#how to do everything - folks will help and point you in the right direction

[phantom-tiger]

I fell up a step stool at work, trying to get workers comp is a thing and a half don't do it lol

ᵛᵛᵛ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᶦⁿᶠᵒ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ˢᵗʳᵘᵍᵍˡᵉˢ ᵗᵐ ᵒᶠ ʷᵒʳᵏᵉʳˢ ᶜᵒᵐᵖ ᵛᵛᵛ

luckily it's just a bad strain, but im also kinda sad I didn't break my shit for milestones sake lol. It happened at 12:40am and I worked till 5:40am when my manager came in as well lul.

I figured it wasn't broken cuz I could wiggle my toes and could stand on it without being in immense pain, but when I got home my Mom saw and she's a nurse and she said there's a possibility something could be broken bc it swelled immediately - im uncertain if i heard a pop or crunch bc I had headphones in :).

But getting workers comp - I was told to go home, mother told me I need to get it seen/an xray, called back told I should've filled out an incident report, didn't get to do that till the next day, where there the managers just handed me a list of doctors that work with my work. I start calling places, one place it took 3 calls to figure out they don't take workers comp any more, another said they couldn't see me for two weeks, and then another place had to be the one to tell me 'oh - [your work] is supposed to set up the appointment for you' - *why* give me a list of doctors if they're going to choose anyway - more back and forth calls with my manager and like the head of the store - finally HR guy gets in contact with me - apparently your initial visit is covered regardless of where it's at - great perfect there's an urgent care right down the road from me, start heading there, HR guy calls and says the *urgent care* is also by appointment only, so I head to one that's 30 mins away -MIND YOU- im driving myself around, uncertain if my shits broken or not lol. But after that it was fairly smooth sailing, the walk-in clinic was very nice and the HR guy is very sweet and helpful - letsfuckinggo Greg.

The doctor was also concerned about it being broken which makes me feel better, and not just like My Mom being A Mom tm and concerned. The doctor/we were concerned about the high tiny bones. But yeah just a bad strain. It happened on 'Tuesday' (i work nightshift so tues 11 to wed 7am) and my schedule worked so that I was off wed and thurs,, that was my two days off 🙃🙃🙃.

My Manager (whos a Good guy) has "threatened" that he's got sit down work for me and evil laughing lol. There's been talk of physical therapy but idk. But that's whats happening with me lul

[avalordream]

Prompt: Imagine you get isekaied in Our Life. Only thing is that you wake up as a child and remember everything. You can only save at this point but you can still access the save and load menu and see your previous runs.

Meanwhile your precious neighbor is slowly becoming self aware, getting deja vu with every passing second- as if this has all happened before...

A/N: A few days after I posted this- a few other thoughts came to mind- SO HERE IS MY ATTEMPT AT VOCALIZING THEM

You’re keenly aware of how small and tiny you are the moment you wake up. 

For the first few days, you started to acclimate to…the family home. 

It wasn’t YOUR family though. It never was. It was MC’s. Not your’s.

You could project all you wanted onto MC but it was never your family or your life to experience. It was theirs.

Even so, you quickly found yourself missing the life you were used to. More specifically:

The cuisine.

It was hard not to draw suspicion to the fact that you were craving different food genres aside from Mom’s Pamela’s mac and cheese and cheeseburgers. 

Ma’s Noelani’s Hawaiian food helped quite a bit to hold you over as you started to ponder over how to approach it.

Kind of hard to bring it up to your MC’s parents that you wanted Asian/Middle eastern/Indian/Pakistani/Mexican/etc food when there was none of that for miles around

For the time being, you had to quietly hint and nudge their thoughts into that direction but not enough to make them suspicious. Noelani obviously had her suspicions about Cove getting into the house from Step 2-3 but never brought it up once. From what you could tell, she was scary observant

Another issue was how clumsy your new body was.

Your mind might be able to remember how to do everyday tasks like writing and such but this tiny body didn’t have the muscle memory to match it

Much to Liz’s dismay, you spent quite a bit of your time forcing your hands and legs to train to do things your adult body could do in a snap

Time wise- technology was a huge sucker punch. It made you feel bad for taking your own devices for granted. 

That being said, self learning everything was going to be hard without a phone or computer on hand, especially knowing that you’d have to go through the cursed education system all over again- but most likely much harder

There had to be a reason older folk complained about it, right?...

Your MC’s birthday was the same as your own, just that the birth year is 1997. That being said, the current year was 2006… Funny. You were only two in 2006…

…

Back to self learning, you tried to practice what you considered basic math long after everyone had fallen asleep

Usually, your day was filled with entertaining Shiloh and Liz, playing in the park or going along with whatever Liz said. Judging by the giant for sale sign across the street and the date, you figured out that you got isekaied roughly at least a month or two before Cove and Mr. Holden would move in. 

Who knew how that would go now that you weren’t subjected to just three choices?

Even after playing around, your body was exhausted and your baby mind was just as pooped out.

The first few days you would wake up early as children do and tried doing your math and remembering as much as you could at that time

Yeah, Liz nearly gave you a heart attack after she barged in and you had to play it off as you scribbling absolute nonsense cause you were bored

After that near collision, you changed your prep time to being at night. Sure, you woke up to Liz shaking you and not getting enough sleep in the morning, but you needed to refresh your memory the best you could

You couldn’t do it every night though and did your best to keep some sort of schedule so you wouldn’t forget - and worry your MC’s moms

They noticed the first few times of how sleepy you’d be when you’d wake up later than usual - granted if Liz didn’t wake you up - and a few nights after, you nearly got caught right in the middle of your review.

Pam was more sneaky than Noelani, so you should’ve seen this coming- but even so, you had everything spread out on your rug when you just barely heard her footsteps come to your MC’s door

You had enough time to shove everything underneath your bed - your room was messy enough but better safe than sorry - and quickly dive under the covers before you heard your door open with the softest of clicks

She was around for a good while before you heard the door close again but you didn’t relax until you were sure her footsteps went back to the master bedroom

After that, you were much more careful about how long you spent studying and when. You haven’t been caught since.

Occasionally, you’d have to sneak in your MC’s parent’s room to grab any books that you needed. Good thing Noelani was a book nerd.

You did have to be careful about your self learning- you didn’t want them getting any suspicions that their kid was suddenly…different out of nowhere.

You had no idea what MC was like as a kid before the events of Our Life so you tried your best to piece together what you could 

Speaking of, there were a bunch of things you quickly realized about Our Life, one of which is that game didn’t go over nearly everything that MC went through, let alone before Cove came or others that it only touched on briefly

For example, the tourists that came and went every year happened to be close friends of Pamela’s from her time in university, hence why they were so friendly to you and Liz in particular. 

It was also why they knew how to… handle your ever changing moods. At least-

That’s what it looked like to them.

To you- it was because you had to battle MC’s initial responses to these scenarios.

Go figure, this body still had its fair share of emotions inside of it, leaving you to figure out if this sharp pang of fear or worry was your own or not.

It left you second guessing everything you did, especially when you’d be up at night, studying and practicing your writing

It seriously irked you, knowing your writing was sloppy even though you knew this body couldn’t help it. It didn’t make seeing your scrappy writing less frustrating though

Despite how much you tried to hide how YOU felt, not MC, Noelani still picked up on the small shifts in your behavior. 

One of these being the irritation you harbored for your writing. 

Speaking of emotions, you found your body easily overwhelmed by any stronger ones- your own irritation making you cry- an alien feeling and one that took even you by surprise.

Worse part? The first time happened was in front of Noelani when she tried to help you practice your penmanship

Naturally, she tried to comfort you MC by trying to console you, saying it’d be better with practice and wiping away your tears but no matter how YOU tried, the tears wouldn’t stop flowing

It wasn’t until much later that you realized that MC’s tiny self had their own limits and by pushing those adult feelings and expectations that YOU had onto it sent it into a messy overdrive.

After that, you had learned to slow down- the world wasn’t ending…even if it felt like it.

…

The nail in the coffin for you that made YOU cry. Not MC’s body: Your dreams started to resemble parts of your life. 

You’d dream that you were back at your desk job or filling out mundane paperwork but no matter how boring it’d be, it was YOUR life.

The one YOU were used to and familiar with

You’d always feel so relieved to be back where you were supposed to, whether you were happy with that life or not

It was that feeling of having all your choices in your hand and being in control of where you wanted to go, if that made sense.

Nobody made those choices for you except well…you.

Only to have that feeling of familiarity ripped away once you registered Liz waking you up to play while “Ma and Mom snooze the day away!”

…

You just want to go home…

To YOUR home…

-> Next... <-

-> Extras <- ⊹ ‧₊˚ Isekai Self Aware Taglist: @lilqi @annoying-mary @mellozhi ˚₊‧ ⊹

[sapphic-agent]

So, a Kataang fan made a post about a week ago "asking" (rhetorically, of course) why it's a bad thing Katara acts like Aang's mom. And I just-

First of all, isn't that something that Kataang shippers have been trying to actively dispute for almost two decades at this point? That Katara doesn't treat Aang as a younger brother/son? There's literally an entire post about it from The Headband that's made its rounds on almost every single social media platform.

So which is it, besties? Does Katara act motherly towards Aang or not?

(The answer is yes of course, as The Runaway outright confirms it multiple times. The whole premise of that episode is that Katata acts as a mother to Toph, Sokka, and Aang)

Now, why is it a problem? The fact that I have to explain this is telling for how little a lot of Kataang shippers understand Katara.

Katara was parentified. She took care of Sokka (by his own admission) as well as her entire village after Hakoda left. Even before then really, as she says in the very first episode that she's been doing all the chores around the village since their mother died which was years before that. She was delivering literal babies while basically being a baby herself.

Traveling- and being- with Aang is supposed to represent her freedom and childhood, right? That's what the first episode shows us and what Kataang is built on. But if anything, it has the opposite effect.

Book 1 wasn't terrible. Katara was very free-spirited and joyful in addition to being caring and empathetic. Her and Aang could still goof off together, even if she was doing her best to support him emotionally. You could easily see that as her being a good friend.

But somewhere between Books 2 and 3, that changed. Katara went from being his supportive friend to being his emotional crutch. During The Desert, she bears the brunt of him lashing out (he does yell at Toph once, but he's the most volatile with Katara). He also gets frustrated with her during Sozin's Comet, even though Zuko and Sokka were the ones pushing him. It's always Katara who has to bring him back when he loses control of the Avatar State, risking her own safety.

(This isn't emotional, but it was Katara who healed Aang after Azula's attack. She was the one who stayed by his side, staying awake for hours to make sure he would be okay. I like to look at it as a physical representation of their relationship. Aang's wellbeing is always put on her shoulders. If she isn't there to lift him up, he'll fall. And if he falls, the world falls. No 14 year old should be responsible for that. But it's so easy for the show- and y'all- to shove it onto her because this part of her character is never addressed. It's just used as a testament to her caring nature)

Even without Katara's parentification, this causes a major imbalance in their relationship. It puts Katara in charge of managing Aang's pain and being emotionally unsupported in return. The Southern Raiders is proof that Katara can't depend on Aang emotionally the way he does her. She's been his shoulder to cry on through everything and the one time the tables turned, she couldn't even get that from him.

And the saddest thing about this? Katara says to him, "I knew you wouldn't understand." She never expected Aang to support her. She's become so accustomed to being there for others that she's never once expected anyone to do the same for her, least of all Aang.

(But Zuko does. He's the only one who recognized Katara's pain- admittedly, mostly because it was directed at him- and tried to help her. Without being prompted. I gotta give this one to the Zutara folks)

In what world is this dynamic healthy for a romantic relationship?

[cherrygukkie]

Late Night Encounters| jjk

Summary: A student-athlete like you, who flies under the radar, never expected to become enemies with someone like Jeon Jungkook, an annoying talkative senior who goes out of his way to make your life a living hell. But what happens when your rivalry takes some twists and turns, and your hate turns into something else? Will getting too close to Jungkook reveal a side of him that you’ve never seen before?

Word Count: 5,2k

AN: Hey folks! This is something I came up with in the middle of the night, so I hope that you all enjoy this as much as I am currently planning all of this out! :) But yeah, I don't have anything else to say, but to enjoy this first snippet of Jk and OC's relationship. Love yah mwahh!!

Props to @dollfaceksj for beta-reading thank you <3

READ: (Pls comment and give feedback it's all welcomed. It'll help me stay motivated.)

Lmk if there are any errors please and thank you.

••••••••

Thursday, 7:03 a.m.

It’s early in the morning, and you know what that means…. School time!!!

Yay… school.

You’re currently at school, exhausted. That wasn’t out of the ordinary though. No matter how much sleep your body gets you still end up tired. At this point, you've accepted the fact that you’re a sleepy girl.

Putting on your beats, you turn the music volume to the max. Hopefully, music can give you a little energy and help you get through the day because you need it.

Surprisingly Yoongi or Taehyung weren't at school around this time. Usually, the three of you arrived at the same time, if something came up you’d receive a message from either one of them. They didn’t tell you yesterday or text you, so you check their location.

When you do it shows that they are on the road, moving in the same area. 

They were driving somewhere…

The direction they are going is further away from the school. You being curious, you took it upon yourself to see what’s up with them.

Letting out a yawn, you call Yoongi, and not even a second later, he declines.

What the fuck?

You decide to shoot Taehyung a message since they’re together and he responds…

You: um why aren’t you or Yoongi at school?

You: I see that you guys are driving and I feel left out.

Taehyung : Sorry Y/N. I was supposed to tell you, but It slipped my mind.

Yeah, just like how my foot is gonna slip up both their asses.

Taehyung: We got caught up in some last-minute shit.

•okay, but my question is still unanswered.

You: where are you guys going though???

Read.

Taehyung left you on read along with him being secretive about his location… that’s unusual and weird.

Extremely weird…

“Such shitheads for ditching me,” you mutter, shoving your phone in your pocket. Great… Now today is going to be the definition of boring without dumber and dumbest.

You open your locker, replacing your books with your skateboard. The bell is going to ring shortly, so you start walking to class. You slam your locker shut, striding down the halls with the volume of your headphones sounding out everything and everyone, just how you liked it.

Your face was frowned up until ETA by NewJeans came on. A smile creeps onto the corner of your mouth as angelic voices enter your ears and a flicker of amusement manages to lighten your mood.

“what’s your ETA!” “what’s your ETA!”

Just when your grumpy spirit is starting to lift, someone swoops in from the right, snatching your headphones off your ears. The music is gone and the little smile you grew shattered into a million pieces.

You freeze, taken back by his audacity. “You did not… just take my headphones.” 

You turn around to see the one and only, Jeon Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook who surprisingly wasn’t wearing his usual Calvin Klein attire. Instead, he had on a pair of distressed jeans with a soft blue zip-up jacket.

The way he has his jacket off his shoulder is so baby girl of him

Jungkook smirks, holding the headphones out of reach. “New Jeans? Really?” He could hear even while they were hanging above your head. That’s how loud the music was.

“Give it back!” you demand, through a big jump to retrieve your headphones. Each time you jumped, his hand went higher and higher. Jungkook enjoyed watching you struggle, especially if it’s because of him.

“You don’t seem like the type to listen to New Jeans,” he says, ignoring the fact that he’s holding your property. “They’re so uplifting and joyful… and you-” Jungkook pauses, eyeing you down. You could sense the insult coming.

You talk over him, not letting him finish. “Why are you doing this?”

It’s too early to play his stupid games. He couldn’t wait until Chemistry class? 

“Just doing my daily dose of annoying you.” He clicks his tongue, dangling the headphones with his index finger. 

“Well, congratulations, Jungkook. You’ve succeeded once again. Now give me back my headphones and leave me alone,” you demand again, reaching up only for him to hold them higher.

At this damn point, your arms are moving in the air desperately like a lunatic. This is taking place in the middle of the halls… in front of people. 

How fucking embarrassing is that?

ugh, I hope that people don’t think I’m a pushover now…

You raise your voice, walking up to Jungkook. “Give me my shit back!” 

The anger in your voice draws attention in the halls. Right after you speak, multiple eyes burn into your soul. You look around and people are staring at the both of you with concerned faces. Part of you wanted to tell them to mind their shit and keep it pushing, but you take a breath, taking a chill pill.

 “Jungkook,” you say through gritted teeth, bringing your hands together. “Can I have my beats back? They’re too expensive to be played around with.” You swallow all the bass in your tone.

“What’s the magic word?” Jungkook teases, exposing the dimple on his right cheek. Beasty, huh? you've never understood why he gave you such a nickname in the first place. Assuming it was an insult, you always ignored it.

Today wasn’t the day for his stupid games, he for sure wasn’t getting a please out of you.

You blink constantly, accepting your defeat. “You know what… I’m not doing this shit today. You can keep them, you jerk.” Walking away from Jungkook, you try to speed walk to class in need to get away from him. You’re already dealing with limbs that could barely function and heavy eyelids, you aren't in the mood to play.

Searching for peace didn't last how you wanted. Jungkook catches up with you, refusing to leave you alone. 

"Careful there or you'll drop your books."

You look over at Jungkook who was keeping up with your speed. “I hate you.”

A little laugh sneaks past his lips before speaking, “No, you don’t.”

He had the presence of a fly, no matter how much you shoo him away he always finds his way back.

Why do you despise him with a passion?

Why is Jeon Jungkook your nemesis?

The reason behind it is a story. It started when you ran into him on a chaotic evening at the worst moment possible, just when you thought the hole you were in couldn't get any deeper...it did.

*Flashback!*

4 months ago...

Friday evening, 7:37 p.m.

Stuck in the middle of traffic, you’re repeatedly hitting crazy turns, left, right, left, left, right, right, nonstop. You wanted to punch yourself in the face for missing the bus and being an irresponsible dumbass.

Yeah, it's true...you were late to a game. It's not all your fault, though. To be fair it was a last-minute one that the coach signed everyone up for. Earlier today, you had to stay after school to figure out some arrangements with your teachers for your grades. It was either that or nothing because bad grades equal no volleyball.

All work was uncompleted, besides Mrs. Parker's class. That was your favorite class and you had an A+, so you didn't have to visit her. You had to visit everyone else and it didn’t go as planned. Besides giving you an extension on the work, you were assigned a tutor for the next 2 months.

Your schedule was dedicated to volleyball, therefore you had no free days unless it was the weekend, and as much as you didn't want to sacrifice it, you had to.

Girl, your grades were crying.

You need to maintain them to keep volleyball in your life. Today was Saturday and you decided to start. It wasn't a problem because you had no plans at all… well that’s what you thought. 

You put your phone on do not disturb, just to concentrate, not to ignore anybody.

You just needed your mind to be fixated on school for once, not a ball, not a net, or a gym.

🏐🥊

During those long hours of catching up and studying you weren't aware of the messages in your group chat. You packed up all your things and you went directly to your messages to see 100+ texts from the group chat.

You open it thinking it's about the next practice or probably not expecting a message like this.

Coach [: "I'm sorry to spring this on you girls on such short notice, but I received an email from a coach from another district about playing against his team because apparently, the other team forfeited before the game.

Coach [: I agreed to it thinking maybe you girls could use the extra practice, you know? explore other teams and their ways of playing."

Coach [: "The school is far, so I recommend you gear up and be at the gym by school at 6:20 because the drive is longer than 30 minutes and we all need to ride the bus together, as a team."

Coach [: "There's no reason why any of you should be late because I'm texting you a couple of hours before, so please be on time okay you all know how I am about tardiness."

The more we are late the more we condition....

Coach [: "Okay, but that's all. I'll see you all in a bit, be ready!"

You take your phone off Do not disturb, then you exit the building, phone, and bag in hand checking your missed calls,

Reading that you had numerous missed calls from the coach, you call her and she answers immediately. The phone barely got through the first ring. You opened your mouth to speak, but her lecture overpowered you. "Y/N where the hell are you? the game is about to start!"

You're so stuck you couldn't give a proper answer so all you say is, "Huh?" the confusion in your response made her angrier.

"You are late Y/N! You were supposed to be on the bus an hour ago!"

Coach sent that message at 3:36 and when you checked the time it was 7:15 p.m. It was like glass shattering when your heart sank realizing you lost track of time. Your phone shook in your trembling hands, too stunned to speak.

It's been that long?!?

She tells you that the game has already started and that you need to be on your way now, especially with you being one of the main players you were needed no matter what, or the rotation would be switched.

It was still the beginning of the season, so people were only familiar with their positions. Having rotations changed and adjusted to something last minute during a game is a total mess. A rule in volleyball is if you were out of rotation they deduct points, and that was unacceptable.

"C-coach, I'm sorry-" you tried to sound sincere with a pounding heart and unsteady voice. "I'll get there as fast as possible." She ends the conversation by hanging up the phone.

Well goddamn.

Then and there you knew you were "Fucked." you muffled, in your hand. "I am so fucked...."

You start running as fast as you can and thankfully the dorms aren't too far from the school, so you arrive shortly. You swung the door open and rushed to your room not greeting your roommate, but that didn't matter.

She wasn't the nicest...

When you get in your room you start tossing things everywhere trying to find your jersey. That's what you get for misplacing important shit, that's what your mom would tell you after you'd lost something and it played in your mind on a loop.

At some point, you found everything and shoved it in your bag racing out the door to the parking lot. And there you are speeding recklessly in your car, slamming your fist on the horn honking at cars, cutting them off doing all you can to escape from this major traffic jam.

You weave through traffic pressing on the gas pedal, “Come the fuck on…” you yell, feeling your frustration build up. “Can these cars go any slower?!? I’m almost there!”

Why does everything go wrong on inconvenient days…?

Finally, you arrive at the stadium, and you pull into the parking lot and your eyes dart immediately to a good spot in between two cars surprisingly in front of the entrance. There were a shit ton of people here...

