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cookiesupplier · 1 year ago

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Every Rose Has Its Thorns - Part Twenty-Nine

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc x Chris 'Motionless' Cerulli

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, panic attack, stalking, online bullying.

author’s note: Unbeta'd, readers beware as always lol.

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34 @black-damask1999 @jilliemiw86 @ilovesamkiszka @lyschko666 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @bngurngheart @collapsedglasshouses @laurpartyprogram @sunsshinesunny @malerieee @talialovesmiw

Tag List is Open, please let me know if you would like to be added to it or in general.

What. The. Fuck.

The doctor had been no help at all. If anything he’d been worse than no help because the man had pretty much told him from the tests he’d gotten back during his post tour check up, he seemed like he was in perfect health. When Chris had told him about his shoulder, of course, he’d examined him, but then he’d come up with nothing. Nothing.

Hearing that had echoed in Chris’ head, over and over, even as the doctor ordered more tests, an ultrasound, and x-ray, just to cover their bases, make sure that nothing was going seriously wrong with his joint. He might not be an athlete, but performing was a part of his life, he’d rather not do it in pain, and having a doctor that understood that was important. But mostly Chris was just lost in his head right now as he left the office.

He was sitting in his car thinking about the fact that right then, at least, he’d found nothing. He could tell Ricky that there were still more tests, but, would that matter when Chris, Chris had felt his mark, it had reacted yesterday. It had been reacting, he didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t, but it had been aching, hurting, and it just.. What was happening.

Should he call one of his friends that did the soulmate research? Should he log in to one of the message boards to see if anyone else had heard of people with deceased soulmates getting this kind of, of, sensations?

He was so confused.

The most confusing part was that fucking kiss, if he was honest. It had been barely a peck on the lips, and it had turned his head around, but that had been from the tingle in his skin that had followed it.. The tingle that screamed at him, why did he bother coming to the doctors at all, when the tiniest kiss had made the very skin his soulmate mark sit on, feel like that? Because his soulmate was dead, that was why. Furthermore, Ricky was Talia’s soulmate, not his. End of story.

It wasn’t even the first time Ricky had kissed him, nor the most intense. They’d completely made out before, years ago, before he’d gotten engaged to Julia, or Ricky had met Grace.. Before either of their lives had gotten fucked up. Had his mark reacted then? No. Not at all. So why was it reacting now? It didn’t make any sense to him.

Should he ask the boards, call one of his researcher friends.. Or, should he do as he had promised yesterday, just go home and talk to Rick about what the doctor said, and go from there?

Split the difference, he wasn’t calling his researcher friend yet, because this wasn’t just about him, this was about Rick, and in turn Talia too. Chris wasn’t going to talk to anyone else without them agreeing first. However, he could do something anonymously. He pulled out his phone, made sure his VPN was running, and went to post a question to the board as a guest only.

Ever heard of anyone with a Passed Soulmate, that's started experiencing strange sensations from their tattoo, during specific moments. For e.g. Intimate contact, aka, kissing? Strange sensations such as distinct tingling, almost burning up etc.

Chris paused, before sending the message from his phone and posting it on the board, not sure what kind of responses he would get; after he did that, he closed the window so he wasn’t tempted to just sit there and keep refreshing the page and waiting. Even then, it took a moment of restraint for him to not open his phone again and check the post almost instantly. Chris knew he wasn’t likely to get a response already, didn’t make it easier not to feel the need to want some sort of answer, something, anything to sooth this feeling inside of him. After a moment, he knew what he should do, go home, go home and do what he said he was going to do, touch base and talk to Ricky. Last time, he learned the hard way that he needed to talk to thigh around him more, to connect with others and stop isolating himself, just like he’d watch Ricky do dealing with Grace despite his warnings. As difficult as all this was, as painful as everything was concerning losing his soulmate had turned out to be, which was shocking because for the longest time he had been so in love, so happy, he’d convinced himself he didn’t need a soulmate, and then it all slipped through his fingers..

He didn’t know which had hurt more, losing his fiancé, or his soulmate.

One knew him and still chose to walk out of his life, and the other, never got to make that choice. Neither would be something he wished on anyone else. As he drove, he tried not to be distracted from the buzz of notifications of his phone, forcing himself not to look, his car system not telling him they were texts or calls so they weren’t important. Even if they were from the message board. They could wait until he got home.

He pulled over to the side to check a second later. He was too impatient to wait until he got home, obviously.

Oh, it was a reply to his message alright, another anonymous one.

Man, sounds like you got a tattoo STD, be careful you going kissy kissy with 😘😘😘

Chris threw his phone down on the seat of his car with a groan.

“Shit.”

The message board was only for those with tattoos, eighteen and up with verification, but it never stopped underage little shits from getting in.. and even then, he couldn’t even be sure it was someone that was underage. For a board that was supposed to help people, some of them were complete morons despite claims to have lost their soulmate. There were days that some people just seemed to only want to be there to spread the pain, and it made Chris irate sometimes. Massaging his temples, he started his car again and continued to drive home.

Ricky had been messaging Talia most of the morning, worried about Chris. He found himself wanting to make sure that she was doing okay as well, knowing that she had to be dealing with a lot, not just with her break down, but also after the backlash with Grace. He was thankful, though, that the general response to his video had so far seemed to be positive in light, or at least, what was still visible.

By the time he had gotten online to check to see what was happening with social media, so much had already happened. Even though he’d turned off the ability to comment on the video he had made himself about the soulmate situation, the fans always found a way to talk about it. Whether it was commenting on past videos, past Instagram posts, tweets, or whatever you called them on the X app now, there was always a way for the fans to make themselves known, whether it be for good or bad.

Ricky had a feeling there was at least a lot of hate that had disappeared before he got online, probably that he would never have seen anyway, considering he’d been informed that Grace had deleted all of her online profiles. An in pouring of support had come for him, Talia, Ava, and Vinny after the way they’d been treated after Grace’s Instagram live. After the hate that they’d all gotten for the way she claimed they’d acted in her version of events. Was it horrible that Ricky almost felt bad that he could cause a person's opinion to turn on a dime with nothing but his word?

Almost.

He’d been honest, though, and Grace hadn’t. She’d forced his hand and if she’d left well enough alone he would never have made the video. If she had left it as an amicable breakup it would have never come to this, but she hadn’t. Grace had been the one to push, and the tide had eventually turned against her. He might feel the tiniest bit bad that they’d turned on her on only his word, and he had no proof of her actions other than that, but he’d done nothing but tell his truth.

None of this however was making him feel good.

According to Talia, Vinny and Ava were happy with everything that was happening. Ecstatic even. Ricky, however, he was still worried. He’d thought Grace was gone before, he’d broken up with her, kicked her out of the house, changed the locks, up the security, blocked her. Stalkers were dangerous, the problem with them, was not knowing where they were going to pop up next.

Ricky would have preferred if she had kept her accounts online. At least then someone would have been able to see what she was doing, wherever she was. He was taping out a message to Talia, she had asked if he’d heard back about Chris yet, just as he heard his car coming up the drive. Deleting the message he’d been writing about the fact he wasn’t home, sending instead that he was just getting in, and he’d let her know, just as Chris was walking in through the door. Slipping his phone into his pocket then, Ricky just glanced up at him slightly, but other than that, he didn’t say a thing. He didn’t want to put any pressure on Chris, even if he had said he’d talk to him.

Chris saw Ricky the moment he walked into the sitting room, he was just there, waiting on a couch, typing on his phone like it was every day, like that peck on his lips yesterday hadn’t changed everything. Sure, his shoulder had already been playing up, but that kiss and the feeling that had come with it had been intense and absolutely impossible to ignore. It hadn’t just been some almost random ache in his shoulder.. while watching his best friend with his soulmate..

Fuck.. fuck, was he jealous of Ricky, was that what this was? Talia was amazing though, And Ricky’s mark reacted to her, why was Chris reacting to him? It wasn’t like he wasn’t attracted to Talia too, he was, he couldn’t hurt Jelly Bean like that, he wouldn’t.

Swallowing..

“He didn’t find anything.. Ordered some more tests, x-ray, ultrasound.. But uh,”

Chris was looking down at his hands as he started pacing along the length of the couch, off to the side from where Ricky was sitting. He didn’t even dare to look up to see if Ricky’s attention had come up from his phone when he continued to speak.

“I know it’s not my shoulder, I know that you were right. Something is happening with my mark.”

Closing his eyes as he held his breath for a moment. When Ricky didn’t say anything, maybe he wasn’t even listening, who the hell was he kidding, of course Rick was listening. Glancing up from his hands, his thumb digging into his palm nervously, instantly, his amber brown eyes meeting Rick’s stormy blues and his mark was tingling again, shit.. Shit shit shit..

“Chris-”

Before he could continue, Chris cut him off.

“It tingled when you kissed me, Ricky.”

That, was not what Rick expected him to say about his mark. Not from what he’d observed when it came to the moments Chris reacted to his shoulder..

“Me? Don’t you mean Talia? Your shoulder is always playing up around Talia.. When she was upset, when you were sitting with her the other night, and we were joking around..”

Shaking his head, he had been sure that Chris was forming some sort of attachment to Talia. He knew it was going to be difficult enough considering the way Ricky’s tattoo had been reacting to thinking about them together, but he had noticed since Talia’s breakdown, his hadn’t had any of those darker reactions about Chris. Then again, he hadn’t thought of them alone like that quite the same way. Seeing the two of them together, wrapped up almost with both of them on the couch, it had felt.. Different.

“It has?”

Ricky nodded.

“I saw it, the other day, multiple times, it's why I brought it up yesterday, why I asked if you were okay.”

Looking at him, Ricky hated how nervous Chris looked, he hated that he wasn’t sure what he could do to help him.

“Well, I don’t, I don’t know what's going on, because it tingled when you kissed me, and Talia.. She’s your soulmate, your real soulmate, Ricky. Not me. My mark, I don’t know what's going on, and, and it’s freaking me out. This isn’t something I’ve seen theories of.”

Ricky set his phone aside and patted the cushion beside him for Chris to join him. They needed to work this out, and doing it alone wasn’t going to help anyone.

“Come here. How about we call Talia? We’ve learned the hard way all of this crap isn’t something we should work out on our own, because it just blows up in our faces, and we do stupid things.”

Like fucking in bathrooms and kitchens where anyone could have found them while they were spurred on by mystical tattoos.

Chris sucked in a shaky breath before he moved to the couch and sat beside him, leaning into Ricky’s side, bring his head down onto his shoulder not caring if it was awkward, he needed it. He shuddered a little at the feeling that ran through his shoulder when he did.. Shit, if that was the feeling that had started driving Ricky and Talia from the start.. Well..

“Yeah, okay. Don’t get any ideas, though, I am not fucking you in the bathroom.”

“Oh my god.”

Worth getting hit by the couch cushion.

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

#motionless in white #miw #ricky olson #ricky olson fanfiction #original female character #soulmates #fanfiction #miw band #soulmate au #ricky olson fanfic #chris motionless #chris cerulli #chris cerulli fanfic #tw stalking #fic: every rose has its thorns

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booksinmythorax · 4 months ago

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On Tyranny and Tumblr #2: Defend institutions

It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about - a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union - and take its side.

I've talked about this lesson in relation to libraries on another post, but tl;dr: a lot of American institutions are broken, but if we don't want them to get worse, we do need to show up for them.

According to Snyder, authoritarian governments may either completely obliterate institutions (e.g. when Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a bill that would have eliminated the Environmental Protection Agency during the first Trump administration in 2018) or make them counterproductive or ineffectual (such as when Trump appointed cronies like Betsy DeVos to his cabinet during his first term).

Defending these institutions can look like making sure they stay open and/or making sure they stay effective. Individual schools, libraries, and newspapers can be institutions we choose to "take the side of", which can feel less intimidating than choosing the institutions of "public schools", "public libraries", or "the free press" as a whole, but going small or large are both fine choices as long as we do something.

This is honestly one where you'll get more mileage doing offline things than online ones. Go to board and commission meetings, join a union, physically go to your library, and you'll be doing more for institutions you care about than you even know.

That said, some ways we can apply this in our online lives include:

-If you can afford it, subscribe to local newspapers or other local publications and read them regularly. If their leadership or coverage changes such that they become arms of the state, sound the alarm. This requires reading entire articles, not just headlines. You don't have to read every article in every section, but read at least a few pieces all the way through every day. If you can't afford to pay for a subscription, your local library may offer you online access to local and national newspapers for free with a card.

-Your local library very likely offers access to online collections with a card. Borrow digital materials!*

-Engage with your government at the local, state, and national level. 5 Calls is a good app for phone numbers, call scripts, and examples of current issues. You can find lists of your representatives at all levels using this USA.gov tool.

Feel free to list other ideas in the comments, reblogs, or tags on this post.

*A note of caution here: ebooks, digital audiobooks, and some other kinds of digital materials often cost libraries money per circulation, or their licenses may expire after a certain number of circulations and require them to be re-bought. Unlike with physical materials, please only check out digital materials you think you will read, watch, or listen to. No shame if you check something out and end up running out of time, but please do intend to use what you check out digitally!

