#but this show where he actually has a friendly relationship with the contestants

[freefalasteen]

Any Jeopardy fans? The Jeopardy Masters show is amazing so far but the best part has to be the second part of episode three. Mattea must have said something/come out to Ken cuz he is just dropping those preferred pronouns like it's hot! Ken is finding any and all ways possible to use they/them for Mattea. Good job, Ken! 👏👏

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Nov 4th

~*~

1. A) Hello! I am looking for a couple of pics that I have been unable to find. They may have already been found, but if so, I am missing them. First one is Wei Wing dies at the siege and is transported back a thousand years or so, before the sects started up I believe. He becomes immortal or a god, can't remember which and travels to learn other magic and cultivations while he waits for the years to catch up to when he was born. I think its a wangxian pairing, but not sure.

B) Hello! Looking for a fic where Wei Ying is not oblivious to his feelings for Lan Zhan. He asks Lan Zhan on basically a date to the town, and the part I remember is he deliberately didn't take an umbrella/coat because according to Nie Huaisang, it would be a perfect romantic opportunity to have Lan Zhan offer the umbrella/coat or vice versa. Lan Zhan thinks Wei Wing is just playing with him and I remember a scene where Wei Ying proves his intention with a kiss and Lan Zhan believes him. @marietsy40-blog

1A)

FOUND? An Unusual Betrothal series by ahealthydoseof (G, 74k, wangxian, time travel, age difference, immortality, BAMF WWX, younger LWJ, older WWX, misunderstandings, fluff & crack, worried parents, rabbits, food, non-sexual intimacy, murder, fix-it of sorts, developing relationship, humor, arranged marriage, jealousy, friendship, family feels, dysfunctional family, fatherhood, angst, hurt/comfort, mentor WWX, natural disasters, sworn brotherhood, serious injuries, kissing)

1B)

FOUND? 🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 887k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

~*~

2. hi! i’m looking for a fic where wangxian friends and family try to arrange them to get married (i think maybe post sunshot campaign). lxc brought in jgy to help him with negotiations, while jyl and jwy bring nhs to help them. they try to find wx to tell them only to find out they basically ran of and eloped (without knowing that this was happening). the fic should be completed and around 3-8 chapters. thanks! @monyeorel

FOUND? i believe that we can make it (i believe in all of you) by Stratisphyre (T, 17k, WangXian, 3Zun, Canon Divergence, Wedding Planning for Love and Justice, Golden Core Reveal, Getting Together, Everybody Lives)

~*~

3. Hello I want ask something... I can't seem to find this fanfiction I have once read long time ago but this is mainly wangxian ofc and what I remember that this fanfic is modern, wei ying I think he was going to debut or not? Lan zhan is his teacher? Since he called him xiansheng (something like that) Jiang yanli is married to Jin Zixuan in this. Wei ying keeps on updating on social media something like that.

FOUND? 🧡 I Don’t Want to Debut! by countingcr0ws (G, 56k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality show, Idols, Actor LWJ, Forced Contestant WWX, Tencent’s 2021 Idol Producer)

~*~

4. For fic finder: the allied sects are losing the sunshot campaign so they ask for the aid of the immortal yilling patriarch. He agrees, in return for lwj's hand in marriage. Lwj is very concerned but he gets to burial mounds and finds things are fine actually but there are a lot of unruly children. He starts teaching them and living life, confused by his mostly cold and distant but sometimes friendly husband. Turns out wwx is falling in love with him but thinks lwj is a spy for the jin and after the tiger seal, and married him because he wanted to catch him in the act and make him be a double agent. Lwj is unaware that the jin sect even has designs against his husband because he hates politics. He discovers this after he nearly dies defending A-Qing from an attack by Xue Yang and wwx comes clean. I could say more because i remember a lot about this fic but not the important information like name or author. Thanks!

FOUND! 💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27, Mojo’s post)

NOT FOUND!🔒and having a marvelous time by varnes (E, 108k, WangXian, Yúnmèng Siblings, Sound of Music AU, (i know!!! i know. stay with me on this.), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Family Feels, spies to lovers???, Protective Siblings, Sometimes You Just Want Your Dads To Admit They’re Your Dads, Angst with a Happy Ending) Pretty sure the bunch of kids in the burial mounds fic sounds like Varnes' delightful sound of music au "and having a wonderful time" but there are at least three fics I've read that come close to that.

~*~

5. good dayy!! do you guys know this story. i forgot the title and been using modern with magic tag but i cant find it. i dont know anymore but the story is like this:

its a modern with magic, madam lan is one of the teacher and one of her student is wwx. there's a scene where wwx visited his brother in the alpha dormitory then lwj saved him(?) from some rude alpha. there's two version of it, alpha lwj x omega wwx and omega lwj and alpha wwx. there's a mission(?) and he met wwx outside the university, they also shared a room. omega wwx also has a solo room for being the only male omega.

the omega lwj version of it is lwj owns a 2 stuffed toy bunnies, he told wwx their names and wwx said it to madam lan.

im not sure if im mixing different stories or if i remember it right but i hope u'all can help me. thank uu in advance!

FOUND? 🔒 Other Half series by Hanguang_Jun, Wuxian_Biscuit (Charlie_Biscuit) (E, 819k, WangXian, JC/LWJ, WWX/Self, LWJ/Self, LWJ/WWX/JC, LWJ/JGY/WWX, Roleplay, Fantasy, Magic, Omegaverse, Friends to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Smut, Switch WangXian, Bottom LWJ, Alpha LWJ, Slow Burn, Omega WWX, eventual mpreg, Alpha/Alpha, LWJ gets off on submitting to another alpha, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Knotting, If LWJ being submissive puts you off then do not read this, Top JC, Top WWX, Omega LWJ, Alpha WWX, From Sex to Love, Tentacle Porn, Safewords, Rude LWJ, A bit of magic recreational drug use, Sex Toys, Lingerie, Omega/Omega, Alpha JC, a/o and o/o and a/a, Selfcest, A bit of dark wangxian (but it's not permanent), Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Accidental Voyeurism, JC does not interact with wangxian, Intersex Omegas, Pregnancy, Consensual Non-Consent, Vaginal Sex, Bondage, Omega JGY, Bodyswap, Dubious Consent, Due to Basic Premise, Knifeplay, Choking, Birth)

~*~

6. Hello, I am searching for a modern wangxian fic on ao3 where wei ying is invited in Jiang yanli's wedding. Nie huaisang is the wedding planner and Meng yao is his assistant. The wedding is at the time of Christmas and they played a game that each one will send another a gift till Christmas and the receiver's name is decided through lottery. Lan wangji was the one who was giving gifts for this and wei ying was giving gifts to yu ziyuan. All the names will be revealed at the day of Christmas.

~*~

7. I don’t know if it got deleted or I just didn’t bookmark it but I’m looking for a fic with Fox!WWX. LWJ is maybe a dragon or just a regular cultivator who helps him get all of his 9 tails through dual cultivation so it’s rated M or E. i feel bad i don’t remember much more but any leads will be greatly appreciated 🥺 thank you for all your work

FOUND? 💖 Paths of Light and Darkness Converge by ataratah (E, 30k, wangxian, fox WWX, dragon LWJ, secret identity, non-human genitelia, crack treated seriously, fluff, angst w/ happy ending)

~*~

8. im looking for a fic where Wie ying became a god after death saved Mo Xuanyu and adopted him when he trayed to bring him back . wie ying changed his hair to white and his eyes red @leo1fan

FOUND? Wuqian, the Local God of Yiling by Grace_ShadowWolf (TaubeLePigeon) (M, 80k, wangxian, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, major character death, canon divergence, angst w/ happy ending, god WWX, Chinese mythology & folklore, pining, temporary character death, WIP)

~*~

9. hi im looking for this fic where xue yang and xiao xingchen are dating, and then one day song lan (xiao xingchen's ex) comes back so xue yang lets those two get together even though he feels very jealous, and then one day him and song lan hook up and later they become a throuple @ashxi-wx

FOUND? Fine Line by fouxes (arundels) (E, 13k, SL/XXC/XY, Modern, Polyamory Negotiations, Polyamory, Minor Violence, Hate Sex, Love/Hate, Love Rivals to Lovers, XXC is kinda useless in this sorry, Not Super Healthy Relationship Dynamics, but nothing crazy terrible, also XY is a cage fighter cos why not) it used to be posted under a different pseudonym of theirs

~*~

10. I’m trying to find a reaction fic that takes place after the siege on Burial Mounds. I remember that the sect leaders are having a meeting at Lotus Pier and get trapped in a room by Chenqing to watch WWX’s life. Suibian also later gets involved and they also get LWJ and a-yuan to join.

FOUND? Seeking Solace by Devourer Of Worlds (Taer01), DragonHeart (Taer01), Taer01 (M, 124k, WangXian, Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Hurt, Heavy Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon Divergence)

FOUND? Misunderstood by Silver_Flame_2724 (M, 250k, WIP, WangXian, JYL/JZX, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Heavy Angst With Eventual Happy Ending, Family Feels, Family Angst, Misunderstandings, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Family Fluff, Canon Divergence, Not Everyone Dies, by that I mean the bad guys will die, Hurt, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Suicidal Thoughts, Gore, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mental Breakdown, Night Terrors, Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Worth Issues, Self-Destruction, Dubious Morality, (not WWX of course), Cannibalism, Reincarnation, PTSD, Internally Screaming LWJ, Demonic Possession, MXY Lives, Scum Villain References, WWX Has an Angry LWJ Kink)

~*~

11. Hello ! I've been looking for a fic for a long time and I can't find it.

It's in the post-canon, wangxian are married and investigate a ghost woman who attacks white-dressed cultivators. In fact, this woman has feelings for Lan zhan and seeks to have him all for herself.

At one point, under a disguise she tries to trap them by wanting to make Wei Ying believe that Lan Zhan is cheating on him with her and Wei Ying pretends to be jealous and angry against Lan Zhan who immediately understands the plan.

In short, I really liked this fic because it really showed this precious trust between the two and I really want to read it again and this time save it in my bookmarks 🥺 @wesenyr

~*~

12. Hi ! I am looking for a popular fic, where WWX participates at the Great British Baking Show (or something equivalent) and LWJ is a cameraman. NHS and LXC are the hosts and LQR is one of the judges.

Thank you ! @massivecollateralproblem

FOUND! on your marks, get set, bake! by BlackWiresOnHerHead (G, 41k, Modern, College/University, The Great British Bake Off AU, Humor, no GBBO knowledge required for entry)

~*~

13. Hi, I’m trying to find two older fics, A) the first I remember it being on AO3, and I want to say it had more than one part to it. Basically when Wei Ying came back and then of course ended up in Gusu Lan, Lan Zhan had a son (not A-Yuan) but like another child that was his and Wei Yings, A-Yuan is also present though. He’s very much like how he is presented in the novel, but the child that was Lan Zhans and Wei Yings is more like Wei Ying. A bit of a trouble maker, kind of aggressive maybe. Energetic? Lan Zhan of course clocks that Wei Ying is Wei Ying, but they wait a while before actually telling the kid that this now seemingly random figure in his life is his father. And if I remember correctly the kid doesn’t take it well right away.

I also could be combining to fics in my memory, but I also want to say Lan Zhan may have had chronic pain, or he had been whipped while pregnant and he was just gonna roll with it until he collapsed early and they found out about the pregnancy.

B) The second definitely was on AO3 as well, with multiple parts. But I remember Lan Zhan definitely had chronic pain and weakness from being whipped. I specifically remember he has scars that snake down to his hand, and that arm/hand is visibly smaller or weaker looking compared to his other. At first he won’t eat or drink in front of Wei Ying because of it. His hand shakes I think. He also keeps his hair braided to the side so it doesn’t touch his scars, that way he doesn’t have to use his core as much to dampen the pain. He travels in the winter because the cold makes his pain worse. A-Yuan is also present in this fic. I think there’s a coming of age type ceremony at the end…. Although that could be a part of the first fic I’m looking for. @captainimpossiblyangrycolle-blog

13A)

FOUND? in a river you wade by bleuett (M, 20k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Good Uncle LQR, Family Feels, Happy Ending, Kid Fic)

13B)

FOUND? 🔒 the map of days by everythingispoetry (M, 20k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood, Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX’s Death) the little details sound like "the map of days by everythingispoetry" i do not know for certain though

~*~

14. Hey!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

I read a fic ages ago, that the themes have really stuck with me, but for the life of me I cannot find!!

It was in the veins of heavy angst? hurt no comfort maybe? but i dont remember how it ended!

It was from (mostly?) wwx’s perspective, the plot was basically how broken & damaged wwx was as demonic cultivation/starvation were slowly killing him? None of his injures had ever healed since he lost his core (he had a broken back !?). A key point (I think) was that none of the people around him really realised how badly injured/how much pain he was in. They knew he wasn’t well but not that he was being pretty much held together by resentful energy. Even Wen Qing didn’t fully understand his condition I believe?

Maybe knowning he was dyinging wwx set out to destroy the st seal (or did???) as a final release??

I think it did kill him but I’m not quite sure, i think i remember Jyl & Lwj having a scene where they are mourning him together or commiserating over how ravaged wwx’s body is. I think they also realised wwx never intended to survive destroying the seal??

I’m desperate to read it again but for all my searching I cannot find it at all, hopefully someone knows it!

Have a great day! @3f2pmb

FOUND? 梅花开放 | the plum blossoms bloom by doubletan (E, 6k, WangXian, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Established Relationship, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Post-Canon, Anal Sex, Kissing, Crying, a lot of crying)

FOUND? The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Injury, Injury Recovery, Blood, Respiratory Illness, Major Illness, Fever, Grief/Mourning, Burial Mounds, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hunger and food scarcity, Surgery, Fix-It of Sorts)

~*~

15. Hi! This is for ficfinder. I dont remember much. The scene that i remember is someone send an assassin for baby jin ling but he survives because if wwx gift and the assassin is killed by ewx who visit him. Another scene is JGS wants to assault JYL but failed because if wwx gift too. And everyone found out about it and embrassed JGS. That all i can remember. Thanks! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

~*~

16. Hi I’m not sure if this is where I ask but I’m looking for a fic. The plot was that after wei Ying died Lan Zhan went to the burial mounds and found A Yuàn. For some reason this made Lan Zhan go into heat ( cause of grief or finding a malnourished child. idk ) and then he didn’t have a heat since. I think it then skipped to the future and Lan Zhan was like a ‘broken omega’ cause he didn’t get heats then I think wei Ying came back and things got fixed ?? Thx for any help u can give

~*~

17. Hello, I am looking for a fic. It's set during a canonish era war and follows WWX. I think he's on his own leading troops and not with other main characters. After things are done the Madame Yu and JC are found to have committed war crimes. She is executed and JC is made to go help the people they harmed w/ his core sealed for a number of years. Any help is appreciated.

