#don't get me wrong writing characters without ever naming them is very clever

[avengers-rule103]

(i need to know if a fanfic exists where the priest chooses fleabag. i need to know if someone, anyone, has rewritten the ending, i need to KNOW. and i need to read it asap please. because i am still devestated. absolutey wrecked. "it'll pass" no, no it won't. give me my happy ending damn it.)

[jules-ln]

Sorry Anon, the post was too long so I decided to make it its own post instead of an answer

Let me write my Bible because I have thought about this more than I should and I'm mentally ill

First the silence of the girls

I'm going be honest and say that while I don't like this book, I can recognize that is very well written and author makes it very interesting

But!

The girls were silenced indeed 😅

Like, if you're going to market your book as a "feminist" retelling of the Iliad I'll expect your level of feminism to be more advanced than what Homer was writing

Don't get me wrong, I know that women and children are often overlooked at wars specially in a historical context, but what Pat Barker was presenting as feminism was simply "Women suffer more than men in wars 😥" and that is the same thing that Homer was saying hundreds of years ago, more than that, I'd say that Homer did it better

And you know, it's supposed to be a feminist retelling, so I was expecting sorority to be a thing, specially because the only other source of comfort, respect and friendship a woman like Briseis could have had then would've been other enslaved women

But no, we don't really see sorority in the greek camps for more than a couple of paragraphs at best, and I got the feeling that some women characters were just genderbents of the male heroes, like Odysseus's enslaved woman is clever, Nestor's enslaved woman is maternal, florals for spring? groundbreaking

More than that, in the Iliad there is a character named Iphis that is Patroclus's enslaved woman and Briseis mentioned being close friends with her. So you expect that being a close friend of the protagonist she should have a lot of dialogue, specially in conversations with Briseis, don't you think?

Bish, I don't even remember her talking at all to begin with, much less to Briseis! 🤣

The only meaningful relationship Briseis has in the book are Achilles and Patroclus, her life orbits around these men and the other women don't matter

And that leads me to my other point

Briseis doesn't do ANYTHING.

Now, I know, I know, I know. Briseis doesn't do anything in the Iliad either, but that's some of the problems I have with Iliad adaptations.

Like, none of them will EVER be as good as the Iliad, to any writer that think that they can make an adaptation of the Iliad be as good as the Iliad. Sit down, you aren't that guy

So really, they should just do what MM did. Do your own thing that can stand on its own without hanging on the Iliad. Even if it's different, that's a good thing

Now, I say all of that because, it would've been Good if Briseis did something, ANYTHING at all other than stand there and look pretty

You might say "it's accurate to the Iliad" I say "A protagonist that doesn't do anything at all and doesn't influence the world around them in any way is boring"

There was even this part where Briseis wonders about how much control Patroclus has over Achilles, And I was here like "Yesssss, Briseis is going to emotionally manipulate Patroclus to control Achilles so she can be the one who is actually in control of both"

Nope, that, didn't happen, like, at all

Even at some point the narrative kicks Briseis out of the story to focus on Achilles and Patroclus, and like, feminism where? 😅

Once again that leads to my next point. Patroclus and Achilles part was more interesting.

Unironically, the best part of the book was the relationship that both had, it was the type of relationship that was like "I love you, but ngl I kinda hate you and want to kill you too unironically" And I think that's interesting! That's new, I've never read anything like that regarding those two before!

But that's a problem, because when I bought the book I wanted to read about women, I wanted to read about Briseis, not about Achilles and Patroclus, and that the author made them SOOOO much more interesting than Briseis, is just sad

Then there's the problem of the rapes scene, which, in this day and age if you're going to add a rape scene in anything, you better have some freaking good reason. And in this book, they're there for mere shock value, it doesn't give anything to the story, it doesn't change the tone of the book, a good editor would've take them out, but I guess it was part of the "feminist" message 🙄

But really, I don't hate the book, like I said, it's well written in my opinion, but it is a disappointing book because it could've been a great book with some tweaks here and there

Now about The song of Troy

ACHILLES YOU SON OF A BITCH FUCKING LIPLESS MUPPET I HATE YOU Y SI CIEN AÑOS VIVO CIEN AÑOS CHINGAS A TU MADREEEEE

Now that we got that out of the way

See, the thing is that I've read the song of Troy some time ago, and I mostly rage read it so I don't remember it very well

Like I hated it SO MUCH it it it Flames flames FLAMES on the side of my head (yes, it's a reference) so I'm just going to say the things I remember that made me mad

🔸️Helen is the prime example that writing women that don't suck ass ISN'T an innate skill in women, like she was one of the most misogynistic characters that I've ever read and if I was Menelaus in this book, I would be happy that she was gone, bon voyage biatch!

