#chaotic blabbing

[valenishere]

Sagau Idea

I'm not that good with writing YouPoV's so there may be some odd usage of they's and thems then switching to "you"'s. this'll be stock full of typos so be warned

Mentions of injury, implied murder, blood, and implied cult

It's been a long while since I've gotten into Self-aware genshin aus, reading the fluffiest scenes to straight up gore. And theres this concept I saw about where the creator (basically, you) can make any oc come to life and help them out. (this one read it s really good. They also expanded on it go read it too its a really neat build-up on it. this one)

And as a DnD enjoyer as well... there's this idea thats been brewing in my head whenever i think back to it.

What if in Imposter!au where they're being constantly being hunted... after getting cornered in one of the nations (in the Chasm for example) they get desperate and try out an idea they don't think would work.

While resting after being in the brink of death(again) in a place Teyvat has helped you conceal, your thoughts wander. You think, why is there even a Creator? There isn't supposed to be one. That kinda concept just disrupts everything they know about the game. It's a ridiculous concept. In your delirious state, you think, "I wish that just disappears... Then i wouldn't be..."

Then you remebered the curious ability you've recently unlocked in your "adventures". The ability to create characters, with some limitations. It took you quite a bit to adjust to your newfound ability and its caveats, resulting in a few heartbreaking loss on the way.

But as a DnD player, overcoming the death of your beloved characters quickly is a mental fortitude you've developed. And it's handy that you've already made a few characters for your past sessions before landing in Teyvat. It saved you from being one-shotted right from the start.

Although now... You're down to only one left.

"... I'm so tired..."

The mental stress of being in a constant state of danger, paranoia, hunger, pain, and exhaustion have worn you down to a point where you can't even think up of more characters to make up for the one's that have recently passed. You slipped up so bad because of sleeplessness that your last capable party of characters died and a hole was speared through your gut too.

As you lay bleeding on the cold ground, with only a talking mushroom to keep you company, you wrack your brain to put together a proper character but... you really can't. You can't even think straight. Not with the recent information you've found out.

The so-called Creator is now creating their very own characters, their very own people/army, through alchemy, and is now sending them after you, thus increasing your hunters by double. And on top of the already powerful vision-holders (of course they're powerful, you made them that way), you figured... "Ah... I'm fucked..."

Knowing you might as well be as good as done now, you didn't even bother bringing out the last of your characters to heal you. It's not like healing yourself will make you forget about this lifelong trauma--

... Forget?

...

A fleeting thought.

A dumb fleeting thought. A very dumb one at that.

One that will for sure backfire in your face if you do it wrong. And quite frankly, it could spell the end for this world, even for the one they call Creator.

... But it's not like you have anything else to lose.

And so, within the dim light of the mushroom, you painstakingly start to write. Word for word, cramming everything information you know, as deatiled as you can make it into bringing it into life. A character you've never tried making before. Something that could possibly end your suffering. Or make it worse.

You honestly don't know if you're doing it right. After all, you've never tried something like it before.

"What are you making this time?' the ever so curious mushroom asked.

You grin, a manic look in your eyes. "Either my stupidest... or my brightest idea yet."

It's not long befere you finished. You gaze upon your finished product and you have to say... it's even more fleshed out than your best characters. And that quick sketch you drew... you swear those hollow eyes are following you already. That may be just the blood loss talking.

"That's... one ugly worm you've drawn..." The mushroom hums, like it can just see the monstrosity that you've created.

You chuckle breathlessly, looking almost solemn with what you're about to do. Well... it' not wrong. But...

"This is my kid. Their name is... Falseh. Get along well with them... okay?"

0===|>>>>>.

The very ground trembles as the Lord of Geo strides through the dark tunnels, a dark look in his eyes and a spear in his hand. If his presence wasn't enough, the murderous intent rolling off of him in waves is enough to deter any beasts from crossing his path.

The imposter was last seen slinking around the depths of the Chasm by one of the Tianquan's agents. Although failing to execute the imposter the first chance they got with their incompetence, Morax have to commend the Qixing for being able to find them even in the depths of the earth.

For some reason, the land seems to reject his commands from time to time now. He was baffled as to why his beloved Maker is hindering him in fulfilling his given mission but he's just been informed that the land defiance of him is due to the imposter infecting the land with their vile abilities.

Now, he's even more hellbent on making sure to drive his spear through the imposters heart and presenting it to his Grace. He won't miss a second time.

His eyes sharpens as a he a cavern just up ahead, soft blue light spilling through entrance. Tightening his grip on his spear, the power of Geo gathers in his other, ready to skewer someone five times into death if he so wishes.

He steps through the entrance and immediately lands on a figure, leaning prone under a giant glowing mushroom. He relaxes a bit. He recognizes this place. It's a bit close to the Land of Verdure, Sumeru. He needs to be careful. He can't be caught flaunting his power on another Archons domain after all.

Approaching the figure, he gets a bit surprised as they twitch, looking up to him through their hair. They try to talk, but all they can manage are quiet wheezes.

'Oh. They're still breathing. That's good.' Zhongli kneels down beside them, looking them over. They look like they've been dragged through the Abyss and back. Their midriff is bandaged heavily but it's already bled through, forming a pool of their own blood below them. He frowns lightly. It must be quite a big injury if it's bleeding this much.

Wordlessly, he holds a hand over the injury and channels his power. He's not the most profficient in healing, but he should at least be able to stop the bleeding.

Mere moments later, he have plugged up the injury and the figure is now able to stand up.

"Th-Thank you so much Rex Lapis!" they bow down. Or at least, they bow down the best they can without opening their wound. "Any longer and I would've surely perished..."

Zhongli waves them off nonchalantly as he starts to walk back out the way he came. "It's best you get back to the surface. Your injury needs to be properly tended. And I can see that..."

His eyes drifts to the scattered bloody bandages and practically empty backpack. "You've run out of supplies. It is a virtue to you mortals to know when to give up. Remember that."

"Y-Yes sir Rex Lapis sir! I'll get back right away!" they start to quickly collect their things, haphazardly stuffing the bandages and handbook into the bag, being careful of their injury.

The Lord of Geo just watches for a moment before completely leaving, trusting that they won't make any stupid mistake and go back post haste.

After he has left, you pause in your packing, leaning against the mushroom and slowly sliding down with a shaky breath.

"Y-You... didn't you say he and the entirety of the world was hunting for you?" The mushroom hums in confusion, sharing your tension. "What was that? Heck, he was the one that put a hole through you and he healed you!"

You chuckle breathlessly, the manic look intensifying in your eyes as it dawns on you that it worked. That stupid idea of yours actually worked!

And if you can get to the Creator... you can make this whole concept disappear altogether. Forever.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you see it. A large mass of hairless flesh writhing about, multiple tentacle-like appendages potruding out of it. It's slithering it's limbs about, coiling around the mushroom and and back again, and around you as well.

