#feels weird for me to be having strong feelings on this at all given. waves vaguely. but like. i see that sentiment often and like. its odd

[fagofgod]

kind of immensely weird to me how strongly and widely the consensus opinion of what butchness (and/or masculinity in general) is appears to just be. being buff? like. agh.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

The Healer Pt 4

The story continues. I'm still enjoying this one, so we'll keep going!

Part 1 / 2 / 3 linked here. (If I get to 5+ parts I'll make a master post)

Enjoy!

___________________________

ONE YEAR EARLIER

“Natalie! You’re here!”

Jack shouted with excitement when he saw me. Garrett and Rita trailed behind him, their expressions happy, if a bit mild and unenthused. I was still sitting on the ground, catching my breath after my first battle in this strange world. The corpses of the monster flowers had faded into the grass, leaving little evidence of my fight behind. I waved to them, feeling a strong sense of relief in seeing familiar faces.

The three of them had been my teammates in Fantasy Realm, even if they weren’t the kindest people I had ever known. While playing together they were often inpatient with me, unforgiving of mistakes, and constantly pushing me to spend more time and money improving my character when they knew I had very little of both. I had always given in, and disliked myself for doing so, hoping it would improve their opinion of me, knowing deep down it wouldn’t. I might call them friends… and I would be shocked if they called me the same.  But after waking up in this weird real world of the game, I was just happy to know anyone at all.

I was afraid to be alone.

The group reached me, and with a grin, Jack reached out and helped me to my feet. I brushed the dust off of myself and looked them over. They all looked like they had in our old world, the only difference was their clothing. Jack was dressed in leather armor, reinforced my metal along the chest and back. Garrett had a large sword strapped across his back, with scant coverings over the rest of his enormous frame. Rita had a simple cloth robe and a large wooden bow.

“We all chose our familiar classes.” Jack saw my studying look and informed me. “Seemed the safest thing to do given that we don’t know what happens if you die in here.”

Rita rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you guys are taking this seriously! This can’t be real. We're still in the game! It’s just some hoax, someone hacked the game. Eventually my dad will tear the VR company apart, sue them into oblivion and then we’ll be let out!”

I paused at that. “We weren’t playing the game when this happened though.”

“We just forgot.” She answered forcefully, her gaze annoyed as usual as she met my own.

Rita had always disliked me. Our parents knew each other, her father was a well-known lawyer who had pushed her to follow in his footsteps. As someone who had struggled with the weight of parents’ expectations, I sympathized. But she had quit law school after a week, turning to full time gaming instead. She didn’t do well enough to make any money, but fortunately her mother paid her bills.

Her father was disapproving to say the least. He apparently used me as an example to her of someone successfully “taking over the family business,” never mind that I hated the pressure, resented my parents’ strict expectations and escaped whenever possible. It didn’t matter. Rita despised me, and no attempts from myself or from Jack could smooth the rift between us.

Garrett looked me over from head to toe, confused. “You don’t have a weapon.”

I froze at his words. Garrett had a large sword, obviously a barbarian type class. Jack had a one-handed sword, a fighter or swordsman. Rita was an archer with her bow. But me…

There was only was class in the game that couldn’t use weapons.

“No…” Rita started laughing, so hard that tears were forming in her eyes. “No… you DIDN’T do something so STUPID….!”

Garrett was shaking his head, frowning disapprovingly. I ignored them, my entire attention was on Jack. We had been friends since freshman year of college. He had helped me find my first class, I tutored him in chemistry. We had supported each other through ups and downs, told each other about our fears and dreams…  

And he was looking at me with hatred in his eyes.

“You are a Healer.” His voice was quiet, but the lack of emotion in his tone made my hackles raise. I started to back away.

“Jack… I…”

His hand gripped my throat, and I was lifted off the ground. I gasped, unable to get air, and struggled against him, but with a strength stat of -10 I knew there wasn’t much hope. I wouldn’t be able to cast my healing spells either, without being able to speak the activation word.

I need to be able to cast without speaking. My brain focused on that, almost desperately avoiding dealing with the situation I was currently in: My friend was killing me.

**The Healer enters an early hypoxic state - 10 damage for each second that airway compression remains in place. **

**The Healer takes 10 damage. **

I had only seconds to live.

** The Healer takes 10 damage**

I grabbed his hand, focusing all my desperation into the need to cast my only spell: Small Incision.

** Through sheer force of will, The Healer has discovered Wordless Incantation**

**The Healer casts Small Incision. Jack the Hero takes 1 damage.**

As the messages floated across my vision, Jack yelped in pain, clutching his bleeding hand, dropping me to the ground. I laid still for a few moments, focusing on breathing, the pain of my neck and in my lungs a reminder of what had just occurred. I stared up at Jack, hoping to see remorse on his face.

There was nothing but rage.

“How DARE you pick a useless class like healer?” He snarled, holding pressure on his hand to stop the bleeding while staring down at me. “Our lives could depend on doing well in this game, and you seriously chose a class with minimal fighting potential, whose healing abilities are worse than any potion that can be purchased in a shop?”

He stepped closer, and I flinched back, my heart beating wildly. “You are so obsessed with your parents’ disapproval, that even in a life-or-death situation you had to pick being a doctor? Are you really so messed up?”

I opened my mouth to explain. I knew this class well, the strengths and weaknesses. I could use it to the team’s benefit. I had been a good teammate, one of the reasons we had placed so highly in the last tournament. I wanted to say all this and more.

But as I stared into the disappointment in his eyes, I felt myself slipping into old habits. Of staying quiet and nodding. Of keeping the peace and letting myself take the blame. I hated it, despised myself for it… but kept silent all the same.

“Should we just leave her behind?” Rita asked, giving no concern to me as I struggled to catch my breath after Jack’s strangling attempt. “She’s useless after all.”

“She used to provide good support.” Garrett spoke up. “We can keep her on the team until we find someone more useful…”

“I am not giving a spot on our team to a healer.” Jack closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a moment, as if trying to calm himself down. Finally, he looked down at me coldly. “You can tag along with our team, without an official spot. You will do your best to be useful. Otherwise, we will leave you to die.”

Leave them! My heart screamed at me. Being alone is better than this! You didn’t commit some great sin by becoming a Healer! You just chose the best you could! Tell them!

Slowly, I nodded. “Fine.” My voice was still hoarse from the pressure he had placed on my throat. I adjusted my tone with the ease and familiarity of practice. “I’ll follow along.” I pushed the screaming voice in my head back, along with my pride. I knew I was worthless, a failure. I had been told that every day by the two people on the planet who were supposed to love me the most. Jack was only the latest person to say it out loud.

This was what I deserved.

The first month passed quickly. We went on multiple quests together, and settled into a comfortable rhythm. Jack would take the lead, with Garrett beside him to tank. Rita picked off far away opponents, and supported from the back. And I…

I did everything I could.

Outside of fights, I was cooking, keeping inventory, asking for quest information, and keeping the gear repaired and functional. Many nights I stayed up late, sharpening swords or repairing gear, only to have my hard work receive a nod and no other recognition.

In fights, I demanded even more of myself. Slipping in between enemies, causing damage. I delved down most of the “surgical” pathway of the healer ability, which allowed me to cause a diverse array of damage. I built up my MP until I could activate Wordless Incantation, as I found the group's irritation was a lot less if they couldn’t hear me. I immobilized enemies and allowed the others to finish them off. Because I had a hand in almost every single enemy’s death, I received a good amount of XP and fame from each fight, which angered Jack to no end.

“Stop stealing our experience!” He snapped after a fight, reading the notification that stated the rewards and experience given out.

“You asked me to immobilize them.” I answered quietly, feeling tired. “Do you want me to stop?”

“…” He glared at me silently for a few moments before answering. “Figure out a way to do it without taking my XP.”

“…sure.”

“I mean it, Healer.” From the moment he heard my class, he had never called me by my name. Our friendship, the time we had spent together… none of it meant anything next to the weight of the one undeniable fact:

I was a Healer. And therefore, in his eyes, I was a burden.

I kept my head down, trying to help out as much as possible. I learned not to ask for recognition. To not expect thanks. And I thought things would never change.

And then came the day we met Winter.

________________

PRESENT DAY

“Ouch!” Stephanie yelped as I carefully placed the needle through her skin, placing a simple suture across the wound on her calf. I didn’t hesitate with her cry of pain, tying the knot and moving on to the next stitch.

“The area has been numbed with magic, don’t pretend it hurts.”

“Yeah, I was just messing with you.” Stephanie laughed stuck her tongue out. “How did you know?”

“Because I know how it feels to sew my wounds shut without the local anesthesia spell.” I kept working without looking up. “You wouldn’t just be saying ‘ouch.’”  

“Uh…Well, thank you.”

I felt surprised at her words. After a year with the Hero’s party, I was so used to doing things without any gratitude or recognition. You’re not with them anymore. I let out a mental sigh of relief at the thought, and smiled at Stephanie. “You’re welcome.”

“YOU SMILED!” Stephanie tried to get up to hug me, but Alton reached over from where he was sewing cloth nearby and pushed her back down, shaking his head with a grin.

“Don’t interrupt her work.” Winter’s response was much colder, causing Stephanie to freeze in place.

“I’m on the last one anyways.” I squared off the last knot on the suture, cutting the tails and placing a clean bandage over my work. “Keep it dry for 48 hours, and then you can remove the outer covering and bathe.”

“Not to cheapen all the work you just put into repairing this cut for me…” Stephanie hesitated. “But wouldn’t a healing potion be easier?”

Alton shook his head, but before he could say anything Winter spoke up. “Stupid human.”

“HEY! I’m not stupid!” She glanced at me. “Right?”

“No, you’re not.” Raising an eyebrow at Winter, who settled down with a grunt, I continued. “Have you noticed that over time you’ve had to use more powerful healing potions?”

She thought that over. “Well, yeah, but… I’m higher level, and have more HP… Isn’t that normal?”

“Have you tried to use a basic potion recently?” I pulled one out, and tossed it to her. “Here.”

Stephanie caught it, clearly confused. “I’m only missing 5 HP… I don’t need something that heals 10…”

“Try it.”

“Okay.” She shrugged. “If you insist…” She drank the potion quickly, and then flinched at the notification. “…It didn’t work? … Not even the cut healed.” 

Alton continued to sew, but spoke up. “The more you use healing potions, the less they work. Fortunately, this seems limited to healing potions… mana recovery and other types of potions such as detoxification seem to not develop the same resistance. It’s also a slow process, but it’s becoming a universal issue. If you check the world chat this is a heated topic of discussion. Most people believe the that it’s related to level… but that’s not the case.”

“How do you know that?”

“They still work on me.” I answered quietly. “That’s why I carry the basic ones around.”

“Foolish humans… these potions were meant for true lifesaving emergencies… a basic healing potion should be enough to recover up to 50% of your health… but you drink them like water until they are worthless to you.” Winter sighed, looking over at me with a small smile. “That is why the Healers are such a vital class. In a world of constant danger and battle, of destruction and pain, only they have the power to heal and preserve. They are a noble, selfless light that protects those around them… someone to be protected at all costs. There should be a Healer in every party… but instead Nat is the only one left.”

“You did save me before!” Stephanie did get up unobstructed and hugged me. “Thank you!”

“And me.” Winter added, staring at the ground. “She saved me as well.”

“Hey, I distinctly remember passing out in front of her and being saved too, guys!” Alton spoke up, tying up his thread and checking the repair on his cape before looking at me. “I guess we are all indebted to you.”

I stared at all of them, feeling disturbed in my heart. “You guys… I’m…”

I’m worthless. Weak. And my weakness was used to destroy countless lives.

“… Thank you.” I silenced the words in my heart, and spoke a simple thanks instead.

