#i guess ill deal with that man on my screen

[911-wassup-bby]

.

[babyangelsky]

Back in March when I was doing the BL Challenge (brought to us by the lovely @negrowhat), I mentioned in my post about Korn Theerapanyakul that it isn't often that we get an actual villain who isn't just a love rival in a BL. The presence of an antagonist in a story doesn't necessarily make them the villain and not every story calls for one either. That being said,

Jak is a villain.

I want to break down this shot because it tells us a lot about the dynamic at play and Jak's point of view.

There's a lot going on here. The first thing my eye is drawn to is the line between them (and how Mut is just slightly crossing it since he stepped into the lion's den). Once you see that, the differences between both sides of that line become more obvious.

Mahasamut is dressed in a dark cool color and he's in shadow but his face is catching the light. The flowers, fireplace, candles, and TV behind him feel warm and homey. Fitting for a cafe. On the other hand, Jak is dressed in a warm light color and he's sitting in the light but his face is in shadow. The windows behind him and his positioning makes it feel like he's sitting at a desk in a corner office in a high rise instead of a cafe.

I weirdly wish they'd shown us when they arrived at the table because I would bet you anything that Jak sat down first. He's the older one, he's relaxed, etc. It makes sense for him to have sat first which means he chose that specific seat and the only reason I mention it, and really the only reason it matters, is that it tells us how Jak sees himself in this situation.

He's sitting there in the light in his dad sweater telling Mahasamut about wanting to fulfill his role as Tongrak's father and that he's so sorry about his behavior in the past and wants to atone for it and it's all bullshit because look at this man's face.

It is completely shadowed, just like his intentions and his agenda whereas Mut's is completely in the light.

And the difference becomes even more stark once Jak tells Mut to break up with Tongrak.

Jak is spewing nothing but ill-intentioned bullshit and Mahasamut sees it for what it is and makes it clear that he isn't going to fall for it, which is why things devolve.

Now. Just so we can get it out of the way, yes, obviously Mut should not have agreed to that meeting. He shouldn't have engaged and should've put the baby in the car and driven in the opposite direction. I was screaming at my screen for him to do just that, as were many of us I'm sure. However, I have to point out that it is not inconsistent for him from a character writing standpoint to have agreed.

Lest we forget, he said this to Tongrak last week when he was explaining why he turned Prin down when she tried to buy him.

"But Leah the dad is so much worse how could he not see—!" I know. Trust me, I do.

I'm gonna put on my baseball uniform and go to bat for my man for a second though because I think part of the reason that he agreed to talk to Jak is that he vastly underestimated him. And to be completely fair to Mahasamut, I did, too.

If I had to guess, I would say that he was expecting to be dealing with someone cut from the same cloth as Prin. Maybe a little worse since he knows what Jak has done in the past but certainly nothing he couldn't handle. Mahasamut is not a reckless or a thoughtless man. I don't believe for a second he would've even walked in the building if he didn't feel confident that he could deal with Jak.

The problem is that Jak is very much not cut from the same cloth as Prin.

I noted in my expressions post that it looked like the only time Jak was actually feeling something was when he accepted Prin's offer to destroy Tongrak but that's not entirely accurate. Having gone back to watch his scenes, there's a second instance where genuine emotion peeks through.

There's such a cold rage in his expression when he reproaches Tongrak for choosing his mother and cutting ties with him. And make no mistake, he's not angry because he loves his son. We already know that he doesn't. He's angry because in his eyes, he lost to a woman he felt nothing but disdain for.

If Tongrak and Kwan had chosen Jak over their mother, do you think Jak would be out here causing problems? No, he would've flat out ignored them. He wouldn't bother keeping such close tabs on Rak and his relationships because he would've already won and if he's doing it now, it's because he wants to win.

This is a game to him. This is fun for him.

His son is terrified and begging him not to hurt an innocent little girl and a young man and Jak's response is, "Don't be greedy."

He tries to force his son to choose which one of the people he loves most in this world gets to be safe but the choice isn't really a choice. He says he'll choose for Rak and he already has. Jak had already had Mahasamut beaten by the time he comes to see Tongrak and we know that because Mut's injuries have been treated when Rak gets home and Vivi is already there.

Matter of fact, the only reason Jak is even here talking to his son is because his attempt to convince Mut to leave has failed and he knows that going to Rak won't fail. He knows his son is afraid of him and he knows he can use that fear to get what he wants, which is why he brings up the uncle doctor.

Although we've gotten little of Jak so far, it's safe to assume that he is not a man who makes empty threats. Tongrak knows this, too, which is why he becomes so panicked when the doctor is brought up. We as the audience don't know who this doctor is but we can surmise from Tongrak's expression that he's important enough to be used as a weapon by Jak.

Until this point I don't think Tongrak realized that his father had anything to do with whatever happened to this doctor, he looks genuinely surprised. But all Jak had to do to prove how serious he is about his threat is mention the man. That's all he does. Rak puts the pieces together himself.

And here is where I bring up next week.

If you can look at this man's face as he rips the contract and think for a moment that he's going to try to push Mahasamut away for some flimsy petty reason, I am here to tell you that you are dead wrong. If I so much as SEE the words 'noble idiocy' I'm going to kick off.

Because we know that by the time Tongrak picks up this contract to rip it, Mahasamut has already been beaten twice and that Jak made a barely veiled threat to have him killed. Rak is rightfully terrified of his father and afraid for his boyfriend's life and wanting to keep Mut safe and ALIVE is not noble idiocy.

Now is it going to work? Smart money says no, wild horses couldn't drag Mahasamut away. He loves Rak too much to take any threats lying down. But as much as I understand why Mut talked to Jak, I understand why Rak wants to keep him safe even more.

Jak didn't accept Prin's offer because he wanted to help her. He doesn't give a single shit about her agenda except to mock her for it. He agreed to destroy his son because he wants to, because doing so will allow him to win and get back at his ex-wife. The money is just a bonus.

Jak is a Villain.

[kvthgok]

Pain In the Ass | Miguel O’Hara x Teen Spider Reader (Platonic obv)

Warnings- none

Summary- Miguel scolds you for going on a mission he told you not to go on but you had enough of it

Side note- OMMLLL I HAVENT WROTE IN SOOO LONG IM SO SORRY YALL 💀🙏. ANYWAYYYSSSSSSS this one takes a lil just a lil turn Yk 🌝 OKAY ILL SHUT UP ENJOY THIS OR DONT IDC 🤍 (Not Proof Read hehe)

Miguel was always busy with dealing with a multiverse falling apart, so he didn't have much time to deal with his rebellious kid.

Basically you.

Miguel was standing on the platform where he was looking at all the floating holographic screens , not realizing that his kid had once again escaped for like the 100th time today. . .

"Chinga tu madre. . ." He muttered and groaned to himself when he noticed that you weren't in your usual spot in his big “man cave’” as you would call it when you were younger

Miguel took a deep breath.

He sighed "Lyla, where is my kid?"

Lyla appeared, “tsk tsk your always losing your her Miguel” she said annoying him

Miguel pinched his bridge of his nose, “just tell me where she’s at lyla” clearly getting pissed off

Lyla rolled her eyes in her normal sassy way, “she’s in another universe fighting an anomaly—you know the one you told her not to go fight” she said looking up from her phone

Miguel rolled his eyes, "I give this kid one rule... "Pendeja, I told her to stay away from that anomaly!“" He muttered under his breath.

Miguel sighed, wondering what he had done to deserve having such a rebellious child

"Lyla, call the others. Make sure they know there is an anomaly in that universe."

Miguel sighed deeply, annoyed at how his daughter constantly disobeyed him.

"I didn’t sign up to be a father to be disobeyed constantly. I told her to stay away from that anomaly and now she’s in trouble. She never listens to a single word I say. She’s so impulsive, I swear to god..."

Miguel clearly irritated from my rebellious actions opens up a portal to that universe you were in

He saw you flying and fighting the anomaly. He had to admit it for my age you were better than the other at the Spider Society.

After a few minutes you got done and tied the anomaly up with your spider webs and you were about to open a portal back to the HQ spider society until you saw Miguel. “Oh hey” you said giving him a nervous smile and laugh “funny seeing you here” scratching the back of your neck. Meanwhile Miguel eyes were practically turning red he was super livid.

Miguel was furious as he walked up to you.

"I gave you one rule and you broke it. Now tell me. . . Why did you go to that anomaly after I explicitly told you not to?"

“Cause you told me explicitly not to go” You said

"And you thought that was a good idea?"

Miguel was still furious but he was trying not to yell."That anomaly could've killed you! There was a reason why I didn't want you to go near it!"

Starting to get pissed you said,“But guess What? It didn’t kill me” You went through the portal back to the HQ spider society carrying the anomaly and handing it off to another Spider-women with Miguel following through

Miguel was still angry as they both made their way through the portal.

"You know the rules... Yet you still can't manage to follow them. . . You know... I've been too easy with you. I need to actually do something about your disobedience this time."

"Give me your web shooters."

“What no” you scoffed turning around

"Hand. Them. Over. Now."

Miguel was getting angrier by the second. He wasn't playing this time.

"I gave you these to assist you with your duties and to protect you from danger."

"Obviously, you can't do that. So, you won't be needing them."

You mocked him, “yeah yeah whatever “ still not handing them over

You tried to pull away but failed as Miguel grabbed your web shooters and pulled them off. You were furious but knew better then to argue with him.

Miguel rolled his eyes.

"You could've just given them to me."

"...But no. You just HAD to be a pain in the ass and make it difficult for no reason."

He sighed.

"Lyla, make sure you keep a close eye on her for the next couple of days. She's clearly not capable of following simple rules and needs some level of supervision."

Lyla appeared and sighed.

"Oh great, this is going to be fun."

Lyla then turned to you.

"Miguel is right, you know. You need to do a better job at listening to him. I get that it can be tough having a strict father, but rules exist for a reason. You can't just go breaking all of his rules whenever you feel like it. That's not how it works, Y/n."

You glared at Lyla.

Lyla looked at you un-phased by your glaring.

"I'm just saying, Y/n. You could do a lot better at listening to Miguel, especially when he's asking you to do something that's for your safety."

"I know you're a smart kid and you have potential, so I'm confident that you can improve at listening to Miguel."

You completely snapped,“Look he isn’t even my father he’s just another version of my dad from another universe. My REAL father is dead in my universe. And Miguel thinks I’m some replacement cause he can’t accept the fact that HIS REAL daughter is dead. I’m not some sort of second chance for you to be a dad again I hope your remember that Miguel. If anything he’s the REAL Pain In the Ass for thinking he always has to watch me like a hawk everywhere I go”

[xdarkestdesirex]

Calamity - Hide x f.Reader

Volume One

Calamity (n.) a great misfortune or disaster

You think you're just like every other 18-year-old girl: just starting college, living alone, and working at a cute cafe, except you aren't because you're a ghoul. Trying your best to blend into a world that isn't your own, and then you meet him. Hide. He's unlike anyone you've ever met, and you slowly fall for him. But will it ever work between the two of you? He's human, and you're not.

This is a Hide x female reader, and this fanfiction story will be based STRICTLY on the mangas, including the novels.

The plot of Tokyo Ghoul and the characters are not mine. They all belong to Sui Ishida.

I don't allow anyone to copy my story, publish it on other platforms, or alter it as your own.

This writing contains highly sensitive topics like violence, gore, mental illness, talk of suicide, death, smut, and other mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.

word count 10877

“Humans are thought to be at the top of the food chain… But some beings hunt them as food. These monsters feed on the dead flesh of humans. They are called…

Ghouls.” 

-Tokyo Ghoul Volume 1 #001 Tragedy by Sui Ishida

——————————

The sound of the TV lofted through the brightly lit cafe. A news channel was showing an interview with a man named Hisashi Ogura, a ghoul researcher, explaining what ghouls are and how they act. I stood behind the coffee bar, dressed in my work uniform, which consisted of a cream blouse with a gray vest layered on top and a brown tie wrapped neatly under the collar and tucked below the vest. A brown skirt with two pleats in the front that hit my mid-thighs, shear tights covered my legs, and a pair of platform leather loafers adorned my feet. I blocked out the sound of the male voice coming from the screen on the wall and stared at two customers sitting at a table across from me. I noticed the one with dark black hair from his frequent visits to the cafe, but the friend across from him was someone I barely saw. He had short, dirty blonde hair with dark roots and gleamed as a smile crossed his face. The other boy’s cheeks turned dark pink, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the blonde was teasing his friend about when suddenly, the vibrant boy shot out of his seat and yelled out to Touka. 

“Hey! Can you take our order?!” His giant smile grew, and he looked down at his friend and gave him a little shove. 

“Sorry, (Y/n), can you take this?” The plum-haired girl turned towards me and walked away from the beaming boy. I sweat-dropped at the explicit rejection of my co-worker to deal with these boys and then made eye contact with the blonde. He sent me a small smile and a faint blush crept up on my cheeks. From the few other times he made a brief appearance in the cafe, I couldn’t help but be drawn to his bubbly, adorable appearance. I walked out from behind the counter, gripping my notepad, and sent them the best customer service smile I could muster. 

“I apologize for my co-worker,” I bowed, “What can I get for you?” 

“I’ll have a cappuccino!” The bright boy turned to his friend, “What about you?” 

“Oh, uh, I’m okay, thank you.” The dark-haired boy shyly spoke. He was always the quiet type when he came in. 

“One cappuccino coming up!” I said, turning around to walk away, but someone grabbed my hand and stopped me. I looked to see who caught me, and it was the boy I admired from the coffee bar. 

“Can I ask a question?” He looked up at me with beautiful olive eyes and a silly smirk.

“Of course,” I replied. My heart was beating quickly in my chest.

“What is that girl’s name?” He pointed over towards Touka. My face dropped, and I felt a strange knot in my throat. I don’t know this guy, but it’s still a hit to your ego when someone you’ve been silently crushing on asks about another girl. “I think she might be the girl my friend has a crush on.” He gestured to the boy next to him. Oh, that makes sense. I guess I worried for nothing. 

“Her name is Touka.” I directed the answer to the dark-haired boy, “She’s lovely once you get to know her!” Touka would kill me if she heard me talking about her to a boy. 

“O-oh, no, s-sorry!” The poor boy looked like he would burst from embarrassment, “My friend is mistaken! She’s not the girl I have a crush on! Though she is cute.” He trailed off and said the last part quietly, but I could still pick it up. Heh, he thinks she’s cute. I’m so going to tease her about this. 

“WHAT?” The blonde looked taken aback, “I swear I was spot on with my guess.” He turned back to you, “Sorry about that!” 

“It’s okay,” I said, chuckling. Finally, I broke free from the boys and returned behind the bar. 

I grabbed a bag of espresso roast coffee beans and poured a small amount into our espresso grinder. It sputtered to life and poured the coffee grounds into the portafilter. Once it was filled, I pressed the coffee grounds down, compacting them into the portafilter, making sure not to pact them down too much. I placed the portafilter onto the espresso machine, put one of our mugs below it, and started it up. Slowly, the deep brown drops of coffee began to fill the cup, and the smell of brewing beans wafted through my nose. I inhaled the bitter scent and felt my body relax instantly. Coffee is the only thing I can relate to with humans, and the smell of it has always calmed my nerves. While the espresso was pouring into the mug, I grabbed a jug of whole milk from the fridge, poured it into a cup, and then placed it under the steam wand. Once I steamed the milk, I poured it over the espresso, topped it with foam, and drizzled a heart on top with caramel. 

I brought the cup over to the blonde boy and sat the cup in front of him. Once he looked down at the mug, his hands shot up to his face, and he cooed, “Awww, you put a heart on it!” Instantly, my face turned a bright red, and I cursed myself for putting a heart. I was too proud of my coffee art to think about the embarrassment I would feel after bringing it over to him. He turned towards me, “What’s your name!” 

“Oh, uh, I-I’m (L/n) (Y/n),” I bowed, “Nice to meet you.” I mentally facepalmed myself at being so proper. 

“I’m Hideyoshi Nagachika, but you can call me Hide!” He reached out and grabbed my hands. “Do you have a boyfriend?!” WHAT? Did he just ask me that? I think I’m going to faint.

“N-n-n-no,” I stuttered out. I could feel the palms of my hands getting sweaty, and I only hoped he wouldn’t feel it, either. My whole body was on fire, and I could feel the eyes of other customers looking at us. Did he have to be so loud while being this direct? 

“Could I possibly-” 

“(Y/n)!” Touka called me, interrupting the blonde boy, “What are you doing?”

“A-ah! I have to get back to work!” I pulled my hands away from the blonde, ran over to Touka, and lowered my head in shame for getting distracted while working. Touka may be younger than me, but she can be scary. As I got back to work, I could hear the dark-haired male scold his friend for being obnoxious, and the words that fell out of the vibrant boy’s lips shocked me, “She’s cute.” 

Touka stared at me angrily when the door opened, looking like she was also about to scold me. I took this moment to greet the customer and saw Rize walking through the doors. It made me uneasy whenever she came in, but I knew I could do nothing about it. She was a binge eater, and just thinking about the things she does to people makes me sick. But I still greeted her the way I do with every customer. 

A few minutes passed, and I was back to standing behind the counter, cleaning up things lying around. I decided it wouldn’t be wise to go back to staring at the dirty blonde boy after our encounter, and I did my best to distract myself. The sound of a chair squeaking made my eyes snap, and I saw the bubbly boy leave his chair. “Good luck, dreamer boy!” He waved to his friend, sporting a bright smile, then turned slightly to look at me and yelled, “See you later, (Y/n)!” And then he walked out the door.

I patted my hot cheeks, trying to calm them down, and Touka stared at me for a second before rolling her eyes. “Seriously?” She leaned closer and whispered, “He’s a human.” Then, she walked away from me. Yes, he’s a human, and I’m a ghoul. There’s no way we could ever be together, but a crush has never hurt anyone. 

——————————

These past few days, I couldn’t help but worry about Hide’s dark-haired friend, whose name I found out is Kaneki. Once the blonde boy left the cafe, I saw Kaneki interact with Rize and overheard their plan to go out on a date. It was coming up tomorrow, and I struggled to find a way to warn the poor boy. Just from looking at him, I could tell he was pretty weak, and he wouldn’t stand a chance against Rize. If he were at least a bit strong, maybe he would have the opportunity to defend himself, but even then, he probably would still fail. She’s a strong ghoul, and nothing gets in her way of feeding. There wasn’t anything I could do about it either unless I wanted to expose myself or Anteiku, and I would never do that. 

My best course of action would be to follow them. I knew where they were meeting and what time, so I could just lurk in the shadows and ensure Rize didn’t do anything to Kaneki. It was settled then. Tomorrow, I will watch them. 

