#i DID get an answer to something i've been puzzling over though

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Foul Legacy peeking over your shoulder and watching you work for hours, never once faltering. he knows how you toil- he's seen it firsthand, most days of the week- and he knows that there's really no changing it. so when you're home, he keeps you company, curling up beside your desk in a pile of soft blankets and cushions you arranged specifically for him. sometimes Legacy naps, snoozing and snoring peacefully. other times he reads one of your books, claws delicately turning each page with care and precision. his preferred position, though, is to have his head on your lap, leaning against your legs as your hand runs through his thick, soft hair. your Abyssal monster purrs and rumbles in satisfaction, pressing his head into your hands and tilting and turning so you can scritch just the right spots, his wings fluttering in bliss. it grounds you, too. helps loosen the tense muscles in your head and shoulders, fingers buried in his copper locks, the ones you take so much care in washing and brushing just to hear him happily trill.

when Legacy thinks you've been working too hard for far too long, he sits up and nudges your back with his head, urging you out of the chair. if you don't comply, he simply shrugs and scoops you into his arms, marching away and settling you on the couch. breaks are important too- even the mightiest Harbinger, the most powerful Archon- they all take breaks from time to time, seeking a moment of respite from their duties. it's the same for you, Legacy chittering as he brings you water and some fruit, curling up around your body and bumping against your hands. he doesn't let you go until you eat, nodding approvingly and nuzzling against you with quiet chirps, and if you're in any sort of pain, well! work will just have to wait, because he's snuggling down against you and using all of his weight to make sure you can't get up.

you deserve a good night's sleep- besides, he missed you all the other days when you were out, and Legacy wants cuddles.

[viasdiary]

can you write inexperienced luigi asking the reader to get him ready for college, like taking his virginity

☆ be my first (luigi mangione x reader)

☆ word count: 2.1k

☆ warnings: smut, crying, overstimulation, unprotected sex, barely proofread

☆ inexperienced luigi who tutored you through high school asks you to take his virginity before he goes off to college.

it’s late afternoon, and you’ve just stepped out of the shower when your phone rings. you see it’s luigi calling, and you answer almost instantly.

"hey," he greets you, his voice warm and familiar.

"hey, lu," you reply, a grin spreading across your face. "it's been, like, forever since we talked."

"i know," he says softly, and you can almost hear the smile in his voice, maybe even picture the slight blush creeping across his cheeks.

"what’s up?" you ask, curious.

his voice shifts slightly, a little hesitant, like he’s preparing for something important.

"i was wondering if i could come over later… i just have something i need some help with," he admits, sounding almost embarrassed.

"yeah, of course," you respond, offering him a reassuring tone.

"thanks," he breathes out, sounding relieved. "it means a lot. i'll see you later, then."

the hours stretch on as you wait for him to arrive. time feels like it’s moving agonizingly slow. you try to distract yourself, but your mind keeps drifting back to the upcoming visit. you haven't seen luigi in so long. you lay on your couch, looking out the large front window at the setting sun, golden light streaming into your small living room.

when the doorbell finally rings, you get up, take a deep breath to calm your racing thoughts. you open the door, and there he is.

luigi stands on your doorstep, looking even more handsome than usual, his usual nervous energy written all over him. his dark curls are slightly tousled, and he’s wearing a simple white t-shirt and baggy jeans. his nervous fidgeting only makes him more endearing.

"hey," you greet him casually, trying to hide the rush of emotions swirling inside you.

"hey," he replies, his voice a little shaky, but his smile is warm. he steps over the threshold, and you gesture for him to sit down on the couch. you sit next to him, maintaining a little space between you, trying to let the air settle between you both.

an awkward silence falls over you two. you both seem to be searching for the right words. then, with a small sigh, you decide to break the ice.

"so, what did you need help with?" you ask, keeping your voice light but curious.

luigi takes a moment, his eyes flitting around the room before he finally speaks up. "i was wondering if you could help me… with something personal."

you nod, trying not to look too puzzled, though a small knot of curiosity tightens in your chest.

"uh, sure," you say, your voice calm, but your mind is already racing with possibilities.

"what is it?"

he hesitates for a moment, then seems to gather the courage to say it.

"i want to lose my virginity before i leave for college," he blurts out, his voice barely above a whisper.

you're caught off guard. the vulnerability in his words hits you hard. you never expected him to say something like that, especially not about you.

all the moments you’d shared, those study sessions, the way he'd always been there to help—did they mean something more to him all along? you’re suddenly overwhelmed with a mix of confusion and honor that he’s chosen you for such a deeply personal request.

“where is this even coming from?” you ask, still reeling from the shock. luigi's cheeks flush, and his eyes dart nervously to the side.

"i've always kinda had feelings for you," he admits, almost shyly. "but i was too scared to say anything before. and now that i’m leaving… i just don't want to go without having experienced this with someone i trust. someone who means a lot to me."

your heart races as you process his words. all those times he’d gone out of his way to help you, to be there for you, had it been more than just friendship all along?

"are you sure about this, lu?" you ask softly, your voice gentle, your hand unconsciously reaching out to touch his arm. "this is a big step. i don't want you to feel like you have to do it just because you're leaving." he looks at you, his expression more determined now, his voice steadier. "i’ve thought about it a lot. i’m sure."

a mix of emotions swells inside you—nervousness, excitement, and something deeper you can't quite put your finger on. this is a big moment, but you can tell he’s thought it through.

"okay," you say softly, your voice barely above a whisper. you gently place your hand on his arm, a comforting touch as you stand up and guide him down the hallway to your room.

there's no turning back now, and as you walk together, you know this moment will change everything between the two of you.

once in your room, you close the door, and the air becomes thick with anticipation. he takes a seat on the bed, looking nervous and unsure, so you move closer to him, trying to calm his nerves.

"we don't have to do anything you don't want to," you assure him.

"we can stop anytime, just-"

"no," he interrupts you, sounding firmer than usual.

"i want this, i want you to be my first"

there's an unspoken need in his voice, and you can tell he's serious. he places his hand on your thigh as he speaks, looking you deeply in the eyes.

you bite your lip to hold back the words that want to spill out. you want him, too.

he looks at you, his expression a mixture of nervousness and need, and you can't help but smile. you reach out and touch his cheek gently, feeling the heat rising under your fingertips.

you lean in slowly, giving him time to stop you, but he doesn’t. you press your lips to his, the kiss soft and tentative at first, then growing more passionate as he returns it. his hands slide up your back, pulling you closer, and you melt into the kiss, your arms wrapping around his neck. he finds his way on top of you as you embrace him, his weight slightly pressing you into the mattress.

your bodies press together, and you can feel the heat building between you. your hands wander across his back, sliding underneath his shirt, feeling his skin warm and soft against yours. you pull his shirt off, letting it fall to the floor, then run your fingers across his bare chest, tracing shapes around his freckles. he shivers at the contact. you part your lips and break the kiss.

"is this okay?" you ask, a whisper against his skin. his voice is low and desperate, his words coming out in a rush.

"god, yes," he says, his hands moving over your body, exploring every curve.

he slides his hands up the hem of your shirt, his fingers brushing against the soft skin of your stomach. you lift your arms, allowing him to remove your shirt and toss it aside.

his hands continue exploring your body, and you feel a growing warmth between your legs. he cups one of your breasts, gently massaging the sensitive flesh. you arch into his touch, and he leans down, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear.

"god, you're so beautiful," he whispers.

you moan softly, your fingers tangling in his curls, pulling him closer. you move your hips forward, grinding against him, eliciting a groan from him.

"you know how long i've wanted to do this?" he breathes "god, all the times you were in my room studying, i was so hard just fucking looking at you"

"shut up," you say, feeling a grin spreading across your face.

"i'm fuckin' serious," he says smiling against your skin

he begins to plant kisses down your neck and along your collarbone, his tongue flicking across the sensitive skin.

"fuck," you moan, your hips bucking against him.

"i've been waiting. so. long," he says, punctuating each word with a kiss.

you grip his shoulders, holding him close. he continues his exploration, trailing kisses across your chest, his hands sliding up your back.

his hands find the clasp of your bra, undoing it easily. he slides the straps off your shoulders, tossing it aside. he cups your breasts, his thumbs brushing against the hard nipples, drawing a gasp from your lips.

"is this alright?" he asks, his voice low and uncertain. you bite your lip and nod, arching into his touch. he's a virgin, but he knows exactly what to do.

he leans down and takes one of your nipples in his mouth, sucking gently. you moan, tangling your fingers in his hair. he moves his hands down, cupping your ass, pulling you closer.

"god, luigi," you gasp, the feeling of his tongue on your skin driving you crazy.

he smiles against your skin, his eyes dark and hungry. he begins to tug at the waistband of your pants, and you eagerly lift your hips, letting him slide them off. he tosses them aside, his gaze never leaving yours.

"so fuckin' gorgeous," he murmurs, his hands roaming across your bare skin.

he slides a hand down the front of your underwear, and you gasp as his fingers brush against your clit.

"luigi," you moan, arching into his touch.

"you want this, don't you?" he asks, his voice soft and gentle. you nod, feeling the wetness pooling between your legs. he presses his thumb against your clit, sending a wave of pleasure through your body. you cry out, gripping his shoulders tightly. he slides a finger inside you, curling it slightly.

"yes," you gasp, your hips moving against him.

"tell me," he groans.

"i want you, luigi," you moan, your voice needy. "i want you so bad." he withdraws his hand, and you whimper at the loss of contact. he strips off his remaining clothes, and you admire his toned body and his delicately placed freckles. he kneels between your legs, his hands sliding up your thighs.

he positions himself at your entrance, and you moan softly, desperate for him to be inside you.

"please," you whimper.

"i need you."

he enters you slowly, a whine escaping his lips. he'd never felt pleasure so intense before. you're both overcome with the feeling of each other. you wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

"fuck," he groans, burying his face in the crook of your neck. he thrusts into you slowly, taking his time. you're both lost in the sensation, your bodies pressed together.

"oh god, luigi," you moan, raking your nails down his back.

"you feel so fuckin' good," he says, his voice a low moan.

you feel yourself tightening around him. he thrusts harder, hitting just the right spot.

"fuck," you cry out, clinging to him desperately.

"god, i'm gonna cum," he gasps, his hips moving faster. you could feel his need, his desire for you, his love.

"let go, baby," you whisper, cupping his face in your hands. "i've got you."

he finishes with a cry, burying his face in your neck, his body trembling with pleasure.

"jesus," he says, his breathing ragged. he collapses on top of you, and you hold him close, running your fingers through his soft curls.

"did you finish?" he asks, still breathless.

"no," you reply, feeling a little embarrassed. "can we keep going?"

he looks down at you, his expression one of pure bliss.

"god, yes," he says with a soft chuckle.

he kisses you hungrily, his hands roaming across your body. he reaches down, circling your clit with his thumb.

"oh god," you moan, arching into his touch. he keeps thrusting into you, and you feel him shaking and overstimulated

"you're so fuckin' tight," he says softly.

you cling to him, the pressure building inside you. you're both teetering on the edge again, the sensation overwhelming.

"oh fuck, luigi," you gasp, your nails digging into his back. he's trembling as he pounds into you relentlessly, you can feel him crying against your chest.

"i love you," he whimpers.