“…” Winter was staring. I always felt he could see more than I wanted him too, as if my hidden thoughts and feelings were on display in front of him. But instead of commenting, he simply bent down, plucking a blue flower from the ground, and handed it to me.

“That’s so cute!” Stephanie clapped her hands, before freezing. “Wait! Are you two…?”

Alton paused in packing up his things and stared in our direction.

I shook my head silently at her before turning back to Winter. “Thank you. The mountain wild flower’s petals have strong anti-inflammatory properties. I’ll dry it out and process it for medication at our next stop." I pressed the flower carefully in one of my books and packed it away.

Winter nodded at my words. “You’re welcome.”

“It’s for medicine?” Stephanie frowned, disappointed. “Well, that’s boring. Where’s my drama?!”

Alton smiled widely. “Oh, don’t worry, I got your drama! Look in the world chat!”

Pausing, all of us pulled up the chat, excluding Winter, who leaned on a tree nearby and watched the display over my shoulder. The top topic in the chat was skyrocketing with engagement… and seeing the title it wasn’t hard to understand why:

___________________________

“TROUBLE IN PARADISE? HERO’S PARTY SEEN ARGUING WITH NEW MEMBER REBECCA THE SORCERESS! IS THE USELESS HEALER MISSED?”

There was great discussion today among players as a loud disagreement broke out among the Hero’s Party after their last quest line. Although it is unknown the exact nature of it, it seems to be surrounding the recent addition to the party.  Rebecca the Sorceress is the newest member of the Hero’s Party after the departure of the much-despised Healer. Many had cheered her arrival, as well as supporting the apparent budding relationship between the Hero and his new magical lady.

___________________________

“And you guys ask why I think humans are stupid.” Winter muttered as he read along with me. I shushed him and continued on with the post.

___________________________

But is there a fracture in the once iron-strong team? Words such as “Useless,” “Hiding” and “Potion sponge” were heard shouted by Rita the Holy Archer, with the Hero defending and Garrett the Giant siding beside Rita. Rebecca appeared to be in tears. Is this bullying the newcomer? Is Rebecca actually dragging the team down? What does this mean for the plans to attack the forty second gate in a few days?

Discuss your thoughts below!

___________________________

I sighed and closed the chat, seeing that comments were mostly just going back and forth over the juicy gossip. “What a mess.”

“You don’t sound surprised.” Alton commented with a grin.

“No. I’m not. Rebecca… she’s…”

“Useless?” Stephanie interjected.

“Full of tears and excuses?” Was Alton’s contribution.

“A snake who poisons those foolish enough to trust it.” Winter quietly added.

I laughed. “… I was going to say she’s a lot of drama… but I like your answers better. They are used to a certain standard of having everything done for them, even if I backed off quite a bit towards the end, when things had gotten really bad. I don’t think Rebecca will see my role within the group as appealing, though.”

“Oh well, their loss is our gain!” Stephanie cheered, hugging me again. “Let’s go hunting! I want meat for dinner!” She pulled out her sword excitedly.

“Yes, Natalie should have some meat to help her recover from all the battles we’ve been through.” Winter nodded, checking his bow and following.

Alton stood up and looked over at me. “Meat for dinner doesn’t sound bad… what do you think, Ms. Healer? Do you want to go hunting?”

“I don’t want to ruin their fun…” I started to say, looking at the backs of the two already moving ahead.

Alton’s voice was serious. “No. I’m not asking about them. I’m asking what YOU want to do.”

I paused, and my gaze met his own. After a few moments, I smiled. “Meat sounds great for dinner.” And I meant it.

“Then let’s go hunting with them.”  Was his answer.

And hunting we went.

With only two days left before we would face the forty-second gate.

[mxtantrights]

Bounded by blood and Shadow (22)

azriel x magic!fem!reader

You remember the stories of war that Cyril and your brother told you about. How bloodshed is merciless and the anger can be felt in waves. Blood benders, when they went to war it was horrible. More carnage than necessary, because the more blood spilt the more weapons you have.

But you have no choice now.

A new enemy has made itself known. Koschei. Azriel has given you all the information he can. All that he and Rhysand know about the death god.

It sits on the tip of your neck, an unbearable weight. Like an unsettling familiarness. 

Cyril told you the story once when you were young. The story of your great ancestor who dared to go head to head with one of the old gods. She was a drifter, not ready to assume the throne but ready and willing to fight.

Almost a quarter of the population, back then it was eight digits, died because of her miscalculation. It’s part of the reason why the wards were put up and communication with the outside world was rare if it all. 

You hope that you’re not following down the same path. You hope that you’re not putting your people in harms way, backing them into a corner. 

With a sigh you knock on the door. Which is weird but you have other people living in your home and you don’t want to just assume that you are welcome in every room.

“Just a second!” Azriel’s voice sounds from the other side.

You hear some clattering behind the door. Then footsteps. Without a second to waste after that the door swings open. You take him in now.

His hair is messy, his clothes disheveled. He smiles at you. He spent the night here in the war room. Trying to go over anything and everything that he could.

Unsurprisingly he could read your ancient language, thanks to your blood running through him.

“Are you busy?” You ask him.

He shakes his head, “Not for you. You need me?” “Desperately.” You answer simply.

Then something in you takes over. You never felt it before. Not with Kynas, not with anyone. The insatiable need to be in someone else’s space. To have not an inch between you.

You take one step into the room and close the door behind you. All in a quick motion you coil your arms around his neck and bring him closer. You can see him stutter a bit in his movements. But he’s quick to fix that.

His arms go around your waist and drag you closer to him. Front to front. 

“Azriel,” you start.

He leans forward and places his forehead on yours. You look up at him. He has his eyes closed and he can hardly fight the boyish grin on his face. Why would he?

You can feel his breath fanning your face.

“Azriel,” you start again.

“Yes, impossible woman.” He jokes.

You crack a laugh at that. “I confessed my very true and strong feelings for you and didn’t see you again for the rest of the night.” You say.

Azriel peels himself away from you, albeit very slowly, and looks you in the eyes. One of his arms that is around your waist snakes up. Up and up until his hand is cradling the side of your face.

“I was getting a head start on your work. So that we could spend some time alone later today.” He explains. You lull your head to the side, further into his warm hand. He was making time for you? Huh. A few weeks ago you wouldn’t have though it possible. But now, now it’s everything you want.

“I would have much rather enjoyed waking up to the sight of you.” You admit.

You watch in real time as a very rainy red tint coats his cheeks. It makes you smile even harder, but you try to hide it. You try bitting your lip. But Azriel has other plans. His thumb brushes over your bottom lip. Ever so gently.

“We can fix that right now.” He says.

You could. You undeniably could. But you are empress. And you have a job to do. And a sworn duty to your people. You’ll be busy for at least half of the day today.

“I have my duties.” You say.

But it’s not really like you want to leave him. Not when your body curls toward him more and more. Or when one of his shadows wisps at your leg from underneath your dress.

“Will you be free later today?” He asks.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

-

You watch the last carriage leave for the Day court. It put a heavy weight on your heart to do so. But it’s for the best. Those who have lived here with no prospect of leaving deserve to know what the world has to offer. If they choose to stay in the Day court or travel beyond that is up to them.

One of the children in the carriage waves at you. You wave back at them.

You think of what could have been if your people were meant to live among the fae instead of away from them. If things would have bene better or worse. If you would still have a family or not.

“Can you ask Azriel to fly me around?” Semaj asks.

You whirl around and find him standing directly behind you. He’s looking at you with a wild grin. It’s not like he doesn’t get Azriel to fly him around on a regular basis now.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” You question him.

Semaj scratches the back of his neck.

“My parents said it might be disrespectful.” He answers.

“I think Illyrians fly with people all the time.” You counter.

“He’s not just an Illyrian, you’re married!” He explains.

You chuckle at his forwardness.

“About that,” you start and kneel down to be on his level, “he only has my blood because he needed to pass through the wards.”

Semaj looks at you then. Sad and down trodden. You swear swimming through molasses would be easier. 

“But I thought you two loved each other. Madrugada” He pouts.

“I—well, we just started. I mean we have only known each other for a few months now.” You try explaining to him.

But deep down you know that’s not true. You’re trying to explain that it’s too early for feelings like love to be in the mix. But really, they already are. They probably have been for a while and you’ve been to stubborn to notice and admit it.

“But he came by and said you were his mate.” Semaj says.

It strikes you right then and there. Mate. He called you his mate. Well he didn’t call you his mate to your face, but it explains a lot. It explains why he wanted to get to know you. Why against all reason and judgment he stayed here with you. And why when you expressed your feelings for him, he seemed to understand it completely.

Thesan told you about mates. How fate had a way of bringing fae together. It’s rare, and you can’t force it to happen. But for the fae it’s the deepest bond they will have.

“He said that I was his mate? He used that word?” You ask Semaj.

The little one nods his head vigorously. 

“And then mama told him about Madrugada.” Semaj continues. 

“He knows about that?” You ask.

“Yes. Don’t you love him?” Semaj asks.

When you don’t answer you are met with a hug. Semaj engulfs you in it. And his tiny hands rub your back. Something he picked up from his parents no doubt.

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew already. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Semaj says.

You, confused and still in shock, reach up to your face. Sure enough it’s wet. But it’s not red. You hug Semaj back tightly as you begin to laugh at the whole situation.

“Happy tears Semaj.” You tell him.

-

Amren looks you over like a predator is eyeing its prey. You don’t twist under her stare, and neither do you back down. Of course you should have told her what was going on, she hates being left out of things.

Amren picks up one of the meat skewers and places it in her mouth. You wouldn’t be touching those, they were raw. Made for her. Or caught and prepared for her, they were not made seeing as they didn’t see the inside of an oven or the top of a skillet.

“I knew you were his mate the moment it happened. The whole inner circle did, except for one. I was the one that told him to tell you the truth.” She says.

Your eyebrows meet in the middle, “You knew and you didn’t tell me?!” 

“Sure, I’ll tell the blood bender that she is bound to the shadow singer.” She says sarcastically. 

You snicker, “Well okay, I get that part. But still.” “if he would have told you then, what would have been your reaction?” She asks.

Which unsettles you, because usually she doesn’t have to ask you what you would do. She would know, because the two of you are a lot alike. If she didn’t know how you would have reacted, then neither do you.

You sink further into the couch. 

You’re waiting for Azriel to get back from the village. He was helping out some of the people still here that wished to stay. Helping them gather food and supplies now that they were in surplus.

The sun is about to set. You’ve been nervous to see him all day. Not a bad nervous. Just the kind when you don’t know what to do with yourself. 

Amren snaps her fingers at you.

“I can practically smell it on you.” She says.

Your eyes widen at that, “Smell what?”

“Well I figure since you’re not fae, you can’t really accept the bond. And since he’s not a blood bender he can’t accept your version of it. But tonight is the night isn’t it?” 

You gawk, “Amren, we only just talked about it.”

“You two sparred more than once for no real reason at all. The sexual tension is there already.”

“Amren!” 

“Oh you’ll be shouting tonight alright, just not my name.” She jokes.

You gasp and fling a piece of left over crust at her. She ducks it, obviously, and gets up from her seat. You watch as she throws on a cloak over her shoulders. 

“Where are you going?” You ask.

“I’m giving you space. To do what lovers do.” She puts simply. You groan as she leaves with a laugh. You pick your feet up and sit with your knees tucked to your chest. Waiting will be half the battle you think. You keep thinking it over.

How he knew this whole time and was probably fighting against it. Until he couldn’t anymore. He stayed. 

You start to wonder to yourself. If this were any other universe, maybe he’d be a blood bender. Or you’d be his kind, a fae. And you would have started off on the right foot. A proper love story.

In thinking of how your story could have went your eyes start to flutter shut. Within a few moments, your sprawled out on the couch with a plate tucked to your side with uneaten crust. 