*

Morning came, and I got ready for my day of spying. I wore a pair of black jeans and a band T-shirt with a pair of black Converse. I threw my (h/c) hair into a bun and tossed a black zip-up hoodie and a pair of sunglasses into my bag. Was I being too obvious? Most likely, but oh well. I didn’t want to stand out; I could blend into the darkness if they hung out at night. Before leaving my room, I grabbed the book on my coffee table and shoved it into my bag. I needed something to hide behind, just in case. 

I arrived at the restaurant they were meeting at a bit after the time they stated to make sure I wouldn’t be seen by the two. When I entered, I got the waiter to seat me in a corner behind Rize’s back so she couldn’t see me. As I watched them talk, they seemed to be having a good time, and I could see the faint dusting of blush on the boy’s cheeks occasionally. Rize was a master disguiser when it came to being a ghoul; she knew how to blend in with humans, and it surprised me that she didn’t touch the food on her plate once. I’ve seen her pretend to eat before, so was she avoiding it right now because she didn’t want to spoil her appetite for later? I still wasn’t sure what I would do if she attacked him. I’m too weak to fight against a ghoul of her strength, and I couldn’t risk him knowing about me either. Maybe I could run into them? Tell her we had an important topic to discuss with her right away. 

After following them around for the day, everything seemed okay. Maybe she wouldn’t hurt him today, and I can warn Mr. Yoshimura about her plans. It was nighttime, and the only things lighting the streets were a few lamp posts. I threw my hoodie on not too long ago and slowly watched them as they came to a stop. It was time to part ways, but Rize made up some excuse of being scared to get Kaneki to walk her home. Shit. She’s going to kill him. I was about to dart out of my hiding spot when I saw a group of girls walking in my direction. I noticed one of them as Touka and panicked, so I threw myself back into the hiding spot and watched as they slowly walked by. At this point, the couple I was stalking, for lack of better words, had disappeared. Once the high school girls were out of sight, I ran towards the alley I saw Rize and Kaneki walk down. Before I could even enter it, a loud bang rang through the area as steel beams came crashing to the ground. I fell backward and covered my face as the debris flung towards me.

This isn’t good. I quickly picked myself off the ground and ran towards the beams to see if the poor dark-haired boy was trapped in the destruction. It didn’t take long to see him poking out from under a beam, crushing him into the ground, and a puddle of blood surrounding him. Fear coursed through my veins, and I could feel the change in my demeanor. My eyes flashed red, and I suddenly felt a pang of hunger. I clutched my stomach and shook my head. Fuck. I did go past my feeding time with how busy I’ve been lately. I can’t let myself lose control now. Not after how hard I’ve worked towards controlling myself. Once I pulled myself together, I grabbed my phone and dialed the police. I couldn’t just leave him here to die.

——————————

After the incident with Kaneki and Rize, I stayed by to ensure the black-haired boy was still alive. I didn’t move him from his spot, scared that if I did, it would be the difference between him dying or not. When the police and ambulance arrived, I gave them my statement and asked to remain anonymous. I know doing that was risky, and I could’ve exposed myself by staying there. Thankfully, they didn’t prod me too much with questions but told me what hospital Kaneki was being transported to, which brought me to where I am now—standing in front of that hospital and questioning why I was even here. I wanted to check in on the poor boy and ensure he was doing okay, but I didn’t want to see him directly. 

I took a deep breath and walked through the hospital doors to the front desk. A lady sat behind the counter and looked up at me impatiently, “How can I help you?” Her voice was monotonous. You would think they’d hire bubbly people to work the front desk at a hospital. This place is already depressing, and people like this lady don’t help the atmosphere. 

“I just wanted to check the condition of one of the patients here,” I said.

“What’s their name?” Her hands were ready to type once I spoke.

“Ken Kaneki.” Her fingers started working her magic, but another voice spoke behind me before she could say anything.

“(Y/n)?” It sounded slightly familiar, but not enough for me to know who it was immediately. I turned around to see the bright, blonde-haired boy.

“H-Hide!” I should’ve expected him to come and check in on his friend.

“You’re here to check on Kaneki as well?” Looking at me puzzled, he scratched his head, “I didn’t know you guys were close.” 

“Are you also a friend of the boy?” The lady behind the counter interrupted our conversation. 

“Yes, I am.” The blonde boy's face settled into a straight line, a more serious look, away from the bright smile he usually wore when I saw him at the cafe.

“Then I’ll tell the both of you so I don’t have to repeat myself. Kaneki is in stable condition and doing well, but he’s asked for no visitors.” 

I glanced over at Hide, and his eyebrows scrunched down. He looked disappointed and sad. I’m sure he wanted to see with his own eyes that his friend was okay. 

“Thank you, ma’am,” I turned to face the boy beside me, “Can we talk?” He nodded his head.

He followed me out of the hospital, and we walked side by side in silence. I wasn’t sure where to start. I knew I couldn’t tell him that I stalked them cause I knew Rize was a ghoul, but I could at least explain that I just happened to be passing by when the steel beams fell. I’m sure he’s suspicious of me, and I wanted to clear my name. 

“I know of a cafe we can go to if you’d like. I’ll pay.” I spoke. 

“Is it Anteiku?” He lightly joked.

A small chuckle fell from my lips, and I shook my head, “No, there’s one right down the road that’s pretty good.”

“Alright, let’s go.” 

The blonde boy seemed deep in thought as we headed towards the cafe, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for his somber appearance. If I had stopped their date beforehand or pulled Rize away from Kaneki, then Hide’s friend wouldn’t be in the position he’s in, or if I had been strong enough to fight her. I gripped my fist tightly and cursed myself for being weak. Yes, I called the police, but I could’ve prevented him from ever getting hurt. 

We made it to the cafe and were seated at a small table facing the window. I ordered an iced americano (something I could drink) and some avocado toast. I couldn’t eat the toast, but I’m good at pretending to enjoy food. I watch many videos on YouTube of people going out to eat, and I like to stay on top of food trends for people my age. Hide ordered a cappuccino and a piece of cake. Once our food and drinks arrived, I picked up the toast with my hands, bit right into it, swallowed it whole, and pretended to chew. Then, I sipped my coffee to wash away any foul-tasting food I ingested. 

“So, why were you at the hospital to see Kaneki?” Hide questioned.

I sat down my food and dabbed my face with a napkin before responding, “I was there at the incident.” I decided to get straight into it.

“Wait, what?!” I guess what I said was the last thing he expected, given how his mouth hung open in shock.

“I don’t live too far from the area where it happened,” Which is the truth since I live at Anteiku and it wasn’t very far from the incident, “I was out for a late night walk cause I was feeling a bit stressed when suddenly these steel beams came crashing to the ground. I wasn’t close enough to be caught up under them, but the whole thing scared me. Then I remembered seeing two people walk towards where they had fallen, and I needed to make sure they were okay. So I started looking around. It wasn’t long before,” I paused for a second to take a deep breath. It wasn’t like I wasn’t used to seeing people in the state Kaneki was in when I found him. I've seen worse, but the negative thoughts from earlier came crashing back. A pair of solid hands lightly gripped mine, and I looked up to see the vibrant boy looking at me worriedly. 

“It’s okay (Y/n), you don’t-” 

“No, I have to tell you,” I cut the boy off and squeezed his hand in mine, “I saw Kaneki lying there. I recognized him from Anteiku and h-he- there was a lot of blood. I was sure he was dead, but when I checked for a pulse, I felt something faint.  So I called the police immediately but didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t see the other person he was with, so I just sat there and stayed with him till help arrived.” 

Hide rubbed his hands over his face, “I-I’m so sorry you had to witness what you did,” He looked up at me with tears threatening to spill from his eyes, “But I’m so thankful you were there to be with him and call for help.” His voice broke, “My best friend could be dead right now if it weren’t for you, so thank you.” 

Having Hide thank me made all my emotions surface, and tears started rolling down my cheeks. I dropped my head into my hands to cover myself from the gaze of onlookers. Then I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me into a hug. I nuzzled my face into the bright jacket of the dirty blonde boy, and he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. We both sat there crying while embracing each other. It felt good to have him be grateful to me, but I still felt guilty and don’t think that’ll ever go away. Hide offered to walk me home when we left the cafe, and I accepted it. We didn’t talk much during the walk, but the silence was comfortable. It was nice to have the company, at least. He tried to crack a few jokes to lighten the mood, and he succeeded with it. I couldn’t help but giggle whenever he said something funny. 

Once we arrived at Anteiku, Hide cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. “I thought I was taking you home.”

“This is home,” I smiled at the boy, “I live in an apartment above the cafe. That’s how I started working here!” 

“Oh wow! I didn’t realize people lived up there.”

“There are a few of us who live up there. Thankfully, there are only a few apartments, so I have fewer neighbors.” The blonde boy chuckled at my statement, “I guess this is where we part ways.” I whispered.

“I guess so,” Hide smiled slightly.

“Thank you for walking me back,” I said, walking up the steps to the door.

‘Wait!’ he yelled out. I stopped to face him once again. He rushed up the steps and got close to me. A fit of heat crept up my face from the sudden closeness. “Could I get your number?” 

“U-um, sure.” If my face hadn’t been red, it would be red now. I reached into my back pocket, pulled out my phone, and handed it to him. He gave me his, and we swapped numbers. 

“Thank you again, (Y/n), for looking after Kaneki.” He said one last time before leaving. I pressed my back against the wall and slid down once he was out of sight. I can’t believe that just happened. 

——————————

It had been another steady day at the cafe, and I didn’t have any classes today, so I worked an entire shift from opening till 4 pm. Like always, I stood at the counter, waiting for Touka to return from school so she could swap me out. These past few days have been emotional and tiring, not to mention how I had to come clean and tell Mr. Yoshimura everything that happened with Kaneki and Rize. We spent the past few days reviewing the event in detail and ensuring nothing leads back to Anteiku. I felt terrible for putting our group in danger by exposing myself as a witness to the police and other ghouls by being there when Rize got killed. We had concluded that what happened most likely wasn’t an accident since so many people were after her. Meaning we must be extra careful and lay low for a while. 

There have also been rumors floating around that the doctor who performed surgery on Kaneki used Rize’s organs as a transplant to save him. Mr. Yoshimura seemed concerned about this and asked us to watch for him. He feels like it could affect him in a way that we wouldn’t be able to comprehend. So I’ve been lost in thought over everything that’s happened, and my guilt has only grown. Mr. Yoshimura was kind and told me he was proud of me for saving the boy, and even though what I did was a considerable risk, I made the right choice. Even Yomo brought me coffee and an extra meal to spoil and make me feel better.

A small smile spreads on my face after I think of how Yomo cares for me. We’re not family by blood, but he took me under his wing when I was little. I was around 7, and he was only 23. Why did he look after me like I was his own at such a young age? I couldn’t understand, but he’s been like a father to me all these years. Being here at Anteiku has been a blessing; the people here are all my family. Without everyone’s help, there’s no way I would survive in this world. Many ghouls would struggle without the kindness of Anteiku and Mr. Yoshimura. 

  Suddenly, the door was thrown open, and an angry, disheveled Touka came storming through. Many customers glanced at her; some knew why she looked the way she did, while others looked at her with judging eyes. 

“Hey, Koma, can you watch the counter while I check in on Touka?” I asked the male on shift.

“Of course, (Y/n)!” He smiled at me.

I quickly wandered back and headed up the stairs to Touka’s room. Knowing she would tell me to go away, I didn’t even bother knocking, so I just barged straight into her room. She whipped around quickly, looking at me with her signature annoyed look.

“Ugh, how often do I tell you to knock.” She said.

“What happened?” I asked as I sat down in her chair by the desk in her room.

“Why do you think something happened?” She huffed back.

“Because I’ve known you for a while, Touka, and you don’t try to hide it when something pisses you off.”

“Fine, an asshole was trying to push himself onto me on my way here from school, and then another asshole showed up. He was a ghoul as well, so I killed the old fuck trying to grope me, and I offered some of him to the other guy cause he seemed hungry. Then I noticed only one of his eyes was red, and he looked a lot like the guy Rize took on a date. I tried to get him to eat, and he refused. He looked at me with disgust before running away.” 

I just sat there in shock over the fact that she told me all that so easily; I didn’t have to pry it out of her, and holy fuck… Kaneki is a ghoul now?!

“Touka, I’m so sorry some slimy bastard was pushing himself on you. I disagree with killing people, but he had it coming.” I paused momentarily, “As for the boy who looked like Rize’s date, you need to tell Mr. Yoshimura about him.”

“Why?” The plum-haired girl became defensive.

“He might need help.”

“He’ll be fine. If I had to figure out my way in this shitty world alone, he can too.” The young girl crossed her arms and glared at me.

“Touka, please just go talk to Mr. Yoshimura,” I begged the girl.

“I make no promises,” she said, walking towards her door and gesturing, “Now please leave so I can get dressed.”

I sighed and left the room, knowing there wasn’t much I could do. I’ll tell Mr. Yoshimura myself if Touka doesn’t talk to him by the night’s end. I returned to the cafe and let Koma know she was okay. Only a few minutes had passed before she made her way behind the counter, and I was finally free to go to my room. Walking down the hallway, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number I had yet to message. The phone rang a few times before a deep voice answered on the other end.

“Hey (Y/n)! This is a surprise.” His voice came through the speaker and whispered into my ear. Even talking on the phone made my cheeks heat up slightly.

“Hide, is this a bad time?” Before I asked the real question, I wanted to ensure he wasn’t busy.

“Nope! I just left class and am heading to a meeting for this school festival. We can talk while I walk!” 

“I just wanted to check in and see how Kaneki was doing. Have you seen him lately?” I’m unsure if Hide knows he’s out of the hospital yet, so I have to see what he knows about Kaneki. 

“Oh, yeah, he got discharged from the hospital a few days ago, and I took him out to eat as a celebration.” His voice didn’t sound as enthusiastic as before.

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear Kaneki is doing okay. How’s he doing… mentally?” I hesitated to say that last word. Dealing with trauma can be rough, but if he’s turned into a ghoul, then he must be going through something even worse.

“He did seem kind of out of it the whole time we were out, and he looked pretty pale. He couldn’t keep down any of the food he ate. I was worried about him, but he said he’s still healing.” So he couldn’t eat the food at the restaurant. I’ll have to tell Mr. Yoshimura this information and what Touka saw. 

“It might take a while for him to feel normal again,” if he can even feel like that after what happened to him. “Thank you for updating me, Hide. I appreciate it.”

Once Hide and I got off the phone, I wandered down the hall to Mr. Yoshimura’s office and knocked on the door. I waited for his okay before I entered and sat in front of his large oak desk. 

“What can I do for you (Y/n)?” He propped his hands on the desk and gave me his undivided attention.

“It’s about Kaneki. I told Touka to talk to you, but I don’t think it can wait.” He looked at me with deep, squinted eyes. “She saw him not too long ago and noticed one of his eyes was red. He looked hungry but refused the meat that Touka tried to give him.”

“So he’s part ghoul and refusing to eat.” The old man paused before continuing, “We need to contact him before the hunger consumes him.” 

I agreed with Mr. Yoshimura, and we sat together and discussed ways to approach the dark-haired boy without scaring him off. We wanted to help him with this new way of life and teach him what it means to be a ghoul—if he’d let us, and maybe he could help us understand humans better. I begrudgingly told him about my encounter with Hide at the hospital and how we swapped numbers. I hoped to keep this secret, fearing Mr. Yoshimura would forbid me from talking to the vibrant boy. He didn’t fully agree with me talking to the human, but he didn’t say I wasn’t allowed to. Which I was silently thankful for. 

We devised a plan for me to ask Hide for Kaneki’s number so I could personally check in with the shy boy. I would then message Kaneki, telling him I was the person who called the police during his incident and that I would like to meet up with him. From there, I would ask him to meet me at Anteiku and invite him upstairs, where I would lead him to Mr. Yoshimura’s office. We would then explain that we understand his situation and would like to offer him help. I wasn’t sure if this would work, but trying didn’t hurt. At least we would know that we reached out and tried even if he refused us. 

Together, Mr. Yoshimura and I made our way down to the cafe. We wanted to gather everyone and meet about our possible new friend. Since it was the end of the day, the cafe should be locked up, and all the customers are gone. The only people left should be the other workers like Touka and Koma, and soon, Yomo would be returning from his patrol of the area. When we reached the cafe, the only person we could see was Koma mopping the floors. He told us Touka was outside taking out the trash. As we got close to the door, we could hear Touka’s loud and clear voice. She was yelling at someone, and she sounded agitated. The last thing I heard before Mr. Yoshimura opened the door was Touka saying, “You can die for all I care.”

Once the door was flung open, I saw the dark-haired boy kneeling on the ground. He had a green hoodie on with the hood pulled over his head. Tears were streaming down his face, and his left eye was red. He looked terrified, and my heart clenched as I stared at the poor boy. I couldn’t even imagine what he was going through. His world has turned upside down, and I could have prevented it. 

“Touka,” Mr. Yoshimura’s voice cut through the tension. Kaneki looked up at the older man, and his eyes fell on me in the background. Without realizing it, I shrunk behind Mr. Yoshimura, trying to hide from the boy’s gaze. “It must have been rough,” The old man shifted his body and opened the door wider to invite Kaneki inside. As he walked past me, I kept my gaze on the floor. I didn’t realize how shameful I would feel for him to find out I was a ghoul. If he knew about my involvement when the beams fell on him from Hide, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he blamed me for what happened to him as well. 

Touka argued with Mr. Yoshimura about letting the poor boy into Anteiku, but the older man shut her up by saying ghouls help each other. The plum-haired girl and I followed quietly behind the two men as Mr. Yoshimura led us to the secret refrigerator where we kept human meat for ghouls who couldn’t hunt independently. The grey-haired man grabbed a wrapped pack of fresh meat and handed it to the troubled boy. Kaneki hesitantly grabbed the package and stared at the raw human meat in his hands. His dilemma of what he would do with it was evident in his eyes, and I could relate to his feelings. There was a point in my life where I refused to kill another human so that I could survive. It drove me insane to the point where the hunger devoured me. I no longer knew who I was, and my sense of humanity disappeared. 

I went on a binging spree, and the amount of blood I spilled that day was enough to last a lifetime. Yomo found me in hysterics and had to knock me out so I could calm down. When I awoke, I was in Mr. Yoshimura’s office, and he offered to help me. He told me that I would never have to worry about hurting another person. I was initially hesitant when they started to give me my meals, and it took a lot for me to finally give in and eat again. Ever since that moment, I haven’t killed another human. 

“Please come back when you need more,” Mr. Yoshimura smiled at the boy. Kaneki thanked us for helping him and left quickly. 

“I-I’m going to head to my room,” I said farewell, leaving Touka to glare at the older gentleman in the hallway. She was pissed, I could tell, but I wasn’t in the headspace to stay and explain what happened along with Mr. Yoshimura. He didn’t need me to help anyway. That old man always knew the right things to say. 

