#but I did spend a lot of time going around thinking

[dantes-jacket]

Genshin Men - Letting go of their hand prank

Genshin men x fem reader

Author notes: my sister and I did the genshin version of this! This has most of the men from the game :)

Albedo

Albedo would be slightly confused but just brush it off as normal human behavior. Klee had originally given you the idea and you decided to test it out one day you and Albedo were on Dragonspine conducting some research. You two were heading back to his lab setup and you let go of his hand and kept walking. He stopped where he was and tilted his head and asked you what was wrong. You explained that it was a prank Klee had told you about and he softly chuckled and continued walking.

“Humans are full of surprises aren’t they? How interesting they are, continue to be my muse won’t you?”

Alhaitham

Alhaitham does not care. It was getting hard to read his book since he can’t turn the page easily. He feels your eyes on him but thinks nothing of it and continues to read. You tell him you’re trying to prank him and he calls it stupid and a waste of time. He sees you get upset and scoot further away from him. He rolls his eyes before throwing his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into him.

“Here we can stay close while I read. Just no more dumb pranks.”

Ayato

Ayato feels guilty. He thinks you did it because he is more focused on talking to other important figures at this event than spending time with you. Once your hand slips from his, his heart breaks. He sees you with a sly smile and start giggling. You explain it’s a prank and he won’t let you one up him. The rest of the night he’s not holding your hand but holding you by the waist and keeping you so close.

“Ah since you started this game, I shall finish it.”

Baizhu

Baizhu would think there is something physically wrong with you. You two were standing and enjoying the sunset outside of the treatment room of Bubu Pharmacy. He felt your hand slip from his and his first thought was that you must be exhausted, but when he turns to you and he already sees you smiling up at him he knew that was not the case. He questions why you let you and but still asks if you’re feeling alright and you explain that it was a silly prank. He then brings the back of his hand to your forehead to make sure you’re alright.

“Ah I see, a prank then? Are you sure you’re feeling alright my dear? Let’s get you a cup of tea to make sure”.

Childe

Childe would treat it like a challenge. He was showing you around Morepesok and one minute he felt your hand and the next it was gone. He turns his head around calmly since he still felt your presence by him and once he looked at you his face broke out into a big grin. He just had to one up you now, because clearly you let go for the fun of it right? He stopped walking and ran behind you to hug you from behind and whisper in your ear.

“Oh darling, you think that was funny huh? I can one up you for eternity so let’s not do that again alright?”

Cyno

Cyno doesn’t let you let go for long. He’s eagerly picking you up from work to bring you back home so he can show you his new deck he made. You can see nothing is stopping him so you decide to do the prank now. Your hand is out of his for .0001 seconds before he finds your hand without looking and keeps on walking. He tells you not to let go because this deck is insane and nothing will stop him from showing it to you.

“Now is not the time for letting go of my hand. We have important matters to take care of.”

Diluc

Diluc feels bad then doesn’t. He has a lot to do today and you begged to tag along. So he’s been dragging you all around the city. While you two are walking to Angel’s Share he doesn’t feel your hand anymore. He thinks that the grip got loose while you two were walking around the busy city circle. He gets nervous and looks around and sees you a little bit behind. He makes a beeline for you, once he gets to you he sees you laughing then tell him it’s a prank. He just rolls his eyes and walks away.

“Why am I not surprised? I’ll meet you at Angel’s Share.”

Heizou

Heizou would smirk and just hug you. You two were walking back from the Tenryou Commission headquarters and you thought it would be fun to prank him after work. You gently let go of his hand and he turns to face you. He tilts his head and smirks at you before grabbing your hand and pulling you into a hug. He softly asks what that was about and you tell him it was a prank.

“Haha, I see a prank was it? You see my darling, I never wish to part from you so I’ll just have to give you a reason to never let go”.

Ifa

Ifa is upset but understanding. He thinks you let go because his hands are really roughed up after a long day at work. He gets why holds his non smooth hands that probably smell wouldn’t be the nicest thing. Once you explain that it was a prank and you love how his hands feel, he’s on cloud nine. He won’t admit it hurt at first thinking you could think badly about them but he gets all excited with knowing you love the rough feeling.

“You scared me there for a second. I may hold a lot of claws but the feeling of your hands in mine is the best.”

Itto

Itto would be offended. He’d act like you killed his family, the Arataki Gang, his beetles, and put beans in his food. He was enjoying your walk along the coast to try and find more beetles than you had to ruin it by letting go of his hand. He gets on his hands and knees then begs and prays for you to never do it again. You two are getting watched by other people on the coast and you beg him to get up because it was only a prank. He snaps up and grabs your hand again. He holds your hand insanely tight from now on.

“You can’t go be scaring me like that! I can’t handle pranks like this!”

Kaeya

Kaeya isn’t stopped by you letting go his hand. You two are enjoying a nature stroll when you just drop his hand and look away. He feels your warmth gone so he sees what got your attention. When he sees you avoiding eye contact he smirks knowing you’re trying to mess with him. He quickly picks you up bridal style and keeps walking. You ask him what he’s doing while trying to push his chest and get out of his hold. He tightens his hold on you and laughs.

“Well if your hand got tired certainly your feet must have gotten tired. Let me be your knight in shining armor and carry you the rest of the way.”

Kaveh

Kaveh is having the biggest crisis in his life. You always love holding hands and he always makes sure to do it when you two are together. But now you let go?? Why? What did he do? He thinks of everything bad he’s ever done in his life to lead him to this moment. He prepares for the worst but he’ll take it if it means he can apologize and hold your hand again. You see him one step from a mental break and just tell him it’s a prank. He instantly calms and claims he knew it was one all along.

“Of course I knew it was a prank. No I was not about to have another mental breakdown in the market!”

Kazuha

Kazuha thinks it’s funny. You two are always on the move. So you two always try to keep things interesting to make sure you two don’t get bored. Once you let go of his hand and act like nothing happened he laughs instantly knowing it’s a prank. He uses the wind to guide yours back into his hand and acts like it never happened.

“That was a good one but I prefer to keep a tight hold on you.”

Kinich

Kinich would give you a drop dead look but Ajaw would find it absolutely hilarious. You two were walking around the Scions of the Canopy and he felt your hand fall out of his. He turns to face you and tilts his head towards question you. Before you can explain Ajaw makes his presence known with his opinion. “Haha Kinich, no one wants to hold your hand how embarrassing.” Kinich slowly turns his head before replying, “at least someone wants to be with me, unlike a certain someone I know”. You giggle before explaining it was a prank to him and he gives you the most deadpan, drop dead look before signing and grabbing your hand again.

“Try not to let go again, yeah? Rather not give that creature something to gloat about”.

Lyney

Lyney finds it most amusing. He’d feel your hand slip out of his and first snaps his head back to make sure nothing happened to you. But he’d find that you were still there and going about your business as normal. He’d smirk and tilt his head before dramatically sighing and gets ready to make a show out of this, he does have a flair for the dramatic after all. He stops walking to turn around and gets on one knee in front of you and grabs your hand and places a light kiss on your knuckles.

“What’s this my dear, did you forget how to hold my hand so easily? Guess I’ll have to teach you how to always hold on to me, because I never wish to lose you”

Neuvillette

Neuvillette doesn’t understand the prank at all. He thinks he accidentally let go of your hand and feels terrible. You try and to explain you were the one that broke the hand holding but he is confident that it was him. He keeps saying he was distracted and wasn’t paying attention to who he really needed to focus on. So he holds your hand tightly and gives you his undivided attention until you two get where you’re going.

“No I am sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. You have my full attention now I swear.”

Ororon

Ororon is upset and he shows it. He’s excitedly showing you his garden and pointing at every little thing. When you think he’s not paying attention you slip your hand out of his and keep listening to him. He knows instantly and snaps his head to look at you. He questions if you’re breaking up with him. You explain how it’s just a silly prank and you’re not. He huddles with his vegetables and even tries to say he’s going to call Ifa and Cacucu for a group therapy session. You talk him out of it to save Ifa the trouble.

“My cabbages do you think she’s going to break up with me? She let go of my hand… what could that mean?”

Sethos

Sethos shrugs it off and apologizes. You two are walking around the desert and his hand is probably sweaty which is making holding hands kinda gross. He apologizes and wipes his hand off on his pants to try and get all the sweat off then reaches it back out to you. You tell him you let to because it’s a prank and he’ll retract his hand and smirk. Now he is revoking hand holding privileges.

“Oh okay! No more handing holding for us todayyyy.”

Thoma

Thoma would be so confused he’d just hug you. You two were in Komore Teahouse enjoying some time off and you two always would hold hands during times like this so you thought it would be fun to see how he’d react if you let go. You two were sitting next to each other and you slip your hand out of his and put it in your lap calmly. He whips his head towards you and looks alarmed that you let go. He turns to face you and he frowns slightly, he thought about what he could’ve done and just decided to hug you to make you feel better. You softly explain that it was a prank before reciprocating the hug.

“Oh I see, just a prank huh? Gave me a scare there sweetheart, try not to let go again yeah? I don’t think my heart could take it”.

Tighnari

Tighnari would give you such a deadpan expression. You two were in the forest looking for different kinds of mushrooms for his research and he was teaching you about each plant. You decided to let go of his hand to see how he’d react. Once he no longer felt your hand but felt his tail still softly brush against you he slowly turned his head towards you with the most confused expression on his face. You explain that it was a prank and at that he gives you the most deadpan expression ever.

“Are you being serious? I’m trying to teach you about dangerous plants and this is how you repay me? How rude, try not to let go again would you?”

Venti

Venti would find it hilarious. Once he feels your hand leave his he curiously looks your way for an explanation. He is then left with you trying not to look him in the eyes and that’s when he knows it’s a joke. He grabs your hand softly before giggling and pulling you to his chest. He leans towards your ear and whispers softly then turns around and drags you along.

“A little prank I see? How fun, just know that the wind may bring freedom but it will always bring you back to me.”

Wanderer

Wanderer doesn’t even flinch or care. He still is getting use to the whole handing holding and public displays of affection anyways. He is kinda relieved when you let go because he doesn’t have to keep pushing himself outside his comfort zone. But as soon as you say it’s a prank, expect to lose hand holding privileges for a while. He doesn’t fold or comply with your begging and pleas, he uses this as a teaching moment.

“Don’t do stupid things if you don’t want stupid things to happen.”

Wriothesley

Wriothesley senses it before you even do it. He sees you keep looking down at your connected hands then up at his face a couple of times. He raises his eyebrow at the act but he ultimately assumes you’re going to try something. Before you can let go he tightens his grip and drags you along. He ends up just teasing you in the end. But deep down he doesn’t want you letting go at all because it helps him have a clear mind and that the inmates know not to try anything with you.

“Did you forget I’m great at reading body language? But don’t go hurting my feelings now and letting go of my hand.”

Xiao

Xiao would be so confused and would look upset, breaking his normal stoic persona. You two were enjoying your evening on the roof of Wangshu Inn when you let go of his hand to see his reaction. He snaps his head towards you because his immediate reaction would be that you’re in danger. When he sees that you are still sitting there and softly smirking at him, that’s when his eyes harden and he looks away. You softly explain that you had seen some mortals do that recently and wanted to see how he would react. He would whisper gently after your explanation.

“Mortals are not good beings to learn from. Do not let go again, I want to always protect you.”

Zhongli

Zhongli thinks nothing of it at first. He simply thinks you are going to go look at something or just wanted a break from holding hands. When he goes on not reacting you ask him if he cares and he just simply says no and he does what you’re comfortable with. You then explain it’s a prank and he’s confused but just goes with it.

“I see. I don’t understand this prank but if you want to hold hands again we can.”

[ang3ltine]

˙ . ꒷ 🍰 . 𖦹˙— "𝖠𝖽𝗆𝗂𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇" - Bob Reynolds x freader x platonic thunderbolts

Golden Retriever x Black Cat trope

Being recruited by Valentina as part of the new Avengers (z) team was never part of your list of agendas. Yet here you were, doting on an awkward brunette.

a.n - This is a short scenario that got me all giddy while writing this, so I hope you Bob fans enjoy this as much as I did!

Warnings - minor spoilers! trauma, nightmares, making out, hickeys & yearning Bob! Lots of fluff too

A few months had passed since the 'incident' on the streets of Newyork where almost half the city was engulfed in complete darkness.

You mostly blamed this on Valentina since she pushed her ideals of the sentry project onto Bob. Now you, along with the others tried your best to make him feel welcome and wanted, despite his 'minor' flaws.

Now that you all moved into the newly refurbished Avengers tower, you had to adjust to your new life. This was never part of your agenda but you're one to complain.

Especially since you got the chance to dote on a certain brunette, who you undeniably cannot ignore since he's always trailing after you wherever you went.

Yelena had introduced you to Bob properly after the whole incident and he's been glued to your side since then. You were more on the nonchalant and cool girl type while he was the polar opposite.

But he still admired you nonetheless. Not to mention, you also get endlessly teased by Yelena and the others.

More so than usual when she noticed that Bob tends to follow you around more than her now. Not that she cares, she was more than happy that he was trying to get closer with someone else other than her.

Yelena had joined you in the main kitchen after training together. You reached into the refrigerator to bring out your bottle of water when she asked an unexpected question.

"Do you like Bob?" She asks straight up, catching you offguard in the process.

"As friends? Yeah ofcourse." You muttered underneath your breath then took a chug of your water.

"Pshh friends? Friends don't eyefuck eachother across the room." She mused while leaning against the refrigerator door with an amusing smirk.

You choked a couple of times while Yelena pats your back before adding another comment. "It's okay! No need to feel ashamed."

"What're you talking about??"

"Okay maybe not, but you two would still make a cute couple." She mused while flashing you her iconic smirk.

"Oh...I don't know about that 'lena. He's just someone I care about alot you know?"

Before you could carry on the conversation, your eyes shift past Yelena's shoulders. Sure enough, Bob was awkwardly standing in the hallway.

"I uh - I didn't hear anything."

Yelena steps back to let Bob in before mouthing a quick 'goodluck' to you. God that girl was going to be the death of you.

The only times he wasn't with you was when you went on missions, which is when he'd spend most of his time in the tower with Alpine.

After a gruelling and unbearably long mission, all you wanted to do was to take a shower, eat dinner then go to bed.

"Ugh...Ava, what time is it?" You groaned while rubbing your temples to somehow lessen your headache.

Ava, along with you and John were on the quinjet, which was preparing its landing sequence on the helipad of the tower.

She glances at the time on her watch before answering with a yawn. "It's a little past midnight."

"You think anyone's awake right now?" John joins in on the rather dull conversation. The ship was on autopilot and had finally landed when he finished his sentence.

"Mhm I highly doubt it," you replied with a strained voice as you stretched your limbs. Almost every inch of your body ached, and your muscles were extremely sore.

As soon as the hatch opened, you dragged your tired body through the hanger. The endless corridors of the living quarters almost made you lose your mind, but you breathed a sigh of relief when you finally made it to your room.

You hesitated for a moment, noticing the door was slightly ajar. Figuring it was just you being paranoid, you swiftly flung the door open, only to find a familiar set of eyes blinking back at you.

Bob stood almost a feet away from you with a pillow in hand, the poor man had flinched at your sudden appearance. Almost immediately, he let out a string of '"sorry's'' since he invited himself in without your permission.

"Hey-- Bob, it's ok. You can stay in my room as long as you like." You say in a hushed tone while placing your hands on his shoulders, rubbing them gently so he'd calm down.

He found it hard to focus on your face as his eyes shift downwards in shame. "I just... I wanted to talk to you as soon as you came back."

"We can talk-" you intercept almost immediately. "But would you mind if I took a shower first? Then we can talk afterwards ok?"

Bob finally lifts his eyes off the ground to look at you before nodding. "Uhh yeah... yeah, I can wait."

You reached up to ruffle his slightly messy hair before retreating to where your walk-in closet was. Bob took the leisure of sitting back on your comfy bed as his eyes followed your every move.

"Ah, this will do," you muttered to yourself while fishing out your sleep shirt and a pair of shorts. Except, it looked bigger than usual?

"Oh right uhm, I think that's mine..." Bob mumbles hesitantly when you notice that it was, in fact, not yours.

Bob had the tendency to leave his belongings scattered in your room, including his large sweatshirts. He'd vist you almost every night since he'd constantly have nightmares, and you would comfort him whenever you could.

"You wouldn't mind if I wore this would you?" You turned around with the sleep shirt pressed against your chest to show it off. It was a deep blue navy colour, simple, yet comfortable.

"Uh yeah! Go ahead." Bob replies with open arms and his usual widespread grin. You returned the smile before grabbing your towel and headed into the washroom.

You quickly scrambled out of your suit and chucked it into the laundry basket to wash later. Bob could hear the sound of falling water through the doors of the washroom as he looked around.

That's when he realised he made quite a mess while waiting for you. So he took his time going around and picking things up from the floor to put them back to the right spots.

After half an hour or so, you stepped out with the towel around your neck after wringing out excess water from your hair. You had the power to control the wind, so it was easier to dry your hair, which was awfully convenient.

"Bob? You here?" You called out after noticing that he was nowhere in sight. The lack of response concerned you as you frantically searched your room for the man.

You finally found him in the far corner of the room, huddled with one of your plushies and was fast asleep. The racing of your heart only quickened once you hear him mumbling your name in his sleep.

"Oh Bob..." you shook your head amusingly as you bent down to his height to lightly shake him awake. It only took a few seconds before he stirred, you felt bad for doing so but you didn't want him to sleep on the floor.

"Do you wanna sleep here tonight?" You asked quietly since he was still half asleep, trying to process what you were saying. He nods his head after a while, placing the plush toy back where it was in the pile before reaching his arms out for you to grab.

You do just that and lead him towards your massive king sized bed. Just earlier on today, you had changed the sheets to satin ones, so it was even more comfortable than usual.

The lights were dimmed but not completely off since you learned the hard way that Bob hated the dark. So you switched on a nightlight by your bedside for extra light just in case.

Bob settled into the crispy sheets that had been untouched since your arrival. He scoots over a bit while you slipped in next to him.

