#glad because there's so much obscure stuff to talk about and i KNOW nobody has ever done this particular conspiracy for this class

[sgt-celestial]

ive never been so enthusiastic about a university project like seriously. i should have studied bob dylan because this powerpoint is about to go exaggeratedly hard

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

okay great because like. you can tell i'm a garcello simp but i saw you describe swap! garcello and my brain went "Bring Him Inside" so. maybe there's like a really big storm (we still get hurricanes up here) coming and garcello is, well. outside because that's where he lives. but reader finds him and can tell that underneath the brooding edge there is some very broken stuff so they offer to let him weather it out with them and they get to know him through that

Glad I assembled the Gar simps haha.

Tbh I'm not sure what to make his past about (Swap!Pico has the same story as normal Pico). But I'm open to any ideas!

Anyways, enjoy ^^

...........

"So whatdya want? A BB gun for self-defense? Or to get back at some petty bitch? Or maybe you want-?"

"I was just gonna ask if you had somewhere to go in case this storm kicks up later on."

"....huh?" Garcello looked up at you, perplexed as he gradually closed his trenchcoat, concealing the stash of weapons hidden inside.

You made a good point about a storm approaching, considering it was already getting windy.

But for you, a complete stranger, to be concerned about a lowlife like him? He couldn't understand why you'd care so much.

Usually people only approached him to either say "get lost" or buy some contraband. Besides that, he was a dangerous man. You obviously knew that.

Shouldn't you be more careful?

Your question seemed to confuse him, though judging by his grubby appearance and the fact you've seen him on the streets a lot, it was likely that he had no place to go.

"I don't suppose you do."

"Ah...no." He finally answered. "I've been survivin' out here for a long time. Selling guns n' shit..and taking on..tough jobs." For some reason he was afraid to tell you he was a murder-for-hire.

But why would I care if they knew or not?'

"I see..well..the nearest storm shelter is far from this train station so...how about we weather it out together?" You suggested with a smile.

Garcello blinked, unsure if he heard you right the first time. When you elaborated that you offered to let him stay at your place till the storm passed, he was stunned for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted back to a neutral one.

"You sure? You're so willing to let an armed assassin into your home."

"I don't suppose I'm on anyone's hitlist, am I?"

"No but-"

"Then I'm not worried." You chuckled. "Besides, storms get brutal around here. Nobody deserves to be stuck outside all alone."

There you go again. Hitting him with such kindness and compassion that nobody's ever shown him. He was certain that you wanted something out of this..but he won't know till he accepted your offer.

And he did after much internal debate, following you back home. He kept telling himself it was only temporary; the moment he saw sunshine outside he'll be gone and out of your life.

...........

"So how do you like your tea? Hot, cold, or...?"

"Iced..if it's no trouble." Garcello answered as he sat awkwardly on the couch in your living room space.

Only an hour or so after arriving, the sky darkened and rain was beginning to pour down. He just gazed out the window, thinking about why you let him stay here.

Any sane person would've refused and already locked their doors. Heck, he didn't even need to talk to terrify people--looks alone did just the trick.

All the scars on his face plus a constantly looming shadow obscuring his eyes were enough to make a little kid cry.

Though as you handed him the tea he requested, you didn't look afraid in the slightest. Maybe a bit wary, of course, since he is a stranger who sold contraband. But you weren't trembling or avoiding his gaze.

You were treating him like a friend.

As you sat down, too, you noticed him tugging on his coat, seemingly sweating. "All that stuff you're carrying must be heavy, huh?"

"Yeah..but ya get used to it." He muttered.

"You can take that off if you wanna be more comfortable..I-I promise I won't steal anything." You stammered as he quickly glanced at you. "You can put in the guest room closet."

"..you have a spare room?"

"I mean..you might be here all night so...c'mon I'll show you where it is."

Together you got up and ventured to the guest room. It was a small size, but Garcello was still surprised that you'll let him have this entire space for himself.

Regardless, he shrugged off his coat, being careful of the few weapons he had on the inside, before putting them in the closet. Afterwards he breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have some weight off his shoulders. He checked his belt loop for the uzi that he kept on him at all times.

If he lost everything else, he'd be perfectly content with this one gun.

"So..I did go food shopping beforehand so there's plenty to eat here. I don't know what you're allergic to or what you like but-"

"Alright cut the bullshit."

You looked at him, confused. "..come again?"

"You must got a high priority target or..just...just something on your mind." He mumbled, shutting the closet door with trembling hands. "Nobody offers all of this to me and not want something in return. So quit acting so friendly and tell me what you want."

As he spoke, he turned around to scowl at you. But the more he talked, the more you could sense something besides..anger in his tone.

He seemed rather exhausted and confused--as though he needed to repay your hospitality. It made you wonder what this man has been through to make him assume your kindness..was some façade. You knew he wasn't being rude on purpose.

"Maybe..your name?"

"..my name? That's it?"

"Yeah," you smiled. "I'm [y/n]. It's only fair that we get to know each other since we'll be stuck here for a while."

"That's..true. Name's Garcello." He muttered. "Sorry for gettin' snappy. I'm just not used to-"

A crackle of thunder interrupted him, making him jump as he glanced at the window. The wind and rain outside began growing louder.

"Hey."

He looked back at you, seeing you offer a hand. That warm smile was still plastered to your face. "You seem pretty cool, so you can stay for as long as you want, even when this storm passes. You're safe here, Garcello."

Safety. That was rare to come by. For the longest time he just wanted to feel safe somewhere and not always be on the run.

But to know that he didn't need to kill anyone or sell anything to hear that reassurance made his eyes sting.

"Th-Thanks, [y/n]." Garcello took your hand and shook it once, before letting go.

It felt strange to contact another person without inflicting violence on them. 'Is this what it's like to have..a friend?' He wondered, even though deep down he worried about getting "too attached" to people. His job couldn't afford such sentiments.

But maybe this time..

He can stop worrying.

[seijorhi]

asks :)

i���m sorry i’m bad at answering these i love you guys

I just adore fics like these, outside characters seeing through yandere facades and putting the pieces together. Atsumu’s frustration at knowing something is wrong but not being able to convey it without sounding crazy or jealous (and then exactly that happens), and then his mental agony at realizing he’s right but powerless. Ugh and the piece de resistance was his own inner turmoil at his attraction, it was just *chef’s kiss*. Do you think Atsumu became a bit of a lowkey yandere in his own way just obscured with a savior complex? Poor reader if she ever ends up his clutches, swapping one crazed man for another only Atsumu will never see himself as the bad guy. Thanks for the time and effort you put into such amazing writing!!

poor atsumu, i really put him through the wringer on this one :(( he starts with good intentions, but you know what they say about those haha. i honestly think he’s kinda fucked, because on the one hand he has everybody telling him he’s being a creeper, making mountains out of molehills, because how could hinata possibly do anything like that? and on the other he’s got hinata who’s not only aware of his suspicions but kinda pushing him to snap but dangling the reader in front of him. which way he falls is kinda up to you, but i think the fact he jerked off to a blowjob she clearly didn’t want says a lot about what he’s willing to (temporarily at least) overlook.

(English is not my first language so if I make grammar mistakes i'm sorry :( )

I got chills while reading insidious! It was so amazing. I really appreciated how you wrote that in Atsumu's perspective and made him an unreliable narrator.

It reminds me of the old drabble that you did with BokuAka where they kidnapped their manager and wrote it in Konoha's perspective. In that drabble, while Konoha did act selfishly, I still felt that he was a good person overall.

But in this fic, despite Atsumu claiming that Hinata and y/n's relationship was toxic and wrong, he still felt jealous. He wanted to be in Hinata's place. He wanted what Hinata had with y/n. I don't think his issue with them was because their relationship was toxic (maybe it was in the beginning), he just wanted it to be him who's with her. And that's the brilliance of this fic, seeing not only how unsettling Hinata's relationship was but also seeing Atsumu also slowly becoming obssessed.

first of all, never apologise for your english or any language for that matter. you’re doing great bby! but i’m glad you liked the fic!! <33 i can’t resist morally corrupting a character with good intentions. poor tsumu. poor konoha :((

Oof Hinata is terrifying and you wrote him so so so in character, like damn. He’s so happy like he’s just not a dark person which makes it so jarring bc he himself might not even register his actions as bad. I would love to see more content with him bc you got a girl scared and horny! But just wow I was on the edge of my seat!

ahh thank you my love!!

this is kinda random but i’m happy that i finally don’t have to type your full @ on the search bar to get to your blog anymore!!!!! also your new hinata ft atsumu fic literally sent chills down my spine. it kinda disturbed me how nobody (except atsumu) is questioning hinata’s character because hinata the always positive bundle of joy and sunshine can’t be capable of doing such things right? and how hinata is aware of atsumu’s suspicions ANDattraction towards his girl so he plays these little mind games with atsumu while maintaining that happy go lucky smile on his face acting like everything is normal. i just love your writing so much i literally visit your blog often for new updates😭

ahh i wished i had more updates for you haha! it’s really the worst when nobody believes something you think is painfully obvious. and hinata’s sunshine and sweet and super adoring, so why would anyone think twice about his relationship with the reader? and it doesn’t help that he’s toeing the line (before jumping right across it) between genuine concern and a little bit of attraction, but that’s half the fun haha. thanks for the ask bby!

Ok but you write Atsumu pining for the reader in a relationship so well. Inescapable Atsumu vs Oikawa is so good, the desperation, the crying *chefs kiss* Insidious is a diff Atsumu, more caring but thirsty all the same. Bokuto and co.s reaction is so funny 😭 they literally said you need to chill a little Atsumu

(Maybe we need to make this a full circle and make Atsumu pine for Osamus S.O. eye-)

i’m so mean to atsumu in both of those fics. dw i’ll make it up to him haha <33

It’s been said before but your Hinata fic was AMAZING and just so scarily in character. Hinata is definitely one of the scariest yanderes because he’s so unsuspecting and who would believe such a cheerful person is capable?!? It was just so well-written, I loved how you wrote Atsumu’s rising suspicions (especially how he can’t really prove anything bc it’s Hinata of all ppl) and his own descent into obsession and everyone’s reaction to him. It was so deliciously twisted and you can’t help but pity reader in what we can assume is her little sliver of hope that she can be saved bc someone finally noticed. Just chills.

thank you so much, bby! hinata does give off those vibes, and who would suspect him because he’s so attentive and bright and bubbly. i’m glad you liked it!! <33

Rhi RHHHHIIII Insidious was spot on. Rabid was just 👌👌 mmm and I've just realized how good you are at capturing a character's pov, like Atsumu's was on the money for capturing the confusion and unsettling feeling and it was so effective i feel like 👀😳 @ hinata now lmaoo

I WAS THE LAST ASK TALKING ABOUT POVS BUT I FORGOT SOMETHIIINGG. DAICHI'S POV. DAICHI'S POVVVV 👏👏👏 I could feel myself feeling his frustration and anger (I wanted him to whip oikawa's ass so bad fr) and his piecing together of things made me feel so awful and anxious, but like in a good way!! Writing is suppose to make you feel things and your fics always, always accomplish that 🤍

ahh nonnie, thank you so much! i like to get inside of the character’s head and fuck with their emotions and stuff, it’s super fun so i’m glad you guys enjoy it!! ily!! <3

oo Hinata as a yandere is so scary bc he's so sweet and caring. BUt he's also sincere and earnest about everything and who's to say that passion won't carry into darker activities 👀

you get it anon haha. he’s honestly a little terrifying but i still want him to spit in my mouth y’know??

i just finished reading insidiuous--it was FANTASGTIC SHDFJDSHFJ the way that atsumu crossed a line he couldn't come back from and was just,,,, rightfully consumed with shame for it?? that was great. also loved reading how hinata knew what he was doing and was doing it purposely, but poor reader. my heart goes out to reader.

thank you so much, bby!! i’m glad you liked it <33 

God, you have no idea how much I loved Rabid. I read it probably like 5 times in a row the first time. How do you imagine what happens to reader afterwards? I wonder if he’d end up taking her back to his place, or how does he interact with her afterwards? I’m sorry if this is annoying, I’m just so in love with the story 🥺💕

ahh thank you so much! as for what happens afterwards, you’re definitely kyoutani’s girl. if you think he’s just gonna let you go back to your place, keep working your job, you’ve got another thing coming. he tries to be gentle. a good boyfriend. he’ll definitely pick up on you shaking after he’s finished up; but he’ll misinterpret it as you being cold and make you wear his jacket haha.

Have u permanently closed commissions?

not necessarily, just taking a break :))

[neerasrealm]

awesome! can i please request friends to lovers with cody boi and demisexual!y/n? 🥺👉👈

YOU’RE IN LUCK I’VE BEEN WORKING ON MY CODY LORE RECENTLY. hopefully I did alright- I’m kind of inexperienced with writing demi characters so I apologize if I got something wrong.

"Oh, sorry."

Your hand brushes against another as you reach for the chemistry book you need for your assignment. You grab it and look up at the other person. He's taller than you and has pale skin and honey-brown hair that hangs over one of his green eyes, which blink at you. He scratches at an old, jagged scar on his jaw. 

"You gonna read that?"

"Well duh," you frown at him. "I have an assignment to do." 

"Ah." He nods, glancing aside. "What's your major?" 

"Chemical engineering." You tilt your head at him. "You?"

"Pharmacology." He replies. You arch your brow. If he was studying pharmacology wouldn't you have seen him around campus? Then again- your college is pretty big so...maybe you just forgot his face. He steps back away from you, putting his hands in his hoodie's pockets. "Enjoy the book." He says in a bored tone before turning and walking away. 

------

"Hmm…"

Once more, you're looking for a very, very specific book. For another assignment. A group one. "Uggghhh…" you mutter to yourself. You do not want to be that one guy who doesn't do any work and drags the group down. You already have one of those. As you step out from behind a bookshelf your eyes absently scan the long reading table before-

Wait.

You turn back and squint. The book! It's right there! And being read by...a pale skinned boy with honey-brown hair and green eyes. You glance around for a moment before walking over and taking a seat across from him.

"You gonna read that?"

He looks up at you, seemingly surprised. His eyes widen with realisation, and the smallest of smiles curls up his lips. "...well duh." You smirk and laugh a little bit. He sets the book down and tilts his head at you. "You get that assignment done?"

"Barely." You reply. "Now I got a group project to do."

"Ew." He wrinkles his nose in disgust. He glances from you to the book his hand is resting on. The book you need. "...what're your plans for after college?" He asks, trying to sound casual, but the question sounds like he’s inspecting you.

"A bio engineer. You?"

He blinks in surprise. "Same, actually. Specialising in curing diseases."

"Huh! I was gonna do the same. I wanna help develop medicines."

He looks at you for a moment, then smiles a bit. He closes the book and slides it over to you. "Good luck on the assignment." He says before standing up and walking away. You watch him leave with a small, curious smile. 

----

"God that professor drives me crazy…" one of your classmates mutters as they walk past you. You can't help but agree. 

Stepping outside you wrinkle your nose. It's raining. Great. And all you have is a thin jacket with no hood. A breeze blows by, and it feels like it's going straight through your clothes. You shiver. 

"Hey." A familiar voice grunts beside you. You look up in surprise and are greeted by a taller boy in a hood wearing blue goggles. One of his eyes is obscured by honey-brown hair. He reaches up, grabbing the goggles and pulling them down. Green eyes blink down at you. 

"Oh, hey." You tilt your head at him. "Book boy."

He smirks a bit, tossing his head to the side like he's mimicking you. "Is that my name?"

"Well you never told me your name."

He blinks in surprise, like he hadn't even realised he'd never told you his name. Or forgotten. You suppress a laugh. "Oh." He says. "I'm Cody. But my friends call me X."

"Why?" You ask, smiling a bit. He opens his mouth to reply, then closes it again, like he's stumped. 

"It's my favourite letter?" He finally answers. You laugh loudly. 

‘’Alright, X,’’ you smirk at him. ‘’Did you need something? Another book?’’

‘’Huh? Oh- nah.’’ he scratches at the scar on his jaw. ‘’I saw you out in the rain and uh-’’ he pauses, reaching into the brown satchel thrown across his side. He searches around in it, the contents jingling and clinking until he pulls out a folded up umbrella. ‘’I brought you this.’’ You blink in surprise. You reach out and take it. ‘’But I want something in return.’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’One, I want my book,’’ he toys with the strap of his goggles as he speaks. ‘’And two...I wanna take you for coffee.’’

You arch your brow. ‘’...why?’’

‘’I think you’re neat.’’ he shrugs. ‘’I don’t talk to people much. And you have a similar major so…’’

You hesitate. It isn’t the first time a guy you don’t know well has asked you for coffee under the pretense of ‘you’re just neat’. You pause. He looks at you, seemingly disinterested. Like it doesn’t matter if you say yes or no. 

‘’...sure.’’ you finally say. ‘’But you’re paying.’’

He wrinkles his nose. ‘’I’ll pay the tip.’’ he says. ‘’Sixty percent.’’

------

‘’Hey, y/n!’’

You look up as you step outside your lecture hall. Cody runs towards you, shaking his honey-brown hair out of his eyes. You smile brightly at him as he stops in front of you. Cody has been warming up to you over the past few weeks. He meets you after classes, walks you to your dorm or gets coffee with you, and always, always follows you to the library. He’s...odd. Initially he was standoffish, like he didn’t really care about your company all that much, but as you’ve spent time together he’s opened up a lot more. He’s excitable, and wildly passionate about all sorts of things. But mostly science- which suits you. He helps a lot with writing papers. 

‘’Hey X.’’ you greet him. You walk past him and he trails after you. ‘’How was your day?’’

‘’Fine.’’ he says. ‘’Professor Harrison is still annoying.’’

‘’Ugh- so glad I don’t have his classes till next week…’’ you sigh. ‘’Glad it’s Friday, huh?’’

‘’Yeah.’’ he smiles a bit. 

‘’You got plans for the weekend?’’

‘’Huh? Oh, uh...not- not really. Just- research…’’

You glance over your shoulder and smile at him. ‘’You wanna come over for a bit tomorrow?’’

‘’Co-come over?’’

‘’Yeah. We can hang out, watch a movie or something.’’

‘’...you want me in your house?’’

‘’Well it’s not really a house but- yeah.’’ you smile at him. ‘’What? I can’t invite my friend over to hang out?’’

