#i have a lot of seri carrying reigen stuff in the lot too... yes i realize i have a problem

[almondpiglet]

Serizawa carrying Reigen!

thirty year old salaryman carries twenty nine year old boss cuz they arent gay!!!

[bittybeanie]

Hi there. Do you have any HCs about what it would be like to be in a poly relationship with Serizawa and Reigen? I heavily ship them together but also personally want to be in there myself lol. I feel like they’d be the best boyfriends.

I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!! those are pretty much my exact thoughts like serirei is so perfect and they're so good together but also... I wanna be included lmao- this builds on some of my other headcanons for each of them but i think i elaborated enough that you don't need the other posts for context.

i know you didn't specifically ask, but uh... nsfw in the second half because i maybe got carried away

y'all go out for ramen so often it's not even funny. the staff places bets on which of you are mob's parents (jokes on that guy, it's all of you, you mean none of you, you mean, well, technically-)

so so much teasing from all of you. you're all very awkward and nervous and just sorta counting on each other to make the first moves, especially in the beginning, so y'all deflect by teasing the ever loving hell out of each other constantly. even serizawa gets in on it (if he knows you'll back him up)

lots of casual touching too. i feel like serizawa has to play catchup to you and reigen a little bit but you both make sure to include him frequently so he can get used to it. he does it ALL the time once he settles in- so much that you have to be like "hey seri i absolutely love that you're excited to touch me and i know you mean well. but you can maybe see how your hand on my thigh and your arm around reigen on the back of the couch might not look like the most professional thing in front of clients." this is probably how his "tap before touching or kissing" quirk begins.)

it's easy for any of you to feel like a third wheel to the other two because the chemistry between y'all is just so natural, but that's also what keeps the feeling from lasting. it's just as natural for you to sneak glances over at serizawa while reigen's talking as it is for you to hold reigen's hand under the table as it is for reigen to lean over serizawa's shoulder while he does homework as it is for serizawa to have a hand around reigen's waist and it's just very… balanced.

reigen is most likely to get jealous/insecure. you and serizawa are both VERY obvious about being totally head over heels for him but he just makes shit up in his head when he sees you and serizawa together being happy that "clearly he's not needed" and "you'd be happier without him in the way." he thinks he hides it well but you and seri know him well enough that it's pretty obvious that there's something wrong and you both proceed to shower him with affection. as much as it takes. as many times as it takes. of course, he denies that he was ever jealous in the first place, but he always does a little something extra for you and seri after.

you and serizawa have to force reigen to communicate most of the time. it's not like serizawa thinks it's easy and he alternates between way too blunt and super indirect but it's super important to him so he manages. but something in reigen's brain makes it so impossibly difficult for him to be vulnerable for literally one second so it's, y'know, a lil bit harder for him. he's working on it.

sometimes you swear reigen and serizawa have a whole separate telepathic channel they're so in sync. usually when it comes to trying to surprise you, which they do often. you wouldn't be surprised if reigen came up with hand signals. or maybe they've just worked together for long enough.

overall it's just a very domestic relationship like- yes y'all go out and do stuff often enough and y'all have to be pretty social at the office but once you get home and don't have to… perform you just sit and do your own things in comfortable quiet. sometimes you watch serizawa play games, you and reigen leaning on his sides and trying not to fall asleep. sometimes you make coffee to the quiet sizzling sounds of reigen making breakfast while you let serizawa get some sleep for once. and sometimes you all stay up late, laying on your backs, staring up at your ceiling, talking about everything and nothing.

(reigen and serizawa have both always wanted to experience a Family Dinner, and it really hits when you're all sitting around a table of reigen's cooking, talking and laughing about your day at the office together, that they're both so grateful this is how they get to experience it.)

nsfw

definitely some Office Shenanigans going on. there are times when a client walks in and you have to shove or pull each other away to compose yourselves in time. none of you are quite stupid enough to fuck in the office but it's not exactly… not a compromising situation either.