Although, you two were in quite an awkward position after a while. Since you had to prepare a schedule for the next day, he was pretty much beneath you. You were struggling not to crush him while he only made things worse. His arms were wrapped around your waist to pull you closer to him so he could soak in your warmth while you worked.

"Sorry Bob, just give me a few more minutes." You sighed while typing away on your phone. Bob only hummed in response while burying his face into the crook of your neck.

"By the way...do you want to talk about the nightmare that you had?"

"Mm...yeah." Bob replied with a muffled voice as the vibrations tickled your skin, making you squirm slightly. "Alright, tell me what happened."

That's exactly what he did. You listened carefully as he mentioned all the bad things that he had seen in the nightmare.

That's one of the reasons why Bob admired you. You were straightforward with him but caring.

Many would think that sort of activity was only reserved for relationships. Which was partially true, you in fact, did harbour feelings for him. But you chose to keep them to yourself.

What Bob needed was someone who was patient and not pushy. For now, you were content with just being 'friends.' Even though it was far more than that.

It was around 7am in the morning by the time you awoke. The soft golden rays of sunlight shone through the blinds of your room, giving your room a soft glow.

Little did you know that a blonde haired assassin had come to your room during the night to ask you something, only to find you with your limbs entangled with Bob's.

Yelena being Yelena, took the opportunity to snap a few pictures on her phone before leaving. Already planning on using them for blackmail or to tease you whenever she pleased.

Speaking of Bob, he was fast asleep as you peer down at him. You became quite flustered since his face was fully pressed against your chest. He probably thought that it was his pillow, yet you were too afraid to move him. Instead, you opted to run your fingers through his dark chocolate locks.

They were soft, as usual, but still, you tried to detangle his hair gently since there were a few knots. It wasn't long before he started to stir, causing you to freeze in the process. You move away from him slightly to give him some space as he slowly processes where he is.

"Morning sunshine... did you sleep well?" You whispered gently as he peers up at you through his lashes, his eyes still heavy with sleep. His voice was hoarse while he spoke,

"G'morning...yeah I slept well, and you?"

"Ahh, me too..." You responded while brushing stray hair away from his face, it had gotten slightly longer than before. Which gave you the idea of maybe trimming the front bangs later on, with his consent, of course.

Your fingers lingered on his cheek for a brief moment, before retracting your hand. Bob was disappointed to say the least when he felt the warmth of your hand no longer present against his skin.

"Let's get freshen up and head down for breakfast. How does that sound...?"

Bob nods in agreement after rubbing the sleep from his eyes while you slowly got up.

He found himself practically swooning over you while he observed the way you stretched, letting your hair fall across your shoulders. Sure it was messy since you had just woken up, but to him, you looked heavenly.

You felt him staring but you chose not to think much of it. Bob's cheeks had a slight hue of red when you did manage to look back down at him, bringing a small smile to your face at his bashfullness.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Bob immediately shook his head before you positioned yourself above him. You reached down to place one hand on his cheek to feel the light stubble against your skin.

This time he doesn't let you retreat that easily as he tugs you down gently. A bold move indeed, especially for you.

At first you weren't sure how to respond, the air around you suddenly felt awfully scarce as you were beginning to find it hard to breathe.

Even though he was the one who had instigated the sudden act of intimacy, he too grew a sense of shyness.

To test the waters, he lean in closer, bumping your nose against his and letting your lips hover over his. Your eyes flickered from his lips back up to meet his. If anything, you were more than happy to back away if he felt uncomfortable.

But Bob did want this, so he took the initiative to press his lips against yours. You let out a surprised sound before melting into the kiss.

His lips were slightly chapped, but that didn't bother you. You smiled against his lips as he was struggling slightly, honestly you didn't blame him. He probably hasn't kissed anyone for a while.

But eventually he got the hang of it. He picked up the pace while you struggled to keep up. Turned out he's a quick learner since he copied the way your lips moved against his.

You wasted no time reaching to the back of his neck and slipped your fingers into his dark hair pulling him in impossibly closer.

Soft whimpers escaped his mouth in between each kiss while you soaked in every one, pushing him to kiss you deeper. Sighs and moans of content or pleaure are passed between both your lips and his. The two had to fight to not entirely lose yourselves completely within pure bliss.

You nipped his bottom lip slightly before leaving a soft trail of kisses from his mouth down to the side of his jaw.

"Hm? What're you doing?" He drawled while your lips leaves his briefly, almost bringing out another whine as he feels you lightly kiss the juncture of his neck.

"Mhm, just need you - ," you hummed against his supple skin. You left open-mouthed kisses against a specific area on his neck before gently taking his skin between your teeth to leave a mark.

The feeling was too overwhelming for him yet he found himself bringing you in impossibly closer while you worked. After leaving a significantly dark hickey on the side of his neck, you move back towards his lips.

Which he happily accepts. Head tilting the side, his hot breath mingling with yours, he kisses you with much fever.

Yet keeps it sweet and gentle at the same time. Lightly sucking on your bottom lip while running his thumb against your cheek.

The kiss was filled with raw emotions, all the times that he wanted to tell you of his true feelings were poured into it. You too shared the same amount of passion when you deepened the kiss even further.

Sadly, the need to breathe was apparent after what seemed like forever. You flutters your eyes open before pulling away to take in Bob's appearance. He looked so effortlessly pretty.

His cheeks were rosy and wet from his tears and hair was disheveled, but he still managed to look perfect to you. Before you could say a word, some unexpected words leaves his lips.

"I...I love you," he whispers while you processed what he just said. A small rush of warmth filled you at the sound of those meaningful words as you fought back the urge to kiss him again.

"I love you too..." you whispered before dipping your head low to pepper his face with kisses, making him laugh in the process.

"C'mon sleepy head, let's wash up." Bob reluctantly accepts the offer and tugs the end of your shirt while following you into the washroom.

He was still trying to recover from the small makeout session as his legs almost felt like jelly as he walked. Which was new for him.

An array of skincare products lined up before him as you reached into one your drawers to bring something out. You had given him one of your waterproof headbands to wear so that his hair wouldn't get in his face in the process.

One of the reasons why you did a skincare routine specifically for him was because he enjoyed the feeling of being pampered by you.

So it was no surprise when he leans into your touch with excitement while you applied the cleansing foam on his face. A satisfied grin played on his lips while you rubbed the product into his skin, making you feel all giddy inside.

After the two of you washed up and got dressed, you then made your way to the kitchen to have breakfast.

Not even a second went by when Ava gave you one of her snarky remarks as soon as you walked in with Bob in tow.

"Ahh the couple's here to join us." You rolled your eyes playfully at the sarcastic comment as you turn to face the women in question.

Little did she know that she was, in fact, telling the truth. But you weren't going to give her that satisfaction.

"Oh shush, you're just jealous that I'm not giving the same attention to you." You retorted with the same amount of sass.

"Wow, Touche." She responds while sipping her coffee.

"Bob? Do you want pancakes?" You turned your attention back to the brunette who was patiently waiting for you.

"Yes please," he replies with a tight-lipped smile, already feeling shy from Ava's comment of referring to you both as a couple.

"Pancakes it is then."

Taglist: @doodlebob-mp3 @perdidosbucky-yyo @marianastudiesart @ordelixx @starktonyx @hisredheadedgoddess28 @avatarobsessedgirly @starstruckfirecat @adventure-awaits13 @milkbean69 @the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf

[mdhwrites]

So, this person has a point but I want to take this as a chance to essentially talk about WHY so much is done in High School. After all, it's not just tv dramas. A looooooooooooot of different mediums default to high school for their storytelling. Why is that?

A: It's a shared experience.

Not everyone has gone to college. Not everyone has even applied to a college. As such, you may lose some people with how things like sororities, fraternities or even just a basic schedule works. If you haven't been to college and some dude talks about how he only has Physics twice a week, someone might wonder why that is because most will assume college works just like high school because all versions of primary school (elementary to high school) work in a similar way where you're there ALL DAY. I mean, even the changing of nations can cause confusion for traditions between high schools and lose parts of the audience that way and make it less approachable.

B: There's downtime in classes.

So I actually went to college for a year and a half and admittedly did not do things like clubs, look into fraternities, etc. like that. Even in High School, I wasn't that social... But when it was just time to do homework, I saw and heard plenty of bullshit around me. I never had a SINGLE lecture that had time for people just to hang out in the middle of class. In an environment where you are all packed together, bored, waiting for the bell to ring and thus something can happen while the density of people is at its absolute maximum.

This similarly goes for Lunch time, which isn't a thing in college. You want a fight to break out, or someone to have a big public break up? You can do it in the Commons but you are guaranteed an excuse for your main character to see it if it's at lunch because they have to be there but they don't necessarily need to do anything.

C: Everyone has downtime.

This one is more flexible as I had more free time in college than one might immediately expect... But I still had less and it was more awkward to get ahold of because I was a part time worker too. My weekends were eight hours in the toy department of Walmart, Friday-Sunday. My days meanwhile were chopped up piece meal between all my classes which would leave me like two hours between each of my lectures but only two hours so I could go eat, maybe strike up a conversation but go hang out with someone? That was a lot more questionable until potentially five in the afternoon, WAY later than High School gets out and your characters are free to get into shenanigans. I mean, chased by feral hogs? I bet there are teenage dumbasses who had that happen too because they fucked around and found out. Being in college doesn't really dictate that, that's more due to:

D: A weird mix of pressure and not.

You're old enough to have a car! But not old enough to get much of a job but you can have a part time job for a little bit of spending money but then you gotta still do homework but at least all that money is yours instead of having to go to rent, food, transportation, etc. But maybe you want to save some of it for college someday and that's why you're working instead. Teenagers are in a very weird place in society. They are considered old enough to be mostly left to their devices so they can get into a lot of trouble but not old enough to be entirely untethered. They are young enough to be taught instead of simply punished but old enough that there are real consequences to when they go too far. They're told at the same time to remember to be kids and enjoy this time before the real world kicks in but also to be thinking about their future and how their actions now may affect their prospects for jobs, colleges, etc. like that. This is all without getting into hormones, dating, etc. like that. It is a natural time of life where society and biology smash together to tell you to DO SOMETHING MOTHERFUCKER!

Not to say that in reality young adults don't deal with a LOT of this stuff anyways but it is not the social norm or what is expected, though that is changing with how severely fucked most young adults are because the world sucks. -_-

Speaking of these weird places where the line blurs... How could you get some of these advantages back? The answer is theoretically simple to point out but I'm not going to call it easy:

The Dorms.

I was not a dorm kid myself and admittedly, I've never used the social spaces in any of the apartments I lived in. However, you do have these cramped spaces that force a LOT of people together, often in situations that are not ideal between roommates and the like and if you want a place to study, you might just have to leave your room in order to find it. This leaves the character in a high density place where, if they took out loans or had enough in scholarships, they don't have to worry as much about transportation, food, rent, etc. During their downtime, there are always people coming and going from the dorms, there's always bubbling trouble within the rooms, etc. like that. It essentially trades the high school advantages for the advantages of sharing an apartment but with WAY MORE PEOPLE, at least to some extent. You trade the rigid structures of High School for a more fluid epicenter for your drama and action. Otherwise, stuff like clubs are just also a part of college so you can keep those too for such things.

It's not a perfect solution but the goal shouldn't be to make it 1:1 to high school because otherwise, why did you bother swapping the setting to a college? I think there is a lot of potential for works genuinely focused on college too so I am in support of what the OP is talking about. I just wanted to share my thoughts on why we don't see that transition really. See you all next tale.

can we have tv dramas set in college please. fucking nothing happens in hs man. now im in college and my friend got chased by feral hogs a week ago in the woods and its like the 5th craziest thing to happen this week

[alotofpockets]

Target practice | Vivianne Miedema x Reader

5k celebration prompt: "Is it broken?"

Warnings: broken nose, blood

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.2k

-----

When you walk through the door of your apartment, you find your girlfriend sitting on the floor. She leaned against the couch with her laptop on the coffee table. A match playing on her screen, but it sounds like she is replaying a certain moment in the match by the repetitive commentary. 

You take off your shoes, drop your back to the ground, and walk towards the couch. “Hi love.” You say as you sit down behind her and kiss the top of her head. “What are you watching?”

Viv takes a deep sigh, “The game from yesterday. I had too many off target shots, so I’ve been rewatching them.” You knew this process, she had done it over and over again. Not just for mistakes or things she wasn’t happy with, but also for good goals and moments in play. “Is it helping?” You ask gently, hearing the light frustration in her voice.

“Nope, I’m just frustrating myself. I want to do some target practice, but without someone in goal it won’t be as effective.” She closed the laptop with a sigh. You never liked seeing your girlfriend this way. She’s an incredible footballer, and a missed shot shouldn’t be something on her mind amongst all the amazing goals that she does score. You would do anything to not make her feel like this.

“I’m no goalkeeper, but I could stand in goal if you think that would help.” You offer. Viv looks at you like you’re crazy, but she sees nothing but sincerity in your eyes. “Are you sure?” You smile and nod your head, “Yeah, of course. After dinner?” 

And that is exactly what you did. Once dinner was all cleaned up, you both went to your room to get changed. Viv grabbed one of her City training kits, while your eyes lingered on her old Arsenal one. “Would it be too soon to suggest Man City vs Arsenal?” She followed your gaze and smiled to herself. “You can wear it.” She loved when you wore her clothes, so this was no exception. 

Along with borrowing a training kit from your girlfriend, you also wore a pair of her boots. Wearing the same shoe size was always so easy, you could always use one of the hundreds of pairs Viv had laying around.

You walked to the pitch together hand in hand, just chatting and enjoying the nice weather. While football was far from your thing, you loved being able to spend the time with her. 

Once on the pitch you thought it would be a great idea to warm up alongside her, but you quickly realised that as soon as she started her running drills, that you were not a professional footballer, and definitely did not have the same condition of one. So, you opted to watch her with your back leaned against the goalpost for the rest of her warm ups.

You watched with a smile plastered on your face. She looked entirely in her element, even if it was just a simple warm up. When she ran her last drill, she walked up to the goal. “Are you still sure you want to do this?” She asked with a little worry in her voice. You nod, “Yup, I will be the best non-goalie goalie ever.” Viv chuckled, “Alright, let’s go then.”

Viv started shooting while you were moving around in the goal, left to right, jumping around, you were honestly having a lot of fun with just being the most annoying goalkeeper you could be. 

At first you thought your girlfriend was just starting off slow to get into it, but when she kept it going, you started to realise what she was doing. “You can stop holding back, love. I’m not scared of the ball, so just shoot it like you normally would.”

She stayed a bit weary at first, but slowly started building up the power she was putting behind her shots now. One of her harder shots soared past you and went right into the top corner. “Top bins! That’s more like it.” You say proudly.

Viv’s confidence grew more and more with each shot that she took. Clearly noticing you were handling the fast balls flying around you just fine. 

“Is it helping?” You asked her as you went to collect the balls together. “Yeah, a lot actually." Thank you so much for doing this for me.” You smile and lean in to peck her lips, “Of course, anything for you.”

Another few shots hit the back of the net perfectly. Viv was starting to enjoy it more and more. Of course this still wasn’t the same as game play, but hitting ball after ball on target was doing her a lot of good.

Viv lined up her next shot, she looked up at you with a smile. Your moves were ridiculous, but she loved that you were doing the most for you, and she was enjoying every moment of your attempt to distract her from the goal.

She kicks the next ball. It came flying towards the goal with full power, so fast that you didn’t realise it was coming straight to you until it was too late. The ball hits your square in the face, and you fall back instantly. “Shit.” Viv says instantly. 

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” She rushed to your side, her eyes widening as she saw the blood gushing from your nose. Your hand reaches up to touch your nose, and you instantly flinch at the pain. Then you look at your hand, which was covered in blood. 

You look up to your girlfriend with worried eyes. “Is it broken?" Viv helps you sit up, and properly looks at your nose. “Well, I’m no doctor, but it’s definitely not straight anymore.” 

By now the adrenaline rush started to come down, and you were starting to feel the pain a lot more. Viv who noticed you getting more uncomfortable helped you up fully. “Come on, let’s get an ice pack at home and then head to urgent care.”

On the walk back home, Viv couldn’t stop apologising. She kept going until to the point you had to stop her. “Viv, I love you but you have to stop. It happened, and it’s fine. It will heal and my nose will go back to looking normal in no time.”

“I know it will, but I should have never asked you to be in goal.” You shake your head. “You didn’t ask, I offered.” She rolled her eyes, “Fine, then I shouldn’t have let you. It’s my fault, and I am really sorry.”

Your nose was indeed broken, and they had to set it. Back home Viv, who still felt very bad, took great care of you. She acted a little as if you couldn’t do anything anymore, but who were you to deny your girlfriend from doing all these kinds for you for a little while?

-----

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[maruflix]

BOYS BEWARE! #variouscharacters #windbreaker #f!reader

the boys know that you are the town’s most notorious heartbreaker. it would be stupid for them to involve themselves with you. it’s not like they didn’t know that they’re sharing you with their own friends— but damn you look fine. / REQ.

feat. sakura, suo, kaji, umemiya, togame, endo, takiishi　　⎯⎯　wc. 4.1k

content: female reader, REVERSE HAREM, reader is a heartbreaker, pre-established relationship, they fall in love first, they fall in love harder, reader is either toxic or playful depending on how you look at it, OKAY READER IS KINDA TOXIC, this is a brainrot and a passion project god bless whoever sent this request, no beta we die like my hopes and dreams

SAKURA HARUKA -> MET A BOY FROM OUTTA TOWN...

Sakura doesn’t know how to express his emotions, so he usually lets them rot and die inside him, preferring to ignore them until they disappear.

He never succeeds to do so whenever you come around. All it takes is one smile. One smile from you and he’s completely defenseless at your mercy.

“I-is this guy bothering you?” Sakura’s attempt to sound gruff seems to fool the dumbass who thinks he’s got a chance with you. He eyes down the weak looking eyesore who kept bothering you since five minutes ago. The pathetic creature couldn’t even look him in the eye.