FOUND? 🔒 Crossing Paths by Ilona22 (M, 21k, wangxian, shapeshifter au, graphic depictions of violence, war between sects, war crimes, not JC friendly, happy ending)

~*~

18. I need help finding a fic. I remember it was during CR era (I think) and LWJ gets cursed into having a lady part and the only way for him to return to his previous form is to orgasm. He doesnt know how to do that with female parts and WWX offers to help him with it. Starts off slow but they end up having sex multiple times over multiple nights. LWJ eventually gets close to an orgasm but stops WWX cause he thinks breaking the curse would mean he and WWX have to stop having sex. @727432rehhjkdjhe

FOUND? Coming Back to Yourself by acernor (E, 21k, wangxian, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Oral Sex, Pining, Gender or Sex Swap, Vaginal Sex)

~*~

19. looking for a fic in which wwx and jc are at a cultivation conference and lwj is terrifying actually. kinda yunmeng bros reconciliation but idk??? @skyerie

~*~

20. Hi!! I'm trying to find a fic I'veread a while ago, but I can't find it anywhere. Wy, once reborn, didn't see Lz's scars while Lz was bathing in the cold springs and he tried to steal the jade pass. Once they get together is where the plot kinda flees from my mind. I don't remember if Lz only ever had sex with Wy if he (Lz) was almost fully clothed or if he just straight up refused to be intimate. I guess Wy fearing that Lz didn't find his new body attractive and voicing that fear to Lz is what makes Lz tell him the truth??? I'm not sure tho. Anyways, in the end, Lz reveals the scars that the discipline whip left on him, and tells Wy that he's never been ashamed of his scars, but that once Wy came back and they got together, he became terrified that Wy would find repulsive how deformed the scars made his back look.

~*~

21. hello! do you know of the dad!lwj fic where wwx falls in love with a-yuan and lwj via video calls

FOUND?🔒Wishing on Runway Lights by inflight_gremlin (E, 45k, WangXian, LSZ & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & OYZZ, Modern, Pilot LWJ, Flight Attendant WWX, Single Parent LWJ, Meet-Cute, Relationship Speed-Run, Matchmaker LSZ, Adopted LSZ, Domestic Fluff, Brief Mention of Child Neglect (not from wangxian), Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, POV Alternating, LSZ Knows What He Wants, Slight Misunderstanding, Sexual Tension, no one is skipping meals, romcom vibes, Attempt at hallmark movie feels, Temporary Accidental Child Aquisition)

~*~

[dairy-farmer]

Ok so obviously we all love when lots of people love Tim, especially when it's a rivalry thing where they keep trying to steal Timmy for themselves. But! This is almost always between the Bats: Bruce vs Dick vs Jason vs Damian. But have we considered... Damian vs Ra's?

Damian may have started out not liking Tim much, almost exclusively because of the whole 'favored heir/protege/general succession crisis' thing and Damian's jealousy. But Tim is just such a magnetic person, drawing people to him easily (Damian remembers a rather funny incident where Tim laid into a villain about how their stupid plan hinged on Tim trying to solve everything by himself, and how Tim isn't Batman - he actually has friends! And isn't afraid to ask for help!) that Damian can't help but start to genuinely like him.

And then one day Damian either notices the little gifts and trinkets that seem to appear addressed to Tim from Ra's, or one of his old friends/acquaintances/spies in the league mentions how obsessed Ra's is with Tim (even joking about how it's unclear whether Ra's wants Tim to be his heir or birth his heirs.) and Damian is like 'Wait, that was an option?!?' mixed with a good dose of 'How dare Grandfather try to steal Timothy away from us!'.

So now Tim is being hunted courted targeted by two Al Ghuls. Suddenly, Ra's 'thoughtful' gifts of lingerie and only slightly poisoned/drugged chocolates are being intercepted, and his dear grandson had started making romantic overtures towards his Detective. And poor Tim is caught in the middle (although Damian throwing his hat into the ring isn't that bad; at least he isn't trying to drug him or excessively sexualizing/objectifying him 😑).

Ra's shows up in Gotham for a 'friendly' chat with Damian, and the whole thing is very uncomfortable and vaguely terrifying for everyone watching: just ice cold smiles, an incredibly charged staring contest, and pointed comments, very thinly veiled threats, and double and triple entendres aimed at Tim.

Ra's :"I am the leader of the most powerful assassins in the world, with incredible wealth and power!"

Damian : "As a Drake-Wayne, Timothy will be one of the most powerful people in the Americas, let alone the world, and without having to be connected with killers - people that anyone who truly cares about and values Timothy knows he does not wish to be associated with."

Ra's : "I doubt our dear Detective had much interest in an untested child."

Damian : "And you think he'd prefer an ancient relic such as yourself?"

Ra's : "... Listen here you little -!"

Damian : "Careful of your blood pressure... Boomer."

Tim: "Do I get a say in this or...?"

Dick makes a joke about Damian 'licking Tim to claim him as his own, like Tim's a doughnut or something' and Jason goes straight for the 'at least neither of them has pissed on you yet to mark their territory'.

This goes on for a couple years, with Damian and Ra's constantly trying to one up each other. Damian will get Tim tickets to a concert he's been dying to see as well as offering to cover his patrol routes so he doesn't need to feel guilty about going, and Ra's will retaliate by delivering some evidence that Tim needs to break up two international trafficking rings. Ra's will send Tim proof that Captain Boomerang had been... dealt with, and Damian will orchestra the very public humiliation of Lex Luthor (Tim had recently complained that Lex had upset his best friend Kon, so he was ecstatic. [The only reason Damian isn't suspicious of Kon and Tim's relationship is that he is aware that Kon is 'terminally straight' and the one time someone suggested they were together they both pretended to throw up.]). And on and on.

One day, sometime in the future, Ra's gets a text with a picture and short messages. The image is a tasteful selfie showing Damian -shirtless and a bit sweaty- propped up in bed with a sleeping Tim laying on his chest -hair mussed and with some very obvious hickies. The message simply says "I win".

~🦇❤️

😭😭😭😭 damian being petty enough to send a selfie after he fucked tim

it has so much palable energy and im able to picture it so clearly because it reminds me so much of this !!!!

😭😭😭

[the-milk-monarch]

hii!! can you write a td scott x reader?? like them in a beach but it can be anything tbh, thank you!!! :)

☣︎ Hey anon! Thank you for the first ask of this blog! I wasn't sure what setting would work best so I wrote it for both 💯 You didn't specify the relationship status, so I imagine that in the first one he's only now realizing he has a crush on you and in general headcanons you're an established thing.

【 HANGING OUT AT THE BEACH / DOCK 】

☢︎ | gender-neutral reader ☢︎ | Total Drama ☢︎ | Scott

【 Scott at camp Wawanakwa 】

You had already spent some time at the camp Wawanakwa, fortunately not being voted off after the first challenge, which was surprising to you.

Relationships with other contestants didn't come easy to you, given your a bit lacking social skills, but you were already used to it and preferred to rather analyze the other contestants, trying to just survive by yourself. Of course you didn't shoot down any opportunity that arrived to team up with the others, though.

And that such opportunity was Scott, the ginger-haired male at the camp.

You saw right through his act, knowing he's probably gonna be trouble sooner or later, but you were smart enough to not give into his 'very thought-out plans'.

You decided to loosely stick with him throughout your time there, to have at least one "ally" on your side.

Of course you knew you shouldn't fully trust a boy who's got a confident and smug grin on his face most of the time, making him look slightly suspicious.

You weren't sure exactly how Scott saw you and what his plans towards you were, so you were keeping your distance from him for the first few encounters.

After you spent some time with him though, you quickly realized Scott isn't as smart as he thinks he is.

From what you theorized, Scott probably saw you as an easy target to "manipulate" and decided to hang out with you.

Most, if not all of the time you were able to see right through him and his 'perfect schemes', which made your dynamic a bit more lighthearted, at least from your side.

You didn't see him as a hard to beat rival, so that definitely chilled out your hesitance towards him.

With time though, you and Scott became a bit of actual friends.

Even though you spent your free time artificially with him at first, you came to warm up to Scott.

You weren't aware if it was because of the pity points he earned, or maybe actual fondness of his theatrics that amused you.

Either way, most of the team saw you and Scott as a duo.

It was a lazy day, one of those you enjoyed, as it was free from Chris McLean's exhausting challenges.

After you had your horrible morning breakfast - which Scott to your surprise enjoyed - you proposed to hang out at the beach, as it was a particularly hot day.

He looked at you, waiting for a bit before coming up with a slightly unsure response.

"The beach huh-?" He repeated your words, giving himself more time to come up with a valid excuse.

You focused your gaze on him, analyzing his seeming hesitance.

"Yeah, the beach." You confirmed. "I was thinking of at least dipping my feet in the water since it's so hot."

"Well, yeah, beach seems cool, but…" He tried to keep his tone usual and confident, but there was a slight hint of uncertainty as he scratched the back of his neck in a nonchalant manner.

You glanced at him one more time, finally coming up with a possible conclusion of his behavior.

"You're scared of Fang showing up, aren't you?" You asked, lightheartedly teasing him about the shark creature that seemed to have a very strong dislike towards the boy. You'd be lying if you weren't slightly afraid of the unnatural beast as well, but you didn't hold yourself back from friendly poking fun at him from time to time.

"What? No, of course not-" He adamantly tried to brush off your remark, scoffing and crossing his arms in an offended way. "This fat fish-stick has nothing on me, he just happened to find me in situations where I was destined to lose!"

You chuckled slightly, amused by his strong dismissal of his low chances of winning with the shark.

"It's fine- I'd also be scared if this unholy abomination had it out for me." You calmed him down with some sympathetic words.

He wasn't really used to people being understanding towards him, let alone not making fun of his apparent fear of Fang, so he took your words with a bit of suspicion, but he ultimately let go and sighed quietly to himself.

"Fine, let's go. I ain't afraid." He still had to add his two cents to the end of the conversation, gaining him some half-serious eye roll from you.

In the end, you both decided you're gonna head to the dock, taking off your shoes as you arrived at the end of it.

You felt a pleasant sensation of warm water that's been exposed to the sun for some time hitting your feet as you dipped them.

You were pretty relaxed and content spending your free time like that, next to the person you spent most of your time with at the camp.

Scott also seemed to chill out one he established the coast is clear from any carnivores that'd threaten his free time in-between the dangerous challenges.

He finally exhaled contently, looking around the slightly trashed beach from the dock he was sitting on.

He also appreciated the time spent with you. He almost took it for granted, given how much time you were spending in each other's company.

You were one of the people who weren't overly critical of his schemes, as you much rather enjoyed the entertaining outcomes of his ambitious yet more often than not failed plans.

You also weren't plainly making fun of him when he failed, as you had developed some level of liking to the boy and you were curious what other 'plans' he had in store to win.

He told himself that he's gonna use anyone he has to to win the game, although when it came to you and your demeanor towards him, he hesitated a little on what plans he put you in.

Most of your involvement in his plans was like "Okay, so I need someone to partner up during the challenge… Y/N! They're the most fit contestant to help me this time!" Even if you weren't.

"Y/N, they're gonna surely think it's a great idea!" Even if it was destined to fail sooner or later.

Even if he planned to 'use you' in any dangerous challenge, he subconsciously treated you both as a legit team rather than a person underneath him.

You still were the only person whom he listened to for the advice about his schemes. It's not like his schemes were bad by any means, but some opinion once in a while is helpful, right?

Your gaze wandered around the - arguably - pretty sight of the island, until it landed on the freckles of the boy sitting beside you. They appeared more visibly due to the sun.

You stared at them a little, thinking the freckles look quite adorable on a farmboy who shows such a tough exterior. It added some depth to him, or at least you thought.

Unfortunately your thoughts about them were disturbed once he caught your gaze.

"What? Something on my face?" He raised his eyebrow in confusion, prepared to have probably some dirt from the breakfast on his face pointed out to him.

"Um, yeah, actually-" You spoke casually, trying to not make the situation awkward from randomly staring at him. "Your freckles."

He looked a bit stunned for a second there, trying to make sense of your response.

"What about them??" He asked looking intently into your eyes with some skepticism, awaiting for your further elaboration.

"Nothing, I guess- They just look a bit adorable in pair with your 'tough man' persona." You finally voiced your thoughts, smiling in a lighthearted and slightly playful way, not wanting to make him feel like you're making fun of him but also keeping cool in case he'd think of your comment as weird.

Scott got quiet for a second, processing your words. There was a visible surprise in his eyes as the sentence left your mouth.

Did he just get a compliment? About his freckles and his toughness? You officially flattered him!

He started to jumble his words a little as he once again involuntarily raised his arm to scratch the back of his neck, releasing some tension from his body.

"Well, uh-" His lips formed a smug yet a bit coy grin as he avoided your gaze for a second, his cheeks adopting a slightly pink tinge to them.

"What can I say-" He says, but then his train of thought seems to disappear. He really doesn't know what to say, which you notice and chuckle softly, endeared by leaving him speechless.

"It's all natural." He finally comes up with a response, puffing up his chest a little as he striked a nonchalant and smug pose, looking at his nails.

You grinned at him in a friendly manner, slightly charmed by his efforts to cover up how it got to him a little.

He seemed to get a bit thrown off his cool once he noticed you smiling at him warmly, and he felt the pressure to say something back to you in a similar manner.

"And, you, too-" Words spilled out of his mouth before he even had the proper chance to think them over. "I mean- My freckles. No- Your face. There's nothing bad on your face-"

You stared at him curiously and a bit amused at his attempts of forming a sentence, which only filled him with more distraction while he tried to voice his thoughts.

"So, in general, you're saying I'm adorable?" You decided to save him from the embarrassment by concluding what he has to say, but also putting him in even more compromising situation by putting it bluntly.

"Yes." He proudly nodded his head once he finally didn't have to stumble over his words and his thoughts were conveyed, but then he quickly stopped as he realized it might have been too forward coming from him. "I mean-"

You felt the corners of your lips curve in a flattered and amused smile as you heard him compliment you, even if slightly indirectly.

[Scott at the confessional]

"Well, I complimented them- That's just gonna make them like me more, right? I mean, they complimented me first, that must mean they at least like me to some degree!" He explained what happened as he fiddled with his hands in an analytical manner while speaking.

"That just makes it easier to manipulate them in any case!" He boasted slightly about his genius idea, although his tone of voice changed at the last words. He took a moment and continued to speak with slight hesitance and anxiety in his eyes which he tried to hide.

"But- Were they serious?? If my freckles are adorable, does that mean they think I'M adorable??" That question left him with a slightly wide-eyed realization, having to process his sudden, unimportant until now feelings about you, showing up and hitting him like a train.

(oh god this came out long and not even about the beach but the dock asfjskj)

【 Scott in general 】

(You both didn't compete on Total Drama, just some casual relationship stuff.)

Scott has been your boyfriend for a few weeks now.

He wasn't even quite sure how he happened to land upon you, let alone charm you with his wit and good looks.

He probably didn't go outside much, looking at his a bit closed off farm life and only started to recently get out to the real world.

He was very determined about his first relationship, treating it very seriously and focused on being the best boyfriend ever. You were the first person who reciprocated his feelings after all, so he treated you like royalty - to his abilities.

You thought his dedication to the relationship was sweet, and that's a big part of what you liked in him.

Because of his dorky personality you also felt quite comfy to let yourself loose and not be as anxious as you were with other people. You knew he wouldn't make fun of you, and would rather beat someone up for doing so.

And so, you on one of your hang-outs you proposed a trip to the beach.

Scott stopped for a moment, his eyes looking you up and down until he finally spoke in a slightly coy but interested tone.

"Trip to the beach, huh?" He smirked slightly, not being able to hide his excitement at the idea, but also slight anxiety before such an "achievement" in the relationship.

You rolled your eyes half-seriously as you smiled with amusement. You deducted why Scott seemed to be so happy about the proposition, which filled you with slight flattery.

"Yeah, sure, I'm up." Scott chimed in quickly. Of course he was very respectful of you, but he couldn't say he wasn't at least a bit interested in how you look like with more skin exposed to the pretty sun at the beach. "When do you wanna go?"

You shrug. "We can even go right now if you want." You suggested, not having any plans this particular day.

Scott grinned even more enthusiastically and muttered a quiet "yes!" when he thought you weren't listening.

You arrived at some secluded part of the beach, not wanting unnecessary eyes on both of you, distracting you from enjoying your day.