(one time you literally had to pull serizawa off of reigen's neck by the back of his shirt. you admit the way he froze up like a cat WAS hilarious but it also wasn't great for his image, so you yanked him down behind the desk and both of you had to contain your giggles while reigen unflustered himself enough to lead the client into the other room. not your proudest moment, but you remember it fondly anyway. apparently reigen fixed his collar in time, because the client never seemed to notice the very obvious bruise you and serizawa discovered later.)

omg your first time with all of you together is such a disaster. reigen has no idea what he's doing. and serizawa sure as fuck doesn't know what he's doing. so regardless of your experience level you're the one that ends up wrangling them into a less catatonic state. there's a lot of giggles and "well, i don't know!" and serizawa apologizes a lot and reigen does NOT know what to do with his hands but nobody really does so it's fine. you're fine. you get through it.

serizawa is incredibly receptive to praise. you and reigen go back and forth saying positive things about him like he's not sitting right there waiting for either of you to do anything - which is separately flustering to him - until stuff ends up floating. (the same tactic works on reigen, minus the floating, but it takes you and serizawa a while to figure that out.)

okay i've been over the whole "tying reigen's hands doesn't work because he moves too much and hurts himself" thing but what if…. serizawa…. h eld them in place?? while you overstimmed reigen? especially if, instead of holding reigen's hands specifically, seri just kinda wrapped his arms around reigen to pin his arms to his sides and kept his hands on reigen's stomach to keep him from squirming too much

speaking of previous headcanons, on the "serizawa is really loud when he comes" note, it's super helpful to have another person to quiet him down so you can keep all your focus on helping him ride it out. katsuya probably has just as big of a thing for reigen's hands as you do because, let's be honest, enough time getting to see him give massages will just do that to a person, so having reigen's hand slapped over his mouth really does a lil Extra Something. plus, if your mouth is busy, it means reigen is still there to keep praising him and playing with his hair, and serizawa might actually combust dealing with all of those things at once.

honestly though, i remain an Aspec Reigen Truther so he probably ends up an observer rather than a participant most of the time, at least for the main event. toward the beginning, you and serizawa felt a little guilty leaving him out so often, but after a thorough explanation and a lot of communication, you've all come to an understanding that getting to watch the two hottest people he knows is more than enough for reigen and he won't be offended if you totally exclude him either. you always invite him to join anyway, just in case. sometimes he takes you up on the offer and other times he doesn't, just waving a hand at you with an "i'm good, have fun!" as he barely looks up. sometimes he wanders in after hearing you, and, well, sometimes he puts headphones in. he almost always wants to be a part of the cuddle pile after, though, and you've had to awkwardly limp out to the living room in serizawa's shirt to drag reigen to the bed… far more times than you'd like to count.

of course, after having plenty of time to get riled up by watching and far enough into the relationship that he feels comfortable asking, both you and serizawa are MORE than willing to help him out if he wants. seri's Oral Fixation™ usually wins, and you get relegated to "keep a hand in seri's hair while making out with reigen to keep him from thinking too hard" duty. (don't worry, you get your turn plenty of times, too. serizawa usually ends up on aftercare duty in those cases, for which you are very grateful.)

[captain-aralias]

End of Year in Fandom meme

i know on tumblr the tradition is to post a list and then wait for people to ask you before just telling them all your thoughts... but i come from livejournal where we answer all the questions. 

here are my thoughts about the things that i really liked in 2019. 

if no one reads it, that’s cool! if you do read it - that’s cool too. please talk to me about any of these things. i have strong feelings about them.

Your main fandom this year?

this was, of course, 'carry on'. now there are two books, it might be time to start trying to call the fandom 'the simon snow books', but i don't think it's going to stick.

it's a nice fandom. not overwhelmingly big, but active enough that it's engaging. lots of people's first fandom.

Your favourite film watched this year?

movies is where i'm weakest now music has been removed from the list because i'm been watching long-running TV instead of 2-hour things, mostly.

i really liked the netflix christmas movie 'klaus' - but i would say, my favourite movie was 'steven universe - the movie' which is notable in that it's a movie of a TV show, but for reals. it was SO GOOD. i thought the structure worked really well as a movie, and the fact that it was longer than 10 minutes meant we got lots of proper-length songs :D

Your favourite book read this year?

ok! this is easier. i read lots of great books this year, mostly pratchett. many of which i think i've read before, but my memory is bad and it was a long time ago. there were only a few that i really really felt like i'd read before, like 'night watch' and 'going postal - which are still my favourite-favourites.

the best ones i either hadn't read before at all or remembered very little of were 'wee free men' and the 'amazing maurice'. also, all the middle vimes books - like, had i read 'the fifth elephant' before? i don't know. but it rocked.

also this year - there was a new 'invisible library' book (genieve cogman) which was about a heist (i love it!), two new 'murder most unladylike' (robin stevens), and right at the beginning of the year, 'the wicked king' (book 2 of 'the folk of the air' by holly black - who has never fully worked for me until this series. now it's amazing'.