You flash him a smile. That damn smile. He feels like he’s going to choke.

“He is!” you sigh, tugging the sleeve of his jacket, “Are you here on patrol?”

The weakling knows to make himself scarce, leaving Sakura standing alone with you. He hopes you can’t hear his heart thundering inside his ribcage.

“Yes. I came to give you this.” He clumsily hands you a small box of your favorite cake, almost dropping it in the process and quickly adding, “I-I accidentally bought extra!”

You’re now blinking your gorgeous eyes, surprised, but reach out to take it anyway. “Oh, Haruka-kun! You’re so thoughtful!”

The way his name rolls out your tongue makes him go insane.

“Thank you! You’re the best!” Giggling, you hug his arm, accidentally brushing your head against his shoulder..

Just when he’s about to ask you if you had any plans that weekend, he sees that your line of vision has shifted away from him. He follows it to see Suo standing a couple feet away, smiling.

Oh.

He looks down to see you already smiling up at him like nothing happened. “Anyway, I’ll see you around, Haruka-kun! Maybe we can watch a movie together this weekend?”

His heart leaps; so you also want to spend more time with him! He’s just about to say that he’d really, really want that— but you’re already slipping away from his grasp into the direction of his best friend.

You turn your head once more to look at him, “Text me!” before skipping away.

It’s okay, Sakura convinces himself, I’ll definitely text you first.

The warmth of you still lingers on his arm.

SUO HAYATO -> I HELD THE KNIFE BUT YOU HAD THE GUN

Why does Suo still waste his time with you?

He wonders the same thing when he stares at you, eating in front of him.

You eat without a care in the world. Then again, you never seem to care about anything. He just wishes that you’d care about him more. What did you think he was going to feel when he sees you in the arms of Sakura freaking Haruka in the middle of the day? But then again, it’s not like he’s your boyfriend or anything, so it’s not like he had a say—

“Hayato-kun, aren’t you gonna eat?”

Suo blinks, looking down at his half-eaten salad. He’s supposed to be on a diet, but he’d gladly eat a five course meal if it meant being able to spend time with you. “Sorry!” he smiles, “I was too busy staring at you, it seems!” Other people would’ve gotten flustered with his teasing. Suo knows he’s handsome and talks well.

“Oh?” you tilt your head, “do I look pretty today? You’ve been staring a lot~”

Suo’s gaze snaps back to you, his heart skipping a beat. He instantly regrets it when he sees you smiling at him teasingly, a lock of hair falling in front of your face perfectly.

“Very.” he breathes out, brushing your hair away from your face. Hoping that it’d be enough to finally fluster you. Hoping that he can finally win against you for once.

He didn’t expect you to blush. The red tinting your cheeks makes you glow. “Hayato-kun, a surprise attack like that is not fair..”

Suo feels like he’s finally reclaiming himself. Redeeming himself from the devil that is you. Feeling brave, he moves his hand to rest on top of yours, not missing the way your eyes widen ever so slightly. Maybe, maybe....

“What..?”

“It’s my birthday this week.” He starts, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, “do you have any plans?”

In truth, he knows that you already plan on spending the weekend with Kaji Ren (how can he not know, when Kaji blabs to everyone about it?) but he wonders if you’ll choose to be with him instead. He tried not to be desperate but he already knew there’s no fooling you, not when the corners of your lips lift ever so slightly—

“Oh, really?!”

He can see that the gears in your brain are turning, your pretty eyes flitting across the room to find an excuse. Still, the enthusiasm in your voice left him hoping.

“I forgot! You know how bad I am with my own schedule..”

Suo exhales, trying not to look disappointed.

“But I’ll definitely cancel them to give you a surprise party!” You pull his hands to hold them tight, a serious look on your face, “Wait. It’s not a surprise if I tell you beforehand, is it?”

The twinkle in your eyes makes Suo wonder if you’ve expected this test. He may have won this fight, but he’s destined to lose the war. There’s just no winning against you.

Even so, he has won this fight... and he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else.

KAJI REN -> YOU CHEW MY HEART LIKE BUBBLEGUM !

Kaji tries to not go overboard, but he did anyway.

He’s tailored the hangout to your exact liking, booking everything two weeks in advance, making you squeal in joy when he tells you that he secured a spot in that hip new café that you keep eyeing during walks.

So when you fail to show up, Kaji knew that it was because of another man. He may be oblivious sometimes but he’s not stupid. There’s no way you cancelled on him last minute to feed your grandma’s cat. Your grandma died two months ago for God’s sake.

That’s why he’s steeled his heart to finally break away from your grasp. He can’t keep hurting himself and hoping you’d finally see him as your only love. He’s not stupid.

“I’m sorry, Ren-kun... you’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”

He refuses to look at you, knowing that he’d fold the instant he sees those gorgeous eyes.

“I messed up.. I have no excuse..”

“Why?” he asks, demands for you to say it with your own mouth. Say that you chose another man over him.

“Okay. I’ll tell you the truth.” You bent down to look at him, unrelenting even when he stares at you coldly, “It was Hayato-kun’s birthday yesterday. I threw him a surprise party with Haruka-kun and Nirei-kun.”

There’s a rare sincerity in your words, a fragile honesty that makes him both relieved and forlorn. “Thank you for telling the truth.” He didn’t want you to see him cry, so he gets up and starts to walk away.

“Wait! Ren-kun!” You call after him, making him walk faster. His eyes are already starting to burn. He had wanted you to tell him the truth, so why does it still hurt this much?

“Oof!”

The sudden thud makes him stop dead in his tracks. The unmistakable sound of a crash. He spins around, seeing you bent over on the ground, holding your knee. His heart drops, already forgetting the reason he walked away in the first place.

“Why are you so clumsy?!” He chides, squatting down next to you. The red in your knee is starting to drip down to your ankle. Guilt bubbles up in his throat, blocking his airway. You’re bleeding because of him.

“Sorry, I can’t even walk right..” you’re still smiling even when tears are streaming down your face. Even then, you look radiant.

“Climb up.” He offers his back, almost losing his mind from the guilt and worry.

“I can’t receive any more of your kindness,” your voice is small behind him, “I’m a horrible friend..”

Kaji wants to yell at you to prioritize yourself more, to tell you that he’ll probably sulk for a day before returning to you with a wagging tail— but all his words get caught in his throat when he sees you crying.

What can he do, except pull you into his embrace?

You melt almost instantly, sobbing apologies after apologies.

What can he do, except tell you that it doesn’t matter and he’s the one at fault?

Fuck it. He is stupid, he is dumb— and he will continue to be, if it means being able to hold you in his arms.

UMEMIYA HAJIME -> SHE MAKES THEM FALL DOWN TO THEIR KNEES AND CRY

Umemiya thinks that he has an advantage over the other guys that flock to you.

When you had a bad day and snap at him, he pats your head and listens to your problems. When he saw you laughing with Endo and Takiishi, he turns a blind eye. When you tell him you suddenly felt like hanging out with Togame, there’s a prick in his heart, but even so, he understands.

He’s very mature and mentally stable. No amount of cancelling plans and harsh words and flirting with other boys can faze him. He thought that those qualities would make you love him more— but he is so sorely mistaken.

“Is something on your mind?” Umemiya bends down slightly but you look away, your lips pursed into a tight line. He rubs your hair, knowing how much you love headpats, but all he got is an annoyed huff.

He’s terrified now.

“What’s wrong?” He can no longer hide the panic in his voice.

Finally, you look at him.

“You don’t love me.”

Your accusation makes him want to die. How can you say that he doesn’t love you when he has fought all his jealousy and killed all his pride?

Umemiya leads you to a nearby bench and kneels down to your height, trying to use the cold ground as a way to cool his beating heart, “Why do you say that?”

You’re twirling a lock of hair now, something you always do when you’re annoyed. “Do you even want to be with me? It’s like you’re just hanging out with me to pass time. Do you even care?”

Your words seem so straightforward, yet Umemiya still doesn’t understand. Whatever did he do that can possibly translate to such a baseless statement?

“I didn’t know that you’re not on good terms with Endo and Takiishi. I look like a bad friend. You don’t even care who I’m hanging out with.”

But Umemiya does care. He cares so much about who you’re hanging out with that he secretly tells the guys to go on patrols whenever you come to visit him, knowing that you’ll definitely get distracted otherwise. He cares so much that he tells Takiishi Chika to stay the hell away from you, causing him to get into a full blown fight. He cares.

“I do.” He frowns, “If I tell you I’m a jealous person, what will you do?”

He merely wanted to punish you a bit for doubting his affections. Someone as kind as you would definitely get flustered when he says something so out of character.

But when he glances at you, you look at him straight in the eyes.

“I will be happy,” The light from the lamppost casts a warm glow over your face, “because finally, you’re being honest with me.”

Umemiya doesn’t know what he’s feeling. Your words are so kind, so you, but it’s like alarm bells are going off inside his head.

“I like it when Hajime-kun is jealous. In fact, I like all of Hajime-kun’s qualities.” Your hand is now tangled in his hair, caressing them softly.

It’s scary how your touch silences all his doubts and makes him putty in your hands. He breathes out a sigh of relief and leans into your touch, knowing that he found favor in your eyes again. “Okay. Okay. I am jealous. Don’t hate me because of that..”

He looks up to see you smiling and a chill runs down his spine.

If you want him to beg, he will beg. If you want him to cry, he will cry. He might try not to show it, but heaven knows he will move hell to be with you.

TOGAME JO -> MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE BECOME INSANE.

Being a Shishitoren second-in-command makes Togame unable to spend as much time with you as he’d like.

You live in Makochi, so naturally you’re friends with the Furin boys. Normally, he’d feel relieved that you have other people to protect you from rival gangs when he’s not around, but he only now realizes how close you actually are with Bofurin.

It was supposed to be a surprise. He didn’t tell you that he’s visiting, hoping to catch you off guard when he suddenly drops by. Instead, it was you who caught him off guard.

Togame watches mutely as Umemiya pats your head, hearing the sound of his own heart breaking. The two of you doesn’t seem to realize that he’s standing right there. Like a fool.

“Oh? Togame-kun, you’re here!”

How? How can you sound so.. unbothered? He doesn’t even know what kind of expression is on his face right now.

Umemiya is looking at him without an ounce of guilt. Wait, has he been the fool all along? Has he always been second string? Togame’s head is full of thoughts, none of them good. Oh God, what should he do?

“Togame-kun? Are you okay?”

Your voice is inquisitive, innocent. He is brought back to reality when you grip his shoulder. He looks at you, standing on your tippy toes, your eyes wide and searching.

“You... him..”

“Hm?” As if reminded, you look at Umemiya. “Well, you didn’t tell me you were coming, so I had Hajime-kun walk me home! Uh, but since you’re here...”

Umemiya smiles. Tight. Togame knows that he will probably get a beating if you’re not there. But you are. And Umemiya Hajime relents.

“Right! We can walk home tomorrow. It’s not like everyday Togame visits!” Umemiya’s voice is cheery but the icy undertones is clear.

Don’t you dare make this an everyday occurence.

When Umemiya disappears, Togame lets you pull him with you, still at a loss for words.

“Sooo, what brought you here?” You seem so happy to see him... as if he didn’t just catch you with another man. “Oh, I just realized you have your hair tied! You look good! I like you better this way, I think!”

“Are you... going out with Umemiya Hajime?” Like a fool, that is the only thing can he can say.

You blink at him in surprise, like he just asked you if elephants could fly. Was he not supposed to ask? It’s not like he’s your boyfriend or anything... but you told him you love him.

“I...”

Your laugh interrupts his train of thought. “Of course not, silly!” It seems like his question is so funny that you’re actually doubling over and smacking his arm. “Oh, Togame-kun. Are you jealous?”

Are you seriously asking him that right now?

He’s not jealous. He’s furious.

“Maybe?”

“Aww, you’re so cute! And kinda naive, but like in a really cute way!” You’re resting your head on his arm now, hugging it as the two of you continue walking, “Me and Hajime-kun, we’re just friends! You can ask him if you want!”

Togame doesn’t know what to say. He feels stupid. Maybe he’s just not used to having female friends who’s also friends with other guys. “Why do you call him by his first name?”

You stop walking, causing him to pause too. “Oh my God!” Feeling you pull his arm, Togame turns to look at you. “Togame-kun, you’re totally jealous! That’s so cute! Is it because I don’t call you by your first name?”

Yes. Yes, it is. Why would you say you love him and call another guy by his first name? But now that Togame hears himself, he wonders if he’s just being crazy. He’s ashamed of himself now.

“Don’t sulk like that, Jo-kun. I was too shy to call you so intimately, you know!”

Togame feels like he’s being pacified... but he doesn’t hate it. He pulls you closer to him, engulfing you in a side hug, letting you nuzzle up to him. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I don’t really care.”

He feels crazy. Seeing you with another man brought him to the edge of insanity. Luckily, Togame is not someone who backs down so easily. He watches you laughing and wonders when you’ll finally realize his feelings.

Maybe if he deals with Umemiya Hajime, you’ll finally be his and his alone?

ENDO YAMATO -> DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU

From the start, Endo can see that you and him are similar.

The two of you hide behind smiles, faking feelings until you lose track of what you actually feel. Trying to put a brave front and succeeding so much that everyone thinks you’re a self-obsessed, entitled brat with the ego of Mount Fuji.

Maybe he’s so full of himself that he sees so much of himself in you and he falls in love.

Despairingly.

Because you immediately call him out on his feelings, warning him that you don’t feel the same way.

Perhaps he truly is so sure of himself because he tells you that he will wait for you, however long it takes. As if waiting for you can make you love him.

“You’re hurt again!” Is the first thing you say when Endo walks to you today. Your eyebrows are immediately scrunched, eyes glowing in worry.

When he’s hurt, he feels like he’s the only one in your eyes.

You carefully examine the gash on his arm, delicately tracing the ends of the wound. Endo winces a bit. “Does that hurt? I’ll get a first aid kit.”

Endo watches in awe as your fingers move quickly, dressing his wound with the finesse of a nurse. You don’t catch him staring, too busy on your handiwork. On him.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to.” He says, hoping you’ll say otherwise.

“Mhm. But I did.”

“So why did you?” Endo feels like an attention-seeking child.

You close the first aid kit and look at him, sighing. “Because I care about you.”

His eyes must’ve glimmered with hope, because you quickly added, “You get hurt a lot, so I worry about you.”

“It’s because.. my head is not at the right place today.” Oh, he’s so desperate to get you to pay attention to him.

Who cares if he purposefully angers Chika? Maybe one of these days you’ll catch the guy beating him to a pulp with your own eyes and you’ll stop spending so much time with that devil. Who cares if he let Chika throw that punch? The more cuts he has, the better. That means you’ll spend more time dressing him up.

“What’s wrong?”

Endo shakes his head. “You won’t understand.”

He has long learned that you never back down from a challenge.

“Really? Try me.”

See? Endo smiles, “What do you do when you’re in love with someone who doesn’t love you back?”

There’s an indecipherable emotion in your eyes.

“What do you do...” Endo muses, “when you’ve tried to forget about this person, but you can’t?” He lets you hold his hand, inching closer to lean on you for comfort, “I think I love her with every fibre of my being.”

“Maybe someday she’ll return your feelings too.”

Endo closes his eyes and smiles. You spew out such beautiful lies, he fears he’ll start to believe them soon. “I hope so.”

“Yamato-kun. If someday...” your voice wavers, “if someday I were to return your feelings, would you still accept me?”

You know just how to play with his heart. Even so, he will take any chance that he gets. He grips your shoulders, staring into your eyes unblinkingly. “Yes. I told you I’ll wait.”

“Really?”

“How do you want me to prove it to you?”

You gaze at him. “Kiss me.”

Endo wants to cry. What is this game you’re playing now? Do you want to make sure he will never move on from you? To make sure he is so in love with you that he will do anything for you without hesitation? How much crueler can you be?

And how stupid is he?

He moves slowly, making sure that you’re not going to take back what you said. All you do is look at him with expectant eyes, not moving from your position, daring him to actually do it.

So Endo kisses you. And whatever doubts he has about his relationship with you disappears into thin air. All his rationale goes flying out the window. The electricity he feels when his lips move against yours can light a whole city.

You’re the first one to pull away, leaving him gazing at you helplessly.

“I’ll do it however many times you want.”

You merely smile in reply.

Well, you did warn him. But when has Endo ever let a warning stop him? You’re so heart-wrenchingly beautiful that even when the consequences of his actions leave him dying from a broken heart, Endo doesn’t think he will ever regret his choices.

TAKIISHI CHIKA -> SHE MAKES THE DEVIL WET HIS BED AT NIGHTTIME !

Takiishi isn’t used to chasing after people.

Even now, he tries not to show you how much he likes you. He knows you’re a sadist; he’s not blind to the long line of guys that you have left begging on their knees... and how you revel at their tears.

But Takiishi just can’t control himself when you get friendly with other guys. He knows that sometimes you do it purposefully. Why, he has no idea. Maybe you want to remind him that you’re able to leave him anytime, that he should stay on his knees for you.

Even without you testing him, Takiishi will always spend his lifetime begging for a fraction of your affection. He doesn’t care about what he has to do as long as he can be with you.

“Chika-kun.”

He already knows what you’re going to say next. “You know why I beat the shit out of him.” He states, getting up from his seat. “He loves it when you take care of his injuries. You know that.”

You sigh and close the door behind you. “Perhaps. Does that anger you?”

Takiishi wonders why you like to test his patience. No matter what you do, he can never bring himself to hurt you. He can’t even say anything that might offend you.

“Why do you not like me?” Takiishi questions, “Yet, you still linger around me. Why?”

He doesn’t even dare to slam the wall next to you, opting instead to cage you with his arms.

“Who says I don’t like you?”

“You..”

“I like you, Chika-kun.” There’s sincerity in your voice, but you’re not done. “It’s just that.. I also like Yamato-kun, Hajime-kun—”

“Stop.” Takiishi growls, “Do you want me to beat all of them to a pulp? You know that’s what I will do every time you say their name in my presence.”

