#answer to these kinda asks with memes

[sincerely-sofie]

What if Firn had a tumblr blog?

In a Modern AU, Firn Lambert is the social media manager for a business that Narinder runs. She also is an extremely popular influencer with large followings on countless platforms. She also has a Tumblr blog where she drops her beloved persona and posts her #raw and #unfiltered thoughts under the same username as her other accounts, but everyone thinks it’s just a parody impersonation account not owned by her.

Narinder, though, knows better.

[syluses]

there was another wave of caleb drama on the bird app the other day about him not wanting to be ur gege at all which was lowkey super dumb bc its not true but now its making me think of an au where mc and caleb don't grow up together and meet as adults but caleb's still delusional and crazy enough to want to have that type of dynamic... like just irrationally mad that he isn't the one who raised u LMAO i always saw him as the type to just want to be your everything not Just a brother not Just a lover... it tickles my brain.. love and obsession so all-encompassing that he has to be everything in ur life

..Oh brother 😒 no pun intended. I agree with u tho nonnie 💯 Bro needs to be her everything, & if he isnt he feels worthless.

Prepare thyselfs

Alright, yall already know by know that im a big gege truther- however im perfectly fine with the people who wanna see caleb as the ‘childhood friend’- which the anglicized version essentially goes off on. Now i do believe those individuals dont see all of caleb’s unique little nuances- just because so much of them stem from the brotherly role he was ‘forced’ to fill for mc all throughout childhood- and i think they fail to recognize the paramount correlation it has to their ‘forbidden’ romance (which both he & mc ACKNOWLEDGE in the story; but ig they’re just whiting out the bits they dont wanna hear) but im not gonna flame ppl if they wanna see bro as the friends to lovers trope.

i dont agree with it, but its more or less okay with me bc i understand lots of ppl are icked out by the pseudo trope (reasonable) yet still want to appreciate xia yizhou in their own way— even if ignoring the original intention inevitably brings a certain distance to that for the lack of comprehension over his, well, ahem GEGEISM™️

The way some of them wanna DENY the asian/original canon tho is pretty insane ngl. Like homie u can still enjoy ur own (english localized) idea of caleb- but to try to erase the obvious gege/meimei implications of the chinese version is funny only because its just that stupid. Again im definitely not one of the ppl who’ll yell and shame others for not fucking with the gege vibes, but cmon… its pretty obvious that is in the canon.

And now im yapping at this point but as to whether or not caleb WANTS to be mc’s brother figure? ..Honestly i feel like that is complicated in itself, and i think the answer will vary from person to person. But for me i think its both a yes and a no. He definitely acts as her brother, thinks as her brother, regards himself as her brother. And the self awareness is absolutely there for him- as in he knows its wrong to romantically pine for mc because he truly does- in his own way- naturally see mc as his meimei as well, even if he tries to separate himself from it the more his yearning grows. I think calebs emotions revolving this are super complex. I can barely even put it into words.

He wants the full right, if u will, that the gege title grants him over her— the closeness, the responsibility, the bond— but it ultimately gets in the way when he stares at her in admiration for a little too long or leans a little too much into the fantasy of pretend girlfriend and boyfriend. Growing up, whenever he humored her and they played house, he never had to feign the part of ‘husband’ bc he already carried all that love with him. In a way, a lil piece of him kind of blames mc for ‘asserting’ the gege role on him, but he’s still just as guilty bc he happily gave in to it all throughout their growing up. He liked it, even, in those moments he could almost forget his own pathetic desires.

I truly do believe that caleb feels regretful over the brotherly role he operated under for just about all his life… But i also truly believe that he would have it no other way— the smallest idea of anybody else assuming that spot in her life makes him furious. Because again, he wants to take care of her, he wants to protect her, to bandage her scraped knees and hush away her tears, to cook breakfast lunch and dinner for her and have almost as much of a say in her life as gran does. (…past tense.) He wants the proximity, the domestic life with her, the casual closeness and again, the slight dominion the ‘brother’ role gives him over her.

Lets not forget that in all of this, for all his cheerful, reassuring smiles and easy quipping comments, that there’s a little worm in the back of caleb’s head that wants ultimate control over his meimei. and yes, even just in calling her his ‘meimei’— or her running face first into his strong arms bc she knows, as family, he’ll always have her back— some of that control is given. Its so hard to articulate this pls kill me. But i hope u know what i mean.