"oh god, i love you too."

it hits you suddenly, the orgasm ripping through your body. you cry out, clinging to him, your entire body shaking.

"god, yes," he groans, his hips stuttering. he comes undone, spilling inside you once again.

you're both spent, sweaty, and breathing hard. he pulls out and rolls onto his back, his chest heaving.

"fuck,"

he mutters.

"god, you were amazing."

[mcflymemes]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD PROMPTS PT 2 *  assorted dialogue from the second hour of the video game

that suit of armor is moving.

where'd you come from?

i've only been gone three days!

the situation's changed - for the worse, unfortunately.

i've had a couple of days, and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

it does sort of explain a few things though.

there's something kind of exciting about it. and dangerous. really dangerous.

hope that means you've got an idea.

a few dozen demons shouldn't be a problem.

do you know what this place was?

it's probably something important.

well, isn't this a sight?

the artifact we're looking for must be inside.

think we can make that jump?

i plan to find out.

we're getting closer.

it's a lot trickier than that.

i've never seen this before.

it's almost like it's... breathing.

wasn't expecting to fight an ogre today.

just one of those days.

what does that crystal do?

i have questions.

it's kind of my thing. fixing magical stuff.

let me know when you're ready to head to the camp.

some of our most experienced fighters are still missing.

whatever's going on out there, it's scary.

sounds like things have gotten a lot worse since we left.

it's only a matter of time until our luck runs out.

if we could predict where they'd strike next, we might get ahead of them.

i don't know what you're going to find there. likely nothing good.

you sure you're up for this?

i've never seen fog this thick.

something happened here.

stay sharp.

it's so quiet.

where is everybody?

everything's just abandoned.

keep them inside.

everyone has to stay.

we need to search for survivors.

ever seen anything like it?

we're going to help you! we'll get you down!

i know you.

they made me do it.

i was tricked! manipulated!

i never meant for that! i swear! you must believe me!

what if the dragon comes back?

let's get him out of there.

we don't kill people. not like this.

try harder next time.

don't let me regret saving you.

what a pleasure to see you again.

so who are you exactly?

this dark turn of events shall only become worse.

what can you tell us about... all this?

how do we stop them?

how do we stand up against that?

none of us can do this alone, but we can stop them together.

these are the times in which legends are born... or slain.

i should've taken the shot.

we all did what we thought was best in the moment.

look where it got us.

we're still standing. the fight's not over.

i like that about you. you don't stop fighting. you push for answers and action.

we need someone who can put the pieces of the puzzle together.

we're fighting the unknown.

everyone has a part to play.

i think i can manage that.

i can feel lingering magic. powerful magic.

i can hear it.

i don't know how to control it!

you said something "took you over?"

i'm sorry. i wish i had answers.

talking has helped.

i guess we don't have any real answers.

we're friends, so i'm going to be honest.

it feels wrong.

i trust you have all this handled.

at least people are free because of what i did.

it must have been worse than i had thought.

so... you're going to be insufferable about it.

see, this is the reason nobody likes you.

[makeyoumine69]

Possessive hurt-comfort sex with Patrick, please? HEAR ME OUT!😥🤤🤤💖💖

Heal Me

Pairing: Patrick Bateman x fem!Reader; CW: SMUT, unprotected sex, fingering, soft dirty talky, hurt/comfort, angst, sensual foreplay and something more, hehe. Links: [MASTERLIST]; Song Rec: Lady Gaga—Heal Me; A/N: It's been a while since I've written any prompts, I'll try to catch up with them since I have a lot of requests to finish. I hope you like this one and thank you so much for sending it in, I love possessive Patty!

It wasn't uncommon for you to be overwhelmed by life's problems because living in a busy city like New York wasn't easy, especially if you weren't from a rich family. But even in the darkest of days, you never gave up, even though it was hard not to when everything around you was pressing down on you. You struggled until one day you met a man who changed your life and even though there was something strange about him, he became your salvation and in some twisted way you hoped to repay him. However, you never really knew what he really needed. He was a total mess, but maybe you were too? But did you ever think that you would find comfort in the arms of a man who probably broke a million hearts and ruined just as many lives?

You asked yourself this question every time you crossed the threshold of the luxury apartment on the 11th floor of the American Gardens Building. But the answer to that question always got lost in the spiral of emotions that overtook you the moment Patrick touched you. The same scenario, the same place, but the specter of sensation he made you feel was limitless, you got addicted to it—you got addicted to him.

The softness of the perfectly white sheets met your naked skin with a familiar feeling, the silky touch of his hands sliding down your body was heavenly, leaving you craving for more, burning with anticipation. This man, he knew everything about you, while you seemed to know nothing about him. It was confusing, perplexing, but intriguing. Patrick Bateman was an enigma, a puzzle you desperately wanted to unravel.

"What's on your mind?" Patrick suddenly murmured above your ear, noticing your thoughtfulness. "You seem to be somewhere else, but not here..."

You huffed and pressed your palm against his soft cheek. "Nothing... nothing serious," you replied, leaning up to kiss him, but he stopped you, holding you down with both hands. "Hey! It's really nothing...I just had a fight with my family."

"Your family?"

"Yeah," you gave him a serious look, considering how cheeky he was grinning. "Sometimes people have fights with their family members. Can you believe that?"

Still smiling, Patrick straightened up a bit to unbutton his blue shirt with the white collar. "Honestly... no," he said nonchalantly. "Such things are too mundane for me. But I'll tell you this," the man unbuckled his belt and then pulled down his Armani pants. "When you're with me... I don't want you to think about anything or anyone else. Do you understand?"

Without waiting for your answer, which wouldn't really change anything, Bateman moved closer to your face to peck at your temple, his hands working to get rid of your remaining clothes. Slightly embarrassed, you let him position himself between your legs, his warm lips locking with yours in a searing kiss that left you breathless. Patrick savored your every reaction, from your shaky gasps to the way you writhed beneath him. His possession over you was bordering on obsession and he could never get enough of you. If he had to fuck you senseless to make your mind go blank, he would do it—neither of you had any doubts.

"Patrick... I need you..." you murmured against his swollen lips. "I need you s-so much."

Wrapping his hand around your neck, he pulled you closer. "You won't think about it anymore," he whispered, trailing his hand down your stomach right under the lace of your panties, playing with it to tease you. "Promise?" Bateman's thumb pressed against your clit, making you whimper. "Talk to me, doll."

You wanted to answer, you really did, but this man was nothing more than a torturer, reveling in the power he had over you—your desperation was like water to a thirsty man.

"I...I promise," you finally managed to answer, shaking from the friction Bateman caused as he pulled on your underwear, letting it rub agonizingly against your swollen pussy. "You're the only one...I can think about...a-ah!"

You arched your back as his long fingers pushed inside you effortlessly, your slick juices making a wet, lewd noise every time Patrick moved his digits, stimulating you right where you needed it.

"Fuck, you sound so sweet like that," he curled his fingers, scissoring your soaking cunt with masterful precision. "Life is too short to waste it on unnecessary emotions," Patrick crooned, sliding his free hand along your soft breast, playing with its hard peak. "But this..." he grinned when he heard your high-pitched moan. "This is worth living for."

This man was blessed with the ability to sweet talk, you could bet on that. "You...you devil," your voice wavered from the pleasure his fingers were giving you, each thrust inside you and pull on your nipple bringing you closer to the brink of ecstasy. "God...I have so many problems..."

Suddenly, your eyes shimmered with unwanted tears—such an abrupt change in your mood forced him to stop. Slightly confused, Bateman looked at you from under the brown, messy curls. For a moment, the two of you just stared into each other's eyes, as if trying to imprint this moment into your memories. Things wouldn't be the same for you, not anymore.

"Listen to me," his velvety baritone broke the silence, his fingers remaining deep inside you while his other hand found yours to intertwine your fingers. "Right now you just need to focus on me...on us," Patrick cooed to you before kissing away a single tear that ran down your cheek. "Forget the problems, I will take care of them."

"You don't have to."

"Shhh, sweetheart," he leaned closer to you, letting your noses brush against each other. "Remember your promise, leave the other things to me." 

For once in your life, you decided to do what he asked and just follow your instincts and let them take over. 

The air around you was so hot, electric with sexual tension and desire. When Patrick withdrew his fingers, leaving you empty, you couldn't help but wail in frustration, but it was only an introduction to the real act. Flustered and utterly aroused, Bateman sat on his knees before taking you with him, making you circle your legs around his waist as he whispered sweet praises in your ear. It was only when you felt his hard cock slip between your pussy lips that you realized you were completely lost in the blaze of passion and the uncontrollable willingness to give him all of you. With a slow but determined move, Patrick sheathed himself inside of you, hugging you tighter as he stood on his knees and pounded into you in deep and calculated strokes.

"A-awww," you mewled, clinging to his broad shoulders and hiding your face in the crook of his neck—the mixture of his expensive cologne and his natural scent making you nearly explode with overwhelming emotions. "Feels s-so good...you make me feel so good," you couldn't help but nip at his neck, leaving a red mark and causing him to fuck you harder. "Deeper...mmhm-please!"

Bateman made a guttural sound in response. "You think you can handle it?" You nodded your head so eagerly that you could see stars in front of your eyes. "God, you are such an insatiable little slut."

Without further ado, he changed your position so that you were now standing on your knees facing the white wall above his bed, where a statue stood in the ledge. That thing probably cost a fortune, it would be such a shame if it got broken in the middle of your ravenous lust, but Patrick seemed indifferent to that as he moved it a bit to the side and placed your hands on the edge of the ledge so you had something to grab onto.

"Hold on tight, baby." He sneered devilishly as he snuggled up to you from behind, showering your neck with little kisses. "No safe words since you asked for it."

Your breath hitched at the tight grip on your throat, the thrill of danger mixing with excitement in a wicked cocktail of pure madness. Being so strong, Bateman was able to wreck you like a doll, drawing you onto his thick cock with ease, forcing you to arch your back even more so that its tip could reach your most sensitive spot. You felt so helpless and small in his hands, the way his firm hips slammed into yours, practically fucking you into the wall, left you no choice but to surrender to this raw pleasure.

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my side blog @makeyoumineagain and turn on notifications to know when I update!

[karasuno-planet]

Hii! I'm not sure what your requests rules are or what ur comfterable with, but I'd really like to see a tsukishima x reader where he confesses to the reader! I'd love to see your interpretation of it >-<

After Class- Tsukishima Kei

a/n: HIIII of course I'll give you some tsukki x reader, hope I did him justice <333 as for requests I'll write for any haikyuu boy as long as it's sfw! requests open xx

wc: 0.8k

(gif not mine)

You had loosely known Tsukishima all year now, as you shared the same class and often found yourselves sitting by each other and pairing up for assignments. It was no secret that he was intelligent, but you could hold your own despite how intimidating he could sometimes be.

Recently, you had been making quite the effort to see him outside of class, though you weren't quite sure he had gotten the hint. You had been coming to his games, talking to him more in class, and you even altered your route to school to intersect with his. He hadn't been receptive, though, and if anything could be considered your enemy, it might be those damn headphones.

You had one last idea, though. Sitting next to him in your last class of the day, you tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Hey, um, you mind staying after class for a few to help me out with this problem on my math homework? I'm so lost..."

"Oh, yeah. Sure. I have some time before practice."