His bright green eyes seem to shimmer. ‘’Friend?’’ he asks, excitement leaking into his voice. You nod, smiling a little bit. He’s funny when he’s excited. He beams wide. ‘’S-Sure! Yeah, I can postpone my research!’’

-----

‘’Knock knock!’’

You get up off your couch and move over to the door. Opening it, you’re greeted by honey-brown hair and green eyes beaming down at you. ‘’Hey y/n.’’ Cody chirps, shifting on his feet. You step aside to let him in. He walks inside quickly, holding coffee in each hand. He puts down the coffees and rummages through his satchel. ‘’I brought you snacks, and some books I thought you might like. Oh! I also bought you a spare USB, since you almost lost yours last week. You can back your files up on this one just in case-’’

‘’Cody.’’ you interrupt. He looks over at you. ‘’You...didn’t need to get me all of this.’’ you frown. You only invited him over for a movie- why all the stuff? 

‘’...I wanted to help.’’ he murmurs. ‘’I know you like coffee, so I thought you’d like some. Then I thought we’d need snacks for the movie, and then I passed the library and remembered the USB thing so I-’’ he fiddles with his hands. ‘’Isn’t that what friends do?’’

‘’...Cody,’’ you say. He stares at you. ‘’You’ve never had a friend before, have you?’’

He hesitates, then shakes his head. ‘’Not really.’’ he shrugs. ‘’Nobody was ever interesting enough to talk to,’’ he glances aside. ‘’But...you’re different. I dunno how but- you are.’’

You fold your arms, looking at him for a few moments, then exhale gently. ‘’...you’re really weird, X.’’

-----

‘’Hey y/n?’’ 

‘’Huh?’’ you look up from the cheap chinese takeout the two of you ordered. It has become a routine for the two of you to hang out on weekends. And during the week. Cody meets up with you almost every day, and the days he doesn’t he’s...completely impossible to reach. Like he dropped off the face off the earth. But you don’t mind too much.

‘’What do you think of human experiments?’’ his eyes stare into you. You blink.

‘’If they’re safe, then yeah. If it clears animal testing first I think human testing should begin, if the correct safety procedures are taken.’’

He nods. ‘’Yeah, yeah but…’’ he taps his fingers on the table for a second. ‘’Sometimes we need to disregard those protocols. That’s a fact, right?’’

‘’...yeah?’’ you tilt your head, confused.

‘’So what if we used bad people for those experiments? Like death row criminals. It would speed up the process.’’

You blink for a moment. ‘’I mean-’’ you think for a moment. ‘’I dunno…’’ you look away. ‘’Why are you asking me this?’’

‘’No reason.’’ Cody looks back at you and shrugs. ‘’The topic came up in class earlier and it just crossed my mind.’’

----

‘’Knockknocknockknocknockknockkno-’’

You yank open your door and glare up at the person in the doorway. ‘’It’s three in the mo-’’ you pause. The tall, rude person in your doorway is breathing heavily through a gas mask. Their head is lowered, their face obscured by honey-brown hair. They cough.

‘’Sorry for wakin’ you.’’ he grunts. He leans up off the doorway and stumbles forward. You catch him quickly.

‘’Cody?! What the fuck?! Is that you?!” 

"Yeah…" he coughs a bit and grips your shoulders for support. "I got in a fight…"

You pull him over to your couch. He collapses onto it and groans. You pull off his gas mask and goggles and look at his face. It seems to be okay- because of the gas mask probably. Good protection for his face. 

"Where does it hurt?" You ask quickly.

"They fucking kicked me in the gut." He mutters back. He coughs a couple times. "H-Hey, did I drop my baseball bat…?"

"Baseball bat?" You stand up and look over at your door, which is still open. A baseball bat with nails sticking out of the head leans against the doorway. You move over and grab it, closing the door. "Why do you have this thing?"

"Self defense." He grunts back. "Can you get me some ice?"

"Sure, sure yeah."

------

"So like…" Cody looks up from his cereal as you speak. He's been staying in your dorm for the past few days, recovering from getting beat up. "Does this happen...often…?"

He looks at you. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you have a weapon for self defense and you have a scar on your jaw." You point at him. He palms at the jagged scar on his jawline. 

"Oh." He says. "This one isn't from a fight."

You frown and tilt your head. "It isn't?"

"I was in a car accident when I was eight." He says. "My parents died in it. I didn't."

You blink, completely taken aback. "Shit- really?" You suddenly regret all the curious looks you've given that scar over the past while. "That's horrible- I'm sorry dude."

He waves you off. "It's nothing." He murmurs. It's quiet and awkward for a while before he speaks again. "I got a lot more scars from the crash. You wanna see?" He grins at you. You break out into a smile.

"...oh heck yeah I do."

-----

‘’Hey y/n?’’

‘’Huh?’’ you look up from your laptop and over at Cody, who’s laying on his back on your bed, staring at the ceiling through his blue goggles. He doesn’t answer for a moment. 

‘’How long have we been friends?’’ His voice is small and thoughtful. Maybe even sad. You frown.

‘’Like….six months. Why?’’

‘’That’s a long time.’’ he muses, sounding surprised. He turns and looks at you. ‘’...I trust you.’’

‘’You trust me?’’

‘’Yeah.’’ he looks at the ceiling again. ‘’I trust you. A lot. I’ve never really- had a friend before...but I trust you.’’ he turns to you again. ‘’I’m glad I met you, y/n.’’

‘’...what sparked that?’’ you ask gently. Cody shrugs.

‘’Dunno. Was just thinkin’ bout stuff…’’ he’s quiet for a while. ‘’You ever think about how chickens are descended from dinosaurs so technically dino nuggets are dinosaur meat?’’ he breaks the silence. 

‘’PFFFFF-’’

----

‘’Hey! y/n!’’ 

You look up just in time to see Cody sprinting towards you from the other side of the campus. His gas mask is on, even though he doesn’t seem to be coming from the campus’s lab, as are his goggles. His hood falls down, exposing honey-brown hair. You walk quickly toward him and he stumbles towards you, then doubles over gasping for air. 

‘’Uh- you oka-’’

‘’HEY! YOU!’’ 

You look up quickly and see a campus security guard sprinting towards the both of you. Your eyes widen and Cody grabs your wrist. ‘’Canttalknowjustrun!’’ he hisses before sprinting off again with you in tow. You yelp as you’re yanked across campus, in between buildings, and off the grounds entirely. Eventually, you’re yanked into an alleyway and the two of you lean against the wall, panting and gasping for air. You flop your head against your shoulder and stare at him. 

‘’Cody…’’

‘’Y-yeah?’’

‘’What the fuck?!’’

He gulps and looks at you. ‘’I...may have pissed off the security guard.��’

‘’How?’’

‘’I uh-’’ he pauses, looking at you. It’s silent for a few moments and he sighs. ‘’I’ve...been lying to you.’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’I don’t actually attend your college,’’ he murmurs. ‘’I...graduated years ago. I’m just some- homeless dude who hangs around the campus sometimes for fun.’’

You stare at him. ‘’What...the fuck…?’’ he doesn’t say anything. ‘’Why would you lie to me?!’’

‘’Because I…’’ he shrugs. ‘’I didn’t want you to think less of me...I just wanted you to treat me like anyone else...like- a friend…’’ he sighs. ‘’...I’m sorry…’’

You stare at him for a few moments, then sigh gently. You lean off the wall and pat his shoulder. ‘’I don’t think less of you because of any of this,’’ you murmur. ‘’I’m hurt because- well...I thought you trusted me.’’ His head snaps to you, staring in surprise. ‘’It is weird that you hang around on campus yeah but- you’re not a creep. I know you’re not. You just- wanna be accepted. Right?’’

He pauses, staring at the ground. ‘’...yeah. I do.’’

‘’Then I accept you.’’ you hesitate for a second, then hug him gently. His arms cautiously and gently wrap around you. ‘’And you’re staying with me, okay? I don’t want you on the streets anymore. You don’t need to get hurt.’’

"...okay." he murmurs. "...thanks."

------

"I'm home!"

"Y/n!" Cody rolls over onto his stomach and grins at you from his spot on the couch, which is also basically his bed now. "How was your lecture? Learn anything interesting?"

You shrug off your backpack and walk over to the couch. Cody curls up to make room for you as you sit down. "It was alright." You murmur. Cody shifts around and leans against you, smiling up at you. He's cute, you'll admit. Like an excited puppy. Always happy to see you. You reach over and pat him. He moves his hand up and grabs your hand, squeezing it in his. He stays there for a few moments, staring up at you fondly before he withdraws his hand. 

"Here." he grabs the remote from the other side of the couch using his socked feet, then grabs it with his hands before passing it to you. You take it and lie back, flicking through channels idly. You glance at him. He's still staring at you. 

"You need something?"

He shakes his head. "Nah." He turns back to the tv. "I just like your face."

You smirk. "Thanks. Yours too."

------

"Uuuggghh…"

You sit up and bury your face in your hands. You're stressed. Extremely so. This damn assignment is impossible! You can't figure it out. At all. You're just about ready to give up. 

"Y/n?"

You look up and see Cody crouched near your bed where you're sitting. He looks up at you with his best puppy eyes. "I think you need a break." He murmurs. He reaches up and takes one of your hands in his, pulling it down and tugging it. You sigh, push your laptop away and lie down so you're facing him. 

"Fine." 

He smiles and reaches into his pocket, pulling something out. Your favourite candy bar. "Here," he holds it up to you. "To get your energy back."

You take it and smile. "How'd you know it's my favourite?"

He smiles. "Lucky guess." That's a lie. Definitely. He climbs onto your bed and lays down beside you. You look at him while munching on your chocolate.

"Cody," you ask tiredly. "...what do you do when no matter what you can't find the answer?"

He blinks, then frowns. "I keep going," he answers. "I try to change something every time and peace together the answer. I work outside the box, break the rules…" he frowns and looks down. "...four hundred and twenty three times."

"Huh?"

He looks up at you, surprised. "Oh! Uh- it's nothing. I just remembered this one experiment I did...heh...took me four hundred and twenty three tries to get it right..." he seems suddenly fidgety and- maybe even sad.

"Damn." Your eyes widen. "What was the experiment?"

"...nothing important." He smiles at you. He reaches over and pats your cheek a couple times. "Now, cmere. You're taking your break in cuddle-town."

You squint at him. "...cuddle-town."

"Yep!" He lifts his arm up for you. "Cmonnnn...you know you wannaaaa."

You give him a stern look. Then a smile curls up your face and you laugh. "Alright, alright. I'll bite." you scoot closer to him and let him hug you tight. He smells of chemicals and takeout. It's a weird smell, but welcoming. He hums happily. "...Thanks X."

"No problem." He chirps back, nuzzling his face into your hair.

-------

"You made a mistake."

"Huh?" You're curled up against Cody, doing your homework. Part of your course is a mandatory math class. Ugh. Your back is resting against his front while you do your work. His arms are wrapped around you, hugging you gently. Not the most conventional position for math homework, but a damn comfy one. 

His arm moves from around your hip and points at the paper you're writing on. "You need to multiply here. Not subtract. Then you'll get a minus, but you'll have to change the signs so your answer would be…" he pauses for a moment. "Minus X to the power of four over three Y to the power of six."

You blink and frown for a couple moments. "Oh!" You cross out your mistake and correct it. "Like that?"

Cody nods. "Exactly." His arm winds around you again. You smile a bit.

"How are you so good at math?" You ask. He shrugs.

"Studied my butt off in highschool and learned everything twice as fast as everyone else." He says with a laugh. You snicker.

"Why?"

"Wanted to prove that I could do it." He murmurs. He leans down and presses his face into your hair. He's probably sniffing it but you choose to ignore that because math homework is hard. "...why did you decide to become a scientist?"

"I wanted to help people." You murmur. He hums in thought.

"Why?"

You shrug. "It's the right thing to do, isn't it?"

He's quiet for a moment. "yeah," his hand runs up your stomach. "I guess it is."

-----

"I wanna take you somewhere."

You look up at Cody. "Okay," you say. "Where?"

"...dinner."

"Dinner where?"

"Downtown. Somewhere you like. Somewhere fancy." 

You smirk at him a bit. ‘’Alright...when?’’

‘’Right now. Today.’’

You blink in surprise and look at the clock on the wall, then him. ‘’We’d have to get ready like- right now.’’

‘’Okay.’’ he stands up like it’s nothing. ‘’Go get ready.’’

Cody’s sudden wanting to eat out is odd. He’s always been happy with takeout and your own cooking, so why he suddenly wants to go out is- odd. But you’re not complaining. The restaurant he brings you to is nice, and even though he’s suddenly fidgety and a little on-edge, he’s still his regular, cute self. Spending time with him is something you enjoy deeply. Why else would you have let him live with you? He’s like your best friend- maybe even something more. While the two of you are leaving the restaurant his hand brushes against yours and he ever so carefully entwines his hand with yours. Okay yeah. It’s definitely something more.

Instead of walking home, the two of you end up walking to a nearby park. It’s a peaceful night. A little cold, but Cody’s hand feels warm and comforting. He stops suddenly, and turns to you. You stare at him.

‘’y/n?’’

‘’Yeah?’’

He hesitates. ‘’Do you…’’ he glances aside. ‘’...do you like me?’’ his body language is nervous, but his tone is full of forced confidence. 

‘’Of course I like you.’’ you tilt your head at him. ‘’...you’re acting weird. What’s wrong?’’

He looks surprised for a moment. He quickly collects himself and gulps, glancing aside. ‘’I…’’ he fiddles with his hands. ‘’It’s...nothing, y/n. Just- forget it. I’ll take you home.’’

‘’Wait-’’ you stop and step toward him, grabbing his wrist. He stares at you in surprise. You yank him toward you, intending to pull him into a hug but- you yank too hard and Cody stumbles into you, making you, in turn, stumble backwards into a tree. You’re left leaning against it, with Cody leaning over you, staring down in surprise. It’s deathly silent for a few tense moments before a smile curls up his face. He snorts, then laughs, then falls against you giggling. You slowly crack up with him and reach up, gripping his arms as the two of you giggle at absolutely nothing. He lifts his head up and smiles at you. His face is only inches from yours. He’s so close you can see the lighter speckles in his green eyes and individual strands of his honey-brown hair. His features are soft. Welcoming. ‘’Cody,’’ you murmur. ‘’...I do like you. A lot.’’

‘’Huh?’’ he seems completely taken aback by this. ‘’Really?’’ he doesn’t sound like he quite believes you. You chuckle.

‘’Yes.’’ you smile up at him. Slowly, you reach up and cup his face in your hands. ‘’C’mere…’’ you murmur, pulling him down to you. You close the gap and kiss him gently. He tenses up, a quiet gasp of surprise escaping his mouth. Slowly, he leans into the kiss, kneading against you. He feels warm. Comforting. Safe. You shiver as he reaches down, grabbing your hip with one hand. The two of you pull away and stare at each other. It’s silent. You can feel his warm breath against your face. 

‘’y/n?’’ he breaks the silence. You look up at him. ‘’...I love you.’’

A smile curls up your face. You grab him and pull him down for another kiss. ‘’I love you too.’’ you giggle. He grins and wraps his arms around you, squeezing you tightly. He lifts you up in his arms and nuzzles into your shoulder. You giggle and grip his shoulders as he swings you around until he stumbles and falls back. The two of you yelp out in surprise as you fall onto the grass. Cody is still holding you tight, staring up at you with a wide smile. You smile down at him lovingly and comb your hand through his honey-brown hair. ‘’I love you too…’’ you murmur once more.

[kibfpatiyxparagpsiqa]

right. added that, and it’s literally just completely done now.

enjoy.

Danny has to admit, it's fun to hang around as Phantom. Even if it gives people opportunity to shoot at him, walking places just doesn't have the same feel as flying. And it doesn't get everyone to shoot at him. A lot of citizens, young ones especially, just think he's pretty cool. When he isn't invisible, they're the ones most likely to try to talk to him. And unlike, say, the ones who yell, Danny's willing to have a conversation. "Yo, Danny Phantom!" And Danny's over there in seconds, his legs quickly reforming as he stands before them. "Hey."