'wayward son' was my most anticipated book, but it wasn't my favourite of the year even tough i have three copies of it, plus the audiobook, plus the kindle book. i feel for it in a different way than i feel for other books as it is my fandom and it's special to me in a way none of the other books are. it's also not bad, like some anticipated things have been - it just wasn't exactly what i wanted.

but, you know - bring on 'any way the wind blows'. it's set at watford. i am down for that.

Your favourite tv show of the year?

TOO MUCH CHOICE, ARGH.

2019 was, for me, the year of (animated) television shows that blew my mind with how much i loved them. if i had to choose one... i'd have to go for 'ladybug' but it's a tough call.

i love 'ladybug', even though it's a monster of the week show for kids that is written in another language and dubbed. somehow it transcends this and is SO GOOD and fun.

closely followed by:

steven universe (of course)

mob psycho 100. (how the hell did it get so good so fast? the first episode was like, eh, i guess this fine, and then it was about FRIENDSHIP, and growing up, and compassion.)

my hero academia (a late entry, i literally watched it last week. SO GOOD OMG)

yuri on ice!!!

haiyku!!

i also really enjoyed/am enjoying 'she-ra' and i'm enjoying 'the dragon prince'.

did we watch anything that had real people in it? yes. (i also watched a lot of starkid musicals - which doesn't fit anywhere on the list). but it wasn't as good.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

see above.

all the anime and ladybug are all massive fandoms/massive megafandoms that i'd never heard of because i am an ignorant westerner (this is what tumblr is good for, to be fair to it - forcing you to interact with random stuff that people who share one of your interests are also interested in - i have found many things that i like from seeing gifs of them). i read some yuri fic but i didn't want it to suck me in, before i was read to leave 'carry on'... so i backed away. i haven't read any 'ladybug' fic for the same reason.

and i dont ship stuff in BNHA so what's the point? (except maybe all might/eraser head, but i think maybe that' because i like them both the most as characters and they've been in some scenes together. and are adults. and all might is really gay - not a good reason to write fic) (or is it?) (no - i've got lots of 'carry on' stuff to write......)

Your biggest fandom disappointment?

it feels like the answer should be 'wayward son' after what i wrote above, but i wasn't actually disappointed at all, if that makes sense. although i wanted to be filled with overwhelming love, i didn't expect it - it was more like i was desperate to read the book (particularly because loads of people got it early, but i didn't) and my head was just full of white noise for weeks during september. even things like the 'steven universe' movie coming out didn't stop my brain saying 'WHERE IS WAYWARD SON???'

and then when i got it was like - yeah, this is all right - not my favourite, but now i know what happens i can process it. what a relief.

ok! i know what my actual biggest disappointment was - i REALLY wanted to like the new 'his dark materials'. it looked great! it was long - which i thought would mean it would be good. i had lin manuel miranda in it!

but i didn't get past the first episode. it just had far too many random boring scenes, and james mcavoy was all wrong for asriel, and i just hated it.

Your tv boyfriend of the year?

HMMMM... as usual, i love too many. (erin is well aware of this terrible state of affairs - if there's a rubbish and yet strangely competent stringey man in something, she knows i will like them too much).

i probably feel closest to adrien agreste, even though reigen arataka (mob psycho) is exactly my type.

and let's not even talk about how beautiful viktor nikiforov is. it should not be allowed.

Your tv girlfriend of the year?

this one is easier (alas indeed - we watch television programmes about MEN). it's marinette dupain-cheng. she is so smart and kind!

also - the worst witch wasn't very good this year (so it didn't get on the list, see above), but hectate hardbroom is still great.

and, of course, i have always loved the doctor. is it right to put the doctor here? people have started using non-binary pronouns now. idk - i'm going to say she's a woman right now.

Your biggest squee moment of the year?

eeeeer.........

renaissance faire sword fight in 'wayward son' maybe? (it was about 7am, i can't really remember but i think i was happy)

or something like - spoilers - the end of the most recent season of haikyu!! you'd think - surely the heroes will win, but what i've learned in anime is that sometimes... they don't. and so i was genuinely invested in whether or not they would get into the nationals. and THEY DID!!!!

The most missed of your old fandoms?