*

The sun had finally set for the night, and I was starting to feel agitated in my room. Since Kaneki came by the cafe, I’ve been throwing a pity party for myself, and I needed to stop. I decided some fresh air would do me good and headed out of the cafe for a walk. I was dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, with the hood pulled over my head and a pair of headphones shoved into my ears. Loud music blasted into my eardrums, and the cool night air nipped at my nose. My feet took me down the alleyway near Anteiku, where ghouls usually hunted at night, but I stayed clear of the feeding corners. 

Being a ghoul, you knew whose turf was whose, and if you got caught wandering around an area you weren’t allowed in, a fight would break out. I’ve been in this area long enough to know which alleyways I could walk down peacefully and which I should avoid. The area my feet decided to take me was Rize’s old hunting grounds. With her being gone, I knew this area should be desolate. No ghoul lurking in the shadows scared that Rize might rip their heads off for being in her area, and no humans due to the high number of ghoul killings in this section. But my peace was interrupted the further I walked into the maze-like alley. 

I stumbled across a ghoul named Nishiki Nishio holding someone against the wall while he ranted about having his territory disturbed. Gah. This prick. I’ve never liked him since we briefly met a few years ago, and if I ran into him, I would do my best to ignore him. I felt terrible for the hopeless ghoul he was threatening, and then I realized the ghoul he was threatening was none other than Kaneki. I stood there frozen, unsure of what to do, like the date situation all over again. But I’d be damned if I just stood around this time and didn’t interfere, so without thinking, I stepped forward.

“This isn’t your turf, Nishiki. It belongs to Rize.” I used the excuse of this area being Rize’s turf in hopes it would scare him, but when he cocked his head to look at me, all he did was laugh.

“Don’t be so silly, (Y/n). Everyone knows Rize is dead.” His manic eyes stared into mine.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s dead. Anteiku oversees the 20th ward, and if you want a hunting ground, you have to go over it with Mr. Yohsimura.” My voice was stern as I glared daggers back at Nishiki. He let go of Kaneki’s neck, causing the boy to fall to the ground and gasp for air. The tall brunette slowly walked my way, eyes glaring red and hands clenched into fists.

“I can’t stand you guys over at Anteiku. That old shithead pisses me off with his human-loving hippie shit.” He stops a few inches from my face, “This used to be my turf before that binge-eating bitch came into town, and now that she’s dead, it BELONGS TO ME.” He spat. I didn’t want him to see that I was affected by anything he was doing, so I tried to summon my inner Touka and held the meanest RBF possible. 

“And I can’t stand pricks like you,” Maybe I summoned her too well because the next thing I knew, the tall brunette was lunging at me. I quickly dodged Nishiki’s attack and unleashed my kagune. My kagune was a koukaku type, otherwise known as the sword kagune, and it was released right below my right shoulder blade and warped into a sword-like figure around my arm. It almost looked like the kind of sword you would see in a fantasy video game, and not to fluff my ego, but my kagune is really pretty. 

I stared down the angry male and prepared myself for another attack. He might be more robust than me, but I could severely injure him if I time my move right. As he dashed at me, I used my sword to slash a gaping wound from his right cheek down to his right hip. He yelled in pain and collapsed to the ground. Nishiki quickly pulled his body off the ground, cursing under his breath, and sent one last glare before sprinting in the opposite direction.

I let out a deep, shaky breath and fell to my knees. That was scarier than I thought it would be. I’m not the type of ghoul to get into fights or provoke others. Usually, I stick to myself and avoid others at all costs, and if I find myself in a sticky situation, then I’m getting my ass beat. 

“W-what even are ghouls?!” Kanekis voice broke through the silence, “You guys kill humans and your own!” 

  “Kaneki-” 

“YOU’RE SICK!” His yell pierced deep within me, and all the shame I felt my whole life was brought to the surface. He’s right; we’re sick creatures. Tears threatened to spill down my face, but I held them back.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Was all I could choke out. I stayed there on the ground and watched the dark-haired boy scream out in agony. His left eye was beating red, and his veins started protruding through his skin. He was suffering. Not just from the agony of being turned into a ghoul but from the ever-consuming hunger eating away at him. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” 

His head whipped to look straight at me, and his face contorted into disgust, “I could never eat human flesh!” 

“Kaneki, I understand what you’re going through, but if you don’t eat-”

“I’ll never allow myself to become a monster like you! I’m a human being!” Tears flooded down his face, and his hands gripped at his hair, “A-and you, (Y/n), better stay away from Hide. I won’t let you ruin his life like Rize did mine!” 

Hide? Did he tell Kaneki about me? Of course, he did. They’re best friends. But Kaneki is right; a monster like me should avoid Hide and all humans. Our worlds don’t mix. I pushed myself off the ground and ran away from the dark-haired boy before he could see the waterfall of tears cascading down my face.

——————————

A loud alarm jolted me from slumber. I rubbed my swollen eyes from a long night of tears, and a deep sigh escaped my lips. I wish I didn’t have to go to school today. The most sleep I got, in total, was around 3 hours. The thoughts swarming my head wouldn’t shut up, and at some point in the night, I let out an anguishing scream. This wasn’t a rare occurrence; unfortunately, I’ve had night terrors most of my life and would wake up screaming. Yomo came rushing in to see the stains of salty tears streaking my cheeks, and he quickly wrapped me in his arms and petted my hair. He whispered that everything was okay and that it was all a bad dream, but this time, everything that had happened was real. The long, white-haired male was able to calm me down and lull me to sleep. Now I’m awake again. If I let every night like this keep me from going to school, I would miss most of my classes, so I dragged my body out of bed. 

I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and beat some concealer into my skin to hide my lack of sleep. I decided to wear a cropped, long-sleeve top with thick stripes going across and torn fringes dangling from the bottom, along with oversized mom jeans and a pair of Doc Martins. My school bag was just a plain black crossbody tote, and I slung it over my shoulder, giving myself a once-over in the mirror before leaving my room. As I made my way to the cafe, I quickly stopped by the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of our nitro coffee. I will need all the energy I can get for a full day of classes. 

I’m studying art at Kamii University, which thankfully means I only have classes for three days a week, and I get to bend my creative mind—sometimes. It was hard for me to focus on anything the teachers talked about or showed us, and I put little work into the lessons during class. By the end of the day, I slowly walked through the campus, made my way to one of the courtyards, and sat on a bench tucked under a tree. I leaned back, letting my eyes flutter close, and listened to all the noises around me. The chatter of people walking by, the chirp of birds in the trees, and cars off in the distance. Every sound flows together, creating a peaceful cadence. For a moment, the muscles in my body relaxed. I could curl up on the bench and take a much-needed nap. 

“(Y/n)?” A deep voice calls out to me. Why, cruel world, must you rip me out of this peaceful moment? I open my eyes to see Hide and Kaneki standing before me. The blonde-haired boy flashed me his signature smile, and the dark-haired boy glared at me from behind his friend. “I didn’t know you went to school here!” His cheerful voice rang through my ears. 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I shifted my gaze to the ground and did my best not to seem interested in the conversation. After what Kaneki said last night, it felt wrong to interact with Hide.

“Kaneki, this is (Y/n), the girl who saved your life!” Hide’s statement made both Kaneki and me flinch.

“Hide, we should probably get going,” Kaneki tried to pull the vibrant boy away.

“Huh?” Hide’s olive eyes stared at his friend briefly and then drifted toward me. “(Y/n) would you like to join us?” He gazed softly at me, causing my heart to race. I’ve never had someone look at me with such gentleness like the way he’s doing right now. My heart fluttered and hurt at the same time. I wanted to accept his offer but had to turn him down. At least we haven’t grown too close to where doing this would be more painful. 

“Sorry, Hide, but I should head home,” The sadness was evident in my voice. I stood from the bench and re-slung my bag over my shoulder.

“Did something else happen between you that I don’t know about?” The blonde gestured between Kaneki and me. 

“What?” I nervously laughed. “I just have a lot of homework.” He looked at me with a questioning gaze, and I could tell he was developing theories.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hide flashed me a somber smile, “Hopefully, I’ll see you later.” The blonde boy started walking away, but Kaneki, still facing me, looked like he was internally fighting himself. 

I approached the black-haired boy and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll stay away from him.” 

“(Y/n),” Kaneki’s deep silver eyes trapped me in his presence. They danced across my face, taking in every inch. I felt exposed like he saw all the terrible things I’ve ever done, and I was just waiting for him to spit another crude comment, but people keep surprising me lately.

“She’s coming with us!” Kaneki called out to Hide. 

“Hu-What?” My mouth was gaping open and closing like a fish out of water. 

Hide turned around to look at me, “Are you sure? You don’t have to join us if you’re busy.”  

“No, it’s okay,” I shot Kaneki a thankful glance, “I would love to go with you.” 

Hide and I walked alongside one another, and Kaneki trailed slightly behind us. I knew he’d stay back to watch me, so I made sure to be mindful of my actions. I wanted to show Kaneki I wasn’t a nasty ghoul like the few he’d encountered. He doesn’t ever have to worry about me hurting his dear friend.

We walked through the campus, and I must admit this is the first time I’ve been to the dorms. They were just as pretty as the main building, and I fantasized about what it would be like to live in the dorms: making friends, having a roommate, going to parties, and getting to be an ordinary college girl. That would be nice. On our way into one of the dormitories, Hide explained that we were going to an upperclassmen’s room to pick up a DVD from last year’s festival. The blonde boy then told Kaneki and me what setting up for the festival was like. It seemed like a lot of work, but how Hide lit up and talked excitedly made me want to join the committee. Maybe I should look into it anyway? Socializing would do me good, and I would spend more time with Hide.   

We made our way in front of a door, and the vibrant boy exclaimed that we had finally arrived and flung the door open, revealing a girl straddling some guy’s lap. Her shirt was unbuttoned, exposing her breasts, and the boy’s lips trailed along her neck. But within the split second of Hide barging in, the poor girl screamed and jumped away from the guy she was sitting on. Quickly, she fixed her shirt and then ran out of the door. I instinctively slapped my hands to cover my eyes from the inappropriate scene in front of me. This is why we knock kids.

“Nagachika,” the two boys blocked my view of the guy in the room, so I couldn’t see who it was, but that voice sounded familiar, making my hair stand on end. “I really don’t like my territory being violated.” 

“Nishiki?!” His name came out of my mouth before I could stop it. Great, why him?

“Oh? (Y/n).” He looked at me with his snake-like eyes. 

“You guys know each other?” Hide asked.

“Unfortunately,” I glared at the brunette boy. He sat unfazed in his desk chair with a bandaid plastered to his cheek. I couldn’t help but smirk, knowing my attack was deep enough and still healing. 

“Oh, well,” the blonde awkwardly scratched his head. “I guess I don’t have to introduce you two.” Hide then pointed towards the black-haired boy, “Kaneki, this is Nishio, Nishio, Kaneki.” 

The tall brunette gets up from his chair and fixes his shirt. He takes a few long strides to Kaneki and stops in front of his face, giving Kaneki a chilling smile. “Nice to meet you, Kaneki,” Nishiki’s voice was dark, and I couldn’t help but tremble along with Kaneki. The poor boy looked like he was going to faint. He already didn’t like me because I was a ghoul and didn’t initially like the idea of me around Hide, so he must be freaking out now that another ghoul is in the equation. Especially a violent one like Nishiki. 

Hide drew Nishiki’s attention by asking for the DVD for last year’s festival. The brunette started delegating areas for all of us to look at, and I felt like I’d gotten whiplash from the sudden threatening aura he gave to this now-normal college student he’s showing. It was weird to be in a room with Nishiki and not be arguing or having to defend myself. We spent about ten minutes looking for this green case that held the special CD that Hide needed.

“Oh, you know what? I took that disk home,” Nishiki said. Like hell, he took it home. He’s up to something, and I don’t like it. “It’s not too far, so we could head over there and grab it.”

“Hide, do you need it right now? Nishiki can always bring it to you tomorrow.” I looked at the blonde boy with pleading eyes, hoping he would understand what I was trying to say. Don’t go with him. It’s a trap. 

“Don’t worry, guys,” Hide flashed us a bright smile, “You don’t have to come along.” 

“I-I’m coming along!” Kaneki quickly responded.

“Yeah, I’m not leaving you alone with Nishiki,” I said bluntly. He already knows how I feel about him, so there’s no point in hiding it. 

“What’s gotten into you guys?” Hide questions.

“I’ve been cooped up at home, so going out somewhere would be nice.” Kaneki’s reply seems legit since he has been home the past few days since he got out of the hospital, but it’s clear that he doesn’t want his friend to be alone with Nishiki. 

“I don’t trust Nishiki,” I flatly said. Maybe Hide will change his mind about going if I’m honest about how terrible Nishiki is, or I could make him believe I’m uncomfortable and would like us all to go somewhere else, which isn’t entirely wrong. I got lucky last night with the hit I landed on him, and I doubt the universe would allow me to be this lucky twice in a row. 

“Aww, (Y/n), after all these years, you still don’t trust me,” Nishiki says. He walks towards me and tries to wrap his arm around my shoulder, but I step to the side, brushing him off. That annoyed him, and he glared at me through his hooded eyes. His face will get stuck in a permanent glare if he does it one more time. 

Hide slides between the brunette and me, an uncomfortable chuckle escaping his lips, “Well, let’s head out then.” 

*

Nishiki and Hide chatted as we walked along the sidewalk while Kaneki and I sulked in the back. Well, Kaneki was the one sulking as I burned daggers into Nishiki’s back. We encountered a Taiyaki stand on our way, and Nishiki insisted we get some. Hide seemed happy to snack on something, and I begrudgingly accepted the treat. I had drunk all my coffee earlier, so I could not wash the vile taste down after eating the Taiyaki. Kaneki watched Nishiki and me with amazement at how we stomached the food. He must learn to eat and look like he’s enjoying it if he still wants to blend in with his friend. 

“Nishio, how much further?” Hide asks the brunette.

“It’s just around the corner here.” The tall male walks up behind the blonde boy. Before I could react, Nishiki slammed his foot into Hide’s back, sending him flying into the wall ahead of us. 

“Hide!” Kaneki and I screamed. 

Without thinking, I released my kagune, and I rushed towards Nishki. He quickly dodged my attack and then slammed his foot on me. The sheer pressure of him stomping me into the ground broke the concrete beneath me. I could feel the snapping of my ribs, and I groaned in pain as I tried to wriggle my way out. He had me pinned.

“I won’t be going easy on you today (Y/n). We’re not by your precious Anteiku, so I don’t have to worry about those shitheads showing up to help you.” I should’ve known I won yesterday because he didn’t want to deal with Mr. Yoshimura or Yomo. “My strength can match Touka’s or even Yomos if I wanted it to, and right now, I’m just using 80%.” He pushes his foot even further into my body. Then he kicks my side, sending me tumbling across the floor. I really shouldn’t have turned down all those sparing sessions from Yomo. They could have come in handy right now. Even with the blinding pain shooting through my abdomen, I pull myself off the ground and take a fighting stance. I won’t give up until I can’t move anymore.

This time, I wait for Nishiki to come towards me, and when he gets close enough to try and kick me again, I swing my sword down at him and slash his leg. “You bitch!” He yells at me, stumbling backward. Oh good, I landed a blow. It wasn’t the leg his kagune wraps around, but it’ll kill his speed with how much he relies on his legs. It won’t give me an advantage, but It might help me. I could see the blood boiling inside him, and I prepared myself for his next move, knowing Nishiki would be full of anger.  But nothing could’ve prepared me for the way he slammed his head against mine, causing the room to spin and taking advantage of my momentary dizziness to kick his kagune straight through my stomach. Blood trickled up my throat, and I choked on the thick fluid, spitting some up onto the brunette boy’s face. 

“You’re so fucking weak.” Nishiki slowly retracted his kagune from my body. With a loud thud, my body collapsed to the ground. My vision was fading in and out, and a loud buzzing rang throughout my ears. I tried to pull myself together but couldn’t determine which way was up or down. The pain was so unreal my body almost went numb, but I could feel the warm liquid coat my skin. I could practically make out two blurry figures fighting against one another and hear a faint scream somewhere in the distance. My sense of self was slowly starting to come back. I lifted my head to see Nishiki hovering over Hide. Nishiki’s foot was lifted over the blonde boy’s head, and he slammed it against his face. I still couldn’t distinguish his exact words, but I knew he was taunting Kaneki. He slammed his foot down again.

“N-No,” I tried to croak out, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was more blood. I couldn’t let him hurt Hide. He could kill him without even meaning to. With the bit of strength left in my body, I hurried to fling myself over the vibrant boy, and once my body was over his, a heavy foot collided with my skull. Then everything turned black.

——————————

When I woke back up, I was lying in my bed at Anteiku, and the pain I felt in my abdomen was nearly gone. I dragged my sore body out of bed and hobbled into the hallway. A slight cramp sprang through my stomach, letting me know I hadn’t completely healed yet. My feet dragged against the floor, and I stopped before Mr. Yoshimura’s office. I tapped my knuckles against the wooden door and waited for the older man’s voice to float through, letting me know I could enter. He seemed surprised to see me out of bed and standing before him. 

“(Y/n), what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.” Mr. Yoshimura’s voice was strict but caring. 

“H-Hide, what happened to him?” My throat still felt raw, and the words tumbling out didn’t sound quite right.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Mr. Yoshimura held his arm out to me, and I gratefully accepted. He helped me walk down the hall to one of the empty rooms and slid the door open. On the bed lay a boy sleeping, his head wrapped up and tufts of dirty blonde hair sticking out the top. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, and my lips trembled.

“W-what happened?” I choked out.

“Touka was passing by and was able to stop the fight. She immediately called Yomo to explain the situation, and we quickly rushed to help. Then we brought everyone back to Anteiku.” 

“So Touka saved us. I guess I’ll have to thank her later,” I paused and stared at the serene boy lying on the bed, “Is it okay if I stay in here?” Mr. Yoshimura nodded and then turned around to leave me alone with Hide. I hobbled closer to the bed and kneeled on the floor beside him. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the boy, “I’m so, so, s-sorry.” My body began to convulse as the tears came flooding out. I draped my body over the side of the bed and stayed lying there until I cried myself back to sleep.

I was woken back up by the sound of the door sliding back open. I whipped my head off the bed to see Kaneki standing in the doorway, tears also staining his eyes. A look of relief washed over him as he stared down at his friend, who was still alive. 

“Kaneki,” My voice was soft, “I’m so glad you’re okay.” I flashed a small smile at him.

“(Y/n), I-I,” the black-haired male gripped his stomach and then glanced back at Mr. Yoshimura standing behind him. “I don’t feel hungry anymore…” Kanekis’s voice trailed off. “What did you do to me?” He asked the older man.

“There is only one way to eliminate a ghoul’s hunger, and I think you know what that is.” Mr. Yoshimura said matter-of-factly, “If you kept going down the road you were on, you would have killed your friend.” The old man’s usually closed eyes opened widely, and he looked Kaneki straight on, “Accept what you are.” 