"Thank you," You returned to your work, now unable to focus. You know you were the one who asked him to stay, but the idea of being alone with him after class made your stomach turn.

Soon enough, the bell had rung, and you had gotten absolutely nowhere on your work. The class cleared out until it was just you and Tsukishima. He pulled his chair closer to share your desk as you got out your math homework. You handed it to him and he skimmed it over, the silence between you almost deafening.

"Mm, wait, what is it that you don't get?" He asked, puzzled.

"Uh, the last one."

"But you did the whole sheet correctly. You just wrote out the equation and didn't solve it on the last one."

Oh God, I guess you didn't think this far. How could you be so dumb? A perfect sheet of homework didn't exactly scream that you needed help. You made up the best excuse you could, "Yeah, but I looked back at it after the lesson and I just don't even remember how to do it...can you show me?"

"Sure.." he picked up a pencil and took the problem step by step, mumbling an explanation under his breath. At one point, he looked up and saw your eyes fixed on him. You could've sworn there was a peak of blush, but he looked back down at the sheet before you could get a good look. "There, uh, does that make more sense?"

"Yes, it's perfect. Thank you..."

"No problem," He hesitated, as if he was about to say something else but was held back, "You've been coming to my games, right?"

"Oh, yes! I've kinda been getting into the sport..."

"Are you coming tomorrow, too?"

"Do you want me to?"

That caught him off guard, a flash of fear in his eyes, "Uh- well, sure." He looked at his phone quickly for the time and began to frantically pack up, "Shoot, I'm about to be late. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sorry to keep you!" You were upset with yourself for having kept him so long, "Good luck at practice!"

And at that moment your heart nearly skipped a beat when you saw him swallow before answering, "thanks."

He walked out the door and you were left practically with your jaw dropped. You packed up quickly and went to your locker to put your homework away.

You were once again filled with anxiety upon hearing familiar voices down the hall.

"She WHAT? And you don't think she really needed help-" Yamaguchi's voice squeaked through the hall, having not noticed you yet. You glance down the hallway and see Tsushima talking to him, Tsukki's back facing you. Was he really talking about you?

Yamaguchi continued, "Dude you need to go back before she-" he clasped his hands over his mouth, finally noticing your presence down the hall.

Tsukishima turned around to see you standing there, his face completely flushed. Yamaguchi pushed him towards you quickly before running off to avoid whatever Tsukishima might do to him when he catches him.

There you were, standing alone facing your nearly-190-centimeter crush. He turned around to watch Yamaguchi dart off. He sighed, and turned back to face you, walking towards you.

"Y/n?"

You turned to him, closing your locker. "Yes?"

"You're not dumb. Obviously. You didn't need my help back there. And so I won't pretend you didn't just hear that."

You were absolutely speechless.

"Do you like me, y/n?"

"I- uh..."

"Because I like you." He grew more anxious as you delayed to respond, "is that okay?"

"Yes!" The word burst out of you, "More than okay."

[masterlist]

[peachhcs]

macklin definitely invited the to the next game and he plays so well everyone’s like why is mack playing so hard ….. they don’t find out for a while. mack rushed out after the game to find her and no one saw them together

this is kind of short i’m sorry 😵‍💫 but i think it’s so funny mack would just disappear after games and the guys would be so confused

au masterlist

macklin flew across the ice after the puck. the fans in the sap center were on their feet cheering the rookie on as he fought his stick through the guys of the detroit red wings. the younger player was on fire tonight, making two goals already in the first period. not that anyone was complaining, but they wondered what the boy drank or ate earlier to make him play like he was. 

"what's up with him?" eklund leaned over to where will was on the bench. 

"what do you mean?" will wondered, eyes on the game waiting to get called in. 

"i'm not complaining, but celly has been going ham tonight," eklund chuckled and bordeleau heard the two talking, popping himself into the conversation.

"dude, he's been on fire. what'd he drink earlier?" the older player laughed and will didn't have an answer for them nor did he really see a huge difference in his friend's performance. he was just playing like he usually did. 

"i have no idea. he's always this good?" will raised his eyebrow. 

"i mean yeah, but if i didn't know any better, it feels like there's someone special watching him tonight," thomas smirked and then the older guys dropped the conversation before will could respond. 

he became puzzled for a second, thinking back to a few weeks ago when macklin was constantly hiding his phone from him. he was still doing that, but will just sort of let it go knowing mack would never tell him. after hearing eklund and bordeleau talk about it though, will started wondering if what they were saying could have any truth behind it. the blonde glanced behind him for a quick second like he'd see someone in the stands that wound just stand out to him but with the hundreds of fans in the arena, they all looked the same to him. no one was standing out.

unbeknownst to will, blaire was seated four rows up from the bench. she had on a simple sharks t-shirt mack gave to her for the night. she was focused on the game that she didn't see will look back in her direction briefly. she was impressed with mack's two goals so far, a wide grin on her features. he had definitely grown a lot since they were in chicago and shattuck. 

the brunette skated across the ice towards the goal, missing it by just an inch when he passed to his teammate. the fans cheered nonetheless, the whole arena buzzing with excitement. blaire had never been to a hockey game as loud as this one, but she was happy seeing all of these fans cheer her rookie on. 

mack's gaze would occasionally glance towards the stands where blaire was. a smile always found its way to his lips seeing her cheering him on like old times. he also made sure she wouldn't be sitting next to any weirdos that would pester her and the boy still looked up there to make sure she was doing alright. she was content in her seat next to a mom and her kids and two teenage girls on her other side. mack badly wanted to give her a shirt with his name across the back but they hadn't even gotten that far yet, so he had to live with just a plain sharks shirt. 

when the game finished mack met blaire around the back where no fans would see them or any of his teammates. the girl quickly smiled when he came out in his suit and freshly showered. 

"you played so well!" she beamed and the boy smiled. 

"thank you. thanks for coming too," they exchanged a quick hug.

"that was probably the most fun i've ever had a hockey game. i didn't realize how exciting it got in the arena. you'll have to bring me along again sometime," mack thought her smile was to die for. 

"i'm glad you had so much fun. do you wanna grab something to eat before i drop you off back at your dorm?" the brunette wondered mainly because he didn't want the night to be over just yet. blaire flushed, "yeah, i'd like that."

mack grinned and then quickly led then out of the arena before getting caught. by the time will and the rest of the players made it out, the brunette was long gone. 

"where'd our star of the night go?" toffoli looked around when the younger brunette was no where to be seen. 

"who knows. maybe he found some fan to hookup with," bordeleau joked.

"ha! i wouldn't put that past him," eklund chuckled too and will just rolled his eyes. he'd definitely know if mack was hooking up with some fan because mack was bad at keeping secrets and was always telling will about something he learned during the day. 

"thanks for that, bordeleau. we'll catch up with him tomorrow at practice," tyler determined and the others agreed. everyone was pretty tired and wanted to head home knowing they had morning skate tomorrow. 

no one would figure out where mack would disappear to after games until a lot of months later.

[otissbluebearshirt]

Ok so I've been reading your masterlist these last few days and I'm loving it anyways I wanted to request "Are you okay?" // "Completely okay!" (definitely not okay)

I imagine a funny scenario where Otis and reader are moving in together or something like that

Lightbulb - [ Brian ‘Otis’ Zvonecek ]

Prompt: “Are you okay?” “Completely okay!” (definitely not okay)

Word Count: 1965

Warnings: mentions of minor electric shock, brian being a dork (does that count?)

A/N: idk if this is what you had in mind, anon, but i hope you like it anyway :)

Masterlist | Otis Masterlist

“How’s it going in there?” You called out curiously, glancing over your shoulder from where you folded some t-shirts and towards the darkness of your closet behind you, the doors of which were pulled open fully and covered in silly, colourful shirts all hanging at different heights from the slats. “Are making any progress or do I need to do it myself?” 

You’d been in the middle of helping Brian unpack his insane amount of clothes in order to finally move in with you when the lightbulb, that had been in there since you moved in, suddenly blew above you. And normally that wouldn’t be much of a problem for some people but there wasn’t great lighting in your bedroom at the best of times, let alone with such gloomy weather like that which lingered outside, which meant it was next to impossible to see a single thing inside the spooky confines of your closet.

“Brian?” Your motions paused as you waited patiently for an answer. But, just like before, you were met with nothing more than an eerie silence and so you stopped folding altogether. You spun slowly on your heels in his direction, placing your hand on your hip as you squinted your eyes to try and see if you could at least make out his faint silhouette atop the slight shimmer of the step stool. “Baby? Are you still alive in there or did the closet monster get you?” 

“The what?” Brian’s rather high pitched voice was followed swiftly behind by the sudden clanging of metal on metal, making you press your lips together tightly. He then sighed in annoyance, the slight creak from the stool reaching your ears as he stepped down to pick up the bulb he’d dropped in your cruel mention of what might be lurking in the darkness. “Could you maybe not mention a closet monster when I’m standing in here in the dark, please?” 

“Sorry,” You chuckled, even though you totally weren’t as you always loved when his voice got all high and flustered like that. You heard him hum faintly, sceptically, before another quiet creak drifted towards you as he stepped back up onto the stool. “Let me know if you need a hand.” 

“It’s fine, I got it,” He replied, and this time it was your turn to hum sceptically as it was taking him a little too long to change a simple lightbulb. Nevertheless, you just shrugged your shoulders and turned back around, grabbing another graphic t-shirt from Brian’s bag and beginning to neatly fold it. “I just need to…”

Brian’s concentration filled words were then cut off by a sudden shocking noise… and a short-lived yelp.

“Brian?” You tossed the t-shirt in your hand onto the bed and hurried across the room to poke your head through the closet doors, your heart hammering in your chest as you extended your arm to feel around blindly.

You hit something firm, warm and breathing within seconds, and you closed your hand around it, carefully tugging it forward into the dim light of your bedroom to reveal your pouting boyfriend, who now had his thumb pressed tightly against his lips in an apparent state of distress. You let out a quiet sigh of relief to see him standing there in their perfect condition, your mind easily putting together the few small pieces of the electric puzzle, which had your lips slowly start to rise as they parted.

“Don’t,” Brian warned, his muffled voice causing you to clamp them shut and act all innocent, practically batting your eyelashes at him as your eyes danced with mischief. “Don’t say anything.” 

“I wasn’t gonna,” You defended poorly, to which Brian simply tilted his head a little and frowned. 

Like he didn’t know you by now. 

“I’m serious…” And though you tried your hardest to be, you just couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as… you weren’t. You were not at all serious and you’d been about two seconds short of saying something sarcastic. And Brian knew that. He knew it the second your eyes lit up, which is why he pouted dramatically and slumped his shoulders like a child as his hand fell to his side, causing you to reach out your own and set it aside his face, drawing your thumb lightly down the corner of his mouth. “Are you okay?”

“Completely okay.” Brian said with his own waft of sarcasm, this time causing you to frown as here you were being genuine. He then sighed when he realised that, his voice softening and his free hand taking yours gently. “I’m okay, baby, really.” 

“You sure?” You asked, your gaze drifting to where he had his thumb tucked between his fingers. “That shock sounded pretty nasty.” 

“It stung a little,” Brian admitted, which was only a small white lie as it actually stung a lot. But he didn’t exactly want to tell you that. He’d already bruised his ego and withered his dignity enough by being unable to change a lightbulb without injuring himself, so you could forgive him for not wanting to tell you it hurt much worse than he was pretending it did. “But I’m fine.” 

