Adventurer's Guild after who knows how long.

Even after his leg started feeling better, Marlon still didn't leave your side. He didn't want to. He was never one to get worried about things, but this was different.

Perhaps it was because you were the first friend he had since Gil, or maybe it was because you were the grandchild of an old friend of his that was now gone. Hell, it could've been a combination of both. All he knew though, was that he wanted you to be okay.

He didn't even realize it, but he was now gently stroking your hair, occasionally brushing strands out of your face.

Eventually, you begin to stir, causing Marlon to realize what he was doing and pulling his hand away. Your eyes flutter open, blinking a few times as you wait for your vision to come back.

"Marlon...?" you mumble, realizing you are laying down on a bed and in an unfamiliar room. "Where am I?"

"The Adventurer's Guild. Now answer my question. What the hell were you thinking?" he tries to not come off as cross with you.

"I-I'm sorry...I promised to show up...I promised," you trail off as your delirious mind tries to come up with an explanation. The old man just shakes his head.

"I always told you, Y/N," he runs a hand through his white hair. "I always told you how important resting up is. You don't push yourself unless you are 100% okay."

"I know...I know...," your hand raises up to the wet cloth on your forehead, and run your fingers over it. Did he get you this? More importantly, did he carry you all the way here? How long were you out? Did...did he stay by your side this whole time? These questions make your heart flutter a bit.

Marlon just sighs, before removing the wet rag to feel your forehead. You feel much cooler now, which is good.

"How do you feel?" he asks.

"Better, I think," you reply. You no longer felt run down and your fever induced delirium was starting to fade.

"Good," he holds the damp cloth in his hands and doesn't move. It made him feel a bit awkward, which he never felt before. He still didn't want to leave your side, even though he knew he probably should.

"Marlon?" you wait for him to turn his head towards you. "How long was I out?"

"30 minutes I think."

"Did you...did you stay with me that whole time?"

"Yes, I had to," your eyes widen at that, which causes him to quickly add on to his statement. "My leg hurt after carrying you here."

"You carried me?" you are unable to hide the smile forming on your face.

"I...," Marlon quickly turns his head as he can feel his cheeks heating up, especially at your beautiful smile. "I...I couldn't just leave you there."

You sit up and move to the edge of the bed so you are now sitting next to him.

"Thank you, Marlon," with the sliver of delirium left in your mind, you lean over and place a kiss on his cheek. "That was very sweet of you."

The old man freezes up, and a shade of pink breaks out across his face. He looks at you and sees you still beaming up at him, but a bit sheepish now.

"You're um," he clears his throat. "You're welcome."

He slowly takes your hand into his and squeezes it, giving you a small smile. Well, this was a new feeling he was experiencing. He felt so...light? No, that couldn't have been the right word. That didn't matter though. All he knew was that he felt good. You made him feel good. It was like your kiss had made his mind fuzzy.

"I'm back!" Gil calls as he enters the Adventurer's Guild. Startled, Marlon lets go of your hand and moves away from you. You feel a bit hurt, until Gil enters the back room and smiles at you.

"Y/N, you're okay!"

You can't help but giggle at that.

"Yeah, I'm fine, now," you chirp, before noticing a bag in his hand. "What's that?"

"Oh, Marlon told me to go get you some medicine. Sorry it took me so long. I haven't been into town in a while," he rubs the back of his neck nervously.

"Aw, really?" you ask, turning to look at the old man sitting next to you, who was now trying to hide his face once more.

"Yeah, but uh, since you're okay now," Gil reaches into the bag to pull out your medicine. "Do you still want it?"

"Of course. I'll probably get sick again, you know," you quip, walking over to him to take it. "Thank you, Gil."

He beams at you and nods, until his attention turns to his friend.

"You okay, Marlon?" noticing his flushed face.

"Oh, I think he might've caught what I have," you add quickly, before handing your medicine back to Gil. "He might need it more than me."

"Ah, I see," he says, completely oblivious to how fast you had responded. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

"No, I'll be fine," you chirp. "You just stay here and make sure Marlon gets some rest, okay?"

"You got it! Take care, Y/N!"

"Yep! See you, Gil! Get well soon, Marlon!" you wink at him while Gil is distracted. The old man couldn't help but smirk back.

"Yeah...right."

You leave with your spirits high, completely forgetting your ailment. After all, how could you feel ill? You had shoot your shot with Marlon, and scored. Under normal circumstances, you would've felt embarrassed, but seeing him react positively to your kiss melted it away.

Your lessons with him were probably going to be a bit more interesting now.