Other lessons from On Tyranny:

#1 - Do not obey in advance

#3 - Beware the one-party state

#4 - Take responsibility for the face of the world

#5-7 - Remember professional ethics, Beware of paramilitaries, and Be reflective if you must be armed

#8: Stand out

#9: Be kind to our language

#10: Believe in truth

#bookblr #booklr #librarians of tumblr #usamerican #public libraries #books & libraries #librarians #on tyranny #on tyranny and tumblr

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taki118 · 1 year ago

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SuyaLight Master Post Part 17

I really like these two there’s not a lot of content for the fandom as a whole soooo here’s my submission as I get every moment of these two royals who literally share a braincell (and I love them for it) First up this is just on the manga if you are anime only its going to have stuff you havent seen, yes even with what the anime covers (so read it) and there will be spoilers so beware. If you prefer Demon Monk/Cleric/Leo (which I don’t really get) I am sorry this isnt for you. Lets go! Part 1 is here Part 2 is here Part 3 is here Part 4 is here Part 5 is here Part 6 is here Part 7 is here Part 8 is here Part 8.5 is here Part 9 is here Part 10 is here Part 11 is here Part 12 is here Part 13 is here Part 14 is here Part 15 is here Part 16 is here

So Twilight tries to go on a simple work trip but Suya tags along

at least this time it was really her fault

But Twilight realizes just how bad this looks from the outside

But mostly from how Leo will view it, whom he has to have a video call with

But he's got a weird supernatural sense that she's around

Twilight almost manages to get out of this situation but Suya ruins it and Leo like teleports there to freak out on Twilight

Suya tags along when they visit a like resort casino and I dunno this is cute

They all get distracted

Suya is excited about Twilight befriending the owner of this place for her own reasons

They're just so cute

But it was a trap and I think its cute they share a bird

Again Suya has a very good understanding of who Twilight is

She seems kinda sad for him and his poor self confidence (So she should stick around and protect him from himself haha)

So the boss who has taken over the demon castle and reveals he's done a better job at managing it than Twilight and Suya judges him (even though Suya isn't making the situation better by constantly breaking and stealing things)

Someone might say this goes against my point but like again she can objectively look at Twilight for who is is faults and all

But they find out the Boss really is just a big Twilight fan and did all this to impress his subordinates

How does Suya know thats what its meant to be?

So the Boss starts beating himself up showing his self confidence issues are worse than Twilights and Suya is confused by his actions

But she figures out what his intent was quickly

She learns....something from Twilight though she doesnt voice it well. Empathizes with others even through something like low confidence is a good trait to have even within a leader. Suya sees that Twilight is willing to let others see his worst side if it will help them.

Suya seems to sense when Twilight is in trouble for good or bad, its bad here

See while the Boss was pretending to be Twilight he made peace with Hades and Twilight has to keep up the lie, but he know she might just let it slip, she does causing the two to fight. This causes them to deage a bit and make the line to the underworld thin and have Suyas soul stuck in the underworld........I'm doing my best to focus on the two

Anyway they go to save her and we get this cause I mean it is kinda his fault

So they assume Twilights ancestor who started the war with humans captured her, but Twilights just annoyed at how Suya gets herself in these situations

Turns out all the problems in the underworld are cause by her which Twilight started suspecting before finding her like this

They try to get her to stop but she won't because she want's to help Twilights grandfather, who has difficulty resting because of the problems he caused in life.

#suyalight #aurora suya rhys kaymin #demon king twilight #sleepy princess in the demon castle #sleepy princess #maoujou de oyasumi #princess suya #long post #manga

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riacte · 1 year ago

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rria . ria dont convert the timestamp of receiving this ask to est but i finished false episodes and i get it i understand the devotion and the homies and the protectiveness hoyljjy fuck save me 🦅🐕save me. beware of dog reapers watch out rendogss about false false false you won💥💥💥😺💥💥💥💥💥💥

RIGHT. THEY ARE SO SWEET IT MAKES ME WANT TO EXPLODE.

When I was watching the first part I was like ohhh she sounds SO soggy when he’s not talking to her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this soggy. And then it was slowly building and oh we’re really in it now.

BUT THE REUNION SCENE IS SO!!!!!! They’re so happy for each other 😭😭😭 False saying he deserves the win even though it’s her who won 😭😭 Ren coming in like YOU WON!! YOU WON!! :DDDDD

And I was already screaming and dying. But you can really tell how fond they are of each other. And False being more excited for the cool hat than the Demise prize and he literally promised to give it to her tomorrow when things had calmed down— and she won!! All the dots are connected.

And the end. MAN. “Watch out, Rendog is about” in all caps. Her putting his name and head on her build. And the giggle before the cut. And I’m left sitting here like OKAY THAT JUST HAPPENED. WOW.

I feel slightly insane because it’s like …??? It’s so obvious how core and special their friendship is to both of their contents on HC. Take a quick scroll through their thumbnails and they pop up every now and then. All the collabs. AND STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN GROUP RECORDINGS (this always happens). We even have major standout events like Blue9 and BRR and S6 neighbours. And now Demise because DUDE. THAT WAS CRAZY.

And still Tumblr (and both of their Twitch chats) seems to be the only site in which people majorly care about their bond? Does that make sense. Tumblrinas screaming and crying and filling up the main tags. Actually Twitch chat is the mvp here because I feel like every single stream of theirs has a mention of the other and chat is like :DDD we love you and the other person :DD. They’re invisible on blue bird site and THANK GOD and STAY AWAY. Orange app is a bit better bc at least the Mc Championship guys recognise them but you know when there was a post back in HC Reddit then asking for “underrated” duos and we had to post FalseRen because other people weren’t. Are they underrated? Do other people think they’re popular. Like Ren isn’t usually paired with False in fanon but I think most people have the awareness to include bits about their friendship? But still? I would’ve expected more… why aren’t they more popular like some other duos even after the five million obvious / dramatic / cute / wholesome stuff 😭 Ren’s favouritism gets worse every time I check in 😭

(I know. It’s because fandoms tend to like same gender pairs. But it does notttt explain why everyone happily pairs up Stress+Iskall and Joe+Cleo and it’s all recognised and these two are like …? oh yeah they’re friends. Right. They’re friends.)

Anyways this got long. That vid makes me soooo happy and it’s sooo good. I know Ren is probably going to make his next ep thumbnail his really cute hut but if False is also on there or it’s titled after something like “WE DID IT FALSE” I would further explode into millions of pieces. 🥺

#ask box #answered #falseren

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ethtyn · 11 months ago

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haha jesus just realized i haven't posted here beyond like, surface level liveblogging/queueblogging in a hot second

check the tags before clicking the readmore pls !

this is a lot of just brain rambling bc i have been bottling this up so i'm sorry in advance

for those of you that don't follow my main (beware, here be griefposting), my cat passed away last month, and like. you'd think it'd be easier bc i work in vetmed or whatever, except it's not. and in fact it's almost worse, because i know more than the average person, y'know?

anyway i just realised that i'm still processing grief, which sucks because i fucking hate grief, it's messy and destructive and ugly and it hurts. get over it already, you fuck /s

anyway! i have requests in the inbox i have wanted to work on since i got them, but Kitty's decline was slow, and my job is hard, and all of this is to say they're coming, and hopefully i will post more regularly again here...soonish. i know y'all don't give a fuck about the art as long as i'm cool but i fear i must compulsively justify why i am not providing y'all with the art anyway or i'll spontaneously combust. or something.

also: i would prefer that if you want to send condolences/say anything about this at all that you please just like the post instead. my brainworms have a hard time when people are nice to me about uncontrollable parts of life, you see.

i think this was sufficiently incoherent enough to be slightly worrying probably. sorry about that. i just needed to talk about it for a second or i would explode, etc.

tl;dr i miss this space, back in full Soon™ ♥️

#tw pet death #tw animal death #*#not mcyt

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youraverageaemondsimp · 1 year ago

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BEWARE OF AN AI ARTIST!

I've recently noticed an account post AI art on my for you page and i have something important to say.

See there's nothing wrong having fun with AI but passing it off as your own work is not good at all, that art wasn't created by you, but by a software.

The account is pretty self aware and tags it under AI art, but what makes me confused is when they are watermarking the art to pass off as their own, usually nobody looks at the tags (because come on, who would? they only exist to block/find things, not to read it), and that's the only place where they say that its AI artwork, other than that they post usually like how normal artists would, and what's worse is that they have a unique type of art style which makes everyone on the surface believe that's it's their own art until you look closer.

I don't think I'll have to explain how AI art/writing damages the community since everyone is pretty aware, I don't want anyone to harass the person for posting AI art, but simply, do not reblog their posts or promote their account!

The account is @/hollyfreyjames i have blocked them since I don't support AI "artists" and dont want any of their content on my feed, if you wish, you could do the same.

#important #mae rambles #beware

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mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune · 2 years ago

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Why Did I Have To Find A Toxic Anti-Helluva Boss Post... And My Thoughts On Verosika’s Posse And Other Stuff....

[Note: Please Don’t Reblog This Post.........and Reading This Post Is Optional.....I also want to say that this post will have the tags “Not For Kids” and “Mature Audience Only”, also this will mention misanthropy...also if you support some Toxic Anti-Helluva Boss Humans, just...don’t bother even reading this and just go and check something else out....it’s fine if some just ignore this post and wait for a theory post about either a show or video game or movie...]

seriously, it’s bad enough what went on Archive Of Our Own/AO3, but hopefully that will be fixed soon, even if it might take some time.

but of course, with humans being well how they are, they have to assume most anything is racist, I mean seriously, even if some of the human disguises of Verosika’s posse, as well as Verosika and even Vortex have dark skin...

don’t mean they are being slag fragging racist, I mean seriously.

Josh, Apple and Kiki’s human disguises are white, and I’m pretty sure they did their fair share of seducing as well.

also some fans may be happy that Coco and Apple are a couple,

like even if they have to seduce some humans, they might be in a committed relationship, same goes for Josh and Ace.

Verosika might be a jerk, who one might need to beware of her siren call...

but if I had to choose between hanging around her, or some toxic-humans who crossed a line like some do, then I’m picking her.

and yeah, I know that isn’t really possible....but excuse me if I’m a bit not so happy with some humans....

plus is it possible if all the succubi, plus Vortex were all white, would that whole racist remark even be talked about....

also some people do have interracial and international heritages, but who knows if some toxic-humans care about that or not...

I’m not even gonna say who that person is, but I will say this that I don’t even think trying to get through to them will even work, because they will just be all like “your just defending the show cause your racist.”

and if they so much as say that, they are just gonna add to my reasons of being Semi-Misanthrope, at least some humans in this world, no matter what race they are, will have more sense than to pull that disgusting card....

especially to some people, who’s ancestors aren’t all white...not like it matters to some people who have to play that stupid card.

I am just tired of humans like that....

also even if Barbie was a jerk as well, but of course some humans have to misinterpret her in the wrong way as well, why am I not surprised...?

and yeah, before the episode showed, most fans assumed she had a human boyfriend, which turned out to be debunked, plus I don’t think she had any romantic interest in him or any type of interest in him besides working with him to do what she needed for her job...I’m not saying any more than that, spoilers.

I might talk a bit about the episode that Blitzo’s twin sister Barbie appeared in, maybe in a few days or maybe next month.

anyway I decided to block that jerk, I don’t know which is more disgustingly worse, their whole false accusations, some people actually liking that post they did, or the whole toxic-religious people who cross lines they shouldn’t and misuse the words “may the lord have mercy on you.” or “may god have mercy on you.” even if you try to tell them to stop it and they are hurting your feelings and making you cry, but they keep misusing the words and throwing them at ya anyway, even if you try to tell them to stop it and you got no other choice but to block them, I know I’m still not gonna be okay with what that toxic-religious jerk did a few years ago...

I am finding some humans not to be all that attractive, I mean even if by chance there can still be small crushes on some, but I’m not interested in trying to date anyone who is Real-3D, I would rather marry that Egg-Himbo Doctor Deep from Sonic Prime, than humans who cross lines they REALLY shouldn’t.

and yeah, I know it isn’t really possible to marry that Egg-Himbo, but he would probably be a bit better than some humans in this dimension...

at least not every human on this planet are toxic-jerks that cross lines they shouldn’t.

the reason why I’m not full Misanthropy, is because people who don’t pull that slag that some Anti-Helluva Boss people are pulling, and maybe some shows should call out some people like that...

not everyone has to be a fan of some series, but that post....that can cross lines and could end up offending some people who know better than some humans...

I don’t think I hate Verosika, and I guess I could be neutral about her and her posse.

I do like Vortex, he is a sweet guy and seems to care about Loona, and maybe Loona will be over her crush on him and go for that new crush of hers that I’m still gonna call Eclipse until we find out his real name if he appears again later on...

I still think it might be possible that it’s only the Embodiment Queens, that have more sense than the Embodiment Kings....

Bee has a good heart, and maybe that is one of the reasons Vortex fell for her, and Bee might also treat Hellhounds and Imps equally, and might not agree with how they are treated by the rest of those who live in Hell...

I guess I am a bit neutral when it comes to Fizzy and Ozzie, I mean they are one of my OTPs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those two got their karma from Bee when she finds out the stunt they pulled over at Ozzie’s.

I can’t help but view Ozzie and Fizzy as being adorkable and I can’t fully dislike them, because they are just so adorable, even them being all cute together...

one of the things I hope is that I’m not the reincarnation of that Sarah, who Asmodeus was smitten like a kitten for in that distant past, well it might be possible I’m not, even if it does turn out I could have some connection to her, like if it turn out that she was in fact a Earth Angel and at some point a fragment of her soul broke off and half of it became me...

well maybe I can try not to worry about that right now...

when trying to check out some Helluva Boss Fan Art, I did not expect to find that kind of bull slag, hopefully I wont have to find too much of that Anti-Helluva Boss stuff too much.

even if I can be a bit weird and silly at times, and I even gave myself the nickname “the embodiment of weird” or “the embodiment of weirdness”

but even I have a side to myself, I don’t want to be let out at times, I mean if I can help it, like sometimes you got to get some of those negative feelings out, even if it might have to do with some bull slag that some humans talk slag about....

but you might even find times there is still some negative feelings you can’t share, because you might think it’s best to keep it to yourself because you think some might not want to hear it or like they will just be all “your just looking for attention.”

and you might end up being a bit closed off, and only talking about some stuff that peeves you off, but not sharing everything, because you might think it’s best not to but might have thoughts of wanting to try to talk about it in the future.

