#but long story short headache

[daily-ethoslab]

[756] having a giggle

[aria0fgold]

Two birds, One Stone, and Me

A Persona 5 snippet starring Akechi ft. Kaito Kuroba (Magic Kaito) and Asuka (an oc by @misty-wisp)!

Akechi massaged his temples as he walked through the station after having just gotten out of the train. It was headache one after another for him nowadays, the matter with Shido's jobs combined with the emergence of the so called Phantom Thieves of Hearts, not to mention the return of that pesky thief Kaito KID in Japan after doing heists overseas. His first problem is easy to deal with, as something he had gotten used to doing, his second problem was coming along well enough as he already has a good idea on who the members of the Phantom Thieves are, and the third problem is the biggest headache of all as Kaito KID has been a consistent problem for years now. Disappearing in the past only to have a come back years after and no one has any idea how to deal with him.

There's already even a police force specifically designed to capture that thief and yet there's no progress at all anyway. And for some goddamned reason, Akechi was also tasked to help with that too!

If a police force dedicated to capturing that thief can't even handle it then what else can I do anyway? Detective Prince my ass, if only those people know the truth they wouldn't add on to my mountain of problems something nearly impossible to achieve!

Figuring out the identities of the Phantom Thieves were easy with how sloppy they were at keeping it hidden in the first place but figuring out the identity of a criminal that's most likely been at it for more than a decade isn't something Akechi should be doing in the first place. That should fall on the hands of the adults instead.

Ah but of course! Adults are practically useless, good for nothing fools who's only good at hurting others and getting children to clean up after them, OF COURSE! WHY ELSE AM IN THIS WHOLE MESS ANYWAY IF NOT FOR THAT!

Akechi let out a small quiet sigh, it's best for him to retire for the day and take a rest, although, just as he rounded the corner, he was met with a particularly familiar face that had immediately fallen into a frown the split second she noticed Akechi.

“Ah, Asuka, yes?” Akechi put on his usual polite smile, the face of the exemplary Detective Prince.

“Riight, yeah.” She averted her eyes from him, it was obvious it wasn't out of embarrassment, “Excuse me.”

Akechi could just let her go, but a thought formed on his mind, “Wait, if it's alright with you, could you spare some of your time to have a short chat?”

Asuka attends the same school as Akira. In fact, she attends the same school as most of the members of the Phantom Thieves. There's a possibility of her being involved with them, it's better to check just in case.

There was also... That... Although it doesn't seem to be relevant at the moment, it was still a particular pattern to keep in mind.

Asuka looked back, her eyes squinted slightly, though it was still a frown, Akechi can feel the sharpness of a glare hidden behind a thin veil of public civility. “Unfortunately, no. Goodby—”

“Isn't that…”

Just before Asuka could finish her sentence, a person by the distance caught Akechi's attention. And as his gaze fell on the figure's back, the person turned to meet his eyes.

It was Kaito Kuroba. Someone who's close to Akira.

Asuka followed Akechi's sight with a glance and it was at that moment that Kaito beamed at them before waving his hand as he approached the two.

“Oh hey! You're that so called Detective Prince, aren't you?” He smiled so brightly at them Akechi felt blinded and very much so annoyed.

But he can't quite show such a thing, smile, smile… smile… he needs to smile.

“Ah, yes—”

Kaito then quickly turned to Asuka, her passive aggression towards Akechi was replaced with slight anxiety, “And you… Ah! You're that student Akiki told me before! You sit behind him, yeah?”

She nodded, “R-right…”

. . .

Akechi really hates this guy.

He mentally collected himself, it seems that he'd have to talk to Asuka another day. Though this is an ideal situation of killing two birds with one stone, both of them have possible connections to the Phantom Thieves but right now, he'd rather not deal with someone as obnoxious as that guy.

Kaito clapped his hands, “Hey! Since we're all here, how about a meal? My treat! I'd love to get to know more about Asuka and Mister Detective Prince! It's not everyday an opportunity like this can come by!”

Goddammit, WHY?! “You're right, I'll take you up on that offer then.”

“I'll take my leave instead…”

“Now, now, Asuka. Since this kind person is going to treat us, wouldn't it be polite to accept such an offer? He seems to know someone close to you too.”

FINE! Might as well take this chance! DAMMIT!!!

“I'm not really… close to him though.” Asuka tried to take a step away from them.

“Aww! Please, please, please, pretty please? How about I help you with homework too? Please come with us! The more the merrier after all!” Kaito pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes expression he can muster.

“Exactly!” Akechi added, to which Asuka openly glared at him for.

For a second, the two's expression seemed to telepathically communicate with each other, two different thoughts yet both in sync enough to converse with the other.

This bastard is surely planning something…

If I'm getting roped in with this guy, I'm going to drag you into this one too.

. . .

And so, the unlikely trio sat by the table of a restaurant nearby. One who was visibly dragged in, another beaming with a light as bright as an artificial sun, and lastly someone who deep down wanted to break the glass of water nearby as they waited for their orders.