🔸️Both the book and Achilles treat Patroclus like Trash

🔸️The story treats Achilles like an uwu boy that can do no wrong when in reality in the book he's an idiotic asshole estúpido kbron hijo de la chingada pinche mamon bastardo agarras tu espadita la haces rollito y te la metes por el culo pendejo de mierda. Yeah, I don't like Achilles in this book

🔸️Odysseus is written to allegedly be very smart, sadly in actuality he's very dumb, because you see, the whole thing about the fight between Agamemnon and Achilles was an elaborate plot by him to get the Trojans to come out if I remember correctly, now, I think any good good tactician will tell you that an overly elaborate plan that will result in like half of your men dying with no guarantee of it being successful anyway, isn't so smart

🔸️Briseis was written so badly... I'm just going to put it this way, at some point in the book Achilles hits her, and that was the best fucking thing Achilles did in that book, like yess fucking muppet slap that bitch again. Oh but don't worry, Briseis in the book was ok with being slapped and not in a kinky way

🔸️Helen hits Andromache, and so did Hector. I'm going to leave it at that

🔸️I don't remember too well because at this point the fog of rage was too thick, but I think Achilles and Hector kinda fell in love when they were fighting? Which was very weird

So make yourself a favor and don't read it

If you want a good adaptation read these

🔹️War music by christopher logue, it isn't finished because sadly the author died, but best adaptation I've read so far

Here's a quote I like:

"When Nyro’s mother heard of this

She shaved her head; she tore her frock; she went outside

Ripping her fingernails through her cheeks:

Then down her neck; her chest; her breasts;

And bleeding to her waist ran round the shops,

Sobbing:

‘God, kill Troy.

Console me with its death.

Revenge is all I have.

My boy was kind. He had his life to live.

I will not have the chance to dance in Hector’s blood,

But let me hear some have before I die.’

‘I saw her running round.

I took the photograph.

It summed the situation up.

He was her son.

They put it out in colour. Right?

My picture went around the world.’"

🔹️La cólera by Javier Olivares and Santiago García, is a comic in Spanish, but if you can get your hands on one copy, do it, it's so good and the art is beautiful, one of the best portrayals of Achilles I've seen, Pyrrha also appears

🔹️An Iliad, by Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson, is a play, and tbh I don't like this one as much as I do the other two, but it is SOOO GOOD too.

🔹️En mitad de tanto fuego by Alberto Conejero, this one is a play; short and sweet and the narrator is Patroclus, very new too, and as far as I know it's only in Spanish, but if you can get it, do so, because it's very good.

Let me translate a part of it to the best of my abilities to tempt you a bit

"How short was life, how short... Now bury me as soon as possible so I can cross the gate of Hades. Bury me, Achilles. And if someone in the future finds my tomb and opens it, let them see how smoke comes out of my shroud still. Because of the desire, Achilles, because of the desire"

[heartofspells]

For the choose violence ask game, 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10 please?

Hiya, sweet!

1 - the character everyone gets wrong

Jamessssssssss (betcha thought i was going to say Sirius, didn't you? haha psych) And look, I get it. We don't really get much of James through the books. It's mostly all favorable stuff said after his death, which is a common thing with everyone once they're gone. No one really wants to address the bad points, do they? And I'm not going to say that everyone gets him wrong, because they don't. I just don't think enough people look deeply enough into his character and who he most likely was.

James was an only child (have you ever met one of those? ugh) born to wealthy, older parents who most likely spoiled him beyond belief and inflated his ego to massive proportions. We see a small piece of him during SWM, and while maybe it's the worst point in time to see him, I don't think that's true. James was portrayed as clever, highly intelligent, having to try little to keep up and excel over everyone else. Traits like that come with worse traits attached. James was arrogant, probably a little conceited, and he was a bully, at least to an extent. People mostly ignore that. They paint him as sunshine and rainbows, always the bright spot in the darkness, never flagging or giving into doubts or falling prey to troubles. That's just not sustainable for anyone, no matter who you are.

