#he gets lost sometimes and meows until i talk to him so he knows how to get back to someplace safe

[sp4ceboo]

A/N: aaaaaand she's back (i had to get the hard thoughts out before i wrote a full length fic, i'm not sorry)

tw: 18+, smut (afab reader, fingering f recieving, piv sex, praise AND degrading ofc, angry sex, 1 spank, overstim, some dirty dirty talk icl, no protection oh dear), sometimes ken sato is a sad little meow meow but definitely not in this fic, they fuck in the basement but atp emi is on the island dw, tiniest weeniest bit of aftercare at the end

wc: 0.73k

kenji sato is seething.

tonight's game was one of the rare times when the giants had lost, and you can feel his frustration in the urgency with which he touches you, pushing you against the cool glass until your vision is filled with the sea outside, silver glimmers flashing in your eyes as fish dart by.

you can feel his frustration in the tension of his movements as he practically tears your clothes off you, and in the low grunt that sounds from behind you as he roughly yanks off his belt.

most of all, you feel his frustration in the way he runs his calloused hands over your skin, over your curves, grabbing handfuls as if to say this is still mine. i may have lost the game today, but i won this, i won her.

ken presses his hard chest to your back with the same fervor that he presses his mouth to the nape of your neck, tongue and teeth coasting over your skin. the glass is so frigid against your bare breasts that it's almost cutting, but you can't get away; he's right there behind you, raging, burning.

you'd be lying if you said you didn't like it.

there's something addictive in the harsh way he grips your hips, the way he sucks bruising hickeys onto your neck - a promise that he'll fuck you until the loss is no longer on his mind, until all he can think about is your sweet, sweet pussy.

you can't help the pitiful sound that leaves you when he kicks your legs apart, his long fingers giving you less than a second to regain your balance before he's shoving them knuckle deep into your cunt.

'so wet for me, huh?' he asks, and you can hear the lingering venom in his voice. 'such a dirty fucking slut, aren't you? turned on because i'm angry? want me to use you, hm?'

'y - yes, ah, yes i - '

the rest of whatever you were going to say dissolves into a moan, your eyes rolling back as ken pumps his fingers in and out of you fast. you scrabble against the glass for purchase, mouth agape, pleas on your lips. he's unrelenting, giving you so much all at once, giving you no time to adjust, but you know that's how he wants you: floundering, trembling, overwhelmed.

you can feel his fingers curling inside you, cataclysmically so. his thumb is bearing down on your clit, rubbing tight, agonising circles, over and over, and all at once it's enough to send you over and you're shattering into a million pieces, his name a broken cry on your lips.

'that's it,' he croons as you come. 'my good little slut.'

not even a moment later, you feel the nudge of the blunt head of his cock, and you whine, knees weak as you babble at him that you're not ready yet, knees weak as he sheathes himself inside your still spasming cunt. tears come to your eyes then, and his hand cracks down on your ass, your whole body jolting in reply.

'you take what i give you,' he growls in your ear.

'please,' you sob. 'take it out on me.'

at your words, ken groans, low and deep in your ear. you mewl at the drag of his cock against your walls, gasping when he presses your body harder against the icy cold glass, burying himself inside you again and again, his pace punishing.

taking a fistful of your hair, he yanks your head backwards, arching your back more for him as he pounds into you. tears slip down your face as the pleasure turns sharp, overstimulation rubbing your nerves raw as his deft fingers find your clit and set you on fire.

effortlessly, he brings you over the edge again, and you're screaming his name, pussy convulsing around his cock as you writhe in his arms. his thrusts become faster, until you're sure he might break you, and then suddenly he's spilling inside you.

you moan as his strokes finally peter out, resting your sweaty forehead against the glass and going limp. one hand on your waist, supporting you, ken pulls out and scoops you into his arms; you nuzzle into his chest, tucking your head under his chin, and he kisses your hair.

'feeling better now?' you ask.

he laughs. 'of course. you take me so well, baby.'

[mandoriana]

The cat king and the naive duckling

sorry for my english

Edwin goes to the lake in the park where the cat king is waiting for him with two little gifts, one of them being a Forget-Me-Not flower and the other gift being a book: "Occult III – Little Deities".

"I don't understand, what's the point in giving me all those books if the only one I needed was in your possession?"

Thomas shrugged, but didn't let Edwin take the book yet.

"I like being useful, but I like it even more when it benefits me." Edwin arches his eyebrow in confusion and waits for a response from the king. The cat king rolls his eyes almost affectionately, sometimes being romantic required patience, especially if your partner was so slow in understanding. "In exchange for this particular book, you and I will spend time together, understand?" 

The ghost accepts the proposal to walk with the cat king and takes advantage of the situation to get some answers.

"Well I have to ask, tell me, do you have any information on where a 'new goddess' could be?" 

Thomas smiles with sharp teeth showing, he doesn't want to talk about it right now, but he wouldn't miss the chance to get a talk with Edwin.

"There are four distinct planes: the terrestrial plane; hell, which you already know; "paradise", which is where the "good guys" go; and Neitherland, a plane parallel to the terrestrial where incorporeal creatures inhabit. Yes, generally, where the gods take refuge when they are forgotten or have no worshipers.

"I see" Edwin nods, busy writing down everything Thomas says in his notepad, the cat king doesn't like that Edwin only has his eyes on the notebook, but he likes knowing that everything he's saying is being heard. "By any chance, have you ever been to this other plane of gods?"

The cat king laughed, his laugh high-pitched like a cat's meow.

"Oh God, no. Unlike what you can imagine, neither me nor my other 'brothers' are little gods or something, in fact, if we were, we would have already dominated humanity, after all, we are worshiped by men on the internet a lot more than any other god you may know."

"But if you and your brothers aren't minor deities or something, what exactly are you? I mean, how do you become a king or queen, what makes you so different from other cats?"

Thomas smiled, finally Edwin had stopped looking at the notebook and was now looking in his direction.

"Merit"

"What?"

"Every cat king or queen was once just a normal cat, but we are given powers and a noble title when we do something that is important. I, for example, spent two of my nine lives as a normal cat before becoming who I am now."

Edwin tilts his head in confusion, Thomas feels happy to have all the attention directed to him and continues talking.

"At the beginning of the last century I met two beautiful little girls, lovely children who took me into their home, they were rather sad at the time and I..." The king clears his throat, Edwin watches the man's features turn melancholy, "Anyway, I just didn't know why I was so sad. But I stayed with the girls, I stayed until they reached the human majority, and then I left..."

The ghost to walk and watch the king in front of him, the park was empty and there were only the two of them, but Thomas seemed to be watching something that only he could see.

"I don't understand, what important act gave you your title as king?"

"Honestly? I don't know" Edwin stares and the cat smiles, it looks like the same mischievous smile as always, but Edwin can see it's fake, the king looks dark all of a sudden, almost grumpy, Edwin can tell by the black tail that wags impatiently behind her skirt.

"If you don't know, how can you say that these are important acts that transformed you?"

Thomas from the shoulders.

"I don't know why the girls were important, but it was after them that they gained a human form, then the lost cats gathered around me, and then I gained my title, I left the big city when the war started, I moved to a village in American and never leaves there." They continued walking, Edwin lost interest in the cat story he was thinking to him so blatantly "Anyway, as I was saying, your little friend must be in Nemland, if you haven't seen her collected death and the finds department and lost people have not yet appeared to hunt the lost soul, so there is a good chance that your friend has been reborn with the help of another deity."

"Is that even possible?"

Thomas rolls his eyes, a conversation was starting to get annoying.

"Sedna was just a human girl when the gods took pity on her and revived her as a minor deity."

The realization hit Edwin. It is clear! Tragic Mick had gifted Niko with one of his prized possessions, a gift probably from his mother, Sedna. Could it be possible that, like the ancient gods, Sedna took pity on Niko?

"Oh"

Thomas stares at the ghost teen with confusion, his confusion increasing when Edwin thanks him with a smile from ear to ear.

"Well, you're welcome? I mean, I'm glad I could help."

"I need to go" The cat king intends to protest, but Edwin is faster, the ghost kisses the king's forehead and takes advantage of his surprise to take the book from Thomas' hands. "See you at the next meeting"

The cat king can't find words to say as he watches Edwin walk away.

Office

While Edwin and the cat king were talking, Charles got tired of waiting for Edwin in Crystal's room and when his friend fell asleep, Charles passes by the mirror and prepares to talk to Edwin, but doesn't find him in the office, all of which proves that his friend What was there is the envelope on the table, probably the report for Charlie the Night Nurse.

Not knowing where to go or where to begin his search for Edwin, Charles sits at the table and thinks about the changes since returning home and how Niko has affected Edwin, he reflects on how it seems things were changing despite Edwin promising that nothing would change after all the talk on the stairs of hell.

Well, Edwin didn't change much, but there were details that shouldn't have bothered Charles but did, details like Edwin was no longer receptive to casual touches between the two of them, apart from the last time they hugged, and he no longer touched Charles without reason too, it was terrible, but Charles respected his friend's space, after all maybe it was just the trauma of being dismembered manifesting itself again.

As Charles laments the physical distance between him and his friend, Edwin enters the office with a cheerful smile, a small bouquet of flowers and a faded orange book under his arm.

"Hey Edwin, where have you been, mate?"

His question scares Edwin and seems to take the other ghost out of his thoughts, with the surprise of seeing Charles Edwin hides the flowers behind him, which doesn't help to laugh at Charles' worries, after all, what did Edwin have to hide from him?

"What are these flowers..." Edwin ignores the question and passes by his friend without letting him take the bouquet.

Without looking at the other teenager, Edwin said, "I have great news" and concentrated on searching the office for a container where he could put his flowers. "I spoke with Thomas, and I found out some information about astral planes." Edwin gets a vase, or rather, gets a bottle with sand (Payment for a case with pirates in 2001). Charles wants to ask about where Edwin was and where the flowers came from, but his friend is too happy, and Charles can't ruin his excitement with questions that don't matter.

Reddam House Berkshire

The next day, Edwin and Charles meet Crystal during a class break.

"So, what, you guys think I can open a portal to, what, 'Olympus'?"

Edwin rolls his eyes at Crystal but nods.

"Of course, call Nemlândia Olympus, mix two things that have nothing to do with each other"

"Well, technicians both harbor gods, so..."

Edwin reaches out to stop Charles with a gentle touch on the shoulder, but steps back before actually pulling over.

"Let's just focus on what matters." Edwin clears his throat and doesn't notice how put off Charles seems by the lack of physical contact. "We need to make a special mixture with ectoplasm and other ingredients that will help increase your power, all we need is the next full moon, you and your psychic powers, maybe a little spiritual help from your ancestors."

Crystal doesn't seem confident about Edwin's plan.

"I don't know, I mean, I'm making progress with meditation and a little study of the books you lent me, Edwin, but I don't know if I would have enough power to open a portal to Neverland or whatever it's called."

"I know" Edwin says "You will only be a conductor of the spell, your power will be useful, but it will not depend solely on you..."

The couple turned to Edwin with confused looks, they were both feeling more vibrations before the Edwardian ghost even spoke.

"I will help increase your power."

The realization of what Edwin intended to do came to Charles.

"No"

"Charles..."

"Edwin, no"

Crystal looks between the two and finally understands why Charles was so quick to deny Edwin's plan.

"Holy shit, did you keep that thing?!"

"Obviously, we couldn't let that terrible machine fall into the wrong hands!"

"Edwin, that machine tortured you!"

Charles and Crystal look horrified at the very idea of ​​Edwin keeping the witch's torture table with him.

"Since I've never seen that in the office, I mean, I would remember seeing that thing!"

Edwin sighs, he thought it would be easier to convince Crystal to help, but it seems that neither she nor Charles were willing to listen.

"That's enough" The other two fall silent "Unless you can get more power, without my help, then Niko will remain stuck on the other side. Esther's machine hurt, yes, but it also increased the witch's power, my soul is strong, it will serve as fuel for you, Crystal, I give my permission for you to use my pain as an impetus in this spell."

Charles tries to think of something, anything that could stop his friend from hurting himself again, then he remembers the possible witch convent at the boarding school.

"Wait" Crystal and Edwin turn to Charles "Crystal what about the girls, they're from a convent or something, right? Couldn't they help if we paid or offered some help?"

Edwin turns expectantly to the only girl in the group.

Crystal shakes her head without needing to think about it.

"It was bad, Charles, but those girls aren't good, I mean, I wasn't either, but one of them already proved capable of controlling those specters..."

Charles doesn't let Crystal talk about this to Edwin, who might get upset at the mention of the wraiths of misery.

"Okay, I understand, Crystal, but let's try to think of something else, okay? Let's not resort to torture, Edwin" The Edwardian ghost nods, he didn't agree, but he was distracted by the way Charles and Crystal seemed to be hiding things from him now, it hurt him, but he didn't want to be a jealous friend so he just shut up and turned to go to the mirror.

"We have two weeks before the full moon, if I don't find something to replace my contribution to the spell, then we will continue with my plan." he said over his shoulder before disappearing through the mirror.

Charles watched his friend leave and couldn't help but feel great sadness.

"Why was he so upset, I just don't want him to get hurt!"

"Maybe it's because you're clearly keeping secrets from him?" Crystal suggests, she was tired of these two idiots being so oblivious.

"This is so hypocritical, he disappeared yesterday and refuses to tell me where he's been the whole time!?" Crystal arched her eyebrow and walked to stand face to face with her friend.

"Why do you seem so weird about Edwin going out alone yesterday? Do you think he did something stupid like trap another cat in a binding spell or..." Charles' face sours at the mention of a cat, and Crystal finally understands." Ah, so that's about it, the cat king is in town, right? I remember you saying something about him last night"

The ghost of the 80s bites his lip and frowns before muttering, "Edwin came home with flowers yesterday."

The medium opens her mouth to mock Edwin's passion for the cat king, but shuts up when she notices that Charles appears to have sucked on a lemon.

"I don't understand you man, do you have a problem with Edwin dating other guys?"

This seems to scare Charles.

"No!"

"So, what's the problem?"

The boy opens and closes his mouth without knowing how to respond, he couldn't think clearly at the moment.

The boarding school bell rings to announce the end of break and Crystal needs to leave, she turns to say goodbye to her friend, but Charles has already disappeared in the mirror.

Office

Edwin feels upset and remains silent during his search for the ingredients for the ritual. He doesn't find out much, but just watches the same paragraph for hours, trying not to pay attention to what Charles was doing.

Charles doesn't try to speak, he just stares at the flowers that Edwin placed in a vase of water and thinks about why they are there. When he realizes that Edwin wouldn't be the first to speak, Charles sits next to him on the couch and tries to get into the position they always do, but Edwin moves back to sit on the floor and continues pretending to read. Charles is upset that Edwin doesn't want to sit with him anymore and decide to talk about something, but he changes his mind and asks about the flowers.

"Ah, I got it as a gift"

Charles rolls his eyes.

"Yes, I imagine that was the case, but whose?"

"The cat king, yesterday, after I finished the Night Nurse's report, one of Thomas' subjects brought me a letter and..."

"Who the hell is Thomas?"

Edwin sighs and closes the book, finally paying attention to Charles.

"The cat king, Charles, he's Thomas, he called me for a walk in the park and gave me flowers and a book with the ritual we're going to perform, as well as being helpful with other information."

Edwin smiles as he tells how Thomas was kind to listen to his questions and how the king told him a little about his past and showed his sensitive side to Edwin.

Charles is uncomfortable with the conversation, but smiles at his friend: “Cool, mate, at least you already gave him what he wanted, right? So we won’t need to see the cat king again anytime soon.”

Edwin rolls his eyes fondly at his friend.

"Well, actually, I still have a date with him tomorrow afternoon."

"Oi!?"

"Yes, I mean, yesterday's meeting was just a walk between friends, Thomas seemed eager for our real meeting, I believe it will be a pleasant day" Edwin tries to pretend he doesn't care, but an involuntary smile appears on his face. Charles still didn't say anything, he felt uncomfortable with the idea of ​​Edwin going out with the Cat King and didn't understand why, I mean, Charles wasn't homophobic for wanting his best friend not to go out with a guy, right?

"Charles, is everything okay?"

Charles nods and forces a smile on his face.

"Sure mate, I'm happy for you"

Therapy break with lesbian aunt

After the conversation about the cat king, Edwin asks Charles to return the notebook to Jenny since they no longer needed it. Charles takes this moment to clear up his doubts while waiting for the older woman in her apartment.

Charles quickly gets bored and starts researching what it was like to be homophobic and how to be a better person, but Jenny arrives and quickly takes away Charles' notebook, recalling the virus incident to him and letting him know that it was a good thing there was no gay porn in the search tabs on your computer.

"No, I'm sorry, I swear I accidentally entered that website!"

Jenny rolls her eyes and waits for Charles to leave, but the teenage ghost continues to sit on her couch and look in her direction with wide eyes.

"God" she sighs, mentally asking herself when did her life turn into being an aunt to dead teenagers? "Okay, spill it"

“What do you do when your best friend is in a relationship with someone you definitely don’t approve of?” Jenny arches her eyebrow.

“What is it, Edwin got a boyfriend, and you decided you were going to be homophobic now, is that it?”

Charles widens his eyes, horrified: “No, of course not! I just… I just don’t like the asshole Edwin picked, I mean, the asshole just isn’t good enough for my friend, you know?”

“And who would be good enough?”

"Anyone! Literally anyone but him!”

“Okay" She rubs her face already feeling exhausted with the situation "And how about that boy with black hair? The one who paid you several visits? He seemed pretty cool…”

"No! Monty was a traitor! He was the witch’s crow, he almost killed Edwin!”

“I thought he redeemed himself by helping you…”

“Of course, he redeemed himself with me, but we wouldn’t even be in that situation if he hadn’t been blabbing about us to the witch!”

Jenny sighs and sits down in front of the dead teenager.

"Okay, and what, exactly, does it take for someone to be 'good enough' for Edwin?"

Charles thinks, entire minutes pass in complete silence before Charles gives up.

"I don't know!"

The woman throws her hands up in a plea for patience and tries again.

"Love, Charles! The only thing someone needs to be good enough for someone else is love! Have you ever stopped to think that, just maybe, Edwin really likes the guy he chose to date?"

"They're not dating!"

Jenny's patience runs out, and she rubs her face harder.

"Jesus, boy, that's not the point! I don't know why I decided to try to help, Niko was the matchmaker and not me!"

Seeing the butcher looking so stressed and still being unable to understand where she was going with that conversation, Charles says goodbye and leaves the apartment.

Office

Edwin is taking a break from his research while Charles is at Jenny's apartment, the teenage ghost is cutting his Forget-Me-Not so he can fit them into the small space in the bottle he was using as a temporary vase, the flowers were beautiful, and he was happy for having a chance to get Niko back and for Thomas being kind in helping, but feeling awkward about it, for some reason Charles seemed distant and irritated, Edwin was trying to give his friend space so he wouldn't be uncomfortable with Edwin, but Charles still didn't look happy.

With a sigh Edwin took a piece of string and tied all the flowers together without falling out of the vase, as he tied the knot he felt an irresistible desire to lean over and smell the petals, which didn't make sense since it had been decades since Even though Edwin was able to smell something, he smelled the flowers anyway. He didn't feel anything, as expected, but something certainly happened after his nose touched the flower.

To be continue…

Parte 1, Parte 2 ...

