#i did my best to get to point to point reasonably but if i didn’t address something pls let me know lmao
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rafesheaven · 1 day ago
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stopping at the hospital to bring your dad something to eat for dinner and seeing his best friend doctor rafe and when you're walking down the hallway someone suddenly takes your hand to pulls you into the empty room 🤭 you turn around to see rafe and when you ask him why did he do that he just shrugs, smirking down at you as he takes your face between his big hands to whisper "maybe i'm just hungry too?" before he goes down on you like a starved man <3
warnings — dbf!doctor!rafe, age gap (rafe is 35, reader is early 20s), sneaking around, public sex, oral (f. receiving), praising
more of my doctor!rafe au found here !
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“hey sweetie, what are you doing here?” your dad greeted when he noticed you. “figured i’d bring you some dinner since you’re working the overnight shift tonight,” you gestured to the tupperware in your hands. “you didn’t have to do that,” he chuckled, “i know, but i wanted to, besides, i know how crazy the hospital gets during this time of the year,” you shrugged.
“yeah, the holidays tend to do that or make people do crazy things,” he snorted, carefully taking the tupperware and tucking it under his arm. your ears perked at a familiar voice, and your eyes landed upon rafe, your dad's best friend, who was already looking in your direction while talking to one of the nurses. rafe had that same signature smirk on his face, shooting you a playful wink, and chuckling to himself when you quickly averted your attention back to your father calling you, "honey?"
"sorry dad, what were you saying?" you mumbled, hearing him sigh at the sound of his pager going off, “it's okay, honey. i was just saying that i have to go, but thank you for bringing dinner.” you smiled softly, nodding as he planted a kiss on your forehead, “i’ll see you at home, alright?”
after he rounded the corner, you looked back to find that rafe was nowhere to be found before you started heading down the hallway to get to the elevator. just as you were about to pass one of the supply closets, a hand reached out, encircling your wrist and yanking you into the small, confined room.
"what the hell—" you spun around, crashing right into rafe's broad chest. "rafe? why did you drag me in here?" you questioned. the older man shrugged, smirking down at you as he cupped your face in his large hands, "thought you'd be happy to see me, babydoll."
"i am, but what if someone saw you dragging me in here?," you argued. "you worry too much, you know that?" rafe chuckled, earning a playful smack to the chest, "yeah, for good reasons."
“you need to stop worrying so much, it’s not good for your pretty little head,” his thumbs caressed your cheeks. he gently pulled your face closer as he dips his head down, capturing your lips in a searing kiss. you melted like putty in his hands, your hands grabbed at his scrub top, balling it into your fists to pull him closer.
“see? isn’t that better?” rafe hummed, kissing along your jaw to your neck. “a little, still doesn’t explain why you dragged me in here,” you pointed out, moaning softly when he nipped at your flesh. "maybe i'm just hungry too," he muttered against your skin. "what—" you watched as he lowered himself to his knees, his hands pushing your skirt, causing it to hike around your waist.
“fuck, haven’t even touched you and you’re already soaking through this little thing,” he groaned, his fingers hooking into your panties, tugging it down till it pooled around your ankles. he helped you step out of them before pocketing them into his scrub pants, “gonna need something to help me get through the rest of this shift.”
you lean your back against the shelves in the closet as he nudged your thighs further apart. “fuckin’ missed this sweet little pussy,” rafe groaned, his tongue running through your slick folds to your puffy clit.
"oh—" you hiccuped, his tongue circling your clit, sucking the sensitive bud into his mouth, making you sink your teeth into your bottom lip to muffle your moans. you looked down at him with heavy-lidded eyes, and saw he was already looking up at you. his nails dug into the skin of your hips, pulling you closer as the tip of his tongue flicked at your clit, moving to prod at your entrance.
you forgot how good he was at this, but he's never failed to make you cum from his tongue alone. small, desperate pants slip from your lips as he ate you out like you were his last meal.
"missed tasting you on my tongue, babydoll. taste as sweet as you look," rafe moaned against your cunt, his tongue delved into your cunt. "fuck, rafe," you whined, his nose grinding against your poor clit as your rut your hips, grinding against his mouth desperately.
your legs started to tremble as you felt the familiar knot forming in your stomach. "oh fuck...'m gonna cum," you whimpered pathetically, your hand clutching the back of his head. "c'mon, babydoll, just let go," he groaned, sucking your sensitive bud back into his mouth harshly,
you quickly clamped your hand over your mouth as a cry erupted from your throat, pure bliss washing over you. rafe watched in awe, taking in your pleasure-ridden face, his tongue lapping at your release before pulling away to kiss along your inner thighs. he slowly stood up, helping you fix your skirt, "did so good, baby," he peppered your face with kisses.
"c'mon, let's get out of here before we actually do get caught," he whispered, carefully opening the door and peeking his head out to ensure no one was looking. you carefully stepped out behind him, "thanks for dinner, sweetness.”
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tagging moots: @oceandriveab @cameronwillow @bloodibambiidoll @rafesangelita @nemesyaaa @ilovefiction4lmen @cameronsprincess @starkeysbabygirl @rafesthroatbaby @rafeyscurtainbangs @rafesbabygirlx @cxrrodedcoffin @dollyfiles @littlelamy @fallbhind @sturnioloshacker @heartsforvin @jjslaybank @fae-of-prey @cybersunnie @zyafics
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kaislvves · 18 hours ago
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IN WHICH; you and kaiser get into an argument over a stupid reason which leads into a hard launch after his match.
a/n: do NAWT speak to me about how unrealistic the last scenes are. i KNOWW how crazy fans can be and they’d probably be mauling/trampling you guys to death😭 also say no to telling me to put my ear to your mouth and listen what you have to say (kaz ref…) only to tell me this is ooc leave me alone pls. & not proofread lolz
cw: swearing, arguments -> making up, my writing
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“i could stay for tonight.”
it was sickening coming from your tongue because kaiser knew he didn’t want you only for tonight. he’s coming close to crushing you with how hard he’s squeezing your body like he never wants you to leave.
“just for tonight?” is a question he poses. the air around you two remains silent and it angers him—are you thinking about an answer? for there is no other answer than accepting defeat and staying in his arms, forever.
you try squirming around to wiggle your way out of his hold because it was getting warmer than you’d like it to be. “yes, micha. just for tonight.” you start whining at this point but he does not budge no matter how hard you try. he’s only growing more irritated by your response paired up with the nickname you call him to be affectionate.
affectionate his ass—you’re basically admitting you hate him. as much as he loves being seen as an enemy in others’ eyes, he hates when you perceive him in such a manner. “don’t call me micha.” his huffing out and you can feel the vibrations in his chest
“okay mr. football prodigy.” your tease is muffled by his chest. in most situations, he’d take it as a compliment to feed his ego but he knows you’re deliberately trying to egg him on. and though he currently can’t see your face because of the position you guys are in, he swears he can feel your eyes rolling at him.
“i still have a life… and a job.” now it’s your turn to get fed up by his behavior. “am i not your life?” he’s sounding like you genuinely just offended his whole bloodline and hell, maybe even very distant ancestors. you want to say he’s joking but judging by experience, he most certainly isn’t.
one thing you understood when you first started dating him was that he would not give up his career for you and using the same logic, you didn’t have to either. now can some mind reader tell you why this is happening? why is he being so stubborn about this in particular? not like kaiser isn’t dramatic or stubborn most of the time but he’s never been this stubborn over a matter like this.
“michael that’s not… i just—i can’t just give everything up for you.” oh, now you’re calling him by his full first name? perhaps that wasn’t the best way to word it because you feel grip shifting to the back of your head to keep it in place, he does this because he doesn’t want you seeing his face. “why not?” he barks a lot quieter than he normally does.
“what do you mean by ‘why not’? this has been my life, even before i met you.” you try holding in the scoff that you were trying so hard to avoid but it’s obvious now.
as if it wasn’t already tense but it feels like it bloomed into a raging silence. you believe he’s thinking of an answer but in reality, he isn’t. he’s thinking about anything else other than him opening his mouth because only the heavens know what words would spew out of his mouth if he were to—imagine how worse he’d make this petty argument.
you hate this.
you hate silence.
you hate him being silent.
and you make the dumb decision to add salt to the injury—the one thing kaiser didn’t want to do. “do you actually want to argue about this? if so, i’m not staying at all.” there you go, saying things you don’t actually mean. “do you mean that?” oh he actually responded. you did try to choose your words carefully but your mouth moves faster than your thoughts.
“and if i did?” you’re lying through your teeth, but he takes the bait.
that was what unlocked his vile mouth that should be censored on television after losing a match. “you really are annoying, you know that? i hope you didn’t because i didn’t know that either when i started liking you. or were you just leading me on? i don’t care if you aren’t staying anymore. just fucking leave.” he’s lacing his words with cyanide.
he’s second guessing his thoughts of wanting you to stay forever if you were just going to be acting like that. his grip on you is finally loosening and it’s easier to slide right past his arms. you take the chance and peak at his face. it wasn’t the look you want to see on him normally but it is justified in this situation. he has a scowl on his face but he still looks so pretty like this. he’s looking at you too, albeit not with the admiration you’re doing.
it isn’t the best idea to stay silent and so you don’t.
“fine then.” you say while walking away from him to head towards the entrance and like expected, he doesn’t follow you. you take the bag from the front-door rack and slip on the shoes he gifted you.
you spare no time opening the door, not even glancing back when you shut the door as well. kaiser is the one looking, glaring at the back of your head before you disappear behind his door. after he knows you’re off completely, he goes over to lock it shut but also ends up smelling the slight scent of your perfume floating in the air.
looks like you won’t be staying tonight anymore. and now that this happened, will you ever? did he want you to?
this argument could have been so minor if both of you had just sucked it up.
were you still together? it didn’t end in clear closure, just him telling you to leave and you did.
did you still want this? did he still want this?
in all honesty, he just wants you. no matter what form, no matter what, he still wants to say he knows you. it didn’t have to be this way.
safe to say neither of you had good sleep that night.
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kaiser has many ways to express his aggression. be it words, physical contact (past), or what he’s doing right now—football. he hasn’t contacted you ever since that day and you haven’t either. makes him question what he still is to you.
why does he care? if you don’t want to talk to him, neither do you. if you hate him, he hates you.
however, whenever he does take his anger out of the field, he dominates it. effectively becoming the king of the field. from the get-go it was obvious bastard munchen would win the match against some other team they were playing against.
you could tell too, setting aside the fact you were sitting pretty far from the game. what made you want to watch the match even if you thought he was probably your ex already? you didn’t know. it’s like you just gravitate towards the stupid rat tails man, he’s an annoying magnet to you now.
and like everyone betted on, bastard munchen did win.
the team immediately celebrates by huddling together, slapping each-others hands, carrying each-other, and what not? you unconsciously smile at the scene, it was small, you could still feel it but you couldn’t help it.
kaiser is celebrating with his team, being somehow lifted on-top of ness’ shoulders (which he is really annoyed at and he’s wondering how the fuck he’s doing that, what is wrong with him?). he ultimately scored the last goal they needed to win. it wasn’t a surprise because when he plays, he wants to—needs to—win.
despite that, his teammates couldn’t help but realize his anger, leading to yoichi asking him a question that makes kaiser want to choke the black-haired man on the spot.
“the hell was that?” he asks (referring the stupidly impossible goal kaiser was able to score, but you know… he doesn’t believe anything is impossible.) “i have a question for you too, yoichi. what the hell is that kind of question?” he’s laughing out, still on ness’ shoulders. but he’s laughing so hard his whole body starts to shake, making ness stumble a little.
still, yoichi was able to tell something was off.
“uh… what’s gotten your panties in a twist?”
but before kaiser could answer that with going off on him, he’s being pulled into an interview.
what made that goal possible?
“it was never impossible.”
what do you feel after winning?
“as if we weren’t going to win.”
boring questions he didn’t want to answer but he was obligated to—for he was basically the star of the show, like always. that was until a certain question was asked that made him look around the stadium for the first time.
that was quite an impressive goal.
“of course.”
is there anyone you wanted to watch that shot?
he’s silent. he’s thinking of you as he gazes around the bleachers—embarrassingly thinking everyone has your face and accidentally making eye contact with crazy fans that go berserk when he does. the only reason he never looked before and during the match was because you wouldn’t be there.
what a desperate reason, right? row after row, he’s scanning every seat, even the ones that are empty and imagining you’re the one sitting in it. 3rd to the top row, he scanning and not expecting to see you.
the fuck? is that you?
is he looking at you? kaiser is looking in your direction and in the area you’re seated but you’re so high up you can’t tell and it’s very unlikely he is but he keeps staring. you’re awkwardly looking away and around your section to hide your face.
oh but he’s already gotten a look of the face he so desperately wanted to see and he’s not going to look away, nor will he stand in one place. like a lunatic who just escaped some mental hospital, he’s booking it from the interviewer who stands shocked.
oh ok... he totally saw you which defeats the total point of you sitting so far away, was he lying to you when he said his eyesight wasn’t the best? probably. anyway, that was your sign to also walk away.
screams of fans were deafening and you felt like your eardrums were going to burst anyway.
who cursed you? because it was such a coincidence that kaiser comes out the way you were going to exit. he didn’t count how many fans who were asking all sorts of things he ran past to get to you.
as soon as you saw his face, you tried playing it off cool and spun the other way to walk away but he was by no means dumb and he saw you do that. he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
it felt like when you ask your friends to chase you and they actually do and now you’re screaming your lungs out trying to outrun them. obviously it was futile because he was so much faster than you.
no words could explain how fucking loud the crowd was, first when he ran, second when he entered the spectator area, last (hopefully) when he hugged you tightly from behind, stopping you from running.
like that night, he was warmer than you’d like him to be. arms wrapped around your waist and his chin on your shoulder. “are you running away again?” he’s whispering into your ear and despite the crowd + the booming voices around you… ++ the paparazzi basically stomping on people to get a photo, he’s unbelievably close to your ear, you have no trouble in hearing him.
“kaiser.” you breathe out in the same shock the interviewer was probably in. “don’t call me that. answer my question.” he huffs—he hasn’t heard you call him that in for like… forever! (unless you count other arguments)
“should i want to run away?”
“i don’t want you to.”
the grip is getting tighter and it slightly stops you from breathing for a second. you don’t want to run away, you don’t hate him.
you were thinking the same as him, whether or whether not he still considered you his. but you know his ego is way too high for his own good so you do him a favor and ask him instead.
“are we still something?” you ask and it hurts him that you do—did you not think that anymore? his eye is twitching with uncertain emotions. “…tell me your answer first.” there’s hurt evident in his voice because he doesn’t want to jump into conclusions and hurt his ego even more than he already has fighting for his way to get to you.
“i don’t know, are we?” he’d flick your forehead with full power if he wasn’t trying to make up with you. it’s barely audible but you hear “i still want this.” a frown is on your face and he took it as a bad sign.
“i do too, micha.” you admit, he’s spiraling by how you say his name.
as much as he wants to say that he did want you to stay with him forever, that he didn’t want you to leave him, that he doesn’t actually find you annoying, that he loves you. he decides on doing only the second and last option because he’s kept himself, you, and the fans waiting far too long.
(you also wanted to say you didn’t mean it.)
he’s spinning you around to face him.
“don’t leave me, ever.”
he holds your hands in his, leaning forward to kiss you.
and though you guys still have so much to apologize, discuss, and everything in between… you both would rather leave that for a private matter. just stay in this moment, in his arms for now? if not forever.
oh and now you hoped this was the last time the crowd got as rowdy as it was.
GERMAN FOOTBALL PRODIGY; MICHAEL KAISER AND HIS SUPPOSED PARTNER MAKE IT PUBLIC! WHO IS THE LUCKY PERSON? EVERYTHING WE KNOW RIGHT NOW…
locknessmonster : bro wtf
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graveyardgremlins · 2 days ago
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WIP ALERT WIP ALERT
What makes death so special that everyone seems so scared to talk about it? It is not as if, in this universe, it’s the end of the line. Not really. If anything, it felt more like the beginning of something.
Now, routine feels like the end of it all. Even when you’re a vigilante and everyday is a surprise, it still feels like slowly withering away. Like, if you stop moving you’re going to start rotting on the spot. But for some reason, people love routine and hate death.
Dick, for example, constantly looks terrified. It’s not obvious, as no feeling in our faces is ever obvious, but I can tell it’s there. He once said, mournfully, that we would bury Bruce like he is now, with jet black hair. The thought upset him, but I still don’t understand why. It’s not as if Bruce cares. Sometimes it feels like he is trying to speed up the process.
And sure, it would suck not to be able to see someone you care about ever again. But if Dick truly is so scared of missing Bruce, he can go knocking on Constantine’s door — or Zatanna’s, or Madame Xanadu’s, or Doctor Fate’s, or Jason Blood’s, or… you get my point — and ask for a seance. Besides, it’s not as if you can say the guy wasted his life. No one on this Earth has more accomplishments under his belt than Batman himself.
So why the long face?
Like, sure I get why they look weird every time I bring up my past death. I was a kid and all that. But they seriously need to stop looking at me like I’m planning to kill myself everytime I bring up my future death. I’m not planning to die any time soon, but what if I do? Are they going to lose their shit again?
I mean, Tim literally cloned his best friend as a manner to bring him back from the dead because he couldn’t cope with him being gone. Not to say I’m terribly worried about the Imposter missing me so much as to clone me, but still. What if I die? Are they going to try to bring me back? Because I don’t think I want that.
Death was easy, you know? It was awful up until the point where it wasn’t. I don’t remember much, but I remember being warm and embraced. And then someone dragged me back screaming and kicking. Then I woke up boiling alive, with the skin falling off my bones in the middle of the Assassin’s League Headquarters.
I’m not particularly excited about being boiled alive again.
No one in this family knows how to let go and Bruce is the worst one. I used to be so mad that his grief wasn’t enough to make him kill the Joker. I wanted him to prove that he loved me like he said he did. But I was a recently deceased and resurrected teenager. I firmly believe that the only reason Jesus reacted better to being murdered is because he was already thirty three. Now, as an adult, I’m less mad.
