#and left me wondering why i didn't just play one of those instead lol

[taffywabbit]

oops i accidentally wrote a review for zelda II: the adventure of link

(originally posted to Cohost on Feb 22, 2024. you can ignore this if you want, i just wanted it archived somewhere before that site disappears)

Finally beat Zelda II for the first time last night (I forced myself to finish it before starting Splatoon 3's Side Order DLC, because I knew if I didn't push through to the end of the Great Palace THIS time then it'd be years before I tried beating it again. This is probably my 4th or 5th attempt at this point). Not that this is a particularly hot take by most people's standards, but I don't think it's all that good, at least from a gameplay standpoint.

I don't regret playing it though, because I think I'm finally able to put my finger on the stuff I actually disliked about it vs the stuff that was honestly fine, or even (very rarely) actually good? I'm kinda fascinated by it, honestly. Sequels where they immediately screw around with the first game's formula (to mixed results) are neat! FE Gaiden is another example that comes to mind (hey they should give Zelda II the Shadows of Valentia treatment, that could be really cool actually).

Obviously Zelda II has a reputation for being kind of a rough experience. It's an NES game, and NES games are often susceptible to being frustrating, buggy, hard to control, or overly punishing. Sometimes, all of the above! And for what it's worth, the original Legend of Zelda was a tough and sometimes very cryptic experience as well. But I feel like the two games are challenging in drastically different ways, and I think TLoZ ended up being the formula that was retained in the long term primarily because its method of challenging the player overall did a better job of inspiring curiosity and exploration. Despite narratively being a direct sequel (with a really badass story premise that is unfortunately not really conveyed at all in-game) Zelda II took a different approach to nearly every element of the original's gameplay, which is a pretty bold move I suppose. Whether or not it succeeds at anything is fairly subjective, but it's undeniably had a lasting impact on the series, as well as the people who grew up with it (and then they went on to make some really excellent mid-2000's flash games inspired by it that I frankly enjoyed a lot more than this... and also a weirdly solid licensed Adventure Time game on the 3DS? I should go back and play that sometime, it's really fun).

Where to start with this...? Uhhh, the EXP-based leveling system where you choose what stats to put your points into is interesting! It creates a risk-and-reward system for fighting enemies instead of avoiding them, whereas in most other Zelda games besides BotW/TotK, the only reward for killing monsters is "they are no longer bothering you while you solve puzzles, and also sometimes they drop rupees/hearts/ammo". It also introduces a bit more player choice in what areas you'd like to get stronger in first, which is cool! I just wish it actually mattered in a way that let you feel powerful for even a moment. Instead, leveling Life (which is functionally just defense) is never enough to actually make you feel like you can afford to take a hit - the expectation seems to be that leveling Attack, Life, and Magic is something you do purely to keep up with how badly every single thing in this game wants to stomp you into the ground and soak up a million hits and waste all your magic. You CAN skip out on leveling one stat to prioritize another, or even try to evade tough combat situations entirely, but if you aren't leveled enough and in the exact things the game expects you to be WHEN it expects you to be, you'll immediately bump into some new asshole who jumps out of nowhere and can cut you down in 2-3 hits. Leveling doesn't make you tangibly stronger, it merely keeps the game barely playable.

This actually ends up being the core problem I have with Zelda II's design, far more than just the combat being clunky and overly punishing or the levels being visually samey and super hard to navigate. In most Zelda games (and also in a lot of other RPGs!), you get a better sword or a new power or item, and it opens up exciting new options for both exploration and combat. In Zelda II, you level up or earn a new item/spell, it's useful for maybe 20-30 minutes, and then it's immediately nullified. Wow, you got the Fire spell! Now you can finally deal with Tektites and Basilisks (which are immune to all other attacks) on the way to the next area! Well, I hope you had fun with that, because Fire doesn't work on most things you run into afterwards.

Easily the biggest game-changer is when you unlock the Downward Thrust sword technique, and finally have another option for combat besides just crouch-hopping and poking monsters with a dull butter knife. It's satisfying to use, it looks cool (by this game's standards), and it even has some utility for crossing hazards or defending yourself against swooping enemies! Cool! Unfortunately, they don't let you play around with that for long either, before nearly every enemy you see starts rolling up with helmets or shells that make them immune to attacks from above, and you never really get anything like that again (the Upward Thrust exists later, but it's far more situational and frankly not very fun or intuitive to use). Rather than feeling like you're being given tools to overcome challenges and stay above the difficulty curve, it feels like you're constantly just slightly underequipped for everything (even if you grind to earn extra stat levels) and any edge you're given is swiftly taken away from you. (Except the Reflect spell, which is ALWAYS a banger after you get it because it makes your shield Actually Do Its Damn Job after nearly every enemy starts shooting projectiles you can't block. Good work, Reflect spell.)

I feel like I grew up hearing plenty of people talk about the overall difficulty of Zelda II, though most of the complaints about its puzzles were surface-level jabs about the short cryptic NPC text, and none of that prepared me for just how ridiculously obtuse its mandatory puzzles/secrets can be. I genuinely have no idea how anyone would EVER find the Life spell - pretty much your ONLY source of healing outside of towns, since there are no hearts to pick up in this game - without some kind of guide. I was FURIOUS when I finally looked up where to find that lady's mirror and discovered that you have to walk into one of the houses, go over to the table that looks EXACTLY like every other table in every other house in the entirety of Hyrule, crouch, and press B, and you'll just pull the mirror out of nowhere. This type of interaction does not exist ANYWHERE else in the game and there's no in-game hint to indicate that you should try this. Absolutely maddening.

This and its predecessor are both games that seemingly expect you to have the physical manual on hand to help you find secrets, but at least in the first game, the way the game was designed was consistent enough that you COULD feasibly find your way to the end of it without a guide. Bombable walls in dungeons always being located in the center, things like that. It had rules and it could generally be trusted to follow them. Zelda II, in comparison, has a final level (the Great Palace) in which there are numerous rooms that look IDENTICAL and if you make one wrong turn you can go through the entire [very difficult and dangerous] dungeon on a path parallel to the one you need to be on, only to hit a dead end and be able to see the spot you're supposed to be reaching on the other side of a wall. Except you would also never KNOW you need to get there, because it looks like another dead end full of monsters but there's actually a completely invisible hole somewhere in the floor over there that drops you into the hallway leading towards the final boss. Also there is no map. TLoZ had a map. I don't know why this game doesn't have a map. Possibly because if you try to look up maps online, most of the dungeons feature non-Euclidean spaces? Idk, even a Super Metroid-style grid map would've done wonders here.

The combat is... fine? I truly don't understand how anyone thinks it's GREAT though. Zelda II is kind of like a version of Castlevania where you don't have a whip and instead have to stab everything at extremely short range, and also sometimes enemies have shields so you have to crouch sometimes to stop them from blocking you. It feels tense and high-stakes but only because, as I mentioned earlier, you really cannot afford to take stray hits in this game. Most enemies chew through your health at an alarming rate, even with the Shield spell active, and there's almost no way to replenish it unless you use a Life spell (which costs a huge chunk of your magic, possibly softlocking you if you end up in a place that requires other spells to progress). I got better at the combat over the course of my playthrough, but I never felt like I got good at it - most of my victories against strong enemies felt like pure luck and there were rarely consistent strategies for success. All of this combined with the fact that Zelda II has limited lives (and I mean LIMITED - there are only six 1-UPs in the entire game, which can each only be collected once) and getting a Game Over anywhere outside of the final palace will send you all the way back to the starting area, and it makes for an incredibly stressful experience. Even making use of savestates to lighten the fear of death can only do so much to improve it.

Overall, I think that Zelda II is a game that has a lot of really promising ideas, but then just absolutely flops when it comes to the execution. I didn't have a better way of organizing these but here are a few examples of elements I DID particularly like, even if they didn't always stick the landing:

I like the idea of the RPG leveling system in theory, but wish it was more empowering in practice and actually let the player make meaningful choices instead of just being required to survive. Choosing to hold off on a Life upgrade and instead save up just a little longer to boost your Attack feels awesome, until you time one of your inputs wrong and get destroyed. In a game with better-tuned difficulty and combat, this system would be great!

I REALLY like that Zelda II introduced a magic system to the series! I think it's cool as hell to have Link learning and casting spells to protect himself, solve puzzles, and exploit enemy weaknesses, instead of relying purely on items. (It's honestly weird to think that a system I associate so strongly with classic Zelda gameplay has only actually showed up in 4 of the games?? I guess you could consider the runes/hand abilities in BotW/TotK to be kind of like modern spells, or the slowly-refilling energy gauge in ALBW to be the most recent iteration of a Magic Meter, but both are highly debatable. Anyways I just think they should let Link shapeshift into a fairy again, that was cool.) But most of the spells in this are fairly situational and your access to magic refills is so limited that you rarely have the freedom to experiment with the spells' secondary functions (hey did you know the Spell spell turns most enemy types into slimes? that's wild. I wish I'd known that sooner).

The overworld functioning like a traditional JRPG, with top-down exploration broken up by semi-random enemy encounters, was something I honestly didn't hate. It's a little weird for Zelda, sure, but I could see it working well to support other systems in a more polished game. Overworld encounters that switch you into a type of gameplay other than turn-based JRPG combat are something I've always been fascinated by!

Anyways, weird game! I'm glad I finally got closure so I could figure out how I personally feel about it, independent of whatever the random youtubers I watched as a teenager thought. And now I never have to play it again :)

[writingoddess1125]

Mr. and Mrs. Riley pt 2

Once again, I had way too much fun writing this lol, Honestly this has been one of the longest word count stories Ive made!

<< Part 1

Simon 'Ghost' Riley xFemReader

NOTE: Its clearly in the story but just in case this will be almost 12-13 years AFTER COD MW2

WARNING: Angst, Weapons, Deaths (Nothing Major), Fluff

You continued to stand there, messing with your necklace. Biting your lip a bit as you struggle to look at Simon who was still on the other side of the room.

"I really didn't want this to ever happen-"

You manage to mumble out, Simon scoffing a little.

“What that you were apart same bastards I’ve spent years tracking down.”

You exhale sharply, rubbing your temples now. “It was brief, Simon. I left and went to Kortac after realizing what the hell they actually were-”

“Brief or not, you were one of them.” He cuts you off, voice edging dangerously close to anger now. “You wore their goddamn patch, took their orders. Tell me, love- how may war crimes under that belt love?"

You glare at him. “Oh, and I suppose you were some holy fucking saint? You didn’t lie to me for years about what you did? Or even the fuck you are?”

Simon’s expression doesn’t change, but his silence seemed to have spoken for itself.

"Listen- I didn't tell you I am apart of Special Ops or-"

"Oh! You're in the special Ops? Currently!? Not just in the past as that Mask wearing asshole?? Youre currently a MAJOR mask wearing asshole and in special Ops?" You say sharply, Simon closing his eyes at the slip of giving that 'particular' info.

You take a step forward, pointing a finger at him “You said you worked as a low level Cadet in Logistics"

He exhales sharply. “And what would you have done if I had told you? If I came home and said, ‘Hey love, I lead a black ops units, hunt down high-value targets, and wear a goddamn skull mask? Oh wait one of those targets are you?’”

“I should’ve known!” You throw your hands up. “Im Your Wife!”

Simon’s gaze left your face then. “And I would’ve known that you were one of the very people we were fighting. Im your Husband afterall”

...

You swallow hard, your hands balling into fists at your sides. “I left them... Well WELL over a decade ago!”

“But you didn’t tell me.” His voice is quieter now, but no less sharp. “You didn’t tell me who you worked for, what you did, who you might’ve fought against.”

You shake your head, stepping back slightly.

“Why would I? It was long before we even started dating! Youre the one who has been lying to me!”

"Well You lied too so why are you so mad?" He asked casually as if he was trying to sweep this argument away which only made your blood boil.

"I didnt lie to you, I just never brought it up- It wasny important" You scoff, crossing your arms. “And You lied to me first.”

"It doesn't matter who did it first- It was a matter of the gravity-" He shot back just as fast, looking down at you with a scowl on his face as he stood there now shifting a bit closer to you.

You shot him another glare- "Oh? So mine is worse then yours?"

He gave a light shrug and nodded, making you scoff in anger. "Oh really, We are playing this?"

"Yes we are- Fact is I shouldn't find out my Wife is a war criminal after 11 years of marriage"

"Well 'Major' since you do such fantastic work how haven't you figured it out huh? Guess shooting stuff and lying is your strong points instead of anything else hm?-"

You shot at him with a sarcastic smile, clearly aiming at his ego- Which clearly worked by the nasty little glare he shot you.

Gritting his teeth a little he took a steady breath.

"Listen- This is a problem" He gestured to you overall making your jaw drop in anger.

"Is there anyone else that I know who is a 'Former' War Criminals? Cause the fact is clearly I can't tell since you guys are wonderful at lying-"

Simon asked sarcastically clearly trying to take a shot back at yoh, however saw the look on your face and narrowed his eyes.

"...Who-"

"Rozlin.. She was one who moved to Kortec with me" You said softly now not looking at him.

He throws his hands up at hearing this and curses under his breath as he turns away from.

"The God-Mother of our Children- Fan-Fucking-Tastic. Are the women in my life War Criminals?"

"Will you stop calling me that! I wasn't a damn War Criminal you rat bastard!"

He snaps back at you now with what could only be described as a 'I'm about to jump out this god damn window' look to his face.

"Okay Now I clearly gotta know- Why!? Why would you enlist with a terrorist group? Like Fucking Hell, what was it that made you go- Hm this seems like a good idea!"

You sighed heavily now just running your hands over your hair, stressed by all of this.

"I.. I got offered the position by a boyfriend at the time"

You manage out, and swear you can see 20 different emotions go over your husband's face before settling on a blank almost soulless look.

"Oh- So a boyfriend suggested it? Please do tell, did you leave after a bad fight between you two?"

He grumbled out, making you shake your head at the clear just nastiness of his current anger.

"No asshole. He died- and.."

You took a seat on the corner of the bed and shifted your feet with a heavy sigh- Simon still irritated but by the look on his face the guilt was clear...

"Sorry..."

You waved off his apology

"Afterwards I panicked, I thought we were the good guys and afterwards I learned we weren't- I got prepared to jump ship with one of my peers who learned what was taking place.."

You sighed and messed with your necklace again-

"I felt a few weeks after that- And ironically after a encounter with you"

Simon immediately stiffed up at learning this- that anger seemingly almost fully evaporating in seconds, looking to you as his eyes seemed to rapidly scan over your body.

"Wher-"

"Afghanistan" You say calmly, Gesturing to the little knotted scar an your arm. Having looked at it a thousand times but now it made his stomach churn at the realization what it was.

"I.. Shot you?"

"Well.. Back then you didnt know me, Good thing you missed and couldn't find me" You chime trying to lighten that up and look back at him- However Simon had a unreadable look on his face. His hand over his mouth as he seemed to be in a different place.

Seeing how that settled on him.. for one of the few times in your whole marriage you could see his thoughts written on his face- I shot my wife.. Oh my God I shot my wife..

You sigh heavily and reach over grabbing the strings of his sweats to pull him to you gently and plopped him down next to you on the bed.

"Simon.. Its really okay-"

He shakes his head quickly, looking forward still a bit out of it- After that the two of you sat in silence, unsure if it was just the situation at hand or the adrenaline dying down.

Simon finally glanced at you after this period of silence, clearly just trying to figure out what to say.

"So.. What was his name?"

"Vance" You say with a casual shrug, You werent going to tell your husband he had been mainly a guy you kept around just to knock boots with on the regular.

Simon stared at you for a moment before huffing a small laugh under his breath.

"Well who knew dick was apart of your benifits pl..."

He closed his eyes, Knowing immediately he fucked up- He had been trying to make a joke to ease things and knew immediately those words left that was probably the worse thing to possibly ever say. You turning to look at him in fucking rage on your face.

"Thats it-!"

Standing up you grab one of the pillows from the bed and throw it at him which he caught with ease.

"You get to sleep in the office-" You say sharply, As Simon face scrunched up in confusion-

"Not the sofa?"

"No- Office. Rozlin helped us pick that couch so I'm sure Major Simon 'Ghost' Riley wouldn't want to sleep on a couch picked by two war criminals"

You say mocking his voice at the last one, Also tossing him the small throw blanket right at his face.

"Don't forget your knife too asshole-"

You wave in the direction of his tactical knife still on the bed. Simon reached over and yanked the knife off the bed a bit dramatically as he put it back in his holster, Clutching the Pillow and Blanket.

"Lov ya-"

"Love you too"

You both grumble, Not due to actually saying I love you- but clearly just mad in general.

Simon walked out of the room and closed it behind him. Looking up the the ceiling in frustration, rubbing his face as he knew he fucked up with that last little comment. Silently walking to his office to sleep on the floor.

Truthfully it had been a miserable night for both of you...

The next morning the routine had been fairly the same as everyday it had been. However this time you two were still a bit frosty with each other to say the least- if not Simon staring at you a bit more as if trying to figure out something.

By the time Simon had gotten out of the shower and seeing how you had folded them and placed them on his desk instead of their usual spot on the bed. He stared at them for a bit longer then normal, before getting dressed and walking into the kitchen.

Simon stopped as he picked up his cup of coffee which was in the place it always was. Looking to you as you made him and Elijah some breakfast toasties- seemingly having some extra time this morning to do so.

Handing over the two wrapped in foil to him before putting some more on for your son.