[shewhoeatssand]

WHY TG BOYS ARE SHIT BOYFRIENDS

I come up with the best topics for posts

Hide 🌞 : axe body spray, probably loves Kaneki more than you, has nicknamed your boobs, has also nicknamed Kaneki’s boobs

Shuu 💐 : introduces you to his entire extended family after less than a month, spams you if he hasn’t heard from you in a week, his house is so so big you will get lost in it very fast (not his fault but still annoying)

Suzuya 🔫 : thinks shoplifting 10 bags of candy is a good date idea, has killed someone in front of you and then desperately tried to explain why it was actually okay because the guy was wearing crocs

Marude 🏍 : refuses to use public transport after having his bike stolen, won’t stop talking about how much he misses his bike, yell-y

Shinohara 😊 : prints out minion memes and shows them to you

Nishiki 🦎 : is ginger, immediately wants to make out with you and have hot ghoul sex after eating a raw lung, easily irritated

Ayato (:re) 🤬 : doesn’t know what a period is and thinks you’re making it up, bullies people on roblox, can be so rude sometimes

Kaneki (pre aogiri) 🥺 : describes everything in incredible detail when he doesn’t like something, will make his best attempt to be talking to you all the time (even when you are pooping) and thinks you hate him if you ask to be left alone, scarily average dick

Kaneki (post aogiri) 🐙 : sleeps on top of you and makes you so sweaty, won’t shut up about fitness and getting stronger, wears a mask with a smile for hours at a time, probably ghosting you by this point tbh (there’s a lot wrong with him so I might make a separate post about why he sucks)

Yoshimura ☕️ : really wholesome, but can’t be dated because a) I’d assume you’re not a boomer b) can’t take hints and c) misses Ukina ;-;

Koma 👹 : he’s actually pretty great and very fun but he brags about how good his coffee is and also about anything else he can think of

Uta 🎭 : eats people’s eyes in front of you and says “it’s okay because they aren’t real, they’re halloween decorations!”, also ate a plastic spider to prove this to you, mind games, spooks you from behind the corner all the time and it gives you anxiety

Amon ✝️ : refuses to kiss with tongue or see you naked until marriage, takes up too much space on the bed, keeps doing long ass speeches about “doing what is right” after killing a guy with a wife and 3 kids

Shikorae 🫠 : doesn’t sit still long enough to have a conversation that makes any sense whatsoever, has so many issues to the point where idk if you’d even be able to befriend him unless it’s by feeding him coffee grounds

Takizawa (pre :re) 🥺: makes everything a competition, disney kid, insists that you have a glass of milk every day

Takizawa (post :re) 🦉: never sleeps, an actual cat, bites your hand, smelly, insists that you have a glass of milk every day

Urie 😶 : first name is “cookie”, punches a hole in the wall when he doesn’t get an award after a raid and someone else does, hides important stuff from you

Shirazu 🦈 : sooooo cool but he can’t spell so you have to edit all his emails for him

Naki 😎 : loud while playing fortnite battle royale, also screams while playing any horror games but insists he should keep playing them, his reading capabilities have the power to instantly kill a literature major

Hanbee 🎩 : unironically loves licorice, absurd fashion, also eats the licorice with a super fancy fork kept in a little fork bag he carries everywhere labeled “the licorice suitcase”

Tatara 🤯 : is always busy so you can’t spend much time together, one time a cat meowed at him and he meowed back in the most serious voice, penis is actually too big to fit inside 😔

Mutsuki 😇 (before the insane shit happened): you have to kill all the spiders, very clingy and has similar issues to pre-aogiri Kaneki, puts cinnamon on a lot of things that don’t really need cinnamon

Arima 🌨 : cold, you’ll never truly know about him, not very open, a general mystery to the point where you don’t even know if he’s actually your boyfriend

