#i DID get rid of a significant amount of mutuals that i have no interest in following anymore though

[apollos-olives]

ok i purged my following list so mutuals if i accidentally unfollowed you just lmk and i'll refollow

[postapocalyptic-cryptic]

hey mikey! for the otp question meme, could you do starjack?

MY BELOVEDS!!! This got kind of out of hand and is over 2k words, so I'm putting it under a cut.

#29 has spoilers for the Unicron comics!!

1. Who is the most affectionate?

In public? Wheeljack. Starscream is NOT a fan of PDA. It’s not professional, it’s a show of weakness, he’s too good for that, etc etc etc etc. In private, it’s a tie between the two of them! Depends on what moods they’re in. Since Wheeljack’s very autistic and Starscream’s very traumatized, they both have times when they don’t want to be touched, so physical affection varies. With other kinds of affection, it’s more constant and still balanced pretty evenly between them. 

2. Big spoon/Little spoon?

Oooo this is a good one bc it’s almost always Wheeljack. Not only is he the shorter one, but Starscream’s wings make trying to be the little spoon into a bit of an ordeal. Wheeljack’s get in the way, but they’re much smaller and easier to deal with. Sometimes, Starscream will be the little spoon for a while, but more often, either he’s the big spoon or they cuddle front-to-front. 

3. Most common argument?

Oh man. Starscream is a special creature, so they have special arguments. Their most common one is variations on “Starscream, you need to stop acting in your own self-interest to the detriment of literally everyone else around you.” Runner up is “Starscream, you need to stop treating everyone like they’re out to get you.” 

4. Favorite non-sexual activity?

Reading together! They both have very demanding jobs, so it’s nice to just sit together and read or watch a show for a while after work. It usually slowly turns into cuddly reading, and then just cuddles. 

5. Who is most likely to carry the other?

Hmmmm Wheeljack, probably. Starscream is eminently carriable. He has that energy about him. 

6. What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Wheeljack’s favorite feature of Starscream’s is face, and specifically the shape of his cheeks and his eyes. Starscream switches frames a lot, but Wheeljack recognized him immediately when he woke up in RID. Starscream’s face is constant, and constantly pretty. Starscream’s favorite features of Wheeljack’s are his audial fins! He thinks they’re very cute (he’s right). He especially loves how they flash when Wheeljack gets really into what he’s talking about. 

7. What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

For Wheeljack, the first thing that changes is the kind of time he spends with Starscream. He starts hanging out with him in non-professional and non-coincidental contexts, and then spending more one-on-one time with him. They slowly start spending a lot of time in each other’s quarters. For Starscream, what changes is the amount of time spent with Wheeljack. When he realizes his own feelings, he starts spending WAY less time with Wheeljack. Basically takes a huge step back with no warning. This is not conducive to kindling a relationship, Starscream. You can’t just do things because you’re scared, Starscream. 

8. Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

Super super basic. Jackie and Star, just derivatives of their names. They’ll both also call each other “sweetheart” because they’re big saps. 

9. Who worries the most?

In general, Starscream. He is a ball of anxiety with wings. About the other, Wheeljack. I lied. The ball of anxiety also has significant problems to go with the wings, and Wheeljack has good reason to worry about him. 

10. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Wheeljack. Starscream may be in love, but he is always a bit of a self-centered bastard. 

11. [Removed to keep it sfw]

12. Who initiates kisses?

They both kind of initiated their first kiss simultaneously. It was a mutual thing and, keeping in that vein, they’re pretty mutual about all of their kisses. Wheeljack initiates more, but not by much. It mostly comes down to Starscream and his dislike of PDA. 

13. Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

The first time? Wheeljack. Now, most of the time, still Wheeljack. Starscream is stubborn about everything, including reaching out for any kind of support or comfort. Wheeljack’s not a fan of holding hands for too long, though, because even if robots don’t sweat, the texture and feel of palms right up against each other is weird for him. 

14. Who kisses the hardest?

Starscream DEFINITELY. He has drawn blood more than once (it’s okay; Wheeljack loves him and his enthusiasm and his fangs). He loves kissing, which is part of the reason he doesn’t initiate much in public. He doesn’t just want a peck on the lips. He wants a makeout session. He also uses Wheeljack’s audial fins as handles quite often. 

15. Who wakes up first?

On a work day, Starscream. Wheeljack, being a fairly well-known, well-off, well-connected engineer, gets to largely decide his own schedule, and he’s a night owl, so most days he gets to his lab around 10am and stays late. Starscream’s schedule is much less flexible and he usually has prep work for meetings, so he gets up around 6:30 most days. Sometimes, Wheeljack gets up with him, because Wheeljack takes forever to wake up and he likes to be lazy in the mornings and get a few extra Starscream cuddles before Starscream has to be out the door. 

16. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Jackieeeee. He wants to sleep in he wants to cuddle he wants to be a nuisance and make it much harder for Starscream to start his day. It’s very hard to get up the willpower to start a day full of meetings and paperwork when you have a very warm very lovey Wheeljack in your bed tempting you with kisses and cuddles. Starscream shows incredible strength every day he makes it to work on time.  

17. Who says I love you first?

Wheeljack, and Starscream FLIPS. They were fuckbuddies for a while before starting their relationship, and because of Circumstances and Wheeljack being a sad dramatic gay bitch, he drops the L-word on Starscream as a way of introducing the idea of a more serious relationship. Starscream is VERY skittish when it comes to serious relationships, so he doesn’t react well. He also doesn’t say “I love you” back for almost a month. Not because of any lack of feeling, just because that’s terrifying and there’s nothing Starscream hates more than vulnerability. 

18. Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)

Neither, but Starscream usually pings Wheeljack around lunchtime just to check in.

19. Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

OUGH so they keep everything very low-key, verging on secret, for a while. Starscream is, well, Starscream, and most of the people Wheeljack knows aren’t going to be happy with their relationship. Wheeljack waits about three months before telling most of his friends, and Starscream doesn’t really have any friends. BUT. But. Wheeljack was pining and angsting to Ratchet months before they got together, and Ratchet had advice for Wheeljack as far as the Bot/Con cultural divide goes. Ratchet knew right away just because Wheeljack couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face the first time they talked after they got together. 

Starscream’s tough bc this sounds horrible but he doesn’t really have anyone to tell? I guess technically Bumblebee knew first because of the whole ghost situation but that doesn’t really count bc he was dead at the time. The first person Starscream tells in a one-on-one conversation is Skyfire, but that’s MONTHS after they get together. Mostly, their relationship just kind of became obvious to the people around them. So it’s complicated. 

20. What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Oh man. It’s Bad. It’s Pretty Bad. Windblade and Ratchet are really the only ones who think Wheeljack hasn’t lost his mind. For a long time, basically everyone thinks Wheeljack is either making a horrible mistake or being manipulated. Starscream is not a good person, and his shittiness is very public knowledge. The DETAILS of his shittiness are very available to the military social group Wheeljack’s a part of. It takes a long time for the tension to fade and for people to realize that Wheeljack and Starscream are actually pretty good for each other. 

21. Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

Starscream!!! Wheeljack Cannot Dance he is very clumsy he’s terrible at it but that does not stop Starscream from spinning him around the living room and dipping him and laughing when Wheeljack steps on his toes. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s very romantic and silly and sweet. 

22. Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

Cybertronians don’t really do cooking? But if they did, Starscream would be the better cook. 

23. Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Wheeljack. He is a dork at his core. He comes up with the WORST lines and tries them at the most random times. Starscream has snorted energon out his nose several times before thanks to well-timed pickup lines. HOWEVER. Every once in a great while Starscream will come out with the worst pickup line you’ve ever heard. He is getting them from Thundercracker.

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Starscreammmmmm. Fucking bastard. 

25. Who needs more assurance?

Starscream definitely. I’ve talked a bit before about how I think he has the robot equivalent of Borderline Personality Disorder, and needing assurance is definitely a part of that. Despite the show of narcissism, his actual self esteem is in the gutter and his relationship track record is abysmal at best, so he needs assurance pretty regularly that he’s still wanted and that their relationship is okay. It’s hard for him to read the cues that would otherwise tell him how the relationship is going, because Megatron pretty thoroughly scrambled the “healthy relationships” part of his brain. 

26. What would be their theme song?

Here’s their playlist, and on that playlist, The Song is definitely Pierre by Ryn Weaver. It’s about the “I can’t let him in / you call me up and ask me how I’ve been / I’ll call your bluff and / keep on tellin’ you lies” it’s about the “you play me rough but I won’t let you in” and MOST IMPORTANTLY it’s about the “I’ll come around.” 

27. Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

Wheeljack? But tbh neither of them are cut out to be parents. I love them both but that would be terrible. 

28. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

First and foremost: be annoying to the people around them. God you have never met two people who can complain more about how much they miss their partner. Wheeljack won’t even properly complain, he’ll just mope and sigh and talk about Starscream 24/7, which is arguably worse. Starscream, predictably, will swing between pretending that nothing is wrong and that he has no feelings and acting like he’s dying. 

Fortunately, with Cybertronian tech, it’s easy to keep in touch even over long distances, so they call and text a lot. 

29. one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

[UNICRON SPOILERS!!!!] 

The fact that Wheeljack died makes it easier for Starscream to sacrifice himself. 

He finds out a few hours after it happened. He’s well-informed, one of the first to know about everything happening with Unicron, both out of his own demand and out of necessity, but even the people involved in the mission took a little while to figure out Wheeljack didn’t make it. Starscream isn’t told gently. He’s told as part of a brief. He does his best to keep a straight face. 

When the time comes to activate the Talisman, he thinks of who he has left. He thinks of his trine, broken. He thinks of Skyfire, who hates him. He thinks of Windblade, who he’s taught decently and left with a good support system. He thinks of Wheeljack, who he loves, who loves him back, who sacrificed himself to save a planet of organics. He doesn’t know if he believes in an afterlife, but he knows if there is one, he and Wheeljack won’t be going to the same place. He thinks about a life without Wheeljack, without anyone. 

He activates the Talisman. 

30. one headcanon about this OTP that mends it

Oh thank god I broke my own heart with that last one. Wheeljack loves infodumping to Starscream! Starscream is the worst listener ever to 99% of people in the universe. Wheeljack is the single exception. Starscream will listen to Wheeljack talk about whatever he’s currently interested in for HOURS. He loves how happy and relaxed Wheeljack gets. He loves his happy stims and the way his audial fins flash. He loves learning from Wheeljack, even if sometimes he gets too lost in the gay thoughts to follow some of the concepts. 

This is a sort of related headcanon, so I’ll throw it in as a bonus. Wheeljack snaps his fingers a lot as a happy stim, especially when he’s talking about/working with a special interest, and by the time they’ve been together six months, Starscream has picked up the snapping thing, too. It’s very cute they are SO in love. 

[angelic-serenade]

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

request: Imagine being Light’s girlfriend and he finds out that you possess a Death Note of your own and wrote his name down in it

requested by: @sacredwarrior88

a/n: I hope this is what you expected, sorry once again for the delay! enjoy 💖

gif, original work and characters do not belong to me

pairing: Light Yagami x f!reader

fandom: Death Note

warnings: angst, death, murder, light yagami being light Yagami, long (!), blood ment, canon typical violence

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Being Light Yagami's significant other had always been perceived as some sort of divine privilege, a once-upon-a-time story one could only hope to achieve in their wildest dreams. It became some sort of unspoken, universal truth spread like a gospel throughout the hallways of his high school, where he was equally envied and admired by students and professors alike. Light Yagami was by all definitions the perfect guy, therefore the public opinion of onlookers and admirers had silently but unanimously come to the conclusion he only deserved an equally perfect match: everyone was well aware that Light Yagami did not do relationships - he was adamant on rejecting every single advance he received regardless of gender and social status and that was a clear sign as any of the hopelessness of the challange itself. Nobody was ever going to be good enough for the golden boy of Daikoku Private Academy. Or so everyone thought.