You two locked eyes, Before Simon reached to his side and held out a thinned file and placed it in your hands much to your confusion.

"Burn that for me.... afterall you're my wife before anything else"

He said softly, Kissing your forehead as he took his breakfast and coffee with him- leaving you standing there in nothing but shock as you stared at the file in hand and your husband leaving to his car.

He got promoted to the sofa after that-

However Simon really didn't want his stay on the sofa forever which after the first week was starting to seem like the case.

While he wasn't having a blow up fight with you it didn't mean things werent.. Tense-

Snide comments rained free from both of you, small checks for holsters and weapons almost daily- And he even got a knife flown next to his head landing in the drywall when he almost mumbled a certain word equal to a female dog-

It was.. stressful to say the least for both of you-

Simon once again in his work office- Mentally and physically exhausted.. He always had been used to the hard uncomforble beds of the military- he essentially grew up on them. But now he was so used to when he was home being next to you, so the idea of you just being down the hall was making it fucking torture.

He hadn't even gotten to the piles of files thag demanded his attention. Domestic Terrorist attacks, drug moves- It was highly important but he was so mentally spent it might as well be just be bricks he would need to deal with later..

He heard the door open and sat up, prepared for some agent to invade his space.

"Look whit we got here!"

"Fuckin Hell-" He grumbled, Seeing Johnny 'Soap' Fucking-MacTavish walking damn near strutting in. Simon Leaning back in his seat as the scott smiled and plopped himself on one of the chairs across from him.

"Johnny not today-"

"Aww work got ye in a shit mood?"

Johnny was one of the few who knew of you or the kids for that matter. He had needed witnesses for his elopement anyway and Johnny was trustworthy- paired for when he was in town a easy babysitter.

Even if he was a pain in his ass- He grumbled under his breath, rubbing his neck which was a bit sore from the arm of the sofa.

"No.. Sleeping on the damn sofa-"

"Awww fucked up bad huh?-" Johnny chuckled which earned him a nasty glare from the masked man.

"How long have you been banished for?"

"...1 Day on the Office Floor and 9 days on the couch" Simon grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked to his desk. Johnny Hissing in shock at hearing this-

"Damn- You truly fucked up" Johnny said with a chuckle, smiling like the devil as he leaned back in his seat.

"Wad ya do?"

"Nothing that concerns you-" He grumbled out, earning a chuckle from Johnny who sat up to lean on his palm.

"Well if ya don't tell me how am I gonna help ya mate?"

Simon looked to Johnny, while the scott couldn't see it from his mask Simon was biting his inner cheek in thought.

"A bad situation on all fronts.. and my smart comments didn't exactly assist in that either.. and now it's a God damn battlefield-"

Johnny raised a brow at this, knowing that even with what little info he had this wasn't good. At All.

"Hm.. Start with the classics then- cooking a dinner together, some candles some nice words to smooth it over?"

Simon shook his head no immediately at that. He could see that going wrong really fucking quick- A enclosed space, knives, possible fire discussing a heavy topic with a lot of emotions?

Yeah fuck that-

"No no- Nothing with... Sharp knives.. Or fire for that matter"

Johnny gave him a bit of a wide eyed look, clearly having questions but not brave enough to ask him.

"Okay? Uh Fancy Resturant? Why not Bocca di Lupo? You took her there for ya guys 10 year anniversary right? Familiar space, Romantic atmosphere?"

Simon thought for a moment, nodding that it was a fairly good idea- even if his pockets hurt at just hearing the Resturants name again.. He remembered nearly popping a blood vessel when he paid 27£ for a beer.. a shit beer at that.

"That should work.."

He grumbled, before narrowed his eyes at the male and sighed heavily- He knew Johnny, and he knew this wasn't for free..

"..What do I owe for this?"

Johnny gave a cheeky grin.

"Depends- Need a babysitter?"

-

Simon ♡: 'I want to take you to dinner tonight, It will be nice, Dress Up'

You'd raised a brow at the text, apprehensive and worried however decided not to argue it.

You were fortunate enough to know that your darling husband wasn't the best with Text so this wasn't rude either.

Just him-

Setting up bottles for Lily and silently wandering what was planned- However decided to just go with it.

Afterall couldn't be any worse then how things are now..

The day did seem to fly by however not peacefully, Lily having decided that today she wanted to remind you how much a 11 month old can rain terror.

Aka it seemed she wanted only her Dad that day so just- Fuck You I guess.

Which lead to a lot of trying, Lily finally falling asleep crying- Then waking up..

To More fucking crying.

When Simon got home with Elijah your son running up to you while you stood there holding a still sobbing Lily as he showed you the lasted- everything from his classes.

"Look Mummy! We gotta do a assignment on our parents! Will you help?"

"Yes of course Baby" You say softly, trying to remain as sweet as possible as one child screamed in your ear and the other decided to want to show you ever peice of paper that has ever been printed.

"Alright Lad. Go shower, get your homework out and take a seat at the table" Simon gruffed out, Elijah nodding as he ran off to do as asked.

"Well don't you look like a joy-" Simon said as he stared at you, You making sure to cut him a nasty ass look as you hand your daughter over to him.

"She has decided you are the one of the day. Seems she has terrible taste once more" Simon held Lily who leaned into him immediately calming down-

"Hey Least one of the women in this house like me-" He said softly. You rub your face a bit, clearly exhausted.

"You said you wanted to go out?"

"Yeah we are gon'a head to Bocca di Lupo for dinner.."

You look to him confused, Bocca di Lupo? You knew he hated that place, It had been one of a funniest anniversaries for you when the two of you stepped foot in that place- Remembering seeing how he seemed like a bull in a China shop looking around the place, trying to figure out why he was getting one bite of food per plate and asking the waiter why was he being served decorations on a plate then food-

You had died laughing the whole time and seeing it all in a very fond light- "Are you sure?- Last time we went you got McDonald's on the way to the Anniversary suite"

"We aren't talking about the Maccies thing- I feel like a space outside of the house were we can.. talk I suppose is nice-"

You raise a brow hearing how this seemed a bit rehearsed, but shrugged-

"Okay"

"Good.. The reservation isn't for a few hours, so you can take a bath or- whatever.. I'll watch the kids for the time being"

He saw the way your face softened, looking at him both greatful and suspicious. "Thank you, That sounds really nice actually"

He nodded, a bit awkwardly as you walked off to go take a bath anf unwind.

Simon silently thanked Johnny for giving him this script and convincing him to make the reservation for later that evening. Looking to Lily in his arms as she stared up at him-

"Let's see if this works eh Sweet Girl?"

After a admittedly heavenly bath and a short power nap. You got ready for this evening out.

Stepping out of the bedroom in your nice black dress as you put on earrings and nice heels. Hearing the front door slam open.

"Looking Lovely as ever Bonnie" You see Johnny in the livingroom- Also holding Lily as she seemed while not as happy, at least not screaming her head off, as Elijah was there eating what seemed to be pizza and chicken dippers.

"Hey Johnny, Simon has you as the babysitter?" You chuckle as you walk all the way out to the livingroom.

"Well ya know, always wanna help a Mate out of course!" He said cheerfully, Simon was at the dining room table seemingly patiently waiting to enter the bedroom to grab his nice clothes.

"I'm sure-" You say softly, Adjusting your dress a bit. Before looking yo Johnny calmly as he snagged some chicken dippers himself, now having grown suspicious of the man himself as he had always been a 'friend' from the military.

It didn't take long for Simon to come back out dressed in his nice dress pants and white button up, Shifting a bit as he always had some problems with formal wear.

"Ah look at ya! You almost clean up nice" Johnny chimed, earning a glare from Simon and a chuckle from you.

"Don't wait up Johnny-"

He grumbled out, After some quick goodbyes to the kids and you swore you saw Simon snag a slice, you both headed to his car-

This leading to possibilities the most awkward car ride of your guys lives, it had been almost dead silent- as if you two didn't know how to even start a conversation.

Taking a soft breath you reach over to turn on the radio-

Before Careless Whisper blasted through the car.

...

You two sit there, Simon silently driving but you swore you saw him blink one eye then the other like he was seconds away from losing it. You also closing your eyes as you collected yourself mentally.

You turn the radio back off.. Silence filling the car once again.

It was almost an hour to the resturant like this, Simon paying for parking once you two arrived.

Looking at the overly stuffy resturant ahead of you.

It would be funny how the two of you seemed to loath having to enter the place.

You took his arm and leaned to his side like how you two had walked in here before to try and seem normal- Till you felt it.. A clear handle on his side, Looking up at him with a glare.

Simon wrapped a arm around you quickly as well- He already felt the holster under your dress as he leaned into your ear.

"You leave yours in the car I'll leave mine.."

He said lowly, You narrowed your eyes at him before nodding in agreement. Both of you going back to respective sides of the car and taking off the hidden holsters- Simon pulling out a massive fucking knife that made your blood boil- Before you pulled out a small Pistol.

He stared at you in disbelief when you set the gun under the passenger seat.

"You were gonna shoot me!?"

"They are non-lethal bullets! Im not gonna murder the father of my children" You Hiss back as you point to the massive Rambo blade in his hand.

"What about that- It's literally the size of my damn head" You point back to him.

"I would have clipped your arm or something- Nothing of true damage"

"Oh wanna make sure I match the other shoulder?" You hiss, You see the way he gritted his teeth as he stashed the knife under his seat.

This leading the two of you to rather angrily march to the restaurant. The two of you sit at the very nice table in dead silence... It was painfully tense.

So bad that other tables were seemingly just as tense.

Simon scowling while sipping the 27£ Beer that tasted like honey piss and you barely tasted the far too bitter wine.

Only snapping out of the painfully angry silence when the waiter came back over.

"Are you two ready to order?"

"Just uh.. A few more minutes please?" Simon said softly, the overly stuffy waiter leaving with a curt nod before walking off.

....

You look to Simon and give a gentle sigh.

"Simon.. This feels, Well very- Tense. Do you want to go back to the house.."

"Fuck No.." He grumbled, You narrow your eyes at your husband unsure if he was being rude or simply upset over this all.

"Do you seriously want to have this kind of talk here?" You whisper.

Simon leaned his face on his palm as he gave a soft smirk "Safer then at home- it seems.. Or in the car with the gun"

You pick up the steak knife and point it at him in a silent threat which he narrows his eyes at you in a silent- I fucking dare you.

However Simon suddently stopped, looking towards the front of the resturant as he seened to be scanning- His eyes narrowing. You look to him confused as something seemed to have his interest- His eyes widen suddently.

"Down!-"

Simon reached for you as it felt like the world slowed down for a second- Seeing a flash of light at what used to be the front door as Simon grabbed you hard and yanked you to the floor.

A yelp leaving you as Simon shielded you with his body fast, a rain of glass and wood seemingly raining down.

Loud explosion hitting your ears that make your ears rings and dizzy. God the memories of this before coming back in full swing- 'Why did I ever do this shit again?..'

Simon pulled up as you stared down at your dazed face with concern, his hand going to you cheek to look you over.

"You alright?" He ask, his eyes wide as you give a shaky nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine" You say softly, Hearing the sound of gunfire and shouts for everyone to get down.

You sat up quickly and the two of you hid behind the broken furniture- Hearing patrons scream as they were herded like cattle.

Simon closed his eyes as he thought back to one of the files on his desk 'Domestic Terrorist' Fan-Fucking-tastic... and this defiantly would be a good spot- bunch of rich fucks in a flashy spot?.. Yeah.

He turned ready to tell you to run and hide elsewhere however saw you not far off, Your gaze focused as you seemed to be scouting out what was there- That dazed look of your gone.. It was focused, trained as you looked around.

He silently moves closer to you keeping an eye out.

"What are you doing?" He grumbled, feeling ready to snap and yank you to the nearest exit but you point instead.

"Hostages, This isn't to kill" You mumble pointing forward- Simon following your gaze and seeing the exact same pattern as you-

'This is to buy time- so something bigger was elsewhere'

"We looking at 11?" Simon hummed softly, you glancing to the side-

"Bakers dozen-" You whisper pointing to the right showing the addional two.

He nods and motions the two of you forward. Simon gesturing for you to move to the side to hide while he handled this. Grabbing a spare balaclava he usually kept in his pockets as he slipped it on.

You sent him a glare as you grabbed a medical face mask you uses during cold and flu season from your purse and put it on and taking off your heels and holding them.

"This is dangerous, Go hide-"

He hissed out and pointed to the side.

"Kiss my ass-"

Simon equally glared at you, Till the sound of footsteps approached and he spun around-

Seeing one of the mercs turning to look for other hostages as he was turned with his back to him Simon was quick to grab the man and slam him to the ground. Covering his mouth, as he was was fast to snap his neck to silence them.

Quickly you grabbed the dead man's gun a X16 and check the ammo.

That's when you heard that so welcomed scream near by of one of the women who had been seated near your table making a run for it- Catching the attention of the men who came in your direction to catch the idiot.

"Shit" "Shit..." You both say in unison-

"See if he has any hand to hand weapons- I work better with those" You manage to say to Simon as both of you fast to take cover as you hear the group fast to approach.

"See this is what I fucking mean..." Simon muttered clearly not expecting you to hear him as he searched the body more which came up empty.

"What do you mean?"

You ask anf load a magazine as you were behind the thickened table looking to your husband not far from you-

"Feels like I turn around and just- Boom another reminder my wife is keeping deadly ass secrets from me"

"It wasn't a matter of wanting to keep secrets, It was the fact that I didn't see that as a part of my life anymore after I left"

"To your left-" Simon said calmly as you aimed and shot the soldiers in the head coming around the corner fast.

This alerting of your guys presents as now gunfire could be heard coming towards the two of you, you quickly sliding your gun to Simon as you knew he was a better shot, while picking up a steak knife.

"Well it just sort of feel like I got blindsided is all- I mean even without knowing it could have still put us all in danger"

He stressed, Moving from his position forward quickly and reached over grabbing another armored male who had rushed towards them and shooting him in the back as he tossed his body to the side and went back to cover.

After another rushed over with a Automatic and starting to fire rapidly- Clearly burning through his ammo as the two of you waited for the reload.

"I understand where you're coming from Darling- and im sorry for not at least giving some sort of heads up about it.. Its just difficult"

You relent as you grab a fancy dressed man cowering near you and drag him to safety off to the side by his collar. As you saw the soilder who was walking closer reloading his automatic as fast as he could clearly not spotting you- you pounced, sinking the steak knife into the back of his neck making sure you heard the crack- He fell silently as you caught him and laid him down to the ground.

"Truthfully I really did think I was with the good guys- I mean come on there are a lot of registered soldiers that were apart of that at the time. I just thought I was one of them"

Simon thought for a second and nodded, seeing your perspective at that. Watching as you savaged the man's body for ammo and other useful weapons.

"Fair point actually"

Pulling up some more magazines and getting them to Simon as you saw nothing of use, few med kits, a couple of shit knives-

'God they got such bullshit stuff..'

"I do also want to talk about you lying about the rank however. Why didn't you want to tell me?"

Simon rolled his eyes a bit, Pausing for a second as he waited for his next target.

"It was dangerous and I know I shouldn't have lied about it- However I was worried you would have freaked out when we had first started dating and I just never wanted to bring that back up.. and Im sorry"

He admitted, Looking back at you with regret- Your eyes softening as you saw the remorse.

"Listen I wouldn't have cared about who you are or even your position- I would have supported you either way"

Simon mumbled as the two quietly crept through the resturant- Hearing the sound of several of the men clearly looking for the two of you.

"I know- I just didn't want to pull you guys into that life, I figured if I didn't speak about it. Then you guys aren't involved"

Simon turned the corner as he went to shoot one of the men in the back of the head, however it jammed and he instead dragged the man down with him covering his mouth as he looked back at you, You staring back at him.

"So- Ironically we were doing the same thing in different directions"

"Guess so"

The man in Simon's arms looking both terrified and utterly confused as Simon easily restrained him.

"I don't like that our relationship started out on secrets and lies- Fact is, we haven't in almost 11 years of being married even scratched the surface of our early lives" You whisper low- Seeming the way Simon face seemed to twitch at the mention of early life.

You hand Simon the steak knife as he sighed sinking the knife into the guys neck while keeping the males mouth covered still and tossing him to the ground lazily.

"Your right.. I think we just got so-" He tried to think of the word-

"Secure?"

"That's the word Thank you. Secure in not addressing it, it let this type of thing take place"

You nod in agreement at this. Hearing the sound of vans and other shouts from outside the Restaurant.

Simon saw that the authorities and one of his teams were arriving, glancing back at you as he gestures to the closest exit to sneak out of. Which you two quietly and quickly do, managing out by what seemed to be a Alley most likely for employees.

You smile from under your mask quickly slipping it off and set your heels back down and slipped them back on before leaning against the brick walls, a clearly winded and fanning yourself some.

"Little winded there love?" You could hear Simon joke a bit, earning a side glare from you.

"Hey- it's been well over a decade and two kids since I last did that shit. Give me some slack okay?"

The two of you giggle at this, Simon also rolling his shoulder a bit. While active still it had been a hot minute since he was down in the trenches like that.

"Listen- I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have assumed the worse and should have been.. more honest" Simon finally said looking to you.

"Im sorry too, I should have also been more honest and open about everything. Maybe after this, and with some time we can start to just unravel our- admittedly probably fucked up past?" He nodded in agreement, Glancing from the side of the Alley seeing how the remaining terrorist were already being handled in some way.

Glancing around as he gestured to the car still in the paid parking spot as he silently moved the two of you over to it.