Haise 🐼 : BAD PUNS, insists that he spends every afternoon and evening with you instead of doing his work so he ends up doing it super late into the night and gets tired in the morning, too easy to manipulate and too eager to please (kind of an issue with all the Kanekis really), sometimes he talks to the wall or makes a sour face for no reason

~~~~ BONUS ~~~~

Yamori 🕺 : sadistic torturer (obvious part), his farts smell so incredibly bad that you have to evacuate the room while he wonders wtf is going on (not so obvious), unfixable

OS! Kaneki 😎 : walks around shirtless in winter, sometimes he doesn’t even wear pants, touches your boobs randomly and it gets old real fast

[otomelavenderhaze]

I can't stop thinking about the cave dialogue in which Rayan talks about Chloé, his ex wife, therefore I went back to read whole scene back from University Life episode 8, because what Rayan describes in episode 17 of LL is too diferent from that UL episode and from everything I could remember about it.

It's not to say that I caught some sort of insane discrepancy and AHÁ!

It's more because I find it interesting and I thought maybe others would find it interesting as well. So first I wanna show you what Rayan says in episode 8 of UL (which I never translated before until this post):

In my playthrough of it, back in the day, I asked him directly if he have a wife, which he answers yes first and then the proceeds to talk about it...

"And she will forever be my wife. But the last time we saw each other was seven years ago. Already… seven years… My wife, Chloé, died seven years ago. In a terrorist attack. Some savages came in shooting. No fixed target. In shop windows, in people and even in children."

"There were many wounded, and fortunately few dead. But Chloé is one of those who didn't survive… All that happened seven long years ago. It took me time. At first I didn't want to move. I wanted to keep everything, the smallest memory."

Now why I am showing this 4 panells?

This is important to understand how she died, how sad Rayan showed us to be about her death and his attachment towards Chloé.

He even goes as far to say:

"We met in high school and we got married at 23, in a hurry. We didn't tell anyone. But I'm not going to lie to you and say that everything was all roses."

Candy asks him, how so?

"We often quarreled. We stayed together for a long time, we didn't get to know anyone but each other and, sometimes, we even doubted. But when she left… I was torn apart."

Now we will never know why they used to fight, what made them marry so young and so quickly to the point where he implies they didn't even had a wedding ceremony.

Which makes this difficult to understand what compelled both of them to take such actions - maybe they they were just impulsive, but without a reason behind such impulsivity it's hard to tell if it was warrant or not.

But then, the actual panel that made me do this post in the first place eventually comes up in that same conversation with Candy:

"I loved her with all my soul. Before anything else, she was my best friend. But, sorry… I opened up too much…"

And I believe he did, regardless of anything else, because it makes sense for Rayan's character to marry someone for love.

That's the kind of "person" he is, that's why when he falls for Candy, he's ready to assume so many risks and even later talks about leaving his job for her just so they could have a less tense relationship.

This sets up him to be someone that would intensily love another person and do everything for them - they being Chloé or Candy.

I could say this is actually the point of that whole conversation: to show that he isn't someone that takes love lightly or shallowly, which helps us readers to trust his intentions and to believe that, yes, for love he would indeed be honorable, truth and passionate, instead of a player or a man that just wants to have fun with one of his students.

Not mentioning that he presents himself as a tortured soul that lost a wife tragically and never fell in love ever since, but falls in love for you, the reader, because you're special and irreplaceable, is something very flattering and, even, I dare say, romantic.

Meow meow is sad and you're the only one who can fix that for him.

Personally, I don't like how mcl writes grief, I don't think they know how to dose it without losing their hand, so it comes off as shallow for me, but I guess it serves as another thing: Chloe was loved by Rayan, but Candy needs to be special. The player needs to feel special.

Which brings us to this part of the conversation:

"Every women had something of her own. I saw her everywhere. And yet, it's been seven years. Since then, I have been unable to get involved with another woman, in a new relationship. Even in a simple friendship."

"Until… I met you. I don't know… For the first time, I met someone who has none of her. For the first time, I felt entitled not to think about her."

I understand why in an otome game is important to get the romance right and make the player feel compelled to play the character's route, after all, who wouldn't want to feel special, even if it's only on a game - that's why we have so many MCs or main characters in videogames that are heroes, that cares of others or the place they belong to.

However, I will say, maybe they should've worded it differently, maybe it's not so much about feeling entitled to not think about her, but when I realized, I wasn't searching for her traits on you, I wasn't thinking about her anymore, I was ready to move on. But this is just how I would've done it, just so it would come from Rayan the agency of the "healing" - in another words, he had healed himself before he met Candy and falling in love with her was just another evidence of that.

Which brings us back to episode 17 of Love Life, our Honeymoon episode (and pay attention to the parts that I will mark in blue):

"Y'know, I honestly didn't think I would get over losing her. And then after you got in my classroom and into my life. So, yes, I should have a star up there shining for me. Because, with you, I understood the meaning of true love. And it wasn't the same of what I had with Chloé."

"Sometimes, I think, if the story/timeline was another, if I had met you first before I met her... She and I would've been simply friends, without anything else between us. If fate hadn't been so cruel with her, it would've ended like that anyway, actually. I think she would have been happy to see me so happy these days."

"Just like I would have been in seeing her meeting someone else just as important as you're for me. And when I think of her today, is in this way: as a friend that left too soon. And that, of course, I still get a little with my heart tight. She was someone wonderful/beautiful. There's still some of her in me. But, when I met you, I was like a ghost."

Only Rayan to friendzone the dead.

"Thanks to you and our love, she just became a beautiful star, just like my father..."

At first I thought he was saying that he never really loved Chloé and that Candy made him realize that (How? Don't ask me, he doesn't say how), but thinking about this post and re-reading everything made me rethink my first impression of it.

It's not so much that he didn't loved Chloé, but admittedly, and for reasons that Rayan didn't say, he thought love was something else and he thought he loved her because of that notion, and then his notion of love changed because he met Candy and now he thinks that love is truly what he feels for Candy.

I, as someone that played all of his route, can't really say or even figure out how he would've come up with that reasoning.

Was it because for the first time ever, he had put someone else on his top priority, or at least in a more important position than his reputation and career (which he deeply cares for)? But wasn't he a passionate person to begin with? So isn't it natural for him, once he was sure he fell in love for Candy, to put her as his top priority?

Was it Candy presence alone in his life, simply being there, what made him create that notion? How she taught him that?

I don't know, because the way they fell in love was pretty quick and pretty normal I would dare say - normal not in the sense of, he was her teacher, normal in the sense there was nothing remarkable about their dates, the way they sneak around or in their conversations.

I think if he had realize that falling in love with someone new meant that he had "healed" from his past trauma, that he only had feelings for her because he was ready to have feelings for someone again and the sense of normalcy and easiness he felt in being with her was all he ever wanted after going through so much sadness and heartbreak, then, it would make more sense and sound more realistic, maybe?

But again, they wanted to spin that Candy was special, she needed to be the one that changed him, that was like gravity to him and he could not resist the pull of her.

“... It's just that, with you, I never got under the impression of playing any kind of game. Because I had a lot to lose. Before I met you, I had accepted to never love again. I didn’t want to ever risk lose someone ever again... And, above all, you came to enroll in my course. I looked up and knew that my certainties were worthless...” (episode 14 LL)

That's why I talked about his career before.

They set up Rayan to be someone that loves his work, that cares about his reputation and his career, if not, as he only thing he had since he moved away from his family and was living alone.

Risk it all for Candy was to show that he wasn't playing, he wasn't just trying to get a kick out of it.

And knowing how he got after when Marina actually got him fired, how much of a mess it made him, this put things even more in context, it shows that truly, risk it all for her was no joke, even thou, they used to be pretty reckless about it (never gonna forget their first kiss, crazy, both of them).

Which brings me to one of my favorite parts of dialogue in Rayan's route, episode 15 LL, the marriage proposal dialogue:

"It’s funny... for a long time I thought that love was like a burning fire. And I even thought that, in my case, all that was left was ashes of it. Until I met you and I understood that I didn’t know anything. That I have got it wrong in my whole life. With you, I understood that love is like a stream/flow. A wave that breaks again and again without stopping. And that drags everything wherever it goes. You imposed yourself on me like an evidence. In the calm. I knew it right away. But I only understood it this well later on."

Think that love was like a burning fire: it lights up, it shines bright, it consumes itself, then it becomes ashes and there's nothing left of it.

Ouch, Rayan. 😢

Not to mention the destructive nature of fire, but I don't think Rayan or the person who wrote this scene thought it like that necessarily, I think it had more to do with how fragile and how it consume itself, which feels more how like I would expect from how Rayan described his relationship with Chloé before: intense, too quick to think everything through, the fighting, the feeling that it wouldn't last anyway.

Meanwhile Candy is like a strong wave or a strong stream, his love for her dragged everything with it: all his reasoning, his principles and scruples, the risk of losing his reputation, his career, AND breaking again and again, because it didn't matter if he had build any walls to keep her out in the begining, she somehow brought it all down.

Two kinds of love, one feeling less truth and lasting than the other.

While it would've better, in his head, to have remain just a friendship with Chloé, with Candy, there was no way for it to have ended just in friendship, it would always be more.

You can see the contrast between his feelings for Chloé and his feelings for Candy, how it was different and the key word should always be different.

It surprised me to see him talking about their wedding too, Rayan and Chloé married young and in a hurry (we will never know why), meanwhile, Rayan found Candy in a stage of his life when love wasn't even in the table and when it finally came back to the table, Rayan wanted everything, he wanted celebrate it having a proper wedding ceremony and all.

But those are little subtle things that they left out in the air, instead of saying it so clearly like they did so many times before.

Personally, I don't think would've make any sense for Rayan's character to haven't love Chloé, considering they built a life together before he even met Candy, the same way, I don't think we could've ever thought that Rayan loved Chloé more or even the same way he loved Candy.

Cuz, Chloé and Candy not only met him in different moments of his life BUT ALSO, they totally two different women, it would go without saying it.

But I guess, they wanted to make it even more screaming that it was the case, which I can understand why.

I mean, people thought that Rayan had really tried something with Marina, outside of his route: which for those people I always told it would be impossible.

It would go against what they presented to us about him during that first dialogue in episode 8 of UL and it would represent a contradiction in the writing itself. It would bend the rules that they set themselves to follow too grotesquely. Not to mention, MCL never gave other love interests to the Lis that stayed on the side lines.

Unless, of course, they had set things up that we would understand that Marina was such a special existence is moving like Candy - which, okay, I could've accepted it, but they didn't so. That's why I was so sure of it.

Y'know, have to read so much back in his route to make this post made saying goodbye to his route so hurtful but also so fulfilling, I always loved how they wrote him, despite having my criticisms, I am happy that I got to experience Rayan's route from the start to end.

If you haven't played his route like ever, I totally I encourage you to do it now that we got it all. xD

[deeptrashwitch]

A Haunting Past (pt. 10)

Shout out to Taro once again 💕💕 love you, aulelei! Also Aly and the WTF are @alypink and @islandtarochips creation!

Tw: I think there's no triggers on this part, but please tell me if you found something if you think there's something I need to put!

Taglist: @alypink @stuffireadandenjoy @snootlestheangel @islandtarochips @raresvtm

@mctvsh @midnight193 @mutantthedark @justasmolbard @welldonekhushi

@tapioca-milktea1978 @imagoddamnonionmason

When their reunion ended, it was already night time. But they already had a plan regarding Salamander and Deer. So the next day, the WTF will begin their training with the SEALS from the Specters. Until then, they will have a bit of time for themselves and do their own things around the base. Tiala stayed behind while talking with Aly about everything while sometimes hearing music in silence. Agnes was with Noah, Jackson and Aelan doing some experiments. And Nigel was making jokes and talking with most of the members of the team.

On the other hand, Kanoa was nowhere to be seen and Alicia was wondering where he could be. So she left Luke watching a movie, telling him that she would be back soon and started walking around looking for the Captain while holding two water bottles in her hands. And after a while, she found the man sitting under the only tree on the base. He was lost in his thoughts.

"You look tired" She whispered as she arrived and stood by his side while giving him the startle.

"Licia!" Kanoa exclaimed with surprise before smiling awkwardly. "You SCARED me."

"Sorry." Alicia murmured as she gave him a bottle and sat beside him "The night promises to be cold."

"...It isn't a big problem, I'll stay out here for a while."

"Well, hope you don't mind the company."

"Sure! I like talking with you!" He said with a big smile on his face. "You're always welcome to stay here!"

Alicia smiled at him softly before she looked out to the distance. "Hmm…Noa?"

"Yes?"

"Are you worried by any chance? About what I told you earlier?"

"About the traitor? Yes, I'm worried...and I'm not sure what to do."

"What do you mean?" She asked as she looked at Kanoa while raising an eyebrow.

"Just little doubts and being worried about some things. Nothing big."

"Is it about your team?"

The man glanced at her as he sighed and nodded. None of them said anything else and just sat there in silence. Until Kanoa saw the three cats of the base arrived and started meowing. Alicia smiled and scratched the head of one of them.

"You have cats?" Kanoa asked when a gray cat started to play with his shoelaces.

"Yeah, we adopted them not so long ago" She said while lifting one of the cats. A white one. "This one is Frosty. The calico is Potato and that lil' guy playing with your boot is called Gun Powder. Also we have two dogs, Kaiser and Butter. They're asleep right now."

"Potato?"

"We found it inside a potato sack."

"It sounds fair, will they bite me?" He asked, lifting the cat before Alicia shook her head and smiled at Kanoa talking to one of the cats. 

"Hello pele. Look at you."

The cat just meowed again and put a paw over Kanoa's face, making him giggle. Now they started to play with the cats in silence. And Alicia was relieved to see how Kanoa was more relaxed. In silence she leaned against him, using his arm as a backrest.

"I'm not sure what you are thinking about related to your team." She whispered, then sighed. "But please take care of yourself. I know I’ve said this many times before but…please take care, Noa. Not only of your people but you too."

"...I'll come back and you know it. I'm difficult to kill."

"Maybe, but still. Care about yourself a bit. Alright?"

"Mmmm. Sure. I'll take care of these three. You go on ahead and get some rest."

"Maybe later." Alicia said before making that grinning look as she didn’t move. "Y'know, if you don't feel like sleeping, I'll be in the kitchen making my mom's sweets recipe. And I'll leave a portion for you, no need to talk."

After that, Alicia stood up as she left Frosty over Kanoa's shoulders before going back inside in silence. Kanoa didn't say anything and just stayed there, scratching Gun Powder's head with a sigh. Eating something sweet doesn't sound so bad.

Until the next day, all of the team were inside the gym. Along with the three SEALS teaching the WTF their combat system. All while the rest of the team trained as well. Soon Aly walked inside the gym, with Lily being carried in her arms while she muttered angrily to herself. Alicia stopped and made a sign to Luke, whom she was training with today, to wait.

"¿Aly? ¿Está todo bien?" Alicia asked, confused

"¡Por supuesto!" Aly exclaimed with a fake smile. "Just that Wraith arrived with my impulsive and irresponsible husband!"

"...Ohh. Price is SO screwed." Luke whispered while Alicia smacked him behind his head "OW! What?! It’s true!"

"I know it is, but shh. It’s NONE of our business." Alicia scolded Luke.

"Can I leave Lily with Luke while we talk with Dominique and John?" Aly asked, calming down a bit. "Sorry for asking this so much, guys."

"It's okay!"

The red-haired man got out of the ring as he smiled towards Aly.

"Do you mind waiting for a second while I go change?" Luke asked with a small awkward smile. From seeing how much sweat he earned that was showing on his shirt.

Aly nodded. "Go on, thanks again." She said with a smile while sitting on the stands.

When the Lieutenant went to his room to shower and get changed. Alicia also got out of the ring and sat down beside her.

"You are really mad with Price, aren't you?"

"That's just to say the least." Aly hissed, looking away with a frown. "He could've thought about it more before starting this kind of problem. He will hear a LOT about my thoughts."

"...You can use one of our conference rooms if you need to talk in private." Alicia offered with an awkward smile

"Oh, right. Sorry, sometimes I forgot this isn't the 141 base. I promise we'll try to keep it down."

"It's fine, anyway today we need to prepare the weapons. You have the conference room for yourself."

Aly nodded with a shameful smile before following the Captain to the entrance. Before they found Luke again when he came out of the changing room. Aly gave Lily to him and giggled when the little girl started to climb over the soldier until she was sitting over his shoulders.

"Lily, behave please." Aly said with a tired smile. "We are guests here. You'll get yourself in trouble, young lady."

"Nuh-uh. She's good." Luke said it jokingly. "She has political immunity here, right Alicia?"

"...Ay, wait what?" Alicia asked with a raised eyebrow. "When did I accept that?"

" I don't know, are you accepting?"

"Just go and do something else, we'll talk about this 'political immunity' thing later." Alicia said while rolling her eyes.

Luke just smiled and walked away between Lily's laughter. While the ladies looked at each other and chuckled. They walked towards the principal entrance while they talked and they first saw Wraith walking inside with Price behind. It was surprising because Wraith was covered in bandages and absolutely furious. And then Aly frowned.

Alicia sighed and just waved towards Dominique, who just growled in response and then stared at Price. The tension filled the environment, mostly because of Aly's anger. Wraith just sighed and walked towards Alicia, trying not to pass in the middle of Aly's glare.

"Everything is done." Dominique said with a nod. "It wasn't easy but no one will suspect the 141 or us..."

Alicia pinched her nose bridge with a sigh. "Good, but let's keep whatever you did as a secret."

"It's for the best."

They escorted the couple to a conference room before they both went and changed their clothes. After some minutes they went to one of the armories while Alicia warned everyone to stay away from the conference rooms for some minutes.

"We have everything prepared." Alicia said while she started to take some guns. "The Warrior Task Force is helping us, they'll take care of Maroon Salamander and White Tiger's last cargo."

"Captain Toa's team? Yeah, I trust them." Wraith siad with a nod of approval. "I'm guessing that Aly will be their intelligence agent during this mission."

"She will."

The Captain sighed while she disarmed a handgun. "Also, the traitor is involved. Your request to the Navy never left the MC servers...and probably they are a Marine."

"Well, that explains some things."

Dominique sat over a box and looked at Alicia. "I would've told you once we finished the mission. But Artemis' diaries had some theories, and one of them is that a Marine betrayed their people for some reason."

"......"

"I haven't found all the details, but he mentions some proofs hidden across the diaries. I need more time."

"You have all the time you need, my priority is capture or kill Red Dragon."

"Alright, that's good." Wraith murmured before pointing at the rifle near the bag. "Never expected you'd use that one."

Alicia raised an eyebrow before looking down at the rifle "Huh? Oh, the Galil? It's...easier to use, I guess. Why the comment?"

"I felt curious." Dominique said indifferently "Anyway, I'll talk with my contacts on the Navy so they can help the WTF."

"Thanks."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Kanoa will warn Alana Kalani about the traitor."

"The General? Well that's useful. And she's really transparent about...everything, right?"

"Yeah, she's a good woman and an honest one too. Maybe she can help us with the parts I'm limited to." Alicia muttered, leaving the rifle inside her bag

Then Alicia took her karambit knife from her locker and started to clean it. Just trying not to accidentally cut her hand. Wraith stared at her, following her movements as Alicia got lost in her thoughts. For a second they stayed in silence, until the Captain put the knife back in its sheath with a movement.

"That knife isn't only for self-defense, is it?" Wraith asked

"I use it for self-defense, well, hypothetically. There's been no occasion for it."

"Alicia, what's the purpose of the knife?"

The woman looked at Wraith with a calm look. "What do you think?"

The agent sighed before standing up again as she took one of the bulletproof vests and threw it to the Marine. Alicia grabbed it before leaving it inside the bag. Just seconds after that they walked out of the armory, going to Alicia's office, as the base was practically empty.

"Has Alejandro called you?" Wraith asked as she put her hands in her pockets

Alicia sighed and shook her head "Not a word."

"This will take a while then."

"Mhmm…I don't know what I'm expecting."

"What will you do?"

"...Let's wait 'till after the mission. Then I'll figure it out."

Wraith nodded at the Captain. "Wish you luck, I guess."

They went outside once again before seeing Aly walk out of the conference room. Still fuming as she walked towards the gym. Alicia and Wraith walked over to Aly to talk with the Toa siblings again. And at the same time the 141 arrived surprised to see how they were training together.

"I'm glad to see that you learn quickly." Alicia joked towards Tiala.

Tiala winked at her with a small smile. "Don't be surprised with us Island people. We're great for any training that throws at us.”

"I know, but let's discuss this quickly for Wraith. You know where you’ll attack?"

"We'll go to the Cook Islands, Aly will be monitoring the route of the cargo ship and give us the sign when it's time." Kanoa explained, with his arms crossed. “We expect an enemy squad with Galils .556 on their hands."

"Sixteen then, huh? I guess Alicia gave you complete access to our armory?" Wraith asked, looking at the Captain, and seeing Kanoa nodded.

"Alright, what about Silver Deer?"

Alicia took out her phone. "We were waiting for my contacter to give me the place where they'll attack. But it's safe to say that'll be a huge city."

"We can help if you need it." Price intervened walking towards them, just to see Aly's frowning expression.

"No need." Aly said with a cold stare. "Alicia's team is capable enough and they have allies waiting."

Price frowned while everyone else shared a look of concern. But then Alicia coughed to call for everyone’s attention.

"Thanks for the offer, Captain Price, but we'll be fine. Silver Deer are limited to some places if they wanna do as much damage as possible."

Before they continued the conversation, Alicia's phone rang and she looked at her team and everyone else. “Give me a minute.”

Then she went outside to answer. At the same time, Luke arrived again with Lily in her arms just to notice the tension between the environment. Lily just started to screech happily when she saw Price and started to ask about being left down on the floor. And so he did as the little girl ran to his father.

"Seems like our babysitter duties are over, huh?" Luke murmured towards Aly.

Aly smiled tiredly and nodded. "True, but seriously, thank you so much for this."

"It's okay."

"Was Michaelis taking care of Lily?" Price asked confusingly.

"Yes, and?" She hissed while still giving him a frown. "You'd have known if you weren't creating such a disaster."

"I thought you'd leave her with your parents..."

"Considering how Makarov uses Konni in his favor, it isn't the best idea. I prefer not to risk my parents or my daughter."

"Karlos won't let him..."

"Do you forget that the Shadow Company is on trial? And that my brother is friends with Graves and is probably under investigation as well?"

The environment became even heavier than before, with everyone without knowing what to do.

Alicia walked inside again, making everyone sigh with relief. "Sorry to interrupt, Aly. But we're ready to go as soon as you're ready."

"Do you have the place?" Kanoa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, the attack will be on La Haya...just along the time of a diplomatic reunion between Switzerland and Colombia."

"I'll prepare the lines. Aly, are you coming?" Dominique asked calmly.