As you set up a little cozy corner in the sand with a big towel/blanket, Scott got up to get rid of his pants which hid a pair of red swim trunks underneath.

He was (respectfully) awaiting for you to do the grand reveal of your swimsuit as well.

You didn't leave him waiting for long as you casually began to take off your clothes.

Scott didn't mean to stare, but it was obvious he really took to heart that you trusted him to the point of spending a day at the beach with him, even if your relationship was still "fresh".

You were finally ready to dive into the water. You looked at Scott who was grinning while staring at you, but not in a creepy way. He looked more like a love-sick puppy with how he looked at you whole.

It flattered you. You weren't used to receiving such attention and the fact that it was from the boy you loved only made it more special.

"Nice swim-trunks." You teased slightly at you took a look at the intensely fiery red piece of clothing.

"I know, right?" He grinned, proud at the compliment you gave him. You really weren't sure whether he was aware of how 'fashionable' his choice of swimming trunks was, but it only made him more charming.

He then took a look at you, intending to say something nice back to you, but he hesitated a little, unsure of how to do it correctly.

"Am I allowed to say how well you look as well, or will it be shallow because you're in a swimsuit right now?" He stopped himself to think out loud, showing a thoughtful expression on his face, as if it was a really important question.

You chuckled softly, appreciating how he was still trying to be mindful even when complimenting you.

"I'll take it as a compliment nonetheless." You poked him in the nose playfully to assure him it's not a big deal, to which he grinned and his cheeks turned a bit red, matching his swim trunks.

You both spent a nice day at the beach, fooling around in the water and eating some snacks after, chilling on the blanket and watching the sunset.

(ok this one was kinda shitty n corny, i haven't been to the beach in like 3 years lmfao)

[spikezonebby]

SS would ABSOLUTELY bottom for them.

In my headcanon and AU I got with a friend him and KO switch occasionally but I can clearly see him needing to be the bottom.

He needs to know he is in control and having the role as a bottom gives him that.

Also KO being a reformatted Seerker?! Yes please! I havent thought about that at all!!

He would know where to Touch SS wings and tell BD about it in secret to catch Starscream off guard when he is in the medibay.

BD is such a softy, I can see him be absolutely thrilled about the idea of having two Husbands to pamper, after all that big guy has the Spark to do so!

He may die in the Show but for ever will live on in our heart and AUs <3

I also love to think about ways SS passt KO and BD back. Be it small Gifts or small public displays of affection like thanking them silently, showing a smile, almost unnoticeable touches to the servos, shoulder or hip since SS does not want to show any sign of weakness.

I haven't read the novels yet but I am very interested in reading them. Especially since I miss TC and SW

Oh I can totally see SS's primary love language being gift giving! He can't ever do it directly though, or if he does, it's slapping it in KO or BD's servo and then carrying on. BD gets energon goodies and rust sticks, small tasty luxuries that are hard to find or make during the war. Ironically KO is easier to get gifts for because they're things that SS actually would like himself. Waxes and touch up paint, sometimes pretty glitter metal fleck paint or even UV paint that might have been used on Vos. KO and SS basically preening each other is essentially foreplay to a Seeker so they both pick up on that right away, but SS wimps out and escapes before it turns into anything deeper lmao

Please picture SS making an embarrassing emergency escape from the infirmary. He's more cleaned up and pretty all properly buffed out and waxed than he's been in millennia, but also so MORTIFIED and more painfully aroused than he's been in just enough time. I don't know if it's funnier if he DOESN'T know KO was a seeker, or funnier that he DOES know but he's that deep in denial that he just thinks he was being overly friendly.

Tiny, tiny shows of affection go a huge ways for SS too, and that's actually the one that gets Breakdown to realize "oh, holy slag, Screamer likes me too" because he doesn't pick up on the wing gestures and body language that KO can.

I suppose I should tag Spoilers for the TF Aligned Novels here so I'll put the rest of this under a cut. I'll also develop how I see this affecting Starscream below here too.

TC and SW meet an unfortunate end up the novels. If memory serves I think SW was eaten by a Sharkticon but I don't remember what exactly happened to TC. I remember though that it was SS's fault largely because he'd gotten in a sort of one sided pissing contest with SW because SW had started catching Megatron's attention more than him. So, SS had tried to sabotage him during a mission which ended up costing him his life.

I interpret this as younger SS once being far more impulsive and currently living with a lot of guilt over it that he honestly just can't bring himself to put to the forefront of his mind. He got his trine killed because of petty reasons, and YES that makes him a horrible person. He can't deny that his misses them, but also he's been putting layer upon layer upon layer of blockades over top of the feeling because processing it NOW won't do him any favors.

Depending on your interpretation of trines and trinemates, this can be various levels of devastating for Starscream. Maybe trines are just allies to keep your aft out of trouble, just allies in arms. Or maybe trines are in a league of their own as a queer poly relationship that was supposed to have echoes of growth for everyone involved for the rest of their lives. Maybe Star got two random smucks killed, maybe he killed his soulmates.

That's not something you can just shrug off, no matter how hard you might try. We've seen Starscream do some ruthless things but he didn't start off that way. He became that person through choices he's made and the affect it's had on him.

[celinedioncardboardstandee]

Ramblings about my Sierra and just kinda world tour overall rewrite (but it's mostly Sierra). Buckle in, it's a long one.

So Sierra has always had a hard time connecting with people, she's never really knows why but it's been like this her entire life. Her mom always focused more on her Chris obsession than Sierra and her dad was never around so she grew self-sufficient early on. She also got into reality TV really early too (big brother. Survivor, project runway, ect.) I think her mom had her watch an old Chris show and it snowballed from there. She's been online for along as she could remember, bouncing around Fandoms until total drama. With total drama she became totally obsessed, doing what she already did in Canon (except the stalking). She managed to become friends with izzy early and she gave her content for her blog and she also managed to interview cody a couple times.

When she got on world tour she was so excited and she was even more excited when izzy switched her teams, Heather, Courtney, and Gwen were her favorite contestants and she already felt like she was friends with Cody. When it comes to the other contestants I think she got along with team victory, Owen, and Izzy for the most part (DJ, Bridget, and Leshawna were put off by her but friendly)<- same with Gwen and Cody till a certain point. She didn't really enteract with Tyler or Zeke, but Courtney, Noah (both like Cody, till a certain point) and Duncan where more hostile. Heather was complicated but I'll go into that in a different post, and she saw through Alejandro from moment one and was more proactive about it than she was in Canon but also they get to a point where they understand and empathize with eachother.

Going into some of them more, her and Harold had a short and sweet friendship (they play dnd together post-canon), she bonds with Lindsay through fashion (all those years of project runway came in handy) she takes Sierra shopping sometimes post-canon and wears anything Sierra makes her. She has what was mostly one-sided beef with Noah because of how elusive he was between seasons (he didn't tell izzy shit) but then Noah decided to be snarky asshole and crossed the line with her a good couple times while she doesn't fight back cuz she never fights back. When he comes back tho they and Heather form an anti-alejando alliance and their relationship gradually gets better. Courtney's Courtney but after paris she softens a little (instead of a breakdown surrounding Cody it's surrounding team amazon seeing her as a tool more than anything after pretending to be her friends) but they're not good until Greece, Sierra was there to listen to her more than anyone else and didn't put her game infront so by the final 4 court is rooting for her or alejandro. Finally Cody had major issues communicating boundaries and found Sierra as a nessecary annoyance until Paris where they (and heather) had an actual discussion about it, him and Sierra then got closer and closer each episode until London, when Noah crosses the line for a final time and Cody snaps at him, that's when him and Sierra become best friends. She managed to bargain with the crew to get her knitting stuff and made Cody a sweater for his birthday, he ends up getting eliminated in rapa nui so she gives it to him with the promise he won't open it till the next episode.

Everything else plays out like it does in cannon more-or-less, Noah instead of Cody, more humanizing alejandro stuff, heatherra, ect. (Also no more robot) her and alejandro are recovery buddies and also start a podcast after.

So yea this was long and mostly about dynamics more than anything but this has been rattleling around in my head for a while now

[victorluvsalice]

-->And fortunately, when I did boot up the game and hit the old “Resume” button once the worst of the storm was over, everything was where I’d left it! :D I thus sent the trio over to the speaker in the pub to have a nice dance and chat together (with Smiler raving about non-exclusive relationships to Victor and showing off some sweet moves), before ending on some kisses (after Alice briefly ran off to the bar to get another wrench XD). I then sent Alice and Smiler out to look at the competition entries (Smiler praising Victor’s pie) while Victor finally got HIS drink from Sara the publican (only fair!). Once they’d gotten an eyeful, I had Alice go dig up a dirt pile I’d spotted looking around the area (turned out to be a mustache fossil – pretty sure they’ve got that already), while Smiler made friends with the mayor and (after a bit of combing through the menus – the Finchwick sidequests are under “Friendly” under “Activities,” everyone) offered to help with her errands. She offered them the choice between the “welcome to Henford-On-Bagley tour” (which, they’ve been living here for both in-game AND real-world years, I think they’re good XD) and “going around asking people if they’re the recipient of this package I put together and then forgot who it was supposed to be mailed to.” XD Smiler took the second and started meeting and greeting around the fair to see who the package belonged to. The mayor’s adopted son, grocery deliverer Rahul? Nope. Kim of the grocery stand? Nope, though they did learn that she’s a Foodie. Fellow fair competitor Thomas Watson? Nope. Sara behind the bar? Nope. Huh. Seems like tracking down the owner of this package is going to be a little tougher than Smiler or I thought! O.o

-->Anyway – while Smiler was making the rounds, I had Alice entertain herself by window-shopping at the various shops in the town square (shame that they don’t actually SELL anything without the help of mods), then play a few games on her phone after throwing away the rotten meat in her inventory (whoops – sorry Alice!). All while Victor had his drink, then (to stop him constantly going back for MORE drinks – I’m starting to think my trio has a juice problem) napped on a bench. He woke up in time for the end of the Fair though, and stood on the green while it all faded away around him, awaiting the results. A few moments later, he learned that he’d gotten a participation ribbon for the pie contest (aw) –

And first prize in the Oversized Crops contest! :D I mean, the mushroom was up against an equally-small lettuce, so it wasn’t MUCH of a victory, but I will take that ribbon! And the extra treats he got from winning – another pumpkin and chocolatey treat, and a spicy treat to boot. :D Nice. Now I just gotta remember to USE them…

[danganronpa-21]

Can you please do a HoshiMatsu (Ryoma x Kaede) hurt comfort scenario where they go through survivor’s guilt from the killing game? Gonta’s the third survivor being the the greatest comfort too. Also Shuichi’s the traitor like Sakura.

Rating: Teen & Up Audiences

General Warnings: Mentions of Canon Typical Violence

Fandoms: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Relationships: Ryoma Hoshi/Kaede Akamatsu, Ryoma Hoshi & Gonta Gokuhara, Kaede Akamatsu & Gonta Gokuhara

Additional Tags: Survivor’s Guilt, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship

Chapter Word Count: 6,014 words

Chapter Summary: Kaede is the most cheerful, optimistic person that Ryoma has ever known... and that only makes it worse when he can see that she's hurting, but she won't tell him why.

[Read it on AO3.]

Ryoma would never love again after losing Mio.

This is what he told himself before shit somehow hit the fan even harder than it had before. Assuming it had, anyway. He still had no way of knowing if what Tsumugi said was actually the truth. Perhaps his entry into her killing school life truly was the beginning of shit hitting the fan, and he’d actually lived a fairly normal existence before that… well, as normal as you could get, being obsessed with a reality TV show where contestants lose all sense of self and get murdered for the amusement of their peers. He still shivers when he thinks about the kind of person he might have been. There is still no way of knowing, but he can’t seem to stop his mind from drifting there from time to time. Kaede is constantly reminding him that he shouldn’t. 

Kaede… He would never love after Mio, but then, out of nowhere in the darkest times of an especially dark life, there was Kaede. 

From the moment they met, she flooded his being with pep and optimism. Confident, plucky, and incredibly friendly, she never struck him as the kind of girl that he would go after. A man who had nothing to live for had little to say to a girl who seemed to believe in the beauty of the world around her. He couldn’t relate to her insistence that they should try to be friends, that everything was not as bad as it seemed, and that they should try one last time to escape. His first impression of her was that she was simply exhausting. He had no idea how anyone could afford to have that much energy, especially in a place that was determined to crush them. Even when they lost their first classmate, a cool and stoic girl named Maki, Kaede kept her head up. She encouraged everyone to keep working together to solve the mystery of their killing school life and get home safe. No matter how many times they stumbled, she was always there, begging her classmates to just try things one more time. 

Perhaps that was what he came to like about her, in the end. She was always a glass half-full kind of person. It applied to every part of her life. He imagines that’s why, in the end, she could come to love someone like him, too. He could think himself a beast, yet she would look at him as if he painted puffy white clouds in the sky just to fascinate her. A killing game was the last place he anticipated surviving, let alone finding love, so the experience was more than a little odd to him… but in the end, they were two of three who survived it all, who came out the other end when Tsumugi made every possible attempt to crush them. And, in the end, it was the two of them against the world – well, the two of them and Gonta, anyway. 

It had been three months since their release from the Killing School Life, and the three of them had holed themselves up in a dingy two-bedroom apartment, trying to figure out where to go next. It was cramped and smelled a bit like feet, but it still felt like freedom in comparison to the enclosed dome of the Gifted Inmates Academy. It was warm, dry, and they could come and go as they pleased, so Ryoma saw no reason for complaining. He did his best to keep things clean where he could, and Kaede and Gonta had taken to decorating it where they could. After all, Gonta’s gentlemanly sensibilities connected well with Kaede’s thoughtful tastes, so they found that the two of them worked well together as a home furnishing team. If they needed someone to fix a leak in the piping of the sink, though, that was all Ryoma. It wasn’t much, but it was home, and they would happily work together to make it more of something. 

Some days, it was harder to do that than others.

The sorrows of their unknown pasts and unforeseeable futures had a habit of grating on them, making it damn near impossible to accomplish anything. If one of them was overtaken by a dark cloud, a faint reminder of what they lost or a flickering memory of one of their dead classmates; it was over. They could be out of commission for days or even weeks. The other two, whoever they were, would take care of them – they were all they had, of course they would – but it would be hard to keep up morale. It is crushing enough for one of them to be experiencing that pain, but when the others can see and understand it so blatantly, it only gets worse. Ryoma is ashamed to admit that it is him most times it happens. He hates being a burden on Kaede and Gonta, but he knows he cannot control the weight of his emotions, no matter how desperately he wants to. It is hard, knowing how much of a burden he is placing on his friends, and even more so on Kaede, who more often than not is the person who keeps up a smile. She never seems to falter quite like he does, and he wishes he could be more like her. Hell, he wishes he could care for her like she cares for him. 

Would she let him if the situation arose, he wonders? She’s never cried or refused food or lost sleep the same way he and Gonta have. Or, if she has, she’s never said a word about it. He hopes that that’s not the case. She deserves to be comforted just as much as anyone, if not more. But does he have an inflated perception of how much she needs him? It is difficult to say, but on their next day alone, he finds himself learning the truth of what she hides behind that glass half-full. 