You turn the wheel parking your car thinking none of it, then suddenly there is this noise you heard. In the mise of hearing that sound, your whole car jolted back from the impact, even though it was the slightest tap.

Leaning forward a bit, you see the space you have in front of you and your jaw drops in disbelief. "Please no...." This could not be happening right now.... you're already in trouble for being an hour late and now you have to deal with this.

To fix your parking, you back out and properly pull in between the two cars. After, you take a moment to close your eyes and cross your fingers hoping that the damage wasn't too severe. Your pockets had flies coming out of them…. you couldn't afford to fix a damn car.

Let's pray that there was nothing there and you could move on with life, peacefully. You got out of the car to check yours first. It was in perfect condition and not a single mark was on it, maybe that was a sign of something good.

You rushed to the back of the black car to confirm that the crunching noise you heard was in fact the bumper that was dented up, terribly. The back of the vehicle even had scratches and the black paint was scraped off.

It was bad...

"Oh my god..." you mouthed nervously. The car did look fancy and highly expensive. It didn't take long for you to realize that the car you hit was a Mercedes-Benz, but not only that it was the newest version. "You've got to be fucking kidding me...." you screamed, burying your face in your palms.

How the hell were you going to pay for the damages on this car, a damn Mercedes?!? To be fair, you weren't poor, you just didn't have money like that, or you didn't have any on you. And bothering your parents with this rough situation was the last you wanted to do. They were already helping you pay for volleyball camp, so there was no need to shake them for more money.

Your hands found their way to your head gripping your hair, stressfully. "Ugh, I should've been on the damn bus!" you yell again, feeling stupid. You wanted to punch yourself in the face for the rookie mistake.

Too busy pacing back and forth and complaining you didn't notice that there wasn't a single soul in the car. By now someone would've come out to give you shit for hitting their vehicle.

You instantly got an idea.

And that idea was to walk away and pretend nothing happened.

Why not? nobody was outside, nobody saw you and nobody was inside the car meaning there's no proof of you hitting their car attempting to park.

That intense feeling wore off and your body relaxed a little. You look both ways before crossing the street.

Thank god, you didn't have to deal with a rich bitch or asshole who'd exaggerate the problem like the car was their child and make you pay more than you have to. You sigh, walking away, ready to enter the school and deal with the coach because that was next on the checklist.

You stuff your hands in your pockets, making your way towards the entrance, until you hear something. That something was the sound of a car door getting slammed violently.

"What the hell? are you fucking kidding me?!?" the mysterious man shouted. He sounded upset—a more fitting word, enraged. "Hey, you! black sweatshirt."

Yep, that was you. A girl in a black sweatshirt who was trying to ditch the situation.

"Hm?" you slowly turned around as if you were innocent.

Your guilty eyes met his deep brown cold ones. He looked very pissed right now. "Hm?" the mysterious boy mocked your act. "You fucked up my shit!" he pointed to the poor bumper.

You nibble on your lip, caught up and no he wasn't wrong that's exactly what you were going to do.

"What?” You fix your thick frames. "Dude, what are you talking about? I didn't fuck up anything. I was only walking out here getting fresh air, that's all..."

"Oh really?" He took a step closer moving under the moon. It was easier to make out the details. Soft dark curly long hair, muscular figure, piercings, tattoos.... a dangerous combination a guy could have.

Damn.

He wore a Calvin Klein denim jacket with a matching shirt and bold thick platformed boots. He looked like your typical bad boy or fuck boy, you choose. You’d never seen him before, ever.

You reacted, backing away from his unnecessary step. "Yes?"

"You are lying and you fucking suck at it.”

You tried flipping the script. “That’s what you think.”

“It’s what I know and now you’re starting to piss me off.”

"Okay, shit!" Your arms slap your sides, defeated. "I hit your car, okay? But it was a mistake. I was rushing to get to my game and I was going to leave because I needed to avoid this. After all, I'm already late and my coach is upset with me." Listening to you, his eyes were rolled to the back of his head, tired of hearing your sob story. "It was seriously an accident, I misjudged the distance between the cars," you continued. "I'm fucking sorry, okay?"

He was able to see that you were going through a tough time, but did he care? Hell no. He wasn't having any of that. For fucks sake, you hit his car and that's all he cared about, not some girl who's using being late as an excuse to recklessly drive.

“Do you know how much it’s going to cost me to get fixed?”

"No, I don't, but I do know that it's going to be pricey and trust me if I had the money I would pay for the expenses, but I don't have much money right now..."

"Oh, great. Miss careless driver not only hits my car, but she can't afford to fix it. Just what I fucking needed today."

You continued to apologize and reason with him, but he cut you off. "You expect me to accept your apology? That doesn't change the fact you hit my car. I could care less about a fucking apology right now.”

Now... it was bothering you a little. Despite the situation, this guy was being a dickhead.

Did you hit his car? Yes, you did and he has every right to be angry, but there should be some way that this can be resolved respectfully without being an asshole. And that's what he was doing, he's raising his voice, expecting you to stand there like a fool.

He had no idea who he was talking to. You frowned, no longer feeling ashamed or apologetic for hitting his car.

"No, it isn't but I'm sure that if you can afford a Mercedes then I'm sure you have the money to fix the damn bumper yourself," you argued.

"You're right," he chuckled, rubbing his forehead. "I can afford to get it fixed. I don't know why I thought that someone...." His voice trailed off as he faced your car. ".... someone who drives a 2010 Ford Taurus could even pay for a single scratch on my car."

broke bitch alert!!!

He turned around, lifting his brows, waiting for a response from you. The disrespect was too real and you blurted out an aggressive, “Fuck you.”

He was seriously calling you broke…

“And fuck you for hitting my car.” The guy got closer, narrowing his eyes at you as if you were familiar somehow. “You...” His voice trailed off from looking at your sweatshirt.

He got distracted from the words on it. It had your team and university labeled on it.

“You don’t even go to this school, do you?” he asks.

The mysterious boy’s question threw you off. Your eyes darted everywhere before talking. "No...?" you replied lost. "Why the hell does it even matter?"

“I knew you seemed familiar.” He nodded, getting struck by a moment of realization. "You're that one volleyball player who plays at ____ university?" He asked, reading your shirt. "And you're Y/N, right?"

“Yeah, why?”

"You know what-" he smacked his lips. "I'll let this slide this time one time.” You wanted to say thanks, too bad part of you was still heated from the argument, but how did he know your name?

You watched him walk to his car, and then he opened the door. “Just stay the hell out of my way, got it?"

He didn’t have to tell you twice.

"More than happy too,” you shout.

Once he got into his car, you turned around and ran inside the school. heading straight to the gym. You saw your team on the court, playing hard in an intense rally as you walked in. There was a shit ton of people cheering, yelling and screaming.

The noise was a mixture of good and bad…

You glanced at the score and thankfully, it was a tie. Coach gave you a deadpan as you walked towards her with guilt. Like you were expecting, she scolded you or whatever, and then she called a time-out.

All the girls left the court to get water and catch their breaths. Coach like usual, went over everyone's positions and dos and don'ts. While she did so, you slid out of your hoodie and sweatpants, revealing your jersey and shorts under.

You were prepared.

You scanned the crowds on your school's side and damn near everyone showed up to support the team. Some classmates waved at you and of course, you returned the kind gesture, glad to see them here to support the team.

Then randomly out of nowhere, you saw the same guy enter the gymnasium. He walks up a few flights of bleachers to sit with Jimin, Seokjin, and some other guy you don't know.

You assumed they were his friends.

When he's done greeting them... his attention landed on you, only you. It was weird after that interaction you had with him.

Looking away from him, you tried to regain your focus on the girls and coach.

"You all are doing great; except I need you all to make it harder for them. Let's stop fooling around and get in the lead and let it stay that way. Now that Y/N is here there's no more confusion now, the lineup is back to normal. Everyone with me?" Coach looked at everyone and they responded with nodding heads or a yes ma'am.

"Go out there and make them work, make them sweat."

The girls, including you, did your signature hand-stack a second after the buzzer went off. Girls that were benched sat down and girls that were on the court returned to the floor.

You simply do you and you get on the court to do what you're best at.

Play volleyball.

Things went back to normal, everyone played their hearts out, and in the end. You won the game.

But throughout the process, you couldn't help but notice his stares during the whole game. Anytime you'd look in his direction his focus was already on you.

The more you looked at him the more you remembered his identity. Now him knowing your name made sense because he attends your school along with him being in your 5th period.

Chemistry.

His name is Jungkook, Jeon Jungkook. He was a new exchange student from Seoul, but you couldn’t remember his major, although you did remember that he’s in a relationship with a girl named Alex who was well known at your school. Which is also how Jungkook was known in the first place.

It’s surprising because you hardly recognized him due to your head being on such a swivel.

It’s crazy that you've never even crossed paths before.

Ever since your first impression of Jungkook, the universe did its thing where he appeared everywhere now and you couldn’t escape him…

For some odd reason, he stood out even more because every day he went out of his way to bother you and piss you off, constantly. You haven't liked him since then and now you don't like him even more and couldn’t avoid him.

He didn't keep his word when you ran into him and he told you this exactly: "Stay the hell out of my way."

You’ve been stuck with this idiot ever since then.

*Present*

“Should I have taken your glasses instead?” he jokes, knowing damn well you are practically blind. You could see, but not too well.

You bark, “Why are you bothering me?”

“You should’ve never hit my car,” he says, words rolling off his tongue with a shrug.

“Oh, fuck off,” you aggressively tell him, wishing he’d disappear like dust into the air. 

How long was he going to hold you accountable for that? It’s been months.

“I’ll fuck off when you tell me what’s up with you. You seem more feisty than usual….” You immediately stop walking to glare at Jungkook who places his finger on his chin.  “Did one of your little boyfriends piss you off?”

He’s referring to Taehyung and Yoongi…

 “Wow… your detective skills are impressive,” you sarcastically praise him, dramatically rolling your eyes. “Is that all you got?”

Jungkook strokes his chin. “Am I right?”

“Those aren’t my boyfriends and you are wrong, but why do you even care about what’s going on with me?”

“I don't, I'm just curious,” He replies, sounding interested in the reason for your attitude. “And you look like shit and it’s not because of me… so I want to know.”

“Yeah, and I feel like it too,” You admit, feeling the sleepiness weigh you down. “Like always…” an exhausted sigh leaves your lips.

“Why?” he asks, headphones still in his possession.

Jungkook's questions make you rub your temples. “I’m exhausted and later today I’m gonna be busy. I have to attend the sports event. You know where all athletes are required to go?”

“I’m familiar.” Jungkook places the headphones around his neck. “They announced the dumb thing yesterday.”

“It’s not dumb, Jungkook,” you declare, folding your arms, giving him a deadpan. “It's an important and great opportunity for all college athletes. It only happens once a year.”

The sports event in the evening that you are attending is an event for all athletes. It allows students to meet other teams including school teams, professional teams and club teams.

It’s a chance to ask professional coaches and players for advice for future reference. Sometimes, people who are that good get recruited to play on a team outside of school with the professionals.

That happens to maybe a couple of students out of the multitude of schools put together. Being chosen is such an amazing opportunity, you get to be on national television, by any chance make history, and get paid tons and other good things, but you weren’t banking on it this year.  The odds of you getting scouted out were more than average, however, there are still things you’re insecure about when it comes to playing.

If anything, you need to secure those first before putting yourself out there, on national television.

“Beasty…” he says as if he had a question.

“Yes...?” you lazily nod slowly, watching his tongue glide over his teeth while smirking. 

He better not ask to be my additional person

Was he going to ask you if he could be your extra guest this evening? You’re currently figuring out who’s that going to be, but it damn sure wasn’t going to him.

“Will-”

You squint your eyes, hoping this isn’t leading to a proposal. “Wait… you aren’t suggesting that I should take you-”

 “No, I’m already going,” he claims, shaking his head. “And I have my date for this evening. I was just wondering about yours.”

Date, hm?

“So, who is it?” he asks, intrigued. 

It's purely silent for a moment, but you think of something quickly to save yourself from the embarrassment-

You quickly speak up. "I have a date,” you throw in proudly, ignoring how big of a lie that is. 

All you care about is covering your ass at the moment, not the backlash.

you’re such a fucking liar.

"Right, so who is it?"

You dodge his question. “Who's your date, Jungkook?” you ponder, pretending that your curiosity isn’t bouncing off the walls. You could feel it in your bones.

Jungkook isn't an athlete for the school, so that means the person he will be attending the event with is someone who goes to this school or someone else.

His face twitches with amusement. Seeing you in his business is a sight for him. “A very good friend of mine…”

“Is she on my team?” 

“I can assure you she isn’t.” Jungkook cackles before confirming, “Volleyball players aren’t my type.”

Then what is?

•that’s a relief

“She goes to another school anyway. I can guarantee that you don’t know her.” Jungkook watches your eyes drop from his face to his neck, then grips the headphones firmly.

“Enough about mine,” he says as he changes the subject unexpectedly. “Who’s your…” A smile plastered on his face. “Date. And don't answer my question with another question."

Hm, who is your date??

"It's a secret," you whisper, motioning sealed lips. "I'll reveal mine once I see yours.”

He gives a subtle shrug. "Fair enough," Jungkook says, nodding his head, acknowledging your agreement.

*Bell rings!* 

“Oh, won’t you look at that?” Placing your hands on your hips, you point out, “It's time to go class…so-” you stare at the headphones again. “Are you going to hand them over or what?” 

Jungkook looks down at your hand and laughs when you extend it out. “Should I?” He calmly asks, pushing your buttons. You start to tap your foot impatiently, exaggerating your irritation.

He thinks to himself for a moment, before his eyes drop to the beats around his neck, then shortly locks eyes with your frustrated ones. “Actually… I want to hang onto these for a little while. These will come in handy during my workout.”

“Fine! Keep them,” you express with a dramatic slap to the side of your thighs. “But don’t think that I won’t get them back.”

As the warning bell rings, you shoot him a withering glare and without wasting a single second, you storm off to class with only one particular thing on your mind… and it wasn’t the headphones…

Who is Jungkook's date?

To be continued…

♡︎Taglist is here, lovelies

[sumicchin]

CHIMES OF THE HEART

❃ a wind breaker (satoru nii) reader insert

Chapter 6

Umemiya regrets telling everyone that conversation = fist fight. (1.9k words)

cw: female reader, umemiya spoiler, tsubakino referred to as they/them, i made up stuff about makochi

"You're just going to let her go, Sakura?" Suo says next to him, eyes not tearing away from the direction you went.

Sakura clenches his fist, forehead scrunching from the sudden stress, "I..."

"(F/n) probably won't go out of town, r-right? She did say she had to find something! I'm sure we can help her out!" Nirei optimistically says as he catches up to the two after giving Kakiuchi to his other classmates. He takes a good look at Sakura's face and sees his eyes wide.

Sakura is reminded of your conversation last night—of how he saw himself in you, and how much pain your eyes held.

It wasn't his concern, but he knew you needed help. He wasn't letting anyone go through what he did before.

"Sa...kura?" Nirei attempts to calm him down, until he sees Sakura take out his phone.

He gestures his hand towards the phone and Nirei becomes even more confused, "I need to call him... he'll know what to do."

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

Umemiya, despite his childhood, grew up to be a fine man. No one would imagine that a well-rounded guy like him, oh so cheery and charming, experienced hell on earth as a child. Anyone would feel bitter about losing their parents, and Umemiya was not free of that. He struggled, thinking he wasn't deserving of being saved.

Survivor's guilt.

But he grew to see what was important in front of him—to honor his parent's sacrifice by giving back love to those around him. To make everyone feel like family, and never let anyone feel like they're alone in this world.

"You're...amazing, Umemiya," you both stare into each other's eyes, holding massive respect for what he's been through and how he achieved his goals.

Umemiya chuckles, ruffling your hair, "I didn't tell you my story to pity me, you know? Was hoping you'd reconsider and stay here in Makochi, with us."

With...them?

It's too strange. Everyone in this town is strange. Were city folks always this welcoming towards outsiders?

"I don't want to keep bothering anyone...I can't go back to the shrine so I'm practically homeless." Supposedly, you were to be taken away by your husband after the vows, but now you aren't so sure if he's hot on your trail. But one thing was agreed upon—the shrine people and all its inhabitants except you were to remain unharmed. So long as you didn't go back to your previous residence, everyone was safe. Hayami, the friendly Mikos and the priest who you were thankful for secured the shrine. If anything else happens, Sojiro can take care of it. He was strong, unlike you. Everyone can trust in him.

Unlike you, already causing havoc in a new place.

"Sakura must be uncomfortable with me staying at his house," you mutter. "It doesn't sit right with me to live like everything's handed to me."

You're thankful, really, for the help you've received thus far. But how were you going to repay the kindness they've showered you with if your tracks only lingered with danger?

"You're all too kind... I'll carry the guilt of bringing danger to this town if I stay too long."

An overthinker that you are, Umemiya observes. "Makochi wasn't always like this, you know?"

He proceeds to tell you how Makochi used to be terrorized by delinquents day and night, the local businesses having trouble with their operations and families often fearing for their safety. Umemiya mentions a couple who led and funded the restoration of Makochi's properties, him in particular being a recipient of their kindness.

"The orphanage I grew up in was funded by a couple," he starts, pointing at the statue nearby the fountain. "I discussed the situation with the staff earlier and had my hunch confirmed. Everything checks out, you'd be the same age as their child if she were alive today. You're a split image of them too."

Then, that means...

He shows you a picture from his phone. Just like he says, you had their features.

Umemiya notices your trembling figure, immediately reaching out to pat the small of your back.

"I could've met my parents."

You grab Umemiya's blazer tight, tears threatening to fall from your eyes, "They're not gone yet, r-right? They're waiting for me?"

For once, you held onto hope—but Umemiya's look said otherwise.

"I'm...sorry," he says, almost whispering.

You couldn't help but let the tears flow uncontrollably, hanging onto Umemiya while he continued to calm you down in his own way. He knows the feeling all too well, and this time he'll be sure to help you out.

"Even if you were an outsider, we'd still help you to the best of our capabilities." He says, wrapping his arms around you, shielding you from any negative thoughts. "I...and the rest of Bofurin will protect you, (F/n)."

You look at Umemiya, giving you a bittersweet smile. "Welcome back, (F/n)."

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

Sakura, Nirei, and Suo found themselves walking to the park where Umemiya had instructed them to go. They eventually find Bofurin's leader and (F/n) in an embrace.

"Oh, if it isn't my favorite first years!" The boys look at the new group approaching them, led by Tsubaki and the Sakaki twins.

Sakura immediately signals to keep quiet, earning him a chuckle from the newcomers. "It's all fine! Ume told us to gather here, didn't you receive a message?"

Nirei checked his phone and lo and behold was a message from their leader, "Ah! We were too occupied searching for (F/n)."

Suo lets out a grin next to him, "It all worked out in the end, thanks to Sakura's plan!"

Said boy became heated from the mention, saying it was all Umemiya who did the work. He knew it was the right call to let Bofurin's leader handle the situation seeing how at ease you were next to him. Almost like they were intruding a special moment between two lovers at the park. He blushes at the sight, feeling a pang in his chest.

Now aware of more people's presence, you immediately get out of Umemiya's embrace and bow your head down, not letting him see your puffy red eyes and runny nose that may or may not have gotten into his uniform. He places his hand on your shoulder and gently asks, "Think you can face them?"

Standing up to acknowledge his peers, you turn your head towards the large group of students now approaching their leader. "Yo! Looks like everyone's here," Umemiya scans the group, "Even Kaji came, that's surprising!"

Kaji tenses at the special mention and feels all of his peers stare at him. His vice-captains laugh and Enomoto talks for his defense, albeit in a teasing manner, "Kaji said he wanted to fetch his jacket back and definitely not because he was worried about 'er or anything." Now this puts a nail in the coffin and everyone swore Kaji would've pounced on his friends if it weren't for Hiragi pulling him back.

"You're all too lively," Tamon's captain says as he drags Kaji by the hoodie, "Give (F/n) a break, don't wanna overwhelm her."

You watch the boys bickering and Umemiya notices the faint smile from your lips.

"Fun bunch, aren't they?" You nod.

"You can trust them, just open your heart."

Trusting them, a couple of teenagers who seemed rough around the edges, with your heart?

Maybe you should let loose this time. Umemiya, Kotoha, and Sakura are just the few people you've met today, yet they all radiate the same warmth and comfort you've been yearning for all these years. If everyone shares the same kindness, you'd probably think you're living in some kind of fantasy.

Recalling Hayami's last request for you—to live an earnest and free life. Maybe you can trust them to achieve it.

In a daze, you didn't notice someone approaching you giddily, almost a hope to their step.

"I'm so glad you're doing better now!" A tall figure immediately stood in front of you, but it didn't phase you one bit. Their presence wasn't trying to intimidate you. "I'm Tsubakino Tasuku, but Tsubaki-chan or anything will do, love!"

Tsubaki lets out a wide smile, enthusiastic to see you well and standing despite your puffy eyes and cheeks. You stand still though, and this immediately raised a concern with everyone.

"A-ah, did I scare you—"

Your eyes suddenly twinkle with excitement, and you yell what was running on your mind without a filter. "You're really beautiful! Very much!"

"It's a great honor meeting you!" Shaking hands with Tsubaki, everyone was startled with the sudden change in personality. This was most likely the enthusiasm you've been hiding all these years, suppressed by loneliness. Umemiya beside the two of you finds your exchange with Tsubaki very endearing, already making notes on how he'll elicit this kind of reaction from you soon. Hopefully you like plants!