Bruce deals with grief like this: he doesn’t. He lets it eat him away. I think he likes it, the feeling of rotting from the inside out. Maybe that’s why he likes routine too. I think he has a lot of love inside of him that, instead of showing it, he reschedules it. Like he thinks “tomorrow I’ll show it” and then never does. And when I died, maybe he didn’t have anywhere to put that love anymore. There wouldn’t be any more “tomorrows.” So he just rotted.
It’s why I try not to be jealous about how endlessly patient and affectionate he is with Damian. Or how careful he is with Tim. Or how much interest he takes in everything Duke does. Or how he always listens when Steph talks. Or how he always comes when Cass calls him. At least, I served to teach him a lesson. 
So, yeah, when I got an invitation to a Ghost Ball, I didn’t tell anyone. Because they don’t understand why I linger in the cemetery. They don’t understand why I kill, when they believe I should be the first one to be against death. They don’t understand why I keep talking about dying over and over and over. They just don’t get it.
Also, they would totally ruin this moment for me. I’m sure of it.
How many times do you get invited to a ball? Not those shitass galas the Waynes always go to. A real authentic 1800’s ball. With the lettering cursive invitation, sprayed with some kind of perfume, sealed with a gold wax coat of arms. Not only that! To what was an official celebration to the Ghost King’s 21th birthday.
I didn’t even know there was a Ghost King!
Sure, it’s probably a trap. This kind of thing is always a trap. But they had addressed the invitation to “The Red Knight of Gotham, Avenger of the Damned, Cursebreaker, Three Times Born, Wielder of the All-Blades, the Darkest Star” and, if I am to be honest, flattery will get you everywhere with me.
I’m not entirely sure what the “Darkest Star” was in reference to, but it’s the least of my concern. The theme of the ball was Black, White and Neon Green, which completely fucks up my aesthetic. The last time I wore green I was a Robin and I’m particularly inclined to never wear it again. I’m also not wearing a tuxedo. Maybe a black suit over the armor instead of the usual jacket and a neon green handkerchief.
Now the problem is getting fitted for a suit like that. Every rich motherfucker knows that just sending your measurements to a tailor that never met you in person before is the recipe for a disaster. And sure as hell there is not a single tailor in the Crime Alley. Not that I know of. And there is no way in hell, or heaven or wherever the flying fuck the Infinity Realms were, I’m showing up to a real ball looking anything short of dreamy.
So, I did the reasonable thing and texted Alfred.
If you could come by the Manor, Master Jason, I will see what can be done. He texted back.
There is a theory going around the midst of superheroes that says that the one thing all of the bats have in common is how stubborn we are. It’s true, but I don’t think we learned that from Bruce. I’m pretty sure that’s just the Pennyworth in all of us. That man clearly only still works as a butler at 65 and calls us all “master”, “miss”, “mister” and “ma’am” out of pure stubbornness. I have no evidence of this, but I’m working on the theory that someone at some point betted that he would crack eventually, which is why he hasn’t. That I know of.
So, I showed up at the Manor like he asked me to.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tim asked.
“I live here,” I answered.
“No, you don’t.”
“Unless someone touched my room, which I doubt, then yes, I do.”
“When was the last time you were here?”
“Last week. I dropped by to move all your furniture 1 inch to the left counterclockwise.”
“I knew it! I knew someone was touching my stuff! Steph said I was crazy!”
“You are, but I touched your stuff. Like all of it. Including your Monster collection. You should really clean that, by the way. It’s disgusting.”
“Fuck you.”
Someone cleaned their throat and we both turned around to see Alfred standing in the hallway, looking less than impressed. I’m pretty sure we learned that from him too.
“Sorry, Alfred,” Tim said.
Alfred sighed and then turned his frown towards me.
“What? I didn’t curse.”
He raised one pointed eyebrow and that’s all it took.
“Sorry for touching your stuff, Timberlake,” I said and turned to Alfred again. “Happy?”
“I suppose that will suffice.”
“Yeah, fine,” Tim agreed and moved out of the way to let me in. “Just never do it again.”
“Oh, I’m definitely doing it again.”
“Why?!”
“Dick told me to stop whining and start getting on that, and I quote, ‘big brother grind’, so you and the Demon brat are going to have to endure it.”
“Why not Duke?”
“He is obviously my favorite.”
Tim just groaned and followed us to one of the upstairs closet.
“What are we doing anyway?”
“We are doing nothing. You weren’t invited.”
“Master Jason is getting fitted for a new suit,” Alfred said, ignoring me.
“Why?” Tim asked.
“What are you? A Toddler? Why do you think?”
“Well, you sure as hell aren’t going to the galas—”
“Damn right, I won’t.”
“And you’re definitely not going on a date—”
“Wait, why?”
“Because.”
I turned around to fully face him. “What do you mean ‘because’?”
“Just because,” Tim made a vague gesture with his hand. “You know.”
“No. As a matter of fact, I don’t know.”
“You know,” He gestured again. “Because.”
“Because what?”
“You’re chronically single.”
“What?!”
Tim threw himself on one of the sofas that was turned towards the closet and sank into it. “Chronically single. Chronically, meaning in a persistent and recurring—”
“I know what chronically single means!”
“Then you know.”
“I’m not chronically single!”
“How long ago was your last relationship and how long did it last?”
“That does not mean I’m chronically single! I get bitches all the time!”
“Perhaps, Master Jason, refraining from referring to your partners in a demeaning manner might be the first step to improving your romantic aptitudes.”
“I don’t– I’m not– Ugh!”
“Try this suit on. I think it will be the closest to your current measurements.”
I took the suit from his hand and closed the closet door behind me.
“So,” Tim said, “If you’re not going to a gala, you’re not going to a date, then where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
“It’s not a birthday, because I’m pretty sure none of your friends is an Aquarius–”
He kept talking and I tuned him out. The pants were a bit too tight around the knees, so they would have to fix that, and the jacket sleeves were a little too short. Besides that, I liked the red lining inside, as well as the flower pattern that almost disappeared into the black. It wasn’t very on the theme, and I would risk looking a bit christmassy, but it would be worth it. I did need a neon green handkerchief, though.
“It can’t be Two-Face, because he is still in Arkham and also not your usual target. Black Mask has been quiet, so maybe him,” Tim was, somehow, still talking.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, opening the closet door to let Alfred take a look.
“People you might be planning to make a move against in a place where a suit might be necessary.”
“Maybe I just want a suit, ever thought of that?”
“You’re fitting it over armor,” Tim pointed out.
“Touché.”
“Tt, it’s too tight around your knees,” Alfred commented.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Oh, Alfred? Do you by any chance have a neon green handkerchief?”
Alfred made a face. “I do not own any monstrosity of that sort, Master Jason. Why do you ask?”
“Because the theme is Black, White and Neon Green.”
“Wait, you’re actually crashing a party?”
Alfred sighed and made another disgusted face. “In that case… This suit won’t do.”
“Sorry, Alfred. I didn’t write the dress code.”
“Of course not, Master Jason. I would expect that you would have a better sense for fashion than that.”
“And for your information, I’m not crashing a party. I was invited. Not that you know what that’s like, Stalker.”
“Who would invite you to anything?!”
“Not telling.”
“C’mon!”
“Perhaps the Zegna will look less… clown-like with a neon green handkerchief than the Armani,” Alfred said, mostly to himself.
“Did I hear, Armani?” Selina’s honey-dripping voice came from the corridor, and she poked her head inside the room. “What are you boys doing hiding here?”
“I’m getting fitted for a suit.”
“He is going to a party and I’m trying to figure out which one,” Tim answered at the same time as me.
“Oh! That sounds fun! Do you need help, Alfred?” She asked and slid into the sofa next to Tim.
“I’m afraid I am at a loss, Miss Kyle. The theme of the evening is Black, White and, ugh, Neon Green.”
She made a face very much like Alfred’s own. “Where are you going, Kit Kat? The Riddler’s birthday isn’t until July.”
“Not telling you, either.”
She pouted and pulled Tim’s face near her own, he understood what she was doing a minute later and pouted too. “Please?” They said, like children.
“Nope. Not happening.”
Selina shrugged it off, not particularly bothered, but Tim seemed to still be fixated on the issue. 
“Have you tried that Slim-fit Hugo Boss brown suit, Alfred? I think it will make him look distinguished amongst the neon green aberration,” she said.
“Is it a winter party of some kind?” Tim asked.
“Not giving you any tips, Timmy.”
“Actually, Master Jason, that could help us find a better suit.”
I sighed. “I don’t think it is specifically a winter party. I think it's just a coincidence.”
“So it is a celebration of some kind!”
“I’m. Not. Telling. You.”
“No need. I will find out eventually.”
Alfred brought out the Hugo Boss brown suit and held it up for Selina to see. 
“I think it will clash, Miss Kyle,” he said.
“I think you’re right, Alfred,” She tapped one manicured finger to her lips. “This party is not of someone we know. Is it, Kit Kat?”
I shrugged.
“Why do you say that, Selina?” Tim asked.
“Motherly instincts.”
The door behind them opened again, this time to reveal a mildly disgruntled looking Bruce. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a sweater and sweatpants. He was definitely sick.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“Are you sick, old man?”
He sniffed. “Seasonal allergies.”
“Jason is getting fitted for a suit,” Selina answered.
“Oh?”
“And I’m trying to find out why.”
“Oh.”
“You guys are nosy,” I said.
Alfred brought out another slim-fit suit and both Selina and Bruce made a face. “Yes, I imagined so,” Alfred said, disappointed.
“What kind of party is it, chum?”
“Not telling.”
“The theme is Black, White and Neon Green,” Selina said, and both her, Alfred and Bruce grimaced.
“Jason, please tell me you’re not going to the Riddler’s birthday party.”
“Of course, he isn’t, silly. The Riddler’s birthday is July 21st.”
“Oh! Should I send a present?”
“It would be very polite,” Alfred said and Selina agreed.
“If this party is of someone we don’t know then it must be someone you met recently or a very long time ago. But if it was from someone you used to know, you probably wouldn’t be using an expensive suit, and if it was someone new we would have heard of it already,” Tim said.
“What makes you think it is someone we don’t know?” Bruce asked.
Selina raised her hand with a cheeky smile. “If we knew them already, little Kit Kat wouldn’t be so worried about imprrrressing them. We would have embarrassed him already.”
“I’m not worried about impressing anyone.”
“You’re getting fitted for a suit,” she pointed out.
“Yes, because I outgrew all my other suits and I can’t wear them with the armor. It’s not as if I’m buying a new one,” I rolled my eyes.
“If you’re wearing your armor are you worried about being attacked?” Bruce asked.
“Is it a mission then?” Tim asked. “Otherwise, why would you be going to a place where you might be attacked?”
“Good point, champ.”
“I’m not answering any of those questions.”
Bruce pondered for a second. “Have you tried the gray Kiton wool suit? It might null a bit of the neon green.”
“Ooh. Good idea, love.”
“Let’s see if you’re correct, Master Bruce.”
“I’m texting Dick to see if he knows anything.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Father, have you seen Alfred Jr?” Damian’s voice rang from the corridor.
“Not really, Dami.”
“He is probably in that warm spot in the library where the sun hits just right,” Selina said and stretched as if she could feel the warmth from here.
“Thank you, miss Kyle,” Damian poked his head inside. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re welcome, Damian.”
“I live here.”
“Do you?” Bruce asked.
“Do you?” Damian asked, fully walking into the room.
You see? This is why I can’t tell them anything about this ball. Or else they will want to come with, they are nosy like that, I’d have to explain to every cute person I meet why I brought my entire family with me when the invitation didn’t even have ‘plus one’ on it.
Jesus, maybe Selina was right.
“Master Jason is getting fitted for a new suit, Master Damian,” Alfred said and held the gray wool suit.
“Yeah, that doesn’t do it either,” Selina said.
“What is wrong with the suit?”
“The theme is Black, White and Neon Green.” Everyone grimaced at that. They really needed to stop repeating the same thing over and over.
“What is the occasion?”
“Kit Kat won’t tell us.”
“Nope.”
“I’ve talked to Dick!” Tim announced. “He has no idea who could be, but his best guest is someone Jason met with the Outlaws! So I’m going to text Cass, so she can text Artemis and see if she was invited to anything.”
Damian sat on the opposite arm of the sofa and pondered.
“How much have you narrowed it down?”
“Someone we don’t know, someone dangerous, possibly on a mission, not a winter party,” Bruce said.
“Birthday?”
“No gift.”
“Maybe it’s someone I don’t know enough to buy a gift to,” I said, just to throw them off.
The three of them narrowed their eyes at me.
“Yup, talked to Artemis. She doesn’t know anything,” Tim said. “Also Dick is calling.”
He put it on speaker so everyone could suffer together.
“Hey, guys!”
“Hey, chum.”
“Hello.”
“Hey, birdie.”
“Sup?”
“Jesus Christ,” I rubbed my temples. I could feel a migraine coming up.
“Jason! The man, the myth, the legend! Will you tell your big bro where exactly you’re going? I promise to keep it a secret.”
“Not even on your deathbed.”
Alfred brought out another suit. It was also gray and it still did not match neon green.
“C’mon, Little Wing! Don’t be like that! It can be that bad for us to know.”
“It’s out of principle.”
“That reminds me,” Tim said. “Dick, go screw yourself.”
Alfred made a face at that, but didn’t comment anything.
“Wait, why? What did I do?”
“Why did you tell Jason to ‘act like a big brother’? He touched all of my stuff!”
“I’m sure he didn’t touch all of it.”
“Oh, I didn’t look under the bed, but besides that? It will be very funny when you start finding the glitter.”
“What?!”
“Ah, is that why Jon found a lot of superboy merch I did not buy in my closet?” Damian asked. “Well, I must say that is not a good prank. I’m not embarrassed to say I’m my best friend’s biggest fan. Though, he did cry.”
“You say that now, because you haven’t found the bees.”
“What bees?”
I simply smiled. This wouldn’t work on most of my siblings, but Damian was small enough to be fooled and once he believed it, the others would follow.
“I swear to God, Jason. If I find glitter on my clothes I’m putting a skunk inside your house,” Tim said.
There was also no glitter, but now he would check everything first. Forever.
“Why would you do that to a poor innocent animal?” I said, to be contrary.
“Yeah, Tim. Leave the animals alone! It’s not their fault Little Wing started a prank war.”
“Yes, Drake. I’m disappointed you’d even think about this.”
Alfred brought out a deep blue suit. Selina sighed and slumped down the sofa and Bruce shook his head.
“Hey, Dick,” I asked. “Do you have any suits that might fit me and that will look good with neon green?”
“Why do you ask? Don’t tell me Poison Ivy is your plus one.”
“Alright, I won’t.”
“Poison Ivy is light green, not neon,” Tim said.
“And Ivy is too old for you,” Bruce said, pointedly. I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t think I’d have anything either way.”
There was a moment of silence while everyone considered, perhaps the color neon green or perhaps Poison Ivy.
“I figured it out!” Damian shouted suddenly. Selina flinched from the noise, and he apologized quickly. “Sorry. But I have figured it out.”
“What?” Everyone asked. I wasn’t particularly worried, it’s very hard for the little brat to have known about a King I wasn’t even aware of. Though, maybe Ra’s did know it before me.
“Regular-fit Dark Grey Virgin Wool Serge from Hugo Boss,” Damian said profoundly.
“What?” Tim asked.
“The suit that will go with neon green.”
Alfred, Selina and Bruce thought it out. “Yes, I believe that might work, Master Damian.”
“Good job, son,” Bruce said, making my insides twist painfully.
Selina simply raised her hand over Tim’s head so Damian could high five her.
“That still doesn’t answer where he is going!”
“Who would do a Neon Green party? Besides the Riddler, his birthday isn’t until July.”
“How do you even– No, actually, I don’t want to know. Thanks for the help, Demon Brat.”
“You’re welcome. Now tell us where you’re going.”
Fair enough. “To a birthday party,”
“Goddammit! It was the first thing I crossed off!”
“Of whom?”
“None of your business, old man.”
“C’mon, tell us Little Wing.”
“What are we trying to find out?” Duke asked, walking into the room. “And why is everyone here?”
“Jason is going to a birthday party and he won’t tell us who's is jt,” Tim said.
“Oh?”
“And I’m getting a suit fitted.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, though. I’ll tell you whose birthday it is later.”
“Hey!”
“Wait, why?”
“Yes, why him?”
“Oh, Duke is my favorite.”
Duke smiled innocently at all the people in the room and did a little twirl.
“That’s not fair!”
“Hey, this is your fault. You told me to be an older sibling.”
“Older siblings don’t pick favorites!”
“Of course they do. Damian is your favorite, I’m Cass’ favorite, Duke is my favorite, and Tim is no one’s favorite.”
“Screw you!”
“Don’t worry. When Bruce adopts another one you can be their favorite.”
“I’m not adopting anyone.”
Everyone in the room raised an eyebrow at that — yet another thing they got from Alfred — and Selina patted his hand. “Whatever you say, love.”
Alfred fitted the suit perfectly, to the point where that one guy on twitter that talks about male clothing would applaud. And he did find a neon green handkerchief, though he would only buy it if I promised to burn it afterwards, which I swiftly agreed to. I considered bringing a present, but something I learned from the filthy rich is that it’s always better to look like an asshole rather than a fool.
And so the suit saga ends and the ball saga begins.
One would think that an interdimensional being called the Ghost King would think of better ways to direct his guests towards his party than a set of coordinates and another number, which I quickly realized to be the hour in military time. Of course, one would be wrong. So me, my bike, my beautiful suit and my weapons directed ourselves to the middle of bumfuck nowhere, literally in the middle of Nevada's desert.
God, I am going to arrive at this party covered in sand.