Light Yagami had never seen you coming, nor had he cared enough to acknowledge your existence: at first you had simply been one of the many anonymous faces he had no interest in engaging with for too long. It never went farther than a polite greeting every now and then, when the pretense of being a wonderfully polite and integrated individual made it impossible to ignore your presence in the hallway or in a professor's study - you were supposed to be one of his fellow classmates after all, a newly transferred student from a foreign country, to make things worse. He could not allow rumors to spread regarding his reluctance to help the new student feel fully integrated now, could he? In precarious moments such as the ones he constantly found himself in nowadayd because of his new found rival, the infamous L, he could not allow himself to slip so easily, not even in his mundane everyday life. Any mistake was bound to have severe consequences and every slight change of his routine - he was certain - would be dutifully reported to the task force. Now more than ever, Light Yagami would not let underestimating a variable be his fatal flaw.

So the charade went on, and things only got worse when he realized every adult in the Academy relied on him to make you feel as comfortable with the new environment as possible. When you missed a class, he'd be tasked with delivering you the materials that had been discussed and analyzed during the daily lecture; when you had questions about the burocratic practices you were meant to fulfill as a foreign exchange student, he had been the one appointed by professors for you to rely on. And the list continued. Soon enough, you had turned from a minor inconvenience and necessary evil to a complete and utter annoyance in the life of the golden boy. You weren't a particularly irritating person per se, but the situations he found himself in as the unexpected arrangement went on took away quite the amount of time, precious hours he could have spent to gain advantage in his battle of wits against that ridiculous detective - the term "wits" was far too generous on his behalf already, he'd get rid of that self-proclaimed genius in no time either way.

Turns out your company had its own perks. Light Yagami was no fool: he acknowledged your beauty, both physical and intellectual, finding himself almost pleased to engage in playful banter during a particularly boring task a professor would assign them both to carry out. And he also knew that many boys and girls in the academy would have been utterly ecstatic to escort you wherever you went 24/7 in his place, even only to experience your own exotic nature and brag about it with their peers.

But (Y/L) (Y/N) was no fool either: she knew how much attention the golden boy brought about whenever he had to hang out with her - it reminded her of the way pollen called out to bees - and decided to make the most of it in order to build her own shiny reputation in the Academy. She soon came to be regarded as the golden girl, as dutiful and flawless as the golden boy himself. That's why it didn't come as a surprise when news spread of your newly blossomed relationship: everyone thought it natural that two superior individuals such as you and Light would be compelled to stick together, one way or another.

For you and Light though, the new arrangement was mostly convenient. You tolerated each other's presence well enough - surely more than any other mindless student's populating the Academy - and the mutual agreement you silently shared only managed to spurr on your enthusiasm about the chance to finally be left alone by other possible suitors. However, what particularly appealed to Light's keen mind was the possibility to further enhance his portrayal of a perfectly normal high school boy in front of the police and its investigators by simply keeping you near: a girlfriend would prove to be a useful alibi in moments of need, and seen as Misa Amane's sudden public appearence as his companion (as per her request) would have been perceived as too suspicious because of the recent messages she had unceremoniously left for the police to find, he'd have benefitted from the company of a new face. Might as well be the only face he could actually stand.

Since when you had become independent in your scholastic endeavors, Light had been able to gain most of his freedom back as well. Irony, however, made it so that by the time you both tried to finally part and go your separate ways, in the end you'd always end up gravitating back towards one another. Light had been utterly baffled at first, thinking it ridiculous that he found himself wishful to hear your witty comebacks when talking to some other nobody student rambling about puny matters he had no care for, or pondering what your sarcastic mind could have come up with when a professor made a fool out of themselves as they appointed yet another responsibility of theirs to a mere student. Ryuk had cracked countless jokes about the way Light would look at you the same way he looked at apples - there were so many times he had threatened the creature to actually cut off his apples supply had he not shut up, he lost count.

Therefore, in the most unlikely of outcomes, he decided to kill two birds with a stone and officially ask you out. That way he wouldn't have to worry about his private life being brought up during the investigations of the police anymore (or at least they'd be less frequent) while finally getting you out of his mind - hopefully.

The first date went rather well, he brought you to a nice cafe you had mentioned once and insisted to pay your share too (you had tried to convince him on splitting it instead, and only after various attempts had he relented).

“No wonder you are single, (Y/N).”

“Oh, am I now?”

You were proud of the way you had managed to bring down most of Light's outer walls, his boy-wonder façade irking you more than any stubborn love-sick fan of his ever could. It was the first to go, right off the bat:

“If we have to do this, might as well get comfortable, boy-wonder. No need for the goody-two-shoes charade with me, I know this is simply business.”

He had smiled but hesitated to verbally reply. Unbeknownst to you, that was the first spark that ignited his admiration for you and the milestone of your budding relationship as well. He had resented your arrogance and had you not been that crucial to his current plans to rebuild the entire world, he'd have found a way to unsuspiciously get rid of you straight away. It was a good thing you proved to be a good intellectual stimulus.

For a time, everything seemed to fall into its rightful place and the relationship not only proved to be useful for Light as regards to his public image, but he also managed to enjoy the time spent with you. He would never admit that the necklace, flowers, chocolates, and other tokens he gifted you were anything more than just for show, not even to himself. He would not allow himself to get too close, trivial things as love were not meant for the future God of a new world. Too bad it was too late for that.

When Misa Amane came into the picture, however, things escalated quickly and dangerously. You were hanging out with Light in his room, as it had been a rainy day and neither of you felt in the mood for a walk under the pouring drops. The sudden call for Light's name from downstairs came as a surprise and only later did you realize it had been the first sign of inevitable disaster; Light's mother usually never disturbed you two when you came to visit and mostly kept to herself in the kitchen, greeting you when you came and then when you went (you were glad for her respect of both her son's and your privacy). When a pretty blonde barged into the room even before Light could get up from the bed, however, you were certain disaster was at that point inevitable.