The person who'd called seems suddenly less willing to talk. Danny's used to people being afraid by now, though it's still weird, but even weirder is the times like now when they aren't afraid but starstruck. Someone else wearing a bandanna around their neck picks up. "Hi. Our friend's in the hospital right now." "Sorry." "Nah, you take more hits than all of us combined. But like, she drew you this thing, to thank you, but she didn't think you'd see it. However, Luke here was gonna show you. Luke, phone." Luke, still tongue-tied, unlocks and hands over his phone. The kid scrolls through the photos on the phone. Recently, the people in town are trying to really show their appreciation for Danny. He thinks it might be because of some recent visitors, one of which Danny found out was a ghost, nonhostile guy who still travelled with is friends. The whole group talked about what it's like for ghosts, how recognition and generosity matter. Danny still has their phone number. The kid finds what they're looking for. Danny holds the phone carefully as he looks at the picture. They're admonishing Luke for his terrible folder structures. It's a really sick picture. If Danny were at all willing to risk his cell number getting out, he'd ask them to text it to him. He really likes the particular pose and lighting, and they got his face exactly right, just like a mirror. Well, mirrors half of the time. But the shapes are the same! He grins at Luke while he hands the phone back. "Dude, that's so sweet! Do you like, think she'd let me see the actual physical one?" Luke has found his voice! "Yeah! Terry would actually love that. It's in her art folder, we brought it to the hospital room... not sure when or if you can visit." "Dude, just tell me when. Flag me down sometime, just, yeah. I'll bring my phone, get my own picture." "Awesome." The two other kids with them, at this point, are still messing around, but noticeably less than they were before he came over. When one notices he might leave, they walk over, and the last friend follows. "Uh, Phantom?" "Yeah?" "Can I get a picture of your logo?" "Sure. Why?" The kid swipes open their phone and he stands on the ground in front of them while they snap a photo. "D, P, oh. Never seen it this close before. Right, I'm making a collage of superheroes, and I thought, wait. I should add a real superhero who lives here! Any preference on who you're next to?" "Depends. Marvel or DC?" "More obscure heroes from both." Danny thinks about it. It's been a while since he's thought about this much. Real superheroics have kind of monopolized his focus for a while now. "Hmm. You got Captain Marvel on there?" "Yeah I do! I mean, she shouldn't be obscure. That's kind of the theme here. Too underrated." Danny nods. "These poor unfortunate souls. But yeah, I love the space origins." "Ha, what planet are you from?" "Not a planet... Aliens are cool, but there's a portal to an actual other dimension in your hometown, which is equally cool and also real." The kid can't refute that. His friend, bored, tries to throw an orange slice at him. He misses, but Danny catches it in his mouth. The formerly-bored friend turns out to be a vicious meanie. "You just can't dodge anything, can you. Are you always trying to eat what your enemies throw at you?" Danny is hurt, truly. He puts his hand over his heart and makes his best wide-eyed expression of sorrow. "Gasp. After all I do for you specifically, eating all those explosive blasts before you can, this is the thanks I get. Throw an orange at yourself, why don't you. Maybe you should practice dodging." The kid throws a whole orange this time, which Danny catches in his hand before peeling. "Oh, delicious inciendiary pain." He debates trying to hit himself in the chest and just grow another mouth there, before realizing that's horrifying. He just eats more orange slices. "So like. Ghosts can eat?" The kid with the bandanna seems curious. Danny shrugs. "I don't know. Ghosts can at least taste." He really doesn't know. Danny isn't quite a ghost. "Do you like to?" "Don't get the chance much. But sure, rather taste sweeter stuff than active plasma." He shoots a look at the orange kid, who has an orange in each hand now. Is that why their pockets are so full? They throw the oranges fast enough he reflexively goes intangible. He hears them hit the road behind him, then salutes the other kids and takes his leave. -----(can anybody tell me how to add lines proper?) It's gotten out really quickly that ghosts can eat. Not a lot of incidents involving that have happened, so Danny blames the sudden awareness everybody has of that on the internet. And a couple people are spreading the word that offerings to spirits are appreciated greatly, Danny's pretty sure those people also follow the web log of those paranormal investigators with the ghost. People have started asking if he'd like to share food they have on hand. Danny feels awkward, because he does already eat food at his own house, because he is alive. But then, the people might do that anyways if they knew that? They're trying to show their appreciation. And it's not like he couldn't just avoid their offers if he wanted, easily! Nobody's exactly chasing him down for this, just asking, when they have opportunities. He really does appreciate it too. Most everything tastes better when it's from someone whose life you've saved, or their wellbeing or family member or just their car. So Danny does usually accept whenever people offer to buy him things, or share what they have. Sure, he eats at home, but then sometimes he's pulled away before he can eat breakfast, or dinner, or anything. When people approach him at those times, he really doesn't even want to argue. So he doesn't.

Some of his older fans make similar offerings, but from meals they made through their own efforts. Those ones are also sweet. He's heard of the taste of victory, but the taste of gratitude is great. Danny likes knowing that people appreciate what he does, however they show it, and this is more convenient than all the cards he has in a locked box in his mattress, along with the other gifts, which he finds harder and harder to hide. He vastly appreciates the art, but his parents wouldn't really get this interest as anything other than suspicious. So the food is a welcome gift, even if returning containers to the right people can be difficult. He likes the sweets, but he actually likes salty things better, and after someone asks him about preferences a lot of people get interested. It's not a large percentage of the population, more those who especially like him and who are interested in cooking and baking, but a lot more people are starting conversations with him as Phantom than ever did before. He feels more appreciated. Some people yell at him because they dislike him, but gifts like these feel more tangible, like they outweigh that, even if people already cheered for him. And again, really convenient if he misses his planned meals. Danny's a fan. ------- Rhys is popping gum across the table while Jill continues talking about the annoyance of spices. Blah blah why does everyone use like no spices blah. Benjamin's late again, but as he dashes in and skids into the booth, the mess that is his clothes says it was probably under extenuating circumstances. "Did you forget your backpack?" Rhys swirls their drink with their straw. "Oh, oh crud it's probably still under there." He puts his head in his hands, and Jill pats his head in sympathy for whatever happened. "It must not have phased with me..." Jill shifts her legs like the restless shark she is. "Phased? There was an attack?" "Seems reasonable. Sure, it wasn't on the news, but at this point that's no surprise. There's barely a consensus on how many there are in a week, but too many to fit with regular news." Rhys sticks their gum to an empty wrapper. "But yeah. Why were you getting phased through anything, Benj?" "Um. Phantom. He saved me, I was caught in a collapse, a building was just. Fell." "Shit Benj, are you okay?" Jill's holding onto Benjamin now, like to keep him safe. "You didn't have to come here, do you need medical attention?" Benjamin shakes his head. "It wasn't dangerous! Just, dusty, and I couldn't get out. I'm glad Phantom heard me, though, my mobile wasn't working." "You sure you're okay Benny?" "Yeah. I think my clothes have it worse than I do. And my poor backpack." "F." Rhys leans against the wall, stretching their feet across the booth's bench. "This probably doesn't do you much of a favor in the long run, though. I mean, you thought that crush was bad before? Phantom just carried you out of a building. Tell me, Benj, did he take you by the hand, was it bridal-style?" "Hey Rhys? Shut up in those blue jeans." "Shut up in those blue jorts." Jill cracks a grin. "Shut up 'cause it's blue Jill." They do a mock-bow toward Jill, before Benjamin keeps talking. "All jokes aside, I really wanna thank him somehow. Uh, Phantom. Do you guys have any ideas? Because I don't think my skills in the area of writing are gonna be much help." "Au contraire Benj, I'm sure it'll be excellent help impressing your new boyfriend." "Shut up, I mean it." Jill looks at Rhys, and Rhys shuts up. "Uh, a bunch of people are like giving him food... Do you think he'd appreciate that? I could help, I kind of want to, you're my friend and I'm glad he saved you." She goes very quiet, like she already thinks it was stupid to even suggest. Rhys shrugs, but is smiling. "Sure, if you think he'll have your taste in extra-spicy." "Okay, I am NOT saying that everything needs to fucking BURN, but SOME PEOPLE are WEAK, and spices are meant to be USED and not in INFINITESIMALS," "Come on Rhys he's a ghost, we could probably put tylotoxin in it and he'd thank us. He'd thank us anyway, because Jill is fantastic at this and her idea was excellent." "Oh, cool. Thanks." Rhys shoots up, their face lighting up. "Oh my god, dudes, we should so totally actually do that though." "UH, it was just an example," "I'm not sure where we would get tylo," Rhys hits their hands on the table. "No, guys. He loves jokes, he loves MORBID jokes, he IS a ghost and he'd totally survive it! And again, he'd think it was so funny. All Benji's idea, of course. I'm so proud of you I could die." "Are you sure it won't do anything?" "I mean, he gets tossed around all the time and heals up quick. And this is *poison*, the type that works on *humans*. And if you're so unsure we can add a non-fatal amount, just in case he wants a kiss after." Benjamin nods slowly. Jill is already on board. "Alright but really, where are we going to get tylotoxin?"

---------- Danny had been liking the recent trend of tangible appreciation, but. Damn it all. He didn't have much right to feel betrayed, since he'd let his guard down. Nobody could have done this before anyway. He'd practically enabled them. He was still feeling pretty freaking angry at whoever had poisoned him. He doesn't know exactly who that was, though, since he's not sure when exactly they did it. -- The night he noticed it, he was just going home in the evening. It had a good chance to be one of those nights with no attacks to present issues, especially given that it was summer. He was walking instead of flying home, mainly out of preference, but started feeling tired enough to change his mind. After getting home and landing in his room, he was all prepared to wait another hour or so for ghostly latecomers, and yet so very, very ready to go to sleep. As soon as he turned human, though, he abruptly doubled over. It was a very abrupt, intense pain, and although he managed to get up when the shock wore off, it showed no signs of lessening. He pushed his shoes off and lied on his bed, grabbing for his phone. He couldn't tell where it was coming from. As he dialed for Tucker, he tried to think about the most recent attack, or the one before that. He didn't remember any wounds. Could it have been poison? "Danny, what's up." "Tucker, hey, uh." Tucker was already sighing over the phone. "You have a problem then?" "Don't know what would give you that idea..." "You always do this, man." His tone made it sound like Danny should know what exactly "this" was. "Besides, I'd hope you aren't calling about anything that could wait at this hour." "Okay fine. ...This hurts, like, a lot." Danny felt very tired, now, and his attempts to sit up weren't doing so hot. "Shit, man. What happened?" "I don't know. I think it's poison, some kind. Started hurting when I got home... When I was human." "What? That's not... Hmmm." Tucker sets his phone down. Probably checking something-or-other. Danny was feeling worse by the second. It hurt a lot, and it hit him that he might want to leave his house. He didn't think he could make it through an interaction with anyone here. Of course, he also felt like he didn't have the energy to get up and leave. Man, at least he wasn't throwing up. But now his head was hurting, and he curled up trying not to make a sound. He noticed he was clutching his phone now, hard, and lightened up before it could crack. Did Tucker say something? Shit, could poison do that? Concussions did that, was it a headache thing? "Uhhhh I wanna go. Your place? Sam's place, going there cool." Danny flipped his phone shut in and instant and slipped into a ghostly form before he even checked the door. Remembering that one second later, he zipped his head around to find it was fortunately shut, with no sign that anyone else at home had seen him. His thoughts already felt clearer, and the pain felt much more muted. Now, being Phantom dulled most of the pain, though there was still an ache in his stomach. Did that mean it was poison he ingested? Who'd have done that? He's still not sure. After flying to Sam's place, he discovered that she was on a video call with Tucker. He's really glad he can count on them. "Sam. Tucker. Sorry Tucker, actually. I don't think I was thinking clearly." He sat on the bed, which appeared to be different than the last he saw. Change of scenery, he guessed. "It doesn't hurt so much now, and I can think. It's mostly hurting my stomach now, actually. Did I eat poison?" Sam got him to lie down on her bed, which felt pretty weird considering he was still wearing boots. But he sat up to look at Tucker on the screen, who was talking about what they knew. "Most of your enemies don't use poison. And yeah, Skulker shows up a lot, but he's an outlier, and it's been a while since he was here anyway." "Yeah, 'cause we /totaled/ his suit last time." Danny grinned, and for a brief second so did Tucker. Then he got back to it. "Most poisons wouldn't take that long to affect someone, without /some/ sign. Nothing?" Sam nodded as Tucker spoke, probably out of further poison knowledge. Danny didn't think so. Skulker was about a week or two ago, by now? "No. I mean, I felt tired before flying home, but that was still only today." Sam jumped on his words. "Like, abnormally tired? Is this another symptom?" "It could be. I think it also stopped when I went ghost, too, so there's another point." They listened to Tucker adding that detail to his notes, before Sam looked out the window, furrowing her brow. "The thing is, it's obviously a human poison, if that's true. Which could still be a ghostly enemy, but if you can get out of it so easily then what's the point? Especially since other stuff, like sickness, leaves quicker, when your temperature doesn't already repel them." Danny frowned. "Did someone try to poison me? Human me? Why would someone do that?" "I don't know! Who'd hate you enough for that, most people just don't really care! The only person who comes to mind is Vlad, which seems unlikely." "Yeah, pretty sure he still needs me alive for some reason or another." Even with the cloning efforts, Danny 1.0 wasn't obsolete yet. Sam walked to the other side of the room, to a table. It was a very small table, but as Sam lifted the edge of the long tablecloth, she grabbed a large bag from beneath. She returned with this in hand, her first-aid kit showing from within. "We're hoping it will help if we can tell what kind of poison it is. Might at least give us an idea of where to look." Danny grimaced, but nodded. "Yeah okay, alright, should probably switch back for that? Yeah." Before his friends could protest, he flipped forms to his human self. Danny immediately was forced to lie completely down, without the energy to continue sitting. "Urrrrrr." The pain hit once more at the same time. Was it worse than before? He closed his eyes tightly. "Danny! Damn it. Okay, his breathing is really fast." As she turned toward him, her voice sounded louder. He tried to focus on what she said. "We'll try to get through this quickly, but just turn back if you need to, alright?" He didn't respond. "Alright, temperature. Tucker, you're recording all this, yeah?" After Tucker presumably confirmed, Danny felt something press across his forehead. "Oh, man. Feels way too warm. I'm not liking this..." Tucker's voice from behind Sam said something Danny couldn't make out. It was probably bad. "Okay," Sam said, and Danny couldn't hear the rest. Then something poked his arm, right on the wrist. He opened his eyes, to find he was in Sam's room. She was holding his hand, and he wanted to ask about that, but he couldn't seem to. She seemed to be getting upset about something. He closed his eyes again. It felt like only a second before he managed to open them again. He tilted his head to the side to see what was up, but there was a curtain in the way. Apparently Sam's new bed had curtains on it. He moved to shift them out of the way, and found Sam sitting at her computer, frowning. "Hey, I think the poison went away. It doesn't hurt anymore." She turned around in her chair with wide eyes, before remembering he was weird and partially relaxing. "Are you sure, Danny? That was fast." "I'm thinking pretty clearly, so yeah. Not sure I remember all of that, but yeah." Sam seemed skeptical. "How did you just get the poison out of your body?" Danny shrugged. "Ghost stuff? I dunno, I'm willing to blame it on my good old fighting /spirit/." He smiled at her, but she didn't seem convinced. "Let me try something." Sam got up and walked to stand by where he was lying. "I'm not so sure it's over, but this should test whether it's done." Before Danny could say a word, she'd grabbed his arm and given it a scratch with her nails. "Hey!" he had to shout, touching where she'd clawed. Looking at it, it wasn't bleeding, but some skin was torn. Then Danny realized it didn't hurt. Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? Probably not quite over, then. Besides, you were only out for a few minutes after your heart stopped, and I doubt all of the poison left your system in that time." "Guess it hasn't given up the ghost, then. But I won't either. I must be thinking with my core right now, which explains why I'm not feeling it. I hope it gets out soon, or else it's going to suck when my brain comes back online. Or worse, my nerves." It did get worse. Even despite the fact he didn't feel the tiredness as a ghost, he couldn't manage to get anything done, since at any point another function, with its associated pain sensors, could come back. He had to stay at Sam's the whole week, and as his human form started working with the rest again, even getting to a different room of the house was an effort. Worse still was when his brain activity did return, and he wished it didn't, because this time it didn't stop his heart. He just had to stay that way, in extreme pain, waiting for it to be over and getting annoyed by how hard it was to focus on anything. By the end of it, he was outright wishing for another illness or poison he could just vomit out. ------- He still doesn't know who did it. Not exactly. But he's figured it out. It must have been someone who gave him food. It must have been someone who doesn't know human poison doesn't work on ghosts, because anyone who knows he's a halfa is unlikely to be involved. And now he's just cursing himself for trusting anybody like that. The worst week of his life, that must have been. After all, the second worst week featured a /fast/ and painful death. ------- Luke's been trying to get Phantom's attention again for ages now, with Terry out of the hospital. After disappearing, the hero has been more reclusive, less willing to talk to people. He hasn't been accepting gifts, anymore, but he'd said he'd like to see Terry's work! His friends eventually convince him to give it up. Phantom doesn't want to talk, right now. ------- What happened to Phantom? He's shown a definite change in behaviour, talking less to civilians. He's declined all offerings since his disappearance. The first time he was seen in a week, he moved differently, almost as if he hadn't moved in a while. Hypothesis: He's been trapped within some place in the Ghost Zone, immobile, and interdimensional time dilation made it a longer stay than we've experienced. He's having trouble acclimating back to Amity. ------- They haven't talked about what they did. Not while Phantom stayed out of commission, the whole week. And not for another week, as the fallout of whatever happened became clear. As it became clear the blame was on them. But Benjamin's guilty conscience wouldn't let him keep silent forever, even if he was afraid to say it very loud. "I wish I hadn't gone to that stupid first-person workshop. Wish we hadn't gotten attacked, and I wish he never freaking pulled me out." He glares into his cup. "Benny, it's not your fault." Jill says, probably about to say something 'helpful'. But Benjamin starts first, and it might not /help/ but it feels just a bit better to blame someone else. "Of course not, I'm not the one who thought it was a /good/ idea to poison a hero." Rhys, previously silent, meets every challenge at equal measure. "Oh, yeah, because it was so stupid. I was totally right, if any one of us /bothered/ to check whether poison affects stupid ghosts. Or said something! You could have /told/ your little boyfriend the secret ingredient wasn't exactly love. Bet he'd know if this could be excused under 'love & war'." "Like you know one thing about love, you black widow. Do /you/ poison everyone you date? It wasn't my /idea/ to make him sick, I was grateful!" "So was I Benj! I'm so glad you're here with me it hurts, and I just thought surely, someone as dead as I am inside would appreciate a joke, but the joke fell flat. It fucked him up. I fucked up, yeah!" And everything's quiet a minute. Benjamin drinks his odd choice in summer beverage, and finds that it's cooled down some. Jill speaks up, quietly. "I poisoned somebody." Sitting sideways in the booth, she curls in on herself, upset. "Jill, no, it wasn't your idea, it was mine. Rhys lifts their sunglasses off. "I'm the one who actually seriously meant that." "I cook and I poisoned somebody. What am I gonna do?" Benjamin tries to offer her a back pat, but her legs are in the way. He pats her knees instead. "You didn't know it would poison him. You had every reason to think it would be fine." "Isn't there a rule or something that says you're not allowed to cook anymore if you poison somebody?" "That's a negligence thing though. Or incompetence. Definitely doesn't count if we gave you wrong information." Jill sips her drink through the straw, ignoring the whipped cream on top. A bad sign. "I never want to do that again." "What- Jill, you love to cook! You passionately rant about spices and-" "I mean the poisoning." "Oh, yeah, totally. Don't do that." -------- Danny Fenton doesn't know every person in this city, but he feels like he's at least seen most of them. Even if he's never talked to them, he's probably indirectly saved their life at some point. The ones he's least directly saved tend to hate him the most. Yet sometimes, even people he doesn't recognize will show him kindness. Danny likes feeling appreciated, more than even as much shouting as his detractors do can take from him. He'll talk to people again, and not just to save them. He'll trust people again, even if it's hard right now. And maybe, years later, he'll be able to hear the true story and laugh. But for now, Danny needs to think.

[ardenttheories]

Hey been a while, love the rebranding you’ve been done and it’s nice to see you still going! I don’t know if you’ve done a Prince of Light yet, but if not would it be possible to get your hot take on what they’re all about?

Hi! I’m glad you like the rebranding; I’m still not 100% done with it, but when I get the time (maybe Sunday?) I wholly intend on adding a little more to it when I get the chance. Definitely the theme, if nothing else. 

Now, onto the hot take, right off the press!