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nemesyaaa · 2 days ago
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i'm unwell. screaming, crying, throwing up at the moment because of the chapter. especially when i'm reading this with cigarettes After sex on the head. your writings leave me with no words, this is so fucking gorgeous, a tragic wonderful love the story with the fluff and the pain. the relationship between them is so beautiful, rafe's feeling are so strong. enamored with the story because helloo ??? i keep saying it everytime but i'm so in love with the moodboard. the fucking last line being the title. oh you did not, i'm broken 😵‍💫‼️
“everything means absolutely nothing if i don’t have you by my side.” you swore you could’ve died right there. — I'VE GOT STANDARDS. AND FUCKING GREAT STANDARDS. 😙
everything that you two have been through— all the tears, all the scrutiny and pain, trials and tribulations, all the laughs, the sweet moments, the whispering of words in the dark, all of it was meant to lead up to this very moment. — « when you know, you know. » i'm gonna kms and you better cherish my grave. 🥹🥹🥹
“marry me,” he repeated, “you fulfilled wedding vows since the very beginning. ‘for better, for worse.’ you and me made decisions, we let go of things despite how painful it was, we did it for each other,” rafe swallowed thickly. ‘for richer, for poorer.’ you never cared about how much money i had, you welcomed me into your camper and we made the best of it,” he rose his eyebrows suggestively, making a giggle fall from your lips at the memories of you two getting tangled in your bed. — i'm losing m'y mind and i will never find it back....at this point...✨✨✨
“you didn’t give up on me when you had every reason to. ‘in sickness and in health.’ you stuck by me when i was at the height of my addiction, and i could never thank you enough for never losing faith in me. i yelled at you, i talked to you harshly— fuck, i hate myself for that. i was in the worst shape i had ever been in, and you still looked at me as if i hung the stars up for you. you loved me at my worst, and brought me back up to be my best.” — I kinda fell apart. i'm sick to my stomach in the most lovely way possible
rafe laid you down and worshipped your body as if it was your first time together all over’s again. not a single inch of your body went untouched, the man above you whispering praises again your skin. you two laughed, cried, kissed, and hugged all while he rocked inside of you, his fingers intertwined with yours as he continuously placed kisses to your knuckles. he was gentle, yet so precise with his movements, you were easily gasping his name in no time. never looking away from each other once, you held eye contact while he spilled into you, his lips molding to yours as if they were made just for you. — ma'am, you gotta be kidding me ??? drop everything in your life, start a writing career.
₊˚⊹˚ 𐙚 WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW | FIVE
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a pogue!sweetheart!reader series by rafesangelita ©
SUMMARY: finding you when he thought all hope was lost, rafe decides that this is the last time you two will ever be separated.. til’ death do you part.
WARNINGS: lots of emotions lol, crying, angst, description of unprotected sex, fluff
LINKS: series masterlist | prev chapter | next chapter
WORD COUNT: 1.7k
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“how did you find me?” you’re pulling rafe inside by his shirt, his hands finding your hips as he stared at you incredulously. he couldn’t believe you were in front of him. he didn’t answer, instead he took your face in his hands, tears brimming his eyes as he rested his forehead on yours. “please never do that again.” you felt your heart break when his voice came out shaky, your own tears already rolling down your cheeks. “i’m so sorry—” rafe shut the door, clicking the lock shut before sitting you down on the motel bed.
“i got your note,” rafe made sure to keep your hand in his as he spoke, “i know that you left because you felt like you were doing the right thing.” he laughed bitterly, flashbacks of the look on his dad’s face when he saw that you didn’t take the money ran through his mind. “but i need you to know something else..” your heart was beating out of your chest, a million words sitting on the tip of your tongue. there was so many things you wanted to say, but you didn’t know where to start.
“doing the ‘right thing’ would never result in us being away from each other. you sacrificed everything and left behind everything you’ve ever known for me, so i made my own sacrifices too.” just as you were going to question what he meant, he held up his hand, the gold ring that he once wore with the utmost pride was now gone. your eyes widened, your lips parting as you shook your head. “oh, rafe..” inspecting his fingers, you couldn’t help but run your digits over his palm, “what did you do? what did i do?”
regret pooled in your stomach. the one thing you didn’t want to happen, happened. “hey, look at me— you didn’t do a damn thing, alright? my dad didn’t take anything from me, i left it. the same way you walked away from everything, so did i.” your head shot up at his words. “you left it? the business, your family ring, everything?” rafe watched as the corner of your eyes became wet with tears, your chin wobbling slightly. “y/n,” he stroked the side of your face, “everything means absolutely nothing if i don’t have you by my side.” you swore you could’ve died right there.
rafe embraced you as you let out a sob, your hands clinging onto him as if he’d disappear from your grasp. “i’m so sorry i left!” you cried out into his chest, “i’ll never leave you again, i swear it!” your arms moved to wrap around his neck, your heart finally feeling full again. rafe shushed you, rubbing your back soothingly as you two cried in each other’s embrace. rafe knew it was now or never. everything that you two have been through— all the tears, all the scrutiny and pain, trials and tribulations, all the laughs, the sweet moments, the whispering of words in the dark, all of it was meant to lead up to this very moment.
rafe pulled away, taking both of your hands in his as he moved down to the floor— on one knee. sniffling, you watched with a confused gaze as rafe reached into his pocket. “i bought this ring the morning i first left your camper,” your eyes widened as he pulled out a small box, “you left one of your rings on the bathroom sink and i took it with me to get an accurate size on this one,” he laughed, “i thought i was crazy when i was there buying it from the jeweler, but it all makes sense now.” a small gasp left your lips when he opened the box, revealing a dainty diamond ring. “rafe..” your voice was barely above a whisper.
“marry me.”
his words cut through the air, your breath catching in your throat. “what?” a hint of a smile played on your lips as his eyes got lost in your own. “marry me,” he repeated, “you fulfilled wedding vows since the very beginning. ‘for better, for worse.’ you and me made decisions, we let go of things despite how painful it was, we did it for each other,” rafe swallowed thickly. ‘for richer, for poorer.’ you never cared about how much money i had, you welcomed me into your camper and we made the best of it,” he rose his eyebrows suggestively, making a giggle fall from your lips at the memories of you two getting tangled in your bed.
tightening your grip on his hand, your smile faded when he broke down, his shoulders shaking slightly as his head hung in complete surrender. “you didn’t give up on me when you had every reason to. ‘in sickness and in health.’ you stuck by me when i was at the height of my addiction, and i could never thank you enough for never losing faith in me. i yelled at you, i talked to you harshly— fuck, i hate myself for that. i was in the worst shape i had ever been in, and you still looked at me as if i hung the stars up for you. you loved me at my worst, and brought me back up to be my best.” now you were crying too, small hiccups emitting from your throat.
“y/n, will you please do me the honor of giving me your hand in marriage?” rafe glanced up at you, the expression on your face unreadable. “of course i will.” that was all rafe needed before he slid the beautiful ring on your finger, both of you pulling each other into a searing kiss. with his lips still connected to yours, rafe took a seat on the bed, pulling you on top of his lap effortlessly. you two stayed like this until the tears on your cheeks dried, both of you growing needy for something more than just rushed kisses and lingering touches.
“i’m sorry,” you whispered against his lips, “i never want to be away from you ever again.” rafe’s eyes were now clouded with something else other than tears— lust. “stop saying sorry. nothing else matters right now.” rafe’s fingers slipped underneath your top, your eyes fluttering shut as he licked a stripe up the column of your throat. groaning at the taste of your skin, you gasped when he cupped you through the lacey material of your bra. being apart from one another was one thing, but not being able to hold, love, or touch each other was completely different.
“i’ve been staying at your camper for this past week, you wanna know why?” you moaned softly as he took your top off, humming a small ‘why?’ before you tugged at his shirt. “because it smells like you. the sheets, your pillows, everything, it all smelled like you and i needed to feel you close somehow.” you pulled away at the revelation, your hands coming up to cup cheeks. “please let me make it up to you..” your voice was so sweet, but the indication of your words was even sweeter. “oh, you will.” rafe nodded to himself, his hand coming up to unclasp your bra.
rafe laid you down and worshipped your body as if it was your first time together all over’s again. not a single inch of your body went untouched, the man above you whispering praises again your skin. you two laughed, cried, kissed, and hugged all while he rocked inside of you, his fingers intertwined with yours as he continuously placed kisses to your knuckles. he was gentle, yet so precise with his movements, you were easily gasping his name in no time. never looking away from each other once, you held eye contact while he spilled into you, his lips molding to yours as if they were made just for you.
“i love you.” you smiled softly as his breath fanned against your cheek. pulling him flush against your chest, you wrapped your legs around his waist in order to keep him between your thighs. “i love you, too.” rafe rested his forehead in the curve of your neck, his large palms rubbing soft circles into your skin. you two stayed like this until he pecked the corner of your lips, rolling to your side before taking you in his arms. with your back to him, both of you admired your ring as if you couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “rafe?” you whispered, a smile gracing your lips when he hummed.
“i can’t believe it..” rafe trailed kisses along the back of your shoulder, his hand holding up your own. “i can,” he started, “i knew this day was going to come, i just wish i did it sooner.” you turned around in his embrace, running your index finger along his jaw. “you never answered my question earlier.” rafe’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “what? how i found you?” nodding, you let your eyes trail over his features as he explained himself. “well i searched the whole island, and when people told me they hadn’t see you anywhere i figured that meant you left it altogether.”
your eyes widened at his words. “you looked for me all this time?” you already felt bad for leaving in the first place, but now you felt even worse. “of course i did. i went to the icecream parlor and asked around for you there, and then i went to the country club, but everyone just kept saying the same thing.” you closed your eyes, a defeated sigh falling from your lips. “i looked up the closest motel and this place showed up, so now i’m here.” rafe was unbelievable. “i need to get you a wedding band!” you gasped, the realization dawning on you once you stroked his empty fingers.
“i already got one. it’s at the camper.” you stared at him blankly. “rafe cameron.” he smiled when you said his full name, finding amusement in the way your voice sounded serious all of a sudden. “i mean it when i say i thought everything through already,” he kissed you, “i never really understood what people said, but now i get it.” smiling against his lips, you looked up at him through your lashes. “what do you mean? what did they say?” rafe cradled your head, those blue eyes of his dripping pure adoration for you as he spoke.
“when you know, you know.”
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taglist: @percysley @oceandriveab @lacydollette @weirdowithnobeardo @mattyskies @cnnamongrl @b3bybunny @littlelamy @nemesyaaa @lovinqbella @jeonmochi99-blog @corpsebridenightamare @whorelaud @mymvlody @idontknowwhyimhere33 @ursovaine @maybankslover @ilovefiction4lmen @rafesfavouritegirl @katekells @winnie1emon @sexysadie23 @hewwokitti @avvwritesstufff @purplerose291 @avengersgirllorianna @rafegf-real @impossibleturkeydiplomatghost @dearestjune @finnickodairslut @starkeysprincess @stoned-writer @just-here-for-ff @snowtargaryen @sarahsangelicdoll @imjustagirl713 @hypnotizedstarkey
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the-100-days-of-junkan · 2 days ago
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Day 97
Smile by Kayleen756894
Same as when we covered Burning Lungs, check the tags for this fic before ya jump in cause it gets pretty dark even within the first chapter. 
It’s a big day for the project people, I mentioned back on Day 60 that there were three fics that I consider directly responsible for this entire thing since they’re what set me on this path of a comically large amount of Junkan. And today we FINALLY talk about another one of them, even if I admittedly did cover a little bit of my history with this specific story during Day 60 for the sake of context. Apologies if I repeat myself a few times!
The previous few days I’ve been covering fic first, then the art. For this day however I’m going to cover the art first, along with any other bonus facts I have, and THEN i will do my best to adequately sing the praises of today’s stories.
Also let it be known that the music I put on while I read through the whole fic in preparation for today’s ramble was “LEASE” by Takeshi Abo. 10 hour loop too. Someone will find that funny probably, maybe even you!
(This is another long one, get ready)
Before I address the art I might as well have a little fun and discuss the order I decided to do these in, interesting I know.
Days 91-92 were easy, the first Soft Fic and the first fic to use the Non-Abusive Tag, they had to be the opener. Day 93 was one of the longer stories so I did that one first, since I did read each story before working on the art. From there it’s a pretty simple pattern of “Short Fic followed by a longer, more serious fic that I gotta psyche myself up for.” And it was done pretty much with todays subject in mind, but we’ll get for it. 
You’ll notice I have two different art pieces today, the reason is simple. I wasn’t very happy with the initial art, so I made a much more direct adaptation of a scene from the first chapter to go with it. And in a rare instance I can also bring you some early versions of the initial piece!
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From the initial sketch you can see that this was supposed to be a proper cover for the story, as I wanted to feature scenes from each of the three chapters, that middle shot is one I’ve had in my mind since the first time I read the story. Those who have read the fic can probably recognize each one. The second image was almost the final version of this. I scrapped the lower portion of the art for a few reasons. The flames of burnout were miniscule but still present, though rest assured these would not come into play until after the point of when the fanfic art is all finished. Secondly, when I was supposed to work on this art, a power outage hit my house. This also meant that in terms of making the art I only had the first chapter read, anything else was purely memory (Like I said though, I read the full fic for todays ramble, rest assured). And thirdly, I kinda, just thought it didn’t look good? And as you can see this version had details cut despite how far into the process it was, fully removing the expressions outside of the two smiling. Cause y’know . . . “Smile.” Plus in retrospect the eyes, while striking compared to the rest of the art, look kinda fucking silly?
Why didn’t I like the end result? Honestly I think I was just in a bad headspace at the time due to the combination of the power out stressing me out, and just generally speaking my mental health has never been the most structurally sound aspect of myself. I’m good at drawing, not so much being well put together. Looking at it now, while I think the piece is a bit esoteric and might not be what I’d make today for a piece based on this fic, I like it a lot.
And at the end of the dead even if I didn’t like how the first one turned out, I’m pretty happy with it! Even with perfectionist brain bitching at me that I could have done Junko’s hair a bit better at the given angle. Just a straight adaptation of Junko and Mikan’s first kiss from Chapter 1. The most interesting note on it’s creation is that I had to make last minute changes to Mikan because I realized her hair needed to be a lot shorter and more well put together, as earlier in the fic Junko does fix it up a bit. 
Oh! I did also send the second pic to the author herself as a way of introducing myself and showing appreciation, so that’s a bit of added sentimental value! Kayleen’s an absolute treat by the way, super fun to talk too, great insight on writing, you should absolutely check out the rest of her writing! I’m not in most of the fandoms featured say for RWBY, but based on the quality of her writing on the Danganronpa side of things, I feel confident recommending anything she’s published in the past, present, and future!~ 
Speaking of writing, I should probably like. Talk about the god damn fic, huh? Well. Nope! I still have more fun facts!
I almost didn’t adapt Smile! I knew for certain that Kayleen needed a spot on this list, it would have felt wrong otherwise. And there were two fics in mind for adaptation.
“Smile”, obviously, and “Soft (But only for Her).” My earliest plan was going to be to just do both. However I only had 8 days to work with, and spoilers, Day 98 is in fact a returning author, so I didn’t want to take up half of my slots on two authors, I wanted to show my appreciation to as many as I could during this string of the event before going back to my own stuff for the last two days. So I thought it over, and decided that Smile was too important to pass up on this project, leaving Soft (But only for Her) for later.
I did have a full plan for it though, unlike Smile where I didn’t really have an idea going into it. I’ll tell you what the plan was gonna be.
Most people would be curious which of the around 30 wonderful one shots I could have chosen to adapt, I’ve already done one of them with the very first chapter in that collection! However you my audience, are not most people. There’s a good chance you’re reading this paragraph, rubbing your temples and resigning yourself to the fact that I was very much going to draw art based on every single piece of that collection. Because yes I was just gonna adapt all of it. Was gonna make a big collage out of all of em, even the chapters that have so much angst I struggle to even read them cause they make me too sad! I’d still do it too. I probably will. When you least expect it. 
For now though I really wanna draw something based on Chapter 25 when I have the time. I wanna draw art based on a lot of other fanfics actually, I’ve just been pretty swamped. But rest assured, to those of you who’ve written a Junkan fic and weren’t featured. Rest assured, I have my eyes open, I’m always looking that tag over, and there were definitely some stories omitted that I really wish I could have included IN the project. Give it time. My self control grows weaker by the day!~
Okay, okay. NOW, I should be able to talk about the fic. Probably.
So I’ve told this story before, but now you’ll get to hear it in a bit more detail compared to before. Will hopefully not be too repetitive for ya’ll!
So once again we jump back a few years during say, 2020, MAYBE early 2021. I find a fic that includes Junkan when I was simply trying to find Ikuzono. It ends up being pretty cute and makes me curious, “I thought this ship was super toxic? How is this one so cute?”
So, I look around the tag, still not sure how to Navigate AO3 even after gaining a lot of experience through the power of many late night tokomaru binges. And as you already knew or could guess, I came across Smile.
At the time it only had 2 chapters, which normally might have turned me away at the time, I wasn’t a desperate animal like I am today. However I guess I either ignored that, or just didn’t care, too curious to see what else this ship could entail.
So here I am, sitting in my bed, writing this ramble, trying to figure out once again how to talk about one of the fics that set me off on this obsession with Junko and Mikan as a softer, loving couple. That and also a fic that is much more serious in terms of its tone and content, as this fic, like Drowning, is one of the only fics in this stretch of the project that is definitely set in the main canon of DR. Serving as essentially a new origin for Junkan as a couple prior to the tragedy. 
I’m sure I’ve said before that when it comes to how I view Junko and Mikan’s relationship, that Val’s work is basically the primary blueprint for how I interpret and portray them. However that’s for the Non-Despair AUs, while there is some bleed over in how I handle Canon portrayals (And I admittedly haven’t done a lot with a serious interpretation of that), in my brain this story, Smile, is the blueprint of how I view a canon timeline version of Junkan. That might just be bias from it being the first fic I read that like, but it does kind of help that this is just one of the most excellently written interpretation of these characters I’ve ever bared witness to.