It is just the two of them. Gonta has gone out on some expedition in search of bugs, so the newly dating couple decides that they will have a nice night in, just the two of them. Neither of them is prepared to go running out into the world for a fancy meal or some lavish date. It seems like a no-brainer that they decide to spend their time together making a meal instead. After all, it adds another layer to their bonding… as does the thirty minutes it takes them to pick out what they are going to eat. Ryoma and Kaede are more similar than anticipated in many ways, but when it comes to food, the differences definitely start to show. The two of them go back and forth on ideas – Ryoma suggests Western and Kaede wants Japanese. Ryoma thinks the meal should feature more carbs like rice and pasta, but Kaede wants it to have more meat and veggies. Ryoma wants something with a bit of spice, but Kaede doesn’t want any at all. Finally they are able to settle on a classic: curry rice with a side of eggplant dengaku. Kaede initially suggests that they try to make the curry rice with the eggplant, but Ryoma has never tried the flavour before, so they decide to stick with the regular meat to keep things comfortable. All things considered, it’s quite fun to get to work on a meal together as a couple. Most of the time, everyone in the apartment takes turns cooking for each other. Kaede and Ryoma have scarcely had the opportunity to interact in the kitchen. 

“How’s that rice comin’, Ryoma?” Kaede asks, lifting her tasting spoon out of the pot of curry sauce. She slips it into her mouth so delicately that Ryoma can’t help but watch. How is everything she does so perfect? Her eyelashes flutter a little as she savours the taste, and when she pulls it out, she grins. 

“It’s rice,” he replies, “Hard to mess up.” 

She giggles – a cute, short little thing, yet one he loves nonetheless. Kaede has a great laugh. It’s musical, ironically enough. Still, he can’t help but notice that it doesn’t seem completely there today. It’s not necessarily gone, but it almost sounds a little more forced. Normally, it comes as easy to her as blinking or breathing. “I guess you’re right about that. The curry’s coming along as well.”

Is she hiding something? It seems like the wrong time to ask. Even if he does, she might just brush him off, not wanting to ruin their evening together. Everyone in the group has had their dark hours, but Kaede has always seemed content to push hers away. Maybe this is another one of those times. He’ll just take things slow for now, see what else he can get out of her. For all he knows, the laugh could have been a fluke. She’s been a mellow cheerful all day otherwise. 

“Do you think it will be ready soon?” 

She shrugs, not stopping to meet his eyes. “Maybe… I think I’d give it a few more minutes, just to be safe. Make sure we really lock in that flavour.”

He doesn’t say anything back, just nods. He shifts attention instead to the eggplant dengaku. While the dish is traditionally grilled, their access to something like that is lacking, so they’ve used a combination of a skillet and broiler to get the effect. It should be just as smoky as one cooked the traditional way, anyway. He slips on some oven mitts and pulls it out with relative ease, inhaling the earthy scent. “Eggplants are looking good, too. Can you pass the miso sauce?” 

Ryoma reaches over to grab a pair of tongs, too engrossed in his soon-to-be examination at first that he doesn’t notice when he can’t hear the clink of the miso bowl beside him. When he first starts looking, he just assumes that Kaede will be ready in a minute. Then, a few more seconds pass, and it becomes increasingly clear that she won’t be passing it. In fact, he’s not hearing anything from her section of the kitchen. When he flicks his head up to look at her, she is staring down at the pot of curry, the smile that was once on her face having disappeared. Her eyes look almost blank as she stares down, watching it bubble. 

“Kaede?” He calls out again. 

Instantly, she snaps to attention. The smile reappears, but her eyes don’t seem to agree with it. 

“Sorry, did you say something?” 

He quirks a brow at her, not sure whether he should press or just asking for the miso. The former makes the most sense, he thinks. If he wants Kaede to open up to him more, then he needs to prove to her that he is open and ready to listen. “Are you okay?” 

The smile doesn’t crack, and her expression does not falter. It seems almost painted on. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” 

“You… seem a bit distracted.”

“Oh, well,” Kaede shrugs and tucks her hair behind her ear, “It’s nothing you need to worry about. I’m just lost in my thoughts.” 

Ryoma purses his lips. “It’s best not to be lost in thoughts all alone.”

She simply shakes her head and turns back to the curry pot. “Never you mind, Ryoma. I don’t want to ruin our night with my silly worries. They’ll come and go just like always.”

“You might feel better if you talked about them.” 

“And you might feel better if you let this go,” she chuckles, surprisingly without even a hint of bitterness, “Seriously, Ryoma, I’m fine. Let’s just focus on making a nice dinner, okay?” 

Ryoma sighs. “Whatever you say, Kaede. I just want you to know that if you need me, I’m here.” 

“I know. I’ve always been able to depend on you, Ryoma. Ever since the moment we met.” 

His brows furrow at those words. Nice of her to say, but not so easy for him to feel… If she’s that worried and there’s nothing he can do, is she actually being honest? Or is she just trying to placate him? He bites his lip absent-mindedly.

“... Right.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kaede frown, but she seems to decide that it is better to not try to convince him. Her attention sneaks back to their meal, and he decides that it would be better if he were just to grab the miso himself. Once in his hands, he coats the eggplants carefully, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kaede begins to scoop the rice from the pot into a duo of bowls. Nothing more is said between them as they prepare everything. It is best if things remain wordless for now. As soon as they have their food served, they make their way to the couch to sit and eat. 

Even that ends up being quiet. It would be excessive to say that there is necessarily tension between the couple, yet there is a sort of pressure between them. After all, Kaede doesn’t want Ryoma to know, but all Ryoma wants to do is ask, so how are they supposed to overcome their competing desires? Is there any way to get through this situation that will leave them both satisfied? In the end, they just resort to not talking about it. Kaede steers conversation in other places instead. Should we make a bowl for Gonta, she asks. Yes, I’ll do that after I finish up here, Ryoma responds. Then there is some silence again, broken only by the sound of chewing. This eggplant is really tasty, Kaede tells him. It was Mio’s recipe, Ryoma admits. That draws the conversation on longer, but only by a few minutes. There is still nothing of true substance, just a lot of beating around the bush. This was not at all the date night that they had planned. Knowing that she was hiding from something from him, Ryoma couldn’t entirely blame her for not wanting to talk, but the constant beating around the bush served to make the conversation all too stale. Listening to tangents about the weather and the sound of chopsticks scraping against your bowl could get old fast. 

In a time like this, you would think that the minutes would pass by like hours, yet it seemed that the meal went by in a flash. Before he knows it, Ryoma is done, and he is watching Kaede shovel in the last of her curry. The air between them is still relatively still and quiet, but he can see that by now, Kaede’s pleasant demeanour is beginning to falter. As she looks down at the last of her food, her mouth curves into more of a frown than it does a smile.

“All done?”

It’s a stupid question to ask, Ryoma knows, but it’s the only thing he can think of other than “are you sure you’re okay”. That, he knows, is not something he will get a proper answer to. It’s more than likely that he’ll get the same answer as before – yes, I’m fine. Or, if Kaede is getting particularly sick of the prying, he might be told to stop asking. He’s never seen her get angry about that, but he hasn’t ruled out the possibility. There are plenty of people who just hate to be asked, over and over again, if they’re fine. He would know. When it came to Mio, he used to be one of them.

Kaede nods softly, holding her hand out in expectation. He places his bowl in it carefully, muttering his thanks as she stacks it on her own and rises from her seat. His eyes flicker away as she begins to walk to the kitchen. It would be unnecessary to watch her every move, and if they’re not locked in conversation, he has no need to stare at her. Looking at her would only remind him that she’s in pain, and that he doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about it. He’s half-way through lamenting to himself about what a terrible boyfriend he is when suddenly, a quick gasp snaps him out of his thoughts. His head whips over to Kaede, and he is able to catch the exact moment that the bowls fully slip out of her grasp, falling hard and fast to the floor. Within seconds, the bowls crash against the ground, smashing into pieces of black bone china. Kaede yelps as they make contact, trying to shuffle her bare feet away from the site of the accident. 

“Kaede!” Ryoma exclaims, rushing to her side to assess the damage. “Are you okay? You didn’t get cut, did you?” 

Kaede doesn’t answer. She just stares down at the chunks of shattered bowls, eyes chasing each piece and splatter of leftover curry or miso. Ryoma places a hand on her lower back and peers up at her face, hoping it is just shock that has struck her silent. As soon as he sees her eyes, however, his heart sinks. In that place he has so often associated with joy, he finds only tears. They are just on the edge of her lashes, and are met with a quivering lip further below, but it will still be a few more seconds before they fall. 

He darts down to look at the floor, taking care to examine the space around his girlfriend’s feet. None of the broken china seems to have scraped or cut her, with most of the pieces falling in front of her rather than around or behind her. Definitely not hurt. He is about to ask her again if she’s alright, when suddenly he hears her start to sob. 

God, it’s only the first time he’s seen Kaede cry and he already hates it. Someone so kind and warm should never have to experience any pain, even over a broken plate. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks in the softest voice he can muster, brows furrowing as he rubs the part of her back he can reach. “It’s okay, it’s just a couple of bowls.” 

Once again, Kaede does not answer. She just keeps crying, fat tears slipping down her cheeks one after the other. It’s like she doesn’t even know Ryoma is there. That makes her crying sting worse. So much for her knowing she could always count on him. He’s practically useless to her right now. He heaves a heavy sigh, shaking his head. 

It won’t do him any good to be self-deprecating. He may not be the boyfriend she deserves, but he needs to try to be. He owes her that much.

“It’s not about the bowls, is it?” 

Kaede shakes her own head frantically, still whimpering like a little girl. Her hands reach up to swipe at her eyes, creating black streaks with her mascara. He makes a mental note to grab her some make-up wipes in a minute. For now, he just needs to get her comfortable, away from the scene of the crime, so the two of them can have a real talk about what’s happening here.

“Why don’t you go sit down, Kaede? I’ll clean this up, and then we can talk about what’s going on. That sound good?” 

For a sliver of a moment, she hesitates, like she’s frozen in place by her tears. It is not until he repeats her name, softer and gentler, that she finds it within herself to nod and sniffle, stepping back from the bowls to let him get a better look at the ground. He wastes no time rushing to the kitchen to grab a garbage bag to put them in, only watching out of the corner of his eye for Kaede’s safe arrival to the couch. Judging by the lack of yelps of pain, he can only assume he made it unharmed.

Just like their meal, the moment between the two of them is most silent, except now what was once conversation has now become the sound of Kaede’s soft crying. Part of Ryoma almost feels guilty for wanting to ignore it, but he already feels as if he is doing that very thing – he just wishes the tears would stop. He’s not so selfish as to wish that Kaede be his happy girlfriend who always supports him and Gonta, but more that she should not have to feel that sort of pain. In the back of his mind he has always known that she is as tortured as they are by what happened. It’s just that he didn’t want her to be. He wishes it didn’t have to be so. And that’s just the problem – if she is as tortured as they are, then this is perhaps the first time she has had the courage to show it. 

How close does she need to be to her breaking point for this to be the case?

Ryoma cleans up the remainders of the bowl as best he can, resolving to vacuum up any of the more minute pieces he would have missed. His focus right now, his greatest focus, is joining Kaede on the couch so they can talk about what’s happened. As he went through the process of cleaning, her sobs tempered themselves slightly, but it would be an exaggeration to say that they had been crushed entirely. Her eyes were definitely still wet and her heart still pained. When he is reunited with her, the weight of her emotions has not left her. It is still laying there inside of her, festering, but trying desperately to grasp at the solace that Ryoma is offering. Perhaps part of the pain comes from being unused to comfort when these sensations arise. 

It hurts that once he finally rejoins Kaede, the first thing she tries to do is flash him a smile. It is by far the weakest from her that he has ever seen, and the fact that she even feels she needs to do this breaks his heart. What has the world done to this poor, kind woman? They have already won their battle against Tsumugi and Team Danganronpa, but a bitter part of him longs to fight them again, if only to take revenge for her. Alas, he cannot. All he can do is take her hand in his own and stroke her thumb with his, prepared to listen.

“I’m sorry for getting upset,” she whimpers, reaching up to swipe at her eyes, “I know it’s not like me to be so…” 

“Don’t apologize.” He cuts in far before he can actually think to do so. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Kaede says nothing in response, only stares gratefully at him. Why does he get the sense that it was not uncommon, in her other life, to say sorry when she was hurt? Did nobody comfort her? No, no. He shakes the thought from his mind. They must have. Kaede spoke so fondly of her family, in particular her twin sister… This must have come from somewhere else. All he can do is pray that it is not his own failure to support her that has made her feel such things. 

Ryoma draws in a deep breath, trying to refocus. Don’t get away from yourself, this is about her. You say you want to take care of this woman, so put your money where your mouth is.

“I want to know what’s wrong, Kaede. You haven’t been yourself today, and I know you didn’t like those bowls enough to be upset that they’re broken.” 

Kaede chuckles softly. “They were pretty ugly.”

“Like something your grandmother would own.” 

She laughs again, and it’s like music to Ryoma’s ears. Nothing in this moment is perfect, but that little giggle is as close as it’s going to get. He hates that he’ll have to direct her away from this small joy to get back to the source of their problem. It might be that realization that makes him squeeze her hand.

“Now, please tell me what’s going on with you.”

That small smile, the one that felt like such a prize, quickly melts. Her expression is almost pinched, but he can tell it’s not from discontent with him. If she has such little experience expressing her emotions, then this won’t come easy. Learning to be the one person who keeps up a happy face surely took a toll on her, even if she won’t admit it. The heavy sigh expelled from her lungs only serves to confirm his theory. 

“Can I… can I start by asking you something?” 

Ryoma shrugs. “If it’ll help you.”

“Do you ever… do you ever feel like, I don’t know… responsible for some of the stuff that happened? Like when we were in the Killing Game?” Kaede’s eyes dart down to her lap. “I know we’ve always said that it was Tsumugi who did those things, and Team Danganronpa, but… if what they said is true, then we agreed to it, y’know? We agreed to our friends getting hurt.” 

“We didn’t agree to anything,” Ryoma corrects, much more sharply than he intends to, “We didn’t have any control over the agency of the others. We chose for ourselves. We were blinded by that choice, by our passion for something like that. It didn’t seem so wrong then.”

Kaede swallows so thickly in the moment, he almost has to wonder if he’s said exactly the wrong thing. The way her brow quirks doesn’t exactly do his confidence any favours either. Nonetheless, he stills himself. He remembers what this is all for, who this is all for. “You think we didn’t think it was wrong?” 

“If something like that was on television, then it would be pretty normalized. Hell, Tsumugi suggested that the whole damn thing was popular. People might not bat an eye, because the participants consented and knew what they were getting into. Nobody would ever really consider what was going on on the other side. I mean, it’s just like when you used to see the Olympics on TV. Everyone thinks they could do it, but nobody considers what you put yourself through.”

“I… guess…” 

“I know that probably doesn’t settle your worries. And, honestly… I get it. I can say everything I just said, but I get it. Sometimes you just feel so guilty for surviving, and for doing what you did to survive. You wonder why you deserve it over everyone else.”

Kaede nods, teary-eyed. He tries not to pay too much attention to the quivering of her lip and the crinkling of her chin, lest his fussing upset her more. Right now, it seems best to just let her feel as she needs to. Perhaps the best thing he can do for her right now is let her know that her feelings are understood and heard. “Everyone wasn’t perfect, but they were… they were kind at heart, I think. And at the beginning there, I could feel how badly everyone wanted to survive. I could feel…” She sighs, her voice breaking the longer she goes on. “I could feel them. Even when we started losing people, I could still feel them with us. Their spirits never left me. I couldn’t stop thinking about their loved ones… Their families… It didn’t matter if maybe Rantaro didn’t have all those sisters, or if Angie’s island wasn’t really real… There must be people out there who loved them. There always are.”

Ryoma doesn’t answer, just keeps stroking her thumb, knowing that he has her on the right track. He needs to let her speak, to let her share this fear with the world. 