-

Azriel walks by the lounge room and finds you there. Sleeping in an awkward position. Your head leaning against the back of the couch, legs tucked to one side while your upper body is upper right. He think you’ll be sore come tomorrow. 

He walks into the room as silently as possible. He keeps his wings tucked to be sure not to knock anything over and wake you. He comes over to the couch and slowly wrangles you into his arms.

Then he winnows into your room. He takes slow steps, savoring the feeling of you in his arms. But that comes to an end when he places you in the bed. Just as he pulls away from you, your hand, soft and warm, lurches out and grabs onto his forearm.

He just looks at where you’re holding at him for a moment. He can’t really believe it. Or, he can’t actually think it possible that this is real. That you are real, and you are his mate, and he’s your Madrugada. There are a few things this world gets right, and he is looking at the most perfect one.

“Stay.” You say under your breath.

[americas1suiteheart]

hello! i hope youre okay!! because you've already done tan as a partner, i wondered if you've done ladybug x reader headcannons, if you have any?? we as a community are really lacking in ladybug rep.. </33

Alright alright alright, now. Just as I said before, ask and you shall receive. I hope you enjoy this because I watched the whole movie again to get a gist of his character and personality again.🤭 [sorry for not writing for so long btw, I'm really busy and am struggling to find time to write😭]

Dating Ladybug Would Include...

[Ladybug (Bullet Train) x GN! Reader]

[Notes; The reader is a bit more outgoing and such, I have no clue why I made them like that but🤷‍♂️]

[Warnings; Some mentions of blood is all

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

I feel like he met you at a coffee shop, maybe even a library? Nothing insane or too crazy though.

He would definitely be a regular at a small coffee shop that you go to quite often, so running into eachother every once in a while there would be a given.

Now, I know I said coffee shop but he definitely isn't a caffeine person and doesn't like the taste of coffee. He probably gets jasmine tea or something of the sort and like a scone maybe.

He eventually goes up to you and makes some small talk after a while of shared glances and such.

I just feel like the first times recognising eachother would be catching glances at eachother and sending small waves or little smiles. (Seems cute I dunno).

When he first talks to you, he starts off really strong in terms of confidence, then proceeds to get more shy and awkward as the conversation goes on.

"Hey, I see you around here a lot. Would you mind if I sat with you?" A male voice says from beside you.

You look up to see the man with black framed glasses you see often right behind you.

"Oh, hello! Yeah you can go right on ahead," You say, motioning for him to take the seat right across you, putting your book down.

The man sits across from you and places his drink onto the table.

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, well.. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen," You look down to your book, slightly embarrassed.

"Good book," He replies.

You awkwardly hum in acknowledgement, drumming your fingers on the table to the rhythm of a song stuck in your head.

"Frankie Valli?" The man says.

You look up and stop drumming your fingers, looking at him in confusion.

"Sorry, but it uh, it sounded like you were drumming the rhythm of Sherry by Frankie Valli,"

"Oh! Yes I was, sorry I was just confused, you like Frankie Valli?" You say, a little too excitedly.

"I do! My name's Ladybug by the way, its a bit weird I know but," The man introduces himself, trailing off slightly.

"I'm Y/n, its nice to officially meet you, Ladybug,"

Ladybug smiles.

After a couple of times seeing you there and interacting with you, he might ask you subtly of your single; of course checking for a wedding or engagement ring first.

He gives off awkwardly confident autistic vibes, I'm right and I know it.

"Hey, uh, I don't mean to sound weird or anything, but I was wondering if uh, maybe you we're single and if so would you be willing to, I dunno maybe have dinner with me sometime? And you totally don't have to if you don't want to if by chance you are single but uh, yeah.."

He's so cute.

He would take you to a nice little restaurant, and he waits for you at the door with a bouquet of flowers, (which we all know would be something like peonies,) he pushes your seat in for you, lets you order first and everything, he would be such a gentleman.

After the date before you get into your car and leave (Which he very nicely escorted you to,) he asks you very nicely if you would like to go on another with him sometime, to which you say yes to.

Say a couple dates later, you guys are now a thing.

When you go to his house he cooks for you.

This man would be such a good cook but it being Ladybug, he would definitely burn something on accident.

After a while of being together, he finally tells you about his job.

You love this man so much and he's so sweet that you find it impossible for him to be an assassin. But you try to be as accepting of it as you can be.

You're more worried than anything now, to be honest.

After the whole entire bullet train mission when he gets back with all these cuts and bruises, you patch him up and such, obviously upset he came back so hurt.

You were currently sitting on the couch of your apartment, reading a book.

You hadn't seen Ladybug in a while as he was on a mission in Japan. It was only supposed to be for a couple of days, but you were very worried being that it was so far away.

He would text you updates and such regularly, but for the past day you had gotten nothing from him which worried you even more.

Suddenly you hear a knock on your door. You get up from your spot and place your book on the coffee table, face down as to not loose your page.

You look through the peephole to see its a teenage boy in a Domino's uniform with a box of pizza.

You open the door, telling the boy to give you a second as you rush to the kitchen island and pull a 5 dollar bill out of your wallet, walking back and handing it to him, getting the box as well and closing the door.

You walk back to your spot, placing the box down and opening it, the savory smell filling the area.

You take a slice, and bring it to your face, taking a bite as the mix of the gooey cheese, tangy sauce, and crispy crust mix together perfectly on your taste buds.

Another knock on your door rudly interrupts your joy in eating, you walk back, not even bothering to check who it is.

You open the door to see a bruised and bloodied up Ladybug at your door sheepishly smiling, a tired look evident on his face.

"Oh my god, sweetheart are you okay? Come in here," You say, gently pushing Ladybug into your apartment, sitting him on the couch where you were.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. Just a few cuts and bruises is all," Ladybug replies, a soft smile on his face as to reassure you he really is alright.

"Let me clean you up, stay right here." You go to your restroom and look under the sink for your first aid kit, taking a bottle of rubbing alcohol as well.

You go back to the living room and begin to clean up the cuts on his face.

Ladybug was looking at you lovingly as you did so.

"I love you," Ladybug blurts out.

You stop what you were doing and look at him, your face growing warmer by the second.

That was the first time either of you had said "I love you," so you were processing it still.

"Sorry, it just kinda slipped ou-" Ladybug turns his face away, a slight blush spreading across his face.

"I love you, too." You say, finally replying and giving him a kiss on his cheek.

He loves you to pieces, so he would never yell at you during arguments of any sort, but with his anger issues that he's been trying oh so hard to get controlled, he slips up sometimes.

Hes profusely apologising, after he realises the mistake he made.

This poor guy is just kicking himself for it.

You assure him that its quite alright and that you understand.

He still gets you something nice as an apology. Such as flowers, maybe even sweets.

Such a sweetheart.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

I didn't really know how to end this, and this took so long to finally put out, but it got done! I'm very happy with myself, sorry if its a little sloppy as well. I do hope you enjoyed it though.

[Tags to beloved Ladybug enjoyer followers🤭🤭] @horrormusicals @loosebonez

[enchanted-thestory]

Chapter Seven - The Curse

Lailah

♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙

My name is Lailah and for as long as I've ever known I've been haunted by a curse. 

An evil soul taking a curse, as I've gotten older I've learned to conceal it but sometimes I can't help but let it out. This curse shows itself in the form of dark matter which tends to take and destroy. When I was little and did not control it, I would ruin many things unintentionally such as plants, and books, and sometimes even be capable of killing living things. I know deep down that I’m not a bad person, but this curse has slowly taken over my body. I know it’s only a matter of time before it takes over my body and kills me. 

This only manifested itself whenever I felt a strong emotion such as anger. I am ashamed of this secret and it eats me alive slowly every day. Frances used to say that I was cursed by an evil witch when I was just a baby but before she could kill me Frances took me in so she could not hurt me anymore. I often wonder what I had done to deserve this, is being born enough of a crime to make someone, let alone a baby, suffer in this way? 

Now that I'm living with this nice family I hope I can conceal this awful thing forever so I can't hurt them too. 

I must do whatever it takes to prove myself to them, especially after showing their continued kindness. I do not find their secrets strange. I relate to them in a way that they will never know. I too know what it's like to be ashamed of who you are. I find great comfort in her presence. It's clear to me that she needs a friend, although I've never been given the honor to be someone's friend. I hope that one day I'll be able to carry the title. 

I opened the door to see that all three of them were sitting at the table eating breakfast.

“Good day everyone,” I say 

“Good day, Lailah!” Marina says 

“Let me get you a plate to sit down on that empty chair if you like,” Angel says, quickly standing up to serve a plate of breakfast which consisted of a pastry and some fruit. 

“Thank you so much Angel,” I say and in return, she smiles.

We all eat until Marina stands and puts her plate to wash. 

“I've got to go I don't want to be late and have Brady yelling at me again” 

“If Brandy yells at you, you send him to me. He had no reason to be yelling at you” Johnny tells Marina.

“Johnny, he is my boss, he does have the right to yell at me,” Marina says as she packs a bag filled with various fruits. 

“I don't care he shouldn't be yelling at you” 

Marina noticeably brushes him off. She waves at us goodbye before she is out the door. 

“Aren't you supposed to be heading out too?” Johnny asks Angel 

“Yeah but unlike Marina I don't give a damn what Brandy says” She cheekily smiles before biting down on her pastry. 

“You should be more responsible like Marina”

“You want to be more like my little sister? She is young and naive, that's the main reason she cares so much about the Y.K.C.” 

Johnny stays silent possibly because he knows that Angel is right. 

“So Lailah” Angel directs herself towards me now. “What are you planning on doing today?”

“Yes, Lailah, what are you planning on doing today?” Johnny says sarcastically 

“Are you kidding? Why are you such a dick?” Angel sharply says “Don't listen to him he has had a stick up his ass for the last 23 years” 

I try my best not to laugh at her remark. 

“I was planning on searching for a job today, trying to get my life back for once,” I say jokingly. 

“Well, I wish the best of luck to you. I'll be cheering you on from the Y.K.C.,” she says as she stands up to head out too. “I'll be back later”

“Alright see you,” Johnny says

Johnny and I are now sitting alone at the dining table and I can't help but feel a weird aura in the air. I try not to notice it and just eat my breakfast. 

I finish up quickly and start heading off the door. 

Looking for a job could prove a difficult task now that I am in a new place. The people here are more different and more lively than in my old town. Start making my way through the shops and so far every single owner has turned me down. I was starting to feel hopeless. I didn't want to fail anyone let alone myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I needed to let all the people who didn't believe in me before that I could make something out of myself.

I started heading up to this nice shop that sold pastries. I introduce myself and ask to speak to the owner. It was this nice gentleman who had an interesting wardrobe, to say the least, he introduced himself as Mr. Hicks. He explained that he needed extra help and would appreciate it greatly if I joined his team. I was beyond excited. I'm surprised that I was even able to find work today but took it with open arms.

I accepted the job with Mr. Hicks, and he explained that he would prefer it if could start right this instance. I had nothing planned for the rest of the day so I figured there was no harm in starting early. 

He introduced me to the other girl working there Marie. She seemed nice enough. She was the one who ended up showing the ropes. She informed me that I'd be dealing with customers more than anything and that she would be the one making drinks and preparing pastries. After a while, she asked me to wait tables to get me started. 

Things seemed very straightforward, some people were more difficult than others but overall it was a very standard day of work. At the end of the day, we helped Mr. Hicks close up shop. He pulled me aside and said that I had done a good job today and that he would pay me in three days. I thanked him and Marie for helping me out and I went to head back to the house. 

In a way, it was weird to head back to a home I looked forward to at the end of the day. I hope this feeling never goes away but with my luck these days that probably won't happen. 

I open the door and see Marina reading a book on the couch. As soon as she sees me she greets me. 