Do I think James had a brighter outlook on life than his other friends? Yes. Do I think that was his entire personality? No, of course not. Personally, I think James was blunt and ran away at his mouth more often than he didn't. I think there was little he wouldn't say without thought. I think he was fiercely loyal to those he cared about but a bit of an idiot sometimes, too, especially when he was younger and very immature. There's just a lot of nuance to James' character that I've constructed in my head that's hard to find in most writing.

7 - what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

I wouldn't say hate, but I've become very cautious in what I read and whenever I see his name, and that character is Regulus. He seems to have become the Marauders fandom's version of a catchall character. The fandom seems to enjoy piling all their life grief on his shoulders, which is fine, do what you want, but again, I sometimes feel like his character is being stripped apart to accomplish this. And Regulus is another one of those characters we know nothing about from canon, so it makes sense to build him up into whatever you want, but Regulus was a Black. He took on something terrifying at an impossibly young age when he took the Mark. There's no way he would have survived any of that as long as he did or had the bravery to go after a Horcrux if he was so fragile that anyone could have snapped him like a flimsy twig.

8 - common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I'm gonna do it. Hate me if you want, but I'm doing it. I'm bringing back the height discourse hahahahaha (i'm laughing because it's terrible). The whole thing is so stupid, I'm sorry, it just is. I honestly don't care either way. Big and tall strapping Remus or tiny Remus; Sirius as tall as a tower or pocket-sized Sirius. It literally makes no difference to me, and in my own writing, if their heights do matter for some reason (see: At the Healing Edge of Broken where Remus is taller than Sirius, but it's for a purpose and barely referenced at all in the grand scheme of things) I'll adjust them accordingly. But, in canon, inside the text of the books, Sirius is tall. It says so. Harry doesn't point out much about height throughout the series, but he does make a reference to this about Sirius, which has always led me to see him as tall, at least in some scope of the word.

And honestly, I blame the entire height discourse on the movies. Gary Oldman is so much shorter than David Thewlis, and it's become soooo clear to me that so many people draw their visuals for all these characters from the movies instead of how they're described in the books (possibly because they've never read the books; but even people that have read the books do this, i've noticed). Sirius has curly hair in the movies so he has curly hair, even though it's never mentioned in the books. Remus has a mustache in the movies so obviously Remus in writing must have a mustache and scars on his face and all sorts of other things for all these characters that are never even mentioned in the books. And that's a lot of opinions all rolled into one that I'm not going to go into detail about, but it bugs me so much.

9 & 10 were answered here ;)

Choose some violence with me ;)

[angeloroki]

you are the ua traitor — tamaki; shoto; bakugo

you were the ua traitor. and that broke his heart.

— character ; amajiki tamaki x gn!reader, shoto todoroki x gn!reader, katsuki bakugo x gn!reader

— request ; So I have this idea 👉🏻👈🏻 tamaki ( idk if you write for him ) shouto and bakugou ( feel free to add or remove anyone ) reaction to reader who sent by the league of villains to spay on UA. like the students were on a mission and the villains attacks and reader take their side ? Again plz if your uncomfortable with it just ignore it and ily 🤎🤎Also sorry for any mistake English isn’t my first Language

— genre ; angst

— warnings ; none

— a/n ; ty for your request hun, im totally okay with it!! so i hope you'll like it :)

(ily too <33)

amajiki tamaki

broken

his heart was in pieces when he understood your real presence in UA

you were called in by the professional heroes with nejire and mirio to rescue civilians from an attack on the downtown shopping center

he was warned that it was an attack of the league of villains

the young brunette was not afraid of the villains, but he was afraid for you, his s/o, afraid you would get hurt or worse

but he was happy to be with you on this mission,

you were there to reassure him and to have his back and vice versa, you were just a great duo

but never, never would he have imagined the scene before him

indeed, he was going to fight toga when he saw you deflecting his blow to protect the young blonde

« y/n ? » he said confused

but was he really ?

