#hes so optimistic for everyone except himself

[steveseddie]

‘cause it’s you and me

rating: g | cw: none | wc: 1,9 k | tags: eddie lives, hospitals and injury recovery, steve has a crush, he also knows how to play guitar, fluff

written for @steddielovemonth day one | You and Me by Lifehouse & the quote “every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.”

read on ao3

Steve doesn’t know how much time he’s spent on the chair that is next to Eddie’s hospital bed.

Too long probably, if the recurrent pain on his back means anything. But not even that is enough to prevent Steve from staying glued to that chair, neither are the doctor’s mean looks or Robin’s insistence about him getting proper sleep or meals for that matter. Steve only leaves the chair when he has a shift or when he wants Wayne to have time alone with his nephew or when the nurses wheel Eddie away for surgery or tests or physical therapy. That’s it.

It makes the months that Eddie spends recovering blur together. Sometimes, Steve even forgets what day it is, only managing to keep track of it by the nurse’s schedule or depending on who shows up to visit Eddie. The kids and Wayne and Robin all come on different days, effectively balancing keeping their friend company with their everyday lives.

All of them except Steve.

Ever since Spring Break, it’s been Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.

Find Eddie. Get Eddie’s heart beating again. Drag Eddie out of the Upside Down. Pray that Eddie makes it out of surgery. Wait for Eddie to wake up. Comfort Eddie when he’s in pain. Take Eddie’s mind off of the murder charges that haven’t been dropped yet or the loss of their trailer or the long hours of physical therapy ahead of him. Listen to Eddie ramble on the days that he feels better about books and music and Dungeons and Dragons. Watch Eddie sleep and only then try to get a little sleep himself.

The last one might sound a little creepy but Steve thinks it’s justified considering he still can’t forget how Eddie looked when they found him– pale, bloody, dead. Watching him sleep, his chest rising and falling slowly but steadily is the only thing that calms Steve enough for him to doze off in that damn uncomfortable chair.

Only at some point it stops being entirely about making sure that Eddie is alive– the staring. Suddenly, Steve can’t keep his eyes off of Eddie at all times.

Steve stares at his face while Eddie reads a book to him out loud and forgets to pay attention to what he’s saying. He stares at Eddie’s hands while he explains something to the kids and completely miss a question from Henderson. He stares at his mouth while Eddie slurps the extra jello cup that Robin sneaked in past the nurses and blush when she catches him and smirks knowingly at him.

It takes Steve some time to figure out why he looks at Eddie so much, obvious as it is, and when he finally does he actually leaves his chair and heads to the bathroom for a proper floor freak out.

He just doesn’t know what to do with these feelings for Eddie or where to go from there so he just– doesn’t do anything.

And things stay the same.

Except for the way Eddie keeps getting better.

The doctors are so optimistic that they announce that Eddie might get to go home soon. They have him doing laps around the hospital and start slowly tapering off his pain meds and encouraging him to pick back up things he used to do like writing and playing guitar to work on his dexterity, they said.

It’s why Eddie starts writing down plans and ideas for future dork campaigns again and why Wayne brings his sweetheart to the hospital.

(Eddie almost cried when he saw it, making grabby hands and hugging it against his chest with a happy sigh.

“I swear you’re happier to see that thing more than you’ve ever been to see me,” Steve muttered through pursed lips.

“Steve, don’t call her a thing! She can hear you!” Eddie protested, appalled. Which wasn’t a no but at least later he tells Steve that there’s enough room in his heart for two sweethearts.)

It’s not like Eddie goes back to being a rock god on the guitar right away and his writing is intelligible more often than not, but none of that stops him. He keeps trying, keeps practicing, and Steve loves him more and more for it.

Yes. Love. The first time the word pops up in Steve’s head it leads to yet another bathroom floor freak out but once he realizes it, he has to bite his tongue to stop himself from blurting it out several times a day.

He’s doing it right now while watching Eddie excitedly write down a D&D character sheet for him with his tongue poking out adorably between his lips, tempting Steve to lean in and kiss them. So when a nurse interrupts them to take Eddie away for some test, he appreciates the short break.

When he’s alone, Steve reaches for the notebook that Eddie left on the bed. It’s off limits for any of the kids, but Eddie has let Steve peek at it before. He doesn’t think he’ll mind.

He reads his character sheet, recognizing some of the nerdy words while others fly completely over his head. Then he leafs lazily through pages of notes and doodles until he pauses at what looks like an unfinished song, fragments of lyrics and melodies written messily over the page.

Steve sends a sidelong glance to Eddie’s guitar where it’s leaning against the wall.

He’s never told anyone but he took some guitar lessons back when he started high school, hoping that playing an instrument would help get him girls. He knows how to read music and can fumble his way through a few simple songs, but he never made it past that. It seemed useless when he already had Nancy, and then when he didn’t have her anymore, he had the kids and the Upside Down and playing guitar didn’t seem like a useful skill to have when fighting monsters.

He chuckles. “Guess I was wrong,” he mutters to himself, thinking about Eddie saving the world with a Metallica song of all things.

Without giving it much thought, Steve stands up and carefully grabs the guitar, bringing it back with him to the chair and resting it on his leg, Eddie’s notebook open on the bed in front of him.

He clumsily places his fingers on the fretboard and tries to play the melody that Eddie wrote down. He messes up a few notes, but for someone who hasn’t touched a guitar in years he thinks he plays it decently enough. Eddie would surely do a better job, but it still doesn’t sound half bad. Maybe he can ask Eddie for help to improve and–

“What are you doing?” Eddie’s voice breaks through the melody. His fingers slip and the guitar makes a loud, screechy sound that makes Steve wince.

He whirls around and finds Eddie staring at him from the door, his face unreadable.

Steve gulps, his cheeks pinking up at being caught. “Playing guitar?”

Eddie’s eyebrows knit together. “Since when do you know how?”

“I– uh, I took lessons years ago but I stopped,” he says, tripping on his words. “I– I found your– your song and I was trying to play it–”

Eddie’s eyes dart to the notebook on the bed. Steve winces again, worrying that Eddie will get mad because he went through his things or because he touched his sweetheart.

“That sounds nothing like what I wrote.”

Or because he butchered his song.

Steve blushes brighter, reaching for the notebook and fumbling to close it. “Sorry, I– it’s been a while and I was never that good to begin with.”

With three long strides –and a lot less limping than a month ago, Steve proudly notices– Eddie reaches his side and snatches the notebook from Steve’s hands.

“Give me that!” He says, flopping down on the bed and flicking furiously through the pages, his face pinched.

“Shit, Eddie, I’m sorry, I– I didn’t think you’d be mad–”

“You bet I’m mad!” Eddie says with a huff, patting the bed sheets, trying to find something.

Steve shrinks down on the chair. “I– I think I’m gonna go–” he says, pushing himself to his feet. Better to leave now before Eddie finds whatever he’s looking for and throws it at his head.

“Aha!” Eddie gasps, holding up his pen. Then he notices Steve standing awkwardly and frowns at him. “Wait, what? No, stay. Play it again.”

Steve blinks down at him. “What?”

“The song!” Eddie urges him but his voice is soft, gentle. “Play it again, Stevie, please.”

Stevie. Please. He’s not mad.

“What?”

Eddie heaves out a sigh, but it comes across as fond. “Dude, I’ve been trying to figure out the right melody for that song for like, half a year!” He says, shaking his notebook aggressively. A few pages fall off, but he pays them no mind. “But I just couldn’t get it fucking right, there was always something missing! And it was whatever you were doing when I walked in!”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“Not at you, Stevie, no,” Eddie chuckles. “Just mad that it was you who figured it out with your secret magic guitar skills and not me.”

“Oh,” Steve says, and he can’t help but let out a chuckle himself. “So you want me to do it again?”

Eddie nods enthusiastically and that’s enough to make Steve flop back down on the chair, propping the guitar on his legs and doing his best to play the song like he did before.

He must get it right because Eddie lets out an adorable squeal before using his pen to cross out something and write down whatever Steve accidentally came up with.

“Goddamn, sweetheart, I’m gonna have to dedicate this song to you now as a thank you,” Eddie says, grinning so wide at his notebook that it shows off his dimples.

Steve hangs a hand from his neck. It feels hot to the touch, probably from the pet name. “Too bad it’s a love song,” he jokes weakly, even if he wants nothing more than for Eddie’s words to be about him.

Eddie glances up, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. “I know,” he says softly, his eyes flickering nervously over Steve’s face.

Oh. Oh.

Stomach fluttering with butterflies, Steve stands up, grabbing the guitar by its neck to prop it up against the wall.

“Uh, you– are you leaving?” Eddie asks, chewing anxiously on his pen as he watches Steve move around silently. Little does he know that his heart is currently screaming at him to gently tackle Eddie into the bed.

But first–

“Just making sure your guitar is safe before I go over there and kiss you, Eds,” he says, the corners of his mouth ticking up when Eddie squeaks again, his eyes widening.

“Oh, o–okay. That’s smart. Yup,” he stammers out, his voice an octave higher, his cheeks pinking up. “Does that mean you also–”

“Feel that way about you?” Steve asks, sitting on the bed next to Eddie, who nods expectantly. Steve reaches out and tucks a lock of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, Eddie, I do.”

When Steve leans in and finally, finally kisses him, Eddie lets his notebook fall to the floor so he can grab Steve’s shoulders. The urgency to write down that perfect melody now replaced by an urgency for Steve.

But it doesn’t matter, Steve thinks that melody is now seared into both of their memories forever, as is their first kiss. The first of many.

[hisui-dreamer]

a world without you

Pairing: Leona Kingscholar x gn!reader

Synopsis: When Leona hears the Shroud brothers' plan, he thinks back to his herbivore, and how their existence has changed so much for him.

Tags: spoilers up to Ch 6!!!, established relationship, angst but fluff, drama, bot proofread

Word count: 878

Notes: this can be read as my view of leona's character, so please accept my leona brainrot <3 just some thoughts I had when I read ch 6. also leona might be a little ooc but it's his internal thoughts so I like to think he's more emotional :3

"It needs to reset before we can start a new game."

Shocked expressions were exchanged across the room as the implications of the younger Shroud's plan slowly settled on everyone's mind.

Leona couldn't help but think that, if the opportunity had been given to him a year ago, he'd likely have accepted whatever the robot kid was going for.

Leona always felt that he had been cheated in life. Ever since he was young, he was constantly compared to his older brother, who was seen as the epitome of success in their family, the perfect heir to the throne. Everyone would constantly praise his brother's achievements while dismissing his own accomplishments as trivial. It didn't matter that he was working hard to prove himself, that he could wield such powerful magic as a child.

He often wondered why he had to be born, if he was only meant to stay in another person's shadow to make them seem brighter in contrast.

No matter how hard he studied, how mature he acted, or how strong his magic was, it was all pointless. The ghostly whispers of the palace staff continued, and the judging remarks from the council intensified.

He was born as the second prince.

And he was destined to forever be just that—second.

When it finally clicked for him, he stopped trying. Why make an effort in anything, when time and time again, he had given his all only to end up with nothing? They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results. Despite what others might say, Leona was incredibly brilliant, with a sharp mind fit to be a wise ruler. He knew, without a doubt, that it was pointless to continue down the road of insanity.

Instead, he continued down the path of sloth, eventually finding everything, the entire world, pointless. He found himself skipping classes and taking naps whenever he could, hiding away from the world where he would never be able to stand under the sun, but at least comforted by the serene embrace of his dreams.

He had wanted to turn the world to sand and start over.

It had been a wild thought, but here the Shrouds were, proposing an entire reset of the world.

Leona's mind raced as he contemplated the consequences of such an ordeal. Indeed, he had always dreamed of a world where everyone had an equal chance to succeed, where people were not judged based on their social status, birth order, or magical ability. A world where he was no longer burdened by the expectations of his family, where he was free to be who he truly was, a world where everyone was given a fair chance to succeed, and where no one was left behind.

And yet, without realising it, the thought of starting over in a new world had left his mind ever since you came into his life. You were everything he had ever wished for but never deserved in a partner—kind, caring, and endlessly supportive, always by his side despite his crude demeanour and harsh words. You showed him that there was meaning to living, opening his eyes to the people around him. He had friends who cared about him, incredible talent that could bring great changes, and most importantly, you, his dearest herbivore who shone like a beacon in the shadowed depths of his heart.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly content with what he had, despite all the flaws and problems that persisted.