The first chapter was originally supposed to be a Standalone according to the Author’s Notes, and it really works as one! It’s a very complete story that’s super well put together, and ends very satisfyingly if you just stop after finishing it. I’m extremely glad it continued, as I don’t think my obsession would have come to fruition when it did if not for those following two chapters. But maybe I’m wrong cause this fic certainly knows how to hook you on a ship!
I was god damn mesmerized reading the first chapter. This has to be one of the saddest takes on Mikan’s character that I’ve ever read. Burning Lungs comes close however we never get to actually see things from her perspective, that’s all from Junko’s outsider point of view. Here we get to see it all from Mikan’s perspective, all of it, the sad stuff, the extra sad stuff, the stuff I don’t really know how to talk about because I’m inadequate with this kind of subject matter. And some gay panic, because it’s not Junkan without at least a little gay panic somewhere in the mix.
Junko is really god damn good in this first chapter, she’s god damn good in the whole fic but we’re talking about chapter one right now so i’m specifying. She has such a mysterious aura around her the entire time, and not just the obvious “Oh she’s planning the tragedy behind the scenes,” but also the mystery of how she feels about Mikan! It’s something left up to viewer interpretation in the first chapter, and to a much lesser extent the following chapters (I say lesser extent cause it does eventually lean into her having real feelings for Mikan, just being super confused by them. At least that’s how I look at it). Everytime I read one of these stories that serve as an origin point for these two’s relationship, it’s always really interesting to see how things initiate. It’s pretty much always Junko initiating of course, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a fic where it was Mikan who made the first move? If there is I’m having a severe lapse in memory it seems, or I’ve misinterpreted! The point of course being I really like the way Junko handles things here, saving Mikan from her darkest point, all that good shit! 
And the kiss? I drew it for a reason, it’s amazing. From the buildup to the way Mikan has a rare instance of boldness and grabs Junko’s tie? The grabbing the tie part makes my brain explode, the fact that Junko herself was surprised by it is even better. I love it whenever Mikan can actually get Junko surprised or flustered. It’s great!
I feel like I should be more detailed, more meticulous, but it really is a struggle trying to be in depth when discussing something this good, I wouldn’t consider it my strong suit? 
So let’s try moving onto chapter 2! I do at least have a story with this one but that can be for when I finish desperately trying to talk about the chapter itself. 
It’s lovely! Big shock! We get to see the two of them just acting like a normal couple for a bit, and even better we get to see the two partaking in some sleepy cuddles. That scene also does one of those Junkan things I fuckin love where Junko just, fucking reads Mikan’s mind. I know that’s not what she’s doing but also it’s funnier to put it that way. I just like Junko putting her analytical ability to use by reading Mikan and understanding her finer details. It can be used in all kinds of ways, cute ways, funny ways, saucy ways, but this might just be my favorite way? Her being able to tell when Mikan’s about to spiral and snapping her out of it quick. 
Their date is lovely by the way, love the drive there, the conversation is just a treat. And I really like the reference to the grenade scene from the DR3 anime, I might not have fond memories with that series like, at all, but that one clip of Junko tossing the grenade and Mukuro (We’ll get to her) catching it is just a really fun bit of energy. It’s also just fucking funny because it reads like they practiced that shit for like 2 fuckin weeks- Sorry, distracted. Anyway I think the scene is both a fun reference, and another good way to kinda remind of us the darker parts of this storyline underlying the softer surface. Junko is in fact trying to burn the world down, she just also happens to have a tooth rotting-ly sweet relationship with a very sad nurse. The moments where Mikan unintentionally peers into that world, whether hearing an explosion or seeing the red roots of Junko’s true haircolor, I love it all!
Great moment with Mikan helping that kid from bullies, always love to see Mikan flourishing in these stories (foreshadowing)! I think it is very funny that the small child just immediately clocked that Mikan and Junko were dating, the kid either has a crazy gaydar or Mikan and Junko are the least subtle people alive . . . okay yeah it’s that second one.
The following scene is great too, fuck those parents, and fuck yeah to Junko coming in for the clutch as she is one to do in this fic. The kiss to follow? Fantastic. Junko’s joke about exhibitionism? Also fantastic. The part where Mikan says she’s gonna go see her parents- Fuck.
Okay so, I’mma make the assumption that if you’re this deep into my ramble you’ve probably read the fic already. And if you skipped out on the fic due to the subject matter noted in the tags, you can probably already tell by my apprehension that everything in this fic from here on out is like, the opposite end of the spectrum from all the sweet (albeit ominous) stuff we’ve had up till now. And you’d be correct, and I quite frankly don’t know how to talk about it, like, at all. There are parts of this that I do wanna talk about from this and the following chapter, but also I feel neither confident nor comfortable explicitly discussing what happens to Mikan here. Even if you can probably already tell.
Still, I must show my respects to the literature and it’s author, so I will do my best. Apologies if I fumble here.
I’m still not gonna talk in depth about Mukuro here, but I do like the conversation leading up to this scene, before Mikan shows up. It’s something that was going to inevitably come up, because yeah, Junko can make Mikan fall deeply in love with her, but that won’t exactly prepare her for being complicit in the apocalypse. There’s a part of me that’s curious what her gameplan was before the end of this chapter happens, how was she going to try and turn Mikan over to her side 100% and make sure she’s ready. The world will never know.
Junko’s great at the end of this chapter, not just the comfort she provides. But the way she, in the words of the story, Snaps. That line? That stuck with me when I first read this. I think it’s the moment that confirmed for me personally, that yeah, Junko does love Mikan even if she doesn’t understand it. And it wasn’t just that moment that stuck with me, it was the whole fic by this point.
That’s right, it's story time. So when I found this fic, there were only two chapters. And I wanna remind ya’ll that before this fic I read a fic so silly, soft, and fluffy that it made me question what this ship could be. Jumping from that, to this was definitely . . . Whiplash?
What happened after that is fun, because I don’t fucking remember. I think unironically the amount of stress that ending put me under just from the shock of it, made me fuckin black out?? Which by the way, huge kudos, it takes some really fucking good writing to get me so invested that I get real life stressed as shit because of bad things happening to the characters. But anyway, I didn’t actually just, black out from stress. But everything after that is so blurred that it’s borderline incomprehensible, I try to remember past that point, and it’s like looking at memories put through a paper shredder before being put back together by a toddler doing a handstand. 
All I can say for sure is that starting from the morning after, I was obsessed. I woke up, and kept fucking checking to see if Chapter 3 was out yet. I hadn’t checked the time of the latest update, I still barely fucking understood how AO3 actually worked. I’m pretty sure it was through this fic that I learned that when a fic updates it moves to the top of the page for a given tag. This was also way before I had an AO3 account, so I couldn’t just subscribe or bookmark it. I’m sure I read other fics at this point, probably including Kayleen’s other works? But the timespan between Chapter 2 and 3 feel like white noise, whatever I read didn’t exist in my memories by the time that story ended. And god damn did it end.
When Chapter 3 popped up, it was late I’m pretty sure. I don’t know what I was doing at the time, maybe looking at manga online, talking with friends over discord dms, failing homework over online school, maybe even doing some of my own writing since i’m pretty sure this was back before my passion for it died out. Whatever it was, I dropped it fucking IMMEDIATELY. I needed to see this ending, I needed that catharsis.
So I layed in my bed, in a house I was still new to, and read the god damn chapter.
It was perfect. One of the first times to my knowledge where I’ve had the satisfaction of reading an unfinished fic and getting to actually see it end.
Where do I start, what do I even say? Anything I say just kind of boils down to “Junko and Mikan are perfectly written and I love their interactions and also god dammit I feel so bad for Mikan.”
The scene on the rooftop is great, I remember in one of Kayleen’s other fics Mikan shows concern for Junko’s eating habits, so getting to this scene and seeing the reverse was nice. And like, god, Junko’s so good in this. I get she’s trying to start the end of the world but she’s doing such a fucking good job here. Sure, she asks Mikan to kill her parents right after this, which might not be the most normal way of helping your girlfriend through a severely traumatic experience, but that’s just Junko y’know? 
Should I talk about Mukuro now? I should probably talk about Mukuro now, I really wanted to wait like one more scene but fuck it we’re talking about Mukuro now. 
Have I ever really talked about Mukuro in the context of Junkan? I know I’ve definitely made note of her, and I’ve obviously included her in these pieces with varying degrees of prominence. But I don’t think I’ve ever noted how I think she’s is one of the most interesting and amazing assets of Junkan as a ship. Calling Mukuro an asset feels like a disservice, but I lack the words to adequately describe what I mean here. 
The Despair Sisters are already one of the most interesting dynamics in Danganronpa, and a pretty versatile one at that based on the various interpretations I’ve seen of these two. And I think adding Junkan into the mix is just lovely, because it adds an outsider perspective, but not just that, it’s the outsider perspective of someone who’s closer than anyone else due to Mikan dating Junko. Bonus for the contrast of Junko pampering Mikan and shit talking Mukuro, even if I believe that shit talking is just a very layered way for Junko to express that she does care about Mukuro as a sister. 
And I think Mukuro and Mikan is a really fun dynamic too! I love the idea of Mikan finding love through Junko, and then in turn getting a second person in her life that cares about her. Mukuro being Mikan’s bodyguard bare minimum is great, protect that sweet little nurse you desaturated girliepop you. But I think the way their dynamic can evolve overtime as Mikan continues to date Junko is great. 
Mukuro getting to see firsthand how Mikan is changing Junko for the better, even if it’s in a canon timeline where Junko’s still like, very locked in on the apocalypse. She’s getting to be happier in a more genuine way, which I’m sure Mukuro would be grateful for, and that just makes her caring about Mikan’s wellbeing all the better.
Plus like, something I don’t think about often, at least not until very recently, but if Junko and Mikan are dating, and inevitably get married. That does just kinda mean Mikan and Mukuro are sisters in law. And, I fuckin love that? Mikan not only gets an amazing relationship with Junko, but she also just gets to have a sibling, something that to my knowledge she doesn’t have in canon. It’s that found family stuff that I love, even if the found family in this case is a bit more literal rather than just being a metaphor. And Mukuro gets a new sister, one who cares about her just as much as Junko, but is just significantly better at expressing that by comparison. I think Mukuro would really appreciate having a sister who like, hugs her without slinging an insult, or just getting any kind of open, visceral appreciation without having to read between the lines. 
I love to see Mikan with plenty of friends, she has a bunch of dynamics that I appreciate. But I also have a lot of appreciation for the idea of Junko and Mukuro being the only people she cares about, the only people she needs to survive. 
Where was I- Oh right.
Kayleen’s depiction of Mukuro and her dynamic with our other two primary characters is amazing. Spectacular even. Fucking perfect perhaps. It does everything I love about the Despair Sister’s dynamic without bordering into uncomfortable territory like some facets of the main canon does. But what I especially love is her dynamic with Mikan in the few moments we get to see them interact. A protector, a friend, and eventually a sister to her, it’s amazing. The scene when Mikan wakes up to Mukuro watching over her while Junko is away is phenomenal, and I love Mikan’s concern for her given the way Junko treats her, which does look pretty bad without the deeper context. The moment at the very end of Chapter 2 where Mukuro just heads off to (I assume) kidnap Mikan’s parents after just sharing a look with Junko, it’s another one of my favorite bits in that scene.
And of course, the scene that lead me to start yapping about Mukuro like that out of fucking nowhere, her talking to Mikan about Junko’s test. It’s great how she tries to help Mikan come to a decision without forcing anything. But also finally giving some more confirmation that Junko definitely feels something for Mikan, expressing how many changes in her demeanor she’s noted. And the reveal that Junko routinely struggles with Nightmares whenever Mikan isn’t around?? Fuck I love that. God dammit. 
I feel like I should talk more about this scene, but I feel like I kinda did? To an extent? A lot of what I just said about Mukuro’s place in this dynamic kinda sums up a lot of the great things about this scene. So I suppose we move on.
The buildup to the big scene of this chapter is wonderful of course, not much to say there. And I admittedly just really want to talk about the scene that follows.
Because god it’s everything I was hoping for when I finished that second chapter and had no idea whether I’d see this scene or not. 
The reveal is great, and as grotesque as I anticipated. I do cringe a little reading some of the details, not the modern dickhead definition of cringe either I mean the “Oh god fuck that’s brutal” kind of cringe. And it is so perfectly contrasted by Junko being Junko, love the idea that Junko and Mukuro just nabbed up these people and didn’t explain a goddamn thing until this very moment where they finally figure out that this crazy bitch is dating their daughter. Mukuro punching Mikan’s dad in the face was fucking great too. 
And the buildup to what comes next, is so god damn good. It feels weird out of context celebrating it, but the scene where Mikan breaks? Fucking spectacular. The distortion on the word Red hits like a fucking truck, and also speaks to my childhood of being a creepypasta kid because i’m like, half sure that’s the zalgo text filter, correct me if I’m wrong of course. Point is it was an out of nowhere detail that perfectly emphasized the tensity of what’s about to happen.
And I can go on another tangent now, because this is something I have had no opportunity to talk about during the entire duration of this project. At least not to my memory or knowledge.
I love Angry Mikan. I love the Mikan that snaps and is fully over the edge, not willing to deal with anyones bullshit. I of course have criticisms of Chapter 3 in DR2, but Mikan’s reveal of her true self, or I suppose the herself prior to the NWP, I love that moment. 
I’ve never depicted Angry Mikan before, but someday I really want to. So until then I take great enjoyment in seeing such a rare side of Mikan, which itself is even rarer in these fics. I think counting this one there are only 3, maybe 4 other fics off the top of my head where we get to see Mikan fully lose her temper. Now of course, I could be suffering another lapse in memory, or I just haven’t read the other stories that feature it. I only think I’ve read like, 90% of the Soft Junkan out there, I can’t confidently claim I actually have for certain, so maybe I missed it! 
Point is, seeing Angry Mikan is a treat. And here especially is fucking amazing, the verbal teardown, the havoc of it all. It’s great. And Junko just adds to it with her sheer excitement (which is putting it lightly given some of the dialogue), getting to see Mikan finally become, from her perspective, the best version of herself. Someone who can survive alongside her. 
When things start moving, it’s amazing. A small moment I really love, and the moment I was originally gonna wait for to talk about Mukuro with. Her offering up an assortment of firearms from “Her personal collection.” is just, weirdly wholesome? The things I get to say talking about this ship I swear. I dunno, it feels like such a small, personal moment and offer that only Mukuro could provide, and feels like the perfect cap to Mikan and Mukuro’s dynamic throughout this fic.
Also, fucking enamored with the the presence of a Rocket Launcher. Funniest alternate timeline sitting right there, imagining Mikan with a fucking rpg over her shoulder is hilarious.
Junko offering the reverse side of the weaponry coin is lovely too of course, but it’s the wonderful stuff I’d already expect with Junko, so much less of a pleasant surprise like Mukuro. I do appreciate her keeping a knife used on Mikan’s father as a trophy though, imagine that over the fireplace.
Anyway I don’t know how I could really explain to you why the torture scene is nice. It’s catharsis, it’s just catharsis. I don’t even remember how fucking long I waited to read this moment but it was so worth it, Junko and Mukuro joining in to help setup equipment was also really cute . . . i feel like i shouldn’t be calling segments from a torture scene cute. Hm. Well anyway, I can say that while I appreciate its existence, I’m also glad Kayleen chose not to drag it out for too long. Ironic coming from the most excessive bitch around here, but it probably would have been a bit much if it took up the grander majority of this chapter.
Which means we say goodbye to Mukuro and return to our regularly scheduled Junko and Mikan moments. 
And yeah what do you want me to fucking say, it’s amazing? Because it’s amazing as fuck, yeah. I’m running out of ways to just say how fuckin much i love this, but i’ll persevere best I can. 
I mentioned way earlier that I love it when Mikan catches Junko by surprise, and we get more of that here. Though in this instance I think it’s better to describe that this is the first time Mikan just gets the upper hand on Junko, who’s struggling to fight back in the conversation because she’s already struggling to figure out her feelings. And it’s really lovely to see Mikan fighting past Junko’s own insecurities, especially when she regards herself as a bad girlfriend. It’s great, and it’s more of that role reversal I love. 
The book analogy near the end of this conversation is so good, it’s sappy as fuck but that’s why it’s good. And Junko leaning into it despite how lame it is makes it all the better, and I only noticed on this recent reread that there’s even a cheeky V3 reference as well, clever!~ 
The kiss is of course great, and I think i’ve just fully fucking run out of ways to talk about how much I love Junko and Mikan kisses in these stories. Thank god there isn’t one in tomorrows fic- getting ahead of myself. 
Rip to Scissorhands, thanks for the gay but you will not be missed.
God damn amazing fic, so well written. It’s one where I have to be in a very specific mindset in order to read it, as that middle chapter really does stress me out enough to be a bit of a roadblock. But admittedly this most recent reread wasn’t the worst compared to the previous few times. That said the fic definitely had it’s effect on me like usual, my body felt all kinds of wild ways, my heartbeat was a lot more intense, breathing a bit wacked out, my nerves up. The whole shebang, so good fucking writing. Equally bittersweet considering that, at least I assume, the normal events of DR are going to follow this story, even if not immediately. So Mukuro’s gonna die, Junko’s gonna die, and then Mikan’s going to have her brain undespaired and probably lose all her feelings towards Junko (Though I will admit, the idea of Mikan after the actual events of canon still having feelings for Junko while not being a remnant is pretty interesting). 
However, I can live with that. It’s still an amazing story even with main canon in consideration, and I think I’ve run out of things to say here. 
Tomorrow is the last fic based art in the event, Days 99 and 100 are all on me. And by process of elimination you probably have an idea of what Day 98 is, you may even know the exact fic. 
I said there were three fics that were vital to me reaching this point in my life, being this obsessed with Junkan as a ship.