But when you turn your head to actually look, there's nothing there. All you can hear is what seems to be muffled humming, an eerie tune listlessly flowing through the air (but somehow, the sound is the most comforting thing ever).

"Oh it's nothing. I think... he just heard something that made him forget."

[knightwhoisni]

god, the premise of the chaotic cartoon is still such a banger.

like it really went and presented a world where there was a trading card game that also came with a whole-ass real actual world you could go to while you lived ur actual life.

and then in that place you could not only meet other players but you could transform into the monsters from the game and actually beat the shit out each other but not really.

and then it went a step further and that place served as a connection between our world and the actual literal universe where the creatures lived and you could go and scan the Actual Real Thing to add it to your roster but they also have politics and wars and their own opinions on humans and shit.

also the world itself is dangerous and fucking around and finding out has consequences So Watch Out.

all that only for it to yet have a resurgence in popularity? unfair.

[dragonboots10]

My mom puts me on the phone to her friend when I’m having a particularly bad go of things and I love it because he’s really chill and gives great practical advice but also cause he responds to stuff like “I’m stressed about school” with instructions on how to cheat on a test without my teacher finding out

[janetbrown711]

I'm literally so fucking hype to write more Li Na stuff now, y'all don't even KNOW

[emystic-old]

12 for milti muse questionnaire

yet another multimuse questionnaire / Accepting

@inseparableduo sent a multimuse for ya girl!: 12. Do you have any new muses in the works? If you so, can you tell us about them?

Of course I would be delighted to! As I keep saying I'm bringing old muses from past blogs to here with many having slight changes from revisions. Though I do have a few fresh ideas I want to bring too, so I will try to limit this to just a few!

Susara is a arachne and younger sister the current Divine Weaver. She is known as the Wish Weaver, she much more of a trickster and kind of unhinged compared to her older sister cause she will ridiculous deals depending on her mood. However, she's incredibly bubbly and despite her clearly dangerous vibes can be quite helpful if respected.

Keron, a now partially cybernetic teenager that already born with superpowers was taught to properly use them on the spot to save his own life. He lives in the Belle agency's children center and works as a junior agent. Unlike other members, he isn't a star of any kind and just wanted repay the agency for saving his life. He was a old muse before but I never really used him.

Kimyo, is a newer OC I am surprisingly very hyped to make into a eventual muse before some older muses that need the chance first lol. It's suppose to be kind of her fault the Kitsune possessed Akeri in the first place cause she was convinced released her. But she didn't know everything was gonna happen, she is part of the Shrine crew trying to make amends for her careless mistake.

Vilfrid, this dude I keep gaslighting that he's coming back one of these days. Honest, I want to bring to him back and I plan to. He lives on one end of the river in Suojarvi (where Mika and Marja came from) and know as a river guardian. He can cure most illnesses and lift most curses, but if someone disrespect the forest especially his river he will not hesitate to murder (most Suojarvi forest dwellers are unhinged about their forest mkay).

And that's it for now cause I don't wanna overwhelm!

[bearseulgs]

someone should start a band with me

[banishingsigils]

with buck realizing he's bi and has always been a disaster, i was thinking about if. . .well, how i've been a disaster bi, especially re: coming out. and i was like, "nah, i told my friends individually in college and it was nice and calm."

and then i remembered that i announced i was bi to my entire anthro/socio cohort and professors during my thesis presentation. i think that qualifies and we're really not beating the disaster allegations are we.

[nis-si-hellhole]

me in the lab trying to find how i went from crushing on character a to character b in the span of a decade

[valenishere]

Tease~

or not idfk

Imagine my surprise when I realized I could just do a slight fish eye lens effect whenever I need to imitate a Twst card

[barbaracleboy]

So, I've got loads of OCs, with tons of dynamics and even a whole new setting for them. For brevity's sake, though, here are three:

Oditi! A Termite Princess that traveled from far away to find a partner and build a Kingdom of her own. She and the Kingdom she came from are fungus-growing Termites, and as such their culture LOVES mushrooms, and Oditi in particular tends to be excited just seeing them. She also is filled to the brim with mushroom-related knowledge.

As for Oditi specifically, she's rather timid and soft-spoken most of the time. However, not only does she get excited about mushroom (as previously stated), but she's super into romance. Whether its seeing other lovebugs or thinking about one day finding her own prince, just the idea of love makes Oditi real happy.

Kiri! A Gravel Ant from a proud, powerful, and largely solitary Kingdom. Kiri's been separated from and unable to find her Kingdom for a while now, but in spite of that she holds it in very, very high regard, to the point that she tends to think lowly of other Bugs and Kingdoms: put another way, Kiri think her Kingdom is strongest and did things best. In general Kiri's kinda disrespectful, viewing most others as "weak fools" and whatnot. Only a tiny handful of Bugs have earned her respect. This lack of respect leads Kiri to often overestimating her own abilities and/or getting into unnecessary fights, whether or not she has much if a chance (not that she's weak, mind you, but still).

Kiri also has a VERY short fuse, blowing up and getting ready to attack the slightest (what she thinks is an) offense. Kiri especially hates Bugs that she believes cheat...she also doesn't respect Vegans. Supreme omnivore, this girl, ha.

And finally, Leap! A Yellow Clouded Butterfly and a friendly, cheery merchant. Leap's entire family consists of merchants, actually, a trait Leap is proud of and a tradition he hopes to keep going. Speaking of family, Leap has a brother and a sister that don't tend to talk to him and, uhhhh...never mind. Anywho, Leap is friendly but also kinda dense. He likes storing his wares in his fluff, but they often fall out without him noticing. He often doesn't understand how much his goods should be valued for, and thus tends to sell them for less than they're worse. And between his overly-friendly nature and his slight incompetence it is quite easy to rob him without him realizing.

In spite of those flaws, at the end of the day, Leap is a superbly friendly dude and is just about always willing to help others when he's able! He just...might need a little help of his own sometimes, ha.

People should reblog this with their bf OCs….👀

[solar-wing]

⚣ Holidays with the Waynes 🦃

⚣🦃 A/N → This idea came randomly, conveniently after Thanksgiving. To everyone that celebrates, Happy Turkey Day (he said about two weeks late) and Indigenous People's Remembrance Day. Also, everyone congratulate me. I finally made a fic under 1000 words. I almost made it longer to but stopped myself. This is why it takes so long to get posts out of me. Just when I think I'm done, I add more. WARNINGS: none. just typical Wayne chaoticness

⚣🦃 Summary → His life is like a reality show and every day is a new episode, with the holidays being their own specials. So, when a classmate asks him how his Thanksgiving was, how does the youngest Wayne son even come up with a response?

⚣🦃 Words → 622

REBLOGS & replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛

⚣ ENJOY 🦃

“So, Y/N, how was your Thanksgiving?”

What a loaded question.

*cue the flashback ripples*

“Damian, why is the turkey in my bedroom?” The youngest Wayne asked after entering the kitchen and finding his half-brother sitting at the island.