Once to the car the two of you look to each other, Simon placing a hand on your hip as he looks at you softly. "I love you okay?.. I dont want stupid shit like this to affect out marriage"

Your eyes soften at this, and you place a gentle kiss on his masked lips.

"I love you too Darling, and I promise no matter what we will always handle things together. Team Mr and Mrs Riley forever"

"Thats stupid as hell" He grumbled making you laugh. He heard his phone go off as he pulled it from his back pocket, seeing ironically his job requesting him at the resturant.

"Fuck-"

He grumbled, you giggling at this.

"Oh the irony- Also let's get your hoodie from the back" You say softly as you pat his chest, Breaking the hold the two of you shared. Simon about to question why till he looked down at his white button shirt seeing it covered in a nice bit of blood.

"Damn.. This was expensive"

"This is why you wear black Darling-" You joke as you gesture to yourself still in your pretty black dress going to the trunk to grab the hoodie he kept in the trunk from the last hiking trip he took- also finding his sweats and his running shoes.

"Also good thing you didn't take these out of the car liked I asked- so they could be washed" You also shot at him, He playfully opened his arms at you as if showing his bloodied self off.

"My vices at times come to be blessings"

Walking back with a shake of your head and hand him the clothes, which he quickly changes into and tosses the bloody dress clothes into the trunk.

"Now- You go be Major Ghost okay. I'll see Simon back at the house" You say softly, You could see Smile through his mask as he nodded.

"And is Simon back allowed in the bedroom?"

He asked, Hopeful. You caress his cheek at this.

"You are more then welcome Darling, and possibly extra"

The second those words came out of your mouth you could possibly see the excited twinkle in Simon's eyes, As he carefully escorted you to the car with a firm hand on your lower back.

"I'll hold you to that, Now please get home safely Lov"

You had to snort back a laugh at this as you placed a kiss on his covered cheek.

"You be safe, I'll see you at home"

Getting into the car you started your way back off. Simon taking a moment to watch you drive off, before he silently do a fist pump to himself in silent celebration- turning onto his heel at the chaos of gun fire and more on the overly expensive restaurant he wasn't sad to see gone.

He had never walked into a Domestic Terrorist scene so damn happy before.

Tag List-

@itsmeamysworld @danielle143 @mileyraes

[whateverisbeautiful]

I was curious about how you think a reunion will go with the group if we ever get one. I don't think Rick and Daryl's reunion should go that smoothly. Especially given the state of their relationship when Rick disappeared. I also wonder about Maggie and Michonne. Some fans like to bring up Negan but I hope the Grimes family never sees him again.

Thanks for asking about this. This one is interesting because there are a lot of in-show and behind-the-scenes factors that could impact which route the reunions take. I wrote out a few of my opinions on it below and somehow I still surprise myself that my thoughts are never super brief lol. ⬇️💗

If the reunion is just a single scene then I think the writers will want it to be positive vibes only and won't allow for them to address a lot of the unresolved history between the characters. I think Rick and Daryl's reunion will likely be smooth both because tptb would want to reinforce the fans' love for the brotherhood but also because Rick will feel like Daryl did something invaluable by watching over his kids while he and Michonne were away.

Knowing that his kids were able to be taken care of by a family member they love would mean a lot to Rick and probably make him feel more forgiving for how things played out between him and Daryl before he left. Especially if he gets the sense from Michonne that Daryl was one of the few people there for her after he was gone, that also would make Rick feel like they can put opposition aside because Daryl was there for his family.

I'm not saying the past should all be swept to the side tho or that Rick isn't the type that would want to address some things because especially watching him in season 9 before he left, he wasn't against calling things out. But I could see the franchise choosing to have a more kumbaya feel for the reunion if all they have is minimal screen time with the characters.

However, if at all they get a bit more screen time to reconnect then it would be nice and realistic to see some honest conversations about how they left off. Especially with Maggie.

Now the Maggie reunion with Rick and Michonne is one I could see being a bit more rocky. Because with Daryl, he and Rick got to at least hash some things out in that pit before Rick's departure and Daryl and Michonne were close and on good terms before she went to bring Rick home. (Honestly, Daryl and Michonne felt like closer confidantes than Rick and Daryl imo, since Rick and Daryl always read more like brothers than best friends to me, but that's a whole other conversation lol. Like pretty much all of season 8 and early season 9 Rick and Daryl's relationship was not in a good state. That's also why I'd be interested in seeing Michonne reunite with Daryl just as much as Rick since they always had a really solid loving friendship). But Maggie seemed to end on not the best of terms with both Rick and Michonne.

Like I could picture that when Rick was taken and having all that time alone to reflect, he probably felt like Maggie must really have strong issues with him if she decided she had to orchestrate a whole plan behind his back.

And then Maggie and Michonne also didn't seem to reconcile after Rick's departure to the point that when Maggie left she didn't let Michonne know. I'd be so curious what Michonne knows about that bridge day. If no one ever told her exactly how those events and schemes played out that day, I could see that being hurtful to now find out that part of why she had to go without her husband for years was because their friends were crafting plans behind their backs, especially when Rick was headed home himself and then got derailed when Daryl offered to take him home instead.

But it's also been a lot of years, and I think Rick and Michonne understand that growth can occur and so they won't hate or chastise people for what happened. I think they'd both be more focused on starting fresh and building a life with their kids. But some apologies from Daryl and Maggie would still be nice. Especially considering Maggie realized Rick and Michonne had it right that Negan being locked up was actually a fitting punishment and was killing him worse than actually killing him would have. Accountability is rare among certain characters, especially when the ones they've hurt are Rick and Michonne, but it still would feel necessary to include it if the story is given more than one scene for a reunion.

And as for Negan, I very much agree with you, anon. I personally have no desire for any of the Grimes family to be seen with Negan again. I've seen that some feel Rick has to see that Negan got 'redeemed,' but that wasn't even what Rick was aiming for. He kept Negan alive to honor Carl's vision but Negan wasn't thrown in a cell to one day get out and become a valued member of society. Rick intended for him to rot in that cell as a consequence of his many deplorable actions. So I could almost see it stinging a bit for Rick to see that Negan got to build a life all while Rick was taken from his life because his friends wanted to kill Negan and then didn't even end up going through with it.

I think Rick would be perfectly happy with him and his family never crossing paths with Negan again because Negan is important to some viewers but he is not on Rick's radar like that. Everyone Rick most needed to reunite with he already reunited with in TOWL. So if they do reunions with the rest of the group it could be interesting but also, like many have voiced before, team family sorta stopped feeling like a tight-knit family after a certain point. Not even in a condemning way because it happens, but they all started to do their own thing and build their own lives. I can think of a few characters that even left or pulled away while Rick was still around and was already content with not seeing him much or ever again.

And so I'm just glad that we already got to see Rick and Michonne reunite with each other and their kids since that's they're heart and these four are the ones who will be most involved in each other's everyday life now.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ③

From the second reading to the end of the of the daytime program.

Previous posts:

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ①

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ②

⚠️This is a looong post and contains spoilers! Only read this if you have already played RAIN CODE and have time.

After introducing the merchandise sold at the event, Fukuhara, Suzushiro, and Ishikawa gave a reading performance. The reading was a direct reenactment of the game's dialog from Chapter 1, when Halara's forensic forte was first shared with Yuma, so I will just leave out the details.

After that, KENN joined in and the four VAs gave a reading performance. This was a re-enactment of the part after the Mystery Labyrinth in chapter 2, where Kurumi gave Yuma information about the homunculus and Yuma shared it with other detectives of the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Yakou's lines were replayed by playing the voices in the game, and Fubuki's and Vivia's lines were simply omitted. In the actual story, Vivia mentions Death God here, implying that he knows Yuma is possessed by Shinigami, but those lines were left out, and Shinigami forced a punchline by being a bit silly instead. I remember it ending with a meta-statement like, "The most mysterious thing is that Fuzz Head's voice is heard even though he is not here."

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the entire script for the reading was done by Spike Chunsoft staff, and Kodaka was not involved at all. (From the way he talked, it sounded like he didn't even supervise it). So the story itself was not something worth explaining in detail. Just the VAs' performances were really perfect and wonderful :)

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The next segment, "Kanai Ward Citizen Survey", featured a game in which the VAs predicted which answer to a three-option question would receive the most votes from the audience. The audience was treated as Kanai Ward residents, and voting was done by clapping their hands. The person who best predicted the audience's answer won a book token printed with the main artwork of the RAIN CODE Fan Meeting.

The first question was as follows:

Q1.Which Forensic Forte would you use if you could? 1. Halara's Forensic Forte 2. Desuhiko's Forensic Forte 3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte

Maybe they dared to make it easy because it was the first question, but clearly Halara's abilities are too limited compared to the versatility of Desuhiko and Fubuki's abilities 😅 so the VAs predicted that it would most likely be either 2 or 3. And here's the result of their choice:

(The VAs were given placards to hold up to answer the questions.)

Then, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte". To which the VAs said, "I knew everyone wanted to rewind time." lol

The level of popularity was Fubuki > Desuhiko >> Halara.

The next question was this:

Q2.Who is the detective you want to be your boss? 1. Yakou 2. Halara 3. Yuma before losing his memory. (Number One)

When Kodaka saw these options, he immediately commented as follows:

But Suzushiro said "Isn't Halara too strict? Yakou seems to be very subordinate-minded." Then Ishikawa said, "If I were to become Halara's subordinate, I would like to see Halara looking at pictures of cats."

(The gesture of looking through the gap is what she actually did on the stage!)

And here's the result of their choice:

I was so convinced by Ishikawa's opinion, but she actually raised Yakou's number. (She betrayed us! 😂)

Only Fukuhara chose 3 and was asked by the MC why:

(He really loves Yuma!)

Then, Kodaka commented as follows:

Fukuhara countered, "But don't you think it's good that he only shows his true face to me!?" (He seemed to imagine what would happen if he became Number One's secretary or entourage 😄)

But whether his arguments did not resonate with the audience or were simply not popular enough, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "1. Yakou".

The level of popularity was Yakou > Halara > Number One.

Q3.Which organization would you prefer to join? 1.World Detective Organization 2.Amaterasu Corporation 3.Resistance

Kodaka saw these options and again immediately commented.

(That's true 😂)

The VAs began to discuss these options and which organization would give them the best chance of survival. However, all of them are very risky 😅 WDO's work is fraught with danger (as a lot of detectives were actually killed in chapter 0), and workers in Amaterasu would be executed if suspected of rebellion. Of course, the Resistance is always fraught with danger!

After such discussion, here is what they chose:

When asked by the MC why they chose Amaterasu Corporation, Ishikawa and KENN replied:

(Becoming an Ama-Pal developer is certainly a fairly peaceful option 😆)

Fukuhara replied that the reason he wanted to join WDO was because of his love for Yuma, and Suzushiro said she wanted to use Forensic Forte.

And as a result of audience voting, the most popular option was "1.World Detective Organization".

The level of popularity was World Detective Organization > Amaterasu Corporation >>> Resistance. (FYI, WDO and Amaterasu were almost equally popular. WDO was slightly more popular).

Last Question: Which line do you want Shinigami to say? 1. "Kyahaha! Down the rabbit hole we go!" (JA: きゃっきゃっきゃ！　いざ、迷宮入りーーーー！！) 2. "Luminous darkness! Shining rainbow! Glorious stellar spiral! Bello Fresco Grand Finale!" (JA: ダークネスシャイニングファビュラスレインボービューティフルマックススクリューラブリーフレッシュグランドフィナーレ！！) 3. "I hope he dies with his upper body stuck in the pond." (JA: 池に上半身が突き刺さって死ねばいいのに)

*As for the third, I don't remember where Shinigami said it, so I made up the translation myself. I used "he", but it may have been said to a female character. The first and second should be correct because I checked the English version of the videos on YouTube.

As for the first line, KENN mentioned that this line was memorable, but I need to make some explanations so that you can see why he said it. This line is said by Yuma and Shinigami enter the Mystery Labyrinth, but it differs considerably between the Japanese and English versions. If I translate the original Japanese line into English, it should be like "Now enter the Labyrinth!" However, in Japanese, it actually shares a meaning with another word that has a different meaning, but if it were put into English, it would lose that meaning, so it was probably changed to something completely different. In Japanese, when things are left unresolved, the thing is described as having entered a labyrinth. So KENN commented that he found it interesting that a word that was originally used in this sense was literally used in the sense of entering a labyrinth.

The second line is the one that Shinigami says at the end of Mystery Labirinth, when she reaps the soul of the true culprit:

Kodaka said it was based on the scene when the main characters perform a special move in the Pretty Cure series, a famous Japanese anime for girls. Suzushiro said that she searched for videos of Pretty Cure on YouTube and used them as a reference for her performance. When I heard this, I remembered that the title of the music played in the scene is "Heart Catch! Convict! Convict!" in the OST. I think "Heart Catch" is based on a title of one of the Pretty Cure series: HeartCatch PreCure! - Wikipedia

By the way, for Japanese Otaku, "heart catch" is also a word with a different meaning. I know the correct grammatical order in English should be "catch heart", but Japanese otaku dare to say "heart catch" when a cruel character grabs someone's heart (as an organ). So I think the reason for such a music title is a cross between the Shinigami harvesting the soul scene and the cute image of Pretty Cure.

Sorry for the long explanation! 😣 And my memory is a little fuzzy as to which answer the VAs chose here. I think 2 was the most popular. And in fact, 2 was the most popular among the audience, and Suzushiro actually read the line out loud!

The level of popularity was 2 > 1 >>> 3.

As a result of this game, it was Suzushiro who was the best at guessing the audience's answers! She received the book token and declared that she would use it to buy some RAIN CODE books :)

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In the next segment, "RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz", the audience answered super-geeky questions about RAIN CODE. All questions were true/false and the audience answered by opening their fist for true and clenching their fist for false.

The audience was first asked to stand, and the person who made the mistake was treated as having left the quiz at that point and was seated. And when there were only a few people standing, the game was over. Those who stayed until the end received limited edition merchandise. (They received a card that looked like a pass).

This quiz was full of really difficult questions! 😅 There were 7 questions in total. I encourage you to see if you can answer them.

The questions were as follows:

The tallest person in Amaterasu Corporation is Dominic. True or false?

2. It is in Chapter 4 that Shinigami shows the pose in the following image. True or false?:

3. The word "WINE" is written on the label of the wine bottle* used in the case in Chapter 2. True or false? * The bottle was used as a prop for a play by the Aetheria Academy Theater Club.

4. The cat in the photo Halara was looking at in Chapter 1 had blue eyes. True or false?

5. The color of Pucci's stuffed bear* was white. True or false? * It is the stuffed bear that was sitting on a chair in Pucci's room in Chapter 0.

6. The load capacity of Ama-pal is 120 kg. True or false?

7. In chapter 1, the amount Halara asked for as the price for helping Yuma was 5,500,600 shien. True or false?

The order of the questions may differ from the order of the actual quiz, but in any case, only those who answered all of these questions correctly were eligible for the prizes.

The correct answers are written at the very end of this post!

------

Finally, the participants gave their closing remarks. The VAs all said that it was the first time they had seen the fans since the game was released, and that it was nice to know for the first time that these people love RAIN CODE.

Ishikawa said that even from the stage she could see some fans wearing merchandise shirts or carrying Shinigami bags, and felt that RAIN CODE is really loved.

Fukuhara said that he was very happy because this was the first time he had been able to talk with spoilers. (He had been on the RAIN CODE introduction live stream before RAIN CODE was released, so he had had many opportunities to talk about RAIN CODE, but this was the first time he had done so with spoilers).

The following is Kodaka's final comment, which I tried to write as accurately as possible:

"It took six years to make RAIN CODE, and as you can see from the credits, there were a lot of people involved in making RAIN CODE. I was nervous about releasing it because it was the result of so many people's efforts, and I was worried about whether how many people would like it, but I am glad that there are a lot of fans who have gathered here with such enthusiasm. I am sure that RAIN CODE will have new developments and other things to come, so please continue to support us. Thank you very much."

After the closing remarks, Shinigami's announcement began. Shinigami then asked the audience, "Did you have a great time?" and the audience responded with applause 👏👏

------

Correct answers to the RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz! :

1.✅ True. (Dominic's height is 225 cm (7'4").) 2.✅ True. (You can see this pose in the result of the second Shinigami Puzzle in Chapter4.) 3.❌ False. (It was labeled LEQUELR.)

4.❌ False. (Black is correct.) 5.❌ False. (Pink is correct.) 6.❌ False. (100kg is correct.) 7.❌ False. (5,500,800 shien is correct.)

How many questions did you get right? I got the third question wrong and dropped out 😝 (In a post-event interview in the media, Kodaka said he did not know the correct answer from the first question. lol)

This is the end of the daytime program!

Next:

[iantimony]

not quite the last tuesday of 2024

except it's Wednesday! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, Happy Chanukah to my fellow yids, and happy normal-ass day to everyone!

listening: I have compiled the ultimate 2024 Tuesday playlist in which I put every single song (or one song from an album) that I mentioned in my weekly posts this year! it is Nine And A Half Hours Long and has such hits as Borodin and Kendrick Lamar!! enjoy if you dare!

playlist!

TDH live cover of don't let me down….very good

reading: It’s hard to fathom the selfishness of our graduate students, linked in a grad advocacy group chat that I'm in. like. it has to be rage bait right. it's so insane to read. don't touch if you don't want to be angry. it's really really stupid. the luxuries that we all crave in grad school, like being able to afford to visit parents. ok.