At the end of the day, for all his reservations about it- and the actual blame he lowkey tries to put on mc for it- Caleb does and always wanted to be her gege.

Because if he was never her gege, he’d be nothing. His responsibility over his meimei— his sister, his friend, his closest confidant and hopefully, one day, his wife— is frankly all that gives him purpose.

And yeah maybe he is a little crazy because of it... But he knows she loves him too, deep down. He knows her better than anybody else, after all. The same can be said about his love for her: nobody in this world could ever hold even a fraction of all that Caleb both internally & physically shoulders for her.

It’s as much of an ugly curse as it is a beautiful gift.

Duality my friends, duality

[cozymochi]

Hi!! I love your art and OC's!! I was wondering who does each person get along with/like the most from all the characters, and who do they like the least/get annoyed with?

Thank you🥺 I’m just gonna hone in on the boys. I like yapping about the web of characters they interact with (it extends beyond what’s labeled here, but. I’m kinda just shooting off.)

There’s pictures this time, be warned. And some descriptions are longer than others because I answered this on different nights with different headspaces 😭 …over a span of weeks, and even then? I don’t think I managed to cover everything I’d like to nor articulate it correctly. Just fill in the blanks.

Emilio Estrada-Alvarez 🦜

🦜 It’s not that he likes vice-housewarden Jamil exactly (Emilio doesn’t like a ton of people), but he does go out of his way to be appease to him since it’s in his better interest. He practically parrots what he says at times. Jamil exploits this insistence to please, but he can tell Emilio has ulterior motives. Albeit harmless, stupid ones, but motives nonetheless.

🦜 Ends up in a weird mutually beneficial situation where if Jamil is absent, and he can’t rely on the rest of the dorm to follow his backup plans/manuals for Kalim— Emilio is his go-to person to pick up duties. Things will run smoothly as a result.

🦜 All the while, Emilio gets to feel important and like he’s in charge and put those overly detail-oriented habits to use 👍

🦜 They get along… enough. Think Jafar and Iago. They do, but they also don’t. Emilio values praise from Jamil should he get it, and Jamil sometimes will listen to Emilio’s crapshoot ideas should they be useful.

🦜 Emilio actually gets along with Ortho the most. Detailed here.

🦜 Emilio had a bad encounter with Sebek on orientation day. That was enough to make Emilio detest him considerably. He was glad to know they’d be in separate dorms… only for the lug to wander into Scarabia.

🦜 So not only was this guy rude and dismissive— he’s an absentminded fool, too! And put Scarabia’s orientation to a halt just to take this guy back to where he should be. So he gets his hand held?

🦜 On top of that? One of his biggest peeves is loud noises. This is the loudest person in existence. AND THE TRUE ICING? This is his classmate.

🦜 All of the above is rather petty, but Emilio is a petty diva.

🦜 Sebek does not acknowledge Emilio’s existence, and that annoys Emilio even more. It’s not like Sebek forgot him, it’s just that he literally does not care about his immediate peers all that much to begin with, Emilio is not a special case at all.

Cecil Mugwort 🌿

🌿 It’s… again, it’s not like Cecil LIKES Rook, it’s more like Rook is fascinated by him. They’re both in the Science Club, so encounters are frequent. He asks Cecil a lot of questions but strangely never gets too personal. He finds him very uniquely beautiful :3 Especially when Cecil focuses hardcore on whatever he’s working on. He can relate.

🌿 Cecil does not believe any of that flowery stuff Rook says, it’s not like the guy doesn’t treat everyone with similar gravitas. He thinks he’s a weirdo. Cecil sometimes mocks his manner of speech and generally tries to ignore him, but they run into each other far too much for that to be effective.

🌿 It’s very possible that Rook knows from observation that Cecil’s self worth is kind of on the lower side, so he’s careful not to intrude too much- BUT knows that Cecil needs someone to be persistent in order for him to open up. Rook in general is just persistent so it works out.

🌿 Similar things can apply to his classmate Kalim and roommate/classmate Silver. Cecil gets invited to parties but never goes, and he more or less can be himself around Silver.