B7 - i definitely miss it more than doctor who, athough obviously i did go back for thirteen. (i liked the series - it was perfectly nice, and i was one of the people who didn't want a female doctor because the doctor's always been a rubbish man and i thought that was part of his thing. but now that there is a female doctor i'm much more like - shit, i wish i was the doctor, but i guess she's really good. the episodes themselves are just fine, though. it doesn't make me fannish)

i wrote a thing for 'blake's 7' because i was asked to by someone who is really lovely, and i met up with mrsunderhill from tumblr and we talked about fic stuff - and she told me that a lot of russian-speaking fandom followed me from doctor who to B7, which i did not know. (hello russian-speaking fans, if you are here).

but it was hard going - i realised i'd lost the knack, but also how great the show is. i probably won't read any more who fic unless it's by people i know, but i would still read B7.

just probably not anymore 1990s gen. i started selling the zines that i know i'm not interested in.

The fandom you haven’t tried yet, but want to?

i already said 'don't tempt me, frodo!'

i'll go looking once i'm fed up with 'carry on' and not before.

[gutter-guy-100]

And There Were Daffodils in Her Eyes

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Read on AO3

Here is chapter 4 of And There Were Daffodils in Her Eyes. This chapter was a bitch to write, which is why it came out later than usual. But it’s here!

A HUGE thanks to all of the amazing artists who have created beautiful art for this series: Malengold (x), Ilee-font, Silvervictory, R0sie-p0sies, and Acciodurian! You guys are the best.

**Warning: Graphic depiction of self harm at the end of the chapter

“Let's start with the basics.”

Teru and Minori sat facing each other. Next to them was a long plastic folding table with a few miscellaneous objects: Minori’s schoolbag, a few ten pound weights,  and a lot of silverware. Minori reaches over and picks up a spoon, “Um, what’s up with all of the silverware?”

“Can you bend them?”

“Of course I can,” Minori scoffed, “Isn’t that like, the most basic thing?” Minori takes a deep breath and focuses her energy. Not only does she bend the spoon in her hand, but the rest of the silverware on the table. They twist and bend in all different directions under the power of Minori’s aura. She puts the twisted spoon in her hand back on the table and looks at Teru with a smug smile, “Easy.”

Teru narrowed his eyes, “Good. So you can do the bare minimum that is expected from anyone who knows telekinesis.” He motions to the two weights on the table, “Now try lifting those.”

This takes a bit more of Minori’s power but it’s not too much of a difficult feat for her. They lift right off of the table with ease. Minori lifts the weights just a few feet above the table and smiles, “No offense, but I thought this training stuff would be a little bit more difficult.”

“Put the weights back down. Gently.”

“Okay.” She looks at the weights as she focuses her energy into putting them down. They shake as they slowly descend down toward the table. Minori’s eyebrows furrow with concentration as the weights approach the table. With just a foot left before they’re gently placed on the table, Minori lets her lets her confidence get the best of her and cuts off her power too soon. The two weights crush down onto the table with a loud thud. Minori watches as one rolls off the table and is caught by Teru before it hits her foot.

The weight, now surrounded by a vibrant yellow aura, floats in the space between Teru and Minori. “So, obviously you don’t have the strongest control over your powers.” Minori feels her face heat up with embarrassment. “It’s fine, you just need to concentrate.” He places the weight back down on the desk. “Try it again.”

“Okay.” Minori closes her eyes and takes a moment to center herself. Her aura reaches out and latches back onto the two weights on the table.

“Now focus and put them down. Don’t lose control.”

She inhales and places all of her focus on the weights as she moves them back down to the table. The moment the weights gently land down on the table she lets herself exhale in a sigh of relief, “There.”

Teru smiles and gives her a small nod, “Not bad. Not perfect, but that’s why we’re training.” Teru crosses his legs and sits back in his chair. “You have to be aware of yourself at all times. Your powers are linked closely with your emotions, and if you’re not careful you could risk hurting yourself or someone else. You’re lucky to have me as a teacher, we’ll work hard and help you use your abilities to their fullest.”

Something about his smug smile and the way he said that last statement sets her off, “Teru-san, I really appreciate that you’re willing to help me, but I would still much rather train with Mob. I know him, and I’d be more comfortable with him training me.”

Teru raises an eyebrow, “Really? Because he doesn’t seem very comfortable around you.” His eyes meet hers with chilling contact, “I don’t know what you’re connection to Kageyama is, but if you start treating him like a crutch to support your good deeds, there is going to be a problem. You need to grow for yourself, not him. Because I’m sure he could care less about what kind of person you end up becoming.”

Minori can feel the weight of Teru’s stare. Her leg twitches as she digs her nails into her thighs. “You wouldn’t understand my relationship with Mob. He saved me. He changed me! You wouldn’t get it.”

