#anyway. me when the interest i'm unable to be normal about comes up in an everyday situation: don't! start listing facts! no one wants them!

[myhairsadisgrace]

I played a trivia game with my family two (2) nights ago where one of the questions was something like "which is the only four-person rock/pop band where each member wrote a #1 hit song?" and no one else got it right because they all guessed the beatles. and I'm gonna be honest I'm still riding that high

[mitch-the-silly]

Hi hi hi hi hi big fan of your writing :3 do ya think you can do a vox x female reader when their out in public and some ones hits on reader??? *Disclaimer* I luv u (platonically)

Omg I love this idea and I love you too (platonically as well)!! Vox is my bbg and any idea to get me writing for him is literal heaven-

Anyway, he's a bit of a Yandere, I just know it!!! So here!

Vox x fem!reader

Oneshot!

"Aggro of a Bleeding Heart"

It was rare when you and Vox decided to roam Petagram City. The amount of low-class sinners that also roamed the place made it unsafe not just because of the extreme classicism the Vees believed in, but because crime was as high as you’d expect a city in Hell to be. Of course, today was an exception because you two were on your way to an exclusive club and you just refused to drive to a place so nearby.

So when you arrived at this club, he chose a table for the both of you and got up to greet some fellow overlords. You simply sat there, fancy purse in hand as you patiently waited for your Vox. You were always well-dressed and put together. It was one of the many benefits of being an Overlord’s girlfriend. A particular piece of your outfit that you always flaunted was a huge “V” shaped broach he’d given you. His hat logo atop of the letter. Some people commented on it seeming like him taking ownership of you (which might be true deep down within Vox’s heart) but truth be told, to you, it was a symbol of how close he was to your heart.

Now, needless to say, looking that pretty attracted men to you. All of which you rejected immediately. But rejection didn’t stop men at times. As was the case with the sinner who was flirting with you right now.

“Come on babe~ He probably doesn’t even pay attention to you~ And he definitely doesn’t please you.” The sinner smirked, pointing at your broach.

You made a face of slight disgust at him, “You don’t know anything about me, ok?” You huffed, undignified.

“Oh, I but I bet he doesn’t treat you right. Come on…~ Ditch that flat screen bastard. C’mon, you know you wanna…~” He insisted. You shook your head, suddenly noticing a figure behind him. Good, this would be over soon.

"I already told you, I'm not interested." You scoffed.

Behind him stood Vox, electricity cracking behind him and fangs out like a bloodthirsty animal. He was beyond protective of you and upon seeing another man speaking to you while you tried to move away from him, he knew he had to jump in.

“Í̷̬s̶̨͂ ̶̟͆ḧ̴̖e̸͆͜ ̷̯̊b̷̗̄o̶̡̐ẗ̴̮́ẖ̸͗ȩ̴͝r̶̢̃ǐ̵͍n̵̡͗g̶̗̈ ̸͍͠y̴͜͝ỏ̴͖ű̷̩,̸̞̒ ̶̦͋b̸̼̿ǎ̶̢ḅ̴͆y̷͖͝?̶̭̇ ” He asked, unable to keep his voice normal. The glitching being a sign of his agitation. He wanted to murder the man in front of him, strangle him with his bare hands, but he couldn’t. He would not dare cause that big of a scene.

“I already told him that I wasn't interested in him.” You sighed, simply annoyed by the stranger’s persistence.

That stranger turned quickly, and once he saw Vox behind him, attempted to scurry away from the situation. However, Vox swiftly appeared in front of him, grabbing the man by the collar.

“Y̵o̷u̴'̷r̶e̴ ̵p̷r̶e̶t̶t̸y̴ ̶f̶u̷c̶k̸i̶n̵g̵ ̶b̵o̷l̴d̸,̸ ̶a̸r̴e̴n̴'̶t̵ ̶y̷o̷u̸?̴ ̷T̴a̸l̴k̵i̶n̶g̵ ̸t̸o̵ ̸m̴y̵ ̴g̵i̸r̵l̴ ̷t̸h̵a̷t̶ ̶w̷a̴y̶.̷.̶.̸ ” Vox hissed, still crackling in pure rage. “I̶ ̷h̴e̸a̷r̴d̸ ̶a̷l̷l̵ ̴t̷h̴e̸ ̷s̵h̷i̸t̶ ̷y̴o̶u̸ ̷w̶e̴r̴e̴ ̴t̴e̵l̴l̴i̴n̶g̷ ̶h̷e̷r̸.̷ ̴Y̸o̵u̴ ̸t̶h̷i̴n̶k̵ ̸I̷ ̶c̵a̵n̸'̶t̴ ̶p̸l̶e̸a̸s̴e̶ ̷m̸y̸ ̸o̷w̴n̸ ̸w̶o̷m̴a̵n̷?̵ ” Vox added. His voice shaking as much as his hands. He looked like a rabid dog and it was… kind of hot to you.

“N-no, s-sir!” The man stuttered.

“It’s not what I heard you say, you u̸g̸l̸y̷ ̶f̵u̷c̷k̴i̵n̴g̵ ̷s̵l̷u̴g̴… I’ll give you two minutes to leave the vicinity before I b̴l̷o̸w̷ ̶y̵o̴u̶r̴ ̸f̸u̴c̶k̸i̶n̵g̶ ̴b̵r̶a̷i̴n̴s̸ ̴o̵u̸t̷ ̶w̵i̵t̵h̸ ̶a̷ ̸C̶r̶a̵m̵i̴n̶e̶.̴.̴.̸ ” He threatened. Oh, and he was very much capable of this. Shooting a sinner with an authentic Carmine weapon was something he’d proved he wasn’t above doing when it came to your safety or his jealousy, for that matter. And unlike regular gunshots, there was no coming back from a fatal shot from a Carmine weapon. If you were killed by it, you were fucked. Gone into oblivion.

“Y-yes sir!” The sinner stuttered. Vox let go of his collar and the puny man that had flirted with you a few minutes ago was now stumbling over himself trying to leave the club.

Vox shuddered, calming down and sitting next to you. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer towards him. “Fuck… I hate the fucking scum we live amongst. I’m not leaving you alone on a night out ever again, I’m… sorry about that bastard.”

“It ok Voxxie, it was kinda hot… what you did, you know?” You chuckled slightly.

“Yeah? You like it when I get all jealous over you?” He smirked, letting out a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, I like it when you get all glitchy and crackly. It’s kinda cute...” You giggled.

“I should do it more often, then~.” He chuckled, planting a peck on your lips.

You kissed his screen and chuckled, "You should, it suits you a lot~" You cooed, placing a hand on his chest.

Vox let out another chuckle, "Well, good to know. Now I know how to win you over when you're being a brat."

"Hush, you! We're in public!" You protested, embarrassed that he'd say that out loud, but finding it kind of funny.

"Who said I meant it that way. Get your mind out of the gutter, baby~" He teased, holding your waist.

"I fucking hate you." You joked.

"Oh, you love me~" He retorted with a cocky laugh.

[lale-txt]

🌙 waking up at night without you by their side ↳ w/ Kid, Rayleigh, Denjiro & Yamato

a/n: another draft that's been sitting here since forever. in the light you go!! love me some lighthearted fluff. slightly suggestive + poly mention for Rayleigh (i feel like i'm putting this ALWAYS when writing Rayleigh omg) also sending kisses to all my anons swooning over Yamato. i know i don't write him that much but wanted to include him here for you ♡ i always love reading about your undying love for him, it's the purest thing.

Kid 

how dare you leave his side while he’s sleeping

don’t you know about your big spoon duties which involve holding him tenderly from behind, rubbing his back and making sure your arms are constantly wrapped around him all the time? 

Kid huffs when he wakes up with his back cold and your side of the bed empty

were you going for a midnight snack without him? didn’t you know that he was also craving shredded cheese at 3am? was your relationship a lie the whole time? 

no he’s not being dramatic why do you ask

or did you miss a step of your skin care routine and went back to the bathroom to do it again? he told you countless times that it didn’t work that way…

he throws back the covers and gets up, his red hair a mess and barely held together by the cat ear hairband you once gifted him 

Kid’s first instinct when he’s in trouble is to consult Killer so they can be in trouble together, so naturally he stomps down the hall to Killer’s cabin and doesn’t bother knocking, just bursts in like the Kool Aid man 

he lets out a surprised gasp when Killer isn’t sleeping peacefully in his bed but playing cards with you, Heat and Wire – very wide awake 

before Kid’s face can turn the color of his hair, you already kick out a chair for the tulip and gesture him to sit his ass down so you can explain

“see… on the last island when we stocked up on supplies Killer didn’t buy decaf coffee like ne normally does but regular… and since everyone but you drinks coffee–” “because it’s BAD for your skin, but no one ever listens to me” “–all of us have just been unable to fall asleep.”