Tsubaki on the other hand was already enamored with you, listening to every word you say. "Your hair and the way you dress, and the makeup really accentuates your features! The ones I see in the magazine don't compare to Tsubaki-chan!" You stop your rambling and see Tsubaki endearingly smiling at you with a blush.

"S-sorry! I just, get too excited seeing new things." You chuckle and Tsubaki does too.

It's hard to resist not taking you out this weekend, Tsubaki thinks. The trip will probably take a huge hit on their savings, but money can always be earned. Seeing your smile is a reward in itself for Tsubaki.

Everyone watches as Tsubaki continues to coddle you, happy to see you engaging enthusiastically. Suo lightly pushes a blushing Sakura, whose romance sensor has been going rampant since earlier, towards you and Tsubaki.

"H-hey! What gives?!" Sakura exclaims towards his eye-patched friend who only signalled a gesture for friend, linking his hands together.

Oh right, you probably hate him right now for what he did earlier at Pothos. Tsubaki seemed to understand the situation with how tense the two of you were, patting your head before leaving to stand next to Umemiya.

Just you and Sakura again, this time not so comfortable. "U-uh...about what happened earlier," his mouth becomes pouty, struggling to look you in the eye but he does so anyway, "I shouldn't have forced the idea...s-so...sorry."

His irises were trembling, searching desperately for a reaction from you. Sakura, despite his tough and standoffish attitude, always meant well and tried his best to help his peers. Last night's conversation was purely between two aloof individuals, both yearning to be in the presence of others, yet their struggles distinct. Hearts that were afraid of being vulnerable, not knowing if they were worth of affection.

"You were just looking out for me," you trail, "It's me who should be apologizing...for being stubborn."

Similar to how Anzai tried to reject everyone's help during the fight with KEEL, there was no escape from Sakura's headstrong personality. He'll find a way to worm in and help you out. He was just that selfless.

"He probably filled you in already on how this town operates and stuff," Sakura points at Umemiya, referencing his request earlier during their phone call. "Violence isn't something this town's had enough of."

"So you don't have to worry about us. Don't be afraid of asking for help, that's just how it is here."

You were indeed afraid. The concept of friendship and trust blurry to you not until yesterday, with Sakura declaring he was there to help you out, as a friend. It was a foreign feeling, and the boy reciprocated the confusion you must've felt before his bold intrusion. Even he was surprised by his actions last night. Everyone in Makochi must've been rubbing off of him—in the best possible way.

So, he tries to apply what he's learned so far.

"If you're still not convinced, let's settle this with a fight."

Or not.

"H-hey now, there's a time and place for fighting Sakura." Nirei visibly sweatdrops, "You can discuss things with (F/n) like a normal person, you know???" The boy looks to his other side and sees Suo with an approving smile. This is hopeless, Nirei concludes.

"If you win, I'll let you do what you want. If I win, you stay here in this town and let us protect you."

Hiragi, Tsubaki, and Umemiya all look confused.

Kaji and his vice-captains are all in awe with Sakura's naivety.

The Sakaki twins think this is a regular Friday. They've heard about you and how you can fend for yourself, so front row seats to see the real deal were nice.

The two first years, Suo and Nirei, were concerned, but Suo was just a tad bit curious to intervene. Nirei on the other hand thought otherwise.

Surely you're not that crazy enough to actually go with it?

"Fine with me," you reply.

Nirei just wants to curl up and do the pillbug stance right now.

tag list: @wutap, @the2ndl

[yourlastbraincell-kiwi]

A/N: Had this one in the drafts for a while, so I finished it. I hope it’s good. And I hope there’s no typos and grammar mistakes. But I’ll talk soon! ❤️

(This one has no title as of right yet)

Pairing: Carl x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Imagine it being (Y/N) who got captured by the Saviors instead of Daryl, and Carl tries not to let them take her.

——————🧟‍♀️——————

“But first we have something- oh, my apologies. Someone that you might want to see,” Negan motions for his men to take someone from out of the truck and pushed them forward, so they were standing unbearably close to him. Before pointing Lucille in my direction. “Avert your eyes if you need to, kid. She is in baaad shape.” He chuckles, removing the bag off her head.

(Y/N)..

I turn my head and eye my Dad, begging him with my eyes to do something, anything. He doesn’t meet my eyes, and continues to stare at Negan. Turning my head to look at (Y/N), as she looked around, like she’s seeing everything for the first time again. She looks up and meets my eyes, then immediately looks down at the ground.

She probably didn’t want me to see her cry, that’s something she’d always hide from me. She had told me everything bout, how she wounded up in Alexandria, and what happened to her group.

She even answered the three questions, my Dad usually asked people that wanted to join us.

But her crying? Was never something she’d admit to anyone, that included me. She always wanted to show everyone how badass and brave she was. I told her countless times that crying is showing bravery too.

Her crying now, truly did mean that these assholes did, in fact, bring her to the edge. And I, so desperately, wanted to kill Negan and the Saviors for that.

“(Y/N), here..oh, may I call you that?” He asked me, and I just chose not to say anything, and it didn’t stop Negan, from smiling wide. “(Y/N), here has a chance to come back and join the fine folks of Alexandria, if she so wishes.”

What game are you playing at, Negan?

“All she has to do is say, ‘yes.’” He finished turning to look at her, but she still didn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

Say, ‘yes.’ Please say ‘yes.’

I hoped and prayed she would say that one word, that would let go of there hold on her, but nothing happened. Nothing was said by her. And Negan smiled wide, as if it could get any wider, draping hand around her shoulders.

“Looks like (Y/N) here, is enjoying my company and doesn’t want to leave, ain’t that a shame?” He ended, with a deep chuckle.

“Isn’t that right, (Y/N)?” Negan asked, and (Y/N) did nothing but stare at the gravel on the ground. And Negan began to get mad with (Y/N) not saying anything, so he crouched down next to her and got close to her ear.

“Isn’t. That. Right?” She didn’t say anything else, and Negan stood up straight, with a quickness, and told some of the Saviors to take her away after putting the bag back on her head.

“Don’t you touch her! You fucker!” I exclaimed, if no one else was going to help her, I will. And nothing was going to stop me.

“Would you look at that? Those are big words, for a little boy like yourself.” Negan said, as he stopped his men from moving (Y/N).

“Why don’t you stand up? And tell it to me again. Y’know face-to-face? Man-to-man.” Negan said. “You are a man, aren’t ya?”

“Carl don’t-”

“No, no, Rick. I got this, it’s alright. We’re just going to have a little discussion, that’s all.”

I stand up not listening to my dad, and stood right in front of Negan, staring at him, dead in his eyes. “Now, what was it you said? You called me a fucker?”

I said nothing to him, and just breathed heavily. I was not playing any of his games.

“Oh, so we’re playing the silent game now? Alright, I’ll bite.” I watched him as he turned around then turned back and hit me in the stomach with the other end of Lucille. I fell to the ground on my hands and knees, coughing profusely.

“I take it you’re not very good at this game.” He says and hits my back with the end of the bat, and I fell flat on my stomach. I look up to see (Y/N) wincing and turning away not wanting to see what Negan was doing.

He gets down on my level and whispers to me. “This. This right here, is a warning. You ever think you can step up to me again? I can promise you Lucille and I will not go easy on you. You will learn your place, that being the bottom of my shoe like the little piece of fucking shit that you are.”

I lift my head up and huff as I met his eyes, “Now get back in line, like obedient little boy that you are.” He said, as he spat on my face.

“Now, that’s taken care of, where were we- oh, right! Put her ass back in the truck.” Negan started. “Now Rick, I need those supplies, in 2 days time. Now, taa motherfucking taa.” Negan began to laugh as they took (Y/N) away, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Carl, what the hell was that about? You could’ve gotten yourself killed.” My dad exclaimed.

“And you guys didn’t do shit, to help her! Are you kidding me?”

“You got a death wish or some’m?” Daryl asked me grabbing my shoulder.

“I did it to save her life, and you guys sat there, none of you were probably thinking about saving her.”

“Now, you know that’s not true.” Michonne said.

“Oh yeah? Then maybe try and save her then maybe we’ll see where your priorities lie.” I replied and walked off away from everyone.

I was done, I was going to find a way to say her, with or without their help.

[thepumpkincorsair]

So, I watched the first episode of “Those About To Die” on Peacock.

I enjoyed it, and Im willing to do write ups if folks would be interested…

Since I wana talk about details, and I dont wana spread spoilers, everything is below the readmore.

What I liked: 🔵 And what I disliked: 🟠

Total Ranking: 8/10 - very good, worth the watch 👍

🟠 It dove into the Intrigue right away, which made it hard to watch while doing other things, but I can appreciate a show that grabs you by the shoulders and shoves you down into the couch to pay attention.

🔵 It wasn’t boring, quite the contrary, I felt fully engaged throughout the episode. Theres a lot of small moving parts to the story, and it orchestrates together incredibly well so far, even for Episode One. The writing is very well done, which is a lynchpin for me on a show like this. You cant pretend to be an intrigue type series without a proper plot. And, in my opinion, they’ve set their plots well right away. Tenax getting those shares in Blue was a great con, which had clearly been going a while, but we only saw the tail end of it. I see this little setup as a great look at how the writers DO their work. Connections matter, money does more than talk, and if you play the game wrong, you die. Don’t trust anyone.

🔵 I REALLY enjoyed the historical aspects of the first episode. Like, yes, this plot happened, its a historical fiction and a number of these characters exist in history, but its not just that. Its the small details, the different knives in different cultures, the veterinary care of race horses, the deities from more than just the main roman pantheon, the drinkware, the VARIOUS clothes from various cultures and climates…. And yes, women often went topless when they were a sxwrkr. Gotta advert.

🔵 ON THAT SUBJECT: can we talk about “3 sesterce… and Im tighter than both of them.” MY BOY, YOU ARE RIZZIN TOO HARD AND I LOST IT. Please, please let him be in future episodes. Omfg….

🟠 I am forced to concede the accuracy isnt PERFECT, the horses wore modern driving bridles to go with their ancient styled chariots. However, Im realistic about how many horses are trained today to pull anything without blinders, and how much safer modern bridles are. I’ll also note: I absolutely saw the animal handler grab the horse differently (calmly) before the riot surrounded it, then direct the horse to dance in the crowd. Great training with the horse! Bad camera angle. Lol

🔵 I also really like this cast so far. Everyone fills their roles incredibly well.

Hopkins doesnt even need an introduction, the mans a legend and brings all his experience to the stage with him every time. -chefs kiss-

Rheon was great in GOT, he plays calculatingly unhinged exceptionally well. But I wont lie, seeing him in a more commanding, level headedly calculating person?

Hashim….. HASHIM!!! Im SO excited to see where his character goes. We haven’t seen much of him in Ep 1 just yet, but he’s clearly going to be one of the main players. Im not familiar with him as an actor, but I’ve enjoyed his performance so far, and I REALLY appreciate the story being told.

Martins is also incredible. She does a fantastic job of knowing the danger her characters children are facing, but also knowing she HAS to play her cards right to save them. She personifies the strength and determination of a mother perfectly.

🔵 Quite honestly, I have to give points to that whole plot-line in general. That point of view is something we’ve had hidden from us (in America) for so long, that I think a LOT of people have… become calloused. I hope seeing it will potentially help others come to an empathetic understanding. This isn’t glossing over what happened, or whats likely to happen to any of the three children.

🔵 I also want to gush over actually SHOWING the wider Roman Empire, we get to see the direct effect of their influence in both Africa and Spain so far. Egypt was their bread basket, and without that grain, youve got problems. The Berber Coast has animals, and people they want, and we see money exchanging hands for the purpose of those ends. We see how the locals were told they’d be treated fairly, paid properly, and even eventually become citizens, like the Spaniards, only to have those promises thrown aside as soon as the Romans have better money to make. These people gave the Empire everything it wanted, but the Empire is never satisfied.

We also get to appreciate how far west the empire went when the Spaniards are trying to sell their horses. (Plot-bunny: Andies are dancing horses, exceptionally athletic, and a prime choice for chariots, though, a standardbred is the usual choice for modern cart racers)

🟠 I will say the CGI isnt the best. You can tell exactly when they change from live action to CGI. But this is a minor issue for me tbh. Its passable CGI, and they use it to avoid putting animals or people in danger which, obviously, I appreciate. A chariot wreck was shown, annnnnd it was pretty darn accurate to how messy those would have been. Not good times y’all. Not good times. Also, the ramifications of a major concussion. Oof. At least the guy would have barely knew what was happening? Still.

🔵 The sound effects were enough without being over the top. Often times when theres gore to show, theres all these extra squelching noises and gratuitous blood… not this time. It’s actually… pretty durn accurate. Don’t ask how I know. I don’t wana tell you, and you dont wana know.

Overall, it was a really solid first episode, and I plan on watching the rest.

[violetmuses]

Tough Days - A. Aretas ❤️‍🩹

Title: Tough Days - A. Aretas ❤️‍🩹

Fandom: “Bad Boys” Film Universe

Character: Armando Aretas

Main Storyline: Former criminal Armando Aretas and Detective Marcus Burnett try to build their unexpected relationship. 🏷 @adoresmiles

====

2024

Though facing many questions or encountering different secrets over time, famous detective Mike Lowrey would now stand up as the biological father of previous criminal Armando Aretas.

Because the Miami Police Department handled operations, even Mike's longtime partner and best friend Marcus Burnett crossed Aretas as well.

After hiding overseas and safely returning to Miami, Florida, Armando would stay at home with Mike, but continued helping the known precinct.

_____

“Are you still mad at me about the campfire thing?” Marcus leaned toward Armando from his desk.

“No, but you talk too much.” Aretas took Skittles from Marcus without looking and veiled the candy

“Hey!” Upon realization, Marcus glanced around for sweets. “Can't let me enjoy shit, just like your father.”

Tossing the candy to Mike, Armando jutted his chin and headed to the briefing room.

“Catch up with your nephew right now before I call Theresa over the junk food.” Mike arched his brow toward Marcus and even mentioned Burnett's wife Theresa.

“Really, man?” Marcus immediately defends himself while trailing everyone inside.

“Go.” Mike clenched his teeth. “You survived the heart attack, but you're still my brother.”

“I know.” Sitting down, Marcus and Mike prepared themselves for work as usual. “How's Armando doing?”

“Ask him yourself. Are you scared?” Mike nearly chuckled.

“Hell no. He just doesn't express himself.” Marcus told the truth.

Armando's still learning.” Lowrey responded back this time around, sipping coffee. “Let's focus.”

“Fine.” Marcus stopped playing around while looking forward. Captain Rita Secada stands behind the podium and heads this meeting.

Another hustle is coming up. Burnett thought.

____

“Why do y'all always put Armando near the clubs?” Marcus reviewed files of their next case.

“Even I can't go anymore.” Mike answered Marcus. “Times have changed, man.”

“So we're old now?” Marcus squinted toward his best friend.

“To be honest, yeah.” Mike shrugged. “And let's just say that Armando has a better chance of catching these fools.”

“How can Armando work better than us? We've been in the game for years, Mike.” Marcus glanced between Lowrey and Aretas, curious.

“No suspicion.” Mike cleared his throat. “If you and I step foot anywhere, folks start running before we can even question people.”

“But I still don't like what's happening.” Marcus vented. “Every time we go out like that, Armando pulls some charm and he ends up getting phone numbers.”

“Networks.” Mike nodded. “It's a distraction to reach the criminals before we swarm everything.”

“Yeah, right.” Marcus casted both eyes toward the ceiling. “You're just putting Armando outside for no reason at this point.”

“I won't leave. It's still work.”Aretas finally spoke up and chime in.

“You don't even talk to the ladies, man.” Marcus judged Aretas.

“Hey, that's none of your business” Mike warned Marcus over boundaries as usual.

“It is. We haven't met anyone.” Marcus shook his head. “I want another case. Talk to Rita.”

“Shut up, man.” Mike planned to keep going, but radio signals buzzed around the precinct.

“There's a chase, let's go.” Armando revealed slightly accented English and stood up, grabbing car keys.

Given no other option, Mike and Marcus hustled to follow Aretas.

_____

“I know damn-well that Mike never taught you how to drive!” Marcus worried from the passenger seat. “Slow down, Armando.”

“Not now. Please!” Aretas punched the gas while speeding regardless. Sirens wailed in all directions this afternoon.

“Shit!” Marcus just kept yelling. “Is this motherfucker driving the Batmobile?”

“Lamborghini.” Armando name-dropped the vehicle in pursuit.

When the Lambo turned, Armando caught this chance right away and immediately stopped driving.

“Freeze!” Marcus and Armando yelled together while the AMMO squad gathered near this big-time car.

“Don't touch me, pig!” This criminal shouted once Mike handcuffed him, but Armando lowered his gun.

“Zway?” Armando then narrowed his eyes past the Florida sun.

“Hey, help me out, man! I can hook you up right now.” Zway Rodriguez lived.

“Nah, you still get on my nerves, Zway. Take him to the station.” Armando nodded to Mike once more.

“How the hell is Zway still breathing?” Marcus stood flabbergasted. “We torched his ass!”

“No.” Armando corrected. “Zway dropped from my helicopter like Mike, but I didn't know what happened afterwards until now.”

“Damn.” Marcus returned to their car. “Do you think Zway connects our new case here?”

“We'll see.” This time, Armando started driving without trouble and headed back to the precinct.

_____

By nightfall, bright lights painted almost every corner of South Beach once more.

“All jokes aside, how are you doing?” Marcus and Armando joined the back of this limousine.

“Better, I guess.” Aretas tried. “I'm not running anymore.”

“Of course not.” Marcus then revealed more truth here. “Shit might be difficult for a while, but we got your back now.”

“Thanks.” Armando nodded, ready to handle business.

“We look good, but don't act up tonight. I'm still around.” Marcus glanced near Armando before entering the club.

Ignoring Marcus, Armando recognized security first.

“Sup, man?” One guard dapped up Aretas while standing between overhead neon lights. “What are you doing with Burnett?”

“It's another case.” Armando whispered. Even Marcus nodded, impressed.

“Damn.” That guard shook his head. “Who's the culprit now?”

“Where's Spark? I need to catch him before the drop hits.” This large-scale supply of drugs would funnel Miami soon.

“VIP waiting on our second floor. Get his ass, all right?” The guard pointed, leading directions for Armando and Marcus.

“Got it.” Aretas took charge and Marcus followed, ready.

______

“That's Spark? He's not special.” Marcus chuckled near Armando.

Spark wore this knockoff designer outfit as people gathered around the VIP section.

“The Aretas legacy is thriving. Hello…” Spark barely introduced himself before yelling woke up this venue.

“Hands up!” The AMMO squad pulled up once more, led by Mike and Rita.

_______

Sooner than later, red and blue overcasts brightened Miami.

At long last, Spark met the patrol vehicles for his crimes and another righteous bust threw down.

“Good job, Armando, but I still have a question for you.” Marcus asked.

“Yeah?” Aretas looked toward Burnett.

“Are you ever coming by the house? We don't bite.” Marcus invited Armando to see his family.

“Maybe.” Aretas shrugged and left the scene with Mike as Marcus returned home.

Progress is better than nothing.

[simpingforthemm]

thunderstorm / carmen "ouija" aziza x fem reader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: possessiveness, threats, mentions of violence, kissing (making out), mentions of homophobia, cursing, short mention of racism, probably ouija being overly jealous/ unnecessarily jealous

summary: a thunderstorm is announced to happen at litchfield and everyone was talking about it. with your mind on ouija, you just couldn't be bothered to care, dismissing everything around you as secondary, not noticing how you had been accidentally making her jealous by having nicky be a little too friendly for her taste. ouija being jealous and pissed off, you have to find a way to explain the misunderstanding and realize, she's a lot more possessive than you thought she was.

a/n: hii i had so much fun writing this, i really love ouija so much! this is my first time writing for her so please forgive me if she's a bit out of character and pls be nice, i showed a bit more of her serious side in this one shot but i'm planning on writing more stuff where she's a bit more playful and cracks a lot more jokes <3. this one shot takes place in season 4 and is inspired by the storm in season 2 episode 12.

have fun and tell me what you think!

„Good morning, meterologist Ava Chen here from Litchfield news with the latest on Storm Theodora. As it continues to move closer to the city’s center, it will reach it’s peak intensity over night and lay off in the morning. Furthermore, the storm will be likely to cause severe damage to houses and especially the woods near the local prison.“

The tv room was filled to the brim, everyone suddenly interested in the news. They were all desperate for some excitement in their dull lifes and a new hot topic to talk about, so even a little storm could make the women’s prison roar with excitement.

Except for you. Maybe you were just too arrogant to care or maybe it was the other things that weighed heavily on your mind. Things that consumed you so much that there just wasn’t any space left in your mind for anything else. One of those things was the brown haired latina with the three teardrops tattoed right next to her eye that now walked in, followed by her friends.

The way she walked, she simply exuded confidence. Confident that she could take you down, break all of your fingers, extend your sentence and look hot while doing it.

She caught your eye as they took a seat two tables away from you. She smirked at you, which was her way of greeting you. You smiled back at her, a tingly feeling in your stomach.

Her eyes slowly traveled down your body, taking you in.

Her face softened a little, the smirk turning into a smile. She bit her lip and you felt yourself blush.

You were both snapped back into reality when Pidge, one of her friends that she knew from being in Maria’s posse, tapped her on the shoulder.

„Yo, Ouija…“, she whispered, pointing something out to her and the woman turned her head, directing her attention away from you and to the tv.

You turned back to your friends as well who were discussing the storm. Of course they were. Piper was talking about how she and Larry experienced a Hurricane on their honeymoon, when they were still together of course, which you rolled your eyes at. Alex was actually like right there. Nicky, who was sitting next to you, noticed and laughed at your reaction, nudging you with her shoulder.