He had never cared about resetting the world and losing everything he had to start anew. But it was a different story now.

What would happen to the people he cared about in this new world? What if he never met you? What if everything he had ever known and loved was erased? And what of the memories that he made at NRC with you, with Savanaclaw, and everyone else?

Leona's thoughts drifted to his memories of you, your fierce eyes staring directly into his, determined to befriend him; the quiet evenings you had spent together under the starry sky sharing stories and enjoying each other's company; the way you would instinctively lean into him for comfort; the dazzling smile that graced your face when you spotted him in a crowd.

He made up his mind then.

He didn't want, no, he wouldn't risk losing you. Your presence had given him the joy he had never experienced, the hope for a better day tomorrow, and he wouldn't give that up for anything. He would continue to work towards a fairer world, but he would do so without resetting everything that he had come to cherish.

He had learned to appreciate the people in his life. He had found happiness, despite the unfairness of the world. He knew that he had found something precious in this unfair world—someone who cherished him wholeheartedly for whatever he may be.

No, he doesn't want to reset the world.

"I'll grant you one thing. The world totally sucks as it is. But I don't think your new one would be any more to my taste. So I'm going to stick with this one. It's less of a pain."

[uisceb]

Okay I want to talk about this moment between Morrible and Glinda for a sec because it adds such a wonderfully sinister layer to a scene that is otherwise a triumphant defining moment for Elphaba, and it sets up the dynamics for Part 2 so perfectly.

At this point, we are in the thick of “Defying Gravity.” Everyone’s attention is on Elphaba - and rightfully so, she’s up there declaring war on the Wizard, displaying incredible feats of magic, of course everyone’s attention is on her.

…Everyone, except Morrible.

Morrible has realized that Plan A was a bust, but rather than panicking, she’s already worked over Plans B through Z in her head and has realized that Glinda, not Elphaba, is actually the key figure here. Glinda is actually the best thing that could have happened to them.

Mind you, Morrible hates Glinda. She thinks Glinda is vapid and attention-seeking and completely without talent. It would be extremely easy for her to brand Glinda as an accomplice to Elphaba, have the guards drag her off, imprison her, never have to deal with her again, nice and neat.

Instead, while everyone else is focused on Elphaba, Morrible only has eyes for Glinda. She zeroes in on her, releases her, and comforts her, because she understands what no one else understands, which is that yes, that’s great that the Wizard now has an enemy to unify his people against, but they also need a symbol of hope, something that is the exact antithesis to Elphaba, something to keep everyone at extremes. 

The Wizard himself can’t really be a symbol of hope, because the key to his success is that he remains shrouded in mystery, and yes people think he’s wonderful, but there’s a level of uncertainty and intimidation to him. He is Oz the Great and Terrible, and everyone’s preeeeeetty sure he’s a good guy, but if you have someone like Elphaba out there - who Morrible knows from experience is very smart, very articulate, and has her own sort of magnetism - there’s a potential that she could turn at least enough people against the Wizard to make things very inconvenient.

So what they need, now that they have an enemy, is to have an equally magnetic figurehead representing the Wizard who embodies all these one-dimensional ideas of goodness, someone for the public to adore and fawn over so the association between Wizard and Goodness is crystal clear.

And by bringing Glinda along, Elphaba has unknowingly served that figurehead up on a platter.

Glinda is everything Elphaba isn’t, from personality, to appearance - Morrible has already set Elphaba up by calling her green skin an “outward manifestorium of her twisted nature,” which paves the way for Glinda, who is the perfect conventional beauty, to be an “outward manifestorium” of pure goodness. 

Morrible realizes they need these two lightning rods of Absolute Evil and Absolute Good in order to manipulate people - fear alone isn’t enough; the only way to effectively radicalize the populace is to make sure there is no gray area whatsoever, no room for question: you're either good, or you’re evil. And the Wizard alone isn’t a strong enough representation of “goodness” when by virtue of existing, he has to remain in the shadows. Glinda on the other hand? With her looks and her charm and her openness and her ability to expertly win over a crowd? Perfect for the role.

Now the tricky part for Morrible is taking into consideration that Glinda and Elphaba love each other. But we also know from earlier scenes that Morrible is a master at manipulating emotions. Right from the start when Elphaba is having trouble with her magic, Morrible casually brings up the “Animals should be seen and not heard” disturbance from class, spoon-feeding her just enough to get Elphaba upset, triggering her magic, after which Morrible makes sure to give her assurance and praise to keep Elphaba optimistic about her power.

She’s also aware that Glinda does have quite a bit of influence over Elphaba, because when Elphaba flees, Morrible immediately tasks her with winning her over, rather than simply relying on the guards or even going after Elphaba herself. She knows if anyone has a chance at roping Elphaba back in, it's Glinda.

Obviously, Glinda isn’t successful in getting her back, but while this puts a dent in Morrible’s plans to get control of Elphaba, it does give her an extra weak spot to exploit in Glinda.

So now, at the height of “Defying Gravity” when Elphaba has officially taken her stand against them, Morrible sees Glinda, and Glinda is at her most vulnerable, her most emotionally fragile. Not only is she heartbroken and in shock, she’s also just witnessed in real time exactly how easy it is to turn an entire nation against someone. She’s scared, she’s powerless. She’s just lost the love of her life her only friend, she has no one to turn to - Morrible has definitely picked up on the fact that even though Glinda has countless people who fawn over her, none of them can be considered a true friend except for Elphaba, which means Glinda is completely isolated. Glinda also has a very limited understanding of the bigger picture of what the Wizard is trying to accomplish, and because she’s never been a victim of the system the way Elphaba has, she is still desperately clinging to the idea that everything will be okay as long as she plays by the rules of the people in power.

She has been perfectly primed for Morrible to begin manipulating, not through violence or intimidation, but by offering her comfort when no one else would - when not even Glinda’s only friend would - when no one else is even paying attention to Glinda, because they have the very real and present threat of Elphaba quite literally hanging over them. In this moment, Morrible chooses Glinda, which Glinda has been striving for since the beginning. Elphaba has chosen her principles, the Wizard has chosen his enemy, but Morrible has chosen Glinda, and in this moment of being so alone and so afraid and so betrayed, that makes all the difference.

We also get kind of a parallel shot too - Elphaba really sealed her fate the second her hand closed around the broom. But here, Glinda seals her fate when she gives in and reciprocates Morrible’s hold on her.

THIS is the moment that sets us up for Part 2, with Elphaba and Glinda as our lightning rods for Absolute Evil and Absolute Good, but more to the point, it makes it clear that they’ve BOTH been used, they’ve BOTH played right into these respective roles Morrible and the Wizard need in order to be successful - even if it wasn’t how Morrible originally planned for things to go.

I just love it, because “Defying Gravity” is Elphaba’s song - it’s triumphant, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s everything a defining moment should be for a character. But by injecting this little moment between Morrible and Glinda into the scene, we also get an underlying current of dread because we know we’re about to see the consequences of Elphaba’s defiance versus Glinda’s compliance and how both serve to benefit the Wizard/Morrible’s propaganda.

TL;DR - when I said "I want to talk about this scene between Morrible and Glinda for a sec" I clearly meant "I'm gonna write a whole essay. Like a nerd."

[enigmaedid]

Sonic and Shadow’s dynamic is one of the most absurdly compelling things in the universe, but trying to piece together how they ended up together? It’s like trying to make sense of a puzzle where half the pieces are missing, and the other half shouldn’t even be in the box.

Sonic, the embodiment of joy, freedom, and unshakable optimism, has spent his entire life running toward the next person to help. He’s the hero who sacrifices his own well-being to make sure everyone else is okay, even if it means going head-to-head with the most dangerous forces in the world. That’s his thing—helping others, making them smile, and giving them a sense of hope. But here’s the twist: as much as he wants to be the happy-go-lucky guy everyone sees, there’s this dark undercurrent to him, this subtle tension between his desire to save and his need to keep people at arm’s length. Maybe it’s because he knows just how far he’s willing to go for the ones he loves, or maybe it’s because no one’s ever really looked past that surface-level heroism to see the weight he carries.

Then there’s Shadow. Shadow is pure contradiction—born from hatred, bitterness, and a deep sense of wronged pride. His entire existence was forged in the fire of suffering, revenge, and manipulation, and for a long time, that’s all he knew. He hurt people. He tore through the world just to sustain his own sense of purpose and to feel something, anything. When he wasn’t using his anger as a shield, he was using it as a weapon, but deep down, the emptiness was there. It’s always there, because it’s all he's ever known. He doesn’t trust anyone—not even himself—but somewhere along the way, he started pretending like he didn’t care. Like nobody mattered. Except maybe, just maybe, a certain blue hedgehog who wouldn’t leave him alone.

Their first encounter is nothing short of explosive. Sonic, ever the optimist, sees someone with a chip on his shoulder the size of a mountain and thinks, “Oh, this guy’s a challenge.” He doesn’t know why, but he just has to reach out to Shadow. Maybe it’s the hidden pain he can sense or maybe it’s just Sonic’s nature to see someone struggling and want to help them—but Shadow? Shadow doesn’t need help. Or so he thinks. What starts as one of their usual high-speed chases quickly turns into a twisted game of cat-and-mouse. Sonic’s persistence irritates Shadow to no end, but after a while, there’s this weird, unspoken thing between them. Sonic doesn’t give up, and Shadow? Well, Shadow's just too damn intrigued.

And before they know it—despite themselves—they’re tangled up in each other’s lives. Sonic wants to fix Shadow. He wants to show him there’s more to life than pain, revenge, and isolation. Shadow wants to break Sonic—wants to prove that no one can truly care for someone like him. They’re so opposite, so fundamentally wrong for each other, yet there’s a magnetic pull that neither of them can deny. They don’t fit. They shouldn’t fit. And yet… somehow, they do.

They start dating, and it’s utterly ridiculous. Sonic is all heart, wearing his emotions on his sleeve (even if he doesn’t always want to), while Shadow is trying to act aloof, like he’s above it all. But the walls start to crack. Sonic’s relentless positivity somehow makes Shadow drop his guard just a little, and Shadow’s complexity—his pain, his past—gives Sonic something to fight for. They clash. They argue. They’re insufferable at times. But there’s a strange comfort in it. Sonic gives Shadow the space to be vulnerable, and Shadow forces Sonic to confront the parts of himself he’s been hiding.

Nobody understands why they’re together. Not even them, probably. It's like watching a romantic comedy where the two leads are so mismatched, you can’t even imagine how they got together—but there they are. It’s dysfunctional. It’s complicated. It’s pure chaos. But somehow, that’s what makes it work. Because when you strip it down, it’s two broken souls trying to find a way to fit into each other’s worlds. It’s a love story where the line between hatred and affection is paper-thin, and neither Sonic nor Shadow quite knows when they crossed it.

It’s messed up, it’s confusing, and it’s a damn trainwreck—but that’s exactly why it’s so perfect.

[violentdelights-violentendss]

i got ANOTHER IDEA ! !! !! what about the last request but flipped. the men just being utterly WHIPPED for reader and just being clingy and loving in their own respective ways; except maybe instead of fedya you could do poe or chuuya? fdmnsmasksdjfkshfks. i LOVE you and ur writing so MUCH thank you for feeding me

YES OFC I LOVE THESE SM!!! I'm so sorry I died and come back just now… but better late than ever, right? I’m not really proud of this but I hope you enjoy! Please request anything else, specifically you, Cherie-soup darling!!! I adore your requests!!!

BSD Men being Clingy

In this post: ✨Chuuya✨, ✨Akutagawa✨ and ✨Dazai✨

Pairing: Fem!reader x BSDMen

Synopsis: BSD Men being clingy with their girlfriends

Dazai

This man…he is the king of clinginess. He is constantly touching you. Some body part of his is perpetually in contact with you. He physically cannot get enough of you. Could it also be because he is terrified of losing you? Possibly. But he will never admit to it. Dazai hides behind his carefree attitude, so engrained in his behaviour that it takes months, if we’re being optimistic, probably years for him to admit that the constant skin contact reassures his traumatised heart. Whether he has had the courage to tell you or not, you're insightful enough to realise the true meaning hidden behind the way his hand constantly seems to call your name when you're far away. You don't mind, almost craving it as much as he does. Everyone in the agency knows that if they need you or Dazai, they just need to find one of you because the other is probably walking besides them. Dazai's hands permanently being around your waist, and yours being perpetually on his back.