“And give Yamato-kun another reason to spend more time with me? Make me visit Hajime-kun until his wounds are completely healed? Because you know they will let you throw that punch,” you whisper in his ear sweetly, “so I can take pity on them.”

Takiishi wants to scream, but no sound came out.

“But you will always win, Chika-kun. You’re the strongest fighter, after all. With no wound to dress, who will take pity on you?”

God, you’re mean today.

“I’m sorry.” He doesn’t know what he did, or what to say. He just wants you to stop being so cruel.

You laugh. “Why are you sorry?”

“I don’t know. Anything. Everything.”

Finally deciding to take pity on him, you hug him, feeling his arms immediately snaking around your waist to pull your closer. You let him rest his chin on top of your head.

“Oh, Chika-kun. How can I ever leave you?”

“Don’t.”

If anyone were to see the Takiishi Chika, speaking so softly and acting so defeated, his reputation would’ve crumbled to the ground. Thankfully you’re not just anyone— you’re the only weakness he has, the one thing he will never let go.

No matter how bloody his hands get, he will make sure to take care of your long line of guys so that he will be the last man standing.

[howlingmod]

I never asked anyone like you for a request (beacuse I just never asked for it) but can you do a father figure 007n7 x reader? If you don't mind, I might refrence your work into mine if i ever wanted to because i think it looks nice

[hugs from zyran]

summary - 007n7 + child reader (platonic), also c00lkid is here

misc - So. I may have gotten carried away. this doesn't fit the prompt the best. (MY BAD. genuinely very sorry i was struggling). but i would be more than happy to do follow up or something im really a fan of this reader. lot of fun ideas to be had

-You were a weird kid. You couldn't remember much of where you came from and how you got where you were, couldn't think of anyone you could call your family, couldn't think of anywhere you could call home. With nothing to tie you down, you had to learn how to adapt to your surroundings.

-You learned how to lay low, hiding in plain sight and vanishing into crowds. If people did take notice of you, you knew exactly how to lose them in aisles and busy cities, making sure you got lost in all the action before they could get anywhere near you. You didn't want (or need, thank you very much) anyones help. You heard enough stories to let you know you'd just get tossed in with the rest of the unfortunate to be forgotten until you turned 18, and you'd much rather spend your days seeing the world.

-With all that you picked up from your surroundings, you eventually gained an interest in exploiting. You'd only seenn it yourself a few times, watching some other teens clip through walls to steal a few drinks from a gas station or something equally mundane, but you'd heard enough stories to have you hooked. You'd heard enough tales that people whispered to eachother about, seen the strictly-titled books detailing some of the most infamous that lined the scarcely visited corners of libraries, and you knew what you had to do next.

-It wasn't easy, not by any means, but you made it work. It's not exactly easy to get tutorials on something so looked down upon, especially the more advanced hacks, but you had all the time in the world to explore. Over time, you honed your craft, moving from slamming your hands into walls when it didn't work to effortlessly slipping through them. You just had to keep practicing and time would tell.

-Since it wasn't exactly easy to consistently secure food without any money or alerting others to your orphaned state, you started to implement your newfound skills to your daily routine. Only problem was it just forced you to realize some of the errors in your practice. It came to a head one night when you decided to try your luck with a local pizza place.

By that point, you were starving. It'd been a while since you'd eaten anything and you were exhausted from researching all day. Looking back on it now, that was probably big part of why things didn't go too well that night. You'd come up late, wanting to limit the number of possible witnesses.

There was one employee you'd spotted while cloaked heading out for a smoke break, so you'd have to carry out your attack before they got back. After sneaking around them, you'd looked in through one of the very corners of the windows, spotting one cashier and two customers. Not great conditions but you could make it work, at this rate you had to with how your stomsch was killing you.

Readying your nerves, you'd walked back to what you presumed to be the exterior walls of the kitchen. With another breath, you stepped forward, slipping through them with ease and starting your mental timer before the other employee returned. You had to be quick, analyzing your surroundings the moment you came to, completely unaware your sudden entry wasn't at all hidden from the customers thanks to a large doorway you weren't able to see from the window.

There were a few pizzas that seemed ready to go, though they weren't yet boxed up. You looked around for a stack of cardboard, hastily snatching one up the moment you spotted them and slipping one of the pizzas into it. You'd underestimated the weight of it, watching it slip off the lip of the box and onto the floor with a muted splat. You hissed, biting your lip in embarassment before brushing it off. You only had so much time, you couldn't cry over spilled pizza.

The next one went in fine, much to your hushed delight, and you made your way back out. The moment you passed the walls threshold you stopped. One pizza could last you a day or two but two pizzas could last you even longer. Without a second thought, you set the first box down, turned around, and made your way for another. This time, you didn't pick up on the exchange that started with your arrival.

"Papa! Look!" C00lkid cheered, pointing into the kitchen excitedly.

"Huh?" 007n7 looked where his son was pointing, being met with nothing. It was curious but he couldn't pay attention to it right now, busy with ordering.

You found another two pizzas, carefully inching them over into boxes and stacked them up. While you were at it, you decided to pick up a few sodas, you could use the sugar, you were getting pretty tired out lately. Once you'd carefully arranged your haul, you sized it up. It would be a lot to carry and you weren't too confident in balancing it all as you walked. There had to be some bags around here...

Just as you began to scour around, C00lkid separated from his father, quietly padding over to get a better look into the kitchen. He stood and watched as you dug around, looking in boxes and scrambling through the contents of drawers. Finally, you'd managed to find a stack of plastic bags in one box, temporarily struggling to peel one away from the others before you began to quietly open it up, wincing as it crinkled.

At the same moment you got back to your pile of food and began to put it away, everything came crashing down. The back door began to swing open, the other employee walking in with tired eyes before they caught sight of you, shooting wide open.

"Papa, look! There's a-"

"THIEF!"

You jolted upright, staring back like a deer in headlights before scrambling to get everything into the bag. One can clattered onto the floor, narrowly missing the plastic. They stood in shock while the cashier rounded the corner to see you as well, immediately darting over to try and catch you. Just as their arms tried to cage you in, you clipped through them, just barely keeping your bag with you.

"HACKER?!" The other employee shouted, still in shock.

The commotion had pulled n7 from his daze, drawing him over to his son, if only to make sure he didn't get caught in the crossfire. He wasn't sure what he expected to see when he looked into the kitchen, but he certainly wasn't expecting you. He'd seen you just a few seconds before you managed to get back through the wall, hardly disturbing a thing in your way. He recognized the exact exploit you were using as one of the first ones he'd ever learned. You were a novice for sure but, this young? You were well ahead of where he was at your age.

"Oh, for the love of God," Elliot groaned, staring at the spot you'd been moments prior before hiding his face in his hands.

"Should we like .. call someone?" The other asked, giving him a lost look.

"I don't even care, man."

-For the next few days, n7 couldn't stop thinking about the whole ordeal. Sure, he'd seen plenty of hackers before, of all different times and from all different scenes but .. you stuck with him. You looked so scrawny, so small. Maybe being a parent had made him soft- No, it definitely had, but he couldn't stop thinking about you. He did the same thing but he just did it for fun, you clearly had some need for it. Kids don't just look like that, learn this and steal food for no reason, that wouldn't make sense. You were long gone by the time they got outside, not like he'd expected you to stay around the scene long. C00lkid had helped him look around for a little bit to no avail, you made yourself vanish within seconds.

-It'd rained a few days later and he couldn't help but feel sick. He didn't know your situation but the guilt of just watching you run off was eating him alive. He found himself staring out the window, looking for something that never showed up. That night, he laid awake, staring up at the ceiling and listening to every drop hit the roof. The hours crawled by and sleep never found him. He couldn't live like this.

-The next day he'd dropped C00lkid off at school he'd asked Noli to pick him up and watch him till he got back, as he'd be busy with something. Noli had tried to ask him about it but only got a 'I'll tell you later,' in reply. He was too caught up in your case to explain himself right now. He'd tried to look for any reports on similar, recent cases but came up with next to nothing. You'd been keeping your exploiting on the down low for a while now if he had to guess, going off how .. iffy, your pizza heist had gone, that had clearly been your capstone project, an over extension of your abilities.

-You'd been keeping yourself out of trouble then, which was good. However, it gave him one location to go off of, which wasn't as good. Considering you hadn't teleported away, he figured you either A) hadn't learned how to yet, or B) lived in the area. With little else to go off of, he had to hope it was B, as he began his search. He looked into every alley he passed by, reluctantly going down each of them and scouring every corner of them. In a few especially embarrassing examples he'd been caught looking into dumpsters and turning over cardboard boxes, offering up a half-assed excuse about losing something that made most people narrow their eyes and slowly turn away, if only to make distance between him and them.

-He'd continued looking until the sun was just a few hours from the horizon with not a single clue or lead under his belt. Dreadfully, the idea that you were whole cities away began to creep into the forefront of his mind. It was only when he'd stopped into a convenience store for water that he'd gotten a lead.

"Long day?" The cashier asked, eyeing him up suspiciously. He wasn't in the best shape out of breath and distressed by hours of digging through dirty streets and other people's garbage.

"Ah, something like that," he laughed breathlessly, rubbing at his neck. He looked around the store idly, spotting the typical monitor of security cameras hanging up near the ceiling. He'd gazed into it, finding himself in one of the sightlines. Without a second thought, he asked, "Have you had anything get stolen recently?"

"Oh, are you kidding me? Every day some punk comes in here trying their luck, thinking they're a tough guy," they huffed, irritation hardening their voice, "Why? Is that a threat?"

"Oh! No, no, nothing like that! I just ... I know this is going to sound crazy, but I'm looking for someone and uh, the only thing I know about them is that they ..."

"Rob innocent people?"

"Borrow things," n7 winced, "Listen, I know that sounds bad but they're just a kid, I'm worried about them. I've got a son of my own and I just can't imagine what I'd do if I saw him in that kind of state doing things like this."

They cooled a little at that, shoulders lowering.

"I know you've probably got every reason not to tell me but I have to try, they deserve a chance, don't they?"

n7 stared at them, watching as they tapped their fingers on the counter and looked everywhere but at him. After a few long moments, they cracked, hunching over with a sigh, "I think I might know who you're talking about. I caught them here a few nights ago, from what I've heard they live somewhere near the park, under the bridge or in that storage shed, I'm not sure. Not my circus, not my monkeys."

n7 lit up at that, perking up instantly, "Oh- Thank you, you don't know how long i've been looking. Really, I can't thank you enough."

"Just get that kid far away from my store, I already deal with enough sticky fingers as is," They grunted in response.

-The moment n7 had paid for his stuff, he was out the door heading towards the park. Honestly, that should've been one of the first places he checked. He didn't have enough time to criticize his past decision, busy searching for a familiar figure.

-The bridge had been completely abandoned, only a few wrappers and empty cans left behind to insicate anyone had ever been there. Anything from your robbery was absent, leaving him to check the storage shed instead. He didn't pay any mind to the hefty padlock on the door, it was more for show than anything, if this really was where you were staying.

-Sure enough, the boxes and soda cans were one of the first things he found inside. There were a few raggedy sheets and a makeshift mattress out of a few others. You'd built up quite the stash of miscellanious belongings. Clearly, you'd been on your own for a bit, but just how long...? The pit in n7's stomach reappeared, deeper with even more guilt.

"Are you stalking me?" The sudden voice had caused him to nearly jump out of his skin, whipping around to see the owner of it. You were standing a few feet behind him, eyeing him up cautiously with a laptop tucked in one arm, the other clenched at your side.

"Wh- No, no I'm not stalking you. I just want to help you is all, it's not safe for you to be alone," He tried, making his voice as small and nonthreatening as possible. With the path you were on and your situation, he hardly expected you to be accomodating. He had to be careful of what he said here, one wrong word and the whole thing would fall apart.

"So you're stalking me."

"No, I'm- That's not," n7 stammered, struggling for the right thing to say. He wasn't exactly an expert in handling delicate situations, he barely even knew what he was doing with C00lkidd half the time.

"Weren't you an exploiter?" You asked, curioisity bleeding into your voice. There it was, that was an opening he could use, right? Find common ground then go from there ...

"Yes, I was. I see you've been learning. You're pretty impressive for a kid," you almost smiled at that, a twitch of the lips that was snatched away in an instant, corrected as soon as you noticed the slip-up.

"You aren't anymore. Why'd you stop?"

"Well, exploiting can hurt a lot of people. I ... I just wasn't proud of who I was, that's why I'm so w-"

You cut him off before he could even try segwaying into your situation, "That's stupid. You learned all that just to throw it away?"

n7 stiffened at that, this was clearly veering down the wrong path, derailing right before his eyes, "It's not throwing it away, it's just that you can't take advantage of people like that."

"Why shouldn't I? Not like they've done anything for me " you hissed, pulling your laptop up over your chest.

Fuck. This was going bad, really bad. You'd already taken a half-step back, you were so close to just running off and starting this whole process again. He got down on a knee, lowering to your height, "Listen, I know people haven't been kind to you and I'm so, so sorry for that. I can help you figure this out, I've got plenty of space and food- I've got a son just like you, actually."

You'd relaxed a little, setting your foot back down on the ground.

He smiled, "Or, if you don't trust me, I'd be happy to help you find someone else. I know there are plenty of people who'd be happy to take you in."

That set you off again. Instantly, any of the consideration you had was replaced with something more active, more aggressive. You clutched your arms around your laptop, hunching over it and grit your teeth, leering up at him, "Like I need your help! I'm not falling for this stupid trap, I'm not just gonna throw this all away! Just leave me alone!"

With that, you spun on your heel and ran through the wall, leaving him to spring up and stumble after you.

"I didn't mean it like that- I'm not gonna turn you in or anything. Just wait!"

He'd only caught you for a few seconds before he blinked, opening his eyes to see nothing. Where you'd been darting off moments ago, you were gone. Did you teleport? He hadn't seen any menu... He stared for a few seconds longer, scanning the horizon. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was around. You'd completely vanished.

He looked up at the sky, being met with sunset. The later half of one, too. When had it gotten so late? It'd been noon not too long ago. The sky was tinted with red, absent of any answers. Reluctantly, he turned away, heading back home. He'd have to try something else, maybe he should just call someone, he didn't have time to run around like this with C00lkidd. Speaking of which, how was he doing? He hoped he hadn't been too much trouble for Noli.

-***-

Your bones hurt, or maybe it was your muscles. Something was hurting, that's all you knew. You weren't too worried about it. From the way that shadow had made it out, you had all the time in the world to get better, stronger. The menu in front of you was stacked with new exploits, you'd been scrolling through it with glazed over eyes, each name drawing your interest with all the possibilities.

As you limbs laid heavy on the ground, your hand kept scrolling. You stopped briefly on one, '/fling.' You looked past the menu, finding a nearby log and typing in your best approximation of its ID. The second you hit execute, you watched it go flying, soaring through the sky until it inevitably hit the ground with a distant 'splash.' You smiled, a weak little laugh prying its way out of your scratchy throat. You spared your legs a glance, they looked so strange. Did you always look like this? Had you always had such sharp nails? Is that why everyone looked at you like that?

"Hey! That looks just like my dads!" A voice cried next to you, echoey and distorted. The owner plopped down by your side, leaning into your field of vision with a grin.

"He uses it to teleport us to school!" He beamed, rocking back and forth, "Can you teleport?"

You stared at the small boy out of the corner of your eye, meeting his excited, expectant eyes. Numbly, you shifted your eyes back towards the menu, finding the '/tp' and digging through your mind for a random ID number. Your fingers found the keys before they even registered in your mind, the screen an extension of your arm more than anything. As you hit 'execute,' a soda can fell and tipped over next to your knee.

The boy gasped, snatching the can up giddily, "Awesome! What else can you do?"

You found yourself looking for another command before you could even process his words, scrolling for the next object of interest. 'He looks so strange,' you thought, not too far off from how you looked, though. As he settled in to watch you work, you found you didn't mind either of your appearances.

[avisofapatite]

I never add directly to a post, but what I want to add would take too long to put in tags.

My immediate reaction reading this was assuming I would have done fabulously, but I decided since Bleak House is easy enough to find, I'd read the 7 paragraphs myself, try and grasp the meaning the best I could, and then return to read the study. I am not an English major, and I haven't performed academic work with literature since high school, so I wanted to see how I would fare. I have never actually read any of Dickens' work, and will admit to not successfully attempting any 19th century literature myself.

The passage did end up being more challenging than I had initially expected - it took a moment for me to adjust to some of the sentence structure Dickens used, and I found myself going over some of the passages a couple times to make sure I grasped everything. Most legal references I understood but some specifically 19thc British touchstones took some research (I understood the court setting, but needed to look up that the Chancery was specifically a property court, and was thrown off at first by Temple Bar thinking this referred to a legal bar before googling that name specifically). I had to find the definitions of about 3 words and came away feeling relatively confident in my comprehension.

Upon reading through the study, however, I was struck with a sudden understanding of how my trying best to read this text now had nothing in common to my approach doing the same in an academic setting. How I actually engaged with texts like this In School had me relating far more to the Approach of the readers having difficulty than I expected.

For instance, as I read the passage on my own, I jumped around a lot and went over passages multiple times, sometimes in fragments. The study required reading of the passage out loud from top to bottom, and I recall a specific moment in my schooling (in Grade 5) where I completely failed to comprehend a passage because of this format. However, I was never tested on my reading of texts in that manner after this age. Someone skilled in reading SHOULD be able to reliably comprehend things as they read them in the order it is presented to them - that in itself contains some part of the meaning! But I've only just realized I've never fostered that focus for challenging texts, relying on my ability to jump around the page, and that my schooling never stopped me from developing this habit.

The section of the study describing a strong reader made it clear to me I did not read that way in school, which has had lasting implications. While I would have preferred reading things properly, I often felt like I didn't have the time to properly read a text and would rely on my own being clever/online summary to fill in the gaps that I required. This feels like a problem coming from many sources - while I was certainly very busy with other work at that time, I also knew I could reliably receive a good grade despite not putting in the full effort, and perhaps this full effort would not have been so taxing if my reading skills had been more thoroughly exercised as I went through school.