That's how you first met Misa Amane.

The yelling and crying had been obnoxious to say the least, and it only got worse from there. Light seemed more tense than usual and looked like he was single-handedly wrestling a roaring tiger while also trying to keep his head attached to his neck. Never had you seen him so worked up, trying so hard to restrain himself: it was a strange sight and it made you wonder if there was more at stake than what you had originally taken into account. Needless to say, you were worried.

When the girl took out a black notebook from her purse and started throwing threats your way, your quick mind clicked instantly.

You kept silent however, feigning ignorance: if you wanted to get even just a glimpse of the truth behind this whole tragicomic pandemonium, you'd have to be patient. Your shinigami might have been useless, but you had took the time to read the rules yourself and that would definitely work in your favor, you rationalized.

“You let this wench get in the way of our love? How could you! I did everything you asked of me and that's what I get?”

Calming the girl down had been an admirable feat. Thankfully you were able to control your anger, even though you felt positively livid with the recent developments of what you thought had been at least a mutually respectful relationship. You had grown close to Light, and maybe you had illuded yourself believing that he really did care for you too in his own way. You kept silent still and pondered about the various possibilities brought forth by Misa's mere existence: Light was fully aware of the existence of the Death Note, as he had tried to persuade Misa not to use it against you. The implications of this fact alone brought chills to your spine: why did Light have connections to this girl? Why was he so adamant on trying to snuff out the tracks of Misa's words? Had he exploited the girl to use the Death Note? Was Misa Amane the feared Kira whose killing sprees where making Japan tremble in fear? She must have been involved someway.

And then it clicked. Light Yagami had a Death Note too. He had to have one. The last broadcasted messages sent from a mysterious second Kira suddenly came to mind and you swore a light bulb went off over your head. Misa Amane could not possibly the original Kira - too impulsive, too reckless. If you had learnt something about the one true murderer, it was that the original Kira would never expose themselves like this in front of a stranger. Narcissistic they may have been, but their work was not that of a fool.

Your world suddenly came crashing down and your stunned state worried even Light. Misa had regretfully left, mind full of unfulfilled promises, and you could only thank the odds that her shinigami had not called you out straight away. Same went for Light's. Though you couldn't see them, you knew they were there and you also knew that any wrong move would have led to your untimely demise. If Light Yagami was truly Kira, he'd have no problem in ridding himself of your presence once he realized how much of a threat you currently represented, having a Death Note of your own. Shinigamis could see one another after all.

It was nerve-wracking to be on the receiving end of a gun.

“(Y/N), are you alright?”

A moment of hesitancy, then a tired attempt:

“Yes, yes. I'm just... a bit rattled, is all.”

“I hope you'll stay to let me explain.”

You realized he wasn't asking and you had no choice but to agree. You tried your best to feign hurt during the whole ordeal, but in reality you just felt nauseated and exhausted. He made up a very believable lie and you would have surely fallen for it had you not been certain Misa Amane owned a Death Note, just like you were certain he did too.

You had your own Death Note, yes, but you'd never actually used it. That was the main reason why your shinigami, Lux, had decided to completely ignore you from day one - apparently, you weren't entertaining enough for him. He'd been pretty vocal about his displeasure. But no matter how much Lux complained, using violence and murder to get your way seemed like too easy a solution. But it seemed that the boy in front of you did not share the same sentiment.

When Light took you into his arms to hold you close and tears started streaming down your face, you made up your mind: if Light Yagami truly was Kira, you'd be the one to bring him down.

The day when you finally confronted the boy you had grown so close to finally came and it was probably the scariest experience of your life. You supposed that his shinigami had told him nothing about your own status as a Death Note owner or at least, Light acted as if he didn't know. Which option was worse, you couldn't tell.

“Light... We need to talk.”

It was 22:00 sharp.

A pause, a second in which you realized you life was hanging by a thread.

“Come on in, then. ”

“I will be direct and straight to the point-”

“Yes, as you always are. That's one of the things that I appreciate the most about you.”

You couldn't believe he was trying to manipulate you. A sudden surge of boldness, straightened by pure remorse, made you vomit your next words as if they were venom.

“I take it you know of my Death Note.” you tried to keep as calm as possible and waited for his reply even though by now you already knew the answer.

“I do.” he solemnly conceded.

“Then why have you not brought it up before?”

“I was waiting for you to make up your mind.”

“Make up my mind about what, exactly?”

“About which side you decided to choose. But I take it you may need a little more motivation to pick the side you rightfully belong to. I'm here to provide it.”

“I'm all ears.”

“You have been watching the news, yes? The state of the world is in shambles, the cruel and wicked thrive off of the innocent. It's every man for himself and those in power only think about ways to make more money. The world we know is slowly rotting away, slaughtered from inside out by its own inhabitants. It's sickening. But, you see, I realized I have a cure, I have the power to make it better, to solve the problem once and for all. And I used it, as I intend to use it again and again, for the greater good. Humanity needs rehabilitation and I'm willing to provide it. There's people who recognize the necessity of this method and people who lie to themselves. So now I ask you (Y/N), which one are you?”

Your throat was parched, your hands were shaking and sweating profusely. You stared into those brown orbs of his and found yourself unable to look away. You had grown fond of his eyes, as well as the rest of him. Never in a million years would you have guessed that Light Yagami was a cold blooded killer who thought himself the God of a new world. He had played you like a violin and you had sung along. But no more would you be willing to associate yourself with that idealistic and childish monster.

“(Y/N)...” he tantatively neared your form, raising a hand to your cheek. His once cold gaze was now filled with warmth, but you weren't able to discern how much of it was fabricated and how much was real. You couldn't trust him, you couldn't play his symphony again. It was crooked and violent and selfish in its own right.