I still don’t like that disgusting misinterpretation of a post that had to do with Verosika’s Posse & Vortex and if I remember right, it might of talked about Barbie as well...

I can only hope that AO3 gets fixed soon, cause I would like to get back to reading that story I was reading, maybe to help take my mind off of some toxic-humans who think they aren’t being racist themselves...

I was reading a interesting Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel Fan Fic, when that whole mess started up, and hopefully they can fully fix it soon...

maybe I can try to check again later, to see if it’s fully back to normal.

I did make a post before this one, that talks a bit about what I had found out about AO3, and hopefully it will get fixed and better soon...

I guess until then, I can either read some other fan fics at some other places, or like watch a movie or some shows or read some books I have.

that or play some video games, and I need to take my mind off of that bull slag stuff that has to do with that, and even if I do point out how they are the ones who are being stereotyping, of course there is a possibility they or those who agree with them, will say that they aren’t stereotyping, and I am not gonna even freaking try....

it can also suck when ya let a bit of your accent show, but the one who show it to, ends up misinterpreting....and think your making fun, but even if you apologize, the misunderstanding is still there.

and you know, it might be possible that even if Blitz wasn’t a Imp or if he was a Sinner Demon that used to be Human, Stolas would still end up falling for Blitz.

sure when they first met, Stolas’s feelings were like in the just romantic crush stage and wouldn’t reach the mature attraction until much later on in his and Blitz’s life, even if he had a crush on Blitz that he wasn’t fully aware of before, he might of still valued the friendship he formed and yeah, I’m still gonna view that Butler that is seen in that one episode that showed Stolas when he was just a little kid, as Stolas’s True Father Figure.

he does seem more of a Dad than Paimon, who thinks he is “so good at daddying.” but some fans might disagree and might view the Butler being “awesome at daddying”, I hope that character gets a name, maybe if it turns out he doesn’t get one, fans can just call him by a fan-dub type name.

I’m still gonna view that Imp-Butler as Stolas’s Real Dad, even if he isn’t his biological father, but sometimes a real parent isn’t always the one who brought you into this world, it’s the ones who raised, loved and took care of you.

even if Blitz isn’t Loona’s biological father, he is still her REAL father.

Rose from Silent Hill Movie, is Sharon’s Real Mother, even if she didn’t bring her into the world, and Sharon is possibly a fragment soul born from the good part of Alessa’s soul and was send away to live a normal life and find a family to love her.

Dark-Alessa was possibly another fragment soul born from the Original Alessa.

and I find the words “Mother Is God In The Eyes Of A Child” from that Silent Hill Movie, to be interesting...like if the I.M.P. and Hazbin Gang were to watch that movie and hear that part of that movie...

I wouldn’t be surprised if Blitz and Alastor both agreed about that...

it be interesting if Millie and Charlie found that really adorable.

also maybe we will get to see more of Verosika and Blitz’s past, as well as Blitz and Barbie’s past and why Verosika and Barbie seem to hate Blitz so much.

though with the Ozzie’s episode, some of Verosika’s reasons might be uncalled for, I mean she is a succubus, and if some succubi ain’t careful they can suck the energy and stamina of others, even if it does turn out that Blitz and Barbie are part succubus, they could possibly still have their energies drained, but because they aren’t humans, they wouldn’t be in life threatening danger.

my theory about Blitz and Barbie being part succubi, has to do with their Mom and how I believe she could be a Succubus, she could possible be a Imp-Succubus Hybrid, which might mean that both Blitz and Barbie are quarter succubi.

and I guess it could be possible that Fizzarolli, could be half-succubus.

Incubus could be slightly different from Succubus in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, because apparently even the guys are called succubus or succubi.

of course it would suck for some who are Earth Angels, to have some kind of succubus heritage, and have to protect themselves from the energies of some humans and even some Incubus/Succubus....

I’m still not sure if the whole gems being used for the purpose of protecting you from other energies that might be harmful to you, will work for everyone...

I’m not really sure if it could work for everyone or not.

it does suck that person who posted that Anti-Helluva Boss post, seem to ignore the whole Josh, Apple and Kiki, and the fact they also did some seducing as well...

even if some parts of this month of July had pretty much sucked, at least some good came out of it, like watching fireworks, even if the sound of some of them did spook me a little....

one of the things to look forward to this July, is the FNAF Ruin DLC, as well as the Season 2 of Sonic Prime.

also maybe Verosika and Blitz will end up patching things up, even if they might not end up back together, and unlike in some Fanon, they might not end up in a poly-relationship with Stolas, but maybe in the canon, they could end up becoming either frienemies or friends.

it’s not like Blitz is the only one at fault, and the sooner Verosika, Barbie and Fizz realize that, the better.

they may share the blame as to why their relationship with Blitz, both platonic and romantic, had fell apart and turn into heartbreak...

but instead of taking responsibility, they make Blitz the full on scapegoat.

hopefully history doesn’t repeat with Stolas, as it would suck if Stolas did the same thing that those three did.

Blitz might be not perfect when it comes to romantic relationships, but no one has to be perfect at it, and who says there is one way of being romantic.

I mean just watching a movie together or playing video games together, and respect each other’s space when needed, is good and it doesn’t always have to be all kissy or the other stuff all the time.

Verosika, Barbie and Fizz might not even get that they aren’t the only ones who ended up hurt, and Blitz was in fact hurt, by THEM....

of course they are too full of themselves to see that, and maybe those three will get their karma, and if one of the sneak peaks have anything to go by...

Fizz will be the first one to get the karma, Fizzy I love ya, but you know this was coming....I might not be a Fallen Earth Angel, but I sure get Broken at times.

which there can be a differences between a Fallen Angel and a Broken Angel.

a Broken Angel gets emotionally hurt way too many times before they can heal properly, and it could be possible that while they do heal, it doesn’t mean they still aren’t broken on the inside.....maybe some will understand what that means.

and yeah as weird as it might sound, the thoughts that pop into my head are the words “don’t take sass from angel-boys...” which is different from what Charlie learned from her Dad...

maybe I can try to get my mind off of that post, by just checking out some stuff on here and maybe later, I can check to see if AO3 is back to normal.

maybe I will watch a movie later, but I guess if I don’t feel like doing that right away, I can try later tonight...

maybe I can just try laying down on my back and try that family tradition of Blooky from Undertale, not sure if the Blooky from Deltarune has the same family tradition, but it be interesting if they both had the same family tradition.

I don’t think I feel like doing that Blooky Family Tradition on the floor, so I can just lay on my bed and try to relax and try not to move.

anyway, maybe we will see more of Barbie Wire’s past and why she seems to hate her brother now, but it might be a while before we get the full story, even the full story on Blitz and Fizz, as well as Blitz and Verosika.

also it might be possible that some of Verosika’s Posse aren’t all insensitive jerks, because not all of them ended up harassing Moxxie.

also what sucks that when a character show they aren’t perfect or flawless, some people have to be all not so happy about it, like in the wrong ways.

like instead of showing sympathy or empathy to the character, they start to dislike the character, don’t know how many people ended up doing that, but maybe it isn’t that many.

and yeah, I see a kindred spirit in some fictional characters, like Steven from Steven Universe, Chara from Undertale, and even a character from RWBY...

oh, and I think I could view Spinel from Steven Universe as a kindred spirit as well, kindred spirits don’t have to be 100% the same, but might know how it feels to be hurt past the breaking point.

it is possible that some fans, will find a kindred spirit in the shows or movies or video games or books they love so much....cause they know how it feels to be hurt past the breaking point.

and even if we try not to think about the really bad negative stuff and even try to see the good positive and try to take our minds off of the really bad negative things that make us unhappy, it doesn’t mean it wont still place a wound, well emotional wound in our hearts that wont end up opening at times.

and yeah, sometimes some bad feelings can make ya cry.

anyone would become sad or mad or both when their own negative feelings are ignored or seeing as not important enough...

and even if I can talk about some stuff, like getting some negative feelings out, there is just some negative feelings, I can’t talk about, but if I decide to, maybe I will bring myself to do so. just not right now...

and I guess in a way, that post had triggered me, well anyone can have different ways to be triggered, but we can at least try to do stuff to take our minds off of it....plus it can suck when your feelings are misunderstood and not everyone will try to understand them.

I’m not gonna talk a lot about that disgusting post, I mean the less I get involved with that post the better, and even if I do try to point out how disgusted I am with that person, it is possible not everyone will understand or be on my side, they will take the side of someone who believes some bull slag that isn’t true.

plus, apparently there is more than just that one....

maybe I can try to take my mind off of that, by just checking out some stuff on here and maybe in my next post I can post a theory or a drawing.

and who knows, maybe in the future, Verosika, Fizz and Barbie will finally see they aren’t the only ones who were hurt, and them scapegoating Blitz, is only doing more harm than good....I still don’t think Blitz is the only one at fault and his actions might of been because of how he was treated by Verosika, Fizz and Barbie, but instead of them trying to understand this, they point fingers and place all the blame on Blitz.

maybe I can talk about that whole Verosika, Fizz and Barbie scapegoating in another post...

maybe I will talk a bit about it after I post this, I don’t think I want to get into too much of my disgust with that person and their bull slag and even those who seem to agree with them...maybe doing some stuff that make me happy, can help with my mood and help me take my mind off of that post.

#verosika mayday helluva boss #succubi #barbie wire #bad humans #toxic people #humans suck #misanthropy #not for kids #mature audiences only #talking about feelings #not in the mood #july 2023

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outsidereveries · 2 years ago

Note

If u hav done ZB1 readings, what’s ur opinion on them overall.

Do you think they are a group formed by fate? I’ve seen a lot of people on stan Twitter and fans in my county ( they use Facebook) have said many things abt how they are destined to be together.

Because like when I ask local tarot readers abt members ( I asked two and one is disgustingly accurate abt stuff lol), some connection between him and other members are pretty interesting.

Like between Jiwoong and Matthew, he said sth like “they do compliment each other a lot and bring good fortune to each other.” They are very popular duo.( under ZB1 tag in Korea, they are like the top 1 and there were like thousands of posts saying they want them to debut together)

He even said like “if Matthew was in a duo with other member than Jiwoong, that duo wouldn’t be this popular”. If that sounds bad, that sounds worse in our language. He is not a kpopper so he even compares to marriage. 😭 how some marriage can make one’s fortune worse and how some marriage can bring good fortune to people. Lol.

I do think they are rly close too because Matthew said he used Jiwoong’s customized perfume as a good luck charm before going to stage back in BP so Jiwoong gave custom blended perfume made by him to Matthew on his bd.

(Actually, when Matthew’s rank dropped to 9, a lot of Jiwoong’s fan dropped him to one pick vote Matthew TO THE POINT THAT Matthew’s fans have to stop them because they also want Mattwoong to debut together.)

When someone asked abt Hao and the client shared the answer publicly, the local tarot reader even said “you only asked abt Hao but I saw Hanbin too like they are always together”

And Gyuvin and Yujin, they are very close, too.

Abt Taerae, there’s sth I forgot to mention last time. He is the only xxTx in that group( mbti). Other members are xxFx. So, there were many jokes abt Taerae being awkward in the group. And hanbin mentioned that since Taerae is only xxTx in group, he finds him funny. They joke abt that a lot but I feel like it’s difficult for Taerae.

Another tarot reader also said on fb “this gp will be very popular for at least a decade. I know Wakeone is shit but they are not letting go of this gp and will treat them well”. And she said that in April when everyone is against W1 and there were alot of comments hating her because she mentioned one or two members being mistreated. Personally, I think she was right. w1 is treating ZB1 pretty well.

So what’s your opinion?

I talked a lot because you said you love this discussion so … thank you a lot.

I thought I’m the only Jiwoong bias here but when I saw other ppl question abt him, I was rly surprised and happy. Feeling validated I guess.

i am answering your ask before i upload all of the requests everyone have about them, so beware of this.

i am certain some of the members have been together in a past life. i’ve felt some of the connections are even soulmate-worthy to me.

however, i don’t think they’re formed by fate to this extent. i am certain 2 members were rigged to debut (one of them possibly might be matthew/taerae but i’m not sure), and honestly i am questioning gyuvin’s thoughts of one-two members. (i questioned taerae’s before but i’m not questioning it this much anymore bc i felt that he’s finally attached to someone��)

about gyuvin and yujin.. i saw totally different thing.. someone asked about how zb1 sees yujin and when i asked how gyuvin sees yujin, the devil popped up with the ace of wands in the bottom, so gyuvin might think yujin is too attached/obsessed of him. i wasn’t expecting that but i expected some sort of neutral answer, or for gyuvin to block his thoughts since it’s happened before 😭

about zb1’s popularity, i didn’t saw anything significant for them, at least currently. there were some questions about it and i felt their debut won’t start that well possibly because of other people. maybe there will be manipulation scandal? (like chart/sales one, not dating for sure) but with the time they’ll gain fans. however, i don’t think they’ll be as popular as they really deserve. they might be remembered after disbandment, which to me isn’t suprising.

and i agree that zb1 will be treated quite better compared to kep1er.

i’ll upload the requests as soon as possible to see what i’m typing about^^

ps. i saw taerae likes hao and i jumped out of joy😭😭😭😭😭😭 taerae finally wants to know someone better

#outsidereveries #discussion: or readings

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ao3feed-sambucky · 1 day ago

Text

a problem he didn't mind

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/r4FvL30 by QueerCasey Bucky helps Sam recover from his fight with Red Hulk, and they have some hard conversations, but it ends better than either of them expected. Words: 3683, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Captain America (Anthony Mackie Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel) Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson Additional Tags: Post-Movie: Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Spoilers for Movie: Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Rated for swearing, like way worse than canon type of swearing, So beware lol, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, First Kiss, Literal Sleeping Together, idk what else to tag, so if y'all have any suggestions let me know, oh!, Medical Inaccuracies, that's a big one read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/r4FvL30

#Bucky #Captain America #Winter Soldier #Sam Wilson #James Barnes #Falcon #SamBucky #BuckySam #IFTTT #ao3feed

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cookiesupplier · 1 year ago

Text

Every Rose Has It's Thorns - Part Six

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc (Talia)

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. Not that it is any easier for the soulmate in question. Thus is the fate for Ricky and Talia. Sooner or later, however, life is bound to collide, but what will happen when it does?

author’s note: Unbeta’d, so please readers beware. Sorry for the mis-post before!