You slipped inside the elevator, walking as quietly as your heels would permit, shooting nervous glances at the couch inside the break room. From the hallway you could spot Dazai's long legs slung over the edge, and his chest peacefully rising and falling as he slept. A negotiation attempt with the Port Mafia had been called due to a recent mission, and Dazai, being the resident expert, was sent with Fukuzawa to the meeting. No matter how much Dazai smiled and joked as per usual, the minute he stepped inside the office you could tell he was exhausted. He would never admit to it, but it was draining going back to the world he once belonged to, back to his nightmarish past. It was traumitizing for him, and forced Dazai to face a version of himself he had tried to get rid of. But the past is persistent and seemingly clung onto the straps of his long coat, reaching into his mind. Every single time Dazai had to deal with the Port Mafia he never sleeps through the night, either staying up with a glass of rum or lying in bed just for your sake but never closing his eyes for a second. Being his partner, you know this better than anyone; when you had looked over and spotted your boyfriend sleeping, for what seemed to be the first time in forever, you tried to leave as quietly as you could when Kunikida had asked you to go get some coffees for the rest of the agency.

You watched the doors of the elevator slide shut, a small triumphant smile dancing on your lips. Before you could yell victory, a familiar, slender hand slipped through the minuscule gap left in between the closing metal doors. The sensor activated, the doors springing back, revealing a sleepy Dazai rubbing his eyes. You sighed in defeat, your head hitting the back of the elevator as your boyfriend slinked inside. He came to stand next to you, his familiar cologne caressing your cheeks.

“Where’re you going?” Dazai asked, his words slurred with the lilt of sleep.

“Coffee. You need to go back to bed.” You replied. “Come on, go.” You placed both of your hands on his shoulder, trying to shove him towards the door. Surprisingly, your tall, lanky boyfriend didn’t even budge when you threw your whole weight against him. You huffed, your face red. Dazai gazed down at you, a glint in his eyes as he grinned.

“I’m not that easy to get rid of, Bella Donna,” he cooed, the sleepiness now gone from his features, the pain from the day grazing the surface of his eyes.

You gave up, leaning against his chest. “I don’t want to get rid of you: I want for you to sleep.” You whined, looking at him with exasperation marring your lips. “I was so quiet. I basically floated over the ground! How did you even hear me?”

Dazai didn’t respond for a second, letting his fingertips glide down your cheek, before following the curve of your neck. “Because, my love,” he leaned down towards you, your lips millimeters apart. “As the sunflowers follow the sun, I follow mine wherever she goes.” His lips pressed against yours, tasting your vanilla lip gloss, the one he adored the most. Your eyes fluttered shut, leaning into the kiss, pulling back only to press your forehead against his.

Dazai straitened his back, smirking down at you. You lifted on your tiptoes, reaching his ear. Dazai’s hand wrapped around your waist, holding you steadily against him. “No matter how much you sweet talk me, I’m forcing you to nap with me when we get back home.” You whispered, pulling back to wink at him.

Dazai sighed, raising his arms. “Can’t say a man didn’t try.”

The smile that lit your face gave Dazai enough energy to last through the day, the warmth from your love making him eventually fall asleep in your lap back home, no nightmares haunting his mind for once.

Chuuya

Chuuya is extremely clingy, but he does it in a more subtle way than Dazai. His eyes will always follow you in a room filled with people, never letting you go. Whenever you’re standing next to him, he will subtly hold you. Chuuya doesn’t let himself be too clingy: being in the Port Mafia he never wants to attract too much attention to you, and mark you as a potential target. He knows that he would be able to rescue you, but he doesn’t even want to risk it. Plus, he has a reputation to maintain as the cruel mafia boss, or at least what’s left of his reputation after Dazai spent most of his free time back in day the spreading rumours about him (Chuuya never slept in unicorn pjs, thank you very much). But Chuuya needs you to be next to him, always. When he and you are alone, in private, he will always be draped over you, in some way or another. He wants to do everything with you. You’re going grocery shopping and it’s his one day off? He’s putting his shoes on as we speak. Anything he does with you for him is special, and could never be boring, because you are everything to him. You’re the air he needs to survive, and he will make sure you know that.

“Babydoll, I’m home!” Chuuya called, closing the door behind him with a kick of his leg. He hung his hat on the wall, running a hand through his hair.

“Welcome home! I’m in the shower!” Your distant voice echoed back to him, bouncing in the house. Just the sound of your voice made Chuuya’s heart flutter.

“I’m gonna make myself some food!” Chuuya called back, taking off his vest and draping it on the back of a kitchen chair. He immediately started looking through your cupboards, craving some chocolate chip cookies with milk. He’d seen Mori’s ability, Elise, dunk a chocolate chip cookie in a glass filled with milk during a meeting today, and it hadn’t gotten out of his head. Quickly locating the ingredients, he held them all in his arms, before he leisurely made his way to the bathroom.

Chuuya waltzed in, finding you standing in the shower, shaving your leg. You looked up at him, blinking in surprise. Chuuya, unfazed, sat on the toilet, biting into the cookie. “Hey darling,” he waved, swallowing.

“What are you doing?” You asked tentatively, holding the unmoving razor against your leg.

Chuuya lazily grinned at you, taking a swig of his milk as if it were whiskey. “Spending time with the woman I love.”

“By sitting on the toilet while I’m in the shower?”

“Of course. I don’t see anything weird about this: you’re here, therefore I am here.”

You laughed out loud, the absurdity of the situation swirling joyfully in your chest. You looked at Chuuya with a gleaming smile dancing on your lips, hastily throwing down the razor and jumping out of the shower to envelop Chuuya in a hug. “Only you could be this imperfectly awesome.” You whispered in his ear. Chuuya coughed loudly, trying to hide the blush that dusted his face by burying his face in your hair.

He was about to declare his never ending love for you sensually, hoping to take advantage of your nakedness to have a little fun, when he felt the cookie in his hand be nibbled at subtly. He pulled away from the hug, watching as you grinned at him, half of his cookie dangling from your mouth. “All of this was a ploy to steal my cookies?” He yelled in mock horror.

You played along, cackling like a witch. “Of course!”

He glanced at you for a moment, finding breathtaking beauty in every square millimeter of your face. Chuuya slid his hand along your arm, gently holding your face in place. “Truthfully, my dear, you could steal all of my cookies without asking me and I’d still love you to death.” He whispered, before leaning down to press a kiss against your lips. You closed your eyes, melting into the embrace that was forever your home.

Akutagawa

Oh boy… Akutagawa being clingy is something else. It doesn’t start immediately; at the beginning of your relationship, Akutagawa is less than clingy. You are the one that initiates all type of physical contact, and your traumatized, awkward, little man responds as smoothly as a block of ice would dance on the dance floor. He moves slowly, but your encouraging smile helps him loosen up. It does take a long, long while, however, for him to initiate physical contact himself. Deep down, even if Akutagawa doesn’t want to admit it to himself, he is so, so, so clingy. He needs it, he craves it. He desires it so much it makes his skin crawl. His clinginess starts manifesting in an almost stalker-like way. He stands quietly in the corner of the room you’re also in, or he watches you from the dark hallway. You have been scared by him more than once, but you slowly start to get used to it, understanding that he needs a little push, even talking to him even if he stands in a corner. The warmth in your voices soothes him, and soon Akutagawa is confident enough to stroll up to you and hug you whenever he wishes. When he realizes he can do whatever he wishes, he almost never gets enough of it. He’s never as comfortable as you are, but he does get better. He does not like PDA, so it does take an eternity for him to even hold your hand in public, but he does starts to hug you in his office, only after he has made sure to lock the door of course. But, it’s still progress, and you can’t be happier to know your beloved boyfriend is slowly getting used to the idea that he has the right to be loved.

You were laid on the couch, watching a movie on your tv. It was your and Akutagawa’s day off, and he was currently fixing a wonky shelf in your entrance. You had offered to help him but he had gently pushed you towards the living room, before he had turned to inspect the wall. The noises from the hallway had stopped echoing in the apartment quite a few minutes ago, however, letting you question what your mafioso boyfriend was currently doing.

You glanced towards the hallway, ready to call him, when you noticed him standing in the doorway, looking at you. You flinched in surprise, and then smiled at him. You were about to call him, but you then recognized the stare of absolute, ardent, concentration that was encapsulated in his eyes: he was trying to imitate skin contact. Slowly, trying to pretend you hadn’t noticed anything you turned back to look at the movie. His creepy behavior wasn’t exactly new, letting you acquire a little bit of experience. You knew that if you had called out to him, he would have sprinted away like a startled deer. You had to wait for him to make his approach at his own pace.

And so, you did.

Over the span of thirty minutes, Akutagawa had slowly inched towards the couch, stiffly sitting on the opposite end from you. You pretended to not notice, grabbing your phone to swipe on instagram. You spent a little more than five minutes on there, quickly throwing your phone to the side when boredom had filled your mind. In that short amount of time, Akutagawa had slid along the couch to sit next to you. You froze, staying still. You could feel his knee grazing yours, your heart fluttering in anticipation.

You were expecting him to slowly reach for your hand, and then intertwine his fingers with yours, and, for a moment, you believed you were right when you felt his hand glide along yours. Your brows furrowed in confusion when he went past your hand and reached your waist. You gasped in surprise when his other hand landed on your thigh and he swiftly picked you up and placed you snuggly on his lap, wrapping his arms around you and smashing you against his chest. You blinked in surprise for a second, before melting into his hug. “Hey, Aku,” you whispered, trying not to squeal in delight: he had initiated physical contact, and in such an extreme way that he had never reached before! You could scream with joy, but you quickly tried to push down the geyser of delight pressing against your lip, choosing to nuzzle against him instead.

“Hey,” he murmured back, kissing your neck.

You two said nothing more after that, just simmering in each other’s warmth. Akutagawa’s locked limbs started to loosen over time, and your reassuring scent started to lull him to sleep. And for once, he didn’t resist it, letting Morpheus pull him in his embrace, confident he was safe, and that you were safe, lying in his arms. Nothing would hurt either of you. Before he was fully lulled into sleep, a small smile graced his lips, knowing he had never been this happy.

[islandofsages]

hey, I could ask the royal boys (Leona, Kalim and Malleus) with the male reader who is already the king of his country, like the boys thought he was a prince like them, but then on any given day he lets out a complaint how difficult it is to govern the kingdom and study for exams at the same time, sometimes he just wanted to be the prince and not the king.

characters: leona, kalim and malleus x king!male reader

tags: platonic, canon compliant, fluff, imagines + scenario format

warnings: a little bit of negativity towards reader in leona's part, a bit of swearing in kalim's

author's notes: loving all the male reader requests rn. i think i strayed a bit from the prompt but i hope you like it anyway <3

Leona Kingscholar

Though being a prince himself, he’s not as “diplomatic” with the other princes at that school - except for you probably. No don’t ask him what happened, he’s ready to accept it as it is

At least because of your (assumed) status, he finds it easier to communicate with you; at least you’re not one of the top five most powerful mages in the world or the most optimistic person in Twisted Wonderland

Hangouts with him still consist more of silent chilling though; both of you just need to get away from it all for a while

He doesn’t question the days that you’re gone - sometimes people just end up needing you to do this and that. He tries not to dwell on it too much, lest his inferiority complex gets the best of him

Until one day, you come back after one day of absence, which is normal enough until-

“*sigh* I swear, being king is less appealing as my retainers make it sound, especially since I also have to go to school all the while.”

I’m sorry, being what now?

He knew you were royalty, that much he got from everyone whispering about you back when you enrolled and since you made little mention of your background, he just assumed you were a prince like him

You let out a tired chuckle then and comment on how you forgot that you never told him you’re an actual king of a nation

He has mixed feelings over this - he thought he finally met someone a little bit like him, yet you’re just another one of them and you never bothered telling him who you are?

