#honestly i have been playing the game again

[sucodelaranja86]

- i'm sorry ( part 2 ) : ★

featuring: hyun-ju cho x reader.

summary: you finally get things solved with your girlfriend. But now, your only option is to wait for the rest of these deadly games to end. Either by player's choice, or naturally.

A/N: I am so excited, i can't wait to write part 3, tho i am going to take a bit longer to write it. And spoilers: young mi lives!! :DD i can't bear to kill her cute aah

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

➤ What you could swear that was gasps of sunlight penetrated your eyelids, manifesting an uncomfortable feeling agaisnt your body. The artificial lights of the massive dormitory were unfortunately turned on, and a feminine voice from the speakers annouced it was time to wake up, signaling the approaching next game. You had barely survived the second one, your team winning with only a few seconds left. Hyun-ju didn't want and didn't bother to invite you to her team (that surprisingly had many cheers during their turn playing.), leaving you with strangers that honestly had the same low capacity as you during the games.

You were not sure if she was worried for you the same way you were for her, but you could swear you saw a slightly relieved face when she saw you and other 4 people coming through the door back to the dorm. At least you hoped so.

But now that the worry was temporarily over, it left you with enough time to go back and wonder. What did you do wrong to upset her? She was in the game too, for her debts and for her surgeries. You were here with the sole purpose of helping her. Was she that selfish that she would leave you only for that?

You almost facepalmed yourself for even thinking that. She was mature, caring, and most of all, patient. You were just surprised to see her acting like this. After all, she always handled problems with a calm exterior. In a game that decided whether you would live or die based on your playing skills, everyone would lose a bit of their posture, right?

You had the theory that maybe she was worried for you! So worried that she couldn't help but get a bit hysterical, that's all! Maybe she is just desperate to get you out of danger and out of here.

But you shattered that theory yourself when you saw her voting for wanting to stay after the first game.

You were as confused as you could be. Seeing her talk so casually and friendly to most of her former team mates also did something to you. So she was not closing herself up with everyone because of the game, she was closing herself up with you.

-

Hyun-ju's head was an absolute mess. She involved you in this- she involved you in her problems. Again. First, you passed out from overworking yourself for her sake, and now, you were in this deadly game with the sole purpose to help her.

What did she do to deserve this? You didn't deserve her. You didn't deserve to drown yourself in debt and work because of her. You didn't deserve to risk your life for her. You deserved better. Much more than she could offer.

She unknowingly had pushed you away. You needed to get away from her- this was a problem she needed to solve herself. You should wait patiently at home, rest, have a good meal for once, and-

"Hyun-ju?"

. . .

Oh, you had her wrapped around your finger, didn't you?

"please, wait. Don't turn away from me."

As she was lost in her thoughts (not that you were much different), you had approached her. It was lunchtime, and the people she had been talking to were seemingly somewhere else- it was a perfect opportunity, and you couldn't miss this chance.

"Hyun-ju, can we please talk to each other as adults? I have been confused, all i need to know is why are you pushing me away-? I am your partner. I only wish the best for you, that is the purpose of me entering this competition-"

She didn't let you finish your statement as she responded in a way less aggressive tone than the first time you discussed.

"My- my love. I- i am at a loss for words. You shouldn't be here, this is an goal that is for me to reach. The fact that you are doing this for a reason such as me makes me feel... complicated feelings." she responded anxiously after some time.

"I feel angry, i feel saddened, i feel happy... But any of these feelings can't compare to the worry i am feeling."

You tried getting close to her and reaching out a hand, but the lingering feeling that she might not have completely forgiven you yet plagues your mind.

"Hyun-ju-"

"Please."

Your body is engulfed in a bone-crushing hug from her. You could feel your shoulder becoming wet through the fabric of your shirt. Tears, snot, saliva, anything that was worth of a cry was there.

"Please, tell me you will stop being so selfish, i want you to be safe, to be happy- your life shouldn't depend on medical modifications i plan to do on my body." Her voice was shaky as she loudly sniffed and sobbed.

"I don't wish for you to sacrifice anything else for me- i just want- i just want you."

At this point, you were already holding her on your lap and holding her face close to you neck as she sobbed, her entire body glued against yours. Despite her size, she was still your 'pretty, cute princess'.

"I'm sorry... Please- stick close to me. Don't leave my size ever again." She looked up from your shoulder and fixed her gaze straight to your eyes.

"I won't. We will go through this together. And when this all ends- we are going to Thailand. Like we planned. Alright?" You gave her a comforting kiss on her forehead as you promised.

At least, you hoped so.

￣ ￣ ￣ ￣

[gyaruhana]

Hii, firstly i just wanna say that your writing is amazing and this is a request for player 333/lee myung-gi !!

can you do headcanons of how he would be as your boyfriend while being in the squid games, sfw and nsfw please !! (it’s your choice wether you wanna write out his previous relationship with junhee or not)

thank you for doing this if you do!!

Myung-gi/Player 333 - Headcannons (sfw + nsfw)

Synopsis: Myung-gi as your boyfriend during the games!

A/N: i wrote in junhee's relationship briefly !!

Warnings: smut content, pussy eating, bathroom sex, public sex (except no mentions of anyone seeing), jealous sex, degredation for Myung-gi - praise for you

SFW:

➠ worlds most protective bf if your in the games together ➠ He keeps you close to him at all times and side eyes anyone who attempts to talk with you (he makes you sleep in the same bed with him too) ➠ If you came here to help him with his debt, he feels so guilty and will always look at you from a distance with the saddest look ever ➠ like a little kicked puppy honestly ➠ If you joined the games because you had debt, he's be angry you didn't tell him sooner and acted like he totally could've paid it off even though he was in debt himself ➠ Keeps you far away from Thanos because he doesn't trust him at all !! ➠ always holding your hand cause he's so scared you'll disappear if he doesn't.. ➠ Definitely kept you behind him during red light green light ➠ he's just a little too ready to sacrifice himself for you ➠ for the sake of a little angst we're gonna say that Junhee is still his ex and pregnant with his child ➠ totally panics when he saw her because he didn't expect her to be pregnant after they had agreed on an abortion. ➠ confronts Junhee about it and you just happen to notice the hushed argument between them so you then confront him about it ➠ really doesn't want to tell you at first so he dodges the truth ➠ When he eventually admits the truth, he's looking at you with the most nervous expression and he's internally panicking ➠ begs you to forgive him ➠ literally gets down on his knees and starts pleading for forgiveness ➠ doesn't care if someone else sees because his main priority is you ➠ 10x more clingy after that ➠ He still chooses to keep playing because he wants to win money so he can give you a good life ➠ Overall, protective over you and is always watching you

NSFW:

➠ sex in the bathroom when no one else is there for sure !! ➠ he's so gentle when fucking you there.. ➠ If it's lights out so he can't just have some fun with you, he'll totally eat you out and whisper stuff about keeping quiet ➠ Honestly does anything just to make you feel good really bc he feels so guilty that you're here with him ➠ also he's whiny per usual.. ➠ praises you so much while also apologizing and saying he'll make it up to you that you're here by making you cum over and over again ➠ Do degrade him a little.. ➠ He will let out a slutty moan !! ➠ cries too actually regardless of whether he's subbing or doming ➠ does like to fuck you slowly in the bed when all the players are asleep with his hands wrapped around your waist. ➠ if Thanos makes some sort of comment about you or flirts, do expect Myung-gi to get totally jealous and fuck the shit out of you !! ➠ Makes sure your loud enough for Thanos to hear bc he wants Thanos to know that you belong to him ➠ Surprisingly, he does end up having sex with you a lot ➠ mainly as an unspoken apology but also to release some stress after every game ➠ overall, he's gentle yet also rough at times but still a total whore

"Shh.. we have to be- quiet," Myung-gi says with a hushed tone as he thrusts his hips back and forth slowly. His face was buried in your neck as he tried to keep his movements subtle so no one else would suspect a thing. Ever since completing the first game and seeing you, he's been feeling so guilty. He had already apologied a thousand times over but it wasn't enough to fix the ache in his heart. Somehow, Myung-gi came to the conclusion that he'd feel much better if he released some stress by fucking his cock into you. He let out a groan as he felt you tighten around him suddenly. "A-are you gonna cum? Please do- Wanna feel you cum on my cock, baby,"

[calitears]

sessions

3. turn it up!

story masterlist

tw/notes: cussing, drinking, slightly offensive jokes, small tiny manga spoilers (?) (it just mentions two characters who haven’t appeared in the anime yet doesn’t spoil the plot or anything)

as far as you knew, toge, panda, and yuji had stayed downstairs playing rounds of beer pong while you happily went with nobara upstairs. however it seemed god was on your side today as megumi tagged along behind you two, for whatever reason. you heard him mumbling under his breath something about not liking the taste of beer or even the actual game, but the reason seemed unimportant now as he sat next to you, alone, after nobara ran off saying she was going to go get another friend of theirs or something like that.

usually you’d be able to strike up a conversation, however you felt rather awkward as megumi seemed distracted on his phone, furrowing his brow slightly, typing away against the screen.

what could you ask him? his hobbies? what his favorite movie was? wait, didn’t yuta say something about them being in the same class? finally after another minute, he put his phone away and sighed, looking up ahead of him.

oh what the hell was there to lose, if you failed miserably you’d probably never have to directly meet him again anyway.

as you spoke up, you smiled slightly at the way his attention almost immediately turned to you.

“so… what do you do?” well you had a good chance, maybe, but what the hell type of question was that to start off with?

“what do i… do? like… job wise?” he questioned, a slight pout on his lip, but maybe they were just naturally like that.

“yeah.”

he shrugged slightly, before leaning back further into the couch, “i make music, go to college, have a job on the side too…”

“oh, cool- wait you made that song with yuji right?”

he internally cringed “no. don’t bring that up.”

you almost laughed at the way his expression soured almost immediately just by mentioning it.

“it wasn’t that bad…”

“you don’t have to spare me. don’t lie to my face, i know it was horrendous.”

“well… i haven’t heard any of your other stuff, but i’m sure you were just being nice to yuji to let him… y’know… on one of your instrumentals.”

“well i need to redeem myself then, i can’t have that as your only impression of my music.”

“y’know… we should trade…”

“trade?”

“i listen to yours, and you listen to mine…”

he seemed to think about something for a moment, before letting out a small huff.

“…and if i already listened to yours?”

now that caught you off guard.

“you have?”

he shifted slightly in his seat, and you could’ve sworn he leaned in closer, even by just an inch.

“yeah… actually got curious from yuji’s post with you. it’s pretty good just… it’s not usually the type i’d listen to, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

smiling at him, you moved closer, yet he didn’t seem to move back at all, mostly just seeming amused. “oh, so you’re not into ‘pink princess pilates’ music?”

he scoffed, a small smirk forming on his face, “what type of ai generated spotify wrapped thing is that?”

“that’s exactly where i got it from actually, was one of my genres…”

“well… at least it sounds cute, i think it’s ‘fitting’, i got grouped into something called ‘abstract indie sleaze soundtrack moment’.”

“the hell does that even mean? sounds like a red flag honestly, maybe i should stop talking to you hear…”

“not gonna give me a chance then? thought yuji said you were into me?”

“oh my god did he seriously say that- can’t he keep a secret?”

he was about to respond, his expression still slightly playful until suddenly a voice cut in, and you saw a girl jump into the empty space next to him, sitting down. “fushiguro! it’s been too long!” she exclaimed. megumi seemed startled at first, but relaxed after another moment. “oh… hey hana.”

“i missed you- where have you been recently?” she continued, seemingly wanting to reach out and touch him, but hesitant to.

“just busy… work… college and stuff.” he replied, about to turn back to you to introduce you to what you hoped was just his friend, that is until yuji and nobara seemed to have finally caught up with you guys again. before you even got the chance to say goodbye to him, yuji was pulling you off the couch and dragging you away from the group.

“y/n real quick- sorry- but pleaseeee you need to dj for us or something- just for like half an hour at least!! you need to show off against this asshole!”

no context whatsoever to what was happening, you couldn’t even reject yuji’s offer as he basically dragged you towards the music booth.

outside the studio…

sigh… guys i don’t hate hana i actually think she’s a cutie and love her but i had to bring someone into that role… 😥😓😪

yuji such a feminist wanted to prove some guy who was drunkly babbling on about #womeninmusic wrong accidentally crashed the moment

y/n texted maki a sc of megumi’s instagram and she put two and two together immediately

megumi was actually just writing down a reminder to get in contact with y/n but nobara wanted to push him

idk why the gif drops qualities every time i use one hope it doesn’t bother anyone 💔💔💔

taglist (open)

@starrysho @anotherwriternamedclara @qtnfer @ist0leurc0ffee @missunrise @lovefromberry @beepbopzlorp @1l-ynn @gumims @vivienne-jo @s6rine @good-mourning0 @raquel12 @kasumitenbaz @susiekern @anngelllla @saekolust @wgafa @arrozyfrijoles23 @that-willowtree @restrictionsapply @wrldwyde @estella-novella

*feel free to ask in inbox, comment, or pm if you’d like to be added!!

*if your tag isn’t working pls change your settings or let me know!!