“We can do so much together, we can remake the world and save lives, so many innocent lives. No more undeserved suffering, no more unjust violence.”

You found it both unsettling and ironic how his words clashed with his actions. How could he speak of injustice, of violence when he was the one constantly playing with the lives of people? It was not his place to dictate who should live and who shouldn't, it was no man's right to claim the power over life and death. And yet there he was, in all of his fiendish glory.

“Help me, be my right hand in the monumental task of rebuilding the world. Be there when the world becomes our personal heaven.”

Oh the devil has such a way with words.

When his lips fell on yours, you knew you had done the right thing. Light Yagami suddenly wretched himself away from you as if he'd been burned; he took a step back, clutching his chest as spasms overtook his body. And then he fell.

It was 22:15.

He aimlessly fell to the ground just like Icarus had once he came too close to the sun and burned his false wings. You took the piece of paper from your left pocket and opened it only to let it fall to the floor.

Light Yagami, 07.03.2004, 22:15, heart attack

You had been merciful.

You had done the right thing.

And you would keep doing the right thing, even if the price to pay was staining your hands with more blood.

[thecorpulentbeagle]

P5 Shipping Round Robin: Final Thoughts

Here are my final thoughts/feelings for this entire experience. Feel free to read or disregard completely!

I will be posting this in a question/answer format, just so it’s not one huge block of text/word vomit. If anyone else who is completing this challenge sees this, I’d love to see your answers to these questions as well!

Why did you decide to do this challenge?

When I first saw this challenge, I thought it would be fun and would help me to try out different styles of writing. I have my favorite characters, as well as ones that I don’t like too much, and I was curious to see who I would write well, and who I would struggle to write.

I also wanted to be able to contribute something to the Persona 5 fandom, since I’ve seen such great artwork and fanfiction – on Tumblr, fanfiction.net, and a variety of other places. It has also been a while since I had posted anything on my fanfiction account, so anything to boost productivity there is a huge plus! In fact, with all these one-shots combined into one story, this is my longest piece on that site as of now!

Who did you think would be the easiest to write when you started? Was that character truly the easiest once you began to write?

To be honest, I thought it would be easiest for me to write my favorite characters: Makoto and Haru. Even though I hadn’t personally seen all ranks 1-10 with them, I had heard about them, plus I focused more on them during the main plot.

Were they the easiest when I started to actually write? Yes and no. I found that writing for Makoto was much more difficult than I thought it would be. She definitely was not the worst (see my answer to the next question for that), but I was surprised at how much I struggled. I found that it was easier to write her with someone more bubbly (like Ann and Futaba) rather than with more subdued individuals, like Akira or Yusuke. I suppose it’s because I see her as a calmer and more collected individual, so if there’s no contrast, it’s harder to make a compelling one-shot.

With Haru, I found that she was rather easy to write. I learned as I wrote that Haru is a much more complicated individual than I had originally thought. She can play the part of the excited and giggling love interest, as well as the more level-headed and rational love interest. It was interesting to see how many ways she could be portrayed, yet still retain the essence of Haru.

However, there were three characters I found surprisingly easy to write: Ann, Ryuji, and Futaba. I think the main reason it was easy to write them was because I have seen all of their ranks 1-10, so I knew a lot more about them than other characters. Futaba has a very distinct personality, so it was fun and easy to play around with that. Ann and Ryuji are both energetic characters as well, so it was easy for me to pair them up with more subdued characters (like Akira and Goro). In short, all of their stories were just really fun (and therefore, easy) to write!

 Who did you think would be the most difficult to write when you started? Was that character truly the most difficult when you began to write?

When I started, I figured that Goro and Yusuke would be the most difficult to write, for two different reasons. Goro is my least favorite Phantom Thief (not exactly the smartest thing to admit on Tumblr, but there ya go), so I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to write his one-shots without them turning nasty or unrepresentative of his true character. With Yusuke, I sometimes find it difficult to get a read on his personality, so I was worried that I’d struggle with making his interactions realistic.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy Goro’s character was to write. Though he was not the easiest, I found as I wrote that he can be extremely complex, and that makes for really great writing. I feel that I came to appreciate him more as I wrote stories for him.

I will say without a doubt that Yusuke was by far the hardest character for me to write. Every story (with the exception of Ann x Yusuke) had me sitting at my computer screen, staring blankly at it for ten minutes, typing a sentence, and then immediately getting rid of it because it sounded nothing like him.

The hardest story for me to write was Yusuke x Makoto, I think because they are both somewhat subdued individuals, plus they really don’t interact all that much in-game. Most of his humor and appeal flies over my head, so I struggled to write him because I wasn’t sure if I was doing his character justice.

 What lessons have you learned from this experience?

What a generic question!

But seriously, I think one of the main lessons I learned was that all characters from the Phantom Thieves are complex. This challenge forced me to focus on each character, to analyze his or her actions within Persona 5, and to then predict and write out how they would react in my made-up scenarios. It helped me see things from all of the characters’ perspectives, and, as such, I think it’s helped me appreciate all of the characters a little bit more, especially those whom I had previously disliked.

Another (probably obvious) lesson that I learned is that I have a couple new pairings that I enjoy. As stated before, my “Persona 5 OTP” is Okujima, but I found that I also like Ann x Makoto, and Ann x Futaba. This kinda shows that I apparently really like Ann, which I hadn’t considered before starting this challenge!

 Which story’s reception most surprised you?

I think I was surprised at how much attention the Ryuji x Haru, Ryuji x Futaba, Ryuji x Makoto, and Ann x Futaba stories received. I guess those were more popular pairings than I realized! To be fair, the Ryuji stories all had a ship name, which probably indicates that it’s a popular ship. Plus, Ryuji seems to be fairly popular on Tumblr, regardless of pairings.

It was interesting to see how popular the Ann x Futaba one-shot was. It was one of my favorite (and easiest) stories to write, but it’s surprising to think that there are a fair amount of people out there actively looking for this ship!