🌿 Cecil by all accounts “gets along” with nobody, he just tolerates others around him since he’s not going to DO anything except snark. …Well—

🌿 Cecil is terrified of Jade, but Jade wants to be his friend :) Cecil does not like Jade’s vibes, not that he’s a big fan of either Leech twin, but this guy is the one who pokes his buttons the most.

🌿 C’mon. They like the same things :) I mushroom, he mushroom? He’s seen Cecil dabble in terrarium making, they should exchange information and specimen sometime!

🌿 Jade likes to… observe Cecil. Usually, he doesn’t outwardly provoke him, but that’s kind of by design. Cecil is just such a disaster and brings so much chaos wherever he goes, and Jade can’t help but wanna witness all of it. If not witness, then maybe have a have in setting the pieces in motion ☺️ it’s such a joy to watch and really fascinating.

🌿 HE IS WHAT RIDDLE IS TO FLOYD.

🌿 Jade wants Cecil to join his club. You know. :) For fun. Cecil refuses to be alone with Jade in any capacity. Anytime he’s out and something stupid happens to him, how come that eel somehow always manages to show up!? AAAAAAAA—

Nyoka Wadjet 🫖

🫖 If asked by a staff member or his housewarden, Nyoka will engage in some light tutoring for younger students. Assuming they agree to it. Outside of his own dorm, most do not.

🫖 Every now and then, he ends up tutoring Deuce on a semi-recurring basis. Even though Deuce tends to hide that for pride reasons (he wants to be an honor student but still needing extra help kinda negs at him sometimes, especially if someone like Ace exists to be kind of a shit about it), Nyoka doesn’t really care. It’s not like he advertises this.

🫖 Deuce is kinda… he can be kind of oblivious to what’s around him, and for whatever reason , never really caught onto the fact that most people avoid Nyoka. (…he’s quite literally venomous so it’s not entirely without reason…) He kind of knows nothing about him at all, actually.

🫖 He just thinks Nyoka is super cool and the guy is actually an honor student— and not only that he explains the material in a way he can understand. (But he also thinks the whole cobra beastman thing is dope)

🫖 If Deuce gets a higher score after the fact he’s extremely willing to jump straight into the cobras den and show him. Which would baffle anyone else.

🫖 Ironically, despite being the most aloof person here, the way Nyoka regards Deuce is probably the most normal. He surprisingly does not mind him at all.

🫖 He might not show it, but… that freshmen is okay. The forward enthusiasm over test scores can be a tad off-putting but… it’s a strange feeling to be relied on without pretense. 🤔

🫖 Nyoka fucking hates Idia.

🫖 Idia doesn’t know why! HE DIDNT DO ANYTHINGGGGGG

🫖 I can’t say what the deep reason is. Too lore heavy. But, the most I’ll say is that it’s less about Idia himself and more about the Shroud family in general.

🫖 Other than that he does actually dislike him though. It’s the little habits… they build up, and it seems like no matter what Idia does or doesn’t do, it bothers him to no end.

🫖 “This isn’t as sexy as it’s supposed to be in those visual novels with the serious SSR glasses wearing character hating the plucky otaku 😭😭” -- Idia, probably.

[kangofu-cb]

EMT Jason? 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

This is a source of eternal shame

is a beautiful ode to crack-treated-seriously, which I thoroughly hashed out and planned with @noxnthea and then my entire life got consumed in a black hole of depression I am only just now emerging from so IT WILL BE WRITTEN

So let me tell you all about it

THIS FIC The underlying premise is absurd, of course. Jason's been kicked out of Gotham after a murderous temper tantrum. So. He goes to NYC and puts his Bat medical education to good use And happens upon our intrepid failboat hero, Clint, freshly off getting the shit kicked out of him by the Tracksuit Mafia (he put up a good fight guys) Which pisses Jason right off, obviously. So then he’s just full vigilante after he finds out what happened to Clint Meanwhile Bucky is like 'Some other wannabe hero is killing tracksuits when I, a bonafide assassin, wanted to do it'

The indelible humor of Clint lying on a couch with a broken arm and an ice pack on his face just trying to nap while Bucky whines in a corner about how he wanted to do the murders. And then it's a bunch of weird assassin courtship rituals as Bucky and Jason try to one-up each other in a strange game of 'who can woo Clint Barton best' using crime-fighting, expensive cars, and stolen batman body armor. And then they fuck about it.