“Okay.” You nodded, though you could see right through his tough guy act. “But why don’t you let me see it? Maybe I can make it feel better.” 

Brian’s brow furrowed, “With what? The power of the closet monster?” 

“Maybe,” You chuckled. “But come on, just let me see it.” 

With an exaggerated, playful, sigh, Brian raised his hand and gave you a thumbs up, allowing you to see the small red mark that now resided on his skin. It didn’t appear worryingly bad, if even. It was just some minor irritation from the initial shock itself and it would likely fade within the next couple of minutes. But still, you wanted to do something to make him feel a little better about the entire situation and so you took a gentle hold of his hand, bringing it towards you and pressing a soft kiss right on that very mark.

“Feel better?” You asked, a touch of humour in your tone yet you could still see Brian’s heart all but melt behind his eyes. He nodded slightly as he swallowed, making your own heart weep over how flustered and cute he always got whenever you showed him such soft, genuine affection. And you would have given him more only, it was getting late. You’d wanted to get him properly moved in before bedtime and so you let go of his hand with reluctance, patting him gently on the cheek and briefly stroking your thumb down the length of it. “Good… Now why don’t you finish folding your t-shirts and I’ll finish changing the lightbulb.” 

“That’s probably for the best,” Brian admitted quietly, making you chuckle softly as he dug into his pocket and handed you a new lightbulb — since he dropped the other one. You reached out towards it, your fingers curling around the smooth, rounded surface, though you were yet to actually take it from him. Instead, you simply rolled your lips together and avoided eye contact as you stared down at it. “Baby, what is it?”

“Nothing.” You said instantly, innocently, clearing your throat and finally taking the bulb from his grasp then delving into the darkness of your closet, all before you could say what you truly wanted to say. 

Brian just shrugged his shoulders when you did and went to do his new task as you stepped up on the stool, raising your hand and allowing your fingers to ghost carefully around the base of the socket. You could easily feel the slight warmth and pulse of electricity that still radiated off it, furrowing your brow and drawing your eyes immediately to the light switch on the wall. 

The one that had not been turned off beforehand. 

You chuckled softly and shook your head, “Well, I figured out how you shocked yourself.” 

“How?” Brian asked curiously, re-approaching you as you stepped off the stool and into the light. You said nothing verbal in response to his question. Instead, you simply widened your eyes a little and extended one arm behind the cover of the wall, flicking the switch for the closest off loudly and causing Brian’s face to drop entirely, before morphing into minor confusion. “You’re supposed to do that?” 

You let out a humorous scoff, “Yeah, if you want to avoid electrocution.”

“Right,” Brian’s jaw shifted and he scratched at the back of his head. “Right, yeah. That… That makes sense.” 

An empty chuckle slipped right through the rather sheepish smile he gave you and you simply deadpanned him, as for a firefighter whose job often involved dealing with electrical issues, he was showing a severe lack of common sense regarding them. You almost couldn’t believe it. You almost couldn’t bring yourself to believe that this man, one who could fix an entire elevator system in about ten seconds flat, couldn’t even change a single lightbulb without shocking himself. But in all honesty, you weren’t even that surprised either. He could have the mind of a total moron sometimes, but regardless of that, you still utterly adored each and every thing about him. 

“It’s just as well you have your looks, babe.” You muttered quietly, fondly, watching with amusement as Brian’s cheeks flushed a dark shade of scarlet and he spun swiftly on his heels to retreat back towards the bed.

Bless him, you thought to yourself, your lips pursing in awe as you made him go all shy again. But as you said before, you wanted to get a proper move on things before it got too late, so rather than embarrass him any further and get him into an even deeper tizzy that would have your heart dance in you chest, you simply climbed back onto the stool and screwed the lightbulb in safely. You gave it a light tug just to make sure it was in securely before you stepped down again, flicking on the switch and huffing quietly in satisfaction when the small space finally refilled with a warm, yellow light. 

You bent down to pick up the stool and set it outside the closest doors, leaning against the frame and watching as Brian purposely chose not to turn back around to face you. And you couldn’t fault it for him either. You’d managed to change the bulb in about ten seconds, whereas the only thing he’d done was make somewhat of a fool of himself. And even despite your caring, considerate side not wanting to chip away at his dignity even more than you already had, you just couldn’t stop yourself from calling towards him, “Hey babe, I have a joke for you.” 

You heard Brian sigh heavily in response, which told you he knew exactly what that joke was already. He even dropped the t-shirt he held on the bed and placed his hands on his hips, glancing up at the ceiling in clear preparation for what was to come, which, if anything, only egged you on even further. You pushed yourself off the closet frame and padded your way towards him, slipping your arms through the triangular shaped gap in his and pressing yourself firmly against his back. You placed a soft kiss to the small mole on the base of his neck, feeling as he tilted his head forward again and for a brief minute… he thought you weren’t going to say it. 

That was, until he glanced at you and caught your cheeky, scheming smirk the very second he did, his own face falling entirely blank as you opened your mouth and happily asked, 

“How many firefighters does it take to change a lightbulb?”

Like Otis? Apply to his tag list here!

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[themattress]

Untitled Kairi Post

Y'know what? In a way, Kairi was tragically doomed as a character from the very beginning.

"Oh, because she was a love interest and damsel in distress!"

No. Myths, fairy tales and, well, Disney movies have used those tropes for ages, and if you're doing a story where a huge point is the influence of those things, it's kind of a given that the leading lady be a love interest and damsel in distress. And the writing is smart enough to put a twist on the trope given that Kairi's distress is much less than it appeared to be because she's Sora's love interest and he's her's, and after Sora saves her she saves him right back.

"Oh, because she wasn't a playable character or party member!"

No. It would have been nice to have the playable puzzle solving-based Kairi sequence they initially planned at Hollow Bastion, but I can understand why it was removed given how it would slow down the pace following what is perhaps the signature sequence of the game. And in any case it doesn't have any bearing on how things went for the rest of the series, given that Riku also was not a playable character or party member (he just had a crappy AI when pretending to help you fight Parasite Cage all so that he could kidnap Pinocchio).

"Oh, because she was stuck in a coma the whole game!"

NO! God damn it, how much must the game beat the point into your stupid head!?

And who could forget?

Stop laughing right now.

Kairi. Not just "her heart". KAIRI. Since the heart = the person.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it exposes some serious sexism if one goes with the "Kairi was in a coma" line for KH1 and yet says "Ventus was inside of Sora" post BBS, since it's literally the exact same situation except that Kairi was always awake within Sora's heart as opposed to Ventus only waking up at the end of 3D. It's why Sora felt things regarding Hollow Bastion, why he experienced the memory of Kairi and her grandfather, and why he saw and heard Kairi multiple times. He wasn't hallucinating; that was always really her.

So, enough beating around the bush. What did I actually mean, then?

Well....let's start at the beginning.

Kairi's arc in the original Kingdom Hearts is not just told through the writing. Utilizing a video game as a visual/audible medium, it is also told through animation, voicework and music. During her introductory cutscene, we see Kairi asked by Sora if she remembers the world she was born in before being sent to Destiny Islands. "I told you before. I don't remember." She answers this sincerely. "Nothing at all?" Sora responds. That's when we see this detail.

"Nothing." Kairi is lying. She doesn't remember everything given the trauma caused by being forced out of her old home, but she does remember just enough to understand why it was traumatic. She had a comfortable life there, and a family. She was happy. And then it was all gone in an instant. Now, on Destiny Islands, she is similarly content ("Well, I'm happy here.") and fears risking that same loss. And yet a small part of her still yearns for the past. She loved what she can recall of her past, as she loves her present. She fears only the future.

Riku's fixation on his existential woes and the mysteries of the universe, while also putting her up on some sort of pedestal like she's something special, is not helping at all. Something about it feels wrong to Kairi...wrong and uncomfortably familiar. It's making her very anxious.

But Kairi has someone to lean on and help her keep up an optimistic, cheerful front, perhaps enough to talk herself into believing it: Sora. And during this scene, we hear the track "Kairi I":

This track reflects Kairi's character in this moment. While there is a subtle undercurrent of worry, her heart is strong enough to not let it get to her and look on the bright side as she looks out to the sun setting over the ocean. With Sora's reassurance, she is able to feel as though her home and friends won't change or go away no matter what happens on her, Sora and Riku's planned voyage, which allows her to feel anticipation for it. All finally feels right.

Of course, things were not right, and Kairi ended up in heart form as her body and soul were lost to darkness along with Destiny Islands. From Kairi's POV, she is now in the Station of Awakening (aka Dive to the Heart) and can do little but watch Sora's adventures as she can see them through his eyes, not fully putting it together why she can and where she truly is.

In the scene at Merlin's House, we get to hear "Kairi II".

While it's similar to "Kairi I", there is now a more somber and mysterious feel to it given the present circumstances. While she doesn't know if Sora can hear her, Kairi wistfully waxes nostalgic over how Merlin's House reminds her of the Secret Place on Destiny Islands. And while Kairi feels sad over missing that place, she's also happy that there are places like it elsewhere in the universe. She's clearly learning as much from Sora's journey as Sora is.

Finally, we hear "Kairi III" in the flashback with little Kairi and her grandmother.

And while it starts out reflecting Kairi's childhood innocence, it ends up turning...almost sad. The reason why being one of the most overlooked details of the scene: at the end of the grandmother's story, she disappears, and little Kairi is shown moving her head all around looking for her. This isn't actually part of the memory, but a reflection of Kairi's heart. She knows that she had a grandmother and that her grandmother isn't here anymore, but she can't remember how her grandmother "left". But she at least still exists...within her heart.

Speaking of which, once Kairi's heart returns to her body and Sora loses his heart in the process, Kairi puts her foot down. She may have learned how to better deal with and accept change and loss, but a line still has to be drawn somewhere and Sora is that line for her.

Thus is she able to save him. Later, we see her worry about the future and things changing again when she questions whether anything can be the same between her, Sora and Riku again after the corruption Riku had underwent. Once again, Sora boosts her optimism.

More importantly, he helps her learn, as he does, that even when separated you can take strength in keeping your loved ones (metaphorically) in your heart, and that even if things change and Kairi is cut off from the people and things she loves, they will always exist within her heart, just as with her grandmother and the story she told her about light and darkness.

This is why, in the end, Kairi is able to let Sora go and yet still feel content.

From "Hikari" (JP):

I'll stop doing pointless things like thinking about the future. Today I'll eat delicious things. The future is always before us, Even if I don't know it.

From "Simple and Clean" (EN):

 Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all.  Nothing's like before.

This is a really good, really well done character arc.

It's also a very human character arc.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastical things going on, but when you put all of that aside, what are you left with? A young girl moves away from her old home and everything that she ever knew and loved, which gives her anxiety about the same thing happening with the new home and everything that she's come to know and love from it, which now includes a certain boy. She fears the future; she fears change. In the end, she ends up staying in her new home - but the boy moves away! However, through her time spent with him she's learned to accept this because he'll always be a part of her heart, which is something that won't ever change.