Kid rolls his eyes and continues huffing, but also pulls you in his lap and wrap his arm around you, falling asleep with his head resting against yours as you continue your game

but no more coffee for you after 2pm, decaf or not. the big spoon rule book got updated, you gotta keep up duh

Rayleigh

even in his sleep Rayleigh reaches for you, wanting to hug you close to him, only content when he can nuzzle his face in the back of your neck

so when his hand pats into empty space, he’s suddenly awake, mumbling out your name into the dark 

first thing he does is turn on the light on the nightstand and reach for his glasses because he can’t see shit without them

still fighting off sleep, he takes a moment to reconstruct last night, smiling over it. no, you definitely fell asleep in his arms after you both finished… several times

actually he could go another round now that he was awake, but someone was missing…

it’s when he hears muffled voices coming from downstairs that he calls out your name again, louder this time

“we’re in the kitchen!”

we? … oh

with his observation haki never failing him, Rayleigh realizes within a heartbeat now what is going on

following your laughter he finds you in the kitchen… accompanied by a very familiar face

“Ray, I must say your taste is exquisite as always…”

Shakky cups your face, a cigarette dangling from her lips, as she beams at her husband leaning in the doorframe

“i think I’m in love with your wife”, you sigh dreamily, melting under her touch and gazing up to her with puppy eyes, completely encharmed by her 

Rayleigh ruffles his white hair and just smirks. he was about to introduce you anyway, so this makes things much easier now

he comes closer and places kisses on both of your cheeks. this night just got so much more interesting… 

Denjiro

Denjiro is always a little sleepy and would pass out within a heartbeat wherever and whenever, but preferably with you by his side, pulling you close even in his sleep

so why were his arms empty right now?

long blue hair is spilled all over the futons and usually by now you would complain because you’re getting tangled up in it 

rubbing his eyes he sits up, he murmurs out your name into the dim light of your shared room 

Denjiro isn’t too worried, he knows what you’re capable off, otherwise the yakuza boss wouldn’t have married you. he twists the golden band on his ring finger absentmindedly as he’s slowly forcing himself to wake up properly

it’s when he notices the gentle breeze coming through the open sliding door leading to the veranda and he immediately knows where to look for you

throwing the blanket over his shoulders he gets up, already making out your silhouette in the milky moonlight as you sit there huddled up, looking over your shoulder when you hear his footsteps approaching

“Den… you gotta see this…” 

your excited whisper and gestures to keep quiet had him curious, but more than that he was just happy to see you smiling

Denjiro sits down behind you and pulls you in his lap, wrapping his big arms and the blanket around you and kissing the side of your neck. you’re cold but feel warmth tingling in your limbs immediately under his touch

“what is it, little moonshine?”, he whispers and rests his chin on top of your head. you almost disappear in his embrace due the size difference and wiggle yourself in a comfortable position, the tip of your nose and your curious eyes peeking out from the blanket 

“snow bunnies”, you say softly and point to the garden where a pair of white bunnies frolic around in the falling snow, almost invisible for the eyes

Denjiro smiles and leans down to kiss you again. love is stored in the little things, you taught him that. and soon he falls asleep again, holding you tightly as he drifts into dreams of you, but none sweeter than the reality he gets to live with you

Yamato

personal space? not in this house 

Yamato usually sleeps sprawled out like a starfish and rotates in his sleep like a beyblade

but it’s fine because you adjusted to that! nothing can stop you from cuddling your big golden retriever boyfriend in his sleep

so when he wakes up at night and doesn’t feel your familiar weight on top of him it just sends him into straight up panic

in an attempt to turn the lights on he gets tangled up in the sheets and stumbles, taking down the lamp and everything else on the nightstand with him 

he’s calling out your name and trying not to cry on the spot

did you have a bad dream and he didn’t notice? were you somewhere crying on your own? his heart couldn’t take the thought of it. 

this was even worse than the one time he lost you at the supermarket in the candy aisle and he had to make an announcement over speaker which was mostly him sobbing into the microphone

his brain still lagging from the sleepiness and shock, Yamato doesn’t notice how you squat down next to him, picking off various nightstand items (tissues, crystals, harness…) off him 

“Yams, just what are you doing down there? were you sleepwalking? i knew this would become an issue one day…”

cut to Yamato sobbing in your arms because for three hot minutes he thought he had lost you forever 

which is when you kindly explain him that nature called and you only went to the bathroom but would have returned into his arms straight away

however you can never hold back tears as well when you see Yamato crying and now you’re both on the floor sobbing as you hold each other tenderly 

only when he kisses away the salty streaks you both calm down a little and can laugh about the situation

ever since you leave a little note out when you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and make sure to snuggle extra close to him once you return, making Yamato smile even in his sleep

[yesihaveaobsession]

Moonlit Tea

Alastor x female hybrid reader

Summary: You are a hybrid of a vampire and a werewolf, Alastor the observant one of the hazbin group has noticed your quick speed (vamp speed) and over a cup of tea he wants to get to know you. Know you for your soul?

A/N- I saw somewhere where I think Alastor doesn't like tea but for the sake of the story y'all better let it slide. Also yes, the hybrid idea is from "The Originals" so..Anyways! Hope y'all enjoy. <3

You have been staying at the hotel for some time now. You weren't just a normal resident— in fact, you weren't really ordinary at all. You were a hybrid, part werewolf and part vampire. You hadn't told anyone about it, not even Charlie, because, well, it's just hard for you to come to terms with being one of the last few remaining in your pack.

Due to your vampire qualities, you had super speed. Although you didn't try to use it often because that would reveal your true nature, occasionally you did so when you thought nobody was around or looking. Unfortunately, Alastor, the ever so observant member of the group, noticed. This intrigued him, leading him to invite you for tea.

As you walked towards him on the hotel balcony, he greeted you with his usual smile. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," he said, gesturing to the empty chair. "Please, sit down."

You took a seat across from him and observed as he poured the tea. He looked up at you, studying your eyes flickering with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Meeting his gaze, you asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to get to know you better," Alastor said, taking a sip of his tea. His gaze wandered over your features before returning to your face. Sensing that there was more to come, you waited for him to continue.

"I couldn't help but notice your remarkable speed, a trait quite befitting of a vampire, wouldn't you say?" You couldn't help but shift in your chair, realizing where this conversation was heading. He noticed your discomfort, but you replied, "I don't really like to talk about it." Alastor simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Understandable," he said before taking another sip of his tea. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you a personal question." Though you were hesitant, you took a sip of your own tea, signaling your readiness.

"I guess," you replied. Alastor leaned forward, his smile remaining as he locked eyes with you. "What else are you?" he inquired.

"I'm sorry?" you said, feigning ignorance, hoping he'd take a hint. However, he persisted.

"Let me rephrase my question," he said, causing your heart to pound in your chest. "Are you a full vampire or a hybrid?" You remained silent, prompting Alastor to lean back in his chair. "You're a hybrid, aren't you, dear?" he stated more than asked.

You nodded, seeing a look in Alastor's eyes that implied consequences if you didn't comply. "Interesting," he remarked. "I take it the other creature is a werewolf?" You looked away, unable to meet his gaze. He also noted your nervous shifting, finding it rather endearing.

"It's difficult for me to talk about," you whispered. Alastor paused, sipping his tea again while observing your reactions.

"Then I won't ask any more questions on the matter," he declared. "Unless, of course, you don't mind me asking a few more." Pouring more tea into both cups, you deliberated for a moment.

"You get three more questions, then I'm cutting you off," you stated firmly. Alastor chuckled, a sound akin to radio static. "Fine, fine," he acquiesced, clearing his throat.

"Now, my second question is..." He leaned forward again, his eyes fixed on yours. "Do you have a soul?" Once more, you shifted uncomfortably, his persistence beginning to unnerve you. Alastor, however, found your nervousness oddly charming, his grin widening as he awaited your response.

As the tension between you grew, he posed his third question, his voice lowering. "Are you afraid of me?" With your body practically trembling, you realized that his three questions had been used up, but due to your proximity, you couldn't simply walk away.

"I'm not afraid," you retorted, meeting his gaze despite your unease. Alastor raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to you with a slight tilt of his head. "Oh, really?" he countered, his voice low and calm as he leaned in, almost unnervingly close. "Are you sure about that, dear?"

Your heart racing, you summoned your courage. The sudden silence between you two was nothing short of deafening. He enjoyed watching you squirm under his gaze as he smiled, leaning in closer until your bodies were almost touching, and he whispered, "Yes or no?"

"You killed my pack," you replied. He tilted his head slightly, as if confused, but then he remembered. "I did," he admitted. Pulling himself a little further back, he folded his hands behind his back, maintaining his composure. "Still, I would like an answer to my question, dear," he stated, his voice low and his eyes narrowing.

"You... you did it on purpose," you accused once you realized the truth. Alastor chuckled a little bit. "Is that so?" he responded. He didn't deny your accusations, nor did he try to make an excuse. "Yes, I did... but that was in the past," he explained, his grin growing wider. There was something about the fear that you displayed that was simply fascinating to him as well.

"I am not afraid of you." You declared once again and his smile only got wider. "You're quite confident in yourself," he observed, his voice barely above a whisper. "And that, is what I like." As he noted the change in your eyes, a predatory gleam entered his own. "Interesting." Your eyes turned into you werewolf ones, before you could react, he snapped his fingers, and suddenly, you were somewhere else, bound by grim chains. Alastor materialized in front of you, blocking any chance of escape. "Let me go," you demanded, fear and frustration coursing through you.

"Oh, I think I will... once I ask my final question," he replied, his index finger trailing along your jawline. Your growl only amused him further, his amusement evident in his chuckle.

"Such an adorable creature you are," he remarked, leaning closer until your breaths mingled. "What the hell do you want from me?" you gritted out, struggling against the chains to no avail. Alastor chuckled at your defiance, his smirk growing more pronounced.

"Such foul language," he teased, his breath brushing against your skin. "Oh no, dear, I'm afraid you're not going anywhere," he added as you attempted to break free. He relished watching you squirm, his fingers tracing the contours of your face.

"I'll do anything... Just let me go and don't hurt me," you pleaded, desperation evident in your voice. Alastor's grin widened, his interest piqued by your offer.

"I'm not intending to hurt you," he reassured, his gaze never leaving yours. As he leaned in closer, his mere presence overwhelming, he whispered, "You can either comply and hand it over, or refuse and I'll have to take it by force."

"I should've never trusted you," you lamented, realizing the gravity of your mistake. Alastor tilted his head mockingly, his grin bordering on predatory.

"Trust was never an option, darling, not with me at least," he countered. Drawing even closer, he savored your scent, relishing the power he held over you.

In the midst of your struggle, you realized his true intentions. "You do want my soul," you whispered, resigned to your fate. His grin widened as you finally grasped the situation.

"Yes, yes I do," he admitted, his admission sending a chill down your spine. "But you said—" you began, only to be silenced by his finger against your lips.

"Shh," he hushed, removing his finger. "I did lie to you earlier," he confessed, his touch sending shivers down your spine. As his hand trailed along your collarbone, he maintained eye contact, his smile never faltering.