But don’t worry, he gets over his feelings of betrayal after a while; it’s not like the reveal changed who you are as a person. You’re still the same guy who he’s been hanging out with and he knows his brain is trying to defend itself

You apologize for not telling him sooner and despite your complaints, you try not to sound ungrateful, especially considering his issues

At some point, even Leona himself starts to forget about that fact

It doesn’t matter if you carry a whole nation on your shoulders because - and he will never say this out loud - he knows you’re capable and if you start to crumble, he’ll be there for you.

Kalim Al-Asim

Though he’s not one to really care about someone’s social status, he’s happy to have more royal friends

Doesn’t stop him from spoiling you. Haven’t you heard? Any friends of Kalim are also friends of his many, many fortunes

He invites you over to Scarabia for parties every so often and either you are surrounded by people or everyone leaves you alone out of intimidation

But hey, if the latter happens, Kalim is more than happy to help you make some friends (unless you’re uncomfortable with it of course but he’ll still try to help)

One time, at one of his many parties, you two were simply laughing over something and it reminded you of something-

“That makes me think of the time this creature took a shit on my throne back at home - it took a few days for the stench to fade!”

Oh, of course, your throne! Everyone totally has a literal throne back home! Until Kalim realizes that is, in fact, untrue

As if he wasn’t already excited at the prospect of a new friend, he gets more excited at the fact that you have your own throne and is, he concludes, a monarch

You brush him off, light pink decorating your cheeks, saying that it’s not really that special - and you mean it

You tell him of the experience and you couldn’t help slip in a few complaints; it isn’t easy to juggle both school and royal responsibilities at the same time

He only listens in and tries his best to understand; he is no king, and though he is a housewarden and a prince, your struggles differ from his by a long mile

From that day on, he makes sure to check in on you and if you’re feeling less than, he’ll drop everything and do anything to relieve you of your stress

When he drops by your nation and your palace, he brings in a whole parade. It’s so Kalim that you can only laugh

You knew that story about a creature shitting on your throne was gonna be a good story at parties.

Malleus Draconia

Your presence is an absolute delight to him; it didn’t occur to him to ask what kind of royalty you are but it didn’t matter either way

He finds himself more comfortable talking about his heritage around you, knowing that you can somewhat relate to being of nobility

If you’re not part of his club, sometimes you tag along on his gargoyle crusades for the hell of it - seeing him so passionate about something brings a smile to your face

On one of your many escapades, he points out a gargoyle and begins to ramble about its features

Hearing it suddenly makes you remember-

“Ah gosh, I just remembered I should be back home right now, some of my people will be coming over to construct some gargoyles around my castle.”

He doesn’t question it at first but then the phrase “my people” registered in his mind. Wait, what do you mean your people?

You start to apologize for not telling him and also the fact that you have to leave that very moment

After you came back after the whole ordeal, you sit him down somewhere and tell him about your position

As mentioned, it doesn’t matter to him what responsibilities you have, as long as you can be his friend

You breathe out a sigh of relief and invite him to continue where you two left off last time

Nothing changes much between you two, except for the fact that you share more of your kingly experiences

He definitely drops by your place at least once - he could never miss out a chance on seeing some new gargoyles

And as he looks on at those beautiful waterspouts, you can’t help but be grateful that they can serve as a source of happiness for someone too.

[trashogram]

It’s so hard for me to articulate but one of the worst crimes that Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel commit is a lack of gravitas, in my opinion.

Characters aren’t very “solid” as individuals. It’s hard to differentiate them beyond labels. For instance, Stolas is a demon prince but he can go to a party for lower class hellborns and just join in. No one shows any fear or awe in his presence despite the fact that he supposedly has a lot of power over them.

Charlie as well, is disrespected and treated like any other Sinner — which you could try to justify by her being unusually optimistic and happy, but the mistreatment or lack of dignity beyond other citizens of Hell isn’t really connected to her royal status at all. No one badmouths her for being a princess who isn’t evil or something like that.

Lucifer! The Devil himself, may be a goofball/highly anxious and depressed mess, but Alastor has no issue riling him up and showing him disdain, as if there are no consequences if he doesn’t defer to the King of Hell. Which doesn’t make sense.

And these issues weaken the world around them. We are told that there’s a hierarchy in Hell, but if everyone is treated the same way, even if that treatment is terrible across the board, then the hierarchy doesn’t mean anything and shouldn’t exist. It also makes the characters blend together (and that’s not restricted only to royal labels. I’m also referring to sexualities, personalities, backstories full of trauma). Appearance-wise, they all move similarly, they all curse a good amount, they all make sex jokes and are prone to violence.

Sure there are some exceptions but the majority check all those boxes. There’s a lack of differentiation here as a whole. But I dont know if I’m one of the only people that care and find this disappointing.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Because Edge has such a great personality, I would love to know his opinion on the other skeletons. Are they worthy of his attention or not?

Let's have a tour of what Edge thinks of all his fellow skeletons.

Undertale Sans - Clearly a pale copy of his brother, but without anything to look scary. What is even the point of his existence? He would be long dead in his world. He swears the guy is hiding something though. He always feels uncomfortable when he's staring at him for too long.

Undertale Papyrus - He thought he was a pale copy of himself until his Undyne challenged him to fight with Lesser Papyrus and Edge got his butt kicked so hard he ended in shock. WTF. He has no LV and he swears he was still holding back to not hurt him. How strong is that guy??? Edge doesn't like him.

Underswap Sans - Unsufferable little shit that thinks is more clever than everyone because he's super fast. How the hell is he a royal guard? One of these days, he will show him he's not that clever when fighting a real royal guard. And he's not saying that because that little shit arrested him one day for driving too fast without a license. Not at all.

Underswap Papyrus - A decent one. Edge loves to hang out with him, especially in front of Blue to make him mad. Honey is a good cook, and he's not impressed by his edgy face. He doesn't consider him a friend; he has no friends. But if he had friends, they would be Honey-shaped.

Underfell Sans - What? You expect him to say he loves his brother or something? Get out of here, that's none of your business!

Horrortale Sans - He can respect that guy. When Edge bullied him, he for sure never expected to almost be beheaded by the largest axe he had ever seen. He stays out of his path now. That guy knows how to fight, even though he's not showing it.

Horrortale Papyrus - Fuck that guy. He came to find him after he bullied his brother and lectured him for two hours like a child. Does he look like a child? Anyway, when Edge tried to escape, he grabbed him by the arm with his gigantic hand and Edge realized that maybe it would be best to listen to him after all.

Horrorswap Sans - Looks too similar to his younger version but gets really mad when accidentally called Blue. Edge did the mistake once and got surprise by how fast that guy is despite having only one leg. That's a horror movie cryptid.

Horrorswap Papyrus - He doesn't like him or anything, but can't help but feel protective around him. I mean, look at him. He's like a lost puppy or something. The big bad world is going to eat him alive one of these days.

Horrorfell Sans - He's glad he could take his brother out of hell before this. Edge actually respects Copper a lot for surviving through the famine despite being as weak as Red. Edge tries to help him and his brother when he can.

Horrorfell Papyrus - He has a hard time thinking he could have been in that situation, but he admires Chief for not giving up. He's not sure he would have been strong enough to stay as optimistic despite the pain. Chief is a little bit like his model, and Edge likes to hang out with him when he has some time.

Swapfell Sans - Finally a good training partner that is both challenging and competitive. Edge has a lot of fun training with Nox (who is definitely not his best friend at all). However, he can see Nox is very haunted by his role in the Royal Guard. Edge saw that look in old soldiers he trained, who are here only because it's paying well. Except Nox is not old at all. He's worried he might make a big mistake one of these days and is in negotiation with his Asgore to sort of hire him in his guard, so he can take his distances with his Toriel. He can tell his Toriel is not a good person.

Swapfell Papyrus - He's so similar to his brother that it hurts. Lazy, loud, pranking people all day. It's not even a surprise Red spends all his days with him. Ok, maybe one or two of his pranks amused him at some point, and maybe that guy is somehow charming enough for everyone to eat in his hands, but that's definitely not Edge's case (yes. yes it is).

Fellswap Gold Sans - He sees himself a lot in Wine, maybe with a little (LOT, A LOT) of manipulation. He's not sure Wine sees him as a friend, but Edge is definitely going to him when he needs advice. He's a bit the father figure he never had even though he looks like his brother and it's really weird. But at least he is always (brutally) honest with him and Edge needs that sometimes.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - He can tell Coffee is following him everywhere like he's some sort of role model. That made Edge uncomfortable at first, but now he's worried when Coffee is not there to follow him around, asking a hundred questions. He is used to that.

Outertale Sans & Papyrus - He doesn't know them. But they look like pale copies of his brother and him. Except these ones fly for some reason. How though? Skeletons don't have wings???

Dancetale Sans & Papyrus - How many of these pacifist guys are there out there? Why the hell these ones are dancing???

Dancefell Sans - Uh... He didn't think there could be a weaker version of his brother honestly but here is Rumba he guesses. He got confused that one time he asked him to show his fight move and the guy started dancing??? How the hell did he survive so long???

Dancefell Papyrus - What the hell is that. That guy looks like him but he acts like Mettaton somehow. Edge is very disturbed and doesn't like him.

Farmtale Sans & Papyrus - They are decent. He expected yet another version of those pacifist weaklings, but somehow Sam is a lot more interesting than the others, not scared to talk back to him or fight him when he gets too insulting. Edge can respect that. Ben reminds him of himself when he was younger, full of hope and very shy. He's worried he might get crushed by the world at some point.

Mafiatale Sans - Annoying as hell. Literally exploded his wall once because he insulted his brother. Edge is holding back everytime he sees his stupid face, he wants to fight that guy so bad.

Mafiatale Papyrus - Creeper is scary. He only feared Asgore before, but that guy is even scarier. He doesn't say anything. He keeps staring at him. Menacingly. Edge doesn't like him.

Mafiafell Sans - He wishes his brother was similar to him, a little more active. Too bad Fang hates him because of what happened with Torpedo. Edge wanted to know him more before it happened.

Mafiafell Papyrus - Torpedo is the version of him he for sure doesn't want to become. Insulting, condescending, thinking he knows everything and clearly has too much power. The first thing Torpedo did was to laugh at him, saying he looks like a clown in his royal guard armor, in front of all his friends. So yeah, Edge got mad and attacked him. Maybe he underestimated the crazy amount of LV this guy has. You can only reach that by killing for fun, Edge saw that LV in the monsters he executed for Asgore. He doesn't like him, he knows Torpedo is a ticking bomb that will cause at some point a lot of damage because, with so much LV, it's impossible to stay in control for long. Edge hates him and hopes he will never turn like that.

Ink - ???????? His brain can't understand what that Ink guy is. He prefers to say out of his way.

Error - He can tell he's dangerous, but he's not sure why. He's uncomfortable around him and doesn't want to know more about him.

Disbelief Papyrus - Despite clearly being a clone of the pacifist guy, he can tell this one went through a lot and is a lot more similar to him than he would like. That Papyrus lost a lot of things and sacrificed his life so his universe could survive. Edge respects him a lot and tries to show him he's there if he wants to talk, even though he's not the best at that.

Killer Sans - Even though his brother likes him a lot, Edge prefers to keep a safe distant. He saw that guy LV, it's way too high for someone who pretends so well to be a jokester. Edge is not fooled by his little game. That Sans is dangerous.

Dustale Sans - He acts like Doomfanger??? He fights with Doomfanger??? Is that skeleton a skeleton or a mutant cat? He's not sure.

[annoyinglandmagazine]

It’s kind of interesting to me that Bill, Barry and Klaus seemed to all undergo a dramatic change from being fairly lighthearted adventurers having the time of their lives and helping people to terrifyingly controlled killing machines over the same space of time even if it’s through different circumstances.

Klaus definitely seems to think that the Heterodyne Boys would never approve of what he’s doing and that they’d find another way if they were there. And they probably wouldn’t be immediately on board but I think what Klaus is forgetting is that Bill and Barry changed too.

He seems so shocked that Barry didn’t trust him enough to come to him and the thing is, while Barry was probably shown some fairly compelling evidence, the chances are that after everything he went through and the revelation that Lucrezia betrayed them he was in a headspace where he could be made to doubt anybody.

Now who does that sound like? Someone becoming paranoid as fuck of everyone around them due to general trauma plus trust issues caused by Lucrezia and the world in general that they thought they’d helped only for it to then turn back to tearing itself apart as soon as they’re gone.