“Hey Lailah, how was your day?”

“Pretty good Marina thank you I was able to find work today”

“That's great I'm so happy for you, you must be exhausted, feel free to take a shower it's the third door from the left” 

“Will do thank you, Marina” 

I took a quick shower and when I got out Marina was standing waiting beside the door.

“Is it okay if I-” she pauses to gather her thoughts “It's just Angel never lets me touch her hair and you have such pretty long hair.” 

“Do you want to brush my hair?” I ask her 

“Yes please”

“Okay then let's go to my room” I lead her to my room and sit on the floor while she sits on the bed. 

She starts brushing. I can tell she is trying to be as gentle as possible and I appreciate that. 

“Lailah, do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

“I don't mind you asking me things Marina,” I say

“Well, you mentioned you had a boyfriend before coming here right?”

“I did yes,” I say worried about how the conversation would play out.

“Well it's just-” she pauses for a second. “How did you know that you liked him?” 

“Oh well I guess there was never a definitive time where I knew but over time I realized that I wanted to spend all of my time with him, it's one of those things where you truly feel special being around someone,” I say reminiscing on the good times. 

“But you broke up, how could someone make you feel like that and then just leave?”

“It's a bit complicated but people change at first they will only show you the side that they want. If someone wants you to like them they'll show their good side but as time goes on they will show their true self and it's up to you to know how you feel about their true self. In my case, my ex-boyfriend's true self was not a person I'd like to be with so we decided to part ways” 

I try my best not to say something I regret later. I know how hard these types of situations can be and honestly you would never truly know unless you experience it for yourself. 

Marina keeps brushing. I can tell she is thinking to herself.

“Do you fancy someone, Marina?” I say teasingly

“I'm not sure, I've ever really liked someone so I don't know,” she says parting my hair.

“I think that it's one of those things where when you know you'll know,” I say

She stayed quiet for a moment but then she said “I think you're right” and even though I couldn't see her face I could tell she had a smile on. 

“I know everything will work out for you Marina if it's not with this person then that's okay it won't be the end of the world” I try to comfort her, I know how weird these situations can be especially for young teenagers.

“I see how even though things ended pretty badly for you, in many ways not only in your relationship, you held your head up high and decided to start over and I think that makes you pretty brave” 

“You think that about me?” I say surprised

“Of course, I do your battles don't go unnoticed at least by me anyway”

“Thank you Marina that is so sweet” 

“I try my best,” she chuckles. “You're all done! What do you think?”

I look up and see my reflection in the mirror hung up on the wall. She put my hair into two long braids and I could tell she tried her best to make it perfect. 

“I like it Marina thank you” 

“Of course well I should be thanking you for allowing me to play with your hair a bit” 

“Nonsense I enjoyed our little chat I hope to know more about you, you seem like a sweet kid”

“And you are a nice old person,” she says as she goes out the door. 

I'm not old am I? I'm only a few years older than her I'm barely twenty!

At the same time, Johnny is coming from the other side of the hall. He pauses in his tracks and watches her leave, he turns and looks at me. 

“Were you talking to my sister?” he says 

“Yeah we had a small chat and she did my hair” 

“Okay” he seems bothered, “do you want to help me make some dinner?”

“Of course, you tell me what to do and I'll do it” 

“Alright then come on” 

.

.

.

Hey guys quick author's note, firstly I'd like to thank you all for reading i hope you are enjoying the story so far because we are going into some interesting lore in the next few chapters!

Second of all, we are going to make a switch instead of only uploading on Fridays I will also be uploading on Mondays so be on the look out for that!

If you want to participate in polls, see sneak peeks, and more I recommend you check my personal blog, Dee Rodriguez

[dragongirltail]

Finally finished elden ring, not the dlc just base game cause I am not about to give the bastards more money for something I dislike, but:

All of what I've held in beliefs from just the playtime I've had accumulated from repeated attempts before is unchanged, and only some small changes to the positive have arisen. It's an okay game. It's a terrible fromsoft game, but if you set this in front of me and told me it was made by ubisoft to cash in on the souls hype I'd believe that instantly.

Copypasted bosses and enemies out the oiseaux, repeating gameplay patterns and loops that make you grind your teeth and truly hurt the strongest things about fromsoft's game design. Can't say I find any of the bosses memorable except maybe elden beast (good theme) and radagon (fun to parry sometimes), but nothing of the experience stayed with me after the fact! The themes aren't memorable, the bosses and enemies become a slurry of rehashes of bloodborne and dark souls 3 animations sped up by 150%, and the power scaling goes so far up that having an attack rating of 1200 at the end of the game is barely passable.

You run around for 2 hours picking up shit to get strong enough to have a decent time with the first few bosses, then spend another hour running around collecting shit to fight a few bosses, then another 2 hours and then you can plow through the rest of the game cause the open world absolutely destroys what made fromsoft games so excellent.

And with elden ring being the most popular game they've made yet it means waves of new players who haven't played any of the other games and have no reference of what a fromsoft game should feel like! Which obviously isn't said to gatekeep this genre, but rather because elden ring is still a good game from the perspective of anyone who hasn't experienced better.

And I wouldn't even be so harsh on this game if it wasn't trying SO HARD to just be dark souls again They ended on DS3 because they said the story was told and wanted to go other places and do other things but then elden ring is just dark souls' world again but slightly different so the teacher doesn't notice. Sekiro isn't for me but I can acknowledge how it still does cool things and make it's own path, I don't own a PS4 so bloodborne has been out of reach but everything it has done to differentiate itself is amazing. Elden ring is just king big sad guy finds a powerful thing then age of prosperity happens then bad thing happens now you are shitty lame guy and must go on a world tour to kill all powerful guys to perpetuate a cycle. Dark souls with a new coat of paint, and this time it's got RR Martin's fingerprints allegedly all over it but I cannot in the slightest tell where the guy did anything, aside maybe more of the weird shit that miyazaki isn't known to be into.

If bethesda released a game that was this much reused assets, animations, audio files, weapons, and gameplay mechanics then there'd be a riot for how they could repackage the same game for 60 bucks again. But fromsoft does it and it's a game of the year and miyazaki does it again and it's so good and if you don't like it you simply don't get it and should get good instead or whatever. There's been so many moments with this accursed game where I went "oh hey this is just the animations from x enemy from ds3 but faster", lothric knights, outrider knights, pontiff knights, sulyvahn's beast, just to name a few.

I've tried so hard to like this game, I've given it so many chances and accrued 47 hours in a game I still don't like. At this point I cannot in good conscience say that I just don't 'get' this game, it's got flaws out front and back and yet nobody seems to see them, I don't get it, I just don't.

If you wanna say something about this feel free to comment or reblog, I'll have a wrassle with you if you do

[gentaro-kinniecom]

hihi! may i rq kaoru x fem reader where the reader is a mermaid? :3 thank you! <3

Destiny was made for us

Characters: Kaoru Hakaze/fem!reader

C/w: none! 2k+ words, fluff, mermaid!reader, a bit of fighting and angst but it has a happy ending. Kaoru might be ooc but he’s still a flirty mf 😞 HELP tooth-rotting fluff ew (AWEEUSNSNXND) slightly suggestive in some parts?? (Up to the readers pov i guess)

A/n: Hii !! This post is super long so I apologize for the extensive paragraphs LMAO also I just started my senior year so I might be more busy in school, but I’ll try to post and update as much as I can, thank you all for your follows, likes and the many support you’ve given me, it means a lot!! I hope you enjoy this <33

The sea calls out for him. It was a weird feeling, walking towards the sea during such a late hour. His friends adviced Kaoru to not even dare go so late out, he didn't listen nor believed in what his friends said about mermaids. Kaoru thought it was something out of a fairy tail, that wasn't real and that his friends were pranking him about the matter. It wasn't until he went that day, that he realized his friends were more than right.

But it was too late, Kaoru felt mesmerized by the ocean, noticing a faint glow peaking out from the dephs of the sea. He suddenly saw what he thought was a tail, from a mermaid? His body pulling itself towards the current, eyes locked on the now strong glow. Kaoru locked eyes with the person (?) in front of him, the thing is, it wasn't a human, but a mermaid who's eyes reflected the ocean.

"ah so you're a human?" the mermaid asked as kaoru smiled, feeling his body sit on the ocean floor, the mermaid's hands on his cheeks as she suddendly gasped

"oh right! you can't breathe.." she spoke, taking the new man she had met to the shore as he coughed up water, looking around as he saw the tail from earlier and turning towards her. In a moment of shock, Kaoru got aback, looking at her as she laughed, returning to the ocean as Kaoru stared in shock, leaving the beach and silently promising himself to come back some other day.

Undead had a photoshoot a few days after the encounter Kaoru had in the same beach as before. He wondered around, looking to see if the mysterious mermaid would appear before him once more. The photoshoot ended within a few hours, Kaoru had stayed back, waiting for the right moment as he saw her again. She laid in the sand, smiling at Kaoru who was admiring her beautiful features.

"i believe i have yet to know your name" the mermaid spoke, her tail shimmering under the afternoon sun as he sat beside her, looking at the sea as he replied

"Kaoru. Kaoru Hakaze, what's yours?" He asked, short and simple but it made her smile. It has been a long time since she's ever had an interaction with a human once more.

"Y/n, I'm sorry for nearly drowning you yesterday, I didn't think you would be that curious to follow me into the depths of the ocean" She replied, joining Kaoru who was still admiring the ocean view, Y/n suddenly joined the waves, noticing that Kaoru had stood up briefly to watch as she swam happily, coming back to shore and waiting for Kaoru to bring up the conversation again.

"Well..I just felt like I had to do it. Something was telling me to follow you, weird isn't it?" Kaoru joined her in the seashore, staring at her e/c orbs, she was just so pretty, almost like a siren in disguise, waiting for the right moment to drown him in the ocean to her heart's content. But it wasn't that way, she was just as in awe as him. His light brown eyes complementing his dark blonde mullet styled hair that flowed with the wind.

"no I get that, how long are you staying at the resort?" y/n inquired, sitting in the seashore, feeling the waves pull at her body as Kaoru did the same, he smiled shorty before replying to her.

"about a month or so? I haven't spoken to my managers about that" He sheepishly spoke, scratching the back of his neck slightly as she pondered, then speaking

"your..manager? Do you sing? I've seen many idols come by sometimes and seen their performances from up close..when i have the chance every few moons or so" He frowned, not understanding the words that she had just spoken, y/n smiled before explaining what she meant by that

"I can turn into a human, it happens during some change the sun and moon form together, I cannot control it and which is why..I have a small house from here, it truly is my second home" Y/n spoke, truthfully, noticing Kaoru had been attently listening to her. It seemed what she spoke of, was happening right in front of him.

"Is it such a coincidence how you changed after you said that?" He asked, looking at her and the new form she adquired after leaving the ocean, her tail had 'magically' changed into legs like his. Y/n still had a rough time getting herself used to her new form, nearly tripping as she felt Kaoru's hands holding her to prevent that from happening again.

"apperantly it is, my father had warned that it could happen again and this time it may be permanent" Kaoru's face expressed worry for her, they began walking together in the beach, their footprints dissapearing once the waves met the sandy shore as they talked about their lives, and how different both of them were, but of course, the sea and land are two completely different worlds.

"So your father is a legend in your hometown?" Y/n nodded, she crouched down to look at the sea shells and pretty rocks as Kaoru picked some up, offering them to her as she smiled.

"Somewhat, I just had the bad luck of getting this curse that I can't even control, there's a sea witch that offered me help but I can't give her what she's asking for in exchange"

"What could she probably ask in exchange?" Kaoru questioned, sitting on a nearby bench that was a bit far from the beach itself and in the park that was right beside it. He offered her a seat beside him, noticing how she fidgeted with her hands, looking a bit nervous as she answered him.