[shipwreckinabottle]

leather and darkness

(Read on ao3 here!)

Rating: Mature Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Relationship: Bruce Wayne/Harley Quinn Word Count: 4389 Summary: the few times they kissed.

a re-write of a one-shot i wrote back in 2016 after watching suicide squad (and their 5 second scene together). was thinking of this pairing recently and decided to completely rewrite this entire story 8 years later 😂

(short preview below)

The first time they kissed, Harley would argue it was nothing more than an accident, really.

They were scuffling in the mud, and she was kicking and screaming and biting and basically doing all she could to escape. She was coated in mud and dirt, slippery like an eel, but he still managed a decent grip on her, and they were struggling and rolling and falling across one another like a bunch of drunks on a Gotham’s night out with nothing to lose.

She’d tried to kick him in the family jewels at one point in their struggle—more than tried, actually—and yeah, yeah, she knew it wasn’t the most ladylike thing to do, but it wasn’t like she could even remember the last time anyone had called her a lady, so that was fair game. Plus, whatever padding the Bats used down there was rock solid, and had probably hurt her more than it did him.

So, she tried head-butting him instead, because that always worked, aiming straight for his nose where she knew all the cracky cartilages were. But somehow he saw that coming as well and swung out of the way, all too easily and all too smugly, if she might add. Some echolocation bat-sy cheating bullshit.

So unfair!

But if Harley was known for one thing, it was that she didn’t give up easily, even in the face of overwhelming batversity. So she waited, bidding her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity and—there!

She flung mud at his eyes, causing him to flinch backwards while she barreled into him at full speed, sending the two of them smashing into a dumpster and—for the briefest second, before the squelch of going headfirst into a dirty dumpster completely engulfed her—she felt his lips pressed up against hers.

Things stopped for a moment. Soft. And she wasn’t referring to the oily takeout containers and chili oil wontons she was now knee deep in. But his lips. They were soft. Fluffy. Kinda like marshmallows. Which was definitely an out-of-pocket thing to think about—of all people—the Batman’s lips, because surely, soft—he wasn’t.

She blinked, a double-take, really, and that second’s distraction was all he needed—rude!—before her world spun, the colorful lights around whirling into technicolor detail; it was beautiful for a brief second, like streaks of comets passing in the night, except it was just the neon signs of strip clubs and poker bars and whatever shady establishments all over Gotham city zooming by and…

Oh.

It wasn’t the lights that were zooming by.

She realized half a second before a puddle of mud caked her right in the face that she was the one being swung out of the dumpster, her face oof-ing into the dirty alleyway as the Bats finally got a good grip on her, pinning her down and cuffing her hands tight behind her.

Ye-ouch.

As she laid there in the mud, the fight gone out of her, she couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t at all like when she kissed her puddin’. With Bats there was no visible fireworks, no loud explosions, no butterflies in her stomach or down between her… well, if she had to be completely honest, she did feel a little ol’ something when he’d pinned her to the ground, but that was definitely more on her than on him, really.

She licked her lips. Thought reaaaaal hard about what it’d tasted like. Leather and darkness, she thought, though not to be confused with that one time she’d made out with that dominatrix mourning their dog recently passing of old age (that was certainly a different kind of leather and darkness).

It was weird, and a little conflicting.

Conflicting not entirely because she’d kissed him, but because she realized she didn’t find it completely unpleasant at all.

[winvyre]

OC-tober But I Have No Prompts And Just Do Whatever I Want: Day 16

SUPER LONG POST!!!!

Originally my version of a Glitter Force series (that show altered my brain chemistry), a combination of three total generations and various artistic outputs of general magical girl brainrot has produced [Magical Girl Show].

From left to right (Name/Alias): Elodie/Peony, Adita/Cirque, Megha/Sukha, Imani/Lemondrop.

Each girl's design is based on her insecurities and interests (it goes with the whole "magic comes from the heart lore). All the good stuff is under the cut!

Protagonists:

Elodie had to grow up too fast and she likes gardening so her theme is flower. She was placed in a caregiver role when she was pretty young because her mother fell ill, her father isn't very paternal (he's always away on business, only ever dropping in occassionally to buy back his kids' affection with gifts or mailing in a check to cover expenses. He also cheated on his wife after she got sick and has a secret second family he prefers), and she has two younger siblings who need to be taken care of. The outfit also takes inspiration from classic ballerinas because she used to love ballet but had to quit to have more time so she started gardening as a close-to-home way of coping. Elodie chooses the name Peony because her mom had a prized peony bush in the front yard that sparked her love for gardening.