[starlightandfairies]

Sleepy

Description: Reader returns from work at the farm and curls up with Joel in bed

Warnings: she/her pronouns, swearing,

(View whichever Joel you want, show or game. I don't have any in mind. Regardless of what the gif is)

Key: Y/N = Your Name, L/N = Last name, POV = Point of view

Word Count: 1,007

The Last of Us masterlist

First person's POV

Out of all possible responsibilities in the Jackson community, farm duty was possibly one of the better ones, I hated going beyond the gates. I have no fucking idea how I survived for the first twenty years this shit-show has been going on for. So, now that I have a safe place, I don't want to ever leave it. Working on the farm, while yucky at times, was super nice, I got to play with the lambs, collect eggs from the chickens and milk the cows. Honestly, got no clue how we even got these animals but you know, food is food and survive, survive, survive. 

I made my way to the house Joel and I shared. It was around 8pm, I had gotten all the animals into the barn and locked it up to prevent any incidents like last spring. Joel spent the day around the community, today, normally he goes out for runs out of the community to deal with the infected but he wasn't called in for anything like that today, he got to chill at home or try and do something productive because the poor man doesn't know how to not do anything. 

Joel always has to be doing something, can't just lie around or chill. Always working about, especially during the days. Nights were normally easier, he would play his guitar and he would read too. It was how I found him in bed tonight, after kicking off my boots by the front door and tossed my jacket on the couch and began making my way to the bedroom. 

Joel placed his book down across his chest, welcoming me with a warm smile, I groaned as I crawled onto the bed, moving under the blankets and nuzzled into Joel's side. I kissed his cheek, smiling as he snaked one arm around me to pull me closer into his side. 

"How was your day?" Joel murmured, resting a kiss on my forehead, his thumb stroking up and down my arm. 

"I helped one of the sheep give birth. It was gross but you know, kinda cool." He let out a warm chuckle, it was comforting and music to my ears. It always was. 

"You've killed so many infected and that grosses you out?" I shoved him lightly, grinning at the deep chuckle that left his lips. It rumbled in his chest and gave me tingles due to having my cheek pressed against his chest. 

"They creep me out too! How could they not? Besides, I ain't ever watched farm animals give birth before, not even before the outbreak in any kind of movie. Besides, those stalkers, always giving me a fucking heart-attack. I have every reason to be grossed out by both." Joel smirked at my remark, rubbing my arm again and rested another kiss on my forehead. 

"Yeah, I don't like them either. Don't know they're there until I'm caught in a damn grapple." Joel murmured, moving his arm as I rolled away, I pushed myself out of bed and grabbed what's close enough to a pair of pyjamas and crept into the bathroom, I did what I had to do and then made my way back out to bed to find Joel reading again. I hopped back into bed, placing my head on his shoulder to read the pages with him, once again he wrapped an arm back around me, trapping me within his hold, stuck between him and the book. Joel adjusted his hold on the book so I could read the words better. 

"What's this one about?" I whispered, quickly skimming over the pages he had opened, trying to see if I could guess what it was. Sometimes, before I decided to settle into the community and never leave the walls again, whenever, I went on a run, I'd always try and find intact books. It always made me happy whenever Joel, picked one up that I specifically chose for him. 

"The Shining by-" 

"Oh, by Stephen King? Hmm, I remember that Simpsons episode where they take off it. When the... I think it was Willie and he goes 'The Shinning!' Gosh, I miss tv." That was one of my favourite Halloween episodes that show did. Joel returned his attention to the book, at first I could read the pages fine, but with the silence and Joel's gentle touch along my arm, the words started becoming like hieroglyphics and my head started hurting from trying to understand what the fuck was going on. Nothing was translating and I knew I should close my eyes at this point but I wanted to stay in Joel's company awake. 

Joel's POV

I had been reading for a good twenty minutes, lingering on each page for a little while so y/n could catch up if she fell behind. However, she became very still, her breathing slow and steady. I finished the page, using the bookmark y/n made for me after one too many times of being berated (teasingly) for doggy-earing the pages and demanding that I use a bookmark for the foreseeable future. 

I placed the book on the bedside table, slowly removing my arm from underneath her, before rolling out of bed and ensuring she was lying comfortably, I froze as she nuzzled into her pillow the action and her quiet murmurs startling me into thinking she was waking up. Y/n really deserved to be sleeping more than she was, lately it had been nothing but work, sleep and getting up early. I just wanted her to rest up and not be pushing herself as badly as I normally did to myself. 

"Night, darlin' sleep well." I whispered and rested a kiss on her forehead. I wasn't tired myself just yet, so I turned out the light and made my way downstairs to sit on the porch with my guitar and enjoy the brisk air and the silence of the community. 

[hughesybear]

No, the Canucks are Not Going to Trade J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson

And if they did, it would be so incredibly stupid. Here’s all the reasons why I think both will remain Canucks for the foreseeable future👇🏼

Neither have asked for a trade, they both signed in Vancouver long-term knowing the other would be here as well, and there’s no indication that their relationship has suddenly deteriorated to the point that they can’t play together

If Pettersson truly thought he couldn’t play with Miller, for whatever reason, why would he sign an eight-year extension knowing Miller would be here for seven of those years? Why would Miller sign his extension knowing that Pettersson was planning to stay? We literally just saw these two have a season where they were fantastic together as a one-two punch down the middle, and Hughes has said as such:

“One hundred percent I believe it’s workable. I mean, we know it’s workable, we saw it last year, very evident, and I think both of them have been going through their own struggles this year. I believe in both of them, I think they’re great players, great people.”

Brad Richardson’s comments about the locker room dynamic were in Pettersson’s age 22/23 season, and it’s been three years since then. These two have put in a lot of work towards their relationship, and they’ve been asked about it ad nauseum:

Pettersson on 32 Thoughts and After Hours (February 2023): “It’s good, I mean we’ve had our differences maybe in some games, but he is a teammate that I respect and he’s someone I like to play hockey with. There’s a lot of speculation, obviously — a lot — but he’s a teammate I respect…It’s not an issue.”

“He’s a guy that wants to do everything to win and he's a great teammate. I know, obviously, there’s people who want to... I don’t know if shit on a player is the right (term). He’s passionate and all he cares about is winning. And yeah, he plays with a lot of emotion and so does the rest of the group.”

Miller in February 2023 and the 2022/2023 season exit interview:

“That's nice of him; I didn't even know he said that. It's nothing that you guys don't know, but I'm glad that Petey said that. Hopefully, we're going to spend a lot of time here together. That's the plan, right? So I'm looking forward to that. Petey and my relationship has come a long way. We're still working at it. We're completely different people, you know what I mean? You're not going to be BFFs with everybody, but at the same time you come to work together. We are polar opposite in a lot of ways, but we're working at it. We've come a long way.”