The poor boy hung his head, and the tears slipped past his eyes and fell to the floor, “I-I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“You don’t have to,” I finally spoke, “Here at Anteiku, we get our food without hurting humans.”

“I-I, I just feel like I don’t belong anywhere,” Kaneki cried out, “I’m not a human anymore, but I’m also not a ghoul.” 

“You’re wrong, young man,” Mr. Yoshimura said, resting a hand on Kaneki’s shoulder. “You’re both. You’re the only person who can exist in both worlds. So let us help you. We can teach you about ghouls, and you can teach us about humans.” 

——————————

Hide’s POV

I woke up with an intense pounding in my head, and my body was sore. The last thing I remember was walking with Nishiki, Kaneki, and (Y/n), and then something crashed into me, knocking me out cold. There was a split moment where I remember fading back into consciousness, and something, no, someone, was covering my body. It was (Y/n), but it feels like a fever dream. I’m not sure if that was even real. I took in the room around me, and it didn’t seem like a hospital. Where was I? This is just a regular bedroom, but who brought me here? What even happened? I slowly sat up in the bed, my body aching in protest, but stopped mid-movement when I noticed a (h/c) haired girl slumped over the bed I was lying on.  

Her cheek rested on her arms, and her back rose with a deep breath. Salty trails stained her face, and my chest tightened at the thought that she lay here crying till she most likely passed out. Gently, I reached out to her soft face and rubbed away the marks her tears left. She leaned into my touch, so I left my hand there, cupping her cheek. (Y/n), I can’t help but feel like you saved me today but hurt yourself in the process of doing it. My finger lightly rubbed against her skin, and I leaned down carefully, kissing her forehead. She’s been through a lot these past few days and deserves rest. Maybe I should get up and lay her in the bed?

Before I could do anything, my ears perked up at the sound of footsteps in the hallway and a set of male voices. One sounded more mature, and the other was a soft voice I knew by heart. Kaneki. He seemed worried, but the other male reassured him. The steps approached my room, and my gut told me I shouldn’t be awake yet. So I quickly laid back down and closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. The door slid open, and a choked sob left the timid boy’s throat. Oh, Kaneki, he’s never been one to deal with hardships well. I could feel (Y/n)’s body jolt off the bed, and her sweet voice broke through the air. She greeted Kaneki and expressed how thankful she was that he was okay. It seems that whatever happened, we were all hurt badly. 

The next few moments were challenging to stay still for, but they confirmed many things I already suspected. Kaneki is half-ghoul now, and in fact, everyone in this room is a ghoul except me. Honestly, it didn’t scare me; I was just relieved to know why my friend was acting differently now, and it killed me to hear him sound so broken. So lonely. He would be dumb if he thought I would stop being his friend because he’s different now. It also makes sense why (Y/n) acted weirdly with me. She’s scared to get close to a human, but I’ll slowly show her it’s okay. 

The older gentleman had left the room to give Kaneki some space after their emotional conversation, and (Y/n) was about to go when Kaneki called out to her. “Wait, (Y/n),” my friend spoke softly. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harsh things I said to you last night.” 

Harsh things he said? Did he say something rude to her? Was that why she didn’t want to join us when I first asked?

“It’s okay; it wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before,” Her voice made me want to jump out of bed and pull her into my arms.

“It’s not okay, and I’m realizing that now. You sacrificed yourself to keep Hide safe when I could barely fight or keep myself together. You threw your body over him to protect him from Nishio.” 

What?! So, I wasn’t hallucinating. She was covering me to keep me safe.

“Thank you for keeping my best friend safe,” Kaneki cried. This brought me back to the cafe where the (h/c) haired girl told me how she saved Kaneki. She truly is something else, isn’t she?

——————————

next

AN:

Hey everyone I’m just testing out this story here on tumblr! I’ve also uploaded it on Quotev! Let me know what you think!

I do plan on posting this story on Quotev first before anything else, so look for it there!

[moth-p]

Tpot 12 ramble because if I dont infodump to anyone I will unironically fucking explode

Spoilers obviously.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT OKAY. SO

1. Since in my tpot 11 ramble I discussed Three on point nr.3 i think its only fair that I talk about One first.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT?

Okay so they went in a completly different direction with one that I thought they would. I thought that she was gonna be a co-host, but honestly? I like the direction they took her character in. We didn't really have a true "villan" in bfdi like. Ever? I think? I mean yeah there are characters that are sadistic, antagonistic, live in your walls and make bad decisions but I don't think we ever had a real villan. A threat. Because you CANNOT. CANNOT tell me that One doesn't have sinister intentions. She's unnerving, and if I learned one thing from the Shrek franchise its that you dont fucking make deals with people that are clearly evil (im talking to you Fanny, Ice cube and possibly anyone else who made a deal) also, she knows a lot more that I think she has the right to. I mean, yeah. She's the stalking type, i get it but she came out of the fucking moon at the END END of tpot 9. (I think?) So thee fact that she knows so much about the contestants is kinda scary. I think the obvious motive for her is uh.. Three. I AM STILL STANDING BY MY POINT THAT THE HAND FROM TPOT 11 IS THREE. I KNOW EVERYONE AGREES ON THIS BUT. I SWEAR.

Also one is very silly. So uhh. Yeah

Point 2, the teams. I will be very honest I did not expect a team swap so soon but then again Just not had exactly three people so I don't think it would be very fair (No teardrop what are you doing here no no no you are not a part of this discussion shoo shoo /aff)

I thought I would dissect them one by one.

Point 2.1 - Death Pact yet Again (DPYA)

Ill be honest? Probably the best team. I like every single character on here.

Gaty is literally top 5 of my favs

Astrobiology is on a team together (yet) again, were winning. I love them both separately too, esp Black Hole after the recent-kinda-still-ongoing-arc. Tree's sass is something I need.

Pin! One of the "Top 4" of the original season. I love her, she was the first character I humanized, and she is actually acting like herself because early Tpot did her dirty as hell.

Marker is silly as always,

And Fanny. Need I say more? Besides, she's the only one we have actually witness make the deal with one. She's getting a lot of screen time lately and I am NOT complaining.

Oh and also Robot Flower I guess. If my tpot 13 predictions are correct, Basketballs deal with one will help her go back to normal. Good. I miss her actual self. (And Flower, I love you. Honest to god I love you. But you did really act like a bitch in the first season huh. Still top 5)

Point 2.2 - Team 2/Two

ERASER. I am so sorry you got separated from your boyfriend 💔💔💔 Probably my favorite from the team, his "rivalry" with Bottle might be interesting.... if she doesn't get voted out next. (I think she will) I think his dynamic with Snowball might be interesting since they are already friends. I think. Right?

Book and Taggy! To be honest JnJ are feeding my heart wholesome yuri and I am very happy. Books dynamic with Ice Cube will be fun to explore because uh... yeah. Also Taggy is developing which is great. Before tpot 10 I thought of them as more of a Naily 2.0, so I'm very glad that JnJ did something with them. Thank goodness they didnt get eliminated, I was kinda worried.

Snowball. Big guy. My man. I was hugely neutral about him before TPOT but god he kinda stole my heart. His relationship with grassy is so cute, and I'm begging for some interactions between him and Ice cube.

Grass boi. Thank you for not being annoying as f-ck anymore. I think youre cool. (Though he is the one I would care the least about if he god eliminated.)

Icyyyy... glad you got your legs back girl.... uhh...

Same as with Fanny. remember kids! Don't make possibly soul binding contracts with unnerving strangers!

Point 2.3 - 🎶🎶/BAGGED

Pen. I'm gonna say the same thing but I am so. So sorry that you got separated from your boyfriend 💔💔💔. His rivalry with Need- NEEDLE, I SAID NEEDLE was cool and I like how he got more competitive. (I voted for him Btw. If he gets eliminated I WILL. Cry. Vote 4 pen propaganda

TV, this one is kinda short because uh.. I dont uhh. Really. Care? I think he has a lot of potential but I dont really remeber him doing anything huge sooo

Needy! Oh. Oh no. *gets slapped into outer space* I like her. The thing with Pen was cool and I just generally enjoy her. Shes the gaslight gatekeep girlboss of the group and honestly? I hope she gets a bigger role.

Tennisball. How many times will I have to do this bit. I am so so so so so so sorry you got separated from your girlfriend 💔💔💔💔 you malewife. Its like actually the first time he and GB weren't on a team together and I think it could be interesting to see him try to kinda. Cope with that. (And also with being a leader, my boy was not made for this kinda stuff)

Basketball! .. dont make deals children.

Also, she is being set up to be an important character (obviously). With the robot flower stuff, her thing with one and rivalry with gb that i think the writers forgot about (or did it get resolved. Idk) she has had a shit ton of screen time and will play a major role in the one stuff.

And Bottle! I uhh. Yeah! Your thing with Eraser is interesting I guess! ... (She will get eliminated)

And finally (but not really)

Point 2.4 - CloudYAY

This is the last time I do this. Gb. I am. So, so so so so sorry that you got separated from your malewife boyfriend 💔💔💔

But seriously I love GB. Your team cant handle your girlboss levels. I seriously hope they will listen to you because if it turns into the 8ball situation again I will do something. (Seriously, why do people hate GB as a leader that much? She is bossy as hell, yeah, but like. Shes a pretty good leader imo)

WINNER! My non-binary pal. My sassy gender neutral gay i mean gay i mean guy. I really hope they do something big with your character again. The clock thing was pretty fun and I hope to get to know them more. Besides, Loser is like. Free. He's probably still being a celebrity like usual. I hope we get to expand even more on their past together. (I voted for them btw)

Barf bag, my dear. Jnj, please do something with her. (Ooh, but Moth, tpot 9 this tpot 9 that she played a big role in tpot 9) DONT CARE. GIVE ME MORE CONTENT OF HER.

Donut. .. so. I really like donut. His friendship with Barf bag is cool, his connection to four back in bfb was cool and i generally like him as a character. That being said.. i dont have high hopes for him. Don't get me wrong, I DONT want him eliminated, but... i dont know. Its a hunch, okay? I dont feel good about this.

Yellow face. You racist motherfucker. You took Icy's legs, donut's arms (possibly creating two traps for one, con fucking gratulations) and you also live inside my fucking walls. Despite what I said i think hes hella entertaining even if his morals are uh.. far from great.

And finally, Pillow. If i had a second guess to who would be getting eliminated, I would say its her. She has had a shit ton of haters recently and uhh.. i can see WHY.. I would love to explore her relationships within the new team. But if she gets eliminated then eh,, whatever.

. Whew, finally we got trough that, huh?

3. . No. NOT AGAIN WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING THREE AGAIN N-

So. In my Tpot 11 ramble i therorised that Three was locked away in Fours for possibly doing something terrible, and while that theory still stands...

Why did they close the door?

I think Three uhh.. lets say.. isnt feeling the best in terms of sanity right now. I mean, the whole vibe of their cage is creepy as hell. Maybe they went insane enough to develop the need to stay there? I dont know

They could have just closed it because they are afraid of four, but the whole vibe off the scene suggests otherwise (but then i am a deltarune fan and we all know about the ending of chapter 1 being a fakeout?? Whatever. sooooo)

4. Four is acting kinda strange. Is it just me? His voice sounds different and they got a very unnerving vibe from them, kinda like one does. Also why do they need the couch? I am kinda concerned.

Okay thats it its almost one am i have enough bye

[yingyoyingsh]

Since poolverine has been getting everywhere it made get biggy brainrot and me thinking abt analysis on how Wade and Logan work so well but are SO SO UNHEALTHILY mentally ill they need therapy and I mean actual therapy

More on below

Tw: sensitive topic

It's just so funny and depressing

How they're literally two people that have similar circumstances and a similar curse as well. Like if we somehow remove all the comedy and hit soundtrack from deadpool movies. He literally attempted sewerslide on screen????????????,,,,,,,,,?????? Like?????????? How is no one talking about how seriously effed up that is to make this a joke but wade does the walk the talk thing?????????????

Logan man ✋😩 Im not. He literally fits the candidate for idc I'm throwing my life away like while wade deals with the shiz with unhealthy humor he just gets angry. He literally is a good example of those people who could die off in a ditch if he didn't have super healing.

Like I guess that's common with anyone who's found some kind of relief with substance abuse in general 😭 but he just deals with everything by getting mad angry and telling everyone to fuck off like a rabid animal. And he has superhuman strength.

So now comes my point if they end up together it becomes a cycle of "I can make him worse" with the "your freak matches my freak"

Since wade is so graciously taking everything as a joke (even with dangerous injuries) and Logan (in the back of his head) has problems with substance abuse (and literally not even kidding how bad this is actually because of u stop joking abt substance abuse there's a reason why he should probably attend those alcoholic support groups)

Like where does the line end at "too much" bruh.

So one needs to make a fic about them working through this kinda shiz like maaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 👁️👁️ they live together so they'll eventually have to talk about the big elephant in the room. Like god Al just has to sit through 5 seasons of this before they get actual therapy.

Like think about it

If they were regular ppl they would've been admitted in the ward and classified as criminally insane 😩 man they're just little freaks I love them

Good thing they're not regular ppl. But lbr would Logan go back to being "The wolverine" the movie didn't adress that hidden dark asf secret wel nor resolved it. Dp3 didn't also do much for Wade's insecurity to "good enough" for people to notice him nor his sewerslide joke tendencie. Logan also mentioned he didn't feel like he was good enough for the SUIT. Like man insecurities after one another. Like bro someone needs to.help them

Like man 👁️👁️god they're such a perfect match of fucked up. Like PLEASE. I NEED them helping each other. With both of their issues.

[ghostberrie]

Soft as the rain

My first reader insert fanfic. Going to discuss mental illnesses, schizoaffective, major depression, PTSD, and Anxiety. Reader is already p messed in the head before the boys find her and make it worse. Ofc blood gore and murder. Manipulation and some other fun stuff. NSFW down the line so this will be 18+. I’m a whore for Hoodie/Brian, Toby and Masky/Tim thrown in for fun too. LMK what you think and how to tag this! Enjoy!

Eyes blearily, head pounding, your body stiff. You get up and your joints creak as the world spins. What did you do last night? You become vaguely aware you’re in an alleyway, having wormed your way behind a dumpster, you look like shit, smell like shit, and feel like it too. Stumbling to your feet, legs weak and very numb from being bent under you for what you guessed to be a long time. You notice as you trip over yourself that your heels are broken. Looking down at your little black dress, its covered in a slick substance. Residue leaking liquid garbage on the pavement where you took your little power nap.

As soon as you step out from behind the dumpster the smell hits you, making your head pound even more, making your vision blur your surroundings. You double over and hurl. Stomach tensing so hard it hurts. Reaching a hand on the dumpsters cold and sticky metal, you lean your weight on it to support you as you empty your stomach. Another hand reaches to try and pull your hair away from getting even more disgusting than it is. As the bile burns your throat you have the fleeting thought that you may have not eaten before or during your little night out, exacerbating your fucked up state. Tears prick at your bulging eyes as you retch up another bit of bile. Taking a few heaving breaths to steady yourself, you can’t help but think this night couldn’t get any worse. Not knowing how you got here, still a bit messed in the head because of whatever you took, god you hoped it wasn’t coke, a huff of a laugh bubbled out of you. You can’t imagine how bad you must look. You wipe your mouth with the back of the hand no longer holding your hair and lean back. Staring at the dark night sky, the view partially obstructed by the tall buildings surrounding you. Light pollution making the sky look starless and void.

Your head snaps back as the bang of a door slamming open echoes through the air, cutting through the background noise of bumping dance music you didn’t fully register until it was overtaken. You quickly duck down, crouching and cowering behind the dumpster you were fully leaning against moments before. Peeking your head around your hiding place you saw two men. One pressing the other to the dank brick wall of the space you occupied. The smaller man seemed scared, eyes wide and panicked. He was slurring his words as he spoke, no, begged the larger man holding him by the front of his white button up a few feet off the ground. He was obviously intoxicated, maybe as much as you. Poor bastard would have a pounding headache in the morning, just like you.

“Please, I swear I wasn’t going to say anything, I didn’t see anything, I don’t know anything. I’m just a little guy, you wouldn’t hurt a small little guy right?” His head snapped to the side, he was punched in the jaw hard, his babbling continuing and getting more pathetic. The larger man would apparently very much hurt a small little guy. You’re not sure if it was the wild night you’d clearly had or your weakened mental state that led you out tonight, but the scene laying out in front of you didn’t scare you absolutely shitless, if anything you found it kind of funny. Of course this shit would happen to you, getting caught in a potential drug deal gone wrong, having to see some poor sucker get jostled around stuck where you were so their attention wouldn’t turn their violence to you. Tugging at your phone which you had tucked into your bra, and struggling with the lock screen, eventually you opened your camera app. With a last blurry thought of ‘worldstar’ you pressed record and filmed the act of violence unfolding before you. Probably not the smartest move, but fuck being smart, this could be fun.

The bigger man, the aggressor, didn’t speak. His back turned to you, you noted he wore a murky yellow hoody and dark jeans. You barely registered the dark gloves covering his hands, gloves that would ensure no fingerprints would be left behind. The smaller man realized after a few more hits that his begging was getting him nowhere. He started to struggle, limbs seeming heavy and uncoordinated, he attempted to claw at the hand that migrated to holding him by the throat. Kicking his feet trying to use his legs to jam the bigger man away, maybe his kicks were weak or maybe the other man was just that strong but he held firm, pulling his other hand back and cracking the head of the small little guy back into the brick, punching him square in the nose. He cried, fat tears pouring down his cheeks, mixing with the blood pouring out of his very broken nose.

The Bigger man reached a hand to his waistband, a glint catching your eye, you realize dully he had pulled a gun. This was no longer a bit of fun violence, your gut churned, wanting to throw up again. Holding it up to the babbling man’s temple, point blank, he waited for the begging to start up again. “Please, I promise you, I won’t say a thing, I’ll disappear, you’ll never have too worry about me!” Finally the bigger man made a sound, a low chuckle rumbled, the sound barely reaching you. He really seemed to enjoy the look of fear and the broken whimpers of someone who’s life was about to end by his hands. Shoulders bounced before he stiffened again. And just like that he pulled the trigger. A resounding bang thundered off the walls. The large city not being the safest, so the gun shot wouldn’t really raise alarms. Just another night that got a little too wild.