"You can either do as you're told and hand it over or refuse and I'll have to take it by force," he reiterated, his tone laced with both menace and desire.

"I should've never trusted you," the Radio Demon remarked, tilting his head to the side with a mocking smile. "Trust... was never an option, darling, not with me at least."

As he leaned in even closer, mere centimeters away, he breathed in gently, slowly enjoying your scent.

[montammil]

Forever Be Mine, part 5

Didn't proofread this one and might regret it lol. If I need to put any more warnings let me know!

Masterlist here!

CW: Attempted noncon, yandere/creepy whumper, physical violence, food

...

A week passed and Sawyer hadn't tried escaping again. He followed Rowan around the house obediently, barely even speaking a word to him. Rowan could tell he was still miserable, but at least he wasn't attempting to run away anymore. And that was an improvement, in Rowan's opinion.

They had eaten dinner earlier, a stew made with vegetables from Rowan's garden. Sawyer hadn't spoken the entire meal, only offering a few grunts in response to the conversation.

He wasn't interested in chatting, and Rowan figured he could play along with that for now. Sawyer seemed too depressed to do anything other than follow him around and stare at the ground.

It made Rowan sad seeing him like this, but he knew it was necessary for both of them to adjust to their new life together. As long as Sawyer stayed, eventually he would grow used to it.

And if he didn't... well, that would be unfortunate for him. Rowan wouldn't hesitate to punish him again.

He didn't want to have to resort to that, but he would if necessary. Sawyer needed to learn how things were going to be from now on. Rowan wasn't going to let anyone take him away ever again, no matter what he had to do to keep him safe and sound here with him.

"My love," Rowan spoke, placing his hand atop Sawyer's own resting on the table. "Talk to me. Please?"

Sawyer slowly looked up from his plate and met his gaze. "About what?"

He smiled fondly at him, stroking his knuckles with a thumb. "Anything at all. Whatever comes to mind." Sawyer avoided eye contact, fidgeting nervously with his fork in his other hand. "Tell me something I don't know about you." He doubted there was anything he didn't know about Sawyer by now, but he wanted to hear him speak anyway.

"I dunno," Sawyer mumbled. "What do you want to know?"

He hummed thoughtfully, trying to think of any questions he could ask. "How'd you get into singing?"

Sawyer didn't respond right away. He just stared blankly at him with no emotion in his eyes whatsoever. "I just always liked it," he mumbled eventually. "I started singing in school choirs and stuff like that when I was little. My friend then invited me to sing in his band when I was around seventeen." Sawyer looked back down at his food, poking it with his fork idly. "I guess it just kinda went from there."

Rowan squeezed his hand. "How were you like when you were younger?"

Though Sawyer hated meaningless questions about his personal life, Rowan was his only source of human interaction here in this hellscape.

So he relented. "I was intimidating when I was younger. Since I was always quiet and had a resting bitch face, most people avoided me. I learned how to act 'normal' in senior year."

He cocked his head curiously. "Why?"

Sawyer huffed in annoyance. "Because no one likes me unless I do."

Rowan frowned. "I like you."

"Yeah, 'cause you're nuts."

He scoffed. "Well thank you so much for that lovely compliment." He was surprised when Sawyer laughed, albeit quietly. But it was a laugh nonetheless, which brought a smile to Rowan's face as well. "For the record, I wasn't the most popular person growing up either. I was seen as quite the nerd in school. I always got straight A's and was much more timid than I am now."

Sawyer snorted. "I can't imagine that. Well, maybe the nerd part."

He couldn't help but laugh along with him. "I'm not always this talkative, trust me." He propped his head on a hand and stared at Sawyer, unable to look away from him even if he tried. "But it's different with you." Sawyer glanced up from his plate with narrowed eyes, but Rowan continued smiling warmly at him regardless of the glare being directed at him. "When we're together, I just feel so comfortable around you, like we were meant to be."

The shorter man's smile fell into a frown. "I hate to break it to you, but I don't feel that way."

"Well, give it time." Rowan finished the last spoonful of stew and placed the dish in the sink. "Once you realize we belong together, we can truly start our lives." Sawyer only grunted in response. "Don't worry, my love. I know you're a romantic at heart."

Rowan walked over to him and held out a hand, helping him out of his chair. He guided him upstairs and into the bedroom, where Sawyer silently crawled into bed while Rowan changed into his nightwear.

He snuggled up next to him, draping an arm over Sawyer's waist and burying his face into his neck. "You smell so nice," he murmured against his skin, planting kisses up and down his throat and shoulder blade. "And you're so soft." His hand roamed across his body, feeling the fabric of his shirt under his fingertips. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"Okay," Sawyer mumbled in annoyance as he tried wiggling out of his grip, "that's enough, you can stop."

Rowan ignored him and continued kissing his neck. He snaked his hand under Sawyer's shirt and caressed his belly with a thumb. Sawyer flinched away at the touch and made a small noise of discomfort.

Sawyer clenched his jaw. "I'm tired, Rowan."

He finally managed to pull himself free and rolled onto his side, facing away from him. Rowan scowled at being rejected, but didn't attempt to force the issue.

Instead, he pulled Sawyer close and spooned him from behind. He took the smaller man's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers together, bringing them to his lips and kissing every knuckle.

It was infuriating how affectionate Rowan was all the time. Sawyer had never met anyone who could be so clingy and touchy-feely twenty-four-seven without feeling drained after a few hours of it.

Just as Sawyer was drifting off, a loud boom of thunder made him jolt.

Rowan chuckled quietly behind him. "Are you scared of storms?" Sawyer didn't answer him and instead remained frozen in place. He felt Rowan lean over and press a kiss against the back of his head. "Don't worry. I'm here to protect you from any danger." Sawyer shivered at those words and could practically feel Rowan smirking behind him. "I'll always keep you safe. Even if it means fighting nature itself."

"I'm not afraid of storms," Sawyer grumbled defensively, "I just don't like sudden loud noises."

He snickered. "Sure."

Lightning flashed through the curtains followed by another clap of thunder. Sawyer shut his eyes tightly and clutched the pillow in his fists as tightly as possible.

Rowan coaxed Sawyer to roll back over to face him and brought his head to his chest. Sawyer listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart. He'd never admit it actually was pretty soothing.

"I'm not scared," Sawyer reiterated.

Rowan's hand rubbed his back in circles. "I know you aren't." Sawyer figured that was sarcasm. Another bolt of lightning filled the room in white light followed by another crack of thunder. He instinctively buried his face deeper into Rowan's chest and held onto his shirt tightly. "Shh, it's okay."

Next thing Sawyer knew, Rowan pulled the blanket to cover both of them, so the burst of white that filled the room was less overwhelming.

Sawyer's breathing slowed down after a couple minutes of being comforted by Rowan. The thunder and lightning outside wasn't bothering him anymore; it was only a mild inconvenience at this point.

...

Rowan was busy in the kitchen cooking lunch while Sawyer was washing up the dishes from their breakfast that morning. He finished drying the last plate and set it aside before grabbing a washcloth to wipe off the countertops. Rowan glanced over his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Thanks for your help today, my love," Rowan hummed.

Sawyer sighed, "yeah, whatever."

He was too tired to argue anymore with him. Anytime he would try, Rowan would silence him with a kiss or ignore him.

He felt like nothing more than an object to him these days, though he doubted there was any way to change that, so Sawyer just tried to remain patient and wait it out until he'd somehow manage to escape without a trace.

Rowan added spices to the pot and set the spoon aside. "Have you ever been fishing before?" Sawyer shrugged, setting down the washcloth and crossing his arms over his chest. "No? Well, I'll teach you if you want."

Sawyer watched Rowan drain the noodles from the water into the strainer before pouring them into two bowls. He poured marinara sauce on top and sprinkled parmesan cheese on each bowl.

"Here." Rowan placed one bowl down on the table and motioned for Sawyer to sit down beside him. He hesitated for a moment before obeying.

"It's ziti," Rowan explained, stirring his own pasta with a fork.

"I know what ziti is," Sawyer grunted and copied him by mixing his food too.

After lunch, Sawyer insisted he wanted to be alone and not follow Rowan around for once, which he reluctantly allowed him to have privacy in exchange for a kiss. The moment Rowan left the room, Sawyer rubbed at his mouth with disgust. He walked up to the bedroom and flopped on the bed face down. He laid there in silence for several minutes, unable to think clearly with all these thoughts racing through his mind.

It didn't take long for his exhaustion to catch up with him and lull him into sleep.

Sawyer wasn't sure how long he'd been out when he woke up to the feeling of lips on his neck and hands on his waist. Rowan was straddling him, pressing kisses across his neck and collarbone.

"I'm sorry for waking you, sweetheart," Rowan spoke softly. "You were making such adorable sounds while sleeping. I couldn't help myself." Sawyer tried sitting up, but Rowan forced him back down by pushing on his shoulders. "Stay," he growled low in his ear, sending shivers down Sawyer's spine. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Get off of me," Sawyer tried ordering.

Rowan tightened his grip on him until it became painful. "No," he replied firmly. "I'm tired of you pushing me away every time I try getting close." His hand found itself to the waistband of Sawyer's pants, dipping under the hem and exploring what was underneath. "Please just let me have this. I've been so patient with you."

Never had Rowan ever been this forceful. In a moment of panic, Sawyer punched him harder than he intended.

He only realized what he had done when he saw blood dripping from Rowan's nose as he released him in shock. He stumbled backwards off the bed, holding his bleeding nose. Sawyer watched with wide eyes.

"You're a fucking brat, you know that?" Rowan hissed through gritted teeth. Sawyer was frozen in fear, unable to move or speak in response.

Rowan yanked him off the bed and dragged him down the stairs. Sawyer clawed at his wrists futilely to no avail. Rowan seemed too angry to care. They stopped in front of the basement.