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34

If you would like to be added feel free, please let me to know, whether to this list specifically or in general.

So, there were two weeks left of the tour. Two weeks, and it was obvious that neither Vinny or Ava just wanted to walk away immediately now that they found each other. As awkward as meeting your soulmate could be, especially under trying circumstances, they obviously had a connection already and wanted to spend time together, and Talia envied them that. She however, didn’t want to think about the way Ricky looked at her, she’d obviously set this whole thing up just to spite him.

She couldn’t blame him though, in less than a day his whole life had turned upside down. One the other hand she’d had years to adjust to her predicament. Not even the fact that she’d lost him, but the whole issue of being his soulmate in the first place, and how people treated her for it. Really, being treated what felt like a little bit like a pariah sometimes in her own family, like she was mental for believing what she did, and unlike Rick she’d had plenty of time to adjust. He’d had the rug pulled from under his feet. Sure maybe it was new for him, maybe he’d dealt with soulmate issues before in the band in a way she hadn’t, but this had to be horrible, had to be worse. Or at least, new, fresh.

Maybe he could not blame her though?

Still, when Vinny suggested that maybe Ava could join them for the last couple weeks for the tour, Talia jumped at the chance to point out she’d make a fantastic PA, even if just helping out with general housekeeping on the bus and making sure they don’t go stir crazy for the last leg of shows. After all, helping her was pretty much what she did.

“How will you ever cope without me?”

Talia laughed at her best friends dramatics as Ava went and pressed her hand to her chest with a gasp as she just shook her head,

“I think I’ll survive just fine.”

Oh, she knew she’d miss her best friend something awful, all three of them would, but there was no way that Ava wouldn’t keep them updated. Talia knew how Ava was, she’d keep them updated to how she was going on this every step of the way, she could only hope she wouldn’t drag her into it as well, there was only so much that she could deal with right now.

“You should come too, right, Vin?”

“No!”

Before she could even argue, the other person she knew would spoke first, she glanced across the once more empty table after the waitress had come and collected their plates after they’d finished eating their breakfast, Ricky looked livid, and she knew instantly she was going to have words with him about how he was going to be treating Ava.

“I can’t go, I have clients, set appointments, you know that. Either way, you don’t me dragging you down, use this time to get to know Vin, okay, you’ll get to spend so much time together, getting to know each other.” “Only getting to know each other. No sex on the bus.”

Ricky was quick to point that out kicking Vin under the table, smirking a little, only for Vin to snort in response as he grinned back,

“Yea like any of us keeps to that rule anyway.”

Of course, the moment the words slipped from the younger man, he seemed to remember the fact the issues at hand, which was stupid because they were here, and why they were talking and it had just come out, fuck, he back peddled,

“Whatever, Ava is probably going to want to kill me after me making her living in a bus full of dudes for two weeks anyway, Talia you’ll say something nice at my funeral right? I’m not sure I can trust Rick, he’d be snarky.”

“Oh Vin, I’ll always be on Ava’s side.”

“Dammit.”

Chuckling… his grin, she loved this, he would be great with Ava. She wondered if she’d ever be on Ricky’s side, like she was sure Vinny would be on Ava’s but she doubted he’d ever want her there.

At least they weren’t trying to convince her to come on tour anymore, she couldn’t keep saying no to Ava, and the thought of actually having to handle the painful glares from Richard Olson. She could work around her clients, take vacation time, she hadn’t had vacation time in so long, two weeks would be nothing, but the thought of being in a cramped bus, with those glares, bearing down on her. Stripping away at her soul, ripping her open and bleeding her heart dry? She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t put herself through that. While she could handle all of this, she needed to handle him and his, and she figured, justified anger, at what he was going through, from far away.

“Okay, so, we should get going,”

“But-”

“You have to pack, you’re going on tour for two weeks.. You have to go home, pack, and call Bee and let him know you’ll need vacation time for soulmate reasons.. and get back to the the bus all before they leave.. We should get going.”

Ava sighed, nodding quickly,

“Okay, okay.”

Getting up from the table, it was when Ava was hugging Vin tightly talking quickly, probably whispering some shit, who knows, that Talia didn’t want to think about that she grabbed the sleeve of Rick’s jacket and pulled him over to the side.

“Hey, lay off.”

Oh, he was in a real mood still, annoyed at the very least, didn’t want to calm down at all.

“Not going to check the attitude at all are you? Well you can with Ava. I don’t give a shit how you treat me, it’s obvious you hate me, I get it. I know why, I don’t blame you. I didn’t want to fuck up your relationship anymore than you wanted it to be, but now here we the fuck we are.”

Ricky just glared at her and she swallowed, even though he was short, he was taller than her, she’d always been tiny, and right now, she hated it. It was only a few inches, half a foot at best.

“But so help me, if you treat Ava like shit, I will stick my foot so far up your ass Richard Olson.”

Standing so close to him, her head tilted up, his eyes boring into hers, the fierce stare piercing, and the blue was like ice in her veins. This was why she couldn’t go on tour, and this was why she was worried about Ava. All she could hope, was that if he couldn’t play nice, was that Ava was far too wrapped up in her cocoon of Vinny to notice the hostility coming from Ricky in waves.

“Oh don’t worry, Talia, I’m sure I’ll get along with her famously. You are the only problem here, I’m not putting up with anymore of this soulmate shit.”

Talia sighed,

“That, right there. Don’t call it shit in front of Ava, she believes in this stuff, and loves it. She just found Vinny, her soulmate. Support them. I can’t be with them okay, I won’t inflict myself on you like that, and if you can’t support them, keep your mouth shut, got it?”

She just stared him down for a long moment, so much so she didn’t even notice the far that Ava and Vinny weren’t talking anymore between themselves and were just watching them, watching them standing very close, and bickering as they were. There was something dangerous in his eyes, and she didn’t want to think about how it felt to be this close to him. She didn’t want to think about the fact that despite the pain of how much he hated her right now, just being near him now, actually filled her with a sense of warmth that her breath caught slightly. Swallowing, she didn’t want to think about it, she didn’t, she couldn’t, not like this.

“You got it, Sweetie.”

With a parting glare, his shoulder shoved hers as he moved past her and walked out of the diner. She sighed and turned to see Ava and Vinny staring at her now, only her with Rick already gone.

“Don’t.”

Most of the drive home was completely silent. Absolutely completely silent. Talia really didn’t want to talk about any of it anyway, but she was waiting. There was no way that Ava didn’t want to say something with the way that she’d been looking at her along with Vin before they’d left the diner, it had been on the tip of their tongues she could just bet it before she’d grabbed her best friend's arm and rushed her out. She had her bags to pack because he had a tour to finish.

“So, that was something.”

“Please, please don’t Ava.”

She didn’t want to talk about it, she really didn’t, she could feel herself cracking even as she said it.

“That was intense, I mean, if I didn’t know better, with how close he was standing to you, I’d think he wanted to..”

She giggled.

“Vinny hasn’t even gotten that close to me yet, and Ricky was right there babe… and Sweetie?”

Talia shuddered hearing it again,

“He wasn’t saying it as a compliment Ava, he was saying it to insult me, I heard that loud and clear.”

Even if Ava was right, even if what she was saying had crossed her mind as the silence of the drive back to their apartment went on. It was hate though, that was the intensity, so her giggle was misplaced and Talia couldn’t let herself think about it.

Talia had to remind Ava multiple times she was only going to be gone for two weeks, and staying one a tour bus with so many people that there wasn’t going to be room for a heap of luggage. Pack as if she was going to be living out of a carry on bag. She was no happy, but, for Vin, she did it. They called Bee, and the owner of the parlour was ecstatic for her, and Ava, without asking Talia, even flouted the idea of Talia taking some time off in two weeks, while they were on the phone. If she hadn’t been about to leave, she would have killed her for that. Fuck. But at the same time, it wasn’t in stone, all she said while they were talking to Bee was she’d think about it and that there was no appointments set on the books anyway.

By the time Ava got back to the bus they had smoothed everything over, sorted the schedule so they were heading out to the next town as soon as she was settled.. And Rick was staring at the empty bunk she would be sleeping in when she got there.

Grace’s bunk.

He couldn’t, he didn’t even want to think about this, not about the fact that Ava was going to be taking up Grace’s space, that Grace wasn’t going to be here, that every time he even looked toward the bunk all he could think about was her lies. There were so many memories, moments, good moments, that were each turning sour and toxic one by one in his head with this poisonous little darkness in his head reminding him about how she lied. Reminding him about how it was all a trick and that she had been manipulating him from the very moment they met.

Distraction, he needed to think about something else. Update, a tour update, he could do a tour update before Ava got here, he’d already talked to Vin earlier about whether he wanted to let anyone know about her, and the consensus was that he wanted to talk to her first, so this update would be better to happen before she got here anyway. Rick also wasn’t sure how to update his socials about Grace after how open he’d been about his relationship, so here he went. Everything was going fine, until it wasn’t.

He ran into Justin.

It was nothing. He knew it was nothing, it was nothing. But it felt like everything. He just exploded and just started yelling at him to get the fuck out of his way and why the hell couldn’t he do anything right. Why the hell was he always in his fucking way. What was wrong with him?! Ricky Shoved the at the bassist and it took Chris coming to grab him, the singer literally grabbing him and heaving him up and carrying him, yelling out of the bus, before he started to calm down.

What the fuck, was he even doing.

That was exactly what Chris didn’t need to ask him because if anyone knew what he was going through it was Chris. The women that had tried to manipulate him into believing they were his soulmates, and ruined his real relationships in doing so. This time, this time, the fake soulmate exposed his real relationship as a fraud soulmate herself.

He left him outside to calm down while they had time, before he had to be closed up in the bus again for the night while they travelled to the next town. Standing there, Rick slipped something out of his pocket, and looked down to the box in his hand, he’d not known what he was going to do with it..

Taking in a breath, he reaching back, and threw the ring box holding the engagement ring he’d bought for Grace as far as he fucking could from the tour bus. Hopefully whoever found it got better use out of it. Sell it, use it, he didn’t give a shit, he just didn’t want to see it ever again.

Talia dropped Ava off at the bus and watched it drive away before heading back to the apartment once more. Two weeks, the start of two weeks alone. Alone with nothing but time to think about Ricky and the way he’d stared at her with such hate… and the way it made her feel.

When his arm had been around her during the VIP, her tattoo had been warm, it had tingled. She wondered on some level if that had been her imagination, or something real. Just the way he has been looking at her made her feel something as well, even if he was looking at her with such hate, it was with such intensity that it warmed her. Like a spark had been ignited inside of her.

The kind of spark that she’d imagined she’d feel when her soulmate looked at her with a very different kind of intensity. Like he wanted her, instead, instead he hated.

Dropping her keys in the bowl by the door, Talia walked into the empty apartment, moving through the big, empty apartment with no one waiting for her, no one. Letting the crushing weight of the day, of how Ricky looked at her made her feel press down on her now, and she crumbled. Collapsing to her bed she cried until she could do nothing but fall asleep.

#motionless in white #miw #ricky olson #ricky horror #ricky olson fanfiction #ricky olson x ofc #original female character #soulmates #vinny mauro #fanfiction #miw band #rick olson #ricky horror olson #soulmate au #soulmate #tattoos #ricky olson fanfic #vinny mauro fanfic #fic: every rose has its thorns

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clancabur · 9 months ago

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// Hi! I'm Jack. This is the pinned post for clancabur, and has my rules, a link to bios for my muses, and a taglist. It also has a list of potential triggers you might find here.

"What is a Guardian?" "To answer that, I must tell you a story.

"Once, there was a garden, before the existence of all things. This garden was creation, infinite and ever-growing, ever-dying. This garden was tended by two impossible beings; a Gardener and a Winnower.

"The Gardener nurtured new growth. The Winnower used its knife to shear away the old and dead, taking these cleaved things from the garden. This was its nature.

"But a thing whose nature is to take is ever-hungry, and gradually the knife became a sword, cutting deeper and deeper, until the garden bore so many scars it could hardly be called a garden anymore.

"So here is the truth, then;

"A Guardian is the Gardener's answer to the Winnower's knife."

RULES

Communicate!! My #1 rule for rp is communication. If you're upset, want to change something, just having fun- please tell me!

My memory is worse than a goldfish's. Literally. Please don't hesitate to remind me of things! In fact, please remind me of things. Help. What day is it.

Godmodding: don't do it. If you absolutely need something to happen, see rule #1. Also, please tell me if I accidentally do this!

My muses are fickle, stubborn, and uncooperative. I can only do so much to wrangle them. As such, my replies can be sporadic and unpredictable- but I will do my best to reply asap!