Aly nodded and walked towards her. "On my way."

[deerskewl]

Mrow meow talk about your guys

thank you i love you its squid time. this got long so its all under the read more

Three Cuttlefish

pov you are craig cuttlefish. you find a weird autistically nonverbal 14yo orphan boything. you bring him to your grandchildren and say "this is your new brother". your granddaughters once again remind you that they're cousins, not siblings, despite being called the Squid Sisters. they adopt him as their shared brother anyway

it's more surprising that he has no idea who the Squid Sisters are to begin with and doesn't even blink when he finds out their idol identities

Three didn't even really have a name he just chose to take his agent number as his name because he thought it was cool

his day-to-day outfits are either bougie shit that Callie and Marie bought for him or literally the most threadbare clothing that he's worn to death because its comfy

he needs to wear a Special limiter, as he has access to multiple Special Moves naturally, instead of most inkfish having only one or two and needing Canned Specials in Turf Wars and such. because of this he gets tired so so easily. he can and will just lay down anywhere to sleep

he gets paparazzi a lot due to his idol persona DJ SANGO. if he's approached in public by fans he will just swim form into the nearest drain. he gets uncomfortable with the attention unless he's with Callie and Marie.

has a permanent Sanitization scar over the right side of his head and right shoulder

Macaroni "Mac" Tako

Grizzco survivor. Worked there for 3 years until his entire crew got killed in a thunderstorm on the way back and it was ruled an accident, despite them being forced to work through the storm. a then undiscovered King Salmonid breached the surface of the water, dressed in the thunderstorm's electricity, and sunk their ship. with no spawnpoints to catch them and bring them back, and too much electric interference to even bring them back to begin with, they were all lost at sea. it's unknown how Mac even survived to wash up on shore, heavily injured by a direct lightning strike. He's still covered in the scars from the incident to this day.

Anyway now he's so much happier screwing around in Turf War and doing odd jobs :)

has the biggest fucking crush ever on Lanark and even made his own Lure to wear around and show that he's available, though since Lanark didn't wear one, he figured that he wasn't interested in relationships. in reality, Mac has no idea that it was a Inkling Culture tradition, not an Octoling Culture thing. we love himbo gays here

also had no idea who the Squid Sisters are. didn't even listen to music until after meeting Marie. now he just listens to Everything Anytime without even learning lyrics or anything, he just listens to nice tunes.

he collects cool cloth facemasks and has been learning how to make his own!

Lanark Pierce

the only agent who ACTUALLY knows who the Squid Sisters are and idolises them so much to the point that he forgets that Pearl and Marina are like, also famous, and gets surprised when he's hanging out with them and suddenly fans are wanting pictures????

trans gender <3 and amnesia

he still doesn't have all his memories back, but writing poetry helps with this, especially with the Deepsea Metro PTSD

like Three, he has a permanent Sanitization scar on his back from being exploded when he fails tests

he still has panic attacks whenever he screws something up, but they've gotten better over time. especially with help from his friends.

pining so fucking hard for Mac but he doesn't know how to initiate anything. he can and will ramble to anyone about Mac if they even give him a moment of time.

probably has the most weapon experience out of all the agents, since he was part of weapons testing back in the Octarian Army. he even has experience in fixing them! he hangs out with Sheldon sometimes and they come up with the MOST illegal weapon designs ever

Cube, "The Faithful Inkfish Born of Two Worlds"

Half octoling, half inkling, raised by salmonids after being discovered abandoned in the Splatlands as a young whelp. They were hidden from the Octarian Army during arms trades, just in case they'd try to take them away from their family.

They're completely fluent in Salmonid, and when speaking to other Inkfish, they use a barbaric mix of Inkling and Octoling, much to everyone's dismay. Big Man offered to be their tutor, despite not having much free time himself, since he knew that Shiver and Frye would teach them every single swear word possible first, but thankfully the other agents took over that responsibility.

Covered in various scars and thinks it makes them look cool as fuck. Claims they're from battles with other Salmonids, but they're mostly from getting injured while scavenging for materials.

Smallfry is their little brother, especially so after being given ward of him due to his advanced ability to switch forms like an inkfish.

Every time they see anything to do with Grizzco they either destroy it (signs and the like) or spit on it (buildings). Doesn't actually care that Mac used to work there since he's aware of how fucked up and corrupt it is.

Smallfry, "The Youngling Smallfry of the Ascended Generation"

literally just a tiny baby man. who devoured a bear. he's so talented <3

the first discovered Salmoling, at least in his and Cube's tribe. like young inkfish, he struggles to go between swim and humanoid form, and tends to stay in swim form and snooze in his big sibling's backpack

got those big autistic eyes and loves putting inedible things in his mouth much to Cube's dismay. he has been banned from many stores.

loves to just worm his way into anyone's arms or lap and take a nap like a big cat. has often been spotted flopped on Three while he naps. Cube has SO MANY PICTURES OF THIS

sometimes sits in Cube's locker while they're off playing Turf War eating cheese snacks and watching splatoon-version-of-youtube. splattube??

[starredeclipse]

MonsterClan

[This is a old Warrior cat interactive story where the choices have been picked and we get to see how it effects the story. This story will contain character death, blood, drama, possible mentions of murder or just murder, and fighting throughout its chapters]

#21.) OminousStar thought about it "I grant you're request, who will you marry instead?" He asked LooseHeart.

The warrior cleared his throat "SeaShimmer" he told his leader with confidence in his decision.

"Very well, a fine choice. How soon will you marry?" This was a very important question, one that required preparation on the leaders part.

"As soon as possible" LooseHeart meowed and the leader nodded "It shall be set up in two days time then" OminousStar meowed before he walked away. LooseHeart waited until his leader went into the med den after SaberWing and TigerPaw.

Once the leader was out of sight LooseHeart jumped to his paws and ran over to SeaShimmer "My request has been granted" he whispered to her and her eyes lit up with joy as she looked at him. "R-really? When's the ceremony being held?" She whispered back to him. "Two days time" LooseHeart whispered back to her.

Her fur pricked with excitement as her tail brushed the side of her tummy briefly. This was the best possible outcome for them but….TigerPaw. "What about TigerPaw? When or I guess who's going to tell her" SeaShimmer asked him. The she cat always viewed TigerPaw as a little sister but now…she had stolen the apprentices future mate from her. The guilt flooded into her eyes, enough to be noticed.

"Hey, no guilt, we talked about this." He meowed as they started walking around camp. "I guess the leader will inform her eventually, if not then she'll find out as we marry." LooseHeart muttered but now he could only see a bright future for him and SeaShimmer.

LooseHeart felt no guilt, there was plenty of Tom's here that can take TigerPaw on once she's of age. The only reason he ended up in a arranged marriage situation with TigerPaw was because of LooseHearts parents making the arrangement with her parents. However the warriors parents died of green cough during the Leaf-bare, it had been a devastating time for him but with SeaShimmer by his side during that difficult time, they grew close.

So while SeaShimmer felt the guilt, her love for LooseHeart means she couldn't give him up. If the leader hadn't accepted his request then…she doesn't know what would have happened.

Meanwhile the leader laid in the med den "shoulder tension back?" SaberWing asked of him while TigerPaw sat next to BeamWhistle, she was taking a minute to process what happened during the ceremony. It seemed all too much to process at once for her.

"Unfortunately, the stress of this Moon alone has been a lot. I'm still recovering from the five moon deaths that happened from the moose hunt, that whole situation was a bloody fiasco. We lost three good warriors." He grumbled as he ate the herbs she gave him and started rubbing out the pressure in his shoulders.

"Aye, I remember, two were she cats…" SaberWing trailed off as she worked.

"Yes, this clan already doesn't have enough she cats to begin with, those lives is something we couldn't cost" OminousStar muttered putting his head on his paws, he looked at the Elment.

"BeamWhistle found her, don't get any ideas, if she stays my son gets first claims if he wants." SaberWing hissed in the leaders ear, he just rolled his eyes. "I had no such thoughts of marrying her off SaberWing." He said with a sigh.

"Good, I can never tell with you sometimes. You marry cats off quick without seeing if there compatible and expect kits soon after." The med cat grumbled at a lower volume.

"You judging how I do things?" The leader asked her. "You bet you're flank I am" SaberWing replied firmly but he just smiled fondly at her.

SaberWing, good mother, strong, capable, and not afraid to speak her mind. If she hadn't been the med cat he would have made her his deputy for sure.

"Good, I expect nothing less from you" he meowed as his eyes drifted to TigerPaw. He wondered if he should tell her about LooseHeart and there marriage situation now or later.

[Option chosen, Tell TigerPaw now]⬇️

#22.) OminousStar contemplated his next move but decided that it would be best to tell TigerPaw now, it's best to get all the heartache out there and over with. He thought to himself, his mouth felt dry as he opened it to speak, at first nothing came out though but he pressed on. "TigerPaw…." The leader started out with with a long pause as TigerPaw looked at him more fearfully now.

She hated all this attention she was getting now, she wanted to just forget what happened at the ceremony even though the shame of being a failure stabbed at her repeatedly, her biggest fear had come true and she felt so overwhelmed already and now the leader had his eyes on her and the bigger cat scared her easily.

"I have news about you and LooseHearts marriage arrangement. I'm afraid to inform you that you're arrangement has been disbanded---" OminousStar got interpreted by TigerPaw yelping "What?!?" She stared in disbelief as he continued despite her outburst. "LooseHeart will instead be marrying SeaShimmer in two days, you'll have to assist SaberWing with the needed preparations during this time TigerPaw." OminousStar told her though he was trying to be gentle but his voice being as deep as it was just made everything he said sound stern and more like a order.

TigerPaws heart sank at the mention of SeaShimmer, LooseHeart left her for a cat she considered a sister. Her eyes looked at the ground, tears stung her eyes. TigerPaw thought LooseHeart liked her…and the fact OminousStar granted his request made TigerPaw feel as though she was worthless. "Will I be assigned a new tom?" TigerPaw choked out. She would most likely get a much older warrior if she did get reassigned, the thought made her feel gross though.

"You will be assigned a new tom, I will ask around and see who will take you." OminousStar told her, TigerPaw just nodded and padded to the back of the med den wanting to be away from everyone, she wanted to hide and not be seen.

OminousStar sighed. "Great job leader, you really know a way with words" SaberWing muttered before she added "you're done anyways so off with you" the med cat told him and the leader did.

OminousStar shoulder tension was gone for now, he might actually consider big game hunting now. For now however he has to go find TigerPaw a new mate, unfortunately that meant she will get a much older warrior as the younger toms are already taken. There was BeamWhistle but he will most likely take the Elment if she stays so best to keep that opportunity open, having possible half Elment kits running around camp was a exciting thought.

The leader can see a group of the older warriors talking together, there talking to the deputy, probably assigning hunting partys or patrols so OminousStar doesn't have to do it.

The Tom's in the group were promising but he could only pick one tom to be TigerPaws mate, each tom has good good traits and would be fine choices for her.

Who will OminousStar choose?

[Option tied but chosen, PeaceGiver]⬇️

#23.) "WarSong, PeaceGiver, ShatteredHope, a word" OminousStar called as he got closer to the group.

The three toms looked at eachother before they left the group at there leaders call.

The torn up old tom looked at his leader "Yes OminousStar?" PeaceGiver rumbled his voice rough and deep. This tom was torn up by scars and one of his eyes was blind.

The other two just looked at the leader with curiosity as the conversation continued. "I have to rechoose a mate for TigerPaw, I have already chosen one of you to be her mate but I want to hear which one out of you three will actually take her on as there mate.

WarSong looked at ShatteredHope "I'm afraid I'm still grieving" WarSong said hoarsely in reply to his leader. He had lost his mate in the Moose Hunt and wasn't taking it well.

"I would prefer not taking TigerPaw on" ShatteredHope meowed not giving his reasoning.

"Very Well" OminousStar told the two Tom's who took that as they were dismissed and walked back to the deputy.

"So that just leaves me, am I you're chosen?" PeaceGiver meowed to his leader as those other Tom's walked off and since the leader hadn't stopped them he just assumed.

"Yes, do you accept?" OminousStar asked the warrior. PeaceGiver paused but nodded "Yes, I'll take her on as my mate" PeaceGiver meowed making the leader smile.

"Good, you'll marry once she's of age. I wish you two well and hope kits bless you're lives. She's in the back of the med den in case you want to tell her the good news" OminousStar meowed before he padded off.

PeaceGiver sighed but then he heard the Deputy announce they were leaving to go on a hunting party. Big game was on the menu, The warrior rather go hunting and give TigerPaw a break since all these recent events haven't been pleasant.

What shall PeaceGiver do?

[Option chosen, Go hunting]⬇️

[depresseddepot]

his name is bodie

[husbandohunter]

A Furry Predicament, but reversed (Reader turns into a cat)? Pretty please with a sweet lil cherry on top? (I recently stumbled across your blog and may I just say that I absolutely adore your works??) Thank youu and take care~~

A Furrier Predicatment [Genshin x Cat!Reader]

♤♡◇♧☆

Synopsis: It's your turn to be a cat after this incident.

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, Xiao, Albedo, Zhongli, Childe, Venti

(A/n): Ah you did OwO that's very sweet of you. It's alot of fun to write, especially when your imagination is stunted and you just gotta spit out something silly.

=======================

[Diluc]

Any beloved pet owned by Master Diluc would be under the most high quality and meticulous treatement. Mostly for cats since they tend to be calm while elegant...to some extent. If they were dogs then he'll ensure that they also serve as a partner for sniffing out trouble such as a certain bard who'd might've sneaked into the wine cellars. But you weren't either, so to say, you were both a beloved AND a cat.

As he picks you up gently into his arms, Diluc would be a little baffled on what to do next. He has no idea how to care for delicate creatures as he never had one (other than a pet tortoise but that's different) in which he needed to look for help. But who? The staff? Certainly not, no one can find out that his partner turned into a pet (imagine all the scandals he'll be in). Jean? Anything but the knights of Favonius. And most certainly not his brother.

So Diluc ends up figuring everything out by himself (old habits die hard). All the sweets and regular meals you craved were no long in your menu, you were forced to have a proper cat diet because he believed it was healthier. Half of the time he has no idea what he's doing, since you were a cat and all you could do was "meow" (which Diluc forgets. He tries to have a mundane conversation until you stare at him with feline eyes. That was when he remembered).

"What would you like for tonight's dinner, my love?"

"Meow." He has alot to learn.

Though Master Diluc often gets very tired and he attempts to take a quick nap before killing himself over the next set of duties. That is, until you could help it. Being a cat has it's furry and comfy advantages. So you leapt up to the bed as quietly as possible and onto the side of your lover, circling a few times to see if he was really asleep. When he was you snuggled close to keep him warm, hoping it would lull him into a rest even deeper. He slept like a baby.

~xx~

[Kaeya]

If the Cavalry Capatain were to own a pet, they would either be charmed by him or snaring their teeth because of his unreadable and suspicious aura. Animal instincts are quite powerful. But your case wasn't the latter, thankfully and he could feel himself growing fond of this new found relationship. Almost. What should he do with you now that you're a cat, Kaeya wonders.

Belly rubs and a lot of them. He absolutely adores the way your cute little nose scrunches up while he runs his fingers on the center of your tummy (though he knows when to stop, Kaeya is rather gentle with you nowadays). You found that he absolutely adores the shape of your nose, would pick you up and boop yours with his own somehow knows how to be his flirty self despite your unusual form.

There was this one incident where you saw something shiny flashing over the wall. Slowly you followed it as the bright dot moved futher and further away, evetually gaining speed. Little did you know it was Kaeya who was watching you swipe your little paws up and down against the wall while he was just cleaning his sword. How could he help it? You were often so headstrong and independent, now you were just an adorable little kitten that loves to play with yarn and shiny things. It backfired him though, now there were a bunch of scratchmarks marring the surfaces (which he had to pay for repairs).

Takes you out to Windrise so that you could get some fresh air (also for you to find somewhere else to shed your fur other than his humble abode). Kaeya sits back under a tree while you either chase a butterfly or start slapping against the dandelions (only sneeze when they fly into your face). He wasn't sure if you were aware of what you were doing right now, if you were then he'll have lots of things to talk about once you turn back into human. If not, then at least he had the opportunity to witness such a soft side coming from you.

~xx~

[Xiao]

If any animal were to go close towards the adeptus, they would run away. Xiao isn't very good at interacting with others, pets included, usually they would run into the alleyway or hide around the legs of their owners while he glaringly, blankly stares at them (Even though he wouldn't admit it, Xiao thinks to himself, how soft is cat fur?) Now he gets to touch your cat form and turns out that fur is very ticklish yet pleasant against his skin.

Would be the most awkward conversationalist, the poor yaksha was already terrible with his words (often coming out harsh so he prefers to either keep away or say nothing at all) and even with you sometimes, now it was almost impossible to communicate. Xiao is not very good at reading a cat's body language. When you want him to hold you again, you'd walk in circles. He assumes you were hungry and leaps out the window to go fetch some fish...for the nth time there was a pile of raw salmon stacking upon the floor. Xiao thinks that maybe salmon species weren't to your liking, hence he does out to find another one.

As he plays his flute, you'd magically doze off on his lap. (There was one thing that you both can communicate with at last). Slowly but surely, he comes to learn the different gestures you make for certain situations. You often rub yourself upon his leg which he had heard to be a cat's way of claiming their territory. That was when Xiao picks you up, FINALLY. Though the real reason why it took him this long was because he was hesitant to hold you. He never really held a pet so naturally he has no idea how to hold a cat. Ends up cradling you in his arms because it seemed to be a safer option <3

"I never thought I'd be able to hold you like this," Xiao softly says to your lazy form, observing the way your ears perked up at the sound of his voice, "But I...forget it. We can stay like this for the time being, if you'd like. If not, that's fine too."

You stay.

~xx~

[Albedo]

The only pets Albedo had were for his alchemic experiments (plus they were put in cages too). Fact be told, he would make a terrible pet owner with the lifestyle he has now. The alchemist would be so absorbent into his work that he'll most likely forget that he has someone to feed and by the time he realized it, they would have already starved to death. After hearing glass bottles crashing to the floor, Albedo bursts into the rooms as the smoke fills it completely, finding a cat lost between it. The cat was you. He knows because he made the potions.

Sometimes he'd a little too scientific for his own good. Albedo assumed that when you turned into a cat, you've gone into cat mode and ends up treating you as such. "No, don't go near any bodies of water. You wouldn't like it." He almost forgets that you were once human which is very much like him if you had to be honest. Though when he does find out that you still carried human traits, Albedo must find ways to adapt things to your liking.

He makes your food himself. He's not a cook but he sure is good at everything he does, even if it's something he never did before. This goes for other areas too such as the size of your bed, if you need a little couch to stay on or maybe some tools to play around. (The only time when he is a good pet owner). In his sketchbook he'd have a bunch of blueprints and contraptions of what to make next. There's something enjoyable when spoiling you, those little reactions when you're pleased, like the twitch of your whiskers or the lift of your tail. Albedo finds is very cute.

On top of all that, he could also make you a potion to turn you back into normal. It seemed that it was the last thing he thought of on the list. Albedo was too occupied with treating you like a cat that it all flew over his head until now. Time flies when you're having fun.

~xx~

[Zhongli]

Unlike Albedo, anyone who has Zhongli as a pet owner would be considered to be a very lucky animal. He radiates a calm and serene aura that gives the perfect environment to have infinite nap times. People look at this man and wonder why his pet never gives him any trouble, especially when cats were considered to be both fiesty and needy. But they just didn't know that the cat was you (not like it would make a difference, any animal would know that Zhongli was no ordinary man).

How on earth does he know what you're saying? Maybe it's because he was once an archon. You could meow and he knows exactly what you would like to snack on. You could tilt your head, he takes it that you were curious on what he was currently doing (which was exactly what you were wondering), you can say nothing at all yet as if he could read your mind, Zhongli comes over to pet you with his gloved hands.

"How can I tell? Indeed it is because you're my lover, of course. Throughout this time we spent together, I've come to learn the way you speak through your eyes. They seem to hold true no matter what form you take. It's rather comforting."

Though there were many moments where you sneak up behind Zhongli. His hair, his ponytail- so long. Must play with. As you jump up and down with his thin strand swings side to side, it'll take a few seconds for him to decipher what your were doing. The minute he turns around he catches you with his hands midair and laughs heartfully. Cats were very endearing creatures.

~xx~

[Childe]

Back home in Snezhnaya, Childe would probably have owned a dog or two. They were mostly meant for hunting purposes, big and large furry creatures with thick skin suitable to endure the harsh cold. He has dogs because cats hate him for some strange reason. They either hiss or snootly turn their backs on him, one time he picked one up as a kid but his face bleeding after the cat scratched him with their paws. But of course you wouldn't do that to him. You would never~ he was your cutie pie anyways.

He was an obnoxious hugger, not gentle at all. Childe forgets his strength as a human man and when he squeezes you tightly against his chest, you'd spike out on all ends because by the archons, you're suffocating. But it was your fault for feeling so comfy and warm! Similar to Kaeya, they're both obnoxious but Childe deemed himself to be even worse. He'd rub his face against yours, commenting on how sensitive it sways. Tonia once told him that she wanted a pet cat instead, maybe he should also bring you back to his homeland now.

Yes he would love to play with you. Bring in the cat toys...or not. This was the eleventh Fatui Harbinger, what were you thinking? Normal cat activities? Not here. He's gonna teach you how to hunt like how he taught his dogs to hunt in Snezhnaya. You gave him the most deadpanned and dissapointed look with your large feline glare. Not only was he disliked by cats but he certainly was not good with them.

Though he can take it down a notch sometimes and just indulge in relaxing activities. When there was nothing else for him to do or when he was just tired after a productive day, he'd sit by the kitchen and you on top of the table. While you yawned and leaned down for a nap, Childe plays with the small of your paws to the soft edge of your nails. If he taps your nose, your whiskers twitch. Your ears are nice, maybe he should get you a headband version once you turned back to human.

You immediately wake up when he touches your tail.

~xx~

[Venti]

Achoo!

You sometimes wonder how is it that the anemo archon was able to live through 2000 years without getting beaten up by a cat. If andrius was a large cougar than a wolf, maybe he wouldn't be an archon now. Which is why you are to stay miles far far away from him unless you want the whole of Mondstadt to be blown away by the wind.

Wears a mask (as if this were the covid19 pandemic), although it doesn't take away all his problems, at least it'll minimize it. Venti always has a box of tissues ready but you can tell by the puffiness of his eyes that he's been sneezing alot. He really tries his hardest to pitch in every once in a while when Albedo was working on a cure for you to go back to normal. Though acts as if he was quarantined by staying all the way at the other side of the room.

"Ahahaha don't mind me. It's your local bard of Mondstadt dropping by to see how things are going. I wanna make sure how long it will take for you to make the potion? Just curious!"

No hugs, cuddles or anything involving close proximity. This makes Venti very pouty and impatient. Albedo finds it very hard to concentrate with all the sniffling and sneezing that he had no choice but to kick him out. It didn't help that the location was Dragonspine, now he was sneezing even more.