Ancient faeces reveal how ‘marsh diet’ left Bronze Age Fen folk infected with parasites: dunno why I read this but sure

List of classical music concerts with an unruly audience response: came up in a conversation about the Rite of Spring and I wanted to see what else. really funny. "The audience threw program notes at Cowell and clambered onto the stage, leading to a large physical altercation and the arrest of over 20 audience members."

I Can’t Stop Watching This Woman Revive and Swatch Old Nail Polish: very charmed by this. the color in the header image is really really pretty.

fanfic: On Being Female (nomadicwriter): Discworld fanfic about Carrot! really cute.

watching: watched "Shiva Baby" with some friends. this movie stressed me out which I know was the intended response, but, augh! I know all these women IRL! extremely painfully NYC Jewish.

last min knit & handmade gift inspo for procrastinators (starcrossedknits): when I briefly thought about making some shit last-minute and chose to buy candles from a local shop instead.

the crochet hunger games: how a star shaped blanket broke the internet (Cinema Knits): yeah. yeah. good conversation about what accessibility actually means.

Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam (MegaLag): making it so that closing the "no deals found" popup window resets the affiliate cookies is DIABOLICAL.

playing: did the last dnd for the year - as much as I bitch moan and gripe I have enjoyed running for this group, I am realizing.

making: I have mailed out sooo many holiday cards so I think I can probably post this now. the holiday card of 2024!

that one is slightly larger (5x7) to be framed for my mom; the rest were a respectable 5.5x4.25 (aka a sheet of standard paper cut into quarters; I love my guillotine so much). ignore how different the nose is, I definitely did not manually smudge out a mistake on every card.

these were done using Charbonnel block printing ink in ultramarine. Here is an example of the shitty speedball water-based ink:

I don't actually mind some texture but ughhh the patchiness. and printing more than two or three in a row was a fucking nightmare. the oil-based ink is definitely way easier to work with but the drying time on it is INSANE. days and days and days. I gave up and just handed them out/mailed them as they were even though they could still technically be smudged, and I bet when they arrive the ink will still not be totally cured, so fair warning to everyone who receives one from me, lol. no idea how to speed that process up - I was reading that it could be because it is a water-washable oil-based ink, which is crucial for me working from home without a real setup or solvents but apparently that compound can drastically increase drying time? I dunno. I tried zapping one in a very low heat oven for a bit which didn't help, and I saw something about using cornstarch so I might try that tonight. I also wonder if an oil paint fixative spray would help??? I tried to do some googling and reddit-searching about it but didn't see anyone trying that, and I don't really want to commit to a whole can of the stuff just to try it out…

eating: made Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping with, you guessed it, leftover cranberry sauce. technically from thanksgiving but it was the canned stuff and looked and smelled fine, so. the muffins are just okay, a little dry, definitely edible though. I got like 15 muffins out of it rather than the stated dozen. also had Chinese food for Christmas Eve, as is customary :-) otherwise I am scraping by this week as I'll be out of town for two weeks visiting family starting on Saturday.

misc: the year is coming to a close…nearly there…..might post the last Tuesday of the year on Monday instead because the last day of the year happens to fall on a Tuesday, so that way my yearly round-up summary can be on the 31st! wow! exciting!

[randomnameless]

A Minor dispute.

Put it behind you. Deal with it.

No, this isn't related to devoted fans and their discourse lol (even if i had to take a jab at them with the title lol)

Ike: I have to ask, Sephiran. What are you after? What’s this all about? Sephiran: Why do you wish to know? You would achieve nothing by learning my reasons. You would help no one. I lost faith in lesser beings, and desire an end to them. That’s all. Ike: So why did you save me on that day? Sephiran: May I ask you a favor, Ike? Tell me how you feel about it now. Can you bear recalling those horrific memories? Ike: Yes… I’m fine, now. But I suppose at the time I wouldn’t have been able to take it. Sephiran: All beings endure tragedies for as long as they continue to live. It has always been the case that suffering is unavoidable. And this grim reality plays out over and over, in every country, under every ruler… As long as there are beings who feel, they will feel pain. Ike: So what? We should all just give in and die? Put it behind you. Deal with it. Sephiran: Do not make light of this… Ike: I’m not. Sephiran, I’m extremely grateful that you once helped me through a terrible time. But we have to accept that occasionally we all have to deal with hard times. I’ve had pain, I’ve had suffering, and I have gotten up and moved on. I don’t try to forget what happened that day. I just accept it… And neither that or anything else will ever stop me. Sephiran: You are a strong man, Ike, son of Gawain. But not everyone is as strong as you…

This scene is unlocked if you've seen Ike's FB.

Of course, Ike here doesn't know the fuck he is talking about, as he later expresses by wondering why Sephiran is suddenly called Lehran (maybe if the game left Miccy/Yune talk to him before the start of the map, instead of letting him do all the convo it would have been different?).

So, in a way, it isn't as callous as Ike telling Lehran to put the genocide of his people "behind him" or to "deal with it", because he doesn't know what Sephiran is talking about.

But in a way, I have the feeling if Claude or Petra told Dedue to "put the massacre of his family" behind him or to "deal with it", Claude or Petra would have received a certain amount of shit, even if, when they would have said those, they wouldn't have known what the fuck Dedue went through.

Anyways, Ike later learns what, or who, Sephiran is, and talks to him. Maybe he will apologise for his callous words, spoken when he didn't realise what he was talking about ?

Ike: Sephiran... I mean, Lehran... Lehran: I can't apologize enough. I was so terribly mistaken, and now there's nothing I can do to help. Ike: Don't worry. Lehran: What? Ike: Wanting to do something that matters is enough. Sometimes, how you feel is more important than how you act. Lehran: Ike I... there's no one that I think more highly of... Ike: No time for compliments. We still have work to do here. Lehran: Yes... yes we do.

Lehran apologises for having wanted to destroy the world (and drops Altina in a trashcan because Ike is now the person he thinks the most highly of!) - and in the general scale of things, yes, Sephiran has much to apologise for, so he better start pulling his weight and try to make up for having tried to kill everyone.

But the "your people were genocided? No biggie, deal with it!" is completely ignored - or it is, again, another example of Ike talking shit and the game convoluting himself to make sure he never faces any consequences, even if, in this situation, the consequence would just have been an apology, like the one he gave to, iirc, Mordecai and Lethe after calling him subhumans but not realising calling someone "subhuman" was insulting.

Sure, the line he gives after the fight against Sephiran still holds value :

Ike: If death is what you really want, then I’m not going to let it happen on my watch. I don’t care what you’ve gone through. I don’t care how much you’ve suffered. What you’ve done is unforgivable.

It's not because you suffered, or went through the worst humankind can offer, that you can inflict the same on people!

When Lords like Marth, Seliph, Leif, Roy, Eirika, even Elincia try to understand people and what led them to act as they did - without ever giving excuses or wondering if they could walk with their respective antagonists - Ike here refuses to understand, and only condemns.

Is it because Ike isn't a Lord, so he isn't concerned with some general "making sure this situation never happens again"?

But then, he is the one to say those :

“But, even the dumbest creatures will love their family, their friends and… even love others. They will all have things that they can’t afford to lose.” “We know that we’ve messed up. We’ll do our best to avoid more war and to make peace our highest priority. Ashera, just give us one more chance. All we ask is for one more chance.” “You were like a mother to all of life– Your children still require a mother like you. When you watch over us, we don’t always do things that make you happy and sometimes we even disappoint you. Still, I think we would like you to continue watching over us. How about it?” “We all need to work hard to accept each other. As long as we don’t try and run away from our mistakes, then I’m sure we’ll be able to see each other again one day.”

How can you do you "best" to avoid more wars, if you don't even understand why the current one started, or don't care about the reasons that led the fucker who started this current war to, well, start it?

How can we talk about acceptance if we don't "care" about what the others live through?

So, on top of writing a check his ass can't cash - since he will leave Tellius and not be there to "avoid wars" or make sure people "accept each other" after promising the goddesses "we" will exactly do that - Ike's words here are empty.

-> In a nutshell, Ike reveals with those battle quotes and conversations that he is not ruler/leader material - but we knew that since RD's start since we followed Miccy and Elincia - and more importantly isn't the kind of person asking "why" things happen, they just happen but somehow everything will work out when it will happen again - because the why, or the cause, wasn't identified - and I think it's a perfectly fitting answer for the Tellius Saga and the larger Branded "issue" : we will never know why it happens, it just happens.

(can we say the epilogue, with Ashunera returning, is an ultimate "fuck you" to Ike's empty promises at the end of this chapter, since it starts with another war happening in the background?)

---

Back to that nonsense of a battle convo, I find it really interesting how Ike is basically thanking Sephiran for having wiped his memory when he was a child, to help him "deal" with the fact he witnessed his father stab his mother, because at that time (when he was a kid), he wouldn't have been able to deal with it.

But then, Ike tells Sephiran to "deal with" the tragedies he witnessed and lived through...

After thanking him for sparing him the "deal with it" step- he now asks Sephiran to take - when he was a child.

WTF?

Ike explains how he is thankful, but he ultimately had to "got up" and "move on" from the pain, and accept it. And that's precisely the point, Ike managed to take on that pain, "get up and move on" thanks to Sephiran's own meddling and help - else, by his own admission, he wouldn't have been able to "take it".

But now, he asks Sephiran to take his pain, without any magic amnesia to help, and deal with it?

And while I hate the idea of trauma olympics, grown-up Ike (even in POR) can now deal with the fact his dad killed his mother thanks to Lehran's magic amnesia - but he tells Lehran to deal with and get over - 1) the genocide of his tribe, 2) assassination of his great (etc) granddaughter because she had his blood, 3) the loss of his powers for a crap reason and the knowledge that laguz are bound to "die" if they mingle too much with beorcs as he personally witnessed it, 4) severe depression after realising he is not a laguz anymore but not even a beorc since beorcs will use pitchforks at him even if they regarded him 10 seconds before as sage, and the rest of Tellius' general fuckery? - without magic amnesia or plot hax?

Reyson was very close to pull something similar in FE9 when he tried to erase people in the Forest using "ancient magic", but abandoned the idea when Leanne was found - if PoR!Ike learnt that, would he have told Reyson to "get over" the heron genocide and Naesala's betrayal?

Of course not, because I'm pretty sure Ike knows, before meeting Reyson and even picking Leanne, what happened in Serenes.

And in RD, when he says those words, he doesn't know (but he later will!) that Sephiran is a heron.

Tl;Dr :

Supreme Leader's "minor dispute" is frowned upon by everyone, even if she might genuinely not know about what Nemesis did that made Rhea so enraged, in a doylist reading, Supreme Leader is a character who ignores a genocide to push her own specist agenda.

Doylist reading of that RD scene is, Ike telling Sephiran to man up and deal/get over the genocide of his people - but unlike Supreme Leader, when he comes to learn the truth of Sephiran's despair, he dgaf.

Thankfully, this scene is only triggered if Sephiran survives, so Ike can later explain his behaviour : he doesn't care what kind of suffering Sephiran endured, since nothing justifies what he was trying to do (kill everyone).

Even if the thing he should care, but doesn't want to, is, for part, a genocide.

[this-blog-needs-a-new-name]

How are they in the book? I think Pam really does love Rak it's like before she didn't lov the brother but with Rak she's like you gave me an excuse to go all in now lol I just know this isn't going to end well I wish it didn't start the relationship in this way.

🚨SPOILERS BELOW🚨FULL DETAILS🚨

To begin with Pam’s family is very much alive in the book. She even comes out to them. Pam’s family in the series is a replacement of the parents she lost in the novel. Though in the book Pam has siblings as well and they are a very establish family with wealth. Rak still does leave her home life because she didn’t want to be a doctor and her relationship with her father is equally as bad in both stories (tv/book). Rak’s brother is not a very nice guy but he struggles with the breakup with Pam and he battles a mental breakdown because of it. He gets married to a girl he gets pregnant but he’s never really there for her or their kid. He’s a lost cause and the biggest red flag possible. He tries to kill Pam but ends up stabbing Rak and he ends his life not long after. Pam leaves Rak. Oat and Nene are new characters as they are not part of the novel story. And the crew at the cafe well they are all there just that (I forgot the cafe owners name, the dude that paints and is the boss) he has a thing for Pam and he does pick on Rak but once Rak convinces Pam to come around the cafe, he leaves Rak alone. He actually turns out to be a not so bad guy. Pam also has a side swing girlfriend in the novel that she tries to like but realizes that she honestly doesn’t like women. She only loves one girl and that’s Rak. Said girl turns out to be a sweet friend to Pam after they breakup and stay friends. Oh and Rak dates the dude she works with, which awakens Pam’s jealousy arc and realizes she is in deed madly in love with Rak. She realizes she doesn’t want anyone to touch her person because she’s hers and no one else’s. 😩 it was so cute reading her admit to herself she was head over heels for Dokrak. She tells Rak that in the special chapters of the novel from her own point of view. And finally, both Rak and Pam establish their dreams in the end. We will have to wait to find out how and if those dreams come to be in the series.

Now, as for what happened in today’s episode, I’m not so happy about it. I’m paranoid cuz on one hand, Nene asked her to get close to Rak. Which left me wondering if she would have followed her heart if Nene wouldn’t have asked her to go after Rak instead??? Knowing full well that Rak indeed has deep feelings for her. 😩 like yo!! Pam don’t do my girl like that. Don’t play her knowing she has feelings for you and you know damn well you have feelings for her! You also know that Rak dislikes her father to the full extend and refuses to have anything to do with them. Rak won’t even accept Tawi’s helping hand, not even a little. Plus to top it off RAK LITERALLY CONFINED IN YOU 😭😭 I can’t!! I’m scared for my girl going forward!!!

On the other hand, you could be right. She’s now safe to go all in without holding back though she will have to find a way to tell Rak the truth. The truth about her true feelings towards her and the truth about why she doesn’t like Rak’s father (or family) plus explain what her father actually did in the resulting aftermath of Pam losing her parents. I have many questions for Nene though, but that girl has got some zip tight lips MY GAWD. I swear we better get some answers next week knowing that Nene knows Rak’s mom personally. Well I’m hoping we do.

On a side note…

[ashadowofburnedoutstardust]

Random thoughts:

Because typing out the words random thoughts sounds slightly less childish than dear diary

Currently watching another one of my dreams come to fruition IRL yet again. I'm not going to share right now because it's still playing out but it is an interesting experience to have it happen again quite so soon though I'm used to it by now

Will probably share the dream when its done though

Have come to the conclusion that the predictive abilities I use when walking around in the real world possibly could have been used much more effectively, but then looking back I realise that I've always been using them instinctively anyway on a slightly different level to other people which is probably why everyone always found me kind of weird or spooky

I can remember when I was eleven we had a tutor come into class to introduce us to.......some type of graph curve? I don't remember I didn't pay attention in maths

(They kept trying to put me in the special extension math classes with the maths department head teachers, but it was never fun because I was always the only girl)

To create the data set he had us in groups of three; one person was the observer recording the results, one person would be making a guess, and the other would be providing what needed to be guessed at

Two people would sit back to back with cards that were three different colours. The first person would hold up a random coloured card of their own choosing, and the second person sitting back to back with them would try and guess which colour they chose with the third recording the results, each person took a turn at each role

The average correct guess rate across the classroom was about 3 out of ten (mine was 7)

As a result when the tutor went to create the graph using our data my little inclusion created a spike in the middle of his attempt at creating a nice upward curve

He tried explaining that due to the randomness of those guesses we had made that it typically that wouldn't happen......