„I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal out of this storm, it’s probably just gonna be a little wind and rain“, you told her, still pretty unimpressed.

„Well, my friend, I can tell you that much, it gets pretty dull in here to say the least so it doesn’t take a lot to get us Litchfield folks hyped“, Nicky said in her raspy voice, putting her arm around your shoulder in a friendly manner. You smiled back at your friend but couldn’t help yourself glancing over to your favorite woman again.

When you turned your head, you were shocked to see that Ouija was already staring at you or more like staring at you and Nicky. Here brows were furrowed, her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she was looking at you with fury in her eyes. She looked at Nicky’s arm disgustedly and shook her head while laughing bitterly. Your eyes widened. God, she had a totally wrong impression. As flirty as Nicky might be with you and with her other friends sometimes, you never had any romantic feelings for her at all. You panicked and shook your head at Ouija, but she was already out the door and leaving. Shit, shit, shit. You sighed and buried your face in your hands. You contemplated running after her but you knew it was never good to bother someone while they were still angry, you got that much experience from your parents. You were just going to let her cool off and then explain later.

It would all be fine.

Right?

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

The prison was leaking. The prison was fucking leaking and the electricity had gone out. Apparently there was a whole ass puddle in Spanish Harlem. Or so you heard.

You didn’t think the storm was gonna be so intense. At least not so intense that you had to bunk in the tv room and cafeteria for the night. Lucky for you, yours and Ouija’s dorm had both been assigned to the tv room, so maybe you would have time to speak to her later. Honestly, it all just felt like a big sleepover, prison edition. You and your friends had already layed out your mattresses and pillows and some of them were chatting away with each other. It had a cozy feeling, even though it was prison, a place that usually did not hold much comfort. Except when you were with Ouija. She was always able to make you laugh. The both of you arrived at Litchfield at a similar time so before you were assigned your dorms, you were in the same room with a bunch of other newcomers.

You immediately made friends with each other because you just got along so well, it was like when the both of you were around each other you could just be yourselves, not Y/N who used illegal drugs and not Ouija who committed murder and WIC fraud. With each other, you were just people. And then there was the chemistry of course and how attracted you were to Ouija…

You hung around each other until you got assigned your dorms. Ouija then met Maria and her girls, you became a part of Red’s family and it all fell into place, not quite how it was supposed to fall into place but nearly. At that time, you had missed Ouija very badly and all you wanted was to be near her again and joke around, just click with each other like you had back then. But that took a little while. It was only when everyone discovered you were a lesbian, no, not a „gay for the stay“ lesbian but really an actual lesbian who had had one or two relationships with women in the past. Some of the other inmates gave you shit for it but mostly, the other lesbians started paying more attention to you, trying to hook up with you. Especially Big Boo. Ouija watched this and she certainly did not enjoy having various women touch you in various places of your body, places she wanted to touch, hands she wanted to hold, thighs she wanted to touch. While it took her time to realize her feelings, she quickly knew she had to make you hers, that there was no point in denying that you were her woman and that she would burn the world into a million pieces just for you. Because she was head over heels in love with you.

It was after movie night, after you had had to swap away a million hands on your thighs, decline a million offers to sit on someone’s lap and say no to a million ideas to sneak out of the movie and do the deed that you walked out of the tv room, exhausted. Everyone had already gone and only Ouija was standing there. You practically fell into her arms and the only thing Ouija had to do was catch you. Catch you and pin you against the nearest wall and whisper: „They don’t want you as much as I do, mami“. She had grabbed your waist and kissed you, for the first time ever.

The second kiss followed shortly after, in the library, after you had stood up for her in front of the Meth Heads. They had called her a „dirt taco“ and you had gone absolutely feral on Sankey, sending you to seg and the blonde woman to medical. After you came back, Ouija dragged you to the library, kissing you passionately and whispering:

„I can’t believe you stood up for me like that, baby. Yo, that deserve a reward, don’t you think?“

And now you were here.

Speaking of the devil, you saw your crush walk in. Maybe kind of a childish definition of what you felt for her but you thought it was pretty accurate. She was laughing at something Zirconia was saying and even though things got complicated and she now thought you were into Nichols, you felt yourself smile. She was so cute when she laughed.

The both of them were walking past you and you and Carmen made eye contact. She made you nervous as fuck but you knew you had to say something otherwise the thing you had wouldn’t go any further than the two kisses you had shared with each other. She would probably end it because she had interpreted Nicky’s arm around your shoulder as something more than friendly and you couldn’t let that happen.

The mix of anger and disappointment evident in her eyes hurt you and it was even more painful to know you were the one who caused it.

„Hey Ouija“, you greeted her, your voice sounding desperate as fuck but you couldn’t help it. You were always going to be desperate for her.

She rolled her eyes at you.

„Man, just leave me the fuck alone, okay?!“

You were taken aback by how she talked to you. Normally, if you weren’t so head over heels for her, you would defend yourself, of course, but normally she didn’t talk to you like this as well so she must be really mad.

You let her and Zirconia walk away to the corner where their other friends sat.

The night progressed and the thunderstorm had gotten louder and louder. None of y’all could sleep, not that you actually tried to. It was much more fun staying up, chatting and sharing stories. Alex was telling a really interesting one about the time when she was selling drugs and about the different kinds of clients she had, but you just couldn’t pay attention. You couldn’t stop looking over at Ouija who was sitting on her mattress, staring at the ceiling. She was alone, her friends were a few mattresses away from her, busy with their own conversation.

And that was when you decided you had to stop being a pussy and just walk over there.

„Hey, where you going, Y/N?“, Nicky asked, confused.

„I’ll be right back, don’t worry.“

You swallowed hard when you passed Maria and her girls. They were already eyeing you up suspiciously but you didn’t know whether they were aware of you and Ouija, but it was already strange enough for an outsider to walk into Spanish Harlem territory. Fuck it.

You arrived at her mattress and knelt down next to her. Her gaze shifted to you and her expression immediately hardened. She sat up and you braced yourself for whatever was about to happen, taking a deep breath in.

„Ouija, can we please talk? I swear earlier was a misunderstanding, I don’t -“

„Fine“, she cut you off. „But let’s go somewhere more private, okay?“

You nodded and extended your hand to help her up. She looked at you cautiously before taking it and standing up. Trusting someone in prison took a while. You had to be careful about who you surrounded yourself with and you had to be especially careful with who you were romantically involved with.

When you showed your vulnerable side to someone in prison, you were an easy target. When you were vulnerable, you were weak. And god knows, nobody wanted to be perceived as weak, especially not in here and especially not Ouija.

You felt yourself blush once again when Ouija didn’t let go of your hand when she stood up, but kept holding it while she started leading you out of the room. When you passed Nicky, your friend shot you a confused look, calling out your name. Ouija’s grip around your hand tightened and she glared at the other woman.

„Okay okay, chill it Aziza“, Nicky laughed nervously, putting her hands up defensively.

You continued to sneak past the sleeping guard and out into the hallway.

The rain was pattering loudly against the window and Ouija kept walking until you reached the janitorial closet, which surprisingly seemed to be open all the time. She pushed you inside and entered as well, closing the door behind her.

You stared at her for a little bit. Her expression was blank but you still saw the anger boiling inside of her, her fury threatening to spill over at any moment. You didn’t know what would happen then. So you needed to explain.

„Look about earlier…“, you sighed. „It wasn’t what it looked like.“

Ouija took a step towards you, pinning you against a cabinet.

„Oh, so you’re telling me I didn’t see her with her hands all over you? Caressing you?���, she asked mockingly, tilting her head and frowning.

Now you were the angry one. Nicky was barely caressing you, the only thing she did was put her arm around you. You couldn’t believe she was exaggerating like that and pretending as if you’d ever let something like that happen.

„Oh please? Caressing me? She put her arm around my shoulder for god’s sake. Nicky’s like that with everyone and we’re just friends, I promise.“

Ouija slammed her hands down on the cabinet, right next to your head. She was seething.

„No one touches my woman, you understand? Yo, I don’t care ‚if she‘s like that with everyone’“, she said, „if she touches you one more time, I swear to god amorcita, I will rip her fingers off one. by. one.“

Your jaw dropped slightly, shocked by how far she would go.

„I mean that shit, muñeca.“ (doll)

You quickly closed your mouth, gulping.

She stared you deep in the eyes before grabbing your chin and connecting both your lips. You were completely in sync, melting into one another. Ouija bit down on your lower lip, making you gasp and taking that as an opportunity to slip her tongue into your mouth. Her hand wandered down your body, grabbing your waist, the other hand wrapping around your throat, stroking it with her thumb.

„You’re mine“, she whispered. „Shit, I love you amorcita.“ She let go of you, nervously running her fingers through her hair.

„I love you too. I always have.“

She smiled at you in relief, putting her hands to your sides.

„Baby, I’m sorry about the way I talked to you earlier. I didn’t mean that shit.“

„I know, I’m sorry too. I’ll tell Nicky to stay away. But she is my friend and you know people like that are rare in here.“

„I know, amorcita. Yo, I do trust you okay?“ She laughed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, hoping you would believe her.

„Okay.“

You smiled at each other, your bond growing even stronger, knowing that not even a thunderstorm could break the two of you apart.

[acescorazon]

Buggy x Mihawk x Crocodile prompt: With Buggy's chop chop powers and just picture his body parts popping off mid-coitus. Like Crocodile gets too enthusiastic kissing Buggy and his head comes clean off, or Mihawk's got his hand on Buggy only to end up his disembodied manhood in his hand from tugging a little too hair. It's freaky and unexpected and weird, but Crocodile and Mihawk roll with it, leading to some really interesting fun times with their clown.

Title: Pieces

Rating: E (or however the hell the young folk are rating fics on tumblr.com.)

Word count:5966

Warnings: Smut, Dirty talk, Dom/Sub, Praise kink, Degradation kink, (I don't know why i'm always paring the two together either.), Crying, Spanking, implied choking, implied hair pulling, brief face fucking, subspace, multiple orgasms ((you only see one bc i'm lazy though :) ))....Buggy takes his own dick in this.

Summary:

Now, this is the perfect time to make it known that the Chop Chop Fruit is a rather interesting devil fruit … Buggy has had his powers for over two decades now, and there are times when he genuinely forgets that he even has them. Sometimes he gets scared or startled and, without knowing it, his entire body responds accordingly to his emotions; In an almost cartoonish manner, his head and limbs and everything else all detach from him, and go flying in all different directions, openly displaying his true emotions for the world, and it’s only after he’s recovered that he realizes that his body isn’t put together like it should be or isn’t even together at all. 

Uh, that kind of thing happens all the time when he’s suddenly startled or scared… but it’s not something that has ever happened during sex before.

Until now…

Buggy’s mind is a hazy mess. He can no longer remember if he’s in the middle of a punishment or a reward…Perhaps this is an act of servitude instead? He… He can’t remember…Mihawk and Crocodile have been fucking him for so long now, that Buggy can’t even remember what started all this. There have been scorching insults thrown at him, but there have also been sweet praises whispered to him and against his skin, so who knows what this is? 

Buggy lies on his side, and Crocodile’s holding one of Buggy’s legs up as he slams into him from behind, and all Buggy can do is whimper at this point. As for Hawkeye, he’s lying in front of Buggy, whispering praises and words of encouragement to him as he jerks Buggy’s cock. Buggy has no idea what the hell Mihawk’s even saying though because all he seems to be able to do is concentrate on the endless pleasure his two lovers are giving him.

He feels so… Jesus, how can he even describe how he feels right now? They’ve fucked him so good tonight, that he’s at the point where he constantly feels…unbelievable. Everything’s a little much, but he can’t help but want more at the same time. It’s insane. He feels amazing. He can barely think, and what little thoughts he does have are usually hard to process and about how good he feels.

How many times have they made him come tonight? Two times… No, no, Three times. They’ve given him three mind-blowing orgasms, each one more intense than the last, and good God, he didn’t even think that was humanly possible, But Mihawk and Crocodile did it. They fucking did it, they’ve made him come over and over again. After each orgasm, they’d simply chuckle and cover him in kisses, and maybe they’d praise him and say something like, ‘Oh, that’s it. That’s a good boy.’, but he does vaguely remember one of his orgasms where they laughed at him, and went: ‘Don’t think we’re stopping just because you came, slut.’ (Was that his first toe-curling orgasm?... He thinks it was.)

What was he talking about…?

Right, orgasms. He’s had three orgasms already… And after each one of his orgasms, Crocodile and Mihawk made Buggy so dizzy with their sudden shift in personalities. They’d go from how they normally are in bed: Mean and rough to sweet and loving. They’d cover him in kisses and gentle touches after he’d come too, asking if he could continue, and Buggy would nod eagerly. In return, they’d praise him some more and say that they knew Buggy could keep going and that he’s such a good little clown…

Heh… He’s their good little clown.

 Buggy didn’t think he’d be able to reach his climax a second time, let alone a third time, but somehow Mihawk and Crocodile’s kisses and touches, and words of encouragement keep getting him hard. Sometimes it’s taken a bit longer to get him excited, but his lovers are dedicated to their craft and somehow know how to get Buggy hard even after he’s come. 

God, and now Crocodile and Mihawk are trying to get a fourth orgasm out of him. They claim that they know Buggy can give them one more orgasm, but Buggy doesn’t know if that’s possible. They’ve gotten him hard again, which, kudos to both Mihawk and Crocodile for doing that, but even though he feels incredible, he doesn’t think that he’ll come any time soon. He knows that Mihawk and Crocodile will keep going all damn night if they have to, though. 

Buggy’s hair clings to his sweaty face, and Crocodile and Mihawk didn’t just make a mess out of his body and his mind, they’ve also ruined Buggy’s perfectly styled hair by either roughly yanking on his soft blue locks during a heated moment or whilst playing with it during one of their periods of recovery. Buggy was probably pissed earlier in the night about them messing up his hair, but at this point, he’s too far gone to care about anything but the pleasure he’s receiving.

Buggy has no idea what kind of noises he’s making right now, but they have to be pathetic because Mihawk starts cooing at him and shushing him gently, “Shh.” he whispers, not that Buggy really pays attention to him, “You’re okay. You’re doing so, so good.” He tells Buggy as his hand glides up and down Buggy’s sensitive cock, almost in perfect sync with Crocodile’s thrusts. Mihawk himself has already come, but he wants to make sure that Buggy’s taken care of, and his tenderness and selflessness are something that Buggy’s always loved about him.

Buggy whimpers in response to… Whatever it is that Mihawk’s saying and, as Mihawk’s talking to him, Crocodile calls out from behind him in a rough, breathless voice, “Fuck, Buggy,” He grunts, “Gimme another kiss.” he orders, and then he’s nudging his cold metal hook against the side of Buggy’s face, urging him to turn his head and give him what he wants. In a daze, Buggy smashes his lips against Crocodile’s and quickly finds out that just a simple kiss right now is a little overwhelming for him. Too much is going on for him to know how to respond to what, and he lets Crocodile take control of their whole kiss, knowing Crocodile prefers to be in charge anyways.

Buggy’s eyes fall close for a brief moment as he loses himself to the feelings of Crocodile’s tongue and sinful hips, and also the firm grasp of Mihawk’s hand. So good, so, so good. He’s never felt this good in his entire life. Crocodile’s thrusts are growing rougher, sloppier as well, and a bit too pleasurable for poor Buggy, but he’s rewarded for taking everything that Crocodile’s giving him with praises from Mihawk and gentle kisses across his sore neck, which, by the way, is covered with hickies and faint marks left from when Crocodile had his hand around Buggy’s throat. 

Crocodile breaks away from their kiss, gasping for air, “Fuck, you feel too fucking good,” He curses, “You’re going to make me come again, baby.” He warns, and then he places his mouth against Buggy’s ear. His breath comes out in quick, warm puffs of air against Buggy’s sweat-drenched skin, making him shiver just a little as he starts whispering to him, “Do you want me to come in you, baby?” He asks with a chuckle. “Huh? Want me to fill you up, pretty thing?” he asks, like he and Mihawk haven’t both already come in him enough tonight… Still, Buggy nods his head enthusiastically, “Plea…Please,” He yammers, “Baby, please…” and he can’t recognize his own voice because of how hoarse he sounds as he replies to Crocodile. 

You can always tell how far along the night has come just by the way Buggy replies to his two lovers: If he’s smug, mouthy, and refusing to take orders or say what Crocodile and Mihawk want him to say, then Mihawk and Crocodile probably haven’t gotten their hands on him and shown him who’s boss yet. If he’s a pathetic whimpering, sobbing mess who would say and beg for anything no matter how humiliating, they’ve either started fucking him senseless or are in the middle of doing so…

“What… What was that?” Crocodile grunts, picking up his pace and pounding into Buggy with his rough, skillful hips, and somehow, despite being close to orgasming for the second time himself, he seems like he still has it in him to tease the shit out of his lover, “Couldn’t hear you.” Oh, he heard Buggy, Crocodile just wants to have his ego stroked a little bit. And, perhaps, if this were earlier in the night, Buggy would refuse to beg for something so degrading… but fuck it.  

Buggy’s voice comes out sounding weak and cracks a little as he speaks, but he still repeats himself, now almost chanting, “Please… Please,” He whines, trying desperately to get his sentences to come out and make sense, but his own pleasure is making things a little difficult, “Please, don’t stop… Please, come in me… i’m begging you.” 

Mihawk chuckles, sounding rather amused at all Buggy’s whining and pleading, “Crocodile, give him what he wants.” He orders softly, and now the hand that Mihawk has around Buggy is pumping his leaky cock faster, and if Crocodile didn’t have a death grip on him right now, Buggy would try to fuck into Mihawk’s fist, but he can’t, so he just continues to whimper noisily. “How could you say no to such a pretty little thing like him, especially when he’s practically begging?” Yeah… how could he say no to a pretty little thing like Buggy? 

At this point… Buggy will agree to anything they want, they make him feel so fucking incredible that it’s insane. If they told him to beg to be fucked all night, he would. If they told him to tell them they were the best lovers he’s ever had and that no one can compare to them, he would. If they wanted Buggy to say that he belongs to them and them only, he would… Fuck, if they told him to get on his knees and bark like a dog, he wou– 

Never mind.

Buggy and Crocodile get tangled up in another messy, tongue-filled kiss a moment after Mihawk orders Crocodile to stop screwing around and fill Buggy with more of his come, and now as they make out sloppily, the former warlord fucks him with rough, wild thrusts, trying to reach his climax. Buggy grabs onto anything he can get his hands on, which in this case, just so happens to be one of Mihawk’s biceps, and he squeezes him tightly as a wave of pleasure washes over his body. “Fuck, fuck,” Buggy mewls, and his cries of pleasure continue to grow in volume, but one particularly hard thrust to Buggy’s prostate has Buggy yelping. 

That… That … Oh, sweet fucking god. 

Now, this is the perfect time to make it known that the Chop Chop Fruit is a rather interesting devil fruit … Buggy has had his powers for over two decades now, and there are times when he genuinely forgets that he even has them. Sometimes he gets scared or startled and, without knowing it, his entire body responds accordingly to his emotions; In an almost cartoonish manner, his head and limbs and everything else all detach from him, and go flying in all different directions, openly displaying his true emotions for the world, and it’s only after he’s recovered that he realizes that his body isn’t put together like it should be or isn’t even together at all. 

Uh, that kind of thing happens all the time when he’s suddenly startled or scared… but it’s not something that has ever happened during sex before.

Until now…

Crocodile has made Buggy feel amazing all night long, but Buggy didn’t truly realize just how much Crocodile was affecting him. He doesn’t realize it at first but, there’s a moment after Crocodile slams into his prostate, where Buggy gets perhaps a bit too excited. His head, his arms, his legs, good lord, even his dick, all excitedly fly from his body as Buggy hastily breaks his and Crocodile’s kiss to moan loudly. He just felt so fucking incredible. His cloudy brain also doesn’t register the brief moment where both Crocodile and Mihawk’s movements falter and they both stare at him with questionable expressions written all over their faces, but he eventually realizes that something isn’t quite right. 

The idea of having all his body parts detaching because he got too worked up during sex is…kind of mortifying to Buggy. He tries to put himself back together quickly, whilst Crocodile is still fucking him from behind, but Mihawk keeps his hand around Buggy’s cock firmly, refusing to let it go and let Buggy reattach it to his body, “Wait… I have an idea.” He announces slowly.

Buggy is a weird combination of embarrassed and painfully aroused right now… He doesn’t know what he wants to do at that moment. Does he want to run away? Does he want to hide? Does he want to apologize? He doesn’t know what he wants to do, all he knows is Mihawk suddenly has a mischievous look in his eyes. “Open your mouth for me.” He orders. 

Buggy’s face is red, in fact, his cheeks are on fire right now, and he can barely even maintain eye contact with Hawkeye, and it’s partly because Crocodile is still chasing after his own orgasm and because Buggy just did the most embarrassing thing ever. “Open.” Mihawk orders again, this time sounding a little more stern, and Buggy whines in response, parting his lips obediently.

Buggy doesn’t know what he was expecting Mihawk to do after he ordered him to open his mouth, but he definitely wasn’t expecting Mihawk to shove Buggy’s detached cock in between his own painted lips. Uh, he was probably thinking something more along the lines of Mihawk shoving his fingers or his tongue into Buggy’s mouth instead, but obviously, that would have been too practical. 

Now, to be honest, Buggy has sucked his own dick before, but it’s only been a couple of times when he was much younger, and he isn’t the biggest fan of it because it’s usually too much for him to handle and he feels so weird about the whole idea. Mihawk feels differently, apparently, and takes it upon himself to use Buggy’s cock more or less as a sex toy. Where he got the idea, Buggy doesn’t know, but he shoves his cock roughly in and out of Buggy’s mouth while watching him with curious yellow eyes.  