Your mind struggled to make sense of the scene, his head was there and then it was mostly gone. A huge hole taking an entire side of his face off, blood and chunks of brain and muscle staining the wall behind him. His body going limp immediately, neck letting his damaged head lull to the side with the bullet that tore into it. The image of a water ballon bursting ran across your mind. And for whatever reason you laughed, maybe it was the nerves, or the thought that you’re shitty night that couldn’t get worse did just that, but a bark of a laugh ripped from your throat. Oh shit. He’s looking this way, oh fuck oh shit. He wore a kind of ski mask, uneven red circles and a frown stitched into it. He was huge, tall and very obviously built, bringing the gun down and pointing it towards the floor, still using his other hand to hold up a grown man in the air, he stilled. While definitely scared now, it all seemed so ridiculous in your mind that you seemed to take your leisurely time to click the recording off and stand on wobbly feet, you gave him a wonky smile. He turned his head to the side, an unsettling movement, slow and calculated.

Before he could even drop the body and make a move towards you, you turned on your heel and ran, as fast as you could in your physical condition. Bursting from one alley to the next, before making it onto the busy street of downtown on a Friday night. Still letting out nervous giggles you melted into the crowd. Ignoring the looks you pushed past people for a few blocks before finding a cab and hopping in. Promptly knocking out after giving him your address, not questioning the lack of foot steps behind you as you hightailed it away from the scene. Small details being lost in your hazy mind. You didn’t take time to account for your ID that was no longer on your person, or the keys to your apartment that were lost as well.

He on the other hand, was so kind to find them laying on the floor behind the very dumpster you took shelter behind, and with your address in hand and a way to get inside he was very happy to return them to you. But not quite so soon. He found the dazed look of fear in your eyes, your lips, shiny from lipgloss that clung to you, pulled into a nervous smile and the way your legs pumped under you as you ran very cute. He couldn’t wait for the fun you would have together, but like any good game he had to be patient. Knowing his victory was guaranteed, he still wanted you to squirm.

[pinyeti]

Episode 2: Attack of the Clones

Loving how i can see the budget increase GOOD GOD THE CGI IS CRAAZY

Ohno padme's clone is gone

HELLO??? ANAKIN??? HES PRETTY NOW ofc he has the rat tail 

Obi wan flop era uggo

Why does he give me young president snow vibes

OHMYGOD IVE SEEN THIS SCENE BEFORE ON THE INTERNET WHERE PADMES LIKE FIND WHOS TRYING TO KILL ME AND OBIWANS LIKE NO AND ANIKINS LIKE YES OFC ANYTHING FOR YOU SENATOR

Ok beginning of rebel anakin

Please tell me he doesnt go to the dark side for love

THE WORLD BUILDING IS CRAAAZZYYY THE SCReENS AARE SO CRISP IM SO IN AWE OHMYGOD

SNAKES IN HER BED SNAKES IN HER BED

OBIWAN JUST ZIPLINED WITH NO ZIPLINE ATTABOIY

How does the past look so much better than the future

I cant believe this is 2002 IT LOOKS SO MODERN

tHE HUMOUR THE CLARITY THE ACTION EVERYTHING IS SO FRESH 

Ok anakin is crazy

DID HE JUST DRIVE INTO ELECTRICITY?? ANAKIN OBIWAN IS OLD FUCK YOU DISRESPECTFUL RAT TAIL HAVER

do you think you’re shelock holmes anakiN??? STOP JUMPING OUT OF MOVING VEHICLES ONTO ONCOMING SKY TRAFFIC ANAKIN

Idiot lost his lightsaber

“You’re the closest thing i have to a father” FUCKIN BITCH

Okay sorry about gay allegationing obiwan and vader when I DIDNT KNOW HE BASICALLY RAISED HIM 

Bro anakins hair is something else

IS THE CHANCELLOR OLD GUY EVIL IS HE??? IS HE THE EMPEROR TO BE

Padme IS THEIR MOMMM

Bro yoda hates all the jedis hes so sassy for what “too sure of themselves they are, even the older ones” *pointedly stares at obiwan*

NOWAY PADME LEFT IT TO JARJAR IS SHE CRAZY

Ok anakin your job is to protect her not use her as a vent journal

ANAKIN CAT NOIR

I just know hes kicking his feet at the assignment

IS R2 THE CHAPERONE CDJBDEK

Bro anakin is cheeeeesssiiiinnggg HES SUCHHHA SIMPP IM GETTING SECOND HAND EMBARASSMENT ;))) one might even say ‘)))) we jedis are encouroegd to love eheh ;)))

IS obiwan walking into a huge ARMY trade deal KNOWING NOTHING and IMPROVING HIS WAS THROUGH

Oh STORM TROOPERS ARE CLONESSS

OH MY GOD THIS MEME

“SOUNDS AWFUL LOT LIKE A DICTATORSHIP TO ME”

“WELL IF IT WORKS” THIS IS WHERE ITS FROM

anakin : ugh i am so angry i serial killed ugh

padme: dw to serial kill is to human

(????ok enabler)

Ohmygodddd NOOO WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS IM SO SICK OF JARJAR

WAIT YODA USED STORM TROOPERS FIRST???? WHA HOW DID THEY END UP WITH THE EMPEROR THEN was it anakin

Ok not the biggest yoda fan

Wowww how convenient obiwan discovers an army ready for use right when theyre being threatened

Everytime they say dooku i laugh

Anakin is a stupid man child - RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS WITH GLOWSTICKS AND HOPING IT DIES PT39382992 - guess it runs in the family

OHMYGOD ANAKIN DOUBLE HAND LIGHTSABERING LIGHTBASAVERING

HAHA HE GOT HIS HAND CUT OFF LIKE HE CUT OFF LUKES he just wanted him and luke to share something :( he just wanted to teach luke :( its okay i forgive you for cutting lukes hand darthy

YODA IS SOSOSO COOOL

WHO IS THE EMPEROR HELLO?

(5/9)

(ALSO DW GUYS IM NOT FOLLOWING ANY STARWARS MUTUALS TILL IM DONE WITH PREQUELS SO ILL DO A SERIES OF HELOOOOS SOON)

[largemandrill]

d twins and rogier 🫵

Thank you I have many thoughts about them.

Rogier

Favorite thing: His mental illness, obviously. There’s so many things wrong with him that are also things that are wrong with me. He’s just like me fr (bad thing)

Least favorite: I’m gonna be so vulnerable right now but his outfit is so fugly. Like, he rocks it, but it is HELL to draw and I personally rank characters in my head by how fun they are to draw. I love him enough to try though.

Favorite line: I like it when he full on admits that the Tarnished terrifies him. We are very scary and he’s just a little guy. He knows the only thing keeping the Tarnished from murder is that they have a little crush on him lol.

brOTP: Rogier doesn’t have real friends, He only knows how to abandon people after he’s convinced himself that they hate him. However, I do see the relationship with the player Tarnished as the only platonic thing he’s got going on. They are buddies and he’s not used to that. He can’t leave this one behind because he physically cannot move, and that’s probably for the best tbh.

OTP: you know who I am.

nOTP: Honestly I don’t really have nOTPs. Rogier is slutty enough that you can throw him at anyone and it can work. I guess I’m not too privy on when people portray him and Fia with anything close to a healthy relationship, but that’s not the ship itself’s fault.

Random Headcanon: He’s so transgender you could never understand.

Unpopular opinion: Not unpopular within our particular circle, but with the community as a whole. He’s a pathetic little weasel of a man with sad eyes and undiagnosed mental disorders. I love him but therapy can’t fix him.

Songs I associate: Should be noted that I can make any song about him if I try hard enough. The main ones that remind me of him are We are not friends by S, Bag of Bones by Silversun Pickups, Wine and Wheat by Madds Buckley, and Liar by Arcadian Wild.

Pic: This tiny guy from the manga

Darian

Favorite thing: His strong arms that can carry me into the sunset. And probably also his reflexive need to care for others to the point where he would probably die for a complete stranger.

Least favorite: Not his fault but again with that fucking OUTFIT. I love it aesthetically but my wrist hurts even thinking about drawing it.

Favorite Line: I love how much a jokester he is once you join Gurranq. Like when he tells you to not let him starve to death is so funny to me. He trusts you enough to joke and that makes me emotional tbh.

brOTP: In my mind, he and Nepheli are actually really good buddies. They’re both adopted by not great dads and they value other’s lives above all else. Also they probably drink together.

OTP: I’m not going into him and Rogier rn because that would take a full hour to write down. I’m just a man.

nOTP: I can’t see him with a woman, I’m so sorry self-shippers. It doesn’t gross me out, but it doesn’t register as realistic in my mind. He’s gay, that’s a golden order mandate.

Random Headcanon: He wouldn’t be a great dad, but he would be one of the best dads out of the male cast of this game. Really a tallest dwarf situation.

Unpopular opinion: He’s never been wrong about anything that wasn’t related to the Golden Order tbh. The skeletons are an issue and he’s one of the only people equipped to properly deal with them.

Songs I associate: If a song is about Catholic guilt it’s immediately about him. Take me to Church is legally his theme song.

Fav pic: my profile picture/phone background, obviously.

Devin

Favorite thing: His rabies

Least favorite: I wish he had more screen time. I know that’s so his speech is more impactful, but I still wanna see him more.

Favorite Line: His iconic slutshaming moment. Good for him tbh.

brOTP: Him and me in real life. We’d be chill.

OTP: I physically cannot imagine Devin having any romantic interests for some reason. He’s not really a person in his head so maybe he believes that he’s incapable of love or something. I have many Devin thoughts.

nOTP: see above

Random Headcanon: I genuinely believe he could be a pretty good musician if he pushed himself. He looks like Kurt Cobain I had to make that joke somewhere.

Unpopular opinion: I know I say he’s a freak, but he’s actually just a grieving little guy. His mouth is foaming and his eyes are filled with tears.

Song I associate: Moon Waltz by Cojim Dip. I dunno the vibe is just correct.

Favorite image: All fan art of him is great. I don’t have a specific pic for him lol.

[communistkenobi]

(genuine question, sorry if any of my language is incorrect/outdated) I was reading that post you reblogged about the distinction between gender and sex and how both concepts are linked and oppressive & the ask you answered where you said that we should abolish sex distinctions on medical records. and I don’t disagree with your point, but I’m wondering how feasible it is? Or I guess, how we would then navigate the medically differences between different groups of people. Because the unfortunate truth is that some biological factors do affect your predisposition to certain diseases or how you’ll react to medication.

For example, Black people in the US are more likely to have diabetes. and obviously a lot of this is due to poverty and other socioeconomic problems, but if we were to abolish the concept of race (before solving the underlying issues), it could lead to people not being diagnosed with the correct illness as quickly, since there’s no longer that demographic information available (I’m realizing that diabetes was a bad example for this specific problem, but I’m drawing a blank on a better example).

I remember for years growing up that there was a push to recognize that the stereotypical “pain in left arm” depiction of a heart attack was more common among cis men, and cis women usually presented differently. And I’m a cis woman with ADHD, but when trials were being conducted to prove that medications were effective, they focused only on cis men, so now I just have to deal with my meds being way less effective whenever I’m on my period.

The example you gave of a trans man’s insurance denying him coverage for a pap smear seems more like an issue of the insurance company linking gender and sex, rather than respecting that someone saying that they are a man on government forms doesn’t inherently describe what organs they do or do not have. Which seems like it would be a point in the favor of people who draw a distinction between gender and sex. Yes, he is a man, but he has organs that need to regularly be screened for cancer, the same way a trans woman might need to be checked for prostate cancer.

The medical field is definitely sexist and transphobic (and just about every other -ist and -phobic), but couldn’t abolishing both gender and sex exacerbate these issues? The only thing I can think of is, like, checkboxes for what organs you have, but that seems like it’d still be the concept of “sex”, just in slightly different language.

so, a couple points before we get into this conversation:

Current gendered distinctions in the medical field to address health issues are not nearly as helpful as you are suggesting

You cannot abolish the concept of race (or gender or class or etc) without addressing the underlying systemic violence and inequality that gives those social categories power in society

Like, baseline - how helpful is it to sort all of humanity into 2 bins, male or female, medically speaking? To use a hypothetical, if you were to sort all human beings into 2 categories, either “young” or “old,” what medical information about those people could you glean from that alone? The answer is probably more than zero, but it’s still not a lot, and if we were to construct an entire insurance and medical apparatus on the basis of whether you’re young or old alone would be very silly.

Now what you’re talking about is using a collection of demographic information - gender, race, age, weight, etc - to construct standard benchmarks by which to measure medical outcomes in people. However, the origins of things like gender and race are not medical, they’re social, and are used to enforce social positions in society that may produce specific medical outcomes as a result of either oppression (eg, certain racial minorities are more predisposed to certain health conditions) or inference (eg, “only women can get pregnant”).

You, as a cis woman, telling your doctor you’re a cis woman, does not actually describe your ability to get pregnant, only a rough probability. If we want to describe the group of people in society who can get pregnant, we should call them “people who can get pregnant.” then we’re including everyone who can, and not including anyone who cannot (infertile cis women, some intersex people, trans women, some nonbinary people, people who have had their uterus removed, post-menopausal cis women, etc). That results in a de-gendering of pregnancy, and allows for a more precise description of what medical resources those people may need access to.

Additionally, race is not a biological determination of health (it is not biological at all). It is a social position that we all occupy different positions in, which, by virtue of being in those positions, gives us access to different social and physical environments that produce varying health outcomes. If you are black and live in a food desert, and suffer health problems as a consequence, that is not a biological difference on the basis of your race, that is purely a social one. The solution there would not be to codify race as a biological determinant of health, it would be to alter the built environment so that no one lives in a food desert. White supremacy is what produces these outcomes.

To use your ADHD trial example - the problem there is that it is assumed that the gender of cis men is medically trivial while treating all other genders as significant; they are presented as the human default, and anyone who does not fit that standard (ie, roughly 50% of all human beings) is a deviation from normalcy. We see this most especially with race, where white people are assumed to be non-racial, existing outside the construct of race, and therefore we act as a handy baseline by which all other races can be measured (which is bad). The solution to this problem is not to draw more precise gender or race boundaries around symptoms, conditions, or medical trials, but to decouple gender and race from it entirely and describe in exact terms what affects whom. Race does not affect health outcomes; white supremacy does. Gender does not affect health outcomes; patriarchy does.

This is where systemic solutions come in! These are tricky because they’re comprehensive and require mass upheaval of existing institutions and norms. To use a historical example - the USSR* instituted a policy whereby women would be fully compensated for all reproductive labour (child-rearing, domestic labour, etc), effectively making housekeeping a full time job. Does this abolish patriarchy? No, but it certainly helps reduce misogyny in society by offering economic equality and enshrining domestic labour as being on par with productive labour. This also does a lot to help women medically, socially, legally, etc. by reducing economic dependency on their husbands and therefore reduces abuse, unhappy marriages, all of those things. this is the kind of policy that acts as a handy starting point for thinking about systemic solutions to systemic problems.

When talking about the abolition of a given social category (gender, race, etc), addressing the violence that social category does to the people who end up on the bottom of it is how abolition works. It’s not merely changing language or expanding existing norms (which are not useless of course, but they’re insufficient). Doctors offering HRT to trans people after we receive a mental illness diagnosis is like, better than not having access to care at all, but it still sucks! Trans people, in some countries, are in the process of being folded into the medical institution and are being constructed as a special medical class of people. That doesn’t get rid of transphobia and it doesn’t help all trans people, just those lucky enough to access it, and then the even smaller group of us who are lucky enough to convince doctors and psychiatrists to write the prescriptions and diagnoses and referrals required for us to be respected as our own gender. I could not legally change my name and gender marker until I had the sign-off from a doctor who was treating me medically for gender dysphoria, a professional person who knew me for at least five years, and a lawyer - and I’m in the incredibly privileged position to be able to get all of their signatures. That’s not freedom, that’s just paperwork!

The institution of medicine does not exist external to societal pressures; phrenology and eugenics are medical concepts that are deeply destructive and violent. Accounting for human variation does not require us to rely on social constructions of gender and race; we have precise terminology that we can use that will more accurately describe those things. I’m not a medical doctor, so I don’t know what those terms will all be, nor can I pretend to know what a fully equal medical institution looks like. but for example, I’ve seen people describe human bodies in terms of “estrogen dominant endocrine systems” and “testosterone dominant endocrine systems.” Is that better? Maybe! It’s probably a lot more useful of a description of a human body than man or woman is.

*me invoking the USSR as an example is not an endorsement of the entire state across its 70 year lifespan, nor is it an invitation for people to tell me how bad it actually was

[gildeddlily]

side characters ONly can be gay!!11!1! yep

I could write an essay about the way Marvel is just the reflection of how mass media deals with the queer representation "problem" nowadays

(I should study for my exam but fuck it I have time)

first of all, how many queer characters actually are part of mcu's big ass cast?

Searching on the internet they'll tell you about twenty- but it's enough to read who is queer to understand that they only care about seeming all woke and you know, kind and allies and all that good shit, but the truth is that if you're queer you'll get no more than five minutes of screen time

Loki is a bisexual genderfluid god, it's canon in the comics and in the shows/film, but does he actually acts on it? like, does he ever talk about the men he had a thing with? does he talk about his gender identity? no. and you know what, I don't want a long speech about feeling accepted and finding your place in the world and understanding yourself, I'd be ok with him being like "yk what, i feel like cunt today" and poof tom hiddleston is no more man.

we have a two second shot were he's labeled as genderfluid. that's it. he has a love story arc with his female alternative version.

like saying the bar can't get lower- all the time there's a man at his side, and they're so queer coded guys. they are so fucking queer coded. they'd have all the potential to be a good couple, and they prob could since Loki is canonically attracted to males too! but no.

let's choose the female you over the dilf grabbing your waist and telling you that you're more, that you matter and have a chance to be good.

can Loki count as representation? maybe.

it's shitty representation, tho.

then there's America.

America's a lesbian, daughter of two lesbian women, and they were proud of it probably- if it weren't for the fact that America's there, she live the adventure, and she has a lgbtqia pin. a pin. all her identity is expressed in a pin.

one could say, but the film is not ab America and her non-male partner, is about the story yk?

then why does every fucking marvel film features a man and a woman being in a relationship?

i guess that when it's about man Tony Stark and woman Pepper Potts everything's ok, you can give all the minutes you want to their sweet relationship- but if they're queer I'm sorry, the best thing you'll have is a pin.

then a few gays out there.

random man in endgame missing his bf. random girl in hawkeye mentioning her wife (slay). that one sexy dora milaje who has a sexier gf. slay you too ig. that Eternals guy who kissed his bf on screen (first time ever, and they feel revolutionary. fucking 2021).

the only thing that can be saved is Thor 3/4 because of Taika Waititi. the queerness is something Taika did because he wanted to.

Ragnarok's about this dude, his bi brother, this guy who flirts with both of them and has orgies with all kind of beings, a lesbian valkyrie and a gay rock. Love and Thunder is about this guy, his bamf ill girlfriend, a lesbian valkyrie who's trying to find some girl to eat out, a gay rock that ends up having strange sex with his bf, and greek people fainting after seeing said guy's naked body. (and that weird moment between Thor and Peter? that was made to be gay guys)

while it's not perfect, it's one step above everything else.