"My soul. Strange, isn't it? It would be useless to give up something as precious and life giving as that to be able to control what I can't in the first place." His eyes slightly widened at the reveal, Kaoru wasn't expecting that, he didn't know if to comfort her or just straight up do nothing.

"That..really is something, I'm sorry"

"Don't be, it's not your fault, I don't need any pity as well. Its just, things that happen you know?" Kaoru disagreed, expressing his thoughts later on.

"But those things aren't common, anywhere! I know we come from different areas, but you shouldn't have to do something so extreme like that" She wasn't expecting that, looking at Kaoru who was already glancing at her, eyes with a faint sparkle that she noticed, he wondered if it was really destiny that brought them together

"I know, maybe its a good thing we met then. When's your next concert?" She asked as Kaoru accompanied Y/n to the small beach house around the corner, it was beautifully decorated on the outside, the inside had little to not much furniture, it seemed the amount of times she would visit here weren't so frequent as he thought it would be.

"Nice house, I'm asuming you rarely come by right?" Kaoru asked, she slightly smiled and laughed as he did the same.

"Yeah, my apologies for not being able to offer you anything at the moment, I wasn't expecting this to happen so soon." He digressed, sitting on one of the stools from the kitchen, soon answering Y/n

"Its in about a week from here, why? You're planning on going?" She smiled, nodding as they later on, stood out on the front porch.

"Its getting late, your friends might get worried, I'll go see you in a week, I promise" With those final words, Kaoru bid her a goodnight and left towards the nearby resort, thinking about tonight’s events as he soon fell into a deep slumber.

The week went by so fast, Kaoru couldn't believe it as he stood in front of the big mirror in his dressing room. Looking at the clock and silently wishing Y/n would keep her promise of being there to see him perform. As Undead began their performance, Kaoru spotted Y/n in a (f/c) summer dress as she waved at him softly. During the entire concert, he couldn’t help but stare at her, smiling every once in a while in her direction as she reciprocated her own. After it had ended, Kaoru requested for her presence in his dressing room.

“You called?” She asked, closing the door behind her as Kaoru smiled, noticing that she was cold from the air conditioning in the room, he quickly grabbed one of his favorite coats, placing it on her arms as she thanked him

“Well yeah, I wanted to know if you liked the concert” Kaoru replied, allowing her to sit on his couch as she smiled, noticing how Kaoru looked..different from all those days ago, his aura was radient, it almost seemed as if he felt at peace with her, and she felt at home with him.

“Of course I did, I didn’t pin you to be the flirting type” Y/n laughed, seeing how Kaoru suddenly leaned closer towards her, slowly making her back hit the couch while Kaoru chuckled, caressing her face as she laid there for a moment, realizing the compromising position

“Why? Are you into flirty guys?” She pushed him back, feeling a bit embarrassed as he smiled, softly ruffling her hair while Kaoru stood up, Y/n following as they walked outside towards the beach like usual

“I guess it’s things I rarely see in my hometown, there’s no one I’m really interested in. They’re all after the same thing, to become the next heir to a great fortune my ancestors left behind” His eyes widen slightly, pouting a bit as he enjoyed the night breeze at the beach alongside who he knew was his soulmate, two souls destined to meet each other and spend the rest of their lives together. His hand intertwined with hers, kissing the top of hers as she smiled, listening to his words with awe

“I know we barely met about two weeks ago, but I can promise you, those guys are jerks, they don’t deserve anything that you have” Kaoru’s words touched her heart, which was beating at about a hundred miles, she had never felt this way before, perhaps this curse..wasn’t that terrible at all

“You’re right, they were, and still are. Tell me Kaoru, do you believe in true love, or are you just flirting with any woman you come across?” The question snapped him out of the daydream he had while gazing at the moon that reflected on the ocean. Kaoru turned towards Y/n, smiling as he moved a bit closer to her, not letting go of her hand as he answered her question

“I’ve flirted with many girls-“ he paused, taking in Y/n’s face for a moment and continuing “-but I do believe in true love, I think I found the one” He smiled, glancing at her again, his grip on her hand tightened.

“Really? I think so too” They smiled and looked away as teenagers feel when they’re in love with each other. She quickly dragged Kaoru towards a nearby cave that revealed a beautiful waterfall at the very end of it

“It’s..absolutely breathtaking Y/n, how did you find this place?” He looked around in awe as she let go of his hand, walking towards the waterfall as she sat down in one of the rocks inside the big pond that accompanied it.

“When I turned into a human for the first time, I came across it, and just knew I had to bring whom I think would be my true love” He felt his heart burst, sitting beside her, not believing the words that she had just spoken

“..me? You really think so?” Y/n nodded, leaning closer towards Kaoru as he held her hands, now stumbling together in the pond, getting their clothes wet as they laughed, hugging each other for a while

After a while, Kaoru took her back to her small beach house, standing in the doorway. It was a bit of an awkward moment even though they technically confessed to one another.

“Have you ever kissed someone Kaoru?” Y/n wondered, observing how he stood closer, his eyes scanning her face before pulling Y/n into his embrace

“I..haven’t. Why? Do you want to kiss?” She averted her gaze to the floor, he smiled, placing his hand on her chin, making her look up as he leaned forward, close enough for her to hold her breath

“Yeah, I guess you could say that” And with that, their lips met, his hands on her waist softly as they kissed under the moonlight. As they parted away, she couldn’t believe he would just kiss her like that at her request

“Just so you know, I wouldn’t kiss anyone else even if they asked, I want to be yours Y/n, even if you eventually turn back into your normal state, I’ll keep loving you” She smiled, tear-eyed as he kissed her forehead lovingly. Her hands holding him tightly, not wanting to let go.

“I think I’m in love with you Kaoru” Y/n confessed, feeling as Kaoru kissed her again, this time she was pinned against her front door, his hands remained on her waist, parting away while panting heavily.

“Me too, I can’t live without you. It’s like I’ve known you for a long time” Her eyes widen a bit, noticing the necklace he wore as she touched it.

“Wait, Kaoru have we met before? This necklace..you were the guy I met three years ago! I gave you this necklace, it has my hometown’s most precious gem.” His brain clicked the pieces together, that one summer where he went on vacation with his family and met a girl his age, making necklaces on the shore as he sat beside her…it was Y/n this entire time

“I’ve always knew I’d find you some day, I haven’t forgotten about it ever since I began wearing the necklace” She hugged him, sobbing in his arms, not believing that destiny was real and how it favored them so.

Years later, they got engaged, getting married at the same beach they met for the first time, Y/n’s family heard of the news, and now that her life finally found a balance, the curse was no more. She could easily change between human and mermaid form, her family already knowing how to do so and being able to assist their wedding. It was the best day ever for them. Wearing beautiful outfits and crying during their vows, their love was unmatched for any circumstance that occurred in their lifes, and now as Husband and Wife, Kaoru was more than happy to settle down together, taking a small hiatus from his group to tend to his loving wife.

“I don’t regret ever marrying you my love, you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me” He smiled, kissing Y/n dearly as they laid in their new bed, taking in how exhausting yet fun the wedding was.

“Me neither, I’m glad its you, even my family approves of you, trust me when they said they are visiting frequently from now on” They laughed, now sitting up and looking from their bedroom window the sunset and the ocean. Two different worlds, colliding to achieve peace between them. In perfect harmony, holding hands as they felt their connection towards one another stronger, this was the beginning of something truly beautiful.

[mesaprotector]

I watched Lain over the past two weeks. Twice.

The first time I saw it I didn't have a clue in heck as to what was going on, but I had a pretty strong feeling of what the show was saying. The second time I understood all of the secrets of Lain and am here to preach her gospel. Haha, just kidding. But I do feel strongly that of all the possible interpretations, the literal canonical one is the only one I've heard that isn't satisfactory.

In addition to all the crazy theories I've seen people come up with (Lain is Jesus, Lain is Shinji from Evangelion, all of Lain is about aliens, etc.) - and god bless the lovely people who write those - there are two common interpretations. #1 is that Lain is a program constructed to break down the barrier between the Wired and the real world. #2 is that Lain is schizophrenic and by the end of the series has gone completely nucking futs. You can think of these as the literal interpretation and the meme interpretation, maybe.

My problem with #1 is if you accept it, the finale is deeply troubling. One key theme in Lain is that Lain despises being observed, but she loves observing others. Notice how panicked she gets any time the Men in Black train their sights on her in the early episodes, or the repeated scenes of her family members opening her door to stare at her, say nothing, and leave. And this gets discussed explicitly in the finale, where Lain tells herself that maybe she prefers to be a god because it's easier to be a god than a human being - you don't have to be seen but you can see everything. It's very clear that the point being made here is that Lain, if given the choice, would choose to be human after all she's been through. As such, her decision to remove herself from the world feels like a defeat, a hollow tragedy, and a betrayal of her own arc. It's not bad writing, necessarily - it just feels bad.

#2, by comparison, sits okay with me, but it does feel a bit silly. You can wave away the entire show as a meaningless hallucination, and its ending as a complete break with reality. So why were we watching this again?

During my second watch of the show, after the ninth episode (the alien one featuring the ultimate husbando Vannevar Bush), I wrote down two possibilities that I still thought were plausible at that stage. My ideas were fairly similar to #1 and #2 above, but with a couple crucial differences, so I'm going to call them #1A and #2A.

#1A: Lain is the emergent consciousness of the internet, and this is the story of her trying to figure out her place in the real world.

The key thing separating this from #1 is that I never took seriously the idea that Lain was deliberately constructed. Rather, I saw her (in this version) as a being nobody wanted or expected, but one who learned to exist with reference to other people.

There's one scene that makes me dismiss the "constructed Lain" interpretation out of hand even before the ending - it's the scene where her dad says goodbye to her on the stairs, and expresses that he "enjoyed playing house". It seems very obvious to me that the scene isn't meant to be taken at face value, being that it follows up the increasingly weird but oddly human behavior of all of Lain's family members. But if you think Lain is literally a program, you have no choice but to take this at face value, along with everything else her family does. Instead, I immediately took their behavior as Lain's perception of them. To Lain, her mother is basically a nonentity whose only emotional act is to kiss her father on occasion. This isn't the behavior of a paid actor - it's Lain's vision of how her human mother would sincerely act.

With #1A, the ending of Lain is her recognizing herself as the goddess of the internet, and recognizing that she cannot participate in the real world - but she loves everyone in it all the same. They are no longer NPCs and simulations to her, but real people. I like that version of her arc, but my other construction is the one I find even more compelling.

#2A: Lain is a human girl. She isn't schizophrenic, but lonely, isolated, and prone to fantasizing. The majority of what we see is her playing out a fantasy where she doesn't have to give up her privacy and finds her secret desire for attention and love - on the internet.

I already mentioned above that all we see of Lain's family seems to me like it's filtered through Lain's eyes. According to this interpretation, that also applies to the rest of her life. In class the other students appear as gray statues in the background because she doesn't care about them. The Knights are people she talks to on the internet, but what they really do we never find out. Instead she lives an elaborate fantasy including secret organizations, aliens, and of course - herself as a god-like figure at the center of it all.

I wasn't sold on this interpretation until I thought in depth about the ending to the story, and specifically Lain's "reset". It was always very hard for me to explain the reset, in conjunction with Lain's apparent affirmation to stop living as a god and start living as a human. But then something clicked - if nearly the entire story is Lain progressing her own fantasy, then the reset is her decision to go back to the real world, not to leave it. She chooses to live as a human again after a very, very long period of dissociative introspection.