but everything came together like a puzzle, the rumor of an informant within the school, how each attack coincided with their exit from the school, information leaks

but still everything was fuzzy in his head

and maybe he didn't want to admit the truth

that the person he was in love with was just a villain

tears came to his eyes, and his gaze found the ground. motionless, paralyzed, he was losing his means

he saw you strike a violent blow to a hero who was going to arrest you

another hero came and shook tamaki with both hands

« hey son let them, the building will collapse ! », he shouted in his ears

but tamaki came to free himself from his hold to approach you

you stared at him, poor baby, he was in a bad state

« did you lie about that too ? did you lie to me when you said you loved me ? »

tears came to his eyes, he wanted to hear your truth from your own mouth first

he refused to admit that you had just helped the league of villains to knock out all the heroes

you sighed softly, you had never planned on tamaki in your mission

and even less fall in love with him

« you can still become a hero. and be with me. i beg you. » his voice was now a whisper.

a hero tried to capture you and failed miserably

the cause ?

tamaki

he was holding him back with his tentacles from approaching you.

« i'm sorry. i'm sorry that my love feelings for you are true. » you said.

his gaze was fixed on the ground, but he guessed that you had fled with the other bandits.

he let you go. and you were gone.

shoto todoroki

shoto and you were on patrol in an area when you were called in to help some heroes who were in trouble against the league of villains

your boyfriend who was very attentive to you noticed right away that something was bothering you

although he asked you if you were ready to go, you assured him that everything was fine

he knew you too well and knew something was wrong as you said

and his thoughts were confirmed all too quickly

you had arrived at the battle scene when he heard someone call your name

it was the one villain called twice, he has dealt with before in many attacks

« y/n you're finally here, oh my god, there is so much noises ! no it's silent what do you mean. y/n, shigaraki you don't have to do anything more in the UA ! »

shoto was a man of great composure, yet it was only these few words that managed to destabilise him with incredible force.

he was going to ask you what it meant

and before he noticed you were no longer by his side, he saw you alongside some villains

but instead of seeing them fighting or at least stopping them, shoto quickly understood that you were simply helping them to dodge the heroes' attacks

he said your name in a weak voice at first, filled with concern

he started to walk towards you, at a slow pace then he accelerated his pace

his thoughts whirled at a crazy speed, everything fitted together perfectly.

you were the traitor the teachers had been talking about for the last few weeks.

and you had chosen the worst time to reveal it.

once he was on your level, your first instinct was to protect yourself in case of an attack.

but the last thing he wanted to do was capture you or attack you , he just wanted to understand.

he needed to understand.

todoroki just wanted to understand how you could have betrayed him, or everyone else in the school.

« tell me i'm misinterpreting what's happening, please. »

his usually stoic expression was replaced by one filled with sorrow

and that's what broke your heart the most, plus the fact that your first love was a hero and not a villain like you.

his hands that were connected to yours clenched a little more as if he was afraid that you would disappear at any moment

yet he wasn't wrong to be afraid

and he understood that quickly

« don't give up on me, please. i-i love you y/n, even if we're not in the... same camp. »

never has shoto shown himself so weak in front of someone.

and even less so unreasonable

he, who was so hard on the rules. he was willing to make an exception for you.

and yet, you couldn't let that happen

you had to bite your lip until it bled to keep from crying in front of him.

you would have liked to say that he was only a pawn in your plan, in your mission.

but did you also have to lie to yourself ?

« stop loving me then, because it's not possible. » you reply in a cold voice.

you pushed him away violently, and with your partners you managed to push the little heroes aside to escape.

you did it for him, for his sake, you convince yourself.

even if it would break your own heart.

katsuki bakugo

you and bakugo were in the middle of a hostage rescue

admittedly, this was not bakugo's strong point, attack was more his domain

yet your superiors had specifically assigned you this mission

and what surprised you was that he didn't grumble while trying to change your mind

you didn't know it but he was happy to keep an eye on you, you were dealing with the league of villains and he was relieved to be able to be by your side to protect you in case things got out of hand

although he knew you were capable of protecting yourself

but now he wasn't sure if you ever even needed him

indeed, you were the two heroes still standing against the villains,

the other pro-heroes were either injured or unconscious

he wanted to keep you out of the way to avoid hurting you when he wanted to attack

« get out of my way moron, it's time to attack ! »

and yet you pushed him away with a calculated gesture and tackled him to the ground

you had handled him gently and carefully not to hurt him

and it was the fact that you attacked him instead of your opponents that caught him off guard

he didn't even try to struggle, letting you do this technique that you had learned from aizawa, in a few seconds only

and yet even though he suspected what was going on, he dared to say

« i knew you were stupid, but not that stupid ! we're not in training, the bad guys are the assholes over there idiot ! »

he was quick to get out of the way, but you made it easy to keep him in your grip