“Master Y/N, if you’re going to be eating in your room, I do ask you put a cover over your sheets to avoid crumbs and stains, please,” Alfred said while seasoning one of the various dishes for their dinner.

“Oh, Alfred, it’s not like that. It’s–” Y/N tried to explain before stopping himself after Damian sent him a glare, warning him not to utter another word or else, “It’s just that I sometimes get after-dinner cravings and don’t feel like making the trip to the kitchen. Won’t happen again, though.”

Alfred gave him a suspicious look after glancing at Damian who was avoiding his gaze, before nodding his head and continuing his food preparations. The two brothers both looked at each other before the youngest nodded his head towards the door, making his way out of the kitchen while trying not to act even more suspicious knowing the butler was watching his every move.

Damian quickly moved in tow behind his brother, following him to one of the sitting rooms. A cautious measure to ensure they were out of earshot.

“Next time, scan the room before you start blabbing off as you usually do,” Damian said, his usual annoyed and slightly threatening squint in his eyebrows.

“I do not blab, thank you very much,” Y/N said, his hands on his hips and breath huffing out, showing his clear offense to his brother’s statement.

“History would beg to differ.”

Y/N scoffed with an eye roll, “Whatever. Why is the school’s Thanksgiving turkey mascot currently nesting in my room?”

“I overheard one of the faculty members talking about how good the animal was going to taste on their plates come Thanksgiving dinner, and I refused to let an innocent animal be subjected to such brutality.”

“Okay, but you can’t just kidnap the turkey, Damian! Let alone hide it in my room!”

“First, his name is Tiny. Please, give him the respect of using his name. Second, he’s happier and more relaxed in your room. I think he enjoys your color scheme.” Damian said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“I–... Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I were a Kardashian.”

“Less authentic and more plastic. Also, you know how Father feels about that family, especially the mother. And, how would you feel if someone tried to chop off your head and limbs so you could be put on a platter that serves 6-10?” The Boy Wonder questioned, mirroring his brother’s body language with his hands on his hips.

“Damian, you literally chased me around the house with your sword last Tuesday.”

“I thought we were playing tag.”

“Who plays tag with a sword?!”

“People who don’t want to get tagged.”

“I–... No words. None whatsoever.”

“Does this mean you’ll let Tiny room with you tonight?”

“Fine.”

For the rest of that Thanksgiving break, Y/N spent it with a roommate who would wake him up at the ass crack of dawn with a series of short, noisy clucks. The youngest Wayne had to explain to his father that he was listening to a new LO-FI relaxing tracks of bird sounds to help him relax.

He received many strange looks from his various family members.

“Oh, just the usual stuff. Holidays with my family are pretty lame. Anyway, what about your family?” Y/N answered, lying straight through his two front teeth.

Holidays with his family were never lame, but also never normal.

BONUS:

☀️ | Bat Family | ☀️

☀️| Masterlists | ☀️

[belovedspector]

Leap Year

Pairing: Jake Lockley x gn!reader (mentions of Steven Grant x gn!reader and Marc Spector x gn!reader)

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: Jake has never celebrated his birthday. He didn’t even have a birthday, until you urged him to pick a date. Of course, he picks the most chaotic date possible.

Content: Fluff, one use of a pet name (honey)

A/N: I was thinking about the fact that it’s a leap year, and this idea sort of just came to me. I don’t have much else to say about it. Enjoy! :)

Masterlist

“When’s your birthday?” you ask out of the blue one day over dinner.

Jake pauses, forkful of pasta halfway to his mouth. Carefully, he places the fork back on his plate and says, “Don’t have one.”

“What do you mean?” you ask.

Jake shrugs. “I know Marc’s is March ninth. I didn’t exactly check the calendar on the day I first showed up.”

“What about Steven?” Your food is now totally forgotten.

“Same as me, I guess,” Jake says. He looks into the reflection of his glass, likely listening to one of his alters.

You sit there for a few moments, deep in thought. Finally, you look up at Jake. “Well, then you’ll have to pick one.”

“What?”

“You and Steven should pick your own birthdays.”

Oh, boy. Jake knows that look in your eyes, knows from the way they’re sparkling that there’s no way you’re letting this go.

“Look, I dunno—” he tries.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” you encourage him.

Jake knows there’s no getting out of this. “Fine,” he relents, pretending to be more annoyed than he actually is. Really, he thinks your enthusiasm is adorable, and he’d do just about anything to make you happy.

You cheer. “Great! Do you want me to help you pick a date? I should have some astrology books around here somewhere—”

“Astrology?” Jake scoffs. “I don’t need astrology. I already know what date I want.”

“Oh? Which one?” You lean forward in anticipation.

“February twenty-ninth.” Jake sits back in his chair and crosses his arms, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“February twenty-ninth?” you repeat. “Why?”

Jake shrugs. “Why not?”

“I don’t know, I—” You sigh. “I guess there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ll put it in my calendar,” you say with a smile. “Now, we just need to find a birthday for Steven.”

“He’s already blabbing on about it.” He rolls his eyes fondly. “I think he’ll take you up on the astrology book offer.”

“Perfect!” you say. He can see the moment you get that faraway look in your eye, no doubt already analyzing which sign would match Steven best.

Seasons change, time marches on, and Jake completely forgets about the birthday conversation. Sure, Steven had made a big fuss over choosing his own date for a while, but, once that was settled, there was no need to think about the matter anymore.

So, it comes as a shock when, on a random winter day, Steven has called out of work and insisted that Jake take the body. Jake tries to argue, to get Marc on his side, but it’s no use. His alters slip deeper into the headspace, leaving Jake alone for the time being.

He notices you’re already out of bed, and it’s at that moment he hears movement coming from the kitchen. He throws on a t-shirt and sweatpants and gets up to investigate. Sure enough, there you are, singing to yourself as you stand at the stove.

Jake has spent a lifetime creeping in the shadows, so he’s gotten very good at sneaking up on people. Silently, he moves across the kitchen and wraps his arms around you from behind. You startle before laughing and leaning into the touch.

“Good morning, Jake,” you say brightly.

“Morning, honey,” he mumbles, burying his face in your neck. “What’re you doing?”

“Making pancakes.”

Jake perks up at that. “What’s the occasion?”

You laugh. “Don’t you know what today is?”

Jake thinks about it. “March first?” he tries.

“It’s a leap year, silly,” you correct him, “so it’s February twenty-ninth. Happy birthday!”

Oh, right, that.

“You didn’t have to do anything special,” Jake protests.

“Are you kidding? This is the first-ever birthday you’re celebrating. We’ve gotta make it special.”

Jake feels something warm blooming in his chest, a feeling that is occurring more and more often when he spends time with you.

You plate the now-finished pancakes—banana, his favorite—and lead him over to the kitchen table, which has already been set. You dish out the pancakes and pour two glasses of juice before joining Jake at the table.

“Is this why Steven and Marc were being weird this morning?” Jake asks as he cuts into his pancakes.