I found myself reading the example of strong analysis realizing I failed to reach that particular depth of understanding, such being able to explicitly describe the idea of the crowd on the streets repeating the rhythms of a previous time, for instance, instead of just coming away with the image of the crowd jostling in the mud on that particular day. Worse of all, I realized on my own time, I would have been far more comfortable coming away from the text having put far less effort into its comprehension knowing that I wasn't about to be evaluated.

That specific notion of evaluation, and doing what is needed - and no more - to pass that evaluation I think is where the opportunity is lost for many. It certainly was for me, nevermind my personal tendency to spend more effort on cultivating the appearance of knowledge moreso than actual knowledge. I genuinely wonder whether I would have immediately fallen back on my mindset of trying to game the system with as much speed and little effort as humanly possible, assuming my inate skill would be enough to succeed, if I had been tested by the researchers in their setting instead of having done this little challenge on my own.

As someone in the 27-32 range that considers myself self-evidently literate, this did help me really examine my habits. But it was humbling to discover that if this system so successfully failed to train good habits into me Despite my ability to leap their hurdles, how impossible the challenge might be to those that at any point have had difficulty with reading and comprehension. The big question is how we can change the teaching of literacy to fix this. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.

i appreciated this study: "They Can't Read Very Well: A Study of the Reading Comprehension Skills Of English Majors At Two Midwestern Universities"

essentially, a pair of professors set out to test their intuitive sense that students at the college level were struggling with complex text. they recruited 85 students, a mix of english majors and english education majors - so, theoretically, people focusing on literature, and people preparing to teach adolescents how to read literature - and had them read-while-summarizing the first seven paragraphs of dickens's bleak house (or as much as they made it through in the 20 minute session). they provided dictionaries and also said students could use their phones to look up whatever they wanted, including any unfamiliar words or references. they found that the majority of the students - 58%, or 49 out of the 85 students - functionally could not understand dickens at all, and only 5% - a mere 4 out of the 85 students - proved themselves proficient readers (leaving the remaining 38%, or 32 students, as what the study authors deemed "competent" students, most of whom could understand about half the literal meaning - pretty low bar for competence - although a few of whom, they note, did much better than the rest in this group if not quite well enough to be considered proficient).

what i really appreciated about this study was its qualitative descriptions of the challenges and reading behaviors of what the authors call "problematic readers" (that bottom 58%), which resonated strongly with my own experiences of students who struggle with reading. here's their blunt big picture overview of these 49 students:

The majority of these subjects could understand very little of Bleak House and did not have effective reading tactics. All had so much trouble comprehending concrete detail in consecutive clauses and phrases that they could not link the meaning of one sentence to the next. Although it was clear that these subjects did try to use various tactics while they read the passage, they were not able to use those tactics successfully. For example, 43 percent of the problematic readers tried to look up words they did not understand, but only five percent were able to look up the meaning of a word and place it back correctly into a sentence. The subjects frequently looked up a word they did not know, realized that they did not understand the sentence the word had come from, and skipped translating the sentence altogether.

the idea that they had so many trouble with every small piece of a text that they could not connect ideas on a sentence by sentence basis is very familiar to me from teaching and tutoring, as was the habit of thought seen in the example of the student who gloms on to the word "whiskers" in a sea of confusion and guesses incorrectly that a cat is present - struggling readers, in my experience, seem to use familiar nouns as stepping stones in a flood of overwhelm, hopping as best they can from one seemingly familiar image to the next. so was this observation, building off the example of a student who misses the fact that dickens is being figurative when he imagines a megalodon stalking the streets of london:

She first guesses that the dinosaur is just “bones” and then is stuck stating that the bones are “waddling, um, all up the hill” because she can see that Dickens has the dinosaur moving. Because she cannot logically tie the ideas together, she just leaves her interpretation as is and goes on to the next sentence. Like this subject, most of the problematic readers were not concerned if their literal translations of Bleak House were not coherent, so obvious logical errors never seemed to affect them. In fact, none of the readers in this category ever questioned their own interpretations of figures of speech, no matter how irrational the results. Worse, their inability to understand figurative language was constant, even though most of the subjects had spent at least two years in literature classes that discussed figures of speech. Some could correctly identify a figure of speech, and even explain its use in a sentence, but correct responses were inconsistent and haphazard. None of the problematic readers showed any evidence that they could read recursively or fix previous errors in comprehension. They would stick to their reading tactics even if they were unhappy with the results.

i have seen this repeatedly, too - actually i was particularly taken with how similar this is to the behavior of struggling readers at much younger ages - and would summarize the hypothesis i have forged over time as: struggling readers do not expect what they read to make sense. my hypothesis for why this is the case is that their reading deficits were not attended to or remediated adequately early enough, and so, in their formative years - the early to mid elementary grades - they spent a lot of time "reading" things that did not make sense to them - in fact they spent much more time doing this than they ever did reading things that did make sense to them - and so they did not internalize a meaningful subjective sense of what it feels like to actually read things.

like, i've said this before, but the year i taught third grade i had multiple students who told me they loved reading and then when i asked them about a book they were reading revealed that they had absolutely no idea what was going on - on a really basic literal level like "didn't know who said which lines of dialogue" and "couldn't identify which things or characters given pronouns referred to" - and were as best as i could tell sort of constructing their own story along the way using these little bits of things they thought they understood. that's what "reading" was, in their heads. and they were, in the curriculum/model that we used at the private school where i taught, receiving basically no support to clarify that that was not what reading was, nor any instruction that would actually help them with what they needed to do to improve (understand sentences) - and i realized over the course of that year that the master's program that had certified me in teaching elementary school had provided me with very little understanding of how to help these kids (with perhaps the sole exception of the class i took on communications disorders, not because these kids had communications disorders but because that was the only class where we ever talked, even briefly, about things like sentence structures that students may need instruction in and practice with to comprehend independently). when it comes to the literal, basic understanding of a text, the model of reading pedagogy i was taught has about 6 million little "tools" that all boil down to telling kids who functionally can't read to try harder to read. this is not productive, in my experience and opinion, for kids whose maximum effort persistently yields confusion. but things are so dysfunctional all the way up and down the ladder that you can be a senior in college majoring in english without anyone but a pair of professors with a strong work ethic noticing that you can't actually read.

couple other notes:

obviously it's a small study but i'm not sure i see a reason to believe these are particularly outlierish results (ACT scores - an imperfect metric but not a meritless one IMO for reading specifically, where the task mostly really is to read a set of texts written for the educated layperson and answer factual questions about them - were a little bit above the national average)

the study was published last year, but the research was conducted january to april 2015. so there's no pandemic influence, no AI issue - these are millennials who now would span roughly ages 28-32 (i guess it's possible one of the four first-year students was one of the very first members of gen z lol). if you're in your late 20s or early 30s, we are talking about people your age, and whatever the culprit is here, it was happening when you were in school.

i think some people might want to blame this on NCLB but i find this unconvincing for a variety of reasons. first of all, NCLB did not pass because everyone in 2001 agreed that education was super hunky-dory; in fact, the sold a story podcast outlines how an explicit goal of NCLB was to train teachers in systematic phonics instruction, because that was not the norm when NCLB was passed, and an unfortunate outcome was that phonics became politicized in ed world. second, anyone who understands anything about reading should need about ten minutes max to spend some time on standardized test prep and recognize that if your goal is truly to maximize scores... then the vast majority of your instructional time should be spent on improving actual reading skills because you actually can't meaningfully game these tests by "practicing main idea questions" (timothy shanahan addresses this briefly near the top of this post). so i find it very difficult to believe that any school that pivoted to multiple choice drill time in an attempt to boost reading scores was teaching reading effectively pre-NCLB, because no set of competent literacy professionals would think that would work even for the goal of raising test scores. third, NCLB mandated yearly testing in grades 3-8 but only one test year in high school; kansas set its reading and math test year in high school as tenth grade. so theoretically these kids all had two years of sweet sweet freedom from NCLB in which their teachers could have done whatever the fuck they wanted to teach these kids to actually read. the fact that they didn't suggests perhaps there were other problems afoot. fourth, and maybe most saliently for this particular study, the sample text was the first seven paragraphs of a novel - in other words, the exact kind of short incomplete text that NCLB allegedly demanded excessive time spent on. i'm not really sure what universe it makes sense in that students who can't read the first seven paragraphs of a novel would have become much better reader if everything else had been the same but they had been making completely wack associations based on nonsense guesses for all 300 pages instead. (if you read the study it's really clear that for problematic readers, things go off the rails immediately, in a way that a good program targeted at teaching mastery of text of 500 words or less would have done something about.)

all but 3 of the students reported A's and B's in their english classes and, again, 69% of them are juniors and seniors, so like... i mean idk kudos to these professors for being like "hold up can these kids actually read?" but clearly something is wack at the college level too [in 2015] if you can make your way through nearly an entire english major without being able to read the first seven paragraphs of a dickens novel. (once again i really do encourage you to look at the qualitative samples in the study, lest you think i am being uncharitable by summarizing understandable misunderstandings or areas of confusion that may resolve themselves with further exposure to the text as "can't read.") not to mention the fact that most students could not what they had learned in previous or current english classes and when asked to name british and american authors and/or works of the nineteenth century, roughly half the sample at each college could name at most one.

the authors of the study are struck by the fact that students who cannot parse the first 3 sentences of bleak house feel very confident about their ability to read the entire novel, and discover that this seeming disconnect is resolved by the fact that these students seem to conceptualize "reading" as "skimming and then reading sparknotes." i think it's really tempting to Kids These Days this phenomenon (although again these are people who in some cases have now been in the workforce for a decade) and categorize it as laziness or a lack of effort, but i think that there is, as i described above, a real and sincere confusion over what "reading" is in which this makes a certain logical sense because it's not like they have some store of actual reading experiences to compare it to. i also think it's pretty obvious looking at just how wildly severed from actual textual comprehension their readings are that these are not - or at least not entirely - students who could just work harder and master the entirety of bleak house all on their own. like i don't think you get from "charles dickens is describing a bunch of dinosaur bones actually walking the streets of london" to comfortably reading nineteenth century literature by just trying harder. i really just don't (and i say that acknowledging i personally have had students who like... were good readers if i was forcing them to work at it constantly... but i have also had students, including ones getting ready to enter college, who were clearly giving me everything they had and what they had was at the present moment insufficient). i think that speaks to a missing skillset that they don't know are missing, because they don't have any other experience of "reading" to compare it to.

just wanna highlight again that although they don't give the breakdown some of these students are not just english majors but english education majors a.k.a. the high school english teachers of tomorrow. some of them may be teaching high school english right now, in case anyone wishes to consider whether "maybe some high school english teachers can't read the first seven paragraphs of bleak house?" should be kept in mind when we discuss present-day educational ills.

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Since a few people have asked, here's my explanation for why I think the Doctor has regenerative dissonance

First off, if you don't know what regenerative dissonance is, i have a little essay/fake time lord dsm entry for it here. there's some stuff there that's a bit headcanony, but we don't have a ton of information on it in general anyway. tl;dr for that, regenerative dissonance is basically DID for time lords

The only character with regenerative dissonance we see is the Eleven (or the Multitude i think, but we mainly see their 11th regeneration, so that's what i'm going to call them). their regenerative dissonance is very overt (the other regenerations are able to use the body to speak and somewhat control their actions), but even still there are definitely similarities to how their brain works and how the doctor's does

there's a lot of instances of the doctor communicating with their past selves in their own head or talking about them still being active in their brain (most recently in this weeks episode). i'll put a few examples below

i think that despite this, the doctor doesn't actually realize this isn't normal because a) regeneration isn't talked about like that on gallifrey (an also they don't spend too much time around other time lords) so they don't really know what the normal experience is and b) what they have going on is different then the eleven, so clearly they don't have regenerative dissonance

[traincat]

a genuine question why do people keep saying johnny is gay instead of bi? like i get it and i agree BUT why not bi?

Honestly I think this is one of those things that is totally up to personal interpretation, considering the weird Queer Grey Area Johnny lives in. I think he's gay, though I've gone back and forth over the years, but if other people want to think he's bi/pan, I don't think that's a wrong interpretation, either. (I do not control how other people label the Human Torch's sexuality, etc.)

I think, for me, what's swung my personal read on the character to gay over the years is just like, the extreme lack of actual demonstrated attraction to women. Johnny says he's attracted to women. Loudly! Frequently! Through the bullhorn! Is there a camera turned his way! Oh God please someone believe him. But when confronted with an attractive woman who wants to be intimate with him, he may go along with it, but sooner or later he's going to start ghosting.

(FF v3 #55) "'Scuze me -- I had this funny idea a guy was supposed to spend time with his girlfriend."

Look at his marriage, for example. Not the Skrull retcon stuff, although I do think that ultimately comes into play -- I'm talking about two things. There's, first off, the extreme sexlessness of the honeymoon.

(FF #301 and #302) I'm not saying like, nobody goes hiking on their honeymoon. I'm sure there's avid hikers enjoying romantic hikes out there. I'm saying that this is Johnny Storm and he's out there backpacking and visiting artist communes. Peter and Mary Jane, by comparison, were making the beast with two backs on a beach in France. (I actually really like #302 as an issue, it has a fun concept, but it does kind of highlight how Unsexy Johnny and Alicia are as a couple. The chemistry of styrofoam.)

Then there's the Crystal Emotional Affair.

(FF #305) "So things did work out in the long run!" Oh yeah you guys are gonna be real normal about each other.

(FF #317)

This never goes anywhere, mostly because of Johnny. I don't doubt Crystal would have upheld the most holiest of marital duties: cheating. (I love Crys, I just think her love 'em and leave 'em tendency is funny.) There's a lot of melodramatic bemoaning here -- she's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen! She regrets her decision to leave him! They're angsting about it in the shower. Separate. Separate showers. Because this never goes anywhere even remotely physical, because Johnny Would Never Cheat On His Wife, as he says. Repeatedly.

It's important to look at the issue numbers here: Johnny and Alicia only got together in #275. They got married in #300. By #305, Johnny is basically emotionally clawing at the walls to get out of his marriage, falling back on old romances, which is something of a tendency. When Crys dumped him, after all, he tried to get back with Dorrie Evans. Nothing happened there, either.

And then much later on, when Crystal does come onto him, he's not into it.

(Marvel Knights 4 #30)

Again, there's a pattern here. After Frankie Raye left him (for Galactus), he pursued her roommate Julie Angel hard -- albeit chastely. But when Julie does kiss him, he's suddenly "over her." Johnny talks the talks but he rarely walks the walk.

(FF #236) Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what Peter was doing romantically around this exact time. Peter's a useful yardstick here because whatever else you want to headcanon about him, he's definitely romantically and sexually interested in women, and consistently portrayed that way. At this point in time (roughly late 1981), Peter was embroiling himself in a love triangle with his fellow grad students, Marcy Kane and Deb Whitman, and then also getting back together with Black Cat. He should be classified a menace against women. But while Peter is referencing cunnilingus techniques in scenes with his wife, Johnny's most overt sexual reference from his own marriage is that he's going to "darn Alicia's socks." And that's not even Johnny! That's in an imagined world that never happened! We know they were sleeping together, because Johnny certainly believes it's possible that Lyja could have been pregnant, but there's no passion between Johnny and Alicia during the marriage. And if it was just the marriage, I could write that off as him not being attracted to Alicia specifically. But it's not just the marriage.

Johnny is constantly portrayed as someone who wants to be in love, but once he's in that relationship, there's always a barrier or an obstacle. He's probably his happiest in his initial relationship with Crystal which is, uh, unfortunate, because that started when he was roughly 19 and ended at latest in his very early 20s. (Again, we're dating him by dating Peter, here -- Johnny got married very shortly before Peter did, and Peter got married, by his own statement, five years after he started college, so he was roughly 23. Johnny would also have been 23 or 24 when he got married. This means MJ was 22 when she got married oh my God put her back in that club.) And Johnny and Crystal are very cute!

(FF #64 and #67) They're adorable. But they're kids. Just because Johnny had a Pinterest board for his Plaza wedding at age 19 doesn't mean it was going to work.

Then there's Frankie -- obviously, Frankie and Johnny were not doing anything, because whenever Frankie takes off her clothes she's got a whole gold bodysuit under there. Once the reveal with her powers happens, Johnny is disturbed by Frankie's more violent tendencies. Then she leaves him for Galactus. His next "big" relationship is Alicia/Lyja, and that's. You know, that's a whole thing. After that, things never REALLY get off the ground again. There's relationships! But they don't go anywhere. This is also when the Playboy Johnny persona emerges, as shallow as it is, and while I do think there's enough evidence to headcanon that as Johnny's trauma response to the Skrull marriage, honestly it's probably just because Marvel's cadre of largely male writers in the late '90s and early '00s couldn't imagine a single blond pretty boy wouldn't be a raging skirt chaser. I'm going to address this in more detail in a reply to a different ask, but I personally believe in something called the Johnny Effect where I give every new Fantastic Four writer post-Claremont something like the first few issues to adjust to writing Johnny. There's usually a slide into a more honest look at the character after that point. Which I get -- there's characters where, after you write them for a while, you start thinking about them more in depth, and I think that's what happens with Johnny.

The third thing for me is like -- I've talked about this before but there's the history of violation linked to Johnny and intimacy. In some way, in a lot of his relationships (although not all), Johnny is lied to, has his boundaries violated, or is flat out assaulted. This isn't solely with women, granted. Daken Akihiro, Wolverine's son, engineers their (word of author canon) relationship by shooting him through the thigh with an arrow and pinning it on Bullseye. But I would not call that an isolated incident on the other party's side. It's just that it does happen a lot with women, including women he's had relationships with.

(FF #46 and #49) That's an alternate Frankie Raye, but still. You have the kiss with Psionics at the end of that arc, only for Psionics' next appearance to involve her killing one of Johnny's good friends in front of him while threatening the lives of his niece and nephew. There's a certain level of melodrama expected in romantic relationships with comics, but Johnny's drama often crosses a line in a way Peter's "bad girl" drama with, say, Felicia, doesn't. I think you could trace a lot of this back to the unaddressed aspects of the Lyja plotline, but not all of it.