The Prince of Light is someone who Destroys Light, which is Awareness, Perception, Information, Importance, Probability, Understanding, Knowledge, Clarity, Truth, and literal Light. 

Princes of Light are highly secretive people. Everything about their life is kept safely in the Shadows, Hidden from view and quite impossible to ever figure out. You may never know their True likes, dislikes, favourite foods, age, hair colour, eye colour, skin tone - either because they will Lie about it, or utterly ommit all Information regarding it. 

Do you know what ethnicity the Prince is? What religion? Not at all. Whenever the topics come up they are surprisingly Vacant, and don’t seem to want to talk about it at all, regardless of what side of the debate they might be on. You might not even know the basics of what they look like, where they live, whether they have a family or not - they’re complete enigmas, and enjoy the Confusion that surrounds their being. 

In essence, they have no desire to be Known at all. 

They likely act as if they Know nothing or are rather dim, when in truth their ability to Understand is significantly more impressive than you’d expect. They’re quick thinkers and witty Players, but they don’t want anyone to know that. Their Information - even on aspects of their own Intelligence or Self - is theirs and theirs only. 

They leave no footprint behind. You couldn’t guess anything about them from conversation, and they don’t tend to talk about anything that’s Important. All the big topics of the day, all the greatest concerns, even just something that you’re actually trying to talk to them about. They will completely talk you around it until you’re back in the safety of Irrelevancy. 

They honestly might just be the sort of person to Know random and completely Irrelevant facts. Did you know that a duck’s womb is spiralled? That squids have beaks? That a lobster’s nervous system is so similar to a human’s that our antidepressants work on them? They refuse to focus on anything of substance, but at least you get to know this. 

When they do find something of Importance, something with Meaning, they may overanalyse it to the point that it suddenly becomes Meaningless. Some things are only Important because they are left vague - such as endings to movies that are meant to make you think about our society and the path it’s going down - but the Prince of Light won’t settle just for that. 

They will pour over it for as long as they can until it has an answer, whether or not that answer is right or True or even what was Meant by the creator. That, or they just completely disregard any actual Meaning from something and take it literally, and enforce that as the only potential. There is no deeper meaning here; there is only what is on the surface. The Truth is Obscured from view, and that is how the Prince likes it. 

They keep to the Shadows as much as they possibly can, and do everything within their power to Destroy any potential for them to reach the limelight. If they’re part of an Important family, they’re likely to be the blacksheep that tends to avoid every camera, every headline. Their existence is debated by the paparazzi and more fiction exists about them than Truth. They very much prefer it that way, too.

Overall, I think, Princes of Light have such an aversion to Information because they much prefer being a Mystery, surrounded by Confusion and never Known. They dislike anything that could even potentially Reveal who they are, the Truth of their being, and similarily dislike any sense of Importance. It is an underlying terror of being Exposed that leads to them overcompensating by Destroying everything that’s True. 

As with all Princes, in Destroying their Aspect the Prince of Light leaves behind the purest form of Void in its place. 

The Prince of Light destroys all Relevancy and Information, and even moreso Relevant Information. If something is Important, or has Relevance, or is meant to Be, then the Prince can and will Destroy it. Something that could have saved the session will no longer have that power because its fundamental Importance is lost, and something that should have been an aid to another Player, something that might have helped them grow, will be deemed Irrelevant and completely Ignored. 

Relevant Information will be Lost completely. Information may be able to survive, but Meaningless facts and fanciful stories are not the same as actually Knowing what you’re doing. The Prince of Light will leave utter Confusion in their wake, as their coPlayers will have to try and navigate a session riddled with Void - spots of Darkness of Information that they have no hope if filling in. 

They can Destroy Clarity, which may be metaphorical and physical. People might find it hard to Understand anything the Prince is saying because of how they say it, being talked around in circles until they eventually give up, Knowing even less than they did before. 

They might lose their actual ability to Understand anything, to read between the lines and to extrapolate Information. More physically, they may lose some ability to see while the Prince is around; not to complete blindness, but the Clarity of the world around them will start to fade, and they might find that everything goes a bit blurry. 

They destroy the Truth by spreading Lies, creating a web of them until the Truth is completely Obscured. The web becomes so tangled that nobody can figure out what’s True, what’s half True, and what is a flat out Lie - and only the Prince themself can Understand anything that’s going on. 

Of course, they can also just destroy the concept of Truth from something. It’s more metaphorical, once again, but imagine knowing that something is True until the Prince destroys its fundamental Truth. 

There is a door in the doorway. That must be True because we can see the door in the doorway. Except now it isn’t true. The fundamental Truth of the door is gone, and now it will either simply not open, disappear completely, or open to absolutely Nothing. 

They have a tendency to completely disregard things if they don’t like them or don’t adhere to what the Prince wants - which is usually complete isolation and Darkness. This can have its severe downfalls, naturally; if they disregard the point of the session, the game can never be won, and they will likely refuse to even think about stuff like Godtiering or fighting the Black King because of how Important those events are. 

On the other hand, they could destroy the Importance of fighting the Black King - meaning that there’s literally no need to do it to win the game. 

As a general rule of thumb, Princes of Light also hate Light. They’re very likely camera shy, photosensitive, or are susceptible to migraines in bright Light. They’ll do everything in their power to Destroy Light - either by physically Destroying Light sources such as lamps, or by using their powers to cast an area in sheer Darkness. This Darkness cannot be naturally removed, as it is an Absence of Light; even trying to shine a Light on it wouldn’t allow what was one there to be seen. 

That does, of course, mean that they can blind people, too; Destroy the ability for the eyes to take in Light or to Comprehend what they’re seeing, and you have both a literal and metaphorical blindness. Pretty nasty stuff on the second one, honestly. It’d be like knowing you can see, that your eyes are still working, but never being able to process the shapes and colours in front of you. 

In the same vein, they could also turn things - including themselves - invisible. How they do this would depend on the power and control of the Prince themself, but this could be destroying the Light around them, destroying their own Relevance, or destroying their Importance. It could even be a mix of all three - in which case, the Prince could even Hide from someone’s memory.

Additionally, destroying Probability or Importance can be both a good and bad thing. It’s the sort of thing that gave Vriska her Luck; she wasn’t actually Lucky, just so Important that nothing could go wrong. 

The Prince of Light would be able to Destroy a person’s Importance, making them a lot easier to defeat. If they can take away the Importance of an Ogre as a higher-levelled enemy, then they’ll be a hell of a lot easier to defeat. The same with Denizens; Destroy their Importance as bosses and they’ll be as weak as Imps. 

They could turn people or things into background characters using this power, which would be good... if they didn’t do it to their Players. Unwittingly using this power would make their team completely Irrelevant, turning the Players into something that isn’t vital for the game’s progression. Consorts probably wouldn’t even recognise them as heroes, and they’d horrifically struggle to get anything done because the game wouldn’t activate certain events for them.

Light’s focus on Fortune can also become a bit of an issue, as that means the Prince could completely Destroy the Fortunes found throughout the session. For instance, the Grist Hoards, or powerful weapons, or even just favourable Grist drops from Underlings. It can, however, mean that they Destroy the Fortune of their enemies, too - such as the potential for the White King’s Scepter ending up in the Black King’s hands. 

It’s a session that could, therefore, completely avoid the Reckoning, should the Prince know what they’re doing. 

 To become Realised, all the Prince has to do is recongise the Importance (ironically) of Light.

They need to Understand that some Light must be left alive. Some Truths have to be known, some Information left in the Light. Some people and things must be Fortunate, or Known, or Relevant, and some things must be Clarified. Some Perceptions must be left in tact. 

This Prince starts to let themself be seen more. They’ll divulge little pieces of Information about themself, maybe take some selfies. They won’t spend all their time in the Darkness, and will actually start to get involved with the people around them. 

If pre-Realised they cover themselves up almost entirely - or even wear a mask - post-Realisation they let themselves open up a bit more. They still find comfort in not being Known, but they let their likes and dislikes shine through, let their face be seen, and tolerate the Light just a little more. 

They’re still not one for the limelight, per se, but they do at least let themselves have some form of Importance - be that in the overarching story or in the lives of their friends. 

They Lie, but only to cover up Truths that shouldn’t be seen - little white Lies that are kinder to people than Knowing the Truth - and they only outright Destroy fundamental Truths that are going to hurt the session. The Truth is that they’re Doomed? Nah. Not today, SBURB, the Prince of Light isn’t vibing with that. 

They Destroy Perceptions only when they are negative or toxic, such as whether people see someone bad as something good, or when multiple different Perceptions of the same topic causes infighting in the group. Leave only one unified Perception behind - whether it’s True or not - and the group is more likely to stick together. 

In the same vein, Destruction of Clarity and Information would be aimed much more towards enemies than friends. Destroy the ability for the Black Royalty to Understand their plans, and they can get away with anything beneath the Dersites’ noses. Destroy the ability for Imps to collect Information on them and - for instance - Clubs Deuce wouldn’t have known that Jake was allergic to peanuts. 

As a Realised Player, their ability to Destroy Light would get significantly stronger. This could reach the point of them being capable of Destroying the Green Sun - something that is both fundamentally Important and one of the hugest Light sources known to man. 

I think, too, if we go in line with Homestuck’s narrative concepts, they could just... Destroy the Narrative. Light is all about the Story, the Plot, the flow of things to the Conclusion of a long and extraordinary Tale. The Prince of Light could Destroy that. They could Destroy Plot points that are harmful, characters that would have caused significant issues later in the session - hell, they could Destroy the story itself. 

Whether that means the idea of a Story - that they have their lives written out before them, therefore allowing them to act freely and randomly outside of the Narrative structure (going a bit more Candy than Meat, for instance) - or just destroying the Story itself - our ability to see what they’re doing, because they would be Obscured from our view as something Real and not a piece of Media - is entirely up to interpretation. It is incredibly powerful, though, and is definitely more of a Realised, late-game ability. 

Hell. They might even be able to become a narrator, just to Destroy the sense of the Narrative itself. 

So, overall, they’re still a Shadow-lurker, still Mysterious, still shy and quiet and Hidden from view - but they’re much more comfortable in the Light. They aren’t as terrified of being Known and become much more aware that some things are Important for a reason, some Truths have a right to exist. 

[linneastarron]

Do you have any other best friends? If so, what do you think of them?

I do have some others! They’re not as close as I am with Sock (@thewitchofpixels) but I still value them a lot!

First we have my brother Leslie (@tinytilapia)! We met through a Homestuck roleplay server back in the sexy year of 2014 when we were roleplaying our fantrolls Anissa and Kuroji. Although we don’t always agree on everything he’s still someone I view close enough to the point where I call him family! He got me into astrology on the lowkey but also he’s someone who I can have a more obscure or weird sense of humour around. He’s a huge joker but we can absolutely be sincere with each other about stuff that’s bugging us and I really appreciate that balance. He’s part of my friend group with Sock and we all balance each other’s personalities out super well. I’m glad he’s a part of my life, he’s definitely helped shape me to the person I am now. I also love his Southern aesthetic, he can 100% pass as a cowboy and nobody would bat an eye. He has a really good sense of ranch fashion, so props to him for that.

Second there’s my brother Jesse (no tumblr to my knowledge)! I met Jesse in the same space I met Leslie, but Jesse came at least a year after I met Leslie. He’s definitely the more outlandish and intimidating one out of my two older brothers, like how he once just decided to bike 100 miles because he was “bored”, but he’s also super ride-or-die for the people he cares about. Although he knows a lot of the drama in my life, he’s usually someone I turn to when I need to jest about the situation. We’ve absolutely had our severe ups and downs of our relationship but in the end I’d still do anything for him and he’s always there to support me. Also he looks absolutely stunning in a dress, I wish I could pull off that kind of look.

Next there’s Philip (idk his tumblr either)! We don’t talk nearly as much as we used to, mainly because I think he took a big break from a lot of social media, but he’s in my friend group with Leslie and Sock and I always have a good time when he’s around! He lives fairly close to me and I wish I could hang out with him more often because he seems so cool and charismatic??? Like the four of us all did suburban PTA mom roleplays at one point and literally every line he delivered was an absolute banger. I wish he and I talked more because he’s so cool!!!

Then we have Lizzie (@shortlifelongart)! The absolute fandom grandma herself, I met her in May 2018 when I was getting into Viva Pinata! She was the first person in the fandom I started talking to, and I’m super happy that she was the one for that role. Ever since then, we’ve absolutely stuck together through whatever life hits us with, whether an independent issue or one that we face together. Outside of the bad, she and I also rev to each other about fandom content and our OCs! She’s been extra kind to let me use her daughter in my fic as well~ We’re Team Adult, and I’ll always have her back no matter what! We ride together, we willyemoji together.

There’s also Moodle (@moodlemcdoodle)! She was my second Viva Pinata fandom friend that I got to know better through Lizzie, and I use one of Moodle’s characters in my fanfic as well. Moodle is super peppy and always gets my engines going when it comes to content hype! We also stick together through whatever issue we face as well, although usually it’s more ADHD-related topics (we run an adults-only ADHD-related Discord server). I love listening to Moodle’s hot takes on vampire lore, Danny Phantom reworks, and Viva Pinata ships/headcanons!!! She, Lizzie, and I are all mod squad on my 2nd Viva Pinata server! B) Mod Squad Rise Up!

I also have Rosie (@roseiie)! We met through kinning when I found her kin Discord servers and she noticed we shared a lot of sources! We eventually became canonmates for certain kins and that led us to be super good friends!!!!!! She’s such a ball of pure light and is one of the sweetest people I have ever met omg... We both love each other a lot and I’d absolutely do anything for her to see her happy 😭 she’s so precious and she always brightens up my day when we talk and have loving each other hours! She gets all of my uwus and nothing less!!!!!!

Another friend I care about is an IRL so I won’t drop his name, but I view him as a younger brother (even if I haven’t exactly expressed that to him yet...)! We met through school and bonded over our love of math (and STEM topics in general) and the fact that both of us had our own stories and OCs that we were writing! He’s super smart and when I think I know it all he absolutely humbles me when he talks about the kind of stuff he’s researching into for class or as an extracurricular. I get to fixate about speedrunning with him, and I feel like I’m able to open up around him despite the fact that I rarely get to see him in person nowadays! I’m grateful to have met him when I did, tbh.

That’s my main best friends list! If I forgot anybody, feel free to DM me and I’ll reblog and add you onto it! I love you all akhfjsdhfk

[ghoulboyboos]

Magic = bad. Now Steven and Andrew have to look after smol! Ryan and Shane who have a crush on each other, while trying to hide the fact that they also have a crush on each other (or vice versa)

I woke up on cold sweat I know you’ve done a smol!aubefore I meant child ksjfks            

I gotcha Anon no worries ;D

“Oh my God isn’t that a precious little guy!” Freddie exclaims, bending down to look into the face of the kid Steven’s carrying on his hip. The maybe five-year-old boy beams at Freddie with a huge, white smile before giving Steven a look she could almost interpret as smug and Steven rolls his eyes.

“A relative of yours?” She asks, when Steven doesn’t answer and the kid stays quiet. That question gets her offended glares, funnily enough from both Steven and the boy.

“Really, Freddie? Because we’re both Asian? I expected more of you.”

“Uh, no?” She gives him a judging look. “I’m asking because you’re carrying him around and I don’t assume you stole someone’s child. You also don’t strike me as someone who has a secret baby, so I figured he might be a cousin or something.

“Oh.” Steven deflates. The kid is giggling.

-

“You really didn’t have to make eyes at Freddie, you know.” Steven grumbles as he continues his way towards the Buzzfeed “Kiddie Corner” where employee’s with children can leave their kids in careful hands.

“I would have talked to her if you didn’t tell me to keep my mouth shut,” Ryan complains. It’s weird. The vocabulary and cadence is still the same, but Ryan has the voice of a little kid now and his tongue is clearly stumbling over a couple of words. He doesn’t have a lisp, but he sounds like he still has to get used to having a smaller mouth and less teeth and whatever other changes he went through when he got turned into a kid. Steven always told him not to mess around locations too much, but Shane was a bad influence on him. At least Shane got cursed as well. Steven briefly wonders how Andrew is doing. That thought makes him nervous, so he answers Ryan instead.

“I had to. You sound nothing like a little kid, Ryan. People would notice something’s up.”

“I doubt that. People usually are as stupidly dismissive as Shane is. They love to think up the dumbest of explanations.”

“Will you stop talking about Shane for five minutes, Jesus. You’ll see him again in a few.”

“I’m not- I didn’t-” Ryan starts stuttering and under normal circumstances, Steven would sit back and laugh at Ryan’s dumb crush on his co-host, but right now he is busy.

When he hands Ryan off to the caretaker and she asks for his name, Steven freezes. He can’t call the kid Ryan, people would notice how much he looks like Buzzfeed Unsolved’s Ryan Bergara. Ryan of all people saves his ass:

“I’m Ricky!” He calls out, childlike voice surprisingly believable as he holds out his hands towards the lady who just laughs and takes him out of Steven’s arms.

“He’s a cousin of mine…” Steven mumbles, but he is mostly ignored because the lady has started to chat with “Ricky” about the games they could play.

Not for the first time that day, Steven wishes that Andrew was with him.

-

Shane is a little bored. He likes kids, they are fun, but usually he is in some form of “authority” or at least intimidating in whatever way kids consider a very tall dude. Now, he is barely taller than the children around him. The other children because he is a child as well. It’s been a long time since he’s been one and he is sure he is acting suspicious. At least this places has Mega Bloks, even though Shane would have preferred Lego.

He is building aimlessly and without a real plan, when suddenly he’s tapped on the back. He squares his shoulders, preparing to discourage whatever kid is trying to join him when he spots a familiar face. It’s not quite as familiar as it used to be, but he can still see Ryan in this kid. Even if not, they woke up together on location yesterday, turned into little kids and panicking. Ryan looks a bit better now.

“Oh. Hey. Steven’s here, then?” Shane keeps his voice low so nobody listens in. Ryan nods.

TJ and Devon had transported the “kids” home and - in lieu of a better place - left one Ghoulboy each with one of the Worth It Boys. Adam was spared because he is currently assisting with another shoot for a couple of days. Andrew and Steven both thought they were being pranked for a Buzzfeed video, but eventually admitted that no child actor could reproduce Shane’s completely insane and off-track ramblings that well. Ryan had complained a lot about being handed off to Steven but Shane understood. They couldn’t just go home. Sure, they still had their adult minds so it wouldn’t be exactly like leaving children unsupervised, but a lot of things were way too dangerous to try alone and at their current height. Shane really doesn’t want to get smashed in the head with the microwave because he can’t reach it properly, so having Andrew for assistance had been really helpful. Shane made a point of telling him so.