Dealing with Asuka should be easy enough but this obnoxious bastard has got to be faking this entire overly cheerful personality of his otherwise his entire existence is just gonna piss me off to no end.

“So, you go to Ekoda High, Kaito? That's quite far from here.” Akechi is luckily used to maintaining this image of his, it should be easy to do despite how badly he want to just get out already.

“Nah! So long as you know your ins and outs, it's actually pretty close by!”

“Is that so—”

“By the way, Asuka! Your scarf suits you so well! It even matches your uniform!” Kaito cut Akechi off again.

Deep breaths… This guy… is clearly doing that on purpose!

“Ah… Thanks…” She took a small glance at Akechi and then at Kaito before looking at her scarf, she seemed to be thinking about something.

It's fine, if his goal is to rile me up then let him try, his attempts won't work on me at all anyway.

“Being a so called Detective Prince at that age sure is impressive, huh Akechi?” Kaito threw the ball back at Akechi's court.

“It's nothing I can't handle—”

“Yeah, it must be so hard getting swarmed with cases left and right that you don't even have time to do all of them anymore.” It was Asuka that cut him off this time.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, I'm just saying. In a general sense.” Asuka slightly squinted at him and seemingly rolled her eyes in a subtle manner as she turned to look away. It was as if a switch was flipped and now, instead of Akechi killing two birds with one stone, it feels as though that two birds are killing him with one stone.

. . .

Akechi mentally sighed as he could only freeze his own smile in place to keep it from faltering, he shouldn't have accept this invite.

[pilonciillo]

[tenrose]

Guess who's currently installing the new dragon age ? 🥰

[radioregine]

im gonna lose my mind bc i got this job as a weekday gig so ill have less coordination/carpool headaches bc everyone else does stuff on the weekend -- and i find out today my brother arbitrarily just switched to weekday schedule .

[foreveranonymousfa]

[sercphs]

Okay putting a temporary pin in the plans again for now while I recover, nursing a pretty bad headache right now.

[skyward-floored]

The weird dreams need to stop because a few nights ago I dreamt that the secret to growing watermelons is simply “lots of water” and then last night I had a dream where I was going to drive four hours across the state to go to a wedding but I changed my mind so I stayed at someone’s house and celebrated their birthday instead, but then the dream changed and I went to Walmart and secretly bought totk but it turned out you could play it on a 3ds so I didn’t have to buy a switch so that solved a lot of problems but then I was upset because I wouldn’t be able to put it up on the tv and my siblings wanted to watch me play it and I woke up feeling rather frustrated

[elegyofthemoon]

💌

(I want to do this for you but I don't want to reblog? How???)

should i just send one back???? i dont know???

tues i feel like there's a lot of wonderful things i could say to you :( idk how to shorten it to one thing or else youre just straight up getting a letter askjfahlk

but like !! you're one of the people i feel the closest to, which makes me laugh bc you'll tell me stuff about how you're apparently the coldest in your family - and fair: i do think you tend to be a lot more logical and a realist with things than i am - but idk i always get very happy whenever i talk to you -- like excited warm feeling. i know it's also in your nature to be curious but i also feel like that curiosity plays super well into attentiveness that of course people want to keep talking to you. i feel like that's something i said before (🤔), but it does wind up making conversations with you always so much fun and just really nice !!

i love when you get super deeply into things. i always adore hearing your thoughts on them just because you're always thinking on a different track than i am, i think, so it's always fun to hear a different perspective!!

idk...i just like you :) i'm glad we are friends. i like when we're goofing off and teasing and throwing shoes at each other and i like when we're talking passionately about our interests!! i'm just glad we met !

[strdstd-m]

{Okay, not gonna lie, this week's been heckin rough. Mainly bc I'm suffering through coming off my anxiety meds & the dizziness has been terrible, leaving me unable to do much of anything here when I really want to. xc That's why asks & such have taken so long. I'm hoping things'll improve by next week bc this is getting irritating by now. I try not to post things like this on my blogs, but I feel this is important to say so y'all know what's going on with me lately. Anyway, happy pride month from your local agender aroace!}

[seilon]

pro tip: do not take four stimulants at the same time unless you want to vibrate so hard you tear your molecules apart and phase into different plane of existence

[organized-chaotic-disaster]

(Also known as annielachhman on instagram)

This is another wonderful disabled artist who designed a new disabled pride flag!

You don’t need AI to create art. You might need to put in more effort than others might need to, but it is possible!

AI steals artists’ work, techniques, styles, and jobs, yet art is an inherently human thing. It isn’t truly art without humanity, is it?