You chew thoughtfully. “Probably. I swore them to secrecy.”

Jake grunts. “Really, you didn’t have to do all this.”

“Oh, Jake,” you say with a grin, “we’re just getting started.”

Jake hates drawing attention to himself. It’s the antithesis of his being; at least, it used to be, when he was still keeping himself hidden from his alters and working for Khonshu. Now, even though he can be more present, it still makes him uncomfortable to be in the spotlight. So, being the center of attention, the “birthday boy,”  isn’t really his style.

Of course, you know all this, and you plan the day around it. There will be no impromptu singing of “Happy Birthday” by waiters and random patrons in a restaurant—not on your watch. Instead, you spend a nice, quiet day together, walking around the city like a couple of tourists. It’s a mild day, not nearly as cold as it could be, so you even get to spend some time in the park, one of Jake’s favorite spots to relax.

It’s rare for Jake to get to spend a whole day with you like this. Sure, he and his alters have figured out a pretty fair schedule, but between work and life, it doesn’t always work out. Some days, he only catches glimpses of you in the morning, and come evening you’re so tired that he practically has to carry you to bed.

On the way back to your home, you make a quick stop at a little building with a pink awning. “Lily’s Bakery,” the sign reads in looping cursive. You pop in quickly and return moments later with a matching pink box.

“What’s that?” Jake asks.

“You’ll see,” you say with a glint in your eye.

After you’ve cooked and eaten Jake’s favorite dinner, you bring out the pink box again. You tell Jake to close his eyes, and, with a little eye roll, he complies. There’s some rustling, the sound of a box opening, and the click of a lighter before you say, “Okay, open!”

Jake uncovers his eyes, and he’s shocked by the gasp that leaves him. In front of him is a chocolate chip cookie cake that you’ve added candles to. Blue letters spell out, “Happy Birthday Jake,” and there’s even a little taxi cab drawn with frosting.

“I hope this is okay,” you say quickly. “I know you’re not the biggest fan of cake…”

“Are you kidding? This is perfect,” Jake assures you, blinking back the tears in his eyes.

When you sing “Happy Birthday” to him in the comfort of your home, Marc and Steven join in from the headspace.

“Okay, blow out the candles and make a wish!” you say.

Jake doesn’t need any wishes. He already has everything he could ever want right in front of him.

“What about next year?” Jake asks as the two of you lay in bed that night.

“What do you mean?” You roll onto your side to face him.

“My birthday next year. Do we skip it?’

“Of course not,” you say. “We’ll just celebrate the day before or after.”

Jake hums.

“Is that okay?” you ask.

If you had asked Jake that a year ago, the answer would have been a flat-out “no.” He hated drawing attention to himself, hated being fussed over. He felt like he didn’t deserve it.

What a difference a year makes, though. Instead, he smiles at you and says, “That sounds nice.”

“Happy birthday, Jake,” you whisper, leaning over to kiss him softly before returning your head to the pillow. “I love you.”

By the time he murmurs back, “I love you, too,” you’re already asleep.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to let me know what you think! Also, I have some ideas for follow-ups with Steven picking his birthday, plus celebrating Marc’s birthday, so let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in! :)

[jubileemon]

A Serpent Allowed Into Heaven

It was a snake that first tempted Eve. Fittingly, it's a snake that is the first sinner in hell to be redeemed. Sir Pentious was only supposed to be a one-off villain, but Vivienne Medrano brought him back as the second guest in the series. Keeping with sins being turned around into virtues, Sir Pentious converts fluently from a harmless villain who made an impact for the whole exorcism.

His freedom seems based on no Overlord considering him to be a soul worthy of collecting, and was only taken in by the Vees for a one-off job to spy on the Hotel because he’s a desperate nobody with no direct ties to them that Charlie would easily take pity on. Indeed she does, even after he’s outed as a spy for the Vees and was willing to give him a second chance for real redemption.

His chaos and paranoia around the hotel during his first week leads to Vaggie and Charlie taking action in two pivotal ways:

Firstly, Vaggie confiscated Pentious' weapons and puts Alastor in possession of his Egg Boiz. While accompanying Alastor for the day, one of his eggs Frank accidentally ends up following him into a meeting with his fellow Overlords. Frank was so unnoticeable that he’s used by Alastor to spy on Carmilla, allowing Alastor to learn that she knows how angels can be killed which is a valuable piece of information that eventually leads to the hotel fighting back against the Exorcists six months later. As another insult to Vox for sending Pentious to the hotel in the first place, because Pentious doesn't believe Frank when he blabs about it when recounting his day. According to him, “they say insane shit all the time!”

That knowledge remains hidden, until there's only a month left until the Exorcists return and Alastor uses Charlie’s desperation to strike a deal with her in exchange for the secret that was the very thing he was trying to prevent.

Secondly, Charlie decides to initiate a trust exercise in response to Pentious' behavior. This leads to a chaotic exercise where the group is forced to fight together in a turf war. Knowing Sir Pentious wouldn't stand a chance, Angel Dust chose to rescue him, marking their first act of camaraderie and the group starting to become friends.

After Mimzy caused loan sharks to attack the hotel, Sir Pentious rescued Niffty from the carnage, instantly proving Lucifer wrong about sinners. However, this goes unnoticed because Lucifer and Charlie are too busy arguing. Interestingly, the choice of character Sir Pentious protects is Niffty, Adam's future executioner.

Lastly, during the battle against the Exorcists, Sir Pentious makes a selfless charge on Adam in his death machine. Since Sir Pentious is just a nameless soldier to Adam that he has no personal vendetta with. In "Welcome To Heaven", his antics kept him out of focus the whole court assessment, but he forgoes beating him down like Alastor and Charlie and instantly vaporises him on sight. This act not only sets off Charlie's demon form and the ensuing scuffle that allows Lucifer to intervene, but leads Sir Pentious to be ascended to Heaven for his sacrifice as undisputed proof to Sera that sinners can be redeemed.

Having cleared his conscience, humbled himself, and sacrificed himself for his friends, Sir Pentious is the first sinner to be admitted into Heaven. This is not only significant because Charlie's plan actually worked, but it is also important that a serpentine being is the first to escape Hell.

According to the story of Original Sin, Eve was first tempted to eat the forbidden fruit by a serpent. After Adam and Eve's betrayal is discovered by God, the serpent is also punished for being the instigator and is forced to crawl on its belly for its whole life. Considering that the serpent initiated humanity's fall from grace, Sir Pentious's acceptance into Heaven makes an even bigger point that any sinner can be redeemed.

[theloveinc]

Anyway I definitely did not crush that but. For my first time leading a class ALONE I absolutely crushed that lmaooo

abt to teach my first middle school class ALONE (under observation of a sub... who happens to be my 7th grade art teacher)

[my-castles-crumbling]

oh my GOD the weirdest thing just happened to me and I NEED ur advice.

So basically, I have this friendship group of like eleven annoying idiots (love ‘em all), and me.