[townofcadence]

I hope this isn't too broad but for the muse dress up theme, how about a Phantom Thief look for Artair? You can decide, of course! Or if there's too much (which I get) then how about him in any of the Persona school uniforms? Like Shujin, Yasogami or Gekkoukan?

@electricea // Muse Dress-Up

"Okay-- this one is kinda fun! I dig it."

[inkclover]

Trick or treat

Treat!

hehehe doodled something silly for ya

bath time shenanigans

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

For the character ask game thing: Rei. Obviously. 1, 2, 12, 15, 16. I tried to limit myself and not just say "all of them" but if you want to answer more of them, go for it. <3

For this ask meme

Oh dear, you've given me a lot to think about (thank you, I like thinking)

✨🔪Rei🗡️✨

1. Canon I outright reject

Alright, so. I'm actually good with most of canon. Not because I'm such a big fan of it, but because of my tendency to overthink things and go "okay, but how can this still work."

We'll get to what I think doesn't work in a moment, but first I have a bone to pick with Aoyama's word of god, aka his answers in the interviews. My gripe is mostly that I think he doesn't think his answers through (in the cases where he doesn't just give a non-answer).

Some I can work with. I've come around to "Scotch was a sniper in the BO" because it opens up the possibility of sniper due Scotch & Rye, even though I think Hiro deserved his own speciality (and also Aoyama is never going to show us Scotch sniping, so that's just a waste of potential).

Some I am undecided on. Aoyama refuses to give us answers on Rei's family, even though it would be quite relevant for his character (someone with a family that supports him would not be so cripplingly lonely). I hope Aoyama won't botch that, but I will hold my judgement until then.

Some confuse me. What do you mean, Rei wanted to keep Sherry (who he recognised as Elena's daughters) alive, but give her to the BO?? Wouldn't it be a great source of intel for the PSB??

An then there's the things I just can't get behind. Aoyama means to tell me that the whiskey trio didn't exist, that Rei's outrage and betrayal at seeing Rye over Scotch's dead body was...born in the moment? That Rei decided on making revenge his whole personality based on...nothing prior? That he and Vermouth accurately recreated Akai from a grainy bodycam video? I can, of course, read Rei as that kind of instantly obsessive guy who doesn't actually know Rye. But it's just no fun, that way, so I refuse. It's better if there was a simile of trust that could be broken.

Now, ignoring word of god and returning to actual canon, we're not quite there yet, but when it comes to the way things are going atm, I fear we might eventually head for a ship I have no good feelings about: amua*u. I'm certainly biased, but Rei deserves better than to have a girl who doesn't actually know his true self, not his name, not his face; better than the microaggresions and racism that when he calls her out on, she defends herself with "I'm not as smart as you, bleh"; someone who doesn't say she hates spending time with him because it will get her bullied online. Rei deserves someone who will stand by his side, keep up with him, and loves him for who he is. This girl is not that, and if it comes to it, I will reject this ship. But for now, this is only a hypothetical, and I really hope Aoyama will reconsider.

(Actually, while I was thinking about this, I figured out something that is canon, but that I outright reject: Rei's "crush" on Elena. I believe that he loved her, but that he saw her as a mother figure, and he's most certainly not still pining over her, shut up Matsuda.)

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Uh. Okay. What's a hill I could comfortably die on when it comes to Rei. Something that is mildly controversial, perhaps. Um.

I think Rei would look great with knives, but that's not really worth dying for, is it?

Hm.

I had a whole paragraph written about how I would like to see a more nuanced take on Rei, and not exaggerate things as much for comedic purposes, but I'm also guilty of that, so that would be quite hypocritical for me to say. And I try not to be that person.

Instead, I'll just stick with my guns. Rei definitely tops more often than Akai- /shot

12. Crack headcanon

Oh god. Hm. I mean. I think my beloved Demon Lord Rei (hail) counts as a crack interpretation of the character?