"No! No, stop, not there!" Sawyer had never heard his voice so raw with emotion before. "Please! I'm sorry!" He kicked and struggled wildly against Rowan's hold on him.

To his surprise, Rowan heard him out. He dragged him past to the basement, but Sawyer had no time to feel relief when he realized Rowan was leading him to the front door. Rowan pulled something from his pocket and opened it, revealing a key ring with at least two dozen keys on it. He unlocked the front door, and then proceeded to drag him through the snow and to the shed.

He shoved him inside and grabbed some rope off the wall, tying his ankles together along with both wrists behind his back. Sawyer writhed on the ground in agony as the ropes dug painfully into his flesh.

"Rowan," Sawyer whimpered weakly. "I'm sorry." He was already shivering from the cold, his thin pajamas providing little warmth against the bitter chill of winter outside. "I didn't mean to hit you."

"You should've thought about that before you did it," Rowan snapped. "But if you want space so badly, I'll do you a favor and give you it. You can stay out here for a night or two until you come to your senses." He marched back to the door and paused. "I'll come back with a blanket soon." Then slammed it shut behind him, leaving Sawyer alone in complete darkness.

It was freezing outside and Sawyer didn't even have a jacket on to keep him warm. He whimpered pitifully and tried rubbing his legs together to generate any semblance of heat at all, but all it did was rub the rope further into his skin.

All he could do now was wait helplessly until Rowan would return with something warmer. If he'd return at all.

Sawyer could hear the wind blowing against the shed's wooden walls, causing creaks and groans everywhere throughout the room. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Rowan left.

It could've been seconds or minutes or even hours by now. Every second felt like an eternity alone in the dark. Sawyer couldn't see anything around him, and all he could focus on was the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Eventually he began shivering uncontrollably as the cold air seeped through his skin, freezing every inch of his body. He curled up on his side, trying desperately to conserve body heat and prevent hypothermia from setting in too fast.

Time passed and Sawyer continued shivering in silence until he heard footsteps outside the shed.

Rowan swung open the door and carried a lantern inside, illuminating the room in dim orange light. Sawyer's eyes stung from the sudden brightness flooding his vision after being in the pitch black for so long.

"Hey, darling." Rowan's voice sounded apologetic as he walked over to where Sawyer was lying on the ground and knelt down beside him. "I brought you a blanket and some soup to warm you up." He set aside the soup and draped the large amber blanket around Sawyer's trembling frame, tucking it under him to provide maximum insulation against the frigid air around them. "Can you sit up?"

Sawyer nodded and struggled to lift himself upright against the wall. Rowan helped him into a sitting position and sat in front of him with the soup in his lap.

He noticed Rowan's face was bruised from where he punched him. He didn't feel guilty about it though. If anything, it made Sawyer happy that he'd at least had hurt him a little bit before he got thrown into this damn shed like an animal.

Rowan pulled out a spoon from his coat pocket and dipped it into the soup, holding it out for Sawyer to eat from.

Sawyer leaned forward and took a sip from the spoon. The broth was still hot, warming his insides instantly and helping to soothe his aching muscles and bones.

"Thank you," Sawyer mumbled as Rowan fed him another spoonful. "I'm sorry I hit you." He figured that's what Rowan wanted, an apology. "I just panicked. I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, precious, I know that." He pressed a kiss against his forehead and wiped away tears from his cheek with a thumb. "I shouldn't have done what I did either. You've been through a lot lately and I've just been so stressed from it all. I need to be more patient with you."

"Does that mean I can come out?" Sawyer asked hopefully.

"No." The shorter man's expression fell. "You still hit me, and that hurt me." Rowan pouted and cupped his cheeks. "You're going to stay here for a little while longer and think about what you did. Once I think you've learned your lesson, then we'll talk again." He pulled away and stood up from the floor, dusting off his pants. "I'll leave the lantern here for you. If you need anything else, just yell."

And with that, he left and closed the door behind him again, plunging Sawyer into darkness once more.

[vermillioncrown]

This is going to be a huge post because you've picked up so much of what we put down I'm just 🥰🥹

@sunshinerotting replied to your post “(@rozaceous) dpnf ch 11: housebroken”:

will be rereading immediately but i love your guys’ characters very much and the way you write the canon characters makes so much sense. the way the people in that house interact with each other is so interesting to me because if tim was actually the normal boy he thinks he is the entire balance would be thrown off. no one else could’ve done what he does in that dynamic. they’re like a jigsaw puzzle to me. i have more thoughts give me a sec

thank you so much! roz and i keep joking that this fic is now an au of an au of an au of an au... and on and on, and then it's like. what makes this still a fic and not a fully original setting and work? we had to sell readers on a lot, that these characters (outside of our SIs) were still some flavor of canon. especially, "who is the core of tim drake?" and yeah, he's so not fucking normal. but he's not obviously wacky, either.

​out of order now i don’t remember chapter numbers: when jason showed up like a huge asshole i texted my friend about it. very much “he WOULD fucking do that but by god is it PISSING ME OFF” and it was!! love that genuinely. might not be what was intended but i do think he IS odd and sad and unable to move through the cycle of grief fully enough to show back up like a haunting and not expect it to get to allie like that. zero ability to understand how loved he is. 10/10 more...

GAH to know you texted abt our fic!!!! 🥹🥹🥹 best praise tbh. and the second sell: how is jason an asshole but worth rooting for later? or at least, allowed into the enclosure lol. we might not have had it summarized as neatly as you did, but roz and i are in full agreement you Read jason here. that's exactly what we wanted, that's so much of what we take from his character in various canons.

allie reminds me of a bobcat which feels weird to say but she’s so nonthreatening outwardly and she minds her business but the second someone steps in on her people it’s like Oh. oh right. teeth and claws. when jason showed back up i felt so much for her. there was no way for her to move. korvin acts in ways similar to me, which i will examine on my own time and not in your comments. i do love how everyone in this house has their own preferred flavor of Avoidance

you also have such a read on allie, i love it. i'll leave her to roz but i'll say my piece that i sometimes get bummed that korvin's so obviously wacky + a lot of gender stuff at play (the audience/demographic of ff readers, we live in a society and all that) that make more ppl focus on korvin over allie whereas they're both equally wack. and korvin's behavior makes the most sense when taken as a convoluted male re-socialization of someone initially female-socialized but rewarded in a male-dominated space. AND both of them are AuDHD, word of god putting that out there. add on the isekai brainworms, and yeah, isekai is just an extended analogy for masking → hence the different flavors of avoidance

tim is somehow the most well-adjusted in this regard, before jason shows up maybe, and thats so crazy. tim drake. Tim Drake ????comparatively well-adjusted to anyone ??? i know i’m forgetting something so i’ll come back but writing that down genuinely through me off a little bit. lol

you also recognize that jason ranks above tim in "well-adjusted" here, god, how does it feel to be so correct. and tim is well-adjusted here! he's never had to be a vigilante! but he's also much lonelier than in canon. something that made retrospective sense while we were writing is that he fell out of liking ball sports (despite not being a desk nerd) is that...who does he have to enjoy them with in this au?

threw not through. anyway I FORGOT ABOUT RUTABAGA. I AM SO SORRY RUTABAGA. the amount of love between the characters is so important to me bc it’s always there no matter how fucked the bats are about showing it normally. the brownstone does end up feeling like a safe space like it somehow feels so easy most of the time and then when tangential forces (sorry dick) show up it’s like the air changes. but allie and korvin and tim all have such Personalities its insane it works out like that.

RUTIE BEST GIRL, forgiven lol. YES YES YES there is so much love and it's like, the love doesn't stop you from doing the work. the bats are so fucked up, and we only get a glimpse of dick and korvin's relationship where you can see the maladapted consequences on both of their parts, dick not being fully equipped to "raise" korvin and korvin wanting to be easy/convenient for dick. and korvin's deep-seated not-abandonment issues tied with family and cultural trauma/burden.

(i still stand by the "good older brother dick grayson" tag, he's just. oh there's a lot. if you read between the lines there's so much being implied for TPAC)

but having allie in this 'verse, allie and korvin together ground each other. that's why they're so co-dependent in the beginning (it's healthier at the end), that's why they still had the wherewithal to seek an outside friend, and yes, that is why the brownstone is like that. their place that they made with their own hands.

obviously jason was an issue initially (it felt redundant to write that sentence) but he’s such a necessary part of them by being 1) necessary to allie and 2) the catalyst allie and korvin needed to end up where they are. i do think ppl that important to each other need one big unavoidable conflict to avoid stagnation like obviously he was a necessary part of the story but he was a Necessary Part Of The Story. does this make sense?? four strand braid.

AND YES DUDE you literally. we were writing this and we had the vibe, but we literally did not articulate it to each other until the very end that jason's actually necessary to make all of them normal. i love everything you're saying about needing one unavoidable conflict to resolve. he is part of a four strand braid. it's so strong. it's critical. korvin still finds jason annoying and vice versa. and yet they'd both say the household contains all of them by the end.

i just like that they start off alone and end up together. that’s my thing. jigsaw puzzle. polycule of all time. i can’t think of a way in which another person would ever get that close to them the dynamics are so perfect to me. every need is accounted for. its like a perfect little box in my mind. i think thats it for now lol i’m happy you guys write together. not just bc i love it but also bc it’s so clear u guys have fun doing it and that makes me happy <3

WE MADE IT. it's one thing to prescribe "hey guys this is a polycule" but selling it? the logistics of a polycule? not so easy, and it has to be tailored to the situation and characters. not all of them are romantically/sexually involved, nor do they have straight-forward relationships (hence, qpr), so having you say it fits and they seem seamless is like. top tier praise. coherence, it's everything we've aimed for.

thank you for all of your thoughts! we do have tons of fun and that's why we love sharing what we have! and we hope to keep doing projects like this, or we'll just be at each other's side while we work on our individual fics.

[kaminocasey]

1,2, and/or 11 with Hunter please! Congrats on 700! That's amazing!