[fantastic-bby]

SKZ as animal hybrid boyfriends

Pairing: Reader x Members

Word count: 2.9k

Genre: Fluff | Headcanon | Animal Hybrid/Shifter AU | Boyfriend AU

Warnings: Very brief mention of spiders

Masterlist

Chan

A husky hybrid

Has the CUTEST pair of gray and white ears that stick out of the top of his head

Also has the most gorgeous pair of pale blue eyes that glow in the dark

He has a fluffy white tail that wags like crazy whenever he’s excited because he doesn’t know how to stop it from showing

He’s also the sweetest boyfriend in. The. WORLD!

Always asks how you’re doing

Makes sure your not missing any meals and that you’re always hydrated

Every morning, he wakes you up with cute good morning texts and he always tries to send you good night texts sometimes forgets because he gets so caught up in work

He makes up for it tho

Sends flowers to your place whenever he forgets uwu

Chan’s the perfect boyfriend

The only problem is that you’re allergic to dogs

He didn’t realise why you always seemed to sneezy and stuffy whenever you would come over to his place

Until you told him

And his reaction makes you feel like you just told him the most horrific thing in the world

To him it is!!!!

Because he’s the reason that you’ve been having allergic reactions around him!!

He starts vacuuming his place more often to keep any fur away and makes sure to keep the area super clean so that you’re clear from anything that could cause a reaction

He also starts lint rolling and vacuuming his clothes before giving them to you so that you don’t take any of his fur home unless you ask him to leave his fur

Chan gets confused whenever you tell him that you don’t want him to vacuum or wash his hoodies before giving them to you

But you like them because every time you see the strands of gray and white fur sticking out of his hoodie, it reminds you of him

So instead,

Chan starts buying a crap ton of allergy meds

Puts them in every corner of his house

In the bathroom

The kitchen

The living room

The bedroom

Literally everywhere just in case you get a super bad reaction

That way he’s always prepared for anything

Minho

A maine coon hybrid

The most luscious fur ever known to man

His cat ears are so fluffy and always well groomed

He has this beautiful fluffy orange tail that he’s gotten pretty good at hiding his feelings with

Usually a hybrid’s animal features would probably give away their emotions, but Minho learned to control his ears and tails really well

It’s just that his ears are really sensitive and they flick around every few seconds whenever he’s in a crowded place

He has a pair of yellow eyes that are constantly in the shape of slits simply because he wants to intimidate everyone around him

Also always has his claws out because they intimidate strangers

Wouldn’t tell anyone, but Minho lets his pupils dilate when he’s alone with you (´∀｀)♡

He also likes to tease you a lot but you know he’s just joking because if he was serious, his tail wouldn’t be so related

You try not to tell him because then he’ll start working harder to hide his tail swishes

Is the most precious yet teasing boyfriend out there

He’ll make a joke about you eating a lot of ice cream whenever you’re sad, but he’ll always have your favourite ice cream in the freezer

If you complain about some kind of muscle pain, Min would call you weak but then also come home with muscle relief patches that he’ll stick to you himself

Minho likes to shift into cat form if you’re stressed because then it means that he wouldn’t really disturb you a lot

His footsteps are way quieter when he’s in cat form as compared to human form

So if you’re stressed or tired and you ask him to give you time

Minho would shift and hide in one of the cat towers he bought for himself until he hears you coming out of the bedroom

The moment he hears the sound of the bedroom door opening, he’ll lift his head and peek out from the top

If you sit on the floor right in front of the tower, Minho will scurry off of the tower to sit in your lap to

But if you don’t even look at the tower and you instead go to the kitchen, he’ll wait a bit longer to give you more time

Changbin

Yk I wanna say he’d be some cursed Dwaekki hybrid the skzoo dwaekki haunts me in my sleep

But I genuinely feel like he’d be something really threatening like a wild animal

So if Chan’s a husky and Minho’s a maine coon

I’m gonna throw Changbin in as a grizzly bear because he’s a tank of a man and I love him for that

His ears are dark brown and rounded, poking out from the top of his head

His eyes are super dark brown and sometimes you can’t even tell if you’re able to see the white in his eyes bcs his pupils are just that big

His hands have these huge black claws that could claw someone apart if he wanted to

Also has a cute brown tail that he often hides underneath his clothes because it’s small enough for him to sit on

He gives THE BEST CUDDLESSSS!!!!!

Sometimes shifts into bear form just to cuddle you because it’s cold and relying on the heater might make it too warm

So Binnie likes to use his own fur to warm you up if he notices you shivering

Also would not hesitate to bear his teeth at anyone who tries to hurt you

Changbin doesn’t really tell anyone this

But one of his proudest bear traits is his ability to vocalise like a bear

Which means that whenever he feels the need to protect you or whoever’s around him

He will growl like a bear

And it’s terrifying

You didn’t even know that Changbin could roar until one night when a stranger wouldn't take your ‘no’ as an answer and your boyfriend almost lost his mind

He pulled you behind him and grabbed the collar of their shirt and just roared at them

The stranger being a hybrid of a smaller bear species immediately scrambled off

But Changbin also immediately switches back into sweet, cuddly boyfriend the moment he turns back to you <3

Hyunjin

A sphynx hybrid

Very dramatic

Very loud

He has pink cat ears sticking out of the top of his head with a little black splotch on his left ear

He also has this naked pink tail that sticks out from underneath his shirt

Every minor inconvenience and Hyunjin’s meowing and whining to you about it and you think it’s funny every time he does

Like the time he misplaced his sock and was crying all over your shared home looking for it until he found it underneath the bed

His claws are retractable, so he usually hides them because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone on accident unlike Minho

He’s VERY cuddly both in human form and cat form

Hyunjin likes to do the ‘kneading the dough’ thing whenever you’re cuddling

And ends up leaving holes in your clothes because his claws would accidentally grab onto the fabric

Would also feel really bad afterwards because now he’s ruined your shirt

You reassure him that it’s fine

But Hyunjin’s dramatic also kinda wants an excuse to go shopping with you

So he cries about it and it leads to him dragging you to the mall so that he can buy you a new one

Ends up getting distracted at a cat cafe because he’s made conversation with one of the cats there

And he’s basically talking to them like he’s a middle aged wine mom talking about their weird husbands

You have to remind him what the goal is

But he’s so immersed in the conversation with the orange tabby that you can only watch in amusement

Hyunjin’s talking to it in English while the cat nods with it’s tail swishing every time he asks it a question, mewling every once in a while as a response

You watch with a smile on your face, chin resting against the palm of your hand as you listen

You can only gather that Hyunjin’s telling the cat about why you’re at the mall

And the cat turns to you with a bored expression on its face before meowing

“She says good luck on finding a new shirt”

You nod and reach out to pet the cat’s head as thanks

You and Hyunjin leave after a while

And soon, the trip to get one shirt turns into a shared shopping spree

Jisung

Kinda obvious but he’s a squirrel hybrid

He has a pair of rounded, light brown ears on the top of his head

A bushy light brown tail that bumps into everything whenever he’s in cramped spaces

And the CUTEST pair of brown eyes EVERRRRR

His squirrel trait is where he gets the habit of stuffing food into his cheeks whenever he eats

Ji’s really good at climbing

So he has this long ass piece of wood that he keeps in the living room of his home so that he can still climb something in squirrel form if he can’t go outside

He also has tiny black claws that he uses mainly for practicality when he's in human form

So stuff like cutting into plastic, through strings and to open mail

He just slides his finger across the top of the envelope and boom

Jisung’s quite clumsy

It doesn’t help that he has this huge, bushy tail behind him

He bumps you with it a lot and he’s always so apologetic over it

But it’s fine because it’s his tail and it’s soft and cute and it’s part of Jisung UwU

There were a couple of times where you would wake up and his tail would be tickling your sides

So you’d wake up giggling

And it would wake him up too

He’d turn around and immediately wrap his arms around your waist to cuddle into you

You love playing with his ears

Jisung’s really responsive whenever you pet his squirrel features

So if you touch his tail in public

He’s jolting forward like AHHH

And you like to gently rub his ears whenever you’re cuddling

Jisung usually ends up cuddling into you more because he really likes it whenever you play with his ears

He has a habit of making those squirrel squeaks whenever he’s uncomfortable

So in public, if he feels like he’s overwhelmed or wants to leave

He’ll cling onto your arm and start squeaking softly so that only you’re able to hear

And it’s an easy way for you to know that he wants to leave without him actually telling you

Felix

Horned owl hybrid

He has two sets of white and brown feathers that poke out from the top of his head and curls to the back

He does, however, have talons at his fingertips that he doesn’t really like because it gets caught on a lot of things

Has feathers running down his arms, but can’t actually fly in human form

His eyes are this beautiful amber colour

He also has a lot of hanging stuff in his house that he likes to fly back and forth to whenever he shifts into owl form

Absolutely loves doing the head spinning trick because you freaked out the first time you saw him do it as a human

Felix also has really light footsteps

So sometimes you don’t even hear him coming into a room and suddenly he’s beside you

Which scares you sometimes

Overall, Felix is just unintentionally scary.

Buuuut

Because he has really good eyesight at night

And because he’s nocturnal

He sleeps in the day

Which means that all of his work is done at night while you’re asleep

His hearing is intense which means that he could hear the smallest pin dropping in the kitchen from the bedroom

So when he hears something strange coming from the kitchen

He’s immediately crawling out of bed and peeking out of the bedroom door

That’s when he sees a spider crawling out from behind the fridge

A huge spider

Now, Felix does NOT like spiders

But he knows that if you wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink, then you’re going to be freaked out by too

But he should be able to toss it out the window in owl form

So Felix pops open one of the windows and shifts

His silent flying and sharp night vision make it a quick mission that’s executed without much hassle

He manages to grab the spider with his talons and just tosses it straight out of the window

By the time Felix has returned to the bedroom

You’ve woken up because you realised he wasn’t beside you anymore

So he climbs back into bed and lets you hold onto him while you fall back asleep

Seungmin

Labrador hybrid

Has a pair of golden ears flopping over the top of his head

Also has a golden tail that he usually hides because if he gets over excited then it’ll wag all over the place and might bump into things

Is a relatively quiet person and is also a quiet dog

He doesn’t say or bark that much

But you’ve come to learn how to read his body language

Because his posture both in human form and dog form speak his thoughts

Like whenever he’s standing tall then you’ll figure that Minnie’s probably uncomfortable or feels threatened

As quiet as he is

He’s extremely attentive to your needs as well

Seungmin’s able to catch your body language way quicker than you are at reading his

Which means that the moment you look uncomfortable, he’s immediately moving to stand beside you with an arm wrapped around you

Think of it as that TikTok trend that’s like ‘using my scary dog privilege’

In this case

Seungmin’s more than happy to be the scary dog that lets you walk around alone

He’d bark and bite at anything or anyone who would try to hurt you

Even in human form, he’d growl as a warning to other animal hybrids that are around you

Whenever you’re out in public, Seungmin tries to stay by your side just in case anything happens

But when he has to part from you to talk to another group of your friends

He keeps you in his line of sight

He’d always angle himself in conversations so that the person he’s talking to has their back facing you so that he’s able to see you

And when a cat hybrid suddenly approaches you

Seungmin’s more on the attentive side but he hasn’t gone into protective mode because you don’t look uncomfortable

But then your frame starts to shrink

He immediately changes his posture

Which scares the people around him because suddenly, Seungmin looks so scary

He waits a moment longer and the moment you start looking around the room for him, he’s shoved his drink into the hands of Hyunjin so that he can make his way over to you

He slings his arm over your shoulder and glares at the cat hybrid who’s now extremely intimidated by the presence of the labrador hybrid

Seungmin leans close to the cat and growls at them until they run off

He stays with you for the rest of the night and the way he stays in protective mode makes you feel safe

Until you get home and Seungmin’s back to this ball of cuddle fluff that you absolutely love (｡♥‿♥｡)

Jeongin

Fennec fox hybrid

Has a big pair of white fluffy ears that poke out of his head

Has a fluffy white tail that blends into a more golden colour that’s long enough to poke out from underneath his shirt

He has super insane hearing

Even if he has headphones in, he can hear the outside world

Bodes well for him because whenever you walk into his apartment, he’ll walk out immediately to greet you

He never actually feels hot or warm because his body heat radiates off of his ears

Is always cold in human form

In fox form, his fur insulates his body instead so he doesn’t feel much of a difference

Has a habit of not drinking for hours because he can get stuck in his fox form

Also has a habit of chewing on your desk plants if he deems them edible

Unfortunately for you, that means you’ll come home to your beautiful plant babies half eaten and munched away because your fox boyfriend wanted a snack

To solve this problem, you filled the fridge with berries and vegetables for whenever he feels like snacking

But sometimes he goes overboard and he pretty much eats everything he can find when he forgets to eat for a while

He’s a fox hybrid that doesn’t know how to shift on command

Usually he has this big urge to shift but he’ll be stuck in one form for a while before being able to switch

He doesn’t know any other fox hybrids

So Jeongin has to learn to control his animalistic instincts with the help of you!

His human partner

Lucky for the both of you

You have a friend who’s a red fox hybrid

She’s not a fennec fox

But she still shares similar instincts to Jeongin because they’re both fox hybrids

So now Jeongin comes to you with the biggest smile on his face whenever he’s accomplished something, gushing about how Fox Noona taught him how to shift on command

He’ll show you

And you watch as he shifts into this tiny little fennec fox with a big smile on his snout (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

[sammeth]

take care of things (Z.C.)

(zack connolly -- the kill switch)

aka a gwydion character

A/N: friend recommended it, had to write it because it was too cute. if you’ve not seen tks, don’t watch it lol, the acting is terrible but it talks about sensitive topics and it’s really sad. 

summary: zack comes home from a bad day of classes (college AU) and s/o comes home an hour after and finds out that he’s not taken le meds, made bad choices in classes, and self-harmed while they were gone. s/o cleans him up, comforts him, and does a little scolding because they did tell him to take his meds that morning. 

warnings: mentions of mental health meds, mental health problems, descriptive self-harm, mental illness, blood, knives, a razor blade i think

word count: 3k

------------------

The wind picks up and the previously sprinkling sky has turned into more of a drizzle than anything else. It’s raining a little harder by the time that Zack reaches the door to his apartment. He’s tired from the long day and climbing all the way up the stairs, but he’s even more tired because he didn’t take his medicine this morning. Specifically the anti-psychotics and his stimulant. He figured that he’d be fine going one day without them, right? Everyone needs a break sometimes. 

    Meowing up at him, Ralph is waiting on the arm of the couch when Zack opens the door. He closes it, locks the handle, and ignores the cat. Name won’t be home for another hour and he’s got some crying to do. Unfortunately for him, he’s about to get lost in it and it’ll be abruptly interrupted. Obviously not knowing that, he makes his way to the back--and only--bedroom and slams the door. Ralph scratches at the bottom of it and waits to be let inside, but he won’t be this time. 

The bed is welcoming for him. He sits down on the edge and roughly throws his school bag down onto the floor. His head falls into his hands and he’s got one hand on either side of it, tugging at his light brown hair. He’s trying not to do anything bad. He’s been good lately, he can’t mess it up now. Name’s been talking about how proud of him they are, this would be a setback for sure. They might go back to Name not trusting him to be on his own again. They’ll have to cancel their afternoon class and come home with him on time like they used to. He knows that he can’t have that, Name loves their last class of the day. The only reason that they took it up was because Zack promised them that he’d be alright by himself for an hour or so. 

Then again, the blade lingering in the bottom of his bag says otherwise. He’s not yet thrown it away, he just can’t. He’s been clean for almost four months now, but it’s calling to him or something. The skin of his inner arms itches and itches more. He pulls the fabric of his jacket down and takes his fingernails to the sensitive scars, running his nails along the delicate marks. Up and down, up and down. It scratches the itch, but makes it burn. There’s a needy feeling creeping up on him, one that he’s not going to be able to outrun this time. He can tell that it’s getting worse as time goes on. He can’t be getting bad again…can he? He’s made so much progress in the past couple of months, he can’t just relapse and throw it all away now. 

Reaching into the side pocket of his bag, he feels around for a second for the familiar cold texture of the pencil sharpener blade. He gasps at how cold the little object is and pulls it out with the intentions of only looking at it. He just wants to feel it, maybe it’ll calm down the urges a little bit. He’s just gotta see it for a couple of minutes, then he’ll put it back away and never open the pocket up again. 

Seeing it is too much for him. Thick, warm tears fill up in the bottoms of his eyes until they’re heavy and his vision is blurred. He blinks lightly, feeling the hot liquid roll down his cheeks and onto his hands below. He blinks again to clear up his vision and try to actually see the blade in his palm. It works, and he breaks down all over again. 

‘Maybe just one…’ he thinks, intending on just barely breaking the skin a little bit. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into anything else. He can just make a little slash and hide it from Name until it’s healed. It won’t take long because he won’t go that deep. They won’t notice that he’s wearing his jacket for a couple of days, he does that most of the time anyway. His jacket is a safe item for him. It provides comfort and warmth, it also shields him from most of the world for as long as he wants. Bad day? Grab the jacket and watch a movie with Name. He vaguely thinks about doing that right now, instead of using the blade, but he doesn’t think that he’ll last long enough for them to get home. By the time they get there, he’ll have lost his mind in all of the waiting. He thinks about using multiple coping skills, but that shit never works for him, does it? All that ever works is Name, and they’re not here. He can’t say that to their face or they’ll make the decision to drop their favorite class again, though. 

“God damnit,” he says out loud, knowing that his options are limited. He can’t do it, he doesn’t need the blade, right? He can get over this by himself, he’s a big boy. He sighs and looks back down to the little silver object in his hands, wishing to God that Name would hurry up and open the door before he makes the biggest mistake he’s made in a while. Then again, he did make a colossal mistake in one of his morning classes. He hopes that nobody told Name about that one. 

Positioning the blade against an unmarked piece of skin on his wrist, he takes a deep breath and lets a couple more tears fall. One, two, and then he’s sobbing. He gasps for air, the silent sobs wracking his body and making him shake in fear. He’s trembling whilst rocking himself back and forth, back and forth. Maybe he shouldn’t do this. As he looks back down, his vision is blurred and it makes him angry. He presses the blade harder into his skin and slides it quickly across, watching as the little pink line pools with tiny dots of red liquid. He smiles at the sensation that it brings, but it isn’t enough. He groans out in frustration; it isn’t enough. He knew that this was going to happen. 

In a blinding rage, he positions it back where it was before, on the same mark, and slashes the blade against his skin, watching it rip the previous little wound into a wide open gash. He gasps again, his eyes going wide with fear as the white-and-yellow wound turns red, the blood oozing out of it and dripping immediately onto the stained carpet. He’s too stunned to move for a moment; he’s never done anything this bad before. Sure, it’s only one, but it’s one really bad one. It’s not going to be clarified as a ‘cut’ or a ‘scratch’ like it usually is; this is a full-on laceration. He can see the flesh and muscle inside of his wrist. He didn’t go as far as the bone, but it was damn-near close. 

There’s a thirty-second window where he’s just sitting there as the blood drips onto the floor below him. He’s mortified. He wasn’t aiming to kill himself, so the severity of the wound is scary. Had his intentions been darker, this would have been good news to him. Considering the circumstances, he’s freaking out internally. He stands, grips his wrist, and walks to the bathroom. He turns the water on, not bothering to make sure that it’s warm, and yanks his arm under the cold stream. It stings and he pulls it away, scowling at himself for being so stupid. Is this what he’s supposed to be doing? Cleaning the wound, right? That’s what Name has taught him to do first, but they’ve never had to deal with a gash as harsh as this one. He’s not sure if he’s going to need something else. 

“Zack?” His heart stops and he looks up into the mirror, making eye contact with himself. His expression turns to one of fear and utter horror as the sweet voice fills the apartment. The sound of a pill bottle shaking is what brings him back to life. He covers his arm and steps out of the bathroom, hiding both arms behind his back to seem casual. 

“Yeah?” He asks, his voice cracking as each letter leaves his lips. He tries to make his expression turn calm and collected, but it doesn’t move. He doesn’t move. “In--in the bathroom,” he stutters out, panic flooding through him once again when he hears their footsteps against the hardwood floor of the kitchen. Hardwood turns to carpet and suddenly they’re right in front of him. His breathing is harsh and ragged, making them raise a single eyebrow in confusion. 

“You didn’t take your meds this morning, huh?” They ask, their voice low and soft. They’re trying to be nice about it, but they did remind him to take them right before they drove him to his first class. He did this on purpose, and they both know it. There’s nothing he can say to fix it, and they both know it.

In other words, there’s going to be some arguing. Or, well, there was going to be some arguing, and then Name notices that he’s holding both hands behind his back suspiciously. They don’t think anything of it at first because it’s been four months, but it clicks pretty quickly. Instead of assuming the worst, they play dumb. 

“What are you doing?” They ask, crossing their arms over their chest. They don’t reach out for him at first, they’re giving him the chance to be honest about it and tell them what happened without force. They won’t be mad. They can’t be mad at him for it, he can’t help it. “Zack,” they start, leaning against the wall for support. “Show me your hands.” They’re talking to him like he’s a child, but he doesn’t mind it. It calms him down. They’re using small, easy words that he can understand in this state of mind. They know that they have to be careful when he’s like this, he can easily change course and switch into something more violent. 

“I’m sorry,” he looks them directly in the eyes as the words pass his lips. They quiver afterward and he bites the bottom one to stop them from doing so. He’s embarrassed, frustrated, and still upset because of the day that he had. He didn’t expect them to be home so early, he’s a little caught off guard. “I didn’t mean to.” He gives them both of his hands without breaking eye contact, not daring to look down at the blood still dripping from his wrist. He tears up again, thinking that they’re going to be upset with him, or worse: yell at him. 

“You didn’t, I know you didn’t,” they whisper, taking his arms gently and rolling the sleeves up very slowly, making sure that they don’t directly touch his skin. Their eyes go wide and he looks at the ground, humiliated again. He’s ashamed of himself, even though they’ve told him hundreds of times that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. He just needs a little extra help sometimes, there’s nothing bad about that, is there? Everyone needs help sometimes. “Come on, buddy.” They gently pull him back into the bathroom and turn him around, stripping him of the blood-soaked jacket and discarding it on the floor. 

“You’re not mad at me?” He asks, not focused on how bad the wound is anymore. He’s completely tied to the fact that his partner isn’t yelling or degrading him. They’re calm, which is exactly what he needs right now. “You promise you’re not mad at me?” He needs reassurance, for someone to make him feel better in the moment. Name is perfect in this situation. 

“I’m not mad at you,” they cup his face, not meaning to smear blood against his cheek. They giggle a little and wipe it away, tears forming in their own eyes. “I could never be mad at you for this,” they explain, moving him and making him sit down on the edge of the bathtub so they have room to look under the sink and grab the box in the back. Zack knows what that box means, he remembers the box under the bathroom sink all too well. It’s the accident box, it’s for when he makes mistakes. 