Taika Waititi's film's queerness is not there for looking more inclusive, it's there because gay people are there, we actually exist dude, and they deserve their space, and they should have it.

and like Taika Waititi's said, the world will be healed when people will stop saying "oh you know that new marvel series? yes, there's a gay gal in there", when people will treat queer people like the people they actually are.

it's like walking around in a forest and being like "oh look, a tree!". we aren't a different species ffs

representation is good, and of course gay characters sometimes are gonna be just there on the side cheering on the main character- because that's how life goes. I'm the cheering-from-the-side girl queer friend to my straight friend, and mcu stories are told by straight people, so it's kinda natural that we're kinda useless.

the thing that really, really makes me want to cry our is how they're able to destroy any queer "lead" they put here for us, for me, and I'm starting to believe behind those scripts there are some seriously repressed gay dude who can only express themselves by writing those things.

like Steve and Bucky? the classic we're best friends and we totally didn't have sex?

or Bucky and Sam?

why was the chair scene necessary? If i see something like that happening to a woman and a man my first thought is "they're a thing", and it was the first thing I thought with Sam and Bucky too- but ofc people will tell us "y are you making everyone gay?" it's not my fault princess it's the writers'

or, again, Loki and Mobius?

"you can be good, just in case no one ever told you" WHAT THE HELL DUDE

and you know, those things can be said between two friends too, but people gets disperate. I get disperate, after watching hours upon hours of two guys eye-fucking each other and ending up being all "yeah bro i love you this is my girlfriend amy". so I wrote, I draw, I think about them being "hey dude, d'you want to be the amy to my myself?" because the alternity is writing a fic about a random man who says he misses his husband on a three second scene.

(in a fandom like good omens I don't have to worry about it. I have my queer besties, my fav lesbian couple, and a lot of representation.)

so.

mcu's representation is bad representation.

every time they write a queer characters they're all "you see that? we did that!" like they did something special- but they didn't.

they write gays for the straight, in order to feel better about themselves and make straight racist sexist homophobic ppl (the "I'm inclusive guys!!!" kind of person) watching it feel better ab themselves.

(I'm not gonna start talking about the fact that this entire post talks more than anything else about the way the mcu treats women, bc it's a rabbit hole I'm not ready to talk ab cause I've been jumping in it for too many years.)

(sorry anon ily)

10/20 edit: valkyrie is bi my bad🧎‍♀️

[scarletwritesshit]

Yosuke Hanamura x F!Reader ❀ Town of Blossoms ❀ June 20th, 2013

A Thursday night in the middle of the week…Yosuke was still lying awake on his phone, despite having to go to work the next day. You only knew that this was the case because you too, were laying wide awake at such an hour. Despite not having the same obligations as him the following morning, you were still ultimately, no better than he was. In a way, despite the decision to stay up being of your own will, he still held a part of the blame for your wakefulness.

It was apparent that over the past few days, something has been weighing quite heavily on Yosuke’s mind. Did you have a clear answer as to what that something was yet? Unfortunately, no. The only hints that you had was the occasional side comment made in the midst of a conversation.

From what you could gather, it was something about friends and abandonment issues and other stuff of that sort. No big deal, he would always claim, but it often times lead to some late-night conversations. Tonight was no exception. Things started off as nothing more than a quick chat before bed. That “quick chat” had been going on for about two hours.

Tiredness was beginning to overtake you, but you didn’t want to abruptly ditch him in the middle of a conversation. Every time there was more than a few minutes in between responses, you’d think that maybe, he at long last, fell asleep. And so, you would allow yourself to slowly drift to sleep yourself, until you were somewhat woken up by the ringtone going off alerting you of a reply. The cycle would repeat; back and forth between two considerably tired people who simply could not bear to leave the other hanging.

You wondered if he even understood half of the nonsense manifested from your fingers. An exhausted person was in no position to provide any form of solid, logical advice, but you were trying your best regardless. Any person in their right mind would opt to wait until the morning or afternoon to resolve any sort of problems, aided with a clearer mind.

But you two were best friends. Logic got completely thrown out the window.

Don’t you have work tomorrow? you texted back.

You truthfully didn’t want to stop talking to him. Even if it were only for the night, it was the last thing that you wanted to happen. More importantly, however, you didn’t want him to fall ill from sleep deprivation, and were more than willing to sacrifice a few minutes of talk if it meant for the sake of his wellbeing.

yeah but i cant sleep anyways so it doesnt matter

Staring at your phone doesn’t help.

Like you were one to talk. Staring at your phone had no advantages for you either.

neither does blankly staring at my wall

Trying to sleep would be better for you regardless

but i dont wanna stop talking to you

too much on my mind

wayyy too much on my mind

Like what

Is it the stuff that’s been bothering you all week

This could be a prime chance for you to weasel an answer as to what was bringing him down so badly. Perhaps it was just a little wrong to use his tiredness to your advantage to try and figure out what has been bothering Yosuke. In all fairness, he did bring the topic up himself first. And you were sort of at a loss as to how to help him.

eh

longer than this week tbh

Longer? Did something else happen

no its the same stuff i guess

You guess?

mhm

idk how to tell you man

but ive just been worried that youll leave like everyone else

same nonsense

I have no intention of leaving. I promise.

But did something bring this up?

its nothing

im just really tired i guess

Can’t be nothing if you’re still awake over it

But please get some rest. At least for tonight.

You’re gonna be exhausted and miserable tomorrow if you don’t

You turned the screen of your phone off and laid it on your chest. It was late into the month of June. For Yosuke, this was the season of his birthday. It was a time where you would expect him to be happy, overjoyed even. Ironically enough, it could have been the one thing that was bringing him down after all.

The more that you thought about it, the more that it seemed like a logical explanation.

It was supposed to be a time of bringing together all of his friends to celebrate himself.

What friends, though?

Almost the entirety of your group had long since parted ways completely as Inaba calmed down and time marched on. It was of no fault of one or another, as fate had long since planned different paths for each of his friends to tread. Time and again, he would claim to be fine, but it was apparent that the loneliness was getting to him hard.

He wasn’t actually "used to it." Without a doubt, Yosuke was hurting deeply inside. As good as the intentions in your heart might have been, it wasn’t something that could be amended overnight, or even at all. Regardless, there was no way that you were going to give up on him. Somehow, you had to convince him that even though everyone else had broken contact, you had no plans of doing such yourself.

You checked your phone one last time. No response. You could only hope that he ultimately decided to give it a rest and fall asleep, or that the tiredness finally overcame him. At least tomorrow was Friday, but that was still another day of working that Yosuke had to survive. Oh so close to the weekend, yet just barely out of reach…

There was one remaining option for you to lift his spirits just in time for the weekend, and even beyond that. An opportunity that you have been silently chasing for so long may be closer than you thought. No more of this “waiting for the right moment.” For the sake of you both, one of you was going to have to take the first step forward. And if Yosuke seemingly had no plans to do it, nobody else but you could take the initiative.

You put your phone aside on the nightstand and stared blankly at the ceiling in the dark as you carefully sorted through your thoughts. No, caution was what caused such a delay in the first place. The longest you were willing to wait now would be until after he was free from the grips of Junes.

In a sea of pink blossoms, understand those before you and flourish as the purple as you are. It was as clear as day what action you needed to take. Show him that you would never leave him, and that you meant it.

Content with your plan of action, you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to, at long last, drift off to sleep.

[sleepy-achilles]

How is that fair?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Drew jolts back as the bigger man storms towards him.

Taker grabs the younger man by the hair and pulls him close.

"You are not good enough for my son. He may not see you love, but I do. Stay away" Taker growls. Drew stares at him shocked as the ref separates them. "Off the hair!"

Taker knew.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Taker knew.

Taker knew times changed. They changed quick. Last time he saw Drew Mcintyre he was some scrawny kid with a crush on his boy.

Now he's some big oaf still nursing a crush.

"I want him." Taker mutters. Hunter looks to see taker staring Drew down across the canteen. "Mcintyre? Why? Vince already has plans for him." Hunter asks sitting back. "What plans?" Taker asks, keeping his eyes on the man. "Teaming him with Lee." Hunter answers. He watches the other man's jaw tighten. "Tell him to put him against me first." Taker growls. "Ill do my best." Hunter sighs pulling his phone out.

Drew keeps his eyes on his plate. "Well, either your match had a bad impact on him, or he's got the hots for you." Sheamus smirks. "Not funny. He knows." Drew whispers. "Knows?" "About Leon." "And what, Leon doesn't? Jesus I think I need to get that boy out more." Sheamus huffs. "No, you're not listening, he's known since I first stepped into the company and now I'm back, he knows it still a thing" drew snaps. "My advice? Don't fall in love with the undertakers son. Or befriend Shawn so that way you have immediate protection. That's what I did and I only wanted Leon friendship" sheamus suggests as he pinches a chip off Drew.

"He won't let me near his son, you really think he'll let me near his husband?" "Good shout" sheamus nods looking past drew. "Oop, here he comes." Sheamus whispers. "Fuck."

He flinches as a firm hand lands on his shoulder and squeezes too tight to be human. Drew closes his eyes as Taker leans down. "My threat still stands. You stay well away from Leon." Taker whispers. Drew just nods. "Attaboy." Taker hums pulling away. Drew opens his eyes as the man walks off and finally looks away from his plate. His eyes immediately land on Leon who's staring at him confused.

"Shit" drew mutters standing and rushing out. He cannot let Taker bully him. Not anymore.

-------

And somehow he ended up stood across from taker in the ring. Again.

"Just weaken him! Then tag me in!" Shane barks at him. Drew frowns and turns away, he keeps his head down. But that's when he hears taker chuckle.

Chuckle.

He moves forward, raising his head and getting into takers space. Taker stares him down. "Im not scared of you." Drew states. "You sure?" Taker asks. "And I'm worthy. I work hard and I care too damn much about him to let you try and scare me away. He's a grown up." "Hes my son" Taker growls stepping impossibly closer. "And I'd never hurt him. Unlike you" drew growls back.

The ref is quick to separate them. "Youll live to regret that Mcintyre" Taker snaps, ignoring Romans and Shane's concerned looks. "I don't reckon I will." Drew snaps back.

Sheamus smiles backstage. "The hell is mcintyre doing?" Sheamus turns to see Leon stood behind him. "Finding his balls." Sheamus smiles. "Why's my dad obsessed with him?" Leon questions. Sheamus pauses. What's he supposed to say to that?

He claps Leon on the shoulder. "Your guess is as good as mine bud" sheamus smiles. Leon frowns and moves closer to the screen.

What's the deal with these two?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Taker crosses his arms. "Put him with randy." "God no. He's teaming with drew and that's final." Vince snaps. Taker sighs and drops his arms. "Why? Why drew? Why Leon. Put him with dolph or something." "Because I reckon they'll get along a lot better than you think. What's the issue? It's not like I'm putting a baby face with a heel. In fact I reckon we use this to finally get a face Leon. Fans will love it." Vince explains. Taker goes to speak when he hears fussing outside. He turns to the door as Leon slams it open. "Why have you got us waiting outside like children?" Leon demands. Drew appears behind him looking sheepish. "Because I'm having a meeting?" Vince questions. Leon looks at taker.

"Why am I here?" Leon asks walking in. Vince sighs. "Come in drew." Drew slowly walks in. Stepping away from both men. "I want you to tag team with Drew." Vince states. "No." Leon immediately responds. Drew looks at Leon with hurt. "Told you." Taker smirks at vince. Leon looks at taker. "Exactly. Yeah, sure why not. Couldn't hurt. Just don't expect me to play nice." Leon shrugs. Taker looks at him shocked. "Thats the point. You don't play nice, I want people to believe this tag team won't work." Vince tells him. "Cool, see you Monday partner" Leon nods at drew before walking out.

Drew glances at vince. "Thank you sir" "Anytime." He looks at taker. "Guess I'll be spending a lot of time with him now." He smirks before walking out. Taker growls and slams the door shut.

Vince raises an eyebrow. This seems like a problem.

A Shawn problem.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Whats your problem with Drew?" Shawn asks. Taker looks up from taping his wrists to see his husband stood infront of him, arms crossed, head tilted. Shit.

"Whatever do you mean?" Taker asks. "Dont play stupid. Him and Leon have been tag partners for five months and you won't even look the man in the eyes or shake his hand after a big win. Do you know how unfair that is when you hug John and cassies partners?" Shawn asks. "Dont be silly.-" "Dont you even. What is the issue?" Shawn snaps pulling the tape out of takers hands. "Maybe I dont trust him. Maybe I think he should be nowhere near our boy." Taker snaps standing up. "Who gives you the right? You don't know that boy enough to judge him" Shawn whispers. "I trust my gut. My guts never been wrong" Taker snaps. Shawn scoffs and moves away.

"Your gut is the most ridiculous gut I've ever met. That's the same gut that trusted Paul." Shawn points out. "Now Paul? Paul hurt Leon. But drew? Drew cares about Leon and is willing to go to hell and back for him." Shawn defends the Scott. Taker shakes his head. "Hell didn't Paul do this exact thing to you when it came to me?" Shawn suddenly asks. Taker bites his lower lip. "That was different." "Yeah, was it now?" Shawn scoffs throwing him back the tape. "Grow up Undertaker."

Leon moves from the door and hides as his Papa walks out.

Huh, fancy that.

He smirks to himself as he pushes off the wall and makes his way out of the arena.

--------

Drew smirks as the shield talk amongst themselves. He listens as Leon takes his jacket off, he also watches as the Shield pauses and stares. "No fuckin way" roman huffs. Drew turns to Leon and his eyes widen. "Fuck"

-

Shawn smiles at the screen as Taker walks in. "What?" He asks. "Look at this" Shawn nods. "I think your attitude is having the opposite effect" he states. Takers eyes widen as he sees it. Its hard not to with the camera zooming in on it.

Drew written above his right collar bone.

Shawn watches as Taker subconsciously touches his name which sits upon takers neck. Shawn smiles softly as he looks back at the screen to see drew practically cornering Leon to look at it.

Yeah, he's the one for his boy.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Drew leans against the tiled wall, watching the freckled hand rub over the letters. He can't help but smile as it doesn't watch off or fade. "I can't believe you did that." Drew comments. Leon glances over at him. "It was our 5 months as a tag team. Had to do somethin" Leon smirks. "Nothing to do with your dad's blanted hatred of me?" Drew asks. "That too I guess." Leon shrugs looking back at the wall. Drew watches as Leon tilts his head back letting the water hit his face. "What do you know?" Drew asks moving closer. Leon lowers his head. "He doesn't think your good enough for me. My pa reckons we are just like them." Leon comments.

Drews face heats up slightly. "And you?" Drew asks quietly. "I don't do love. Can't be like them." Leon mutters. Drew frowns and steps back. "Dont do love ay?" Drew whispers.

Leon looks at drew to see his back to him. He turns back to the shower. "I.." Leon tries to find a response. They've been working together for months now and he cannot open up to him? Not that he opens up to anyone, but something in him, wants him to open up to drew.

"Im poison." Drew looks at Leon quickly. "I hurt anyone around me. I won't mean to and they won't do anything wrong but I...I just..I can't help but poison people." Leon whispers. That's when drew finally understands it. All of it. So many times people have called this man a monster. Not once have they told him differently. "Guess I'm immune." Leon looks at drew. "What?" "I must be immune. Because, I enjoy being your partner. Even when you say those hurtful things about me. I enjoy being your friend" drew shrugs. Leon's eyes widen. "Friend?" "Yeah. I hope you see us as friends." "....Yeah. Yeah I do." Leon nods. Drew smiles at him.

"Maybe your pa didn't mean it in the romance way you've seen it. Maybe he meant it like their friendship, their bond." Drew suggests. "Yeah. Maybe that's it" Leon whispers as drew begins washing his hair. "Maybe that's it." Leon mutters to himself, his fingers lingering over the name tattooed onto his body.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon is knelt in the ring, hands shaking as the crowds scream and cheer. The belt is lowered into his hands and he stares at it. "We did it!"

We did it.

It isn't Leon's first time holding these belts...but this? This is different.

As the hand rests on his shoulder, the knees touch his. He looks up to see drew knelt next to him, a massive smile on his face. "We did it!" Drew smiles squeezing his shoulder.

Leon doesn't know what comes over him. One minute their kneeling, the next he's throwing an arm around drew and hugging him, squeezing the back of the mans neck. Drew hesitates before hugging him back.

--

"Wow." John huffs watching his baby brother hug someone who's not family. "Hes really grown on him" Randy comments unscrewing his waterbottle. "Yeah, that's what worries me." John mutters. Randy looks at him as he drinks. "Why?" Randy asks confused as Taker and shawn walk in. John just looks at his parents. "Our baby has his first non family tag belt" Shawn smiles at John. "He does, and he's having a cuddle over it" John jokes. Shawns smile widens as he looks at the screen.

"Of course he is." Taker mutters. Shawn smacks his arm and frowns. Randy just glances at John.

It wasn't a secret taker hated drew. Randy never understood how taker could like him but hate drew. But he wasn't going go question it.

"Dont be a dick" Shawn scolds. "Difficult for him." Leon comments as him and drew walk in. "Congrats lee" "congrats both" the two different responses makes leons smile fade. "Thank you" drew smiles as John shakes his hand. Leon just stares at his father. "Say congrats to drew." The room falls quiet.

"Leon...don't." Drew murmurs. "No. He worked damn harder than me that match, say congrats to him." Leon pushes. Taker meets his sons stare before looking at drew. "Congrats on the win drew." "Thank you sir." Drew nods. "And look at that the world didn't end!" Shawn claps. "After cassies match we are taking you all out for food. Including you drew" Shawn smiles. Leon doesn't take his eyes off his father.

------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a wacky year.

Leon knew it was a bad idea stepping into Goldust bar.

"Ah! Lee Lee!" Goldust cheers pulling the youth into a hug. "You look stunning" goldust purs cupping the boys face. Leon chuckles. "Hello Goldie" "I invited some of your and cassies friends" goldust smiles. "To our parents anniversary party?" "My party my rules" goldust tuts. Leon's eyes spot him straight away. Sat at the bar with cassie laughing about something. "You invited drew?" Leon asks shocked. "Hes your friend no?" Goldust questions. "Dad hates him." "Wasn't my question, was it" goldust smirks.

Leon ignores goldust and moves over to the pair.

"I don't know Cas..." Drew signs. "Dont be a downer. It'll be a world full of fun. Not every day we have a pay per view and a smackdown in death Valley" cassie smirks. "Yeah, it's because they've just finished the stadium, now scram brat" Leon buts in. Cassie frowns. "Im tal-" "I didnt ask. Go" Leon orders pulling her up and pushing her away.