I don't really have crack headcanons lying around, if anything I usually go for the crack treated seriously approach and make an AU out of it. See also: way too many words on the sweater AU, which started with the crack take of Rei stealing Akai's sweaters.

Just for you though, I saw this

image just now, so today's crack theory is that Bourbon wears contact lenses. Maybe they're superspy contact lenses that block him from being identified in iris scans. And also this would explain (partially) how he was so comfortable dressing up as scar!Akai-

(See? See this is the problem, I'm trying to rationalize it again. Can't have pure, unadulterated crack in this house.)

15. Worst thing they've ever done?

Do you want an excerpt from a wip on that?

Throughout the years, Bourbon works whichever jobs the syndicate demands of him.

Fence, enforcer, honey pot.

Spy.

Torturer.

Executioner.

The list goes on.

Each of them ruins someone's life, some more directly than others.

Among the more insidious jobs, for its false promises of fortune to the desperate and destitute, is working at the casino in Las Vegas.

I like to think that Rei has committed a variety of crimes for the sake of the job. Naturally, he wouldn't feel great about them, but what choice does he have? They're simply necessary to maintain his cover.

When it comes to bad things, there's probably a few that would make the list. Perhaps trying to kill Elena's daughter is somewhere on it. Perhaps he doesn't have compassion for her; Rei, after all, appears to be focused on specific people that hold his attention, not their surroundings.

If one asked him, though, under duress and the influence of a truth serum, he'd probably say the worst thing he's done is to drag Hiro along with him right down into hell. Got him interested in the police academy, and then the PSB, and then this mission.

The price was too high, but Rei only came to realise it after it had already been paid.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves?

Rei is cripplingly lonely, struggles to make new connections, and eventually, his job will not be enough to stave off the dark hours of night. He can work himself to the brink of exhaustion, or even death, but it won't matter. There is only one of him, and so, so many crooks that want to exploit and kill and destroy.

And eventually, if he lives long enough, he'll need to stop and face all his life's mission has cost him. The countless hours of sleep lost because he'd rather work than face the nightmares. The lives of his friends, which he didn't get to see aside from the few times they went to visit graves. The thankless nature of it all, as he works in the shadows to keep the public safe. He can't ever be a Hiro hero, he won't be; the public would condemn him for his deeds.

(It's already started; his hatred for Akai has superseded the mission. If that's gone, too, what will he have left?)

And at this point, at this crucial junction, I hope he finds a new reason to breathe. Because otherwise, I fear he might break down and disappear.

[roachy-draws]

one time a scandalous villain (my friend) stole my son (Roach) and fed him to the beasts (a pigeon), thankful he made a full recovery (I traded Konig for my friend to get Roach out of the pigeon before it could digest him)

Poor Roach, he's probably terrified of pigeons now.

Look at that one, glaring at the exchange of Konig and Roach, knowing that he missed out on a full course meal. Devastating.

@hiro--aoki thank you for this story, it made me laugh in the middle of Maths, so thank you 💕

[sincerely-sofie]

You don't know how happy it makes me to another lds member liking cotl

[free-luigi-mangione]

Any theories as to why that hostel video has been deleted? Kinda sus how it was just randomly posted, gained lots of views then suddenly it's gone... Also I'm curious to know if LM legal team is aware of the video.

i feel like it's important to remember that the video was posted eight days before the public got its eyes on the video, eight days before yesterday was exactly a day before his SDNY pretrial hearing where he wore green and had hundreds of people supporting him at the courthouse

but unfortunately for whoever posted nobody was looking for or watching the video, this was clearly not the intended effect

so about a week after uploading the video, when it became clear it wasn't causing the waves it was supposed to, somebody on reddit was tipped off about the video (now i know somebody who watched the video could have tipped them off but like what are the chances of that happening with how we know how youtube functions???)