Everyone kind of just turned around and stared at me lol

I really wish I knew what that thing was called, if theres any maths geeks out there that recognise this please ease my poor brain from wondering

I honestly didn't pay attention in Maths, I did always pass all the tests though which was weird. I somehow still absorbed the necessary information without any actual studying

I always spent most of my time daydreaming at school and staring out the window instead of doing any classwork at all which I would always get told off for, and then past the final test anyway

(I don't know if I've ever really "found my people" while living in this life)

I typically run at a high level of personal efficiency when left to my own devices and can find other peoples inability to maintain the same level frustrating

My ability for efficiency has been a useful tool that I've used to keep on top of things or catch up on things in a short amount of time, but others can also find me frustrating because I go at a faster speed than they do and to explain to them the place that I reached in my brain 5 mins ago, it takes them about half an hour to reach the same place, it makes socialising a bit difficult

To be honest I've never been formally diagnosed but lets face it there are a tonne of potential traits. The odd thing is that because of hyper self awareness I developed my own CBT method early on in life to correct what I didn't like using visual cues. It kind of surprised me when that therapy thing started coming out because I literally thought that's just what it was like inside everyone's brains and that everyone else did it too. Probably a contributing factor as to why I found everyone around a bit, um, less efficient

(Quick shout out to single mothers anywhere and everywhere, I know exactly how fucking hard it is, and you bitches are doing amazing, don't quit, you've got this)

Being a parent definitely taught me a lot of patience in that arena. I realised very early on that she was a little different and would take a bit longer to learn or understand new skills. I had to develop very particular systems to create a particular environment at home that was soothing and safe with a very specific routine. It wasn't until many years later that she was confirmed as HF but I guess a part of me always suspected

Thankfully I was able to utilise my "personal efficiency tool" to keep us above water most of the time, we would have never managed otherwise

When she was at home she was always happy and cheerful and calm, it was when we went out that she did not always quite cope with everything around her

Even trips to the mall required a very specific set of requirements, thankfully the ice cream place or anyone with balloons decorating their store were happy to give a little girl a balloon with their store name on it to wander around with

Given our small income at the time it meant I had to limit the number of trips and be very efficient at having planned ahead with shopping lists and having budgeted for it well in advance as the free balloon meant we also had to buy the expensive ice cream, but she would get her items and then happily walk along playing with her balloon while I carried everything else. When you don't have anyone around to babysit for you while you go do these types of things its an entirely different type of management when you have to account for how the overall experience will affect the person accompanying you as well. It's a lot to have on your mind at all times and not everyone can keep up with that. I suppose that why nearly all of my family members have had to learn a lot very very quickly given her circumstances because despite knowing she was autistic they didn't always adhere to the advice I would give them on what to do, it seems they are finally gaining a level of understanding of what I have been doing for so long and why its been so hard doing it on my own

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

[night-faye]

Wukong has ZERO CHILL he is going to roast Macky into melting all that ice on him 😂 but ow, bud 😭 yes, we do indeed wonder if Wukong is throwing shade back. Could Macky have said something about Wukong screwing back to the Monk? You might be wondering "anon why are you so fixated on lines repeating" it's what they DO. Some are narrative parallels, some are Season 4 that makes you go "oh so this is why you said all that earlier that pretty much didn't show up in S3" it was coming :)

"I couldn't care less about what the LBD wants." Ugh, my guy. You know it's pointless trying to tell people that, but thanks. I will chew on every one of those lines. Also. BRO WHERE IS YOUR CHILL. Sorry I know you're a frozen salmon right now, but "the Samadhi Fire is my last hope" also Macky: *LITERALLY BREAKS THE RINGS* sir. SIR. my brother in mammal, you are quite sincerely on a ticking timer before the ice consumes you back into the grave. WHAT were you thinking??? I don't think he's thinking at all. that noggin of his is too shaken up and he's swapping plans on the fly as soon as he hears the rings are with MK. my guy, they were going to do the ritual later anyway, or well, they already started, but were you allergic to waiting to ask politely for someone to use the fire on you? eh tbf, it was better they didn't rip the fire out of Mei to put into Wukong so. can't say it's THAT bad he forced them to finish it without Wukong.

Very optimistic take on Wukong's expressions there! Could be, but he doesn't inspire much hope in that lol. I think it was him feeling guilt about keeping secrets and leaving MK back in S2. And maybe some secret ShadowPeach past that *gets dragged off stage* *claws back onto stage* Ep 10!! Parallels my beloved, *reaches out for you* Him AND Mei I- *screams over the ocean flooding on me* SPECIAL. You will know the scene when you hear it. and see it.

"Don't get in my way, kid. I don't have time for you. I'm just here for the Samadhi fire, then, I'm done with you all." 😔😔😔 it's ok, let him think the fandom even cares about the fact he seriously wants nothing to do with this or interact with the Gang on purpose ever again and has decided hunting down MK is not as fun as it was in the first two seasons. Speaking of, he technically did neither as they came to his play and he was looking at the sky in his intro, as if waiting for Wukong to show up before MK popped up instead. he was even backing up to leave.

actually new thing because our friend Macaroni really isn't right in the head. he was in a mech and all trying to take the rings? when he just destroyed the fakes thinking they were real? and would've what, left it at that until that light shone from the altar? we know he doesn't want to bring em to LBD, unless if that was a moment of weakness/confession because of Wukong, and decided "ok maybe she's my last chance if I give them to her" because HE sure can't use them alone if he removes them from the altar. so WHAT CHANGED to make him force them to finish the ritual? unless if it was another test for MK and he was not impressed with the power. "So THIS was the Monkey King's great plan?" It wasn't actually, but how curious that you think so. "How do you still not see that he has no idea what he's doing." some villains drop false statements to complain about society that the hero denies bc they were biased extremists all along. other villains drop truths based in backstory that gets confirmed by Wukong and everybody else there, including the story and it's not meant to be bashing, but rather a character trait and flaw that also has a reason and its okay, it will get better. I'm 0.0 like that meme of slow head turn wide eyes at Macky's final emotional break. he's FULLY lost it here, amazing. this is the most vicious he's ever been oof. gotta also love his shadow shark moves and YES you caught that stressed twitch in his eyebrows!! he's walking pretty slow and heavy, bc of the weight of everything with battling emotions and decisions or bc of the weight of the ice? 🤔

It is so late at night I have no thoughts to articulate, so take this

Thought I will say this bit: I took it as he knew they were fake?

Like, the way he splays them open, stares at them, and then goes "Hm" as he narrows his eyes. and then when Wukong starts talking he glances back at him and raises an eyebrow, almost like "I know him too well, and he seems way too confident for these to be the real rings"

And then of course Wukong digs in the LBD dagger, which gets Mackaroni angry, so him breaking the rings wasn't so much meant To Break The Rings, but more. They were what were in his hands when Wukong started mocking him about LBD, so he broke them to take out his frustration. both at Wukong and at the entire shit situation he's in

and then Ne'zha going "they were fake?" and wukong owning up to it is just icing on the confirmation cake at that point

[semi-imaginary-place]

ffxiv on to shadowbringers full spoilers

i joined ffxiv right around 5.2-5.3 so i actually got super spoiled on shb

really they're putting the gate at the lake and not in the special crystal tower zone where the raids were.

... are those unique animations? that wasn't the default run. wow you can really see how the funding has improved since arr.

oof that bloom effect my eyes are suffering for making a pale ass character dressed in white. the one time in videogaming history where the bloom is narratively appropriate.

so ardbert in shadow. uh i don't recognize the narrator voice. oh hey minfilia haven't seen you in forever. so why did player character get whole body teleported when all the other scions left their bodies behind. (or is the pc secretly collapsed on the source)

now i could go for the map marker.... ooooor i could run around the entire map. boooo the devs thought ahead and blocked me off.

they killed off the brenon clone immediately D:

i can't tell if it's lore significant or not but the crystal exarch's arm doesn't have the lighting effects crystal usually has. like most of the crystal in ffxiv is kinda glowy and a little translucent but the arm is matte like paint. maybe it's a graphics limitation thing idk.

is it me or does the crystal tower look different. i don't remember those basalt looking formations. there's fluffy amaljaa! was initially confused because underground is the WORST place for an herbarium but if the problem is too much light i guess it makes sense. having giant grates in the library seems like a bad idea. hmm the naming scheme seems sharlayan. why is the marketplace called universal music? its a good thing i know most of these terms from other ff games and shab spoilers otherwise if you threw like 7 new race names at me i'd cry. once again the lack of guard rails is concerning. why are the hortorium and sweetsieve no next to each other. a lot of wroght iron and glass.. art noveau? is this entire city built over silvertear lake?

great now the writers have a precedent for timetravel

exarch described feo ul as "kanojo"

ghostbert angst. i joke but i do find this sort of stuff compelling. oh that clears it up, so his title changed. because i just heard that the warriors of light killed the shadowkeeper and caused the Flood but arbert was also going around calling himself the warrior of darkness, and i didn't connect it until now but it was all them. hey this is that melody that plays whenever the pc does something heroic, played prominently in the ultima and around the end of 2.0 but here its real slow and sad.

did the faeries take over ishgard???? especially curious is the faeries are the equivalent to the sylphs. and rak'tika is the shroud equivalent. limsa was gentrified lol. what im curious about is the habitable part of novrant is shown as both an oval and a circle and i don't know which map is right.

exploring lakeland and uh is that a giant lake monster? yeh that's a giatn lake monster. why's there a road at the bottom of the lake. you guys have extremely nice outdoor furniture. like damn going to spend the budget on nice furniture instead of having a roof.

Crystarium architecturally reminds me of my highschool pet worldbuilding project about a magic crystal floating city filled with telepathic shapeshifting immortals.

shb could have been its own game. Post apocalyptic fantasy about civilization on the brink feels like a pretty standard premises minus the light and dark swap. Writers went wild with the worldbuilding. So glad i watched ffxii and xenoblade so i know what a hume is

Theres also how the crystarium is built over silvertear lake the center of all magic. Although middy isnt on the first, then why are there dragons dragonish things around. I wonder how much shared history there is between the source and the first since right around silvertear actually is the elezen homeland and thats where the elf bandits on the first are hanging out trying to reclaim their homeland.

[sakiaii]

Armored x Magic girls ‘title forever work in progress’ 3rd era

this era starts with a story in 4th kingdom. this kingdom differs from other in a way that they don't use magic which is around them but absorb it instead with their bodies being like batteries. magic users will often meditate trying to break their limit. story follows a girl that wants to join a special school, despite them also providing basic education they're also like a clan where those that want to stay can dedicate their lives to their interests. the kingdom has 3 problems and i'll go more into that in dedicated post. their king passed away and the youngest heir is stalling the ceremony (btw his older brother was exiled) spoiler he wants to resolve the issues first so that when he accepts the crown it will be a new beginning for the kingdom. he also wants to join the 3 kingdoms alliance but do to issues they don't want to be seen as policing this kingdom so he needs to deal with this if his kingdom is to truly join the alliance. on rare occasion a really powerful army shows up to save the day flying on the sky like dbz characters with many in the kingdom suspecting it's the secret guard of the soon to be king but they're actually from the alliance and their leader is dun dun dun the younger daughter of 1st era eye patch girl.

and that's why this is the 3rd era even tho there was no transition from 2nd but this stories are happening more then 20 years at least (ok just realized somethings are off maybe even more then 50 lol ) in the future from the 1st era's finale.

me saying how this stories are in the future and now i have to talk about next stories which are set in the past xD

a lot of other stories are about 4th kingdom's past

from it's starting days.

to stories where some women, different face keeps showing up and sacrificing herself in the face of tyranny to inspire next generations. could she be Irene. spoiler or maybe 3rd shadow whose a necromancer, maybe.

there was one with time travel but it had nothing to do with shadow. these are kinda unpolished fantasies.

few forgotten stories had monster hunting groups (inspired by mmo i played where the best gear was red and veterans could still be one shotted in raids if tanks skill was on cooldown xD ) and there was another planet where alien ships from 1st era crashed and whatever was on them changed the eco system and cities are now in spheres as outside is too dangerous.. just realized this one also had hunting groups lol and armored 1st era girl shows up here as apparently raven armor device is also among the crashed ships (umm idk this part didn't always sit well with me)(this story actually got recreated few times and in some versions it was earth and raven died in some version through time travel they meet and future Raven had broken system in left arm that makes you wonder what happened)

few things we find out in 3rd era is how Crimson castle actually had an army of red eyed vampires sleeping in their caskets.

also the 2nd kingdom will be more aware of something stirring up, the ancient vampires were awaken because of that and 1st era ruler girl has twin granddaughters one story could be how one of twins was send to earth as means of protecting just one heir as danger lurks and her mother's family all vampires and as well as you the audience would not know that and think she normal with her family being confused and comedically trying to figure out if that's really the case as it is rude to ask "so what are you?" xD

also there's a girl who can see magic. it's an ability of extinct race but some rare people have the gene. in her story a portal with monsters was opened and her friend kicked her out as it was closing and she stayed to hold them off.

and then the bards get a story of their own. but this are modern so they focus more on singing and in their story the kingdom didn't want to cause panic but there was a dangerous horde so bards organised a festival of concerts to distract but also help with gathered magic and as the magic sight girl who was commander of army sent to deal with hoard saw blue magic on the sky she saw it also meet with the red magic from opposite direction and ordered alarm as she flew in that direction much to everyone's confusion and then defeated looks from the bards and their principal as alarm went off then a wave of magic exploded breaking windows and we see principal holding a shield with her room filled with glass and everything tossed around she approaches the window and as she is looking down at people in the city she hears bells, a dragon and drums and sees in the sky multiple arrivals going in that direction and she herself joins them in the sky seeing flying ships, witches, dragon, 3rd kingdom's aircrafts, flying armies. and everyone gathered in front of a sphere there is banging coming from it as someone steps up and says "you did a good job but we're all here now" "you can rest" and the banging stops and sphere vanishes.

and then the finale happens 🥳

PS: 2nd kingdom had so many secrets did you know that in mountain chain there was another castle and a bunch of young dragons. compared to 2 ancient they're like cats next to lions.

[cinderella-ish]

Truly no one asked, but I'm too excited not to blabber on about the reasons behind the design choices! 😅

Along a Pitch-Black Path

So, this is my attempt at writing an Akito-centric darkfic/tragedy. The premise is an AU where her initial slice to Tohru's arm was accidentally fatal. The ink is obviously symbolic of Akito's inner darkness, and I found an ink splatter with a strong diagonal "slash" in it to place directly over her body.

The One Who Stays

This was by far the hardest banner to make. Neither the title nor the premise really have any clear imagery, the premise being "What if Yuki didn't run after Kyo and instead stayed to comfort Tohru?" Additionally, the tone of the story is angst & whump with a hopeful ending (apparently my thing lol), which isn't easy to communicate in a banner. That said, I'm really happy with how it turned out! It went through a few iterations before landing here. The background is obviously representative of the bond (and those who are reading along know why), and it's a Yuki-centric story, so he's naturally present. The title quite literally refers to Yuki staying, but it comes from a quote from Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife, which is "It's hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he's okay. It's hard to be the one who stays behind." I think, in its full context, it connects to Akito struggling to let go of the bond, and Tohru's ability to relate to her due to her own fear of being left behind by her mother and now Kyo, which is why I included the anime screenshot of Tohru coming to sit beside Akito.

Bloom Within Us

Full disclosure: part of me is a little worried that this banner is a little too dark for those who're reading the fic. But it's also the most cheerful-looking and bright banner of the bunch somehow? The premise of this work is "What if Tohru didn't survive her fall from the cliff?" The fic focuses mostly on Kyo, and he and Saki are the two characters who struggle the most with Tohru's death but ultimately connect over their love of Tohru and shared grief. It's sad with a bittersweet ending/hopeful overall tone, so I didn't want a banner that was especially dark or gloomy. Anyway, it depicts Tohru in chapter 11 at the end of her funeral, just before her body is cremated, when the mourners have filled her coffin with yellow and pink chrysanthemums. Even though it's such a sad scene in the story, I think it's a really beautiful image, and it's really the root of the whole story - how does Tohru's death change the way everyone else's lives play out? In addition to depicting that scene, the banner obviously connects literally to the title (which is also kind of the theme of the work, that, to quote Murakami, "People leave strange little memories of themselves behind when they die." Tohru's dead, but she changed everyone's lives forever, and there are ways she still touches every part of them. Her special qualities take root inside of them and bloom within them.). She's memorialized in the story with a flower garden, and flowers come up between the characters a lot, too, as ways of showing care or optimism.

like the flowers and the bees

So... this is a smutty oneshot collection, so what I could represent in the banner is pretty limited lol. But obviously, the title is literally depicted. It also is a companion piece to Bloom Within Us, so lots of flower imagery makes sense. Also, I like the idea of a oneshot collection being represented by a flower garden - each is unique, but they all go together in a way.

Of Lost Cats and Half-Shadows

For this one, I just updated the version I made back when I first posted the fic. My biggest intention was to let people know it was a Furuba/JJK crossover, so I included the two couples the fic focuses on (and their stories parallel each other!!!). Because JJK is about exorcising physical manifestations of curses, I wanted to show the Zodiac curse manifested, so I used a screengrab from the anime of when Yuki's curse breaks, represented again by a rope. Additionally, the enso is an important symbol and practice in Japanese Buddhism. (Side note: both JJK and Furuba explore Buddhist philosophy!) The enso has many layered meanings, but the ones that most connect to the themes of this fic are those of enlightenment - something which Gojo has already achieved in JJK and which is symbolically represented in Furuba by the end of the cycle of rebirth with the breaking of the curse - and the beauty of impermanence. The title comes from a Murakami quote in Kafka on the Shore, "What I think is this: You should give up looking for lost cats and start searching for the other half of your shadow." Obviously, it's a reference to Megumi (shadow boy) and Kyo (cat boy) who are the two protagonists.

ichigo ichie

Impermanence is also a major theme in this fic. Tohru's trying to end the cycle of the Zodiac curse and Haruhi's trying to end the time loop that has her and the host club trapped. (Side note: I'm actually super excited about the ways this fic will let me explore some of the magic in the Furuba universe with the addition of the body swap magic from your name.) Instead of an enso, I used cherry blossoms to represent impermanence. The main relationships in this story are Tohru/Kyo and Tohru&Haruhi&Akito. And, like most of my stories, grief is a major theme in this one. New to me, though, is the Japanese folklore that'll be at the center of the conflict. (Like I said, I'm really really excited for the ways I'll get to work with magic & the supernatural in this fic!) Ichigo ichie is a Japanese saying roughly equivalent to "once in a lifetime meeting." The literal translation is more like "one lifetime, one meeting." This will play out in a more literal sense at the climax of the story, but "ichigo" is also the Japanese word for strawberry, and both Tohru and Haruhi are known to like strawberries.

lovers alone wear sunlight

This one is pretty straightforward. In this series, there's sort of a strong divide between before the curse breaks and after. Tonally, this banner is more in line with the after. But since the arc of the series is hopeful, and the title is optimistic, I'm going with it. I used a screengrab from the anime of Tohru and Kyo as adults, kissing, and added a sunflowery border to one side.