Also, anything with Yusuke seemed somewhat popular, which is interesting, since I thought those were my weakest one-shots. Interestingly enough, the Yusuke x Goro one-shot was pretty popular as well, and those are the two characters that I thought I would struggle with the most to write!

Something else to note: some of the one-shots that I put the most effort into (like Futaba x Goro, PolyThieves, Makoto x Futaba, and Ann x Haru) were actually on the lower end in terms of notes received. Meanwhile, some stories that I spent a lot less time on (Ryuji x Ann, Akira x Goro, and Yusuke x Goro were literally written the night I had to post) got a lot of attention. It might possibly be the popularity of the pairings, or maybe it means I shouldn’t think too hard about a topic and should just write!

Lastly, I was extremely heartened by the amazing response for the Akira x Makoto one-shot! I put a lot of thought and research into that story, so I’m glad that paid off!

 Any personal stories/reasons that helped you write certain one-shots?

Not really, my life is pretty boring (ha!).

I used my love of goats to write the Yusuke x Futaba story, as well as my fear of roller coasters for my Makoto x Futaba story.

I tried really hard to make the Akira x Futaba one-shot be dramatic and entertaining, since this is my sister’s favorite pairing. I made my favorite pairing of Makoto x Haru how I like romances myself, with quiet moments that show how strongly the two people feel for each other.

I also used plot suggestions from my family to write some of the one-shots. One example was the Makoto x Goro unrequited love one.

 Tips and tricks for anyone who would like to do this challenge?

Make sure that you have at least half of the stories written before you begin the challenge (if not more)! It really saved my butt some nights when I had no inspiration, and the random number generator would place two or three of my completed stories next to each other. Unfortunately, there were some stretches where it placed two or three stories that I had not completed next to each other, and I had to work really hard to write them quickly but with quality.

Also, I would suggest switching around to different stories when you run out of inspiration. Sometimes, I would be writing one story and start to daydream and get distracted, but it would lead to an idea for another story.

One thing that really helped me too was to have an outline for each story. I’m not gonna post my notes (because they’re a mess), but I would essentially have: title, what stage of the relationship the story occurred in, when in the main story it occurred in, who (if anyone) confessed, who had the romantic feelings, whose perspective the one-shot would be from, the main plot, and any significant details. It really helped me to figure out how each story should be written, from dramatic unrequited love to an established mutual relationship.

Take breaks! Do not try and write every single night. You will exhaust yourself, especially if you have work or school. If you’re exhausted, it’s extremely difficult to be creative. I would use the weekends to catch up if I was behind, but there were some weeknights where I stayed up way too late to make a deadline. This did not have a good end result, so make sure that you don’t repeat my mistakes! This is where my first piece of advice comes into play.

And the best piece of advice: Have fun! This experience can be as fun or as dreadful as you make it, so definitely have a positive outlook, even when things seem impossible.

 Final final thoughts?

Hope everyone enjoyed! Please consider doing this challenge yourself – I don’t want to be the only one who suffered through this (kidding… kind of)! There are so many ways that characters could be written, and I’d love to see other interpretations.

I’d also suggest trying this with Persona 3 or 4 characters, since there are a lot of possibilities there as well. I will not be doing that anytime soon (I have officially run out of plots), but I may do something like that in the future!

To sum up, this was a great (and exhausting) experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves Persona 5 and loves to write. It will really flex your creative muscles. I realized around one-shot number 17 that I was starting to run out of ideas. It’s hard to think of 29 different plots! It will also get you to really appreciate characters that you might not have before.

Goodbye for now, and have fun doing what you do!

[kristallioness]

The wolf cries moon

Summary: Aang, Katara and Sokka deal with the aftermath of the Siege of the North.

Word count: 3,052

Author's note: Rewatching ATLA has made me laugh and cry and given me so many feels already, but it's also such a good source of inspiration. I keep noticing some stuff I haven't given as much thought to before, such as this. It took them 3 weeks to travel to the location where they left the Northern Water Tribe boat to head to General Fong's base (according to Iroh, who said that he and Zuko floated on driftwood for so long). These kids were definitely not alright after the siege was over. They went through so much and it's evident that it affected them later. Sokka must've mourned for Yue every night when they were still at the Northern Water Tribe - he'd fall asleep by staring at the moon (as seen in these storyboards). Plus, he said he thought about her all the time ("The Swamp"). I can't believe how minimal I managed to keep the dialogue. I wanted to set the right mood by describing the surroundings and the interactions between the characters. Well, sometimes actions do speak louder than words.

----------x----------

The light coming from the rising sun that shined over the Northern Water Tribe the next morning didn't seem as bright as many had hoped. As most of the northerners had hoped. A dull grey curtain of clouds covered up most of the sky, but it was possible to differentiate day from night. The moon had already begun losing its full form, but its spirit remained standing strong high up there. She was watching over her people, who were slowly beginning to rebuild.

It'd been two days since Aang and Katara last had a waterbending lesson together. Now it was time to put their skills to the test, but in a calmer, more practical environment. With the help of a few other waterbenders, including Master Pakku, they were almost done repairing the damage to the second igloo among hundreds of others waiting for their turn.

Aang wiped the sweat from his forehead and heaved a sigh of relief as he took a few steps back to let the masters finish off the intricate ornaments on the facade of the building. He looked around the city - everything seemed a bit different than when they'd first arrived.

The normal rhythm of the once bustling tribe hadn't returned. The streets were quieter, the sound of ongoing construction work filling the nearby area. A lot of people remained indoors, trying to get over the shock and forget the horrors they'd encountered during the battle. A group of warriors, including Sokka, continued their search for firebenders trapped in the city, imprisoning the ones they'd already found on the battlefield. Chief Arnook, along with a select few civilians, were helping separated family members find their way back home to reunite with their loved ones. Neighbours offered housing to each other until their igloos were repaired. Everyone simply wanted to get their lives back to normal.

Aang thought that the northerners, all members of the Water Tribes, sure knew how to stick together during difficult times. Their people were so resilient, they didn't stay down for too long.