He doesn’t know how Steven and Ryan spent their evening but he had a relatively normal night in with Andrew, except that Andrew insisted to bring him to bed at eight because at the moment, Shane looks to be about six and it eight is a normal time to go to bed for someone of that age. He had tried to protest, but realized that he was actually close to passing out when Andrew put him on the couch and tucked him in. That last part was so unnecessary, but Shane fell asleep before he could complain. Apparently, his body very much had the metabolism and inner clock of a little kid because he slept for ten hours and woke up feeling refreshed and energetic. He hadn’t felt like that in forever.

Ryan looks like he did yesterday. For someone who knows him well, it’s very obviously Ryan, just a little different. His hair is even messier than before and his cheeks are a little rounder, but his eyes and his smile are as big and as bright as before. Well, minus the constant bags Ryan usually has under his eyes. He looks a lot more fresh faced now.

“Wanna play?” Shane asks, indicating towards his half-finished whatever the hell he is building. Ryan looks at it before shrugging and dropping on his knees on the play mat, scooting closer. They are dressed in kid clothes now, thanks to Devon and TJ making a quick stop to buy them proper clothes yesterday. Until then, both he and Ryan and been wrapped in their ow (now way too big) shirts. Shane has to admit that Ryan looks adorable in his blue overalls. It’s a strange thought and it’s also weird to see such a close friend as a little kid. Well, weird and intrusive in a way that makes Shane uncomfortable.

“I’m glad I’m not alone in this.” He mutters, because he feels like he should say it. Ryan is looking at him but Shane keeps his eyes fixed on the blue block he puts on top of the little wall he set up. “Not that I want you in the same mess as I am in. Just… you know. Helps to keep sane when you’re not the only one.”

“Nah man, I get it.” Ryan looks around to make sure nobody is listening. “I just hope this isn’t permanent.”

“Otherwise we have to create “Buzzfeed: Kids” and milk this mess for all it’s worth.” Shane grumbles and he hears the first real wheeze from Ryan since they woke up in this mess. It turns into a full laugh and Shane finally looks over at his giggling friend. It makes Shane laugh as well. Sure, Ryan’s smile is still the same. But their laughs sound lighter, softer. More innocent, he thinks and immediately makes a face at that.

“What’s up?” Ryan rubs the corner of his eye as if he actually laughed himself to tears.

“This is weird.” Shane mumbles. “I feel like I shouldn’t see you this way. This is something that is kept to our childhoods and our family and stuff. Not your co-worker who probably got you into this mess.”

“I highly doubt it was just you.” Ryan rubs his nose. It’s kind of runny. Someone will probably make him blow it soon. “And… I don’t know. It’s kind of fun. We kept finding out about obscure stuff that we both did despite never meeting before. But now we kind of… get to be childhood friends. Because for some reason you don’t have five years on me now.”

“True.”

Shane sits back and looks at the building they made. It looks horrendous.

“We will never be architects.” He says sadly and Ryan laughs again.

-

Andrew and Steven pick them up after work and decide to just grab dinner together. It’s easier than cooking and being in public will force them to not rant and panic about what happened to Ryan and Shane. It’s supposed to be relaxing. Really.

It’s only when the four of them are seated around a table in a nice little restaurant with Shane and Ryan placed on extra big cushions and the kiddie menu in front of them, that Steven realizes what this must look like. A sweet gay couple and their equally sweet little boys. Fuck. He only hopes Andrew hasn’t noticed. He glances over.

Andrew has his elbow on the table and his chin leaned into his palm. His gaze is on Ryan and Shane, who are playfully squabbling over the menu. Ryan tells Shane that he is ridiculous for wanting chicken nuggets in dinosaur shape while Shane fires back that if there ever was any time appropriate for that kind of stuff, it was now. Andrew is smiling softly and Steven stares, not realizing he does until Andrew’s gaze drags over to him and they both start, returning to their menus. Steven is sure he can hear muffled giggles from the “kids” but he won’t address it

The waitress is very fun and sweet and chitchats with the “children” about their favorite foods. Steven thinks that Ryan and Shane lay on the “cute little kid” stuff a little too thick but she seems completely enchanted by them, so he can’t really reprimand them in front of her.

“Oh he’s not my brother.” Shane says when Steven tunes back in. “He’s my best friend. My ghoulfriend!” With that, he takes Ryan’s hand, completely oblivious to Ryan’s face lighting up and turning red at the same time. The waitress giggles and mutters something about them being cute before she finishes taking their order and leaves. Shane seems fine with keeping Ryan’s hand, but the other boy winds his fingers free after a while, muttering something about Shane’s hands being sweaty.

Steven rolls his eyes and looks over at Andrew. Andrew is looking at him, a thoughtful expression on his face. The smile he’s directing at Steven is careful and soft and Steven is about to ask, but finds that he can’t. They all eat in a strangely awkward silence.

-

Shane sits on Steven’s couch while the “grown ups” are busy in the kitchen and looks at Ryan. They picked a Netflix movie to distract themselves and nearly got into a fight about it. Shane had seen no reason why they shouldn’t watch a horror movie as always but Ryan had insisted that it felt weird to him to watch one while he looked like he was five. Sure, he wasn’t actually that young, but still. Shane thought it was dumb, but he had conceded to watch Coco instead, which was more “age appropriate”.

“Did I overstep earlier?” He asks out of nowhere after staring at Ryan for a while.

“What?” Ryan blinks at him.

“When I took your hand, I mean. I didn’t... I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I just felt like doing it.”

“I don’t know.” Ryan frowns at him as if he’s suspicious. “Do you always want to do that or just because I’m... I dunno, small and adorable right now?”

Shane laughs.

“You’re always small and adorable, Ryan.”

“Fuck off!”

“Language!” Andrew calls from the kitchen.

“Shut up, Andrew!” Ryan shouts back. “I’m not a little kid! Not really at least!”

Shane takes a deep breath when Ryan turns back to him.

“Would it be okay if I wanted to hold your hand sometimes? Or maybe... do other things?”

“What things?”

Ryan has leaned in a little. His hand is brushing the back of Shane’s hands and he seems a little apprehensive at what might happen. Shane can’t really tease him when he looks like this. A scared little kid, even more vulnerable than usual. So he shrugs.

“Once we figured this out, I mean. I would like to take you on a date or something.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean. I figured life is really weird.” He gestures to their situation. “And I’m not so scared about making things between us weird anymore.”

Ryan looks at him for a moment. His bottom lip is pushed forward as he is thinking and his brows slowly pull together. Then, as if he made a decision, he leans in and kisses Shane’s cheek. It’s just a quick peck, but Shane feels his face light up anyway.

“Okay, big guy. Once... once you’re a big guy again.”

They both wheeze.

-

When Steven and Andrew check on “the kids”, they find them asleep. Curled together on the sofa with Ryan’s head on Shane’s shoulder and Shane leaning against Ryan’s head, they snore. Andrew is smiling again, the soft, domestic expression that Steven has seen on him a lot the past few days. It makes his stomach flutter all funny and weird. They each carry one of the boys to bed and watch as they immediately curl on their sides, faces towards each other.

“I’m sure things will not be the same once this is all over.” Steven says, as he closes the door behind them.

“Yeah, I think the same. I don’t really mind, though.” Andrew is glancing at the floor when Steven looks at him.

“What do you mean?”

Andrew shrugs.

“It’s kind of... fun. Playing house with you and all.”

“Really? Playing house? That’s what you’re gonna call it.”

Andrew shrugs and chuckles to himself.

“Okay. What is so funny?” Steven puts his hands on his hips. “You keep smiling and laughing and looking at me all weird since we have this whole kid debacle. What in the world is going on?”

Andrew leans closer, almost caging Steven against the wall.

“I just think... you’re really sweet like this. Even though you and Ryan keep calling each other names and stuff, you’re really caring and you want to help them and I think that‘s admirable. And also really cute.”

“Oh.” Steven blinks. “Well, okay.” He doesn’t know how to deal with this information but he definitely knows that his face is warm and his heart is doing funny things in his chest. He kind of feels like he should take Andrew’s hand or something. So he does. Andrew links their fingers and smiles his weird little domestic smile again. Okay then.

-

Ryan and Shane wake up in Steven’s apartment, curled into each other and the stretched out versions of kid’s pajamas straining over their bodies.

“Thank fuck.” Ryan mutters as he tosses the too-small t-shirt aside. He’s about to get out of bed when an arm sneaks around his waist and Shane pulls him back against his chest.

“Shane!” Ryan hisses. “What if Steven checks on us or-”

“He’s busy.” Shane mumbles into Ryan’s hair, forcing the other man to settle into bed again. “Heard them talking last night. Stuff happened.”

“What stuff?” Ryan asks, but he lies down again, curling up against Shane’s side.

“Later.” Shane yawns and cuddles closer to Ryan, rubbing his back. “Sleep now. You’re much cuddlier like this.”

“Fine.” Ryan rolls his eyes.

He could ask later and mock Steven for whatever happened.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

@thecicadasong oh man hdvh im glad my Excitability is ever fun lol truly glad for bmc for providing that “i am passionate a lot” line and emily thompson is Really a mood like….she talks (& writes) a Lot & phrases things dramatically (like one of the most Verbatim memorable bits of the second book is when An Event happens and one character writes to her pen pal to relay the situation, and its a letter of middling length that conveys the emotion but is relatively and characteristically level and restrained, and then up next is emily’s email about the same thing, which starts: “Subject: THE INJUSTICE / Charlie and Seb, The INJUSTICE! The INJUSTICE! This is the BIGGEST DISASTER OF OUR LIVES.”) and anyways just like i got excited abt sharing quotes, she gets worked up easily and a bit carried away and can be hot tempered and im like oh wow its all such a mood

and then one of her friends, by contrast, is a writerly sort of Inward girl who can be a bit closed off and one of her defense mechanisms is to kind of be deliberately Strange and tongue-in-cheek calmly absurd and ridiculous to throw someone off….and in the fourth book she’s Going Through A Rough Time and extra depressed and a bit bitter (tho its also potentially Extra Dramatized b/c she’s framing the story in a gothic fashion) and THAT’s a mood too, and bindy’s really relatable in big ways and it’s neat b/c bindy was mentioned in the 2nd book like, maybe 3 or 4 times p much just for Humor and then the authors friend was like “what if you wrote a book abt that character” and the author was like Okay

tmobm also has a good few Never Mentioned Prior characters like a girl named astrid who emily becomes good friends with, and astrid’s kind of the would-be shallow popular party girl, but she’s not treated as One Dimensional or A Joke. also there’s a girl named briony who’s super shy and quiet and nervous and one of my favorite things is the book opens with this small group of students who’ve anonymously written their notion of what bindy’s like and given it to her (it was part of a group exercise) and there’s this note with lots of all caps and exclamation points and of course bindy thinks it was emily trying to weirdly insult her only to later find out that it had been briony’s note (meant in a nice way) and eventually of course its learned that briony is fun and passionate and has a lot to say even though she’s nervous to talk…..it’s Such a mood to have ppl assume the only reason you might be Quiet is b/c you don’t have anything to say lol i’ve had ppl Bemused that my opinionated ass has takes on anything at all or Enjoys Stuff just b/c i don’t often volunteer this shit in person til im comfortable w ppl……

ANYWAYS yeah emily is a real fave but there’s soooo many super relatable nuanced characters and its fun that someone who’s mentioned briefly in book 2 might have a way more prominent part in book 3 and then you’ll still get occasional scenes w them / mentions in book 4……and each of the books has a ~mystery~ to it too, naturally, but its all ultimately abt whatever Emotional arcs the characters are going with and about figuring out these new relationships in their lives. bindy also only has one weird friend at the start of the book, i should have mentioned that……the only thing is that weirdly nobody seems to be all that gay but it’s so good that this doesn’t ruin it lol…….i feel like the existence of / the possibility of ppl being gay is at least mentioned a few times so that’s something

anyhow i know it’s not very Sophístiquated to have y.a. books as your faves but they’re pretty much my faves………i don’t exactly usually find them physically in stock in bookstores but my Public Library used to have ¾ and i found a used, gr8 quality copy of the fourth one on ebay for like, $3. they’re not like, Big Mainstream in the least but they’re at least not super obscure enough that they’re still findable if you’re looking specifically for them

but yeah they’re super Readable and just as rereadable too. they’re fun and dramatic and have distinctive and memorable characters, which is really what makes it great, and the description of like, there just being this backdrop of highschoolers just being wild highschoolers doing weird things Just Because is a lot of fun too

anyways yeah i’m always trying to promote these books lol

[tumblunni]

Okay the BIG TODAY THING

It seems i might possibly be gone for six months

I've been talking with my support worker about taking a course at this place thats uhh apparantly gonna help me get better with the depressions and stuff. And we had a meeting to go look around the place and make introductions and stuff but i had NO IDEA it would be all such short notice! I might have to move in IN TWO DAYS FROM NOW, what the fuck!!! And like if its not that its gonna be at the end of the week or next tuesday at the latest. Im so fuckin unprepared and im really freakin out!!

..uhh...how to describe it..well i guess its literally a mental asylum? But it's absolutely NOTHING like the horror movie stereotype! Its not a hospital with cages or locked rooms, its just like a big comfy cute shared house. Like a bunch of completely normal small apartment rooms but they just happen to be all connected to a shared kitchen and stuff and have on site nurses and a big schedule of therapy sessions and group activities like pottery class or bowling. You have the freedom to come and go as you please if you're on "voluntarily admitted" status (that's me!) and even if you're on what they call "sectioned" its still not scary loss of all your freedom. The highest level of sectioning is just like "requires an escort"? You're still allowed to go outside but you have a higher level of supervision from your key worker because you could potentially be a danger to yourself. But that's very rare and most people are only on maximum sectioning for a few weeks at the start of their treatment, if they've come straight from a situation of self harm or other concern factors. Most of the "sectioned" patients just have a time limit on how long they can spend on unsupervised outside activity. It's a pretty generous 8 hours apparantly!

So yeah i was getting worried about nothing, thinking i was gonna be in big scary solitary confinement and locked inside a tiny broom closet or jabbed with brain lazers. It honestly just seems like a summer camp resort for adults! And everyone there seems very nice, and im excited for being able to learn life skills like cooking and potential steps towards getting educational qualifications someday. And to have the help of a more specialist support worker who can assist me with even the smallest little problems. Like this nice lady Tazmin (who might be the one i get?) was saying how they've had other people with social anxiety before, and how we could plan "gradual exposure" to all the things that scare me. Like she said she'd be able to come with me and we'd take the bus and them get off at the next stop. That'd honestly be really helpful to help me get over being scared of the crowded spaces on buses, but i'd never be able to do it normally cos i'd be too embarassed taking such a short bus ride. Plus well itd be a waste of money,but if i'm a patient here i would get a free bus pass so it wouldnt be a problem.

Oh and the area seems really nice! Its so different from my stupid house right now in a crowded neighbourhood with NOTHING but houses everywhere for a mile! Its seriously almost a mile's walk to the ONE SINGULAR SHOP IN THE AREA and they close on sundays and dont sell vegetarian food. :( This area around the shared house thingie is a really nice bustling shops place but not super shops? Like i mean its a lovely village that has all the small shops you need, not a huge skyscrapers busy tourist place. The perfect balance of conveinient and not scary! They have a library and a park so close to the place, and a bazillion charity shops holy FUCK im so excited to have charity shops again!! I think you call them thrift shops in america? But i just always really love bargain hunting and finding nice surprises in places like that! And there's places to do pottery classes and group trips sometimes to do stuff like cinema or bowling or just having your big ol scary therapy meeting at the nice coffee shop at the end ot the road.

So yeah dont worry about me guys, im not trapped in some horribke hell place! I'm sure it'll be as non threatening as an Intensive Therapy Boot Camp can possibly be, im just still nervous as hell cos well yeah I Have Social Anxiety And That Is Why I Am Here In The First Place. Im scared im not gonna be able to succeed at this. I really wanna leave at the end and be all mentally buffed up and ready to make all these nice nurses proud!

Oh and man Richard has been so nice about this?? He was super freaked out and apologetic about it being Scary Short Notice, we had a bit of a dumb misunderstanding where he clearly told me and i clearly said yes but i somehow completely misunderstood what he was saying and thought i was saying yes to something else??? So im so fuckin glad that at the very end of the appointment right when i was gonna get out the car he was like 'oh so remember your suitcase on wednesday' and i was like WHAT. Like man can you imagine how much more terrifying it would have been if i just turned up on wednesday with no supplies but the shirt off my back and was like 'wtf where is he driving me OH GOD NO'. Bunni why you so bad at the good of talking!! Seriously richard thanks so much for clearing it up but also AAAAA i accidentally agreed to the shortest of short notice and i dont know if he's gonna be able to reschedule it!!!

And man i was there crying in his car about how i dont wanna be in hospital on my birthday, and babbling all the different things i had planned fot the next few months. And GOD DAMN MY DUMB BRAIN i ended up blurting out that i had a preorder of a videogame that i was gonna miss. And i straight up started explaining pokemon to my mental health counseller who is also a dj, how damn fake does my life sound?? Anyway he said that i'll still be able to keep him as my support worker when i get back out of this, and we'll still have weekly or monthly meetings while i'm in there. And he keeps reminding me that i'm free to leave if i feel uncomfortable, but i know that i'd feel like a failure if i did! So he legit fuckin goddamn said (THIS SOUNDS SO FAKE) that i could take a day off when the dumb game comes out, and he'd play co op pokemon with me. HOLY GEEZUS RICHARD YOU'RE LIKE THAT HOLY GRAIL OF THERAPISTS! And man he even said it wasnt embarassing for me to sleep with a teddy bear and he'd help me pack it up safe and ensure nobody saw it while we move my bags into my new room. And then i was like "uhh but also the teddy bear is a giant lifesize embarassing pokemon merchandise" and he was like "okay so we need DOUBLE STEALTH". Apparantly the new sequel to Pokemon Go is Pokemon Sneak! God he helped calm me down from this freakout so much, he's always great with lil jokes and motivational sayings. And i talked about how i first started being interested in Obscure Deep Sea Slug Facts because pokemon has some characters based on weird real life animals, and like its Very Educational Honest, And Has Appeal For Both Kids And Adults. How on earth did this turn into Motovational Pokemon Blabber Time??? Anyway thats how i ended up texting a professional psychologist pictures of gastrodon at 7.30pm.