That Day in the Rain

Again, pretty straightforward. This is a small section of a (free stock image) watercolor painting of someone walking down a path in the rain toward a house. I liked how the tree branches could feasibly be those at Shigure's house, which is the location where most of the canon-divergent events in this series take place. Since the series will span from light angst with a dash of fluff all the way to heavy tragedy, I wanted something relatively neutral, tonally, that wouldn't be out of place at either end. Also, I just thought this was a really nice painting.

Instead of writing, I spent some time making banners for my fics and series. Nothing yet for my JJK oneshot - if I write more, I'll make a series banner.

All banners were designed in Canva (free version), and all component images came from Canva or Pixabay except:

character designs and anime screenshots are from series wikis

one background image is from an iStock photo free trial (the rope background from "The One Who Stays" - typically $15)

Feedback welcome! I'll be adding these to my social media posts for each work later today and will be using these on fic posts going forward!

[rassvetsky]

Make It Proper

part one | part two

robert "bob" floyd x fem!reader

"I was raised to love, you know? Not just love— but to love well. And my ma always told me that I should make a lover feel special, treat her even better if she treats me right." One of your hands went up then, to cup his face as an offering of solace. "I don't know if I succeeded in makin' you feel that way yet, but you're special to me. And I intend to respect you as such."

[4.8k] | fluff fluff fluff, lovesick bob :(, dude's so in love it's insane, anyway unprotected sex lol, cunningulus, fingering, and more of bob being absolutely adorable he's literally the sun itself. dedicated to @hangmanapologist because robyn you need to marry me

reblog and/or like for a kiss, feedback much appreciated! not proofread. also @alinasmcu i hope you like it loml

Robert showed his true nature in subtle ways.

With the way his hands laced with yours as he held them both against the gear shift while he drove, with the excuse of "warming them up" as if the weather could get any warmer. Like when a quiet 'aww' escaped his lips upon the sight of a squirrel by the trees on your way to the restaurant he told you all about, despite trying so hard to appear a bit more serious, at least. Or like all those times that you caught him stealing a glance and then smiling to himself, acting as if his attention was on the menu he held instead. He ended up exchanging fun facts about the squirrels with you however, and the genuine smile on your lips worked as a clear indicator— he didn't have to act as if he's someone else with you.

Needless to say, the date was wonderful. An absolutely delicious bottle of Rosé in your glasses, stories exchanged for hours and cheeks hurting from smiling a bit too much. It was perfect, he was perfect— a true gentleman by all means, with the way he never made you question his respect towards you, and listened so attentively that you found yourself skipping over your words whenever you saw that beautiful smile reach his eyes.

He was in the middle of a story about Phoenix not-so-accidentally kicking Hangman on the balls when you suddenly reached for his hand over the table, curling yours over his with a smile so beautiful that for a moment he forgot where he was, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a smile from breaking out. He reached in a bit closer to the table then, lifting your hand to press his lips against the pulse point on your wrist, eyes on yours all the way through. "Where was I?"

"Hangman trying to play it cool," you replied straight away, caressing his hand so delicately that he could feel his heart beating against his ribs forcefully. "God, I wish you had a video of that."

"Me too, but he's oddly against videos like that," he chuckled. "Something about 'em being forever, I don't know. I don't really listen when he talks."

A soft giggle left you. "Good for you, it's not often that he says anything useful outside of missions anyway." you sighed, free hand going forward to join the other. "I have a lot of Jake-induced traumas, unfortunately."

He didn't reply to that, but instead, lifted both of your hands this time, nuzzling his face against them with a tender smile on his lips, eyes closed momentarily. "I missed your touch," he sighed out. "I hope that's not weird."

"It's barely been a week, Floyd, keep it in your pants." you chuckled, brushing your fingers against his skin, watching the comfort in his expression carefully. Your fingertips slid over his lips, witnessing them part upon your gentle touch, and it took all sorts of self-constraint on your end to not just push a little further and feel his tongue against them. Almost as if he could hear your thoughts, he hung his head a little; and you could feel the curl of his lips against your palm when he smiled right against your skin. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just— surprised, I think."

"Why's that?"

"When we all first got together, I didn't think I could be friends with you." he spoke with his voice barely above a sigh, and you probably would've had problems hearing him if you could focus on anything else around you, other than him. But all of your senses were directed straight at Bob, as his gentle eyes trailed over the streaks of the oak table. "You're so— you're like, beaming. Whenever I look at you. I try to find you in the room and you're over there, laughing and having fun and you just look like… the beauty that you have inside and out, it makes you look like you could make a grown man cry."

His eyes met yours then, a questioning gaze directed at you as if he was waiting for your confirmation on whether that made sense or not. You bit back a smile, watching as Bob brought your hands back down to the table, covering them with both his palms. "Is that a bad thing?" you asked, smile giving away the lighthearted nature of your question.

"No! No." a chuckle left him. "Just kinda felt like you wouldn't be interested in me while— you know, you could hang out with someone else."

It squeezed at your heart how precious he was; with his carefully picked out words and eyes unafraid of being vulnerable; it was clear that he felt comfortable enough to not restrain anything about himself around you.

You promised yourself that you would never break his heart, right then and there. Unbeknownst to you, he was doing the same when you met his eyes, his shoulders light with the amenity your company brought.

Even after all those hours spent on that same table, Robert wasn't ready to let go. The date was amazing, probably the best he's ever been to— and just the thought of calling a halt made him uneasy. He wanted to hear more of your stories, anyway!

But the genuine happiness in your face whenever your eyes met told him that there'd be plenty of time to tell all the stories possible, to know one another in a level in which nobody else does, to carry that trust with your entire soul. He felt at ease, knowing that your attention belonged to him, and his to you.

Which is why he didn't regret anything when he pulled up by your door, engine of the car still rumbling through and a street light illuminating just enough of your smile. "Guess that's it, huh?"

The sweet sound of your laugh tugged at his lips to widen his grin. "Hey! That sounds like you're leaving forever."

"Nope, don't you worry about that. I'm not leavin' ya anytime soon." he spoke, hand reaching out to caress your cheek with the back of his fingers, so gentle as if you'd break apart easily. "I had the most wonderful time. Thank you."

"I should be thanking you, Floyd." you shook your head, giggling to yourself before taking his hand in yours, pressing your lips right against his palm with a fond sigh leaving your lungs. "And perhaps I should thank you upstairs with some coffee?"

The embarrassment was evident in the way his cheeks flushed immediately, as he chuckled a bit to himself. "You were the one who told me to keep it in my pants."

"Pervert," you laughed, shaking your head to both sides before reaching in to press your lips right against the tip of his nose, pulling away with a grin. "Coffee and conversation. We don't have to do anything else, you're free to set the pace. Whatever makes you comfortable, Lieutenant."

A soft exhale burned through his lungs, pure appreciation in his eyes as he stared at you. In a way, be felt cared for— with how you let him know that you respected his boundaries and such, and God, he wanted to slap himself for being a coward and not talking to you anytime sooner. It had barely started, whatever it was between you two— and he already regretted not just jumping on you and bombarding you with love from the first moment he laid eyes on you, at the beach right by Hard Deck.

His entire body was still hot with the earlier flush when you led him through your living room and even told him which couch was the most comfortable —you even cared for his butt, he thought—, and he watched you beeline to the kitchen in order to prepare some coffee for the both of you.

Bob didn't sit down straight away, instead choosing to walk around the living room a bit— the whole area felt personal, with the photos on the walls and plants well-cared for. There was a photo of you— no, the child you right in front of a Fokker Dreidecker fighter aircraft with your arms crossed across your chest and a bright smile on your lips, another one with you and a bunch of other aviators, with your helmet snug between your arm and waist. And a lot more with what he supposed, family and friends.

He wondered if he'd ever get to have a photo of you and himself around here somewhere. Maybe taken during a trip to the Mediterranean coast, maybe with his arms around you, maybe with him in a suit reserved for the most important day in a person's life—

"Your coffee is ready, my lord!" you exclaimed happily, ignoring the fact that he visibly flinched when you suddenly appeared by him —or probably that grin on your lips was the indicator of a sinister plan, did you mean to scare him?— and he took one of the mugs from you with gratitude. "I see you've found my shrine."

"Is that you?" he asked, pointing to that picture of you in front of the old aircraft. A chuckle left you at that and you nodded, earning a soft laugh from him. "A Dreidecker? Somebody knew what they were doing before joining the academy."

"Every child has a fascination with something." you spoke, getting a hold of his free hand to lead him towards the couch, a content smile on your lips. "I just acted on it, I think. I was devastated to find out that they don't use those planes anymore, though."

He laughed and laughed, eventually laughed a bit more as hours passed through the both of you in a blur. He spoke to you about his childhood, that tiny park on the way back home from school in which he used up all of his daily allowance buying girls taffy apples, his neighbor's scary German Shepherd whom he eventually became best friends with, those specific cookies that his mama used to make once a year which he couldn't ever get the recipe for, his first kiss, first fight, first pet and eventually, although not exactly the topic, the first time he saw you. And how you managed to ignite a fire within his soul that he didn't think was possible.

Your mugs were long-empty, the beige foam of the coffee left behind to dry by the peak of the porcelain; but the conversation was far too enticing to break apart for a refill. You were close enough to see the tiny, rare freckles on top of the rosy glint he carried on, the pads of his eyeglass sitting snug on both sides of his upper nose, the oceans and seas and a thousand lakes he kept in his eyes, and the kindest smile anyone has ever offered your way.

Robert was beautiful. Beautiful in the way he put his feelings out to words, beautiful in the way his hand found yours on top of the couch, beautiful in the way he leaned in to press his lips against yours mid-story just because he thought the sight was too pretty to hold back from. You smiled up at him then, a bit awestruck, before your arms eventually found their way around his neck just so you could lay your head on his chest.

He still felt like his heart would burst whenever you moved so close.

"D'you wanna stay the night, Robby?" you asked, voice a bit muffled by the shirt he wore. He was taken aback for a split second before you decided to continue. "You could hug me all night."

"Ah, God— you have no idea how happy that would make me, sweetheart." he chuckled a bit to himself, thankful for the position of your head because he could feel his cheeks and neck burning up. "If, well… if you're okay with that, I don't see why not."

"Yeah," you sighed, peaceful. "I'm more than okay with that."

Bob genuinely didn't know what to do with himself when he opened his eyes in the morning, only to find himself buried against your skin and the soft, sleepy exhales you let out surrounding his entire being. With all your limbs tangled together, it was hard to pull the blanket up to cover your shoulders but he managed to do it, before pushing himself up on the bed a little to lean against the frame. He could see you better in this position.

But his innocent little plans of watching you sleep and going crazy all by himself were cut off short with the little yawn you let out; he noticed how your arms tried to tug him back on top of you, yet he persisted. He had a clear view of you being absolutely adorable and in your most vulnerable state —and you trusted him with it, the thought got him all fuzzy inside—, he wasn't going to give up the chance to engrave it into his mind.

You let out an incoherent mumble, causing his smile to get wider as he hummed back, hand gently reaching your face to push away the strands of hair on the way. "Gonna wake up?" he hummed, now opting to caress your cheek with the backs of his fingers. "C'mon, I missed you. Get up."

"You missed me?" you yawned again, sleep still evident in your voice and you hadn't even opened your eyes— yet a smile found itself home on your lips anyway. "We've been sleeping."

"Yeah, and I missed you in my sleep." matter of factly, he declared. "In fact, I might drop dead right here if you don't kiss me in the next ten seconds."

Your sleepy giggles mixed up with his, as you rubbed your eyes a bit before slowly pushing yourself up for your lips to meet his cheek. A dramatic exhale left him after that, as if his life truly depended on that kiss alone, and he finally gave in to your constant tugs. Now with your arms around him and with his face buried on your neck, the two of you could relax again.

"Thank you for lettin' me stay." he mumbled against your warm skin after a while of serenity, and your first response was carding your fingers through his hair to massage the nape of his neck.

"I was the one who offered you to stay."

"I'm blessed." he chuckled, before raising his head a little to plant kisses across your chin. "Truly blessed with you."

"Getting all sappy after a night together?" your teasing tone had him hiding his face on your neck again, and the gesture was so heartwarming that you had to bite back a wide smile from breaking out. "Wonder how you're gonna get after a different kind of night together. Although, you did say it's not proper, didn't you?"

"I said it wasn't proper in the car!" lifting himself up on his arms above you, he pouted down at you. "Without even taking you out on a date. I'm not raised that way."

"Care to elaborate on how you were raised?"

The momentary scrunch of his nose as he looked away to think was sacramental to you, to say the least, and when he looked at you again with that familiar shy smile, you knew that he was going to blurt out the sweetest words the humankind has ever heard.

"I was raised to love, you know?" he was down on his elbows now, too close, but not nearly close enough for you. "Not just love— but to love well. And my ma always told me that I should make a lover feel special, treat her even better if she treats me right."

One of your hands went up then, to cup his face as an offering of solace.

"I don't know if I succeeded in makin' you feel that way yet, but you're special to me. And I intend to respect you as such." the way he got a bit quieter towards the end in embarrassment was so endearing that you chuckled to yourself, fingers brushing against the flush on his cheeks as he not-so-snugly followed your touch.

Robert was so perfect to you. With his hopes, fears and everything that he believed in; he was so pristine. And now with his cerulean orbs staring right back at yours with a boyish expectancy and thrill, elbows holding his weight up just so he wouldn't make you uncomfortable with the pressure— you couldn't think of anything else but kissing him.

And that's what you did— a harsh tug to the back of his neck just so his lips could meet yours, feeling one of his arms snaking around your figure to hold you so delicately as if you'd break apart. Perhaps that was one of your favorite traits of his, the care— how he's so gentle, so careful with the way he picked out his words and held you, touched you. He never failed to make you feel like the only person in the whole wide world, like nothing else but you could ever matter to him.

The way he kissed you back was tentative, as if he wasn't sure where exactly that kiss would lead. But you couldn't help a quiet whimper leaving your lips when he experimentally grazed your lower lip with his teeth, the sound giving him enough courage to nibble on the soft flesh before finally letting a bit of his weight rest on yours, all close and warm. The arm which he was still using to keep himself up moved downwards with that, feeling your body through the thin layer of clothing that covered it and gently leading your thighs around his lower waist.

It made him feel like your bodies were made for one another. How electrifying, he thought.

Neither of you were in a rush, it seemed, when he pulled away with a radiant grin only to tug your t-shirt upwards. You moved in sync with him to get rid of the article of clothing, your upper body completely bare before his very eyes— but not even for a moment did you think of hiding yourself from his curious gaze. Bob's hand found yours, lacing your fingers together before he let his lips latch onto the skin of your neck, leaving short little pecks all the way to the valley of your breasts. A soft sigh left you, stomach churning with anticipation and the type of flutter that you missed so much.

"You'd tell me if you wanted me to stop, yeah?" his eyes were so bright when he looked at you again, chin millimeters away from your stomach and you nodded, giggling a little. "Good, that's good. 'Cause, um— you're so pretty and I jus' wanna kiss you all over, to be honest."

"My heart's gonna burst if you don't keep going, Floyd." you whispered back, earning a lovesick glare from him before he bit down on your skin, right by the side of your waist— pulling yet another giggle out of you before he could get rid of the rest of your clothes.

He made a quick work of it, letting your underwear fall to the ground with his hoodie —yours, actually, you never thought that your oversized comfy hoodies would come in handy like this— following suit. You traced the outline of his pecs with your fingertips, and the way he sucked in a deep breath only egged you on to continue.

You followed along the barely visible happy trail, hooking a finger on the waistband of the boxers he wore to sleep, teasingly pulling on it a bit before letting it snap back into place. "This won't be fair if you have a mind to play with me, sweets." he spoke, trying to sound all intimidating— yet he sounded like he was barely keeping it together, a smile tugging on his lips as he stared down at you. You smiled back at him, head tilting innocently.

"It's really not fair at all that you're still not touching me where I need it," you mumbled, the sweetest of all pouts on your lips which he desperately wanted to kiss away— but instead, he returned to his former position, face hovering over your hip bones only to plant kisses on the twin peaks. "Rob, please."

"Patience," he hummed, his lips now on your upper thighs, carefully letting one rest on his shoulder as if he was testing how it'd feel wrapped around him. He seemed to like the idea though, since before you knew it, a playful glint was evident in his eyes while he stared at you and softly blew on your bare core, taking mental notes on your reaction to the sudden cold. "You need my touch here, is that it?" you nodded rapidly.

"S'okay sweetheart," the way his breath hit against your core with each of the words he let out was about to drive you absolutely insane. "Gonna take care of you, don't worry."

And Bob was a man of his word.

Because the second his lips met your clit, he was grunting and panting against you and God, you wondered if he knew just how much he affected you. With soft whines leaving your lips, you tried to buck your hips up a bit to meet him a bit more forcefully, but he already had two arms wrapped around your upper thighs— he easily pinned you down again, only to let his tongue run through your folds with a drawn out hum. The taste of you taking over his senses drove him to the point of insanity.

"Fuck, Robby, keep going— please keep going." you whined out, continuous sounds leaving you at that point— and Robert absolutely basked in them, the pride of knowing just how good he was making you feel making all the blood rush to his cock, painfully hard against the mattress— just like that evening in the car with you on his lap, lips all swollen from the harsh nature of the kisses you two shared. "Why the fuck are you so good at this—"

His method of shutting you up was a bold flick of his tongue against your clit while he let go of one of your legs, only to push your folds apart with his fingers and spread your essence with his middle finger. It slipped in rather easily, allowing him to push in a second one— and you were really thankful at that moment that you never noticed just how big his fingers were, otherwise the thought would've made you a lunatic.