The Third Fic, Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed, is the fic that sent me spiraling into brainrot to the point of snapping and drawing art of it behind closed doors, eventually snapping me into drawing more Junkan than I imagine most if not anybody ever has.
The Second Fic, Smile, is what got me obsessed with the ship in the first place, of course only enough to enjoy reading it in secret, which would lead me to EYED.
All that’s left is The First Fic, which you’ll see tomorrow. The fic that made me bother to even give this ship a chance in the first place. Hilariously, I will probably not yap about it nearly as much as the previous two, even if I love it. 
As always, Reblogs, Comments, and Little Notes in the Tags are appreciated!~ They always make my day!~
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questionableratatouille00 · 24 hours ago
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ʜɪɢʜᴡᴀʏ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʟʟ 5
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader
Summary: In an effort to get the two of you to bond, Tony Stark sends you and the ex-assassin Bucky Barnes on a road trip together. The reason? You hate each other. The situation? Two weeks in a car together. The reward: three days of a resort vacation. And the problem? He's kinda cute.
Warnings (Entire Series): Enemies-to-lovers, cursing, sexual tension, angst, fluff, crying, fighting, violence, chaos, mentions/talk of trauma, discussions of mental health, and potentially more.
Warnings: Reader wore a dress (past), cursing, mentions and eating of food, reader is called a cow if that’s a warning, both characters being horrible to each other, fighting, mentioned HYDRA themes.
[Series Masterlist] <- Haven’t seen pt. 1?
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𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔
Day Three
As you hauled your stuff into the truck once again, you couldn’t help but yawn. You were tired, and maybe still hungry even after raiding the hotel breakfast bar. 
Bucky took the driver’s seat, and you were too exhausted to argue. Your feet still hurt from the night before, all that dancing in those heels. 
Glancing at the man beside you, he didn’t seem to feel the same. 
You put on your playlist, blasting obnoxious pop music. You liked those songs, but you liked messing with Bucky more. 
The two of you stopped at a drive-thru for lunch.
Making the best choice for yourself, you decided to squeeze in a nap before you guys would stop for dinner. Leaning against the window, you closed your eyes and prepared for sleep.
When it finally came, it was a peaceful, uninterrupted darkness that allowed you some rest. 
Until you were nudged awake. You glared daggers at the perpetrator—the monster who woke you. 
“Dude, what the fuck?” You grumbled, rubbing your eyes. 
“You snore like a cow with a deviated septum.” He grumbled. 
“You’re such a fucking dick.” You retorted. “I bet you snore, too.”
“No, I don’t.” He answered back, brushing you off as if you had just said that grass was blue. 
“Yeah, you probably do.” You had no idea, but you were too deep to stop now.
“Okay.” He huffed, shaking his head. 
“Asshole.” You grumbled. 
More minutes passed by. Minutes turned into an hour. And after an hour, you were both bickering over the radio.
”You’ve been playing the same shit for the last two days. There has to be something else.” He said, his tone pointed and his eyes widened.
“Yeah, to drown out your loud ass breathing!” You shouted back.
“You wanna talk about my breathing? Really? After sounding like a broken vacuum for two hours?” He turned his head to stare at you.
“Watch the fucking road, you piece of shit!” You shrieked as he swerved.
“What? Does that scare you? Does that fucking scare you?” He barked back, but he turned his head back toward the road. His right hand’s knuckles had turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. You wouldn’t have been surprised if he had ripped it off, either on accident or on purpose. Wouldn’t have been the first time.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” You spat out. “Are you crazy? Are you insane? Is that what HYDRA did? They made you fucking crazy?” It was like watching yourself from outside your body. You would’ve never said that. Never. Personal attacks were not your style. But something about him—or maybe something about the two of you together—made you act in ways you sometimes couldn’t control.
“Don’t you fucking say that! Don’t you ever fucking say that! You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about!” He slammed on the breaks, pulling off to the little gravel section on the side of the road. You were in the middle of nowhere—surrounded by trees on a mountain.
When he slammed on the breaks, your body hurled forward, your arm slamming into the dashboard. “Fuck!” You groaned, clutching your arm. Your phone slipped from your lap and clattered to the truck floor. “You fucking suck!”
“And you’re a stuck-up bitch!” He shouted back.
“I wish Steve never saved your sorry ass, I wish I’d never ever met you.” You growled, clenched fists trembling with rage.
“You really are the worst thing that ever happened to me. I mean that.” When he uttered the words, his teeth were bared. Like a dog, you thought. HYDRA’s bitch in all his fucking glory.
“Really? Seventy years of shit and it’s me? I’m the worst thing?” You were losing your mind. “Glad to know being even near me is worse than torture! Glad you’re sharing your experiences, Bucky.”
“And how would you know? What, like you’re my goddamn best friend or some shit? You’re fucking not. We aren’t even friends!” He roared the words in the loudest volume you’d ever heard from him.
Of course you knew that you weren’t friends. Obviously. But you didn’t need the bitchy Bucky Barnes to remind you. Seething, you decided that you were done with this shit, and you didn’t care what Nat or Tony had to say about it.
“No fucking shit! Thank you so much, Sherlock Holmes! And for once, you’re actually right! I’m not your friend! Thank you for making that clear for me. In fact, I’m so grateful that I’ll give you what you've wanted since the beginning, you bitch!” You unbuckle your seatbelt, before pressing the ‘unlock’ button.
Hopping out of the truck, Bucky began to copy you. “You can’t leave!” He said, and his tone sounded like he was accusing you of something. You responded by sticking both middle fingers up near your chest.
“Watch me!” You slammed the door shut before turning and stalking off bitterly.
You made it maybe fifteen quick steps away before you heard Bucky’s door slam shut. His shoes made noise against the road. Before he could say anything, you whirled around to face him. He stopped, five feet away from you. He opened his mouth to say something, but you beat him to it.
"Have you ever considered that maybe it's you? Everyone keeps leaving you and you keep acting surprised. It's because you push them away, Bucky! You push them away!" Your voice becomes shrill at the end of your statement.
He flinches at the mention of Steve. "You don't understand." Bucky called out.
"Then explain it to me then, Bucky. Explain it!" It was more of a begging shout than an angry one. "What, are you worried that he'll leave you or some shit? Cause he's not! I followed him halfway across the world for you!"
"He's the only person who's left! He's all I've got left, the last good thing I have!"
"Probably because you refuse to do anything but glare at everybody else! So you can go ahead and be by yourself! Serves you right!" You spin around, beginning to walk down the road again again. You're too angry to check if he's still following you.
You find out once you feel a hand on your shoulder. Filled with rage, you spin around and punch him right in the face. You regret it immediately as you feel the stinging pain in your fist.
He lets out a loud 'fuck!' as he clutches his jaw. His brows furrow and he looks up at you, eyes wide and furious. You knew in that moment that you’d fucked up. Without warning, you turn and race down the road, knowing that he was right behind you. Shit, shit, shit, you repeated in your head.
You trip over a pothole, pausing. Bucky, however, clearly wasn’t paying attention as he rammed into you. You let out a shriek, tripping and falling down right at the precipice of the hill. And then you were rolling. Rolling through leaves, and mud, and sticks as you both swatted and kicked at each other. Then you rolled through a small creek, and you let out a yowl as you felt your clothes get wet, writhing even more as gravity pulled you down.
When it was over, you both laid there for a moment. Bucky had landed on top of you, and you struggled to breathe. Shoving him off of you, you stared up into the starry sky. Something about it made you want to take back what you'd thought about the value of this trip. At least the sky was pretty.
You got up at the same time he did. The two of you looked at each other, tense. You weren't sure if he was still pissed about the whole punching-him-thing. But God, the fall hurt. Your head hurt. Your back hurt. As did your legs and arms and face and literally almost every part of you.
"Fuck you, Barnes." Was all you said, before you began walking forward. Tumbling just far enough that you were basically in the forest, you could still see the hill you fell from. You were insanely dizzy, but the pain in your body and the wetness of your clothes grounded you. You didn’t know where to go, but you knew you couldn’t stand to look at his face anymore. You picked a direction and began to walk. Bucky did not follow.
It was hard to tell how far you’d gone. The darkness, coupled by the fact that all of these trees seemed to look the same, was not helpful towards your already-poor sense of direction.
After a while, you sat down against a tree. Attempting to reach for your phone, you let out a pathetic groan as you realize it was sitting probably under your seat back in the truck.
So you truly were fucked at the moment.
The sky was beautiful. It was the kind of dark, starry sky that had splashes of blue in it. It was like someone had water colored it. You knew you weren't going to die in the woods. You're an Avenger, damn it.
The sound of sticks breaking tore you from your thoughts. You believed it was a wild animal, at first. But even with the darkness, you could tell who it was. Bucky Barnes, the one hundred and six year-old Super Soldier.
"Don't act like you're not happy to see me like this." You called out as he stepped closer.
He was close enough that you could see his face. He looked...almost remorseful.
"Don't look at me like you're sorry. You're not sorry." You groaned out.
He said nothing, but you could tell he disagreed. He stood beside you, and he was quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry. For punching you.” You say quietly. “I don’t regret what I said, though. It’s true. They all..we all want to help you. But we can’t because—“
“I know.” He cuts you off, scratching at the back of his neck. “I’m sorry too.” He cleared his throat before speaking again. “I don’t…know why I am the way I am. But I don’t wanna be like that. Like this. Not forever.”
When you didn’t say anything, he continued. “Sometimes I think that this is it and I can’t do anything about it. That this is how it goes. That I lived through…it all, just to be fucked over from it forever.” He fiddled with his hands, looking down. “And I don’t…want it to be that way. So I guess I’m saying I’ll try to do better.”
Your head bobbed up and down shakily. “Yeah. And..I’m sorry about bringing that up. That was…shit, that was awful. I’m sorry.”
He nodded too, still not looking up at you. “Did you mean it?”
“What?”
“About..about me being HYDRA’s bitch. Did you mean that?” He looked up and you could see his expression and it burned in your stomach. It was hard to describe—a boyish suffering; like that of a kicked puppy.
“I…what?” Holy shit. Had you said that under your breath on accident? Now you felt truly guilty. “No. God, no. Oh my God. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t say anything, looking back down and watching as he fiddled more with his hands.
“Do you have any idea where the truck is?” You ask after an awkward silence. He responded by pointing behind him. Great, you thought. You’d been walking the wrong way the whole time.
“The serum made my eyesight better. I can kind of see in the dark.” He explained.
You nodded, sighing. “There’s some towels in the back of the truck. We can put them on the seats. To help with all the…mud.” You gestured between the two of you.
You both made the trek back up the hill to the road, and then began to make your way to the eerily silent truck.
You laid down the towels, and then Bucky put the keys in the truck. He twisted them, and nothing happened. His brows furrowed. He tried again.
Silence.
“When we got out of the car,” he began, voice measured. “Nobody turned it off.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Please. Please tell me you’re joking.” You pressed your fist to your forehead.
“The battery must be dead.” He said, staring blankly ahead through the windshield.
You dug under the seat, finding your phone. “I’ll call for a tow truck, or whoever the fuck I’m meant to call.” You groaned.
The two of you stood awkwardly shivering in the cold as you waited for your savior in overalls.
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A/N: Hoping that the tag list works well this time! I was previously having trouble with some usernames not being tagged, but that seems to be resolved! (hopefully)
I cannot promise a schedule, but I do want to finish this series this year! Hope everybody had some happy holidays and a wonderful new year!
Taglist: @afraidofshrimp @kandis-mom @laughterafter @cjand10 @emmsybucky @mrsnotfeelingsogood @matchat3a @identity2212 @ilovemcuff @unaxv @mysticalfuncollectorus @highwaytomichelle @lilbloggs @ordelixx @skiemi-blog @allieb913 @winterslove1917 @chimchoom @moonlight-readings @unearthlydreams @emizlav
graphics by the wonderful @saradika-graphics
If you enjoyed, please reblog!
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philosophicalparadox · 12 hours ago
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Oh 100% Itachi is a parental figure to Sasuke. And you don’t even have to look at Itachi to see it.
Sasuke treats him more like a father sometimes than a brother. Especially given the overall narrative that this series usually establishes about father-son relationships, which to be fair are also reflected a bit in teacher-student dynamics but nowhere near as much.
And that narrative overall is not unique to Naruto but is a rather typical shonen trope thing about having a goal to supersede your father, to best him at his own game, or to otherwise surpass him. (This is a deeply cultural thing in Japan…but I am not going there today).
And while occasionally brothers do stand in for this as ordinary brothers, usually if a sibling, trope wise, has to step into the “you must live to surpass me” role, it’s because they’re narratively a paternal figure.
And like I said, Sasuke’s got all the clues here. He:
Is always looking for Itachi’s attention, be it positive or negative
Obeys his brother without even thinking about doing otherwise even long after the massacre*
Pre massacre, he’s clingy and needy towards Itachi because his father won’t give him the time of day, but also because canonically that’s just how he’s always been. Sometimes babies really do pick their parents. (I’ve been in that situation, sort of, otherwise I’d of said it seemed unrealistic. But no, sometimes a little baby just says “no, YOU get to be my mom!” And there’s really nothing you can do 🤷‍♀️ this happened twice, with my niece AND grand nephew.)
Sasuke is always striving to best his brother, even after the massacre, like when he was training with the Kunai, trying to beat Itachi’s record. Yeah that’s a typical sibling thing, but in the bigger context, like after Itachi’s death when Sasuke is once again trying to out-do him, it feels more shonen-trope-fatherly to me. (Though I will concede that I only really watch Shonen that leans in the general direction of Seinen, which is to say more mature themes that twist the typical Shonen narrative; Naruto both is and isn’t an exception to this. Point is I’m biased lol)
* in reference to two:
There is one poignant scene in which Sasuke doesn’t kill Naruto explicitly because he doesn’t want to do what Itachi tells him to anymore. He then semi reneges on this later and decides that severing the bond is more important— he’s still technically not doing it for the reasons Itachi said, but he has changed his mind all the same.
After Itachi dies, Sasuke decides to go counter to his brother’s wishes, but he’s ultimately still doing what he thinks Itachi wants…sort of.
Now, before I go here, I want to say that this is entirely my interpretation, and you’re free to disagree.
But when Itachi tells Sasuke to hate him more, that he’ll only get stronger if he harbors more hate…a lot of Itachi haters take him literally here, and/or are very confused by it. But in my mind, what Itachi is actually saying as a deeply traumatized 18 year old with limited life experience who has just come back to the place that started it all and probably isn’t in a great place is:
I want you to hate me as much as I hate myself.
And, in particular reference to the “you’re weak if you can’t hate with all your heart” thing (I don’t have the panels on hand) :
I want you to throw away or erase everything you ever cared about just like I did.
As someone who has dealt with severely angry and angsty teens before, this is the message I heard. He wasn’t really goading Sasuke on, insofar as he was looking for someone to commiserate with. And nobody else but Sasuke would genuinely understand. I don’t think it was a planned response, personally— Itachi wasn’t looking for Sasuke, and didn’t appear to know that Naruto was his teammate. So my bets are on that being an impulsive reaction to a stressful situation and Itachi trying really hard to put a wall between them while inadvertently pleading for closeness.
But the point is that Sasuke heard what he meant, not what he said. Because he knows his brother. And Sasuke did exactly that — threw away everything, just like Itachi, severed his bonds, just like Itachi, became a rogue, just like Itachi, etc.
You could very well argue that Sasuke just went and did that if his own accord trying to feel closer to Itachi, which I would completely believe. But either way it’s far more son-father than brother-brother in its dynamic. Don’t get me wrong they absolutely have their bro moments, like when Sasuke is chasing Edo tensei Itachi down and calling him a big fat liar essentially, and being a complete child while Itachi basically rolls his eyes at the Drama 🤣 it’s both funny and sad.
But overall there is certainly a sense of paternalism in their relationship. But it’s not solely defined by Itachi, which makes me wonder how anyone ever missed it.
Ever since @shinoposting made a post about Itachi being a more parental figure to Sasuke a couple of months ago, I've seen several angry responses to it, with the sentiment that "Itachi fans want to make Itachi look good and their parents look bad."
Listen.
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A five-year-end boy is left alone on the night of the kyuubi attack with his toddler brother.
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He doesn't even seem disconcerted, but instead promises "I'll always protect you, no matter what."
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Itachi is the one who sits with him, despite his busy schedule, despite grieving Shisui, and despite being burdened with what's more than he could handle, he took time to check on Sasuke's report card.
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Itachi was also ready to abandon his first Anbu mission for Sasuke's sake. It was after this their father even recalls he had to go to the Academy.
Itachi "ignored" Sasuke. And, like, what do people even expect from someone who's been this much burdened that isolating himself is the only thing he can do to protect Sasuke and his innocence?
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Yet, Itachi doesn't know exactly how not to be distant. That's a sign of how much he was suffering at this point. He was "bad" after the massacre, but before that, he was kind and sweet, who cared about nothing but Sasuke's wellbeing.
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twst-aceofhearts · 1 day ago
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Chocolate
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a/n: the bonus fic I was talking abt in my post - more as an apology for not posting a fic in so long - do i realize that the ratio of words in ace fics to other characters' is significantly more? yes. will i make it equal and tone down my ace fics? absolutely not. ;)
I TOTALLY DON'T HAVE AN IMPENDING HYPERFIXATION ON ACE PSHHH WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
slow burn(?)
@ai-kan1 peace offering plz accept me TT
not proofread sorry
tw: very cheesy and very cringe-worthy kissing scenes
pairing: Ace x Fem!Yuu (has a nut allergy and gets motion sickness for the sake of plot)
words: 6234 (hoo boy..)
taglist: @luxaryllis @thegoldencontracts @waterthatsmoe @ai-kan1
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“You’re pretty popular these days, huh,” Ace says, his words lacking the teasing lilt he’d hoped to achieve upon seeing the piles of chocolates on Yuu’s table that morning.
Though—he inspects the stacks of cheap gifts he could easily discern were from Sam’s Shop. Do these people really think they can win Yuu over with shallow and thoughtless offerings like these? Did they even try?