The paranoia heightened exponentially by the need to protect the child that is the only good left in their life while being convinced (not entirely incorrectly) that everyone is out to take them from them and maybe they could afford to go about things differently if it was only their life at stake but they aren’t taking any risks with the child’s.

Klaus is so certain that he’s compromising on morals because someone has to and that because Bill and Barry were perfect heroes who’d never hurt anybody they didn’t absolutely have to if they were around they’d insist on a more gentle approach but this wasn’t Klaus’ approach the last time he saw them.

Klaus himself changed no matter how much he seems to have rationalised that this was always ‘his way’ but he seems unable to understand, based on his reaction to Adam and Lilith, that his friends aren’t the same people he left behind either, they’re mistrusting, they jump straight to conflict and they will do absolutely anything to protect Agatha the same way he’d do absolutely anything to protect Gil.

(I don’t think Adam and Lilith were in the wrong in any way, they were just operating on extremely incorrect crucial information and acting accordingly, exactly like Klaus is for the entirety comic! There is a very important parallel to be had there!)

I’m not entirely sure that Bill and Barry wouldn’t do the kind of things Klaus does if it was for Agatha’s safety (*cough* locket/overlay parallel *cough*) but to Klaus believing that would actually be worse.

He knows he’s effective but he doesn’t think he’s a good person and it would disrupt something very fundamental for him if he couldn’t say definitively that Bill and Barry were completely good in all the ways he isn’t.

To him Bill and Barry are the same optimistic young men he knew before everything went south who’d always look for a solution to spare as many lives as possible just like he can’t afford to, who’d obviously come to him if they were there because they look for the best in people just like he doesn’t know how to anymore.

And when Barry heard that Klaus was back I bet that he needed to believe that Klaus at least had stayed the same. Except he didn’t and Barry didn’t, none of them did.

[guccixstyless]

Idk if you are taking requests right now but if you do or if you have time could you do a freshly in love Shi Oh, like he has developed feelings for the Reader since X situation after starting to work for him or something like that.

But he is barely aware of it because he has never felt this way before, but it feels nice. At the same time he is so so obvious that has everyone trying to figure out what is going on with their boss (Reader included).

Unfamiliar Feelings

Pairing: Ryu Shio x Reader

Word Count: 1481 words.

AN: Sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoy this one shot! xx

***********************************************************************

Ryu Shio was a man of few words, and those he spoke were usually laced with venom. His reputation preceded him; his anger was infamous, and his grumpiness a byword amongst his employees. His office was a fortress of solitude, where even the bravest of souls trembled at the mere thought of crossing its threshold.

Yet, amidst the chaos and fear, there was an unsuspecting intern who dared to tread where others feared to go. Y/N had just started her internship at Dogoo two weeks ago, with a heart full of dreams and a determination to prove herself. She navigated the corridors with caution, avoiding the gaze of her intimidating boss whenever possible.

Ryu Shio could care less about the interns. He was a busy man, the only thing he knows is to gain as much power as possible, because this was what he taught from his childhood.

That however changed once Y/N caught his attention. There was something about her that intrigued him, something that stirred emotions he had long buried beneath layers of cold indifference. She was unlike anyone he had ever encountered—bright-eyed, optimistic, and utterly oblivious to the dangers lurking in the shadows.

He observed her, smiling among her colleagues and how charmingly she greets everyone.

At first, Shio dismissed his newfound fascination as a passing fancy, a mere distraction from the monotony of his daily routine. But he couldn't shake the image of her from his mind. Her laughter echoed in his thoughts, her smile haunting his dreams.

Once his manager Kim caught Shio smiling to himself before Shio quickly composed himself.

"What's up with boss?" One of his bodyguards asked manager Kim.

"Maybe he got lead to any new deal?" he replied.

Shio left his office and was going to the research department, his eyes were searching for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Is it lunch break?" he asked the employees.

"Hello sir, well yes, everyone should be back in twenty minutes." one of the frightened employee replied, he was shocked to see his boss in their area, he was usually in his office and never bothered to enter this section of the office.

"Okay," he mumbled in a sour tone and left.

The employees in the department looked at each other and wondered what happened.

Once everyone was back from lunch, the sudden visit of boss became a hot topic as they all discussed about it.

"Maybe he's planning to lay off some of us," one wondered.

"Oh God, I hope not." another shivered at the thought.

As they were discussing various theories, manager Kim came and said, "Y/N boss wants to see you," in a monotone voice.

Now Y/N was scared, "why suddenly?"

"Please follow me," he ignored her question.

She entered the office and took in the surroundings, she never been to his office, she's heard no one is really allowed here except his selective few people.

She noticed Shio's chair turned back from her and around towards the window.

"Boss, she's here," manager Kim informed.

Shio spinned his chair and looked at her.

"Good afternoon, sir," Y/N greeted her boss.

"Y/N, right? Come take a seat," Shio said, briefly looking at his manager and silently indicating to leave.

His manager took the hint and bowed at him before leaving. She nervously took a seat across him.

"So, how are you adjusting to Dogoo?" he asked.

"It's going really well, thank you for this opportunity," she smiled at him.

Ah that damn smile, his heart fluttered.

"Of course, you deserve this, you're very talented, I'm happy to have you in my team." Shio said sincerely.

"Really? I mean thank you, I'll try my best," she replied.

"Listen, I want you to work from my office from now on, I have this new research thing that I want you to s=oversee," Shio smiled at her.

Wow he got really nice smile, Y/N thought to herself.

"Okay sir," she replied, she was still a bit surprised on this role though. Shouldn't senior researcher work directly under him? But she dismissed her thought and was thankful for this opportunity that will help her career.

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

It's been a month that she was working directly under Shio, she realized how much charming he was under this grumpy personality of his. He always bought her coffee and always helped her out with everything.

She would work in the morning with her team then shift to Shio's office after lunch till evening and work on his research.

Y/N found herself caught in a whirlwind of confusion. The enigmatic mafia boss who had always seemed so distant and unapproachable was suddenly paying her more attention than she knew what to do with. His glances lingered a fraction longer than necessary, his tone softer than she ever thought possible.

Her colleagues whispered behind her back, speculating about the nature of their relationship. Some envied her newfound favor, while others warned her to tread carefully, lest she find herself on the wrong side of Shio's temper.

There was another intern with Y/N named Mingyu. She quickly became best friend with him. He always cared about Y/N and they always helped each other out. One particular day they were just hanging around in the coffee machine area and were joking around. Shio was entering his office when his eyes quickly wandered over there. He scoffed and without a second thought, he marched over, his expression darkening with every step.

"What's going on here?" he demanded, his voice like thunder in the otherwise silent office.

Mingyu stiffened, caught off guard by Shio's sudden appearance. "N-nothing, sir," he stammered, taking a step back.

Shio's gaze flickered to Y/N, who was watching the exchange with a mixture of confusion and concern. "Is that so?" he said, his tone dripping with skepticism.

Y/N bit her lip, torn between loyalty to her colleague and fear of her boss's wrath. "We were just... talking," she offered weakly.

Shio's jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. "I see," he said through gritted teeth. "Well, I suggest you find someone else to talk to from now on."

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving Y/N and Mingyu in confusion.

"Was he jealous?" Mingyu wondered.

"Oh please, Mingyu, he was probably thinking why we were wasting our time," Y/N chuckled.

But for Shio, the encounter only served to confirm what he had been trying to deny all along. He was falling for Y/N, and there was no turning back.

As the days turned into weeks, Shio found himself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He sought out her company whenever he could, relishing in the warmth of her smile and the lightness of her laughter. And with each passing day, the walls around his heart crumbled a little more, until he found himself standing on the precipice of a feeling he had long thought himself incapable of—love.

It was a feeling both terrifying and exhilarating, and he struggled to come to terms with it. He was a man of power and influence, used to getting what he wanted with a snap of his fingers. But love was a force beyond his control, a wild and untamed beast that threatened to consume him whole.

Finally, unable to bear the weight of his emotions any longer, Shio sought out Y/N in the quiet solitude of his office. She looked up from her work, surprise written across her features as he entered, his expression uncharacteristically vulnerable.

"Y/N," he began, his voice barely above a whisper. "I... I need to tell you something."

Y/N regarded him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "What is it, Mr. Ryu?"

Shio took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. "I... I think I'm in love with you," he confessed, his heart pounding in his chest.

For a moment, Y/N was speechless, her eyes widening in disbelief. But then, a smile spread across her face, radiant and full of hope.

"Really?" she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of Shio's heart.

Shio nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "Yes, really."

And with those simple words, the floodgates burst open, washing away the doubts and fears that had plagued him for so long. In that moment, Ryu Shio, the notorious mafia boss, was just a man in love, standing before the woman who had stolen his heart.

As for Y/N, she reached out and took his hand, her fingers intertwining with his in a silent promise of forever. And as they stood there, bathed in the soft glow of the city lights, they knew that their love was a force to be reckoned with, strong enough to conquer even the darkest of shadows.

[elspethdekarios]

Okay we all know about the Solas/Varric banter with the man on the island, but I was listening to DAI banter earlier (as one does) and now that we know about the titans/lyrium bodies/the blight there are several others that are SO GOOD and worth talking about so here goes. I might not be saying anything new here but I needed to get it out of my brain.

Trickster Figures in Dwarven Literature

Solas: By the end of Hard in Hightown, almost every character is revealed as a spy or a traitor. Varric: Wait, you read my book? Solas: It was in the Inquisition library. Everyone but Donnen turned out to be in disguise. Is that common? Varric: Are we still talking about books or are you asking if everyone I know is a secret agent? Solas: Are there many tricksters in dwarven literature? Varric: A handful, but they're the exception. Mostly they're just honoring the ancestors. It's very dull stuff. Human literature? Now there's where you'll find the tricky, clever, really deceptive types. Solas: Curious. Varric: Not really. Dwarves write how they want things to be. Humans write to figure out how things are.

So it's obvious in hindsight that Solas is asking about trickster figures because he is one himself, but now that we know what we know, I think it's incredibly poignant that he's specifically asking about trickster figures in dwarven literature. It makes me wonder if he's not only asking out of curiosity but because he wants to know if the dwarves write about him. Is he a trickster figure in their legends too? Now that so much time has passed since ancient Arlathan, do the dwarves have some twisted memory of the Evanuris like the Dalish do? Do they have a tale about Fen'Harel who tranquilized the Titans and severed the dwarves' ties to their ancestry?

I don't quite know what to think of Varric's last line: "Dwarves write how they want things to be. Humans write to figure out how things age." I wonder, though, if this eases Solas's concern about appearing in their mythology. If dwarven writing is idealistic/optimistic, there's probably a slim chance the truth will be revealed that way. Maybe the fact that humans write "to figure out how things are" gives him pause - but I think humans aren't concerned enough about the elves to write themselves into discovering his secrets, so I don't think Solas really has a reason to concern himself with trickster figures in human literature.

The Lyrium Trade

Solas: Is it true that the entire dwarven economy relies upon lyrium? Varric: Mostly. We've got the nug market cornered as well. Solas: And the dwarves of Orzammar have never studied lyrium? Varric: If they have, they certainly haven't shared anything up here. Why? Solas: It is the source of all magic, save that which mages bring themselves. Solas: Dwarves alone have the ability to mine it safely. I wondered if they had sought to learn more. Varric: The folks back in Orzammar don't care much about anything but tradition.

And here we have yet another attempt by Solas to see what the dwarves know about him without giving himself away. He wants to know if they're aware of what lyrium actually is, and, by extension, if they know about the history of the Titans and the Evanuris. There are several banters between these two where Solas is incredibly curious about Orzammar. Varric is like "wtf man, stop asking me about Orzammar, I'm a surface dwarf" and Solas gets frustrated that Varric isn't interested in his ancestry at all. This is partially because Solas places so much importance on ancestry in general, but part of his frustration has to be because Varric can't tell him what he wants to know. Also, imagine waking up after however many years and the dwarves are sustaining their economy almost completely on the literal blood of their ancestors - the ancestors you destroyed. That has to be horrifying. Harding brings this up at the end of her personal questline in Veilguard, when you return to Kal-Sharok and interact with the carvings on the wall. It's different for her, of course, because those are her own people, but the sentiment is the same, and the question is the same: would the dwarves sustain themselves on the lyrium trade if they knew the truth?