Katara stepped beside him and leaned against the snow wall behind them, allowing her body to slide down to the ground with a soft thump. She looked just as tired as he was. All three of them had been awake throughout the siege and they'd gotten a few hours of sleep the previous night. It wasn't enough to put their minds at rest from the emotional toll.

Katara reached for the pouch on her back and gulped down some of the fresh cold water. Aang licked his lips. He was thirsty, too. She noticed how he stared at her as she drank, practically begging for some for himself. She gave him a loving smile once she was done and handed the pouch in his hands. The waterbender chuckled at how his face immediately lit up. The airbender quenched his thirst just in time before Pakku called for the two of them to come back and join the group, who were ready to move on to the next igloo.

Aang didn't even blink before his hand met Katara's and she was dragging him behind her as they ran. He was surprised at how fast she'd stood up and grabbed him by his hand to hurry after their master. Did she really get all of that energy from such a small amount of water? The airbender shook his head to clear it from that silly thought and to focus on more important things. Such as the fact that Katara was holding his hand and gazing back at him to be sure that he could keep up with her pace.

Aang didn't wanna think about the following hours of hard labour without her. She'd promised to help out with as many homes as they would get to within the next hour or so. After that, she'd join Yugoda and the other healers to get some practice in that field. The female waterbenders were busy helping the wounded and counting the casualties. Now that Katara was declared a master in combat waterbending, she became more interested in honing her healing abilities as well. Who knew, maybe she'd need them one day.

Katara stopped running to catch her breath once she and Aang were walking beside Pakku. The old master chuckled at his students' enthusiasm. He ran a hand over Katara's back to praise her for all the work she'd done to help with the renovation in the residential area. She could've gone with the healers first thing in the morning, but she insisted on joining his group specifically. Not that it had anything to do with Aang being there, too...

The young waterbender wrapped an arm around his waist in return, almost as if she was trying to give him a hug. The gesture was a bit unexpected, but Pakku appreciated it nonetheless and held Katara close to his side as the trio continued walking. Aang found the image to be rather heartwarming, but his attempt at hiding his wide smile failed miserably.

Pakku noticed how fond of him she'd become once their differences could be cast aside. He was glad, even somewhat relieved that the feeling was mutual. She'd really grown on him, too. Katara reminded him so much of his beloved Kanna, so stubborn and bold. He had no idea whether she was even alive after all those years, whether she'd made it somewhere safe. Until her granddaughter had told him. He knew he'd have to make things right between them as soon as they'd see each other, after decades of being apart. He'll have to take some alone time for tonight to carve her something special, something just as beautiful as the necklace he now saw being worn by the young waterbender next to him.

Katara looked up at Pakku, sensing that he was eyeing something about her. They smiled at each other fondly. Katara still couldn't believe that he thought of her as a master now. Her, the last southern waterbender, a master at the age of 14. She had a hard time getting used to the idea, it all seemed to happen so fast.

It'd only been months ago when she was still back home, trying to learn a beginner's move by herself for hours on end. The idea of becoming a waterbending master being only a vivid dream she'd see every night she went to sleep. Exactly like her dream about the Avatar returning to save the world. But now, she and Aang were friends, travelling the world together. And she would soon be his waterbending teacher. It was surreal to say the least.

She knew Sokka saw her as an equal, capable warrior when they stood on the front line side by side, waiting for the Fire Navy to arrive. What would her dad say when he hears about that? Hakoda had practically scavenged through half the South Pole in hopes of finding her a teacher when she was just a little girl and they'd recently discovered her waterbending abilities. Katara gazed at the cloudy sky, also at Yue, thinking to herself: would mom be proud?

She felt tears forming in the corners of her diamond blue eyes, but she hastily wiped them off before anyone could see. Aang saw it, though. He grabbed her free hand in his, walking closer to both her and Pakku. Katara blinked to get rid of the last tears and returned his gaze with a frown. However, a thankful smile formed on her lips. He always seemed to know how to make her sadness disappear and help her feel better.

By the end of the day, everyone had made significant progress in their work. Aang, Master Pakku and the other masters finished rebuilding a bit more than a dozen houses. They even found time to patch up some of the larger holes in the defensive walls on higher grounds of the city. Katara, Yugoda and the healers had examined more than a hundred patients in the healing hut, sending half of them home to recover from minor injuries. A quarter of them needed to be monitored, so they were taken in for observation. Once the worst cases had been dealt with, Yugoda had allowed Katara to rejoin with Pakku and his group to help with the renovation on the last two buildings. That last hour and a half in the evening working together with Katara had been most enjoyable for Aang.

Before they could retire, Chief Arnook had asked them to join the elite for supper. He shared great news about the tribe being free from Fire Nation soldiers. Aang and Katara were surprised to hear that Sokka had already gone home at nightfall, leaving the rest of the warriors in charge of completing that task. They'd finished their second sweep on the town less than an hour ago. Finally, most of the families had found a place to stay for the night.

When everyone had finished telling stories about their accomplishments, the chief's guests agreed that the first day had been a success. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

By the time Aang and Katara returned to their temporary igloo, they were exhausted. If it wasn't so freezing outside, they would've curled up against one another in the corner of the nearest street and fallen asleep right there. They honestly didn't care about anything else but getting some rest after a rough day. Their walk back had been slow, they took the time to gaze at the stars, as well as Yue. She provided them with all the light they needed to get home safely.

As they withdrew the drapes hanging from the door, they saw that Sokka was already sleeping in the dark. He'd probably put out the candles cause he wasn't sure when his sister and best friend would return. Considering everything he'd been through, it was weird that he wasn't snoring like he usually did.

Katara hushed Aang to keep quiet before they stepped inside and tiptoed next to him. She crawled into her sleeping bag while the airbender lay down on the furry floor, quite close to her. Once they felt cosy enough, they simply stared at each other for a while, completely lost in the depths of the other's eyes. For some reason, neither of them felt sleepy. Slumber didn't seem all that appealing anymore.