“I’m really sorry,” he tells them, flipping his wrist up and laying it on his thigh so they’ve got full access to it. Name knows this, they know that he didn’t mean to and that he’s sorry and he’s trying to do better. Believe them, they know. 

“I know you are, but I really can’t talk right now,” they rummage through the box and pull out gauze, bandages, peroxide, iodine, and some cream. They move his arm to hold it over the sink and open the bottle of peroxide, waiting to pour it. “Hold my hand, okay?” They hold out their free hand and he snatches it, locking their fingers together. He waits for the pain to come, closing his eyes harshly. As soon as they pour the cold liquid onto the wound, he hisses and squeezes their fingers. “I know, baby, I know,” they tell him, rubbing their thumb against the back of his hand. ‘You’re doing great, a few more seconds.” The peroxide bubbles inside of the flesh, cleaning the wound of anything that couldn’t gotten in there in the time between him doing it and them getting home. 

“It hurts,” he tells them, tears re-forming in his eyes. 

“I know.” 

Once the chemicals stop bubbling, they put the lid back on the bottle and set it back into the box. They grip the iodine and he grabs their hand again, even though this one isn’t going to hurt. 

“It’ll just be cold this time,” they quietly promise, letting the deep orange liquid drip little droplets onto his skin so it doesn’t get infected after they’ve put the bandage on it. He still hisses at how cold it is and they smile, thinking that it’s a little cute. 

After the iodine, they let it sit there for a couple of seconds. It’s silent, so they try to fill up the void with random conversation. 

“We can still go to the bookstore tomorrow,” they tell him, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to the top of his head. They linger there for a moment, pressing their foreheads together. “And we can watch a movie together tonight, if you want to.” Usually, when they get home on Friday nights, they’re both much too tired to do anything but go to sleep after eating dinner. That’s all fine and everything, but it’s not great for their relationship. Zack’s love language is spending quality time together, alongside small gifts of appreciation. Name’s love language is physical touch, but that sometimes overwhelms the other. 

“Marvel movie?” He asks, looking up at them with his big blue puppy dog eyes. They cave immediately, nodding their head at his questioning look. 

“Of course,” they run their fingers through his hair. “You wanna watch X-Men again?” By now, they’re applying the ointment to the gauze and lying it down on his wrist. They make sure that it’s in place before grabbing the tape wrap and sliding it around his arm a couple of times, being very gentle but applying a good amount of pressure so it doesn’t continue to bleed in the bandage. They’re not sure if he’s going to need stitches, but he hasn’t even thought about that. It’s not crossed his mind; he’s never needed them before. It’s never been this bad, though. And this incident was awfully close to the bundle of veins on his wrist. 

“Yeah,” he smiles then, looking down at the fresh bandage and taking his arm back. He traces his fingers over the outline of pink beginning to form on the white cloth. It’s still bleeding, but it should calm down soon. “Can we start with X-Men Origins, though?” Zack Connolly loves Wolverine, he’s his favorite superhero, and probably his favorite movie series ever. He could watch the movies over and over again without stopping. He could talk about the plot and subtle details for days on end, he’s been watching the movies since he was a little kid. 

“Anything you want,” Name bites at their bottle lip and cleans all of the supplies up, putting them back under the sink and closing the door. They pull Zack up very softly by his arms and walk him into the kitchen, toward the sink. He knows what’s coming. 

“Isn’t it too late?” He asks, and they almost laugh. 

“Never too late, baby,” they pull three little pill bottles down from the cabinet and take one tablet out from each of them, setting them on the counter one by one. They reach over and fill up a cup with water from the sink and hand it to him. “I’m gonna make you show me afterward, okay?” They clarify, just so he knows that there’s no getting out of it. He wasn’t planning on it anyway. He dry-swallows the medication and then drinks the water after, opening his mouth to show them that he really took them this time. 

“Good job,” they praise him, smiling and guiding him to the bedroom so they can start their Friday-night movie marathon. 

[dysfunctionalcrab]

cute vets, pets, and boys

Pairing: Quackity x reader

Pronouns: Gender neutral

Description: Tiger needs to go to vets. Over there, his owner meets a cute veterinary assistant (yes, I mean you)

Notes: Doctor Anderson is the name of an actual doctor I shadowed I couldn’t think of anything else okay, leave me alone.

His knee bounced up and down impatiently. The place was unusually packed today.

Tiger sat in his basket, loafed and with his eyes closed. Quackity’s heart ached for the small cat, the poor animal had stopped his regular eating habits. When he filled his bowl, it was only half finished, which was abnormal, since Tiger was usually finished within 10 minutes, and then meowed for some more.

He glanced at the clock, sighing after calculating that he had been been waiting for almost a whole hour, until a vaguely familiar man walked into the room with a clipboard. He was a middle aged man, grey hair and and stubble. He wore giant glasses with black frames. It was only when Quackity’s eyes landed on the name tag pinned to the pocket of his white lab coat, did he realise this was their regular vet.

“Alex!” He called out, looking up from his clipboard and locking eyes with him

Tiger hadn’t been to vet in ages, and when he did, it was usually his mom who took him, so to see him so enthusiastic, or even remember his name, startled him quite a bit.

He stood up, clutching the handle of the cat basket and lifting it off the floor.

“Doctor Anderson?” He tried to play it off as if he wasn’t reading his badge to remember his name.

“How have you been?” The doctor asked him.

“I’ve been good, busy, but good,”

“How are you? How is your mom?”

Quackity tried to be polite, answering all the questions he had. But in reality, he didn’t care about catching up with his vet, especially after waiting an hour of waiting just to even be spoken to while his cat sat miserably in his basket. It had entirely ruined his mood. He just wanted to know what was wrong with his cat.

He was relieved when Doctor Anderson finally ushered him into the room.

The doctor walked in with another man, he looked young. This man was going to be the final patient you assist before finally finishing the veterinary experience course. You took a deep breath and approached them both.

The doctor walked in with another man, he looked young. This man was going to be the final patient you assist before finally finishing the veterinary experience course. You took a deep breath and approached them both.

The doctor walked in with another man, he looked young. This man was going to be the final patient you assist before finally finishing the veterinary experience course. You took a deep breath and approached them both.

The other guy looked you, not in a weird way, but just to curious to who you were. You offered him a kind smile, and when you started to think wasnt going to, he returned it. Doctor Anderson watched the interaction from across the room.

“This is [Y/N],” he introduced, putting a gentle hand behind your back. “They’ve been shadowing me for the last 2 months, today is their final day,”

Quackity nodded, glancing towards you again, but less soft. Your smile dropped. You started to assume he wasn’t in a good mood today, especially since he probably had a sick animal with you. So, you resorted to standing in the corner of the room, just to observe.

“So then, how can I help you?” The doctor asked him

“I don’t know,” You watched him as he distressedly pushed his hair away, alongside fiddling and adjusting his beanie anxiously. “Tiger just hasn’t been eating lately and it’s been worrying me,”

Doctor Anderson opened up the basket and took out a small tabby cat who you now knew was named ‘Tiger’. Your heart awed at the cat, you loved cats. I mean, you loved animals in general, which was the reason you wanted to help them.

You watched as he started to check the cat, feeling his fur and his body for any irregularities. His face was fully focused, eyebrows furrowing. You could tell the owner was nervous since he was rubbing the seam of his shirt aggressively between his finger and thumb.

“Has Tiger ever-“

The door suddenly swung open with a loud creak. All your heads snapped towards the entrance, another doctor stood there, her face a little sweaty and she was huffing, completely out of breath

“Doctor- we need you please, it’s urgent,” She stated.

The doctor looked at you, and then looked at the cat, and then looked back at you. You felt yourself freeze in fear. You knew what he was asking, and you frantically shook your head, pleading with your eyes that he didn’t leave you alone.

“You’ll be fine,” he whispered, before taking off and dashing out the room,‘following the tinder woman. He accidentally slammed the door a little hard that the noise startled Tiger. He let out a small and scared meow.

You pursed your lips, looking down sympathetically at the cat. You then looked at his owner, he was giving you a blank, expressionless stare, his brown eyes told you he was a mixture of tired, irritated but concerned. You wondered how long he’d been waiting.

Quackity was nervous around pretty people, he was far from confident. After the way you smiled at him, he felt himself heat up. He’d be lying he if he said he didn’t find you cute.

If you weren’t in such a formal environment, he’d be initiating some sort of casual conversation with you to start things going, if he even knew how to. But now, especially since he had a sick cat with him, wasn’t the ideal situation. Your voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

“So,” you gnawed at your lip nervously. “He’s lost his appetite?

Quackity nodded slowly.

You hummed, observing her on the table. He was a cute little cat, his eyes were glossy and wide. You felt a pain in your chest at the poor thing. You had never been left alone with a patient before, so you were anxious to say the least.

“Has this ever happened before?” You asked

He shook his head. “Uh- no. No it hasn’t.”

You stroked her, he immediately nuzzled into your palm. You and him both locked eyes at the adorable moment.

“He’s cute,” You stated.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “He is.”

He picked up a mental note of your interaction with him. It was uncommon that Tiger relaxed at someone’s touch so easily, usually he would do that at-least within a week of knowing or playing with them. He was also quite aggressive, living up to his name.

“You don’t need to worry, you know, I’m sure he’s fine, the worst it could be is like- kidney disease or something,”

His eyes widened

“Not that it is!” You took back, wishing you could swallow your words back up again. “I didn’t mean it like that, I was just saying that he could-“

He raised an eyebrow at you, this time out of confusion of your rambling.

“I’ll stop talking now.” You muttered to yourself

You felt ridiculous, being so nervous. You couldn’t tell if it was from the pressure, or the fact he had a strong gaze on you.

“I’m going to check his teeth, if that’s okay?” You asked

Quackity stepped back abit from the table. “Yeah, yeah, of course, do whatever you need,”

You patted her head before positioning her so you could look at her mouth. You gently held her head and used your fingers carefully to pull her jaw open. It all looked pretty normal, until your eye fixated on one of her canines that were looking black at the root.

You sighed, observing it a little longer. You smiled, thankful that you found the problem. It was funny to you how this guy hadn’t even thought to check her mouth before-hand.

“Well, we’ve found the problem,” you said. Quackity stepped closer and watched to where you finger was pointing. “Just a bad tooth, it most likely hurts when he eats,”

You smiled at him reassuringly and he relaxed. His Tiger was going to be just fine

“So now what?” Quackity asked you, petting Tiger. He quietly purred

You ran your tongue at the seam of your lips. “I don’t know, I guess. I don’t think if it’s legally permissible for me to diagnose anything or 8 anything- I think,” you spoke awkwardly. “It’s better to just wait for the doctor to come back,”

He nodded again. The silence in the room was making it a little uncomfortable for the both of you, the only thing making it less... weird, was the cute little cat laying on the table.

“So, how long have you been shadowing him again?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, he was clearly just trying to make conversation with you to diffuse the awkwardness.

“For two months,” you answered. “Today is actually my last day.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, kind of disappointed actually, this experience has been quite nice. Now it’s back to textbooks and PowerPoint presentations, it’s like being stuck back in high school”

“I get that. Law school is just case after case and it can get boring sometimes,”

“Law school? Holy crap,” you said, before throwing a hand over your mouth, remembering he was still just a patient. “Sorry, excuse the language,”

He giggled nervously. “Don’t worry about about it,”

Conversation with him from then on was easy. It flowed quite smoothly, from talking about about school to other general things.

He liked the way you listened, Quackity knew that he waffled on about certain subjects a whole lot. But you seemed to actually be interested, your face lighting up every time. You found it sweet the way he talked so passionately about things, for a stranger, you were pretty intrigued.

You enjoyed his company for the next 30 minutes, still waiting for Doctor Anderson to come back after rushing out of the door. To be fair, It was nice to have conversation during the day that wasn’t with a fifty five year old man for once.

“But we have restaurants here like Chipotle, or Taco bell!” You exclaimed, now sitting beside him on one of the blue chairs.

“They’ve never been as good as the ones I’ve had in Mexico,” he told you.

“Well then I guess-“

Again. The noisy door swung open. Both your heads simultaneously turning towards it. The doctor walked back into the room, his hair was a little ruffled and messy. He came in as if he was looking for a certain something, and then his eyes landed on you.

“[Y/N]? What are you still doing here?” He questioned, looking at his watch. “It’s past four o’clock,”

You took out your phone from your back pocket. Damn, time really flew by and you didn’t even realise.

“We were just talking about Tiger, he’s got a bad tooth,” you said

The doctor smiled at you. “Good work, [Y/N]!” He said, pride overtaking his voice. “But it’s really time for you to go home. You can pack up your things now and relax! You’re finally finished!”

“Oh-,” you said, feeling the slightest bit disappointed as you looked at Quackity. “Thank you,”

You stood up and hesitantly slipped off the spare white lab coat, folding it up and placing it in on a nearby counter.

You looked at Quackity again, his eyes were almost saying ‘sorry’ for you having to leave.

Quackity watched you leave the room. His mood dropping straight away. He knew he wasn’t going to speak to you again after this.

The doctor started talking to him again, giving him advice for Tiger and how they would deal with the problem. However, the unfortunate problem was, his attention was focused on you. You know sometimes you talk to someone once and then for the rest of the year you constantly think about that interaction? Yeah, that’s how he was feeling. He had no idea why you had suddenly invaded all his thoughts.

Too bad you’d left without so much of a goodbye.

If only he built up the courage and asked for your number.

———

Masterlist

Taglist: @inniterhq @basilly @nite-land @bunnyloo @siriushxney @notphilosopherstudentblog @tinyegg @dreamiewrites @kai-was-here @shiyanchan

[bonnymori]

01 | 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫... 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?!

chapter 01 / chapter 02 / chapter 03

Word count: 1250+

Synopsis: During a particularly boring afternoon, a muscly man with a purple worm around his shoulders has made his way onto your house- literally, smashing through your window- and, subconciously, onto your life.

Contents/Warnings: (1) Fushiguro Toji x gn!Reader, theres also Gojo cat as your cat!! (2) Reader finds Toji's worm cute; i'm sorry if you don't just skip that part (3) There's some cursing but I promise next chapter won't

A/N: I have a lot of drafts and this is the most normal looking I've got... so let's post it first ehehehhsjhd- Also, I'm remaking the structure of the posts (Megumi's one-shot is updated with the very same visual as this!), hope it looks less unorganized! Thank you for reading <3

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To think you'd let such a stranger barge into your apartment- actually, you would never imagine such a comeup. But here are we.

Right in front of you there is a man. Raven locks, black shirt, white baggy pants - is that a purple... gut, intestine thing around his chest? - and a pair of imacculate ballet shoes on his feet. The dude is knocked out cold, it seems that he barely made it through your window, only to come head first against your floor tiles. Now you have drops of blood all over the floor and counter- and, a bleeding man.

You can't tell which task will be more grueling to solve.

Because you have a working brain, of course the man comes first. No matter if your window is broken, and a handfull of glass shards adorn your countertops. And now you've accidentally stepped upon one- just then you realise the man's back must be feeling like a bed of thors- or shards, over being dragged through the floor.

So you throw his arms - which you notice, has a few cuts here and there - over your shoulders, and picks him up in a one-person carry; barely, his torso is against yours and legs are dangling on the floor, this guy must weigh the double you do. It feels like you're carrying a fridge.

From your peripheral, you can see Satoru paddle to the kitchen's doorframe, probably wondering if you were preparing a meal for him or whatever.

"I'll be back in a moment, Ru." He meows a reply, dragging his mountain of fluff back to your couch- you're certain he's taking your spot, while it's still warm.

Thankfully, it doesn't take long for you to reach the bathroom, dropping the man leisurely upon your fluffy mat. Beside all the cuts, the man has already a plentiful share of permanent scars, and none are of your business, you don't care. It's like cleaning and stitching up a old doll full of tears, by the way you're able to maneuver his limbs; you're glad he's still unconscious.

But the thing around his shoulders is not.

In a blink of eye, it jumps from his shoulder to yours, attaching itself to your back and nestling upon your shoulder. When you glance down at it, it feels like a weird looking parrot.

"Hi?" You ask, it looks back at you. "Are you like, his pet or something?" It doesn't talk, just gazes at you through half lidded eyes; so you give up on short talking it, not knowing what you expected yourself. "Let's go finish my movie then!"

You join Satoru on the couch, the cat rapidly making room on your comfortable lap; and the man forgotten, snoring soundly on your bathroom.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A sequel and half movie later, you hear a loud thud coming from the kitchen. Even though you're aware there's a strange in your house- the sudden sound still naturaly jolts you out of your seat.

"UGH- Goddamn it-" Next comes a colorful list of slurs; a sigh makes way out of your mouth.

You round the corner, pointing a accusing finger to the strange man, who's laying on your floor again. "No cussing on my house."

"Why didn't you even clean this floor, it's loaded with glass shards."

"I wanted to finish my movie afternoon before doing so. Besides, what made you smash through there," You point to the ruined window. "to here." Then, to the kitchen floor. And finally, motioning to your whole apartment.

That was a interesting question, he expected a "Who are you?" or "I'm calling the cops!" call.

"I don't need to explain you shit."

"Think of it as an retribution, since I patched you up, answer my question."

"No."

"That, or you'll pay for my window."

A sigh. "Fine. I was being chased."

"You're a criminal, then?" You questioned.

"Yes." A devilish grin made its way to his face, showing canines and stretching the small scar on the corner of his mouth.

"Alright, just don't get me involved then."

Toji is familiar to that sort of outcome. Sometimes people man up, people weaker than him. But he knows he's intimidating, and he absolutely loves to play with the attitude of those who challenge him.

Forgetting the shart carving on the sole of his feet, he walks up to you efortlessly, towering over your frame.

"Well, are you not scared to have a criminal inside your house?"

"No, I'm not defenseless. And, you're bleeding. Again."

"Shit." Toji sits down close to the wall where it's safe, twisting his leg to bring the injured foot up to his face. He easily plucks the reddened shart between thick digits, and throws it far away from him.

Meanwhile, you bring your first-aid kit up to him, setting it down near.

"Here, use this."

"..."

"I'll do it for you then." You wasted no time, reaching for the line and thread. Once everything was stitched, you wrap a bandage around his foot, then pats it finished. "What's your name?"

"Fushiguro Toji."

"I'm L/N Y/N, lost all your bite huh?" You tease.

Casually ignored. "Why do you have a first-aid kit? Most people don't have it on their houses."

"I practice muay thai, it's useful both for me and you."

"Right. Have you seen my worm?"

"Well, make yourself at home, until your feet gets better. And yeah, your worm jumped at me like those surprise music boxes, and now it's on the couch with my cat. It's been watching movies with us."

He was beyond curious, because the worm didn't have a thinking mind nor knew what even meant to watch something. Toji limped to the doorframe, eyes widening once he spotted the worm wrapped snuggly around your very fluffy cat.

"That's some cute shit."

"The worm is gross."

"I think it looks cute."

"You're batshit crazy."

You stretched your limbs. "Whatever, let's waste some more time watching TV."

Toji sat down - mind you, taking a handful of space you were not content with - once you picked up "both" animals to make room. He thinks you're weird, seeing the fact you didn't question what the hell was that giant-purple-moving worm, and for letting in a random guy inside your house. You do fight a martial art, though, but most people wouldn't have such confidence on him - a dude build like a truck.

There's some survival show playing in the background, yet he's beyond bored watching it, so he settles in questioning your questionable manners.

"How are you so chill about everything?"

"Oh well," You seemed focused on the show, surprisement showing itself once you turn to him. "I see these things in a daily basis, so it's really no big deal after a while."

"Curses?"

"Yep."

"You-"

"I'm going to clean the kitchen. Also, I ask you once the skies darken, to leave my house."

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"I got no hideout out there."

"Suuure you don't." You sighed. "Alright, the couch is your best option; if I hear rumbles at night, or if you steal me or something, I'll be the one chasing you."

"Right, have fun cleaning the blood stained kitchen."

"The audacity." You left with a smirk, shaking your head.

Although you're weird, so far, you're also the most interesting individual Toji has come up to par with; something in this house prickles at his skin to stay. Plus, the fluffy cat laying on his lap is very cute aswell.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[citrinesparkles]

cat.

jason todd, eventually x gender neutral reader. 1,388 words. notes: this is part one of i don't even know how many and i cannot believe how wildly out of hand this got. this was a 500 word idea and it's gonna be at least three parts someone help (thanks to @angelz-dust for being so patient with me and encouraging on this!!! would never have made it out of the drafts without you <3) warnings: danger to kids, mention of a couple arguing, animal illness (spoiler alert: it'll be fine i Promise), a little (lot) different than my usual edit: part two here!

"let me be perfectly clear: if you even think about showing back up here, i will know, and i will make your life a living hell until i finally put you out of your misery. understood?"

"yes! yeah man i get it. understood."

"then i'd get going, if i were you." the man scrambled to his feet and bolted off across the playground, leaving jason to shout after him. "and warn any buddies you might have, too!"

he picked up the discarded knife and pocketed it. he then turned around slowly, hands visibly empty in a careful attempt not to scare the two kids behind him- well, careful not to make it worse, anyway. they, understandably, seemed a little shaken already.

"are you both alright?" he asked softly, slouching just a little to seem as harmless as possible.

probably would have been easier if they hadn't just watched him threaten someone.

the older kid- probably fifteen, if jason had to place a bet- nodded silently before glancing back at the little girl he was still hovering in front of protectively, who was just... staring.

she couldn't have been older than six.

"jazz?" the boy asked, voice tight. "are you hurt?"

he was ignored. "are you superman?"

the question, innocent and earnest and a little timid, made jason laugh. "not quite, kiddo."

she tilted her head like a curious puppy, furrowing her brow. "why are you wearing a jacket?"

jason glanced up at the boy, who seemed comforted by her mini interrogation. good.

talking was a good sign, too, so jason crouched down to meet her at eye level.

"because it gets cold out here!" he said, raising his hands up with a small wiggle of his fingers. "gloves, too."

"well, duh," jazz said with a giggle- a win, jason thought. "no fingerprints."

he nodded. "also helpful."

"and the hat to hide your face!" she said proudly, stepping forward a little to point at his helmet.

"wow, you've got the whole thing figured out, huh?"

"mhm! my friend ricky loves batman and his friends. he talks about batman and nightwing and spoiler and robin and red robin and red hood and batgirl all the time! they hide their faces like you, ricky thinks it's because of bad guys."

"they're kinda cool, huh?"

"nightwing's my favorite," she said firmly, as though it was something she had considered at great length and was fully prepared to defend.

"not red hood?" jason smacked a hand to his chest in mock hurt, shifting back dramatically. "i'm crushed, truly."

"no, ricky says red hood used to be an alien, but then got bored and now he annoys batman for fun instead. that sounds mean."

...well, okay, maybe he did annoy the big guy for fun a little. "that's an interesting theory, all right."

"ricky's got all kinds of theories. he thinks batman's a robot-" jason snorted- "and that nightwing was like pinochle."

"you mean pinocchio," the boy corrected quietly. "pinochle's what gramma plays."

"pinocchio!" she exlaimed, with a "ch" sound in the middle that made jason smile. "a doll that got turned human. that's how he does all the flips and stuff, he's got magic."