Two of them and me r in the marauders fandom. We’re all 16 btw, just finished GCSEs!!!!!!!!! This is THE summer!!!!!

Anyways, we have ONE couple in our friendship group (that gives rosekiller vibes ngl) and a few others are dating people but not from inside the group (not much group-cest).

So like yesterday, we were all hanging out at one of our houses and I turn to my best mate in the group (who’s also a marauder girlie) and say “isn’t it so weird that our friendship group doesn’t have a wolfstar ship.” cause like ngl, we do give marauder era friendship vibes.

AND EVERYONES GOES SILENT???????? Like people were halfway thru words and they SHUT up. They always ignore us when we talk abt the marauders.  

So I turn to everyone and go “what’s with the silence, half of u don’t even know what wolfstar is.”

And one of them goes “we might not know shit about harry potter but someone’s definitely mentioned wolfstar a few times”. 

AND SHE LOOKS AT ONE OF OUR FRIENDS.

I assume I shouldn’t use her real name her so imma just call her Clara (she loves TS Clara Bow song so-).

Clara blushes REAL red and looks down and whispers for the person who said that to shut up.

So I say “Hang on, I thought we weren’t allowed to blab abt the marauders after *my best mate* and *another person in the group* argued over who hated JKR the most? For three hours.”

And the girl from before who apparently knows what wolfstar is says “Yeah- except when we’re watching wolfstar happen, of course we have to know what it is.”

HUH,

So I furrow my eyes brows at her and she goes “you know” which I DONT.

And then my best mate rolls her eyes and says “we do have a wolfstar in this friendship group dumbass.” 

LIKE WHO OKAY? 

Anyway, we sorta moved on. And when I tried to hound my best mate later that night she wouldn’t tell me shit. She just kept saying “no. you know all the ships in our friendship group. we aren’t keeping the wolfstar one from you.”

ANYWAY I went home and THEN it occurred to me that… ME. I could be in the wolfstar ship our friends were talking abt. Otherwise I would KNOW, since I always know.

And there’s only one person they all ship me with in our group, Clara. 

SO I TEXT MY BEST MATE LIKE, WAHT RHE FUCK GIRL YOUVE BEEN SHIPING ME WITH SOMEONE SECRETLY

and she says, she hasn’t been shipping us secretly she’s been shipping us to my face

and so I say, that it wasn’t serious until she compared me to my FAV marauders couple

and so she says, WELL IM GLAD U NOW FEEL ITS SERIOUS 

and so I say, how dare u compare me to remus, I love him but he’s def not me. 

and she says, IM NOT BITCH YOURE SIRIUS

so I say, SIRIUS? 

and she says, SIRIUS!

And I say, girl how? 

And she says, how about the fact that ur family are psychos and u really need to move out. How abt because ur an idiot who can’t see what’s right in front of her? How about your a demi bi queer chaotic mess who can’t recognise what could be the love of your life if she literally kissed you on the cheek which she FUCKING DID

so I say, … that was platonic? 

And she says, I hate you (jk I love u) but no rlly I hate u so much. WHAT RHE FUCK DUDE. 

So I say, wait, u don’t think she has a crush on me do u? 

and she says, I FUCKING HATE U HOW R U THIS DUMB.

(this is all taking place over text in case I hadn’t made that clear).

So i say, JUST CAUSE SHES GAY DOESNT MEAN SHE FANCIES ME.

And she says, NO BUT KISSING UR CHEEK AND ASKING U OUT ON SINGLE DATES AND BEINF SAD WHEN U GET A BF AND SPENDING ALL HER TIME WITH TOU DOES MEAN SHE FANCIES U DUMBASS.

So I say, has she told you? 

And she says, u know I can’t say either way.

So I say, so no. She doesn’t. 

AND RHEN I STOP REPLYING.

But now I think she might. 

Which is awkward. Look i’m not like- straight or anything, but I never get crushes, who has the time to care honestly. 

And I don’t wanna be like, oh my friend who’s a lesbian ObViOuSlY has a crush on ME. I’m not like, Erin in Derry Girls. UGH. 

But in hindsight, she HAS seemed bothered whenever I talk about boyfriends (which isn’t that often cause again, who has the fucking time). 

And she did NOT like my ex. Which was only sort of fair personality wise.

And like yes, technically, we have hung out solo and then she kissed my cheek. But like, we’re just really good friends.

ALSO how dare my best mate compare me to Sirius. Sure my parents are evil but they’re NOT RICH. I mean if you’re gonna be horrific at least be rich right? 

And here’s the thing, if I bring it up and Clara does like me- WHAT DO I SAY

and if I bring it up and she doesn’t, i’m that bitch who assumes she does cause she’s gay.

AND if I don’t and she does like me, am I just being ignorant so it’s easier for me. 

Or if i don’t and she doesn’t like me, will I think there’s some weird air here and she won’t even know what’s going on. 

I HATE being in the unknown.

And like I had known our friends shipped us but they’ve done it for like… three years maybe? Not religiously but as a jk. 

So by this point it’s just background noise. but now they’ve compared us to WOLFSTAR (and know what wolfstar is it seems) now I’m like thinking about this.

MAYBE THATS THEIR PLAN. Maybe it’s just a trick to mess with us more. 

But now I can’t help worrying that when we hang out it’s supposed to be a date. Or that time she kissed me was supposed to be a date and I DIDNT REALISE and just rudely ignored her. 

WHAT IF IVE BEEN A BITCH THIS WHOLE TIME? 

Also like yes, she was there for the wolfstar comparison, but idk if SHE knows it was US being compared to them.

Clara doesn’t LOVE the marauders fandom, but she’s lovely and always lets me ramble about it (like I let her ramble abt her books). And so she knows a lot of lore, specifically about Wolfstar. 

So idk if she knew it was abt us, or if she’s just like realising now.

Also, and here’s the weird part, I care. 

I never give a shit usually, about whoever has a crush on me or whatever. I just do what I want and deal with other people later. But now it’s my friend, my really lovely and funny and sweet and beautiful and kind friend and I don’t want to hurt her.

BUT MAYBE I WONT. Cause maybe she doesn’t even like me so it’s nothing to worry abt. 

WHO KNOWS ANYMORE.

Anyway, that’s the story. Got any advice for me Cas? ALSO congrats on your new school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy.

First of all- babe, it sounds like you're the last to know about all this. But I'm glad you're aware now. Welcome to the party!

Also- "my really lovely and funny and sweet and beautiful and kind friend" uhm. do you wanna say that again? And tell me there's no feelings there?

I mean, I'm not gonna tell you how you feel but it sounds like you need to stop overthinking and just spend some time with Clara. Because it could be that you're overlooking something great, here. Stop getting in your head and just feel for a bit. Wolfstar is a superior ship for a reason :D

Naming you wolfstar anon

[kulemiwrites]

Happy Birthday, Boss! | Koji Shindo & Akira Nishikiyama

After years of poking and prodding, Shindo finally figured out the date of his boss' birthday and has made it his mission to remind him that it's something worth celebrating.