I have anxiety. So much anxiety. Please be patient with me.

I tend to write very stream-of-consciousness, with many asides and tangents, which often results in long, multi-paragraph replies. Don't feel pressured to match me, although too many one line replies tend to sap my motivation.

Assume my muses come from a different canon than yours. By which I mean; relationships, motivations, circumstances and even experiences may be different than you expect.

On shipping; it's great! It's fun! Talk to me first. As long as it fits my muse, odds are I'll be happy to ship, but I prefer to talk it out first. Also, as a multishipper, I rarely do 'exclusive' ships.

On NSFW; I don't mind it, but I'll probably do a fade to black to keep anything too spicy off this blog. However, I'm fine with something more explicit in dms.

Check the potential triggers, and if you need something tagged, let me know. Also tell me if I tagged something incorrectly!

Last but not least, be kind and have fun!

BIOS: [X]

Potential Triggers; Violence, death, discussions of death and trauma, occasional unreality, possible descriptions of panic attacks

TAGLIST;

threads : running strikes end thread : transmat firing starter call : looking for a fireteam open starter : solo patrols closed starter : fireteam patrols prompts : hunter's dare ask : van-net anonymous : civilians OOC : traveler's dreams guests : destination contact blog maintenance : redjacks inbound crossover : what surpasses total relativity collapse? musings/headcanons : ghost's thoughts aesthetics : sniper's perch wardrobe/gear : visiting the loom music : tower bazaar silly things : a purple ball! janus : smother the lights and run dice : mighty are they of the stormcloud thrones arkades : beware the promise of a wanderer verse : in death or finality but never both (canon) verse : think of spacetime as a tapestry on a loom (time loop) verse : do not grieve the dying star (wings)

#OOC : traveler's dreams #blog maintenance : redjacks inbound #pinned post

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goingmorry · 4 years ago

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[One Piece Headcanons] OP Boys -> when you ask them to kill an insect

Characters: Zoro, Sanji, Law, Kid, Ace, Sabo, Luffy, Killer, Shanks, Mihawk

Tags: beware of bugs, this is a joke post

Author's Note: Asked my husband to kill a spider the other day, so thought of this. 😭

RORONOA ZORO

Tries to convince you to kill the bug yourself.

When he realizes that he can't get through your stubbornness, he relents and asks you to show him the location of the disgusting creature.

Ends up annihilating the wrong insect. Wait! There's more?

Gets way too into it and goes on a bug killing spree.

Weapon of choice: defaults to swords but has to consciously remind himself to use his fist for fear of causing unnecessary structural damage.

Score: 6/10; drops to 4/10 if he forgets to switch out of using swords.

SANJI

Mr. Prince Charming over here is more than happy to destroy the insects for you.

Goes above and beyond; will do a full sweep of the room to ensure that no other bugs are near the vicinity.

Weapon of choice: haki-infused leg for a fiery effect.

Score: 8/10

TRAFALGAR LAW

Hates bugs with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

Rolls his eyes at your silly request.

He's sassy, but he'll do as you ask.

Decent bug killer; can easily kill them with his devil fruit, but chooses not to use his powers for such "meaningless tasks" — his choice of words, not yours.

Weapon of choice: rolled up previously issued World Economy News Paper.

Score: 7/10

EUSTASS KID

Calls you a wuss for enlisting his help.

Acts like he's doing you a huge favor, but you quickly find out that he's quite terrible at killing bugs; you would have better luck asking Killer for help instead.

Ends up destroying property in his pursuit of the pesky little critters.

Weapon of choice: mechanical arm; no wonder the bugs escape from his clutch.

Score: 3/10

PORTGAS D. ACE

Enthusiastic, loving boyfriend to the rescue.

Though, his enthusiasm doesn't translate so well for his bug-killing abilities.

Treats the entire situation like a game; wants to use creative ways to catch the troublesome pests.

Weapon of choice: homemade bug traps; they're useful 70% of the time.

Score: 7/10

SABO

Expert Bug Exterminator™

Killed plenty of bugs during his time growing up with the Revolutionaries; Koala made him do it.

Could start a side business for pest control if he wanted.

Weapon of choice: maximum strength indoor bug spray; it's effective every time.

Score: 10/10

MONKEY D. LUFFY

Congratulations, you played yourself.

Won't kill bugs even if you beg him to.

Good luck; you're on your own.

To make matters worse, he picks up the bug with his bare hands and chases you around with it.

Weapon of choice (if he could actually kill them): flip flop; the power of la chancla.

Score: -1/10

KILLER

Has built-in ESP or something.

Predicts your intentions before you can request his help and asks, "Where do you need me?"

Say no more; he's on it faster than you can count to thirty.

Weapon of choice: bare fists; there's nothing quite like some good old fashion hand-to-hand combat.

Score: 9/10

SHANKS

Teases you every time you run to him for help.

Playfully bargains with you by saying stuff like, "Sweetheart, I'll take care of this insect problem of yours for the small price of one smooch. It's a bargain."

You reprimand him but kiss him anyway, much to his satisfaction.

Weapon of choice: store-bought insect traps; he's lazy and you can't convince him otherwise.

Score: 8/10

DRACULE MIHAWK

Kills bugs with the precision one can expect from the World's Greatest Swordsman.

True to his namesake and similar to how a hawk zeroes in on its prey, no bug can hope to escape from Mihawk's impeccable vision.

All you have to do is show him where the insect is or where you last saw it, and he'll do the rest.

Weapon of choice: handheld bug zapper; gotta keep it classy, fellas.

Score: 10/10

#one piece #roronoa zoro x reader #sanji x reader #trafalgar law x reader #eustass kid x reader #portgas d. ace x reader #sabo x reader #monkey d. luffy x reader #killer x reader #shanks x reader #dracule mihawk x reader #one piece headcanons #one piece writing #one piece imagines #one piece x reader #mywriting #this is a joke post lmao #please ignore me

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ryndicate · 2 years ago

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꘏ General ꘏

About

This blog (mainly) creates and also interacts with dark content. I place warnings for all my content, so proceed at your own risk.

we are very very multifandom here. i hyperfixate a lot, and my adhd is sitting proudly at the wheel. whatever character my brain chooses for the day is usually how it goes. characters I write for are linked in my masterlist even if I haven't put anything out for them yet. I add as I go

I’ll be real and say that I frequently dip away from tumblr for a couple days rather often; I have a low social battery that drains even when I’m shitposting to no one in particular. But I love to chat so don’t hesitate to send an ask, I’ll get back to them next time I’m online :)

DNI’s

My content is not suited nor intended for minors. 18 and up please and thank you. If you don’t have an age marked somewhere visible I will block. “18+” “adult” “legal” etc are not acceptable and will result in a block.

Blank blogs annoy the piss out of me but I'm too lazy to block them all so just have an age listed okay.

do not interact with my content (reblogs especially) if your own blog rules are not 18+. If i see 17+ or similiar, that makes me uncomfortable.

no dc anti’s (if you know how to scroll past, this doesn't include you) hate will be ignored. if you don’t like my content, the stuff i reblog, or the things i say, just block me or unfollow.

if you ask for part 2s. it’s a rude thing to do in general.

Rules and Asks

I typically answer all my asks, I don't ignore people so if I'm taking awhile to respond it's either because i havent seen it or I'm thinking on a response. However, if I think an ask is worded in a way that would make others or myself uncomfortable, check my return to sender tag. I'll probably have made a post with a response without directly posting the ask itself.

I do need a listed age to feel comfortable responding! Please no trauma dumping. And I'm awful at writing comfort so pls no "what would Chara do" h/c situation asks 🥲 I'm bad at them. Awful. The result of my attempt would somehow make your day worse. For your own mental health just pls do not lol.

I'm down with being called bb/babes,girl by just about anyone. But bitch/bestie/love are reserved for mutuals and discord friends, those are very important terms of endearment for me and it feels off getting them from people I don't know.

If you send me compliments about my writing we’re valentines. this isn’t even my own rule, this is cosmic law.

Writing Info

I write every day, but I write and post at my own pace, the pace my irl life allows. If something is listed in my wips, I’m working on it so please don’t demand content from me.

The stuff I write is usually explicit, and even when it’s not has mature, dark, or unsettling natures to it. Not every fic will include these topics but beware they may contain incest, a/b/o, monsterfucking, horror, yandere etc. Here’s a little link to give you an idea on more, listing them can get tedious so i keep it separate and update it as I go.

I don’t do requests (commissions aside) but if you want to tell me your thoughts on a character, or maybe put them in a messy little situation, it might spark something in my mind and a little something might come of it, you never know ;3

what do i not write... hm. scat. vore. the Obvious. Other than that this is a really tough Q bc my mood switches up a lot. Sometimes I go on a single trope spree, other days I will write criminal level fluff in one hour and shiver inducing dark alley shit in the next. I have so much range, please expect me to use it.

#Also we're automatically on good terms if you read and like this post.#Like smooches and cuddles and whatever you want that shows my affection

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citowon · 3 years ago

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Beware of Dog 🍒 Taichi Nanao

c4tb0y0: Ahhhhh that last masumi fic + hc was so cute and funny! I loved it so much, could I please request hcs for taichi with a gn!s/o who looks very intimidating on the outside but really they are a big softie anyways please have a nice day, eat + drink lots and please stay safe! <3

WAAAAAH ya girl just got slammed with 4 essays due this week. it’s why i’m actually writing this at 5:24 am right now, actually, i really wanted to get my ideas out for this one and get it queued so i can concentrate on my work! thank you for your patience. this reader’s personality is one of my favorites that i’ve written, and i hope you enjoy this total sweetheart and everything they fight for. 🌟

not to be one of Those Bitches™ but i love water- i don’t drink soda, only coffee when i need the rush, and juice and lemonade as a treat. please make sure to drink at least one glass of water per meal everyone! ...though i will admit i’ve only eaten one meal today, i think, i lost count. and because these essays are rocking my shit and i wanted to get beware of dog up today i’m not sleeping tonight and i’ll just take a phat nap after class and i have to type quietly so i don’t wake up my light sleeper roommate... i’m getting off topic. sleepy wave is a little silly sometimes. a lot of times, really. please enjoy yourself.

word count: 9154

tags: fic, gender neutral reader, fluff, hurt/comfort, i wouldn’t call it angst but yeah, there’s a bit of angst in there, cursing, physical violence (no weapons fistfight)

summary: As your relationship with Taichi deepens, you would go through hell and high water to protect the ones you care about, and the feeling is mutual.

Sakyo should’ve known something was wrong the second he saw Nanao on his phone.

Nanao was a lot of things; young, brash, excitable, but never inattentive. Ever since the first tech rehearsal of The Stranger, he never picked up his phone, even with all its vibrating. He said something about “getting into the zone,” and Sakyo respected his choice to avoid the distraction. Sakyo has never seen Nanao even considering going back on his word after over a year of productions in Autumn Troupe, which was something to be admired, especially with how flighty he could be off the stage.

He was so used to every other actor checking their phone, though, that when Nanao picked it up today thirty minutes before the curtain rose on Fiery Mantou Fist, he didn’t even bat an eye. Nanao’s eyebrows were furrowed together as he took a giant, puffy-cheeked breath and typed something in determination.

Then Sakyo carried on without a second thought. What, was he supposed to do something? He was a grown-ass man; it wasn’t his responsibility to psychoanalyze everyone he passed by. All he wanted to do was set the Mantou Fist scroll prop before the show. Sue him, he was focused on the wellbeing of the play.

And Nanao was in the right headspace as well during the show, but right after he thanked everyone who congratulated him, he sped through his post-show routine and went back to his phone, which is how Sakyo made the connection and put two and two together.

He loomed over Taichi’s shoulder, the younger actor still typing away with full attention on the screen. Sakyo spoke up. “Oi.”

“AAAAHHHH!”

Sakyo lurched back, ears ringing from the scream. Damn. Maybe Bon was onto something whenever he called Sakyo an old geezer; one more screech like that and his hearing would go out. Then he really was done for, and as much as the Director made him want to play for keeps, this would be one bet he’d have to tap out on.

“It’s not what you think! I promise! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m-” Nanao swiveled in his chair, his face aghast and eyes riddled with fear, until he wasn’t. He blinked and his face reset, glancing at Sakyo with boyish, though minimal, guilt. “Oh, sorry, Sakyo! I didn’t see you there. Did you need something?”

Sakyo pinched his nose. His ears were still ringing. This was even worse than the last time someone fired a gun point blank next to him (don’t ask). “What… was that? Is something wrong?”

“I get scared easily. Sorry! I was just about to go outside, actually.”

“...Right.” Sakyo’s brain was so scrambled, even his common sense eluded him. “Don’t be out too late.”

“I won’t! I’ll be back before you know it!”

Sakyo just watched him leave as he pieced his thoughts back together.

Settsu piped up during the stunned silence. “Hey, Sakyo, real quick question. What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” he said lamely. “Do you think he’s in trouble?”

“He seemed out of it,” Hyodo chimed in. “He looked… worried?”

“If you’re not sure, then keep your mouth shut.”

“Like you would know.”

“I sure would! I’m great at reading people.”

As Settsu and Hyodo continued to bicker- really, it was only a matter of time before they started- Azami spoke up. “Well, I’m concerned. He looked like he was about to shit himself.”

“Maybe he is in trouble,” Fushimi wondered aloud.

That was all it took for Sakyo to get his head back in working order. Fuck. Fuck.

Fuuuuuuck.

He got complacent. Even after Azami’s abduction, he got complacent. Nanao was a good kid, and athletic enough to keep up with Autumn Troupe with ease, but he was small, and honestly, a little stupid. Of course he would be the glowing neon target on Autumn.