When put that way, it sounds positively mundane, and by and large the KH fandom - and Tetsuya Nomura himself for that matter - don't want or like mundane stuff like that. They want the crazy, the overdramatic, the angsty, the flashy, the anime tropeyness they're familiar with. This is why they were unreceptive to Kairi's arc to the fullest degree, as in many of them are literally unaware it even happened because they were too busy fixating on the archetypal Japanese media-style dick measuring contest between Sora and Riku (which is also far deeper than they tend to give it credit for, btw, but I digress). And if that's the case, then the question gets raised: why bother focusing on or expanding Kairi at all? She doesn't "sell".

THIS is why Kairi was doomed from the start. It's not her fault. But it's sadly the truth.

[rosanna-writer]

Karma Is My Boyfriend (1/?)

Summary: Elain Archeron saved countless lives by vanquishing Graysen Nolan, her literal demon of a fiancé. She's a hero, but it's just not fair that being a good witch destined to rid the world of evil has left her tragically, painfully single. Enter Lucien Vanserra, the best cupid in the business, who's been sent by the universe to balance the karmic scales and find Elain the perfect new partner…

Happy Elucien Week! A huge thank you to @popjunkie42 for beta-reading, and my playlist for this fic can be found here. I'm so excited to participate in @elucienweekofficial; we're so lucky to have such a dedicated team of event runners!

Read on AO3 or under the cut!

The new energy in Elain's shop was too sweet to be demonic. It set her teeth on edge—artificial strawberry, discount chocolate, cards fashioned out of glitter glue and construction paper. Nothing at all like the gentle, soothing aura created by the plants lining the aisles of Roots 'n Shoots. Elain felt it following her like a bad smell as she repotted new shipments, packaged online orders, and upsold premium fertilizer to customers who'd wandered in.

By lunchtime, she'd resolved to get rid of it.

Whatever magic was hanging around didn't seem to be a threat, but she hadn't survived three years of fighting evil by taking chances.

She had half a mind to call her sisters for backup; even though Elain was a powerful witch, her premonitions of the future weren't nearly as effective for self-defense as Nesta's telekinesis or Feyre's ability to cause explosions with her mind. But whatever was hanging around didn't seem malicious. Just…cloying.

Elain let her intuition guide her and followed the strange feeling to its source. She walked slowly down an aisle of tall, leafy ferns and kept her eyes peeled.

There—through the leaves, a flash of red. Every molecule in her body seemed drawn right to it, like a compass and a magnetic pole. She hurried towards it.

The flash of red turned out to be long auburn hair pulled into a messy bun. Elain couldn't help but notice the way it gleamed in the sun as she gently pushed a fern leaf to the side to get a better look at the culprit…

And found a mechanical eye staring back.

She squeaked in surprise and jumped backward. The leaf rustled gently as it fell back into place. On instinct, Elain reached deep into her well of power, the same way she did just before vanquishing a demon.

"Well, hello there," the man purred from the other side of the fern.

"Can I help you find something?" Elain said.

He smiled at her in a way that could only be described as radiant. He was gorgeous, and the jagged scar running down the side of his face only seemed to enhance his beauty. Before Graysen, Elain would already have been fluttering her lashes at him.

Now, she just glared in suspicion.

"I think I've found exactly what I'm looking for," he said, which did nothing to set her at ease, even though his expression had gone heartbreakingly soft.

Before Elain could demand answers, he winnowed over to the aisle where she was standing. A risky move—he was lucky there were no mortal customers while the store was closed for her lunch hour.

"Not a single butterfly in that stomach of yours. This is going to be a tough case," he said thoughtfully. He cocked his head, staring at Elain like she was a particularly difficult puzzle he was trying to solve.

"I beg your pardon?" Elain said tightly.

He began circling her like a predator, mechanical eye clicking and whirring. Elain huffed in frustration as her hands settled on her hips. Her strange visitor might not have been a demon, but she didn't have time for anything supernatural with so many orders to fill by the afternoon.

"The meet-cute I engineered just now was some of my best work, but it didn't get your heart fluttering at all. That ex-fiancé left you with quite the wound, didn't he?"

For the last year, Elain walked around with a ragged hole in her heart that refused to close, and to add insult to injury, the entire magical world knew everything about her literal ex from hell. "If you're here to discuss Graysen Nolan, get out of my shop," she said with all the venom she could muster.

"I'm here for you, Elain."

"If you're not an innocent in need of protection, it has to wait."

"Put me to work while we talk, then. I can multitask," he said with an elegant shrug.

She hesitated. The smartest course of action still seemed to be ordering this stranger out of her store, but...she could use the help. And at least he wasn't evil.

Gods, had her standards really sunk that low?

"At least tell me your name." It was irritating that he already seemed to know hers.

He sketched a bow. "Lucien Vanserra, at your service."

"The only service I require at the moment is someone to water my pothos," Elain said with a meaningful nod towards a watering can and row of plants towards the back of the room.

To her surprise, Lucien began filling the watering can without a single complaint. For a moment, Elain watched, telling herself it was to make sure he was doing it correctly—and not at all because he was absurdly beautiful.

She forced herself to turn her attention back to organizing the cards with handwritten care instructions that Roots 'n Shoots included with every houseplant they sold. She could have saved herself time and printed them, but the personal touch was exactly the sort of thing that kept customers coming back to her instead of the big box garden supply store down the road. As she worked, they lapsed into a silence that was almost companionable.

But just as Elain started to relax, Lucien went and opened his mouth again."I thought there might have been an error when the file they gave me said you hadn't had any new partners since Graysen, but now I can see why."

She stilled. "What file?"

"The file that every cupid gets when they're assigned a new charge."

A cupid. Well, that certainly explained why his aura didn't feel demonic, just sickly sweet. Elain had never crossed paths with a cupid before, and she'd been under the impression they were supposed to be a bit more…cute .

"I'm one of your charges?" Technically, Elain was already someone's charge—even after Cassian had broken the rules and married Nesta, he'd remained the guardian angel assigned to protect the Archeron sisters after they'd learned they were witches tasked with ridding the world of evil.

"My only charge, actually. The elders insisted I focus on you and only you, Elain."

"And to what do I owe that honor?"

"You saved the world, and what goes around comes around, sweetie. Offing your demonic fiancé earned you the best and brightest cupid's help with finding a doting new partner."

Lucien said it as if she were supposed to fall over herself in gratitude. But she had half a mind to slap him for the audacity to think he could just waltz into her place of business and treat her like a charity case he'd magnanimously offered to take on.

"A partner is the last thing I need." Elain and her sisters had spent the last several nights rounding up a rogue band of crossroads demons that had been plaguing Velaris's intersections. Casting the vanquishing spells on each street had taken hours, leaving her with precious little time to eat, sleep, and run her store.

It had been the same with the succubi last week, the rabid werewolves the week before, and the banshees they'd spent a whole month rooting out. These days, going on a date was unthinkable.

Lucien rolled his eyes. "You're certainly not going to attract one with that attitude."

That, Elain decided, would be the end of the conversation. She was an Archeron, one of the three most powerful witches ever to walk the earth—not someone who'd allow herself to be condescended to.

All it took was one half-hearted wave of her hand, as if she were brushing away a fly, to activate the wards she'd placed around the shop. Twin vines of pure magic grew from the ceiling, hoisted Lucien up by the armpits, yanked him across the room, and dropped him unceremoniously onto the sidewalk outside. The spell wouldn't let him back in until she changed her mind.

Hopefully, that would be the last she'd hear from Lucien Vanserra.

***

As soon as she got home, Elain marched straight up the stairs of the Archeron manor. She and her sisters had inherited the house—along with their powers and mandate to protect the innocent—three years prior, and the Book of Shadows that never left the attic had guided them through all of it. Instructions for spell casting, potion recipes, taxonomies of every magical creature they might possibly come across…the Book contained it all.

The worn leather bindings creaked as Elain opened it and began searching for the entry on cupids. There wasn't an index; the ancient book was a work in progress by generations of Archeron witches, which meant it was a disorganized mess on a good day. Sometimes, wind would gust from nowhere and just so happen to flip the book to the correct page, but today, she had no such luck.

Hello, Elain.

She jumped, nearly dropping the Book. In her rush to find the entry on cupids, she hadn't noticed the bat hanging upside down from a rafter.

Rhysand—her other, non-angelic brother-in-law. He was a bat shifter that roosted in the attic while the manor had been empty, and though Nesta had been fully prepared to call animal control the night they'd discovered him, Elain had felt horrible throwing him out of his home. But since their family had lost their fortune, the manor was badly in need of expensive repairs, so Feyre struck a bargain: Rhys could stay as long as he paid rent and kept quiet.

He'd married the youngest Archeron sister within a year.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Elain said aloud. Even after years of wielding magic of her own, she'd never gotten used to Rhys's way of speaking mind-to-mind, a power that allowed him to communicate even when he wasn't in a form with proper vocal cords.

He shifted, wings and fur disappearing as he turned back into a man. The claws stayed in place so Rhys could remain inverted—he claimed it did wonders for his back pain.

"You didn't," he said, "and if there's something urgent, I can call Feyre for you."

"It's nothing demonic. At least, I don't think. Do you know anything about cupids?"

Rhys cocked his head, violet eyes sparking with interest. "I've crossed paths with a few over the centuries. They're harmless."

"Are they all that arrogant?"

"Not in my experience."

Elain bit back a frustrated sigh and turned the Book's pages a little more forcefully than necessary. It was bad enough that the Powers That Be had decided that after Graysen, she was so tragically, painfully single that it required divine intervention, but they'd gone the extra mile and sent their biggest asshole of a cupid to "fix" her, too.

"Hopefully there's still a spell I can cast to keep him away."

"Did someone bother you?" Rhys's voice went cold, and suddenly he sounded less like the brother-in-law she badgered about remembering to recycle and more like the terrifying Lord of Nightmares he also was. Elain smiled; it was sweet, in a way—Rhys was fiercely protective of the people he loved.

"Yes, but not like that. Don't go crushing minds on my account."

"What happened?"

"A cupid named Lucien came to my shop today and said he'd been sent to help me find a new partner."

"And I assume you didn't take him up on the offer?"

Elain shook her head. She'd finally found the entry on cupids, which was barely a paragraph long: Benevolent. Responsible for connecting the worthy with their true love.

The worthy. Elain certainly didn't feel worthy, not after her love for Graysen had deluded her into thinking a demon could change. In the end, she'd done the right thing and vanquished him, but…making that choice had nearly torn her apart. She'd come so close to letting him live.

It had been nearly a year, and the sight of Graysen pleading for his life still haunted in her dreams.

"If you hated him that much, I'm sure the cupid elders could always send you another," Rhys said with a wry smile.

"I don't need a cupid. Business is booming at Roots 'n Shoots, and I have my hands full with protecting innocents and corralling you, Feyre, Cassian, and Nesta. That's more than enough for me."

"Being busy is all the more reason to accept expert help."

Elain closed the Book of Shadows and glowered at her meddling bastard of a brother-in-law. Rhys smirked back.

She started to go, but a pair of massive, membranous wings erupted from Rhys's back, allowing him to release his talons from the rafter, glide upwards, then land on his feet in one smooth movement. Elain crossed her arms, waiting for him to get out of her way once he'd shifted completely back into his human form.

Despite the irritation that was probably rippling off her in waves, Rhys's expression softened. "More than anyone else I know, you deserve to be happy, Elain. Even if you don't feel like you do."