Buggy’s own mouth feels so hot and velvety around his dick, and it feels really weird being able to feel the vibrations around his cock from his own moans, and even weirder when Mihawk makes him choke on his own cock, but it’s a good weird. Buggy lets his eyes fall shut again as he lets Crocodile and Mihawk take over completely and use both of his holes. God, this shouldn’t be doing the things it’s doing to him right now. He loves it. He loves them. 

“Captain Buggy,” Mihawk calls out in a playful voice, and Buggy can just hear the smugness in his voice. He loves this shit, of course, he loves seeing Buggy ruined. “Do you like choking on your own cock?” He asks, chuckling. No. Yes. No. Yes. Maybe. Buggy doesn’t know, he doesn’t want to think about any of this anymore, he just wants them to keep fucking him.

Buggy really didn’t think that he would be able to come a fourth time, but he can feel his orgasm building up in his gut now. God, how do Mihawk and Crocodile do it? How do they know his body so well? How do they know just the right things to do and say to make Buggy burn with arousal? They somehow always know just how to grab, touch, kiss, and fuck him so that Buggy is left a trembling, whining mess afterwards, but how? How do they do it?!

“Fuck, I’m gonna come,” Crocodile announces with a grunt, digging his blunt fingernails underneath Buggy’s upper thigh. He’s so big and his cock feels amazing, and Buggy tries to beg him to come again, but finds it extremely hard with Mihawk still fucking his mouth with his own dick. Instead, Buggy’s muffled and choked pleas fill the room as Crocodile quickens his pace, thrusting into him a couple of more times before he suddenly grabs him hard, and comes inside him with a long, loud groan. 

Buggy whines. He’s close, and somehow Crocodile’s quick, brutal thrusts weren’t enough to take him over the edge, but he wants to come. He wants to, he needs to, he… He opens his eyes, glancing at Mihawk with teary eyes, silently pleading for him to do something, anything as he grabs onto his forearm and squeezes it tightly. 

Mihawk raises his eyebrow at Buggy, “Oh, do you want to come again, darling?” He asks, and a moment later he slowly pulls Buggy’s cock from in between his lips so that he can answer him.

Buggy wipes the drool from the side of his mouth, not bothered when he sees a blotch of red on his fist from the remnants of his lipstick. His makeup has long since been ruined by Crocodile and Mihawk and has either been kissed, cried, or drooled off because of a certain pair of former warlords, but he doesn’t care about that either anymore. “Yes, please.” He replies in a rough voice, hoping that his reply is good enough for Mihawk.  

Mihawk gives him a beautiful, yet mischievous little smile, “Okay.” He agrees, nodding before adding, “I have another idea though, okay, darling?” He tells Buggy. God, should Buggy be scared? “How about we put this to good use?” He asks with a grin, holding up Buggy’s dick. Huh? Buggy thinks at that moment, utterly confused. 

Oh, that’s… Well, Buggy can’t say that he’s ever… Sure, he’s sucked his own dick before. but he’s never used his dick to, uh… well, what he’s saying is this would definitely be a first for Buggy. Still, Buggy can’t say he’s entirely against what Mihawk is suggesting right now… Just… isn’t it a little weird…? 

Crocodile slowly pulls out of Buggy with a small groan. He’s still recovering from his orgasm as he slowly lowers Buggy’s leg back down, “That’d be fucking hot.” He mutters, panting slightly, “You want us to fuck you with your own cock, huh, Buggy?” Well. Buggy isn’t against it, but again, isn’t it…weird?

Buggy speaks up, and this time his voice is tiny, “Uh, i don’t mind but… wouldn’t that be … weird…?” He asks, trying to figure out if Crocodile and Mihawk are serious about this whole thing or if they’re just fucking with him. 

“Nah. Here give me that thing.” That thing? Does… Does Crocodile mean Buggy’s literal dick? Oh, god. Oh, god, this is actually happening, oh god. Crocodile and Mihawk really do treat Buggy’s detached dick like it’s the world’s most realistic dildo, and don’t mind passing it around to each other. They… They do know that Buggy can feel everything even if his dick isn’t attached to his body…right?

All three of them are still lying on their sides, drenched in sweat and a little worn out from all the night’s activities, and Crocodile doesn’t seem in any rush to change their position, but he does pull Buggy’s ass a little closer to him before he… He presses the tip of Buggy’s cock against his hole, and Buggy’s taken cock all night; Crocodile and Mihawk have been taking turns using his mouth and ass as they see fit, but… Oh, this is different. 

Buggy makes a weird, strangled sound and involuntarily grabs a hold of Mihawk, squirming slightly, which causes Crocodile to pause for a moment, “Does it hurt?” He asks. No, it doesn’t hurt but it feels… Good god. “No, just…” Buggy whines, it’s a little much and Crocodile only pushed the tip in. “It’s a lot…” He mutters, and Crocodile asks if he wants him to stop, but Buggy shakes his head vigorously. 

God, why would he ever want to stop?

Crocodile slowly eases Buggy’s own, hard, leaking cock into him, and how do you even describe something like this? It’s something akin to masturbation, but a hell of a lot more pleasurable because he can feel everything. Buggy can feel his own cock nudged up against his prostate which in its own right is mind-numbing, but he can also feel the tightness of his own ass. It’s weird, and it’s a lot, and Buggy really wants to come again.

As soon as Crocodile starts moving Buggy’s cock, these pathetic, breathless, and whiny sounds come flying out of Buggy’s mouth, and he can’t control them. They’re loud and unfiltered, and both Crocodile and Mihawk seem entertained by Buggy’s reaction. “This is the loudest you’ve been all night, my love.” Mihawk chuckles, and his partner-in-crime adds his own comment a moment later, “Shit, Buggy, if you wanted us to fuck you with your own cock, all you had to do was ask.” He teases. That’s the thing, Buggy never even considered something like that until they brought up the idea.

 

Buggy doesn’t know what to say to either of those comments, but it’s not like he can reply anyways. The pleasure he’s feeling at this very moment is intense, enough to render him a babbling mess.  Too much. It’s too much…But, it’s so good, so, so, good. He closes his eyes and whines, burying his face in Mihawk’s shoulder, and he thought he could only focus on the pleasure he was receiving before, but he was wrong. Right now, as Crocodile roughly shoves Buggy’s own cock in and out of him, the only thing that he can focus on is all the sensations that he’s feeling. 

So, so good. 

He briefly registers Crocodile and Mihawk pressing against him, sandwiching him between them as they begin kissing, and usually Buggy loves watching those slow, sensual kisses his partners engage in, but tonight…? That’s the furthest thing from Buggy’s mind. He can’t watch them and enjoy the little show like he normally would. Which is a shame, but he has all the time in the world to enjoy the sight of Mihawk and Crocodile making out. “I…I…Oh,” Buggy struggles to communicate something with his partners, but he’s not sure what he’s even trying to say or if words are just involuntarily leaving his mouth at this point. 

Mihawk and Crocodile are practically unfazed by Buggy’s rambling, too caught up in their own kiss to care about their lover’s incoherent whines and whimpers, that is, until Buggy starts mumbling something about wanting more. “Ah, i…” Buggy cries out, and his voice is continuing to rise in volume, peaking once Crocodile suddenly rams Buggy’s cock into his prostate. “Please…” His eyesight goes blurry for a moment as tears gather in his eyes, and he holds onto Mihawk harder, shaking now as Crocodile fucks him. “Please… please more.” He doesn’t understand how something can be too much and yet not enough at the same time. 

Crocodile cackles, now breaking his and Mihawk’s kiss so that he can tease and torment an already wrecked Buggy. He mocks all of Buggy’s reactions from his cries of pleasure down to his sniffles, loving what he’s doing to poor Buggy. “Ah… ah… again…again…do that again…” He laughs, “Ah, ah, more.” That’s… Buggy didn’t say that, did he? “Baby, please~” Crocodile pretends to whine, and afterwards is once again back to laughing at Buggy. 

Buggy’s face grows hot again. He’s embarrassed yet he wants more of it all, he wants to hear Crocodile’s deep, seductive voice even if all he’s doing is teasing Buggy. Or even if he can’t fully comprehend what he’s saying, Buggy still wants to hear him, he wants to hear Mihawk too. “Fucking look at this shit,” Crocodile orders him, once again using his hook to nudge Buggy’s head to the side and making him watch as he thrusts Buggy’s cock in and out of him, “You know you’re moaning like a slut from being fucked by your own cock, right?” He sneers. 

No. Yes. No. He… He’s not moaning like a slut… is he?

Mihawk chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss against the side of Buggy’s temple as said man watches intently as Crocodile continues to roughly fuck him with his own dick, almost caught up in a trance now by the sight. “I think he sounds pretty when he gets like this.” Mihawk says, “Come on, Buggy, I know you can be louder than that.” he insists, “Come on, show us how much you’re enjoying yourself, darling.” 

“Oh, god, don’t get him started.” Crocodile groans, but there’s a wide smirk on his face now, “The whole island will hear his ass if he gets any louder.” 

Buggy ignores his boyfriends, he’s still mesmerized by the erotic sight of his own detached cock being roughly thrust in and out of him. Things are always a lot more intense whenever Buggy can see himself getting fucked whether it be by Crocodile or Mihawk… or … or even himself? He moans again at everything: the feeling in his gut from having his prostate hit again, the warmth and unbelievable tightness from his own ass surrounding his cock, and the sight of it all happening right in front of him as he lies on his side and takes everything.  

“Get your ass up and on your hands and knees, Buggy.” Crocodile orders, all of a sudden, and when Buggy takes a little too long to respond, both Mihawk and Crocodile change his position for him. It’s quick, all of a sudden they’re leaving his side, almost in sync, and then they’re roughly rolling Buggy onto his stomach before both of them move behind him. 

Buggy starts whining loudly again, annoyed that his pleasure was suddenly put on hold for the moment so that Mihawk and Crocodile could switch their positions. How dare they stop? Buggy was fine being fucked on his side. He didn’t say to stop or move! He just wants to be fucked so bad, and he wants to come too! They know that and yet they still stopped fucking him! How annoying… They’re terrible, horrible, mean boyfriends.

Buggy’s incoherent complaints earn him a hard slap on the ass a moment later as Mihawk, or maybe it’s Crocodile, forces him up and onto his knees. “Quit whining, brat.” Crocodile mutters as he hands Buggy’s cock back over to Mihawk. 

As if Buggy hasn’t been spanked enough tonight. He turns his head to look at Crocodile with a bit of a pout. His ass is still a little tender from earlier when Crocodile and Mihawk literally took turns spanking him and mocking him as he cried…which again brings up the question: Was this all a punishment or a reward? The lines often cross and blur together with the two of them, and they often give him a little bit of punishment in the middle of their rewards, but sometimes there’s softness and love, and praises in their punishments… 

Man, who cares? Buggy just wants to be fucked.

Mihawk takes Buggy’s cock into his hands again before he spits into one of them, rubbing and coating Buggy’s dick in more drool, “Just be a little more patient,” He tells Buggy, obviously trying to make sure Buggy’s cock is wet enough before he starts fucking him with it again. Buggy’s needy and impatient though, and continues to whine as he shakes his hips from side to side, an act, which of course, earns him another harsh slap on the ass from Crocodile. He whines as his tears continue to fall from his eyes, and he can’t tell if he’s crying from being hit or from his own frustration. Maybe it’s both.   

When Mihawk finally plunges Buggy’s own spit-covered cock into him, Buggy gasps sharply and drops his head down into the pillow in front of him, moaning. God, why does this feel so good? This shouldn’t feel as good as it does… is it because he’s already come before? Or is it because he’s close to climaxing again? He’s not sure, but Crocodile is suddenly calling out to him again. Ugh, what now? “Start fucking yourself.” He orders, “You better watch too, got it?” God, why is he ordering Buggy to do things when Buggy can barely piece together a coherent thought?

Buggy picks his head up a moment later and looks over his shoulder, noticing briefly how Mihawk and Crocodile have their tongues in each other’s mouths again, and he slowly starts moving his hips backwards, fucking himself on his own cock, and enjoying the sight a lot more than he should. Buggy’s hot, tired, and embarrassed, but none of that can stop him from wanting to keep going. He needs this. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to, he wants to be fucked so, so bad.  That’s all he wants right now, no more, and no less.

He knows his fourth orgasm is coming, but he has to work for it a little bit. He doesn’t mind though, he feels amazing, especially when he throws his hips back and hits his prostate with his own cock, fucking that amazing spot within, and leaving himself gasping and crying for more. Buggy makes sure to let Mihawk and Crocodile know how good he feels, but he’s not making as much sense as he thinks he is right now. Whatever, he just feels good, okay? 

No matter how many times he says it, no one seems to truly understand just how much pleasure he’s receiving right now. He never wants it to stop, and he thinks that he would be fine if Mihawk and Crocodile wanted him to go another round with them, but maybe that’s just his horniness talking. Yeah, it’s probably just that. He continues to fuck himself on his own dick until one particularly hard hit to his prostate has him practically crying again from the overwhelming pleasure it causes. He stops moving his hips, letting Mihawk fuck him with his own detached hard-on instead, quick and rough, just like he likes it. 

“Oh, are you tired?” Crocodile chimes in from behind him with a small laugh. He gives Mihawk one last kiss and runs his hand through his damp, raven locks before he moves to join Buggy at the top of the bed.

 

There’s another brief shift in their positions, one that happens so fast that Buggy’s foggy brain doesn’t even process it’s happening at first. He ends up with his head in Crocodile’s lap, but Crocodile doesn’t tell him to do anything, he just allows him to rest his head as he slowly starts to run his hands through Buggy’s hair. A sudden shift in his behavior always leaves Buggy dizzy. He seems to know just when to be mean to Buggy and when to be nice to him, and the same could be said for Hawkeye. God, Buggy loves them.  

“Okay, okay, just relax, we got you,” Crocodile tells him in a soft voice. Buggy’s practically a puddle of mush as Crocodile and Mihawk take care of their worn-out and practically incoherent clown. He’d collapse into the mattress if Mihawk didn’t have one arm wrapped around his waist as he continues to slam Buggy’s own cock in and out of him faster, now quietly urging Buggy to come for him. God, Buggy wants to come so bad, and he’s practically sobbing into Crocodile’s thigh. “I know, I know,” He coos, “You’re okay, you’re almost there.”   

Both Mihawk and Crocodile start to gently coax him into orgasming, whispering to him how he’s so good and pretty, and he doesn’t need to hold back. That he can come, and that he’s going to look so pretty once he does. God, they’re too much. “Come on, baby, come for us. I know you can do it.” Crocodile tells him.

“Oh, you poor thing. I know it’s too much, but you can take it.” Mihawk reassures him a moment later, “Come on, come for me and Crocodile. Make us proud, darling.” God, Buggy squeezes his eyes shut as the tears run down his face. He can’t do this, it’s all so much. It’s so good, but it’s too much. He sobs, a babbling mess now as he feels his orgasm finally about to hit. “That’s it, that’s it, Buggy,” Mihawk says softly, and when he hits Buggy’s prostate again, Buggy fucking loses it.

All the muscles in Buggy’s body suddenly tighten as his orgasm hits him, and he’s left coming hard, spilling into his own ass. It’s intense and he doesn’t think he’s ever going to stop coming, but when he finally does, he goes limp in Mihawk’s grip. He’s panting and shaking from his orgasm, and still crying a little, but he feels so, so good. So light, so weightless, so loved and protected, and… 

“Buggy?”

“Baby?”

“My sweet, are you okay?”

Here’s the thing: Buggy knows that Mihawk and Crocodile are talking to him, he can hear their voices, but he… He’s so caught up in his own ecstasy, that he either doesn’t want to put the energy into replying to them, or he just can’t, and he isn’t sure which one it is. He just wants to enjoy himself and this feeling of floatiness that’s consuming his entire body for a moment. God, he feels so amazing, so lightweight and happy, and a little sleepy…

Mihawk lowers Buggy’s hips, slowly and carefully, still calling out to him, and a moment later he and Crocodile flip Buggy over and sit him up, checking on him because he still hasn’t replied to them. “Are you okay, Buggy?” Mihawk asks, crawling up towards Buggy and cupping his face, “Hm?” He repeats a moment later as he gently moves Buggy’s hair out of his face and begins to cover him in kisses.

Crocodile joins in on the moment of softness, also kissing Buggy’s flustered and sweaty face, “Was it too much for you?” he asks. 

 Buggy blinks slowly. His entire being is shaking right now, he’s never… he’s never experienced such an intense orgasm, and he’s still trying to recover from it. He feels…god, he feels so good though, that’s all he can say. He hums in response a moment later, finally giving Mihawk and Crocodile the reply they so desperately want, but he doesn’t bother to do more than that. “You did so good, darling.” Mihawk whispers to him a moment later, “We’re so proud of you.” Proud? They’re proud of him?

Buggy closes his eyes and just enjoys their hugs and kisses and soft touches for a moment, feeling his already pounding heart, pick up a beat every time Crocodile or Mihawk, or both praise him. 

“We are,” Crocodile confirms a moment later, “You were amazing,” He praises him with a soft, warm smile, then adds, “We love you so, so much, Buggy.” Oh, god. Buggy loves them too. 

“We do, we love you.” Mihawk agrees. 

Mihawk and Crocodile carefully get Buggy out of bed after that, still muttering soft praises and words of affection to him as they get him all cleaned up and then help him get himself dressed, because Buggy’s still a shaky, puddle of goo that can barely function. He’s a happy puddle of goo, though, that’s for sure. After that, they ask him if he wants to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie, and Buggy can only nod in response. 

Crocodile picks out the movie they’re going to watch, going on and on about how he’s the only one among the three of them who has any tastes in movies before putting on arguably the worst action film Buggy’s ever seen in his life. Buggy doesn’t really pay attention to the movie though, he sits in the middle of his two boyfriends, curled up with them in a giant blanket and resting his head against Mihawk’s shoulder as said man lazily plays with his hair. Buggy’s still feeling all light and floaty from his orgasm even long after the three of them have stopped making love, and soon finds himself peacefully falling asleep to the sounds of the two loves of his life bickering about the quality of the movie they’re watching. 

[jbuffyangel]

One: Arrow 2x02 Review (Identity)

I often think if I was online in Season 2, and joined the fandom earlier, then my viewing experience would have been completely different. I would've been more confident Oliver and Felicity were going to happen.  But I was not, so I spent the majority of the season flip flopping between confidence and feeling like I was hallucinating the whole thing.

But “Identity” is one of those episodes an Olicity shipper can point to and say, “Yes!!! I AM RIGHT!!! There is something going on with these two.” Oliver and Felicity are nowhere near ready defining what that “something” is, and neither was I, but this episode is a core building block of their relationship and the new direction the writers were taking the show.

And it’s so much damn fun.

Let’s dig in…

Olicity

Oliver is having a rough week. His mother is in prison for “helping” to destroy the Glades which killed many and injured more. It is not a fun time to have the last name Queen. Oliver is trying in earnest to make a difference in the city not only as The Arrow (I’m just calling him that. I don’t care if they’ve done it officially order not), but also as Oliver Queen.

Blood (what a horrifically bad last name), the new Alderman, is not letting the Queens get off that easily and is raking Oliver over the coals in the press. People hate him because Oliver is the poster boy for everything wrong in the city. Since he operates under a secret identity, Oliver can’t really say “Lighten up. I am literally saving your asses on a nightly basis.”

Is this treatment unfair? Yes. We know Oliver did everything he could stop the Undertaking. Is this treatment fair because Oliver’s family were accomplices in the Undertaking? Yes. Sins of the father (and mother).

The good news is Oliver is trying to make a difference not just as The Arrow but as Oliver Queen. Oliver assures Blood he’s his own man and commits to hosting a benefit so all the elites in Starling City can see how the other half live and actually do something about it. Blood balks at Oliver writing a check, but agrees to the benefit – which is just a bunch of rich people writing more checks, so I didn’t really follow him round that logic bend, but whatever. Blood agrees to the benefit because he believes Oliver Queen can be the face of the new rich regime in Starling City – the kind that gives a crap about other people.

Oliver is also embracing his new role as CEO at Queen Consolidated, which means he needs a secretary to schedule the meetings and make all the coffee.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

The whole scene has a snap, crackle and pop that quite frankly Season 1 was severely lacking. I’m all for dark and twisty, but can we inject a little levity once and awhile?

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

Felicity is rightfully furious with Oliver for promoting (or demoting) her into a job she absolutely does not want. His reasoning is Felicity needs a secret identity to cover up why they are talking all the time. This pretty much boils down to Oliver not wanting to take an elevator down eighteen floors several times a day. I have lived with a heterosexual man for twenty years and he avoids stairs like the plague, so nothing has ever been more accurate on this show.  

Let’s break this down a little further, shall we? You have a phone, Oliver. You could just call Felicity. Not every conversation has to be in person. Also, to answer the question of why he’s talking to Felicity Smoak all the time, I feel certain people would just assume they are hooking up. I mean… he is Oliver Queen.

But nope, Felicity must be within fifteen feet of him ALL DAY LONG. For business reasons and business reasons only. Absolutely has nothing to do with Felicity’s sexy little dresses. NOPE! Nothing to see here folks.

The blasé way Oliver refuses her resignation only infuriates Felicity more. He offers her a new fancy computer to entice her, but then asks her to make dinner reservations with it. Something Oliver could Google.

I’m not coming down on secretaries and neither is Felicity. I was a secretary or administrative assistant as they like to call it nowadays for many years. You have to be smart, organized, great communication skills… yada yada yada. But asking Felicity Smoak, TECH GENIUS, to be a secretary is tantamount to asking me to be a Tech genius. That math ain’t mathing.