coincidentally this happened at the heels of TD submitting motions for suppression of evidence because he wasn't mirandaized before getting arrested/frisked/questioned

and people lost their shit upon watching the video, which imo is incredibly dumb because we already knew he was in altoona and we already knew he'd been trying to get a room at a local hotel/motel, like surely he didn't teleport out of nowhere when he was arrested at the mcdonald's right??? he had indeed been there and if we take the hashbrown letter to be real, he's not pretending to not be there because well, he actually was there

but the tone of the video implied whatever is the exact opposite of the presumption of innocence, it also said he was disguised when inquiring at the motel but like i dress exactly like that during winter???? hoodie (with beanie if it's too cold), mufflers, and i also wear masks whenever i'm out??? i never really stopped wearing masks??? and i also carry and use hand sanitizers almost every time i touch things like doors??? i would also behave like he was doing in that video because i'm just not very good at interacting with people i don't already know, it might imply nervousness to the layperson and it isn't at all, not everybody is getting grade A's at talking to shopkeepers/hotel owners like my mom

also he doesn't appear cagey at all???? and he's looking at his watch and looking outside and contemplating what to do, not because of any other reason except that it was too damn cold and it was raining and he was soaked and it was early in the morning and he just wanted food??? he just didn't want to get out in the rain and win the award for being the most famous sad wet cat in history at that moment. and honestly that's an extremely normal reaction to the situation

also the hotel clerk was telling him when rooms would be free to let and he was trying gauge how much time he'd need to kill to get back

people who're painting his behaviour as sketchy or going it's so over genuinely don't have a clue on how people around them act in similar situations (because clearly they don't behave like that or else they'd understand what's happening)

so what with people's reactions to the video and the media leaking things randomly out of nowhere (see supposed notebook being called manifesto) and the fact that it was posted before the hearing and became viral after the submission of the motion, it was clearly a smear campaign and i'm sad to say that it worked on a lot of people

a vast number of older people immediately started armchair diagnosing him and calling him whatever they wanted because it was somehow against their image of america's darlingest boy and i don't know why or how but the hashbrown joke also didn't go over well with them (i found it funny tho??? gen z regularly makes jokes like that and i do too???)

so yeah the video did whatever it was intended to do when it was supposedly leaked and i was wondering whether his legal team knows about it because public perception is very important for his case particularly, somebody commented and reminded me that even if they didn't know already before they surely do now because everybody is talking about it, i sure hope nothing major comes out of a video that really means nothing

[honeybun-zz]

What’s a hill you’ll absolutely die on, no matter how trivial?

HIHI CASSIE <33

ooooo this is incherestinggg. Well, I don't think I have alot of hot takes but there is one thing:

I believe that Jannik dominance will never bore me as a fan. I've see alot of his own fans joke about how he "massacres" his opponents or "kills them ruthlessly" but genuinely, that's what I enjoy most about him (and this is coming from someone who is a Jiri fan and watched that match in absolute joy, even cheering on Jiri when he won his first game). Maybe some of the fans are joking, maybe other's aren't but to me, part of what lured me into Jannik's tennis was his clinically precise nature to breakdown an opponent from the inside out. I don't think its boring, I don't even think its ruthless, I just think its bloody brilliant tennis. More than anything, I enjoy how his game has evolved from survival to total neutralisation (and even over-powering sometimes). In most cases, a person who attacks well usually neglects their defence at least a little bit- never the case when I watch Jannik. I will die on the hill that Jannik Sinner's game style and dominance will never bore me or even make me feel bad about being his fan :)

[townofcadence]

✏️

Muse Art (Closed!)

Ryuji!!

[sae-mian]

🎭 OC in another OC’s typical attire

weeeeeeeeeeell, since it is sinday, after all--

have nira'sae in something hana would typically wear 😇

[OC outfit doodle asks]

[↓ bonus outfit picture and one very, very disgruntled bun ↓]

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

Hmm... for the Only One Bed ask, I'm so tempted to give you something completely off the wall. Like. Akai and Koumei. But if you don't want them, then maybe Hiro and Micchan. :)

Could I ask you to send me yamahiro ask again in a bit, while I get my jester outfit ready? (So I can tag each properly)

In the meantime, let's do Akai and Koumei. Ask meme here

I tried coming up with reasons why Akai and Koumei could share a room, and the best I can come up with is some sort of hirorei wedding accommodation mishap, and since I'm not into hirorei much, I think I'll just stay with random chance instead.

Specifically, I think there's several times in Akai's life where he's checking into a hotel while he doesn't have a proper home. The funniest, in my opinion, would be when he's recently "deceased" and hiding in a hotel for a few days while he's trying to establish a cover.