At first Elodie only participates because Adita begged her (Adita was once one of Elodie's bullies) but she realizes she feels empowered being a magical girl and a genuine friendship starts blossoming between them (but beware the lingering resentment). Her weapon is a rake that she uses like a combat staff and flies on like a witch would with a broom.

-=+=-

Megha was always the happy-go-lucky, bubbly, optimist type. When her parents divorced and she had to move away from her community, she kept a smile on her face even as she was consumed by depression and crippling loneliness. The more she overcompensates the worse she feels but she can't face her darkness or she'll fall apart. She'll pop like a bubble (her theme!) Megha chooses the name Sukha as a nod to her Hindu culture and as a wish to feel all right again.

Being a magical girl distracts Megha from her bad thoughts and gives her a friend group to hang out with. She may be on good terms with pretty much everyone but she isn't really close with anyone until she bonds with her team but then we get to have "are we really friends or do we just hang out because we're forced to" angst. She does gain a girlfriend in Elodie by the end. Her weapon is a giant bubble wand that summons giant bubbles for capture/containment or she can sit/stand and float on them (only Megha can touch them without becoming trapped).

-=+=-

Shamefully, Imani is not as developed as the other characters. I can't even seem to get her transformed design right. Here's what I do have: Imani has self worth issues and struggles with feelings of envy. She's "sour," like her theme of lemon, after living in her older sister's shadow. She was Adita's best friend when they were little. Her reason for accepting magical girl duty? Partially Imani wants to reconnect and partially being told she's special makes her feel good. Her weapon is the soda cans attached to the belt on her dress which she can pull the tab off of and throw and they'll explode like a grenade but it's more like a shockwave than fire and death. The tabs can then be used as throwing stars.

-=+=-

Adita is the main character.

Groundbreaker (the mallet) chooses Adita to carry on Blanc's legacy then won't let her discard it, reappearing nearby every time she tries to get rid of it. The bad guys won't leave Dita alone because she has Groundbreaker. Unless she's chill with dying, she kinda has to fight back. Even though she's resistant at first, eventually, being the "chosen one" goes to her head so she gets unchosen until she stops being a jerk.

Adita feels the need to perform for others so her theme is circus/carnival. She has to do well in school and activities and act strong through her chronic pain so she doesn't bother anyone with her "neediness." Her parents put a lot of pressure on her and they don't understand yet that her pain just won't go away. It's constant.

"But who is Blanc?"

I'm glad you asked! But first, the magic system and other internal logic because I'm an info-dumping fiend!

Setting & Magic System:

Transformations are done via sticker.

In the original pilot, this is only used on the Demises (bad guys' monster of the week that replaced Bafoons. They were inanimate objects turned evil and when they activated they created an arena with invisible walls to hide the destruction from onlookers and a magic time loop to reset the damage when that arena disappeared) and the magical girl transformation is done via Glitter Pact (because I was writing a Glitter Force series).

In [Magical Girl Show], the Demises work a bit differently and the sticker catalyst applies to everyone.

-=+=-

In the unnamed Magical Girl Realm, technology was developed that allowed people to enhance their magical abilities with a sticker stuck over their heart. Because magic comes from the heart.

The sticker merely collects the magic in the world to a single spot where it can be drawn upon. The manifestation is based on the user's personality and the normally gray circle sticker changes its appearance to reflect that.

Without this sticker, magic is limited in the MG Realm and impossible on Earth.

The unnamed Big Bad modifies and abuses this technology to channel magic into unwilling participants and thus create the Demises. This kind of exploitation is why only a chosen few in the MG Realm get to be magical warriors.

-=+=-

At first, the magical warriors were general law enforcement, emergency responders, etcetera. When BBEG started manufacturing his own stickers and dishing them out to his followers (like the goons who are in a perma-transformed state) and started his takeover, they became actual warriors who fought the darkness. The war was long and destructive but Blanc was able to defeat the BBEG and seal the darkness away using Groundbreaker.

When, centuries later, the war restarted and the MG Realm fell to the BBEG, some of the people fled to Earth which is how three stickers ended up there. The immigrants settled down, started families, and now, fifty years later, they must pass on their knowledge to a new generation of magical girls so that their stickers can be used to end the war once and for all.

A warrior can relinquish their sticker and set it back to a neutral state wherein it is no longer connected to their heart (after being activated for the first time, the stickers are connected to the user no matter how far apart they are as long as that user has magical girl potential).