Oliver argues they all have jobs they don’t want. He’s CEO, Felicity is a secretary and Diggle -

Diggle: It could be worse. My secret identity is his black driver.

HA!! The accuracy. Just a healthy reminder of racial inequalities. Oliver’s withering stare only makes it better.

Let’s examine Felicity’s decision a little closer. She could just quit or absolutely refuse and return to her desk in the IT department. Oliver isn’t really going to fire her. Instead, Felicity acquiesces and makes the damn dinner reservation. Oliver is not the only one who prefers closer proximity.

But she is never EVER bringing Oliver Queen coffee.

From a practical standpoint, it would be weird for Oliver to hang out in the IT department and talk shop. A private office where they can CEO & secretary by day to cover up their crime fighting activities does make a lot of sense.  He doesn’t have to explain why Felicity is by his side all the time.

The whole scene has “I want to rip your clothes off” energy, which is just fabulous. But most importantly, this job change moves Felicity into every facet of Oliver’s life – both day and night. The writers don’t need to search for reasons for these two to be in a scene together. There’s only so many bullet ridden computers Felicity can fix. Ultimately, this means more scenes with Stephen Amell for Emily Bett Rickards. She might not be number two on the call sheet, but Emily is clocking more time with Arrow’s lead. That’s all I’m saying.

This is not the end of the Olicity fighting!!!

Oliver has a run in with the cops and Laurel, while he’s trying to stop China White and Bronze Tiger from stealing the FEMA medicine trucks intended for the Glades’ hospital. Oliver is shot in the leg, which just adds to his annoyance that his efforts to save this damn city were thwarted by his ex-girlfriend and Walmart Wolverine.

Diggle: Why because this time it’s Laurel leading the charge?

Diggle makes an unsarcastically snarky remark about Laurel, which sets Oliver off, and he yells at John.

Source: Paige

AND FELICITY YELLS RIGHT BACK.

She refuses to let Oliver take his frustrations out on Diggle, particularly when he’s being an insensitive jackass.

Felicity: You don’t get to jump down his throat just because you happen to be having a lousy week. Ok? You’re pissed he invoked the almighty Laurel. You’re not the only one whose love life is taking it on the chin.

Oliver has been incessantly brining up Carly all episode and Felicity is furious he hasn’t noticed how upset Diggle looks whenever he does. They broke up and Oliver is too self-involved to notice.

There are so many things I love about this moment. Felicity grabs Oliver’s arm to force him to listen and there’s a glorious look of shock on Oliver’s face when she does because nobody, and I do mean nobody, ever talks to him like this. Not even John. But Oliver doesn’t move Felicity’s hand away.

Felicity also makes a snarky comment about Laurel. That “almighty Laurel” not very subtle. Perhaps, we are seeing a little jealousy seep through? It’s true Oliver twists himself into a pretzel for Laurel Lance, often to the detriment of the mission. I’m sure Felicity and Diggle are tired of the off again and on-again rollercoaster of Lauriver – much like the audience. Oliver’s hyperfocus on his weekly soap opera with Laurel must be aggravating at this point – particularly when he’s oblivious to his best friend’s pain.

Finally, I love the way Oliver calls after Felicity, the gentle way he drags out her name syllable by syllable, as she storms off. Between Oliver’s attitude this week and the new job – Felicity needs a break. She holds Oliver accountable and takes the space she needs.

Oliver’s no good, very bad day continues when he’s forced to choose between the benefit with Blood and saving the next FEMA shipment to the hospital. Of course, Oliver chooses the hood and with Diggle & Felicity’s help is able stop China White and Bronze Tiger.

China White: You’ll never be anything but a criminal to them, which means you’ll never be a hero.

Oliver: As long as the city is safe, it doesn’t matter.

Oliver Queen is doing all of this for the right reasons. His heart is in the right place even if his execution isn’t always perfect. As predicated, Blood chews him up in the press for missing the benefit. More proof that Oliver is a selfish elitist no different than his parents. It stings, particularly since Oliver valiantly tried to straddle the line between his two personas. He sullied the Queen family name more by missing the hospital benefit because he was too busy saving the hospital as The Arrow. But nobody will acknowledge the good The Arrow does because he’s a criminal.

Source: @crisistemporal

Oliver doesn’t complain. He just sits at his desk, alone and brooding, taking punch after punch as he watches the news coverage about who he truly is as a person. And it’s all lies.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

But then we hear a “click, click, click” of Felicity’s heels. There are no further discussions. No more arguments. No apologies. She simply sets down a cup of coffee and firmly whispers to Oliver -

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

It’s just one cup of coffee, but it says so much. Oliver may drive Felicity crazy with his stubbornness, and he can be an insensitive jackass sometimes, but his heart is in the right place. Felicity knows everything Oliver does for the city. She knows who he truly is, and Felicity knows Oliver doesn’t deserve what’s being said about him. This cup of coffee is more than a peace offering. It’s empathy.

Oliver’s surprise shifts into a soft smile because he knows with that single word from Felicity, he is forgiven for all the ways he’s failed this week. On the surface, it’s a small gesture. A kindness. But on a deeper level, it’s Felicity believing in Oliver. The world may be against him, but he always has one person in his corner – even when he infuriates her. Its why Felicity took the secretary job. She believes in Oliver.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

The smile fades a little as Oliver gazes after Felicity as she walks out. He watches her for longer than necessary, a look of tenderness and, perhaps, concern. One cup of coffee shouldn’t mean so much. But it does. It means everything. Oliver is clearly not oblivious to his feelings for Felicity, but he is far from admitting them. Falling in love with the unattainable is cause for great concern.

Oliver and Diggle

Felicity was more upset about Oliver’s insensitivity than John was, but they are dudes, so it’s not totally surprising. Also, Diggle is just used to Oliver being somewhat self-absorbed in his own pain. For the most part, it doesn’t bother him, but Oliver constantly bringing up Carly was salt in an open wound.

What’s sweet about the whole thing is Oliver was really trying to be a good friend. He was trying to think about John and be supportive of his relationship. His inability to read Diggle’s reaction means Oliver is still very much in the training wheels portion of his emotionally-sensitive-man development.

Does anyone care that Diggle and Carly broke up? I don’t. I’m thrilled. They had the heat of cardboard and I really need Arrow to focus on chemistry in ALL their ships, please and thank you. Plus, the whole dating your sibling’s significant other thing is weird. Please be done with that kind of storyline.

Diggle: I guess I couldn’t hate him and love her at the same time. You are not the only one reconciling two sides of himself.

It’s not just being Oliver Queen’s right hand man that’s interfering with John’s love life. His obsession with killing Deadshot overshadowed whatever it was he felt for Carly. If you care more about killing someone than loving someone that really sums up the relationship. It’s time to be done.

Diggle’s snarky comment about Laurel was said in part to get a rise out of Oliver. Behold his success. It was a completely passive aggressive remark. Oliver is not the only one who can pour salt into an open wound.

I also believe Diggle is not quite over the whole “You always choose Laurel” fight of Season 1. Both Diggle and Felicity’s comments about Laurel in this episode have less to do with her and more to do with Oliver’s reactions to Laurel. Oliver is upset Laurel isn’t panting every time The Arrow shows up and neither Felicity or Diggle have the patience for this toxic train wreck anymore.

Diggle reassures Oliver that he’s not the only person struggling with duality and John doesn’t always get it right either. The breakup is not Oliver’s fault. Being too wrapped up in his own suffering to see Diggle’s is his fault, however and OLIVER APOLOGIZES. The power of Felicity Smoak is real.

Diggle: We’re dangerous close to hug territory.

The boys aren’t ready to hug yet but give it time my friends. Give it time.

Oliver and Roy

This episode has one of my favorite Oliver and Roy scenes. After getting arrested AGAIN, Oliver tries to talk some sense into Roy, but this time he uses a different tactic – personal experience.

It’s rare Oliver gets to emote like this, and Stephen Amell chewed up this scene. Oliver rarely speaks about his feelings and his explanations for wearing the hood often involve other people. Yes, it’s to honor his father. It’s to save the city. It’s to honor Tommy. But what is the emotion fueling Oliver Queen?

Anger. Still waters run deep my friends. Under that calm, seemingly emotionless, demeanor is a man filled with rage. Oliver Queen was born to privilege and his experiences on Lian Yu woke him up to the unfairness of life. He sees the injustices the weak, poor and vulnerable suffer every day. What makes Oliver Queen a hero is he is DOING something about it. He will be the justice in an unjust world. Oliver is not just saving a city. He’s saving himself. The split persona, man and hood, is the only way Oliver is keeping himself a whole person. The hood is an outlet for rage, but it holds Oliver Queen together. Otherwise, he’d lose himself to the darkness.

This is why he confronts Roy. Oliver recognizes himself in Roy Harper and wants to give him direction. A way to channel that anger that’s not going to get him killed. So, The Arrow gives Roy a job – he’s going to be his eyes and ears in The Glades. No more fighting. Just intel.

Unfortunately, Roy chooses to lie to Thea about his deal with The Arrow. So, another break up is probably coming up soon.

Lian Yu

Oliver is reeling from shock after killing someone for the first time. Slade is rightfully concerned.

Slade: I’ve seen men in war with that look in their eyes. The one that says he’s split into someone else. Someone he doesn’t even recognize. If someone doesn’t talk to him, it’ll tear him up.

Oliver is rightfully concerned about his actions. He is questioning the morality behind it. Shado assures him that he was saving her life, but Oliver is not so sure. Was it completely necessary to kill that man? No, it wasn’t and deep-down Oliver knows that. What came out of him was unbridled rage and that has him scared.

Shado takes it upon herself to lead Oliver to the river where she washes off the blood. It feels like a baptism – the split between selves is being anointed and blessed. She argues that an island cannot make Oliver into something he is not.

Shado: Everyone has a demon inside of them… opposing forces inside all of us. The darkness the light. The killer and the hero.              

Oliver may feel he is two people now, but the duality was always there – he’s just more aware of it. Every person has the power for good and evil. Our life is the culmination of choices. The cosmic balance sheet is for God alone to judge.

Oliver is right to be concerned, but the fact that he is concerned, is further proof that he is still a good man. Evil people rarely reflect on right or wrong because they don’t care.

Speaking of duality, how uber creepy was Slade this episode? It completely wigged me out the way he watched Oliver and Shado by the river post coital. Sure, everyone mostly had their clothes on, but it has STALKER written all of over it.

Also, Slade advising Oliver women are a distraction who will get him killed did not feel ultraistic in nature. Slade is clearly in love with Shado and Oliver is completely oblivious to it. There is a darkness lurking underneath Slade and Oliver’s friendship, one that is glaringly obvious when compared to the present-day scenes with John Diggle.

Laurel Lance

Ugh. Laurel. She finally explains why she hates the Vigilante so much. She blames him for Tommy’s death.

Laurel: You didn’t save him. You were too busy fighting a meaningless duel with Malcolm Merlyn. And when people, people you told me you would protect, needed your help you weren’t there. I don’t think you wear that hood because you’re a hero. I think you wear it to hide that you’re a coward.

Yes, Oliver was fighting Malcolm Merlyn on a rooftop while Tommy was saving Laurel’s ass at CNRI, but the duel was hardly meaningless. He was fighting Merlyn for the remote control to the earthquake machine.  

You know what? The details don't even matter. I don’t need to defend Oliver against something this stupid.

The only reason Tommy was in the Glades was to save Laurel. If Laurel just listened to Oliver, then Tommy would be alive today. Laurel is projecting all her guilt onto the Hood because it’s too emotionally devasting to be the reason the love of her life is dead. That part of it I understand and sympathize.  

My main source of frustration is with Oliver because he just CANNOT let it go with this woman. He has a pathological need for her approval. Oliver doesn’t want Laurel to know he’s the Hood, but he absolutely wants her validation. Oliver used the Hood all last season as a mechanism to build a relationship with Laurel that he couldn’t have as Oliver Queen. 

Now that Laurel is good with Oliver again, he’s obsessed with making her buddies with the Hood. She is only going to like one half of you at a time Oliver. It's fine. Who cares?

The Hood even tells Laurel he would have gladly given his life for Tommy. WHY DIDN’T THIS RAISE AN ALARM WITH LAUREL?

I don’t recall Tommy and the Hood being too chummy. In fact, Tommy was adamant Laurel have nothing to do with that guy because he was dangerous. So, the Hood arguing he also lost a friend and would have given his life for Tommy should set off some bells in Ms. Assistant District Attorney. The longer Laurel goes without figuring out who Oliver Queen is the stupider she looks.

She does get something right. Laurel knows telling the Hood to stay away will only make him come around again and Oliver plays right into her hands. Only this time Laurel has the whole precinct waiting for the Hood. We’re supposed to be worried but there will be a trick arrow to get him out of this jam.

Stray Thoughts

How much do you love that Felicity is using a counting method to control her Freudian slips?

I hate China White. I know we’re supposed to love her because COMICS, but every episode with her in it is so stupid from a bad guy perspective.

“I had a secret entrance installed when I ran the club.” Ok, but did Oliver install it himself? Did he pay off the contractor? I have questions.

“He has this way of seducing you. Making you feel like he’s some guardian angel. But he’s not. He causes chaos and death.” Well that went dark rather quickly.

WHY IS LAUREL THERE? (My notes, which we can apply to pretty much any scene with this character). Why was Laurel with the cops out in the field trying to arrest the Hood? That doesn’t feel like a normal Assistant DA duties.

“It seems someone has broken our coffee maker. Violently.” Oliver loves Felicity's sass. Look at that smile. He’s such a fool for this woman.

“It really weirds me out to no end that you refer to yourself in the third person like that.” Diggle had some golden one-liners this episode.

“Crucifixion has such a bad reputation. The Romans used it to punish people who acted against the public good.” A clear sign someone is a total whack job is when they argue the benefits of Crucifixion. IS THIS GUY FOR REAL????!!! See, what we’re not going to do is wax poetically about the way the Romans tortured people.

Diggle wore a mask, but then he took it off in front of China White, which was spectacularly stupid unless she already knows Oliver is the Vigilante. I don't remember if she does.

See? We don’t need to kill. We have trick arrows!

Oliver finds the hozen in cave with the skulls of Japanese soldiers from WWII. That’s super gross. The gift shop story was better.

“You can take a beating. There’s a difference.” But he’s the Parkour Prince!

Ok, enough with the RED arrows. We get it.

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 2x02 (hasn’t posted yet but it will soon!)

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[fury-brand]

hey, just wanna say its deeply disingenuous and intellectually dishonest to frame the somerton situation as "mob mentality is evil" when that was nowhere near what bea was trying to say w/r/t manipulative people trying to maintain what power they have after it's been threatened by people seeing through their facade. i have and had far too many friends who've dealt with suicidal ideation in their lives, and i also have dealt with people who were manipulative and abusive. threatening suicide to gain empathy right after you've been rightfully called out for your behavior is right out of the manipulator playbook. like yes, there are harassment/doxing campaigns that drive people to suicide are, in fact, bad. nobody is disputing that. if you think that's what was happening with the somerton situation, you need to seriously reconsider why you feel that way. it's both entirely possible to be critical of him and the actual material harm he's caused while also being empathetic of his mental health struggles and wanting him to be ok. but it is also perfectly, rationally ok to be skeptical of a person who has shown themselves as a liar and manipulator attempting to once again lie and manipulate you. it does not in fact help them to believe them unconditionally. all it does is allow them the ability to continue lying and manipulating for their own benefit as they already have. criticizing them for their behavior IS helping them, and is how they, hopefully, grow and change as a person.

Friend, it is neither disingenuous nor dishonest. You can surely understand why the "mob mentality is bad" discussion is pertinent to suicide rumours of a high-profile target of mob harassment, yes? Yes, you can. I believe in you.

Manipulative people do threaten suicide from time to time. We are agreed that it is reasonable to be skeptical. My objection is not to skepticism. It is to the idea that anyone who attempted to evaluate their own behavior and to show this guy some grace was a fool because he "had not earned it." I said what I meant pretty clearly in my initial post: you should show grace to people who haven't earned it. This was the point of contention.

And here's the thing: it is not just doxxing and direct harassment that are the problems with the mob. The constant chatter and the insinuation that he deserves whatever he gets because he's a bad person and a liar and a thief are all part of the great big bonfire that is his ongoing social exile. It works all together to dehumanize the target and grants permission to those who do want to doxx or harass directly. It collectively enables the "dregs of society." It has nothing to do with better protecting the community and it sure as shit has nothing to do with creating space for learning and growing because everything we know about people tells us they don't grow and change under these conditions.

It's just petty bloodsport. And thank goodness for the folks willing to show some grace.

[heard-nsfw-is-back]

New years eve for Steve was always sort of disappointing. His parents were always away on some kind of "important business trip" and his 'friends' always came over to party and left a huge mess the next day to clean. It sucked. His nannies sent cards though and he always kept them safe in a box under his bed. Not that he was worried about his parents finding them but just to hold and read over and over when he got sad or lonely. After high school he would drive around to different restaurants or diners. Try to trick his mind in to thinking he was at a party or surrounded by loved ones. Robin was great but she needed family time and he never pushed he away from that. She wanted to be with her folks and he genuinely loved that for her.

He got dressed and looked at the map of his next diner to go to. A small mom and pop shop that boasted the best meatloaf ever. He pulled up the directions on his phone and called them just to make sure they would be open for a while. "Hello, Munson's. We're open our regular business hours. No we don't take reservations. How can I help you?" Steve laughed. "Well actually that was very helpful. Although I do hope that meatloaf is as good as you advertise." The voice on the other side got serious. "I would never exaggerate the quality of our meat." Steve made a face and the other person choked. "I know how that sounded I'm so sorry I did not think about it at all." Steve chuckled. "Well I look forward to trying your best meat." And hung up.

He pointed at his reflection. "Hey. What the fuck was that? A felony. Is what that was. Relax." But oh man that voice was so nice. Deep and throaty. Perfect pitch too. Steve pointed the other hand at his reflection. "Enough. Chill."

He got in the car after he could think about anything else and drove up. Meatloaf and broccoli, and mashed potatoes maybe, sounded so good. On the way back he could stop and get some good champagne and cheers himself to a new year. Happy with his plans and blaring some music he was content with everything. Which of course meant everything went sideways.

On the way his tire went out. Luckily there was a tire place because surprising no one that was his spare. The tap to pay was down and he had to use his emergency cash from the glove compartment. And he was getting really hungry and cranky. He finally found a spot to park because, of course, there was no parking lot. Steve finally made his way in and was hit with the best smells. Maple syrup and bacon and mozzarella cheese. Fuck he was hungry.

He waited by the counter and there was a guy maybe a few years older than him who waved his way. "Give me a minute I'll be right there." Oh it was the guy from the phone. He was covered in tattoos from what Steve could see and had long hair in a bun under a net. His boots had so many chains and little things hung from them. When he finished up with the group he was with and punched the other in on the tablet he turned to Steve. "Sorry about that. Staying here or taking your fine feast home?" Steve shook his head. "Here I think." The man blinked at him and smiled. "Ok I'll take you to your seat. Table or booth?" "Oh booth please."

He walked Steve over to his seat and handed him a menu. "Just flag me when you're ready. I'm Eddie by the way. Nice to meet you I'll be taking care of you tonight." Steve smiled, turning the charm up just a bit. "Ok Eddie, thank you." Eddie blinked again and walked away. Steve played with his nails. Ah man. He made it awkward. He made a quick glance at the menu but just waited till Eddie. Nope. His server would come back to order.

A little while later Eddie kind of shuffled his way over. Steve toned it down and smiled politely. "Ready?" Eddie looked almost disappointed and Steve made quick work of ordering and Eddie all but scrambled to get his order to the kitchen. Steve scrolled through some apps. Mostly stalking Robin on Twitter. A little while later Eddie brought out the food and Steve dug in. Ok yeah. The ads did not exaggerate even a little. This was fucking amazing. He texted Robin and she sent a gif of someone rolling their eyes. He stuck his tongue out at his phone and got lost in scrolling and people watching. Only sort of eating when he remembered. "Everything ok?" Steve jumped in the air. "Jesus!" Eddie held his hands up. "Sorry. Sorry. Should have walked the other way." Steve held a hand to his chest. "No you're fine. The food is great. Really great quality meat you guys have."

Eddie groaned. "Oh no you would be the guy from the phone. Look. I'm so sorry about that I wasn't really thinking. It was super unprofessional. Don't worry my uncle heard it and gave me an earful." Steve laughed. "No you're fine it was funny." Eddie played with his lip. "No I'm just glad you took it ok." Steve smiled. "Banter is one of my greatest talents. Taking it is what I'm best at." Eddie's eyebrows shot up and Steve covered his face. "That. That wasn't. I mean. It was funny. But not what I was going for." "You don't usually go for taking things people give you?" Steve grinned. "Oh its so on." Eddie held out his hand and Steve gave his phone over. "Should save your number as best quality meat." Eddie scoffed. "It wasn't my best please don't let that be my legacy." Steve rested his head in his hand. "Oh I don't know. What should I save you as then?" Fully committed to flirting with the hot waiter. Robin was going to lose it. She would be fully hiding under the table for this. Eddie typed in something and locked his phone. "I have a few hours left. I'll call you later."

Steve paid and hopefully didn't imagine the world's prettiest eyes staring at him on the way out.

A few hours later Steve was in the tub, sipping on probably the grossest champagne, texting Robin who was hiding in her parent's bathroom. She needed some downtime and was apparently faking an upset stomach. Steve was telling her about his day and she just sent a voice memo of her absolutely losing it. "Steve!! You could have been kicked out!" He frowned. No he could read people pretty well. And Eddie seemed more encouraging than not. His phone rang and 'Diner Daddy' was calling. "Ugh no awful I'm changing that name." He answered. Eddie laughed. "Sorry I couldn't really think of anything clever. Pretty boys have that effect on me I think." Steve pretended to sigh. "Well. It's not awful. I'll keep the Daddy. Just get rid of the Diner."