« don't be silly katsuki, you know we were never on the same side. », you say in a voice filled with pain.

you understood well what he was doing, the young blond is a smart and a clever man although he didn't let anything show in class

he simply refused to accept the truth, hiding his face

without saying anything, he pushed you away and went to attack the villains who were starting to flee

this time, and it was the last, you tackled him to the ground so that he

you didn't know about this surprise attack by the villain league, the last thing you wanted was for this mission to go wrong and katsuki to get hurt.

his expression was a mixture of anger and pain

« DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO LET YOU ESCAPE JUST BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS Y/N! » his voice broke in mid-sentence.

you felt your throat tighten, it was the first time he had used your name.

Why did it have to happen in this particular situation?

it had been a while since he had stopped struggling, only his bruised eyes were still trying to struggle

you didn't answer, a heavy silence was between you despite the mess around you

« answer me, damn it... » , his voice had calmed down, but you could still feel the anger simmering.

« you couldn't understand katsuki. » you fled his gaze, your hands still holding him.

he let out a dry laugh.

« yeah, you're just like all the rest. »

bakugo was still stronger than you, in just a second he was up and pushing you away.

he turned his back on you.

« go away. but i will find you. »

[devinescribe]

Liars

Chapter 13 of '100 Promises'

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

I am... very... very... sorry for not updating this. I've been trying to write for this, got started, halfway through I got bored of the concept, deleted it, and started over. It's still... meh, if I'm being completely honest, but I hope you enjoy

Warnings: talks and mentions of rape, talks and mentions of abuse, swearing, mentions of blood, mentions of bullying. I think that's all, but as always let me know if I missed any.

Finally a hearts game!

You were excited, and so was Niragi. It was low ranking so you weren't worried in the least.

There were a couple others playing with you, and you smiled. There was people to sacrifice if needed. "How fun!" You cheered. Niragi laughed, shaking his head. "You're a crazy bitch you know?" You heard someone say. You turned to face them, and smiled. Your smile looked so innocent, so pure. "Hopefully the craziest bitch you've ever met."

"Game: Maze Of Reflection (can I name things? No.)

Rules: Everyone will be partnered up. You will be asked questions that you can only answer truthfully. The questions will all have relate to you and your life. Your partner will get the questions they must ask you through the headsets on the table.  If you do lie, the headsets send a wave of the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. Once you've lied a total of 3 times, the headsets explode. There is no time limit. If your partner dies before you reach the end, you've basically won. You just find your way through the maze.

Clear condition: Make it to the end of the maze without lying to your partner 3 times.

The headsets will tell you who you're partnered up with. Game commences in two minutes.''

You skipped to the table, grabbing a headset. You noticed everyone except Niragi, Chishiya, and Last Boss, hesitating to grab one. "Well, come on now! You'll die of you don't grab one," you said. So cheerful. So excited. And for what? To watch the people in this room die? Maybe.

You put the headset on, and watched the screen load.

Partner: Player 59725

Below the number was a picture of Niragi. "Oh this is going to be so fucking easy!" Niragi exclaimed. You high-fived him. "Promise number two really saved our asses, hm?" You teased, remembering him saying something about keeping so many promises being dumb.

'Game start.'

You grabbed Niragi's hand, dragging him with you. "First question... oh, OK. What did your best friend promise to do if you were 28 and still single?" You asked. "That we'd get married," he answered. You heard his head set chime. "This is gonna be a bit too easy for my liking," you muttered.

"What cartoon characters did you idolize growing up and why?" Niragi asked. You bumped into a mirror and cursed. "Fuck... um... it was.... L Lawliet for his skills in solving things as well as his cleverness, Light Yagami for his twisted sense of justice, and Misa Amane for my fashion inspiration?" You said, trying to remember correctly. Your head set chimed.

This kept going on for a couple minutes, where you would ask each other a question, and the truth was told.  Then the mirrors lit up.

'Players 11037 and 59725 switch. Your new partners are player 25718 and 617834.'

''So I go with Chishiya, and you go with that guy?" You asked. He nodded with a groan. "Well, I was getting rather bored, weren't you?" You asked him. He looked at you confused. "What do you mean?" Niragi asked. "Well, we know all there is to know about each other. There's nothing new or interesting being found out right now," you explained.