SO

Yeah

In summary

I'm mostly just worried cos this is short notice! And cos its such a big commitment that being short notice is Super Bad. I need to friggin clean the whole house top to bottom in two days, so it doesnt get all gross and attract flies while im gone. And i need to toss out like a hundred bucks worth of frozen food that aint gonna keep for 6 months. And i need to wash all my damn clothes. And i dont even have a suitcase and this is at a terrible time where i dont get paid for a week so i cant buy a new one right now!! And damn i DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO TAKE AAAAAA

And the BIGGEST PROBLEM

Is that i wont be able to talk to you guys for half a year!!!

They dont have wifi and im not allowed to take my computer anyway. They only allow laptops and all i have is a desktop and AAAA its too short notice to save up enough to get a laptop mannnnn! Fuck man i didnt even think about that, i need to go pause my broadband internet for six months, do they even allow you to come back after that long?? And man part of me wants to ask to borrow money from friends to get a laptop but i know this time i cant promise to pay you back within the month cos AAAGH ALL OF THIS SHIT!! Like damn man if anyone is willing to let me pay back a hundred and fifty quid in 6 months??not bloody likely!! And man the only place to get a laptop in TWO GODDAMN DAYS is stupid fuckin Amazon :( but god im gonna go stir crazy being unable to do art or gamemaking or friggin anything to occupy myself!! I can bring my 3ds but i barely have any games for it and ive already finished all of them except harvest moon a new beginning which i quit cos it was bad. And the screen is broken anyway gahhh. SO MANY THINGS I NEED MONEY FOR IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IS NON CONDUCTIVE TO MONEYING

So anyway GAHH i wont have an internet connection in the house, and i'll be able to walk down the hill and use the library computers hopefully at least weekly, but they forbid all social media sites. So like can i get the emails of everyone who wants to keep in contact? Man i dont know how im gonna manage this AAAAA!!! i will send u loads of pics of scenic asylum beauty and dumb updates on my stupid life of probably very little progress.

And AGGGHHH i dont even have the time to plan a blog queue or anything fuck man geez aaaaaaaa

I NEED TO BUY A NEW PAIR OF TROUSERS WITHOUT HOLES IN THE KNEES man i cant live on singular pantage in a shared house

[sparks-is-here]

Monsters (Darkiplier X Reader): Awake and Insane (Part 5)

 "You can't just keep doing this to yourself, you have to wake up Y/N." Crying. I can only hear crying...   I sit up in a bed, my weight shifting the sheets, I shot up so fast the sheets covering me unfold downwards off the edge. I'm covered with sweat from the rough sleep I had before I was abruptly awoken. I turn my head towards the voice, my eyes widen at the realization of who is in front me. "Emma?" I smile, my body plunging from the bed, I hugged the girl so fast and so mindlessly I hadn't realized how fast I had launched myself at her.   "What are you doing? What is up with you... it's like you haven't seen me for weeks." Emma laughed. I suddenly stop hugging her and realize she isn't aware of what has happened to me lately. "What do you mean? I've been gone for a while now... I was kidnapped. I haven't been here for I don't know how long." I respond backing away slowly from our embrace. "Y/N, you passed out from not eating anything and not sleeping, you fainted and have been out for a day. I was really worried about you. What the hell are you talking about being kidnapped? You have been here ever since you fainted at the mall." But I passed out at the mall with Dark... Have I been hallucinating about him this whole time? "You're right Emma, I must be really out of it, I'm hallucinating about men stealing me away, I really should eat more." I sigh, it must really have been a dream. I'm awake and insane. I shuffle on my feet staring at Emma, she looks tired around her eyes, she must have been really worried for me. "Well, at least you're back, do you want to grab some lunch and we can go look at the stuff we bought at the mall? After all you probably forgot what you bought... it will be like Christmas morning!" Emma smiles and runs down the hallway, I hear a clank and a picture falls from the wall. "What was that??" I laugh looking towards the hallway. "Nothingggggg!" Emma screams back at me as her footsteps quicken their pace down the stairs. I laugh again and start to head downstairs as well, I look around our apartment and meet Emma in the kitchen already making lunch. "Pizza?" I smile while I sit on a bar stool. "No, homemade pizza." Emma points at me with a wide grin.

  "So what did this man look like who supposedly stole you away?" Emma wiggles her eyebrows at me. "Oh he was nobody special," I laugh and wave my arm shooing the topic away. "Oh please, if you had a dream about him and it wasn't scary, he must have been attractive to you!" Emma beamed back at me as she put the pizza in the oven. We continued to joke back and forth about the kidnapper while we eat our pizza. "I never told you it wasn't scary!" I shout and laugh while throwing my napkin at her. It had to have been a dream, but it was so real, and not just one of those dreams that feels realistic. I mean it felt like... not another dimension, but a location, a place that could manipulate my thoughts, to make me be in a specific place at a certain time... or to be manipulated to think or feel a certain way? Listen to yourself Y/N, your trying to justify a silly dream to yourself! "Hey! Y/N I asked you a question!" Emma shoves me out of my thoughts, my shoulder moving with the contact of her hand. "W-what?" I stammer back at her. "I asked, do you want to look at the stuff we bought?" "Oh, sure, can we put on a movie too?" "Duh!" Emma laughs.

  We both walk over to the living room, we sit on the couch and I see shopping bags on the coffee table, Emma switches on Netflix and finds an old favorite of ours. I can't remember a time we weren't best friends, we've been together through everything. Emma has seen me through a lot, she has fought with my demons with me on a number of occasions. Emma and I look through the bags, it turns out we were just shopping around for the necessities, refills of makeup, new jeans and such. We finish looking through everything and watch the rest of the movie. "Hey, we are meeting with the others for dinner, where do you want to go? My treat." Emma offers me with a nurturing look. "(Y/N's favorite fancy restaurant)?" Emma jumps up and grabs my hands. "Yes! I'll text the others! Go get ready and we will go meet them!" I stand up to go to my room and change, I try and find something nice looking since we agreed on a nicer place that we haven't been to in a while. I grab my clothes and jump in the shower. I get dressed and style my hair. I start to finish my makeup when Emma knocks on my bedroom door. "I know you were out for a day but you didn't look that bad!" she laughs. I open my door and give her a look and smile, she looks pretty. She's wearing a red dress with a black scarf and some tights, she had heel booties on, she practically lives in the things since she is so short. She suddenly gasps when she sees me, dressing nice is normal for her, considering I usually wear leggings or jeans with sweatshirts, she was shocked when I was in a dress myself. "That is so cute! When did you get that?? You look great Y/N!" She stares at my outfit. "Thanks, I found this dress in my closet, I didn't even know I owned it, but when I saw it I had to wear it..." I looked down at the garment, it was a flannel skater dress with blue and red plaid, it was so different but so... well, me. I normally wear black, it was dark enough yet the red and blue contrasted so well, I also sported some tights and some black heel boots. I hadn't been out for a while, so I wanted to look nice for once, plus I forgot how much fun it was to get ready for something planned. Emma and I drive to the restaurant, I look outside my car window to see the streetlights passing by, and the people in the town we live in. We arrive at the place a couple minutes later and see our friends waiting outside. "Peej! Kat! Over here!!" Emma yells at the couple as she waves. We start to walk in their directions, I take a step up the curb and get the wind knocked out of me.

  Someone starts to hug me and laugh, "You didn't think you could get rid of us that easily did you Y/N?" my friend Mike exhales, he squeezes me tighter and backs up. I look at him and his girlfriend McKenna, "I missed you guys" I smile at the group. "Missed us? It's only been a day ya goof!" PJ laughs at me, he ruffles my hair as we walk into the restaurant. "Right, right..." I laugh. "Y/N dreamed about a guy stealing her away while she was unconscious, she thinks it's been weeks or something." Emma says to Kat and McKenna. They laugh and I smile, I missed my dorks of friends, but I still feel some sort of emptiness like I did before I fainted at the mall. Either way I was glad I could see them all again. PJ was my other best friend besides Emma and Mike. I gave him the nickname Peej, he was the oldest of the group and like the big brother to all of us, besides Kat whom is his girlfriend. PJ and I have gotten really close over the past few years, I've told him everything, sometimes more than I have with the others. Mike has also been a really close friend since high school, we took similar art classes, we talk a lot and have similar tastes. Mike is dating McKenna, whom I'm not very close too, however I'm not very close to either her or Kat. Emma has known Kat longer then I have, but Emma and I are closer, and Kat and McKenna are closer to each other.

  We get seated and order our food, we all are excited since we don't hardly ever go somewhere nice for dinner. We catch up on things like with school and work and start to enjoy our food. I slowly start to get a headache, nothing major but definitely noticeable. I'll just take some Advil from my bag. It's only a small migraine so it will go away, it's probably because I was hungry. "You okay Y/N?" PJ asks me. "Yeah, I'll be fine, just a tiny headache." I look around at the group, I start to think, I'm really not taking care of myself, I feel like the room is getting darker, It's fine, it's a nice restaurant, they usually have dim lighting. I hear people talking around me, Their just enjoying their nights out, they aren't talking about you... I hear the silverware clanking against the plates the waiters are carrying around, I start to feel warm, I turn my direction back to my friends. Their prying eyes waiting, searching for my answers to their overwrought questions about my time not being conscious and why I am acting so obscure. Wondering why I had passed out. The worry settles in, I have to confess to my friends that I am not happy with myself, that my solution to my upset emotions is to starve myself and suffer through the insomnia, that I listen to the voices in my head telling me these are brilliant ideas, it's the only way I could be satisfied with myself. I see a man at a table all alone behind Mike and McKenna, I look at Emma and stand up, "I just need to go to the bathroom real quick, I'll be back." "Do you need me to come with?" Emma asks worried. "Nah, I'll be okay I just need to splash my face with water, it's just really warm in here." "Okay, come back out or text me if you need something, okay Y/N?" "I promise," I started walking back towards the restrooms. I feel like I'm being watched by everyone here. I just need to calm down my breathing and thoughts. I just need to focus. I look over at the table with the lonely man, as I walk passed I can see him better. He looks different, taller, darker hair. I can't determine his facial features clearly though... He's cute... He looks toward my direction and I smile and look away, I try to hurry to the restroom to get better focus.

  I get in the bathroom, my breathing feeling heavy, like weights being lifted and lowered by my lungs, my vision blurry, I blink and the tears splash against my lashes and my eyes become blurrier, like a film overlaying my lenses. I step in front of the mirror, my hands gripping the black marble counter to keep stabilized. I look up to the mirror to see it has a blue tint, I see my eyes in the reflection and try to stop the waterworks, my quicker paced blinking only seemed to make it worse. I look down at the sink and splash cold water into my face. I start to heave, my breathing heavy gasps, desperate to feel at ease, I start to calm down and look back in the mirror. Everything is black and white, I blink and the mirror looks cracked as well. A second blink and my reflection looks normal. I stand up straight and feel better, my breathing feels normal again. I walk out of the bathroom and walk past the table with the cute guy, he is replaced by a couple who look to be celebrating an anniversary. I frown and walk to our table, I sit down and finish my dinner and enjoying the presence with my friends, I explain to them I'm feeling better physically. We finish the night off by playing games at Emma and I's apartment, we all have a couple of drinks and listen to music while we play card games. Our friends decided to stay the night after a thunderstorm had started when we got home from dinner. We enjoy the night and relax after all of our busy weeks. I fall asleep and think about how sometimes things aren't always so bad.

[fairymascot]

WHY ANON (slams desk so hard it splits clean in half) I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED

now, picturing an au where max comes to arcadia bay after five years, rachel's there, no wacky time hijinks ensue and nobody's fucking suffering:

*rachel is genuinely SO hyped to meet max, though admittedly, it's got less to do with max herself and more with what she means to chloe. like, chloe would not shut up about max the whole time she's known her, and she sincerely sounds like such a sweet girl -- but also like the polar opposite of how chloe presents outwardly now. so getting to actually meet that goofy little shutterbug nerd who's owned a piece of chloe's heart since childhood is massively exciting to her. (and of course, gleaning Top Secret childhood info about chloe from her is a great bonus.)

once they meet, rachel's pretty much instantly endeared with her: she's so small and cute and fidgety, like a little pet squirrel! she's really fun to tease and mess with, and her reactions are adorable.

meanwhile, on max's end, her first impression of rachel amber is holy mother of intimidating, batman. chloe's built her up so much beforehand, but it still doesn't compare to actually being in the same room as rachel amber. she's like... electromagnetic. and almost definitely too cool for max to be breathing the same air as her. but she's also so NICE and friendly and not mean or condescending at all. so while max was initially feeling a little sour over chloe's best friend position being filled by someone else, she can't be actually mad about it. it's kind of impossible not to fall in love with rachel amber.

*though max is a little more reserved than rachel's used to, and rachel's way cooler than max is used to, they quickly find they can get a good conversation flow going, talking about art and literature and nerd stuff that chloe tends to zone out during. rachel offers surprisingly insightful commentary on max's photography, which catches her off-guard and makes her kind of embarrassingly fluttery on the inside. 'you should take my picture sometimes,’ she says with a smile. ‘i'm looking into modeling.' 'oh! oh. okay.'

*though rachel really enjoys teasing max, she's also very good at telling where to draw the line and when to pull back. she can see max struggles a bit in social situations with new people, and she wants to make sure that her reactions stay firmly within the 'adorably flustered' camp without crossing over to actual anxiousness. max really appreciates it, and she's kind of awed by it, too -- max is always doing her best to be empathetic and tune into what other people are feeling, but her particular mix of nosinesss and awkwardness can make it hard. to rachel, it just comes effortlessly, and it kind of blows max's mind.

*max feels a little out of place in her first week or two back in arcadia bay. even though chloe has accepted her back with open arms and rachel's been nothing but friendly, she can't shake the feeling that the two of them have so much more in common than she and chloe have now -- she's just this awkward nerd girl, and maybe they're only hanging out with her out of obligation...

though both chloe and rachel notice something's up with her, rachel is the one she ends up confiding in. paradoxically, it's easier to talk about personal stuff like this with someone she doesn't know so well, especially because she's worried that admitting it to chloe would just sound like guilt tripping. rachel proves a very sensitive listener, and instills new confidence in her, too: she tells max about how chloe puts on the pirate mixtape she made her in elementary school at least once a week, and how when they passed by a heap of old toys and summer clothes at the junkyard last month, she framed it with her fingers and went 'man, max would take a black and white picture of this and and call it farewell summertime, or some shit'. 

max feels better after that.

*rachel plays two truths and a lie with max. it is, after all, a time-tested bonding exercise. as chloe predicted, max fucking sucks at this game because she cannot lie to save her ass. she gives two completely mundane truths that no one would ever suspect to be false, then pauses, stares thoughtfully at her shoes, brushes at her hair, and comes up with some shit like 'i have a pet tarantula'. ('i've been to your dorm room, max,' rachel reminds. 'well-- yeah! i mean at home in seattle! my parents are taking care of him now. he's... bad with flights.') she's surprisingly good at picking apart rachel's lie, though, and rachel's impressed with her quiet attentiveness.

'but seriously, though. we gotta teach you how to lie.'

*rachel models for max, because i mean, come on, she’s gotta. max absolutely doesn't want to pass up this chance but she's also freaking out on the inside (and on the outside), because she's never actually worked with a model before -- it's usually just selfies, sceneries and candids. she's really worried it won't come out well and rachel will think less of her for it. she also has a minor heart attack when rachel walks into her room, drops her jacket on the bed, and says 'so is this where i take it all off, or...'

(when max just stares at her in terror, she laughs and says 'kidding, of course'. and the photos turn out really nice! so. all is well.)

*rachel absolutely loves that they're the same size and exploits the shit out of this, swapping outfits with max left and right. she thinks max looks hot as hell in her clothes, and while max can't really see it herself, being praised by rachel feels good. (her clothes always smell really nice, too.) she feels awkward lending rachel her clothes in return, because she has so much style and max really doesn't, but rachel always says 'oh, shush, your style's adorable' and steals all her lame hoodies and geek T-shirts anyway. and somehow makes them look drop-dead gorgeous every time.

*rachel loves dressing max up! she likes dragging her on impromptu shopping sprees, picking out bundles of clothes for her to try on, or just showing up on her doorstep and thrusting a bag into her hands with a 'here, wear this'. she's quick to pick up on max's aesthetic, and always gets stuff that's right up her alley, but just a little bolder than she'd usually think to buy: a bit more colorful, a bit more form-fitting. max finds the experience kind of embarrassing -- she doesn't want rachel to think she's some charity case -- but she can't deny that the outfits rachel pick out look... really good.

also, rachel LOVES matching outfits -- not in tacky over-the-top ways, but stuff like complementary color choices or little matching accessories. max really gets into the accessory thing too, and starts making a habit of gifting rachel goofy little nerd trinkets to match with. i'm talking stuff like this and this and this. rachel puts every last one of these on her keychain until it's considerably more chain than keys.

*in the venn diagram of chloe and max's music tastes, rachel is the overlap. she likes all of chloe's thrashy metal and angry teen angst hymns, and she likes all of max's weepy guitar tunes and cringy pop from 2003. max admittedly never quite outgrew her seventh-grade nsync phase, and rachel is a huge slut for nostalgia shit like that, as well as a huge slut for making chloe suffer. which means that car rides with those three almost inevitably end up sounding like a middle school dance party while chloe grumbles and huffs behind the wheel the whole way.

*they have like a million geeky marathons, staying up all night watching dr who and buffy and lord of the rings. while they're both big fans of the classics, max is the more active fandom-connoisseur of the two, and introduces rachel to a ton of stuff like obscure european sci-fi films, old artsy cinema, and like a metric boatload of anime. max's taste is all over the place and rachel enjoys pretty much all of it, even the outrageously bad stuff, because she has no concept of cringe and if anything just finds the dumb shit more fun. she will enthusiastically watch final fantasy spirits within with max and not even complain once.

she loves seeing max's eyes light up during the parts she likes best, or how animated she gets when she talks about it afterwards, sharing all this background trivia and her interpretations of the stories. max is really glad for the way rachel listens, even about stuff that obviously didn't grab her as much, but sometimes she has to stop and just kind of trail off mid-sentence because rachel's looking at her like she's going to eat her and leaning in and oh.