A lump formed in Elain's throat. That meant a lot, coming from Rhys, who was always staring at Feyre like he couldn't believe his luck. "Love you," she said.

"Love you, too."

Despite all that love, he still didn't move, continuing to block her path to the attic's only exit. "I'm sensing a 'but,' though," Elain said.

"I should warn you that if you don't give things with that cupid a shot, Feyre might try matchmaking you herself. And if Feyre does, then so will Nesta…" He trailed off, letting the implications of her sisters teaming up hang in the air.

"Blackmail is immoral." She felt obligated to point it out, though pesky little things like ethics rarely stopped Rhys.

"Immoral and effective," he said, flashing her one last grin before disappearing into the shadows with a gentle gust of night-kissed wind.

[otomehoneyybearr]

The Day I Made a Friend

Book of memories Chapter 3

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch4 | My First Dorayaki

Kagari: "You're weird."

Keith: "Huh?"

After the training—Keith, who had been rubbing his red eyes, tilted his head at Kagari's words.

Kagari: "You cry every day from the training. It's me who's making you cry."

Kagari: "So why do you keep talking to me?"

Kagari: "Most people would hate someone who puts them through unpleasant things, right?"

Keith: "Do you think you're doing something unpleasant to me?"

Kagari: "No."

Kagari: "But… crying means you're either in pain, sad, or scared."

Kagari: "I'm the one making you feel that way, right?"

Keith: "That's not it. I'm crying because of my own inadequacies."

Keith: "When I think about how I could have done better or how I made the same mistake again,"

Keith: "it feels like my chest is being squeezed, and the tears just come out."

Keith: "So I don't think you're the one making me cry. Actually, I'm really grateful to you."

Kagari: "Grateful?"

Keith: "You've put a lot of thought into these training regimens for someone like me."

Keith: "When I don't get it right, you teach me over and over again, staying with me until sunset."

Keith: "…You're the first teacher who's ever paid this much attention to me. There's no way I could hate you."

Keith: "If anything, I'm the one who should be disliked, for being so hopeless and crying all the time."

Kagari: "I don't dislike you. So don't cry."

Keith: "Oh, sorry… thank you."

Kagari wiped Keith’s tears vigorously with his sleeve, as if cleaning a window. Though it made Keith's eyes even redder, he smiled a little shyly.

Keith: "…Did it bother you when I talked to you?"

Kagari: "…"

Kagari: "I don't know."

Kagari: "…But it wasn’t unpleasant."

Keith: "...! Then, can I keep talking to you until you go back to Kogyoku?"

Kagari: "…Sure, I don't mind."

Keith: "R-really!?"

Keith smiled brightly, like a flower blooming, making Kagari take a step back. He unconsciously shook his fluffy olive-colored hair, expressing his joy with his whole body.

Keith: "I don’t often get the chance to talk to someone my age, so I'm really happy. Thank you, Sir!"

Kagari: "…Yeah."

Keith: "Hey, Sir. Can we talk for 10 minutes, or even just 1 minute? Is that okay?"

Kagari: "…Talk as much as you want."

Keith: "R-really? What should I start with?"

Keith: "I want to know about your favorite things, your brother, the types of cherry blossoms, what you usually do, and…"

Kagari: "I'll answer your questions… But drop the Sir.'"

Kagari: "We’re not training right now."

Keith: "Prince Kagari."

Kagari: "No ‘Prince’ either."

Keith: "Then… Kagari?"

Kagari nodded, causing Keith’s smile to become even brighter for some reason.

Kagari, having never experienced such a genuine smile directed at him, took another step back, looking at Keith with a puzzled expression.

Keith: "It feels like I've made a friend."

Kagari: "A friend?"

Keith: "Yeah. Just changing how I call you makes it feel like we've gotten a lot closer..."

Keith: "Oh, but when I say closer, I mean like the relationship between Kogyoku and Jade has increased a bit..."

Keith: "No, I know it’s presumptuous of me to think I could be friends with you!"

Keith: "I just thought that if we could be friends, it would make me really happy, so I kind of wished for it..."

Kagari: "...A friend."

While Keith nervously waved his hands around, Kagari murmured the word as if trying to get used to it, like he was hearing it for the first time.

Kagari: "...Being friends is fine."

Keith: "......"

Keith: "R-really? You'll be friends with someone like me?"

Kagari: "I don’t go back on my word."

Keith: "W-wow...!"

Kagari: "!"

Keith grabbed Kagari's hands with a speed rarely seen even during training, shaking them vigorously.

The unexpected strength made Kagari's body sway.

Keith: "Thank you, it feels like a dream."

Keith: "Can I still think of you as a friend tomorrow?"

Kagari: "...? Of course."

Keith let out a small sigh of relief and, as if he had remembered something, took Kagari's hand and led him somewhere.

Keith: "Kagari, there's a place I'd like to take you to."

They arrived at the kitchen.

Keith reached into a shelf and pulled out an item he had hidden, presenting it to Kagari.

Kagari: "This is…"

Keith: "It's called dorayaki, right?"

Keith: "I found it while I was out in town today and bought it."

Keith: "I thought it would be nice to celebrate becoming friends by eating them together."

Keith: "There's smooth red bean paste and chunky red bean paste, even though the taste is the same. Which one would you like, Kagari?"

Kagari: "..."

Keith: "Kagari?"

Though Keith called his name, Kagari didn’t move a muscle and just stared at the dorayaki being offered to him.

His gaze didn't seem to be one of indecision between the two types of bean paste, but it was enough to make Keith anxious.

Keith: "Maybe you don’t like these… I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before buying it."

Keith: "I got excited about trying Kogyoku’s sweets and forgot something important… I’m such an idiot."

Keith: "Wait, I have other things I bought, so you can choose from those—"

Kagari: "No."

Prev | Next

▼・ᴥ・▼

[effloradox]

i love your ouran series 🥺 have you thought about how the twins and reader met?

Thank you!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! I’ve actually been thinking about this for ages, I’d love to do some more stuff about their early relationship!

It’s a rare moment of peace when Haruhi finds herself sitting with the twins and not wanting to kill them. The club is closed to guests for the afternoon for some reason Haruhi can’t actually remember so the usual hustle and bustle of Music Room 3 has been replaced with a much calmer environment.

Of course, being closed to guests doesn’t mean this is a host only event. Haruhi had spotted you as soon as she’d walked in, you’d been deep in conversation with Tamaki and Kyoya to the apparent displeasure of the twins. She’d sat in the empty chair closest to them, assuming it was meant for you, and the twins had barely even looked at her. It was sort of unnerving given how much they usually enjoyed annoying her. She sensed an opportunity in the silence though, a chance to get some answers to a few of the questions burned into her mind. She steels herself for a moment before gathering the words she’s wanted to speak for weeks.

"I've been meaning to ask, how did you three become friends?" A beat of silence passes between the twins as they share a look. It's a look Haruhi has seen before but only once or twice. It's more contemplative than their usual looks and she can't tell if that's a good thing or not.

"In a way, we've always known each other." They speak in unison, their tone giving nothing away. Her brows furrow at that, brain hard at work trying to understand what that vague statement could imply.

"What does that mean?" Haruhi expects a snide remark, or maybe a blithe joke, but she receives neither. Instead, she’s left facing the faces of two people who are clearly deep down memory lane. Whatever mental conversation they were having comes to an end when Hikaru finally speaks.

"Our families were friends before any of us were born. The businesses were close enough for them to work together but not too close that they'd be in competition."

“I think our mothers went to school together at one point too.” Kaoru adds.

“When they got pregnant at around the same time, it strengthened everything.”

"(Y/N)'s family did a lot of travelling when they were younger, they spent a lot of time developing their business relationships in Europe I think. We didn't really remember them when they finally came home, we’d all been so young when they left."

“And they didn’t strike us as someone we needed to remember.” Haruhi tries to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Hikaru’s analysis of young you. It’s sort of humanising though, to hear that they’d initially dismissed you as they did with everyone else.

"They remembered us though. Knew who was who instantly." Kaoru’s voice is fond, the way it almost always is when he speaks about you.

“No one’s ever been able to do that.”

“We were told no one would ever be able to do it.” There's a brief flash of hurt that appears in the twins' eyes when Kaoru says those words that makes Haruhi stop for a moment. They're always so at ease around each other playing into the twin mystique act that she never actually considered that it might bother them that people usually don't know (or don’t care) which twin is which.

“We thought it was a fluke. So we kept testing them.”

“They never got it wrong. Never have.”

“It’s like the three of us are soulmates or something, like there’s something in the universe holding us all together.” The twins end their brief summary of your shared history in sync, both pairs of eyes drifting back over to you. This new information sends Haruhi's thoughts whirring as a few more puzzle pieces seem to fall into place about you and the twins and how you fit into the host club.

“That’s surprisingly sweet of you guys.” Whatever conversation you'd been having with Kyoya and Tamaki seems to be coming to an end as Haruhi starts to feel the weight of the host club's king landing on her more frequently. Her hunch is correct when Tamaki leaves the table, practically running over to speak to her about some events the club is starting to plan for and not so subtly guiding her away from the twins.

She’s only half paying attention as she watches you excuse yourself from Kyoya and make your way over to the twins now there’s a vacant seat near them. The tension seems to seep out of them as you sit down, falling into easy conversation with them. She still has a hundred questions she wants to ask but it’s clear the opportunity has passed.

Maybe next time she’ll ask you.

series masterlist

[bebravedearheart]

😂 tickling for merthur!

I don't know why, I had a feeling I'd get this one😂

***

Merlin threw open the heavy curtains blocking the dawn from Arthur's chambers, eliciting a groan from the prince who for all he said Merlin puzzled him was a mystery himself. How could a man with the honed reflexes of a knight training since childhood, who woke at the slightest twitch or rustle while on patrol or on a hunt, be so difficult to wake in the mornings he spent in his lavish bed in the castle.

Though, on reflection, Merlin didn't think he'd wake up so easily if he too was enveloped in soft linen sheets and a feather mattress.

Arthur had done no more than press his face further into his pillow.

"Come on then," Merlin said brightly, just a fraction louder than he needed to. "Let's have you lazy daisy," He knew Arthur hated that phrase and it might at least get something thrown at his head--which meant Arthur would have to move to do so.

The prince, clearly intending to be particularly difficult today, just groaned again, one hand dragged from the warmth of the deep red coverlet to make a shooing motion at Merlin.

"Breakfast will get cold," Merlin tried, deciding not to mention the fact he had once again been late to pick it up and it was already no more than lukewarm.

"S'always cold," Arthur muttered, muffled in his decadence.

"Do I have to drag you out, my lord?" Merlin asked, both of them well aware he only titled Arthur when he was being particularly sardonic. "I've done it before and I will do it again," he continued, trying his best to channel his mother's particular brand of ferocity.

"Are you threatening me, Merlin?" came the still-muffled, still-pompous tone. Arthur was feeling a little more awake, then.

"If that's what it needs to be to get your lazy arse out of bed, royal or not." Merlin answered loftily, with a long-suffering sigh for good measure. He still couldn't see the prince's face, but Arthur's hand was idly twisting in his coverlet; those broad, calloused fingers wrinkling then smoothing the linen.

"You can't talk to me like that," Arthur raised his head, the effect of his commanding, self-important tone somewhat lessened by the yawn that broke his words and the way his hair stuck up in all directions.