Were you really bored of him? No, not of him. You would never be bored of him. You just wanted a fun and interesting game. You would never get bored of him. Niragi hoped you wouldn't. He didn't want to be alone.

"So, did you bore the game master somehow?" Chishiya teased when you got to him. "I guess you could say that. We have nothing to hide from eachother, so it was getting boring for me too," you explained.

"Who in all actuality took your first time?" Chishiya read off the screen. He looked at you, waiting for your answer. "Easy, it was Niragi," you answered. Then you felt a pain in the bottom of of your stomach as your headset beeped. A voice on the headset called you a liar, as the pain worsened, and you  screamed, falling to your knees. It hurt. Tears built up in your eyes as you tried to deal with the pain. "Are you lying?" Chishiya asked. "No, read the question again please? Just so I can figure out why I got it wrong. I know I'm not. I really did give him my first," you said, holding your stomach. It really was the worst pain you'd ever felt. It made you shudder. How did they know what was the worst pain?

"Who in all actuality took your first time?" He asked again. You thought for a minute.

'I gave Niragi my 'first'. The question is asking who took my first.'

You looked away. "It... it was taken... stolen... by... by a bully from school. One of the guys that tortured me," you stated. You had never admitted that out loud. You hadn't even told Niragi. You heard your head set chime, and looked at the mirrors. They were projecting you.

All of them. In the whole maze. You gasped, scooting back until your back was against the mirror behind you. You stared in horror as it replayed the words you had said. The thing you didn't want anyone to know had now been broadcasted to at least 14 people. The screen changed to Niragi.

"(Y/N) they did what?! And you- you didn't tell me?!" He shouted. "S-suguru, 'm sorry don't be mad at me," you squeaked, hiding behind your hands, as if he were in front of you. As if he would hurt you. "We'll be talking about this later," he said. Then the mirrors went back to being mirrors. Tears rolled down your cheeks. From the pain in your stomach and the embarrassment. The fear of the one person who you looked for approval of might leave you.

You stood up, and read Chishiya's question. "Who's the person you hate most?" You asked, wiping the tears away, holding your stomach. "Hm? Hate is such a strong word. I don't hate anyone-" Chishiya started, before holding his left hand. His eyes widened and he cursed, holding onto it. His headset beeped, and called him a liar. You guessed the pain worsened as he let out a groan of pain, followed by a small yelp when he tried to soothe the b pain. You went over to him looking at his hand in concern. "Are you ok?" You asked, grabbing his hand softly, your fingers barely ghosting over the skin. He hissed in pain, grabbing it back. "Fine. I hate my father. And my mother. I hate my parents," he answered. His headset chimed, and you looked a him in shock. You would've never guessed that was his trauma. "What? Little miss perfect grew up with a perfect family, didn't she? Got everything she wanted, the attention of people she loved?" He spat. You flinched. "Oh, look here's your question now. Who and what do you fear the most?" He asked. "My father and Suguru's father. And I fear being alone, getting hurt by people, as well as disappointing those I love and them leaving me," you answered. Your headset chimed, and you looked over at Chishiya. "Am I still little miss perfect with a perfect family?"

You two finally found your way through the maze, question after question. You didn't want to tell him some things, but it was better than dying.

'Last question is for both players. Tell the truth or you will be executed whether or not it was your third time lying.'

'Why is that the worst pain you've felt in your life?'

"Because... I was left handed. My parents might not have cared about me or anything having to do with me, but they sure as hell cared that I wrote with my left hand. They broke it once. Never wrote with it again," Chishiya answered. You grabbed his hand softly once more, and gave him a look of understanding.

"Mine has a few reasons. When... well when my first was stolen, it hurt. A lot. And when my father found out I gave my first to Niragi... he hurt my stomach. And the kids at school... the ones that tortured Niragi and I... they used to hurt me in similar ways to both reasons I said before," you said. Chishiya gave you a look that you couldn't read. Was it sympathy? Pity?

The screen chimed as well as phones a 'game complete message' across them both, and your headsets dropped to the floor. You grabbed his hand, pulling him out.