Other characters just also euphemistically call him gay.

(Hulk vs Thing: Hard Knocks #3) Why does the Hulk think he's gay.

I swung around to thinking he's just not attracted to women at all through a lot of rereads and writing various meta posts and just generally thinking about him, but again, that's not like, I can't make any rules here, I can just make my own case. If other people want to view him as bi, I think you could make a case, too. From my perspective, there's a lack of demonstrated attraction to women (even the weird Sexy Cosplayers scene in Miller's run is a set up so a film crew can walk in on him and he abandons them at the first opportunity) and a lack of emotional intimacy to a lot of his relationships when compared to his Very Heterosexual Male Friendships. For me, I think what's going on with Johnny is that he was put in this role as a teenager of the Celebrity Teen Heartthrob, and he was at least somewhat aware at that point in time that the Fantastic Four's security depended heavily on both him and Sue being desirable to fans. But boyband-types grow up, and Johnny has struggled to match his image to what's "desirable" to his current market group -- but he knows it involves him in a high profile relationship with a woman, and that's where a lot of his post-Alilyja relationships have come from. (Darla, Kourtney, Nita, etc.) I think Dark Wolverine demonstrated that if Johnny's in the closet, it's not to his family. They know what's going. It's the rest of the world Johnny keeps himself closeted over, because he links his high flying heartthrob image to safety.

(Daken: Dark Wolverine #4) "Is peace hard to come by for you?"

But again, sexuality headcanons -- and again, Johnny is not canon-by-corporate queer -- are personal. These are just my thoughts on the subject.

(FF v6 #5) "Be brave, Johnny Storm."

[dollypopup]

honestly? I think Antonia and Luke are really cute together

Now, let it be known I am NOT a shipper, and I'm not following her or digging into anything. Everything I know is basically through osmosis when people tag stuff about it in the spaces I actually follow, and I think shipping real people who I will never know is weird and invasive, so let's get that clear

however, considering the narrative they've shown us, they seem like a pretty healthy couple. As furious as people get about them (and honestly, it's JUST because Antonia isn't Nicola, and thus many fans can't project onto her the way they do with Nicola), I think it's sweet that they turn work events into dates. I don't see what people are spouting about how she's 'fame hungry' or 'using him'. The woman was wide-eyed at BOSS. When they walked out of the car, she seemed entirely floored. And who wouldn't be? You're being subject to constant flash photography and tons of people demanding things of you. But they showed up, had a good time, and then went back to eat pasta in bed. At his other work events, like BAFTAs pre-party or the actual ceremony, they seem to make a time of it. Cuddling up, holding hands, giving cheek smooches.

I mean. . .come on. She's coming with him to a work event. No matter how glamorous it may look to us, it's still a work event. A work event in which she will often be left on her lonesome. But she gets dressed up and she comes with him and she makes a time of it. They get their pictures taken as a couple professionally, wear cute clothes, eat nice food, and hold hands. That's sweet!!!

Whilst I do not know her, what I DO know is what she's faced, and this woman stuck around through horrible vitriol from the fanbase, constant misogyny, insults about her body, her work, her very existence. They attacked her on her personal instagram pages, went after her family, made up malicious rumors about her, misgendered her, body shamed her. She watched what felt like the whole world want her boyfriend with another woman. She's a civilian. This is not a celebrity who is accustomed to fielding that kind of situation.

But she stayed.

That is capital L Loyalty, okay? Like, she must really, genuinely like him. And I'll be real: I'd stick it out for Luke, too, I mean, the man is a gem, but if this isn't baptism by fire, I do not know WHAT would be. People talk about 'oh, where are the real ones? There are no more real ones anymore'- I think she's a real one. As a woman who dates other women, if she put up with as much as Antonia did, and decided to stand by me? You don't let go of her. That's pretty rare.

Because what has she actually gotten out of the whole situation? Is she suddenly rich? Getting all these jobs? Has magazine covers and exclusive interviews? No. She seems to be making her life out of her own merit for the most part. I mean, people make fun of her being a working dancer and model picking up the less glamorous gigs, but what is that BUT making her life of her own merit? That's what most dancers DO. No, mostly what she's gotten out of it all is abusive commentary and a need for a much more private life- but on the other hand, she got a relationship with him. If that's not devotion, idk???

But even if she DID get a few gigs from his connections- so what? What would be SO wrong with that? There's no proof she has, but why would it be horrible? That's what networking and making connections IS. Luke's known for giving his loved ones a hand. He's been given one from them, too. This is a man who couchsurfed in his best friend's apartment, bartending to make ends meet. He knows what it's like to go without, so why would it be such a bad thing for him to help out someone he cares about? I'm not saying he has, but after everything she's had to deal with, yeah, I think she's well within her rights to be cheesing on a red carpet getting her face smooched for the world to see. Good for her! All things considered, they seem like a couple who spends a lot of personal time together, vacations, date nights, running errands, who make the most of the situation they're in. They're loved up, happy, hot people attending events together. Most couples are significantly worse in real life.

idk, from where I'm sitting, people have made all these assumptions to build their meanspirited narrative on. This idea that Luke is so hungry for fame, and so Antonia is, too. But I think @rainybraindays put it best.

"They are not "begging for the camera" they're attractive, and hes popular so photographers at these events know they can get a good deal on their work that features them. Theres no nda or blackmail, they're just a more lowkey couple, likely because neither seemed to be really searching for the fame, shes just dating a guy she cares for, and hes just pursuing his passion and hit big"

People are so harsh and critical of these two. First it's 'he wouldn't claim her!' (like luggage. the misogyny of it all) Now it's 'ugh, she's everywhere'. First it's 'she's evil and using him' then it's 'what he's put that poor girl through!' but the reality is, no matter those criticisms and bullying, they're happy with each other, and they've decided their relationship is pretty serious

And honestly they're really cute together

Fight me

[mybworlds]

A New Dawn

Pairing: jackson!joel miller x f!reader (no use of Y/N)

Summary: You, after a very long trip alone across the country, arrive in Jackson. Joel is a very lonely man and after Ellie broke up with him, he's even more alone and grumpy. Tommy and Maria decide that you're going to stay at Joel's house for a while, at least until more houses are built. Will your cohabitation be easy? Or will it be more complicated than everyone thinks?

Warnings: use of you, use of alcohol, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempt, a short story about sexual assault that occurred in the past I won't go into details, another SA in the present days, PTSD, violence, blood, lots of sexually explicit content, use of petnames, dirty talk, fluff elements, mutual pining, the main characters spy on each other for a while, the image of the female character has the sole purpose of representing the character, but you can imagine her however you want, no physical description of the female character except for long hair often gathered in a ponytail or braid, she wears a bra and jeans (most of the time).

follow @mybworlds and turn on notifications to get notified when I post new fics

Masterlist

Thx for the dividers @saradika-graphics.

Taglist: @harriedandharassed; @lilac-boo

Joel's leg is fortunately improving day by day. But his mood gets worse and worse. You do everything to help him, to lift his mood, but nothing seems to help him. He spends whole days at the window and a couple of times you saw him cry.

You did not show yourself, you know how proud and stubborn he is, but every day that passes you want to hug him more and more, hold him tight to your chest and tell him that whatever was making him feel so bad, you would listen and be there for him!

You wonder what's happening to you and why you're starting to feel all this empathy for someone like Joel who's doing everything he can to push you away.

One day, passing in front of the door of his study, you notice one of his many guitars and so you push him to come out of his room and make him go down to the living room and somewhat reluctantly sit on the sofa.

“Why am I here?” he says to you sulkily.

“I got this,” you say, showing off his guitar.

“So?” he asks you with an impatient look on his face.

“I’ve never played the guitar,” you say, “I was thinkin’ you could teach me some chords.”

“Tsk, don't.” He barks, looking at you with an annoyed expression.

“What are you talking about?” you ask him innocently.

He clicks his tongue a couple of times, “Don't do that. You're not helping.” he sighs looking at the guitar in your hands.

“Okay, so what? What do you want to do? Drink? Drown in tears?” He looks up at you, his gaze is grim, you hit the nail on the head. “I saw you.” You admit. You should feel embarrassed or guilty, deep down maybe you do, but now is not the time to think about it.

“Are you spyin’ on me?” he asks you piquedly squinting with a displeased expression.

“No. But I live here too, Joel. And I want you to be at peace at least. I'd like you to tell me what it's torturing you, what makes you feel so bad, because if I can help you...”

“You can't!” he interrupts you abruptly, he shakes his head “It doesn't help me to play or eat your fuckin’ cookies or go out, nothing.”

You place the guitar leaning it gently against the wall, “Please, lemme help you.” you say sitting next to him.

“No.” It's his only answer. He withdraws, avoiding any kind of contact with you. You find yourself swallowing and feeling deeply disappointed, as well as hurt. After everything you've done for him.

He turns his head away as you stand up and after taking a deep breath, you nod with a hurt look, “As you wish.” You reply before disappearing from his sight.

You leave him alone at home, he doesn't need you, he doesn't want you around, he told you so many times, but you didn't give up and you swallowed so many bitter blows, you pretended not to hear, you've endured, but now you can't take it anymore.

Enough.

You don't even know how long you've been walking, you just know that you're at the stables and you are caressing what has now almost become your horse, or sort of. It relaxes you to feel the horse's fur tickling your skin. You smile and you whisper something like the two of you are going to get out together again soon and that you love him. You giggle when the horse moves its muzzle against your face.

Yes, you will do just that. You will soon return to riding, to take part in the patrols, you will go to visit Dina and if she is still not feeling well you will prepare her some tea or whatever you find. You were wrong to spend too much time with Joel, you even dedicated him maybe more time than necessary, but he's half the time so lonely that you didn't have the heart to leave him alone and. . .

“Hello!” a warm voice reaches your ear and you turn around.

You remember him, you've seen him often chatting with Seth at the Tipsy Bison and you know he's not a Joel fan.

“How are you, cutie?” he asks you, reaching you with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Good.” you reply coldly “Why are you here and not at Seth’s talking about the same things over and over again?” you ask him.

“Come on, young lady, what manners!” he replies in a slimy tone “Maybe spending too much time with Joel Miller has made you a ferocious kitty.” you frown, shivering in disgust.

“What d'ya want?” you ask, frowning in a serious expression.

“Just talk, sweet girl.” he answers “Don't be so suspicious,” he adds, raising his hands in surrender. “I come in peace.” You frown, looking at his stubby, dirt-covered fingers. “You know, Miller is a dangerous guy and since he had that accident he's been practically useless. . .”

“That's not true!” you reply immediately in a firm tone “And then he almost got killed, have some respect!”

He smiles, but it's a smile that doesn't reach his eyes, “It's admirable how a useless drunkard can find the sympathy of a young woman all alone,” you frown “I should almost think you are in love with him!” he exclaims “And yet, everyone saw you around with Noah, that nice guy,” his honeyed tone is something you like less and less.

“I don't understand these insinuations and, even if what you say were true, it's none of your business.”

His smile widens, “Think about the benefit you would get from pushing Joel Miller away,” he says “The house would be yours. Yours and maybe Noah's.”

“Enough.” you say gnashing your teeth “I don't care what your opinions are on Joel Miller. And at this point also on me.” and you start to walk past him, but he stops you by grabbing your wrist and making you turn back to him, eyes wide open with anger, a burning anger boiling inside you.

“Joel Miller has become virtually useless to this community. We’ll have a meeting soon and vote to expel him. Think about whose side you want to be on, little girl.” you abruptly break free from his grip and leave the stables.

Until now you hadn't realized how little Joel was liked by many. Maybe because of his grumpy character, maybe because of his brusque ways, maybe because he was mostly drunk, before his near death, maybe he did something bad that made him despised.

You can probably ask Maria or Dina, they’ve been around longer than you and will certainly know if anything happened before.

You don't know why you feel so sorry for someone like Joel, for someone who doesn't even say thank you for everything you did or do. You sit on a half-broken swing and think that after all he just had to adapt to a life who did everything to cut him off and kill him and now maybe it's normal to be so distrustful, grumpy, so unwilling to show the true self. It's easier to survive this way. No one can really hurt you.

It's almost dusk when you decide to leave the playground and go back home.

Home.

You tsk if you think that what seemed to you to be a new prison from which sooner or later you will escape, now you call it home.

Your real home was among those bombed because in the infected area, you were saved only by chance. You still remember the despair when you secretly went back there and found nothing. You collapsed in front of the front door, the only thing left of your house, and cried. All was gone. Your life, your dreams, your past. Everything.

You promised yourself to continue living for your parents, for your friends, you fought and hoped until you got to Jackson. But even here you continue to fight and hope for the future. Not a better future because you never believed in this optimistic vision that people have been praising so much when you were on QZ, but a future that is worth living and appreciated.

You walk back very slowly, you look around and you observe how you are all trying to live as best as possible with each other, even though the resentments, the antipathies, the hatreds that characterize all of you continue to always and in any case prevail. The real enemy, you think, is not the disease, not the Cordyceps, but the human race itself. You destroy and kill ourselves for the most various reasons regardless of the disease. It's in our nature to kill ourselves, you remember a movie quote. And it's true.

You are back. There is only one light and it comes from the living room, there is the fireplace lit. You can see the flames against the opposite wall.

Oh, he lit the fire, this is a nice surprise!

You sigh through your nose and enter. You'd like to ask Joel what he did to deserve such contempt from Seth and others like the guy who made that accusation against him, but you know he wouldn't tell you.

You enter the house almost stealthily, you're not sure you want to face him again, maybe it's best to put some distance between you.

You slip quietly into the kitchen and stand there leaning against the kitchen island, you're mulling over Joel's words and those of that man in the stables when you hear voices: they come from the living room and you can easily recognize them.

It's Joel and Ellie.

Their voices are calm, they don't sound like they're arguing or anything like that. You watch them and then see Ellie lean over and hug him. The expression on Joel's face is suddenly calm, his eyes closed and a small smile curling his lips upwards. Ellie seems to suddenly relax after weeks of tension.

You find yourself smiling and your heart suddenly warms. You leave them alone, being careful not to make the stairs creak, and go to your room.

Maybe this is what Joel definitely needs more than your presence or your care.

You just left and Joel feels his heart breaking again. These days he thought about his whole stormy life and survival. He thought about his daughter Sarah, about his failure to react promptly in protecting her.

He feels like a failure.

He was a parent and should have done everything to protect his little girl and instead he saw her die in his arms without being able to do anything to help her.

For twenty years he lived in shit as a smuggler, he committed unspeakable deeds of which he was later also ashamed. He wasn't alone. He had Tess, but he still felt so alone. Tess hugged him and sometimes she had her soft side too, she would have been a perfect partner if only he hadn't felt totally unable to reciprocate her feelings. Then she also left him to protect a little girl he didn't even care about.

The relationship with that strange girl turned out to be special right from the start and not only because of her condition, but also because of her almost tireless good humor and her determination to continue to believe in a purpose and in a humanity now in collapse. His only goal was to make it possible to create a vaccine and therefore a probable cure for all of this shit, but by now she was no longer just a commodity to be dumped somewhere. She had become a full-fledged daughter. He decided to save his world, condemning the rest of the world to live in steel barricades, armed to the teeth, and killing each other to survive. But Joel didn't care much about that. He couldn't save everyone, he saved the people who mattered to him. But Ellie didn't understand this and the result of Joel's choice was her contempt and her decision to no longer want to have anything to do with him. She still lives with him in some ways, but she constantly avoids him.

When his life seemed to be marked only by deep despair, an unexpected breath of fresh air was brought by your arrival. He can't say he was immediately struck by you, in fact your first meetings were rather stormy and even today they're not rosy, but they are undoubtedly different. He wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you, he wouldn't be standing if you hadn't fought for him too, if you hadn't encouraged him to fight, if you weren't so stubborn even with someone like him.

Joel sits on the couch in semi-darkness and a memory comes to his mind. It's one particular night and he doesn't even know why. He had been back from the hospital for a few days and you were there for him. He was in terrible condition, spending all his time lying on his back and sleeping most of the time, his thoughts mixed up in each other. That evening it was raining and he was in bed, his leg was tingling and he still had pain everywhere, you had just given him a painkiller since he couldn't move due to the severe pain. He remembers that he was like in a state of semi-consciousness, he could feel everything, but he couldn't move. He was like paralyzed by pain. He felt you around him, he wanted to tell you to go away and rest, but he couldn't. Suddenly he felt the bed bend and then your body pressed against his, your head on his collarbone, your hand on his chest as if to check that he was breathing and then he heard you cry. A feeling of great and immense tenderness immediately spread through him, he wanted to caress your temple and reassure you and tell you to dry your tears, he wanted to tell you that you are more beautiful when you smile and when you reply to his stinging words than when you cry.

“Please, don’t die. Don’t.” he heard you beg, those trembling words spoken against his neck “How do I do?” you sigh, shaking and holding him tighter.

He feels your tears wetting the skin of his collarbones and slowly descend onto his t-shirt-covered chest.

So you care about him, despite everything.

Today he treated you badly again and you left.

Like everyone else, you left. He swallows, maybe it's better this way. He only destroys those around him. He can't help but think that maybe you won't come back. He feels a knot in his stomach at the thought of being completely alone again. His eyes fill with tears, he's a mess, a complete mess and he has only made his situation worse.

Someone knocks. He dries his eyes as best he can and goes to open the door.

It's Ellie.

“Hi.” she says, opening her eyes wide and looking him over from head to toe. She looks surprised.

“Hi, kiddo,” he returns the greeting in a hoarse voice.

“Can I come in?” she asks him hesitantly.

“It’s your house, baby girl,” Joel replies. She sighs, then he adds “If you're looking for her” referring to you “she's not home, I dunno when she'll be back or if she will.” he says with bitterness.

“I was looking for you.” she clarifies, interrupting him immediately “So, can I come in?” she asks again with a half smile on her lips.

Joel's eyes light up and he just nods.