“We’re not very alike in the sense of personality and hobbies, so we’re not naturally going to gravitate towards each other. But I think over time, we have become friends. Our relationship’s getting better. It’s also a challenge for us because it’s like meeting somebody random on the street and just saying, ‘Hey, be friends with that guy that’s nothing like you. We’re not a lot alike but we’re both very competitive with our job and motivated to win, so there are still things to bring us together too.”

They’ve both been asked about it this season, and both have denied that this is “a thing.” Assuming that these two adult men wouldn’t be able to get along well enough to be paid millions of dollars to play hockey together seems like an insult to their emotional intelligence, honestly.

It would leave a huge hole in the lineup and in the leadership dynamic

The centre included in return for Pettersson or Miller as part of a package of assets would almost certainly be a huge downgrade on either. Even if the Canucks received a top-four defenceman in return, something they’ve sorely lacked all season, they would just be plugging one hole by replacing it with another one. Not many teams can handle the matchups that the Canucks present when Pettersson and Miller are at their best, and any successful version of this iteration of the Canucks will involve getting them to play at that level again.

Both of these people are essential to the leadership group, and they’re the team’s tethers to their respective strengths on the ice, as we’ve seen in their respective absences. By trading either of these players, the Canucks would be trading away one of their key advantages over other teams that they haven’t even gotten the chance to fully utilize in the playoffs (since Pettersson was dealing with his injury in their last opportunity).

Trades involving sending out elite players are almost impossible to win

Elite 1Cs almost never become available, and the team giving up the best player in a trade usually loses it. Just look at the Eichel trade: an underperforming but potentially elite young centre who hadn’t fulfilled his full potential got traded and proceeded to win a Cup with his new team. Meanwhile, the pieces Buffalo got in return haven’t been enough to lift them out of their playoff drought. It’d be a very Canucks thing for Pettersson or Miller to win a Cup with their new team if they got traded.

Trading a player this soon into a long-term extension signed by the current front office rarely ever happens

Trading either of these players at a low ebb of their value would just be poor asset management. Try explaining to Aqualini that the multi-million signing bonuses you gave Miller or Pettersson ended up barely doing anything for your franchise because you didn’t have faith that they could work things out here. The most recent example where a front office has moved a player they signed to a long-term extension in the first year of their deal is the Kings trading Pierre-Luc Dubois, and he’s flourishing in Washington when lots of people thought his issues as a player couldn’t be fixed. Miller and Pettersson are both a higher calibre of player than Dubois, and we’ve seen them at their best in Vancouver. Moving on from them over a couple tumultuous months where they’ve both missed time while the team has been struggling with injuries would show a level of impatience that would be uncharacteristic for this front office.

Pettersson and Hughes share the same agent (and are very close friends)

If you’re Hughes, and you watch either of these players (your alternate captains and good friends) get traded so soon after signing long-term extensions, and you know this front office has already traded away a Canucks captain, what faith would you have in them wanting you to stay in Vancouver? Making sure Hughes has reasons to stay should be a top priority for this front office, and I don’t think trading Pettersson or Miller would make him any more eager to negotiate.

They’re on the same team. There shouldn’t be “sides.” They both hate the noise, and the simplest way to make the noise go away is to start winning, but they haven’t even had the opportunity to do that while both of them are in the lineup (this current round of rumours was started by Allvin’s NYE interview, and Pettersson had been out of the lineup for a week before that).

Once the team gets healthier and has the opportunity to go on a bit of a run, I expect that most of the noise will just fade away. I’m looking forward to it!

[emmebearpaw]

I love coming up with ideas for AUs and even love thinking about writing them. Got an idea for a fake genshin major event, you know, like the big story event of a version, and I want it to be a sequel to Roses and Muskets, where now Inazuma is having a film festival. I don’t have the cast 100% shaken out, but I know the genres for the, get this, not one but Two movies we hear about during the event.

Kaiju. Specifically in the sense that Kaiju are a great way to talk about a cultural anxiety. The thought of this event came from talking with @awellreadmannequin about another idea for a new world boss quest, so the kaiju in this event are both based on world bosses.

To start the event the traveler would get a letter from Xavier saying he’s filming a new movie in tandem with the Kamisato clan in Inazuma for Inazuma’s upcoming cross cultural film festival and he want to know if the traveler would like to help out on set again. He has an actual budget this time, and a full crew and actors and there is no murder investigation on. And I want the film to feature the Maguu Kenki as a representation of the shogunate during the events of the AQ (hereby referred to as the civil war). The Maguu Kenki is a good representation of what I described as the “upending sense of stability” I think occurred during the war, a desperate, forceful attempt to make everything stay still. I don’t know the full cast for this movie but Gorou/Miss Hina should be in it because Xavier thought it relevant to include someone from Watatsumi to play the stand in character represented them and Kokomi is not available to go act in a movie.

while Xavier feels he’s doing a good job at including Watatsumi, however, I think the script should reveal something different. Because the character Gorou/Miss Hina plays is honestly more of a hindrance to the protagonists (who are stand ins for the yashiro backed Narukami based resistance movement or stand ins for the yashiro commission themself), and, really, there is a vibe that if totally not Watatsumi had not been attempting to “politically maneuver” their way to an advantageous end state for peace negotiations and instead just worked as another arm of the Narukami resistance the civil war would have ended way faster. They don’t even seem that instrumental to the resolution. More a noisy, and unruly distraction that does ultimately help the protagonists.

“This seems like a biased retelling of the archon quest”

Yes. It is. For you see, I mentioned at the very beginning that the Kamisato clan themselves are funding this movie. Of course it’s going to paint them in a better light. It would be more subtle in a full movie than in a highlight summary, but, the movie portrays the Yashiro commission as the ultimate good guys.

And with this, Gorou/Miss Hina should get into an argument with Xavier and ultimately walk off the production. Potentially with other people, obviously I need to add some Fontaine characters to this plot but like I said I don’t have a full cast list.

But I think he’s not done with movies, I think Watatsumi island should in turn sponsor a Kaiju movie of their own. This one less about gross abuses of power and the military government of war time Inazuma and more about cultural assimilation. I’m going to be honest what you are about to read is going to be a lot of straight copy pasted from the conversation I had with Claire earlier.