In the same lyrium vein:

Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing. Varric: What's so confusing about endless darkspawn? Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter. Dwarves control the flow of lyrium. They could tighten their grip on it. Varric: It's hard to get the attention of the humans when the darkspawn aren't up here messing with their stuff. Solas: You're active in the Carta. You know your people could tug the purse strings. You could claim sovereign land on the surface, or demand help restoring the dwarven kingdom, but you don't. Varric: You're not saying anything I haven't said myself, Chuckles. Orzammar is what it is.

I think this is Solas trying to ease his guilt by offering solutions. Is it a little egotistical of him to assume the carta/dwarves/Varric haven't already thought of this? Yeah, but he's Solas AKA Pride Personified. Anyway, I think this is Solas's way of assuaging his guilt just a little bit.

A Once Mighty Hero

Solas: I am sorry to have bothered you with my questions about your people Varric. I see so much of this world in dreams. Humans, my own people, even qunari. Dwarves alone were lost to me, save scattered fragments of memory where some spirit cared to watch. Now I know why I see so little. Varric: And why is that? Solas: Dwarves are the severed arm of a once mighty hero, lying in a pool of blood. Undirected. Whatever skill of arms it had, gone forever. Although it might twitch to give the appearance of life, it will never dream. Varric: I'd avoid mentioning that to any Carta, Chuckles. They might not take it the right way.

Okay, Solas is definitely doing his twisting-the-truth thing in the first lines. He knows why dwarves have little to no presence in the Fade, because he is the reason, but he's so close to revealing the truth here. Not about him, and not about how, but about why. The image he paints of the once mighty hero in a pool of blood sounds metaphorical, but it isn't. The dwarves - so reliant on the lyrium trade, living where lyrium grows, mining it, their livelihoods revolving around it - are quite literally lying in a pool of their own blood.

Solas sees what the dwarves are now compared to what they could have been. They're an imitation of their once-great ancestors. And it's his fault (and Mythal's, but this ain't about her). In this particular banter, Solas seems to pity the dwarves, hence Varric's warning, but he's the only one alive who knows the truth. The dwarves don't pity themselves: in another banter where Solas asks Varric if he misses the stone, Varric responds with "How could I miss what I never had?" - and that applies here as well. The dwarves may "twitch to give the appearance of life" to Solas, but that's his guilt talking. Varric isn't insulted (as far as we know) because he doesn't place much importance on his heritage and he understands that Solas isn't trying to be demeaning, but he hears the pity in his statements - he wouldn't warn him about speaking to the Carta otherwise.

Anyway this was a lot of rambling and I'd love to hear anyone else's interpretation of these or other lines too!

[laz-kay]

Mythic Quest have this inevitable use of backstory that makes us love their characters so deeply because they give us no deep lore about anyone at any given moment except for their specific backstory/trauma based episode.

E.g. We perceived Brad as a cold, manipulative, sociopathic, closed off guy. His abusive brother turns up for 8 hours and he loses his shit so much it was the best acting Danny Pudi’s ever portrayed in his goddamn life.

We see C.W as a drunk, old, infamous writer - well past his sell buy date - until we see him in his youth. The struggles he entailed as an aspiring novelist, the way his mind used to work, the visions he saw that no one else understood.

We see Poppy and Ian as narcissistic, elitist creatives, always at each other’s throats. Then we see them as vulnerable children. Kids who had to work to get to where they are. Fighting so many hardships to find each other and to have a kindred spirit for once in their lives.

We see David as a completely open book. An executive producer who gets walked all over and tries to see the best in everyone. A man who’s so optimistic despite the fact he’s a child of divorce, had a drunk, abusive father, and had a traumatic divorce himself.

We’re so blind-sighted by the fact he’s also a suicidal depressive who drinks a bottle of wine every night to help him get to sleep because everyone else’s trauma is more transparent than his.

Which says a lot - considering we know next to nothing about the actual lives of these characters and what their exterior relationships to the company look like in reality.

It’s a hyperbolic realisation about coworker relationships, which is a stunning way to portray a TV show about the people who produce a fantasy role playing video game.

We don’t see what happens to David after a shitty day at the office. We have no idea where Jo lives. Does she live with her parents, or alone, with a partner? Brad?! That man is so ambiguous he could live in a junkyard for all we knew! Not that he would.

Their lives are kept so under wraps that we can’t perceive them in any other light other than their work personas a lot of the time. Which makes the idea of backstory so much more impactful.

[redux-iterum]

Charred Legacy: Chapter Forty

(AO3 counterpart here.)

Whitecloud, taking after his predecessor, wasted no time. The Clan was back to work and hunting as much and as safely as possible. Apprentices (except for Aspenpaw, of course, by her own will) were permitted to travel in the southern part of the territory, so long as they were accompanied by a warrior. The apprentices were quite happy about this—though, try as they might, they couldn’t encourage Brightpaw to leave camp for anything more than making dirt. Any reports on potential dog-scents sent shivers down the marred molly’s body and she would shut down into silence. Frostfur stayed close to her, watching the entrance of camp like a dog was about to burst through and slaughter them all.

But it seemed the dogs were content with their carnage, at least for now; the one Fireheart had encountered was not seen again, its scent fading away with the piling snow. No massive pawprints littered the ground, no barks in the daylight… perhaps they had returned to the Houses, or wandered into another territory. Whatever the case was, everyone hoped, they would stay away as long as possible, if not forever.

Fireheart was, oddly, asked quite frequently about this by Whitecloud. He and Dustpelt, when not training their apprentices, were kept busy by leading patrols or by helping organize sessions for the apprentices to practice outside of camp without being in danger. Fireheart wasn’t bothered by it, but he was a bit curious about the very keen way Whitecloud looked at him and Dustpelt.

Dustpelt was fortunately in his element—he’d have answers before Fireheart could digest the questions, and went to work as soon as Whitecloud dismissed him. But in his downtime, Fireheart noticed his steps becoming more jittery, his tail tapping the ground where he sat as he chewed air. It was a very strange switch, and Fireheart didn’t know what to do with it or how to help.

One night, before they had even eaten breakfast, Whitecloud called the toms to him again, sitting by the elders’ den while One-eye and Halftail dozed inside the fallen log.

The deputy blinked at them in greeting. “Fireheart, how did the patrol you ordered last night find the Sycamore’s part of the territory?”

“Oh– right.” Fireheart straightened up, having the faint sense of being quizzed. “Mousefur said that they couldn’t find traces of anything over there. No dog, but no prey either. They stayed out as long as they felt safe, so they came in late.” He paused, blinking himself. “...I thought I told you that last night?”

“You did,” Whitecloud said. “But I wanted Dustpelt to hear it, too.” He turned to the brown tabby now. “You approached me earlier with questions about tonight’s patrols. What do you think about that news?”

Dustpelt cleared his throat, nodding curtly. “I hesitate to be overly optimistic, but we’ve gone quite a while without a new scent in the north. I think that we can potentially send a scouting patrol towards the Houses and check to see if they’ve made the neighborhood their home.”

“And if we don’t scent them there?” Whitecloud looked at Fireheart.

Fireheart tilted his head thoughtfully. “Then the other options are that they’re in another Clan’s territory. I don’t think they’ll head into the Aulmir, not with so many humans there.” He sighed. “I thought humans would help us here, but I guess the dogs are just as wary as we are.”

“Unfortunately,” Whitecloud agreed. “Then what do you two think our next move should be?”

Fireheart hummed, thinking.

Dustpelt was the first to speak. “I think our next move is to keep hunting where we can, but we should keep our patrols the same size and keep apprentices close to camp until we can confirm the dogs are gone for good.”

“Yeah…” Fireheart looked at Dustpelt. “Having them train in the south has been fine for now, but I think you’re right. We should train them closer to home if we can help it—at least, if we have even a hint of the dogs coming back. We pushed our luck too hard before, and, well… that cost us a lot.”

Dustpelt’s eyes darkened, but he simply nodded again.

Fireheart added to Whitecloud, “Not to mention that I think Brightpaw will feel better if her brothers and friends are around her to keep her company. She needs to have some sense of safety if we want her to recover from her trauma.”

Whitecloud gave him a contemplative look. “Is that a new idea?”

“Well, I just noticed she’s a little more relaxed when Cloudpaw or Cinderpaw are around to eat with her and tell her about their night.”

“That is true.”

“If she’s watching them train, she might want to get back to it herself.” Fireheart’s eyes flicked down to the ground unhappily. “I can see she’s feeling powerless to the dangers of the world outside of here. She flinches if anyone brings up something like poisonous plants or a stray owl they saw overhead.”

Dustpelt regarded him with surprise. “I never noticed that.”

“I’m glad you did, Fireheart,” Whitecloud said, eyes glittering. “It’s important to have an eye on all of your Clan, not just your closest friends.”

There was that keen look again. More importantly, there was apprehension on Duspelt’s face. The way he glanced at Fireheart was… weirdly afraid? About what?

“I have another question for you two,” Whitecloud said, both younger toms jolting and refocusing on him. “What should we do about border patrols? We haven’t had any in a long time, and our scents are sure to have faded by now.”

“Er…” Fireheart hesitated, wondering if Whitecloud would accept his thoughts. “I don’t think that really matters at this point.”

Dustpelt gave him a baffled look, but Whitecloud leaned forward a little in interest. “Why not? Shouldn’t we make sure everyone knows where our borders are?”

“If they don’t know by now, then there’s no helping them,” Fireheart said with a twitch of his whiskers. “The other Clans aren’t idiots, sir. They know the forest is ours. We already have the land split up by the river, and it’s clear where the treeline stops. ShadowClan has no reason to come over here, and the kittypets and loners are scared to even sniff a fern sticking out over the border.” He stood a little taller, more confident at the piqued curiosity on Dustpelt’s face. “Besides that, we shouldn’t risk wandering all around the entire territory, where a patrol could be found by the dogs, just to mark a bush or two. And wouldn’t that give the dogs a scent to go on? Or at the very least, something that tells them we’re still here and can be killed.”

Whitecloud and Dustpelt watched him in an almost impressed manner. Fireheart briefly fought the urge to look down sheepishly and just met Whitecloud’s eyes.

“You’re making more sense than I anticipated with that idea,” Dustpelt said, and now to Whitecloud, “At the very most, a hunting patrol could check on the border if their trail leads them there, but Fireheart’s right. We can probably do without testing our luck, especially when the dogs might be close by.”

Whitecloud slowly nodded, his voice carrying the faintest purr. “Very good. I’ll concede to that; hunting patrols only for now, and we’ll see how that goes. Why don’t you two get something to eat? I’ll get some patrols going, and I’d like you to train your apprentices later.” His eyes crinkled. “In camp, if that’s better.”

“Yes, sir,” the young toms said together, both dipping their heads respectfully.

Whitecloud dismissed them with a tail-wave before turning and walking away, heading over to Willowpelt. Fireheart shook out his pelt, flinging some antsy energy off of him like water droplets, and trotted for the prey-pile, dimly aware of the now-awake One-eye and Halftail peering at him and Dustpelt.

The prey-pile was thankfully larger than normal, and Fireheart caught sight of a mole. Thin though it was, he scooped it up and turned around to eat with Greystripe and Ravenwing, only to see an unsettled Dustpelt right behind him.

“Mind if I eat with you?” he asked, voice low.

“Uh…” Fireheart blinked. “No, that’s fine.”

Dustpelt moved past him, picked up a rat, and gestured with a tilt of the head for Fireheart to follow him. They made their way over to the lonesome corner of camp, across from a curious Ravenwing and Greystripe, and crouched down. Fireheart settled his mole between his paws and was about to take a bite when his eye caught sight of Dustpelt rolling his rat forward and backward in front of him, his jaw clenched.

Fireheart kept his voice muted. “Are you okay?”

Dustpelt didn’t answer at first, rolling a few more times, before turning his head with lizard-like quickness, his eyes wide and stressed. “Can I tell you something?”

Fireheart tilted his head. “Of course.”

“And you won’t repeat it to Whitecloud?”

Fireheart sensed trouble. “Y…yeah, of course. What’s…?”