Now, he’s no critic, but if Ace was given the chance to take part in this annual wooing fest, he’d go out of his way to take Yuu to an amusement park (everyone loves those) and impress her by winning all those crappy games for you (he’s street-smart, he’d know what he’s doing). Not only would Yuu end up utterly smitten with him, he’d also earn brownie points he can show off to Deuce. It’s an entirely win-win situation…or something. He wouldn’t know. It’s not like Ace spends his time thinking about this in minute detail. Haha, nope. Yuu was his best friend, and best friends don’t do that to each other.
…Probably.
“I guess,” Yuu hummed, rummaging through the mountain of chocolates, hoping for at least one decent piece without nuts.
“You guess?” Ace echoed in what almost sounded like a scoff. He leaned over her, arms crossed on the tabletop so that he could glance at the boxes in Yuu’s hands. “I counted twenty-three boxes. That’s basically the whole of the first years and half the second years at this school. What’s with all these chocolates for you, huh?”
With an amused smirk, he snatched a box out of her hands, inspecting the package.
“That’s some great hyperbole use, Ace. I didn’t realize your range of grammar was so wide,” Yuu deadpanned, “I’d appreciate it if you gave that back. It’s the only one without nuts and I want to satisfy my sweet tooth.”
“My grammar is amazing, you know. I’m the whole package,” Ace teased, tossing the box between his hands. His smirk was only growing bigger, seeming thoroughly entertained by her irritation. “But you didn’t answer the question: Why are you getting so many chocolates, hm?”
“Zero times a number is still zero,” Yuu countered back with a small smirk of her own. “And how would I know why so many people like me that way?”
“Ouch,” he deadpanned back in response. He put a hand to his chest in mock-despair. “Your cold words wound me. Here, a poor boy was just trying to give you a hard time, and you go ahead and say that.”
Ace was clearly just messing around with you, having the cheekiest damn smile on his face to show it.
“And you should have some idea, right? People like you because you’re cute. That’s it. Pretty simple reasoning.”
“You and your theatrics,” Yuu lightly shook her head. “But, I wasn’t expecting you to admit that. Are you one of the many people that like me or something?”
“Huh- hey, I do not have theatrics!” Ace protested with a huff. Although there was a hint of indignance in his voice, it quickly faded away to his usual carefree tone. He chose to ignore the second part of her question, but he couldn’t quite stop the flush that began to bloom over his cheeks. “I’m just being sarcastic with you! You ought to know that I’m just giving you a hard time, since I always give you a hard time.”
“Theater boy,” Yuu smiled, teasing him. She stood up, suddenly taking the box of chocolates back.
“Oh, come on!” Ace whined, following Yuu as she moved. “Don’t just take it back after that!”
For a moment, it seemed like he was about to make a grab for the box again, but he quickly aborted the motion with a huff and crossed his arms.
“So you still didn’t answer my question. Why the heck are you getting so many chocolates, anyway? Did you accidetally charm the entirety of our class or something?!”
“Look, I don’t know! This is what happens when you put a girl in an all boys school full of hormonal guys!” Yuu huffed, popping a piece of chocolate into her mouth.
“Oh- that’s why-”
Ace bit back a bark of laughter, instead covering his mouth and muffling his giggles behind his hand. After a moment, he got his amusement relatively under control, clearing his throat and shaking his head.
“Hormonal guys. Yeah, that seems about right. So you’re really not like, secretly flirting with half the school like I thought? I actually have a shot after all?”
Yuu raised an eyebrow. “I’m starting to think you are a part of the guys that like me.”
“Me? You think I like you too?” Ace exclaimed, laughing in a poor, failed attempt to hide the nervous blush that was quickly overtaking his face.
“Well, I mean-” He looked away, suddenly unable to meet her Yuu’s eyes. His voice lowered as he continued. “So what if I… I mean, hypothetically…”
“So you do?” Yuu grinned, playing with the chocolate wrapper.
“Oh come on, don’t sound so smug about it,” Ace mumbled, stuffing his hands into the pockets on his uniform pants, hunching his shoulders. He couldn’t manage to look at her, but that didn’t stop him from speaking again in a quiet voice. 
“...Maybe I do. Hypothetically. You know, whatever, it’s not a big deal, alright?” 
“Uh huh,” Yuu raised her eyebrows, her grin widening. 
“Hush, you,” Ace shot back quickly, looking up to glare at her. “Don’t look so— so smug!”
His ears were definitely turning pink; a fact that was only made more obvious with some strands of fiery hair falling over them. “I can’t believe out of the two of us, you’re the one making me feel flustered.”
“Sure, pretty boy,” Yuu chuckled, placing the box of chocolate down.
“You—”
Ace choked on the rest of his sentence as he was called that. Heat flared up his neck into his face, turning his skin absolutely scarlet. How the hell did she say these things so easily?
“God, you’re the worst, you know that?” He turned away, facing the opposite wall and stubbornly refusing to look at Yuu. No one deserved to see how utterly embarrassed he was right now.
Yuu let out a small giggle, standing up and popping a piece of chocolate into his mouth. 
“Hey, what—”
Ace was in the middle of protesting before the chocolate was suddenly in his mouth. He spluttered for a moment, though finally giving in because hey, free chocolate.
“Damn it- stop giggling like that. You’re enjoying this too much,” he grumbled through a mouthful of chocolate. He still wasn’t looking at her.
“Never. Would you rather me feed it to you mouth to mouth, then?”
Ace sputtered and choked on the piece of chocolate he had in his mouth. He coughed to try and regain his ability to speak, but all he managed to do was turn bright red, sputter some more, and look absolutely flabbergasted.
“Actually—since you’re so judgemental about my mountain of chocolates I can’t even eat, what would you do? What kind of date would you plan? I might actually agree depending on how much I like that idea—who knows.” Yuu grinned, giving him a small wink.
The sheer confidence and sass in her voice stunned Ace all over again. He couldn’t help but just stand there, gaping at Yuu in surprise. Though, eventually he managed to pull himself together, a sly smile overtaking his face.
“Is that a challenge, sweetheart? I’ll have you falling to my feet by the end of that date. Just wait.”
“...sweetheart?” Yuu blinked twice, her smirk completely wiped off. Her turn to be flustered, I guess.
A sense of triumph flared up in Ace’s chest upon seeing her suddenly-dumbfounded expression. “What’s that look for? Got flustered, didn’t you? Didn’t think you’d get all shy.”
A sly smirk was still splayed across his face, taking a step closer to Yuu to admire her face more.
“Shut it. What do you have planned for this date, anyway?” Yuu huffed, scooting back with her chair, trying to change the subject. 
“I thought you wanted to know how much you’d like it after I suggested a date, hm?” Ace teased, taking note of how Yuu were suddenly avoiding eye contact, and that sweet, flustered look on her face. He chuckled, resting his hands by her chair, caging Yuu in and effectively keeping her from scooting away.
“...whatever…j-just—tell me what you have planned, Ace.”
He’s got her trapped and flustered. Ace’s smirk widened, reaching out to grab one of her hands.
“Alright, I’ll tell you,” Ace leaned down and lowered his voice into a murmur. “But before I do, can I ask you something?”
“Sure…”
He moved his free hand to gently grab her chin, tilting her head up to look into her eyes. “You’d be willing to go on a date with me, even if it’s going to be really, really cheesy?”
Yuu shrugged. “Why not? Sounds fun.”
Ace studied Yuu’s face for a moment, a fond look in his eyes. Eventually, that smirk returned, releasing your chin. “Alright. I guess I shouldn’t be asking. Of course you’d be up for a sappy cheesy date.”
He stood up straight and let go of her hand in favor of crossing his arms. “My plan? I’m taking you to an amusement park.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ace was practically bouncing with excitement by the time the two of them got there. Like a little kid, if anything. As he walked beside Yuu, he pointed at different parts of the park they both passed by.
“I’m gonna win you the biggest plushie they have. Then I’m gonna buy you a bunch of shitty snacks from all the vendors. And to top it all off, I’m gonna make you try all the rides here, even if you’re scared of heights.”
“Ah shit, I knew I forgot something…”
Ace stopped in his tracks, spinning around to give Yuu a questioning look. “Huh? Forgot something? What are you talking about?”
Yuu swallowed. “...my motion sickness medicine.”
Ace stared at her for a moment, a bewildered look on his face. He let out a low groan and facepalmed. “You’re kidding, right? You’re seriously telling me you forgot to take your motion sickness medicine to an amusement park?”
Yuu looked down guiltily, her head hanging low as she fiddled with her thumbs. “...I’m sorry,” she bit her lip, her voice quiet as she murmured an apology.
If it weren’t for the fact that she looked like a pitiful baby animal, he’d be very pissed off right now. Ace was prepared to be annoyed at her forgetfulness, he really was. But the moment he laid eyes on Yuu and saw that dejected, kicked-puppy-like look on her face, all of that annoyance melted away. 
“Damn it, why’d you have to look so pathetic? You're making it hard to be made at you, you know that?” He sighed loudly.
“...excuse me?” Yuu looked up, meeting his eyes—her own narrowing.
Ace chuckled nervously. Looks like he had to backtrack after that one. 
“Hold on, hold on, that didn’t come out right…” He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I meant ‘pathetic’ in an endearing way. You know, like when a puppy makes a mess and they stare up at you looking all sad and guilty? You’re looking at me just like that.”
“Oh good,” Yuu pushed her hands into her own pockets. “Well…what now?”
Ace paused for a moment, looking pensive as he thought of something through. “Hmm…Well, I guess the question is, how bad is your motion sickness? Like, can you even handle the small rides, or is it like, as soon as you walk into a park it all goes downhill?”
“I mean, I haven’t thrown up yet from the sight of a roller coaster. So, I think I can do small or calm rides.”
Ace nodded and exhaled a small sigh of relief. “Alright, that’s good. That means you can still somewhat enjoy the park.”
He leaned forward to sling an arm around Yuu’s shoulders, drawing her closer. “C’mon, I know what we should do first.”
“Oh?”
Ace flashed Yuu a smile before pulling her along. “First, we win you a plushie. I’m good at these carnival games, so it shouldn’t take too long to win a decent prize.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the two of them approached the first little game area, Ace stopped and pointed up at the hanging prizes. 
“Pick which one you want. And don’t say you don’t care, just choose one. I’m gonna win it for you.”
“That one,” Yuu smiled, pointing up at a plush of a mix of some duck-fish hybrid thing. “It looks incredibly stupid, but I want it.”
Ace followed where she was pointing, letting out a laugh at the sight of the plushie she’d chosen. That thing was an absolute abomination.
“You’ve got a weird taste in plushes. But fine. You want the stupid fish-duck? I’ll win it for you.”
She let out a happy squeak, watching Ace pay for a chance to play. He accepted the game equipment from the person running the game, immediately getting to work. From the start, his eyes were laser-focused. He was incredibly determined to win Yuu the ugliest plush the park had, by God.
He worked through the game with impressive skill. His accuracy was excellent, his aim never once deviating far from the intended target. A small crowd even started to form as he continued to play, a few kids gathered around, marveling at how many points he was getting. 
As he finally finished and set the equipment aside, he raked in an impressive amount of points. Almost more than any other player. The person running the game smiled and picked up one of the largest prizes, holding it out to him. 
“Not bad, kid. You sure you don’t want to pick something bigger?” 
Ace shook his head. “Nah, I’ve only got my eye set on one thing,” he replied, holding out his arms in a ‘gimme’ gesture. The person shrugged, handing over the fish-duck plush. It was absolutely hideous, just like Yuu had wanted.
Yuu smiled, squeaking happily as she took the plush when he offered. “Thanks, Ace,” she giggled, hugging the stupid looking plush tightly close to her chest.
Ace’s heart almost melted at the cute sound Yuu made. It was completely unfair that she could be so adorable and not even realize it. He gave an amused huff, smiling down at Yuu as she squeezed that ugly plush.
“You know, I don’t know whether to be upset or just accept that you’ve got a really weird taste.”
Yuu shrugged. “I’m stupid looking and I love it.”
Ace chuckled, shaking his head as he watched her practically coo over the plushie in her arms. 
“Yeah, you’ve definitely got a weird taste,” He reached over to ruffle her hair fondly. “You’re a really strange girl, you know that?”
“Well, you’re the one that took this ‘strange girl’ out on this date in the first place.” Yuu tilted her head, squeezing the duck-fish plush once more.
Ace smirked, crossing his arms and leaning closer. “Hey, I never said I was opposed to it. If I was, we wouldn’t be here,” He flicked the corner of the plush’s wing.
“Though this thing is a testament to your weird taste in stuff. Like seriously, if that’s the most hideous thing you’ve chosen, then there’s no telling how more of your life choices could be just as weird…but I guess that’s part of your charm.” He commented, his gaze softening. That smirk slid into a smile, taking a moment to just look at her.
“Anyway—” Yuu tucked the plush under her arm. “---I wanna go on the ferris wheel.”
Ace had been admiring how she looked while holding her plush just now. Yuu was just way too cute to be legal. At her words, he jerked out of his mini-trance, clearing his throat and putting on another playful smirk.
“Oh, you want the ‘romantic cliche ride’, huh?”
“Well, actually I was going for rides that won’t make me throw up, but that works too.”
Ace barked out a laugh at her response, amused and a little bit incredulous. This girl just didn’t miss a beat, did she? 
“I see. So a slow ride that goes in circles is the only thing you can really stand to tolerate. I think that qualifies as ‘boring’.”
“Look, either ‘boring’ or get covered in my own vomit. Pick your poison,” Yuu stuck her tongue out for a moment, giving the head of the duck-fish plush a gentle pat.
“Alright, alright, fine, you win,” Ace rolled his eyes, a fond smirk on his face. This girl never failed to amuse him, that was for sure. “Come on. Let’s go to the ferris wheel.”
He reached out and grabbed Yuu’s free hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as he began walking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ace sat next to Yuu, watching the sun gradually set over the horizon. His hand was still holding onto hers, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. This was surprisingly nice. He’d have to admit, going on dates like this usually wasn’t his cup of tea…but he could get used to it when it was with Yuu.
“This is really nice…” Yuu looked down at the park in awe. Seeing people down there, enjoying themselves made her smile. 
“Pretty too,” She added, watching the lights of the park turn on, somehow making the place look more picturesque. Yuu squeezed the ugly ass plush, feeling content as they began to descend.
Ace nodded in agreement. The view really was quite pretty up here. He leaned against Yuu a bit, looking down over the railing at the people below. He could just barely make out what they looked like in the growing darkness. 
“Yeah. This really isn’t too boring after all.” 
He smirked and lifted his free hand to tap the weird plushie under your arm. “See? That thing’s not too bad after all. It makes an excellent armrest.” 
Yuu gasped dramatically. “Okay, for one, you were the one calling this duck-fish plush ugly. And two—how dare you use Jeremy as an armrest!”
Ace let out a laugh at her reaction. He couldn’t help it, that was just way too funny. 
“‘Jeremy’?!” He repeated, his eyes shining with amusement. “You gave it a name?!”
Yuu failed to hold back a smile. “Of course I did. For the record, his pronouns are he/him, not it. Jeremy is my child now.”
Ace snorted as she started talking like the plush was actually a real creature. He reached out to pat the top of the plush’s head once, more for the humor of it than anything else.
“Alright, alright…I apologize. I’ll make sure to address this little guy properly. He is quite hideous, and is the fruit of your strange tastes.”
Yuu rolled her eyes, but there was no real malice intent to it. “Stop insulting my baby, Ace.” 
Ace chuckled, shaking his head and raising his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, fine, I’ll stop. You’re right, your baby is perfect in every way.”
He reached out to pat the top of the stupid thing’s head again, this time in a more genuine manner. He was doing his best to keep his tone serious, but the corner of his mouth was twitching with the effort of keeping back a smirk.
“Better,” Yuu smiled, kissing Ace’s cheek as a reward for being nicer to the abomination of a plush.
Ace’s face turned a bit red as Yuu kissed his cheek. Now that was just unfair. She’d flustered him in one move. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat, hoping that she didn’t notice. Of all the times to lose his composure, it had to be right now. 
“R-right, yeah,” he replied, his response coming out a bit more stilted than usual. He quickly recovered his composure, fixing you with a smirk to cover up his momentary lapse in confidence. “Whatever you say, babe.”
Yuu smiled at the pet name, going back to playing with the stupid duck-fish thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they walked from the ride, Ace watched as Yuu continued playing with her new weird plushie. He was starting to think that thing might get more attention than he did, if this went o n any longer. 
He shoved his hands in his pockets, giving Yuu a side-glance. He didn’t even really think about it before the words came out of his mouth. “...Hey, you’re not gonna end up replacing me with that thing, are you?”
Yuu raised an eyebrow and titled her head. “Are you jealous of Jeremy?” She chuckled with a small grin.
“I’m not jealous of that hideous thing,” Ace sputtered, his cheeks turning slightly pink. He crossed his arms over his chest, fixing Yuu with a half-hearted glare. “It’s just you’ve been giving it more attention than you’ve been giving me.”
That, and the fact she’d called it her ‘baby’ and given it a name—but he left that part unsaid.
Yuu giggled, using her free hand to reach out and grab one of his, squeezing it gently. “It’s okay, Ace. You’re irreplaceable.”
Ace huffed, but her words and the way she squeezed his hand helped to ease the uneasy feeling in his chest. He grumbled in slight embarrassment as he replied, a bit of a half-hearted pout on his face. “...You’d better remember that. You’re stuck with me,” He grumbled, giving Yuu’s hand a small squeeze back.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Ace stopped walking momentarily, making Yuu stop along with him. He used this opportunity to pull her in, wrapping his arms around her waist and trapping her against his chest.
He leaned down to bury his face in the crook of her neck, his voice coming out in a low, somewhat muffled grumble. “You’re mine.”