"hm, ricky seems like an interesting guy," jason said thoughtfully, making a big show of rubbing the chin of his helmet. "what do y-"

he was cut off by a loud, insistent meow, and jazz gasping even louder before taking off to the bushes.

"w- hey, don't rush off like that!" he said, shooting up off the ground as the boy sighed.

"there's this cat that she's been taking care of," he explained quietly. "the thing's got attitude for days but i think it's sick or something. jasmine's been bringing it little bits of tuna and chicken, but it's not like we can get it to a vet."

jason hummed. "why do you think it's sick?"

"it's thin, with its eyes all watery and sunk."

"might just be malnourished," he muttered.

"she's been trying to find it a home, y'know."

there was a wink-wink-nudge-nudge quality to the kid's voice that did not go unnoticed.

on one hand, it was good to hear something other than fear from him, but on the other... "what part of the tactical armor makes you think i'm an option?"

"the part where you just stuck around to check on us instead of running after that guy."

okay. maybe the quiet thing hadn't been so bad. the cocky 'amateur psychologist' thing was a little grating.

"you the real red hood?" the kid asked suddenly, shaking jason from his internal grumbling.

"what do you think?"

"i think you just saved our lives, and i wanna know who i'm thanking."

jason turned to him with a flourish. "red hood, baby saver extraordinaire. at your service."

"baby- dude, i'm seventeen!"

okay, so he would have lost his bet. "noted. still a baby, trust me."

"what are you under there, twenty something? whatever, grandpa."

jason chuckled, turning back to watch jasmine pet a small cat under one of the yellow lights littering the park. "you did well, looking out for her with that guy. you got a name?"

he scoffed. "would've been better if i'd kicked him between the legs right when he opened his mouth, instead of letting him get started on the whole 'what're you kids doing out so late?' bit," he muttered darkly, pausing for a moment before answering. "my name's jordan."

"well, jordan, what are you guys doing out so late?"

"mom works nights, and the neighbors were fighting. it was loud enough to wake jazz up, and it wasn't the kind of thing she needed to hear. i figured a trip to see her cat would be less awful than hearing them call each other things i wouldn't even call my friends." the breeze picked up, rustling the trees and catching on jason's jacket. "and then the asshole with the knife decided to make a bad night worse."

"is jazz your sister?"

"yeah, she's a good kid," jordan said, fond and warm. "sorry about the whole ricky thing, though. he's obsessed with those vigilante conspiracy videos and tells her all about them at school."

"no, no, it's fine. i can't wait to tell wing about his new origin story, he'll love that."

jasmine suddenly came bounding back towards them, grabbing their hands and yanking them to follow her. "c'mon, you need to meet cat!"

"you call it cat?"

jordan bristled subtly. "is there a problem with that, red?"

"no, no, it's an appropriate name. just making sure." jason waved his spare hand at his head. "helmet makes me hear things sometimes."

jordan opened his mouth, but his sister plowed right over whatever he was going to say, pulling on jason's hand again. "cat, meet... what's your name?"

"red hood."

"you can't be red hood!" she whirled around, indignantly putting her hands on her hips. "there's already a red hood in gotham. besides, you're not even wearing a hood, so it doesn't fit anyway."

jason turned his head to jordan, who was smiling- a good sign, but probably a bad omen for whatever he was about to say. "she's right, man. it's not a hood."

"tough crowd," jason muttered. "uh... then you can call me, uh-"

"bucket!" jasmine suggested happily, tapping his helmet. "because this looks like a bucket."

if there was one thing vigilantism had taught him, it was that sometimes you actually do need to pick your battles. this...

this was not worth fighting.

"sure, fine, whatever. hi, cat, i'm red bucket." he turned away from the kids- both of whom looked entirely too happy about the whole 'bucket' thing, he thought- and crouched down to finally look at the cat.

it did look a little sick, actually.

it was gray, and thin, and-

and now it was headbutting his knee like it was trying to push him over.

"cat likes you!" jazz cheered.

"sure does," jordan said pointedly. "isn't that interesting?"

jason opened his mouth, but his snarky comment died in his throat when the cat settled down right in front of him and blinked slowly up at him with a sweet tilt to its head.

...shit.

just- shit.

he sighed, standing up and looking back to jordan and his stupid, entirely-too-pleased-with-himself grin. "so, jazz," jason grumbled reluctantly, "where does cat live?"

[homoose]

Love Has a Learning Curve: Part VII (x reader)

Summary: Reader tries to make things right, with a little push from her mama.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: hurt/comfort

Warnings/Includes: none

a/n: I know, I know— please just let our babies be happy ♥️ and so it was. Also, big ups to my tumblr gf @idmakeitbehave​ for being my beta the past two chapters.

Series Masterlist

———

One week.

That’s how long it had been since their argument. Spencer had driven back to his apartment in silence, absolutely stunned by the way things had blown up.

They’d gotten back from the case in Utah on the fifth of January, and he’d driven straight to Y/N’s, ready to give her a belated New Year’s kiss. Immediately upon entering her apartment, he knew something was wrong. Her hug was stiff, her kiss brief, her eye contact minimal. He’d spent the night, but they barely touched, and she left early for work without waking him. He’d let himself out and texted her later in the day to invite her over for dinner.

Dinner hadn’t been any less awkward, and when he felt awkward, he knew it was bad. He finally couldn’t ignore it any longer, and he’d called it out. He had expected some resistance, but he hadn’t expected that. Y/N never spoke to him with any malice at all, even when he was actually doing something that irritated her. She was the queen of healthy communication. So for her to speak to him like that meant that the underlying issue was much, much worse than he’d originally thought.

He’d gone over their conversations a thousand times, looking desperately for the moment that it went wrong. After some deep consideration, he was certain that something had happened on New Year’s Eve. He just wasn’t sure what. Y/N was insistent that she wasn’t bothered by the declined call, but he still wished he could go back in time and answer it. He was pretty sure the seeds of their argument had sprouted in that moment, regardless of what she said.

Spencer knew she was a creature of habit, and that sometimes she needed space to process and experience her emotions. And if he was being honest, he needed some space after the argument, too. But usually she would have at least texted him by now.

He sighed and set down his newspaper, realizing he’d read the same page four times and hadn’t retained any of it. It was Friday, and he knew she was working. But still his fingers itched to dial her number. He picked up the phone, pressing a key to light up the screen yet again.

No new messages.

He dropped the phone back to the table with a little more force than was necessary. He decided he’d give her the rest of the weekend. If he didn’t hear from her by Sunday, he’d have to do something.

…

Y/N dropped her bag on the floor inside the door and turned to lock the deadbolt. She had managed to sneak out of the building without being stopped by Anita, and she thanked the universe for small miracles.

She didn’t want to have to explain herself. She didn’t want anyone to know what an absolute troll she’d been. Considering that Sam and Spencer had practically become attached at the hip since they’d started hanging out more, Anita was bound to ask about him.

She showered and ordered Thai food, snuggling down on the couch to watch a movie with Roald. She settled on Dumplin’— a favorite for the body positivity, the southern drawls, and the Dolly Parton drag.

And then she came to the argument outside of Harpy’s and lost what little emotional stability she had left.

“Never took you for the type that cares much what people think.”

“I can’t, Bo. And that might make me a coward, but—”

“It does. Willowdean Dixon, I think you’re beautiful. To hell with anyone who’s ever made you feel less than that.”

She didn’t realize she was crying until Roald meowed in distress. She choked out a sob and stroked over his ears, closing her eyes in defeat. “I really fucked this up, huh?”

It had only been one week, but it felt like years since Spencer walked out of her apartment. She’d stayed in bed for the entire weekend, crying on and off. She knew she had no one to blame but herself. Owen had knocked over the first domino, but she’d done nothing to stop the rest from falling.

Spencer had done everything right. He’d done everything she asked, and she’d thrown it all back in his face. He had made the comparison to Mitchell Park, and he was absolutely right. She’d done the exact same thing, only she had almost a year’s worth of ammunition, and she cut a hell of a lot deeper.

Roald nuzzled against her, but she nudged him away— she didn’t even deserve the comfort. Instead, she fumbled in the couch cushions for her phone, swiping open the screen and tapping her favorites list, thumb hovering over Spencer’s name. Then she tapped on the name right above it and blew out a breath.

The line connected and rang three times before she picked up. “Hey, sugar! Your ears must be ringin’, ‘cause I was just thinkin’ about callin’ you.”

“Hey, mama,” Y/N breathed.

Her mother’s tone changed from chipper to concerned in an instant. “What’s wrong, baby?”

She leaned forward to the coffee table to grab Spencer’s scarf— somehow left behind in her apartment— rubbing it between her fingers. “I— I really messed up.”

“Oh, Lord. You need bail money?”

Despite herself, Y/N laughed wetly. “Oh my god , mama. No, I don’t need bail money.”

“Well, if you made bail it can’t be that bad,” Rose insisted.

“I didn’t— I’m not in jail, for Christ’s sake.” Y/N ran a hand over her face. “I messed things up with Spencer.”

“Well, we can fix that,” Rose responded matter of factly. “What happened?”

“We were fighting, and I said some really, really awful things,” Y/N admitted, tears spilling over her lash line.

Rose scoffed. “Honey, I say awful things to your father all the time, and we’ve been married almost 40 years.”

Y/N heaved a long sigh. “Not like this, mama.”

Her mother hummed in consideration. “Well, what were y’all fightin’ about?”

“It’s complicated,” Y/N hedged, toying with the fringe of the scarf.

Rose clicked her tongue. “Do ya want my help or not?”

Y/N dropped her head back against the couch. “I ran into Owen on New Year’s Eve—”

“Well, I hope you told him to stick it where the sun don’t shine,” Rose practically growled.

Y/N closed her eyes as the tears tracked hot down her cheeks. “I didn’t. I— I let him get under my skin, and then I didn’t want to tell Spencer about it because it’s embarrassing, but he knew something was wrong, and he wouldn’t stop asking about it.” She had to pause and suck in a hiccuping breath, releasing it on a sob. “So I yelled at him and said all kinds of terrible things, and then he left, and now I think maybe we broke up, and I’ve literally never been so sad in my whole life.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and then she heard Rose sniffling. “Really shoulda had your brothers knock the mess out of that son of bitch when we had the chance. He's been gone five years, and he’s still hurtin’ you every chance he gets.”

Y/N swiped uselessly at the tear tracks on her cheeks, sniffling pathetically. “And now I hurt the person who’s spent the last year singlehandedly undoing all of his awful handiwork.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Rose cooed. Y/N could hear the creak of the floorboards as her mother walked through her childhood home. “You said he knew somethin’ was wrong, right? I can almost guarantee that he’s still just wonderin’ what’s goin’ on. I know he’s supposed to be a genius, but he’s still a man. And men are dumb, sugar. You gotta spell it out for ‘em. Have you talked to him since?”

“No.” Fresh tears spilled over Y/N’s lashes as the thoughts that had kept her from calling him spilled out of her mouth. “What if it was too far? What if I ruined everything? What if he never wants to speak to me again?”

Ross heaved out a long breath. “That’s a lot of what ifs, Y/N.”

“What if I’m right?” she whispered.

“And what if you’re not?” Rose countered. “That boy loves you. Anyone could see that, clear as day. He’d do just about anything for you.” Rose paused, and Y/N heard the springs of the bed squeak as she sat. “But you gotta let him, sweetheart. Right now you’re takin’ away his chance to do that. You’re makin’ the decision for him.”

Y/N listened as her mother’s advice crackled over the line, and for the first time in a week, she felt a tiny sliver of hope.

“If he doesn’t want to be with you anymore, you need to let him tell you that. Don’t settle for a what if. Find out for sure, or you're gonna spend the rest of your life worryin’ and wonderin’, sugar.”

…

That evening found Spencer in his usual spot on the couch, reclined against the arm with a book in hand. He’d promised himself he’d give Y/N the weekend to herself— that he’d let her come to him. That didn’t stop him from checking his phone obsessively; it never buzzed with any new calls or messages, but he still looked every seven minutes.

The sound of the buzzer jolted his body to attention. He checked his watch and drew his brows together before closing his book and scrambling to cross to the intercom, a tiny seed of hope beginning to germinate. He pressed the button to talk, calling, “Yes?” into the speaker box and then listening for the response.

“Hi.”

Her voice was so quiet that he could barely hear it over the crackle of the speaker. He buzzed her in without hesitation, crossing to the door and opening it immediately. She made her way slowly up the stairs, turning at the top of the landing and pausing.

His heart broke at the sight of her. She looked utterly exhausted, dressed in black sweatpants and a soft purple sweater, a black puffer jacket over top. She was holding his scarf, wringing it in between her hands. Her eyes were ringed red, and the bags under them were worse than his.

He watched as she crossed the landing, coming to stand quietly in front of him. He’d known something was wrong, but the way she looked now made him wonder just how long she’d been battling whatever private demons she wouldn’t let him in on.

“I, um.” She cleared her throat, and it was clear she’d been crying from the thickness of her voice. “I have a lot to say— again. But since I was such an asshole, I wanted to give you the opportunity to say anything you need to say first.”

He’d imagined this conversation countless times over the last week, and never once had he thought it would start like this. “Um. Well. You— you really hurt me.”

She could barely look at him. “I know.”

He swallowed. “Please don’t do that again.”

She shook her head, finally meeting his eyes. “I won’t. I won’t ever again.”

Spencer tucked his hands into the pockets of his lounge pants. “I know I may not be the best at social cues, but I’m a pretty good profiler. And I can tell when something’s wrong.” He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have to tell me everything. I’m just asking you to tell me when I do something that makes you upset.”

“You— you didn’t do anything wrong. I—” He watched her squeeze her eyes shut. “God, I’m so sorry, Spencer. I’m just— I’m sorry for so many things. For lying about being fine, for being up on my high horse about communicating and then not actually doing it, for being an absolute bitch.”

He wanted to argue— she wasn’t a bitch— but he could tell she was far from done.

“I— I thought therapy was supposed to teach me how to talk about things, but this still feels… impossible to say out loud,” she admitted, fingers fumbling with the fabric of the scarf. “It’s embarrassing and ridiculous. But I— I have deep-seated insecurities. That I’m not really that smart or interesting or particularly special.”

He thought back to that night in Mitchell Park and felt the guilt all over again. He’d practically said those exact words to her— it was no wonder she was feeling this way.

“And every person that I’ve ever been with has— really reinforced those ideas, so for a long time they were just… a set part of my self-image,” she explained, dragging a hand over her messy hair. “I thought— I thought that I was over it, but I— I don’t know. Maybe you never really are.”

His brain sorted through every moment of their year together, pinging off the countless examples of her self-doubt and insecurity. She was easily the most wonderful person he knew, but he could clearly see the cracks in the facade if he looked close enough. How had he missed it for so long?

“And then I met you, and you…” Y/N let out a wry laugh. “You’re easily the most interesting person I’ve ever met, but you made me feel like… I don’t know, like I’m interesting, too. Like I’m worthy of being with you, like I’m— like I’m good enough.”

He felt his heart splintering into a thousand tiny shards— good enough?

“But I can’t— I still have a hard time believing it sometimes. And I— I’ve been letting myself keep you at arms length. Letting you see parts of me, but… never giving you everything,” she admitted.

He watched her struggle to get the words out, her voice thick with the act of holding back sobs. He hadn’t realized she was carrying all of this. She was so good at supporting him and loving him through all of his trauma and issues, he hadn’t stopped to consider just how much she needed him, too.

She continued, “It’s why I took so long to say I love you… why I couldn’t talk to you last week. Because I just—” She shrugged as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For you to realize that I’m really nothing special. That you’re getting bored, or there’s someone who’s a better fit for you, or one million other things. That I’m needy, and annoying, and too much work.”

A fresh tear tracked down her cheek, and he felt his own eyes filling. She never failed to put a stop to his own insecurities— reminding him that she liked his rambling, that he wasn’t irritating, that he was just the right amount. In his eyes, she was perfect. He would have never guessed she felt this way about herself.

She continued, “That’s what happened before, and none of those guys were even half as wonderful as you are.” She swiped a hand haphazardly over her cheeks, looking at him sheepishly. “And then I was hurtful and awful, and I realized that I was just creating a self fulfilling prophecy and I don’t— I don’t want to do that.”

Her hand shook a little as she brought it back down to twist in his scarf. “Because it’s never— I’ve never felt like this. I've never been this happy with anyone else, and I don’t want to give that up. I don’t want to give you up. Even if sometimes I feel like I’ll never be enough.”

Her voice cracked on a stifled cry, and his chest physically ached. “And if you never want to see me again, I completely understand, and I’ll leave you alone, but I— I’m just so sorry. And I love you so much, and I’m trying so hard to be better.” She sucked in a ragged breath and let it out on an exhausted sigh. “And that’s, um— that’s it. If you want me to go, I—”

“I don’t want you to go,” he interrupted.

Her eyes went wide. “You don’t?”

“Of course not.” Spencer stepped forward and reached for her. “Of course not. C’mere.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, she was tumbling into his arms with a choked off sob. He pulled her inside and closed the door behind them, walking her to the couch and sitting them both down. She clung to him like she was afraid he’d disappear into thin air.

“Y/N, I’m right here,” he assured her. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

“But if you n-need space, I understand,” she sobbed.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need space. I think a week was long enough, don’t you?” he asked, pressing a kiss into her hair.

She pulled back out of the hug, head down. “But I really hurt you.”

He held her hand. “Yeah. And I really hurt you, too.”

She huffed out a breath. “That’s not how this works. I don’t get to hurt you just because you hurt me.”

“I know that.” He almost laughed at how indignant she sounded. “I’m not saying that we should hurt each other. I’m saying that sometimes it happens. And when it does, we apologize, and we forgive, and we move forward. And it’s okay if you need space. But I don’t.”

“What if you change your mind?” she whispered.

“Then I promise I’ll tell you.” Spencer tilted her chin up so he could meet her eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you what I need, as long as you tell me, too. We’ve gotta use all those communication skills we learn in therapy.”

Y/N nodded, and he pulled her into another hug. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. “If I hadn’t heard from you by Sunday, I was planning to bother you until you talked to me.”

He could feel the beginning of a smile turning up the corner of her mouth where it was pressed to his shoulder. “You never bother me,” she mumbled. She held him for a moment longer and then released him from the hug and sat back, fidgeting with her hands and letting out a breath.

“Sometimes I need to be told that my worst fears about myself aren’t true,” she admitted. “I know that’s so annoying, but—”

“It’s not annoying,” he interrupted, putting an immediate stop to that line of thought. “Telling you how amazing you are isn’t the chore that you think it is. I’m sorry that anyone ever convinced you that it was.”

He covered her hands with his own, rubbing his thumbs softly along her skin. He couldn’t stop thinking about her dealing with all of this by herself. He hated that she’d ever felt anything less than adored. More than anything, he hated that he hadn’t been able to help her through it. And he wanted to make sure that he never made that mistake again.

“A wise man told me once... that love is helping someone navigate their storms,” he murmured, squeezing her hand. She looked at him then, and he continued, “You’ve been my lighthouse for a long time, Y/N. And I— I’m trying desperately to be yours… But you have to let me.”

Her eyes filled with fresh tears, but she nodded. He let out a long breath and pulled her hands into his lap. “I understand that sometimes you need space, and that’s fine. I’m happy to give you whatever you need.”

He shook his head. “Just— please don’t try to weather the storm by yourself. You can’t do it all alone; no one can.” He smiled ruefully. “I can tell you from experience that’s pretty much a guaranteed way to capsize your boat.”

His voice cracked a little at the end, and he felt a tear slip over his lash line. “I’ll help you repair your boat, or build a new one, or you can just float on mine for a while. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty sturdy, I think.”

She brought her fingers up to brush at his damp cheeks, and he met her eyes. “What I’m not going to do is let you float out on the ocean by yourself. I love you too much.”

She was quiet for a long moment, sniffling a little and just watching him— almost like she couldn’t believe he was there. She brought her hand back to his and laced their fingers together, rubbing her thumb along his skin. “I love you the most.”

“Agree to disagree.” He gave her a small smile and leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead. “Want some tea?”

She was frowning when he pulled back, her brows drawn together. “I need to tell you about Owen.”

The conversation he’d had with Anita was suddenly on replay in Spencer’s head.

… a real piece of shit… telling her lies about herself… isolating her… destroying her from the inside out...

He squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready. You don’t have to tell me at all if you don’t want to.”

She shook her head. “Talking about him takes away his power. I have to stop letting him have so much sway over my emotions.” She looked at him then. “I do things I regret and hurt people I love.”

He brought their joined hands up his lips. “Well, I’m here either way. And I’m still going to make you some tea.”

He stood and pulled her up with him, bringing her into the kitchen and refusing to let go of her hand. He filled the kettle and turned it on, found a bag of her favorite tea and ripped it open with his teeth. He dropped the bag into her favorite mug, and then made a mug up for himself.

“You know, it’d be a lot easier if you’d let go,” she said, the hint of a smile in her voice.

“Mhm,” he agreed, but he made no move to release her hand. In fact, once he’d fumbled a spoonful of honey into each of the cups, he dropped the spoon into her mug and turned to pull her into another hug. He hooked his chin over her shoulder and closed his eyes as she brought her arms around his waist. “I missed you,” he whispered.

She squeezed him tight. “I missed you, too. I’m so sorry.”

She buried her face in his neck, and he felt her breathe him in. He pressed a kiss into her shoulder and then settled his chin again. “Apology accepted, in case it wasn’t clear.”

They stood like that until the kettle began to whistle, and then Spencer kept her tucked underneath his arm as he turned to shut it off and pour the water into the mugs. They each grabbed a mug, making their way back to the couch and setting them on the coffee table to steep. Spencer kept their fingers intertwined and stayed quiet, letting her set the pace of the conversation.

Y/N took a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. “I guess I should start at the beginning. I, um— I had my first boyfriend in high-school: Cal Cunningham. He was older and cooler, and so I felt— I don’t know… special when he picked me.” She rolled her eyes. “In reality, he was rude, and arrogant, and kind of a misogynist. We didn’t date for very long, but it kind of… set me up on this path of dating guys who weren’t very nice.”

Spencer ran his thumb soothingly along hers, waiting for her to continue. “When I started college, I dated this guy Adam for a few months. He was nice enough but really self-centered and a little immature. When we broke up I just wanted to be on my own for a while.”

“I was single for two years after that, just kind of… finding myself and whatever.” Her eyes tracked the path his thumb traced along her skin. “So when I started dating Owen at the end of junior year, it felt like my first real relationship. Like— we were both adults, and he dressed up for our dates, and he paid for things and bought me flowers and fit all the cliches.”

“And it was great at first,” she admitted. “We had a lot of the same friends, so we’d been hanging out for a while before we got together. He was a perfect gentleman— and smart, accomplished, and ambitious. I fell fast, and I fell hard, and we were sort of— it feels so stupid to say this, but it felt like we were an it couple.”

“A few of us made plans to move to DC after graduation— my friend Jess and her boyfriend Chris, Sam and Anita,” she explained. “And Owen and I, obviously. We moved in together in an apartment downtown. And that’s when everything changed.”

She drew her brows together. “It was little things at first. Like he’d jokingly call me stupid for forgetting something, or he’d complain about one of my friends being annoying. But it snowballed pretty quickly. He’d tell me I was stupid, and he wasn’t joking. All of my friends irritated him to the point where we couldn’t hang out anymore— even our former mutual friends. He thought that teaching kindergarten was a mindless, pointless job.”