[rockrevoltmagazine]

INTERVIEW: LAJON WITHERSPOON OF SEVENDUST

Interview by Ace Sims

Hear the interview now or read on below

http://rockrevoltmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lajon-Witherspoon-2-Edit.mp3

RockRevolt:  This is Ace with RockRevolt Magazine I am talking with Lajon (Witherspoon) of Sevendust.  How are you doing today?

Lajon Witherspoon:  I am fantastic.  Trying to be as positive as I can living in this obscure world we are living in now.

RR:  Well you’ve got some positives, you just released your thirteenth album, wow.

LW:  It’s pretty crazy to believe that, the word that I’m trying to use is relevant.  I can’t believe we are still relevant in the music industry today.  It’s a dream come true to still be relevant.

RR:  Released about a month ago, I’ve seen some good success.  You’ve got the Chris Cornell cover on there.

LW:  Check this out can you believe for the first time we went number one on Billboard for the album and I get to have a Billboard Award, which I’m excited about (laughs).

RR:  The first time after thirteen albums.  Sevendust has been one of them bands, you guys are road dogs.  You put on this amazing, energetic live performance. 

LW:  We said at the beginning Sevendust is like a sport.  I feel like a seasoned athlete, maybe now and old athlete (laughing).  It’s something that when we go out on stage we leave it all out there.  That’s where we don’t worry about the bills, regular life stuff.  It’s a world where we can take that hour or two to not only release our energy but the people that come to see us they don’t have to think about all the crazy stuff going on.  Music is a healer.  I’ve always said that.

RR:  I don’t think there is anyone who has seen one of the thousands of shows you have put on that could deny that you bring it every night.  I’m sure there are nights some of the guys aren’t feeling it but nobody would ever notice it at a live show. 

LW:  That’s funny I just got off a Zoom from Germany and he asked how many shows we’ve done and have I ever been sick on stage.  I can’t say how many shows we’ve done but its been a lot.  But if someone is under the weather, like you mentioned, once we get on stage I think that energy from everyone that’s out there that under the weather feeling goes away.  If we could bottle that up I think that would solve a lot of problems (laughing).  If we could bottle that up we might have a cure for Corona. 

RR:  Hell with the vaccine we’ve got the Sevendust! With this being your thirteenth album, with COVID was the recording process a little different for you? Was it harder, did it change any of your normality’s of recording?

LW:  Luckily we were able to do this album before the pandemic and not having that cloud anything.  I promise you if we were in the studio and this was going on and somebody sneezed we would have shut it down.  So we got very lucky.  When it got weird, when COVID hit and all of a sudden we were getting asked by certain people to not put the album out until 2021.  Are you kidding me? Sevendust, we are musical people we had this album sitting we felt like it would have been ridiculous not to put this album out.  That what people need right now is music.  It’s something that’s going to get us over this hump.  Hopefully we can look back at this time, reflect and realize that music was something that got us through it.  Not seeing the bands, I know it’s crazy everyone having to be at home.  That’s why we did that live stream to kind of bring back some type of normalcy.  It was important for us to bring this album out even though we were asked not to.  Looks what’s going on, people seem to be enjoying it and I’m very happy that we had this opportunity.  God knows what’s going to happen in the future.  We don’t know.

RR:  I can tell you myself and many others are glad you didn’t take the advice that was giving.  When it came out my Facebook timeline was nothing but oh my god new music from Sevendust.  So when it comes to my friends they were very grateful you did not take that advice. 

LW:  I’m so glad we didn’t either.  You know I feel like at this point in our career we’ve done it long enough to know right from wrong.  What should be done and the way it should be done.  I think it was a very good decision amongst all of us. 

RR:  Like you said what the world needs right now is an escape from all of the nonsense and chaos.  With this second wave hitting we have a little something extra to knuckle down and listen to while we are getting through this second wave.

LW:  Absolutely, you said it right.  Nobody says that, second wave.  We’ve got all these knuckleheads running around not believing it, how could they not believe it. 

RR:  Like we were talking about earlier you and I live in almost the same neighborhood, not sure if you say the viral video referring to the mask mandate as Nazi Germany? It just came out in the last couple days here in Johnson County.

LW:  Oh my god I’m going to look it up.  I have not seen it, wow.  It’s ridiculous, if we could just get those people on a boat and let them hang out in the middle of the ocean that would be better.

RR:  You’ve done a lot of other cool stuff throughout this.  Labor Day weekend I was driving and that Friday I had Octane (Sirius XM radio) on and you hosted a virtual festival.

LW:  How did you like that?

RR:  I thought it was fantastic.  It was super cool hearing the stories.  Kind of like being backstage.  Hearing the stories of festivals.  It made my five and a half hour drive awesome. 

LW:  Man, thank you.  That’s really cool, no one has said anything about that.  It was so fun for me to do even though I recorded that in my studio at home.  It was really cool because they said it was going to sound like we were really backstage.  It made it fun for me to do even though I wasn’t there.  It didn’t sound like it you know what I mean.

RR:  Yeah, it was super cool I enjoyed it.  Me and my girlfriend always go on a canoe trip each year and listening to the stories I was like I remember that.  It was very nostalgic. 

LW:  Cool, thanks so much man.  I told them lets do that again, so hopefully we can make that happen.  I’ll let you know.  It was a cool experience.

RR:  That would be great, I’ll definitely be tuning in.  That’s actually been my lifelong dream to be a radio DJ, so I listen to all that stuff.  I love hearing all of that.  Just different off the wall stuff that isn’t just music being played on the radio.  I enjoy the hell out of it. 

LW:  Right on man.  So how are you and the family doing during crazy time.

RR:  You know we’re doing good.  In real life I’m in the transportation industry so I have not been affected that much.  We’re in an office of about 50 people and all but 4 of us have been coming in everyday.  I live three miles from the office so I said I’m not packing up and going home.  There’s 4 of us, we can stay socially distanced.  We are enjoying the things we can.  We are having football parties every weekend with just us at the house.  Cooking up a big old feast every week watching the Chiefs do what they do. 

LW:  Yeah that’s what we are doing.  We’ve only been to a couple places out.  We haven’t been to a restaurant to sit down.  We’ve only done curbside.  It’s been weird but I feel like I guess we don’t really have to go to a restaurant to sit down.  I told my wife you know what when we go to a restaurant nobody wants to talk anyway (laughing).

RR:  I think I’ve been out once to sit down at a restaurant since this whole thing started.  And it was like yeah everything seems cool but lets not do this again.

LW:  Lets make our home the most fun we can have.  That’s what we try to do with our kids.  Try to make it so they don’t want to leave.  You know what it’s not that bad here. 

RR:  Since the Chiefs play Sunday night I’m getting up at 6am Sunday morning firing up the smoker and putting on 4 pork butts and about 5 slabs of ribs and have a nice little family get together at home for the game.  It’s going to be a good time. 

LW:  I might swing by and get one of those butts for my grill.

RR:  Come on by.  I have this giant smoker and I’m like I’m going to smoke 1 pork butt so I tell all my friends come over drop off whatever you want and I’ll cook it. 

LW:  That’s a good plan.  Last time I smoked something I was up at 5am and I told my wife I’m going to have to be really focused to do that again because the only people that ate it was me and Nico from Sidewise (band).  I did all this work just for Nico to eat it. 

RR:  Lets talk about the solo album you are working on.

LW:  Absolutely I’ve working with my very good friend Sahaj from Ra.  We’ve been working on this for probably over a year.  We started working on it in California for fun.  Then it started turning into something, a sound I’m very excited about.  Now we’ve moved back to the mid-west, came out to the farmhouse and we finished up three more songs.  I think I have an albums worth of material.  At the beginning of the new year we will be shopping for a record deal.  I can’t believe I’m saying I’m looking for a record deal for my solo stuff, I never would have thought that I would say that one day being in Sevendust.  But it’s definitely been a beautiful outlet for me to be able to do something different. 

RR:  What brough this on.  Are you just trying to explore a different side of you musical inspiration?

LW:  I’ve always done different music.  It’s just the first time in my life to be able to sit down and focus on it.  Sevendust is the most important thing.  Now the opportunity to get my music out there is very important.  At the age I am now and the way things are going on in the world.  I like to say this, I feel like life and music is like a chess game and so I’ve just been kind of waiting to make the right move.  It might be a boring game to have to wait but at the end of the day hopefully it will work the way I want it to. 

RR:  What would you say are some of the differences are between your solo and Sevendust?

LW:  I’m not afraid to get a little country and a little bit of rock n roll.  And a lot of soul.  There’s also some dance beats, this album will be able to be played on the radio and clubs.  I think it will be a universal thing.  That what I want my music and voice to be heard as.  Not just as, I love Sevendust and that’s my thing but I want to be known as a singer and remembered as a singer, voice and artist.  Someone who loves music and not just one type.

RR:  Sounds like you are putting a lot of your personality in there.  I know the times I’ve met and talked to you, you’ve always been this fun, vibrant, full of energy, happy, always with a smile on your face.  That’s kind of sounds like that’s what you are going to put into this album. 

LW:  Oh absolutely.  There’s some sad stuff but I’m definitely happy to. 

RR:  I’ve enjoyed being able to talk some music with you.  Congratulations on the new Sevendust album Blood and Stone, everybody go get that.  Released on October 23rd.  I know I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got on this solo album.   

Connect with Sevendust(click icons):

INTERVIEW: LAJON WITHERSPOON OF SEVENDUST was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

[osakaso5]

Ryunosuke Tsunashi TRIGGER Police Rabbit Chat Part 5: Relaxing With Re:vale And TRIGGER!? 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Tsumugi: Tsunashi-san, good work! I look forward to your shoot today! 

Ryunosuke: Tsumugi-chan, I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused the other day! 

Ryunosuke: 

Tsumugi: I'm just glad it was resolved without any more problems! 

Ryunosuke: Tell Nagi-kun that I'll go see that anime movie with him soon, like I promised. 

Ryunosuke: But since he's having everyone who bothered him treat him to a movie, should all of us really go see the same movie with him separately? 

Tsumugi: Yes! Nagi-san says he wants to have a complete collection of the postcards that are randomly distributed at each showing! 

Ryunosuke: I don't really get why he’d do that, but if  that’s all it'll take to cheer him  up, I'm fine with it! It must be tough to have to watch so many movies just to get a postcard! 

Choices/outcomes:

1. How would you sum up that incident?

Ryunosuke: It was a rare chance for all of us to get together for drinks, so it's a real shame I can't remember most of it! 

2. Who do you think was the key player of that incident?

Ryunosuke: Yuki-san, maybe? We were at his house, and this drinking party happened because he invited Gaku, and Tenn actually wanted to join in for once. 

3. What was the most delicious thing Yuki-san cooked for you?

Ryunosuke: Ah! He served this side dish that was minced white fish stuffed inside steamed goya with a thick sauce! It was the first time I ate something like that, but it was delicious. I was going to make some myself, but I forgot... 

Tsumugi: You really had a rough time... 

Tsumugi: I managed to compile a detailed account of that incident at you and Re:vale's meeting the other day, so I'll share it with you now! 

Ryunosuke: I was so busy feeling bad about what I'd done that I had no time to put all the event in order... And since I can't remember much, I'd like to know what happened. 

Tsumugi: A dinner party begins at Yuki-san's house. Along with his home cooking, the guests are treated to wine and some sake they'd brought with them. 

Tsumugi: Urged by Momo-san, Tsunashi-san steadily empties his glass until he's blackout drunk. He begins speaking exclusively in Okinawan. 

Tsumugi: This is where Tsunashi-san's recollection of the events stops. 

Ryunosuke: Huh, already!? 

Tsumugi: So I've been told ><

Ryunosuke: I didn't know it was that early! But, I guess I'd been drinking pretty heavily by that point. 

Ryunosuke: I think   Momo-san was probably still avoiding Yuki-san, because he just kept  talking to me. 

Ryunosuke: I wanted to support him somehow, so I drank when he told me to. I know I got drunk right away, but I wonder if I was of any help? 

Tsumugi: Momo-san's key phrase was "Aren't you going to drink when Re:vale's offering? (lol)"

Ryunosuke: Yeah, the way he was offering me drinks didn't feel like his usual self. I'm worried   he might feel depressed later... 

Tsumugi: Tsunashi-san begins making Momo-san drink just as much as he's drinking. Their alcohol consumption increases drastically. 

Tsumugi: Unable to communicate due to both their drunkenness, Momo-san calls Nagi-san in to translate. 

Tsumugi: This is where Momo-san and Gaku-san's recollections of the events stop. 

Tsumugi: Momo-san's comment: "Things were awkward between me and Yuki, so I kept clinging to other people. I couldn't stop drinking. Ryunosuke turned into an alcohol beast." 

Tsumugi: Gaku-san's comment: "I had fun." 

Ryunosuke: I had fun, too! 

Ryunosuke: ...Or at least I think I did. 

Ryunosuke: I must've been a huge pain to get called an "alcohol beast"... A real pest... 

Tsumugi: Nagi-san tries to reject Momo-san's invitation, but is forced into a taxi by Yamato-san and Mitsuki-san, who tell him to spend more time with other groups. 

Tsumugi: Yamato-san's comment: "I thought I'd repay Momo-san for helping me out with a scene I didn't want to do. I messaged Yaotome asking him to look after Nagi as a fellow leader, and thought it'd be fine since he messaged me back and told me to leave it to him." 

Ryunosuke: It's amazing how responsible Gaku can act while he's drunk! 

Tsumugi: Mitsuki-san's comment: "Nagi doesn't trust guys outside of IDOLiSH7, so I wanted to help him overcome it. I thought it'd be fine since Momo-san, who's good at handling drinking parties, would be there."

Ryunosuke: Is that part about Nagi-kun true!? I always thought he treated us a little coldly. I wonder if we can use this chance to become friends. But, what did he come over to translate? 

Tsumugi: Nagi-san arrives at the scene and is unable to translate the non-stop flow of Okinawan. Not being able to keep up with the drunkards, he tries to leave altogether. 

Ryunosuke: Ah, so it was me! I feel bad that he had to go through that. 

Tsumugi: Hearing that Sogo-san and Iori-san are good at quizzes, Yuki-san starts testing them over rabbit chats. 

Tsumugi: Whenever they get something right, he toasts them on his end, and eventually decides to send gifts he thinks they'll enjoy to the dorm in the taxi that is supposed to take Nagi-san home. Unable to shake off the guests who want him to stay, Nagi-san gets left behind at the party. 

Tsumugi: Iori-san's comment: "We received Tsunashi-san's clothes even down to his pants, how was he able to get home? The fountain pen that was meant for me has Re:vale's name engraved on it, so I'll return it to them later."

Ryunosuke: I wonder if they got that fountain pen to celebrate becoming a record store best seller? TRIGGER's had some made, too. 

Ryunosuke: I saw one in the box with Momo-san's stuff, so the one Iori-kun got must be Yuki-san's. 

Ryunosuke: Momo-san might've been upset that he'd give out a memento like that as a prize... 

Tsumugi: This is where Yuki-san's recollection of the events stops. 

Tsumugi: Yuki-san's comment: "They were really obscure music questions, so I was happy they managed to answer them." 

Ryunosuke: Yuki-san's so collected! I'd like for him to worry about his partner a little more! 

Tsumugi: You're right... 

Ryunosuke: Momo-san's pretty bothered by it. A few days ago, we were drinking and he kept complaining "He's acting like we're on the same wavelength, but we're actually not!" 

Tsumugi: Noticing Nagi-san's displeasure, everyone begins talking about Cocona-chan. Drunk, Gaku-san and Yuki-san try to style their hair to look like Cocona's. 

Tsumugi: Momo-san  posts a picture of it online, and although Okazaki-san rushes to delete the post, screenshots of it are still making rounds online. 

Ryunosuke: I saw that photo too, it was really funny! 

Tsumugi: Okazaki-san gives up on trying to control the situation and drowns his sorrows in alcohol. 

Tsumugi: This is where his recollection of the events stops. 

Tsumugi: Okazaki-san's comment: "We're a small agency, so I thought I'd let Yaotome Productions do something about it!"

Ryunosuke: We even caused trouble to our president... He was really mad at me and Gaku. 

Ryunosuke: At times like these, Gaku starts sulking like my little brothers do, so I'll suffer through this with him. 

Tsumugi: Around this time, an imitation contest begins. 

Tsumugi: Team Hure Hure: Kujo-san, Gaku-san, and Yuki-san

Tsumugi: Team MATSURI: Gaku-san, Tsunashi-san, Momo-san, and Okazaki-san

Tsumugi: Team L&G: Tsunashi-san, Nagi-san, and Anesagi-san

Ryunosuke: I don't remember any of it, but apparently I was really excited, probably because I always thought MATSURI looked really fun. 

Ryunosuke: Still, they didn't wear fundoshi for the grand re-opening shoots, did they? I wonder what made us wear them... 

Tsumugi: The last bastion of reason, Anesagi-san, suddenly gets extremely excited during the taking of the L&G pictures, and passes out drunk instantly. 

Tsumugi: This is where Anesagi-san's recollection of the events stops. 

Tsumugi: Anesagi-san's comment: "I regret nothing." 

Ryunosuke: I wonder if Anesagi-san wanted to sing L&G, too? That's a little embarrassing! 

Tsumugi: The topic shifts to the fact that Re:vale used to live together. Gaku-san, Tsunashi-san, and Okazaki-san keep casually suggesting that they move back in together, and they keep bashfully rejecting the idea. This goes on for the next 30 minutes. 

Tsumugi: Then suddenly, Momo-san erupts with a "Do you hate being with me that much!?", and Re:vale begins arguing. 

Ryunosuke: Here! I remember a little bit of this part, since they were arguing a lot even though they're usually so nice. It was really scary. 

Ryunosuke: Nagi-kun said it was like they were having a rap battle, so I remember trying to yell "HEY! YO!" in between their arguing. Nobody laughed at it, and I feel like the room was colder afterwards... 

Tsumugi: Momo-san declares that he will move into the IDOLiSH7 dorm, and begins gathering the things he keeps at Yuki-san's apartment. 

Tsumugi: Yuki-san responds with "I've always thought I should rescue him from the Kujo family, so I'll start living  with Tenn-kun." 