His fingers got caught on a slow yet steady pace, and he took your slightly distraught state as an opportunity to push his body up and to plant his lips against yours. His fingers did wonders inside of you, but magically, his lips felt even better— the amount of emotion he poured out into the gesture had your senses flooding with nothing but adoration towards him. Swallowing your moans and whimpers, he curled and uncurled his fingers, exploring you until hitting a spot that felt just right, and the way you shook against his hold left a grin on his lips, into the kiss.

You were surprised by how unphased he was, completely focused on his task of bringing you pleasure while he could very well get it all over with and call it a day— he didn't budge even when you clawed on his back, wrapped your arms around his shoulders just to pull him impossibly close. He didn't budge when you broke the kiss away just to tell him —in explicit detail— what you wanted him to do to you, and how much he was affecting you.

If only you could hear his internal screams, though.

His lips were by your neck by the time the constant twitching of your legs and the warmth taking over inch by inch started becoming the indicator of an upcoming orgasm, and he could feel it from the way your walls clenched around his digits so hard— the thought of you clamping down on his cock like that pulled a soft sigh out of his lips, drowned out by your constant drawled out moans. "Shh, that's it," he whispered, lips right below your ear now. "Gonna come on my fingers, yeah? That's a good girl, so loud and pretty for me."

And if the abuse of your sweet spot wasn't effective, his words definitely did it— lighting up the sparkler waiting to erupt, making an overwhelming mix of clarity and fogginess take over your entire mind for the minutes to come. He helped you ride it down as gently as he could, still whispering sweet nothings to your ear before pulling his fingers out. And to your absolute surprise, he pushed himself up a bit, putting on a show of how he licked his fingers clean— with eye contact all through.

Bob was going to be the death of you.

So you only gave yourself a minute or two to catch your breath before pushing him down on the bed, wet core sitting snugly right on top of his clothed length when you straddled him. He stared up at you, expression a bit surprised, maybe even starstruck with how a smile won over so quickly. "I was getting to it, you really lack patience—"

"Rob, sweetheart, you take too long," you huffed out, earning a chuckle from the other as he grabbed your thighs, squeezing the flesh under his palms. "Did you want my heart to burst or something?"

"A taste of your own medicine."

"Oh, shut up. Not funny." you spoke, still laughing a bit nonetheless. Getting up on your knees to pull his underwear down just enough to pull his length out, you gave him a couple of jerks, palm tight against his flushed pink tip moist with precum. "You have no idea how much I've been wanting this."

"Is that why you asked me to stay the night? How scandalous—"

"Robby!"

"Alright, alright," a breathless chuckle left him, eyes trained on the grip of your fingers around his length and the way you lined him up with your entrance. His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head when he first felt your warm core on his most sensitive spot, the glide through your folds and the shaky breath you left out. He wasn't in a much better situation himself, afraid of letting go of the breath he held just in case his lungs would give out— but he decided to speak up again nonetheless, still a lot of things to say but never enough time. "For the record, me too. I thought about this a lot."

"Did you, now?" your voice was nearly shaking when you started sinking down on him, a slight hiss leaving your lips. "What'd you think about?"

"Thought of you exactly like this. On top of me, starin' at me like that— drove me crazy."

"Just the thought drove you crazy?"

"Yeah, you do that to me, baby."

"Aha! Oop— here we go. God damn it—" the sight of Robert, all soft with his hair all over the place and a spatula in his hand was incredibly endearing, but watching him try to balance blueberries on top of the stack of pancakes for five minutes now wasn't exactly your desired breakfast activity. You were drained and starving— the blueberries could fuck themselves.

"Bob, we're gonna eat 'em anyway," you whined, elbows against the kitchen table when he turned around to flash you a smile which quietly told you not to worry about it. You were too hungry to not worry about it. "I'm gonna die. Feed me or I'm calling the cops."

Taking your words for granted, he turned around again, this time with the plate which he worked so hard for —and you appreciated it! Just wanted to appreciate it faster, is all—, watching another blueberry roll down to the plate with a sigh before setting the plate down on top of the table. "I swear I'm better at this."

"Balancing blueberries is a shit skill, I wouldn't be disappointed if you weren't."

"Hey! Stop disrespecting my skills!" with a dramatic sigh and a roll of his eyes, he pushed his glasses up a bit on his nose, sitting down on a chair right next to yours as a soft grunt left him. You giggled, letting your head find its spot on his shoulder and feeling an arm wrapping around you securely— and a kiss to your hair, of course. "I'd walk through fire for you and you're out here judging me for trying to make the perfect breakfast."

"Any breakfast would be perfect with you!"

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hi! I'm nervous this is my first requests and you have already so many Minhoxreader so if you don't want to don't do it! but I was wondering if you could do a scenario with a more calm, mother like reader rather than the usual spice and fighting one? (Although those are really good too!) where Minho has a big crush and the others like to tease bc reader is dense. I really like how you portray everyone so thank you so much in advance! Hope you have a great day 💕

I am honoured to be your first request- don't be nervous, I will try my best to give you what you want :))

With some recent attempts, I am realising that I clearly have a character type that I write lol, so these type of asks allow me to add some variety.

Also, I am assuming that this is fem!reader because you used the word "mother" instead of "parent", though if I'm wrong let me know and I will change this to be a gender neutral reader.

BLIND EYE

MASTERLIST | MINHO MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. Fem!Reader x Minho. Takes place before the arrival of Thomas. More movie based.

You were the first Glader to arrive in the Maze, and the only girl. With the help of Alby and Newt, you run the Glade. You take your job seriously and are the mother-figure of the Maze. Though, your business has led to complete oblivion on your end, especially when it comes to the Keeper of the Runners- who is desperately trying to get your attention.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, mild thirsting/simping from Minho, teenagers attempting to flirt.

You have the entire Glade under your thumb.

It wasn't by choice, more like circumstance above anything else, but you rose to the role.

The first month in the Glade was surreal. You didn't know anything; where you were, who you were, why you were there. It was just you and a dumb dog- you'd named the dog Buddy, but the future Gladers prefer to call him Bark.

Back then, the Glade was nothing more than an empty field. You left the safety on the first day, only to chicken out when you heard growling somewhere in the depths of the walls.

Fuck that.

You jumped out of your skin the first time the Doors closed. You thought at first you were trapped inside, but you quickly learnt that the Doors are your friends. They're keeping the Grievers out.

After a couple of days of laying in the grass and playing fetch, you ventured out again. And again. And again. You spent your nights building some, admittedly not very stable, structures after it rained one night, and the trees in the Deadhead didn't make for great shelter.

You'd figured out pretty quickly that this was a strange and elaborate punishment for one person. Maybe it was a dumb hope, but you woke up everyday, for thirty days, praying someone else would join you. Sure, you felt selfish, but you didn't want to live in fear in isolation anymore.

But you would, you could have- if you had to.

You learny in that long month, that you're a strong person- level headed, calm and smart.

But still when Alby popped up in the Glade, you were thrilled that you weren't on your own anymore, even if you were stuck with a panicked teenage boy.

Then Nick. Then Newt. Then Minho. Then Zart. Wiston. Gally. Jeff. Clint.

Boy, after boy came up and the dawning feeling that you were left in a sea of testosterone wasn't a problem you'd anticipated. Not only that- you were the captain of it. Of course, doing this on your own isn't an easy task, so, you enlisted Alby as your co-leader. And Newt as your second-in-command after you lost Nick.

The first year was rough. It took you forever to sort out roles and rules and how the place should be ran, but it took more trail and error than you wanted.

But eventually, with more boys and will power and all the time in the world, the Glade became a fully functioning mini-civilisation.

All because of you. And Alby, but mainly you.

He's a nice foil to you- sometimes aggressive, physically intimidating and willing to hurt people when necessary. He's not scared to enforce the consequences of breaking the rules.

By comparison, you come across as a more of a mother figure- nurturing and collected, helping Gladers with their problems and making sure things run smoothly.

You hand picked the Keepers yourself. Some more obvious than others, but your best decision by far was making Minho Keeper of the Runners.

He's perfect for the job. In the early days, you were in charge of the Maze- you had the most experience with it, after all. But Minho far exceeded your skills- fast, smart, observant and strong. He shows promise where the other Gladers lack it.

He's also the only Keeper you let pick his men. Anyone can garden or slaughter animals if they're up for it; you just dictate what they're best at. After all, you can do it all- you had to when you were on your own.

But Minho is better than you at Running. And you can see that, so why should you or Alby say otherwise?

Obviously, you get the final call. But you very rarely question his judgement. Even arguing and shutting down Alby when he does.

Maybe that's why Minho likes you. You hold him highly and with more respect than most. Obviously, it's not exactly unheard of for Gladers to have crushes on you. Minho is no different.

Well, except he kind of is.

Normally, the crushes die as fast as they start when they realise that you're busy and emotionally unavailable. But not Minho.

He's always been attracted to you- your stability and skills. You juxtapose his reckless actions and quick thinking with your deep consideration and calming atmosphere.

He'd watched boy after boy fail to impress you, when you're so naturally impressed by him that he doesn't even need to do anything. You respect him for what he does, and the feeling is mutual.

Though, you're a bit dense.

It's probably because you're always getting hit on, or maybe you're used to Minho's naturally flirty personality, but no matter how hard he tries to hint at something more, you remain oblivious.

In fact, you are the only person that has failed to notice that he's completely smitten with you.

"Earth to Minho," Newt clicks his fingers in front of his friends face, "anybody home?" Him, Minho, and Ben sit at one of the makeshift dining tables, all in a row.

Minho swats his hand away. "Shuck off, man."

"You could always just tell her, yanno, instead of staring at her like some kinda freak."

"Yeah," Ben chuckles, "and we need some entertainment- watching you get rejected could definitely provide that."

Newt leans around Minho to punch the boy in the arm. "Shut your bloody mouth, shank."

"What? She rejects everyone."

"Yeah, but she likes Minho."

"She does?" Minho sparks up, looking at Newt and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, not like-likes, I mean she might, but I just mean that she respects ya- you guys, yanno, get along, init."

Minho pulls his lips into a thin line. "Great, thanks, Newt- real eye-opening."

"Well, I'm just sayin'. If anyone has a shot with her, it's you, mate."

"What are you shanks talking about?" Minho just about jumps out of his skin when you approach. He didn't even see you leave his sight because he was too distracted by the conversation to even realise you'd snuck up behind them.

"Oh, uh, nothing," he tries to play it off.

"We were talking about you, actually," Minho shoots Ben a stern glare, only to get a wink in response.

"Oh, yeah?" Your tone is playfully and unassuming. "I'm nothing, am I?"

"No, that's not what-"

"Have you guys even eaten yet?" You blink at the empty table in front of them, immediately distracting yourself from whatever they were saying.

"Uh, no," Newt clears his throat, "we were waiting for the queue to die down a bit. But-"

"Well, I'll get you guys something to eat," you put your hands on Minho's shoulders, making him jump as Newt and Ben exchange a knowing look. "Can't have my best Runner going hungry now, can I?"

He looks up at you like you're the stars and the world combined. Like an old stray dog admiring it's owner whose given him everything and nothing could ever compare to what he's witnessing. You're so close and warm and your goal is always to support him. And the other Gladers of course, but he desperately wants to believe that it's him above all else.

And you haven't fucking noticed.

Again.

You walk away, making your way over to Frypan's Station and ignoring his complaints as you slip behind the counter, taking your time to make the dishes yourself.

"Dude," Newt scoffs. He's never been more entertained than watching Minho watch you. It's like seeing a whole other side to his friend. "You're shucked."

With Newt's, and Ben's (but mainly Newt's) advice, Minho had decided to pick up to hintsa and flirting. Except despite being naturally quick and witty, you make him nervous and stuttery.

And you're still oblivious.

"Hey, (Y/N), you look good today."

"Oh, thanks, Minho. Someone's in a good mood today."

But he keeps trying.

"Hey, do you wanna eat together later- feels like I barely see you."

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great; I'll get Alby to join us- we can discuss your progress on the Maze."

And again.

"New Greenie up today, you reckon you'll be able to take a break from baby sitting to have a drink with me?"

"Oh, yeah, maybe. If I'm not too busy. Oh! It might be a smart idea for you to tell the Greenies about the Maze- might help them understand a bit more- good idea!"

And again.

"Yo, Newt said you got some new clothes from the Box, haven't seen you in them yet- I bet you'll look great, as always."

"Pfft, shut up, man- they'll be the same as all the rags I normally wear."

And again.

"You know, I'm so happy to have you as a Leader. You're incredible at it; Alby should think himself lucky to have you helping him make choices."

"I'm only doing my job, the same as everyone here. You don't have to praise me for that."

And- well, you get the picture.

It's been months. Literally, months since he decided to up his game, and he's about to start ripping his hair out.

So, after returning from the Maze one night, he's had enough. He doesn't even bother going to the Map Room. He immediately asks where you are and marches over to your hut.

The knocking at your door startles you. You were simply changing your shirt after an incident helping the Slicers.

"Hey, (Y/N)? You in there?"

"Minho?" You pull your shirt over your head and grab the door in a hurry, opening it. "Is everything okay? Shouldn't you be-?"

"I need to talk to you," he blurts out, stunning you slightly.

"Right, okay. Yeah, of course, come in." You step aside and he he pulls his lips into a thin line, internally attempting to psyche himself up for what he's about to do.

He slips past you and you speak. "Do you want me to shut the door, so we can talk in private?"

"Uh, yeah, please."

"Okay," you nod, shutting it behind you and turning to face him. "What's going on?"

"I don't- shuck, okay, I just- I mean-"

Concern dances across your face, stepping towards him at his flustered state. "Is everything okay? You seem stressed; you know you can tell me anything, Minho. That's what I'm here for. Has something-?"

"I like you!" He snaps, throwing his hands up.

You blink, confused. "I, uh, like you, too? I mean, you're one of our best and you're very important here."

"No!" He groans, hands flying to his hair in frustration before he calms himself. "I don't mean... I mean I like-like you, like as in I think I might even be in love with you. A-and I've been trying for so long to hint at it, but you just- either you're ignoring it or you genuinely haven't noticed- but I have to know, okay? You can reject me and things can go back to normal, but I can't go on like this."

You stand in shock.

Okay, so, you may or may not have also developed a crush on him. Your higher affections towards him haven't been because you just thought he was great at his job, but because you do have stronger feelings towards him.

You're just busy and have created these rules for yourself to not date anyone. And since Minho has never flat out said it like most boys confessed to you- you have genuinely remained oblivious.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Minho asks, pulling you out of your trance. "Shuck, you're not saying anything. Shit. I'm sorry, let's uh, let's just forget this ever happened and-"

You step forward, catching him off-guard as he turns to face you more. "You like me?" Your voice is soft and almost gleeful as his eyes flicker to your lips.

He sighs. "Of course, I do. How could I not?"

You hover in front of him, feeling nervous for the first time since you came up in the Box. Your noses brush for a second before you have the courage to move in.

Pushing your lips against his, he kisses back immediately, his hands coming to your waist, pushing in the years of feelings he's been tormented with.

After a few seconds, you break.

"Take it you like me, too, then?"

Back again with more Minho whilst fighting through my illness. I've got a break off of work coming up so I should be able to write some more, so expect some more requests.

You smile at him, giving a small smile before kissing him again.

Hope you enjoyed :))

[loovsoobs]

Library Confessions / 최수빈

꒰⚘݄꒱ “Was it a moment of weakness or courage? You couldn't tell”

genre: fluff setting: best friends!; soobin x gn. reader!; university au! word count: 704

Synopsis: You and Soobin are “studying” at the library. You’ve had a crush on him for as long as you can remember, and can’t help, but be distracted by his presence. Which Soobin notices as well. 

a/n. hi! This is my first fanfic that i’m publishing on tumblr. I haven’t written anything in a very long time, so take this as a warm up c: The text was not proof read, sorry lol. But I hope you enjoy <3

You look up from your book yet again to find Soobin laying on the table with his arms serving as his pillow. His eyes were just scanning the room, and his hands were playing with the strings of his hoodie. You wondered why he insisted on tagging along when he fully knew you needed to study, and wouldn't entertain him. He wasn't the type to always need a conversation, but to sit in the library for hours with you, without doing much had to be so boring. He did bring his own books, which did surprise you. Usually you study alone, since Soobin isn't the most studious type. He usually either refuses to come with you, or sits around procrastinating as much as he can, which was the case today. You had to admit though, the sight of him was adorable. Bored out of his mind, with his own homework spread out in front of him, but left lonely with disinterest. You chucked, which brought Soobin's attention to you. He pouted "What's so funny, y/n?"You just shook your head, still smiling. "Nothing". He shifted his position, now resting his cheek on his hand. You couldn't help but notice that he was closer to you than before. It made your stomach drop a little. You couldn't deny your crush on him any longer. You were infatuated with him. Even though you came here to study, you couldn't remember a single sentence of the book you were reading. All you remember was stealing occasional glances at Soobin. How his hair falls on his forehead, and how he scrunches his nose when it tickles him. How he puffs his cheeks when he's particularly bored in the moment. All those gestures, all his details are almost engraved into your brain. Now sitting across from each other, closer than before, you can't help but feel nervous. You've been best friends since high school, and yet every time you're in his proximity you can't help but feel nervous. "Are you making fun of me" He said, and it felt like the time resumed again. You didn't even realize the trans you were in made it seem like time stopped. "I would never do that" You said sarcastically. One thing about your friendship, is that bickering was guaranteed. Another thing was this indescribable tension you felt around him, and tried to play it cool by making fun of him. Maybe your love language was deflection. Who knows. "Oh yeah? Just like you'd never actually focus on what you said you'd be doing. This is the 5th time I caught you doing anything else, but reading this book you supposedly needed to read for tomorrow" He said in a sarcastic tone, and you could instantly feel your stomach drop and your cheeks heat up. So he noticed you looking at him. Why didn't he say anything earlier? Was it weird? A thousand thoughts raced through your head in that exact second. "What are you thinking so hard about?" Soobin said, after a moment of silence, as if to break the tension. And for a brief moment you considered telling him the truth about how you felt. You looked around, and although your university's library wasn't the most romantic place to confess your long held crush, you couldn't help, but notice it's charm and how much time you've spent starting at Soobin instead of your homework here. It happened every time he joined you. "y/n?" He looked at you from a lower angle, pouting. "hm?" you hummed,  pretending as if you didn’t hear what he just said. "what are you thinking about?” His tone was now intrigued. He was starting directly at you, and was even closer than before, leaning in over the wooden table. When did he move? Your heartbeat sped up and you didn’t even notice your tongue blurring out the answer to his question. "You" You said. Was it a moment of weakness or courage? You couldn't tell. You could feel your cheeks getting redder. You stared back at Soobin. His eyes now wider. That was it, the cat was out of the bag. The milk was spilled, and there was no going back. "I like you" you finally admitted.