Spencer tried to keep his heart rate steady, his facial expressions neutral, but his blood pressure was on the rise. No one deserved to be spoken to like that, least of all Y/N.

She continued, “We spent the holidays at my parents’ the second year we were dating, and he spent the entire car ride home explaining, in detail, how ridiculous and low-class he thought everything was.”

She shook her head and rubbed her free hand over her face. “I know it’s insane that I stayed with him for five years, but I— he did a really good job of convincing me that I was... that I was nothing. That he was doing me a favor by loving me. That he could have anyone, but he chose me. No one else was going to, so I should be grateful.”

He balled his free hand into a fist to avoid squeezing her to death. When Anita had said Owen was a piece of shit… he hadn’t realized just how deeply she meant it.

She picked at the fabric of her sweatpants, staring intently at the tiny pills. “When someone says all of that to you on a daily basis, and you’re not hearing otherwise from anyone else— because no one knew what was going on— when someone tells you you’re nothing… you start to believe it.”

Spencer relaxed his fist to bring his fingers up to her face, gently cupping her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a long moment. He didn’t know what to say. Instead, he pressed his lips to her forehead in a voiceless assurance that she was, in fact, everything. He felt her relax under the warm pressure of his lips, and he hoped that was enough for now.

He sat back to let her continue. “We were together for five years, and we only broke up because he cheated on me. It was a long term affair; they were sleeping together for almost a year before I found out. And… a lot of people knew. Almost all of his friends knew. But I didn’t. I was still being this ridiculous, desperate little Suzy Homemaker trying to make him happy, even though he was still treating me like shit.”

She laughed, but there wasn’t an ounce of humor in it. “When I found out, I wasn’t even hurt. I was… embarrassed, I guess. But I was so relieved. I was so fucking relieved that I had a way out.”

He watched as her shoulders settled, almost like an actual weight had been lifted off of them. “I got a therapist and dropped all of the friends that were still hanging around with him. I moved to a new neighborhood, started hanging out with Anita and Sam, and just— started fresh. And I was doing really well. I’ve had my moments of insecurity here and there, but for the most part, I’ve been able to recognize the moments when I’m falling back into old thought patterns.”

She looked at him then, and her eyes were so soft and lovely that his heart ached. “You’re a big reason for that. You’re so open with how you feel about me, and… it makes things a lot easier.” She dropped her gaze with a sigh. “But I— he was at the party on New Year's. And I didn’t know he was going to be there until I was already there , and then it felt stupid to leave. I thought I could handle it—”

“And then I didn’t answer your call.”

“No, no .” She shook her head and reached her free hand out to grasp his arm. “That’s— Spencer, none of this is your fault.” She furrowed her brow, and the crease between them was practically an abyss. “He sort of— cornered me on the patio. I hadn’t seen him in like, four years? And he was complimenting me, and asking about you, and then he tried to— well, he did kiss me actually. I shoved him off, and he didn’t like that, and he did his whole Owen thing. Told me that he’d cheated because I was uninteresting and worthless. That eventually you’d get bored of me, too. Just, um— generally awful shit.”

She took a deep breath, and the rest steamrolled off her tongue and over his heart. “And then he just— left . And he’d absolutely demolished my self-image in less than ten minutes, and I was embarrassed and angry at myself, and then you didn’t answer, but I was kind of glad you didn’t because I didn’t actually want to talk about it. And I thought I could just move on, but then I was being weird, and you knew something was wrong. And I just wanted to pretend like it never happened, but then you kept pressing me on it, and I just— I didn’t want to have to explain it all to you because I was afraid that— that maybe he was right.”

Y/N dissolved back into the couch, an unwelcome indication of the emotional exhaustion that came with reliving trauma. Spencer moved closer and mirrored the position of her body against the cushions, bringing his face close enough to bump their noses together. They breathed the same air for one noiseless minute before she finally met his eyes.

“I need you to understand that not one single thing he said to you— on New Year’s or ever— was right, in either sense of the word. None of it was factual, and none of it was acceptable.”

She gave him a weary nod, and he continued, “You are the single best person that I know. You’re kind, brilliant, and driven. You’re interesting, and wonderful, and lovely. You’re my absolute favorite person on the planet, and I will never get bored of you.”

He let his eyes trace over all the angles and curves of her face, and then raised his eyebrows. “He’s lucky that I respect you enough not to go over your head, because what I’d like to do is run a full background check and find any and every possible transgression that could be legally investigated and then use that information to ruin his life.” He tilted his head in thought. “That or— get really jacked and then beat the shit out of him.”

“God, please don’t. As much as I’d love to watch that unfold,” she cupped his face in her hand, “you’re better than that. And he’s not worth either of our energies… I already wasted enough time dwelling on it and hurt you in the process.” She dropped her hand back to her lap with a sigh. “I spent so much time in that relationship that my brain didn’t know what to do with this good, healthy one.”

He took both of her hands in his, squeezing them tight and then pressing a kiss to the back of each. He wouldn’t commit assault, since she’d asked him not to. But he wasn’t going to let Owen taint any part of his life with her.

“I’m so sorry that someone you loved made you think it was hard to love you. Because loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” He pressed his lips together and mused, “But I think maybe love has a learning curve. Especially when you’re used to being hurt. You have to unlearn all the bullshit. People will have you thinking that you have to water yourself down, or change who you are, or make yourself more palatable. I thought that, too.”

He brushed her hair back away from her face and waited for her to meet his eyes. “And then I met you. And you love all of it— all of me. All the rambling, all the quirks, and— even the dark parts, too.”

She sniffled a little, but really smiled for the first time that night. “What’s not to love about you?”

He smiled back. “I’m not sure if you realize that I fully reciprocate that feeling. What’s not to love about you? I have a hard time thinking of even one thing about you that I don’t absolutely adore.”

“Even when I act like a horrid bitch?” she mumbled, only half joking.

He leaned his head against the couch cushion. “A year ago, you stood on my doorstep and gave me forgiveness— after I’d been a complete asshole to you... I told you then that I wanted to learn how to love with you. I still do. In all the wonderful, and the weird, and the terrible. Even when we get it wrong.”

He shrugged, and then ran a soft fingertip down the bridge of her nose. “There is no one else I’d rather get it wrong with. Because when we get it right… it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to magic.”

Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, and she brought both hands up to his face, holding him with an adoration that made his own eyes burn. “You can believe that you love me the most,” she whispered, “but just know that you’re wrong.”

He leaned forward to close the distance between them, pressing a kiss to her lips with a reverence that felt technicolor and devout and more magical than any trick he’d ever mastered.

“Agree to disagree.”

———

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[ficforce]

Scared

Shinmon Benimaru x F!Reader

SFW

No set timeline

Established relationship

Benimaru had been really off with her lately.

It wasn’t anything obvious, just small subtle changes in the way he looked at her or spoke to her, sometimes he would look like he wanted to say something and then wouldn’t. Usually, if he wanted to tell her something he would just come out and say it.

Y/N brought her chopsticks to her mouth and as she chewed she placed them back to her rice bowl, poking at the contents like she didn’t want to take another bite. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to across the table where her gaze met Benimaru’s, his eyes were narrowed very slightly as he regarded her. Y/N nearly spoke up but the twins chose that moment to start a small fight to her left over the only piece of meat left - she heard Konro sigh on her right and the man leaned in to cut the piece in half for the girls. It was a typical morning for them… one she didn’t want to ruin.

“Y/N, you’re not eating.”

“Does your tummy still hurt?”

Turning her head with a quiet hum, Y/N smiled as two pairs of amber eyes looked up at her in a mixture of curiosity and concern, “I’m a little tired,” she reached over to adjust the yellow band in Hinata’s hair, she then leaned further and did the same for Hikage whilst brushing the rice from around their mouths. “I had two drunken idiots wake me up at three in the morning.”

Konro choked a little on his tea, having the decency to at least look embarrassed, “I wasn’t that bad, Y/N…”

“Konro,” the woman started and pointed her chopsticks at him, “You spent the good part of an hour trying to find the cat… a cat that we don’t even have.” Hearing an amused snort from Benimaru she then looked at him with an exasperated glare, “You climbed onto a set of drawers, giggling like a schoolgirl and meowing when he wasn’t looking.”

It would have been hilarious if she hadn’t been feeling like hell already, she had coaxed them into drinking water and then sent them to bed, which meant helping Benimaru get undressed and to sleep.

“Again?” He didn’t use a tone that was disbelieving but there was some sort of accusation that she couldn’t quite place. Benimaru’s eyes narrowed again, scanning her as if that would answer all of his questions and Y/N made herself busy with tidying the table, “You keep saying you feel sick - did you see the doctor like I said to?”

“You were supposed to come with us.” The Captain murmured into his cup, his head was still aching and the corner of his lips occasionally crept up into a smile; the sake still affecting him. “You were talking about it all week.”

And there it was.

Y/N had been waiting for him to pout about her ditching them last minute. They had planned a night out for weeks, it had taken some effort to convince Konro to let loose too and then a few hours before they were going to leave - she pulled out. “I already told you, I felt like I was going to puke.”

“I went last week…” Y/N said without looking at him, “They said I should just take it easy until it passes.” That wasn’t strictly true and it was why Y/N couldn’t look him in the eye. The news from the doctor had been a shock and she had walked out of the appointment in a daze, barely taking notice of anything - to the point she nearly walked into several people. It was going to change everything, it would ruin their family dynamic. She couldn’t imagine telling them that these breakfasts would never be the same again… that Benimaru would have to get used to going out without her.

Feeling her stomach twist a little she got up with the dishes and headed out before they could notice her eyes starting to water.

Just how was her lover going to take the news?

He already had so much going on; he protected the town, he put their Infernals to rest, he spoke with the families that had lost their loved one, he helped put back together the things he broke and Captained the Hikeshi. It had only been recently that he got the confidence to make more decisions without going to Konro first.

She didn’t want to burden him further.

There was already something bothering him too. Sometimes when they were together he would become stiff, his hand wouldn’t hold hers as tightly and several times he had ditched her. He’d say he had to run an errand that she knew he didn’t have and then leave - specifically telling her to stay behind.

It had gotten worse since she had started to throw up a few weeks prior.

At first, he had looked after her, rubbing her back and bringing her plenty to drink afterwards. The man acted aloof most of the time but she knew he had been worried… Maybe he knew. Maybe he was distancing himself so that he wouldn’t get hurt?

The rest of that morning Y/N went about her few tasks, fighting down nausea and worrying about her relationship. The twins had run out of the guardhouse to play once Y/N had checked they’d brushed their teeth and Konro had come to tell her that Shinra from Company 8 was coming for training. That would certainly keep Benimaru busy and she had no doubt he was thinking of ways to put Shinra on edge.

If Shinra was going then she’d need to get more food from the market, for him and Benimaru, they were going to use up plenty of their energy, physically and pyro-kinetically. Whilst going through a mental shopping list Y/N rounded the corned just as someone else did.

The tension was back in his body, she could feel it in the way his arms stiffened around her; there was a palpable feeling of trepidation rolling off of him, “Beni…?”

Trying to stop suddenly and move, Y/N tripped over her own feet and had to grab the wall to stay upright; Benimaru was a little more aware and twisted himself out of the way elegantly. “Since when were you that clumsy?”

“Shut up, Beni,” she huffed and then smirked at him, “The wall was going to attack you - I saved your life.” He rolled his eyes and barely a moment later his hands were at her lower back and hip, steadying her on her feet but lingering after he was sure she wouldn’t fall over. Benimaru was staring at her again, scanning, searching for something so intensely it made her cheeks feel warm and Y/N looked away.

“Hey,” the Captain brushed his hand over her the top of her head until he could pull her head forward to meet his. With their foreheads pressed together, she could feel her heart beating faster and she gently hooked her fingers into his belt, “You feel warm.” Benimaru worried she was hiding something from him, if she was still sick then all she had to do was tell him and he’d get her medicine… or was it worse than that? It was hard to tell if she was too warm because of his own, naturally higher, temperature.

Still, it was nice being close to Y/N and he felt now was probably the best time to talk to her about their relationship - the way things were drifting and changing.

Winding his arms around the base of her back he brought her closer to him, “You need to start being straight with me, I know something’s going on with you and I think maybe you’ve figured out why I’ve been wandering off so often?” She’d be stupid not to realise his attempt to speak with her and his sudden need to do something, anything, to be away from her. “We’ve been together for a while, even as kids we always hung out, it’s getting a little old…”

Opening her eyes, that she hadn’t realised she’d even closed, Y/N met his mismatched eyes, the circle and cross stark over the ruby of his iris’. He looked too serious and if she was honest it was kind of frightening - Did he know?

“I don’t wanna be your boyfri-”

“Captain Shinmon!” Whatever Benimaru had been about to say was drowned out by Shinra rounding the corner and giving one of his ridiculous, formal salutes, “I’m ready for…uh… I… can come back?” The young man looked at the embracing couple and a small blush came to his cheeks, he had disturbed something quite intimate, hadn’t he?

Y/N forced a smile onto her lips and stepped out of Benimaru’s arms, her hands smoothing down her clothes, “Why come back when Beni can beat you to a pulp now?”

“Y/N! It’s training! I’m here for training!” He didn’t always get beaten up, and sure, the woman often patched him up but that didn’t mean he’d gotten beat up.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Beni handing your ass to you. I’m sure one day you might graze our God of Destruction here!” Her fingers carded into Shinra’s hair and gave it a ruffle as she made to pass him, “Do your best. I’m going to go buy dinner.” Y/N pat him once more and headed further into the guardhouse.

Shinra blinked as he watched after her, he knew fake smiles when he saw one and that had definitely been one. What was going on? Why was she acting that way? He turned to ask the Captain if Y/N was okay but his eyes widened and he froze. The lack of natural light in the hallway made the glowing eyes of the Captain all the more obvious and there was an air of menace about him, all Shinra could do was grin nervously and let out a pathetic, “Sorry?”

x - -

Konro could feel her hands shaking as she treated the back of his left shoulder, the area was one of his worst for pain and sensitivity, he knew she was being as gentle as she could be but as he took a sharp breath in Y/N placed her hand on his bicep and apologised. She hated making this worse for him and Konro was too stubborn to admit it hurt… or rather, too much of a gentleman to tell her. When she had come into his room to replace his bandages he had noticed she had looked ready to burst into tears.

She was never really one to cry for no real reason, he had known her since she was a little kid and regarded her as something of a little sister - so he was more than concerned at how quiet she was, how upset she seemed to be.

Maybe she was still feeling sick?

A small sniff came from behind him and he finally caved, “Y/N, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” She placed one of the patches from Haijima over the scorched skin of his shoulder blade and taped it carefully in place. A moment of silence later and she tried to tell him in a calm, grown-up way but instead blurted out, “B-Beni��s dumping me!”

He heard a muffled sob and Konro turned around so that he could face her, he placed his hand on her head and pet it gently whilst she cried into her hands, hiding her face from him. There was no way that could be true, absolutely no chance of it, “That’s ridiculous.”

“No, no, he… he-” The words wouldn’t come out.

“Y/N. Take a breath.” Konro was firm with her, his hand now giving her shoulder a little shake, “What happened?”

He glared at the wall at the far end of the training yard for a long moment before sighing loudly, visibly deflating, “And what’s with her napping in the middle of the day and picking at her food and being so sensitive?”

He handed her a clean piece of bandage so that she could wipe her eyes and running nose before waiting patiently for her. “We nearly bumped into each other in the hall and we got to talking… he… he’s been off with me lately, staring at me, running off, trying to say something but then cutting himself off.” It seemed like petty little things but they all added up, “He said… he said, ‘I don’t wanna be your boyfriend’…” Y/N began to cry harder than before, hunching in on herself as she tried to vanish into thin air. “It’s all my fault!” she sobbed, “I’m going to ruin everything! After what the doctor said - I - I’m scared, Konro!” She felt arms around her and went to the man easily, hugging him tight as he tried to calm her. “I’m scared…”

The Lieutenant sometimes forgot that Benimaru and Y/N were still so young, barely out into their twenties. They were both tough, shouldering a lot of responsibility that they shouldn’t have to… Maybe if he’d been stronger they could have relaxed more. “Why are you scared, Y/N? What did the doctor say?” He pulled her away so that he could see her face clearly, “Are you sick?”

x - -

Ruby eyes widened and he nearly spat out his water as Konro told Benimaru about Y/N’s earlier breakdown. The Captain had been taking a break with Shinra when Konro brought them some food and water before telling him about Y/N. “She thinks I’m trying to leave her?!” Benimaru was incredulous at the suggestion, “Are you serious? Is she an idiot?!” How could she think he would even be able to get up in the morning without knowing she was beside him? If anything ever happened to her he would burn the entire Tokyo Empire down if he had to. “Where is she now?”

“She’s sleeping. We kept her up and she’s… she’s got a reason to be exhausted.” Unconsciously he stepped in front of the entrance to prevent Benimaru rushing in to find Y/N. “Look, I know you’re nervous about telling her what you wanna say but you’re freaking her out, Beni.”

“How do I just propose out of the blue? How do I word that shit, Konro?” He blurted out angrily and raked his fingers through his hair, “Stupid Shinra interrupted and she ran off!” Benimaru threw his hand out to point at Shinra who was sat with his mouth open and ramen hanging limply from his chopsticks, feeling overly awkward witnessing the conversation and being blamed. “I’ve been trying for weeks! Every time I open my mouth to ask her I get tense, then I just don’t…”

Konro put his hands on his hips and glanced at Shinra who was trying to pretend he wasn’t there. He knew the answer to Benimaru’s question but it wasn’t for him to say - he had promised to keep it quiet until Y/N was ready. After she had calmed down and finished treating him Konro had told her to go to bed. She was too exhausted and upset to get much done and he was worried about her health too. “You should ask her yourself… sooner rather than later.”

Benimaru’s eyebrows furrowed at the comment, “Oi, Shinra,” he saw the boy jump out of the corner of his eyes, “Finish that up and then I got some errands for you.”

“That’s not training!” He complained loudly

x - -

“Beni…” she could feel her eyes begin to burn with tears and tried harder to pull out of his grasp, “I can’t do this right now, Benimaru. Let go, I need to go!” She felt nauseous, her head was spinning and her stomach was churned as bile started to claw its way up her throat.

Two days passed and nothing had really changed.

Benimaru was still torturing Shinra whilst trying to get a moment alone with Y/N. The woman had been tired lately and by the time he got to bed she was fast asleep, first thing in the morning he would wake up to her throwing up in the adjoining bathroom; it was the first times he was grateful for the perk of not having to share with the whole building.

It was hard to propose to someone who was sleeping, sick or actively avoiding you.

After finishing up a little training with Shinra he headed toward the markets, Benimaru figured she’d be shopping for lunch and catching up with the residents. His eyes swept left to right, searching for her through the busy crowd, “Y/N!” He spotted her at the end of the street heading back towards the Guardhouse, “Oi, I gotta talk to you!” Benimaru shoved past some of the scaffolders fixing another building as he tried to keep an eye on her - he caught up with her and grabbed her wrist, “Didn’t you hear me?” He knew she had and figured she’d been trying to run away from him again.

“Beni,” Y/N tried to pull her hand back, “Let go.”

He refused, “This is important - I’m not putting it off anymore!” He was going to come straight out and say it this time; if anyone interrupted he was going to kill them. “I didn’t wanna do this in the middle of the street but we need to talk.”

“No.” The Captain kept a tight hold and stepped closer, “Y/N, I can’t take it anymore… I wanna- !!” He hadn’t expected her to double over and throw up over his boots; had it been anyone else he would have been angry and shoved them away. Instead, he caught Y/N around the waist as she nearly fell onto her knees. Using one hand to rub her back and moving his body to block her from prying eyes, Benimaru realised she wasn’t running away from him after all. “Sorry…” Benimaru murmured, “I didn’t realise, come on, I’ll take you home.”

When he returned to their room he found her on their futon with the covers over her crossed legs, “Here, it tastes like crap but I hope it helps.”

He left his boots at the door and took her straight to their room, quietly and gently he helped her remove her yukata that she had soiled trying to cover her mouth earlier. He wasn’t put off in the slightest and Benimaru helped clean her up a little before he got her fresh clothes, “Go rinse your mouth and I’ll get you something to help your stomach.”

Guilt gnawed away at him after he had left her to boil the kettle - she must have been so embarrassed to be sick in the street. He hadn’t meant to do that to her…

“Thanks…” They sat in silence, heavy and dense, whilst Y/N took a few sips and mulled over how to tell him - should she tell him? It felt suffocating and then all of a sudden they both looked at each other and spoke.

Another moment of quiet.

“Beni, I’m pregnant.”

“Y/N, marry me.”

“You’re not breaking up with me?”

“A baby?”

“You’ll get what you’re given, Beni.”

Benimaru put his hand over her mouth, “I love you, I’d never break up with you.”

She moved his hand from her mouth with a small frown, “Are you only asking me because you figured out I was pregnant? I don’t want that, I don’t want to hold you back and force you into some dumb honour marriage!”

“I didn’t figure out shit. I just thought you had a bug or something.” Benimaru was a little annoyed with what she was saying but now wasn’t the time for an argument, “I was trying to tell you the other day, this relationship is kinda old now, I’m done with just being your boyfriend and I wanna be your husband. I wanna have the old biddies asking me how my wife is doing… Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”

This was a little too much to take in at once and she felt her body getting hot; she was so tired of too many emotions attacking her at once. He loved her and he wanted to be her husband, to stay with her forever and as she looked at him looking at her she felt tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. “I thought you had figured it out… I thought… I thought you wouldn’t want a baby, you already have so much to do and I didn’t want to burden you and - I… I was scared, Beni, I don’t know anything about bab-”

“You’re not a burden.” He cut her off and pulled her onto his lap as he saw her burst into tears, “You say I have too much to do already but you’re the one keeping us all fed and watered. You look after the twins better than anyone and you’re great with kids. You keep me in line, you help Konro… I was hoping we could try for kids in a few years or something but you always were impatient…” The man felt Y/N grumble into his shoulder, wiping her face on his coat, but she sounded better than a moment ago, “I want a girl.”

“Isn’t a wife supposed to be obedient?”

She jabbed him in the ribs and wriggled back a little to half glare at him, “I haven’t agreed to marry you yet.”

This was better, he stroked her cheek with his fingers and smiled as she nuzzled into it, “As if you’d say no - who else you gonna marry here?”

Y/N shrugged and pretended to give it a little thought, “Shinra’s kind of sweet.”

A smirk flashed across Benimaru’s face and he hugged her close again, “Can’t marry him if he’s dead.”

“Can’t marry him if he’s dead.”

It was still a frightening thing, she was having a baby and now she was getting married. Everything was changing and for the first time, Y/N realised it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Then a different thought struck her, “Beni… where is Shinra?”