#2A gives rise to the question of what the final scenes with Lain's dad and with adult Arisu are. The more comforting and to me, less fitting sub-interpretation is that those too are "memories" - fantasies of the future - and the real Arisu is Lain's classmate. But my favorite of all is this: the real Lain is 14. Her father is dead. The real Arisu is 24 or so. Lain deeply admires Arisu but has not seen her in a long time - the version of Arisu Lain remembers was a middle schooler. Perhaps Arisu was her babysitter when she was a small child. And in this version, the final scene with Arisu is just reality - a meeting after so many years.

The only qualm I have about this version - call it #2A2 - is that Lain's crucial statement in the finale that "memories can be of the present or future, not just the past" isn't used to full effect. But emotionally it seems to fit better than anything.

Anyway, I think I've thought enough about Lain to earn myself the right to take part in discussing it. It was in case a wonderful atmospheric anime I'll probably remember for a long time still.

[cabyang]

moral archives fanfic i wrote for fun lol

@maxphilippa here

I should've known. It was so obvious, it should've occured to me earlier.

The way I smiled every time he smiled, the way I laughed when he laughed, the way I followed when he took the lead, the way he followed when I took the lead.

But I was oblivious to my love, and therefore his. I waved off every feeling I had as a side product of our friendship, no matter how head over heels I was.

It was only then, when he gave me the immunity milk, that I truly understood.

The way my face reddened with love, like it had many times before, although quickly undercut by the sour taste of the long since spoiled milk. The way he looked into my eyes, with a beautiful smile on his face I had always admired. It finally clicked. I was in love.

I asked him if he was sure, I mean it was his after all. If he wanted it, I would've given it right back. But he reassured me, making sure I took his gift. I looked at him with love struck eyes, and I looked at him back all the same.

My honey covered feelings made drinking the spoiled milk slightly less bad, although I was struggling to keep it down. Every chance it got, my brain wondered back to how Yinyang looked at me in that moment. My heart raced just thinking about it.

As Mephone read the votes, my mind kept coming back to the same subject. Everytime I smiled anew, like it had just happened again. My heart pitter pattered the same sped up rhythm as it did when he gave me the milk, refusing to slow down.

"Yinyang. Two votes Nickel, Two votes Yinyang."

I looked at my one and only ally with worry in my eyes. We did have the numbers to out vote Silver and Nickel, but I didn't know if anybody had made any sudden switches with Blueberry rejoining. He looked at me back seemingly even more worried. My stomach twisted itself a few more knots at the sight of his worried expression.

"Yinyang. Two votes Nickel. Three votes Yinyang."

Oh God. If everything went as planned, then we would at least force a tie. But my heart pounded in worry and I tried my absolute best to take deep breaths discreetly, which didn't help at all. I gripped the immunity milk with all my might, as if I could change the course of fate if I had a strong enough grip on the milk jug.

"And the final vote is..."

I awaited the news with baited breath.

"Yinyang! You are our fifteenth eliminated contestant."

My heart sank all the way to the sandy beach below my wheels. How could this have happened? Yinyang thought *I* was on the chopping block, that's why he gave me the immunity milk, plus we had three members in our alliance, it should've been a tie.

"Now that we know the jury decides the winner, Yinyang is just too big of a threat."

Well. I can't blame him. It is competition. People will do anything it takes to win. But my heart still ached. After everything he had done for me... eliminated. Just like that.

I quickly got over the betrayal as I refocused on something else. The fact I *loved* Yinyang. My heart shattered once again, as I struggled to not only speak but also keep my tears at bay.

"Oh, I'm so sorry your selfless sacrifice was for all for nothing."

I managed to choke out, sensing my sadness Yinyang quickly reassured me. At first I instinctively smiled at his happiness over his personal victory, but then I was painfully reminded that he'd be going away. My face twisted itself, trying to both smile and frown at the same time. It looked weird.

"Hit me as hard as you can!"

Still so excited, even whilst being eliminated. I was reminded again why I loved him. But then he was sent away all the way to Indefinite Island. Then it hit me. How could this have happened? I tried to focus on the positives, how happy he sounded about their personal victory, the smile on his face as he playfully asked Mephone to hit him. But I couldn't.

It hurt. I yearned for whom I just learned I needed, and what I just learned I couldn't contact until either I won, or eliminated. I kept my tears at bay by focusing on the silver lining, but that was all the silver lining did. Keep me from tears. I still ached for Yinyang, hoping that I had found out about my love just a second earlier, just so I could tell him I loved him the same way he loved me.

But I couldn't. I was too late. I had found out at the most inconvenient of times, and now I was to face the side effects. I rolled along the beach in the opposite direction from anyone, mourning my new found loss. I rummaged through my files, searching for any way to contact him. The only way that didn't have a success rate in the negatives was writing a message in a bottle and sending it into the ocean. It had a success rate of exactly 0.01%.

I was again reminded of still bleeding wound of my love, stabbed as soon as it was discovered. I stopped at a certain point, remembering where I was. This was the same spot Yinyang and I built that sand castle, in the down time between episodes 13 and 14. Tears welled up in my eyes about as fast as I could wipe them away.

I pulled out Yinyangs file, and my eyes quickly darting to the small image of him I taped to the side. I had taken in the morning after episode 12, the angle was slightly slanted and it was a little shaky as I kept laughing at the funny face he made towards the camera, though I did end up with a better picture later. I thought this was more fitting. A smile slowly returned to my face like the sun lazily setting over the island.

File in one hand, I used my other hand to find my red pen, searching through the neatly organized manilla folders and printer papers. Once I had found it, I got to work on his file. Slowly but surely, I drew little hearts around the image, I couldn't quite get them fully symmetrical, but I thought that was fitting.

I smiled as I put the file back into the Y section, and looked off into the sunset. It still hurt, but it was comforting that even though he wasn't here, he did love me back. I wonder if he knew I love him too, and if he was comforted by that. I knew one thing was for certain though, I was going to see him again, and that was enough to carry me through the rest of my time on the game.

[pianocat939]

Guys I’m sorry but I had to. The demons have come back to haunt me once more.

Tw: breaking-in, death, violence, obsessive behaviour, honestly this guy is literally so cute help-

Yandere Methuselah General Hcs

Introduction: For those of you who don’t know, Methuselah was a Galapagos Tortoise who died at the age of 130. He was one of the oldest tortoises in the world when he died. His death was caused by a shoe getting thrown at his head by a ginger 4 year old, which was me. After the incident, he succumbed to his injury two weeks later.

(I got so lazy with the shading lmao-)

(And now we start make Yan content of his mutant self-)

(He’s not 130 years old as a mutant, it is up to interpretation.)

Type: Violent + Affectionate

Before his mutation, he roamed the habitat of a reptile zoo, munching on plants and strolling around. He would sunbathe and nap all around the perimeter.

On one summer day, he wandered around as the people watched him: as per usual. He could hear the excited little chirps from the children as they pointed and waved at him.

Then when he turned around, something hard hit him in the head, right on the bullseye. It hurt a lot, but he paid no mind to the thrower.

Instead, his eye was caught by another human. A human watching him from afar, silently observing him. How interesting.

The next few days, everything was mundane. But suddenly, he started growing weak. He was the biggest one of the tortoises and still going strong. So why is his body failing him?

Two weeks after the incident, his body gave out on him. He died, pitifully so.

Then he wakes up once more. But no longer as a tortoise but rather as a humanoid version of himself. He was taller, much taller. His muscles enlargened, so much bigger than an average human's.

Nature has given him a second chance at life! With his current body much more complex than his old one.

He knew humanity wouldn't accept his appearance. So, he hid through the shadows, watching through the cracks.

One night, he spotted a human from afar. And not just any human, the one who watched him on the day of the injury. You were so fascinating! The way you act was adorable, cute, one might say.

Since then, he's snuck into your home every night.

Despite being 11'6, he manages to fit himself on your bed and snuggle up to you; without waking you up. Of course. He holds you firmly but gently, with little nuzzles to the top of your head.

"My dear~ you're always so nice to hold."

In his free time, he writes you love letters. All with love and sick thoughts. And along with said letters, he leaves stuffies with recorders in them so he can listen to you.

He 100% will walk into your house and wait for you to come home. And no I doubt you could kill his monstrosity of a size. He'll be all lovey-dovey, saying he's cooked food for you. He loves anything domestic, like seriously.

He plans to marry you, kidnap you wanting to be bound together. And if you're up to it, children as well (the memories from being at the zoo oddly bring comfort).

Now that we're done with most of the wholesome things, the reason he's listed as the violent type is that he will kill anyone that touches you. He hates it, he hates anybody interacting with his lovely future spouse.

"Let's not do such disrespectful things, alright?"

It isn't just you either, it could be your guys' pet dog or something and he'll be protective of it. No one is touching his family, no one.

Overall just very cute and wholesome...Minus the violent part.

Oh and he's got the Canadian/Northern Midwest accent.

——————————————————

I LOVE THE BEAUTY MARK I CANT-

I don't know how to feel anymore. Like, this tortoise I killed all those years ago has now become a mutant OC? Where did things take a weird turn?

- Celina

[virgo-mess]

Kidnapper for Hire

Chapter Two pt 2

This may have been sitting in my word doc for some odd months now.... I may have kind of forgot it existed but uh, hey at least this chapter is complete... right? Even though it's criminally short, I'll quote the first half just so you know where we're at in this story! I'm really sorry I've been so inconsistent with my updates the two-week vacation definitely helped me sort out my thoughts. I may start doing this thing where any story can be updated at any time... which sounds incredibly chaotic but that's sort of where I'm at creatively right now. It's annoying as someone who enjoys being organized and productive, but I don't have that in me right now. I appreciate all the kind notes you guys sent on my last post ❤️. I've just been in a weird spot mentally lately; I'm hoping smaller updates more frequently will help. Hope you all enjoy even if it isn't much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

TW: Mentions of murder, Reader is being held hostage, police corruption, Cash is sending mixed signals, but I think he's genuinely as confused as reader is, and I guess you could say the kiss boarders on dub con in this situation given the circumstances.

Kidnapper for Hire Chapter Two: Officer Giraffe

“Why don’t you lay your head on my lap, so you don’t hurt your neck, princess…” he said softly, looking at you expectantly with a soft smile gracing his lips. You glance at him apprehensively, pondering his suggestion with wide weary eyes...

“You look worn out, princess. Come on, it’s okay” he coaxed in a low almost seductive tone as he wrapped a strong arm around your waist, stroking your exposed navel with delicate calloused fingertips. You inhale sharply, feeling a shiver run down your spine at Cash brazenly tantalizing one of your erogenous zones with overtly lustful blue eyes.

“Come on Y/N, lay down for me” Cash coaxed again, the traffic light has gone through its color cycle about three times at this point illuminating the side of his face in soft colorful hues of yellow, red, and green. You sigh, ignoring your wave of arousal and the thick layer of sexual tension hanging in the air, you hesitantly sprawl across the truck bench seats and lay your head upon his muscular right thigh. It’s not like you really have a choice given your present circumstances though the thought of pushing his buttons was incredibly tempting to you right now.

“Good girl” he praised softly, still stroking your navel with gentle calloused fingertips, you find yourself clamping your thighs together to ease some of the pulsing throbs radiating through your clit as you stare up at him with rosy cheeks. “Now close your eyes, princess” he cooed with a smug, satisfied smirk on his face. You can’t help but roll your eyes as you glare up at him intensely, you begin to consider that his mock reluctance to hand you over was purely sexually motivated, you take this as confirmation that all the promises he just made were lies. You slap the back of his hand harder than necessary, scowling up at him through the dim lighting. Cash let out a deep sigh, staring down at you with a hard expression, you swear you see a hint of dejection flood through his eyes before he reluctantly moves his hand off of your stomach to grip the steering wheel.