Was someone trying to fuck with Mankai again? Worst case scenarios drove through his mind. Nanao being blackmailed. Nanao in a street deal. Nanao as leverage- fuuuuck. What if an enemy family figured out the connections between Ginsenkai and Mankai? Taichi was a member close to Sakyo and the least capable in a fight. What if this was a ploy to start a gang war?

This needed to stop. This needed to stop before it even started.

Sakyo turned on his heel, voice unemotive but blood boiling. “I’m going to follow him.”

“Call me if anything’s wrong. I’ll check on him,” Fushimi called out.

Oh, if only something was just simply wrong.

Sakyo wished something was just simply wrong.

He cased the joint branching out- and found him in an alley relatively close to the perimeter. This was good news. Staying close to home turf meant he only needed to grab Taichi, sprint back to the theater, and then the abductors wouldn’t dare try entering and exposing their identity unless they were real stupid.

He clung to the wall, watching the interaction out of the corner of his eye. Taichi’s hair made him stick out like a sore thumb, but in front of him, someone virtually unnoticeable. Average.

So why did they carry themselves like a wolf with its claws wrapped around a deer?

Young. Young like Taichi, but their presence was so much bigger. Their face tightened into sharp features sculpted by the shadows of the alley. Taichi stared up at them in reverence.

Not flighty enough to be a thief, not charismatic enough to be a scammer. Yakuza, probably. Fresh meat. Too hopped up on the movies to realize it’s not all blood, guns and girls. No self-respecting seasoned family member would pull a stunt like this right next to the theater. Dumbass didn’t even know how to carry out an abduction.

Whispering. Sharp enough to register, quiet enough to be indecipherable. The mini-gangster stepped closer to Taichi. When they approached Taichi shivered and Sakyo saw red.

Time to intervene. Sakyo crossed his arms as he strode to the opening of the alley. “You got a problem with our man?”

“Sakyo-”

But they stepped forward before Taichi could call out his name, and held a dark-sleeved arm out to block him. “The fuck do you want?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Let him go.”

The corner of their mouth rose, flashing bared fangs. “Better idea, you turn around and forget you ever saw us.”

Sakyo rolled up his sleeves. “You wanna see yourself bleed?!”

“Bring it! I’m not letting him get hurt-”

“Stop!” Taichi yelled with his whole body. He sprinted forward, past the abductor and between the two. “Please don’t fight! Stop!”

“Outta the way before you get hurt!”

“Let me handle this myself!”

Despite their protests Taichi grabbed a hand from either person and smacked them together, forcing them into a handshake. “Sakyo! This is Reader! They’re the one I’ve been talking about!”

The gangster- Reader’s- hand went from tight fist to loose. Sakyo watched their stone-cold exterior fall to just plain dumbfoundedness.

Which was perfectly understandable, mind you. Sakyo opened and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to figure out something to say.

So Taichi just threw his hands in the air in a half-hearted razzle-dazzle move. “Suuurprise?”

Sakyo settled on, “It’s a… pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise?” Reader limply shook his hand. ”I’ve seen your shows. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. You look a lot paler in person.”

“People look different under stage lighting.”

“Sorry. My bad. Sorry.”

Reader hadn’t broken the handshake yet.

“I heard a lot about you from Nanao,” Sakyo said. “I hope you’re taking care of him. For your sake.”

“Sakyo, please don’t threaten my partner,” Nanao whined.

Reader nervously laughed. What a contrast to their demeanor. “It’s understandable. I’ve also heard about Autumn Troupe. Thank you for taking care of him.”

“You’re welcome.”

Reader still held Sakyo’s hand in theirs, but didn’t even bother to continue shaking. This had to be one of the worst alleyway confrontations Sakyo’s ever had in his career.

Nanao scratched the back of his head and turned to the other actor. “Are they looking for me?”

“Not once I get back.”

“Okay, cool. You see, I was actually in the middle of something…”

Actually, make that the worst alleyway confrontation Sakyo’s ever had in his career. Forget mortified, Sakyo felt just plain gross. Reader covered their face with their hands.

“I’ll just tell them you’re fine,” he said, then reconsidered. “You are fine, right?”

“Yes! Oh my god. Totally fine, I swear.”

“I’ll take my leave then.” Sakyo toyed with his glasses. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Reader.”

“Likewise,” Reader mumbled.

“I’ll be back soon, Sakyo.”

“...Bye.”

Sakyo couldn’t walk away fast enough.

“Haha.”

Taichi stared off into the brick wall behind him and couldn’t help but awkwardly laugh. “Hahaha. Sorry. I didn’t expect you to meet Sakyo like that…”

“It’s-it’s fine. He was going to meet me sooner or later…”

But that really had to be one of the worst ways to go about it, wasn’t it?

“He’s a good guy. Really! I know he seems scary. It’s because he is. He’s actually really scary. But only when he wants to be! Which is often, but that isn’t the point. He’s just... looking out for me.”

His gaze darted to you, teal eyes full of worry. You reached for his face and kissed him on the lips.

“I know,” you said, voice stuttering. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I… I just d-didn’t expect it. That’s all. Really.”

“I didn’t expect that either!”

“Yeah, I didn’t either.”

“No, not the Sakyo thing, I mean the… the thing that...” Taichi waved his hands around, trying to figure out the word. But it never came to him, so he just decided to wrap an arm around your neck, lead you closer, and kiss you back.

This boy really was going to be the death of you, huh?

When he pulled back, his smile was genuine. Small and sweet, cheeks flush and light with a sigh that soon escaped him. Oh, the things you would do to never let that smile falter. You’ve been dating for some time now, but the feeling’s always been there, flighty in the beginning, but easing into a comfortable, mutual love.

So you held him tight in your arms and said what was on your mind: “I love you.”

His head tilted to perch on your shoulder, and the arm that was already around your body rested along your neck. “I love you too.”

Oh, what you wouldn’t do to protect that love.

Ding-dong!

Your hand retreated the second the doorbell rang, and your mind ran through every hot romance tip you skimmed over back when you and Taichi first started dating. Your relationship started with two inexperienced people relying on teen magazines and dating advice sites, but it was awkward, and soon abandoned for the comfort of your prior friendship, but like, with kissing and flirting and stuff. Affection was casual and easily earned, and Taichi’s antics taught you long ago that you didn’t have to be composed in front of him; he loved you all the same.

But, well, this visit wasn’t exactly for Taichi’s eyes only.

Noise echoed through Mankai Company. You could hear shouts and conversations resonating through the halls and leading outside- not exactly enough to earn a noise violation, but at that volume where you know the neighbors have considered it.

Chest out, back straight, don’t fidget and don’t slouch. Taichi always insisted on escorting you home after a date, but you’ve never returned the favor. ‘It’s like meeting the parents,’ he said once on a coffee date, flustered and staring into his latte. ‘I’m sure you’ll meet them some day! But let’s not do that now!’

That was a few months ago. He requested you meet him at the dorms so he could escort you to a bowling alley arcade, but it was about the same distance from the dorms as it was to your house. Does that mean he wanted to show you off to his troupe? Does that mean he loves you? You knew that, you’ve exchanged the words with him countless times before, but is there another degree above just love? Did something shift in your relationship, and was it for the better or a step back? Did you mess up something? You hoped not. You really didn’t want to mess up with Taichi. You didn’t want to mess up in general, really, but not with Taichi, anyone but Taichi.

No one opened the door yet. You should ring the bell again.

Ding-dong!

“COMING!”

That was… decidedly not Taichi. You could hear heavy clunking against the wood floor as someone approached the door. Was the floor always that loud? Maybe these dorms were older than you thought.

“Mankai Company!” The door swung open. “Do you need…”

You stared down at a head of green hair. His chin rose as he met the eyes of an absolute beast of a person towering over him, stiff as a board and frightening as frozen hell, even with the little bouquet of flowers in their arms.

He squeezed his lips together before he finished the thought. “Do you need something?”

“I’m looking for Taichi.”

“The dumb dog?”

Ouch. You winced for Taichi. You noticed the teen in the threshold tremble, and held back a huff. Great work, Reader, you already scared one of the actors Taichi lived with before you even got his name.

He forced a stiff upper lip. “I’ll get him.”

Then he turned on his high heel- high heels indoors? Now that was extra- and shut the door. You watched him briskly walk through the window until he was out of view.

Well, you already blew it! Might as well relax.

You told yourself that, but while your body rested, your head was anything but relaxed. What if that guy was Taichi’s best friend in the whole entire company and you lost his approval just then? You didn’t want him to choose between his best friend and his partner. You’d feel awful if he had to.

You sighed, and looked down at the pansy bouquet in your arms for comfort. It was less of a bouquet and more of a bundle, with small blooms and no filler flowers, but the petals varied from bold white to crisp blue. You didn't know if Taichi had a favorite variety, but these were the brightest of the bunch, and Taichi deserved flowers as beautiful as him.

The door opened once more, and you straightened up, but dropped your gaze to meet the eyes of the boy that you scared off, or maybe even your boyfriend. After all, they were both small enough you had to lower your neck to make eye contact with them.

Instead you were greeted by a tight white shirt outlining absolutely shredded abs. You cast your eyes up and nearly balked at the glaring face that looked up at you. The man was six feet of pure muscle, still not tall enough to look down on you, but massive enough to overpower you. His stare was downright ghastly, only accentuated by the smear of black grease on his cheek, and under his fingernails, and… pretty much everywhere, actually. He smelled like smoke, sweat, and oil.

He scrunched up his nose. You felt a shiver run down your spine. “You got beef with Taichi?”

“No! No beef!” You nearly dropped your flowers, but forced yourself to be strong. “I’m here to pick him up.”

You scowled, hoping it would be enough to get this guy to step down. He scowled back. Great, now you were starting to understand what it was like to be on the receiving end of an intimidating face. You wanted to cry.

“For what?” Big Guy said. His voice was low like rolling thunder.

“A date.” You crossed your arms, growing defensive. “He told me to meet him here-”

“You’re Reader?”

“You know me?”

Big Guy averted his eyes. Was he embarrassed? “I’ve heard your name.”

“Oh. I’m his partner. How’d you know my name? Does he talk about me?”

“Uh…”

Sakyo walked back into the dressing room. They had already struck the Mantou Fist set, and in the corner all their costumes were neatly hung up on a rolling rack.

Fushimi practically pounced on him the second he entered the room. “You didn’t call me back. Is Taichi okay?”

“Settle down, Fushimi. He’s fine,” Sakyo said.

“What happened?”

Maybe in another world, he would’ve been more sympathetic. Had it been earlier, certainly, he’d try to cover for Nanao. But it was late and Sakyo was tired and Bon was going to throw a fit about wrinkles if he didn’t get his beauty rest anytime soon.

“He’s busy. He needed privacy with Reader.”

No one really broke the pregnant pause that came after. On one hand, good thing he was safe, but on the other...

“Good for him,” Settsu finally said, surprisingly quiet, like he just wanted to gloss over that fact. The others matched his volume.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, good for him.”

“Gross, you’re a voyeur. Barf.”

“...Yeah,” Big Guy finally said.

“Huh.”

“Come in.”

“Okay.”

That’s how you found yourself sitting in the Mankai Company lounge across Big Guy, who fetched High Heels along the way, the latter incoming with a pot of tea and cups.

“I’m Reader,” you said. Someone had to start the conversation, after all. You weren’t good at it, but it was a start.

“I know,” Big Guy said.

“I didn’t. Why didn’t you lead with that?” High Heels placed one of the cups in front of you, steam rising out from the ceramic. “I wouldn’t have gotten Juza to shoo you away if I knew you were the dumb dog’s partner.”

“Sorry.” You gently placed your pansies on the table, careful not to crush any of the petals, and wrapped your hands around the cup. “Wait, I was being shooed?”

Juza raised his hand to apologize. “Yuki thought that if someone tough like me greeted you, you wouldn’t hurt Taichi.”

“But I don’t want to hurt Taichi,” you said, crestfallen. You grew up tall, big and menacing, and you knew what a mysterious (read; shy) demeanor did to already established rumors, but still, you were taken aback. “I wouldn’t even think about it.”

Yuki poured Juza some tea. “We had a scare a few months ago. Sakyo said he thought the dog got caught up in a yakuza affair. Alleyway abduction or something.”

“Was it during Mantou Fist’s run?”

Juza and Yuki traded a knowing look. The former nodded.

“That was me.” You stared at your tea. “I just wanted to say hello and congratulate him. Sorry. Everyone thinks I’m a gangster, but I’m not. I promise. I’m not a bully or a punk either. I don’t do hard drugs, and I definitely don’t deal them either. Oh, on that subject, I don’t drink. I’m not a criminal, and I don’t pickpocket-”

“Do people really think that of you?”

“Yeah,” you said, and you stared at Juza when he said it in sync with you. “You too?”

“I still get punks tryin’ to pick a fight with me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

He waved a hand. “It happens.”

...To people with unfairly scary faces, sure, but that still didn’t mean he deserved to get caught up in fights!

Yuki sipped his drink. “For the record, If Juza has that reputation but acts like a sloth all day, then you’re probably okay with me. I don’t care about your image.”

“That’s good. I thought I scared you earlier.”

“I was not. Scared. Got it?” Yuki gave you a murderous glare that made you sink in your seat, but his ears were red. “The point is, Taichi really likes you. So unless you screw up real bad, you’re fine in my book.”

“But if you try to hurt him, you’re gonna have to go through us,” Juza said.

You and Juza were kindred spirits, you could already tell, and both suffered from being too naturally intimidating for your own good, but jeez. The way he leered at you when he said that made you feel like you were doomed to a Mankai firing squad execution if you ever made a misstep.