“And sometimes, I just wonder… what did I do to deserve to be here? Do they… do they hate that it was them who died instead of me?”

Her voice lowers to a whisper. 

“Sometimes I do. I don’t feel like I have a right to be here. Not when I could have gotten everyone killed.” 

Ryoma squeezes her hand tightly. “Nobody’s life is more valuable than yours, Kaede. Nobody’s life is more valuable than anybody else’s, you know that. I wasn’t exactly friends with a lot of ‘em, but I know that if they were here, that’s what they would tell you. They know you did the best you could. You never wanted anyone to die.” 

Kaede sniffles. “I just… I wish nobody had to get hurt. I wish they didn’t have to go through it. I wish we’d all been smarter.” 

“We were kids, Kaede. Kids are stupid. Teenagers think they’re invincible until suddenly something happens, and they realize that they’re not. I understand how you feel, I really do, but if there’s one thing you taught me, it’s that we can’t let ourselves be bound to our mistakes forever. If we do something bad, and we lose someone, then we owe it to that person to try and be better in the future. And all I’ve seen you do is try and be better for the people you left behind.”

“I wish I could have saved them,” she sobs, “I wish I could have done things differently.” 

“But you couldn’t.” 

She stares at him wide-eyed, blinking at him in disbelief. 

“I couldn’t either. Neither could Gonta. Even Shuichi, in his last moments when he tried to save us from his… his own mistakes, couldn’t save us completely. He could only save the ones who were left. And I know he would regret that it could only be the three of us, but the fact of the matter is, that was the best he could do. He trusted us to keep doing better on behalf of everyone. If he didn’t, he’d have left us to die.”

There is a pregnant pause that stands between them, but for the first time in this whole conversation, Ryoma doesn’t doubt what he’s saying. All of the heart skips of panic and twistings of his belly have melted away now. All he cares about is making sure she knows. She needs to know that she did all that she could, that she did more than enough. 

“All of their hopes are pinned on us, Kaede. That’s why we survived.”

Kaede doesn’t answer, just turns her head down. For a moment, he thinks he’s got her figured out and maybe she’s soothed, but another hiccup reminds him that it isn’t so. At any moment she could burst from his grasp and run off to her room, determined to never speak to him again. He won’t let that happen. There is still more to say, more to do to soothe her. He has to soothe her.

“How can you… say all this, but say you understand…?” 

“Because I learned from someone that sometimes, even if everything is dark, you need to look for the light. I’ve heard a lot of lies in my life, mostly coming from myself, so I learned to find the truths, even if they’re hard. I can’t let the lies rule over me, and I can’t let those demons win.” 

Ryoma slides his hand along the underside of Kaede’s jaw, turning her face towards him gently. It still breaks his heart to see her beautiful eyes gleaming with such sadness. Any tear that falls now will be wiped away by his thumb on her cheek. 

“You taught me that, Kaede.”

She presses her face further into his hand, holding onto his wrist. It doesn’t seem like she has much more to say, so he just lets her rest her cheek against him, stroking it comfortingly. Before long her eyes flutter closed, and he finds himself sitting in wait, listening to the sound of her shaky breaths. What a perfect creature. In spite of all their circumstances, he is glad that he and Kaede were brought together. He just hopes that with moments like these, he can ensure that it is worth her while as well. 

He's not sure how long they sit there, drinking in the comfort of each other’s presence and the ideologies they share, but the quietude is peaceful. Over time, Kaede’s tears begin to dry and her breaths stabilize. Everything most definitely is not okay now, but it’s better, and Ryoma thinks that it is a victory in and of itself. He knows he could never heal her guilt entirely. The best thing he can do is support her as she fights through it, just as she has done for him. He thought he would never love again after losing Mio, but today has more than proven to him that he would do anything for Kaede. So he’ll embrace this quiet, and let her tell him what she needs. 

In the end, the answer ends up being that she needs a surprise appearance from Gonta. 

The apartment had been so quiet that the moment he swings the door open, the two of them jump a little – which, hilariously, also makes Gonta jump. For a moment a flicker of alarm catches in Gonta’s expression, wondering if he caught them in the midst of an intimate moment he wasn’t supposed to see, but it fades when he realizes that the two are just sitting on the couch.

“Gonta!” Kaede exclaims, pushing a smile. It is not symmetrical or perfect, but it’s stronger than any of the other ones that she’s given Ryoma today. That’s another victory, he thinks to himself. “You’re back early.” 

The bug enthusiast nods carefully, placing his bug catching box down on the counter. Ryoma tries not to cringe – he respects Gonta’s affection, but he really doesn’t want bugs where the food goes. “Gonta is sorry to interrupt; Gonta had good luck today, found dung beetle friend much faster than expected.” 

Ugh. Ryoma tries even harder not to cringe. Not just a bug where the food goes, but a bug fascinated by fecal matter. Blegh. “It’s okay,” Ryoma says, trying not to sound strained so Gonta won’t be hurt by his disgust, “We were just…”

He glances to Kaede. It would be easiest to be honest with Gonta about how she’s feeling, but they are her feelings. It is ultimately her call to make. She can say whatever she wants to say, and he’ll support her. 

“Ryoma was comforting me.” She places a hand on Ryoma’s thigh. “I’ve been having… a hard time.” 

“Something is hurting Kaede?” Gonta asks thoughtfully, his brows furrowing.

She nods gently. “Yes. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with my memories. I feel guilty over things that happened, when we were in the Killing School Life… I didn’t know how to talk about it. You and Ryoma have both been so open and honest with me about the way it makes you feel, and I… hadn’t been doing it back, and we realized that that was hurting me.”

“Yes, bottling up hurts Kaede. It hurts Gonta, too. Good that Ryoma and Kaede talked.” He pushes a smile. “Can Gonta help?”

He gestures at his bug cage on the counter. 

“Maybe Kaede like to meet dung beetle, learn few fun facts?” 

With one last exchange of gestures, a smile crosses Kaede’s face as well. Then, they both turn back to Kaede. 

“Sure, bring ‘em on over,” Ryoma sighs, finding it within even himself to put on a grin, “And tell us everything you know about him.”

Leave it to Gonta to make sure things stayed perfectly imperfect. A failed date, a poop-loving bug in their home, and a lot of tears… but progress is progress, and Ryoma cannot be prouder that they were able to make it. As Gonta opens up the cage and starts talking about his dung beetle, gently guiding him around the cage with his finger, Ryoma feels Kaede’s head lean on his own. At any other time, it might not mean much of anything other than a sign of affection, but today… Today he thinks it means that he did good.

[minimeowsom]

BAD BUDDY AND MY FAVORITE SCENES

Part 1 -> 6 Episodes Today -> 6 Tomrrow

Everything I could say about Bad Buddy in a review has been said over and over again. When you have seen it you know it's good, if you haven't: go watch it. So instead of talking about the healthy Relationship or the great acting and script, I will do it a bit differently. I will go through the Episodes one by one and talk about my favorite moment or scene in that episode. Those won't always be the "best" scene of the episode, they will just be my Favorites. That also gives me a reason to rewatch the Series.

Episode 1

The music Room ->

It is not a very long scene, but in the first Episode when Pat is making sure Pran isn't walking into his Friends, he follows him into the music room, where Pran wants to get the Sign-Up sheet for the Freshy Day music contest. As they wait for the guy there to copy the sheet for them, they sit down and without words they start to kind of compete with Pat on the drums and Pran with a guitar. But as they compete, it kind of switches to them playing together without communicating it. I like the way it shows subliminally that they are used to playing with each other, something that gets way more important for them later in the series, and also how good they actually can work together.

Episode 2

The Flashback ->

In Episode 2 Pat, after feeling guilty and getting told off by his sister, goes by his old High school, he and Pran attended together. He remembers how he and Pram were both in the class Band and at the music contest at Christmas that year they performed a song together, the song later reveled is written by Pran from him, even tho Pat at that time was not aware of what exactly Pran was trying to tell him. Halfway through the song, they get interrupted by the appearance of Prans parents, the scene shifts, and we come to know that Pran will transfer to a different school, we see how Pat goes to look for him and just sees him going away with his parents. At the time of the scene is their past, Pran already had feelings for Pat. As expressed in his song for him and the fact that he seems Heartbroken when he needs to move. I personally think Pat on the other hand doesn't have Romantic Feelings for Pan at this point, I think he deeply cares about him and really doesn't want him to move. He also feels guilty that he is part of the reason Pran is moving. He might have subconscious feelings for Pran, but none he was aware of at that age. After remembering all this and especially the part that his High school friends called him out for beings "Unlucky Charm" he makes the decision to offer to move out.

Episode 3

The Corridor ->

Episode 3 Focus lies with their competition and the kind of joy they get out of competing with one another. And originally I wanted to talk about the Bus stop scene, a scene that is very famous outside the show, as director and cast love to talk about how Ohm continuously failed to look "friendly" at nanon at the time. But I was already writing it when watching the last few minutes of the episode and their interaction in the corridor. In the scene, Pran goes to thank Pat for helping out with the Bus stop by compelling his friends to work on it, so Architecture wouldn't get all the credit. Pran goes to thank him, but hovers in front of the door, not sure if or how he should approach it. The moment he decides to go for it, Pat, swings open the door, reveling that he waited to see if Pran would build up the courage to knock. At the end of their short conversation Pran builds up the courage to ask if Pat has eaten already, which he has, but before he lets Pran go he decides to give back the Guitar he kept for him since High school.(although he lies and says he tried to get rid of it). Pran is ecstatic seeing his Guitar again, and maybe even more happy Pat kept it for him. As Pran says he is sad that they can't compete in the Music contest against each other, Pat reveals that somehow they are allowed back on. Even tho he says he doesn't know why, a short Flashback shown Pat begging the Professor to let them in again. Hoping he gets to Compete with Pran. This entire scene feels like a first glimpse into what their Relationship later develops into, the fun, the game, the competition but most importantly the care and compassion for each other. Here it is at least from Prans side a very Friendly encounter, but all this is already there.

Episode 4

Hopeless ->

There can only be one scene this Episode, can't there? Even Pran actor nanon cried when watching this scene on release. In this scene Pat sleeps over at Prans place after leaving his keys in his Room, earlier that day there was a Rugby game between their faculties where Pran talked to Ink (Pats love interest) and found out that she doesn't like him in a romantic sense. Pat saw their conversation and know is not sure if Pran maybe likes Ink too. So as they are lying down together they start talking and Pran wants to ask Pat something, but before he can Pat asks if Pran likes Ink, when hearing this it feels to me like Pran loses the strength to ask Pat his question and just roles with the question and says that's what he wanted to ask. After a short discussion, who should answer first, they decided to do it at the same time. As they answer, Pat says "yes" and Pran "no". While Pat seems a bit relieved not to have to compete for Ink with Pran he goes on to ask Pran, who is to the viewer clearly in love with Pat, if he were Ink if he would like him. As he jokingly talks about how great he is, we can see the water in Prans eyes, because he knows those things, he also feels those things and knowing that Pat likes Ink, takes away the chance that there might be hope for him after all. As Pat asks again if Pran likes him, he goes with an: "I hate you" to play over his feelings, but as Pat playing sulky goes to bed we can see Pran looking at him, silently crying and wiping his eyes. For the time being, he lost his hope At this moment.

Episode 5

The one with the Feelings and the Rooftop ->

Episode 5 is a big and very important one. And i wanna talk about two things in this one.

1. The one with the Feelings Pran just lost all his hope at the end of last Episode, and we spent the first half of this one following Pat, as he discovers his feelings for Pran. It starts with him getting advice from Pa on how to check if Ink likes him, and we follow them around as he tries to see if the spark , while touching or looking into each other's eyes, is there. As he admits defeat with Ink he goes to pick up his new Drumsticks in the music shop where he runs into Pran, and we get the exact opposite of what just happened with Ink. We hear Pa give her advice again, as all the things she explains , Pat can see with Pran. Confused by his feelings he asked his friend Korn how he can make sure that he likes someone, I like that here it does not feel like Pat is confused by liking a guy but more by liking Pran who was his rival and his friend only for a short time. His friend gives him the advice that if he is jealous, he likes someone for sure. And over the rest of the episode we see Pat noticing how bothered he is by the closeness of Wai and Pran which hits its Peak at the music contest , where Wai and Pran play the song Pat and Pran wrote together in High school. After seeing that, Pat knows, or at least can't really lie to himself about his feelings anymore.

2. The one with the Rooftop The Rooftop moment. It has been talked about, it has been analyzed, and it has been deemed the best. In this scene, the entire development between them that was build up in the last couple of episodes comes to a peak. Pran is hurt and hopless that his feelings will ever reach Pat , and Pat just discovered he likes Pran. So it kind of feels like the situation around them turned. Pat wants his Feelings to reach Pran and Pran wants to keep his distance to not get hurt more. Pat stops Pran from leaving the Rooftop, he wants to talk about what is going on between them, and he opens with the fact that he got hurt by Wai and Pran playing their song. Pran feels irritated by that statement because he, who wrote the song for Pat, doesn't want to interpret this as jealousy and dismisses Pats jealousy. Pat then follows up by saying he was happy when Pran left and that finally his stress went away. Which alone almost brings Pran back to tears, he doesn't want to hear it , he doesn't want to know how Pats life got easier after he left, and when Pat ends his short monolog by saying even tho a lot of things might be easier he was so lonely without Pran around, and Pran reacts to this, probably because that's exactly how he felt, he wanted to be free from the pressure of competing with Pat, who he cared about, but he didn't want to leave him. As Pat asks if they really can't be friends to know that they are back together, Pran gives his feelings a last chance by asking if that's really what Pat wants. But of course he doesn't. What follows is their first Kiss on the Rooftop. And just yesterday I watched an excellent video about kissing and the work in Series behind it. It was a video about KinnPorsch, but she talked about this moment too, and about the Physical, emotional and Lexical that goes into a good Kiss in Dramas.I could now word for word write down what she said, but I will just link the video at the end. But the TL;DR is that this moment has it all , the emotions between Pran to Pat a running high, the kiss feels unsure and shy in the beginning and develops into almost something desperate between them and on top the line delivery of both Ohm and nanon lets you know how they feel. After they break apart, Pat smiles, he feels on top of the world, but Pran looks almost in Pain. He is so scared of what's going to happen next. He doesn't want to get hurt again, and still doesn't really trust the thing between them. So he runs away without a word and leaves Pat behind on the Roof.

Video:

Episode 6

The Beach ->

The Beach could honestly be two scenes, the one at the end with the bet and the kind of confession out of both of them. Or the one in the middle of the Episode. And that is the one i wanna talk about. Because yes the one at the end is oh so very Pat and Pran and very good from a dialog Perspective, but I feel like the setup for this scene happens earlier in the Episode. After they get dirty while retuning from the market they play together in the water, it's a very lighthearted scene in the beginning where they just play like kids and friends again. After they are tired of playing they are sitting in the sand and here Pat brings up the Kiss for the first time. Pran does not want to talk about it, and Pat accepts this for now. (He later brings it up again at the end of the Episode). Pran asks if Pats hates him, and here they talk again about how tough it was for them to compete since childhood and the anger Pran felt when he needed to leave everyone behind because of his Friendship with Pat, they follow this up by talking about how hard it is to be friends with each other because everybody would hate it, and even tho they both know that , they come to the conclusion that it is very nice to just sit in the sand together and do nothing.

So those are my fafourite moments of Bad Buddy Ep 1 - 6, i hope i can finish the other six, by tomrrow too.

Anna Out ^.^

[davenweenie]

I’ve spiralled into a Lab Rats hyperfixation recently and now all of you have to deal with it. I haven’t watched Mighty Med yet so some stuff about Elite Force may be wrong since I don’t know the MM characters that well yet. Most will be Chase-centric. Anyway, here are my HCs.