Tsumugi: Thinking that he's going too far by bringing up Kujo-san's delicate family situation, TRIGGER begins booing. 

Ryunosuke: Were we really booing? 

Tsumugi: Momo-san comes to the conclusion that  “Yuki, Tenn, and Sogo's uncle are the types Kujo will go after", and discusses forming an "Anti-Kujo front" with Riku-san and Tamaki-san. Tamaki-san agrees. 

Tsumugi: Tamaki-san's comment: "I think he's in danger, but when I told So-chan, he started scolding me and we had a fight. We still haven't made up." 

Tsumugi: Sogo-san's comment: "Although I'm honored, I think it's outrageous to compare me to Kujo-san or Yuki-san. If anything, I think it'd be an insult to them. I don’t think  I'm in the wrong here,  but I'm planning to  apologize to  Tamaki-kun."

Ryunosuke: Huh? This even made MEZZO" fight!? 

Tsumugi: As he's being asked about possible vacancies in the dorm, Riku-san finds out about Kujo-san's potential move. 

Tsumugi: Riku-san's comment: "If he can go live with Yuki-san, then he can come back home, too! He should just live with me!!!" 

Ryunosuke: Riku-kun's always so cute! 

Tsumugi: At this point, Kujo-san loses his composure. He makes everyone except Nagi-san kneel on the floor and think of what they've done. 

Tsumugi: Nagi-san's comment: "Tenn-nii is an angel."

Ryunosuke: Nagi-kun was behaving better than anyone else back there. I should treat him to some food when we go see that movie... 

Tsumugi: Final report. Nagi-san slept in Yuki-san's bed, while Tsunashi-san slept on the floor next to it. Yuki-san fell asleep while still kneeling on the floor. Anesagi-san took pictures of Nagi-san's sleeping face. Momo-san fell asleep while gathering his things into a cardboard box. Gaku-san and Okazaki-san fell asleep mid-drink. 

Tsumugi: Kujo-san's comment: "I guess you  could compare this to being a zookeeper for a day?" 

Ryunosuke: That was even more wild than I expected... 

Tsumugi: It really was... 

Ryunosuke: I never knew I start speaking Okinawan when I get drunk! 

Tsumugi: Huh, that's what you're surprised about!? 

Ryunosuke: But I guess I've been told that before? 

Ryunosuke: By the way, apparently Re:vale made up. Momo-san let me know that much. 

Tsumugi: Thankfully, this seems to have brought them closer ><

Ryunosuke: I really appreciate Tenn for cleaning up after us as the only sober person there. When I said I'd treat him out to dinner as an apology, he told me Gaku had offered to do the same. 

Ryunosuke: He made fun of us for being so predictable! 

Tsumugi: That's a good thing, so I'm sure he didn't mean it! I'm willing to bet Kujo-san's looking forward to dinner with you! 

Tsumugi: 

Ryunosuke: Thank you. Next time we should do something Tenn likes, without alcohol. As I thought, TRIGGER's the most important to me! 

Translator’s notes..? 

next up: tamaki and momo’s shuffle talk rabbit tvs! 

[applegelstore]

So we (=my sister plays, I watch her and do other stuff besides) have finally marathoned through Tales of Berseria (only the post-game sidequests left). So here’s excerpts of my final verdict (mostly in contrast to Zesty because sorry but I can’t help it. Plus, it’s the prequel for Maotelus’ sake). Cut for massive length and very heavy spoilers, obviously! No reviews, though, just incoherent ramblings. Many, many incoherent ramblings.

-The plot is indeed kinda more exciting than Zestiria. Which isn’t particularly hard. I mean there are many reasons why I love Zestiria, but the plot (and the villains) sure aren’t one of them. The plot was kinda just… there and didn’t do any harm, but honestly I could just have watched a 200 episode show of plotless party banter and would have enjoyed it just the same. The plot in neither game makes particularly much sense, tho.

-I have a billion questions and somehow most of them concern Zaveid’s gun in both games. Like, how does it actually work? It separates fusings, but it’s the basis for the invention of the armatus? Apparently it also boosts magic? Idk. And where does it come from? Let me guess, there was that super advanced sci-fi-civilization that lived on the planet like 20 000 years ago and is now forgotten *insert dramatic music here*

-How on earth did Velvet get out of that volcano…? But as long as Morgrim is safe, I’m good.

-On that note, Velvet literally screaming WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!! at the volcano made me kinda happy

-whenever she has facepalm/I’m so done/I’m surrounded by idiots moments, I feel her very much

-Despite the headscratchers, I’m totally digging the Berseria/Zestiria worldbuilding, like hell

-Sue me but I still like the Zestiria characters lightyears better than the Berseria characters. Mostly because they’re funnier, more relatable, and also because I honestly don’t like the Darker and Edgier trope. But also because the costume designs are goddamn awful, Magilou is an obnoxious pest, and it takes Eleanor far too many hours of game play to get that other people than abbey members have human rights (I ended up liking her in the end but honestly getting there was a pain). BTW yes, Velvet, Phi and Eleanor probs have more dramatic changes in personality over the course of the game than the Zesty squad combined, but can anybody explain to me what kind of character development Eizen, Rokurou and Magilou display? …Thought so. Also, no, dramatic 180° turn character development is NOT a prerequisite for good character writing in my opinion, thank you very much. I also think that mental breakdowns aren’t a prerequisite, just in case you were wondering. I’m honestly not a big fan of the Heroic B.S.O.D. trope, although there might be some exceptions where I thought it was well done. I still prefer to do without.

-At least I can tolerate Magilou and Eleanor now that the former got a backstory and the latter finally learned how not to be a dick

-Phi’s constant complaints that he doesn’t want to be treated like a child (I’ve got bad news for you sweetie, you’re TEN) do horrible things to my headcanon that he simply stays physically 10 for eternity, but don’t think I’d give up too soon

-however, I guess we can establish that he plays splatter games with a burning passion

-I am very glad that the monster doggies and the monster bird are safe and sound in the epilogue

-WHERE IS FIRE MUM

-How on earth do people defend the opinion that Berseria was less of a button smasher game than Zestiria?? Because honestly in Zestiria I never managed to win battles by doing nothing but frantically smashing X/Square/Triangle/Circle without any plan or order.

-THE BATTLE CAMERA IS SO MUCH BETTER THO I can control it freely! Oh bless the new camera. I want that so hard in Zestiria. It would help a bunch.

-the equipment upgrade and drop system is also a billion times more effective in the sense that you don’t have to carefully plan your fusings (guess who’s always too lazy to do that) and fruitlessly try to farm the drops for that for hours (guess who’s too lazy for that as well, and also helplessly underlevelled because she’s so lazy and ends up with bosses one or two hitting an armatus even on normal mode *coughs*). Bless.

-I mean the new equipment system in Berseria is basically Final Fantasy IX but for lazy noobs. There’s ups and downs to that, I guess?

-Meirchio is so goddamn pretty, I didn’t even realise that in ToZX. Guess I was distracted by how bad the trainwreck is. Anyway I love everything about this town

-Aball and its surroundings incl. Taliesin also deserve awards

-the dungeons and field areas weren’t anymore interesting than Zestiria, tho

-btw Aball=Avalon? Magical apple island and stuff? Just asking because honestly some of the Arthurian references are pretty obscurely named (it took me quite a while to get the Lastonbell=Glastonbury reference, too, trollolol. Anyone else reminded of Good old Ah! My Goddess translation sins? I mean, come on… Verdandi to Belldandy? Apparently, correctly transcribing Roman letters into Japanese script is even more difficult than Ancient Avarost)

-Morgrim, let me love you, please take all my blessings, you are purrfectly pleasantly plump and I want to cuddle you and give you kisses

-why exactly was Shigure one of the bad guys?? It still escaped me after we cut him in half, sacrificed his soul to some ancient deity, and killed his deceased, reincarnated, dragonised mum

-speaking of which, is it really clever to use the souls of your mortal enemies to revive gods that you want to be on your side!?

-anyway, screw you, Melchior, in particular

-Bienfu is a strong contender for most annoying mascot ever and I still wanted to throw him into the ocean hours into the game. I swear if I have to hear him yell BIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN just once more in my life I’m gonna punch the screen.

-I’m with Jude on the pengyons. I mean I guess killing and eating them is preferable to killing them but not eating them, but still. Everyone speaks about representation, where’s my representation? Is there a single JRPG in which at least one of the playable characters is a vegetarian?

-I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Jude and Milla cameo, cracktastic as it was. Milla was actually my favourite in Xillia, although I had and still have severe problems with her character. But here I only saw of her what I love about her, and it made me happy. You go, Milla

-The skit writing with the constant “all males are perverts”, “all women are deceitful whores” and “men and women are fundamentally different and will never understand each other or be friends unless they’re incestuous siblings” is goddamn awful, period.

-apparently if your vessel becomes malevolent even the tiniest bit (no need to go full tainted), that physically hurts your malak/seraph. I’m glad that doesn’t happen in Zesty.

-Zaveid. Buddy. I feel sorry for you. But it also kinda shocks me how fast you get over your girlfriend’s death. I also have bad news: Eizen’s little sister will still look like a 12-year-old in a 1000 years from now. I actually hope you’re NOT into that.

-btw Zaveid and Eizen jump from mortal enemies to true name basis pretty fast holy shit

-I wouldn’t have minded more Aifread’s Pirates shenigans and nobody is surprised

-I want the cracktastic enemy book back

-I want my elemental powers back. Fuck this don’t ya try to talk down my beloved Magical Dragqueen mode IT’S THE POWER OF LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE y’ignorants

-dear malak NPCs, thank you for establishing that the abbey version armatus is a sucky beta version which will be replaced with the awesome real thing in a couple of centuries, and will eventually symbolise harmony between humans and malakhim. Bonus points for carrying along the motherfucking Galahad ruins bow to drive home the point

-I’m a little too amused by the fact that the ending credit cards are a “everyone’s happy, nobody ever died, and everybody’s friends with each other” AU

-uhm, guys? Did they give Artorius’ sword to Sorey’s gay pride armatus in the anime? I didn’t like it even back then but now I hate it even more, pls no

-I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want Sorey back I want

-I know there will never be a Zestiria sequel because it didn’t sell well enough for that, but just in case: the only premise I’ll accept is “Phi, Sorey and Mikleo free Velvet from her prison and finally tear Innominat apart for good”. I don’t know how that would work without killing Velvet and Phi, but hey, I’m sure we’re gonna find a solution because it’s as JRPG and all we need is the POWER OF LOVE *dundundundun*

Everyone is happy. Also what is this “reborn Malakhim aren’t the same people they died as anymore” crap, don’t give me this heartbreak material you assholes

-is it wrong if I wanna play Zestiria after finishing Berseria? Actually, we would have gotten there far sooner if I hadn’t insisted taking breaks so I could play a few hours of Zestiria in between. Whoops.

-my sister was worried that Phi would miss his auntie Velvet very much and suggested Sorey and Mikleo should adopt him once the sweet baby slumber party is over. At this point I’m wondering whether I should give her fanfic recs to brighten her days, or whether that will cause her to forever ban me from her Playstation and refuse to cook for me ever again

-after watching the Zesty DLC, she also told me: “I don’t know what was the point of it, but Rose and Alisha were very cute.” She’s on the path to righteousness.

[dateamonster]

Day 10 -- The Shadow

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While making your way from the prairies to the deserts of southwestern America, you find yourself caught.

Traveling through these vast empty sprawls of land is always a challenge for you. The further away you get from human civilization the more frequently creatures start to crop up, prowling the deserts, hiding beneath the craggy ridges of mountains, slithering under the sand. When you get far enough out it’s like the earth is breathing with the motion of them

Anything that lives also yearns, and living doesn’t always mean what one expects. There isn’t always a heartbeat or a push and pull of breath and blood. Still the monsters out here want for many things: shelter from the sun, meat for their bellies, a body to occupy, an animal to hurt, a dark empty space to hide where human eyes won’t reach them.

They cry for you as you pass, sensing a power they don’t understand. They howl and cling and claw and bite and all they know is that you are stronger than them and you can help. Only you don’t really feel like helping right now.

“All of you,” you say lowly. “Need to leave me alone.”

The dust beneath your feet begins to ripple outwards and the critters scatter as if repelled. Even the insects buzzing around your face disappear, and you are left standing in a totally silent dusk of your own creation.

The air in front of you shimmers like a heat wave and when you take a step forward it moves with you. Frustrated, you try to strike the barrier, but it just shifts to accommodate your fist. Head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, you gnaw on the neckerchief that obscures your face to keep from screaming. The strangled sound you produce makes you more glad than ever that nobody is around to hear.

“Wow.”

You open your eyes and sitting cross-legged in the sand a few feet away you find a humanoid figure cast in deep grays and blues, backlit by the red of the setting sun over the desert, its edges soft and feathered. Looking at this murky mimicry of personhood you’re hit with an immediate feeling of unease. Your vision blurs and spots and you squint reflexively, to no avail.

The being cocks their head to the side. “Are you an alien?”

You’re not entirely sure how to respond to that.

“Hello?” they wave their hand, though it’s more like a crude, flipper-like chalk drawing of one. “Please take this seriously. Are you or are you not from outer space? It’s a pretty simple question. I’m a shadow, if that helps. I think I was the shadow of a boy, or a man, or a sort of man-shaped stack of rocks, or a cactus. I get those mixed up sometimes.”

“Oh, no, I’m not an alien.”

“Damn,” he sighs. “I just figured, because of your forcefield.” He looks honestly dejected over it. Asking why would probably only lead to you getting wrapped up in another petty, time-consuming adventure on his behalf, you tell yourself. But it doesn’t actually matter because he keeps talking anyway. “I mean, you don’t look too much like an alien but you could be one of those that just looks human but inside you’re all green or gray and slippery. I don’t know if aliens are slippery. They look slippery in the pictures. I just really want to find an alien, you know? If I find an alien they can take me to Area 51.”

Alright, you have to ask. “Why do you want to go there?”

“For the scientists.”

“The scientists?”

He rolls his exceptionally weird eyes at you. They just don’t look right; like a marble floating in a pocket of whatever liquid it is they put into a magic eight ball. “You know, the Area 51 scientists. Are you a tourist or something? Everyone knows about the Area 51 scientists.”

You are already regretting this. “And, uh, what exactly do you want these scientists for?”

“So they can tell me what I’m supposed to be!”

“I thought you said you were a shadow.”

“Well sure, anyone can see that. I’m all... shadowy. But shadows are supposed to be attached to things and sorta flat I think too. I don’t really know how I got to be how I am, or what I’m supposed to do now. The humans that come through here are always looking for Area 51 so I started looking too.”

You’ve never thought much about aliens before. There are enough strange beings on this planet as it is. Then again space is infinite, so if there’s all this mess on earth it stands to reason there would be infinitely more out in space.

When you’d look up at the sky at night it always seemed lonely to you, but maybe this shadow fellow has the right idea. Maybe all the time you were staring at stars you should have been searching for signs of life instead. If you called out loud enough, maybe your voice could carry all the way to the outer limits. Maybe something would call back to you.

“That sounds nice,” you mutter to yourself.

“Hey, not-alien, your forcefield’s gone,” the shadow informs you.

“So it is. Thank you.”

“Oh. Not sure what I did, but no problem.” He smiles. His teeth are the same color as the rest of him, giving him the appearance of someone with a terrible smoking problem, or else perhaps a passionate love for licorice. It’s just gross enough to be almost endearing. “Hey, wanna see my house?”

“What.”

He speaks slowly with a serious look on his face. Or the vague approximation thereof. “Do you. Want to. See my house.”

His “house”, as you soon find out, is an overturned RV that appears to have met its end on the face of a large boulder in the wastes. The original owners are nowhere to be found but inside the wrecked metal shell is a collection of camping gear, sleeping bags, a hamper of clothes, and one extremely rotten supreme meat pizza. The smell is atrocious.

“You’re the first person who’s agreed to come here,” the shadow enthusiastically informs you. “Sometimes a lizard or a jackalope wanders in, but it’s not the same. This is where I stay when I get tired of looking for aliens or scientists, which isn’t very often. When I finally find them I probably won’t be able to come back for a while since I’ll have to stay where they can study me or whatever, so I hide all the important stuff I find in a bunch of different places all over. That way it won’t get scavenged while I’m gone.”

He lifts up one of the hard polyester and foam cushions that make up the sort-of couch and retrieves five quarters and a roll of discarded camera film, presenting it proudly before shoving it back into its hiding place.

“I’m going to miss this place,” he sighs. “You know, when I have to leave to be studied and all.”

“Well, why do you need to leave?”

“So I can find out what I’m supposed to be,” he recites impatiently. “So I can learn who to be and what to do and how to do it.”

“Can’t you just be whatever you want to be?”

“But how do I know what I want to be?”

That is a tough one. “I guess you just... ask yourself what you want to do and then you do it.”

He thinks. “I kinda want to eat that pizza.”

“Or!” you offer. “You could think of a few things you want to do and then whichever one you like the best, or whichever one seems like the best idea, you do that one. Like, after I had to leave home I started traveling a lot. At first it was just what made sense. I wanted to get away from where I was, but I’d never been anywhere else and wherever I went, nothing felt right. All I ever knew was what I learned from books, and from my... from my family.

“Then after a while, I started helping people. I started helping monsters. It was mostly incidental when it started but I liked doing it. It was something I could do that was right, that was mine. I decided I would help the kinds of beings that don’t get help from anyone else. Maybe it still wouldn’t change anything, maybe it wouldn’t fix things, but it felt... good. It felt like moving forward.”

You frown. “Except lately I’ve just been getting tired. There doesn’t seem to be any point. Sometimes I try to help someone and I can’t, or I hurt them accidentally, or by helping one person I hurt someone else. And it doesn’t matter anyway because pretty soon the whole world might end and then, well, that’s it I guess. Wherever I go, whatever I do, destruction is always a step behind me.”

For a long moment the shadow only looks at you. “Well when you put it that way my whole thing seems kinda dumb.”

You snort, and then you laugh. You laugh harder and longer than you have in a long time.

“No, I like your thing,” you tell him, still a little breathless. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

He shoots you another one of those impish, unaware licorice smiles. “Yeah, you too. I don’t know about any of that ‘end of the world’ stuff but, I dunno, I’ve got a good feeling about what’s coming.”

What a strange being, you think. And how much stranger still it is that despite everything you know, despite everything you feel, you find that you believe him. Something’s changing after all.