Something warm settled itself beneath Merlin's ribs, as it so often did in unguarded moments like these, the glimpses of the man beneath the crown, the infuriating, stubborn, childish man.

"Well, are you getting out of bed?"

"Nope."

"Then I shall continue."

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Sod off."

"Right." Merlin had a note of finality to his tone. "If you're not getting out of bed, I'm getting in."

"Excuse me?" Arthur demanded, though the words had not even left his mouth before Merlin was sat on his hips, knees either side of him.

"Get up," Merlin singsonged, prodding Arthur's bare chest with one long finger.

"Get off," Arthur grumbled, with far less heat than he knew he should at such familiarity.

"Get up," Merlin sang again, prodding Arthur in the ribs this time. The prince could not suppress the slight twitch and shiver when Merlin's finger brushed the sensitive, ticklish spot on his ribs. Merlin did not fail to notice and he grinned wickedly.

"Right." He said again, drawing all of his fingers, feather-light across Arthur's ribs.

***

"Merlin!" the prince squeaked--with dignity, of course--thinking wildly for a moment about how soft Merlin's palms were where they rested on his sides, how warm.

"Are you getting up, my lord?" Merlin said again, his other hand skating over Arthur's chest as the laughter he could not help broke free.

"Merlin! Give up! Merlin!" He bellowed between giggles, had no idea what anyone passing in the corridor might think. His manservant had never listened to him, however, and it did not look like he was about to start now.

Truly awake now, Arthur drew on those perfectly honed reflexes and grabbed Merlin's wrist, knowing Merlin wasn't expecting it. "Ha!" his voice was triumphant as he sat up, still holding Merlin's wrist. They had wrestled like children before, gone far beyond any boundary of lord and servant many times but this felt different. The air felt charged with something Arthur could not name and tried hard not to think about.

His hand seemed so large, clumsy against Merlin's. His blunt, calloused fingertips looked like they would sully Merlin's perfectly pale skin. Arthur swallowed thickly, knowing he should let go but unable to make himself just yet.

Merlin flexed his fingers and Arthur watched the movement intently, didn't think of rules or propriety as he brought Merlin's hand closer to his face, pressed a kiss to his warm palm. Merlin's breath caught in his throat and Arthur moved to kiss the pads of each of Merlin's finger. He tasted the salt-sweat of Merlin's skin, the barest hint of whichever herbs he had picked for Gaius before coming to wake him and the honey from the rolls he always brought Arthur for breakfast. "Stealing my sweetmeats before you've even served me, Merlin?"

The tips of Merlin's ears flushed a delicate pink and Arthur knew he was right. He let go of Merlin's wrist, reluctantly. "We should--"

Merlin's hand had already found its way back to Arthur's chest, pressed flat against his sternum, pushing Arthur to lie back down. Those elegant fingers ran across his chest, down his ribs again; over all the ticklish spots that made Arthur shiver, brushing a nipple oh-so-lightly--which made Arthur actually gasp.

Merlin's smile turned wicked as he tickled Arthur's ribs again just to watch him twitch.

"I think you can stay in bed just a little longer."

[exielimon]

Something wormed it's way into my head like a month ago and guess what? I can't get it out. I now have a modern AU and you have to deal with me giving the boys silly highschool nicknames. For example:

Four, aka The Ant

(613 words ahead)

"wait- you went to Central Hyrule High School too??"

Legend asked from the desk, his station a mess of tools and trinkets and oil he'd clean later.

"Why you surprised? It's a public school" Four answered the question with another question.

"Well, I don't know, you're my superior in mechanics but you were probably my classmate" Legend murmured, nose touching a tiny piece of the car radio he was trying to repair.

"Nah, I'd remember another Link." Four quipped, still under the car he was working with, not even turning his head to speak. "You were there too?"

"Well I was always on competitions and went traveling very often because of that. I thought I was published in the school news?" Leg and murmured, a bit self consciously.

"Oh, sorry, I never actually read those things" Four finally popped his head out from under the car.

"Oh, don't worry, I'd rather you never know" Legend reasured, embarrassment creeping into his cheeks.

Four went back to his work and stayed silent for a couple minutes, then he got out from under the car and opened the hood.

"Can you pass me my backpack? I brought a piece from the store yesterday..." He didn't trail off, he started muttering under his breath while analyzing the insides of the engine like a puzzle to be solved.

Legend saw the backpack at the side of the desk, that wasn't really the safest place, where oil could spill over and stain it, but Legend tried to not do that, so he guessed it was like Four was trusting him. There wasn't much space for keeping things away in a little house workshop either, so it was understandable anyway.

He made to lift the backpack and was immediately surprised by the thing refusing to separate from the ground. However, Legend was strong enough and with a bit more of effort he usually makes, he grabbed the thing and carried it over to Four.

"What do you have in this, rocks? Gods it's heavy"

"A motor actually" Four accepted the pack and, to Legend's secret surprise, lifted it easily with his non dominant hand to open it with the dominant one. "And my tools"

Sure enough, there was a goddess be damned motor in the bag.

"How do you have so much strength and so little height?" Legend blurted out, not really catching himself.

Four burst out laughing and Legend tried to think of that to lessen the warmth at the tips of his ears.

"Well, I've been in this since I have memory. My grandpa taught me, this is his workshop. Actually, people in highschool said I was so little I worked like an ant. It kind of stuck though a couple years."

"Wait really?? I remember hearing that name in the hallways! I laughed a lot, secretly obviously" Legend exclaimed that one shut up you ant! he heard a lot on the hallways was hilarious.

"Oh, yeah it was really funny, friends held it over my head for a while" Four chuckled as he connected the motor. Legend went back to his work with the radio.

After a few more minutes, Legend started laughing.

"You ok?" Four asked, chuckling too because Legend's laugh was a bit contagious.

It took a bit for Legend's giggling to calm down enough to apologize "sorry, sorry, it's just... ant" and he kept giggling.

Four was smiling too, it had been a while since he heard the nickname and he never let anyone but two specific people call him that, but Legend was a good guy, it was fine.

Wow did he really just make a new friend over mechanics and old nicknames?

Thx for reading!

[something-0r-another]

Alright, so... I've written a bit of my "cozy/domestic" crossover idea...

But it's just a sliver. And it doesn't have a title yet... Consider it a preview of sorts.

I don't know if I'll continue. Or if I'll even be back using this account at all...

But let me know what you think anyway. I'll read it.

It was an unsuspecting morning...

The fresh air of dawn filled the reporter's lungs as he walked under the golden sky, illuminated by the hiding sun. His dog, his fur white as snow, happily trotted along side him, sniffing the ground as he walked. The reporter flipped through the pages of his notepad.

He was a busy man, you see.

No time did he have to enjoy the brisk air against his skin. Nor the sweet melody of the bird's morning songs. Or the fragrant floral scent emitted by flowers, glistening with morning dew.

No, no time did he have.

No time at all.

Because you see, he was a reporter. An investigative jounralist, to be precise.

As much as he'd love to stop and smell the roses, he simply had no time.

He was a man with places to be, mysteries to solve, people to see. More pertentant to this case, though, was the latter.

A letter he received this morning invited him to his mentor's house— A man of much importance, a professor, a man of archeology, and most importantly, a puzzle solver.

If he was inviting him over, it must've been a matter most urgent. Something that he could not have written down and addressed through post— Something that he had to tell him... in person.

Surely you see now why he was in such a hurry.

Despite nature handing him the most beautiful of mornings, he simply had no time to bask in its splendor.

He had places to be. People to see.

He flipped through his notepad, tapping the end of his pencil against his chin as he pondered... What could it possibly be? Did a new lead arise from the ruins of a past case, or did a new case present itself entirely?

He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't take interest in the man's past endeavors- and could you blame him really? They sounded simply exhilerating...! A village composed entirely of machines, a town brought to ruin from greed that brought forth a gas leak- time travel faked through the construction of a fake city beneath everyone's noses?!

He was almost jealous that he didn't get to witness it first hand.

All the tales the professor told him seemed almost fantastical in nature, and yet, he finds himself mostly involved in the dark belly of the criminal underworld.

There was a hint of joy— the most imperceivable spark of excitement that lent itself to the reporter's hurried steps.

Finally—

It was his turn...!

He looked up as he stood before the tall brick townhouse. He steeled himself with a deep breath... and knocked on the door.

Not too long after, the door was answered by the top-hatted gentleman himself.

"Ah, Tintin," he said, his smile warm and inviting "come in, come in." He stepped aside, allowing Tintin to slip through the doorway and into the house.

"Alright, I'm here, professor- What was it you wanted to discuss with me?" the reporter asked, his speech rushed, and his voice hushed, as though afraid someone would overhear their conversation.

"Why so frantic?"

"Because- you sent me this letter inviting me over-" Tintin said, holding up the letter "Surely, there's a reason behind such a sudden invitation? Any new leads? New cases? Whatever it is, professor, I can handle it...!"

The professor stood, batting his eyes in surprise as he processed Tintin's words, taken aback by his sense of urgency.

"Tintin, calm down my boy..." said the professor as he planted a hand on Tintin's shoulder "I was simply inviting you over for tea, is all."

Tintin froze at the man's words.

"...Tea?" he questioned.

"Why of course. The two of us are busy enough as it is. We rarely get a chance to talk in a casual setting," said the professor as he led Tintin further into the house.

Tintin was silent as his legs automatically carried him to where ever the professor led him. Stupified.

After a moment, he came to his senses and stopped in his tracks.

"Wait- Let me get this straight..." Tintin said, waving the hand from off of his shoulder, "you just... wanted to have tea with me?"

"Yes," the professor paused to think "is... that odd?"

"Well- No, but- I thought it was something serious...! Had I known it was just a casual invitation, I wouldn't have come over."

"Hence why I didn't specify."

"...You... purposely misled me?"

"Well- I wouldn't say that."

"Well I would!" exclaimed the reporter in a huff "I could have been busy! I could have been working on an urgent case right now...! Or chasing a lead!"

"Well, were you?"

"...No... but-"

"Then I see no problem in taking some time for leisure then," replied the professor, helping Tintin take his coat off "besides, I was certain that if you were in fact that busy, you would not have taken the time to check the mail."

The reporter was silent.

He wanted to be mad. And to a degree he was. But at the same time, he could not refute the professor's logic... and honestly, that only added to his annoyance.

The professor hung his coat up before returning to Tintin and guiding him to the kitchen.

"I do apologize if I've caused you any trouble, Tintin... But since you're here, won't you stay and chat?" he offered, his voice kind and gentle.

Seeing the warmth and kindness on the professor's face quickly diffused any semblance of anger residing within Tintin.

He sighed, utterly defeated by his mentor's hospitality.

"...Fine," he said "but for the record, I don't find this plot of yours to lure me here to be very 'gentlemanly' of you, Layton."

The professor could only respond with warm laughter.

"I suppose not."

For all those who expressed interest and supported me, I hope you enjoyed 🤎

[midnight1nk]

...Oh hey, my dear fellows! I was just vibing here in my pillow fort. Please come in! So, uh, how are we feeling?

[*panic noises*]

Hmm, understandable. We got that episode... then that render... then the website changed... Well, the point is: a lot has happened and things are about to escalate even more than what we have right now. Oh, yeah, things are about to get even crazier and we wouldn't even know. I don't really have many theories on my end since I already launched my "WOTFI 2024 Predictions" post, both the OG and the revisited version, before these episodes came in. What more can I really say?