[slytherbun]

wildflower

pairing: cedric diggory x hufflepuff!reader

summary: you weren't too sure what to think when a new eye candy transfers to hogwarts and becomes the new seeker of the hufflepuff's quidditch team but you realize in time that he is all of what you hoped for.

word count: 3.7k

tags: @specialagentsoftie

note: so this is all just a bunch fluff. i'm not sure how i feel about it in terms of cringey and hope y'all like it! figured i'd post this anyways either way though lol. i made up the way reader and cedric met at hogwarts so, it's non-canon from the movie.

another note: italics are flashbacks! :)

it was cold.

you could see everybody’s breath in the air outside and knew it was a crime to be out and about now with freezing and chilly weather.

the snow outside coated the ground by inches and the black coats zippered up and wrapped around you only helped so much. you were the type to freeze easily and the climate at hogwarts didn't help your situation at all.

minutes ago before you walked outside, you knocked on the door to his dorm after surveying the hufflepuff’s common room and noticed there weren't very many people around. and when cedric opened the door after you rapped on it a few times—he took in the view of your body wrapped around your blanket before pulling you into his room.

pathetically enough, you were shivering in the halls even with your mitten covered hands stuffed in the pockets of your coat. you weren't about to admit the doubled up socks on each of your feet either underneath the knee-length boots you wore today.

"are you cold?" cedric successfully taunted you when you reached your arm out of the pocket of your jacket and then under the blanket to slap his arm. he hissed and glared your way playfully while rubbing his arm dramatically.

you shrugged with a smirk on your lips and he plopped down onto his soft bed. “don’t get too comfortable.” he suggested when noticing you trying to sneakily get underneath his covers. 

“what i’d do for one of those thermal blankets the muggles use.” you sighed dreamingly while watching him walk towards his closet.

“imagine having a postal company deliver the package to hogwarts? dumbledore would have an aneurysm.” cedric replied and you couldn’t help yourself when imagining the scenario playing out in your mind. 

he turned to the side to admire your smile while you were a little distracted while pulling out a coat. then he closed the closet up and walked back over, holding it in your direction to offer an extra to put over your body. you gladly took it with a smile. "thanks ced."

cedric backed up a few steps and brushed a hand through his brunette hair. not being able to help himself he joked, “can’t have you walking around with your blanket wrapped around you. your height already makes you look so adorable.”

you got off from the bed when he exaggerated with your blanket in hand and scoffed. cedric bit his lip nervously while continuing to back up before he felt the wall pressed against him.

he rubbed the back of his nervously while you held the blanket up to his height and above your own head. “i’m just kidding.” he gulped before you took it and put it over his face.

when he tugged it down from his face he spotted you innocently standing by the door with his jacket around you. “i was going to leave it here anyway. just put it on the bed and i’ll come get it later after we get back.”

while you zippered it up you noticed this particular jacket was the one that you often saw him wearing before he ended up buying a new one for the upcoming winter that you were suffering in now.

and it was longer than the one you had previously put on about twenty minutes ago so, you couldn't argue with him on that steal.

"alright.” he laughed and added with a more serious tone. “oh and by the way—you don't need to thank me. you're my best friend, wildflower."

today was the first quidditch match of the season and you were sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation. the hufflepuffs didn't score well last season and you were hoping they wouldn't come out with last place again for the year.

y/g/b/f (your girl best friend) sat down on the stands next to you with an umbrella in her hands. you turned and looked at it with a confused face. but she just smiled at your contemplating thoughts and looked up at the sky once before supplying you with an answer.

“well it looks bright now but i have a feeling it’ll rain later.” she always had a suspicion for when it was going to rain or snow and you never second guessed her because every single time she was right.

“did you know we’re having a new seeker play on the team today? i believe he’s going to be captain too if he plays his cards right this game.” she asked. you didn’t know that.

“wait is he the new guy everybody is talking about? i heard the rumors but you know how they are. i didn’t want to take it seriously until i saw it with my own eyes.” you stated and she nodded. 

“yeah he’s a transfer i think but i’m not too sure. his name is cedric diggory though.” after her reply, you glanced around the stands to see if anybody had diggory signs for the game but with no avail you sighed. before you could respond you felt a few droplets on your shoulder. 

your friend gave you a smart-ass grin and popped out the umbrella to hold it over the both of you. “guess we’ll see how good he is.” you mumbled before seeing the players come up to the playing area with their brooms.

butterbeer was pretty popular during the winter season. many students from school usually went and got some to help regulate their body temperature and keep warm.

everybody else must have gotten the same memo because you were inside the three broomsticks now for some butterbeer and it was crowded.

almost every table was filled with peers and that’s probably why you didn’t see many people in the school. with just one glance around the area, you could already tell the divided area’s of where each school was seated right away. 

your tables were to the left area, the slytherins must have come earlier because they grabbed the back ones, some of the ravenclaw’s were off to the right, while harry and the other gryffindor’s had the middle area.

cedric nudged your side to grab your attention and nodded towards the hufflepuff area. “want to grab us some seats and i’ll get the drinks?” he asked and you nodded. “sure, could you get me a snack too if you don’t mind?” 

he smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “i suppose i could.” cedric walked away with a wink and you shook your head knowing he was just humoring you.

little did you know he already had planned to get you something else even before the two of you left the dorms. it had gotten to the point where asking him for little things hadn’t bothered you because you reciprocated all of the time.

but sometimes cedric would give you little excuses when it was your turn to pay, just so he could end up paying for whatever you guys were having or getting. he always spoiled you.

"ah the golden girl is here." hermione scoffed and watched you walk towards the hufflepuff area. your other best friend was seated already and started talking to you when you sat.

the brunette from the red colored house didn't particularly dislike you since you were always nice. sometimes you chatted with her while working on a project that you were paired for. then other times you gave her a soft smile when catching her eye while walking in the halls towards your next class.

she definitely couldn’t help but respect and admire you.

but the reason she didn’t put herself out there and try to befriend you was because you were one of the girls known in school for your smartness, quick reflexes, and witty attitude. 

when people from school talked about you and referred to you as the golden girl instead of your name most of the time—it wasn’t that you were golden per-say but the fact that it matched up perfectly with the school’s color that you sorted it.

hufflepuff was known for its represented yellow color.

and there’s no doubt about it that hermione was also known around the school. but, she felt it was for all of the wrong reasons. despite not having it any other way as one of harry's best friends, she wondered if not for him that in an alternate lifetime that she would be you. 

“why is she wearing cedrics jacket?” ron asked after following hermione’s stare. harry thumped him on the back of his head and then shook his own. “why does it matter?” the one with a thunderbolt on his forehead replied.

“well it is interesting, isn’t it?” the brunette said in defense of ron’s question. the one who didn’t seem curious at all took a sip of the butterbeer in front of him.

he licked his lips, thinking then replied to them with a response. “i mean it’s not our business but it is an odd find now that you pointed it out. maybe he’s just being friendly?”

“as if! cedric has had a crush on y/n since he met her. she’s just oblivious to it all,” she paused and tapped her chin. “—or is she?” ron gasped at her accusation but took a sip of his own drink before she could hear his outburst.

harry noticed her getting riled up once again and sighed. “well i don’t know what else to say. maybe you should just introduce yourself already and ask her instead of me.” he shrugged and hoped to end the conversation there.

you knew exactly who cedric diggory was when he swiftly passed by the hufflepuff area during the game. of course, he was wearing yellow. 

the game has been going on for a decent amount of time now and he was stacking up the scores on the quidditch board—easily passing by the score of the gryffindor’s team.

cedric was undoubtedly the new eye candy for the whole school with the gasps and ‘awes’ from the other girls sitting in the stand. your friend was so busy watching harry that she didn’t catch the commotion.

you didn’t really pay attention to him to get a good glance at his face so, you thought he was just another arrogant rich boy and rolled your eyes.

what you didn’t notice was the way it was like a slow-motion love at first sight situation for him when he went by. since it stopped raining through the middle of the game he was able to catch a quick view of you. 

the week wasn’t done yet so it was possible he’d be seeing more of you in another class he hadn’t had yet. and cedric hoped you were because he couldn’t help but look over in your direction throughout the game to catch another glimpse of your face.

it was still humid outside and you tried wiping your makeup a few minutes ago since it was under your eyes now, but you only smudged it further. your robe was drenched with your wavy and half-dried hair now lying down the back of it. 

but he didn’t care what you thought about yourself because he knew without a doubt that you were the prettiest girl there.

“cedric’s looking pretty good today.” y/g/b/f voiced for the first time today. you played with the napkin in your hand while trying to get a glimpse of cedric. 

“i don’t think you would know even if he was—since you spend all your time looking at harry.” cedric was up to the counter now waiting for your butterbeer and food.

“uh huh. don’t think i haven’t admired cedric before from afar though.” after a moment of not answering her, y/g/b/f noticed that you weren’t paying attention. you knew exactly what she was hinting towards.

cedric did look good.

his hair had that ‘just woken up’ style to it and he always managed to look even more attractive then he should have. the yellow scarf wrapped around his neck was the one that came with every hufflepuff’s supplied uniform clothing.

he usually wore it when you sat with him in potions on a chilly morning and you caught yourself wanting to take it off of him and wear it sometimes.

he always smelled good and it comforted you in ways a best friend shouldn’t have the ability to.

you seemed to have let your guard down and stared longer then you should have which confirmed what y/g/b/f already knew. “i knew it!” she chuckled and stated more loudly than the last comment to snap you out of the zoned out state you were in. 

“know what?” you asked while placing the napkin back down on your table.

cedric was reaching the table and you wanted the conversation to end quickly. you usually dragged out conversation topics like this so you had time to think of another one to distract her with. but, she always found a way to circle it back around again. 

you had to shut it down before he could hear, already knowing exactly what she wanted to talk about again.

“i’ll tell you later before our curfew.” y/g/b/f smirked and you sighed knowing she would in fact take the time out of her night to find you before bed. lucky you.

“hey y/g/b/f. how has your day been?” he asked your other friend while sitting down and placing your refreshments in front of you and then doing the same with his. 

she grinned at you then glanced over at him, “pretty good i guess if it wasn’t for this weather i would say great. how about you? and how’d you manage to get this one out?” she gestured towards you, causing you to roll your eyes. 

here we go again.

you were walking down the path back to the hogwarts dorms with y/g/b/f and some others. there was going to be a small celebration in the hufflepuff’s common room and other students were trying to hurry back without raising suspicions with any professors nearby.

“hey, i’ll be right back y/n/n. i see luna and i’m going to go ask her if she has a hair tie.” she said and pointed to the curly knots that she had on her shoulders.

you nodded and continued along the path while she walked over to the other side. it was quiet for a moment and you surveyed the peaceful area, a few feet over in the grass was a small patch of flowers.

you were about to take a quick look at them before feeling someone tap your shoulder. it was sudden and you couldn’t help but quickly move to the side and form a fist. you were about to throw it but stopped when you stared wide-eyed at the person who scared you.

cedric felt awful and only after he startled you did he realize that you were looking off in the distance of the area. the way you jumped though seemed that you were quick on your feet and he couldn’t help but smirk at the new name he had for you. 

“hey i’m sorry for startling you wildflower but i just wanted to introduce myself. i’m cedric diggory.” he introduced with a panty-dropping smile.

you weren’t sure if it was some kind of joke so you treaded carefully. “uh it’s okay, it’s my fault really for not paying attention but i’m y/n y/l/n. nice to meet you ced.”

cedric held out his hand for you to shake and you took it, giving him a firm shake. after you let go he smirked and questioned. “ced, huh?”

he crouched down to pick up a flower that you were looking at earlier and it reminded you to ask, “wildflower, huh?” you met his statement equally and folded your arms together so they were across your chest to look more tough.

his cheeks tinted a minor shade of pink and tried to hide his embarrassment by ducking down and ignoring your question. instead he glanced back up to tuck a hair behind your ear and then placed the flower there.

“yes, wildflower.” 

and how could you argue with him when he was being so sweet?

the two of you made it back to the common room after an hour of eating, then chatting with cedric and your other best friend. he was sitting on the bed with you sitting next to him.

you’ve been sitting for only about a minute or so—only enough time to shrug off your jackets and place them on the desk chair between that time after walking back to his dorm.

“would you like to lay down for a few minutes?” cedric asked when he noticed the tiredness shown clear as day on your face.

“sure” you agreed and you laid down while he shook your blanket out for the two of you to use. his eyebrows scrunched together when he realized it wouldn’t make much of a difference in comfort with how small it was.

you chuckled watching him trying to maneuver it around and he glanced your way with a smirk of defeat. “hmm, seems this blanket is a little small. would you like to go under the covers?”

cedric was giving into what you wanted earlier before the two of you left and he knew that too. the three broomsticks' food was delicious as always and you just wanted to relax for a few minutes after getting teased by your friend.

he grinned watching you get comfortable after the both of you were situated under the sheets and yellow comforter. there was a hufflepuff patch ironed onto it and you rubbed your thumb over it while laying down.

it wasn’t that awkward since you’ve fallen asleep in his arms a couple of times before already. class exams were frustrating and took a lot out of the students so he took comfort in you and vice versa when there was some down time during the weekends throughout the school year.

with an arm around you—he pulled you close to the point where you could feel his warm breath along your neck. “i don’t think you realize how much i treasure these moments y/n/n.”

he spoke breathlessly and you gulped slowly. you were dumbfounded with how seriously he said that. as if it had some kind of hidden meaning behind it. “me too.” you agreed and wondered if he would leave it at that.

but you knew better and cedric never left well alone when he wanted to get a point across. he turned your body slowly with the arm he had around your middle and you faced him with confusion.

he glanced down once before looking back up and continued on with his confession while staring into your doe eyes—a color he deemed his favorite the day that he met you.

“i’ve been fighting myself for a while on whether or not i should tell you this because i didn’t want my feelings to ruin our friendship. i’d rather be your friend than not be a part of your life at all. and i always look forward to seeing you e-everyday.” he paused when his voice cracked.

after cedric cleared his throat he continued, “and i totally understand if you don’t share the same feelings with me but i just couldn’t go on another day without telling you how i—” you cut him off by leaning in and brushing your lips against his.

he moved closer on the bed, so his skin was touching yours. cedric wanted to get as close to you as he possibly could. your hand swept through his brunette curls and you surprised him by tugging it.

he never knew what you were going to do and his friends teased him that you were a wildcard, to which he’d correct them and say you were his wildflower.

cedric smirked into the kiss and you groaned knowing he was being a smart-ass. but in return, he shocked you when he placed a hand delicately on your cheek to cup it rather softly.

he rubbed your cheek while your hand massaged his curls and then moved them downwards to the nape of his neck.

cedric pushed the hair back from your neck with his hand and then placed it back so his thumb splayed across on your cheek in a loving gesture. and you only wanted him closer after feeling sensitive about the whole astonishment that still had you stunned to the core.

you tugged the collar of his shirt and he pulled away with puffy, red lips and a smile. “what’s wrong?”

“i don’t know, i’m just emotional.” you voiced squeakily and full of embarrassment about it. cedric shook his head and before patting his chest, he held up the comforter over the both of you and let the minimal cold air in.

“oh, baby it’s okay. come here and let's cuddle a little before curfew.”

you bit the bottom of your lip and nodded, giving him a smile in return to the one he gave you and then crawled onto him. “i think i like baby better.” you voiced and laid on his chest with your head over his heartbeat.

he let go of the comforter when he noticed you were settled and tugged it firmly around both of your bodies. “better then what?” he asked.

“wildflower.” you admitted and hummed nervously while awaiting his response. you felt cedric shake his head and he put his arms around your body so you were pressed firmly against him before he kissed your forehead.

“you’ll always be my wildflower.” you closed your eyes after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek in response.

after a moment of laying back down you could feel his chest rising up and down in an odd pattern so, you put your head up to see him laughing again at you.

“what now?” you questioned trying to keep a serious facial expression but failing when he grinned.

“guess you got what you wanted, hmm?” cedric said—referring to the fact that you were finally under the comforters and you smirked.

“of course i always do. including finally getting you, ced.”