He sits in her seat and motions for a drink. "She made me come." Drew states. "I aint got a problem with you being here. Just rather I get the shit for it than her." Leon states accepting the drink. "Hey, he's with me alright?" Leon asks the bartender. "I should really ask gold-" Leon's eyes glow purple. "With me." "Alright man, shit." The bartender huffs putting money infront of Drew before walking off. "What?" Drew questions taking his money back. "Youll be treated like shit for the next few hours, might aswell make sure you don't go bankrupt too" Leon smirks before downing his drink and waving for another one. "Leave the bottle yeah?" "I forgot how much of an asshole you are" the bartender grunts before he slams the bottle down and walks off. "Mmm sure you did." Leon smirks as he watches him walk off.

"Takers gonna go mad" drew whispers. "Fuck him. Who cares? If he's stupid enough to let you ruin his anniversary thats on him. We are going to have a good time whether he does or doesnt" Leon tells him. "Ill never understand you Lee." "Good. I like to be a surprise." Leon smiles at him. Drew can't help but smile back as Leon raises his glass.

The men clink their glasses as the couple of the night turn up. Leon glances at his parents before back at drew. "Happy valentines drew." Leon hums. "Happy valentines Leon." Drew smiles softly. John suddenly rushes over and grabs Leon. "You didnt say Happy birthday to cassie?" John snaps. "Im sure the hell of a gift I left in her room makes up for it" Leon scoffs. "Thats why you were late?" "Yes that's why I was late. I didn't forget my baby sis birthday. I'm not that much of an animal" Leon rolls his eyes as he sips his drink.

"Well, your friends have been waiting for ya" John states. "Im busy." Leon mutters nodding his head towards drew. John looks at drew before back at Leon. "I tho-" "you got something else to do other than bothering me when I'm trying to drink?" Leon snaps looking at his brother. John chuckles and steps back. "My bad. Don't forget you've gotta lead the hoedown" John smirks before patting his back, hard, and walking off. Drew raises his eyebrow. "Thought you weren't a stereotypical cowboy?" Drew asks. "Oh don't. You'll be joining us" Leon smirks behind his glass. "What?" "I didnt bring two cowboy hats for nothin" Leon states putting his cup down. "You didnt." Two shadows form infront of Leon and fade to show two cowboy hats. One black the other a dark blue. "You did." Drew huffs. Leon places his on his head before grabbing the blue one and leaning forward. "Of course." Leon smirks placing it on drews head.

Leon leans back and looks at drew and can't help but smile. "Better say hi to the folk. I'll catch you in a minute." Leon hums before pushing away from the bar and walking off. "Hes a good kid." Drew jumps as Kevin takes Leon's seat. "I know" drew nods. Kevin glances at him. "Real loyal when you get past that tough guy bullshit." Kevin adds. "I can tell." Drew mutters looking at Leon with his family and friends. "He'd be real lucky to have you." This takes Drew by surprise. He looks at Kevin. "What? Don't you me-" "God no. He's a fucking asshole and you'd deserve better. You? You see through that, I don't know how but you do. You don't see him as a monster, you see him as a person. He'd be lucky to have you." Kevin states as the music starts. "Thank you?" "Just don't let it ruin you. Too many have fallen to the Michaels Curse. Including themselves." Kevin hums pulling Drew up.

Drew just looks at him. "Good luck." Kevin walks off leaving drew stood confused. "Cmon drew!" Leon calls. Drew looks at the other and finds himself drawn to him.

The Michaels Curse..

------------------------------------------------------------------

Drew could not give a flying fuck about the Michaels Curse.

Leon Thomas Michaels is and always will be hot.

Drew would gladly fall victim to him at any point in the next five seconds.

Drew knows he's staring, but he doesn't care. Leon's chest heaves as he throws the chair out of the ring, towards the men stood on the ramp. "Back the fuck off!" Leon yells. He turns too drew and kneels infront of him. "Are you good?" Leon asks cupping his face with bloody knuckles to examine him. "I uh...what?" Drew asks. Leon frowns and tilts his head as prods a bruise forming on drews temple. "I asked if you're okay?" Leon pushes. "Your shirtless." Leon michaels was never without a vest on infront of the cameras.

And boy was he beautiful. "Yeah..I was in the middle of getting changed when you got jumped." Leon nods as if it's obvious. That's when drews eyes fall down to see Leon's jeans not even done up. His belt hung around his waist and his button popped open. "Jesus" drew chokes. Leon chuckles and tilts his head up. "I reckon we need to get you too the medic. Get your head checked" Leon smirks. Leon stands and pulls drew up. Drew takes a moment to examine Leon's tattooed torso. He lean figure. His sharp, hard abs. The scars that litter his body. "Your so hot." Drew whispers. "Yeah yeah, I know cmon before you confess which diva you've got the hots for" Leon chuckles leading drew out the ring.

You.

Is what drew wanted to say.

But he decided to keep his mouth shut.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon was busy setting his makeup out when he felt the presence behind him.

He glances up and his brain stops working.

His eyes scan Drew massive back.

Whilst there's only a inch between the men in height, Leon never realised how fucking small he looked compared to drew until now. Drew is pure muscle. And Leon knows he's been working out to look bigger a lot more recently. Infact, Leon knows drew hates that he used to be small, so instead of focusing on defining his muscles, like Leon does, he's focusing on bulking up.

And Leon didn't release he was this big until now.

Drew turns to look at Leon in the mirror, leaving Leon staring at his chest.

Drew, compared to himself, was bigger, softer and hairy. Leon felt small. Jesus is this how his father felt compared to everyone.

Leon is sharp, stone like, skinny and just ugly compared to him.

He's never really appreciated drews beauty until now.

Jesus maybe he did need to get laid, it has been awhile.

"Leon!" Leon's eyes snap up to meet Drews concerned gaze. His face brings Leon guilt. The bruises and cuts from his own father getting drew jumped."Yeah?" Great he was caught staring at drew chest. "Are you okay? Zoned out on me for a moment" drew asks, voice full of worry. Leon can't help but chuckle. God, big, beautiful and dumb. Leon's sure got a type. "Yeah I'm good big guy, just thinking about things" Leon smiles.

Drew raises an eyebrow. Leon just called him big guy. The same Leon that cringed whenever his father used the term.

"You sure?" Drew asks. "Mhm" Leon nods collecting his face paint. "Well, I asked if you wanted anything to eat" drew repeats. "A milkshake will be good. Just need some sugar." Leon answers. "Alright. Be back soon" drew smiles pulling a tshirt on before leaving.

Leon presses his forehead against the mirror. He slaps the back of his own head. "You idiot" he scolds.

------------------------Meanwhile------------------------------

Shawn watches as Taker enters the ring. "I want you to look at the tron." Shawn tells him. Taker pauses and looks. It's Leon smiling. "Wanna know who did that?" Shawn asks. "Who?" "Drew." It continues to show drew turning towards Leon, his own little smile on his face. "Look at them." Shawn orders. A bunch of clips of the pair smiling and laughing together show before it's back to them. "That man brings our son happiness and you...you hurt him for that? How is that fair?" Shawn asks. Taker accepts a mic. "This isnt about fair. It's about what's right. What's right for our son." Taker states. Shawn scoffs. "You know what's stupid. I look at those two and you know what I see? I see us, I see us at their age. Running around, causing vince headaches, having fun, only enjoying each others company, feeling unstoppable. Like no one in the world gets us but each other." Shawn states. "And what I see when I stand here, with you, is Paul. That figure who doesn't want that happiness in a young man. That wants to destroy a growing relationship." Shawn snaps. Takers jaw tightens.

"Hating drew won't separate them. Infact, it'll make their bond stronger. He's your son taker. He will do anything to go against you. And along the way, he's formed a friendship. A friend he cares too much about to lose." Shawn tells him. "And what do you do? You go and hurt that boy! What is wrong with you!" Shawn yells. "I am doing what's best for-" Shawn scoffs and goes to turn away when Taker grabs his arm and pulls him in. Shawn levels his gaze with takers as Taker lowers his mic. "Im doing what's best for everyone." He growls. Shawn pulls out of his grasp. "More like what's best for you and only you." Shawn snaps before dropping his mic and climbing out of the ring.

Taker faces his husband and watches as he walks up the ramp. His head tilted and he's refusing to look back. Taker sighs and rubs his temple. Boy he's in trouble. Shawn always look back. This means shawns extremely pissed, especially if he's head tilted but still not looking.

-----------

"In other news, WWE tag team, The Scottish Warrior and The Skeleton King, consisting of superstars Drew Mcintyre and Leon Michaels have taken the Internet by storm lately after Mcintyre was attacked by Michaels father, The Undertaker" the reporter explains. "Fans and non wrestling fan have come together and started editing the pair and complying evidence that the stars could be in a relationship. They also bounded together to make edits explaining why both stars, separately, are attractive after they brush off comments about them being so." The reporter continues. "The pair have rised to the top in a short amount of time, making a new record for the Internet and the fandoms on it. They are literally everywhere. A photoshoot they did recently for their merch was even posted on timesquare without any input from wwe themselves." The reporter chuckles. "Vince Mcmahon has commented on the situation, let's take a look"

-

Vince looks at Michael Cole. "Whats your view on what's going on with mcintyre and Michaels?" "Im extremely happy that they've become so popular, I even more happy that they are bringing in non wrestling fans. I mean that's what we aim for right? They've come such a far way and grown so much together it's amazing to see how much they've improved. How much they've improved each other." Vince comments. "And the relationship rumours?" "I will officially say that as of right now, Drew and Leon are just good friends and are very comfortable with each other. No offical relationship has been reported or announced." Vince nods.

-

"Mcmahon made the rule of relationships being announced after the drama that went on between Michaels parents Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the 90s. So as far as it goes. Deon is not official. Onto other sporting news-"

Leon tilts his head at the tv. "The fuck is a fandom?" Leon asks looking at cassie. "You know, your fans. The work they make about you." Cassie states as if it's obvious. "Right." "Yours call themselves the royal guards." "Thats a stupid fucking name." "Its because your the skeleton King?" Cassie points out. "Its still stupid. Why not call themselves knights or I don't know Warrior's? Why royal guards." Leon pulls a face. "Mine are warriors" drew hums. "Really? I'd called them Klits" Leon comments. "That is good!" Drew smiles. "Are you two not even slightly weirded out that people think you are dating?" Cassie asks. Then she looks at them, drews arm around Leon's waist, a bag of crisps in his hand that Leon is helping himself to whilst leaning against drew.

"You know what, I take back my question" cassie huffs. "Why would we care?" Leon asks. "People think pa dated half the kliq" Leon shrugs. "He slepted with them, not dated." John comments from where he's working in his script. "Are you two dating or fucking?" Cassie asks. Both men stay quiet. "No." Leon mutters. "Dont sound so disappointed" John chuckles. "Ill make sure your the first to know if we do tho" Leon smirks glancing at his big brother. "Fuck off. Not again. I will block your number." John gags. "Does this mean we are the top superstars?" Drew suddenly asks. John looks up. "Dude, you are the top stars in all of Hollywood right now. No pressure." John tells him.

"Fuck"

"Fuck" Shawn whispers turning the tv off. "Its not going to go down the same way." Hunter hums. "I don't want their friendship to get ruined because of some rumours." Shawn frowns. "It won't." Hunter promises. "Im worried how takers gonna react. I haven't seen him since raw." Shawn whispers. "This is the perfect time to push that vlog idea with them" vince speaks up. Both men look at him. "The fuck?" "Leon will not do it."

------------------------------------------------------------------

"We are currently backstage" sheamus smirks behind the camera. "Drews about to go fight and Leon's preparing to speak to his father" sheamus states zooming in on the pair. Leon crosses his arms, ignoring the man. "You don't have to do this." Leon states. "He wants a fight. I'll give him a fight. Just gotta get through tonight. If you two can't make it work, I will." Drew states. Leon frowns and shakes his head. "My...my dad isn't someone you want to goto war with." Leon whispers. "Its okay. You're worth it" drew states before leaving. Leon's eyes widen and his face heats up.

His eyes immediately land on sheamus. "Turn it off!" He barks as sheamus giggles like a little girl. "Dont be mean! You two are so cuteeee!" Sheamus coos before running from the other.

--

Drew shoulda known to keep his guard up. He snarls at seth when suddenly something hits him in the back.

He groans as he hits the matt. He glances to see seth nodding and rolling out of the ring.

He huffs and turns onto his back to see Taker stood, staring down at him, chair in hand. "Just couldn't do it, could ya?" Taker growls reaching down, grabbing drew by his hair, pulling him up. Drew groans weakly and grabs at takers hand, his other hand landing on takers waist area. "You just had to stay away" Taker snaps. "I love him" "you do not know love!" Taker barks at him. "Stop! Dad!" Drew hears Leon yell as the younger man runs down the ramp. "Your not hurting me." Drew snaps looking at taker. "Your hurting him. And that isn't fair." Taker stares at him, even as Leon pulls the chair off him and throws it out.

"Let him go!" Leon demands grabbing takers hand. Taker looks at Leon before letting go. Drew slouches as Leon pushes Taker away from drew. He stands between the two men. "Why? What has he ever done to you!" Leon yells. "I warned hi-" "Why! You don't warn cassies friends! You don't warn John's! Why drew! Why!" Leon snaps. "Because they don't love them!" "So what! So what if he loves me! What if I love him!" Leon yells. Drews eyes widen as he looks at Leon. "Whats it too you?! I'm a adult!" "You do not kno-" "the consequences?! I know the consequences of people loving me! It's the same for you! And yet look at you, happily fucking married with kids!" Leon barks shoving the man.

"How is that fair?"

"What?"

"Why do you get love but i do not? How is that fair?" Leon pushes. Shawn stands on the stage. He came out here to break it up, but right now, despite unable to hear them, it seems things are fixing themselves. Leon looks back at drew. Leon helps drew up and allows the man to lean against his back as he faces his father. "I don't need or want your approval. Hate him all you want, but you leave him alone. You take it out on me. Not him." Leon tells him. "Youll never lay a finger on him, ever again." Leon warns, pulling drew along, shoving the older man out of the way.

Shawn nods at Leon as they pass each other on the ramp.

Shawn stands on ring side.

"It wasn't going to end how you wanted it too." Shawn states softly. Taker looks down. "And right now, you can't even justify why you've done what you've done. And you know what? That's good. That's amazing, because that separates you from Paul." Shawn explains as he climbs into the ring. Taker glances at him. "Your not angry?" "I think our sons anger, but also your anger at yourself is more than enough. Disappointed? Yes. But I can see why you are so protective of Leon. He reminds you of yourself." "He reminds me of you." Taker corrects.

This stuns Shawn. "What?" "Yes, he's different like me. But he looks like you, he has your emotions. Your mindset. And I failed you, I didn't want to fail him" Taker whispers. Shawn takes his hand. "You didnt fail me and you will not fail him, as long as you accept drew. He clearly cares about him, pushing drew away, pushes Leon away." Shawn sighs. "They love each other." Taker mutters. Shawn smiles. "I know that. I've known since day one. As have you. But like you know, its up to them to discover that. Maybe you've helped them do that, maybe they'll thank you for this period of time one day, but right now? Right now they'll hate it." Shawn explains.

"I have to make it up to him." "Im sure you will"

---------------Oh boy this is getting long----------------------

"So you two accidentally confessed your love for each other but you've not actually talked about it or made any steps to make it official?" Sheamus asks. "No." Drew mutters stabbing his food. "And whys that?" Finn asks confused. "Its Leon. He...he doesn't do emotions." Drew huffs leaning back. "No. That is valid, I take back my question" finn chuckles.

The boys fall quiet as yelling grabs their attention. "The hell is that?" Sheamus asks as Seth walks in. "Bearer and Kane are back-" drew is straight up and running towards the hallway. "Drew? Drew!" Finn barks following him with sheamus.

"You don't fuckin scare me!" Leon barks. "Thats why your hands are shaking?" Paul asks. Leon clenches his shaking hands. Panic building in his chest, taking over him like a disease. He brings his hands up to his chest. That's when his view of Paul is blocked. "I think you need to get leaving." Leon looks up to see the back of drew. "And you are the Michaels new play thing, huh?" Paul asks. "I won't tell you again." "Is that right?" Paul hums. "Back the fuck up." Drew growls. "Or what?" Paul asks. "I aint scared of you or your dog. You need to stay the hell away from Leon or I'll fucking kill you" drew threatens. Leon's eyes widen. "You heard the man." His dad's voice calls. "Taker! My boy, I'm so proud of you"

The sentence makes taker feel sick. "And that's exactly why I'm so ashamed of myself. I never want to be like you, or for you to be proud of me." Taker hisses. "What?" "Because that would not be fair for those who love me." Taker hums moving to stand next to drew. "Now, drew advised you to get to stepping. I'm telling you to get stepping, or I will make you." Taker growls. "I need to meet with vince anyways. I'll be seeing you." Paul mutters before walking away.

Taker turns to drew. "I apologise for my behaviour." Taker states. "I don't expect you to forgive me. But I appreciate you Standing up for Leon. I'm glad he has someone who cares so much about him." "Ill always have his back sir." Drew nods. "And I do forgive you. I understand why you did it." Drew adds. "Yeah?" Taker asks. "Hes your son. And he's a lot like Mr michaels." Drew shrugs. Leon glances at drew. "Fresh beginnings huh?" Drew asks holding his hand out. Taker chuckles and shakes his hand. "Fresh beginnings kid. Now, how about you two go out for lunch yeah?" Taker smirks. "What?" Leon blurts out.

"Shit Leon, keep up, go out together, alone. I'll buy you time, gives me time to sort Paul out" Taker huffs. Leon looks at drew. "It'll be fun. Cmon" drew smiles holding his hand out. Leon looks down at his hand.

"Ah fuck it, I'm always down for some fun" Leon smirks accepting the hand.

Taker watches as they walk away. "Mmm, remind you of something?" Shawn smirks. Taker turns to look at his husband. "You really need a bell" Taker huffs. "But yes. Yes it does" Taker smiles taking shawns hand.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"In wrestling news, Fan favourite, The Scottish Warrior and The Skeleton King have been confirmed to not only be dating but married. Its unsure how long it's been going on but the couple along with their boss announced it after Mcintyre referred to Michaels sister as his sister in law. We send our congratulations to the married champs."

---------Notes--------

This got so long I forgot what I was doing.

But give me credit, I started this yesterday night and finished it the exact time I started it yesterday. Been working on it on and off since.

I wanted to do something based off the gifs but went completely rogue.

Shock

Anyways I love writing deon, I adore them, so honestly I'm not angry.

[furyohin4urr20]

Please tell us the name of the randy fanfiction you wrote 🙏

anon i am so sorry to have left you in here for so fucking long i really am 😭😭😭

i never posted the fic anywhere bc i never finished it so methinks i'll post it here

Randy Jade x OC Fanfiction (Title TBD)

By Fu Ryohin

Chapter One

Chapter Synopsis: This basically plays out like the subway mugging scene in-game, with some changes to fit in with my own mental illness 🫶

It's a chilly evening on the subway, as Penny stands by the doors, nail-polished fingers holding onto the safety pole as she looks at her watch. Her coat pockets jingle with change and crumpled bills from her shift at Bunny's Burgers, all courtesy of her satisfied customers, as she sways backward from the train's speed taking her to her cozy apartment uptown.