-Chase is trans, he is the most trans character I have ever seen you cannot change my mind.

-Adam acts like a d!ck to Chase but he actually loves him a lot and would actually kill someone for him (I stand by Adam being the cuddliest sibling)

-to reiterate the above, Adam loves hugs. He will hug anyone and any given point (Tasha is usually the victim of his super strong hugs)

-Bree loves girly stuff but when it comes down to it she can act like a classic brother (pranks, punching people in a friendly manner, bro hugging people, loogie contests, arm wrestles to prove who’s stronger etc) (THIS IS NOT ME SAYING GIRLS CANT DO THIS, it’s just that traditionally brothers do this more than sisters. This is coming from someone who has a sister and a brother)

-Bree can pick Chase up and used to always attempt to throw him like Adam does. She has not yet succeeded in throwing him farther than about a foot. Adam thinks it’s cute and hilarious.

-Leo gets along with Chase more than everyone else because they’re both autistic and they stim dance together all the time after Leo introduced it to Chase.

-Chase was forced to suppress his stims as a child because Mr Davenport wasn’t educated on autism/neurodivergence enough to realise it was helpful to Chase.

-Chase was not diagnosed with autism until Leo came along and both him and Tasha pointed it out that he is most definitely on the autism spectrum.

-Adam isn’t stupid. He just acts stupid and like he doesn’t know things just to annoy Chase and he thinks it’s funny.

-Adam has ADHD and struggles with retaining information that doesn’t interest him.

-Adam is also dyslexic and has dyscalculia (number dyslexia basically)

-Leo and Bree love reading comics together. Bree fangirls over Skylar Storm (since this is based on the seasons before Bionic Island and Elite Force. She pretends to not know Skylar when she sees her because she’s been bullied at school for liking comics before and she doesn’t want Oliver, since she had a crush on him, to know she reads comics)

-Adam and Chase can’t read comics. The colours and fonts make it hard for Adam to focus and Chase gets overwhelmed by all the bright colours with his super senses. The pages also feel very icky to him.

-Chase leans against Adam when he feels overwhelmed (this is kinda canon since we see this in the scene where Chase gets overwhelmed by the sound of the school bell in Crush, Chop and Burn)

-All the siblings play Minecraft. Chase and Leo have an amazing world together where they’ve built a whole city with really cool features. It’s their pride and joy.

-Spike doesn’t know he’s bionic and god forbid he ever finds out.

-Spike stems from Chase’s deep rooted dysphoria. Spike is everything he thinks he is not. This is why we see Spike portrayed as having a really deep voice and constantly flexes his muscles as a result of toxic masculinity.

-Chase can communicate with Spike in his head if he wants to, he just hasn’t discovered it yet because he still hates the idea of Spike taking over his body

-Chase and Sebastian definitely dated.

-TW for this one: Sebastian was abusive to Chase towards the end of their relationship, after Sebastian found out about the destruction of Krane.

-Chase falls for people easily and tends to blindly trust people because of his autism. He isn’t aware when people have ulterior motives as he’s not good at reading between the lines. (This is totally not based on me /s)

-And on that note, Chase uses tone tags all the time after Leo showed him what they were. Leo loves it. Adam is confused on what they mean and forgets the meaning so has a screenshot of what they all mean saved to his phone. Bree forgets to use them a lot because she speed types and makes a lot of mistakes but she tries her best.

-Adam is gay, he definitely went out with Owen but had to break up with him when they moved to the bionic island. They get back together once Adam realises that Owen can come to the island whenever he wants to. (I imagine this happens after the team is split up when Bree and Chase join the EF)

-Bree is lesbian. When she started school she realised all of the girls always talked about boys and dated boys, she was desperate to fit in so she tried to force herself to go out with guys. That’s why she never had a long lasting relationship. None of them ever worked out. She’s dating Skylar now (I will get more into detail about that in future posts)

-Chase is bisexual. I absolutely love this hc. He thinks girls are really pretty, and blushes every time a girl has complimented him. But he thinks boys are very pretty too. He only really realised he likes boys too when he had to pretend to be Bree at that school dance with Bree’s boyfriend (?) at the time. I stand by Chaz (Chase and Kaz) being real. They were so in love.

-Leo is pan. He’s gender blind and doesn’t care about the gender of the person he is dating. It took him a while to find a label that fits but when he finally found one (after hours of research with Chase) he was ecstatic. He asked Taylor out when he realised how much he liked her but it turned out she was dating one of the female students in secret. Leo now has a crush on Logan but is still trying to figure out how to ask him out since he’s never been with a guy before and he has a lot of past internal homophobia he’s trying to work through.

-Last one for this post, there will be a lot more. Leo’s dad was abusive which is why Tasha left him. She was a single mother for a few years before deciding to start looking for another partner which is when she met Mr Davenport. She was very picky because she didn’t want the same thing to happen to her and Leo again.

So sorry for the extremely long post. I just have so much to talk about.

[thefledglingdm]

Umm can I request directors commentary for literally any Leopika fic you’ve written??? Love your stuff!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

ahhahaha thank you so much! yes, absolutely! this is going to be long, because i have decided to do that scene in light of my life, pain of my ass. beware LONG BULLSHIT and spoilers below the cut!

ok to set the scene. i was TERRIFIED to write this part. because this is the climax, you know? we've had 150k words of build-up and emotional tension to this scene. while this has been a romantic story, this is the actual climax of the story. we've spent all this time in kurapika's head as he's dealt with his anxiety, his need for control, his fear of letting go. how he's changed as he's opened up his heart and his life to people outside. and finally he's actually working through all of his emotions and the progress he's made out loud, in front of everyone. and because he forgot about giving his speech until like five minutes before (sorry, kp), he is forced to speak from the heart.

For five agonizing seconds, Kurapika stood alone in the middle of a silent room. Above him, the string lights coalesced into a single shared point of soft white light that illuminated his space.

i so wish this could be adapted to, like, netflix or made into a movie. i put so much into this imagery. the play on light? the cinnamon topography? *chef's kiss* yes please netflix CALL ME.

Everyone in his life was staring at him expectantly, Pairo and Altair and Gon and Killua and Nanika and Alluka and Kalluto and his parents. And approximately a hundred other people on top of that, extended family on both sides, industry insiders, coworkers. All staring at him and waiting for him to say something amazing and powerful and deep about love and what did Kurapika know about love, anyway? He was a thirty-two year old trans man so terrified of his own emotions, so paralyzed by his fear of loss, that he did not figure out he was in love with his best friend until three weeks ago.

this is me screwing the knife in deeper for poor kurapika, sorry. this is so incredibly horrifying for a person with anxiety, as someone with anxiety. behold, the terrifying ordeal of being known.

Five seconds. Kurapika finally found Leorio standing near the back, leaning against the bar. He wondered if Leorio picked the same spot where they sat together the very first time they came here on purpose. Leorio sent him a wink and a thumbs-up.

the terrifying ordeal of being known and being so, so loved anyway. it was great to write in a way that showed leorio realized he was in love with kurapika first (indeed, realized that kurapika was in love with him before kurapika knew himself), because these little interactions shows so much how leorio is inviting and allowing kurapika to come to him on his own time. and supporting him the whole way, because they are friends!!!!

Breathe, Kurapika thought. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.

this statement was not supposed to be a running theme/motif, but i'm super glad it did! i wrote it as a one-off line for melody, but then i was like, hang on, that's kinda good? every other time i write i'm like, hey, you could make a theme out of this!

“Um,” Kurapika started, his voice cracking. Christ, he sounded seventeen again. He cleared his throat.

my friends told me about how their voices changed and dropped on T. any trans person is stronger and more powerful than any us marine.

“For those of you who may not know, I’m Pairo’s brother. Kurapika. His older one, just to be clear.”

this is definitely something that has happened like a hundred times.

There was a smattering of chuckles around the room. He twisted to look at Pairo. “I’ve known Pairo since he was a toddler dragging a ragged, threadbare T-Rex plushie around behind him. I was there when he read his first chapter book on his own – Dino Hunter, of course – because he came bursting into my room at two o’clock in the morning to tell me about it.” Another round of laughter. “I was there when he got his first notebook, when he won his first writing contest, when he was published in his first magazine. I was the first person he told about liking boys instead of girls. I’ve watched him grow and learn and fall in love. And now Altair is part of our family, too.”

pairo and kurapika's lives as brothers were amazing. dino hunter is a reference to the book they both read in the manga that led to kurapika wanting to leave the kurta and explore the world.

i also thought that writing fit pairo well because it's a pretty accessible career for his eyes. he could type, he could enhance the screen and font when he needed, and he could do talk-to-type. one day i want to write a side-story of when pairo and altair met, because i have it perfectly formulated in my head and it's adorable.

Kurapika took a deep breath, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. He confessed, “To be perfectly honest, I was scared when Pairo asked me to do this, because I’ve run out of things to teach him. He’s run on ahead of me in life. Settled down, moved in with his boyfriend – now husband, congratulations on that by the way – and gotten married, while I’m perpetually single and living alone in my loft apartment with an absolutely spoiled monster of a cat. Stop laughing, that wasn’t supposed to be a joke.”

emperor the cat was also not intended to be a character. i came up with him like, right before i started writing the chapter.

i think it was hard for kurapika to watch his brother fall in love and move on ahead in life. even if he was genuinely happy for them both. i had a conversation with a coworker a few months ago where we both talked about how we feel like we are "behind," even though we're both very accomplished. she felt like she was "behind" because i have a master's degree; i felt like i was "behind" because she was happily married and already had a child on the way (who is here and beautiful and perfect). and i imagine kurapika wondered if he was falling behind or missing something when he saw his brother succeed in love and business without really trying.

but there's no competition at all, of course. the world spins on, and we grow and change and find our place in our own time. there's no race.

The room quieted again. Kurapika went on, his eyes flicking over the crowd. He was starting to smile, too, now.

he's starting to realize this is okay, he's not going to mess up, he may actually have something worthwhile to say or share. he's getting more comfortable in all this.

“But I’m also a wedding planner – I know, ironic – and I’ve learned a lot about love from my clients. So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share some of those lessons now.”

No one from the back shouted at him to shut the fuck up, that he didn’t have a single clue what he was talking about, so he thought he was safe to carry on.

how funny would that have been??? like, it would have been fucked-up and humiliating, but in any other situation?? hilarious. just killua looking like that dude in mean girls being like HE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE except it's like HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVE IS.

He thought back to Light of My Life’s various couples, musing over their own rocky paths to the altar and the beautiful, fractured glimpses into their lives they gifted Kurapika and his team. What did they teach him? What did they teach his heart, that terrifying, terrified lump of meat frantically beating in his chest?

More than you think, his heart seemed to be telling him. Trust me; I will guide you through this. Trust me, trust me, trust me.

*"listen to your heart" plays in the background*

also like. trusting oneself and your perceptions and your feelings and your heart is so necessary. it's an important part of healing. and being honest with yourself and your feelings is part of a foundation for all healthy relationships, i think.

also i really like writing alliteratively. the play on words with "terrifying, terrified" was. inspired? terrifying, because kurapika for a long time feared his own heart and feelings, viewing them as a loss of control; and terrified, because his heart is afraid, too. and they are taking this leap together!

And Kurapika explained: “Love isn’t just found in eloquent professions or grand, romantic gestures. It’s supporting each other through your lowest, worst moments and coming out the other side stronger for it. It’s standing together, hand in hand, against the world. It’s in looking at someone simply existing in the world and seeing them as they are: good, beautiful, strong, intelligent, kind. It’s in your communication and your foundation and trusting that all good things will come together in time. It’s in the family that you build together. It’s in the work you each put in to get through the hard times. Together.”

me: yeah uh-huh jj you really did summarize the fic so far.

this is also where i started being sappy and thinking about love. friendly and romantic love. the love i've seen in my friends, the love i feel myself in my relationships.

There. That’s what his clients taught him. Menchi and Buhara; Morena and Theta; Pokkle and Ponzu; Knov and Morel; Knuckle and Shoot; Canary and Amane. But so many more people showed him what love was. He pictured Pairo and Altair on his couch, laughing at him and judging him and helping him put his own puzzle-piece heart together into something cohesive and beautiful. He smiled at his brothers and saw the way they were clutching each others hands, mouths beaming and eyes dewy.

they LOVE their brother so MUCH. their view of the outside looking in for the past year, watching kurapika fall in love, go soft, be happier than they've ever seen him.

He told them, “It’s in the way you can communicate in gestures and looks, and sometimes, without looking at all. It’s in banter and private jokes and finishing each other’s sentences. It’s in casual touches and... pouring their coffee before your own.”

my coffee is never as good as when my partner makes it. my honey-lemon tea is never as good as it is when my partner makes it. my jokes are never as funny as they are when my partner and i finish each other's sentences, build off of each other's quips. we can communicate across rooms with nothing but a look. these little signs of love are everywhere and expressed in so many tiny ways. these examples here are between people in romantic relationships, but these apply to platonic friendships as well.

His eyes swept the room and found Killua and Gon. Gon had his camera hefted onto one shoulder, and Killua stood behind him, arms around his waist and chin on his shoulder. “It’s on the first day you wake up and realize the way you look at the world has changed. The way you open your hands and your heart and give what you have, simply for the joy of being received.”

to love? transcendent. to be loved? incandescent. to love and know that it is valued and cherished and requited?

and this was a callback to killua talking about, of course, how he fell in love with gon like melting ice. like sinking into a bath. and this was also a quieter callback to how gon fell in love. because it wasn't just that he had/has so much love to give, but because for the first time in his life, he got to see it truly received. accepted.

Kurapika saw Killua’s breath catch and Gon’s hand flex over the fingers interlaced over his middle. Heedless of their surroundings and of the running camera, Gon twisted to kiss Killua on the mouth.

SMOOCHES ahahaha!

He turned his head back to Leorio. The man had not moved; indeed, he looked like he was nailed to the floor. His eyes were so intense as they watched him that Kurapika was almost surprised he had not yet burst into flame. Kurapika said, “It’s in the moment you see someone you’ve never met before, but you look at them and just know, to your core, that this is really going to be something.”

leorio realizing something is happening here. something huge is about to happen, is about to change. and he's trying so hard not to dare to hope it might be good. it might be everything.

A chorus of oohs went around the room. Even from this distance Kurapika saw the way Leorio’s face went red, and he ducked his chin, looking bashful and embarrassed.

leorio: holy shit holy shit holy SHIT IT'S HAPPENINGGGG

How was I such a fool before, Kurapika wondered, How was I so blind, so willfully ignorant and oblivious. How did it take me so long to realize you were talking about me. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I’m sorry I made you wait for so long.

this is important because it's not just kurapika realizing and accepting his feelings for leorio. this is kurapika's version of realizing that leorio feels the same for him. leorio is in love with him, too. and he's wondering how it was possible he was so scared and blind for so long. he fears he may have hurt leorio by holding off on this for so long, so he wants to be brave, take the leap, and see what they could be.

Kurapika did not want this man to wait another second. He did not want Leorio to spend another moment trapped in this limbo. So he confessed in the middle of a silent room in front of over a hundred people, “It's the first time you hear them laugh, and your entire world’s axis shifts beneath your feet.”

i remember the first time i met my partner. i remember the first time i looked at them and felt my world shift a little to the right. i remember falling in love and thinking that this one was unlike all the others. it was warm, golden, comforting.