“Fuck, it’s cold in here!” Ellie curses, making the man smile and shake his head as she enters and he closes the door behind her “We can light the fireplace, right?”

He nods barely concealing a smile.

He watches Ellie move around the house with the same agility and familiarity she once had, as if that time had never passed.

A strong, warm emotion rises in his chest. It's so beautiful. He feels so happy just seeing her next to him again, seeing that she isn't looking at him with angry, rage-filled eyes. He knows their relationship won't fix it today or tomorrow, but he hopes to have time to try now.

Silently the two sit on the couch in front of the fireplace. Joel would like to hug her tightly and apologize for having decided for her, but he doesn't know if Ellie would accept his gesture, so he sits there in silence waiting for her to talk to him, if she wants.

“Joel, what happened to you...” she says leaning forward resting her elbows on her thighs “it hit me like...” she sighs “even though you did a horrible thing, um. . . I still want make up for the time we lost together.” Joel gently strokes her head in an affectionate gesture without taking his eyes off her “It’ll take time, but. . . I hope it's not too late.” she adds, looking at him hopeful in his eyes.

“Never, lil’ one.” he says “C’mere,” he adds, hugging her and feeling Ellie's head against his chest and her arms around his torso.

The man's heart seems to swell with a deep warmth, in that embrace he melts completely and doesn't stop for even a moment to whisper to the young woman how much she means to him, how happy he is to have her there with him despite everything he did.

Somehow Joel feels like a father again and feels Ellie's closeness again as if she were his daughter. Again.

The crackling of the fire provides the backdrop to all this, then there is a distant creak and their embrace dissolves. Both Joel and Ellie turn towards the stairs expecting to see you appear at any moment, but they don't see you.

“She knows.” he says and Ellie immediately understands what he's referring to, she sighs “I trust her.” he adds in a whisper.

“Okay,” she says, swinging her legs in a nervous gesture looking down and staring at her beloved Converse shoes.

“She won’t talk.” he adds again.

Ellie nods. She, after a few moments of silence, looking up at his face, says “She's a good girl.”

“Yeah.” Joel says looking down at his hands.

“I saw both of you,” she says, “taking care of each other, in your own way.” Joel looks up at her again “She suffered a lot in these last weeks.” she reveals to him “She was afraid you wouldn't make it, but she pretended to be calm and don't worry me with her worries." Ellie continues her speech "Not everyone would have done that. I know she cares about you.”

“Nah, she doesn't.” he states looking away feeling uncomfortable with her words. They've never had this kind of conversation about his love life before and doing so now makes him feel really uncomfortable because he cares about you.

Deep down.

Ellie shakes his head “You're blind, old man!” she tsks “You know, I don't like people who lie, but for some reason I wanted to believe her that everything would be okay.” she takes a long pause “Oh, Joel. I was so scared. . .” she lets out, swallowing and swallowing back the lump in her throat at the thought that he might die.

“‘s okay, I’m here.” he tells her, caressing her cheek.

She nods, coughing and turning her head to hide the timid tears that are blurring her vision.

“Would you like if . . . um . . . if we tried to make up for lost time?” he asks her again.

“I’d like that.” she says breathing deeply to fight back the tears.

They talk, talk, talk and smile at each other like they used to. It's a beautiful afternoon and then evening they spend.

Ellie falls asleep on his couch and Joel stays by her side watching her with great tenderness. Joel feels for the first time a deep sense of peace, he felt broken, desperate and now instead he's fine again.

He checks the fire, then the front door, and then goes upstairs. He's about to go past your half-open door, but then he thinks better of it and goes inside. He never entered your room at night, except that one time he heard you screaming in your sleep; he remembers your eyes full of terror, you must have dreamed something really horrible. Who knows if it was just a dream or some memory that still haunts you!

The dim light of the street partially illuminates your room and he sees you sleeping so blissfully: your hair is loose and spread across the pillow, you are lying on your back, your lips parted, your breathing a little heavier, one of your hands is placed at chest height, the other on your belly. You are a very sweet image.

Almost as if you sensed him, you mutter his name. He doesn't move. Maybe you're waking up, but if you are, he doesn't want you to find him leaning over you.

You don't wake up, but you roll over onto your side, exposing your belly before you wrinkle your nose and go back to sleep.

When he's about to leave, you call him and this time you're awake.

“What are you doing?” you ask him, rubbing your eyes and sitting up.

Fuck...

“Um, I... I just wanted to tell you, um...” he stammers uncertainly as he slowly approaches you. “May I?” he asks, pointing to your bed.

You, still a little dazed, nod, giving him some space. “Tell me.” You say, looking at his face as best you can given the partial light in the room. His features in that light seem to be even more marked and masculine. Part of his face is shrouded in the shadow of the night, while the other half is well lit so that you can even see his expression.

“You know I'm not a man of many words,” he says and a small smile stretches your lips into a closed-mouth smile “but I have to tell you something, and that is…” Joel hesitates. “I think that guy you’re dating, what’s his name? Lukas, Dean . . ?”

Your smile fades, “Noah. He’s a friend. I’m not dating him.” You clarify immediately.

“You don’t have to say anything, you can do whatever you want.” he says “He’s perfect for you. And . . . um, I think you should give him a chance.”

You frown at being treated like a child, “If and when it happens, it's a decision that's up to me, Miller.”

His expression changes for a moment as if your tone and calling him by his last name had given him a slap in the face, you see him clench his jaw and his eyes narrow. He nods.

“Did you sneak into my room and wake me up just to tell me that?” you ask him annoyed.

He seems uncertain again, but this uncertainty only lasts a handful of seconds and then he regains his iron self-control which leads him to add, “Um, no. Tomorrow I'll resume my patrols,” you observe him without adding anything else, you don't know what to say, you are speechless “I think it’s good to pick up where I left off,” he adds, and you look down, realizing your heart is pounding in your chest.

You feel upside down, Joel is a continuous cyclone. When you think you know him, he makes you realize you don't know him at all.

You don't comment on his words, you don't even know why you smiled seeing him there furtively in your room. Maybe you were hoping he was there to apologize for his harsh behavior earlier in the day or maybe something else, you're not sure. You only know that being treated like an idiot hurt you perhaps more than it should have.

[adoredaqua]

more things that i think are Sevika coded because I need her so bad that it concerns humanity

NOTE: this (lowkey) got self-indulgent, but idaf. has been sitting in my drafts as well so here we go

CW: proofread (like once), intentional lowercase, fluff, some angst (if you squint)

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

gladly immerses herself in your culture! she would participate in any event or holiday. even wearing traditional clothing. Sevika believes it's important to stay rooted in one's culture and keep traditions going

tries her best to get along with your family. she would bring flowers or any gifts catered to them (earning herself some brownie points, hehe). dad needs help in the garage? she gladly offers herself, and they'll spend half the day together. mom needs help in the kitchen? Sevika is already there, chopping vegetables and stirring the pot. your siblings need advice? she'll sit there with them until they feel better

^overall, Sevika is the best partner ever <3

doesn't understand tiktok trends, will lose her mind each time you try and test her

^"would you still love me if i was a worm?-"

^^"honey, respectfully, shut up"

*continues to give you a very satisfactory answer cause she's not playing around*

as a teen, she wasn't close with her dad. she tried to by taking interest in his interests, but it never really worked. over time, she accepted that her relationship with her father was distant.

Sevika likes to call her parents every once in a while, especially her mom. she's tried to make it a habit at least once a week, but being the workaholic she is, it tends to be once a month or even longer.

likes to read, whether that's a book, a newspaper, or a brochure in the waiting room.

^with that, she knows a lot about random things.

and she'll be really nonchalant and smug about it because she knows you think it's hot

"did you know Venus is the only planet to spin clockwise? it travels the sun- what are you doing?"

"taking your belt off-"

as the years go by, her sight has declined but refuses to wear her glasses (it's a red flag of hers 😔✊️)

is the type to say "i know" when she, in fact, doesn't know

"Sev, please just google where this restaurant is"

Sevika isn't the type to love loudly. she loves you in the warmest, most trustworthy, and consistent way someone can.

gets frustrated with herself when she can't express her feelings verbally. she tries, but she can never find the words, and so she shuts down

[yukioos]

Omg can you pls do a writing with Kirishima where reader has her face covered w/ a mask as part of her costume but never removed it and one day she reveals it and everyone is shocked on how pretty she is? Thank uu <3

eijiro finally sees you with your mask off

kirishima didn’t know you were enrolled as a full-time student at UA until he saw you at fatgum’s agency with tetsutetsu. before, he only saw you at the provisional hero license exam, entrance exam, and sports festival. you passed all of them with flying colors and not once did he see you without your mask.

he only saw you with a white, porcelain doll mask. he knew not a single thing about you but yearned to. you were a mystery to him, one he needed to solve and get closer to. so when he saw you sitting around fatgum’s agency with amajiki, kirishima gasped.

he asked tetsutetsu in a hushed tone, “hey, isn’t that girl in your class? i’ve only seen her once or twice in competitive events.”

the metal man grinned back at him, “yeah, that’s y/n. i don’t know what’s going on with her though, we hardly see her too. she seems to do well on tests and stuff, but we don’t know what’s up with her. let’s go up to her!”

kirishima shrugged and walked alongside him to you and amajiki, who was looking down at the ground in embarrassment. he probably stuttered while talking to you, and he was even more shy now that more people were coming over.

you glanced up at your classmate and a bit with red hair, who you assumed to be kirishima. tetsutetsu had talked about him and their similar quirks. now that you thought about it, kirishima was handsome up close, and he had part of his hair shaped into two large horns.

a smile came to your face, and he asked, “hey, you’re from class b, right? i’m eijiro kirishima from class a! i don’t see you around a lot, but i’ve been wondering, what’s your quirk?”

“doll manipulation. it’s random, but i can turn anyone i want into a doll and turn any doll i want into a human, and i can control them. in my opinion, it’s convenient—” you spoke quietly, staring into his red eyes. he then understood why you wore a doll mask.

“y/n, amajiki, you’re patrolling today! can the two of you take on thugs if you need to?” fatgum’s announced, voice loud and clear as he stomped over to you.

the two of you nodded, and you walked away without saying a word.

but days passed, and kirishima still couldn’t stop thinking about you. he had even more on his plate, as he was to attack overhaul and find a little girl named eri. she wasn’t in a safe spot, and he hoped he would see you too, maybe you would help them out with the battle.

many heroes were at the scene. before you all split up, kirishima saw a sliver of your white mask and yelled out your hero name.

you turned at the sound and gripped your belt, then murmured, “what?”

he spoke, “do good in there, alright?”

you paused, nodded, and then walked off. what were you supposed to say? god, fatgum was right. you really were spending too much like amajiki. you were basically turning into him.

hours had passed. grueling pain and blood sat on your hip, which was bleeding at an insanely fast rate. your mask had broken during battle, so you just decided to take it off there, although no one saw you without it. you quickly fled the scene after chisaki was defeated.

you stumbled, murmuring curses when you heard your name being called out again. it was probably kirishima.

you turned around, and he halted in his tracks.

he’d never seen your face before. he stared at you like you were the most beautiful thing he saw. your eyes were tired, bright with happiness yet so dark, your skin was a pretty shade, and a few freckles kissed your cheeks.

“you’re beautiful, y/n!” he blurted out, blushing once he realized what he said, “sorry— i couldn’t help myself. i know some ladies get upset when men comment on them like that, i won’t do it again!”

it was almost as if he was begging for your forgiveness, and you weren’t even mad.

“it’s fine, kirishima. i don’t know how i’m going to get a new mask now,” you grumbled during the last part.

“if you don’t want to show your face, i could get you a simple surgery mask to walk around in right now!” he suggested, sharp teeth shining in the sunlight, “and please, call me eijiro.”

you grinned, “i’d like that, eijiro.”

hope u enjoy!! y/n can’t handle all that

[pencilofawesomeness]

Danny blamed the new environment for his forgetfulness. Getting used to university life was a lot, and getting used to Gotham was even more. Danny liked to think he handled it well, and Gotham with her perpetual musty ectoplasm grew on him quicker than he imagined, but he could only allocate so much brainpower to this stuff, and that meant that the passage of time evaded him, and so did his Death Day. Whoops.

Granted, he didn’t have the familiar ghosts of Amity clearing out in a polite gesture or even hovering nearby to help alleviate the symptoms. Death days were touchy subjects and private moments; it went unspoken not to heckle each other on those days. 

Nobody here knew his Death Day in advance, of course. Aside from this being his first year, he wasn’t part of the community yet, even though he was quickly becoming respected by reputation and might. (There weren’t even as many fully realized Realms ghosts around anyway.) However, when Danny ducked into an alley to ride out the phantom (ha) pains of being electrocuted for the fourth time in his life, halfway through he became distantly aware of another ectobeing hovering over him, solid and comforting hands on his shoulders. It must have been obvious to a spectral passerby what was happening. Back in Amity, or in the depths of the Realms, no stranger would approach without implicit permission, but etiquette was different in Gotham. He was still learning, but ghosts tended to be even more brazen—for good or bad. This one hadn’t done anything yet, so Danny doubted they would. He simply let it be and resolved to cringe over it later. 

With the realization he wasn’t alone, the delirium started to fade, slowly but surely. That was worse than the pain, in Danny’s opinion. The pain fucking sucked, and he hated the way his body spasmed, but he was used to all manner of injury. It wasn’t as jarring anymore. 

Danny heaved for breath, belatedly realizing he shot himself in the foot by having this episode in living form. What a fucking idiot. Granted, he was already an idiot for spending today anywhere but his bed. Or maybe in the Far Frozen. Ah, well, the worst of it was over and Danny would endeavor to do better next year. (And the next year. And the next. And the next.) That was all there was to it, now.

“I can’t believe I gotta go through that every year,” Danny bemoaned with a weak chuckle. His throat rasped. Had he screamed this year? Ancients he hoped not. He couldn’t decide if that would be more or less embarrassing in front of a stranger—although one who might be a neighbor. Gotham ghosts didn’t like wandering far from their haunt or person of interest, even though the city itself was one massive territory thanks to the city spirit. Okay, yeah, Danny settled on being embarrassed. 

His companion stiffened, pulling back as Danny tried to straighten himself, rubbing and blinking the annoying black spots from his eyes from the fake-electrocution. 

“Kid?” a tight, deep voice questioned. “You with me?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s over,” Danny assured. “Mine is at least quick.” He leaned back and finally got a good look at the guy who decided to keep him company. He reminded Danny a little of himself, tall and dark haired, except with broader shoulders. Very… solid broad shoulders…

Shit, wait. Was this guy alive?!

Danny miscalculated. Another gigantic L for today. Fantastic. 

“Sure, sure,” mysterious living guy muttered, before scrutinizing him with a crease of worry. “How many fingers am I holding up? What was the last thing you remember?”

“Three, and uh… I remember walking back here. Yeah.” What was he supposed to say? This was suddenly not a safe place, even though the guy didn’t seem predatory in the classic Gotham fashion. Just concerned. That almost made it worse, because Danny couldn’t bail on that. 

The man dragged a hand down his face with a ragged huff. “Shit, kid, I thought you were about to OD from heroin, or something, but you’re suddenly lucid. What the fuck was that? And don’t bother lying. No cops are going to be involved.” 

Oh. Ohhhhh. This guy must have seen Danny twitching and delirious. In a dirty alley. In Gotham. The least favorite part of Gotham for the living, in fact, called “Crime Alley” in a stunning display of creativity. Of course he must have thought it was something like that. 

If Danny was smart, he would roll with it. Maybe make up some BS about trying mushrooms for the first time and use it to skedaddle away. However, as established for the day, Danny was a fucking idiot, so instead he opened his big, unfiltered, idiotic mouth and blurted, “Overdosing looks like being electrocuted?”

“...what?”

Good job, Danny. “What?” he parroted dumbly. Now would be a good time to slide into the earth and become one with the Gunk of Gotham. 

Wait. Wait. He might be near the infamous ectoplasmic Sewer Slide but he hadn’t mistaken the pulse of a core, weak though it was. This guy was solid and breathing but he was ecto-tainted enough to be more than just tainted. He still very much was an ecto-being, surely, so Danny actually hadn’t messed up. As much.

While the guy was busy gaping at him incredulously, Danny scrutinized him back, reaching out with his core experimentally. A weak and sludgy thing pinged back, clearly surprising the guy. Okay, so that was a dirty, tiny core. Not a full one. The guy was more alive than Danny was, in the sense that his core was more of an accessory than a core. It was on the tip of his tongue. If Frostbite showed up right now with an ecto-being pop quiz, he would fail it right now. Though this had to be a rare one, in his defense. 

Well, whatever he was, the state of his ectoplasm was sad and rancid. Poor guy. 

“What are you even on right now?” said poor guy asked, leaning back with a sort of battle-ready wariness Danny recognized in a lot of Gothamites, spectre or not. However, his sad little core pulsed in time with Danny’s, hungry and desperate. Has he ever had any good ectoplasm? Sheesh. 

Unless. Maybe this guy was like those sad shades or blobs that got perpetually stuck in the Gunk and had rotten cores for it. This guy didn’t seem too far gone though. Or like he was unable to physically leave the Sewer Slide. Still, he clearly had to ask for a reason. 

Ah, fuck it. Even if Danny wanted to crawl under his covers and still his jittery nerves, he couldn’t leave this guy hanging. Especially after he tried to help Danny, despite being very wrong about it. 

“I can get you to some ectoplasm,” Danny promised. “The good stuff. It’ll take some time, but it’ll fix all… that.” He smiled in good humor, gesturing vaguely to his core. “And your earlier offer extends to me as well. No cops involved. As you can tell now, I’m more like you than you think.” He paused awkwardly. “And definitely not overdosing on anything. But thanks for checking.”

The guy—a revenant, maybe, or some other undead or something—narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Carefully. Well, if he thought there was a catch—or if he could eat Danny—then he was sorely mistaken. Danny understood what it was like to be a clueless baby ecto-being, so he wouldn’t mess around with this, coming down from a death echo or not. 

“Sure,” the guy finally said. “Show me where you got this… ectoplasm.”

DpxDc #17

What a (death) day.