Ace had zero shame when it came to stuff like this. If he wanted to hold Yuu, he was going to hold her. And if she happened to be standing in the middle of the park, so be it. He just wrapped his arms around her tighter, letting himself get lost in her presence for a moment. He lifted his head up so he could speak, his voice a low murmur. “...promise me you won’t forget that, ‘kay?”
Yuu chuckled, tucking the plush under her arm and hugging him back—just as tightly. “I promise.”
Ace hummed in approval, squeezing you a little bit tighter again—not that he really needed to. At this point, this was just him being clingy, but he couldn’t really help it at this point. He was still feeling a bit…jealous, as ridiculous as it sounded. 
“...Good,” he mumbled, hiding his face in the crook of Yuu’s neck again in an attempt to hide his expression from view. He was just being a little bit more clingy than usual tonight, was all. It just couldn’t be helped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ace and Yuu stood side by side, watching the fireworks go off in the night sky. He had one arm wrapped around her, his hand lightly holding onto her waist. He was leaning ever so slightly against her, his gaze fixated on the sky. He had a small smile on his face, the colors of the fireworks lighting up his face.
He had to admit, he wasn’t one for sappy, romantic things like these. But tonight, he found himself enjoying these kind of things a bit more than usual.
“...Hey, Ace?” Yuu looked up at him.
Ace shifted his gaze, away from the night sky and over to Yuu. “Yeah? What is it, babe?”
“...I love you.”
Ace’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at her sudden confession. He hadn’t been expecting that. In fact, it almost seemed like his heart had skipped a beat.
For a brief moment, the ever-cocky boy was stunned speechless. He quickly shook himself out of it, wrapping his arms around Yuu. He pulled her flush against his chest, and returned the declaration. “...Yeah, yeah, I love you too, dork.”
“...and, if you’re going to love me, you know who else you have to love?” Yuu snickered, unable to hold back a grin.
Ace blinked, having an odd suspicion about what she was going to say. He shifted his gaze down at the hideous blue thing tucked under her arm, responding with a flat, deadpan tone. 
“Please don’t say the plushie.”
“Your new son,” Yuu laughed, holding up the duck-fish plushie.
Ace huffed, a deadpan expression on his face. He was sorely tempted to roll his eyes, but he managed to restrain himself. He let out a small grumble of protest, before replying in a flat tone. “We are not reffering to that hideous, ugly ass thing as my ‘son’.”
“Too bad,” Yuu grinned, patting it on the head.
Ace gumbled again, narrowing his eyes at the ugly plushie that Yuu adored for some odd reason. 
“...I hate that thing,” He mumbled, his words carrying equal parts annoyance and jealousy.
Yuu shrugged, leaning her head on his chest and looking back up at the fireworks. “Even if you hate it, I’m glad you won it for me.”
Ace grumbled again, begrudgingly wrapping his arms around you once more. Even if he’d never admit it, he liked having her close to him like this. He buried his face into her hair, continuing to steal the occasional glance at the stupid, hideous plushies that he’d gotten for Yuu. Even if it was ugly as hell, it was the cause of the stupidly happy expression on her face, and that was good enough for him.
“...Whatever.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ace was walking alongside Yuu, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He was taking his time when she suddenly stopped and pointed at a candy shop.
He raised an eyebrow, following the path of her finger to where she was pointing. A candy store. Figures.
“What, do you need even more sugar after all that cotton candy you ate earlier?”
“No, I just want to get quality chocolate. Not the mountain of crappy ones I can’t even eat back at Ramshackle.”
Ace let out a huff, an amused smirk on his face. “Quality chocolate, huh? Are you some kind of expert on it or something?” He teased, giving Yuu a small nudge.
“Shut up. I just want to freely enjoy chocolate that won’t potentially kill me, Ace.”
Ace let out an acknowledging hum, shrugging his shoulders. “Fair enough,” he responded, shifting his gaze to the shop Yuu was pointing at. He gave the place a quick glance, noting with mild surprise that it was a higher-end shop that the usual stores.
“Alright, let’s go,” Ace said, giving Yuu a small nudge towards the shop. He released Yuu from his hold, immediately taking her hand instead, intertwining his fingers with hers as he lead her towards the shop. Even if this was for Yuu, he had no intention of letting her wander off.
The two of them entered the store, immediately surrounded by rich smells of chocolate.
Ace had to admit, this place might be a bit above his price range, but he had a bit of money saved up, and well—he did sort of promise to pay for everything tonight. He didn’t really mind that much.
Yuu got a small, simple bag of chocolates, it being a variety of white, milk and dark—some with caramel, some without.
Ace stood by her side, watching her look through the different kinds of chocolate the store had to offer. He was admittedly surprised at the simplicity of the bag she’d picked out, having thought that she would choose the most expensive ones. But instead, she’d gone with something smaller and a bit more modest. He raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled by her voice. 
“That’s it? Just that one?”
“Yeah. I don’t want you to spend too much on me. It makes me feel bad.”
Ace raised an eyebrow once more, huffing and shaking his head. “You’re ridiculous, you know that? Don’t worry about how much stuff costs, I can handle it. I don’t mind spending money on you.”
“You sure?”
Ace rolled his eyes and waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, of course. I just told you not to worry about it, didn’t I?” he responded, his tone a bit more exasperated. Honestly, Yuu worried about this kind of thing way too much…
“If you say so,” Yuu smiled, giving the hideous plushie a squeeze and Ace a peck on the cheek.
He huffed, but a small smile quickly came to his face nonetheless. His cheeks flushed a little when she kissed him, bringing a hand up to his cheek to make sure that wasn’t a permanent mark or something. He then shook his head, muttering as small grumble. “You’re way too troublesome, y’know that?”
“Says you,” Yuu chuckled, bringing the bag of chocolates up to the cashier.
Ace rolled his eyes, refraining from making any retort. He simply watched as Yuu placed the chocolates on the counter
Of course, he couldn’t wait too long before eventually opening his mouth once more, an amused smirk coming to his face as he was paying. “You know, if you wanted something even better than some ordinary chocolates, I could probably give you something better.”
“Oh?” Yuu took her bag of chocolates, thanking the cashier before leaving the store with him. 
Ace followed you out of the store, a cheeky grin on his face. “Yeah. I bet my kisses taste way better than chocolates.”
Yuu’s eyes widened for a moment, a faint blush dusting her cheeks before she composed herself, putting on a smile. “I bet.”
Once he saw her initial reaction, a devious smirk quickly spread across Ace’s face. Ah, so he’d caught her of guard for once… He liked seeing those sorts of reactions from her. It was cute.
He leaved in closer, his face close to hers as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “I can prove it, if you want.”
Yuu giggled. “I don’t think I would mind.”
Ace’s smirk turned into a grin, and he chuckled. “Good,” He pulled you close to him, and brought one of his hands up to her cheek. His fingers gently traced over her skin, running his thumb over her lips.
He leaned in closer, his lips a few inches away from hers. For a brief moment, he just studied her eyes and face, admiring the way she looked up at him with such anticipation.
He smirked again, finally closing the gap between them two. His hand moved to the back of Yuu’s head, tilting it slightly as he placed his lips against hers. Ace’s eyes fell shut, beginning to kiss her.
Ace’s kisses were gentle, yet confident and possessive. His hand on her cheek was firm but not rough, and he used that to pull her closer. The world around her seemed to melt away, leaving just the two of them.
Yuu pulled away, letting out a content sigh as she did so. “...we should go; it’s getting late. You wouldn’t want Riddle to collar you again, would you?”
Ace rolled his eyes at the mention of Riddle, unable to help but grimace a little at the thought of receiving another of the housewarden’s infamous disciplinary actions.
“Ugh, you’re right,” he muttered. He wasn’t too pleased about ending the night early, though he didn’t want to get collared, either.
“Come on, Jeremy is getting tired,” Yuu grinned, pulling away as she held up her plushie.
Ace grumbled again, giving the plushie another disgusted look. “You need to stop calling that thing ‘Jeremy’,” he replied, his tone flat.
“When pigs fly,” Yuu stuck out her tongue, taking his hand and walking to the exit of the amusement park.
Ace rolled his eyes again, a small grumble of protest escaping from his throat. God, how in the world did that hideous plushie end up winning him over, yet again? He really was a hopeless case…
He didn’t utter another word of protest as Yuu took hold of his hand and lead him out of the park, though. As annoying as that hideous thing was, it made her happy, and that was good enough for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eventually, the two made it back to Ramshackle. Ace took a quick look at the rundown dorm, wrinkling his nose slightly. 
“Man, why does it look even more pathetic at night?” he grimaced, before walking up the steps to the front door.
Yuu rolled her eyes and shook her head, opening the door and stepping inside alongside Ace.
Ace followed close behind Yuu and closed the door behind him. He looked around the familiar yet outdated interior, still not entirely fond of the appearance. Of course, he was grateful that she was at least letting him stay here, so he knew better than to be disrespectful about it.
He let go of her hand and slumped down on the couch, sprawling himself out across it.
Yuu momentarily set her plush down on the counter beside her goodie bag of chocolates. “You want one?” she offered, popping a caramel filled milk chocolate piece into her mouth before getting to work and throwing away the mountain of the crappy, nut-included chocolates from students in her class.
Ace watched her as she tossed the pile of cheap chocolates into the trash, a slightly amused smirk on his face. He shook his head as he let out a small huff of laughter, silently mocking her earlier statement that she didn’t want him spending too much money on her.
“Sure, give me one. Might as well check if they taste as horrible as they look.”
Yuu raised an eyebrow. “I meant the ones you bought me from the amusement park—not these shitty ones. I don’t want you to get food poisoning or something.”
Ace rolled his eyes and scoffed dismissively, though he was inwardly relieved that he didn’t have to sample the cheap chocolates. 
“Oh, right,” he responded, a lazy smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He then shrugged, propping himself up on his elbows. “Well go on. I paid for those, so I should at least get a taste test.”
Yuu chuckled and rolled her eyes, looking inside the bag. “Which one do you want? White, milk or dark?”
Ace thought about it for a moment, before ultimately shrugging. “Doesn’t matter too much to me. As long as it doesn’t taste like dirt,” he replied, then adding, “I’ll take dark. It always tastes the richest.”
Yuu pulled out a dark chocolate piece, unwrapping it while walking over to the couch and feeding it to him. 
Ace leaned forward, a bit to accept the chocolate into his mouth, his eyes falling shut briefly once it was fully inside. He began to chew it, unable to help but let out a small satisfied hum.
After swallowing, he looked back up at Yuu and smirked. “Tastes better than the cheap stuff, I’ll give you that.”
Yuu suddenly smirked, a light bulb going off over her head. “You want another?”
Ace’s smirk grew, his eyebrows raising up slightly. He had an inkling of where this was going, but he still played along. “Depends. Are you going to feed me this one, too?”
“Eh, sort of~”
Ace smirked again, his curiosity heightened by her response. He leaned forward a bit more, keeping his eyes on her. 
“Care to explain what else you’ve got in mind, then?”
Yuu let out a giggle, unwrapping another piece of chocolate and placinging half of it in her mouth, holding it with her front teeth.
Ace raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, but then it dawned on him what she was getting at. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, a small huff of laughter escaping them.
He was going to get a repeat of that kiss from earlier, only this time it had chocolate involved. 
He shifted a little closer to Yuu, his eyes fixed on hers. “Is this your attempt at winning me over, with fancy French chocolate kisses?”
Yuu gave a firm nod with a hum, leaning down closer to him.
Ace smirked again and reached out to grab her waist, gently tugging her down on top of him. He settled down on the couch, his back flat against the cushions, his back flat against the cushions and Yuu lying on top of him.
“You’re lucky I like this kind of bribery…” he said, his tone low but playful.
He didn’t give Yuu a chance to response. Instead, he pressed his lips against hers, kissing Yuu eagerly. His fingers gripped her waist, starting to gently guide her so that she was straddling him.
Yuu used this chance to push the piece of chocolate into his mouth with her tongue. 
Ace’s eyes were shut at first, focused on only her lips against his. Then he felt the chocolate piece being pushed into his mouth, parting his lips a little more to let it fully in.
He quickly began to chew and swallow it, all the while keeping his lips in constant contact with hers. Then he broke away for a moment, his smirk returning as he spoke. “Tastes even better that way,” he commented, before diving back in, kissing Yuu again.
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credit to @cafekitsune for divider
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fantasylandloser · 7 hours ago
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Cry For Help pt.2
Pairing: rafe cameron x reader
pt.1
Four Months Later
“Your hair is all gone.” It’s the first thing you say and you regret it immediately. It’s the first time you’d seen, or spoken to him since he left and that was the first thing you said. But Rafe grins amused by your disbelief. He looks happier, more like the Rafe from childhood than the last couple of years and you’re relieved.
“Yeah I was sick of it getting in my face.” He explains. You can’t help but continuously run your eyes over his face. He’s tanned and relaxed somewhat. He’s smiled more in the last two minutes than the last year and he seems so much more like himself. So much stronger. 
“Hmm” You acknowledge. You weren't really sure what you should be saying. You didn’t want to trigger him, so all the things you had been thinking about saying to him got lodged in your throat. 
When he texted you to come over you nearly broke every traffic law to get there. You knew he’d been home for two weeks, after hearing about his return all over the island but he had never contacted you before today. 
He looked almost content as the two of you walked in the front yard. He lets the silence trickle over the two of you for a minute before speaking again.
“You’re either really mad that I cut my hair, or you must have taken a vow of silence while I was gone.” He jokes. You laugh a little still not really knowing what you were allowed to say.
“You know you can just ask? I know you have a thousand questions.” He said in that tone that said he knew you better than you knew yourself. 
You tilt your head trying to get a better look at him. “How are you?” You ask gently and the words feel foreign because you used to always know how he was. Not anymore obviously. 
“I’m better than I’ve been in a long time.” He said thoughtfully. You’re rushed with relief at hearing this, grateful to whoever had a hand in that.
“That’s good.” You nod. “What was rehab like?” You both had completely stopped walking just looking at each other.
“It was bad at first. Withdrawals you know, but then it was better. And..” He paused for a second looking away from you like there was something he wasn’t sure if he should bring up. “And I got the help I needed for um.. the voices and stuff so that’s good.” He looked a little embarrassed to share that with you. Pink tinging his cheeks, but you were elated, and beyond proud of him.
“You did? I’m so proud of you.” The words come out of your mouth with such ease you didn’t even realize the way that affected Rafe. His family was pleased to have him back but nobody really talked about his time away. Or how different he was now. Nobody praised him and he didn’t really think he deserved it for something he did to himself, but for some reason you didn’t look at it like that. You thought this was something special. He saw that in your eyes as soon as you saw him.
Rafe let your words wash away not knowing how to respond, continuing to walk again and you picking up beside him. “I wanted to say thank you too.” You look at him in confusion, confused on what he was thanking you for.
“For telling my dad.” He elaborates. “I know that wasn’t easy for you. Probably the last thing you wanted since you hate him but uhh it means a lot that you know me well enough to know how to help me.” You’re flabbergasted at this. You love Rafe but never once in your friendship has he expressed gratitude toward you and you know whatever therapist he was talking to deserved a raise.
“Oh..” You’re hesitant before you respond, because you weren’t planning on bringing it up of course.
“I thought you hated me for that.” Rafe shakes his head at the thought. 
“Could never hate you, bug.” He tells you. Your face heats up slightly but you ignore it the best you can. 
“You ignored all my calls, and denied me visitation.” You pointed out. To which Rafe sighs.
“I was angry at you. For a while. But over time I stopped being angry at you and more angry at myself, angry at my dad, at the situation and I realized I do have a lot I could be mad at, and even hate but never you. So thank you for saving me.” 
You’re hugging him before you even realize it. “That’s what best friends are for.”
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haifoct · 3 days ago
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let me kiss your brain, because, seriously, EVERY WORD in that post about LI Lun IS ON POINT!!!
Was Li Lun behaving like a murderous toddler throwing a temper tantrum? Yes! But he had some good reasons to do so!
Regardless of their "romantic" relationship, ZYZ and LL were first and foremost, friends, who spent 30k years together. Even though they disagreed and even though ZYZ always felt like being a demon wasn't good enough, he wanted to be human, LL still accepted that.
Did LL overreact by killing those people in the clinic? Yes. But, if I saw my people- including children- in cages, tortured, I'd probably snap too. Plus, it irked me to no end that ZYZ was too preoccupied with being outraged at Li Lun for killing guards instead of actually helping his fellow demons. "I will protect the Wilderness"- proceeds to do absolutely nothing crying over two killed torturers while LL does all the protecting.
Then ZYZ proceeded to touch the unknown burning thing and ended up mortally wounding Li Lun. And then sealed him in and deprived him of any choice. And did he go to talk to him after? Nope. No explanation, no "get well" card, nothing. Heck, I think even a shouting match would've been better.
Even if he never went to LL because he was spiraling into depression, that doesn't explain the whole "holier than thou" attitude he displayed throughout the show. Did LL kill humans? Yes, but so did ZYZ (example- that bureau guy whose heart he exploded to prove his point). And then had the audacity to taunt LL and call him names when in reality LL was right in most of his accusations- of ZYZ being a hypocrite, liar, traitor, etc. I'm sorry, but while LL is absolutely NOT free of fault, ZYZ has no right to pretend he is any better.
But the worst of all is that when he got a chance to make up with LL, he let his pettiness and anger get the best of him. He failed to say ONE SENTENCE (we will put your soul into a piece of wood and you will recultivate again in 100 years) that would've made a whole lot of difference, and in the end, he indirectly caused Ying Lei's, Li Lun's, and likely Bai Ju's deaths.
Literally, all they had to do to get LL to stop his antics and even become THEIR ally was for ZYZ to say "sorry I set you on perpetual fire, bro. I missed you". But the "hero demon" couldn't even do that...
If anything, Zhuo Yichen was the one who showed more compassion and kindness to Li Lun than his supposed friend ever did. No wonder Li Lun shifted his focus to him in the end.