Kurapika watched the confused frown on Leorio’s face when he heard that, amused by the almost puppyish tilt to his head as he considered it. He knew the moment Leorio realized what he meant when his eyes blew wide, amazed and awed and achingly soft. His lips parted.

gOD he is so CUTE. he's like oh hmm huh what does that mean

and then he remembers

i promise, he's not a huge dickwad!

and leorio laughing at gon's accidental gaffe and his sweet earnestness. and kurapika walking in. leorio realizing kurapika wanted to know him before they ever even met.

Kurapika made himself turn away from the arresting sight. “One of my favorite venues lately was the Roseview Ballroom downtown. Among its many beautiful, gaudy attractions are its murals depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s plays all across the ceiling. One is a famous quote from Twelfth Night: ‘journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man’s son doth know.’ But the more I think about it, the less I agree.”

i'm such a WHORE for shakespeare, as any readers of mine will know. check out my modern college adaptation of much ado about nothing.

He turned to meet Pairo’s eyes again, repeating, “‘Journeys end in lovers meeting.’ But nothing is ending here. It’s just changing.”

life does not end when we start relationships! or when they end! or when we move, change jobs, graduate, go to school, drop out of school. happy endings in stories still aren't endings. the greatest constant in life is change.

“Because what I’ve learned in this job, Pairo and Altair, what nugget of wisdom I have to give you, is this. Love is looking at a world that can be terrifying, cold, capricious, and indifferent, and finding the person whose hand you want to hold through it all anyway. Because you want every laugh, every tear, every wrinkle, every spark of joy. Love is life’s greatest leap of faith, because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. But you know exactly who you want to spend all those tomorrows with.”

me finishing this: dammit i just wrote out my wedding vows.

Kurapika looked around the room again. At Gon and Killua; at Kalluto, Nanika, and Alluka; at his parents; at his brothers. At Leorio.

He concluded, “So you simply breathe. And you trust it will be okay.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Kurapika dropped the microphone.

DAMN ME TOO THIS SHIT WAS GOOD TF?????? sorry my writing has peaked here.

[marimoduck]

Korn/Nameless-actor-of-Kwan

Inspired by this post as well as the Bad Buddy Brainrot Discord server which made the mistake to enable this train of thoughts.

So, there are a few hints of Korn.Wai - which started as a crack ship for most of us - becoming canon, but honestly fuck Wai, which means we have to headcanon manifest another partner which is worthy for a good boy like Korn, who actually knows how to work toward redeeming himself.

The first person I suggested was actually Save as well, just like the anon mentioned post, but then I read the other suggestion and it kinda escalated from there.

(For the sake of convenience I’m going to refer to him as “Kwan” because the show has unfortunately yet given us his name).

First Meeting

During his first year, Korn seemingly didn’t pay attention to anyone else outside his faculty unless they were architecture students, and especially not to anyone who actually minded their own business, so it looks like the first time Korn noticed Kwan was during the music contest in episode 5, part 3, even if he somehow had met him before.

Kwan may have had very little screen time, but I bet that during this scene - before returning to be invested in the sad sight of Pat coming to terms with the true nature of his feelings toward Pran - he captured your attention as well: once the performance by the band from engineering ended, he encouraged the crowd to cheer while hollering, raving and going absolutely wild himself. You can also see how he made sure to keep the crowd warmed up before the performance of Moi, which he most probably had done prior to Korn’s.

It’s true that Korn didn’t really pay attention to him once the performance was over: after Kwan had passed behind him to get to the microphone he had just used, Korn looked aside just to share a smile with Chang before quickly leaving the stage without looking back, but that doesn’t mean our charming Kwan didn’t leave an impression on him.

There were a lot of scenes with Korn where he was literally howling too, or using his entire body cheering for Pat. Even when he was rolling with Pat’s idea to use a menu as an inspiration for their song in episode 2 (”You’re your mom’s best recipe”) he was getting dramatic to the point he sought the comfort of his friend’s shoulder.

All in all, they both tend to be extra, and considering Korn surrounds himself with friends who are just as rouge and flippant as him, it’s likely that he doesn’t necessarily look for a partner with a serious, calmer nature. Even if Korn hadn’t start to look at Kwan that way already from that point, it’s still possible that he took notice of Kwan’s energy and appreciated that.

(Although maybe not so much when he declared the architecture's band as the winner, but just like the rivalry with the architecture I bet he is more than able to put this aside).

The Play

Kwan made his iconic return when he auditioned for “The Scar” play in episode 7, part 2. He was the first one in line, yet left enough impression to be cast with his over-the-top, unforgettable improvisation.

Eventually, letting him play aside Pat proved as a huge success, and it’s clear that they are both on friendly terms: during the curtain call in episode 9, they smiled at each other, laughed together at the Toto’s joke about the food support without any level of discomfort at all, and even shared a side-hug.

Pran was right behind them to watch that, and yes, he had a lot on his mind at that moment, but I think it’s still noteworthy that he doesn’t bat an eyelid. Of course, it’s out of his complete trust in Pat and thanks to their healthy relationship, but in my eyes, it’s more than that. In fact, I think that the reason we didn’t see Kwan during the rehearsals in episode 8 is that the story is told from both Pat and Pran’s perspectives, and while Kwan is important to the play, the romantic role he plays alongside Pat had no effect at all on their relationship because of Kwan himself as well. Just like the attitude was positive but professional from Pat’s side, neither he nor Pran had a reason to think about Kwan even though they worked with him at least a few days a week (while Toto, for example, either interrupted or encouraged their flirting lmao), which proves him to be a genuine and nice person who Pran was confident enough to not do anything beyond what his role required and only because it did, thus assuring that Pat was consent to everything. And unlike the former actor of Riam, he probably was perfectly cooperative and easy to work with as well.

As for Korn, it only makes sense that at some point he asked Pat about his fellow actor, considering his curiosity about Pat’s love life in general. It’s also possible that he came to watch Pat rehearsing more than once not only for Pat’s sake (if he only wanted to tease him, coming to one rehearsal should’ve been enough; moreover, coming more than once just for that probably would’ve bored him) but also to watch someone who left an unexpected impression on him: Kwan, with his cute smile who manages to bring smiles on other people’s faces time and time again.

We have no idea if Kwan is from architecture as well, as students from all faculties could audition for the play- but neither does Korn, who might have thought that Pat is the only outsider to be accepted. I could claim it's due to the himbo side of Korn (I’m still waiting for him to prove himself kind-hearted enough to consider him a proper himbo, because he did harass someone at work, even if that someone was Wai), but I after witnessing Wai’s creepiness toward Paa, I think it only makes sense Korn’s character was developed as the positive example for this situation: he actually posses enough ethics to know to look for a proper, respectful chance to start talking with Kwan, instead of investigating anyone who ever interacted with him.

(Which also could be part of the reason Korn took his words back when he admitted to his friends he had a crush on someone, as he was also ashamed he doesn't know his name lol)

I am a little worried, though, that Kwan doesn’t have a lot of people in his life to begin with: the fact that we didn’t see him in episode 8 might actually be because his personality only shines when he’s on stage, but elsewhere he’s barely noticeable by others. But that might be the contrast to Korn’s personality, who you have to admit to have a presence that goes much further than his large eyebrows.

Conclusion

Is this ship going to happen? Well, I’m defiantly more convinced it has a good chance than I was before completing this post.

But you have to admit that even if it wasn’t a cute ship as it is (I mean, just look at them), it still makes much more sense than making a character who keeps taking steps towards becoming better with another who barely does the bare minimum sometimes.

[jean-kayak]

Anon Request: Heya. What would GoM being possesive but not yandere with reader include. Stay happy, stay strong, you are awesome 😊

A/N: Hi, Anon! And thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it

》He doesn't do anything too bold, but it definitely bothers him when the guy doesn't notice him and he's being a little too friendly towards you

》He'll wrap an arm around your waist, pulling you into him, which almost makes you fall, and it makes the guy notice that he was standing there the whole time

》I think that he likes to use his low presence as an advantage and scare anyone that's flirting with you

》He'll come up behind them and just be like "excuse me" essentially making them jump out of their skin

》They'll never mess with you again lmao

》I don't think he gets angry very quickly, but if they don't get the hint then they're gonna be in trouble

》Like I know y'all have seen Kuroko when he's angry

》I feel like he'll just make the biggest fool of anyone that tries to take his s/o

》Like he would do all of these things but since no one really notices him a first glance, everyone will assume that it's whoever tried to flirt with you

》Bottom line, Kuroko is not someone they would want to mess with or make upset

》He's more on the same side as Kuroko being kinda passive with telling people that you're his

》He'll always have an arm wrapped around you, glaring at anyone that stares at you too long

》He'll usually give you a kiss on the forehead or the cheek, making it very known that you are taken and he wishes someone would try him

》He'll probably give you his jersey to wear during the day to make sure people don't try and flirt with you like you're single because it's obvious that you're not

》If he sees anyone flirting with you in the hallways he's quick to run over and literally ask them why they're flirting with his s/o

》He doesn't even let his fangirls talk to you or try to interfere with your relationship

》And he's very quick to shut those interactions down

》I feel like if they're being really bold one day, he'll either throw what they gave him away right in front of them or give it to you

》He's usually pretty tame and friendly about making people realize that you two are dating

》But obviously if people don't want to respect that then he's gonna make them 🤷🏽‍♀️

》I don't he really gets that possessive, he could care less if people want you because he has you

》He knows he's yours and you know your his, simple as that

》But he does get bothered when people are very bold with their advances towards you especially if he's right there next to you

》He'll probably pull you away mid-conversation without an explanation telling you later that the person was being way too nice for someone who was just supposed to be a classmate

》If someone is being a bit too friendly with you, he'll probably politely dismiss them lmao

》He'll cut them off and be like "you can leave"

》And he'll just stare at the person until they do

》 He's not really big on PDA, but he will do it if need be

》If words won't do enough, then you'll definitely be glued to his sides no matter where you're going

》And he'll always stare anyone down until they finally look away, I just know this man doesn't lose staring contest lmao

》Come on, you know this man does not tolerate anyone flirting with his s/o

》He gets even more annoyed because he always has an arm around your waist or around your shoulders, so it's pretty obvious that you're taken

》Yet people still try and take their chances with you

》Sometimes he'll stand just far away enough from you if you're having a conversation with someone that's flirting with you, and he'll stare until they make eye contact

》The person will probably run away scared, leaving you confused

》We all know this man will make out with you in the hallways to show that your his, will definitely do it in front of anybody that thinks they're slick by flirting with you

》He'll give you marks that are semi-hard to cover up, so if you move the wrong way, anyone can see them, just so he knows that even if he can't be there, they should know that you're taken

》If push comes to shove, he'll definitely give you a necklace, bracelet, or chain with his name on it

》He'll even call out anyone that's flirting with you, he'll walk up in the middle of the conversation, making the person feel so awkward lmao

》Word soon goes around pretty quickly that you are very much taken lol

》Like Midorima, I don't think he's that possessive about you because he knows that you two are together and he's very confident in that

》That doesn't mean he'll stalk up to someone who's being a little too buddy buddy with you

》And he's like one of the tallest people in the school, so they'll definitely see him coming down the hallway towards you

》Some of them run, but others will probably think that they could stand a chance

》But he comes up behind you, wrapping his arms around you and that's when they can see how big he actually is, and all of their pride is gone

》He probably makes you wear his basketball jacket, which is practically a dress on you

》And it shows people that you're taken by someone on the basketball team, but he keeps you close to him in the hallways to let people know that it's him

》He if has to, he'll literally block anyone that he knows will try and flirt with you

》Like he'll see them coming and then he just stands in front of you, blocking their path, and he won't move, raising his eyebrows as he waits for them to leave

》And if they still don't back down, he'll probably push them back by their forehead before wrapping his arm around you and walking away LMFAO

》Would anyone even dare to mess with you???

》I feel like this man terrifies the fear into people, and they have to be crazy in order to try and flirt with you

》I feel like he'd pull that mess he did with Kagami like the whole "kneel" shit

》But he'd definitely make a huge fool out of them

》Like he'd call them out in the middle of the hallway like "You're really flirting with someone that's taken?"

》Anyone would be so embarrassed, and wouldn't even try anything on you

》But that's only a last resort, he's only gonna do that if he feels like someone isn't understanding that you're seeing someone

》He'll hold your hand in the always and I feel like he'd be the level petty where if someone is staring, he'll like hold your hands up but make it look very casual

》The glares he usually gives are enough to have people think twice about trying to be a little more than friendly towards you

》Overall, he's pretty chill about it because they're just jealous of something that they don't have, but he won't hesitate to put anyone in their place

[silenceofthecookies]

Hello! May I have some best friend headcanons for Zoro and Luffy? Its not often to see some platonic friendship headcanons moreover the relationship ones. Thank you!!

Hi Anon! You’re right, we don’t see friendship headcanons often! I actually think about what it’s like to be friends with these guys a lot. Honestly they all seem like they’d be an amazing bunch of friends. Enjoy! ❤

Luffy

Luffy is the kind of friend who will support you no matter what you do. You want to climb a mountain? Go for it! You want to become the CEO of your own company? Awesome! You want to rob a bank? He won’t tell a soul! And he might even help

He’s always full of energy, so he’ll often try to pull you away from the ship. Either for a walk or to explore a new place, maybe even for an adventure like climbing a mountain! Luffy is always up for trying new things, so if there are any thing you’d like to try, chances are big he’ll gladly join you.

Luffy loves food, and loves eating together. If you enjoy cooking, he’ll shamelessly ask you to make a bunch of things for him. Sanji doesn’t want to make him everything he wants, after all. If that’s what you’re going to do, be prepared for some trouble with Sanji though. He’s in charge of the food stock after all.

Luffy is very affectionate with his friends. Expect a lot of surprise hugs and other friendly physical touches. If these are not your thing, expect a long conversation with Luffy because he just doesn’t understand why you don’t like them. Hugs make people smile, right?

Aside from the touches, Luffy is also very verbal about who is his friend and who is not. Whenever you meet new people, he always introduces you as his friend and then tells people your name. Things like “you’re such a good friend” are also very common.

If people mess with you though? Luffy loses all that friendliness that he usually has, and becomes very intimidating. Nobody messes with Luffy’s friends, and he’s not afraid to beat someone up to prove that. Doesn’t matter if they insulted you, assaulted you, or just looked at you the wrong way. Luffy will make sure his friends feel safe and know they can trust him.

Be careful with telling Luffy your secrets. He tries to keep them, he really does, but sometimes he just gets so excited over something, or so caught up in his own thoughts that it just slips out. He’ll apologise in a blind panic and ask everyone to forget what they just heard once he realises, but of course, the damage has already been done.

 Zoro

Friendship with Zoro would be very relaxed. He always speaks his mind and he expects you to do the same. Communication with Zoro is pretty direct. He does not beat around he bush, and if you do he’ll just straight up tell you to get to the point. Because of how direct he is and because he has no filter on around you, he may sound a bit rude at times.

Another great thing about friendship with Zoro is that he won’t ever judge you. You’re your own person and he respects that. The two of you have different opinions? That’s fine, agree to disagree. You don’t want to do something? No problem at all, he won’t force you. Zoro mostly wants to have a good time with his friends, so he won’t push anything. That doesn’t mean that he won’t listen to you when you’re having a bad day though.

Just like Luffy, Zoro will beat up someone if they bother or insult you. Contrary to Luffy though, he’ll first wait out your reaction, seeing if you’ll beat them up first, or if you’re uncomfortable and just want to leave the place.

Going somewhere with Zoro is always a challenge. He’s up for going most places with you but with his ability to get lost on a straight path, you’ll have to constantly keep an eye out for him. This is why Zoro prefers to just sit back and relax on the ship.