"ai is making it so everyone can make art" Everyone can make art dipshit it came free with your fucking humanity

[doodlingwren]

Aughhghghh still busy <3 sorry for the late replies to comments and such lol bye <33333

[take-ya-to-the-ghey-bar]

tumblr, it’s nearly 5am— this is no hour for me to find out that you’re out here on some bullshit again—

[king-of-tragedy]

Guilt

Caiden knew that Alix would get pain that made her feel like her joints were corroded and her muscles were atrophied, and on some days it was hardly noticeable, but on other days it was so bad, they’d stumble around lifelessly and down ibuprofen like there was no tomorrow. Similar occurrences happened to everyone within the Unit, but it was Dmitri, Sig, and Alix who seemed to bear that weight the most.

Guilt manifested similarly to that pain, Caiden noted, as she pulled her knees tighter against her torso and attempted to curl deeper into the couch. It was a complex feeling that thrummed dully behind their sternum–embarrassment, nausea, hollow rage. Chattering that whispered endlessly in her ears. A burning itch crawling over their body that would only subside after they ran their calloused fingertips over old scars. 

Sometimes, they would barely notice the sensation. They could joke and smile genuinely and leave the house with little fear and be okay. Sometimes, the day would start out good, and then maybe she was being watched a little too intently by a pedestrian, and then she would spiral. Sometimes, she just woke up like this. Woke up lethargic and malfunctioning.

Symptoms: Disinterested in doing anything involving getting up and moving, hazy attachment to reality, loud thoughts (way too loud), discomfort with reflection, injurious desires, crippling sense of shame.

Official Diagnosis: Known colloquially through the Unit as a “bad day”. Recommended Course of Action: Die. No, wait.

Crash the car in the middle of an intersection.

Fuck, that still isn’t right.

What could possibly be done to make her any better? Sleep? (And what, be disturbed by nightmares and memories and horrible visions of the future, uh, no thanks.) Drink some water? (Caiden was incredibly thirsty, but such predicaments were better left for the living and breathing.) Go outside? (Absolutely not. The outside was crowded and loud and packed to the brim with danger. Threats lurked around every corner, watching and waiting until they found the perfect moment to strike, the perfect moment to grab the little malfunctioning fuck up and run syringes into her spine, wrap chains around her neck, turn her back into the well oiled machine she used to be, or otherwise make her pay for every sin she had committed when she had the foolish idea to live among the innoce–)

“Can I assist in some way?”

Dmitri spoke gently. They stood over her, motionless but ready to spring into action, with their luminous eyes full of concern and hesitancy. They knew they couldn’t help her. Nobody can help anybody when they are like this. But, a thought broke through Caiden’s fog, it was still nice of them to ask. If she hadn’t been so tired, Caiden might have even felt warm gratitude towards them.

Instead, she just stared at them. Burning, itchy, guilty, exhausted. They got the point and left.

***

The Unit had given Caiden her space, and when they had to encroach into her existence (passing through the room to get to another, looking for something misplaced, following an order of Dmitri’s) they were as respectful and gentle as she was when they were having a bad day. For the most part, she hadn’t seen them.

At some point, Caiden had abandoned the living room to go back to the room shared by Dmitri and her. The blankets were cool and soft, and if she pressed the pillows against her head hard enough, her thoughts would be quiet for a heavenly second. Dinner was skipped. The sun went down.

When Dmitri entered the room, they set a glass of water down on the nightstand, and immediately went to Caiden’s bed. Lightly, they sat down next to her, waiting for her response.

“Caiden?”

The chattering in her thoughts was far too loud. And the pillows over her head weren’t doing enough. It was hard to see Dmitri as a caretaker and not an enemy. She was numb and guilty and her skin didn’t feel right.

Caiden realized. With some sort of disordered clarity. That perhaps the recommended course of action. Was to wrap her arms around Dmitri. And press her face against their shoulder. And inhale deeply. And accidentally emit a low keening noise. And relish the feeling of them wrapping their arms around her.

“You’re safe,” they murmured to her. “It’s okay, you can be like this here.” They held her tightly with both arms.

“Why,” croaked Caiden, suddenly afraid that they were going to pull away, and subsequently clutching at them with clenched hands, “why can’t I just be fucking normal?” It was a wail. A forlorn sob. The origin of shame, the insidious child of Guilt, the demonic presence of self-awareness. Why can’t they be normal one way or the other? Must she be a freak of nature, scorned by the two sides she had once called home? Why is divinity dangled right in front of their face yet so far out of reach?

Why does she fall apart during thunderstorms? Feel sick when she’s in a crowd? Grin in the face of adversity? Question morality? Discover autonomy? Why can’t she take what is given, accept what is given, and just. be. fucking normal?

“I know,” said Dmitri, plainly. Because they did know. They didn’t know it exactly like Caiden did, but they knew what it felt like to be a half-programmed mess, yearning for instruction while craving forgiveness for what they did under the instruction. 

They knew how badly Caiden wanted to have friends who hadn’t seen her worst moments, they knew how hard she tried to communicate and how poorly she failed at it, they knew how jumbled her thoughts were, and they knew how thirsty she was and had brought her water.

[bitsandbobcats]

My hurt could really use some comfort right now >:(