Dustpelt jerkily glanced around, like he was expecting Whitecloud to be standing right over them, then leaned in towards Fireheart’s head and whispered, “I don’t really want to be leader.”

Fireheart squinted a bit, confused.

“I know what Whitecloud’s doing.” Dustpelt glanced in the direction of the tom in question, now talking to a group of cats that were assumedly a patrol. “He’s testing us to see which one he wants to make his deputy.”

Fireheart almost gasped and leaned closer, eyes wide. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Dustpelt whispered. “That’s why he’s been talking to us so much and having us organize patrols. He probably didn’t even intend to have border patrols, since he’s only been giving out hunting ones; that was just a test to see how we’d respond.” His tail tapped nervously on the ground, ever-so-slightly bristling. “He needs a young deputy who works hard and will be around for a long time after he’s gone. We’re his best options, so he’s been focusing on us.”

It took a long moment for the words’ implications to sink into Fireheart’s mind. When they did, he jolted and hissed frantically, “Wait, he thinks I’m an option? How does he—”

Dustpelt’s own tense air dissipated for a moment for him to give the shorter warrior a deadpan look. “Fireheart, you’ve been taking on deputy tasks since Bluestar started losing her mind, and everyone but Darkstripe listens to you. Of course you’re an option.”

Fireheart fumbled out several attempts at an argument or denial before giving up and staring at the ground. Shock seemed to have paralyzed his tongue.

“The only problem is that we haven’t finished training our first apprentices,” Dustpelt went on, musing to the ground as well. “I know there’s a loophole in the law that lets a young cat into the deputy rank so long as they’re on the path to successfully raising an apprentice, though I don’t remember exactly where. Thornpaw and Cloudpaw are both doing really well—yeah, I’ve seen him, Fireheart, don’t give me that look—so as far as Whitecloud’s concerned, they’re already warriors.”

Fireheart finally found his voice. “But… but I’m not even two years old, and you’re hardly older.”

“That’s the gamble.” Dustpelt looked up at him, almost relieved at the distress that must be on Fireheart’s face. “We haven’t been tested by life yet. Not in the way a senior warrior has. We’ve got a lot of capacity to make mistakes, just because we’re so inexperienced.” Another less-than-subtle glance at Whitecloud. “But on the other paw, we’re young enough for Whitecloud to be confident ThunderClan will have a leader and stability for a long time after he’s gone. He’s not all that young, you know—he needs someone who won’t die so quickly after him. Or before him.”

Fireheart didn’t say anything. He couldn’t find anything to say. His head was whirling with disbelief, shock, and a healthy dose of fear.

Dustpelt dropped his voice even lower. “I mean… look, I want to serve my Clan however I can. I’ll do anything for ThunderClan, and I know you will too. But… stars, the idea of having to stand on the boulder at Fourtrees, or lead a battle, or– or make such huge decisions…” He shivered. “I don’t think I can do that. I really don’t.”

This, at least, Fireheart could respond to. “You’re a lot more capable than you think, Dustpelt. Anyone could see that, even if you don’t.”

Dustpelt weakly attempted a chuff. “Well, thanks, I guess, but still. I’d rather just be a normal warrior who can lead a patrol and have that be the end of it.” He peeked at Fireheart, apprehensive. “And it looks like you’re not very eager to take on the role either.”

Fireheart stared down at his mole, giving himself a long moment to absorb and address his thoughts, which were mostly screamed questions about how in the world Whitecloud saw anything in him that could put him in such an important rank.

“I feel about the same as you,” he said at last, looking back up at Dustpelt. “I can’t imagine becoming leader—not me being who I am. I’m a kittypet from the Houses, and, well… I can’t see everyone following me, when they have much better options.”

“That’s the thing,” Dustpelt said. “We are the better options. Can you imagine Teaselfoot or Mousefur being leader? Or even Willowpelt?”

“…Fair point.” Fireheart watched Whitecloud pad away out of camp. “I guess… if I had to, I’d do it. I’d like to take care of my Clanmates however I can.” He shuddered, a bit more jokingly than sincerely. “But having me on the boulder next to Rookstar and Blackstar… they’d all be staring at me, thinking ‘What is this runt doing in ThunderClan’s spot?’.”

Dustpelt did chuff a bit more humorously at that. “Crookedstar would make so many jokes.”

“Which is why you’re the better choice.” Fireheart tapped his side with his tail. “At least then, ThunderClan would be taken seriously.”

“Yeah, right up until I stutter and stumble over my words.”

“You haven’t stumbled over a word in your life.”

“And you haven’t disobeyed the code or your superiors a single time, then?”

Fireheart sniffed. “Hey, I just do what’s right. It’s not my fault if someone disagrees with me.” Realization hit him and he shook his head. “Honestly, that’ll probably get me disqualified. I’ve broken and helped break a lot of Clan rules.”

Dustpelt rolled his eyes, his anxiety gone. “Must be why everyone’s telling Whitecloud, ‘You’re making a mistake, you should exile Fireheart right now for not letting Lionface scare off elders’.”

“That was—”

“I’m joking, ant.” Dustpelt gave him an amused look. “It seems like pretty much every time you’ve broken a rule, it works out in your favor. Did you even get in trouble for disobeying Lionface?”

Fireheart shook his head. “Or for hunting for RiverClan—er, honestly, before we had to. I mean, that was Greystripe’s idea, but I went along with it.”

“I knew it,” Dustpelt hissed to himself, slapping the ground with a paw. “I knew there was no way Lionface and Bluestar would’ve ever given them food on their own.”

Fireheart stared at him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m not going to question our leader and deputy!” Dustpelt’s whisper got a bit louder while still fighting to stay quiet. “Sandstorm said you must’ve come up with the idea yourself, because that’s such a ‘you’ thing to do. But Greystripe did it first?”

“He felt bad for his friends,” Fireheart admitted. “He explained himself to me and Ravenwing, and I thought it was a good idea, so I helped.”

“No wonder RiverClan likes you so much.” Dustpelt shook his head in a humorously-disappointed way. “Well, if you become leader, maybe they won’t fight for Sunningrocks anymore. They’ll be your best buds and just happily pass it over if you ask nicely.”

Fireheart snorted. “There’s advantages to being kind, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that with you.” Dustpelt’s whiskers twitched as he bent his head to start on his rat.

The conversation seemed to be at a positive end, so Fireheart was content to eat, too, but he didn’t miss his friends staring at him. Greystripe said something under his breath to Ravenwing, which, if Fireheart was reading his lips right, was, “What in the world is going on over there?”

[signedkoko]

Ello there Koko! Welcome back! 💙 I'd like to request Sir Pentious with a reader who's basically his little evil henchman/sidekick. I don't see much writing for the bastard but I honestly love him so I'd love to see more! It could be platonic or romantic, either way is good!

Anything At All [Platonic]

In which you are Pentious' assistant, and hes been requested to help the V's. Genderneutral Reader.

Song - The Party Line by Belle and Sebastian

Everyone could use an assistant, especially the overlords of hell, because they had all kinds of important things to do. Menial tasks requiring trust should be left to someone who can act as the right-hand man. Or at least, that was what Pentious always told himself.

None of the other overlords really had a sidekick, assistant, or whatever you choose to call them; they were all servants.

Loyalty was the first thing you had to achieve when finding an assistant, but who could ever be loyal? Everyone down here had something they'd give it all up for. Thus, Pentious was constantly ridiculed for choosing to trust someone who could easily overthrow him given the right opportunity.

What they didn't consider was that you'd give up everything and anything for him, but they didn't need to know that.

Most of what you did was surveillance. While Pentious much preferred to bury himself in strange inventions with grandiose ideals, you handled all the real work that might actually get him the title he so desired. While he trampled on his own reputation, you fixed it and elevated your own.

Pentious was known, but mostly because it was next to yours. Even so, you hated the spotlight because it took it away from him. Pentious was like a mascot; he was perfect at being in the public eye and had the confidence of a lion, except without claws or teeth. It was all so unlike you, so you would rather support him.

Besides, it was at least a little amusing to watch your friend go all out, despite not having all that much to back him up. He was always especially hostile to Alastor, to the point where you knew not to be anywhere near him since it always ended so badly.

It was another cleanup day, and after being totaled by the radio demon, Pentious was as antsy as ever to restore his ship to its prior glory.

" Pentious? Do you ever think about moving on from him? " You'd always make sure to ask after their scuffles, hoping the answer would change.

" Of courssse not! That would be admitting defeat! " 

You sighed, a small laugh hidden in the veiled disappointment. It was still nice to see that he was so optimistic.

Pentious is extremely smart when it comes to weapons, engineering, and the sciences—he was anything and everything but street smart.

You'd prepared a meal for the two of you to share, asking questions that would help you navigate the next plan, and so you had an idea of what you'd need to round up. You loved hearing his next idea—what the new gun would be, how he figured he could defeat one of the strongest overlords of hell, and so on.

Unfortunately, your lunch was interrupted by your phone ringing, which you pulled up to see—the very face of technology himself. Before you could answer, the call started anyway.

" Tch. "

" Heyyy this is Sir whateveryoucallhim's assistant, right? Yeah, nice to meet you. Listen. I have to talk to Pentious. " You couldn't even get a word in before Pentious lept forward, stealing your phone from you and pushing you away.

" Its finally happening! Wait outside!! " Pentious urged you to the door, though the moment you were out, you pressed your ear to the door, trying to catch the conversation.

" Yess of course! It was a sssplendid idea speaking to the likes of I! I'll be on it straight away! " You figured the call ended because there was no more speaking.

When he opened the door, you almost fell forward, catching yourself so as not to make it seem like you'd been trying to listen in. Not like it mattered, because in a moment, Pentious was sharing every detail of the conversation with the excitement of a kid who got unlimited candy.

" Infiltrating the Hazbin Hotel? I don't know... It sounds like he just wants you to do his dirty work. Besides, doesn't Alastor work there? Won't he kick you out or catch on? " 

" Come now; we cannot wassste any time! " He hadn't listened to a word you said; he was already on his way to set course for the hotel.

As worried as you were, maybe the hotel would be kind to Pentious. If all went to hell, you could only hope the princess would have mercy on him.

At the very least, you urged him to wait a day so you could prepare to come along with him and suggested he leave his technology on the ship so as not to alert anyone in the hotel that he may be hostile.

While most may not recognize you, Alastor certainly would, so you were sure to leave any and all weapons back at home. Just in case, right?

While you dressed more cleanly in softer and more welcoming clothes, Pentious didn't change a thing despite your protests. He waltzed right up to the door with no care and was immediately greeted by the princess's significant other shoving a spear in his face.

Stepping forward, you caught the edge of her spear and moved it up, just barely missing Pentious's face. You smiled in warning.

" Sorry for him; he is just so excited to stay at your hotel. As am I. " You looked down at Pentious, signaling for him to get up.

Thankfully, Charlie was quick to grab him and drag him on in, which you followed behind, nervously shuffling past the girl who'd just tried to kill Pentious.

Unfortunately, another wall blocked you, as the one and only pornstar Angeldust was quick to shove the wannabe overlord out the door and into you. 

" Wait wait wait, are we really letting the guy who tried to kill us six hours ago in? And who the fuck are you? " The spider was extremely tall and still managed to tower over Pentious by a fraction.

You opted to stay silent, amused at how Pentious managed to pull himself through this one. Even so, the team did seem interested in your appearance; they'd never seen Pentious with anyone before.

For a moment, Charlie turned to look at Vaggie, and seconds later, the woman seemed to slouch in defeat.

" Whatever, not like hes harmless with or without the way machine. " Pentious pouted at her words, and you chuckled.

" Ooooh yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much! Right this way, you two, it is so exciting to have our first official guests!! " She seemed a lot more focused on Pentious as she pulled him through the corridors, showing off every aspect of the hotel. In a way, she reminded you a lot of Pentious.

You could already tell Pentious was going to be easily distracted from his mission, though before you could remind him, a stark static filled the air.

" Oh! Alastor! Our property manager: You've met our newest guests, Sir Pentious, and-- " 

" Ah yes! Hell's best underground assistant, it is such a pleasure. " Alastor took your hand into both of his, shaking it with a tilted glance." Oh! And the one who ruined my coat! I definitely remember you now. "

Still flabbergasted by the radio demons approach to you, you were frozen in place, Pentious anxiously shifting when Alastor's tone shifted between the two of you.