“Trust me. Whatever you think he’ll do, I’ll make it worse,” Yuki threatened. The dryness in his voice made Juza look like a Pomeranian.

“Okay,” you whimpered. “I will not do that. I will literally do anything but that.”

“Good.” The corners of Yuki’s mouth turned into a smile, but the way he said it made it so much more chilling.

“...Stop hazing Taichi’s partner.”

“Guhwuh,” you squawked.

Look. It wasn’t exactly a fine moment. You know this, and you aren’t ashamed to say you were scared, because really, who wouldn’t be when a strange new voice calls out from behind you and you turn around and literally not even a foot away is some rando with snowy white hair over one eye like a 2005 emo kid that somehow managed to sneak up on you despite being on edge this entire time and also up against a wall?

You digress.

“We’re just having a chat. The dumb dog said he’ll be downstairs in two minutes.”

“That’s fair. I was kind of early anyways, so it’s only natural he’s not ready yet…”

You trailed off, but the man continued. “He’s happy, Reader. He always is but he’s truly happy he met you. Don’t disappoint him.”

Juza may be a Pomeranian, and Yuki made your blood run cold, and it might’ve just been because of how caught off-guard you were, but this guy just won an Academy Award for Scariest Shovel Talk.

Then he had the audacity to yawn (rather cutely, you might add) and drink the rest of Juza’s untouched tea. “...Juza, how’s your bike?”

“Omi said there was a problem with the tank, but it’s a simple fix once he gets a replacement part. Tasuku’s driving to find a store that sells them right now.”

“How long has he been out?”

“Since noon?”

“That’s a long time.”

“Yeah. But he’s determined. Says he really wants to get this done today.”

“And Omi?”

“Trying to plug the leak.”

“That’s good.”

“Why?”

“There’s no one to stop me if I do this.”

You were about to ask what ‘this’ was when the man stuck out a half-hearted peace sign, shut his visible eye, and fell backwards. You jumped out of your seat to help him, but his back arched over the sofa and sent him somersaulting over the sofa, and he landed face-down perpendicular to the cushions.

You were speechless. “What the- oh my god. What just happened? Is he okay?!”

“It happens.” Yuki waved a hand dismissively.

“But- but he just-”

“It happens,” Juza repeated. “Hisoka does that a lot.”

“I- wh- um.” The man, Hisoka, let out a giant snore. You slowly sunk back into your seat. “...Okay.”

“Are these for the dog?” Yuki asked.

You shifted your gaze to where Yuki’s clear-coated fingernail was pointing. It was your flowers. “Um! Yeah! They are! I garden, you see, a lot really, it’s my hobby. But I’m not very good at it. They aren’t that pretty. I didn’t do a good job of fertilizing them last time I planted. You can see blemishes on this petal. And this one, too.”

“They’re his favorite flowers, you know,” Yuki said.

“Um, yeah.” You calmed yourself after your nervous rambling. “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you have any other varieties in your garden?”

“Yes! Yes, actually. I- um, he loves them, you know, so when we started… you know, being serious, I really got into pansies? Since he likes them. So I just have a lot of them now. Just a lot. My garden’s a good size so I still have a lot of diversity between plants but I have a lot of pansies. I kind of collect different species of pansies now. I’m trying to get some black devils. They’re purely black, but they have a little yellow spot in the middle. Kind of weird but in a pretty way. They don’t sell them in local nurseries since they’re so weird, even though I think they’re cool. Oh, but I have almost every other color though. But only with the black blotch in the center. Makes them look really stark and pop-arty compared to all my other flowers. The ones without the blotch are nice, too, but they just look so plain. I like raising flowers that most people think are too, oough, it’s ‘out there,’ you know? It’s like Bob Ross. Get a little crazy with it, haha. My hot pink pansies always bloom a little late compared to the others, so they’re still budding. But the others are coming along nicely. You kind of have to have yellow pansies, right? They’re a classic. I’m a really nontraditional gardener but yellow pansies are just a must. But I also have burgundy. They’re really unique and kind of tiding me over while I search for black ones. I’ve got two different purples, too. One of them is really dark, like, royal purple, but the other is lavender? Like, not lavender lavender, that’s a whole other plant, but like, the same color, lavender. Oh, and I really love these multicolored ones I have, they’re kind of a burnt red but the further away you get from the center they turn yellow. It’s so cool. They look like fire.”

“You should show him the fire flowers,” Juza said. To be honest, you really spaced out there, and totally didn’t expect either of the actors to listen to you, but sure enough, they seemed interested enough. Even if Juza made your prized plants sound like Super Mario power-ups. “He likes them.”

“You think so? That’s really convenient actually. They aren’t in full bloom yet but they will be soon.”

Juza nodded. “Taichi’ll like ‘em.”

“I’ll like what?”

“Seriously, what is up with people sneaking up on me today,” you half-hissed, half-squeaked.

“Sorry, Reader!” Taichi wrapped his arms around you in a back hug. You couldn’t resist the warm smile that spread across your face. “Yuki, Juza, have you met Reader yet? We’re dating.”

Yuki scoffed. “We’ve already introduced ourselves, made plans to go out for brunch every day of the week, and shared all our embarrassing stories about you.”

“Yuuukiiiii. Don’t make me look uncool in front of my partner. We’re dating.”

“You just love saying that, don’t you.”

“Of course I do! We’re dating!” Taichi spun on his heel to approach Yuki and clapped either of his hands on his shoulders. Yuki smacked them off and dusted off his blouse. “This is Yuki! He’s super cute and younger than me but he’s my mentor! I help him sew all of our costumes!”

“You saying cute people can’t master their craft, intern?” Yuki said, the humorous lilt in his voice betraying the sharpness of his words.

He slid beside Juza next. “And this is Juza! He’s a total man’s man! He’s everything I want to be when I grow up!”

“Hey,” Juza said, like he hadn’t just spent the last ten minutes talking to you. Then he pushed Taichi away. “Don’t get close to me. I smell like a garage gym.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, buddy!” Taichi snapped and finger-gunned in one smooth motion, then held out a hand for you. “See you guys! I’ve got places to be with Reader! We’re dating!”

You took his hand, and he led you out of the lounge. “It was nice meeting you two.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and get out, I don’t like rom-coms,” Yuki teased.

“Have a good time,” Juza said.

“Gsnrk,” Hisoka snored.

Metal met soft earth, and cracked the layer above it.

Your shovel was firmly planted in the dirt, but you kicked your boot along the edge to really sink it in, and heft some soil out of the ground.

Wheeew. Your backyard looked like a flower prairie in a neighborhood pocket, with cobblestone pathways to traverse between flowers, fruits and veggies, and- you know you might be biased here- it really was one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen. But man, keeping the yard in tip-top shape was hard work.

You rolled your shoulders and stretched, taking in the not-too-searing sun. It was late morning, and you really wanted to get things done before the day grew much longer and you had an afternoon sun beating down on you as you worked. It would be best for Taichi, too.

You’re not totally sure why he was so interested in helping you garden. Not even thirty minutes after he arrived, he already threw his shirt off to cool down, and was currently inside the house so he could make you some lemonade. He said it was so digging wasn’t as much of a chore to you, and joked about something like ‘being a malewife,’ but you were pretty sure he just needed a moment to recollect himself in the air-conditioned home.

Well, no matter, these cherry tomatoes weren’t going to plant themselves. You brushed your hand over your forehead, wiping off the sweat that pooled along it, and shook your head to flick back your damp hair. As you pushed it back, you noticed Taichi standing smack dab in front of the door, a tray with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade in his hands.

“Hey!” You waved at him. The shovel was still set under the earth by your boot. “I’m gonna take a break. Let’s chill out for a second.”

He nodded, and you led him to one of your favorite places in the garden: the trellis bench. It seemed sparse when you first bought it, forged with thin cast iron bars that kept two seated and not much else, and a sweeping arch above the bench fortified with extra iron bars. Not that long ago, your parents once dragged you along to a winery. You couldn’t drink any of the wines, but you explored the vineyards instead, and were greeted by pergolas everywhere, with curls of grapevines along the wooden shaft. They inspired you to start your own little grapevine, and now, your grapes had already gone through two or three harvests as they tangled and twisted through the bars of the trellis. Right now, there were a few tendrils of flowering buds, but you could see the beginnings of grape bunches along the vine and metal, bright green and small.

And, as mentioned earlier, the bench kept two seated and not much else. You slid a nearby iron table by the bench, and gestured to Taichi to place the tray down. He did so.

When you sat you brushed against Taichi’s thigh, and huffed out a sigh. “I work out here all the time but I keep forgetting how easy it is to get winded.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said. He took a big gulp of lemonade.

“Tough work, right? It’s really not as fun as it looks. You know you don’t have to garden with me. I’m sure it’s not much of a fun date idea, and I’m kind of gross right now but if you just want to hang out inside-”

“Nope! It’s fine! I’m totally fine!” He finished the lemonade and immediately started pouring himself another serving. “I can handle it! Yep! No issues here!”

Your eyes lowered as you looked down at a cobblestone path and the greenery rising from between the cracks. “Okay. But you’d tell me if you don’t like it, okay? You’re really quiet today.”

“D-don’t worry about it! It’s not that important...”

“But you know me. I’m horrible at not worrying.” You held the hand resting in his lap. “Whatever it is, I’ll help you through it. I promise I won’t judge you, and if you just need to talk about it, I’m available too-”

Taichi blurted out, “It’s because you’re hot.”

Whatever you were thinking, it dissolved into nothing as your mind went blank. Taichi slapped a hand over his mouth and averted his eyes. You stared at the ground harder.

“I’m what?” You finally asked, still in disbelief.

Taichi’s voice was muffled through his hand. “‘S b’cus mure hot.”

HUH??? You thought.

“Huh?” You said.

“You're hot! I’m sorry!”

Your face blossomed bright red. “Th-th-thank you? I- um? Thanks? Er, why are you apologizing? Did I do something wrong-“

“No! No! You’re fine. It’s me. That was weird, I’m sorry-“

“It’s alright, I’m…” you smacked your mouth, hoping the dryness would fade and you’d make a coherent sentence. “…Just taken aback?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That was really out of line-“

“It’s okay? I’m not against it. I’ve just never… thought of myself as…” You cleared your throat. “No one’s ever told me that.”

“But you are.”

“I mean, not really. Not compared to other people.”

“Really? Never? Reader-“ Taichi grabbed your hand with both of his. “Reader, you definitely are.”

“But I scare everyone I meet.”

“But you’re the sweetest person I know.” He squeezed your hand. Your heart jumped. “You’re so pretty. I love you.”

You turned to face him, your head still spinning. “You’re serious? You really mean that?”

“I mean it.” He closed the distance and pressed a kiss to your hair. “I love you.”

Another on your forehead. “I love you!”

Nose. “I-“

Cheek. “Love-“

And Taichi held your warm face in his hand with an even warmer smile, and the last word, your name, on his tongue until you took it from him with lemon on your lips.

You were no good with words, but touch made it easier. Your hand trailed along his shoulder, barely hovering over bare skin brushing, shiny and sticky under the sun. Quiet support; I trust you. His lips moved in tandem with yours, soft and fond and appreciative. Tart, but traces of sugar clung to his breath. Poetic, hm? He was sweet on you, so open to everything that made you his Reader from your flaws to your strengths, and the type of person to welcome those attributes without question.

You took his bottom lip between yours and gently nibbled as he ran his hand through your hair and brought you closer. You continued wrapping around his lip and his hand tightened, clutching onto you like you were all he needed, and you fell in love all over again. I couldn’t have done it without you.

When you ran out of breath, you rested your forehead against his, eyes still closed.

“Thank you,” you whispered, so light and quiet, like simply speaking would break the calm. “Thank you for letting me love you.”

It’s late when you leave the karaoke club, red-faced with exertion and your hoarse voice begging you to stop, but your smile stretches to either side of your face, constantly trying to widen more than it can as you laugh.

Because it’s late, and karaoke gets you in a devil-may-care state of mind, and, well, Taichi is holding your hand, with your palm untouched but his fingers laced between yours, loose between the knuckles but refusing to break away.

It’s so amazing that he still makes you feel like this. Time has passed. The novelty of a relationship must’ve died down long ago, you’re sure of it now, and it’s no secret your feelings are reciprocated, but it’s something in the bounce in his step and the sunshine underneath his voice and the glitter in his eyes that makes your breath threaten to hitch every time he calls your name.

You’ve said it so often, but it never ceases to amaze you. This is love. This is love!

“It’s love!” You tug Taichi close to you, and bump against his arm with your own. “I love you.”

“Wh-! You can’t just say things like that out of nowhere, you’re going to make me blush!”

As if he wasn’t already. The lighting is dim on this street, but his voice is slightly shaky. You can tell. You drown in it every day you see his face.

Unfortunate, really. If you weren’t so immersed in it all, you would’ve noticed them approach before the leader did.

A young man stood before you, maybe a year or two older than you. His pullover hoodie covered his hair and left his face in a dramatic shadow. Classic look, but frankly, you thought, if you’ve seen one delinquent in a hoodie, you’ve seen them all, and yes, these were delinquents. You can tell by how he looked you up and down with a smug leer.

“Oi, it’s the giant from O High,” he called out. You instinctively moved one foot forward, and held an arm out to block him from Taichi. “You got some nerve stepping on our turf.”

“I’m going home,” you said.

“Should’ve gone a different route.”

“I go where I want. Leave us alone.”

“Look, we’ve got a tough guy!” The leader threw his head back like it was a joke. The hood slipped off his head. “I’ll leave you alone if you pay for trespassing on our territory. Sound good?”