'Today was rough', she stares pensively at her boots, sighing as she contemplates her work day with fellow coworker, Mile.

'We were understaffed, a large party came in and occupied 3 booths and a table, and left a mess I cleaned up myself, and Mile was getting yelled at for dropping the cash box while managing the cash register.' Her screen goes dark as she lay deep in her thoughts until she saw out of the corner of her sensor someone moving into a double seat across from her and her pole.

It was a tall, knife-headed man, unfamiliar to her, with a malevolent glint on his blade. Well, she perceived it to be so, considering light can't be malevolent, but does it really matter? He sat next to a man in a denim jacket, covered in what appeared to be mud stains and water, with a foul odor following him, much to Denim Man's slight panic. Penny slowly moved slightly closer and began to eavesdrop ever so cautiously.

"Look, I'll say it again only once", the suspect man sneered, as he pulled what looked like a gun out of his coat pocket. "Hand over the wallet, bozo, and I'll let you off the hook scot-free. If not, your dumb, phone face GETS IT. Deal?"

Shakily, without lifting his head, Denim Man whimpered quietly, “P-please, sir, I don’t have any money, just, just some loose change...” Denim Man was shaking with fear holding an expression of what seemed to be pure dread.

“Well, better than nothing, I guess”, the mugger replied. “Hand it over before I stab you, so help me Phone-God!”

Penny started to feel sick to her stomach, a lump welling in her throat. Surely she couldn’t leave the poor man to get mugged of all he had? She started weighing her options quickly.

The train started to slow, lunging everyone slightly forward, and suddenly, an idea manifested itself. This is her stop. Penny stepped forward slowly, making pace closer to the mugger.

“Leave him alone!”

She heard herself gasping, and immediately covering her mouth in alarm. Why did she say that?! She felt the color drain from her face as the mugger stood up and faced her, towering over her.

“Hey, Sweetcheeks, stay out of this if you don’t wanna see this cuck blown away, y’hear me?”

She stood there, frozen, trembling, forcing herself to respond to the criminal’s threat. “I-if you leave him alone, I’ll, I’ll give you my tip money for the night”, she managed to squeak out, “But leave him alone, o-okay? Surely it’s more than what you’d get out of him.”

The air was still for a brief second, but to everyone involved, it felt like an eternity. The Denim Man looked up at her, in grateful shock, before gesturing for her not to intervene with his bandage-wrapped hands. “Finally, at least I'm getting something out of this,” The Mugger grumbled. Penny rummaged through her bag for a few moments, silently refraining from making eye contact with the bladed robber.

In a split second, she grabbed her pepper spray, undid the cap while still in her bag, and let it rip on the mugger’s face, in a fiery cloud. The mugger immediately folded over in pain, dropping his gun, which revealed an empty cartridge.

“MY EYES! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, I DON’T EVEN HAVE ANY?!” The Mugger screamed in agony. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU FREAK! I HAVE MOB CONNECTIONS! I’LL FIND YOU AND BANDAGES OVER THERE AND MAKE YOU PAY FOR FORCING ME TO THINK ABOUT THE BIOLOGICAL MYSTERIES OF MY EXISTENCE!"

Penny grabbed Denim Man’s hand and quickly pulled him to the now open-subway doors, and bolted out into the station and onto the streets of Uptown DIaltown. She had never felt so scared before, but at the same time, she was euphoric on the adrenaline rush. She had stopped a man from getting mugged on the subway, almost single-handedly! It may be a good idea to check on him, he seemed very shaken up.

“Oh, my Phone-God, are you okay, dear?!” She worriedly asked, still huffing and heaving from the run. He was sobbing quite loudly, and in quite a messy way, too. Let’s not get into the details of how a phone can cry.

“W-why, why did you do that?!” He finally managed to sputter, in between sobs and heaving, hitching breaths. “You don’t even, even KNOW me! Why would you risk yourself, f-for a schmuck, a bum like ME?!”

She looked at the messy, blubbering wreck in front of her and heaved a heavy sigh. “I... I don't know. I don’t know what came over me. I just, started moving without thinking,” She replied, much to her own surprise. “I think it was instinct. But, anyway, what’s your name?”

“I-it’s Randy, Miss... uh...” He wavered.

“Oh, um, it’s Penny! Penelope Sciarte. Just stick with Penny, okay?” She chuckled awkwardly. “Anyway, what led to you, um, getting on the subway? From the sound of it, you didn’t even have enough to get on in the first place.”

“O-oh, right... I, um, this is going to sound pathetic, I’m sure, but uh...” He muttered while looking down at his bandaged hands. “I got chased down here by swans. I managed to get in through the doors before they closed.”

Penny stopped in concern and slight awe. “A swan would go out of its way to chase you down from the park to the subway?" She added in astonishment. "I knew they were rude but not outright cruel.”

“Well, you really see to the worst side of them when you spend your days trying to wrangle them every day for a pittance.” He sighed and briefly exchanged his final pleasantries with Penny before starting to walk in the opposite direction.

“Wait! Are you sure you’re okay to walk by yourself? Where are you headed, dear?” Penny inquired, attempting to ensure Randy didn’t run into any more trouble.

He hesitated. “Look, thank you for your help back there, but I don’t want to cause you any more trouble. I’m going to my dumpster, it’s really all I have left at this point.” He looked up at her, her screen flickering pensively.

“D-did you say, dumpster?” Her face lit up. “No wonder you looked familiar! You’re the guy who’s been squatting in Bunny’s dumpster for the past few years!”

Randy’s expression became wearier as she mentioned this. “Yeah, that’s me, but you could probably tell simply by the SMELL that follows me everywhere. there’s no point in complaining. If there is a God, he certainly isn’t a merciful one. After all, he created those portents of pure maliciousness that we call SWANS.”

“Well, are you sure you don’t need a place to stay for the night?” She asked, and realized just how much of an idiot she sounded like for inviting a stranger into her house.

“W-well, I know it sounds kind of, um, sudden and odd, but I assure you, it’s much better than staying in a filthy dumpster after such a rough day.” She felt the air coming out of her vents heating up at the thought of a stranger in her home.

“I couldn’t possibly intrude, and you’ve done enough for one night,” He quickly responded as he tried his best to avoid eye contact with her. He sighed and shook his head. "I know how busy things are at Bunny's, the last thing you need is another lousy burden on your shoulders."

She looked him in the eyes.

"Oh, nonsense!" She insisted. "I won't be able to sleep tonight worrying that you're sleeping in that greasy dumpster and I have a very busy shift tomorrow! You'd be doing me a favor by staying in my home, even if it's just for tonight."

She didn't seem to notice while speaking she had cupped his bandaged hands in hers, much to her own surprise. She pulled back nervously.

"Oh, er, sorry." He stood there silently, impressed and slightly intimidated by her.

She took notice of this, and countered, "You don't have to say anything, just nod your head yes or no, dear." He started to tear up again and started shaking his head up and down in agreement.

She took his hand and directed him to follow her down the row of buildings in Uptown Dialtown, as the night brought down a cool chill and lit the light posts. Somehow, somehow, despite this, both felt a warmth inside them, faintly glowing with each step.

This doc was last edited on 2/15/2023 ☠️☠️☠️

[hellmastermiller]

I’m sorry about your mom. As far as coping goes, I’m pretty emotionally stunted but here’s some (admittedly quite common) stuff I use which you’ve probably heard of:

Make a checklist of things you should/could do in a day to keep yourself from skipping out. It’s easy to just sink into the floor and not do anything, and the checklist hold you slightly accountable. Start off with more easily attainable daily goals (ex. today I will clean my desk) and then begin to add some things (ex. today I will clean my desk + bed).

Talk to people: they say this one helps the most, and I’m sure you know this. Think about how you’d feel talking to a stranger in a support group V.S a friend. If it sounds more appealing, you can take a step toward finding a free group/one you can afford. Hell, if you post this ask giving me the green light, I could even DM you if you’d like. We’re mutuals but we’ve never directly spoken

Know that maybe even a year from now, the grief can hit you in an unexpected way, and that’ll be okay. A close family member of mine died about 10 years ago and sometimes I wind up feeling sick with how much I miss them. I don’t think the feeling ever leaves, you just learn to sort of… accept that it’s there and always will be

And as everyone always says, be nice to yourself. Have a sweet treat. Try to go on a short walk around your block. Seek new emotional experiences— maybe go see a movie you’re excited about or rewatch one that you love. Pick up a hobby you haven’t recently indulged in and try it out again.

Grief is weird, and it sucks. But it’s natural and it’s okay to always feel a little bit sad over losing someone. I wish you nothing but the best.

thank u so much. i'm emotionally stunted asf too so the last three months has been absolutely crazy LMAO. i'll dump more dramatic stuff under the cut so ppl don't have 2 listen to my whining

but thank you. this means a lot to me, i'll fucking print this out n glue it to my screen to force myself to remember. feel free to dm me if you want, but only if you want to; i'll probably just bitch and sob and whine a lot, so don't feel pressured at all. listening to someone go on and on can be so mentally draining, but your offer means the world to me. thank u <3

but yeah, i heard that grief is just forever. i guess it's like mental illness in a way. it never goes away, but you learn to cope. i hope you have people there for you when you miss your family member.

TW DEATH!!! TALKING ABT DEATH1!!! SOIRRY!!!!

i was the one who found my mom dead so i feel like that just added another layer 2 the insanity. i forced myself to see her a few times before the cremation too, hoping it'll make everything click, but it's that adhd "out of sight out of mind" type beat. it makes grief so stupidly hard.

i've been the glue keeping my dad n bro together too. i still remember being the one to clean her fluids from the wall and the carpet while they sobbed and it was so fucked up. answering questions from the cops and paramedics. dealing with funeral arrangements.

my father and i found a fucking dent in the wall from where her head hit too. it's the fucking outside wall too, so she hit her head on it so fucking hard that the plaster came off. it breaks my heart. we had such a difficult relationship too so it just makes everything all the more painful. the regret is so real.

i found so much out about her too after she'd died. so many little things i could've used to talk to her, to bond, to help her. drives me up the fuckin' wall, man. makes me fucking crash out.

and not to sound like an idiot, but one of my guinea pigs fucking DIED like a few weeks after her too and it actually broke me LMAO. my mom bought those pigs, so to lose one of them just fucking shattered me.

even worse is that his brother doesn't give a shit, so i have one guinea pig who is absolutely thriving because he gets the entire room to himself now. (for anyone who knows my guinea pigs, IT'S DAVID THAT DIED. ELI LIVED. rip solid snake :( )

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 30 - AO3

Alya stared at him with an expression so filled with disgust and regret that Felix shuffled uncomfortable. She spun away, her shoulders shaking. “You know, I used to wonder how you and Adrien could possibly be related, but now? I totally see it.”

Felix sputtered. “Excuse me!?”

“You’re excused. This is too stupid and doesn’t make any sense; I’m not dealing with it. Let’s just… get this done, okay?”

“What are you talking about, it makes sense—!”

“I’ve learned my lesson about speculating hero identities. Trust me, it is not worth it. So can we please drop this?” She passed him a flash drive.

Felix considered her words and agreed. This really wasn’t the time for speculation. It was the time—he looked down at his chest, but unfortunately the brooch was still there—for action.

He and Alya walked to their homeroom, but while Alya went inside with a wave, Felix hid around the corner, so everyone would be inside before they started. As the morning bell rang, he stepped into the room.

Mme. Bustier frowned at him. “Young man, you need to go to your homeroom—” Felix removed his hood, Duusu squirming in the fabric to hide. “Felix? I guess your suspension is over now… Then the only person we’re waiting on is Marinette.”

“Marinette won’t be at school today,” Felix told her, taking a moment to survey the class. The sheeple were glaring at him, Alya was vibrating in her seat, Rossi looked smug… and Adrien. He looked horrified to see Felix here. Had Gabriel told him what Felix did? Was he on Gabriel’s side now? “Something about a family emergency? She should have a note to give you tomorrow.”

���Well… you were supposed to apologize to her today, but if that’s the case…”

“I’ve already apologized to Marinette,” Felix reassured her. “But there’s someone else in this room I must apologize too; after all, I was trying to frame someone as well. That’s why I created a video to properly explain my feelings. May I?” He gestured towards the computer. “It won’t take long.”

Bustier fretted but agree. “If you’ve already made something…” She even helped him setup the projector screen while Felix got to the video. There were only two files on the flash drive: one labeled “Apology”, and the other labeled “After.” He opened the “Apology” video.

Jagged Stone’s face covered the whiteboard. “Cat? I’ve never owned a bloody cat, especially not one saved by a Lila Rossi.”

One by one, her lies unraveled. Interviews with the celebrities Rossi lied about, logs indicating that the Italian Ambassador hasn’t left Paris in over a year, doctors explaining Rossi’s various illnesses to contradict her actions, exerts from her diary… Even though their classmates’ faith in Rossi broke with that first interview, it was fascinating to watch their opinions of her sink lower and lower as the tears and glares multiplied. Rossi was mortified, watching the video with wide eyes as her claws sunk into Adrien’s arm. Even Bustier, the supposed adult in the room, could only watch, even though stopping the video was totally within her power. The collective mood sunk,

And sunk,

And sunk.

It was glorious. Felix wished he was recording.

Felix paused the video before the last scene could play and smirked as Rossi glared at him hatefully. “I’m so terribly sorry I tried to frame you, Rossi. As it turns out, that was the only think you were actually innocent of!”

She jerked at his address, then turned around to the class, fishing for sympathy. She found none in the furious gazes and tear-filled eyes. She shook, from rage or humiliation, Felix knew not. “You… you bastard…”

“My parents were happily married when they had me,” Felix purred. “Pity the same couldn’t be said about you, no?”

Her eyes widened with fear. Oh, yes, Felix knew an awful lot about Rossi now, perhaps more than he ever wanted to know. Usually he wouldn’t taunt someone because they were the result of an affair, but… Rossi seemed to bring out the worst in him.

Realizing that she had no allies in the room, Rossi’s eyes welled with possibly-fake tears and she ran from the room, practically wailing. Felix sniffed. “How cliché.”

That snapped Bustier out of her daze. “Felix! We are going to the principal’s office right now!” He shot Alya a panicked looked, but she was already running to the front of the room as Bustier grabbed his arm. “There was no need to humiliate another student, no matter what she did—!”

He tore his arm from her grip. The only reason she hadn’t left claw marks was the protection is hoodie gave him. “If she didn’t want to be humiliated, maybe she shouldn’t have done something humiliating!”

That set certain people off.

“Dude, that’s too cruel!”

“She might have been horrible, but you didn’t need to be so mean about it!”

“I don’t know what has gotten into you, young man, but hurting people—”

Finally reaching the front, Alya restarted the video and the last scene played. Bustier shut up as she and the rest of the room saw the video footage Felix had taken of Rossi willingly taking an akuma. While they were enthralled, Felix took his chance to lock their classroom door. They didn’t have much time before Rossi showed up again. “She’s a terrorist; why should I respect her?”

Climbing up on the desk, Alya took her place before the class while Felix readily the second video. She addressed the class. “Like Felix said, it’s been confirmed that Lila Rossi is working with Hawkmoth. Thanks to this information, Ladybug has discovered the possible identities of Hawkmoth and Mayura and is now working with the police to conduct a sting operation while his attention is on akumatizing Lila.”

“Alya!” Bustier hissed, “Get down from there—”

They had anticipated that someone wouldn’t believe them, and Alya had planned ahead by getting evidence from a source no one could argue with. Felix opened the second video and now Ladybug’s face covered the whiteboard. “Hey, Mme. Bustier’s class, this is Ladybug speaking! As Mlle. Cesaire might have already told you, today the police, temporary heroes, and I are conducting a sting operation against the possible identity of Hawkmoth. But while I say ‘possible,’ we’ve received evidence that proves without a doubt that this individual we’re raiding is Hawkmoth.” Felix covered the brooch with his hands. “It’s because of this evidence that I asked M. Graham de Vanily and Mlle. Cesaire to expose Lila Rossi today. As his only known civilian helper, my partner and I are certain that Hawkmoth will akumatize her, given how successful she’s been against the heroes in the past.

“This is why I am talking to you now. As of now, all of you are part of the sting operation.” He noticed several classmates sit up at her words, the sadness and anger dissipating from the room. “I need you all to evacuate the school and help the other classes evacuate as well. But most importantly, you can’t do anything that will indicate that we’re attacking Hawkmoth during her akumatizations. I know I can trust you.” It felt… like she was talking directly to Felix. He held the brooch tighter, rough edges cutting into his hand. “Thank you. Bug out.”

The video stopped and Alya organized the evacuation out the windows. Fortunately, they were on the first floor, so it wasn’t much of a drop. Mme. Bustier left first and helped the other student drop down. Felix tried to help, but Adrien pulled him aside. “You’re working with Ladybug?” Adrien asked. Was that… awe in his voice? Did Gabriel not tell him anything yet.

“She asked,” Felix answered uncomfortable. “Come, it’s time for you to leave…” Felix tried to get Adrien out the window so they’d stop talking, but Adrien refused to drop. He just… dangled out the window.

“You’re not coming?”

Felix looked away. “I’m the bait. Hopefully we can keep Rossi focused on me long enough for Ladybug to defeat Hawkmoth, but to do that… I need to keep her mad.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, they picked the perfect person for that.”

He laughed. “Certainly. Adrien… about what happened at your house…” Something—or rather, someone—pounded on the door, making it shake on its hinges.

“What happened at my house?”

Had Gabriel told him nothing!? No, there was no time. “Adrien, you can’t go home.” He told him instead.

“What?”

“When you evacuate, you can’t go home, okay? Go anywhere else, anywhere at all, but don’t go home. Just trust me, you don’t want to be there.”

The door collapsed, and a hot rush of air ploomed into the room. Felix pushed Adrien out the window and he landed on the ground in a heap. There were still other classmates stuck inside—the goth girl, the jock, the dreadlock girl, he really should start learning people’s names—but there was nothing he could do now to get them out.

He faced Rossi. She… looked horrible.

Fashion-disaster Hawkmoth struck again, he supposed. Though, now that he knew Hawkmoth was Gabriel, perhaps these were designs that the board of directors at the company refused? Because instead of something relatively fashionable, Rossi loomed in the doorway dressed like a cartoon devil in a prom dress, her skin hazard orange and her pigtails mutated and curled up in mock devil horns. She scowled at Felix; her teeth looked like jagged shards of glass. “You…”

“Rossi.” He sneered.

Her eye twitched. “It’s End Days now! And I’m going to ruin your life, just like you’ve ruined mine!”

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