Outside, Kuina, Last Boss and another guy was out there. "My partner had a lot of secrets I guess," Last Boss muttered, wiping some of the blood from his arm. "Dude no way! He exploded on you?" You asked. He nodded, very annoyed at the fact they had. "Like, number 1, ew. Number 2, however,  that's pretty fucking cool. What did they have to hide they didn't want to tell?" You wondered. "So... about your maze fiasco? Why did it only broadcast yours? And you and Niragi were the only two who got separated," Kuina asked. "I don't know... but if the game master is going to be a dick, I'm going to start hating these games," you said. "Hey... (Y/N), can I talk to you?" Chishiya whispered, pulling on your arm. You nodded, letting him lead you out of earshot of the others.

"I'm... I didn't know about your family situation. I shouldn't have said you were little miss perfect and assumed," he said, looking off to the side. "I accept your apology," you smiled. "I-i didn't apologize," he stammered. "Can I hug you?" You asked. He looked around, before nodding. You pulled him into a hug, leaning down, and whispering in his ear, "I know that was your way of apologizing. Thank you for telling me the truth... I'm glad I know you a bit better."

"Everything you heard, you say nothing about, got it?" Niragi threatened his partner. They nodded, terrified of him. They left, and Niragi immediately looked for you. He saw you sitting in the backseat of the car. He gave you a look, and you lowered your gaze. Kuina glared at him, sitting besides you in the back. He went over, and sat in the driver's seat. He purposely sat far from you. Last Boss got in the back, Chishiya finally getting into the front seat.

Niragi didn't say a word. He didn't respond to you, Chishiya's taunting. Nothing. You tapped his shoulder, and tried talking to him. "(Y/N), I'm driving. We will talk later," he stated. Was he really that mad?

You rushed into the hotel, rushing into your room. You didn't want to talk to him anymore. He was being mean.

You took a shower, changing into your pajamas, and sitting on your bed. You knew that Niragi would barge in at any second. You knew he would. Even if you didn't want to talk to him, he would.

You heard the door creek open, and got ready. Would he yell at you? Call you names? These were things that you had never thought about when thinking about Niragi.

You didn't look up as he sat on the bed besides you. "We're going to talk about it. I know you don't want to, but we have to," Niragi said. You looked up at him. "Are you mad?" You asked, playing with the fabric of your shirt. "Kind of. Why... first, let me ask, when did this happen?" He questioned. "Mmm... last year of high school... about two months before I gave you my first," you responded. "It wasn't really your fi-"

"To me it was. I didn't give him my first Suguru. He stole it. Why the fuck do you think I was so nervous the whole time?"

"Yeah but it wasn't-"

"It was! I-i... it was to me. Think about it, if your car gets stolen, it's still your car, no? You didn't give it to them... Then... if they stole my first... I still... I didn count as my first. You were. I counted you as my first."

You bit your tongue to stop the tears. You didn't want to cry and seem weak. "I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I'm sorry you had to find out about it that way..." you whispered. "I know. It just... makes me a bit upset that you're the one who made promise 9 and you broke it. I wish... you had told me back then, so that I could've helped you," he stated. "You did. You helped me back then. Even without knowing," you said, reaching your hand out to touch his. He pulled back. "How!? I-i- You cried when I- is that why? How could I have helped you if I didn't even know about it?" He asked, raising his voice. You grabbed his hand softly. "Because you showed me that... when it's wanted, when it's with you someone you trust, and when it's with someone you love... sex is a positive thing. It's not something I should be scared of. You gave me a positive image of what it should be like," you explained. He looked at you in shock. He didn't think you had actually felt that way back then, and even now. But it made sense about why you made promise 40 after.

You lay next to him, catching your breath, your hands holding onto him. Every inch of your skin was pressed against his, as if he'd disappear the second you would let go. He held you just as tight.

"Sugu... let's make a promise, yeah?"

"What is it?"

"That if by the time we're 28, and still single, we'll marry each other."

"I'd like that."

"Promise 40, we promise that if by the time we're 28 and still single, we'll get married."

It made so much more sense to him now.

"If you say so..." he muttered. You pulled him into bed with you, getting under the covers. "Sleep in here tonight. Please?" You pleaded, having a pillow and a space for him on the other side of the bed. "Alright," was all he said before getting under the sheets with you. You hugged him, burying your face into his neck. "I hope you know all the neck and back pain I have endured from hugging and sleeping with your short ass," you whispered. He decided to let your comment slide. He'd would just let you relax from the game. Tomorrow was another day.

You hoped you didn't have nightmare again.