Hello, my friend!!! Sorry it took me so damn long!!! I hope this is alright! <3 Thanks for sticking around with me for so long! <3 A/N: This is the LAST of my 700 follower requests haha. I'm literally at 1.3K followers now, if that tells you how behind I am. I'll be posting the masterlist for all of them soon! Thanks to everyone who sent in requests! I appreciate all of you so much!!!

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Angst-ish? Slightly suggestive language. WC: 1K 1. “I’m not going anywhere.” 2. “I think I’m in love with you.” 11. “Keep your eyes on me.”

“Is Omega still over at Lyana’s?” You ask Hunter as you come into the living room. 

“Yeah, she is- Oh. You look nice.” Hunter smiles at you softly, making you go warm all over. “Where are you headed?” 

“I’m just going for a walk.” You shrug, nonchalantly.

“Why do you look so dolled up?” Echo’s voice cuts through the room as he walks in. 

“I’m not dolled up.” You turn to look at him. 

“She’s probably got a date with Yuno.” Wrecker teases.

“Shut up.” You roll your eyes, going warm in the face. “We’re just going down to the beach.” 

Your whole body floods with warmth again as you notice Hunter taking in your sundress, his eyes traveling down your entire body. Why does he have this effect on you? 

“Just don’t get sand in unmentionable places. Believe me, it sucks.” Echo pats you on your shoulder.

“I don’t even want to know how you know that.” You laugh. 

Echo throws you a wink and goes into the kitchen. When you turn around to face Hunter, he looks up from clearly having been looking at your legs. It makes you burn in all the right places. But… Hunter is your sergeant… You’ve been trying to put those feelings aside for a couple years now. Unfortunately, they always seem to creep back up. 

“Alright. I’ll see you guys later.” You start to head to the door, needing to clear your head before you start to dwell on those thoughts.

“Is he here?” Hunter stands up and everyone gives him a weird look.

What is with him tonight? Normally, he’s not so in your business. 

“No, I’m meeting him down at the beach?” You look at Hunter, confused.

Hunter lets out a humorless snort. “He can’t even pick you up? Some guy.”

Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair all look at each other and then exit the room. “What’s your problem?” You ask him, putting your hands on your hips. 

“I just think you could do better than Yuno, is all.” Hunter shrugs. 

Your eyebrows furrow. “You do know it’s none of your business who I spend time with, right?” 

“I… I know that.” Hunter sighs. “I’ve just heard the way Yuno talks about women…”

The realization that he really is just looking out for you hits and you feel the tension drain from your body, unable to be mad at him anymore. You see his shoulders relax as well. 

“You’re sweet to care.” You smile, softly. “Thank you. But… We’re just hanging out. Okay?” 

“Alright.” Hunter sighs. 

You give him one last smile and then head out, making your way down the cobbled stone streets of Pabu, toward the beach. But as you walk, you can’t help but wonder about Hunter. About what was really bothering him. Why the sudden interest in your whereabouts or who you’re hanging out with. Since you’d all found peace after getting Omega, Tech, and Crosshair back, Hunter seemed more relaxed. But now… well. Who knows? 

When you get down to the dock, you don’t see Yuno yet so you sit on the edge and wait, patiently. 

After about forty minutes, you realize Yuno isn’t coming. Which is fine, honestly. Whatever. You didn’t like Yuno that much anyway. But now, you’re embarrassed. Because if Hunter finds out, he’ll probably never let you hear the end of it. 

As if on time, you hear a throat clearing. Turning around, you’re expecting to find Yuno finally showing up, but instead find Hunter. With a sigh, you turn back toward the ocean. 

“He didn’t show. You were right.” You chuckle. 

He quietly sits next to you.

“If you’ve come to say ‘I told you so’, I understand…” You murmur, leaning against the wooden dock post. 

Hunter puts a hand on your shoulder and you look at him, softly. His hands are always so warm and so careful. You’ve lost track of the amount of times you’ve gotten lost in thought over those hands.

“I’m not here to say ‘I told you so’. I’m here because I care about you.” He smiles ever so slightly.

“You care about me…” You look down at your feet dangling over the water. 

“Of course I do.” His hand falls from your shoulder to your own hand that rests between you.

Your chest tightens slightly at his admission.

“I… I more than care about you…” He whispers. 

You look up at him. “What do you mean?” 

He couldn’t mean… There’s no way.

“I think… no… I am… I’m in love with you.” Hunter confesses, taking your hand and holding it.

“You are?” 

“I am. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to tell you… and I completely understand if you don’t feel the same way-” He starts to ramble but you cut him off by quickly capturing his lips with yours, unable to hold back any longer. 

His lips are so soft and feel like home to you, like everything that has happened to you has led right up to this moment. This perfect moment. 

“Does that mean you feel the same?” He chuckles, brushing his thumb across your cheek. 

You laugh. “Yes. Very much so.” 

“Thank the Maker. I was so nervous.” He lets out a soft breathy laugh and you can’t help but grin at him, not minding the continuous fluttering in your stomach. 

“Let’s go home so I can properly cook for you and treat you how you deserve to be treated.” He stands up, offering his hand.

You take it and as you walk back toward home, he doesn’t let go. And as you walk past Yuno and his latest conquest who he seemed to have blown you off for, Hunter tilts your chin up toward him. 

“Hey, keep your eyes on me.” He grins down at you as you continue walking.

“I have no reason to look anywhere else.” You promise him, getting lost in the brown eyes that have been your favorite since the moment they looked your way. 

The moment that you approach the house, your lips are on his again and dinner is momentarily forgotten as he pushes you up against the siding, not ready to let Echo, Crosshair, Tech, or Wrecker ruin the moment yet. 

“I’m never letting you go.” Hunter whispers against your lips.

“Somehow, I’m okay with that.” You laugh softly as your lips find each other again.

TAGS: @twistedstitcher27 @misogirl828 @rebel-finn @rexandechosandwich @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @quigonswife8 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaw @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @nahoney22 @where-is-my-mind-tho @jediknightjana @erishimoon @witching3 @queen-of-many-fandoms

[moonieandi]

I NEED YOUR HELP- lol- sorry that’s such an interesting way to start an ask ‘I NeEd YoUR HelP?!?’ Haha- anyway- I’m thinking about writing a Stanley x reader! Kinda like what you’re doing but different- now I would totally give you more info on that except like- then it would give it away lol. All I really need help with is A.) how do you write Stanley as well as you do?! And B.) how do you normally start a story- I’ve been having a hard time with intros lately.

Also! you don’t have to help me out! Don’t feel pressured! I’m just asking bc I love your snapshots I think they are literally the bestest!! And I wanna be able to help readers feel that way when I write too!! I hope you are still taking care of yourself! Drink lots of water! Eat lots of snap peas! (They are the BEST-) and most importantly sleep well! I know you’re busy so make sure you take time for you! Have a safe and successful move too!

HI! HELLO! I'm so sorry I couldn't answer you right away, one bc I was so busy up until LEGIT JUST THIS VERY MOMENT, and two because I want to help anyway I can, and want my answer to actually be fleshed out!

Firstly, omg so sweet of you that you want my help <3 I'm so happy you reached out and SUPER excited to give you some insight! I encourage anyone who wants to write TO write, it's a great creative outlet (and also I love any and all Stan content hehe)- so:

A.) i. Stanley is based in my head off of my own fantastical characterization of him (which I'll get to in a moment), and also the character we know from the actual show OBVIOUSLY. I started by, of course, rewatching the show. Because I wanted to, and to also take note of his character in each episode. This consisted of getting some basic information about him from anything from his fear of heights to his terrible (great) sense of humor. The clear drive from Stanley is his deep love of family, and general familial bonds (Soos and Wendy). He takes "odd ones out" under his wing on the regular, because HE is an odd one out. People who don't ordinarily fit in are his bread and butter (and also his general sales pitch). He appreciates the oddities in people, in contrast to his brothers interest in ACTUAL oddities. He goes out of his way to keep these bonds, especially with these kids he's not-so-randomly taken under his wing (that he more than likely took in for the summer, trying to reconnect with family and therefore Ford in anyway he could). This tells me he's also a caring man, a weirdly desperate man, and more considerate than people on a surface level may give him credit for. Now this characterization maayyyy be a stretch but that's where the fun comes in!! YOU get to interpret these little things in any way you like, maybe he has a weird relationship with tangerines, maybe he can't keep eye contact on a date for a particular reason- and those situations can just flesh him out more!

ii. NOW the ""romantic"" side of things are of course skimmed from the romance I know from other media (and of course my own lovelife). I take this characterization of him, and find another characters I know and love to MAKE writing him in these situations easier- seeing as we do never see him IN these actual romantic stations (outside of the dating sim and that one failed date- WHICH can also play a role in how you write him romantically!) Stan reminds me of the suaveness and shyness of men in 90's romcoms: surprisingly well-meaning but stupidly flustered. I'd say Brenden Fraiser in his early romcom's come across like this or even Bill Pullman in While You Were Sleeping. It encompasses some of what I believe Stan to be in general: weirdly shy, unable to come out with it, flippantly sweet, sarcastic, and stupidly endearing. I also get general influence from more recent reference(s), the main one being Nick Miller from New Girl. I don't think I need to explain myself with that one. ALSO if you don't understand any of these references I apologize- but I very much encourage you to find your own references in ANY form of media! I even find myself inspired by art at times!

B.) Intro's are hard!! It feels like the hardest part at times. You need to hook the reader, engage them quickly, and have them come back curious!! I will reassure you with one thing: intro's do NOT have to be long! I'd encourage you to keep the intro sweet and simple with not tooooooo many details! don't over-explain to the reader, it may discourage them from continuing (in my opinion!). I take the "shoot first and ask questions later" approach. Throw the reader into a scene giving context clues to where in the story's timeline we are being thrown into. Flash forward and then back into the future! Start on an action scene- hell have the opening scene being two significant characters meeting! it's completely up to you, but I am reassuring you it doesn't have to be long, and DON'T make it too complicated! Complicate things later, grab the reader in the first chapter, and then explain some things later on! Let me also assure you: you do NOT have to write your story backwards, and you don't have to have a finite and "final" story ready to go. Have point A be the beginning and point B be the end and YOU make the trail from A to B!