Characters: Koji Shindo, Akira Nishikiyama, & background OCs

Rating: GEN

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: I'm literally so burnt out from making banners. Im sure yall can tell lol. Anywayssss, just a little something to celebrate Nishiki's birthday! I know I'm late. One word: Work. This came out kinda flat BUT I didn't wanna spend a millions years on it soooo imma just let it be! Maybe I'll rewrite it sometime? (After I've caught up on requests and prioritized wips ofc) Oh also, this takes place after Nishikiyama's changed but long before the mid game events of Kiwami.

Too long for Tumblr? Read it on AO3!

The energy surging through the Nishikiyama Family Office in the last few days had been nothing short of pandemonium but somehow, Shindo managed. After all, it was his own fault that he had been stretched so thin. As Patriarch Nishikiyama’s right hand man, he couldn’t allow his work to fall to the wayside, no matter how chaotic he let his own personal schedule become– not if he didn’t want the man to become suspicious of him. He’d done well up to  this point but if he had to be honest with himself, he was relieved that the day had finally arrived. He hated having to hide shit from him. With each passing day, he grew anxious that his patriarch would smell something fishy and lash out before even allowing him an opportunity to explain himself. 

These days his boss was becoming increasingly volatile and he couldn’t always predict what might set him off.

Respect was what drove him to swear up but fear… Fear was what kept him honest, kept him in line. 

Even so, he’d managed to rationalize when he arranged Patriarch Nishikiyama’s agenda for the day that a white lie or two wouldn’t offend much, so long as he made it worth it in the end. After all, he needed him out of the way until evening. Shindo knew that if the other man had no pressing matters to tend to outside of that office, he’d remain behind that mahogany desk brooding for hours. 

And not a soul could do anything about it.

If he got to that point, there was no luring him to a secondary location– not unless that secondary location was his home and of course Shindo knew better than showing up at his house unannounced.

He’d scheduled two of Patriarch Nishikiyama’s more important, lengthy off-site meetings for late morning and mid-afternoon, then “dinner” that evening. The choice words his boss had for him as he rattled off the agenda that morning was… colorful, to say the least but, ducking his head in apology, he reminded himself that it was easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission. 

After having big meetings like that back to back, he knew full well that his boss would want to leave the evening open and spend the rest of it at home, tending to the migraine he’d inevitably get from listening to people he thought were idiots, blabbing listlessly for hours. He’d nearly told him as much when he violently cursed him but all it took was one familiar name for him to change his tune. 

Shindo knew that it wasn’t one that he'd turn his back on. He didn’t know much of their history but he had noticed over the years that that one old man was an individual that Patriarch Nishikiyama never spoke against meeting with short notice. In fact, he’d seen his boss inconvenience himself numerous times to see to it that he kept his word to him.

The dinner plans were mostly a fabrication– Alright, so, it was a half truth! But, he’d hoped that little detail would be more than enough to save his head from being lobbed off.

Shindo flipped through the stack of pages on his desk, busy work left for him by the big man himself. He’d worked tirelessly since morning to get through it all, even showing up at the office hours before everyone else to do so. He needed to save himself enough time in the evening to ensure the real plans went off without a fucking hitch. Quite literally, he couldn’t afford for tonight to fail. He spared no expense in making sure of that. 

There were flies coming out of his wallet at this point.

He scribbled his name and the day’s date across the final page, smacked his pen against the thick glass desk top then pushed up the sleeve of his coat to check the Rolex strapped around his wrist. 

Good timing, he thought.

So long as things were working as scheduled, his boss should have been entering his mid-day meeting right about now. That bought him more than enough time to head to a meeting of his own and work out any unexpected kinks, if necessary. 

Shindo was experiencing a bout of anxiety he only ever got when he was under immense pressure– pressure to impress Patriarch Nishikiyama, that is. He rolled his chest and cracked his neck as the clacking of his leather shoes echoed down the dim, quiet and narrow hallway. He trusted that the feeling would pass once he was certain that everything was in its intended place but there were so many moving parts and he couldn’t have his hands on all of them. He had to believe in those he issued responsibility, that they would pull their weight and he had to breathe. If he didn't stay on his game, he’d slip and miss catching a mistake that could cost everything.

The silence of his cell the past few hours, should have been reassuring. He should have taken it to mean that everyone was playing their roles properly but knowing that he couldn’t be sure, distressed him. 

If there was one thing he knew in this world, it was that silence wasn’t always golden– not with the band of fools he was forced to rely on.

When Shindo pushed the dark tinted door open, he released a deep breath that he wasn’t even aware he’d been holding. His dark eyes bounced across the large banquet hall, dressed in warm reds, golds, creamy tans and black to set a bit of balance to the color palette. There were bouquets of balloons with golden ribbon hanging from the high ceiling as well as a garland framing the buffet table. Streamers swirled around thick faux marble pillars. A long, narrow area rug spilled wine red from the entrance below the welcome arch until it cut between the two lengthy rectangular dining tables set for 12 each. Square tables set for four, filled most of the remaining space. 

There was a small stage ahead of the dining area that boasted a dark backdrop with grand flower bouquets matching the elegant color scheme and a single microphone standing front and center. Each dark-clothed table held one to three floating candle centerpieces with a thin, golden artificial plant inside. There was a table set aside for gifts next to the bar which had yet to be occupied by the evening’s bartender and another set aside for a grand cake. 

Near the wall, not far from the stage was a cozy booth and table that had the widest view of the room. It was decorated much like the rest but preset with an unopened bottle of the boss’ favorite whiskey and a stack of glasses.

From where he stood, he could see a shiny, black ponytail swishing in the merlot colored booth. His lips curved as he took slow strides toward the owner of it.

“Looking good in here, Shizuka-chan.” he said, his deep voice cutting through the silence and startling the woman enough to cause her to drop the lighter she just picked up then he held up his hands, half apologetic.

“Ah, Shindo-san…” she said, grabbing the lighter and flicking it above the wick of the candle. “You’re early.”

“I got started as soon as I could so that I could meet you before everyone else got here…” he said, shoving his hands deep into his gray pants pockets as he craned his head to admire the room. “You and the girls did good. Helluva lot better than me and mine would’ve done. Guess I really did need a ladies’ touch to pull this shit off after all.” 

The woman scooted out of the seat, remaining a distance from him. Her thin red lips pursed as she gave the table a final lookover. 

“Yes, well. Thanks to you, I was able to hire a more than capable team.” 

“No kidding.” he nodded. 

Shizuka was the event center’s manager. Shindo had hired her half a year ago, after he purchased the building and got it cleaned up. The woman was the face of the business, but she merely acted as a liaison between him and the customers interested in renting the place out. She was meant to help hide the stench of yakuza. It was better that civilians interact with a friendly face than himself and risk stagnation because the common folk associate the place with yakuza. He’d learned that from Patriarch Nishikiyama when he helped him secure the purchasing deal. 