You scanned the street with the corner of your eye. It was a small gang of delinquents, an even five including the leader, all eyes on you like a rat in a cage.

Taichi murmured into your ear. “Are you okay with this, Reader? What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve got this. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Shut the hell up already. Give me your money, or it’ll go to your hospital bills once I’m done with you.” The delinquent sneered, black hair falling into his face, and then looked down at Taichi. “I’m talking to your little boy toy too.”

You didn’t even think as your gaze went dagger-sharp and steely, and stepped forward once again. “Don’t you talk to him like that.”

He shoved you back. You stumbled. “Awww. Did I hurt your feelings? What’re you gonna do about it-”

Taichi dropped low and swept the fucking leg.

While you regained your balance, the leader sure as hell didn’t. His ankle buckled and sent him to careening to the pavement while Taichi rose. “Reader, behind you!”

Your body moved before your mouth did, and you smashed a fist into one of the goons now approaching. “Taichi, what the fuck.”

He sent another kick up to the sky this time with a loud smack of rubber against flesh. You dodged the delinquent that staggered from the blow and toppled right next to you. “I learned kung fu for Chan in Mantou Fist!”

Goon #3, an ugly dog with chapped lips, tried to take advantage and hit you while you sidestepped, and you went on the defensive. “Taichi, what the fuck!”

“It was for acting!” Goon #3 landed a blow to your shoulder. A heavy thrumming pain spread across your arm as you hissed through clenched teeth. “I have an excuse!”

He dove to avoid a tackle from the biggest punk, then stuck a foot out to trip him. Hilariously, it worked. You swiped Goon #3 into Goon #5 and they both floundered as they smacked into each other. “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it!”

You spun on your heel to watch Taichi knee his opponent, and the leader slam you down. You sprawled onto the pavement, fresh blood searing against your back. Strands of black hair broke your vision as he pulled back and punched, over and over again, as you grappled and tried to throw him off.

You flung yourself to the side, disorienting him enough to kick him in the shin just before he shoved you aside. While you regained your bearings and stood, he did as well, and spat on the ground.

Wordless punch to his face. You didn’t like to fight, and maybe everyone kept challenging you because you aimed for the face, but nothing quite gets the point of ‘leave me alone’ across quite like a crushed moneymaker.

Someone behind you grabbed at your hair and sent you teetering back like a chair on its hind legs. You thrashed, but long nails kept you restrained while he charged a punch. “Get away from me!”

A flash of red and royal blue crossed your sight and twisted the bully’s arm. With his free hand, Taichi swiveled. Quick backhand to the face, hard chop to the hip, then he threw another kick, this one a blow against the leader’s stomach that knocked the air out of him. He bought you enough time to finally break free, and you threw a hook to your assailant. She held the nose you struck, and gave you the opportunity to fling her into the pile of Goons #3 and #5 just as they were reorienting themselves.

You ran to help Taichi, currently in a heated dodging stalemate with the leader, before the big guy threw himself at you. You cried out as he pinned you, and kneed his groin just as you fell to the floor. You swallowed down the stinging of the cuts on your knuckles, and slammed two punches to his chest, hoping it was enough to keep him down as you returned your focus to the lone bully remaining.

The leader huffed as he shot one, two punches out, retract, one, two punches. Taichi found himself in a pattern- left, right, sidestep, left right, sidestep, left, right, sidestep. He was getting tired, but so was the punk. It was stamina. He wasn’t muscular or beefy or really all that tough, but he was athletic, he’s worked hard, he can do stamina.

Left, right, sidestep. Left, right, sidestep. Left, right-

“Guhh,” Taichi gasped, pain blossoming from his side.

The wild look in the leader’s eyes went bloodthirsty, but he was slow returning his fist, and in a rush of now-or-never Taichi drew forward and shoved him away-

Just as Reader body-checked him into the bush on the other side of the sidewalk.

Taichi slapped a hand over his mouth on instinct. The shock was starting to set in as he watched you stumble to your feet, shaking out your head and bouncing on your feet as you stood tall.

A groan sounded from the hedge, but you snatched his hand before he could ask any of the questions spinning through his head. “We need to go.”

“Wo-rd?” His voice cracked. Damn. The most cinematic moment of his life and his voice cracked as he started to run.

“We’re going!” You broke into a sprint, and led him away from the faded light of the street.

You only stopped running when you ran into a gas station door. Literally. Like, you ran into the door expecting it to be a push, and nearly fell over as you realized moments too late it was a pull when you crashed into the glass with a hefty thump.

Taichi squeaked and pulled the door open as you shook off the incoming bruise. His breath was short and heavy, and you couldn’t blame him even if you wanted; your adrenaline was dying down, and the blunt soreness was already starting to set in. The clerk at the counter cast a strange look at you and Taichi as you held onto each other like crutches, and likely with a few bruises formed.

“What?” Taichi asked, his voice spacious and confused. He followed you as you strode down the first aid isle like a lost puppy. “What just happened?”

“I-” You grabbed a pack of band-aids and some painkillers. “It was self-defense. Either we defended ourselves or they beat and steal from us.”

“I know that! I know that. But what-” you ordered two all-day breakfast tacos, one Icee and one Coke. He continued as you paid. “Does that happen to you often?”

“Yeah,” You said. Forlornness settled in your face as you ordered an Uber on your phone. “It does. People think I’m some wannabe delinquent because I’m so big and tough and because I’m such an introvert.”

“Was that what happened?”

“They jumped us.”

“Honesty, Reader. Please. I recognized them from O High.” You and Taichi leaned on a wall as you gave him one of the tacos and the Coke. Dead fluorescent light highlighted the shadows on his face and the scrapes on your knuckles. “I see them skipping class all the time. Were they trying to mess with you?”

“...I didn’t recognize any features. But you’re sure? They must’ve followed me.” Your face fell. “I’m sorry about this.” You reached a hand out to hold him, but the overhead lights highlighted the not-quite-dry blood on your hand.

So you retracted it. Touch was easier than words, but- but- but you didn’t protect Taichi. How do you apologize for something so horrible?

“I’m sorry,” you said, voice wet. Tears prickled in your eyes and caught onto your lashes, but didn’t give you the solace of falling. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I-I’m sorry.”

You returned home quietly, Taichi in tow, and led him to your bed while you gathered more first aid supplies and ice packs.

“It’s not that bad- ah!” You placed an ice pack over the bruise on Taichi’s side. “Cold!”

“It is that bad,” you said. “Ignoring even minor injuries deteriorates your health.”

“I can take care of it myself. You haven’t even looked at yourself, but you’re way more bruised than me.”

“But this is…” You licked your lips, hoping it’d rehydrate your dry mouth. “It’s normal for me. But was this your first fight?”

“Yes,” Taichi said.

“Don’t make it a habit.” You held his face, searching for cuts. “It’s not good for you. You see someone roll up their sleeves to fight you, you turn around and run. You understand me?”

“But they were going to hurt you.”

“But I don’t want them to hurt you.” Your lip trembled. “I don’t want anyone to hurt you. You haven’t done anything to warrant that, and you don’t deserve to get hurt, and no one is allowed to hurt you.”

“But what about you?” Taichi countered.

“People’ve wanted to punch me out for so long now. I’m used to it.”

“But you don’t deserve that either!” Taichi cried, then hushed after he remembered the late hour. “It doesn’t even matter that I don’t want to see you get hurt, because you as a person don’t deserve to get hurt.” He took your right hand off his cheek, looked at it, and reached for the box of band-aids. “You do this thing where you constantly put yourself down for the sake of following what everyone else says, even though the ‘everyone else’ that you listen to are all just bullies and deadbeats.”

He dug into your box of medicine, and fished out a bottle and some cotton. “You fell on concrete. Let me clean your scratches.”

A single nod from you, and he went to work wordlessly, the quiet only interrupted by your occasional hisses as the alcohol sunk into your tissue.

Then he dug into your box of medicine and pulled out an ointment buried deep within. “This prevents infections.”

“You know a lot about first aid,” you observed, not quite courageous to say anything else.

It was the first time since the fight that you saw him smile, small but focused, as he held your hand and lightly applied the ointment along the web of scratches. “I don’t act like it often, but I’m still a big brother. I take care of people.”

“That’s kind.”

“I guess it is. I spend so much time caring for other people that it becomes second nature.” He wrapped gauze around the hand next. You didn’t even know you had gauze. “Wait, first nature. I get it mixed up all the time. But the point is that if I see someone I love in trouble, I want to help, simple as that.

“Researching kung fu was for role study, really. But really learning the techniques and moves, and then putting them on stage, it was…” He struggled to find the word. “It felt like what I was doing was right. You know? I’ve spent so much time surrounded by my friends who are the toughest guys I know, and my siblings who are learning to stop crying when they get hurt, and you, someone who is so strong and patient, that I realized how out of my league everyone was compared to me.

“I didn’t realize until after learning how to fight that it made me feel like I can help people before they need it. It’s prevention.” He tied off the gauze, and inspected your hand. When he couldn’t identify any more cuts, he pressed his lips to your fingers, careful not to touch the injury, and started the process all over again on your left.

“Fighting isn’t something to look forward to.”

“It’s not like I want to. I was scared when that guy was getting up in your business. And when I realized you were about to throw hands? Terrified. I realized then and there they were going to hit you if I didn’t hit first.”

“So you hit first,” you said.

“Well, I say first, but it was really second.” He laughed a broken little laugh. “I know you don’t want to see me in danger, but the feeling’s mutual. I know I can’t always be there whenever someone tries to fight you- and it was my first fight- but it still hurts me to see you hurt.” He held your fingers to his lips again, and kissed properly this time, a small chu as he parted. “So if I can ever be there when you need me, I’ll help you. Because that’s love, and- and that’s because I love you.”

“Okay.” Your voice broke. Taichi was about to let go of your hand, but repositioned to squeeze. “Okay.” Impossible tears ran down your face, and you squeezed your eyes shut. “Taichi?”

“I’m here,” he said. His voice was quivering, too. “I’m here. I’m here.”

For the first time ever, you let your guard down in its entirety. You let out an ugly sob. Two arms wrapped around you tight, and when you hiccupped you could feel his body gasp and weep, and so you only sobbed louder. “I love you.”

❖ bonus ❖

“Thank you for watching!”

You’ve heard of thunderous applause, but this had to be a hurricane. Was it the audience size? Was it truly such a brilliant play? Both, probably. You settled on both, but if anyone asked, it was the latter.

The point was, even after the audience filed out of Mankai Theater, the clapping trailed behind you and through your head as you fought the current of people.

You were big, of course, and usually all these people would make you anxious, but you were more nervous about the bouquet in your hands staying safe than anything else as you held it over your head and weaved through the playgoers.

Taichi gave you instructions on where to find the dressing room, and you internally recited it like a pledge. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your right. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your right. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your- found it!

You knocked on the door a healthy two times. Normal people knock twice, right?

You twitched. Fixed your jacket. Then stood up chest out and back straight, refusing to fidget and refusing to slouch.

Then you knocked one extra time. No one can blame you, okay? Three is a round and nice number.

But doesn’t it just seem like two knocks and one weird knock? There were zero signs of the door opening. You cleared your throat, fixed your jacket again, and knocked three times.

Just as you lifted your hand from the final knock the door swung open, and you yelped a little bit.

“Mankai Company! Who am I…”

The woman on the other side tilted her head up slowly. Her big pink eyes went even bigger. “Can I. Um. Do you need anything?”

You bowed way deeper than you should have, and shouted, “Hello, I’m Reader, I’m here to see Taichi and congratulate everyone on a show well done!”

You rose with a bit of an embarrassed blush, but simply refused to be apologetic about your fast speech. Not right now, at least.

“Alright? Um. Be right back!” The lady slammed the door.

You wondered if this was another Yuki situation. What if that lady was Taichi’s best friend in the whole company-

You lightly smacked your cheek with your free hand. Dammit, Reader, you’ve already gone through this once! If you can handle a judgmental middle schooler you can handle a grown woman!

…That still didn’t prevent you from being a nervous ball of tension all the way until the door opened.

“You got beef with Mankai Company- oh. It’s you.” Juza, still in his stage costume, stood in the threshold. “Good to see you again, Reader.”

“The- the pleasure is all mine!”

“I like your flowers.”

“Thank you! I grew them myself!”

“Come inside.”

At least it was Juza on the other side of the door. You might be treading into unknown waters, but his familiar face made you feel a little calmer.

He led you through a turn in the corridor to a combination green room and dressing room area. A swathe of people- actors, you presumed- congregated here. You recognized Autumn Troupe in their costumes, and Yuki in the corner, but you could already place faces you’ve never seen to stories Taichi loved to tell about his family, the bleached blond guy next to Yuki being one of them, and another, the foreigner in the middle of a strangely captivating dance.

Then you made eye contact, and you could see Taichi’s gaze melt in real time.

“Guys.” Juza cleared his throat. “We have a guest.”

You placed your bouquet on the table beside Taichi, the glass vase lightly clunking against the surface. Your autumn harvest has been kind, and rows of various blossoms poured through the vase, all in shades of red, yellow, and orange. Sweeping stems of fern divided the tiger lilies from snapdragons, but most notable of all were the pansies that lined the majority of the arrangement, all in blended shades of wildfire red and yellow.

You met Taichi’s eyes again. His pinky wrapped around your hand, an unspoken I’m here.

So you breathed in, exhaled, and spoke. “Congratulations, everyone, the show was great. I’ve been told you’ve heard a lot about me? My name is Reader.”

You scanned the room, and wrapped your pinky around Taichi’s.

And then, you didn’t even think about it, but your smile shined. “It’s a pleasure to meet everyone!” 🍒

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