Actually, there is one thing I could go over...

The Ticket

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

"Nothing lasts forever..."

Unlike the usual stuff, this will be more of an analysis/prediction. Somewhat of a "mini-theory", if you will. Before I continue, I do want to give a heads-up that Tumblr is giving me a hard time uploading images so for all my sources, I would link them so you can see them for yourselves. At least, until the issue gets resolved.

Now, without further ado, let's-a go :

TRADITIONS

We are all familiar with how WOTFI works. The challenges, the points, the end goal. And, of course, the channel drops hints for the audience to pick up on, usually related to the plot. This is nothing new. Let's look back to the previous one, the 2023 Heist (aka the Notebook Arc):

After Mario stole SMG3's notebook, we ended on the cliffhanger of Three standing outside the Castle, furious at Mario, in the episode 'SMG4: Trust No One'. Since then, we have been given hints here and there, with Three missing his notebook to plotting something to get it back, before we got the trailer for WOTFI and the Heist-Planning stream. This year, though, the hints we received so far all revolved around a ticket.

The first one [link] is SMG4 getting his in an envelope.

The second one [link] was of the crew holding out each of their tickets to the sky. The picture features Bob, Luigi, Three, Four, Mario, Tari, and Karen. We can assume these are the characters we will side with for this year's WOTFI.

And now, the third [link] is the most mysterious of them all so far: A ticket was ripped up and left abandoned on the wet ground.

WHO DOES THIS BELONG TO?

So, what's so mysterious about it?

The ticket being left abandoned is one thing, but the fact that whoever had this ticket ripped it. To start with the first question:

Who does this belong to?

Now, the obvious answer would be Meggy. After all, the last (and shocking) episode just showed us that Mr Puzzles forced Meggy to turn back into Leggy. Meggy won't be with the main crew for WOFTI, it just makes sense.

Well, that's if we assume the episodes and the posts are happening at the same time.

I've been following the people behind the SMG4 channel to see if they have anything to comment on. About the recent episodes, about the renders. And oh boy, did they have things to say:

When the first one dropped, a few people, including myself, made the connection that Mr Puzzles was the one who sent the envelope to Four, similar to how he sent a letter to Wren back in Western Spaghetti. It wasn't until now that the crew alluded that we were right. It's not to say that it's an absolute confirmation. But we are on the right track.

When the second one dropped, many people suspected and joked that the reason why Meggy was in the picture was because she was too short or the one taking the picture. It wasn't until now, after we saw that Meggy was going to become Leggy, the crew was like "I guess that's why Meggy wasn't in the picture" with such a mischievous smile. (they are so silly.)

Seeing how they worded their responses, I believe that, timeline-wise, the episodes took place before these posts were made. Think about it this way:

Two plots were happening at the same time, one with the usual adventures with the crew and the other following Mr Puzzles. But, from our point of view, we only saw one of the plots.

Until the show took a turn and was like "Hey, have you ever wondered what the hell Mr Puzzles is up to while this was happening?" before we transitioned to this plot of Mr Puzzles slowly going insane.

Viewing this exact timeline, it would make sense for Mr Puzzles to already have a carnival in his hands, and send invites to all the people who wronged him (in this case the SMG4 crew) as part of his revenge plan. Leggy would already be with Mr Puzzles at this point, so there isn't any reason why she would own one. The ticket can't be hers.

Then, whose is it?

Well, it's a bit...tricky.

The first thing that comes to mind is the SMG4 crew. There's literally a picture of them holding their tickets. The thing is, they can't be the only ones. Take WOTFI 2023 for example. Sure, Three and Four were the main duo we sided with but other side characters were in the casino as well. Not only that but they were involved in the results for the ending.

Mr Puzzles wants to have a successful carnival to "prove" to his father that he has creative vision. And to do that, he would have to have the park filled with satisfied visitors. More people. and therefore, these side characters would have a ticket as well.

Our pool of "suspects" just went from the main crew to a hundred possible visitors. That is the tricky part. Fortunately, for us, there is still a way. Instead of picking a needle in a haystack, we could use the process of elimination to check off anyone who doesn't fit the criteria.

THE RENDER

Let's look over the recent third post once more. BenJoJoGV, the thumbnail artist for the channel, worked really hard on this render. You can tell how realistically detailed this looks, with the mud and puddles of rain. BenJoJoGV really cooked fr fr.

A few people pointed something out: if you look closely at the mud, you can see a shoeprint. Likely to come from a (work) boot due to the heel and the grooves being emphasized by the mud.

If this wasn't done on purpose and was simply part of the textured pattern, then this means nothing.

However, if this was done on purpose, then it means our suspect wears boots. The soles of the shoes are probably not as detailed as the ones in the render, but they're still boots. Everyone who doesn't wear boots as part of their model is automatically eliminated. From the main crew, it would be Bob and Tari.

What about Karen?

Her model does have shoes with a pronounced heel on them. However, she has no motive as to why she would rip the ticket. Just like the rest of the crew, she doesn't know who sent the ticket, let alone know who Mr Puzzles is.

As a mom, she would likely take her kids to the carnival to have some fun.

If I was right about Marty being part of WOTFI, Karen would've had to get some intel that Marty may be in the carnival. Better yet, she could've used the ticket as an opportunity to finish him off.

Either way, there is no reason to waste it.

As for the rest of the crew that do wear boots, there is yet to be a motive for any of them to rip their ticket. They don't know that Mr Puzzles is the mastermind behind all of this. To them, this is a free pass to a carnival.

This leads to my next question:

Why rip the ticket?

Other than the Didney workers, no one knows that Mr Puzzles killed Mickey and took over Didney Worl to create his own idea of a carnival. The rest of the world, whoever received a ticket, would simply think this is a fun carnival. And a free pass, too? Don't mind if I do!

Who wouldn't want a free ticket?

One person didn't. Our suspect.

They could've handed the ticket to someone else, or simply not go. Why go through the effort of ripping it?

Because, my dear fellows, they know the truth.

They would know what's the deal with the new carnival, who Mr Puzzles is. And perhaps, what Mr Puzzles has done. They would learn the truth and not respond so positively to it.

From the render, we can piece together that:

our suspect was standing in the rain

they ripped the ticket and dropped the pieces

and walked away, leaving the print on the mud, without looking back.

By the time this photo was taken, it would've happened recently since there isn't any mud or rain covered. It just landed on the ground.

Would they confront Mr Puzzles themselves? Would they warn the crew about this? Or simply not take part in WOTFI?

Hmm, lots to think about...

Right now, someone knows the truth about WOTFI and they will definitely take a big role. Remember when Three was standing outside of the castle for last year's WOTFI? It was raining. Things are about to get serious, my friends.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

The question, the one that still remains after all of this... who is our suspect? Who is this person?

We don't know, I don't. But at least we are a bit closer to learning their identity. We just have to wait and see what they have in store for us.

"I got a golden ticket. I got a golden glimmer in my eye..."

But hey, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 (MINI) THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

...now if you excuse me, I got a bingo card to prepare!

[howlingday]

Last human au) jaune has been stuck in a cell since he was woken up and he's gonna be honest not the worst day he's ever had but not the best either although he might have just made a new friend. A robot friend at that!

Penny is sure she's managed to ingratiate herself with her new primitive charge. Poor thing probably doesn't even realize that she's not even a real human! She'll have to keep that a secret though even when he falls in love with her. For science of course. Now to learn more about the human and move him to the study area where friend ruby is waiting.

Basically jaune might be more modern but everyone around him doesn't know that yet. In order to keep him comfortable and not be cruel to the poor primitive thing they commissioned a robot companion to befriend him and guide him back to the testing area. Surely they'll be able to account for everything on the simulated escape and jaune won't outsmart them all before wandering off to the city

Tldr: jaune out smarts everyone and now they're panicking because what they think is a caveman is wandering around the city. On the plus side ruby feels validated in her idea that just because jaune is less educated than modern faunas doesn't mean he's less intelligent. And penny is getting all sorts of interesting data

Bedrock Bottom

First/Previous

Jaune had never been to jail before. He was raised to be polite and respectful to everyone around him, or else the police would take him away from his family. However, looking back on it, the stories he'd heard about prison were distinctly different from where he was now. These tales of horror and warning scared Jaune to know end, his father terrifying him with tales of endless gang wars, violent guards, and other inmates who would view him as a plaything to do what they would with him.

Except none of this was true from his perspective. Right now, it felt more like he was a pet rat kept in a shoebox. Food was brought to him three times a day, as well as books, puzzles, and the occasional "letter from home," which was just some girl pretending to be his mom and warning him to not stay out too late or else the "dire rats would gobble him up".

Speaking of strange girls, he wasn't alone in his room, either. Delivering these items was Penny, a cute girl with red hair that curled just above her shoulders. She would ask him questions about himself, then respond with "Oh, I know about that! That's what all humans do, right?" There was usually a hiccup between these statements.

It had been a week since he'd been tossed into his cell, and six days since Penny came into his life. He would spend most of the day sitting on his bed, reading between meals, though at some points, he would forgo the reading and do some exercises instead. Penny would sit on the bed regardless and ask him questions. Questions like...

"Why are you doing pushups the wrong way?"

"It's not the wrong way." Jaune answered. "I'm just exercising different muscles."

"Oh! I know about that!" She hiccupped. "That's what all humans do, right?"

"Not all of them." Jaune lifted himself to his knees. "Can I ask you something, Penny? Human to human?"

"Sensational!" Penny's eyes widened as much as her smile. She jumped from the bed, hopping from one foot to the other in a little dance. "I've successfully integrated with the human specimen~!"

"But aren't you human?" Penny stopped. "I mean, you are human, right?"

"Affirmative!" Penny said, then hiccupped. "I am a human meat person, just like you!" She hiccupped again.

"Uh-huh." He let the issue go for now. "Anyways, I was wondering what you did to get locked up in here."

"What I did?" Penny repeated.

"Yeah, this is a jail, isn't it?"

"...Yes!" She hiccupped.

"And prisoners are locked up in prison for doing bad things, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I, er, broke out of a hospital and pushed a girl over, so I guess I got in trouble for some kind of hospital rule."

"...Oh! I know about that!" She didn't hiccup. "That's what all humans do, right?"

"No, it isn't, Penny."

"It... isn't?"

"Penny, you're my friend, right?"

"I... Am I?" She asked. She then got really close. Almost uncomfortably close. "Do you see me as a friend?!"

"I... Yes?" Penny was quiet for a moment. Then she was quiet for a moment longer. Suddenly, she beamed with the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "Uh, Pen-"

"SENSATIONAL!" She hugged him, and she was squeezing him REAL tight. "I cannot believe I have two friends, and one of them is the human!"

"Wait, wait." Jaune groaned from his strained lungs. "Who's... Who's your other friend?"

Penny gasped, then shut and covered her mouth with her hand. She quickly ran to the door, not looking back as she pounded on the cell entrance/exit. The door hissed and slid open, and a team of four, burly guards rushed in, knocking Jaune to the ground. Looking up, he saw Penny looking back. Her eyes were the saddest he'd ever seen. And then she ran away, and he was left pinned to the floor.

As she ran, he couldn't help but notice the twin antennae extending from her hair.