"You okay?" Katara was the first one to whisper. She reached out her right hand and cupped Aang's cheek.

"Mhmm.." he nodded, his face beginning to flush. Aang hoped that she wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the dark, forgetting that she could still feel the heat radiating against the palm of her hand.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He felt how Katara tenderly ran her thumb across his cheekbone, then stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. Next, he heard shuffling and felt something else gently press against his cheek. He opened his shimmering grey eyes and met a pair of diamond blue ones twinkling right back at him. Katara had given him a good-night kiss. She quickly averted her gaze and blushed, too, crawling back inside her sleeping bag.

Aang felt a wave of energy rush through him, like his heart wanted to explode. He laid a hand on his chest as if he was trying to calm himself down, but feeling his racing heartbeat only made it worse. That kiss was enough to help him get through the next couple of days. He finally remembered to smile at Katara to thank her for that boost.

A minute later, her own heart stopped pounding and the weariness was beginning to take over again. The waterbender's eyes fell shut and she almost managed to drift off into her dreams. She peeked at the airbender, who'd subtly shifted even closer to her. His eyes were closed, his expression so tranquil. His head was supported by a pillow and his hands were tucked underneath it in front of his chest, his knees also pulled up close.

Katara sighed and shut her eyes to follow Aang's example. They'll need all the sleep they can get for the rest of the week. Pakku told them the benders and healers should be ready to depart from the Northern Water Tribe in a few days' time, probably by the end of the week. They promised to help out for as long as they stayed there.

Katara was practically asleep when she suddenly heard snivelling coming from somewhere. She opened her eyes and looked at Aang. He was fast asleep. She rolled to her other side and looked at Sokka, who had his back turned towards her. He didn't seem to budge either. She guessed that it must've been the wind intruding inside their hut. When she'd barely found a comfy sleeping position and the faint cry recurred, she decided to wake the airbender up to investigate.

"Aang?.. Hey, Aang. Wake up," Katara whispered as she gently shook him from his shoulder.

"Huh?.. Katara, what's wrong?" Aang wondered, releasing a short yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

They waited for some time, but eventually they heard someone sniff. Aang propped himself up on his right elbow to look behind Katara's back. She turned around again to look at Sokka. She caught one last shake go through his body and after that, silence prevailed in their little hut. Katara glanced back at Aang. He nodded to her, urging her to check on her brother.

So the waterbender crawled out of her sleeping bag and over to the warrior. She peeked over his shoulder. Sokka attempted to hide his face in his pillow, but Katara could see the frown on his features, his left cheek decorated with a wet streak, his lips pouting. He sniffed again and covered the side of his face with his glove. He knew his sister was right beside him.

"Sokka.. Hey, are you okay?" Katara asked with that special tone of hers as she shook him from his shoulder to wake him up. That was the last thing Sokka wanted to hear right now. Her caring, motherly voice, her gentle touch, her comforting presence - it all reminded him of mom.

She grabbed his hand, slowly pulling it away from his face. Sokka finally opened his heartbroken blue eyes and stared at his sister, sniffing again. He dried off the old streak of tears with his glove as he sat up, averting his gaze for a second. He sighed.

"No.. not really," he answered honestly, looking at both Katara and Aang. She couldn't think of anything else to do, so she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held her big brother close. Sokka hugged her back, staring at the ground behind his sister with an empty look. His eyes welled up with fresh tears when he felt someone else embrace him from the other side - Aang.

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face against Katara, quietly sobbing into the fur around her hood. Once she heard his silent cries, she felt like her heart was being ripped apart, too. What if instead of him and Yue, it would've been Aang the one she'd lost? She'd probably feel the same way he was now, perhaps even worse. At that thought, Katara broke.

Aang was the only one in the group whose eyes remained dry, but besides hearing Sokka's crying, he noticed Katara doing it, too. The airbender pulled his hand away from her back for a second to wipe her cheek. The waterbender opened her eyes and gazed into his, understanding what he'd done. She blinked at him to say thank you before she shut her eyes again. Katara bumped her head against Aang's. The tips of their noses rubbed together, her tears streamed against his cheek, too. She opened her eyes and stared at him longer, his eyes were closed now. Simply seeing Aang right beside her filled her heart with comfort, love and hope. It reminded her that everything was going to be okay. That's when she had an idea.

"Do you wanna see her?" Katara asked Sokka once she'd regained her composure and his crying had ceased, or at least quietened down. She felt him nod against the back of her neck as he hummed in agreement.

Katara was the first one to break their hug. She wiped off the last of her tears into her sleeve before she stood up and stepped in front of the drapes. She pulled the cloth apart and shoved her head outside, taking a quick look around. Having spotted a small pile of snow, she summoned a tiny part of it back inside their igloo. Next, she waterbended the snow into an icy hook and attached it on the side of the doorway. Finally, she pegged the drapes behind the new detail and stepped aside to admire her work.

Aang placed a supportive hand on Sokka's shoulder. From where the boys sat on the floor, they could see the starry sky. The moon shined its silvery light through the opening left between the drapes. Sokka's frown turned into a smile. He could see Yue.

"Thanks, Katara. You're the best sister ever."

Katara walked over to him and knelt down, wrapping her arms around him to give him another big hug. After that, Sokka was ready to try to fall asleep. Everybody resumed their cosy sleeping positions in silence. Katara beckoned Aang to snuggle against her for warmth since the cold air intruded through their makeshift window. The airbender couldn't have been happier about that request. She glanced at her brother, who was lying in his own sleeping bag on her right side, staring at the moon with a loving smile on his features.

"Good night, Yue!" Sokka said in a hushed tone, then closed his eyes and gradually let slumber take over. His friends had no idea how reassuring it'd be to hear him snore once more. Katara had promised herself that she wouldn't fall asleep until Sokka did. In turn, Aang waited for Katara to fall asleep before he allowed himself to drift off into his own dreams.