Teru lets out a noise that somewhat resembles a breathy laugh, “Oh I see. You think you’re the only person who’s had their life changed by Shigeo? He changes the lives of everyone he meets. I’ve watched him take down some of the most powerful and headstrong people in the world with his words alone. You're not special, Asagiri-san." Teru leans forward in his chair, "I do get it. Probably better than anyone else.”

Of course someone like Mob had changed the lives of many people. It was foolish of her to think that she was the only one who had been radically changed by him. Minori stayed silent, looking down at her twitching hands that were folded in her lap.

“I think we should cut this first session short, don’t you agree.” Minori watches as he gets up from his chair and collects his things. “I want to help you. But first you need to have a reason for changing your ways outside of proving to Kageyama that you’re becoming a better person. Asagiri-san, why do you want to change?”

The simple question sends shivers down Minori’s spine.

~~~~~

It rained on Mob’s walk home from work. It started out as a light drizzle, but barely five minutes into his walk the light rain turned into a downpour. He quietly cursed himself for not thinking to bring an umbrella. He walked quickly, hugging his schoolbag to his chest to keep it from getting soaked.

“Kageyama-kun!” A familiar voice pulls  Mob’s attention. He turns around to see Teru running over in his direction with a bright yellow umbrella in hand, “You’re going to catch a cold if you walk around in weather like this,” When Teru catches up to Mob he holds the umbrella above both of them. “I was planning to walk you home from Reigen-san’s office, but you were already gone by the time I got there.”

“Ah, Hanazawa-kun," Mob takes shelter under the large umbrella, "What happened to training?"

“We decided to cut our first session short. No need for intense training on the first day, right?”

The two boys walk side by side in silence for a few blocks. The rain pounded against the umbrella rhythmically. An earthy smell filled the air as the rain settled down to a sprinkle. Teru was used to walking in silence while with Mob, after all, he was a man of few words. But this silence felt different. It was tense, it felt forced. Teru could tell by the way Mob’s eyes were downcast that he was trying to avoid any conversation. It wasn’t until they were in front of the Kageyama household that Teru spoke up, “Asagiri-san is a pretty interesting girl, huh?”

“Yes. She is.”

“How exactly did you meet her?”

Mob paused. He wasn’t quite sure how to explain his relationship to Minori just yet. His walking slowed, “We met on a job I had with Master Reigen.”

From the tone of his voice Teru could tell that Mob didn’t want to be pressed on the matter. For now he decided to let an explanation go, “I see.” Teru flashes him a genuine smile, “Well, I don’t want to keep you much longer. Have a good night, Kageyama-kun! Tell little brother I said hello!”

"Will do," Mob gave him a small nod, “Get home safe, Hanazawa-kun.”

Mob is greeted by the usual calamity of his home when he opens the door. Banging pots and pans could be heard from the kitchen and the TV was on some channel that was used for nothing more than background noise. Mob removes his wet shoes and places them next to Ritsu’s equally wet pair.

Before he can leave the entryway, he hears his mother call from the kitchen, “Shige, is that you? Don’t walk through the house if you’re soaking wet, I don’t want to be cleaning up any puddles tonight!”

“Don’t worry mom!” Ritsu emerges from the hallway carrying a towel. “You’re going to catch a cold if you walk around in the rain like that.” He hands Mob the towel and smiles, “How was work, Nii-san?”

Mob took the towel and ruffled it through his hair, “It was fine.” He finishes drying off what he can and smiles, “Thank you, Ritsu.” Mob draped the towel over his shoulder and headed to his room. His wet uniform was almost completely soaked through and clung to his body. He stripped off his sopping uniform, throwing it into the hamper and trading it  for a fresh pair of jeans and a hoodie.

There is a knock on his door accompanied by a quiet, “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Ritsu comes into the room and shuts the door behind him. There’s a nervous looking smile plastered on his face, which tells Mob that there’s something bothering his brother, “Is everything okay?"

“Everything is great,” He leans against the door, “I just wanted to know some more about that girl you were with earlier. Asagiri-san was it? She seemed nice.”

“Asagiri-san is...” Mob paused, thinking of the best way to explain his relationship with Minori, “She’s an acquaintance. She recently awakened her psychic powers and that’s why I was-”

“What job did you meet her on?”

“E-excuse me…?” It wasn’t like Ritsu to just cut Mob off so suddenly. The room suddenly grew rigid. The distance between  the two brother felt vast. Ritsu’s eyes met the floor, his feet shifting uncomfortably from side to side. “It was a while ago, Ritsu. I don’t remember.”

Ritsu’s worried-filled eyes finally meet Mob’s, “Was it the exorcism at that rich man’s house.”

Mob’s lips twitched into something that tried to resemble a smile, “You’re so perceptive, Ritsu. How did you know?”

Ritsu moved to close the space between him and his brother. His face was plastered with a look of worry, “Nii-san, you were… different for a while, after that job. I don’t know how to explain it, you just were. You made this face, this fake smile, it made my stomach churn.” Ritsu put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “I haven’t seen that expression in months, and then you made it when you introduced me to her.” Ritsu gives Mob’s shoulder a light squeeze, “Nii-san, you never told me what happened there.”

Mob is silent for a long while. His tongue feels like a stone in the bottom of his mouth. He continually opens and closes his mouth to speak words that never vocalize. He finally takes in a shaky breath and brushes his brother’s hand off of his shoulder, “I can’t really explain it. I just-”

“If you don’t ever talk about it then you’ll never get over it! Obviously something happened, and I want to… I don’t know, help you through it? Did Asigiri hurt you while she was being possessed, is that it?”

Mob suddenly felt dizzy. He slowly sank down to the floor so he could focus himself. Ritsu followed Mob down to the floor and sat across from him. “A lot.” Mob’s mouth felt too dry to speak. He swallowed in air. “A lot happened there.”

“I’m here to listen.” Ritsu’s eyes were as earnest as ever. It reminded Mob that he was so lucky to have a little brother like him.

“There was a spirit possessing Asigiri-san’s body. A spirit so powerful that neither me nor the handful of espers that were there could expel it. I had to go inside. In there he, um, the spirit… he created this, this world. He altered my memories and my powers. I was forced to live there alone.”

“I don’t… I don’t think I understand. Can you-”

“I can’t.” Mob’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as he took in a shallow breath, “I can’t. I don’t know how to explain it all.” Mob looked into his brother’s concerned gaze, “I’ll tell you, I will, I just. I need some time to think about it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ritsu stood up and turned to leave, it was better for him to leave his brother alone with his thought for a little while longer. He looked back at his brother before exiting the room, “Nii-san, I’m always here if you need me, alright?” “I know, Ritsu.” The two exchanged a small smiles before Ritsu shut the bedroom door.