He did wonder if hosting an event, the very first event, for a patriarch was risky for future business but it was the least he could do to thank the boss for his support. And hell, it was Patriarch Nishikiyama’s birthday.

He couldn’t think of a better grand opening than that.

“Where’s the rest of the staff?” 

“I sent them on break,” she said, checking her wristwatch then staring back up at him with her beady eyes. “Shall we go over the checklist to ensure that everything is as you requested?”

“Why not,” he shrugged with an air of nonchalance despite finding a bit of relief upon hearing those words.

“Just a moment, I’ve left my checklist in the back office.” she said, clopping away in her shiny black mary janes. 

Shindo watched her wide figure slowly disappear across the room. Just as he was about to settle himself into the booth that Shizuka only just exited from, he heard the door burst open. He quickly returned to his feet to look in that direction. He could feel the glare wrinkling his face.

“The hell–”

“Thank god you’re here, Cap!” one of his juniors rushed toward him, “Cap, I need your backup on this!”

The younger man spoke in a rushed cadence, sounding almost out of breath. In his hands was a crumpled packet of papers. Another man stomped in behind him, pushing his sunglasses to his forehead to look the captain in the eye.

“Captain’s gonna side with me on this, I keep tellin’ you.” the other said, his voice raspy and laced with annoyance.

Shindo sucked in a sharp inhale as he stared down at the shorter men. He didn’t know what the issue was but he still felt vindicated when he caught the winded one’s distraught face. It had been far too quiet. He’d known something would come up.

“What?” he asked, annoyance cutting through the word on exhale.

“I keep tellin’ this idiot that we need more chicks on the guest list.” the one using sunglasses for a headband said. “The boss's gonna think he showed up at a damn sausage party. We need some girls. I know a few hostesses that–”

Shindo snatched the wrinkled list and his eyes skimmed column after column of names. Most of the attendees were male, yes, but they were some of the family whose company he knew the boss didn’t mind– ones that mostly knew how to behave in a public setting and wouldn’t set the man off when he was intending to help him wind down. There were a handful of female attendees on the list as well. Women he’d hand picked based on what they meant to the boss. These were women he knew that while the man might not say it, he'd actually be delighted to see, especially the one who had agreed to perform tonight. 

“No, no hostesses.” Shindo said. 

While he would personally prefer to see a gaggle of good looking ladies show up to tonight’s party in spades, he knew that the boss would quickly grow annoyed when a band of women with dollar signs for eyes came in lying through their teeth and pressing up against him. 

He wanted to stick with the plan Shizuka presented, one she referred to as having an intimate gathering. That seemed to suit the boss’ preferences and temperament these days rather than him being shoved into a room full of half strangers intending to mingle and schmooze. It was probably best to reserve that sort of thing for obligatory events the boss needed to attend for work, rather than leisure.

“But, Captain Sh–”

“I said no fucking extra girls, got it?” he spat, then shoved the papers back into the other man’s hands. 

“Thanks, Cap.”

“Yes, sir…”

“Now, got anything else?”

“No.”

“Alright,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “Go help in the back. I want the cake out before he turns up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shindo checked his Rolex again then brought his rough hand up to stroke at his stubbly chin as another sigh escaped him. Was he annoyed that the guys he chose to act as what Shizuka called “guest coordinators” were bickering about the guest list only hours before the party began? 

Yes. 

However, he did find strange relief that that was the extent of his problems. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he headed toward the back to supervise and make sure that he didn't have any larger fires to put out.

When Shindo heard this phone chime in his pocket, he was looking over the items at the bar for the third time, ensuring it had everything he’d ordered for tonight. He dug into his coat pocket and checked the message waiting for him. It was the guard that accompanied the patriarch and chauffeur today, letting him know that they’d be arriving soon. He’d also warned him that the boss was already aggravated because the chauffeur had passed the restaurant he was under the impression he was due at. 

A corner of his lips curled and an amused breath pushed through his nose. It was nearly showtime now. 

He turned to face the room, much louder than it was when he first arrived a couple hours ago. Majority of the attendees had arrived and broken off into small groups throughout the room, chatting and laughing amongst themselves– all waiting on his say so. He flipped the cell phone shut, slipped it back into his coat pocket and headed toward the stage. 

His heart was pounding now.

When he tapped the microphone to ensure it was live, an unpleasant screech echoed through the room and silenced the guests. 

“Uh,” he said, frowning at the sound of his own voice surrounding him. “The boss’ll be here any minute now. Someone shut these lights off. Everybody get in place and shut the hell up. Let’s not screw this up.”

It didn’t take long for the crowd to disperse and scramble around the room. He carefully stepped off the stage and narrowed his eyes as he checked the crowd for a specific person and once he spotted them, he closed in. The lights lowered as he got closer as if waiting for him specifically. 

Only one light remained, the one cascading down from the high ceiling, above the strategically placed welcome arch.

When the door opened, he could faintly hear the guards’ voice apologizing to their boss as he led him through the dim room. Shindo immediately caught Patriarch Nishikiyama’s tight, downturned and sour expression as they led him below the arch, his eyes yet to adjust.

The lights flipped on and every voice in the facility shouted out “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Nishikiyama was startled almost to stone. He didn’t intend to stand there for as long as he had. It just seemed to take him a while to process what his sharp eyes registered as they scanned across the sea of familiar, smiling faces in the room. His men were all well dressed, the others too. The layout and design of the room was breathtaking. For a moment there, he didn’t even recognize it as the shabby little event hall, he’d coached Koji through purchasing. 

It wasn’t until his eyes scanned the long banner hanging above the stage that read: “Happy Birthday, Boss!” that he dipped his head and let out a soft chuckle. 

He’d recognize that calligraphy anywhere.

“You idiots…” he trailed off.

The tight expression on his face relaxed ever so slightly and though a smile didn’t curve his lips, Shindo could see it lifting at the corners of his eyes. And that, made Shindo smile hard enough for the both of them.

“Thanks.” Nishikiyama said, most of them didn’t hear it but they all clapped and cheered anyway.

His brown eyes skimmed the crowd until he spotted Koji, heads taller than most, then called for him.

“Koji.” 

Understanding his cue, the tall man emerged from the crowd with a familiar face in tow. He was gentle with the much shorter man, one hand holding his wrist and the other lightly pushing against his shoulder as he guided the elder to the arch where Nishikiyama stood. 

The moment Nishikiyama’s eyes met that of the older man’s they softened and for a long moment Shindo recognized a resemblance to a version of his boss that he hadn’t seen in a very, very long time. The man he met and first came to admire all those years back. Though it seemed so far away now, he always knew that side of him was still there somewhere. 

He could always feel it.

“Happy birthday, ya lil’ shit.” the old man said.

A rare smile split the man’s lips as he shook his head, “Old man Uehara, the hell are you doing here?”