I want the movie to start with a game of chess to represent the war. Like. A whole game of chess. I don’t know how to play chess, and it should be chess and not go.

the kokomi stand in should be playing against the sara stand in and then sara should suddenly be switched to the ayato stand in. watatsumi is playing white and is playing trying to take minimal casualties, trying to protect pawns and knights and other expendable pieces. Narukami's side should seemingly be able to bring out pieces that were already taken down, they have the supplies to field more troops, they don't have to play as cautious with them. When the king is taken the kokomi stand in should be removed from the scene. the camera pans up from the board and they are just not there. they aren't in the movie again. the ayato stand in shakes the air's hand and congratulates nobody on how well they played.

during the game, they should be doing the exposition / negotiations that explain how the new Orobashi ends up on Watatsumi. Because that’s the bulk of the film, in a world where Watatsumi lost the war and entered into a less favorable agreement with the Narukami government, they are given a baby Ruin Serpent as prize for their cooperation. This Ruin Serpent is posed as a new Orobashi, given so that the people know their new government cares about their culture and beliefs. And I think the Orobashi is hungry, and at first watatsumi is also showered with other gifts for accepting their prize (why are they given gifts for that, you may ask), and those gifts make it easy to take care of the Orobashi, but its hungry and it has specific requests and people to take care of it (these people tend to disappear) and slowly, slowly they come to realize that while Watatsumi island is fixed and repaired from the war (at the beginning the island should be shown in ruin), there isn't a single person left on Watatsumi anymore. Which is supposed to represent how physically the people of Watatsumi island may benefit from a merge, culturally they would disappear.

or at least that’s my first draft of the plot. Anyways, traveler and paimon are recruited to work on the new play because they will work for peanuts. Paimon gets to be cameraman and the traveler is constructing/operating the ruin serpent puppet/body suit.

they should take this film to the festival and lose. With audiences stating it lacks action, the end is unsatisfying or they just don’t get it.

Xavier’s film should win the festival.

I have a few more thoughts on this but it’s very late and I can include them in the morning.

[moresrush]

I miss this fandom a lot.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Reasons to play In Stars and Time: Canon Pronoun Warfare.

[slymanner]

Look all I'm saying is if that a shadow game can work THAT well and be so well designed story wise and gameplay wise

HE can work

[hailsatanacab]

Your Favourite Author's Favourite Fic

in no way is this me sneakily trying to get fic recs out of people, but here's my new tag game!

Rules! When tagged, reblog with the fic you've written that you love the most

Not the fic with the most kudos, or the most comments, or the most hits, but the fic that you're the most proud of. I'm talking about the story that kept you up at night, the one that you still think about, the one that you wish more people would read

So, it's time to show off! I strongly encourage - in fact, I demand - that you give yourself some compliments, a well-deserved pat on the back, and tell us all the reasons why it's your favourite!

Then tag five people and make them go through it, too 🥰🩷

I'll tag @wolfjackle, @tourettesdog, @gilbirda, @die-erlkonigin6083, and @thewritingowl to get us started, please and thank you!!

[yellowocaballero]

Been a fan of your fics for YEARS. I was just telling my friend how despite how much I read fics I never actually love them, with some of your fics (especially TMA) as the exception. Felt the need to reread some of them and saw you reblogged some ISAT fanart. So. Any thoughts on ISAT you'd like to share?

Hope you have a wonderful day!! So happy I found your fics again!!

I avoided answering this for a while because I was trying to think of a way to cohesively and coherently vocalize my thoughts on In Stars and Time. I have given up because I don't want to hold everybody here all day and I have accepted that my thoughts are just pterodactyl screeching.

I love it so much. I have so much to say on it. It drove me bonkers for like a week straight. I have AUs. It's absolute Megbait. They're just a little Snufkin and they're having the worst experience of anybody's life. Ludonarratives my fucking beloved.

I am going to talk about the prologue.

The prologue is such a fascinating experience. You crack open the game and immediately begin checking off all of the little genre boxes: mage, warrior, researcher, you're the rogue...some little kid who's there for some reason...alright, you know the score. You're in yet another indie Earthbound RPG, these are your generic characters, let's get the ball rolling.

Except then you realize that these characters are people. You feel instantly how you've entered the game at its last dungeon, at the end of the adventure. They have their own in-jokes, histories, backgrounds, adventures. They get along well and they're obviously close, but not in a twee or unrealistic way. They have so much chemistry and spirit and life. I fell in love with them so quickly.

But Sif doesn't. Sif kind of hates them, because they will not stop saying the same damn thing. They walk the same paths, do the same things, make the same jokes, expect Sif to say the same lines. They keep referencing a Sif we do not see, with jokes we never see him make and heroic personality he never shows - they reference a Sif who is dead - and Sif can't handle that, so he kills them too.

They become only an exercise in tedious frustration. Sif button mashes through their dialogue, Sif mindlessly clicks the same dialogue options, Sif skips through the tutorial, Sif blows through the puzzles. Sif turns their world into a video game. Sif is playing a generic RPG. Sif forgets their names. They are no longer people with in-jokes, histories, backgrounds, adventures. They're the mage, the warrior, the researcher, and...some random kid.

I did not understand the Kid's presence at first. I had no idea what they contributed to the game. They didn't do anything. As a party member in a video game, they're a bit useless. Why is the Kid there?

Because Sif's life isn't a video game. Because the kid isn't 'the kid'. They're Bonnie. Bonnie, who the party loves. Why is Bonnie there? Because they love them. There is no room for Bonnie in the boring RPG that Sif is playing. And then you realize that Sif is wrong, and that they've lost something extremely important, and that they'll never escape without it.

Watching the prologue before watching ISAT gave ISAT the most unique air of dread and horror, because you crack open ISAT and you see the person Sif used to be. You realize that Sif used to be a person. Sif used to be the person who made jokes, who gave real smiles, who interacted with the world as if they are a part of it. And you know you are sitting down to watch Sif lose everything that made them a person, to lose everything that made them a member of this world, and turn them into a character in a video game who doesn't understand the point of Bonnie at all.

At the climax of the game, when the others realize that something is deeply wrong and that Sif physically cannot tell them, they realize that there is nothing they can do. So Bonnie declares snacktime. And for the first time they have snacktime.

What is snacktime? Classic JRPGs don't have snacktime. There's literally no point to a snacktime - not in a video game, and not in Sif's terrible life. It's not fixing this, because nothing can fix this. But Bonnie gives Sif a cookie and Sif eats it.

It's meaningless. It's a cutscene. It didn't save Sif and it didn't change a thing. It will make no difference in the end.

But it did make the difference. It made all of the difference in the world. Bonnie is a character who you really don't understand the point of before you realize that Bonnie was the entire point.

ISAT is about comfort media. Why do we play the same video games over and over again? Why do we avoid watching the finale of our favorite shows? What is truly comforting: a story with no conflict, or a story where you always know what is about to happen? Do you want to live in a scary, uncontrollable world, or do you want to play Stardew Valley? Do you want a person or a character?