Eddie sucked in some air. "Or just put your name in." Steve backpedaled a bit. "Uh no I mean either works." Steve shrugged and changed the name to Eddie with a little black heart and the chain emoji. Safe enough, but he would know what he meant.

"Do you want to come back out and join me and some other people? We're throwing a party, we have fireworks and some more food." Steve hummed. "Yeah that sounds great! What should I bring?" "Nothing but that gorgeous face and even better ass. See you later." Eddie hung up and Steve pushed himself under the water. That's not fair, Eddie got the last word in and he's blushing hard enough to boil the water. He got a text of a pin and a time. He had a few hours to get ready and he scrambled to get going. Face routine, best cologne, and tightest pants. Steve stared at his reflection and decided on gloss and a soft sweater. It was nice enough to not be a jacket but he could not deal with the cold. He snapped a picture and sent it to Robin. 'Good?' She replied with a cartoon gif of some wolf howling and he smiled. She was the best.

Steve pulled up to a driveway covered in lights and people mingling and laughing. Music was playing from somewhere and he saw a lot filled with other cars. He parked and came out to Eddie walking over. "You made it! He looked great. Same pants and boots but his shirt was all cut up and Steve could barely make a band name out. "Yeah of course! It's been a while since I've been out here. Used to walk the woods and stuff when I was a teenager." Eddie grinned and held a hand out. Steve took it and they walked up to the house. "Gonna introduce you to my uncle and some friends."

He introduced Wayne and Jeff and Gareth. And another guy Steve almost immediately forgot the name of. Shit. The names sounded familiar though. "Oh are you the band? I forget the name." Dustin never stopped talking about them. Steve would definitely lord this over him though this summer. Eddie jumped around. "So you've heard of us merry men?" Steve smiled. "Sort of. The kids I watch listen to you though. Hogging the Bluetooth whenever they can." The guys smiled and looked at each other. "We're gonna make it big one day." Jeff said. "I believe it. Don't forget Hawkins when you're all living in your penthouses with your trophy wives." They laughed and made more small talk while Wayne cooked more food.

Eddie pulled Steve aside after a little bit. "Do you think we'll be famous? I mean I know we will be but. Are you kind of talking out of your ass?" Steve stared. "I think you will. Even if you don't the kids think the world of your music so." Steve shrugged. "You're already making an impact." Eddie nodded and swallowed. "Thanks. Thank you." Steve bumped his shoulder. "It's gonna be midnight soon. Want to light some fireworks?" Eddie grinned a little manic. "Oh absolutely."

They grabbed a few sparklers and Steve took some photos before Eddie walked away to light the big ones. He pulled out a timer and Steve waited almost impatiently for the fireworks. He looked around at everyone paired off or holding hands or cuddled in to each other and something very small, very cold let go of his chest. Silently he started crying. He wasn't upset or anything he just. He's never seen so much love in so many people. Everyone looked excited or nervous and he laughed. Eddie came up next to him, and reached for his hand.

"Can I kiss you? Please. For new years?" "Yes absolutely." Steve whispered and when people started counting down, Eddie held his jaw up. At 6 Steve felt Eddie's breath on his lips. At 3, their eyes closed. And when people started cheering at 1 and the fireworks went off, they kissed. God it was perfect. The laughter of loved ones. The lights around them. Eddie pulled Steve closer and for the first time in a long time, Steve felt right at home.

[yukipri]

I felt so dumb after I sent the question. I legit agonized over it at work that night.!

Lighting!! I love your lighting style and am working to refine my own, how do you start making lighting on art?

Please don't feel dumb! But yeah, having specifics really helps me actually say something that might help you!

Mm, so regarding lighting, I admit I'm largely just winging it myself so I'm not sure how helpful I can be. But a few random tips in case one of them is a new thought:

1. Everyone says "pay attention to the lighting source," which sure, is very important. But I've found that my own lighting got a lot more interesting and just better in general when I also thought about lighting *other* than the primary lighting source, especially reflective light. So if I have light shining down from above-ish (like, 99% of my art lol), I also make sure to not just add harsher lighting to foreheads/places where the direct light hits, but also a softer glow (sometimes of a different color!) from the opposite direction, where presumably whatever is off screen is reflecting the light.

2. Play around with different lighting hardness. This will depend entirely on your style, but for me, I usually have at least two lighting layers: one with very soft, big airbrush to set a kind of atmospheric direction lighting, and then another separate layer with my harder more defined lighting. Playing with how hard/soft those edges are can really change the vibe of the piece!

3. Use effects layers, and try different types. I'm also just lazy, and find that effects layers are an easier way to throw on lighting/shadows. For me, I like to use Dodge layers for lighting, but dodge layers also tend to turn things warmer toned. Which works for me because I like warm tones, but might not be what you're looking for. Other effects layers may give things a whiter/ashy tone, or amp color saturation, etc, lots of options! Effects layers also vary by the program you're using, but yeah, the tip here is to just play around with them, you might be surprised at what works for you!

4. Shadows and Highlights are in many ways different sides of the same coin. I know a lotta folks just want to say there is a "neutral" no lighting flat color for things, but the reality is that everything we perceive through vision has light on it. What this means is that though you may start with a flat color for practicality's sake (I mean, I assume most of us do), sometimes adding shadow to the right parts will make it look like it has lighting, or vice versa. So oftentimes, to make lighting look more dramatic or moody, I will have darker shadows on the rest of the character to give more extreme contrast.

5. Especially if you're not going for hyper realism, sometimes lighting doesn't necessarily have to be literal. Even if it doesn't make the most sense, you can add brighter/different color lighting in areas that you want to highlight, like a character's face, or a special point on their prop, etc. Lighting is, in the end, just a tool to make your art, so make it do what you want it to do, not the other way around!

Kinda just spewed out first things that came to my mind! Idk if any of these help, but I hope some do!

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[fumblingmusings]

Not the same anin but everything you say makes sense. You are a gem. I am curious now about Alfred and Arthur because I do see them quite similar, just different levels of introversion and the fact that Arthur is denial itself (I love how tsundere he is), what are your thoughts on that? Where do you think they converge and diverge? I won't gush about it but they are well suited.

You are so sweet, oh thank youuuu.

I've written a bit about them here and here about how I picture their dynamics, plus bloggers like Coralcatsea wrote a fantastic post outlining the way the two are actually pretty similar so on the one hand, so I will just direct people there because I feel like for the most part it is kind of ignored by most folk that Alfred and Arthur like... do genuinely enjoy each others company and they both go out of their way to spend time with each other. Alfred more so than Arthur, at least in the modern day strips. Do you ever feel like shaking people and saying: They are friends. I promise.

I think at their core, they both want to be important. Arthur wants it for security purposes, Alfred is a bit more straightforward: he just wants status. You can do a lot of good (and bad) if your top dog. I think of Arthur as being more defensive - he needs to be on top to protect himself - Alfred (in his absolutely most idealistic interpretation) is more offensive - he needs to be on top to direct and lead (and protect??? mmmmmmmmmm....) others.

But haha! I think I disagree with you a little actually!! I do think Alfred is extroverted. He's fine in his own company largely through being forced to from decades of 'salutary neglect' but he's always shown to be very welcoming to people living in his home (Romano, Lithuania, Japan and Belarus for instance), and goes out of his way to spend time with them. I think he's happiest with other people. Maybe not huge groups though, I can see an argument for that.

I also imagine Arthur is more aware of his feelings towards Alfred. Or at least, is far more willing to discuss it, if Alfred ever allowed himself to be vulnerable. Quite a few times they have gotten close to be emotionally open with each other and Arthur has gotten upset, leading to Alfred emotionally backtracking and pulling essentially a 'lol nah I'm just taking the piss' attitude. I suppose it can be partially Alfred realising Arthur is just not emotionally stable enough or it can be him not wanting to be vulnerable faced with a guy who is being vulnerable. Because Alfred really doesn't like to be vulnerable. He's the hero after all, right? No weakness. Even Arthur.

I think Arthur just kind of accepts there are going to be moments in his life where he needs to rely on others for help. He'll bitch, apologise or complain the entire time, but he'll accept it. I don't think Alfred would however. So I imagine that can be a major sticking point at times. Arthur is like 90% held together by his pride, and yet somehow it's not as unwieldy as Alfred's.

[overwhelve]

- nothing personal

hello :3 here's a short something i wrote involving my two ocs, Idymo (left) and Aya (right)!

warnings : very cute also very sad, mentions (and kinda actual) of death - 7.06k words

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

This was a bad idea. Terrible, even. How did she get dragged into this ordeal?

“Keep up, Aya. I’m thrice your age and you’re laggin’ behind like a snail!” 

“I’m coming!” Aya groaned. She was a metre behind (more like two), not that far.

The older woman who led ahead was hunched over, her feet jadedly shuffling through the dirt road. The hot summer air was starting to get to the two of them, tanned skin shiny from sweat, Sighilde’s exhaustion was beginning to visibly show. A long walk combined with unpleasantly humid temperatures were never ideal motivations for older folk to venture outside, but here was Sighilde.

Aya felt a pang of guilt that Sighilde pushed beyond her physical limits just to help her, perhaps that’s why she decided to fall behind a couple of paces. The guilt subdued when she was able to forget about the present situation, and instead let her mind drift into the peaceful surroundings of nature all around. It was hot, but it was also a beautiful morning.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.” Aya half-shouted from behind. “I could’ve gone by myself.”

“Believe me, if I’d trusted you to go alone, I’d be back at home with a cup of tea right now.” Sighilde chuckled, waving a hand up. 

Aya skipped ahead to finally catch up with the older woman, though she was still a couple steps behind. “Really, I would have.” she asserted.

Sighilde turned an amber eye in Aya’s direction. “I’ll believe it when I see it, dear.” 

“I-I’m serious! You don’t have to go out of your way to do me all of these favours.”

Sighilde halted on the path, a deep sigh escaping through her thin lips. “If I don’t, no one will. You refuse to do anything to improve your life.” 

“That’s not true!”

“The most socialisation you get, besides me, is your plants. I know you talk to them.”

Aya’s face grew hot. So what if she had conversations with her plants? She didn’t need friends. The outside world was a dangerous and scary place, full of the unknown and uncertainty. Pain and suffering. Her garden was her little sanctuary, and the many species of plants and flowers her company. It was a simple life, one she did not understand the point in disrupting her peaceful world. She was perfectly content like this….right?

“Ayariauma, you are the most stubborn girl I have ever met in my many years of life on this earth.” was anything but a new declaration. 

“Thank you.”

“I’m serious. It’s going to be your demise one of these days, you know?”

The younger woman’s brown eyes rolled, as she would always roll off Sighilde’s concerns. “That’s really encouraging.” Sarcasm laced her tone. “I feel so inspired.”

She turned her body fully to face Aya, peering up at her with a stern look on her face. “Look, I’m not trying to scare you, or be the bad guy,” Sighilde began. “but I won’t be around forever —”

“Can you not bring that up?” Aya abruptly interrupted. “Please.”

“You can’t run from your problems forever. They’ll catch up to you, whether you like it or not.”

Aya’s wings that were previously puffed out and open, drew closer to her body. They pressed flat to her back and her hands gripped tightly onto her arms, making herself smaller.

Many times before had Aya ran as far away and hid from her problems, yet the outcome was always the same; the most painful kick to the ass you could ever imagine, the kind that knocked you face down into a puddle of mud. But yet again without fail, she never bothered to break the vicious cycle she was stuck in. Running away was easier than dealing with the anxiety that flared within her. 

“I’m sorry. This heat’s really getting to me.” Sighilde apologised with a deflated heave. “I don’t mean to be harsh, but I still mean everything that I said.”

Aya said nothing but scowled as Sighilde rambled on. The older woman's lectures were quite frequent as of late.

“I understand your fears. The world is a scary place, but you have to be brave. You can’t run forever. This is a small step in the right direction for you. So please, even if you don’t want to do this for yourself, do it for me. It’ll help me sleep at night.

It’s just a little friend. Animals aren’t complicated like people, you have nothing to fear.”

Aya sucked in a nervous breath. “Okay.” 

“I think you’ll like them. And the woman who keeps and trains them sounds absolutely lovely. I spoke to her to organise some arrangements before we came.”

“Oh gods,” Aya groaned with humiliation.  “what did you tell her?”

“Well, I explained the basis of your condition to her. She was very understanding.” Sighilde began. “I spoke with her two weeks ago, and she insisted that she wouldn’t have anyone at her home for a week before this date. Isn’t that generous?”

“A week? I feel bad.”

“Well don't. You have to stop feeling bad about things that people willingly choose to do, even if it's for you. She did that without me even asking. I think you’ll like her.”

“I came for the littílkats, not to get personal with anyone.” Aya reminded.

“I’m just trying to ease your fears, my dear, because you’ll have to talk to her regardless.”

Soon enough, they came to their destination. Turning the corner around the last of dense forest growth, they came across a decorative little cottage, sitting in the middle of a clearing. There was plenty of foliage surrounding the little house, visibly well taken care of. Aya could spot plots growing various plants on the side, and trees with dappled colours of fruits sprouted from behind the building. Whoever lived here definitely had a commitment to gardening. To say she was enthralled was an understatement.

“Beautiful place, eh? I knew you’d like it.” Sighilde chirped. 

“I love it!” Aya couldn’t help but get excited over the scenery before her, even though that wasn’t the reason why they were here. Part of her began to think that maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she initially thought.

As they neared the cottage, Aya observed more of her surroundings. There was a small stream that ran through the clearing, and the chattering sounds of what must be the littilkats. 

Sighilde rapped five times on the front door. The older woman turned her head towards Aya, flashing a reassuring smile.

Aya’s skin tingled with anxiety. She hated being around strangers, let alone having to meet and actually talk to them. There was also the constant fear of what if they were sick and never knew. Aya dreaded the thought of it, but speaking of getting sick, she came to a realisation that made her heart drop into her stomach.

“Wait, I forgot my face mask at home!” she fumed. How could she forget it?!

“Oh, that’s alright.” Sighilde reassured with a firm hand on her shoulder. “You won’t need it.”

“Yes I need it!” Aya hissed. “Getting sick is the last thing I need!”

Before Sighilde had the chance to respond, the sound of a knob turning interrupted them, and the front door swung open. 

“Glad you two could make it!” A voice spoke. A woman’s voice; a little bit on the deeper side. Soft, and flowed sweetly like honey. Though she spoke in the Etheldredian language, Aya easily picked up on an accent.

That accent, I know it from somewhere. She thought.

“Aya, it’s lovely to finally meet you. My name’s Idymo.” 

Idymo. Of course, it was an Umaeban accent. The same as her father. Sighilde was indeed right, Aya wouldn’t need her face mask.

Idymo towered over her with a beaming smile, her starry eyes twinkling in the sunlight. She was a renatus, a kibaonu, she was not endangering Aya in any way.

Aya’s tensed shoulders relaxed now at this newly learned information. She gave a gentle smile, shyly averting her gaze away. “It’s nice to meet you too.” she mumbled.

Idymo stepped aside so they could pass by to enter her home. “I hope your travel here was well, I didn’t expect it to be so hot during the morning. May I get you anything, some water perhaps?”

“It was alright. And some water would be great, thank you.” Sighilde grinned.

“Of course, have a seat and make yourselves at home. I’ll be right back.” She trekked away to the kitchen area.

Aya could not bring herself to peel her eyes away from her for some reason, fascinated by the way she carried herself. Dare she admit that she was gorgeous. Aya was tall, but Idymo was tall, easily towering over the younger woman. She had a generous amount of nebulardermis covering her body, a deep blue scattered atop her otherwise olive skin, sprinkled with thousands of twinkling stars. Her hair was black and silky, tied back in a loose band and so much length that it nearly dragged along the wood floor. It flowed with the robes of her attire as she made her away around the house. 

The guest pair sat on a plush couch situated in the middle of the main room. The interior was quite open, decorated with many shelves and.. hideouts?

Meshes of rope, items that looked like toys, and fabricated tunnels scattered all of the rooms that were visible, and presumably more out of sight.

Soft steps and the repeated tap! tap! of nails interrupted Aya’s daze. Idymo had returned, two glasses of cool water in hand.

“Here you both are. I hope they’re cold enough.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you so much.” Sighilde gave a warm smile.

“Of course.” Idymo bowed her head. She sat down across from them, folding her hands in her lap. “Alright, so, I’d like to get to know a little bit more about you, Aya.”

Aya almost spat out her water. This is exactly what she didn’t come here for. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at the other two women.

Sighilde nudged her side gently. “Go on.”

Idymo's head tilted, an awkward smile plastered on her face. “It’s just so that I can understand your condition more. Sighilde had given me some information when we met previously.”

Aya gripped onto her glass a bit tighter. So much for not getting personal with anyone.

Sighilde sighed, bringing a wrinkled hand to rub her face in frustration. “Aya.”

Aya flattened her wings. She wanted to leave. 

“I could explain the process of the adoption instead, so you’ll know what to expect. Is that alright?” Idymo questioned.

“Yeah.” Aya muttered bitterly.

“Let’s go out back into the sanctuary where all the littílkats are. I’ll let you hang out with them for a while until you find one that you like.” Idymo explained. “From there, I will have to help train it to perform tasks to support you with your needs. That’s why I ask to know more about you, it’s crucial for that process. If you’re not comfortable with those kinds of conversations quite yet, I understand.”

Aya’s brows furrowed as she processed Idymo's words. Train, that means I’ll have to see her more, right?

“Oh.”

“Aya is unable to go into town. If she gets sick, she’s bedbound for weeks.” Sighilde began. “When these episodes occur, she can’t do anything for herself, so I become her caretaker. I have to be careful, because there are times when I unfortunately bring home a little something. I can’t guarantee her wellbeing, no matter how careful I am in public.”

Idymo's gaze shifted from Sighilde to Aya. "That’s terrible, I’m sorry you have to suffer like that, Aya.”

Aya turned her head away from both women, utterly embarrassed. Their stares felt like they were searing the scattered patches of feathers off of her skin.

“She won’t let anyone else help her, so I resorted to an animal companion that would be able to help.” Sighilde’s tone was laced with sadness. “I’m old, I can’t deny that it’s getting more difficult for me each day. As much as I wish I could do everything for her, I can’t. Not forever.”

“I can only imagine.” Idymo’s expression became sullen with sympathy. “So you are looking for a littílkat to assist with basic care. Food, water, medicine, they can also learn to detect illnesses.”

Sighilde’s eyes brightened. “Yes, that sounds perfect.”

“Okay, that’s a great start.” Idymo cheered. “Aya, would you like to come outside and meet the littílkats?”

“Okay.” Aya placed her glass on a small, wooden table to the side. She rose and followed Idymo towards the back of the house.

“You girls take your time out there, I’ll be inside avoiding that awful heat!” Sighilde laughed.

“Of course, relax as much as you need. There's fresh fruit on the kitchen table if you get hungry!” Idymo called back into the house.

The sanctuary behind the house was a lot bigger than Aya had initially anticipated. Tiny wooden bridges connected the many fruit trees, also decorated by tiny wooden houses. Small burrows, water pools, and even more toys were scattered around, like a giant playpen for small creatures.

Lots of chirps, followed by the soft sounds of tiny paws scurrying about filled the atmosphere. Aya raised a leg to proceed after Idymo, but was startled by a flurry of furry creatures racing past her feet.

“What the —!” Aya gasped in surprise.

Idymo let out an alluring laugh. “Careful. They seem to be in a frisky mood at the moment.”

“I can see that.” Aya huffed as she regained her footing, proceeding more carefully now.

“Don’t worry, they’re not always like this. Just have to get their zoomies out and then they’re calm again.”

Looking around again, Aya noticed a couple of the littílkats crouched by small shrubs, picking off berries to snack on. 

“What’s their diet?” Aya inquired, watching the small animals with curiosity. 

“Fruits, vegetables, and insects. I’ll give you a list of which ones are good for them after.”

“That’s good to know. I can plant some fruit trees for them.” 

Idymo raised her brows in surprise. “You garden?”

At the mention of gardening, Aya piped up almost immediately. “Yes! It’s the best thing in the world.” 

“That’s perfect. I could even spare you some seeds if you need them.”

“Yes! I'd like that.” 

Idymo giggled, stopping in an open patch of grass in the middle of the yard. Her tall figure lowered to the ground in a crouch, beckoning Aya forward to follow her.

She reached into the pouch that sat on her hip, pulling out a handful of small, red berries.

“These are their absolute favourite. I use them as treats, otherwise all of the berries in the garden would be gone in a day.” Idymo used her other hand to conceal the berries in her palm, gods forbid they would be ambushed by the tiny creatures if they caught a glimpse of the sweet treats. 

Idymo inserted her index finger and thumb into her mouth, blowing a loud whistle. “Ibo nga’o!” She called out. (Come here!)

Wow, it really was Ancient Umaeba! Aya thought excitedly to herself. I’ve never met another person who could speak it.

Several littilkats jumped down and ran out at Idymo’s call. They peered up at the two women with big, curious eyes. A few of them cautiously inched forward, their interest peaked on Idymo’s closed fist.

“Ah-ah!” She raised her free hand, signalling for them to stop. “Niyae na nga’o.”  (Stay.)

The littílkats hopped backwards, diverting their attention back to Idymo. “Weia.” She praised. (Good.)

“Tu Oba turi tae?” Aya asked, more of a statement as she knew for certain it was her first language that Idymo was speaking. (Ancient Umaeba?)