“The hell am I doin’ here? Ya think I’d forget your birthday after these years? My mind ain’t gone yet–” he scolded but there was an affection behind his rough tone that matched the affection in Nishikiyama’s. “It takes one of these chuckleheads ta show up at my door just so I can celebrate with ya?”

He chuckled, lowering his head in a bow to the elder. “Sorry.”

“Forget about it. Lemme give ya–” Uehara turned to look over his shoulder, his head gently shaking from tremors. “Where’s that boy with the box?”

Nishikiyama’s eyes flicked across the faces of those still watching on, silently trying to figure out what Uehara was talking about. Someone stepped forward with a small, rectangular, diligently wrapped box and placed it into the old man’s unsteady hands. 

It pained Nishikiyama to see the man trembling before him. He knew that it was the result of the stroke the old man suffered half a year ago but it still sent a pang of guilt surging through his chest. 

“Here,” Uehara said, extending the box with both hands and Nishikiyama recognized it immediately. “My wife’s recipe… It’s not nearly as good as her’s were but–”

He placed his hands on each of Uehara's, temporarily steadying them. The old man said the same line about his homemade confections for as long as Nishikiyama had been receiving them– a good 15 years now. He’d never even had his wife’s confections but if they were even better than what the old man was capable of, he’d wager it was a good thing he didn’t or he might have been toothless by this age.

“I’m grateful, Uehara-san…” he nodded, holding his gaze to ensure the man understood how genuine he was. “I’m sorry you had to travel such a long way but thank you for bringing them to me.” 

Uehara allowed him to take the box from him, then tapped his cool, shaky hand against Nishikiyama’s cheek. 

“Get some rest sometime, kid. Ya look like ya ain’t had a decent night’s sleep in years.”

He let out a small chuckle, “I’ll try my best, old man.”

When he removed his hand from his cheek, Nishikiyama straightened his posture and his expression hardened when he met Koji’s eye. He didn’t have to say a word. He made a great captain simply because he knew how to anticipate his boss’s needs without much prodding. 

Koji bowed his head, “I’ll see to it that Uehara-san arrives home safely.”

“The hell ya will!” the old man snapped, “I ain’t leaving til his punk has a drink with me. He owes me that damn much.” 

Nishikiyama coughed, “Some things never change, do they, old man?”

“I’m too old to change. I’ll be set in my ways til I die.”

He laughed, “Guess I’ve got even longer to deal with your big mouth then, huh?”

“And I, yours!”

“Oh, then, uh..” Koji gestured ahead. “Let me show you to your table, boss.”

“Sure.” he said, now accepting the responsibility of escorting the older man through the crowd.

Nishikiyama was downright exhausted by the time the party cleared out. He couldn’t remember the last time he let himself loose, well… As loose as he was capable of being these days in a room full of people. He’s not much for parties anymore. It wears him out in a way that makes fatigue set in bone deep. However… He didn’t regret tonight. 

Since he lost Yumi, Kiryu went to prison, and he stopped going to see Uehara regularly, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d properly celebrated his birthday. Hell, he could barely recall the last time he realized that it was his birthday. It wasn’t until that initial fright right there under the arch that it even crossed this mind for the first time today. For years now, he really only came to the realization he’d grown a year older when the year came to a close. All his days ran in together. He only ever paid attention to the calendar when he had important events and obligations to tend to. 

He couldn’t even remember the last time he told someone his birthday. He knew that it was long before he’d met Koji, which made him wonder…

As if he’d known that he’d crossed the man’s mind, he appeared not far from Nishikiyama’s table with a broom and dustpan in tow. After he’d finished sweeping up the pile of broken glass, he peered at his patriarch’s table to see if he was okay before heading back.

They wound up locking eyes and Koji knew he was being summoned. So, he answered. 

“Sit.” Nishikiyama says, scooting so that there’s room between him and the younger man. 

Placing the cleaning items behind the booth, Koji joins his boss at the dark table. 

Apart from the music, they sat in a long silence. 

Koji didn’t feel discomfort though, not like he does when he can sense a scolding coming on. That thought allowed him to relax in his seat. 

It was Nishikiyama that broke the silence, “I almost can’t believe you set all this up. It’s not your style at all.” 

The words came out harsher than he intended.

“It’s not… But it is yours, boss.” he said.

“Koji…”

“Sir?”

Nishikiyama’s gaze slowly trailed from counting the tables that were now half empty to finally settling on him. “I never told you my birthday.”

Koji’s body flashed with heat. He rubbed at the peach fuzz at the back of his head. There was hesitancy when he spoke. “Yeah, I, uh…” he trailed off. 

“You, what?” he murmured, folding his hands on the table in front of him as he stared expectantly.

“I read it on the paperwork you filled out… When you helped with the purchasing agreement.”

The patriarch’s dark brown eyes widened once the realization hit him.

At first he was considering if at some point he’d accidentally slipped and mentioned it. Or he’d left his I.D. lying around somewhere. Or if perhaps, one of his boys took it upon themselves to ask around. Not once did it occur to him that he’d come by the information that way. 

He shouldn’t have been too surprised. The question was dismissed numerous times in the past, in hopes that he’d just forget about it. But Koji was nothing if not resilient and he always did have an eye for detail. 

That was why he trusted him as his captain.

Nishikiyama’s gaze dropped down to his own clasped hands, squeezing just enough to define his veins. Another lengthy silence lingered between them. 

And again, it was Nishikiyama that spoke up to break it. 

“Thirsty?” he asked. 

He didn’t wait on an answer before he reached for one of the extra glasses and placed it in front of the captain. He poured the whiskey into the glass and handed it to him. He raised his hand in a halting gesture when Koji reached for the bottle in an effort to return the favor, then he poured his own. 

He lifted the glass, eyes watching the liquid swaying slightly, lips parting as if he was about to speak but then pressed them back together before gesturing his drink toward Koji’s. 

Understanding, he carefully clanked his glass against the other’s then watched, expecting him to take the first sip. Instead, Nishikiyama nodded at him, wordless telling him to forget the formalities and simply enjoy his drink. 

He’d earned it. 

Koji eyed his own whiskey for a second then shifted his gaze back to him. 

“Now that I know your birthday, boss, I’ll be sure not to forget.” he said, a solemnness shaping his features. “You’ve never forgotten mine.”

There was a dull tug in his chest upon hearing those words. 

Sure, he’d acknowledged Koji’s birthday in some form or another over the years. But, Koji was just a punk kid the last time he’d gone all out for him. Hell, just last year, he had gotten him nothing more than a watch. Nishikiyama’s mind whirled him into silence but it was the other’s voice that broke it this time.

“Happy birthday, boss.” he said, bowing his head then taking a large gulp of his whiskey. 

A hearty chuckle escaped him when he heard the man hiss and curse at the burn. It felt like an eternity since Koji witnessed him let out such a genuine laugh. 

“That it is…” Nishikiyama said in a voice so low, it seemed to have been a response to no one but himself.

A happy birthday indeed.

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