When I beat Earthbound for the first time (and if you don't know, the prologue/ISAT battle system is just Mother) and watched the ending cutscene where the characters part ways and say goodbye...I felt a little bit sad. I wanted them to be together forever. But that's something only characters could ever be.

[ezlo-x]

was there ever any articles on why AC:NH just ended like that? how come its lifespan felt so abrupt by its end compared to other games like Splatoon 3?

[gyaruhana]

Omg can we get some more player 120 (Cho Hyun-ju) sfw n nsfw headcanons where shes protective n dominant? Pls n thank uu I loved ur last work w her🩷

Cho Hyun-ju/Player 120 - Headcannons (sfw + nsfw)

Synopsis: more Hyun-ju headcannons !

A/N: ask and i shall serve !!

Warnings: smut content

SFW:

➠ i'm immediately jumping into the scene in the last episode where she was locked in bc holy moly she was so hot.. ➠ wouldn't let you go with her unless you were well-trained with a gun and able to handle it ➠ even then she's always keeping you close behind her ➠ When she's not shooting at the guards, she's looking at you to make sure you're doing okay ➠ if you run out of ammo, she doesn't hesitate to give you one of her magazines ➠ If you end up panicking she's immediately there to distract you from the gunshots and reassuring you that everything is fine and you'll both be okay ➠ and you both will be because she refuses to die or to let you die ➠ not when you both had already made plans for Thailand after you get out of here ➠ On a lighter note !! ➠ most doting girl ever ➠ does give you some of her food sometimes if you're feeling hungry ➠ If someone insults you, she's instantly at your side to defend you ➠ she HATES people thinking they can treat you badly ➠ do play with her hair she loves it sm ➠ expect her to hold your hand a lot because she's not afraid of PDA ➠ late night talks after lights out which sometimes just turns into staring into each others eyes ➠ so many quiet "I love you"'s whispered during those talks too ➠ likes when you cup her face in your hands honestly ➠ you guys are always talking about WHEN you make it out of this place and never if ➠ so so many plans for Thailand ➠ After the death of Young-mi, she definitely needed your comfort and got so much more protective of you ➠ if you go to the bathrooms, she's right there behind you ➠ you're basically never alone during the games ➠ Absolutely fights for you ➠ Overall, so protective of you and not afraid to put someone in their place if they disrespect you

"I have a few nice places to live in Thailand saved on my phone. I can show you them when we get out," you speak from your bed as you turn to face her. She smiles slightly at your words and nods her head. You both had been planning for Thailand since forever and now the dream seemed so much closer with the money you could take home. Even if some people died, neither of you would be next. Not as long as you were there to protect each other and survive this hellish place together. "I'd like that,"

NSFW:

➠ Again, she's gentle. ➠ not a big fan of having public sex so she often takes you to the bathroom with her if you guys are in the mood ➠ most skillfull pussy eater icl ➠ she knows exactly how to make you feel good ➠ gentle and meaningful kisses that convey so much love ➠ she's just a gentle cutie ➠ always whispering praises to you ➠ baby, my girl, sweetheart - literally every sweet pet name in the book ➠ refuses to be rough with you because she wants to help you relax and be calm from the stress of the games and the death ➠ always kisses you after making you cum on her fingers ➠ which happens quite quickly honestly.. ➠ she's just a little too good at fingering you.. ➠ she's practically memorized every part of you though that's why ➠ encourages volume and expressing how you feel ➠ she bases her pace on your facial expressions because she's ridiculously observant ➠ Overall, gentle girlfriend who knows how to please you<3

"You're close, yeah?" She says quietly as she looks up at you, her fingers continuing to thrust in and out of you quickly. The two of you didn't have a lot of time as the guard waiting just outside the bathroom likely wouldn't let you stay for long. That's why she was so quick with her fingers. The last thing she'd want is for you to be left without a release. "Go ahead. Cum on my fingers, my love,"

[aces-to-apples]

I'm gonna be real, so little of previous games have actually mattered in any way beyond flavor text that I literally could not give less of a shit about this whole debacle. Like it's such a non-issue to me. Idk what games y'all have been playing for 15 years but truly this is the norm. Barely anything carried over from Origins to Hawke and all pretty minor shit, and I genuinely cannot think of anything beyond flavor text carrying over to Inquisition. Oh you could customize Hawke and they can answer a few vague questions with vague bullshit? Cool, presumably that's what the Inquisitor will give us. Like idk guys but I think maybe building up your expectations for a decade has had a detrimental effect on what should be reasonable expectations for a video game that's truly been in development hell for like eight years and wants to be functionably playable to brand new players without alienating them.

[dreamsy990]

i havent played any fnaf games but i think security breach is pretty neat and ive been listening to fnaf videos for the past 3 days so.

extras below the cut

[unfinishedslurs]

LOUMAND EPIC DIVORCE FIGHT PT.3

if loumand has 1 million fans I am one of them if loumand has 5 fans I am one of them if loumand has 1 fan it is me if loumand has 0 fans I have been removed from this mortal plane if the world is against loumand I am against the world. failmarriage enjoyers come get y’all’s juice

“What happened to those ‘Great Laws,’ Armand?” He asked, fury rising in him again. “You know, the ones you killed my daughter for?”

“What do you want me to say? Would you have me apologize again so you can refuse it? To tell you that if I could go back and change it, I would? To turn back the wheel of time itself and undo it all? I cannot.”

Louis wanted to strangle him. Would, if he didn’t know that Armand would just sit there and let him, not feeling a damn thing. “I want you to feel fucking sorry!”

Armand rolled his eyes, but Louis had spent over seventy years sleeping next to the monster under the bed. Had decades to learn his tricks and tells. Not all of them, like he might have thought once, but enough to spot the minuscule shift in his expression. The brief twitch of his mouth and the shuttered blink before his face flattened.

There he is, he thought triumphantly. A reaction, a real one. Something that alluded to the man beneath the mask he always wore, not nearly as impenetrable as he thought it was.

“‘Sorry,’” he scoffed, lifting his chin haughtily. “Sorrow is for mortals. We are vampires, Louis. We do not have the time to waste on regrets and what-if’s.”

As if he hadn’t seen into Armand’s mind countless times. As if he had not held him through a thousand nights of wishing he could go back and save his Maker, save Riccardo, save his brothers. As if he had not once confessed to Louis that he sometimes wished he could go back and die a human death in Marius’ arms. The audacity of the lie was almost like a slap in the face of their entire companionship. Or was Armand telling the truth, and those memories the lie? How much did Louis know him, really?

He couldn’t be sure anymore, but he was confident that it was better than any living being on this earth. Enough to get through the lies and rip into the man underneath, the fragile heart in the photograph. If Armand owed him anything, it was this.