And above all HAVE FUN!

[prismatoxic]

Absolutely losing my mind checking 4 ur fic update before I go to sleep every night PLSSS UR INTERPRETATION OF THEM MAKES ME INSANE

WAUGH... anon i'm so sorry it's taking so long 😭 comparatively speaking, anyway. i've NEVER updated a fic as fast as i have with this one, lmao

but!! i am still working on it, i promise. and thinking about it all the time. in fact i have its playlist on right now

here, an excerpt to maybe tide you over a little:

In front of the door, Laios holds a hand out. “Wait here a sec. I’m gonna put the dogs out back.” 

Right. Falin had mentioned dogs. There was no reason to assume there wouldn’t still be any, even if the Touden siblings had long since moved out. Chilchuck peers around Laios’s legs as he unlocks the door, then squeezes into the gap he makes as he opens it, commanding the animals in question to get back in a tone of voice far more fond than it is authoritative. 

He’s cute.

Chilchuck crosses his arms and tips his head back, staring up at the sky. Get it together, Tims.

By the time Laios makes his way back, he’s clearly been noticed;  Chilchuck hears him confirming his presence to someone before he opens the door. “Come on in,” he greets, but there’s a tension to him now that’s hard to ignore.

“Who did you—?” Chilchuck meets the elder Touden’s eyes as he steps inside, and they both freeze up for a moment. Chilchuck intends to stand his ground, but Laios’s father has those same piercing eyes, sans the default kindness of his son’s. He’s more intimidating than Chilchuck wants to admit.

“He’s a friend,” Laios explains, closing the door before motioning for Chilchuck to follow him. He clearly has no interest in prolonging the interaction, but his father stops him anyway, stepping into their path. Chilchuck discreetly moves closer to Laios in response. He doesn’t intend to play the role of a scared child hiding behind an adult’s legs, but he’s still a little bit nervous.

“You should tell me before you bring strangers over, Laios,” the mayor says, and while he doesn’t sound angry, he doesn’t sound particularly thrilled either. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to grab some of our old camping gear,” Laios responds, and Chilchuck can feel waves of icy contempt rolling off of him—like when they found the traps, but less angry. “He and I are gonna go for a hike.” He gestures Chilchuck’s way, but doesn’t take his eyes off of his father.

“This is the monster thing again, isn’t it,” Laios’s father sighs, looking briefly down at Chilchuck in a way that suggests he’s being blamed for enabling this. He bristles in response, ready to say something, but Laios beats him to the punch.

“Did you forget we used to go camping all the time?” he asks, stepping a little to the side to shield Chilchuck. The gesture should feel patronizing, but at this point, Chilchuck knows all too well that Laios’s intentions towards him are never infantilizing. “Why is it okay if it’s you but bad if it’s me?”

Unable to really see past Laios, Chilchuck can’t see his father’s face, but he sounds terse when he says, “That wasn’t for monster-sighting. You know the only thing I want is—”

“The only thing you want is for me to turn into you,” Laios spits.

“Laios,” his father admonishes, and Chilchuck realizes this is a normal interaction for them to have from the exasperation in his tone. Much as he doesn’t like the guy, he feels something familiar in his struggle.

“Hey,” he finally decides to cut in, reaching up to bump Laios’s closer hand with his own. “Calm down. Let’s get the stuff we came here for.”

Laios looks down at him in surprise, cheeks dusted faintly pink as the anger seems to bleed out of him all at once. When he looks back at his father, Chilchuck sees his jaw tighten, but all he says is “Pardon me,” side-stepping the mayor and walking past him to the stairs. 

Chilchuck follows, at least for a few steps, then hesitates as Laios starts ascending. When he looks back, he finds the elder Touden watching him with an expression that’s hard to define.

“...I have three kids,” Chilchuck explains, rubbing the back of his neck. “And... y’know, I let him do his thing, so. He’s more inclined to listen.”

Laios’s father doesn’t respond right away, and when he does, all he says is: “You’re Tims. From the other day.” He doesn’t even sound angry, just... surprised.

“Chilchuck?” Laios calls from the top of the stairs, and Chilchuck shrugs, a little sheepish, before following him.

[stardust-arcade]

Jack. They've gone though magic hell. Certainly they get a explanation?

Yah! What do you mean only if you want to?

Well what I mean is that magic is complicated. Black Star doesn't even know the secrets behind everything. Knowledge of magic is sometimes too much for some. It does not improve or make your life simpler. You've lived plenty of your lives without it and you still can. There are only certain scenarios like Eclipse here where you can't do that.

So what you're saying is that it's up to our personal opinion?

Essentially yes. The only thing I will state is that if you want to know about magic. You have to train with me. Never again am I going to explain the basics to someone and leave them be.

So it's either train with you, or simply live with the knowledge that magic exists for the rest of our lives?

Yes.

Well I don't care if I'm going to be training with you. I'm learning magic.

Brother are you certain? I know you probably have concerns. But eclipse is going to be taught, and we can always call Jack if there are issues.

I know that. I'm still learning. All of you have your hobbies and interests. All I have is the daycare. May as well have my own hobby.

Well. That's spoken. -Wha!- anyone else have a particular interest?

I want to say yes, but something keeps saying no.

I can guess what is telling you no. And I assure you. Nothing will happen if you were to learn.

What's that mean?

Some people are just unable to learn magic past the knowledge of it. You are one of those people.

How do you even know that? I mean you're letting him in.

Grr

I can see things that others don't. And trust me. I know who is right and wrong.

*Mumble*

Anyone else?

I am going to leave the magic for you. Just know that I'm probably going to have quite a bit of conversations.

As long as they don't tell you how it works. I believe knowledge of it is fine. Is that all the worries?

Should we get rid of the machine?

Oh no, come on!

The machine should be fine. As long as Eclipse isn't using magic around it. It will act normal. Might be best to not use it when eclipses close until they can control it though.

Oh thank heavens, this is one of my favorites.

Well I'm glad for you. Eclipse, Sun. You can either join Blackstar in the morning, or come in the afternoon. We can figure out a better schedule tomorrow.

I'll probably come in the afternoon. Most of the kids are picked up, and moon is available to cover me.

Great. That means I can bring Eclipse, and not deal with any of your stuff.

Please no fighting. It's already been stressful.

Agreed. Some rest would probably be best for everybody. Although I need a ride back home.

I can probably take you back. I believe you're establishment is somewhere west right? I'll be heading that way. Have to pick up something.

Thank you. Oh! Black Star.

Yah?

Other than bringing over eclipse. Take a day off.

Oh. Ok?

Anyways. Let's be off. Boy do I have a story to tell.

[piracytheorist]

So as I mentioned, I got my copy of the Family Portrait stories!

It feels weird to suddenly have to turn the pages the left-to-right way, lol. But I guess it wouldn't work the right-to-left way for a book translated to English.

Opening it there's this cute illustration, as well as the winter-y one on the back, which kinda makes me wonder: why is it bound on the book?? I wished there was a safe way for me to rip it off and hang it on my wall. Anyway, both illustrations are super cute!

And so my collection continues to grow!

I might order the Eyes Only guide soon, I'm just wary of it including spoilers from a few future chapters. So we'll see. In any case, this might be the first time since I was a child collecting Disney's Ducks comics (and I wasn't that meticulous with those, even) that I've made such a collection! Should things keep going well I intend to keep buying the volumes to the end of the story :D

Spoilered thoughts about the stories included in the book below!

The first mission with the Eden kids going camping actually reminded me that I can find the dynamic between Anya and Damian pretty funny, at least from seeing how stubborn Damian gets. The illustration especially of Damian holding Anya's hand with Anya going like "He can be nice for real??" and Damian going like "How dare she manipulate me into feeling bad for her!!" is terrific and the only way I'll ever see this dynamic, thanks. Also really loved the moment of Damian kinda and dismissively admitting to himself he's also scared of the thunderstorm. Also found it really funny how at the end, Loid is described as handsome XD the writer knew her audience!

In the second story I think I lost count how many times I laughed. While with a deep, interesting layer, Yuri is just so entertaining to me. The most normal guy ever, wishing he was an ingredient so his sister could chop him into her dishes along with pieces of the cutting board 🥰

No, but really, I think there was a lot of care in writing Yuri here. His inner monologue is unending and bound to give Anya a headache, though it was quite sudden to hear him refer to her as a bastard and the spawn of Loid's loins 😳 but I liked the darker tone as he "acted" as a cop and took out his frustrations on the actor, picturing him as a potentially-abusive Loid. It ticks at a very interesting dynamic which I very much hope Endo explores at some point :D

(I actually wonder if there will be a moment post-identity reveal (where Yuri also knows about both Loid and Yor) and he makes a really ugly quip at Anya and Loid goes all protective like "Say whatever you want about me, but hurt my daughter again and I won't hesitate, bitch")

While I found Anya's "interrogation" scene funny, I found it a bit repetitive that she used the same technique that she used with the Red Circus guy from the bullet-in-butt date. Small note, but still XD

For the third story I have both praises and criticism... I understand how it was needed for the story, but I don't like it when characters' disabilities are taken away. It would have made for a bit more complicated setting but it would have been a little more respectful to have Alessa unable to see Franky because she had eye surgery for whatever reason aside from being blind before, and she had bandages on and couldn't see. And Franky would feel like he's on borrowed time because he knows from day to day she'll get the bandages off and she'll face him.

Also, making her nineteen instead of sixteen is just on the verge. And because I have met people who are now professional singers... nineteen is way too young to be considered for opera. She could be training, of course, but it's a very long-term investment. There's a reason most opera singers you see in concerts are in their late twenties at the earliest. And I get that she comes from a musical background and she has a talent or whatever, but again. She could have been aged up to mid-twenties and to me it would have made much more sense.