~~~~~

Everything is red. Her hands. Her clothes. The ground. It's all blood red. She tries to speak words, to call out to anyone for help, but only blood leaves her mouth. It runs red over her lips as the taste of iron chokes her and sends her to her knees. She falls into a field of blood-red daffodils. Every flower she touches with her bare skin shrivels and dies.

And he's there. A black crow amongst the red. He takes off and flies through the purple tinted night sky and lands on her shoulder. His beak opens and a hoarse sound is whispered in her ear.

"Kill him."

Another figure manifests itself in front of her. A fragile boy in a dark uniform. Long bangs cover dark eyes that are full of tears. Blood runs down his cheeks. Blood covers his uniform. He is screaming. His mouth open and screaming until his throat goes raw. But she cant hear him.

A boxcutter. There is a boxcutter in her right hand. She grips it tightly. Another quiet whisper is heard.

"You can't change."

She tries to protest, but only crimson blood leaves her mouth. She brings herself to her feet. The red world darkens around her. She towers over the boy in height. He cowers as she takes a step. With every step a patch of daffodils get crushed under her shoe. She moves closer, closer, closer.

She drives the sharp boxcutter into her own veins. She tears open the skin of her left wrist, ripping through layers of flesh and muscle. Red pours from the gash and onto the ground and covers the world in blood. Her scream starts silent, it grows and grows until her blood curdling scream is loud enough to shake the entire fabric of her nightmare. The world crashes in on itself. Blood and flowers intermix in a fury and drown the world. She fights for air but she can only breath in the blood and daffodils.

And then it's all black.

Minori's room has never felt so dark. Her hands move to rub her tear-filled eyes and she checks her left wrist to ensure herself that the skin is still intact. She runs gentle fingers up and down the blue veins. The skin feels paper thin, like it could burst open from just a touch from her fingers.

She kicked the heavy blankets off of her bed. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, her bangs were matted down to her forehead, her clammy hands shook. Minori turned her head to stare at the red numbers on her alarm clock.

2:07 AM.

A shaky sigh leaves her lips. She closes her eyes again. The sounds of midnight lull her back to sleep.