“You hit me again and I’ll cuff those pretty little hands of yours right now instead of waiting until we get to where we’re going, sweetheart. Now go to sleep or the blindfold is going back on too” he snapped louder than necessary, your scowl vanishes almost immediately, and you find yourself repressing a whimper, feeling another shiver runs down your spine. Cash’s expression softens a bit, and you know your attempt to muffle your fearful whimper was unsuccessful.

“You’re awfully demanding, officer giraffe” you grumbled, turning your head to face the steering wheel, red faced and flustered by the frequent shifts in his demeanor. You know he’s just trying to beguile you into believing his fake promises to prevent the looming threats against your presently undesirable, semblance of a life from playing out. Still, you can’t help how your body almost instinctively relaxes against him or the way your eyelids grow heavier and heavier until eventually you can’t keep them open anymore. You close your eyes and listen to the way the truck tires roll over the pavement and the way your kidnapper cop breaths in and out above you. You hear him say something to you in a tone that’s so soft you think your brain must have made it up in that place between sleep and awake, the one Tinkerbell told Peter Pan about in those fleeting days of your youth.

“I’m sorry, y/n, I really am”

Cash’s POV

            Cash let out a long sigh as he watched your chest rise and fall delicately with the passing of another golden hued streetlamp. The soft rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance just over the sound of his truck tires rolling over the same stretch of pavement for about the fifteenth time in the last forty minutes or so. Though he’d been sure you were fast asleep a good twenty minutes ago, he had to be sure you couldn’t tell where he was taking you for your sake… and his. He had taken it upon himself to abandon the rental property in Atlantic City James Green had been most generous enough to gift him for your safe keeping over the next few weeks. Of course, Cash would have to find a way to explain away his sudden change of plans, but it seemed James didn’t care where or how he got you just as long as he got the job done. The why for all this was still a total mystery to him. The little conversation he had shared with you over the last few hours, a doe eyed beauty, all but solidified that nagging voice in the back of his head declaring your innocence in this imposing situation with one James Green. With it came that subtle feeling of guilt twisting in the deepest pits of his stomach which only seemed to worsen every time his cold blue eyes settled on your mess of curls sprawled out upon his lap.

            Another sigh escapes Cash’s lips as he pulls down a winding secluded driveway. His fingers leave your soft tendrils for the first time since you’d drifted off to sleep but assure himself it doesn’t mean anything as he pulls into a spacious three car garage. He throws the car in the park, turns the key in the ignition, letting the rumbling engine die down. The faint sound of rippling salt water and your soft shallow breaths fill the small stretch of silence as Cash takes a moment to sit with his thoughts. The dim glow of the overhead motion light pours through his tinted windows, and he finds himself just staring at you. The same way he had stared at you asleep through your small cottage window these last few weeks, silently observing you in all your anxious nighttime ruminations. You for once appeared more at peace asleep in your kidnapper’s lap than you had every night, he’d seen you curled up in your own bed. Cash had always thought the thin sheen of glittering sweat beading down your flushed skin was a symptom of the lack of air flow in your tiny cottage. Of course, now, he knew better, he’d witnessed all the tossing, all the turning, and all the under-eye bags though forced himself to think nothing of it for as long as he could.  “The prospect of a big pay day was far too great to pass up even for a pretty ingenue like you.”

Cash repeats this phrase in his head like a mantra when he finds it in him to push the truck door open and scoop your small frame into his arms. He treads up a few steps into a beach house foyer, through the living room and up the stairs to the lush master bedroom overlooking the ocean (so you can't tell where you are even if you wanted to). The words reel in his mind again as sets you the plush bed in the middle the room he'd set up for you earlier that week. One long, lone silver chain is already clasped securely to one of the canopy bed posts. Already meticulously measured out to reach the master bath off to the right, he fastens it to one of your ankles gently. Cash recons he could keep you here forever just like this if he so wished it.... and boy did he wish it...

[wfagamerants]

A bit late because lol, rl, but as a blog about my Mario opinions, I can’t resist rambling a bit about my opinions of stuff in a direct full of Mario stuff.

Ordering them in how excited I am for each of them, though in the end I am happy about all of these, it’s just a way to decide how to order them.

Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon Switch

I genuinely like Dark Moon and honestly don’t think it's rep as the lesser of the three games in some circles is earned, so seeing a Switch version is welcome in my book.

That said, I do have some concerns with how choppy the game looks in places. The original had a few moments like this too, but in a HD re-release…yeah you gotta clean that up. Odds are that may even happen, given the game isn’t due until next year.

Besides that, yeah, Dark Moon on Switch. I like the game and will gladly get this and use it as an excuse to replay it, but odds are there isn’t gonna be much new here. Not a bad thing, just makes me struggle to put this higher up here.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC

It looks good, I’ll play it and that is honestly it.

This may be worth a discussion of its own, but while I like Sparks of Hope and even prefer some aspects of it over the original, it didn’t stick with me in the long run like the first game and it seems many feel the same way.

Hard to say what it is, but I am sure I will enjoy this, it’s just that at this point, I am really mostly interested in Rayman when it comes to this game,

The mechanical King Bob-omb’s pretty sick though.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 5

Fun idea for a new racetrack and a very solid selection of new characters. Good first impressions.

We still don’t know the other 7 tracks, but I do genuinely think every new wave so far has been better than the last, so I am in good spirits about it and Mario Kart 8 is something I can keep coming back to for another round very easily.

New Peach Game

This is easily the most surprising one in its mere existence.

With how little has been shown so far, it’s hard to really have a strong opinion on things, but the stage play theme does make one wonder what could be and little details like Peach not having her crown really are curious.

Above all else though, I am just excited this is a thing. Spin-offs focusing on other characters are always among the most interesting new releases. They allow for experimentation with ideas that may be seen as not fitting Mario himself and after the 2000s, the well of new ones dried up really substantially.

Peach is also still a very unexplored character for this, even her first game is still heavily grounded in regular Mario stuff, while this is looking to be more of a Luigi’s Mansion kind of spin-off, so I am very intrigued.

Super Mario Wonder

Quite frankly, this game, in everything we have seen, feels like an outright apology for how static and safe 2D Marios have been in the NSMB era.

With this is one, it really feels like there was a desire to just get weird and I can vibe with that. The sections for collecting Wonder Seeds seem really creative and out there, with a lot of variety at that and the trippy nature of the first one in particular is a stand-out.

Besides that we got a surprising roster of characters, with the most out there choice being Daisy. Nintendo actually using their characters? Crazy talk.

In all seriousness, I appreciate them expanding beyond Mario and Luigi on a more regular basis now and what helps charm me even more is how expressive and alive the characters are.

Everyone around on social media has likely seen these comparison shots already:

But even beyond that you have little things like the characters reacting to the spiked boulder about to chase them:

I just adore stuff like this and hope the game is full of that.

Beyond that there are still a lot of little things, like the not-Toad NPC, the elephant power-up, that wild looking Bowser Jr, etc. Loads to see and I can’t wait for more info.

My only gripe is that they are still passing up Toad in favor of colorful generics. It’s not gonna make me less excited for the game, even though I feel cheated out of one of my favs, but I wish Nintendo would finally stop doing that.

Super Mario RPG Remake

I won’t lie, when leakers mentioned this one, I wasn’t all that thrilled.

Not because I don’t like RPG or the idea of a remake, but because I expected it to be butchered. Part of its charm is that it is a time capsule to an era where Mario’s now known visual identity and several concepts didn’t exist yet. I fully expected that to be done away with, for the sake of brand consistency, on top of some of the more undesirable changes from the Mario & Luigi remakes.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Genuinely, I was so caught off-guard by everything shown here. Mario, Peach and Bowser are updated to their modern looks, which is perfectly fine, but beyond that, it is genuinely amazing how much they retained the original.

All the original characters are still present which, granted, wasn't unlikely, but still lovely to see.

They retained a more chibi proportioned look, in-line with the original’s renders and sprites.

The environments still look as they did back then, no NSMB colorful hills in the grassland area or anything. They even resisted the temptation to update Peach’s castle to its standard look.

Most shocking of all, the old Toad NPC designs, my favorites in all Mario games, are left intact:

And as an extra bone as a Toad fan, after Wonder disappointed, they even gave him dibs on the blue vest, to further distinguish him from the rest of his species.

Everything just looks so nice. The models and environments, the music, the cutscenes, it’s a charmer across the board.

Much like with Luigi’s Mansion, it’s up in the air how much new there will be content-wise, but honestly, I am fine regardless what direction it takes.

I’m just happy to have a reminder of what Mario RPGs used to be and I will gladly support it to show I miss that kinda stuff, on top of my adoration for the original.

WarioWare Move It!

The Wario fan is most excited for the Wario game, say what?

In all seriousness of course this makes me incredibly happy. Smooth Moves was my favorite WarioWare before the big revival with Gold and GiT and a follow-up with the joycon as the main focus always made sense.

This is very much a traditional WarioWare to its core and frankly, that is amazing, it even embraces the low quality, cursed 3D models from Smooth Moves that I love with all my heart. I would have also liked a GiT follow-up, but this always made the most sense for a second Switch entry and I am happy they aren’t sleeping on it.

The extra stuff like the board game mode also adds some intrigue, not enough to see what this will be like yet, but I am always glad to get some extra offerings beyond the regular stages.

That aside you got the fun vacation theme, 13-Amp possibly being a host now, some lovely Smooth Moves callbacks like the return of forms and so on. I am nothing but excited.

And this is yet another one I am happy just exists. This is the first time since the Wii that Wario has gotten more than one new game on a system and so soon after GiT no less. WarioWare is in a healthy state again and that is huge.

So yeah, banger after banger and a nice uptick after the 2022 Mario output was on the lacking side. I’ll always defend Battle League in many aspects, but it still sucks content-wise and Sparks of Hope, while good, is pretty lacking in the Mario aspect.

Between the 2023 releases out of these and the movie though, we truly have a banger year for anything Mario.

[sadnesslaughs]

Everyone knows that the strange person at the end of the block is not human, but no one cares. The reason why is that they are the kind of creature that gives out king-sized candy bars on Halloween, cleans the snow covered sidewalks of the whole block, and are willing to help with anything.

(A response to a writing prompt)

What was she? An alien? Mythical beast? A ghost? It was impossible to say. She appeared normal at first. A tall, thin woman who was around seven feet tall. She was quiet, but friendly. Often waving to people whenever they passed by her window. For years, I assumed she was a friendly recluse, someone that liked the outside world but didn’t want to engage with it. Until she noticed me out one night.

I had been stumbling home after a night of drinking, having enough common sense not to drive home, but not enough sense to call a taxi. Eventually, my steps became slow, and I found myself resting in the gutter, staring at the stars with a dumb smirk on my face. It was impossible to say how long I had been laying there before she found me, the woman’s pale face peering down at me, watching me with those bright green eyes of hers.

Neither of us spoke for a good minute or two, staring at one another. I think I tried to mumble something out, but the words ended up becoming incomprehensible noises over anything human. Then, my hand was in hers, the woman tugging me onto my feet, guiding me to my front door. She was awfully strong for someone so thin, able to carry me with a single hand.

As we walked, her steps had a bounce to them, as if she was stepping on air. The bounce of her steps making me wobble, finding it hard to get my footing. The only comparable thing to this sensation was the feeling of walking in a jumping castle. That weird sense that your feet were digging into the Earth.

I fumbled for my key when we arrived, eventually finding it. I gave her a grin when I found it, jingling my turtle keychain at her, showing it off. After scratching my door with the key, she took it off me, unlocking it for me. I gave her a friendly nod, trying to look cool as I rested my shoulder against the doorframe, only to fall inside. After hitting the floor, I rolled, turning to show her I was alright, only to find the door already closed. She was gone that quickly.

The next day I went shopping, even while nursing a nasty hangover. I had to buy her a thankyou present. Grabbing the flowers, I left them by her door, leaving a little thank you note attached. I would have loved to actually thank her in person, but she seemed to prefer her privacy, so maybe it was for the best if I didn’t knock on her door all day.