There's been a mix-up between digital and analogue booking; Koumei booked a room on short-notice digitally, whereas Akai showed up with a false ID in person at the counter, and tried to book the last available room. For comedic timing purposes, Koumei arrives at the reception desk at just the moment when the receptionist makes Akai sign his papers to stay.

They look at each other. Akai has a minor trauma flashback because what the fuck is Scotch doing here. And since when does he have a moustache?? He, of course, shows none of these emotions, and just blinks when Koumei hands over his reservation documents and politely asks the clerk for the key. That Akai has just been handed.

Cue an embarrassed receptionist letting them know that, unfortunately, this was the last room she had available. And since they're in the middle of nowhere, in a snowstorm, they can't easily get a different accomodation. (The receptionist does try to offer Akai to stay with her but he's oblivious to her flirting. He's slightly preoccupied with the guy who looks like his former crime syndicate co-worker - that killed himself in front of him - got really into British vintage fashion, and talks like he developed an obsession with Romance of the Three Kingdoms to boot.)

(Also I'd like to think he knows Hiro's last name by now. And this guy is also a Morofushi.)

So. Seeing as the conditions are terrible, and he's very interested in the guy, and also he's already holding the key, he offers to let Koumei stay over. It's not ideal, but for a night, they'll surely be able to manage. Koumei looks quite proper, and Akai can defend himself. So, they shake on it and head up to 'their' room.

The room is a pretty simple affair; Akai wanted a place he could throw money at to avoid having to answer questions. He's left most of the weapons in the trunk of his car, thankfully, and buries most of the rest beneath his clothes in the closet. He hopes that the handgun in his toilet bag doesn't show too badly. He still puts it in the bedside table, while Koumei is using the restroom.

The receptionist brings them a spare futon, which Koumei happily takes. Akai doesn't bother with the pleasantries, not when Koumei insists that since he's the guest, he'll gladly be put up like this. Smalltalk is barely existent, but both of them can tell the other isn't just a businessman.

Eventually, Akai offers Koumei a glass of whiskey - bourbon, he doesn't drink scotch anymore - and maybe they can talk about innocuous things while they drink (slowly. carefully. drinking for pleasure, and not to get drunk). The terrible weather that reminds Koumei of home. Music to put on speaker while they drink. Travelling.

It's difficult for Akai to understand the man, sometimes. He speaks in flowery, ornate language, in phrases preserved through history books, and Akai has never found much interest in the distant past. But it's easier to understand him, when the man talks about his family.

Koumei talks fondly about his cute younger brother who dreamed of becoming a policeman, too. Akai dies a little inside. He hasn't seen his brother in a few years, Koumei says. He hopes he is alright. He wonders if he did anything wrong, to stop his little brother from talking to him. But he supposed neither of them have been particularly good at talking about their feelings. And they've been apart for so long, even as kids, that it's really no wonder that they've grown apart.

Akai thinks of Masumi, who knows nothing but his name, and of Shuukichi, who he hasn't seen face to face in a decade. If Shuukichi wasn't a public figure, it wouldn't be as easy to keep tabs on him. He could just as easily be dead, back home in the UK. Akai wants to go meet them, and then he remembers that he's dead now.

It's a cruel twist of fate, that he's a dead man walking. Meanwhile, he's drinking with Scotch's brother, who still faintly hopes that Scotch is well.

Akai can't tell him that he's dead. He can't tell this perfect stranger that he held his brother's life in his hands, and failed him. He can't tell this man that his brother's blood stained his clothes and marred his skin, and that it still burns like acid on his cheeks, some days.

All he can do is down his glass, and pour another one, for Scotch.

The conversation fizzles out quickly, when Akai misses his cue to talk about his own siblings. Koumei politely excuses himself, and goes to bed.

Even when Koumei has turned off the lights, Akai keeps sitting back against the wall, staring into the darkness.

He doesn't sleep, that night.

He doesn't sleep a lot, these days.

[ms-divi]

Could you draw telesicaa in your favorite meme?

But there are soo many, I think I'll go with this one

Here's them without dialogue

Nausicaa is defiantly the top in this relationship

If anyone else wants to draw this remember to reblog and comment!