It seems that ZYZ was inherently biased against being a demon and valued humans more than demons. Perhaps, it was because of him being the vessel of malicious energy, so he juxtaposed that unfair twist of fate onto all demons (as in, he would not be in that situation if he were a human). Perhaps, he also realized at some point that he could not have the same range of emotions as humans, so he perceived himself and other demons as less. And Li Lun was the personification of demon-ness and all that ZYZ hated about himself, and he couldn't overcome it. Plus, it seems that all demons have a problem with dealing with complex emotions like grief and rage; this is why, in the end, among all of them, ZYC is the most mature one even though he is only 24. If only ZYZ had one tenth of ZYC's maturity and compassion to his fellow demons, the whole story would've played out very, very differently.
And this is why I want to write fix it fics now
Thank you SO MUCH for your addition, especially for bringing up their very last chess match. It’s probably the only moment that makes me genuinely, fucking angry at Zhu Yan. I can even understand his reaction in the clinic—but this? He wanted to be human so badly that he put his pride above everything else, lmfao. How pathetic, how frustrating it was to see him so desperately refuse to call Li Lun his friend, refuse to say that he cared for him, that he didn’t want him dead, that he had a solution. It’s so sad that Li Lun was always open and clear about his grievances, he always used his words to explain why he’s angry.
I guess if Zhu Yan admitted that he cared for this unhinged one, it would show him in the bad light.
I don’t care; I don’t even think he "indirectly" caused Ying Lei’s death. He literally killed him, period. Xiao Zhuo and the rest of the gang were the ones who told Li Lun about the root thing, and the fact that we see Li Lun IMMEDIATELY stop struggling? He went, Oh… sure, I’ll go into the root, we can draw. (Also, if Zhu Yan cared for Li Lun, he would’ve put him in Cheng Huang’s sundial and grown him for 100 years as an apology for the pain. What is 100 years to a 30K-year-old demon? A mere blink.)
And YES, Xiao Zhuo was incredibly kind to Li Lun. Despite saying he never understood him and never would, we know damn well that’s not the case. Baby Zhuo Yichen spiraled into loneliness, bitterness, isolation, and hatred toward Zhu Yan and demons—until Wen Xiao’s words about snow eventually melting brought him back (the same way Xiao Zhuo’s words sobered Li Lun and left a mark on his soul). I’m forever grateful to our precious Zhuo Yichen for forming his own opinion about Li Lun. (Isn’t it fun that he never told the gang about his encounter with Li Lun by that river?) 
Zhu Yan’s hatred, his harsh words, never affected him. Zhuo Yichen understood Li Lun. His journey with Li Lun is one of the most fascinating and interesting. No wonder our director grabbed the two actors and put them in another series together — he’s one of us, a shipper.
I absolutely adore you pointing out Li Lun being everything Zhu Yan hated about himself. His harshness with his former friend comes from his self-pity and self-hatred.
His words, "Li Lun, you’re bitter I have everything, and you have nothing." Despite it being awfully annoying in the moment due to Zhu Yan literally not hearing what Li Lun was telling him, it made me think it’s Zhu Yan trying to convince himself.
And even worse, Li Lun is proud of being a demon. He loves the Wilderness, he loves his home, he loves his people. There’s nothing he loves more than being a demon. He even turned the human he liked the most into one as well.
Zhu Yan is not as broad minded as Wen Xiao claims him to be. He very clearly has his biases. Always thinking about Zhu Yan murdering Xiao Pagoda Ghost that played with them in Li Lun’s illusion. That was awfully cold blooded! 
They’re tragic, indeed, and my heart breaks for them both. However, it makes me incredibly happy that Zhu Yan learned from his experience with Li Lun and stood firmly by his new friends’ sides. And I’m happy Li Lun found one Zhuo Yichen and one little Ying Lei who cried for him and were kind to his pain.
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flusteredfools · 7 hours ago
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(Summer Daze again- sorry!!!) Was there ever a moment where Sun or Moon genuinely hurt Reader's feelings, or upset them that caused them to back off or avoid the boys for a while? How did Sun and / or Moon react?
First, please don’t be sorry!! I love answering asks and ones for my Fics/Au’s are especially delightful as well as help me flesh more of them out if it’s not something I’ve already focused/touched on so it’s really really nice and helpful!! I’m not sure how close I am to starting the main fic so I’m not too worried about spoiling things that will be in it; though for those who do mind, you might not want to read this if you have good memory and will most likely remember it later in a few months or so XD
(included some rough doodles before I start the next batch of ych prizes XD)
Moon, not so much, but only because conversations were already so few and short between him and the reader; his silence slowly lost its edge as Reader accepted he just is soft spoken and short with his words. So even if/when Moon wanted his silence to bother them, it never hurt too much after the first few times. 
Sun, though, made it crystal clear that he didn’t like Reader from the start, and while not quite bullying (as he would NEVER let that happen to anyone under his watch) he certainly tried his very best to make things as difficult for them as possible. And while it did make them feel sad (after all it's not fun to have your new coworkers not like you) they accepted there had to be a reason for his actions and tried to work through it while hoping the two would eventually come around and the three would be friends one day.
That friendship became a bit of a double edge sword though, as once they started to get closer, Sun had started to lash back out and at that point, Reader couldn’t help but take it personally; friends one day but not the next makes for a confusing struggle. 
The final wound that broke their hope was an overheard argument Sun was having with Buck (The human counselor from Team Fauna), where Sun (who still couldn’t be honest with himself) shared what he claimed were his true feelings before Moon could stop him as Reader turned the corner to where they were standing. 
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The immediate hurt that washed over their expression as their eyes filled and overflowed with tears had both bots’ processes stuttering in panic as Reader turned to run away, choosing to hide in the woods to cry their heart out alone. Moon shouted after them but couldn’t get himself to move out of his frozen shock, and Sun was still just as equally frozen; he’s said plenty of borderline mean things but he’s never made you cry before, it was the first time in his whole existence he truly felt such a deep regret over his actions.
Once they manage to get themselves moving, the two try searching for the Reader and despite knowing the trails and forest well enough to map every path without looking, fail to find them. Eventually Reader leaves the woods and quietly stumbles back to the shared cabin at night; only entering once they believed the two bots were charging in their sleep mode to hide under their blankets for some restless sleep. 
The next day both celestials were greeted with short and forced pleasantries and awkward smiles that they knew held no real joy. Moon had attempted to smooth things over, to at least help rebuild the foundation of the shared relationship; but it seemed you had resolved yourself into believing none of it. Even though the ‘truth’ shared was only by Sun; Moon wasn’t spared from the cold distance, excuses Reader would make to stay away and keep themselves busy with tasks that didn’t require either co-counselor. 
Neither liked it, not after knowing how sweet all the shared moments could be. The hurt Moon had felt only worsened and festered, turning into small fights with Sun over the loss of a wonderful friendship, let alone the loss of a budding love neither would now get to experience. It only took one moment to break everything, and now the two will spend every moment trying to fix it. 
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di-daynamic · 3 days ago
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I absolutely do understand and I agree with you on many of those things! I guess there's also the societal pressure to think of - for instance one of the many reasons Emma helps them out is that Jace being a Herondale mattered to her deceased father ("The Carstairs owe the Herondales") and I think a lot of people just called him Herondale despite Jace using the Lightwood name at that point of time. Also subconsciously - in both Clary and Alec's dream worlds Jace is called a Herondale.
Jace also thinks he doesn't deserve to be a Herondale - that's the first thing he thinks of when he says it's not his name - so I love that he takes on the name and dispels that thought-
“Not—my name,” Jace whispered. His blood felt hot in his veins, tightening his throat, choking off his words. He thought of the silver box with the birds on it, herons graceful in the air, the history of one of the great Shadowhunter families laid out in books and letters and heirlooms, and how he had felt as if he didn’t deserve to touch the contents.
The emphasis on family name is very much a Shadowhunter thing and I don't really get it either but I love to think about the characters in terms of it - Charlotte being Consul was the reason the Fairchild line continued through them rather than Branwell, and part of the reason Alec was so worried about his sexuality coming out was the Lightwood name I think, and Kit being less related to Jace than other characters but feeling like more due to both of them bearing the name.
I guess the demon blood thing doesn't annoy me so much because it is alongside other things - the reason Jace isn't like Sebastian is partly the demon blood, but also that he got to the Lightwoods in time--
“The best thing Valentine ever did for me was send me to you,” Jace added. “Your parents, sure, but mainly you. You and Izzy and Max. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have been—like Sebastian. Wanting this.” He gestured at the wasteland in front of them. “Wanting to be king of a wasteland of skulls and corpses.” Jace broke off, squinting into the distance. “Did you see that?”
I mean, Jace has terrible self-esteem so not to be taken at his word, but still.
The reason Jace takes the Herondale name rather than Montclaire is because he doesn't know anything about his mother - he had Amatis, his father's letters and later Tessa to connect to his father's family (also just patriarchy but you know). I also think that quote is more him saying names don't matter than that they do - he's just picking is, and specifies it's not to spurn the Lightwoods, also his family.
I've always seen demon blood as more of a propensity than anything, I guess? Not like angel blood makes Clary and Jace perfect people - Simon is Clary's moral compass quite a bit. Also the fact that Jace literally has demon and warlock blood from Tessa (do you think he could use James' gun?). It was because of his upbringing that Sebastian was really the way he was. He was also connected to Jace - I know he was the 'major' and Jace got his thoughts and feelings rather than the other way around, but there was at least a little in that direction too. He was able to pretend enough to almost fool Clary that all he wanted was to banish demons and be Valentine without the genocidal and maniac tendencies. In the end all he really wanted was Clary too. I think the demon blood being burned away just got him to see everything and himself more clearly - contrasted against Magnus meeting his demonic father right after this. The tragedy of the intersection of you would've always been like this and you could've changed but didn't is what TMI is to me.
Sorry this is rambling and a bit all over the place. And I really hope this doesn't come off as argumentative or anything. I do think Jace Lightwood Herondale is the best name for him, and your points about the demon blood thing are entirely valid. Thank you for discussing it, I love TMI and it's been far too long since I've had to think this in-depth about it (though the Clace and Sizzy University AU fic rattling in my head does help).
My firmest TSC take will always be that Jace should have gone by Lightwood in the end. I get that him being a Herondale makes sense in the grand scheme of the TSC universe (him, Will, James, Kit, and Edmund are all birds of a feather), but his personal arc is far more dependent on the family who raised him. Learning about his biological parents is of course important to him, but calling himself a Herondale doesn't actually feel like a resolution to his identity crisis. TMI is all about rejecting the hatred handed down from previous generations, which is why neither Clary nor Jace identify as Morgensterns. While Stephen was nowhere near as bad as Valentine, he also did even less to shape Jace into his adult self. Robert and Maryse on the other hand actually raised him for half his life, and Alec Isabelle and Max grew up alongside him as his siblings. He's a Lightwood in every way that matters, I don't get why Jace (in-universe) would choose to identify himself as a Herondale when there's nothing tying him to that family but blood spilled before he was born.
Anyways, I'm a Jace Lightwood truther for life, thank you for coming to my tedtalk
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danandfuckingjonlmao · 11 months ago
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niche ass post feel free to disregard:
as a linguistics nerd, it’s always fascinating to me how dan and phil both manage to mispronounce so many words but always in a different way to each other. like “consummate” in the most recent dapg vid? dan pronouncing it consjumate/consyoomate and phil pronouncing it conʃumate/conshewmate and neither of them acknowledging they said different words? adding a palatal approximate (/j/ or “ya”) i can excuse kind of but i cannot find a single instance of adding a postalvelar fricative (/ʃ/ or “sh”) being accepted pronunciation. oh to be a fly on the wall in the phouse getting to gather linguistic data on them, then making a corpus of phanology (phorpus, if you will) <3
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akkivee · 3 months ago
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Penny for your thoughts, but I'm wondering if the upcoming Kuko angst is going to be related to him getting true mic'd. Like one of the first things he establishes way at the beginning the importance of making your own choices, and how he wonders if coming back to Nagoya when he did was right or not, but is the choice he made. But he didn't. And like immediately finding out he complains of being shrouded in doubt during "when six colors combine" drama track.
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i like where your head’s at!!!!!! love it actually lmao!!!!!!
idk how to try and support your ideas without breaking down each and every verse lol, but i’ll try to keep it short. i think in this song preview, we listened to kuukou question everything he believes in, but as the song further and further progresses, we see him reassert his beliefs and give them focus, quite literally saying to never waver again. what set that off is the big question and i do think it’s linked to that very verse
the only time he’s ever mentioned such a sentiment is towards ichiro actually; ichiro always wavered in his heart and it’s the one thing kuukou could not stand about ichiro, so there’s potential it could be about ichiro
but this is a bat track lol and besides, ichiro and kuukou are very similar people. what he hates in ichiro could be actually reflective of something he hates in himself for a past choice we aren’t privy to, or even that very ‘choice’ to have left ikebukuro
as for it being bc of true hypnosis mic thought, i don’t see why it couldn’t be!!!! esp since kuukou himself didn’t sound very happy with the way he was called strong for breaking free out of the true hypnosis mic in the six colours track. if he needs maybe we’ll get some insight as to how kuukou broke out of the true hypnosis mic???
something that caught my eye while looking over the lyrics was that both he and hitoya have a similar verse about ‘illusions,’ hitoya plans to unravel its lies and kuukou’s is about how those illusions became reality. idk lol!!!!! that kinda sounds like a nod to the true hypnosis mic to me!!!! plus!!!! we had hitoya accompany ichiro, jakurai and gentaro’s block party mission to find out about the hypnosis mics, so that gives bat another connection to the hypnosis mic lore, as small as it is rn lol
on kuukou’s end, he true hypnosis mic had the power to strip away the value of choice. kuukou’s talked about how the hypnosis mic can change your fate in glory or dust and fate for kuukou is directly linked to choice. choice affects karma and depending on the karma you accumulated in life would affect how kuukou faces the buddha at the end of his life. so where does a choice like his actions the true hypnosis mic made him do fall under??? what’s that karma???? maybe it’s why kuukou’s thinking at some point in this song that his heart’s conviction isn’t enough, as evidenced by that verse ‘even when closed, with unwavering resolve in our hearts / this belief itself extinguishes like a flame,’ if his will had been strong enough in the first place, maybe he wouldn’t have succumbed to it is his thought process and that’s very harsh for kuukou to put onto himself lol
and lastly lol, about hirono-san uncharacteristically tweeting about kuukou it was def a hint lol 🤭 our first hint was hayama-san’s post and pic with bimi in may, the second was hirono-san’s kuukou bday tweet and the third was the fact kuukou’s sukajan was falling off the exact same way hirono-san liked to strip tease and then, hirono-san posting that very pic himself after the drop lol
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luke-shywalker · 4 months ago
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#i’m terrified to ever watch this movie. i think it would kill me. basically it’s about a marriage falling apart.#anyway—adam driver would do so good as bobby in company and i would die to see him in it#i’m seeing company tonight!!#it’s a special musical to me. it’s about marriage. how marriage is both exciting and boring and makes your life better and worse.#the months leading up to our wedding i was kind of a cynical mental wreck. there was so much i did not like about my husband-to-be.#sometimes i felt like the only reason i was going through with the marriage was because it was too late to get out of it.#i had spent my teen and college years wanting to have a boyfriend/husband then i got one and realized#oh wait this didn’t actually fix my problems huh#actually there are NEW problems now#and then somehow this past year has actually been like. the best year of my life lol#it’ll be a year next month!#yea there are still those Little Things. sometimes there are Bigger Things. but bruh this dude is so good for me#i have never been thriving as much as i have this year.#i’m so much healthier in so many ways than i have ever been all my life#and like it’s cringe to say that cuz i don’t want to say MARRIAGE is what fixed me but. i think it’s okay to say that#there must be some kind of GOOD to marriage otherwise there’d be no point in doing it#and i think i make his life better too. he tells me so at least lol.#and i’ll only be able to watch the show with one eye LOL but my husboi will be with me watching this musical#that i used to listen to when i was angsty about getting married#and now we are married#and life is great.#somebody need me too much#somebody know me too well#somebody pull me up short and put me through hell#and give me support#for being alive…#yeah there are times when it’s harder than being single but. the blessings are multiplied along with the hardship.#shywalker stuff#Youtube
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cyberbullyinc · 2 years ago
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😐
#ive been added to this gc for the 3rd or 4th time after i explicitly asked to NOT be added back bc im always fucking getting ignored like#last time the person who added me was like omg i hope this is ok and i was like no it’s actually not ok i dont wanna be added back please#dont add me back and she was like omg im so sorry i totally understand :( and she did it again 😑#the reason i didnt wanna be added back was bc i considered them my best friends at some point but ever since like the p*ndemic started#everything just went downhill and on one hand i understand they have their own lives and don’t have time to answer etc but on the other hand#they never had time to reply to MYYYYYY messages specifically 🙃 and it hurt bitch to be always the one ignored#and the reason i havent left this time like i just didnt care to be added back was bc idc anymore like alsjfjfk im still in contact to#whoever i wanna be in contact with i still text someone individually like i don’t need to be in a group setting to be friends with this#person and she’s mentioned a bunch of times how dead it is lmao so i was like wtv i do send a text once in a blue moon but it’s not as#active as it was when i originally left so it’s not obvious when im ignored lol BUT!!!!!!#the person who added me back…. the person who IGNORED my boundaries and request to leave me the fuck alone has ignored every single message#ive sent since she added me back :)#like she literally just wants public for her little show and she did this even before i left and was the main person why i left lmao bc the#rest were like going through stuff and i was like u cant be here i get it but she’s always ANYWAYS SO ABOUT ME!!!#i literally sent a text i think yesterday? and she didn’t reply to it at all but she just started talking about herself like 😑 WHY DID U ADD#ME BACK!!!! u dont ‘miss US’ lmfao u miss that i kept the gc alive which gave u attention !!!!#i dont want to be ur fucking spectator go post it on fb#anyways end of rant 😌
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