“No time? We got nothing but time! You really expect me to believe that when your fledgling is flaunting himself in front of millions with no Maker in sight? You telling me you’re a deadbeat ‘cuz you don’t feel regret?”

Armand’s mouth pursed before he stepped back. “Don’t speak of things you don’t understand,” he warned, eyes darting back and forth. Settling on the closest window like he was thinking about an escape.

Louis didn’t give him one. “Oh, I understand plenty,” he scoffed. “I probably understand better than you. What, you thought you’d make our ‘symbol of love’ immortal for shits and giggles?”

That finally got a visible reaction out of him, swiveling his head back to look at Louis with wide eyes. “I didn’t—“

“You let your coven fucking lynch me because of my fledgling, but eight decades later you’re doing the same damn thing! To the ill and infirmed, no less.”

“What do you want from me?” Armand finally burst out, whirling around on him in an incandescent rage. Louis felt himself smile, could feel his lip splitting as his fangs dropped. “I have apologized time and time again—“

“Only ‘cuz you thought it would fix things!”

“—spent years throwing myself at your feet for your mercy—“

“Mercy? Did you show my daughter—“

“Will it ever be enough? Over seventy years devoted to you—“

“A drop in a bucket compared to the fact that it was over half my life—“

“I don’t know what else I can do!”

“Say sorry and fucking mean it this time!” He roared. “Feel fucking sorry for lying to me throughout our entire companionship! Say something real for once!”

They both fell silent at that, chests heaving through some faded muscle memory. Puppets just going through the motions yet again. What was it that Armand said? Mark it on the calendar, align it with Ursa Major. Louis and Armand’s tri-annual blow-up fight to kingdom come.

Louis’ voice trembled as he said, “I want to know why. None of that ‘I could not prevent it’ shit. I want you to tell me why you let them kill my daughter.”

Armand sank down on the couch, shoulders slumping. Submission and acceptance coloring every inch of him. “Why?” He murmured, staring at his knees. “It will not change anything.”

Louis sat on the other end, keeping as much distance between them as he could. “Humor me.”

“…it is true, that it was because of Madeleine,” he finally admitted. “She was somewhat of a last straw. I had told you before, the creation of more creatures like us was something I could not condone. If you did not love me enough to understand and accept that, how could I trust you over the people in my coven? How could I believe you would not leave me to whatever caught your fancy next?”

“And saving me?”

“Lestat—“

“I don’t mean on stage. Why didn’t you let me die in the coffin? I was almost gone. It would have been over, and then you would have had your coven and spent the rest of eternity directing plays, fooling an audience, listening to Santiago blabbering on…”

“So you’d submit me to a punishment worse than death,” Armand said dryly.

He almost cracked a smile before he remembered himself. “I’m not in the mood to be funny right now.”

Armand sighed, as if Louis was some insufferable child he was humoring. It pissed him off, but yelling wouldn’t get him what he wanted right now. Even if it would be cathartic and incredibly deserved. “The coven wasn’t the same, after,” he said. “They had lost respect for me. In part, I suspect, because they could sense the regret you seem so insistent on. Santiago had never liked me much—“

“He wanted to fuck you.”

“He got off on forcing me to submit. He knew the name I had told you. I don’t know how, whether he heard you say it or if he plucked it out of your head through the appalling shields Lestat had not trained you on—“

“Don’t talk about him. This is about us.”

He looked briefly incensed at that, and he could almost hear the retort, “But you can speak about Daniel?” He didn’t say it, though, because Daniel was different. Daniel had been theirs, in a way that Louis couldn’t put to words.

Armand must have known that too, because he moved on without comment. “The coven could sense my guilt, my regret, and they closed in on me. Is that what you wished to hear? That I saved you to save my own skin?”

“Okay.”

Armand looked at him in surprise, frowning. “Okay?” He echoed.

“That was about what I expected to hear.” He learned back against the couch, letting the cushion swallow him and his regrets. It stung, but he was still too angry to really feel it. What was one more betrayal? What was one more petty grievance eighty years in the past?

Armand considered him for a moment. “It was also because I love you,” he said softly. “I do not want you to doubt that. The coven was only part of it. I found I could not bear the thought of your death.”

Found out too late, but hindsight is 20/20. What did it matter that Louis still had stones rattling around in his ankles? The constant reminder weighing him down, never as badly as the memories that came with them. If Armand had decided to wipe the trial from his mind, would he have removed them as well, or left them? Would Louis know why his footsteps felt so strange, what the aching in his heels heart meant when it echoed in his heart? He wished they were back in Dubai, so he could feel the comfort of his rock garden beneath his feet.

“Okay,” he said again. “Now pause the bullshit for a minute.”

Pause. Blink. Head tilt. He could see the cogs turning in Armand’s head like clockwork. For a master manipulator, he was always incredibly predictable. Or maybe Louis had spent too much time with him. “I’m not lying to you.”

“No,” he agreed, “but we’re going around the real problem. You said Madeleine was the last straw, but that was me. Let’s go back to that. Why did you kill my daughter?”

“The Great Laws—“

“I didn’t ask about them.”

Armand fell silent, studiously not looking at him. Louis settled back and waited him out.

Finally he spoke, very quietly. If they weren’t vampires he wouldn’t even have heard him. “I fear that if I tell you the truth, I will forsake the last bit of affection you may still hold for me.”

“If you don’t tell me, you’re gonna get the exact same result,” he said. “So I don’t think it matters.”

The blow struck. Armand swayed as if taking a physical hit, taking a deep breath he didn’t need. When he looked at Louis, his eyes were lined red with tears he didn’t let fall. Truth, or another tactic for sympathy? It didn’t matter. He had plenty of experience ignoring Armand’s tears in the bedroom, he couldn’t let himself falter when it mattered most.

“She reminded me of myself. Of the youth I once had.” It came out of him in a rush, as if he’d been holding the words back for centuries. “Amadeo begged his master to turn him for over a decade, and each refusal battered his very soul. As he grew older, taller, as hair began to grow on his face and chest and between his legs, as his master took him to his bed less and less. Amadeo was loved, yes, yet it was not until I was nearly thirty and dying that my master saw fit to give me the gift. I was jealous, Louis, is that what you wanted to hear? She had everything Amadeo had ever wanted, yet she cursed her own fortune with every breath she took. I forced her to reckon with it, quietly delighted in watching her perform a song that made her more miserable with every note. I thought she was a spoiled, inconsequential flea who would not make it another fifty years. I believed her to be the reason you refused my companionship. A hundred reasons, each of them more petty than the last. What does it matter? You will hate me no matter what.”

Louis thought he might be sick.