That night, there was a knock at my door. When I opened it, she was standing outside with a lemon tree. Not a small lemon tree, like a full grown lemon tree. The flowers had touched her, and she wanted to return the favor. At first, I thought she was joking until she raised her arms, slamming the tree into the Earth. It was like something out of a Looney Toons cartoon. The woman planting it with raw strength alone. Even if it didn’t make sense to me, it worked. She then muttered a small prayer, as the dirt she had disturbed returned to the Earth.

After that mind-boggling display, she went to leave, only for me to catch her before she did.

So, there we were, sitting in my kitchen, having coffee. She didn’t seem to understand what coffee was, poking her tongue against the drink, lapping at it. After a few testing pokes, she drank it, giving me a thumbs up. This was the first time anyone in the neighborhood had spoken to her. In a hushed voice, she told me that someone had given her the house she lived in, and she loved our little community.

She told me how she repaired the local park, wanting to make sure the kids had a place to visit. She spoke about Trina’s home, how she would maintain the older woman’s garden since she was incapable of doing it in her senior years. If anyone else told me these things, I would have assumed they were bragging, but she spoke with such a love for the world that I could feel the genuineness dripping from her. She also told me her name was Yuna, and she was pleased to meet me.

The next day, I went to speak with a few neighbors. Something I rarely did before meeting her. I asked around, and they told me all their little stories about her. How she helped them with everything they needed, even if she was silent the entire time. We all agreed there was something different about her, but no one cared to know the reason she was different. She was lovely and someone we all wanted in our neighborhood. So, we started inviting her to things and to our surprise; she came.

Whenever Yuna arrived, everyone smiled. She would always light up whatever event she attended, whether it was a barbeque, games night or even a small birthday party. Everyone loved her and she returned that love to us. She was even speaking more often, getting comfortable around us all. Sure she still had her quirks, like how her head would sometimes shift through doorways when she forgot to duck. Or the fact she had superhuman abilities that made her impossible to beat in any of the games we played. Still, those quirks were all things we loved about her. Whether she knew it or not, she brought our community together.

[dreamerwriternstargazer]

*claps* okay so I had some weird dreams and yet also gorgeous at the same time

I was supposed to be helping cook for an Eid dinner that also included a couple of random guys that I guess were invited for Eid? One of them kept hitting on me, I actually remember what he looked like he looked like Jade’s boyfriend from Victorious. I flirted back a little but I was mostly bored hence, flirting back because meh why not

We sit down to eat and there’s this huge like explosion or attack or something (I am so sad we didn’t get to eat those perfect looking roast potatoes 🥹) and there’s this huge monster type thing roaming. Snake/dragon monster? Idk it’s long and dark red with a rounded snout

I immediately snap into action because somehow me and some other girls (who I don’t actually know) are turned into superheroes, or specifically anime magical girls. Like one second I was peering out from a broken wall to the street and seeing the monster calling out for me and the next I feel this burst of light and seeing other girls getting surrounded by it as well

So… magical girl transformations in dreams are a bit weird you really gotta focus on hope and willpower for it to work and I was a bit out of it because the dream so far had been looking like a family therapy dream and now huh??

So I was struggling to focus on transforming but I shut my eyes and managed partially to transform by throwing myself out of the building and transformed as I fell. I transformed, but didn’t quite activate my powers. Actually had no idea what my powers were I couldn’t decide I was so turned around. I was trying to activate a flight power but it was working slow, in the meantime I got hunted and chased around the city by this monster and I also needed to figure out a plan to kill it.

We were on some sort of island city? I managed to float, not quite strong fly, towards the edge of it after being chased all throughout it and I was at a cliff when faced by the monster.

So naturally, I jumped off of it.

And fell deep into the ocean.

Crazy right? Well I was counting on my flight powers kicking in properly.

I open my eyes after hitting the water and the sea looks like…. Melted sapphires, it’s shining and shimmering even underwater. I can see the ebb and flow and the waves above me and the ripples underneath them, and it’s quiet. The water is clear but a gorgeous turquoise blue at the same time and I feel a mix of peace but apprehension because as much as I love the ocean, I know I have slight fears about it as well. If I wasn’t careful with my thoughts I might turn this moment into a scary one

I turn and look down as I think that and I see this *giant* sea creature with massive gills, it’s a rushed moment so I don’t quite fixate on the image because I want to be in awe of it, not scared of it, I think I immediately focus on the idea of a whale shark so it IS a whale shark.

And I focus on the idea of flying, flying up and very strongly and I think the creature helps me because I feel pushed to the surface as I shoot up, bursting out of the water properly flying now. Okay, time to get to business.

I lay out a trap, it seems most of the other girls have gotten injured so it’s up to me, I get the monster to follow me as I fall out of a building, calling for it to come get me. Just before I hit the ground and open my wings (damn I have wings?) and shoot off across the street, keeping it close behind me. I still haven’t thought of a weapon to use against it, usually I would have given myself a fight power at this point? But I think it looks too huge and scary I can’t think of shooting or firing some sort of attack at it.

I weave through the city, disorientating it before flying to the edge of the island out to open sea

I shut my eyes and hope really hard and- YES the sea creature (it was some kind of sea dragon) bursts out of the waves and takes it down

……I just remembered this is a bit from Shang Chi isn’t it? The dragon in the sea

I’ve always had dreams like this that’s WHY I loved that scene so much so like shush don’t even Marvel plagiarised my dreams babes *flicks hair back*

[unrealblacklightvirus]

alex pronoun/gender time (spoilers for prototype 1 & 2)

okay i just want to preface this with. i am not super familiar with lgbtq+ terminology or labels so i apologize in advance if i say something weird or wrong (please correct me if i do! i am.. like an old man but i am willing to learn) but i do wave the trans flag myself :) also note that this my personal headcanon for alex, you are entitled to your own interpretations about alex !! (and i like seeing the differences between them)

alex is torn between his viral nature vs. the man he was. for almost all of his life he had nothing to go off of except his name and the memories of alex others would tell him, like dana or karen parker and so hes lost. lost and trying to find something to ground him, especially when the hivemind is pulling him in all these directions and the people hes consumed fill his mind with memories that arent his .

he wants to hold onto something that he knows is true to alex mercer, he wants to stay as close to the original mercer as he can (barring his douchebag personality) because that is what people percieve as "human"; a pretty bad example of a human, but a human nonetheless. hence, keeping the he/him pronouns because it makes him feel like he is just like them (them being society. he wants to fit in LOL)

he rejects the it/its pronouns (i think it/its pronouns are dope as hell but for my alex it doesnt really fit the characterization i gave him), mainly because its what blackwatch calls him to take away his humanity and treat him more as a weapon more than a person . he hates being called "it", it can really piss him off (and he rarely gets pissed off) .he wants to be more like what society thinks of as a "person's" pronouns?

of course, he is a shapeshifter who can flawlessly mimic other humans who, surprise! use other pronouns than he and him. so when he's in a disguise, he takes on the pronouns of whoever he is at that moment (she/her, they/them, ze/zir, it/its, all the others) without a single shit given. hes just as comfortable with those pronouns as he is with his, when hes shapeshifted.

its when blackwatch knows its alex and still use it/its that ticks him off, although there are some exceptions (like being undercover with someone, being a friend and .not blackwatch, etc). now that i think of it, alex, even when disguised, is still okay with he/him as long as its not in front of blackwatch or people who dont know hes a shapeshifting viral monster who is normally a man but sometimes everything else.

as for actual gender.... hes... i dont know how to describe it. both cis and agender? does that make sense? i headcanon him to be cis, like a cis male (and i think doc mercer too? but i dont really think about him that much) but also being a literal viron that has no gender because it is a virus. which have no gender. and he is no gender and all the genders inside because of the people hes consumed but he is a male??? this is confusing. hes confusing. hes confused. we are both confused.

he knows hes not human and therefore doesnt have to abide with human binaries, but he takes comfort in being a man - a human. in P2, the reason for him becoming Evil is because he manages to go on a international vacation to the places on earth where somehow, only the worst of humanity lives? and he never sees a glimpse of goodness and selflessness and love and joy ever during that whole period? and decides that everyone is just as bad as the worst of the worst and that only the strong (and apparently not evil? even though his actions are literally. Evil??????) shall survive?

what the FUCK, writers.

so i said FUCK YOU and gave this man a unquenchable thirst for life and hope and kindness and curiosity and learning. he will find humanity. he will see the bad but also the good and he will find that humans are not perfect but they are also humans who learn and create and grow and make mistakes! that the world is this grey, not so black and white, that he can make a difference not by some fucked up viral eugenics but by . being good and being helpful and being kind and loving and friendly and a ridiculous viral puppy dog cat thing that makes people laugh and smile.

. i like happy endings. sue me.

[filet-o-feelings]

David and Patrick:

22. Reunion hug.

Patrick turns the tv off and picks up the empty popcorn bowl, bringing it to the kitchen to wash later. “Thanks for keeping me company this week, Stevie.”

“Anytime, Brewer. You know I’d have been here just as much if David had been home. It sucks that I finally got some time off from traveling for RMG and it coincides with David’s visit to Alexis,” she says frowning as she follows Patrick into the kitchen, setting down her empty wine glass and Patrick’s beer bottle next to the popcorn bowl.

“He misses you, too,” he assures her. “I’m glad we were able to spend some time together though.”

“What time does he get in tomorrow?”

“His flight lands at 1:55 pm. I plan on leaving early, though. I doubt I’ll get much sleep, anyway.”

“Ew, you really miss him, huh?”

“We’ve never been apart this long. I’m glad he’s spending some time with his sister, but I can’t sleep without him, and being alone at the store feels weird and wrong. I don’t even know what I would’ve done all week without you here to distract me.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough sincerity for me. I’ll see you both on Tuesday?”

“Of course. And you’re welcome to stop by when we get back tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you.”

“No, no. You two deserve at least one night to be gross and make up for your time apart. I can wait a day.”

“Thanks, Stevie,” he says as she walks out the door, waving.

🛬

Patrick checks his phone again to make sure the plane hasn’t been delayed. It should be landing any minute now, bringing his husband back home to him. 

He’d been correct in his assumption that he wouldn’t sleep; between his weeklong struggle of falling asleep without David wrapped around him and the excitement of knowing he would finally be in his arms this afternoon, it had been a particularly long night. Eventually, he had given up and started reorganizing his closet, since the rest of the house had already been cleaned bit by bit in every waking hour David had been gone and Stevie wasn’t keeping him occupied. Even then, he’d had some trouble keeping still. It was becoming more and more apparent just how much David’s strong hands on his shoulders were what kept him grounded. Without them, he flitted about wildly and directionless, but at least the cottage would be in excellent shape for David’s return.

His phone buzzed in his hands and he nearly dropped it in surprise, despite having expected a text as soon as David had landed. He’s here. Safe, and waiting to deplane. Patrick was practically vibrating in anticipation. He watched passengers from other flights as they reunited with loved ones, and he waited his turn.

Another group of people was coming through, and Patrick watched carefully in hopes that they had been on David’s flight. His cheeks hurt when he spotted his husband’s signature swoop of dark hair and he grinned as he watched him materialize behind other passengers as he got closer.

Their eyes met and his heart swelled as he laid eyes on his husband physically for the first time in a week, and before he’d even realized he’d taken a step, he was in his arms, his face buried in David’s neck, breathing him in.

God, he’d missed his smell. His touch. “Hi.” His voice, oh, his voice!

“Hi,” he responded, his voice muffled in David’s skin, unable to remove himself just yet. David rubbed his hands over his back and they melted into each other, the rest of the world and the sounds of travelers all around them falling away.

David is home.

And so is Patrick.