But as for the good parts, I was actually surprised by how convincing Franky was about wanting to deceive her. And when Twilight turned and asked "Are you sure you're okay with this?" I might have felt a chill. I should have given Franky more credit, haha. And the banter between them was nice, with Twilight teetering on thinking of Franky as a friend, and how Franky ended up handling the situation... that was good, I liked it.

I had already read the last story through a fan translation, so I wasn't surprised by anything new there. It was just as fun and wacky as you'd expect it to be. By the way, I liked the point that story drove on, that despite the painter's success and fame, he only had a cheap apartment for himself and donated all his earnings so that future art students could paint without worrying about the cost of their supplies. Very in touch with the whole story's message :)

What struck me as odd was when Loid hugged Anya to keep the pretense of him being a doting father. I was like "He would not fucking do that" cause we know homeboy isn't ready for such proximity, and an actual hug between Anya and Loid has to have a big impact, the times he held her up while she slept or whatever notwithstanding.

But the ending was really sweet, with Twilight feeling a sense of warmth and getting a bit of honesty in his smile. The last illustration by Endo was very fitting!

Overall, it was interesting to hold a book in my hands and read about the characters that way. I think Aya Yajima did a good job capturing the characters, and I'm always happy to read Endo's afterwords, he really seems like a very chill and down-to-earth guy.

[takeyourhands]

no one is going to know what i'm talking about but FUCK IT, this is my house and i do what i want. so here's a short-ish breakdown of me and hugo— my concept art boyfriend that i've been unable to stop thinking about. maybe i'll share general hugo headcannons (hugocannons, if u will) later on my main blog. but anyways! more under the cut if ur interested!!

we did NOT get along at first, just like i did not like him at all in real life for a while. i thought he was dweeb ass nerd with a stupid haircut, and he thought i was a stubborn and passive-aggressive little runt (neither of us were wrong JSDKHFKJ).

we'd complain about each other to literally anyone who would listen. nuru and varian got so sick of our shit. we got used to each other after a few weeks and started to just hate in silence, but that adjustment period was ROUGH.

this animosity continued for a quite a while, but at some point hugo gets severely injured and i have to nurse him back to health (bc my s/i is an apothecary, yay :3). i'm by his side basically 24/7, since without me he'd do something stupid and get himself even more hurt. we bicker early on, but eventually things begin to mellow out. like— we have actual, normal conversations and even open up to each other about our pasts to an extent.

even after that whole ordeal is finished and hugo's healed, we still remain civil. almost like we're becoming FRIENDS or something.

things develop from there. i haven't worked out how exactly i want us to get together, but i think it goes something like -> abrupt/unexpected kiss -> panic and run away while trying to avoid each other -> agonizing over our feelings -> then finally talking it out and starting to date.

secret dating??? in MY self ship? its more likely than you think.

we pretend to still hate each other in public, but in private we are super lovey-dovey. like, sickeningly so.

we do eventually get found out, but i don't know how quite yet. but the most important thing is that it results in super cute fluff bc our friends still love us and support us anyways :)

i've only posted about her once and she isn't like, set-in-stone cannon, but i've thought abt many scenarios in which we have a daughter— hazel elizabeth.

hugo would be a loving if slightly awkward and overprotective dad. he'd really TRY to steer her away from being a troublemaker (he doesn't want her to end up like how he used to be), but it's just in her dna to strive for adventure, regardless of what problems she may cause.

he wants to be the cool parent so badly, but he is not. he is the worrywart parent. i am also the worrywart parent, but i'm better at not panicking over small problems.

kinda unrelated, but he's super househusband coded imo. he would love not needing to steal for once— just doing the chores and cooking and stuff, then smothering me with affection when i come home from work.

[iamfuckingsorry]

I've slept for like maybe 4 hours a night on average since Wednesday last week and I am /so/ fucking over it. I got like 7 hours last night because I stupidly agreed to go on a trip and got home very late, but man that's not anywhere close to enough. I've spent the entire day tired af today, was /so/ tired and ready to fall asleep when I got home from work, but decided I was gonna wait till at least like 8 pm because I didn't wanna wake up at 2 in the morning unable to fall back asleep. Then it got to like 7 pm and my roomies all started hanging out in the kitchen, and the new guy has never heard of the term inside voice, and the washer was running and they were playing cards and it was. I spent two hours in bed with the lights off trying to fall asleep but I only managed to listen to a convo about how it's important to eat meat and protein and how bad carbs are for you (my new roomie is a gymbro)...

Now all my roomies are quiet but my upstairs neighbour it watching TV so loud I can hear every single word, and there's fireworks going off somewhere as fucking always, and I'm too upset to be able to fall asleep anyway. And I have to bite my fucking lip when crying to stop myself from making any sounds, because then everyone in this flat and every single one of my neighbours would hear me. And I can't even sleep in on weekends or anything, I literally get woken up by my flatmates being loud anyway.

And I dunno, I know I might just need to get over myself, but I'm just so fucking tired, and so fucking upset that I can't even choose /when I want to go to sleep in my own fucking home/, and I'll be stuck living like this for the next 6 months, and I know it's not /that/ bad, but also maybe it is that bad, and either way I don't wanna do it, but I fucking have to because I'm already paying some 65% of my current income for rent (with 4 flatmates! I honestly should have just paid a bit more for a tiny shitty studio) and I can't afford to break the lease. Like even if I move back home tomorrow I'm still stuck paying my fucking lease.

I know this is extremely minor compared to problems some of y'all are having, but man, I am *so* upset by this. Like I cannot spend 8 hours a day sitting in a loud af open space office, commuting 2-3 hours a day because the buses are so fucking unreliable, then come home and be surrounded by more noise and not even be able to do normal things when I want to. Like even getting 7-8h of sleep somewhat consistently is not /great/ for me, I'm a 9 hours a night kind of person, and this will absolutely ruin me if I have to do this for 6 months. And it's for a shitty fucking job that I thought sounded interesting but that's been extremely meh so far and doesn't even pay minimum wage because of some weird legal loophole.

Legit considering ways to get evicted.

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Group E Round 1

[image ID: the first image is a black and white picture of Akama, a Japanese man with short black hair, a bandana or scarf tied around his neck, a long sleeve shirt or jacket, holding what appears to be a small glass of alcohol. the second image is of No Significant Harassment, a shadowy figure standing behind a sleeping pink-red, fox-like creature. their green hands seem to be holding up the floating creature. end ID]

Akama

Look, I'm a big Dostoevsky fan and when reading "The Idiot" I didn't like Rogozhin one bit. But watching the Japanese adaptation and the new/different version of his character Akama? Suddenly I understood why Nastasya/Taeko was willing to go to him. Look he's a little crazy and also definitely bisexual. Like very bisexual. I think if him, Taeko, and Kameda got together it would be the world's worst trouple but also incredibly powerful and great. Who talks to his love rival and suddenly go "swap with me your charm even though mine is very fancy and expensive and yours isnt and it will be sign of our brotherhood and connection and also now you have to meet my mother and wow she likes you and also i'm going to try to kill you but won't be able to do it and even though you know that I want to kill you you'll refuse to think less of me and now i'm going to kill the woman we're both in love with and you and i are going to spend the whole night up together taking turns watching her body and you're going to ask me to go into detail about how i killed her and you also knew i would kill her and wow does the fact that I was able to kill her but not you prove that I loved her more or less than how much i loved you and I know i've just damned myself to prison but please don't leave me until the morning and you're so so good so much that Taeko was scared to ruin you but i don't care if i ruin you too but also you're a lamb and you need to be careful about wolves like me and even though I killed the woman you love you're still lying next to me under all these blankets because there's a blizzard out and we have to keep the room cold to keep her body from decomposing and smelling because she looks so beautiful and you should go look at her too when the sun comes up and wow my life is worse for having met you but i can't curse you in any way because you are so so good." anyways i'm normal about him

No Significant Harassment

They're just a silly little guy. A jokester. Significant harassment if you will. Anyway, a more in depth run down: They're a city sized supercomputer built by a Buddhist adjacent society to figure out how to transcend the 'Great Cycle' (semi-metaphorical cycle of death and rebirth) in a safer way than the previous method (submerging oneself in the 'void sea' which is a mysterious golden liquid that dissolves whatever it touches). Despite being built for this express purpose NSH never really shows a pressing interest in ascension, even cracking jokes about those who are still looking for a solution. Whether this is due to indifference, dislike of, or humor to cope with being unable to ascend is not clear and really up to interpretation. Example: NSH: I wish them super good luck in that endeavor. How is it going to happen? Have the overseers gnaw through bedrock until their entire can crashes down in the void sea? BSM: Please be respectful when speaking of the Void Sea. Grey Wind, where did you hear this? CW: I really shouldn't say. He's going to attempt some sort of breeding program. Thought you might want to know. NSH: Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along! He's very flippant, but does care very intensely for those close to him. NSH: Moon? It's me again. NSH: I do not know if you are receiving these. Please signal in any way you can. NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay. NSH: … NSH: Its difficult for us to assist you over this distance. NSH: Even more difficult for us to do anything in the midst of these tantrums. NSH: Were going to try everything that we can. NSH: Just hold on a little longer. (Context for previous convo: They genetically engineered a super organism of a slugcat (the species you play as in Rain World) to help reset his coworker/sibling after her collapse and restart her systems. He was so desperate to fix her that he accidentally messed up the slugcat's (Hunter) genetic code and as a result it became riddle with the Rot (relatively similar to aggressive cancer) :( which parallels his other coworker/siblings condition who also has the rot. ) He canonically uses he/they pronouns too! Nonbinary swag! NSH has major internet troll vibes. He has sent a data pearl of "something distasteful" to his neighbors on several(?) occasions and causes chaos. If he had access to the wider internet he'd probably be an influencer So…yeah! Vote NSH this website likes the allure of heavy machinery and stuff like that so… there you go. Kind of a blorbo. End post.