Blanc never relinquished her sticker, so it never went back to neutral. This is why Adita cannot transform for most of the story. (Blanc is not wholly dead either and death counts as a form of relinquishment)

A part of Blanc's soul is in Groundbreaker, which is how a mallet can choose a holder, so Adita is using Blanc's magic when she fights. This is until some milestone happens and Blanc is finally put to rest (you can stop trying to please everyone now, sweetie) and Groundbreaker changes appearance to coincide with Adita's new alias as Cirque. (The hammer becomes the sticker because the transformation is no longer active but the hammer comes back once Adita transforms because the reason why she was chosen in the first place is because of how similar she and Blanc are.)

And now we can get into who Blanc is!

Blanc:

Blanc was one of the first of the ancient magical girls who were a part of the warrior generation. And she was by far the most powerful. She was the one who sealed away the BBEG with Groundbreaker which is why the goons want it: because they think the only weapon that can free their master is the same one that defeated him.

Blanc's costume takes more inspiration from old French mimes rather than Cirque's colorful Carnival vibe. This ties the two together through a common theme as well as distinguishes them. Blanc is more of the strong, silent type, whereas Cirque is a bit more flashy.

Blanc's signature move was called "Cirque du Blanc." This is the origin of Adita's magical girl alias name. The move involved a mass duplication of Blanc, the copies of which would run about doing acrobatics. But not just for show, the copies would also work to take down the enemy. It symbolizes Blanc's feelings of wishing for assistance but not trusting anyone except herself to do the job.

Adita hears Blanc's voice in her head or hallucinates her ghost occassionally as she guides her down the path she wants for her. We get to play around with the chosen one trope, too! Blanc choses Adita but Adita doesn't want to be chosen, then Adita choses herself but Blanc unchoses her, how will it end? Does being "chosen" really matter? What does that even mean? Find out next time on Dragon-

Plot:

Adita goes over to Emily (her best friend)'s place for a sleepover. Emily's grandmother owns an antique store. The girls sneak into the shop at midnight and Adita finds a black and white strongman mallet. Picking it up, she hears a disembodied laugh and decides that's a problem for someone else to deal with.

The next day the two go to the park and are ambushed by a goon who summons a Demise. People die, property is destroyed, and two women in sparkly dresses kick down the proverbial door to evacuate the civilians and curb stomp the Demise. Adita runs back to the antique shop to grab the mallet because the spooky laugh is making her ears ring.

The sparkly fighters instruct Adita on how to defeat the Demise and she does. They then pull her off to the side to exposition dump just enough for the audience to follow what happened and to spur on the next plot point of collecting teammates with the three remaining transformation stickers. Once alone, Adita rejects the magical girl responsibility and abandons the mallet but when she makes it home it's in her bedroom. This continues all weekend.

Fed up but realizing there's no escape, Adita tells Emily everything and Emily immediately begs to be a teammate. Unfortunately, she does not have magical girl potential, just like the sparkly women who helped them at the park. Still, one willing participant is better than no one even if they're comically weak. But Emily's enthusiasm and Adita's avoidance spark tension between them that will only continue to grow despite their attempts to be healthy communicators.

The next day at school, Adita thinks she finds the perfect candidates for the team so when the next attack comes she bestows two of the stickers upon them. But they were secretly goons in disguise! Adita just lost two stickers!

She demands Emily give back the sticker she lent her for safe keeping and emergencies right after Emily helped her defeat the Demise and calmed her down after her mistake. Adita says he needs a "real teammate." Emily is upset but complies.

The only other person Blanc sensed had potential was Elodie. But they don't exactly have the... best... relationship. Adita begs Elodie to join her when she uses Groundbreaker to bust open a portal to the MG Realm to get the stickers back and Elodie agrees on the basis of "I was in the park that day and if this stops the end of the world I guess I'll come along."

They steal the stickers back and Elodie asks to keep hers when they return to Earth which Adita is more than fine with but when Emily finds out she's super salty. She still hangs out with Dita though.

Megha is the new girl and people really seem to like her. They keep calling her "Megan" which she doesn't appreciate but it's whatever. Adita has been trying to figure out how to tell her that she's one of the few people capable of saving the world but that's a weird way to introduce yourself.

-=+=-

That's all I've got for now. I have some plot points that need to happen as well as a few reveals under my belt but [MGS] is still incomplete. It'd be great if I could make this into a visual novel (an animated series is likely impossible but that would be so cool) someday. Oh well. Back into the box you go, [MGS].

I once again apologize for my long, disordered, possibly crucially unfinished infodump. My need to share the stories that won't leave my brain possesses me and I am but a vessel for its yapping.