“Ta dyy tu Oba turi kora ome tae?” Idymo blinked in surprise. (You can speak Ancient Umaeba too?)

Aya chuckled nervously. “A bit. I’m very out of practice, it’s been a while since I’ve had someone to speak it with.”

“I see, that’s pretty cool! How did you learn it?”

“It was my first language.” Aya shrugged. “Probably doesn’t seem like it now, though.’

“Oh wow, really? I thought I heard a slight accent in your voice.” Idymo commented with a bright smile. “Who taught you, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

Aya’s expression faltered into a slight frown at those memories being brought up. It wouldn’t hurt to mention it, she supposed. 

“My father. He’s a kibaonu.” 

“Oh, right." Idymo nodded in acknowledgement. "I’d be happy to practice Ancient Umaeba with you, if you ever wanted to.”

Aya froze. Again, she wasn’t here to get personal. Idymo seemed nice, really nice. She’d feel bad about being rude to her, so Aya decided to give a gentler response. “I’ll think about it, thanks.”

Idymo’s eyes crinkled in another big, radiant smile. “Of course!”

So radiant, it made Aya feel funny. What the fuck? 

Sighilde was more than at peace inside of the cool house. As the day fell into the afternoon, the sun grew hotter. At her age, the scorching heat of the summer season was more unpleasant than not, especially on days like these.

From where she sat, she could peer out of a wide window that gave her a perfect view of the sanctuary, and what Idymo and Aya were up to.

She had known Aya for a long time by this point, enough time to know her deep down. She looked relaxed, despite being left alone with a total stranger. Sighilde was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps this is the push she needed, a taste of everything she had been missing out on for the entirety of her life.

Give a sunflower a taste of sunlight, and it will forever yearn for warmth. 

Sighilde was already aware that Idymo would become a regular visitor at their home if they adopted a littílkat. She didn’t mind, Idymo was lovely to be around. Wherever she went, she enlightened the room with her contagiously joyful spirit. She was great at listening, and even better at comforting others, something that Sighilde struggled with when it came to Aya.

She knew it would be unprofessional to ask for any more favours from the renatus, but Sighilde hoped, truly hoped that perhaps Aya would warm up to Idymo.

An hour passed, or two. Perception of time was something that slipped out of her grasp easily whenever she was tending to her plants, but never outside of that. Hours were long and full of anxiety. The dread of not knowing whether tomorrow would be overcome with agony. 

Aya held a different fruit, a long, curved, yellow fruit that had its peel pulled back to reveal the sweet flesh underneath.

After some time of interacting and playing with the littílkats, one had taken a particular liking to Aya. 

“It’s a girl,” Idymo had said. “she’s a little sweetheart.”

Idymo had handed her the fruit she was now feeding the small animal. A banana, she called it. Aya would have to find what markets sold them in her area.

The littílkat took small bites, her tiny hands gripping the flesh of the fruit while she nibbled away. 

She was adorable. Her fur was a light beige, with darker hues of a rich umber on her snout, around her eyes, and along her body. Her massive eyes locked gaze with Aya’s own, a fiery gold that seemed to glow in the summer sun.

“She likes you.”

“Only because I’m feeding her.” Aya remarked doubtedly.

“She’s shy, doesn’t warm up to strangers as easily as the others do. I’ve never seen her approach a newcomer as fast as she did.”

The littílkat suddenly pulled away from the fruit, having had her fill. She leapt into Aya's lap and gazed up at her.

“She definitely likes you.” Idymo affirmed.

Aya gasped as the littílkat jumped up onto her chest, her hands shooting up to support the little animal so she wouldn’t slide off. She curled into her, a soft vibration emitting from her tiny body.

“Aww..” the corners of Aya's mouth curved into a sheepish smile. She held the animal ever so carefully. Its fur was so, so soft, like nothing she had ever touched before. 

“Any objections to her choice?” Idymo softly laughed, careful not to wake the littílkat. 

“None at all.” Aya shook her head. “I think I like her too.”

“Let’s go inside then. You can bring her with you.” Idymo rose, extending a hand to help Aya up. 

“I’ll give you a rundown of everything you’ll need to know, as well as the supplies she’ll need to start you off.” Idymo began. All three (four if you count the new addition) sat at the dining table, a variety of foods piled in front of Idymo. 

“They’re not too difficult to care for. Feed them twice a day. Once in the morning, once in the evening. You don’t have to feed them too much, as they’re smart enough to know where you keep the food and will definitely try to get a snack.”

“Is that bad?” Sighilde asked.

“Not necessarily. As long as they’re not eating too much outside of their scheduled meals, they’ll be fine. If they’re outside, they’re bound to find plenty of insects to snack on anyways.

Once you bond with her more and she’s better trained, you can let them outside anytime without having to keep an eye on her.

They’ll know where home is and not stray too far.”

Sighilde quickly jotted down notes on a piece of paper. Her memory was not what it used to be, she'd forget half of the instructions by tomorrow afternoon.

“How often do you plan to come over to help train the little one?” inquired Sighilde.

Idymo pondered for a moment. “As long as I don't get swamped by work, I could try to be there from Mánadagr through Frjádagr. If that’s alright you with, of course.”

Sighilde brightened up at that, much to Aya’s dismay. “Oh yes, that’d be perfect!”

Aya remained silent, not wanting to voice her objections. This is only temporary, this is only temporary.

“Perfect then!” Idymo clapped with a toothflashing grin. “I’ll stick to this schedule for now then. It helps that I don’t have any other clients at the moment. Once she is better trained in her tasks, I can reduce my visits.”

The littílkat was sleeping peacefully, now having moved to curl up on Aya’s shoulder. She’ll have to think of a name soon.

The first few weeks of training were challenging, to say the least, but the results were promising. Like Idymo had assured, she showed up on all the days she promised to be there. 

“Djao, fetch water.” 

The littílkat hurried off around the bend of a corner.

Idymo sat with Aya in the main area of her house. Two weeks had gone by, and the new addition to the home was settling in well. 

“I think I’ll name her Djaodunawetwi. Djao for short.” (A/N: Djaodunawetwi is the A. Umaeban word for 'golden'. The literal translation is 'of sunlight', because the "Sun" shines like gold.)

“Ooh! I like that.” Idymo agreed. “Why did you settle on that name?”

“Her eyes are like sunlight. They’re beautiful.” Aya smiled.

Djao skipped back into the living room, a small cup of water in grasp. She jumped up into Aya’s lap, spilling the rest of whatever water was left in the cup all over her sundress.

Idymo burst into a fit of laughter. Aya scowled, despite the heat that crept into her cheeks. She would never admit to it, but she had grown used to the melody of what was Idymo’s laughter.

“I apologise, I shouldn’t be laughing. I guess we forgot to teach her to be slow when she has cup full of water. Look at the trail she left!”

Aya’s gaze followed Idymo’s. Surely enough, there were several splotches of water along the path that Djao had taken. 

“Maybe we should invest in cups with a lid.”

Idymo shook her head. “Don’t worry, they can be taught to not spill water all over the place. We’ll work on that.”

On the fifth week, Aya had contracted an illness of some sort. One day she was alright, and by the next, she was unable to get out of bed.

“Aya, I’ll be gone for about three days. Are you sure you have everything you need?” Sighilde fretted. She always hated leaving her alone, unsure if she would be okay.

“Yes. I’ll be alright here, you can stop fussing over me and go.” Aya grumbled from where she sat at the table, busy sorting through piles of various seeds.

“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me.” Sighilde teased, stuffing the last of her belongings into a brown bag.

“I’m not.” Aya huffed out. “You’ve just been fussing over me all morning.”

“I just want to make sure you’re safe and prepared. I don’t want anything to happen while you’re all alone.”

“Nothing is going to happen. I can take care of myself.” Aya raised her head to shoot an arrogant glare at Sighilde. The older woman had a look of disbelief on her aged face. 

“For your sake, I hope so.”

Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped the following day. Aya awoke before the sun, greeted by a world of pain.

Just great. She grimaced in her mind. How many days would Sighilde be gone again? Two? Three? Four? She hoped it was the first possibility, because Aya was terrified. 

She lay flat on her back in her bed, her brunette hair plastered to her face from the amount of sweat her body produced. It was cold, she was shivering, but her skin was clammy and hot to the touch. 

Her lips fell agape, taking deep, strained breaths. She was always so scared when she couldn’t breathe. It felt like a horse was sitting on her chest. 

She was alone, with no one to help her. Even better, she forgot to eat dinner last night, too preoccupied with tending to the plants she feared were diseased. It was ironic, really. If only she had given herself that same care. 

She could only pray to the Gods that Sighilde forgot her reading glasses at home and decided to turn around and come back. Anything so that Aya wasn’t left to do nothing but lay and wait out the agony.

Djao stumbled into Aya’s room at the crack of dawn, jumping onto the bed. Her condition had remained the same, if not worse. Unfortunately, she was only able to perform a handful of tasks. 

Aya’s eyes fluttered open at the tickling sensation of the littílkat sniffing her face.

“Djao…” Aya whispered weakly.

Djao pulled herself onto Aya’s chest, still inspecting her. Though she was not trained to identify illnesses yet (as that would take more time to get her familiar with), littílkats were very intelligent and observational. She knew something was wrong with her master and wanted to help.

A violent fit of coughs shook her off of Aya. She choked out, struggling to regain her breath. Djao only grew restless with anxiety. The little creature jumped to the floor and hopped away, off to do what she was trained for.

Djao spent the entire morning retrieving a variety of foods, half-empty cups of water, and several types of medicinal plants, bringing them back to Aya’s room to try and help her.

She couldn’t understand why Aya wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink, and wouldn’t take the medicine. She was still young, an adolescent, and didn’t understand complex human speech yet. She didn’t understand that Aya felt too nauseous to eat, or didn't have the strength to raise her head to drink from a cup, or that these weren’t even the correct herbs.

Sunlight poured into the room, burning past her eyelids and only setting off a fire pressure in her head. The curtains were left wide open, as usual. Aya enjoyed waking up to warm sunlight on her skin.

In times like these, she hated the sun and wished it would explode and end her suffering. The pain was so great, it felt like several knives were digging into her skull, ripping her open down through her spine.

She couldn't get up to shut the sunlight out herself. Djao didn’t understand what the word ‘curtain’ meant yet. She sobbed helplessly.

She was going to die like this. It was most likely inevitable, given that her symptoms flared up as fast as they did, but the dread of waiting for yet another death was always torturous. On the brightside, this would be over soon.

Hopefully.

Idymo arrived at Sighilde’s cottage in the evening. Tucked under her arm was a woven basket, filled with bundles of various herbs she used to treat her patients. 

“What have you tried to treat her symptoms with?” Idymo asked while she fiddled with a sheet of paper.

“Nothing works. There is no point.” Sighilde sighed, defeatedly. Her shoulders drooped.

“I'm aware that her disorder cannot be cured, but maybe the symptoms can be managed. At most, we can try to find a method that can provide some relief from her pain.”

She reminisced about a conversation with Sighilde a few days prior. Idymo was already familiar with the name ‘astral-hybrid incompatibility disorder’, or simply ‘AHID’ for short. She had skimmed across it in a dusty medical textbook back when she was still only a student in Hajnalka. The description was brief, its list of documented cases even shorter, but she knew one thing. It sounded like a living hell. She couldn’t imagine living in a body where your own cells constantly rejected each other, to the point it attacked every cell, every nerve, every organ. Yet, it was Aya’s unfortunate reality.

Sighilde had told Idymo of her planned absence and that it would be alright for her to continue her visits to help Aya with Djao’s training. Aya wouldn't be alone for that entire time either, a bonus as Sighilde considered it.

“Just knock, I told Aya that she is to open the door for you. If she doesn’t, the spare key is under the window sill to your left. It’s in a little gap in the stone, so you’ll have to dig around for it.” 

Idymo approached the door. She knocked, and awaited an answer.

No one came to the door.

“Hmm..” Aya was not outside, she knew that. She was a renatus, the ceatures who had the most superior sense of hearing of any species in all of Ingonuudjia. Concentrating, she failed to hear any signs of life from within the house. Her gut twisted.

She set the basket down and crouched, feeling for the hole under the sill that Sighilde informed her of. Her finger dipped and she touched something cool. Found the key.

She pulled it out and unlocked the door, ducking down and stepping inside. 

At the sound of someone entering, Djao bolted out and jumped up onto Idymo’s robes. The littílkat did not climb, but rather held on and stared upwards at the renatus.

“Hey there, Djao.” She cooed. Her sudden rush to greet Idymo was unusual for her personality, which didn’t help that sinking feeling in her stomach.

Djao’s ears were angled, but not flat. A sign of unease, anxiety. That was another bad sign.

“What is it, girl? What’s wrong?” Idymo lowered her hands to scoop her up, but Djao jumped off and bounced down the hallway.

Idymo swallowed nervously, following the animal. It appeared as if she was following her training.

“Aya? It’s me, Idymo.” She called out, to not startle her.

Djao was leading Aya towards Idymo’s room, she realised. As she got closer, her superb hearing was able to hear Aya. Wheezing, gasping, like she was struggling to breathe.

Idymo quickened her pace and entered the room, only to be left in shock at the younger woman’s condition. She looked deathly ill.

“Oh, Aya. How long have you been like this?” Idymo dropped the basket and rushed to her side. This was her first encounter with AHID, let alone seeing a full blown episode.

Aya gave her an exhausted glance, sucking in a weak breath. Her lips were cracked, her mouth dry. She was incredibly dehydrated.

“Don’t.. k-know..” She wheezed.

Idymo blinked. She was panicking, something she rarely found herself doing, despite having faced death numerous times. Although this time, it was entirely different. AHID lacked research, severely lacked. Idymo was great at solving problems when it came down to how to help someone, but this time she was at a loss of what to do.

She took a deep breath. It would do Aya no good if Idymo was unable to remain composed. 

“What hurts?” She gently pressed.

“Head.” Aya croaked.

Idymo nodded. She stood up and closed the blinds, darkness washing over the room. 

“Throat.”

Idymo returned to her side.

“Chest. Can’t —” A fit of coughs interrupted her without warning. “Can’t….brea..the.”

Aya’s breathing was strained and weak. Idymo was sure she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. She gently took Aya’s wrist, turning her arm over and pressed two fingers to her pulse point. Her heart was racing.

Looking over her, she didn’t need to examine further to note the obvious fever. There was also a faint, bluish tone to her extremities, a very concerning symptom.

“Your breathing is terribly weak. I need to treat it immediately.” Idymo began to rummage through her stock of herbs, trying to find something that would be of use.

“Don’t.” Aya choked out. 

Idymo continued searching. “I can’t let you suffer like this. I’ll start with making you ginger tea, and then —”

“No.” Aya interrupted. “It’s.. t-too late. I-I can’t keep.. anything d-down..”

Idymo looked up, her eyes wide with fear. She couldn’t let Aya die, not like that.

“I won’t let that happen.”

“I’ll be...o-okay.”

Aya was really struggling to communicate, but she knew Idymo was unfamiliar with her condition. Given her fate was inevitable at this point, she pushed herself to speak.

“I’ll.. come back.. I p…rom..ise..”

Come back..?

The renatus froze, déjà vu washed over her like rain.

She remembered the description of AHID. The disorder was caused by an incompatibility of two types of cells. In Aya’s case, her kibaonu genes were unable to mix with her human genes.

There are several kinds of illnesses and diseases that humans can contract. Kibaonu are unable to contract human diseases, as they are biologically an entirely different group of species. 

Aya’s cells are like oil and water, unable to mix. They simply co-exist beside each other, all until she catches the common cold. Kibaonu cells have never had to encounter the common cold, not in a lifetime, nor an existence of several bloodlines. Kibaonu, in this sense, are similar to their stronger Ugwaam relatives. They are faced with a threat, and they will do anything to eradicate it. 

A human is no match for the strength of a kibaonu. It is a common occurrence for tissue to be destroyed, organs to fail and shut down, and inevitably, the individual to succumb to the attacks from their own body.

Kibaonu are immortal, they cannot die of a mere human disease. The kibaonu cells will preserve the body, and eventually resuscitate it, now with the diseased parts eradicated and reformed with the stronger cells.

Idymo understood now, though she felt sick at the thought of standing by and watching Aya ‘die’. She was a healer, to let anyone die went against everything she fought for.

She had never felt so useless.

“I’ll make you comfortable, at least.” Idymo softly declared. “I’ll only be gone for a moment.”

She found two cloths, taking them outside to dip them in a cool pond that was behind the house. She returned to Aya, using the first rag to gently wipe away the sweat that stuck to her skin. When she cleaned her up, she placed the other one over her forehead to cool her.

Aya let out a quiet sigh of relief, despite the rapid sensation of her life slipping away.

Idymo could only wait and watch in silence, hoping that her company would ease Aya’s distress. Though she did not verbalise it, she saw it in the way her features contorted with anxiety, the way her bottom lip trembled, how her eyes, though dull with fatigue, were evidently wide with fear.

The sun was now dipping into the horizon, the sky transitioning into a rich, orange colour.

Aya’s breathing was incredibly slow, Idymo figured it wouldn’t be much longer now. 

They had only known each other for a few weeks at this point, unsure if friend or acquaintance was the appropriate term for their relationship. Idymo enjoyed coming over. Despite it being her job to help with Djao’s training, she relished in the serenity of their home. It was quiet, unlike the average day in her life.

Her home was peaceful as well, but it was lonely. There is only so much companionship that animals can provide. Renati were not solitary beings, she craved for real connections.

She hoped she wouldn’t mind, but Idymo traced gentle circles into the back of Aya’s hand. She figured that Aya would have made her protests evident if she disliked Idymo's attempt to soothe her.

I’m here. She said in her mind, not brave enough to speak it aloud.

An hour into dusk, Aya’s breathing ceased. Idymo’s heart instinctively lurched with panic. She reminded herself that this was normal, that everything would be okay. She shifted backwards, yet not putting too much distance between her and Aya. She fiddled with her digits anxiously, waiting for what seemed like days.

Aya revived abruptly with a sharp gasp, her eyes still closed. It had been just under two hours since she quite literally died.

“Aya?” Idymo sprang from her seat, rushing to her side.

Aya hummed in acknowledgement, her body remaining still. Idymo could see she was still weak and unwell, but she didn’t appear to be in pain like she was hours ago.

It was truly incredible, Idymo had just watched her succumb right before her eyes and remain lifeless. Her body never shifted, no signs of decay ever began. She seemed at peace.

They sat in silence for a while longer. Idymo observed Aya’s body, wanting to assure that her health wouldn’t decline for a second time.

Aya opened her eyes after a short while, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. Her body was weak, much so after that episode, but the burning, ripping sensation in her chest was no more. Her chest tingled with typical aftershocks of enduring so much pain, but this was euphoric compared to what she endured earlier.

Idymo leaned forward, looking into her green eyes. “How do you feel?” 

“Thirsty.” Aya rasped.

Idymo couldn’t help but laugh at Aya’s normal self coming back. She missed that.

“I’ll get you some water.”

Idymo returned with a cup. She placed it down to help prop Aya up against a fluffy pile of pillows. 

Aya was unable to feel anything but misery before, but now was much different. She was forever embarrassed that Idymo had to see her in such a state. She felt even more guilty that she stayed to care for her. This was the longest that she had ever stayed over.

She was so gentle with her. Aya melted under the softness of her hands, though she’d never admit that she enjoyed her attentiveness.

While she gingerly sipped down the water, Idymo brushed away Aya’s bangs to press the back of her hand to her forehead.

Aya hoped her temperature would cover up as an excuse as to why her cheeks had flushed into a deep shade of red.

“Your temperature is already much better.” Idymo breathed out a sigh of relief, retracting her hand. "You're improving quickly."

“Told you.” Aya handed the cup over, having had her fill. She sank down into the bed.

Idymo smiled at her remark. “You should drink more. You’re very dehydrated.”

“Later.” She mumbled. “Still feel sick.” Aya added when Idymo gave her that look.

“Are you in pain?” Idymo asked.

“Nothing like before. After um.. that happens, it’s typically okay from now on.”

“Typically?” Idymo reiterated. 

“Unless I get sick again, but I don’t think you can get me sick, so it's okay.”

“I’ll stay until whenever Sighilde returns.”

“You don't have to.”

“I’m not leaving you alone, not after I just witnessed you pass away in front of me. How long did that episode last?”

Aya hesitated to answer, not wanting to give Idymo even more reason to stay over for the next few days. She caved too quickly for her liking, uncomfortable with the lack of resistance she had when Idymo all but pouted with worry.

“Before dawn.” Aya yawned. Exhaustion was really hitting her hard.

“I’m sure you haven’t eaten, either. I’m glad that I don’t have to go into Samnathrum for the next few days.”

Aya weakly shook her head. “I’ll be okay by tomorrow. I can’t leave the garden —”

“You won’t be touching it. I’ll take care of that for you, alright?”

Aya’s face twisted with worry. She was protective of her plants, that was her only pride and joy in life. The thought of someone else touching them, and possibly damaging them made her panic.

“I’ll water them in a bit so you don’t have to worry about that. Tomorrow after you get a night’s rest, you can tell me how to take care of it. Okay?” Idymo offered. "Maybe if you're well enough, I'll let you come outside and supervise me."

Aya appreciated her compromise. Though she would rather do it herself, her feathers deflated at the thought of having a day to relax. "Okay.”

She rose, grabbing the soiled cloths and heading towards the doorway to dispose of them.

“Wait, Idymo!”

Idymo paused in her tracks, turning back to look at Aya.

"Um, thank you... thank you for staying."

Idymo said nothing, but gave a warm smile. There was that funny feeling in her gut again, though her health's condition wasn't the culprit this time.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get a little personal, would it?