[reveregret]

Hi! I read through everything, not sure how to incorporate fester or lichen but I figured I should either way, I had a ton of questions about you if that's okay because I've rarely met other people who I relate to on their posts, my immediate question being how did you come to terms with your obsessive feelings? Hope that's okay, have a great day either way :p

oh, hello! you're totally welcome to ask all that you'd like, i'm happy to answer. i usually take a while to write everything out, but i'll do my best. thanks for reading through including those words, too, even if you weren't sure how. i appreciate it!

the idea of "coming to terms" with my obsessive feelings is definitely an interesting way to put it. i can tell you some of the story of how i've realised and dealt with it, but i'm still working on finding peace with it. this turned out pretty long, and i'm not sure if this is what you were asking for, but i hope this helps.

living with obsession

from a very young age (as early as 4 or 5 years old), i've been prone to glorifying friends or peers. typically just one at a time, but nonetheless. someone would catch my attention, and i'd want to know absolutely everything about them and be as close to them as possible. it wasn't really a big deal this early on because it's normal for kids to be clingy and jealous, but it never really went away for me. i'm not sure how reasonable it was then, either. even at 5, i was willing to change myself for the person i was obsessed with. fortunately it was as simple just a haircut at the time, but i consider that somewhat of a turning point.

when i was around 7-10, i managed it even less healthily, because i didn't know how to. i lost a lot of friends because of the way i would lash out at any perceived rejection. i was fixated on one friend in particular, even a year after they stopped talking to me. i didn't realise i was supposed to let go. everyone around me told me i was in the wrong, but i didn't understand why. i just knew my friend had left me.

from 12-16, though, my settings were different and my obsessions were much more passive, but much more dangerous too. one of the problems from the prior paragraph was my tendency to suicide-bait, but i never intended to follow through. for these years, however, there were multiple times i did attempt and these were the years where the stalking began. well, in a more genuine sense, as i finally had the means to.

i didn't actually like the people from my early teens, but it was a situation i was stuck in and i generally developed a lot of bad habits. i didn't want to go home immediately after school, so i would follow other people instead. i learned other people's routines and pieced them together. i remember i got in trouble once for taking pictures of a few people. not because they spotted me, but my guardians found it in my phone. so i stopped doing that.

although my friend from 7-10 is still a very significant example of me being unable to let go, i think 16 onward is almost more so, just in a slightly different way. a few circumstances lined up, and i found myself obsessed with a friend. i hadn't cared all too much for them before (we weren't even acquainted for a long time), but suddenly they defined my life. since we knew each other, there was only so much i could do that didn't give me away, but they caught on anyway. we stopped being friends after they thought i was trying to follow them home (which i ironically wasn't in the instance they provided, but nonetheless).

reflection and acceptance

i learned from all of these former years not to be open with these feelings and how to be more discreet with them, but unfortunately not how to avoid them or the habits i always fall into.

even after i lost someone, i've usually fallen too far into a spiral and the obsession doesn't quite end cleanly. it can latch onto someone else instead. when i started this blog, that was the case. it was someone i didn't know personally, which made it easier to get away with things. that only enabled me further. i practically consider stalking an addiction with how out of hand it gets, but it typically pertains to the person i'm obsessed with or anyone associated with them.

i've accepted that these are thoughts and feelings i deal with, and that i'm not the most morally sound person. i didn't use to understand what the problem was, or why everyone thought my care was overbearing or even hurtful. all i knew is that i considered someone very significant to me in one way or another. i simply accepted this as a part of myself, but a part of myself that wasn't well-tolerated. when i was 16, i joined yanblr on a different blog. i felt a sense of belonging because i found posts closer to how i felt than anyone i knew ever understood.

i still feel slightly estranged, honestly, considering all the disclaimers most blogs have. usually it's a simple "i don't condone these behaviours", but i find that a lot tends to be fictionalised or characterised into the yandere trope. sure, i use characterisation in my posts, but many of the thoughts are reflective of something much more real for me.

i wouldn't say i'm proud of it, but because it's something i've dealt so intensely for so long, i consider it part of my identity. who i am as a person, i guess. i admire others intensely and invasively. for lack of better phrasing, i live for and through them. it's kind of like i rely on another to find meaning or motivation, in a way. not to suggest i can't do anything myself, though. it's more finding something to look forward to, things being mundane otherwise. when i was younger, i held onto people to a detrimental extent, but learning to see it like the sun is helpful. it makes things bright, gets you through the day, but isn't always around.

[tea-of-destiny]

"They're trying to find someone I can stay with now. A... family."

"I see," Claire mused sympathetically, her mind filling in the adjective Clive had decidedly left blank in his statement. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Um..."

Clive tugged at a stray thread on his hospital shirt.

"I don't want to keep living here. The bed is hard to sleep in. And the tea is never hot. And I miss having normal clothes. But..."

The thread broke away in his fingers, and he sighed.

Unable to look away from the boy's crestfallen expression, Claire's heart ached. "I'm sorry. I can only begin to imagine what this must be like for you. Do you at least have any say in what happens next?"

Clive gave a small, disaffected shrug. "If someone wants to take me in, they have to meet me in the hospital for a few days, and then I go live in their home for some time before the paperwork is really finalized. If I don't want to stay with them, I can ask to be moved, and they'll bring me back here and try to find someone better. I just... don't know if trying to change what happens will do me any good."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Well, everything about my life is different now, anyways, right? None of the families they bring in here will understand that, or understand me--so why does it matter if I choose which one I get sent away with? What would make me the most happy is... something I can't have anymore. And I didn't get to choose that part. "

The words weren't meant to be accusatory. Clive was only a boy in pain, desperate for someone to actually see how much he was hurting even when he didn't cry.

But the guilt nonetheless threatened to swallow Claire whole. It didn't matter that she wouldn't have chosen this either--she still could have done more to keep it from happening altogether. And now it would always remain on her shoulders to right what she had wronged.

A flood of apologies rose behind her lips, but she bit them back hastily. Clive needed more than "sorry" to mend his wounds and bring sparks back into those charcoal eyes. What else could she say to him right now? She sifted through the feelings of shame pooling within her, anxious to find some answer, any answer--

"What if you stayed with me?" she blurted out, then immediately flinched.

It was an answer, that was true. Admittedly, though, it was an answer that could not have more blatantly come out of the heart-hole left bleeding in the wake of her own losses suffered.

But Claire made no motion to rescind it. She had realized almost as soon as she regretted saying it that she had sincerely meant it, too. She simply had to know how he would respond.

Clive flicked his eyes up at the suggestion, studying her through a hefty poker-faced silence. Then he hummed, apparently dismayed. "I'm really sorry, Miss Layton, but I... I just thought that if there was anyone who could see that I'm--"

"--Not interested in having a new mum," Claire concluded on his behalf. "I know. And I don't have to be one, or want to be one, if that's not what you want me to be to you."

Hearing his concern acknowledged, Clive's gaze quickly softened. Encouraged by the sight, Claire continued thinking through her logic aloud.

"It wouldn't have to be permanent, either. If you realized later on that staying with me wasn't helping you, or if you grew old enough that you felt like you could find your own way in the world, I wouldn't force you to stay. I'd want to respect your wishes."

"What would you get out of this arrangement, then?" Clive asked, still somewhat hesitant to the idea, yet leaning closer in spite of himself to hang onto Claire's words. "If not a... you know."

"Well, you and I have been kind of weathering the aftermath of the accident together, don't you think?" Claire supposed.

Clive gave a halfway-nod. "Besides the staff, you've come to see me the most of anyone the past few weeks."

"And I've been visiting you because I needed to be sure you'd end up okay--that pulling you away from that fire wasn't in vain." Claire placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "I may not really understand what it's like to lose a parent, but I truly care about how much all of this has affected you, Clive, and... I know you've seen that it's affected me a lot, too. So maybe I understand enough for you. If you stayed with me, you wouldn't have to face people who weren't there for the accident, and who won't give you the space you need to heal."

"...If I stayed with you," Clive echoed, speculative as he met her eyes, "maybe we could keep looking for ways to get through this together."

Claire smiled sadly. "Yes. That's all I want here--to help you. No special labels, or authority, or personal gain involved."

Clive peered at her with head slightly tilted for a little longer, as though making a final judgement on the authenticity of her explanation. Then, quite plainly, he replied, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I only have the one mum, Miss Layton. You'll have to be something else to me."

The professor nodded vehemently. "Oh, without a doubt."

"But... I think I would like to go live with you, after all," Clive finished. "I'll ask the nurse about it when she comes back here."

Claire could swear a new light had appeared in Clive's dark irises at the declaration, alongside the faintest ghost of a smile on his cheeks.

Or perhaps it was simply her own vision blurring, realizing this tragic young boy had suddenly come into her care long-term. It was terrifying and hopeful all at once, to be in charge of another's fate once again. But at least maybe this time, she could make a difference in his life for the better.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Clive," Claire finally mustered the presence of mind to say. "It's still going to be quite the adjustment, staying with me, but I hope you know that you can count on me, no matter what happens now."

--

In 10 years, he would feel his heart almost pounding out of his chest as a wound bled down his face; as temporal chaos rampaged on the smoke-filled horizon; as he watched Claire run to get back in the aircraft (alongside the disconcertingly familiar Theodore) to try and stop this devastation once and for all.

And even despite the pain he was in now, and the danger posed to his city and the people he cared about, and the lingering knowledge that even if they somehow made it out of this mystery alive, there was still an acceptance letter to Princeton University in his bedroom desk waiting to tear him an ocean's width apart... it was this promise he would find replaying itself in his mind.

"You can count on me, no matter what happens now," she had said.

And so he would take a deep breath, even now, and feel those worries begin to slip from his mind.

'I know I can, Professor,' Clive would think to himself in response. 'You know I always do.'