Jason was going to kill whoever was selling drugs to kids in the alley.

The boy on the ground was shaking, barely breathing, and coughing up blood. The poor guy was coming down from a seizure, almost suffocating on his own spit.

Luckily, Jason saw him on time and was able to help put him in a safe position. He almost had a heart attack seeing a kid having an overdose in a lonely alley.

He rubbed the kid's back, trying to stimulate breathing, begging internally for his heart to keep beating.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

The black-haired teenager kept mumbling between breaths, muscles twitching like a dying bug.

Jason could only try and help as much as he could. He wasn't going to call an ambulance, since unfortunately, there was a high chance that his call was going to be rejected due to the location and nature of the emergency.

Drug overdose was too common; they would tell you to make sure they don't choke and hang up on you.

"I'm sorry..."

"Shh... It's alright, you're going to be okay..."

.

.

.

What a shitty, shitty day.

It hit him like a truck, the pain in his chest.

He was just walking back to his hotel room after visiting Gotham University, when it started.

Danny compleatly fucking forgot about his death day.

He was able to drag himself into an empty alley, trying not to die of embarrassment as he was starting to feel his arm tingle.

This was going to suck.

[smileposting]

can you please tell us more about thespius and click clack’s weird little officecore baby. i’m obsessed with him

of course! feel free to enjoy this more finalized version of his design while you read some Assorted Fun Facts about him/related HCs of mine under the cut:

i think i do want to go with him being a he/him butch in the end. sometimes lesbians is just a guy.

works outside the grove as an adult, although he does make sure to visit often. although he's known in hobbyhoo as the most chipper square to ever square (affectionate), by his workplace's standards he's a little freaklet. this is due to A.) his sheer Enthusiasm for an extremely unremarkable office job, B.) the fact that native grovedwellers already have a bit of a Reputation in the outside world as strange and otherworldly, and C.) the fact that he Cannot understand why other people would find his background remarkable in any way.

i don't know what his name is, but i do know it's vaguely derived from the like 4-5 different first names he was given when he was born. i've been using "carter" as a placeholder thanks to @echobsilly, but i do also like "guy" just for how straight to the point it is.

since (getting into hc territory Again here) being a flesh-and-blood human means he can't spend all his time on thespius and click clack's side of reality lest he experience some funky side effects, the people of hobbyhoo had just as much of a hand in his upbringing as his birth parents did. children are Not a very common sight in hobbyhoo, but it Is a lot more relaxed about both non-monogamous relationships and family structures outside of the nuclear model, so most children born there tend to be raised communally.

thespius and click clack spent the first few years of his life a lot Smaller than they normally are, at least whenever he was with them. it was a Much bigger adjustment for click clack than it was for thespius, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make to avoid squishing their sweet spawnling like a bug.

when he was real little, he was a painfully shy kid who spent most of his time either figuratively or literally clinging to whoever was watching him at the time. he started coming out of his shell more in his teenage years, around the same time he became more acquainted with the sunrise strip - yknow, beyond it just being a place where click clack's followers live.

speaking of thespius and click clack, i say they're kinda baffled by him, but the more i think about it the more i realize it's a Little more nuanced on both of their ends:

he actually has a lot in common with click clack in terms of skills (don't forget that click clack is also thespius' bookkeeper + head of clicky tower) but when it first became clear that working At clicky tower was not enough to sate his clerical ambitions and that what he Really had his eye on was The Very Area Click Clack Used To Work In Before Arriving To The Grove, Well. they ended up butting heads quite a bit. for context i hc that said area is Also where rick brick works before the events of GGG, so that's a bit of extra salt in the wound. anyways carter thought that click clack just didn't want him to leave the grove, but what click clack was Actually afraid of is that, given carter's jack mcbrayer-esque whimsy, the corporate world They are familiar with would chew him up and spit him out with zero remorse. they don't want that happening to anybody, of course, but Especially not their own kid.

but alas, click clack is merely the editor of this story - not the writer. and sometimes editing looks like educating your child about labor rights/unions before letting him take the reins, even if it means he fucks up the first couple of times.

thespius, meanwhile, has always been a little more optimistic about carter's ability to bounce back + likes that it was apparent that he took a Little more after clicky even back when he was small ("how boring would it be if he was just like me?") BUT one thing he does worry about is his ability to truly relate to carter - he loves his kid obviously and always does his best to make him feel at home, but the reality is they are just on different wavelengths, and thespius Hates the idea that he might be making carter feel more alone because of it. kid's talking about white collar crime to him like that one nisipisa tiktok and thespius is like doing whatever his equivalent of googling shit on your phone during a conversation so you can give the other person a response that isn't "Yeagh" is.

was i inspired by mr milchick from severance when playing around with his design more . It's Possible.

[quietplace26]

Furina!MC au: Diary of Secrets Part 2

Notes: After some talking with a few friends, @arn9tails and @platinumrosetail, I managed to put together a part 2. I can't promise it's as good as part 1, or its yandere enough, but I tried. So, please enjoy.

Warnings: OCness, cringe, manipulation, yandere elements

It's been a few months since MC woke up back in her old world and as herself. She was happy, don't get her wrong, it's just... she doesn't know how to feel?

For everyone around her, it's been maybe 5 minutes, but for her, she's been gone 500 years, and in a video game at that! How could she even begin to explain that?!

She definitely has heavy trauma, but fearful at being called crazy, she reluctantly dons her 'Furina' mask, smiling happily and says she's perfectly fine.

Even if she can't stand the sight of most things blue or white, or the thought of being near water, or God forbid, a stage.

There was also the issue with her memory, she was... blurry, in a whole lot of spots. She's forgotten the name of friends and family, places, and even modern-day things like memes or sayings.

Again, using her 'Furina' mask, she easily brushes away questions and worries with easy lies... even when she herself was panicking mentally.

How could she have forgotten so much?! Even if it's been 500 years, how could she have forgotten THIS much of her old life!?

It's... it's not fair...

But... But things will get better! She'll bounce back! The bad memories... they'll go away eventually with time... Right?

...MC yawns as she unlocks the door to her new house and walks inside. Moving boxes laid everywhere in the room, along various other things.

After waking up back in her old world, MC, as much as she wanted to spend more time around her family, thought it would be better if finally moved out and found her own place live.

She also did this because she didn't want to continuously wake her family with nightmares. She couldn't even begin to think of a way to explain them to her family members.

Besides that, she threw herself into getting a new job that would keep her busy and her mind off darker things. It was horrible one, with awful customers and coworkers, but at least it kept her busy and paid well.

Yawning again, she tossed her keys on her makeshift kitchen table of moving boxes and kick off her shoes, slowly shuffling to past her darken living room to get to the bathroom to shower when-

A lamp she set up in the living room flickered on.

And MC sure as hell did not to turn it on.

Someone was in her living room. Someone was right behind her.

Slowly, MC turns her heard enough to glance over her shoulder, nervously looking into her living room, and sees-

"...N-Neuvillette?"

Neuvillette smiles when has he ever smiled like that?! at her as he gets up from her couch, slowly walking up to her with his arms spread out like he was going in for a hug.

"Ah, there you are. Come, let us return to Fontaine, Lady MC."

Screams immediately fills MCs house as she runs away, screaming in terror.

Like how the hell did Neuvillette get into her world, much less her house?! And how the hell did he know her true name?!

Her mind had just barely begun to recover after returning home, seeing Neuvillette sent her into a full-blown panic attack, making her think he was here to kill her.

But all the while she is thinking this, Neuvillette is worriedly following her through her home as she panics, only to take action when he sees her trying to escape out a window.

MC's panic only grows as ropes made of Hydro wraps around her, gently pulling her flailing form away from sweet freedom, and Neuvillette even puts her hands in handcuffs!

The Sovereign then places her oh so gently on her bed, still keeping the Hydro ropes around her trembling form as he sits beside her.

Slowly, carefully, he begins to tell her everything. How a reporter form the Steambird had snuck into the Palais and found her diary in her old room, posting all of its contents in the paper, and-

MC hears no more after that, blanking out on the spot as her trembles grew worse. Her face goes pale, and her eyes well up with tears.

Everyone in Fontaine knows the truth?! Knows that she knew things and still couldn't change the outcomes?! So many deaths... ah... that's why Neuvillette was here, he must be here to drag her back to Fontaine to put her on a trial again for her crimes-

A large, glove hand cups her cheek then, the thumb gently rubs under her eye, rubbing the tears away.

"Lady MC? Why are you crying?

MC flinches at the soft tone, looking at Neuvillette warily. She's never heard him use that gentle tone with anyone but the Melusines. And why was he touching her... like she was glass? Like she was precious?

Shouldn't he hate her?

"...Neuvillette, I- eep!"

She squeaks as he pulls her closer, letting her fall against his chest as he hugs her. His hands gently hold her close, refusing to let her squirm away as he quietly shushes her and asks for her to let him speak.

Tucked against the Sovereign's chest, MC had no choice but to listen, but even still, she was shocked to her core.

He, the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, Lord of the Vishaps, the Heart of the Primordial Sea, the Leviathan... apologizes to her.

He was sorry. Fontaine was sorry.

Peeking up from Neuvillette's chest, MC stares at him with teary eyes full of confusion. She felt so confused, lost... Was this real?

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't notice during his apology that Neuvillette pulls something out his pocket... only for MC to feel something click around her neck.

It was a necklace. One that kind of reminded her of a choker of sorts. But what really caught her attention was the Hydro vision hanging from it like a jewel.

Raising her cuffed hands, MC shakily traces the vision in shock. She knew this was the vision Neuvillette woud've eventually gave the original Furina in canon, but why her? MC wasn't-

But Neuvillette only hugs her tighter, rocking her in his arms as he slowly but surely calmed MC's trembles.

Soon the Hydro ropes vanished, and the cuffs were taken off MC's wrists, letting Neuvillette gently rub MC's wrists as the last of her trembles came to a stop.

This time she didn't fight his hug, letting herself fall against him as she clung to him, crying softly.

THIS was what she always wanted from Neuvillette during those long, lonely 500 years. Kindness, affection... And hearing him say he was sorry... it was doing things to her already fragile mental state.

It was like she was a fly to a honeytrap. She... She wanted more of that kindness, that affection.

After several minutes, Neuvillette finally pulls away. MC sits all docile on his lap, much calmer now, but still a little confused and teary eye.

Seeing that she was calm now, Neuvillette goes to explain everything once again, this time with MC listening properly.

Fontaine knew the truth... but no one hated her. In fact, everyone was horrified to learn what she went through, and most of all, they were worried about her.

They want to make it up to her, help her heal, be friends with her, get to know the REAL MC. Not Focalors, not 'Furina', MC.

"So... please come back to Fontaine with us, Lady MC."

MC nervously fiddles with her new vision necklace as she considers his words. Return to Fontaine? But her family and friends, her life-

Neuvillette cups her cheeks again and presses his forehead against hers, gently hushing her as he sees her start to become stress again.

"Lady MC, please, have no worries. You can return to your world whenever you want..."

(MC has no idea he lied to her then. Why should he and Fontaine let her return to this horrible, dirty world when Teyvat was a far better choice.)

MC sighs in relief at his words, smiling a real smile at Neuvillette before pausing.

Wait. Neuvillette said 'us'... that means-

As it would turn out, Neuvillette didn't come to your world alone.

Cause peeking into her bedroom was a group of familiar faces, all sharing the same worried, but guilty looks Neuvillette had.

What happens afterward was a lot of tearful apologies and hugs. MC was basically passed around like a doll, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the hugs and cuddles.

By the time she was settled back on her bed next to Neuvillette she was rather tuckered out from all the emotional whiplash she went through in the past hour.

Which is why she didn't really question about the cookies the Melusines brought with them as she recognized the bag coming from a rather popular bakery in Fontaine.

She had no clue they were laced with some light sleeping drugs.

With fluffy Melusines snuggling against her and Neuvillette petting her head, she can't fight off the urge to yawn. Then the Ludex's hands urge her to lay down and she dozes off immediately, barely making out Neuvillette talking to the others...

Unknowing to her this would be her last day in her world, as she'll wake up back in Teyvat, back in Fontaine, in her old room at the Palais...

With a whole nation celebrating their dear and precious, TRUE Hydro Archon's return.

And when MC woke up later on, back in her old room at the Palais, she knew for a fact she should be more scared than she was. Why wasn't she more afraid? She didn't feel freaked out at all.

Especially when she sees all her things from her old house scattered all around the room, still in moving boxes. Hell, the sheets on her old bed were the same ones from her house!

That meant the others took her things with them. Why? She wasn't staying permanently, so-

She doesn't notice how at that moment, her new Hydro vision glows eerily around her neck, seemingly muffling her thoughts on being scared...

But then there was a knock on the door, and Neuvillette enters the room, and the odd feeling just completetly disappears as he walks up to her.

Kneeling before MC, Neuvillette smiles softly up at her as he welcomes her home, and she feels happy. She was happy. She was... home.

>Extra Notes<

The Hydro vision necklace is more or less a collar, hand crafted by Neuvillette and heavily empowered by his Sovereign Authority.

And like all visions in general, it messes with MC's mind somewhat, especially since she was technically an outlander now.

It was nothing too bad, but it definitely helped Neuvillette manipulate MC a lot easier.

And if she ever started to drift, start to question about going home, Fontaine would distract her, gently turning her attention elsewhere.

The Fontainian therapists Neuvillette assigned to MC were especially a big help with this, carefully talking through her trauma, but gently manipulating her enough to think that Fontaine was now a safe space for her.

Focalors was gone. She couldn't touch or control MC anymore.

The Melusines also helps out since they wanted their 'Mama' to feel safe and happy in Fontaine where she belonged.

MC definitely nearly cries the first time they called her mama, only to actually cry when they all sat her down to explain why it wasn't her fault Carole died.

Wriothesley also uses this chance to actually talk to MC, letting the former Archon hug him when he says he forgives her for not saving his child self or his foster siblings.

The cryo user does send a smug look to the others, especially a FUMMING Neuvillette, when he sees the jealous looks being thrown at him while he hugs MC. He even cheekily asks if she wants to join him for some tea.

Fontaine's best sculpture makers soon come forth to help recreate Fontaine's Archon statues, using a shy MC as obvious inspiration.

MC still couldn't believe Neuvillette and Fontaine destroyed all the statues... Only to stare up at the last remaining one.

Apparently Neuvillette saved this one for MC, as he felt it was her right to destroy it for all the misery Focalors put her through.

Of course, MC says she couldn't do it since she was too weak, but Neuvillette encourages her, gently lifting her hand up towards the statue, and a Hydro bubble begins to form.

The vision hanging from her neck glows, and in a fit of rage at remembering all of what Focalors put her through in those long 500 years, MC let loose a barrage of Hydro bubbles.

The hug Neuvillette gives her afterwards along with the promise to help her learn how to wield her new vision warms MC's heart as she returns the hug easily.

Hugs, as Neuvillette quickly found out, was something like a drug for MC. She's starved for any lick of affection, which is why is able to manipulate her even more to HIS side.

And not once does she truly notice how Neuvillette's become more handsy with her. More hugs, holding her hands or wrists as they walk, pulling her onto his lap as he reads through reports in his office.

She just melts against him, curling up onto his lap like a needy kitten.

It even gets to a point where MC (wearing some noise canceling headphones made by the Fontaine Research Insitute) could be even found snoozing on Neuvillette's lap during a trial.

Also, since her diary was revealed to everyone in Fontaine, this meant the House of Hearth heard everything as well, meaning Arlecchino reported this to the Tsarista, who in turn, assigns the House of Hearth to get on MC's good side since she had vauable information.

But Arlecchino was no fool, however. She knew MC would NOT appreciate her poking around her personal space after the past assassination attempt while she was still 'Furina', so she instead she sends Freminet.

From what she observed, the former Archon had a similar shy, quiet personality Freminet had, so he had a better chance of getting close to the former Archon.

What she and the other Hearth children weren't prepare for, however, was Freminet coming back in a rather good mood and a handmade penguin plush in hand.

Apparently, MC could knit? And, oh... he didn't come back with just a penguin.

In his bag was multiple little knitted plush toys for the other children. Lyney awing over his little cat plush that had a top hat, while Lynette hummed softly while she examined her own cat plush.

Her twitching cat ears, and tail showed she was happy with the tiny plush.

But what surprised Arlecchino the most... was that MC made her a plush of her own. A mini version of herself, complete with a tiny scythe.

Attached to her plush was a letter from MC. It said that she knew what the House of Hearth was doing, and while she didn't think she knew anything really important, she'll talk to Arlecchino as long as she and the Fatui didn't cause any trouble in Fontaine.

MC also admits that she was still absolutely terrified of her due to the, well, assassination attempt, but she didn't hate her.

Arlecchino had a job, and unfortunately, MC was in her way of that job, so...

... Arlecchino feels an odd feeling then. Was that... Guilt?

Needless to say, the House of Hearth joins in on Fontaine's yandereness and MC's protection squad.

However, there was a small issue with the Traveler and Paimon, as the two had no clue what happened in Fontaine since they were in Natlan at the time.

So, when they came snooping around for answers, it leads them to being immediately chucked into the Fortress.

Wriothesley doesn't even bother to give them a straight answer, instead smiling coldly as he tells the duo to mind their own damn business.

Sigewinne also joins in. Nothing silences a nosey soul fast than a tiny Melsuine nurse who had a cold smile on her face and holding a giant ass medical needle.

Fontaine wouldn't let all their hard work of getting MC into a better mental space go down the drain just because some people couldn't keep their noses out from where they don't belong.

Paimon also doesn't understand why she's getting cold looks from everyone when she talks rudely about 'Furina' like she normally does.

And after several months and many therapy sessions later, MC had stopped thinking about of her old life on earth all together, instead refocusing on Fontaine.

She had a life here. She had a home.

Any thought of family or friends, or even the life she had on earth had been pushed so far back it was nothing but a fog now...

She was the 'Hydro Archon'. The queen to Neuvillette's king.

And gold ring on her finger that matches the one on Neuvillette's own finger only strengthening this idea.