"Best assistant? You flatter me. " You tried to take the attention back, looking to the princess for some kind of relief.

" This seems like a, uhm- perfect opportunity for a lesson on apologizing! "

Author's Note - This is a fic exchange with @sillypenguincats ! You can read their Alastor x Reader here. Thank you for requesting, working with me, and being so kind 🖤

Word Count - 1,243

[carb0n-m0n0xid3]

Mouthvasihng Yap

because my stupid brain wont let me live without this, im gonna make a recap (and other stuffs) of everything in mouthwashing. PLEASE tell me if i get anything wrong.

[color-coded to cure my autism :3]

CHARACTERS •Anya- beloved nurse (Top left) •Daisuke- optimistic intern (Top middle) •Swansea- mechanic of the ship (Top right) •Curly- the captain (Before: bottom left. After: bottom middle) •Jimmy- co-captain (or captain in command I believe) (Bottom right) So basically the entire game is set off because of Jimmy. You do play as him anyways. He does a very bad thing to Anya [he rapes and impregnates her], so she decides it would be best to tell the captain himself, which she does. Curly then decides he should talk to Jimmy. •QUOTE THAT MAKES ME CRY :D "I'll talk to him"

[THIS REPRESENTS JIMBUS(right) AND CURLY(left)!!] Jimmy does not want to take RESPONSIBILITY (key point in the game) for his actions, for what he did to Anya. He'd rather die than face the consequences. So Jimmy decides to crash the ship into an oncoming asteroid, thinking to save only himself.

(keep in mind on what Anya said as well) I believe Jimmy locked Curly in the cockpit. I am not certain, but it is a possibility. He wanted him to die. He wanted to have no witnesses so he wouldn't be charged of what he did.

But as of now, the entire Tulpar crew is stuck on the ship, just surviving. Anya is the one to care for Curly, giving him painkillers. She doesn't like the job much, becoming uneasy at his moans of pain and overall state of being.

Once, though, she asked Jimmy to give Curly his meds. Jimmy was fed up, but decided to do it. Unfortunately the cruel bum decided to beat him.. After that dialogue you can even hear Curly crying.

Really quick, I just wanna say that this dialogue with Anya and Curly is very interesting. She seems to be the one staring at the pixel, saying "In the back of my mind, it's always there." But Curly, on the other hand, seems not to care much. "I don't think it ruins the illusion though. It's peaceful. But maybe I'm just used to looking at the bigger picture." Interesting that word he says... illusion.

Jimmy just made life miserable on the Tulpar, bringing Anya to her fate. She decided it would be best to just end it all, to rid herself of Jimmy and the burden given to her from him..

Daisuke manages to find out she's "stuck" in medical when actually she locked the door.

IM SORRY, SHE JUST MAKES ME SO SAD D: But anyways, I'm gonna condense the story line a bit now. So in short, Jimbus basically manipulates Daisuke into going into the vents, despite their danger, to save Curly (except he didn't really care, i think).

•QUOTE THAT MAKES ME CRY :D "Anya...? ...what d-did you do?" So Daisuke goes into the vents, proving their danger... He returns bloody and scarred all over his body from the vents. Jimmy decided it was "best" to disinfect the wounds with mouthwash (cuz they "remove 99.99% of germs"), only making them worse. This probably symbolizes the entire Tulpar situation: something really bad happened, so Jimmy tries to FIX IT with something, only making everything worse for everyone. Swansea decides to do the best thing for Daisuke, and uses the emergency fire ax to kill him, essentially putting him out of his misery.

•"It's alright Daisuke. Calm down. ...This line of work. You could never have become like ol' Swansea. What a tragedy." ... •"I thought you were dumber than a can of paint, always just chewing my ear off about nothing. Useless ray of goddamn sunshine." ... •"You coulda taught an old fool like me alot. ..." ... •"Close your eyes, Daisuke." I love Swansea's "speech" to Daisuke, but it makes me so sad :( ANYWAYS, Jimmy goes completely bonkers at the fact that he killed Daisuke. It was a mercy kill, but all he saw was another crew member dead.

Long story short, he decides to kill Swansea. Swansea gives a beautiful speech before dying to him, and I REALLY wanna pick at that, but its quite long.. I might reblog this for it cuz this is already very long. But Jimbus shoots Swansea and returns to Curly (who is somehow still alive). (I am going to skip talking about some scenes)

"We fixed it..." "I... fixed it..."

Jimbo basically takes poor ol' Curly to the utility room and puts him into the cryopod thingy. He says his farewell and shoots himself before Curly is ejected into space, frozen and traveling throughout, lost and unfound.

[coupleoffanfics]

I might write about this one day. Maybe. Probably.

Random things about y/n with the batfam

Based on First Post

Bruce Wayne

Bruce never knew how to deal with y/n’s emotional outbursts even before they drifted apart. Out of everyone y/n was hands down the most emotional out of all the kids. Like what he is supposed to do when she’s crying about stray cats that don’t have a home. Or those times when she’d tear up over failing a test.

Just gives her a pat on the back and tries saying that it's not the end of the world. Not really helping as it invalidates her emotions. She makes a mental note to not go to Bruce after getting the same “reassuring words” from him every time.

Nearly spat out his coffee when she called him Pa for the first time. It was only after a couple of months of living there. Seeing the shocked reaction, she quickly tried to take it back until he reassured her with a small smile.

“You won’t be my dad, but you can be my pa. So when I have kids you can be called peepaw.”

Bruce isn’t sure when y/n stopped calling him Pa, but he remembers how he felt hearing her call him Sir or Bruce. How unnatural it sounded. It was too formal, but what hurt the most was how she said it without a second thought. Acting like it was the norm.

What happened to him being Pa?

What does he have to do to get his Pa status back?

Hopefully he doesn’t learn that y/n gave that title to someone else.

Dick Grayson

Kinda regrets not getting to know y/n before he and the whole family start going off into the deep end. It's not like they never interact or anything. Dick had trained her when she was working toward becoming Batgirl, but it was Bruce who mainly trained her.

Dick wasn’t nearly as close to her as Tim or even Jason. He didn’t have the time when juggling the Teen Titans, establishing himself as Nightwing, and being a Wayne. It was a stressful time of his life.

But he has much more free time now. Meaning he has much more time to make up for not being a big brother for y/n.

Slightly jealous that everyone except for him and Damian know or at least knew y/n. Some more than others.

So to gain an edge he read her diary. Only once he swears and it wasn’t like he went searching for it or anything. Didn’t know she had one. It was just sitting there in a box under her bed. Anyone could have found it really.

Reading the neat handwriting and discovering the personality of y/n was interesting. Kinda expected something along the lines of teen angst constering how aloof she comes off when around the family. Instead he found words of an insecure yet optimistic girl.

Dick uses his newly acquired intel to make it easier for y/n to talk to him. Brings up media that she likes to bond over the “same” interests they have. Uses her insecurities against her.

If she gets mad at him for trying to plant the idea that her best friend was a bad person, he’ll act like she’s overrating. Say that she was yelling even if she wasn’t. When asking if there was any validity to his bullshit, he’ll bring up one of her insecurity.

“You’ve always been slow when it comes to everything, but good thing your favorite brother is always there for you.”

“Yeah, good thing I’ll always have Tim.”

“Yeah, wait-”

Jason Todd

They were somewhat close before he died as they trained and sparred with each other. He wished he was able to see her put on her suit for the first time as he knows how hard she worked for it. Could practically hear her squealing when she looked in the mirror.

Unlike the others, Jason avoided y/n on purpose. He felt ashamed for beating and having snapped her arm when he was trying to kill everyone. She wasn’t even fighting back. If it wasn’t for Bruce and Tim, y/n would have ended up in a casket.

When hearing that she quit being Batgirl, he was kind of surprised. He remembers the younger y/n trying so hard to meet Bruce’s expectations. Despite failing more than he could count, she always got back to work. Always trying to improve. Never being satisfied with herself.

Wanted to know what made her quit, but decided against it. It wasn’t his place to ask and he doubted that she’d tell him. It wasn’t like she told anyone though.

Was kinda glad that y/n quit. Jason always felt queasy when seeing or even thinking of her getting hurt since it reminds him of when he was so close to taking her life. And he always felt that she wasn’t made for this kind of work.

She was too soft to fight the Killer Croc or face Scarecrow. Even though Jason always felt that way, he’d never say it aloud. He couldn’t bring himself to dampen that twinkle in her eyes.

“I saw how hard you hit the punching bag, why are you holding back now?”

“I don’t know…I don’t want to hurt you or anything.”

“y/n, you're supposed to come at me with everything you got.”

“But I don’t like hurting you or anyone.”

Tim Drake

Tim and y/n were close even though it was a bit awkward at first. They geeked out about the latest games and shows. Staying up late enjoying whatever type entertainment with junk food much to the dismay of Bruce and Alfred.

y/n admired his intelligence and how patient he was when explaining something to her. Whether it was homework or something else entirely, he was the one she felt most comfortable asking for help from.

She was low-key jealous of how quickly Tim was able to gain the title of Robin while it took her years of training to become Batgirl. But the jealousy would later be admiration for a time.

Tim always felt privileged when y/n showed her artwork to him. She never likes showing it to anyone and hates when someone tries to look at what she was drawing. So when she asks for his attention and flips her notebook/tablet around he can't help smiling.

Even when they were on good terms, he wasn't sure how to approach her when going through a low. She either needed to be alone, talk, or push. The thing is Tim doesn't know how to appropriately react. He just doesn't want to make anything worse, so he ends up having her sit outside to absorb the sun rays. Since he noticed how that had brightened her low mood.

When y/n quit being Batgirl he gave her some space before asking about it. Surprisingly he didn't get much of an answer. She was usually so open about everything, especially with him.

Realizing that they were getting nowhere with this he backed off. Assuming that she'd tell him when she was ready.

Overtime they began hanging out less and less. He hadn't realized how far they drifted apart until one night. Just making a quick run to the kitchen for some coffee. It was pretty late and he didn't think any else was or would be awake.

Yet there was y/n sitting at the kitchen island writing on a paper with notes scattered around her. Homework. When Tim made his presence known with a simple hi, he noticed how…tense she got. Like she got caught stealing from the forbidden cookie jar.

When asking what she was working on, she gave short answers. He'd expected a monologue of how frustrating learning this new material is. Then asking if she needed help, he saw her jaw slightly clench. It looked like she was going to say more, but only declined with a no.

It was odd, but he didn't think too much of it at the time. He had…He didn't want to admit it, but he had more important things to deal with. If he knew of things that were going to happen, he would've done so much differently.

"— Really? I think this is my worst one yet."

"I don't know what you're talking about, it looks great. I couldn't ever draw something that good."

"Just because you can't draw doesn't make my drawing better. Wait, you were just shitting on me for comparing myself to others."

"Yeah, but that's different."

Damian Wayne/Al Ghul

Never liked y/n from the start. Before she even opened her mouth, just that smile looked so wrong. Damian couldn't put his finger on it, but didn't like it. It seemed so fake because it was.

There wasn't anything that made him feel like he needed to respect her like the others. Sure, she was Batgirl but only for a few years.

She never helped them with anything. She's never there to help in the first place. In his opinion she wasn't anything more than dead weight.

When insulted there was never an insult thrown back. He can tell when he struck a nerve when her lips move to the right and her eyes slightly harden. Maybe her nose will flare up if he hit hard enough.

Then she just responds with a hum before ignoring him or leaving the room. If she didn't respect herself enough to defend herself then why should he even bother with her.

When the family slowly/is yandere he'll reevaluate his view of y/n. Still thinks she's weak and cannot do anything, but less hateful. Which is a good thing until he's trying to have her attention whenever they're in the same room.

Or when he's digging through all her artwork while Dick is giggling to himself when reading her diary. Finding out their interest in the arts, he's forcing her to paint. Doesn't care if she doesn't like it, they're painting together.

"Why can't you carry your weight around the house? All you do is sit in your room."

"Hm."

"I don't even know why you're still here, Father should have kicked you out after you stopped being useful."

"Mhhm."

"I know you can hear me. You just don't know how to respond because it's true."

"Hmm."

|*|*|*|*|

Dear Diary,

Today my family tried to talk to me.

It was weird.