Armand closed his eyes, drawing back into himself. “If that was the only reason,” he said almost gently, “I would not have done it. But I had seen dozens like her over the centuries. Children are not meant for the gift. Either madness takes them, or they cannot bear the constant infantilization, or something else, it doesn’t matter. One by one they walk into the sun. The absence of choice can be a mercy.”

He clearly believed what he was saying, which just made it even worse. How much “mercy” had Armand offered over the years?

Even deeper down, Louis wondered if he was right. The first vampire they ever met in Europe had cast herself into the flames before their eyes. Louis himself had run headfirst into the sun and nearly succeeded. How many others had destroyed themselves because they could not bear the Gift they were given?

“Not Claudia. She was strong.” Stronger than Louis had ever been, certainly.

“They all say that, and yet they all succumb eventually.”

“She wouldn’t have”

Armand sighed. “I supposed we’ll never know,” he acquiesced. Louis could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

He let it slide this time. At least the words were true. “No, we won’t.”

They sat in silence for a time, not looking at each other. The only sound from the cars driving outside. They did not need to breathe, to blink, to move at all. As still as the pictures Louis used to take, back when things seemed like they might turn out okay.

Finally, Louis exhaled slowly. Armand turned toward him, but said nothing.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay. I don’t forgive you.”

Armand didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Just stared at him motionless, as if he was waiting for something.

“I don’t forgive you,” he repeated pointedly. “But I’m not going to kill you.”

“I don’t understand.”

Of course he didn’t. Hadn’t that been what he was aiming for when he turned Daniel? If you touch him, Louis had said, and Armand had given his fascinating boy the worst curse he could imagine as soon as his back was turned. 500 years passively yearning for an end no one would provide. Louis wouldn’t be the one to grant him mercy.

His final gift to Armand, or maybe his final “fuck you.” A long life. An eternity at his fingertips, exactly as Amadeo had once begged for. The chance to grow even more powerful until little Arun could never be hurt again. A chance to torture himself for the rest of time in a hell of his own making. A chance to better himself, if Louis was feeling generous.

He wasn’t sure, but after seventy-seven years of standing hand in hand with this man, this monster, this little boy trembling in the midst of all the power he held, he thought it was a kind of salvation. For both of them.

Besides, Daniel was thriving better than either of them in the throes of the Gift. Armand had to have known he would.

“I don’t either,” he said. “You’d deserve it. But I’m tired, Armand, and I loved you once. I think that counts for something.”

Armand’s eyes widened. He stood quickly, putting distance between them, but not before Louis saw a bloody tear slip down his cheek. “Don’t say that to me when you don’t mean it. I cannot bear it.”

He looked as pained as Louis had ever seen him, despair twisting his features at the words Louis had never afforded him when they were together. He was beautiful in his misery, as beautiful as he was in anything. He hated him for it as much as he’d loved him once. The Temptation of Amadeo, rendered in flesh and blood and the viscera of honesty.

“I do. I did,” he said, twisting the knife just to be cruel. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Armand shook his head. Opened his mouth, then froze, caught between words. Still as a painting in the low lamplight. Louis could see the brush strokes on his face, see every piece of art he had shown him overlaid with the real man in front of him.

“Right,” Louis said, when enough time had passed that he was certain Armand wouldn’t say anything. “Glad we had this talk.”

“Are you?”

Louis surprised himself when he answered, “Yeah, actually. I am. You?”

“I don’t know.” He looked frail, sad, tired, but no closer to walking into the fire than he had been when Louis had cornered him.

He thought that deep down, he was probably relieved by it. The confirmation that Louis wouldn’t kill him, that the love between them hadn’t been a complete lie. Still, how would he know? His lack of understanding of Armand’s innermost thoughts had been made abruptly clear to him with a script marked in red ink.

“Anything else we should talk about?” He asked. “Any other lies? Any other Danny’s knocking around in my brain, waiting for me to remember them?”

“No. No, there was only one. Daniel Malloy is not an experience you can replicate, I suspect.”

“Thank God for that.”

He almost smiled at that. “Indeed.”

“Speaking of Daniel Malloy,” Louis said, standing up. “For fucks sake, pick up the damn phone. Give our boy a call.”

Our boy. A slip he hated himself for instantly. It was too easy to fall into their old patterns, something that was probably by design. Shock flashed over Armand’s face before it was replaced by humor. “He hates it when you call him that,” he pointed out.

“I’ve had to deal with that shit for a century, he can handle it.”

“He finds it arousing.”

“You’re not the only one who can read minds around here, you know.”

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

As if Armand still had any right to know who was in his bed. “Are you? Don’t think I didn’t pick up on his thoughts about ‘Rashid.’ You feeding him your blood was probably a dream come true for him. Did you get to pick his brain about it before it was closed to you forever? What did he think of the taste?”

Armand’s lips thinned, and he turned away.

Louis didn’t let him leave without a final blow. “You gonna tell him about the other memories you erased?”

He stiffened. “You have no right—“

“I have every right, and you know it.”

“If you must know, the answer is no. What difference would it make?”

A pretty damn big one, if you asked Louis. He felt it every time he talked to Daniel, the yawning cavern of curiosity surrounding the blank afterimages in his memory, the way he could clearly sense something wasn’t right. Searching the globe for Armand, chasing him in some kind of fucked up role reversal only one of them was aware of. And then Armand, clearly punishing himself with every echoed heartbeat, every kill Daniel took to like a shark in a reef. Only making them both miserable as he hid in solitude.

“Honesty, Arun,” Louis snapped.

They both froze. Fuck. Fuck. Falling into old habits indeed, the world's most ill-timed Freudian Slip. He’d tried so hard to stay away from it, to wrangle Armand’s honesty from him in a way that didn’t depend on the command of his submission. He’d finally gotten what he wanted, and then he had to go and screw it up.

“I am not Arun to you, anymore.” Armand’s voice trembled. “I would prefer you did not use it.”

Louis nodded, even though Armand couldn’t see him. Bit back the instinctive apology on his tongue.

“I do not see the use in continuing this pointless conversation. Is there anything else you want of me, anything else you require?”

Yes. He wanted to shake him, tell him that they weren’t done here. He still had questions. He wanted to strip Armand down to the bone, rip his flesh off piece by piece and expose the skeleton underneath. Would that finally reveal the truth, or would he have to go deeper? Into bone marrow, the stem cells, his DNA. Would that allow Louis to know him?

It didn’t matter. The mask had gone up, and Louis didn’t have the energy to pull it back down again.

“No.”

Armand nodded once, his back still to Louis, before walking to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob. “I have always been a coward, Louis,” he confessed, still staring straight ahead. Louis could see the set of his shoulders, the clench of his fist, but not his face. “There is your truth.” He twisted the knob, opened the door. “You will not see me again, if you do not wish.”

Before Louis could reply, he was gone.