Zoro loves having you around when he’s drinking. It doesn’t matter if you are or aren’t drinking with him, he enjoys talking with you over a bottle of sake or rum, or to mess around with you on a party. If you do drink though, expect the occasional challenge for a drinking contest. If that’s not your thing that’s fine, he’ll just make sure your cup is always filled.

Zoro is one of those people that can perfectly enjoy doing separate things together. Things like reading a book in the same place where he’s training.  He enjoys your company and he often finds it relaxing to have you around.

If you show you’re interested, Zoro will be more than happy to train you in swordsmanship. Expect a lot of teasing about your mistakes though. It’s his way of encouraging you to try again and do better. Also he just enjoys messing with you.

[sugar-petals]

BTS Scenario: Taking Care of Them When They Have a Cold

↳ ♡ NOTE ⇁ time for fluff. autumn season is coming, let me set the mood right here, we’re going cozy 🍂

warnings ⚠️ hurt/comfort, brief mention of sexual tension

⌈jimin⌋ ⇢ Jimin’s cold is unusually subtle. In terms of visible signs, it’d take some time to notice it for someone who doesn’t know him or doesn’t check just how heavy another person’s breath is going. But feedback? You will definitely get. Compared to how he’s pouting about it, which will melt your heart is what I’m saying, the symptoms are understated in comparison to the other members. Taehyung’s cough can shatter an entire neighborhood, Jimin sneezing is as graceful as a gazelle. Mind you, his nose is runny, and the slight fatigue of the first two days isn’t negligible, but the major thing to actively mend is more psychological than physical. In other words, his body does its thing, you don’t have to overextend yourself. 

That’s what you have to figure out first to really take care of him properly. After laying him down and bringing both snacks and liquids, talking is what he needs rather than ten thousand types of medications and cool towels all over him. Jimin doesn’t want to see you become sick as well so you don’t sit up close, but at talking range, and you text a lot during the day while you work. He’s worried about not being able to practice and hopes the cold doesn’t show in his appearance. You assure him it takes five days at best and he is okay again and promise a lot of kisses. With that prospect, healing is even sweeter. And, you know the guy, Jimin misses seducing you, so.

⌈taehyung⌋ ⇢ Absolutely enjoys being babied ten times out of ten. Nothing better than you preparing a hot herbal bath. Rosemary, thyme, camomile. The steam spiraling off the water surface looks so relaxing in the candlelight, the classical music you put on sways him into a trance, he lays there for half an hour just motionless. He gets a little tray of coconut cookies on the bed stand, you play the guitar to him, you massage his feet before he sleeps… Which, and he hates admitting it, makes it nice to be sick. By all means not because of the fever, but the extra attentions, the hot chocolate for bed. Taehyung thinks about that twice and concludes something. He doesn’t want to get a cold just to receive this treatment. Not for his own health nor to worry or overwhelm you, he’s not gonna guilt-trip you into being a servant. 

So, you agree for later: It’s good to treat him sporadically just because, whenever and wherever, cue Shakira. That Taehyung so enjoys a good healing and mending time and it just explodes when you both have a reason to, that’s rather something to expand to the whole relationship. Taehyung will do the exact spoiling for you, with a romantic twist the way you know him. It doesn’t need a sickness to resort to doing nice things for your partner. At the end of the day, the body will remember it and get sick again because it sees what it gets through being ill. That’s something to squarely avoid doing, a random gesture is good for its own sake, amen.

⌈yoongi⌋ ⇢ Grumpy, murmuring, disgruntled he can’t work without getting a headache, needs a lot of silence to recover so he curls up on his own with earphones in and fifty playlists on repeat. He’s like tch, only thing I need is tiger balm to whip me back into shape. Or… wait. Wait a second. A cup of steaming hot coffee with extra foam he will not reject. Or a plate of fried rice. Anything fried and super crispy, really. Yoongi likes those things, especially when prepared by you. Nothing is more honoring. Actually? I’ll change the initial statement. Yoongi does accept some help. You simply gotta find out his catnip I mean favorite dishes and either know the place to order it from or have some kitchen basics down. Nothing super fancy though, it doesn’t need a God’s Menu. The right seasoning does the trick already. 

He wants it mega spicy, sweating out the cold is the way to go said Yoongi’s mom back in the day so he goes by that motto. Love starts in the stomach for felines. If another BTS member drops take-out at the door, even better, that uplifts him greatly. When he munches, that’s the most gratifying thing in the world. Yoongi wants you to eat with him by the bed so that means chili in the bedroom but screw it. All that food and you cranking up the heater distracts Yoongi from his cold and some head pats have him on his way to recovery. And, by the way. He’s kinda turned on by you cooking for him so… the frustration is real, you’re gonna fuck like rabbits once he’s okay again.

★ ⌈namjoon⌋ ⇢ The friendly giant will stay in denial about his cough for at least three days and walk around with way too much medicine in his system. He begs for someone to relieve him, mostly himself, but all those sky-high standards are in the way. Responsibility! Hard work and endurance! Solve it in your head! What is the spiritual reason for colds? How many pills keep you awake for an all-nighter to write an album in one go? What’s next on the schedule? So it goes on, you know the deal with Joonie. You have to kick that leader butt so he finally enters the healing cave under the sheets. Don’t kick too hard though, he doesn’t have Jimin-level cushions. He topples over into his sheets fast anyway, he’s that level of exhausted from his own suppression. 

The story goes on, Namjoon feels extremely guilty for getting pampered and still ponders the reasons why he is ill rather than slowing down a minute and closing his laptop for a hot second. It gets a little awkward unless you figure out your secret weapon. What he feels better with is you reading him stories while he rests on the sofa. I’m not kidding. Or if you’re busy or he wants to be alone, audiobooks. That input is like a lullaby to Namjoon who gets knocked out by the soft whispering only to descend into 12 hours of sleep. Ah, he’s namjooning. Yep. His cold will force him into resting, but by the time he recovers, he is six books wiser and has had the pleasure of listening to your voice which he finds soothing. Thankful he is, anticipate an expensive present and flowers.

★ ⌈jungkook⌋ ⇢ Meal and fluid intake: Quantity explosion! Wow, wow, and wow again, the sheer amount that he can snack and turn into what seems even more muscle and more sweetness. Guinness World Record. He knows his system is currently resetting, he wants to hand it the building blocks, he knows the math. Yes, even sick Jungkook is the cutest foodie in the world. Yes, he will eat his veggies. He worries about not being able to work out so you at least help him stretch his legs ever so slightly in bed. He’s missing his boxing gloves like crazy, he wants to see the members in the practice room, he wants his milk. The latter is easy to get for him, and FaceTime comes in handy. 

Namjoon does a little motivational speech, and Jungkook feels better almost instantly. Later on, you have to scold him — well, just a little bit — for getting up in all that enthusiasm to do some of his routine on the second day, but he already knows it’s not good for him to get his heart rate up like that. He patiently snuggles in a cocoon of duvets with only his eyes being visible. Until, finally, his red lil’ nose goes back to normal and his lungs feel a lot lighter. Jungkook really hates being dizzy, so it’s a weight off his hunky shoulders all right. Then, he can join you at the dinner table for a double portion of extra Parmesan Spaghetti, and you settle on the couch to bingewatch romantic animes and any Studio Ghibli movie in history.

★ ⌈jin⌋ ⇢ It simply can’t be helped, he even wants to make this funny. Humor really is a never-ending well, Jin is Spongebob’s long lost cousin if you go by his amount of meme talk. He calls himself Rudolph the Red-Nosed Jindeer, stuffs handkerchiefs into his nostrils, draws smileys on his knees with the cream usually meant for a dry philtrum (he now has very hydrated knees, how about that), does impossible contortions to find the right sleeping or reading position. Honestly, you don’t really have to take much care of him nor worry, Jin will cure himself through laughter. The power of positive emotion. Entertainment is nothing to provide for, he’s a one-man show after all. Jin is the least bored when he’s sick among the group, however! It needs someone else to exchange with, you know. No punchline without an audience. Listening is the best thing. 

Sit, lean back, see what he has to say. The only thing you gotta actively do is stop him from choking on his own spit after a particularly dead-on joke. Maybe it’s introducing some room for serious time that helps Jin enter a different track. I can imagine that. Some talk about memories, talk about sorrows and issues. Jin is a complete man, but he still has plenty of ’em, demons don’t evade handsome people. And those need to be talked through in a silent minute. Jin also enjoys movie nights with a cup of tea in one hand and syrup in the other, that’s the go-to way to unwind. You can finally go all out and pour him his tea, bake for him, serve some self-made popcorn, extra sticky and sweet, oh yum.

★ ⌈hoseok⌋ ⇢ If Jimin and Hobi ever get colds at the same time, this will be the poutiest contest. They’re the most vocal about it in the group. Hoseok, and that will come to surprise you a little, becomes needy. Not at the beginning where he’s confused and emotional about what’s going on with him (someone who works this hard and needs a fully functioning body is thrown out of their lane even by the slightest symptom), but shortly after. You’ll come to understand how sensitive his body is, almost as perceptive as Jungkook’s actually. His body blows up with a strong fever, a hot man heating up even more is just an explosion of physics. 

He needs handkerchiefs, he needs tons of water, he needs music to distract him a little, he needs a heating blanket for his feet once the fever is gone. Granted, every sick person depends on those things, but Hoseok is someone who calls out of the bedroom often because he ran out. He’s not afraid to ask for things unlike Namjoon who would refuse out of overt politeness. You certainly have a lot to do because his cold comes in strong so it’s important you enjoy taking care of him and don’t do it out of obligation. Quality time is what we’re talking about here. It’s not about you doing the things, it’s about the presence. That’s why Hoseok will use his money well and always order proper take-out that’s not just classic fast food, you don’t have to cook or anything.

related: putting bts to sleep after a hard day 

© 2017-2020 submissive-bangtan. all rights reserved. no reposts allowed.

[writingwiththeghosts]

“I need you two to get along, just for the evening”, Heros sister Sarah pleaded. Hero narrowed her eyes, staring at Villain sitting on the opposite of the table. He looked way to relaxed for Heros liking.

“Look”, he said, grinning lazily. “I already promised not to intimidate or hurt anyone. If that includes Hero, fine.”

“As if you could intimidate me”, Hero scoffed. Villain raised his eyebrow and turned his attention to Hero, seizing her with his eyes. He did not straighten up though.

“If you are not intimidated by me, why does it bother you that I’m here?”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Hero looked accusingly at Sarah. “Why are you friends with that?”

Although this was supposed to be an incredibly happy day for Sarah, she seemed rather exhausted by the conversation. “This is my birthday dinner and it is really important to me. What has happened between you two that makes you want to get at each other’s throat every two seconds?”

Villain stood up, deflecting the question. “Since I know how to behave myself, I am going to leave now. Have fun figuring this out!“ And just like that, he was gone.

Sarah and Hero continued their staring contest. Hero was silently contemplating what to tell Sarah. For an outsider, hers and Villains fight must have seemed rather ridiculous and out of the blue. However, if they were really such close friends, telling Sarah that Villain was a gang member might not be the best way not to let this dinner escalate. It was the first time Sarahs parents met her girlfriend.

Sarah sighed. „Is this about the… you know… gang thing?“, she asked quietly. If Hero hadn’t already known she would not have understood the words.

„YOU KNOW?“

„Well“, Sarah said sheepishly. „It’s how we met. You remember the voluntary social work I did about 7 years ago with children in need.“

Hero did indeed remember. She said nothing.

Her silence seemed to make Sarah nervous. „I worked a case with one kid that he took special interest in.“

„Probably to groom it for his gang“, Hero grumbled. She couldn’t believe this. Villain and Sarah sounded so close!

Sarah gave her a look. „It was his little cousin. He was seventeen at the time as well, so he couldn’t take care of him legally and-“

Hero groaned and covered her ears. „I do not want to hear his sad backstory. He’s in a gang.“

„It’s not illegal to be in a gang! You’re a detective. You should know that“, Sarah protested.

„It’s illegal to kill people!“

„He doesn’t do that… much… I think… Do you know?“

„Well, I haven’t been able to catch him.“

„So you don’t know.“

„Oh I know.“

„You have killed people.“

„Which is something entirely different! He has… tattoos!“

„I have a tattoo!“

„Which is something I judge you for as well. It’s ugly.“

Sarah seemed to have grown tired of their debate and said softly: „Look, I can imagine the differences your jobs“ - Hero scoffed at that - ”bring with them. But you’re my family and he is one of my closest friends. We don’t hang out all the time, but he has always been there for me. So please, just today, can you make an effort for me?“

Hero was convinced that Villain must have brainwashed her. That was insane. But for her sister she would put on a friendly facade, so she smiled and nodded.

Sarah seemed glad, as she hugged her deeply. When she pulled away her eyes were gleaming excitedly again and she said: „I can’t believe I have a girlfriend and I am letting her meet our parents. And by that I mean, I can’t believe I am in a stable relationship before you. Overachiever.“

Hero showed her the tongue as they left the room, but she was already searching for Villain as Sarah went towards the main table.

„Your sister certainly likes a show.“

Hero turned around swiftly. Apparently Villain had been eager as well to talk to her. „What do you want?“

„The only reason Sarah would let you out of that room is if you lied and said you would leave me in peace for the night, or am I wrong?“ Hero squinted. Of course he was right, but that was the last thing she wanted to admit, so she just said: „Whatever. I’m not doing it anyway. I don’t trust you.“

He didn’t look bothered at all, instead he had the audacity to laugh. Hero noticed Sarah giving them a worried look from across the room.

„What’s so funny?“

„Nothing, it’s just…“ He looked around at the various people close to Sarah spread across the room talking and drinking. It seemed like a truly sophisticated place, everyone sipping out of identical champagne glasses. Then again, Sarah loved glamorous settings, which made her friendship to a criminal even more unbelievable to Hero. „I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection sooner.“

Hero cocked her eyebrows.

„Sarah’s always talking about you. Her good little sister, always trying to solve every mystery, ever so determined…“ Hero didn’t know where he was going with that, so she just took a champagne herself, trying to keep herself occupied and seem relaxed at the same time. „She truly loves you. Would have been a shame if my bullets had actually hit you.“

Hero tried not to freeze and keep her movements smooth at the confession. „Shame that mine didn’t hit you“, she replied. „Sarah would be better off without you. She deserves a lot better than you for a friend.“ Or me for family, she thought, comparing the two of them and not being able to give herself enough high marks.

They both watched Sarah give her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

He laughed again, this time quieter and almost friendly. „You really should be careful. And maybe a little more watchful.“

„Excuse me?“, Hero felt that anger rise inside her throat again. „Are you threatening me?“

Villains eyes flickered across the room, as if to see if they were really alone, before he said: „Your sister is a dear friend of mine and she truly loves you. But you ought to think how she managed to go from a social worker to being surrounded by all these exceptional people and this much money. The road to success often is a hard one.“

Hero watched the tattoos on his neck move as he spoke, the words ringing in her ear.

„What are you saying?“

He sighed in a condescending way, as if Hero was an over curious child he had to explain the same thing over and over again. „You should stop investigating my case. I stand by everything I’ve ever done. Not sure your sister is able to say the same.“

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Hero broke the eye contact first to look over the crowd, just as he had done before. „For all the time we spent chasing each other, you really don’t know me very well. I would protect my sister with all I have got. But I will make sure you go down.“

When she looked back at him, Villain smiled at her with a wistful look. „Oh, I expected as much. But what will you say when you realize that maybe, just maybe, I am not the Villain of this story?“

Then he turned around, leaving her, having the last word after all. „Take care“, he called after her, and Hero wasn’t sure whether it was a threat or a kindness.